Thanks for sticking with us on this one, so let's get back to the action...
THE RACE - CONTINUATION
In punishment for what he'd done in colliding with and 'exploding' Di Resta's rear left axle, Maldonado at this point was given a 10 second stop/go penalty, meaning that he had to pit, stop in his box for 10 seconds and then go (gee, that wasn't hard to figure out, was it, bro's?!). In my opinion, like D.C. I consider this to be a racing incident and just one of those things because it was either avoid colliding with Maldonado, or hit Di Resta, it just looked like Maldonado was in-between a rock and a hard place!
Up at the front it was all looking cushty and safe for Vettel, Alonso & Hamilton and following those guys round the track was Webber, who by this time had picked himself up after a disappointing start, & Button before another penalty was given. This time for Esteban Gutierrez so you could say that, though he was lucky to escape contact when Maldonado and he were battling for position at the chicane, his luck ran out when he left the track and was adjudged to have gained an advantage by it.
Felipe Massa, having now been told that his seat is under threat once more, was keeping himself out of trouble and was in 7th position at this point so it looked like he'd be bringing in some points for his Ferrari team.
That's pretty much how it finished up, bro's, with Vettel extending his lead at the top to the largest margin since he's been at the top of the tree, Alonso, who replaces Räikkönen in second place in the championship at this time and Hamilton making up the podium places. As a result, this was Ferrari's first podium since 2009 when Räikkönen was last with them.
DRIVER OF THE DAY
I suppose you'll all be wondering who I've picked for Driver of the Day, won't you and it's not who you're expecting: -
Fernando Alonso
Despite all the times I've mention Vettel's name on this review, I point the finger at Alonso as the man who simply outclassed the rest of his field as he took on and knocked down his opponents when given the opportunities and made the disappointment of a qualifying failure and turned it into a golden podium (even if it wasn't the top step!).
All race long he commanded himself brilliantly and his podium reward was well worth it, as was his return to second position after some disappointing recent results made it look as though Räikkönen would be Vettel's nearest challenger going into the rest of the season.
Let's see what this does to my Driver of the Season standings then, shall we?: -
D.o.D. Winner
|
No.
|
Vettel
|
2
|
Alonso
|
2
|
Di Resta
|
1
|
Hamilton
|
1
|
Ricciardo
|
1
|
Rosberg
|
1
|
Wow! That's really tightened it up, hasn't it?
It's interesting to note also, though, and I've picked up on this before, that the way I've awarded those trophies is not consistent with the plastic fan brigade who only ever pick winners... I have not stuck like a limpet to my fave driver like some, lesser quality bloggers would... I've looked at the quality and assessed it in comparison with the rest of the racers and gone with my gut instinct to reward those most deserving, in my opinion, of recognition for a job well done.
Finally, that brings to an end one of the longest entries I think I have ever written on 'The Write Dimension' so thank you for all you lucky, lucky readers who've stayed the course... I promise you I'll be looking to streamline this now I know just how far my opinions can stretch!
Next time out, it's a trip to Monza, Italy the final stop on the European leg of the calendar this year before the Asian leg starts and visits to some more of my favourite circuits (yes I do have a lot of fave's, bro's!).
Peace out!
The Lanky Penguin
No comments:
Post a Comment