[Official] Formula 1 2009 Thread

[Dave]

Ferrari have just announced they will QUIT the sport if the FIA enforce a £40 million budget cap. What are your thoughts on this?

Personally, I don't see the budget cap happen. When F1 is mentioned, Ferrari are the first team to be mentioned. If Ferrari goes, then can say goodbye to the Italian Grand Prix. The Italian people won't stand for it.It would lose the business a lot in revenue. And sure, they can sell that spot to a rich Middle East country, but this will push a lot of old school fans away.

As for the budget cap, I personally feel it take some magic away from the sport. F1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of motor racing where the boundaries of technology are stretched. Limiting what the engineers can do will ruin this. Sure the smaller teams won't be able to live with the bigger teams, but it is like this in every sport.

This year has been thrilling so far, last year was the best in a long time. Why do they insist on changing the rules to something that has a winning formulae. They are already risking ruining it with "medals" instead of points, they can't do this too. No Ferrari and no points? No thanks.

I saw this and was shocked by it in all honesty. I have been watching F1 religiously for about 10 years now and I honestly cannot believe it. Ferrari are synonymous with F1, they are the most recognizable team in it for Gods sake. I personally think that F1 bill double back on the budget because of this but they most definitely should not. What is the point going back on it to keep one team in it. Especially when it means that a couple of teams nearer the bottom would not survive because of it. The FIA need to safeguard there sport and it matters not if Ferrari are part of the future or not.

Does anyone think that this might be because they are getting slapped in the table and the races at the minute? I think it may have something to with it. They are not getting everything their own way sonce Schumacher left and they have thrown a hissy fit now.

 

[Leeds Guy]

I think Ferrari need to grow up, Its school boy mentality....I'm not playing if your gonna do this. For god sake everybody would have to cut costs in the team, not just Ferrari. Every team would find it difficult to sort but it has to be done to cut costs. There is too much money wasted in F1. Let Ferrari go, I wont miss them and i'm sure another team would snap up Massa and the overrated Raikkonen, and the ItalianGP can go too im sure there are more race tracks out there that want to host an F1 race.

 

[The Rob]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/75287

It appears Renault are standing side by side with Ferrari over the budget row. They've also threatened to quit the sport if the budget cap regulations aren't changed. Ferrari and Renault are meeting with the FIA and Max Mosley on Friday to try and... well, 'work things out' I guess... and as a die-hard fan of Formula 1 and Ferrari, I am nervous already that an agreement may not be reached on Friday.

In responce to your question Pebble, I have sat in several spots for the 8 British Grand Prix's I've been to:

• 2001 - Chapel (Inside)
• 2002/03/04 - Copse (Inside)
• 2005/07 - Pit Straight B/A
• 2006/08 - Bridge
• 2009 - Copse E

 

[AFC1986]

It's not only Ferrari and Reanult. Toyota and Red Bull are rumoured to be ready to leave.

I think it's stupid that they will leave. At the end of the day, they are making themselves look stupid by threatening to leave because they won't get as much money as they normally do.

When Minardi were in F1, they never got much money and didn't complain to the extent that some of them teams are and it's pathetic. If they are going to act like this, then F1 will be better off without them

 

[Jonny B]

It's not only Ferrari and Reanult. Toyota and Red Bull are rumoured to be ready to leave.

I think it's stupid that they will leave. At the end of the day, they are making themselves look stupid by threatening to leave because they won't get as much money as they normally do.

It’s not the budget cap that they are threatening to leave over, not entirely anyway. The four teams in question have the most to lose from the budget cap coming in from next year, they will have to operate outside of it, they wont have a choice because their overheads for next year will already be in place and should they decide to try and meet the cap they would end up having to lay off a high proportion of their workforce which to be honest no-one wants to see. Ferrari in particular are objecting to the two-tier nature of the budget cap. As they will have to operate outside of it they will have far less technical freedom and be forced to spend another year at the back of the grid. Which may be selfish but it would also be detrimental to the sport as a whole.

 

[The Todd]

Since no one has mentioned Monaco at all, I'll do it a week late.

