F1 2009 Season discussion/development thread

Dup · 16 Mar 2009 at 11:50

Duke said:
Even watching Massa in the rain can't keep you watching??

Good point. I wonder how the weather will play a force in the results this year and how well these rules sway for wet racing. We had a lot of wet circuit action last year and the only thing that can help for that is experience and strategy.

JRS · 16 Mar 2009 at 12:15

Dup said:
Good point. I wonder how the weather will play a force in the results this year and how well these rules sway for wet racing. We had a lot of wet circuit action last year and the only thing that can help for that is experience and strategy.

Brundle has noted that with the downforce reduction we could see some real fun and games at a wet race - after all, the wet tyre probably isn't changing much (nothing like as much as the dry tyres are).

Overlag · 16 Mar 2009 at 12:16

elmuzzy66. said:
Iam totaly gutted with the brawn gp performance. Not because its bad but because i ve always been a honda fan. My first car and bike were hondas, old 1988 civic and a cg125. Would have loved to see honda win things again. after seeing the performance of the new brawn car i wonder if alonso will rue not signing for honda. Still its shaping up to be a good season of F1

its because its not a honda anymore that its fast. Honda to Merc engine = massive boost in power and probably driveability of that power.

El_Watcher · 16 Mar 2009 at 12:18

ps3ud0 said:
Any reason for me to watch this year - been depressed with F1 for ages now and when talking to friends about F1 it leads to little, or no excitement...

Duke said:
Aww you can't give up now - we have slicks, less down force, an underdog team doing well...

And it's all in beautiful HD...no wait...

NathanE · 16 Mar 2009 at 12:19

[TW]Taggart;13691204 said:
This season is going to be epic.

Hamilton in a **** car is something the 'haters' have asked for, lets see how good he really is and how much he has learnt. It certainly isn't boding well for mcl, but I wouldn't write them off yet.

What exactly do the "haters" expect him to do though? He's just going to be like any other champ that ended up in a crap car!

JRS · 16 Mar 2009 at 12:25

NathanE said:
What exactly do the "haters" expect him to do though? He's just going to be like any other champ that ended up in a crap car!

Not sure about the "haters", but I expect him to do what Alonso did in that Minardi for his first season, and Kimi did in the Sauber, and Senna did in the Toleman....do his best.

philjohn · 16 Mar 2009 at 12:46

JRS said:
I wouldn't speak too soon on that - McLaren have been at this game long enough now, they can get that car up to roughly where it should be by the end of March.

They didn't in 2004 until they launched an entirely new car mid season (not talking about the reliability issues, but the general slowness like at Catalunya that year).

Pete19s · 16 Mar 2009 at 14:19

Overlag said:
its because its not a honda anymore that its fast. Honda to Merc engine = massive boost in power and probably driveability of that power.

Man speaketh the truth, no more having to be in V-tech yo!1! to go anywhere fast. Oh wait no hang on a mo............... Really looking forward to Melbourne, shame I cant pull 2 all-nighters for quali/race.

Witor · 16 Mar 2009 at 14:27

Having said that, something's gone pop as Button's stopped on track about 10 mins ago...no news yet as to what the reason is.

(cue all doom and gloom for BrawnGP this season)

dannyjo22 · 16 Mar 2009 at 15:14

Overlag said:
its because its not a honda anymore that its fast. Honda to Merc engine = massive boost in power and probably driveability of that power.

Your kidding right? So your saying that going from a honda to a Merc has given them all this gain? From being atleast 1.5 seconds down on mercedes to half a second up?

Its more than the engine even though I think the stagnation of engine developement didn't help honda.

Overlag · 16 Mar 2009 at 15:29

dannyjo22 said:
Your kidding right? So your saying that going from a honda to a Merc has given them all this gain? From being atleast 1.5 seconds down on mercedes to half a second up?

Its more than the engine even though I think the stagnation of engine developement didn't help honda.

the car is better for sure, but 50bhp more is making the most of it...for sure

Sparky · 16 Mar 2009 at 15:35

Overlag said:
the car is better for sure, but 50bhp more is making the most of it...for sure

I thought it was more like 30 BHP down? Same as the Renault unit.

Witor · 16 Mar 2009 at 15:39

30-50bhp depending where you read/trust.

Apparently engine tractability was (relatively) poor too.

Duke · 16 Mar 2009 at 15:42

Overlag said:
the car is better for sure, but 50bhp more is making the most of it...for sure

hehe

Dup · 16 Mar 2009 at 16:07

Oooh err, Alonso has just pipped Barrichello to the top spot by a small margin. Both in the 1:18.

Duke · 16 Mar 2009 at 16:20

Testing Times - Day 2 - Circuit-de-Jerez

Smit · 16 Mar 2009 at 16:33

Renault with some speed

Williams not looking too good to be honest

Although 123 laps, sure is a reliable car!

dannyjo22 · 16 Mar 2009 at 16:58

Nodirection said:
30-50bhp depending where you read/trust.

Apparently engine tractability was (relatively) poor too.

The figures are always made up. Guestimates.

elmuzzy66. · 16 Mar 2009 at 17:46

dannyjo22 said:
I love the way the glory hunters seemed to have latched onto the team already after testing times

Glory hunters? after being a honda fan for decades i don't see the point of your comment

Memphis · 16 Mar 2009 at 17:50

Smit said:
Renault with some speed

Fanboy!!!!!

Sorry, I should probably let that go shouldn't I?