*** 2007 United States GP ***

[blue8]

Practice 1 Times:
1 F. Alonso McLaren 1:11.925 16 laps
2 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:12.391 24 laps
3 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:12.628 21 laps
4 S. Vettel BMW 1:12.869 33 laps
5 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:12.966 21 laps
6 N. Rosberg Williams 1:13.020 24 laps
7 F. Massa Ferrari 1:13.040 22 laps
8 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:13.159 22 laps
9 J. Button Honda 1:13.597 23 laps
10 M. Webber Red Bull 1:13.682 26 laps
11 J. Trulli Toyota 1:13.777 32 laps
12 K. Nakajima Williams 1:13.786 27 laps
13 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:13.819 27 laps
14 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:13.907 28 laps
15 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:13.990 24 laps
16 G. Fisichella Renault 1:14.000 19 laps
17 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:14.037 20 laps
18 R. Barrichello Honda 1:14.052 23 laps
19 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:14.189 18 laps
20 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:14.632 10 laps
21 C. Albers Spyker F1 1:14.636 28 laps
22 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:14.810 27 laps

[bultaco_metralla]

After the Canada disaster lets see what my Lance Bass can make !!

[Vansquish]

I'll be there shooting as many pics as I can!!

[TopGearNL]

Go Hamilton, steal the pole from alonso! :mrgreen:

4th place for Vettel, damn that BMW is a good and fast car! Vettel must be one hell of a driver too! :shock:

[saadie]

nah ... vettel is the only test driver bmw had got i think ... orr maybe they just want him to get used to the track and other cars around him lol ?

[TopGearNL]

No one is driving the 3rd BMW on friday? :hmm:

They phoned me but I was busy :wink:

[novass]

Did anyone see the interviews from yesterday with all the drivers? All the drivers came up and interviewed with their teammate except Hamilton and Alonso, they came up separately supposedly due to a "travel glitch". Anyone think there is a little tension there?

[saadie]

nahh .... alot of coincidence conspiracies going around these days :\

[TopGearNL]

Did anyone see the interviews from yesterday with all the drivers? All the drivers came up and interviewed with their teammate except Hamilton and F1's Lance Bass, they came up separately supposedly due to a "travel glitch". Anyone think there is a little tension there?

Yeah I think there is, but then again there is tension in every team alonso is in, Im sure he is the one responsible!

[ZfrkS62]

the BMW's are on a damn mission :D

Let's see another brilliant performance from the Bavarians :D

[deuces]

nah ... vettel is the only test driver bmw had got i think ... orr maybe they just want him to get used to the track and other cars around him lol ?

timo glock is the other test driver who has more experience than vettel but they went with vettel and obviously it worked :D

[blue8]

Practice 2 Times:
Times
01 F. Al0nso McLaren 1:12.156 35 laps
02 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:12.309 34 laps
03 F. Massa Ferrari 1:12.435 36 laps
04 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:12.587 38 laps
05 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:13.026 43 laps
06 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:13.042 41 laps
07 N. Rosberg Williams 1:13.057 35 laps
08 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:13.110 48 laps
09 R. Barrichello Honda 1:13.144 40 laps
10 J. Button Honda 1:13.202 46 laps
11 S. Vettel BMW 1:13.217 50 laps
12 M. Webber Red Bull 1:13.263 21 laps
13 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:13.332 41 laps
14 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:13.364 46 laps
15 G. Fisichella Renault 1:13.394 44 laps
16 A. Wurz Williams 1:13.539 29 laps
17 J. Trulli Toyota 1:13.692 42 laps
18 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:13.712 34 laps
19 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:13.753 46 laps
20 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:13.765 39 laps
21 C. Albers Spyker F1 1:14.225 30 laps
22 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:14.513 33 laps

Regardless of what McLaren people say, I'm certain there is tension between Al0nso and Hamilton.

