2009 British Grand Prix

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And naturally they focused on the Italian drivers and cars.....;)
 
LOL daan, I don't think it's a translation problem, my guess is that it's a mistake. I say this because I know that for many continental europeans, "England" and "English" are commonly used when meaning "Great Britain" or "British". In fact, I remember very clearly that I learned the importance of the distinction in my first english (language) classes.

But that is "intelectual" learning. I only really understood how that distinction is important when I rode my bike all the way up to Scotland with my wife (1993) and attended the military tattoo in Edinburgh :D

Sorry for the off -topic now :dopey:
 
That got me wondering about how many times a country's drivers have won the home GP compared to others, here's how the top 5 look so far:
British wins at the British GP: 21
Brazilian wins at the Brazilian GP: 9
French wins at the French GP: 8
German wins at the German GP: 5
Italian wins at the Italian GP: 4

Thats only counting WC races and avoiding the American ones (as I can't decide which count as "home GP's" seeing as they had multiple), and countries who have had very few successful drivers (like Spain or places like Bahrain or Monaco). Oh, and I counted the double win in 1957 British GP as a single win.
Most of the French wins were from Prost, German wins for Schumacher(s). Whereas the Brazilian wins are split equally between Massa, Senna, Piquet and Fittipaldi.

The large amount of British wins are mostly due to Mansell and Clark (9 between them) but still a large variety there as with most F1 stats it seems.

So, with that in mind, I think Button has pretty good odds.
 
Forecast for the British GP weekend at Silverstone:
Friday: Intervals of clouds and sunshine. Winds from the WNW at 15 mph. High: 67°F
Saturday: Periods of clouds and sunshine with a couple of showers. Winds from the NW at 9 mph. High: 65°F
Sunday: A blend of sun and clouds. Winds from the WNW at 7 mph. High: 71°F​
Source: AccuWeather.com
 
Knowing Britiain it will probably be perfectly clear skies with plenty of heat on Saturday, then it'll crap it down for the whole of Sunday!
 
I walked over the circuit today. I did pretty well for not having a ticket, got basically to the paddock and around all the stands to see what was going on. As I was walking over the bridge I saw a Maserat Quattroporte behind me, there were cars infront so it stopped next to me, I glanced through the window sitting there with his aviators and team gear was Felipe Massa.


Made my day.
 
I actually expect sunshine, rain, hail and snow. And a hurricane, followed by a tsunami. All in the same minute.
Good ol' British weather!
 
Alex.
I walked over the circuit today. I did pretty well for not having a ticket, got basically to the paddock and around all the stands to see what was going on. As I was walking over the bridge I saw a Maserat Quattroporte behind me, there were cars infront so it stopped next to me, I glanced through the window sitting there with his aviators and team gear was Felipe Massa.


Made my day.
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If I was there and I saw Vettel I probably would have crapped myself! (or worse) :D
 
Trust me dude I wanted to find him as much as you did :lol:
 
SaberFire
I actually expect sunshine, rain, hail and snow. And a hurricane, followed by a tsunami. All in the same minute.
Good ol' British weather!
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Well, they got the weather completely wrong here! We were told to expect cloud and light rain today but right this minute I have a thunderstorm over my head and high winds!
Seeing as its predicted Sunny for Sunday, I think we can expect a very wet race! :lol:
 
Do you race?
I get that the FIA wants to improve safety and that they have since 1994, but Silverstone is just ridiculous. These are the best drivers in the world that we're talking about; shouldn't they be tested on the best and most challening circuits in the world?
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The point is that as soon as something goes wrong, they don't necessarily die. At 300km/h, that's quite a high risk if the circuit isn't safe.. The layout can be as challenging as they want, as long as the safety isn't compromised: Because it doesn't have to be a driver mistake to kill a driver. Senna didn't make a mistake when he died. Alboreto didn't make a mistake when he was killed - he was doing straight-line testing when a tyre burst. Depailler wasn't killed because of his own mistake.

The concept of passive safety is that when the **** hits the fan, it doesn't hit the driver.

waggles
Most definitely.

However, I believe the McLarens and Ferraris are a good chance this weekend-KERS would work a dream here.
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KERS is actually not worth much, on account of the high speeds and lack of heavy braking. McLaren are running Hamilton's car without it on Friday to see the differences.


