2008 F1 Season

[Roy]

But BS aside, MAssa was looking extremely good. Marching away from Lewis, who even if he could go a lap or three longer was not looking to great in the tyre dept.

Masssa is the guy of 2008, who has lifted his game and doing the best job out there. He made a qoopsie at OZ GP, and didnt have a great British GP, but he seems to be ringing that cars neck. Out driving ad out qualifying Kimi...which everyone seems way too quick to claim he is off with the fairies if Massa is beating him...rather then considering that Massa is doing a bloody brilliant job in a car that suits his driving.

[ctjet]

Kimi’s problem seems to be similar to NH’s with his BMW... just cant get heat into his tyres. Though when kimi does get it working nobody can come close to him, Massa struggles to get to his consistently strong race pace.

I think the car setup and direction isn’t going the way of kimi’s wants and needs and that’s why he struggles. Massa seems to like how the car turns in and as a result has the confidence to push harder, earlier.

[Beer Baron]

so anyway, with all this bargeboard scrapping on the horrible track surface, surely somebody took too much off their planks and needs to be penalized... hammo, heikki... im looking in your direction

fking gold i tell ya.

[ctjet]

[sloutch]

More like the weather and 70% humidity was toasting every single driver in the F1. I think the track has to be re-surfaced properly. Look at all the sparks coming out from the bottom of each car. How bumpy is that.

[m3gtr]

More like the weather and 70% humidity was toasting every single driver in the F1. I think the track has to be re-surfaced properly. Look at all the sparks coming out from the bottom of each car. How bumpy is that.

Youre kidding right?

Make it easier for them?

Wow, the big babies cant handle a few bumps... i lol'ed at some of the drivers bitching about the bumps- even Brundle said it in the broadcast. I think its awesome they have to push that hard in those conditions - make them earn their cash this time instead of circulating like robots on a slot car track.

Street circuits are like that for a reason- no real street circuit ever had everything ironed out for all the babies.

[Muz]

so to re-cap

Massa smashes LH in quali on the same fuel load

Massa builds a gap of 3 seconds and is increasing it within the opening laps of the GP

Hamilton is losing .5 of a second to KR every lap and would soon be defending if Piquet didn't crash out

Massa's race is ended by a team error, not a driver error

Hamilton eventually passes a much slower DC and finishes 3rd, 1 position down on where he qualified

Alonso beats Hamilton in an inferior team/car

But the drive of the race would certainly have to go to Hamilton, what a truly magnificent pass. Senna-esque

Ok guys, I know that I am getting old and I may have blinked but wtf Senna-esque move are you attributing to Louise? Surely you can't be talking about the one where he stuffs it up and slides underneath DC???? C'mon really? I watched it via Star Sports and even the commentator on there said DC should have held his ground.

Ahhh jesus come back Red 5, F1 is not the same without you. Is there nobody in F1 today who will put this little prick in his place? Where are all the MEN? Jones, Rosberg, Senna, Mansell, Villenuve (snr) Lauda, Piquet and the Schu would have put him into a wall by now.

Most of the modern "pilotes" are built like jockey's and have cojones to match! I'm going to drag out my vid of Piquet senior thumping the prick who ran him off the road at Monza just to see some real motor racing not the stereotyped and overhyped crap we are currently being fed.

(....rant over .... sits back, feet up on desk, clasps hand behind head and thinks .....wtf)

Muz

[Roy]

Poor old Irvine. Senna punched like a girl from what i understand

[dezz]

Ok guys, I know that I am getting old and I may have blinked but wtf Senna-esque move are you attributing to Louise? Surely you can't be talking about the one where he stuffs it up and slides underneath DC???? C'mon really? I watched it via Star Sports and even the commentator on there said DC should have held his ground.

Ahhh jesus come back Red 5, F1 is not the same without you. Is there nobody in F1 today who will put this little prick in his place? Where are all the MEN? Jones, Rosberg, Senna, Mansell, Villenuve (snr) Lauda, Piquet and the Schu would have put him into a wall by now.

