Hamilton proves he's no Schumacher
“I’m not as interested in Formula One as I used to be,” said my Italian friend, Maria, on Friday after I asked her whether she planned to watch the German Grand Prix. “It’s not as exciting as it used to be.”
“Why so?” I asked.
“Because Ferrari is not doing so well,” she said.
This seemed like a rum take on things. Here we were witnessing the tightest championship fight in years and Maria didn’t think it was exciting enough! What did she want, fireworks? When I gave it some thought, I realised that Maria’s point of view made sense. Maria typifies the tifosi, the Italian Ferrari fans, who were driven to paroxysms of ecstacy each time Michael Schumacher took the chequered flag and notched up yet another stultifyingly boring Formula One victory at the head of a procession. Fans like her were not really bothered how the race was won; the result was all they were interested in. Unpredictable races never pleased them; they wanted to see their man starting from pole and never losing the lead until the end.
At the start of yesterday’s German Grand Prix, I expected to see Lewis Hamilton producing a Scumacheresque performance. He had qualified on pole and was so much faster than every one else that any other conclusion seemed foolhardy. But life is not quite so predictable these days. About halfway through the race, Timo Glock in a Toyota suffered a massive suspension failure which resulted in his car careering off the circuit, getting smashed up against the barrier and spreading bits of carbon fibre all over the circuit. The inevitable safety car episode was the cue for everyone to dive into the pits for fuel and fresh tyres. Everyone, that is, but Lewis Hamilton. The McLaren team, bizarrely, chose to leave Hamilton on the circuit. Given that the man behind him, Felipe Massa, used the safety car to make his second pit-stop, Hamilton would have had to build up a gap of twenty three seconds so as to come into the pits and out again ahead of Massa. This was impossible. Neither I nor any of the television commentators could make sense of this. The McLaren team were wilfully throwing a race win away. What ridiculously ruinous behaviour.
When he finally made his stop, not only did Hamilton come out behind Massa but also behind Renault driver, Nelson Piquet, and his McLaren team-mate, Heikki Kovaleinen. The only way to win the Grand Prix then was the old fashioned one, the one we had long forgotten about: by overtaking. Kovaleinen did not make things difficult for him, so once past him the job for Hamilton was to hunt down the other two and despatch them with abandon. Lapping at least a second and a half quicker than Massa, he was soon bearing down on the Ferrari. At the hairpin, a lunge on the inside, some captivating side by side, wheel-to-wheel driving – which had me on my feet screaming at the telly – and Massa’s challenge was history. Next up came Piquet and you knew then that nothing was going to stop Lewis Hamilton. He, thus, won the German Grand Prix not once but twice; first in time honoured Schumacher fashion and secondly in more daredevil showcase style. There is no doubt about it, the lad can certainly drive.
The suggestion that the McLaren team made the wrong pit stop call seems a little too simplistic. I have my own views. I think Ron Dennis and company looked at Massa and decided he was worth the gamble. I have no doubt that they would have been loth to try any of this dangerous stuff if their opponent had been Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari. In other words, McLaren just don’t rate Felipe Massa. They probably said to themselves: “Look, this Massa chappie is no match for Lewis. If we get Lewis to win this one by overtaking the Brazilian, it will be like a dose of testosterone for him which will make him pretty much unbeatable for the rest of the season. At the same time it will shatter Massa’s confidence to bits, which means one fewer person to deal with in the championship. By golly chaps, let’s do it!”
If McLaren made the wrong pit stop call for Hamilton in the safety car episode, Renault did the opposite for Nelson Piquet Jr. So precisely did they read the most apposite moment to bring the young Brazilian in they managed to bring him out in a podium scoring position. For a man who had started the race in seventeenth place, this was brilliant. Piquet fully deserved to receive the trophy for second place – a feat he is unlikely to repeat this season. His father – former world champion, Nelson Piquet – must be very proud.
Interestingly, although Piquet Jr and Massa were the first two Brazilians to share a podium since Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna many years ago, their body language showed nothing but utter dejection. Being beaten at the hands of Hamilton was painful. I ascribe this partly to Hamilton’s Englishness. You can make any number of statements about the English but none will include the word “popular”. The English know it. They go about life like Millwall Football Club supporters “No one likes us – we don’t care!”
The other championship contender, Kimi Raikkonen , lost interest in the German Grand Prix from the moment he stepped off his plane on Thursday. Either this or he was labouring under a severe hangover. Mr Raikkonen needs to maintain his focus if he is going to be in with a chance of repeating his performance of 2007 – and winning the hearts of the Marias of this world.
Two imperious wins in a row, for Lewis. Massa’s confidence bludgeoned. Raikkonen too pissed to care. Chaps, we are at the point in the season when a trip to the bookies makes perfect sense…
Gitau
21 July 2008
“Why so?” I asked.
