Donkey of the Race - Silverstone

[steveaki13]

Get da votes in.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Kimi - no contest. They've been told explicitly in the drivers briefing NOT to rejoin the track over the grass if they veer off. Problem with short-term memory there.

[N4D13]

Kimi - no contest. They've been told explicitly in the drivers briefing NOT to rejoin the track over the grass if they veer off. Problem with short-term memory there.
I don't remember that exactly but at the end of the day, he made a mistake and not only did he destroy his own race as a result but also someone else's. Then there's also damaging the barrier and causing a one-hour delay. If that doesn't make him the donkey of the race, I don't know what does.

[Ranger]

Yep, it has to be Kimi. Glad he is not seriously injured though.

[donKey jote]

1. Ferrari for quali
2. Kimi for putting so many in danger
3. Alo for not finding his starting stop

[Garry Walker]

Probably kimi for causing an accident and bieber for crying more than any baby could.

[Hawkmoon]

Raikkonen and Gutierrez for his clumsy shunt with Maldonado.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Probably kimi for causing an accident and bieber for crying more than any baby could.

I suppose Alonso's crying was ok then? You should really see a therapeutic about your hate problem...

[Garry Walker]

I suppose Alonso's crying was ok then? You should really see a therapeutic about your hate problem...

He didn't cry as much as bieber.
You really should stop drinking yourself into obvlion every day when your hero doesn't win.

[dj_bytedisaster]

He didn't cry as much as bieber.
You really should stop drinking yourself into obvlion every day when your hero doesn't win.

Pardon me? Alonso demanded a penalty for Vettel TWICE. How is that not whining? Each of them was bradcast whining exactly three times, gonzo. He even hallucinated that Vettel used DRS outside a DRS zone.

[Garry Walker]

Pardon me? Alonso demanded a penalty for Vettel TWICE. How is that not whining? Each of them was bradcast whining exactly three times, gonzo. He even hallucinated that Vettel used DRS outside a DRS zone.

Alonso was just stating facts.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Alonso was just stating facts.

ROFL. You are beyond saving, man...

[steveaki13]

Williams & Ferrari get a mention for yesterday

Hamilton gets a mention for yesterday.

Mercedes - They are getting more and more reliability issues. Need to sort it out

Kimi - He did come back on the track over the grass far too hard.

Pastor driving half a lap with an engine blowing oil out the back.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Mercedes - They are getting more and more reliability issues. Need to sort it out


It's bound to happen they are all on their 3rd out of 5 of most components by now with half of the season still to go, so they have to risk failures to have fresh components for that inane double points race at the end

[steveaki13]

Can you imagine what a sucky season this will feel at the end, if after pure boring Mercedes dominance that the driver 8 points behind and in normal circumstances would just need a second to the other to win, suddenly loses the title cause at this race the points gap is 16.

Jeez that would top off this season really.

[rjbetty]

Pardon me? Alonso demanded a penalty for Vettel TWICE. How is that not whining? Each of them was bradcast whining exactly three times, gonzo. He even hallucinated that Vettel used DRS outside a DRS zone.

It's not as bad as hallucinating that Vettel has really beaten Ricciardo this year, who has done nothing at all.

It's nice that you don't have any hatred. :)

[rjbetty]

I choose Bottas by the way. Alo was ok too, almost beating Vettel while starting how many places down (15?)

[steveaki13]

You're joining a dangerous threesome RJ :p

[dj_bytedisaster]

It's not as bad as hallucinating that Vettel has really beaten Ricciardo this year, who has done nothing at all.

It's nice that you don't have any hatred. :)

show me one post where I said that.

[rjbetty]

show me one post where I said that.

It's just that every race, there's always a reason why Dan was the first Red Bull home, when it would have been Vettel if it weren't for this and that, and it often feels like he isn't being given due credit.

If that is the case, then it also has to be for Hamilton too, who has probably had a basic pace advantage over Rosberg at every race bar Spain and Bahrain.

[dj_bytedisaster]

It's just that every race, there's always a reason why Dan was the first Red Bull home, when it would have been Vettel if it weren't for this and that, and it often feels like he isn't being given due credit.

If that is the case, then it also has to be for Hamilton too, who has probably had a basic pace advantage over Rosberg at every race bar Spain and Bahrain.

I never said that, you are making that up. Everyone with half a brain can see that Vettel doesn't relly gel with the car as well as he has with previous incarnations. I merely object with the notion that he's useless, because he isn't. He was handicapped several times this year due to problems in qualifying which in turn meant that Danny would get preference with the strategy. Which is why you can't make a clear comparison between ROS and HAM either. If HAM botches the quali, like he did in Austria he runs the race with a disadvantage, because ROS gets the undercut on pitstops. Since Pirelli entered, the undercut has become a decisive element.

