Driver of the race

[ioan]

I'm to chose between Takuma for his impressive 8th place and FM for sticking it to FA in the first turn!

Maybe we can have a poll on this?

[jens]

There were several guys, who took the maximum out of the package they had today: Massa, Hamilton, Coulthard, Rosberg and Sato. So it will be tough to choose between them.

[Sleeper]

I'm going to say Coulthard, was chasing down Kubica and Alonso at one point before the second stops.

[Viktory]

Massa, Coulthard and Sato are even on this one in my opinion.

[Ian McC]

DC, again! Really has had an amazing couple of races.

[Flat.tyres]

Massa had the best car but drove faultless
DC was best for what he did with an inferor car
lewis had solid race so Dc was most impressive
massa might have had it if he had a bit more to do but the ferrari is quickest car

[waitey]

Several guys had really good drives today. DC, Sato, Hamilton, Massa, Rosberg and Kubica also drove a solid race to finish fourth and prove that without any real mechanical problems he can deliver results and i really like BMW's driver line up they seem to be very consistent and quick there is just a question mark over their reliability.

Fancy Sato though finishing 8th ahead of last year's world champions!

[mirek01]

For me DC and Sato.Strong drive has Massa Hamilton Kubica Rosberg.
I expect more to come from Red Bull late in the season.

[savage86]

Everyone expects DC to retire/be pushed out of the team at the end of the season. However as far as I can see there are no drivers in the Redbull family which are any quicker than him.

Driver of the day for me!

[aryan]

1. DC & Sato
2. Massa & LH
3. Kubica, Rosberg, HK

[Robinho]

DC for getting the car home and not losing places in the process, experience counted for him today, and was quick early on too.

Massa for a great race, and for sticking to Alonso in the first corner. last years Massa (or even the one at the start of the season) would have yielded, but he stuck to it and was rewarded. he is growing in stature.

Hamilton, great, very solid and pretty quiet through the race, but 3 seconds in a row and leads the world championship - can't argue with those stats

oh, and Sato, first point for Aguri, great drive, and beating Davidson to that first point, they look like a great quick pairing pushing each other on at the moment

[Zico]

Has to be DC for me considering his gearbox problem, achieving a good result in an inferior car.

[ioan]

I'll add Heidfeld to the list if only for managing to do a lap with a missing wheel nut! :eek:

[F1boat]

Felipe Massa, for me. Than Lewis and Coulthard.

[stevie_gerrard]

im gonna say Coulthard. Not a lot of f1 drivers with his experience would have stayed out there to the bitter end, missing 3rd gear, and still come away with 5th place in a rejuvenated red bull team. It was a thrill to see him perform so well again :)

[F1boat]

David was amazing in Bahrain as well, I am happy to see him getting deserved points in Barcelona. Great driver!

[Garry Walker]

I'll add Heidfeld to the list if only for managing to do a lap with a missing wheel nut! :eek:

Alonso with the same problem was out in the after 2 corners hihi lol

Driver of the race: Massa and DC. dont know which one to pick .One of them used the best car to his full advantage and made others look slow, the other one in a slower car with problems drove really well.
I will give it to Massa, but DC was close.

[pino]

poll added , and my vote goes to Massa :D

[Scuderia ferrari]

Massa did a great job and great to see ferrari winning, but it was DC by far, managing to cope with those gearbox gremlins towards the end of the race and coming through the race intact.

[CarlMetro]

Has to be DC for me considering his gearbox problem, achieving a good result in an inferior car.

Seconded :up: Superb performance once again from a driver whom too many on here, and elsewhere, are saying shouldn't be driving anymore.

[jens]

Coulthard's performance makes me wondering that how could Webber have managed to drive against him if the car had been perfect for the whole weekend. But DC's performance looked so convincing that I suppose it would have been extremely tough for the Australian to beat the Scotsman this time.

[race aficionado]

I vote for "you aint getting by me in the first corner" Massa.

