San Marino Gran Prix

[bLaXe]

What a race! So much drama... I loved it :D

Congratulations to Alonso - a fantastic drive and he did very well to hold off the Ferrari in the last few laps. A deserved win.

Kudos to Button for a podium finish. He was very unlucky when MS passed him, without that incident I would have expected a 2nd place from him. It certainly seems as if BAR are competitive again, 3rd/5th is an excellent result for them.

I dread to think how annoyed Raikkonen is. A great pitty, he seemed to be flying along up that point. It will interesting to see what the cause of his retirement (sp?) was.

I'm looking forward to Spain in 2 weeks..

Did anyone else enjoy today?

[Fat Jez]

I enjoyed the race apart from seeing Schumacher up on the podium again (albeit his first this year, admittedly). All in all though, it is shaping up to be a good season for a change. If Renault can keep moving forward with improvements to their car then we should be looking good for some entertainment. McLaren seem to have a reasonably quick car, just not a reliable one, unless Kimi is being more abusive toward it than the other drivers. Nice to see BAR getting both cars home in a points position for a change too - let's hope that the reliability niggles they were having have been solved.

Cheers,
Stephen

[A.O.D (QW97)]

Yep, immensley.
Especially when Mr.Dead retired yet again, I really can't stand that guy.
Somehow I just didn't think that Michael was gonna pass Alonso but what an absolute masterclass drive form the finest Formula one driver the world has ever seen. Watch out ! Michael's gonna bite you in the ***e on the way to his 6th historic championship win.
Having said that, I do wish jensen well for this season, i really would like to see him get a couple of wins now, he deserves it.
Looking forward to Spain where the Red Baron is going to unleash the full whack of the F2005 and show you why he's BACK, BACK, BACK !!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This unbiased and retrospective view of the San Marino was brought to you by A.O.D (QW97) and is not necessarily the views of kustom PC's or the forum members contained herein.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[bLaXe]

It will be intersting to see how Renault respond the pace of Ferrari. The R25 is a great car, but the F2005 certainly seemed to be the quicker of the two today. It was a great drive by Alonso to hold MS off (and I certainly don't like seeing him back on the podium).

I really hope Button has the car behind him to keep him competitive. BAR proved today that they have enough pace, but like Jez says, reliability hasn't been fantastic this season.

It certainly is looking like being a great season.

Any thoughts on the new qualifying system? I know Bernie wants to scrap the second session but like he said today before the race, this would need all the teams to agree (unlikely). I think the current 2 session system makes for a much more interesting grid, but we never get to see the second session as ITV never show it (part of why Bernie wants to scrap it). I'm still not sure about it..

[A.O.D (QW97)]

I think it sucks, as I've said before it was all part and parcel of the furious changes that were started 3 seasons ago to try and stop Michaels dominance.
If you really want a level playing field the give all teams the same budget and a blank hymn sheet, those with the best packabe will reign....
And least with the new tyre changes it's stopped Ron Dennis banging on about Ferrari running on effective 'slicks' too far into the race.. blah blah blah
"You can all have bald one's now ok Ron? " LOL.
Next he'll be telling us there's not enough red in his car....
Oh he's said that already....

[bLaXe]

If you really want a level playing field the give all teams the same budget and a blank hymn sheet, those with the best packabe will reign....
I know where you're coming from, but it's the variation that makes F1 interesting (to me at least). If you want racing where all the cars are almost the same then watch the 1 make championships, Forumla Renault and the like.

F1 is the is suppost to be the top of motorsport, which it wouldn't be if you started limiting budgets etc.

[A.O.D (QW97)]

F1 is the is suppost to be the top of motorsport, which it wouldn't be if you started limiting budgets etc.

I'm not saying 'limiting, I'm saying 'equal' whatever the amount...

[Narco]

just make the drivers race in another teams car each time.
micheal can get a go in the suaber. DC in the ferarri. alonso can swap for that RBR thing.
then next race all change again!!
musical cars.

hehe

[mhod42]

That's actually not a bad idea, then you'd find out who was the best driver, and the best team. Level playing grounds as it were.

[TazUk]

Looks like Ferrari are back with a vengance, which is bad news for the other teams and motorsport fans :rolleyes: Shame Kimi went out so early as it was the first time the McLaren has looked good this season and may have the pace to keep with the Ferrari's.

[Dunc]

It was a brilliant race apart from the fact ITV stuck a ****ing advert break in 4 laps from the end. By the time it came back there was less than a lap left. Absolutely ridiculous

[bLaXe]

It was a brilliant race apart from the fact ITV stuck a ****ing advert break in 4 laps from the end. By the time it came back there was less than a lap left. Absolutely ridiculous
My thoughts exactly. I really hope the BBC get F1 back soon.

I'm not saying 'limiting, I'm saying 'equal' whatever the amount...
So what, throw all the money it a pot and divide it equally? As far as I can see it that would be limiting the budget of a team who could potentially have a larger one. If you make Ferrari have the same budget as, say, Sauber then you are limiting the budget, surely? (or is it just me...)