[rjbetty]

I never said that, you are making that up. Everyone with half a brain can see that Vettel doesn't relly gel with the car as well as he has with previous incarnations. I merely object with the notion that he's useless, because he isn't. He was handicapped several times this year due to problems in qualifying which in turn meant that Danny would get preference with the strategy. Which is why you can't make a clear comparison between ROS and HAM either. If HAM botches the quali, like he did in Austria he runs the race with a disadvantage, because ROS gets the undercut on pitstops. Since Pirelli entered, the undercut has become a decisive element.

I don't think too many people are saying Vettel is useless, I haven't done. But it's largely right Ricciardo gets praise as he's defied the expectations of most this season.

[Doc Austin]

Kimi - no contest. They've been told explicitly in the drivers briefing NOT to rejoin the track over the grass if they veer off. Problem with short-term memory there.

I learned that the first day in racing school. I was taught to slow way down and then make sure to clean the tires off.

At this point, I wonder if Ferrari will even let Kimmi finish the season. He has just been horrible.

[N4D13]

I learned that the first day in racing school. I was taught to slow way down and then make sure to clean the tires off.

At this point, I wonder if Ferrari will even let Kimmi finish the season. He has just been horrible.
They can always replace with, ehm, de la Rosa. Not gonna happen! :p

[dj_bytedisaster]

I don't think too many people are saying Vettel is useless, I haven't done. But it's largely right Ricciardo gets praise as he's defied the expectations of most this season.

Nobody's contesting that. First of all, all those who are 'surprised' by Danny didn't quite pay attention to his time at STR in my opinion. I for one didn't expect him to be a ridiculous pushover like his predecessor. And with the EBD gone it was a forgone conclusion that 2014 would be a lost year for Vettel. He had spent years learning the counter-intuitive driving style needed to get the most out of the Newey cars he only starts to get used to the 'conventional method' again. He has glimpses of the days of old, like at Barcelona or Canada or the fight with Alonso today, but he can't produce that consistently.
Danny Ric has a massive mileage advantage. He ran the majority of the few RB laps in winter testing, got the Bahrain test all to himself and has finished all but one race. You'll have to look at Lotus to find another pair of driver so disparage in mileage. And missing track time certainly doesn't help if you have to adjust your driving style.
I think it says more about the cluelessness of people, who now say Danny exceeded expectations by a mile. Do they really think RB hired a useless driver?

[Whyzars]

There was a red flag bought out in 1999 when a car was stranded on the grid and Michael Schumacher hit the wall. The race was restarted for full race distance for these first lap incidents. Todays happened at the 3rd corner or thereabouts.

How could they decide on grid positions different to the pole grid? I could understand if they completed a lap but they didn't.

Ludicrous.

Whoever decided todays restart would be a safety car restart and that the race would be reduced is the donkey of the day.

Whoever caused a barrier to take an hour to fix is the donkey's bum - and I'm not talking Kimi. Stick in a couple of tyre bundles and a "No Through Road" sign and be done with it.


I missed the first set of the tennis because of their needless delays. :D

[dj_bytedisaster]

I missed the first set of the tennis because of their needless delays. :D

You should be beaten with a stick for watching something as useless as tennis in the first place. As for the red flag. It only came out in lap two (TV display showed 2/52), so the order at the end of lap one counted for the restart

[rjbetty]

Nobody's contesting that. First of all, all those who are 'surprised' by Danny didn't quite pay attention to his time at STR in my opinion. I for one didn't expect him to be a ridiculous pushover like his predecessor. And with the EBD gone it was a forgone conclusion that 2014 would be a lost year for Vettel. He had spent years learning the counter-intuitive driving style needed to get the most out of the Newey cars he only starts to get used to the 'conventional method' again. He has glimpses of the days of old, like at Barcelona or Canada or the fight with Alonso today, but he can't produce that consistently.
Danny Ric has a massive mileage advantage. He ran the majority of the few RB laps in winter testing, got the Bahrain test all to himself and has finished all but one race. You'll have to look at Lotus to find another pair of driver so disparage in mileage. And missing track time certainly doesn't help if you have to adjust your driving style.
I think it says more about the cluelessness of people, who now say Danny exceeded expectations by a mile. Do they really think RB hired a useless driver?

Well Dan hadn't actually had that many results on the board at the time so could still be considered unproven. He appeared to me to be quite inconsistent at STR, having extremely competitive races sometimes, but then at other times going missing a bit. Up to around this time last year, I did consider Vergne as having more raw talent, but Ricciardo making up for it with hard work, but I may have been wrong.

