Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

The red button is working well on VM, what do you think of the Radio 5 commentary option? Not sure what the CBBC stream is ?

Not sure which commentary stream I prefer, nice to have the choice though.

Best of all, NO ADVERTS, although I could with a pit stop myself.....busting for a p ;)

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Well the safety car has enabled me to have a pee, refill my cup of tea and even feed the dogs ;)

Forgot about the R5 commentary...Tnx for reminding me :)

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Ferrari+KERS+ Restart = ????

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

"The brakes just went crazy and I spun" yet another excuse from N.P.jr...He paniced when Rosberg got a bit to close :D

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Buemi P7 Bourdais P15

How long before Bourdais is "Rested".........

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Nice bit of action at 14 - 12 laps to go...

Raikonnen spins and nearly hits the wall, Massa has a problem and cruises round to retirement and then Button has a bad pitstop with problems with a stuck tyre and fuel hose

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

What a result .......

OK not quite a result yet

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

3 laps to go, Kubica (3rd) attempts to overtake Vettel(2nd), Contact, both get away with damage and then both spin off within 100-200 meters, Safety car out so the race will finish behind the SC, a one-two from brawn (Jenson wins, Rubens 2nd) due to the accident, pleased to say that the race wasn;t as one sided as the practice times suggested..

Want a suprise though..Hamilton is third :D

---------- Post added at 08:36 ---------- Previous post was at 08:34 ----------

Weird, Hamilton is down in 4th??? Not sure what's happening there as he was 3rd when the SC was deployed

---------- Post added at 08:40 ---------- Previous post was at 08:36 ----------

Makes me laugh, during the after race lap they're listening the Jenson's radio and they camera shows a fan with a large union flag on a pole, I do wish if people are gonna fly the flag they get it the right way around!!!!

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Trulli on the podium after starting from the pitlane, thats a good result as well.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

All in all a good race, some great driving, some good excitment and probably one of the closest races for a long, long time (even though the final few seconds were dominated by the SC)

Well done guys

:clap::clap::clap::clap:

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Time to make breakfast for the rest of the family :)

I have had an uninterrupted race, its the least I can do.......:angel:

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

A thoroughly enjoyable race, one I'll definitely be downloading overnight before going home early tomorrow morning, and the right result IMO, Brawn GP had the legs on the field, even with the safety cars.

Need breakfast and a pee - took a toilet break before the lights went out!

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Second that, Wonder if Kubica and Vettel will send each other birthday cards! Looked a bit fifty fifty to me

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Interestingly, if the controversial diffuser design some teams are using is judged illegal at the FIA appeal, then Lewis Hamilton will be handed the race win.

I'm happy with the result as it stands, wander how long Brawn can stay ahead though.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Concerning Vettel/Kubica it looks like Vettel kept on the power trying to stave off Kubica and then realised that he wasn't on the race line for the corner so went too heavy on the brakes. Just a driver error than a deliberate move..

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Still, Kubica could have given far more room than he did, as Vettel was given next to no room to make the corner!

Both should be rapped for going flat-chat through T3 and wrecking their cars too, basic errors.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

But you can't blame them for wanting to carry on the race with only 3 laps left ;) especially as with the debris alone they left behind on the first contact the SC might have been deployed...

Kubica though did have the position when Vettel braked though they were level at the point of contact... Perhaps Kubica thought he had the line.....

Anyway I'd give it 50/50 as Vettel was also at fault for carrying way to much speed when he was off the racing line

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Hamilton got THIRD :clap:, Trulli got a 25second penalty which knocked him down to 12th, he was judged to have overtaken Hamilton whilst the safety car was on the track. Toyota are appealing the decision...

Further to Bransons sponsorship he's now looking at a buy-in for joint ownership of the BrawnGP team

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Has anyone else noticed that the new commentator sounds like Stuart Hall off 'It's a knockout'!