[pagani]

Practice 2 Times:
Times
01 F. Al0nso McLaren 1:12.156 35 laps
02 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:12.309 34 laps
03 F. Massa Ferrari 1:12.435 36 laps
04 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:12.587 38 laps
05 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:13.026 43 laps
06 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:13.042 41 laps
07 N. Rosberg Williams 1:13.057 35 laps
08 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:13.110 48 laps
09 R. Barrichello Honda 1:13.144 40 laps
10 J. Button Honda 1:13.202 46 laps
11 S. Vettel BMW 1:13.217 50 laps
12 M. Webber Red Bull 1:13.263 21 laps
13 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:13.332 41 laps
14 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:13.364 46 laps
15 G. Fisichella Renault 1:13.394 44 laps
16 A. Wurz Williams 1:13.539 29 laps
17 J. Trulli Toyota 1:13.692 42 laps
18 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:13.712 34 laps
19 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:13.753 46 laps
20 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:13.765 39 laps
21 C. Albers Spyker F1 1:14.225 30 laps
22 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:14.513 33 laps

Regardless of what McLaren people say, I'm certain there is tension between Al0nso and Hamilton.
Yes orcourse the is some thension between both mclaren drivers.
:D 8)

[sameerrao]

Looks like a closer fight between the Ferraris and McLarens. It was amazing to see Hamilton so close to the wall on Turn 13 - he was barely an inch or more awway from doing a Ralf :)

Kimi has not yet been able to go faster than Massa :roll: :roll:

[TopGearNL]

^^ Yeah nice battle going on between Ferrari and McLaren 8)

Coulthard isn't doing a bad job either!

[saadie]

Practice 3 just started :)

[Chaos in 1983!]

I just really hope Ferrari can get their head back up, I'd really like Massa to win this GP...

[saadie]

Massa :| .. why ? :lol:

http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/7911/image1zm1.gif

[5vz-fe]

What is up with Ferrari?...

[pagani]

They are useless whit out schumacher no pace at all.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

[acmarttin]

Hamilton, oh man. Since Alonso doesn't do well behind his teammate, and since Hamilton has no trouble keeping his cool. I smell win #2

Just so long as the car keeps up, of course.

[nthfinity]

1. Hamilton (2 poles in a row, and securing his pole with a faster pole even!)
2. Fernando Alonso
3. Massa
4. Raikonnen

I'm very sure this is going to be a 1-2 for Hamilton :) and we just may be looking at the WDC rookie WTF!?!?!! :D

I Just heard Fernando Alonso wants out of McLaren LOL on the Le Mans radio network

[saadie]

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/1382/image1jn7.gif

Go Hamilton ...
great work by the rookie ... Vettel 8)

[pagani]

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/1382/image1jn7.gif

Go Hamilton ...
great work by the rookie ... Vettel 8)
I think we better give a fiat 500 to team spyker maby they will be faster whit that.
:D 8)

[blue8]

As mentioned, Al0nso has not performed well whenever Hamilton out-qualifies him, so this could mean another win for the rookie. I really don't see anyone challenging him since McLaren has been virtually invincible the past few races. Then again, Al0nso may just deliberately end the race for both McLarens in the first corner to sabotage the team. I really could see him resort to that :P

[ferrarif1fan89]

Wasn't Vettel second in qualifying today, or something or other, after Assflonzo?

[blue8]

Wasn't Vettel second in qualifying today, or something or other, after Assflonzo?

That was during the third practice session

[TopGearNL]

Wasn't Vettel second in qualifying today, or something or other, after Assflonzo?

That was during the third practice session

Yep, still a good job though! I believe he qualified as 7th or 8th.

[sameerrao]

Fantastic Job Hamilton .... 0X 0X 0X 0X 0X 8) 8) 8) :shock: :shock: :shock:

If Ferrari aren't going to win it, Hamilton better clinch it.

[TopGearNL]

Yeah go Hamilton! :D

[saadie]

hamilton is doing great .. i agree ....
but hes is kind of ruining our hopes of seeing one of the top guys become a champion .. like kimi ..... the drivers that started from a back running team and slowly made their way to the top teams .. dont you think :\ .. .

