Villeneuve is a joke and the F1 people know that. His father was a racer, not him. He only got a seat because of his name. His racing skills are thrid rate at best and the car he drives now proves it. He's a hack driver.

Anyone want to chalange me on that?

 

Wow!!! Toyota

Ferrari needs some Michelins or the F2005 quick

The reverse quali order is kind of opposite of what happened last year and the track seemed to get quicker as quali went on which is why I would like the 1 hour session back like before so there can be set up changes etc. but hey this new system does reward those who get it right the quickest which is still fair I guess.

How does Flavio do it...on and off the track?

 

I was blaming Schumacher BTW

I think Villeneuve is a pretty good driver especially in CART but it seems his heart isn't in it anymore. Whatever the criticisms lobbied at Schuey, he is always motivated and loves to train and race. I always think less of Coulthard because he almost always has had the best equipment during his career and never won a championship. He just never had that extra something special plus bad luck & great unreliability didn't help

I miss Hakkinen. Those years fighting Schuey were amazing

 

I will...I will agree that he's lost what little he had and he's not his father, but he did rise fast in Formula Atlantic, won the CART Championship, the Indy 500, and an F1 world championship. Right car at the right time...

I can say that JV adds a tremendous boost to the excitement at his home race in Montreal...but, he will probably be gone before June.

 

There is nothing more exciting in qualifying than the final 3 minutes of an hour session on Saturday afternoon with all cars on circuit.

 

You have that right.

 

Anybody else watching the final hour of the 12 Hours of Sebring on SPEED right now?

 

Have it on now.

 

I'm just waiting for "The Race" to begin, but may have to record it. Going to bed soon.

 

But you should be there, mate...come to think of it, I should be too!

I enjoyed it live twice in '88 and '90...maybe next year.

The Aston Martin looks promising!

 

And hoping it does. To many years between a true English Race Car made the grade...

 

We may even have a race for the overall win between the Champion Audis...27 minutes left...excellent!

 

6 minutes to go, but I can't stay up to watch F1. I'll tape it and watch it tomorrow. Don't tell me who wins!!!

 

Great race, Aston Martin rawks!

Welcome Monique...I won't tell...I doubt that I make it either...own a MINI?

 

Both Button and Davidson out by the 3rd lap with engine trouble.

 

I don't want to say who the winner is for those who don't know yet but you have to watch the Heidfeld, Weber, and Ralf on track skirmish(sp?)

Best stuff in years :smile:

Kind of harkens back to the pick that Rubens set for Michael on Ralf a few years ago if I am not mistaken

 

Thanks, COOPERation. Yeah, I got mine on 9/11 of last year.
Not a great anniversary to have but I manage.

I just got into F1 in the middle of last season and have been an avid fan since. I wish it had been Fisi in that Renault yesterday!!!! Oh well, can't complain about 2 races so far with no sign of Schumi! *cough*

 

Talk about messing up everybody in the PickSix league: speaking about the Webber, Fisichella shunt. Looks like Fisi just didn't have the grip on those rear tires. Nor did just about anybody else.

Com'n FIA dump this assinine rule before someone really gets hurt. Look at Raikkonen, Fisi, Barrichello...these guys are the creme de la creme of F-1 and your stupid rules are ruining their races. I'd rather see tire changes and no refuelling if you want to do something stupid with your rulebooks.

Great runs for Alonso, Trulli and Heidfeld though. Hey with one more high temperature track to come, Bahrain, I'm gonna go 100% Michelin donuts, unless the rules change between then and now. (I'll give it even odds, once Ferrari starts complaining to Bernie and Max).

 

I think it's silly that F1 thinks cutting down on tire expenses is going to bring down the cost of F1. You're right about it being a safety issue. Plus, it puts too much emphasis on who can preserve their equipment, rather than use it to the fullest. And, if many of the top drivers leave the race due to their tires, it makes the show worse, too. Basically, everybody loses.

Especially Bridgestone at this point. The commentators mentioned them being handicapped by only working with one top team, and the limitations that placed on data acquisition. A good point, I think. If Ferrari can't convince/blackmail someone to join them next year, I think F1 could be going back to a one-tire series. (Or maybe the F2005 will arrive, and the tires won't be of any concern at all)

 

totally agree, i've only been watching F1 for about 3 years, and i catch the decade races whenever possible, but i've never seen such a good skirmish!

as for the tires, absolutely ridiculous rule! it handicaps all the teams so that the only part of the race worth watching is the last 10 or 15 laps when the drivers really start pushing the tires. i don't think Fisi would have wrecked if this rule hadn't been in effect.

