A new season of F1 is upon us once again, with the first round coming next Sunday in Australia. New rule changes have caused radical redesigns to cars (which I think are fugly) with lower front wings. Driver wise, many new drivers are taking to the grid, while a former champion returns after a stint in rally. As far as tracks go, the United States returns (so long as the track gets finished) at a new course in Austin, Texas, while the Turkish grand prix disappears. But the questions we all want answered; will Vettel continue his dominance with Red Bull, or will McLaren, Ferrari, or another team take the head of the field? We find out next Sunday!
This year's drivers and teams
Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber McLaren: Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button Ferrari: Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa Mercedes: Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosburg Lotus (formerly Lotus Renault): Kimi Raikkonen, Romain Grosjean Force India: Paul di Resta, Nico Hulkenburg Sauber: Kamui Kobayashi, Sergio Perez Toro Rosso: Daniel Ricciardo, Jean-Eric Vergne Williams: Pastor Maldonado, Bruno Senna Caterham (formerly Lotus): Heikki Kovalainen, Vitaly Petrov HRT: Pedro de la Rosa, Narain Karthikeyan Marussia (formerly Virgin): Timo Glock, Charles Pic
Schedule: March 18- Australia March 25- Malaysia April 15- China April 22- Bahrain May 13- Spain May 27- Monaco June 10- Canada June 24- Europe (Valencia) July 8- Britain July 22- Germany July 29- Hungary September 2- Belgium September 9- Italy September 23- Singapore October 7- Japan October 14- Korea October 28- India November 4- Abu Dhabi November 18- United States November 25- Brazil
This just in! The French Grand Prix is to return next year at the Paul Ricard Circuit and stay on for odd number years until at least 2021. [url]http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/99130[/url]
NICE! That's a great circuit! I've heard the rumours about that already, but now it's confirmed I guess! =)
Also... I heard that the F.I.A. is currently testing a 'roll bar' for the Formula 1 cars, to be positioned on the nose of the car instead of a polycarbonate wind shield or cockpit...
(Polycarbonate cockpit...)
Still... I can imagine how this will increase the safety, but it will give major issues with the visibility of the track in front of the driver! Wonder how they are going to tackle / solve that problem then! (o.O)
Still... I can imagine how this will increase the safety, but it will give major issues with the visibility of the track in front of the driver! Wonder how they are going to tackle / solve that problem then! (o.O)
Ouch, the drivers are going to love this when they race under artificial lights at night. :O
@ SSTG : Oh yes... reflection off of the shield solution is a killing sideeffect! And with those speeds it will be like a stroboscopic effect I bet! (o.O)
Well a new Grand Prix... A new qualification... A new pole sitter... Maldonado did great and... WAIT! WHO?! Maldonado?! Where did HE come from all of a sudden?! The Williams was a car fitted to be in the sub-top field and that's it... but POLE?! Man... if this is the way the season will continue, then we need at least 24 races to make everybody win one and then count who has the most 2nd places! LOL Well, congratulations for Pastor and he deserved it then! I wonder what the race will be like then! =D As for the other surprises out there... Button (car balancing problems), Lewis (not enough fuel - disqualified), Webber (error in judgement) and Massa (traffic... uhuh...), I think we might have ourselves a nice race on our hands here people! Lots of faster drivers mixed in a field of semi-fast CAN make for an interesting race, BUT... if someone decides to make a 'Trulli Train' then we're looking at a parade again I'm afraid! Let's hope not! =/
Some short other news I picked up...
According to Bernie, the Spanish Grand Prix will be held in Barcelona in 2013 and in Valencia (shame) in 2014. They will be switching every other year, much like the two German GP's did with Nurnberg and Hockenheim. =)
The French GP however, is a loose topic once again! Where it was first aknowledged that it would be held at the Paul Ricard circuit... they now announced that nothing was certain and no deals were made yet?! That ever turning, flipping, amazing, flabbergasting, surprising, changing world of Formula 1... tsk tsk tsk... (o.O)
I'm looking forward to today's race! I won't be able to watch it untill I get home tonight due to work, but still... Schumi has a good chance with choosing strategy over good qually result and thus saved an extra set of tyres, smart! We'll see... GO SCHUMI!!! =)
Wow, 5 races, 5 different winners. We can't ask for a better season so far. Too bad Alonso destroyed his tires near the end but I must say that Ferrari should be thankful to him because he's an exceptional driver and he has brought them back in the game solely by his driving ability and determination. This guy is great under pressure. I just hope they are not going to betray him the way they sabotaged Schumacher's last good years. Speaking of Schumacher, he disappointed me again. Will he ever get a podium before it's too late?
