Hmmm--either the race didn't run, or nobody watched it. I do remember seeing SOMETHING for 3 hours.

Comments?

 

Even though I had to keep late hours to watch the 2012 Aussie GP (got to break down and buy a DVR) it was well worth it!

Sometimes the more things change (tires, new noses, 6 WDC on the grid) the more they remain the same...

Well sort of, although the usual suspects were at the pointy end of the finishing field (Vettel, Button, Hamilton, Alonso) the starting grid had a new and refreshing look to it what with Grosjean, Schumi, Maldonado, and Hulkenberg making it into Q3 and a spot in the top 10.

Both Lotus and Mercedes are much improved over last year and look to challenge for a podium spot in 2012. Grosjean had an impressive debut and it was a shame that he was taken out so very early.

Schumacher also looked very racy and it showed me that given the right tool for the job, the "old man" can still get it done. Schumacher may not be at his prime but he still has the "right stuff".

I expect to see them both on the podium at some time during the season.

WOW... the midfield runners impressed especially the boys at Sauber, as Kobayashi qualified 13th and finished 6th and his teammate started 22nd and finished 8th... nice job for Peter Sauber's squad!

What a resurgence for the Williams team! Maldonado made it into Q3 and looked very, very, racy latching on to the tail of Alonso's Ferrari and hounding him until his miscue caused his late race shunt. Still, the Williams chassis looked good and I am sure that they will do better as the season progresses... don't overlook Bruno Senna either as I am sure he will garner some solid finishes this year for Williams.

I could go on but for me the highlight of this race was the superb driving of Fernando Alonso! He made a very mediocre car look way better than it is. The Ferrari does have problems and only the skills of Alonso gave the team such a high placing finish... he wrangled that car into 5th place... well done Fernando!

Now the flip side of the coin and Alonso's teammate Felipe Massa... Poor Massa, he is struggling to show some speed and the 2012 Ferrari is not the car that will make him shine. Additionally, his contretemps with Bruno Senna only served to heighten the fact that Felipe's racecraft is suspect. As in the past, when the heat is on, Massa crumples like a house of cards... under pressure to perform or be ousted at the Scuderia, i'm afraid that Massa will be shown the door at season's end (or earlier if he keeps turning in poor performances).

All in all this season has all the needed ingredients to make it most memorable! And I didn't even get around to Raikkonen's return to the grid but I guess we will leave that for another time...

Bring on Malaysia... All bets may be off on this one as RAIN is forecast and the great equalizer that it is may again alter the look of the starting grid!

 

Sabre--the worst part of traveling for me is not having my DISH network, with its recording ability. I never watch anything live anymore, unless I'm cooped up in some motel somewhere. No more commercials! It's freedom for the common man (and woman).

I agree, Michael looked better this season. I am so missing the old victory leaps, followed by the German anthem! I think we'll see it this year, finally.

I'm less excited by Kimi's return. I don't fault his ability so much as his attitude. Even the commentators were mentioning how he doesn't help the team sort out the car during testing. It seems to be just a job for him. I think he parties harder than he drives.

Ferrari sounds like it's in trouble this year. Having to start from well behind has to hurt, after all those years starting the season at the front. I wonder if they miss Michael and Ross.

 

You know Deb, its just the Luddite in me coming out! I should (and will) get a DVR but its just my luck that when I get around to purchasing one, Technology will have moved on and rendered the unit obsolete! Gads, it happened in my teenage years with my stereo system (turntable, 8-track, Cassette), with my computers and OSX (anyone remember Windows 95, 98, ME, etc.), my VCR (fortunately I didn't buy into the Sony beta-format)... when will the hurting stop!

Oh I predict that Schumi will see a podium and if Mercedes ramps up its game I would not be surprised to see a win or two fall Michael's way. Yes I am that confident!

I am glad to see the return of the Kimster. Even though (as I have stated before) during interviews he has all the personality found in a bowl of lukewarm porridge, the Finn knows his way around a circuit and if inspired can deliver the goods. Yes you're right he does party hearty and is aloof with the press and apparently his team but I hope he becomes more user friendly as the season progresses. The coming of the Iceman can bring alot of excitement to the grid if Lotus can give him the right tools. Sad though that he looks upon his chosen career as just a job... I'd love to be able to have his set of skills and do what he does and get paid for it!

