[Eff-1]

Ferarri's new car is out. Looks straightfoward. You can see they've taken front nose cone styling cues from last year's Red Bull.

Maclaren's new car -- not sure what I think about the rear wing connected to the engine cover. It might make sense on paper, but looks bizarre. Can't wait to see what happens when another driver punts them from the rear.

[jello24]

Awesome... Ferrari looks typical, but the McLaren's design looks stupid. I wonder how many seconds they shaved off for having a stupid looking car.

[StylinRed]

since we locked the 09 thread :P


YouTube- Ferrari F10

[vexor]

And for those that haven't seen the cars yet, here are some pics

McLaren MP4-25
http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv240/vexor47/misc/1264767660A1660.jpg
http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv240/vexor47/misc/zx500y290_850136.jpg


Ferrari F10
http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv240/vexor47/misc/100001new_m.jpg
http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv240/vexor47/misc/100007new_m.jpg


Mercedes GP Petronas F1
http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv240/vexor47/misc/_mg_7631_m.jpg
http://i687.photobucket.com/albums/vv240/vexor47/misc/_mg_7780_m.jpg

[Eff-1]

^ that's actually last year's Braun GP with the new 2010 livery. Mercedes doesn't reveal the new car for a couple weeks.

[vexor]

^ that's actually last year's Braun GP with the new 2010 livery. Mercedes doesn't reveal the new car for a couple weeks.

oh is it? ok sry my bad

[Senna4ever]

Just heard rumours of Michael Schumacher coming to Vancouver during the Olympics to do PR for Omega, along with other big names in sports.

[Hondaracer]

Wow new cars are sick the McLaren looks crazy

[HonestTea]

Just heard rumours of Michael Schumacher coming to Vancouver during the Olympics to do PR for Omega, along with other big names in sports.

:eek:

[Senna4ever]

I guess my co-worker saw this article:

http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/sports/article/436286--impressive-games-guest-list-to-include-sport-society-hollywood-a-list

[StylinRed]

ooo, star studded event

maybe i shouldnt go on vacation

[Meowjin]

Just heard rumours of Michael Schumacher coming to Vancouver during the Olympics to do PR for Omega, along with other big names in sports.

MORE INFO JASON

[Senna4ever]

MORE INFO JASON
Sorry, Andreas. The only info I have is that link I posted a few posts above.

[vexor]

Mercedes GP W01
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/02/884076695-2639122010.jpg

Renault R30
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/01/00410801012.jpg
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/01/00410801003.jpg

[!Kodamu]

YouTube- FORMULA1 WINTER TESTING 2010 - VALENCIA DAY 1

[HonestTea]

Was following via Twitter on the testing last night but fell asleep before Schumacher went onto track @ 4:30am.

Looks like Schumacher hasn't lost his pace after being absent :) But like they all say, testing means nothing since I'm sure some teams are planning to sandbag it or run some funky shit before Bahrain :)

The Renault Livery is pretty nice, BMW-Sauber doesn't seem to have ANY major sponsors, sorta like the 2009/10 Brawn GP Car. The Ferrari livery with the White is starting to grow on me as I'm sure the McLaren will as well.

I feel bad for Peter Sauber, he didn't want to let the team he created die so he had to re-buy the other 80% stake BMW had on the team. I hope they get some major sponsors on the car.

Provisional Day 1 Results:

Provisional times
01. F Massa Ferrari 1:12.574 102 laps
02. P de las Rosa BMW Sauber 1:12.784 74 laps
03. M Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:12.947 40 laps
04. N Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:13.543 39 laps
05. G Paffett McLaren-Mercedes 1:13.846 86 laps
06. R Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:14.449 75 laps
07. S Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:14.762 18 laps
08. R Kubica Renault 1:15.000 69 laps

DAY 2 IS COMING UP FOR JENSON BUTTON + LEWIS HAMILTON AND FERNANDO ALONSO!!

[StylinRed]

Nobody has mentioned the Chinese driver for Renault


Ho-Ping Tung (Tung Ho-Ping)

http://static.sidepodcast.com/content/2009/11/ho_pin_tung.jpg


he's dutch btw, and is a reserve driver

[Eff-1]

Red Bull also has the funky rear wing connected to the engine pod.

Looking forward to seeing the new Force India and the USGP car.

[Senna4ever]

It's 1995 all over again with those fins on top of the airbox.

[maxx]

Russian driver for renault along with Kubica as well

[PiuYi]

I guess my co-worker saw this article:

http://www.metronews.ca/vancouver/sports/article/436286--impressive-games-guest-list-to-include-sport-society-hollywood-a-list

mmm zhang zhiyi :drool

[StylinRed]

mmm zhang zhiyi :drool

somones wife assaulted her with acid didnt they? or was that another actress

[HonestTea]

Massa still up there with a 1.11.782 I believe.

Too bad testing times mean nothing.. LOL

[impactX]

Ferrari was also at the top last year, until Brawn arrived.

The Mercedes in testing right now is only running last year's front wing and diffuser... Knowing Brawn, he always has a card up his sleeve and will probably introduce a triple/quad deck diffuser just like the Mclaren. It's probably so innovative that they don't want to show it in testing for now.

[HonestTea]

Yeah, I believe RBR has something special in store as well..knowing Adrian Newey, he probably has something up his sleeves hence RBR didn't want to join the other teams @ Valencia.

[impactX]

Yeah, Neway wants to perfect the aero of the car. They did the same last year (skipping the initial test) and look how strong they were.

Even though Ferrari is strong in testing, I personally wouldn't be too worried about them because after they tried to Italianize the team after 2006, they started to fall apart and screw up A LOT in the past 3 years.

[HonestTea]

Indeed! The dream team is all gone, Shumacher, Brawn and Todt.

Rumors have it that Ferrari are already working on the F10B car lol don't know how much truth there is to that but a lot of sources are reporting it :)

[impactX]

And Italianizing the team has been their undoing... they have been making amature mistakes in the pitlane.

I think Ferrari rejected that rumor (about F10b) already; but Ferrari still feels wrong about the whole diffuser saga, so they may not have built the new diffuser at the limit (within the rules) like some other teams (like Mclaren which claims that they interpreted the rules on the aggressive side) did.

[StylinRed]

somones wife assaulted her with acid didnt they? or was that another actress

oh nevermind it was ZiYi but it was Ink not Acid

[keitaro]

Was following via Twitter on the testing last night but fell asleep before Schumacher went onto track @ 4:30am.

Looks like Schumacher hasn't lost his pace after being absent :) But like they all say, testing means nothing since I'm sure some teams are planning to sandbag it or run some funky shit before Bahrain :)

The Renault Livery is pretty nice, BMW-Sauber doesn't seem to have ANY major sponsors, sorta like the 2009/10 Brawn GP Car. The Ferrari livery with the White is starting to grow on me as I'm sure the McLaren will as well.

I feel bad for Peter Sauber, he didn't want to let the team he created die so he had to re-buy the other 80% stake BMW had on the team. I hope they get some major sponsors on the car.

Provisional Day 1 Results:

Provisional times
01. F Massa Ferrari 1:12.574 102 laps
02. P de las Rosa BMW Sauber 1:12.784 74 laps
03. M Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:12.947 40 laps
04. N Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:13.543 39 laps
05. G Paffett McLaren-Mercedes 1:13.846 86 laps
06. R Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:14.449 75 laps
07. S Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:14.762 18 laps
08. R Kubica Renault 1:15.000 69 laps

DAY 2 IS COMING UP FOR JENSON BUTTON + LEWIS HAMILTON AND FERNANDO ALONSO!!

what is the twitter link to follow f1 action?

[HonestTea]

It was a combination between http://twitter.jamesallenonf1.com/live and http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/173

[HonestTea]

http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3213_5916299,00.html

Brawn admits Mercedes are off the pace
Wednesday 3rd February 2010

Ross Brawn has admitted his Mercedes team have "got a bit of work to do" in order to catch McLaren and Ferrari while Michael Schumacher says he does not expect to challenge for early-season race wins.

Though wary of drawing firm conclusions from the opening three days of winter testing, Brawn all-but conceded that his team are lagging behind the pace-setters despite Schumacher's return.

"It's always very difficult to judge. On full tanks on Tuesday we didn't look too bad but we're a little bit off on pace and [there are problems with] the handling and balance of the car which we can fix for Jerez. We know what the problem is," Brawn told the BBC.

"Of course the other teams will be progressing as well so we are reasonable, not as quick as Ferrari and Lewis looked quick yesterday. So it looks like we've got a bit of work to do.

"We are cracking exhausts and are having to change those every 150-200km. It's a problem we can fix but here it's difficult.

"We've got a handling imbalance because we are all learning about these tyres here and we've seen straight away some things we want done on the tyres which we'll have done by Jerez."

Schumacher's running on Wednesday was brought to a premature conclusion due to a hydraulic fault. The German finished the day a second down on Fernando Alonso.

Speaking to Autosport, Schumacher, making his comeback after three years of inactivity, offered a more positive assessment of the team's position - though he also accepted that Ferrari are currently out in front and it may be a while before Mercedes close the gap.

"The car is running very smoothly, very nicely. I'm very positive," he reported. "I'm thinking we will be competitive, but whether this is a winning car straightaway or not, that's another story. For me that's not so important - it's a long season. We need to be there and taking points from the beginning.

"I wouldn't expect to be winning right from the beginning. It wasn't something that I was aiming for and expecting to be the case. But we need to be strong enough on development."

But Schumacher was also able to report that, on a personal level, his comeback had gone smoothly.

"Actually it's been much easier than I anticipated," he announced. "I thought it would need a bit more time but it went pretty quickly. I'm really happy."


http://i49.tinypic.com/5005z4.jpg

Oh Ross Brawn... :lol: :lol:

[HonestTea]

Jerez Testing Day 2 LIVE:

http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/175

You're welcome.

[StylinRed]

Lotus
http://www.formula1.com/wi/597x478/manual/lotus_t127_5-4617d9941.jpg

http://www.formula1.com/wi/597x478/manual/lotus_t127_2-3527e340.jpg

http://www.formula1.com/wi/597x478/manual/lotus_t127_7-ebbd3461.jpg

http://www.formula1.com/wi/597x478/manual/lotus_t127_6-49e5a616.jpg

http://www.formula1.com/wi/597x478/manual/lotus_t127_3-367ac427.jpg
At the wheel of the green and yellow-liveried machine will be former Toyota star Jarno Trulli and ex-McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen.
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/2/10434.html

[dai3yuen]

It's soooooo nice to see Lotus back in F1!!! They've been missed!!

BTW, anyone know of a reliable website to buy F1 tickets from? I want to get Shanghai tix but they're all sold out (at least the affordable tickets are) from the official website

[StylinRed]

I think the $165CAD tickets are the cheapest ones and they're still there

[dai3yuen]

Which website?

[StylinRed]

http://formula1.com ...

[dai3yuen]

Thanks, but that's only for Friday practice...Race day is sold out.

[StylinRed]

dude thats a weekend pass (lookit the heading of the f1 page "Weekend Pass to the 2010 FORMULA 1 CHINESE GRAND PRIX (Shanghai)")

so its for 3 days including race day, qualifying, practice

and b5-8 is @ a pretty cool corner

http://www.bookf1.com/event/motorsport/f1-grand-prix/images/shanghai%20international%20circuit-circuit-diagram.gif

[Meowjin]

so are there any f1 drivers in town? There is a possibility that I may have met nico rosberg. I called him on it and he said no and ran away.

[StylinRed]

and ran away?? rofl

[HonestTea]

http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3213_5962686,00.html

Jenson Button's 1:18.871 proved to be unbeatable on the final - and very productive - day of testing at Jerez.

With the sun beating down on the track and little sign of the rain that dominated proceedings at the start of the week, Saturday's action got underway with Kamui Kobayashi the first to take the P1 slot.

However, minutes later the Sauber driver also became the first to bring out the red flags as his C29 ground to a halt right after the chicane.

Once the action was back up and running, Renault's Robert Kubica stormed into the lead with a 1:19.114, the fastest time set at Jerez this year, at least up until Button put in two short three-lap stints.

