bursty said:
Did anyone else hear Alonso saying he could have won if he really wanted to? What a little bitch. Renault can go straight to hell....
I've not read that, although I have read his displeasure at his strategy and the FIA's error that likely cost him the win.
Had it not been for the FIA's mistake though, he would have won. He was as quick as Kimi on a clear track, but quicker through the traffic.
I was actually really impressed by Alonso at Suzuka, in a season where he's just been cruising at the front, it was sweet to see him actually racing for position... admittedly it's somewhat easier when you have a 1.2 second advantage on anything other than a McLaren though.
Both Kimi and Alonso were both aided greatly by the safety car though, had it not been out for such a long period, then it's obvious that Fisichella would have won. Tis' all the luck of the draw though, and for once lady luck shone on Kimi.
bursty said:
Also, Kimi was saying something about his 7th gear being messed up. He said he was bouncing it off the rev limiter each time he tried to pass. Just imagine what he could do if MB-McLaren could make a damn car work properly for more then one race at a time.
From Kimi's comments, it sounds like 7th was undergeared and that they hadn't taken into account the effect slipstreaming would have on the top end.
Indyfan31 said:
Then why did the announcers repeatedly say that he came from "dead last"?
bursty said:
I could have sworn that he started 20th. They were repeatedly saying he went from P20 to P1.
He started
17th, Monteiro started 20th.
The confusion probably stemmed from the fact that Kimi had an engine change so he was to be docked 10 places, and because he qualified so poorly so he should have been placed at the back of the grid.
However, because 3 other drivers didn't set times in qualifying then Kimi kept his position on the grid because he was effectively the slowest driver in qualifying, so their was no further positions he could be dropped because 3 drivers didn't take part in qualifying.
Those drivers grid positions are (If I recall correctly) decided by practice lap times.
I don't think Kimi was ever as low as 20th at any part of the race, even when he made a mistake and straightlined the chicane as well. As both Barrichello and Sato pitted on lap 1 and 2 respectively and then Barrichello again pitted on lap 6.
Indyfan31 said:
Also, I'm assuming the officials had observers on-track at the turn where Montoya went off, since the video only showed him trying an impossibly desperate move on the outside of Villeneuve.
I only saw the end sequence as well... the Stewards likely had access to in-car streams for use as evidence.
What we have to consider though, is that Villeneuve missed the chicane whilst Montoya was behind him, thus he kept his position unfairly and Villeneuve should have let him by.
From comments by Montoya, Villeneuve missed the chicane and then was accelerating very slowly, the latter part ties up exactly with the broadcast footage, so whether Montoya assumed that Villeneuve was letting him past or not... who knows.
