Formula One 2005 season thread

[jarmo]

I wouldn't be surprised if McLaren was fast because they were running their cars with less fuel than the others....



/jarmo

[Drew]

Does anyone think with many of the changes to the rules concerning the cars and teams that it will have an affect on the dominance Ferrari and Michael Schumacher have had in years past? Or will Michael and Ferrari still continue to dominate?

[jarmo]

Didn't Ferrari help FIA when they were deciding on the rule changes for this season?


I don't think it will do that big of a difference. Ferrari will still be the biggest team and most likely the most succesful one.


/jarmo

[jarmo]

The first qualifying session of the year was a lottery.

Too bad Kimi was one of the unlucky ones.?

Might be an interesting race though.




/jarmo

[jarmo]

Australian GP:
1. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault? 1.24.17,336? ?(2 stops)
2. Rubens Barrichello? ?Ferrari? ? ? ?+5,553? ?(2)
3. Fernando Alonso? ? ? Renault? ? ? ?+6,712? ?(2)
4. David Coulthard? ? ? Red Bull? ? ?+16,131? ?(2)
5. Mark Webber? ? ? ? ? Williams? ? ?+16,908? ?(2)
6. Juan Pablo Montoya? ?McLaren? ? ? +35,033? ?(2)
7. Christian Klien? ? ? Red Bull? ? ?+38,997? ?(2)
8. Kimi R?ikk?nen? ? ? ?McLaren? ? ? +39,633? ?(2)
9. Jarno Trulli? ? ? ? ?Toyota? ? ?+1.03,108? ?(2)
10. Felipe Massa? ? ? ? Sauber? ? ?+1.04,393? ?(1)
11. Jenson Button? ? ? ?BAR? ? ? ?Retired? ? ? (3)
12. Ralf Schumacher? ? ?Toyota? ?+1 lap? ? (3)
13. Jacques Villeneuve? Sauber? ?+1 lap? ? (2)
14. Takuma Sato? ? ? ? ?BAR? ? ? ?keskeytti? ? (3)
15. Narain Karthikeyan? Jordan? ?+2 laps? (2)
16. Tiago Monteiro? ? ? Jordan? ?+2 laps? (2)
17. Patrick Friesacher? Minardi? +4 laps? (2)

Did not finish:
Michael Schumacher? ? ? Ferrari? 42 laps
Nick Heidfeld? ? ? ? ? ?Williams 42 laps
Christijan Albers? ? ? ?Minardi? 16 laps

Fastest lap: Fernando Alonso 1.25,683 on lap 24.
Winner's average speed 215,167 km/h.

Driver's championship table (1/19 races):
1. Giancarlo Fisichella? ITA Renault? ? ?10 points
2. Rubens Barrichello? ? BRA Ferrari? ? ? 8
3. Fernando Alonso? ? ? ?SPA Renault? ? ? 6
4. David Coulthard? ? ? ?GBR Red Bull? ? ?5
5. Mark Webber? ? ? ? ? ?AUS Williams? ? ?4
6. Juan Pablo Montoya? ? COL McLaren? ? ? 3
7. Christian Klien? ? ? ?AUT Red Bull? ? ?2
8. Kimi R?ikk?nen? ? ? ? FIN McLaren? ? ? 1

Team championship table (1/19):
1. Renault? ? ? ?16 points
2. Ferrari? ? ? ? 8
3. Red Bull? ? ? ?7
4. Williams? ? ? ?4
5. McLaren? ? ? ? 4





/jarmo

[Drew]

I thought the Australian GP was a pretty good race. Renault looked pretty strong during the race. I got discouraged a little when Jacques Villeneuve went from 4th place to 9th place in two laps. I thought Ralf Schumacher 's day was going to be over quickly when that big piff of smoke came out of the back of his car at the beginning of the reconnaissance lap.

I enjoyed watching the race and I'm pumped about the season. Can't wait for the Malaisia GP in two weeks.

[jarmo]

Renault looked really strong. It looked like an easy race for Fisichella, but his team mate Alonso did a excellent job by going from 12th (qualified 13th but R?ikk?nen was dropped down the grid) to 3rd.


As a fan of Kimi, it was disappointing to see him stall his engine in the start. He admitted it was his own fault.... But he did his job and finished with a point. Going from 20th to 8th on a track where overtaking isn't that easy, is quite good.




/jarmo

[Genesis]

Ahem, from India, WAY TO GO NARAIN!

[jarmo]

The Renaults looked good in the first qualifying session for the Malaysian GP while McLaren was a little disappointment.

Ferrari looked "human" again which is good for the sport. 





/jarmo

[Drew]

Toyota has picked up momentum and is also looking good. Renault and Toyota could possibly be the top rivals this year. I think Ferrari may be starting to get worried a bit. But it is still early in the season.

[jarmo]

Toyota has picked up momentum and is also looking good. Renault and Toyota could possibly be the top rivals this year.

Yeah, but Renault has the better duo of drivers. Alonso is the best one of the four. Maybe Trulli can beat Fischella, but Ralf Schumacher is easily the worst of the four. It'll be interesting to see how Ralf will handle getting his ass kicked by Trulli this year. 

I hope McLaren gets their shit together so that they can fight with the rest at the top. It's been pretty bad for too long now.....