Most of the modern "pilotes" are built like jockey's and have cojones to match! I'm going to drag out my vid of Piquet senior thumping the prick who ran him off the road at Monza just to see some real motor racing not the stereotyped and overhyped crap we are currently being fed.

(....rant over .... sits back, feet up on desk, clasps hand behind head and thinks .....wtf)

Muz

ahah thanks mate, I hate lewis hamilton more than most and that move was nothing. mediocre at best. The iTV commentators and a certain few in here that believe that pass was remotely special are a pack of flogs

[knore]

Yeah ive been watching F1 religiously since the start of 2005, havent missed a qualy or race.. And lewis mania has even captured the commentators.

It can get really annoying and sometimes i wonder if they realise they are spending 70% of the time talking about lewis and how he could do this and if he did this etc etc

I know they are english commentators, but come on, unbiased reporting please.

I remember how much complaining there was about the coverage percentage that shumi got, well i can tell you this is even worse!

There is 19 other drivers out there. And two of them are World Champions. And i hate to say it guys, but this new influx of f1 fans because of hamilton isnt a good thing. Its a bunch of people who only know lewis-era f1 and give no credit to anyone who came before that.

Infact, almost everyone ive had in-person discussions with who likes lewis only started watching f1 this year or last.

I support Fernando because i believe he is the best current forumula one driver in the world, and im not the only one. Watching him end ferrari's and schumi reign in an epic struggle race by race through 2005-2006 was glorious

He never sat in the best car and team from day one, he dragged his team into the lead and maintained it. Much like Micheal did with Ferrari, it took him 4 years to get them winning.

I wish lewis started with a more humble foundation and team like everyone else has. Maybe the drivers and fans would respect him more when he wins then.

He is a great driver, but dont kidd yourself guys. F1 is no joke. The difference between the top drivers is almost immeasurable. There is no where to hide time in this sport/business.

Lewis isnt some super-god alien who came to earth and is better than everyone. If he started his f1 career at honda/force india/williams i bet no one would even know who he is.

Its not like lewis came along and is actually better than everyone. He simply took the best seat in town and no longer has a team mate who can beat him.

If he loses the championship again this year, im going to smile for a week. Considering he lost it last year at this point when he was 17? points in the lead is absolutely ridiculous.

For the record, Ferrari smashed mclaren in singapore. I dont know if everyone took notice, but massa was pulling away and kimi was catching lewis.. And Massa came in on lap 17! So he wasnt fuelled light

Stupid mistakes aside, i still think Massa's recent form will take him to the title.

And rightfully so.

Edited September 29, 2008 by knore

[knore]

edit= double post.

Edited September 29, 2008 by knore

[Muz]

I should have added the Columbian Cuthroat JPM to that illustrious list of hard drivers and am very suprised that nobody picked me up on that. You're getting old Roy!

cheers

Muz

[m3gtr]

Dunno if anyone cares but ive got the full quali session from onboard and on HK's final run he was all over the shop - really monstering the car and even smacking the wall coming out of a left hander flat out.

Massas pole lap really was amazing.

Hooked it right up.

[sh@un]

Masssa is the guy of 2008, who has lifted his game and doing the best job out there.

Mebe this has something to do with him being the Ferrari F1 test driver for ages before scoring the race drive- Could it be that this experience gives him the edge over Kimi in being able to work with his race engineer more effectively to dial the car in to suit the track conditions and his driving style?

[m3gtr]

Mebe this has something to do with him being the Ferrari F1 test driver for ages before scoring the race drive- Could it be that this experience gives him the edge over Kimi in being able to work with his race engineer more effectively to dial the car in to suit the track conditions and his driving style?

You see theres the rub. Massa doesnt deserve the championship any more than Hamilton. If anything, Kubica deserves it more than Massa due to sheer consistency and use of an inferior packege relative to the cars ahead of him.

If it werent for bad timing in Singapore, hed be right on the heels of Massa in the WDC

Massa should count his lucky starts RK scored nothing in Singapore...

He was hopeless in England, threw it away in Monza...should i mention Australia?

Too often Massa has had opportunities that hes squandered this season for one reason or another.

Someone else i can think of did the same thing last season.

