Massive LOL at Ralph saying he too wants to make a comeback, but only in a competitive car. There’s more chance of me driving v8 supercars next year than that happening.
The Motorsport Thread!
nipper575
#42
I forgot we had a dedicated thread for this.
Haha, is he getting jealous because his brother is coming back? He must be deranged if he expects them to just hand him a quick car, he’ll end up driving for Force India or Torro Rosso else nothing at all.
nipper575
#43
Button leaving Brawn and going to Mercedes McLaren is reminding me of when Alonso left Renault to do the same thing. Wasn’t a positive experience for Alonso and I doubt Button will benefit from it either.
What I have trouble grasping is why drivers leave a team after winning championships in those cars? Has Mercedes GP told Button to #### off? Why would they do that after his 2009 performance in the Brawn GP car? If he chose to leave then he has made a silly mistake, just as Alonso did previously.
Still, it’s all very exciting. No doubt Germany will be going crazy to see a Schumacher in a German car where he belongs.
Lotus rejoining the F1 also slipped by me. That’s going to be epic if their previous form is found.
Patty
#44
Mercedes wanted an all German team, which is why they weren’t exactly forth-coming in their contract negotiations with Button. If they put together a decent car again this year I’m betting they’ll find a way to squeeze Vettell (who’s in the last year of his RBR contract) into the team next year as there’s little doubt afaic that he’s Germany’s next World Champion. Although in saying that, with Schumacher apparently signed for 3 years, and Rosberg a similar length, I’m not sure how they’ll do it.
nipper575
#45
Well there you go, all German team. Doesn’t surprise me. I know Ferrari have always wanted an Italian driver/s, I can remember when they put Rossi in their car to see if he had pace, seems his talent is restricted to 2 wheels.
They’ll want to hope that Rosberg or Schumacher take to their car as well as what Button did, Barrichello too for that matter. It will also be interesting to see how much of Button’s success was directly related to the car he was driving. At least he found a decent team to go to.
Just like last season though, unless Ferrari are going to dominate like the good old days, I’d like to see one of the new teams mop up again. I wonder how well Lotus will perform, they are even using Cosworth engines, talk about nostalgia. I wonder how well Virgin will do, surely they’ll have more money than all the other teams combined?
nipper575
#46
Bahrain GP on tonight at 10pm
Qualifying results from last night.
I’d love to see Ferrari back up there this season, wasn’t expecting to see Massa qualify higher than Alonso but there you go. They’re both in a position to win tonight. To see Alonso reach his pre - McLaren form would be a godsend.
Vettel did well, as much as it pains me to say it, he’ll probably win this season if his 09 performance was anything to go by.
Have to say I was impressed by Schumacher being able to qualify in the top 10 after being out of the sport for ~4 years. Looks like Mercedes GP (Brawn GP) is going to be a strong team this season, Rosberg did particularly well. The thought of Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher being together again makes me tingle.
Other thing that made me laugh, BMW-Sauber is using Ferrari engines. Why does Sauber even bother keeping BMW in their title? As far as I was told, BMW sold the team back to Sauber, I guess they must be the major sponsor still? Still, seeing BMW fall flat on their face only brought a smile to my face in that schadenfreude way. All their marketing hype for the brand can’t cover up their woeful efforts as an F1 team. I’m going to be rubbing that one in.
Very hard to place Webber in all this, I honestly thought he punched above his weight last season, to see him better his performance from 09 would be fantastic, would get more Australians interested it what clearly is the pinnacle of motorsport. It’s was even hard to see him winning races last season, don’t get me wrong, I was over the moon, but I’m just so used to him DNFing that I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
nipper575
#47
A tolerable side to Sebastian Vettel, well I’ll be stuffed. Actually enjoyed reading that.
Sebastian Vettel exclusive: Luscious Liz must prove herself
He is being hotly tipped for the 2010 title and many men his age might cave under the pressure. Not so Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, who has arrived in Bahrain looking cool and relaxed. This season there are four champions on the grid. For next season the German wants to make sure he is the fifth. His hopes rest with Luscious Liz, aka the Red Bull RB6, as he explained to Formula1.com…
Q: Sebastian, you are heading into your third season and the saying goes ‘third time lucky’. Do you believe in proverbs?
Sebastian Vettel: If it turns out to be a positive season then I believe in it. If not, then it’s BS! It’s a long way to go, a lot of things have changed and so the racing will change. But we don’t know yet how much, so everything will look different to last year. Nineteen races seems an endless marathon, so we will see.
Q: You have a tradition of giving your cars female names. Do females tend to do what you want?
SV: Well, I don’t have a magic hand or magic stick or anything of that kind but the experience of the past has shown that it somehow worked out for me. And to be honest, I would find it rather strange to give the car a male name, or to see the car as something masculine.
Q: When did the name ‘Luscious Liz’ for this year’s car pop into your mind?
SV: At the first test I really started to go through a couple of names and I like the name Liz and Luscious Liz fits quite well, I think. It’s an attractive car, it’s quick and successful. But the main attribute naturally should be that she’s bl**dy quick.