Well the race was dull, but they tend to be at Monaco. There needs to be rain for drama. However, it is Monaco after all, the greatest venue for racing so I'll let it off.

Button drove superbly again. He just keeps getting better and better and the title looks like it could well be his. It is still early, but no other driver looks a challenge at the moment.

That being said, the Ferraris improved a lot. In races like Turkey and Silverstone they could well beat the Brawns.

Lewis Hamilton's race was a nightmare. His mistake in qualifying was bad, the teams decision to short fuel him was worse. This is going to be a really long season for the reigning champion. He just has to grit his teeth , get through it and be ready for next year.

Turkey is up next, before the big one. The last Silverstone. Stupid Donnington.

 

[The Rob]

I've been so busy over the last week, I have forgotten to mention the Monaco Grand Prix. I didn't find the race to be all that bad to be honest, mostly because it was the first time this season that both Kimi and Felipe were in a position to finish on the podium.

Jenson drove a faultless race, he didn't put a foot wrong for nearly 2 hours. That was without a shadow of doubt, the best drive of his career. Rubens did well to finish second, cause the graining that his tyres were suffering during his first stint was crazy. He was dropping off the pace rapidly and had to stop to get off the super softs. It's a testiment to how good Jenson is at looking after his tyres.

Turkey will be very interesting. Looking back at the history of the Turkish Grand Prix, the only drivers to win this race are Kimi Raikkonen (2005) and Felipe Massa (2006/07/08), and they both drive for Ferrari, who seem to be back on form now. Don't be surprised to see Felipe win next weekend. And then, the big one.

My tickets arrived last weekend for the British Grand Prix and, if the weather remains this great, it'll be a cracking weekend. The only problem with dry British Grand Prix's are they tend to be less dramatic (2003 being the exception, what a cracker!). I have tons of spending money saved up for my yearly Ferrari merchindise shopping spree. A Kimi cap, and a couple of the latest Ferrari team shirts are in order I think. That'll probably come to £100 alone. So excited!

 

[The Todd]

Jenson does it again. He is just so consistent. Vettel had an advantage for about eight laps with lighter fuel but that was it. Vettel made a mistake early on, Button capitalised and that was it. Mark Webber also did a very good job getting up to second, but Vettel must be pissed. His strategy had a chance of working if he got a good start and pulled away from Button but he made a mistake and that was it. No way should he have finished third. Also a mention to Glock who did a decent job from outside the top ten.

Hamilton managed to beat his teammate somehow but it was still not good enough. Just before his pit stop he recorded the fastest last sector I believe, signs that they had the pace on low fuel and could have benefited from a two stop strategy.

Finally, poor Rubens. Awful start then a couple of collisions later and losing seventh gear, he retired, Brawn's first ever one. I fully expected him to have picked up a win or two by now but he it hasn't gone for him. Silverstone next, and I predict Button will come unstuck. Why? I can't see him winning seven out of eight and we aren't lucky enough to have two different British winners two years running.

 

[The Rob]

Jenson's performance on Sunday was out of this world. I always knew he had the ability to be a front runner... but to actually dominate race after race, simularaly to how Michael Schumacher did it back in 2004, is absolutely incredible. I'm so impressed with both him, the team and the car, it's proving to be a bit of a flawless combination.

The biggest dissapointment of the weekend was, without question, Kimi and Felipe... espesically Felipe. In Saturday morning practise he looked like he could very well be the man to beat come Qualifying... but he didn't shine then. And in the race, he wasen't competitive either.

8 days to go! Only 8 freakin' days!

 

[Leeds Guy]

Turkey was a great race from what I saw ( got to about 25 laps left and my mate decided to go to the pub) Jensons opening lap was amazing and from then on he was basically untroubled apart from Vettels 3 lap push. I'm going to be brutally honest when Jensons career looked over I thought he was nothing special just another Brit that the public expected too much off. But this year so far he has been nothing but phenominal, I really hope he can continue to show this pace throughout the rest of the year and into the next.

Credit must go to Ross Brawn, he must be some sort of motor Genious. He made Schumacher the greatest driver and now looks like hes making Button into a megastar. Rubens seems to get the wrong rub though, as it now looks like he will be in a supporting role for the rest of the season.

