OT: Racing 2008-2009 (Spoiler Alert)

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun May 11, 2008 9:35 am

The Championship has tightened up again with a Massa win and Hamilton in second. Kimi came in third and now leads by only 7 points both Felipe and Lewis are tied for second.

The drive of the day no question goes to Alonso. He had a two stop race and finished 6th. Renault and Alonso are back !

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sun May 11, 2008 11:52 am

That had some pretty nice action. I like that race track with its elevation changes, as it seems to provide quite a bit of overtaking opportunities, and the meter-pegging G-forces around famous turn 8 are out of control. Nice to see the variation of two and three stop strategies resulting in Hamilton securing 2nd place. Maybe if there were 10 or so more laps, Kimi could have gotten him, I don't know. There did seem to be some good racing all over the track, too. It's a shame what heppend to Heiki (was it really a slow puncutre that forced his early pit?), but somehow I seem to remember Schumi in situations like that magically appearing into the points by the 2/3s point of the race. Heiki just couldn't get himself up into the top 10. Glock was pretty much schooling him in a much slower car.

My favorite moment had to be hearing Trulli on the radio near the end: "Don't worry, I'm pooshing like a hell!"

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun May 11, 2008 12:18 pm

Kimi's front wing damaged Heikki's rear tire at the start of the race so that's why he was forced to pit early. Kimi was also driving with a damaged front wing but he said it didn't affect the car too bad.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun May 11, 2008 12:23 pm

This incident ended Nakajima's and Fisi's day.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Sun May 11, 2008 7:53 pm

Rod, have I missed the sarcasm in your 'Alonso driver of the day, Renault are back' post or does being 53 seconds away from winning and 31 seconds from Kubica really constitute Renault being back?

Zep, as you may have seen, the reason for the variation in strategy at the front is that Bridgestone were apparently concerned that Hamilton's tyres from Friday showed signs of having the same construction issue that caused his tyre failure at the same circuit last year. The twist this time is that while several drivers had signs of a similar problem last year, nobody but Lewis did this year. The suggestion is that the problem relates to the never-ending turn 8, but what can he possibly be doing through that one section that 19 other drivers aren't?

Three stops isn't the fastest way through a race in Istanbul, but they made it work all the same, though his early pitstop suggests that Hamilton's qualifying lap on Saturday was rubbish (in fact, I've just heard him on ITV's highlights lamenting his failure to get pole and suggesting he'd have won had he qualified where he ought to have done).

McLaren seem to feel Heikki would have won given a clear run, and while they would say that and I wouldn't agree with them, he'd surely have been going faster had they not stuck him on such a peculiar strategy after his puncture. Still, the team seem to be making some progress, which is good news for the summer ahead.

Was the light in Fisichella's eyes off the start? He insisted in his interview on ITV that it was the fault of the Toro Rosso crossing the track ahead of him, but when that viewpoint was put to Nakajima he barely kept the laughter in. ITV pointed out that only once in four attempts has Giancarlo made it around the first corner in Turkey without colliding with someone.

Grudging praise here for a man I've never really rated - hasn't Mark Webber stuck his head down and got on with it this year? Mind, even CoolHard looked moderately competitive this weekend in the other Red Bull.

Elsewhere, widespread shock as Jacques Villeneuve wins a motor race:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/67372

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sun May 11, 2008 8:38 pm

Adam, we don't get all the post-race stuff you do, at least not without digging around, so your reports of post-race comments are valued. Our TV guys during the race kept going on about how the McLarens don't seem to deal well with the option tires at all, while the Ferraris seem to like with them just fine, even preferring them at Barça. Also, they kept saying that it's clear from the last two races that the McLarens don't handle the tight sections nearly as well as the Ferraris. It does seem Heikki and Hamilton were light on fuel for quali, and still Lewis just doesn't seem to like that circuit much.

It will be interesting to see if the McLarens can perform well at Monaco. Who knows, maybe a wild card will end up on pole on that weird circuit. And my question is, what will it really take for BMW to become truly competitive? It's sort of odd to think how well Renault did a couple years ago, and not just a one-season fling either.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun May 11, 2008 8:51 pm

GB_Simo wrote:Rod, have I missed the sarcasm in your 'Alonso driver of the day, Renault are back' post or does being 53 seconds away from winning and 31 seconds from Kubica really constitute Renault being back?

No sarcasm intended mate.

Renault was relegated to the midfield in the first 3 races. Alonso missed out on pole in Spain. This time around he finishes 6th behind BMW. For what he started out with in the beginning of the season coming in 6th should be considered a victory.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Mon May 12, 2008 6:43 pm

Rod, they've made a start at Renault, definitely, but where they are now is where they were for most of last season so you've got to imagine Fernando's casting the odd rueful glance at those silver cars going much quicker than him. At least he has the compensation of knowing that his Brazilian team mate is less like his old man and more like Ricardo Rosset.

Zep, the post-race coverage we get here is largely and irritatingly Hamilton-centric, though for a couple of years prior to his debut they were like this with Jenson Button too. It's a shame, because while British racing fans can be incredibly partizan (witness Mansellmania and the wild backing for Hunt back in 1976) we're more interested in the race than in the nationality of those involved. We used to get all kinds of features and analysis on all the teams and drivers, and now...Christ, they even shoehorned Lewis into a feature on Rubens this Sunday.

As last year, the McLaren works the tyres harder than the Ferrari, which explains their speed on the prime tyres and the difficulty they have in getting a full stint out of the options. Two seasons ago their big problem was that the car didn't work the tyres hard enough, so it's as if they've overcompensated for that to some extent.

Brundle on ITV also picked up on McLaren's struggle through the slower last sector relative to the speed of the Ferrari, and Hamilton said in post-race interviews that the straight and last sector were giving him trouble (not too much evidence of the straight being an issue when he passed Massa, mind) and that this was true in Spain as well. It's probably an oversimplification for the Speed guys (I assume Turkey isn't one of the tape-delayed major network races?) to say that the car doesn't handle the tight sections as well as a Ferrari, because struggling through tight corners on an otherwise open track isn't the same as struggling on tight tracks full stop, but only probably; it's certainly not impossible. Last year, a McLaren was the car to have in Monaco and Hungary but not in Spain or Turkey, so having seen them closer to Ferrari on the latter circuits this season it'll be interesting to see where they are on the former. We'll see soon enough.

I kind of get the impression that BMW don't really understand their own car at the minute. It seems as if it works within a very narrow setup window, in the same kind of way as the McLaren but perhaps more extreme, since when it's hooked up it flies but when it isn't, as Heidfeld's hasn't been recently, they're looking over their shoulder towards Renault and Red Bull. They were as surprised as everyone else when the car suddenly started going very quickly on Saturday in Melbourne, which concerns me just a tad. What do they need to be truly competitive? Probably a good understanding of the 2009 rules package.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue May 13, 2008 5:42 pm

The May 19, 2008 cover girl for SI:

Take care,
PK

Jimmydeicide · Post by **Jimmydeicide** » Tue May 13, 2008 7:09 pm

Id shag 'er.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Thu May 15, 2008 6:30 pm

Seems like she and everyone else might have a bit of a fight on their hands if they're going to beat the Ganassi cars, if my very brief scan of qualifying and practice so far is accurate...anyone else looking strong, PK?

This ought to be interesting:

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=42653

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu May 15, 2008 7:05 pm

Penske cars were very strong today in race trim, with Briscoe and Helio 1-2. Scheckter is an excellent dark horse, as he was fifth fastest overall today.

Never can rule out Kanaan. It's a matter of when, not if, he'll win this race.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun May 18, 2008 4:40 pm

It was a 1-2-3 for Yamaha at LeMans with our boy Colin Edwards taking the third spot. Another unbelievable ride by Lorenzo for a 2nd place finish.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu May 22, 2008 9:30 pm

If you love the Indianapolis Motor Speedway or even care about the history of racing one iota, you'll love this video:

http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.co ... _Era_Video

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon May 26, 2008 6:52 pm

So much for the Red Parade. Glad to see Lewis pull out a win. It's still going to be a long season and hopefully it will go back and forth between Lewis, Kimi and Felipe till the end.

Back luck for Adrian Sutil. You gotta feel for him as much as Mark Webber last year at Fuji. No question drive of the day and he needed it with such a poor showing this early in the season.

I loved the piece where Martin drove Emo's 1974 McLaren, nice car.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Mon May 26, 2008 7:14 pm

Alright, he made a little slip early on a day when very few men got away with an error-free drive, but Hamilton's pace in the second half of the race was absolutely searing. A top, top drive by anyone's standards, that one.

It can't hurt Lewis that Heikki's got the bad luck magnets switched on for the time being. What I saw of his race, baffling failure to unlap himself during the safety car aside, looked pretty good but while his driving has been consistent enough, his car seems to have a worrying knack for failing him at the critical moment.

Kimi's mind appeared to be competing in an altogether different motor race to the rest of him, and while Massa's failure to be the first non-Hamilton home may well have been all down to strategy as he and the team have suggested, it did look a lot like he wasn't driving fast enough either.