The first saw the reigning F1 Champ move up to second place behind the Pole while his second stint had him taking the P1 slot with an impressive 1:18.871. That was 0.243s quicker than Kubica's previous best.

Button's attack on the timesheets, though, was brought to a halt when Mark Webber stopped out on track near Turn 4, the second red flag of the day.

Although Red Bull struggled to identify the problem, the team opted changed Webber's Renault engine as a "precautionary" measure.

An impressive four-and-a-half hours of uninterrupted running followed Webber's incident during which many of the drivers concentrating on race simulations and pit stop practices.

Nico Rosberg's Mercedes GP W01 proved to be solid pace over a long distance as the German covered a 19 lap stint with a consistent pace in the mid 1:21s.

Jarno Trulli, on his first outing as a Lotus driver, put in just over 20 laps with an average pace in the 1:26s. "Jarno with no problems. Sticking with long runs to get mileage on the car," reported tech boss Mike Gascoyne.

"First long run pace was good but Jarno reported big rear drop off over last 5 laps. Need to protect the rear tyres more."

Button was charging around in the high 1:22s during his longer runs, matched by Fernando Alonso, who did 30 laps with an average time in the early 1:22s.

However, the action came to a halt when Nico Hulkenberg, who had completed a massive 137 laps at that point, stopped out on the start/finish straight.

The final hour of testing for the week saw Timo Glock improve his best to a 1:22.433. The German, though, managed the fewest laps of all the drivers due to a hydraulic problem that left him stranded in the pits.

And although some of the drivers ventured out for a late dash, only Rosberg was able to beat his previous best while any last minute attempts were brought to a halt by the day's fourth and final red flag, which belonged to Glock.

Unofficial Times
1. J. Button McLaren MP4-25 1:18.871 108 laps
2. R. Kubica Renault R30 1:19.114 +0.243 117 laps
3. K. Kobayashi Sauber C29 1:19.188 +0.317 117 laps
4. V. Liuzzi Force India VJM-03 1:19.650 +0.779 80 laps
5. N. Rosberg Mercedes GP W01 1:20.061 +1.190 130 laps
6. F. Alonso Ferrari F10 1:20.436 +1.565 137 laps
7. J. Alguersuari Toro Rosso STR5 1:21.053 +2.182 139 laps
8. M. Webber Red Bull Racing RB6 1:21.194 +2.323 87 laps
9. N. Hülkenberg Williams FW32 1:21.919 +3.048 137 laps
10. T. Glock Virgin Racing VR-01 1:22.433 +3.562 27 laps
11. J. Trulli Lotus F1 T127 1:23.470 +4.599 141 laps

BUTTON!!

[Great68]

I was just on the Formula 1 site, and they have comparisons between the 2009/2010 cars due to rule changes. The fuel tanks now hold 235L!

I don't know about you, but if I were a driver I would be a little uneasy about having 235L of fuel behind my back... Fuck that's a lot of fuel. Imagine the size of the fireball should it ever ignite in a crash.

[impactX]

And the lack of overtaking this coming year compared to last year...

[Meowjin]

I was just on the Formula 1 site, and they have comparisons between the 2009/2010 cars due to rule changes. The fuel tanks now hold 235L!

I don't know about you, but if I were a driver I would be a little uneasy about having 235L of fuel behind my back... Fuck that's a lot of fuel. Imagine the size of the fireball should it ever ignite in a crash.

wouldn't you think the engineers have a better idea than you?

[StylinRed]

a better idea on what??? the size of the fireball??? oO


how do they even fit 235litres into the car thats insane! that's almost 60, 4l milk cartons!

[skyxx]

The Fuel tanks are pretty much indestructible regardless of impact. This year's season should be great with no refueling pit stops.

[Senna4ever]

I was just on the Formula 1 site, and they have comparisons between the 2009/2010 cars due to rule changes. The fuel tanks now hold 235L!

I don't know about you, but if I were a driver I would be a little uneasy about having 235L of fuel behind my back... Fuck that's a lot of fuel. Imagine the size of the fireball should it ever ignite in a crash.

My, my, how soon we forget....prior to 1994, F1 cars were not permitted to re-fuel, and there were no big fireballs between Gerhard Berger's crash at Imola in 1989 to Jos Verstappen's mishap in the pitlane. On the bright side, you won't get fires like the one that engulfed Jos Verstappen at the German GP in 1994.

The Ignited Colours of Benetton:
http://madtv.me.uk/f1insight/default.aspx?blogid=348

Gerhard Berger's crash at the Tamburello corner at Imola in 1989 - the same corner where Ayrton Senna crashed and died.
YouTube- Gerard Berger Tamburello Imola 1989 Crash

[Great68]

wouldn't you think the engineers have a better idea than you?

I'm not questioning their designs dumbass. I'm saying the drivers have balls to be sitting on 60 gallons of volatile fuel.

[HonestTea]

I'm happy and sad at the same time. Happy to see Nicole back in the paddock at races :) but sad to see that shes not single anymore :(

Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/2864394/Loved-up-Lewis-and-Nicole-back-together.html

Battle of the McLaren babes :D :D :D :D :D I'm hella looking forward to this :)

http://www.flagworld.com/nouvelles/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/jessica-michibata.jpg

Vs.

http://www.dirtyrottenwhore.com/wp-content/uploads/whores/nicole_scherzinger/nicole_scherzinger_in_tight_spandex_014.jpg

[keitaro]

Helmet cam mounted on one of the Scuderia Ferrari F10 drivers. Can't tell if its Felipe Massa, Fernadno Alonso, or a backup driver. But just hear that baby roar! yikes!

YouTube- F1 2010: Scuderia Ferrari F10 Helmet Camera Lap Jerez [HD 1080p]

[Senna4ever]

^^^ Sounds nice, but have you have heard the sound of the Ferrari and Honda V12 engines from the early 90's? It's a demonic shriek!

[Eff-1]

2010 Season Preview:

The return of Michael Schumacher; four world champions on the grid; at least three leading teams in which team mates will be fighting head-to-head for the title honours; and the prospect of drivers having to display genuine finesse in nursing their tyres now that refuelling has been banned.

Is it any wonder that 2010 is being billed as a fantastic season for the FIA Formula One World Championship?

First of all, there’s Michael Schumacher on the comeback trail, at 41 still as fit and focused as he was in his heyday when he won 92 Grand Prix victories and seven world titles. And the metamorphosis of Brawn GP into Mercedes GP signals the return of the Silver Arrows to Formula One racing for the first time since the team was withdrawn, victorious, at the end of 1955.

Then there’s Fernando Alonso, adding fresh charge to Ferrari, while Felipe Massa returns as healthy and determined as ever after his horrible accident at Hungaroring last July. Jenson Button is already settling in alongside Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, where he will be determined to prove that the 2008 champion is not going to wipe the floor with him.

Sebastien Vettel and Mark Webber are ready to go head-to-head at Red Bull, and owner Dietrich Mateschitz has made it clear he will accept nothing less than the world championship from one of them. The return of Lotus, meanwhile, spearheads the appearance of new teams from Virgin and HRT.

There are fewer rule changes this year, and the most significant is the ban on refuelling. It has obliged teams to develop longer cars with up to 160 kg of fuel-tank capacity instead of the previous maximum of 80, and to juggle weight distribution. The ban will place a premium on preserving their Bridgestone tyres between the mandatory stop(s) in which drivers must switch compounds. It will also change strategy, and promote greater efforts to overtake, as drivers will be less able to wait for pit stops to make up places. Calculation of testing form has been a nightmare, since fuel loads can vary so much (from 10 to 160 kg). Just so you know, every 10 kg of fuel equates to 0.3 seconds on lap time.

The other major change places much more emphasis on victory, as the new points system goes down to 10th place, thus: 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1.

Each driver now gets only 11 sets of tyres per weekend, six sets of primes and five options. Three sets apply solely to Fridays, and must be handed back even if they aren’t used. And drivers from the Q3 session must start the race on the tyres on which they set their grid time.

The penalty for engine changes has effectively been doubled; it’s now 10 grid positions at the race at which the failure occurs, and for the next. The other significant change once again allows teams to run their third drivers on a Friday, provided they use the engine and tyres allocated to the nominated race driver of the relevant car.

[Eff-1]

Fucking F1 mis-management idiots. Still no HD broadcast this year. Even bowling is shown in HD these days.

[HonestTea]

...And drivers from the Q3 session must start the race on the tyres on which they set their grid time.

Stupid rule. I was hoping to see drivers go all out this year in Q3

[Senna4ever]

Oh, wow...the last time there were 4 world champions on the grid was probably 1992 - Senna, Prost, Piquet & Mansell! Exciting times!

[HonestTea]

Too bad Kimi Raikkonen left Formula 1 for rallying :( or else we would've had 5 WDC's!

[Meowjin]

1. Vettel
2. Massa
3. Alonso
4. Hamilton

fuck hamilton is such a good driver. He gets put in a mediocre car and can still keep up with the ferrari's who spent all of last season developing their car.

[Meowjin]

also anyone see the mclaren wing? Renault is claiming its cheating even though its legal.

[HonestTea]

Not cheating. Charlie Whiting already inspected the wing and it's good to go :)

Vettel is so fucking fast, it's insane! I hope Button steps up his game :D :D :D

[Meowjin]

^^ he was fortunate to have a stupidly fast car last season.

[Vancouver240sx]

Agreed Majin,

Actually I think you could go further and say the whole Brawn outfit was really lucky with the double diffuser being allowed. Button was barely on the podium in the 2nd half of last season.

In my heard I would like to see Lewis take this one, but my brain is saying Alonso in Bahrain.

rich

[HonestTea]

Don't worry, I have faith in Button. I think hes one of the good drivers in the field, just SLIGHTLY under Alonso/Raikkonen/Hamilton but with a WDC under his belt, he should be just as good as them ;)

[HonestTea]

Agreed Majin,

Actually I think you could go further and say the whole Brawn outfit was really lucky with the double diffuser being allowed. Button was barely on the podium in the 2nd half of last season.

In my heard I would like to see Lewis take this one, but my brain is saying Alonso in Bahrain.

rich

Indeed, too fucking bad I didn't put any money when Button was 5000:1 for WDC and Brawn was 5000:1 for WCC. FML.

I'm feeling Vettel or Hamilton for Bahrain.

[HonestTea]

Anyone staying up to watch Bahrain?

[Meowjin]

WOW vettel's exhaust just died! Ferrari looks like it might 1 - 2 if they dont fuck up with hamilton in third. MS is in 6th. Lots of DNF's too.

[StylinRed]

booo 6th place -_-


wow Alonso's front tires are torn the fuck up

[Meowjin]

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay hamilton.

I think it's time i get a hamilton avatar ^_^

[Shun Izaki]

Hamilton ftw... and BD2002 dozed off at 6am LOL

[Great68]

That race was a major snoozer.

[Vancouver240sx]

well said Great68... watching the best drivers in the world circulate pushing their cars at maybe 80% the whole time was a waste of time.

rich

[Eff-1]

let's hope that wasn't the kind of race we'll be seeing over and over again. Zzzzzz.

and fucking TSN losers, always going to commercial split-screen right when the leaders pit. never fails. i'm thinking this is the season I will be watching the repeat on SPEED instead.

[HonestTea]

Four world champs, four good teams, and we're left with a snore-fest.. Overtaking is damn impossible with the heavy cars and tire management needs. The only parts worth taking note is the start and the pitstop. WOW...

I had my PVR set and was about to sleep at 3am but thought it'd be one exciting race, stayed up, canceled my PVR and started to watch the race. Set my PVR again and went to sleep on Lap 28. Well done to the FIA for removing what little overtaking there was in F1

And whois idea was it to start the race in Bahrain...seriously? FUCK I hope the upcoming races will be more exciting. Australia in two weeks!!

[Meowjin]

^It conflicted with the australian commonwealth games.

[Amaru]

Three thoughts after Bahrain:

1) Vettel is a bonafide superstar. If the Red Bull car is any good (and it looks like it is, assuming they address the reliability issues) he will finish in the top-3 drivers again this season. His skill level is on par with that of Hamilton and Alonso, imo... maybe better.

