(photos by Mark Farouk for Axis)
Lewis Hamilton had the lead of the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix handed to him after just two corners when Vettel's right rear tire very mysteriously deflated and German skidded off the track. Hamilton made the most of it running a perfect race hounded by an Alonso ready to capitalize on any tiny error Lewis might make. He made none. Lewis even smiled after the race and dedicated the win to his mom...how sweet. British F1 coverage seems to be in full Dr.Phil mode right now, all happy bubbles and therapy. I wish they'd man up a bit.
Alonso made a brilliant start ripping past Webber and Button on the fist lap. He came close to threatening Hamilton on the second pit stop overlap but then once on the harder tire, he could not overcome the Ferrari 150's well known issues.
Lackluster races from Webber who once again wen backwards at the start and Massa, inexplicably confirmed by Ferrari for 2012.
Stunning performance, not in a good way, by Pastor "Chavez Chicane" Maldonado who was literally a moving chicane out there. Big fail from Toro Rosso too, all and all a bad week end for the Red Bull Empire, which is not a bad thing for F1 in general at this point!
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I like the music for the cool down lap! I'm happy to see him smiling too, but I was happier to see Massa spin.
ReplyDeleteSome Nicole Scherzinger'd be better :D
ReplyDeletedidn't have that handy...maybe Brazil
ReplyDeleteMassa is gearing up to be the this generations Barichello, full of complaints, but no speed
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to Massa, finally cracked 100 points.
ReplyDeleteHow the hell can Ferrari keep him there? Sure he can play rear gunner for Alonso but there is not a chance in hell Ferrari will ever win a constructors championship or develop the car properly with him there.
Out of the top 6, he is the only one who hasn't managed a podium this season. He absolutely has to at Brazil.
I can almost feel the resentment at having to type about a Hamilton victory. Flawless drive by him, though it was a shame Button was without KERS from lap 13 onwards.
ReplyDeleteMistakes at pitstops cost Webber dear sadly, though Alonso well and truely deserved his second.
God awful race though, what a borefest.
Boring race for the most part. It is a shame that Gentleman Jenson had so many technical problems on the car. A battle between him and Alonso/Hamilton would have been great.
ReplyDeleteAC - "I wish they'd man up a bit". What and provide the same level of biased insight as you can be prone to? Although less in this entry, I must confess, your usual anti-Hamilton bias does you no justice. How about treating the sport leass like a soap opera and more like the sporting spectacle that it is. The real interest is what happens on the track. Is Hamilton in a weird head-space right now. Of course. Is he losing his grip on reality if he has to bleat on about his private life when most of us would kill to be in his shoes? Of course.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'd imagine that most of the readers of this site would rather concentrate on the Quali and racing.....I am actually a Hamilton fan. I love his racing (I'll happily sit through his off-form races for the ones that remind me why I love F1). Does he have some growing up to do? Undoubtedly, however, I look forward to each time he gets in the car as there is the chance of seeing something a little special.
You are not trying to convince anyone the UK press is unbiased are you? Oh...ok, just checking.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, watching the BBC post race show was like watching Dr.Phil on Oprah...without the free cars for everyone!
Happy Bubbles, Happy bubbles in the bathtub.
I was at the race and until I see the full video it will be hard to judge bit it seems everyone got the positions they deserved, except Maldanado should have been black flagged. His blocking of Alounso cost him a chance to make run near the end.
ReplyDeleteYeah BBC gotta tone that shit down. When they were interviewing Hamilton in the post race forum, and DC thanked him for sharing his feelings so openly, I was waiting for him to ask Lewis to hug it out with him, Jake and Eddie.
ReplyDeleteHeh good thing I'm a Button fan.
Another boring race... Don't overestimate Hamilton's triumph - it's no big deal with the 2nd fastest car on the grid, especially when you start right behind #1 who goes no further after turn 2...
ReplyDeleteAnd to that Hamilton's fan who always hopes for 'seeing something a little special'... Did you mean another collision with Felipe Massa?..
I don't know who Dr Phil is, erm I have heard of Oprah but don't know what on earth you're talking about... Yeah the beeb can get a bit partial but you should have seen the ITV (BBC's commercial rival) coverage of Hamilton - I actually wrote to complain
ReplyDeletehttp://driverchris.blogspot.com/2007/06/subject-itv-f1-contact-us.html
So what? Hamilton won from the front with no one to overtake? 6-7 guys on the grid can do that when you have the fastest car.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, Alonso continues to prove he is the best driver out there... by quite a margin.
Shame Lord Jenson had a troubled car, bc then it would have been so easy.
when folks express exasperation at your continued needling of hamilton, they're fanboys. when folks express support of hamilton as fans will do, they're fanboys. when folks disagree with your invariably negative assessment of hamilton, they're fanboys. now hamilton wins a race in commanding style while not putting a foot wrong and you take the UK media to task for being... of all things... biased? would you claim you're unbiased in your appraisals of hamilton then?
ReplyDeletethe stories of the race for me were 1) hamilton's excellent weekend 2) alonso's storming drive 3) the absolute gulf of performance from alonso to massa and the inevitable consequences for ferrari's place in the constructors championship.
given your allegiance to ferrari i'm always amazed at how much time & attention you give to hamilton.