If Ferrari f**k up in Japan, its game over.

And im not going to lose sleep over the distinct chance they will.

If it rains, Ferrari may as well pack up and head for China. If it doesnt, theyll have a tough time holding Mac back.

Remember - Even if LH finishes second to FM in all the remaining GP's which he is completely entitled to do, he will be WDC.

And i will applaud LH, RD and the Mac team for seeing it through despite all the bullshit they have swum through this season and the last - 2 seasons that i cannot recall in living memory, short of the bullshit political agendas Ken Tyrrell was put through in the 70's, being so heavily stacked against them - regardless what the pundits and the armchair viewers will say.

Any F1 man worth his salt would have been appalled at the treatment they, their sponsors and their fans have had to endure over the past few years.

I dont care if Massa wins it - itll be great for him if he does and ill applaud him just the same but the F1 in me says its high time Mac put a royal flush smackdown on the guys at Maranello and showed them they cannot and will not have it all their own way.

[dezz]

and plenty more people would be equally appalled that they were even allowed to compete this year after being found guilty of cheating off their main rival

[cokey]

and plenty more people would be equally appalled that they were even allowed to compete this year after being found guilty of cheating off their main rival

Exactly mate.

When Dick Dastardly and muttley and co were heavily fined for last years behaviour as well as being sent to the far end of the pit lane to wear the pointy hat !

They were warned that they would be under special scrutiny this year !

Its not a witch-hunt on Mac, merely a continuation of Zee punishment.

You would have thought they would try to keep it clean ? Pffh 5 fouls already !

More to come I bet !

cokey

Edited September 29, 2008 by cokey

[m3gtr]

You seem to forget that it was a FERRARI employee who handed over the data so it could be argued that the two teams were in cahoots.

So the receiptee of the data was the only one to blame?

Why wasnt Ferrari punished for having handed over the data?

What of the employee of the other team who delivered the information?

No ties, no relation?

Thats bullshit and its always taken two to tango.

And what of Renault being found guilty of the same offense and let off the hook with a slap on the wrist?

Hypocrisy, double standards and impartialism at its finest.

[m3gtr]

Joe Saward writes...

" Whatever the case, I was reminded very much of Adelaide with its 'concrete block in the park' feel and the party atmosphere. Everyone in Formula 1, apart from the odd cantankerous Frenchman, thought that Adelaide was the best race of the year. We used to arrive from Japan to be greeted at the airport by jazz bands and TV cameras. There were some great races too, and two spectacular World title showdowns. There was the astonishing race in 1993 when the great Ayrton Senna drove what would end up being his last F1 victory in an underpowered McLaren. Afterwards, when the crowds had gone off to watch Tina Turner's post-race concert in the park, Senna joined the American diva on stage and she sang "Simply the Best" to him. I will never hear that song again without thinking of Ayrton.

We lost that loving feeling when the Australian GP moved to Melbourne in 1996. Melbourne was good, but it was never Adelaide and to be entirely honest, we have missed it ever since. There are races that we like but none that we love."

I really do miss the GP being at Adelaide, not because im from there and saw 9 out of the 10 GP's live from all different angles, but because of what is written in this article.

This bloke has really summed it up.

Melburne will never be Adelaide, no matter how many lights they throw at it...

[knore]

Dunno if anyone cares but ive got the full quali session from onboard and on HK's final run he was all over the shop - really monstering the car and even smacking the wall coming out of a left hander flat out.

Massas pole lap really was amazing.

Hooked it right up.

Where from?

I want a full in car lap in high quality mpeg etc

Melb gov is too lame to have a night race, it was offered.. The politicians making the decisions here are all just too old and probably know nothing about F1.

They are too stubborn to realise it would most likely compeltely sell out and finally make them some money!

Singpore sold out over 100,000 tickets at approx 1k each. Thats

$100 Million from ticket sales alone, for 1 race!. F1 is the most lucrative sporting enterprise on the planet, only the world cup soccer makes more.. But its every 4 years. So effectively f1 makes 3 times more

Suzuka night race next year if it happens will be great

Edited September 29, 2008 by knore