Italian GP 2006

Post here all non technical related topics about Formula One. This includes race results, discussions, testing analysis etc. TV coverage and other personal questions should be in Off topic chat.
Saribro
Saribro
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Joined: 28 Jul 2006, 00:34

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joseff wrote:A fine 3rd for Robert Kubica. This guy's really something special.
Agreed, very impressive performance. 3rd F1 race and already on the podium.

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vyselegend
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Joined: 20 Feb 2006, 17:05
Location: Paris, France

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I'd like to express all my gratitude to Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica for making F1 such a wonderfull sport, even while spoiled by the FIA.

Fernando was as good as in Hungary! I'm so happy he kiked Massa's ass like that. The Boy got a good correction for playing the pussy so much that it was becoming obscene. :x

Robert Kubica is, IMO, a name we'll often see on top of the charts. He drove supperbly and wasn't impressed at all by the likes of Schu, Raikonen or Alonso. Renault totally missed the shot with him (he was part of RDD, but some heads choose not to keep him. Flavio said it wasn't him, he was really interested in the polish.)

Michael Schumacher drove a solid race, I think Kimi was putting him under pressure for almost the totallity of the GP. The Mc Laren was flying today, even got the fastest lap. That was good to see.

manchild
manchild
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theSuit wrote:Just to be fair, I think Max does make a point - the penalty was for 'impeding' not 'blocking' - and if your wake disrupts the aerodynamics of a car behind then you're guilty. And that's something you can only see on the data.
So, if Alonso had slow down in order to let Massa overtake him that wouldn't affect Massa's aerodynamics (+ trajectory)?! :shock:

You know it would and since it would be so in both scenarios than Alonso wasn't able to skip this punishment at all!

race comment:

I'm impressed with Kubica and Alonso. In a way it is good to have blown engine now because that will enable Renault to build one-race engine - the E spec. for last race of the season. Alonso may have lost 6 points but in a long term perhaps this is better than it would be 3rd palce in Italy and DNF in China. I'm still confident that Alonso will take WDC.

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pRo here's the avatar you inquired about :wink:

Image

manchild
manchild
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Alonso says Renault still favourites

By Michele Lostia Sunday, September 10th 2006, 14:30 GMT


Fernando Alonso is still confident he can win this year's title despite having seen his lead cut to two points over championship rival Michael Schumacher.

Alonso, who started the race from tenth position after having been relegated from fifth with a controversial decision by the stewards, managed to reach third position with nine laps to go when the engine on his Renault expired.

Schumacher, meanwhile, went on to win the race.

"I think we are strong and we are the favourites," the Spaniard told Italian TV channel RAI. "We're still ahead by two points, let's not forget it. There are many people who want to decide the outcome of the championship differently, but in the end the honest people will win.

"It's not just an unlucky race. It was a bit rigged from the start with an incredible decision and then the engine went: these things happen and it happened today. The championship is getting close, but we must stay calm: we are very strong at the moment and I feel very confident for the last races."

Renault's boss Flavio Briatore, on the other hand, was not as confident as was very critical on Alonso's punishment. "There won't be a fight to the finish [this season]. The championship has already been assigned."

There are still three races to go until the end of the season, with the next one being in China in three week's time.

DaveKillens
DaveKillens
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Joined: 20 Jan 2005, 04:02

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I can imagine what will happen next race, teams will be lined up to complain about some driver "impeding" theirs. If Massa can win a case based on earo problems so far bhind another car, then this throws it wide open for everyone to lodge complaints. All Renault have do to is position oneof their cars to be slightly behind Shu when he makes an outlap in qualifying........
I have to admit Shu drove one of his typical near-perfect races. Well done, it wasn't easy with all the pressure and hype. Kimi did a great job, he has proven again he is one very quick driver. In going to Ferrari he will polish his strategy and pitting skills, something Mclaren seem lacking. And Kubica has suddenly set the benchmark for the new, young drivers.
Who knows how Alonso's weekend would have turmed out if that tire had not torn up, all is just "if's" and "maybe".
Pretty decent race, I'm glad all the drama is over. For now. :wink:

Tp
Tp
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Joined: 02 Mar 2006, 15:52
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Even as a Ferrari fan I'm not going to be arrogant and say "He definitely blocked him." Because he didn't, Massa was no where near him. The Stewards are on crack. After I saw the 'incident' on TV, I really felt for Alonso and at one point wanted him to win!

But I can't see why people are blaming Ferrari, all what they did was protest. It was the Stewards' fault to deem the 'incident' illegal. Any team that can see a chance to disadvantage their opposition will take action. It's the stewards decision on whether the complaining team are correct, that a penalty will be given.

BTW remember Ferrari have also been penalised by the stewards on numerous occasions this year (Monaco, Hungary, flexi-wings etc..)

Perfect race by Schumacher. Kubica was outstanding and it was unfortunate for Alonso to retire.

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Principessa
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Joined: 12 Aug 2005, 14:36
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People, Don't forget to check the develoment blog as Tomba has been (and is still) posting a lot of changes on the cars :wink:

:arrow: http://www.f1technical.net/development/

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Ciro Pabón
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Tp wrote:... But I can't see why people are blaming Ferrari, all what they did was protest. It was the Stewards' fault to deem the 'incident' illegal.
Tp, you are a gentleman. I feel compelled to support your position by stating that, according again to FoxSportsLA, Ferrari did not protest or complain: they only made an observation. This can be dismissed as irrelevant, but the Fox commentators conceded there is a procedural difference: Ferrari did not cried "Hey, what a foul!". They said "Hey, look at this and reach your own conclusions".

I also feel obliged to state that the first team to complain about a similar incident was Renault: Mr. Villeneuve was punished on a similar move on Fisichella. Good lesson for Mr. Briatore, even if I agree with and understand the rage that Alonso is feeling.

I support Alonso (c'mon guys, I try to see both sides, but I am spaniard: what am I going to tell to my mom? :wink: ) but I definitely do not like Briatore too much. This kind of flamboyant, playboyish characters that want to take the world by storm (ehem... sorry, I am maybe going too far) are not good for any sport. Look, for example, at the sad history of the Atlético de Madrid...

I prefer a thousand times people like Frank Williams that, could be argued, have more class and respect the sport, not only the championship.

I do not want to let the envy enter here: Mr. Briatore, whatever personality has, is a great entrepreneur and a person that delivers with less. ... but, c'mon, he started this kind of "impending" thing. Ferrari, in his infinite corporate wisdom, hit Renault where it hurts, with a dose of their own medicine.

I am sorry for Alonso, seeing him mixed in this mess and confronting no one less than Michael "The Steamroller" Schumacher, but, hey, he better get used to it, or, following Montoya's example, declares he is not taking this kind of infighting anymore and departs in peace to new, clearer horizons.

I am bracing myself for next year: I only pray for wisdom on the part of the FIA. They should distance as much as possible from the decission of stewarts: they seem to be developing into a bunch of lawyers, and, you know, we fans do not ask for the law. We need justice, a different proposition.

If I were Mosley, I would be thinking in the same terms the FIFA did a long time ago (hey, they were founded by the British...): they created a College of Referees in the International Board. We have been waiting for too long to reach this kind of heaven, by separating the promoters from the arbiters. If FIA doesn't follow suit, I am afraid this is going to be uglier by the minute.

I tell you: my wife and I have long ago reached the FIFA maturity and we do not let the kids drag us into their fightings... :wink:

Oh, and thanks, Princesa... I will follow your kind advice and see what Tomba has prepared for us. Time to get into the technical detail again (whew! This is going to be a relief: I do not know what I would do without HIS approach to the sport... :roll:). Besides, I am truly intrigued by BMW performance today: what did they do? Kubica, excellent as all the pilots are, must have had a specially-suited-to-the-circuit car today. You do not see every day a car holding a Ferrari for so long. This is one of these days you feel sorry for Ferrari banning the transmision of car-pit radio. :)
Ciro

FLC
FLC
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Joined: 10 Mar 2006, 14:01

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At last, a person who thinks logically about this all matter. That was a very good post, Ciro, well done.

I cant help myself thinking about ferrari's "following" performance. It seems that whenever they need to follow another car through fast corners/straights they are having a lot of trouble. It happened in turkey when MS fell back from alonso's car every time they were going through turn 8 and today massa was having a lot of trouble all the way through the race. It seemed pretty easy for him to get close to Heidfeld, but when he got to him he started falling back. I bet it's up to the Aero. Anybody can explain this in detail?

manchild
manchild
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http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/54436
autosport.com wrote:Doubts over Bridgestone legality quashed

By Jonathan Noble Sunday, September 10th 2006, 18:39 GMT


Renault and Michelin approached the FIA after today's race at Monza with doubts about the legality of Ferrari's Bridgestone tyres, autosport.com has learned, but the French team and tyre maker said they were content with the governing body's explanations.

While the Formula One world was focused on Michael Schumacher's retirement announcement, representatives from Renault and Michelin went to see FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting with questions about Bridgestone.

Renault's director of engineering Pat Symonds and Michelin's F1 director Nick Shorrock had suspicions that Bridgestone may have treated their tyres with chemicals at events.

Applying chemical spray to tyres could make a tyre super sticky for improved grip over one lap before wearing off to reveal hard rubber that would be better suited for long distances.

Such an action, however, would be in breach of Article 73B of the Formula One sporting regulations that states:

"Each tyre supplier must undertake to provide no more than two specifications of dry-weather tyre to each team at each Event, each of which must be of one homogeneous compound. Any modification or treatment, other than heating, carried out to a tyre or tyres will be considered a change of specification."

According to sources, Symonds and Shorrock's suspicions were raised by a photograph of a Bridgestone tyre engineer that had been obtained by Michelin.

The picture showed an engineer wearing a glove, protective apron and face-mask - the type of gear that would be worn when dealing with chemical spray.

But after speaking to Whiting today, the matter was quickly resolved. It was explained that the engineer was wearing the items to protect himself from chemical rubber particles released into the air when tyres are cut open for post-session internal inspection.

Shorrock said they were content with the explanation.

"We asked some questions about what was happening," he told autosport.com. "We are happy with the explanation, so the situation is settled for now."

FLC
FLC
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also from autosport:
Briatore clarifies 'jokey' remarks

By Jonathan Noble Sunday, September 10th 2006, 19:06 GMT


Renault team chief Flavio Briatore has moved to clarify his comments about the integrity of Formula One, the Italian saying these comments were made in jest.

Briatore has been critical of the sport's authorities, saying the world championship is being fixed in favour of Ferrari, further claiming in a post-race interview with Italian television RAI that the recent scandal in Italian football pales in comparison with the situation in F1.

But after the FIA said it was looking into Briatore's comments, with the Italian possibly invited to appear in front of the World Motor Sport Council for bringing the sport into disrepute, Briatore issued a statement that moves to downplay the severity of his accusations.

"These comments, which have been attributed to me in the press today, have been completely taken out of context," Briatore stated. "A jokey remark has been turned into something it was not intended to be.

"I have every confidence in the governance of our sport and look forward to our team fighting and winning the Formula One World Championship this season."

The Formula One Sporting Regulations allow the FIA to punish any competitor who brings in any way the championship into disrepute.
"for now" means they will downplay the matter later.

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Spencifer_Murphy
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manchild wrote:
theSuit wrote:Just to be fair, I think Max does make a point - the penalty was for 'impeding' not 'blocking' - and if your wake disrupts the aerodynamics of a car behind then you're guilty. And that's something you can only see on the data.
This is true. However (and I hve no FACTS for this so my point isn't factual just a strong hunch) how many times has an act like this gone unoticed in the course of the season so far?

Furthermore, my is it everybody interviewd (with the exception of those linked to the FIA & Ferrari) seem to believe that Alonso was hard-done-by? Mark Webber's own words were "they [the FIA] are making it very hard for them [Renault & Alonso]" Rubens said to Martin Brundle "I don't think he deserved it" Martin himself said to Max Mosley "I've driven 158 Grand prox and I see nothing that shows Massa was impeeded."

Max always likes to say "We have the facts, the data, the telemetry etc and you don't...but why does he not SHOW us this?

End of the day, schumi winning in his retirement season SELLS, and MONEY TALKS. How a mass damper hidden inside the car (and away from airflow) is a moveable aerodynamic device and a wheel "frisbie" is not is beyond me, how a car 100yards in front of another can be deliberately "impeeding an other driver" is beyond me also.

Lets not forget last time the championship was this close at Monza was in 2003 when Schumi led JPM...and remember what happened? Ferrai complained the Michelin tyres were illegal (after nearly the whole season?!) the FIA agree and Schumi's task is made easier.

End of the day the FIA prefer Ferrari to the other manufactures because Ferrari, not only sells, but also is going to be in F1 (almost) no matter what. Max Mosley & the FIA care less for the other manufacturers as they aren't a garenteed staple of F1.

Based on this and the fact that Schumi retireing as Champ sells well, the FIA has artificially tried to manipulate the results of this season in Ferrari's favour.

Whats this about improving F1's global image Max?

Hypocrite...then again...he is a politician at heart, we shouldn't be suprised.

I hope Alonso wins, if he does, he'll really deserve it, having every1 try to take it from him (and Renault).
Silence is golden when you don't know a good answer.

FLC
FLC
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Joined: 10 Mar 2006, 14:01

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If Ferrari's "frisbies" are such an efficient aero device, how come Renault havent copied it yet?

How come nobody said anything about how Alonso passed Heidfeld today? Didnt it remind you of MS's move from Hungary? Some people here went wild about that, what's the difference? That Alonso didnt finish the race? Didnt get an afterwards point?

The FIA may want to sell action to the fans, but they cannot sell Ferrari. There are other teams out there with interest and proffesionals who has access to all the data. The FIA needs those teams for without them there is no F1. We've seen what the teams tried to do with the GPDA thing and what came out of it. They had a good chance to brake loose and still chose to stay, led by who else but Renault.

Pulling out tricks and protests at the last minute has been and will be a part of the game. All the teams use it, and that includes Renault. Flavio said he would try something like that before monza (over the "frisbies") and they tried it again today with the picture of the Bridgestone engineer. You cant cry foul on something you do just like all the rest.

Renault's behavior has been digusting through the whole weekend. When Flavio was bound to stand behind his harsh words and belief he chose to bend over and downplay them as jokes. That shows you of how serious his claims are.

Alonso will deserve the title only if he gets it at the end of the season.

manchild
manchild
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FLC wrote:If Ferrari's "frisbies" are such an efficient aero device, how come Renault havent copied it yet?
Because some people believe in fair play and probbably kept protest over frisbies as a plan B in their pocket for more suitable situation.
FLC wrote:How come nobody said anything about how Alonso passed Heidfeld today? Didnt it remind you of MS's move from Hungary? Some people here went wild about that, what's the difference? That Alonso didnt finish the race? Didnt get an afterwards point?.
Alonso didn't gain position by having excursion over the grass. He already overtook Heidfeld before that happened.
FLC wrote:Pulling out tricks and protests at the last minute has been and will be a part of the game. All the teams use it, and that includes Renault. Flavio said he would try something like that before monza (over the "frisbies") and they tried it again today with the picture of the Bridgestone engineer. You cant cry foul on something you do just like all the rest.?.
That wasn't a trick. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/54436
FLC wrote:Renault's behavior has been digusting through the whole weekend. When Flavio was bound to stand behind his harsh words and belief he chose to bend over and downplay them as jokes. That shows you of how serious his claims are.
They came to Monza after being ujustly punished by FIA by banning of mass damper and Alonos's penalty in Hungary. Than Alonso got another unjust punishment that was seen as such by everyone except FIA and certain percentage of Ferrari fans (not all of them). So I'd say that FIA's and Mosley's behavior has been digusting through the whole weekend as well as it has been digusting whole season and for the previous 14 years. Flavio and Renault are only reacting and defending themselves without wanting anything but equal rules for all participants in F1.
FLC wrote:Alonso will deserve the title only if he gets it at the end of the season.
Shuey won't deserve it in any way because he is driving illegal car whole season and got close to Alonso because mad Max helped him by banning mass damper and punishing Alonso twice without any reason. If FIA had any moral Schuey would be out of F1 for good after 1997. His win in Monza was so phatetic and fixed just like biggest part of his career. He is going in style - the style he is recognised by.

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mini696
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Joined: 20 Mar 2006, 02:34

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pRo wrote:Anyone remember the rules? It's not about possibly maybe perhaps impeding someone. It's about deliberately impeding.
(A. 116b) If, in the opinion of the stewards, a driver deliberately stops on the circuit or impedes another driver in
any way during the qualifying practice session his times will be cancelled.
(Yes, you could argue whether the deliberately only means stopping or also impeding. There have been dozens of cases where a driver has undeliberately impeded another though, so it must mean both, right?)

I'll also quote what The Official Formula 1 Website said:
Massa complained to officials that Alonso had blocked him whilst on his final run at the end of session. The stewards agreed and deleted the Renault star’s three fastest times from Q3, though they did concede that Alonso’s actions may not have been deliberate.

So they are more or less saying that maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but we'll punish him anyway. :evil:
You are wrong. Deliberate has nothing to do with impeding in that rule.