New thread people, old one was getting abit to long etc.
Discuss races, gossip whatever you please!
Printable View
New thread people, old one was getting abit to long etc.
Discuss races, gossip whatever you please!
What a race at Imola.
Watching the first 12 laps, I was amazed with BAR and giving them full credit saying how good they turned it around in 18 days, then Ferrari BANG!
Michael was nearly and at one stage was lapping 2 seconds quicker then Alonso and then Button sort of layed down his quickest times but Michael was still lapping 1.56 quicker.
As everyone else was saying, imagine if he didn't make the mistake during qualifying, he would of won the race by 3 minutes, and then the usual complaints would of happened "Ferrari this and Michael that"
To bad about Rubens and Fisichella, even though they didn't say what happened to Fisichella I'm sure that was a punchure.
Kimi oh Kimi, how pissed off must this guy be, everytime he has the chance of winning (yes he was on lighter fuel) the car can NEVER perform for the kid.
But Wurz had no problems with his Mclaren and for a guy that hadn't raced in 4-5 years did a spectacular job!
Villeneuve finished 6th with a very solid drive and both toyotas getting points in 7th and 8th.
My highlight was the battle between Massa and Coulthard in which it ended with Massa giving him the finger! CLASSIC.
Now for the worlds biggest wanker award to .............MARTIN BRUNDLE.
After his comment on Webber not really liking him because he still blames Webber for crashing into Fisichella in Malaysia, after Fisichella has admitted it was his fault and all that Brundle the dumb englishman doesn't understand.
Webber last night was BAD.
3 times he made mistakes which cost him 3 places, again Heidfeld finished ahead of him.
Thats my wrap up, well done Ferrari and BAR
the Ferrari had good braking power, I remember when michael was right behind button and he out braked him by a mile. I would say thats where ferrari got most of their speed.
Man Sato and button were great! Hondas back in it!
When Michael passed Button through the back markers that came down to experience through traffic in my opinion.
I do think BAR could be back in it.
bloody great race!!! been waiting for one of those for a while now lol, spectacular finish its been ages since a climax like that....or anti climax lol great fight there. Anooyed as hell i missed the first 30 laps cause my mate wouldn drive me home and i didnt have my car!! ah well, great second half of the race:thumbsup:
Kimi - The man that threw his steering wheel through a mirror and hit a black cat that was standing under a ladder......
This race proves that Max Moselys new rules were not "A Success" (as he heralded them). Altogether though, it was a great race and absoloutely entertaining. the last 15 laps were a real nailbighter.
This cements my view that Mark Webber will never be a world champion. He deserves to be in Formula 1, but he will be lucky to win a race. He makes too many mistakes and is not fast enough as a whole. He has consistently been outpaced by his team mate, even though he starts ahead of him on the grid on almost all occasions.
Too bad kimi retired, then we would have seen a 3 way battle for the lead :(
I still agree with martin in the fact that he should have given fisichella more room. I think it was 60-40, but not as martin said that it was webbers fault, but fisichella 60, webber 40. He should have pulled a move like kimi did on massa. That would have made more sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by LUD02C
Kimi would have been another 5 seconds down the road from Alonso and Sch at that stage, I dont think it would have been the huge 3-way the commentators think it woulda been
dont forget kimi was light fueled at the start, so alonso would have made up alot of ground in the first pitstops. He was only about 3 seconds down the road when his car failed, so you never know??? it most probably would have been three way.
baah im so cut!.. i missed the whole race.. T_T
i tired recording it.. but fkn only taped 30 mins of it coz it was near the end of the tape -_-"
anywyaz michael is sucha freak lolz... im lik 13th... no way... then i come bak n find out he finished 2nd...*shock*..
congrats to BAR HONDA... very happy @ where they finished..
they can only improve from here..
im deff gonna stay home for the next round..!
2 weeks.. cant wait!
By the way, just to put the championship into perspective:
-If Schumacher wins EVERY race from now on, and Alonso finished second, Schumacher will only win the championship by 4 POINTS!
Finally my team finished the race. (BAR). After travellign to Melbourne to watch how shitty their pace was, and to watch the next 2 rounds of hell. Their pace looks good, By the sounds of it their majority of problems was under a heavy fuel load, the car didnt behave how Jensen wanted it to. Well the testing and improvement since Bahrain was really good, however everyone is shitting their dacks after watching that damn Ferrari last night. I hate ferrari and I hate MSC. Sato is my man, driving a solid 5th!!! WOOOT
Quote:
Originally Posted by Javed
Word.
