Formula One 2008 - conclusive questionnaire

[jens]

Decided to create a questionnaire to sum up the 2008 Formula One season.

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events)

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other)

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season?

4) Which was the most boring race of the season?

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here)

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention?

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!)

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently?

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007?

By the way, I recommend you to copy the questions into your answer, so it would be easier for others to read them. ;)

Looking forward to your thoughts. :)

[DazzlaF1]

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events) - Without a doubt, id say Sebastian Vettel, if he can do that in a midfield car, imagine what he is capable of in a proven front-running team

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other) - For me, the new track at Valencia, produced a very boring race

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season? - Singapore, racing under lights was different, and it worked

4) Which was the most boring race of the season? - Look back at question 2, Valencia

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here) - Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone, I've never seen a wet weather drive like he delivered that day

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention? - Williams achieving 500 GP starts

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!) - Vettel's win at Monza, because knowing that the majority of that team worked there from when they were known as Minardi.

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently? - Overall i'd be very satisfied, now if only i could change that stewards decision to give LH a 25 second time penalty in belgium

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007? -
BETTER: Well i thought it was the most open season in many years, all 20 cars were regularly within 2 seconds of each other.
WORSE: The Stewards, honestly some of the decisions they made ranged between bafflig and completely ridiculous

[F1boat]

Decided to create a questionnaire to sum up the 2008 Formula One season.

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events)
Felipe Massa, who was able to challenge regularly for the wins and in the end for the championship. Vettel for showing how fast he really is. BMW for the fact how close they were to Ferrari and McLaren.

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other)
Renault's horrible start, Kimi's problems in the middle of the season, Ferrari's pit troubles.

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season?
Singapore

4) Which was the most boring race of the season?
China

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here)
Vettel in the Italian Grand Prix

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention?
Well, Massa. He was viewed as a serious challenger by some people only after the end of the season. IMO he was on par or better than the world champion.

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!)
Italy - a great moment for the sport. Also Singapore and Japan - Alonso showed who is number one :)

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently?
I would have liked Massa to win the championship, but it was a good season

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007?
Better - more winners, night race
Worse - McLaren won the WDC :)

[Cozzie]

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events) - Sebastian Vettel - the man has talent! Also how close it was between the big two/three as many predicted a Ferrari walkover.

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other) - The Spa shenanigans and Glockgate at Brazil.

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season? - Spa for sure.

4) Which was the most boring race of the season? - Valencia

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here) - Definitely Vettel at Monza, best I've seen since Schumi Brazil 06!

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention? - All the teams/drivers get enough attention worldwide.

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!) - Vettel's win for sure. But yes also the finale of the last race!

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently? - It was a good season but still too much political crap. Would have preferred to see Massa champion!

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007? -
BETTER: Competitiveness and less politics.
WORSE: Hamilton champion

[BeansBeansBeans]

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? Sebastien Vettel's victory at Monza.

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? The penalties given to Hamilton at Spa and Bourdais at Fuji. Glock's integrity being called into question by people with little knowledge of the sport.

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season? The Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.

4) Which was the most boring race of the season?

The European Grand Prix at Valencia.

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver?

Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone, Seb Vettel at Monza & Felipe Massa at Interlagos.

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention?

I thought Fisichella & Barrichello both had extremely strong seasons in uncompetitive machinery.

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!)

The thrilling Belgian Grand Prix and the utterly heartbreaking aftermath.

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently?

I'm pretty unsatisfied.

The cars still can't get near each other, and therefore any excitement was usually provided by the lotteries of rain & safety cars.

I'm looking forward to the changes in aero, stewarding and the safety car procedure.

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007?

The lack of Spygate, or any similar huge saga, was definitely preferable.

[christophulus]

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events) - Vettel/STR and Kubica/BMW getting their first wins, and the fact the championship was close throughout. I predicted a Ferrari walkover this year and was happily proved wrong

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other) - The new circuits were a disappointment and the racing wasn't really any closer on track, looking forward to 2009 and getting rid of those awful aero devices

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season? - To be honest, the majority were great. At a push I'd say Britain

4) Which was the most boring race of the season? - Valencia was tedious, but France was probably the worst, I actually stopped watching halfway through

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here) - Already been said but I totally agree - Hamilton at Silverstone. Absolutely in a class of his own.