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Branson now looking at buying into the team.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Vettel has been given a 10 place grid drop for the next race. I just viewed it as a racing incident, he tried to defend a position but had no grip so ended up sliding into Kubica. it is called motor RACING after all

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Yep, posted that two posts before yours ;) :p:

---------- Post added at 15:23 ---------- Previous post was at 15:21 ----------

He left it well too late to brake as he was off-line for the corner..Kubica isn;t entirely blameless but the more I look at the replay the more I'm convinced that Kubica had the racing line...

But they're both paying for it now after losing 8 and 6 points each

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

well with hindsight he could have braked sooner but it wasn't like he deliberatly said he was going to brake late and cause a crash it was just a driving error when he was under pressure, hence I didn't agree with the penalty

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

This was a motor racing incident why not leave it there, they will both learn from it and get a real ear bashing from their teams.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

I enjoyed the race today, went down to the wire. It's still to be seen whether the cars are now more stable when following another, we haven't had any proof yet I don't think.

Hamilton got lucky imo, 18th to 3rd due to other peoples mishaps. Gotta give him some credit though, he drove a bad car well.

Well deserved win today for BrawnGP. Hope they can keep it up for next weeks race. Bahrain will be totally different than todays race.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Nice to see it back on the Beeb, never watched a full race, let alone a season, since ITV got it, terrible coverage.

Forgot how good F1 is, still not a lot of overtaking, but there was plenty of stuff going on to compensate (still not keen on races being won in the pit lane)

Question. What was the thing he kept banging on about with the battery level? I forget the name of the tech. Seems like it increased BHP in spurts.

Finally have something to do on Sunday afternoons again.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Some of the cars are now running KERS( I think it stands for Kenetic Energy Reclamation System) that stores energy under braking into batteries and then release it as short spurts of powers (a maximum of 6.5 seconds a lap)

It's supposed to help increase overtaking in the sport..

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Kers, or Kinetic Energy Recovery System . A system which enables the cars to recover some of the energy used while braking and use it for other purposes, thus using the energy more efficiently.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

KERS = Kinetic Energy Recovery System. A dynamo recovers the energy from braking, and stores it in a battery or a flywheel. The only KERS in the field at the moment are battery ones. Gives 82 bhp for 6.6 seconds per lap, as the driver sees fit to use it. Possibly worth a row off the startline and half a second a lap in the right places. The downside is the weight of the system (30kg ish), so some drivers are disadvantaged with it, Kubica for instance.

To counter that, one thing I think they could do for 2010 to promote KERS usage in more cars is raise the minimum dry weight of the car including driver to something like 625 kilos.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

With some drivers it's not just total weight but actually weight distributions... The new design means that the more weight forward the better the car is, as Kubica and webber are quite tall it means a lot more weight further back and the KERS goes in the mid/back part of the car as well..

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

KERS, that's it.

Can find loads about what it does and how, but not how that 82Bhp is put back, what does the power from battery do when they push the button?

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

A dynamo is basically a motor, if you turn the spindle (i.e. Under braking) it creates electricity, where if you take that electricity and put it back into the dynamo it turn the spindle by itself..

Hence the power you make under braking can be put back in to the drive train..

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Hey, I know what a Dynamo does, I am not as thick as I look :D

I am not Mechanically inclined though, so is it like a clutch, they press the button and the Dynamo grabs the wheel and spins it? Or is it getting the extra power to the wheels in some other way?

Suspect I am as thick as I look :dunce:

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Probably via a viscous coupling...

PS..if you were thick then you'd be from somewhere like Manchester ;)

Now can Kymmy sneek away from the thread without admitting that she's a manc!!!

