2007 Canadian Grand Prix

[G.T]

The driver's weight is part of the car. They could purposefully run the car light then, while shaking hands, he could have been handed something small and heavy to bring the weight back up before he was weighed.

Ah, I see.

Not that it matters after the race...

 

[Kylehnat]

I only wish that the excitement wasn't caused so much by crashes and mistakes caused by new rules.

People are always saying that NASCAR is so exciting, but really, if there weren't so many yellow flags in NASCAR, those races would be pretty damn boring too. The most excitement comes when the field is bunched up, and the only way to accompish that is to bring out the pace car.

Here's a thought: On Fox (decent first broadcast BTW; they didn't do too much to dumb it down), they showed a replay of the safety car getting squirrely in the last chicane. What happens if the safety car crashes? Is there a backup on standby, or do they send Charlie Whiting out on a moped to lead the field around?

Excellent first win for Hamilton. It must have been torture for him to have so many safety car periods to erode his lead, but in the end, he put nary a wheel wrong, which can't be said of his teammate. Speaking of which, one wonders if Fernando had brake problems (possibly caused by a horsefly landing on his front wing while parked in the garage). Even when pissy, he's not one to make the same mistake four times in the same corner. Or maybe it's just that he's never really done well in North America...

Glad to hear that Kubica will be fine. That was a horrific accident which certainly could have done him worse. I'm guessing that while smashing head-first into a wall at 160 mph, the HANS device did something to save him from serious harm. Something for racing drivers and sanctioning bodies to consider... Here's to a speedy recovery, Mr. Kubica 👍

 

[Sting]

Here's a thought: On Fox (decent first broadcast BTW; they didn't do too much to dumb it down), they showed a replay of the safety car getting squirrely in the last chicane. What happens if the safety car crashes? Is there a backup on standby, or do they send Charlie Whiting out on a moped to lead the field around?

Yeah they have backup safety cars. On the ITV coverage (dunno how different it was) when the race was over they had a shot of Hamilton cruising round the track with two safety cars behind him. One directly behind, the other behind and to Hamilton's right, but this 2nd car didn't seem to be the same souped up Mercedes as the one that you saw for all the SC periods.

I saw the safety car get squirrely in that chicane also, almost as if it had a last minute thought to duck into the pits, and then changed his mind again.

 

[m7ammed]

I think you ment the C class 55 , thats the medical car atleast thats what is written on the plate .... nobody answered why a Honda was leading the race instead of the AMG merc, I found that quite odd to be honest

 

[Danny]

Must be quite embarassing that the Honda pace car did more laps than Button, and scored the same amount of points as Barichello.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Great race, lots of drama, #i have to agree on the too much safety car bit, but each deployment was justified.

Wonderful win by Lewis, I cant see him slipping up between now and the end of the Brazilian GP, Lewis for the WDC!

Horrific crash for Kubica, one of the worst I have seen in my F1 viewing days, Panis, and Fisi both feature highly..but Kubica, dam I hope it is just a broken leg and no lasting damage.

Absolutwely unbeleivable.

 

[Famine]

He's the first black GP driver, so, yeah.

Second - Narain Karthekiyan was the first.


Absolutely awesome race. Watching Taku overtaking the self-proclaimed "top 3 driver" and the current championship leader and reigning world champion in the number 1 car, driving last year's Honda, into the most dangerous corner in the sport, had me rolling around the floor laughing.

 

[daan]

I think you ment the C class 55 , thats the medical car atleast thats what is written on the plate .... nobody answered why a Honda was leading the race instead of the AMG merc, I found that quite odd to be honest

There were quite a few cuts at that point of the broadcast, but it looked like the Honda stopped at the scene of Kubica's accident. Hamilton was then the pace car, and he presumably picked up the real pace car when he got back round to the start/finish straight.

 

[mipuumal]

Not been a good exciting race like that since Hungary last year....maybe it's a sign that exciting races come with British winners

Nice to see that you are not biased at all... *cough* China 2006 *cough*

 

[Fonce Diablo]

Here's a thought: On Fox (decent first broadcast BTW; they didn't do too much to dumb it down)...

...was I ever glad Fox had the good sense to use the Speed TV crew. The last time I watched F1 on Fox with those other guys, I had a headache afterwards.

Nice to know Kubica escaped with just a broken leg. Here's to hoping we see him back in the saddle this season.

If Hamilton wins the WDC this year, I'd almost wager Schumacher comes back one more time to test his heir apparent...but would Ferrari make room for him?