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention? - Williams being more competitive than I expected, and reaching 500 GPs. Also BMW on sticking to their original aim at the start of the season and slowing development after winning a race, and because of this they should be a real contender next year.

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!) - Vettel's win, so unexpected and genuinely deserved after all the team's hard work. Plus the Hamilton penalty in Belgium, although my emotions were somewhat different after that :p :

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently? - The penalties were a complete joke and it needs sorting out for 09 - hopefully the FIA's new idea to make the decisions more transparent will help. Despite this it was by far the most compelling season I've watched in years, so very satisfied :up:

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007? -
BETTER: Not knowing who was going to win each race, rather than McLaren dominating the first half of 2007 and Ferrari the second half. The unpredictability was great.
WORSE: Stewards getting in the way of the racing with some appalling decisions, and the unbelievable number of mistakes from Ferrari and McLaren, even if it did keep it close. Hopefully they'll settle down a bit next year!

[ShiftingGears]

Great thread jens.

Decided to create a questionnaire to sum up the 2008 Formula One season.

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events)

Vettel's Monza Victory.


2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other)

Raikkonen's season. I really thought he'd have the momentum coming off the second half of 2007, finally maximising what he wants from the team.


3) Which was the most interesting race of the season?

There were many interesting races, but probably Spa.


4) Which was the most boring race of the season?

Valencia was pretty underwhelming.


5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here)

Vettel at Monza. Although Alonso was very spectacular in the second half of the season.


6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention?

It's great that the FIA actually did something about the spectacle, and banned traction control. It has made the racing much better.

Also, the closeness of all the teams to each other threw up many surprises (podiums from all pointscoring teams). It was the closest championship in F1 history, as far as the average seconds per lap between first and last was concerned.


7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!)

I'm not a Lewis Hamilton fan, but I found his Spa penalty awful. Bourdais' Fuji penalty was also awful.

Barring the steward decisions, all the many bizarre incidents throughout the season.


8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently?

I thought it was a great season. I would've preferred to have season the RBR more competitive at the end of the season, rather than their performances tailing off.


9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007?

It was all round, a better season than 2007.

[BDunnell]

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events)

Vettel's Monza victory and Toyota's race pace improvement.

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other)

I'd echo the comment about Raikkonen's season. Also, Kovalainen was a bit anonymous, though not helped by the race strategies he was put on. Except for Barrichello in Australia, Honda may as well not have taken part for all the contribution they made. And I found the new circuits unmemorable.

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season?

The British GP. Great racing on a great track and a lack of controversy.

4) Which was the most boring race of the season?

I can't remember the dull ones. Hardly a helpful answer in a 'conclusive questionnaire', I know!

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here)

Hamilton at the British GP and Vettel at the Italian GP are those that spring immediately to mind.

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention?

Bourdais was unfairly maligned for a couple of things, but he got plenty of attention for it, so probably doesn't count. Glock's run in Hungary has been rather overshadowed by Vettel's win in Italy, though, so I'd go for that. A great performance. And it was good that Coulthard got a podium in his final season.

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!)

The events of the last lap at Spa and, especially, Vettel's Monza win. No race victory has given me as much pleasure since Panis in Monaco in 1996.

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently?

I would be much more satisfied with the season if it hadn't been blighted by the utter inconsistency of the penalties handed out. This aspect spoiled a potentially brilliant year.

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007?

The penalties were worse; the range of potential winners and the unpredictability were better.

[52Paddy]

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season?

*I found Alonso's improvements in the final few races of the season quite surprising. And also Vettel's performances in many races.

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season?

*The Hondas I reckon. What a dismal year for them despite their focus on 2009.

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season?

*Brazil, no need to elaborate.

4) Which was the most boring race of the season?

*I only began watching from Canada onwards so I'm not going on the full season. France was pretty dull though.

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here)

*Hamilton was solid at Silverstone but I think Vettel at Monza was quite outstanding by any standards.

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention?

*Bourdais' improvement late on in the season. When Berger told him to get a move on, and put Seb's contract on the line, Bourdais responded with some stellar performances on the track, though his eventual finishing position never backed up some good drives.

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself?

*Alonso at Singapore. So happy to see him back on form.

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently?

*I thought it was a great season though I would have liked Massa to take the title. Other than that, I think the stewards should have thought a little longer and harder about some of the decisions made throughout the year (which I won't go into, it'll stir up something.)

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007?

