Ariel.Club Forum

Super excited about new season starting this weekend in Bahrain!!

Read this on McLaren's website:

The Race is on again.
The Race against time, against physics, against limits.
The Race that spans the globe. That's fought in days, weeks and months.
But won in seconds, grams and inches.
The Race against our rivals, against our past and against ourselves.
The Race is on again. The Race that never stops.
Come along for The Race.

Too hard to make any predictions, lets just enjoy the show! 

fiesty

God, what a load of pretentious wank.
FFS, it's just a load of blokes going round in circles, really.
Cheers, Hedge

Too hard to predict?? Awe come on!

I predict Alonso will be very very strong this year as Ferrari will be fighting like stink to get back in the game and Alonso's got the goods.
I predict Shumi will also be awesome and show the young pups it's all about what you have on the inside and not your age.
I predict Hamilton will clean Button's clock (I hope I'm wrong as I like Button)

I also predict I will once again control my TV on race weekends. No more Americas Top Model crap, no more America's got talent, The biggest loser, Scrubb's re-runs, no no no no more my sweet wife and daughters...it's race time and the man of the house is finally back in control of the Box on race weekends ...I wish

[quote="CalScot"]
...the man of the house is finally back in control of the Box...[/quote]

goes well with your eariler Viagra comments.

Starting a new thread for the F1 season. Place your bets!

DP, you'll like this ......

Interesting thougths from Hamilton about Schumacher and how he thinks the car currently stands

Hamilton says that it definitely feels more 'special' being there with Schumacher.

"I had really good fun," Hamilton told AUTOSPORT. "I was on my long run, on my last stint, and I caught Michael up.

"Rather than backing off, I thought, 'let's have some fun and see if we can get close to him!' It was really, really hard work and good to experience what the new car is like when behind people. So I was challenging, I was learning new things and thinking I need to get past him really quick.

"I managed to get up in the inside of him on one of the corners, and I think he had fun as well - but we were clearly seconds of difference in time [pace-wise] because he was heavier with fuel and I was lighter. But it was really cool."

He added: "It was a unique and special feeling to see Michael Schumacher ahead of me – and know it was him! It feels different compared to coming up against any other driver, because he is a seven-time world champion. He is a legend!

"You are a legend if you have got seven world championships! One or two [titles]? Respect. But seven, it's legendary! You look at it, and think, 'wow, that's cool.'"

Hamilton has been left upbeat about the progress that McLaren has made over the winter – especially with the new aerodynamic package that was fitted to the car for the final two days of Barcelona.

Speaking about how ready he feels the team is for the start of the season, Hamilton said: "I didn't really know what I wanted to come out with from Barcelona. I did want to know I had a good package and felt comfortable going into the first race, which I have come away.

"I wasn't expecting to be quickest that day – and we didn't even go out and think, 'boom, boom, we need to do practice and qualifying runs'. We did a couple of runs on different tyres and I just got that time – rather than trying to nail a better time. So, there is definitely more time to come – which is positive. It is nice to come away from it on the right foot."

Iim surprised it's not ALL measured in gallons, quarts, stones, ounces and feet! 

Have the new rules made all races proessional, or is it just this one?

Shame about Seb's car... I had him down for a win from start to finish

Was it an exciting race? If so, what particular parts were 'exciting'?

[quote="AtomFun"]
Was it an exciting race? If so, what particular parts were 'exciting'?
[/quote]

Amazingly if you had made your normal post about F1 being boring I would not have been able to argue today, that race was the dullest for years.

Nearly as boring as Mr Bean and the Chuckle brothers talking about cheese!

[quote="benyeats"]
[quote="AtomFun"]
Was it an exciting race? If so, what particular parts were 'exciting'?
[/quote]

Amazingly if you had made your normal post about F1 being boring I would not have been able to argue today, that race was the dullest for years.
[/quote]

Absolutely!

The most interesting bits in F1 these days are the pre-race and post-race discussions on BBC (especially the stuff after the race on the internet/red button)

What happened to, 'wheel to wheel racing?............Honestly F1 is becoming rather boring these days.

I'm so glad i recorded it, then skipped all the boring parts....not something i used to do 10-15 years ago.

It didnt help that a lot of corners were micky mouse. Adding 9 turns in a half of a mile, doesnt make sense for F1 cars.

I hope Bahrain is just an abberation, maybe adding another mandatory pitstop might be required to allow the drivers to use their tires more, and stop trying to be safe with them.

fiesty

Haven't we had brilliant racing in 08 and 09 so why another big change ending in the dullest race for years?  Significantly, it's the lap times that are worrying with a second or three between cars in quali and in race. I too
felt no fuel stops should have created a more absorbing closer race but the net result will be a disaster.

Two question
1) why do they still use circuits designed so you cannot overtake?
2) given all the race simulation tools available, why do they still make such
a huge mistake with rule changes

The biggest challenge with no fuel stops is that you need total reliability, very accurate and predictable fuel usage and low fuel usage - which seems to mean tes are going to play it safe and focus on saving thei tyres doesn't it?

boring............

not that keen on f1 but thought id watch this season due to all the hype

complete waste of a sunday lunchtime

justin