The F1 season has started!

[Ian]

The Friday sessions are over; Massa ahead of Raikkonen, Lewis ahead of Alonso, Super Aguris ahead of Hondas... (what's that all about?!)

Things may change tomorrow during official qualifying, but the pre-season intelligence seems to be correct, with Ferrari McLaren and Renault at the top, closely followed by BMW and no obvious order to follow... and Honda looking very poor (though Jenson ahead of Rubens as usual).

http://formula1.com - the official FIA site with loads of stats and timing info and it's free.

Ian

[peter]

Re: The F1 season has started!

Roll on Sunday thats what I say. Massa was quick in winter testing . Brundle has tipped him for the title this year. Jenson says he will be lucky to get the Honda in the top ten for the grid this weekend. BMW has been good this year in testing so they may be one to watch.Also red bull have a Adrian Newey car this year and we all know what this guy can do with a car so now its down to the drivers.

I would like anybody who reads this to list who the think will be the top five drivers this year.

[Ian]

Re: The F1 season has started!

Roll on Sunday thats what I say. Massa was quick in winter testing . Brundle has tipped him for the title this year. Jenson says he will be lucky to get the Honda in the top ten for the grid this weekend. BMW has been good this year in testing so they may be one to watch.Also red bull have a Adrian Newey car this year and we all know what this guy can do with a car so now its down to the drivers.

I would like anybody who reads this to list who the think will be the top five drivers this year.

Not in any particular order:

Alonso
Raikkonen
Massa
Lewis
Button

Ian

PS - I'll be up early to watch the Q. live

[coupekid]

Re: The F1 season has started!

whos gonna be brave enough (in the uk) to watch it live then?

[peter]

Re: The F1 season has started!

I will not be watching it live, I never missed a live gp until last year. Sunday is the only day I do not have to get up at 4am so will have to stick it on the hard drive and watch it when I get up. I hope Massa can come back from the gearbox problem and being stuck in 17th . Oh well I will be shouting for kimi this weekend

[Andrew Thatcher]

Re: The F1 season has started!

whos gonna be brave enough (in the uk) to watch it live then?

I have watched them live most years. Helps working nights keeps my body clock even. Hope this is going to be a good year for F1

[jds9000]

Re: The F1 season has started!

We've been waiting long enough for a good 'head to head' between Kimi and Fernando .... didn't reckon on the 'rookie' Hamilton to be in the sandwich though !!

Better see how he does 'in a crowd' !!

Jay

[Bearface]

Re: The F1 season has started!

Roll on Sunday thats what I say. Massa was quick in winter testing . Brundle has tipped him for the title this year. Jenson says he will be lucky to get the Honda in the top ten for the grid this weekend. BMW has been good this year in testing so they may be one to watch.Also red bull have a Adrian Newey car this year and we all know what this guy can do with a car so now its down to the drivers.

I would like anybody who reads this to list who the think will be the top five drivers this year.

My list:

Raikkonen
Hamilton
Alonso
Massa
Kubica

My thoughts on the season:

Given that winter testing is rarely a strong indicator of racing form and that there are many drivers are either new or at new teams, it's likely that we'll be guessing for some time yet. That said, Raikkonen has played his old trick of turning up the heat at precisely the moment people were thinking he'd gone off the boil, and he's undoubtedly a greater natural driver than Massa or Alonso. In qualifying he was blindingly good, particularly considering his relative unfamiliarity with the package. If the Ferrari is reliable and he works hard, he'll take the title

Hamilton looks so comfortable and quick even at this early stage. Like Alonso, he won his title last season and therefore knows how to win, which is valuable psychologically. To me he looks fast and comfortable enough in the McLaren to challenge Alonso, if not Raikkonen. If the McLarens are reliable and he gets a good package and support team, he'll be fighting for second place in the championship.

Alonso is to me not dissimilar to Prost. He's level-headed and calculating and he works well with his team. Somehow though he doesn't exite; his intelligence rather than his raw ability is his strength, and yet he is known to break when under psychological pressure from close rivals. This year Raikkonen is the least of his worries; it's Hamilton who will rattle him...

Massa is enthusiastic and hard-working but to me it's the car / team combo which has flattered him. He might win the odd race and we'll see him on the podium for sure, but the title isn't going to be his.

