2007 US Grand Prix

[jdm]

Lewis' "brother" looked like Pharrel Williams :lol:

Vettel did disappoint me. A big deal was made about him and he didnt do anything to set the world on fire. I think its because Hamilton has done so well, that we have a benchmark for rookies at the moment. I would like to see what Kubica could have done this weekend had he not had the shunt in Montreal. Based on what we saw, and I know it's only one race, he hasnt done enough to warrant taking Nick or Roberts place.

As for the crowd complaint I have. It's based on the fact that the main Grandstands looked empty, except for a few thousand in front of the start line, and in P1-3 and Qualifying it looked dead and you rarely saw the people in the infield.

Take Australia for example. Every Grandstand is full and people are crammed by the fences during all the major televised sessions. Bernie has a point though that Indy doesnt promote F1 enough, having Indy 500 posters for last month still up and no mention of F1 in the city at all.

Edit: It was Pharrel Williams.

Celebrity spotting in the Indianapolis paddock

Formula One racing mixed with a historic location is a recipe guaranteed to pull in not just fans, but famous fans at that. We caught up with just a handful who were at Indianapolis to enjoy a thrilling US Grand Prix weekend?

A Formula One virgin at Indy was R&B superstar and multi-platinum, Grammy award-winning producer and songwriter Pharrell Williams, who cruised between the paddock and the Paddock Club to get an in-depth taste of what Grand Prix racing is all about. ?How did I first get to know about Formula One? I was dating some girl who used to date guys from F1. I got interested by the stories she told. Then this kid Lewis Hamilton comes along and turns this sport upside down by breaking a record every time he gets into his car, so I decided to get in contact with him - and that?s why I am here. And boy, this is quite something! I thought that I would be given a beer in a brown paper bag and a hot dog and be seated somewhere in a grandstand - I had no idea that I was going to face high gastronomy! The beef I was served was the best I have ever eaten - better than Kobe beef. In fact this cow must have been massaged with body lotion. And then the grid! Talking to Lewis minutes before the race starts - watching him get ready for his battle. And the race - adrenalin from a distance, thinking you are in the ca, hoping that you can make a difference by wishing that your favourite will win. Of course that?s foolish, but the excitement really gets you into this. This weekend really got me hooked.?

A Formula One returnee was Frankie Muniz, star of US sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, who has racing ambitions of his own. ?Whenever I have time and a race is within reach, I?m there! This atmosphere is one of a kind. And if you like fast cars this is exactly your place - the vibrating air and the horrendous noise at the start, the fight for every position! Even if you have seen this several times, you want more - and I wanted more. I wanted to race - and that is what I am doing. I am a professional race driver now, hoping to find a GP2 seat for next year. What?s the difference between acting and racing? As an actor, it's all about what people think of you. You can do your best job possible, but if someone says it sucks, it sucks, whereas here, if I'm good, it will show!?

damn, nice if you've got the money for it.

 

[Firecat]

Honestly, the more celebrities start to love him (to the point of hanging out where regular fans can't go) the more I start to dislike him.

I'm just sayin'...

Like when they showed Tommy Lee with Scott Speed cruising the track in a ferrari...meh.

 

[AnGuRuSO]

Frankie Muniz is a shit actor.

 

[lv2xlr8]

What a race! I woke up 40mins late so I just turned it off and downloaded it later so I ended watching it this morning. It's wild that Lewis one again. I'm pissed that Massa couldn't get pole but he's doing much better than Kimi.

I'm starting to feel bad for Alonso because last year Flavio liked him alot better than Fisi and now the tables have turned on him. He is a very talented racer but Lewis has definitely rattled him. I mean, imagine yourself in his spot, you have 2 championships under your belt and you're looking for a 3rd then this rookie comes along and makes you look like old news, it would definitely get to you and affect how well you can drive.

Although I want Ferrari to win the drivers championship and the constructors champion, I do want Alonso to score more points than Lewis. I hope we'll finally see Massa AND Kimi on the podium at Magny'Cours.

