[dougydee]

I went to the F1 yesterday. I had great seats on the first bend. What an interesting race, Montoya spins his car at the end of the warm up lap, renault stalls on the front row and then carnage on the first lap.
You have to feel a bit for Button 58laps and he falls meters short of the line and misses out on points.
I like the new qualifing format, I think it adds a bit of excitement, totally different to last years boring sessions.

 

[Bryn]

I agree. The old qualifying made it sorta boring, now its like a mini race. The F1 need to make it the first race of the season again, it was still good, but would have been better if it was the first race to kick off the season.

 

[asgelle]

You have to feel a bit for Button 58laps and he falls meters short of the line and misses out on points.

On TV it looked like he could have made it across the line (and maybe even held his place against Fisichella) but then he would have been penalized 10 places at the start of the next race for replacing an engine (like Coulthard was after Bahrain). I think Honda decided to give up the minor points and get the free engine change.

 

[handsomerob]

On TV it looked like he could have made it across the line (and maybe even held his place against Fisichella) but then he would have been penalized 10 places at the start of the next race for replacing an engine (like Coulthard was after Bahrain). I think Honda decided to give up the minor points and get the free engine change.

+1

He definitely had enough momentum to coast in for points.

Either Honda must feel really good about their chances at San Marino, or the fire scared Button out of the car as quickly as possible. I doubt it was the second, but it seemed as soon as the fire went out, he pulled over.

 

[S2H]

Button didn't finish on prupose, I think.

This is from F1.com:

There are also restrictions on engine use. Each driver may use no more than one engine for two consecutive Grand Prix meetings. If an engine change is required ahead of qualifying at either meeting, the driver will drop ten places on the grid for that event. If the change is made after qualifying, the driver goes to the back of the grid.

If a driver fails to finish a race due to reasons beyond his or his team’s control, he may start the next meeting with a new engine without incurring a penalty.

Could Button have finished? Probably, but his team ordered him to stop. Would the FIA penalize him for not finishing in a car that was on fire? Probably not.

 

[S2H]

BTW, Scott Speed was penalized for ignoring a yellow flag and he lost his points position. owned.

 

[S2H]

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