I keep hearing rumours about brake problems but only on here, I'm assuming macca would have said something if it was true.

I find it hard to believe he was just being cautious in a position where he has far less to lose.

I think it's simply because he doesn't trust the grip in the car at the mo.

MW said it to BBC before the race...

His early braking at T1 is surprise.

He could have had Webber and Hulkenburg had he raced like he normally does. But I get the feeling he is scared he might crash and is now holding back.

Maybe he's trying to learn from Button's approach, but he's overdoing the restraint I feel.

What did he say?

I think you're drawing your own assumptions on that one.

I think he simply didn't have the grip to brake late, like he said numerous times during the race.

He has been right royally pilloried on here for the accident with Webber at Singapore (not fairly I feel, but that is in another thread). Hulk had nothing to lose, but a DNF for Hamilton would have ended his season - I can understand why he was cautious. When you look at both Korea and Brazil, both McLarens appear to have had issues with braking after the start/restart. Overcautious? maybe, but I can understand why even if I'd prefer him to be more aggressive.

The irony is, that in the pre-race build up, Hamilton suggested that that might be Alono's "weak spot" (seeing Hamilton in his mirrors)

In the last two races Hamilton got owned by Alonso. Just consider how would the championship look if he finished ahead of Alonso in those two races..

Plus if he had specific brake issues, I'm inclined to believe he would have included that in one of his complaints to the pits. Yesterday he didn't sound like holding back on any "issues" over the radio... heck, he even invented one with the non-working f-duct . Pretty cruel to be corrected so swiftly in the response from the engineer, though .

Really? Shame I missed that.

Grrrrrr, he simply asked a question.

1. Earlier in season Alonso got owned by Hamilton. Just consider...
2. Chances to finish those two races higher than Alonso were quite slim.
3. Real spilling of points by Hamilton was done in Monza and Singapore. Thats where he lost 20-30 points by his own fault.

Didn't you have anything more to lie about?
He asked a question, but as usual from you, you had to twist it to fit in your little agenda...

Dear god, you'd think he'd just asked his race engineer not to talk to him for the rest of the race

Brrrrr, he still mentioned it in the post race interview.

After he had been asked about it by the interviewer. Don't let a few facts get in the way of your campaign now

So the next time something feels wrong on the car he shouldn't ask the question of his engineer?

That would be the stupid thing to do.

What's up folks?

Even if you come in numbers, bit of a hard task to deny that Hamilton suspected his F-duct not working while it was perfectly okay.

The radio conversation is out for everyone to hear as is the post-race interview. It won't go away.

Yup, Monza and Singapore have left a scar.

That said, if he'd been a bit more "scared" in those races he might have pulled off winning the WDC in the 3rd best car!

No one's denied he suspected it wasn't working. People are only saying that there was nothing wrong with him asking his engineer about it over the radio if he suspected there was a problem.

I don't think anybody has denied it, or suggested that it wasn't, in fact, working.

Anything is possible.

I'm not of the opinion he has to think about how he can make himself appear brave, i think its something he does spontaneously.


He is a brave driver, and a very good one, and i rarely have an issue with anyone else saying so, i'm just not a fan of those who blow their own trumpets, the law of averages dictates they'll fall on their asses.

I also dont hold with the whole BBC bias rubbish, we've had many items featuring Hamilton, him driving Jake round, him playing computer games, him showing us around Woking etc, yet to read the comments of some on here the BBC's input is "Lewis Who?"

That wasn't when he was apparently 'corrected by his engineer' though was it.

Anyhow, have your fun, I realise he annoys/amuses you and gives you plenty of ammunition even if you still feel the need to twist it as negatively as possible.

I'd call you out for trolling but I realise you dont get the BBC feed so you did not hear his post race interview where he explained why he asked the question ... but anyway, please chill with the baiting... its not a nice thing to do... and it definitely is not necessary.

Difference is they are not in equal machinary, I think you left that aspect out.

Then what's the problem with me mentioning it?

I have no problem with that but I struggle to see how your example of korea fits in unless he was saying 'start the race, I'm awesome and will overtake everyone. they're all wimps'.

At a time when everybody moans about the drivers being wimps (which is nonsense imo) it's fun to see hamilton criticised for wanting to start a race and have it twisted into him boasting.

You said he "invented" an issue - not true, he suspected one so asked about it.

You said that the response of his engineer was a "correction" - not true, he was asking if it was working, being told it is working is not a correction it's an answer.

You considered the quick response "cruel" - not true, getting info back from your engineers quickly is a good thing.

