All F1 2004 Discussions
 

The 2004 season starts this Sunday, there are new rules, new cars & new drivers.

So, has anyone any thoughts on how it might go? Another Schumacher title? Raikkonen to fulfil his potential?

I thought the 2003 season was much better than 2002 and hope this year will continue that trend - no 'launch control' & only being allowed one engine per race should make things interesting.........:)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

If you ask me another Schumacher title, but I have a feeling the Montoya could give him a good challenge.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

If its yet another M Shumacher title i wont bother watching formula 1 ever again, its getting boring with the same person wining each year :zzz:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

I think Montoya will be out to win it too, the interesting thing is how his intended move to Ferrari, next season, will influence his 'relationship' with Schumacher on the track.

The other issue at the start of the season may be how the new Ferrari & new Williams compare - the changes to the new Ferrari are allegedly less radical than those to the new Williams, so reliability may be a factor?

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

I'll be watching F1, qualifying runs from 02.30 on Saturday morning but if your still inspecting your eyelids for cracks at that time it's repeated at 13.30.


link to all the latest F1 News

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Errrrrrrrr - isn't Montoya going to McLaren? :pp Hang your head in shame, my little friend :waving:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

JPM certainly has gone to McLaren

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

:blush:well spotted that man - head hung as instructed tallboy:pp

@ Dr A - I'm not sure if I'm going to like them running both qualifying sessions on the Saturday, we'll see...........- think I'll be going for the re-run, though:)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

montoya is the one this season , mind you , keep an eye on alonso , i reckon we will see very good things from him this season :)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Renault have lost some of their advantage with the removal of launch control - but Alonso did have some cracking drives last season:)

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Raikkonen, seeing as he ran Schumie so close last season?

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

F1 used to be good until they brought in all the crap laws and regulations. imho

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

At least they've removed launch control this season. Now all we need is rid of traction control and the gear assistance. There are too many aids on cars these days and it means there aren't many errors which = hardly any overtaking. Remove the aids and hopefully we'll see racing like we used to, just abit faster.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

I think taking away some of the driver aids is a good thing, I actually prefer watching CART or Indy (on street circuits, anyway) as they seem to be more about the drivers skill, than a 'battle of the gadgets'.:)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

F1 is ok, but for the most exciting racing you can't beat World Superbikes or MotoGP, just my 2 penneth!!

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

definitely go along with that :tu:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Here is a quick guide to the new F1 season...

Race Weekends

Gone is private testing on Friday. Instead the bottom 6 teams will be allowed to run 3 cars in 2hr-long practice sessions.

Also out is the Friday qualifying session.

Replacing it is a 90-minute session split into two with just 2mins between each session. The 1st session follows the same format as the previous Friday qualifying: drivers will run in the finishing order of the last race (Suzuka 2003 for Melbourne 2004).

This session determines the running order of the 2nd session with the slowest driver going 1st.

With just 2mins separating each session those teams at the bottom, or any drivers who make a mess of the 1st session, will find themselves with just a few minutes to prepare for the season all-important session that determines Sundayââ‚Ã⠀šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s grid positions.

Teams like Minardi will therefore find themselves having to re-fuel & decide on their race strategy within minutes while the top teams like Ferrari will have much longer to go through the options.

Just like last year, when the drivers have completed their second qualifying run their cars will be impounded in parc ferme until Sunday morning.

Calendar

The F1 calendar has been extended to 18 races (there were 16 in 2003).

Back is the driversââ‚à ‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ favourite Spa after a year-off and joining the calendar are 2 new venues in Bahrain (4 April) & China (26 September).

Technical

The One Engine Rule

The biggest change to this yearâ₠¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s technical regulations is the introduction of longer-life engines.

Put simply, a driver must use the same engine from the start of Friday practice to the end of the race.

Should he need a change at any point during the weekend, he will be penalised. If the change is made before qualifying, he will be dropped 10 places down the grid, after qualifying & he will have to start from the very back.

The change effectively means the lifespan of an F1 engine has been doubled from around 250 miles to nearer 500 miles.

