Motoring Discussion > F1 and general motorsport discussion - Vol 17   [Read only]
Thread Author: VxFan	Replies: 104

New Mon 26 Mar 12 10:37   F1 and general motorsport discussion - Vol 17 - VxFan

***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 18 ***** As the title suggests, a place to discuss Formula One, and all other types of motorsport (excluding MotoGP, which has a section of its own). PLEASE NOTE:- To try and maintain some kind of logical order of discussion, if you start a new subject then reply to this post and remember to change the default subject header. Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 14 May 12 at 00:46

New Tue 27 Mar 12 08:54   F1 Commentators - Oldgit

Don't like Ben Edwards' commentary style at all on the BBC1 Higlhlights programme. He sounds as if he's commentating on a football match - far too frenetic and over-eggs it most of the time. After all we are watching it and not just listening to it. Much preferred Martin Brundle but he has gone to that broadcaster in the Sky to which I don't and never will subscribe. changed default subject header, as requested at start of thread Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 27 Mar 12 at 10:11       1

New Tue 27 Mar 12 09:30   F1 Commentators - Dutchie

The commentator who I liked most was James Hunt.Calm sensible a shame he died so young. I agree Oldgit its not a football match. Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 27 Mar 12 at 10:09

New Tue 27 Mar 12 09:45   F1 Commentators - Dutchie

www.youtube.com/watch?v=khA67-r5lSQ James Hunt commentary.Great bloke.>:) Last edited by: VxFan on Tue 27 Mar 12 at 10:09

New Tue 27 Mar 12 10:10   F1 Commentators - VxFan

>> far too frenetic and over-eggs it most of the time. Nobody complained when Murray Walker commentated like his trousers were on fire.

New Tue 27 Mar 12 10:27   F1 Commentators - zookeeper

ben edwards sounds like he,s commentating on a horse race.. i noticed coulthards commentry was trying to keep pace with him early on in the race

New Tue 27 Mar 12 10:52   F1 Commentators - VxFan

>> ben edwards sounds like he,s commentating on a horse race. When do you suppose he'll start saying "and they're off" instead of "go go go" when the red lights go out?

New Tue 27 Mar 12 11:05   F1 Commentators - Oldgit

>> >> far too frenetic and over-eggs it most of the time. >> >> Nobody complained when Murray Walker commentated like his trousers were on fire. >> Only been watching F1 for about three seasons.

New Tue 27 Mar 12 11:20   F1 Commentators - Armel Coussine

>> Nobody complained when Murray Walker commentated like his trousers were on fire. I did sometimes. I found 'Go! Go! Go!' particularly annoying. But he was so sweet when he used to almost burst into tears. A motor race is a long event. One doesn't really need to be told what's happening, but well-informed commentators can help explain what the developments mean. Hunt, Brundle and Coulthard were and are always worth listening to. Grid walk always a bit of a pain, wound-up drivers who want to be left alone and aren't allowed to say anything, pig-ignorant mid-Atlantic trash celebs, who needs it?

New Tue 27 Mar 12 12:50   Williams announce resignation of chairman Adam Par - bathtub tom

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/mobile/formula1/17509231

New Mon 2 Apr 12 18:16   Vettel's right index finger ... - John H

is permanently fixed stiff. real-motorsport.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Vettel-broken-finger.jpg

New Mon 2 Apr 12 18:40   FIA re-assessing Mercedes wing - henry k

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17588028

New Thu 5 Apr 12 22:10   FIA re-assessing Mercedes wing - henry k

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17630062 More info from Ross Brawn

New Sat 14 Apr 12 11:48   Chinese GP - Roger.

