The Beyond 2008 F1 Season Thread

[buh_buh]

Heidfeld confirmed for '09 (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/71200) Perhaps some pressure to keep a German in the BMW? I thought he was done for at BMW after his start to the season.

Looks like Alonso will most likely stay at Renault now, although I'm still hoping he'll go to Honda.

[The Cosworth]

Montreal canceled for next year.

Canadian Gran Prix is done.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Just read that on a different forum, I'm so disappointed. The Montreal GP was one thing I swore I would go to someday. :(

[buh_buh]

Why not go to another GP?
I think Montreal will be back. F1 is not going to leave this huge untapped market of North America for good.

[ryanallan]

Originally posted by buh_buh
Honda will not fire both their drivers. No continuity = very bad for a F1 team, especially not for Bourdais, who is a marginal talent imo. I think he'll stay at Toro Rosso, and they'll bring in a rookie to fill Vettel's seat (rumors of Senna or Buemi). Honda will keep Button if Alonso goes there (not likely imo), if not, they will keep both.
I think Sato will be at STR next year.
He was testing for them last week, and Red Bull wants to penetrate the Jap market .

[Trini]

Originally posted by buh_buh
Why not go to another GP?
I think Montreal will be back. F1 is not going to leave this huge untapped market of North America for good.

was the closest and cheapest..I was really planning on going for 2009

[wrcftw]

Damnit, I was planning on going next year. this sucks.....I wonder why they did it? They get huge crowds in MTL.

[Mibz]

Originally posted by wrcftw
Damnit, I was planning on going next year. this sucks.....I wonder why they did it? They get huge crowds in MTL. I think teams and drivers were complaining that the surface just wasn't suited for F1. It's falling apart.

[rage2]

It looks like it's a money issue more than anything. Canadian GP isn't profitable because the transport costs are huge. Having 19 races on the calendar means Bernie has to kick back more money for the teams as per the Concorde agreement. So the logical choice is to remove it from the Calendar.

This isn't the first time it's happened. Last time, the Quebec government chipped in something like $30m and sent a check off to Bernie, and the race came back on the calendar before years end.

With the track problems the last few years, and outdated buildings (even tho Quebec spent $10m on renovations last year), that'll probably be the public excuses we hear about this one.

[ryanallan]

Ferrari will use a conventional lollipop during their pit stops for the rest of this season, instead of relying on their innovative ‘traffic light’ system, which was at the centre of their recent pit-stop blunder in Singapore. Drastic changes !!

And some new tyres for Japan

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5626/greentyresib1.jpg

[bart]

colored tire stripes? haha please, didn't bf-goodrich have these a while back? burnouts in different colors!! haha

[ryanallan]

They are to promote "green cars" :burnout:

It will be a nice visual change, they are not going to make me buy a prius .

[rage2]

Just finished watching FP1... good shit. Not many offs, dry. Hamilton is damn quick. Can't wait for FP2 tonite!!!

[ryanallan]

how do the green tyres look ?

and whats the weather like so far ?

The STR cars have grown some horns for Japan

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/2321/f12008japxp0064yb0.jpg

[rage2]

HAMILTON!!! :clap:

[DJ Lazy]

I missed all of qualifying, but caught the last lap..

McLaren 1-3... Massa 5... :D Nice!

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Hmm, Lewis on pole. If Kimi doesn't take him on the first corner and slow him down long enough for Massa to take a run at him, it could be all over for Ferrari.

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by ryanallan
Drastic changes !!

And some new tyres for Japan

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5626/greentyresib1.jpg

Going to slicks next year. We'll see these ^^^ for just the remainder of this season.

http://www.bridgestonemotorsport.com/Bridgestone/en-gb/Championships/Formula1/News/F1NewsTheReturnOfTheSlick.htm

[buh_buh]

Remainder of the season? I was hoping it was just for Fuji. It looks like crap on every car except Honda.
I think Massa is as good as done. Felipe's never won a race not from pole, and I don't think I've seen him make a pass on a front runner or a decent driver this year (that includes everyone that's starting ahead of him tonight). The only one left for grabs is the Constructor's Championship.

[Team_Mclaren]

Originally posted by buh_buh
Remainder of the season? I was hoping it was just for Fuji. It looks like crap on every car except Honda.
I think Massa is as good as done. Felipe's never won a race not from pole, and I don't think I've seen him make a pass on a front runner or a decent driver this year (that includes everyone that's starting ahead of him tonight). The only one left for grabs is the Constructor's Championship.

to give him credit, he did pass LH once

but yes, he doesnt perform well under pressure

[buh_buh]

when did he make a pass on Hamilton? I don't seem to remember

[Team_Mclaren]

Hungarian at the start

[DJ Lazy]

What time is the race on today?