Nice to see how excited he gets and how pumped up he is.

Of course Hamilton is up there also. Impressive Rookie indeed.


race
:s mokin:

[truefan72]

1 Massa
2. Coulthard
3. Sato
4. Speed
5. Hamilton

[millencolin]

sato... no doubt! held Fisichella at bay and scores SA their first ever point. Good work!

[jens]

4. Speed


Yeah, Scott was quite impressive until rear tyre puncture. He started from last position and I even didn't notice, how he managed to get in front of team-mate Liuzzi and some other guys.

[f1rocks]

Why is Alonso in this list. What did he really do in this race apart from drive in Cruise Control. He got beaten soundly by a rookie. Therefore he needs to be in the worst drive of the race category....

I gotta give it both Massa and DC... They both were brilliant.

[Valve Bounce]

Tako definitely, and I am not biased on this selection. The guy has surely matured, and he was driving a car with a team on limited resources. Go Tako!! :up:

[leopard]

I think Alonso is in the list for his speedy recovery from driving wide at the first corner. It's repetition of Massa's maneuver on Hamilton at Sepang.

If it wasn't Alonso, I doubt he will finish the third of the race overall and no accident happened at that point in time.

Driver of the race, Massa ... super deal.

[pino]

Why is Alonso in this list. What did he really do in this race apart from drive in Cruise Control. He got beaten soundly by a rookie. Therefore he needs to be in the worst drive of the race category....



ioan asked for a poll but he didn't mention the options, so I put all drivers who finished in points :)

[AJP]

Massa drove a great race, but had no competition to bother him.

Sato has shown in the past that he can drive a level headed race every once in a while and Spain was one of them. Bloody good effort to get into the points.

My vote goes to Coulthard..
Solid race pace and clever driving kept the Red Bull knocking on the door of BMW. The way he drove the car without 3rd gear was amazing..He deserved his 5th place in Spain...good on him....

[raikk]

HAS to be Unkey David! he didn't even have 3rd gear! and he got 5th! great show.. I have a great respect for Coulthard..

[ShiftingGears]

I'll add Heidfeld to the list if only for managing to do a lap with a missing wheel nut! :eek:

Gotta credit him for that :p :

Coulthard was great again, and Massa was flawless.

[raphael123]

Why Massa? Ok Massa did a very good job, but compared to Sato and Coulthard he did nothing special. Apart from the first corner, which he handled admirably, even if it was harsh on Alonso (but fair), all he had to do there after was drive quickly, which as he has admitted in the past it's quite easy to do.

Coulthard on the other hand came from 9th on the grid, was lapping quickly all through the race until his gearbox problem, where he held off Rosberg for 5th. Sato too did a great job! Beating all 3 Honda's, and Fisichella, though Fisichella did have an extra stop to make, otherwise it would have been 9th.

[F1boat]

Why Massa? Ok Massa did a very good job, but compared to Sato and Coulthard he did nothing special.

Well, don't know, such convincing win for me counts as very special.

[ojciec dyrektor]

I choose RK :D
Robert showed if the car is reliable he can deliver strong performance without mistakes. The pressure on him was very high and 4th position was the best he could achieve.

On hard tyres he was much better than Coulthard and just a little slower than Hamilton.

[Valve Bounce]

I have to add here that, apart from a minnow of a team, Tako did go faster than the team car that won the championship last year.
Tako used to do some bizarre things during quals and races that he never tried during testing or practice. He has, I think, moved on from those desperate moves, and has become a very reliable driver. Maybe having to peddle a vetran Arrows racer last year has made matured him in this one important aspect.

[raphael123]

Well, don't know, such convincing win for me counts as very special.

It's not hard to be convincing when you've got the machinery. Don't get me wrong, he did a very good job, but DC overcame more, in a poorer car, so how people pick Massa over DC is beyond me.

