Barcelona race

[janneppi]

Quite the standard race, Ferrari 1-2 , DC crashes. :p :
Good to hear Kovalainen wasn't badly injured.

[jens]

I'm mad at Toyota. :down: They thought that it was Trulli, not Glock, who had had a collision and called him in. I can't believe such stupidity, it's utterly embarrasing and ridiculous. Two extra points were simply thrown into the bin. C'mon, they have been in F1 for six years and still don't know, which of their drivers is driving which car. Well, if anyone is capable of making stupid decisions, then Toyota proves again and again, that this ability belongs to them. :p :

Other than that. Oh, the forum was down for a whole weekend, so a lot can be written about here, but I'll try to make it short. :p : Good to see Nakajima improving. He beat Rosberg in qualifying and after a poor start didn't fall far behind Rosberg in the race. This is the track, where all the rookies should have most experience due to excessive testing, so the next weekends must show, what is Kazuki made of.

Also Fisichella performed remarkably - wished he could snatch that point position where he was driving at one moment of the race. On the other hand an embarrasing showing from Sutil this weekend - 0,7 secs slower than Fisi in quali and then the race... :\ I guess Adrian could be the first driver, who will be kicked out of F1 before the end of the season.

What happened to Barrichello? That was rather odd. Poor Rubens hasn't scored points in 21 consecutive races and whenever he has had a possibility, something goes wrong (2007 Canada a pitstop 5 laps before the end, 2008 Oz and Barcelona we all know).

Oh and Vettel has had 5 retirements in a row (also counting last year's Brazilian GP). Three of them have been mechanically-related plus two collisions (not through his own fault). Harsh start to the career. Looking at his qualifying, I have to admit that he is quite inconsistent in the dry at the moment - he admitted that he couldn't find the right setup and took the wrong direction (like Hamilton at Silverstone last year?), so this is clearly a learning period for him at the moment. And maybe he'll start finishing races one day too. :D

That's it for now.

[F1boat]

I am very happy for Kimi and Ferrari and hope that they will continue to dominate.
Lewis bounved back with solid third.
BMW are still very close to the top teams.
And I hope that in the next race Alonso and Renault will have the pace from Barcelona and the reliability of Melbourne.

[markabilly]

Poor DC Once again crashes out while being passed.

One would think he would be used to getting passed by now, and get it right

[F1boat]

I think that young drivers should learn that it is not right to expect him to move "over young guns".

[Tazio]

Good race for Ferrari The safety cars made it closer than it otherwise would have been.
Bad luck for Nick! Solid driver for Hamilton. Both McLaren, and BMW ned to find more speed or
Ferrari are going to slip off into the distance!

[ioan]

Heiki's shunt aside it was a boring race!
Ferrari won!
Bourdais did a DC!
DC did another DC!
The SC pit rule destroyed someone's race again!
Passing came only when fast cars were artificially put behind slower ones!

All in one, nothing new, really!

Oh and BTW, the forum is up and running after 3 days of black out, again.

[harvick#1]

I think Kimi has found a groove in the ferrari now, this season's championship could fad very fast with his speed

[gloomyDAY]

What the hell happened to the forum?

Anyway, I could barely stay awake during the race. I had my chin down when I saw that HK had slammed into the barriers. I'm glad that McLaren was back on the podium after enduring some upsets. Solid drive by Hamilton (come on baby!), impressive drive by Massa, and stellar performance from Kimi.

DC needs to stop racing. Game over old chap!

[AndyRAC]

You would think after Melbourne, the rules would be amended regarding pitting during the SCar period - but no!! Another driver has his race messed up by having to take a 10 sec penalty. Ans another thing, why don't they get rid of the stupid chicane - introduced to help the racing. It's done nothing of the sort.

[Valve Bounce]

What the hell happened to the forum?

Anyway, I could barely stay awake during the race. I had my chin down when I saw that HK had slammed into the barriers. I'm glad that McLaren was back on the podium after enduring some upsets. Solid drive by Hamilton (come on baby!), impressive drive by Massa, and stellar performance from Kimi.

