F1 Australia 2007

[rasfigjohn]

I'll watch the first free practice tomorrow at 7 pm (in my local time) on Eurosport... it will be late in Europe... and the sunday race will be at what? 4 am sunday (Paris time) (Saturday evening for me) ... so... will you guys wake up early to watch it or what?

[MechMan]

I'll watch the first free practice tomorrow at 7 pm (in my local time) on Eurosport... it will be late in Europe... and the sunday race will be at what? 4 am sunday (Paris time) (Saturday evening for me) ... so... will you guys wake up early to watch it or what?


(Sat) 22:00 EST Race time for me

[snowy]

I'll watch the first free practice tomorrow at 7 pm (in my local time) on Eurosport... it will be late in Europe... and the sunday race will be at what? 4 am sunday (Paris time) (Saturday evening for me) ... so... will you guys wake up early to watch it or what?


I'm practicing staying up all night :roflmao: :roflmao: :p

[manzarek]

will you guys wake up early to watch it or what?

Friday and Saturday bedtimes for me are always at best 4am worst 8am every weekend, so yeah i'll be staying up ;)

[File 1993]

No matter the time I will get up to watch it. It's the first race and for me is 4am! :D

[rasfigjohn]

This first session was exciting after all... every one trying to show off with his new car and new helmet... Fernando showed who was the boss... I don't really like him but I'm happy because this proves Lewis has a good car. The ferraris are here too.. I'm surprised by Jenson.
And Renault... well.. Heikki is right behind a RedBull Renault and Fisico is behind a... Super Aguri...
But it's just the first hour (and half) of a long season...
I had never heard how they call Ralph... Half Schumacher... ah ah ah ... sadly funny...

[snowy]

Good session for a lot of people, Jenson was benefitting from the wet. Go figure 6 months of draught and F1 turns up and the heavens open!

[Gaiajohan]

Scroll a bit down on the following page, and you'll see the standings of free training #1

http://www.formule1.nl/index.php?pid=9&sei=23&sid=286

The text says Fernando drove his time at an almost dry track. Where the rest made their time in the wet.
But I think until Wurz it was a dry track.

[snowy]

Lewis did a great job just 14 laps to Alonso's 23.

[Gaiajohan]

2nd free training:
http://www.formule1.nl/index.php?pid=9&sei=23&sid=287

1 F. Massa Ferrari 1:27.353 32
2 K. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:27.750 0:00.397 33
3 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:27.829 0:00.476 29

[snowy]

I think my boy done rather well for his first day at the office :D

[Wee Scot]

I think my boy done rather well for his first day at the office :D

I'd say SO! Must have nerves of steel or icewater in his veins--or both--to put up the third best time! ...and best the WC by .2! :eek:

Snowy, looks like he's the Bee's Knees!

[rasfigjohn]

Yes... he's cold blooded ... I wish I were a little bit less nervous... every time the man drives his car I get really anxious. Did not feel that for years... This season will be great!

[lowndes888]

1 F. Massa Ferrari 1:27.353 32
2 K. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:27.750 0:00.397 33
3 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:27.829 0:00.476 29 Knew that Massa would be better than Kimi.
BTW I can't see Alonso for some reason.....:D:roflmao::D

[snowy]

He's in the shade :D
However only a fool would underestimate a two time World Champ, who won consecutively and beat MS. But I would love to see some ruffled feathers. Only real problem I can see is that all the telemetry from Fernado's car will become strangely inaccessable to the young upstart! :down:

[lowndes888]

Just saw the training results, looks like BMW Sauber did well.:cool:
Williams also have had great results. A bit dissapointed from Toyota, don't know what went wrong with them.:confused:

[Citywidemicke]

Who is win this race ?

Qual

1 Alonso
2 Kimi
3 Fisichella

Results

1 Kimi
2 Alonso
3 Button

[rasfigjohn]

FP 3
1/ Kimi
2/ Fisico
3/ Lewis

Sounds really good...

