F1 Racing Thread

[Supervox]

Ok - well seeing as I asked & Fizz kindly agreed to make this a 'sticky' thread (on the proviso that it gets used regularly) I have the following suggestions :-

(a) This thread be for POSITIVE comments only - if you don't like F1 please don't litter up the thread with negative remarks.

(b) If anyone wishes to post remarks about a race within 24 hrs of that race then 'SPOILER' should be put at the top of the post - this will help prevent people finding results etc before they may have had chance to watch it - not everyone can watch them all live.


Ok, so to kick things off I'll ask which teams & drivers have your support this season ?

For me I'll have to admit to being a Lewis Hamilton fan - mainly because we haven't had a really top-grade British driver in a decent car for a number of years. However, others who I'd like to see do well this year are Heikki Kovalainen & Nico Rosberg becasue I think, along with LH they are the future of F1 & really have the ability & equipment to shake things up.

BTW - I'll also have to admit here that I LOATHE Ferrari !! (almost as much as I do Ducati !!) I have nothing against the drivers - just the attitude of the team & the way that the rules appear to have been bent to suit them so many times over the last 10 years or so.


** SPOILER SPACE **















Anyone watch today's qualifying ??

NOT a good day for Lewis - I just hope that his race pace, set-up & strategy makes up for it !!

Good idea, there's a few people on here that are big F1 fans, myself included.

I'm a big Lewis fan too. Nice to have a British driver in a top team with a realistic chance of winning races and hopefully a championship or 7.


Spoiler ***
































Not too good from Hamilton today though but then us Lewis fans would only be happy with pole or at least being ahead of the Ferraris. If he's carrying a few extra litres of fuel though he's still in with a good chance of a podium. Those Ferrari's did looked mightily fast, though

Should be a good race!

[fizzwheel]

Ferrari seem to have the qualiying setup licked. Heiki was quick to. Wander how Lewis will deal with having a quick team mate again, will it be mind games Alonso stylee ?

Setup problems with his car today me thinks, or they were concentrating on race pace maybe ?

Rain is forecast for some point tomorrow could be chaos !!!

I have to say I really enjoyed the austrailian Gp it so nice to see the cars moving around and sliding, and to hear an unrestrained by Traction Control engine note again.

As for Support

Well it'd be nice to see Roseberg building on his good start to the season and also BMW stepping up to. it be nice to see a 4 team battle for the top places rather than the usual ferrari vs Mclaren squabble.

Will Honda sort their car out will Button deliver on his promise, will the Adrian Newey designed Red Bull come good ?

[Supervox]

I don't forsee any mind games between LH & HK - unless they come from LH's dad - they seem to genuinely get along well - & I believe it will be good for McLaren to have 2 drivers pushing each other. it could also come down to RD's well documented history of favouring one driver - not with eqpt or personnel but just his own attitude - think back to DC & MH for examples.

You may consider me a bit sick & twisted here - but I have to admit that I'm really looking forward to a wet race - just to see how these guys handle 750 bhp without traction control !!

It appears that both Nick Heidfeld & Fernando Alonso have both lodged complaint regarding LH & HK - apprently they felt that they were held up by the McLaren pair on their final flying lap (LH & HK were on their slow down fuel saving lap after the chequred flag). So, we could see a change in the grid if they get a 5 place penalty.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the McLaren complaint about Renault cheating last year or trying to get BMW excluded due to fuel irrgularities ?

The politics begin again

[Supervox]

** SPOILER **













Now confirmed - Lewis & Heikki both demoted 5 places on the grid becasue of the incident mentioned above.

I hope it rains tomorrow, too. That'll really sort the men from the boys. Twas always great watching the likes of Senna and Alesi in the wet and we'll hopefully get the same sort of demonstration of car control if it pours down tomorrow - when it rains in Malasia, boy does it rain! It might even give the likes of Button and DC the chance for a point or two.

Seeing the repeated replays of Heidfeld passing the 2 McLarens, it did look mighty dangerous although there's no legislation saying that a minimum pace must be maintained after a driver has finished his qualifying run.. not yet, anyway. 5 places won't be too much of a penalty if the Heavens open, anything can happen when the safety car makes an appearance.

Anyone brave enough to make a prediction for the result?

I'm going for dry race:

1. Raikkonen
2. Massa
3. Hamilton

Wet race:

1. Hamilton (wishful thinking I know, but I don't think the oversteer problem he had in qualifying will be such a problem)
2. Raikkonen
3. Alonso

I used to be a massive F1 fan but then went off it. It seemed to go stale, but as you posted in your first item about positive comments only, I must say it seems to have improved a little this year. Taking away half of the driver aids etc seems to have really improved it. It also help having a competetive brit too. I really enjoyed last weeks! It will be even better when it moves across to the Beeb... no advert breaks! WooHoo.

[fizzwheel]

So if it rains, will they spin up as much as this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Jm4jNUjzs

Listen to it, sounds fricken awesome, I loved the Turbo era.

And another one, Cosworth V8 this time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xDMv...eature=related

Yeah, the turbo era with with over 1000bhp was amazing. Crazy cars. How they ever finished a race I will not know. Regardless, I'd love to see a wet race tomorrow.

[Supervox]

** SPOILER - RACE **
















Well, NOT a particularly good day for LH

Apart from the wheel fiasco - one of those things that happens I'm afraid - whoever made the final decision as to tyre selection (LH or Engineer ??) was wrong !! It was obvious from the lap times in his final stint that the 'Prime' tyre was the right choice for this race.

HK drove a solid race - nice to see him get his first podium for McLaren

KR did what LH did last time out - put in a faultless performance - I'd include in that his decision NOT to go for the inside line at the first corner !! I kind of wish he had though because that would have probably put both Ferrari's out on the first lap !!

FM - hmmm, driver error or mechanical fault ??

Quite a boring race really - some good battles mid-pack, but mostly dealt with by pit-stops instead of on the track where they should be

I know we're only 2 races into the season, but it's a nice change to see it close at the top of the table AND to see a new name (and team) there as well - Nick Heidfeld BMW - Kubica isn't far adrift either.

All in all I'd say it's shaping up to be a good season - no single team seems to have a runaway advantage & plenty of drivers wanting to make their mark