What happened with Rubens' start? from 3rd to 13th then a spin put him at the back, then a collision made him need a pit stop then becomes Brawns first ever retirement, really unlucky day for him, but he will bounce back he always does.

Lewis had another race to forget, which for some reason is becoming more and more for Mclaren, I thought they were ment to be getting better??? I should imagine Lewis is praying for this update on the Mclaren to come at Silverstone instead of Germany, glad to see he finished higher than Kovi again but I thought they would be challenging for some points by now.

What about Glock's drive from outside the top ten to finish and pass his team mate in the points, Glock's really impressed me since his debut, he reminds me of Massa when he used to be at Sauber, just that type of driver that can flustrate people and get amongst the big teams.

Finally Ferrari, I'm glad to see that the points in Monaco last week were nothing but a good weekend for them, I also had a little cheer when Hamilton passed Kimi (something Hamilton seems to be doing his whole career) when they were fighting for about 13th place. Again not a constuctive weekend but they will get better, they always do, something tells me that Kimi and Felipe are not enjoying there time at Ferrari at the moment.

Anyways on to Britain next and SILVERSTONE and I hope it pisses it down because I could not go (damn wedding) plus when it rains it's usually a better race. Jenson FTW

 

[The Rob]

Today the entry list for the 2010 season was announced:

TEAM / CONSTRUCTOR

SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO / FERRARI

SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO / STR TBA

RED BULL RACING / RBR RENAULT

AT&T WILLIAMS / WILLIAMS TOYOTA

FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM / FORCE INDIA MERCEDES

CAMPOS GRAND PRIX / CAMPOS COSWORTH

MANOR GRAND PRIX / MANOR COSWORTH

TEAM US F1 / TEAM US F1 COSWORTH

VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES* / McLAREN MERCEDES

BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM* / BMW SAUBER

RENAULT F1 TEAM* / RENAULT

PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING* / TOYOTA

BRAWN GP FORMULA ONE TEAM* / BRAWN TBA

However the 5 teams that I have put in Italic's have only put in conditional entries, so the FIA have said that if they don't drop these conditions before June 19th then they're out of Formula 1. The biggest surprise is that Ferrari, after all the fuss about them quitting, have signed a contract to compete in Formula 1 till at least 2012. So have Red Bull and Toro Rosso. I'm personally delighted that Ferrari have signed on and would like to think that the 5 teams listed above who have only put in conditional entires will see sense and sign up for real.

 

[The Rob]

Ok, I'm all packed and ready to go. Starting to get really excited now!

Going into the weekend, I can see Jenson being completely dominant in both qualifying and the race too. The car seems to have a lot of natural downforce which is what's needed at Silverstone because of the very fast corners like Copse (which is where I'm sat for the race ), Maggots, Beckets, Stowe and Bridge. I don't expect the Ferrari's to be all that competitive (as much as it pains me to say that) because, unlike the Brawn GP car, the F60 seems to lack the downforce thats needed for the corners I've named above.

I predict Jenson to stroll the race... I hope not cause I want the race to be exciting. If it's anything like the Turkish Grand Prix, I'll be kinda pissed off. I'll give a review of my weekend probably on Monday night.

 

[Uncle Sam]

Deserving of its own thread? Maybe.

I'm glad and sad. I'm excited and worried. Ferrari, McLaren, Brawn, Red Bull and the other teams - with the exception of Williams and, dear God no, Force Indian - have announced plans to begin a rival championship next year.

Good for them. Max and Bernie have dished out so much bullshit over the last few years. Without its top teams, what's the incentive to watch Formula One? There isn't one. Fuck 'em. F-Zero FTW.

Just don't go to ITV. Please Jesus, go to ITV. Or just kiss and make up. I don't really mind which.

 

[Leeds Guy]

Deserving of its own thread? Maybe.

I'm glad and sad. I'm excited and worried. Ferrari, McLaren, Brawn, Red Bull and the other teams - with the exception of Williams and, dear God no, Force Indian - have announced plans to begin a rival championship next year.