Most engine manufacturers have managed to incorporate the changes into their existing engine architecture but Renault have decided to axe their revolutionary wide-angle power unit in favour of a more conventional layout.

Needless to say, the new regs are bound to play into the hands of those teams with good reliability records †“ such as Ferrari who did not suffer a single engine failure in a race last year.

Aerodynamics

The changes made to aerodynamics for 2004 are generally designed to increase sponsor visibility rather than curb performance.

The minimum sizes for the engine cover & rear wing endplates have been increased, giving teams more space to plaster their backersââ‚à ‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢ logos across the cars.

One other change has been made to the aero regs - the number of rear wing elements that teams are allowed to run has been reduced from 3 to 2.

Electronics

Launch control has been banned, a move that is likely to cost Renault most dearly as their system was widely regarded as the best in the pitlane last year.

Automatic gearshifting has also been outlawed, meaning drivers must now change up and down manually.

PERSONNEL

Zsolt Baumgartner †“ Minardi

While not necessarily †œnewâà ƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚¬Ã‚ÂÂ� to the F1 world, this 22-year-old deserves a welcome. In 2003 Baumgartner drove two races for Jordan (Hungary & Italy) to replace the injured Ralph Firman. He becomes the first Hungarian to race in the F1 World Championship.

Gianmaria Bruni †“ Minardi

Another driver who is not quite new having driven for Minardi in last yearâ₠¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s private test session on Fridays. The Italian impressed talent-spotter team boss Paul Stoddart who quickly snapped up †œGimmiâ € � for a full-time drive this year.

Giorgio Pantano †“ Jordan

This 27-year-old Italian is said to be bringing £3milli on with him to Jordan, but heââ‚ ¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s not a bad driver either. He was the German Formula 3 Champion in 2000 & was runner-up in F3000 - F1ââ‚ ¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s feeder-series †“ in 2002. Up against team-mate Nick Heidfeld in winter testing he doesnââ‚ƚ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢t seem to be a bad choice at all.

Christian Klien †“ Jaguar

Klien replaces Briton Justin Wilson at the Big Cat & the pressure will be on for him to produce the goods, or be chucked out like the previous incumbents. The 21-year-old Austrian brings $6million in sponsorship to the team, courtesy of energy drinks giant Red Bull. But heâ₠¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s also quick. In his first test for the team at Valencia last year he was just 0.1s shy of Mark Webber†™s fastest lap.

Other Drivers (Musical Chairs)

Giancarlo Fisichella & Nick Heidfeld swapping seats apart, few drivers moved between teams during the winter break although Takuma Sato & Felipe Massa both find themselves back in race drives after spending 2003 testing.

Behind the scenes, however, there were a number of high-profile comings & goings.

Hardest hit were Renault, who lost technical director Mike Gascoyne to Toyota & aero boss John Iley to Ferrari. The latter replaces Nick Tombazis, who is moving to McLaren.

Renault promoted Bob Bell into Gascoyneââ‚à ƒâ€šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s old role while they have lured Rob White from Cosworth to take charge of their Viry-Chatillon engine operation.

James Robinson, formerly of BAR, is Jordan†™s new engineering director.

Goodbye to:

Heinz-Harald Frentzen has said goodbye to F1 to embark on a new career in the DTM while Jacques Villeneuve is taking a yearâ₠¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s sabbatical. Jos Verstappen & Justin Wilson also find themselves out in the cold, after losing out on drives at Jordan & Jaguar respectively.

On the technical side, Ferrari engineer Pino dâ₠¬ÃƒÆ’¢â€žÂ¢Agostino has quit to take up a new role at Fiat while BMW boss Gerhard Berger has also formally quit the sport. Jordan engineering boss Gary Anderson has gone into semi-retirement.

