Topic: 2011 Formula 1 thread (incl new driver lineup)

[Des Equilibrante]

I'm going for Alonso...

[paulrazor]

I'm going for Alonso...

to be honest i havent a favorite driver. but i have a slight admiration for him. i think hes a total prick though

he gets away with murder. the way he carried on with mclaren was childish. plus im not buying for one second he didnt know what was going on in singapore 08. the incident with massa in hockenheim last year aswell was bad, how ferrari got away with that i dont know

felt real bad for massa, ive kind of a soft spot for felipe. but i just dont think he has it in him to be world champion after 2009. shame cos in 2008 he was awesome and he seems like a nice guy

[paulrazor]

 

[vitri]

Sniff petrol fan? 

[Slick_Beef]

fantastic

[paulrazor]

Sniff petrol fan? 

my old boss is

i think its blocked here. he mailed it on to me

[Des Equilibrante]

to be honest i havent a favorite driver. but i have a slight admiration for him. i think hes a total prick though

Probably di Resta for me. Alonso just happens to be the best driver driving for my favourite team, which puts him a close second. After Senna, Schumacher for me was de facto #1 until Raikkonen's first practice session. I saw he was special at that point, so I liked them both, and then Schumacher retired so it became just Kimi. Then he retired and Nando was forced on me despite hating his guts in 05/06. Paul di Resta is probably my favourite driver at the moment alongside Schumacher of course, but then again di Resta (and Hamilton) are guys I followed since my UK karting days, so there is some deep rooted attachment (or detachment for Hamilton). As much as I like Fernando, and dislike Hamilton I'm not blind to how similar they are...

he gets away with murder. the way he carried on with mclaren was childish. plus im not buying for one second he didnt know what was going on in singapore 08.

I think Lewis and Fernando were as bad as each other at McLaren to be honest, was neither of their finest moments. Am pleased neither won anyway with that car.

the incident with massa in hockenheim last year aswell was bad, how ferrari got away with that i dont know

Unfortunately, rules are there to be bent and contorted as much as possible. You just have to do it better than everyone else.

felt real bad for massa, ive kind of a soft spot for felipe. but i just dont think he has it in him to be world champion after 2009. shame cos in 2008 he was awesome and he seems like a nice guy

Never really rated him myself. Unless he finds his groove on a race weekend he just seems to float around anonymously. He did find his groove a lot in 08 though, and the incident in 09 was horrendous. He's done well to come back imho.

[paulrazor]

Probably di Resta for me. Alonso just happens to be the best driver driving for my favourite team, which puts him a close second. After Senna, Schumacher for me was de facto #1 until Raikkonen's first practice session. I saw he was special at that point, so I liked them both, and then Schumacher retired so it became just Kimi. Then he retired and Nando was forced on me despite hating his guts in 05/06. Paul di Resta is probably my favourite driver at the moment alongside Schumacher of course, but then again di Resta (and Hamilton) are guys I followed since my UK karting days, so there is some deep rooted attachment (or detachment for Hamilton). As much as I like Fernando, and dislike Hamilton I'm not blind to how similar they are...
I think Lewis and Fernando were as bad as each other at McLaren to be honest, was neither of their finest moments. Am pleased neither won anyway with that car.
Unfortunately, rules are there to be bent and contorted as much as possible. You just have to do it better than everyone else.
Never really rated him myself. Unless he finds his groove on a race weekend he just seems to float around anonymously. He did find his groove a lot in 08 though, and the incident in 09 was horrendous. He's done well to come back imho.

Di resta seems promising alright.


as far as rules i mean it was clearly obvious that was team orders. alonso whining down the radio, felipe getting the order, felipe pulling over and his engineer apologizing. plus his expression on the podium. i was amazed nothing was done.

09 sure was awful for massa. hes been very inconsistent ever since

[Adamski7]

he gets away with murder. the way he carried on with mclaren was childish. plus im not buying for one second he didnt know what was going on in singapore 08. the incident with massa in hockenheim last year aswell was bad, how ferrari got away with that i dont know

Trust me, no one bar the three amigos knew about that.

Petrov on the podium in Canada, we've been consistently one of the fastest teams through the speed traps.

I think McLaren will struggle at Canada due to on going problems with that car in dirty air and low speed corners.  They have, however, been turning these things round pretty quickly this year.

Algersuari needs a penalty for his stupid fucking driving in Monaco - what business he has trying to unlap himself in traffic like that is unbeknown to anyone relatively sensible.

Top 6 for Canada:

ALO
VET
PET
HAM
ROS
BUT

Obviously optimistic prediction for us - but what hope do I have if I can't be optimistic

[paulrazor]

Trust me, no one bar the three amigos knew about that.

Petrov on the podium in Canada, we've been consistently one of the fastest teams through the speed traps.

I think McLaren will struggle at Canada due to on going problems with that car in dirty air and low speed corners.  They have, however, been turning these things round pretty quickly this year.

