# 2009 Formula 1 Season Thread



## ESPImperium (Jan 13, 2009)

With the launch of the new Ferarri F60, whats everyones hopes for the 2009 season:


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## F1Filter (Jan 13, 2009)

Hopefully closer racing with the new aero package, and less involvement with the race stewards after races. 

Although with that new "cow catcher" front wing. I'm expecting a lot of front wing-to-rear tire punctures.

Should be an interesting season in that, all top contending teams haven't had any driver lineup changes. It's been a while since that's happened (thanks mostly in part to Alonso). Although I hope something comes out of Honda selling their team. Otherwise it's going to be an awfully empty looking grid with only 18 cars lining up.


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## stuh84 (Jan 13, 2009)

I'd like to see Vettel surprising everyone again, I'd like to see BMW closer to the front, and I want to see a tightly knit race for the title.

I wanna see Renault competitive from the start, I miss Alonso fighting for the season.

I just want to see some damn good racing basically


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## F1Filter (Jan 14, 2009)

Also. I'm kind of hoping that the British GP is going to be one for the record books. I'm going to miss Silverstone. 

But the new layout at Donington does look interesting. I'm glad they aren't going to mess with the whole "Redgate-Craner-Old Hairpin-Starkeys-McLeans" sequence. Because that's just a classic collection of corners.


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## stuh84 (Jan 14, 2009)

I personally can't wait for Donington. Never been a fan of Silverstone, don't know why but it has never done anything for me, whereas Donington already holds so many memories for me.


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## Variant (Jan 15, 2009)

Well... surprisingly elegant considering. Perhaps team red just did a better job than some of the others. Not sure what the deal is with the laughably long nose (regs?), and the wide front wing looks as awesome as the tiny rear wing looks gay, but it all looks fairly slick, particularly in plan view. In any case, it will be nice to see the onslaught upon the kingdom of Hamilton begin... as I will continue to watch F1 until the spec. engines are implemented. Then, I turn it off.


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## F1Filter (Jan 17, 2009)

Ron Dennis to bow out as McLaren team principal 

Not the biggest Dennis fan here. But he's going to be missed. Although I have been reading that a lot of teams haven't been so friendly to him after the Newey-gate incident.


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## ESPImperium (Jan 18, 2009)

Some pics of the new Toyota TF109 and McLaren MP4-24.


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## stuh84 (Jan 18, 2009)

Damnit, why can't the season start now, I'm excited to see what these cars can do now


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## F1Filter (Jan 21, 2009)

My perennial choice of the spoiler team in the title fight.














A very understated unveiling of the new BMW Sauber F109. They just stood around for a couple photo ops for the press, and got back to their testing @ Valencia. 



> Damnit, why can't the season start now, I'm excited to see what these cars can do now



Ahh, there's some tennis thing happening in Melbourne right now. 

But if you're jonesing for a racing fix. There IS the Rolex 24 this weekend @ Daytona. It's definitely not the same race it used to be (the REAL start of the racing season starts on March 21 IMHO) . But it's better than nothing.


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## mrp5150 (Jan 24, 2009)

I can't wait for the new season to start. Hopefully Massa can keep the confidence he had from last year and win the world championship. The new cars look so different, but I'm getting used to them already. They look pretty damn gorgeous from the side.


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## 777timesgod (Feb 3, 2009)

mrp5150 said:


> I can't wait for the new season to start. Hopefully Massa can keep the confidence he had from last year and win the world championship. The new cars look so different, but I'm getting used to them already. They look pretty damn gorgeous from the side.




I wouldn't bet my money on Massa. not beacuse he doesnt have what it takes but due to his instability. He is capable of winning all races or losing all races.

If he was more carefull he would have won the championship and not have to rely on Glock's tires.


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## F1Filter (Feb 4, 2009)

777timesgod said:


> If he was more carefull he would have won the championship and not have to rely on Glock's tires.



That's not really a fair assessment. His team also let him down near the final rounds of the season. That whole pit-stop debacle in Singapore alone cost him enough of points to lose the championship. Let's not also forget that he had absolutely zero support from R&#228;ikk&#246;nen, who seemed to be in his own world during the final races. 

Also. I don't think anyone is going to dispute that, compared to the McLaren, Ferrari's car was awful in the wet. Them and Bridgestone just never seemed to be on the same page when it came to wet weather setups.


Heidfeld made some interesting comments about the title outlook. I'll always pick this team as my spoiler for the title fight. But I think Nick should be worrying about winning races before anything else. 

Heidfeld targeting title, not just a maiden win


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## 777timesgod (Feb 9, 2009)

F1Filter said:


> That's not really a fair assessment. His team also let him down near the final rounds of the season. That whole pit-stop debacle in Singapore alone cost him enough of points to lose the championship. Let's not also forget that he had absolutely zero support from Räikkönen, who seemed to be in his own world during the final races.