Toyota team boss Ove Andersson has stood down, & his duties will now be carried out by chairman Tsutomu Tomita.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

I read in the paper at the weekend that, because of the switch to only being allowed to use 1 engine from qualifying onwards, if someone crashes during qualifying they will have to have the engine transferred to the spare car - should be interesting if they hit a tyre barrier and end up with the engine on their lap :spin:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Actually I thought Sundays World Superbike race in Valencia was a bit 'ordinary', (good for Toseland, though ) - but in general I agree with you. :)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

excellent :tu:


i assume the gearboxes are still paddle shift jobs , and not stick shift like they used to be :)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

IVe not watched in the last two years. Got fed up with the predicatability of it all. I signed up for NASN and am now an avid NASCAR fan, close racing 43 cars in a race and different winners every week, you cant beat it. Takes a while to understand the lingo and the tactics though but well worth it in the end.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

funny , i thought the same , maybe it was the rain that calmed it down a bit :shrug:


@ gary_580 , i dont mind nascar myself , i wouldnt pay for nasn to watch it though , there is a fair amount of it on motors tv on sky digi :)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

NTL dont do Motors TV. I dont mind paying for it because the race is on live which is good sunday evening entertainment. Plus i watch a lot of hockey and baseball too. I think NASN is probably watched in our house for about 40-50 hours a week which is pretty good value entertainment for £9.99

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

put that way then you are not wrong , i had a feeling about the ntl not having that channel thing :(

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

yeah, the wind didn't help, either, very difficult conditions for the riders.

Nascar, hmmm, I just don't like watching racing on oval tracks, I can see the appeal to others, but I prefer say Laguna Seca and Nascar don't do that.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

NASCAR only do 2 road circuits which is silly really as ive seen many driver interviews where they say the enjoy the chaleenge of road circuits. Trouble is road circuits arent as good for the spectators that are there. (or is it the rednecks that just dont understand turning right?)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

A hybrid course, like they did at Indianapolis for F1 would be ok.:)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

One snippet from the new regulations that I was already aware of, should make interesting reading to those who denigrated the performance of automatic gearshift in the thread on the topic.

Automatic gearshifting has also been outlawed, meaning drivers must now change up and down manually.

Or, the cars that have fully automatic transmission have a speed/ acceleration advantage, therefore it has been removed.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

was it just me , or did the tv coverage seem a lot better at indianapolis last year , compared to other circuits :shrug:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

it's a good thing, I reckon, putting more onus on the drivers skill, not the software engineers.

Now if they would also ban carbon brakes & thus get the braking distance into the corners extended, we might see more competitive racing that way, too.:)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

And they should make them wear leather flying helmets and goggles.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

IMO one area where they could make noticeable changes is with pit stops (and, no, *not* spinning the driver around three times!)

Firstly, because of the changes to refuelling, it's that which usually governs how long the pit stop is going to take, meaning that unless something goes wrong, the time taken to change the tyres is much less relevant.

Secondly stops can now have up to *eighteen* people working on or around the car which, I'm afraid to say, is an accident just waiting to happen. Some day someone is going to make a wrong move and there's going to be big trouble.

I think that F1 should look at the Indy Car stops where you can have a maximum of *five* people over the pit wall, this would not only make it safer, but would mean that tyre changes etc would become much more relevant again.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

spot on imho :tu:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

I agree - 18 is too many, going down to 5 may be a bit too draconian, but I would support fewer than 18, e.g 2 per wheel, 2 refuelling, front, rear & 'lollipop' - 13.:)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

maybe , why not go to 5 nuts per wheel like nascar , that would spice it up :D :D :D :D

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

And nascar limits the peopel that can go over the wall to service the car so that you can only change 2 tyres at a time

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Since they started changing the rules F1 has become mundane and boring.
What happened to the heyday of F1 when Nigel Mansell won it then left to go win Indycar.

I dont know what to say is the reg the ruined it but the governing body has really screwed up.

