2008 Turkish Formula 1 Grand Prix

Interesting race, and interesting to see that McLaren went for the three stop strategy based around their concerns for the tyre. With that in mind their qualifying performance was somewhat disappointing as they failed to close out Felipe Massa, but then it really is a Massa track and clearly one of the few circuits he actually has a handle on. Obviously a great drive by him to close down the McLaren of Hamilton, but it was calm, conventional stuff by he and Raikkonen. For Hamilton's strategy to work I'm sure he needed to have been on the front row in qualifying and had that been the case I reckon with the speed he showed today he would've won it.

Kovalainen showed once again that he is a very aggressive driver, especially where Raikkonen is concerned. Remember back to Fuji last year and Melbourne this year how he almost treats Raikkonen with contempt, just not backing down and often forcing the Ferrari driver to yield. It almost worked again, but unfortunately the merest of touches from the Ferrari front wing put paid to his chances. However, we were treated to a desperate and awesome drive, passing cars left, right and centre. All for nothing in the end, surely soon his day will come.

BMW, nowhere. Kubica's engineer was very optimistic there because even myself with my limited intelligence could see that there was no chance Kubica was going to be racing Hamilton there. Heidfeld got himself into 5th place where he was always going to finish once the Renaults, Webber and Rosberg sorted themselves out for the final few points. BMW still have a strong margin over those guys, but aren't on the same page as Ferrari and McLaren.

Driver of the day for me goes to Heikki Kovalainen. Hard to choose between him or Hamilton, but it was the determination and spirit he showed in his fightback that nets it.

Bring on Monaco!
 
Joc? said:
Kimi had the fastest lap of the race so I don't think that wing affected him too much
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If it proves anything it proves that he is a an excellent driver.
 
No, it proves the wing was undamaged...
 
XPB_06IO9350SGBD6O08ARNR5-2.jpg


^ :lol: thats really awesome I love it.
 
What was Fisichella thinking at the start of the race!? It wasn't something I expected from him...

Its also a shame to Bourdais retire yet again...

Regardless, I'm happy with the results and I can't wait to see Kimi, Massa, & the Scuderia take on Monaco!
 
^They're doing it wrong.
 
Cellos88GT said:
What was Fisichella thinking at the start of the race!? It wasn't something I expected from him...

Its also a shame to Bourdais retire yet again...

Regardless, I'm happy with the results and I can't wait to see Kimi, Massa, & the Scuderia take on Monaco!
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Lol...you do realize Ferrari haven't won Monaco since 2001...
 
FIA to investigate Turkey security

By Jonathan Noble Sunday, May 11th 2008, 11:52 GMT

Formula One race director Charlie Whiting is to submit a report to the FIA about track security at the Turkish Grand Prix following the dog incident that marred the GP2 sprint race on Sunday morning.

Bruno Senna was forced out of the race while in a strong sixth place when he hit a stray dog that had run onto the circuit. The incident ripped off his front wing and right front suspension, and he was lucky not to suffer a more serious accident.

With a second dog on the track prompting the safety car to be called out, Whiting ordered a increase of security measures ahead of this afternoon's Formula One race to ensure there was no repeat incident.

In a statement issued by the FIA shortly before the start of the Istanbul event, Whiting said: "Following a breach of Article 30.16 of the 2008 GP2 Sporting Regulations, which involved dogs on the track during the GP2 Race 2 today, I have formally reminded the Clerk of the Course and the organiser of their responsibilities, and how seriously the FIA view this incident.

"As a result I have given instructions that all external gates to the circuit must be checked and secured, that prior to the F1 race this afternoon the appropriate authorities will check all parts of the circuit to remove any other animals. Finally all internal access points to the track will be closed and monitored during the F1 race.

"Finally, given the seriousness of the matter a formal report will be submitted to the FIA."

Article 30.16 of the GP2 Sporting Regulations is understood to state: "Animals, except those which may have been expressly authorised by the FIA for use by security services, are forbidden on the track, in the pit lane, in the paddock or in any spectator area."
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Source
 
Wow, what's this? Actual overtaking? I can't quite believe it...

I was expecting Massa to drop the car into the sand at any point, but he held it together. Great drive by Hamilton.

xecutioner said:
all i gotta say is that the commentators are making me hate any driver from the UK
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What you have to remember is the commentary is intended for the UK - not for an international audience, so it's to be expected they'll focus on UK drivers.
 
Joc? said:
https://pic.armedcats.net/a/an/anonymous/2008/05/11/fisinaka.bmp
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Could have been bad, imagine if part of his car had landed on the cockpit of another?

He fucked up badly, seeing the replay it's like he wasn't paying any attention. He actually said "it's not my fault!" in an interview on ITV. Right. Cars ahead are slowing in a straight and linear fashion, you plough into the back of them, and it's someone elses fault. Obviously.

Stick to endorsing shitty beer mate.
 
