View Full Version : Australian Grand Prix
finally, the world's travelling roadshow is back after it's long winter hiatus with the Aussie GP, the first of what will be a record setting 19 races, the most ever in for an F1 season. this will be the last time the Aussie GP launches the season, at least for a year.
Ferrari is still the team to beat: they have the best driver, best car, best support staff, probably the biggest budget, and most vocal and noticeable fans (the tifossi), but they also are the most arrogant team in the series (even greater then Sir Williams' team). whatever people may think about Schumacher, he is the best, but greatness is never trully appreciated in it's time.
it will be interesting to see if all the driver changes from last year to this one will have the desired effect, namely to propel the new teams to victory. big names like Montoya, Schumacher (the younger), Webber, DC, Villeneuve, etc, will be expected to deliver results, or else. Toyota has to finally deliver after spending hundreds of millions with very little success, but i'm skeptical that Ralf S. is the man to deliver those results. maybe Montoya left a little too early from BMW, because McLaren seems to be in decline ever since Haikonen left (and i'm not a fan of Kimi).
will BAR, with the best driver in F1 to never win a race, Button, who is likely to depart after the season, be the team to dethrone Ferrari? i wonder if he will finally win. how will Red Bull fare, as well as the new Jordan, with two untried rookie drivers? these are just a few of the many questions that will be answered as the world's fastest soap opera begins this weekend. :D
Australian Grand Prix Preview:
http://www.formula1.com/race/news/2637/732.html
http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formula_one/news_Story.asp?ID=116627
http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=General&PO_ID=32159
not that many people would even notice or care, but Minardi may not be able to race:
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=32181
the new qualifying system, which will likely change once or more this season, is not really liked by the drivers. i still like the old system, with 12 laps and 4 flying fast laps:
http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formula_one/news_story.asp?ID=116898&hubName=auto_racing-formula_one
JV giving tips to Button? how about, "go for the $$, waste you career with a crappy team, then make a comeback" and more from JV on the lack of "heroes" in F1, as it has become coporate big business, where image is everything and personality is frowned upon, lest it puts the team sponsors in a bad light, and sales drop (because it's all about the money, selling cars, smokes, booze, or whatever else they can think of). JV is a "bad-boy" with attitude (or at least he was in the past), always shooting from the hip, saying whatever he wanted to, but at least he was interesting:
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=32182
http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formula_one/news_Story.asp?ID=116526
i hope Jacques does well for Sauber this year (the last year they're going to use Ferarri engines, likely to use BMW engines next season) because i've always cheered for him, even during the lean years with BAR, and as early as Champ car as he won the Indy 500.
Shamrock
03-03-05, 10:51 PM
yes, I did know about Minardi might not race...guess who is in the dorrway stopping them....good ol' Ferrari :\
NAZCA M12
03-04-05, 05:56 AM
Alright, looks like Minardi WILL finally participate on both Saturday's session and Sunday's race with their 2004 cars. That's more like it...
http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=78654
Who cares about Minardi. They should just quit formula1 for good as they are heffing useless
The more the merrier! erm I think! I cannot fathom how Ferrari and Ernie and Mosley will run F1 after 2006 is it? I will watch the rival series than a ferrari "agenda"ed F1 series.
The more the merrier! erm I think! I cannot fathom how Ferrari and Ernie and Mosley will run F1 after 2006 is it? I will watch the rival series than a ferrari "agenda"ed F1 series.
Same here muya but i have a feeling this rival series will not get off the ground as eddie jordan says.
well mate if you have the world biggest car manufacturer's backing the series..it might get off the ground ;)
Alright, looks like Minardi WILL finally participate on both Saturday's session and Sunday's race with their 2004 cars. That's more like it...
http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=78654i don't think they're racing.
http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formula_one/news_story.asp?ID=117035&hubName=auto_racing-formula_one
Ferarri was first opposed to them, then i read that it was Red Bull. then, all teams agreed to let Minardi race, but the race stewards said NO. Minardi then got a court order to race, but have backed down and won't race. i really don't care about the team, since they are backmarkers, but it's too bad that a little team like Minardi can't be given a little leeway, since they'd never factor in the results anyway.
