2008 Australian Grand Prix Thread

[dribbler 6]

Yup it was DC's fault...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CDqWrsSIUQ

The video has been disabled already. Thanks Bernie.

DC played his part but i still think the move was ambitious and very risky.

[Autumnpuma 0]

DC drives like the cranky old man that shouts at the neighborhood kids to "GET OFF MY LAWN!" Compare the quality of DC's drive to that of his contemporary, Rubhino, who drove a fine race, holding position when he could and giving way when there was no other choice. It was almost comedic to watch DC try holding his position against a charging Kimi, only to have that determination prove flaccid when Kimi bopped him out of the way.

[mikathegreat2 2]

Man what a hell of a race, 1 of the best I've see! Was annoyed when Bourdais retired in the 2nd or 3rd last lap as could've stayed in 4th as Nando & Kovy were battling, speaking of which, what happened with Kovy when he passed Nando as something went wrong with his car on the pit straight, hard luck to Kimi who kept coming back but then binned it towards the end. Very impressed with Rubens but he gots DQed for leaving the pits under red lights & he gets my driver of the day vot & last but not least gewonnnnn Hamilton!!!!!!!!!!! Fair play to Heidfeld & Rosberg getting his 1st podium in F1! All I can say is that I can't wait for Sepang !!!

[Elizabeth Sterling 0]

I gotta agree that that crash was totally DC's fault. Massa was so far over he kicked up dirt and DC still hit him.

[dribbler 6]

DC drives like the cranky old man that shouts at the neighborhood kids to "GET OFF MY LAWN!"

DC likes to hit people down under. Ferrari like to start the season weak. It's traditional!

[Piotr 0]

For all those that say that Kubica is on Nick's level - he is not!

YUp, because Heidfeld wasn't skewered by a Kamikaze-that rEALLY shows his class. Too bad Rob outqualified him by 3 places...

[Piotr 0]

Nick Heidfeld finished second, and after qualifying second, teammate Robert Kubica was running fifth on a compromised strategy when Kazuki Nakajima - the Williams rookie who was penalised ten positions on the Malaysian GP grid for the incident - crashed into him.

Doesn't sound like Kubica is being blamed for 5th by anyone but some on this blog. Nakajima penalized 10 grid places. yeah, like that's gonna help BMW...

[Rainmaster 7]

I disagree. I quite liked the high attrition rate. It keeps the drivers on their toes. Many were clearly flumoxed by the demands of actually having to drive their cars and i found that very interesting. Not only that but it gives the potential for a wildcard winner, just like Monaco '96.

I bet Kimi and Felipe would not have expected the mild bollocking that they will no doubt get. I found it amusingly ironic that pre-season they were two drivers saying how wonderful their car was. They looked more than a little complacent, to me; Kimi needs to remember that even world champions have to concentrate and will spin on grass. Felipe needs to get a tape rule and measure the width of his car.

Then we shall have to agree to disagree! OK I agree that it's nice to have a surprise winner every now and then, and races like this one can produce that, but if it happens every race then it's going to look like ChampCar...and we know what happened to that. I like the idea of drivers being challenged but if none of them finish then that says a lot about 'the best drivers in the world' and F1 loses credibility imo.

Kimi was exceptional..ly poor today, an utterly s##t drive if I ever saw one. I'm not sure what he was playing at but he won't be winning another title like that. Felipe was Felipe, although I don't think the clash with DC was his fault, just a racing incident really, but I don't think DC saw him...

[Rainmaster 7]

YUp, because Heidfeld wasn't skewered by a Kamikaze-that rEALLY shows his class. Too bad Rob outqualified him by 3 places...

Indeed.

[Quiet One 15]

Darn! Missed the race last night (no regrets, went to a fabulous party). So I had to wait until today to watch the rerun. And, of course, didn't even try to log in here until I watched it !

1) Lewis: damn you kid! That was an utterly elegant win. I hate you, but you did great. Hats off.

2) Nick: a flawless display again.

3) Nico: Another guy that stayed out of trouble. And Williams improved a lot it seems.

4) Nando: loved the battle with Kovy. The car's balance seems still s##tty, and Nando's aggressive style meant that he was all the time on the verge of becoming the firsrt F1 driver in orbit, but once again he has proven that he might not be the most elegant driver in the field, but certainly one of the fiercest.

5) Kovy: Great driving, could have even threatened Lewis win (if the Anthony Hamilton would have ever allowed that). Nice display right until the speed limiter thing at the straight. Ron should really think about putting a huge sign on the Macca's steering wheel saying "DON'T TOUCH THIS FRIGGIN' BUTTON UNTIL TOLD TO!!"

6) Raikkonen: not bad for a rookie with no previous experience in driving a race car, he could have even scored some points if it weren't for Ferrari's famous fragile mechanics. Well, I think that once Kimi and Ferrari get a little more experience they will perform better. Sarcastic I am not

7) Massa: I expected less from him...

8) Rubinho: stupid lollipop guy. I guess RB was looking at the mess through his mirrors and didn't see the red light. But bravo!!! Show them all you still have some fire inside you!

9) Bourdais: yeah yeah, DNF's ahead of him helped him a lot. But he kept the car on track while everybody was performing crash tests around him. Shame about the engine.

As for the level of attrition. It's ok. With the new rules, the secret lies with taking care of your car and being careful with your driving even more so than last year. So today it helped to separate the amateurish from the grownups. That goes for drivers as well as the cars. They will do better next week and will keep improving. This is F1, after all.

[freaky2 1]

5) Kovy: Great driving, could have even threatened Lewis win (if the Anthony Hamilton would have ever allowed that). Nice display right until the speed limiter thing at the straight. Ron should really think about putting a huge sign on the Macca's steering wheel saying "DON'T TOUCH THIS FRIGGIN' BUTTON UNTIL TOLD TO!!"

6) Raikkonen: not bad for a rookie with no previous experience in driving a race car, he could have even scored some points if it weren't for Ferrari's famous fragile mechanics. Well, I think that once Kimi and Ferrari get a little more experience they will perform better. Sarcastic I am not

[xaimeex 0]

An excellent first race of the season!! Can't believe only 7 cars finished!

Gutted for Jenson, was hoping things might get off to a better start for Honda! Pleased about Alonso, wasn't expecting such a good result (even if some of it was not entirely earnt on his driving , and rather others crashing etc!)

Indeed.

I agree strongly with the Mclaren comment!! Rofl! Honestly, drink buttons and pit lane limiters are obviously too complex!

Looking forward to next weekend!

[xaimeex 0]

An excellent first race of the season!! Can't believe only 7 cars finished!

Gutted for Jenson, was hoping things might get off to a better start for Honda! Pleased about Alonso, wasn't expecting such a good result (even if some of it was not entirely earnt on his driving , and rather others crashing etc!)

I agree strongly with the Mclaren comment!! Rofl! Honestly, drink buttons and pit lane limiters are obviously too complex!

Looking forward to next weekend!

I am also a fool and can not quote the correct people!

[elgo 1]

Btw,can't wait to hear the aussies and the kiwi's impressions!and i hope they've taken some pics!

[Piotr 0]

"My race went pretty well in the beginning," said the Pole.

"I was on a similar strategy to Nick and I had a good pace.

"Then the strategy was changed and this did not pay off for me.

"I got stuck behind Bourdais and lost a lot of time.

"I still had a chance to score some points, but then at the end of the third safety car period Nakajima crashed into the rear of my car and I had to stop."

Nakajima felt he had been unable to avoid the collision.

"All the cars backed up into each other," said the Japanese driver, who was able to rejoin with a new front wing and finished sixth.

BMW boss Mario Theissen said that Kubica had deserved better.

"Robert was unfortunately unlucky," he said.

"Towards the end, Nakajima pushed him off the track.

"Up to this point he had driven a strong race after his fantastic qualifying yesterday."

So, Dr. T, WHY was Robert's strategy changed while it worked pretty well?

If I were a suspicious conspiracy theorist I'd say maybe because the fav's son was behind Robert at that time. But I'm not. So I will not.

We shall see the next week.

[Kati 0]

I'm so proud of you ... u still bolded that, but it's a beggining

[YHR 0]

Indeed!

Kimi was a bit scrappy, Nando is very good, Nick is a better racer than Kubica, Heikki will do well at Mclaren, Massa is struggling without driver aids and Lewis/Kimi will lead the way (maybe)

You know what. In my opinion this is exactly what F1 needed. It will be much easier to see the best drivers from the good drivers now.

Massa is obviously on a steep learning curve with respect to driving without driver aids. This may be it for him if he can't get it together.

I have to say this because you guys would be disappointed if I didn't. Too bad JV missed out on this before his exit from F1. I would love to see him driving this years BMW in this format.

We saw some nice passes and some overly optimistic moves. Some of these guys will need to calm their heart rate and relax a bit now. The car is not going to bail you out of a bad situation.

Look at the guys who finished this race. Interesting group.

[YHR 0]

Yup.

Aside from the drivers and teams, I would like to thank the Director. We were not treated (as in the Shuey era) to endless shots of Hamilton cruising around the track. We only saw Hamilton when his position was being threatened and on his pit stops. The rest of the time we were shown the myriad battles and trials and tribulations of the Lesser Ones. It was utterly fantastic and went a long way towards renewing my love for Formula 1.

I agree. Got to see some real drives. Now was this a good race because of the director, and we actually got to see things that were missed with the fixation on Micheal Schumacher of the past, or because of the new format they guys are actually having to drive again.

I am hoping it is the latter. A few more races and we will know for sure. It is refreshing to see the human input have the biggest effect on the outcome

Hamilton and Heidfield. Might be something we see a lot this year.