^

And having the balls to say "Its not my fault"
 
Ok my usual long winded analysis. More fun than uni work:cool:

Ferrari:
Still the benchmark on pace. McLaren were fairly close but dropped the ball in the last sector of the lap. For all those predicting Monaco dominance for McLaren take a look at the last two grand prix. McLaren has trailed Ferrari in the last sector of both Barcelona and Istanbul...tight twisty stuff....just like Monaco for example. McLaren has traditionally rode kerbs and bumps better than the Ferrari though so I think it will be very very close again. Massa will be nowhere at Monaco but remember Kimi's charge last year, he is awesome around Monaco. A good win for Massa although it was hardly dominant. Kimi setting fastest lap despite a broken wing is ominous for the rest of the field, ok so it obviously wasn't too badly damaged but even if it was a tenth per lap he still would have been on par with Massa at the end. Also don't forget had Kimi pulled off that move at the start he would have been 3rd instead of 6th and probably have won the race.

McLaren:
Fabulous drive from Lewis, he rates it his best and it can't be far from it. I can't remember a single mistake and he drove the absolute wheels off that car from lap 1 to lap 58. His pass on Massa was brilliant. Don't know why McLaren has safety issues with tyres when no other team does, but thank god they do as someone doing a different strategy gave us a very exciting race. Heikki drove very well, a shame he got a puncture but again gave us some great racing. His car was a bullet on low fuel and watching him carve through the field was great.

BMW:
Steady mistake free run from Kubica. No longer has the pace to challenge the top two and it seems Ron Dennis' assertions that BMW wouldn't be able to maintain development pace is proving accurate. Many people don't rate Heidfeld but he is a very good racer and worked his way up the field. However unless he starts finding pace to match Kubica he will always be on the back foot.

Renault:
Another great drive from Alonso, read the first corner well and gained position which he then kept from Webber. Piquet drove hard but often too hard, made mistakes and lucky Button was generous with the room he gave him otherwise it would have been game over.

Red Bull:
Another solid drive from Webber. Shame he didn't skip Alonso but thank god Red Bull seem to have some reliability at least now! Should continue to gather points all year and hopefully Red Bull realise the asset they have and sign him for another 2 years or so. At least Coulthard finished a race and remained undamaged but losing a spot to Rosberg was poor especially as he was fuelled very long in the first stint.

Williams:
Good drive from Rosberg. Like Heidfeld seems to be able to work his way up a few places with the minimum of fuss. Not much to say about Kazuki other than he was very diplomatic about the incident.

Toyota:
Have slipped in pace. Truilli is now struggling for points and Glock is definitely midfield. Had a good stoush with Kovi though so at least he is trying.

Honda:
Car needs more pace. They have all the tools and the drivers are certainly not the weak point so just waiting for updates I guess.

Toro Rosso:
Finally Vettel gets further than one lap although still got a puncture on the first lap. Maybe the new car will give them some more pace but can't see them getting much further up the grid this year. Bourdais is just circulating really although it looked like something broke in the car.

Force India:
Fisichella was doing the equivalent of talking on his mobile while traffic stopped. I was astounded how he thought the incident was not his fault, was it all the other drivers fault because they don't take the first turn at 130mph? Very spectacular accident though. Sutil did nothing amazing, kept out of trouble I guess. Progress seems to have stalled.

Final thoughts. I think this is one of the best race tracks on the calendar. A brilliant spectacle from on board even without the overtaking opportunities. Pat on the back for Tilke the day he thought this one up. Lewis seems to have regained his form and is driving brilliantly. Massa has had his in form tracks (except for Interlagos) so I expect Kimi to take charge now. He is still the man to catch.
 
Hi Guys.

Sorry for not getting this thread ready as I havent had access to the internet for the past 2 weeks, stupid work and computer!! I finally got access at the library, so I should have the Monaco thread ready at the end of the week :)

Thanks Devon for filling in for me whilst absent, loved the questions :lol:

Devon: If you dont see the thread here by Saturday, could you do it again please.

Good race, actually enjoyed watching Hamilton this time. Shame about the Honda's, but we'll get pole and a win soon :D
 
Necx0 said:
Ferrari:
... Kimi setting fastest lap despite a broken wing is ominous for the rest of the field, ok so it obviously wasn't too badly damaged but even if it was a tenth per lap he still would have been on par with Massa at the end. Also don't forget had Kimi pulled off that move at the start he would have been 3rd instead of 6th and probably have won the race...
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Oh, c'mon! Kimi could've changed that wing at any pit stop without losing too much time. That thing probably was not damaged at all. And great, he had the fastest lap, a consolation prize for his 3rd place.

As for Massa, he must have been turkish in a previous life... I don't expect anything but a ordinary position for him in Monaco, but that's ok. In today's F1 what matters is to score in each race, not necessarily win them. Kimi did it last year and was champion when probably even him didn't believe it was possible...
 
Spazatao said:
Oh, c'mon! Kimi could've changed that wing at any pit stop without losing too much time. That thing probably was not damaged at all. And great, he had the fastest lap, a consolation prize for his 3rd place.

As for Massa, he must have been turkish in a previous life... I don't expect anything but a ordinary position for him in Monaco, but that's ok. In today's F1 what matters is to score in each race, not necessarily win them. Kimi did it last year and was champion when probably even him didn't believe it was possible...
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It was damaged, lost the end plate. Either way it would have cost him, not much though. Like I said it was probably only a tenth per lap. Might have taken 5 seconds to change in a pit stop therefore worked out about even so thats why they didn't change it. But considering he finished 5 seconds behind race winner Massa?? Was very close at the front this weekend.
 
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