Just curious, has BAR Honda brought out their new car yet? If not, when? Any ideas? :)
Yes they have been running the 007 since the start of the season. Hadm ajor reliability/ aero problems with it up until bahrain where it showed some reasonable pace, however the reliability was not there with Taku's brakes shot, and Jensens clutch shitting itself. The testing between bahrain and imola at the practice tracks at barcelona and paul ricard showed some blinding pace with Jensen setting an unofficial lap record around PR. Takuma also posted extremely good times. Hopefully we will start seeing the lads keep the good work up as seen at Imola. Looking forward to Spain in 2 weeks, Fernando Alonso will have huge support. :)
Edit- Oh Jason that bit with Massa was hillarious, he just kinda barged into the side of DC, then gave him the finger while driving off, pure hillarity! Agree with Brundle too, ****ing twat.
Ahh...so they won't be bringing out another (new) car until next season then?
yeah..Quote:
Originally Posted by toE
but they'll be making upgrades/tweaks as the season progresses...
will be interesting to see how the honda v8 goes next season ...
apprently they'll be revving at 20,000+rpm...:D
Dylan:
I never thought Webber would be a world champion, but if you watch the slow montion replys with Webber/Heinfeld's car over the kerbs then watch Alonso/Michael's the BMW had no balance and couldn't even hit 300km/h on the circuit while the Renault and Ferrari were hitting 310km/h.Quote:
This cements my view that Mark Webber will never be a world champion. He deserves to be in Formula 1, but he will be lucky to win a race. He makes too many mistakes and is not fast enough as a whole. He has consistently been outpaced by his team mate, even though he starts ahead of him on the grid on almost all occasions.
Not an excuse but the car isn't as good as BAR,Renault, Ferrari or McLaren.
Sam Michael hammered Webber in the press today.
Dylan:
I understand what you are saying Dylan, but Webber had:Quote:
I still agree with martin in the fact that he should have given fisichella more room. I think it was 60-40, but not as martin said that it was webbers fault, but fisichella 60, webber 40. He should have pulled a move like kimi did on massa. That would have made more sense.
1/ Track position
2/ Right of way (Fisichella went to way to fast and had no brakes with no rubber left on his tyres)
nEUROtic:
Michael would of leaped Kimi if he stayed on I reckon, Kimi was running way light and had at least to make a 15 seconds gap before his first stop.Quote:
Kimi would have been another 5 seconds down the road from Alonso and Sch at that stage, I dont think it would have been the huge 3-way the commentators think it woulda been
Javed:
Everyone is talking about Ferrari and shitting themselves because the car was 2 whole seconds quicker a lap with a full fuel load.Quote:
Finally my team finished the race. (BAR). After travellign to Melbourne to watch how shitty their pace was, and to watch the next 2 rounds of hell. Their pace looks good, By the sounds of it their majority of problems was under a heavy fuel load, the car didnt behave how Jensen wanted it to. Well the testing and improvement since Bahrain was really good, however everyone is shitting their dacks after watching that damn Ferrari last night. I hate ferrari and I hate MSC. Sato is my man, driving a solid 5th!!! WOOOT
That is damm impressive!
BAR have made major improvements but nothing on what Ferrari have showed the F1 world.
Toe:
The next two races Spain and Monte Carlo they are bringing out improvements and updates on aero and chassis and minor engine adjustments, no new car until next year.Quote:
Just curious, has BAR Honda brought out their new car yet? If not, when? Any ideas?
and if alsono dnf one race and schumacher wins it... they're only be 16 points apart...Quote:
Originally Posted by Dylan
its so crucial now to finish in the points...
It is maybe a bit too early to be deciding world championship standings, but nevertheless I believe it will be interesting. I just want BAR Honda to take second in the constructors again, dunno if it will happen though. Also I want to see Sato on the podium and button win a race or 2 :)
Don't get me wrong, schumacher is obviously a great driver. But his strategists in ross brawn and jean todt are unparrelled. Even down to their dealings with eccelstone that cement ferrari's domination. However I digress, my original point is that although schumacher showed ultimate pace last night, he did all his passing in the pit lanes (with button being the obvious exception) and in 11 laps behind alonso couldnt get past, despite having the faster car.
I think he is an excellent driver, I don't think he is an excellent racer. Much like we saw from the embarrasing display with pedro de la rosa and webber. Knew how to drive fast, the car WAS fast, but he couldn't pass webber.
I just think micheal has become complacent now and less of a risk taker, and as a result isnt the raw driver he was that made u sit on the edge of your seat in the past, like your senna's. I spose its hard to stay motivated after you have done it all. Time to pass the torch soon methinks
Hold on nEUROtic.
Your saying Michael isn't a good racer?
Imola has a lot of off camber coners and isn't the worlds easiest track to pass on especially if someone your trying to pass has a quicker car out of the bends/corners.
You can't compare Michael to Senna, different cars, tracks have changed and so has technology.
You don't just win 7 world championships by being a "excellent driver", all the F1 drivers are excellent.
He is at the top of his game and the best driver/racer out there, and isn't ready to pass the torch, as for his crew Jean Todt designed the 205 T16 for Group B and Peoguet went straight to the top.
Thing is motorsport is about money and when you have it and get the best, you recieve the best.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LUD02C
I was more comparing driving style rather than results. If u want to compare results there is only one stat that senna is better in - pole positions. That will change by the end of the year though.
The fact that alonso has the faster car out of corners doesnt excuse 11 laps. He never really WENT for it. I'm not saying it was beyond him by any means. He just doesnt take the risks anymore.
Mate, The old European tracks it is VERY hard to pass another F1 car.
Think about this, he over took Jenson and 2 BMW's in 1 chicane (major risk) but never had a CLEAR oppitunity to pass Alonso.
If you have never raced it is hard to think thats its hard to pass, looks easy on tv and seems easy in theory but really its not.
Even in Karting for me its a pain in the ass.
Senna was great at qualifying, but again he had a terrific car under him too.
I think last night proved schumacher has a terrific car as well now.
Agree with you there, but so does Renualt and BAR showed a MAJOR improvment.Quote:
Originally Posted by nEUROtic
Red Bull didn't score any points which is weird, but seeing Jacques getting 6th and giving the press shit was awesome!
i cant stand jacques, but thats just an irrational hatred I dont have any facts to support it ;)
It seems a team can only have really good car ;) Micheals is great and not rubes, alonso but not fisi, any driver apart from raikkonen at mclaren.
I feel sorry for those guys :)
I also feel for Kimi, poor guy has the chance to win races he has won before and beaten Michael, Alonso etc.
The team just can't get his car right, I wonder if Juan will race in Spain.
Spain Fri, Sat and Sun has been sold out 2 weeks ago!
How good is that?
Prolly to do with alonso leading the championship.
Yeah kimi musta been a terroist in a previous life and did an attack on a hall of mirrors to get luck like he has. No wonder the guy gets ****ing hammered and exposes himself to strippers. Hell I do that and I'm nowhere near that disillusioned. Oh wait I've said too much..
this year its even harder to pass on track with the raised front bar creating more turberlance...
cant even remember any genuine overtaking in 4 races now... that werent leaders overtaking slower backmarkers...
schumacher had a good ~5 attempts at passing but couldnt pull it off...
his car was indeed the faster of the top 3 but like murray walker used to say "catching is one thing... overtaking is another"...
i want to see sato get a podium this year too!...
i just hope they continue to improve the car as the year progresses...
what sort of shit was JV giving the press? that would have been interestingQuote:
Originally Posted by LUD02C
damn i should have watched it last night. i only had the webcast as i had something early on this morning
at one stage button was leading? but the schu is the master, isn't he?
welcome back to the ferrari comeback, and BAR too
schumacher obviously had the fastest car on the track...
12th to 3rd just cause he could stay out longer and pull in times 1-2 sec faster than anyone else ...
anyone else think that sato should've done more ? 4th was really obtainable... considering jenson was pumping out quickish times...
one stage it was BAR 2nd and 3rd...
then again the mclaren car is no slouch either...
(btw 3 pages in the space of 1 night... we're gonna need a new thread jason by the time barcelona comes around :))
Everyone will have to agree that Schumacher had the fastest car last night.
I was shocked/surprised/amazed at his overtaking Button to be honest. I just didn't see it coming, maybe that's why. And it was a remarkable action.
However, when he caught up with Alonso, I thought he would've been able to pull it off. So, pretty disappointing that he didn't manage to overtake Alonso.
It looked like he had a couple of chances to, but then again, I can understand that it may not be as easy as it looks or sounds.
But it was without a doubt a pretty entertaining race.
