Formula 1 -2008

[miniace]

Guys the 2008 season starts today and saturday delivered lots of surprises.Last years runner-up Lewis Hamilton in pole at Albert Park- Melbourne and title defender Kimi Räikkönen in OMG 16 th and ran only Q1.Kubica of BMW second on the grid and the second Mclaren of Kovalainen filling the third spot.

MINIACE

[KLM]

Guys the 2008 season starts today and saturday delivered lots of surprises.Last years runner-up Lewis Hamilton in pole at Albert Park- Melbourne and title defender Kimi Räikkönen in OMG 16 th and ran only Q1.Kubica of BMW second on the grid and the second Mclaren of Kovalainen filling the third spot.

MINIACE

Tough break for 'Sea Bass' Bourdais in the STR-Ferrari, on debut mind you. He was keeping Alonso at bay, in fourth place, until the second last lap before his engine let go. This guy is quite the wheelman - he won 4 consecutive ChampCar championships in the US, beating some big names. He is still is yet to get the hang of the car in qualifying trim, however. Even during preseason testing, he was right on the pace with Vettel on the long runs but on low-fuel hot laps, he still has some way to go. He was classified 8th, because of the attrition, so he got a point on debut anyway.

The old karting contingent of Kubica, Hamilton and Rosberg had a good weekend, although Kubica fell off the track towards the end. I really hope that Ferrari get their shit together before Malaysia, or else it'll be a really boring season.

[Overdrive]

The most exiting season for me, there was so much anticipation at the race start. Most crucial driver aids have been removed. New FIA approved ECU with no traction, Launch control and engine braking to name a few. No messing about behind the safety car. Changes on Engine,gear box usage, Cars must run a certain little less that 6% of bio fuel so the cars have to be bio fuel compliant. No spare cars in garage.

Kimi had a problem with fuel pressurization in his fuel pump during Q2 and stalled in the pit lane. As a result the car was pushed to the team garage and incurred a penalty under FIA regulations for doing so and was not allowed to take part in further qualifying. He was all over the place.. He was in P3 after the safety car situation and messed up by braking too late into a corner and went off in to the gravel. Lap 15/58 he hit a patch of grass and spun. To critical errors by the Iceman. Massa's early mistake cost him dearly. The big Ferrari’s hype at the pre season didn’t quite reflect well at this first race. Not being funny but they were a bit over confident, ie. Did u see how late they came in to Q2, But I suppose time will tell

As usual fantastic job by Hamilton who qualified P1 an went on to win the race (no surprises there!) and good news for BMW fans. Heidfeld finished 2nd and i'm sure Pilla is pleased Rosberg finished 3rd. Alonso qualified 11th with a Diff. problem adding to that suffering with lack of pace apparently, nevertheless finishing 4th, which i'm quite pleased with . can't complain. Good stuff by Heikki for his 1st race ith the new team finishing 5th. Shame for Kubica, had to retire due to faulty car.

Too many incidents this race. Big one involving cars from the back of the pack at turn one including rookie nelson piquet jr. unfortunate for button as vetel collided with him and he was one of many who had to retire. Honda doing very much better this year with their new car, with ex ferrari tech. director ross brawn in the team. got paid off by barrichello finishing 6th. BUt now Barrichello has been disqualified from sixth place as he was penalised by stewards for exiting the pits under a red light. He took down the refuelling man in the process, thanks to the lollypop man messing up! It means Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen moves up to eighth place and hence scores a point.

Ex champ car champion Sebastien bourdais finished 8th for his first F1 race. Unfortunate for Coulthard as Massa held his ground on the inside of a corner behind coulthard and collided. A furious David said some strong words aimed at Massa. The race director Charlie white might have to have alook at that and see if Massa was at fault.

Lap 14/58 glock had a huge incident (like what Kubica had last season)

This season the teams to watch out for is BMW and Williams IMO. They are really quick. Honda and R*D B*LL cars are way better this year.

Edited March 16, 2008 by Overdrive

[Overdrive]

Yeah KLM very unfortunate for Bourdais. He did really well. Almost scored points...he will be a force to be reckoned with. (saw the man race in Race of Champions last year!!))I guess it’s a Ferrari thing this race!!

Disastrous this Race has been for Ferrari.

Awesome pass of heikki by Alonso in the last lap.

[fuzzo]

alonso pretty much made it look like heikki was standing still with that manouver

[KLM]

Opportunistic move by Alonso, because Heikki lost momentum while squeezing Kimi out of the way. Poor guy, if not for the 3rd safety car period he would have finished right behin LH for a McLaren 1-2.

[Overdrive]

No KLM this is in the last lap , where Heikki didnt get drive out of the corner. They swapped places twice in 1 lap. I think he missed a gear , It wasn't slipstreaming for sure, that was something else!!

[Elvis_Pil]

Excellent race! What has my signature been reading since since the start of this year lol? Removing driver aids has opened up a can of worms in the back of the grid.

News is that Rubens was DQ'd for running out of the pit on red- that means Kimi gets away with a point and so does Nakajima for Williams with one more.

[KLM]

No KLM this is in the last lap , where Heikki didnt get drive out of the corner. They swapped places twice in 1 lap. I think he missed a gear , It wasn't slipstreaming for sure, that was something else!!

Ah yes, on the start/finish straight on the final lap. Heikki definitely lost momentum there and that sucked for him, after he pulled off a textbook move on Alonso just prior to that.

Pila, more power to the privateers, but unless we have wet races or half the field is wiped out by Felipe Massa, I don't think we'll see Nakajima or Rosberg on the podium again this year.

Edited March 17, 2008 by KLM

[miniace]

I don't think we'll see Nakajima or Rosberg on the podium again this year.

Thats my guess too.Albert Park was a haunted ground for many this year.

MINIACE

[Elvis_Pil]

Well there will be quite a few more unpredictable races..(Monaco,Singapore,Japan & a bit of global warming induced rain he he) and I wouldnt rule Williams out at all. Nakajima yes. Rosberg no.

[KLM]

No KLM this is in the last lap , where Heikki didnt get drive out of the corner. They swapped places twice in 1 lap. I think he missed a gear , It wasn't slipstreaming for sure, that was something else!!

www.grandprix.com reports......

"There followed a nice dice with his old Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso, and on lap 57 Heikki overtook Alonso with a glorious move. Luck was not on his side, however, as he had oil on his visor as a result of Sebastien Bourdais's Toro Rosso having blown up. Kovalainen tried to wipe his helmet with the back of his hand and, in doing so, knocked on the pitlane speed limiter. Alonso retook the place."

Pila, I have a good feeling that Kazuki will catch Nico in terms of pace by mid-season.

[Overdrive]

McLaren drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton will each drop five places on the grid for Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix after stewards decided they had blocked rival drivers in the closing stages in qualifying. They will now start the race eighth and ninth respectively.

Kovalainen and Hamilton were called before the stewards after suggestions that BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld and Renault’s Fernando Alonso were impeded during their final Q3 runs, when the McLaren drivers were conserving fuel on slowing-down laps, both having completed their final runs.

while Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima starts from the back after his ten-place penalty for a collision with BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica at the last round in Australia.

The full provisional grid is as follows (the final grid will be published as usual by the FIA on Sunday morning - we will bring you details of any additional changes):

1. Felipe Massa, Ferrari

2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

3. Jarno Trulli, Toyota

4. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber

5. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber

6. Mark Webber, R*D B*LL

7. Fernando Alonso, Renault

8. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren

9. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren

10. Timo Glock, Toyota

11. Jenson Button, Honda

12. David Coulthard, R*D B*LL

13. Nelson Piquet, Renault

14. Rubens Barrichello, Honda

15. Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso

16. Nico Rosberg, Williams

17. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India

18. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso

19. Takuma Sato, Super Aguri

20. Adrian Sutil, Force India

21. Anthony Davidson, Super Aguri

22. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams

official f1 website

Brilliant lap time by truli in Q2. I think he clocked the fastest lap. Hope ferrai engines don't suffer the same fate as in Melbourne. The added vents should be helpfull with the overheating issue but at the expense of hindering aerodynamics.

btw pilla have you watched the documentary '' The secret life of Formula one'' ? If not let me know.

Edited March 22, 2008 by Overdrive

[Elvis_Pil]

No machan.. have not. It goes in depth with Williams a few seasons back right.. must try and get my hands on it. Finding good racing DVD's in SL is so darn hard.

[Overdrive]

No machan.. have not. It goes in depth with Williams a few seasons back right.. must try and get my hands on it. Finding good racing DVD's in SL is so darn hard.

I know what you mean, all the motoring dvd's i bring to SL get nicked by my mates. I have seen this and its bloody good. you'd be amazed by the F1 secrets that they share and talk about the legendary lotus 78. Well you're in luck. As you are an avid F1 enthusiast i thought you might appreciate this very much and got you one as well. (that is the DVD!)send me your address and i'll post it to you. my email addy is in my profile.

Edited March 22, 2008 by Overdrive

[Elvis_Pil]

Hey thanks Buddy! Really nice of you to offer-Appreciate it! Cant seem to access your email address in your profile- but I found you on FB.. I'll make sure to share it with the Pil clan.

Edited March 22, 2008 by Pilawoos

[miniace]

It was a great comeback for Ferraris as predicted.I guess Massa is still struggling with the loss of traction control.It looks like he made the same mistake at Malaysia.

An equally good performance from Trulli and Toyotas.Despite finishing fifth,I believe Hamilton drove well to recover.Jumped to fifth from nine on start and the wheel nut issue really let him down.

MINIACE

[KLM]

What a guy!

http://www.dispatch.co.za/sport/article.aspx?id=185396

Schumacher tears up the track on two wheels

2008/03/24

Seven-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher proved he is just as fast on two-wheels as he is on four after claiming a podium finish on his motorbike racing debut in Hungary.

The 39-year-old German finished third in the Skoox Cup race held at the 4.5 kilometres-long Pannonia Ring circuit in west Hungary aboard a Honda Fireblade on Friday.

The 2007 German superbike championship winner Martin Bauer took first place while Andreas Meklau finished second in front of Schumacher — the best of the 27-strong amateur field despite starting at the back of the grid.

The German received some tips from former 500 GP rider Randy Mamola before climbing on the saddle. The ride in Hungary came about after Schumacher impressed 2007 MotoGP world champion Australian Casey Stoner last November.

But Schmacher said he prefers being on four-wheels to two, and was reported to be extremely nervous before the race.

“I only did it for fun,” he said. ”I prefer driving.” – Sapa-AFP

[Devinda_Z]

Lewis Hamilton wins in Monaco

wish i'd have been able to watch the race - supposedly quite a win , given a bad starting position on the grid , a small crash and the wet weather to contend with!

so now he leads the drivers standings ya?

[Gummybr]

Lewis Hamilton wins in Monaco

wish i'd have been able to watch the race - supposedly quite a win , given a bad starting position on the grid , a small crash and the wet weather to contend with!

so now he leads the drivers standings ya?

What happened to the live coverage?? I checked on TV for so many times, they were busy showing some tennis tournament

[Silver]

Yup, it was some race! The rain + NO traction control was a first this season But kind of sad to see the multi-million dollar cars slipping and sliding into one another

Current standings [source - www.formula1.com]

01 Lewis Hamilton 38

02 Kimi Räikkönen 35

03 Felipe Massa 34

04 Robert Kubica 32

05 Nick Heidfeld 20

06 Heikki Kovalainen 15

07 Mark Webber 15

08 Fernando Alonso 9

09 Jarno Trulli 9

10 Nico Rosberg 8

Lewis crashed on the opening laps and had a puncture - but the leaders had a significant advantage and he manged to get back in to 6th or so after pitting. And he got a tank full of fuel which helped him to out run the rest...

Ferrari ran on intermediates hoping for rain in the mid-latter part of race (as it was repeated forecast during the race), but never came. Alonso kept banging on walls, straight-lining chicanes and causing chaos... but the worst possible luck was with the Force India driver Adrian Sutil, he was running a steady race at P4 staying out of trouble and all when he was rear ended by Kimi who simply lost control [a genuine mistake in my opinion]. But Kimi rejoined after a new nose, whereas Adrin's car suffered rear suspension failure and had to withdraw. Must add that Kubica ran very well and it was Ruben's first point-scoring finish since '06. And oh, Monaco Champ DC lost control and crashed as well...

[GTAm]

Sounds funny Lewis was very lucky because he hit the armoco at that very point in the race. Just as he went in to replace the tire the safety car came on and he managed to rejoin in 4th. The team pulled a smart one by changing to a one stopper. Ferrari were quite ragged despite being on the front row. Too many mistakes and they handled the constant changes quite badly - looked as if they were trying too hard. Then again Rain+Monaco is always crazy. I felt bad for Adrian Sutil who was 4th and would have won good points for Force India, if Kimi did not lose control and wack him from the rear.

But great result for Seb Vettel in the Toro Rosso!

[Elvis_Pil]

What happened to the live coverage?? I checked on TV for so many times, they were busy showing some tennis tournament

It was shown on ESPN rather than Star

Thats not just any 'tennis tournamenet' - it was the French Open!

Anyway nothing like some luck for McLaren to spice up the season.. the top three are now really close with LH in the lead by 3. Anyone saw P-diddy jumping and screaming in the Mclaren paddok area?

[GTAm]

Anyone saw P-diddy jumping and screaming in the Mclaren paddok area?

Yes black brother scene I guess . Btw Nico was going so well before that almighty crash.....

[Elvis_Pil]

Yes black brother scene I guess . Btw Nico was going so well before that almighty crash.....

lol but he seemed to cold shoulder him after the awards he he.

Nico was driving like a bat out of hell- but one too many risks out of desperation,which he could have avoided. he drove like a man who knew he'd missed an opportunity for a podium finish. <sigh> I was waiting for Manaco to see another strong Williams run- oh well at least Naka did well from where he started.