the McLarens were fastest in Friday practice, but Schumi was close behind. the BARs and Toyotas were off the pace, Webber was well down, and, as usual, JV was way outperformed by his team-mate, and was 2 seconds off the pace! ( JV in in 16th, with Massa in 6th. oh well, some things never change). Red Bull and Jordan are at the back, where they belong.
http://www.formula1.com/race/news/2650/732.html
http://www.formula1.com/race/result/732/10.html
rain and auto racing: man, i love it. adverse weather conditions really throw a wrench into the best laid plans. ie, Massa is now driving, but he's barely moving, since he's on dry weather tires, and now Schumi is put on intermediates. the weather really is changing quite rapidly in Australia.
and JV, even though he spun on his outlap, still managed to post a time, and is fourth. poor Sato crashes again: the curse of JV still lingers at BAR?
Shamrock
03-04-05, 11:22 PM
Minardi passed the 2005 inspection, and WILL race....they qualified today (but man what a downpour!)
Minardi out qualified M Schumacher! :p
NAZCA M12
03-04-05, 11:29 PM
These are the first qualifying results:
http://www.f1racing.net/en/raceresults.php?racepartID=673
I can see the news headlines already: "Renault 24 seconds faster than Ferrari shocker" :p :p From what i've seen so far, everyone's driving like a p***y basically in order to save his engine. :thumbdwn: Can't really blame the drivers for that, but add to that the combined qualifying (who cares if it's gonna be replaced, i want to know who is the idiot who thought of that and who were the idiots who voted for it in the first place). Anyway, i suspect, though i'd love to be proven wrong, that's all the action we're gonna get in the race as well: careful not to break the engine, take it easy on the first part of the race so as to save the tyres (everybody will be trying to do it like Prost). Are those stupid ****s at FIA watching it? :mad: :mad: :mad:
Oh and Villeneuve has owned Massa for once :D Speaking of Massa, has anyone heard of the Bridgestone joke about him? Word has it, that while he was tyre testing for Ferrari, the Bridgestone technicians made a well-known trick and send him out with a new set of tyres asking him his opinion afterwards (he wasn't very pleased). Then, they told him they would fit a new, special construction for him and so they send him out again, what they had done though was equip him with a new set of exactly the same rubber. When he came out of the car, he said the "new" tyres were a big improvement hands down. :D :p :D
As for Minardi, if i've grasped the situation well, they have prepared an '05 compliant specification of the car but haven't tested it so they feel better with running the '04 car. They have brought untested '05 parts with them too, so it looks as if its more a question of what they'll be racing. They were precent in first qualifying (faster than Michael no problem :D ). Minardi for the pole. :p
well mate if you have the world biggest car manufacturer's backing the series..it might get off the ground ;)
Bernie owns the commmercial rights to all the tracks and i think eddie jordan knows a wee bit more about the sport he competed in than us mate ;)
NAZCA M12
03-05-05, 09:15 PM
Wow, what a fantastic 2nd qualifying we just witnessed. You all saw what the first three drivers did and quite rightly too, they were just protecting their cars and i think that was a great "up yours" response to the new format. Brave decision by Ralf and Toyota to go for a time that wouldn't benefit them really. Frankly, the most interesting thing for me was when i had a quick glimpse of the new ACS6 sitting on the pits. :D
Other than that, a very "interesting" session. You'd see a driver going half a second faster than the one currently on pole which would result in him grabbing 2nd (!) position thanks to the slower one having a better aggregate qualifying and a yesterdays lap that had nothing to do with driver ability, just the weather/lack. Where's the proper qualifying that had every driver out on the track under the same conditions? Wasn't that fair for everyone? As for the tyres... The rules say that if a driver has a flat tyre, he can change only that tyre with a new one but cannot refill his car. That means you'll loose 30+ seconds in the pits just for the tyres and your race will be screwed there and then. What next? How about dividing the race into dozens of laps, send anyone out on his own (under different weather conditions as usual) and determine the winner by aggregate lap times? Sounds cool to me.