As for the threats the FIA make to the UK, stuff em. If they threaten the future of British F1 then we should boot em out.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

IT was boring thne too, how many races did mansells team wi htat season. Just face it F1 is NOT a competative form of racing. Never will be untill the teams all use the same chasis or controlled engines. F1 is bascially a pay for a trophy championship

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Why not have one proper race from start to finish without stops, and one time trial between the pit crews to see who is the fastest.:rolleyes: :)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

One of the problems with F1 is that most tracks do not have many, if any, overtaking spots for todays cars. Maybe redesigning tracks and also making them wider would give more opportunity to overtake.

Another idea could be to have two shorter races at each venue. The first race having the grid decided as it is now and the second race having the grid in reverse order to the first.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

I think that's still too many. Ok I agree with two on the fuel rig, because they're damned heavy, the lollipop guy is needed because he's the one that controls the whole stop, but I think one jack man and max four wheel changers would be sufficient for a total of eight.

I also think that the crew should not be allowed outside the garage until the car actually stops in the pit, rather than having them all waiting in the pit lane for a pretty long time until the driver pulls in.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

That's a good point, on some tracks there are only one or two places where a serious overtaking manoeuvre can be attempted and most of those involve trying to out-brake the other car.

Isn't this the sort of thing that's done in Rally Cross events?

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

The first point was why I suggested going back to steel brakes (as used in Indy cars), as the increased braking distance would give more opportunity for that kind of manoeuvre, the current brakes are so good that the cars are virtually at the corner before they need to apply them.

- and I really miss Rally Cross on the TV:)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

miss rally cross full stop , used to go to croft to watch it , wicked racing , good point about the steel brakes btw :)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Here we go again, Schumacher. M has bettered the Albert Park lap times on four separate occasions over two free practise sessions.:cool:
He said that the 2004 Ferrari is the best car they have produced.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

and as Barrichello was second, it looks like Ferrari do have the initial advantage :(

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

come on montoya :D :D :D :D :D :D



i must admit , it looks grim atm , who is going to stay up and watch qualies then :D :D :D :D

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

button on the second row of the grid , i reckon it is going to be a good race tomorrow :)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

fell asleep half way through the first session gah.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

i was just glad i managed to get my video to record it through sky digi :D :D :D

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Well if you read this in the next 20 minutes the full Qualifying Sessions are being repeated on ITV 1 at 13:30!

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Aha nice one thanks :) Will watch end of Man Utd and should be at where I left off last night with the racing.

F1 to hold off on changes
 

F1 to hold off on changes

F1's controversial new qualifying format will not be changed for at least the next two races.

The new system, in which drivers have 1 lap in each of 2 back-to-back sessions, has been heavily criticised.

A spokesman for F1's governing body, the FIA, said it was "too early" to make changes, & that it would be looked at after the first 3 races.

"Many people didn't warm to the changes in 2003 at first but the season turned out to be one of the best," he said.

The spokesman added that the change had been prompted by the F1 team owners.

"Just to be clear, this was something that the team principals discussed at length in their own meetings and came to us and said: 'This is what we think,'" he said.

Renault team boss Flavio Briatore is one of several influential F1 insiders who have criticised the new format.

"It's rubbish. It's too long for TV & makes no sense. It needs to be changed. It's stupid for us, stupid for the spectators," Briatore said.

The criticism has been heightened by the fact that Ferrari dominated the 1st race of the season in Australia on Sunday.

The one-lap format was introduced last year, when one session on Friday determined the order in which cars ran in the decisive Saturday session.

For this year, the Friday session has been moved so the 2 sessions run back-to-back.

Cars go out in the 1st session in the order in which they finished the previous race.

The order from the 1st session is then reversed to determine the slots for the final run.

The FIA spokesman said: "It would be inappropriate to act until we have seen how it works over a few races.

"Once we've looked at it & there is a consensus among the stakeholders in F1 & the fans, then we will consider the issue."

All important link :)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

interesting , looks as though they think they have made a complete **** up of it but want ppl's opinions of it , i must admit i thought it was good , even if the race was utter sh1te :( , time will tell i suppose :)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

F1 cars achieve mind boggling speeds & prodigious cornering forces by combining the latest technology in several different fields.

