F1 Silly Season 2005

[fatz]

go webber go webber

go go go webber

[Roy]

Jesus..i just heard that MS just donated 14 million to a charity for the Tsunami appeal:thumbsup:

Maybe hes getting soft in his old age:)

[Kel]

Jesus..i just heard that MS just donated 14 million to a charity for the Tsunami appeal:thumbsup:

Maybe hes getting soft in his old age:)

Yeah- the story is that his body guard died in Thailand?

[Roy]

LOL...quote...

Frank Williams admitted that Antonio Pizzonia essentially had the job until they tested Nick Heidfeld. The German driver proved rapid from the outset and no the team will wait until the end of the month before making a decision.

&

Williams has also admitted that Mark Webber's dislike of former Jaguar team-mate Pizzonia will play a small part in the decision making process while BMW are firmly in the Nick Heidfeld camp.

Banish jungle boy to the archives of wannabee F1 drivers:flame:

[Silver-Arrowz]

Pizzona is a test driver full stop. His race performance were never really spectacular. He had his chances this year and he was no better then Marc Gene. They were fighting at the front/mid bunch.

Ralf come back and the car is at the front end of the pack. It shows something. The car is capable, the driver isn't.

[GTRSRULE!!!]

Yeah- the story is that his body guard died in Thailand?

also the bodyguards family

[Roy]

Well im getting my tickets to the Saturday early next week. Fron those that have been before...what area is best for viewing the practice/qualifying and support races on the Saturday?

Oh and my money is on Heidfield...the Krauts/BMW will step in and a job for the boyz:)

[Beer Baron]

i've always only gone on the race day before and some of qualifying. turn one is always good, but if you don't mind a little walk to find a good spot, somewhere along the back of the circuit is nice too. see you there mate, my tickets were bought back in november!

[Roy]

24hrs until the Williams decision. I say Heidfield:)

[Kel]

24hrs until the Williams decision. I say Heidfield:)

He seems the likely choice since Pizza Boy only beat him twice in the shootout.

[Beer Baron]

24hrs until the Williams decision. I say Heidfield:)

f**k eh. I thought Heidfeld was a done deal? I spew if pizza boy gets it after all this.

[Duncan]

meh I'd like to see pizzonia get a go, that would rev webber up like nothing else

[R324D]

meh I'd like to see pizzonia get a go, that would rev webber up like nothing else

I agree....

(Also, just got my tickets to the Melbourne GP First time I am going to see it live! :D )

[Roy]

Heidfield it is:wave:

http://f1.racing-live.com/en/index.html?ht.../en/index.shtml

Its time to see if all the hoo ha that surrounded him when he first started at McLaren all those years ago was warranted. He had big raps on him from the junior classes, but has been running aorund in F1 wilderness tems for too long:)

[fatz]

yea baby atleast weber will have someone with some pace

[Beer Baron]

yea baby atleast weber will have someone with some pace

:werd:

[Snowman]

So glad Heidfield got the drive. Less than 5 weeks to go! BTW - who's invading to come see this? I'm happy to arrange a dinner somewhere for fellow SAU'er to catch up after the event!

BTW - Here's some stats on the FW27 that I found pretty amazing:

1.3 terabytes of aero data processed in CFD (1 terabyte is a thousand million bytes, equivalent to 69,333 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

250,000 man hours of design time has been spent on the FW27, with a further 250,000 man hours required in fabrication and build.

4,500 drawings have been produced in the design of the FW27 chassis. End-on-end, these drawings would stretch for 5,350km with a further 4,000 expected to be produced to support the FW27’s lifecycle. By the end of the season, drawings would reach from London to Buenos Aires.

The FW27 will accelerate from standing to 200kmh in five seconds, and deceleration forces on board will reach 5g. 1g equates to driving into a brick wall at 30kmh.

Brake temperatures to generate the deceleration will reach 600 ºC in one second On board the FW27, exhaust temperatures reach 950 ºC and even the air temperature in the pneumatic valve system reaches temperatures two and half times boiling point at 250 ºC.

