The F1-circus thread...

[Lazy legs]

Hey, great race for the young guns this weekend, and for the new F2003. What a car!!!
Schumi started a bit late this season but he is making his come-back and I think Kimmi is going to be sorry towards the end off the season for that mistake in qualifying that put him on the back of the starting grid.
I think Alonso have a great future ahead of him, maybe he will be the next ??? I wonder if Schumi would have been able to keep him back in the old Ferrari?

 

[Vo2]

Imo, Alonso was driving the living shite out of that Renault, while MS was just racing at steady pace. Take nothing away from the Spaniard tho, he drove an awesome race.
It wouldn't have been an easy thing to get past the Ferrari, had Alonso caught MS. Alonso spent a miserable 4 laps getting past Ralf, while MS took Ralf within a lap (and Ralf did not make it easy for MS either).
The new Ferrari looks awesome, and MS seems very happy with it. Kimi lost out major by not scoring this weekend, and with 2 wins under his belt now, MS seems to have the momentum. Still, anyone can take the honours this year.

 

[Lazy legs]

I agree it's still early days and anyone can take it, but as you say VO2, Schumi and his new "toy" looks hard to beat!
I'm just glad to see some new blood comming through the ranks and making a mark, it makes for a good season and who knows maybe next year they have a better car to drive and who can say what will happen then?!

 

[Vo2]

I hear everyone screaming that the new Ferrari is not as fast as predicted, and that the new MacLaren and new Renault engine is on it's way. Don't forget that Spain is a testing circuit for most of the top teams except Ferrari. All these teams go to Spain with alot of testing knowlegde and setup information at their disposal, whereas Ferrari only start their testing on the Friday before the race. I'm not using it as an excuse, I'm just saying that Ferrari beat the field in their own "back yard", so to speak. Lets see what happens when the playing fields are level, like at Monaco?

 

[Vo2]

The red dragon breathes fire!

 

[Duckwah]

did you see the way michael just shook his head slightly, wiped his visor and drove off, AWESOME!!!

The man has nerves of steel and ice in his veins i reckon.

 

[Lazy legs]

Originally posted by Duckwah
did you see the way michael just shook his head slightly, wiped his visor and drove off, AWESOME!!!

The man has nerves of steel and ice in his veins i reckon.

He's one cooool dude!!!
I wonder what it will take to ruffle his feathers?
When are the F1A going to realize that there's a big f#$*^p with those refueling rigs, the people from McClaren and BMW has been complaining about them the whole season, and after Sunday I suppose that Ferrari will join them. Are they going to wait till they have a blown up pit lane before they do something?

 

[Vo2]

The way he handled that situation amazes me. For the first few seconds the pitcrew were unsure what to do, some of them even made a run for it. But I think Michaels' absolute calm stunned them all. I'm almost sure that slight shake of the head was to say: "C'mon guys, catch a wake-up"
I would love to know what his thoughts were during those 5 seconds as he was leaving the pits; the shot they showed when he wiped his visor and look into the mirror. His focus is amazing.

 

[Lazy legs]

As Duckwah said, Ice in his veins!!! I was amazed when the commentator said they should just send him out, thought he lost it, then they did exactly that; I nearly fell of the couch.

 

[Vo2]

Originally posted by Lazy legs
He's one cooool dude!!!
I wonder what it will take to ruffle his feathers?
When are the F1A going to realize that there's a big f#$*^p with those refueling rigs, the people from McClaren and BMW has been complaining about them the whole season, and after Sunday I suppose that Ferrari will join them. Are they going to wait till they have a blown up pit lane before they do something?

If you think about it tho, it's not that bad. A 2-stopper GP has 44 refeuls per given Sunday, excluding all testing and warm-up refeuls. Jos's was the last refeuling fire I can remember, back in '94 at the German GP (I think). Since then, there have been 1000's of refeuls without serious incident. Your'e right, many teams are complaining about the rigs supplied by Intertechniqe (click here for their website), but it's mostly about mechanical issues. Ferrari reckon they are not going to pursue the issue.

 

[Lazy legs]

Originally posted by Vo2
If you think about it tho, it's not that bad. A 2-stopper GP has 44 refeuls per given Sunday, excluding all testing and warm-up refeuls. Jos's was the last refeuling fire I can remember, back in '94 at the German GP (I think). Since then, there have been 1000's of refeuls without serious incident. Your'e right, many teams are complaining about the rigs supplied by Intertechniqe (click here for their website), but it's mostly about mechanical issues. Ferrari reckon they are not going to pursue the issue.

Agree, but I'm not only referring to the fire hazard. Look at the number of times those rigs have become stuck. (IMO that 1st stop of Barichello cost him 2nd place) I know it's the luck off the draw and it can happen to any team, and it has, but it's something that the teams have no control over and I think THAT frustrates them even more!

 

[Vo2]

I hear you LL. My head just dropped in disgust on Sunday when I saw the fire, but I think I was more amamzed when I saw how well MS and the crew handled it. But you have to admit, the pitstops make for brilliant viewing. Motorsport is dangerous, even without refuelling.

bte: What do you think of the new Mac?

 

[RalleighOke]

Why do the FIA not fine the makers of the refuellers. I mean, these cars are of the highest technology and a heluva lot of money goes into it. A team cannot afford to loose a race because they could not get the fuel in.

It seems almost like a Winning Time issue

 

[Lazy legs]

Yeah VO, the pit stops make up a lot of the action (last year it was about the ONLY action), but you still have to safeguard all the people working there. Look how close the pit crew guys were to the flames, they must have crapped in their overalls, I would have.
I believe that it was still only an interim Mac they raced on Sunday. Don't know if Kimmie slowed down in the end or what but that 2nd Ferrari was all over him in the end?

 

[Lazy legs]

Originally posted by RalleighOke
Why do the FIA not fine the makers of the refuellers. I mean, these cars are of the highest technology and a heluva lot of money goes into it. A team cannot afford to loose a race because they could not get the fuel in.

It seems almost like a Winning Time issue

Good to see your back RO, been quiet lately?


I agree with you, they obviously had a bid to get the contract and I'm sure safety and reliability must have been high up on their "promises" list, then they should make good on those
promises or face some consequenses. I suppose if Ferrari doesn't want to pursue the matter it's their decision and I respect that but then the FIA should do something.
IMO there has been enough complaints and incidents lately to justify some action from them.

 

[Vo2]

Lazy Legs

Yep, they are still racing the MP4-17D. They reckon the new Mac will be ready for the Canadian GP. What I meant is have you seen the new car yet?

 

[Lazy legs]

Nucking fice!!! But do do they come in RED

 

[Vo2]

Apart from an great Monaco GP this weekend, did anyone watch the F3000 race? If not, here's what happenend:

Bjorn Wirdheim, who dominated the entire race, did the last lap slowdown thingy along the pit wall, waving to his pitcrew and ecstatic fans, and completely forgot about crossing the line. Nicolas Kiesa sped right passed him and took the win!

Wirdheim, the championship leader, had pulled over to receive the applause of his Arden International team not realising he had not crossed the finishing line in Monte Carlo.

Kiesa took advantage to speed past in the most prestigious race of the season and ****** victory.

Wirdheim managed to take second place ahead of Italy's Raffaele Giammaria.

"I made a stupid mistake..." said Wirdheim, who started on pole.
"I thought I had crossed the finishing line"

Good driver, this Wirdheim, but candidate for a Darwin, I reckon.

 

[steve]

Originally posted by Vo2
"I made a stupid mistake..." said Wirdheim, who started on pole.
"I thought I had crossed the finishing line" :grin:

Sounds fixed to me!

 

[Lazy legs]

Originally posted by Vo2
Good driver, this Wirdheim, but candidate for a Darwin, I reckon.

Oh yeah, he might get a ride at Ferrari though? (the MS & RB story last year with their photo finnish ) What's his name again, is it Wirdheim or Weirdhim?