Click here to find out how it all works (just click on each section of the cars design & the links blow it)

Coulthard bares car's flaws
 

Coulthard bares car's flaws

Coulthard & Raikkonen struggled with their cars in Australia McLaren need to improve their car in every area if they are to catch Ferrari, David Coulthard has admitted after the 1st race of the season.

"We have the infrastructure to get it right - getting it right in time is the issue," he told the Daily Telegraph.

"It's not rocket science. We need more power, more aero [performance] & more mechanical grip. The car is just not fast enough," Coulthard added.

The Scot was an uncompetitive 8th in the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.

McLaren were off the pace all weekend in Melbourne, & their misery was compounded when Kimi Raikkonen became the race's 1st retirement, with engine failure after 9 laps.

McLaren chairman Ron Dennis has called his top personnel to a crisis meeting this week to try to resolve the problems with the MP4-19 car.

Coulthard said McLaren's difficulties in Australia were compounded because they and tyre supplier Michelin had chosen a tyre that was too hard for the unexpectedly cool conditions.

That played even further into the hands of Ferrari, who use the rival Bridgestone tyres, which were better suited to cooler weather.

The temperature dropped from 37C on the Wednesday before the race, when the tyres were selected, to 19C on race day.

"We got it wrong, simple as that," Coulthard said.

"Bridgestone turned up with a brilliant tyre here, helping to make an already strong package even better."

That, though, does not explain why McLaren lagged some way behind other top Michelin teams like Renault & Williams.

Dennis said: "I am absolutely sure we have the resource & expertise to resolve the issues. How fast, we will have to wait & see.

"We do know where the weaknesses are".

"The performance of all the Michelin runners will be better in Malaysia. But Ferrari are in a league of their own at the moment."

All important link :)

After watching Ferrari dominate the race in Australia does anyone think McLaren can catch Ferrari this year?

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

mclaren catch ferrari , uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh no , i reckon williams or renault are the best bet , and i also think montoya is making a big mistake going there :(

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Good programme for F1 geeks tonight on BBC4 at 8.30PM, repeated at 12.30PM.

It is about Alex Zinardi, don't think it is a repeat.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

and lo and behold itv are not screening the malaysian qualies live , we have got to wait until 13:30 for the highlights of it because it is only a 2 hour program with 2 1 hour sessions squeezed in , bluddddddddddy typical aint it , now i am going to have to avoid anysort of news until then so it dont get spoilt for me :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

hey, you're right :(

why don't you just tell the kids to be quiet & stay in bed :D

I have that dilemma for the race, get up at half 6 or wait till 2 :dozey:

Seriously, I wonder what that does for the sponsors, can't see them being happy with less coverage?:erm:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

iirc , one of the things when itv took itover from the bbc was they were going to show the the lot live , didnt work out that way did it :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

ITV-F1.com have closed the F1 forum

26th February 2004
Notice to Messageboard Users




It is with considerable regret that we announce the closure of the ITV-F1 messageboards with immediate effect.

We remain committed to providing the best F1 news and view on the web and continue to offer readers the opportunity to voice their opinions in our Talkback section.

The ITV-F1 website

I remember last year when ITV decided not to broadcast a live qualifying event many F1 fans were up in arms & expressed their disappointment on the ITV F1 forum & ofcourse the ITV F1 website couldnt handle the bad publicity as all the papers covered it as F1 fans were clearly upset.

anyway i have sent the ITV F1 Team an email which reads

Dear Team

Its a real shame that ITV can not show all live F1 qualifying events, F1 fans are forced to avoid the news and the papers till the repeat qualifying on Sat 13:30.

The BBC when they aired F1 covered all the live F1 qualifying why cant ITV?


