This time last year we had an almighty battle going into China with the seven times world champion Michael Schumacher taking the fight to the new boy Fernando Alonso. Michael came out on top in the Ferrari with a win and was leading the championship.

This year we have an even better one.

The rookie, the unfathomable, Lewis Hamilton is on the brink of achieving his dream, the F1 world title, at his first attempt here in China.

Since his win at Fuji, and Alonso's retirement and the Ferrari's failure to impress, he now has a 12 point lead over second place man Alonso going into China.

If Hamilton wins on Sunday then that's it, his first world title in the bag. Alonso needs to win to keep his slim title chances alive.

If Hamilton finishes 5th then Raikkonen is out of title contention irrespective of where he finishes, and the title will go down to the final race in Interlagos, Brazil.

But that's a long time away and we have an awesome title battle going on.

Will Hamilton get the win he wants to score his world title? Or will he succumb to the pressure and allow his arch-rival Alonso a win to keep his slim title chances alive?

Or can Raikkonen pull something out of the bag to try and win the title?

All will be revealed over the next few days, and so far in Practice, it's Kimi weekend:

P1:
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=40933

In P2 it's even closer, with Raikkonen shading Alonso by six-thousands of a second:
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=40935

This will be a very very interesting weekend.

Post your thoughts.

Any idea why BMW is having so many problems lately? Seems very odd that the team that had pretty much taken 3rd place is now having problem after problem. Something to do with the "focusing towards the 2008 car?"

I'm hoping for a Kimi win, Alonso second, and Hamilton out of the points, just to lay the foundation for an exciting season finale.

Well, it could be down to them concentrating on 08, but they had these same problems earlier on but managed to fix them. Maybe theyve creeped their way back into the BMW's.

Im hoping for a Kimi win also, Massa 2nd, Alonso 3rd, Hamilton 4th. Just so Nemphis can have a little moment of glory before he realises that Hamilton has just put him out of the championship! :D

Ideally though, Hamilton win. Just so i can go mental! Probably wont happen, some bad luck will interviene so it stops him scoring any higher than 6th. Just to make it go all the way.

No BMW are fine, if your going by practice, they always sandbag. Expect them to be just as fast as ever.

Kimi will win with Ferrari backing him, i hope Lewis wins the championship this weekend. So the last race, all the drivers can be free to race each other no holds bar for fun.

Im hoping for a Kimi win also, Massa 2nd, Alonso 3rd, Hamilton 4th. Just so Nemphis can have a little moment of glory before he realises that Hamilton has just put him out of the championship! :D

Don't say that my favourite Hockey Team l(Calgary Flames) lost their first game of the season last night and well Lewis finishing anything above 5th will no doubt ruin my already crappy 2007 :( !

Coincedently they have a Finnish goalie and he his considered one of the best in the league so if he did crap the Finn's are due some luck so just maybe Hamilton might retire or something like that to give Kimi a big boost to win the title :D !

GO KIMI GO !!!!

No BMW are fine, if your going by practice, they always sandbag. Expect them to be just as fast as ever.
It isn't just practice, Heidfeld had another retirement last week, and they have been struggling against Red Bull and Renault. I mean, you would think that if Webber, Vettel, Coulthard, and Kovaleinen were all running near the front, BMW would have no problem with both cars being up there.

Granted, they were, until Kubica slid into Hamilton and they gave him a drive-thru penalty. He was second, then slipped back in the pack, and fought his way up to sixth or seventh with that great battle with Massa. Still, last week was a good shot for them to possibly win. I'd love a BMW win, but I think they will have to wait until next year and stay out of the way of the championship.

Quali what a day.
Lewis completely desevres the title now, if anyone disagrees they are just plain stuborn, or blind, or death.
Kimi always seems to lack pace in quali, Massa got close to pole or 2nd, but lost the rear of the car, messing up his lap.

Both STR's were astonishing, were did that come from. Both were 11th and 12th. Simply brilliant pace.

Ralf i think is definitely leaving this year, and has decided to go out with a bang, and bang he has, 6th is a brilliant spot to be in. Then the Red Bulls coming in 5th and 7th. Fantastic stuff.

BMW are definitely on a different strategy, i'd say a 1 stop from both of them, they are expecting a mad race, and taking a gamble. So lets hope it pays off, and we see both drivers running very high in the end.
But look at it this way, they have nothing to lose.

Another great run by Button, begging that it rains tommorrow and at last Button shines.

I will see the qualifyings in an hour. I'm a bit nervous. I hope Hami and Kimi to go well.

BMW are definitely on a different strategy, i'd say a 1 stop from both of them, they are expecting a mad race, and taking a gamble. So lets hope it pays off, and we see both drivers running very high in the end.
But look at it this way, they have nothing to lose.
Oh. Hm. You're right. BMW has nothing to lose.

I'm waiting till the qualifyings start here.

Crap Hamiltons pole!! :mad:

I really, really do NOT want Hamilton to win the championship. If his head gets any bigger it will explode. Why couldnt he have had his points deducted for being a prat behind the safety car last week! :confused:

Coulthard is 5th! Which is good. Ahead of both BMW's who are 8th & 9th I think, so they must be 1 stopping.

Great qualifying session!

It seemed all through it that it would be Kimi and Massa locking out the front row, with Hamilton maybe 4th behind Alonso. Then in Q3 he puts in a monumental lap and jumps infront of the Ferraris leaving Alonso on the second row! He came from nowhere, looked like he was off their pace all weekend by a tenth or 2, then when it mattered he knew what he had to do and he just got on with it. He deserves the title fully imo. Probably going to rain though tomorrow so it may all go wrong for Hammy, so Im not celebrating anything yet. Alonso did not seem happy though, apparently he stormed into the garage after and slammed some doors on his way to a private area. Mature! He has got some serious problems when it comes to being beaten!

Fantastic for Coulthard! 5th is a fantastic position to be in, hope he can bring it home and score some good points.

Button did well again! Getting into the top 10, once again out-performing the car, imagine him in Alonso's McLaren! Made me laugh though, when he got there they didnt have any option tyres left because they didnt think they would get into Q3! Still did a fantastic job though.

I am crossing everything that Hammy wins here in China, or even that he finishes infront of Alonso, he deserves this championship and i pray that he makes it happen tomorrow.

Coulthard is 5th. That's great.

Also i saw that Ferrari hasn't the lolipop man. They have replaced him by lights. Did you see that? I didn't see that, but i heard it from the speaker man.

Also BMW cars must have so much fuel.

Check this
how ironic
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2007/10/6944.html

Check this
how ironic
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2007/10/6944.html
Oh. Vettel down to 17th. I don't know if he bothered Kovi.

Here's the Qualifying results:

http://www.sportscarforums.com/gallery/data/500/Chinese_GP_Qualify.bmp

I have a strong feeling that Hamilton will win the championship, i mean he got pole position, so all he has to do is keep it all in one piece and try to pull away from the Ferrari's and then he has it in the bag. But hopefully the Ferrari's will will have the pace to overtake Hamilton, I really want Kimi to win this one so at least has a chance to win the drivers championship in Brazil.