 

I agree. With the fastest tyres, the drivers can go all out during each session and each stint of the race. That is what F1 is all about. Fill that sucker up with fuel and get rid of those temperamental fuel rigs. If I want a endurance race I will watch LeMans, Daytona, Spa, Sebring etc.

Why do the tyres look like donuts? Why can't they have low profile slicks?

 

This seasons regulations kinda suck.

Take a look at the accident between Fisichella and Webber. Fisi couldn't turn out of the accident because his tires were so worn. Kimi's accident could have happened at the end of a high speed straight, and many other tires looked on the verge of destruction.

I don't think you can give a manufacturer of tires 1 year to completely make a 180* change in tire design and expect it to be safe as well. Not only that but you have drivers that aren't used to having to conserve tires...it is a recipe for disaster.

If the whole idea was to slow down F1 that failed as well...Alanso's quali 1 time was 1sec faster than MS's pole last year....

If they did it to curb Ferrari...once the F2005 comes out im sure Ferrari will be right back up there. Granted I enjoy seeing drivers like Heidfeld, and the red bull team in points getting positions, but F1 needs to just stick to a set of rules and let them ride out. There have always been legacy teams in F1...decade teams even...F1 needs to just settle down and let the course of events shape F1 rather than extreme, and experimental laws shape it.

If the FIA is worried about the skyrocketing expenses they could have easily just put a limit on the amount a team could spend every year. THAT would greatly improve the competitiveness of the teams...and would rule out teams like Ferrari from manufacturing EVERY part on their car.

Personally I don't want to watch the best drivers in the world driving at 7/10's in order to conserve their tires. It takes away one ENTIRE aspect of F1. Reduce the aero grip all you want...but to not let a driver drive hard for fear of wearing out his underdeveloped tires...just doesn't do it for me.

Once the F2005 is released in the next race, Im sure that Ferrari will be right back up there in the front. Sauber is running the 2005 Ferrari engine and it showed greatly when MS was having a hard time pulling away from it w/ Massa behind the wheel.

We've seen the rules changed drastically for the last 4 years, and we were still getting the same results. Ferrari still spends more than any other team, and no rule change is going to stop that. I just think that by not allowing drivers to drive at 10/10, and changing the rules just to curb one teams dominance it will come back and bite the FIA in the ***.

I'm still putting money on a serious crash due to tire wear this year...

 

Since you brought up budgets, I found this.

 

Those stats are very old. Ferrari is spending over $400 million now. The whole F1 franchise is about $2.5 billion year.

 

This month's F1 Racing magazine has some great articles on the new regs. After reading them and watching two races, here's my thoughts:

Quali- The old system used before one lap is still the best for excitement and TV coverage. The new system loses TV viewers, is confusing with agregate times, and the reverse handicap helps the winner of the last race.

Tires- Does make the car slide around more, but cripples performance and racing too much. F1 is the pinnacle of racing, and we should see them using 3-4 sets per race and running at 10/10th. It would still be safer than multiple cars crashing and retiring from bald tires. I don't believe for a second that the new tire regs have saved money, since everyone had to totally change their cars for the long life tires. Seeing the webber/fisi crash, and then Rubino retire from tires was really sad and stupid.

Aero- Most teams have clawed back almost all they lost, it remains to be seen if the new aero makes it easier to pass. With normal tires, it might, but not with long life tires.

2 Race Engine- Seems to be ok so far. However, the FIA leaving the door open for the BAR change is sheer stupidity. Everyone is going to use the rules to the max, that's their job. It didn't end up helping BAR much, but not the point.

FIA, Mosley, and Eccelstone, get your heads out of your butts and let's write some regs that make sense and make the racing more exciting and still safe!

Malaysia was exciting (Go Alonso) but I can see serious accidents from tires and the quali system sucks!

I am hoping for Alonso to win the title this year, let's hope he and Renault keep the momentum!

Just my $0.02...

Aaron