One disappointed live qualifying F1 fan

I wonder if James Allen, Martin Brundle, Louise Goodman, Ted Kravitz, Jim Rosenthal, Tony Jardine or Mark Blundell. will read my email out live on the programme.. :)

If anyone wants to send any F1 questions the email address is

asktheteam@ITV-F1.com

From the ITV-f1.com website
During the ITV-F1 television programmes the team will answer some of your questions live on air. Please bear in mind this is not always possible due to scheduling pressures.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

well i have just sent one , so we will have to wait and see wont we :D :D :D :D

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

me too:)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Well the much warmer conditions seem likely to make this race more competative, the Michelin shod cars are performing better, DC beat Schumies first QT.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

do you know if anyone has tried a Ferrari on Michelin, round that track - if tyres are the critical factor, it is time for all teams to run the same one:)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

To take that hypothosis to its logical conclusion, they should run identical cars, not as much fun for the advertising men, but a true test of who really is the best driver.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

it would be interesting - put shumie in a jaguar, renault or bar - lol:)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Anyone registered ITV-F1HELL.com yet...?! :D

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

i am tempted :fit: :fit: :fit: :fit: , i bet none of the letters get read out :mad:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

just got a feeling that schumacher was running a very light fuel load , nice to see webber in 2nd place though :tu:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

allegedly because they got scared by the Renault times in the first qualy session. Shame Alonso spun out on the crucial second sesh :(

really nice to see Jaguar doing well, great lap by Webber :tu:

- be interesting to see what Ferrari are doing with tactics, Barrichello looks like he is carrying more fuel?

Bridgestone showed they had a good 'one lap' tyre for the hot conditions, I wonder how durable it will be, over a longer distance. Shumacher seems to be set for a 3 stop & Barrichello a negotiable 2 or 3 - could be interesting:)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

i've sent an e-mail too mostly the same as the others
imho this afternoon's coverage was rediculous, they spent a whole 5 minutes showing the first session, with barely more than 10 seconds on each car and not everyone was shown. Yet they wasted 20minutes sitting outside talking about stuff nobody cares about. More action less reaction please itv.
BBC were great at F1 and C4 were good at WRC can they have them back please as your programes are pathetic in comparison.

K

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

ITV, AFAIK, do not provide the actual coverage of the Qualifying sessions or Race. They buy it in from a local TV station. If this is actually the case, they don't actually have much control over how long each car covered.

Regarding the race. It was not a suprise to see Ferrari doing well (they have done well so often I actually have started to get bored), but it was a very nice surprise to see Jaguar do well. I was impressed by Williams as well (together with McLaren, Williams are my personal favourite team).

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

And the theme tune was much better too. My PC boots up to the piece from Fleetwood Mac used by the BBC for F1. I sit there imagining all the cogs and gears in my PC slowly coming to life.:cool: sad I know but so what.:pp

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

New engine rule.

I was wondering..........

Instead of sticking with the same engine all through the GP weekend as required by new rules, could it be advantageous for a team to go to the back of the grid and change their engine for a shorter lifespan but higher powered race only engine? Might this not be worth a 1 or 2 secs per lap advantage? :dozey:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Aha.. "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac..

*leaps around the room doing Air Guitar movements..

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

I think Martin Brundle pimped Ernies tv company during the qualy highlights, didn't he ;)

:rofl: - with ya there, Stu :)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

well , i am certainly looking forward to the bahrain gp , should be interesting to see what will happen about the sand on the track :erm: , apparently the attempted glueing down of it has been less than succesful , should make it interesting to say the least :Yikes:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Shame, no half naked women and no champers shower at the end.;)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

i thought that was supposed to apply in malaysia as well :confused:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Interesting article here from the business pages of the Telegraph.

If this takes of it could settle a few arguments as to who really is the best driver.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai...31/ixcity.html

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

only just found this htead so i thought i'd my 2 penneth about the problems on Formula 1 at the moment.

The main problem is the refueling and the pitstops. This is mainly down to Max Mosley who likes the Chess strategy nature of Formula 1. It was introduced because they couldn't get any action on the track to tried to create artificial action with the refueling. Now most of the race is decided by a spreadsheet before the race even starts !! How many times since then have you heard a driver say "I couldn't pass so decided to wait for the stops.". I've heard this phrase hundreds of times. But what if there were no stops if all the action took place out on the track they would be forced into have to try an overtaking move.