Algersuari needs a penalty for his stupid fucking driving in Monaco - what business he has trying to unlap himself in traffic like that is unbeknown to anyone relatively sensible.

Top 6 for Canada:

ALO
VET
PET
HAM
ROS
BUT

Obviously optimistic prediction for us - but what hope do I have if I can't be optimistic

Do you work for renault? seriously! it suggests as much (that not having a go by the way)

good point on jaime.

[Adamski7]

Do you work for renault? seriously! it suggests as much (that not having a go by the way)

good point on jaime.

Yes, engineer.

[paulrazor]

Yes, engineer.

wow

i wont ask your real name or inside stuff

nice job though. how long are you there?

[Surprise me.]

You can't see anything.  Trust me, from a fans point of view, we have the worst view of the race out of anyone. Surrounded by meaningless data to the untrained eye, an uncomfortable seat, and a small ass TV monitor akin to something you may have frequented in the 1980's.

Also "Padock Club" access you get off the teams isn't access to the actual paddock and pits.  Race paddock access in limited by the FIA, and you need a technical pass to get in.  Unfortunately, when you see the stars gracing the pits in Monaco, the teams have sacrificed technical passes to please their VIP's.

Fair enough, goes with what i said about watching it on TV then, definitely the best way for knowing everything from a fans view.

I've noticed that Paddock club thing, or at least i think i have. They're giving them a box above the teams rather than being anywhere near them, you just get to see the pit lane through a window above them,  the only way they actually see the engineers is when they come out to do a pit stop. You won't be able to see anything going on in the garage where the work happens.

[nandotorres]

Is Canada not a track where hamilton has performed well ?

Guessing a top 6 for a GP race is a lottery.

Is there a predictor league

Anyways ill go for;

Vettel (He wont be fastest as per monaco but it will probably fall on his lap)
Hamilton
Button
Webber
Alonso
Petrov

[paulrazor]

what a fucking lap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmOixmxpXF4&NR=1

[Adamski7]

Is Canada not a track where hamilton has performed well ?

Guessing a top 6 for a GP race is a lottery.

Is there a predictor league
Anyways ill go for;

Vettel (He wont be fastest as per monaco but it will probably fall on his lap)
Hamilton
Button
Webber
Alonso
Petrov

Canada is a car track, not a driver track.  Last couple of times we've raced there McLaren have had the best top speed, therefore genreally they have done well.  This year though, it doesn't look so comfortable for them.

Yer most predictor leagues are done on top 6, hence why i'm used to popping down what i think the top 6 will be.

[paulrazor]

ill go with :
button
alonso
hamilton
vettel
massa
webber

[Surprise me.]

I expect Vettel to win this from pole to be honest. They have an amazing car. Hamilton with a podium and possibly Alonso.

[Alpherah]

Vettel
Button
Alonso
Webber
Lewis

for me.

[scatman]

I'm gonna go for Hamilton, as much as Canada maybe a car track, if you drive close enough to the walls on the entrance and exits to the chicanes you can gain plenty of time, Lewis' lap in qualifying last year was pretty close to perfect for Montreal.

[Alpherah]

I'm gonna go for Hamilton, as much as Canada maybe a car track, if you drive close enough to the walls on the entrance and exits to the chicanes you can gain plenty of time, Lewis' lap in qualifying last year was pretty close to perfect for Montreal.

I dont think Lewis' head is all there at the moment.
Only needs one thing to go wrong in practice or Quali and i can see him completely loosing it again.

[CornerFlag]

Vettel
Hamilton
Alonso
Webber
Rosberg
Button
Schumacher
Massa
Di Resta
Petrov

Also, the two Lotuses to outdo the Toro Rosso outright.

[paulrazor]

Also, the two Lotuses to outdo the Toro Rosso outright.

good to see them making moves in the right direction

youd wonder why virgin and HRT bother sometimes

[gazzalfc]

youd wonder why virgin and HRT bother sometimes

There must be money in it for them. But you must wonder where the motivation is for them if their crowning achievement comes if they make it inside the 107% rule

Canada is going to very interesting. The soft and super soft tyre options are there again. As much as everyone was surprised by how long Vettel went on the super softs I cant see them going as far as they did in Monaco.

Reckon Button is due a win (if he can sort out his start). Hamilton should have been black flagged and punished more than he was for his driving last time. Can see a more conservative race from him.

I cant stand Vettel but you cant doubt his talents.

[paulrazor]

There must be money in it for them. But you must wonder where the motivation is for them if their crowning achievement comes if they make it inside the 107% rule

there not as bad as some teams way back

the like of coloni, zakspeed and eurobrun were a joke. dont even get me going on life racing engines either.

i dont think HRT can be making much money

[Mr Kipling]

There must be money in it for them. But you must wonder where the motivation is for them if their crowning achievement comes if they make it inside the 107% rule

Both teams have accomplished designers as well, Nick Wirth at Virgin and Geoff Willis at HRT. Make me wonder why they put themselves through this considering the success they have both had in the past.

