F1 Thoughts Post Sepang...

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so after yota spent eleventy billion dollars or whatever they finally got a podium by finishing P2 at sepang...you think this is indicative of the future or just a one off?...the underrated heidfeld came in P3 and renault won yet again...ferrari have been doing poorly these first couple races but do you think they will bounce back or what?...i recall 2003 when mclaren came storming out of the gate and then ferrari started reeling them in, that was a interesting season...i for one hope this season will finally make ferrari really work for those podiums...i like ferrari and all but their dominance has been quite boring the last few years (except 2003 of course)...do you think renault will give them a run for their money?...what about mcmerc, williams, or bar?...bar did well last year but they havent been as strong so far this year and their tactics at melbourne were unsporting...basically wondering what everyones thoughts were about the issues i pointed out and anything else someone would like to point out in regards to F1 at this point in the season (post sepang)
 
Quick summery:
  • Ferrari is down but will bounce back
  • BMW is improving with every race, a win may come about in the next 3-4 races
  • Toyota's HUGE budget is finally paying off, I wouldn't be suprised to see them on the poium alot more often, maybe on the top step
  • BAR are pitiful, I hope they struggle this season, and I hope to hear more of Jenson bad mouthing the team.
  • McLaren, haven't shown the pace they are capable of yet, hopefully they can get some podiums.
  • Renault are VERY strong and look to be Ferrari's main competitior this season.

Blake
 
I really, really, REALLY hope that someone is going to steal Ferrari's crown this year. As up now, the Red Guys aren't really "up there" with Renault, Toyota (?), McLaren or even Williams.
I put a questionmark behind Toyota, because I think they are doing what BAR did last year. When some teams of the Big Four (Ferrari, Renault, Williams, McLaren) are not delivering as much as they should, a team like Toyota (wich has definately found some extra speed) can fill up the gap. I believe it's only a matter of time before McLaren or Ferrari will steal back their rightful place. It would be fun to see Trulli on the podium more often (I'm not a big fan of Ralf), but I'm afraid that it won't last long. As for BAR, that's over. The spark that was there last year is gone. If there is only one podium this year, they can be very happy.
McLaren will find speed (they have Kimi and JPM for God's sake), Ferrari too and Williams... Well, I don't know. It has been quite some years since they haven't said -before the start of the season- tat "they're not ready". That's a disgrace for a team as big as Williams! I hope they can find some pace, but if Ferrari and McLaren go quicker I see little hope.
And Renault? Well, Renault... I hope they can keep up the good work. It would be fantastic if Schumacher could be beaten before he retires!

We'll see. I'm really looking forward to the next races.
 
Toyota has Mike, he's the main force behind their form IMO, the drivers DO help but it's mostly the fault of Mike, so props to him/

Blake
 
Blake
Quick summery:
  • Ferrari is down but will bounce back
  • BMW is improving with every race, a win may come about in the next 3-4 races
  • Toyota's HUGE budget is finally paying off, I wouldn't be suprised to see them on the poium alot more often, maybe on the top step
  • BAR are pitiful, I hope they struggle this season, and I hope to hear more of Jenson bad mouthing the team.
  • McLaren, haven't shown the pace they are capable of yet, hopefully they can get some podiums.
  • Renault are VERY strong and look to be Ferrari's main competitior this season.

Blake
Click to expand...

agreed!...bar have been pissing me off more and more lately and im glad their "strategy" backfired on them...when will honda learn? an engine supplier should supply engines not try to take over the team...and im not a button fan at all...has anyone read his book?? worthless! makes button sound like an uneducated fool (i thought i was reading the diary of a 12 year old)...and letting go of DR was ridiculous...the only thing i like about bar is taku...i must say im worried about the F2005...to be blunt i really hope that it sucks or is at least not nearly as dominant as before...i would like to see renault, toyota, mclaren, williams and maybe even red bull on the podiums this year...i like ferrari but their dominance was just boring me to death...hopefully the crappy bridgestones will hamper the F2005 enough to make the races interesting again...schumi says he wants 10 championships and 100 wins before he retires, i think life just got a lot harder for him :)
 
Blake
Toyota has Mike, he's the main force behind their form IMO, the drivers DO help but it's mostly the fault of Mike, so props to him/

Blake
Click to expand...


You are totally right. Gascoine is a force to be reckoned with. But will it have the same impact on Toyota as let's say, Adrian Newey's coming to McLaren in '97?
 
Well I certainly hope so, would be great to see some Toyota champions in a few years :D

Blake
 
they better do well...the boardroom in japan needs to see results or they may just pack it up...i believe a toyota exec demanded podiums this year and luckily they already have one...
 
I heard that too. I don't think it's very healthy for Formula 1 if carmanufacturers keep bailing out if the results don't live up to the expectations. I also heard the same thing from Renault and BMW.

God, that would suck...
 
ya renaults new ceo wants to concentrate on wrc instead of F1 and there has been talk of them pulling out but the way things are going so far that would be difficult for him to justify...bmw seem to hate the 2.4 v8 rule that may be implemented but that may just be a cover for them to get out of F1...buut i really doubt bmw will leave F1 as long as mercedes is there...and your post sums up the anti-GPWC crowd pretty succintly...
 
Haha, yes it does (GPWC: not good at all)
I agree with you that BMW will not pull back immediatly, but if the boss doesn't see Mark or Nick on the top spot enough... I'm afraid the same goes for Mercedes, though.

But enough depressing thoughts: is Ferrari going to be back on top with the F2005, or are they really in a slump? I'd like to see Scheuy's hiney kicked for once...
 
haha we are agreed on that point...im pretty sure the F2005 will close the performance gap but im hoping that the inferior bridgestones will negate any performance advantage ferrari could enjoy...basically i would like to see a more even playing field and some good honest racing...
 
Yep, that would be great. I also hope that McLaren can perform the way they should in the next races. They belong to the top. Especially with JPM and Kimi...
 
Bahrain should be interesting. The F2005 will show Ferrari's true pace, and I'm expecting a good shootout between Schumacher and Alonso. Toyota is finally showing some very good pace; they should be championship contenders in a year or two. As for BAR, they are pretty much dead. I'm probably going to drop Button from my Fantasy F1 team if they don't produce at Bahrain. As for his replacement, it's almost certainly going to be one of the Williams drivers. Heidfeld and Webber are both showing great speed, and a podium doesn't look too far off for both drivers. All in all, it's been a great season so far.
 
No GPWC bashing! FIA is screwing over the long term security of the sport for a quick buck in the short term. Think about the future of the sport, not the money in your retirement fund!

Blake
 
McLaren has the pace. They've just encountered a few unfortunate incidents the past 2 GPs that have affected their overall finishing position.
If they can put together a clean race, they're guaranteed to be on podium.
 
The next race is this weekend.

The biggest thing I have noticed so far is how good Renault's car is. They have finally gotten more horsepower in the engine to match the bigger players in the engine category. The balance of the car has just been phenomenal so far this season and because of that the Renault's tires have held up in both races pretty well.

McLaren has yet to show their true pace, as the bad luck from last year has seemingly carried over from last year. If those small problems stop happening, I think McLaren will also be pretty fast.

Both Toyota and Red Bull Racing seem to be miles ahead of last year in terms of their pace compared to the rest of the field. Though Toyota has been especially good so far. Red Bull has also had their thing going for them, just not to the extent of Toyota.

Ferrari's lack of pace so far. They have been fairly slow at times, though at other times, they have had some speed. I expect the F2005 to have much better pace than last years car.

Williams hasn't really shown me much this year. I mean they have been rather lackluster, though that is not to say the car hasn't been good because it has shown it can be fairly quick. I kinda expect them to quicken a little bit.

BAR has been absolutely pitiful so far and that is all there really needs to be said about them.

Sauber has been somewhat disappointing to me, as I expected them to be doing a little better than they are.

And finally Jordan and Minardi. Can't say a whole lot about them other than its good to have them on the grid.
 
Blake
No GPWC bashing! FIA is screwing over the long term security of the sport for a quick buck in the short term. Think about the future of the sport, not the money in your retirement fund!

Blake
Click to expand...


I understand what you say and I agree about the "FIA screwing them over" part. But the problem is: I DO think about the future of the sport, but I don't think it's a good idea to have the carmanufacturers rule the game. I'm not saying that the current way is the way to go, but I have even more doubts about the sport being ruled by companies that have their own interests. But then again... That's what happening right now...
I think Bernie should step down and there must be a fresh wind trough the whole paddock that can make things clean again. But how? I don't really know. Private teams like Lord Hesketh's? It's sad to say but in 2005, that's unthinkable. Look at Eddie Jordan. Everything is being taken over by "big money-companies", but I'm afraid that's the trend in modern day sports...

But at sunday's, between 14:00 and 16:00 (for us Europeans, at least) all those concerns are over. I just hope it stays that way.
 
The main reason Ferrari are struggling is 'cos Bridgestone have been giving them poor tyres, compared to Michelin at least. That's not the only reason, but it's the main one. Expect them to bounce back very, very soon, especially with their new car.
 
I should have also posted my thoughts on the season so far regarding tires.

Michelin so far have had the best tire by a huge margin so far. But then again, it probably help when they are getting useful data from multiple teams too.

It seems Bridgestone is struggling to keep up with Michelin at the moment. But being that they have only one team to give good data, it should not be that big of a surprise.

But this also brings up a question. Which of the two tire manufacturers will have the better intermediate/rain tire this year? Though this question should only really be asked if there is rain in another race. The qualifying for Australia really wasn't enough to tell which of the two is better. But I probably shouldn't say that, as I did not really see the qualifying for Australia either.
 
In the past, rainy conditions have been owned by Bridgestone. When the track is greasy, damp or very warm however, Michelin seem to shine - something along those lines. We haven't seen a proper wet race for a long time, though.
 
Well that is what I mean. Since we haven't seen a proper wet race in a while, we don't know how much Michelin has improved in that category. They may have finally caught up to Bridgestone; though for some reason, I still think Bridgestone will be faster in wet conditions.
 
From what I saw in Australia the Bridgestones seemed pretty pitiful in the wet, Jordan and Minardis were spinning all over the place, but I'm not sure whether to attribute that to the drivers, the chassis, or the tires or a mix. But Bridgestone didn't seem to shine as they normally do in the rain, I can't remember if Ferrari were at the top of the sheets during the rainy part of Saturday Qualifying or not, I'll have a look over some tapes tomorrow and see who did what in the rain.

Blake
 
McLaren = Unlucky.
Toyota= Improving
Renault=Good
Ferrari= Teasing
Bar=Back to their old selfs
RBR= The dark horse.
Sauber= Ok
Minaridi=Hopeless

Does ferrari still have the biggest budget in F1 or has toyota taken over. Toyota will win the constructers title one day.
 
what about red bull, they have done well 👍,

ferrari will bounce back though you watch
 
I agree with both of those. Red Bull has been a definite surprise and Ferrari will show some pace.
 
This weekend will be the big test for Ferrari though, it will be interesting to see if this year won't be a close as we had hoped....

Blake
 

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