I think it's quite clear that Red Bull dodged a bullet by not signing Kimi after all...

[Doc Austin]

Vettel is merely in a slump. It's easy to imagine he thought the new car would be as good as the old one, and that he could handle Ricciardo easily. With four consecutive championships, I guarantee you he went into this season overconfident.

Well, the car ain't that great and Ricciardo is.

Whatever Vettel needs to do, he will figure it out and be back. Clearly he doesn't like the new car, but eventually Newey will get it right, or the rules will change or Vettel will simply have an epiphany. Either way, I don't think he's finished. He was on the front row this morning, so it's not like it's time for him to retire.

One this especially worth noting is that no matter how bad it has gotten, Vettel has handled it calmly and with grace. It also seemed no one was happier when Ricciardo won than Vettel.

[steveaki13]

. It only came out in lap two (TV display showed 2/52), so the order at the end of lap one counted for the restart

It was unfortunate positioning of the finish line and start line. The race was Red Flag at the end of lap one, but inorder to que at the start line/grid, the drivers crossed the finish line at the exit of the last turn and so clicked it over into lap 2 of 52.

So Rosberg had completed 1 lap and the length of the start grid on lap 2.

A bit confusing really cause it was stopped on lap 1, but the drivers lined up on lap 2.

[Whyzars]

You should be beaten with a stick for watching something as useless as tennis in the first place. As for the red flag. It only came out in lap two (TV display showed 2/52), so the order at the end of lap one counted for the restart

I watch all sports. Federer/Djokovic final is still on now. great game.


I'm going from memory so will stand corrected.

I think the 2/52 was for the restart to reduce the race distance. They red flagged it pretty quick. I don't recall any car driving through the debris of the accident or the safety car even coming out.

I think the restart grid positions were decided at sector 2 of the first lap. The cars were well under red by the time they got back to the grid.

It all seemed weird and inconsistent and to my mind it should've been a grid restart for full race distance.

[Whyzars]

It was unfortunate positioning of the finish line and start line. The race was Red Flag at the end of lap one, but inorder to que at the start line/grid, the drivers crossed the finish line at the exit of the last turn and so clicked it over into lap 2 of 52.

So Rosberg had completed 1 lap and the length of the start grid on lap 2.

A bit confusing really cause it was stopped on lap 1, but the drivers lined up on lap 2.


My issue with the way it was handled is that the race was red flagged very quickly but they chose to do a safety car restart as opposed to a full pole restart with coloured lights and grid girls and everything.

I wonder if this was their chance to show off the new safety car restarts that have been suggested. If it was then its a dog because the field stretched out too far.

If they have done a full race restart in the past for a first lap incident why not today?

[airshifter]

Kimi
Fred
Guitierrez

Donkeys all around today!

[truefan72]

Kimi and gutierrez in that order
and the mercedes pit crew on hamilton stops

[steveaki13]

My issue with the way it was handled is that the race was red flagged very quickly but they chose to do a safety car restart as opposed to a full pole restart with coloured lights and grid girls and everything.

I wonder if this was their chance to show off the new safety car restarts that have been suggested. If it was then its a dog because the field stretched out too far.

If they have done a full race restart in the past for a first lap incident why not today?

I agree. I always thought it could be a full restart if the race is stopped in the first 2 laps anyway. In my opinion it should have been a full restart like the old days.

[The Black Knight]

My donkey is Kimi for unnecessarily amusing the first lap accident. Totally his own making.

Gutierrez for what he did to Maldonado.

Also Maldonado, just because he's a donkey 100% of the time anyway.

[Rollo]

My donkey is Kimi for unnecessarily amusing the first lap accident. Totally his own making.

One of the donkeys of this race is the The British Racing Drivers’ Club, the owners and operators of Silverstone.

If that gully hadn't been next to the circuit like that and the drains had instead been at the bases of the armco, then Kimi's car wouldn't have been thrown into the air when it rejoined the circuit, he wouldn't have got the wobbles and more than likely wouldn't have crashed the car.

Donkey of the Race IS Silverstone.

[zako85]

Donkeys:

1. Kimi, for crashing himself and taking down some innocent bystander, just as I was preparing to watch Massa's epic win over Alonso.

2. Vettel. Terrible start. The guy goes backwards, while his rookie teammate goes forward and ahead of Vettel. There is no excuse.

3. Gutierrez

[dj_bytedisaster]

Donkeys:

1. Kimi, for crashing himself and taking down some innocent bystander, just as I was preparing to watch Massa's epic win over Alonso.

