Thoughts on the Australian Grand Prix

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Moderators: cmlean, Ed, The Qualiflyer, The Heretic

Driver of the day

G Fisichella
2
9%
R Barrichello
3
14%
F Alonso
12
55%
D Coulthard
3
14%
M Webber
1
5%
J Montoya
1
5%
C Klien
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 22

sourpuss
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Whacky Rules are 4 Fools

Post by sourpuss » Tue Mar 08, 2005 8:46 am

F1 is DOPE! However, these new rules are killing the integrity of the sport. Only one individual tire can be changed...I mean come on now!...what's the pupose of having these million dollar cars and all the technology if you can't maximize performance...pure knuckleheads running the FIA...while I can empathize w/ those who are tired of seeing Ferrari dominate the sport year in and year out, and let me preface this by stating my allegiance to Williams, I have come to respect and appreciate the excellence and outright perfection of Ferrari...these guys don't make mistakes...

This drive(no pun intended) for parity in F1 makes me sick being such an avid fan...this is the creme de le creme people, mediocrity should have not part in this...and this is what's going to happen...damn marketing and expansion...TV contracts get in the way as is the usual case...why don't they just strip the engines out and push them down a hill...

as for the race, great showing by Renault and the boyz...we all know they were on the cusp of good things last year...great chassis...My Williams crew seemed to get the job done until a 'get off my track' closeoff by the Bavarian Paul Bunyan...McLaren will have there spots this year but not many...and apologies for the length of the comments but can everyone please tell SATO that this isn't the amusement park any more...well, he has made me a bunch of $$ off side bets w/ my boyz everytime he steaks off the track - the over/under is usually 2x...time to start the tailgating for Malaysia, think I'll crack a tasty Tiger beer to feel closer to Lampur...

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Post by VTEC » Tue Mar 08, 2005 12:33 pm

Very dissapointed with the BAR Honda form. Seems they were conservative with their engine output.

Alonso had a good race and so did Barrichello. Fisichella wasn't under pressure so it was a bit easy for him.

Red Bull were certainly the surprise for me!

Sato has a bit of history with crashing but give the guy a break. He went off in really bad conditions.

I didn't like BAR pitting on the last lap to get new engines but as someone said others would have done the same thing!

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Post by Julian Mayo » Tue Mar 08, 2005 1:31 pm

I think BAR were only as conervative as they HAD to be :wink:
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Qualifying gave everyone their positions

Post by N. Jones » Wed Mar 09, 2005 8:12 am

Two day Qualifying - if it wasn't for that you would have seen Red in spots 1 & 2.

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Re: Qualifying gave everyone their positions

Post by JayVee » Wed Mar 09, 2005 12:08 pm

N. Jones wrote:Two day Qualifying - if it wasn't for that you would have seen Red in spots 1 & 2.
:?
And how did that affect the Reds more than say Alonso, Kimi or JPM ?

Pure speculation. Ferrari didn't show any of the spark they showed last year.


BTW: There was a Red in spot 2 :shock:
I'm back and yes supporting Alonso "The Cute" in the Ferrari!

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Post by Julian Mayo » Wed Mar 09, 2005 12:15 pm

I think he meant 1 AND Two, JV :P
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Post by JayVee » Wed Mar 09, 2005 12:31 pm

I'm joking about Trulli mate :shock: :shock:
I'm back and yes supporting Alonso "The Cute" in the Ferrari!

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Post by Graham Ross » Wed Mar 09, 2005 9:58 pm

I actually don't have a problem with the tyre rules. A single set per race will show us more of the driver's skill. Now they have to be fast and take care of their tyres. We saw Trulli and Villeneuve cook their tyres in Melbourne (ok I intentionally didn't mention Montoya :wink: ) and they struggled big time towards the end of the race. Alonso on the other hand was going the fastest yet he didn't appear to struggle with his tyres. Of course his chassis could be a factor but my point is the tyres will add more emphasis on driver skill and there is nothing wrong with that.

