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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2009 8:14 pm

Great race today in Malaysia. Too bad it had to end early because of the rain. I'm amazed about the Brawn GP team, winning 2 races in a row as a rookie team. New techniques, KERS, diffusers .. the slick tyres back into action .. looks like it's going to be an exciting season.

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:30 am

It might be a new team But Ross Brawn is a past master tactician, He also made Michael Schumacher what he was, and also controlled Ferrari .for many years..
http://www.thescuderia.net/rossbrawn.shtml

He's turned round the old tired Honda racing team, and also trimmed the factory labour force from 720 down to 400. But the influence of people like Richard Branson, with a reported injection of something like 400 Millon dollars into the Team will help keep it going. For now anyway. And while another major sponcer will be needed in the future. But that aside it's still unclear if Branson is a sponcer http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7969435.stm or a co-owner which will allow him to advertise "Virgin" on an even bigger stage, then they do at present. He's also a likely carrier for Bernie Ecclestone F1 machine, to the world venues.
Like all things time will tell, but remembering that F1 team sponcership is in excess of 800 millon, So it's to be hoped they don't run out of cash, too soon.

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 8:43 am

Whoever decided months ago to run that race at 5pm, just as the heavens opened and it got dark, should be sacked. A lot of people predicted exactly what happened. Not Ferrari though, who had another comedy null points race, as they sent Kimi out on full wets, on a dry track. After the red flag, Massa could be heard on the radio losing his cool completely, screaming that somebody fetch him a clear visor now, and his race engineer telling him to calm down.

I am very happy for Jenson, I worked for the Formula Ford team he drove for as a youngster, and he was always a gent. Kimi was there as well, in a Forumla Renault, and he was a moody sulky bugger, in six months he probaly grunted a hello to me twice. Very quick though.

The reversal of fortunes with Button and Lewis shows that its true, all these guys are poential champoins, given the right car.

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:27 am

Roycropper wrote:

The reversal of fortunes with Button and Lewis shows that its true, all these guys are poential champoins, given the right car.

That might be true if they're given a technically superior car, which is now the case with the Brawn Mercedesses. I think you underrate the driver's skills influence a bit here. For instance Schumacher always was quicker in the same Ferrari Barichello drove, what about Alonso over Fisichella in Renaults, or Hamilton over Kovalainen in last year's McLaren.

I read Ecclestone decided to have the Malaysian GP started late in the afternoon next year too. It might have been a short race, it sure was spectacular. Great to watch the team tactics. Kimi totally smoked his full wets in 4 laps on a dry track, Glock overtaking the whole field on intermediates, and sneaky BMW finishing second with only one pit stop where the others needed three or four.. Same place, same time next year as far as I'm concerned.

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:08 pm

I used to be a massive fan of F1. Not anymore.

Ecclestone has ruined it. It's more a case of playing politics and who you know, not what you know now.

Once the poison dwarf retires it may become a good sport again - depends who he hands the reigns to. But for now, I'd far rather watch British Touring Cars than F1.

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:29 pm

Well, the midget has been running the show from the time F1 cars looked like this:

Quote:

Once the poison dwarf retires it may become a good sport again

That won't change much I'm afraid, there's too much money involved in this circus. When there's money involved, there's interests hence there's politics. Not only in F1, but in all sports. (Ecclestone owns Arsenal an Chelsea(?) too) When I watch a race I try to put that aside, no matter how staggered I am about ridiculous rules like compelled pitstops, and the compulsory use of 2 different tyre compounds during a race.

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:50 pm

Ecclestone holds a majority stake in Queens Park Rangers ( a crappy Championship team).

He didn't weasel his way into being the major figure in F1 until the 80s with the FISA/FQCA war and it took him a decade or so after that to consolidate his power so your car is a bit early. He was involved with managing drivers and working with teams back in the 50s though.

For me, the rule changes, the political decisions, the shoddy stewarding and the inconsistent decision making has ruined F1 and made it into a laughing stock. Take Ecclestones overturned points ruling at the beginning of this season as just one example of many. The diffuser row is an even bigger joke - you could be watching guy's win races now and lead the championship only to watch them get disqualified when the FIA finally gets round to hearing the appeal.

