F1 (spoiler)

[David]

I really wanted Hamilton to win, but it's hard not to be happy when Ferrari wins!

It'll be interesting to see if Alonso's even allowed on McLaren property anymore.

[Neilk]

Bummed that Ferrari won both championships, but happy that Kimi finally won one.

Conspiracy theorists must wonder if McLaren gave Ferrari the win as part of some secret settlement. Hamilton never made any mistakes and then screwed up the last 2 races? I guess the pressure finally got to him.

Next year should be really interesting. Williams and BMW coming on strong, Alonso's new team... can't wait. When does the circus start again?

[Steve PH]

Hmmmmmmm looks like the Williams and BMW teams are being investigated for fuel irregularities. I hope this is a false alarm.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7055644.stm

Kimi Raikkonen's world title has been thrown into doubt following an inquiry into the cars of BMW Sauber and Williams at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Race stewards are investigating alleged irregularites with the cars' fuel.

Williams's Nico Rosberg was fourth in the race, followed by BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld.

If they were disqualified, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton would be promoted to fourth, giving him enough points to displace Raikkonen as world champion.

The 22-year-old Englishman went into the race leading the title chase, but finished only seventh after a series of problems.

He dropped down to eight on the first lap after running off the road trying to pass team-mate Fernando Alonso.

And then on lap eight he dropped to the tail of the field when his gearbox slipped into neutral, costing him 40 seconds before it started to work again.

Raikkonen led home team-mate Felipe Massa in a Ferrari one-two to clinch the title by one point from Hamilton.

Alonso finished on the same points as Hamilton, but the Spaniard was classified as third on countback

[Dennis Kalma]

Kimi Raikkonen's world title has been thrown into doubt following an inquiry into the cars of BMW Sauber and Williams at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Race stewards are investigating alleged irregularites with the cars' fuel.

You know, if that happens, I will then have zero respect for anything in F1. I mean there is the joke of Stepneygate, there is the relatively arbitrary penalties given for various infractions, there is the qualifying incident that brought the worst out in all....and now this. I truly hope it does not come to anything... I detest the Ferrari team's approach to the sport, but I think Raikkonen was the right guy to win this year...he just raced and kept his eye on the ball, good on him, hope it sticks.

Dennis

[Jims5543]

My opinion?

The fuel was stored sitting all night cooling off. Then the temperature soared on Sunday to 97° and the fuel did not warm up sufficiently. There was no intentional cooling of the fuel its just the way it was.

An easy solution to this would be to replicate the fuel storage, and then pump it to the fuel rig and into a car taking readings.

If they were willing to hand out monetary penalties for the 2 sets of tires used on Friday be 3 teams they should do the same here. Even though I feel there was no way around it as that is just what the temperature the fuel was stored at.

Did they expect the teams to heat the fuel up?

[Flatbutt1]

FIA is doing their best to turn this great sport into a joke!!

[Wickd89]

Since it was not a significant advantage, I hope they just get fined.
I am really tired of Mosley and his gang of idiots. Remember Balestre from the Senna days. They think they are the stars who put their lives on the line..

[Jims5543]

Just saw this on another Forum Kimi keeps the title, No penalties levied. (BTW- The British press is brutal already calling poor Hammy a choker)

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/21102007/58/raikkonen-title-confirmed.html

Kimi Raikkonen's world championship title for Ferrari has been confirmed as there will be no penalty for BMW Sauber and Williams for fuel irregularities.
FORMULA 1 2007 Brazilian GP Raikkonen - 0
More Stories

* Raikkonen wins race and title
* Hamilton joins sport's great chokers
* Race results the lap-by-lap action

That means McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, who finished in seventh, cannot overtake the Finn on points.

Had Williams' Nico Rosberg, fourth in the race, and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld behind him been disqualified for fuel temperature irregularities, the British rookie, only 22, would have been awarded the drivers' championship.

All three cars had cooler fuel temperatures than officially permitted, meaning that they had an unfair advantage in terms of how much they could take on and how quickly it could be transferred.

After a meeting between race stewards and representatives from the offending teams however it was decided that no sanctions would be taken against the drivers' places in the finishing order.

Hamilton suffered a poor start to the race then had gearbox problems on lap eight that left him adrift. He fought back valiantly but could not make it as far as sixth, which would have given him the title.

