[F1] China GP

[LUD02C]

Can't wait to see what teams do what.
New track and no data for every team should be interesting.
Times will change from day to day so when it comes to race day i think none of us could guess the winner.

2004 China Grand Prix
Timetable

Friday 24
September
13.00-14.00 Friday Practice 1
16.00-17.00 Friday Practice 2

Saturday 25
September
11.00-11.45 Saturday Practice 1
12.15-13.00 Saturday Practice 2
15.00 Saturday Pre-Qual
16.00 Saturday Qualifying

Sunday 26
September
16.00 Race

[XXpl0Sive]

Hey I'm in China right now, it's on TV everynight, well a build up to it :)

[enoch]

haha
race day's on my bday..
hahaha

[Javed]

what time is it televised on channel 10, anybody know?

[sugapopcandy]

26th September
Sydney - 3.30pm

[7th Gen]

are we having a tipping comp for this round as well?

[Hondavirgin]

You'd have to bet on Schumacher for sure for this event, no data, new track, no-one knows it etc.....

thats when Schumachers natural driving talent comes through, he doesn't need as much time to get up to speed......

[jackosimm]

cant wait for this GP!!

[LUD02C]

are we having a tipping comp for this round as well?

Sure are! :D
Tip away.
Last tip has to be in by 1pm est on sunday.
Use this thread ;)

[EXIT]

1. JB
2. KR
3. RB

i so wanted to pick TS in top3.... but his charging engine... ohwel

[LUD02C]

1. JB
2. KR
3. RB

i so wanted to pick TS in top3.... but his charging engine... ohwel

Hey Exit
We tip the top 8.
Can you please modify your post :)

[LUD02C]

Pre-Qualifying just finsihed.
Less then 8 minutes to qualifying.
Go Michael, Kimi is close behind.

I hope JV gets pole.

[7th Gen]

barrichello on pole
schumacher last after a spin?!?!?!?!

[7th Gen]

better put in my tips:

1. Button
2. Barrichello
3. Schumacher, M (if anyone can do it, he can)
4. Montoya
5. Raikkonen
6. Sato
7. Alonso
8. Villeneuve (lottery pick)

[7th Gen]

sato changed an engine yesterday?!?!? so his 9th place in qualifying puts him at the back with the schu

better stay out of the way, with those 2 hard chargers coming from the back of the pack who knows what could happen, esp. at the first corner aka 'the snail' :D

[LUD02C]

MS spun on the very first corner.
In the press release he said he went way to fast in there, and it was driver ever!
Scary thing is that in the past two rounds he has done something wrong which proves his human lol

Jaques did well, this is the first time he is doing this stupid way of qualifying.
Watching Sato and MS coming through will be good, I think Button has a chance in this race!

[7th Gen]

well we will be able to see it all tomorrow at a sane hour in the afternoon

[LUD02C]

well we will be able to see it all tomorrow at a sane hour in the afternoon

I know, I have now watched 7 GP's at normal times this year.
Such a good year.
I might go to Europe every year!

[enoch]

ill so love it to see schuey come back...
go scheuy!!
i have a feeling he's gonna retire soon...

[LUD02C]

i have a feeling he's gonna retire soon...

He isn't going to retire until someone beats him race after race.
He said that this week in a press release.
Look on f1-live.com for the story.

My predictions.

1. Rubens
2. Alonso
3. Button
4. Massa
5. Jaques
6. Couthard
7. Webber
8. Heinfeld

MS and Sato will get hit from the back markers or something.

[LUD02C]

P. No Driver Team - Engine Tyres Gaps/Laps Average Stops
1. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1h29'12"420 205.313 Km/h 3
2. 9 BUTTON BAR Honda M + 0'01"035 205.273 Km/h 2
3. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M + 0'01"469 205.257 Km/h 3
4. 8 ALONSO Renault M + 0'32"510 204.074 Km/h 2
5. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M + 0'45"193 203.594 Km/h 2
6. 10 SATO BAR Honda M + 0'54"791 203.233 Km/h 2
7. 11 FISICHELLA Sauber Petronas B + 1'05"464 202.832 Km/h 3
8. 12 MASSA Sauber Petronas B + 1'20"080 202.287 Km/h 3
9. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M + 1'20"619 202.266 Km/h 3
10. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1 lap(s) 2
11. 7 VILLENEUVE Renault M 1 lap(s) 2
12. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1 lap(s) 3
13. 18 HEIDFELD Jordan Ford B 1 lap(s) 2
14. 17 PANIS Toyota M 1 lap(s) 3
15. 19 GLOCK Jordan Ford B 1 lap(s) 2
16. 21 BAUMGARTNER Minardi Cosworth B 3 lap(s) 3
17. 20 BRUNI Minardi Cosworth B 18 lap(s) 2
18. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 19 lap(s) 3
19. 16 ZONTA Toyota M 21 lap(s) 3
20. 15 KLIEN Jaguar Cosworth M 45 lap(s) 1