An interesting line-up for the Chinese GP! Mercedes 1 & 2 on the grid!! edited - as per the 'please note' message at the start of the thread Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 14 Apr 12 at 20:31

New Sun 15 Apr 12 07:48   Chinese GP - zookeeper

frank williams tribute.....lead balloon fail

New Sun 15 Apr 12 07:50   Chinese GP - zookeeper

why are the three amigos, out doing them selves in tight trouserage? its not on

New Sun 15 Apr 12 07:54   Chinese GP - zookeeper

Eddy jordon deffo a false package

New Sun 15 Apr 12 11:02   Chinese GP - Zero

Good lord, part from the winer, what a hell of a GP, at times I cringed as they were three abreast into corners.

New Sun 15 Apr 12 12:54   Chinese GP - Roger.

If only all G.P.s were like this - a thrilling race for a change. Last edited by: Roger on Sun 15 Apr 12 at 12:55

New Sun 15 Apr 12 13:10   Chinese GP - Iffy

Decent races are not the once-a-season rarity they once were. I reckon we have Murdoch/Sky to thank for that: "If you want all this money those overpaid prima donas are going to have to race a bit to earn it." I'm not being entirely flippant, it's quite possible the Sky negotiators raised the need for closer racing when they were sorting out the contract.

New Sun 15 Apr 12 17:05   Chinese GP - Zero

>> I'm not being entirely flippant, it's quite possible the Sky negotiators raised the need for >> closer racing when they were sorting out the contract. No you are not be ing flippant. Naive to the extreme tho. Sky have NO say in how close the racing is. Not one teeny weeny eeny bit. They wouldn't even have considered mentioning it. Hey Lewis, slow down a bit, Rupert wants the bloke behind to catch up a bit to make it closer. Yeah right. I dont believe you believe that statement you made.       2

New Sun 15 Apr 12 18:15   Chinese GP - Iffy

...Hey Lewis, slow down a bit, Rupert wants the bloke behind to catch up a bit to make it closer... Bit more subtle than that, Zeddo. Sky may have had an impact on scheduling and could reasonably ask what plans were afoot to make the product they were buying attractive. Just as Bernie's lot would ask Sky for details of the proposed coverage. In other words, each side asks the other: "What can you do for us?"

New Sun 15 Apr 12 18:20   Chinese GP - Zero

>> ...Hey Lewis, slow down a bit, Rupert wants the bloke behind to catch up a >> bit to make it closer... >> >> Bit more subtle than that, Zeddo. >> >> Sky may have had an impact on scheduling and could reasonably ask what plans were >> afoot to make the product they were buying attractive. Sky have an impact on nothing. They are not paying sufficient money nor do they have sufficient audience to achieve any of that. They are a pin drop in the total income and audience. Sky have no say and no sway.

New Sun 15 Apr 12 18:32   Chinese GP - Iffy

...Sky have no say and no sway... We will never know - unless I can manage to hack Rupert's and Bernie's phones. There's bigger television sport fish to fry at the moment - the mighty Spurs are making a reasonable fist of it against Chelsea.

New Sun 15 Apr 12 18:35   Chinese GP - Zero

>> ...Sky have no say and no sway... >> >> We will never know - unless I can manage to hack Rupert's and Bernie's phones. we do know, audience numbers speak for themselves.

New Sun 15 Apr 12 18:46   Chinese GP - Zero

>> There's bigger television sport fish to fry at the moment - the mighty Spurs are >> making a reasonable fist of it against Chelsea Thats a Hamfist I think. Spurs 0 Chelsea 1

New Sun 15 Apr 12 18:59   Chinese GP - Iffy

...Thats a Hamfist I think. Spurs 0 Chelsea 1... It's a game of two halves.

New Sun 15 Apr 12 19:08   Chinese GP - Zero

>> ...Thats a Hamfist I think. Spurs 0 Chelsea 1... >> >> It's a game of two halves. Indeed Spurs 0 Chelsea 2 - Second half.