[rasfigjohn]

And ... I forgot to say that A Davidson is 4th... on a Super Aguri !!! And Sato is 9th... the 2 "real" Hondas ("real" means much more expansive) are 15th (Rubens) and 17th (Jenson)... I gues there will be a meeting between Honda's bosses and Aguri soon.. Same story with Wurz being in front of the 2 Toyotas...

[manzarek]

i am going to say

grid:
1. massa
2. alonso
3. kimi
4. lewis

[manzarek]

i am going to say

grid:
1. massa
2. alonso
3. kimi
4. lewis

hmm, well i wont even try and pretend that i was close.

Got to say well done to Super Aguri.

I would expect to see the Ferrari into the pits a lap or two earlier than the Mclaren's in the race.

Good luck to Lewis but i'm afraid he just doesn't inspire me :( I am really going to miss Michael in the same way i did Mansell :cry:

Good qualifying and good to have F1 back again :D

[rasfigjohn]

Well it will be:
1. Kimi
2. Fernando
3. Nick
4. Lewis

I just love this grid... I hope any mechanical failure won't disturb the show... I wanna see a pure race between Kimi and Fernando... at last!

[manzarek]

I wanna see a pure race between Kimi and Fernando... at last!

INDEED! that is something to hope for.

[rasfigjohn]

@ Manzarek... Did you really imagine that Lewis could have inspired you after 3 practice and a qualifying session? The whole point of racing is the race itself... that's where real men show who they are. I loved Michael but I don't miss him. I love the new kids and I love the fact that even the older ones in their new teams wanna show how hungry they are. That's the first race... there's no teammate protecting his leader or things like this... It won't last so let's enjoy. If Schumi was here he would have been the leader at Ferrari... with Felipe and Kimi, we'll have a real competition. It won't be the same for Lewis and Fernando but I'm really happy to see that the kid is so close...
After the winter tests it's no real surprise that BMW is among the best... I really don't like these guys but the german rivalry between Mercedes and BMW will definitely be something good for the show.
I'm going to sleep now... dreaming of a podium for Lewis first race.... ah ah ah ... sweet dreams...

[snowy]

Nice avatar John. bet you slept well as did I, dreaming of podiums and champaign. Lewis did a great job apart from one slight hiccup in one sector on his final run. He could have been on the front row and I suspect Fernando is breathing a huge sigh of relief! Lewis had the legs on him for 9 tenths of qualifying.

Kimi appears to be quite quick in a Ferrari and probably he also breathed a sigh of relief when Felipe conked out and missed the cut.

BMW are on a roll, sauber always had a reliable car, add that to the power and driveability of the BMW engine and we might be seeing a new super force in F1.

Taku eventually got one over on Anthony like he always used to in British F3. But they both blew the Factory Hondas into the weeds which is a major humiliation for the Brackley team!

[File 1993]

1st Kimi
2nd Alonso
3rd Heidfeld
4th Hamilton
5th Kubica


I think this is the starting order, I watched it 4am in the morning, Masa's engine has to be changed!

[File 1993]

Oooops I see this was already posted, sorry

[manzarek]

@ Manzarek... Did you really imagine that Lewis could have inspired you after 3 practice and a qualifying session? The whole point of racing is the race itself... that's where real men show who they are.

firstly its not 3 practice sessions its 11 years, for thats how long i have known about him and followed his career with some interest, its a personal thing, he doesn't have Mansells balls to the walls driving style or Michaels something special about him, both of them had both those things before F1, i watched and listened to Michael talk in the pit lane at Le-Mans in 91 and even then he just oozed confidence and potential. These are purely personal emotional responses to individuals that i don't know so can only go with what my heart says, that can't be argued with.

[rasfigjohn]

firstly its not 3 practice sessions its 11 years, for thats how long i have known about him and followed his career with some interest, its a personal thing, he doesn't have Mansells balls to the walls driving style or Michaels something special about him, both of them had both those things before F1, i watched and listened to Michael talk in the pit lane at Le-Mans in 91 and even then he just oozed confidence and potential. These are purely personal emotional responses to individuals that i don't know so can only go with what my heart says, that can't be argued with.