MacLaren screwed their chances again by not putting enough gas in Hamilton's car during Q3.
Also congratulation to Williams and Maldonado for a great come back and his first win in F1.
Overall, it was an exciting race at time. I can't wait for the GP of Monaco next.
Tell me about it!! With 5 Grand Prix races we have 5 different winners, making this the most exciting season opening for several years passed! If this continues, it will be one of the best F-1 seasons ever if you ask me! =D
It was a race of ups and downs, with Hamilton having a down with loosing his pole, but making this an up with finishing in 8th position after starting from the back position! Massa was looking good during the race but failed in the end with a massive dissapointment finishing in 15th position... A big surprise from Williams who provided Maldonado with a Grand Prix winning car, something I surely wouldn't have expected a week ago and of course, the fantastic effort made by Maldonado with winning the race without making so much as a tiny mistake! Great job! And to end with a down... Schumacher is punished with a 5 position grid penalty for his share in the crash between him and Senna! WUT?!?! (o.O) I feel like they massively screwed him with that as I personally think he had nowhere to go when Senna swirled allover the straight leaving him no room to choose a side at that speed!! Granted, in the past Schumi might have been quicker to respond, but still... punishing him for something he couldn't avoid is putting a dark mood on this great season for me... =(
And about another down during this Grand Prix... what about the huge fire in the Williams pit?! It was explained as a problem/explosion coming from a battery which quickly hit a fuel tank. 31 persons were injured to some degree and 7 of them are still at the hospital for treatment. The F.I.A. is conducting an investigation together with local authorities to see what went wrong there... a bit of a sad ending to a great day for Williams... =/
Let's hope Monaco will be a revenge for it's former king... Schumacher! God, give him a break man... =)
Ohh my MrDayCee likes this thread huh well these races are my favorite type of car races and I have to get on the plane sorry have to finish this comment...
Finally, Michael Schumacher has prooved that he's still someone to recon with during the qualifying of the Monaco Grand Prix! Pole position!! =D
But... alas... due to his (in my opinion unrightful) grid penalty -because of his collision with Senna at the Spanish Grand Prix 2 weeks ago-, he is starting from 6th place instead of the pole position and so... Webber has the first starting position tomorrow... =(
Qualifying results Monaco Grand Prix :
# Driver - Team - Time ------------------------------------------------------ _1 Michael Schumacher - Mercedes 1:14,301 _2 Mark Webber - RedBull-Renault + 0,080 _3 Nico Rosberg - Mercedes + 0,147 _4 Lewis Hamilton - McLaren-Mercedes + 0,282 _5 Romain Grosjean - Lotus-Renault + 0,338 _6 Fernando Alonso - Ferrari + 0,647 _7 Felipe Massa - Ferrari + 0,748 _8 Kimi Raikkonen - Lotus-Renault + 0,898 _9 Pastor Maldonado - Williams-Renault + 0,944 10 Sebastian Vettel - RedBull-Renault 11 Nico Hulkenberg - Force India-Mercedes + 1,120 12 Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber-Ferrari + 1,207 13 Jenson Button - McLaren-Mercedes + 1,235 14 Bruno Senna - Williams-Renault + 1,408 15 Paul Di Resta - Force India-Mercedes + 1,417 16 Daniel Ricciardo - Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1,577 17 Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 2,584 18 Heikki Kovalainen - Caterham-Renault + 2,237 19 Vitaly Petrov - Caterham-Renault + 3,103 20 Timo Glock - Marussia-Cosworth + 3,646 21 Pedro de la Rosa - HRT-Cosworth + 3,795 22 Charles Pic - Marussia-Cosworth + 4,175 23 Narain Karthikeyan - HRT-Cosworth + 5,009 24 Sergio Perez - Sauber-Ferrari
Schumacher is not alone btw... Maldonado has been given a 10 position grid penalty as well... reason is still not known, but will probably be explained later on today. =0
Well, the Monaco Grand Prix gave us yet another different winner. The threat of possible rain kept things interesting thru to the end. A pity to have Grosjean and Schuey have problems so early on, they would surely have been around the front too. First 4 separated by 2 seconds. Is it possible we could have yet another winner in the next GP? Grosjean, Perez or Schuey or a Force India are all quite possible.
Why are there not more posts toasting Webber's win at Monaco? Or am I the sole Webber fanboy here?
Haha, I kid. Fantastic season so far, and yes Mark was lucky to snag the pole at the expense of Schumi (who ended up having some kind of fuel pump problem and had to retire). Hamilton's day was disappointing (to have a decent pit stop only to be pipped by both Alonso AND Vettel because they had even better pit stops!!!), but not as disappointing as Button's... I think his post race interview is the closest he's ever come to pointing the finger at another driver, and that's saying something! The weather had me sweating a bit, like it did everybody really, and was probably the biggest contributing factor to the close finish!
p.s. DC, the video links were taken down due to copyright, but I really want to know what they were all about!
Anyways, this season had been amazing. Who'd of thought that the first six races would each have a different winner? I'd love to see Schumi back on the top step of the podium (or on the podium for that matter), but with his luck, that doesn't look likely. Congrats to Webber on his win, just wish I could of seen it. Then again, being at Indy over the weekend I'd say is at least a little better
As for the next race, I think that Lotus could win. They have one of the fastest cars in a straight line, and since montreal is such a fast course, they could have an advantage.
Yeah it was nice to see some old guys getting pole (Schumacher) and Webber winning! I actually thought the race was boring until the last 10 laps. I'm a little bummed that they didn't show the flag girls very much and the princess (so hot) wasn't in the royal box. Next stop Montreal (where I was born). I know this circuit so well from riding my bike on it for many years.
The season has been GREAT so far! In terms of different winners that is... I was really hoping for a win for Schumi this time as he once was the King of Monaco at some point... but I guess I'll have to wait untill further on in the season! Meh... =/
Webber did an outstanding job btw! Flawless race to a sure win! Third Red Bull Monaco win in a row in fact! Next year Vettel? *grins*
@ Strop : I'll give it another try here and also on your profile, so let's hope it works... just B QUICK to watch them before they are deleted!!! M-kay?
And I'll toast to Webber's win! If anyone deserved it, it's him! He's closer to Vettel as he ever was in the rankings for the championship... only thing is that Vettel can calculate...
The season has been GREAT so far! In terms of different winners that is... I was really hoping for a win for Schumi this time as he once was the King of Monaco at some point... but I guess I'll have to wait untill further on in the season! Meh... =/
Webber did an outstanding job btw! Flawless race to a sure win! Third Red Bull Monaco win in a row in fact! Next year Vettel? *grins*
@ Strop : I'll give it another try here and also on your profile, so let's hope it works... just B QUICK to watch them before they are deleted!!! M-kay?
And I'll toast to Webber's win! If anyone deserved it, it's him! He's closer to Vettel as he ever was in the rankings for the championship... only thing is that Vettel can calculate...
A few weeks have passed and therefor some latests developments in Formula 1 before the start of the Canadian GP tomorrow... =D
# There are new rumours about a Grand Prix being held in Mexico in the near future! The 'Hermanos Rodrigues' circuit near Mexico City is said to be scouted... Perez might get his own GP then! =D
# Strong rumours have surfaced upon Hamilton leaving McLaren at the end, or even before the end, of this season. Rumours are stated by french journalist 'Jean-Louis Moncet' who claims to have an anonymous but very reliable source within Formula 1. (o.O)
# Sadly, also reports of two deaths of former F-1 drivers during the last weeks... -'Roy Salvadori' died last week Saturday at the age of 90. He was an F-1 driver from 1952 to 1962 and started in 50 Grand Prix', best result was a 2nd finishing position in the 1958 German GP. -The driver who then held the title of oldest F-1 driver alive, 'Paul Pietsch', died on May 31 at the age of 100 years. His F-1 career was from 1932 to 1936, 1937-1939 and 1950-1952. His best result was a 3rd place finish in the Italian GP. -The title for oldest living former F-1 driver now rests with the 95 year old 'Robert la Caze'. He started his only Grand Prix in 1958 at the Marocco GP.
# Williams testdriver Susie Wolff, wife of Williams board member Toto Wolff, thinks that there will be another female driver in F-1 within the next 10 years. She stated in a BBC interview that more women will start to come forward to claim a seat in the top of motorsports. Let's see what the future brings, maybe Danika Patrick will switch to F-1? =)
# The Mercedes GP team still prefers Michael Schumacher to keep driving for the team. Ross Brawn states that he still provides a vital key to the team's progression. They don't have any intention of looking for replacement drivers, unless Schumacher decides to retire early, in that case they have a shortlist of possible drivers. But this is all not an issue as Schumacher has not decided to call it quits.
Anyone excited for tomorrow? McLaren is looking good, but so is Ferrari... =)
