The Formula One topic

[DangerousK]

I know there are some F1 fans here so I figured this would be a fun topic to have ongoing for the upcoming season, and even past F1.

Any thoughts on the unveiled 2012 cars so far?

The new noses look hideous on the Force India, Caterham, and Ferrari.

The McLaren MP4-27 is the only car that actually looks nice so far.

Testing at Jerez coming so we should know more about whether or not McLaren got their shit together to challenge the Red Bull Renaults. I'm not sold on Ferrari's chances to do much this season...Alonso may be in for a long season. I think they will be shooting for 2013 when all of the new regulations take effect...plus I suspect this should be the last season Massa has a ride with Ferrari. Assuming Robert Kubica doesn't suffer anymore mishaps between now and 2013 he's likely going to be the replacement.

I think Hamilton is going to have his hands full with Jenson...if his head is elsewhere, I don't see him challenging quite as well as Button who drove fantastically last season.

Hopefully Schumacher will be gone at the end of the season...would like nothing more than to see him disappear off the planet for various reasons.

There should be some interesting mid-grid battles hopefully. Definitely would like to see Bruno Senna take care of the business that Ayrton never was able to at Williams. I still don't expect much out of Williams since they haven't been much of a factor for quite sometime on the grid, but with the Renault engines, it might be a step in the right direction for them. We'll see what happens though.

 

[ahans76]

I haven't had a good look at all the cars yet. But the Mclaren is nice looking.
What about ruebens not racing this year. That sucks. He's such a nice guy I hope he does good in Indy car.
I did reserve a spot for the race coming to Texas this year.
Have any plans on making that race?

 

[ratson]

Most dutchies are complaining about that the caterham looks like a Lego car due to it's colours. Told the idiots they should do their homework cause it is British racing green.
Indeed the nose one the Force India, Ferrari and Caterham look hideous.
Glad the McLaren looks nice.
And that semi-pro driver Massa should retire. He can drive quite well if he feels good but mostly he gets in his own way.

 

[wataru330]

Wait, Barrichello didn't get picked up for his 20th season?

Fuck that.

I'm not watching this year.

V8s, Narrow-ass, transforming rear wings, zero competition for the top spot thanks to Newey & Vettle being Zentradi or some shit...

I'm done.

Rubens was my last reason to watch.

 

[Late]

Lol@Räikkönen coming back to F1 after failing abysmally at the WRC.

 

[DangerousK]

I haven't had a good look at all the cars yet. But the Mclaren is nice looking.
What about ruebens not racing this year. That sucks. He's such a nice guy I hope he does good in Indy car.
I did reserve a spot for the race coming to Texas this year.
Have any plans on making that race?

Rubens did just test a car for IRL.

I have no idea if he will race in IRL this season or not, but there was talk he promised his wife that he would never do oval track racing. I think he could skip the oval tracks and do the street circuits were he inclined to race in IRL.

I'd love to go to the Texas race, but what I am debating on doing is waiting for 2013 and catching two races. I'd like to go up to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve for the Canadian Grand Prix, and then catch the NJ/NYC grand prix because I am about 30-45 minutes away from where the track will be located.

 

[DangerousK]

Wait, Barrichello didn't get picked up for his 20th season?

Fuck that.

I'm not watching this year.

V8s, Narrow-ass, transforming rear wings, zero competition for the top spot thanks to Newey & Vettle being Zentradi or some shit...

I'm done.

Rubens was my last reason to watch.

I would have loved to see Rubens back on the grid...was actually hoping to see Rubens and Bruno at Williams. Instead we're stuck with Pastor Maldonado yet again. Good thing he has all the oil money backing him otherwise he would have been relegated to another race series.

I still think there are plenty of interesting things going on with the teams/drivers that losing Rubens won't be the end of the world. At least Petrov and Sutil have no seats this year...although I have a feeling we could see Petrov again in 2013 with the Russian Grand Prix being on the calendar.

 

[DangerousK]

Lol@Räikkönen coming back to F1 after failing abysmally at the WRC.

LOL...the Kimi fans were ejaculating all over their PC monitors when Lotus-Renault announced his signing. I have no idea what to expect from him...if he sits in the middle of the pack for most of the season I won't be one bit surprised. I'm sort of hoping Grosjean outdrives him. LOL

 

[DangerousK]

wataru....forgot to mention, the reason to watch is to see if the McLaren's finally smash the Red Bull Renaults and Vettel. That alone has me eager for the season to kick off. Can't stand RBR and Vettel...he looks like he should be walking around the paddock with a pacifier in mouth, and baby bottle in hand.

 

[Late]

LOL...the Kimi fans were ejaculating all over their PC monitors when Lotus-Renault announced his signing. I have no idea what to expect from him...if he sits in the middle of the pack for most of the season I won't be one bit surprised. I'm sort of hoping Grosjean outdrives him. LOL

Aye, he's a mid-tier driver, the championship that he won was mostly hardware-driven.

 

[DangerousK]

Aye, he's a mid-tier driver, the championship that he won was mostly hardware-driven.

I wonder how long before we see him standing in the pit during quali with a martini in hand.

 

[DangerousK]

Most dutchies are complaining about that the caterham looks like a Lego car due to it's colours. Told the idiots they should do their homework cause it is British racing green.
Indeed the nose one the Force India, Ferrari and Caterham look hideous.
Glad the McLaren looks nice.
And that semi-pro driver Massa should retire. He can drive quite well if he feels good but mostly he gets in his own way.

Why do the Dutch care so much if the car looks like a lego model?

I know you guys have a great F1 fanbase, but they should save their annoyance/anger for trying to get some sort of relaxation on the noise rules at Zandvoort so they could have a chance to hold a F1 race again.

 

[wataru330]

@ DK: you are right. I was just being a grouch earlier. You raise some good points, re: reason to stick it out this season.

Racing, like Videogames & Pro Wrestling are just so different now than when I got hooked 25 years ago, I feel myself disgruntled & grasping @ nostalgia.

 

[Late]

I wonder how long before we see him standing in the pit during quali with a martini in hand.

Yeah, he likes his booze, not that I'd hold it against him

 

[DangerousK]

@ DK: you are right. I was just being a grouch earlier. You raise some good points, re: reason to stick it out this season.

Racing, like Videogames & Pro Wrestling are just so different now than when I got hooked 25 years ago, I feel myself disgruntled & grasping @ nostalgia.

Nah trust me I sympathize. I think F1 has plenty of issues some of which you mentioned. The locked in spec of V8 motors since 2008 was one of the dumbest things ever. I could go a lot further. I already started a fight elsewhere when I said Schumacher should never be in the running of best F1 driver ever due to being a cheat and a dirty driver. That went over really well. lol

F1 changed for the worse in various aspects, but I'd still rather watch it than NASCAR. I blame FIA though for where F1 is currently.

 

[DangerousK]

Yeah, he likes his booze, not that I'd hold it against him

LOL me either.

 

[ratson]

Why do the Dutch care so much if the car looks like a lego model?

I know you guys have a great F1 fanbase, but they should save their annoyance/anger for trying to get some sort of relaxation on the noise rules at Zandvoort so they could have a chance to hold a F1 race again.

I don't get it either but most of them are Jos Verstappen and Christaiaan Albers fans suffering a severe case of Stockholm syndrome.
As far as Zandvoort goes, it would be impossible to have F1 there. There just isn't enough space and the organization of Zandvoort is a complete disaster.
Been there for a DTM race and it could barely handle that. First and last time I went there to see a race. Also the condition of the track has also seen better days.
Seriously, Zandvoort is glory long gone.
My personal opinion on the noise issue there, is that anybody that isn't born there or moved there before the track was there needs to STFU. They knew where they were getting into.
It is just not big enough for todays F! standards, the track may not but the rest is.

 

[DangerousK]

I don't get it either but most of them are Jos Verstappen and Christaiaan Albers fans suffering a severe case of Stockholm syndrome.
As far as Zandvoort goes, it would be impossible to have F1 there. There just isn't enough space and the organization of Zandvoort is a complete disaster.
Been there for a DTM race and it could barely handle that. First and last time I went there to see a race. Also the condition of the track has also seen better days.
Seriously, Zandvoort is glory long gone.
My personal opinion on the noise issue there, is that anybody that isn't born there or moved there before the track was there needs to STFU. They knew where they were getting into.
It is just not big enough for todays F! standards, the track may not but the rest is.

I wasn't aware of the track condition being so poor...I knew the noise rules in that area basically keep the track open for a full race event 4 days out of the whole year. I looked on their site a few weeks back, and saw the listing of what the noise restrictions are. It was quite draconian IMO.

I guess I feel given the history of Zandvoort in F1, it would be nice to see it run there again. Of course by the same token, it'll always be remembered for Roger Williamson's death that could have been avoided. Given some of the garbage tracks that F1 runs on today like Valencia, Korea, Abu Dhabi, and so on, it's a shame the tracks with history got whacked.

I'm still fuming about the upcoming return of the French Grand Prix. I am glad it is coming back, but I am pissed that to have it come back, we will have it alternating with Spa Francorchamps. Bernie Ecclestone is a gigantic idiot. This wouldn't even be an issue if he didn't charge $25 million for any circuit to host a race. It'd be nice to see F1 return to Imola...but with how much time has already passed, I have my doubts about them ever going back there.

I did hear some rumor that there is some support gaining traction to rebuild the old Hockenheimring so the LMP cars could race there since they have few high speed tracks to race at. Would love that if it were true since the new one SUCKS.

 

[DangerousK]

Picture of the Williams FW34 with Maldonado and Senna.

 

[DangerousK]

Lap times from the morning session at Jerez testing...numbers to the right of the best lap time are the number of laps run...the Raikkonen fans are besides themselves right now, ha.

1 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault E20 1’19.670 75
2 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes VJM05 1’19.772 101 0.102
3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes W02 1’20.219 56 0.549
4 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault RB8 1’20.496 53 0.826
5 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR7 1’20.694 57 1.024
6 Michael Schumacher Mercedes W02 1’20.794 42 1.124
7 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari C31 1’21.353 105 1.683
8 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes MP4-27 1’21.530 62 1.860
9 Felipe Massa Ferrari F2012 1’22.815 69 3.145
10 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault CT01 1’23.178 28 3.508
11 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault FW34 1’23.371 25 3.701
12 Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth F111 1’23.676 44 4.006

 

[wataru330]

Yeah, Kobayashi!