It's a difficult problem to tackle, and has caused 'heated' discussions in the pub on more than a few occasions.

Personally, I think huge budgets allow some teams to spend a lot on R&D, which produces new technology. It doesn't take long before other teams catch on to the new idea, you only have to look at the similarities of the cars. They're not that different. Then you have teams 'buying' engines etc from one another (for example RedBull will be using Ferrari engines next season). So in a sense the huge budgets of some teams do have a knock on effect on the other, smaller teams.

Anyway, just my thoughts..

[[GPO]Solitaire]

Guy's you heard about A1 racing??
it's a brain child of a saudi multibillionare business man.
he's bought 52 identical racing cars ( look like F1's) and giving them to 21 teams in a franchise sort of deal! all they need to do is provide the driver, all cars are equil and all have the same budget to make minor changes to he cars (can't change engine, tyres, gearing, or major aerodynamics) so each driver is racing his apponents rahter than each R&D dept racing ;)

good thing is that it' going to start this year in the winter months after F1 season ends :)

each teams is going to be from a diffrent contry.

[bLaXe]

Solitaire']Guy's you heard about A1 racing??
it's a brain child of a saudi multibillionare business man.
he's bought 52 identical racing cars ( look like F1's) and giving them to 21 teams in a franchise sort of deal! all they need to do is provide the driver, all cars are equil and all have the same budget to make minor changes to he cars (can't change engine, tyres, gearing, or major aerodynamics) so each driver is racing his apponents rahter than each R&D dept racing ;)

good thing is that it' going to start this year in the winter months after F1 season ends :)

each teams is going to be from a diffrent contry.
Can't say I have heard of it. Sounds interesting though...
Is it going to be televised?

[[GPO]Solitaire]

....Sounds interesting though...
Is it going to be televised?

That's the big stumbeling block! they are having problams at the moment securing big media outlets, the first year may only be on the more obscure satalites sport channels! Hopefully once the word of mouth gets going it will be picked up in the second half of the first season or at the start of the second season!

[TazUk]

It was a brilliant race apart from the fact ITV stuck a ****ing advert break in 4 laps from the end. By the time it came back there was less than a lap left. Absolutely ridiculous

I couldn't believe that as well, sure they've got several advertising breaks they've got to fit in during the race but to put one in at that point is crazy. You don't see them putting advert breaks in important football matches when one of the teams is taking a free kick or penalty :rolleyes:

[FEAR]

yeah ITV stink with adverts in F1, they have a advert, then during the advert something happens, like someone crashes or their car fails. Or they have a advert 2 laps from the end.

[bLaXe]

You don't see them putting advert breaks in important football matches when one of the teams is taking a free kick or penalty :rolleyes:

Exactly - imagine the uproar if they did that!

You would think that whoever plans where the ad breaks go (I've no idea who this would be) would realise that putting one 4 laps from the end of the race is a stupid idea. Someone needs a slap...
It would be nice if the commentators had at least some control over where the breaks come. They're in a much better position to judge when they can spare to loose a minute (or so) of coverage. Of course no ads would be ideal, but on ITV it just isn't going to happen. I have noticed that the races that are in the middle of the night (our time, obviously) have much shorted ad breaks - yet another reason to watch them live :)

[A.O.D (QW97)]

Solitaire']Guy's you heard about A1 racing??
it's a brain child of a saudi multibillionare business man.
he's bought 52 identical racing cars ( look like F1's) and giving them to 21 teams in a franchise sort of deal! all they need to do is provide the driver, all cars are equil and all have the same budget to make minor changes to he cars (can't change engine, tyres, gearing, or major aerodynamics) so each driver is racing his apponents rahter than each R&D dept racing ;)

good thing is that it' going to start this year in the winter months after F1 season ends :)

each teams is going to be from a diffrent contry.

Thank You...
This is what I'm talking about bLaXe.....
And yes, giving Minardi the same budget is an 'equal' budget ok call it limiting if you like, but thats only 'limiting' one team and it's the team with more money that does the most R&D, simple. So give them all the same and they spend it in areas they think the most viable.

[bLaXe]

Thank You...
This is what I'm talking about bLaXe.....
I can totally see the point of this, and I can assure you I would be a big fan of it.

The point (I think) I was trying to make was that F1 is not just about the drivers themselves. The engineering teams behind them are just (if not more) important. In this kind of racing series (ala A1) the teams have little flexability in what they can do to the cars, so it's all down to the drivers. Of course this is point, but it creates a different kind of racing series. If F1 was made like this it would be a very different sport and, imho, would lose some of it's appeal.

It's a matter of opinion really.

Also, has anyone seen this (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/4482177.stm) - Oh the horror!

[Losty]

I'll be following the A1 coverage with interest (SKYSPORTS have signed a 3 year deal) , though, if the cars and drivers are all well matched, it could lead to a huge train of cars unable to overtake :(