For a sport with so much money injected into it, it seems to be run by clowns (and a Nazi as in the case of the UK).

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:30 pm

I'm with slightly, it's not what it used to be. Could be that we are getting too much information besides the coverage of the race that we know everything now including the "politics". I used to enjoy watching the masters of formula one, with Emmerson riding that car on pure talent and good old Mansel working so hard that he was soaking wet after finishing the race.
@ Dutch : just now it occurred to me that your eatername changed .

Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 8:49 pm

Maybe politics, maybe the fact the circuits and the monocock cars, hans systems are so safe, that takes the thrill away too .. I agree I liked it better 10 years ago too.. Still, the drivers are still competitive, the cars technique is astonishing, and I simply don't allow white collar midgets and commerce take away my passion and fun... This season looks very promising thus far.

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 2:47 pm

Well done, Jason Button. What a winner combination again in Bahrain: that car, engine, driver, team manager and team! What must Massa have felt being lapped by a Brawn GP. Very painful indeed. At least Raikkonen scored the first few points for Ferrari this season, but 42 seconds behind. Rolling Eyes

And what's the matter with McLaren and Renault? They used to be top teams, have the same engines that RBR and Brawn use, and have top drivers but they suck big time in the results. And what about BMW? Seems they've fallen asleep during the winter, unlike Toyota.

This season is weird so far, but ever so exciting! I hope McLaren gets it's act together soon and provides Hamilton with a decent car, and the same for Ferrari and Raikkonen, and Renault for Alonso. Still, so far, I've enjoyed every minute of the 2009 season.

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:37 pm

Well done Jenson Button, he did well too Smile

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 4:04 pm

^^ ... Yeah, he did well too didn't he? Embarassed

Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2009 5:09 pm

An enjoyable race today, though I still find myself checking on crash.net to see if the stewards have changed all the results yet. A good level headed drive again by Jenson, who must still be pinching himself.

Amazed to see Kimi get some points at last, Ferrari didnt suddenly put him on studded snow tyres or anything for a change. It seems to be BMW's turn to have a nightmare.

Soon we find out if McLaren will get chucked out or depointed for the stupid 'liegate' cockup. Lewis did well to keep up with the Brawns and Redbulls, which have previously been dissapearing into the distance. They seem to be quickly improving the pigs ear of a car McLaren started out with.

Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:22 am

I used to follow F1 as I'm (was) a Lotus fan. Colin Chapman started the company just around the corner from where I live, and I went to the same school as him. I was a huge fan of Jim Clark as a kid and can remember how upset I was when he died in a crash.

I'd probably get my interest back if the cars were more like they were then. If the emphasis was more on the engineering rather than the software it would make the sport a bit more accessible.

Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:24 am

i wonder if one could bait a lad by pretending to be a member of an f1 team (a mechanic, not a driver)
you would be flying around the world, and you would never have time to get to a western onion office

or maybe you could be looking for local assistance to set up the 'nigerian f1 grand prix'?

Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 2:49 pm

windypops wrote:

I'd probably get my interest back if the cars were more like they were then. If the emphasis was more on the engineering rather than the software it would make the sport a bit more accessible.

I don't agree entirely. Yes, software becomes more and more important (for example: I recently had my car chip tuned in 20 minutes to add another 30 HP by loading some software), but in F1 the software in all cars is more or less the same. Max 18000 RPM and stuff.. The engineering is the most important part, creating downforce and efficient cooling of the brakes and engine combined with driving skills of the pilots and team tactics.

The measures taken for safety, the extreme runoff space on the circuits, HANS systems, the improved monococks, secure fuel refills are more likely to take away the magic of F1 as we knew it I guess ...

