Formula One (the F1 thread)

[superiorrain]

So we're now 2 races down, there are new rules, changing teams and well everything is slightly strange in the world of F1. Will this seasons finally mix things up, as it looks to be doing? and whats up with all the new rules, is really making the sport any better?

So whats eveyones thoughts on the last race? Will the Ferrari make its fight back or are Renualt now top dog?

This thread should be a place to discuss all things formula one, pre race, after race and anything else related. So please discuss...

Oh just to make it interesting i'm a Jensen Button fan, so lets hope that he'll do what he done last year but this time better. Not doing too well at the moment 2 retirements out of 2 races, poor show but it will make the next 17 races interesting.

[Spartak]

I think the FIA are screwing F1 with their new engine and downforce rules. I hope it doesn't take a fatal accident for them to realise that the way to reduce speeds is to limit the engine output, and not fuck with the downforce.

[Craven Morehead]

I'm a Button fan as well however I thought it was poetic justice that both Honda engines blew in the opening laps considering they were new engines (BAR Honda kind of took advantage of the rules). Mercedes McLaren might be strong, Williams BMW looks improved. The Cosworth engnines have improved tremendously. Renault is hot, very hot. But the season will really begin when the 2005 Ferrari finally makes it on the track. Ferrari looks very mortal at this point. Kind of fun to see the grid all mixed up. And Paul Stoddard is a tool.

Looking forward to the USGP.

[boom29]

Well, after two races it seems that the rule changes have at least evened out the field. Michael Schumaker has not even been close to sniffing first place. There's still a long way to go, but it appears that the season will be competitive. Maybe Montoya was right when he said that Schumaker's dominance was more due to Ferrari's cars, than Michael himself. We'll just have to wait and see...

[Spartak]

M. Schumacher won the F1 championship when he was with Benetton. I think Montoya needs to shut up until he wins one.

I think with the FIA babying down the sport it will be more upto the car, mainly the reliabilty and resistance to wear. Engines were built to last one race but now they have to last two, this simply ensures that mediocroty will triumph over excellence.

[superiorrain]

It's still too early to dismiss M Schumacher (but funny that Montoya does) at the moment, will be more interesting to see what he does with the new car. Hopefully he'll get that next race although it seems unlikely.

All the new rules certainly have mixed things up though. I'm still unsure of the engine rule to, i don't like the drivers having to hold back just to protect their engines.

[fatbob]

Button fans!!!?? why? He is sooooo dull!
I have soft spot for DC cos he gets no attention from the UK press despite the fact that he has been the most consistent British driver ever.

This season looks like it could be interesting although there is still not enough overtaking! Good to see Ferrari not doing so well and also McLaren too, Ron Dennis is a bit of a twat. Reanult have a little of the old F1 flare about them so lets hope that they keep up their good form, also Red Bull for DC.

[Craven Morehead]

DC? This is his year. Or was it last year? Or the one before that? There have been so many.

[superiorrain]

Originally Posted by Craven Morehead

DC? This is his year. Or was it last year? Or the one before that? There have been so many.

Whatever was his year, i think we can say with some certainty that this will be his last. He may well be the most consistent driver in formula one he certainly has done anything spectaticular. However i do agree with him when he says that qualifying should change back to the old way. What was wrong with all the cars going out in the last 10 minutes all trying to get the best time, even if the first 50 minutes was shit TV. It's even crapper now than before, bring back old qualifying i say.

[fatbob]

i agree i actually liked the slow 50 mins 'cos you got all the gossip and chat from the pits etc and then 10 mins of mental action!

i feel really sorry for dc. he has proven himself to be a great driver, especially on race day but he has never been in the right place at the right time...after mika left mclaren became shit just when dc might have been in the position to be their number one driver...

[desal75]

The thing I hate about the new rules, especially the tire and engine rules is that now drivers are afraid to push. Whether it is because their tires are spent or they want to save the engine they just won't be able to safely charge after one another. An F1 race used to be a series of 15 lap sprints everytime a driver got new tires, now it is an endurance event.

[dksuddeth]

guess they didn't learn a thing from the NEXTEL circuit when they tried this in 93. They put more surface area on the rear spoiler and lowered the front air dam to slow down the cars on the superspeedways and all it did was bunch them up 3 wide all the way around the track.

[Craven Morehead]

Originally Posted by desal75

The thing I hate about the new rules, especially the tire and engine rules is that now drivers are afraid to push. Whether it is because their tires are spent or they want to save the engine they just won't be able to safely charge after one another. An F1 race used to be a series of 15 lap sprints everytime a driver got new tires, now it is an endurance event.

word - gone are the flashes of brilliance, especially during qualifications.

[archer2371]

Red Bull Racing is testing an American. His name is Scott Speed. No joke.