2) Hamilton will be much faster than Button all season, as most people suspected. He's way more aggressive. By the end of this season, I imagine it will become even more evident that Button won the driver's championship simply because he had a great car. He's a good driver, but he'll never match up to Hamilton I don't think.

3) The FIA needs to stop screwing around and trying to encourage overtaking. They never get it right. Pick a set of rules and stick with it, especially if you're so concerned about cutting costs.

Oh, and I agree that Bahrain was very dull. Terrible venue to open the season with. Probably my least favourite track at this point, along with Turkey. The real fun begins in Melbourne.

[impactX]

All these new F1 tracks are designed by the same designer and are boring as fuck. Who in the right mind would think that building a track in the middle of a desert is a good idea (including Abu Dhabi).

This year's rule is kinda similar as that of 2005... with drivers overmanaging their tires.

The fastest lap during qualifying was like 1:54 and the fastest lap in race was like 1:58... wtf.

[SkinnyPupp]

I think once everyone gets into the groove, the cars will be more tightly packed, and lap times will increase. Having the season opener at Bahrain is just fucking retarded, let alone having it there at all.

[StylinRed]

theres a new F1 Mobile app, came out this week

it looks pretty sweet; they're advertising it on formula1.com
live timing, circuit data, calendar, session results etc
download it at mobile.formula1.com

[Senna4ever]

Jeremy Clarkson commentating on when F1 was an exciting sport to watch:

YouTube- Arnoux Villeneuve 1979 Top Gear

[HonestTea]

Who was going to Montreal this year for F1? Was it Majin?

How much were your tickets and are they GA?

[StylinRed]

^^^ think Majin said he was going to Australia

i was thinking about Montreal + planning for Turkey or Spain but im headed to the UK race instead since my friends wedding is the middle of July

[HonestTea]

VETTEL VETTEL VETTEL!!

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[StylinRed]

7th again :/

[HonestTea]

FUCK ALL YOU DOUBTERS!

JENSON BUTTON FTW! 2010 WDC :) And Robert Kubica :D

I feel bad for Vettel and Lewis :( Vettel seems to be having some bad luck reliability issues, while Mark Webber made a stupid mistake and ran right into Lewis.. ERRRR

[Meowjin]

^^^ think Majin said he was going to Australia

i was thinking about Montreal + planning for Turkey or Spain but im headed to the UK race instead since my friends wedding is the middle of July

sold my australia tickets 4 weeks ago because i didn't want to go in the shape im in curently. Odd reason, but it's still summer over there... and I do want to go when im in peak shape. I'm still heading to montreal though.

[Great68]

Damn, they should wet down the track for all the races...

[Blinky]

I am afraid to think how boring that race would have been if it didn't rain. The following wouldn't have happened:

1) Button doesn't win from so far back.
2) Kubica doesn't punk so many people off the line. (great drive!)
3) Webber doesn't get screwed.

Basically if it weren't for the rain, the top 3-5 would have been the top 3-5 on grid (and if Vettel doesn't break it's probably 1/2/3). sigh.

That said it was a very very exciting race. Just wish that Vettel's suspension didn't break.

[Amaru]

I am afraid to think how boring that race would have been if it didn't rain. The following wouldn't have happened:

1) Button doesn't win from so far back.
2) Kubica doesn't punk so many people off the line. (great drive!)
3) Webber doesn't get screwed.

Basically if it weren't for the rain, the top 3-5 would have been the top 3-5 on grid (and if Vettel doesn't break it's probably 1/2/3). sigh.

That said it was a very very exciting race. Just wish that Vettel's suspension didn't break.

The rain made it more exciting, but Albert Park has always been a good circuit regardless of the weather. More opportunities for passing, and it's a road course... Bahrain is simply the worst venue possible, and this year's FIA rule changes have just made it downright dull. I really do think we'll see more excitement and drama as the season goes on.

I agree about Vettel, though. Not only did he have the fastest car for both of the first two races, he was also the best driver in both. His final Melbourne Q1 qualifying lap (new track record) was one of the most impressive I've ever seen. And he doesn't seem to be making any mistakes, either. Definitely a World Champion in the future if he can ever get a reliable car.

Too bad the Red Bull car isn't reliable, because Vettel would have 50 points in the bag already. They need to start picking up some points while they've got the best car, because Ferrari and McLaren will improve very quickly and Red Bull will lose their faster car advantage. Basically, they need to do what Brawn and Button did last year (stockpile a bunch of points now before the competition can level the playing feed by improving their car).

Button is a good driver, but I don't think one win proves he's better than Hamilton. He has shown he can take care of his tires, which is a skill unto itself, which helped him win in Australia... but I still don't think he has nearly the raw speed/talent that Hamilton does. We shall see.

[Blinky]

I do like Vettel and he's awesome to watch and shows a neat personality:

"Like a ship, a car should be named after a girl as it's sexy. My original car was called Kate. But then it got smashed at the opening race in Australia. So we called this one Kate's Dirty Sister because it is more aggressive and faster."

However I wonder about a few things:

- sometimes, his decision making (Australia last year, when he had the inferior car)
- I wonder how much of his reliability problems are true reliability problems, and how many are caused in part because he pushes his machinery really, really hard (kind of like the anti-Jenson Button). for comparison's sake, I think Mark Webber had only one mechanical retirement last year. some of it is luck I think, such as the spark plug in Bahrain, but it can't be ALL luck... can it?

That said, I think his style of pushing hard makes him eminently watchable, and "hearing" that he's not some lemon-faced chap like Alonso (also a terrific driver) definitely helps.

[Meowjin]

man the bbc coverage is so good. The guy uploading it is so meh though, poor quaility, especially for a 2 gig file. but ill take what I can get. The preshow was good.

[HonestTea]

I think Vettel's Australia fiasco last year was due to the fact that he was still maturing, since it was his first year in RBR and he never had such a competitive car before(TR) but this year I think it's all mechanical problems by RBR/Renault.

I agree, Vettel is one of the nicest and most humble guy I've seen, granted I never met him but the way he carries himself and talks. He always has a smile on his face and he always does interviews and signs autographs for everyone unlike some people in the paddock(IE: Kimi Raikkonen :haha:)

Last weeks Australia race was so good, I had to re-watch it on my PVR again :) That's how good it was LOL and the forecast for Sepang is RAIN RAIN AND RAIN!!

[keitaro]

I think Vettel's Australia fiasco last year was due to the fact that he was still maturing, since it was his first year in RBR and he never had such a competitive car before(TR) but this year I think it's all mechanical problems by RBR/Renault.

I agree, Vettel is one of the nicest and most humble guy I've seen, granted I never met him but the way he carries himself and talks. He always has a smile on his face and he always does interviews and signs autographs for everyone unlike some people in the paddock(IE: Kimi Raikkonen :haha:)

Last weeks Australia race was so good, I had to re-watch it on my PVR again :) That's how good it was LOL and the forecast for Sepang is RAIN RAIN AND RAIN!!

It was an exciting race @ Melbourne. The race at Bahrain was the snooze. Great win for Button. I am not a fan of Massa but its great to see that he has not been phased by the previous season's accident.

Kuala Lumpu race is going to be good w/ wet conditions... Rain battles are always interesting to watch. F1 is predicting rain and lightning for practice 1.

[HonestTea]

http://uktickets.formula1.com/pub/agent.dll?qscr=tsdt&stat=5&flgc=0&loid=178288&ofid=11774&sdat=11/06/2010&edat=13/06/2010&wtid=28&rfrr=Canada&eapid=300-30004

Has anyone ever been to Montreal's race? Are the General Admissions worth it or would you have to sit at one of the grandstands? It's $600 for the Grandstand 2 and $108 for the General Admission Weekend pass.

[Senna4ever]

man the bbc coverage is so good.
...and to think it used to be 1000x better a few years ago.

[StylinRed]

wow... just caught the end of Q1

ferrari and mercedes are out already

[StylinRed]

OH COME ON!!! wth -_- damn Schumi's car -_-


he was doing great in qualifying then fukd up last sector into 6th, and now his cars left-rear died



wow a lot of people are dropping out

[HonestTea]

WHOOOOOOO!!! VETTEL + ROSBERG!!

Damn the WDC is so tight right now :D

[StylinRed]

its still waaaay to early to be talking about wdc

im hoping michael starts kicking ass so that hopefully he can get 3rd at least ^^

[Meowjin]

waiting on download, but just judging by the articles, petrov seems like a nutty russian driver.

[impactX]

Fuck Lewis and his weaving.

[HonestTea]

^ What was wrong with it?

He did nothing wrong, he knew the Renault had better speed in the slip stream and tried to get away from it. Petrov then followed knowing-so. It wasn't because Lewis wanted to block the Renault.

[Rich Sandor]

That wasn't entirely kosher.. either you hold your line or you make 1 effort to block. You don't weave back and forth trying to get someone out of your slipstream.

However it's not a big deal.. if it was, they would have given more than just a warning.

[godwin]

In the end, I think it is more detrimental to Hamilton because he always has problems with tire wear.

That wasn't entirely kosher.. either you hold your line or you make 1 effort to block. You don't weave back and forth trying to get someone out of your slipstream.

However it's not a big deal.. if it was, they would have given more than just a warning.

[Rich Sandor]

It wasn't enough to scrub the tires. You don't get tire wear by changing lanes twice. It's completely different from when they scrub tires during warmup. Plus this time around he had much better luck with his tires than Button did.

I just think it's amazing that Massa is the WDC points leader yet he hasn't actually won a race yet.

[Great68]

It wasn't enough to scrub the tires. You don't get tire wear by changing lanes twice. It's completely different from when they scrub tires during warmup. Plus this time around he had much better luck with his tires than Button did.

I just think it's amazing that Massa is the WDC points leader yet he hasn't actually won a race yet.

Especially after the changes to the points system were to supposedly benefit race winners more.

[impactX]

Pretty amazing how Alonso drove the race with the clutch not working properly since the start and still be able to pressure and almost passed Button.

[Amaru]

I've been saying it since last season, but Vettel is the next Formula 1 superstar. He doesn't have the personality issues that most of the other top drivers have (Alonso, Raikkonen and Schumacher come to mind... Hamilton to a lesser extent). I think this is a big advantage, as he won't cause friction with teammates and every team will want him (therefore increasing his chances at having a good car every year). Plus it'll win him a lot of fans, and his endorsements will hopefully mean he doesn't have to demand a huge salary.

A lot of people rag on Vettel for his mistakes last season, but it was only his second full year in Formula 1! And he finished in second place, only a few points away from the WDC. He is not as "flashy" as other star drivers, especially Hamilton, but he has exceptional consistency. His driving style sort of seems like a hybrid between the aggressiveness of Hamilton and the calculated consistency of Alonso.

Anyway, I thought Malaysia was a good race overall, although it lacked the non-stop excitement we saw in Melbourne. I imagine I wasn't the only one hoping for rain...

Also, Nico Rosberg is quietly putting together a very good season... he's flying under the radar with Schumacher always in the spotlight, and he has finished in the top-5 in all three races. I think he has an outside shot at the WDC if the Mercedes car remains decent all season.

Anyone know more about this potential onboard mirror change that's supposed to be in place for China? Vettel says it'll make the Red Bull slower and reduce their advantage, but it seems like most drivers think it needs to be implemented for safety reasons (Barichello was most vocal). I'd hate to see the rules changed just because all the other teams want to level the playing field. Red Bull is just so much faster than everyone else.

[Rich Sandor]

Vettel is amazing. I have a lot of respect for him. Webber showed that he can keep up, when he pushes the pedal down all the way and doesn't ass-ram other cars for no reason.

Button has a big mouth (like me) but he is the smoothest driver out there. He doesn't saw the steering wheel like everyone else. I think Hamilton is not as smooth, but during a race he seems more agressive, which makes him pass traffic faster. Button is a bit more careful. Although, I think he and Hamilton are at a slight disadvantage this year with their cars.

[Eff-1]

I can't help but cheer for sutil and the force india team. it was nice to see them finally acheive a competitive level in 2009 after several seasons of torture.

