The Formula 1 Thread (spoilers)

Vexorg · Post by **Vexorg** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 8:03 am

I seem to recall we had a few F1 fans in the forum, and since the 2009 season is up and running now, I thought I'd go ahead and start a thread for it.
After watching the Australian Grand Prix, I was trying to figure out if I accidentally tuned into the GP2 race instead of the F1 race. All the cars sliding around a bunch, a bunch of cars I didn't recognize at the front of the field, and actual passing every once in a while.

It would have been nice to see Vettel and Kubica finish though, kind of a crummy way to end a good race like that for them. It was also weird to see no Ferraris or McLarens in the front at the end (OK, I guess Hamilton managed to sneak into fourth at the end, but he wasn't even close for most of the race.)

Oh yeah, and the cars need more rear wing on them. They just look silly in that configuration.

LaserGun · Post by **LaserGun** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:30 am

I've been up all night drinking, so I didn't catch the race. I managed to crawl out of bed earlier and see the very last lap.

This season seems a lot more exciting, I was getting sick of all the Mclaren vs Ferrari nonsense that plagued the last couple seasons. Hamilton did well to come in 4th after starting 18th and Trulli did well to come 3rd after starting in the pit. Brawn GP seems like an interesting team and Button has always had the potential to be a top driver, he just needed a good car.

Edit: Hamilton has 3rd place now, Trulli was given a 25 second penalty. Tough break for Trulli lol

mr_m0nks · Post by **mr_m0nks** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 1:07 pm

Lets hope the Ferrari led appeal against the diffusers is thrown out.

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 2:41 pm

the new cars are shite, but it looks like it might be an interesting season anyways.

my money for the title this year is on Vettel.. great driver with alot of heart and the ability to keep his cool under pressure = win!

mr_m0nks · Post by **mr_m0nks** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 2:46 pm

It's only the front wings that look crap, I reckon the cars themselves look better. Especially the Ferrari and the Brawn

sven666 · Post by **sven666** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:02 pm

front wing looks like a plow.. back wing looks like one of those boxcarts that run round-round.. whole car is ridiculously long and thin.. no wonder most drivers seem to be struggling with the handling.

just look at how many lost it or were close to losing it in the exits of corners.. wtf?

mr_m0nks · Post by **mr_m0nks** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 6:34 pm

the whole point of the rules change was to reduce aerodynamic downforce, thats why the drivers are struggling, they have forgotten how to drive a real car.

plus it does seem to provide more exiting racing!

drboom · Post by **drboom** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 7:18 pm

I think the cars look awesome, personally. I'm also a big fan of decreased downforce where drivers really need to 'drive' the car, rather than the old 'point and squeeze' kind of driving of the last 6 or so seasons.
Vettel is really going to be a tough guy this year. Awesome line up of drivers. I'm more excited for this season than any one in recent menory - especially since ALMS lost Porsche in P2 and Audi in P1.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 7:22 pm

Should be an exciting F1 racing season for 2009! ^_~

Too bad that F1 won't make a single stop in the USA. They should reconsider doing so. Would make lots of $$$ for surrounding facilities not to mention nearby hotels and such. Plus hosting of international F1 racing fans with plently of spending money galore! There's money definitely to be made if this becomes a reality. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Vexorg · Post by **Vexorg** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 9:22 pm

Now the Canadaian GP has been discontinued as well, so there is no longer any F1 stops in North America at this point. I really wish there was some viable F1 venue in the US besides Indy, mostly because I'd like the chance to see a race without giving Tony George money to do so. The proposed street course in Las Vegas that was floated around a number of years ago could have been interesting, but it seems that Vegas has no interest in hosting such an event. Not that it couldn't be done (CART actually ran an event on a temporary road course in downtown Las Vegas a couple of years ago before they went under) but the City of Las Vegas seems to have no interest in bringing F1 in.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 9:31 pm

Vexorg wrote:Now the Canadaian GP has been discontinued as well, so there is no longer any F1 stops in North America at this point. I really wish there was some viable F1 venue in the US besides Indy, mostly because I'd like the chance to see a race without giving Tony George money to do so. The proposed street course in Las Vegas that was floated around a number of years ago could have been interesting, but it seems that Vegas has no interest in hosting such an event. Not that it couldn't be done (CART actually ran an event on a temporary road course in downtown Las Vegas a couple of years ago before they went under) but the City of Las Vegas seems to have no interest in bringing F1 in.