I agree dude. Don't get me wrong. Masa didnt receive all the support he could get -my father definetely got pissed off about this- but don't forget that he made mistakes and had bad races where he seemed helpless. Also Hamilton didn't get enough support from Mc Laren, just count his bad pit stops and you will see that his team did let him down on many occasions and also on some penalties that were given to him.


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## E Lucevan Le Stelle (Feb 9, 2009)

F1Filter said:


> That's not really a fair assessment. His team also let him down near the final rounds of the season. That whole pit-stop debacle in Singapore alone cost him enough of points to lose the championship. Let's not also forget that he had absolutely zero support from Räikkönen, who seemed to be in his own world during the final races.
> 
> Also. I don't think anyone is going to dispute that, compared to the McLaren, Ferrari's car was awful in the wet. Them and Bridgestone just never seemed to be on the same page when it came to wet weather setups.



What really fucked Ferrari was the duff batch of con rods... total of 3 failures, one engine on a dyno and both Felipe and Kimi's cars. Apparently the fabricator changed procedures without working through the full implications with Ferrari...


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## ESPImperium (Feb 9, 2009)

New Red Bull RB5:


























More pics & High res Here: Index of /f1/photos-hires/2009/team-redbull & FORMULE109 (More pics of other cars in this one)


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## F1Filter (Feb 22, 2009)

So this Tuesday (Feb 24th), it's going to be official. Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson are entering a US-based F1 team starting with the 2010 season. 

I suppose it's not a bad idea to consider entering the series now. Especially since the aero rules are now fixed spec. So R&D for an aero package allegedly isn't going to be as expensive compared to a few years ago. And since the team is going to be located in the southeast region of the US. They've got quite a few windtunnels at their disposal to do their R&D on. 

Should be an interesting press conference. 

USF1 homepage


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## 777timesgod (Feb 24, 2009)

E Lucevan Le Stelle said:


> What really fucked Ferrari was the duff batch of con rods... total of 3 failures, one engine on a dyno and both Felipe and Kimi's cars. Apparently the fabricator changed procedures without working through the full implications with Ferrari...




And lest we forget the "lollipop" man fiasco. His replacement with that stupid three lights box was a failure. Too much technology sometimes fucks things up.


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## F1Filter (Mar 10, 2009)

A little more than 2 weeks before the first practice session @ Melbourne. 

The first "real" testing session took place today. The reason why I say "real" is because it's on a circuit that they'll actually be racing on later -and- all the teams have their current season spec cars up and running. Well for the most part anyway.

Circuit de Catalunya - Spain 9 March 2009

Pos. Driver Team Tires Time Laps
1 N. Heidfeld BMW Bridgestone 01:20.339 92
2 K. R&#228;ikk&#246;nen Ferrari Bridgestone 01:20.908 80
3 J. Trulli Toyota Bridgestone 01:20.937 118
4 J. Button Brawn GP Bridgestone 01:21.140 82
5 N. Piquet jr. Renault Bridgestone 01:21.662 125
6 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso Bridgestone 01:22.158 96
7 M. Webber Red Bull Bridgestone 01:22.246 115
8 A. Sutil Force India F1 Bridgestone 01:22.452 127
9 K. Nakajima Williams Bridgestone 01:22.813 111
10 H. Kovalainen McLaren Bridgestone 01:22.948 87

As a comparison to last year's cars. The fastest race lap of the '08 Spanish GP was 1:21.670. And fastest time of all 3 qualifying sessions was 1:20.701


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## stuh84 (Mar 10, 2009)

The fuck is up with McLaren.....


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## F1Filter (Mar 10, 2009)

Day 2 of 4. Bad day for the STR team who were plagued with a lot of mechanical issues. 

Meanwhile the newly renamed Brawn GP team was only .6 behind the leading Ferrari. 



Circuit de Catalunya - Spain 10 March 2009

Pos. Driver Team Tyres Time Laps
1 K. Räikkönen Ferrari Bridgestone 01:20.314 55
2 K. Nakajima Williams Bridgestone 01:20.907 66
3 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Bridgestone 01:20.966 111
4 J. Trulli Toyota Bridgestone 01:21.182 121
5 M. Webber Red Bull Bridgestone 01:21.347 66
6 N. Heidfeld BMW Bridgestone 01:21.615 127
7 A. Sutil Force India F1 Bridgestone 01:21.834 82
8 F. Alonso Renault Bridgestone 01:21.937 111
9 H. Kovalainen McLaren Bridgestone 01:21.991 88
10 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso Bridgestone 01:23.039 14
11 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso Bridgestone 00:00.000 6


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## F1Filter (Mar 11, 2009)

Day 3 of 4.

So much for slowing down with the new regs. Button's top time was over a second quicker than the fastest lap of the '08 Spanish GP weekend. Not bad for a team that was on the selling block a couple of months ago.