DC needs to stop racing. Game over old chap!

Next time, join us here in pino's chat room: http://hyena-hosting.com/chat/phpMyChat.php3

I had my lap top set up for Live timing, and used my PC for the telecast and chatting. Great fun, and kept me from falling sleep.

[J4MIE]

Heiki's accident reminded me of Schumacher a few years back when he broke his leg, so just shows you how safety has definitely improved even in such a short period :up:

[Hawkmoon]

Next time, join us here in pino's chat room: http://hyena-hosting.com/chat/phpMyChat.php3

I had my lap top set up for Live timing, and used my PC for the telecast and chatting. Great fun, and kept me from falling sleep.

You getting a live feed on your PC?

We need better coverage in Australia. Channel 10 are acting like Channel 9 used to. First they stick qualifying on at 4.00am Sunday morning and then they delay it for over two hours for bloody cricket. Then the supposed start time of 10:40pm (40 minute delay for the start of the race) gets put back 20 minutes so Rove McManus can carry on pretending that he's funny. This means that we don't get to post race interviews as they want to show more bloody cricket!

The race itself was rather average as once Raikkonen made it into turn 1 first it was all over. Only misadventure was in his way from that point and he didn't put a wheel wrong. Not that a Ferrari 1-2 is boring mind you but the lesser teams can at least do something interesting. :D

I think McLaren would have to be encouraged by their pace. Their qualifying effort was also very good considering they had a bit more fuel than the Ferraris.

[Valve Bounce]

You getting a live feed on your PC?

.

You have mail!!

[mstillhere]

I'm glad that McLaren was back on the podium after enduring some upsets. Solid drive by Hamilton (come on baby!)

Oh yes, I am impressed by LH drive myself. I whish him as many 3rd spots as he wants. :) :)

[mstillhere]

I would like to just enphasize what actually happened today. This victory by Ferrari is of an incredible importance. I mean Ferrari won the Barcelona race!! For all of you who have been following F1 closely enough would know that the car that wins in Barcelona is the car that would be very hard, if not impossible to beat for the rest of the championship. So, this was not just an other victory. This victory was paramount for the red cars. I mean I don't want to jinx it, but Kimi has the world championship pretty much in his pocket. That's because Barcelona is a very demanding, if not the most demanding, track of them all. and if you look ahead, we have quite few tracks that are Ferrari tracks, starting from the next one in Turkey. McLaren has what? Monaco? And I am not that sure either, with the new ferrari design I am not saying that it would just be a walk for Ferrari, but this is a very important victory indeed!!

[Valve Bounce]

Don't burn your bridges before you cross your chickens.

[ShiftingGears]

Then the supposed start time of 10:40pm (40 minute delay for the start of the race) gets put back 20 minutes so Rove McManus can carry on pretending that he's funny.

Yeah, and to think that Channel 10 hasn't even started its Big Brother coverage yet...

[Tazio]

I think if Ferrari dominate in Turkey on second race engine vs McLaren first race engines that will be really meaningful! That is the one area that McLaren are equal or better than Ferrari. The dependability of the Ferrari engine is still in question. As a Ferrari fan IMHO!

[Valve Bounce]

Yeah, and to think that Channel 10 hasn't even started its Big Brother coverage yet...


You have mail!!

[truefan72]

I think if Ferrari dominate in Turkey on second race engine vs McLaren first race engines that will be really meaningful! That is the one area that McLaren are equal or better than Ferrari. The dependability of the Ferrari engine is still in question. As a Ferrari fan IMHO!


actually it is the other way around

Anyway


great race by Kimi

Massa was good, but never pushed Kimi

LH did well in 3rd although after the SC period expected him to try and challenge Massa ( we all know that FM doesn't do well being hounded)

Kubica was solid in 4th

Toyota totally dropped the Ball on Trulli

Alonso was light, but showed some real pace with the Renault,
They are improving ( although NPJr was a dissapointment).

