2007 Formula 1 Discussion Thread
3rd Gear
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 175
Likes: 0
From: San Diego,CA
Paging Ross Brawn, has anyone seen Ross Brawn
I've been a Ferrari fan for years. The Schumacher era was great to finally start winning. This year is just like the early 80s when the McLaren Honda was unstoppable. Time will tell how good Lewis really is but Ferrari needs to bring RB back as soon as possible they need some technical help. Massa is a good driver but he can't do what the car can't do & that's beat the McLarens.
Phew! Just got back from Indy a bit ago....................a good race indeed. Too bad Kimi couldn't manage to get by Massa & FA couldn't do the same to Lewis. Would have made it a little more interesting. Had an awesome position for the fan forum on Thursday, dead center and 2 feet from the front. Hats off to the SpeedTV crew for the endless autographs they gave out..... And good thing I brought the laptop so I could follow live timing! You just can't see the jumbo-tron clear enough to follow the sector times.
And don't ever bother going on the Pit Walkabout, You get to nothing more than a good pair of bino's will let you see from the stands. BUT..... register for the car carral as I was on the highway inside of 20 minutes from the time I got into my car!
And don't ever bother going on the Pit Walkabout, You get to nothing more than a good pair of bino's will let you see from the stands. BUT..... register for the car carral as I was on the highway inside of 20 minutes from the time I got into my car!
I know opinions are all over the place regarding the incessant (and co$tly) aero development in F1, but wherever you stand on the issue you have to admit this McLaren nose is a gorgeous piece of work, eh?
4th Gear
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 385
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles
I have to disagree. If the reason Hamilton was winning was because of his car, then why isn't Alonso beating him? I think Hamilton is a fantastic driver that will go far in F1. I fact, I think Ferrari needs to bring Schumacher back. I think he's the only driver that might have a chance at running with Hamilton. Obviously Masa and Kimi haven't had much luck....
I do think it is way too early to count Alonso out, however. I also don't think that the situation in regards to Ferrari running with Hamilton are as clear cut as you suggest . . . Kimi did, in fact, set the fastest lap in the race.
I personally feel McLaren has the edge over Ferrari at the moment. Whether this is due to Alonso, natural progression of the McLaren/Mercedes development, or Pedro de la Rosa remains to be seen.
The grid gap is closer to hundreths than tenths. Kimi, as Fernando, is obviously having trouble coming to grips with the Bridgestone tires.
Hamilton has performed remarkably and should receive his due. Schumi, for all of his remarkable ability . . . struggled with a lesser vehicle in '05. It could be that the splitting of hairs is enough.
5th Gear
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 847
Likes: 0
From: Kennewick, WA
Did anyone notice in the new issue of Grassroots Motorsports theres a big new Koni featuring McLaren F1 car. Koni is claiming that McLaren is using Koni shocks with their FSD technology. I read a fantastic article about the FSD shocks in the February issue of Race Car Engineering and it sure seems like the FSD technology is a big advantage. Could this be why McLaren is doing so well? The announcers keep pointing out how well the McLaren handles the curbs compared to the other cars.......that's the shocks!
Could it be that simple? I need to call Ferrari. hehehehehe
Could it be that simple? I need to call Ferrari. hehehehehe
6th Gear
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 3,790
Likes: 10
From: Kansas City
What the heck IS going on over at Ferrari?
Anybody following the Nigel Stepney soap opera over there? It's a freakin mess!
I floated an idea over at Carnuts.us, if Ralphie gets fired, maybe Toyota should loosen the pursestrings and hire Micheal, Ross Brawn et all? Maybe then they'd get to the front for a change?
Anybody following the Nigel Stepney soap opera over there? It's a freakin mess!
I floated an idea over at Carnuts.us, if Ralphie gets fired, maybe Toyota should loosen the pursestrings and hire Micheal, Ross Brawn et all? Maybe then they'd get to the front for a change?
6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,522
Likes: 7
From: San Diego, CA
MSchu's not coming back, certainly not to try to clean up Toyota's mess and especially not to replace his brother! (He probably has his eye on the vacant seat at DEI now that Dale Jr. has left and Montoya has won a race.)
As for Ferrari, it's not fair to say they are having problems just because McLaren is outpacing them. It's not as though Ferrari have fallen to mid-pack; they're the 2nd best team in F1. Considering the mass personnnel turnover that took place in the off season, I'd say they are doing quite well.
As for Ferrari, it's not fair to say they are having problems just because McLaren is outpacing them. It's not as though Ferrari have fallen to mid-pack; they're the 2nd best team in F1. Considering the mass personnnel turnover that took place in the off season, I'd say they are doing quite well.
From Peter Windsor on ITV.com (http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?T...755&PO=39755):
I can only suggest that you refer to various editions of F1 Racing last winter, when we predicted categorically that Ferrari would go into decline in 2007 and that McLaren would win the world championship.
In the post-Newey era, team players like Neil Oatley and Patrick Lowe were always going to harness the best of everything at McLaren and eliminate the waste; Fernando Alonso was always going to give the team a new direction; and Lewis Hamilton – again as predicted – was always going to win races in his maiden season.
What did people think? Did they honestly think that Kimi Raikkonen was going to jump into Michael’s car and win a World Championship? Did they think that Felipe Massa had learned nothing from Michael? Did they think that all the good people from the Michael era were going to stick around and continue to do exactly the same job? Did they think that Renault, with Giancarlo Fisichella as their “spearhead”, were going to be as competitive as they were with Fernando?
