I agree.

Whoa! . . .

Well, perhaps I reside in the middle . . . I'm not down on the FIA and Mosley as much as Mr. Ecclestone . . . and I do recognize that Ecclestone does often cast a shrewd ploy to make way for a better future (i.e., Spa), but I challenge anyone to disprove his greed.

I agree.

 

Wouldn't hurt my feelings. Renault has been in and out of F1 many times. Besides, Renault says they're committed as long as they're a top tier team. As in the past, you can count on their departure at some point. Teams do change hands.

Perhaps the real story is Scott Speed. An American has entered F1 and nobody's talking about it. It's what the sport has been missing.

 

How can any series that has seen its ranks thinned from over thirty competitors just fifteen years ago (recall pre-qualifying?) to only twenty to twenty two today have a bright future? I too have been to Spa on several occasions for the GP and I much prefer it, and the associated facility shortcomings to places like Magny-Cours, Cataluna, or just about any post-1970s track. I will concede that Turkey's new track looks promising for both drivers and spectators, but it is the lone exception. One of the reasons that F1 costs so bloody much is because FIA insists on reducing the European rounds for Asian and Middle Eastern "fly away" events. All in search of the Tobacco $$. I may not be up to speed on the budgets, but it is obvious to all who follow this sport, that F1 is a very ill patient, with declining participation, escalating costs and reduced exposure in its core market, Europe. God save F1, as Max and Bernie are assuredly killing it, rather than promoting it.

 

Your mixing all kinds of fruit here, none of which really matters today. It's true many perfer the character of the old tracks, but the F1 circus has needs, and more importantly the future of F1 depends on the globalization of the sport. As an example, in Thailand the driver on pole for a F1 event is front page news. I use that as an example of a country that has no real connection to F1. Nonetheless, F1 is huge all over the world, not just in Europe, and Europe is still the F1 epicenter. When I lived in Korea over 10 years ago, I could watch qualifying and races live on network TV. You can't get that today in the US on cable. And I for one think 22 cars is more than enough as it's hard and dangerous enough to get through the backmarkers. More slower cars is no answer. The one and only comparison to the past that has any merit is that F1 today is too safe. The danger that once was part of F1 is no longer and that takes away from the heroism that F1 once pronounced. Max and Bernie are no where close to killing F1. Keep in mind mere mortals like ourselves can't comprehend what it takes to keep the F1 machine going. We're not privy to that data, so what we see on the surface is typically media hype. Try not to be so taken in by it and you'll enjoy the sport more. The behind-the-scenes is really a chess match, and there's constant pulling and pushing. You'll never get everyone to agree on every aspect. But F1 is moving in a direction that's fair, which I like. They're not there yet. We need a single slick-tire supplier, a revised point system similar to MotoGP (25, 20, 16, 13, 11, 10, ..., 1 etc.), and better overtaking (something the skinny European tracks don't help with). 2005 was the culmination of an few-year experiment that completely went wrong. Qualifying was a joke and the single tire and 2-race per engine was a step backwards. Australia for quali (rain and aggregate) and Nurburgring for tires (McLaren) are perfect 2005 examples. This year qualifying isn't a moment-in-time proposition thankfully, and teams can install new tires for the race after qualifying. A step in the right direction, but I prefer the 6 lap qualifying (but I understand why it's no longer). Bottomline is F1 is not dying, and Max and Bernie aren't killing it. It is evolving and it's moving toward a good place, which takes time. Be patient. Hopefully the bad experiments are over.

 

...perhaps, Briatore, knowing Renault's new boss ever keen to save crumbling domestic sales, advised Alanso to go take a look...so as not to be found scrambling 'when' the F1 budget hatchet falls. Just a thought...

 

Here's what's interesting:
1) Alonso never even told Briatore (his personal manager and team manager) he was negotiating with McLaren
2) Briatore built the '05 Renault around Alonso's driving style, not around Fisi's, and backed Alonso for the title chase. How does Alonso pay him back? He jumps ship
3) Alonso knows in his heart that luck gave him the world championship as much as anything else. Luck as in bad luck for McLaren as they had the far better car. So if you can't really beat them without bad luck for them and good luck for you, join them as the future looks brighter at McLaren
4) McLaren are a far more established team, and will endure over time, so take your world championship and use it marketably (he may very well not get another one)

