91Èȱ¬

Love how you get a link to a story which bashes EJ!

Thought the coverage was great this weekend as always, you never let us down.

Sadly, and unsurprisingly, the same could not be said for the race itself. Not a single overtaking move - or even attempt - through the entire race for the second year running. How this joke of a circuit that produces such processional bores has secured a contract extension is beyond belief. Guess it must be the good facilities for the teams and FIA - obviously far more important than the quality of racing that is possible.

Roll on Spa and Monza, proper racing circuits that are bound to produce great racing.

Cool Blog Jake,

I enjoyed the race today and I am so happy for Rubens Barrichello to get a win, he so deserved it. It was good of EJ to get Michael Schumacher for an interview obviously that was not planned but when you interviewed Lewis Hamilton that did look like it was lined up, so great job for everyone invovled.

I will certainly be checking your photo diary over next couple of days and Keep Up Fantastic Work and Roll On Next Weekend in Belgium

The 91Èȱ¬ F1 coverage really is streets ahead of what preceded it and you're doing a top job Jake, loving the blogs. Hamilton might be a bit disappointed, but I think he'll look and realise that being disappointed with second is a massive improvement to being lapped by Button and taking on the Force India's. I just wonder if Button, with no consistent challenger, will need that many more points to win the championship with only 6 races left.

Never accept a shower from Ted Kravitz - sounds a bit dodgy to me.

Great coverage as usual from the 91Èȱ¬ - highlights were Eddie Jordan accosting Michael Schumacher and Martin Brundle jumping ahead of the Italian lady with Sebastien Vettel on the gridwalk.

Big question now is was this race a hot weather one-off or will Brawn and Red Bull revert back to their Silverstone, Nurburgring, Hungaroring pace in Spa?

You guys did a great job as always. Good to see the pink shirt back.

So glad that Barrichello won although the race was pretty dull action wise (second year running). Ross Brawn looking for the cricket results was a nice touch.

Looking forward to Spa which should be a lot more exciting!

to agree with Lopek, the race was below par. There were no clear cut overtaking opportunities except for the beginning of the race, where Raikonnen took full advantage of the KERS and made 2 good overtaking procedures. Anyway, why is it that Vettel always fails on the street circuit. At Monaco, he ran his tyres out very quickly, here his engine failed. I won't be surprised if something happens to him in Singapore.

As always, great blog Jake and Qualifying and Race coverage was excellent, with better technical support than last years rather simple race.

Look forward to your next blog

Fantastic coverage as always Jake, many thanks to you and your team. This weekend was a real shame for JB, he needed this one because Spa isn't going to be kind to Brawn, I feel. He seems to have gone off the boil a little - let's hope he's got something more in the tank for the next few races. Roll on Spa - should be a good one.

RB totally deserved the win today. I agree with Lopek thou, it was very dull! i think the most exciting things were when the mclaren mechanics forgot Hami's tyres and vettel blowing a second engine. This circuit is completly dull for the spectators and should be scrapped. It annoys me that they want to take out old circuits and put in new ones when so many of the new circuits are just plain boring. In a year where we were promised more overtaking i haven't seen any increase. Bring on spa (a great track) and i hope it rains cause it will make for an even better race.

Hi Jake great coverage again it does get better every race weekend . The interviews with Lewis and Schuy were great and Martins grid walk was brill. He is a legend please tell him from me. The forum was interesting viewing as well with Martin telling us McLaren fans what happened with the pit stop for Lewis , even tho i still dont agree that Rubans was quicker than Lewis and that he would have won anyway. Not so sure myself. Anyway safe journey back mate and looking forward to Spa already . PS did EJ get dressed in the dark before goin on air today !!!

The pre-show was excellent Jake - however, I can't comment for the rest as I fell asleep about ten minutes in (genuinely! I didn't get much sleep last night) and didn't wake again until half five. The sound of Rubens sobbing on the radio did sort of seep into my consciousness though - I was unsurprised when I woke to find he had won it, and that all the changes of position had happened via mechanical problems and the pitlane.

One thing though - races like this will be genuinely more interesting next year with the demise of in-race refuelling, sitting and waiting to overtake via pitstops will be a lot less of a certainty.

