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Gotta feel sorry for Massa, especially if he is leading Alonso by the end of the race

he won't be - the team will do something or he will have to crash or whatever

lol very easy to do your tyres and have to pit .

If Ferrari are 1-2 with Massa in lead....

Donesnt matter to Alonso - he extends championship

So will he have the honour to accept he's been beat and leave Massa to soak up rapturous applause.

I don't think he does and will still want to be allowed past so he goes to Abu Dhabi in an even better position.

Personally for me:

Massa 1st
Webber 2nd

Don't think Hamilton can do it now and in a way I'd prefer Webber to win it anyway - I mean he's even had his own team down on him and he's still kept plugging away...

Alonso and Vettel I don't like as they aren't gentleman racers so if they trip each other up in first bends I'll raise my glass to both of em !!!

'oooh and massa has run wide.... and hes lost the place to alonso'

or

'mass in to the pits.... the gun has failed on the front left, the mechanics are fratically waving... thats gonna cost him at least 10 secs,and the place to alonso.

or

'massa is slowing down, he must have some sort of engine problem........ now hes lost the place to alonso... but now he seems to be going again.'

Sadly I think the chances of Massa being ahead of Alonso are so small anyway, it's not really relevent!

"oh dear i just turned the fuel pumps off, (alonso overtakes) as i was tuning in to Radio F1

at least we get a lie in on this race

Lets not forget Ferrari's ability to only have 3 tyres ready, and the 4th 'somewhere' in the back of the garage, like what they did to Eddie Irvine a few years ago.
Or as they did to Massa last year, or was it year before that? Releasing him from the pit box, with a fuel hose still attached.

[Edited on 5/11/10 by RustyNuts]

I like Massa but this year he has not been in the same league as Alonso. If Massa wants to be treated as an equal within the team then he must be showing Ferrari and the world that he can challenge Alonso regularly. Ferrari isn't some sort of refuge for the also-rans, it is a professional racing team and while I have sympathy with Massa's tyre problems, he is paid to deal with issues like this and needs to deliver.

Of course the Brazilians want to see Massa win at home but regardless of the unenforceable team orders rules, this IS a team sport and the team must come first for both drivers. If Alonso can secure the WDC by overtaking Massa at the end of the race then I believe the right thing for Massa to do is to do the honourable thing and let him pass with minimal risk and minimal drama (are you listening Rob Smedley??? Do you understand my last message???) In any previous year this is what would have happened and nobody would have blinked an eye! People can be so hypocritical and have short memories when the result (or possible result) isn't what they might have wished for.

I believe that the long time F1 fans will appreciate that Alonso has worked extremely hard this year and has played his part in turning the Ferrari F10 into a race winning machine. He has over-driven the car on every occasion, sometimes pushing past the limits but that is usually the only way you can tell where those limits actually are. If he wins it will be fully deserved and the only other driver I would feel slightly sorry for is Mark Webber who is the next closest deserving winner of the WDC in my eyes. Mark's only fault this year has been the way he has allowed himself to be rubbed up the wrong way by the team and their obviously biased approach. Having said that, it must be tough for him. I think part of Alonso's steeliness this year has probably come from 2007 when he found himself the unfavoured son of Ron Dennis. Fortunately for Button, McLaren seems to be a different company now that Ron has moved on.

Just my opinion as an objective but loyal Alonso fan.

Craig.

quote:

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Originally posted by craig1410
I think part of Alonso's steeliness this year has probably come from 2007 when he found himself the unfavoured son of Ron Dennis. Fortunately for Button, McLaren seems to be a different company now that Ron has moved on.

Just my opinion as an objective but loyal Alonso fan.

Craig.

---

Sorry James but I don't buy the whole equality thing with Ron. Martin perhaps but not under Ron. David Coulthard knows a thing or two about this and has spoken of the 'Us' and 'Them' attitude across the team's own briefing table when Mika was his teammate. David was and still is an affable guy (mostly) but add a Latin temperament to the mix and poorly handled intra-team rivalry and we saw what happened. It is easy to forgive Alonso for reacting the way he did although I also think he would handle it differently today as he is a much more complete driver mentally now.

Let's not forget also that Hamilton did the situation no favours with his impetuous and unappreciative behaviour, even telling Ron Dennis to 'go swivel' shortly after disobeying team instructions. Let's also not forget that Alonso finished 2007 on equal points to Hamilton despite being frozen out of the team for the second half of the season. If Alonso had received equal treatment in the second half of the season it seems highly likely he would have got that 1 extra point required to win in spite of being frozen out.

Also, if Alonso wins by less than 7 points it will vindicate Massa's decision to let Alonso past. It might be different if Massa was still in the hunt himself but he just isn't.

To me, the 7 points he got as a result of the switcheroo was simply compensation for the "Hamilton overtaking the safety car" issue which cost him points.

Just sayin'

:-)

[Edited on 6/11/2010 by craig1410]