New Sun 15 Apr 12 19:42   Chinese GP - Zero

>> >> ...Thats a Hamfist I think. Spurs 0 Chelsea 1... >> >> >> >> It's a game of two halves. >> >> Indeed >> >> Spurs 0 Chelsea 2 - Second half. Not a good second half there iffy Spurs 1 - Chelsea 4

New Sun 15 Apr 12 19:53   Chinese GP - Zero

Oh dear, game of one half would have been better Spurs 1 Chelsea 5

New Sun 15 Apr 12 18:41   Chinese GP - Armel Coussine

>> Sky have no say and no sway. I hope you're right Zero. Changes have been made ostensibly to enforce 'closer competition', these special knackered after a trip to the shops and back tyres all made by the same manufacturer for example. It's too late to want it back, but I really preferred F1 when there were real differences between the cars and teams could choose their own tyres and so on. Freer and less artificial. Of course that made it more likely that the richer teams might walk away into the distance even more than they do now. That was a good race though, and the season is looking good so far. Just as well because I got up 3 hours early to watch it. I don't like the Sky coverage as much as the BBC's and its very existence is a bit of a nuisance to me, because I can only get Sky in a communal large room. When there are a lot of people here it's anti-social to watch F1 when everyone else is not interested and having lunch. Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sun 15 Apr 12 at 18:42       1

New Sun 15 Apr 12 19:46   Chinese GP - Runfer D'Hills

I didn't mind the short highlights BBC version this afternoon. Saw enough to enjoy it and didn't have time to fall asleep.

New Sun 15 Apr 12 22:02   Chinese GP - Duncan

>> That was a good race though, and the season is looking good so far. Just >> as well because I got up 3 hours early to watch it. It didn't start until 8am! You're missing the best half of the day!

New Mon 16 Apr 12 14:44   Chinese GP - L'escargot

>> why are the three amigos, out doing them selves in tight trouserage? its not on >> 'Er indoors likes it!

New Sun 15 Apr 12 20:04   mercedes win - zookeeper

Why are the commontators making a big deal over the mercedes win? didnt they give up racing after the 1955 le mans tragedy, no wonder they havnt won any silver ware ?

New Sun 15 Apr 12 20:07   mercedes win - Avant

Well, it certainly wasn't a diesel B-class.

New Mon 16 Apr 12 08:57   mercedes win - Meldrew

Having spent a some time yesterday watching 3 Touring Car races from Donnington, plus interesting support races and then hearing that someone had won a F1 race, leading from start to finish I knew I had made a good choice!

New Mon 16 Apr 12 09:34   mercedes win - rtj70

Rosberg may have led the race but there was some excellent racing behind him yesterday. One of the better races - probably one of the more interesting tracks too. Some other tracks only get interesting when it rains!

New Mon 16 Apr 12 09:58   mercedes win - Meldrew

Yes rjt70 - I confess to a slightly simplistic approach to the F1 race!

New Mon 16 Apr 12 10:05   BTCC Donnington - bathtub tom

Was Plato penalised for that last lap of the final race? Whatever happened in the junior Ginettas on Saturday? There were several references to an incident, but no explanation. The field seemed reduced.

New Mon 16 Apr 12 12:00   BTCC Donnington - Meldrew

All is revealed here www.btccpages.com/ Double win for Shedden, first across the line, Jackson excluded for a mechanical infringement and Plato penalised for shunting into Shedden on the last corner of Race 3

New Mon 16 Apr 12 13:34   Bahrain - Armel Coussine

What's the betting on the Bahrain GP's prospect of actually being run? I think the chances are that it will be cancelled or postponed. In a way I hope it will be. Of course the political dispute or disputes in the country have nothing to do with the race any more than cricket had to do with apartheid. But 'activists' don't care about that and still think it's worth digging up the pitch. They will be trying hard to do just that at Bahrain. You can see why Bernie Ecclestone is getting so shirty about it all and swearing at AFP hacks (of course we've all done that in our time). The real problem is the Bahraini regime's financial involvement in the sport and in one of the teams. Perhaps its interest in the sport has distracted it from more urgent, more fundamental and challenging matters, and things have run to seed rather. Powerful forces from outside Bahrain will be quite keen to torpedo the race for a variety of reasons. It's looking well dodgy.