Finally: as I said via Twitter Jake, I'd really like to hear what the paddock feeling towards Badoer was this weekend. Were the teams and the press giving him the benefit of the doubt, a sympathetic pat on the shoulder or a snigger behind his back?

Hey Jake,

Well done on the excellent coverage today - particularly the pre-race stuff! I really love live telly, and yeah, we know you guys are trying to put on a show that appears smooth and effortless, but I reckon all the 'edge-of-your-pants-spur-of-the-moment-interviewing' stuff has a bit more edge! Loved EJ running into the Ferrari garage and dragging out Michael Schumacher - with perhaps the exception of Bernie Ecclestone, I reckon only Eddie could have managed that!

I reckon its a result of these blogs Jake that I now feel I'm living these moments with you! Today I was wondering what on earth they were shouting down your ear when EJ was dragging Schuey out of the garage, and back in qualifying on Saturday when we couldn't hear Jonathan and Martin and you and DC had to carry on talking at the start of qualifying.

It was great to see the live Lewis interview before the race, and to hear that he approached you is cool too. Had a good laugh at you back in the gym at the MTC too - great to see the comedic continuity from Lewis' challenge to you earlier in the season!

I'm a Lewis/Jenson supporter first and foremost, but Rubens Barrichello fully deserved today's victory. Have been following him on Twitter over the past few weeks, where he's kept us all informed about Felipe's condition etc, he comes across as a really nice guy.

Generally a bit of a save of a weekend for the Brawn team I reckon. And also love the fact that Ross Brawn was clearly pre-occupied by the Ashes the whole weekend - what a result!!

Look forward to seeing your photo blog from the weekend:)

Not long to Spa - hooray!

Naomi

As always Jake, great job and great blog. I can't however agree with your enthusiasm regarding Valencia. It was without doubt the most disappointing race last year. This year it has excelled itself. There is simply no atmosphere to the place. The race was yawnmakingly boring and neither teams or drivers seemed happy to be there. Roll on Spa!
That said I am sure the whole F1 community joins me in congratulating Rubens on a great drive and a well deserved win. I think he is loved across the globe.

Once again, some excellent work by all involved covers the fact that the race was actually quite boring and predictable. ( can someone please lend Kimi some personality?). Having read this blog, I was stunned to realise that the Lewis interview was not planned but then, after watching the piece from Woking, it is quite clear that Lewis actually trusts the 91Èȱ¬ and Jake and so it is not so surprising that he would offer what he did. Accept the plaudits guys, they are well deserved.

p.s. as Martin and Eddie proved, you need more than just a pretty face to get the interviews in F1 !!!! well done both.

coverage as good as ever!
i'm a Lewis fan, so slightly unhappy at losing today, but hey 2nd is good!!
i was out in Valencia last year for the race, really wish i had been there today. but i am going to Spa. i will be in the grandstand on pits straight. expect me to scream out at you if your on the grid....please wave!!
ps i want to be Martin's assistant on his gridwalk.....love it!! classic moment with the sky lady!!! lol

Envying you going home tonight, I'm stuck here until tomorrow, then I have to fly home via Madrid and Zurich! By the time I get there, it'll be time for me to go back to the airport and catch my flight to NYC.

Can I just say, Jake - apart from great blog, as always - great shirt choice this week! Well worth the hassle of washing it and drying it on the way! I could see you for most of today's pre-show and thought you looked very cool and calm.

Will miss all the remaining races on the 91Èȱ¬, which I am very sad about. Keep up the great work both on and off-screen and I look forward to watching all the DVD's when I come back home at Christmas!

You still have a very small head jake

Jake,

Great show today, although it was clearly seat of the pants stuff today I didn't mind one bit - part of the charm of the show.

Thankfully EJ pulled off a great coup with Schuie - just as well because I would never have forgiven his green/pink combo!

Chris

Hello Jake,

The coverage was great this weekend. I think you and the whole team are doing a great job. Please pass my congratulations to them all.