Excellent race by Webber, never really bitches about the car like DC does and when given a decent set up and reliability shows his stuff.

DC being DC yet another incident

warmly dissapointed by Bourdais, was hoping for more

Fisichella and Force India continue to improve ( Sutil's Queston mark is getting bigger)

Good Job Button and Honda

:up: Nakajima, tough luck Rosberg

I'ts hard to really feel sorry for Vettel. Tough luck, but Qualify better and then he'll avoid some of these incidents.

...and finally, So long Super Aguri, Thanks for the memories, Sato in Canada 2007. Shame on Honda for being vindictive out of embarrasment. They could have had 2 competitive teams but chose to take the low road.

Can't wait for Turkey

[Tazio]

Iid I mention that this was the first F1 race I can say I found very Boring
in a really long time [V]

[Hawkmoon]

Yeah, and to think that Channel 10 hasn't even started its Big Brother coverage yet...

I shudder to think what the coverage is going to be like for the next 3 or 4 months. :(

[mstillhere]

Iid I mention that this was the first F1 race I can say I found very Boring
in a really long time [V]

That's the Ferrari power...you are sleeping...sleeping...sleeping.....
now......let it go...stop your car.....you are sleeping..... :)

[Tazio]

Originally Posted by Tazio
I think if Ferrari dominate in Turkey on second race engine vs McLaren first race engines that will be really meaningful! That is the one area that McLaren are equal or better than Ferrari. The dependability of the Ferrari engine is still in question. As a Ferrari fan IMHO!
actually it is the other way around

Anyway
Are you sure? Didn't Massa use his engine that only had 1/3 of a race on it from Maylasia in Bahrain? I'm under the impression he did. Massa, and Kimi both blew engines in Australia so that puts them out of phase
with teams that haven't had any failures! So for Ferrari It's new for Maylasia! Second race Bahrain. New Spain. Second race Turkey!
McLaren, New Oz! Used Maylasia! New Bahrain! Used Spain.
If that is correct Then Ferrari will be used Turkey! McLaren new Turkey!

Fifth race Bro! Should be new engine for McLaren! Unless they had a failure I'm not aware of!

Could I get a third party clarification on this one! Thanks!

[Valve Bounce]

Originally Posted by Tazio
I think if Ferrari dominate in Turkey on second race engine vs McLaren first race engines that will be really meaningful! That is the one area that McLaren are equal or better than Ferrari. The dependability of the Ferrari engine is still in question. As a Ferrari fan IMHO! Are you sure? Didn't Massa use his engine that only had 1/3 of a race on it from Maylasia in Bahrain? I'm under the impression he did. Massa, and Kimi both blew engines in Australia so that puts them out of phase
with teams that haven't had any failures! So for Ferrari It's new for Maylasia! Second race Bahrain. New Spain. Second race Turkey!
McLaren, New Oz! Used Maylasia! New Bahrain! Used Spain.
If that is correct Then Ferrari will be used Turkey! McLaren new Turkey!

Fifth race Bro! Should be new engine for McLaren! Unless they had a failure I'm not aware of!

Could I get a third party clarification on this one! Thanks!

Look!! unless we can go back and include the gaps built up each time before the sfety car came out, the gap between Ferraris and McLarens don't give the true picture.

I remember at one stage that Martin and James Allen ere raving about Lewis Hamilton pressuring Massa, but my Live Timimg indicated that Massa was actually slowly but surely increasing his gap to Hammi.

I don't know if its set-up, tyres or aero, but Ferrari were by far superior to McLarens at Spain.

[Tazio]

Look!! unless we can go back and include the gaps built up each time before the sfety car came out, the gap between Ferraris and McLarens don't give the true picture.

I remember at one stage that Martin and James Allen ere raving about Lewis Hamilton pressuring Massa, but my Live Timimg indicated that Massa was actually slowly but surely increasing his gap to Hammi.

I don't know if its set-up, tyres or aero, but Ferrari were by far superior to McLarens at Spain.OK Valve That last post was to get reassurance, or correction in my understanding of engine phase!
I say Ferrari will be on their second engine in Turkey, while McLaren will be on a new one!
Truefan has disputed that! I may be wrong, but I don't think I am! In fact I remember them mentioning it
on the ITV broadcast that you and I both watched!
I agree with your post! ;) My original one was: Being on their second engine in Turkey is one of the reasons
they tried to conserve what they could which wasn't much because Hamilton was able to push
hard enough to make them not be able to cruise in on low rpm's in Spain!
But yes! Massa was able to pulll away from LH when he wanted to.
I think the SC made Ferrari run their engines harder then they would of had to if it wasn't deployed!
My point being a used Ferrari against a new McLaren
should work in McLarens favor. It didn't in Bahrain but Masa didn't even have 1/2 a race on his!

I'm still looking for a third party clairification on this matter as it may affect my all important picks! ;)

[ioan]

Heiki's accident reminded me of Schumacher a few years back when he broke his leg, so just shows you how safety has definitely improved even in such a short period :up:

I wouldn't call 9 years a short period! :p :

[ioan]

I'ts hard to really feel sorry for Vettel. Tough luck, but Qualify better and then he'll avoid some of these incidents.

Yeah like Bourdais did yesterday! :rolleyes:
At least Vettel had DNFs because of others ruining it for him, while Bourdais is going the DC way.

[ShiftingGears]

Yeah like Bourdais did yesterday! :rolleyes:
At least Vettel had DNFs because of others ruining it for him, while Bourdais is going the DC way.

If Piquet didn't muck up in the first place then he wouldn'tve messed up Bourdais' race. That pass was never going to happen.

[ioan]

If Piquet didn't muck up in the first place then he wouldn'tve messed up Bourdais' race. That pass was never going to happen.

If Piquet did or didn't muck up 2 laps before that has no relevance to the fact that he had his car by 1/2 a meter in front of the STR when Bourdais turned into him like if nothing happened.

Bourdais might be a solid and consistent driver, but he was consistently slow and Piquet had earned the position already.

Excuses like the one Bourdais offered to the French TV :"He wasn't that close to corners before", are idiotic at least.

[truefan72]

Originally Posted by Tazio
I think if Ferrari dominate in Turkey on second race engine vs McLaren first race engines that will be really meaningful! That is the one area that McLaren are equal or better than Ferrari. The dependability of the Ferrari engine is still in question. As a Ferrari fan IMHO! Are you sure? Didn't Massa use his engine that only had 1/3 of a race on it from Maylasia in Bahrain? I'm under the impression he did. Massa, and Kimi both blew engines in Australia so that puts them out of phase
with teams that haven't had any failures! So for Ferrari It's new for Maylasia! Second race Bahrain. New Spain. Second race Turkey!
McLaren, New Oz! Used Maylasia! New Bahrain! Used Spain.
If that is correct Then Ferrari will be used Turkey! McLaren new Turkey!

Fifth race Bro! Should be new engine for McLaren! Unless they had a failure I'm not aware of!

Could I get a third party clarification on this one! Thanks!

Actually this is the sequence

Malaysian GP:

Felipe Massa (1 race old engine)
Kimi Raikkonen(New engine)

Bahrain GP :

Felipe Massa (New engine)
Kimi Raikkonen (1 race old engine)


Spanish Gp:

Felipe Massa(1 race old engine)
Kimi Raikkonen (New engine )



So Massa get's a new one in Turkey and Kimi is on the 2nd race

we both stand corrected.

[Garry Walker]

If Piquet did or didn't muck up 2 laps before that has no relevance to the fact that he had his car by 1/2 a meter in front of the STR when Bourdais turned into him like if nothing happened.

Bourdais might be a solid and consistent driver, but he was consistently slow and Piquet had earned the position already.

Excuses like the one Bourdais offered to the French TV :"He wasn't that close to corners before", are idiotic at least.

The only idiotic things I am seeing are again your comments.

