2006 (Japanese Grand Prix)

[Flerbizky]

But he could crash it, as Renault haven't been on the money. Could of course be a victim of a racing incident, I feel another twist yet though.

I believe it's wrapped up.. It sucks, but that's what the gut tells me.. Schumi / Ferrari finishes this year in 2nd on both constructor and driver..

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for another Renault F'up though :-)

 

[Roo]

I'm soooo feckin' depressed right now... This was NOT what I wanted...

That's exactly what I feel every time Michael wins. He made F1 dull for me for years (particularly 2002 and 2004), and the only reason I prefer Alonso over him is because Fernando is the one who put an end to the domination.

Difference is Alonso doesnt need to win, he just needs points, he could finish 8th and wrap it up..

That's all Michael had to do in 2003, and that proved to be one of the hardest-fought 8th places he's ever had.

I'm still expecting Schumacher to win the championship. If he doesn't, the universe is broken. It'd be like seeing a flock of chickens fly past. There's still the battle for 3rd in the WDC, and the best No.2 driver - Massa and Fisi are seperated by 1 point.

I believe it's wrapped up.. It sucks, but that's what the gut tells me.. Schumi / Ferrari finishes this year in 2nd on both contructor and driver..

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for another Renault F'up though :-)

They've messed up 3 times in the last 5 races (Hungary, Italy and China). What more do you want? (I'm not deliberately picking on you, Flerbizky, it's just you happen to have a completely different opinion to me on this )

 

[Flerbizky]

That's exactly what I feel every time Michael wins. He made F1 dull for me for years (particularly 2002 and 2004), and the only reason I prefer Alonso over him is because Fernando is the one who put an end to the domination.



That's all Michael had to do in 2003, and that proved to be one of the hardest-fought 8th places he's ever had.

I'm still expecting Schumacher to win the championship. If he doesn't, the universe is broken. It'd be like seeing a flock of chickens fly past. There's still the battle for 3rd in the WDC, and the best No.2 driver - Massa and Fisi are seperated by 1 point.



They've messed up 3 times in the last 5 races (Hungary, Italy and China). What more do you want? (I'm not deliberately picking on you, Flerbizky, it's just you happen to have a completely different opinion to me on this )

I know I know :-) Don't worry about it - Your opinion, though in this case different from mine, rates high in my book 👍

I'm just in a very foul mood after todays race....

 

[Lee]

Yeah shame about that engine kamikaze but yet, Schumi was different in the post race interview, I can't put my finger on it but he seemed more... Calm lets say as if having a "Yep it happened, what can I do?" attitude.

That attitude will not win him the title in Brazil.

Alonso done well today, was in the right position to take advantage of MS's misfortune and it has probably handed him the championship. My drive of the day goes to Fisi though, 3rd place after his best friend passed away was a great achievement, I'm suprised he even raced to be honest.

Final thought: What the hell happened to Albers?!

 

[Div is back]

That attitude will not win him the title in Brazil.

MS ain't no Alonso.

 

[Blake]

Hungary was an exceptionally different race

No it wasn’t. It was just wet. The team made a stupid mistake. A team like Renault should not be making mistakes like that.

Monza he was pushing very hard in the engines 2nd race.

That was the engines first race.

Can anyone really see Alonso failing to score any points at Brazil?

Yes. If Ferrari don’t send Massa into the side of Alonso then they have some serious screws loose.

The FIA can hardly punish Michael for Massa crashing into Alonso. What’s the worst that can happen? Massa is DQ’d from the championship and Ferrari is fined a few million?

Big deal.

Ferrari would still get 2nd in the constructors championship, and Michael would get his title.

I suppose the worst bit will be hearing people screaming about Michael getting another title that “he didn’t deserve.”

 

[Kylehnat]

Yes. If Ferrari don’t send Massa into the side of Alonso then they have some serious screws loose.

