The Formula One Thread

[Lethevich]

So the whole team got thrown out?

The team's constructors points were also removed, yep.

[Bogey]

Well, hopefully everything is totally sorted out before the next race this weekend.  I am yet to pick a team to root for.  Maybe Toyota....that might be underdog enough. 

[springrite]

Well, hopefully everything is totally sorted out before the next race this weekend.  I am yet to pick a team to root for.  Maybe Toyota....that might be underdog enough. 

Don't have the courage to pick Team India, huh? Chicken!

I never liked Ferrari but have alwas supported a Finn, from Hakkinen to Raikonen. So I support Kimi without necessarily supporting his team.

Wait, I do like Massa, too.

[Bogey]

Don't have the courage to pick Team India, huh? Chicken!

I never liked Ferrari but have alwas supported a Finn, from Hakkinen to Raikonen. So I support Kimi without necessarily supporting his team.

Wait, I do like Massa, too.

Well, I figure if I pick Toyota and find that they are not that enjoyable to follow, I may be able to grab a new team the following year since Toyota may not even be an F1 team that exists. 

[Opus106]

A request to all fans of F1 in Europe: if you are really intent on watching the races, especially those being held in the Australasia region, the please stay up late or wake up early to watch them. Just give Bernie a call and ask him to shift the race timings to as they were in the previous seasons. Thank you.

[Opus106]

After watching another spectacular Formula One rain race on the telly, I thought I'd better calm down a bit.

Another, Marc? AFAIK, there's been only one spectacular rain race this season so far, and it happened today.

[Bogey]

Well, Red Bull probably deserved this drenched one seeing that they give the pre-race show much of its material.  Button with some more points.  See you folks in Sakhir!

[Bogey]

Another, Marc? AFAIK, there's been only one spectacular rain race this season so far, and it happened today.

Still would like to see them start without the pace car in these conditions.

[Opus106]

The FIA's World Motor Sport Council has handed McLaren a three race ban for bringing the sport into disrepute after they were found to have misled race stewards at March's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

The ban will be suspended, however, in light of the 'open and honest way' in which team principal Martin Whitmarsh addressed the Council on Wednesday, and will only be applied if further evidence emerges, or there is another breach of the International Sporting Code.

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/4/9281.html

[Lethevich]

Embarassingly, I don't have a clue what that means. Suspended as in, they are banned, but oh, actually they are not?

[Opus106]

Embarassingly, I don't have a clue what that means. Suspended as in, they are banned, but oh, actually they are not?

Even worse, if you ask me, is their justification for the suspension of the ban. It's as though Whitmarsh being "honest" erased the event out of history.

[Bogey]

Even worse, if you ask me, is their justification for the suspension of the ban. It's as though Whitmarsh being "honest" erased the event out of history.

What is it these days that if you admit your guilt after you get caught, then all is good?  (See Alex Rodiriguez of the NY Yankees for details.)

[mahler10th]

Oh shit.

I've got some posting to do here!!

[mahler10th]

Judging from Brawn's dominant performance, F1 is going to be another borefest like Micheal Schumacher years. 

Well, I have to start somewhere, and this nonsense will do.
Mishugina, have you watched a GP this season?
No race so far has been a borefest.  None.  Zilch.  Zero. 

It was a combination of luck and Brawns planning that brought Button his victory last time out.  The Toyotas are as hot as my burning house was two months ago.  It is fantastic to see the Ferraris languishing and the McLarens trying to keep up.  It's far from being a borefest, it feels like it's 1989 again.  Development of the Brawn car was a bit stinted towards the end of last year in the changeover from Honda, whose performances in recent years (especially the BAR years) were miles away from the top dogs.  So it is quite a miracle that Brawn is working with his team, putting one over teams he used to work for, especially Ferarri. 
It is fantastic to see a new team lead the F1 pack, and teams like Red Bull, BMW and Toyota making the teams that have dominated for decades look pretty plain.

So far, this is, for me, one of the most exciting seasons since the eighties.  Cars with KERS, cars without KERS, no traction control (and it shows), bald tyres, all manner of changes to make F1 what it once was, the pinnacle of motorsport.

The drivers are much more exciting too, with emerging new talents like Vettel, Glock, Buemi (yes, Buemi IS an exciting driver), etc, and old hands finding new feet, Barrichello, Trulli and Button no less.  All a driver needs is a good car - I think Fisichella in a better car (the bane of his career, he's never had a top car to drive for some reason) would wipe the smiles off everyones faces.