*This year, a lot of young drivers got to put themselves in the limelight and showcase their real talent. While Massa and Hamilton were certainly the cream of the crop at the championship's boiling point, there were many possibilities for race winners at any race (Massa, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Alonso, Kovalainen, Kubica, Vettel and Trulli could all have money put on them at some point during the year)

[Sleeper]

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events)
Torro Rosso's general competativeness after the new car came online.

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other)
Just how dreadful the stewards have become at making decisions.

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season?
Monza, Vettal started atthe front and fast guys coming from the back.

4) Which was the most boring race of the season?
Valencia

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here)
Hamilton at Silverstone, simply stunning superioraty

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention?
Forc India's huge improvment in pace over last year, they found as much, maybe more, than 1.5 seconds over the winter.

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!)
Vettel winning in Monza for what is effectively Minardi.

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently?
Very satisfied, but I wish the stewarding was much better.

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007?
Closer racing was deffinetly a plus this year, stewarding definitely worse.

[jens]

My thoughts too...

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events)
Whatever the critics say, but among teams it was Toyota for me. After a difficult 2007 there is no way I would have expected so many points (56) from them this year. Also they have made a step forward in several areas (strategy, consistency, reliability). Makes me wish that they can keep the momentum to improve further. Surely Vettel's win at Monza was very surprising.
Among drivers it's a bit hard to find someone, who exceeded expectations, so hopefully didn't underrate anyone. :p : If anything, then Massa's comeback after Malaysian GP!
Other: 5 rain-affected races. Quite a lot, isn't it? Struggling to remember, when was the last time, when we had such a wet season.

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other)
Heidfeld was a disappointment for me. Based on his previous career I thought it wouldn't be a problem for him to match anyone, but it turned out to be a more difficult season, which has forced to correct the view on him. Also Kovalainen looked capable for a lot more based on the second half of 2007. However, it seems to turn out that he is more likely a Finnish version of Fisichella - driving a top car as a #2 driver isn't exactly his strength...

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season?
All 5 wet races were quite exciting (Mon, UK, Bel, Ita, Bra) - maybe Monaco rises above others, because a wet Monaco is something very special. Among dry races Canadian, German and Japanese GP's were quite memorable.

4) Which was the most boring race of the season?
Chinese GP - only race I didn't see fully, because lost internet connection for the last 15 laps. But during those laps nothing changed, so didn't muss much. :p :

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here)
Interestingly a lot more outstandings performances can be recalled from 2008 compared to 2007, when drivers usually classified strictly based on machinery. Three most memorable performances of 2008 for me are Sutil at Monaco (interestinly already forgotten by folks!), Hamilton at Silverstone and Vettel at Monza. As we see, all of them took place in wet conditions. In the dry Hamilton's drives in Turkey and Germany were brilliant, Massa in Hungary, some Alonso's drives. There are many more, but I stop here. :)

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention?
Huh, Force India's progress maybe! Also Nakajima, who has managed to beat Rosberg more often than anyone expected before the season.

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!)
Trulli's podium in France. This was the first thing that came to my mind! :D
From the negative side it was quite sad to see Sutil retiring at Monaco. This young guy may never get a similar chance again...
And maybe it didn't create many emotions as such, but it was annoying to see the safety car rule messing up the grid in several races.

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently?
Racing-wise the season was generally great. Just the stewards should have been more... erm, competent.

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007?
The positive aspect is that the competition has recently been a lot tighter. In 2007 Ferrari and McLaren were the class of the field on basically every circuit and although in 2008 they ended as the two best teams again, then the chasing teams have been a lot closer and at times managed to genuinely challenge Ferrs and Macs.

We had politics both in 2007 and 2008, so in this area little changed, already the FIA actions in 2008 were a lot different.

[N. Jones]

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events)
BMW's first win. The first night race - Singapore officals did a nice job putting it together.

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other)
Steward's inconsistency. Anything Max Mosley said or did. Bernie's silence or promotion of cost cutting while bleeding race organizers dry with his fees.

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season?
Brazil

4) Which was the most boring race of the season?
Valencia

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here)
Sebastian Vettel in the rain, especially after the dominant performance of Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone.

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention?
Rubens Barichello. No complaints, he just drove the best he could with the car he had.

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!)
The Canadian GP, seeing Monaco in the wet for the first time (although it was a somewhat boring race)

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently?
This was a great season as the titles were fought for until the end.

