2009 FIA Formula One World Championship

[ExhaustPipe]

The new system is the worst change ever.
The winner should be based on the consistency of the driver throughtout the season.
Although unlikely, couldn't a driver just set a target of say 8 races to win the title and concentrate on the chosen races? Or is there some sort of ruling against it? I haven't looked at the change in detail, just the jist and it is a bad decision!

[LfcFan]

I dont c drivers wanting to skipping any races,they r racing drivers n they wanna race.On the other hand,the lesser teams mite swap drivers depending on circuit.
I do hav concerns about the driver championship set up though,will it open up a bigger gulf between the top guys&the guys trying to get up there?.
Also,some of the new rules coming in over the next few years are (for me) moving in the wrong direction.Formula1 is the pinical of all motor sports&shud be complete with the top drivers,top racing teams,top manufacturers and top technologys.
With all the new changes to the cars,I thought they had a brilliant championship set-up for the future but now im not so sure.

[LfcFan]

Here is a prime example of why i am not keen on the new F1 scoring system.
Look at these stats n try n tell me that mason3105 doesnt deserve recognition for his accomplishments just because he has only one win.
Online Poker 66 British Crown Toplist
1. mason3105 182
2. yeoman42 177
3. Denham 161
4. telboy 160
5. hippo 151
6. jockney 135
7. CROW66 133
8. Auggie555 132
9. kikatinalongkid 124
10. tictalk 121
11. blockie 119
12. jim_g_goldwing 115
13. ROLYOC 115
14. Future2112 114
15. GRAH4M 113

Under the F1 format,Mason3105 would be a loser.WHAT A JOKE

[LfcFan]

Williams' Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima set the fastest time of the week on the final day of Formula 1 testing in Jerez.

Nakajima, 24, clocked a best time of one minute 17.494, while Heikki Kovalainen showed that McLaren will be competitive with a time of 1:17.946.

The previous best had been Jenson Button's 1:17.844 for Brawn GP.

[LfcFan]

YAY....GREAT NEWS,ALL IS WELL IN F1

Formula 1 has axed plans for a new scoring system in 2009, just nine days before the start of the season.
The sport's governing body, FIA, announced earlier this week that the driver with the most wins would be crowned world champion.
But following a protest from F1 teams, FIA says it will defer the introduction of the new system until 2010.
The traditional points system will be used when the 2009 season begins on 29 March with the Australian Grand Prix.

[tattmando]

i have to agree wit AMITHEDADDY Massa all the way...

[lcmadeira]

Ferrari all the way , LETS GO KIMI LETS GO

[LfcFan]

First Practice
Friday, 27 March 2009
Position Country Driver Car number Team Fastest Lap
1 germany Nico Rosberg 16 Williams-Toyota 1:26.687
2 japan Kazuki Nakajima 17 Williams-Toyota 1:26.736
3 finland Kimi Raikkonen 4 Ferrari 1:26.750
4 brazil Rubens Barrichello 23 Brawn-Mercedes 1:27.226
5 finland Heikki Kovalainen 2 McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.453
6 great britain Jenson Button 22 Brawn-Mercedes 1:27.467
7 brazil Felipe Massa 3 Ferrari 1:27.642
8 germany Timo Glock 10 Toyota 1:27.710
9 germany Adrian Sutil 20 Force India-Mercedes 1:27.993
10 spain Fernando Alonso 7 Renault 1:28.123
11 germany Nick Heidfeld 6 BMW Sauber 1:28.137
12 italy Jarno Trulli 9 Toyota 1:28.142
13 poland Robert Kubica 5 BMW Sauber 1:28.511
14 italy Giancarlo Fisichella 21 Force India-Mercedes 1:28.603
15 switzerland Sebastien Buemi 12 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:28.785
16 great britain Lewis Hamilton 1 McLaren-Mercedes 1:29.042
17 australia Mark Webber 14 Red Bull-Renault 1:29.081
18 brazil Nelson Piquet Jr 8 Renault 1:29.461
19 france Sebastien Bourdais 11 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:29.499
20 germany Sebastian Vettel 15 Red Bull-Renault 1:32.784

