Is Hamilton desperate or what?

[audifan]

personally I didn't expect button to be as close to as he is to hammy in his first season ; not easy to come to a team where the incumbent is the fastest driver on the grid

but button has , in a sense , been let down by bridgestone ...I expected hammy to struggle on tyre wear compared to button , but hasn't happened ; ant davidson commented yesterday during practice 3 that the bridgestone hard would probably do 2 full races which would explain why to a large extent

I hope to see pirelli being brave enough to bring more marginal compounds to enable alternative strategies ; we shall see next year !

[Shrieker]

BUT has out quallified HAM 3 times this season prior to today and HAM passed him on lap 1 of all 3 of those races

That's 4 now.

[komninosm]

BUT has out quallified HAM 3 times this season prior to today and HAM passed him on lap 1 of all 3 of those races

That's 4 now.

Button had good race pace for a change though. I liked him in Germany. Usually he can't follow Hamilton.

[ringo]

He couldn't get at hamilton though, even when lewis was saving fuel.
When he tried he went off or over shot a corner. He did his best to keep up though.
I was a little surprised how well he did to keep up still.

Mclaren seem to have better pit stop synergy with Button. He keeps making places in the pits.

[aral]

Button was able to run at exactly the same pace as Hamilton, yet even when Hamilton was told to save fuel, Button remained the same distance behind. Either Button and Hamilton are very evenly matched, or else there was some order given to hold position. Not for the first time this year!

[Super racing]

So what is the score now?

Alonso looks so desperate begging the team to slow Felipe down... reminds me of when he was begging McLaren to slow Lewis down.

[Super racing]

Button was able to run at exactly the same pace as Hamilton, yet even when Hamilton was told to save fuel, Button remained the same distance behind. Either Button and Hamilton are very evenly matched, or else there was some order given to hold position. Not for the first time this year!

Hamilton does not need team orders to beat Button, he was probably just managing the gap to Button, being 20 seconds behind SV there was no need for him to push, and he definatly didnt need to worry about Button behind him.

[marcush.]

Button was probably just managing the gap to Hamilton ,fully aware that it was not possible to fight him without both of them loosing pace.He very early was made aware of the fact that Webber ,their closest enemy in the championship was ordered to keep a distance to him so he could as well save engine and gearbox for the next race...how clever.If they raced each other ,at best they would have worn out machinery and swapped places...nothing to be gained.. they just keep maximising points haulage instead of wearing out their troops..thats all .nothing superior or inferior Button/Hamilton but perfect team effort .bravo!

[ringo]

I noticed as soon as Webber closed on Button, Hamilton began to stretch his lead on Button. I think he was controling the pace, especially knowing that he was not comfortable with the car.
Button was not given orders, Button could not put up a challenge, the gap was too big. If he tried to close, Hamilton would just respond.

Button remained the same distance behind because the cars are the same, and both drivers drove it at the level they felt comfortable at.
He also complained that following hamilton upset his balance and he could not get any closer. I don't think he would risk messing up his tyres or overheating his brakes, when webber was so close.
It's also in his nature not to attack if he doesn't see a weakness, or if the outcome is uncertain
Hamilton doesn't drive with apparent weaknesses.

At the end of the day, Hamilton came back from a bad weekend and stretched his lead from Button and Webber.
Button had the chance to fight the redbulls and ferraris, Hamilton was the one to take on Webber.

[komninosm]

Button was able to run at exactly the same pace as Hamilton, yet even when Hamilton was told to save fuel, Button remained the same distance behind. Either Button and Hamilton are very evenly matched, or else there was some order given to hold position. Not for the first time this year!

Hamilton does not need team orders to beat Button, he was probably just managing the gap to Button, being 20 seconds behind SV there was no need for him to push, and he definatly didnt need to worry about Button behind him.

Or maybe Button was just a tenth faster and couldn't find a way past (that usually needs more) so he stayed put, played safe. Either way it's clear that one has to be a conspiracy theorist to say it was team orders. Or a fanboy/hater.

[internetf1fan]

Yes, he was so fast he ran wide at turn 1 trying to keep up with Hamilton.

[komninosm]

Yes, he was so fast he ran wide at turn 1 trying to keep up with Hamilton.

He made one mistake, almost at the end of the race, he was probably bored into sleep like the rest of us :p
Don't get me wrong, I think Hamilton is much faster than Button usually, but Button did pretty good in this race. I'm trying to be objective.

[myurr]

Yes, he was so fast he ran wide at turn 1 trying to keep up with Hamilton.

He made one mistake, almost at the end of the race, he was probably bored into sleep like the rest of us :p
Don't get me wrong, I think Hamilton is much faster than Button usually, but Button did pretty good in this race. I'm trying to be objective.

Button did do very well in this race and probably had better pace than Hamilton. Had Vettel not screwed up turn 1 for him (not deliberately but he was parked right where Button needed to be) then he may well have beaten Hamilton.

Not sure what was up with him or the car but I actually thought it was a pretty average performance from Lewis. Defended well from Webber and Button but never really made an impact. Guess he just never really got on top of the setup.

[DaveKillens]

The Silver Homes had a very boring race once things settled down. Button was a smidgen quicker, but couldn't close to attempt a pass, and thus chose the intelligent and mature strategy of following and waiting. The Homes couldn't close with those in front, he posed no threat.

[Paul]

It could be that the blown diffuser isn't very much suited to his driving style. I would imagine the fastest way of taking a corner with a blown diffuser being to brake early and then just floor it through the apex and out of the corner. Which is pretty much the opposite of what Lewis is good at.