[maurethegreat2]

Vettel for me.

[Asmer]

Nando for me(P1+fastest lap), though Vettel did a good job too keeping Rosberg behind him in the end.

[The Professor]

Not much happened so it's difficult to differentiate the drivers performances. I'll go for Alonso though, as I saw him make a good move on Massa at the start of the race and he was fast throughout. Vettel did a fine job too.

[Schumikonen]

Vetel of course, even with an engine problem he managed to finish four.

[adamstrags]

No multichoice - so Vettel. He should have had that race and fully deserved to. Great lap for pole. Kept Alonso behind him (in a faster Ferrari) until the car let him down.
Close second - Alonso - nice move on Massa at the start - solid performance.

[AleHop]

Alonso. Win, fastest lap and good move at the start.

[adamstrags]

AleHop, on 15 March 2010 - 01:11 AM, said:

Alonso. Win, fastest lap and good move at the start.

I'm not debating your choice (I would have picked Alonso too if we had multiple choices), but I am curious as to what fastest lap actually means this season.
Since the cars are getting lighter throughout the race, it occurs to me that fastest lap simply indicates who can be arsed to pull a pointless flyer in the last few laps.

[Argento Reloaded]

adamstrags, on 15 March 2010 - 01:30 AM, said:

I'm not debating your choice (I would have picked Alonso too if we had multiple choices), but I am curious as to what fastest lap actually means this season.
Since the cars are getting lighter throughout the race, it occurs to me that fastest lap simply indicates who can be arsed to pull a pointless flyer in the last few laps.

Not so pointless since Felipe was at 1,5 s behind Nando when they catched Vettel and 5 laps later the gap was 9 s detroying Felipe´s hopes.
I voted for Vettel but I think Nando and Vettel deserved the DOD tittle. Just look at what Webber did. Massa was close but Nando outclassed him.
The rest were to busy thinking on tyre degradation.

[Jean Todt]

Voted for Nando....I guess he would have caught up with Vettel regardless of weather he could or not overtake Vettel...As Adam said, setting the fastest lap doesn't mean much, because Sutil set the second fastest lap of the race, and it meant nothing other than showing that they have the tools but don't know how to use it....

[AleHop]

adamstrags, on 15 March 2010 - 01:30 AM, said:

I'm not debating your choice (I would have picked Alonso too if we had multiple choices), but I am curious as to what fastest lap actually means this season.
Since the cars are getting lighter throughout the race, it occurs to me that fastest lap simply indicates who can be arsed to pull a pointless flyer in the last few laps.

Fastest lap means the same this season. Not much.

The real meaning of a fastest lap depends on the actual circumstances of the race, the driver, the tyres, etc. Most of the fastest laps in the past were scored in the last few laps of the race, when the track is well rubbered, and there were no need for it.

[Quiet One]

I am more than happy as Nando, Liuzzi and Kubica all showed their worth (in Kubica's case, despite his usual bad luck). Other than them, Vettel did well, and Nico (surprisingly at least for me) did too. Hamilton was not too shabby either, although in his case it was less noticeable. A special mention deserve the guys at the back which struggled with really, really bad cars and yet avoided total embarrasment with few, if any, driver errors. Most people have forgotten the 80s, when any idiot would drive a Sh#tty car and caused mayhem all over the field. And those were "the good old days"!

Respect for the young/old guys in their new rides. They obviously gave their best.

[adamstrags]

Argento Reloaded, on 15 March 2010 - 02:08 AM, said:

Not so pointless since Felipe was at 1,5 s behind Nando when they catched Vettel and 5 laps later the gap was 9 s detroying Felipe´s hopes.

I see what you're getting at, but I'm not entirely convinced - To me, it was just luck that he had to push like that near the end of the race - just fortunate timing. Not that I don't respect his driving to pull away, but many drivers did that through the race, he just did it last (when he was lighter).

Jean Todt, on 15 March 2010 - 02:33 AM, said:

As Adam said, setting the fastest lap doesn't mean much, because Sutil set the second fastest lap of the race, and it meant nothing other than showing that they have the tools but don't know how to use it....

I didn't know Sutil was second fastest - hmm.

AleHop, on 15 March 2010 - 03:11 AM, said:

Fastest lap means the same this season. Not much.

The real meaning of a fastest lap depends on the actual circumstances of the race, the driver, the tyres, etc. Most of the fastest laps in the past were scored in the last few laps of the race, when the track is well rubbered, and there were no need for it.

I agree - circumstance is everything when looking at the fastest lap. It can either be impressive, or pointless.
I do think a lot of fastest laps last season were set at the end of 1st and 2nd stints rather than just at the end of the race though. Strategy required drivers to put in some fast laps in order to jump their opponents during stops and they were light enough on fuel to get a fastest lap during 2 or 3 periods a race (not just 1, like now).
This season there isn't any strategy to talk of (another thing I forecast when we heard there wouldbn't be refueling), and so the lap times will tend to just drop off as the race goes on.

Fastest lap will be another feather in the cap (as it often was before), but this season it will be completely meaningless rather than just fairly meaningless.

[adamstrags]

PS - Having just watched the race - isn't it indicative of the dullness I've just witnessed, that a discussion over the merits of the fastest lap is dominating our DOD thread.
That race was absolute pants - it doesn't even merit real blasphemy.

[BradSpeedMan]

My vote Vettel...of course.... Who else really deserves it? Alonoso gains another inherited win, the luck of this guy is beyond belief....

[dribbler]

Yawn....there was a race? Oh alright then......Seb.

[Ben]

None of them, none of them deserve the title of driver of the day because from what I could see none of them were doing anything more than cruising around.

I was shocked and appalled at how god awful this race was!

