2006 Hungarian F1 Grand Prix

[magracer]

Good thing there was a good rant around here. Few of those have developed since "you know who" left...

I appreciate both sides of the argument, but just to separate the fanboys from the F1 savy, I propose a vote:

"All of those that think that Button will finish on the podium in Turkey, say I".

If you want to know my opinion highlight the next lines (I don't mean to re-ignite the discussion):
IMHO, Button won fair and square but he hasn't exactly found the holy grail of speed. More wins will come but it will require a much better package from Honda.
I hold responsible for the result -besides Button- the "Honda Weather Guy" and the "Chief Mechanic" or who ever decides which aero trim to run. As you all should probably know, rain requires much more downforce than dry, so I think Ferrari set up for dry conditions while Renault set up for wet conditions. Honda chose an "intermediate" trim and hence worked well in both.

[cmcpokey]

that should be "Aye"

And which one is the fanboy response and which one is the F1 savvy response, because from my standpoint, either option is possible.

[magracer]

that should be "Aye"

Ok, say "Aye" or "Nay"...

Good point, forget the fanboy/F1 savvy remark... just vote, and in three weeks time will tell who is F1 savvy and who is a fanboy.

I have to say nay

[Deckard]

Nay! (Without a doubt).

[fpv_gtho]

At this point we dont even know if Alonso will finish on the podium as thats another track Renault are expecting to struggle at.

[henk4]

At this point we dont even know if Alonso will finish on the podium as thats another track Renault are expecting to struggle at.

so we will see two Ferraris and one of McLarens on the podium...therefore: Nay

[henk4]

You also haven't acknoweldged the fact that Button was - at pretty much any point in the race - tidier, more consistent and faster in all condtions than any other driver.

now you put "pretty much" in italics, and you still have not replied to my point that after 20 laps or so Alonso was miles away from everybody....

[MrKipling]

Yeah, he was - he got a much better start than Button so was able to make up more distance... also, if you were watching the live sector times (rather than the lap times) you will have seen that Buttons individual sector times were always quicker than Alonso's. In the last five laps of Alonso's final stint, Button was making up over a second a lap, and was just 4 or 5 seconds behind when Alonso exitted the pits.

[CCV10M]

i was suprised to see button win though i didnt watch much of it.

[fpv_gtho]

Isnt it getting to the point where anything that could be said, has been? Its getting to the point where all this is over nothing considering the handful of wins Alonso took last year as a result of poor McLaren-Mercedes reliability was generally accepted as part of the deal. Why is it so hard to accept the conditions for this one?

[Wouter Melissen]

Isnt it getting to the point where anything that could be said, has been? Its getting to the point where all this is over nothing considering the handful of wins Alonso took last year as a result of poor McLaren-Mercedes reliability was generally accepted as part of the deal. Why is it so hard to accept the conditions for this one?

Obviously because Alonso was not overrated.

[the real deal]

I say that Button has got a gr8 chance of standing on the podium. The main reason for this is that now the summer testing ban has been enforced Renault wont be able to test their car to find a ballance since they lost the mass dampers. Ferrari will still be the team to beat with mclaren in second. But i think that it will be close between Renault and Honda. As we saw in Germany, Honda were faster than Renault by quite a bit. And Mclaren were only faster with a light fuel load and when Button had the graining problem with the front left. Turkey will be close and if Massa can keep it on the road then I think it will be a Ferrari 1-2 with Mclaren, Honda and Renault fighting for the final podium.

[ptclaus98]

I say that Button has got a gr8 chance of standing on the podium. The main reason for this is that now the summer testing ban has been enforced Renault wont be able to test their car to find a ballance since they lost the mass dampers. Ferrari will still be the team to beat with mclaren in second. But i think that it will be close between Renault and Honda. As we saw in Germany, Honda were faster than Renault by quite a bit. And Mclaren were only faster with a light fuel load and when Button had the graining problem with the front left. Turkey will be close and if Massa can keep it on the road then I think it will be a Ferrari 1-2 with Mclaren, Honda and Renault fighting for the final podium.

Didn't Kimi only lose position when he pitted in Germany?

[magracer]

This might help explain how Button managed to be fast all day, through rain or shine:

Thirdly, but just as important, the team made some inspired decisions on strategy. At Jenson’s second stop, for example, they knew that the track was going to dry out, but that it was not yet ready for full dry tyres. So rather than fuel him to the finish and hope for the best, they short-fuelled him and sent him back out on the intermediates. By the time he came in again the track was ready for dry tyres and he was in great shape.

[MrKipling]

Yeah... and that's part of being able to be quick in F1, if you're going to say it was all down to the team doing well on strategy I've got just as good an argument for saying that poor strategic decisions are the only reason Button hadn't won until this weekend.

That's b*llocks of course, but so is the idea that Jenson only won because other people cocked it up.

Also, don't listen to James Allen, he's a COCK (tm)