F1, Round 9: Indianapolis

[Ferrari Tifosi]

Today the events started in Indy. After the day's two practice sessions, Rubens Barichello came out on top with Davidson close behind. Its seems that the power of the Toyota engine is helping them out a lot. Tomorrow and Sunday should be interesting, will the engines be able to handle 22 seconds of full throttle around the banking and front straight? Here are the full results of todays practices:

1 Rubens Barrichello - Ferrari 1:10.365
2 Anthony Davidson - BAR-Honda 1:10.967
3 Juan Pablo Montoya - Williams-BMW 1:10.982
4 Michael Schumacher - Ferrari 1:11.036
5 Jenson Button - BAR-Honda 1:11.230
6 Ralf Schumacher - Williams-BMW 1:11.530
7 Cristiano da Matta - Toyota 1:11.893
8 Olivier Panis - Toyota 1:11.994
9 Ricardo Zonta - Toyota 1:12.019
10 Kimi Räikkönen - McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.197
11 Mark Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth 1:12.438
12 Jarno Trulli - Renault 1:12.441
13 Giancarlo Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas 1:12.537
14 Takuma Sato - BAR-Honda 1:12.601
15 Bjorn Wirdheim - Jaguar-Cosworth 1:12.761
16 Christian Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth 1:12.950
17 Felipe Massa - Sauber-Petronas 1:13.196
18 Zsolt Baumgartner - Minardi-Cosworth 1:13.384
19 Timo Glock - Jordan-Ford 1:13.446
20 Fernando Alonso - Renault 1:13.732
21 Nick Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford 1:13.961
22 Giorgio Pantano - Jordan-Ford 1:14.407
23 Bas Leinders - Minardi-Cosworth 1:14.409
24 Gianmaria Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth 1:14.428
25 David Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes

[byronleehk]

I'm a Ferrari fan but I also would like to see some other cars to step up the challenge...just to see how great the red cars really are :rolleyes:

[NAZCA C2]

I'm going to try to predict the top three positions in this weeks race. Schumacher 1st, Barrichello 2nd, and Button 3rd. If I am right this week like I was last week then I am going to stop watching F1. I think the Williams have an outside chance of winning and Button could win if there are any 1st turn crashes involving the red cars. I hope Mclaren can get a decent result.

[DarkPhenix]

Panasonic Toyota Racing made a strong start to the US Grand Prix weekend at Indianapolis, with all three of its drivers featuring in the top 10 positions after the first day of free practice. Cristiano da Matta lapped in 1m11.893s, the seventh quickest time of the day, with Olivier Panis and Ricardo Zonta eighth and ninth respectively on 1m11.994s and 1m12.019s.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as being one of the most historic and evocative racing venues anywhere in the world, also presents Formula 1 cars with an interesting challenge. They don't, of course, use the famous 2.5-mile banked oval on which the Indy 500 - the world's highest attended single venue sporting event - is run. Instead, they use the banked Turns 1 and 2 of the famous Speedway, plus the front straight, but run in the opposite direction. The turns are linked by the tight road course infield, built specially for Formula 1, which gives the teams a set-up dilemma.

In an ideal world, teams would run more downforce for the infield at the cost of some straightline speed. That would ultimately give a slightly quicker lap time, but with cars having to start the race in the configuration that they qualify, it also means being left vulnerable to those with a higher top speed in racing conditions.

"It's an interesting challenge here," said Da Matta, "and I think we are in decent shape although we will only really know where we are tomorrow. Indy is also the circuit where engines are at continuous full throttle for the longest period - more than 20 seconds. You need strong power and good reliability, which should play to our strengths."

Panis added: "It's a positive start for us and I personally still have some room for improvement because I was held up on my best lap."

Third driver Zonta explained: "I raced here in 2000 (with BAR) but it did take me some time to relearn the circuit. We seem to be going quite well but on my last set of new tyres I came out in traffic and backed off to create a bit of space. But doing that meant that I lost some brake temperature so, overall, there was a bit more to be had from the car."

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro's Rubens Barrichello (1m10.365s) set the quickest time of the day, ahead of Lucky Strike BAR Honda test driver Anthony Davidson (1m10.967s). BMW Williams F1 Team driver Juan Pablo Montoya (1m10.982s) was third quickest, ahead of Michael Schumacher (1m11.036s) with the second Ferrari. Jenson Button's BAR Honda was fifth.