The whole coverage is so much more professional than ITV’s coverage. It is much more enjoyable to watch. It's great having a presenter and two analysts because there is plenty of discussion and analysis (oddly enough), whereas Steve Rider asking a question to Mark Blundell (who ALWAYS agreed with what he was saying, EVERY time), got so annoying because there was no discussion.

Commentary, I think is great. Who ever is the lead commentator, he/she will get some criticism (you can never please everyone all of the time). I think Jonathan is very good and he has certainly improved since Melbourne (he's noticeably improved this weekend), but I've never had a problem with him anyway.

One aspect of the coverage I really enjoy is the Interactive Forum. I think its great (I still haven't been read out though. Super disappointed!).

In a sentence, the whole team is doing great and the coverage is super.

I hope you have a safe journey home.

PS - Probably an odd question, but what's happened to the commentary box shot before Qualifying and the Race? Martin gormlessly staring into the camera was hilarious!

The coverage was just great, as allways. As I'm from Belgium, I allways watched F1 on the belgian national channel, which isn't bad, but not nearly as good as the 91Èȱ¬ coverage. Really good and very fast information, faster than the german coverage (RTL) or the belgian coverage (RTBF). And next week, finally the probalby best Grand Prix just 20 minutes from my home. I really am looking forward to it!

Thanks again Jake for the superb coverage!

I don't know what race Mr Humphrey was watching but the Mclaren appeared the match of Brawn for pace, with the reason for Ruben's win an unfortunate pit stop for Lewis.

Having said that, Ruben's drove extremely well and his race strategy worked, finally.

Ross Brawn must be pretty happy with the day all in all, Red Bull's capitulation, Ruben's win and a famous victory for the England cricket team.

Well done to them.

The best bit of the weekend, almost, was the superb way you managed to trap Christian Horner over Red Bull possibly using KERS. Brilliant!

You may find him less willing to be interviewed in future - but that was priceless!

The general consensus is that neither Red Bull nor McLaren had the pace to win in Valencia. Brawn were just too hot.

Rubbish, mclaren's pit stop cost hamilton 6 secs.

Excellent drive by rubens & brawnGP, one thing i did find funny was that Martin Whitmarsh said the pit stop error only cost them about 2 seconds and didn't cost the win, even tho they came 2nd 2.3 seconds behind rubens, me thinks there was a lot more errors went on with that pit stop than they want to admit..
Come on BrawnGP

The pre-race coverage is great, shame I feel the need to go to radio 5's coverage for the race as i really miss Brundles commentary, but its better than having to replace a smashed tv.

Adding on to my previous comment, i personally have a feeling that Ferrari did not want to risk Michael Schumacher for Valencia, being a tight and twisty circuit and himself having a slight neck injury. My personal feeling was that they knew Luca Badoer would not bring them a decent result and they will drop him in favour of Schumacher for one of his favourite tracks, Spa, which he has won many times and is not as twisty and tight as Valencia and also, Spa is a track that Schumacher knows very well

martin whitmarsh said that tyre delay did not influence race result-hamiltons pit stop was13,34 sec. cf barris of 6.54 a diff of 6.54 sec. the winnind margin was2,36 secs even allowing for a typical stop of sat 8 secs lewis could have won by 2.6 secs.

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To echo others; great coverage, but a race that (literally) put me to sleep - and I wasn't up too late last night. When the highlight of the afternoon's contest is a couple of guys being late with tyres, then questions must be asked about the venue.
Looks like JB will limp to the title after a superb start to the campaign, but to emphasise, when the top teams are so closely matched and yet the race is so dull, what does that say about Valencia?

After the embarrassing own goal with irresponsible tabloid-like handling of Massa's sensitive situation in Hungary, yet another piece of shocking tv presenting. Yes I'm talking about Mr Brundle on the grid - once more a disgrace. Arrogant, smug, disrespectful, all the national traits put together. You know, that feeling that 'we OWN the place so sod everyone else'. Congratulations & great job comments aplenty in here I see - for jumping the queue.

So well done mate, absolutely superb. It worked out well so I'm going to give it a go tomorrow in the bus or the bank and see what happens and if I get praised too at the end. Fortunately I understand that bbc's f1 signal is received widely across the globe so you can get all the acclaim you deserve.

i can't believe eddie dressed himself today

Thanks for the blog. Just want to add to the cries of Valencia being absolutely rubbish. Millions of tilke slow corners, no scenery, no gradient change, and no overtaking.