In the end, Alonso did what was right for Alonso. Nothing wrong with that. But what a slap in Briatore's face. Briatore is openly miffed at Alonso and I'm sure Fisi will be the benefactor in '06. The team certainly won't back Alonso to the degree they did in '05. Ultimately, F1 in a word is drama, both on and off the tracks. 2006 is shaping up to be a great fight, and the stupid 2005 experiment is now dead. What I hated most about 2005 was the race to race penalty in qualifying. A bad result in a race would be carried over to the next in qualifying. Races should be totally independent of each other, the way it has returned to in 2006. And in 2005, we saw over and over how the sequential qualifying favored some and destroyed the race for others, like the mid-quali rain shower in Australia. No more. Thank God! Now we'll see a fair fight and whoever wins this year will be able to truly claim victory. The only impact could be the restricted V-10 vs. the V-8. Any team can use the restricted V-10 this year in lieu of the V-8. Ferrari has been testing a lot lately with the V-10 and the times are better than their V-8. We may see some drama if Ferrari, and/or other teams, show up at Bahrain with restricted V-10s! We'll see. Nothing in the rules to stop them. Less than 4 weeks until the opener.

 

Alonso's world championship was not just down to luck. Renault built the better car and gave it to Alonso, who drove it brilliantly all year long. McLaren deserved to lose; they simply weren't quite good enough. As for it not being a level playing field, someone says that every year about something. Each year has specific rules and conditions and the teams and drivers have to win in those conditions. Renault and Alonso did it and deserve their accolades.

 

Exactly. F1 isn't only about building a fast car, it also about building a reliable car. And when push came to shove (Japan)...Renault proved they had both. I don't always agree with the change of the rules, but part of what keeps F1 interesting to me are the rules changes and who does the best job of interpreting the new rules.

 

Alonso did a very good job in a year that meant little. Tire, engine, and qualifying lessened the driver skill in the mix. 2005 will go down in history as a year between eras when nothing worked (rules wise). Do you think Alonso would have beat Schumacher on Michelins? Get real. Perhaps the biggest joke of the season was Alonso reporting his greatest victory as his victory over Schumacher at Imola. Give me a break. Schumacher is 2 seconds faster per lap when he catches Alonso, and Alonso parks his car in the corners to purposefully block him for 10 laps and calls that a great victory. Here again, lucky for Alonso that Imola is a very old narrow track which makes passing safely impossible.

My issue with Alonso is that he repays Briatore, the guy who gave him his first real opportunity, by backstabbing him in a surrepititious deal with McLaren. Yeah, that's class. Alonso did win the season, and it's in the history books, and it did take effort. It's just unfortunate that there were so many other factors that ruined the competitive nature of the sport. Hence, massive rules changes for 2006.

F1 should not be decided by qualifying order or tire companies. 2006 fixes most rules, 2007 will fix the rest (ie, single tire manufacturer).

Final thought, McLaren had the best car of the year hands down. They would have won if not for just silly failures. Remember Imola and Hockenheim? Renault were just good enough to cash in on the failures of others, such as Bridgestone. I could go on and on. F1 is a 365-day event for me annually.

 

"A bad result in a race would be carried over to the next in qualifying. Races should be totally independent of each other"

Absolutely!!!

Ferrari has been my team since I could walk and talk. I cannot wait to see them back up front. I was at their track in Modena a little over a year ago. The sound of that F1 car echoing thru the hills still give me chills.

We should put an effort to get a group to go to Montreal...and perhaps the American GP; I'm personally not that excited about that course. Anyone in?

StevieB - you'll have to get your european Mini contingent together for alook over there.

 

I’ve been giving some thought about the Canadian GP this year, but wouldn’t ever go to the US GP, even if my room, board and tickets were paid for by Bernie himself.

 

I'm not too crazy about the flat, stadium nature of Indy as a circuit. Would've much preferred to have seen the USGP resurrected with the hill and dale of Road Atlanta, Laguna Seca, . . . circuits of that sort. Of course, there isn't a road course in North America that could handle the attendance numbers that Indy initially drew.

I'm gonna and try and make it to Indy this year . . . besides the simple fact that it's an F1 weekend that I can reasonably afford, I hope that F1 remains in the US . . . perhaps it's the least I can do. Sitting at home, pouting, isn't going to erase the events of '05, and there should be some great seating available with all of the 'boycotts.'

IMHO, Alonso deserved the championship. I don't agree that his accomplishment was primarily due to luck. He did benefit from the Renault's reliability, but he was exceptionally quick all season and only made one critical mistake in Montreal. It's too easy to underestimate his accomplishment of keeping Schumacher behind at Imola.

Had Kimi the same reliability, he would've been world champion. There is no doubt in my mind that Raikkonen is the best . . . but that doesn't take anything away from Alonso's accomplishment.

