The official F1 grand prix discussion & prediction thread. Post all predictions here.

speedzak · 3rd August 2008, 06:05

As this is a prediction thread, I honk for Hamilton once again.
Hope nothing goes wrong for him this time too.

I wish him a great hatrick win and would be very delighted if it's Mclaren 1-2. Heikki! Come on!

Sandeep_K_Ram · 3rd August 2008, 10:27

I stick my neck out and say Lewis is the most talented driver among the current crop of drivers - obviously including Alonso and Kimi.

I have been watching F1 since 1994. I get the same familiar feeling about him as Schumacher. Alonso and Kimi are fabulously talented but Lewis is just one step above IMHO.

His drives like at montreal last year , then in the wet at fuji and this year at Silverstone was just a cut above the rest. He is easily the best driver on the grid.

Unless Lewis screws up (he rarely does that) or McLaren screw up in the pitstops or in their strategy, I think Lewis will walk this. Expect the lead after the first lap to be 1.7 secs

McLaren have the legs on everybody else this weekend so Kova must be able to secure his second podium finish and hopefully their first 1-2 of the season.

The action will be behind them with Massa,Kubica,Glock,Kimi,Alonso and Webber all fighting for the points and potential podium.

I think we should look out for Glock - looks like his crash has woken him up a bit and he is running better than ever before.

abhijitaparadh · 3rd August 2008, 19:08

Race leader Massa blows the engine with 3 laps to go!!!
Sad day for Tifosi :(

speedmiester · 3rd August 2008, 19:24

Tough luck for Massa, the move he made in the first lap of the race was brilliant.

Sandeep_K_Ram · 3rd August 2008, 19:44

Ok I will eat my hat

That was the move of the season for me. Its like Gilles Villeneuve vs Rene Arnoux way back in 70s ... that move around the outside was exactly what Villeneuve did to keep Arnoux behind . Great move .

YouTube - F1 1979 René Arnoux Vs Gilles Vileneuve

Somebody screwed up somewhere. Maybe McLaren and Lewis pushed too hard and the rubber gave in or maybe Bridgestones tyres have some issue with the way Lewis drives. How many punctures has he had already while nobody else has these problems ?

Great win for Kova- hopefully it will make him a better driver. Just look at Piquet - he is now running better after his podium.

Same goes for Glock - stunning performance this weekend. These drivers will now be brimming with confidence.

Massa had almost turned the tables for Ferrari in the championship and BOOM ... he will be hurting. Especially because Kimi was staring at a potential P6 finish and all of a sudden he gets a P3 - all he did was stare at ALonsos gearbox for 2/3 of the race...

Lots of drama ... some unexpected results..all good in the end.

PS : *** happened to Williams - they were scrapping with Force India. From P3 in the first race to this ... my god.

speedzak · 3rd August 2008, 20:07

Another Mclaren win! Heikki drove well and won with Massa's bad luck helping him.
Very bad that Massa couldn't finish.

Nice to see that Hamilton leading the driver's points. Only 11 points difference between Mclaren and Ferrari.

MaserQ · 3rd August 2008, 20:26

Massa and Hamilton were very unlucky and the 2 Finns made the most of it. Raikonnen's result was handed to him on a platter. About time he realises that and wakes up from his slumber.

SilentEngine · 3rd August 2008, 20:41

That was bad luck for Massa. He could have been leading the championship, but instead he is in 3rd now, 8 points behind Hamilton. But anyway Heikki got his first win finally.
Good news for me is that Ferrari showed that they haven't lost ground to McLaren in terms of race pace. Kimi was flying in the last stint after getting ahead of Alonso. Hoping to see better qualifying performances from Kimi in coming races, it will make his race a lot easier!

mshooli · 3rd August 2008, 20:51

Bad luck for Massa. But not really sure whats wrong with Kimi. Looks like he is not really serious about the Championship title this year

finneyp · 3rd August 2008, 21:21

Very bad luck Massa! It pains to lose a almost won Race just 3 laps from Chequered flag!