Hamilton's first appearance at the testing session, was highlighted with him going off @ turn 2 and getting beached in the gravel trap. 


Circuit de Catalunya - Spain 11 March 2009

Pos. Driver Team Tyres Time Laps
1 J. Button Brawn GP Bridgestone 01:19.127 124
2 F. Massa Ferrari Bridgestone 01:20.168 109
3 R. Kubica BMW Bridgestone 01:20.217 109
4 T. Glock Toyota Bridgestone 01:20.410 99
5 F. Alonso Renault Bridgestone 01:20.863 107
6 S. Vettel Red Bull Bridgestone 01:21.165 102
7 N. Rosberg Williams Bridgestone 01:21.324 89
8 G. Fisichella Force India F1 Bridgestone 01:21.545 97
9 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso Bridgestone 01:21.569 140
10 L. Hamilton McLaren Bridgestone 01:21.657 82


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## F1Filter (Mar 12, 2009)

Final day of testing @ Catalunya

Brawn GP is the fastest again. Nearly a second quicker than the rest of the field. 

Whether or not the other teams are sandbagging. Based on the average times. These cars are all going to be seriously quick by the time the 2nd half of the season comes around. Monza is going to be really interesting with all this lowered downforce and drag. 


Circuit de Catalunya - Spain 12 March 2009

Pos. Driver Team Tyres Time Laps
1 R. Barrichello Brawn GP Bridgestone 01:18.926 110
2 N. Rosberg Williams Bridgestone 01:19.774 120
3 T. Glock Toyota Bridgestone 01:20.091 128
4 S. Vettel Red Bull Bridgestone 01:20.576 83
5 F. Alonso Renault Bridgestone 01:20.664 64
6 F. Massa Ferrari Bridgestone 01:20.677 92
7 R. Kubica BMW Bridgestone 01:20.740 134
8 L. Hamilton McLaren Bridgestone 01:20.869 70
9 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso Bridgestone 01:21.013 62
10 G. Fisichella Force India F1 Bridgestone 01:21.045 141
11 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso Bridgestone 01:21.629 27


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## stuh84 (Mar 12, 2009)

I'm slightly encouraged to see McLaren not far behind Ferarri, and also, I am amazed and very pleased to see how well the Brawn GP team are doing. They deserve it, no matter whether it lasts for a while, or if they are now a genuine force to be reckoned with, whatever happens, its great to see them there and surprising everyone


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## petereanima (Mar 13, 2009)

seems like the Brawn team will have a furious start, i'm glad to see that and am already excited for the new season!


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## F1Filter (Mar 14, 2009)

Looks like McLaren weren't sandbagging. They're admitting that they won't have a car capable of winning by the first GP weekend.



> McLaren have admitted that their 2009 car is unlikely to challenge for victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, following its lacklustre testing times in Spain this week. However, the team insists the MP4-24s problems are fixable.



The Official Formula 1 Website


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## stuh84 (Mar 14, 2009)

Poor McLaren, get everything right one year, than everything wrong the year after....still, Brawn GP wiping the floor with everyone is rather amusing and exciting to see


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## F1Filter (Mar 18, 2009)

So no more settling for a place on the podium. The driver with the most race wins becomes the WC. I like it. Not only because the most race wins is deserving of the championship. But it now forces both the driver and teams to take risks, where they would usually just settle for podium position and do some 'points farming'.

Driver with most race wins to become 2009 champion


On a side note. The 12hrs of Sebring is this weekend. Which in all fairness is really a shakedown run for all teams before the real ALMS & LMS seasons get underway. Still, most teams think that if you place well at Sebring. It's a good sign of how competitive you'll be later on in the season at the 24hs of LeMans. It looks like things are picking up right where they left off last year. Peugeot was quickest during yesterday's practice session, with the new Audi R-15's right behind them. 

If you're not able to get live TV coverage. Radio LeMans and IMSA's sites will be streaming live audio with timing & scoring.


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## Off_The_Heezay (Mar 19, 2009)

Honestly cannot believe how badly Max and Bernie have fucked up what was looking like being a quality season.


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## E Lucevan Le Stelle (Mar 19, 2009)

F1Filter said:


> On a side note. The 12hrs of Sebring is this weekend. Which in all fairness is really a shakedown run for all teams before the real ALMS & LMS seasons get underway. Still, most teams think that if you place well at Sebring. It's a good sign of how competitive you'll be later on in the season at the 24hs of LeMans. It looks like things are picking up right where they left off last year. Peugeot was quickest during yesterday's practice session, with the new Audi R-15's right behind them.
> 
> If you're not able to get live TV coverage. Radio LeMans and IMSA's sites will be streaming live audio with timing & scoring.



IIRC, Audi are only racing in the 12hrs of Sebring and at Le Mans this year... no LMS/ALMS.


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## F1Filter (Mar 20, 2009)

E Lucevan Le Stelle said:


> IIRC, Audi are only racing in the 12hrs of Sebring and at Le Mans this year... no LMS/ALMS.



