Belgian GP: What the drivers said

Eurosport - Tue, 09 Sep 15:57:00 2008

A brief look at how the drivers reacted to the thrilling Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, with Lewis Hamilton being stripped of his win.

2008 Belgian GP McLaren Hamilton - 0

Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes (1st) - later dropped to third.

"This is motor racing and if there is a penalty, then there's something wrong. I was ahead going into that corner, so I didn't gain an advantage from it. We were still able to race at the next corner and I gave him his spot back and I think it was fair and square. But you know what they (the stewards) are like, so we will see."

Felipe Massa - Ferrari (2nd) - moved up to first

"Well, to be honest, I was slower than I was supposed to be. I saw many people going off, especially Kimi, and then Lewis was a little bit in front, so I said I don't want to risk the right points. I was quite comfortable going very slow through the corners especially. It was really, really damp. Sometimes you think you would go off just like that."

Kimi Raikkonen - Ferrari (did not finish) - spun out just while in second)

"I came here to win and I came close. In the final laps the track conditions were very critical and unfortunately I ran wide. The arrival of the rain definitely didn't help. In these conditions, if you are in front you have to be more cautious as you don't know how much grip you'll find in each braking area. That's how Hamilton managed to close on me and then happened what you all saw. It's the second race in a row that I've failed to score points."

Nick Heidfeld - BMW Sauber (3rd) - moved up to second

"I had a fantastic race weekend and I am very happy today. When the drizzle set in I was convinced it would be heavier on the next lap and decided to change to wet weather tyres. When I left the pit lane after the stop I asked on the radio how many laps to go, and my engineer said this one and another one. As I couldn't see any cars on the track I thought, oh this was probably the wrong decision, but then it paid off."

Fernando Alonso - Renault (4th)

"It's a good result for the team, especially for our position in the championship because our objective was to score some important points. We missed out on a podium today, but we have shown that we can be the third strongest team in the championship."

Robert Kubica - BMW Sauber (6th)

"I am not happy with the result, as today I had the chance to finish on the podium. We had a problem during the second pit stop. I lost two or three positions and returned to the track behind Nick. When it started raining he went into the pits to change tyres. I could not do the same as it would have cost too much time because I was directly behind Nick, so it would have meant us coming into the pits together."

Timo Glock - Toyota (8th)

"I had quite a tricky race but I am pleased with a point because for a long time today it looked like we would not be able to achieve that. It was not easy but I just got past Mark Webber in the last corner and took the final point."

Nico Rosberg - Williams (12th)

"It wasn't such an exciting race for me today. Ultimately I did the best I could from where I started and the performance we had in the car and, I think adding all this up, 12th is probably about the best we could have achieved.

Adrian Sutil - Force India (13th)

"It was a strong race for us, with a good performance. We had quite a lot of fights on the circuit and lots of overtaking. I caught up with Button and was right behind him, but then there was the rain in the last laps. I am quite happy with this race."

Kazuki Nakajima - Williams (14th)

"Today was a difficult race for me. I had a bit of contact in the first corner which cost me some time, so from then on I just tried to maintain a consistent pace because I was on a one-stop strategy."

Jensen Button - Honda (15th)

"It's been a tough weekend and unfortunately the car's performance has been a long way off where I thought we would be here in Spa. I didn't have a great start from 17th and got completely boxed in with cars everywhere that I wanted to go."

Jarno Trulli - Toyota (16th)

"I was very unlucky because I had a great start and from 11th I was in the top six, but I was hit really hard from the back and this damaged the car. I was hoping we could have a strong race and score some points. This was possible because we had a competitive strategy and a great start so it's a shame that we couldn't manage to do it."

Giancarlo Fisichella - Force India (17th)

"Unfortunately Nakajima spun and came across in front of my car and I broke the front wing and damaged the car quite a lot. Coming back to the pits I lost a lot of time as I had no front wing and punctured tyres. I think considering the start the end result was not too bad."

Rubens Barrichello - Honda (did not finish)

I lost sixth gear not long after I overtook Trulli. The team decided it would be best to retire the car as this is my first race with this engine and I have to race with it at Monza next weekend. Overall it has not been a great weekend."

Nelson Piquet - Renault (did not finish)

"The plan was to run a one-stop strategy today and so my car was heavy on fuel. I made a good start and gained five places, which was encouraging, but there were still some damp patches on the circuit and I made a mistake. I want to remain positive and I'm now looking forward to Monza, where we tested last week. I hope we can have a strong race there."

Eurosport

Comment 92 - 111 of 111

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  1. Gunnergull, I agree that cheaters never prosper, and­ that is exactly why Lewis was stripped of his win.

    From kirstielundgaard, on Tue 9 Sep 6:22PM
  2. I think McLaren should be fined, again, for making it­ rain. They know they made it rain and need to admit­ it.
    The best race for a long time and the stewards want­ to penalize Lewis.
    Kimi and Lewis were racing and if­ Lewis did not cut the corner then they would have­ crashed!!! guess that would be blamed on Lewis/Mclaren.­ Lewis let Kimi retake his place (as per rules) but­ that was still not good enough.
    what does Mclaren have­ to do, or any of the other teams if they were capable­ of racing Ferrari.
    Guess the teams should have gone­ ahead with their 'super league' and left Mosley­ and the poison dwarf, (both of whom have milked F1 for­ years). Take the power away from theses maggots for­ good.
    Again this is a shame for what was one of the­ best races in a long long time.
    Marty

    From Martin W, on Tue 9 Sep 12:30PM
  3. check out what niki lauda had to say about this latest­ issue. he used to drive for ferrari.

    From Albert, on Tue 9 Sep 10:01AM
  4. Why bother watching if the stewards are going to fix­ races for Farrari how much is Bernie paying them ? ­ Sorry Max !

    From First L, on Tue 9 Sep 8:29AM
  5. Why bother watching if the stewards are going to fix­ races for Farrari how much is Bernie paying them ?

    From First L, on Tue 9 Sep 8:27AM
  6. i see no reason for Hamilton to go on...FIA are rotten­ racist cheats who think black men can't­ drive.......

    From chkderek7, on Tue 9 Sep 6:37AM
  7. That's very easy for you to say Chris A, but I­ doubt when an injustice has happened to you in the­ past, you said to yourself "Ho hum, nevermind,­ that's life, I just have to take it and move­ on". The decision against Lewis is wrong, and­ McLaren have said publically that they're focusing­ on the next race, but they are RIGHT to appeal against­ a decision which imo is bad for the image of the sport,­ whether you're a Lewis/McLaren fan or not.

    From dryassam, on Tue 9 Sep 6:23AM
  8. Did u know that Max Mosleys personal appointment to­ head the stewards is also head of Ferrari's PR­ firm? That says it all... Talk about a conflict of­ interest. The FIA are a disgrace and Max must go.

    From , on Tue 9 Sep 6:03AM
  9. ITS LIFE HE DROPPED POINTS AND THATS IT , HE HAD AN­ ADVANTAGE CUTTING THE CORNER ALTHOUGH HELD BACK HE­ STILL HAD THE SPEED FOR THE OVERTAKE . ITS LIFE BUT HE­ WILL CRY OUT FOR THE WIN , FORGET IT ITS DONE JUST WIN­ THE REST OF THE RACES THATS ALL YOU HAVE TO DO ,GET ON­ WITH IT ,

    From Chris, on Tue 9 Sep 5:24AM
  10. Is it not possible just for once the FIA ( Ferrari­ Internationale de l'Automobile ) "O"­ sorry it's not Ferrari its Federation got confused­ because as if Ferrari are having a bad day the FIA have­ to help them out, if that that been BMW, Honda or­ Williams in the incident with Hamilton would they care,­ Highly Unlikely. Please Stop sticking your noses in­ and let the Championship be Won on the track.

    From Ian J, on Tue 9 Sep 4:59AM
  11. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    dont moan hamilton drives a ferrari copy anyway ,hes­ overrated like hill was i cant wait till alonso gets a­ half right car and sticks it to him,go massa or any of­ the other 5 drivers that are better than­ hahahamilton,im sick of watching the lewis fan club on­ tv as well -unbias my @#$% its all him boring

    From steve h, on Tue 9 Sep 1:28AM
  12. ferrari seem to have the f1 authourities including­ "moneybags bernie" in their pockets.
    if it­ had been ferrari who had won,no protest would have­ been considered.ferrari are @always will­ be"CHEATS" WHO HAVE THE MONEY 2 GET WHAT THEY­ WANT
    lets have F1 without ferrari next year @see bernie­ @his fellow conspirators sqirm.

    From peter, on Tue 9 Sep 12:25AM
  13. ferrari seem to have the f1 authourities including­ "moneybags bernie" in their pockets.
    if it­ had been ferrari who had won,no protest would have­ been considered.ferrari are @always will­ be"CHEATS" WHO HAVE THE MONEY 2 GET WHAT THEY­ WANT
    lets have F1 without ferrari next year @see bernie­ @his fellow conspirators sqirm.

    From peter, on Tue 9 Sep 12:22AM
  14. The race stewards have cheated Lewis Hamilton out of a­ WIN and wrapping ferrari in cotton wool again is not­ good for the sport. (HOPEFULLY CHEATS DO NOT PROSPER IF­ THERE'S ANY JUSTICE Lewis will be reinstalled as­ RACE WINNER)

    From steve, on Tue 9 Sep 12:01AM
  15. I have watched F1 for many years, The years when M­ Schumaker won every race was boring now we have great­ racing with all the drivers being mates the only­ problem is the stewards not being fair Lewis won that­ race fair and square he does not know how to win any­ other way. I am sad to say but I will not be watching­ F1 again. I am 64 years old and it would have been on­ my wish list to just once be at a F1 event but I am­ afraid that will not happen now, Someone is working for­ Ferrari to win by what ever means by what I have seen­ this weekend they are cheats I find it very sad to see­ the sport that I have supported for so long sink to­ such depths, Jan (Ireland )

    From James, on Mon 8 Sep 11:34PM
  16. the stewards should have gone to specsavers lewis won­ the race
    mike

    From mdanderton2000, on Mon 8 Sep 11:03PM
  17. the stewards should have gone to specsavers lewis won­ the race
    mike

    From mdanderton2000, on Mon 8 Sep 11:02PM
  18. these guys before me said it all
    FIA is taking big­ risks at the sport when they make a farce out of the­ best race we had for seasons

    From murpani, on Mon 8 Sep 10:08PM
  19. In response to 92 the last race massa won by default­ its 4 each. Massa even said he was not as quick as­ lewis. And if they were both driving the same cars it­ would be 8 nil to lewis massa and ferrari would be­ miles behind if the FIA had not been helping them out­ all season.

    From darren, on Mon 8 Sep 10:02PM
  20. hamilton should have been brought in for a drive thru­ on the last lap

    From birdiebones, on Mon 8 Sep 9:55PM
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