Exactly...the rules are fine as they are for now...McLaren and Raikkonen gambled and lost, and that fact along with some very exciting passes during the race is why the race was a great one...if Raikkonen had pitted and took on fresh tires as some would like to see the rules allow, it would have been another walkover.


Next season with the switch to V8s will bring about a whole new playing field...let's enjoy this sound of this season! :smile:

 

Agreed, as well. However, I am particularly disappointed with the McLaren team's handling of the situation. To leave that car out on the track - in hopes of earning what, an additional 4 championship points?! - endangered not only Kimi, but every driver on the track. As it was, Kimi was fortunate not to have been injured when his suspension broke, as was Jenson Button fortunate to have escaped being caught up in the ensuing wreck. Kimi should have been brought in by the team, and failing that he should have been black-flagged.

 

In a more responsible era, he would have been. Too bad that F1 is now the realm of the corporate fat-cat, the gentleman-racer having been effectively killed off by sponsorship.

 

Certainly in retrospect it was a bad idea. There's no denying, though, that they almost got away with it. Sam Michaels of Williams has said that they would have done exactly the same thing. Given a very competitive environment, the tire rule, IMO, is going to lead teams to tempt fate. It's a very bad rule. Sure, they could put Flintstones tires on the cars that would be more difficult to flatspot but, like pretty much everything else in F1 (e.g. engine life, cooling, dimensional contraints, etc.) the teams and suppliers are going to do everything within the rules to maximize competitiveness. It's also true that Kimi was the one who damaged the tire in the first place but that's going to happen unless drivers don't push very hard and that wouldn't be much fun to watch.

It's just a terrible rule.

Mark

 

The good thing was that the tire strap held preventing another Senna-type accident. Kimi will live to drive another race.

To safety and on to Montreal. Across the backroads in Quebec in the MINI should be a treat ! There is a MINI meet on Friday night sponsored by BMW . Hope to see some of you there...look for a DS/B with Maine plates.

 

So if they were allowed to change tires, and he flatspotted his tire after the last scheduled pit stop, he would have been in the same predicament.

And the softer, stickier tire that they would have been using would have been more likely to flatspot.

I just can't blame his accident on the tire rule. It could have happened anyway.

And here is another thought: Last year, there were tons of tire failures. Most of them were related to debris. It is very much concieveable that the more durable tires they are using now are less susceptible to these types of punctures.

 

That's true, though in this case he flatspotted his tire on lap 34 and pitted for the last time on lap 43. Under the old rules he would have replaced all four tires at the last stop and had to have done far fewer laps on the flatspotted tire. Had he flatspotted one of his tires after the last pit stop, it still would have been fewer laps.

That's possibly true, too, though it could also be that badly worn tires are more likely to flatspot.

It's true that it could have happened anyway, but, had the current rules not been in place, he would have replaced the tire when he pitted for the last time on lap 43. It's certainly true that he still could have gotten a new tire, but the rules prohibit a tire change being done at a refueling stop. He would have had to have come in an additional time.

The other problem is that the rules permit only the changing of a tire that's in a dangerous state. Originally, that meant a puncture but now, apparently, it's more vague. If the FIA rules after a race that a tire was replaced that wasn't damaged in a way that was dangerous, the team could suffer a penalty. Ron Dennis has said that, when they discussed bringing him in to change it, it wasn't clear to them if the FIA would consider a flatspotted tire to be dangerous. Apparently they never actually asked the FIA what they thought, though.

That's possible, though I'm not certain that a tire designed to wear longer would necessarily make it more resistant to punctures.


Mark

 

BAR is Back in Canada.

Button
Schumacher, M.
Alonso
Fisichella
Montoya
Sato

Looks like a good race.

 

Race is starting here in about an hour. Anyone watching?

 

Yeah me!! It was an excellent race. Sucks about Montoya though. But Great Race.

 

So what exactly happened w/ Montoya? I don't catch every race, but the one's I've seen he seems to get caught out on technicalities or comes up short in over-aggressive scrapping for position. Pains me to watch 'cause he is very good, no doubt. Again, I don't catch every race, so this is just an overall impression.

Kimi did well keeping off Michael at the last!

 

He was black-flagged for exiting the pitlane while the red light was on. They say it was because of the safety car but I don't know what that means...unless maybe they light the red light when the SC is passing the pit exit (as it was at the time)?

 

Ah, thanks...maybe that was it. What did they want, for him just to sit in the pit all day? The commentator seemed a bit mystified as well so it was never really explained from what I could tell.

 

From an article on formula1.com:

 

Both Alonso and Button fell victims to the notorious Canadian Club, that solid piece of concrete which catches out an F-1 pilot or two each year. Oh well, Villeneuve and Schumacher are past victims, as was Damon Hill a few years back.