I heard that about their factory team pulling out for 2009. But since their official announcement about this back in December. It seems that Audi can't really make up their mind what they're going to do. There's a lot of rumors floating around about them doing a strictly customer-team program for ALMS. I'm guessing they'll have the final word about this during the weekend. 

I didn't hear about them pulling out of LMS also? That sucks. Unless maybe they'll also do a customer-team program with that series?


Top 6 qualifying for tomorrow's race. While everyone was paying attention to the Peugeot-vs-Audi battle. An Accura came out of nowhere to snag pole position:

1. Gil de Ferran, Brazil; Simon Pagenaud, France; Scott Dixon, New Zealand; Acura ARX-02a (P1), 1:45.278, 126.522
2. Rinaldo Capello, Italy; Tom Kristensen, Denmark; Allan McNish, Scotland; Audi R15 TDI (P1), 1:45.360, 126.424
3. Nicolas Minassian, England; Pedro Lamy, Lisbon Portugal; Christian Klien, Austria; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (P1), 1:45.462, 126.301
4. Lucas Luhr, Germany; Mike Rockenfeller, Germany; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi R15 TDI (P1), 1:45.551, 126.195
5. Stephane Sarrazin, France; Franck Montagny, Brignoles France; Sebastien Bourdais, France; Peugeot 908 HDI FAP (P1), 1:45.559, 126.185
6. David Brabham, Australia; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Dario Franchitti, Scotland; Acura ARX-02a (P1), 1:46.504, 125.066


If you can't get live coverage where you live. You might be able to pull in the live stream from Speed TV.


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## F1Filter (Mar 24, 2009)

Sebring delivers again. What a great race. 

Audi scores the hat-trick with debut wins. Their R8, R10, and now R15 have all won the first time out of the box. And now Kristensen also holds the record for most Sebring wins. 

Maybe it's not that bad if Audi doesn't participate for the entire season. At least some other teams will finally get a chance to win. 

Awesome drive for the Risi team in GT2. Last to first. Nice to see Mika Salo on the podium, considering how lackluster of a F1 career he had.


Opening practice session @ Melbourne in a few days from now.


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## 777timesgod (Apr 3, 2009)

Amazing display of power by Brawn!!! Whow would believe it that a company that almost didnt make it to the championship. Renamed and reorganized made the 1-2.

Ferrari typically sucked in the first grand prix...


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## E Lucevan Le Stelle (Apr 3, 2009)

F1Filter said:


> I heard that about their factory team pulling out for 2009. But since their official announcement about this back in December. It seems that Audi can't really make up their mind what they're going to do. There's a lot of rumors floating around about them doing a strictly customer-team program for ALMS. I'm guessing they'll have the final word about this during the weekend.
> 
> I didn't hear about them pulling out of LMS also? That sucks. Unless maybe they'll also do a customer-team program with that series?



What I've heard is that the belief round the Audi Sport crew is that, quite honestly, they've got nothing left to prove with regards to endurance racing and while the economy's shit they might as well save money and just do Sebring and Le Mans - after all everyone knows it's got to the stage that they're pretty much going to win almost every time


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## 777timesgod (Apr 5, 2009)

Well the G.P from malaysia is over. Too bad they couldnt continue but the weather sucked so bad they would need speedboats to finish the race. 

Brawn showed its power once again and Ferrari/mcLaren are looking beaten up.


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## ESPImperium (Apr 25, 2009)

Some intresting data i have cam accross and put together:











And heres the projected pit stop strategy for Bahrain as well:


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## F1Filter (Apr 26, 2009)

Geesh. BMW's season is seriously unraveling. Great result today for the Red Bull and Toyota teams. Nice to see them up there on the podium for a change.


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## Sebastian (Apr 26, 2009)

F1Filter said:


> Geesh. BMW's season is seriously unraveling. Great result today for the Red Bull and Toyota teams. Nice to see them up there on the podium for a change.


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## stuh84 (Apr 26, 2009)

I'm loving this season, the fact everything is completely mixed up from the past few years, despite the fact I've always been partial to McLaren, I still like pretty much every team as it is, so seeing Button getting a car he deserves, Vettel being the new child prodigy, the Toyota's finally having their money pay off, and a generally close fight between most of the teams.........I've not missed a mile yet this season


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## 777timesgod (Apr 30, 2009)

Great season so far and i hope we will have a champion form a smaller team. I'd love to see that and i believe that many of you want it too. Ferrari deserves nothing so far and Mercedes has a lot of miles to cover yet.


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## F1Filter (Apr 30, 2009)

Having a smaller team win, can do nothing but good things for the series. There's already a possibility that LOLA might be entering a car next season. And there's also Peter Windsor's US-based team. If more teams have a legit chance of winning. Then I think it won't be long before you see a 26-car grid again.

