[Vacancier Permanent]

Any F1 (Formula 1) fans in here? If yes, have you been to any Grand Prix? This year, I'm planning on attending at least 3 races (Montreal, Singapore, Suzuka and possibly Abu Dhabi). Who's your fav driver? I've been following F1 ever since I was a kid, in the late 80's. I loved watching specially the races where the 2 greatest drivers of all time IMO were involved Prost VS Senna. I've been a big time McLaren fan ever since those days. Nowadays, F1 is not as exciting as it used to be, it's still fun watching. I've been an Alonso fan since his Renault days and I love the smooth driving of Button. Hamilton is a cool cat, very talented and very fast. Kubica is a future world champion, just give him a competitive car and watch him zoom past everyone. I can't stand this overrated German kid Vettel, he's just lucky that he has the best car by far. Give a competitive car to Alonso, Button or Hamilton or even Kubica ( as he is a top driver, can't wait for him to return from his grave injury) and then watch as these guys will blow Vettel out of the water.

As Hamilton himself said in a recent interview, he doesn't consider Vettel as he's main rival, but rather Alonso. He said that Vettel is lucky because he has the best car. So true! While Vettel is a good driver, he's far from being the best. IMO and most experts consider Alonso as the best driver with Hamilton, Button and Kubica as the top 3 most talented after the Spaniard. For this season, Mclaren seem to be on the right track to give their drivers a competitive car, however, Ferrari have a lot of work and catching up to do as they've been lagging behind the Mclaren and Red Bulls so far. They should get their acts together and give Fernando a competitive car if they want to hang on to their ace for next season. Renault have been surprisingly fast and that's great for the excitement of the up coming races.

[MiXX]

(04-22-2011 04:36 PM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  

Any F1 (Formula 1) fans in here? If yes, have you been to any Grand Prix? This year, I'm planning on attending at least 3 races (Montreal, Singapore, Suzuka and possibly Abu Dhabi). Who's your fav driver?

I like Felipe Massa, and even own the RM-011 Richard Mille watch

Not gonna make it to Montreal this year for F1, but will make Brazil for sure.

Mixx

[rudebwoy]

Nice post VP...I agree 100%. I love Hamilton and don't rate Vettel either.

I would love to attend the Belgian race, it is my fave track. Don't think I will attend the Canadian this year but who knows.

[Vacancier Permanent]

MIXX,
Massa is a good driver and I like him too. In 2008, he was cursed for not winning the world championship that was his for the taking. Among the many "curses" that played a huge role in him not winning the title, the 2 biggest I can vividly remember:
- At Hungaroring, when the Ferrari had been totally dominant and totally destroying the MacLaren, both in Qualifying than in the race, Massa was well ahead of everyone, with only 3 lapses to the end, when his engine failed, on the main straight line, after the pit lane stop. Gutted he was and so was I. Kovalainen ended up winning that race for McLaren with Hamilton finishing 2nd.
- In Singapore, again, Massa totally dominated the entire weekend, got pole, and was comfortably in the lead prior to his first stop. That's when disaster struck: the fuel pump got stuck on his car and it took his mechanics a whopping 2 minutes to remove it. An eternity in F1 and obviously, game over for him. From comfortably first to dead last. No way back from that, Alonso went onto win that race.
If you think about it, Massa lost the title by 1 single point, at the last lap of the last race, in Interlagos, SP, Brasil. If that is not being cursed, then I don't know what it is. I think that loss amost killed psychologically Massa and he still hasn't recovered from that huge set back. He's slowly showing glimpses of his old self, the very fast and confident driver he was. For the sake of the sport, let's hope he gets back to that level.

Rudebwoy,
Spa is also one of my top 2 fav tracks. One of my dreams is to actually test drive an F1 car there. That would be the sickest thing to do.

Forgot to mention in my first post on this thread, that Mark Webber is a total class act, one of the few real gentlemen on the grid. I would actually celebrate were he to win the title this year as he totally deserves it. Unlike his younger teammate, who god knows why, gets the preferential treatment from Red Bulls over a much better and experienced driver like Webber.

[Mrs. Chocolate]

Me, me meeeeee!
I love F1 since Senna, I was seven years old when he died I guess, I cried in the funeral... (omg, how I miss him). In Br, when a Brazilian wins the race the TV puts a winning song and to me the song should be replaced, since that every time they play it feels wrong to me because it is " Senna's Song".
Anyway, I like Massa, but his reputation is low here in BR. (is he another Barrichello?) since he entered the dirty Ferrari game play - I know all teams have theirs, but Ferrari shows it more and seems antiethic.
GPs are way expensive and I'm not working in the moment, but I would love to attend to Interlagos! My dream of life is watch Monaco's in a iate. Silverstone is my favorite road, after Monaco. Abu Dhabi seems also interesting (and beautiful) and Singapore is the faster option of street race.
I like Alonso, but he is too cocky.

[rudebwoy]

Barrichello needs to call it a day.

VP - you going to the race Canadian this year.??? What tickets to you normally get and where do you usually sit!

Spa gives me goose bumps and heck I would love to race a normal car there, an F1 car would be too scary. Also got a soft spot for Nurburgring, which is open for normal drivers most days of the week. I would like to do Monaco next year, it has always been my dad's dream to go.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Rudebwoy,
There's a very strong possibility of me making it to Montreal for the GP in June. How about you? How do you get tickets? Do you buy them once there or through your contacts in MTL? Or do you buy them online at specialised sites? This will be my first GP. I agree with you that driving an F1 car, while an absolutely exhiliarting experience, will be a big challenge before you can master all the functions/buttons on the steering wheel? Have you seen how many buttons are there and for how many functions? Even F1 drivers are complaining about the ever increasing # of buttons/options on the steering wheel. Specially now with the KERS and DRS that have been added this year, all the more kudos for those guys who can master all these buttons, specially during races, at over 300KPH...Must be extremely stressful no doubt.

Btw, for you and any F1 fans here: get F1 2010 for PS3, it's an insanely awesome F1 game, totally addictive and so well made that you'll feel you're watching a real race live.

[Mrs. Chocolate]

I'm not into cars and football games, the only one that I liked was Need for Speed.

[Tyrell]

Oh..Someone is after my heart. Living in the U.S. (NYC to be specific) I hardly ever get to talk F1.

As much as I hate to say it Alonso is the best racer. With Hamilton a close second.
Note that to me a racer is different than a driver.
A driver can deliver fast lap after fast lap....on an empty course.
A racer needs to have the skill, the intelligence, the aggression, and the balls to successfully pass other drivers while
going 10/10ths in a decreasing radius corner. And all this while in a open wheeled race car. This aint the BTCC or NASCAR.
No beatin' and banging doors to pass. It's precision and skill or failure and crash.
While Button may be perhaps the best "driver" (he's soooo smooth), much like Vettel, when he doesn't have a clearly superior
car (ala Brawn) he's very cautious about passing competitive cars. While Hamilton and Alonso will carve around
even a slightly quicker car without hesitation, and without touching. (well...usually.)

And I say that Alonso is the best racer even though I hated Alonso for a while.
During his season with McLaren he acted like a bitch when Hamilton usurped him.
To make it worst, his Spanish fans when straight racist on Hamilton (I'm also Black. I took their racist rants personally.)
Well now he's with Ferrari, a team where there is only one "number 1" driver. So now Alonso doesn't have to worry about faster
teammates. How many more times is Massa going to get the radio message "Alonso is faster--let him pass you."
Especially now that Ferrari got the rules change to now allow team orders.

[Julio]

My father introduced me to F1 and he was really into Senna, he even bought the watch and the helmet After he died I stopped following F1 with such interest...

I used to go every year to Monaco GP before, this one is incredible!

[Mrs. Chocolate]

The Airton Senna Institute helps poor children. Buying its products, part of the profit goes to them.

[rudebwoy]

(04-26-2011 08:46 AM)Tyrell Wrote:  

Oh..Someone is after my heart. Living in the U.S. (NYC to be specific) I hardly ever get to talk F1.

As much as I hate to say it Alonso is the best racer. With Hamilton a close second.
Note that to me a racer is different than a driver.
A driver can deliver fast lap after fast lap....on an empty course.
A racer needs to have the skill, the intelligence, the aggression, and the balls to successfully pass other drivers while
going 10/10ths in a decreasing radius corner. And all this while in a open wheeled race car. This aint the BTCC or NASCAR.
No beatin' and banging doors to pass. It's precision and skill or failure and crash.
While Button may be perhaps the best "driver" (he's soooo smooth), much like Vettel, when he doesn't have a clearly superior
car (ala Brawn) he's very cautious about passing competitive cars. While Hamilton and Alonso will carve around
even a slightly quicker car without hesitation, and without touching. (well...usually.)

And I say that Alonso is the best racer even though I hated Alonso for a while.
During his season with McLaren he acted like a bitch when Hamilton usurped him.
To make it worst, his Spanish fans when straight racist on Hamilton (I'm also Black. I took their racist rants personally.)
Well now he's with Ferrari, a team where there is only one "number 1" driver. So now Alonso doesn't have to worry about faster
teammates. How many more times is Massa going to get the radio message "Alonso is faster--let him pass you."
Especially now that Ferrari got the rules change to now allow team orders.

How is Alonso the best driver?
Yes he needed the benefit of team orders to be a threat, something Hamilton has never received.

[Mrs. Chocolate]

Never received? Really?
All of them need info and team orders to work, is in the contract.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Rudebwoy,
I really love watching Hamilton as he is a very exciting driver to watch, he gives his all and pushes the car to the limit which provides a great and fun spectacle. However, Alonso is a far better and more overall talented driver/racer. Alonso won 2 world titles while having each time a very average car (Renault). First year, he beat a certain Shummacher and the 2nd year, he beat Raikonen, both on Ferrari, which in both years, had better and faster car than the Renault car that Alonso was driving with. Again, last season, had it not been for Dominicalli, Ferrari's GM's incredible tactical blunder, in Abu Dhabi, he would have won his 3rd world title against a vastly faster/better Red Bull car. Yet again, with a car far from being the best. And in the 2007 season, when they were both teammates at McLaren, had it not been for Ron Denis' and by extension of the whole McLaren team favoring of Hamilton, Alonso would have easily beaten him and may have even won the title at the end, that both Alonso and Hamilton lost by a point, to Raikonen.

In contract, Hamilton has never done or even came close to that. His 2008 title was in all honesty, more due to Massa's incredible bad fortunes (read my above post about what happened to him at Hungaroring and Singapore) among many others. That year, Massa threw it out.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing Lewis, I am a huge fan of his, but in all honesty and fairness, Alonso is a far better and more talented driver/racer than him. IMO, they are the 2 best current drivers.

[rudebwoy]

VP - Hamilton easily outclassed Alonso in his first season, yes he was Ron Dennis boy. But they had the same car, Hamilton had his own mis-fortunes (Chinese GP stands to mine). Raikonnen backed his way into the title due to McLaren not having team orders.
In his second season he won the title by the skin of his teeth, Massa was unfortunate but Hamilton has had his share of mis-fortunes and still seems to be having them in opinion. Already this season Hamilton has been on the short end of some silly team tactics. I did not get over-excited over the last race b/c there is a full season to go.
Not taking anything away from Alonso, he alongside Hamilton are the two best drivers in F1. He is no where near far superior than Hamilton. Both of them are only racing against each other, the respect among them is clearly visible.

[Mrs. Chocolate]

VP - I agree... ALonso is more consistant than Hamilton.

[Tyrell]

This is definitely part of the attraction to F1, it's like a real life soap opera/novela.

Is Mark Webber still getting lesser aero kits than Vettel?
(There's no team orders at RBR, yet at Abu Dhabi, Webber was completely non competitive.)
Will Kubica make it back this season? And when/if he does, will Renault/Lotus keep the faster Heidfeld and loose Petrovs money?
Just when RBR looked to dominate the season uncontested, Hamilton makes a great pass at China.
Does this mark the "return of the king" (McLaren).
Will Massa ever win another race again, or has he gone the way of Barrichello.
And speaking of Barrichello, will Schumacher ever win another race again.

As for the Hamilton Alonso debate. No-one is saying that Alonso is "far superior" to Hamilton.
Their time at McLaren proves this.
While Hamilton was Ron Dennis' wunderkind, when Alonso was with McLaren there was no favoritism as far as cars or tactics.
(no special wings ala Vettel at RBR) and certainly no team orders (ala Ferrari).
When they drove, they were both treated fairly by McLaren, and in the end, they both basically ended up the same as far as points.
Two different styles, two different philosophies on driving, yet they both ended up virtually the same in points.

But even I have to admit that Alonso is more dominant throughout a season,
and hence, more likely to win another championship.
Lewis' talent shows itself as extended flashes of brilliance.
When Hamilton is on--he's ON, and no-one can touch him.
With the new Pirellis, and his talent and willingness to push the edge of these new tires, we may be about to see him have a really good run.
But the downside is that, he is just as likely to slip off the edge and have a string of stupid, race ending mistakes.
Pure aggression. Win, podium, or crash trying.......
While Alonso is more likely to get better and better as the season progresses, and always be consistently in the points.
Hard work and consistent speed with the full knowledge that he has the complete support of his team.
And that is how championships are won.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Rudebwoy,
How could Hamilton have outclassed Alonso in his first season? Specially when they both ended up tied with 109 points that season, 2nd to Raikkonen...I truly believe that had Alonso received a fairer treatment from Ron Dennis, whom from the beginning, was pushing hard and supporting Hamilton, that not only would McLaren that season (2007) would have won both the drivers title with Alonso and the constructors' with the contribution of Hamilton. Instead, Ron Dennis's constant backing of Hamilton over Alonso created bad atmoshpere within the team that resulted in a rift between the 2 but mainly between Alonso and McLaren than between the 2 drivers and it all ended with McLaren losing on a title that were theirs for the taking.

History shows us that Ron Dennis cannot handle having 2 big champions on his team as he will always favor one over the other and that will not go well specially when we're talking about the egos of 2 stars. He did that in the early 90's when he had the 2 greatest drivers of all time, Prost and Senna on his team and in 2007, when he had the 2 best drivers of the current generation, with Alonso and Hamilton. In the early 90's, he favored Senna over Prost and that did more harm to McLaren than good as Prost left the following season to arch rivals, Wiliams, with which, he not only won the title the following year but also helped Williams completely dominate the F1 world in the mid 90s, first with Prost, then with Mansell.

I can certainly understand Ron Dennis' favoring of Lewis: he is a British manager of a British F1 racing team and he sees this very exciting and super talented Brit kid come along, of course, he'll do everything to not only protect him, but to help him, even favor him over a more experienced and overall better driver who also happened to be the reigning double world champion. And that is un-understandable. How can you favor and give preferential treatment to a rookie over a double world champion? That still baffles me and most experts to this day...

As to Alonso vs Hamilton, Alonso won the title back to back while far from having the best car. And he almost did that again last year with Ferrari who were behind both the McLaren and the Red Bulls in terms of overall reliability and speed. That is the mark of a true champion. When Hamilton won the title in 2008, he had a very competitive car. Alonso never had a very competitive car, he always had a good to decent car, yet he delivered the goods and has been a title contender constantly, save his last stint with Renault where he was stuck and cursed with an average to mediocre car. In summary, give Hamilton a competitive car, he'll win the title; give Alonso a competitive car and he'll dominate F1 for a good while.

For this season, even if Ferrari don't come up with the fastest car, Alonso will still be in contention for the title, even with a car that is just good as opposed to the fastest as the RB or 2nd fastest as the McLaren. I'd love to see Alonso and Hamilton going at it all season long for the title and it would be a cracking season. I'm not and never has been a Ferrari fan, but rather a long time McLaren fan and I love watching Lewis as he is very fun to watch since he gives his all and takes the car to the limit all the time.

[Vacancier Permanent]

And the way I see it as far as drivers changing teams:
-Massa's days at Ferrari are counted and he could be replaced by Kubica as soon as the Pole comes back and recovers from his injury. That could be for next season. Talent wise, I consider Kubica at the same level of Hamilton, if not better, mentally. I'm convinced that when Kubica finally gets a competitive car, he'll be the main guy to beat and a future world champion.
- If Ferrari doesn't get their acts together and can't provide Alonso with a competitive car, Fernando will seek greener pastures and Red Bull would be the likely destination. And he'd totally anihiliate Vettel.
- I've read in F1 magazines, that should McLaren struggle this season and not provide Lewis with a competitive car, Hamilton might be seriously considering his options. And Ferrari would kill to have him join them. Imagine Alonso-Hamilton with Ferrari...mouth watering!!!
- I am sensing that this might be Webber's last season at RB and RB are looking for a replacement next season. Should Rosberg have a strong season this year with Mercedes, he could be a serious candidate to join them...Nico's also a very talented driver that I've been enjoying watching over the years.

Lots of interesting movements in store, however, the most sensational of all would be to have Alonso-Hamilton at Ferrari. Fun times indeed.

[rudebwoy]

(04-28-2011 10:00 PM)Tyrell Wrote:  

This is definitely part of the attraction to F1, it's like a real life soap opera/novela.

Is Mark Webber still getting lesser aero kits than Vettel?
(There's no team orders at RBR, yet at Abu Dhabi, Webber was completely non competitive.)
Will Kubica make it back this season? And when/if he does, will Renault/Lotus keep the faster Heidfeld and loose Petrovs money?
Just when RBR looked to dominate the season uncontested, Hamilton makes a great pass at China.
Does this mark the "return of the king" (McLaren).
Will Massa ever win another race again, or has he gone the way of Barrichello.
And speaking of Barrichello, will Schumacher ever win another race again.

As for the Hamilton Alonso debate. No-one is saying that Alonso is "far superior" to Hamilton.
Their time at McLaren proves this.
While Hamilton was Ron Dennis' wunderkind, when Alonso was with McLaren there was no favoritism as far as cars or tactics.
(no special wings ala Vettel at RBR) and certainly no team orders (ala Ferrari).
When they drove, they were both treated fairly by McLaren, and in the end, they both basically ended up the same as far as points.
Two different styles, two different philosophies on driving, yet they both ended up virtually the same in points.

But even I have to admit that Alonso is more dominant throughout a season,
and hence, more likely to win another championship.
Lewis' talent shows itself as extended flashes of brilliance.
When Hamilton is on--he's ON, and no-one can touch him.
With the new Pirellis, and his talent and willingness to push the edge of these new tires, we may be about to see him have a really good run.
But the downside is that, he is just as likely to slip off the edge and have a string of stupid, race ending mistakes.
Pure aggression. Win, podium, or crash trying.......
While Alonso is more likely to get better and better as the season progresses, and always be consistently in the points.
Hard work and consistent speed with the full knowledge that he has the complete support of his team.
And that is how championships are won.

Well said!
Hamilton frustrates me to no end, he was in the hunt last year until he threw away two races. (Singapore, Monza).

VP - I will not debate you b/c I feel you are very pro-Alonso. However the Renault car he won with was very competitive, I believe it was designed by Adrian Newey and I recall even Kubica was very fast in it.
Alonso is only threatened by one driver and that is Hamilton. Lewis has gone on record as saying Alonso is his biggest threat.

[Tyrell]

(04-29-2011 12:32 AM)Vacancier Permanent Wrote:  

And the way I see it as far as drivers changing teams:
-Massa's days at Ferrari are counted and he could be replaced by Kubica as soon as the Pole comes back and recovers from his injury. That could be for next season. Talent wise, I consider Kubica at the same level of Hamilton, if not better, mentally. I'm convinced that when Kubica finally gets a competitive car, he'll be the main guy to beat and a future world champion.
- If Ferrari doesn't get their acts together and can't provide Alonso with a competitive car, Fernando will seek greener pastures and Red Bull would be the likely destination. And he'd totally anihiliate Vettel.
- I've read in F1 magazines, that should McLaren struggle this season and not provide Lewis with a competitive car, Hamilton might be seriously considering his options. And Ferrari would kill to have him join them. Imagine Alonso-Hamilton with Ferrari...mouth watering!!!
- I am sensing that this might be Webber's last season at RB and RB are looking for a replacement next season. Should Rosberg have a strong season this year with Mercedes, he could be a serious candidate to join them...Nico's also a very talented driver that I've been enjoying watching over the years.

Lots of interesting movements in store, however, the most sensational of all would be to have Alonso-Hamilton at Ferrari. Fun times indeed.

This F1 business intrigue is almost half the fun of the sport.
I guess this is the same reason that normal American guys play "fantasy football".

-Kubica WILL NOT be going to Ferrari. Ferrari only has ONE top driver.
And Kubica is not the type of guy to intentionally let some tiny, spoiled, driver pass him.
Remember Kubica is a tall Polish dude. They have their pride.
Also, I believe that Ferrari tends to favor drivers who have a "latin flair" about them.
Alonso has it in spades, Kubica doesn't......

-.....And neither does Hamilton. He will absolutely NOT go to Ferrari.
I could see him go with Williams before Ferrari.
(Probably not...he doesn't have $100 million to pay for his drive...)
But for real, I could see him at Renault. They will drop Petrov and his millions like a hot stone to get Hamilton.
-Alonso will be smart and stay with Ferrari. RBR is hot right now, but their showing chinks in their armor (KERS).
Also, this years car is but a continuation of last years car.
While Ferrari and Mclaren came in with clean sheet designs (which is now paying off for McLaren).
Were there problems with any new aero designs perhaps??
But the real reason to stay with Ferrari is 2013......

-....In 2013 we move to hybrids. RBR knows nothing about hybrids.
But Ferrari does, and so does Fiat.
Plus Fiat engineers aren't bound by the stupid F1 testing rules and mandatory summer vacations/holidays.
Nor are Fiats hybrid division have a limit on costs or engineers, because they can just say that it's new engineers are for their passenger car unit.

Only Renault/Nissan, Mercedes and possibly McLaren can keep up with Fiat/Ferrari in the hybrid race.
McLaren might have a tough time though. The Benz engine contract will have ended by then. But I have faith in McLaren engineers.
Maybe they can also come out with a hybrid road car and do the same engineer shuffle that Fiat/Ferrari will do.
And by 2013 Toyota will probably come back in a big way.
They won't have a choice.
Nissan/Renault will make a hybrid breakthrough in F1 and they will take over the hybrid lead from Toyota.

- You may be right about Rosberg though. He might be tempted to switch boats to RBR.
Especially since MB designed this years model specifically to suit Schumachers driving style.
Telling Nico, that you are the number 2 driver. Frustrating I'm sure.
If he moves to RBR he will be another German driver so there will be no favoritism.
In fact since he seems to have a more mature character than Vettel, he probably won't make as many stupid mistakes as he did.
Plus people won't hate him as much as Vettel.
I personally can't stand Vettels' smug face as he win yet another race.

-Your also right that Webber is gone,..probably at the end of this season, and Massa at the end of the 2012.
I have no idea where either of them is going. Probably to HRT/Sauber hell.
I can hear Weber now "Awww... not again. I was just getting used to having a fast car."

[Vacancier Permanent]

Tyrell,
Enjoyable post mate. Some comments tough if I may:

Totally agree with you that the business of F1 is half the fun, just as in football with all the transfer moves and all during the off season and the winter transfer window/mercato.

I'm not sure what makes you so sure that Kubica wouldn't go to Ferrari. He's a top class driver, in my books and most experts, at the same level of Hamilton. He has been very impressive with average cars so far and has shown time and time again that he's ready for the big move to a top team and with a top team behind him, with a good competitive and reliable car, he will be a world champion. Team principals know that and this season, with a fast Renault, would have been a great opportunity for him to win some races and have the top teams fight for his signature for the following season. That was the plan before the season started. now, with his unexpected and unscheduled injury, that has changed plans and will probably delay things for a year. But the guy deserves credit and respect and Ferrari like the other top teams always want to improve and have the best and fastest drivers on their roasters. And Kubica certainly has plenty of latin flair, despite him being Polish. His drive is full of impetuousity that is so latin. I believe that Kubica and Alonso would have no problem getting along, the only issue I can imagine is whether Kubica will accept to be the # 2 driver, but he is intelligent and knows that even as # 2 at Ferrari, he has a very strong shot at the world title, provided the car is competitive and reliable. And it's a lot better to be # 2 at Ferrari than # 1 at BMW, Williams or Renault and he knows it.

I agree that should Hamilton leave McLaren it won't be for Williams but ll only be for Ferrari or even possibly for RBR. It's sad to see such a historic team as Williams fall into oblivion. Not long ago, they were the class act of the grid, nowadays, they're lucky if they get their drivers into Q3 and into the points. What a pity. I always enjoyed watching the Williams cars over the years. Any idea what may be behind this fall from grace? It sure can't be all attributed to Adrian Newey leaving them at the end of the 90's...

Agreed with you that Ferrari has a very strong backing with Fiat, however, one should not underestimate RBR as their supplier is Renault, who also have a very strong backing both mechanically and financially. Sure this year, these past 2 years, they've shown signs of unreliability but they're showing signs of improvement already. Despite their slight edge over their main rivals, I am very much enjoying this season. McLaren are showing signs that they're on the right track, the Ferrari still have a lot of work to do.

I was initially very sceptical of the Pirelli tires, but so far they've shown that they're making the races very unpreditctable and very fun to watch again. I was dreading that this season would be very predictable and boring with the RBR dominating the season from start to finish, but these new tires, are making things so much more interesting.