I'm glad Button managed a podium to give BAR Honda some points. I also wish BAR Honda to be in the top 3 this season, if not 2nd like last year or even better 1st! :p
Does anybody know where I can watch the press interview from last night? I dozed off while waiting for it to come on. :(
I think U gotat Congrat Alonso, having a car about 1 second slower than the Ferrari but being able to hold off MS. But saying MS took no risks well, he did cat and mkouse tactics trying everything to throw Alonso off the racing line (which he did), but still wasnt able to pass because of the grip of the Renault and acceleration out of the corners. Alonso was smart at points slowing the ferrari right down mid corner to really get the advantage of acceleration which was what the renault did better.
Kenshin, Sato did the best he could for the team and 5th was a great result, u gotta keep in perspective that he lost a huge amount of time being stuck behind jarno trulli in the mid part of the race.
As for kimi being not up there, do u guys know something i missed? I never heard them actually say he was running light... or are you guys assuming?
I'm just guessing that Kimi was running light, mainly because he was 2 seconds quicker then Alonso on the first lap.
Toe go here to read conference
http://www.formula1.com/news/2912.html
andy... sato was 3rd at one stage... infront of wurtz...
yes 5th is respectable... but for someone of sato's experience... he should've pressured / kept up to wurtz more than he did in the end...
sato is like barrichello... ever relyable for points but never challenging for track position... the move he did on webber was top notch thou...
nah, his 3rd was only cos of pitstops, he hadnt made his... ie he really wanst 3rd overall in the race, he never had the chance after being stuck behind trulli for so long.
Jase, you could assume that, but then again, the ferrari was faster than anyone else by almost 2 seconds per lap and he was refueled at the time!
Yeh I know, thats why I was so pissed off when Kimi had a box of neutrals.!Quote:
Originally Posted by pornstar
I dont think kimi was THAT light, he was still like 2-3 seconds slower than his first qualifying lap.
ITV didn't speak to Kimi did they?
Nothing has been confirmed on why he had to retire!
[QUOTE=pornstar]nah, his 3rd was only cos of pitstops, he hadnt made his... ie he really wanst 3rd overall in the race, he never had the chance after being stuck behind trulli for so long.[QUOTE]
wurtz didnt pit too... trulli pitted first and released a bunch of cars...
Kimi set the 5th fastest lap of the race, on lap 8. Running light? I think so ;)
In Bahrain kimi's car had to retire and De La Rosa's car was fine.
Same thing happened at Imola, Kimi's car had the pace just like Wurz but it just couldn't hold out.
Montoya must be holding his breath, when he comes back it could go Juan out, Kimi podium.
Toan u missing the point, sato was on a lighter fuel load at the time, he needed to eb making time up but couldnt due to trulli, thats why after the pit stop wurz ended up in 4th and sato in 5th....
Ralf Schumacher loses point with penalty
Toyota to appeal the decision
The Race Director has referred Ralf Schumacher to the stewards for an incident that occurred with Nick Heidfeld's Williams following his second pit stop.
Having reviewed the evidence, the stewards considered that it was an unsafe manoeuvre and applied a 25-second penalty.
In response, Panasonic Toyota Racing team principal Tsutomu Tomita said: "In view of the extremely vague description of the regulation and a number of similar incidents which have gone unpunished, Toyota has decided to appeal the decision of the stewards in order to clarify this issue for the future."
Source Toyota Racing
- Fisichella was on the inside = right of wayQuote:
I understand what you are saying Dylan, but Webber had:
1/ Track position
2/ Right of way (Fisichella went to way to fast and had no brakes with no rubber left on his tyres)
- Webber was only about 1/2 a carlength in front
Correct me if im wrong but didnt Kimi finish third at Bahrain?Quote:
Originally Posted by LUD02C
Kimis car retired due to a Driveshaft Failure.
damn it sucks not having internet at home!
firstly, webber did his usual trick. He's great when its all going well, but as soon as he makes his first mistake and loses a place or two its all over for him, like he loses concentration and just falls back through the field, he's done it a fair few times now.
Fisichella, damn it, unlucky even when he finally does get a shot, he wouldn't have won but could have got points at least.
Again, Renault's traction control and drive out of the corners is amazing and earnt them points/the win in this case. They've had it for a few years now where no-one can get close out of corners, which makes them a bugger to pass coz you can't catch up close enough to have a shot into the next corner. Every single corner you'd watch alonso fly out of the corners and pull a few car lengths, that (with some defensive driving) is what kept schumi back. Only place he could get close was tosa (?) and that was only coz there was a relatively fast couple of corners before hand.
But, if the new Ferrari is that quick at every track, its going to be a whitewash for the rest of the season!
and i think someone said that Sato was like barrichello?, i disagree, sato is WAY more racey than Barrichello!, remember him passing for position at Hockenheim round the outside with two wheels on the grass in a high speed left hander?