[superiorrain]

Originally Posted by archer2371

Scott Speed.

What a great name, he'll be the first american ever in formula one if he gets a drive, or was there another?

[Craven Morehead]

Mario and Michael Andretti. Danny Sullivan. Eddie Cheever. Phil Hill. Dan Gurney. Probably missing a few.......

Speed's good, he did it the right way. Raced in Europe.

[Craven Morehead]

sorry don't have a link to the original article - I copied this from another forum:

Scott Speed impressive in first F1 test
Thu 24 Mar, 6:27 PM

Red Bull Racing and Williams started their testing work today in Barcelona.

Neel Jani and Scott Speed had the opportunity to test with Red Bull, the latest experiencing F1 for the first time. The American driver was impressive, finishing with the fastest time of the day at the wheel of last year's car.

Nick Heidfeld and Antonio Pizzonia were on duty at Williams, the two men driving the FW27.

"We’re back in Barcelona for just two days this week, testing parts in preparation for next weekend’s race in Bahrain," said Williams Test Team Manager Tim Newton. "With Nick and Antonio on duty for the team, we concentrated on the usual set-up work this morning. While Nick carried out a series of long runs this afternoon, Antonio put the FW27 through its paces practising starts. Both drivers will return to the track tomorrow.“

Barcelona - 24/03/05

1. S. Speed - Red Bull Cosworth - 1'16"122 (+0"000) - 39 laps
2. N. Heidfeld - BMW Williams FW27 - 1'16"674 (+0"552) - 121 laps
3. A. Pizzonia - BMW Williams FW27 - 1'17"160 (+1"038) - 111 laps
4. N. Jani - Red Bull Cosworth - 1'18"037 (+1"915) - 51 laps

[desal75]

I think the best thing about Scott Speed is that he has worked his way up through the ranks in Europe. He won't go into F1 with the attitude that Michael Andretti had. Andretti had already had some success in America and didn't really feel the need to prove anything. Thus a lack luster F1 effort. Speed on the other hand seems very hungry. If he indeed makes it I will do anything I can to support him as long as he doesn't turn into a peckerhead.

[superiorrain]

It's official the F2005 will debut in Bahrain, i wonder what that will do for Ferrari's fortunes. Maybe Schumacher will put some effort into the race next weekend unlike last weekend where i'm sure he was just going through the formalities.

Linky

BAHRAIN DEBUT FOR F2005 - (ITV)

Off-form Ferrari has confirmed that it will race its new F2005 challenger in Bahrain next weekend.

The team has decided to bring forward the race debut of the new car, originally scheduled for the San Marino Grand Prix, in an effort to close the gap in performance to runaway championship leaders Renault.

"We'll take two new cars to Bahrain," said a Ferrari spokesman.

"We have all the parts.

"We will need to work a lot but everything will be ready for the race."

The team conducted an intensive three-day test with the F2005 at its Mugello track this week.

Both Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello gave the car a resounding thumbs-up, and it is believed that the decision would have been made on Wednesday evening.

"The Mugello test, where both race drivers were able to drive the F2005 for the first time, confirmed its potential," said team principal Jean Todt.

"The poor results of the first two races have given us a positive stimulus.

"Together with (tyre supplier) Bridgestone, we have decided to speed up the development programme and believe that various new elements, car and tyres, will allow us to get back to attacking form after two races on the defensive.

"I have to say I am very pleased with how the team and all our partners have reacted to try and return quickly to our true level of competitiveness."

[desal75]

Any picks on who will win in Bahrain? More Peugot dominance? Brilliant debut for the F2005? What do you guys think?

[Craven Morehead]

No Montoya at Bahrain - broken scapula. Pedro de la Rosa will be in his place.

[Serpent]

Originally Posted by desal75

Any picks on who will win in Bahrain? More Peugot dominance? Brilliant debut for the F2005? What do you guys think?

peugot is in formula one? ... no hehe think you mean renault.

[desal75]

Originally Posted by Serpent

peugot is in formula one? ... no hehe think you mean renault.

Sorry guys, I get those French teams mixed up some times. I do mean Renault.

[superiorrain]

After qualifying one i'd put good money on Schumacher winning tomorrow, plus no montoya to knoch him off the course only engine failure will stop him. Should be good though if he starts behind the two Renults as they're bound to be off the line quicker, but i think that micheal will surpass them. Who knows i maybe wrong, but the new car is looking like it has some pace.

All in all looks like it will be a good race tomorrow.

[Craven Morehead]

Alonso for me

[Craven Morehead]

Alonso

Cheers for de la Rosa, as well!