Raikkonen beat Hamilton and his Spanish team-mate Fernando Alonso by a solitary point overall after winning the race at Interlagos. Alonso ended it in third position.

[Wickd89]

Sounds like Mclaren will be appealing. They were treated firmly this season, so it seems appropriate for them to ask for an investigation if they think that someone ran with illegal fuel - If it is true, it is a real violation.

Hopefully it is just a fine and things move on. Kimi deserves it!!

[nostatic]

Hamilton is a stunning driver, but he made rookie mistakes in the last few races. Today was total red mist in the first lap. My hunch is that he'll learn though and next year will be very interesting. Of course maybe he's a flash in the pan and this will crush him but I kinda doubt it. I can't even imagine the pressure he's been under. Hell, I get butterflies sitting on the grid for my little races and nothing is on the line...

Kimi deserved it though. He finally avoided "the anvil".

[911teo]

Originally Posted by Lothar

Wait until Alonso has a few interviews under his belt before you give him too much credit for being classy. I think the guy is a self-centered pig.

Hamilton did show his inexperience. I'm sure the animosity between LH and FA had a lot to do with Lewis being baited into a foolish move on the first lap. Whether the electrical problem was the result of Hamilton's desperate effort to get back in the fight after going wide at the start will never be known, but mechanicals are part of racing.

To Lewis' credit, he too showed a lot of class after the race by thanking his team and remaining visible. He looked comfortable and gracious in his disappointment. Of course he had quite a few laps to come to grips with the fact that he had lost the title. He would have been equally composed and gentlemanly as the other drivers on the podium, as he has learned his craft from Ron Dennis and company. He has learned well at an early stage in his career.

I am a McLaren fan and now despise Alonso for his antics this season. Even though I dislike the way Ferrari conducts their business in F1, I am very happy for Kimi. He is unique. He is his own man and a hell of a fast driver. I only wish he could have won his championship with McLaren.

Lothar

I agree with EVERY single point you made. I am also a McLaren fan but I am glad Kimi won this title.

Now let's hope next season is going to be a clean one...

PS
I would love for Dennis to steal Kubica from BMW....

[oldE]

I was very glad to see 'The Iceman' smiling. The lack of reliability in the McLarens in the previous two seasons must have been hard to take. Interesting his comments about the team atmosphere in Ferarri vs. McLaren.

Hamilton said it well. This was his first season. Who would have expected anything like this? There is lots of time in his career for championships. In retrospect, despite his boneheaded move on the first lap, it was the transmission glitch which cost him the championship. We saw him come back up through the field after losing all that time. Does anyone here seriously believe he couldn't have finished higher than he did if the car hadn't let him down for those moments? He lost over 40 seconds during one lap and ended up some 14 seconds behind Heidfeld.

I was glad to hear Alonso at least pretend to be a gentleman during the interviews and not run off at the mouth about how nobody loves him.

Massa is worth every Lira the team pays him. I really felt for him, having to give up a sure win before his home crowd in order to help his teammate to the championship.

The race for 4th spot was wild. Nico Rosberg pulled some scarey moves into turn one on both Heidfeld and a few laps later on Kubica. I suspect if Heidfeld hadn't been as good as he is, Rosberg's sliding/braking move would have 'collected' the German and put them both into the DNF listings. I wonder how long before that move is paid back.

During the pre-race on TSN, they showed a replay of the '86 season, when Prost inherited the win when Mansell's tire failed and Piquet was pitted for fresh tires. I remember watching that race and wondering if there was any way in the world 'The Professor' could win. That was the last time there were three drivers in the running for the championship with one race to go.

Now: if they could just get something out of the committee which is trying to degrade the aero enough to allow wheel-to-wheel racing.

Looking forward to next season!
Les

[Deschodt]

As a non-ferrari Fan (too much cool aid from years of schumi dominance), I nevertheless am very happy with the outcome ! I did not want Hamilton to win it, the goodie 2 shoes act irritated me all year long, I don't mind Alonso losing either because he was too whiny, and the guy who complained the least (raikonnen) and got on with his job is the guy who pulled a rabbit out of the hat ! So all in all, good for him !

