F1 2009 Season discussion/development thread

JRS said:
I'm not saying he'll definitely win the title this year, I'm just saying that the Honda has not shown him in the best light for the last two years and it's about time sunama recognised that small fact :)
Click to expand...

Erm. The season hasn't yet started.

In 2007, I reserved judgement on Hamilton, even though he had one of (if not the best) season of any "true" rookie. I wanted to see what he could do in 2008...and he delivered. Consistency is what makes a great driver, not just just a flash in the pan, one hit wonder.

Similarly, Button has done well so far in pre-season testing. We need to see how he performs in races, this year and the next.

I still stand by my original claim that he has next to no chance of winning the title.

From the times though, BrawnGP, seem to have produced a good car, though once again, we must wait for Australia.

With regards to Heikki lifting off on the straights: I have no idea why any driver would want to make himself look slower than he actually is, especially when Hamilton made him look like a monkey last year. I believe this "lifting off on the straights" is a complete lie to cover up the fact that Heikki is driving a slow McLaren.
 
Barrichello has broken into 1:18 mark with a 1:18.926. If I'm reading their testing shedule right from yesterday, they were doing race style runs (presumably (hopefully ;)) with a lot of fuel on board) in the morning then were just doing tweaks and glory runs in the afternoon. The track temps now are the highest the've been this week I think too. Looking very good for Brawn GP.
 
utajoker said:
even if button has a fast car i dont think he has what it takes to become champion yet, but i would like him to prove me wrong :)
Click to expand...

Yup I think he may not be mentally or physically ready yet. It must be a huge shock to go from the slowest car to the fastest and all the pressure and PR that comes with that. Also I bet he couldn't be bothered to work on his fitness much in the several months of uncertainty surrounding the team...
 
Also I bet he couldn't be bothered to work on his fitness much in the several months of uncertainty surrounding the team...
Click to expand...

You're joking right? Button is probably one of the fittest guys (if not THE fittest) on the F1 circuit what with his 'athalon competitions etc.
 
Wasn't joking but I was throwing the idea out there...

But triathlons don't necessarily work the neck muscles needed for F1 racing ;)

Could just be FUD on my part though :D I just don't want to get too excited over Brawn/Button just yet!
 
Testing Times - Day 4 - Circuit-de-Catalunya

testingday4.jpg
 
i know i shouldnt be excited, being test times an all that, but i cant help but dream of the underdogs formerly known as honda actually being consistently competitive with some of the upper mid teams and perhaps even making the top dogs sweat a little
 
I think that Button is tremendously fit. However, fitness doesnt mean 'fast in an F1 car'.

I think in this day and age, too much is made of fitness, with respect to driving an F1 car.

If it were me, I'd put less time in fitness work and more time in testing and simulator work, so that I learn how to drive the car to its limit. Hamilton does a lot of simulator work and inorder to bring him upto speed in 2007 (when he didnt know any of the circuits), he did lots of simulated race distances, which helped him to match and sometimes surpass the performance of the reigning World Champ at the time - Alonso.

If Button does find himself in the fastest car (and its quite possible, based on the pre-season testing times), then the pressure will be immense and he may start making silly mistakes (a la Hamilton at the end of 2007 and in the middle of 2008).

Also, we dont know how he will cope against Barrichello, if Barrichello starts outscoring and outperforming Button, regularly. Remember, Barrichello outscored and outqualified Button last year and is quite capable of leading the championship in the best car.
 
Duke said:
Testing Times - Day 4 - Circuit-de-Catalunya

testingday4.jpg
Click to expand...

I have to say that I am totally shocked by the performance of the BrawnGP car.

Even if it was a glory run (low fuel tanks, aggressive engine/car settings, etc), that is one impressive lap from Barrichello, considering that the car was one of the last to be unveiled.

I've followed F1 for many years and in the last decade or so, I've never seen a car at the back of the grid, move to the top of the grid the following year, with such ease.
 
Go Barri!

Agreed sunama, fitness is over hyped. However we don't really have any idea how fit Button is. Fitness can vary very quickly.

If the car is podium fast, I think my money would be on Barri than Button. Gotta support the Brit though.
 
sunama said:
I've followed F1 for many years and in the last decade or so, I've never seen a car at the back of the grid, move to the top of the grid the following year, with such ease.
Click to expand...

Major rule change, Honda gave up on the 2008 car and started working on 2009 early last season. The biggest hint is that Brawn is no fool, he would be unlikely to put is name/money down if he knew the car was a dog like last year.
 
sunama said:
I've followed F1 for many years and in the last decade or so, I've never seen a car at the back of the grid, move to the top of the grid the following year, with such ease.
Click to expand...

