Sport The Formula 1 Thread

[djbhammer]

Just watched the race in full. Absolutely flawless drive by Maldanado, amazing win! . To keeo a charging Alonso behind you in his home GP is no mean feat but he did just that superbly.

I could not understand the posts yesterday of some peope saying they were not going to watch the race today in protest at Hamilton's penatly. Yes it was harsh but as soon as you saw the grid you knew it would throw up an awesome race.

Vettel drive through penatly -

5 races, 5 different winners. What a start to an F1 season.

Roll on Monaco!

[dayte]

Quite worrying that the fire crew weren't wearing protective equipment, took a couple of minutes before they arrived on the scene (whilst the pit mechancies themselves had to try and put the fire out without oxygen equipment) - and all they had was simple fire extinguishers to put it out (whilst the team already had hoses).

[dayte]

Guardian:

Pastor Maldonado won the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday and then, 90 minutes later, carried his 12-year-old cousin to safety from the fire that engulfed the Williams garage. Manuel Maldonado was wearing a cast to protect his injured ankle. The fire brought an abrupt end to the celebrations to mark the team's first victory since 2004, 132 races ago, as well as Maldonado's maiden victory. Nine team members were injured, four from Williams, one of whom was airlifted to hospital, four from Caterham and one from Force India.

Pastor though, what a dude 8)

[Dandy_Sephy]

[John0]

Wow, the pictures this morning from the fire are pretty shocking... it seems no one's that seriously injured though, hope that is the case.

Damn that was pretty special to watch a Williams win a race after all these years. And how good was Maldonado? He's taken a lot of, justifiable, criticism for being rash and inconsistent, but yesterday he was flawless. Pushed when it mattered, managed the tyres, managed the pressure from Alonso, and was super-smooth. Awesome.

What a superb job from the Williams team as well. To have won the 5th race the season after their worst ever season... and whoever made that call on strategy to pass Alonso in the pits deserves a hell of a lot of credit too.

What a season so far!

Also, Kobayashi's pass on Button! , in that order.

[Sidewaysbob]

Sorry about the result delay, they should be ready at lunch time.

[Sidewaysbob]

and here they are ... no many of you with any faith in Williams by the looks of it. Five races and five winners, this prediction lark isn't as easy as it once was ...

James Roberts,13

G-Force,13

reani_,13

Duane Weatherall,12

Elmlea,11

Arakawa Automotive,11

PeteyPops,11

Simbo,9

Dean,9

chrisJericho,9

kiroquai,9

Myoozikk,7

Tomox,7

Stephen Rose (mexos),7

Formula Velse,7

MrPogo,7

Mortis,7

jonny,7

Davius,7

Sidewaysbob,7

Bradlay Law,6

Matt,6

Nosey Parker,6

Joffy,6

[Dandy_Sephy]

FIA press release, 31 people were seen by circuit medical staff, largelkt for smoke inhalation. 7 were sent to hospital.

Not in the press release, but current view is that it was an electrical fault in the fuel rig. It's obviously not Kers as the car would be a smouldering mess spread over half the garage, and we've seen the car sitting in the middle of the garage with no obvious chassis damage.

[JohnC]

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16227575

Williams say it "originated from the fuel area". Force India guy is rather critical of the official emergency procedure, or lack thereof, too.

[gospvg]

A shame for Williams on a day when they should have been celebrating, hope everyone is ok

[dayte]

http://news.sky.com/home/world-news/article/16227575

Williams say it "originated from the fuel area". Force India guy is rather critical of the official emergency procedure, or lack thereof, too.

Yeah there was fuck all fire crew. Near the end of the BBC forum (few mins into the fire) a pickup truck with sirens come along, a guy in shorts came out and took out a couple of fire extinguishers from the back. I seriously hope that wasn't the fire crew. But then, where were they?

Also, Kobayashi's pass on Button! , in that order.

I think his pass on Rosberg after was way better

[marsh]

I seriously hope that wasn't the fire crew. But then, where were they?

I would imagine they'd long since fucked off what with the vast majority of people going to assist at these events working as volunteers. I'd be very surprised if any circuit had a full time fire crew on site outside of an events time. A couple of blokes knowing where to point an extinguisher is about as good as it gets.

[Petey]

and here they are ... no many of you with any faith in Williams by the looks of it. Five races and five winners, this prediction lark isn't as easy as it once was ...

Cheeky prediction for a Force India win around the streets...

[myoozikk]

Mclaren or Lotus for Monaco, TBH I think it will finally be Lewis's day. In a strange way I think Spain has been incredible for him & Mclaren. Lewis handled the situation in such an incredible way, any driver could & most would have thrown their toys out of the pram & no-one would have blamed them yet despite all the fuck ups this year he publicly & critically privately supported the team. (there's talk of him going to Whitmarsh's hotel room & saying we win & lose as a team when Whitmarsh was taking a world of shit from everyone) imagine the headlines for Mclaren if Lewis had stormed off or acted as you can imagine from last year. The incident was totally neutralised he was my driver of the day on Sunday & for me his stock & my estimations of him have never been higher & I think this is the same for Whitmarsh & within mclaren which was fast becoming JB's team. Lewis just reminded them why he's one of the top 4 drivers in F1 IMHO (LH, FA, KR, SV)

[Cheeko]

I want Maldonado to keep up the quality driving but carry on being the asshole that he's shown himself to be before on the track. I've got no one to dislike anymore, Schumacher's being generally cool when he's not failing to finish the race and Alonso is a wild beast taming brute that even seems to have buried the hatchet with Lewis. Barrichello is gone(who I really despised and I personally feel his departure was part of the turnaround for a new era for Williams) and lastly there's Massa, but he's so shit these days you don't even hear from him or see what he's up to.