 

I've not seen the 06 calender yet, is it out? My daughter's graduation is the only potential scheduling conflict with the Canadian GP.

 

It was so big in 2000 due to the first running. 2001 was hurt by 911. Then the fiasco with Schumi staging the "Tie" American racing fans just don't care for that. Then Bernie's stubborness in 2005 is what killed F1 in the States. Speedway police called the riot squads from Indy Police in for help. Another thing is that American racing fans don't mind a season with a dominant team/ driver, but when the same guy wins every time he comes to the track. It becomes BORING.

Who else in America could have pulled the resources to do what Bernie wanted to bring the show here?? Bill France & family? NO way. F1 is too blue blood and not enough hillbilly inbread for them. Besides could you see NASCAR's first family give money to F1 to host a race? Ain't gonna happen folks.

I do not think that F1 would be back in 2006 except for the free tickets. It is a shame. Even if nobody else wins in F1 there still is the spectacle, the pagentry and there was that GLORIOUS Sound of the V-10 so sad to see it go. All but a memmory now (like the sound of turbo chargers at Indy)

What I see hapening is Tony George taking the F1 weekend to NASCAR's Grand American Road Racing. A lot of the IRL teams have Daytona spec racers (No manufacturer of DP chassis builds road going cars, to call them prototypes is an oxymoron!) I could easily see a 4 or 6 hour enduro-sprint on the road course at 16th and Georgetown.

 

within a month from Bahrain . . . anyone care to play the amazing kreskin and offer up some predictions?

First wins? Button, Webber, Heidfeld . . . ?

Honda:
Button or Barrichello?

The championship . . . ?

 

I'll go with:
First win: Webber (the Williams looks really strong)
First 2-3 races will go to Renault, Ferrari, or Williams (McLaren's engine problems may not be sussed out)
Honda: Barrichello
Championship: Alonso (I think that the combo of him and the R26 will be very strong all year)

Just my guesses...

 

If McLaren can get their act together we could have Renault, Ferrari, Williams, Honda, and McLaren capable of winning every race!

It's gonna be a great year!

 

Please do make it. I've attended all the modern Indy GPs (2000 - 2005) as well as six European GPs (1995 - 1998). IMHO the absolute BEST thing about Indy, and this actually brings it to and even above the level of the European races is - DRIVER ACCESSABILITY on the Thursday before the race. Since it was began in 2003, we have always gone up on Thursday for the pit lane walk. We have gotten numerous F1 drivers autographs, including: Fernando Alonso, Jarno Trulli, Alan McNish, as well as several motorsport celebraties. There are often historic F1 cars on display in the infield as well as the actual race vehicles that are so close you can almost touch them. Tony George should be praised for his efforts to not only bring the USGP to the Speedway, but making the F1 circus accessable to John Q. Public.

 

I agree 100%. Even after what happened last year, I am still super excited to go this year. The downtown scene on race weekend is really spectacular and fan access is the best. I had a great time last year, even with the race being a flop. Yes, I was mad, but looking back I still loved practice and quali!

Aaron

 

OK so far

Slowing down to do a formation 1-2 isn't so out of sorts. Ever watch Le Mans? Don't think Schumi expected Barrichello to actually pass him. That was definitely a mistake.

Come on now... F1 would never alter any circuit during the race weekend. It was not a legal option. You must remember Senna's death? Teams are legally liable for accidents, and a chicane installed the day of the race would not allow the drivers to adapt to it. Michelin blew it...end of story. But they didn't have to pull out. All they had to do is go slower through the corner. Many Michelin drivers were prepared to do that. I bet some would have scored points.

You have something there. Indy is an easy place for F1 in America, but the track layout is crap (infield is Micky Mouse and the corners are too slow).

NASCAR couldn't afford it. F1 money is too rich for NASCAR blood.

 

Agree. Ferrari's V-8 isn't doing so great. But their restricted V-10 is kicking butt. Bet Ferrari shows up at Bahrain with it next month. It's legal to use it. McLaren may too as their V-8 is a dog.

 

What is engine capacity set at this year?

 

2.4 V-8 or restricted power 3.0 V-10

 

I think the big question is going to be what engines the teams show up with for the first few races.

Given the nature of F1, I wouldn't be surprised if all the teams were sandbagging with their new V-8's, and they all showed up with them. I also wouldn't be surprised if an enterprising manager or two figured out a way to win with a V-10, though.

 

Schumi said in the interview over the loudspeakers and on TV he slowed to create a tie.