Bring on Spa! Hope it rains again.

Hi Jake,

Great coverage as always. I missed the build-up but I now really want to find EJ grabbing Schumi somewhere!

I disagree that Hamilton should have won the race without the tyre problems. It would have been very marginal after both pit stops, and Rubens was definitely quicker than Lewis because he was always heavier.

It's all well for brilliantbigalw to work out those calculations, but in the last 5 or 6 laps Barrichello was just nursing the car home and saving everything he could. He was about 6 seconds clear of Hamilton after the stops and Lewis would have had to pass him for that the calculations to have any effect because I think Barrichello would have emerged just ahead without the McLaren mess up. Every single race winner always backs off towards the end if they aren't under pressure. Rubens had the pace today to win and I'm very happy that he did it.

Looking forward to Spa already.

I think Martin Brundle is a great commentator and his grid walks are the best part of the build up, and how would have you handled the Hungary incident? They did what was safe. So I don't think there's any point in criticising anybody for bad tv presenting. I'd like to see anybody who wants to have a pointless rant at the 91Èȱ¬ crew on this blog do better.

Hello Jake

Great coverage, from what I managed to see. I missed Qualifying yesterday due to work, and again missed the last 20 or laps of the race today. But I did manage to avoid hearing who won and caught the highlights on 91Èȱ¬3 - top result for RB! He deserved that after getting the hammer down, although nasty luck for Hamilton, but I think RB would've had it anyway. He has certainly outperformed Button this weekend, and the Red Bulls had a nightmare! I think there might be a few long faces there

More long faces at Ferrari after a dismal weekend for Badoer. Ok I know he's not raced for a long time, but c'mon, you'd expect more from a Ferrari test driver surely. Kimi put in a solid race to get on the podium yet Badoer spent all weekend hanging around the back. Get well soon Massa!

Well roll on Spa. That must be my favourite track in all the world, and there isn't much I wouldn't give to get a good seat at Eau Rouge. Sadly I have to make do with the 91Èȱ¬ coverage, but I hope to see Button flying through there, getting back to the winning way and collecting a much needed 10 points!

"The general consensus is that neither Red Bull nor McLaren had the pace to win in Valencia."

Two problems with this statement; one, it's a damn obvious statement given that neither Red Bull nor McLaren won the race - it's like saying the consensus is that Brawn won the race because they were faster than everyone else. That's hardly inspired insight. And secondly, McLaren clearly did have the pace to win, they only lost it due to a mistake during a pitstop.

I am not sure that Lewis could have won, Rubins stopped a lap or 2 early simply to cover Lewis and came out about 7 seconds in front of Lewis.

Hi Jake, I thought the whole 91Èȱ¬ team did very well this weekend and the "Did EJ swear?" sketch was brilliant real time thinking, he should have a 10 sec penalty for trying to hide his ice lolly. I have some questions for you -did Sebastian Vettel commit an offence when cutting up Jenson at the start ie almost force him off the track? and why did Alonso not drop back to allow whinging Webber through as he also cut the corner, -in my view Vettel should have had a 10 sec penalty and Jenson should have maintained position as he was ahead of Webber when squeezed.
Finally congrats to Ross Brawn still the pit stop maestro.Great TV.

Coverage on screen still excellent.

But how on Monday morning your "standings" page is still wrong is pretty poor! You show it updated last night, but everyone still has points from before Valencia.

Well yesturday was the first race i've watched since 2001. Seems i picked the most boring track to start, but i still really enjoyed it so i'm thoroughly looking forward to next week. Looks like i'm back into F1...finally!!

Thought the coverage was good. Not usually interested in watching the build up to sporting events but in this case i watched pretty much all of it. I'd put it on 'live pause' when it started while i was busy but didn't fast forward anything as planned!

Hi Jake,

Great blog as usual - the 91Èȱ¬ coverage making this amazing weekend of sport what it was!

However - I haven't had the chance to see it again - but I really don't think EJ did swear? Maybe I'm wrong about that - as I'm sure his language can be a bit blue off-camera...

DC didn't look impressed in any case - he wouldn't be caught on live TV with an Ice Lolly! Quite the professional.

A suggestion for next week... can you track Vijay Mallya or James Key down? It would be great to hear what their expectations for Force India are before the end of the season - their performance this weekend was quite exceptional! Adrian Sutil has always made the best of an unreliable car, and now it would seem that the upgrades are doing the business... See if you can find them to hear their side of the story!

Keep up the good work!

Mike

Hi Jake,

Really enjoyed the coverage as always! I know the Schumacher interview was off the cuff and unplanned but I do think you missed a trick and should have asked him to comment on Luca's performance. So only 4.9 out of 5, which is still way more than I have ever achieved.

Keep up the good work. Really enjoy the FI Forums and blogs - makes the whole thing feel so much closer.

Regards,
Neal

I disagree with your blog Maclaren ifted the win to the Brawns .
Lewis team at tbhe pitlane took alonger time than expected with the tyre change.

Fantastic presentation yet again Jake. Yourself, DC & EJ always make for great viewing.
But when will the 91Èȱ¬ change Ledgard for somone else all he can seem to say is Food for Thought and On a Charge.
Martin Brundle is very good on his Grid Walks and in the Commentary Box, Ledgard should let him do more of the commentating. The partnership in previous years of James allen & martin Brundle worked much better i have to admit.

Still looking forward to the next race be interesting to see if Barrichello will continue where he has keft off and what will happen at Brawn if he gets close to Jenson.
I feel Jenson;s title is slipping away he really is off the boil and if the lead gets much shorter panic may set in he already seems very on edge he may still throw it away yet to his team mate or to Webber.
I feel now wiwith only 2 engines left Vettel will get a 10 place drop at some point specially the way he is popping engines so i feel now it is a 3 horse race.

Lay of Mr Brundle he was only doing what he had to do get talking to drivers before the race.

Love Martin's grid walks as part of the Grid Walks. And he is a good commentator aswell

Can you show us the GP2 races next season - or even the deciding events this year? It's frustrating to hear about these great races we can't watch.

Did any of the top 8 do any overtaking on the track after the first lap or was it all done in the pits? This is why F1 should avoid street circuits. Can't wait for this weekend with a proper track, Spa! Great blog and twitter updates as always Jake!

The saddest thing is that this race is going to be even MORE boring next year without re-fueling , And that is saying something ! ,
And with regards to Martin and the lady from SKY if she didnt fight her corner thats her problem , That is her job ,
Boy, you have no idea how much stick she will get for that ! , Mr Murdoch will not like that one little bit ! . .

Maybe Jordan can stop his pompous and idiotic stance towards KERS now that a KERS car has won and been on pole, but somehow I doubt it, never wrong is he?

nibs #30

What are you on about - I wouldn't associate the cut and thrust of competetive reporting/interviewing with everyday life events like getting on the bus. Don't be so simplistic - Martin did a great job getting in there - I am sure he will pay for it judging by what EJ said afterwards but the world at large understand the difference between the F1 circus and normal life - well almost eveyone.

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Great blog Jake - and after how low Rubens has been feeling it was good to see him have such a great win. I do think he outdrove Lewis yesterday, which even he himself admitted.

I did cringe when Martin grabbed Sebastian on the grid ahead of the Sky woman - but it was funny too!

I loved you, David and Eddie in your pastels :) Hoe about a nice dark blue or burgundy for Spa?

Ellie

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'The general consensus...'

A consensus is a general agreement....so why do we need a general general agreement??!!!

Poor from a 91Èȱ¬ journalist.

The saddest thing is that this race is going to be even MORE boring next year without re-fueling , And that is saying something !

------------------

What a load of absolute nonsense. Banning refueling will be the thing which could make this sport exciting again. There is far too much strategy with refueling allowed.

Anybody who knows anything about the history of F1 would NEVER have said that. The best years of F1 were when there was no refueling allowed. It will be much more down to tyre management and who can drive the best instead of all of this overtaking in the pit lane rubbish, which we have now been putting up with for years.