[Piotr 0]

OK, just to finish this off, I listened to an interview Kubica gave for Polish TV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ737XxJEkM...feature=related

To translate loosely - first off, he really looked PO'd and was rather resigned. In his own words (more of a paraphrase than a translation - sorry):

"The race started good, I even kept up with Hamilton for several laps, but then my rear tires got worn out, but I kept my own rythm."

"After the first stint, something happened to the engine and my throttle response had a lag of 2-3 seconds. I would step on the gas and, literally, nothing would happen. I couldn't pas Bourdaise, or defend from Alonso."

"In the middle of the second stint the team, for some reason, decided to fuel me up through the end of the race. So I went out with a full tank and on the soft tires, which on this circuit is not a good news."

"I would still be in the points, if Nakajima didn't fall asleep."

The reporter then asked "are you looking forward to Malaysia with optimism, then?"

Robert responded "as always..."

My prediction - Either Mario will let Robert beat Nickky once or twice, or Robert will be in a different team in a couple of years.

I can think only of one reason why throttle response would have a lag (and no idea how telemetry would NOT show it) and why would you change a successful strategy to the one that was obviously doomed to failure. The fact that the "team" didn't bother explaining this to Kubica speaks volumes.

[Jean Todt 4]

DC drives like the cranky old man that shouts at the neighborhood kids to "GET OFF MY LAWN!" Compare the quality of DC's drive to that of his contemporary, Rubhino, who drove a fine race, holding position when he could and giving way when there was no other choice. It was almost comedic to watch DC try holding his position against a charging Kimi, only to have that determination prove flaccid when Kimi bopped him out of the way.

That was a funny incident. Too bad, no one complains about that. May be DC he was honoured by getting bopped out of the way by a world champ!

[Jean Todt 4]

Then we shall have to agree to disagree! OK I agree that it's nice to have a surprise winner every now and then, and races like this one can produce that, but if it happens every race then it's going to look like ChampCar...and we know what happened to that. I like the idea of drivers being challenged but if none of them finish then that says a lot about 'the best drivers in the world' and F1 loses credibility imo.

Kimi was exceptional..ly poor today, an utterly s##t drive if I ever saw one. I'm not sure what he was playing at but he won't be winning another title like that. Felipe was Felipe, although I don't think the clash with DC was his fault, just a racing incident really, but I don't think DC saw him...

I guess, Kimi wasn't even interested!

[Jean Todt 4]

I'm so proud of you ... u still bolded that, but it's a beggining

you really know how to provoke!

[Jean Todt 4]

[quote name='Piotr' post='243139' date='Mar 17 2008, 01:58 AM']OK, just to finish this off, I listened to an interview Kubica gave for Polish TV.
[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ737XxJEkM&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ737XxJEkM...feature=related[/url]

To translate loosely - first off, he really looked PO'd and was rather resigned. In his own words (more of a paraphrase than a translation - sorry):
"The race started good, I even kept up with Hamilton for several laps, but then my rear tires got worn out, but I kept my own rythm."
"After the first stint, something happened to the engine and my throttle response had a lag of 2-3 seconds. I would step on the gas and, literally, nothing would happen. I couldn't pas Bourdaise, or defend from Alonso."
"In the middle of the second stint the team, for some reason, decided to fuel me up through the end of the race. So I went out with a full tank and on the soft tires, which on this circuit is not a good news."
"I would still be in the points, if Nakajima didn't fall asleep."

The reporter then asked "are you looking forward to Malaysia with optimism, then?"
Robert responded "as always..."

My prediction - Either Mario will let Robert beat Nickky once or twice, or Robert will be in a different team in a couple of years.
I can think only of one reason why throttle response would have a lag (and no idea how telemetry would NOT show it) and why would you change a successful strategy to the one that was obviously doomed to failure. The fact that the "team" didn't bother explaining this to Kubica speaks volumes.[/quote]

You know Kubi is good. Many acknowledge that. There is no conspiracy here. Kubi is BMW's golden boy. It is Nick who is under pressure to perform. Nick is quick, neat. tidy and perfect. Kubi is raw, fast and very unlucky. Kubi and Nick will win this season, judging by Kubi's pace.

[z2z 0]

Lap times

Ferrari definitely has quick car but very unreliable & unstable ..that was not surprise at all 3/7 of winter simulation failed ...they faced engine & gearbox overheating issue on last shakedown.So i think this season Ferrari biggest drawback will continue to be reliability.Anyways Very consistent & good performance from bourdias & Hamilton.All Ferrari's(including partners) had bad day.Honda need dump that dumb a## lollipop guy!.Poor fisi & kubica

Looking forward to interesting unreliable season (credits: 4 gp gearbox rule)

next post Malaysia gp

[whiskee 0]

I don't believe Kimi woulda had any problems getting a podium if he had started from the front, but Ferrari seems to have a gigantic engine cooling issue - although there were doubts in the air 'bout that before the melbourne race. This doesn't lift the promises high for Malaysia. It also seems like overtaking is just as difficutl as last season cause of the low downforce - at least for Ferrari. It's also damned interesting to see whether Massa and Piquet Jr get their act together by Sepang.