As for Vettel's penalty, i really feel sorry for him, first his penalty for his incident in Japan(which then got lifted) and now this. But i'm not sure if he really did impend Kovlainen's lap, i'll have to go watch Qualifying in around 15 mins.

Any idea why BMW is having so many problems lately? Seems very odd that the team that had pretty much taken 3rd place is now having problem after problem. Something to do with the "focusing towards the 2008 car?"

I would guess something along those lines. BMW have admitted that 100% of their development is going towards the 2008 car, which is understandable, because they have exceeded their expectations for the 2007 season. They have finished second in the contrscutors championship, and 5th and 6th in the drivers, which is brilliant for a team only in their second year of F1, and they want to be better in 2008.

But, I wouldn't expect so many problems for Heidfeld's car (hydraulic failures, gearbox changes). Maybe just a few gremlines creeping into their system. But it's all fine though. I don't think it will affect their preparations for 2008, although Heidfeld did retire from the last race and only qualify P8 for today.

Coulthard is 5th. That's great.

Also i saw that Ferrari hasn't the lolipop man. They have replaced him by lights. Did you see that? I didn't see that, but i heard it from the speaker man.

Also BMW cars must have so much fuel.

Ferrari's lollipop man? I actually saw a person..I don't get you. What do you mean?

_

Anyway, what a brilliant qualifying session AGAIN from Hamilton. I was at risk from not seeing any of it because my DVD player was playing up (had to tape it, too early in the morning and I was playing snooker in town when the re-run was on) and I thought I couldn't watch it. Luckily it did, and wow, what a qualifying session. Have to say Lewis is probably going to clinch the world title tomorrow. He is in the best possible position to do so and I can't see him making any mistakes tomorrow, simply because he hasn't made any all season.

He was looking down and out for 4th place, but he did another one of those brilliant laps where everything just comes together. Watching it on the TV was absolutely brilliant. I can't fault any of it. Usually when you watch, there's an ''Oooh, a bit wide there'', or a ''Bit of opposite lock there'', but genuinely there was nothing there from Hamilton or his car, which was brilliant.

Only got it by a few tenths of a second but it's a pole nontheless, and a fully deserved one and I really hope he clinches the title tomorrow because he fully deserves it, just for that lap alone. Brilliant stuff.

As for Alonso, is anyone sensing a bit of ''I can't be arsed with this'' anymore? His error in Fuji seemed a little ''careless'' (I'm not saying a 120mph blind with rain corner is easy..), but nobody else throughout the race distance made that error, and yet he does, and today he has a really scruffy lap which resigns him to 4th place on the grid? That's bad enough, and then he goes and breaks doors down, and smashes his helmet to the floor. What's he pissed off with, the helmet or the door? He is the one who has done wrong. He had a great chance this weekend, he could have been in with a chance of a minimum front row slot, or the pole...and yet he goes and blows it. Bad lap from Alonso, can't see him getting the title now I'm afraid.

Same goes with the Ferraris (well, Massa anyway). Massa made a bad mistake in the last sector which left him to third on the grid. And that's what has seperated Alonso, Massa and Raikkonen from Hamilton; they have all made mistakes when it has mattered. Take Alonso spinning in Spa and messing up his qualifying laps here and at the Nurburgring. Massa making a mistake here, and Raikkonen making one in Turkey...Hamilton hasn't. Anyway, the good thing for the Scuderia is that they seem to be fuelled a lot more than Hamilton; Lewis seems to be going quite light. Raikkonen was looking to do a clean sweep of the whole weekend, as he was fastest in P1, P2, P3, Q1, Q2 but not in Q3 where it really mattered, which must be a real shame for him, but I suspect he's running quite heavy, which will be good for his race.

It's looking good between the top four.

And, star performance from DC, up in 5th which is really really great for him, amd team-mate Webber in 7th. Great laps from them, hopefully they can get some points from there.

Also, another good performance is Schumacher for Toyota in P6. The pressure is off, he knows he will not be in Toyota for next year (possible move to the WTCC), so he's just giving it his all and he's done a good job with it.

Heidfeld lost time with his mechanical problems in the practice sessions, so he'll line up 8th with Kubica one spot behind him. As Phoenix said, BMW seeming to go off a little bit over the past few races, the odd misfire here, the odd hydraulic problem there...shouldn't be a problem as they have done brilliantly this season and it's totally justifiable that they want to focus on 2008.

Brilliant qualifying from Button aswell. Thrilled to hear that he is in the top 10 for the second race in a row (never thought I'd be thrilled to hear that one after 2006 eh!), and hopefully if it's wet he can get some points. Very very good chance, if he gets some points, to overtake Super Aguri in the constructors table which will give them more money for the next season.

Also, disappointed to hear that Vettel has had half of his penalty chucked back in his face, after ''impeding'' Kovalainen. Kovi said nothing about Vettel holding him up so we'll have to see about that one, maybe the stewards have made a mistake.

It was going great for STR before that aswell, they were in 11th and 12th places, now in 11th and 17th places.

Anyway it was a great qualifying and I hope RAIN will come and make Lewis champion! Go go go!

Qualifying report:
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=40962

We all know 'the wonder kid' is gonna win the championship and if by some luck he doesn't finish tommorow I will watch the Brazilian GP but if he does I will divert all my attention to Hockey (we all know its a better sport than F1 anyway :D LOL) and start a fresh next year hoping and praying that Kimi will win the Drivers title.

^So.....so Nemphis, are you..giving in!? :eek:

^^Well come on, he has to not get points in the next 2 races. Considering hes had one race like that, i doubt 2 will follow back to back.

But vote next year is for Felipe, although Ferrari will most likely favour Kimi. Damn them

Vettel got another penalty, sheesh. But yeah, another pole from Hamilton, though I will have to see what kind of a fuel strategy he is on, as he is usually lighter on fuel than the Ferrari's.

I swear, ITV has some of the most idiotic writers:
The lap itself was a stupendous blend of aggression and control, kissing every apex absolutely spot-on and avoiding the momentum-sapping slides that had compromised his first run.
Oh, Lewis! :rolleyes:

All I can say is, as long as their is a standing start, the first corner is going to have a few "omg" moments.

^So.....so Nemphis, are you..giving in!? :eek:

Yes and No !?!?!?!?!

Well what is the likelyhood of 'the wonder kid' finishing below 5th tommorow ????

I say not very high !

So theoretically Kimi is out of it and besides NHL has started now so I will take a greater interest in that rather than F1 :| !

I know now Kimi is pretty much out of it and if by some miracle 'the wonder kid' crashes out (crosses fingers) then yeah Kimi can pull himself back into the game but otherwise its game over for me and Kimi (I hoped I would never have to say that :(:o:mad:).

I look on the brightside all the time and well its a new season in the NHL and hopefully my beloved Flames can win the Stanley Cup (most of you will not even know what I am on about but hey ...).

Flames suck, Go Canucks!!!!


Yea, not likely would Kimi have a chance at champion this year. What a year.

Flames suck, Go Canucks!!!!


Yea, not likely would Kimi have a chance at champion this year. What a year.

You say that we are playing you guys tonight !