Technical Director Chassis, Mike Gascoyne said: "Today was largely about evaluating the Michelin tyre compounds and all three drivers did see some significant drop-off from the rear tyres in the opening session, but the track was still quite green. Overall we have made a strong start and it is good to see all three drivers in the top 10."

Olivier Panis celebrates his 150th Grand Prix this weekend and the team will have an informal media event in the paddock after qualifying tomorrow, where specially produced merchandise will be distributed to those journalists attending.

Cristiano da Matta (Car 16, Chassis TF104/04)

First Session Classification: 16th, 18 laps completed
Lap Time: 1m13.555s (+2.201s)
Second Session Classification: 7th, 35 laps completed
Lap Time: 1m11.893s (+1.528s)

"I think we have had quite a good couple of sessions this morning. We have worked mainly on tuning the settings on the chassis and we also did the tyre comparison, which is the priority on Fridays. It seems quite clear to me what compound of tyre we need to use, but we will only really know where we stand tomorrow because every team does different things on the opening day. For us, I think the biggest thing we need to look at is the traction, but overall it's not been a bad start to our US Grand Prix weekend."

Olivier Panis (Car 17, Chassis TF104/03)

First Session Classification: 9th, 16 laps completed
Lap Time: 1m12.631s (+1.277s)
Second Session Classification: 8th, 30 laps completed
Lap Time: 1m11.994s (+1.629s)

"We have had two productive free practice sessions which we also used for long runs in order to get as much data about the two tyre compounds as possible. I am quite happy that all three of us drivers were able to get into the top ten. This is particularly encouraging as I know that I still have some margin for improvement because I was held up by traffic on my quick lap. The team did a very good job and I am looking forward to tomorrow."

Ricardo Zonta (Car 38, Chassis TF104/07)

First Session Classification: 5th, 25 laps completed
Lap Time: 1m12.366s (+1.012s)
Second Session Classification: 9th, 42 laps completed
Lap Time: 1m12.019s (+1.654s)

"Although I raced here back in 2000, the Speedway felt like a new track to me first thing this morning, so I spent the initial runs simply relearning the circuit. We made some good progress to improve the balance of the car for the second session when we completed our tyre programme and long runs. I had quite a bit of traffic on my final set of new tyres, so I backed off during the out lap to create enough distance. By doing this, the brakes were not at their optimum temperature, which resulted in me locking the wheels and losing a couple of tenths. Nevertheless, I am happy and I think we have done a good job."

Mike Gascoyne - Technical Director Chassis

"We enjoyed a trouble-free and solid opening day, although the track was quite green to begin with. As usual, we spent the sessions evaluating the tyre compounds that Michelin has brought to Indy. All three drivers complained about rear drop off in the opening practice hour, but we had no real problems. We were able to gather some interesting information concerning the tyre choice, which we will have to analyse tonight. Overall the cars look quite competitive and it is a great start of the weekend to have three cars in the top ten today."

United States Grand Prix - Practice Session 1

Pos. Driver Team Time Gap Laps kph
1 R. Barrichello Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:11.354 16 211.497
2 M. Schumacher Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:11.619 0.265 16 210.715
3 A. Davidson Lucky Strike BAR Honda 1:11.693 0.339 23 210.497
4 J. Montoya BMW WilliamsF1 Team 1:12.008 0.654 11 209.576
5 R. Zonta Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:12.366 1.012 25 208.539
6 B. Wirdheim Jaguar Racing 1:12.424 1.070 25 208.372
7 J. Button Lucky Strike BAR Honda 1:12.553 1.199 14 208.002
8 G. Fisichella Sauber Petronas 1:12.575 1.221 12 207.939
9 O. Panis Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:12.631 1.277 16 207.779
10 R. Schumacher BMW WilliamsF1 Team 1:12.850 1.496 14 207.154
11 F. Alonso Mild Seven Renault F1 Team 1:12.989 1.635 15 206.759
12 K. Raikkonen West McLaren Mercedes 1:13.147 1.793 8 206.313
13 J. Trulli Mild Seven Renault F1 Team 1:13.351 1.997 15 205.739
14 F. Massa Sauber Petronas 1:13.371 2.017 17 205.683
15 T. Sato Lucky Strike BAR Honda 1:13.532 2.178 12 205.233
16 C. da Matta Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:13.555 2.201 18 205.168
17 M. Webber Jaguar Racing 1:13.762 2.408 10 204.593
18 D. Coulthard West McLaren Mercedes 1:13.916 2.562 10 204.166
19 C. Klien Jaguar Racing 1:14.407 3.053 26 202.819
20 T. Glock Jordan Ford 1:15.017 3.663 25 201.170
21 N. Heidfeld Jordan Ford 1:15.020 3.666 14 201.162
22 B. Leinders Wilux Minardi Cosworth 1:15.028 3.674 20 201.140
23 G. Pantano Jordan Ford 1:15.260 3.906 20 200.520
24 G. Bruni Wilux Minardi Cosworth 1:15.468 4.114 9 199.968
25 Z. Baumgartner Wilux Minardi Cosworth 1:17.051 5.697 16 195.859

