I have to admit, I flew into a rage on Sunday afternoon and turned the TV off with a shaky hand when Mark Webber received his drive-through penalty from the stewards at the Nürburgring.
That shaky hand, desperately trying to find the ‘off’ button, only just managed to stop itself flinging the remote through the screen.
At long last, it looked like Webber, a driver I’ve followed since his Formula Ford days (sorry, cricket fans, I’m an Aussie) would score his first F1 win, after many instances of chronic luck when he was on the verge of doing it.
So I went into town with my wife and missed the race, despite texts from Jamie Hibbard from Top Gear saying that ‘I think you should turn it back on again’.
I told him I wouldn’t be watching it and would record it… But also that I was thinking about never watching bloody Formula One again, that the sport was completely knackered, that the FIA had no control over its idiotic stewards, bla bla bla.
It just seemed inconceivable that Mark could come back from that and I thought the penalty was desperately unfair – even if it was deliberate, which Webber later said it wasn’t, it’s motor racing, not under-8 girl’s softball. A terrible decision.
But… He got lucky, for once. With some of the quicker runners held up behind the Ferrari, Mark was able to run in clear air. So while I tramped around Selfridges looking at evening dresses (for my wife, I should point out) Webber drove a great race, fast and consistent as usual, and put the others in the shade.
It meant a lot to me, Webber’s win, and I’ll admit to having a lump in my throat listening to his brilliant reaction over the radio after he crossed the line.
It was excellent seeing his old man taking a photo of him on the podium… Disregarding the obvious fact that his son’s face would be on the sports pages of tens of thousands of major newspapers and websites all over the world within 24 hours.
It was a very Australian thing to do, and now, one of the sport’s true gentlemen has got what he deserved. Let’s hope it’s the first of many.
Did the lovey Mrs T get the perfect dress?
Mmm, don’t agree with the true gentleman bit. He’s a bit of a hypocrite moaning about his penalty, yet he’s frequently cried for penalties for other drivers, especially Lewis Hamilton, such that he has the tag “whinging Webber”.
At long last, it looked like Adrian Sutil and Force India would get some points and maybes even a podium, but bloody Raikenin crashed in to Sutil (Again!) and ruined everything.
Bill Thomas u realize the aussies never won the cricket. i wudn t be apologizing.
I too was rather pissy shortly after Webber was penalised – his best chance to win and he was flattened by the stewards, thankfully the Ferrari held everyone up (who would’ve expected that to happen at the start of the season?).
It just proves though that the new aero regs don’t work – only when he was in clear air could he go as fast as possible. 5 or 10 years ago, most of the people would’ve just overtaken Massa and set about catching up to Mark.
I’m still very happy for him though.
Good job you recorded it Bill now you can relive the race at your leisure. I hope he wins a few more too but if I were him I wouldn’t be particularly pleased with Christian Horner saying that he could be the next Mansell he may need to grow a moustache!
louis.h was goin to win it was just a shame he had a puncher
Seems Ferrari have got it in for Sutil:
Monaco 2008 – Kimi out of the tunnel
Europe 2008 – Massa in the pits
Singapore 2008 – Massa in the pits (again)
and now Germany 2009 – Kimi round the first corner
Webber fouled Barrichello so he should have got his penalty. Pity it was not more of a severe penalty
Just hope he doesn’t win anymore he is a whingeing Aussie
Can anyone tell me what a puncher is( I thought that was a boxer)
Before any body slates me for what I am going to write, can I start by saying, I am over the moon for Webber and I think that it was totally deserved and about bloody time. I like the guy, I really do, but he is a little bit of a whinger as seen last year with everything he said about Lewis.
However, I wish that people would stop saying that the drive through was unfair, it was completely fair and just. Remember all the times people cried foul at Schumi cutting right across the field at the start of each race. This was no different to that. Webber could have caused a huge accident had their wheels interlocked. He then jinked left and hit the storming starting Lewis and ruined his race, two incidents in the first couple of hundred yards. So how is it unfair for him to be penalised? It may not have been deliberate, but it sure wasn’t accidental.
As it turned out, the penalty just served as a little break and respite for the aussie and he probably appreciated it!
Like I say, I am really happy for him and I hope this opens the flood gates for more, but please can people stop saying the drive through wasn’t fair,because it was!
Jenson for the Championship though!!
I agree that it was completely justified. It may not have been intentional, but he’s a goddamned racing driver, not some teen getting into a car for the first time. He should be able to avoid side swiping another driver. He was really lucky that he didn’t cause a massive accident taking both he and Rubens out of the race at least (in the chaos of the start, I’m fairly certain there would have been more casualties). Great race by him, yes. A well-deserved win, but also a well-deserved penalty.
what was the score between marmite england and vegemite oz,oh yeah was it 17-0 to marmite (ha,ha! only joking!) eng v aus football score in 1923,webber barged barrichello violently,he could have killed rubens!,he definately deserved the penalty,webber got lucky.
