2007 Australian GP

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j-man8
if the soft tires only last about 3 laps and you have to run them once in the race, won't this make for some very interesting pit strategies? how do you guys think it'll work?
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daan
The soft tyres will last way longer than 3 laps. Where did you get that info from?
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Just to bring this back. Massa did his first stint on the soft tyres and didn't pit until lap 29, exactly half distance.
 
Hamilton had an awesome race, although he IS in a McLaren...

He ran off course a few times on that one turn.
 
Here are all the tire strategies:
http://www.formula1.com/race/news/5811/770.html

daan
Just to bring this back. Massa did his first stint on the soft tyres and didn't pit until lap 29, exactly half distance.
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...and ended up stuck behind the Honda's for the majority of his first stint.
Regardless of fuel load at that point in the race, I don't think that Massa's Ferrari should ever have got caught up behind the swamp-things for so long.

I realize it's more or less become the norm at Ferrari (and most top teams for that matter) to do a long first stint and just outlast the rest of the mid-field cars on pit strategy to gain a few places when they're starting from the back. I think that may have been a mistake for them to do so on the soft compound though. Yes, the Ferrari's look like they're pretty easy on their tires, and proved that the soft tires can physically survive a long stint if necessary - but I think Massa's pace definitely suffered by it towards in the latter stages of his first stint.

This is little more than conjecture, but I think Massa might have finished a spot or two higher up in the order had he done two long-ish stints on the medium tire and then come in with 7 or so laps remaining for a quick splash and to take on the soft compound.

Anyways... I guess 22nd to 6th isn't that bad of a drive. :sly:
 
Hamilton was brilliant, that move on Kubica and Alonso into the first turn of the first lap will be stuck in my mind for the next few weeks! He did show a small number of Rookie mistakes but nothing compared to Kovalinen, lucky to still finish in the top 10.

Honda are in alot of trouble already and I can see Nick Fry beating Albers to the first high profile sacking of the season, Button was almost beaten by Davidson who was 40 odd seconds back after 4 laps or something rediculous like that, Barrichello soldiered on but it was far from inspiring.

Davidson infact impressed me even though it was more a frustrating race for all his fans (I included), he kept his head down and just got on with it when everything went down the pooper.

Kimi flew though, untouchable although at times I was waiting for him to drop it into a corner and gift Hamilton the lead. :lol: Massa needs to claw back the points difference immediately if he wants a say in how the championship pans out. Alonso was lucky Sato was around otherwise he may well have finished behind Hamilton.

Finally, props to DC for admitting his bad in that horrible crash that nearly gave Wurz one hell of a headache, Wurz was however braking a tad early into some of the corners..

Hamilton FTW at Sepang? :p
 
This first race was awesome đź‘Ť

Kimi was clearly unbeatable today but the BMW's and Hamilton really impressed me today. First Hamilton with that stunning move around and the BMW and Heidfeld made an excellent start and he even could keep on somewhat with Kimi for a while đź‘Ť

Massa did great too, he started from the back but he had an incredibly fast pace throughout the race, eho knows where he might have ended if he qualified in the top 8...

Lousy race by Renault, Fisi couldn't do better I guess since Mclaren and Ferrari were superior out of the whole field but Heikki made some typical rookie mistakes yet his pace wasn't that slow...

,Crappy race for RB, Webber did a nice job actually untill he was so stupid to spin near the pit entry, Coulthard was far too optimistic on Wurz there, he's the most experienced driver of the whole field and yet he pulls of something so stupid...

Williams did not had a bad race today, the Toyota engine proved realible and they'll probably be very happy to have scored some points since their quali positions weren't that great...

Honda, where? Barrichello wasn't that fast and Button drove like crap, simple as that.

Super Aguri did a noce job today, 12th for Sato is something nice to start the season with đź‘Ť

Both Toro Rosso's retired...

Toyota did really great today, 8th and 9thor was it 8th and 10th? Anyway, speaking of Toyota, anyone noticed the weird yet quite cool looking front wing?

l_02.jpg
 
Casio
as long as the Ferrari's aren't as almighty as they are seeming.
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Which they seem to be. Looking at the top-laptimes, Kimi's best lap (1'25.2xx) was a whole second quicker than Alonso's (1'26.3xx), and Hamilton was just a bit slower than Alonso, though Massa's was another second slower. Sounds like a great season coming up... The last laps should've been interesting, too - Alonso turned on the boost, and was 1.3 seconds quicker than Kimi on the last laps - and probably a bit earlier, too.
I wish I had seen the race. I spend my time building virtual A-bombs instead...
 
Bee
Button was almost beaten by Davidson who was 40 odd seconds back after 4 laps or something rediculous like that, Barrichello soldiered on but it was far from inspiring.
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Button, and Honda, were pretty dire but bear in mind he had a stop go too.
 
Yes but he only lost 2 places because of it, his race was screwed up anyway by then...
 
ExigeExcel
If you get commentary from Japan, they'll probably focus on Sato, if you got it from America, it'll probably focus on Speed. If that didn't happen, there would just be one commentary team per language.

I think it's unfair to call Button a mediocre driver. He showed in Hungary his talent can match the best at times, however, he's never had the machinery. Now, I'm by no means saying he'd be a god with the right car, but I certainly think he'd be capable of a win or two a season.


Anyway, I shouldn't really be in this thread. I haven't even seen the race yet!
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I only watch Speed so it's american commentary and they don't focus on Scott Speed. They focus on whoever is on the screen at the respective time. :)
 
MustangSVT
I only watch Speed so it's american commentary and they don't focus on Scott Speed. They focus on whoever is on the screen at the respective time. :)
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I suppose there's only so much you can say when the "Nation's finest" is being lapped.


:sly:



;)
 
My 2 cents...average race, nothing exciting really. Think it was a done deal bar a retirement by Raikkonen on the result of who won it, typical that Sato ruins another race in that he probably cost Hamilton 2nd place. But happy none the less. Hoping Malaysia will be more exciting and McLaren will do a little more damage to Ferrari.
 
SPEED definitely pays more attention to Scott Speed than any other network, but it's far from jingoism.
 
MustangSVT
I only watch Speed so it's american commentary and they don't focus on Scott Speed. They focus on whoever is on the screen at the respective time. :)
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bah. Even so, Scott Speed gets way more attention from Speed TV than he has earned.

During the Speed TV grid-walk he does seem to get a disproportionate amount of camera time - and honestly, who cares what sort of pit and tire strategy the 19th qualifier is going to run, or how he thinks his pace compares to the Spykers'.... or whatever.

Last year Liuzzi outscored Speed (1 to 0) and typically had a higher finishing position. I'd say if anyone at STR earned a bit of camera time last year it was him, but apparently the producers of Speed TV see it differently.
 
I'm not saying they shouldn't focus on Hamilton at all, but they talked more about Hamilton leaving the track on turn 3 and how his car was airborne than they did about DC nearly decapitating Wurz. That's gonna get annoying pretty soon.
 
Ultrashot
Yes but he only lost 2 places because of it, his race was screwed up anyway by then...
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I'm going to sound like a major fanboy here, but he reckons the problem is in the end aero. Honda royally botched that first stop when he asked for a new front wing, but Button said there was no change in handling once he got it, so he figures the problem's in the rear, and with a test before Malaysia, maybe they can sort things out. True, maybe he's just being optimistic, but in the lead-up to yesterday's race he was pretty honest about the fact that they're behind. Maybe he's being honest again ...
 
I reckon Button still isn't driving hard enough on the tyres on an out lap to get them up to temp quick enough, he's too darn smooth! :lol:
 
Not seen the race yet but a good result for Kimi and the McLaren boys. The Malaysia GP is going to be on at a more appropriate hour.
 
<_Spike_>
My 2 cents...average race, nothing exciting really. Think it was a done deal bar a retirement by Raikkonen on the result of who won it, typical that Sato ruins another race in that he probably cost Hamilton 2nd place. But happy none the less. Hoping Malaysia will be more exciting and McLaren will do a little more damage to Ferrari.
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Pretty much...

It looks like it will be Raikonnen's year. It doesn't look like there will be as much competition as in 2005, maybe for 2nd and 3rd place. Ferrari have too much experience with Bridgestone.

Then again Albert Park isn't exactly Alonso's track.
 
But let us not forget that Renault pretty much ran the table for the first 9 races last year. The power balance can shift during a season. And even if Ferrari stays on top, there will be good competition between Raikkonen and Massa. It won't be a Michael Show, like in years past.
 
^ Which pretty much proves a point - Kimi ruled this race all along, and the fastest laptime by a second proves that, too.
 
The Bob Varsha was a little awkward when discussing Lewis Hamilton; it's like they wanted to announce that he was the first black driver in F1, but couldn't come right out and say it...Besides, Society shows a lot more progress in race relations (not motorsports) when color doesn't have to be noted. In any case, he did an awesome job of it, considering only 5 men have scored podiums on their F1 debut since 1966.

Anyhow, my 2 cents. It was good to see Kimi back on the top of the podium after last year's drought. And Alonso is pretty much picking up right where he left off.

It's great to see another off-season go away!

Digital-Nitrate
Still, it was a bit of a let down after just watching the incredibly exciting finish between Melo in the Risi Competizione Ferrari F430GT & Bergmeister in the FLM Porsche 997 GT3-RSR for the GT2 class victory at Sebring just before the start of the Australian GP.
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I normally don't watching long bouts of endurance racing, but the baby liked it, so I left it on. She wanted a diaper change with about 10 minutes to go, so I obliged, leaving just enogh time for that amazing finish. Unfortunately, after watching that, I just knew the F1 race would pale in comparison.
 
Only problem with that table, it says Massa started 16th...he did not >->

Hoping that the season isn't going to be a Raikkonen show (I am still a fan of Kimi, but McLaren before him for me) and that McLaren will be able to compete a little better before Ferrari get too far ahead...BMW Sauber certainly look like they're going to mix things up a little.
 
appie17
I read on a dutch website that Kimi got a call from Micheal Schumacher.
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Jean Todt handed a mobile phone to Kimi before he went on the podium. According to Kimi, it was Michael, but it was a bad connection and he couldn't really hear what he said.
 
daan
Jean Todt handed a mobile phone to Kimi before he went on the podium. According to Kimi, it was Michael, but it was a bad connection and he couldn't really hear what he said.
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Hahahaha well thats what you get for losing Vodafone's sponsorship, a crappy signal! :lol:
 

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