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

[[ slayer ]]

YAY! go Button :) so was hoping he would catch Barrichello when he was in the pits, but never mind... second is still sweet

[bigteethygrin]

yeah was an awesome race!.. watched it at one world in parra and was so good to see MS not steal another one.. I think jacque did well for his first race return.. and button was great!.. did anyone else hear Martin brundle mention that BAR looked like it will keep JB for 05 season??

[7th Gen]

sometimes i just can't stand the parochialism of the commentators, esp. when they talk about button

"oh, it looks like button could get his first podium this year" etc - it just gets a bit boring after a while.....

well the scrap at the end between button and raikkonen was good, who knows, if there was a few more laps the result could have been different...

[LUD02C]

I'm not a fan of the Sepang track and i must admit i really dislike this track.
I can't wait till they get to a real racetrack again in Brazil Intergalous (sp)

[jackosimm]

yes the up coming races should be interesting to finalise the contructores finishings behind Ferrari.

[7th Gen]

mathematically impossible for button to get 2nd now, 3rd in the drivers champ is in the bag for him

BAR and renault still battling it out for 2nd in the constructors

[LUD02C]

Watch Jacques and Alonso at Suzuka!
I think it will be a 3-4 finish.
Track suits the Renault perfect.

Kimi to win Brazil (unless it rains like last year and everyone goes off on turn 3 lol)

[tekling]

kimi is crap

[LUD02C]

kimi is crap

What people like you don't understand is that there is no crap drivers there.
You have to be a great driver to be in a F1 car.

Oh and please tell me how you come to the conclusion that he is "crap"

[pornstar]

big teethy, yer i heard that too. Button more likely gonna be a BAR guy?
Why isnt Sato up there!!!grrrr oh well his doing well, not bad but Id hoped for more.

Suzuka, u think Honda would do well there...

Im betting that BAR keeps second, I know that Sato will really excel in the Jap race, i hope :)

[bigteethygrin]

yeah lets hope like with the motogp riders that sato has done 5 times more laps in the japan circuit than any other driver

[Hondavirgin]

Almost every driver out there has won national and international titles already to get where they are.

I reckon regardless of the CRB's decision, Button will be at Williams, why would BAR want a driver in there that doesn;t want to be there, they'd be better off getting some $$ out of Williams and going shopping....i know I'm free for 18 weekends next year! :wave:

Does Coulthard have a drive yet?

[LUD02C]

I know what your saying but Button got them to 2nd place so far in the CWD and Sato really has done nothing. (think before you reply to this)

Also with coming 2nd in the constructers you get alot of money more then what Williams would give and coming in the top 6 or 8 not sure if they changed it you get money and free transportation etc.

I wouldn't let him go if i was Dave Richards.

Coulthard still hasn't announced anything yet.
I hope he stays in F1 he is a great driver with good experience.

[7th Gen]

hmm, i don't know if sato hasn't really done 'nothing' - being the only asian driver he's good for the PR and marketing side as honda's golden boy, esp. in markets like china, malaysia and of course home turf japan

he has the speed (3rd in US!) but sometimes has the tendency to self-destruct or there's the odd mechanical gremlin with engine blow-ups or whatever - starting from the back in China and to come 6th is pretty good :D

i'm not ashamed to be a diehard sato fanboy :D :D

as for coulthard, well, he's like the driver who always couldn't (win a championship that is). there was talk he was going to jaguar but since they've pulled out, who knows? maybe testing?

