Lemonade Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 well less than two weeks till the season starts, can Alonso hold on to his crown, can Schumacher wrest the title back, or can McLaren and Raikonnen finally get their act together? Williams have a Rosberg back in the team, can he do the business? Toyota are starting to show promise again. And Honda have twwo pacey drivers in Button & Barrichello. I think this could be a very interesting season.After watching every race religiously for nigh on 15 years, I stopped watching last year due to how shit the previous few seasons had been - and look what happened, it was a stormer. I'm now back on the F1 bandwagon and I propose a thread for all things F1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest b-bert Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 I dont think alonso can repeat it, i think he was a bit lucky due to some of mclaren/raikonnen's failures. I think kimi has a good shot this year. His competitors depend on who's car is faster ferrari or renault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Les Stroszek Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 I'm going to tip Raikonnen hs's the fastest driver out there it just depends on his engine again and thats not looking too good right now reliability wise. I think they will pull it together this time though. Schumachar will be back in the hunt though and Alonso is a more complete driver than Raikonnen and Renault will be strong early on but might lose out later on. Williams are looking like the dark horses and Buttons never done anything so he has a lot to prove. Hes far from the best driver out there and I don't respect him as a person. Thats my tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AttackTimCozine Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 Button's gonna have to be lucky &/or Honda need to get there shit together. There's just not enough pace in the Honda but they've had a good two seasons of development and have been in the top 6 so it could be an interesting one.McLaren I'm really confused by. Yet again reliability is a big issue in testing & I'm sure we're gonna see that on the track too.Ferrari are in a bad patch & I can't see them doing too well. I think they'll chuck up a few surprises.Renault are the team to beat from last season. Reliable & fast with two good drivers.It's gonna be ace. Anyone know if they've reduced the downforce to allow closer racing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monk Rocker Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 I'm interested to see how the new qualifying session works out. Seems like a right kerfuffle to me. I genuinely can't see Button doing anything this year. Over 100 races in and not a single win.....I'm sad that there's no Spa this year. It's my fave track to watch, and Brazil I don't think is confirmed 100% as yet. Last year of the tyre war also. I wonder if Michelin are going to pull out all the stops or ar they just not going to be arsed!!I reckon there will be hell to pay if Scuderio Toro Rosso do anything with their detuned V10 enginges, and I'm surprised they are still allowed to use them as it was only Minardi that got a dispensation to use them due to their lack of funds. Red Bull are firing mega bucks into development......And I wish Valentino Rossi would just fuck off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tv tanned Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 it is going to be amusing to watch Super Aguri become the new Minardi of F1.I am looking forward to it immensely. I reckon this will be Kimi's year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 As long as ferrari don't win anything I'll be happy. Hope Williams do well after being dumped by BMW and I'd like to see Honda continue to beat Toyota, but that's just 'cause I drive a Honda. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Karloff Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 You have to remember that testing results don't mean an awful lot in terms of GP performace. When you test, you run to test specific parts or scenarios, rarely will teams give it a balls-out run just so they top the press coverage of the test session. Most prefer to work away doing what they're there to do and keeping their actual performance level secret until the racing starts. The tracks are never the same as at an event, no matter how much prep goes into them. This I know also from the testing sessions we've done ourselves with the dragster.McLaren have already openly admitted they're struggling to keep the gears in the back of the car, either running fine or turning the insides of the box into expensive paperweights. But, they always overcome these kind of things.Button will be very lucky to win a race this year. Rubins is a fierce driver and he's often consistent with it. The BAR car and team are very good, but I don't think Button quite has what it takes to get over the peak of that personal performance hill.I think Williams will have a much better year, maybe as much as 4th behind Renault, McLaren and Ferrari. I believe they will find themselves in a mid-field tussle with a very strong Red Bull, BMW and Honda. Red Bull I think will show the biggest improvement this year, only 1 year after being dejected and sold by Ford! They have solid drivers (Coultard is one of the best drivers, and has been very unfortunate to have been saddled with an unreliable car since Hakkinen left McLaren), and now they have serious money going in and technical talent with it. Watch out.My money is on Raikonnen for the title. I think McLaren and Renault will be very close, but I get the feeling despite the win last year that the Renault program does not have the full shoulder of Renualt behind it due to the cost and all the other issues around Briatore and Alonso that have occurred since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass Cadet Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 I'm so excited about the new season it's unreal! I have missed quite a lot of the season last year due to working most Sundays but I'm gonna jack that in soon so I will be able to see them all - hurrah!! Raikonnen is favourite in the bookies 9/4 odds which I think is decent, but like MW used to say anything can happen in formula 1 and it usually does. Thats why we like it so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tv tanned Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 I must admit it hasn't been the same since Jos the Boss left, but I have enjoyed it more since Ferrari slipped back and allowed things to get genuinely competitive again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DustyDeviada Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 I must admit it hasn't been the same since Jos the Boss left' date=' but I have enjoyed it more since Ferrari slipped back and allowed things to get genuinely competitive again.[/quote']?(Jos the Boss, was crap, Giovanni Lavaggi was the true F1 legend.http://www.giovannilavaggi.com/He was just a rich Italian guy who bought a seat in a Minardi, what a legend. All hail the Vag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tv tanned Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 ?(Jos the Boss' date=' was crap, Giovanni Lavaggi was the true F1 legend.