2. Vettel. Terrible start. The guy goes backwards, while his rookie teammate goes forward and ahead of Vettel. There is no excuse.

3. Gutierrez

RIC over took Vettel because of strategy, not on the track

[Duncan]

One of the donkeys of this race is the The British Racing Drivers’ Club, the owners and operators of Silverstone.

If that gully hadn't been next to the circuit like that and the drains had instead been at the bases of the armco, then Kimi's car wouldn't have been thrown into the air when it rejoined the circuit, he wouldn't have got the wobbles and more than likely wouldn't have crashed the car.

Donkey of the Race IS Silverstone.

I can't agree; just about every circuit has some sort of discontinuity like this just off-track somewhere, and it's up to the drivers to know where they are. In this case, Kimi chose to rejoin over the grass at pretty close to full speed. He should have backed off and rejoined the race safely, but caused a major accident by choosing to keep his foot planted.

[Duncan]

Pardon me? Alonso demanded a penalty for Vettel TWICE. How is that not whining? Each of them was bradcast whining exactly three times, gonzo. He even hallucinated that Vettel used DRS outside a DRS zone.

I don't know whether that's true or not. The radio feeds may be being played on air differently by different broadcasters. I only remember one from Alonso on NBCSN ("something something DRS something something" just after the overtake), and quite a few from Seb. Definitely more than three.

It could just be an impression created by the broadcasters, and not the reality, because we don't know how many more transmissions there were that we didn't get to hear.

[Tazio]

Kimi for having scored 5x less points than Fred at the 1/2 point of the season. What a clown of an embarrassment, he should just retire immediately and stop stealing his pay check. :laugh: ;)

[rjbetty]

RIC over took Vettel because of strategy, not on the track

I heard that Christian Horner admitted Sebby would never have made his tyres last like RIC on a one stop, so a two it had to be. This one goes to RIC fair and square.

[dj_bytedisaster]

I heard that Christian Horner admitted Sebby would never have made his tyres last like RIC on a one stop, so a two it had to be. This one goes to RIC fair and square.

Only that his tyres were shot in the end and that he would have been overtaken by Mclaren had the race not ended when it did. They gambled and the won marginally. It was far from a master stroke. And I didn't read anything about that alleged Horner quote so far.

[Hawkmoon]

Only that his tyres were shot in the end and that he would have been overtaken by Mclaren had the race not ended when it did. They gambled and the won marginally. It was far from a master stroke. And I didn't read anything about that alleged Horner quote so far.

During the broadcast they mentioned that a one stop was overall 6 seconds slower than a two stop. Red Bull put Ricciardo onto the inferior strategy (you said yourself that it was marginal) yet he still beat Vettel who started 6 places higher on the grid. Anyway you look at it Ricciardo beat Vettel fair and square.

The more you try and downplay Ricciardo's performance the more you make Vettel look bad. If Ricciardo isn't that great what does it say about Vettel? Ricciardo is currently beating Vettel 8-1 in the races (including Australia where he was DQ'd from 2nd place). That result isn't purely down to reliability issues or poor strategy for Vettel.

[rjbetty]

Well I think yew said that pretty well, Hawk.

As for Ricciardo's embarrassment at being chased by a McLaren, where does that leave Vettel, who was beaten by the McLaren (despite starting ahead)?

Also, the race is a prescribed distance, so a driver only needs to last that distance, no more. Red Bull seem to think Dan's tyre preservation is quality.

[Big Ben]

They can always replace with, ehm, de la Rosa. Not gonna happen! :p

Nooo... I think the patern says they will bring back Massa

[Big Ben]

He had spent years learning the counter-intuitive driving style needed to get the most out of the Newey cars he only starts to get used to the 'conventional method' again.


hilarious... now I understand it. The RBR didn't have a dominating car the last few years. It was Vettel who was driving it specially :laugh:

[Tazio]

Nooo... I think the patern says they will bring back Massa
Might as well, Felipe couldn't perform like anymore of an ass-clown than:monkeedanhas.

[zako85]

hilarious... now I understand it. The RBR didn't have a dominating car the last few years. It was Vettel who was driving it specially :laugh:

It was the dominating car, but there were a lot of rumors that you had to drive it specially, at least in 2013 because of weird engine map issues. Anyways, half year past that time, it's about time that Vettel learns how to drive a "normal" car.

[zako85]

RIC over took Vettel because of strategy, not on the track

Vettel did have a bad start IMO. He went down like two positions or so before the first corner. It looked like he may have been in a wrong gear or perhaps made some mistake with clutch work.

[journeyman racer]

Kimi for having scored 5x less points than Fred at the 1/2 point of the season. What a clown of an embarrassment, he should just retire immediately and stop stealing his pay check. :laugh: ;)

Your Raikkonen bashing is boring and an embarrassment.

[Tazio]

Your Raikkonen bashing is boring and an embarrassment.

So?
I'm merely pointing out how badly he sucks this season.
Btw He is losing the teammate battle 0-9 :laugh:
"Kimi nation" facing reality.....priceless! :laugh: :laugh:

And FWIW it is fun doing embarrassing things for me. I consider it an art-form and I'm a master :sailor:

[Doc Austin]

Having finally had a chance to see the whole race, I gotta make Pastor the donkey yet again. From Guitierrez' onboard camera, you can clearly see that Pastor moved over on him, either to give some room to the Marussia on the outside, or to block Guitierrez. Either way, Guitierrez had nowhere to go. I suppose he could have moved to his left a little, but it all happened so fast he may not have had time.

In Pastor's defense, he did not move that much. Of course, they were already so close that it did not take much.

The incident was supposedly under review, but I have not seen any sort of decision yet. It was a pretty close deal, so I suspect they will just let it go.

[jens]

Weird. Räikkönen reminds me of Damon Hill from 1999. Him going back to Ferrari was always questionable, because alongside Alonso and also in a twilight period in his career it was going to be an uphill battle. I was pretty generous to Kimi in my pre-season prediction, in reality he hasn't been better than Massa before him. But I guess it was a desperate move for Kimi, since the Lotus ship was always going to sink going by the way things went.

Maldonado gets the donkey award for a career choice. Alesi was criticized for a bad career move, but Maldonado's move really takes the cake. Who would have thought that Lotus and Williams basically swap positions in the pecking order. Now Williams is regularly competing for podiums and Lotus can barely get points.

[zako85]

It's not like ex ante Williams was a good team to be in. The 2011 season was the worst season for Williams in two decades. After that, my thoughts were that things can't ever get worse than that. Then 2013 came and that was even worse. Williams seems to be going up and down all the time. Based on all the media reports, I do think that Lotus was also a an unknown black hole as they run out of money to pay salaries. Maldonado should have been smarter not to burn bridges with Williams before the 2013 season even ended.

[COD]

Vettel did have a bad start IMO. He went down like two positions or so before the first corner. It looked like he may have been in a wrong gear or perhaps made some mistake with clutch work.

Vettel seems to have inherited starts & luck from Webber

[journeyman racer]

So?
I'm merely pointing out how badly he sucks this season.
Btw He is losing the teammate battle 0-9 :laugh:
"Kimi nation" facing reality.....priceless! :laugh: :laugh:

And FWIW it is fun doing embarrassing things for me. I consider it an art-form and I'm a master :sailor:
Are you just having a crack at him for this season? Fair enough. I take back what I said. Over the years, Raikkonen critics have done my head in.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Vettel seems to have inherited starts & luck from Webber

Not to mention the car, too.

[Tazio]

Are you just having a crack at him for this season? Fair enough. I take back what I said. Over the years, Raikkonen critics have done my head in.Of course, plus I take shots at all the drivers for the fun of it! This is going to be his worse season since 2001 if he doesn't settle down. I knew that he was no match for Fred in equal machinery, but this really is absurd. And yes I went over the top about it on this thread after really tying one on (and I can live with that). I admire Kimi more than most f1 pilots and I really do admire them all, almost all anyway. Being an American I doin't have any patriotic connection to any of these freakin' guys

[jens]

Räikkönen looked like a competitive driver in Spain and Monaco, but after that something has gone wrong again.

I am not sure there is really much to discuss about him right now. I remember in 2008 he had a bad patch too, scored no points for several races and crashed out at Singapore and Belgium - like he crashed out now at Silverstone.

We know he is talented enough to be better than that, a lot better in fact, but age is not on his side any more to perhaps re-reach the heights where he once was.

[Mia 01]

The last laugh is the sweetest. Kimi will be with ferrari next year to so there is plenty of time to bash him.

It´s very probably that Alonso will be off to MacLaren next year (40 million Euro a year is a good deal). If so, Kimi will be with Ferrari for a couple of moore years, perhaps even bring them a new WCC.

[henners88]

It´s very probably that Alonso will be off to MacLaren next year (40 million Euro a year is a good deal). If so, Kimi will be with Ferrari for a couple of moore years, perhaps even bring them a new WCC.
Although I am a long term fan of Kimi, he can't win a WCC on his own even if Ferrari get their act together and build a car to challenge consistently at the front. Who will be Kimi's team mate do you think to help with the points tally?