Mosley - Hey man, what an absolutely capital idea! Thanks! :D
I have no words to express my displeasure over that thing called formula 1 and the new rules. I just wish i had in front of me the moron responsible for that mess and he would leave with half his teeth in his pocket. Solid results cannot be extracted from that session (or yesterdays), if f1 was a game i guess it would be a new genre: brothel-up. That was a travesty of a qualifying session, a farce. Remember some breathtaking last minute qualifying laps from the 80's and 90's (from guys like Berger, Mansell, Prost, Senna, Piquet)? Well, these rules are the tombstone. Now you can totally forget about them. :( :(
Now for the starting grid:
http://www.f1racing.net/en/raceresults.php?racepartID=674
and a bit more analytical here:
http://f1.racing-live.com/en/index.html?http://f1.racing-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/050306012118.shtml
aggregate qualy is meant as a Ferrari-buster, plain and simple. it rewards luck more then skill and technical prowess. there is no way Schumi would have started 18th if all the cars were driven under similar conditions, or had more then 1 flying lap, or were using the same qualy system as last year (non-aggregate qualy). now i hope Schumi storms through the field and wins, just to spite FIA and the Ferrari-haters.
NAZCA M12: i also hate the pit stop rules. can't change a tire unless it is damaged? that may slow down cars, as they run on old tires throughout the race and try to preserve them, but it could also be needlessly dangerous. next thing, though, i expect that the drivers will have to get out of the cars, change the tires and pump their own gas (and they had better have a credit card to pay for it too :D).
Red Bull in 5th and 6th? well, at least one good thing to result from this new system is that Villeneuve managed a 4th place in qualy, but who knows how he will fare in the actual race (i'm betting on an engine blow-out, but i wouldn't be surprised if he crashes). i'm a JV fan, but until he proves to me that he can finish a race safely in the points, i'll still be skeptical of him. i hope he drives well! :)
Williams-BMW: one thing that can be said for that team, they are innovative. last year, they had the whalenose-wing at the front (not really successful), now they have the viking-ears. at least they try new things.
MustangSVT
03-05-05, 10:39 PM
I'm watching the start of the race right now on Speed. I hope Kimi or Fisichella or Villneuve wins. All I want is Schumi to not win. Is that too much to ask for?!
NAZCA M12
03-05-05, 10:47 PM
now they have the viking-ears. at least they try new things.
Lol, no its McLaren that has the Viking horns (i call them horns btw). Williams is more conservative this year thank God, (as is Renault, BAR). Ferrari on the other hand are already using that ugly front flap that looks like a front wing with a miniature front wing attached to it or sth like that. Ugly, at least the horns are funny because they're at the height of the drivers helmet and he looks like a Gazelle (Kimi like a Thomspon one and JP like a Grant's one for obvious reasons). I don't blame the teams, its the rule makers that have left such big rule "windows" that would even make Microsoft go "damn" :D :p I'm off to see the par..erm the race.
d'oh! my bad. i blame it on the :beer2: whatever, i still like the horns. :D
I'm off to see the par..erm the race.doesn't everyone love a par ... competitive race ;) :D
ah, James Allen and Martin Brundel. the voices of racing!
MustangSVT
03-06-05, 12:37 AM
Yay, schumi didn't win, though I feel bad for him that he had to get out of the race.
Congrats to Renault for securing 16 points. Awesome start to new season.
intercede007
03-06-05, 12:49 AM
Yay, schumi didn't win, though I feel bad for him that he had to get out of the race.
Judging by the amount of damage on the car, I'm guessing he didn't have to get out of the race.
There is a clause in the engine rules that says if the car doesn't see the checkered flag, the engine can be changed. My guess is, Brawn told Schumacher to bring it in the pits. They were already having a bad race, why not just shelve it, get a new motor for the next Grand Prix and learn for our mistakes.
I'm happy for Giancarlo. I really think he hasn't been given the opportunities he should have over the last few years. His talents were definatly wasted on Jordan.
Definitely happy for Fisi, he did not give anyone the oppurtunity to take the race away and the team performed as needed. I was surprised by the post-race pleasantries between Alonso and Fisi. It's almost like they are team-mates. HEH.