United States Grand Prix - Practice Session 2

Pos. Driver Team Time Gap Lap kph
1 R. Barrichello Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:10.365 24 214.470
2 A. Davidson Lucky Strike BAR Honda 1:10.967 0.602 42 212.650
3 J. Montoya BMW WilliamsF1 Team 1:10.982 0.617 29 212.606
4 M. Schumacher Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:11.036 0.671 28 212.444
5 J. Button Lucky Strike BAR Honda 1:11.230 0.865 19 211.865
6 R. Schumacher BMW WilliamsF1 Team 1:11.530 1.165 30 210.977
7 C. da Matta Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:11.893 1.528 35 209.911
8 O. Panis Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:11.994 1.629 30 209.617
9 R. Zonta Panasonic Toyota Racing 1:12.019 1.654 42 209.544
10 K. Raikkonen West McLaren Mercedes 1:12.197 1.832 20 209.028
11 M. Webber Jaguar Racing 1:12.438 2.073 33 208.332
12 J. Trulli Mild Seven Renault F1 Team 1:12.441 2.076 28 208.324
13 G. Fisichella Sauber Petronas 1:12.537 2.172 27 208.048
14 T. Sato Lucky Strike BAR Honda 1:12.601 2.236 3 207.864
15 B. Wirdheim Jaguar Racing 1:12.761 2.396 30 207.407
16 C. Klien Jaguar Racing 1:12.950 2.585 31 206.870
17 F. Massa Sauber Petronas 1:13.196 2.831 32 206.175
18 Z. Baumgartner Wilux Minardi Cosworth 1:13.384 3.019 18 205.647
19 T. Glock Jordan Ford 1:13.446 3.081 33 205.473
20 F. Alonso Mild Seven Renault F1 Team 1:13.732 3.367 3 204.676
21 N. Heidfeld Jordan Ford 1:13.961 3.596 18 204.042
22 G. Pantano Jordan Ford 1:14.407 4.042 20 202.819
23 B. Leinders Wilux Minardi Cosworth 1:14.409 4.044 21 202.814
24 G. Bruni Wilux Minardi Cosworth 1:14.428 4.063 17 202.762
25 D. Coulthard West McLaren Mercedes 2

[Ferrari Tifosi]

Well the red cars will start from the front row, but it'll be Barichello starting from first. Here are the full qualifying results:

1 Rubens Barrichello - Ferrari 1:10.223
2 Michael Schumacher - Ferrari 1:10.400
3 Takuma Sato - BAR-Honda 1:10.601
4 Jenson Button - BAR-Honda 1:10.820
5 Juan Pablo Montoya - Williams-BMW 1:11.062
6 Ralf Schumacher - Williams-BMW 1:11.106
7 Kimi Räikkönen - McLaren-Mercedes 1:11.137
8 Olivier Panis - Toyota 1:11.167
9 Fernando Alonso - Renault 1:11.185
10 Mark Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth 1:11.286
11 Cristiano da Matta - Toyota 1:11.691
12 David Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.026
13 Christian Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth 1:12.170
14 Giancarlo Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas 1:12.470
15 Felipe Massa - Sauber-Petronas 1:12.721
16 Nick Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford 1:13.147
17 Giorgio Pantano - Jordan-Ford 1:13.375
18 Gianmaria Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth 1:14.010
19 Zsolt Baumgartner - Minardi-Cosworth 1:14.812
20 Jarno Trulli - Renault

Should be an interesting race tomorrow.

[Homem de Gelo]

Darn, with ferrari dominating all sessons, they should have a reliatively easy time this race. I hope it's RB who wins...