 

[ratson]

I wasn't aware of the track condition being so poor...I knew the noise rules in that area basically keep the track open for a full race event 4 days out of the whole year. I looked on their site a few weeks back, and saw the listing of what the noise restrictions are. It was quite draconian IMO.

I guess I feel given the history of Zandvoort in F1, it would be nice to see it run there again. Of course by the same token, it'll always be remembered for Roger Williamson's death that could have been avoided. Given some of the garbage tracks that F1 runs on today like Valencia, Korea, Abu Dhabi, and so on, it's a shame the tracks with history got whacked.

I'm still fuming about the upcoming return of the French Grand Prix. I am glad it is coming back, but I am pissed that to have it come back, we will have it alternating with Spa Francorchamps. Bernie Ecclestone is a gigantic idiot. This wouldn't even be an issue if he didn't charge $25 million for any circuit to host a race. It'd be nice to see F1 return to Imola...but with how much time has already passed, I have my doubts about them ever going back there.

I did hear some rumor that there is some support gaining traction to rebuild the old Hockenheimring so the LMP cars could race there since they have few high speed tracks to race at. Would love that if it were true since the new one SUCKS.

It indeed sucks that we lose all legendary tracks and yes Bernie is an idiot. He just needs to retire. Guy looks like a zombie version of Andy Warhole.
Prices are also way over the top and therefore some really good tracks got excluded over the years.
Rebuilding old Hockenheim would be great indeed.

 

[DangerousK]

It indeed sucks that we lose all legendary tracks and yes Bernie is an idiot. He just needs to retire. Guy looks like a zombie version of Andy Warhole.
Prices are also way over the top and therefore some really good tracks got excluded over the years.
Rebuilding old Hockenheim would be great indeed.

I have a friend who said Bernie, Max Mosely, Jean Todt, and Michael Schumacher comprise the 4 Horsemen of the F1 Apocalypse. The combination of all 4 of them hurt F1 more than it helped...especially with all of the known ties to fascism that Max Mosely has along with Bernie chumming it with ex-Waffen SS member and former FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre. I'm sure wataru would like this discussion. I trashed Schumacher on a F1 forum a few days ago...it brought out all of his glorious defenders in full force...was quite good stuff.

Anyway, since the French Grand Prix would likely return to Paul Ricard, that sort of cracks me up since IIRC, Bernie has a personal stake in Paul Ricard. Plus the Paul Ricard Circuit is not even remotely close to the circuit that existed 30 years ago. Too much blue crap in the run-off areas...I get dizzy looking at the pictures of that track. Would rather see them run at LeMans...full circuit with the Mulsanne Straight, but oh wait that wouldn't be "safe"...even the Bugatti circuit would be better.

Ditto on Hockenheim...really miss the Ostkurve. In spite of how it is remembered, I do miss Tamburello at Imola. Fastest corner in F1 history reduced to a lame chicane...

 

[sp3ctr3]

I think the cars this year look better than the 2008 cars. God those front wings back then, sitting so high and looking so oval made me puke. Have to get used to that kink on the nose though. Apparantly the rules have a height requirement this year, so they have to raise them somehow. I can see and angle like that giving free downforce, and right above the front suspension too. If a wingshaped camera gives 10-15kg of downforce and 45 angle like that would give a lot.

I think I will root for Jenson Button this year. He seems the most passionate/professional of the bunch and he made the Canadian GP 2011 the best race I've ever witnessed. Also rooting for Bruno Senna. He seemed like he had potential in that slow ass car.

 

[ratson]

I have a friend who said Bernie, Max Mosely, Jean Todt, and Michael Schumacher comprise the 4 Horsemen of the F1 Apocalypse. The combination of all 4 of them hurt F1 more than it helped...especially with all of the known ties to fascism that Max Mosely has along with Bernie chumming it with ex-Waffen SS member and former FIA president Jean-Marie Balestre. I'm sure wataru would like this discussion. I trashed Schumacher on a F1 forum a few days ago...it brought out all of his glorious defenders in full force...was quite good stuff.

Anyway, since the French Grand Prix would likely return to Paul Ricard, that sort of cracks me up since IIRC, Bernie has a personal stake in Paul Ricard. Plus the Paul Ricard Circuit is not even remotely close to the circuit that existed 30 years ago. Too much blue crap in the run-off areas...I get dizzy looking at the pictures of that track. Would rather see them run at LeMans...full circuit with the Mulsanne Straight, but oh wait that wouldn't be "safe"...even the Bugatti circuit would be better.

Ditto on Hockenheim...really miss the Ostkurve. In spite of how it is remembered, I do miss Tamburello at Imola. Fastest corner in F1 history reduced to a lame chicane...

They say that several tracks aren't safe enough but still we drive in Monaco, glad they do but if there has ever been a dangerous track it's that one.