Rookie domination

[Mikeall]

In the extreme conditions it was a surprise to see the race dominated by rookies. Hamilton kept control for the whole race, Kovalainen scored his first podium and kept Ferraris behind him. Vettel nearly scored Toro Rosso's / Minardi's first podium in their 23 year history and could even have had a chance of victory. Sutil managed to score Spyker's first point of the season and could have done even better were it not for the late safety car. Even Yamamoto deserves some credit beating Trulli and Sato and probably was the only Japanese driver or car to impress in Japan.

Maybe as drivers get older they get less brave in the rain or has traction control removed a lot of the advantage more experienced drivers tended to have in wet conditions. Maybe we will see next year.

[BDunnell]

Well, given that Button didn't think the race should have been held because of the conditions, it did strike me that some drivers are going a bit soft. Has he never seen any footage of the 1968 German GP, for example? Probably not. Maybe the rookies, as you say, don't have such concerns. I thought all the ones you mentioned drove really well.

[David Lowndes]

I've been very impressed with Kovalainen, he deserves more credit. He has put Fisi in the shade in the second half of the year

[BDunnell]

I've been very impressed with Kovalainen, he deserves more credit. He has put Fisi in the shade in the second half of the year

He certainly has. The way he's improved over the course of the year has been very impressive, and shows that people were too quick to write him off early on. This is (normally) what rookies do — have a wobbly start and then get better. We shouldn't expect brilliance straight out of the box. Good luck to Kovalainen.

[Mikeall]

The wobbly start really wasn't that wobbly he just made a couple of mistakes in his first race. Flavio Briatore just got angry with him. People have been saying since race 3 that he's got over his wobbly start when the fact is he just had one or two below par races

[BDunnell]

The wobbly start really wasn't that wobbly he just made a couple of mistakes in his first race. Flavio Briatore just got angry with him. People have been saying since race 3 that he's got over his wobbly start when the fact is he just had one or two below par races

Yes, that's true.

[Hondo]

I've been saying all season it's high time to let some of these "names" drift on, and get some more rookies in here. Why is it not impossible for really good drivers and rookies to pass, while other names say it is impossible?

[SteveA]

Its just the usual thing - the rookies are immature, don't see the dangers, take more risks and make mistakes. The older drivers have experience, have had a few scares and have generally "grown up" a bit, so they try to wimp out of the dangerous situations.

The best talent is somewhere in the middle of those two states!

[Narr]

Well, given that Button didn't think the race should have been held because of the conditions, it did strike me that some drivers are going a bit soft. Has he never seen any footage of the 1968 German GP, for example? Probably not. Maybe the rookies, as you say, don't have such concerns. I thought all the ones you mentioned drove really well.

I know Ralf radioed in to say that the race should be stopped but I've not heard anything from Button. He usually loves these conditions.

[BDunnell]

I know Ralf radioed in to say that the race should be stopped but I've not heard anything from Button. He usually loves these conditions.

He said this to ITV in their post-race interviews. I agree — I was surprised, too. Maybe he would have thought differently had he made it to the end.

[A.F.F.]

I've been very impressed with Kovalainen, he deserves more credit. He has put Fisi in the shade in the second half of the year

I agree. I was the one to criticize him based on his first GPs but on the latter half of the season he has truly been good. Today he was great :up:

[jens]

IMO Kovalainen is one of the most underrated drivers on the grid. Other rookies - Hamilton, Kubica, Rosberg, Sutil, Vettel - have got a lot of praise, but Heikki has been left in the shadow. Why? Because of the clumsy start of the season? In the second half of the year he has however shown that he is quick, consistent, mature and has cold nerves. It looks like he has got all the ingredients to become World Champion. :up: Btw, he uses quite lot of "you knows" at press conferences too. :p :