Poor Ferrari! The only shining light at the Scuderia is the presence of their man Fernando! I've always admired the Spaniard's skill behind the wheel and, at present if I were forced to rate this year's drivers, he would be at the top of my list. Alonso is literally dragging that car up the grid and into finishing positions that it does not deserve. Now then, this being Ferrari I believe that they will find their way out of the morass that they are in. Wether by finding speed in the current design or by abandoning it all together and coming out with a new design by mid-season, so don't count out the prancing horse from Maranello just yet... Ferrari will bounce back. Now whither Felipe Massa? That is an altogether different proposition, yes? Paddock pundits are saying that Sergio Perez is in line for a seat or the possibility of Mark Webber in 2013, why I've even heard rumors of Barichello returning to the squad! I'm afraid that if Massa shows no speed soon his days at Marnello are numbered.
I recall those halcyon days when Brawn would ask Michael on the radio if he could please garner 1-2 seconds on his in-lap to give them a proper time cushion for his pitstop and the "Schu" would acknowledge and then turn up the wick, his Ferrari flying, and obtain the time requested. Magic! Yes, I can't see why anyone at Ferrari would not miss those days!

 

Well, Sabre, if you just get DISH Network, it's all in one box. And you can record multiple events at the same time, and on different sets, depending on how you have things set up, and your choice of a jillion channels. About 130 hours of recording time, too. Only bad thing is you can't record off the box, so it's just for home use.

 

Gunna be a fun time watching the run to T1 for the race! Hope LH can hold it but I will not be upset to watch MS slip into the lead....

Poor Massa - he's on his way out I think.

 

McLaren continues to look strong holding down the front row but take a look at the rest of the field snapping at their heels! Compare the top ten's times in qualifying and note that this is one race where a miscue on tire selection, bad pitstop, rain, or just bad luck can make it anyone's race.

DRIVER / Q1 / Q2 / Q3

Hamilton / 1:37:813 / 1:37:106 / 1:36:219
Button / 1:37:575 / 1:36:928 / 1:36:368
Schumacher / 1:37:517 / 1:37:017 / 1:36:391
Webber / 1:37:172 / 1:37:375 / 1:36:461
Raikkonen / 1:37:961 / 1:36:715 / 1:36:461
Vettel / 1:38:102 / 1:37:419 / 1:36:634
Grosjean / 1:38:058 / 1:37:338 / 1:36:658
Rosberg / 1:37:696 / 1:36:996 / 1:36:664
Alonso / 1:38:151 / 1:37:379 / 1:37:566
Perez / 1:37:933 / 1:37:477 / 1:37:698

Let's hope that the boys don't lose their heads and adopt the win in the first turn mentality or there will surely be a le grand carambolage of epic proportions! I worry that Michael may revert to his old form of blocking and that would open the door for any first turn shenanigans.


I'm afraid that you may be right on this S-Driver... Massa better do it better, cleaner, faster than the rest cause right now the press, the tifosi, and sundry others are clamoring for a change in the no.2 driver at the Scuderia.

 

I enjoyed that race! Great result for Ferrari from FA - but not poor Massa. He's nailing down his own coffin.....

About the suspected Sauber order to Perez at the end - he sure made it look good if in fact they did give him a "no passing Fernando" cryptic command. Still, a great finish for Peter Sauber's team.

Maybe Mercedes should just concentrate on race pace instead of qualifying so it doesn't look so bad when they fall back. Yes, yes - I know MS was bumped by Grosjean but still he was lackluster after that. Same with Rosberg...

Lewis lost his race because of the pit work by the team I think...Button did himself in.

 

WOW! 1st pole for Mercedes since 1955!! Go get 'em Rosberg and MS....

Hurray - Vettel in 11th!

Ferrari is going to suffer in this race as their aero is not up to par for this track so they will have to run long on the hard tires to keep the car up near the pointy end of the grid for the end.

(Is this thread dead?)

 

Agreed - Well Done Nico!