Keep the costs down, while keeping the parity up. The better teams will still be able to find ways to advance with a limited budget. 


McLaren gets a suspended 3-race ban for the Lewis Hamilton incident @ Melbourne.


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## 777timesgod (Jul 27, 2009)

No one mentioned Massa's freak accident yet. Come on guys get with the program. A loose spring most probably, from Rubens barrichelo's F1 car struck Massa on the helmet as he was driving with great speed. the first blow left him unconscious and he crashed on the barricade with 120 miles per hour!!!!!!!

He underwent skull surgery at a military hospital and is said to be in a drug-coma right now. News are between rumors and simple announcements now...

Ferrari raced with only one vehicle at yesterday race. I just hope that Massa makes it out of this without some problem that will saty with him for the rest of his life. Get well soon Mas.


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## ralphy1976 (Jul 27, 2009)

777timesgod said:


> No one mentioned Massa's freak accident yet. Come on guys get with the program. A loose spring most probably, from Rubens barrichelo's F1 car struck Massa on the helmet as he was driving with great speed. the first blow left him unconscious and he crashed on the barricade with 120 miles per hour!!!!!!!
> 
> He underwent skull surgery at a military hospital and is said to be in a drug-coma right now. News are between rumors and simple announcements now...
> 
> Ferrari raced with only one vehicle at yesterday race. I just hope that Massa makes it out of this without some problem that will saty with him for the rest of his life. Get well soon Mas.


 
i agree with you. Yesterday's race was as far as i am concerned a non event simply for the fact that a rider is in a critical situation.

Get well soon, Massa. let's hope there will be no long term issues, but my guess is his carreer is over. Sad.


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## Stitch (Jul 27, 2009)

ralphy1976 said:


> i agree with you. Yesterday's race was as far as i am concerned a non event simply for the fact that a rider is in a critical situation.
> 
> Get well soon, Massa. let's hope there will be no long term issues, but my guess is his carreer is over. Sad.



I think you're overreacting. I think he will be alright. I never really liked Massa, I think he's a bit stuck up. Same goes for Piquet, I hope that was his last race. I think he's been coasting for too long on his fathers reputation. Flavio left after Alonso retired. I think that says it all for team relations there.


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## E Lucevan Le Stelle (Jul 27, 2009)

Stitch said:


> I think you're overreacting. I think he will be alright. I never really liked Massa, I think he's a bit stuck up. Same goes for Piquet, I hope that was his last race. I think he's been coasting for too long on his fathers reputation. Flavio left after Alonso retired. I think that says it all for team relations there.



I dunno, I've met Massa and he seems a very, very down to earth person - I do agree with you that his career is probably over after that crash though. Skull fractures and a brain haemorrhage would probably cause the FIA to withdraw his licence to race.


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## 777timesgod (Jul 28, 2009)

His career will be very hard to save. i mean first he has to recover 110%. this is F1 not a simple sport where you can focus on something else and work through your injuries. also how long will it take for him to come back and start practising again. I don't think that Ferrari will wait for him...


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## stuh84 (Jul 28, 2009)

Lauda came back from nearly being burnt alive, and Hakkinen nearly died in Adelaide in 1995, and he went on to win 2 championships. Hell you could even look at Webber slightly for someone who looked to possibly be out this season with a broken leg, but now he's won his first race and challenged for the championship.

I like Massa, I don't love the guy, and I did prefer Hamilton winning to him last season, but I can think of way worse drivers in the sport.


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## 777timesgod (Jul 29, 2009)

Well i am not sure of this. I mean a broken leg and burnt skin don't affect F1 driving after they are healed. Massa is now said to be better but he might have a problem with his left eye for the rest of his life. Do you think that the FIA and ferrari will allow a driver with an eye problem to go 300km an hour? I think not...

Too bad i believed that he deserved the title last year with Toyota's "problem" costing him the championship. Now his career is over so ferrari will have 2 new drivers for the first time in years. One will be alonso.

BTW I think Renault were punished for their stupid mistake with Alonso's whell and will not race next time.


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## Stitch (Jul 29, 2009)

777timesgod said:


> Well i am not sure of this. I mean a broken leg and burnt skin don't affect F1 driving after they are healed. Massa is now said to be better but he might have a problem with his left eye for the rest of his life. Do you think that the FIA and ferrari will allow a driver with an eye problem to go 300km an hour? I think not...
> 
> Too bad i believed that he deserved the title last year with Toyota's "problem" costing him the championship. Now his career is over so ferrari will have 2 new drivers for the first time in years. One will be alonso.
> 
> BTW I think Renault were punished for their stupid mistake with Alonso's whell and will not race next time.



It's all hokey on the internet. He hasn't been able to open his eye yet; the people saying he has serious eyesight problems and whatnot are all speculating.