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 12:59 pm

/\/\ I think the only thing that really spoils it is the health and safety culture being applied to classic tracks such as Spa and the Nurburgring, to the extent that they are a shadow of their former selves. Anyone who has tried the simulation Grand Prix Legends will know what I mean. It's a proper simulation of the 1967 F1 season, complete with the cars that Windypops likes, Coopers, V12 Hondas and H16 BRMs. As a for instance, instead of the modern big chicane at Monza's Ascari curve, there is a nearly flatout kink, approached at 200mph. A proper test of testicular fortitude.

SCREENSHOT:

The start/finish straight at Monza, I have a downloaded track version that includes the original banking. Note the working mirrors and guages. the downside to GPL is that it is fiendishly difficult to get a good setup, as there is adjustable everything, Sir Jackie Stewart is reputed to have found it harder to drive than the real thing.

Anyway, a rare outbreak of common sense as Mclaren aren't banned, but get a suspended sentence for Liegate. STORY Ron Dennis walking probably made a big difference, as he and 'Spanky' Mosely hated each other's guts.

Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 1:31 pm

^^ What I don't understand about this whole incident is how you can be punished for conspiring to "let someone through" anyway.

Trulli should have known the ruling was that he was to stay behind Hamilton. Nobody forced him to over-take. Even if Hamilton did slow down to let him pass, he should have known that he had to retain his position.
It's not like Hamilton stopped and actually forced him to go past.

I also don't understand why a steward should be party to any of a team's instructions - whatever those teams are talking about.

In my view, Hamilton should have kept his place, Trulli should have been DQed and this whole affair had bugger all to do with the FIA.

As for the engineering/software question? The one thing you can be sure of is that it isn't down to the skill of the driver. Not when someone as mediocre as Button can win 3 out of 4 races.

Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 11:30 am

Slightlyoutofit wrote:

I used to be a massive fan of F1. Not anymore.

. But for now, I'd far rather watch British Touring Cars than F1.

Hey,SOOI, what the heck is British Touring Cars ? never heard that one, Embarassed

would appreciate an explanation, please.

Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 1:04 pm

Up until all the manufacturers pulled out a couple of years ago, it was by far the best motor racing in the world.

http://www.btcc.net/html/home.php

Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 2:38 pm

When I worked for a Formula Ford team in the 90's, we were on the same bill as the BTCC, so we went everywhere they went.

@Lady W, they are cars that look like ordinary street cars, though obviously under the skin they are purebred race cars.

I have an enduring memory of the BTCC cars hammering round in practice. With sequential shift gearboxes (like a motorbike) and quick shifters that cut the ignition for a millisecond, they just kept the throttle wide open down the straight 'NeeNurrDurr' as they went through the gears.

I rarely got to see them race, as we were usually on next, but what I did see was often spectacular. Open wheel cars, like F1, get tangled and broken easily when they bump each other, but like NASCAR, touring cars are a good 'contact sport' with lots of door bashing action.

Back to F1, I just read that next year we are back to proper low fuel qualifying, fastest lap running as light as possible gets pole, not this stupid compromise where the fastest may be running on fumes while other cars are fuelled for half the race.

LINK

ETA ALL refuelling is to be banned for 2010. The cars are less safe by carrying fuel for the whole race, but then again, nealry all fires these days happen during refuelling.

Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 2:57 pm

I heard on the radio that they want to limit team budgets to forty million a season. At today's rates that'll buy McLaren three steering wheels, five wheel nuts and half a pint of the rocket fuel F1 cars run on.

Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 3:35 pm

The minimum weight will be raised from 605 KG to 620 KG also, and tire heaters won't be allowed anymore next year.

http://www.racer.com/2009/04/fia-increases-minimum-car-weight/

Now if they cross off this ludicrous 'two different rubber compounds' rule, and Bridgestone starts producing tires that last from start to finish they wouldn't need pitstops at all. Never liked the one-, two- or three-stop strategies. I want to see a race instead of team tactics.

Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 4:36 pm

It's not the same since they banned cigarette advertising.

Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 9:51 pm

to Roycropper and SOOI: thanks to both of you for the explanation. sorta similar to Nascar. I liked the link-- plenty to read. Thanks again to both of you. Very Happy

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