We need to bounce back from the Flyers defeat and winning you guys will no doubt boost morale within the team and by the looks of it we have got over the Flyers defeat:

We are winning 1-0 !!!! GO FLAMES GO !!!!

I don't like to talk about Kimi being out of the champonship it makes me depressed :(.

"The lap itself was a stupendous blend of aggression and control, kissing every apex absolutely spot-on and avoiding the momentum-sapping slides that had compromised his first run."

lol. Kind of poetic, isn't it?

Anyway, Williams had trouble getting heat into the tyres, so it's gonna be a long race for us.

Nice to see Button get into the top 10 again. That's twice in a row now!

Hamilton pipped the Ferraris, I would not have expected that going into Q3, it had seemed the Ferraris were well on the pace. Perhaps McLaren are going for a Kimi special - fuel light and sprint towards an early stop :D

However, rain is definitely a variable in Sunday. All weather reports suggest a 100% chance of rain, and that will almost definitely shake things up.

I'm not gonna be missing this one! lol

You say that we are playing you guys tonight !

We need to bounce back from the Flyers defeat and winning you guys will no doubt boost morale within the team and by the looks of it we have got over the Flyers defeat:

We are winning 1-0 !!!! GO FLAMES GO !!!!

I don't like to talk about Kimi being out of the champonship it makes me depressed :(.
AHAHAHAHAHA Canucks winning 3-1 at 2nd intermission!

Hamilton is currently stuck in the gravel trap in the pits!!!!!

Wow, what a turn of events!!!

EDIT: Hamilton retired, Robert Kubica currently leading.....

EDIT: Kubica having gearbox problems, Kimi in the lead, Alonso and Massa following.....

STR and Button fans rejoice!

Vettel 4th

Button 5th

Tonio 6th

Great race in my opinion, great 1-3 finish for Ferrari and a 5th win for Kimi. Sad for Hamilton, but I am happy it occured, it will be a superb race in Brazil with 3 drivers within 7 points for the championship. Congrats to Ferrari engines for scoring 24 points today, a manufacturer high. Way to go Coulthard holding off Heikki for the final point as well. I cannot wait for Brazil.

Points positions:

1. Raikkonen
2. Alonso
3. Massa
4. Vettel
5. Button
6. Liuzzi
7. Heidfeld
8. Coulthard

Great hair for Kimi on the podium.

i wonder did nigel miss Kimi overtake Lewis

i wonder did nigel miss Kimi overtake Lewis

WTF????

:confused:

WTF????

:confused:
nemphis...

YESSSSS!!!!! It's going down to the wire! Bring it on Brazil:cool:

The Dutch commentator said before the race: I've seen many great champions fail in the first race they were able to win the championship.

Like he already knew what would happen.

Too bad for Hamilton, but it looked really clumsy. Getting stuck in one of the only patch of gravel on this track. And just before entering the pit.
Great drive from Raikkonen, just doing what he was supposed to do, get the maximal result. And the 200th win for Ferrari in the Formula 1.
Also from Alonso and Massa, they couldn't get any higher then this. Didn't make any mistakes.

Then, he already was my hero in Fuji, but he's now one of my favourite drivers. Sebastian Vettel, we're going to see alot of great things from him in the future. As soon as one of the places at one of the top teams have a spot available, he will be one of the contenders for that spot.

For Button it must be a great feeling finishing 5th after such a tough season.

Toro Rosso is definately going to party today. Offcourse with Vettel finishing fourth, but also with Liuzzi finishing sixth. I think Toro Rosso will ask for the FIA to do every race on a wet track, suits them really well.

I'm looking really forward to Brazil now!

Great hair for Kimi on the podium.

Haha, thought exactly the same

nemphis...

I know who you were talking about, but that sentence made no sense to me.

They just let us hear a bit of Vettel's on board radio just after he finished. All you could hear was:
YEEEEAAAHHH!!!! WOOOOHOO!!! YES, YES, YES!!! YEAAAAHHHH

:D

Gutted for Hammy. Hes the plucky brit, and like all plucky brits hes going to come second. Shame really.

Very annoyed though, what the HELL were the engineers thinking??? He is leading the championship comfortably, leading the race, why take risks like that? They kept him out at least 2 laps too long imo, you could see the right rear tyre de-laminating! And they kept him out! Why? McLaren you have just shot yourselves in the foot. You couldve secured the drivers championship, but instead you push the inters far beyond their limits and it bit you. This imo, was not really Hamiltons fault, he was obviously struggling for grip, the team shouldve brought him in but they didnt. I think though he entered the pit lane a little too quickly and just found out too late that there was no grip there whatsoever. Bit of a rookie error, but he is a rookie so he shouldve been making these errors all season, such a shame that he makes one when he needs a faultless race. God im so gutted.

Kimi drove fantastically though, as soon as he smelt a possible victory, he got his head down and drove brilliantly. If Hamilton doesnt win the championship, i would be happy for Kimi to take it because of his never give up attitude to F1. I lauged at his hair aswell! Just another thing, i was seriously worried for him in the press conference. He looked like his head was going to explode! I couldnt tell where his racing overalls finished and where his face started! Ive never seen him that red before!

Vettel was such a star today, he showed such maturity and such composure to bounce back like he has done. Having to deal with knocking yourself out of a podium, then a penalty, then he put in a great qualifying performance, only to be dropped 5 places, and to still drive his way to 4th! What a day for him, you could tell how much it meant to the guys at torro rosso. Happy for them.

Also happy for Button, his first stint wasnt great, dropping a few places and looking pretty poor, then after his stop, he was flying! And at one point held the fastest lap of the race! He proves time and time and again that he is such a brilliant driver, and if Honda had the car this year could have realistically challenged for wins.

Shame for Kubica though, leading the race. They were following him and he went into the 2nd to last bend and he just never accelerated out of it, i heard it just as they cut away from him and i thought, what happened there? Unfortunate for him, couldve got some good poins here.

Im thinking its now over for Hammy, this was his one shot, one chance to bring it home, and McLaren stuff it up. I cant see him raining supreme this year. I see Alonso clinching it in Brazil with Lewis coming home 3rd maybe 4th. Which would be such a shame, because imo, he is the one person on the grid that doesnt deserve the title.

This race has shown just how fast championships can turn around. It happened once in Fuji, and it happened again in China. Maybe there will be a third twist and Kimi wins it! If that happens though, i will eat my hat. And seeing as the only hat i own is a massive sombrero from Spain, it will not be nice!

I was thinking that Kubica was on a 1 stop. Just think. He would've actually won that race. BMW winning at last, imagine.

But at last the race that Jens needed, that was great stuff. He lost plenty of positions, but Honda made a good call to change to the soft tyres, and for a period Jenson was the fastest guy on the track, actually doing the same times as the leaders, and most of the time better.

Vettel's race came from nowhere, i guess the 1 stop really was the right thing to do. 4th is amazing for a team like STR, plus to top it of, Luzzi was amazing, he drove just as good Vettel, if not better. He held of Heidfeld for ages, and desevred that 6th.

Honda finally move ahead of super aguri, but then STR move ahead of Honda. Terrible season for Honda.
Plus now Rubens is the only driver who drove every race and has yet to score a point. Poor Barichello.

it was a great race for kimi. Although lewis pulled away with a huge gap early, he clawed it back in the pits and when Hamiliton lost grip he overtook.
I think China is really a boggy track for Massa. It didn't go well last year, and this year wasn't to good either, he just missed pole, and was boxed in behind Kimi in the first turn allowing Fernando past, but got it back. He found tonnes of speed at the end, and got the gap between him and Alonso to just 3secs, but ran out of laps.

Brazil will be interesting. Massa has home track advantage, and was dominant there last year, but the other 3 are seriously hungry for that title.

Ferrari's lollipop man? I actually saw a person..I don't get you. What do you mean?


I heard this from the speaker man. He said that Ferrari will replace the lollipop man with lights.

I am going to see teh race in a while. I want to have a full thought for this race. But from what i read F1 championship is on fire. I will make a better reply later.

i wonder did nigel miss Kimi overtake Lewis

I didn't I just watched the race re run on ITV and I can officially say I'm very happy :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D :D:D:D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!

GO KIMI, GO KIMI, GO KIMI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LEWIS, LEWIS, LEWIS is the pressure getting to you :p ??????

KIMI HAS WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP !!!!!!

^
Don't worry I will be saying that after Interlagos (spelling) !!!!

It makes up for the fact that the Calgary Flames lost again last night :( !

^Kimi freak. I am seeing right now the race and benny, i observed that Ferrari hasn't the lollipop man. They have lights. I'm not joking. It was an experiment from Ferrari to use this system next year (2008).

It ain't hockey time just yet! (The Flames sucked when they were in ATL. Thrashers are looking much better.)

Great race with some thrilling performances all through the field; just none were by Hamilton. For the 2nd time in 3 wet races, he failed to walk on water. Now, some fanboys want to blame the team. Tires are the driver's call.

I watched the race at 6:30 this morning. Just so i could have live timing.
But i was wondering why Massa lapped in 2:00 2 or 3 times. Ends up they sent him out of dry to early, and thats how Alonso got past him. Damn ferrari need a guy to organise their strategy, it was just as bad at Fuji and Many Cours


Also i found out that off the line Ralf went from 6th to last. I really doubt he'll get a race seat next year

I didn't I just watched the race re run on ITV and I can officially say I'm very happy :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D :D:D:D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!

GO KIMI, GO KIMI, GO KIMI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LEWIS, LEWIS, LEWIS is the pressure getting to you :p ??????

KIMI HAS WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP !!!!!!

^
Don't worry I will be saying that after Interlagos (spelling) !!!!

It makes up for the fact that the Calgary Flames lost again last night :( !

Fastest turn of faith ever?

Im giving up on Kimi, *Kimi does well*, oh wait no, I LOVE KIMI! Hahahaha! :D

McLaren cost Lewis the title with that decision tbh. I mean really, he was being passed by a freakin Toyota FFS! The tire was down to the canvas, yet they kept him out! I am baffled by McLaren today, i want to know the exact person who made that call, so i can point at him when Lewis looses the championship. Sigh.

If Hammy or Alonso (God forbid) gets this championship, that is going in my sig!

Must take my hat off to Kimi though, he drove like a legend today. He is 2nd on my list of deserving champions.

Great race with some thrilling performances all through the field; just none were by Hamilton. For the 2nd time in 3 wet races, he failed to walk on water. Now, some fanboys want to blame the team. Tires are the driver's call.

Oh, he had the right tyre alright, he just "wasn't allowed in" to get new ones.

Best race of the season imo. Lots of overtaking from every point of view really. Vettel, I'm still astounded as to how he managed 4th in a Toro Rosso, and then Button 5th in his Honda. This circuit just seemed to work today, for everyone, except people who enter the pits too fast. I really have no idea why he bothered to challenge Kimi with his tyres in that state, it was pretty much pointless....

Unfortunately Kubica's lead was brief, but I reckon he was on for the win. Damn unreliability! Kimi deserved the win today, he was the best all weekend and was practically unbeatable in the race. It was a shame that Alonso couldn't have stayed in front of Massa at the start, 'cos a more interesting race between Alonso & Kimi would have occured.

It was barely drizzle when he beached it!

In the wet he was romping off into the distance!

And in Germany he came from -1 lap to finish 9th, chasing down Fisi or Kovi for 8th.

And last week was by far the wettest race ive ever seen, and he blew everyone away, even Alonso who is usually brilliant in the wet went spinning into the wall. So enough of your "failed to walk on water". Hes a rookie! Cut him some slack! Does this guy actually have to walk on water to impress some of you??

IMO it was the teams fault, he was kept out there at least 2 laps longer than they shouldve done, even the team admitted it was their mistake.

"... I haven’t made a mistake all year but I am over it now. There is still one race to go, so I can still do it. I made a strong start to the race and my first stop went well. Prior to entering the pit lane for my last stop I was constantly talking to the team. Although my tyres were in poor condition we took a joint decision to get through the last rain shower before changing to dry tyres.”

He started the race romping; but when the rain returned, Kimi ran him down like a dawg.

Yep, i think it was the teams fault. Also Hami came fast to enter to the pitlane. So he went out.

A big disappointment to Kubica. This driver is really great. I will say this. Kubica and Vettel are the new upcoming talents. Well done Vettel and Button.

The next meeting will be the court for Kimi, Hami and Alonso. I don't want Alonso to take the title.

Edit: Forget the traditional lollipop man to Ferrari. He's missing, lol.

"... I haven’t made a mistake all year but I am over it now. There is still one race to go, so I can still do it. I made a strong start to the race and my first stop went well. Prior to entering the pit lane for my last stop I was constantly talking to the team. Although my tyres were in poor condition we took a joint decision to get through the last rain shower before changing to dry tyres.”

He started the race romping; but when the rain returned, Kimi ran him down like a dawg.

What rain? It was like a few drops, and by then his tyres were so far gone they were down to the canvas, Ralf was running him down! So im not surprised Kimi took the lead!

Something else i dont get, his tyres were slick's when he was still out there, surely if it had rained, he would still have had to come in for tryes because they were still so far gone. If they had gone for dry tyres 3 laps earlier then they wouldve been fine. If it had then rained, everyone else wouldve had to come in for inters anyway, so they wouldnt have lost any places because they would all be in the same boat. It made no real sense to keep Hammy out there for the amount of time that they did.

Fastest turn of faith ever?

Im giving up on Kimi, *Kimi does well*, oh wait no, I LOVE KIMI! Hahahaha! :D

McLaren cost Lewis the title with that decision tbh. I mean really, he was being passed by a freakin Toyota FFS! The tire was down to the canvas, yet they kept him out! I am baffled by McLaren today, i want to know the exact person who made that call, so i can point at him when Lewis looses the championship. Sigh.

If Hammy or Alonso (God forbid) gets this championship, that is going in my sig!

Must take my hat off to Kimi though, he drove like a legend today. He is 2nd on my list of deserving champions.

I said I have soughta gave up and said if by some miracle Hamilton didn't finish the race or finished below 5th then well its back on and by luck he didn't which made my year literally !!!

