The Qantas Australian Grand Prix Official Race Preview Thread

[yurp 0]

How can he be African-American....he's from England, so it would be African-English if you were trying to be half right, because his ancestory is Grenada, so he is infact Grenadan-English.

You dumb-arse Yankees... grrrrrr

Does it matter which comes first - is one from the paternal line and the other from the maternal?

Is Anglo-Grenadan the same as Grenadan-English?

EDIT - that makes no sense, of course one is paternal, one maternal, what I meant is, does the order signify which is which - you knew that. You're not stupid.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

http://peterwindsor.com/2012/03/14/2012-f1-drivers-camera-colours-diminutives-helmets-and-race-suits-2/

'nuff said!

[JHS18 0]

Helmet watch again. Sorry for changing from something quite interesting. But this is cool so...

Heikki's helmet has changed. I don't like Angry Birds, but this is an original design.

[Massa 0]

Angry Birds in F1? I am done with this sport. I refuse to acknowledge the race, and I refuse to acknowledge Heikki Kovalainen as a licensed automobile racing driver. Augh.

How can he be African-American....he's from England, so it would be African-English if you were trying to be half right, because his ancestory is Grenada, so he is infact Grenadan-English.

You dumb-arse Yankees... grrrrrr

That's the point I was making. They are so dead-set on not using the term "black," which is not allowed in the United States, though Lewis himself has used it. The socially acceptable term, in the media, is "African-American," and they are either so stupid they don't even realize that African-American means an American of African descent rather than any person of color, or they realize their audience is so stupid that Grenadan-English would mean nothing to them. Trust me, I've corrected people on NASCAR forums about this before, and they told me that "Grenadan-English is his nationality African-American is his race."

I personally think the Australian Grand Prix is his race, to win or to lose, if the McLaren is what it's supposed to be...(come on, that was a good transition back).

[BradSpeedMan 6]

so tomorrow... 7:20 am SA time...I'm gonna be late for work sigh

[LabradoRacer 2]

Helmet watch again. Sorry for changing from something quite interesting. But this is cool so...

Heikki's helmet has changed. I don't like Angry Birds, but this is an original design.

I hope he Kova doesn't wear a seatbelt / HANS. Will be a delight to see him get flung out of the car, much like an angry bird. Maybe he'll take down a tier or two of the stands, killing a few people. Maybe he'll end up squashing a young woman's eggs.

Great helmet.I like.

[Caesar 0]

[BradSpeedMan 6]

did'nt you hear him when he said he likes to sleep

[Caesar 0]

did'nt you hear him when he said he likes to sleep

i know. he is interesting, that is why i put this photo. all other drivers are smiling and posing.

[Rainmaster 7]

I like Heikki's lid, and Kimi's and Hulk's!

Rossi is of course the greatest helmet changer, each one carrying its own meaning, usually a joke. I don't think most drivers can pull it off, though, especially if it's dictated by sponsor colours too much and isn't personal. I think the helmet is a big part of the driver's identity.

[JHS18 0]

Looking at the radar and it looks like one or both practice sessions will see rain. Perhaps won't be the most productive day of the weekend.

[Caesar 0]

found web cam link

[Massa 0]

Rossi is of course the greatest helmet changer, each one carrying its own meaning, usually a joke. I don't think most drivers can pull it off, though, especially if it's dictated by sponsor colours too much and isn't personal. I think the helmet is a big part of the driver's identity.

Rossi is so influential in helmet design, in fact, he is actually featured on a helmet (well, more of a mask which, if you look at all the shots, is complete with the number in Rossi's font, and with a Slovakian Ned Flanders showing his cleavage in MotoGP gear...)

http://daveart.com/mask-gallery/set/72157622557138556/default.aspx

[JHS18 0]

found web cam link

I'd have thought that for people streaming the coverage online, your best chance of seeing something is with practice before FOM get their act together and take the streams down for quali and the race.

[Rainmaster 7]

Rossi is so influential in helmet design, in fact, he is actually featured on a helmet (well, more of a mask which, if you look at all the shots, is complete with the number in Rossi's font, and with a Slovakian Ned Flanders showing his cleavage in MotoGP gear...)

http://daveart.com/m...56/default.aspx

That's pretty cool!

[Massa 0]

I don't know if it will work for anyone outside the U.S. or Canada, but SPEED Channel stream FP1 and FP3 legally (they bought the rights from FOM) and free: http://stream.speedtv.com/formula-one

[Caesar 0]

I'd have thought that for people streaming the coverage online, your best chance of seeing something is with practice before FOM get their act together and take the streams down for quali and the race.

don't understand. that is a link to webcam on the beach near albert park. you can see if it is raining

[Caesar 0]

[Massa 0]

don't understand. that is a link to webcam on the beach near albert park. you can see if it is raining

I couldn't figure out what it was but I knew it wasn't an auto race!

Thanks Caesar, that's interesting to see the weather.

What can be fully gained from doing practice in the wet for a dry qualifying and race? I'd love one of the more technically-minded guys to explain. My only experience with that is a certain racing game that we get a lot of spam about where you just take a percentage of arbitrary numbers and make adjustments. I figure it's not that easy.

Would they only run to just get the car going through the motions, or do you get meaningful data that you can convert based on past data from the circuit? But the cars changed each year, so does old data even mean anything?

[freaky2 1]

Hiya!! Mere hours left until the event of the week! I just wanted to mention that I'm still alive and the report will be written... but not immediately after the race as I will be busy. And now I gotta go, so enjoy the weekend ^^

[JHS18 0]

I don't know if it will work for anyone outside the U.S. or Canada, but SPEED Channel stream FP1 and FP3 legally (they bought the rights from FOM) and free: http://stream.speedtv.com/formula-one

Thanks for that Eric. I recall watching a practice session through Speed a number of years ago. Doubt I'll stop up till 1:30am though, and if it rains, I probably won't miss much action anyway.

Historically, if it rains in practice but has a forecast for dry quali/race, they won't do much because all they'll risk is a damaged car. Will make the track very green for the first dry session though.

[Caesar 0]

I couldn't figure out what it was but I knew it wasn't an auto race!

Thanks Caesar, that's interesting to see the weather.

What can be fully gained from doing practice in the wet for a dry qualifying and race? I'd love one of the more technically-minded guys to explain. My only experience with that is a certain racing game that we get a lot of spam about where you just take a percentage of arbitrary numbers and make adjustments. I figure it's not that easy.

Would they only run to just get the car going through the motions, or do you get meaningful data that you can convert based on past data from the circuit? But the cars changed each year, so does old data even mean anything?

i think all teams would like free practice without rain. more time to make the best setup for totally new cars never raced here. after few races it will be easier when they know their cars better.

[Quiet One 15]

Hiya!! Mere hours left until the event of the week! I just wanted to mention that I'm still alive and the report will be written... but not immediately after the race as I will be busy. And now I gotta go, so enjoy the weekend ^^

tsk, tsk...women...

[yurp 0]

I've corrected people on NASCAR forums about this before, and they told me that "Grenadan-English is his nationality African-American is his race."

Oh dear

[Caesar 0]

[font="Book Antiqua"][size="3"]small rain[/size][/font]