No problem mentioning it, just being accurate whilst doing so would be handy.

Yes of course the Singapore and Interlagos circuits are comparable. I wonder what comments from drivers regarding overtaking at Singapore vs Interlagos are. Its also interesting that while Lewis was struggling with grip it was at critical parts of the circuit i.e exiting slow corners. Even while Fernando was being held up by the Williams Lewis was struggling to keep up.

You realize wrong there, and apparently you try and use that wrong assumption to mislead.

He said word for word in the post race iinterview "I didn't think the f-duct was working." That's what I'm saying above. Now what?

Because he didn't for the reasons he explained in the next sentence or two. Did you have a point?

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88039

Edit; can easily be read as him restating his belief that the F-Duct wasn't working, or confirming his reasons for asking the question. I prefer the latter.

Well, if you want to go nitpicky... as he said himself "I didn't think it was working.", nothing about suspicion. Of course he inquired the engineer...



... only to have his thinking proven wrong. IOW corrected.



Good and cruel aren't mutually exclusive. Cruel in that it still left him with one possible explanation less for his lack of performance.



At your service!

Always the same, actually, and a simple enough one I'd think.

That he felt his f-duct not working while it clearly was.

Ah, you meant cruel that it meant that the McLaren just is fundamentally that slow. My misunderstanding, I thought you were slagging Hamilton (again) for coming on the radio and asking about it.

I changed the emphasis. 'Didn't' is not the same as 'don't' which to me turns his response into one of explanation not reiteration.

How's that for nitpicky?

I find it funny when people are complaining that McLaren can't give him a good enough car. Does it need to be 1 sec quicker than others or something before it's good enough? They have given him a championship contending car for 3 of the 4 seasons and a race winning car for every season, so they couldn't have done much better really.

Yeah, it hasn't had the pace of the Red Bulls or the Ferraris for the last 2 races, BUT there were plenty of races where it was infact the fastest car. But those are of course easy to forget..

Also, without his mistakes at Monza and Singapore, Hamilton would be very close if not leading the WDC.

Yeah. Evidently the car was fundamentally so slow that it was the fastest through the last, f-duct-heaven, sector at the time of the question.

I understand that not everyone might find that funny, but, shoot me, I did.

So Lewis chokes again

Brilliant, actually.

Yet... "didn't" means he reiterates that at the time it was a "don't" for him, or not? At least until he was, ahem..., corrected.

I believe the 'didn't' means at the time he thought the F-duct wasn't working, but says nothing about what he believes now. So yes, reiteration of what he thought at the time, by way of explanation.

Maybe he still thinks that it wasn't working, but we need one of Lewis's mind-readers to tell us this.

There are two races where McLaren had a decent car - Spa and Canada. The rest it was average, and overall this season has been solidly the third best car. Hamilton, has once again, beaten a reigning world champion in the same car. If that level of performance is not going to deliver a world championship at the end of it, then the argument the car isn't good enough is perfectly valid.

Spa, Canada and Turkey the McLaren was the quickest at.

Lewis is fed up with McLaren and their slow cars and so am I. He needs a new challenge at a different team. He should take any drive that is offered to him...even a drive at Renault would be preferable to another year at McLaren. I mean the two years at Renault hasn't done Alonso's career any harm. It was sad to see Lewis yesterday, during and after the race, it's as if he has lost his sparkle. I want the old Lewis back! He needs a new team...and soon.

We have to wait and see what McLaren come up with for next year. IMO they have to have learned from this year that the rules aren't applied rigidly any more and that boundaries can be crossed. The excessive consultation with the FIA has to go, along with the rigid wings. A bit of mild cheating around testing and RRA pays off, evidently. So if they have taken these lessons, the ~26 could be a front runner.

McLaren are a big team about to become a road car manufacturer, long term it's a good bet.

This year only needed a few things to go Lewis' way, like Alonso's wheelnut crossthreading instead of Massa's...

So it's way too soon to give up on them; and there's no spot to go to anyway. Alonso's last 2 years at Renault were just years tossed away IMO, he's not gonna go there.

I would like to see him with more of a personal entourage though. However close he is with the team, he's still a driver FOR the team, he needs some of his own friends with him.

I am not a Mechanic or an Engineer. Could someone explain to me in simple terms how an F-duct would stop working? Crack in the tube? Debris in the inlet?

Thanks.

Mclaren+Lewis simply didnt utilize their strengths to the max. He should have won at Monza.

I sure wish Lewis wins at Abu Dhabi.

Nonsense.

Oh it was a driver error