So yeah its back on and I wil now watch the Brazilian GP with masses of hope because I now know that their is a chance that 1 of the 2 best drivers on the grid (Kimi & Alonso) will win the title.

I still think Hamilton won't win it, its either Kimi or Alonso and really Kimi deserves the title after all 2005 he should have won it and he didn't and Kimi winning the title will really annoy the Hamilton & Alonso fanboys :D !

Pfft, you should NEVER give up in the slightest! :P

Its really back on, its quite fitting really, it has been the best battle for years and its just like this season that it should all come down to one race. It will be epic, either Alonso will be lucky and manage to cling on to his title, Kimi will make the greatest comeback in history, or a rookie will be crowned champion. Thats such an epic prospect if your names Bernie!!

I also think i must have had a little trip to the future, because i have booked that exact day off from work! Yey! I didnt even know the GP was on, i just thouuhgt, i better book a day off so that i can have a break. And the GP comes down to the wire on that very day! I cant wait!

I watched the race at 6:30 this morning. Just so i could have live timing.
But i was wondering why Massa lapped in 2:00 2 or 3 times. Ends up they sent him out of dry to early, and thats how Alonso got past him. Damn ferrari need a guy to organise their strategy, it was just as bad at Fuji and Many Cours

Massa stopped in lap 17 and 26. It was a good call to get him on the dry weather tyres in 26, it was completely dry then, and was much faster then the people on intermediates.
Then came that short period of rain, where he stayed out. Again a good call, since it was only a short period.
They didn't screw up today. To bad he got stuck behind Alonso when Alonso exited the pit. Only then he could have been second.

^^say what, i don't call lapping at 2:00 good, ferrari admitted it was a slight error

I figured something out. Something that will for sure annoy Nemphis
Now that Lewis has crashed out in china, that means hes now had 2 non point races, the same as Kimi. So although Ferrari are suspose to have had bad reliabilty, in terms of finishing, he and Kimi are equal.
Lewis had Nurburgring and China, and Kimi had nurburgring and Spain. Plus Alonso has only had 1, while Massa has had 3 , 2 back row starts.

So bascially you can see why Alonso dosen't desevre it, and Lewis does

^^say what, i don't call lapping at 2:00 good, ferrari admitted it was a slight error

True, but also that they had to take the risk, else they would have never been able to pass Alonso.

^^They were on front but

Alonso was clearly alot faster then Massa, and just passed him before he pitted. It was a good call, risky yes. But if it wasn't for that light rain, Massa would have passed Alonso, and maybe even Raikkonen.

YES! Good race for Kimi, he still has a chance for winning the championship. I don't care so much about Kovalainen, although he's finn.

Is anyone else extremely nervous about Brazil
I mean anything could happen, i've been going over the possible things that could happen.
To be honest there's no sure outcome. Anything could happen Lewis, or kimi. Massa might take the win, actually he probably will as its brazil, but alonso I'm sure hasn't forgotten spain.
But think Alonso could take out Someone in the first turn, the BMW's could run a mock like in Turkey, Canada or Hungary.
and to think i have to wait 2 weeks. its unbearable

Nemphis, just so you know, Canucks won with 4 seconds left in overtime.

A part of me hates this, A part of me is ****ing loving it. Sorry for the language, but we are now at the end of the season, with two of the biggest things happening in over, what, 15 years of F1 ?

We have the rookie, the unfathomably good Lewis Hamilton, who, unusally, made a mistake to the entrance to the pit, which I can understand, but at the end of the day, it shouldn't of happened. Personally, I didn't think the stewards did a terribly good job. I mean, what, there was 6-7 of them and they couldn't even budge that car. I don't wana sound cocky or anything, but I reckon I and a few of my mates could probably move that car back on to the track, maybes even physically lift it. I know it was beached, but still.....

Again, it shouldn't have happened, and was unfortunate. Raikkonen had a fabulous race, and drove very well. Alonso, also did a very good job.


This does mean, we have the most tantalizing race I have ever seen. Simple as that. I'm at work for the beginning of it, and hopefull, of my car is fixed by that point, I'm hoping their won't be any police around......;)

Im with you sonicadg, and Sparky, i am so terribly nervous about Brazil. It will either make or break my whole year. I hate feeling like this! But like you say Sparky, its the most incredible situations ive ever seen in F1. 3 drivers, 1 race left, either one could take it. If it wasnt Hamilton, i would be loving it, but im too nervous to enjoy it. I was so nervous today, i just felt that something was going to happen, but when he was pulling away with a 9 second lead i thought, maybe i was wrong. But then it all fell apart, literally! Even Ron, sitting there, was visibly upset, he was frantically waving at the screen to get the marshals to push Hammy. It must have been so hard for him to watch. I know it sounds daft, but i feel like i was in some way responsible, like if i had not watched it live, everything wouldve been alright. I am so gutted for him! I dont think ive ever been this down after a GP, even when Button used to retire i was still upbeat, but now i am just empty.

If he looses the championship (looks likely now) i will be so upset. But i still have hope, he has shown many many times that he will not be beaten and his fighting spirit is remarkable. Come on Hammy, dont give in to that whiny, arrogant, tantrum throwing Spaniard!

^^say what, i don't call lapping at 2:00 good, ferrari admitted it was a slight error

I figured something out. Something that will for sure annoy Nemphis
Now that Lewis has crashed out in china, that means hes now had 2 non point races, the same as Kimi. So although Ferrari are suspose to have had bad reliabilty, in terms of finishing, he and Kimi are equal.
Lewis had Nurburgring and China, and Kimi had nurburgring and Spain. Plus Alonso has only had 1, while Massa has had 3 , 2 back row starts.

So bascially you can see why Alonso dosen't desevre it, and Lewis does

Kimi still deserves the title more than Hamilton and I stick by my guns about that lol.

Nemphis, just so you know, Canucks won with 4 seconds left in overtime.

Yeah I know seriously we need to sought it out I mean we have the Red Wings at the Joe Louis Arena next Wednesday and I can't see us winning that. That means 3 games no wins, if Mike Keenan's reign is gonna be full of this then well there is no hope of us even looking at the Stanley Cup :o !

Im with you sonicadg, and Sparky, i am so terribly nervous about Brazil. It will either make or break my whole year. I hate feeling like this! But like you say Sparky, its the most incredible situations ive ever seen in F1. 3 drivers, 1 race left, either one could take it. If it wasnt Hamilton, i would be loving it, but im too nervous to enjoy it. I was so nervous today, i just felt that something was going to happen, but when he was pulling away with a 9 second lead i thought, maybe i was wrong. But then it all fell apart, literally! Even Ron, sitting there, was visibly upset, he was frantically waving at the screen to get the marshals to push Hammy. It must have been so hard for him to watch. I know it sounds daft, but i feel like i was in some way responsible, like if i had not watched it live, everything wouldve been alright. I am so gutted for him! I dont think ive ever been this down after a GP, even when Button used to retire i was still upbeat, but now i am just empty.

If he looses the championship (looks likely now) i will be so upset. But i still have hope, he has shown many many times that he will not be beaten and his fighting spirit is remarkable. Come on Hammy, dont give in to that whiny, arrogant, tantrum throwing Spaniard!