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

I am about 15mins away :shocked:

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

close enough.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Not only is Kubica tall, but he's the heaviest driver in the championship too. Him & KERS makes the car too heavy for his and BMWs liking. KERS alone weighs 30 kilos.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Well I can't find anything to explain how it gets the extra HP to the wheels, just how the tech works. And I have no idea what a viscous coupling is, it sounds rude though.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

I see the team got a 50k fine for Vettel's 3 wheels on my wagon driving, was he really trying to sneak to the finish under Safety car no overtaking?

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Does anyone know why the teams are forced to use 2 different tyre compounds, I cant see the point ?

If the teams were given a choice if they wanted to use either tyres that would make more sense.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Pretty much spot on, although I 'm not sure there is actually a clutch. It would be simpler to have a permanent connection to the other end of the crankshaft to the gearbox. You could then use the control unit to either switch between generating mode and power delivery mode. In between braking and acceleration phases it is possible that by controlling the field strengths in the Motor Generator Unit (MGU) you have have almost zero drag whilst reducing the complexity and weight by eliminating the clutch.

Hope this helps...........

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

it was Bridgestone's idea as they are the sole supplier of tyres now. As such they would only get publicity when a tyre blew up or failed. This why they are still in the public eye each race so it helps them.

I have to say i'm fed up with all this strategy as 9 times out of 10 all the teams do the same as there is always one way that is quicker than the others so all the teams do that

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

To make it more interesting and make strategies more different. Softer tyres are quicker but don't last as long so allow a driver to go light on fuel and have a quick stint

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Hmm, I don't think the fourteen other cars in front of Hamilton were put out of the race, or made so many mistakes that he gained those positions by default. If he did, it proves he is a better driver than them all. I think it's justice for the crap he had to deal with last year. It's about time he gained from the stewards instead of losing.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

A brief history of tyres:

Back in the good old days, there were qualifying tyres, super soft, super sticky, and they only had one good lap before they were gone - the team with the best qualifying tyre performance qualified high, but could be well out of place compared to race performance.

With the end of those, and to avoid softs being turned back into qualifiers, teams then had to qualify and race on the same grade of tyres - not sure if they could still run soft and a hard tyre on the corner with the most wear (in some earlier rules, teams could and did). Another thing from the good old days was hand-grooved soft slicks, when the intermediates were rubbish.

Another set of rules that didn't last very long, was the no tyre change rules, with one set per race, change without penalty permitted only if there was a puncture or other unexpected damage.

What was wrong with the old "choose the right tyres", as opposed to "choose the right time to run the wrong tyres".

You know what I'd like to see back? the good old "Quali Hour", but with just one change, a "use them or lose them" countdown of laps with time, to force some action throughout the hour - eg. Start with a maximum of 15 laps, rather than the old 12, but lose 1 from that maximum every 5 minutes.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

correct, as far as I know - and Bridgestone used to produce 'bespoke' qualifying tyres for Ferrari in those days also ???

However the current regs forcing teams to use inappropriate race tyres is a nonsense, in my opinion - so long as all teams would have to use the same soft tyres for qualifying, why can't they all use the same hard/medium ones for the race ?????

- i.e. have a choice, not be forced to use a tyre that will grain within 3 laps, it adds nothing to the racing, just puts it back to tactics, which is not what I (as a spectator), want to see ???

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

agreed i'd like them all on the same tyre for the race and just have to deal with it. I as I said above Bridgestone came up with this so that they would still get something out of the sport otherwise they would only be mentioned when there was a tyre failure.

What the FIA fail to realise is that whenever they come up with these strategy things there is always one way that is quicker and all the teams do that with no variety, although the first race this season seems to be an exception to that.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

On subject of tyres. If i remember right Jenson Button car seemed to run smoother and better than Vettel's who seemed to be struggling on them. Tyres can be quite a factor could be one of reasons why it compulsory to run the super soft.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

OK lets change the topic...

Firstly Rosberg is now blaming twilight races for his problems...I really do think that guy needs to go and race touring cars or something instead!!!