The BMW P84/5 contains 5,000 individual components, and takes 100 man hours to build. BMW have historically produced approximately 200 engines per season, but this figure will reduce in 2005.

BMW produce 1,000 drawings in the design of each engine.

The BMW engine weighs less than 90 kilograms.

At 19,000 rpm, 316.7 revolutions and 1,583.3 ignitions take place each second in the BMW F1 engine. 9,500 engine speed measurements are made, the pistons cover a distance of 25 metres, and 550 litres of air are drawn in. In the P84, maximum piston acceleration was 10,000g. Peak piston speed was 40 metres per second.

[fatz]

im arroused

[GTRSRULE!!!]

Schumacher 'can be beaten'

By Mike Duffy

February 1, 2005

AUSTRALIA's newest front-line Formula One pilot Mark Webber - just one month away from making his debut for Williams-BMW in the Melbourne Grand Prix - said last night: "I really feel we can beat Michael Schumacher and Ferrari.

Pole position ... Webber.

"It's going to be very, very tough - but it can be done.

"Michael is a fantastic driver ... Ferrari is a fantastic team.

"He is seven times world champion, a superstar legend of our sport.

"He is arguably one of the greatest sportsman that ever lived. But I am not overpowered by his stature and I believe I can prove myself and beat him fair and square.

"I want to win races. And I would love to win in Melbourne."

Queanbeyan-born and raised Webber, 28, has been snapped up as No.1 driver by Williams after cutting his teeth in F1 with Minardi and Jaguar.

This gives Webber the chance to become Australia's next F1 world champion - 25 years after Alan Jones won his crown with Williams in 1980.

Webber - F1's Rookie of the Year in his debut year - made time in his whirlwind new world of preparing for his chance of a lifetime to talk to Australian motoring journalists, in Valencia to see the 2005 Williams-BMW unveiled to world media.

Yesterday Williams announced German Nick Heidfeld as Webber's teammate for 2005 ahead of Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia who will remain as a test driver.

Heidfeld crosses from Jordan and completes a strong if relatively inexperienced team to do battle with the all-conquering Ferrari.

"It's great just being out there competing with Michael [schumacher]," Webber said.

"It's like playing cricket with Don Bradman - everyone wanted to bowl the Don, everyone wants to beat Michael.

"I know what level I have to go to beat Ferrari. It's going to have to be an incredibly high level.

"But there will be races in which things don't happen for him and they really happen for me.

"It's a great opportunity for me to come to Williams. It's a tremendously successful team. I'm very privileged to drive for them.

"I'm proud to be driving for Australia and making my debut for Williams-BMW in Melbourne.

"Every day I have to pinch myself I am in this situation. I have not had a podium finish yet. Hopefully, that will come in Melbourne.

"Williams has been at the top before. They know how to do it. And I want to be part of their return to success.

"We are aiming at winning as many races as possible - we are not putting the hours in to finish in third spot. "But you have to be realistic. You can't win every race."

The Daily Telegraph

Webber 'mirrors the greats'

From correspondents in Valencia

February 1, 2005

TEAM boss Frank Williams says Australian Mark Webber already reminds him of Formula One greats Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost.

Even though the 28-year-old has not yet raced for the BMW-powered Williams team – he makes his debut in Melbourne on March 6 – Webber had his new employer singing his praises again at the launch of the new FW27 car overnight.

"He's very focused, super fit and a bit like someone else in a red car (Ferrari's seven times champion Michael Schumacher) who is mentally fully involved seven days a week – and that we like," said Williams.

"He is the antithesis of Alan Jones and a bit like Mansell and Prost mixed together, you know," he added.

"He has immense determination, like Mansell, and is always thinking, like Prost."

Australian Jones was Williams' first world champion, in 1980, and was known for his forthright views and uncompromising approach to racing.

To many, he remains the ideal Williams driver as well as being Australia's last race winner.