New Thu 19 Apr 12 14:01   Bahrain - henry k

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/17767985 Force India team members were forced to flee as petrol bombs were hurled over their vehicle on their way back from the Bahrain Grand Prix track. The four mechanics in a 4x4 were caught in the middle of an incident as police clashed with protesters. two team members have asked to return home.

New Thu 19 Apr 12 14:25   Bahrain - John H

It is pure sensational gutter press journalism from Benson. His headline on the main page www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/ reads "“Force India Flee Bahrain Petrol Bombs”. I have lifted the opinion as expresses on F1fanatic by other people. Allegedly, two members of the "team" have asked to go home, one of whom was not in the van and is associated with a sponsor of the team. formulaoneupdate.wordpress.com/ "Force India issued a statement regarding the incident: “Yesterday evening, four members or the Force India team were travelling between the Bahrain International Circuit and Manama. They drove through an isolated incident involving a handful of illegal protestors acting violently towards police. “During this incident a Molotov Cocktail landed in the vicinity of their vehicle. After approximately two minutes, the route was cleared and the vehicle carried on its journey. There were no casualties and eyewitness reports from the scene confirmed that their vehicle had not been targeted itself." It seems that if you want to read a little less biased reporting than BBC's Benson, you should head to the live twitter feeds of these five F1 journalists on the ground: twitter.com/#!/easonF1 twitter.com/#!/ianparkesf1 twitter.com/#!/tomcary_tel twitter.com/#!/byronf1 twitter.com/#!/adamcooperf1

New Thu 19 Apr 12 13:31   slight enigne misfire - Focusless

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17770281

New Thu 19 Apr 12 17:24   slight enigne misfire - Armel Coussine

Heh heh... a nitrous oxide/big supercharger glitch perhaps. 'Motor racing isn't as dangerous as it looks'. Discuss.

New Fri 20 Apr 12 20:07   slight enigne misfire - Dutchie

The accident didn't seem to bother him.What is dangerous for some is a walk in the park for others.

New Fri 20 Apr 12 20:13   slight enigne misfire - Focusless

Actually I'd forgotten my stepson had a similar experience on the A34 a few years ago when his 1.0 Corsa engine caught fire.

New Fri 20 Apr 12 20:20   slight enigne misfire - Armel Coussine

>> 1.0 Corsa engine caught fire. But did it go KA-BLOOIE! and scatter bits of the Corsa 100 yards down the road enabling your stepson to step disdainfully out of the wreckage? I like to think so of course.

New Fri 20 Apr 12 20:26   slight enigne misfire - Focusless

>> But did it go KA-BLOOIE! and scatter bits of the Corsa 100 yards down the >> road enabling your stepson to step disdainfully out of the wreckage? It was a bit of a wreck beforehand so difficult to tell unfortunately,

New Fri 20 Apr 12 20:22   slight enigne misfire - Dutchie

I haver a extinguisher in the car.The only time I have ever used one was on somebody else's car.

New Fri 20 Apr 12 20:28   slight enigne misfire - Armel Coussine

Have you looked at the link Dutchie? I recommend it. You will see that the driver would have needed to be pretty quick with the fire extinguisher.

New Sun 22 Apr 12 13:25   Live Internet Feed - Robin O'Reliant

For those without Sky, Veetle TV Player has the link to live coverage - veetle.com/index.php/channel/view#4ec1ccf7ab984

New Sun 22 Apr 12 14:57   Live Internet Feed - Mike Hannon

The Telegraph's 'live' coverage (to which I was reduced) stopped dead two laps from the end. Maybe the girl landed with the Sunday working job fell asleep.

New Sun 22 Apr 12 15:19   Live Internet Feed - Duncan

>> For those without Sky, Veetle TV Player has the link to live coverage - >> >> veetle.com/index.php/channel/view#4ec1ccf7ab984 >> That worked fine for me, until the luncheon gong sounded.

New Sun 22 Apr 12 15:33   Bah! No rain. - Armel Coussine

Just kidding. Super-slippery conditions wouldn't really have improved things much in Bahrain, run in front of a tiny VIP audience on the garishly-coloured Scalextric-like circuit, not bad in itself though and with the biggest and best run-off areas in the business... Not having live spectators did make it feel a bit cold and clinical, as if being run merely for the sake of it. You don't get much of a circuit atmosphere from a worldwide TV audience of any number of billions. The season is still looking very interesting with Lotus on the pace after what seems a very long time. Romain Grosjean may look like Kevin the Teenager in the throes of puppy love but he's jolly quick. And the cool and gravelly Mika Hakkinen drove an absolute blinder. Vettel did his Teutonic-efficiency thing at the front all the way. Hope we don't see too much more of that although Vettel seems a genial young man. Button's car didn't feel right to him and then fell to pieces. Hamilton was effectively robbed of a place (at least) by two crap pit stops. But Vettel seemed to have the legs really right from the start. Time for a bit of introspection down Woking way perhaps. Rosberg swerving wildly about and baulking people. But Schumacher putting in a solid day's work. Nice to see the old pros showing the young butterflies how to really graft. Raikkonen's and Vettel's were really the drives of the day. Fingers crossed that no one got wasted or maimed downtown under cover of all the excitement. Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sun 22 Apr 12 at 15:37

New Sun 22 Apr 12 16:09   Bah! No rain. - Westpig

And the cool and gravelly Mika Hakkinen drove >> an absolute blinder. You sure?

New Sun 22 Apr 12 16:20   Bah! No rain. - Armel Coussine

>> You sure? Doh... they all sound the same...

New Sun 22 Apr 12 16:10   Bah! No rain. - Westpig

So...will Rosberg be penalised for running Hamilton off the track? Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 23 Apr 12 at 00:51

New Sun 22 Apr 12 16:53   Bah! No rain. - John H

>> So...will Rosberg be penalised for running Hamilton off the track? >> No, I won't be surprised if Lewis gets some kind of telling off for overtaking "off the track". Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 23 Apr 12 at 00:51

New Sun 22 Apr 12 17:08   Bah! No rain. - Meldrew

Did anything interesting happen behind Vettel who made a cracking started and led to the finish? Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 23 Apr 12 at 00:51

New Sun 22 Apr 12 18:35   Bah! No rain. - Zero

Well I have to say Raikonnen has come back to F1 with a vicious vengeance. He is prepared to attack anyone, anywhere. Always liked him after his notorious put down of Michael Schumacher, but he now appears to know how to motivate the team both morally and technically. Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 23 Apr 12 at 00:51

New Sun 22 Apr 12 18:38   Bah! No rain. - John H

>> Did anything interesting happen behind Vettel who made a cracking started and led to the >> finish? >> Yes, McLaren cooked it up again. Martin Whtimarsh not looking happy at all, as his golden boy Button failed to finish. Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 23 Apr 12 at 00:52

New Sun 22 Apr 12 18:36   Bah! No rain. - John H

>> >> So...will Rosberg be penalised for running Hamilton off the track? >> >> >> >> No, I won't be surprised if Lewis gets some kind of telling off for overtaking >> "off the track". >> Stewards decide "no action". www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/99102 Alonso reaction: alo_oficial - Fernando Alonso twitter.com/alo_oficial/status/194113915142160385 "I think you are going to have fun in future races! You can defend position as you want and you can overtake outside the track! Enjoy! ;)))" Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 23 Apr 12 at 00:52

New Sun 22 Apr 12 18:57   Bah! No rain. - Alastairw

Might try the interweb next race. Less than impressed with BBC highlights this week. I am sure we were promised a 2 hour highlight show, but todays is only 1 hr 25 mins. Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 23 Apr 12 at 00:52

New Sun 22 Apr 12 19:25   Bah! No rain. - conquest

Absolutely agree, the way the race today was chopped and mashed together was extremely disappointing, making it difficult to follow in parts. Great stuff from Raikkonen, Go Kimi Go! Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 23 Apr 12 at 00:52

New Sun 22 Apr 12 21:37   Bah! No rain. - henry k

>>Absolutely agree, the way the race today was chopped and mashed together was extremely disappointing, +1 Last year the repeat programmes often had the interviews tacked on the end. This year you need to go to the web site for some of them. I liked the one where they bumped into Martin. Last edited by: VxFan on Mon 23 Apr 12 at 00:52

New Tue 1 May 12 13:26   Jenson Button - Budapest live at 13.30 1May2012 - John H

Button is about to show off on the streets of Budapest. www.kezdjelvalamiujat.hu/ There seem to be no fatties in Hungaary!

New Sat 12 May 12 19:09   Spanish GP - Hamilton stripped of pole - Ateca chris

Lewis has been stripped of pole and will start at back of grid for being under-weight www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12479/7752098/Hamilton-loses-pole-position Last edited by: Webmaster on Sat 12 May 12 at 21:11

New Sat 12 May 12 19:12   Hamilton stripped of pole - Meldrew

It is Saturday night - I wish I could be under-weight and stripped but I don't think it is going to happen!

New Sat 12 May 12 19:14   Hamilton stripped of pole - Ian (Cape Town)

"is it cos I'm black?"

New Sat 12 May 12 19:44   Hamilton stripped of pole - Meldrew

No it's cos you are too far away! Re Hamilton, was he really underweight as in the weight of the ca was too low or was it the technicality that he didn't have 1 litre of fuel for the post session sample? Either way he is going to drive hard/well to get into the points - might even be worth watching if there are no touring cars or Moto GP!

New Sat 12 May 12 19:47   Hamilton stripped of pole - Focusless

>> Re Hamilton, was he really underweight as >> in the weight of the ca was too low The full ruling quoted at the bottom of that page doesn't say anything about being underweight. EDIT "the car failed to return to the pits under its own power as required under Article 6.6.2 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations." Last edited by: Focus on Sat 12 May 12 at 19:48

New Sat 12 May 12 20:34   Hamilton stripped of pole - henry k

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/18047760 "The fuel rig guy put the rig on, but he had the handle set to drain fuel. He discovered his mistake and switched it to put fuel in the car. But as a result he didn't put as much fuel in it as he should have. You have to be able to drive back to the pit-lane and have one litre of fuel left for the FIA to test. He went across the start-finish line 20 seconds before the chequered flag but if they had sat in the garage for three or four more seconds to get more fuel in, they still would have had time to cross the line and complete another flying lap. Sometimes I don't think McLaren think on their feet."

New Sat 12 May 12 20:37   Hamilton stripped of pole - Zero

They need the slightly maniacal Ron Dennis back in charge.

New Sat 12 May 12 20:40   Hamilton stripped of pole - bathtub tom

I wonder if they put the guy they took off wheel changes on the fuelling rig?       1

New Sat 12 May 12 22:22   Hamilton stripped of pole - John H

>> 20 seconds before the chequered flag but if they had sat in the garage for >> three or four more seconds to get more fuel in, they still would have had >> time to cross the line and complete another flying lap. Sometimes I don't think McLaren >> think on their feet." >> They should have abandoned the lap as soon as the fuel guy saw his mistake. McLaren need to fire a few people, starting with the under performing Martin Whitmarsh.

New Sat 12 May 12 21:54   Hamilton stripped of pole - Meldrew

Thanks Focus - I was confused by the definitive statement on the subject quoting the new experts (Sky Sports) as saying the car was underweight for practice, roughly speaking.

New Sat 12 May 12 22:27   Hamilton stripped of pole - Focusless

(Sorry if that sounded terse BTW, didn't mean to be.)

New Sat 12 May 12 22:46   Hamilton stripped of pole - devonite

Chelsea football club have "teamed-up" with Sauber, and their cars will start carrying the Chelsea crest this week-end! - Maybe a new career beckons for Terry, Lampard ans Drogs if they retire this season!

New Sat 12 May 12 22:52   Hamilton stripped of pole - Zero

>> Chelsea football club have "teamed-up" with Sauber, and their cars will start carrying the Chelsea >> crest this week-end! - Maybe a new career beckons for Terry, Lampard ans Drogs if >> they retire this season! None of them have driving licenses, Surrey Police keep taking them away,

New Sun 13 May 12 03:50   Hamilton stripped of pole - Armel Coussine

Sauber have a new sponsor logo. Oerlikon... mmmm...

New Sun 13 May 12 10:54   Hamilton stripped of pole - Meldrew

No problem!!!!

New Sun 13 May 12 06:59   Hamilton stripped of pole - L'escargot

>> "is it cos I'm black?" "It's in the rules, it's black and white, it's another bad mistake from McLaren," Sky Sports F1's Johnny Herbert - a steward at the Malaysian GP earlier in the season - commented on the judgement.

New Sun 13 May 12 09:43   Hamilton stripped of pole - henry k

Has F1 forgotten that it is about racing ? The tyre situation is now a farce. Pratice day - we may or not turn up as we are saving tyres. Fans, enjoy! Race day - unless you watch the TV how on earth can you understand what is going on. The sun is out, the grass is drying so I might record it as Hamilton might be playing dodgems.

New Sun 13 May 12 10:04   Hamilton stripped of pole - swiss tony

>> The sun is out, the grass is drying so I might record it as Hamilton might be playing dodgems. >> Naw. Going on previous non front row starts, he will be playing bumper cars. My moneys on Hammy ending the race early. I wonder who the poor soul is who he will take out......

New Sun 13 May 12 10:06   Hamilton stripped of pole - Zero

Who'd of thought it - Alonso gets promoted to the front row in the Spanish GP, how did that happen.

New Sun 13 May 12 10:25   Hamilton stripped of pole - L'escargot

When is the Spanish GP likely to finish? 'Er indoors wants me to take her out this afternoon and I want to negotiate the time so that I miss the minimum of the race.

New Sun 13 May 12 10:59   Hamilton stripped of pole - Focusless

Race starts at 1, so should all be over by 3. BBC1 coverage scheduled to finish at 3.15.

New Sun 13 May 12 11:25   Hamilton stripped of pole - L'escargot

>> Race starts at 1, so should all be over by 3. BBC1 coverage scheduled to >> finish at 3.15. Thanks Focus, she'll have to wait until 3 o'clock then.

New Sun 13 May 12 11:38   Hamilton stripped of pole - John H

>> "It's in the rules, it's black and white, it's another bad mistake from McLaren," Sky >> Sports F1's Johnny Herbert - a steward at the Malaysian GP earlier in the season >> - commented on the judgement. >> But the rules do not state the penalty to be given: "Hamilton was given the same penalty Michael Schumacher received at Monaco in 2006, when he deliberately parked his car on the track to prevent other drivers from beating his pole position time."

New Sun 13 May 12 12:34   Hamilton stripped of pole - Meldrew

With a rookie on pole and a champion at the back there might be some action, instead of the usual "Get a good start and win from the first corner" stuff we've had before.

New Sun 13 May 12 15:25   Hamilton stripped of pole - Armel Coussine

No one playing dodgems today except Schumacher. Careful and mature driving by all the front runners, most notably by Hamilton and Alonso. I hope those who predicted wild bumping and boring by Hamilton are feeling ashamed of themselves. Raikkonen terrific too. Nice to see Lotus and Williams showing they've still got it. Nice to see Kobayashi well placed too. The season is still pretty well wide open, and that's how I like it. I don't like these manipulatively crap tyres though. Absolutely hate them.

