Good notes Konovalov, and I would add the departure of Michael Schumacher. He was well known for being very demanding in details and always requesting precision.

On a side note, I have never been a huge Massa fan, specially since I saw him driving in the wet in Silverstone (Of course the McLaren is by far the best car in the wet, and not coincidentally Alonso also made an impressive overtaking manouver last year over Felipe's Ferrari also in the wet), but to his credit and the polemic Spa penalty nonwithstanding it should be noted that he leaded the Hungarian GP with autority when his engine failed, and the he was leading well the Singapur GP when the stupid lights system of Ferrari ruined his race. Plus he made a good overtaking movement over Hamilton in dry conditions, (Who had the smaller balls there to brake late, Lewis? And who had them in Spa last year when Alonso and you went side by side to Eau Rouge in Spa? :roll: ). Thus, even if Lewis is a better driver in the wet and probably also in the dry (though by a lesser margin) I must admit that Felipe has also done merits to be crowned champion this year. Not as many as Lewis, who is a more complete driver, but his abilities have been proven.

My ranking of the top drivers in F1 at the moment:

1. Alonso
2. Hamilton
3. Raikkonen
4. Kubica
5. Massa / Vettel

I cant base this on other things than impressions from the seasons so far. The reason I rate Kimi higher than Felipe is because I think Kimi is having problems with the car setup/ tires this year, he just doesnt look like himself. And he has always dominated his teammates in earlier seasons, including Massa.

As for Alonso and Hamilton, both can be ***holes, but I think they are the best we have seen since Schumacher.

Kubica is on the list because the knowledgeable in the pit lane says he is that good, and because Lewis said he is the only driver he fears.

And Vettel has completely crushed Bourdais, a really good driver.

No problem ;)

http://img383.imageshack.us/img383/8831/gglitterax1.jpg

So that is where the scumbag has been hiding here in the UK. :down:

Poor Ferrari >_<

Yeah, but Fernando also went from Michelin in Renault to Bridgestone in Mclaren in 2007 and look how well he did it. Besides, Kimi was champion last year with the Bridgestones already, so no excuses for that :hmm:

I personally think that what happens to Kimi is a personal problem of motivation/attitude. Having won last year's championship has not been the best thing for this year's morale.

Never mind, the reason I like him more than other drivers is not just because of his talent and amazing driving when he is concentrated, but because of his attitude of macho-driver from past eras like the 70s, when racers smoked, partied and went with girls the night before the race. I somehow have never liked the modern hyperyoung-super-cyber-ultra-professional athletes like Alonso or Lewis, as they make the competition less human and romantic to my eyes. Of course that's the way to win, as has happened in all sports (Compare soccer players from the 70s and from nowadays), but Kimi's title last year was for me a wellcomed boost of fresh air, of rebellion against a way of engaging the competitions that alienates the participants a lot. Alonso and Lewis were both moulded as champions from their youngest age, they started racing in karts with three years! :o The adaptability and skills of their bodies when they still were childs has been carefully moulded and modified as if they were dogs or race horses in favour of one skill: car racing.

And I hate that way of doing things. It's not human, it's artificial :nope:

Hehe, I hear you. Kimi once said he admired James Hunt. And we all know he is the coolest F1 driver ever.

Lookie here:
http://home.online.no/%7Eorjanbye/fy..._hunt_1976.jpg

Brilliant photo Stabiz - my new computer wallpaper when I get home:up:

GREAT ONE Stabiz!!! :rock:

Those were the giants, and compared to them modern drivers are just dwarfs :smug: (Except Kimi!)