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## phatfil (Jul 29, 2009)

Autosport is reporting that Massa did open his eye today and that he can see. he also is speaking. In 3 different languages no less.

they have also reported that Massa's replacement will be none other than Michael Schumacher himself!


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## y8c616 (Jul 29, 2009)

phatfil said:


> Autosport is reporting that Massa did open his eye today and that he can see. he also is speaking. In 3 different languages no less.
> 
> they have also reported that Massa's replacement will be none other than Michael Schumacher himself!


Really? It'll be cool to see Schumacher racing again. Though he has been riding in the German Superbike series recently; bike racing is real motorsport IMO, whereas F1, while requiring skill to drive the vehicles, is boring to watch, what with the low amount of overtaking action. It's more like a 70 lap parade.
Either way, hope masa recovers, and it's good to see Lewis Hamilton winning again; he proved he was the best in the world last year, but hasn't had the car to maintain that this year.


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## playstopause (Jul 29, 2009)

A link to support phatfil's post.

Schumacher to make comeback to replace Massa - FOX Sports on MSN

That is pretty crazy.


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## phatfil (Jul 29, 2009)

thanks, playstopause.


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## Stitch (Jul 29, 2009)

Thing is Michael won't have turned a wheel in the current Ferrarri until Friday practice next race. Mental. 

Really looking forward to seeing what he can do. Would love it more if the Brawns still whupped his ass. Not because I dislike him - I think he is immensely talented - merely that I'd like to think Brawn took his magic with him to the Honda team.


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## 777timesgod (Jul 30, 2009)

Stitch said:


> Thing is Michael won't have turned a wheel in the current Ferrarri until Friday practice next race. Mental.
> 
> Really looking forward to seeing what he can do. Would love it more if the Brawns still whupped his ass. Not because I dislike him - I think he is immensely talented - merely that I'd like to think Brawn took his magic with him to the Honda team.



Michael was the best in the business. Yes it helped that he had a strong car but still Brawn didn't send him to the top by himself.


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## Hawkevil (Jul 30, 2009)

This is good news for F1. It's made this season a bit less dull than what it coulld have turned out to be. Well, TBH the last few races have been a turn around. For the first few races when Brawn were at the front leading the way, Even lapping Hamilton got very boring. Now Hamiltons in front of them haha.


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## phatfil (Jul 30, 2009)

Stitch said:


> Thing is Michael won't have turned a wheel in the current Ferrarri until Friday practice next race. Mental.
> 
> Really looking forward to seeing what he can do. Would love it more if the Brawns still whupped his ass. Not because I dislike him - I think he is immensely talented - merely that I'd like to think Brawn took his magic with him to the Honda team.


 
i'm sure he will be spending huge amounts of time in their simulator. not perfect, but that and a few practice sessions should get him going. probably won't be at full speed for Valencia, though. maybe by Monza?

i'm not so sure the Brawns are going to be the force they were. word is they are running short on cash and that they are extending the service life of some parts to save cash. their cars are getting old and fragile.

and does anyone else think it's more than a little strange that Renault gets a race ban for something falling off the car that 'could' have caused a catastrophe while a part fell off a Brawn and 'did' cause a catastrophe, yet they get no penatly at all?


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## Hawkevil (Jul 30, 2009)

phatfil said:


> and does anyone else think it's more than a little strange that Renault gets a race ban for something falling off the car that 'could' have caused a catastrophe while a part fell off a Brawn and 'did' cause a catastrophe, yet they get no penatly at all?


 
I think the race ban is a little steep but I agree with the penalty. Renault got the penalty for letting an unsafe car out of the pits. The big difference is that Renault knew there was a problem and it was obvious the wheel was coming off where as Brawn didn't know a piece was going to fall off their car. 

Basically, Brawn couldn't avoid it where as Renault could.


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## stuh84 (Jul 30, 2009)

Stitch said:


> Thing is Michael won't have turned a wheel in the current Ferrarri until Friday practice next race. Mental.



Jaime Alguersuari hadn't turned a wheel in an F1 car at all before last Friday , THAT is mental


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## phatfil (Jul 30, 2009)

Hawkevil said:


> I think the race ban is a little steep but I agree with the penalty. Renault got the penalty for letting an unsafe car out of the pits. The big difference is that Renault knew there was a problem and it was obvious the wheel was coming off where as Brawn didn't know a piece was going to fall off their car.
> 
> Basically, Brawn couldn't avoid it where as Renault could.


 
wheels have come off for many reasons. bad nut, gun failure, etc, but no team has ever been given a race ban for it. there's no precendent for the penalty and no rule that makes that penalty manditory. a race ban is so far over the top.

here's a good article on the subject if you're interested...

pitpass - the latest, hottest F1, GP2, GP2 Asia & A1GP news


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## Hawkevil (Jul 30, 2009)

Thanks for the article. Really interesting to read. I haven't been into racing for long (2 years maybe) and I have to admit I don't know much about penalties and such. 