OK... I see what you mean... I did not notice you were from UK.. which explains your interest for Hamilton. Not sure wether I understand the "balls to the walls'" image. But don't you think that the evolution of motorsports since Mansell or Le Mans in 91 makes that drivers don't tell what they feel or think anymore. I mean... from what I've seen from my little island all I know about Hamilton is the cliché of the little kid saying he wanna drive Ron Dennis car when he was 10.
Now it's all about consensual statements as we see in all money ruled sports... so I don't think we can really compare the emotions we felt back in the days listening to our champions. That's exactly what people generally reproach to Michael: his lack of charisma compared to Ayrton. I never understood that. I loved Ayrton and I loved Schumi just for what they are ... great champions dealing with the mess of Bernie's Big Circus.
I regret the days where these pilots really put their balls next to their helmet when speaking to journalist right in front of the camera. But those days are sadly over... and the fact that your souvenir of Michael's self confidence goes back to 1991 kinda proves that once again. Tell me what you think.

[rasfigjohn]

I think it's a good thing that Nick kicked Lewis off the top 3 at the last moment... Maybe it would have been too much for the kid to deal with all the media circus for its first race. And that little humiliation will probably make him push harder tonight...

Oups... Sorry vrmx...I guess you will have to move this one too.. sorry..

[snowy]

I have to say for my part that the very first time I saw Jenson Button competing in kart races (they used to televise them back then) I thought this guy is the nuts, he is going to be in F1 in no time. And it wasn't long before there he was driving a Williams, say what you will he was and still is avery special talent. When I saw Lewis karting I thought "wait just one goddam minute this guy is how old? How talented?" I forecast that he would be in F1 in no time. And when I saw him competing in all the GP2 races and starting from 7th or 8th in the majority of the second races because he had won or come second in the first. Sything through the field, taking huge and calculated risks I predicted he would be in F1 this season. I would have staked my life on it! And he was and he is and although everybody talks about Turkey that was just the tip of an outstanding GP2 campaign. Don't forget he was a rookie. This morning we saw a composed and concidered assault upon a 2 time world champion. Fernado was a worried man, he used two sets of tyres in quali 2 because he needed to find an answer to Lewis's pace! Lewis may not excite you but he's a storm commin, he's the Tiger Woods of F1 and is gonna rewrite the history books! I for one am very excited and as long as Lewis keeps hanging his balls out on the track I don't give a monkeys if he appears consensual (sounds sexy!) or diplomatic off it.

[lowndes888]

Masa's engine has to be changed!

Darn Kimi, brought his bad luck to Ferrari:p :roflmao: :p :roflmao: :p

[MechMan]

Okay I am all hyped up. Buzzing around the house making F1 motor sounds lol. I almost missed the Qual. last night, I was just about falling asleep.

Here is my pick for the Race.

1) Alonso
2) Raikkonen
3) Massa

I pick Massa 3rd. I think they will play strategy for points over win. I feel he will make 3rd.

Raikkonen I put second because I feel he is so use to being 2cd Racing with Shoeman, I think pressure for 1st place will cause him to make errors. So he will hold that postition

I think Alonso has the car to win.:D

[MechMan]

Good Start. No crash on turn 1 .. Hamilton did a nice move on the out side at the start. ..Massa in on the Charge. He is gaining 1 position each lap.:up:

______________________________________________

Raikkonen is running away.