[Ferrari Tifosi]

Well the race has just ended, and it was filled with incidents. Before the race even started Montoya abandoned his car(couldn't get the engine to start) and fled to the pits to get in a back up car. He would later be disqualified for this incident. When the race started, the first turn took out a couple cars as Da Matta slowed up tremendously due to a gearbox problem. Couple laps later Alonso crashed due to a cut tire. Another few laps later Ralf Schumacher hit the wall on the banking hard. He was in his car for awhile, but it seems that he was just shakened up. At the end of the day, it was once again a Ferrari 1-2, with Schumacher taking the win. Sato got his first podium at third. Also Minardi got their first points in 40 races! Baumgartner finished 8 to score 1 point. This was due to the fact that only 8 cars finished. Here are the full results of this years US GP:

1 Michael Schumacher - Ferrari

2 Rubens Barrichello - Ferrari

3 Takuma Sato - BAR-Honda

4 Jarno Trulli - Renault

5 Olivier Panis - Toyota

6 Kimi Räikkönen - McLaren-Mercedes

7 David Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes

8 Zsolt Baumgartner - Minardi-Cosworth

Ret Giancarlo Fisichella - Sauber-Petronas

Ret Mark Webber - Jaguar-Cosworth

Ret Juan Pablo Montoya - Williams-BMW

Ret Nick Heidfeld - Jordan-Ford

Ret Jenson Button - BAR-Honda

Ret Cristiano da Matta - Toyota

Ret Ralf Schumacher - Williams-BMW

Ret Fernando Alonso - Renault

Ret Christian Klien - Jaguar-Cosworth

Ret Felipe Massa - Sauber-Petronas

Ret Giorgio Pantano - Jordan-Ford

Ret Gianmaria Bruni - Minardi-Cosworth

[NAZCA C2]

F1 had their annual debacle today. Why is F1 so afraid to bring the safety car out when there is an accident? F1 does this every year. Last year they screwed up Brazil. If there is a crash and carbon fiber is all over the place then you bring out a full course caution and get the safety car on the course ASAP!!! Don't let people go flying through wreckage under a local yellow.

I almost correctly predicted the top 3 positions again but Sato had a great race and took 3rd. Both Mclaren's finishing in the points (yes both of them)was the highlight of the race for me. Congrats to Minardi!!! They got a point!

[Matra et Alpine]

What astounded me was the length of time it took to black flag Montoya.

Methinks there may have been commercial pressure applied to leave Montoya out in front of his US fans otherwise they'd have been lynched and no doubt HP ( major US company ) applied sponsors pressure to keep the car lapping for as long as they could.

Well, I know it's a crazy conspiracy theory, but HOW ELSE do you explain it ??

:)

[pdr]

I think it borders on the criminal that Ralf was left out on the track like that for so long. Perhaps the most surreal shot was of the ambulance driving slowly ALONG THE COURSE and being overtaken by the safety car with racers behind it. I simply don't recall how the IRL or NASCAR handles it, but certainly some kind of safety exit should be set up for accidents that occur beyond the pit entrance.

[Ferrari Tifosi]

I think it borders on the criminal that Ralf was left out on the track like that for so long. Perhaps the most surreal shot was of the ambulance driving slowly ALONG THE COURSE and being overtaken by the safety car with racers behind it. I simply don't recall how the IRL or NASCAR handles it, but certainly some kind of safety exit should be set up for accidents that occur beyond the pit entrance.

It was driving slowly along the course because R. Schumacher was not in need of immediate medical attention. Also, NAZCA, the safety car WAS brought out after the incident involving R. Schumacher and remained to stay out for 10 laps.

However, it was suprising how long it took the medics to get to R. Schumacher. Also, as Matra pointed out, I don't know why they let Montoya even start the race, they should have black flagged him immediately.

[Coventrysucks]

What a crock.
They should have red flagged the Ralf Schumacher incident, that way
-Marshalls who might have been afraid of getting run over or something, possibly would have bothered to assist him sooner
-The entire field wouldn't have had to drive through a massive pile of carbon fibre debris, which could have caused more punctures/ dangerous crashes

Apart from the accidents (which I am sure entertained the US audience)
the race was dull as ever.
Another procession behind Schumacher M. and inevitable win for the FIA, err... Ferrari I mean.
:rolleyes:

[Ferrari Tifosi]

Apart from the accidents (which I am sure entertained the US audience)the race was dull as ever.

What the hell is this supposed to mean? Most Americans watch racing to enjoy the race, not for the crashes. I would know I live here. So keep your idiotic comments to youself.

[Homem de Gelo]

The crash actually scared the shit out of me.
It was horrible.

[Ferrari Tifosi]

The crash actually scared the shit out of me.
It was horrible.

Me too, not seeing R. Schumacher move for several moments had me holding my breath and hoping he was fine.

[Coventrysucks]

What the hell is this supposed to mean? Most Americans watch racing to enjoy the race, not for the crashes. I would know I live here. So keep your idiotic comments to youself.

So if Americans aren't entertained by crashes why the hell does NASCAR exist? :)

Also, if you enjoy watching racing why the hell do you watch F1?
:)

Also; Its just too easy isn't it ;)

[SIMPLETON]

Most Americans would love to see a good crash or two as long as nobody got hurt. The only reason I watch NASCAR is for the crashes. But that never happens anymore since the throw the caution every 5 laps for the tinyest puff of smoke from the tires. they should've stopped the race temporarily to clean off the track and get Ralf out of the car.

[byronleehk]

So if Americans aren't entertained by crashes why the hell does NASCAR exist? :)



I watch NASCAR because of the color scheme those car have...also it's great fun to watch when they're doing road courses (NOT oval) :)

[Cotterik]

What a chaotic race!!!! Rite from the word go there was drama, with Montoya changing cars illegally and only being disqualified 90 minutes later :confused:
I was realy scared when Ralf had his crash, a puncture at 190 mph!? spinning into the concrete barrier, thank god for modern day safety regulations!
I loved watching Sato race, he brings so much entertainment into it, some people say he's a rookie and needs to mature, but the risks he takes make the race realy joyful to watch! I say let him race how he wants!
Here are 3 videos from last weekends race. Right click to download. Enjoy :)

Qualifying 2 Press Conference (http://www.aqva14.dsl.pipex.com/ukf1/USA_04_QLF2_Press_Conference_Audio.mpg)

Mark Webber Practice spin (http://www.aqva14.dsl.pipex.com/ukf1/USA_04_Practice_Webber_Off.mpg)

Sato and Massa collide (http://www.aqva14.dsl.pipex.com/ukf1/USA_04_Practice_Sato_and_Massa_Collide.mpg)

[Ferrari Tifosi]

So if Americans aren't entertained by crashes why the hell does NASCAR exist? :)

Also, if you enjoy watching racing why the hell do you watch F1?
:)

Also; Its just too easy isn't it ;)

NASCAR exists, because a lot of Americans like circle track racing. Not because of crashes. I don't myself like NASCAR, but there is some really good circle track racing in the form of sprint cars.

I watch F1 because there is good racing. Yes its true that the leader usually runs away with the race, but there is tons of good racing in the mid-pack all throughout a race.

[Coventrysucks]

but there is tons of good racing in the mid-pack all throughout a race.

Tons?

Are you sure?

Good racing?

[jameswithington]

Me too, not seeing R. Schumacher move for several moments had me holding my breath and hoping he was fine.


Seeing a bright yellow and green helmet motionless inside a stricken Williams brought back some all to pertinent memories of Imola '94, just glad there was nothing serious. It's a testament to the FIA's commitment to safety over the last ten years that now a car can go backwards into a concrete wall at 300km/h and still havve the majority of the rear of the chassis intact, the whole cockpit untouched, and all four wheels still attached to the car. Ten years ago I fear the car would've practically disintegrated under the impact force and there would undoubtedly have been wheels flying all over the track and possibly into the crowd.

Anyway, back to the actual racing I thought the opening seconds of the race provided the most thrilling piece of driving all season in my eyes: Fernando Alonso's astonishing climb from ninth to third! It wasn't just the incredible power and traction of the Renault behind the move. Alonso's race-craft to zigzag safely and effectively from one side of the track to the other whilst passing cars left right and centre was a tremendous, and then the guts and car control he showed to take Raikkonen around the outside of turn 1 was a sight to behold. Just a shame Alonso was struck with such awful luck so early on because after BAR botched their strategies it looked like he was the only one capable of worrying the Big Red Machine.