Hondavirgin - You got to remember that when your directly behind someone with the new aero rules the person with clear air (alonso) is always going to be able to pull away quicker.
Dylan - So your saying if someone goes in way to fast and can't brake or turn in, its ok to hit the other car?
Because thats what happened.
Also, my bad Kimi did finish at Bahrain (was doing to many things)
yeah, i understand that, just like you can't follow that closely through long fast corners, and also the first into the corner is also gonna be earlier on the power, but the Renault's have been able to consistently out drive (as in accelerate from low speeds) most other cars for a few years now. Look at their starts, always hot off the line.Quote:
Originally Posted by LUD02C
Yeh I agree with you champ, the Renault is outstanding.
This thread is going good, 2-3 days old and 5 pages long I think.
Good discussions.
No I'm saying that Fisi had the inside line, Webber had no chance to pass around the outside of a hairpin, he should have waited. He unnessecarily risked his car on a move that would never have worked out.Quote:
Originally Posted by LUD02C
Webber could of overtaken him, he had more traction and a better/faster car and Fisichella knew that and out braked himself.
If you watch it again you'll know what i mean, there has been plenty of moves done on hairpins, especially when someone has fuk all traction.
saw something this morning about button possibly being disqualified cause he car wasn't minimum weight or something?
so don't break out the Dom Perignon just yet :D
EDIT: sorry didn't see the other thread. my bad
Imola - fastest laps in the race :
1. Michael Schumacher - Ferrari - 1'21.858 - lap 48
2. Jenson Button - BAR Honda - 1'22.604 - lap 22
3. Alexander Wurz - McLaren Mercedes - 1'23.023 - lap 24
4. Fernando Alonso - Renault - 1'23.133 - lap 22
5. Kimi Raikkonen - McLaren Mercedes - 1'23.296 - lap 8
6. Takuma Sato - BAR Honda - 1'23.368 - lap 23
7. Tonio Liuzzi - Red Bull Cosworth - 1'23.488 - lap 46
8. Felipe Massa - Sauber Petronas - 1'23.602 - lap 37
9. Nick Heidfeld - Williams BMW - 1'23.917 - lap 54
10. Jacques Villeneuve - Sauber Petronas - 1'24.017 - lap 45
11. Jarno Trulli - Toyota - 1'24.022 - lap 44
12. Narain Karthikeyan - Jordan Toyota - 1'24.094 - lap 20
13. Ralf Schumacher - Toyota - 1'24.230 - lap 19
14. Mark Webber - Williams BMW - 1'24.419 - lap 17
15. Rubens Barrichello - Ferrari - 1'24.435 - lap 13
16. David Coulthard - Red Bull Cosworth - 1'24.641 - lap 22
17. Tiago Monteiro - Jordan Toyota - 1'24.719 - lap 19
18. Giancarlo Fisichella - Renault - 1'25.665 - lap 4
19. Christijan Albers - Minardi Cosworth - 1'27.420 - lap 18
20. Patrick Friesacher - Minardi Cosworth - 1'28.334 - lap 5
unlucky about ralf...i missed so much of this GP so anooyed!
It was the best race I have seen in a while....Schumy was flying and it was as if every one else was standing still. I had the biggest grin on my face :)
I am a 100% Schumy fan but you have to take your hat off to Alonso...he kept a level head and did what he had to do to win the race. I was very impressed!
I will always be a Ferrari fan, but if there is another team that I have always followed/supported, it is the Renault (formerly Benetton).
It looks as though the rest of the season should be intersting...if only Schumacher can get a good grid position....
lol imagine if he hadnt messed up his lap i dont think anyone would have seen him agian, but he proaberly wouldnt have pushed hard at all cause now everyone knows that their car is very fast....
So Fisichella was just meant to give up? is that what your saying? Schumacher had a faster car at Imola, but Alonso didn't give up!! De La Rosa had the faster car at Bahrain, but Webber didnt give up!! Point is, Webber made the move at the right corner, the wrong way. He un-nessecarily put his car in a vunerable position. Im sure that if he stayed wide at that corner, pulled a switch through so he had a better run onto the straight, then got the inside line into the next corner, he would have passed him and got his first podium position.Quote:
Originally Posted by LUD02C
The speed that Fisichella took into that corner he could have made it through... Webber was squeezing him though. Ends up he was limited and the back end slipped away from him.