I’ve got Rubens teddy in my back yard if he wants it back. he threw it a long way.
This is a joke right ? he blatently rammed rubins ..and nudged lewis .
far too agressive you could see the tire print on rubins side pod for rest of the race .
Still , there is a reason it took 180 races to luck 1
Bet he sent kovi and massa a big ole bunch of flowers
I have to agree with Bill Thomas here. I thought the penalty was a joke as many other penalties have been in the last year or two. Rubens could EASILY have strayed a bit to the right to avoid that small bump, he had more than 1 meter of clean air to the right, but he almost strayed left instead, not making a lot of room for Webber at least. So yeah, the penalty was a joke, there might have been tyre prints on Rubens’ car, but to be bloody honest they should have taken all of schumi’s championships from him if they are to follow up on that kind of barging in all races. Which is why I said in the last year or two… They certainly didn’t penalize that kind of cuddling when Schumi was blocking others rather physically. I’m just happy the guy won, he deserved it.
Brilliant to see Mark get a win finally. Hope he gets many more.
And it was Sutil who ran wide, and rammed into Kimi, not the other way around. Sutil is a complete clown, who always seems to cock something up and crash.
To be fair, lads, Webber barged Ruby, and it may or may not have been dilerate, and he got the penalty. Fair play then? No. In being over aggressive on a bad start compared to Ruby and Hamilton, he barged Ruby, and ruined Hamilton’s race, who may have won it. Hamilton got the real penalty.
Well said The Boy (no 18).
Kimster (no 17)
If you watch it again, you will see that Sutil was ON the racing line that everybody was taking and it was your beloved (guessing by your screen name) Kimi who was actualy OFF the track and turned in to Sutil sharply to avoid going on the grass. I really do hope that Kimi gets a penalty for it for the next race, although I doubt that he will. Kimi is a lazy loon who does not deserve the honour of driving for the prancing horse. I can think of 19 current F1 drivers and god knows how many non F1 drivers who deserve his seat more than him!
I totally agree with the comment about Kimi, Sutil thoroughly deserved some points but as usual Kimi ruins it for him; and as for Webber, yes he did race well but to swipe Rubens then puncture Lewis is a very unsportsman like. I really don’t think that the drivethrough was enough as its nothing like what Lewis had to deal with who may have won it. However Lewis will be back!
Webber swiped Rubens and punctured Lewis?
Webber said that he couldn’t see anyone in his mirrors and thought Rubens was on the other side of him. So all he was doing was trying to cover the inside line and move around a bit to spot the other cars. There was nothing intentional in it at all. And it wasn’t worth a penalty because it had no effect on Rubens’ race at all, and Webber lost the place anyway.
I love Hamilton but he was trying to go three abreast into the first corner where the racing line involves running off the track. There was no way he would have got through that corner without running off the track or doing massive damage to both Webber and Rubens.
I don’t know why the hell they gave Webber that drive through, sure it may of been a bit aggressive but he did not spin anyone out and all there was just a touch. And Hanilton using KERS at the start to gain an advantage probably was not very smart.
I too have waited forever for webbos first win. Was very satisfying to finally see him take the top step of the rostrum.
Swerving into Barrichello could have been a disaster, though, for both of them. Webbo’s drive through was deserved. Too bad no one has given Ferrari a slap on the wrist for running the “let’s drive into sutil during the drive of his life” club.
But then, they never slapped Schumi on the wrist either, on the crucial occasions when he dangerously & deliberately swerved into the side of people. Actually, it merely became a last resort championship scoring device for him… food for thought…
Well the way I saw those comments I’d suggest Top Gear to feature a Cricket Special where there’d be taking Ashes. Lets see whats what
And with Jezza on the cards this has to be fun
Ahan, A Cricket match between Top Gear Britian vs TG Australia, where both teams can get some British and Aussie players on board for a T20.
Jezza vs Bret Lee. How hard can it be
I’m sorry people. watch the replay. he deserved the penalty. that was his second move and it made clear contact with the brawn. i’m glad it didn’t ruin his race.
If you are driving down the road and somebody drives into the side of you, who`s fault is it?
Not being able to see him in his mirrors is a load of cobblers, who sat next to him on the grid, caspar the friendly ghost?
These are supposed to be the best drivers in the world, I know if there is a car next to me, and I am a crap driver.
Having said all that, it was a good win, if not one that will affect the championship.
Rubens deserves the sack after those post race comments.
