Official Formula One thread

Git ready y'a'll cowboys and cowgirls, cause F1's comin' to Austin, Texas in 2012. YEEHAW!!!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gxPsQkXylLEa4vxrQebiVdcLJmeg

Sounds like the drivers are excited to race in the US again, especially in Texas.

http://www.wgntv.com/sports/autoracing/sns-ap-car-f1-us-grand-prix-american-driver,0,6801158.story

Was a great race yesterday, I was hoping for it, but didn't really expect so many fights on the track. I haven't thought this race in Istanbul could be so entertaining, esp at the front. I'm really happy that both Jenson and Lewis had no problems keeping up with the pace of the Red Bulls, that was great. In the race we are stronger than in qualifying, so I knew we should be able to fight with them. Was a bit a surprise that Vettel and Webber crashed because team-mates shouldn't do that, but at least our drivers' fight was not that stupid and so McLaren got a one-two finish. Was a bit shocking when Jenson and Lewis were wheel-on-wheel for some time, but it had a good end and was a nice fight.

4th for Schumi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Sorry Susan - but I was DESPERATELY hoping that the 2 mclarens would spin off after they touched, just so Schumi could get a podium, then they could carry on!

The Canadian Grand Prix last weekend was really great, really interesting race and what a good end for McLaren, another 1-2, I was so happy
Very well done, both Jenson and Lewis, they're amazing, that was the second 1-2 finish in a row and the third in this season. Each of our two drivers now has two victories, with three of them being 1-2's. McLaren makes me really happy this season, at least til now it's an awesome job they're doing, hope they keep that up for the rest of the season and we stay ahead in both Championships.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgw0-PkK9mI
uhh...

Happy with Vettel's victory.

Unhappy with Webber's crash.

And happy with an awesome Kobayashi.

Pedro said:

Happy with Vettel's victory.

Unhappy with Webber's crash.

And happy with an awesome Kobayashi.

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Go McLaren!

acm55 said:

Go McLaren!

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Where did I mention McLaren??? Where?????

Pedro said:

Where did I mention McLaren??? Where?????

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Campioni del mondo!

acm55 said:

Campioni del mondo!

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You guys are way too much in the lead. I feel like the Red Bullies having casual bad luck on Sundays.

Pedro said:

You guys are way too much in the lead. I feel like the Red Bullies having casual bad luck on Sundays.

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Do not be angry,be glad McLaren for successes.

1. L. Hamilton 15 8 8 18 0 10 25 25 18 127
2. J. Button 6 25 4 25 10 0 18 18 15 121
3. S. Vettel 12 0 25 8 15 18 0 12 25 115
4. M. Webber 4 2 18 4 25 25 15 10 0 103
5. F. Alonso 25 12 0 12 18 8 4 15 4 98
6. R. Kubica 0 18 12 10 4 15 8 6 10 83
7. N. Rosberg 10 10 15 15 0 6 10 8 1 75
8. F. Massa 18 15 6 2 8 12 6 0 0 67
9. M. Schumacher 8 1 0 1 12 0 12 0 0 34
10. A. Sutil 0 0 10 0 6 4 2 1 8 31
11. R. Barrichello 1 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 12 19
12. V. Liuzzi 2 6 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 12
13. K. Kamui 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 7
14. S. Buemi 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 2 7
15. V. Petrov 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 6
16. J. Alguersuari 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 3
17. N. Hülkenberg 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
18. P. de la Rosa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19. H. Kovalainen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20. K. Chandhok 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21. J. Trulli 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
22. T. Glock 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
23. B. Senna 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24. L. di Grassi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Teams:

1. McLaren 21 33 12 43 10 10 43 43 33 248
2. Red Bull Racing 16 2 43 12 40 43 15 22 25 218
3. Ferrari 43 27 6 14 26 20 10 15 4 165
4. Mercedes GP 18 11 15 16 12 6 22 8 1 109
5. Renault 18 12 16 4 15 8 6 10 89
6. Force India 2 6 10 6 6 2 3 8 43
7. Williams 1 4 1 2 12 20
8. Toro Rosso 2 1 1 4 2 10
9. BMW Sauber 1 6 7
10. Virgin Racing 0
11. Hispania 0
12. Lotus 0

acm55 said:

Go McLaren!

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+1
Great that you also support McLaren, has always been and will always be my fave F1 team!
Was a great finish yesterday, 2nd and 3rd, although another 1-2 finish would've been even better. But considering the fact that we only started from 3rd and 7th on the grid, that is a great result and McLaren stay ahead in both championships.
Bad that both, Lewis and Jenson got a penalty, but luckily they didn't lose a position because of that.
And now in Silverstone we will have our big update, hopefully it will help us much and we get a 1-2 finish there, it's McLaren's and the driver's home grand prix, so a great result there would be fantastic for them.

And about Webber, my god that was a crash , good that he's ok after that, accidents like this one should never happen, everyone can be glad that only the cars are damaged after that.

Susan said:

+1
Great that you also support McLaren, has always been and will always be my fave F1 team!
Was a great finish yesterday, 2nd and 3rd, although another 1-2 finish would've been even better. But considering the fact that we only started from 3rd and 7th on the grid, that is a great result and McLaren stay ahead in both championships.
Bad that both, Lewis and Jenson got a penalty, but luckily they didn't lose a position because of that.
And now in Silverstone we will have our big update, hopefully it will help us much and we get a 1-2 finish there, it's McLaren's and the driver's home grand prix, so a great result there would be fantastic for them.

And about Webber, my god that was a crash , good that he's ok after that, accidents like this one should never happen, everyone can be glad that only the cars are damaged after that.

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F1 is just pissing me off lately, and I'm not even talking about Ferrari not winning much.

not too long ago, we had V12s and the best tracks in world with drivers racing their balls off. no ******** aero restrictions, no stupid tire regulations, etc.

no we have some puss V8s with HORRIBLE-looking cars because of the aero restrictions, tracks only on the calendar because of marketing purposes, and the FIA still pushing to make things "greener." F1 is the last place i'm ready to hear that word again. Formula 1 is supposed to be the pinnacle of motorsport, not some testing ground for the next fucking prius technology.

Imagine if they brought back V10s, did away with most of the aero restrictions, brought back the classic tracks (get rid of Korea, Bahrain, China, etc and bring back San Marino, the real Monza, Austria, etc) and stopped pussifying the current tracks with chicanes and such. Basically return to the 80s/90s. Hell, allow forced induction too. I realize they'd have to regulate that quite a bit to keep costs down, but it could be done. Today's F1 is a shadow of what it could and should be.


[/rant]

@SixOneFive...

Those 3 main changes in F1 history in these days all about for :
1. Cutting off the expenses-cost efficiency
2. Safety increase
3. Big name teams = Privateer one in terms of technology development

Boullier: Renault have risen to the challenge

Prior to the start of their 2010 campaign, Renault had been all but written off by many. Their parent company had sold off a chunk of the team, the R30 looked less than convincing in pre-season testing, and their line-up included a rookie driver and a new team principal fresh to Formula One. Renault never dropped their heads, though, and nine races later that team principal, Eric Boullier, has led his men to two podiums and a healthy fifth place in the standings, hard on the heels of the 2009 champions…

Q: Eric, looking back on the first half of the season, has the performance of the team met your expectations?
Eric Boullier: At the beginning of the season we had a reasonable performance level with R30 and we knew that we needed to push hard to develop the car. Everyone in the team has risen to the challenge and we have seen the result of all this effort at the track with the car improving race by race. So, yes, I’m pleased that we have made good progress and I hope that we can maintain this for the rest of the year.

Q: The team took nine points out of Mercedes’ lead in Valencia. Do you feel you can overhaul them before the end of the year?
EB: The battle with Mercedes is a fight that I expect to last throughout the season. They are a very strong competitor and it would be wrong to underestimate them. They have two very good drivers and they are ahead of us in the championship so it’s clear that we will have to work hard to beat them. Obviously they were missing some performance in Valencia, which was a surprise, but I don’t think they will underperform at every race. So it was important that we took points off them because I know they will fight back.

Q: Vitaly has now completed nine races. What can we expect from him in the second half of the year?
EB: Although he has half a year of F1 under his belt, we have to remember that compared to some of the other rookies he has a lot less F1 experience. Drivers like Hulkenberg and Kobayashi completed lots of testing miles in previous seasons, whereas Vitaly only drove an F1 car for the first time in February this year. So I know it has been an incredibly steep learning curve for him, but already he has shown on several occasions that he has the speed and can be close to Robert’s pace. What we need to see now is more consistency over a weekend without any mistakes. This is what I expect from him in the second half of the season so that he is regularly in Q3 and scoring points in the races.

Q: What is the development plan for the remainder of the season?
EB: The strategy will certainly be different compared to the start of the year, although it’s clear we need to keep pushing hard because we’re still not quick enough to challenge for pole and race wins. And we know that we need to keep up this work rate because Formula One is so competitive these days and all our competitors are working hard to improve their cars as well. But at the same time it’s important that we look ahead to next year and we must not neglect the development of the 2011 car, which is already well underway. We need to find the right balance of resources and that is a decision we have to make in the coming weeks.

Q: Silverstone is the team’s local race - does that make it more special?
EB: Renault is clearly a French company, but there is no longer a French Grand Prix on the calendar and that makes Silverstone even more important for us. Monaco earlier this year felt almost like a ‘home’ race, so you could say that Silverstone is our second ‘home’ Grand Prix because the factory at Enstone is only 40 minutes down the road. We’re also planning to hold a special event at the factory on race day with a big screen so that staff and their families can enjoy this special weekend with us.

Q: What are your hopes for the performance of the R30 at Silverstone?
EB: I’m looking forward to seeing the cars on the new layout and hopefully it will encourage more overtaking and improve the show. In terms of our performance, the recent upgrades we have made to the car should work well at Silverstone and I’m hopeful that we can score some big points this weekend.

(formula1.com)

Go Button!
Go Hamilton!

1. Webber
2. Hamilton
3. Rosberg
4. Button
5. Barichello
6. Kobayashi
7. Vettel
8. Sutil

well done webber what a drive

Mark Webber

1. Hamilton 145
2. Button 133
3. Webber 128
4. Vettel 121
5. Alonso 98
6. Rosberg 90
7. Kubica 83
8. Massa 67
9. Schumacher 36
10. Sutil 35
11. Barrichello 29
12. Kobajasi 15
13. Liuzzi 12
14. Buemi 7
15. Petrov 6
16. Alguersuari 3
17. Hülkenberg 2

1. McLaren-Mercedes 278
2. Red Bull-Renault 249
3. Ferrari 165
4. Mercedes 126
5. Renault 89
6. Force India-Mercedes 47
7. Williams-Cosworth 31
8. Sauber-Ferrari 15
9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 10

A bit a tragedy what happened this weekend with McLaren, my god that big update didn't help at all, so bad in the trainings and also not much better in qualifying. Hope we can work that out for the next grand prix.

But gladly there's also the race and we finished better than expected imo. Well done Lewis and Jenson, from 4th to 2nd and from 14th to 4th place, these two guys are great, both had a really good start and immmediately could overtake some opponents. A bit bad though that they couldn't have a 1-2 finish at the home grand prix, but after all that what happened a 2nd and 4th place is a good result. Too bad Jenson couldn't overtake Rosberg in the end, but still he moved up ten places, so I'm happy for him and for Lewis's second place.

I forgot Formula One temporarily for focusing on WC tournament.

Frustrated Ferrari determined to bounce back Ferrari’s Stefano Domenicali has admitted that his team are going to have to dig deep to recover from their recent trials and tribulations, but he is optimistic that they can turn things around. The Maranello squad have scored just 19 points from the last three races and are currently third in the constructors’ standings, trailing championship leaders McLaren by 113 points.

Despite the F10’s improving pace, Ferrari left Silverstone on Sunday empty handed, after a problematic start and drive-through penalty for Fernando Alonso and tyre issues for Felipe Massa saw the duo finish in 14th and 15th respectively. Speaking during a debrief at the factory on Monday, however, Domenicali urged the team to stay positive and work even harder.

“We are angry that we did not get the results which we were capable of delivering, but this anger must be turned into a positive force,” he said. “We must remain rational. We must not let ourselves be discouraged nor frustrated. We just have to knuckle down and continue with the development of the car, working calmly, with great concentration and determination. Then, the results will come.”

Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo, who was also in attendance, is equally keen for the squad to put recent problems behind them and focus on forthcoming races.

“There is no point in crying about it and I want the team to tackle the second half of the season in a positive manner,” said Montezemolo. “We have gone through much worse moments than this and we have come through them, but clearly we can no longer afford to lose opportunities, which for various reasons, have escaped us in the last two races, even though we had a competitive car.

“As things stand today, qualifying and the start have become the decisive moments, so we must improve in these areas if we want to win. I expect everyone will give 100 percent to bring home points quickly to make up for those we have lost to date. All of us, myself, Domenicali, the engineers, mechanics and drivers, know what everyone, especially our fans expect.”

The team will be back in action at the German Grand Prix, which will get underway at the Hockenheim track from July 23-25.

Germany:

Fri 23 July 2010
Practice 1 10:00 - 11:30
Practice 2 14:00 - 15:30

Sat 24 July 2010
Practice 3 11:00 - 12:00
Qualifying 14:00

Sun 25 July 2010
Race 14:00

1. Alonso Ferrari 1ó28:38.866
2. Massa Ferrari +4.196
3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault +5.121
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes +26.896
5. Button McLaren-Mercedes +29.482
6. Webber Red Bull-Renault +43.606
7. Kubica Renault +1 lap
8. Rosberg Mercedes +1 lap
9. Schumacher Mercedes +1 lap
10. Petrov Renault +1 lap
11. Kobajasi Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap
12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
13. Hülkenberg Williams-Cosworth +1 lap
14. De la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari +1 lap
15. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 lap
16. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes +2 lap
17. Sutil Force India-Mercedes +2 lap
18. Glock Virgin-Cosworth +3 lap
19. Senna Hispania-Cosworth +4 lap