Thats my reading on the situation anyway. :thumbsup:
From what i Remember, hadn't Webber passed him into the previous hairpin and Fisi was trying to re-pass Webber? Webber was ahead going into the turn and fisi had a shot, Webber could have avoided it by not turning in but then he was in his rights to turn in, just as fisi was within his rights to have a tilt.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dylan
Racing incident.
Yes it was a racing incident however Fisi went on the dirtiest line I have ever seen, didn't u see all the shit he was throwing up, traction was minimal, speed was way too fast to take an inside line into the apex like he did.
I didn't say it was a smart move of his, I agree, it was never going to work, but the only reason he hit webber was because webber turn into his path. It would be different if where he was aiming he was always going to hit webber.
At most, he would have slid out to the outside of the corner and webber would have switched back and got him.
Therefore, Fisi was attempting a pass, Webber was attempting to block, which makes it a racing incident.
yea but if webber had of gone well wide he'd of been behind ralf and nick and giancarlo so it was just a racing incident and it was ages ago get over it.
LMFAO!! Someone stole Bernie's Wheels from his new CLS55 Mercedez!! 2 wheels only, and they were worth around 1900 bucks. He didn't report it to the police either... Someone is gonna get whacked...
Quote:
Originally Posted by nEUROtic
hahaha lol thatll learn him! dunno if thats quiet the way of solving things lol but still, someone will wake up with smashed knee caps sometime soon:D
Wasn't that a while ago? (roughly 2-3 weeks ago)Quote:
Originally Posted by nEUROtic
I only saw it recently in the latest f1 Racing mag. Could have very well have been.
I just dont like the dude :) Thought it was a good cum uppenence!
lol
David Coulthard has revealed that he grabbed the “little t**t” Felipe Massa by the throat during a paddock confrontation after the San Marino GP – with the Sauber driver only spared “embarrassment” at the hands of the Scot by the presence of his parents.
DC and Massa had earlier clashed on the track, with the Sauber driver giving Coulthard 'the finger' as he barged the Red Bull on to the grass.
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Coulthard revealed that the action then continued in the Imola car park. A furious Coulthard apparently 'leapt out in front of Massa's car' as the Brazilian went to leave the circuit, and when he wound down the window Coulthard grabbed him and shouted: "No-one gives me the finger you little t**t."
"I leaned in and grabbed him by the neck. I have respect for other drivers and I expect them to have respect for me. Then I looked up and saw his parents were in the back and that cooled things down pretty quickly.
"I didn't want to embarrass him in front of them. But he continued ranting that I had used unsporting behaviour. Massa accused me of driving his car off the road at 200mph and I have never done that in my life. But I am not in this business to give way to anyone.
"He came up behind me and went down my right but I was not about to go on the dirty part of the track. He should have picked a better place to try and pass. I once showed Schumacher the finger when I was angry but I apologised afterwards. Massa had the chance to do that after the race but he didn't."
Coulthard's so much more fun since he left McLaren, isn’t he?
ahahaha oh damn lolz..
some funny stuff there...
Haha, yeah that was pretty funny.
I think Webber's getting a bad rap. Both he and Heidfeld were in crap cars in the last race. I don't think it's a concentration thing, I think the Williams deteriorates over the course of the race. Look at the start... he was trapped behind Trulli, had no chance to pass but he tried his guts out. Then the car started playing up and the back was stepping out (same problem the whole season) and then he had no chance.
Webber has been unlucky so far this year. He keeps getting stuck behind the slower cars. Needs to maybe put in a bit more fuel to do what Schumie does and overtake during the pitstops.
What a great race though. I think now that the Ferrari is so fast, there should be a handicap system put in place. The Ferraris should start at the back of the grid and the top 10 should start in reverse order. That would make for some exciting racing.
But I really wish they went to tracks where you could overtake. When they get to Monaco, it'll be the same old story... whoever gets to the first corner in 1st then wins the race. It'll be all about qualifying, 'cos once you get caught behind a slower car... race over.
The only thing with Webber that shits me is this, if he did get 3rd in Malaysia none of this would be said now.
As Vivski said, the BMW car is not up to scratch and you can see both Mark and Nick battling with it.
Monaco is a boring race yes, but the atmosphere and history in it makes it like Bathurst to must aussies.
A lot of retirements and crashes at Monaco, but thats a racea away we have Spain to worry about first.
Here is an interview with Sam Michael:
http://www.formula1.com/news/2923.html
Quote:
DC Thumps Critical Massa
Saturday April 30 2005
F1 fisticuffs? Well, not exactly. But David Coulthard has admitted that he went looking for Felipe Massa after the San Marino Grand Prix and grabbing him by his collar whe he stopped his car.