“Because Ferrari is not doing so well,” she said.
This seemed like a rum take on things. Here we were witnessing the tightest championship fight in years and Maria didn’t think it was exciting enough! What did she want, fireworks? When I gave it some thought, I realised that Maria’s point of view made sense. Maria typifies the tifosi, the Italian Ferrari fans, who were driven to paroxysms of ecstacy each time Michael Schumacher took the chequered flag and notched up yet another stultifyingly boring Formula One victory at the head of a procession. Fans like her were not really bothered how the race was won; the result was all they were interested in. Unpredictable races never pleased them; they wanted to see their man starting from pole and never losing the lead until the end.
At the start of yesterday’s German Grand Prix, I expected to see Lewis Hamilton producing a Scumacheresque performance. He had qualified on pole and was so much faster than every one else that any other conclusion seemed foolhardy. But life is not quite so predictable these days. About halfway through the race, Timo Glock in a Toyota suffered a massive suspension failure which resulted in his car careering off the circuit, getting smashed up against the barrier and spreading bits of carbon fibre all over the circuit. The inevitable safety car episode was the cue for everyone to dive into the pits for fuel and fresh tyres. Everyone, that is, but Lewis Hamilton. The McLaren team, bizarrely, chose to leave Hamilton on the circuit. Given that the man behind him, Felipe Massa, used the safety car to make his second pit-stop, Hamilton would have had to build up a gap of twenty three seconds so as to come into the pits and out again ahead of Massa. This was impossible. Neither I nor any of the television commentators could make sense of this. The McLaren team were wilfully throwing a race win away. What ridiculously ruinous behaviour.
When he finally made his stop, not only did Hamilton come out behind Massa but also behind Renault driver, Nelson Piquet, and his McLaren team-mate, Heikki Kovaleinen. The only way to win the Grand Prix then was the old fashioned one, the one we had long forgotten about: by overtaking. Kovaleinen did not make things difficult for him, so once past him the job for Hamilton was to hunt down the other two and despatch them with abandon. Lapping at least a second and a half quicker than Massa, he was soon bearing down on the Ferrari. At the hairpin, a lunge on the inside, some captivating side by side, wheel-to-wheel driving – which had me on my feet screaming at the telly – and Massa’s challenge was history. Next up came Piquet and you knew then that nothing was going to stop Lewis Hamilton. He, thus, won the German Grand Prix not once but twice; first in time honoured Schumacher fashion and secondly in more daredevil showcase style. There is no doubt about it, the lad can certainly drive.
The suggestion that the McLaren team made the wrong pit stop call seems a little too simplistic. I have my own views. I think Ron Dennis and company looked at Massa and decided he was worth the gamble. I have no doubt that they would have been loth to try any of this dangerous stuff if their opponent had been Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari. In other words, McLaren just don’t rate Felipe Massa. They probably said to themselves: “Look, this Massa chappie is no match for Lewis. If we get Lewis to win this one by overtaking the Brazilian, it will be like a dose of testosterone for him which will make him pretty much unbeatable for the rest of the season. At the same time it will shatter Massa’s confidence to bits, which means one fewer person to deal with in the championship. By golly chaps, let’s do it!”
If McLaren made the wrong pit stop call for Hamilton in the safety car episode, Renault did the opposite for Nelson Piquet Jr. So precisely did they read the most apposite moment to bring the young Brazilian in they managed to bring him out in a podium scoring position. For a man who had started the race in seventeenth place, this was brilliant. Piquet fully deserved to receive the trophy for second place – a feat he is unlikely to repeat this season. His father – former world champion, Nelson Piquet – must be very proud.
Interestingly, although Piquet Jr and Massa were the first two Brazilians to share a podium since Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna many years ago, their body language showed nothing but utter dejection. Being beaten at the hands of Hamilton was painful. I ascribe this partly to Hamilton’s Englishness. You can make any number of statements about the English but none will include the word “popular”. The English know it. They go about life like Millwall Football Club supporters “No one likes us – we don’t care!”
The other championship contender, Kimi Raikkonen , lost interest in the German Grand Prix from the moment he stepped off his plane on Thursday. Either this or he was labouring under a severe hangover. Mr Raikkonen needs to maintain his focus if he is going to be in with a chance of repeating his performance of 2007 – and winning the hearts of the Marias of this world.
Two imperious wins in a row, for Lewis. Massa’s confidence bludgeoned. Raikkonen too pissed to care. Chaps, we are at the point in the season when a trip to the bookies makes perfect sense…
Gitau
21 July 2008
posted by Gitau at 3:59 pm
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