The 2011 Formula 1 season is now but 3 weeks away. Already there has been drama, with the cancelation of the Bahrain grand Prix. This season is shaping up to be great again though, with multiple teams in contention and plenty of great drivers, as well as the introduction of adjustable rear wings and the reintroduction of the KERS system. So, what do you think about the season. Until the season starts, this thread shall be for prediction and general pre-season discussion.
And as an extra, the current driver line-up for the season.
Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber McLaren: Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button Ferrari: Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa Mercedes GP: Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosburg Renault: Nick Heidfeld, Vitaly Petrov Williams: Rubens Barrichello, Pastor Maldonado Force India: Adrian Sutil, Paul di Resta Sauber: Kamui Kobayashi, Sergio Perez Toro Rosso: Sebastian Buemi, Jamie Alguersuari Lotus: Jarno Trulli, Heikki Kovalainen HRT: Narain Karthikeyan, TBA Virgin: Timo Glock, Jerome d'Ambrosio
remember, last year Alonso started out meh, though he did win in Bahrain. As the year went on, he caught up and came so close to winning the championship. **** Renaults.
He said that he still think he can win the championship because the Ferrari team is improving
Alonso is still relatively high up in the standings, only Vettel is really far ahead. Vettel's season last year was mercurial: when he wasn't retiring or crashing into his teammate and the McLarens, he was winning. I'd say he's on a real roll, but he's very young and his nature can't have changed all that much... the question is how long can it hold up.
Either that or we are witnessing the start of an era of one of the greatest F1 drivers ever on the planet among the likes of Aryton Senna.
But getting back to Alonso, that podium in Istanbul was extremely encouraging for them. After Melbourne they wouldn't even have dared to dream that this was possible.
Either that or we are witnessing the start of an era of one of the greatest F1 drivers ever on the planet among the likes of Aryton Senna.
He still have a long way to go before catching up to Michael Schumacher.
Anyway I can't wait for the next Grand Prix in Barcelona and after that it's Monaco! I really like this race. BTW, any of you watch Le Tour De France? (someone should create a thread on this subject) They did have a stage in Monaco in 2009. That was nice.
Main thing I'm looking forward to in the next race, watching Kobayashi do his overtaking thing on a track that usually does not have a lot of overtaking.
Strop I take that you don't like Schumacher? I've been a big fan of him because he crushed Damon Hill and David Coulthard which I think were BORING and the only reason why they were always 1 and 2 is because of the superiority of the William cars back then. Michael's Benetton wasn't as fast but he helped develop it until he kicked their butt. He also won practically every thing and also has almost all the records. Senna was good but he wasn't as complete as Schumacher.
Senna's career ended up too soon and in a stupid way unlike Mark Webber who had a few scary back flip and didn't even break a toe and Kubica who totally destroyed his car in Montreal in a horrible crash and he survived. Remember Gilles Villeneuve? He also died in a terrible crash.
I think that if a great driver should die it should be in a massive crash or explosion, not from a **** wheel breaking their neck.
Reminds me of how Massa almost met his maker in 2009.
Mark Webber who had a few scary back flip
Strop I take that you don't like Schumacher? I've been a big fan of him because he crushed Damon Hill and David Coulthard which I think were BORING
Well, F1 was pretty boring when it was just Schumacher at the top, plus that phrase, "doing the Schumacher", plus the rule of "one defensive maneuver per corner" being implemented due to his driving conduct, which didn't stop him from almost deliberately running Barrichello into the wall last year. His car being twice as wide as it actually is would be a charitable way of putting it. I'm sure he's a great driver, but it's always tainted by that less-than-sportsmanlike conduct.
Then again I'm a bit like that, in my own racing gaming and in real life I like strategic maneuvers and clean passes. Pressure should not come from the real threat of a crash, but that uneasy sensation that you can't shake the driver behind you and they're just waiting for that one mistake. That's why the McLaren battles are so much fun. Then again I'm also a big fan of Kobayashi's "I don't care who or where you are I'll give you a go anyway" approach!
Webber broke Vettel's pole streak! Vettel lacked KERS in Q2 and Q3, and Webber came up with the goods... now we turn our attention to the race.
Okay here's my prediction for tomorrow. Vettel is going to crash into Webber making him lose first place, then Hamilton and Alonso will become 1st and 2nd, then Webber will come back and it's going to be a fight between those three. Meanwhile Vettel will sit on the side of the road thinking how immature his move was.
plus the rule of "one defensive maneuver per corner" being implemented due to his driving conduct,
That wasn't as bad as Gilles Villeneuve holding 6 faster cars behind him way back when. It was like watching a train of car.
which didn't stop him from almost deliberately running Barrichello into the wall last year.
Yes that was pretty bad but don't forget that Senna did it to Prost and vice versa, so great drivers are sometimes a bit crazy in the heat of the moment.
which didn't stop him from almost deliberately running Barrichello into the wall last year.which didn't stop him from almost deliberately running Barrichello into the wall last year.
He only ran him into the grass.
Reminds me of how Massa almost met his maker in 2009.
And that was only a spring from a car. Anything larger and it would have been curtains for Massa.
Now for the race prediction.
I believe that Red Bull will continue their dominance of the season, weather it be Vettel or Webber winning the race. Hamilton or Alonso will end up finishing in third, and the rest of the positions will be fairly random. F1 bores me at times only because the same person wins over and over and over and over and...
