Mon 7 Apr 2008
F1:2008 - The commentators’ responsibility re Hamilton and Alonso
Posted by Craig under Formula 1 with the tags commentators • F1:2008 • Fernando Alonso • Formula 1 • ITV • James Allen • Lewis Hamilton • Martin BrundleDuring yesterday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton managed to smash his McLaren straight into the back of Fernando Alonso’s Renault whilst accelerating out of a corner.
It’s not the first time two cars have had a coming-together like this, but it is mighty unusual for it to happen which caused a wide range of “reasons” to be put forward in explanation.
From Lewis’s onboard camera it looked like he was simply faster than Alonso and didn’t move to the side in time to overtake, therefore ending up hitting the Renault. Why would he do that though? Who knows, he certainly wouldn’t have done it on purpose so presumably he just misjudged things - in other words he made a mistake.
Now during a race, obviously we don’t know what Lewis really thinks, or what Alonso thinks either for that matter, as we are rarely allowed to hear what is being said on the team radios - and what we do hear rarely is anything of any value.
The reactions of F1 drivers are incredible - you only have to look at how Heikki Kovalainen managed to avoid Lewis at the start yesterday for evidence of that - so it is strange that Lewis would simply run into another car when it is sitting there right in front of him.
During this period of uncertainty over the cause of the accident, people’s minds were spinning trying to think up other reasons for the crash. As a UK resident, ITV are my only viewing option so I was presented with Martin Brundle and James Allen’s views on the matter - who suggested that Alonso had perhaps deliberately lifted to ensure Hamilton would collide with him.
To me this seemed like utter nonsense (why would Alonso want to risk having an accident himself just to ensure he hindered Hamilton as well?), but the normally level-headed and straight-talking Brundle brought the matter up a few times. Unfortunately we were not presented with another replay of the incident so he didn’t get a chance to either confirm or deny his first suspicions.
Many people who are following F1 simply because of Lewis Hamilton will watch the broadcasts on TV and that will be their total involvement with F1 until the next race. In the meantime, they will be assuming Brundle is right in what he said and that Alonso was out to do Lewis Hamilton harm. This will do nothing to ease the tension that already exists between Hamilton and Alonso fans - something that may come to a boiling point given that the next race is in Barcelona.
Now that the race is over and everyone has had their say, Alonso has denied any wrongdoing, something that has been backed up by Renault’s telemetry readouts from his car which proved he did not lift off at any point. Lewis to his credit has also said he simply made a mistake (or two, including the start) and it was all his fault.
It has even been suggested by McLaren that the front wing on Hamilton’s car may have failed even before he hit Alonso’s car, which resulted in him being unable to steer out of the way and also prompted a significant speed increase at the least opportune moment.
I’m not sure I believe this last part - it would be the most unfortunate of times for a front wing to fail, and I can’t remember seeing Hamilton try to steer around Alonso but for the car simply keep heading straight on.
Who knows, but the upshot is that it was in no way Alonso’s fault that Lewis Hamilton ran into the back of him, but I bet a fair number of people still think it’s his fault, even today after Lewis has taken the blame.
Commentators are obviously paid to talk about what they see, and in controversial incidents they have to give their opinion - but I think it’s imperative that they give some thought as to what the aftermath may be.
Giving the TV companies the facilities to replay action as and when they please rather than when the director wants them to would seem the best way forward - then Brundle could have looked at the incident over and over (preferably from all available angles) before passing his final judgement.
Team radio may also have been of benefit - even if they don’t want to broadcast every piece of information to us viewers (and the opposing teams), it may be possible for Bernie to let them allow the broadcasters access so they can pass on information regarding incidents like this.
I won’t hold my breath though!
April 7th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
“it would be the most unfortunate of times for a front wing to fail”
replays appeared to show lewis rubbing front wheels with another car prior to has accident. he could caused some minor damage.
“Giving the TV companies the facilities to replay action as and when they please”
itv (and every television station) have this option, but they choose not to use it. probably because employing more people is expensive. the multi-angle thing is more difficult, but FOM can do this.
April 7th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Stranger things have happened I suppose Sidey so perhaps the wing really did fail - surprised Hamilton hasn’t seemed to mention it so far.
Surely ITV could use Kravitz or Goodman to cover the replays, get a bit more value for money from their salaries! Louise’s interview with Button yesterday was all very interesting for example, but it seemed to go on forever!
April 7th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
“Surely ITV could use Kravitz or Goodman to cover the replays, get a bit more value for money from their salaries!”
it’s the techies that they need. someone to cue up the relevent bits for replay, then a means of communicating what’s about to happen back to the commentators.
should be possbile to do back in the UK. for example someone cues and cuts the montage that runs at the end of the show from action throughout the race (or at least they used to, don’t remember seeing it this year).
April 7th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Stick your CV in the post, you would be perfect
April 7th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I would have to ever-so-slightly, and mean that, ever-so-slightly defend Brundle and Allen. Because there was no replay, we had to rely on the initial glimpse we saw of the incident. And because of the nature of the accident, I think it is reasonable to say, initially, that the car in front slowed slightly, causing the car behind to collide.
However, like many others, it the insistence of the phrase “brake-testing” that irked me. There have been many occasions in the past when drivers have lifted the throttle due to a problem with the car or because of danger ahead. In these cases, it wouldn’t necessarily be the lead drivers fault as he felt his actions would be the best thing to do at the time. But this reason was hardly mentioned in the commentary, and it was this that has caused the considered fury among fans. That and the perceived relationship between the two drivers involved.
April 7th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
I agree that it was a strange thing to happen, and that the cause of Brundle’s comments was because it’s highly unlikely for an F1 car to catch another so quickly in the way that Hamilton’s caught Alonso.
This could be down to two factors, either the car in front was slower than normal for some reason, or the car behind was quicker than usual for some reason.
The second factor is rare, but appears to have been the case as McLaren now confirm Lewis lost his front wing 2 seconds before the impact with Alonso. This apparently reduced drag and allowed him to accelerate much quicker than usual, therefore catching Lewis unawares.
I can see the logic of Brundle and Allen not even thinking this possible (I hadn’t thought it likely myself), and while I think the possibility of Alonso slowing should have been put forward, I didn’t like the way it was handled.
Most F1 fans will know the truth of what happened by now, or certainly by the next race, but non-F1 Hamilton fans may be under the false impression it was all Alonso’s fault forever more.
There is enough fuel on that fire already without anyone else adding to it!