[BradSpeedMan]

Ben, on 15 March 2010 - 07:44 AM, said:

None of them, none of them deserve the title of driver of the day because from what I could see none of them were doing anything more than cruising around.

I was shocked and appalled at how god awful this race was!

good to see you back...

well, I might fear losing you again after such a boring race

[Senna's Ghost]

Ole

Obviously Kubica. Only one who did any overtaking of any note.

Adeus

[HandyNZL]

I'm torn between Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reey and Ryan Briscoe...though Briscoe put himself into the barrier so I guess that count's as a black mark.

What? Wrong sport....sorry....those three compete in this new fangled sport called MOTOR RACING. It's pretty neat. Cars going fast. Cars crashing. Guys passing and getting passed and then passing again. And this guy called Sato that likes T-bones.....all that action sure beats that parade thingee motor gymkhana thing that was on in the desert. Did anyone see that camel race going on in the background?

[freaky2]

I was all for Kubica, but if he had not overtaken quite rubbish cars, still, his pass out of nowhere on de la Rosa was fun. Also Alonso at the start did well to pass Massa, well done. But... that would have been had Seb won, now I have to vote him out of pity See what I did there?

[The Professor]

Argento Reloaded, on 15 March 2010 - 02:08 AM, said:

Not so pointless since Felipe was at 1,5 s behind Nando when they catched Vettel and 5 laps later the gap was 9 s detroying Felipe´s hopes.
I voted for Vettel but I think Nando and Vettel deserved the DOD tittle. Just look at what Webber did. Massa was close but Nando outclassed him.
The rest were to busy thinking on tyre degradation.

In Massa's defence, there was talk that he had some kind of aero problem during the race. Not than I can be bothered to look up a relevant news article on that

[AleHop]

Nivola, on 15 March 2010 - 04:39 PM, said:

In Massa's defence, there was talk that he had some kind of aero problem during the race. Not than I can be bothered to look up a relevant news article on that

I think it was a temperature problem for the last 25-30 laps. I heard it was engine related.

[The Professor]

AleHop, on 15 March 2010 - 04:55 PM, said:

I think it was a temperature problem for the last 25-30 laps. I heard it was engine related.

That sounds about right yeah. Although I doubt it would have made much difference in terms of position if he hadn't had the issue, Alonso's opening pass was crucial.

[AleHop]

Nivola, on 15 March 2010 - 05:05 PM, said:

That sounds about right yeah. Although I doubt it would have made much difference in terms of position if he hadn't had the issue, Alonso's opening pass was crucial.

I heard Alonso would have passed Massa with that problem anyway. He was happy he managed to finish 2nd.

[maurethegreat2]

AleHop, on 15 March 2010 - 01:11 AM, said:

Alonso. Win, fastest lap and good move at the start.

Never thought i'd see the day AleHop voted Nando as DOD!

[Quiet One]

AleHop, on 15 March 2010 - 04:55 PM, said:

I think it was a temperature problem for the last 25-30 laps. I heard it was engine related.

It was an overheating problem, which they tried to fix with a "richer" fuel mix, thus increasing fuel consumption...that meant he was forced to pull back to save some fuel for the latest stages. All things considered, Massa's pace was on pair with Nando's as long as the car allowed him. The only actual difference between them both was the crucial first corner, and there it was a mix of a situational issue (Alonso confirmed that the clean side was much better for a starting position) and a beautifully performed overtaking manoeuvre from Nando (I also think that Massa wasn't that great at defending his position, either). Alonso won this battle, but just barely so. I hope to see many more coming, all on track, and hopefully the next ones should last longer than just one corner.

[JHS]

Fernando for me.

[AleHop]

Quiet One, on 15 March 2010 - 05:35 PM, said:

It was an overheating problem, which they tried to fix with a "richer" fuel mix, thus increasing fuel consumption...that meant he was forced to pull back to save some fuel for the latest stages. All things considered, Massa's pace was on pair with Nando's as long as the car allowed him. The only actual difference between them both was the crucial first corner, and there it was a mix of a situational issue (Alonso confirmed that the clean side was much better for a starting position) and a beautifully performed overtaking manoeuvre from Nando (I also think that Massa wasn't that great at defending his position, either). Alonso won this battle, but just barely so. I hope to see many more coming, all on track, and hopefully the next ones should last longer than just one corner.

I totally agree with you.

It was very important for Alonso to win that first battle. And luckily he managed to win his first GP in Ferrari which is the start of the season he had dreamed. Now we have 18 long and winding races ahead where anything can happen.

[Piotr]

Quiet One, on 15 March 2010 - 03:12 AM, said:

I am more than happy as Nando, Liuzzi and Kubica all showed their worth (in Kubica's case, despite his usual bad luck). Other than them, Vettel did well, and Nico (surprisingly at least for me) did too. Hamilton was not too shabby either, although in his case it was less noticeable. A special mention deserve the guys at the back which struggled with really, really bad cars and yet avoided total embarrasment with few, if any, driver errors. Most people have forgotten the 80s, when any idiot would drive a Sh#tty car and caused mayhem all over the field. And those were "the good old days"!

Respect for the young/old guys in their new rides. They obviously gave their best.

Ditto- thanks for saving me time posting - you said what I thought EAXACTLY.

[Piotr]

freaky2, on 15 March 2010 - 10:15 AM, said:

I was all for Kubica, but if he had not overtaken quite rubbish cars, still, his pass out of nowhere on de la Rosa was fun. Also Alonso at the start did well to pass Massa, well done. But... that would have been had Seb won, now I have to vote him out of pity See what I did there?

Somehow, I think I understood... Kubica's pass on de la Rosa was second best of the race (wait, were there ANY other passes???) but on par with Laonso on Massa.