NAZCA M12
03-06-05, 02:31 AM
http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=78918
http://www.f1racing.net/en/raceresults.php?racepartID=651
Wow, nice race. Thanks to qualifying we got a wonderful "i might be slower than you but i'm in front so if you want to risk be my guest" scenario. Good examples were the ones by Villeneuve & Alonso, Schumacher & Raikkonen and Coulthard with Webber. As it was expected, Villeneuve was a bit of a moving chicane but at least he was fair (unlike some other guy). As for Webber, it's official: put the guy in any car you want, he'll finish 5th. The helicopter view showed that he was (understandably to a degree) a chicken **** in the first corner and the opportunist but slower Coulthard got him superbly. Bravo to Coulthard, power to him. His move reminded me of a great scrap and pass with Herbert back in the British GP in '95 when he was in for a win until he was forced to concede to Herbert due to a penalty (does anyone remember that **** btw or am i alone here? :D). Note that a Red Bull Racing car finished a lap ahead of a Sauber (no bull) :D
I hope that the patriotic powers that brought Webber to Grove (Sam Michael and the great and out-spoken Alan Jones) will be red-faced at the end of the season. I'm sorry, but a talent with zero wins, zero seconds, zero thirds etc etc who allowed Klien to outqualify and outrace him in a couple of times last season, is simply not enough for a ****ing Williams-BMW. Even "humble No.2" Heidfield has a podium to his name. If it is true that Briatore offered Williams either Fisichella or Webber (but not both) and FW chose the latter, then i hope Heidfield trashes him this season. If Frank and Patrick wanted an unproven talent, they could at least give a test to Bourdais (from CART). Kudos to Barichello, a solid performance (in a semi-old car). Quite possibly the most important/interesting drive of the race.
Alonso showed that he continues to be hot-headed and i think that this will continue throughout the season. I'd like to see Fisichella blow him away because everyone's hyping him a lot. There is ONE great Spanish driver and his name is King Carlos, enough said. I hope Villeneuve and co (read Pollock) will win over Massa too. Those two aren't best of friends when JV back at BAR had said about the then newcomer Massa that he can't even keep the car on a straight line (and he was right too btw).
Toyota's performance was the enigma of the race for me. Wtf was going on with Trulli? Will be interesting to see how RS's testing and development capabilities bring them forward. From the start of testing, he did not look comfortable in that car. Shame about the Toyota bosses being so happy after qualifying (and thinking "up yours Honda mofos").
The "best driver in the world" alongside the driver "who most definitely did NOT come as a package with Honda engines" (Jordan's words here not mine, which Eddie took back btw when he recently revealed that he fired HH Frentzen a few years ago in order to make way for Sato or else he'd get no Honda engines for next season) had a very low-key race. There's a performance contract for JB and if BAR look like this for a long time, he'll be driving for Williams in '06 (not sure if that's a good thing though :p ). At least Taku's got no such worries, heh. There was one really wasted Japanese driver and i bet bringing him (Hoshino of course) even right now in his 5x years, he would definitely post very competitive times i'm not kidding. Honda broke so many engines in testing that even Haug must be thinking "wow, **** me". Rumor has it that at the very last moment they reduced the power so as not to ridicule themselves (in front of Toyota, of course. Who do you think is their biggest enemy?)
As for Schumacher senior, that was Mike from the good old days (just like DC and JV). That was classic "la la la, i don't know if anyone's close to me but i'll close my line anyway and if anyone's there he'd be better off putting it to the grass or else we collide" Michael mode today. Heidfield should have known better, Michael had no problem throwing his own brother to the grass a few years ago in Imola iirc, would he chicken out with him? :rolleyes: And he did his **** way before breaking for the corner. Good thing "slow Nick" (cause that definitely wasn't "quick Nick") torpedoed his car so that'll teach him a few things. Racing incident my ass.
McLaren: Raikkonen's probably thinking "**** it, if Webber's always 5th in Australia, i'm gonna make my own tradition here and start ******* last again". Nice guy, at least he keeps his promises. Still, a fighting race by him so well done. As for Montoya, looks like the Johnny Walker deal didn't help, neither did the new horns. In fact, it was "iceman" that was more fiery today, JPM was not so...shall we say horny ;) Respectable, solid performances by Karthikeyan and Klien imo.
One final note about the stupidity of FIA and its engine rules and its loopholes: The three last drivers on the grid changed engines before the start. No extra penalty for them, they were already at the back. Now these "smart" guys have only 300km on their engines whereas the other morons who finished the race (and Friday and Saturday sessions) have a lot more on theirs. How fair is that? So Schu had a new engine already. If they let him change engines again after the coming-together with Heidfield, then they may as well grant him a special license to change as many engines as he wants :D :D :D
No, seriously that grey AC was the best thing from that race (BrianG, i expect you at least to understand what i meant as a fellow Bimmer owner) .
Overall, ******* meh but bravo Giancarlo :)
ah, James Allen and Martin Brundel. the voices of racing!
I love Brundle. Careful there, add one more L and you'get Brundell. You do know who the famous "Brundell boys" were don't you? :D
bloody hell. lost everything.
oh well.
interesting, if not spectacular race. there was a little passing (JV and Alonso) and some intrigue (Schumie taking out Heidfeld). but there really wasn't a whole lot of entertainment aside from a few moments. the new qualifying system had the desired effect, namely to mix up the field, throw the usual contenders to the back, and break Ferrari's dominance. they changed and tinkered with the qualy system (if memory serves) a few times last year, but if this new aggregate system keeps delivering varied results, i think they'll keep it. but i doubt that the FIA can expect to have rain every race weekend (isn't it monsoon season in Malaysia?). FIA has 18 more races to get it right, provide us with some entertainment, and i hope they tailor their rules more to improving the spectacle then to humbling a team.
Renault 1-3, with a Ferrari splitting the pair. well, a Ferrari on the podium, but it's the wrong one. still, congrats to Rubens. so, the cars are a bit slower, the engines and tires have to last longer, and the new qualy system is designed to be a Ferrari buster, but the results are the same, namely dominance by one team or driver: get the pole, safely navigate the first corner, then start the parade, as Fisichella led the race from start to finish. different team, same story. boring. instead of constantly changing qualy rules, why not try something else, like widen the tracks and create passing zones, or do some artificially, like legislate when teams have to pit for fuel changes. i hate seeing races being decided in qualification, and that's what F1 is still all about. instead of focussing on how starts where, FIA start be concerned what actually happens on race day: i like to see passing, overtaking, challenges, actual competiton rather then a parade-like formation. make the race more exciting for the fans.
wheels. it was funny that when the cars went into the pits for fuel, there were all these guys just standing around looking dumbfounded ("you mean we can't change the tires? well what the hell do you want me to do now!?"). so the pitcrew measured tire pressure, looked at them, probably took some readings or something, or just walked around aimlessly bumping into things. :)
both BARs retiring. somehow, i don't seem too broken up that the best driver in F1 (never to win a race) did not finish. Sato is a DNF. it's the curse of JV. Toyota: spend hundreds of millions of dollars, and all you can buy is a 9th and 12th place finish (not including the Jordans)? oh well, at least it was a solid 9th and 12th. only one McLaren and one Williams in the points (JPM and Webber respectively), both teams being outperformed by red Bull. oopps. and all the fuss made over Minardi's entry for the race: much ado about nothing, of course, since they had absolutely no impact on the outcome of the race. they are back-markers and provide the only passing in the race (as they have to get out of the way of the race leaders, so it's not real passing). and a word on Schumacher: his fate was decided in the first qualification session, and was never a factor at all throughout the rest of the weekend. now, instead of everyone hating him and Ferrari, we'll have to find another targrt. how about we all start bitching about the rule changes?
good for Red Bull, with both teams in the points. DC, discarded at the end of last season from McLaren, beats both the man who replaced him (JPM) and Kimi and also outperforms his teammate with a 4th place finish (compared to Klien's 7th). it appears that he is not washed up yet (and his girfriend is damn HOT! lucky bastard! :D).
sigh, Jacques. start 4th, finish 13th, beaing beaten by your teammate, Massa. where have we heard this story before? at least he can take some solace that he actually managed to finish the race, something Button cannot do.
next up: in two weeks, the Malaysian GP! hopefully, the race will be a little more entertaining. :D :beer:
story:http://www.formula1.com/race/news/2680/732.html
http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/news_story.asp?id=117319
results:http://www.formula1.com/race/result/732/8.html
I was happy for coulthard and it was a great race but still no overtaking
Malaysia may end up a repeat. The weather there is as unpredictable as it gets.
There are a lot of interesting storylines quickly emerging from this one race. Can a team challenge Ferrari? How much will not having the new car hurt Ferrari further along in the season? Will predited challengers BAR be able to pull it together after a lackluster showing? Is Fisichella really that good, or more to the point, has Giancarlo's lousy previous cars made him better?
I think the over/under for qaulifying "adjustments" is three.
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