[Wee Scot]

Great job Lewis! Podium in your first GP, not too shabby... :D

[nigelfortune]

Excellent drive by Lewis to get 3rd. Next Brit F1 World Champ for sure methinks! :-)

[rasfigjohn]

Well... I must be sleeping and dreaming because I've just seen a young black guy standing on a Formula One podium...
No seriously... I'm Happy... Kimi and Lewis on a podium! I love that... after more than 50 years of chequered flag we'll have to get used to chequered podiums!
Nicest move in the race? Lewis on turn 1 overtaking that guy from Poland who tried to block him AND Fernando... waw!
Fernando did not manage to overtake Lewis on the track! He must really get worried about that... even when Lewis had more fuel than him with cold tires...
Can someone remind me how many times Schumi overtook Fisico last year in Brazil? Felipe did not succeed in 4 laps.
Heiki the other Rookie ...did not Fernando call him revelation of the year?...... maybe next year... still a bit fragile for the job... He's good but the revelation title ain't cheap this year.
David did his best to make the Safety Car get out the pits... maybe next time.. anyway his flight over Alexander proved us he still has the Superman outfit he had last year in Monaco...
Best traffic jam? the one created by Jenson when Rubens and Felipe got stuck behind. I thought at this moment: well if Felipe overtakes Rubens now after winning at Interlagos (which Rubens never won), Barrichello will never go back to his country again.
Jenson, after a drive thrugh penalty is 15th followed by a Super Aguri and a Spyker... Jean ... we recognized you ... you can take that blue white orange helmet off and go back to your vineyard.
Well that's about it... I think we'll have a great season.

[Wee Scot]

Great race analysis! :D

Yes, Lewis' race pace was very impressive, and he didn't let his few bobbles rattle him. He's definitely fast and composed out there, which IS rare. But for a bit of bog in his last pit stop, he would have had second, for sure.

[snowy]

Lewis had an outstanding first lap, kept a respectable distance from Fernando apart from when he came up against backmarkers. I don't think Fernando would have made any dent in Kimi's lead had he been in front of Lewis. But that is conjecture, we shall have to see how the season pans out. I suspect Fernando is a worried man right now because IMHO even if Lewis doesn't have the legs on him now he probably will have by mid season!

[rasfigjohn]

The onboard version of the race is already available at your favorite racing vids tracker... 1.07 GB of pure adrenaline...

http://pix.nofrag.com/32/5b/a1d3213165c637c4269de29a7632t2.jpg (http://pix.nofrag.com/32/5b/a1d3213165c637c4269de29a7632.html)

[skridge]

great race. on speed we had the 12hrs of sebring right before the f1, and i really enjoyed that a lot more.

[manzarek]

The onboard version of the race is already available at your favorite racing vids tracker... 1.07 GB of pure adrenaline...

sorry where is it available???..down loadable???

[Petty Andretti]

Kimi's radio wasn't working during the entire race. I guess that didn't matter since he never communicates with his team anyway. ;)

[heez]

i thought the race was boring. there was like three overtakin manouvres shown on tele!

best bit would of been hamiltons move on the first corner and DC taking himself out! that was funny.

my prediction for the season, ferrari win drivers with kimi, mclaren win constructors with hamilton doin better than alonso.

[Gaiajohan]

The race was boring imo. Because of that 19k RPM limiter, there's not much difference between the enigines. And it seems impossible to blow them up :(. Unfortunately.

But I hope KImi will be the new champion!

[Dzul]

It was a surprising first race... I wouldn't start forecasting things yet though,
I remember doing that when A1GP started and all got shuffled in four races. :eek:

But that's just me... :rolleyes:

Two thoughts though:
Hamilton better live up to the grandeur expectations he displayed today.
Albers has to stop making excuses and PR and start driving, or leave... :mad:

[snowy]

The onboard version of the race is already available at your favorite racing vids tracker... 1.07 GB of pure adrenaline...


:roflmao: John have you got a url for vids tracker? I googled it but couldn't find it! :o

[bentfocus]

Most F1 races go as this one did...not much passing and fairly uneventful. The youngest podium ever was the headline here. Thought it was funny that the tires are marked with a single white blot because they did not want to appear to be copying champcar and their red sidewall softs!

The NASCAR race this weekend held some great comments on F1 from Montoya and his wife...stuffy that f1 world is.