[ferrarif1fan89]

Fantastic Job Hamilton .... 0X 0X 0X 0X 0X 8) 8) 8) :shock: :shock: :shock:

If Ferrari aren't going to win it, Hamilton better clinch it.

Yes, first and foremost Ferrari, but if not them, Hamilton. ANYBODY but F1's Community Glory Hole.

[nthfinity]

hamilton is doing great .. i agree ....
but hes is kind of ruining our hopes of seeing one of the top guys become a champion .. like kimi ..... the drivers that started from a back running team and slowly made their way to the top teams .. dont you think :\ .. .

Actually, Kimi is doing that all himself... it's not like Kimi is right on the podium behind Hamilton ;)

[acmarttin]

hamilton is doing great .. i agree ....
but hes is kind of ruining our hopes of seeing one of the top guys become a champion ..

Nope, but he is making things interesting that's for sure. Shit, I already consider him a "top guy"

[5vz-fe]

I like Kimi.........but he's has been disappointing so far into this season.

Looking at today's qualifying, Ferrari seems to have quite some oversteer in the field circuit. Massa and Kimi has been correcting the car quite often. Mclaren on the other hand is absolutely stable. :cry:

[bultaco_metralla]

[

NO ONE CAN REPLACE SCHUMI!!

Finally we agree in something :twisted:

[pagani]

[

NO ONE CAN REPLACE SCHUMI!!

Finally we agree in something :twisted:

I second that.
:wink:

[saadie]

^ youre third :prr: ... :mrgreen:

and i wont be forth :)

ferrari's situation right now is relative to their situation back in 06, Schumi or not .. they dont have a good enough car :)

[TopGearNL]

McLaren is faster this season, the end.

I think Ferrari let too many people go at the end of last season...

[saadie]

nahh ... somebody put briatore's ghost in ron dennis's body :mrgreen:

[TopGearNL]

^^ LOL! :mrgreen:

[TopGearNL]

Only couple of minutes to go... :twisted:

[bmagni]

what a lame start by kimi...

[bmagni]

lol, just noticed he has the medium compound... so far seems like a bad choice

[TopGearNL]

^^ Yep, I can understand Vettel lost some places going through the grass but what the hell is Kimi doing?

And what was up with Ralf Schumacher, he just went straight on? :?

[TopGearNL]

Faultless performance by Hamilton once again! :D

[blue8]

Hamilton-Al0nso-Massa-Raikkonen
McLaren vs McLaren, Ferrari vs Ferrari!
Excellent job by Lewis once again. Kimi achieved the fastest lap of the race and he was quite impressive today! Ferrari was quick but McLaren is just on a different league.

[pagani]

Hamilton-Al0nso-Massa-Raikkonen
McLaren vs McLaren, Ferrari vs Ferrari!
Excellent job by Lewis once again. Kimi achieved the fastest lap for the race and he was quite impressive today! Ferrari was quick but McLaren is just on a different league.

It'was boring race compared to canada to watch.
Good job mclaren first and second.
Ferrari sucks ass whitout schumacher.
If hamilton starts to win everything i doubt that i watch f1 again.
Why can't somebody in f1 win in a normal way.
:D 8) :roll:

[sameerrao]

Nice race from an intra-squad battle standpoint.

The best driver out there won. Alonso looked like a beaten man!

Kimi finally overtook someone this year hoohaa!

[sameerrao]

Damn Kovalainen blocked Kimi for a long time. I think Kimi lost to Massa during those laps, maybe :lol:

From the statistics point of view, no driver who have led the championship battle after Indianapolis has ever lost the championship during that season. Looks good for Hamilton. :D

Kimi couldn't get past - its his fault. Kovaleinen looked like he was driving quite fairly and didnt do any stupid moves.

I would be happy if Hamilton wins the championship. I would love for Ferrari to win, but Ferrari don't seem to bothered about it themselves .