Raikkonen got rammed by sutil. he did the right thing by staying on track, sutil just got over excited about a possible points finish. Although his luck isnt the greatest(neither is raikkonen’s for that matter).
As far as raw talent and flamboyance of the drivers is concerned, the rankings are 1- kimi raikkonen, 2- fernando alonso, 3-Sebastian vettel, 4-Nico Rosberg, 5-jenson button, 6-mark webber, 7-robert kubica. the others are just there for the sake of being there. Lewis hamilton is just a pretender, Sutil is an over eager bafoon, and the rest are useless. Thank you.
Only one who deserved a penalty was Kimi. Fia still assisting Ferrari?
Penalty was fully deserved!. I was at the race, the incident happened right in front of where I was seated. Rubens made a much better start and Mark made a dirty move to stop him getting past. Without Rubens would have been first to turn 1 and it would have been a completly different race. That being said, Webber deserves credit for winning despite the penalty.
You poms are losers, poor b@$tard wins one race in 8 years and most of you can’t handle it. Just be happy for the guy.
@#31 , well put argument there buddy !!
we get that you aussies have waited 3 centuries to see another F1 win .. but come on !
Jiffypop, were you even at the race? Rubins was the first to the corner, he led until he pitted on lap 19 or something. It was interesting Coulthard’s opinion on the incident, his assessment was that it shouldn’t have been penalised because rubins had plenty of space to move into.
As for Webber ruining Hamiltons race, get buggered. He clearly outbraked himself and ran off the track, his suicidal surge through the middle resulted in him entering the corner far too fast. He also drifted into Webber, not the other way around, he cuts Webber off and in the process runs over Webbers front wing, puncturing his rear right. Webber was on the racing line, Hamilton was off it, so Webber has no need to yield to Hamilton. Watch it on YouTube again if your unsure, it clearly shows its Hamiltons f*ck up alone.
Jenson who?
Who cares about Lewis. The car maketh the driver and he got lucky in ‘07 and ‘08. Now he’s learning what life is like as a mediocre driver in a bad car designed by an incompetent team.
The penalty was fully justified. To not give a penalty would be cited further evidence of inconsistency and/or bias by the stewards by the ranters that comment on these blogs.
The only thing that amazes me is that Kimi got away scot free after going into the corner behind Sutil and somehow imagining he was going to make it round, when every single person exiting the pits struggled to make it round the corner without understeering off the track.
Indeed, reminded me of 07 and 08. The stewards are lacking guts to give Ferrari a penalty, especially when Schumi is at the pit wall. Surprised Sutil kept his calm, I would have punched him to the ground. Kimi comes across so distracted, mind on rally or a drinking problem?
Well done webber fully deserved.. best race actual race in a long time.. the penalty was deserved in my opinion..
but at silverstone he was held up in quali its just inconsistent..
i just couldnt understand why he wouldnt just let rubens through then get some clear air and go off from there he was heavier oh well..
he dominated the weekend not just the race.
i have followed webber for years being an aussie and all. that win meant a lot to webber as it did to i and alot of the aussie motorsport community cant be happier and especially at the german gp (poor vettel)
brawn will be stronger in hungary..
he doesnt even whinge! you poms have some sort of weird tall poppy implosion mentality that gathers momentum.. the media labels someone and everyone jumps on the the guys back, particuarly if he is successful! it happened with lewis hamilton and now you are trying to rag on webber when he isn’t even a brit. bring back more driving like wat happened before the first corner i say.
so happy to see mark win finally. hopefully many more in the future.
i don’t care if the penalty was deserved or not. in my mind it was a close one in rubens favour, and mark had lewis drive into him! as an aussie i was still angry.
the fact remains that mark had to deal with a drive through penalty and still managed to come home over 9 seconds ahead of vettel.
great work mark, and certainly deserved of the lack of luck and circumstances that befell him through much of his career.
it was also fantastic to see nico rosberg back in the thick of things. another fantastically talented driver who has been unlucky not to stand on the podium more often.
here are the race highlights it’s on iplayer
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ipla yer/episode/b00lmxny/Form ula_1_2009_The_German_Gra nd_Prix_Highlights/
webber rules
@ #32 “get berrnie out”
Sorry buddy, I meant to say “bad losers” not “losers”. Just judging from all the reactions here.
nice video aussie dude
now an interview with the new unluckyist guy in f1 adrian sutil
Adrian Sutil enjoyed a sensational weekend in Germany in the Force India, qualifying seventh and climbing to second during Sunday’s race before his first pit stop. Unfortunately a collision with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, as Sutil left the pits, forced the German to stop again for a new nose and he eventually finished in 15th. Here he reviews his remarkable weekend at the Nurburgring and looks ahead to the forthcoming Hungarian event…
Q: You did a great job to qualify seventh. How did the session go for you?
