Malaysian Grand Prix

[bigC]

F1 2005 Season, Round 2: the Malaysian Grand Prix.

after an interesting opening to the 2005 season, i wonder what Malaysia will bring. a different driver has won this race every year, with Schumacher taking it twice, winning it last year. in the past, there has been some interesting weather conditions, including a monsoon. the qualifying system will be tested for a second time. if there are any adverse conditions that rival what happened in Australia, the pressure will likely mount to fine-tune or change the system (i still prefer a system that awards race positions based on savvy, driving skill, and car production, not sheer luck of weather or qualy running order). and FIA closed the engine loophole, so if you choose not to finish, you will be penalized in the next race 10 spots or be forced to start with the same engine.

BAR and Toyota have to step up and get some results, as does the reigning champion, M Schumacher. Schumie had a bad qualy and was never in the Aussie GP (emotionally, i guess) but i think he is the kind of person (competitor) that will bounce back with a vengeance. Button and Sato had disappointing races in Aussie-land and the Toyotas were a joke (all 4 of them, the main team and Jordan, but i give Jordan some slack since they had two rookie drivers). will R Schumacher begin to regret moving to Toyota if he cannot score some points in this race? i wonder if Räikkönen will be outperformed by his new teammate again, JPM, and whether the "iceman" will crack under the pressure brought on him by JPM.

DC and Red Bull? can they continue to keep up with the big teams? the rebranded Jaguar team using Cosworth engines had an impressive debut, with both drivers scoring points, and DC almost getting a podium. a better start then the new Jordan (to be renamed Midland next season) but i think that had a lot to do with the fact that Red Bull was basically an established team with new drivers and ownership. i'm actually cheering for DC, disgarded afetr last season, and i hope he continues to be competitive.

on a personal note, i loathe the first 2 and last 2 races (Aus, Mal, Japan and China). the race starts at 2AM EST on Sunday morning, hardly an acceptable hour to watch a race, and if i choose to watch it live, i may need a nap sometime during Saturday or it may be a "dry" race.

race preview:http://www.formula1.com/race/news/2709/733.html
weather report: sun and rain: http://www.formula1.com/race/news/2708/733.html

JV to be ousted at Sauber after one race!!?? well, that was the rumour, and all parties have denied it. while the race produced an unsatisfactory result, it would be wrong to oust him after only 1 race. at least give him a chance to prove himself. http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formul...ng-formula_one
http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formul...ng-formula_one

engine loophole closed: http://www.formula1.com/news/2706.html

BMW to split from Williams? interesting, as BMW is rumoured to supply Sauber with engines, and perhaps even buy the team, as they alienated Ferrari during the off-season. who knows what will happen: http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=32307

Ferrari may introduce the new engine in Bahrain: http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formul...ng-formula_one

[9point9]

Sniffpetrol has a nice bit about F1:

http://sniffpetrol.com/

[Daneel Olivaw]

JV should at least have 4 races... to see if he/the team can improve

[MUYA]

Zonta with the fastest time on practise!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/moto...ne/4360261.stm

[Mr_LoL]

JV is useless. He should be dropped

[NAZCA M12]

Originally Posted by shrek2

JV is useless. He should be dropped

JV is priceless. He should be cloned

[bigC]

Originally Posted by shrek2

JV is useless. He should be dropped

bite me.

Originally Posted by NAZCA M12

JV is priceless. He should be cloned

the sport needs more people like JV, ie, drivers who have actual personalities.

[bigC]

i hope JV stays with Sauber (or moves to another top team) because he has always been one of my favourite drivers, and i've followed his career way back to the mid 90s when he was racing in Champ car. he deserves the opportunity to prove himself, and that means more then just 1 or a few races, more like an entire season to get the car suited to his liking. he can deliver results if the conditions (car) are right. more on JV: http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formul...ng-formula_one

Sauber leads 2nd Fri practice, but it isn't JV (18), it's Massa. JPM and Kimi are right near the top, and Toyota may have found the pace. alas, M Schumacher is way down the grid at 16th whilst Barrichello is at 7th. DC is at 10th, still within striking distance of a point position.http://www.formula1.com/race/result/733/10.html

story: http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formul....asp?ID=118759

[Mr_LoL]

Originally Posted by bigC

bite me.

the sport needs more people like JV, ie, drivers who have actual personalities.

Yeah have loads of drivers with personalities especially if they havent got what it takes anymore. Its great for the "sport"

[9point9]

In terms of personality, he's got way more than Schumacher who according to Sniffpetrol was replaced by a robot without anyone noticing.

I don't think many F1 drivers are that exciting, not just now though. Mansell was immensely dull. He also had a monobrow AND a moustache just to dissolve any impression that he was a worthwhile person to meet in a social situation.

JV has in general been a bit of a loser since he became World Champion. Gone down hill in such a big way...

[bigC]

it's a Renault 1-3 (are they the team to beat so far this year?) with Alonso taking provisional poll. Toyota, McLaren, and WilliamsBMW all occupy the top positions, with Trulli in 2nd, Kimi in 4th, followed by R Schumacher.

Ferrari have no pace in Sat qualifying, as Schumi is 12th and Barrichello is 14th, 1 1/2 seconds off the pace. pathetic. they really need the introduction of the 2005 car before they fall even further behind the pace. are they a team in decline? how could they be that slow and uncompetitive? Massa is 13th, out qualifying JV at 16th. sigh, poot JV. other also-rans, as expected, the Minardis are last, where they belong, and the Jordans are right ahead of them. BAR seems to be slipping, with Button only managing a 9th, sato sick and not racing, so Davidson getting a 15th position. and Red Bull are at 10th (Klien) and 11 (DC). so Red Bull is faster then ferrari. weird.

http://www.formula1.com/race/result/733/19.html

[NAZCA M12]

So what should we do now, replace the title of the thread with "Jaques' Malaysian Grand Prix" or sth? Personally, if i had to choose between "finished" guys like JV or Mansell, and those new 20-year-old kids that are licked by the press, have fat sponsors behind them, government support, don't know **** from what F1 used to be, never oppose to the regulations and whatever **** form of rules the FIA throws at them they respond with a "i'm very 'appy to be racing" etc etc, i'd go for the "finished" drivers any day. JV's mistake was listening too much to his manager and less to himself. He went for the money, he paid for it. It's hilarious that every stupid moron decides from the first race of the season that JV is slow. Things can turn around.

Anyway, one little thing from the previous race first:

http://f1.racing-live.com/en/index.h...18182245.shtml

Normally i would have forgotten about it (until the next time someone tries to pass MS), but on ITV's site a similar poll gave almost 85% against Schu, now the drivers gave a 19:1, what were the FIA officials doing in Australia? Normally there should be an immediate investigation and a possible penalty during the race. Meh, 19:1. More like 19:Ralf

First qualifying results:

http://www.f1racing.net/en/raceresul...racepartID=679