I thought there were some great drives in the lower points places from Webber, Vettel (where on Earth did he come from?) and Barrichello. I keep a fairly close eye on Rubens, because I love the bloke, and his first lap wasn't that of a man thinking of retiring any time soon. Nor, come to that, was his move on Webber out of La Rascasse later in the race.

What's wrong with Nick Heidfeld?

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon May 26, 2008 7:44 pm

Nick Heidfeld is suffering from a confidence problem as no doubt he is watching his teammate take over. Too bad because surely he's a much better driver than that.

I guess it helps fan the Alonso to BMW rumors a little more. Nick needs to pick up the pace. I love reading the Niki Lauda quotes this morning regarding Kimi.

"I cannot understand how the highest paid driver can have a race as stupid as that," former champion Niki Lauda – never one to mince his words - said in his role as a German TV analyst on Sunday."

Ralf commented on Nick Heidfeld's performance:

"BMW boss Mario Theissen has already alluded to the need for all team members to "contribute" to the outfit's progress.

"Schumacher, who was BMW-powered at Williams between 2000 and 2004, told the German newspaper Bild when asked about Heidfeld's form: "Clear words are spoken at BMW; expectations are very high."

Smurfy · Post by **Smurfy** » Mon May 26, 2008 9:35 pm

Great race, although it was sloppy at times. Too bad Schumacher wasn't around (in a Ferrari) for this one. Still, that was a great recovery from Hamilton after his small mistake.

Until this season, I thought that Nick Heidfeld was the driver most deserving of a better ride. I'm really surprised that Kubica has been able to beat him consistently. After seeing how he fared at Williams against Webber, I became a true believer in Heidfeld.

I'm also glad to see Rubens get some good points. I've been a fan of his for a long time. He doesn't always show the killer instincts of a champion, but he's so easy to like. His victory in the British Grand Prix remains one of my all-time favourite Formula One races. As for Button, I think people have been too quick to forget him. He was able to handle himself quite well against Villenuve and has also been pretty consistent against Rubens. I also consider Button to be the cleanest driver of the bunch.

Is it just me or did Alonso appear to go all Montoya yesterday?

I hope Kimi's excuse for Sunday's performance has something to do with a hangover.

P.S. rFactor this Wednesday? Porsche Carrera Cup cars at Montreal? I'd really like to psyche myself up for the race before I go!

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue May 27, 2008 11:00 am

I have a question that has me a bit puzzled. I notice how F1 drivers sit so low in the cockpit almost in a reclined position. Why is that?

I've read that F-16 fighter pilots sit in a reclined position in the cockpit to help with the G Level stress put on their bodies. I know modern F1 cars can pull in the neighborhood of 5G's depending on the track and even more when in a accident. Martin Whitmarsh said that Heikki suffered 26G's in his accident.

So i'm just wondering if maybe that's why F1 drivers sit so low and sort of in a reclined position.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue May 27, 2008 11:48 am

Rodster wrote:So i'm just wondering if maybe that's why F1 drivers sit so low and sort of in a reclined position.

Lower center of gravity and better aerodynamics when the driver is in a reclined position, too.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue May 27, 2008 11:58 am

Thanks PK but does it also help with G stress levels?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue May 27, 2008 12:20 pm

Rodster wrote:Thanks PK but does it also help with G stress levels?

Don't know.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue May 27, 2008 12:59 pm

Cool thanks !

What kind of G force levels do Indycar drivers deal with at say the I500?

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:44 pm

Rodster wrote:Thanks PK but does it also help with G stress levels?

Like PK I can't really answer that question fully, but while the G-loadings experienced by a Formula One driver are significant, they aren't high enough that minimising the load on a driver would ever need to be a design consideration. The primary reason for having your drivers reclined is that they can be better packaged within the car, which improves aerodynamic efficiency. Remember also that they've got to have rollover protection, and so if they sat in the same position we do in our road cars, the car would then need to be 8 or 9 feet tall.

Formula One cars have had a reclined driving position since the late 50s and early 60s, when the G loads would have been relatively insignificant. Probably the best example of it - and I mention this just as an excuse to post a picture because while this car was thunderingly useless, I love looking at it - is the Brabham BT55 of 1986, seen here being driven by the late Elio de Angelis:

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Jun 02, 2008 5:15 pm

This must be one of the best racing helmets I've ever seen: Valentino Rossi's lid from this weekend at Mugello.

He said the shot of his mug on the helmet is what his face looks like when he brakes at the end of the long straight at Mugello:

Rossi's helmet at speed:

Classic.

Take care,
PK