I am hoping he'll make podium this season. Maybe even a victory, you never know.

Just as long as people stop crashing into him...

[HonestTea]

Vettel is amazing. I have a lot of respect for him. Webber showed that he can keep up, when he pushes the pedal down all the way and doesn't ass-ram other cars for no reason.

Button has a big mouth (like me) but he is the smoothest driver out there. He doesn't saw the steering wheel like everyone else. I think Hamilton is not as smooth, but during a race he seems more agressive, which makes him pass traffic faster. Button is a bit more careful. Although, I think he and Hamilton are at a slight disadvantage this year with their cars.

Really? I haven't really seen him talk that much compared to other drivers like Alonso and Hamilton.

[Meowjin]

Really? I haven't really seen him talk that much compared to other drivers like Alonso and Hamilton.

he's not humble at all, he's very cocky and is silly.

[jeff_alexander]

I like Raikkonen's personality

[HonestTea]

he's not humble at all, he's very cocky and is silly.

Weird :( I guess I got to pay more attention to what he says, I thought he seemed fine :/

[Meowjin]

Weird :( I guess I got to pay more attention to what he says, I thought he seemed fine :/

just look at his top gear interview when he was on top gear.

[SkinnyPupp]

Button seems like the most human-like in this year's roster, at least from what I've seen in BBC's extensive coverage. He just seems like a normal young guy who is an amazing driver. He likes to party and have fun like anyone else, but not to a ridiculous extent. He's not too humble too, which itself can be annoying when coming from superstars.

Raikkonnen though... I hope you were being sarcastic :lol

[Rich Sandor]

kimilackstheabilitytopauseinbetweenwordsandthusall hissentencessoundmonotonous.

[skyxx]

Do I get a cookie if I read all that correctly?

[StylinRed]

Briatore & Symonds are allowed back in 2013

Former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore is expected to make a return to Formula One in 2013, with Italian media speculating on Tuesday that he may want to take the place of commercial manager Bernie Ecclestone.

Briatore, 60, agreed to stay away from F1 until then in a deal with the ruling body FIA in which he ended his appeal against a life ban over ordering a deliberate crash of Nelson Piquet Jr. at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

Under the settlement reached on Monday evening Briatore can return to other FIA events aside from F1 in 2012.

However, Italian papers were widely speculating about him taking over from Ecclestone on his return.

“He will start immediately behind the scenes,” said La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Briatore said the deal with the FIA was no confession that he ordered Piquet to crash in the crash, which eventually helped teammate Fernando Alonso win. He said he only accepted responsibility as Renault team leader.

The affair came to light last year and the FIA banned Briatore for life. Briatore successfully appealed before French court, which overturned the FIA ban, and new FIA boss Jean Todt did not want to contest that ruling.

The FIA said the settlement was to put an end to the affair and to prevent further negative headlines in the sport.

The FIA is also reportedly looking into its legal system after losing before the French court.

There is speculation about the introduction of a licence for team leaders — similar to a special F1 licence required for drivers — which could be withdrawn indefinitely in the case of severe rule violations.

http://beta.thehindu.com/sport/motorsport/article396242.ece

[Senna4ever]

http://jalopnik.com/5518721/front-wheels-simultaneously-explode-off-f1-car?skyline=true&s=i

:eek::eek::eek:

[Amaru]

If his car can stay intact for the whole race, chalk up another victory for Vettel. He's the real deal.

Once again I think it's interesting to see Rosberg qualifying well. He's picked up good points every race... I wonder if he'll be in the top-5 at the end of the year?

[tamazoid]

http://jalopnik.com/5518721/front-wheels-simultaneously-explode-off-f1-car?skyline=true&s=i

:eek::eek::eek:

That must have been scary for him!


If his car can stay intact for the whole race, chalk up another victory for Vettel. He's the real deal.

Once again I think it's interesting to see Rosberg qualifying well. He's picked up good points every race... I wonder if he'll be in the top-5 at the end of the year?

Still early, but I predict that Alonso will win the WDC this year if his car stays reliable...

I think Rosberg will be 5th or 6th. Vettle is probably 2nd or 3rd. I want to see Button do well, but Hamilton will probably finish ahead of him.

[Eff-1]

pre-race show is on speed right now, but SD only. always liked speed's pre-race show. the grid interviews are always fun to watch. too bad it's blacked out on HD. I assume they'll black out the SD channel as well once the race starts.

[StylinRed]

crazy race, rosberg did great


michael... sigh at least he's still in the top 10

[Blinky]

Entertaining race. F1 is crazy goodness when it rains... unless you're cheering for Vettel :(.

[Great68]

http://jalopnik.com/5518721/front-wheels-simultaneously-explode-off-f1-car?skyline=true&s=i

:eek::eek::eek:

I like how he tries to steer into the turn despite not having any front wheels.

[tamazoid]

Look like all the top teams have a One Two finish... Maybe we'll see Mercedes GP do it next. Rosberg is actually pretty competitive thing year.

[Amaru]

What an awesome race. Finally got to see some good battles between the top drivers. Non-stop action basically.

Frankly, Jenson has won two races because McLaren made excellent tire decisions and didn't make any major mistakes. They were also helped by the unreliability of Vettel's car in Australia. Nonetheless, he deserves a lot of credit for staying calm and driving consistency well.

Hamilton irritates me, partly because he's always doing something questionable or high-risk. I think it's also partly because the BBC announcers spend half the race focusing on him, even when he's down in 11th place battling with Alguesuari or Petrov... and they all but ignore Rosberg, Kubica, and Vettel even though those three have perhaps had the most impressive seasons so far.

The way this season has begun, I'd say at least 5 or 6 drivers have a chance at winning the WDC: Button, Alonso, Vettel, Rosberg, Massa, and Hamilton.

[HonestTea]

What an awesome race. Finally got to see some good battles between the top drivers. Non-stop action basically.

Frankly, Jenson has won two races because McLaren made excellent tire decisions and didn't make any major mistakes. They were also helped by the unreliability of Vettel's car in Australia. Nonetheless, he deserves a lot of credit for staying calm and driving consistency well.

Hamilton irritates me, partly because he's always doing something questionable or high-risk. I think it's also partly because the BBC announcers spend half the race focusing on him, even when he's down in 11th place battling with Alguesuari or Petrov... and they all but ignore Rosberg, Kubica, and Vettel even though those three have perhaps had the most impressive seasons so far.

The way this season has begun, I'd say at least 5 or 6 drivers have a chance at winning the WDC: Button, Alonso, Vettel, Rosberg, Massa, and Hamilton.

Wrong. Both tire choices in Australia and yesterday in Shanghai were Button's decision and not the teams.
Jenson Button: It is not luck we came out on top today. We chose correctly in the conditions

And this week was perfect. McLaren 1-2 with Jenson Button on top and Rosberg, would've liked it more if Vettel was in the mix but Rosberg is one of my preferred drivers as well aside from Button, Hamilton and Vettel. I still hope Schumi wins a race soon though:(

[StylinRed]

Hamilton irritates me, partly because he's always doing something questionable or high-risk. I think it's also partly because the BBC announcers spend half the race focusing on him, even when he's down in 11th place battling with Alguesuari or Petrov... and they all but ignore Rosberg, Kubica, and Vettel even though those three have perhaps had the most impressive seasons so far.



oh god i h8 that too you can tell the commentators have a major hard on for hamilton

[Great68]

Today's race pissed me off. It's almost like they put that safety car in there only so the cars behind the first 3 could catch up...

[Amaru]

Wrong. Both tire choices in Australia and yesterday in Shanghai were Button's decision and not the teams.

Fair enough, I wasn't trying to take away credit from Button... I'm just saying that even though other drivers may have been more impressive on the track, he was able to win based on making correct tire choices and weather predictions. Doesn't diminish his accomplishments, just shows that the best "driver" doesn't always come out on top.

[Blinky]

When it rains, crazy stuff happens... like Alonso pitting five (five!) times and finishing as he did.

I think Button and Hamilton make for a very interesting contrast. Hamilton is more aggressive and I think on balance, a touch faster. He's pretty exciting to watch too. What he doesn't have is Button's discipline or ability to save his equipment.

As for the commentators having a woody for Button and Hamilton - that's natural, because it is a British broadcast.

[Eff-1]

can't blame the broadcasters for focusing on Hamilton extensively this race. the fact is hamilton drove agressively all race, completed many overtakes, and had several battles. plus the chinese producers also opted to give hamilton an extensive amount of airtime (coincidence or not). bbc doesn't choose what the cameras show.

if the bbc guys don't float your boat, the speed coverage doesn't appear to be blacked out anymore (SD feed only).

[tamazoid]

Fair enough, I wasn't trying to take away credit from Button... I'm just saying that even though other drivers may have been more impressive on the track, he was able to win based on making correct tire choices and weather predictions. Doesn't diminish his accomplishments, just shows that the best "driver" doesn't always come out on top.

A good driver is also one that can make good decisions and not reply on pure driving skills. And if they didn't have that safety car in the middle of the race, Button would've probably won the race by far...

[HonestTea]

What a total joke when they deployed a safety car for the small amount of debris on the track..

[Blinky]

What a total joke when they deployed a safety car for the small amount of debris on the track..

Shut up Jenson, you won the race!

So tell me, does Jessica give good head? :D

[HonestTea]

Shut up Jenson, you won the race!

So tell me, does Jessica give good head? :D

shes aightz lol

http://darrylleung.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/jessica-michibata-sun.jpg?w=475&h=330

[StylinRed]

shes a butterface tho

[HonestTea]

Just saw this commercial LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-AQGohc3zI&feature=related

Another cool vid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW7YypRc4kQ&feature=related

And this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZCROPCq4q4&feature=related

[StylinRed]

Nice Race

I was soo hoping Vettels brakes would give out, like they were warning so that schumi would get 4th

then Hamiltons tires blow!

and i was hoping Vettel would mess up again for michael to get 3rd, but ah well ;)


His car is still too slow but he did a great job keeping his position!

and Webber!!! way to go

(i was going to be at this one too bah woulda been a sight; hopefully Schumi will make Podium when im there)

[Eff-1]

I thought it was a bit of a snoozefest.

Next week is Monaco. Qualifying will be interesting to watch. No expectations for any excitement in the race, unless perhaps we get a safety car (or two).

[HonestTea]

I agree, it was a pretty boring race overall and Monaco would be equally as boring aside from Qualifying 26 cars in Q1.

Damn Hamilton and his tire puncture! :(

[Meowjin]

fuck, is there any torrents? I got the qualifying but noone is putting up the race!!!

[impactX]

LOL at Button whining about having to lift off to yield the place to Schumacher. Hamilton is great at destroying tires with his agressive driving so the incidient didn't come at a surprise at all.

[Vancouver240sx]

@impactX

Can you really attribute Hamilton's tire deflation to his driving style? Didn't look to me like he was having any more tire deg than the redbulls, still posting fast fast times. I always take what a team says with a grain of salt but today McLaren issued a statement saying it was a wheel hub failure.

Anyone want to take bets as to who will cause the biggest pile up in Monaco? I am going with Koba in the 1st lap.

rich

[HonestTea]

impactX, if you watch the race and read what McLaren/Lewis have said then you'd know that it wasn't tire-degradation that caused it, since IIRC they told him a lap before that the tires were fine and great and to just keep on pushing, it's most likely debris more then "aggressive" driving.

[Rich Sandor]

chandhok or di grassi are gonna cause an accident sooner or later. I love how hamilton complained to charlie whiting over the radio about it.

[impactX]

impactX, if you watch the race and read what McLaren/Lewis have said then you'd know that it wasn't tire-degradation that caused it, since IIRC they told him a lap before that the tires were fine and great and to just keep on pushing, it's most likely debris more then "aggressive" driving.

The McLaren team also said they never stole the red car's data... and Lewis never lied? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/lewishamilton/5099332/McLarens-Lewis-Hamilton-apologises-for-lies-at-Australian-Grand-Prix.html

I'd take whatever that team says with a grain of salt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk8JlxZiZ8o

Everytime a Mclaren blows up, I cheer because those classless douchbags mechanics applause when other cars DNF. Ron Dennis had successfully dragged Bruce Mclaren's name through dirt.