And the next race is nearly upon us

Malaysian Grand Prix


Kuala Lumpur, 3-5 April 2009

Friday 3
First practice: 1000-1130 ( 0300-0430 BST)
BBC coverage (UK): 0255-0435, Red Button/5 Live sports extra/online
Second practice: 1400-1530 ( 0700-0830 BST)
BBC coverage (UK): 0655-0835, Red Button/5 Live sports extra/online

Saturday 4
Third practice: 1400-1500 ( 0700-0800 BST)
BBC coverage (UK): 0655-0805, Red Button/5 Live sports extra/online
Qualifying: 1700 ( 1000 BST)
BBC coverage (UK): 0900-1130, BBC One/5 Live sports extra/online


Sunday 5
Race: 1700 ( 1000 BST)
BBC coverage (UK): 0900-1200, BBC One/Red Button/5 Live/online.
Interactive forum on red button/online: 1200-1300.
Highlights: 1900-2000, BBC Three/Red Button/online

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

If i remember right kymmy, Rosberg did not do that well last season let me check.

Yes 17 points for the whole season 2008 he managed 6th in the last race. Think he could class that as a good result unless williams are expecting better with the diffuser system which might be banned after the next race. (i doubt that will happen)

I don't post often been posting quite a bit lately but i bored and forced to take holiday don't get sick pay.:rolleyes:

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Hamilton dq'd and Trulli promoted back to 3rd.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ne/7978186.stm

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

OMG!!!!

I'm a hard core F1 fan, have been for the last 20 years...but this is getting rediculous...I'm seriously wondering why bother watch a race if the result isn;t going to be the result :(

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

It seems miss information was provided by Hamilton and MCLaren, but it is getting ridiculous. Now MCLaren will appeal and it all goes round the houses again, and they wonder why viewers numbers are dropping.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Given all the resources of the FIA why don't they simply mandate that all teams provide unedited radio and telemetry data?

For McLaren it was damn stupid to try it on, even fourth would have been a major result from where they started. I am disappointed that they didn't come clean. :nono:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74146

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

I love F1 but I am slowly struggling to be able to call this a true sport. Whats the point in spending a few hours watching what might not be the result? With all the technical monitoring of the teams and track how do the FIA not really know what happened until half a week after the race?

At the rate things are going they may as well pick names out of a hat and have done with it. That'll cut down the teams budgets!

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

FOM have access to all the radio traffic now including Ferrari who didn't used to make this available.

As for telemetry I think this should be available as they now use the McLaren ECU on all cars.

I think they need to have a cut off point and after that all results should stand

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

It beggers belief that it takes this long to sort it all out, what chance the casual punter understanding this.

M

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Make that 35 years and I am gutted, it is now pointless, [sorry for the pun] to watch F1.

I am very sad.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Full details on Autosport.

Radio Transcript
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74159

FIA Position
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74160

The transcript shows that McLaren and Lewis were confused

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Hamiliton disqualified for misleading the stewards then! What a shame the team should have been honest when the stewards asked whether he had received an instruction by his team to let Trulli passed! Basically they got caught lying :(

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

But why would he let Trulli past, if Lewis was already in 3rd place behind the pace car, it makes no sense ? and why would Trulli overtake under the pace car as he knew he would be punished ???

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

This is my opinion.

Next week the defuser teams with be found to have illegal defusers and stripped of there points, this would have meant that Hamilton would get 10 points Ferrari intrnational Assitance can't have this. So find an silly excuse to strip him of his points.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Or put it another way: If Ferrari don't score points, or do score but lower down the point scoring order, then the race results stands for nothing. The FIA seem to be hell bent on making sure that if Ferrari don't figure in the points, then no driver who has a chance of the championship can either.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Well this sounds fair enough

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Not sure if it was a deliberate attempt or just a massive c**k up. The radio transcript clearly shows they wanted to play it fair, it seems the rules are so complicated:confused: It looks like its cost Dave Ryan (McLaren sporting director) his job, after nearly 30 years with the team.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74180

I dont think anybody wanted that. This is a low point for F1 when will be able to concentrate on the racing !

