Son of Bob

I now have this mental image of Ponty shovelling sand into a Renault nose cone whilst berating Alonso for eating too many pies!

They'll probably give him a 25 second penalty for not letting Massa catch him up! :-s

I loved the way they repeated the overtake about 10 times on Chinese TV... Like it was someting exciting and unexpected! Nothing wrong with the move in my eyes, as long as the driver giving up the place is taking that decision themselves.

Ponty in McLaren/Hamilton bashing shocker...

I agree. Maybe it's bacause he's black! Seriously though. Is all this negative press really necessary? A couple of misdemeanors and he's the devil incarnate himself on the racetrack. I just don't get it myself. You'd think these other drivers had never made a mistake in their life, it's just so self righteous. I just hope Lewis plonks it on pole and stays there all the way to the chequered flag. It'll be even better if Massa tangles with Alonso, leaving them both in the gravel as they try to pat each other on the back as Alonso lets him through. I suspect if that happened then Lewis would then get a 25 second penalty for lapping the last place Force India on the pit straight and endangering the other Ferrari 50 seconds behind him in 4th place. Cynical? Me? Never!

I'm guessing I'm not needed as I'm not on the squad list and Steve hasn't texted so I won't be there at all. I don't know what time it is anyway!

I think Button would have done a much better job than Heikki to be honest. He's one of those drivers that will never realize his potential. His smoothness and understanding of corners is a joy to watch but he's never had the car to prove himself in. He always seems to make bad moves at the wrong time! I reckon if he'd been in a McLaren this year he'd have been challenging for the title as no-one has really stood out this season.

I can play if you need me Steve. Text me if you do.

Boooo. Another insult! I was lucky because I was caught prior to it being deemed a criminal offence. It was just a driving offence then hence I got a 12 month ban and a £230 fine. No courses or anything required for me.

I'm hurt! I'm a spritely 35 thanks very much.

To be honest MB I've always felt very hard done by as it wasn't as though I made a concious decision to get in a car and drive, knowing I was p*$$ed. I can guarentee that virtually every driver on here has done what I did and quite a few probably will do this weekend. You just don't realise how long you stay over the limit for. I remember I didn't even feel hung over at the time! At least it's made me very careful about getting in the car too early at weekends.

I'm ashamed to admit I lost my license back in 1992 but I was a slightly irresponsible 19 year old at the time. I got caught on the old 'morning after' rap. I got pulled for having a defective rear light at about 7 in the morning and I'd had a few beers the night before and the copper smelt it on my breath. I was only just over but it taught me a valuable lesson about driving too early the day after a bender! As for affecting my job it wasn't an issue as I just caught the bus or got a lift! The worst bit was the 12 month loss of independance and having to spend the year after I got my license back catching up on all the lifts I owed my mates!

I use an old set of Ping Eye 2's but to be fair I haven't found anything to better them. I recently brought a set of MD irons that seem to be highly recommended in every test I've seen them in but I just didn't get on with them. I ended up selling them to a mate and going back to the Pings. I've had them for about 7 or 8 years now! I think the 2 most important clubs in the bag are a good wedge and a putter you feel comfortable with. I've had my trusty Cleveland Tour Action 53 degree copper wedge for about 5 years now and I've never known one club make such a difference to my game. It saves me 4 or 5 shots a round every time without fail. Putters are a very personal thing but find one you like and watch the shots drop off! I now use a Taylor Made Monza Rossa Corza. It's a big beast of a club but after many years of over experimentation with putters I've finally found one I love.

The whole of F1 is turning into a bit of a joke now days. I have been an avid viewer since the late 70's and whilst I remain loyal to it now, it rarely provides the thrills I remember back in those days. It's become an over-governed technological freak show with all the suspense and wheel to wheel battling of a walk in the park with my daughters push chair. We now have to endure an era where races are won and lost on how much a team has spent on the latest carbon fibre flicked up oddity to be born of their £50 billion wind tunnel facilty in Switzerland (or wherever). An era where drivers are positively discouraged from having the bare faced cheek to overtake someone anywhere other than in the pit lane and if they do, they'll be swifly punished with a time penalty. An era where the governing body unashamedly show favouritism to one particular team and somehow manage to get away with it, assumably because they are the governing body and no-one can question them. It makes my blood boil and whilst Hamilton has his rough edges, he shows the balls and raw-driving talent that made F1 the amazing spectacle it once was. Punishing him for the first corner incident at Japan was a ****ing joke. No more, no less. The precedant has been set now and unless every driver who causes any sort of incident like that in the first bend is punished equally it will again show the FIAs prejudice. The time penalties thrown around by the FIA are absolutely comical and soon it's going to get to the stage where F1 becomes nothing more than show jumping with wheels. It'll be a case of everyone finishing the race and then adding up their time penalties to see who the winner is. It ****ing ****es me off I tell you... Rant over and here's a glimpse of what F1 is all about for the younger amongst you. Think how many time penalties Arnoux would have got for this little tussle (obviously Villeneuve would be exempt due to driving a Ferrari). And for what it's worth, Jeremy Clarkson is right. Gilles Villeneuve was the greatest driver ever in F1 and I don't mind admitting I cried like a baby when he was killed in Belgium.

I don't think I'd want to drive anywhere rapidly in a car with a 2 star NCAP rating!

Agreed. I always play much better when doing Stableford. It takes the pressure off you if you have a bad hole. Stableford is also good for me as I play off 18 at the moment which makes scoring easier! Back to the original question in the thread, a massive part of the game is in the preperation of the shot, eg your address and grip. I have been playing for around 20 years and my handicap did get down to about 12 at one stage but I'm constantly hampered by using a grip and stance that feel comfortable rather than what's right. The only person who can truly advise you on how to get these things right is a PGA pro and listening to other peoples advice will usually just teach you their bad habits. Go and have some lessons and it will make a world of difference.

2 start NCAP. Oh dear! Very few cars are that bad.

I'd feel a right numpty driving round in one of those! £50k???? This on the other hand is awesome... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=w9AOhPgCNJs&feature=related

Oh I agree whole heartedly with most of what you say there but you still miss the point that he matched Alonso last season in an identical car.

Agreed. I like Kubica. He's everything your average F1 driver shouldn't be. He always makes me laugh for some reason. A great driver though f'sure.

I would have liked to have seen Jenson Button given a decent drive 4 or 5 years ago. I still think he had the makings of a great driver. His time has passed now though.

:smt042 Sorry Ponty, I know you don't like Lewis that much and I know you're ITK in the Formula 1 arena but Hamilton is a great driver. Last season proved that where when he matched (and mostly eclipsed) the World Champion in an identical car. I know you'll probably defend the 'Incredible Sulk' with theories of favouritism etc but he was made to look 2nd best by a rookie. Having been an avid viewer of F1 since the 70's I'd like to think I have some idea of what makes a good driver. The only thing that I find off-putting about him is his slight arrogance and his 'fakeness' in front of the camera.

I'm an 80% possibilty if you need me. I'll let you know nearer the weekend.

I hope so. I've always liked them as a team.

Don't get over confident Al. I thought I was untouchable. I had a clean licence for 18 years despite driving over half a million miles with frequent disregard for speed limits. Then, bang, I got caught twice in 3 weeks and now have 6 points! Ironically my driving has really slowed down in the last 2 years as well due to the responsibilities of parenthood.