2008 Australian GP - Race 1/18
- Thread starter rpstewart
- Start date
Spot on.
I think most people were pleased because so many people were dropping out for varying reasons, which was making the final result unpredictable.
With regards Kimi's engine:
how do you explain Massa's engine failure - Oh yes, he was also following other cars
and what about Bourdais' - I dont think he was following anyone closely.
Besides, engines are designed with racing in mind, ie. cars following other cars closely. I cant believe that Ferrari would design an engine to last only a single race (even though it should last 2), only when it is running in clear air.
I think most people were pleased because so many people were dropping out for varying reasons, which was making the final result unpredictable.
With regards Kimi's engine:
how do you explain Massa's engine failure - Oh yes, he was also following other cars
and what about Bourdais' - I dont think he was following anyone closely.
Besides, engines are designed with racing in mind, ie. cars following other cars closely. I cant believe that Ferrari would design an engine to last only a single race (even though it should last 2), only when it is running in clear air.
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And as I said, it made for some halfway decent entertainment (especially DC). But as for actual racing action....'twas a tad lacking.
Like I said - it might have exacerbated an issue that was already there. I certainly wouldn't put it down to being the root cause.
Ferrari had this problem last year. Car doesn't like dirty air which affects the cooling and the car over heats. What is amazing that they don't appear to have fully fixed the problem.
One of the key bits with last years McLaren was that it worked well and reliably over a very wide range of operating conditions.
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Not a bad opening race. Looks like Ferrari are possibly missing Ross already, though I guess time will tell. At least it looks as if Honda are finally making some sort of progress.
Just had a look for DCs comment on youtube - looks like FOM have done a good job removing anything.
Kimis comment from brazil is there although
There's at least one vid of the interview still on youtube
They didnt seem to miss him much last year?
Yeah they did. Their car was unreliable and there were numerous wierd team problems which either lost them position or just time. Now that the "dream team" (ugh) has fallen apart their are plenty of cracks starting to appear in the team.
They still won the title.
Admittedly because of McLaren's off-track problems.
I do agree though, that Ferrari were not as strong last year as they have been in previous years. If Alonso had stayed at Renault, he might've won the title last year.
Raikkonen is a very fast driver though and he showed his basic speed yesterday.
Admittedly because of McLaren's off-track problems.
I do agree though, that Ferrari were not as strong last year as they have been in previous years. If Alonso had stayed at Renault, he might've won the title last year.
Raikkonen is a very fast driver though and he showed his basic speed yesterday.
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I dunno what to think about this, I liked the Kovi/Alonso stuff and Kimi's flakey driving was fun to watch.
Loved hearing DC's whiny "colourful" comment, woke me up a little...
The fact that so few cars finished though, meh, felt a bit stupid.
And the damn no pitting under safety car rule, is it there purely ro ruin races?
Edit: Oh... Webber, what can you say?
Loved hearing DC's whiny "colourful" comment, woke me up a little...
The fact that so few cars finished though, meh, felt a bit stupid.
And the damn no pitting under safety car rule, is it there purely ro ruin races?
Edit: Oh... Webber, what can you say?
All though he did show some impressive speed, with the lack of TC he made a lot of mistakes. Or maybe he just wasn't in the right frame of mind. But there were several mistakes.
Oh and I agree on the no pitting under safety car, that rules needs to be killed off yesterday.
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He was about 5 cm from hitting the wall with a crap pass forgetting all about corners. I thought it was ok, nothing amazing. Better watching the mid place cars fighting for position than the old days when they would just keep on the front car 75+% of the time watching it even if it was 1 min infront.
Ok, the ferrari's were poor but I doubt the problems will last and I'm sure it will be an interesting season now especially with BMW also doing well. oh forgot to check what actually happended to kova after he passed alonso. Did his gearbox just shift to neutral?
Ok, the ferrari's were poor but I doubt the problems will last and I'm sure it will be an interesting season now especially with BMW also doing well. oh forgot to check what actually happended to kova after he passed alonso. Did his gearbox just shift to neutral?
Couple of pages back, he accidentally hit the pitlane speed limiter with his fist whilst ripping a tear-off from his visor. Oops!
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Seems to be a lot of discussion about Kimi's race, and admittedly it was dire. I'm more interested in Massa's complete inability to cope with the loss of TC. I can't remember off-hand if he's ever been in an F1 car without TC, but we all know how reckless he was when he drove for Sauber.
His first corner mistake was basic. Fair enough he was surprised to see Kovalainen still on his outside after the apex of the corner, but any driver worth his seat wouldn't have stuffed it into the barrier afterwards.
Then he takes out DC with a bansai move Nakajima would be proud of. Brundle seemed to not want to lay blame at Massa's door, yet he blamed DC last year for a carbon copy incident with Wurz.
He seems to have entirely lost the form he had from mid 2006 to mid 2007. Even in winter testing he was iffy. It seems a touch early to be talking about driver changes, but I can't see him in red overalls next year.
His first corner mistake was basic. Fair enough he was surprised to see Kovalainen still on his outside after the apex of the corner, but any driver worth his seat wouldn't have stuffed it into the barrier afterwards.
Then he takes out DC with a bansai move Nakajima would be proud of. Brundle seemed to not want to lay blame at Massa's door, yet he blamed DC last year for a carbon copy incident with Wurz.
He seems to have entirely lost the form he had from mid 2006 to mid 2007. Even in winter testing he was iffy. It seems a touch early to be talking about driver changes, but I can't see him in red overalls next year.
Lots of them made errors. Lewis too will make loads. Yesterday he had that luxary of not really having to race past 9/10ths due to the competition getting it all wrong.
Such a shame Alonso didn't take that 3/4's of a second or whatever it was with him to mclaren back again. Did he have to leave it with him as part of the get out deal?
Mclaren certainly doesn't seem to have missed him.
Nice to see how erratic massa is again now the gadgets are gone. Shows how much those electronics could smooth out the biggest monkey.
Still a bit of a shame they allow them the 90 seconds of start line engine mapping.
Not a bad race could really have done with KR at the front pushing hamilton and then it would have been much more interesting. Sure those battles are coming
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I think the reduction in TC and drive aids is the right direction for sure. Some people have been saying that the safety car coming out loads was due to the lack of traction control and hence more accidents. I think this is an unrealistic statement, as if you look at the nature of some of the accidents, most of them would have happened regardless of TC or not.
Did anyone hear what Coulthard said on the Live version in his interview? lol
Did anyone hear what Coulthard said on the Live version in his interview? lol
I personally think that that was a racing incident. You cant really blame one driver over the other.
Yep. The problem with the new regs is not lapping on an empty track, but comes when you have other cars riding alongside you. The new regs have made the car more difficult to drive. Nothing that the current crop of drivers cant get used to though. It was only the first race.
Such a shame Alonso didn't take that 3/4's of a second or whatever it was with him to mclaren back again. Did he have to leave it with him as part of the get out deal?
Mclaren certainly doesn't seem to have missed him.
This was Alonso's first race for a Renault team who finished a distant 4th last year (if you include McLaren - who lets face it, were the real constructors champs last year). The best way to compare a driver is against his team mate and he outclassed Piquet by some margin. The Alonso effect will happen, but it will take some time.
I don't think he could have got passed unless DC had actively moved out of his way. It's not a clear cut crazy move but I do think the blame lies with Massa, I doubt DC even saw him.