Chinese GP 2010 - Shanghai

[Richard]

He went the wrong way on the race track.

eh? I missed this. Admittedly I had to keep a 14 month toddler entertained while the race was on, but I saw all the cars going the same way around the track.

[andrew]

I was right before his very first pitstop. He was positioned for going round the final corner then changed his mind last minute and went across the gravel to the pit entrance. I think it was Martin Brundle on the commentary that picked it up.

[vall]

For the time when Vettel was pushing Hamilton into the garage; Vettel should have stuck to the left side. The speed of the cars is limited in the pit lane, that means that Hamilton could not come out ahead of Vettel, Hamilton would have ended up behind Vettel in the end anyway. Vettel only ended up putting Hamilton in unnecessary danger as Hamilton could not brake because his front tyre would ride over Vettel's rear and Hamilton could not turn right because he would have ridden over a wheel gun or something. Therefore Hamilton did what was best by driving alongside Vettel all the way. Vettel's move was very dirty in my books.

Why is so? What about just slowing down without turning left or right and then lining up behind Vettel? No danger what so ever.

[Giblet]

I think, maybe, technically anyways, he was off the circuit. Not sure, as the in-car was very brief, and by the time it was picked up he was pointed towards the entrance.

Cars go backwards all the time off track, to recover from spins, but I don't think it was meant to be OK in this context.

It was to Hamilton's detriment however. If he didn't lost those seconds and had a normal clean etrance, he would have been much closer to Button, and maybe in a position to pass to win.

[myurr]

For the time when Vettel was pushing Hamilton into the garage; Vettel should have stuck to the left side. The speed of the cars is limited in the pit lane, that means that Hamilton could not come out ahead of Vettel, Hamilton would have ended up behind Vettel in the end anyway. Vettel only ended up putting Hamilton in unnecessary danger as Hamilton could not brake because his front tyre would ride over Vettel's rear and Hamilton could not turn right because he would have ridden over a wheel gun or something. Therefore Hamilton did what was best by driving alongside Vettel all the way. Vettel's move was very dirty in my books.

Why is so? What about just slowing down without turning left or right and then lining up behind Vettel? No danger what so ever.

Initially at the point where most think he should have given way, their wheels were actually interlocked - it was only as they moved down the pit straight that they both moved to the right. So if Hamilton had braked immediately after coming out side by side then Vettels rear wheel would have gone over Hamiltons front, pitching him into a spin.

The thing to remember is that if Vettel had stayed left, as all the other drivers have in that situation including where Vettel was the driver on the inside, then we wouldn't be discussing this incident beyond the release itself. Vettel put them both in danger by pushing Hamilton to the right.

[Paul Oz]

Good race by Button and a deserved win.

So now lets see what Hamilton did in this race:

He went the wrong way on the race track.
He overtook Vettel in the pitlane.
He raced Vetel in the pitlane.
Did I miss any thing?

So how the hell did he only get a slap on the wrists?! I suspect that the former long term McLaren test driver, Alex Wurz is not impartial. Alonso only got a slap on the wrists for his move on Massa in the pitlane. Vettel got a slap on the wrists also, which to be fair was correct as his actions can be put down to red mist. Hamilton and Alonsos antics were inexcusable.

This stupid scheme of former race drivers being race stewards is really not working which is exactly what I thought when I heard about it.

Do you want to be entertained or just watch them play follow my leader?

[jonathan189]

Both Alonso and Hamilton plainly cut the pit lane entry on separate occasions.

Surely that is a clear cut penalty.

If they don't apply the rules, all the drivers will ignore them... and next year we'll see every driver cutting that corner.

[Richard]

Do you want to be entertained or just watch them play follow my leader?

+1 A welcome relief after recent years when stewards interfered with the outcome.

[andrew]

Good race by Button and a deserved win.

So now lets see what Hamilton did in this race:

He went the wrong way on the race track.
He overtook Vettel in the pitlane.
He raced Vetel in the pitlane.
Did I miss any thing?

So how the hell did he only get a slap on the wrists?! I suspect that the former long term McLaren test driver, Alex Wurz is not impartial. Alonso only got a slap on the wrists for his move on Massa in the pitlane. Vettel got a slap on the wrists also, which to be fair was correct as his actions can be put down to red mist. Hamilton and Alonsos antics were inexcusable.

This stupid scheme of former race drivers being race stewards is really not working which is exactly what I thought when I heard about it.

Do you want to be entertained or just watch them play follow my leader?

I want to be entertained but correct and fair racing in what is meant to be the pinnicle of motorsport, not antics that are just plain dangerous and stupid.

To be honest, Vettel should have just let Hamilton go and get him done for passing in the pitlane rather than race him. As mentioned, Hamilton should have conceded as he was driving in the wrong place and Vettel was on the correct part of the pitlane. The McLaren was clearly faster so he would have probably have got vettel on the track.

[ringo]

The way how i see it Vettel is a whiny baby for being overtaken.
Common sense would tell him it was impossible for hamilton to overtake him in the pitlane.
There is a pit lane speed limit remember Vettel?
Vettel was sligtly ahead, so he would have remained that way even if he allowed hamilton some room. Constant speed is constant speed, if Hamilton passed him while he is doing the pit lane speed, that would mean hamilton is accelerating, going faster than his pit limiter would allow, which is impossible with the pit limiter on.

This is where all the anti Hamilton rhetoric fails. How is vettel's position threatened when he is ahead slightly and both are going at a fixed speed? Simple physics.

Vettel was very rude, he should have gave lewis some room since it would not affect his position, based on the above facts.
He clearly squeezed Hamilton off track while defending (unnecessary defending anyway) , which is a bigger offense than what people are blaming Lewis for. Very clearly seen in the video; a pitlane broad enough for 2 cars to go side by side, but yet vettel squeezes Lewis over.
Anyone who can't see Vettel squeeze hamilton is rearing Redbull goggles. And rights off way and right to the width of the pit lane is non existent.

[Richard]

Both Alonso and Hamilton plainly cut the pit lane entry on separate occasions.

Surely that is a clear cut penalty.

If they don't apply the rules, all the drivers will ignore them... and next year we'll see every driver cutting that corner.

err... not as far as I am aware. Drivers often cross the white line that defines the edge of the track. Are you saying everyone doing that should be punished?

[Paul Oz]

For the time when Vettel was pushing Hamilton into the garage; Vettel should have stuck to the left side. The speed of the cars is limited in the pit lane, that means that Hamilton could not come out ahead of Vettel, Hamilton would have ended up behind Vettel in the end anyway. Vettel only ended up putting Hamilton in unnecessary danger as Hamilton could not brake because his front tyre would ride over Vettel's rear and Hamilton could not turn right because he would have ridden over a wheel gun or something. Therefore Hamilton did what was best by driving alongside Vettel all the way. Vettel's move was very dirty in my books.

Why is so? What about just slowing down without turning left or right and then lining up behind Vettel? No danger what so ever.

I have to agree with Vall there.... Hams front left was inside the line of vettels rear, hadnt thought of that before - if he'd braked there would have been a right mess in the pitlane.

Vettel was only released first because his garage is before lewis'

Has all of this highlighted a possible problem with the release guidelines? If a midfield garaged driver comes in with one of the top seeded right behind them for example - the top seeded will be back out in the pit lane before t'other gets moving because of the distance between the garages, so the driver who entered the pit lane first, would have to conceded??

[vall]

Do you want to be entertained or just watch them play follow my leader?

If you want entertainment this is for you:

http://us.wwe.com/

F1 is still a sport and technical challenge. This is the reason I do not like wet races: they often produce random results and not the best package of the day wins. We already had enough wet races this year and I hope the rest pf the season will be dry, but I doubt it.

[WhiteBlue]

The third GP in a row that was affected by rain and what a race it was. Due to the relatively low but continuous wetting of the track the teams were kept on the edge of screaming madness for the whole race. I bet some of those race engineers went a year older in the frame of two hours.

I thought that McLaren had a wet biased setup and it certainly looked like that for some time but I think it was simply their RW80 system that works with a bigger angle of attack than the other teams were using. I reckon the system was decisive to win McLaren the 1-2 in Shanghai.

The race was fantastic for comparing the two McLaren drivers. Both did an outstanding job in their own way. Button kept a cool head and gambled to continue on slicks when most others took inters that went to slicks in just a few laps. He then made a move to inters which he made last for an incredible distance considering his speed. Very level headed and skillfully executed tyre tactics in the wet.

Hamilton was once again spectacular in his aggressive overtaking moves and showed us some fantastic passing battles. I did like the one with Schumacher best. The tussle with Vettel in the pit lane was due to simultaneous release of both drivers by their teams. It is unfortunate but it was legal in my mind. You cannot anticipate when the other car will pull away. Vettel did some very robust defense that bordered on the disputable side and Hamilton had the right sense to not force two cars into one pit exit lane.

Nico used the passive new rear wing of the W01 beautifully and with good results but he must have had significantly less downforce compared to Button and Hamilton. This made him relatively easy prey. He can take home the satisfaction that he got some leading F1 laps today and goes second in the championship. Had the disputed safety car not come out he would have been one step higher on the podium. His illustrious team mate was struggling to get any performance close to Nico's out of the car. He showed some nice defensive moves but was clearly not at home in the car. A big disappointment which hopefully will not continue back in Europe. In Barcelona he will get a new chassis and the relocated front suspension should be ready to race. I hope it will help.

The Red Bull drivers made the wrong call on inters at the first round - like almost anybody did - and had no weapon against the higher downforce of the F-duct. Vettel once again was driving the better race although he botched the start. It will be a huge disappointment for Horner and Co after qualifying the fourth time on pole and the second time 1-2.

The Ferraris were also lacking the effectiveness of the Woking rear wing. Massa had his typical wobbles in the wet and Alonso inflicted some psychological damage by hip checking him into the pits. Alonso is clearly leading the way at the Maranello team but he will be increasingly held back from using top power due to his engine worries.

Kubica and Petrov both did very well and the rookie had a lucky break when he 360tied the car with a heavy throttle foot and got away with it. Sutil was the unlucky 11th. He was entertaining as long as his tyres lasted but his downforce wasn't matching the other Merc powered cars. His team mate bloted his copy book by loosing control and taking Kobayashi and Buemi out with him. I wonder how long he will be able to cling to his seat. He isn't an expert in relationship building either and that could cause another abrupt departure from a team that has nothing to loose by trying a young talent.

Barichello had a beautifull escape from a first lap pile up and drove a very intelligent race. Hülkenberg was nowhere near his pace and lost a gamble on slicks when the rain only increased.

Alguersuari brought his car home and avoided being lapped.

Kovalainen was the winner of the new team contest this time and both Hispania drivers managed to complete their reliability test drives of GP format.

Wonderfull race, can we have low traction always please? Why do the teams insist they should have so much downforce. With a third of the downforce the cars would probably have similar traction in the dry and racing would be much better.

[ringo]

Both Alonso and Hamilton plainly cut the pit lane entry on separate occasions.

Surely that is a clear cut penalty.

If they don't apply the rules, all the drivers will ignore them... and next year we'll see every driver cutting that corner.

As said before that is a part of the track. As long as they did not put 4 wheels over that little curb then it's legal. This is all in the regulations, why are people questioning this?
The pit lane starts at the line where the pit limiter has to be on.
Every where else is race track.