[LUD02C]

Yeh him being asians has helped him in opinion to, with bringing alot of money and sponsors from asia into F1.
F1 is very European based and runned which is changing (which is good)
Another race in the asian district would be good for the sport to. (get rid of Silverstone and get the lazy british to build a real track;))

[EXIT]

was a pretty good race !! the back straight where 4cars can drag at the same time were exciting !!
regarding to kimi, i reckon his the best driver on the grid right now !! foucs and hungry for a win/WDC.
i think asia needs more go kart events !!! maybe then in 10years time we will see some result !! most of the good "asian" racer get trained in England or france !

[LUD02C]

Kimi best driver on the track?
Sorry but i disagree.
Michael is the best driver out there by a long shot.

Remember it comes to testing and qualifying etc.
Not just race day, also the amount of experience.
Alonso is in Kimi catergory in my opinion.
Jacques and Coulthard are both great drivers.

[pornstar]

i think kimi is actaully a better driver. I jsut think its teh car under michael that is the difference between them.

[Hondavirgin]

Yeah, Sato's got two things going for him.

1. He's asian, which Honda loves.
2. He's quick, very quick.

I know he tends to self destruct but he's young, he'll mature, and i think if he does manage to mature he'll be a contender in the future. I'm also a Sato fan, coz he drives, doesn't hang around waiting for a pit stop to pass someone..

And it would be bad for team morale if the mechanics have to bust their arse for someone who they know wanted to leave the team. I think better to let Button go (they still get their second place $$) and pick up coulthard for a year.

Who knows, maybe coulthard can make a go of it in his last chance? And if not, he's steady and will rack up points.

[LUD02C]

i think kimi is actaully a better driver. I jsut think its teh car under michael that is the difference between them.


I'm sorry but you can't be for real.
Even in the same car Michael would beat him.


Sato a front contender?
I doubt that, he has the same car as Button and he isn't doing as well.
Yes he has come 3rd that was a one off, and from memory half the field wasn't there.
Its like saying when Fisichella won he will be the next WDC.

Next WDC contenders are (in my opinion only)

Kimi
Button
Juan (next few years only)
Webber (depends on how he goes in Williams)
Alonso

Sato might be a Coulthard and just be the "2nd" driver for a team mate, but i can't see him being number 1 driver at BAR.

[Hondavirgin]

sorry, by Sato being a contender i meant for race wins, not titles, Button has to be the hot pick for titles once Schumacher retires, if he ever does, Kimi is about on par with Button i think, maybe slightly better on his day.

although its hard to judge on this years performances from him, he's had terrible luck, but then again, last year Schumacher had bad luck which let him fight for the title.

I think Juan would be a chance, but like you said, he's running out of time and Schumacher wont retire for a few years yet, and he can't beat him in a straight fight.

Rubens could do it if Schumacher retired, depending on if the Ferrari boys stayed with the team after he left.

And Sato's young, so he's quick but makes mistakes, give him time and I think he'll do well in the right car.

[jackosimm]

yeh good point about if the Ferrari crew remain, becuase as F1 magazine reported, when they invited Schumacher into Maranello they simply said, name the price, bring who you want, choose the second driver and do it your way. Once Schumacher retires, which wont be to atleast end of 2005, where will his crew go?

[LUD02C]

His crew will go to the next big team who is dominating F1 or work for another team trying to bring them up to the big boys field.

[7th Gen]

do you think his crew will all stay together? i mean, as with drivers, isn't it all to the highest bidder/best package etc? like drivers the tech crew are just another commodity

great article in this month's wheels on chris dyer (schu's race engineer), also with sam micheal at williams its good to see a few aussies involved in F1

as well as paul stoddart and mark webber of course :D

[7th Gen]

it might be a bit off-topic but the 'chinese connection' is there:
jean todt and michelle yeoh (bond girl in 'tomorrow never dies') to marry

http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/29/1096401636611.html

[Hondavirgin]

I reckon his crew will scatter, some of them probably even retire.

[jackosimm]

yeh well with Jean Todt likely to take over Max Mosley possibly as early as 2006, the remaining crew would not be the same without his control.

[7th Gen]

i thought Jean Todt as well as running the F1 race team is also running the road car operation of Ferrari?

[LUD02C]

i thought Jean Todt as well as running the F1 race team is also running the road car operation of Ferrari?

He is the genius who basically designed the Pug 205 T16

[enoch]

he's marrying michelle yeoh?
=S
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