I think the last paragraph of that article sums the whole thing up really well. 

If it hadnt been for the preceeding accidents with Surtees and Massa then this whole thing could have been overlooked but because of it, chances are it has been blown way out of proportion because motorsport was in the spot light regarding safety. 

Maybe it has something to do with FIA and the stewards wanting to retain their reputation for safety.

Then again, like in the article, it could be the FIA wanting to punish Renault for the shit storm that happened a few week ago.


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## Stitch (Jul 30, 2009)

stuh84 said:


> Jaime Alguersuari hadn't turned a wheel in an F1 car at all before last Friday , THAT is mental



Exactly. And he didn't mes up _once_. Sure, he came second last, but he still kept a mean pace - in qualifying he was still only a tenth of a second or two behind the rest. For someone's first hike into the season that is great going.


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## Variant (Jul 30, 2009)

playstopause said:


> A link to support phatfil's post.
> 
> Schumacher to make comeback to replace Massa - FOX Sports on MSN
> 
> That is pretty crazy.





Holy !!!! I was just saying last week to my G.F. that if M.S. raced at the same time as Hamilton, I'd still push for anybody but Hamilton.  Well, here's to even Schumi beating him. 



> Would love it more if the Brawns still whupped his ass. Not because I dislike him - I think he is immensely talented - merely that I'd like to think Brawn took his magic with him to the Honda team.



 Brawn needs to get back on-point now!!!


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## 777timesgod (Jul 31, 2009)

phatfil said:


> wheels have come off for many reasons. bad nut, gun failure, etc, but no team has ever been given a race ban for it. there's no precendent for the penalty and no rule that makes that penalty manditory. a race ban is so far over the top.]



you have to understand that people are scared in the FIA over what went down and believe that Renault should had been more careful since the day before that freak accident happened...


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## Hawkevil (Jul 31, 2009)

Variant said:


> Holy !!!! I was just saying last week to my G.F. that if M.S. raced at the same time as Hamilton, I'd still push for anybody but Hamilton.  Well, here's to even Schumi beating him.


 
What do some people have against Hamilton that I don't know about?? 

It seems you hate him just for the fun of hating him. 

He's a great driver and is actually fun to watch.


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## 777timesgod (Aug 1, 2009)

Hawkevil said:


> What do some people have against Hamilton that I don't know about??
> 
> It seems you hate him just for the fun of hating him.
> 
> He's a great driver and is actually fun to watch.



Well beside being an a-hole he also left the blame for his little attack on toyota's Trulli some weeks ago on the shoulders of that McLarens employee. He was fired after 30 years with the brand so hamilton could look like the victim and that he was orderd to drive the way he did...
Check it out on the web. 

Also if it wasnt for Timo Glock's "problem" last year he wouldnt be champion and last but not least he is not fun to watch at all. + the other drivers complained about this driving on more than one occasion.


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## Hawkevil (Aug 1, 2009)

Are you talking about the incident that happened in Australia because if you listen to the radio conversation everyone was confused what to do and blaming just Hamilton for that is way over the top. The whole point of the radios is to relay information to the drivers as fast as possible and the team then let him down because they held evidence that should have been put forward. Hamilton done the right thing here even if his team told him to lie.

Regarding your commenting with Timo Glock letting Hamilton win I think the biggest word in your comment is 'if'. Incidents happen like this all the time, maybe not with so much at stake but they do happen. If I remember correctly, it wasn't a problem as such that Glock had. He was on the completely wrong tyre and had no grip what so ever when it was hammering it down with rain. 

The fact is Hamilton is the champion and to say he only won it in the last race is ignorant. He would have had to be in a position of winning it in the first place. Everyone knew it could have gone either way with Massa or Hamilton and basing it all on being lucky or unlucky is crazy. Look at other sport, 'luck' seems to be a part of it but if they wern't good enough at what they do then that luck couldn't come into action.

As for not being fun to watch, I'd say thats more of a personal preference but there seems to be only Hamilton and Alonso that dare to take risks like they do and as for other drivers complaining then wtf are they doing racing. A big reason they get paid so much is because of the danger they put themselves in. For me, racing is all about over taking and not watching an hour and a half parade lap which F1 seems to be at the moment.


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## 777timesgod (Aug 3, 2009)

Hawkevil said:


> Are you talking about the incident that happened in Australia because if you listen to the radio conversation everyone was confused what to do and blaming just Hamilton for that is way over the top. The whole point of the radios is to relay information to the drivers as fast as possible and the team then let him down because they held evidence that should have been put forward. Hamilton done the right thing here even if his team told him to lie.
> 
> Regarding your commenting with Timo Glock letting Hamilton win I think the biggest word in your comment is 'if'. Incidents happen like this all the time, maybe not with so much at stake but they do happen. If I remember correctly, it wasn't a problem as such that Glock had. He was on the completely wrong tyre and had no grip what so ever when it was hammering it down with rain.
> 
> ...