Good win by another Finnish - Heiki Kovalnein, but Kimi was uninspiring, he lacks the aggresiveness of his predecessor (Schumi).

Timo Glass was impressive!

Sandeep_K_Ram · 3rd August 2008, 22:26

And what about BMW? They were way off the pace. They will be scratching their heads for the next three weeks about this. Well there is not much hair on Willy Rampfs head but still ..

Nikhilb2008 · 3rd August 2008, 22:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaserQ

Massa and Hamilton were very unlucky and the 2 Finns made the most of it. Raikonnen's result was handed to him on a platter. About time he realises that and wakes up from his slumber.

Hamilton was not unlucky. He screwed up. He deserved that.

speedzak · 3rd August 2008, 22:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Hamilton was not unlucky. He screwed up. He deserved that.

Could you please explain how he screwed up and why does he deserve that??

Quote:

Originally Posted by finneyp

Timo Glass was impressive!

Noooooo!!! It's Clock!!

akrish01 · 3rd August 2008, 23:24

What a topsy turvy race. I agree with Nikhil that Hamilton screwed up. As Sandeep rightly observed, only Hamilton has been having problems with tyre failures. I think he's too aggressive or his McLaren eats up his tyres very fast.

This is the first time in my life I've seen Kimi have good luck smiling at him. Most of his career, he's been a bad luck magnet. It's probably the 2nd race in his career where he's had lady luck smiling at him (the first one being last year's final race when he won the championship - but I couldn't watch that race).

I also agree with Nikhil that Hamilton deserves it. He's too haughty for my liking. Incidents like this will help him keep his feet firmly on the ground.

Krishnan

karthik247 · 4th August 2008, 00:16

What a start to the race!!! Massa just took away the lead from Lewis at the start, shows he's got the skill and the talent as well... Pay back from the last race too.. He definitely deserved to win cuz he never put a foot wrong right from the start, but really sad that the Ferrari engine didn't hold up for the last 3laps.. But whatever happened, Massa showed he means business and gettin a place ladat from Lewis is no easy thing to do. It was AWESOME!!

And finally Kimi somehow managed to get on the podium after a long time and keep his hopes of defending his championship alive.

View Poll Results: Constructor's Championshop Prediction
Ferrari	26	65.00%
McLaren	11	27.50%
Renault	2	5.00%
BMW Sauber	0	0%
Toyota	0	0%
Honda	0	0%
Red Bull	0	0%
Toro Rosso	0	0%
Super Aguri	0	0%
Williams	1	2.50%
Voters: 40. You may not vote on this poll

3rd August 2008, 06:05	#2686
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,346 Thanked: 28 Times	As this is a prediction thread, I honk for Hamilton once again. Hope nothing goes wrong for him this time too. I wish him a great hatrick win and would be very delighted if it's Mclaren 1-2. Heikki! Come on!
	() Thanks

3rd August 2008, 10:27	#2687
Sandeep_K_Ram BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 116 Thanked: 15 Times	I stick my neck out and say Lewis is the most talented driver among the current crop of drivers - obviously including Alonso and Kimi. I have been watching F1 since 1994. I get the same familiar feeling about him as Schumacher. Alonso and Kimi are fabulously talented but Lewis is just one step above IMHO. His drives like at montreal last year , then in the wet at fuji and this year at Silverstone was just a cut above the rest. He is easily the best driver on the grid. Unless Lewis screws up (he rarely does that) or McLaren screw up in the pitstops or in their strategy, I think Lewis will walk this. Expect the lead after the first lap to be 1.7 secs McLaren have the legs on everybody else this weekend so Kova must be able to secure his second podium finish and hopefully their first 1-2 of the season. The action will be behind them with Massa,Kubica,Glock,Kimi,Alonso and Webber all fighting for the points and potential podium. I think we should look out for Glock - looks like his crash has woken him up a bit and he is running better than ever before.
	() Thanks