Piquet was far too away to attempt any move and when he went for it, SB was already turning in.
The blame lies 100% on Piquet and that slow Bourdais at Spain once again destroyed your hero Vettel.

[Garry Walker]

Actually this is the sequence

Malaysian GP:

Felipe Massa (1 race old engine)
Kimi Raikkonen(New engine)

Bahrain GP :

Felipe Massa (New engine)
Kimi Raikkonen (1 race old engine)


Spanish Gp:

Felipe Massa(1 race old engine)
Kimi Raikkonen (New engine )



So Massa get's a new one in Turkey and Kimi is on the 2nd race

we both stand corrected.


You are wrong.

http://www.fia.com/resources/documents/578787397__ESP_F1_2008_Report.pdf

Massa and Kimi are on exactly the same engine cycles. Both had engine failures at Australia, had new engines for Malaysia and used them also at Bahrain.
New engines for Spain.

So you are the one who stands corrected.

[ioan]

The only idiotic things I am seeing are again your comments.

Piquet was far too away to attempt any move and when he went for it, SB was already turning in.
The blame lies 100% on Piquet and that slow Bourdais at Spain once again destroyed your hero Vettel.

:rolleyes:

[Garry Walker]

:rolleyes:

Vettel is the best ever after Schumi

[ioan]

Vettel is the best ever after Schumi

:rolleyes:

[Tazio]

Actually this is the sequence

Malaysian GP:

Felipe Massa (1 race old engine)
Kimi Raikkonen(New engine)

Bahrain GP :

Felipe Massa (New engine)
Kimi Raikkonen (1 race old engine)


Spanish Gp:

Felipe Massa(1 race old engine)
Kimi Raikkonen (New engine )



So Massa get's a new one in Turkey and Kimi is on the 2nd race

we both stand corrected.
OK so what your saying is that Massa didn't blow his engine in Austrailia?
I'm confused! I thought they both did. Hence the frantic search for the solution,
and all the conjecture about it being the ICU that caused it!
If you could supply me with a useful link I would apreiciate it!
Thanks :up:

[wmcot]

You have mail!!

Hey! I want mail, too! What's the secret?

[truefan72]

alright so I read the press reports

...and stand "solely" corrected :)

I thought that Massa didn't retire with engine failure in Australia

[asphaultpainter29]

I thought the Barcelona race was pretty good actually. The top 4 cars finished pretty close together for the 1st time in a long time and the 3.2 second gap from Raikkonen to Massa was the closest margin from 1st to 2nd ever there, quoting Varsha.

It was great that Raikkonen beat Alonso for the pole at Alonso's home track and even better that Alonso's engine blew up in the race. It was an entertaining race in my book. :monkeedan

[djparky]

it was the usual Barcelona snooze fest- was drifting off to sleep when Kovalienen hit the tyre barrier- lost interest completely when Nico Rosberg went out- don't know why the have races at that track- it's always boring

[Tazio]

Made in Japan 'nough said ;)

Actually these results are a little unnerving!!

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/080508092002.shtml
McLaren has finally got to the bottom of the cause of Heikki Kovalainen's huge crash during the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Engine partner Mercedes-Benz's racing chief Norbert Haug has told German publications that the left front wheel rim broke due to a production error.

It had already emerged that the brand new wheel in question had only turned a few laps out of the box before it failed.


"A Formula One rim is very complicated and comprises of several different alloys. Something has apparently gone wrong," he is quoted as saying by Bild newspaper.

McLaren's wheels are externally produced by the Japanese supplier Enkei, who are believed to now be reviewing the production and testing practices for its F1 products.

Let's hope so! ;)

[ShiftingGears]

How about Force India gets a decent Indian driver to somewhat justify its name rather than let Sutil be slow and crash into everybody??

[woody2goody]

Well a certain Narain Karthikeyan won the A1 GP last week and he's proved he can drive an F1 car pretty well...

That chicane is terrible and has to go before the next race there. At least with fast corners you can get a better slipstream further down the straight, even though you can't follow through them.