CART did the same thing with the San Jose Grand Prix from a few years back. It was a techincal racing course with lots of twists and turns throughout the downtown area of San Jose, California. Sadly, I never did attend one of those cool San Jose Grand Prix races but it would've been cool nevertheless. I do recall seeing the racing roadside barriers still setup one summer in downtown San Jose after it happened but just missed it. Huge concrete barriers with chain-link fencing in place as well. I don't think the San Jose Grand Prix will ever make a comeback though (but you never know though as it might, given the right sponsor(s) to pull it off again successfully). ^_~

It would quite something if Danica Patrick wins her first Indy 500 race...that would be racing history in the making. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:05 pm

Why would anybody bother with Formula 1 anyway? You never get to drive under a waterfall or boost off a jump pad or do anything exciting, like drive your pregnant wife to the hospital (while obeying the speed limit).

Yeah, us here in Michigan probably are supposed to like the "stock" car races more (advertising dehehhh), but F1 has a certain aura about it, also it's pretty cool and don't screw with nearly unlimited horsepower (the only step up would pretty much be drag racing aka rocket cars). So please come back soon Formula 1! :(

I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens to the automakers worldwide before there can be any realistic hope of racing making a return in its various forms.

escadrille · Post by **escadrille** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 1:08 am

The new Brawn team made serious waves. This could be one of the most interesting seasons in a while. Ferrari and Maclaren-Mercedes should have made some serious modifications by the time the tour gets back to Europe in May.

How about Kubica and Vettel wrecking on the 3rd last lap or so.

mr_m0nks · Post by **mr_m0nks** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:11 am

I reckon an F1 race in Detroit would be cool.

Isn't there an American team coming in next year? They will be pushing for a bigger presence in North America.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:19 am

Anything would constitute a bigger presence...nothing scheduled for Canada or the US that I can see, and of course CART is gone. Also luls: GreenPrix

Vexorg · Post by **Vexorg** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 6:39 pm

There actually was an F1 race in Detroit back in the Eighties (it ran from 1982-1988 on a temporary road course near GM Headquarters.) The races were apparently notable mostly for a large number of retirements due to the narrowness of the track (Wikipedia shows the track layout,) and eventually the Detroit races got moved to a different track on Belle Isle. They ran IndyCar and ALMS races there last year, but this year they cancelled the event in Detroit due to the Carpocalypse, which I suspect means we won't be seeing any racing in Detroit again anytime soon. At this rate, they'd probably be unable to keep the cars from being shot at during the race.

Ed Oscuro · Post by **Ed Oscuro** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:38 pm

Vexorg wrote:Carpocalypse...At this rate, they'd probably be unable to keep the cars from being shot at during the race.

@ Carpocalypse...almost want to take bets to see how long it'll take the mainstream media to start using that one.

The part about race drivers getting mugged at intersections...yep, there's entire blocks of the city worth less than a F1 hubcap, I'm sure.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 8:47 pm

Ed Oscuro wrote:Anything would constitute a bigger presence...nothing scheduled for Canada or the US that I can see, and of course CART is gone. Also luls: GreenPrix

At one time, both Indy Racing League (IRL) and CART were together but went their seperate ways for about 13 years. 2008 was the first time that both American open-wheel racing organizations agreed to join forces again after several attempts but to no avail. Should be interesting see what comes of American open-wheel racing now that both IRL and CART are back together again at last. ^_~