3rd August 2008, 19:08	#2688
abhijitaparadh BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 222 Thanked: 3 Times	Race leader Massa blows the engine with 3 laps to go!!! Sad day for Tifosi :(
	() Thanks

3rd August 2008, 19:24	#2689
speedmiester Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: bangalore Posts: 2,453 Thanked: 6,988 Times	Tough luck for Massa, the move he made in the first lap of the race was brilliant.
	() Thanks

3rd August 2008, 20:07	#2691
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,346 Thanked: 28 Times	Another Mclaren win! Heikki drove well and won with Massa's bad luck helping him. Very bad that Massa couldn't finish. Nice to see that Hamilton leading the driver's points. Only 11 points difference between Mclaren and Ferrari.
	() Thanks

3rd August 2008, 20:26	#2692
MaserQ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,196 Thanked: 166 Times	Massa and Hamilton were very unlucky and the 2 Finns made the most of it. Raikonnen's result was handed to him on a platter. About time he realises that and wakes up from his slumber.
	() Thanks

3rd August 2008, 20:41	#2693
SilentEngine Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: KA19,KA04 Posts: 1,167 Thanked: 762 Times View My Garage	That was bad luck for Massa. He could have been leading the championship, but instead he is in 3rd now, 8 points behind Hamilton. But anyway Heikki got his first win finally. Good news for me is that Ferrari showed that they haven't lost ground to McLaren in terms of race pace. Kimi was flying in the last stint after getting ahead of Alonso. Hoping to see better qualifying performances from Kimi in coming races, it will make his race a lot easier!
	() Thanks

3rd August 2008, 20:51	#2694
mshooli BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 138 Thanked: 6 Times View My Garage	Bad luck for Massa. But not really sure whats wrong with Kimi. Looks like he is not really serious about the Championship title this year
	() Thanks

3rd August 2008, 21:21	#2695
finneyp Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,762 Thanked: 400 Times View My Garage	Very bad luck Massa! It pains to lose a almost won Race just 3 laps from Chequered flag! Good win by another Finnish - Heiki Kovalnein, but Kimi was uninspiring, he lacks the aggresiveness of his predecessor (Schumi). Timo Glass was impressive!
	() Thanks

3rd August 2008, 22:26	#2696
Sandeep_K_Ram BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 116 Thanked: 15 Times	And what about BMW? They were way off the pace. They will be scratching their heads for the next three weeks about this. Well there is not much hair on Willy Rampfs head but still ..
	() Thanks

3rd August 2008, 23:24	#2699
akrish01 BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Chennai Posts: 133 Thanked: 30 Times	What a topsy turvy race. I agree with Nikhil that Hamilton screwed up. As Sandeep rightly observed, only Hamilton has been having problems with tyre failures. I think he's too aggressive or his McLaren eats up his tyres very fast. This is the first time in my life I've seen Kimi have good luck smiling at him. Most of his career, he's been a bad luck magnet. It's probably the 2nd race in his career where he's had lady luck smiling at him (the first one being last year's final race when he won the championship - but I couldn't watch that race). I also agree with Nikhil that Hamilton deserves it. He's too haughty for my liking. Incidents like this will help him keep his feet firmly on the ground. Krishnan
	() Thanks

4th August 2008, 00:16	#2700
karthik247 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR, HYD Posts: 2,710 Thanked: 30 Times	What a start to the race!!! Massa just took away the lead from Lewis at the start, shows he's got the skill and the talent as well... Pay back from the last race too.. He definitely deserved to win cuz he never put a foot wrong right from the start, but really sad that the Ferrari engine didn't hold up for the last 3laps.. But whatever happened, Massa showed he means business and gettin a place ladat from Lewis is no easy thing to do. It was AWESOME!! And finally Kimi somehow managed to get on the podium after a long time and keep his hopes of defending his championship alive. Last edited by karthik247 : 4th August 2008 at 00:20.
	() Thanks