Melb GP Thread.

[Snowman]

Well it's only a few days to the first GP of the year and I feel like Big Kev.

I think the thing that makes the Oz GP so exciting is the fact it's the first one for the year and you really don't know what to expect.

Especially this year where we are seeing a host of new rules and a massive shuffle in driver line-ups.

So what's everyones predictions?

I remember last year in Winter testing Ferrari were off the pace and everyone was saying the new car was a dud. Only for Ferrari to come out and slaughter everyone in the first race.... and then for the rest of the season.

As much as I don't want it to - I expect that will happen again.

Next up I think will come McLaren. I think they will have a slight edge over Renault. But I am really looking forwards to the battle during the year with the 2 drivers. Whether McLaren can challenge Ferrari this year I think will depend on the reliability of the engine. The advantage McLaren have over the other main rivals is the 3rd car. This is huge now with the 2 race engine rule as it means they don't need to stress the 2 race cars during the testing sessions on a Friday / Saturday. The down side is you can expect to see little of Montoya and Raikonen before Saturday afternoon.

I'm also expecting BAR to drop back if they have to limit the engine to survive the 2 races.

Williams and Mark Webber I can't guess about right now. I have a funny feeling the car is better than what they are making it out to be. I guess we'll find out on the weekend. I hope it is and Mark kicks ass cause Im in the Williams marque for the GP and it will rock if he does well!

My only concern with Mark is what happens if he farks up another start. Will they blame the Williams launch control as well? I've never been 100% convinced that those bad starts were all the cars fault.

Toyota are gay and have drivers to suit. I expect neither of them to finish cause they will come up with some stupid reason to stop. Regardless Red Bull should beat them.

If Minardi get to race then I can see them actually beating a Jordan. I think Minardi have the better drivers of the 2 teams and Jordon have done basically zero testing.

But until the season starts I really have no idea and am just hoping we finally have a season worth staying up late on a Sunday night for.

The only thing I am sure about is I will be seriously hammered over the weekend and Im hanging for this week to be over already!

[rushs]

well i'm definetely looking forward to seeing ralf in a toyota and montoya in one of my mclarens

my only concern is the swtich from 'normal' fri/sat qualifying sessions to sat/sun quals... plus the engine regs regarding the switching of engines between qualifying and race day... so if someone blows an engine on the sunday quals (which is technically 'race day') they have to start at the back of the grid... that's a bit harsh...

[Mika]

My money is on a Kimi and JPM clean sweep...well I'm a little biased but i think Ferrari really will struggle to match McLaren and Renault for pace. Seeing they're rushing their 2005 car out for Bahrain pretty much says there's some panic down at Maranello.

[rushs]

i missed that... ferrari are rushing to get the the 2005 car out? shit... both they and minardi werent planing on bring em out until may... interesting... testing in spain sure scared the fark outta them

[[WLDCRD]]

I say Jordan will FLOG everyone!

[relicr31act]

I hate to say it but I think that Ferrari will be right up there again. The F2005 is belting around Fiorano as we speak probably making sure that nothing falls off it and that it is close to being as fast as last year. If that is the case then the other guys are going to be looking at the back of two red cars again. Pre season testing means nothing except to those that have the data from full race distance simulations and the ability to determine the real situation from that data. I predict that it is unlikely to be a walk over for who ever ends up winning and hope that there is a five second gap between first and second with the whoever is running second closing at over a second a lap! If Michelin have got their shit together as far as graining goes then I think that Williams, Mclaren and Renault will be a lot closer at the end of the race than they have been for some time. Now all they have to do is get rid of those bullshit fuel stops and make the suckers run the whole race distance on one tank of fuel and one set of tyres and we might see who really is the best Grand Prix driver and is in the last five years who is the best at ringing the crap out of a car for twenty laps!!!

[Roy]

Fark, day one and my head hurts and i woke up in a strange place...this weekend will be huge . Oh and Medic, i sustained some injuries plaing drunken union

[Shell]

hmmm well half of qualifying is over and pretty damn unfair on half the field really...looked like it was gonna clear up to give them an advantage but instead it fckn pissed down and game over...

I'll be up early tomorrow to see what happens with the second half. Go JPM

[relicr31act]

Congrats Channel Ten!! That has to be the worst telecast I have had to endure since Murray walker retired. Leigh Diffey should just piss off!! Why don't we get the ITV team of Martin Brundle and Jonathan Palmer? Hey Leigh here is a tip. When the brain dead director puts on the in car stuff, shut the ***c up!!! 18000rpm V10 or Leigh Diffey? Duhh. That director must be fresh from lawn bowls or something equally exciting. What was so ***cing exciting about Villeneuve and Alonso that we had to watch it for nine laps? Admittedly they were fighting over 10 and 11th spot! And while I'm venting my splean how is it that we went to an ad break after 3 laps? Roll on Malaysia where we will have the ITV crew back and fingers crossed a director who knows something about racing. Montoya ran off somewhere and lost second place did we see it? No. Coulthard gave Webber the biggest don't argue running him onto the grass after he was baulked by a ***cing Minardi. Did we see it? No. Once again Channel Ten thanks for ***cing nothin.

[NickR33]

The ad break after 3 laps made me suicidal... and half of it was to plug sh!tful channel 10 shows I don't ever intend to watch... and Nicholas Cage is a tool in a stupid hat...

on a lighter note well done to Fisichella(sp)... was a good race and Coulthard's pass on Webber at the first corner is one of the best I have ever seen!

[geno8r]

Well this weekend was the first time I've really watched all of the F1 since i've got into cars & i was blown away... Those things are absolutely amazing. I'll be going to Indy & the next F1 in Melbourne next year hopefully now !

One thing i didnt get is how is it that they spend 100's of millions$ on these cars yet they somehow just stop running in the most simple ways. Eg... I think it was Raikkonen who did his hot lap just before the race start but when the race started his car didnt go anywhere 'stalled'? WTF... and another who went in for a fuel stop & once they said he was clear to go his car simply didnt go.

[R31Nismoid]

So what's everyones predictions?

that i would be very retarded all weekend...

and was i?

very much so. Best 4 days of fun for a long time @ any event.

definately doing th GP thing next year

[geno8r]

Nicholas Cage is a tool in a stupid hat...

Does this get your blood boiling? lol

[relicr31act]

Sawa great grab on the news. Some journo asking Mark Webber about Allan Moffat saying that he should stop whingeing about finishing fifth. Webber looks at the journo and says, "How may Grand Prixs has Allan Moffat driven in?" Top points. When will ppl in this country realise that sedan drivers are considered one step above cab drivers in the real world of motorsport. I heard a rumour and that is all it is, that about three years ago HRT offered him a drive at Bathurst and he told them to ring back when he was about forty and had nothing better to do!!!

[Roy]

So whats the real worls of motorsport:confused:

Depending on the class there is often a higher standard of driving in tin top classes, as rich corporate backers and havent just bough a seat for "their fella" like a lot of open wheeler classes.

[Cake]

and Nicholas Cage is a tool in a stupid hat...

"I could eat a peach for hours"

[relicr31act]

So whats the real worls of motorsport:confused:

Depending on the class there is often a higher standard of driving in tin top classes, as rich corporate backers and havent just bough a seat for "their fella" like a lot of open wheeler classes.

Look ummm I don't mean to be offensive but that is just drivel. With the exception of a couple of real race car drivers that I can think of that drove sedans as a hobby and were straight away the best at it (Jim Clark and Frank Gardiner) the vast majority of sedan drivers are there because they weren't good enough in the real ones. For someone to say that a sedan driver could drive F1 if they chose to is a joke. Ppl like Allan Moffat should take a reality check and realise that they were moderately successful in a VERY small pond. Moffat had some talent that is for sure but to criticize someone for wanting to win in the biggest motorsport show on earth is a joke and Mark Webber had every right to put him back in his box!! The difference in performance of the two types of machine and just the physical demands on the body should be enough for most ppl to realise how much higher the demands are in F1 than V8 superbullshit. 0-200 in five seconds, 3.5 g's around corners, 5g under brakes come on if you think that Marcos Ambrose could compete you are on drugs. And to suggest that the likes of M.Schumacher and M. Webber are there because of money is ignorant in the extreme!!