On the subject of Ferrari, did anyone else think it was highly suspect when Michael overtook Rubens on the home straight after the restart??? The rules state that you cannot overtake until you've crossed the start/finish line. To the naked eye as it happened it looked as though Michael had breached this rule, and on the screen the timing computer immediately flached up M Schumacher as leading the race as they crossed the line. This was then quickly wiped from the screen and amended but when they showed the aerial camera slow motion replay it clearly looked as though Michael was leading as they crossed the line. Am I just wishing too hard for a Ferrari failure or did other people see this too???

[Ferrari Tifosi]

Tons?

Are you sure?

Good racing?

Yes, I'm sure, yesterday there were battles between Trulli and Sato, Webber & Coulthard & Fisichella & Heidfield, and not to mention Rubens was putting the heat on Schumacher for a couple of laps.

[Coventrysucks]

On ITV, the channel that broadcasts the F1 racing, before the race (5pm over here) had coverage of the latest round of the BTCC.

There was overtaking galore, may people being over taken, re-taking, wheels on the grass, door mirrors knocked off, many times, at different parts of the circuit.
The cameras could hardly keep up with the action.

Then the F1 has one overtaking manouver every ten laps (never during an advert break...), if some one dares so much as brush past another car, it ends in tears, with the inevitable Ralf Schumacher/ Montoya whining.

I support McLaren, and even last year when it was boring, the outcome was never a certainty, the WDC went down to an exciting final in Japan. Could Kimi win his first WDC? Will Michael win it again?

This year there is no prospect for an excitingend to the season.
Unless, somehow M.S. has a long string of DNFs.

I look forward to seeing if McLaren (or anyone else for that matter) will be able to mount any sort of challenge with their new car in the next few races, if not I will probably stop watching.

[Ferrari Tifosi]

On ITV, the channel that broadcasts the F1 racing, before the race (5pm over here) had coverage of the latest round of the BTCC.

There was overtaking galore, may people being over taken, re-taking, wheels on the grass, door mirrors knocked off, many times, at different parts of the circuit.
The cameras could hardly keep up with the action.

Then the F1 has one overtaking manouver every ten laps (never during an advert break...), if some one dares so much as brush past another car, it ends in tears, with the inevitable Ralf Schumacher/ Montoya whining.

I support McLaren, and even last year when it was boring, the outcome was never a certainty, the WDC went down to an exciting final in Japan. Could Kimi win his first WDC? Will Michael win it again?

This year there is no prospect for an excitingend to the season.
Unless, somehow M.S. has a long string of DNFs.

I look forward to seeing if McLaren (or anyone else for that matter) will be able to mount any sort of challenge with their new car in the next few races, if not I will probably stop watching.

I understand your point, F1 does get boring as far as the championship goes. I also hope McLaren can get back into the game. With Raikkonen being my favorite driver, its been a hard season for me to watch, but I still enjoy seeing this cars race every other weekend. Right now I believe that Raikkonen is the biggest threat to M. Schumacher and with a car that's reliable and working correctly, I believe he'll challenge him again. I guess we can only hope that the MP4/19B can put McLaren back up with the top teams, and enable Raikkonen to get a win or two and some podiums.

[SIMPLETON]

The amazing thing about Ralf's crash is that Ralf crashed just about 10 feet from the safer barriers on the banking and he still walks out of the car.

Also my F1 provider is the Speed channel. It's about the only channel I watch

And I, personnaly, am a Minardi fan. :D j/k

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

Hope Ralph is ok by the next race. I'd really like to see ferrari loosing the manufacturer champion ship within the next few years. Its not that i dont like ferrari, i love em but you can't dominate the entire season, its just boring. Hopefully Mclaren Mercedes, BAR Honda, or WIlliams BMW can beat em soon.

i hvnt been keeping up with the f1 news, is ralph switching to toyota and webber going into williams? so far ive only watched one of the f1 races in english this season. i have basic cable and most of the time i have to watch the coverage on a french channel

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

What the hell is this supposed to mean? Most Americans watch racing to enjoy the race, not for the crashes. I would know I live here. So keep your idiotic comments to youself.

dude he was talking about the population, not u

and even though it might be just a stereotype you cant deny the fact that most of it is true ... just look at ur president ...

question, whats the iq of a man who

A) chokes on a pretzel
B) puts a turkey's head in his pants (i know it was just the angle but hell it was funny)
C) attacks a country because of "weapons of mass destruction" which they cant seem to find

answer ... not very high lol

[SilverArrowZ]

boy i really prey for ralf's safety that day although i'm no fans for william or ralf. The second i saw that car spin out of control and WHAM goes into the wall, gosh i don't know how to describe my feelings, its like "oh god, please don't die". Its a big relieve to see that ralf is still concious and trying to get out of the car but doesn't seems to be able to do so.