[TopGearNL]

Im just waiting for the news-article in which alonso states that he had team orders to let Hamilton win :lol:

[saadie]

mehh .... not a bad race .. was fairly boring .. missed kubica :lol: ...
great job by hamilton !! 8) 8)

[blue8]

If McLaren continues to dominate the next races, things will get very boring. I think the teams will get to do some testing before the French GP (the first time since Monaco) so that should give everyone, especially Ferrari, some time to dramatically improve their car. Hamilton and Al0nso heading up the podium side-by-side, shoulder to shoulder should cool down the 'team-mate-wars' issue. But I'm not buying any of it. I bet Ron Dennis had them rehearse it all week!

[TopGearNL]

Did you guys see the Marshall that dropped the Blue Flag? :lol:

[saadie]

Did you guys see the Marshall that dropped the Blue Flag? :lol:
yeah

2 blue flags dropped .. one was stuck under the left sidepod on trulli's car :lol: ...

[DeMoN]

entertaining race both scuderias fighting each other was entertaining.

Now to those saying "no one can replace schumi" dont kid yourself. Results would still be the same. McLaren car is superior to ferrari this season. I can admit that Schumacher is better than Massa, but there is so much a driver can do. Without the car, he couldnt have won. How I wished schumacher wouldnt have been kicked out from the team (yes he was kicked out he didnt "leave") so that the rookie Lewis would laugh at his face and tap him on the back when Lewis stood on the podium and Schumacher stood down on the 3rd position.

Watching schumachers' face when Lewis stared at him and tapped him in the back on the podium would have been awesome.

[acmarttin]

Yeah Lewis is an incredible driver but it's like...7 years too early at least to start comparing him to Schumi. Remember - he could still be the next Jacques Villeneuve :lol:

[5vz-fe]

entertaining race both scuderias fighting each other was entertaining.

Now to those saying "no one can replace schumi" dont kid yourself. Results would still be the same. McLaren car is superior to ferrari this season. I can admit that Schumacher is better than Massa, but there is so much a driver can do. Without the car, he couldnt have won. How I wished schumacher wouldnt have been kicked out from the team (yes he was kicked out he didnt "leave") so that the rookie Lewis would laugh at his face and tap him on the back when Lewis stood on the podium and Schumacher stood down on the 3rd position.

Watching schumachers' face when Lewis stared at him and tapped him in the back on the podium would have been awesome.

Only time will tell, but Lewis is indeed a great driver, no doubt about that.

[DeMoN]

I still cant understand how someone can jump in the car and race on a track he hasnt raced before and end up with such a great score. What is he doing? playing the simulation all day long? Even then, that wouldnt give him the "feel" for speed or the weather condition effect on the car that driving on it does.

[xecutioner]

well done to lewis

i wish alonso had hit the wall when he drove towards it down the main straight bc things didnt go hes way

u can tell alonso wanted to cry during the interviews haha

[Vansquish]

Well...that was actually a pretty fun race, I'm not sure how much of the battle that Fisichella was in made it to the TV coverage, but it was pretty excellent. Fisi ended up dropping down to 19th and then working his way back up to 10th. It was an exciting drive to watch and from where my seat was, I could see most of the passes he made (I could see from turn 13 down the front straight and through turns 1-7). The battle between Kimi and Massa was pretty intense too, though it would've been even better had the race gone another 10 laps or so. In any case congrats to Lewis, excellent drive and hopefully just one of many to come!

[TopGearNL]

Im just waiting for the news-article in which F1's Lance Bass states that he had team orders to let Hamilton win :lol:

In the catalan coverage, they connected when someone - not spaniard - was asking Ron Denis if there were some sort of team orders or if he had forbid his drivers to battle between them.

He was really pissed with that question... saying there have never been team orders at McLaren :D

Typical Alonso, I bet he said that it wasn't a surprise that Hamilton was doing better then him since he's British and the team is British too eh? :lol:

[TopGearNL]

Did you guys see the Marshall that dropped the Blue Flag? :lol:
yeah

2 blue flags dropped .. one was stuck under the left sidepod on trulli's car :lol: ...