Good for them. Max and Bernie have dished out so much bullshit over the last few years. Without its top teams, what's the incentive to watch Formula One? There isn't one. Fuck 'em. F-Zero FTW.

Just don't go to ITV. Please Jesus, go to ITV. Or just kiss and make up. I don't really mind which.

I can already hear Sky Sports licking their lips. Why not they have every other sport apart from Horse Racing. Seriously though Max Mosley is a fool if he thinks this will be all sorted out soon and equally Flavio Briatore is an arrogant prick who should never ever own the FIA. I can see the split happening, the FIA wont back down and Briatore wont back down either which is a pity as F1 has recently been the best its ever been. They need to come to some agreement sooner rather than later because all this is doing is hurting the sport.

Now on to Silverstone.
How typical that the one boring race of the season had to happen at Silverstone, Vettel drove fantastically,Webber had nothing really to do but follow Vettel. The Brawns were their own enemies today deciding to do the second stint of Hards. The only real entertainment we got was Kovi and Buemis shunt and Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonsos battle for 15th place. Jenson came alive with 10 laps to go if only he had that pace earlier in the race. I feel sorry for Nakajima, who drove fantastic starting from 5th but finished 11th through no fault of his own. On to the Nurburgring next

 

[The Rob]

Wow! What an amazing weekend! Sunday had probably the best atmosphere of any British Grand Prix I've been too. 130,000 people there on the Sunday alone, 100,000 on the Saturday and 80,000 on the Friday. How could Bernie want to get rid off Silverstone and keep race's at places like Turkey and Barhain where no-one turns up?!

As for the race, Sebastian was simply awesome! He utterly dominated the whole race and the whole weekend practically. Jenson really struggled weirdly, which led to him blaming the weather for why he couldn't get any heat into the tyres. Felipe had an awesome race, a great fight back from 11th to finish 4th.

And now, thankfully after the whole drama about the FOTA making a break-away series, they have now committed to Formula 1

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76497

I say thank christ! Can they now get back to the serious business of racing?!

 

[The Todd]

I never wrote anything on Silverstone. Oops. Well, basically Vettel was too good for everyone and that was that.

In Nurburgring for 20 glorious seconds we had an all British front row, then along came a pesky Australian AGAIN! Do they get a kick out of making us English cry? Anyway, great to see Hamilton up there again and great to see Button ahead of Vettel. I'm going to stick my neck out and predict a win for Barrichello. He's awesome in the rain. Hockenheim 2000. Silverstone 2002 (I think it was). I hope Button and Vettel have a good, competitive scrap just to see the skills from both drivers.

 

[Leeds Guy]

Yeah It should be a good one. My prediction is Hamilton he is awesome in the rain and it looks as if the Mclaren is competetive this weekend which is fantastic. Brawn seem to struggle in the rain so I rekon that Vettel will have Button on the first few laps. I would be pleased with a Barrichello win but like I say I doubt that will happen. I just hope its not going to be a boring race with Webber racing off from pole and winning with no weather problems at all.

 

[The Rob]

I, for one, am very happy that Mark won today. He, more than anyone else in Formula 1, deserved to win a Grand Prix. He drove absolutely superbly today and demonstrated what he is truly capable of. As soon as he had his drive-through penalty I wrote Mark off, I didn't think he was going to be even have a sniff. But Felipe just held up Rubens which allowed Mark to close the gap and take the lead. Plus both Rubens' and Jenson's 3 stop strategys really didn't work out.

Mark was amazing today but Felipe also deserves a mention, a great drive to his first podium of 2009. I'm personally very happy with his performance. Overall a pretty decent race, very interesting through-out.

 

[The Todd]

I, for one, am very happy that Mark won today.

NOOO Rob! In an Ashes summer we hate Australians at everything. You see an Aussie getting mugged in the street you point and laugh! If England just hadn't just miraculously survived in the cricket this would have turned in to a Mark Webber-hate post, but instead I'll be nice. Ish

Webber started awfully, and almost ruined Barrichello's afternoon and DID ruin Hamilton's race. If Hamilton got through there, who knows what would have happened. Then the penalty, I don't get drive through penalties. It isn't enough of a punishment, they should bring back the stop and go.