One thing I'm wondering, maybe you can shed some light into that Tyrell, is concerning the rear wing opening using DRS. Say there are 2 cars each within 1 second of each other, the car trailing uses DRS and gets that extra boost to pass the car in front, now can the car in front, provided they're also equiped with DRS, can they also use it at the same time in order to defend its position? I find it kind of lame as i was watching the first 3 grand prixs of the season and watching the car from in front being totally helpless and letting the other car pass them. I wouldn't want F1 and grand prix results to be decided by the push of a button (DRS) but rather the talent of the drivers, as after all, that's what grand prix racing is all about, first and foremost, the talent of the drivers, then the technology of the car. Not the other way around. So do you know if the car in front can use DRS to counter attack and prevent the car behind who's using DRS to pass them?

As to MB desiging their cars to fit Schumi's driving, that would be counterproductive simply because, Shumi, at 42, is past it. Despite his immense talent, his reflexes are not the same as that of guys 10-20 years his junior. That's just unavoidable. He should have retired last year, in order not to tarnish his image of a winner. Now, MB should focus on building their team around Rosberg, who's young and very talented.

I feel for Webber, he's a class act, a real gentleman and it's obvious, the guys at RBR are helping him much as they are clearly favoring that German kid instead. Btw, what happened to Kimi Raikkonen, why is no longer in F1? Amazing that a talent like him can't get a seat in F1. A team like Renault or even Williams could use his services big time. IMO, Kimi can still be competitive in a top team/car. I would even take him over Vettel, talent and maturity wise. I know that Kimi is the most professional or hard worker guy out there, but he has a lot talent.

Another driver that has been making talking a lot about him, in a good way, is Kobayashi. He's been a passing machine this season and there are rumours in the F1 world that he may be making a move to a big team next season...which will it be, who knows...RBR would be a good possibility should Webber be thanked however, it's not likely to happen as RBR would be more than likely bringing a driver from their sister team, Toro Rosso, whose sole role is to form young drivers and give them the required experience for the main team, RBR. Tyrell, what do you make of that? Of Kobayashi's chances of moving to a big team and to RBR?

[Vacancier Permanent]

Rudebwoy,
Yes, I'm a big time Alonso fan since his Renault days. However, i also rate Hamilton very highly and I really enjoy watching him. However, objectively speaking, it's a well known fact that Alonso is an overall better and more talented driver. I'm not the one saying it, the experts are all saying it, but more importantly, his stats are demonstrating that and so are his driving over the years. And I totally agree with you that Alonso's main threat is Hamilton and vice versa. Lewis himself said it in a recent interview that he considers Fernando his main rival and not Vettel as Vettel is winning because he has the best car of the lot. With a similar car, both Fernando and Lewis will kill the Teuton. And so will a bunch of other drivers such as Button, Kubica and even Massa on his day.

(04-29-2011 06:31 PM)rudebwoy Wrote:  

VP - I will not debate you b/c I feel you are very pro-Alonso. However the Renault car he won with was very competitive, I believe it was designed by Adrian Newey and I recall even Kubica was very fast in it.
Alonso is only threatened by one driver and that is Hamilton. Lewis has gone on record as saying Alonso is his biggest threat.

[billy]

Alonso is not as fast as Lewis Hamilton. In Hamiltons first ever season he kept up with Alonso. That tells its own story. Hamilton is faster, Hamilton is a more aggressive driver and better at overtaking but Alonso finishes more races.

[Tyrell]

HOLY..FUCKING...SHIT!!!! Hamilton is leaving McLaren.
The face of modern Britain is leaving Woking for Munchen (well not Munchen..that would be BMW)
I guess he got tired of the "almost there" seasons and decided to go with Brawn. Not a bad bet, considering that Brawns' genius single handedly made Jensen Button a world champion---and that was before they had the resources of the mighty Mercedes. Imagine what he can do with full factory support and Hamilton behind the wheel. (I mean he's still the only guy that can touch Alonso.) Plus all of the little tips, tricks and fetishes that Hamilton learned from growing up at McLaren will be valuable weapons for Mercedes racing. Bringing that final winning polish.

But the real reason that he's leaving is that the steam has left McLaren.
We are no longer in the good old days where McLarens' only competition was Ferrari. In addition to Ferrari, you've got Red Bull and even a emerging Lotus and Mercedes always threatening to win (and flat out dominating) races. And with Button now leading the team in 2013, it will might be pushed back to an "upper second tier" position. Basically where Mercedes and Lotus are now.

I'm predicting great things next season. Especially with McLaren being out of the hunt. Jensen "1 stop" Button can't lead a middling McLaren to a championship.