Haha, what a bunch of amateurs :lol:

[saadie]

shhhhh .. nobody say anything to americans .. :lol:

[blue8]

Conclusion from Planet F1:
3) Ron Dennis Will Earn His Money This Year, Part Two
Nonetheless, the inevitable upshot of Alonso announcing that he does not feel "totally comfortable" at McLaren was fresh reports predicting a move to Ferrari.

One expanding school of thought is that both Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen went in the wrong direction last season. Whereas Raikkonen's sheer pace and familiarisation with the McLaren set-up may have unsettled Hamilton, Ferrari could have adorned Alonso with the preferential treatment that he evidently believes his status as double World Champion deserves.

If he is beaten by Hamilton this season, there must be a strong possibility that his petulance will manifest itself through a transfer request.

- This of course is doubtful. Ferrari never expressed wanting Al0nso in their team. If anyone had to transfer, I'd want Hamilton in Ferrari together with Massa since they seem to get along quite well.

4) Jean Todt Is Stuck On Repeat :lol:
'Ferrari will turn their misfortunes around at the next race in France, according to team boss Jean Todt' - Planet-F1, 18 June.

'Todt: 'Ferrari will bounce back at Indy'' - Planet-F1, 12 June.

'Ferrari boss Jean Todt has insisted that McLaren's dominance in Monte Carlo was a one-off' - Planet-F1, 29 May.

5) It's Now Or Never For Ferrari
Between Spain, where Felipe Massa cruised to victory in mid-May, and Monaco, where he certainly didn't, Ferrari lost over half a second to McLaren.

Martin Brundle's suggestion is that the team sparked their own decline by mistakenly introducing a hybrid car during those two weeks. Ferrari return to testing this week at Silverstone armed with the "new developments" that will define the rest of their campaign. The stakes could not be higher. Either they recover the ground they lost to McLaren or their season will surely sink into mediocrity.

-- I really hope testing this week on Silverstone would greatly benefit Ferrari. I just don't want McLaren to dominate this year unchallenged. Ferrari, or any other team, should at least put up a good fight

[novass]

shhhhh .. nobody say anything to americans .. :lol:

At least we got a race :prr: Besides, a lot of those corner workers come from all over the globe so it was probably one of Alonso's fans trying to get the flag stuck in his car instead of Trulli's so it would give Alonso an excuse as to why he was losing.

[TopGearNL]

^^ Thats cold :lol:

[5vz-fe]

Yeah, Planetf1 don't particularly like Ferrari / Schumi. Still remember their MS secret diary.

[novass]

^^ Thats cold :lol:

:lol: I saw the replay of how the flag got on the track and it looks like the guy seriously just threw it out there. Its not like his job was hard, all he had to do was wave a flag. I don't know how he managed to screw that up.

As much as I like Hamilton and would like to see him win, this is getting a little boring. I would rather see Hamilton have to fight for the win than do it practically uncontested. I am finding myself more interested in the battles taking place down the field.

[TopGearNL]

^^ Yeah it did actually look like he threw it deliberately.

The Dutch commentator of the race actually said, ''maybe they need gloves with Velcro to keep a hold of those flags'' :lol:

[novass]

^^ :lol:

Did you see the pigeon that got creamed too? That damn thing disintegrated :lol:

[TopGearNL]

^^ :lol:

Did you see the pigeon that got creamed too? That damn thing disintegrated :lol:

Haha, yeah it reminded me of this actually http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=-5306277485109997626&q=rabbit+dtm&total=6&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 :shock:

[blue8]

As much as I like Hamilton and would like to see him win, this is getting a little boring. I would rather see Hamilton have to fight for the win than do it practically uncontested. I am finding myself more interested in the battles taking place down the field.

I completely agree with this. While I don't want to take anything away from him, Hamilton has been very fortunate so far. I'm not saying his seven podiums out of seven races (including 2 wins) was achieved by chance but, rather, the circumstances he's in has been conducive for success. McLaren is very strong this year and the MP4-22 has been reliable. His ability to withstand pressure has given him an edge over Al0nso but we haven't really seen how he would handle difficult situations like car troubles or charging from the back of the pack, etc... He probably can do it, but I really want to see it THIS season.