[url']http://www.giovannilavaggi.com/He was just a rich Italian guy who bought a seat in a Minardi, what a legend. All hail the Vag.HeathenI remember after the 1997 season when Jos had been terrible with Tyrrell, F1 Magazine ran a piece on Jos Verstappen's World of Gravel showing him in all the gravel traps he'd beached himself in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DustyDeviada Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 Ahh Tyrell, there's a blast from the past.Was it 97 that they added those funny three foot high wings to their cars, which everybody laughed at until they started going much faster, leading to loads of other teams doing it until the authorities banned it for safety reasons, not because it looked silly and F1 was becoming a laughing stock, oh no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tv tanned Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 Ahh Tyrell' date=' there's a blast from the past.Was it 97 that they added those funny three foot high wings to their cars, which everybody laughed at until they started going much faster, leading to loads of other teams doing it until the authorities banned it for safety reasons, not because it looked silly and F1 was becoming a laughing stock, oh no?[/quote']As I recall it did hee-haw for Tyrell's performance quality. They were just mince.I remember one snapped off when it caught a fuel hose in the pits and then the big furore kicked off.They did look bloody stupid though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DustyDeviada Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 As I recall it did hee-haw for Tyrell's performance quality. They were just mince.No, I'm fairly sure they did make an improvement, hence Ferrari jumping on the bandwagon.From that picture it would appear to be 98, the year the McLaren's lapped everyone on the first race in Australia and Coulthard let Hakkinen past to win, the biggest mistake he ever made in his career in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tv tanned Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 He let Hakkinen past to win in the last race of the 97 season, because that was what propelled him on in the following season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloud Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 ?(Jos the Boss' date=' was crap, Giovanni Lavaggi was the true F1 legend.[url']http://www.giovannilavaggi.com/He was just a rich Italian guy who bought a seat in a Minardi, what a legend. All hail the Vag.What's legendary about buying a seat? De La Rosa's been doing that for years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonade Posted February 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 What's legendary about buying a seat? De La Rosa's been doing that for years You want to talk rent-a-drivers, don't forget Pedro Diniz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonade Posted February 28, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 Anybody think Massa will have a good season? I think he might get a couple of cheeky victories - provided he can keep the fucking thing out of the gravel traps. 'Youthful Exuberance' I believe is the term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Les Stroszek Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 The pressures on Toyota to do something this season, they have the biggest budget on the grid by a mile and if that first win doesn't come this season there could be trouble. If they don't do something soon they could be deemed a massive failure, especially in Japan. I think Trulli might just sneak a win if the conditions are right and the lucks in. It won't be Ralf Schumachar as he's rubbish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted March 1, 2006 Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 The pressures on Toyota to do something this season' date=' they have the biggest budget on the grid by a mile and if that first win doesn't come this season there could be trouble. If they don't do something soon they could be deemed a massive failure, especially in Japan. I think Trulli might just sneak a win if the conditions are right and the lucks in. It won't be Ralf Schumachar as he's rubbish![/quote']I think as long as Toyota make more progress and compete well with Honda they'll consider it a good season but they'll definitely be aiming for podiums this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Les Stroszek Posted March 1, 2006 Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 They've got a lot to prove but then a lot of people have this year. I can see it being one of the most competitive seasons in a long time with lots of different winners. I thought that in 2004 mind and bloody Schumachar turned up and lapped everyone again and again. Boring. Anyway my Sundays have been empty without racing. I can't wait for it to start again. I'm a racing geek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Karloff Posted March 1, 2006 Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 As I recall it did hee-haw for Tyrell's performance quality. They were just mince.Tyrell did not have an aerodynamically good car to start with. But, it did add significant gain to those cars who had a stable airflow pattern over them, such as the Ferrari. They may not look like much, but those 2 wings added together to give a good few square cm of wing area. The big advantage was you could put them right up in the clear airflow going over the top of the car and not impact the flow to the rear spill area and delivery of smooth air to the rear wing. It may look like a flimsy stalk they're held on, but carbon fibre works best in compression and even a thing support like that can take serious loading. Hence why they also make their suspension control arms and struts from carbon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Karloff Posted March 1, 2006 Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 In general, the V8 rule will make for an interesting ballgame. Their are a lot of engine builders in the current F1 game who have a very good track record with making V8s produce good reliable power. Cosworth in particular were at one time king of the V8s. The nice thing about a V8 is the relative lack of stresses you have to somehow balance and absorb. 4-stroke, 8 cylinders, and with the low overall displacement you can go with a nice sized bore and very short stroke, meaning pretty good RPMs for a V8 design. For comparison, the V8 in the dragsters I run is 500ci displacement, billet aluminium block, heads, connectings rods, etc etc and is good for 8500rpm maximum before it starts to self destruct. The average production car V8 is usually good for 5-6000rpm. Quite a bit less than the V10s were jumping up to huh?! I reckon the best V8s will be making around 700hp or thereabouts. That's quite a lot when you think about the lack of displacement they'll be running!!Toyota may fare better this year because of it, I think their biggest problem with their car last year was a lack of sheer power. They have good V8 experience in other motorsports though. The rather middle of the road drivers they have will be the ultimate limiter for their performance I think. They made a mistake when they gave Alan McNish a rough time, witnessed by their continued poor success after and his instant return to success once back in a good team with a good car.Interestingly, after our performance at the FIA invitational dragrace at the Bahrain circuit back in November the track and crown prince had requested both Top Fuel cars remain at the track and that we come back out to put on a small demo before the start of the F1 GP. I'm still waiting to hear back from Sweden as to whether this is all happening, but I hope it is!! Quickly burn some rubber and make some serious noise down the dragstrip, then stick the car in the garage and go watch the GP from the Sakhir tower!!! If it doesn't happen then I have to organise getting the cars airfreighted back to Germany and picked up and taken back to Sweden so we can get them stripped and prepped for the start of our racing season in June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest b-bert Posted March 1, 2006 Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 What power are the dragsters you race producing?It will be interesting to see what the power of the engines the teams running restricted v10s will be like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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