[RPM]

Australian GP practice is on tape delay at 1am EST on Speed, with qualifying Saturday morning at 1am and the race Sunday. The DVR is the greatest addition to F1 in decades.

After last year's unbelievable season I am psyched for this to get going. Some great story lines this year:

1. Can Hamilton repeat?
2. Is the McLaren car really off the pace?
3. How will the new Honda team do - can Jensen Button finally live up to his promise?
4. Can the young guys like Vettel continue to improve and compete?
5. What outrageous things will Max and Bernie do next?
6. What will we learn about the US GP team - is it for real?
7. Will Ferrari continue their stupid mistakes, or just become dominant once again?
8. Can 'Quick Nick' and the BMW team continue to improve and become a force?
9. How much does Kimi drink the night before a race?

and #10...

Will anyone in the United States care?????

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[PorscheDude]

I am gonna be up late tonight for qualifying.

Hopefully the McLaren's will be dead in the water this year.

Here are the times from last nights P2

P. Driver Team Time
1 Nico Rosberg Williams 1:26.053
2 Rubens Barrichello Brawn 0:00.104
3 Jarno Trulli Toyota 0:00.299
4 Mark Webber Red Bull 0:00.317
5 Jenson Button Brawn 0:00.321
6 Timo Glock Toyota 0:00.390
7 Kazuki Nakajima Williams 0:00.507
8 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 0:00.687
9 Adrian Sutil Force India 0:00.987
10 Felipe Massa Ferrari 0:01.011
11 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 0:01.151
12 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India 0:01.229
13 Fernando Alonso Renault 0:01.279
14 Robert Kubica BMW 0:01.345
15 Nick Heidfeld BMW 0:01.364
16 Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso 0:01.426
17 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren 0:01.749
18 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 0:01.760
19 Nelson Piquet Renault 0:01.775
20 Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 0:02.023

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[cosimo]

Ralph, there is a tape delay at 4;30PM on Sunday. I going for that, as much as I like F1 it's not worth staying up till 3:30AM. Those are ceratinly a good list of questions. So my question is "What produces a champion, the car or the driver?" As for the US F1 team my interest will be piqued as long as they stop talking about Panica Danica.

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[PorscheDude]

The whole team staring with the design engineers to the guy who drives the equipment to the track
makes a champion.
Although a talented shoe can sway the performance difference.

I am predicting a year end championship fight between Brawn GP, Ferrar and BMW.
I would love to see Barrichello take the crown. But hoping the BMW's prevail.
Also watch for Vettel to have an awesome year.

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[RPM]

<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->Hopefully the McLaren's will be dead in the water this year.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

While I don't love the team, Hamilton has been the best thing to happen to international motorsports - or maybe even to international sports - in a long time. And you really have to give Ron Dennis credit for seeing that potential in a 13 year old kid. I hope they are competitive for the title - along with Ferrari, BMW, and Brawn.

I read yesterday that Richard Branson has invested in Brawn. He is a great personality to add to the circus.

Now if they can just get rid of Max and Bernie - a despicable a pair of characters. This is what happens when you let the French, or the Nazis, run things.

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[rob76turbo]

The biggest difference this year and last is the cars! They look so different this year. Almost a bit of an IRL in them (I mean that in a bad way...). They went back to slicks, took away most of the aero add-ons and streamlined the cars a lot and those rear wings look dinky (that is the IRL part). Take a look of the picture in the following gallery (about mid way down the page). It is a very striking view of last years BMW Sauber and this years.... Wow what a difference a year makes.

http://www.formula1.com/gallery/launches/2009/351.html

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[rxter]

I thought Honda was out of F1. Slicks??? Please tell me they are not going the way of other wenie race series where they park it in the rain. The best F1 races are in the wet.

+1 wrt DVR

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[rob76turbo]

<!--quoteo(post=69489:date=Mar 27 2009, 02:49 PM:name=rxter)-->QUOTE (rxter @ Mar 27 2009, 02:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->I thought Honda was out of F1. Slicks??? Please tell me they are not going the way of other wenie race series where they park it in the rain. The best F1 races are in the wet.