As competitions go a fist fight between Felipe Massa and David Coulthard would be a bit of a non-starter. DC has been relating how he grabbed hold of "the midget with the digit" as he exited Imola after the San Marino Grand Prix.
The revelation is interesting for a number of reasons – for a start you wouldn’t have caught him doing that when he was at McLaren last season.
Since the 2004 season ended, though, we’ve had Kimi Raikkonen going on wild drinking sprees in the Canary Isles and getting chucked out of lap dancing clubs, so maybe it would be okay now, but certainly not in the past.
Now normally when these stories get out it’s someone else who relates them. Nigel Mansell once tried a similar manoeuvre on Ayrton Senna after Senna drove aggressively in a race. But in this case it’s Coulthard himself who revealed it. So does that mean Red Bull like the idea of a wild, claymore-wielding Braveheart Scot seeking revenge on those that have done him wrong and encouraged David to reveal it?
It sounds like the Fizzy Fruit Drink team, whose self-proclaimed mission is to bring ‘fun’ back into F1, like the idea of having a bit of a character in their team. In Bahrain he was making fat jokes about Juan Montoya and surprising a naked Jacques Villeneuve in the shower (supposedly). This race he’s exacting punishment on the Brazilian with a charisma bypass.
Most interesting of all is that Coulthard was STILL angry all that time after the race had finished. To be attacking Massa when he was leaving the race circuit means that the incident must have happened a good twenty minutes after the race finished and possibly a lot more. We’ve seen DC angry in the past but only immediately after an incident.
Yes, he used to have some waspy digs at Irvine (who no doubt will be penning something for a Sun newspaper column as we speak) but that was as far as it went. This is totally unexpected.
What must have driven DC mad was that Massa was completely in the wrong. The Brazilian tried an overtaking move early in the San Marino Grand Prix and got his nose knocked off for his troubles. He started from too far back and was never alongside, David turns in, BANG!
Had Massa been a little more patient at this stage of the race – we weren’t up to first pit-stops yet – he would have got a lot further. He would have cleared Coulthard easily on the pit-stops. As it was, he had to do it all over again. He might well have thrown a away a 7th or 8th place finish with that manoeuvre.
Michael Schumacher showed in the race that patience is a virtue, and that if you have a car that is so much quicker than the car in front, you can take advantage. Provided you are prepared to wait.
Coulthard had a similar experience himself at the Monaco Grand Prix a few years ago when problems with his McLaren meant he got stuck behind the Arrows of Enrique Bernoldi. DC moaned that Bernoldi should have let him past as there was no way the Arrows was going to finish in front of him.
As a result Coulthard was lambasted by all and sundry who told him it was his job to get past Bernoldi, not Bernoldi’s job to move over.
So David sticking to his line was absolutely the right thing to do. Further down the road was team-mate Tonio Liuzzi who would have come under attack had Massa got past. For Massa to criticise the Scot's driving was remarkable.
After getting a new front wing and presumably making a one-fingered gesture at the Red Bull team Massa came back, eventually caught Coulthard up and tried to take him going into Rivazza – again without getting his Sauber alongside first. As a result Massa’s tyre bounced Coulthard’s sidepod and pushed him over the kerbs.
Whereas you might have expected an ordinary driver to acknowledge his mistake with a wave, Massa gave Coulthard the finger.
Extraordinary stuff, but not for regular Massa watchers. Massa, who once deliberately bumped the car in front going into Ste Devote at Monaco to get him out of the way, has behaved like he was something special ever since he got into F1.
One of the funniest F1 TV moments came when pitlane reporter and F1 Racing magazine journo Peter Windsor tried to interview Massa after he retired once during his first season. Peter had been waxing lyrical about how brilliant Massa was, how he was the future of F1 and super talented – a real brown-nose job.
Massa had retired just beyond the pitlane and was walking back towards the camera and so Peter had to wait for him to arrive. He filled his commentary with all the complementary drivel then as Felipe arrived Peter put his microphone up to get the Brazilian’s reaction.
Massa waved him away like he was a virus. At which point Peter said, “So, back to the studio…”
Sunday’s demonstration by Massa showed why Peter Sauber would be very wise to hang onto Jacques Villeneuve in his team. Villeneuve is beyond all that. I’m not sure that the corporate image that Credit Suisse and Petronas want to present to the World is sponsoring a driver who makes one-fingered gestures all the time.
He ought to be driving for Red Bull…
Montoya might not be racing in Spain either, decision will be made in a few days time, Wurz will be replacing him if he doesn't race.
