Formula One 2005 season thread

[Ignatius]

Bravo! Alonso is the 2005 F-1 champ. Congratulations.

Now, in our little game here, it's been a great GP for me?

Brazil GP results

1.- Montoya
2.- Raikonnen
3.- Alonso
4.- M. Schumacher
5.- Fisichella
6.- Barrichelo
7.- Button
8.- Ralf Schumacher


HTGTH Brazil GP Standings:

Ignatius -- 3 points
Graciela --- 1 point
Gypsy --- 1 point
Jarmo --- 1 point
John Daniels --- 1 point
Pinball --- 1 point


HTGTH Official Standings (After Brazil) are:


Pinball --- 11 points
Gypsy --- 11 points
Ignatius --- 11 points
Graciela --- 10 points
Jarmo --- 9 points
John Daniels --- 6 points
Kiki --- 4 points
Drew --- 0 points

Edit---sorry Graciela, only added you 1 point!

[jarmo]

2.- Raikonnen

No, no, no, no..... 

It's R-?-i-k-k-?-n-e-n or R-a-i-k-k-o-n-e-n. 

Two more races to go. At the end of the season I expect you to know how to spell it!   




/jarmo

[Pinball Wizard]

2.- Raikonnen

No, no, no, no..... 

It's R-?-i-k-k-?-n-e-n or R-a-i-k-k-o-n-e-n. 

Two more races to go. At the end of the season I expect you to know how to spell it!   




/jarmo

spell  Raikkonen is a piece of cake...I wanna see if someone here can spell Karthy...Khartiqui...Kartkhy......That indian guy from jordan!!

[Ignatius]

2.- Raikonnen

No, no, no, no.....?

It's R-?-i-k-k-?-n-e-n or R-a-i-k-k-o-n-e-n.?

Two more races to go. At the end of the season I expect you to know how to spell it!? ?



/jarmo

Recently I've just learned to spell K-i-m-i? with one "m" so don't expect me to learn how to spell his last name until the end of next season?

[John Daniels]

gongratulations to Alonso! he's a great driver, no doubt of that. Kimi was second Montoya beating him with a good driving. Montoya is really giving a good fight against Kimi, in the last races he's been nearly as fast as Kimi, even faster in last race. Good for him.

[Rasputin]

aw...  cool race..
as much as i wannaed Kimi to win...and PRAYED for Alonso to crash..congrats! ^^  he did good!
  i want Karthikeyan to get a decent ride for 2006  (hey, i think i spelled it right!!)

[Graciela]

Toma! - Alonso?s celebrations explained
 
 
As he pulled into parc ferme on Sunday afternoon, Fernando Alonso appeared totally calm. He climbed from the cockpit, removed his helmet and replaced his Renault?s steering wheel with little sign of emotion. The new world champion then climbed atop his car?s front wheel, punched two clenched fists into the air and shouted a single word to the world to express his joy - ?Toma!?
 
In case you were wondering exactly what he meant by that simple expression, Renault have kindly explained. It is a one-word motto that Alonso has had ever since he joined the team and never has its meaning had more poignancy than after that vital third place at Interlagos.

Translated, ?Toma!? means ?Come on! Have it!? - in other words a spontaneous explosion of joy, celebration and ecstasy after unstinting, determined effort and well-earned success.

Alonso?s unique celebrations continued when he got to the podium. Initially he seemed slightly stunned - struggling to take in the scale of his achievement. Then, after the anthems and the ceremony, as the champagne was sprayed, the Spaniard took a moment alone on the top step.

He collected his thoughts, then began to pour champagne into his trophy, before drinking it. Was it simply not coming out of the bottle quick enough? Well, not quite. "In my region in Spain, the typical drink is a sidra (cider),? he explained. ?When you drink it, you have to pour it into the glass from high in the air, and I did the same thing with the cup. It was a little bit of home to bring to Brazil."

It was a touching gesture that would not have been lost on the millions of fans watching their hero back in Spain, in particular those in his home town of Oviedo.

Official F1 Website.

Ok, I had to post that since they mention my hometown...

I'm so happy for him. Great achievement for Spain and for Asturias. Unthinkable just a few years ago... Some people think he is a bit arrogant and rude. I just love the guy and the way he speaks his mind. No bullshit or ass kissing.

Regarding the debate about if he was the best driver and deserves the tittle, of course I'm gonna say yes. Probably I'm a bit biased here... Again, it's true that Kimi has had a great deal of bad luck, but in the end Alonso was the most regular driver of the year, even if he didn't have the fastest car.

Anyway, I think the last two races are gonna be interesting. The constructors title is still in dispute and he'll want to show the sceptics what he is made of, now that the driver's title is safe.
 
One last thing: A toast...? with cider, of course

[jarmo]

Looks like Williams will go with Pizzonia in the last races instead of giving Nico Rosberg a chance to drive.




/jarmo

[Cocaine__tongue]

Looks like pizzonia has been confirmed for the last 2 races.

CONGRATULATIONS Alonsooooo!!!!. best driver of the year, no doubt about that(imo).

[Ignatius]

Spanish leading newspaper "El Pais" had a 14 page special on Fernando Alonso the other day. It's really amazing, I've never seen so much coverage in any sports victory ever in the history of this country. Not even when Madrid would win the Champions league or Indurain clinching his 5th tour of France. This is unbelievable. I guess this could only be compared to winning the Football Worlcup or Euro cup for us spaniards. Notice the word guess cause the last win we've got in any nations cup was 40 years ago when we won our first and last eurocup. On that note, we are not looking good to qualify to the World Cup...

As for the next two races, Alonso has already said the strategy is gonna be a lot different. Now ewith the championship under his belt, we will most likely see a much more aggresive Alonso. I can't wait to see what happens in Japan next. The constructors title is still undecided...

Jarmo quick question...has there been any scandals recently concerning Kimi? I've heard his wife busted him having sex with another woman in a jacuzzi? I've also heard McLaren is not too happy with his drinking habbits...how truth is that? is this all gossip and Bullshit rumors? I couldn't find any of this info, just wanted to know if you'd heard this or not...

[Graciela]

Jarmo quick question...has there been any scandals recently concerning Kimi? I've heard his wife busted him having sex with another woman in a jacuzzi? I've also heard McLaren is not too happy with his drinking habbits...how truth is that? is this all gossip and Bullshit rumors? I couldn't find any of this info, just wanted to know if you'd heard this or not...

This was also on the news here: about the party on the jacuzzi and how McLaren had to pass him a memo with instructions on how to drink...

Oh, and on a side note, Happy Birthday. I know I'm a bit late... sorry...

[jarmo]

Jarmo quick question...has there been any scandals recently concerning Kimi? I've heard his wife busted him having sex with another woman in a jacuzzi? I've also heard McLaren is not too happy with his drinking habbits...how truth is that? is this all gossip and Bullshit rumors? I couldn't find any of this info, just wanted to know if you'd heard this or not...

The jacuzzi story started out in a Finnish gossip weekly and spread from there to newspapers around the world.

As far as I know, Kimi and his wife are considering legal action.

He's also commented on the rumor that he was drunk at Monza while testing:

R?ikk?nen's relationship with the media is precisely the same as with everything else he regards as irrelevant to his driving: he just tries to block it out of his mind.
      "However, there's a limit to everything", he says, and he is referring to a recent piece published in the German magazine AutoBild motorsportmagazine.
      The story claimed that R?ikk?nen was blind drunk and ran naked through the gardens of Monza during a test session at the Italian track.
     
The same story was also published in Finland, yet nobody seemed to think such behaviour would have been distinctly unlikely during a two-day stint testing his McLaren-Mercedes.
      "In this case the magazine ran the story without even bothering to find out if the rumours they heard had any truth to them", R?ikk?nen says.
      "We're thinking of suing the paper in order to put a stop to articles of this sort being published."


I don't know about the letter, it's possible. But I also think that even though Kimi probably enjoys a night out, it's nothing like what the gossip "journalists" write.

I'd blame typical Finnish jealousy. Instead of writing about the races, they'll write about everything else.



/jarmo

[jarmo]

Nico Rosberg won the GP2 series today by winning the race in Bahrain.

Heikki Kovalainen was third in the race and can't catch up in the championship.




/jarmo

[John Daniels]

according to the the Bild Magazine Kimi had said to the rules letter from Maclaren thing, that he doesn't take that kind of orders from anyone except from his mother and not even from her at times.

Few days ago Kimi gongratulate Alonso for the championchip and said that it's rather useless to talk about the points he lost (like 40) because of car/engine problems. He said that winner is always the person who gained more points till the end of the season and Alonso is worth of every point he gained.   

[jarmo]

Nico Rosbers says he's in talks with both Williams and BMW about next year.

Apparently a test driver's seat at Williams is almost certain but he hopes to get a race seat.


Heikki Kovalainen starts his talks with Renault next week.


/jarmo

[Ignatius]

I was watching "Mas deporte" today. This is a daily show on sports. I guess this could be the spanish version of "Sports Center. It was mentioned that Kimi has reached an agreement with Ferrari for the 2007 season. Apperantly, Kimi and McLaren are not going through their best moment, so that could speed up the process a bit. This is a rumor but I thought it may shed some light as to what will happen in 2007. I know we've discussed this before, I guess we'll see what happens. The only thing that worries me is, if this info turns out to be true, do you guys think Kimi will try his best to win the championship next year with McLaren?

[jarmo]

I read about the rumor. It came from the Sunday Mirror this time.


I wouldn't be surprised if he left McLaren after this season's "fiasco". Obviously he has to race for them next season, but after that, who knows.

I think it might be a big mistake. Once Schumacher retires I wouldn't be surprised if many of the key persons at Ferrari left as well. The team was basically built around Michael Schumacher and once he's gone, it'll probably take time to "remodel" it again.

If McLaren fails next season, I think we'll see Kimi at Ferrari in 2007.



Honda has bought BAR and hopes to compete as Honda next year instead of BAR Honda.

Honda is also in talks to supply engines to a new 11th team. It's speculated that this is the new team started by Coca Cola who are interested in getting into the F1 circus.



/jarmo

[jarmo]

Kimi R?ikk?nen was interviewed on Finnish MTV3. Here's my translation of the things he said:


On the new V8 engines:

"If the GP2 cars are soon going to be faster than our cars, it's not right. Formula 1
cars should be the fastest cars in the world. When you remove 200 horsepower, the cars
don't really feel any special. On the straights the the speeds are lower, but the
speeds going into the corners are the same."


On the current state of F1:

"Follwing cars into the corners have become more difficult. You need to do something
bigger to make it possible to stay close to the car ahead. Less wings and more tyre
grip."

On the tyre rules that says the same tyres have to be used for qualifying and the race:

"The tyre rules are good. They add excitement and differences. During the last
years when tyres were changed during races it was more difficult to overtake. Of
course the current rules have their downsides and that has affected me a few times".


About the qualifying system changes:

"The most important thing is to find a solution that everybody likes and it
would be used for years. From the spectators point of view it's difficult to
follow what's going on when the qualifying system is changed in the middle of
the season and it's going to be changed again next season."


He also mentioned how he has no contract for 2007 and that those tihngs will be looked into after the next season.

Further he spoke about how Alonso has a special way of driving that probably wouldn't work as well in other cars and that the Renault fits him very well. He said it doesn't fit Fisichella that well.

Button is a driver who's easy to overtake. According to Kimi he doesn't fight back too much and everybody knows it. That's why they try to overtake him in places where overtaking is supposed to be impossible.

Kimi also thought that on a good day it's very difficult to be faster than his team mate Montoya. He's also wondering why Montoya lost those two second places this season. His theory was that Montoya doesn't think about what he's doing. He also said "I guess these things happen to some and doesn't happen to others".




/jarmo

[Ignatius]

Wow!? ?

Lots of info there.

First of all, I didn't know the FIA had planned to change the Qualifying again. If so, how differente is going to be from this years?

Now, Kimi's comments regarding the other pilots are priceless. I wonder what he meant by saying "Alonso had a very special way fo driving that wouldn't work as well in other cars". A lot may be implied from these words, Jarmo, any idea of what he meant?

I love the coments towards Button..."an easy driver to overtake?" hahah...priceless.

And Montoya.."he doesn't think about what he's doing". JP won't be too happy with that one either. Are there any issues between kimi and JP as far as you know Jarmo?

I've loved this interview. Shows how arrogant F-1 drivers are.? Alonso is pretty much alike, same as Schumacher. Can't wait to see what happens sunday in Suzuka.

[jarmo]

First of all, I didn't know the FIA had planned to change the Qualifying again. If so, how differente is going to be from this years?

I think the most likely system will be like a competition. Basically with the slowest five cars eliminated in different stages until you have a winner.

As far as I remember, it'll be like the old times when there can be a lot of cars on the track.

Now, Kimi's comments regarding the other pilots are priceless. I wonder what he meant by saying "Alonso had a very special way fo driving that wouldn't work as well in other cars". A lot may be implied from these words, Jarmo, any idea of what he meant?

I think he meant that he needs a special kind of car.

Some drivers prefer a car that understeers etc.

I love the coments towards Button..."an easy driver to overtake?" hahah...priceless.

 

And Montoya.."he doesn't think about what he's doing". JP won't be too happy with that one either. Are there any issues between kimi and JP as far as you know Jarmo?

No, he said they get along fine and that Montoya is a great driver but occasionally he makes those mistakes.

I've loved this interview. Shows how arrogant F-1 drivers are.? Alonso is pretty much alike, same as Schumacher. Can't wait to see what happens sunday in Suzuka.

Yeah.



Franck Montagny has left Renault. He's been their third driver since 2003 but he's no talking to the Midland team about getting a seat there. This means Heikki Kovalainen's chances of driving for Renault just got a little bit better.



/jarmo