UN-Official Formula 1 Thread

[Matt34]

They don't show F1 over here so I was subjected to watching Nascar on a road course....in the rain!! They made it out to be the biggest deal every and I never saw so much crying in my life, there were at least two wrecks during caution laps (35mph).

Can't wait to get back and watch some real racing again.

 

[obscbyclouds]

NASCAR in the rain is a joke......

Toyota looked astonishingly fast at Hungary and Germany before that. I hope the trend continues, as more competition in F1 is always a good thing IMO. BMW Sauber seemingly loosing pace could help Toyota establish itself in the top tier of F1 teams.

So, the rumor mill continues. I'm interested to get all of your opinions on these questions:

Will Raikkonen retire at the end of 08?

Who will replace him at Ferrari? Will it be Alonso? Vettel?

Does Honda have a chance at Alonso? (Ross Brawn has been hinting that they would do anything to get him).

 

[annunaki]

Ferrari disappointed and impressed me at Hungary. Disappointed because they gave up a win, but impressed with the race pace.

As far as Kimi goes, he needs to get motivated, seriously. I believe he is bored in some cases and perhaps is challenging himself. The problem is that the championship is on the line. I feel he will see out his contract. However, if he does win the title again he may just step away.

I feel Alonso could end up at Honda. Mainly because Brawn is there and he is improving that dog of a car. The thing is that organizational efforts and restructuring take time to reap benefits. 2009 is the soonest we could start to see those improvements. Honda also is a leader in KERS based systems in the road car front.

Honda has the resources but needs direction. Brawn will be able to attact other highly regarded designers and such. He understands that you need a top tier driver to drive development. Button & Barichello are both good but not Alonso good. I feel that Brawn could have another Schumacher type run with Alonso, if Alonso is willing. I am willing to bet that Brawn will promise him #1 staus just like Michael had.

 

[obscbyclouds]

You make a good point about Alonso, he may want to be at a team where he is a definate #1. Especially after all the problems he had at McLaren. I still think Alonso is capable of challenging the likes of Hamilton, Massa and Kimi, but the Renault just isn't quick enough this year. But whats to say the Honda will be great in '09? They've been promising in the past, but have never really delivered. Brawn brings a great deal of experience, but F1 is definately more than a one (or even two) man show. It'll be interesting to see how it all unfolds.

Either way, I can't wait for the Valencia street race! That should be a great race, it's just too bad we have to wait 3 weeks.

 

[majorloser]

Massa's engine giving out with only a couple laps left reminded me of Kimi. Looks like his luck is rubbing off on Phil.

 

[annunaki]

Massa's engine giving out with only a couple laps left reminded me of Kimi. Looks like his luck is rubbing off on Phil.

LOL nice!

 

[annunaki]

Valencia should be entertaining. I just hope it is wide enough to allow overtaking. Monaco is great and all but it tends to be a procession. This track will be an unknown, I am expecting the unexpected.

 

[annunaki]

It's my favorite time of year! The weather is cooling and Spa is next up on the calendar. I LOVE that circuit.

I hope that Kimi kicks it into high gear and dominates like he has in the past. It is his only shot at reclaiming the title. I would hate to see him playing support to Felipe. The longer outlaps should mean he can get the tires up to temp (assuming it is dry) for a cracking good lap.

In Qualy last year (Session two),he broke the lap record. I would like to see if they are faster this time around.

A wet or wet/dry race will muck things up. If that happens, look for Vettel to potentially podium, if he does well in qualy (top 6). That kid is great in the wet. I am not so sure he transcends the car in the dry though.

BMW should be a player at this race and the next as it the circuits suit the car.


Ever since Schumacher left, there seems to be no one who you know can absolutely transcend the car, at any track, in any condition. Everyone else seems to have a chink or chinks in their armor someplace.

I will go out on a limb and say Alonso is the closest in the current grid.

 

[majorloser]

I think they taken too much good stuff out of the cars just so lesser teams can be more competitive. But it's backfired somewhat. The only real new contender has been BMW. The rest are still lagging behind Big Red and McLarceny.

I'm still gonna cheer for Kimi and Big Red, but Kubi with Beamer has turn into a real dedicated racer this year.

I just hope weather holds out so I don't lose electric or satellite reception this weekend.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

I'm crushed...............

Spa was awesome as usual and the racing from front to back was fun to watch.

The end result though.....

SBF1

 

[annunaki]

Spa was awesome as usual and the racing from front to back was fun to watch.

The end result though.....

SBF1

Good race..


Result stinks though. Kimi should have pitted for inters He may have won it then?

 

[majorloser]

The race was great. Kimi blew it in the end. Tried to get stupid in the wet.

 

[sploo]

The race was great. Kimi blew it in the end. Tried to get stupid in the wet.

Certainly was - one of the best I've seen in a while. Can't really be too harsh on Kimi; conditions looked pretty terrible for those last few laps.

Unfortunately, we've now got another result decided by the stewards (Hamilton's 25 second penalty). Niki Lauda didn't seem too impressed; describing it as "the worst judgement in F1 history", and "the most perverted judgement I have ever seen".

As a once Ferrari fan (now merely a neutral, interested in good racing) I have to say I don't think it's good for the sport. Ah well, here's hoping Monza gives us a similarly good race, but devoid of controversy.

 

[billy p]

I'll bet dollars to donuts if the shoe was on the other foot the Ferrari drivers would of never being docked those points. F1 racing is a joke and these kinds of decisions would make one think that its run by Ferrari .

