Observations from the United States Grand Prix
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by user Worstsportsblogever
Vitantonio Liuzzi has the widest "bumper" in F1.
To borrow from NASCAR, Vitantonio Liuzzi has the widest "bumper" in F1; I am sure that Liuzzi upset a few drivers at the beginning of the USGP with his blocking techniques. Liuzzi started the race on the hard compound tire which the media reckoned was slower than the soft compound version by 0.4 seconds per lap. When the not-so-grippy tires were placed on his already ill handling STR, it made for a painfully slow combination for the unfortunate souls who could not get around him at the start. Liuzzi's dash to 11th by the first turn meant guys like Anthony Davidson, Jenson Button, Adrian Sutil, Alexander Wurz and Scott Speed were all stuck. Wurz battled furiously with Liuzzi in turn 1 on several occasions; the battles mostly resulted in Wurz several wheel lock-ups that caused Davidson, Button and Speed to check up to avoid accidents. Speed lost a position to Davidson after Liuzzi blocked Wurz on one such occasion. Giancarlo Fisichella eventually ended up in this mess after he spun going into turn 4; Fisi eventually made it past Liuzzi after several frustrating attempts. Liuzzi's pace after his STR was fitted with the soft compound tires clearly demonstrated that he was slower than Speed, Davidson, Wurz and Button.
Strength of McLaren
McLaren's rise to the top of the constructors has gone largely unnoticed thanks to The Lewis Hamilton Show. But it's worth noting: McLaren was the third best constructor in 2005 and 2006 thanks to questionable reliability and slightly weaker performance as compared to Ferrari and Renault. Whatever plagued them in '05 and '06 has been fixed, and the team was clearly the class of the field at the USGP. Their performance shouldn't be surprising, I suppose, but when you consider how strong Ferrari has been in Indy since the GP's inception, I think that the McLaren's overall performance in Indy was very noteworthy.
Lewis Hamilton deserves a lot of credit for what he has achieved so far, and what he will achieve in the future, but I think we sell McLaren short if we give all of the credit to Hamilton. Hamilton's rise would not have happened so quickly without McLaren stepping up its game as a constructor. What we are seeing now is a perfect storm: two drivers and a constructor reaching the top of their game at the same time. It is officially McLaren's driver and constructor championship to lose.
The Lewis Hamilton Show
Okay, Lewis Hamilton is good. From my view in turn 1, I didn't see a single mistake. He was smooth, and when under pressure from frustrated teammate and supposed friend Fernando Alonso in turn 1, he was able to defend his line and execute the turn with no lockup.
He already appears to be as cool as any veteran out there on the track, and barring mechanical failure, it's hard to imagine him finishing no worse than second place in any of the remaining Grand Prixs.
What I like most, though, is how humble he comes across. He seemed genuinely excited to win on Sunday. It's almost like he's ... well ... likable. Most F1 drivers are either so competitive they come off like robots (like Michael Schumacher), so dull that they're, well, dull (like Kimi Raikkonen) or just so full of themselves that they cannot fathom spending time with lesser beings (David Coulthard, et al). Lewis seems like he is none of that, and I think that's very refreshing.