Hi Jake,

Once again, excellent coverage from the 91Èȱ¬ for what was (& probably always will be) a dull race on a dull track with zero overtaking opportunities. The race was won in the pit stops and McLaren were caught napping, but congrats to Rubens who is a top bloke and deserves his slice of Brawn success.

To anyone moaning about Martin's queue jumping in front of the lady from German Sky, I expect she was doing a recorded time-delayed interview, whereas Martin was live.

I loved the fact that Ross Brawn had to get the cricket score from you, and well done to England on a fantastic victory. It always pains me to see Australians losing!

Keep up the good work and enjoy Spa - you'll be blown away!

I also remember in the first part of the season when the golden boy was spinning left right and center and was overtaken by the Buemis and the Piquets of this world how outspoken Eddie Jordan was then. He was all 'poor guy bless him it must be awful he's lost all his confidence that car is borderline dangerous!!!'.

Yesterday he even tried to make up a situation that the team affected him PSYCHOLOGICALLY because they had the AUDACITY to tell him through the radio that the brakes are too hot and he should watch out. World class analysis eh? Deary me...

Yet again a boring race and like many, I'm sure, can not believe that it has got a new 5yr deal? These races put people off F1 not bring them in. People saying that these will be better next year with no re-fueling I'm sorry but I don't thinks so. Yes the tactical side will be harder but when to stop will just come in first rather than stay out longer. AS being lighter won't matter as they will all be fueled to the end but it will be better to put on new tyers and get good lap in before the car you are looking to beat does. The problem with cicuits like this one is that they are not racing cicuits so they have no rubber down so the F1 cars put the rubber down to get the grip but this means that it is so bad off line? May be the orginisers should get a F1 car and drive it round and round off line to put some grio there?

Great coverage again of the GP. Pity that again the only overtaking in the race happened in the pit lane, this is not what GP fans want to see. This track is just not suitable for good racing, however I understand that they have a contract for a few more years to hold a race which is a shame.

I found the race to be tense and intriguing, yeah it lacked an on track battle or 10 which is a great shame but the race was far from a snooze fest.

I just wish that the actual race coverage itself had been even half as good as the build up. Sorry but Legard is still making me want to throw things at the telly in frustration.

@nibs LMAO, you are bonkers.

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Hey Jake,

Great job on the show this weekend once again. The bbc really have put itv to shame over the F1 coverage, although i still would like to see crofty get the nod for commentary.
As for the weekend i thought the track and race were terrible once again, Bernie is really trying the patience of the fans these days. Some tracks should ALWAYS have gp and the way we are going we will lose all the classics except monaco. Was i the only one hoping the teams set up there own championship? Ferrari putting Badoer in the car was a bad decision too, he was a bad driver 10 years ago in his prime and now pushing 40 his performance was inevitable. I hope he is out the car for next weekend.

Hi Jake,

Fantastic as always. The race wasn't great to watch but the shots of the cars next to the water were. Would they be able to change the circuit to improve overtaking or is there just no room? I too wondered why Alonso didn't get penalised like button. But I thought neither should have got punished. Webber drove into Rubens and got away with it a few races ago so I don't see how he can argue that Button gained anything from cutting the corner. He may have caused a crash if he stayed on the track.

I thought Martin Brundle was right in what he did as he was live and also apologised to her afterwards on air.

Lewis looks so relaxed now and I liked what he said about the pitstop. He seems to have really matured. Hope Jenson doesn't just hang on to win the title but actually finds some form again.

Well done Ruben's.

"Nibs" You seem to only pick out what you want to hear. I don't like EJ's attitude much but I like the fact he and DC do not always agree and I look forward to the discussions. Did you work for ITV? :-)

Keep up the good work 91Èȱ¬. I'm enjoying all the coverage. Can't wait for first practice on Friday.

What about Button's shockers this season btw? Let's be honest here, the guy has done well at times but has been genuinely slower than Rubens in half of the gp's so far as well as the season before - and Rubens isn't exactly the fastest driver on the grid is he? Does anyone truly believe that Button has shown enough quality to merit the title of the best in the pinnacle of motorsport? The answer is nowhere near.

