Any F1 Fans Out There?

toddbagwell · « **Reply #20 on:** 21 May 2009, 01:27 am »

any predictions for the race weekend?

ltr317 · « **Reply #21 on:** 21 May 2009, 02:48 am »

Quote from: toddbagwell on 21 May 2009, 01:27 am

any predictions for the race weekend?

This is my guess for top 10 finishers: 1) Jensen 2) Rubio 3) Vettel 4) Felipe M 5) Trulli 6) Timo Glockenspiel 7) Lewis, 8 Mark W 9) Freddie Alonso (as David Hobbs calls him), 10) Keke's son

richidoo · « **Reply #22 on:** 21 May 2009, 02:50 am »

Kimi will win (drad nab it)

And they will gloat red all over the principality

toddbagwell · « **Reply #23 on:** 21 May 2009, 03:22 pm »

I'm hoping vettel can grab a win, followed by rubens and jarno.

todd

ltr317 · « **Reply #24 on:** 25 May 2009, 11:11 pm »

Well, I predicted Jensen, Rubio, and Massa in the correct finishing positions but were off on the others and missed Raikkonen and Bourdais completely. I figured that Kimi would have mechanical problems and the Toro Rosso cars to be too slow, but they did a nice one stop strategy. I was surprised Hamilton didn't finished better even though he started last, since he was very quick in practice. I thought the Toyotas would be more competitive, judging by their performance in the other races this year. If Brawn and Jensen wins or are on the podium for the next two races, it will be a monumental task for anyone else to catch them in the second half of the series, either for the drivers or constructors titles. This year reminds me of the period when Williams would beat both big budget Ferrari and Mclaren to the titles. Hooray for the small, independent teams.

richidoo · « **Reply #25 on:** 26 May 2009, 04:19 am »

Yes Paul! Back when Mansell won 9/16 races in a season. RED FIVE FOREVER.

I saw him the next year fight Tracy lap after lap swapping the lead 2 dozen times at New Hampshire oval and win on his 40th BD. And teammate Mario crashed right in front of me in that flourescent orange 6.

Racing heroes, do they still know how to make them? Deathly serious, lovable, genius and lucky, all the time. Schumaker was all but lovable. Nigel and Senna had the whole package. Lauda was before my time, but my brother in law loved him in the 70s.

Alonso has the talent but not that special something... yet. Will he grow into it? Maybe a few years at Ferrari will complete the package and make him as good as Senna. J Villeneuve had it, but sold it too soon. Kovaleinen? Who's our next F1 superhero? Will the ego monsters in FIA allow it? Bernie is hanging a lot on Hamilton, and I root for him too, but he's not a man's racer like The Lion.

Crimson · « **Reply #26 on:** 26 May 2009, 11:54 am »

Superhero? Alonso in a better car, or Vettel.

And yes, I'm back from Monaco and pretty exhausted.

mfsoa · « **Reply #27 on:** 26 May 2009, 12:09 pm »

Hopefully Jensen's meteor start will put an end to this "most wins gets the title" rubbish.

This is exactly what I thought might happen - Someone wins the first 4 of 5 (or even 5 of 6 - wow)
and the title is effectively over 1/3 of the way into the season.

Hooray, Bernie. Another great knee-jerk reaction.

I vote for Vettel as the next superstar. Although he has a foot in the door I keep waiting for him to truly grab that status by the neck and claim it to be his, and he just hasn't quite done that yet.

Will Heikke (sp?) have a ride next year? Better get his act together but quick...

-Mike

mfsoa · « **Reply #28 on:** 26 May 2009, 12:10 pm »

Rich,

I was at that race in NH w/ Mansell - Incredible stuff for sure!!

ltr317 · « **Reply #29 on:** 26 May 2009, 05:29 pm »

Quote from: richidoo on 26 May 2009, 04:19 am

Yes Paul! Back when Mansell won 9/16 races in a season. RED FIVE FOREVER.

I saw him the next year fight Tracy lap after lap swapping the lead 2 dozen times at New Hampshire oval and win on his 40th BD. And teammate Mario crashed right in front of me in that flourescent orange 6.

Yes, the red lion! What a special racer to win F1 and Indycar titles back to back. He really kicked Mario's butt when they were teammates that year, when Nigel won as an Indycar rookie. Mario, no matter how hard he tried, mostly looked at Nigel's tailpipes. And in F1, if Nigel only had better luck mechanically, he would have won at least 2 more titles. I'm just surprised he lasted so long with so many racing injuries.

richidoo · « **Reply #30 on:** 26 May 2009, 06:27 pm »

Mario was 52yo in that NH race.

Can you imagine such a team in IRL now?

ltr317 · « **Reply #31 on:** 26 May 2009, 09:36 pm »

Quote from: richidoo on 26 May 2009, 06:27 pm

Mario was 52yo in that NH race. Can you imagine such a team in IRL now?

Yeah, Nigel at 40 and Mario at 52 on the same team. No way in open wheel racing nowadays. Rubio at 37 is considered ancient in F1, yet he's still fast. IRL has also seen a youth movement for at least the past 5 years. Only in pro sports car racing, does a lot of experience still considered an attribute.

richidoo · « **Reply #32 on:** 27 May 2009, 12:52 am »

I guess a youth movement is good. Especially if the fans are getting younger too.

Crimson · « **Reply #33 on:** 19 Jun 2009, 10:26 am »

With today's FOTA announcement of a breakaway series, is this the end of the sport as we know it? My take is that unless they (the FIA and FOTA) reach an agreement, two separate series is unsustainable.

richidoo · « **Reply #34 on:** 19 Jun 2009, 02:45 pm »

I think it will be settled, soon. FOTA wants Max gone, easy enough, he is Bernie's footstool. He was brought in 30 years ago to end a similar spat, now he's causing it. Bernie will have to eat crow and give up some money / ownership back to the teams who gave it to him long ago.

There is serious abuse and corruption hindering the sport if Ferrari and McLaren can hold hands in agreement. Let's not forget who we're dealing with here.

I hope Team USF1 is not shut out or harmed politically or financially in this dust up. It could be a very big grid next year! But there won't be a split. Bernie is in charge and there is no F1 without Ferrari, period.

mhconley · « **Reply #35 on:** 19 Jun 2009, 03:31 pm »

I think the move by the FOTA is exactly as Autoweek describes it, "a metaphorical middle finger wagged at the sport's honchos." It is simply the latest salvo in the ongoing battle for management control over Formula 1.

I have thought for quite some time that Bernie and his pal are the biggest problem with Formula 1. I watch to see the most technologically advanced cars in the world driven by the best drivers in the world on the best tracks.

Race venues should be chosen based upon fan interest and the track - not by who will stuff the most cash in Bernie and Max's pockets. I believe we'd see better and more interesting racing if the technical regulations were relaxed. The last thing I want to see is another series of identical crap wagons like IndyCar runs or the dreaded car-of-yesterday fielded by NASCAR. But I digress...

I think things will be settled before the start of 2010 and if not I will follow the FOTA series.

As for the new US F1 team - I'd wager we'll see Danica in one of those seats. Talk about rocking the boat!

Martin

mgalusha · « **Reply #36 on:** 22 Jun 2009, 03:35 am »

Red Bull sure seemed to have the secret sauce at Silverstone, Vettel just drove away.

mhconley · « **Reply #37 on:** 22 Jun 2009, 04:27 am »

Quote from: mgalusha on 22 Jun 2009, 03:35 am

Red Bull sure seemed to have the secret sauce at Silverstone, Vettel just drove away.

He was amazing. That new Adrian Newey platypus nosed car was unstoppable. I really like Vettel - he reminds me of a young Schumi in both his attitude and driving style. He is my second fave in F1 right behind Filipe. Barrichello is a close third - I just think the guy desrives it after humbly playing second fiddle for so long. Amazingly Jenson seemed to have his hands full with his Brawn.

Germany should prove interesting as Red Bull has proven the equal of Brawn and the rest of the field is closing the gap.

Martin

mgalusha · « **Reply #38 on:** 22 Jun 2009, 12:24 pm »

I am looking forward to Nurburgring but the who FOTA breakaway thing has put a damper on the season. I would love to just see Bernie go away.

richidoo · « **Reply #39 on:** 22 Jun 2009, 01:25 pm »

Max is the problem, and he will be gone this week. Bernie is OK, just aggressive manager / promoter. Teams trust him and will continue to allow him to steer the sport, but they will have more say.