Seeing ralf crash at such a high speed makes me think of Senna's crash ten years ago, it really frighten me, feels like deja vu tho not at the same circuit. Thank to the modern safety, ralf seems ok but after seeing him having prob with getting out of the car, then i think about michael had an accident and broke his leg few years ago (ok i know i always think of bad things but i can't help it okay? :( ) Anyway just hope that ralf is fit enough for the next race.

The championship is not exactly boring, but not as exiting as last year. So far the best race in this year is monaco, and the US GP is second best i think. Plenty of action to F1's "standard". I don't like crashing that much, i prefer seeing engine blown/gearbox/blah blah blah.. failure... To me the best part of the race is to wait for the front runners' car to fail so the cars i want them to score points will be in the top eight. Yeah i'm a big fan of McLaren and it feels good to see the front runner to fail and they are in the points. I somehow enjoy seeing Minardi to score points too, somehow i like the smallest team in almost every sport.

McLaren's new MP4 is coming up pretty soon, and Mercedes did put some effort in the engine, the ITV shows the tachometer on the screen, Mercedes v10 is limited to 17k rev something at the earlier part of the year, it seems like it can rev up to 18k and more now, and they are able to "finish" races now. I don't put too much hope on them this season, as i might get dissapointed again. I just hope that McLaren can outperform William so Montoya will look like he is moving to a better team :)

[Ferrari Tifosi]

dude he was talking about the population, not u

and even though it might be just a stereotype you cant deny the fact that most of it is true ... just look at ur president ...

question, whats the iq of a man who

A) chokes on a pretzel
B) puts a turkey's head in his pants (i know it was just the angle but hell it was funny)
C) attacks a country because of "weapons of mass destruction" which they cant seem to find

answer ... not very high lol

What?!?!? Your comparing our president with our racing fans makes no sense. And no the fact that Americans watch racing only for crashes IS NOT TRUE. I've been to races here in the states and its always been about the racing not crashes, and when there were crashes the crowd was concerned.

[Coventrysucks]

From the Mobil 1 press release:

Raikkonen: "I strongly believe I could have finished on the podium. We have taken a step forward with the MP4-19 and we were able to run reasonably competitively... However I was forced to make two unscheduled stops as the team had to top up the pneumatic air system on the engine with additional air, which at the end cost me quite a few positions."

Coulthard: "In the early stages I picked up some debris, which damaged my deflector and upset the balance of the car...Towards the end of the race I had to make another stop as a piece of polystyrene had lodged itself underneath my car..."

Encouraging sounds from McLaren.
They will be testing in Jerez this week, presumably the 19B.

Maybe they'll be on for a podium in France
:)

[Ferrari Tifosi]

From the Mobil 1 press release:

Raikkonen: "I strongly believe I could have finished on the podium. We have taken a step forward with the MP4-19 and we were able to run reasonably competitively... However I was forced to make two unscheduled stops as the team had to top up the pneumatic air system on the engine with additional air, which at the end cost me quite a few positions."

Coulthard: "In the early stages I picked up some debris, which damaged my deflector and upset the balance of the car...Towards the end of the race I had to make another stop as a piece of polystyrene had lodged itself underneath my car..."

Encouraging sounds from McLaren.
They will be testing in Jerez this week, presumably the 19B.

Maybe they'll be on for a podium in France
:)

Hopefully they will be. Unfortunate for Raikkonen with the pnuematics problem, he was running strong.

[SilverArrowZ]

19b run pretty fast o jerez for the first day.. lets see how they do when BAR come for the second day...

[Matra et Alpine]

Motoring News this week reported that telemetry showed that Ralf was subjected to 78G when he hit the wall !!!

Also, they put it and Trulli's acciendet down to CF shards on the tyres causing puncture and deflation.
At first pit stop everyone's tyres were reported as being covered in CF.

The delay in getting to Ralf was down to the procedures that are STANDARD at Indy to ensure that marshals and safety teams are NOT entering the track whilst cars are still travelling at race speeds.