The general consensus (sic) is that his performance and progress shows striking similarities to Damon Hill in 96, who despite clinching it at the end dropped off under the pressure and nearly threw it away, and is remembered as no more than a 3rd tier driver who had easily the best car, good fortune and a teammate of limited capabilities - in other words one of the worst if not the outright worst world champion of all time.

With 3rd rate drivers leading the WDC and 3rd rate teams contesting the WCC, both for well-documented reasons regarding technical rules and in-team policies, it's no wonder that this year tv ratings, interest in mesasge boards etc and gp attendences worldwide have gone down the plug. Isn't that right Jake? Despite the agenda of your employers who need to justify spending millions for the product, and your own desperate efforts to convince us before or after every gp that it's soo exciting after all.

This circuit is the most boring we have seen for many years. Whilst the facilities may meet the requirements, visually it is docklands and factories etc. On television, there are no aesthetics and no atmosphere what so ever comes over. Figures quoted 100,000 plus attendees...where were they? All I saw were cars and cranes. It's so sad that we have seen great circuits removed from the calendar and that this circuit has had its future tied down.

I did enjoy the 91Èȱ¬'s coverage, the on board camera's worked well and of course, I am very happy that Ruben's got a win and that McLaren are back on the pace. Shame the racing and the venue let it sown.

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT EDDIE HAD ON? LOL!

As romantic as it might seem to have the pre-race commentating take place in the pit lane in front of the open garages, can we now admit that it can turn into a bit of a disaster? You, Eddie and David, and whomever you're interviewing, invariably end up shouting at each other and saying, 'I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch what you were saying!!!' It was so unfortunate yesterday that EJ was able to snaffle Schumacher only for us not to be able to hear his responses. I realise that matters are probably set in place for the rest of this year, but could the producers please look at something else for next year? Please, please, please?????

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@nibs
What is your problem? I've never read so much ranting drivel.

On a different note I see you're taking it in turns with the pink shirts lol. Davidoff pour homme. Every weekend you're giving people new ideas for their daughter's bedroom walls. And you Jake are you gonna present Dancing on Ice soon as I previously suggested, which surely you deserve with your distinctive 'silky' style, feminine face & 'smooth' outlook and after all that cbbc success? It'd be a huge hit, just look at all those replies from female admirers, houseviwes and teenagers who by and large haven't got a clue about motorsport. Or even dance in it you know, I think you'd look 'fabulous' in those tight lycras they wear. Dear oh dear...

Forgot to say that I though Martin's grid walk was great. I hope he sent the lady from Sky a bunch of flowers but it was very funny!

I'm pretty sure I could drive faster than Luca Badoer in my Clio.

Nibs - you have serious issues and I'm not sure we want to hear them.

I'm fairly cetain EJ did swear, but maybe he'd just caught sight of himself in the mirror. That outfit was truly shocking.
Personally I enjoyed the race and as a massive rubens fan I was really pleased to see him win after so long. It was an improvement on last year despite there still being a lack of overtaking.
Ferrari need to do something about Badoer, its just not right to see a Ferrari being driven like that. Personally i'd like to see Piquet jr in the car but that's mostly because I always enjoyed his race weekend perspective through twitter.
On a side note, nibs, don't write off all of Jake's female fans (and female motorsport viewers in general) as not having a clue. I'm 22 and have been watching f1 all my life and I know a number of girls who can certainly hold their own when debating the goings on of motorsport.
Great blog as always jake. Looking forward to your photo diary and for Spa next weekend

Hat off to Rubens. A truly stunning drive.

I'd also like to point out how good it was to see the reception he received back in the pit lane from all the other teams. It looked as though everyone there, no matter what team they were with, was applauding his long over due victory.

I would also like to say a big thanks to Jake and the pundits. It is such a breath of fresh air, to see these guys having some banter, rather than just the usual dull discussions we were used to on ITV.

Keep up the great work guys.

Great coverage as always this weekend - loving the white Tag Grand Carrera you are now sporting Jake - did you get it off your mate Lewis? if he's got any spare, send one my way will you? Ta!!