Kubica. He's a true talent and the package has really come to the fore over the winter. All I'll say is watch this space, but I'll eat my undergarments if he doesn't win at least one race and appear on the podium at least three times.

Button is a superb driver but Honda are not developing a winning package. He might scratch a podium at his stronger tracks, but he'll be well out of the top five unless Honda have something mind-blowing up their sleeves.

Just my thoughts; feel free to disagree

[jds9000]

Re: The F1 season has started!

I suppose Jenson could ask for last years car back, seeing as the Super Aguri can make it so quick !!

Jay

[Nitfie]

Re: The F1 season has started!

My list:

Raikkonen
Hamilton
Alonso
Massa
Kubica

My thoughts on the season:

Given that winter testing is rarely a strong indicator of racing form and that there are many drivers are either new or at new teams, it's likely that we'll be guessing for some time yet. That said, Raikkonen has played his old trick of turning up the heat at precisely the moment people were thinking he'd gone off the boil, and he's undoubtedly a greater natural driver than Massa or Alonso. In qualifying he was blindingly good, particularly considering his relative unfamiliarity with the package. If the Ferrari is reliable and he works hard, he'll take the title

Hamilton looks so comfortable and quick even at this early stage. Like Alonso, he won his title last season and therefore knows how to win, which is valuable psychologically. To me he looks fast and comfortable enough in the McLaren to challenge Alonso, if not Raikkonen. If the McLarens are reliable and he gets a good package and support team, he'll be fighting for second place in the championship.

Alonso is to me not dissimilar to Prost. He's level-headed and calculating and he works well with his team. Somehow though he doesn't exite; his intelligence rather than his raw ability is his strength, and yet he is known to break when under psychological pressure from close rivals. This year Raikkonen is the least of his worries; it's Hamilton who will rattle him...

Massa is enthusiastic and hard-working but to me it's the car / team combo which has flattered him. He might win the odd race and we'll see him on the podium for sure, but the title isn't going to be his.

Kubica. He's a true talent and the package has really come to the fore over the winter. All I'll say is watch this space, but I'll eat my undergarments if he doesn't win at least one race and appear on the podium at least three times.

Button is a superb driver but Honda are not developing a winning package. He might scratch a podium at his stronger tracks, but he'll be well out of the top five unless Honda have something mind-blowing up their sleeves.

Just my thoughts; feel free to disagree

Toronto,
Sunday. Tonights the night! Then we seperate the men from the boys. I agree with most of your comment except that on Alonso. Did you forget that race where he was chased by Schu' for many, many laps and didn't give an inch. He is quality stuff. Don't discount him.

[Bearface]

Re: The F1 season has started!

Toronto,
Sunday. Tonights the night! Then we seperate the men from the boys. I agree with most of your comment except that on Alonso. Did you forget that race where he was chased by Schu' for many, many laps and didn't give an inch. He is quality stuff. Don't discount him.

Oh I'm not discounting Alonso (he's third on my list! ), but nor am I convinced that he's on a par with Raikkonen, or Schumacher before him. Plenty of drivers occasionally ran Schuey close (including Alonso in the race you mentioned) and some even beat him, but for me Alonso is a 2nd-tier driver while Raikonnen (and possibly Hamilton..........although it's a little soon to be sure) is in the big league.

Again these are just my opinions - I'm perfectly open to being proved wrong

[Ian]

Re: The F1 season has started!

Oh I'm not discounting Alonso (he's third on my list! ), but nor am I convinced that he's on a par with Raikkonen, or Schumacher before him. Plenty of drivers occasionally ran Schuey close (including Alonso in the race you mentioned) and some even beat him, but for me Alonso is a 2nd-tier driver while Raikonnen (and possibly Hamilton..........although it's a little soon to be sure) is in the big league.

Again these are just my opinions - I'm perfectly open to being proved wrong

Hi Tim, I certainly disagree that Alonso is a second tier driver - though he's probably a better race driver than an out and out qualifier. Two championships on the trot and some great race moves (especially on Schumacher a couple of seasons back in Japan) make him firmly a top tier driver. He has also completely out-classed Fisichella, a driver that many of his peers rated very highly.

I didn't like Alonso originally, I thought he was another arrogant upstart, but I think he's matured a lot and I like his attitude these days.

(don't read on if you haven't watched the race yet!)