There is a great story about James Hunt. They were practising at Hockenheim, I beleive, back when it was long, fast and awesome, and the team lost contact with Hunt when he was in the woods at the far end of the track. The team got worried and sent out a car to find him, fearing he had crashed horribly. They found him parked nicely besides the track, sleeping in the cockpit. He was hung over.:rotfl:

Btw, Kimi Raikkonen entered a snowmobile race home in Finland as James Hunt. Ferrari was pissed.:lol:

And we've all seen this Kimi interview, of course ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HHUkHbgAtM ... a real character in the old style :up: :up:

I like his style, just like me. To heck with the PC even when viewed by millions on telly. :up:

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=-VW2oA...eature=related

My hero :rock: :rock:

Having a life as he has, training that little, smoking, drinking and partying that much.....how much talent must one have to be F1 World Champion against the supertrained and ultra professional nearly-monks Alonso and Hamilton :lol:

If Kimi did a fitness and training program and had a sober life like Alonso, he would rule the F1 for many years :arrgh!:

WT...??? Montreal dropped from the 2009 calendar. ... http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=44176 ... http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2008/...l-removed.html . :nope: :nope:

It doesn't take much to see the hand of one Bernie E in this :down: . He's griped about the Montreal track facilities for a long time, and despite an upgrade last winter, he no doubt still feels they're sub-par and that on top of it the way forward for F1 is to hold races in places like Abu Dhabi. Nothing against Abu Dhabi as such, but it seems that all the older tracks are under threat in favour of the new "stadium" tracks (with zilch character imho), and except for the jazzy street circuits. A big :down: in the direction of Bernie E or whoever is responsible for this decision.

edit/add: I see there's also talk that it's economics ... http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns20840.html . I could be wrong, but my own take is that while there may be an issue there, the Montreal race organizer is pretty adept at working things through and that finances would not be an insurmountable obstacle. I still see Bernie E's axe grinding away :down: .

Long ago there were cheap F1 games that, to cut costs, added fantasy tracks (No royalties). So you had a "desert grand prix", and "tropical grand prix" and such. Of course people laughed if not complained about such ridiculous ambience to race with F1s :roll:

As always, reality ends up being worser than human's imagination :damn: How long until F1 races in subacuatic circuits or thematic parks a la Need for Speed? :hmm:

This just stinks. :down: Thanks for the bad news. :cry:

Is there no end to greed and politics in sport :nope:

Times
01 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:18.404
02 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:18.644
03 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:18.821
04 F. Alonso Renault 1:18.852
05 F. Massa Ferrari 1:18.874
06 R. Kubica BMW 1:18.979
07 J. Trulli Toyota 1:19.026
08 T. Glock Toyota 1:19.118
09 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:19.638
10 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:20.167
11 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:18.187
12 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:18.274
13 M. Webber Red Bull 1:18.354
14 K. Nakajima Williams 1:18.594
15 N. Rosberg Williams 1:18.672
16 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:18.835
17 R. Barrichello Honda 1:18.882
18 J. Button Honda 1:19.100
19 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:19.163
20 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:19.910

I think we will have a good race tomorrow, considering Massa is probably carrying more fuel that the guys ahead of him (with Q1 and Q2 lap times in mind). Could it be Ferrari has fueled him heavy so they can wait longer with regards to strategy if the weather changes?

If not Hamilton has bagged it, me thinks.

Well I think if the championship was played inversely, on the basis of NEGATIVE points, Hamilton adn Massa would still have the lead :88)

Hamilton attacked hard with a stupid and childish move on turn one after a disastrous start, but Massa, not willing to leave to the briton the title of dumbass of the race managed to beat that some corners later by making a kamikaze attempt to overtake. Had Lewis been more patient, he would have catched up later as he is the best in the one vs.one, and not in the melees, but he screwed it. And had Massa also been more patient, he would have raced to the podium and the championship lead.

In my scorebook, again Lewis did better than Massa and still deserves to be world champion more than the brazilian, but if they join their forces together, I'm sure they will be able to hand the title over to Kubica in the last two races.

As for the stweards....I better make no comments or I will be banned here :damn:

Schumi & Häkkinen please, consider a come back or this ex-sport will bury itself soo deep in s**t that it will be better called undeground dirt race :roll: