Formula 1 2008 or "OMG Ferrari Isn't At The Top Anymore!"

[bashderq]

I'm surprised that there isn't a F1 thread this season since it has been one of the most competitive in recent years. So since I've found some time outside my usual schedule of chasing the laydees around uni, this thread will cater for all related F1 news and topics.

WARNING: THIS THREAD CONTAINS SPOILERS. THE F1 RACE IS BROADCAST IN AUSTRALIA ON SUNDAY 2300HRS (GMT +10 HOURS) SO IF ITS SHOWN AT A LATER HOUR FOR THE REST OF YOU GUYS DON'T READ THIS AND THEN COME AND COMPLAIN. YOUR POST WILL BE DISREGARDED AND YOU WILL BE BRANDED AN ILLITERATE IGNORAMUS WITH LESS POSTING VALUE THAN LAST WEEK'S SANDWICH.

Alrighty, a bit of information first:

The teams and drivers

• - Scuderia Ferrari: Kimi Räikkönen & Felipe Massa

• - BMW Sauber: Nick Heidfeld & Robert Kubica

• - McLaren Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton & Heikki Kovalainen

• - Renault F1: Fernando Alonso & Nelson Piquet Jr

• - Williams F1: Nico Rosberg & Kazuki Nakajima

• - Toyota Racing: Jarno Trulli & Timo Glock

• - Honda Racing F1: Jenson Button & Rubens Barrichello

• - Red Bull Racing: David Coulthard & Mark Webber

• - Scuderia Toro Rosso: Sébastien Bourdais & Sebastian Vettel

• - Force India : Adrian Sutil & Giancarlo Fisichella

• - Super Aguri F1: Takuma Sato & Anthony Davidson (NOT CURRENTLY RACING)

The Locations

• 1) Australian GP- Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit : March 16 ~DONE

• 2) Malaysian GP- Sepang International Circuit : March 23 ~DONE

• 3) Bahrain GP- Bahrain International Circuit : April 6 ~DONE

• 4) Spanish GP- Circuit de Catalunya : April 27 ~DONE

• 5) Turkish GP- Istanbul Park : May 11 ~DONE

• 6) Monaco GP- Circuit de Monaco : May 25 ~DONE

• 7) Canadian GP- Circuit Gilles Villeneuve : June 8 ~DONE

• French GP- Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours : June 22 ~DONE

• 9) British GP- Silverstone Circuit : July 6 ~DONE

• 10) German GP- Hockenheimring : July 20 ~DONE

• 11) Hungarian GP- Hungaroring : August 3

• 12) European GP- Valencia Street Circuit : August 24

• 13) Belgian GP- Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps : September 7

• 14) Italian GP- Autodromo Nazionale di Monza : September 14

• 15) Singapore GP- Singapore Street Circuit (Night Race) : September 28

• 16) Japanese GP- Fuji Speedway : October 12

• 17) Chinese GP- Shanghai International Circuit : October 19

• 18) Brazilian GP- Autódromo José Carlos Pace : November 2

Most Important Rule Changes

• No traction control or any electronic driver aid
• Engines must last two consecutive race meetings. If they are changed, the team looses 10 spots on the grid
• Bridgestone is the sole tyre supplier till 2010.
• Teams must use both hard and soft compound tyres during the same race.

Important Developments

• American leg of the season has been cancelled indefinitely.
• The Max Mosley incident. you can look this up yourselves
• Ralf Schumacher left Formula 1 to pursue a career in DTM
• Super Aguri will not race the next year due to financial difficulties. Actually they officially left the scene on May 6th, just before the Turkish GP.

Driver Championship Points

• Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) - 58
• Felipe Massa (Ferrari) - 54
• Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) - 51
• Robert Kubica (BMW) - 48
• Nick Heidfeld (BMW) - 41
• Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) - 28
• Jarno Trulli (Toyota) - 20
• Mark Webber (Red Bull) - 18
• Fernando Alonso (Renault) - 13
• Rubens Barrichello (Honda) - 11
• Nelson Piquet Jr (Renault) - 10
• Nico Rosberg (Williams) - 8
• Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) - 8
• David Coulthard (Red Bull) - 6
• Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso) - 6
• Timo Glock (Toyota) - 5
• Jenson Button (Honda) - 3
• Sébastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) - 2
• Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India) - 0
• Adrian Sutil (Force India) - 0
• Takuma Sato (Super Aguri) - 0
• Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri) - 0

Constructors Championship Points

• Ferrari - 105
• BMW Sauber - 89
• McLaren - 86
• Toyota - 25
• Red Bull - 24
• Williams - 16
• Renault - 15
• Honda - 14
• Toro Rosso - 8
• Force India - 0
• Super Aguri - 0

All information shamelessly stolen from Wikipedia

Further details on races, track information and pictures can be found here

This post shall be updated after every race and if anyone thinks any important information needs to be posted here just let me know.

Happy posting and remember supporting your team promotes healthy conversations between rivals, let just not degenerate into a shouting match

[bashderq]

I'll start.

The Canadian GP is usually one of the most interesting and unpredictable races in the calendar, and this year was no exception.

A particular incident, shown in this video (not in English) is amazing. How Hamilton failed to respond to the red light and the cars infront of him is beyond me. Even the camera that points in the driver's face shows that he was looking in its direction and he admitted afterwards that he saw it. Whatever excuse he came up with doesn't matter as he was slapped with loosing 10 grid positions next race.

Amusingly he also takes out his closest rival in the process so I'm just assuming it was a dastardly trick on his part.

[Zero260]

Good idea.

God, I need Speed channel.

Also, your topic title lies!

[boganbusman]

Meh, Ferrari is still gonna win. They've just had some bad luck lately.

Good to see Toyota near the top in Canada though

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

The only thing I find interesting about F1 is that awesome overtake, can't remember when, think it was Hamilton using that other car to overtake him and Schumacher at the same time? Awesome overtake, but I don't watch it on the telly.

[PSZeTa]

Hamilton never raced Schumacher in F1, so...

[bashderq]

Meh, Ferrari is still gonna win. They've just had some bad luck lately.

Lets not forget that McLaren just lost out on the title last year because of a few run ins with bad luck.

And with everyone jumping on the bandwagon that 'nowai, i'll never watch F1 coz it's boring LOL" watch it this time. It's no more like watching cars moving on a rail, it's actually a proper motor race where there's an air of unpredictability around.

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

Hamilton never raced Schumacher in F1, so...

Proves just so much that I don't know about F1 then...

[PSZeTa]

Unless you meant Ralf Schumacher, who still participated in F1 last year.

Meh, Ferrari is still gonna win. They've just had some bad luck lately.

Lets not forget that McLaren just lost out on the title last year because of a few run ins with bad luck.

Oh well, it's the same bad luck Ferrari got. McLaren had the better head start of this season as well, with Ferrari's reliability problems and just plain driver mistakes. But Hamilton knocking Raikkonen out of the race was just.. He's making mistakes he didn't last year.

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

Aha found the vid....

OK I was way off, it was Mika Hakkinen back in 2000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEAGCIqgB0k

[Pabl0z]

Too bad Mika Häkkinen quit F1 so early...

[bashderq]

It seems that Sabine Schmitz is about to become the second fastest woman if Danica Patrick gets the Honda F1 seat, or more to the point, if she accepts their invitation for a test drive.

Danica rose to fame after she won a race in the IndyCar Race League, becoming the first woman to do so. Her first brush with fame came in 2005 when she just missed out on a pole position in a Indy 500 race. Consequently she was given the rookie of the year award.

Full story here.

Personally I think everyone is just over hyping her abilities just because she's currently the only female in a male dominated sport but we'll see what happens if she does get that factory backed F1 seat.

[jacoja06]

I was wondering where the NFSU, F1 thread was. Thanks bashderq.
The last two years of Formula One have been epic. I can’t remember the last time I’ve missed an F1 race… even if it means waking up at 2:30am before a day of Exams, I’ll be there.
Unfortunately, I still believe Kimi and Ferrari will win the championship this year. I’d much prefer Hamilton, but you get that. Webber is doing quite well this year, despite the slow RB4… but at least they’ve overcome the reliability issues from previous seasons.

There is a chance that I could be going to the Singapore GP night race in September (as general admission), so I’m really looking forward to that if it does happen. Probably won't, knowing my luck.

[bashderq]

If you do go to Singapore, can you take me with you if I disguise myself to look like some Ferrari merchandise?

Anyways the French GP was a moderately interesting affair, Kimi's exhaust system breaking in half and scorching the right side of car with the 1000 degree gases which still didn't stop him coming second. It was a big day for Toyota as they finally secured a podium finish, which they dedicated to former team boss Ove Andersson, who died in the week prior to the race in a car accident.

Everyone's favourite driver had a miserable race. After being pushed down to 13th place on the starting grid, he was slapped with a drive through penalty after he jumped a chicane to gain a position. That pretty much screwed up any chances of getting any points that afternoon. He finished 10th.

On a personal note, it was nice to see Mark Webber finish 6th. Maybe this is the beginning of an Australian Renaissance

[2furio]

I can't believe I missed this thread. I've been watching F1 for as long as I could remember, since I could walk for that matter. Of course, my dad and I always rooted for Ferrari, even during those McLaren years. We even bought only Shell gasoline. I've always loved Schumacher. I just loved his attitude and even though he tried to cheat the system, he was still awesome.

Right now, I'm rooting for Massa. I really hope he wins the championship, so then my t-shirt would be worth more. I never really liked Raikonnen. He was always too cold and unemotional but since he's at Ferrari, I'm gonna root for him too.

