Did he, didn't he?
Posted by Nick Trott at 10:30AM on Monday 06 August, 2007 11 Comments
What was so bloody frustrating about the qualifying controversy (read news) at the Hungarian Grand Prix was that it's impossible to know who was telling the truth. And I don't know about you, but as a fan of Formula One I'm getting pretty fed up of not knowing the truth.
Did Alonso delay Lewis in the pits or was it, as claimed by the team, a simple communication issue?
Alonso was pretty contrite about it all, while Ron Dennis, as usual, attempted to explain the situation but as usual ended up speaking a load of impenetrable nonsense. Or 'Ronspeak' as it is known in the paddock.
I genuinely believe Ron Dennis' constant guffing about integrity and fairness to be more than just sentiments - he is an emotional and complex man who lives for racing - but he does himself no favours by verbally wriggling around every reply to every question posed by the media.
We'll never really know what happened between the Alonso and his engineer either, as this will be stifled internally.
Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, appeared to handle the whole situation with more maturity than anyone else involved.
He admitted to disobeying orders to let Alonso through early in qualifying, and gave creditable reasons for doing so.
He admitted to having a row with his 'boss', and scored major brownie points for standing up for what he believed in.
He also tried to diffuse the situation within the McLaren garage by having a word with each and every person involved before the race. Alonso, reputedly, was the only person who didn't accept the graciousness of Hamilton's intentions.
And let's not forget that when it came down to it, Lewis kicked the arse of everyone in the race.
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If I'm honest, I'm getting fed up with not knowing the truth as well. In fact, I'm getting bored of the whole intrigue/politics thing at the moment. The 'spygate' scandal continues to damage F1, Ferrari, and Macca; Macca's drivers continue to niggle at each other; and we didn't even get a good punch up on the podium last race!
I used to like the whole 'circus' element to F1, and the soap opera of the silly season was something to look forward to, but is it me or is it all getting a little bitter?
Why on earth did the FIA get involved in what was essentially a playground fight between McLaren drivers? Worse still, why did they punish the team for their drivers' refusal to obey orders? Very murky and unfair. Nick's right, we probably will never get to the truth of all this, but two things we do know:
1) Alonso remains unable to keep his toys in the pram but is nothing like the villain the British press will want to portray.
2) Once the PR mask slips Hamilton is a competitive driver, perfectly capable of deliberately screwing his team-mate's qualifying. Kicked the arse of everyone in the race? He merely got to the first corner first: in Hungary, that's enough.
Hamilton's main goal (as it should be) is to come first. As with everyone else on the grid, they all made F1 by being the best, not by letting others through or settling for 2nd place.
You don't make the pinnacle of motor racing by bickering or giving each other 'the silent treatment', it just isn't cricket!
You go Hamilton, you've made F1 more interesting and worth watching. As for Alonso, what a sour puss!!
I think Formula One has already ruined what has been one of the greatest starts to a season a Brit has ever had. Alonso needs to come down off his high horse and realise that there is someone in the paddock better than he is.
Lewis, keep up the good work, Alonso is just a big girl with a big ego way above his station. He ain't Mr Schumacher yet.
Don't let us forget though that Hamilton disobeyed a team order to allow Fernando to overtake Hamilton on Fernando's flying lap during Qualifying on Saturday... this isn't the first time Hamilton has been naughty.
It's pretty obvious the British new boy is playing his own game and it's somewhat hypocritical that most of the British press forget this fact... double standards ahoy!
Nick, Lewis did not kick the arse of everyone in the race. Raikkonen was a lot faster, but couldn't get past Lewis, because it's almost impossible on a track like the one in Hungary. The slower driver won over the faster.
I still believe Hamilton is leading the championship just because everyone else is unlucky...
Ahhh come on guys. This is just what we needed, some proper good old in-fighting.
All this mess was caused by Hamilton. He manipulated the team procedure.
First of all, it's clear that you are quite biased towards Hamilton. If it was Alonso that did not allow Hamilton to pass and thereby disobey team orders, you would have called foul play on Alonso's part. Fact is, Hamilton was the instigator and started this whole mess. Regardless of Hamilton's beliefs, he should have obeyed team orders, considering they were only qualifying and both drivers are entitled to a flying lap.
Secondly, I do believe that both drivers are at fault. Alonso should not have responded in such a way, jeopardising his own race as well as the team's constructor points. It's unfortunate that Alonso's method of getting back at Hamilton was much more visible to the public and FIA than Hamilton's ignorance of team orders.
Lastly, you were saying that Hamilton handled the situation with more maturity than anyone else? Of course he did. What did he lose out of this whole experience? Ron's team lost 15 constructor points and Alonso lost his pole position and a potential win. It's quite obvious that Hamilton has no reason to be upset.
Blimey, I've been watching F1 for many many years and I don't remember having any of this controversy in years. Except for when Schuey played a dirty tricks campaign - and you still have to admit that he was a genius driver.
Alonso is an excellent driver, and still has the poise of a champion, unfortunately though he has the temperament, big deal. Lewis is a superb driver and wants to prove himself, let him go for it.
I cannot believe, in your respective businesses, you would not do something slightly unethical to get what you want.Leave Lewis and Fernando to fight in their own way, and stop being so hypocritical.
"Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, appeared to handle the whole situation with more maturity than anyone else involved."
Was that before or after he told his boss to 'go ******* swivel'?