New F1 Season this weekend.

[Ripcom]

Anybody else here looking forward to the start of the new F1 season.

I should get home from our gig on Saturday night in time to settle down and watch the race.

I'm looking forward to see how Jenson Button will do in this years BAR as all the signs are good so far.

Any predictions?

[pcbb]

Yeah, F1 baby. I'm a fan all the way here in Hawai'i.

[Quinny]

Best way to spend a lazy saturday or sunday afternoon in front of the television. Would really like to see something better from the British drivers this season, especially Jensen. I'm sure he's got a great F1 future in front of him.
Also a fan of Raikkonen and Montoya.

Q.

[daddycam]

go BMW/Williams! ariel, your boy, michael, set a new track record at imola last week in their new car, so it looks like they are again going to be ready for the season. i just hope ralf and JPM can stay focused on racing and get it done for williams this year.

i think the rules changes are going to be good this year--no more launch control and no fully automatic transmissions. they still will have the paddle shifters, but it gives more control on the driver which is a good thing. the starts should be interesting, too. also, all the qualifying will be happening on saturdays again instead of the friday-saturday format they used last year.

cam

[Gil Hegwood]

I'm a Raikkonen fan (I was a Hakkinen fan, and I guess I just inherited Kimi), but I'm always rooting for Jenson, too. I think he's always had a great deal of talent, and I think he'll be a more familliar presence on the podium this year.

Given his predicament, I wonder how Coulthard will drive this year. I've never liked him, but I do feel sorry for him this season.

[Gil Hegwood]

Oh, and with regard to the 2004 championship, THE FINN WILL WIN:D

[Goober]

:dude:

Yea!! Now that's what I'm talkin' about! The racing season is upon us.
I guess I should have known that our forum friends from the UK would
be hardcore into F1! Guitars and racecars, it just does'nt get any better
than that for me! While I am not a huge F1 fan, (I like racing better
when there are actually passes for the lead.), there is no denying the
incredible technology of these hybrids. Having 10 yeasrs of 'sperience
racing stockcars on dirt at Potomac speedway in southern Maryland,
Nascar is very near and dear to me! Are any of you overseas guys into Nascar?? Or are all the left hand turns too much for you?? How's about comparing racecars to git-tars! Here's my take, what's yers?

PRS private stock...F1 CAR...very elegant..very pricey
Artist series...IRL and CART cars..still elegant..less money
HB and Archtop...World Sports Cars..stylish and delicate
CU22/24...Nascar Nextel Cup...lean/mean workhorses
CE...Busch and truck series...still badass, less $$$
SE series...short track and local racers... good bang for buck

Whatta ya think?? Thanks for putting up with this redneck!! Peace
Dana
.

[Ripcom]

:dude:
How's about comparing racecars to git-tars! Here's my take, what's yers?

PRS private stock...F1 CAR...very elegant..very pricey
Artist series...IRL and CART cars..still elegant..less money
HB and Archtop...World Sports Cars..stylish and delicate
CU22/24...Nascar Nextel Cup...lean/mean workhorses
CE...Busch and truck series...still badass, less $$$
SE series...short track and local racers... good bang for buck

Whatta ya think?? Thanks for putting up with this redneck!! Peace
Dana
.
I'd agree with first three.
But as I don't know to much about the US formulars I'll relate the rest to the UK.

CU22/24...Touring cars (TOCA) You can have one just like them.
CE...Formula Fords. You can race one yourself.
SE...Go Karts...Not a proper car but jolly good fun.

Moderm Eagle...The Safety Car anywhere. Wouldn't it to be fantastic to be in one of those.

:dude: :dude: :dude:

[Goober]

Hey !!

Thanks Ripcom, I had forgotten about the Modern Eagle! Nice
chatting with race fans abroad. Are there any other forum members
with actual racing experience?? Or am I 1-of-a-kind? heheheheheh

Thanks again

Dana:dude:

[Dan Desy]

Come on now, what's F1 without a Villeneuve? ;)

[redmax61]

I'm a Racing fan in general. I follow NASCAR, CART, IRL, and F1. Is this OK?

Hey Dana, What about the McCarty?

BTW, Villeneuve is a punk! :p Go Schumi!

[daddycam]

i'm a racing fan in general too, but i just can't get into nascar. i live in indy, too.

