2008 FORMULA 1 French Grand Prix

[Ali]

Grid on Canada '08

It's not the Grid Position that counts, but the Race Results.

[dacer]

Renault before spain, was worst car than Ferrari, McLaren, BMW, Toyota, RedBull and Williams.

Today, Renault, seem only worst than Ferrari, McLaren and BMW. Now, seems better than Toyota (Piquet overtake both on Canada) William and RedBull.

...

If he get 3 on grid, do you believe he can be on podium?

If his car ended the race, I think sure top5, maybe top3. If he will had a little luck....

[MP4/4#12]

Hey Dacer, i understand your thoughs and your support to Alonso, but you have to be realistic, in normal conditions it`s almost impossible to get a podium the car is slightly better but it`s not enough, even Alonso makes mistakes cause he has to push that car beyond its limits as we`ve seen in Canada. Even with a great quali, he`s always loosing time lap after lap in the races, so only with some retirings in front of him or a rainny day he can aspire to such results, it`s a shame he`s way better driver than that but this year it will be like this.

[phil1993]

Yes, I think the battle this weekend is for 3rd as the Ferraris should walk it. Fresh from his Canada win, Kubica should get 3rd with Heikki, Lewis (if he avoids traffic) and Heidfeld gunning for 4th. But Alonso last year went from 10th to 7th and Lewis will start 11th at best, so he may only get 1 or 2 points so long as he avoids a tangle with another driver in his (sometimes too much) eagerness. Alonso has a shot at 5th I think, but Piquet is the guy that needs to score some points or a decent showing. I think Bourdais needs a strong run as he has been (not all his fault) awful lately, whilst Vettel has been starring. And re Dacer, i understand your support for Alonso but realistically he's 5th or lower.

[mikhailv]

Personally i think the fields going to be like this:

Ferrari 1-2 (im hoping for a Massa win)
BMW 3-4
Nico/Alonso 5th, 6th or 7th,
Hamilton will either be in the top 5, outisde the top 10, or retired.
Heikki will be in the lower end of the points.

Thats my prediction. I think ferrari will have the upper hand in both machine and qualifying, as I reckon lewis will be 13th-14th in Quali, go for a heavy first stint, go for a long middle, then a splash and dash. At the start I reckon that he'll make 2-3 places up maybe, and get let by, if he doesnt hit nobody up the arse like Bahrain. Not much faith in him, I have.

[shailf1]

well hamilton's race would be very hard indeed. he has to start from 14-15 and it is always a dangerzone going into the turn one for the first time. if he wants to score good points then he needs to jump to 7-8 during the first stint. its going to be very difficult for him.

Hamilton would be hoping for a wet race in france!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[[FIN]SpeedFreak]

well hamilton's race would be very hard indeed. he has to start from 14-15 and it is always a dangerzone going into the turn one for the first time. if he wants to score good points then he needs to jump to 7-8 during the first stint. its going to be very difficult for him.

Hamilton would be hoping for a wet race in france!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Well, in France that first turn aren't that bad, but that adelaide hairpin will be tougher, like we saw last year's first lap. There spun two cars: Kovalainen and Trulli. It's hard place in first laps when that back end is all in together.



Here's satellite image from Magny Cours:
http://maps.google.fi/maps/ms?hl=fi&gl= ... 7&t=h&z=16

[F1fanatic86]

I think it will be a Ferrari 1-2 with Kimi first but he will have to overcome some stiff competition from Massa.
The forecast for T-storms might be an advantage for Lewis. I think Lewis will finish P5.

[dacer]

Massa and wet track!!!. Must be funny if Alonso is near

[MP4/4#12]

Don`t know why, but i "feel" Lewis is going to make another mistake, he`ll start at the middle/back of the grid he seems a bit nervous this season and he`ll try to gain a lot of places in those 1st laps, maybe he`ll hit someone in the process, i hope not but if it happens i won`t be surprised.

[Ali]

Don`t know why, but i "feel" Lewis is going to make another mistake, he`ll start at the middle/back of the grid he seems a bit nervous this season and he`ll try to gain a lot of places in those 1st laps, maybe he`ll hit someone in the process, i hope not but if it happens i won`t be surprised.

I strongly believe Hamilton will be on a very very aggressive strategy. He will be three-or-four stopping which provide him a light car at any time during the race allowing him to pass. Yet, this aggressive strategy may not pay off, given that Lewis seems not to be able to handle the pressure. And I guess, he still can't find the way to do it.

Here is a perfect explanation from David "the old and wise" Coulthard:

I remember when I started my career, people used to say ‘wow, you are so calm’. The reality is that you are so calm because you don’t know anything - you just drive. I have said about Lewis (Hamilton) that he is a fantastic talent, but you don’t judge him on one season - you have to wait to see several seasons. Even when he wins in his first year you cannot say everything about his career. You need to see more because there is a big difference between winning when you’re not expected to, and winning - or taking the title - when you’re expected to win. Now he is expected to win and it is inevitable that when you are under the spotlight if you make a mistake people start to question why you did it. Pressure starts to build.

[shailf1]

well i also think hamilton will probably make mistakes, specially under pressure. last year what happened in china and brazil would cleraly indicate this. and the saying drom DC: i agree with him 100%.

[lealjaime]

hey guys live stream for friday practice please

[AzShadow]

http://stream.ra1kkonen.com/

Here's one that has worked at least before.

[lealjaime]

its not working please help