Ron Dennis needs to get his pit crew in to the optometrist to check for color blindness. How in 'ell could they send Montoya back out onto the track with the red light on, while the safety car passed? A great ride scuttled for no good reason.

Great run for Kimmi and Ferrari, glad to see that the Italian Stallion seems to be getting back to form.

 

Just watched the Canadian GP:
- What an exciting race! I was sad to see the Renaults out but happy to see such a great race. Kudos to Rubens for coming from last to 3rd on a one stop. I'm going in person next year!
- The CBS Sports coverage absolutely sucks! Ralph Sheheen is a yelling idiot and Derek Daly isn't much better. They both don't know the drivers or cars well and always jump to conclusions and make inaccurate statements throughout the race. I don't feel like I've really seen the race until I watch the Speed coverage. I realize that CBS may reach a wider audience, but please get some decent coverage! At least we only have one more CBS race this year.

I hope to see some of you MINI folks at the USGP next weekend!

Aaron

 

Does anybody know which (if any) of the networks is covering the USGP? (I think commentary for it has been sub par, too)

 

Speed Channel on Satelite/Cable, CBS only has the German GP left this year as they only committed to four races.

 

Thank the lord. Deric Daily I dont mind so much, but that Shaheen guy just frustrates me to no end. CBS loves them some MS though dont they He was 1.7 back with 2 laps and they were acting like he was about to pass Kimi, I'm tempted to just set the DVR and record the friday replay of the German GP on Speed rather than just watching the Sunday CBS live airing.

 

This was a great race because of Ferrari Rubens has had a better year as a driver than Schumi I think with these drives from the back. Now they just have to qualify better and maybe just maybe they got a chance at a championship.

I know they were very lucky today

Poor Renault but Alonso messed up under pressure from Montoya. Very unlucky for Fisi who looked like a winner with that awesome start.

Same with Button under pressure from Schumi

Lots of battles all over the track and exciting until the end. Another great drive by the Iceman once again. I agree about the annoucers commenting how close Schumi was. He was no where near close enough to pass Kimi

How about Trulli's break exploding

 

great race, good to see Ferrari back in the running, but man did the announcers suck. i was getting so frustrated by some of the idiotic comments that shaheen and daly were making i thought about just watching the speed channel replay later this week but knew i couldn't restrain my self from looking up who won. now i'm gonna have to force my self to watch the replay of the German GP to avoid the tools on CBS

 

At first I thought CBS did okay, considering they were trying to cater to F1 newbies. It just gets continuously worse though, and this week they cut most of the podium and the entire drivers interview! And it was even tape delayed! No excuse for those omissions. And how many times did Derek Telestrate the steering wheel again this week?

 

yes, someone needs to take that damn telestrater away from him and if i here (with british+american+irish accent) "and over the kerbs they go" one more time i will scream

 

Just returned from Montreal and am still smiling.

The best part of going to a F-1 race live is to feel the vibrations as the cars scream by... There is no way to even imagine it. We were on the inside of the hairpin so during the race there were cars on both sides in addition to infront of us.

The F-1 fans in the stands are great with the chants and flags and screams as their favorite drivers come into view. Montoya was the only one who was universally booed. When he was black flagged, the stands broke out in applause. At the end everyone stood and clapped waved and hooted as their remaining favorite came by. It was interesting to see new favorite emerge as the old one dropped out. Rubens was the most fun to watch. Each lap he just ticked off another car working his way up. Each time he came by we all stood up and screamed. I am really glad he made the podium. It was disappointing to see both Renaults and Button drop out.They all looked so strong at the beginning.

I hadn't been in a while and even with the screens showing important events the sound inaudible. This race was a tough one to keep track of. Cars just keep diasppearing I will be glad to watch it on tv and remember the excitement of being there.

On Saturday before qualifying, we were treated to a race in the Ferrari Challenge Series. The rumble of 16 Ferraris was quite different pitch, but as a long time Ferrari fan was certainly a rush.

Wow!!!

 

It was this late addition to the inside of the final turn...



that caused this...



It was hot, humid and a great result.

Frank...Webber ain't it, Montoya has to read the rulebook, MS is not a fluke, Barrichello worked again on Sunday, and Villeneuve was exceptional in qualifying. Webber and Ralf went early and JV pipped everyone before him on his lap...it was briefly electrifying in the Canadian crowd.

I would have to say overall, that for my personal 25th GP live...it was another in a fine line...


MGC...Alonzo hit the wall in turn 4...the wall of champions is in turn 13, and you can add Senna to that list...enjoy Indy