Poll 2011 British Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend
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Incubus
Champion Elect
The reason I didn't consider LH for driver of the race was that yet again, I noticed something that's hurting him this season with the current regs.
Yet again, like we've seen him do a few times this season, he took way too much too soon out his tyres after a pitstop.
Look at the fight with Alonso. When it started he was more than a second per lap quicker, pushing hard straight out of his pitbox, effortlessly passed him and immediately pulled a gap.
Four laps or later and sure enough the boot was on the other foot and FA caught him back very quickly. Not only was he able to re-pass Hamilton who then immediately pitted, but crucially he was able to carry on for a few more laps at a fast pace, catching Vettel in the process.
It could be said the McLaren might not as gentle on its tyres as the Ferrari, but you have to say things like that don't seem to happen to Button.
Hamilton is a very stubborn driver who insists he will not change his driving style. But this is one thing he will simply have to change if he doesn't want to lose races he could win. The current tyres wil not work for him if he keeps on pushing so hard as soon as he exits the pits.
Yet again, like we've seen him do a few times this season, he took way too much too soon out his tyres after a pitstop.
Look at the fight with Alonso. When it started he was more than a second per lap quicker, pushing hard straight out of his pitbox, effortlessly passed him and immediately pulled a gap.
Four laps or later and sure enough the boot was on the other foot and FA caught him back very quickly. Not only was he able to re-pass Hamilton who then immediately pitted, but crucially he was able to carry on for a few more laps at a fast pace, catching Vettel in the process.
It could be said the McLaren might not as gentle on its tyres as the Ferrari, but you have to say things like that don't seem to happen to Button.
Hamilton is a very stubborn driver who insists he will not change his driving style. But this is one thing he will simply have to change if he doesn't want to lose races he could win. The current tyres wil not work for him if he keeps on pushing so hard as soon as he exits the pits.
To me, it has to be Perez. He took a second-rate car and put it in a position far better than it deserved. Runner up would be Alonso, although the changes made for this race obviously benefitted Ferrari more than anyone else.
I would have put this down to the changing conditions rather than burning out tyres. The Ferrari was the quicker car when things dried up. Lewis was the faster driver when the track was half wet.
[EDIT] Worth noting that Alonso was faster on old tyres than Hamilton was on new tyres which kind of proves my point.
Incubus
Champion Elect
Alonso was reported as struggling to get his tyres into temperature once they first go onto slicks, but there is no question that Hamilton was pushing extra-hard at the time, which incidentally would have been the reason why he was forced to conserve fuel later in the race.
Hamilton - started 10th finished 4th and could've been higher if not for the obvious issues. His driving at the start was outstanding as was his quick thinking in ducking underneath Massa to pip him to the line. Took a substandard car to places it shouldn't be and it is clear McLaren failed to factor in his natural speed when estimating the required race fuel.
There have been multiple occasions this year when Button has struggled more with a set of tyres than Hamilton. Today, for example, Button's inters dropped off a lot quicker than Hamilton's in the first stint.
Like ExtremeNinja says, it was also clear that when the track dried up the Ferrari and Red Bull cars were much quicker. This is to Hamilton's credit because there is much more emphasis on the driver in changeable conditions and there's no doubt that he was the man on the pace at the start of the race.
Like ExtremeNinja says, it was also clear that when the track dried up the Ferrari and Red Bull cars were much quicker. This is to Hamilton's credit because there is much more emphasis on the driver in changeable conditions and there's no doubt that he was the man on the pace at the start of the race.
So hard to choose... Fernando was great in qualifying and the race but did just as expected with the pace of that car and I feel any other of the top line drivers could have won in the Ferrari today. What Hamilton did though... I don't think any of them could repeat in the McLaren. Not only was he blisteringly fast early in the race, making his way through the field cleanly he also defended against Vettel extremely well (this can be disputed as Vettel hasn't overtaken that many people recently) considering how fast the RB7 was today. To finish it off he had some fast thinking in pipping Massa over the line by a mere 0.024... After the elite 2 I think Di Resta was very impressive up until his collision and Alguersuari is really picking up his game with 3 races in the points on the trot.