[Sidewaysbob]

Oh i think Perez is fast becoming my most disliked driver. He's certainly a legend in his own lunch time and no where near as wonderful as the media would have you believe. He's had a couple of good results, less than Koby has, and all of a sudden he's getting Massas seat .. well he was until Maldonado won and suddenly he's getting the seat.

He's just kind of a bit dopey and wet, he is very good at driving a car carefully so that it doesn't damage the tyres and sort of gets points by just being there. The one chance he had to make something of himself and he ran off the road and never really challenged Alonso. Despite what the tin foil hat brigade may say he lost that all on his loansome.

He's not even a good number two driver, he doesn't seem to have any sort of ambition. He just sort of drives around .. doing okay with what he's got. whilst Koby thrashes the car and makes things happen.

oh and he has a silly mouth full of teeth.

[marsh]

Hmmmmmm..................Maldonado to ferrari...........?

Especially after massa parks it in the harbour.

[Sidewaysbob]

Perez then Webber now Maldonado .. next week it'll be Hamilton when he either wins brilliantly or the team send him out on three wheels

[merman]

Hmmmmmm..................Maldonado to ferrari...........?

Especially after massa parks it in the harbour.

More likely to be Di Resta to Ferarr in place of Massai, Hamilton to Lotus next season...

[mexos]

I was really happy for Maldonado. Which is strange because I think he's an asshole and and really don't like him. Confused/10.

But more so for Williams. They were the team I supported when I first started watching F1, so to see their downturn has been distressing. Seeing them take the win was wonderful.

Hamilton again was super impressive. The double pass on the Torro's . And on another day when Button just goes for a drive in the country. I really don't understand JB. For every day he's brilliant, he has another two where he's nowhere.

[Dudley]

Oh i think Perez is fast becoming my most disliked driver. He's certainly a legend in his own lunch time and no where near as wonderful as the media would have you believe. He's had a couple of good results, less than Koby has, and all of a sudden he's getting Massas seat .. well he was until Maldonado won and suddenly he's getting the seat.

He's not even a good number two driver, he doesn't seem to have any sort of ambition. He just sort of drives around .. doing okay with what he's got. whilst Koby thrashes the car and makes things happen.

Perez was "getting Massa's seat" before he ever got to F1.

That said, that 2nd half is exactly what makes him perfect as Ferrari's number 2 driver. It'd be exactly like Massa but 5 places further forward and not crashing into Lewis every 3rd race.

I was really happy for Maldonado. Which is strange because I think he's an asshole and and really don't like him. Confused/10.

It's good to see someone make the most of a chance if they're suddenly given it. Exactly like Perez didn't.

[marsh]

I only watched the 7 minutes of highlights on the bbc website after fully expecting the race to be a steaming pile of shit. Those seven minutes did nothing to convey how amazing your all making it sound. I'll add another tick in the box for Williams, because they've had a shit time of it really since Senna perished, and I think those wounds are still there for all to see.

I'm with mexos, williams are steeped in putting a brit in their car and delivering a wdc before sacking the driver. This win will have done them no harm at all. The pressure must be mounting on the boy senna now jimmy hill has bagged a win.......

That chin isn't normal is it?

[mexos]

Amazing quotes from Frank:

When asked if Maldonado was only at Williams in the first place because of money, Williams said: "Yeah, he was to some extent. I'm not denying that. But if we thought he'd been a wanker, he wouldn't have got in the team no matter how much money he had.

[mexos]

I only watched the 7 minutes of highlights on the bbc website after fully expecting the race to be a steaming pile of shit. Those seven minutes did nothing to convey how amazing your all making it sound.

There were good moves throughout the field. Plus a Williams was fighting up front along with the Lotuses (and unfortunately a Ferrari slightly ruining things lol). All the other big boys were having a shit day - the order was turned on it's head. What's not to like!?

I was kind of waiting for a RB to storm through the field and snatch away the win. The tension was that I was thinking all the way through, 'yeah he's leading but he can't actually win, right?' Because that's what always happens. (I'm thinking Alesi at Phoenix, Damon at Hungary etc).

[wev]

That Frank Williams comment is amazing!

I have to admit, the races we've had so far this season I've warmed to Maldonado, his aggression got the better of him last year but I like his "cant give a fuck" attitude to the reputations of drivers like Alonso and Hamilton and the controlled aggression he's shown whenever he's been racing against Grosjean, thats a rivalry I'd love to see grow to being fights for the lead!

[mexos]

[dayte]

Lewis doesn't like it, I think he prefers Ron

[zxcvbnm]

Hamilton's hairline seems to be slipping down his face.

[PaB]

You see Lewis thinking "Yeah hug away mother fucker, I'm off to Red Bull next year"

Seriously the team is so amateurish at the moment... well, I say moment, it has been for a few years, there is an endemic culture problem there. Its just sloppy.

[mexos]

You see Lewis thinking "Yeah hug away mother fucker, I'm off to Red Bull next year"

Seriously the team is so amateurish at the moment... well, I say moment, it has been for a few years, there is an endemic culture problem there. Its just sloppy.

Can't agree with that. People fuck up in F1 all the time. The spotlight is on Mclaren more than most. Any errors get seen and commented on more, so more of them are noticed. Then it becomes a 'story'. Just like Vettel not being able to overtake became a 'story'. Load of crap more like.

An endemic culture problem... in a team that develops a car quicker than any other? Ferrari had the similar spotlight a few years ago. It does the rounds, nothing to see here move on