[Dan Desy]

We Ferrari hardcore tifosi have a thing for the Villeneuve clan. Gilles was/is dearly in all the tifosi's hearts. I really liked Jacques and I hope he will return soon in a good car. He deserves it.http://forums.birdsandmoons.com/forum/images/icons/icon7.gifGilles was a true F1 driver & champion - Jacques is (to quote redmax) more of a punk, but I think his style and excentricity are good for the sports.

[Jay Warren]

I worked in F1 for a few years :) Montoya, now that is the most talented guy there. Schumi, good talent, whinges alot and is not the ultimate driver everyone thinks... he won't even allow his team to give him a decent team mate... Bloody team orders ;)

Flame me Ariel :)

I love Ferarri really, just hate the self important mechanics!

[Jay Warren]

Should be an awesome season though, keep your eyes on Alonso, he's gonna make a real name for himself this year. ( He's a shite tennis player though )

[Jay Warren]

Anyone can go that quick with no fuel ;)

No really he is very good, just not a Senna, Fangio, Clark. The reason he wins so many more championships than these guys is that he's had no real competition. I would dearly love to see him in a proper challenge. I think this year is the first time in maybe 4 years!
To really crown him as a great i'd like to see him loose the championship this year, then come back next season and re-claim. I have the feeling that he'd retire if beaten.

First class guy though, I got to know him pretty well and even got driven round SPA by him in a 360 :)

[Ripcom]

I'm not a Shumi fan at all and haven't been able to fogive him for ramming Damon Hill in Australia to win his second title.

But he has just broken the lap record in Australia in the Friday practice.

Our Jenson is only 1 second behind him in 4th.:dude:

[Jay Warren]

Ariel,

I just love winding up the Tifosi, very highly strung bunch :)


( I must admit he is the most talented there.......( apart from Montoya!!)))
;)

Jay

[Ripcom]

Jenson got the same time in qualifing as Montoya just behind the two Ferraris


:dude: :dude: :dude:

[Jay Warren]

It will be interesting to see what fuel they are all running. The Ferrari's should win, this is probably their best circuit of the year. The McLarens were shite though, man DC sucks.

Well done Rubens for sticking very close to MS.

[Ripcom]

I'm just off to do a gig tonight and hopefully I'll be back in time to watch the race. If not I'll have to watch it tomorrow afternoon on the rerun avoiding all TV and radio before then.

It's gonna be good.:dude: :dude: :dude:

[Quinny]

Schumacher 13.6s ahead of Rubens, who was 34.6s ahead of everyone else?? Ferrari 1st and 2nd?? I'm not the biggest ferrari fan in the world, but fair play to them, that's a hell of a result!! Nice as it must be for them though, I do hope the rest of the season is a little closer.
Well done Jensen Button too, 3 points on the board in the first race of the season. Excellent stuff!

N.

[psxguru]

doh! I knew I shouldn't have looked at this thread again!

I wanted to watch the race this afternoon without knowing the result!

[johnreardon]

looks like it's going to be yet another boring F1 year. Wish they could do something to make it more exciting, maybe even go back to the old days, when the drivers had to race across to their cars at the start. Seriously, they need to do something.

The change in the rules over the last couple of years haven't really made the racing more exciting. The commentators seem to go mad if there are just one or two overtaking manouevres in a race. The old guys seemed to do it all the while.

Perhaps there is too much money buying too much technology. I'm afraid It's turned me off, I'll just have too find something else to do on the F1 weekends, maybe practice!!

[Jay Warren]

Melbourne has always been one of Ferrari's best tracks, if the same thing happens in Malaysia then I will be worried! I can't believe that the tyres have now become the most important part of the car, with one manufacturer this simply wouldn't happen. Not matter what Williams and co do they will never be able to challenge until Michelin sort out tyres that don't fade so badly and some decent wets... Bernie was NOT impressed, big changes will happen, this new qualifying will go and there will be new tyre regulations to bring this stupid situation to an end.

Grats to Ferrari though who had a pretty good race ;)

[Quinny]

As regards that tyre situation, is each team somehow bound to their tyre supplier? There has been a lot of talk of good and bad tyre choices over the last few seasons.... but isn't each team free to put whatever they like on their car?? If Michelin are losing them races, why not just put something else on??

N.

[Jay Warren]

Big contracts betwen the tyre comapnies and the teams, it's all a bit of a mine field...