Ummm, what is UC?

UC

It's a rare inflammatory bowl disease (IBD). It's so rare that only 0.0001% or 1 out of every 10,000 people have it in North America according to wiki so maybe take that with a grain of salt but it still is fairly rare. So I have respect for him that he can cope with that and race in F1 where the drivers are basically machines.

 

[Paul]

Frankie Muniz is a shit actor.

:lol: No, not really, i really like Malcom in the Middle. Okay, so his other movie is rubbish but he worked hard for it and because of that he can afford to go racing.

 

[eMKay]

That is not bad if you still remember what happened in 2005.
I still think the track is boring as hell. It does have it's "thing" the banked corner but that's it. There are boring tracks in Europe too but most of them have special corners, exciting layout... ELEVATION. Indianapolis cannot be the best racing track in the US it is just the most well known one because NASCAR and we all know how much NASCAR and F1 have incommon. :lol:

Anyway, the race was decently exciting I think. No surprize that McLaren was miles ahead of everyone else. I hate how it looks like Kimi is OK with just cruising around the tracks, getting paid a gazillion and then leaves F1. IF that is what he is doing, I hope he rots in hell. He better have true problems and he better get over them fast too or else... the Tifosi... damn. It will give Finnish drivers a bad name forever.

Personally I love the Indy track, maybe with a little tweaking of the infield, and maybe covering up the stands that are not available to be sold, even in 1999 when there were 225,000 people there it still looked half empty (because it was). There are other tracks I would love to see F1 on, my favorite is Watkins Glen, but it would need a serious upgrade. Road Atlanta, Sears Point, an NYC street circuit, or even a las Vegas one.

 

[Devon]

Well done to Lewis on another GP win, I'm backing him to be the World Champion this year, I think he's got what it takes. Alonso shits me, driving up to the pit wall to send the team a message, what a loser.

Well done to Mark Webber on getting his first points for the season , I think he could've finished higher if he didn't get held up by Trulli and make a mistake at turn one. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for him this season.

Felt sorry for Rosberg engine going, but was happy all the same to see a Williams car get a DNF :?.

Hopefully Ferrari start improving, they are starting to fall behind, I want to see Ferrari and McLaren battling it out, not battling each other.

As for the Sato incident, I think a 10 grid place penality for the French GP is harsh, especially if it was Button overtaking him. I thought I saw Liuzzi overtake someone under the yellow flag as well...

Overall a pretty good race, better then I expected, I was thinking it was going to be a bit boring. That marshal who dropped the blue flag, I hope he his banned from attending F1 events altogether.

To all the Aussies, Greg Rust and McConville have confirmed they will be at Silverstone, which means they are going to be our commentators...how crap is that GP coverage going to be!!

 

[fbc]

To all the Aussies, Greg Rust and McConville have confirmed they will be at Silverstone, which means they are going to be our commentators...how crap is that GP coverage going to be!!

Not necessarily - I'm sure in the past they've gone over to the races and still taken the ITV feed. My guess is we'll just see them wandering around the paddock making a nuisance of themselves while doing a few filler pieces and their intro / outro bits.

Well, I hope that's what's going to happen anyway.

<crosses fingers>

 

[Red_Bull]

...but was happy all the same to see a Williams car get a DNF :?.

Why is that?

 

[Devon]

Not necessarily - I'm sure in the past they've gone over to the races and still taken the ITV feed. My guess is we'll just see them wandering around the paddock making a nuisance of themselves while doing a few filler pieces and their intro / outro bits.

Well, I hope that's what's going to happen anyway.

<crosses fingers>

I was thinking of last year when Neil Crompton and Leigh Diffey went over and they did the commentary for the whole race, I assume Ten will do that again this year.

Why is that?

Because they provided Webber with such a shit car when he was with them, I dislike them now because of that.


Alonso Blames Brake Dust...