Sato will struggle. I agree!!

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Post by Julian Mayo » Wed Mar 09, 2005 10:28 pm

Last year Renault appeared to have a very good chassis, and they seem to have gone on with it. The cars looked smooth and balanced.
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Post by sourpuss » Thu Mar 10, 2005 1:16 am

you last to lads bring up good points on the tires...it will definetly be more driver skill at play, agreed!...this may hinder Kimi and JP for obvious reasons because of their aggresiveness...but, I'm a purist when it comes to F1, and its difficult for me to stomach this new rule...how can you expect a car to perform at its optimum taking 60 degree turns at 100+ mph while foregoing tire wear?

Malaysia wll be a good foreshadowing of what this new rule is all about...tight tack, few undulations...then Monaco and China...the performance at these tracks will result in another tire rule change for next year...I don't see teams able to deal w/ these specific tracks w/ one set...not that I'm a tire expert but common sense would seem to prevail here...I'll probably be eating crow on this one but I'll wait and see...

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Post by RE30B#16 » Thu Mar 10, 2005 10:34 pm

I felt this was a great start to the season! Toleman/Benetton/Renault has been coming on for a few years, and the team has IMHO the strongest driver pairing next to Schu/Barri. Fisichella is looking like a champion even if it is only the first race.

My hat is off to David Coulthard for a great race for Stewart/Jaguar/Red Bull. He is always strong in Australia, and despite fading at the end, no doubt due to tire wear, he made a point. I'm not a huge DC fan, but I do believe he is fast, an tough to beat on certain circuits. Altogether, it was a good weekend for Red Bull. Two cars in the points.

Williams need to find the balance. They seemed to have speed, but lacked that little extra it takes to battle. Webber/Heidfeld is a strong pairing and could produce major results if they get there cars dialed in.

What is going on with Jacques Villeneuve? He looked really fast until he passed Alonzo for what was I think 9th place, then he seemed to lose interest. This season will be more interesting that the last two seasons because drivers will have to work hard at balancing their cars to work well over full race distaces with the tire rule. This is most likely what happened to JV, Trulli, DC, Webber, and Raikonnen towards the end of the race. The Renault chassis and the Ferrari got better as the race wore on while the others got worst. It looked like Sauber was going to be in the points until half distance.

Jenson Button needs to demonstrate he can be a leader and pull BAR out of its sleepwalk. The team showed much more promise at the end of last year.

Toyota looked very promising if still inconsistent. They have drivers that can get it done. They simply need to concentrate on balance and sorting out their chassis. I think working for the Japanese team will be a good thing for Jarno Trulli.

Okay, I expected Minardi to be crawling around at back [although I like the scrappy little team], but Jordan [or whatever it is called now] looked nowhere to me. The cars look visably slower than everything else on the track. Two rookie drivers doesn't help either. Hopefully, this will not be the chassis they contest the entire season with.

I didn't appreciate Schumacher and Heidfeld just hoping out of their cars after what seemed like a non-terminal collision [it could have been much worse, but damage was limited to bodywork for the most part on both cars]. The engine rule seems dodgy to me, but, thinking positively, it will make for a different kind of drama over the course of the year when it may become more important to try and get a result than race one race while thinking about qualifying for the next one. ...AND I wonder if it's the fine Australian woman or the vegamite that gives Michael Schumacher his now legendary brain fade in the Australian GP. He has now crashed and taken out 3 competitors in clearly faster cars in Australian Grans Prix. Except for his extra titles [albeit in comparatively less competitive years], I guess he is no better than Prost or Senna.


Summary:
Already, this race was more interesting than all the races I saw last year with no one seeming to be able to challenge Schumacher except for Barrichello who was unwilling. Happily, there were more passes last weekend than I've seen for years in Formula 1. Passing on the race track is what the sport needs if it is to survive. I believe any device the disrupts the air behind a car should be banned. Having watched the sport for nearly 30 years now, I don't believe a ban of that nature will stunt progress and development. Thank goodness for drivers like Fernando Alonso who along with Mark Webber have burst onto the scene with racy, mature driving and purposeful career moves.

Chris [my future posts won't be as long]
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Fernando Alonso is currently the best... Period!!!


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(_!_) Inclined to get behind!!!

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Post by Julian Mayo » Fri Mar 11, 2005 1:14 am

:welcome: Chris. DC usually does well in OZ, as you say. It is something to do with leggy blondes and being relaxed. As I understand, his lady is a leggy blonde who enjoys the sun, and even Melbourne seems sunny compared to -2c. We all should know that if we are relaxed we drive faster( we don't overvdrive) DC, I believe was a classic example of that. He was in the groove, comfortable with what he was doing and that kept him smooth. And smooth is quick. Full marks (no pun) to Webber for not doing a desperate.Obviously, at least to me, DC rates MW as a thinker cos he was only just covering in the latter stages. TOLEMAN, you old coot, next you will be waxing lyrical about Repco-Brabhams, and 6 wheel Tyrells. Ive only seen photographs, and remember what my Dad said about those two!! :lol:
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Post by Swanny » Fri Mar 11, 2005 7:54 am

Good race I thought
DC did brilliantly, Alsonso was a star, Fisi drove a great race, Rubens seemed to just appear in 2nd at the end :)
But I dont understand what was going on with Kimi or MS??
I expected them to fly through the field :?

Dont like the one engine rule at all, MS BAR and others will have a new engine next week but they still have to make them last for 2 races where as the others will only have to make theirs last the race. If you a back runner you mite as well have a new engine every week and hope to luck into some points.
Makes it a joke really as its supposed to save the poor teams money.

One of the best mistakes MS has ever made, forcing a car onto the grass on the inside of a corner lol
But when he tried to get them to push him back on track like he did in France :evil:

by the way how did he ever get away with that in France????
Go Kimi

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Post by Graham Ross » Fri Mar 11, 2005 10:47 am

RE30B#16 wrote:Toleman/Benetton/Renault has been coming on for a few years, and the team has IMHO the strongest driver pairing next to Schu/Barri. Fisichella is looking like a champion even if it is only the first race.
First welcome Chris :wink:

Good post but the start was a shocker :shock: :shock:
Schu/Barri pair strong :? I guess for Michael it is as he knows he's got a teammate that he doesn't need to worry about :lol:
IMHO Montoya/Raikkonen is the strongest pair then Alonso/Fischella (not sure julian would agree though :shock: :shock: )


Villeneuve, we'll he's over the hill. He isn't fast anymore and cooks his tyres. He was heaps slower than Massa (who was the only car I think on a single stop). He should pack up and go look after his resturant.
Give Kovalinen a go, it would be fireworks between him and Massa

Engine rule sucks but it is the same for everyone. No team can risk getting penalised for a race but I agree, parking the car before the finish is WRONG and should be stopped.

Michael Schumacher takes out competitors in faster cars anywhere not just in Oz :twisted:

(RE30B#16 :?: is that a Honda engine :?: )

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Post by The Heretic » Fri Mar 11, 2005 11:01 am

On BAR and their sportsmanship, although I agree with most that was said, do not forget that there is big money at stake. Given an opportunity to start with new engines what would you have done?

If anyone should be blamed for it it is yet again the FIA. What were they thinking? Do they think?

On the qualifying issue I agree as well. I would think that the probability of the weather being identical on both days or even for the full qualifying period is low for all but a few circuits.

So the FIA made the rule without What If analysis? Why? What are they thinking?

So far the rules were supposed to slow the cars - Nada, by the end of the season they will be faster.

Tyre rules were supposed to slow the cars and improve overtaking - I thought this one could have a chance, but no.

If I thought the people at the FIA had enough intelect to read and write I may suggest that we send them a few suggestions like guessing at the consequences of a rule, but what is the point.

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