Formula One isn't NASCAR. Do you really want to see a title decided like that? Hell, let's just turn racing into wrestling, and choreograph all the races.

I suppose the worst bit will be hearing people screaming about Michael getting another title that “he didn’t deserve.”

Winning by sabotaging one's adversary is, by definition, undeserved.

 

[SagarisGTB]

Yes. If Ferrari don’t send Massa into the side of Alonso then they have some serious screws loose.

The FIA can hardly punish Michael for Massa crashing into Alonso. What’s the worst that can happen? Massa is DQ’d from the championship and Ferrari is fined a few million?

Big deal.

Ferrari would still get 2nd in the constructors championship, and Michael would get his title.

I suppose the worst bit will be hearing people screaming about Michael getting another title that “he didn’t deserve.”

Im going to assume you are joking. Pulling a stunt like that would not only screw MS and Ferrari's repution into being hated beyond belief, lose alot more money than they could ever gain, but could possibly get them into legal courts...

Its also possible that the entire Farrari team could get DQd, or even kicked out of F1 altogether. The situation would be many times worse than Jerez 1997.

 

[Blake]

Formula One isn't NASCAR. Do you really want to see a title decided like that? Hell, let's just turn racing into wrestling, and choreograph all the races.

Formula One isn’t NASCAR. I’m glad that you’re clever enough to see the distinction.

I don’t particularly want to see it decided like that. I don’t think it will be decided like that, but it wouldn’t exactly suprise me. If Ferrari do not do that, then there is almost no chance of Michael winning – it just depends how badly they want it.

Choreograph the races? What does that have to do with anything? I’m not sure where you’re going with that…

Winning by sabotaging one's adversary is, by definition, undeserved.

And yet no-one bitches about Senna. Ever.

Im going to assume you are joking. Pulling a stunt like that would not only screw MS and Ferrari's repution into being hated beyond belief, lose alot more money than they could ever gain, but could possibly get them into legal courts...

Yes, their reputation would go down the toilet, but that hasn’t stopped them before (not even this year&#8230.

Money? I’m sorry. They spend well over 400 million dollars a year. Money isn’t really a big deal. Unless you’re talking about sponsorship. Again, it didn’t hurt them in the past.

I also don’t see how it could move into the legal courts. Remember the last time someone tried to use the legal system to influence F1? Stoddart in Melbourne (2005), in case you don’t.

Its also possible that the entire Farrari team could get DQd, or even kicked out of F1 altogether. The situation would be many times worse than Jerez 1997.

Ferrari will never be kicked out of F1. That would do more damage to F1 than a title ever could.

Again, I’m not saying I want it to happen. But it’s more than possible.

For Alonso, the best strategy would be to sit behind the Ferrari’s in the race and just grab a cheap couple of points by finishing 6th or 7th. Wouldn’t be spectacular, but it would be smart.

 

[amp88]

I'm just watching the qualifying session (missed it because I was out on Friday night and not up to watching anything on Saturday (that's what doing shots of Drambuie out of a sherry glass will do to you )) and Massa's hotlap in the first session was mighty impressive. So smooth and carrying to much corner speed.

edit: The onboard cameras look absolutely fantastic. Anyone who collects the races from this season should go back and compare the onboards from this race to one of the earlier digital onboard races (like Germany). The improvement in image quality is astounding.

 

[Sureboss]

Yeah shame about that engine kamikaze but yet, Schumi was different in the post race interview, I can't put my finger on it but he seemed more... Calm lets say as if having a "Yep it happened, what can I do?" attitude.

That attitude will not win him the title in Brazil.

Alonso done well today, was in the right position to take advantage of MS's misfortune and it has probably handed him the championship. My drive of the day goes to Fisi though, 3rd place after his best friend passed away was a great achievement, I'm suprised he even raced to be honest.

Final thought: What the hell happened to Albers?!

Driveshaft broke! Very rare to happen. The consequent debris of the shattered Drive shaft smashed the suspension.

Odd, eh?