Pretty cool to blow everyone away by .5 second then decide best strategy is to save a set of options, kick back and see if anyone can top you.

 

Nah, we're just doing MINI stuff!

 

Wow...that was one entertaining race! So happy for Rosberg and sad for Schummacher. Funny tho, Rosberg for the most part won that race and we didn't get to see much of his race as the action was all over the place behind him!

Last ten laps were riveting....

 

My involvement with the 2012 season has taken an unforeseen turn. I now am on a conference bridge with an international team who collectively provide network connectivity to all races, including the delivery of media, Live Timing, and commentary via the www.Formula1.com site.

It makes me grin every time my colleague at the track comes off mute and I hear the scream of cars in the background.

This job now demands my unblinking attention during all practices, qualifying sessions, and of course during the race - costing me many four day weekends and guaranteeing that my sleep patterns are all over the place.

And I get PAID for this! Whooppeeeee!

Cheers,

Charlie


(Here is the situation...)

 

I can carry your briefcase for you....

 

Yea, I'll add to this rant. Phoenix was a total JOKE! I saw the first year what a horrible course it was, second year no better. Spectators didn't have any decent views (unless you were in a building looking down). I was planning to go the next year anyway, and then poof!

Fast forward to 2012........
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53074154@N00/6814530035/
I'm sorry, how can I get excited about seeing such ugly cars?

 

This is shaping up to be one of the best seasons in years.

 

Charlie you are one lucky son of a gun!

 

Reuters/Yahoo: Bahrain Grand Prix to go ahead as protests flare

Off to a roaring start!

 

For all the turmoil and hoopla, it ended up being a really good race!

 

The fuss included a denial of service attack on a couple of the web services which comprise the Formula One site. Fortunately the site was protected rather swiftly through some extraordinary behind the scenes effort.

Yesterday we shifted the live workload from the current CDN to our own, without any drama whatsoever.

I love boring cut-overs!

Next - Spain!

Cheers,

Charlie

 

I know that things are slow with the time between races and that in the meantime motorsport journalists have too much time on their hands so, with that in mind anyone hear the latest "tabloid like news" to surface...

Sensationalism or truth?



Mercedes is "on the verge" of quitting Formula One.

GMM Staff / GMM Newswire | Posted May 07, 2012 GMM Newswire


That is the alarming claim of the London newspaper The Times, in an article written by its authoritative F1 correspondent Kevin Eason.

Eason wrote that while rival top teams Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull will get to appoint directors once F1 is floated on the Singapore exchange, Mercedes has not been extended the same offer.

"Why should Mercedes have the same deal as the others?" F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone is quoted as saying. "What have they done in Formula One?

"They won a race and that is it."

That attitude, Eason argues, has left Mercedes "on the verge of quitting Formula One", having apparently conducted a study into how its Brackley based works team could be withdrawn.

Eason also quoted Ecclestone as having "scoffed" at the suggestion Mercedes quitting could wipe 20 per cent off the value of F1's stock market floatation.

It would be sad to see MB withdraw after 2012... No more Silver Arrows on the grid would be a loss for F1. Besides what will you replace them with Bernie? More substandard entries like HRT or Marussia?

 

I couldn't agree with you more Gromit!

Five Grand Prix and five different drivers/constructors on the top step of the podium! It doesn't get any better than this!

Congrats to Pastor Maldonado and the Williams F1 team... well done boys, well done!

A tip of the helmet to Fernando Alonso as again he wrestled the recalcitrant Ferrari onto the podium... Bravo Fernando, you truly are a maestro behind the wheel!

Poor Schumi, his Spanish GP looked very competitive until his coming together with Bruno Senna, and now it looks as if the stewards will penalize him 5 grid positions for his contretemp with Senna.

I can hardly wait to see what happens at Monaco!

 

I agree F1 this season is so exciting that I can't wait when theirs a two week or which ever it takes for the following races to start. Man 5 different drivers and so much tight racing with the DRS.

 

Yeah, its been really fun with the results changing up at every round. Amazingly the established (dominant) teams are crying the loudest about the tires this year...

We love it!

 

Could Lewis Hamilton's pit crew be any worse? He could have won at least two races by now. They had three weeks off. That should have been straightened out!