11 Responses to “Sorting the men from the boys”

1. John Bonello, July 21st, 2008 at 1:32 pm

   Dear Nigel ,

   More Ferrari bashing ? , although I cannot decide on whether your article was about casting doubts on Massa's driving prowess in the rain without TC or Ferrari screwing up the race at Silverstone. While there is no doubt that this is the case as admitted by Signor Domenicali , these things happen , after all was it not McLaren's similar tyre screw up in China last year that effectively ended Hamilton's chances ? Why single out Ferrari for a bad judgement call ?.

   As to Massa and TC I point out that a few other drivers like Button & Coulthard stated before the season started that the loss of TC could be cause for concern in wet races , Massa merely added his voice to their concern. If , as Massa stated yesterday in the post race interview , he always went well in the wet in his early racing career we have to believe him , after all did he not finish third in Monaco , 4.8 seconds behind Hamilton in wet conditions ? Is a wet Monaco not the ultimate test of car control especially without TC because of near zero run off areas ?

   I look forward to a time when I will read a favourable article about the Scuderia written by your goodself….however I fear that until Hamilton signs for the Prancing Horse (which he inevitably will) they (Ferrari) will always be seen as the enemy.

   John Bonello
   Oxford

2. Ludwig Eller, July 21st, 2008 at 5:35 pm

   "…when I will read a favourable article about the Scuderia written by your goodself…."
   I for my part hope NEVER, or only after Ferrari operating like a "normal" team rather than the FIA darling (just look at the exhaust pipe mess in France - I'm not sure whether a McLaren would have been shown the black flag or handed a fine in the region of 10+m GBP, but the Ferrari No.1 car could finish the race without any interference from the officials)
   ps
   Love the Mag, appreciate the articles, but would love to see more from the history than the historic racing)

3. Peter, July 21st, 2008 at 7:13 pm

   Sorry John, there is more chance of low flying pigs than LH taking a backward step amd joining a company with such lax security

4. Greg Webb, July 21st, 2008 at 8:05 pm

   Dear John,

   While Ferrari continue to behave as if they are above other mere teams and are the fundamental core of F1, deserving of special treatment and respect, I see no replacement to call Silverstone what it was - a bad tactical call and some abysmal driving from someone who should do better on one of the fastest circuits.

   Regards,

   Greg Webb

5. Derek Bush, July 22nd, 2008 at 3:30 pm

   Dear Nigel,I recall the Donnington GP in 1993 when the rain changed the order of play and Ayrton Senna drove in a class of his own. A certain 4 times world champion - Alain Prost had to pit 6 times in the rain and ended up one lap down in a lucky 3rd place. Kind regards, Derek Bush

6. Nigel Foot, July 22nd, 2008 at 11:03 pm

   Dear Nigel,
   I agree that the removal of traction control is sorting the men from the boys. Lewis Hamilton has shown that he is in a class of his own when it comes to racing in the wet, or dry, following the thrashing of the opposition at Hockenheim.
   My view is that he is the most naturally gifted British driver since Jim Clark and I hope the he, like Clark, resists the temptation to sign for Ferrari.
   Best wishes,
   Nigel Foot

7. David Fox, July 23rd, 2008 at 6:14 pm

   Could not agree more–no TC is really showing who can drive and who's struggling….also this season seems to be showing up who's a "racer" and who isn't.
   I think Hamilton's drive at Silverstone was as good as Stirling Moss in the 1961 International Trophy for the short lived Intercontinental race where he lapped the entire field in the wet –including world champion Brabham.
   Regards
   David Fox, Schwenksville PA

8. Pete Fenelon, July 24th, 2008 at 11:00 am

   The lack of TC is making a real difference this year, but I fear that KERS (assuming it stops fumigating factories and shocking mechanics) will enable all kinds of 'clever' software in the car that will enable the Playstation-generation tuggers to return to somewhere near the front of the grid if their team has the latest demon tweak in the software.

9. Arturo Pereira, August 3rd, 2008 at 4:01 am

   The ban should include all electronics, not only TC. But then I doubt there will be enough drivers that volunteer to drive an F1 car and there will be a lot of engineers looking for a new job.

10. David Boote, August 6th, 2008 at 8:14 pm

    A great drive by Hamilton but the big lesson to be learned from Silverstone is that lack of grip sorts out the naturally gifted in any generation but also provides far better racing. The margin of victory was large but you couldn't look away for a moment because one small mistake could mean a trip into the gravel, and you could see how difficult the cars were to control as they actually lost traction under power. So, as less downforce equals less grip, we don't need a technical group to restore entertainment just some common sense. Oh well I suppose we can all pray for rain !!!

11. Christopher June, August 12th, 2008 at 2:26 pm

    I was really shocked that more drivers did not take advantage of the full wet tires as did Barrichello especially taking into account that there is no traction control on the cars other than the driver's foot. Just think of how far out in front Hamilton would have been. He could have taken the checkers and sat in the grandstands with his fans to watch the rest of the race.