Ok hamilton fun-club take it easy...

All i am saying is that he was pushed and there is no denying that. even from McLaren. he wasnt the best driver they had from the younger roster. He was among the best but not no1. ronn Dennis had a thing for him and always supported him. regrdless of what happened hamilton didnt take responsibility of what happened and LIED. He threw the blame on another driver and if i am not mistaken FIA punished him so.....


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## 777timesgod (Aug 13, 2009)

No Schumaher for F1. It seems that he is under too much pain from his bike accident to race in f1 conditions...

The ferrari spot will go to the guy that was testing the f1 for years. i cant remember his name though.


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## ralphy1976 (Aug 13, 2009)

777timesgod said:


> No Schumaher for F1. It seems that he is under too much pain from his bike accident to race in f1 conditions...
> 
> The ferrari spot will go to the guy that was testing the f1 for years. i cant remember his name though.


 
you don't need to as he will always be remembered as "the-guy-who-was testing-the-f1-for-years-and-raced-for-ferrari-once"


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## phatfil (Aug 13, 2009)

Luca Badoer. a good driver, but no Schumacher.


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## 777timesgod (Aug 13, 2009)

phatfil said:


> Luca Badoer. a good driver, but no Schumacher.



There you go thanks phil. Thats the one. well he has been doing this his whole life i guess so this will be nice. Giving him a chance to race a little bit.


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## Hawkevil (Aug 13, 2009)

It sucks Schumacher isn't racig now. 

I seen an interview with Eddie Jordan on the BBC news last night going on about it and it lasted for like 10 seconds. It brought a smile to my face knowing that his answer would have been way longer than that but most of it would have been full of bullshit


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## 777timesgod (Aug 25, 2009)

OMG did Badoer screw the race up. i hate to flame on a guy who just got a lucky break but....just check youtube to see why he sucked so much.

BAD-oer, the tifozis are going to crucify him.


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## BlindingLight7 (Aug 25, 2009)

777timesgod said:


> OMG did Badoer screw the race up. i hate to flame on a guy who just got a lucky break but....just check youtube to see why he sucked so much.
> 
> BAD-oer, the tifozis are going to crucify him.


hey man, i doubt you could even get through a fucking corner without crashing into something, you have no idea how hard it is to control one of those cars, so give him a break why don'tcha?


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## Scali (Aug 25, 2009)

BlindingLight7 said:


> hey man, i doubt you could even get through a fucking corner without crashing into something, you have no idea how hard it is to control one of those cars, so give him a break why don'tcha?


 
Yea, have you seen the Top Gear episode where Hammond got to drive an F1 car?
Now Hammond has driven his share of fast cars, but he was completely useless in the F1 car. He didn't dare to drive it fast enough to get the tyres and brakes to the right temperatures, so the car was even harder to control.

I think Luca Badoer just had bad luck that this was a street circuit (always difficult with corners and grip and all that), and perhaps a circuit he isn't at all familiar with. He's been Ferrari's F1 test driver for the past 12 years, and has driven some F1 Grand Prix before that. I think he'll do better next time, he just needs to get into it again.


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## 777timesgod (Aug 26, 2009)

BlindingLight7 said:


> hey man, i doubt you could even get through a fucking corner without crashing into something, you have no idea how hard it is to control one of those cars, so give him a break why don'tcha?



I drive at 120 miles sometimes and dont crash or lose control so guess again chump. Of course i cant drive a F1 but then again i didnt sign up for it like badoer did so why are you comparing.

He humiliated ferrari and himself by even bothering to race. I know that every ferrari fan i have spoken to is really pissed off and want a piece of him. The fans of other teams are laughing their asses off. 
This is F1 kids mistakes are not on the scedule and definetely not a terrible performance like this. Dead last with a Ferrari? Without any mechanical problems? A rookie would do better for gods sake. Every newspaper even the mildest one flamed him and you guys are playing advocate...


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## phatfil (Aug 26, 2009)

you need to drive an F1 car constantly to be good at it. Luca got thrown to the wolves. keep in mind that everyone up and down pit lane said that even Schumacher, racing God, would need a race or 2 to get up to speed.

i am one of the Tifosi (got the tat to prove it!) and i am not calling for Luca's head. i reserve judgement until this weekend.


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## Hawkevil (Aug 30, 2009)

Great race today at Spa!! Complete opposite to Velencia!

It's a shame so many people went out in the first lap and would have loved for Alonso to stay in the race but Im glad for Force India!

Hopefully they can keep it up!

Monza next


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## Hawkevil (Sep 3, 2009)

According to a few sites Fisichella is now driving for Ferrari until the end of 2010...

He will then be a reserve driver for Ferrari after...

Bad move IMO, I'd rather race for an average team than probably not have a chance to drive for a great team. Well, who knows what will happen next year. Force India might be competing for the championship...


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