Webber did brilliantly though to get back in the lead, helped by the woeful Brawn's. And as you said, Massa was superb. Ferrari's and McLaren's looking good once again which should be interesting. Brawn need warm weather and quick or Red Bull will run away with this championship. Hopefully Hamilton gets a chance for a clean race in Hungary, without them bleedin' Aussies annoying us once more.

Well done Mark.

 

[Tastycles]

I'm a pretty big F1 fan, but today's race was the first one I had managed to catch all season. In short, the changes made before the season definitely have improved the whole viewing experience, but I haven't seen a qualifying to confirm that enitrely.

I thought Webber looked good today, obviously, but Barrichello was charicteristically unlucky. Rubens was pretty unprofessional to talk about his team the way he did, and I'd be highly suprised if he is in the Brawn car next season, retirement beckons, I reckon. Talking of unlucky, Sutil looked good for about 4th until Raikkonnen crashed into him again. Maybe next year your annual sublime race won't be ruined by Raikkonnen, Adrian.

As for how the season pans out from here, I think Button may not win another race, but still win the title, which goes to show that a good start is crucial. That being said, I think Ferrari and McClaren look like they are onl a Grand Prix or two from competing. That being said, Hamilton proved why he is so vastly overrated in an instant today. We've all bombed it down to the first corner on the PlayStation before, but actually doing it in real life is pretty ******ed.

I think temperature will play a huge factor in Hungary. If it's dry and hot, expect a Button win, if it is dry and cold expect a Vettel one, if it is wet and hot expect a Barrichello win, and if it is cold and wet, expect a complete random to win.

 

[The Todd]

That being said, Hamilton proved why he is so vastly overrated in an instant today. We've all bombed it down to the first corner on the PlayStation before, but actually doing it in real life is pretty ******ed.

I think this is being a tad harsh. His start was brilliant, The kers worked to perfection and it showed why more teams should use it. He was in the lead until Webber ripped his tyre and damaged the back of his car. If Webber hadn't hit him, Hamilton had a great chance at a podium. In qualifying he was third quickest driver once fuel loads were taken into consideration. He's done a good job in a shit car and now it works properly he will be a threat.

I think temperature will play a huge factor in Hungary. If it's dry and hot, expect a Button win, if it is dry and cold expect a Vettel one, if it is wet and hot expect a Barrichello win, and if it is cold and wet, expect a complete random to win.

Yeah I would go with that too. The Ferraris and McLarens will be a threat as well, and could nick it if it's cold and wet. Having said that I think those damn Red Bulls will win both championships come the end of the year.

 

[The Todd]

You know them sporting events where pretty much everything you wanted to happen happened?

First of all my three most despised drivers find their way to the front three postitions in qualifying. Within 20 laps Alonso was out, Vettel was out and Webber had slipped down to 3rd. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton drives superbly to take the lead and won comfortably. Kimi Raikkonen also drove a great race to give Ferrari some much needed good news (get well soon Felipe). Unfortunately not everything went to perfection, Webber still knicked third and Jenson had a terrible race and ended up in 7th.

Button gained two points on Vettel but lost four to Webber. It now looks like Webber vs Button now, Vettel can't really take too many points off Webber if Red Bull are going to win the title.

For Valencia there will be no Renaults after they have been rightly punished for allowing Alonso to drive off with a tyre not properly fitted. Coming so soon after Surtees' death it shouldn't have happened. Alonso should have pulled over as well once he realised the problem.

There are also rumours Michael Schumacher could replace Massa until he is fit again. Of course it won't happen but how great would it be if he returned, won three races on the trot then left with Ferrari getting no more podiums all season in a whole "come on I'm retired and I'mn still better than you" kind of way.

Plus Hamilton vs Schumacher would be good just to see if Hamilton really is a great racer. Well done Lewis though. Let's have three or four more wins and help Jenson steal the title by a point.

 

[Leeds Guy]

Finally Hamilton is back, the car looks to be working better and he was untouchable today, Raikkonen drove fantastic and was untroubled for much of the race apart from a spirited Timo Glock having a go before his pit stop. Pebble I find it weird that your 3 most hated are exactly the same as mine.