[Blinky]

I don't believe that nobody else liked what is probably the best team radio F1 quote ever.

Michael [Schumacher] is holding everyone up!

[HonestTea]

Can't wait for hectic Monaco!

Forecast looks like it'll rain too...CRAZYYY

[SkinnyPupp]

it better fucken rain, these races are boring as hell without it. Monaco is basically a parade otherwise
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[StylinRed]

Alonso OUCH

Webber Pole Again, impressive
Rosberg/Schumacher :/

[Mancini]

Can't wait for Monaco. I'll be there in 2 months. I'm hoping to walk some of those same streets.

[HonestTea]

DAMNIT WEBBER!

KUBICA WAS SO CLOSE :(

[Meowjin]

http://www.ninjavideo.net/video/67030

watch the qualifying here :)

[Meowjin]

http://mclaren.com/home

this is sof ucking cool.


if you are watching the race you have to go here.

[Meowjin]

ooooh buttons engine is fucked.

[StylinRed]

fuckin awesome race! The Race of the Safety Car!! ;)


Schumacher passed Alonso @ the end there rofl!

being investigated now though


WTF was up with Trulli??


Monte Carlo proved its not a boring Race



edit:

Schumacher Penalised
Mercedes GP’s Michael Schumacher has been penalised by the Monte Carlo race stewards for his overtaking manoeuvre on Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso in the dying moments of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Schumacher was handed a drive-through penalty, which is converted after the race into a 20-second time penalty, dropping him from sixth to 12th in the results.

Schumacher passed Alonso just as the safety car pulled in at the end of Lap 78. The FIA stewards, which included his old sparring partner Damon Hill, have deemed the German breached Article 40.13 of the Sporting Regulations, which states that “if the race ends whilst the safety car is deployed it will enter the pit lane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking."

Schumacher’s demotion moves Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi, who had finished in 11th, into the points

BAH, dikes -_-

from the USA Today

Schumacher, on team orders, overtook the Ferrari driver at the last corner after the safety car had gone to move into sixth place. Alonso, who had started last, let the German pass on instructions from his team.

Governing body FIA imposed a 20-second penalty on Schumacher instead of a drive-through penalty with the illegal overtaking move occurring in the last five laps.

[Eff-1]

Explain to me how that race was exciting? I don't think I saw a single pass except for Alonso carving past the slower teams at the start. Schumacher's was clearly a rule violation.

Besides Alonso, the best part was seeing Rubens toss his wheel on the track and watching the Hispania car run over it.

I've decided to stay away from Montreal this year. Why spend the money to watch nothing but boredom. May as well start the 2011 season thread now.

[HonestTea]

Explain to me how that race was exciting? I don't think I saw a single pass except for Alonso carving past the slower teams at the start. Schumacher's was clearly a rule violation.

Besides Alonso, the best part was seeing Rubens toss his wheel on the track and watching the Hispania car run over it.

I've decided to stay away from Montreal this year. Why spend the money to watch nothing but boredom. May as well start the 2011 season thread now.

Bang on. Fell asleep half-way through again and just PVR'd it, what a boring race aside from Alonso over-taking cars that were a good 1-3second slower then him. I can't wait til they ban the DDD on their 2011 cars and try to improve overtaking cause these races are getting pretty boring IMO.

[Great68]

Disappointed that Kubica only got third.

[Rich Sandor]

Kubica deserved 2nd, in my opinion. Webber drove a flawless race, and would have lapped the field if given enough time without the safety car coming out. Alonso's performance was seemingly extraordinary, but remember that each time the safety car came out, the field got bunched up and he didn't have to work as hard to leap frog the next backmarker.

Looks like Schumy was up to his traditional sneaky tricks.. don't really care one way or the other, but it's good to see he's at least TRYING to get some points. Last few races it seems like he was just there for fun.

I knew Chandok was going to be in a crash sooner or later. Personally I fault Chandok for it.. but everyone else seems to think Trulli drove into him. Looking at Chandok's history, I think there are several people on revscene here that could outdrive him given the opportunity. From a talent perspective, I don't think he deserves to be there.

[StylinRed]

Mercedes decided to drop its Appeal on the Schumacher penalty


here's a link http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/5/10807.html

its a long read but anyway all teams assumed there would be no passing if the safety car is out and the game finishes with it

but all teams assumed the race was on as the safety car left

but FIA said "No"

and now FIA says they'll bring it up @ their next meeting to clarify rule 40.13

[StylinRed]

Webber on Pole again
Hamilton 2nd
Vettel 3rd
Button 4th
Schumi 5th (he went off the track into the rocks on his last lap of qualifying)
Rosberg 6th

[Meowjin]

Twitter is nuts. You guys should follow jake humphrey.

http://mclaren.com/home

mclaren radio transmissions

seriously follow red bull on twitter

As Fernando's out, we can expect F1's own little thundercloud to stomp across the paddock shortly and break some hinges.

Qually on. And judging by how Senna’s working the wheel, you couldn’t make the HRT tougher to drive if you dropped a cobra into the cockpit

In fairness to the confused marshals, the hand gestures do make it look like Mark is trying to order some sort of flatbread sandwich… (when webber's car blew up in practice)

this one is from torro rosso

Lots of celebs at our Energy Station last night, including Paris Hilton, famous for being famous.

[Meowjin]

http://twitpic.com/1s2zl6

[HonestTea]

HAMILTON SO CLOSE! I actually have a good feeling that Hamilton will get his first win tomorrow :)

[StylinRed]

^^ i have a feeling Hamiltons going to get a DNF cuz he'll be pushing for that first spot and wreck his car again

Schumachers probably going to drop back to the back of the grid since his tires are all fucked now




Majin awesome twitter thx

[StylinRed]

WTF WEBBER VETTEL?!



damn Schumacher was too far behind or else he could have gotten 3rd


what a fukin time to go to commercial too wth...

[Fish]

Wow. Adrian Newey's reaction says it all.

[StylinRed]

;) Vettel pulling out the crazy finger.. did he mean himself (since it was his fault) or Webber



oh man Webber looks like he's about to either cry or bust up Vettels face if he was nearby or both


edit:
http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2010/05/30/1225873/244531-webber-and-vettel.jpg
http://theblackstuff.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/sebastian_vettel.jpg
http://images.drive.com.au/drive_images/Editorial/2007/03/12/12Alonso_m_m.jpghttp://www.pensarics.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/raaaage.gif

[Fish]

;) Vettel pulling out the crazy finger.. did he mean himself (since it was his fault) or Webber



oh man Webber looks like he's about to either cry or bust up Vettels face if he was nearby or both

The announcers were going on about a rift between the two teammates too. I guess this doesn't help any.

Button and Hamilton were very close to touching later on in the race. Wouldn't that have been something if one of them got taken out by the other too.

[Meowjin]

i fell asleep at the opening lap :(

All well, hopefully there is an upload on a torrent site, but usually someone posts it on ninjavideo.

Webber on twitter is claiming that it's all vettel's fault.

And apparently louis and button were seperates by 0.0s at one point.

I think they told button on the radio to back down "and conserve fuel" I'm sure it had something to do with them messing hamiltons strategy a few races back when he took an unneeded pit and gave button the lead.

[HonestTea]

HAMILTON SO CLOSE! I actually have a good feeling that Hamilton will get his first win tomorrow :)

^^ i have a feeling Hamiltons going to get a DNF cuz he'll be pushing for that first spot and wreck his car again

Schumachers probably going to drop back to the back of the grid since his tires are all fucked now


Awesome :D hahahaha told you guys :)


Man Vettel had some balls walking back to the pit-lane and talking to the people on the Pit-wall, that shows that he'll face whatever consequences, be it his fault or Webber's fault like a man, good on him! Since I probably would've just sat on the wall with the flag marshalls at where I crashed at LOL

That was was a bit boring but pretty much all the races this year will be at least a bit boring, it got interesting at the start like usual, then boring then got hyped cause rain was coming then the hype died down since the rain didn't exactly come...like Martin Brundle said "Their always seems to be a forecast of rain in F1 races and it usually doesn't come"(something like that). It got good when Vettel tried to overtake Webber then then it got REALLY REALLY good when Button overtook Hamilton and had a little duel between them, that was fun and pretty skillful.

And I think Button and Hamilton did touch exiting turn 1 where Hamilton regained his position.

[StylinRed]

yeah button hamilton touched

it was an ALMOST DNF for him :D

[Amaru]

1) Used to find the BBC commentators irritating, and now I simply can't stand them. They immediately put all blame on Vettel for the accident with Webber, then proceed to scold both Red Bull drivers for dueling. A few laps later, as Hamilton and Button engage in an equally dangerous battle (and even touch wheels at one point), they can't stop gushing about how they're two "strong competitors" who are just "motivated to win" etc etc. Talk about hypocrisy.

2) Anyone who blames Vettel for the accident is out of their minds. Even Red Bull is backing Vettel now, claiming that Webber was equally if not more at fault (link (http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsport/story/18930.html?CMP=OTC-RSS)).

Vettel had been lapping significantly faster for at least three laps (we now know that it was because Webber had to engage fuel saving mode- link (http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsport/story/18943.html)) and he had every right to make a pass. He didn't want to be held up by Webber, as it may have cost both drivers if Hamilton was able to gain more ground.

During the passing attempt itself, Vettel was way faster because he wasn't in fuel saving mode and he was in Webber's slipstream. He moved to the inside line well before the corner, and he was quickly passing Webber. Webber almost forced him onto the grass, despite the fact he had already lost the position to Vettel, and put Vettel on the dirty line.

Granted, Vettel shouldn't have made the sudden move towards Webber, as that's the point when the contact occurred. Nonetheless, it was Webber who forced the entire situation to occur, and he should have allowed Vettel through.

I wouldn't say Webber is completely in the wrong, because it is his right to defend against another driver. However the "other driver" in question was his teammate, who was much faster and under pressure from behind. It was selfish of him to try and hold position when he knew he was slower.

Both drivers should have handled the situation differently. But then again these sorts of things happen in the blink of an eye when you're racing an F1 car, so hindsight is 20:20. Still, I don't think it's fair to blame Vettel for the problems that occurred.

3) Looks like a two-horse race between Red Bull and McLaren. The Red Bulls should be way ahead - especially Vettel - but reliability and bad luck have cost them. In the end, as McLaren continues to improve, they may look back at the first few races and wish they pulled out a few more points.

4) How did you guys find this race boring? It wasn't quite up to the standards of Australia or Malaysia but it's one of the better tracks on the calendar (I didn't always think so) and during the final 20 laps there was some very good drama involving four of the best drivers in the world.

5) Impressed with Button. Might be eating crow by the end of the season when I predicted Hamilton would destroy him in the driver standings. Money's still on Vettel for the championship but horrible luck and a few awful decisions have cost him so many points it's beginning to look more and more difficult.

On to Montreal! Praying for rain...

[StylinRed]

Red Bull
Mark Webber (3rd)
“Sebastian had a bit of a top speed advantage, he went down the inside and we were side by side. I was surprised when he came right suddenly, as I was holding my racing line. It happened very, very fast and it’s a shame for the team. Not an ideal day. The McLarens were solid and it was a good race between all four of us up at the front until then, neither of us wanted to make contact with each other. It’s obviously not ideal, but it happened. There was a long way to still go in the race, but that was an interesting few metres on the track between both of us. In the end it wasn’t the result that either of us wanted. We’ve got great character in our team and two fast drivers at the front - we’re not dicing for 15th and 16th - we’re going for victories so there’s clearly a lot at stake. I’ll have a chat with Sebastian about it, we might have a difference of opinion but we’ll be adults about it and press on.”

Sebastian Vettel (DNF)
“If you watch it on the TV, you can see what happened. I’m not in the happiest of moods. I was on the inside going into the corner. I was there, I was ahead and focusing on the braking point and then we touched. Mark’s car hit my rear right wheel and I went off – there’s not much more to say. We were all on the same pace during the race, I think I was a bit quicker than Mark for two or three laps, I was catching him and thought I could get him on the back straight. I was very close and passed him on the left, that’s the story. This is something that happens, no one needs it, but there’s not much you can do now.”

Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal
“It’s disappointing for the team to have got into that position today. The one thing I always ask the drivers is that, yes, they can race each other, but give each other room, and that’s exactly what didn’t happen. They were too far over on the left, Sebastian got a run on the inside of Mark, but then came across too early. They didn’t give each other room; it’s as simple as that...


another of the interviews found on F1.com say that Webber was going slower due to orders
The comments by Marko seem to just say that Webber knows the situation and shouldn't have raced Vettel... but why the hell not?
If nothing happened and Vettel dropped back people would just say "ohh great racing!" like they did with Button / Hamilton
So you can't point out the events that led to Vettel trying to pass Webber cuz that's a part of racing... the actual point of blame or idiocy is when Vettel decided "Im gonna turn-in ROAAAAR" and boom

[Amaru]

another of the interviews found on F1.com say that Webber was going slower due to orders
The comments by Marko seem to just say that Webber knows the situation and shouldn't have raced Vettel... but why the hell not?
If nothing happened and Vettel dropped back people would just say "ohh great racing!" like they did with Button / Hamilton
So you can't point out the events that led to Vettel trying to pass Webber cuz that's a part of racing... the actual point of blame or idiocy is when Vettel decided "Im gonna turn-in ROAAAAR" and boom

Vettel's car was much faster than Webber at that point in the race. He was being pressured from Hamilton behind, and held up by Webber. The best strategy from a team perspective was to allow Vettel to pass, increasing the likelihood of a Red Bull victory.

I agree that Vettel should not have turned in, but Webber should not have forced him way out there in the first place and created a dangerous situation battling his teammate.

For the record, I think the Hamilton/Button duel was pretty silly too. The difference is that both drivers knew when they were beat and backed off before it turned ugly. Still probably shouldn't have been racing so hard; obviously ego played a role. If I were a McLaren mechanic/manager I would be very displeased with how close they came to a crash. They could've ended up like the Red Bulls and handed Mercedes a pair of podium finishes.

It all made for good entertainment though, so I'm not going to lose sleep over it either way.

[Rich Sandor]

webber has no right to be mad, as he knew vettel had the pass, but squeezed him away from the braking line. The actual racing line would have taken webber farther to the right, but for some reason he continued straight ahead and squeezed vettel to the left, even after the pass was complete. Of course, vettel was wrong to turn into webber.. he could have kept straight and just pinched the corner instead.. but webber shouldn't have forced that option either, considering they are team mates.

Keep in mind that all this happened in a split second at 250+kph in 2 very twitchy F1 cars. It's kind of unfair for us mere mortal drivers to pass judgement on the split second decisions of these driving gods. :)

Good race though.

[Amaru]

webber has no right to be mad, as he knew vettel had the pass, but squeezed him away from the braking line. The actual racing line would have taken webber farther to the right, but for some reason he continued straight ahead and squeezed vettel to the left, even after the pass was complete. Of course, vettel was wrong to turn into webber.. he could have kept straight and just pinched the corner instead.. but webber shouldn't have forced that option either, considering they are team mates.

Keep in mind that all this happened in a split second at 250+kph in 2 very twitchy F1 cars. It's kind of unfair for us mere mortal drivers to pass judgement on the split second decisions of these driving gods. :)

Good race though.

Couldn't agree more with your entire post, bang on.

[Meowjin]

soooo button is a cocksucker apparently. anyone catch the race highlights on the f1 site?

[HonestTea]

soooo button is a cocksucker apparently. anyone catch the race highlights on the f1 site?

Lol what happened?

[Meowjin]

Lol what happened?

team: Lewis let up a little and save your tires
hamilton: If I let up will button pass me
team: he has no orders

[StylinRed]

ugh.... Schumacher was doing so well in practice... wtf happened -_-

they blamed the option tires but blegh -_-

[HonestTea]

HELL YEAH!

LEWIS HAMILTON GOGOGOGOGO!

[Amaru]

HELL YEAH!

LEWIS HAMILTON GOGOGOGOGO!

He's toast if there's no safety car in the first 10 laps of the race tomorrow. Everyone else is starting on the hard compound. If there is a safety car... and let's face it, it's quite likely... then he should be alright. After that he just needs an error-free race and he should be a lock to come across the line in first. Can't see the Red Bulls passing him with their massive straight line speed deficit.

The start will be fascinating. Vettel is great at the start and once again he's got the clean side of the track, so I could seem him slipping past Webber on the first corner again. He pretty much has to be on the podium this race if he wants to keep his championship bid alive.

Wtf was up with Button in qualifying? It's not a bad result but he never really got a solid lap in any of the three qualifying sessions. He's been so impressive over the past few races I expected him to give the Red Bulls & Hamilton a challenge again.

Btw, does anyone else think Robert Kubica is one of the best drivers in Formula1 right now? He impresses me almost every single race and he rarely makes mistakes anymore. I'd love to see him get a drive with Ferrari next year.

Oh, and what the hell happened to Mercedes? Car is just not right for this track perhaps, but Schumacher in 13th? That's inexcusable.

[Amaru]

Also... what's the deal with Massa? I remember him being a dominant driver in years past. He looks average at best so far this year, usually being outperformed by Alonso.

As always I'll be praying for rain during the race tomorrow... hoping for another roller coaster of a race similar to what we saw in Melbourne.

[Meowjin]

Also... what's the deal with Massa? I remember him being a dominant driver in years past. He looks average at best so far this year, usually being outperformed by Alonso.

As always I'll be praying for rain during the race tomorrow... hoping for another roller coaster of a race similar to what we saw in Melbourne.

you get a spring to the head at 200 km per hour and tell me how you recover.

[StylinRed]

Oh, and what the hell happened to Mercedes? Car is just not right for this track perhaps, but Schumacher in 13th? That's inexcusable.

well apparently the Option tires fucked them up cuz they were doing great in the practices and the first round of qualifying was okay still ugh :/ wtf

[dai3yuen]

Don't think I've ever seen someone as unhappy as Alonso on the podium today! LOL

Mr. Sourpuss or what?

Shame about Kobyashi going out at the beginning. I thought his start was reminiscent of how he raced last year!

[Amuse]

Where can I download F1 races?

[Great68]

I lost respect for Schumacher after today's race.

[StylinRed]

^^ what happened? i missed it

[Great68]

^^ what happened? i missed it

He pulled some pretty shady blocking moves on Kubica and Massa, causing both Kubica and Massa to damage their cars.

In both cases the other cars were clearly WAY faster than him.

[Eff-1]

One of the most exciting races of the year. The fact the tires performed so poorly was fantastic because finally, teams had to pit more than once, and the tire strategy contributed greatly to the outcome. As a bonus, cars were forced to deal with lapped traffic -- something we haven't seen in a while.

Lewis was the best driver out there and deserved the win. Nice to see all three top teams fighting for the lead. Kubica had a shot as well, if not for the damage to his car. Disappointed both Force India's were dealt bad luck with collisions and punctures.

After his performace today, I predict MS retires (again) after this year.

Alonso seemed to be upset about traffic, but I wonder if he was specifically thinking of Buemi because technically Buemi was fighting him and Lewis for the lead haha.

Great show today, all in all. Sorry I chose not to go.

[HonestTea]

THIS HAS BEEN THE MOST EXCITING F1 RACE SO FAR THIS YEAR!

I thought I'd lost all faith in the 2010 Formula 1 season but this race pretty much makes up for it, really intense action from the beginning and even til the end people were still trying to catch the guys in front of them(Kubica on Rosberg and Webber on Vettel) and having extensive coverage on the TSN feed was nice to see, finally get to watch the post-race interviews without switching over to SPEED(or in this race, FOX)

Some funny moments in the race is where Martin Brundle commented on Massa and Liuzzi and said something like "It looks like Massa was determined to get Liuzzi outta the race" on the 2nd corner :rofl: :rofl: it was hilarious, Massa hit the Force India like 3x consecutively on Lap 1 and when Vettel asked his race-engineer if he could push his car and set the fastest lap on the race and the race-engineer was like "Don't even think about it!" hahaha

Best race by FAR! Now I only hope the other tracks will deliver and did you guys notice how the grandstands for this race was FULL?! Unlike other races in Bahrain and China?! WTF and Bernie didn't want to bring the race back to Montreal...seriously... and now Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are 1-2 in the Drivers standings :)

[Meowjin]

stupid fox news coverage on ninjavideo.

anyone have the bbc coverage? Torrent and all?

[Blinky]

What a great race. Races are so much better when teams have some inconsistency to complain about - tires or weather :thumbsup:. All in all I'd say it's been a pretty good year so far. More of the races have been exciting, than have not.

About Vettel, I also loved it when he practically said, WTF dudes - you want me to PASS but go slower?!

I've been impressed by Kubica since he had that big year at BMW two years ago. I really hope he finds a better drive next year. Maybe Mercedes if/when Schumi decides to go back to proper bumpercars.

[StylinRed]

stupid fox news coverage on ninjavideo.

anyone have the bbc coverage? Torrent and all?

if you know how to use usenet

you can download the bbc, rtl, etc coverage (even an HD feed but its like 9GB)

[Meowjin]

if you know how to use usenet

you can download the bbc, rtl, etc coverage (even an HD feed but its like 9GB)

what's usenet? Help a brother out.

[Meowjin]

found the torrents!

FULL BBC coverage too <<#<#<<#<#<<#<#

[Amaru]

you get a spring to the head at 200 km per hour and tell me how you recover.

Sure, that's a possible explanation, but we were all told by Ferrari that he was back in race shape before the season began. Even by the end of last season he was at the races and seemed physically fine.

I'm thinking that if he were affected by the spring incident in Hungary then it's more confidence-related than it is physical.

He's not BAD by any means, but he's really not the same driver he was when he challenged for the title a couple years back. Hopefully he can get back to form soon.

I've been impressed by Kubica since he had that big year at BMW two years ago. I really hope he finds a better drive next year. Maybe Mercedes if/when Schumi decides to go back to proper bumpercars.

Seems like Kubica's best option. Massa is staying at Ferrari and Webber is inked for another year at Red Bull, so assuming those contracts are honored then Kubica's options are limited. He may have to switch teams if Renault decides to pull out of F1 next year...

I personally didn't find the Canadian GP as exciting as some others... it was definitely a very entertaining race but after the second pit stop, the race seemed to settle and there was little hope for any movement at the front of the grid.

I continue to be immensely frustrated by Red Bull. For Sebastian Vettel (and even Mark Webber at times), the RB6 seems to simultaneously be the boon and bane of his existence. How many points has he lost due to the Red Bull's reliability issues?

- He lost 13 points in Bahrain thanks to a spark plug failure;
- He lost 25 points in Australia thanks to a loose wheel nut;
- He lost 3 points in Spain thanks to a brake problem;
- He had damage to his car's chassis for Monaco;
- He had unknown engine problems that forced him to slow down in Canada.

The first two are particularly significant. Now, that's not to say he has been anywhere near exceptional this year - I think Hamilton has been better overall, and Webber and Button have been great too - but he's just not having any luck at all with his car.

At this point in the season I have absolutely no idea who will win the WDC this year. None. Could be any of the top five. I'd say Hamilton looks poised to do well, but I'm not confident in his mental toughness at all and one or two bad races could rattle him. Button is cool as a cucumber but he just doesn't have the raw speed of guys like Hamilton. Vettel and Webber are neck-in-neck... if Vettel returns to last year's form, he'll be a strong contender. But this year Webber looks to be his equal and has been very impressive. Can't forget Alonso, either, who is quietly having an excellent year in a car that's not up to par yet.

[Senna4ever]

I lost respect for Schumacher after today's race.

He's been pulling shit like that since 1994.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr00HlaK-L0&feature=related

1997
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgfuoSFerDU&feature=related

[Rich Sandor]

I love watching F1 from previous years. So weird to see guys without HANS devices now.