And as has been already pointed out, yes Sato beat last years world championship team, but that team had to make an extra unscheduled pitstop. The fact they are world champions doesn't mean much this year. This year they are very much a midfield team. Saying Sato beat last years world champion is just a way of making it sound better than what it actually was. Though it was good :D

[Dave B]

DC.

All credit to the drivers on the podium, but they did little more than was expected of them with the equipment at their disposal.

Coulthard once again drove a storming race in a midfield car, and showed the value of his experience when dealing with his gearbox problems.

Roll on Monaco! :D

[Valve Bounce]

DC.

All credit to the drivers on the podium, but they did little more than was expected of them with the equipment at their disposal.

Coulthard once again drove a storming race in a midfield car, and showed the value of his experience when dealing with his gearbox problems.

Roll on Monaco! :D

Poor DC has been very much underated in recent years. Let's hope the guy does even better at Monaco. :up:

[aryan]

DC.

[DC] showed the value of his experience when dealing with his gearbox problems.



True. I am not sure any of these so called hot rookies (Rosberg, HK, RK) could have taken that car to 5th place, driving without 3rd gear. This is where experience counts.

I hope Redbull extends his contract.

[Roamy]

A lot of drivers were trying to go real fast in this race and it was quite good to see. Scott Speed got off his ass for a while too. I think the renault boys were really trying hard and the relic had his best race in a long time. So too close to call for me. But Massa has now joined the super fast group

[raphael123]

True. I am not sure any of these so called hot rookies (Rosberg, HK, RK) could have taken that car to 5th place, driving without 3rd gear. This is where experience counts.

I hope Redbull extends his contract.

I think Bourdais should come in and replace DC. We're getting carried, let's see how he compares against Webber after half a season.

[Ian McC]

I think Bourdais should come in and replace DC.


I don't, I think DC is earning is money quite nicely thanks.

[ioan]

I don't, I think DC is earning is money quite nicely thanks.

Agreed!

Not sure about Liuzzi and Speed though. I suppose one of them will have to make place for Bourdais.

There was an article about Bourdais testing again for STR one of these days.

[rohanweb]

DC surely...he drove a fantastic race with the midfield car with gear problems, it was even amazing to see his lap times had not much different to the young once in hot cars,
well done DC..
there are lot many people admire you than you think!
well done..
ow.. I am sure many wants to see you in the Monaco podium! ;)

[Valve Bounce]

True.
I hope Redbull extends his contract.

It all comes down to whether DC will drink that goop :eek:

[waitey]

I choose RK :D
Robert showed if the car is reliable he can deliver strong performance without mistakes. The pressure on him was very high and 4th position was the best he could achieve.

On hard tyres he was much better than Coulthard and just a little slower than Hamilton.

I agree, he wasnt the best driver of the race, but was very very good and he is an underrated driver. He should have finished fourth in Australia, and was then hit by Heidfeld in turn 1 in Malaysia and also had problems, so really his results could have been very good if not for having problems with the car.

BMW are looking very good for next year in my opinion! Still great drive by Coulthard though, how Rosberg actually didn't catch him and pass him in those final laps is amazing because of the amount of time DC should have lost with him missing third gear.

[raikk]

I think Bourdais should come in and replace DC. We're getting carried, let's see how he compares against Webber after half a season.

No thanks.. Bourdais drives me nuts..

[F1boat]

So far DC showed that he earned his place. Maybe Seb could get Webber's place ;)

[raphael123]

I don't, I think DC is earning is money quite nicely thanks.

I didn't say DC wasn't. I think it's time for DC to move aside and give Bourdais a shot in F1 in a good car. Plus I think it's quite tragic that there is no french driver in F1, and even worse when you consider there's a very talented Frenchman who wants to be in F1.

[raphael123]

So far DC showed that he earned his place. Maybe Seb could get Webber's place ;)

I think Webber, if he can get good reliability, would do a better job than DC over the course of a season.