F1 this season is nothing short of SUPERB.  Long may it last.  I'll leave this until the Spanish GP this weekend, at which time I've predicted a sudden drop in the performance of the Brawn - if I'm wrong, and I hope I am, the dominance of Brawn will continue to breathe fresh life into the F1 'borefest' image.

[mahler10th]

Well, here it comes, the Spanish Grand Prix, almost always a turning point for F1 teams.  It is around this time of year that the wheat is sorted from the chaff and most of the final technical developments are put in place by teams who have been working on them since late last year.
Get ready..some furious and fanatical postings to follow...

From www.F1.com

"Friday in Spain could be the most important day yet of the 2009 season, as the European leg of the season kicks off. Most of the teams will be trying out heavily revised aerodynamic packages for the first time on track, thanks to the ban on testing since the series began in Australia back in March.

At Brawn, Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello will be desperate to know whether a significant update of their BGP001 - the first so far in a season that has seen them dominant - will keep them at the head of the field."

FRIDAY PRACTICE 1 - TIMES

1.  Jenson Button Brawn 1m21.799s 21 Laps
2.  Jarno Trulli Toyota 1m22.154s 30 Laps
3.  Robert Kubica BMW 1m22.221s 24 Laps
4.  Nick Heidfeld BMW 1m22.658s 14 Laps
5.  Kazuki Nakajima Williams 1m22.659s 24 Laps
6.  Nico Rosberg Williams 1m22.667s 26 Laps
7.  Nelson Piquet Jr. Renault 1m22.753s 24 Laps
8.  Timo Glock Toyota 1m22.828s 29 Laps
9.  Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m22.855s 15 Laps
10.  Rubens Barrichello Brawn 1m22.859s 24 Laps
11.  Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m22.873s 20 Laps
12.  Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1m22.934s 25 Laps
13.  Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1m22.959s 24 Laps
14.  Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1m23.077s 21 Laps
15.  Sebastien Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m23.088s 30 Laps
16.  Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 1m23.089s 25 Laps
17.  Fernando Alonso Renault 1m23.157s 18 Laps
18.  Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1m23.185s 31 Laps
19.  Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 1m23.522s 17 Laps
20.  Adrian Sutil Force India 1m23.536s 19 Laps

[Opus106]

The second Friday practice session times are out, as well [Link] And the Williams are leading this time. Fastest time for the day.

[mahler10th]

The second Friday practice session times are out, as well [Link] And the Williams are leading this time. Fastest time for the day.

1 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:21.588  43
2 17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:21.740 0.152 40
3 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:21.781 0.193 36
4 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:21.843 0.255 39
5 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:22.027 0.439 37
6 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 1:22.052 0.464 35
7 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:22.082 0.494 45
8 8 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1:22.349 0.761 26
9 12 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:22.571 0.983 17
10 4 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:22.599 1.011 40
11 11 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 1:22.615 1.027 30
12 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:22.670 1.082 32
13 1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.809 1.221 31
14 2 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.876 1.288 29
15 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:22.878 1.290 35
16 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:22.948 1.360 40
17 6 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:23.173 1.585 39
18 10 Timo Glock Toyota 1:23.360 1.772 46
19 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:23.623 2.035 47
20 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes no time  0

[Bogey]

That Toyota team is kinda hangin' around.

[mahler10th]

Qualifying is underway...

[mahler10th]

  FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA TELEFONICA 2009

1 22 Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes 1:20.527
2 15 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:20.660
3 23 Rubens Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:20.762
4 3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:20.934
5 14 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:21.049
6 10 Timo Glock Toyota 1:21.247
7 9 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:21.254
8 7 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:21.392
9 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:22.558
10 5 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:22.685

After a fairly uninspiring Q1 and Q2, Button pulls through.  They said he was a potential World Champion when he entered F1 nine or so years ago, and now with a nice car under his belt he's proving it.  Again, Vettel kicks his team-mates arse by coming in second on the grid, one can only wonder why Webber is slower - because he IS fast.
The Toyotas creeping in again in good positions and Kubica placed as the highest BMW with no KERS at position 10.  Nico Rosberg showing that practice means nothing, he's in the top 10 in a fairly regular Williams car.  Taking after his Dad.
More than a second seperates 8th and 9th, and more than 2 seconds between pole and 10th.
Spain is one hell of a circuit, the slow corners are awkward (where drivers can make plenty of errors) and the fast corners are swooping.  There are two main full throttle straights where some fantastic battles have taken place in the past...
keep an eye on the two Germans, Glock and Vittel - NOW, BRING IT ON.