Second Practice
Friday, 27 March 2009
Position Country Driver Car number Team Fastest Lap
1 germany Nico Rosberg 16 Williams-Toyota 1:26.053
2 brazil Rubens Barrichello 23 Brawn-Mercedes 1:26.157
3 italy Jarno Trulli 9 Toyota 1:26.350
4 australia Mark Webber 14 Red Bull-Renault 1:26.370
5 great britain Jenson Button 22 Brawn-Mercedes 1:26.374
6 germany Timo Glock 10 Toyota 1:26.443
7 japan Kazuki Nakajima 17 Williams-Toyota 1:26.560
8 germany Sebastian Vettel 15 Red Bull-Renault 1:26.740
9 germany Adrian Sutil 20 Force India-Mercedes 1:27.040
10 brazil Felipe Massa 3 Ferrari 1:27.064
11 finland Kimi Raikkonen 4 Ferrari 1:27.204
12 spain Fernando Alonso 7 Renault 1:27.232
13 italy Giancarlo Fisichella 21 Force India-Mercedes 1:27.282
14 germany Nick Heidfeld 6 BMW Sauber 1:27.317
15 poland Robert Kubica 5 BMW Sauber 1:27.398
16 france Sebastien Bourdais 11 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:27.479
17 finland Heikki Kovalainen 2 McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.802
18 great britain Lewis Hamilton 1 McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.813
19 brazil Nelson Piquet Jr 8 Renault 1:27.828
20 switzerland Sebastien Buemi 12 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:28.076

[FunkyG]

Don't know if i'm more excited that F1 starts this weekend or the fact we get to hear this theme tune again, it's not F1 without hearing this.

Formula 1 - BBC Theme Song

[LfcFan]

In the style of Murray Walker,it was "FFFAAAAANNTASTIC" to hear that theme tune again,ohhh the memories just come flooding back.

[LfcFan]

Toyota's excluded from qualifying
Both Toyota cars have been excluded from the qualifying results at the Australian Grand Prix after their cars were found to break technical rules.
Toyota's Timo Glock of Germany and Italian Jarno Trulli qualified sixth and eighth but will start Sunday's race from the back of the grid.
Officials said the cars had rear wings that were too flexible.
Williams are also launching a protest against the rear wings on the Red Bull and Ferrari cars.
Stewards said the wing showed "flexibility of an extreme nature".
Flexible rear wings are banned in Formula 1 because they can bring performance advantages.
Because of this, the F1 technical regulations have strict stipulations about how much a wing can flex.
This is because a wing can be designed to flex in such a way as to improve the car's straight-line performance without harming its cornering capability.
In such instances, the aerodynamic drag on the car reduces as the wing flexes.
The wing then snaps back to their original shape as the driver slows for a corner, increasing his grip.

[LfcFan]

Final Qualifying
Saturday, 28 March 2009

Position Country Driver Car number Team Qualifying time
1 great britain Jenson Button 22 Brawn-Mercedes 1:26.202
2 brazil Rubens Barrichello 23 Brawn-Mercedes 1:26.505
3 germany Sebastian Vettel 15 Red Bull-Renault 1:26.830
4 poland Robert Kubica 5 BMW Sauber 1:26.914
5 germany Nico Rosberg 16 Williams-Toyota 1:26.973
6 brazil Felipe Massa 3 Ferrari 1:27.033
7 finland Kimi Raikkonen 4 Ferrari 1:27.163
8 australia Mark Webber 14 Red Bull-Renault 1:27.246
9 germany Nick Heidfeld 6 BMW Sauber 1:25.504
10 spain Fernando Alonso 7 Renault 1:25.605
11 japan Kazuki Nakajima 17 Williams-Toyota 1:25.607
12 finland Heikki Kovalainen 2 McLaren-Mercedes 1:25.726
13 switzerland Sebastien Buemi 12 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:26.503
14 brazil Nelson Piquet Jr 8 Renault 1:26.598
15 italy Giancarlo Fisichella 21 Force India-Mercedes 1:26.677
16 germany Adrian Sutil 20 Force India-Mercedes 1:26.742
17 france Sebastien Bourdais 11 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:26.964
18 great britain Lewis Hamilton 1 McLaren-Mercedes
19 germany Timo Glock 10 Toyota
20 italy Jarno Trulli 9 Toyota

[LfcFan]

Pre-race weights - Brawn not running light

For the 2009 season, the FIA are making public the weights of all cars ahead of the race start to help give an idea of relative fuel load. The cars that made Q3 are weighed after qualifying, while the weights of the remaining cars must be declared by their teams shortly after the session. The details from Melbourne show that Brawn GP were not running light, despite their impressive pace.

The weights, sorted by grid order, are:

1. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 664.5kg
2. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, 666.5
3. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 657
4. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 650
5. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 657
6. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 654
7. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 655.5
8. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 662
9. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 691.5 Probably 1 stop strategy
10. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 680.7
11. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 690.6 Probably 1 stop strategy
12. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 694.1 Probably 1 stop strategy
13. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India 689 Probably 1 stop strategy
14. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 612.5
15. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 675.5
16. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 684.5
17. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 662.5
18. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 655
19. Timo Glock, Toyota, 670
20. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 660

14. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 612.5 Not sure if this weight is correct,maybe just a type error. If not,its very light,perhaps no fuel at all.

[FunkyG]

Just watched the rerun of the Australian Grand Prix and what a race.

Stunning drive from Button to take the win and a great drive from Barrichello for 2nd and out of nowhere, Hamilton started in 18th to end up in 3rd.

Fantastic action, probly one of the best races i have seen in years, i hope the rest of the season continues like it and best of all, NO adverts LOL

[crinkle62]

Woooooop wooooooooop we off and running with union jack flying high!!!!!!

What a brill race......... music, commentators, skill on track from Button, best result, and as Funky said...no ads!!!!!!!
( i have to be really quick making coffee now tho!!!!!)


Just a thought...... has anyone else seen a similarity with our beloved MrC and leader of the BrawnGP pack Ross Brawn???????????

[LfcFan]

Brilliant
Brilliant
Brilliant
Im not a fan of Melbourne coz its a rubbish layout and a street style circuit,YAWN.But i did realy enjoy that race.Drama all the way and a very close finish.
WD Jenson,great drive,cool calm and collected all the way.Just showing what he could do with a good car underneath him.
Very lucky Rubens.Ive not analized the start but thought the 1st turn crashes were caused by him and not Heikki.How he finished without smashing his car 2 bits is amazin.Great finish despite all the demolision derby driving.
Superb Lewis.My drive of the day.From the back grid,through the carnage of turn 1 (in a car that is,lets say,well below par) and onwards towards a podium place,now that just
shows why he was crowned world champion&why i think he can go on to get back to back world championships.
Roll on Malaysia

[ExhaustPipe]

Can I just say that that was one of the greatest moments I have witnessed not only in motorsport but for British sprot. Really happy for Jenson, seems like a real nice fella and you could see just how much it meant to him on the podium.

What I want to know is what is wrong with Hamilton's car and why has it been allowed to get to a below par standard?

[LfcFan]

Ya rite Jeb(exhaustpipe),Jenson is one of the real gentlemen.Even through all his bad days in F1,he has never slagged of his team or other drivers/teams.Even when being truthfull.

McLaren havent spent as much time developing this seasons car because of the commitment to last season.
I dont think it is that far behind the others.If u watch how it handles then u'll notice that is is easy to drive,very stable.
I get the impression that McLaren were playin down there chances so every other team would focus on Brawn.
If Lewis could make it onto the podium (from the back)then Heikki would have aswell,if he hadnt been unluckly at the first corner.
Just wait till all the teams have new defusers.McLaren will b much quicker and Brawn (sadly) will struggle a bit.

[AMITHEDADDY]

Excellent race one of the best for a while. Congratulations Jenson Button who may finally start to deliver. Also excellent race for Sebastian Buemi and Sebastian Bourdais 3 points for Torro Rosso about Three more points than i thought my favourite team would get all season. Keep it up boys maybe we can do Red Bull again this year and make Vettell regret leaving. LOL. So glad the season has started it is going to be GREAT!

[Ausangel]

What a race...what a weekend...Melb rocks