Although i've just read that Virgin have parted company with Wirth and his company in the last few days. The ultimate kick in the teeth, sacked by Virgin Racing

[paulrazor]

about to say that at wirth, to be honest at benetton he never did much. im nearly half tempted to say his last decent car was the 95 simtek

[scatman]

There must be money in it for them. But you must wonder where the motivation is for them if their crowning achievement comes if they make it inside the 107% rule

Canada is going to very interesting. The soft and super soft tyre options are there again. As much as everyone was surprised by how long Vettel went on the super softs I cant see them going as far as they did in Monaco.

Reckon Button is due a win (if he can sort out his start). Hamilton should have been black flagged and punished more than he was for his driving last time. Can see a more conservative race from him.

I cant stand Vettel but you cant doubt his talents.

that's utter bollocks, even the BBC team thought the second penalty was very harsh

[Mr Kipling]

about to say that at wirth, to be honest at benetton he never did much. im nearly half tempted to say his last decent car was the 95 simtek

Was a decent car that 95 Simtek, let down by a shocking gearbox. Jos Verstappen was superb for them before they folded.

[liverbnz]

that's utter bollocks, even the BBC team thought the second penalty was very harsh

He took a driver out of the race by diving up the inside too late and the Brirish Broadcasting Corporation are never bias.

[Surprise me.]

The FIA have voted unanimosly for the Bahrain Gp, 26 out of 26.

Set for October 30th

[Mr Kipling]

The FIA have voted unanimosly for the Bahrain Gp, 26 out of 26.

Set for October 30th

Money, money, money. Not suprising really. They're moving the Indian GP date back to accomodate it as well. Bet they're pleased if they have anything organised for their first GP

[voodoo ray]

The teams will be well chuffed with that then considering pretty much all of them were against it!!

[gazzalfc]

that's utter bollocks, even the BBC team thought the second penalty was very harsh

You serious? The guy was a lunatic in Monaco all weekend. You cause 2 accidents then you deserve to be punished. The 2nd should have been more serious than the first as it was persistent dangerous driving. He came into the weekend with the wrong attitude and that was proven by his ill judged interview with the BBC (Yes he was trying to be funny but it just wasn't). You just dont call the other guys stupid as well because if anyone was being stupid it was him.

Put it in football terms. First drive through was a yellow card. The 2nd accident should have been a sending off (ie black flag).

I'm not against Hamilton and I have the same British bias as everyone else. But that driving out there was dangerous.

[paulrazor]

Was a decent car that 95 Simtek, let down by a shocking gearbox. Jos Verstappen was superb for them before they folded.

looked awesome too

[Mr Kipling]

looked awesome too

Yeah, lovely looking car.

[paulrazor]

Yeah, lovely looking car.

That must be from an exhibition. the tyrrell in the back round is the 1997 model. in 1995 they used yamaha, in 97 ford, and theres a ford badge on the airbox.

the raised protection thing for the drivers didnt come in til 1996. the simteks were gone by then

[Mr Kipling]

That must be from an exhibition. the tyrrell in the back round is the 1997 model. in 1995 they used yamaha, in 97 ford, and theres a ford badge on the airbox.

the raised protection thing for the drivers didnt come in til 1996. the simteks were gone by then

Yeah its from an exhibition. It's interesting to see the difference between the width (or the "Track" i think its called) of both cars as well, think it was 1997 when they started to become more compact. Never looked as good to me.

[paulrazor]

Yeah its from an exhibition. It's interesting to see the difference between the width (or the "Track" i think its called) of both cars as well, think it was 1997 when they started to become more compact. Never looked as good to me.

1998 i think, they were made about 20cm thinner i think. think people thought way less grip, smaller wings and grooved tyres would see cars sliding everywhere. williams ran a mock up version mid 97, first ones to do it and their test driver (jean christophe boullion) said the car was all over the place. about 9 seconds a lap slower. course when testing and development was done this gap shrunk and of course they got faster again

i think your right though, narrower cars and grooves took away from how good cars looked

[Slick_Beef]

98... the year williams downward spiral began  I didn't like those thinner cars when they came in either.. I remember Villeneuve complaining a lot about it at the time too.

Talking about Nick Wirth.. Some people might find this interesting: Back in 95 he used to post his thoughts on events at Simtek regulaly on the usenet groups. There's not a whole load of posts owing to them going bust, but the "views on Monaco" and "Views on Barcelona" posts are a good read, very honest and interesting. it offers a great insight into what it was like at a tail-end team. They are all still available to read if anyone is curious:
 https://groups.google.com/groups/profile?hl=en&enc_user=dr1AdhEAAABkszGP9riK6ElFcBswV8PZlV6oGqurh59dMfyamJPx6w