[jackal]

anyone notice the cars from 94 look a lot like the current indy cars? mclaren will run away with this years championship. mclaren always have the best development/improvements as the season progresses. they just have to many good people and to much money. look at last year. ferrari gave up halfway through. mclaren never stopped development and they were cleaning up at the end of the season. mclaren has been able to stay competitive with red bull b/c of their f-duct and now they are going to flex their development muscle and will pass redbull as the team to beat for the remainder of the season.

[Amaru]

anyone notice the cars from 94 look a lot like the current indy cars?

Definitely. They look a lot cooler than the current F1 cars, imo.

It's fascinating to look back at old F1 pics/vids and see how the car has changed over time.

mclaren will run away with this years championship. mclaren always have the best development/improvements as the season progresses. they just have to many good people and to much money. look at last year. ferrari gave up halfway through. mclaren never stopped development and they were cleaning up at the end of the season. mclaren has been able to stay competitive with red bull b/c of their f-duct and now they are going to flex their development muscle and will pass redbull as the team to beat for the remainder of the season.

I don't really agree with this at all. Yes, McLaren's car was garbage in the first few races last year... but Red Bull's development was equally impressive.

By the second race, in Malaysia, the McLarens were already competitive. The following round, in China, saw the two McLaren drivers finish 5th & 6th. Hamilton then broke the top-5 by finishing 4th two weeks later in Bahrain. McLaren's performance slipped after that, finishing 8th or lower for five straight races.

Red Bull's car was good at the begin of the year, and by the halfway mark they had caught up to Brawn's pace. By the time the last few races rolled around, the RB5 was basically unbeatable. Vettel won 2 of the last 3 races, Webber won the other. The McLaren car was quick by year's end but remained consistently slower than the Red Bull. Kovaleinen didn't even break the top-10 in any of the final three races.

Don't forget that last year Red Bull had very little pre-season testing, and they had less money than McLaren with which to develop the car over the course of the year. In spite of this, the RB5 was a better car for more or less the entire season.

This season, Red Bull has more experience and more money... and instead of beginning with a "good" car, they're starting with an extremely fast car. After 8 rounds, the qualifying pace of the RB6 is still better than McLaren, imo. The nature of the Montreal circuit didn't suit the Red Bull car, and thus they conceded pole for the first time in 8 races. Similar to the race in Monaco, where most critics expected Red Bull's dominance to end, both Red Bull cars performed far better in qualifying than most had predicted. They were only a few tenths of a second behind Hamilton, who was on the soft tires.

Valencia will probably be another track that favours the McLaren car, but I can't imagine the Red Bull will be far off the pace. And at Silverstone, the Red Bull will be a very strong contender, as shown by Vettel's dominant victory form pole last season. Same goes for Germany, where Webber won last season... and the RB6 should also be well-suited to several other tracks coming up in the latter half of the season... anything that doesn't have long straights where McLaren's extra horsepower is a huge advantage.

The one area where McLaren has outperformed Red Bull from day one is reliability. Red Bull has already lost a huge number of points due to mechanical failure. However, I believe that reliability is easier to improve upon than overall pace, as demonstrated by Red Bull's performance in the second half of last season.

McLaren may have more experience and more money behind them, but Red Bull is no slouch. They've got 6 years of experience now, and there's no doubt that Adrian Newey is one of (if not THE) best in the business.

Both Red Bull drivers are capable of winning a championship, and they have proven that both last year and again early this season (aside from the Turkish GP incident, anyway). Webber may not be as quick as Vettel in a one-lap situation, but he seems to be just as capable as his teammate when it comes to winning on Sunday.

People rag on Vettel a lot, often arguing that he's an average driving benefiting from a great car. "He has never come up from the back of the pack and he has never overtaken a good driver" seems to be the go-to criticism, which is both false and naive at the same time. First of all, he did make a huge comeback in the '07 Japan GP (started 17th, finished 4th). Secondly, if he's a product of his car, then how do you explain his dominance of Webber last season? (Vettel won 4 races to Webber's 2, Vettel had 4 poles to Webber's 1). Love him or hate him, Webber is a very solid driver who has never been consistently outperformed by his teammates.

The ability to overtake is only one of many factors that make up a driver. It's one of Hamilton's strongest attributes, but one of Vettel's weaknesses. Similarly, drivers like Button are better at caring for the tires although they may be slightly slower in actual one-lap pace. Vettel is one of the more complete drivers in the field, though: he has consistently proven to be one of the fastest drivers in qualifying, which is absolutely crucial in F1 these days. Simply put, if you can't win pole positions on a regular basis, then you have very little hope of winning a championship. Not a lot of drivers can consistently get the most out of a car, and Vettel is one of the best in this area. Rosberg is another good example of a guy who excels in qualifying.

In contrast with Rosberg, however, Vettel has shown the ability to win a race. He's great from the start line, and he appears less prone to mental blunders this season. Although he hasn't proven an ability to overtake particularly well, he can defend position in most situations, and he seems to treat his tires kindly for the most part (altho perhaps that's partly the car). On top of all that apparently he is very interested in the technical aspect of the cars and he seems like the type of driver that will work with the team to improve the car. Not to mention he's likable thanks to his sense of humor and smaller-than-average ego (by F1 standards), much like Button.

I'm a Vettel homer, yes, so I feel inclined to defend him. But I'm not saying he's "the best," I'm simply saying that he has the tools needed to become a world champion. I believe that both McLaren drivers - and Webber - also have the necessary skills and consistency to win this year's WDC. IMO, whenever you combine a very fast race car with a very good driver, you've got a shot at winning it all. The McLaren/Red Bull drivers all meet the criteria at this point, and Alonso may be there as well if the Ferrari returns to form.

Anyway, I'm not saying that Red Bull will continue to dominate all season... nor am I suggesting they are the outright favourites to win. But, given the way they consistently kept pace with (or outpaced) the development of every other team last season, I imagine they will be one of only 2 (possibly 3) teams still contending for the Constructors championship by the last couple of races. Who comes out on top in the end will depend on several things: Red Bull's ability to provide the drivers a car that can finish races, Red Bull's ability to mimick the McLaren F-duct and remain competitive on high-speed tracks, McLaren's ability to match Red Bull's downforce and effectively reproduce the RB6 exhaust system, Red Bull's ability to keep it's drivers from colliding, etc.

The verdict: Red Bull will be a contender to the end, because they still possess the fastest car... and they proved last year they have the ability to improve a car over the course of the season. McLaren will also be in contention thanks to recent upgrades to the MP4-25 and superior reliability. All four drivers have the talent and consistency to win the WDC, imo.

/rant

[Meowjin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zf40OzfwOo&

[Amaru]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zf40OzfwOo&

Hahaha.. awesome. Love their accents.

[jackal]

if you remember last season redbull began the season with the better diffuser. the main reason they were a front runner at the begining of last year. mclaren and ferrari were way slower because aerodynamically they could not compete. ferrari gave up and mclaren re developed their entire aero package. this year red bull is fast, really fast, but they are so close to the limits they are unreliable. mclaren began the season as always with an extremely reliable car and now as the season progresses they will improve the downforce to allow them to compete with the bull's in the twisties. they are already the fastes on the straits by a lot.

vettel and webber make a truely great team for redbull but they are not better nor are they worse then hammilton and button. drivers aside mclaren as a team has the experience it takes to get them to the finnish.

[Amaru]

if you remember last season redbull began the season with the better diffuser. the main reason they were a front runner at the begining of last year. mclaren and ferrari were way slower because aerodynamically they could not compete. ferrari gave up and mclaren re developed their entire aero package. this year red bull is fast, really fast, but they are so close to the limits they are unreliable. mclaren began the season as always with an extremely reliable car and now as the season progresses they will improve the downforce to allow them to compete with the bull's in the twisties. they are already the fastes on the straits by a lot.

I agree that McLaren will improve their car as the season progresses, there's no doubt about that. But they're still a bit behind Red Bull in their one-off pace (at least on most tracks)... and I don't see why Red Bull can't improve their reliability, too.

McLaren are the fastest on the straights now, yes, but it's partly due to the F-duct. Gotta think the other teams will figure out how to make their own F-ducts work sooner or later, which will reduce the speed advantage. Their engine is definitely stronger than the Renault but a number of teams are using that engine, so they don't hold the sole advantage there.

vettel and webber make a truely great team for redbull but they are not better nor are they worse then hammilton and button. drivers aside mclaren as a team has the experience it takes to get them to the finnish.

Yes, gotta give the edge to McLaren when it comes to experience. I don't think Red Bull is inexperienced anymore, though... they've been around under the current name for five full seasons, and they gained much valuable experience last season. Christian Horner seems to be competent and generally well-respected... and of course Adrian Newey is top-notch, I think Martin Brundle said he's "the best team principal in Formula1".

Anyway, I maintain my position that Red Bull and McLaren will both be contenders down to the final few races. Can't tell quite yet if Ferrari will be able to catch up to those two, but Alonso has definitely battled adversity and picked up a lot of points in spite of the car's shortcomings.

[StylinRed]

what's usenet? Help a brother out.

sorr didnt see it... its hard to explain :P

but you need a program like altbinz (www.altbinz.net) and you need your ISP's news server address and put it into the program (best bet is to pay for a news server, like newsrazor (www.newsrazor.net) or better giganews (www.giganews.com) because ISPs news servers are highly edited)

then you use a website like binsearch (www.binsearch.info) to search for what you want to download

[StylinRed]

Webbers crash was insane the commentators blamed kovaleinen but hm... looked like webbers fault


that bottle on the track and the steward who ran out to grab it oO nutty


damn schumacher :( stupid mercedes car sucks

[impactX]

and Lewis Hamilton is the luckiest SOB ever. Fooker just kept breaking the rules and get off scot free every single time.

Crappy strategy to call Schumacher in.

[Rich Sandor]

To be fair to Lewis, if he had kept his pace, he would have been well in front of the pace car. He slowed down only to be cautious, and got penalised for it. The rules are clear, but when you are racing, you aren't thinking about those minor details. Maybe that's why Alonso is having such a shitty season. He's bitching and complaining about others instead of focusing on his own driving.

I had a great laugh watching eddie jordan and david coulthard go tete a tete about the webber/kov. incident. Webber had no reason to be so close up to the Heiki. They were 4 seconds per lap apart. Everyone KNOWS the Lotuses are slow as all fuck. Mark should have left him way more room than he did. He used the wake to come up behind Heiki at insane closure speeds and waited till the last nanosecond to pop out. He essentially rear ended Heiki. You can't blame Heiki for defending his position with one block. In my view, Mark is making too many judgement errors and it has cost him the championship this season. At his age, he should be more level headed instead of making these bonehead mistakes.

[littledog]

As much as I don't like Alonso, if Hamilton kept his pace both Alonso and Hamilton would be well in front of the safety car before the white line ends. I don't think you can blame Alonso for this one. You see the safety car coming out and the car in front of you slowed down, there's nothing you can do except to slow down.

[Blinky]

Alonso is a whining little bitch. Granted, he's a whining little bitch that can drive.

Calling the race "manipulated" is horrible. Maybe he's been hanging out with Flavio Briatore too much. I think he was very, very unlucky in this case and I can see why he's upset:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32vI5IWkg9Q

However, I don't think Hamilton did what he did to intentionally screw Alonso/Ferrari. He acted illegally and he took the penalty. One can argue about the timing of the penalty and if the severity of the penalty justified what he did, but that's a different argument. The punishment was within the rules.

[Amaru]

Alonso is a whiner, and it's really irritating. Yes, it was bad luck for him, but at least Hamilton willingly accepted the drive-through penalty, and it cost him 16 seconds. I still don't think he would have won the race, but at least he didn't whine about it for days on end. I'm sure the stewards investigated as quickly as they could, but given the complexity of the situation it took them a few minutes to determine the necessary punishment for Hamilton. I agree that it wasn't at all intentional of Hamilton's behalf. Anyway, Alonso can stuff it. Now he's being outdriven AND outclassed by McLaren and Red Bull.

Not sure you can apportion blame to anyone for the Webber crash. Like the incident with Vettel in Turkey, Webber perhaps "should have known better," but it happened in the blink of an eye and hindsight is 20/20. I'd say it's a "racing incident" and move on. In defense of Kovaleinen, he has every right to defend his position. Just because his car is slower doesn't mean he has to yield. Webber should beat him cleanly just like he would any other driver.

