Coming into this race, a lot of people thought that alonso was the better driver in the wet. I can't help but think that the 19 or so laps they had behind the safety car gave lewis great big advantage by helping him become more accustomed to driving in the wet, in the lead. I'm not saying thats why he won, but if the start of the race were a normal one, alonso and the two ferrari's would have had a better chance at challenging him, alonso probably would have given him a run for his money coming out of the first corner instead of getting left behind during the rolling start.
2007-09-29 21:35:57 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Auto Racing ➔ Formula One
Great question! I never thought of the safety car as Hamilton's training wheels. I guess there was no crane to help him in Fuji.
2007-09-30 14:20:37 · answer #1 · answered by Rockford 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course it helped him, but if he didn't have pole, the pole-sitter would have been helped in the same way by the Safety Car start. I think people are too intent on the conspiracy theory that F1 is pushing for Lewis to win. Ecclestone admitted on tele the other day he was rooting for Alonso. Not everyone wants Lewis to win the Championship "at any cost".
Lewis was put back on the track at Nurburgring because he kept his engine running. Completely legal. Non-prejudicial. No question.
Lewis has had to work as hard as everyone else in the top three Constructor's teams to get to this point in the season. Certainly he had benefits from his pairing with Alonso, and his driver in a top car; but Alonso at least had the same drive benefits as Lewis.
I'm not going to go so far as to say Lewis is better than the rest of the field, because I don't believe that is true. I do believe, however, that he is a damn excellent driver and should not have recognition of his natural talent diminished by blind bias.
2007-09-30 09:23:29 · answer #2 · answered by Ronnieboy34 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yes obviously because he could actually see where he was going in comparison to the rest of the field. it is always the pole sitters advantage in a rolling start. I'm not sure the Ferrari's would have benefited at all from a normal start. they did have the wrong tyres on so they would definitely had to pit early. they had difficulty keeping it on the track even with the full wets on so i think we would have seen 1 or both of them in a wall somewhere if it had been a normal start. as for Alonso taking him, who knows, he may have done it he may not have. IMO it was more like a speedboat race than a GP!
2007-09-30 02:14:22 · answer #3 · answered by val f1 nutter 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In those conditions the driver in front allways benefits , you thought he did get an advantage behind the safety car ! it wouldn't of been much ..... tip toeing around behind a safety car and race pace are worlds apart,, Ferrari weren't in the equation because they screwed up but yes Alonso would of given him a run for his money into turn1
2007-09-29 23:06:30 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
One of the advantages of being on pole is that you get the clear track ahead, he still had to keep the car on the road as did all the other drivers behind him.
I'm not a big fan of rolling starts, i think its contrived and takes away what can be the best few minutes of the race. Wet races are awesome!
2007-10-01 18:09:37 · answer #5 · answered by RedSnook 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes because it meant that he would not have to worry about Alonso going into the first corner. But I don't think it helped him to be more accustomed to driving in the wet. Afterall he took pole the day before in wet conditions and has driven in the wet before..
2007-09-30 08:04:29 · answer #6 · answered by Brad T 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yeah,Three putt's spot on....
I dont see why the other cars didnt get a penalty while Kubica,who might as well,kissed Lewis,most probably,unknowingly,gets a drive thru penalty....
And yes,I think the outcome of the race would have been much more different had it been an usual start....I really wanted to see Alonso's aggression on the first turn...too bad!
But what's happened cannto be changed,right?So,I guess Lewis will probably be champ this year....
2007-09-29 23:25:28 · answer #7 · answered by Schumi 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
yes because it help him to be more comfortable in the race after the 19 safety car in the laps
2007-09-30 01:58:48 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes! Just like Hamilton benefited by getting craned back onto the road at Nurburgring. If people think the FIA favors Ferrari, I think the race stewards favor Hamilton. Cars were making contact with each other all over the place with no penalty. Kubica makes contact with Hamilton and gets a penalty.
I think it's a tainted season with two tainted titles. However I do think Lewis can win seven-titles. His career has just begun and he is already World Champ. I can't see him winning just once like Villeneuve and not winning again.
2007-09-29 21:50:49 · answer #9 · answered by Three Putt 4 · 4⤊ 4⤋
yes it did also he slowed down the cars everytime when the safety car was going and shot like a rocket !
2007-10-01 19:34:57 · answer #10 · answered by Top_Gear_Biggest_Fan 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