Well you wouldn't have, would you? The car construction rules haven't seen a shake-up like this in a very long time.

Big rule changes always allow for things like this to happen. Take the introduction of the 1.5L Formula in '61 - Ferrari went from winning one race in '60 (Monza, when Lotus, BRM and Cooper all didn't race) to dominating. Or the beginning of the 3.0 era in '66 that saw Brabham go from pretty rubbish to world-beating. Or Schumacher and Benetton coming to the fore in the wake of all that technology getting banned at the end of the '93 season. Or Mika Hakkinen going from one win in '97 to the title in '98.

BrawnGP could win races this year. They have the talent, they appear to have the car, and they now must be brimming with confidence. As for titles.....it's a long season, and my money would still be on one of the Ferrari drivers. And who knows, maybe McLaren are sandbagging?
 
JRS said:
Or Schumacher and Benetton coming to the fore in the wake of all that technology getting banned at the end of the '93 season.
Click to expand...

Bennetton were a race winning team in 1992 and 1993. So, when they won many races in 1994, there was a progression and it wasnt a complete surprise. Also, Williams went from totally dominant (in 1993) to WDC competitive in 1994. Senna actually did get 3 poles in 3 races for Williams, in 1994. Hence, the shake-up didnt really shake things up that much.

JRS said:
Or Mika Hakkinen going from one win in '97 to the title in '98.
Click to expand...

But he didnt come from the back of the grid or the middle of the back. He was competitive in 1997 and then moved up a step in 1998.

BrawnGP on the other hand, have come from absolutely nowhere (keep in mind we are basing this purely on testing) to the front of the grid and Barrichello's time was a considerable margin ahead of the 2nd placed man.

JRS said:
And who knows, maybe McLaren are sandbagging?
Click to expand...

Possible. But unlikely. There is no reason for McLaren to drop back by 1-3s/lap, as was the case this week. Even Hamilton (who has a HUGE ego and wouldnt slow down for anyone), couldnt get close to the front running times, which must be worrying for McLaren. On top of which sandbagging serves no purpose whatsoever...McLaren are in trouble.

Certainly, the qualifying session in Melbourne will be much anticipated.
 
sunama said:
Bennetton were a race winning team in 1992 and 1993.
Click to expand...

Yes, one in each season.

sunama said:
So, when they won many races in 1994, there was a progression and it wasnt a complete surprise. Also, Williams went from totally dominant (in 1993) to WDC competitive in 1994. Senna actually did get 3 poles in 3 races for Williams, in 1994. Hence, the shake-up didnt really shake things up that much.
Click to expand...

I think it surprised the hell out of a lot of people that Senna didn't win the first few races before the tragedies of Imola. I know I was surprised - not surprised that that Schumacher was doing so well, but that Senna was doing so poorly.

sunama said:
But he didnt come from the back of the grid or the middle of the back. He was competitive in 1997 and then moved up a step in 1998.
Click to expand...

He was on the podium three times in '97. It's a helluva step to go from that to winning a title!

sunama said:
BrawnGP on the other hand, have come from absolutely nowhere (keep in mind we are basing this purely on testing) to the front of the grid and Barrichello's time was a considerable margin ahead of the 2nd placed man.
Click to expand...

But why is it such a shock to you? Jenson and Rubens both have a modicum of talent, the car has had plenty of development time, and the rule changes are large enough to throw the established front-runners a wicked curve-ball.

I wouldn't have been shocked if the new car had been as dog-slow as the previous two Hondas - after all, something was pretty fundamentally wrong in the design process and there was always the possibility that it could have carried through to the new rules. But I'm also not shocked that they've found what appears to be a serious turn of speed. As I said - over the course of a season my money would still be with one of the Ferrari drivers (hopefully Massa just to really irritate dannyjo22), but I can see a decent points haul and maybe a win or two for BrawnGP if they can ride the wave of confidence that they'll be feeling right now.

sunama said:
Possible. But unlikely. There is no reason for McLaren to drop back by 1-3s/lap, as was the case this week. Even Hamilton (who has a HUGE ego and wouldnt slow down for anyone), couldnt get close to the front running times, which must be worrying for McLaren. On top of which sandbagging serves no purpose whatsoever...McLaren are in trouble.
Click to expand...

You know, part of me really hopes that they are in trouble just to silence the hooting dicks that have really tested my love of this sport for the last two years. The rest of me wants to see a proper attempt at defending the title by Hamilton, it would be a real shame if he didn't get the chance due to McLaren screwing up with the car.

sunama said:
Certainly, the qualifying session in Melbourne will be much anticipated.
Click to expand...

Something we agree on ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom