:: The Formula 1 - 2008 Season Thread ::

[Hitboxx]

Yehaa, Ferrari 1-2. Nice race for Robert too. Mehul, I nailed it with my prediction

As for Lewis, lol, what an ass of a driver. Did you see how he used to hand signal Fisichella and co., as if they were supposed to let him just go without even racing for the place. He cannot drive from the back of the grid, as said many times before.

I don't think Kimi was off the pace, all credit goes to Felipe for that stunning(read non-anxious) drive.

 

[ratedrsuperstar]

all 3 top drivers now have a win.felipe drove very well throughout but i did feel that if there was anyone other than his team mate ahead kimi would have gone for the kill.

well done fisi loved the battle with hammy.that's the difference between a guy like kimi and ham.kimi has driven from the back to top 5 on numerous occasions while ham struggled even to make it to top 10.

 

[Dipen01]

Positive end to difficult weekend for Kimi


Kimi Raikkonen is relieved to have walk away from the Sakhir circuit with eight points.


Raikkonen started the race on the second row of the grid, but moved into second place behind team-mate Felipe Massa on the first lap.


The Ferrari driver, who has finished third in his three previous races in Bahrain, is now top of the Championship standings with 19 points.


"The whole weekend has been pretty difficult," he said. "One of the things was that we couldn't get the car really right.


"We look at a bad weekend and we finished second, so never mind, next race will be different.


"We are leading the Championship and that is the main thing, but it was not the easiest weekend for sure.


"It hasn't been perfect all weekend but the problem is we haven't found perfect balance, but that is life.


"I never am too happy at this circuit, but I think out of these first three races it is important to get many points.


"I am happy to be leading and when we go back to Europe we hope we can be strong in the next races."


------------------------------------------------------------

I knew he was offpace or atleast not at its best.. Something was definitely wrong with him/his car

 

[s18000rpm]

i recorded this on my camera
will upload recorded version (in TV) later.

Picture :
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
*img526.imageshack.us/img526/3066/kimidv3.th.jpg

notice something?
NOOBs at Star sports

*i.ytimg.com/vi/wKcG1iUi1XI/default.jpg
Hamilton on Alosno's back

 

[s18000rpm]

Steve Slater - Ferrari's performance in Bahrain GP

in this video, you can see Kimi overtaking Kubica in the second lap

 

[desiibond]

perfect race for Ferrari. Hope they continue this in GP's like Monaco where they struggled a lot last year.

I mean slow tracks

 

[s18000rpm]

The Future of the FIA

 

[s18000rpm]

Gascoyne and others about Hamilton gestures towards Fisichella

Force India technical director Mike Gascoyne has added his voice to those who blasted Lewis Hamilton's performance in Bahrain last weekend – by describing the McLaren-Mercedes ace's angry gesture towards Giancarlo Fisichella as ‘totally unnecessary'.

Hamilton entered the weekend leading the championship but departed again down in third place, after committing a litany of errors that ultimately left him well outside the points at the chequered flag, having botched his start and then run into the back of former team-mate Fernando Alonso.

On his way back up through the field, the 23-year-old spent some time trying to find a way past Fisichella's Force India – the Italian punching well above the squad's weight in what is still only its third grand prix – and shook his fist at his rival when he finally got by. The pair ultimately finished the race in twelfth and 13th positions – with Fisichella ahead.


“I don't know why he did that,” an unimpressed Gascoyne told Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell. “Fisichella was fighting with him for position, and he can't expect to just be let past.

“The gesture was totally unnecessary, so it was especially good to be in front of him at the end.”

Following even more severe criticism from three-time world champion Nike Lauda [see separate story – click here], Hamilton did receive support, however, from a fellow former grand prix star in the shape of Hans-Joachim Stuck.

“The pressure on him is enormous,” the Austrian told Germany's Bild newspaper, suggesting the spotlight on the Briton is too intense for what is still only his second season in the top flight. “He is the team leader at McLaren-Mercedes and has so much hype surrounding him. F1 is on such a high level that even tiny errors are punished harshly.”

*www.crash.net/motorsport/f1/news/161795-0/gascoyne_lewis_cant_expect_to_be_let_by.html

 

[s18000rpm]

Slick test

Ferrari's the fastest.
2nd place McLaren (De La Rosa) is 2.5 seconds off

---------------------------
Ferrari show off radical new nose cone

*img135.imageshack.us/img135/2095/1208190493ph6.jpg


After much speculation, Ferrari's radical new nose cone was finally unveiled today during testing at the Barcelona circuit.

As Felipe Massa tested the F2008 on Bridgestone's slick tyres, the car was fitted with a slotted nose cone.

This 'hole in the nose' is aimed at making use of the high-pressure air that builds up between the front wing and the underside of the nose.

This would improve the car's downforce by sending a better airflow to the rear wing.

What Ferrari have done is to create a channel inside the nose cone that takes this high-pressure region and vents it over the top of the chassis.

From overhead shots the hole's outlet can be seen, with one large exit split into two. This probably helps the exit flow merge with the flow already passing over the car.

Ferrari were testing an array of pitot tubes in front of the engine's inlet snorkel. These sensors would have picked up the differing air speed going into and over the airbox.

This set-up would give Ferrari a comparative reading for the new nose's effect.

If the test goes well, Ferrari are expected to give the new nose its race debut in Spain in two weeks' time.

Massa finished the day over 2.5 seconds ahead of his closest rival.

*www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/66640

-----------------

after this season only "Slicks" will be used, no more "grooved" tyres

then it'll be like Indy 500/A1 GP

all these F1 teams have been pushed by that arse Mosley damn

 

[Hitboxx]

That nose really looks radical, only race test will say the result. And Renault is sporting a new engine cover with wings for next race in Spain.

*www.f1technical.net/images/development/2008/renault-cover-bar.jpg

Source: *www.f1technical.net/development/145

 

[desiibond]

Honda also introduced lot of updates and most visible is elephean ears on the front wing. (like BMW's horns) They look very ugly and might well be banned by FIA as they might block drivers vision. They are huge and are right on top of car's nose.

 

[Hitboxx]

I don't think it is blocking the vision, although it appears big and there isn't anything ugly in F1

Rubens goes fastest on 2nd day of testing.

Rubens Barrichello finished the second day of testing this week at Barcelona on top of the timesheets as he continued to evaluate slick Bridgestone tyres. His best lap of 1m18.928s was 0.8s ahead of Fisichella's Force India, also set on slick tyres. Felipe Massa was third fastest, the quickest driver running on grooved tyres, 1.3s behind Barrichello who was also testing Honda's new aero package, which included two prominent winglets on top of the car's nose.

David Coulthard was fourth in his Red Bull on slick tyres while Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso ended fifth and sixth on grooved tyres. Alonso completed the most mileage of any driver today with 118 laps as he tested Renault's major aero update and was within 0.4s of Massa's best lap.

Nico Rosberg finished the day seventh for Williams ahead of Toyota's Timo Glock and BMW's Nick Heidfeld.

Testing continues tomorrow when Michael Schumacher will test slick tyres at Ferrari.

Source:*f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2008/04/15/barrichello-goes-fastest-in-barcelona/

Also *f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2008/04/15/force-india-flying-at-barcelona/

Force India Flying

Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella has finished the team's second day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, Spain, with the second fastest time of the nine-man field. The Italian recorded a 1m19.721s lap on 2009-spec slick tyres. His best lap on grooved tyres was still 1min 20.7s. The team's previous fastest lap round Barcelona this year, a 1min 22.233, was set by Giancarlo in February.

"The car went much better this time out than the last time we tested in Barcelona, which you can see in the considerable improvement in our lap times," said Fisichella. "This is largely due to the new parts we have introduced since the start of the season and the last time we were here. I tested the new 2009 slick tyres here today - which was the reason for my fastest lap - but we were also much quicker on the 2008 grooved rubber too. The best lap we did here in February was a 1min 22.3 and now we are at 1min 20.7, so we're really moving forward."

Looks like slicks are making all the difference.

 

[s18000rpm]

Porsche: scandal makes F1 unattractive

Car makers Porsche and Volkswagen have ruled out entering Formula One, saying high costs and a sex scandal involving motorsport chief Max Mosley made the sport unattractive to them.

"300 million euros a year - that is just burning money," Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech told German news magazine Stern on Friday.

"And after the affair with Max Mosley and the women it would not be very savoury to get involved (in Formula One) now," added his Porsche counterpart Wolfgang Porsche.

Porsche are in the process of acquiring a majority shareholding in Volkswagen and both German companies have been seen as potential Formula One entrants in the past.

Photographs and a video of Mosley involved in what British Sunday newspaper News of the World described as a Nazi-style orgy with prostitutes have led to strong criticism of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) boss, particularly in Germany.

German Formula One car makers BMW and Mercedes, which owns 40 percent of McLaren, issued a joint statement this month questioning the 68-year-old Englishman's future at the helm of the sport's governing body.

Mosley has denied any Nazi connotations and is claiming unlimited damages against the News of the World. He has resisted calls to resign.

The Briton has also filed legal action in Paris to prevent the News of the World video being accessed from France via the Internet.

Judicial sources said on Friday that a ruling was expected on April 29 after the French judge considered the request.

*www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/66708

Renault's way to reduce the distance to Ferrari
*img136.imageshack.us/img136/5372/sanstitre2fv6.jpg




(look at the wings)

 

[Hitboxx]

Holy cow , are they planning to leave the ground?

Just kidding, I know they are testing aero parts but very weird to look at.

 

[Hitboxx]

The qualifying results

1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:21.813
2 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:21.904
3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:22.058
4 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:22.065
5 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.096
6 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.231
7 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:22.429
8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:22.529

Alonso has severely compromised his race strategy, but atleast he's on the front row and that's what the full packed grandstand had come to see since Friday.

Force India could only manage 21(Giancarlo) and 22(Adrian), something didn't go right there.

 

[s18000rpm]

Holy cow , are they planning to leave the ground?

Just kidding, I know they are testing aero parts but very weird to look at.

thats a photoshopped renault

Emotional Alonso surprised by pace

Fernando Alonso admitted he could not be happier after a surprising performance in qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Renault driver, whose team have endured a shaky start to the season, was only outqualified by world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who was less than a tenth quicker than the Spaniard.

Renault introduced several updates in their car for this weekend's race, and although Alonso played down the improvements before today's session, the two-time champion and teammate Nelsinho Piquet were very competitive all day.

Alonso admitted he did not expect to be so strong, not even later in the season.

"I think it was very exciting when I crossed the line because I knew the time was good," said Alonso.

"I knew that only Kimi was running behind so when I crossed the line I knew it was front row in the worst case, so that is something we didn't expect at all, not in this race or maybe during the whole season, so I cannot be more happy than I am now."

The Renault driver, winner in Spain in 2006, is adamant his team have taken a significant step forward.

"The car feels better. I am happy with the car and we made a step forward no doubts. We found more at the test when we compared the changes back-to-back and we saw here a clear result, a big improvement in the car.

"All weekend it has been difficult with the track conditions. For the race we will see what we can do. But this second place of today is more than we expected for the whole weekend."

Alonso confessed seeing all the hard work during the winter paying off was a fantastic feeling.

"Unbelievable. It is difficult to describe or say anything because the team did a huge effort to improve the car and we keep doing it, working in Enstone and in France as well.

"We started season with a bit of disappointment. In the winter we expected to be stronger than we were in the first three races, but now there's no time to relax. We need to work hard, there are more aggressive steps coming in the next few races so we must work step by step and that makes me happy and optimistic for the future."

*www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/66893

 

[drgrudge]

Just saw the Q3 of the qualifying. I faced a lot of 'pressure' to switch channels to watch the Chennai Super Kings (they rule!) match.

Dunno if my people will allow to watch the race....

 

[Hitboxx]

thats a photoshopped renault

Get outta here Hahahaha!! nice one, I got bafooned totally

I can now see they flipped the wings and fins.

 

[Dipen01]

Henyone online ?

 

[Hitboxx]

Shh.. watching the race

Heikki had a big head on collision into the tyrewall, reminded me of Michael's accident in Silverstone '99. Hope he is alright.