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007?
Better - I can't think of anything. Worse - overtaking. FIA & F1 officals need to stop thinking most people care about tactics. They want to see fights for position!

[N. Jones]

They won't let me edit the above, so skip that and read this instead! :laugh:

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events)
BMW's first win. The first night race - Singapore officials did a nice job putting it together. Kaz Nakajimi going from "car-crasher" to "solid performer" in a few races. Out drove Rosberg on occasion. Force India's pace.

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other)
Steward's inconsistency. Anything Max Mosley said or did. Bernie's silence or promotion of cost cutting while bleeding race organizers dry with his fees.

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season?
Brazil

4) Which was the most boring race of the season?
Valencia

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here)
Sebastian Vettel in the rain, the dominant performance of Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone, Alonso's calm , controlled drive in Singapore & Japan.

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention?
Rubens Barichello. No complaints, he just drove the best he could with the car he had. Two seconds covered the entire field, making qualifying for the mid and back runners that must more important. The drives of Toyota & the people who came out of nowhere to score podium's - Rosberg, Barichello, Coultard, Glock, Trulli. Just fantastic to see. Also nice were the different race winners.

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!)
The Canadian GP, seeing Monaco in the wet for the first time (although it was a somewhat boring race), Alonso's first win of the season (I'm staill a fan of his for some reason...).

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently?
This was a great season as both titles were fought for until the end. The stewards need to be changed into something more consistent. Once again too many political maneuvering overshadowed a great season.

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007?
Better - more race winners, different people on the podium. It gave you the feeling that the racing had changed even though half of the season was a snore-fest.
Worse - overtaking. FIA & F1 officials need to stop thinking most people care about tactics. They want to see fights for position!

[Hawkmoon]

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events)
Torro Rosso's performance would have to be the biggest positive surprise. It showed that there is more to F1 than just desiging a quick car. Berger's boys took the same chassis as Red Bull and got more out of it. Well done!

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other)
Raikkonen. Still the fastest man in F1, as something like 10 fastest laps attest, but where his head was at, who knows?

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season?
Interlagos was boring for 69 laps and thrilling for 2. Singapore was interesting for the first practice session then dull thereafter. I can't say any one race was more intersting than the rest. There were interesting aspects to many races this season.

4) Which was the most boring race of the season?
Germany and Spain weren't worth watching.

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here)
Vettel at Monza, Massa at the Hungaroring and Hamilton at Silverstone.

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention?
Vettel, STR, Alonso and Renault deserve the praise. I think Toyota probably haven't got enough credit for finally getting their team pointed in the right direction.

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!)
Massa's engine failure in Hungary was a gut punch that still annoys be to this day. If that engine had lasted another 3 laps the title probably would have been his.

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently?
McLaren won the WDC so I definently would have preferred a different outcome. As a whole I can't say that I really enjoyed this season. It's a strange feeling because Ferrari were competitive and won the WCC yet I enjoyed 2005 more. I think the direction the sport is heading isn't to my liking and it's taking some of the enjoyment out of it for me.

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007?
As per question 8, I preferred 2007. For the first time in years I missed a couple of races this year. About the only time I got really excited all year were the last two laps of the season.

[ioan]

What Hawkmoon said, at a rate of 99.99 %, describes my feelings too.

[Marshall]

1) Which were the biggest positive surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other F1-related events)
That every team bar 1 managed a podium and the general competitiveness of the field.

2) Which were the biggest negative surprises of the season? (teams, drivers, other)
Pathetic stewarding.

3) Which was the most interesting race of the season?
Singapore was good, also Brazil

4) Which was the most boring race of the season?
China.

5) Which were in your opinion the most remarkable single performances by a driver? (mention driver and GP here)
Sebastien Vettel, Italian GP

6) Who/what would you especially like to praise/highlight, who/what in your opinion hasn't got enough attention?
Rubens - ok so the car was a dog, but he outperformed Button. Those who are calling on him to retire are either overlooking how bad the Honda was or ageist.

7) Which events during the season created most emotional feelings for yourself? (besides the finale of the last race!)
Massa's retirement in Hungary. Turn 1, Fuji, The whole Ferrari pit disaster that was Singapore.

8) How satisfied are you generally with the season and what would you have preferred to turn out differently?
It was a wonderful season, only I wish Massa had become the champion.

9) What was better/worse in 2008 compared to 2007?
I think it was about even - they were both great seasons.