Lewis is a great find and likely to be a race contender all season and he represents Alonso's most competitive team mate to date. But, when it mattered, Alonso was able to eek out that little bit extra to come home ahead of Lewis and that's why he's a top tier driver (though with experience, I see Lewis joining the top tier and quite soon too).

Poor old Jenson - what can I say? He looked quite dejected after the race. The pit lane penalty and a very long second scheduled stop (one minute instead of the usual 25 seconds) ruined his race but although he was a best part of a minute further down the road than his pace had deserved, it wouldn't have made much differece.

Not sure what to make of Massa - he was quick before qualifying and although he did well to get into the points from the back of the grid, he was well off Raikkonen's pace. Malaysia should be illuminating!

Ian

[peter]

Re: The F1 season has started!

Having only just watch the race I was happy with the result as you can guess . Yes I know he is a Ferrari but I still think Massa did well to come from the back of the grid to pick up points. He was stuck behind the Honda's for a few laps that would not have helped. Alsono did a good job but I think he will be pushed by his team mate this season more than normal which will be fun to watch. I did watch Hamilton last year in gp2 and he was something else. It has been said by a few people that Jenson was wrong to sign to Honda for such a long time and some have even said he should have moved on the off season guess we will have to wait and see on that one. Bmw have done well in the off season and I think will do well this year. Ok they will not be up with the Ferrari and McLaren but I think they will mix it pretty well with the others Pity we have to wait 3 weeks till the next one .

[Bearface]

Re: The F1 season has started!

Hi Tim, I certainly disagree that Alonso is a second tier driver - though he's probably a better race driver than an out and out qualifier. Two championships on the trot and some great race moves (especially on Schumacher a couple of seasons back in Japan) make him firmly a top tier driver. He has also completely out-classed Fisichella, a driver that many of his peers rated very highly.

I didn't like Alonso originally, I thought he was another arrogant upstart, but I think he's matured a lot and I like his attitude these days.

(don't read on if you haven't watched the race yet!)

Lewis is a great find and likely to be a race contender all season and he represents Alonso's most competitive team mate to date. But, when it mattered, Alonso was able to eek out that little bit extra to come home ahead of Lewis and that's why he's a top tier driver (though with experience, I see Lewis joining the top tier and quite soon too).

Poor old Jenson - what can I say? He looked quite dejected after the race. The pit lane penalty and a very long second scheduled stop (one minute instead of the usual 25 seconds) ruined his race but although he was a best part of a minute further down the road than his pace had deserved, it wouldn't have made much differece.

Not sure what to make of Massa - he was quick before qualifying and although he did well to get into the points from the back of the grid, he was well off Raikkonen's pace. Malaysia should be illuminating!

Ian

Hi Ian,

I watched the race this afternoon; it was absolutely fantastic

Alonso is clearly a deserving double-world champ, but for me he isn't one of the greats like Schuey, Senna, Raikonnen or Hakkinen, which is why I put him into my subjective "2nd-tier" line-up. I don't rate Fisi (he's terrribly inconsistent - "moments" of genius don't count in my book ) and for the past couple of years, the Renault / Michelin combo was a devilishly potent foil for the Ferraris and even Schuey himself. In the late 90s, Hill and Villeneuve both won championships too, but they did so because they had great packages and I think this it's this kind of package strength which significantly contributed to Alonso's success, rather than an unusually good level of talent on his part. He's clever though, and I don't underestimate him.

Disregarding the experience Alonso has over Hamilton, I felt that today Lewis was the faster, more impressive driver. He really takes the car to the edge of it's abilities and his move at the start was spell-bindingly good. If he is second to Alonso this year, it definitely won't be because he's slower or less skillful..............

Massa did pretty well, although he seemed to struggle maintaining the kind of pace Raikonnen displayed until the last few laps. Button.........well firstly he should've let Barrichello through (because he was holding him up and because he's his team-mate) and secondly he's quite obviously with the wrong team. I'm afraid he's going to go the way of Coulthard unless either Honda become competitive or he finds a team willing to give him a competitive package. I dunno if it's fair to say that people make their own luck, but Hamilton's commitment and determination haven't done him any harm so far ..

[Andrew Thatcher]

Re: The F1 season has started!

Great race. Shame about the "plank" trying to take Wutzs head off Not too sure about Hamilton yet, lets see how the season settles. That pass at the start was good but not the great one people are saying it was. I'm sure his done it loads of times in lower formula he just found himself in the right spot at the right time.