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

I stopped watching FI when ferrari ordered barrichello to pull over and let schumacher through a few years ago i thought what a farce.

Sadly the days of real racing are long gone in FI, the Lewis incident just being the latest example sadly.:(

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

that won't happen as the FIA have already said the points from the first two races will stand.

If you read the radio transscript Hamilton clearly states he let Trulli back passed as they were too afraid they might get penalised for passing under the yellow

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Looks like it was a deliberate desicion to be shall we say "vague".

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74202

Its just sad............................................... .......

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

And to top it all off Hamilton's now been fined €1200 for speeding in the pitlane during practice :(

Anyway Ferrari has topped practice with redbull coming in strong as well.... Jenson is already down to 7th and Lewis is 11th

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

The Ferrari International Assistance are having the time of their lives this week aren't they. I read in the paper today that they were considering kicking Hamilton and McLaren out of the whole 2009 season. How the frigging hell can that be justified? The Spy Gate saga was a lot more severe than overtaking under the safety car and withholding/misleading the stewards. It's becoming a joke, it really is.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Malaysian GP Qualifying results:

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

These may be the results now but the Ferrari stewards could change them !

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Why's Hamilton 13th .... I thought he was banned?

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

No, just lost the points from the last race.

Formula1

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

Ahhhh .... cheers.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season
 

I've changed the thread title to include a spoiler warning so results/times may be freely posted without spoiler tags

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

Less than 2 hours before the race

Latest weather forcast from the Sepang site is as follows

So that means prospects of a crazy mixed up race which could be anyones :) :D

---------- Post added at 10:18 ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 ----------

Getting back on the KERS topic...I personally think it's a great idea but why the hell only 6.5 seconds wort a lap??

Wouldn't it have been more in the spirit of a green F1 if they'd restricted the battery/flywheel size and said design the most efficient system and use it how you want??

---------- Post added at 10:37 ---------- Previous post was at 10:18 ----------

Ferrari international assistance have thier work cut out for them this year as Raikonen gets full wet tyres...whilst it's still totally dry!!!

What is Ferrari playing at?

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

Yep, not 2/3rds distance so they all line up behind the SC on the grid to see if conditions improve

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

I've never seen this before.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

Waiting for weather to improve to resume the race.

Half points if they stop it now.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

No restart, Jenson wins!

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

And 2nd place for Hamilton ;) That's if the diffusers are rulled illegal...especially as BMW have today joined the protest against the Brawn, Williams and Toyota diffusers

---------- Post added at 12:02 ---------- Previous post was at 11:56 ----------

And yet again they alter the result with Hamilton down from 6th to 7th so Hamilton would be 3rd if the other three teams get kicked

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

Malaysian GP race results:

The race was Red Flagged with 24 laps to go due to a truly heavy downpour of rain. It was so bad that the drivers couldn't see where they were going properly at 20MPH and they couldn't even keep up with the safety car.

The race results were taken from the last lap the leader of the race passed the finish line, which was lap 31.

1st: Button (5 points)
2nd: Heidfeld (4 points)
3rd: Glock (3.5 points)
4th: Truli (3 points)
5th: Barrichello (2.5 points)
6th: Webber (2 points)
7th: Hamilton (1 point)
8th: Rosberg (0.5 points)
9th: Massa
10th: Bourdais
11th: Alonso
12th: Nakajima
13th: Piquet Jnr
14th: Raikkonen
15th: Sutil

Vettle, Buemi and Fishicella spun off due to the rain and couldn't get out of the gravel traps.
Kubica had to retire on the first lap due to an unsafe engine.
Kovalainen span off on the first lap.