 

[sploo]

I'll bet dollars to donuts if the shoe was on the other foot the Ferrari drivers would of never being docked those points. F1 racing is a joke and these kinds of decisions would make one think that its run by Ferrari .

I wouldn't disagree with you, though going down that avenue polarizes opinion so much that it's pretty hard to have a sensible discussion about it.

The problem is that no two incidents are identical, so it's difficult to be certain of bias one way or another (despite there being significant suspicion by many).

Certainly there doesn't appear to be any love lost between Mosley and Dennis, but you would've thought Max would be too busy being whipped by a lady in a Luftwaffe jacket to have time to cause McLaren problems

 

[STRONGBADF1]

I'm a Ferrari fan and I think the ruling stinks.

Certainly there doesn't appear to be any love lost between Mosley and Dennis

I'd bet Max is just sticking it to them.

SBF1

(p.s. Thanks major!)

 

[annunaki]

Being honest, I do not agree with the ruling either. Hamilton was going to get him either way I think.

I am happy that Ferrari got the points but not in the manner in which they were received.

Hopefully this does not factor into the championship too heavily. I hope Massa is able to walk away with the title at this point so it would not matter anyway.

Kimi has been quite disappointing this season. It just feels like he has lost the drive to win and the ability to transcend the car.



In other news, it appears Ross Brawn is going heavily after Alonso. He wants a driver to build a team around, who delivers consistent results, can develop the car, transcend the car, and motivate the team. The issue I can see with Alonso is the very last one. He does not strike me as the motivator that Schumacher was.

In any case, I do feel he is one of the best drivers to build a team around that would be available.

Any thoughts...

 

[sploo]

I'm a Ferrari fan and I think the ruling stinks.

Being honest, I do not agree with the ruling either. Hamilton was going to get him either way I think.

That does seem to be a thread I'm noticing with this ruling - even members of the "Tifosi" are expressing discomfort with the decision.

To be honest - I'd have been happy for either a Raikkonen or Hamilton win, as both were the class of the field at Spa.

The BBC site is now reporting that McLaren have lodged an official appeal (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7603179.stm).

Not that they've had much recent success with appeals have they .

I'd bet Max is just sticking it to them.

Given what Max likes to get up to in his spare time, that conjures up some unpleasant mental images .

In other news, it appears Ross Brawn is going heavily after Alonso.

Yea, that one's been dragging on for a while. Brawn is obviously a fan, though Alonso has indicated he wants to stay where he is. To be honest, Renault are reasonable at the moment, Honda are dire, there's loads of rumours about Alonso moving to Ferrari (especially with the talk of Raikkonen losing interest and potentially retiring). Can't see why he'd want to jump ship at this stage.

Also, Jenson Button must be crying into a pint - he drove a reasonable Williams, and got dumped for Montoya, then drove a poor Benetton, getting dumped for Alonso as the team became Renault (and with a better car), then went to BAR/Honda, with recently terrible cars, and now talk of Alonso turning up again!

 

[annunaki]

Button is a classic example of a good driver always being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had a good car once in 2004. Good enough to win...

...had Ferrari not been miles ahead of every one else.

I hope McLarceny's appeal gets accepted and the ruling reversed. It is for the benefit of the sport.


I feel that Honda could be a player next year as they are so good with hybrid tech. If they get a reasonably decent chassis, they could be fighting mid-pack to podiums consistently.

The moveable aero is going to play a big role in '09 as is KERS.

BMW should be quite good also. That super computer has been running non stop for almost a year now for the 2009 car. Aero efficiency will again be important as will creativity.

Ferrari should be fine with Nicolas Tombazias (sp) running the aero again along with any team who has strong chasis and aero designers.

Reliability should be at play again as well.

That does seem to be a thread I'm noticing with this ruling - even members of the "Tifosi" are expressing discomfort with the decision.

To be honest - I'd have been happy for either a Raikkonen or Hamilton win, as both were the class of the field at Spa.

The BBC site is now reporting that McLaren have lodged an official appeal (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7603179.stm).

Not that they've had much recent success with appeals have they .




Given what Max likes to get up to in his spare time, that conjures up some unpleasant mental images .




Yea, that one's been dragging on for a while. Brawn is obviously a fan, though Alonso has indicated he wants to stay where he is. To be honest, Renault are reasonable at the moment, Honda are dire, there's loads of rumours about Alonso moving to Ferrari (especially with the talk of Raikkonen losing interest and potentially retiring). Can't see why he'd want to jump ship at this stage.

Also, Jenson Button must be crying into a pint - he drove a reasonable Williams, and got dumped for Montoya, then drove a poor Benetton, getting dumped for Alonso as the team became Renault (and with a better car), then went to BAR/Honda, with recently terrible cars, and now talk of Alonso turning up again!

 

[sploo]

Yea, good points.

I've been looking forward to the 09 season. Whilst I'm amazed by the aero bits on the cars these days (the McLaren and Ferrari front wings are simply works of art), the teams are now so dependent on aero that even following another car seems to give drivers problems.

Hopefully the new aero regs (stripping of the aero winglets) will aid overtaking, as will the selectable boost from the KERS.

The moveable aero is an interesting area. I guess drivers can tweak lots of stuff already, so I can see it playing a part on long straights, but otherwise I'm not sure what they're going to do with it. I expect automatic changes won't be allowed (driver input only) and I think it's only 2 changes per lap, so presumably that'll limit it to one setting at the start of the straight, and back to another at the end.