I found it intriguing how Hamilton was markedly faster than Jenson and most of the front runners at the start of the race. It was like he had an extra 100bhp in his pocket. I paid particular attention to the lines he followed in the opening laps and how he entered and exited corners. He generally took very pointy lines and critically was very brave on the brakes almost to the point of suicidal at times.
Completely different lines to many. Do you remember when he turned up at McLaren in 2007? Alonso's engineers couldn't make any sense of Hamilton's data because it just didn't correlate with any of the benchmarks. The way Lewis drove the car was completely baffling and alien to them.
The highlights of the race for me both came from Lewis. His performance in the first stint and his defence against Seb. Both sublime.
The highlights of the race for me both came from Lewis. His performance in the first stint and his defence against Seb. Both sublime.
riskitall
Points Scorer
and apparently lewis did all his overtaking outside of the drs zone.whereas lewis was only overtaken in the drs zone.
PurpleSector
Rookie
My vote goes to Perez, this guy just keeps on impressing.
Alonso a close second.
Alonso a close second.
Since there are so many people giving second preferences does this mean that for this race we are using the Single Transferable Vote system?
I'm sure that I had my coat when I came in.
I'm sure that I had my coat when I came in.
Cookinflatsix
Banned
Lewis gets the vote for driving best once you take the car and team into consideration. For defending the 4th place the way he did after the last few races was fantastic to see.
Alonso also drove really well, if it wasn't that he had the fastest car he would have edged it.
These two are something else
Alonso also drove really well, if it wasn't that he had the fastest car he would have edged it.
These two are something else
Over the whole weekend, definitely Alonso.
More baffling strategy in qualy from Mclaren, without which it could have been Hamilton. Why did they leave his final Q3 run so late as to only allow time for one flying lap, having not even got a banker in on the first run? They seem to never learn.
I might also have been tempted to vote for Mark Webber for his fight to the end with Vettel, if he'd had the balls to actually pass his teammate against team orders.
More baffling strategy in qualy from Mclaren, without which it could have been Hamilton. Why did they leave his final Q3 run so late as to only allow time for one flying lap, having not even got a banker in on the first run? They seem to never learn.
I might also have been tempted to vote for Mark Webber for his fight to the end with Vettel, if he'd had the balls to actually pass his teammate against team orders.
Actually, the real driver of the weekend for me was not an F1 driver, but Alexander Sims in GP3.
In race 1, late on saturday afternoon, he was in 5th place on the grid. As the cars prepared to set off on the formation lap it started to rain. 11 cars gambled on changing to wet tyres, the highest placed of which was Nico Muller in 6th. During the formation lap the rain intensified to the point where all those on slicks had to pit for wets, leaving a grid of 11 cars headed by Muller, with the rest starting from the pit lane. Sims, effectively now starting in 12th place, drove a storming wet race to finish 2nd.
In race 2, starting in 7th due to the reverse grid rules for the top eight race 1 finishers, he again came through the field, including two superb late braking moves right in front of us into the left hander at Vale, to finish 3rd.
With those two performances he now leads the GP3 points table.
In race 1, late on saturday afternoon, he was in 5th place on the grid. As the cars prepared to set off on the formation lap it started to rain. 11 cars gambled on changing to wet tyres, the highest placed of which was Nico Muller in 6th. During the formation lap the rain intensified to the point where all those on slicks had to pit for wets, leaving a grid of 11 cars headed by Muller, with the rest starting from the pit lane. Sims, effectively now starting in 12th place, drove a storming wet race to finish 2nd.
In race 2, starting in 7th due to the reverse grid rules for the top eight race 1 finishers, he again came through the field, including two superb late braking moves right in front of us into the left hander at Vale, to finish 3rd.
With those two performances he now leads the GP3 points table.
Saw those too Chad - but what happened to the Eurosport GP2 coverage??
RevMaxPower
Banned
Alonso. Just got on with it. No fuss. No drama. A good drive.
Don't know I'm afraid RoB, as I was at the circuit and had no access to any TV.
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