 

[MagpieRacer]

Second - Narain Karthekiyan was the first.

I am sure Karthikeyan was classed as Asian..

 

[Fonce Diablo]

Hamilton is the first. Willy T. Ribbs tested in F1 20 years ago, but Hamilton's the first to race.

 

[Famine]

I am sure Karthikeyan was classed as Asian..

He's not white and he's not "oriental".

 

[Aquendwato]

He's not white and he's not "oriental".

He's Indian.

 

[Famine]

He's Indian.

And his skin colour is...?

 

[Fonce Diablo]

...is Karthikeyan African or from an island in the Caribbean?

Unless he is, Hamilton is still the first F1 driver of African or Caribbean descent.

 

[Famine]

...is Karthikeyan African or from an island in the Caribbean?

Unless he is, Hamilton is still the first F1 driver of African or Caribbean descent.

Look at the point I didn't contest and wasn't actually mentioned...

I merely said that Karthikeyan was the first black F1 driver. And he is. Even ITVF1 have stopped referring to Lewis as "the first black F1 driver" (probably because perpetually referring to his skin colour is idiotic).


Hamilton isn't African or from an island in the Caribbean either. He's from Stevenage.

 

[CardcaptorYoshi]

Wow, is this thread more crowded than usual for a GP?

Well, this is my first time posting in one, since this is the first time it was broadcasting on public American TV (yay Fox). The broadcast was pretty good too - at least there weren't too many problems (read: Derek Daly) with it - I skimmed the early parts of the race, and really sat down to watch the last 10 laps.

Shame for Speed, wrecking as always, hasn't seemed to prove much as the first American driver - and as such, the equivalent of Hamilton on UK TV in the US, except with infinitely less success.

Props to Hamilton for his first pole and first win this year, can't say much bad about him but I'll save the adulation for now. If he can pull a championship off it'll be amazing (who was the last rookie WDC?) but I'm waiting to see how he rebounds from finishing...uh...less that 3rd.

On the other hand, Alonso had a messy race today, from what it seems. Can't imagine what was going through his face when an Aguri passed him near the end. Too bad for him, but I never seem to root for the champions anyway. I'm more of an underdog person.

And what a day for the underdogs!
Wurz had a great race for Williams, grabbing a podium after being piled into by Speed by the opening parts.

Kovalainen was excellent as well, coming back from a completely messing weekend and climbing from last on the grid to 4th. Amazing!

And Sato, oh Sato, as the Asian person and the Aguri underdog my personal favorite, what a thrilling race. As I said, I tuned in right as the 4th Safety Car (4th!)...

Where's Sato...where's Sato...oh, he's in 9th still! *commercial break* Up to 8th! Get in the points! Hmm...Ralf's ahead of him, this shouldn't be too bad given Toyota's pace...alright! 2 points! Woo! There we go...who's ahead of him? Alonso. Hmm. I see. He's World Champion in a McLaren. No way he could get around the World Champion. Wait, he's catching up...no, losing ground...wait, dead even and HOLY MOTHER OF -

Sato. Passing Alonso. Aguri passing a McLaren, for points. What has this world come to? Something awesome Was standing on my feet the whole last 5 laps of this race, very exciting. (even the commentators were getting into it, rooting for Sato)

I hope Indy can bring something just as incredible.
Other thoughts:
- Poor Honda, Button didn't even get off the line this time. Just no luck at all.
- Skimming the race, it seems that two Spykers followed by Liuzzi all planted it into the wall at about the same time in the opening part(the two Spykers one after another at the same corner); how strange! And the Wall of Champions too...?
- Hard crash by Kubica - one of the scariest I've seen in a while (I think Briscoe in IndyCar takes that award). Good to know he's OK, and hope he makes a speedy return to racing.
- The Trulli/Rosberg syncronized spinning was pretty amusing - they didn't even touch!
- Formula One is HARSH with the penalties, instant-black-flagging Massa and Fisichella for pitting at the wrong time, taking them out of the race. Wow.
- Shame to see Liuzzi lose that 5th place. Wall of Champions is brutal.
- Incidentally, a great call by the FOX announcers when going onboard with Alonso during one of his numerous rally adventures: "Let's ride with the two-time world champion whoooooo....gets it all wrong. That's going to be the Alonso line"
- Trulli, in the wall, under the Safety Car? What a crazy race this is...
- A very messy race overall I must say, but a thrilling race too...great first race for us Americans - it's got the crashes and the passes.

 

[Fonce Diablo]

Alright Famine, you got me.

I totally forgot about Sato! Super Best Friends forever! What do you think Alonso was thinking at that point?

 

[Famine]

(who was the last rookie WDC?)

There's only been one. Nino Farina - but then in 1950, everyone was a rookie.

 

[CardcaptorYoshi]

Wow, that'll be interesting if Hamilton can pull it off. He definitely has the pace, not sure if he'll have the luck though (how long will this pace keep up?). Plus, I think, if Hamilton wins the WDC as a rookie the entire UK will explode

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

...was I ever glad Fox had the good sense to use the Speed TV crew. The last time I watched F1 on Fox with those other guys, I had a headache afterwards.

I only wish CBS sports had also not attempted to do their own coverage of today's MotoGP race in Spain.

Actually, former World GP Champion, Kevin Schwantz did a great job... but the CBS guy was horible! Schwantz had to continually correct him time after time, it was pathetic. Too bad too, as it was a great duel between Stoner on his powerful Ducati and the Dr. on his Yamaha, passing each other for the lead many times throughout the race.

If Hamilton wins the WDC this year, I'd almost wager Schumacher comes back one more time to test his heir apparent...but would Ferrari make room for him?

The problem for Ferrari is that they spent a fortune signing Kimi to a contract through the 2009 season... and he is laughing all the way to the bank. I suppose they could buy out Masa's contract, but considering he has shown a good deal more promise than Kimi that wouldn't make much sense.

That said, imagine the interest in F1 if MS did come back in 2008 to challenge Hamilton and his rival Alonso... maybe it would be worth it to Ferrari to buy out Kimi's contract, as I just don't see him ever fitting in with Ferrari and ever showing the heart of a true champion. I think there is strong evidence now that the problem at McLaren last year wasn't its cars, but its lead driver... and now Ferrari has purchased that problem at an astonishing price.

I certainly expect to read a lot of speculation on the chances of Schumy making a return to F1 in 2008.

 

[Danny]

It doesn't feel right to see Kimi at Ferrari.

The Iceman needs to ride the silver bullet.

 

[rovens]

I bet he wishes he had stayed now.

 

[Robin]

I bet he wishes he had stayed now.

yeah, he stupidly thought moving to ferrari would be a move up the ladder to elevate his carrier and that he would never win a championship with mclaren...

......oh how wrong you were kimi.....

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Absolutely awesome race. Watching Taku overtaking the self-proclaimed "top 3 driver" and the current championship leader and reigning world champion in the number 1 car, driving last year's Honda, into the most dangerous corner in the sport, had me rolling around the floor laughing.

I'm just wondering why Honda haven't cottoned onto this and just started running last year's car with a few aero bits bolted on.

Maybe they can't under the rules or something.

 

[Car-less]

- Formula One is HARSH with the penalties, instant-black-flagging Massa and Fisichella for pitting at the wrong time, taking them out of the race. Wow.

Alonso and Rosberg 'pitted at the wrong' time and were given 10 second stop & go penalties for that.
Massa and Fisichella were black-flagged for exiting the pits on a red light.

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

I bet he wishes he had stayed now.

I'm not so sure about that. Kimi would be making a lot less money and would have likely still been trailing his own teammate if he stayed.

However, I bet McLaren is very happy with the change.

If Hamilton performs well over the next month, the championship will likely be his to lose.

 

[Kylehnat]

Alonso and Rosberg 'pitted at the wrong' time and were given 10 second stop & go penalties for that.
Massa and Fisichella were black-flagged for exiting the pits on a red light.

I'm confused by that. Why was the light red? Even if the pits were closed, that shouldn't preclude drivers from re-entering the track. There must have been another reason that I'm not seeing here...

As for the pits-closed rule... I hate to say it, but NASCAR has it right; the INSTANT a yellow flag is thrown, lights come on all around the track to alert the drivers. As soon as those lights come on, the pits are closed. I'm not sure F1 has a similar system (is that one of those lights they put in the cars this year?). I think there is still confusion over the exact time of safety car deployment, and when the pits become closed.

 

[CardcaptorYoshi]

Well, I'm not quite sure on when the red-light is on, but I think it's something along the lines of 'the SC and rest of the fireld are about to come by so let them pass', either that, or it's the NASCAR thing of 'pits closed during part of SC'. I know Montoya was DQ's, for the former at least, 2 years ago.

Although, I must say, maybe they did deserve that punishment if they went around uh...a BMW/Williams car - forget who - who was stopped at the end of the lane. Gee, I wonder why he was stopped there, eh boys?