News
Whitmarsh: Alonso swerved in anger

Monday, 18, June, 2007, 16:47


McLaren?s chief operating officer Martin Whitmarsh believes Fernando Alonso?s swerve towards the pit wall halfway through the US Grand Prix was prompted by frustration that he was not being given a clear passage to victory.

Alonso had reeled in team-mate Lewis Hamilton after the first round of pit stops while the rookie was stuck in traffic and struggling with tyre graining problems.

At that stage of the race Alonso had the quicker car, but Hamilton repelled a determined passing bid on lap 38 and was able to re-establish a small cushion.

As they came onto the main straight to begin the next lap, the world champion veered dramatically towards the pit wall in an apparent gesture of annoyance.

Alonso played down the move in the post-race press conference, claiming he was simply trying to blow away brake dust and cool his engine temperatures.

?I followed [Hamilton?s] car for so many laps that my overalls and everything were so black because the carbon brakes were coming into me every braking point,? he explained.

?I think my brakes were hotter, my whole car was hotter than normal, so I tried to pull away from the slipstream sometimes just to cool the car.?

However, Whitmarsh ventured a different explanation for Alonso's detour towards the pit wall.

?He was sending [a message] to Lewis,? he said.

?Drivers do that from time to time.

?I?m sure any driver, if they were in a position where they felt they?re driving a quicker car at the time, would like to be given rite of passage to the front.

?We were running absolutely fair programmes for both drivers.

?Frankly, in the middle of the race, Fernando was a bit quicker but Lewis had track position ? they were pushing hard.

?When we had to turn the engines down in the final part of the race, we did it simultaneously and it was done to the same extent on both cars so that they were able to continue racing.

?At various points in the race, it was clear that Fernando was a little bit quicker, but Lewis did a fantastic job in qualifying.

?He made a great start and robustly defended his position a couple of times at turn one.?

Since being accused of using team orders in Monaco ? a charge on which it was cleared by the FIA ? McLaren has been at pains to stress that its two drivers are free to race one another and are given the same opportunity to win.

Whitmarsh described the team-mates? duel at Indianapolis as a ?no-holds-barred? contest.

?There was no doubt at the start that they were being allowed to race one another,? he said.

?They were respectful. We?ve got two very intelligent drivers and they both want to win very badly.

?And they pushed hard then ? but with the appropriate respect for one another.

?And later in the race it was no-holds-barred ? they were racing each other from beginning to end.?

Source

 

[HondaF1]

I think it will be like when Darryl and AJ went to Silverstone in the Channel 9 days, Provide an opening and closing package and give us ITV commentary. Who wants to listen to McBoreville and Rusty commentate a whole race.

 

[fbc]

I was thinking of last year when Neil Crompton and Leigh Diffey went over and they did the commentary for the whole race, I assume Ten will do that again this year.

Hmm, my goldfish-memory is getting worse and worse - I can't remember that, but I'm sure I must've been screaming at the tv.

 

[Top Geek]

brundle's grid walk, hilarious.

I wonder who it is who thought, "oh, Lewis a black guy, so let's put on some rap music for the Americans" :lol:

And then there was that ditz on the track...

[Cameron Diaz]We arrre steeandeeng eeand jeest lucking gergus and feeabulus geeving theese heeandsom dreevers beeutiful weemon to look at aleeong with theem[/Cameron Diaz]

...and why the heck would I care what some rap loser thinks of the race? Sheesh.

 

[HondaF1]

[Cameron Diaz]We arrre steeandeeng eeand jeest lucking gergus and feeabulus geeving theese heeandsom dreevers beeutiful weemon to look at aleeong with theem[/Cameron Diaz]

Finally, someone on here with a worse accent than my attempts!!

 

[Devon]

Hmm, my goldfish-memory is getting worse and worse - I can't remember that, but I'm sure I must've been screaming at the tv.

Neil was good, Leigh was Leigh...