Yet again, we were treated to an explosive race start. Felipe Massa, made an error of judgement, that resulted in him ending up on his roof. Massa made the decision that, in to the first corner, it was alright that he throw his car in to apex, even though Magnussen was driving there. His Williams was flipped over and sent sliding along the run off area, upside down. It resulted in a red flag, but the fact that Massa walked away unscathed is a testament to the strength of F1 roll hoops.
The racing was on top form again this weekend, which was aided by the success of the two DRS zones. It was the perfect balance between making the passing a little easier and yet still requiring the drivers to work. One thing that didn't work quite so well, again, and with all due respect, was the race marshalling. The handling of Sutil's spin and subsequent stranded Sauber on the start/finish straight, just felt a little chaotic. At the pinnacle of motorsport and in a sport that can be so unpredictably dangerous, I have to say that I think the practice of having voluntary, relatively unqualified marshals is dated and irresponsible. Time and time again, it is all too apparent that the race marshals are a little under prepared, for the incidents they have to deal with. Isn't it about time that these generous heroes are given the adequate training to deal with such a responsible and, let's face it, 'life or death' determining role.
As for the Driver Of The Day, I might as well award it now, so that I can then elaborate on the simply stunning race that Lewis Hamilton had. I don't think it would be inappropriate for me to say that, at times, Lewis' driving was Senna-esque. An example of this would be his fearlessly daring move on Fernando Alonso, in to the very corner that he experienced brake failure on, just the day before. Not to mention the fact that he started in twentieth on the grid and finished third and on the podium. It poses the question, how important is qualifying, for the top drivers? They can qualify at the back of the field and still finish on the podium.
A couple of drivers were a bit naughty today, whilst others showed their inexperience. Daniel Kvyat had a lapse in judgement as he squeezed Perez on to the apex, on a part of the track where a more experienced driver would have provided their competitor adequate room. Sutil did a similar thing to Lewis Hamilton, but in quite a suspect manner, since Hamilton had moved well up the inside of Adrian's Sauber, and Adrian appeared to be looking directly at Lewis' Mercedes, as he turned in. Nobody else picked up on it, but after regularly witnessing F1 driver's quick wits, like Massa in Silverstone, it's difficult to excuse Sutil's delayed action in turning his car away from the passing Hamilton. One thing that was refreshing, was to hear attitude travelling in the opposite direction across the team radio, with Perez's race engineer sounding more like a headmaster than a strategist, "I won't tell you again Sergio, lift and coast." It's about time the teams laid down the law, to some of these headstrong employees.
If I had to pick a moment of the race, it would be Ferrari's attempt to bully Sebastian Vettel. He exited the pits, a flying bull between two prancing horses, and found himself being harassed by Fernando Alonso behind him and Kimi Raikonnen ushering him to the track edge, from the front. He threw caution to the wind and, touching the grass, shot around the outside of Kimi. He then squeezed the two boisterous Ferraris together and then raced away. It's great when these races tell a story, complete with twists and turns, heroes and villains.
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The Result:
