All F1 2004 Discussions

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by homealone

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

come on montoya



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

[paulyoung666]

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

[Nor]

fell asleep half way through the first session gah.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by Nor

fell asleep half way through the first session gah.

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

Originally Posted by Nor

fell asleep half way through the first session gah.

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

[Nor]

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

[DrAwesome]

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

[paulyoung666]

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

[DrAwesome]

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

[DrAwesome]

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?

[paulyoung666]

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

[iadom]

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.

[paulyoung666]

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

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

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

hey, you're right

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

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

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

[paulyoung666]

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