/jarmo

[Drew]

2005 Malaysian GP grid

1. Alonso                Renault   3m07.672s
2. Trulli                   Toyota    3m07.925s
3. Fisichella            Renault   3m08.448s
4. Webber              Williams  3m08.904s
5. R. Schumacher   Toyota    3m09.007s
6. Raikkonen         McLaren   3m09.483s
7. Klien                  Red Bull  3m09.589s
8. Coulthard          Red Bull  3m09.700s
9. Button               BAR       3m09.832s
10. Heidfeld          Williams  3m09.917s
11. Montoya          McLaren   3m10.090s
12. Barrichello       Ferrari   3m11.502s
13. M. Schumacher  Ferrari   3m11.633s
14. Massa             Sauber    3m11.884s
15. Davidson        BAR       3m11.890s
16. Villeneuve      Sauber    3m12.995s
17. Karthikeyan     Jordan    3m17.656s
18. Monteiro      Jordan    3m17.962s
19. Friesacher    Minardi   3m21.186s
20. Albers        Minardi   3m23.001s

[Drew]

Pos.     Driver     Team     Time   Points
1.    F. Alonso    Renault    1:31:33.736   10
2.    J. Trulli    Toyota    + 24.327   8
3.    N. Heidfeld    Williams    + 32.188   6
4.    JP. Montoya    McLaren    + 41.631   5
5.    R. Schumacher    Toyota    + 51.854   4
6.    D. Coulthard    Red Bull    + 1:12.543   3
7.    M. Schumacher    Ferrari    + 1:19.988   2
8.    C. Klien    Red Bull    + 1:20.835   1
9.    K. R?ikk?nen    McLaren    + 1:21.580   0
10.    F. Massa    Sauber    + 1 laps   0
11.    N. Karthikeyan    Jordan    + 2 laps   0
12.    T. Monteiro    Jordan    + 3 laps   0
13.    C. Albers    Minardi    + 4 laps   0

Did not finish
14.    R. Barrichello    Ferrari    + 6 laps   0 (Handling)
15.    G. Fisichella    Renault    + 19 laps   0 (Accident)
16.    M. Webber    Williams    + 19 laps   0 (Accident)
17.    J. Villeneuve    Sauber    + 30 laps   0 (Spin)
18.    J. Button    BAR    + 54 laps   0 (Engine)
19.    A. Davidson    BAR    + 54 laps   0 (Engine)
20.    P. Friesacher    Minardi    + 54 laps   0 (Spin)


Another good race. Renault looked off the hook. To say Fernando Alonso dominated the race would be an understatement. No other driver looked even close to him. It was cool to see Toyota with their first podium finish. I was surprised to see so many drivers spinning and/or locking their brakes up in turn one. The race track was very hazy and smokey due to the forest fires in the area.

[jarmo]

Flawless race by Fernando. Congratulations. 





Disappointing to see Kimi's race getting ruined by a tyre blowing up. He just made the fastest lap of the race and then that happens. 




/jarmo

[Drew]

Flawless race by Fernando. Congratulations. 





Disappointing to see Kimi's race getting ruined by a tyre blowing up. He just made the fastest lap of the race and then that happens. 




/jarmo

Fernando was hitting every point with precise.

What exactly happens in a tyre valve failure? Kimi said it led to a punctured tire.

I was disappointed when Jacques Villeneuve locked his rear brakes up, spinned out, and couldn't get restarted.  I know he's complained about the breaks on his car several times. He seemd to be having a good run. Not up front, but a decent run.

[jarmo]

Fernando was hitting every point with precise.

Yeah.

Did you see how exhausted he was om the podium? 

What exactly happens in a tyre valve failure? Kimi said it led to a punctured tire.

I think the tyre went flat and punctured because of that.



/jarmo

[Drew]

Fernando was hitting every point with precise.

Yeah.

Did you see how exhausted he was om the podium? 

What exactly happens in a tyre valve failure? Kimi said it led to a punctured tire.

I think the tyre went flat and punctured because of that.



/jarmo

Thanks.

And yes, Fernando looked extrmemly exhausted. When the drivers were on the podium during their National Anthems, Alonso stood bent over with his hands on his knees and on his hips. You could tell he was all worn out. But what a heck of a race he drove.

[Graciela]

And yes, Fernando looked extrmemly exhausted. When the drivers were on the podium during their National Anthems, Alonso stood bent over with his hands on his knees and on his hips. You could tell he was all worn out. But what a heck of a race he drove.

Aparently the reason for that was that the system which allows the drivers to drink water didn't work, so he couldn't drink anything during the whole race. He lost almost 4 kgs...?

But what a great race!?

[Ignatius]

Si es que los asturianos Graciela....

Yeah, that was amazing. Spanish media is creating huge expectations though. The guys is 23 years old, he's an amazing pilot, but it's too early to talk about the world champion crown.

[Ignatius]

I just read Schumi's comments about his 2005 ferrari. He said his car won't be ready until Imola. Now, is it just me or Is Ferrari trying to fool everyone? I mean c'mon! We are talking about the guy & team who dominated the Formula 1 last year with stunning authority. Do you guys really believe they wouldn't have spotted by now what the problem is this year? The 2005 is not ready,  the 2004 car can' compete with Renault! bullshit. This team's budget is 300 million euros. They sure know better what the hell is going on.


I don't buy it. This is probably Schumacher's last year. It wouldn't surpirse me if he wanted to create a little bif of competition to increase attention. Last year everybody in Formula 1 lost money but Ferrari & Schumacher. Maybe ( and I'm saying maybe) he's been asked to lift his foot from the gas pedal during the first 5 races. I mean, have you guys seen Schumacher's getting upset over the weekend? or two weeks ago? I haven't. He's the kind of guy that if he loses because the car is not ready he would raise some hell. This is not normal.


In two months from now Alonso will be battleing for second.