That was quite something when Danica Patrick won her first race last year in Japan. The real question is, will she win again in the upcoming 2009 Indy racing season? ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Vexorg · Post by **Vexorg** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 4:46 pm

And moving back to the most recent race for a moment, Lewis Hamilton just got his third place taken away for lying to the race stewards regarding the pass under yellow:

Link

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 7:18 pm

Well, shit happens. That's the nature of racing. Guess it's time for Lewis Hamilton to suck it up and be civil about it. ^_~

I've personally seen some Nascar racing incidents where the officials called one thing and the race car driver said something else. The person in question, was none other than Tony Stewart for causing the other driver to be forced under the yellow line on the very last lap of the race during one race in the 2008 Nascar racing season. I think the driver who was forced down there should've won the race but the officials said that Stewart won the race. This particular incident did generate some controversey indeed. Of course, in racing, there are always going to be some "dirty" drivers who bump the next driver to win on the very last lap. Stewart said that the very same thing had happened to him on several occasions and he didn't win the race because someone else forced him down past the yellow line on the last lap. So be it. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

escadrille · Post by **escadrille** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 2:10 am

Vexorg wrote:And moving back to the most recent race for a moment, Lewis Hamilton just got his third place taken away for lying to the race stewards regarding the pass under yellow:

Link

I think they kind of hosed him in this case.

LaserGun · Post by **LaserGun** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 12:10 pm

Button won the race, it was rained out so they couldn't continue, pretty much everyone was waiting on the grid in the rain except for Kimi:

THE RACE IS IRRELEVANT, KIMI HAS ICE CREAM, GIVE HIM THE POINTS

SuperGrafx · Post by **SuperGrafx** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 9:21 pm

I've been following F1 for years now, but I don't ever recall the FIA giving out half points (as a result of cutting the race short). Is this the first time we've seen such a result?

Vexorg · Post by **Vexorg** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:27 am

There is precedent for the half points, although it's exceedingly rare. An article I saw earlier today says it's the first time it's happened since the Monaco race in 1984.

Super Laydock · Post by **Super Laydock** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:24 am

It surely is more exciting and unpredictable under the new rules.

No points yet, but I hope Massa takes the championship this year.
Cool guy and undeservedly been second in rank b4.

Either him or Barrichello who is severely underrated as well.

escadrille · Post by **escadrille** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:58 pm

There are rule changes every year without fail. Whatever they are doing it seems to be working since things have only gotten closer and more exciting since the end of the Schumacher/Ferrari dominance era.

PC Engine Fan X! · Post by **PC Engine Fan X!** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:04 pm

Whatever it takes to get things stirred up to attract attention in the F1 world. ^_~

Same thing with Nascar when they first implemented the "Chase for the Cup"...broke new ground when it came to crowning the overall winner instead of the old traditional way of how it used to be. Whatever it takes to attract newcomers to the Nascar racing sport. It has been quite successful, indeed. ^_~

Jeff Gordon finally won his first Nascar Cup race in a winless 47 race streak dating back to October of 2007 yesterday, Sunday, April 5th 2009 at the Texas Motorspeedway track. About damn time he won a race. He still does have some that special magic to win races. There was some talk about Gordon possibly retiring in a few years to concentrate on devoting more time to raise his daughter and spend more time with his wife. The money that he makes just off of endosements/sponsorships is just mind boggling...worth millions of dollars easily. ^_~

And will Jimmy Johnson win his fourth consecutive Nascar Chase for the Cup championship in 2009?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Vexorg · Post by **Vexorg** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 1:07 am

I've pretty much abandoned NASCAR at this point, ever since it turned into more marketing than racing. About the time they decided to expand the chase to 12 drivers pretty much because Jeff Gordon and Dale Jr. didn't make it in the previous year I got sick of watching it.

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The Formula 1 Thread (spoilers)

The Formula 1 Thread (spoilers)

The best thing about Formula 1 motor racing isn't driving...