F1 Thread (Could be a spoiler)

[shah269]

It was a great race!
Not alot of passing up front per say but the fight in the back markers was great!

[shah269]

From when the drivers were fat and the tires skinny-

I miss it when F1 cars use to kick up sparks!

[miles]

See- no passing.

[Acadian Rider]

I'll say it again.  This year has to be the best in a long time as far as the race for the world championship goes.  

After today's race, things are even getting a little bit tighter and by the same token, more interesting.  

Ferrari showed that they are back in the race and Hamilton showed that he is still a rookie.  Today, at least, Alonso made him look bad.  I don't know if it was stage fright in front of his home crowd or if he just couldn't take the high speed high downforce turns but he certainly did not impress today and I like it.  

I like it because Kimi is now back in the race and after two straight wins, it looks like he is finally getting comfortable with his new team.    Anybody that watched the race will have noticed that when Kimi had to show up during the second stint after Alonso had refueled, he did so big time.  He made up something like 5 seconds in five laps.      They don't call him the "Ice Man" for nothing.  

[shah269]

True that second stint was very nice on Kimi's part!
He really demonstrated some amazing speed.
Shame we can't say the same for Mr. Speed! My god why did they choose this guy.
Wasn't there any one from NASCAR of IRL that wanted to move up?

[R Doug]

Speed isn't doing so bad given his hardware.  He passes more people in the field than any other and generally out performs his teammate.  This past weekend's DNF was at the fault of Mr. Wurtz IMHO.

[shah269]

Yah but I don't think he's finished a single race thus far this year!
I'm telling you, we have way better drivers than this guy in our country!

[R Doug]

Yah but I don't think he's finished a single race thus far this year!
I'm telling you, we have way better drivers than this guy in our country!

I would love to see more US drivers in F1, for sure.  Maybe young Andretti could do well?  Let's face it, we have a lack of open wheel talent.  Most open wheel guys in the US come from sprint cars and end up in NASCAR.  I believe if Jeff Gordon actually went to F1 very early on, he could have done well.  It seems like we have very few people coming from carting right now.  Maybe this will improve.

So far, it looks like Sebastian Bourdais is the only open wheel racer competing in the US right now that looks like he'll move over to F1.  But he's not American.  Unfortunately, he may bump Speed since he's going to Toro Rosso.  I hope not.  

[shah269]

You know every now and again while I'm in the mid west i catch a NASCAR race.
You know what they say, when in Rome!
Any how during the race I noticed that the anouncers are allways yacking about F1 and how the guys are allways watching F1 and what not. Well....heck stop watching and get your ass into one of these rockets! They pay better!
I think it was reported that Montoya took a 5mill loss when he went off to NASCAR.

[trophycup]

The wife and I have been F1 fans for years and have really enjoyed watching Hamilton this year.  I do have to admit thought that with todays aero package I'm beginning to find it boring.  Beginning to wish they'd open up HP, tires and reduce the aero so they can run a bit closer

[shah269]

I met my wife in Finland.
Finland if F1 and WRC crazy!
Infact you have a 1/2.5mill chance of being an F1 driver if your from Finland!

[bluedogok]

If AOWR hadn't split, the money would have stayed there and many of the drivers in Nascar would be in CART or whatever it would be called now. Drivers follow the money and after the split the sponsors didn't know who would survive/prosper so they went to a stable series. Which of course was the France family plan all along.......

Considering that RBR/STR is developing a new Newey design and trying to implement seamless shifting they have done pretty well. None of the RBR/STR cars have been very reliable this season, but they are getting faster.

Speeds results this year:
Race              Grid             Finish       Lap   Time/Retired
Australian         17                Ret     28      Wheel
Malaysian         17               14           55     +1 Lap
Bahrain            19              Ret            0      Accident w/ Button
Spanish            22              Ret           9       Tyre
Monaco            18                9           77     +1 Lap
Canadian          16              Ret            8     Accident
United States    20               13           71     +2 Laps
French             15              Ret           55     Technical
British              15              Ret           29       Accident

[Photon]

We watch every race. l like to see Alonso squirm as his teammate hand him his ass. Good stuff.

   

I was watching the post qualifying press conference.  Hamilton comes across like a regular guy who is going "Holy CRAP!  I love this!!!!"  
He is a pleasure to listen to.  Alonso was just sitting there....I wonder what was going on in his head?  Its nice to see someone with a soul back in the running.

I love Hobbs and the SpeedTV F1 crew.  I stopped watching Nascar in no small part because of the Fox/SpeedTV broadcast crew

[R Doug]

Its nice to see someone with a soul back in the running.

I love Hobbs and the SpeedTV F1 crew.

+1 on both!

[R Doug]

Well, it's official, there will not be a USGP at Indy next year.  

I'm not sure if anyone can / will pick up the torch.  According to an interview w/ Tony at Speed.com, he said it was strictly a business decision.  I know Bernie is wanting everyone to "pony up" if they want F1 going forward.  That's unfortunate, so are his comments about F1 not needing the US Market.  I'll bet some of the factory teams disagree with that (i.e. Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes... all of which sell a lot of cars in the US).  

I'm so glad I went this year.  At least we'll have MotoGP there next year.  

[traveler]

I would love to see more US drivers in F1, for sure.  Maybe young Andretti could do well?  Let's face it, we have a lack of open wheel talent.  Most open wheel guys in the US come from sprint cars and end up in NASCAR.  I believe if Jeff Gordon actually went to F1 very early on, he could have done well.  It seems like we have very few people coming from carting right now.  Maybe this will improve.

So far, it looks like Sebastian Bourdais is the only open wheel racer competing in the US right now that looks like he'll move over to F1.  But he's not American.  Unfortunately, he may bump Speed since he's going to Toro Rosso.  I hope not.  

I doubt Bourdais will go to F1 if his only option is Toro Rosso. He's been testing with them, but I believe he'll only switch to F1 if he can go to a potential winner, which TR certainly is not. Bourdais is used to running up front and winning, and any racer won't want to go backwards after a taste of the top podium. Just my 2 cents.

[Acadian Rider]

Well, it's official, there will not be a USGP at Indy next year.  

Sad indeed.  

I wonder if this is not just a negotiating tactic on the part of Tony George and Bernie Ecclestone?    

In Canada, we came close to losing the Canadian Grand Prix a couple of years ago.  In fact, it was off the preliminary schedule before being added back.  I don't know what the issues were then but I'm sure money was part of it.  It may have had something to do with the organizers not being able to sign a major sponsor early enough.  

Hopefully, there will be an F1 race in the U.S. next year.  

[Penforhire]

Another F1 fan here.

I think Alonso is an incredible driver but I can't seem to like him.  His interviews turn me off.

This season Hamilton feels like the total package.  How can you not like the way he interviews while still leading the championship?  Maybe he'll get all prima donna on us next year but for now he's someone I cheer.  How could Ron Dennis have picked this talent so early?

I figured Kimi would take over easily at Ferrari but Fellipe had a little something for him, eh?  Kimi drove so well at McClaren but his car kept on exploding.  Now it seems he had some difficulty getting used to some differences in the Ferrari cars (braking?).

Everyone talks so highly of Nico Rosberg but he seems to disappoint more then be brilliant.

Jenson Button wins my award for most overrated though.  No, he doesn't have a great car but he is a whiner just like David Couthard.  He can qualify okay but fails at race pace.  Takuma Sato should have his factory race seat.  Go Sato! (he made a big improvement in not taking as many cars out of the race this year, almost as good as Montoya moving to NASCAR!)

Speaking of the oldest man on grid, remember that blocking move David put on a Renault in Quali at Monaco?  Unbelieveable for a driver who complains so much about other drivers.  And they are using Renault engines!  Some balls on him to say it wasn't intentional.

And Renault.  How can last year's constructor champion fall so far so fast?  It can't be all on Alonso's shoulders.

And get those Spykers off the road.  Talk about moving roadblocks!  Well, they usually take themselves off the road.

[Acadian Rider]

Another F1 fan here.


Jenson Button wins my award for most overrated though.  

I second the motion.  

I know Honda is not competitive this year but when they were third best, he would qualify up there but in race situation, he couldn't compete.  

[bluedogok]

Sad indeed.  

I wonder if this is not just a negotiating tactic on the part of Tony George and Bernie Ecclestone?    

In Canada, we came close to losing the Canadian Grand Prix a couple of years ago.  In fact, it was off the preliminary schedule before being added back.  I don't know what the issues were then but I'm sure money was part of it.  It may have had something to do with the organizers not being able to sign a major sponsor early enough.  

Hopefully, there will be an F1 race in the U.S. next year.  

I am wondering the same thing, Tony set a date on his own and it didn't get done. So mow maybe it is to get the manufacturer teams that sell in North America to put pressure on Bernie and continue working on getting a title sponsor. It is a large market for M-B, BMW, Ferrari and Renault sells cars in Mexico and Central and South America and product for Red Bull.

Although, I don't necessarily trust Tony George's skills as a promoter if the IRL is an example.