 

[Lee]

Driveshaft broke! Very rare to happen. The consequent debris of the shattered Drive shaft smashed the suspension.

Odd, eh?

Ah right, I thought the car just exploded for no apparent reason.

 

[MagpieRacer]

No it wasn’t. It was just wet. The team made a stupid mistake. A team like Renault should not be making mistakes like that.


That was the engines first race.

Ok so it was an exceptionally different race, but how many times do we see Alonso and MS go out in the same race and button win with a BMW and a stand in driver on the podium..

As for the engine how come he didnt get an engine penalty then..as clearly the engine would have needed to be changed and yet he had no 10 place penalty because of it...

 

[DQuaN]

If it blows during a race, you don't get an engine penalty.

 

[MagpieRacer]

If it blows during a race, you don't get an engine penalty.

o.....

 

[Ikas90]

I predict that Alonso will win the Japanese Grand Prix, and Schumacher will blow his engine.

Other than that, I believe Schumi's chances of winning the championship are quite high, first of all, Alonso has a high chance of retiring from the final race, secondly, Schumacher has a high chance of winning the race.

 

[DQuaN]

I predict that Alonso will win the Japanese Grand Prix, and Schumacher will blow his engine.

It hasn't blown in 5 years, and you expect it to blow twice in 2 weeks?

Alonso has a high chance of retiring from the final race....

Why is there a high chance of him retiring? He has been consistent all season, and the Renault engine (of which Alonso will have a fresh one) has only given out twice this year.


You completely contradicted yourself there. First you said you think Alonso will win and Shumi retire, then you said Shumi will win, and Alonso will retire. Which is it?


*edit*
I just realised you were posting predictions for the Japanese GP. That was yesterday, have you not read this thread? Shumi did blow his engine and Alonso did win.

 

[Roo]

I suspect he was using humour. Of course, it's hard to tell in Arial 10

Even if Massa did take out Alonso, I'm sure Renault would have no trouble in letting Fisi slide into Michael at some stage. Even so, I'm fairly sure Schumacher wants to go out on a high, championship or no, without any controversy. A 92nd win will do just fine.

 

[Sureboss]

If it blows during a race, you don't get an engine penalty.

I don't like the engine penalties anyway, How can you penalise someone for something they have no control over? (To an extent anyway)

 

[SagarisGTB]

Money? I’m sorry. They spend well over 400 million dollars a year. Money isn’t really a big deal. Unless you’re talking about sponsorship. Again, it didn’t hurt them in the past.

Fan support and sponsorship. It would only be a temporary ristrictment of funds, but would hurt them more than taking second. Plus, Massa taking out alonso would nearly destroy their constructors chances unless Fisi retires. The constructors is where the money is.

Ferrari will never be kicked out of F1. That would do more damage to F1 than a title ever could.

I may have gone to far. They would not be kicked out, but possibly suspended for a few races in 07 (like BAR did last year). Your worst case senario doesnt take into account that Ferrari could be DQd from both championships, a very possible senario. That would be a hell of a risk. I dont know if you realize that this senario would be pushing farther than Ferrari ever has (in modern F1) and is would be much worst than Jerez when it was Schumacher doing it himself in his own car. Getting a 3rd party involved is much more clear and punishable. I dont believe Ferrari have ever used a #2 to win a drivers championship like this.

Even if Massa did take out Alonso, I'm sure Renault would have no trouble in letting Fisi slide into Michael at some stage. Even so, I'm fairly sure Schumacher wants to go out on a high, championship or no, without any controversy. A 92nd win will do just fine.

F1 want to avoid this senario at all costs.

But you are right, a 92nd (Prost + Senna's wins put together) win would be good enough for Michael (I hope).

 

[darkfinal]

I don't like the engine penalties anyway, How can you penalise someone for something they have no control over? (To an extent anyway)

They DO have control over that... they just have to design a reliable motor and, if they can't, just run it at low revolutions.