[superiorrain]

All in all a good race, shame about michael though, would have like to seen more of a battle for the front spot. Thought DC done well taking RB on the last lap, as he get paid per point probably best he did. Yet again Ferrari comes away with nothing, bet there are some unhappy people there today.

[desal75]

The FIA changed the rules to make a more exciting season by preventing one team ie Ferrari from dominating. What if all they have done is taken away Ferrari domination and given us Renault? Congrats to them for their success though.

[superiorrain]

What does everyone think of the 'breakaway' world championship that there are currently talks of, afterall every team bar Ferrari and possibily RBR are said to be in talks. Would they really breakaway from the official F1 to start their own championship or is it just a show to get more money out of bernie?

And which would you watch if they did and were shown at the same time? or would it be the end of old F1.

[Craven Morehead]

Not sure what to make of it. Can't imagine F1 splitting into. For all practical purposes Ferrari is F1. My money's on Bernie. Manufacturers eventually screw it up.

[superiorrain]

Now that was some racing, the ferrari was amazing to get up to second place. Best race i've seen for ages. Can't wait for the next race.

[Craven Morehead]

Hell of a race!!! Alonso didn't break under the pressure. He knew the Schumacher was faster and still was able to hold him off w/o blocking. Very impressive. Sometime tomorrow once Renault comes down from a well deserved high, Flavio will realize they need to step up their game considerably as those red cars are back and very fast. Had Schu not screwed up in Sunday quals the outcoume would have been very different. This is starting out to be a great season.

[superiorrain]

I just can't believe it, BUTTON and BAR BANNED for two races!!!!! Thats way to harsh in my opinion, take their points away, but ban them for 2 races means at least in my book not so much excitement in the next races. I know i'm a button fan but even if it was anyother driver, i'd still say take the points away, banning is way too much.

Just needed to vent my anger. Bloody FIA. who cares if he was slightly underweight.

[Craven Morehead]

From what I've heard, BAR was doing this all last year, as well. There's just no way to prove it now. The FIA was tipped off by at least one former BAR employee. Rumored to be David Richards!!! I wonder if F1 were fielding 24 cars each race, if the penalty would have been more severe. They were using a 'hidden' fuel tank that allowed the car to run underweight at various times during the race, but never at the end of the race. When the car was drained of fuel for post race inspection, the hidden tank was never drained. That is, until Imola when the FIA was on the look out for it. They 'hoovered' the fuel out of the tank. Clearly running under weight or longer between refueling would give the car and advantage. No wonder Jense wanted to get away from BAR at the end of last season.

[powerclown]

A joke...It's not like BAR was tearing it up in the meantime. It's one thing for BAR to be doing this and not getting any results; it'd be a bigger deal if, say, Ferrari was doing it. I'm pretty surprised though; I thought BAR had 2 drivers good enough that they didn't need to cheat to get results. Is the car really that bad? And what has happened to the charging, aggressive style that Sato was showing a year or 2 ago? I really thought he was going to be something special, a potential world champion even.

I was impressed with the race in Imola between Alonso & Schumacher. This has to have been the best F1 race in a looooong time. Reminded me of the Monaco GP years ago where Senna held off a faster Mansell lap after lap after lap, to take the win. Here's hoping for more of the same!

[Craven Morehead]

Last year BAR was second in the constructor's championship which results in a huge monetary gain for the team. So maybe it wasn't all up to the drivers, if indeed BAR did this last year as rumored. No way to prove it, though.

I've just been passed another rumor that all the teams fuel tanks come from the same manufacturer. I'm not sure if they are all to the same spec, or if they are to different specs for different teams.

Too many rumors.

[superiorrain]

but two races!!! still too much, would be funny to find out that David Richards was the guy that tipped them off. Nice picture btw.

Be interesting to see this weekends race. Still would have been better with more cars, even if any points won by them weren't valid.

[Craven Morehead]

Yeah, the David Richards angle is way too funny! Wouldn't surprise me, he didn't leave on good terms. And when he was there it wasn't all rainbows and sunshine. I guess he can be 'difficult'

[Craven Morehead]

BTW - Mosely thinks BAR got off easy

Mosley says BAR punishment not enough The Court of Appeal stopped short of the ultimate sanction of excluding the BAR Honda team from the World Championship. The Honda-powered team were called to appear before the FIA's International Court of Appeal on Wednesday to answer charges they raced an underweight car in the San Marino GP. On Thursday the FIA handed down their verdict, stripping Jenson Button and Takuma Sato of their points from Imola and banning the team for the next two races.

[powerclown]

Last year BAR was second in the constructor's championship which results in a huge monetary gain for the team.

Good point. 2 races is going to be quite an expensive punishment. They're lucky to still be in the series.

This just in: Minardi disqualified for the Season - Entire secondary fuel cell discovered...inside nosecone!!