New Sun 13 May 12 15:39   Hamilton stripped of pole - zookeeper

i agree with henry k , i too was expecting a race not a tyre preservation society fun day out. the first 10 laps were on average 8 seconds off the pace.....what a joke

New Sun 13 May 12 16:38   Hamilton stripped of pole - Armel Coussine

Sauber's new sponsor Oerlikon will be pleased by Kobayashi's showing. The name means something to me as it probably will to ON. It is a high-tech engineering group these days and apparently doesn't make weapons, but the Oerlikon 20mm cannon was made under licence in Ruislip from 1940 and widely used by the navy. A cruiser I visited as a child on an 'open ship' day let us nippers play with the Oerlikon turrets, which the operator sat in and worked through a complex joystick/handlebar thing. There were turrets with two guns and turrets with four. You could make the barrels and sights go up and down in unison and rotate the turret. They didn't offer to let us fire them though. The controls were very stiff for a child and the whole thing was too big for us of course. We banged it into its stops (naturally it had them, can't have the guns able to shoot at the ship itself) and I don't think the matelots liked it much. But they were nice about it. I couldn't remember whether Oerlikon was Swedish or Swiss, so I googled it. It's Swiss. Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Sun 13 May 12 at 16:39

New Sun 13 May 12 17:41   Hamilton stripped of pole - Zero

The cannon was made by Oerlikon Contraves, later to become part of Rheinmetall Air Defence AG, where a variation of the Oerlikon is still made today.

New Sun 13 May 12 17:57   Hamilton stripped of pole - Armel Coussine

The original design was German too, although the thing was developed and later versions used a bigger cartridge and had higher velocity. Oerlikon in Switzerland couldn't supply them in the numbers the navy wanted, hence the licence arrangement. I can't help feeling a couple of brace of Oerlikons is all a vigilant bulk carrier needs off Somalia and Yemen. It would take pretty brave pirates to put them to the test.

New Sun 13 May 12 20:49   Hamilton stripped of pole - R.P.

Oerlikon also makes train buffers...some of the nonsense trivia you pick up endlessly waiting for trains across Europe..

New Sun 13 May 12 20:16   Hamilton stripped of pole - swiss tony

I'm not ashamed. I'm amazed. Maybe he has grown up at last...

New Sun 13 May 12 21:16   Hamilton stripped of pole - Runfer D'Hills

Oerlikon Buhrle used to own the Bally shoe company.

New Sun 13 May 12 21:18   Hamilton stripped of pole - Zero

Get shot in the foot huh. Last edited by: Zero on Sun 13 May 12 at 21:18

New Sun 13 May 12 21:18   Hamilton stripped of pole - Iffy

...used to own the Bally shoe company... Which also made pinball machines. OK, I made that up - must be all the posts I've been making about the job.

New Sun 13 May 12 21:38   Hamilton stripped of pole - Londoner

When I worked in Switzerland, I lived in a suburb of Zurich that was called "Oerlikon". Average sort of place. Couldn't wait to get back to the UK. There was nothing glamorous about working abroad, and I was just a humble IT employee, not some high flyer in the financial sector. Last edited by: Londoner on Sun 13 May 12 at 21:38

New Sun 13 May 12 21:55   Hamilton stripped of pole - Armel Coussine

The Oerlikon firm was named after that suburb Londoner. So you have had a good rub up against military history. It's odd really that a town renowned for banking in a rabidly neutral country should have supplied the navy with the means for so much honest naval violence, streams of small tracer, incendiary and explosive shells fired at the rate of ten a second or so. Among my old Africa photos are some of Chadian Toyotas with various weapons mounted on the back. I seem to remember one with what looked like Oerlikons. I must have a look for it. They're bigger than .50 calibre machine guns, but a Land Cruiser is a willing beast. And the capital of Chad in those days looked as if huge rats had been gnawing at it. The spaceframe roof of the presidential palace cocked over one eye like Frank Sinatra's rug... Happy days. Interesting ones anyway.

New Sun 13 May 12 21:56   Hamilton stripped of pole - Dutchie

You could have fooled me I thought you was white.I am a sort of pinkish.>:)