As I said a few weeks ago, Ferrari have lost a lot of aero testing time over the past couple of months. My Italian contacts also tell me that there has been – and still is - a “wholesale departure of white-collar aero guys” from Maranello. Ferrari will always win races in the course of any season. Michael [Schumacher] showed them how to win championships. Now he has gone – and the system is slowly changing as a result. What does that tell you?
Ferrari are big enough to regroup and recruit, of course…but it won’t be the same.
I can only suggest that you refer to various editions of F1 Racing last winter, when we predicted categorically that Ferrari would go into decline in 2007 and that McLaren would win the world championship.
In the post-Newey era, team players like Neil Oatley and Patrick Lowe were always going to harness the best of everything at McLaren and eliminate the waste; Fernando Alonso was always going to give the team a new direction; and Lewis Hamilton – again as predicted – was always going to win races in his maiden season.
What did people think? Did they honestly think that Kimi Raikkonen was going to jump into Michael’s car and win a World Championship? Did they think that Felipe Massa had learned nothing from Michael? Did they think that all the good people from the Michael era were going to stick around and continue to do exactly the same job? Did they think that Renault, with Giancarlo Fisichella as their “spearhead”, were going to be as competitive as they were with Fernando?
As I said a few weeks ago, Ferrari have lost a lot of aero testing time over the past couple of months. My Italian contacts also tell me that there has been – and still is - a “wholesale departure of white-collar aero guys” from Maranello. Ferrari will always win races in the course of any season. Michael [Schumacher] showed them how to win championships. Now he has gone – and the system is slowly changing as a result. What does that tell you?
Ferrari are big enough to regroup and recruit, of course…but it won’t be the same.
Last edited by bee1000n; Jun 26, 2007 at 06:41 AM.
Here's an interesting article - Tony Purnell's thoughts on F1's future tech. Have you read it? Waddaya think?
6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,522
Likes: 7
From: San Diego, CA
NOTE to Pacific time zone viewers: The race is on Fox on Sunday at 10 a.m. (Autoweek had it listed as live on the East Coast starting at 8 a.m EDT, not sure if that is still the case.)
Peter Windsor explained Ferrari's problems during the qualifying show today. Despite his comments earlier in the week about it not being surprising Ferrari isn't up to McLaren, today he revealed that he had known for a while that they had a significant accident in their wind tunnel. A belt broke, a model was destroyed, and significant damage was done to the tunnel. Ferrari requested he not disclose that, and he honored their wishes. His believes the accident hindered their aero adjustments for the low-drag North American circuits. Now that the F1 circus is back in Europe, they should be more competitive.
Peter Windsor explained Ferrari's problems during the qualifying show today. Despite his comments earlier in the week about it not being surprising Ferrari isn't up to McLaren, today he revealed that he had known for a while that they had a significant accident in their wind tunnel. A belt broke, a model was destroyed, and significant damage was done to the tunnel. Ferrari requested he not disclose that, and he honored their wishes. His believes the accident hindered their aero adjustments for the low-drag North American circuits. Now that the F1 circus is back in Europe, they should be more competitive.
Last edited by bee1000n; Jun 30, 2007 at 10:13 AM.
Yeah, it's one of those rolling road tunnels and wasn't it the rolling road belt itself that broke? Imagine the damage that could be done if one of those things broke loose near 180mph or so. 
5th Gear
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 603
Likes: 1
It certainly has been a much more interesting year than the past few. Hamilton just seems to have an extra edge in the reflex dept over the " normal " F1 driver . Once he gets more time in that seat he will be tough to contend with. It will be like the " glory " days when Mike was winning everything and the interest in F1 started to wane . Winners are great until they start to win TOO much. Time will tell.
4th Gear
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 385
Likes: 0
From: Los Angeles
Interesting to note that the Mercedes package finally packed up on Alonso today.
I'm sure this is somehow Kimi's fault! (Sorry . . . I've been waiting all year to throw that one up!)
My sympathies for Fred . . . I'd rather see he and Kimi go at it from here on out.
I'm sure this is somehow Kimi's fault! (Sorry . . . I've been waiting all year to throw that one up!)
My sympathies for Fred . . . I'd rather see he and Kimi go at it from here on out.
Alonso still gets to start 10th. Should be interesting to see how far he can move up.
Heidfeld looked a little off, maybe because of the back issue. Kubica has to carry the flag for BMW!
Heidfeld looked a little off, maybe because of the back issue. Kubica has to carry the flag for BMW!
[quote=bee1000n;1601578]NOTE to Pacific time zone viewers: The race is on Fox on Sunday at 10 a.m. (Autoweek had it listed as live on the East Coast starting at 8 a.m EDT, not sure if that is still the case.)
quote]
It's live on F1.com!! watch it by timing and chat....
quote]
It's live on F1.com!! watch it by timing and chat....
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 541
Likes: 0
From: Motor City, Detroit, Michigan
It's still early but damn the Ferrari's are faster than the McLarens who are making an extra pitstop 
I guess the tables have turned and Ferrari is back
Maybe Ferrari would have done better if they didn't have that big wind tunnel accident.
Go Heidfeld go
I guess the tables have turned and Ferrari is back
Maybe Ferrari would have done better if they didn't have that big wind tunnel accident.
Go Heidfeld go
6th Gear
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 38,578
Likes: 2
I hope so...that'll make things very interesting. It'll be fun watching Alonso try to fight his way to the front, too!! Kubica seems to be in an interesting frame of mind given all he's been through recently.