Remember the 2-races motor rule. If there wasn't any engine penalty, everyone would over-rev their motors before the qualifying session and make them explode, and voilà, they'd have a fresh new motor each time they wanted without any kind of penalty. That would make that rule completely senseless.

 

[Blake]

Fan support and sponsorship. It would only be a temporary ristrictment of funds, but would hurt them more than taking second. Plus, Massa taking out alonso would nearly destroy their constructors chances unless Fisi retires. The constructors is where the money is.

I don’t think they have much chance of winning the constructors anyway. Michael has, by himself, enough points to secure second in the constructors so they’d not really lose anything if Massa is disqualified from the championship.

I may have gone to far. They would not be kicked out, but possibly suspended for a few races in 07 (like BAR did last year). Your worst case senario doesnt take into account that Ferrari could be DQd from both championships, a very possible senario. That would be a hell of a risk. I dont know if you realize that this senario would be pushing farther than Ferrari ever has (in modern F1) and is would be much worst than Jerez when it was Schumacher doing it himself in his own car. Getting a 3rd party involved is much more clear and punishable. I dont believe Ferrari have ever used a #2 to win a drivers championship like this.

I dunno. Can Ferrari be punished for something the driver did? How can you prove that Ferrari asked Massa to drive into Alonso? How can you even prove Massa did it on purpose?

What if Massa does drive into Alonso without any instruction from the team? Would it be fair for the entire Ferrari team to be punished?

I think getting a third party involved is more ambiguous. Massa only recently had an accident while passing David Coulthard. That wasn’t on purpose. It is just that easy to have an accident.

Think about all the times Sato has had stupid stupid accidents. Punished? Nup. A bit of a double standard. Whether or not a championship is on the line, taking someone out by attempting stupid passes should be handled the same way.

Recently you could say the attitude towards that has been very lenient.

 

[Kylehnat]

I honestly don't think that anyone at Ferrari will stoop to such a low level of sportsmanship. They like shenanigans, but this is too far, even for them.

 

[Sureboss]

They DO have control over that... they just have to design a reliable motor and, if they can't, just run it at low revolutions.

Remember the 2-races motor rule. If there wasn't any engine penalty, everyone would over-rev their motors before the qualifying session and make them explode, and voilà, they'd have a fresh new motor each time they wanted without any kind of penalty. That would make that rule completely senseless.

I did say to an extent. on the paragraph, but if it's the same for everyone?

F1 fans want the best racing, surely that's teams being able to make the cars as fast as possible and not in the second race being wary of a tired engine?

It's another FIA rule that needs looking into and changing too.

 

[Blake]

Well the engine freeze next season helps with reliability. Plus the new Friday Practice rules are awesome!

 

[MagpieRacer]

What are the new Friday rules?

 

[livemusic]

I honestly don't think that anyone at Ferrari will stoop to such a low level of sportsmanship. They like shenanigans, but this is too far, even for them.

I could see MS trying to take Alonso out himself but I don't think he's that desperate for the Championship. If he wins it, great, if he doesn't that's okay too.

 

[daan]

I could see MS trying to take Alonso out himself but I don't think he's that desperate for the Championship.

He can't risk it. He needs to win.

I don't think anyone will take anyone else out. Well, Sato might take someone else out, but we expect that...

Actually, Schummi could get Sato to take Alonso out and no-one will suspect anything. It'll just look like normal Sato behaviour!

 

[livemusic]

He can't risk it. He needs to win.

I don't think anyone will take anyone else out. Well, Sato might take someone else out, but we expect that...

Actually, Schummi could get Sato to take Alonso out and no-one will suspect anything. It'll just look like normal Sato behaviour!

He could blackmail Sato with one of his trophies...

 

[Sureboss]

Well the engine freeze next season helps with reliability. Plus the new Friday Practice rules are awesome!

How will it help reliability if after 3 races you find a problem with the engine that cannot be fixed under the rules?