I don't think much will come of the fuel temperature protests underway (Mc Laren against williams and BMW)- even when fuel was found illegal 10+ years ago, the FIA stripped the constructor of points, not the drivers, as I recall, so the results should stand !

If McLaren had won, people might have called the title tained anyway, so that way it's all good for a new cleaner fight next season ! Now, my money is on a Kovalainen-Alonso switch.. :-)

[URY914]

I just wish Kimi had a pulse. The guy is the most boring person in all of sports.

And my wife thinks he sounds like "Goldmember" from Auster Powers.

[Aerkuld]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

No schit. Thanks for spoiling it for me. Dick.

Oh crap!
The original title of this thread was KIMI!!!! - yes very stupid.
My sincere apologies to anyone who had their F1 race ruined by that. I do try to avoid doing this normally but managed to drop my guard Sunday and let the excitment of the moment get the better of me.

It could have been worse. I didn't call it 'Kimi Wins', or 'Hamilton looses it' but I will acknowledge that there was a brief moment of dick-ness going on. Thatks for pointing that out Jeff.

I hope that when you did get to your DVR that the race itself made up for the dissapointment.

Jeff - I have sent you a PM
Don - I guess it was you as a moderator that edited the title so THANKS!

[Jims5543]

Wow!! Fernando is fire bombing on his way out.

Alonso hopes McLaren`s appeal fails

http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3213_2817516,00.html

In a strange move - although maybe not that strange - Fernando Alonso has revealed that he hopes McLaren's Brazilian GP appeal fails.

Kimi Raikkonen's World Championship triumph is up for debate after McLaren informed the FIA they would be appealing the results of Sunday's race, which handed Raikkonen the title after Lewis Hamilton could only manage seventh place.

However, following the race it was discovered that three cars that finished ahead of Hamilton, both BMWs and the Williams of Nico Rosberg, had fuel temperature irregularities.

The race stewards didn't penalise the two teams, claiming insufficient evidence, and the ruled that the race result should stand. McLaren, though, intend appealing the stewards' ruling, which, should they be successful, would hand the World title to Hamilton.

Alonso, however, is hoping McLaren aren't successful in their appeal - although he says it's because the title shouldn't be decided in the courts rather than the fact that it would mean his rookie team-mate, who he has a frosty relationship with, would be crowned Champion.

"It would be a joke, and we've had too many already," he told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser. "If something like that happened, it would end up burying the sport."

The Spaniard also took the time to have what could be his final dig at McLaren as a McLaren driver.

"It doesn't seem like the season has been managed very well," Alonso said.

"The result speaks for itself. McLaren lost the Championship probably because of some of the decisions they took, especially in the second half of the season. It's no secret that they haven't helped me a lot.

"What my team boss stated in China, saying that they weren't racing against Raikkonen but against me, was a declaration of intent. So McLaren did their part in losing the title, but also Ferrari did a better job than the rest.

"In the last races both my hands and feet have been tied. I didn't have any power. I had to do it all the way they said and that made it harder to close the gap."

[legion]

Alonso, however, is hoping McLaren aren't successful in their appeal - although he says it's because the title shouldn't be decided in the courts...

I don't believe for a second Alonso would have the same opinion if such an appeal could give him the championship.

"The result speaks for itself. McLaren lost the Championship probably because of some of the decisions they took..."

Like hiring Alonso as a driver? He should go to Spyker, or better yet, become a test driver for Renault--something more fitting for his attitude.

[cashflyer]

Spoiler?
Miracle finish?

HA! I can't believe anyone who's been following this season didn't already know that the championship driver would be from the Ferrari stable.

[Wickd89]

Originally Posted by Aerkuld

Oh crap!
The original title of this thread was KIMI!!!! - yes very stupid.
My sincere apologies to anyone who had their F1 race ruined by that. I do try to avoid doing this normally but managed to drop my guard Sunday and let the excitment of the moment get the better of me.

Thanks for the acknoledgement. We are all in the end, human.
But I am glad I saw the race before logging on.
Also, like any good F1 fan, you must avoid all contact to mankind before viewing a race; but sometimes it is unavoidable.

[911teo]

Originally Posted by Wickd89

...
Also, like any good F1 fan, you must avoid all contact to mankind before viewing a race; but sometimes it is unavoidable.

Bingo... cmon... I NEVER open pp or rennlist if I have not seen a race....