As for Hamilton, I honestly don't like that kid. He's inexperienced and he's getting way too much media coverage. I mean, I saw Diddy, Nicole from the Pussycat Dolls and other celebs at the Monaco GP. I don't want F1 to turn into some celeb scandal. No doubt he's good but he's not the 2nd coming of Jebuz to F1 (Schumacher being the first and Senna being God of course. ). People should be looking at Kubica more. The kid does wonders in a shiznit BMW. Give him a Ferrari and he'll dominate. In fact, I'm kind of hoping he would come 2nd in championship and Raikonnen 3rd (no bloody McLaren, thank you).

PS: Ferrari will ALWAYS be on top.

[steelsnake00]

I never really liked Raikonnen. He was always too cold and unemotional but since he's at Ferrari, I'm gonna root for him too.

He's like most Finnish racing drivers you see. They're cold and calculating- a mate of mine is half Finnish and competes in the National Saloon Car Championships (which I may be entering next year) but underneith it all they're pretty mad- have you seen some of Raikonnen's "toys" at home, like his chopper?

[taz947]

Heard that Walz Hardcore Cycles made that especially for him.

[bashderq]

Firstly, I would like to thank the British forum members for the rubbish weather conditions that contributed to such an eventful race. It's not everyday someone compliments your horrid weather so lap up the attention boys.

As the for the race itself, well wow, how unexpected everything turned out to be. Mark Webber, the Australian wunderkid managed to pick up 2nd spot on the starting grid, setting us aussies up with false hope that maybe this time he might just crack another podium...which he obviously didn't. His spin on the 1st lap of the race put him out of the championship points (to his credit though he managed to storm his way from last position to 8th place by the end of the race), but it was just the beginning of the entire field loosing control of their cars in, sometimes, spectacular fashion.

The Fezzas were not having a good day as per usual, Massa's car was quite content with spinning out at the slightest hint of acceleration out of a corner and while Kimi did provide a glimmer of hope for the boys in red, which lasted right until the moment someone decided he didn't need a fresh set of tyres in his pit stop. From then on the Prancing Horse was more like a Drunken Manatee.

The most pleasant surprise however was Rubens Barrichello. The proverbial axe with 3 heads and 7 handles, his decision to use extreme wet weather tyres allowed him to relive the glory days he once experienced with Ferrari. He monstered the entire field and was already 6 seconds a lap faster than Hamilton who was already lapping the entire field by a minute at this stage. He was destined to come second but unfortunately someone at Honda didn't rub Buddha's tummy the right way; a faulty fuel rig meant that at his pit stop he could not take in all his fuel so he was forced to re-pit, pushing him down to third.

Out of 20 cars that started the race, 7 retired but in the larger scheme of things, it's irrelevant. For the first time we have a 4-way battle for the championships!

Bring it on

[PSZeTa]

The Fezzas were not having a good day as per usual, Massa's car was quite content with spinning out at the slightest hint of acceleration out of a corner and while Kimi did provide a glimmer of hope for the boys in red, which lasted right until the moment someone decided he didn't need a fresh set of tyres in his pit stop. From then on the Prancing Horse was more like a Drunken Manatee.

Either Massa's car wasn't set up properly or he wanted too much, making a fool out of himself. Kimi and the team decided not to put new tyres on as they weren't expecting any more rain, thinking that the track would dry up.

So a good day for Hamilton, excellent driving. I thought Raikkonen would get him as he was pretty darn quick before the rain started pouring down on his worn intermediates.

[bashderq]

Question time: how many safety car periods and traffic jams are needed to stop Hamilton taking first place? The answer: not enough.

If there was any doubt of his abilities, this was the drive that silenced them all. The man was already creaming the whole field from the get go and was already 2 seconds clear of Massa, on second place, on the second lap. He raked up a massive lead that was reduced to nothing when the reputation of Toyota's impeccable build quality left for lunch causing the rear left suspension of the Toyota to fail, and hurling Timo Glock backwards into a wall at eyeball juice drying speed.

Glock emerged clearly shaken and the race continued, for everyone but Alonso who sub-consciously decided that what Renault needed was a drive where he could give away as many positions as possible. The Ferraris again had teething issues with Massa just scraping into podiums.

The biggest surprise of the race was Mr Piquet Jr. who qualified 17th and finished second.
The biggest "his run of good luck had come to an end" moment was Mr Webber whose car started spraying a smoking rooster tail and had to retire.
And the best moment of the race? Well that award goes to Mr "Icepick" Räikkönen who casually waved at Vettel as he drove past him.

[Koenigsegg_Rox]

He's like most Finnish racing drivers you see. They're cold and calculating- a mate of mine is half Finnish and competes in the National Saloon Car Championships (which I may be entering next year) but underneith it all they're pretty mad- have you seen some of Raikonnen's "toys" at home, like his chopper?

I find it kinda strange that the most unlikely people build really crazy but pointless car projects- Like Stuart Applebys M5 Ute...

[2furio]

After the German GP, I'm almost ashamed of calling myself a Ferrari fanatic. Go Massa?