[buh_buh]

I mean a legitimate overtake :poosie:, but sure, we can say he made a pass on LH. Something more similar to this

eNGuw7khT98

hahahaha I love watching that

Pre-race is 10, race is is 10:30

[rage2]

haha I love that pass. The japanese announcers went nuts. TAKUMA!!!!!!

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Japanese announcers are awesome! :rofl:

[buh_buh]

the Spanish just sounded sad, and the Brits weren't that excited either about a Japanese team with no funding passing a British McLaren team.

[Inzane]

Originally posted by rage2
HAMILTON!!! :clap:

Boooooo!!! :thumbsdow :poosie:

[DJ Lazy]

TSN or Speed... which is better?

[rage2]

I flip between both to minimize commercials :D.

TSN/ITV is fairly pro Hamilton, and Peter Windsor on speed is brutal for his Hamilton ass kissing. Pretty funny sometimes tho haha.

[DJ Lazy]

Originally posted by rage2
I flip between both to minimize commercials :D.

haha! I usually watch the ITV torrents.. NO ads... :D

[rage2]

Ya, but you're not watching live, and get no live timing.

[DJ Lazy]

I can't be arsed to get up at 530-6am on a sunday rage! :rofl:

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Hahaha, even the BBC announcers think the silly "green" tires are fucking stupid.

[rage2]

Originally posted by DJ Lazy
I can't be arsed to get up at 530-6am on a sunday rage! :rofl:
Who said anything about waking up? All nighter! LOL

You won't have a problem for the rest of the season. Race in 5 minutes tonight, race at midnight next week, and 10am I think for Brazil?

[DJ Lazy]

Touche'!! :rofl:

[DJ Lazy]

HOLY SHIT!!! What a first corner... :eek:

[rage2]

Fawk

[ryanallan]

YES !!!

[DJ Lazy]

:facepalm:

Couldn't have gone worse..

[ryanallan]

Hamilton made a pretty bad decision on that first corner .

Oh no ! Kimi's front brake shield is broken

[mischief]

WTF. How can Massa cut the chicane and then run into Hamilton and not get penalized? That's BS.

[DJ Lazy]

Originally posted by mischief
WTF. How can Massa cut the chicane and then run into Hamilton and not get penalized? That's BS.

He has a red car. :dunno:

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally posted by mischief
WTF. How can Massa cut the chicane and then run into Hamilton and not get penalized? That's BS.

We'll see, he deserves a drive-through at the least.

[ryanallan]

im surprised at how fast Fiscalia's car was down the straight with out a nose

[DJ Lazy]

You gotta be kidding.. I was hoping Ferrari's engines would blow.. :banghead:

[ryanallan]

massa and hamilton both get drive-throughs haha


Originally posted by DJ Lazy
You gotta be kidding.. I was hoping Ferrari's engines would blow.. :banghead: ya there goes some constructors points

[cloud7]

well, I don't think Massa can get a point from this race... so he will be 7 points behind Lewis... except now with only 2 races to go.

[mischief]

Originally posted by ryanallan
massa and hamilton both get drive-throughs haha

What did Hamilton do to deserve a penalty? Didn't see the ruling as I was watching the flames game.

Kimi deserves a penalty too for running into Timo and knocking him out of the race.

[ryanallan]

Hamilton's penalty was for his first corner antics

I think Kimi got one aswell

[DJ Lazy]

Brutal fuckin race... :banghead:

[BerserkerCatSplat]

The race for 2nd was good to watch, the rest of the race was kinda bleh.

[ottamania]

how the hell sebastian b. touched massa when he was comin out da pit? :dunno:

[DJ Lazy]

Originally posted by ottamania
how the hell sebastian b. touched massa when he was comin out da pit? :dunno:

That's Massa's fault.

[lilmira]

Originally posted by DJ Lazy


That's Massa's fault.

And Bourdais got penalized moving Massa up one spot, surprise!

[rage2]

OK now that I've had a night to sleep of the anger of Hamilton's stupidity in turn 1, I'm ready for my rant.

So Hamilton was a moron in turn 1, outbrakes himself and costs himself the race. WTF did he do to deserve a penalty? He went off on his own, and it was Heiki that hit Kimi. How on earth does that deserve a penalty? Talk about a WTMF. I guess you can get penalized for your own mistakes now that doesn't affect anyone. I guess from now on they better penalize every driver that locks up and you see tire smoke. :rolleyes:

Massa, well, he learned from the best. If your chief rival is gonna pass you, you ram him and take him out. It was so deliberate it wasn't even funny.

And Massa vs SeaBass... WTMF? SeaBass was off the fucking track and Massa hits him, and it was investigated after the race? It was very clear that it was Massa's fault, yet SeaBass gets a penalty and gifts Massa 1 point? I don't get it. Also, if the incident is reviewed after a race but with more than 5 laps to go (according to Speed announcers), it's an automatic 10 place drop when the penalty is issued, not a 25 sec drive thru. So if anything it should've been a 10 place drop for the next race. Why on earth did they give a 25 sec penalty? Oh right, cuz the red car would get an extra point.

What a fucking gong show. The travelling circus continues...

[/////AMG]

What a horrible race. Hamilton fucke dhimself over, lets hope hes learned from this race even though he should have from last year and try to get it together. :banghead:

[rage2]

haha when all that happened at the beginning, I was thinking to myself... fawk, it's 2007 all over again. I dunno if I can handle that shit again! :rofl:

[/////AMG]

But was any else shock that Ferrari got a penalty! lol
Actually I reckon they just thought if we're gonna give Massa one, Hamilton can get one too! Just to even it out :facepalm:

[BerserkerCatSplat]

WTF, they gave Seabass the penalty? Where the fuck was he supposed to go to avoid Massa's idiocy? Horseshit.



Massa: Damn, this sucks. I only got one point.

FIA: We'll see about that! Have another!

[rage2]

Originally posted by /////AMG
But was any else shock that Ferrari got a penalty! lol
Actually I reckon they just thought if we're gonna give Massa one, Hamilton can get one too! Just to even it out :facepalm:
Well Massa's move was pretty blatant. He was off the track all on his own (outbraked himself) and just speared back in and took Hamilton out. It's be a :facepalm: if there was NO penalty.

I'm still baffled as to why Lewis got a penalty for turn 1... if anything, Kovy should've gotten it for hitting Kimi. Or why SeaBass got penalized. Smart of FIA to give it to him as a drivethru AFTER the race, since it can't be appealed.

So by my count, Massa has been gifted 6 pts from Spa, and 1 or 2 points (1pt if nobody got a penalty, 2pt if he was supposed to get one for the SeaBass incident) in this race. Must be nice to drive a red car.

[rage2]

Originally posted by ryanallan
im surprised at how fast Fiscalia's car was down the straight with out a nose
With no front wing, there's a lot less drag, so they're insanely fast in a straight line. They just won't be able to turn lol. Fuji last year, Button lost his front nose in the rain and stayed out with no nose. He was only 1s a lap slower since there's no downforce anyways cornering so slow.

When lewis unknowingly lost part of the front wing earlier this year, he accelerated so fast that he rear ended Alonso.

[cloud7]

Massa really screwed himself by hitting Hamilton, which he didn't need to do since Hamilton needed to come in for fresh tires sooner or later after badly flat stopping his tires.

If history repeats itself, Kubica will be the driver's champion. We will see!

[That.Guy.S30]

Massa thinks *what would Schumi do?!* of course thats it... RAM HIM!!

[bart]

i have fingers crossed for kubica.

[buh_buh]

Originally posted by cloud7
Massa really screwed himself by hitting Hamilton, which he didn't need to do since Hamilton needed to come in for fresh tires sooner or later after badly flat stopping his tires.
I don't think Massa knew this at the time, and was only thinking about protecting his position at the time.

[DJ Lazy]

The race was just painful to watch... Was some entertainment watching the battle for 2nd between Kubica and Kimi.. but that's about it..

And as mentioned, the politics of driving a red car shined thru yet again.. :facepalm:

[rage2]

Originally posted by buh_buh
I don't think Massa knew this at the time, and was only thinking about protecting his position at the time.
Ya, he probably had no clue that Lewis's tires were done. All he knew was that he outbraked himself, went completely off track, saw an opportunity to take out his rival and did it. It was a brutal Schumachereque move. He knew that even if he held a position he has to give it back being completely off the track. There's zero excuse for that move.

To top it off, he blamed Hamilton for it, says he was run off the road by Hamilton lol. Oh ya, Massa also blamed SeaBass. It's ridiculous.

http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3213_4303251,00.html

You know, the stewards only missed 1 penalty, when Kimi tried to pass kubica for 2nd. They might as well have penalized Kubica for pushing Kimi off the road to make it a grand slam.

[buh_buh]

Well, Massa knows he's in red and will say whatever he wants and knows he can get away with pretty much anything. I think it was pretty apparent he deliberately ran Hamilton off the road, and saw it coming as soon as he outbraked himself.

[boyracer]

the whole things fixed to let Ferrari win

[DJ Lazy]

Originally posted by boyracer
the whole things fixed to let Ferrari win

Thanks for that insight.. :rofl:

[buh_buh]

Originally posted by boyracer
the whole things fixed to let Ferrari win
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/bsflag.gif

[iceburns288]

Following unfortunate misunderstandings in the Grands Prix at Valencia and Spa, the FIA has revised the Red Car Rule for Formula 1. These amendments will be applied with immediate effect:

1) Overtaking a Ferrari is not permitted under any circumstances.
2) In the pit lane, a Ferrari always has precedence over other cars.
3) Any driver finishing less than 25 seconds ahead of a Ferrari will be penalized 25 seconds.*
4) If neither Ferrari finishes in first place, the stewards reserve the right to declare the result null and void (or to adjust it as necessary).
5) Only Ferrari drivers are permitted to use anything other than ‘designated’ parts of a circuit.
6) If forced off the ‘designated’ part of the track by a Ferrari, the guilty driver should immediately crash his car and return to the pits
6) Any driver or team appealing against any FIA decision in favour of Ferrari may be subject to a fine and/or the deduction of points.
*Subject to post-race adjustment by the stewards

[treg50]

I mean let's be honest... it's a euro-soap-opera and it's becomes a waste of time because of the blatant bullcrap we know Ferrari will pull and eventually get away with.

I-talian crooks have it all rigged that's why it's a crock... whiney-bitch, mamma-mia, cry-babies can't stand to see their precious Ferrari lose. F1 can be entertaining sometimes. But it really seems like F1 is just a means to advertise Ferraris. I watch just to root for whoever overcome Ferraris obstacles and who can piss on Ferraris parade. Maybe it's not a real sport, maybe F1 wants to be known as a drama, a soap-opera reality show.

Really though it's all has Ferrari from it's former glory. Their production cars aren't the fastest anymore, their designs are dated, they aren't interesting, they aren't relevant these days. Ferrari's needs desperately to win F1, it's all they will have to brag about, "We win F1, our cars good, no? You buy?"

[rage2]

haha iceburns, looks like those amendments made after Spa was in full force in Japan... 1,2,3, and 5 was invoked! :rofl:

[Inzane]

Originally posted by treg50
Really though it's all has Ferrari from it's former glory. Their production cars aren't the fastest anymore, their designs are dated, they aren't interesting, they aren't relevant these days. Ferrari's needs desperately to win F1, it's all they will have to brag about, "We win F1, our cars good, no? You buy?"

I don't agree with you on that at all.

Yes, their road cars aren't the fastest in all categories anymore, but they still make sweet cars, and they're getting more modern and reliable too. They are absolutely still "relevant".

[rage2]

Originally posted by Inzane
I don't agree with you on that at all.

Yes, their road cars aren't the fastest in all categories anymore, but they still make sweet cars, and they're getting more modern and reliable too. They are absolutely still "relevant".
The only treg50 comment I agree with is the fact that Ferrari needes to win F1. A huge percentage of Ferrari buyers are Ferrari fanboys that love to brag about the F1 world championship plaque that's on their cars, and I'm willing to bet money that an F1 championship directly affect their sales.

[iceburns288]

Nah a huge percentage of Ferrari drivers are posers. Yeah, I said it. Not as many as Lambo owners, but it's still really annoying. Obviously at all our FCA and CAFE (local) events we have great guys who meet up and talk about the latest racing news and watch some of the F1 races together, but that's a small portion of (modern) Ferrari owners.
Obviously the guys who own 348s and back are more dedicated to Ferrari, but I would actually say that less than half of F430 owners follow F1, and less than half of North American F430 owners really know what it is beyond a form of racing.

All that aside, this year is pretty embarassing to be a Ferrari fan. It's hard to support Massa when he's been gifted so many points. Hard to support Ferrari at all, really, without feeling guilty about it. The FIA has certainly been very disgraceful lately.

[rage2]

Originally posted by rage2
A huge percentage of Ferrari buyers are Ferrari fanboys that love to brag about the F1 world championship plaque that's on their cars, and I'm willing to bet money that an F1 championship directly affect their sales.

Originally posted by iceburns288
Nah a huge percentage of Ferrari drivers are posers. Yeah, I said it. Not as many as Lambo owners, but it's still really annoying.
Those are the people I'm talking about. They spew off all this bullshit about Ferrari F1 dominating, how the technology is all from F1, yet they don't watch F1... the only thing they know is "Michael Schumacher 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004" plaque that's on the car. It pisses me off.

[buh_buh]

The French lose their GP too

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/71421

[Inzane]

Originally posted by buh_buh
The French lose their GP too

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/71421

Bummer. Wasn't part of the problem the geographic location of the french GP? Too rural, out of the way of hotels, etc.?

However, on the flip side, perhaps this is more motivation to put Montreal back on the Calendar.

The powers that be are money hungry and being down TWO races next year probably won't sit well with the misers, eh.

[iceburns288]

Yeah, I wanted to go to Magny Cours but it's really in the middle of nowhere. It's a shame, because the track is great.

[rage2]

The stewards really have a hardon for Ferraris last race.

http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3213_4343115,00.html

Webber's move was questioned by the Stewards, even tho he was allowed to choose his line, and Massa decided to drive off the track into pit lane exit (would've been a mess if someone came out) to make his pass on Webber.

Since penalizing Webber has no effect on Ferrari points, he got off free :rofl:.

Massa was basically squeezed and was forced completely off the track like Kimi vs Hamilton @ Spa, and was allowed to keep his pass.

[DJ Lazy]

Hamilton's quick in practise today. :D Massa and Kimi down in 5-6.. :thumbsup: Still a good 30 mins left though.

[Inzane]

I think it would be kinda funny to see Kimi finish on the podium a couple more times, and Massa getting nothing.

That would unfortunately hand the championship to Hamilton, but at least it would baffle the Ferrari team. :nut:

[cloud7]

Originally posted by Inzane
I think it would be kinda funny to see Kimi finish on the podium a couple more times, and Massa getting nothing.

That would unfortunately hand the championship to Hamilton, but at least it would baffle the Ferrari team. :nut:

Anything can happen in the last two races. From all the comments that I have read, Hamilton hasn't learned his lesson from last year or the last race, so it will be interesting to see if he throws it all away again this year. If I am a betting man, I would bet on Hamilton to win, but stranger things have happened in F1.

[rage2]

You should read Flavio's comments this morning. Just classic.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/71478


"He and McLaren were good last year already: to lose it with a 17-point advantage with two races to go is worthy of the Guinness World Records."

:rofl:

[Inzane]

He added: "Hamilton hasn't learned anything: we saw that in Japan. He should be told he is an F1 driver, not a martian. He is no Muhammad Ali. He is a youngster who still has to show his worth. "

:rofl: I love it!

[DJ Lazy]

Originally posted by rage2
You should read Flavio's comments this morning. Just classic.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/71478



:rofl:

Unfortunately when you see bonehead mistakes like the first corner BS from last weekend, makes you wonder.. :banghead:

Qualifying should be really interesting tonight. :D

[urban.one]

coolvid of alonso and kubica in shanghai

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Bx__gIkv4

http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Bx__gIkv4

[ryanallan]

Alonso is looking quick again, P2 in practice2 yesterday. . .

could it be 3 in a row ?

[rage2]

Alonso's always fast in practice (usually the fastest). He always practices for Q1 and Q2.

[treg50]

Time for some LHD action, Lewis Hamilton Dominance.

[DJ Lazy]

:rofl: Q1 and Hamiliton does one lap, takes 1st and parks for the rest of the session... That's Awesome:rofl:

[rage2]

Hamilton owned that shit!!!

[DJ Lazy]

First thru all 3 Q sessions. :clap:

McLaren
Ferrari
Ferrari
Renault... ugh, Kovy needed to step it up..

[buh_buh]

Kovy's useless. He's not even fast enough to help Hamilton but it doesn't look like Hamilton needs his help anyway.

[AG_Styles]

Originally posted by rage2

The only treg50 comment I agree with is the fact that Ferrari needes to win F1. A huge percentage of Ferrari buyers are Ferrari fanboys that love to brag about the F1 world championship plaque that's on their cars, and I'm willing to bet money that an F1 championship directly affect their sales.

omg so true... i was at the qualifiers today and you wouldn't believe how many ppl where grabbing up ferrari gear. Worse part is that most of them have no idea whats going on..... >.<' But hey, they're all dressed in ferrari gear which makes them hardcore fans.

The chinese ladies seem to love Kimi though o.0'. It was like ladies night when he came out with Massa to sign autographs after the Asia GP finished.

[AG_Styles]

Originally posted by DJ Lazy
:rofl: Q1 and Hamiliton does one lap, takes 1st and parks for the rest of the session... That's Awesome:rofl:

I'm pretty sure he was out for more than 1 lap unless i was staring at the wrong pit.

[ryanallan]

Alonso 4th, just like last week. I hope he takes another win !

well i hope Massa wins, but if for some reason he is unable to finish, I hope Alonso wins.