[ShiftingGears]

If Webber doesn't thump Coulthard by seasons end then he won't get picked up by a top team; I'm quite sure of that. His best (only?) bet is if he stays with Red Bull. However I am glad he wasn't picked up by a certain top team for this year! Red Bull's progress has been very encouraging. I hope they can get race wins!

[Flat.tyres]

I think Webber, if he can get good reliability, would do a better job than DC over the course of a season.

elements of last season and certainly this season have seen a resurgence by david. 12 months ago i would have agreed with you but now im not so sure.

david seems to have finally come out of his mclaren hangover and is shining again. Few would have thought that

[F1boat]

Coulthard will beat Webber. You'll see. :)

[Valve Bounce]

While this type of poll allows for one vote per driver only, and that is sad that kubica didn't get that many. I supose if there were say 3 allotments of points, 3, 2 and 1, then I am sure this guy would have scored a few more. No he wasn't the best driver in the race, but I think he did a bloody good job.

[CarlMetro]

I think it's time for DC to move aside and give Bourdais a shot in F1 in a good car.

Why should he when he still has the ability to mix it with all the young upstarts? Because of his age? If Bourdais was as good as some think he is then he would have been picked up by a team by now.

[NoahsGirl]

I voted for DC - could you see the rookies, or even those youngsters in their second year driving round the gearbox problem? DC is now leading the RB rejuvenation. I just don't get why, because of his age, everyone thinks he is too old for F1. I think he has proved that age is nothing but a number.

[raphael123]

Why should he when he still has the ability to mix it with all the young upstarts? Because of his age? If Bourdais was as good as some think he is then he would have been picked up by a team by now.

The number of things has prevented Bourdais getting into F1. Arrows going bankrupt. Bourdais turning down Flavio 20% charging fee. And Bourdais ambition not to lose his top seat in America, for a midfield team in F1.

I don't think anyone questions Bourdais talents.

DC is definately worthy of a seat in F1 over some other drivers currently around, I don't think anyone can argue otherwise, there are worse drivers out there. He's had a good run in F1, he's proven to be good, but compare what he has achieved in comparison to his team-mates in the same car e.g. Hill, Mika Hakkinen - you'd have to say he's had his chance, and on numerous occasions, and failed to take it every time.

[Valve Bounce]

I voted for DC - could you see the rookies, or even those youngsters in their second year driving round the gearbox problem? DC is now leading the RB rejuvenation. I just don't get why, because of his age, everyone thinks he is too old for F1. I think he has proved that age is nothing but a number.

I have to agree with you. I think the way DC got around his gearbox problem to stay ahead of Nico Rosberg proved to me this guy is far from over with F1. Red Bull has the potential, this year of improving their car and by next year, they will have a great challenger (I hope) under the wings of Adrian Newey. They also have two very experienced and capable drivers who can test their cars.
While I would not go as far as to agree that age is only a number (and I ought to know :( ) , his performance relies not only on his judgement but in today's cars, they rely very much on their fitness.
Take, for instance, the case of a competitive triathlete: at rest, his heart rate is around 40 bpm while cycling up the steepest hill, his heartrate is 160bpm. For an F1 driver, his heartrate is 160bpm for the duration of the race.
On top of this, the g forces exprienced by an F1 driver going round a corner say every 5 to 10 seconds is something that only jet fighter or expert stunt pilots experience. But an F1 race lasts a comparative long time.
The fact that DC can cut it with any of the younger guys simply shows that he is just as fit physically and on top of that, he has a vast deal of experience.

This, from me, is something of a climb down, as I used to advocate DC's retirement a couple of years ago.

[indydude]

hi guys

I am new here and GREAT fan F1.... talking about that race i think massa did a great job and great to see ferrari winning again.

[aryan]

welcome indydude (http://www.motorsportforums.com/forums/member.php?u=97944)

Interesting of you to start with a post to such an ancient thread.