Q: So is Liz so much better than Kate (the RB5) was last year?
SV: We will see. Kate and ‘Kate’s dirty little sister’ did a very good job so Liz has to prove herself.
nipper575
#51
Wait for the trademark Vettel tantrum at the end of this race…
If the Ferrari’s weren’t struggling to keep their engines cool, Alonso was going to pass him regardless of Vettel’s engine faults.
Hoping for a Ferrari 1 + 2, crossed fingers.
nipper575
#52
The Prancing Horse is back, text book Ferrari.
Other than that, had to be the most uneventful GP EVER! Not allowing the cars to refuel during the race is the worst decision they’ve made in GP other than when they introduced traction control. Talk about slow, person who suggested that rule needs to be taken out and shot.
Hope Ferrari will continue that form. Love Alonso now that he is racing for Maranello, hated him when he was winning for Renault, lol.
Oh, I almost forgot, (dis)honourable mention goes out to ONE HD that managed to loose the BBC commentary no less than 5 times throughout the race. Listening to the ONE HD hosts try and commentate the F1 was MURDER, they are bad enough to listen to before and after the race. They got rid of McConville who was about as interesting as a piece of paper, and replaced him with 2 others that are just as bad, lol.
nipper575
#54
Webber ‘shocked’ by lack of passing
Mark Webber says the lack of overtaking at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix does not bode well for the rest of the races where one-stop strategies are expected. The Sakhir race has been criticised because of its lack of action following all the excitement ahead of the start of the season.
There has been calls to react and make some changes to the rules in order to spice up racing, although Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone on Tuesday warned against knee-jerk reactions.
Webber admitted he got frustrated by the lack of overtaking opportunities during the race.
“It got pretty boring,” Webber told Australia’s Daily Telegraph. "I spent 48 laps staring at a the gearboxes of first Schumacher and then Button and there was nothing I could do to pass them.
“I tried everything - different lines, pressure, everything. But they’re both good drivers and neither of them made a mistake.”
The Australian, who was stuck behind McLaren’s Jenson Button for several laps, is hoping the upcoming circuits offer more chances to pass.
And he admitted he was ‘shocked’ by how hard overtaking was.
“I was quicker than him but I was unable to find a way through,” Webber said. "He didn’t make a mistake and if I’d tried to force the issue it would have ended in a crash.
"I was pretty shocked by how hard it was to overtake and it doesn’t bode well for any of the one-stop races on the calendar, when everyone is going to be following pretty much the same strategy.
“We can only hope that other circuits will lend themselves to overtaking more than Sakhir.”
nipper575
#55
Fantastic race, much better than the first of the season. As far as I’m concerned, Albert Park is the real start of the season.
Great to see Button winning in another car, shows his talent. Took a big risk which paid off beautifully, I thought he stuffed his chances after changing to slicks so soon. He’s a text book race driver, soooooo smooth, no bullshit with the car, just flicks it in and flicks it out, poetry in motion.
Kubica is the real deal, love to see him in a better car. Getting the Renault to 2nd is a mammoth effort especially from 9th on the grid. Hard fought effort, imo.
Webber’s driving says it all, it was a shame though, probably felt extra pressure considering it is his home race.
Vettel, brake issues my arse, he just left the dry patch and lost it. Won’t stop him from blaming everyone but himself. All I’ve got to say is sucked in, even if it was the cars fault, you deserve any problem you get. Haha, just realised how much I can’t stand him.
Had to find humour with Schumi struggling to get back up the grid, bit disappointed though. Rather see him dominating.
Love the new safety car, looks like a remake of the 300SL Gullwing, undoubtedly one of the coolest cars that Mercedes ever made.
Azalin
#56
Huzzah
Belgian GP this weekend - bout time it came back!!!
Rain predicted for prac today, chance tomorrow and early forecast has Sunday being not bad but rolling in - bets on a 4 seasons in one day :laugh:
Carn Webber, and Carn Ricciardo!!
nipper575
#57
It’s too long of a break…
Loved seeing Schumi top P1, only to get flogged in P2, haha. I keep thinking that he’s just going to magically come good, reality says otherwise. Did you notice that Bruno Senna is racing again too, must of shitcanned Heidfeld.
I hope it does rain on race day, makes it so much better (not that it’s been boring).
Fingers crossed for Webber’s first win of the season.
Azalin
#58
Italian GP !!!
Be interesting to see how some runners fare after the ruling body has put up mandate to stay within camber specs. Less tyre blistering… but maybe less performance ???
Cmon MW … get a top 3 start and dont fuck it tomorrow for once!!!
nipper575
#59
Even when it looks like the odds are against Vettel to grab pole, he pulls something out of his bag of talent. That thing must be fucking bottomless. (Yes, he’s undoubtedly in the best car too).
Loved seeing him at opposite lock though, looked wicked.
Patty
#60
Hope his tyres blister & burst during the race and he careers full tilt into a barrier (but stays alive, obvs)