Problem 2 is all the gadgets etc on the cars and the rows and rows of computers monitoring them. With all this a driver doesn't even have to know if he has oversteer or understeer because it is all recorded for him. We need to remove all the sensors from the cars so that it is all down the the driver rather than computer data. That way the driver has to know what the car is doing and work this out with his engineers for the setup rather than using a computer simulation. if more emphasis is placed on the driver then a good driver even in a Minardi can make a difference at the moment it's all down to software and aerodynamics so even if Schumacher was in a Minardi it wouldn't matter much.

There's other things as well like going back to clicks and smaller wings but just these 2 things would make a huge difference. The problem if they done that then the technology would be less which would mean the car manufacturers would get less out of the sport and want to spend less money on it or pull out altogether. You just can't win sometimes!!

What i'd like to see is rather than F1 being changed make these changes to GP2 ( currently F3000). There is less media intensity here and can be changed and experimented with. if they could do all the things the fans and F1 purists want here and then show to the F1 teams \ manufacturers what it has done to the racing etc then they would be forced into implementing it.

Sherer

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Half an hour to go, strong winds, light rain, overnight sandstorms, should make it interesting.:cool:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

funny i was thinking much the same , it should be interesting to say the least , especially with some potential front runners being at the back of the grid :Yikes:



edit :- raining again , this is gonna be well interesting i reckon :disturbd:

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

The live timing at www.formula1.com looks interesting

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

ok schumacher won , but ......................



go button go button go button go button go button



nuff said :D :D :D :D :D :D

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Interesting ? you're having a laugh, just give schumacher the title and be done with it. Saves tons of petrol in the long run.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

but looking into the future .................... , button on the podium 2 times in a row , now surely that has to say something ;)

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Anyone want to buy a Mercedes, needs slight attention ;) :D

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

one half of engine needs slight attention :D :D :D :D :D :D

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

apparently it wasn't an engine problem.. if you look into what the teams and manufatures say there hasn't been an engine blow up for any team in about 3 years it's always some other problem

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Am I the onyl one to find F1 so INCREDIBLY boring, now that Shuhi keeps winning?.... :zzz:

I can't stand him personally and think he's a terrible sportsman. BUT, he is the best driver in the world, and he's going to win the championship AGAIN...

Anyone else think he should retire after this season?

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

He should've stepped down and gone into another role within the sport

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Why? He is the worlds best driver in the worlds best car. There are still records to break. It is up to the rest of formula one to catch up.

I hope he carries on for a few more seasons yet.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

I don't think it's boring at all - okay, so Schumacher is miles ahead at the moment, but it's up to the other teams to catch up.

Yesterdays race was probably one of the best I've seen for a while - there were plenty of scraps thorughout the race (well done Button and Sato), and there were plenty of reasons why Ferrari are so far aheas - McLaren just don't have reliability at all and Montoya (it has to be said) was really unlucky.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

While I can see he is the best driver, having one person win all the time does make the races boring. Either he needs to step down, or one of the other teams needs to start winning. I think, if his luck improves a bit, Montoya has a good chance of winning a few races.

I have heard that F1 is losing viewers by the million because one person is winning the whole time.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

Ferrari Fined in Bahrain

[Edit]-DrAwesome-Post edited.

Ralf warned over Sato clash

[Edit]-DrAwesome-Post edited.

Despondent Trulli wanted more

[Edit]-DrAwesome-Post edited.

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

ohhh was there another F1 procession yesterday?

check out the nascar site and see how close the finish was AGAIN and after 500 miles

http://www.nascar.com/2004/news/head....ap/index.html

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

I'm one of them... I used to get up to watch the qualifying and race, regardless of time or country...now I'd rather go to the pub instead... :(

Re: Formula One Motor Racing
 

I've also given up watching it. :(

I find the comments regarding Michael Schumacher being the best driver interesting... How is it possible to judge who is the best driver when they drive different cars? :shrug:

Surely whoever is driving the fastest car will win? :)