This wasn't the most exciting race, aside from the Webber crash, but I am very pleased that Vettel is back on form. That's the Vettel that I remember from last season, and he controlled the race very well. The announcers made a big deal about Hamilton closing the gap in the final 10 laps, but obviously Vettel was fully aware of that and was simply saving his engine and his fuel. When the gap closed to under 8 seconds, he turned up his engine and started lapping a half-second faster than Lewis.

Unless McLaren has some insane upgrades planned for Silverstone, Red Bull will dominate once again. They still have the fastest car and Vettel appears to have his confidence back, so I suspect they will dominate from pole again.

I'm so tired of hearing about Schumacher. He's in a mediocre car, and the team isn't making good strategy decisions, but he's still being outperformed by his teammate. Really, no idea why anyone expected much else from him... he's 40 and he's up against some incredible drivers in Lewis, Alonso, Button, Vettel, etc... all of whom have a better car. His second retirement is imminent, I think, and it'll be a relief not to hear about him and his 15th place finishes anymore.

[SkinnyPupp]

Coulthard comes across as a fool for stating that there are two separate classes of cars in Formula 1, and that the "B Class" drivers should get out of the way. Fuck that shit, they were racing for position. Kov didn't make "2 or 3" moves either, he barely moved at all. Webber missed his braking point, and he is lucky he didn't kill himself or the other driver.

BTW go out of your way to catch the BBC post-race coverage, it was fantastic. Eddiy Jordan (who is usually a nut) went right after DC, and they even had Mike Gascoyne go after him as well. Awesome stuff.

It was an OK race. Kobayashi was great :thumbsup:

[impactX]

Alonso is a whiner, and it's really irritating. Yes, it was bad luck for him, but at least Hamilton willingly accepted the drive-through penalty, and it cost him 16 seconds. I still don't think he would have won the race, but at least he didn't whine about it for days on end. I'm sure the stewards investigated as quickly as they could, but given the complexity of the situation it took them a few minutes to determine the necessary punishment for Hamilton. I agree that it wasn't at all intentional of Hamilton's behalf. Anyway, Alonso can stuff it. Now he's being outdriven AND outclassed by McLaren and Red Bull.

Not sure you can apportion blame to anyone for the Webber crash. Like the incident with Vettel in Turkey, Webber perhaps "should have known better," but it happened in the blink of an eye and hindsight is 20/20. I'd say it's a "racing incident" and move on. In defense of Kovaleinen, he has every right to defend his position. Just because his car is slower doesn't mean he has to yield. Webber should beat him cleanly just like he would any other driver.

This wasn't the most exciting race, aside from the Webber crash, but I am very pleased that Vettel is back on form. That's the Vettel that I remember from last season, and he controlled the race very well. The announcers made a big deal about Hamilton closing the gap in the final 10 laps, but obviously Vettel was fully aware of that and was simply saving his engine and his fuel. When the gap closed to under 8 seconds, he turned up his engine and started lapping a half-second faster than Lewis.

Unless McLaren has some insane upgrades planned for Silverstone, Red Bull will dominate once again. They still have the fastest car and Vettel appears to have his confidence back, so I suspect they will dominate from pole again.

I'm so tired of hearing about Schumacher. He's in a mediocre car, and the team isn't making good strategy decisions, but he's still being outperformed by his teammate. Really, no idea why anyone expected much else from him... he's 40 and he's up against some incredible drivers in Lewis, Alonso, Button, Vettel, etc... all of whom have a better car. His second retirement is imminent, I think, and it'll be a relief not to hear about him and his 15th place finishes anymore.

It's more like the FIA is being run by a bunch of amatuers. The incidents could have been easily avoided if the SC came out to collect the leader behind him instead of coming out in the middle of no where.

With regard to Schumacher, it was a good strategy call for him to go into the pit at that time, but FIA fucked up again and turned the pitlane light to red by mistake as the race control can't seem to interpret the rules all that well. If the light was green, Schumacher would come out in third place without needing to pit again.

[Rich Sandor]

I agree, it would have been 'better' if the safety car came out sooner to collect the leader - however I don't know what delay there was between the crash and the safety car going out. Was there any delay? I would suggest, if they're not doing it already, to have someone strapped in the safety car, ready to go, AT ALL TIMES. It's got a/c. They can handle it.

Koby's driving was fucking fabulous. I was impressed.

I feel bad for Button and Schummy, they both deserved better.

On to the next race. It's still anyone's season.

[Meowjin]

any torrents yet?

and yeah alonso should stfu, the guy has avoided so much controversy in the past 3 years, the one year he gets shafted he decides to complain.

[Meowjin]

wow wow wow

David Coulthard should stop defending his employer. He maybe still employed by redbull but foremost he is a pundit for BBC. That class B comment straight to the lotus boss? What a diss.

edit: Schumaker would have placed higher if that pit thing didnt fuck him up.

[Meowjin]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs181.snc4/37366_442645486412_12254981412_6471538_5193134_n.j pg

[Rich Sandor]

those of you in this thread looking for motorsports only torrents, give me a PM and i'll let you know what site I use. I can't post it here cuz I'll get my account banned if they find out.

[Meowjin]

what a joke ferrari is.

[Meowjin]

what a greater joke schumacher is.

[Meowjin]

http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/citruscube/557yr6KrQjPF6PLP4Nd1VzdMSqNX8e57LiOeSLZy9WgTAJ86Mt XxyIQiQC2p/jensonbutton_stigtshirt.jpg.scaled.500.jpg

[Blinky]

Schum's ride next year:

http://philip.greenspun.com/images/digiphotos/200408-japan/hello-kitty-bumper-car.JPG

In other news it's shaping up to be a crazy, crazy race to the finish. Top 5 drivers are within 20 points, there's a terrific 3-way battle for 6th place, and RB's constructors' lead is just 8 points.

It's always fun watching the middle of the pack to see which drivers are outdriving their car... Kubica is definitely one, Rosberg is more consistent than he is spectacular, and well, Massa... race fix aside, I don't think he gets as much out of the car as his teammate.

So who is going to win the big prizes?
- straight line speed (McLaren)?
- top aero (Red Bull)?
- whiners/crybabies (Ferrari :D )?

[Meowjin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE-Fge3gN9w&feature=player_embedded

because i luff you revscene.

[SkinnyPupp]

I screamed out loud when Schumacher pulled that move on Barrichello. I seriously thought he was going to drive into the cement wall and die. Fuck!

[YiNG_YaNG_6o4]

if you know how to use usenet

you can download the bbc, rtl, etc coverage (even an HD feed but its like 9GB)

you don't need to waste your money on usenet to watch F1. all the free practices, qualify, race, and red button forum (all BBC coverage) is released on torrents everytime.

_/_/_/_/_/

this 2010 season has made me hate what Ferrari are doing. I don't see them stand a chance at winning the drivers championship or constructors. So i don't know why they would do something so stupid as to take away Massa's win. The guy is making a steady recovery and having the best race of the season and "the team" all of a sudden decides that Alsono should be the one to pick up the points??? wtf??!! ok... so Alsono won that race.... does he have a chance at being world champion? NO... not even close. Alsono needs to stop being a whiny little bitch and accept that fact that Massa out drove him. Big deal if he was fastest in quali. He fucked up the start and couldn't recover from it. Massa jumped 2 ppl at the start and was throwing down fastest laps through out the race. I give major props to Massa for the performance he put on. "yes it was my decision". everyone knows that was bullshit and he even showed it on the podium. And the fact that Ferrari was only fined a lousy 100,000 for giving team orders???? what kind of punishment is that??? thats like being busted for a grow op in van... its nothing .... a slap on the wrist!! the FIA needs to hand out real punishments or teams will just do it again cuz they know nothing will happen. Alonso should've had the win taken away from him ... lost his points... and be moved back 10 grid positions on the next race. $100,000 fine....pffffft.... isn't that what they pay Alonso a day? i mean ... seriously....

[dinfung]

I agree, the fine is pretty much nothing. moving them back the grid should be the right call.

And the fact that Ferrari was only fined a lousy 100,000 for giving team orders???? what kind of punishment is that??? thats like being busted for a grow op in van... its nothing .... a slap on the wrist!! the FIA needs to hand out real punishments or teams will just do it again cuz they know nothing will happen. Alonso should've had the win taken away from him ... lost his points... and be moved back 10 grid positions on the next race. $100,000 fine....pffffft.... isn't that what they pay Alonso a day? i mean ... seriously....

[Meowjin]

i hate alonso. I'm so glad he's getting nailed this year

[impactX]

Team orders? Big deal. Not saying it's right, but every team does it.

So when Hekki let Lewis pass in 2008, it was ok?

Ferrari couldn't afford to have its drivers taking points off each other at this stage of the championship. If Massa had a more decent shot at the WDC and he was able to run away from Alonso, he would be allowed to keep the position.

[impactX]

W00t Spa this weekend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g63ocC1KsV0

[HonestTea]

The most exciting race of the season! LOVE IT!! :D :D :D

However...Spa isn't the same without Kimi Raikkonen :(

[Senna4ever]

However...Spa isn't the same with Kimi Raikkonen :(
Spa isn't the same without the 1200hp Ferrari & Honda V12's going flat out through Eau Rouge in the late 1980's driven by Senna, Mansell, Prost, Piquet, etc... :(

[impactX]

And Michael Schumacher owned Spa before Kimi did... haha.

[Rich Sandor]

I'm so stoked to see this one! The two week break was soooo long.

[Great68]

Spa isn't the same without the 1200hp Ferrari & Honda V12's going flat out through Eau Rouge in the late 1980's driven by Senna, Mansell, Prost, Piquet, etc... :(

The 1200 horse motors of 1987-1988 were 1.5L V6 turbos...

The V12's came out in 89 and only made about 600-700 horse.

SUcks that the FIA castrates the cars so much.

[Hondaracer]

I screamed out loud when Schumacher pulled that move on Barrichello. I seriously thought he was going to drive into the cement wall and die. Fuck!

i didnt see that until the replays they showed last night

holy fuck, schumacher pretty much knew exactly where he was and gave him like an inch to get around on the inside there

insane skill by both drivers but obviously fucking schumacher knew exactly what he was doing

[StylinRed]

Finally got to experience f1 live this year it was great but i kind of prefer the tv for the coverage but experience wise wow my ears are still ringing i wish i could be at this weekends race


as for Schumacher he even said this is where he put the car he gave barrichelo a choice of what he wanted to do and people h8 schumi for it

But look at Senna he was far far far far far far far far far far far far more dangerous a driver and what happens? he gets praised for nastier tricks and moves (case in point that top gear episode where they gave a tribute to senna)

I guess if Schumi died racing he'll get praised too for everything people hate him for

[YiNG_YaNG_6o4]

i don't know what is wrong with Vettel lately. he's making so many stupid errors. he's very quick when he's out in front. but when it comes to passing someone, he needs to learn to have more patience. thats twice he's wrecked the race for another driver. and both times he says "i was faster than hiim". he needs more experience before he can actually fight for the championship.

[HonestTea]

FUCK! As much as I like Vettel, that was HELLA STUPID when he crashed into Button :(

[Meowjin]

:lol: vettel

[StylinRed]

2012 Austin Texas F1 Track Draft

http://www.formula1.com/wi/597x478/manual/f1_usgp_basictrack_layoutwelevation.jpg

http://www.formula1.com/wi/597x478/manual/draft_track_layout_f1_usgp.jpg

[Meowjin]

do you follow them on twitter too.

[StylinRed]

hmm me? nope i went to f1.com and it was there

[StylinRed]

sigh so i was waiting to watch this hours ago

and then i totally forgot... -_-

just watched like the last 10mins...


and noticed like 11cars are out lol

and who was it Kovaleinen? (already forgot rofl) almost crashes and then his car catches fire... he was going to turn into the pits but stayed out... lol and then the fire grows and his helmet is being licked by flames before he finally stops

schumi was in 15th when i flipped to it oO wtf?? guess some of the DNFs affected him? got back up 2 spots tho :/