Now because the race was halted before they completed 3/4 of the race distance, the points awarded are only half points.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

Does anyone know who did the song at the end? Its an accoustic cover of Rhianna's Umbrella.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

The FIA have already stated if the diffusers are ruled illegalthen the results from the first 2 GPs will stand.

I though the same as you about KERS. if all the teams can only produce the same BHP and for the same amout of time then it is basically a spec part. They should give freedom to this then the teams will make it lighter and get more engery back then it might end up efficient and small enough to be used in the road car industry

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

Umbrella cover by Biffy Clyro from Radio 1's Live Lounge.

I think it's available on one of the Live Lounge CDs.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

If that was the case then the appeal process would be stopped now instead of going ahead on the 14th April.

If the car is deemed illegal in any way then the results will be altered, the FIA can't pre-judge

http://fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pre...ica280309.aspx

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

They have said they stand because the cars have been ruled legal so they are racing legal cars. The results would be changed if the cars were illegal but running under appeal.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

Cheers mate :clap:

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

If the appeal states that the diffusers are illegal then they have to remove thier points, otherwise anyone could sneak in an illegal car and as long as it's not caught until after the race they'd get to keep the points..

They can;t deem a car legal for the race and then part of the car illegal for subsequent races under the same rules..

Perhaps it's gonna turn into yet another FIA mess :(

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

this one won

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brabham_BT46

but was held to be illegal after but its race win stood

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

Yep, but the fan was protested against and rulled as non-competative after the event..

Three teams have appealed against the FIA decision before the Aussie GP with another team adding thier weight before todays race, surely if thier appeals are held then the rulling has to be set from the date the appeals were filed...

As I said though if FIA allows the race to stand if the diffuser is illegal then it'll be another nail in F1's coffin :(

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

i don't think so as they were passed as legal by the race stewards the appeal is against that decision but that's not the same as if the cars had been ruled illegal by the stewards but allowed to race under appeal

so the ruling though it might over turn the stewards desision wouldnt affect the out come of those races just future ones

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

What is happening with Heikki Kovalainen, one lap would be good !

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

I think with the new so called harmony between the teams with FOTA the FIA have actually made a good decision this time and ruled that the results from the first two races will stand. This is the best decision as the casual fans have already seen the results of those races and they have already been changed too many times as it is. i think the teams will stick with that ruling and realise it is for the best. if it is ruled illegal then the 3 teams will design a diffuser, if it is legal the other teams will copy it.

Whether that is or isn't legal going by the current rules I think the teams will stick to the outcome and accept that with no appeal or changing of results.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

What do we think of these "twilight" races ?

My opinion is that the sport should revert to afternoon races whatever the time zone. In Australia the low sun angles seemed to compromise the TV pictures and it was hard to spot the different cars. I'm not sure about the rest of Europe but with the improved TV coverage on the Beeb and more TV channels to show programmes "as live" I dont see the problem.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

The amount of channels is not really that relevant. The main problem is that (for sponsorship reasons), F1 needs a lot of viewers. This isn't gonna happen if the countries with the largest potential audiences are in darkness when the races happen. The hardcore fans will happily stay up, and some others will happily record it to watch later, or use services like iPlayer, but they also need the viewers who might just glimpse it while channel surfing.

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

I think this is something where F1 needs to look into why on earth they are going to these places in the first place. How many Renault cars are actually sold in Bahrain or Singapore ?

The core market for F1 is Europe, despite is being a world championship, and so that is where the viewers come from. As such they try to shift the races to get as many of us to watch it. Surely the solution would be to have more races in Europe. There was loads of empty space there as none of the locals could even afford to attend the GP let alone buy a car by Ferrari or BMW

Re: Formula 1 2009 Season [may contain real time spoilers]
 

I don't know, but it's not only about selling cars. It's also about getting the sponsors names into as many countries as possible.

Also, there is the cost of hosting a race. Singapore and Bahrain can afford to do so. Can the european countries who aren't hosting one afford to? Can any of the countries hosting one afford to host two?