[Roy]

Well the drugs im on must help me think clearly.

A good portion of F1 drivers won the feeder categories. A good many came 2nd, 3rd etc etc and surprise, surprise you would be amazed by how many werent as quick as team mates, or other guys who for any number of reasons didnt get to F1, or couldnt afford the 2nd or 3rd season in F3 etc etc.

Some of the more extreme examples would be our own Thomas Mezera / David Brabham etc. In Europe they raced against a whole swag of drivers in the late 80s, beating them all. But it was guys with the coin and the personality that got the gigs in F1. Stepping into GT/Touring Cars to continue racing isnt a backwards step.

Ill stand by the generalisation that in Open Wheelers there are more drivers that buy the drive then there is on tin top racing. But you cant deny it your surname is Longhurst, Kelly, Wheel, Johnson etc then you can get a V8 drive too:)

Who won the 1994 & 1995 FF OZ Championship, and how many ex F3 champions are now in tin top and GT racing in Europe? Who was Montoyas F3 team mate. If you know this sort of meaningless rubbish then you can understand why i think the way i do.

[teejay]

Well the drugs im on must help me think clearly.  

A good portion of F1 drivers won the feeder categories. A good many came 2nd, 3rd etc etc and surprise,  surprise you would be amazed by how many werent as quick as team mates, or other guys who for any number of reasons didnt get to F1, or couldnt afford the 2nd or 3rd season in F3 etc etc.

Who won the 1994 & 1995 FF OZ Championship, and how many ex F3 champions are now in tin top and GT racing in Europe? Who was Montoyas F3 team mate.  If you know this sort of meaningless rubbish then you can understand why i think the way i do.

word

i see where you are coming from and i agree with most of it

in 1993, michael andretti went to f1 for mclaren, had a rough time, and lost out before years end to.. mika hakinen. mika was consistently one or so seconds slower in every test they had that year then michael, but he was european, and the sponsors wanted him in, so they used michaels bad lack as an excuse to can him.

michael proved in the 10 years after that in indycar racing in america that he had what it took to be a brilliant driver. recent examples of this include christiano de matta and alex zanardi, both pushed out due to business reasons, both (well not poor alex any more) capable of beating half the drivers in f1 today.

f1 is as much about money and politics as it is racing, dont forget that, it has been since the early 80's when big money came into it. in the world of business sometimes whats best for your wallet is more important then your on track performance.

[relicr31act]

f1 is as much about money and politics as it is racing, dont forget that, it has been since the early 80's when big money came into it. in the world of business sometimes whats best for your wallet is more important then your on track performance.

If you have a seat that everybody wants to sit in doesn't that give you the opportunity to maximise it's commercial potential? Michael Schumacher had to come up with $10 million from Bitburger for his first drive in F1. Does that mean he bought his way in and doesn't really have the talent to be SEVEN time world champion? The fact is that in any top league form of motorsport money is required. That is why you end up fields full of rich people whether that be V8 supertaxis or F1. There are exceptions, Greg Ritter after years of working six days a week as a plasterer for two drives a year has finally got a gig because of determination and talent. Mark Webber has got into F1 on a huge talent and 400,000 from David Campese to finish F3. This lead to his gig with Mercedes and the rest is history. But if this guy was no good do you think Frank Williams would be paying him $6m a year to turn up and toodle around? JPM who was Craig Lowndes teammate at Supernova in F3000 a few years ago is now with Mclaren. Why? Because he is good! Craig is in V8 supertaxis because JPM belted him stupid to the point where Craig got the sooks and wanted to come home! I know from personal experience that money will get you some of the way but at some point you need talent. Someone who I worked with (name removed to protect the untalented) stumped up 400,000 for a drive in V8 supertaxis last year and was lapped at every meeting where he didn't crash! He thought that he was the next big thing but can't drive. Daddy would have happily paid for him again but nobody wants HIS money because he is very average! To discount everyone in F1 as being put there for some sort of hidden commercial agenda is ridiculous. Like it or not most (not all) of the current crop of drivers are there because they had the money and the talent to back it up.