Kimi deserves the title more than Hamilton and I won't be happy if Hamilton wins the title, it would literally make my year go from bad to worst :| !

Personally, I didn't think the stewards did a terribly good job. I mean, what, there was 6-7 of them and they couldn't even budge that car. I don't wana sound cocky or anything, but I reckon I and a few of my mates could probably move that car back on to the track, maybes even physically lift it. I know it was beached, but still.....

I don't want to sound arrogant, but I doubt that you could. Keep in mind that the car has an extensively large flat floor, and it was fairly damp gravel.

I find it hilarious that Alonso only needs to win, and Lewis to come 3rd, for Alonso to win. Thrilling stuff.

Also, why are some people saying that a Lewis win is unlikely? He only needs to beat Alonso and come within 2 positions of Kimi to win it. If it happened to Lewis it can happen to anyone.

In my point of view, both teams did terrible mistakes.
Firstly, in McLaren, just because they are the first to go for the championship and have the biggest chances even now, in Hamilton's pit stop, they should call him earlier, when he still had the pace to run-in, pit and go out to take the race.
Secondly, in Ferrari, the mistake was on Fellipe. That showed in the race without any bug words.
As for now, I can say I am happy with this result, because Kimi stays on the track for the final race, while, if things were not that way, he could easily lose the championship by that weekend.
Therefore, it still looks like walking the Fuji mountain by yourself and reach the top, for Kimi to complete what I and Italians hope. :P
Very good race for both Toro Rosso.
Some European motorsport magazines, wonder if he is the new Michael Schumacher but I dont think so. :P
He is a very good and talented driver but he still needs a lot of work to reach a level of getting a championship. What you guys think of that? :P

Schumi was a unique driver and I know there will never be another. Now Hamilton he is cool under pressure, drives consistently, rarely makes mistakes, and lastly gets along with the mechanics/engineers/management well. He has everything he needs to become a multi-world driver championship holder.

An olive branch and calm commentary to beaver and others.

When I complained about the penalty on Alonso after the "qualgate" dispute; some poster asked, "Isn't qualifying part of racing?"

If it's raining; isn't it easier to "feel for grip" when you can SEE?" Since the weather forecast was bad; wouldn't you rather start up front on a wet track and build a big lead before an early fuel stop?

Hamilton qualified on a very light fuel load. He built up a decent lead and had to stop first of the front-runners on lap 15. McLaren were playing a short game; so they didn't change tires on a light fuel re-load. The other "big 3" drivers didn't change tires either. Wurz pitted on lap 23 and was the first to change to dry (soft) tires. He set fastest S1 on lap 25.

McLaren bet on more rain and lost. Lewis HAD to wait til lap 31 to get enough fuel (for their setup) to go the distance w/o a third stop.

Yeah! Now this is what i'm talking about, it was a great race by Kimi, good job to him. Now he has a pretty good chance of winning the championship, all he has to do is come 1st in Brazil and hopefully Hamilton and/or Alonso finishes 7th or above. Although thats virtually impossible so hes gonna have to wish for a miracle.

As for Hamilton, yeah, he slid off onto the gravel trap, although he shouldn't take all the blame since his team should have taken him into the pits earlier, i guess their gamble didn't work.

Also great race for Toro Rosso. Those guys down at the team must be very proud of their drivers for coming 4th and 6th, it seems that they're more suited to wet races.

Anyways i'm pretty happy with the results, can't wait for the last race of the season in 2 weeks time, it should be awesome, and Kimi FTW! :D

EDIT: Whoa, you guys should check out the poll on formula1.com, the current results are so close.

After Hamilton's retirement in China, who is your tip for the 2007 drivers' title?

Alonso - 30.75%

Hamilton - 34.35%

Raikkonen - 34.91%

It seems that the public go for Kimi more than the others!

Anyone else notice how red kimi was on the podium, he seems absoulty exhausted. Maybe the drinking thing is getting to him more, it could only be a matter of him before hes out of F1 in rehab or collasping in the car. Dum dum dummmmm

Hmmm yeah, I am kinda dumb :P
Not kinda, I would say big one. :P
I was reffering to Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel over there about the new Michael Schumacher :P
I just forgot to write it down. ;) Sorry.

^^very true, there both German
But Micheal came into the sport in a much better way, Vettel is to Inconsistent right now

Yeah, bit inconsistent with his performances. He was great, then poor, then crashed, then 4th. I think he will get better with time, but i doubt he is going to be anywhere near the level of schumacher. Hammy is probably closest atm to becoming the successor to Schumacher.

@Sparky, yes he doesnt have to win the race to be champion, but that may spur his rivals on because they do have to, which may draw out some inner strengths. Plus, hes British, and as we all know, whenever Britain are on the verge of something great, something always comes along to smash it to bits. Its going to be a repeat of Mansell's loss of the championship. It will be Alonso's crown this year. Unless we see Hammy and Alonso crash into each other Senna/Prost style and Kimi takes the win!

No, no no no.
I just read this here
Kubica was leading on the right tyres and fuelled to the finish when his hydraulics went
How unfair, Kubica was about to win the chinese Gran Prix.
Thats horrible

Unless we see Hammy and Alonso crash into each other Senna/Prost style and Kimi takes the win!

Lol, i wish that happened! Although the chance of that happening is about 1 in a 100. But who knows, it might come true since there was a similar incident in Spa on the first corner of the race where Alonso 'pushed' Hamilton onto the outside of turn 1.

How unfair, Kubica was about to win the chinese Gran Prix. Thats horrible

Yeah, but these things happen. But i feel sorry for him though, he was doing great, only to retire due to a hydraulics failure.

I don't want to sound arrogant, but I doubt that you could. Keep in mind that the car has an extensively large flat floor, and it was fairly damp gravel.

I find it hilarious that Alonso only needs to win, and Lewis to come 3rd, for Alonso to win. Thrilling stuff.

Also, why are some people saying that a Lewis win is unlikely? He only needs to beat Alonso and come within 2 positions of Kimi to win it. If it happened to Lewis it can happen to anyone.

I don't want to sound really cocky or anything, but 600 kilo for about 6-7 fellas, they should be able to move it I reckon. I know the car was beached an all, but still, it's as if they gave up straight away, that steward just started waving at him. Had this been a different track, a may have been a different story, not that I want to disrespect the stewards, they do do a terrific job, but on that occasion, I feel they let our man down.

Personally, I don't see what people are on about. Throughout the season, people have sub conciously realised that Hamilton is, and should be the top dog this season.

How many times have we seen Nemphis and the like say, "I hope Lewis has a DNF ?" Why does he want him to DNF ? Because on the percentage of tracks, Kimi, Alonso, Massa, simply cannot beat him.

Hamilton deserves this title as he has been the best driver, simple as that. Now, you can all have your own opinion on that, but Hamilton has been one of the most consistent drivers possibly ever. I mean what is it, 3 races without a podium ? Who else boasts that kinda record ? Maybe Schui, with his magnificent driving, and Senna/Prost, when there car was literally unbeatable.

You still have to remember he is in his first season. You can bang on about how he has the best car, lucky, all you like, he was the best driver this season. We may not have seen him do any back of the field specials yet (Nurburgring was a taster) but it isn't as if he hasn't overtaken people this season. Somebody get the stats on overtaking for the end of the season. I'll bet you all a £10 hes high up.

For the race, God it's gona be good. I'm hoping it's a bitching three way super battle, ala Kubica/Massa on the last lap. Except I want that for 71 laps. I'd record it and use it as a stimulant for when I'm married with children.

I fear I've said too much.

But still, this race could be the epitome of what this season is about. It's pure madness, it's pure racing, and it's put the fire back in the belly of many a fan, me included.

Who do I want to win ? Alonso. With Hamilton second. Watch the smug spaniard writhe in pain, as we watch Hamilton be mint. Then I want to watch the champagne fight. Except it'll soon be a bottle fight won't it. :p

Brazil makes me anxious as you guys. This race will be watched by millions of people. Kimi, Hami and Alonso want these lovely and necessary points to take the title.

I want to see these 3 drivers very close to each other and show to all people who is the best one. This would be so great.

I will say it again. Forget the traditional lollipop man from Ferrari. They have lights now.

Vettel got another penalty, sheesh. But yeah, another pole from Hamilton, though I will have to see what kind of a fuel strategy he is on, as he is usually lighter on fuel than the Ferrari's.

I swear, ITV has some of the most idiotic writers:

Oh, Lewis! :rolleyes:

All I can say is, as long as their is a standing start, the first corner is going to have a few "omg" moments.

You can understand ITV doing that though, they have to get behind their man. I'm sure if it was a Namibian driver, the Namibian media would be behind that driver aswell.

Yes and No !?!?!?!?!

Well what is the likelyhood of 'the wonder kid' finishing below 5th tommorow ????

I say not very high !

So theoretically Kimi is out of it and besides NHL has started now so I will take a greater interest in that rather than F1 :| !

I know now Kimi is pretty much out of it and if by some miracle 'the wonder kid' crashes out (crosses fingers) then yeah Kimi can pull himself back into the game but otherwise its game over for me and Kimi (I hoped I would never have to say that :(:o:mad:).

I look on the brightside all the time and well its a new season in the NHL and hopefully my beloved Flames can win the Stanley Cup (most of you will not even know what I am on about but hey ...).

Well well well....Nemphis the Great gives up and then look what happens! Hey I bet if you said Kimi was going to be crap this season he would have won every race. :p

I heard this from the speaker man. He said that Ferrari will replace the lollipop man with lights.

I am going to see teh race in a while. I want to have a full thought for this race. But from what i read F1 championship is on fire. I will make a better reply later.

Have you got any links to this source saying that Ferrari will have lights replacing the lollipop man? What if the circuit goes or they have some sort of electrical problem? Race goes kerplunk. There's nothing wrong with having a traditional ''actual human being'' as the lollipop man. Wouldn't it also waste money aswell? Eh, I'll believe it when I see it.

KIMI HAS WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP !!!!!!

He's 7 points behind Hamilton. Kimi needs a miracle for him to win the championship. It will be very very tough, to say the least.

^Kimi freak. I am seeing right now the race and benny, i observed that Ferrari hasn't the lollipop man. They have lights. I'm not joking. It was an experiment from Ferrari to use this system next year (2008).

Ferrari used a lollipop man for the race..

Is anyone else extremely nervous about Brazil?

Have to say I am quite nervous about Brazil aswell. Anything could potentially happen with the race and I haven't got a clue what will. On Saturday I thought Lewis would win the championship, but then he goes and slides off into the gravel trap and his race comes to an agonising hault. £10 on a bird hitting Alonsos helmet, causing him to crap himself, making him pit from the lead and retiring due to a lack of clean undies.

Seriously though, it will be amazing, but we have two weeks to wait until that happens. If Hamilton pulls it off...then, wow. Just wow.


If he looses the championship (looks likely now) i will be so upset. But i still have hope, he has shown many many times that he will not be beaten and his fighting spirit is remarkable. Come on Hammy, dont give in to that whiny, arrogant, tantrum throwing Spaniard!

Don't forget, Hamilton has a four point lead over Alonso and a seven point lead over Alonso. The important thing is he is still in the best possible position to win the championship, and we all know his mental preparation for races and the like is stunning. He's even said that he's concentrating on Brazil now and he wants to forget what happened and move on, and at the time or wrirint (Tuesday), I reckon it will be out of his mind.

He still has the best possible chance of winning the championship, and I for one hope he does it.

_

Race thoughts:

An interesting race, to say the least. Anything that could have happened, happened. At the start of the race (I actually watched the race three times) I thought Hamilton had the title in the bag. Bring it home I thought, nice and easy, there we go, lovely jubbly. When the race started and he pulled away I thought that was it. I set an alarm for the race start but ended up missing a bit and tuned in just when Kimi was hunting down Hamilton (I watched all of it 'cos I watched the re-run and I taped it aswell). He was pulling away nicely from Raikkonen and I thought the championship would be his. But when he came into the pits, I knew something was going to happen. Surely if Lewis was communicating with his team, they would have told him his tyres were down to the canvas? If so, why on earth did he come belting into the pit lane? As soon as he went in there, I knew he was going in way too fast. But, seeing him slide into the gravel, was just bloody agonising. Seeing him just crawl to a stop was painful, very painful. At first I thought he would get out of it, but in the end he didn't, which was extremely lame. The marshals did a crap job, what on earth did they do? Run to the car, bit of sign language, and then run away again? Love the little look from Lewis behind when he got out of the car at the marshals. Hey Sparky, I would have joined you in lifting up that car! Anyway, totally sucks for Hamilton. He didn't really need to fight with Kimi, but his strategy made him stay out, and he scored no points as a result of a few things, and the title is going down to the wire in Brazil, but still, Lewis has the best chance out of anyone.

For Alonso though, he has a great chance, although I would hate to see him win the title. He moans more than a million Jacques Villeneuves and he has no respect for anyone except himself, which is annoying. Hopefully my bet above ^ will happen and Lewis can win the title.

Alonso's just been lucky, a case of right place right time, with Hamilton's failure in Turkey, the Nurburgring and on Sunday. Hopefully Hamilton can put on a good show and get a win, with Alonso coming second/third in the championship. But, you have no idea what will happen in the next coming races AT ALL.

What a great win by Kimi though. Hunted down Hamilton, now has a really great shot at the title. All through the season, he has been on and off, on and off, on and off. That was his fifth win of the season, and a very very well deserved one, and a pleasure to actually watch him win that. Looked bloody exhausted at the end of the race though, like he'd just run a marathon. Seems to be looking worse and worse after races actually, but when he wins, he wins. Celebrated a little more than usual on Sunday anyway.

But, in Brazil, Kimi has to be ultra aggressive for everything. Just go for the pole, go for the win, that's all he can do. It's Hamilton's championship to lose, and hopefully he actually wont in Brazil. Kimi needs a miracle, and you never know, it might happen to him.

Can't really say much about Massa, as the directors don't really focus on him anymore. Good for him getting a podium though, he's had a lot of those this season, although I feel his morale has dropped because he is no longer in conctention for the title. If Ferrari scrubbed up their relaibility then it would have been a lot closer, and probably Kimi would be leading the title (who's fault is that then...)

Great races by Vettel and Button respectively. Vettel showing some real start quality by putting everything that happened in Japan behind him and putting on a stonking race. In the dying stages of the race I was hoping that he would have to pit, because that would put Button up to 4th, but the STR team did a really great job in doing the strategy, and it payed off big time. One of the drives of the season aswell, going up 13 places from 17th on the grid. He should be really proud of himself, because he has outdriven the car.

Liuzzi did a great job aswell, we didn't see much of him during the race, but he put in a great performance off the grid, overtook some cars, and STR got a 4th and a 6th place. Well done STR!

Button...COME ON!!!! 5th place, best result of the year and I'm so happy for him. None of this ''wet race, yeah, whatever'' because it was hardly wet, and the conditions were changing a lot over the course of the race and Button had the tyres, the car, and his head right there in the race. Tottally, totally chuffed for him, got some awesome points which moves them up ahead of SA in the title, but they are still behind STR (I think?!) because of Vettel's performance and a stunner by Liuzzi. Still, extra extra chuffed for Button, what a race, just like it should be! (Although four places high up than 5th!)

Coulthard, Heidfeld, all getting some points aswell which was great. Unfortunately for Kubica, he retired, and he could have had a shot at winning the race for BMW. That would have helped Hamilton's championship if he did, which is even more of a shame. BMW should have been focusing more on their relaibility because it has been comparitvely poor over the last few races.

Anyway there were some great drives in the field. Unfortunately Sutil retired, smacking into the barriers and so did Ralf Schumacher; not a very good way to end your penultimate race for your team.

Great race, enjoyed it (go Button), and I cannot wait for Brazil. It is going to be immense!

_

Race Report:
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=40984

No, no no. Ferrari hasn't the lollipop man. They replaced him by lights. I'm sure. You should see when Kimi and Massa did their pit stops. They were seeing up high in the lights. I'm pretty sure. Just observe them in the next race. Just see a vid. I saw it.

Anyone else on that?

^Do you have a video of these lights? I can't seem to find any. Thanks.

^Do you have a video of these lights? I can't seem to find any. Thanks.
Nope. I searched but i can't find any. :(

In the next race you will see them. Why nobody else didn't see them?

Nope. I searched but i can't find any. :(

In the next race you will see them. Why nobody else didn't see them?

I saw it, it like hangs from the scaffolding type thing they have over the pit stop.

So I guess the lollipop man is out of a job now then lol !

I'm hoping for a Kimi win, Alonso second, and Hamilton out of the points, just to lay the foundation for an exciting season finale.
I must be that good.


What a race though, that was a really entertaining race, especially those middle of the pack battles. Shame Ralfie crashed, he was driving like a banshee out there.

its no video
but heres the pit lights.
I never noticed these either, interesting. Maybe the lollipop man works the lights

http://www.formula1.com/photos/597x478/schlegelmilch/2007/0716-0192.jpg

^I see, thanks for clearing that up. I wonder who came up with that idea!?

I guess it stops the lollipop man making mistakes ad ruining people's races (we've seen that happen a fair few times over the years.)

I saw it, it like hangs from the scaffolding type thing they have over the pit stop.

So I guess the lollipop man is out of a job now then lol !
Yeah. They fired him, lol.
its no video
but heres the pit lights.
I never noticed these either, interesting. Maybe the lollipop man works the lights

http://www.formula1.com/photos/597x478/schlegelmilch/2007/0716-0192.jpg
I mean this. You can clearly see the lights.
^I see, thanks for clearing that up. I wonder who came up with that idea!?

I guess it stops the lollipop man making mistakes ad ruining people's races (we've seen that happen a fair few times over the years.)
I won, benny. Haha. I'm joking you :D. I heard that they were preparing these lights from 2006 to be ready at 2008. In the next race we might see them again. From 2008, if everything is okay, Ferrari will use these lights.

Would love to see that system fail, just once, when Kimi or Massa need a flawless pitstop, and the lights get stuck on red, so their just sat there untill a mechanic waves them out. Then the lollipop man will be sitting in his chair laughing at Ferrari!

I dont see why this is any better than a lollipop man, surely this system is human operated? If not then forget that, its a great system, if for instance its run off sensors in the fuel rig. So it knows when the rig is clear or if its jammed. That could be really great for them.

Would love to see that system fail, just once, when Kimi or Massa need a flawless pitstop, and the lights get stuck on red, so their just sat there untill a mechanic waves them out. Then the lollipop man will be sitting in his chair laughing at Ferrari!

I dont see why this is any better than a lollipop man, surely this system is human operated? If not then forget that, its a great system, if for instance its run off sensors in the fuel rig. So it knows when the rig is clear or if its jammed. That could be really great for them.

Why couldn't you have used 'the wonder kid' as an example lol ????





You have probably gonna jinxed Kimi's whole race now :mad::(:mad: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!









Hamilton fanboys who would have them lol ?????

Would love to see that system fail, just once, when Kimi or Massa need a flawless pitstop, and the lights get stuck on red, so their just sat there untill a mechanic waves them out. Then the lollipop man will be sitting in his chair laughing at Ferrari!

I dont see why this is any better than a lollipop man, surely this system is human operated? If not then forget that, its a great system, if for instance its run off sensors in the fuel rig. So it knows when the rig is clear or if its jammed. That could be really great for them.
I think that a human sends the signal to the lights when the car is ready. Really good system in my opinion. Ferrari was developing this system for over a year.
Why couldn't you have used 'the wonder kid' as an example lol ????





You have probably gonna jinxed Kimi's whole race now :mad::(:mad: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!









Hamilton fanboys who would have them lol ?????
Haha. Nemphis you suck, lol. Don't be afraid.

Would love to see that system fail, just once, when Kimi or Massa need a flawless pitstop, and the lights get stuck on red, so their just sat there untill a mechanic waves them out. Then the lollipop man will be sitting in his chair laughing at Ferrari!

I dont see why this is any better than a lollipop man, surely this system is human operated? If not then forget that, its a great system, if for instance its run off sensors in the fuel rig. So it knows when the rig is clear or if its jammed. That could be really great for them.

Takes the lollipops man ability to flick his wrist or move his hips and put the driver off, its immediate, and its a light. The only problem I can see with it is if the light gets put on it at the wrong time. I reckon however it might be operated by sensors on all the bits of kit i.e. torque wrench, fuel filler, etc.

Hmm, they make this change now, and not while "reckless" Chumi did this a while back? Will they remove the front lift guy too?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9FqcDxhuYTM

In my opinion they should install the christmas tree, could be quite interesting.

http://www.speedtv.com/_assets/library/img/large/118844_christmas_tree_1.jpg

I reckon however it might be operated by sensors on all the bits of kit i.e. torque wrench, fuel filler, etc.

I would say it is quite possible for the system to be engaged when the fuel hose is pulled out. It might be human operated, but then there might be problems when the person doing ti might anticipate the hose coming out when it actually gets jammed in and can't come out, such as what would happen with the lollipop man.