+1 wrt DVR<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

No worries...they will have two wet weather tires...

Intermediate = damp or wet track conditions
Wet = full on wet weather tires, downpour

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[spin]

hey I'm from Europe and used to watch F-1 all the time with my father. I would love to watch the races again but I don't know which channel to tune into in the US? thanks

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[PorscheDude]

Speed.
Channel 607 on DirectTV


Jenson Button in the BrawnGP got pole

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[spin]

thanks PorscheDude [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif[/img]

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[tom968]

On the west coast the start time is about 11:00 p.m. A decent time.
When the season moves to the European races it's a 5:00 a.m. start.

It's amazing how fast the Brawn team is when Honda couldn't do
very much with a big budget.

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[PorscheDude]

Honda started development on this car at the end of the 2007 season, which, is why the sucked last year.
Brawn essentially took over a team that had already developed a 2009 contender.

Would be great to Rubben's take the crown after 15 in years in the top flight.

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[RPM]

Just finished watching the race on DVR - and then learning on the internet that Hamilton wound up in 3rd after Truli was relegated for passing under the safety car.

What a fascinating race. Lots of passing under the new rules, lots of different faces showing thier abilities with better equipment, and the Brawn/Virgin team story is unbeatable. Looks like it is going to be a great season!

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[PorscheDude]

As much as I dislike Hamilton, I have to admit the guy can drive.
A great result for him from 18th place.

It's a shame Vettel took himself and Kubica out with 3 laps to go.
Should have been ruled a racing incedent, but Vettel was fined $35k euros and
will be docked 10 grid postions in Maylasia.

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[Chris Vais]

Just finished watching it. An interesting race. Looks like the Brawn/Virgin combo is the car to beat. It will be interesting to how long the officials will 2 different interpretations of how the rear diffuser can be constructed. The kinetic energy device is interesting. Did you catch the change in rpm in top gear when Hamilton was using during the cockpit feed late in the race? An F-1 car with an afterburner, how cool is that? [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

It looked to me like the Vettle/Kubica incident at the end of the race was a due as much to the difference between the hard compound tires and the soft compound as anything.

Season looks to be off to a good start. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

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[tom968]

The Brawn cars look nice with hardly any sponsorship.

It's nice to see things shaken up without the usual mclaren
or ferrari drivers on the podium.

Vettel actually apologised to his pit crew for his incident with
Kubica. Seeing it again it didn't look that bad. Like the commentator
Varsha said, it appeared he could'nt move over any more than he did.

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[PorscheDude]

A really cool vid explaining the this years design changes

Sebastian Vettel explains 2009 F1 rule changes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTkVKPdyWs0

Another cool vid
Building a Formula 1 Car
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz2zBQvaMxI...feature=channel

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[PorscheDude]

Also KERS explained

Williams Hybrid Power F1 KERS System
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04CarbWxX4o...feature=related



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-A6ZcenX7s...feature=related

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[RPM]

So to follow up on my initial post:

1. Can Hamilton repeat?
Looks like a longshot at this point with McLaren's woes - But the kid can drive...
2. Is the McLaren car really off the pace?
Yes, but the kid can drive... How much longer will Hekki wear the Vodafone colors?
3. How will the new Honda team do - can Jensen Button finally live up to his promise?
Uhh... really good looks like the answer so far. Sir Richard brings luck to anything he touches!
4. Can the young guys like Vettel continue to improve and compete?
Absolutely, but they are going to make mistakes.
5. What outrageous things will Max and Bernie do next?
Suspiciously low profile after all of the back and forth over money last week...
6. What will we learn about the US GP team - is it for real?
Nothing so far... but who would do the grid walk if Peter is running a team?
7. Will Ferrari continue their stupid mistakes, or just become dominant once again?
Massa looked strong all weekend, but Kimi, Kimi, Kimi...
8. Can 'Quick Nick' and the BMW team continue to improve and become a force?
Nick was out quick... KERS for two perhaps? Bob K could lose some quick weight with some rhinoplasty...
9. How much does Kimi drink the night before a race?
See #7

and 10?

We do!!!!!!!!!!!!

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