[novass]

^^ :lol:

Did you see the pigeon that got creamed too? That damn thing disintegrated :lol:

Haha, yeah it reminded me of this actually http://video.google.nl/videoplay?docid=-5306277485109997626&q=rabbit+dtm&total=6&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0 :shock:

HAHA ya I remember that. Silly rabbit....

As much as I like Hamilton and would like to see him win, this is getting a little boring. I would rather see Hamilton have to fight for the win than do it practically uncontested. I am finding myself more interested in the battles taking place down the field.

I completely agree with this. While I don't want to take anything away from him, Hamilton has been very fortunate so far. I'm not saying his seven podiums out of seven races (including 2 wins) was achieved by chance but, rather, the circumstances he's in has been conducive for success. McLaren is very strong this year and the MP4-22 has been reliable. His ability to withstand pressure has given him an edge over Al0nso but we haven't really seen how he would handle difficult situations like car troubles or charging from the back of the pack, etc... He probably can do it, but I really want to see it THIS season.

Ya I just want to see a little more action. Hopefully someone will step up and give him a run for his money because at this rate we don't even need to watch the race to know who's gonna win, we can just watch qualifying.

[sameerrao]

I agree with Dani. The only questions in my mind are: How good a car developer is he? And can he handle a poor handling car - be still able to score good points finishes with it? Both super strengths of Schumi.

I believe Hamilton will do well in these criteria too. It's just a matter of him facing these situations.

[novass]

Hamilton is no doubt a great driver and I agree that it isn't just the car, I just want to see more action.

[blue8]

Well if you expected Al0nso to make childish rants for placing behind Hamilton again, I'm sorry to disappoint you:

F1-Live:
Fernando Alonso has joined his team-mate Lewis Hamilton in rubbishing reports that they do not get along.

Experts have described the tension inside the McLaren camp at the moment as akin to the ferocious relationship shared by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in the 80s.

But world champion Alonso, who shook his fist and swerved at the pit wall after failing to pass Hamilton at Indianapolis last Sunday, said there is a difference between on and off-track rivalry.

"On the track you can have your run-ins," he is quoted as saying by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, "but this is normal. Our relationship is good.
"

Hamilton revealed recently that, in the McLaren motor home, he often plays video games with Alonso.

"Off the track, we laugh, we joke," Alonso confirmed.

Alonso added: "Clearly I was not overjoyed (at Indianapolis) because I believed that I was faster and I wanted to win. So it did not leave a good taste in my mouth."

^On Al0nso saying that McLaren prefers Hamilton, Montoya agrees adding they always have their number one.

Interesting rumor:
Kimi Raikkonen could depart Ferrari as soon as the end of this season, according to reports.

Germany's Auto-Bild-Motorsport said the beleaguered Maranello based team has already commenced its search for the Finn's successor, after failing to live up to his reputation and newfound status as the highest earning F1 racer following his switch from McLaren for 2007.

Not only is the 27-year-old struggling to keep up with Felipe Massa in the other F2007, Ferrari bosses are apparently also concerned about Raikkonen's lack of focus and rookie errors - such as failing to get his car quickly off the line.


Part of the Auto-Bild-Motorsport rumour is that newly retired Michael Schumacher is the obvious choice to replace Raikkonen, but paddock rumblings have also hinted at McLaren's disgruntled Fernando Alonso or Williams' impressive Nico Rosberg to fill the seat.

The speculation may also be related to new gossip this week that says Toyota could be eyeing Raikkonen as a replacement for Ralf Schumacher next year and beyond.

Ferrari is now coming under intense pressure from the notorious and influential Italian media, with La Gazzetta dello Sport headlining this week that the trip to North America was a 'total failure' for the Prancing Horse.

^If Raikkonen fails to impress or win the World Championship this year, I won't be surprised if he ends up in Toyota (unfortunately).