The hard-charging Mansell ran away with the 1992 title at Williams while French ace Prost captured his fourth title with them in 1993.

Webber is also direct, telling it like he sees it, but in a very different mould to the drivers of old. As well as being a fitness fanatic, he is a determined team player who spends hours in the factory.

The Australian is also acutely aware that he has yet to deliver anything in Formula One terms.

His fifth place for Minardi on his debut in Melbourne in 2002 remains the highest placing of his Formula One career, despite two years with Jaguar, whereas new teammate Nick Heidfeld has a podium finish to his credit.

"I certainly haven't proved a great deal in F1," said Webber.

"I haven't achieved as much in F1 as Nick has.

"Testing is one thing, racing's another...I still have a lot more to do yet."

The Australian shrugged off any suggestion that, just because he had been signed first, he would be the team's lead driver and said he hopes to learn a lot with the former champion.

"I'm spoilt for the people I'm working with," he said. "I'm just rapt with the guys...that's incredible for me. I'm in a very lucky situation and I'm looking forward to making the most of it.

"When you come to a team with someone like Frank and Patrick (Head) running it you have to take in what they tell you, they are like fathers for you. They are very respected people and legends in the sport," he said. "I want to learn off them and try to achieve good things with the whole team."

Reuters

Williams vows no more mistakes

From correspondents in Valencia

February 1, 2005

WILLIAMS launched its 2005 Formula One car overnight with new drivers and a steely determination not to repeat last year's mistakes.

"We want to move back into the winning lane," said Frank Williams, whose BMW-powered team finished a disappointing fourth overall last year after a troubled start with the ill-fated "walrus-nosed" FW26.

"The mistakes of 2004 must not happen again. We must implement the new regulations to our best advantage and be completely with it when it comes down to it."

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen added: "For four years we surpassed our targets. Then in 2004 we found ourselves in a trough, failing to meet our expectations for the first time.

"We now aim to accumulate successes once more with renewed strength."

Williams, which was last world champion in 1997 with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, won the last race of 2004 in Brazil through Juan Pablo Montoya.

But both the Colombian and his German teammate Ralf Schumacher were disqualified in Canada for technical reasons, and Montoya was also ruled out of the US Grand Prix, where his teammate crashed heavily.

While champion Ferrari, in a class of its own following 15 wins in 18 races last year, starts the season on March 6 with an unchanged lineup, both Montoya and Ralf have moved on.

Williams now looks to Australian Mark Webber and Germany's Nick Heidfeld, two drivers who have yet to win a race, to get back into championship contention.

Only Heidfeld, announced by the team after a decision yetserday, has stepped on to the podium before, while Webber's best performance remains fifth place on his debut for Minardi in 2002.

Heidfeld, 27, has 84 grands prix under his belt, with a third place for Sauber in Brazil in 2001, while the 28-year-old Webber has 50 starts with Minardi and Jaguar.

"I have every confidence that our drivers will be a major catalyst this season," said Williams said.

"Not only will they be taking every opportunity to demonstrate that our decisions to employ them were well placed, but also you cannot underestimate the incentive it provides to everyone in the company, and at the trackside, to be working with new faces."

The new car reflects rule changes introduced this season, with changes to the aerodynamics leading to a higher front wing and the rear wing moved forwards.

Williams, with smaller side-pods and returning to a single-keel design, was their lightest yet.

"While reducing weight, a lot of attention has been placed on reliability, in particular the gearbox," said technical director Sam Michael. "The FW27 gearbox has been running on the track since November 2004 with no major problems and any issues we had with last season's gearbox have been resolved."

Reuters

[Silver-Arrowz]

Intrestingly, they're reverted back to a single keel setup.

Wonder why Mclaren are still keen the twin keel setup? They probably still believe the aero advantages outweigh the weight gain. Last year they had major issues with the front tyres wearing out too quickly.

I would love to see Webber take the crown. I feel it's time for another Aussie F1 king.