The Official 2012 F1 Thread. Spoilers possible!

[wxwax]

Originally Posted by g®eg

maybe Schumi can cut into the 40 point lead Rosberg has on him

When do you suppose Rosberg will start cutting into Schumi's 7 drivers titles?

[wxwax]

Originally Posted by A. T. T-W

I cannot for the life of me see why it would benefit Hamilton to move to Benz.

Money.

Athletes in all sports jump to lesser teams for a bigger cheque. If McLaren want him to take a pay cut and if Mercedes are willing to pay him, effectively, twice as much, then the temptation to change teams must be nearly overwhelming. (The preceding assumes that the Guardian report is accurate.)

The only thing holding him back is McLaren's year-in-and-year-out competitiveness. Hamilton knows his F1 history and has ambitions greater than just padding his bank account.

Hence his dilemma and the protracted negotiations.

[A. T. T-W]

Originally Posted by wxwax

Money.

Do you really believe that Sid?

Hamilton may be guilty of avarice but as his prime motivation? I don't think that's it. He knows that he could walk away from F1 now and build a financially secure future just by doing what Moss has done for years (just by being Stirling Moss).

No. I think that it's more complex. Possibly to do with his sense of being less important to McLaren than his ego can accept. I think that after the Alonso affair, he was convinced that the McLaren world revolved around him, the way that Button has been welcomed by the team and the way that Button has managed to fit in due to his apparent affability, has destabilised his view of his own place at the top of the heap. Perhaps he needs to feel he is the unchallenged number one? Perhaps he's noted the way that Mercedes has put all its eggs in one basket (sidelining Rosberg in the process) and thinks that he could be the next Schumacher with Brawn's help?

He knows that his future worth will increase with more championships. There must be something more than just money that makes him feel that his chances are better elsewhere.

[g®eg]

Originally Posted by wxwax

When do you suppose Rosberg will start cutting into Schumi's 7 drivers titles?

Yesterday's news.

[RedRocket]

It's really time for Schumi to say bye bye.
His double-wide tractor has affected race results too often by being such a dick to get past. How many races has he crashed out of this year? He's DNF'd more than finished for sure.

[g®eg]

Originally Posted by RedRocket

It's really time for Schumi to say bye bye.
His double-wide tractor has affected race results too often by being such a dick to get past. How many races has he crashed out of this year? He's DNF'd more than finished for sure.

Agreed.

10 spot penalty for Japan.
Should have been a ban of course.

[srad600]

Damn, that photo makes the incident look so violent...I know it actually was, but the photo really captures it. Is it me or are the cars seemingly more prone to failure the last few races? Maybe the engineers are trying a little too hard to improve performance...

[Clem Kevin]

Read that he lost brake pressure and when he went to slam the pedal it locked up.

[bobobob]

Originally Posted by srad600

Damn, that photo makes the incident look so violent...I know it actually was, but the photo really captures it. Is it me or are the cars seemingly more prone to failure the last few races? Maybe the engineers are trying a little too hard to improve performance...

No, it's not just you. Even the commentators are talking about it.

Gordo needs to send Michael an invite to NASCRASH.

[wxwax]

Originally Posted by g®eg

Yesterday's news.

Today's news: Kimi 6th. The Lotus watch goes on.

[wxwax]

Originally Posted by A. T. T-W

Do you really believe that Sid?

Hamilton may be guilty of avarice but as his prime motivation? I don't think that's it. He knows that he could walk away from F1 now and build a financially secure future just by doing what Moss has done for years (just by being Stirling Moss).

No. I think that it's more complex. Possibly to do with his sense of being less important to McLaren than his ego can accept. I think that after the Alonso affair, he was convinced that the McLaren world revolved around him, the way that Button has been welcomed by the team and the way that Button has managed to fit in due to his apparent affability, has destabilised his view of his own place at the top of the heap. Perhaps he needs to feel he is the unchallenged number one? Perhaps he's noted the way that Mercedes has put all its eggs in one basket (sidelining Rosberg in the process) and thinks that he could be the next Schumacher with Brawn's help?

He knows that his future worth will increase with more championships. There must be something more than just money that makes him feel that his chances are better elsewhere.

Perhaps. And, of course, he has yet to leave.

But 20 million pounds is a heck of a lot more than 10 million pounds. It's a mountain of money, if the numbers are true.

[wxwax]

Originally Posted by RedRocket

It's really time for Schumi to say bye bye.
His double-wide tractor has affected race results too often by being such a dick to get past. How many races has he crashed out of this year? He's DNF'd more than finished for sure.

Very true. And a clear driver error. But as you add up his DNF's, don't forget that many of them are for mechanical failure.

[wxwax]

Just a week ago Domenicali was calling for shorter races. One of his underlying assumptions was that the cars are so reliable these days that distance runs prove nothing.

Yeah, about that, Stefano. Cars are dying every week. Today it was Hamilton's turn.

I keep looking at the big picture and wondering if this isn't another huge break for Alonso. He gets 3rd and valuable points. The man who was closest to him in the points DNF's.

And the man who won the race has a car whose competitiveness is suspect on anything that's not a high downforce track.

I look at the calendar and I wonder which tracks are Red Bull friendly. I'm honestly not sure anymore. It seems to me the Ferrari will trundle through the last 6 races, earning a reliable C grade every time. While the Red Bull will oscillate between an A and a D, depending upon the track.

Should be interesting.

[markjenn]

Originally Posted by wxwax

I look at the calendar and I wonder which tracks are Red Bull friendly. I'm honestly not sure anymore. It seems to me the Ferrari will trundle through the last 6 races, earning a reliable C grade every time. While the Red Bull will oscillate between an A and a D, depending upon the track.

Certainly a plausible scenario, but if watching F1 has taught me anything, it is that things are wildly unpredictable over the short term. Alonso may find extra speed in the car and run away from the field. Or DNF the next three races and be out of the championship.

Right now, I'm betting Vettel gives him a hard hard run. He's got a much better car under him and if Alonso is a better driver, its not by much. He needs one good result with Alonso DNF'ing and he's right there. There are darn good reasons Vettel has won the championship the last two years. I think this race was probably the end of Hamilton's being in the running.

- Mark

[g®eg]

Originally Posted by wxwax

Today's news: Kimi 6th. The Lotus watch goes on.

Kimi shits in your direction...