Montoyas bak...:o
Quote:
Following medical tests in Madrid and at the team’s headquarters in Woking, Juan Pablo Montoya will make his return to the cockpit of the MP4-20 following his absence at the Bahrain and San Marino events as a result of a shoulder injury.
should bring some fire into F1 again with him back, he fell off a moto hey?
wasn't it a "tennis injury?";)
Mosley is a Nazi
Quote:
Mosley is a Nazi! Totally power-mad.
Knowing that the cars face g-forces in the extreme a normal sump in insufficient. Some internal baffling may not even be up to the task. Some road cars have a recirculating system to a "collector" up front. This is nothing new. I would like BAR to demonstrate just how much fuel will remain in the collector when the car runs out of fuel. To me that would be sensible. Fuel is bad ballast. It cannot be distributed strategically, it will always have a higher CG than weights. Think of it this way, in the days of carburators would we say a car is under weight if it was legal when the float bowl was filled but it was under when the float bowl was empty?
And to ask for such draconian penalties after your own stewards gave the car an initial pass demonstrates that, at the most we are talking about something that is debatable and not something that is flagrent or willful.
To escalate the discourse on this matter to such extremes is irresponsible. Mosley has lost his marbles. Even if he gets away with it, it will still be a travesty, a miscarriage of justice. And he could well enough get away with it if the "court" is stacked with political "yes men" and stooges.
For two years in a row he has jammed through technical regulations unilaterally in FLAGRENT violation of the governing procedures. He has used the "safety" canard as a ruse to justify it. How weak! Someone please tell me why cylinder bore spacing must be spec'd in the V8s for "safety". Why is direct injection, variable valve timing etc. all banned for safety?
Then Mosley will tell you that such measures are done for cost savings. Granting this for a moment, "cost cutting" is an insufficient reason for unilateral imposition of new rules. (there is a clause for rapid action unilateral action to be taken for safety though.... real safety issues like survival cell and roll hoop strength, not neutering the cars arbitrarily) Mosley's hypocracy is exposed and only those who aren't afraid to make waves will publically call him out on it. Ron and Frank declined to make a stink of Mosley's illegal imposition of new rules last year for pragmatic reasons (creating a spectacle, and fear of retribution), not for lack of legal merit. Sadly we now look to have a stinkier spectacle on our hands. Until Mosley is reined in (or replaced!), we can only expect more tyranny.
I just want F1 to stand for innovation, any engine configuration would be fine with me. I remember as recently as the mid nineties Senna and Schumi winning with a nimble V8 on certain tracks like Donnington '93 (Senna's best drive!) while the Ferrari's had heavy and thirsty V12s and Honda and Reggie had the V10s. Today's regs are too restrictive. Would we ever have a six wheeler today? Would we ever have a twin chassis car today? Would we ever even have wings today? Would we even use four valve engines today? Would we have ever had ground effect cars? Would we even have paddle shift trannies today? All these things and others are part of the glory and heritage of F1. Speciing cylinder centers, cam angles, number of valves, inlet restrictions, etc. are all, to me, against the spirit of F1. Chassis restrictions are too rigid too. Just think of this telling fact..... why do we have a "silly plate"? Purely because of stupid rules. Having a thing that we all know is stupid, and commonly calling it "silly" only testifies to the present maddness of the rules. If Williams wants to have brake ducts the size of a tuba, then let them. Let them pay the penalty in added drag, not exclude them from a race like they did in Canada.
(BTW, why isn't the mere posession of such non-conforming parts (the ducts) interpreted as flagrent cheating? Answer: it is the pure and arbitrary caprice of Mosley.)
We need more room for innovation. F1 could have been allowed to make a real contribution to the automobile world (and even mankind) if they allowed the CVT to be developed. Imagine the effeciency of a car running at a steady optimal RPM accelerating only because the tranny is raising the ratio. Imagine the power of a car running at a steady optimal RPM accelerating for the same reason. Engines could be tuned for peak effeciency or power without regard for the torque curve or powerband.
Hydraulic drives which need no differentials, which can give you AWD without intrusive shafts (remember the only reason we have hydraulic shifters are because John Barnard wanted to do away with all the constrainst of the linkage). Let them pursue regenerative braking and other things that could be of real benefit to the world. The possibilities are endless. F1 is a proving ground under the harshest and most demanding conditions. Lets unchain the designers not stiffle them with "silly" rules.
PS. I am not a BAR fan.
Montoyas back, good to hear.
Please Banks who own F1 sack Max Mosley please!