Adrian Sutil: It was a great session for us. I was really happy at the end, for sure one of Formula One’s happiest guys! It was my best-ever qualifying position in Formula One. It was very tricky with the weather but our decisions were very good and on time, although it was very difficult because we had to communicate quite a lot. We took a risk on the dry tyres in Q2 but we did it really well, and I managed to do a quick lap before the rain, which took me through to Q3. Then I was still able to fight for positions as it was not enough just being 10th in Q3. Even with the fuel on board Q3 went really well and we got into seventh.
Q: How did you feel when you found out that you qualified heavier than the two Ferraris behind you on the grid?
AS: It was really satisfying for everybody – when I saw their fuel loads, I was the heaviest car in top 10 qualifying. It was even like another pole position for us. It was surprising but we just did a really good job that day.
Q: How did things go at the start of the race?
AS: My start was okay. I was on the harder tyre and it was difficult to start on this option, because the grip level was not so high. We were also a little worried about the KERS cars in front and behind, but I managed to stay more or less in position. I tried to really keep on pushing for the first corner and defend my position, and not lose too much. It worked fine, I was in eighth by the end of the first lap. Then after three laps I could start to push and really have my balance back with the warm tyres.
Q: How was your first stint?
AS: It was not so bad, but I knew it was going to be hard to keep the Ferraris behind as they were on the soft tyres and had KERS off the start. But even given this it was a great start to the race as I was still with the cars in front but not close enough to lose any downforce. I was right behind Kimi for a long time in the first stint and at one point I was even up to second and not too far behind Barrichello, who was leading at that point.
Q: How did you feel coming into your first stop in second place?
AS: It was the best position I’d ever been in Formula One and it felt really good! It just gave me even more happiness and even more power in the car. I was so happy and enjoying it so much.
Q: When you came out of the pits you obviously saw Felipe Massa go past. Did you know Kimi was there too?
AS: I knew he was there as my engineer Brad had told me to watch the white line and that he was coming when I was on the way out of the pit lane. I entered the corner first. Kimi tried on the outside, which was okay. But there was plenty more space – he could have gone to the side, because I was on new tyres and it was really slippery. I couldn’t have made any crazy moves, otherwise I would have lost my car. When you see my on-board I took the corner normally, I tried to push to be able to have a good exit, but I was quite limited when I was already on the inside for the braking for Turn One. If I didn’t try to accelerate out of the corner it’s not racing any more, I might well have just waved him by and said come on, pass me please! You have to defend your position.
Q: Have you spoken to Kimi?
AS: We spoke about it, and everybody agreed it’s a racing incident. It’s a shame as at the time I was just behind Massa, who went on to finish third. Obviously some drivers made good progress in the second half of the race, so I think seventh or eighth position would have been possible. I think points, definitely.
Q: You’ve had great races in the wet in the past, but do you think you’ve really proved something mixing it with those guys in the dry?
AS: I hope so. Everybody knows I’ve had some good races in the wet, but it was time to show it in the dry. You need a really good car, that’s for sure and our car has made a good step forward, which helped me to show a good performance. I’m just happy for everybody. Right now we need a good push but the team knows we are going in the right direction and the guys in the wind tunnel are all working really well. I think we can expect quite a lot in the next few races.
Q: Any thoughts on Hungary – will it suit the car?
AS: Normally we don’t have any particular circuit where we are good or bad. There are a few where we are maybe a little bit better, but we are quite consistent with our performance, which is why I think it might suit us. But it’s similar to Monaco, and in Monaco, we had a good result, so who knows. I’d love to be able to finish the job there.
go force india
thanks thats useful oponiy
Force inda rule they had a cracking weekend shame kimi had to ruin his moment but thats f1 for you
Webber was massively misquoted on those Hamilton remarks last year.
Besides, all we ever do in F1 is complain about how the drivers are so metronomical and devoid of personality. And yet, whenever a driver says anything outside of toeing the company line, we’re all over them again for being ‘whingers.’
F1 fans are the real whingers.
Just emphasising the fact that it seems Ferrari have got it in for Sutil:
Monaco 2008 – Kimi out of the tunnel
Europe 2008 – Massa in the pits
Singapore 2008 – Massa in the pits (again)
and now Germany 2009 – Kimi round the first corner
FANTASTIC JOB WEBBER!
look hovever said mark is a winger should go shove it he never winges and reliable sorces say has drove in melbourne even though his leg was still broken so he is tougher then you think and he has had alot of bad luck like getting hit by vettle…. as just one point
know he has the mettle out his peformance is improving nicly
Brilliant drive by Webber but the penalty was correct: he drove into Barrichello.
As for Kimi: even Sutil thinks it was a racing incident!