Also, technical update: Red Bull, gives you (complicated) wings and (ugly) noses:

fripic1.jpg
 
jsut to point out that higher speed doesn't not necessarily equal more of a challenge.
 
Wow, Sutil is super-quick. He's half a second off the Usual Suspect himself, JB.
 
Metar
Also, technical update: Red Bull, gives you (complicated) wings and (ugly) noses:

fripic1.jpg
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Yep, but so far they seem to work, Vettel and Webber got P1 and P2 in the first free practise! Brawns P3 (Button) and P4 (Barrichello)
 
So, Red Bull adopt a Duck-nose, and Brawn adopt RBR's Cobra:

d09gbr206.jpg
 
Hmmm, maybe it's just the angle, but it kind of looks like the part has a vertical edge.
 
They do-they look glued on.

Hope the glue is strong enough. We don't want another Ayrton Senna with the part flying through helmets, especially at a circuit like Silverstone.

Metar
KERS is actually not worth much, on account of the high speeds and lack of heavy braking. McLaren are running Hamilton's car without it on Friday to see the differences.
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Final corner? A nice boost to the finish line would be lovely.
 
They're probably not narrow enough or sharp enough to pierce the Helmet, could knock him out though, depending on their weight.
 
Wow, P3 for Sutil!

The Brawns are nowhere after being third and fourth in first practice, but I suspect they're up to their usual tricks of working out the race setup.
 
And Kubica blew another engine. It's the 3rd or 4th this season, I'm not sure.
 
Fifth, I think. I have a very clear memory of Metar mentioning his fourth packed it in on he run up Beau Rivage during Monaco practice; I asked because I've only got Live Timing for access to practice and qualifying and it didn't say where the Pole parked it.
 
Surely has to be a problem with kubicas driving style as heidfeld hasn't blown any that I recall. And the Bgp tacked on partsshow how F1 is the home of copypasta
 
P3 for Sutil stays!


Vettel 1st again!!!
 
waggles
They do-they look glued on.

Hope the glue is strong enough. We don't want another Ayrton Senna with the part flying through helmets, especially at a circuit like Silverstone.
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It's solidly attached - don't worry about that. It's removable with tools, and this is because, like on the Red Bull, it houses the suspension uprights even higher than the nose allowed. To adjust the suspension, they need access to it.

waggles
Final corner? A nice boost to the finish line would be lovely.
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But not worth the problematic brake-balance, nor the unfavourable centre of gravity, that KERS carries with it.

PeterJB
They're probably not narrow enough or sharp enough to pierce the Helmet, could knock him out though, depending on their weight.
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Pretty much nothing can pierce today's helmets - short of bullets - and these pieces are properly secured.

Do you race?
Wow, P3 for Sutil!

The Brawns are nowhere after being third and fourth in first practice, but I suspect they're up to their usual tricks of working out the race setup.
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^ That. People, how many times have we seen Rosberg top the sheets? FP1 means nada. FP2, slightly more nada.

Do you race?
Fifth, I think. I have a very clear memory of Metar mentioning his fourth packed it in on he run up Beau Rivage during Monaco practice; I asked because I've only got Live Timing for access to practice and qualifying and it didn't say where the Pole parked it.
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Indeed he blew one up at Monaco.. But today's engine might be one of his previously-raced mills. I'll have to check.
 
The BBC Commentators in first practice said that only Mark Webber had a new engine today.
 
Metar
^ That. People, how many times have we seen Rosberg top the sheets? FP1 means nada. FP2, slightly more nada.
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Maybe, bu it's not like the teams are sandbagging. P3 is still a big thing for the Force Indias, even if they're doing one-lap pace and everyone else is concentrating on the race.

I'm just wondering what the Jensationalism - the new Lewisteria - is going to be like if Red Bull out-class the Brawns.
 
They'll be a riot is what they'll be!!
 
Metar
So, Red Bull adopt a Duck-nose, and Brawn adopt RBR's Cobra:

d09gbr206.jpg
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RE: BrawnGP's Cobra nose - all the better to bite the rest of the fields collective bums(rear ends) while standing on the top two steps of the podium with?;)
 
P3 is currently on, and something weird is going on. There's twenty-five minutes left in the session, but only six drivers have put in anything more than an installation lap. And most of them are FOTA drivers, so this isn't some messge beng sent to the FIA ...
 
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