Red Bull have to choose a driver now and push them otherwise they are jusy going to take points of each other which is something that neither of them need. Jenson and Brawn need to pull their fingers out as well, this lead is slipping and its only a matter of time before the Bull's catch him, he could have a blessing now though with Mclaren and Ferrari becoming more competative and taking more points away from Red Bull.

Looks like it was Nelson Piquet Jnr's last drive for Renualt today, we all know how much of a nice man Flavio is (/sarcasm) I can't believe he left mid race, great show of confidance for Piquet there. Fernando's tyre was hillarious such a foolish mistake and quite rightly punished with exclusion from Valencia leaving Jamie Albersuari (Sp?) as the only Spaniard. Renault are appealing but we all know how frivalous that will be. Perhaps an exclusion is a tad harsh maybe a grid penalty would have been better. All I'm saying is dont expect to see that lollypop man in Renault overalls anytime soon.

Finally a thought for Felipe Massa who had to have emergancy surgery after a freak accident during qualifying yesterday. Hopefully he will pull through and be back racing next season. I think I speak for everyone when I say get well soon.

 

[The Todd]

Renault have had their ban overturned and will be allowed to race at Valencia.

Shocking decision. On a weekend where one of the top drivers had a near death experience from an object flying off a car and a week after a racing driver was killed after being hit in the head with a tyre, a team sends a car out onto the track with a wheel nut not fastened on. They then proceed to not tell the driver to pull over and stop the tyre completely coming off, presumably in the hope they could get him back in and back out and scrape something from a race they could have gotten a podium. The tyre then comes off and, luckily, avoids the other drivers and the marshalls.

This was rightly punished with a one race ban. Teams should be putting safety first and Renault didn't. The car has to be safe to be out on that track as any object hitting a driver travelling at speeds of near 200mph can have fatal consequences. Renault ignored this. The fact they are racing shows other teams they can disregard safety in an attempt to gain points in other races.

This next Grand Prix is held at a shit hole of a track where nothing interesting will happen. It was lit up with news of a returning Schumacher and Renault's disqualification. Now Schumacher has pulled out and Renault are back. This race will now not only be boring, it has nothing interesting to tune in for.

 

[The Rob]

Renault have had their ban overturned and will be allowed to race at Valencia.

Shocking decision. On a weekend where one of the top drivers had a near death experience from an object flying off a car and a week after a racing driver was killed after being hit in the head with a tyre, a team sends a car out onto the track with a wheel nut not fastened on. They then proceed to not tell the driver to pull over and stop the tyre completely coming off, presumably in the hope they could get him back in and back out and scrape something from a race they could have gotten a podium. The tyre then comes off and, luckily, avoids the other drivers and the marshalls.

This was rightly punished with a one race ban. Teams should be putting safety first and Renault didn't. The car has to be safe to be out on that track as any object hitting a driver travelling at speeds of near 200mph can have fatal consequences. Renault ignored this. The fact they are racing shows other teams they can disregard safety in an attempt to gain points in other races.

This next Grand Prix is held at a shit hole of a track where nothing interesting will happen. It was lit up with news of a returning Schumacher and Renault's disqualification. Now Schumacher has pulled out and Renault are back. This race will now not only be boring, it has nothing interesting to tune in for.

I absolutely agree that Renault should not be racing this weekend, and it's a very poor decision on behalf of the FIA.

Renault were rightly punished for what happened during the Hungarian Grand Prix, it was stupid and very dangerous and could of had fatal results. Renault should of taken the one-race ban on the chin, accepted they were wrong and start preparing for Spa and not bother about an appeal that they have amazingly won.

But perhaps the FIA were worried about the turn-out for this weekends Grand Prix, as without Fernando racing, or even Schumacher, the crowd simply wouldn't bother turning up. And therefore that would leave a black mark over the event in terms of the local civilians stand-point.

With Schumacher cancelling his comeback (cries silently ), there needs to be something for the locals to be interested in come race day. I'm not saying that is the reason why Renault won their appeal, but it could well of played a very slight factor. Spain is a big market to win over and Fernando has done it single handedly.