Nibs does have some valid points. How come some weeks ago Ruebens was being slagged off relentlessly for having a frustrated outburst about his team, yet when he wins all that is forgotten? And saying Kimi was 'lazy' but he has hardly being mentioned now he has been on the podium twce in a row? (he isn't lazy, just reserved and wants to be immune from the media circus). Oh, and how can we forget Eddie Jordan saying that Massa only had a slight knock before he even knew all the facts!?!?!?!?!? Was that so he could be seen as important for breaking a story first? Really low that is. And finally, what was Eddie Jordan on about saying 'we own Spa' yeah ten years ago maybe...jeez the paddock isn't big enough for that guy's super inflated ego :(.

ive just had the stopwatch on lewis second pitstop.it took 9.2 seconds to get the front wheels on.rubens pits, and his fronts are on in 4 seconds dead.lewis loses 5.2 seconds and ultimate;y the race.its absolute nonsense for martin whitmarsh to state that the brawns pace alone was the reason for lewis finishing second.it was a botched pitstop end of.you could tell by lewis body language in the press conference that he was absolutely furious, but being the guy he is,refusing to criticise anybody,at least on air.was anybody listening to john legards commentary,because before the pitstop the information was that rubens pace was the same as lewis and as such lewis was maintaning a 4 second gap between himself and rubens.if mclaren had made the right call then lewis would have passed rubens after his second stop and driven to victory.race wins are hard to come by in f1 and to just toss it away like that,has me questioning mr whitmarsh position in the organisation.thats it moan over,congrats jake on getting your racing licence....ever thought of dropping ferrari a line?

Nibbs . What ? , i REALLY must have missed your post cos i did not understand a word !..............

Also my comment earlyer re - re-fueling was concerning SUNDAYS race , meaning the only excitment WAS the pitstop, And FYI I used to shoot motor racing for TV so there is a very good chance that i at least know as much about it as you do , ..

@76 Really? So the fact that Rubins came out about 6 seconds ahead of Lewis meant nothing, nevermind the fact that Rubins stopped early than he needed to so he could cover off Lewis should there be a yellow flag or safety car incident.

Honestly I don't believe that anyone knows how the race would have worked out had McLaren not fluffed Lewis' pitstop, to me it seemed to tight to really call, even if I think Rubins would have won regardless (think not know).

McLaren didn't just toss away Lewis' advantage, they where desperately trying to give him the biggest one they could and in doing so they made a mistake. If they felt it was that safe then they wouldn't have given him the call to squeeze out an extra lap now would they which is what confused things. I am sure Lewis was bitterly disappointed and frustrated of being 'robbed' but I am also sure he knows it wasn't done on purpose and that everyone involved would already be kicking themselves so there was no need for him to join in in public.

He knows how hard everyone has worked to give him a car that went from back row garbage to race winner over the last couple of months and I also suspect he is professional enough to support his guys even when things go wrong....

fabmclarenfan: Your maths is slightly flawed: Because the fuel takes longer than the tyres at a pitstop, and both are carried out simultaneously, it wouldn't matter if it took Rubens 4 seconds and Lewis 6 for example if they both had 7 seconds of fuel. The time lost by Lewis would be 0 seconds, in real terms because both their stops would have been seven seconds long.

Now, using your figures 9.2seconds is 2.2 seconds more than the 7 seconds for fuel, so this (2.2 seconds) is the time lost compared to Barrichello in real terms.

Assuming Rubens backed off at the end of the race, he was about 4-6 seconds ahead of Lewis, so would have been about 2 or 3 seconds ahead even without the botched stop.

fabmclarenfan: I totally agree with scarletsupporter. To put it simply, you are just wrong. Sorry

I've goota say i agree with scarletsupporter as well, I believed that even without McClaren's mistake that RB would of been in the lead, it may of been been by only a second or so but i think he would of still been there. But then what a fight we may have seen to the chequered flag.

Nibs - I can more than hold my own in motorsport (especially F1) discussions, so i think you need to stop your ranting and go somewhere else.
I think you may hold the most number of comments to be removed in one blog. And that is not a great thing to be proud of