F1 World Championship 2008 Thread

[.mcman]

Interesting. I think and hope that Hamilton has a lot of fuel, but we'll see. And I think something needs to be done regarding Heidfeld's "incident" on his last lap. All these slow cars ruined his lap and it was very dangerous.

Edited March 22, 2008 by .mcman

[simonlang]

what an exciting result and with predicted rain tomorrow it could be the race of the year :D

i am very happy for massa that was a very special lap but i think both ferraris have not the race pace and not ennough fuel in their cars to win this race.

in post-quali interview hami complained about his (quali)setup but thinks it wont be an issue for the race.

to heidfeld. i dont understand him. this guy has a real mercedes-complex. it was perfectly well for him to block alonso last year wherever he could and well today he had to realize how it feels if slower cars are in front of you. it was clear from the beginning after they (wrongly imho) did away with the single-lap qualifying of 2003-2005 that traffic now will be a problem again. but i guess there wont be any perfect quali-format for everyone. :p

[sundayx Veteran]

TIMO GLOCK FTW! (Having Glock as last name is cool)

[arrrgh]

Ouch, 5 place penalty for Hamilton and Kovalainen for blocking Heidfeld/Alonso at end of the session..

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/66021

[Fergie]

Ouch, 5 place penalty for Hamilton and Kovalainen for blocking Heidfeld/Alonso at end of the session..

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/66021

I bet that wouldn't be the case if it was the 2 Ferrari's blocking. **** it. :angry:

Hoping for the 2 Ferrari's to run into each other in either T1 or T2. (awaits gun shots) :p

Edited March 22, 2008 by Fergie

[Atasas]

What a crazy start to the season. Disappointed by the results (or lack of) by Ferrari.

What a let down for Sebastian Bourdais.

Congrats to Hamilton, Heidfeld, Rosberg.

Brilliant bhoooooo on the grand stand from the public after a VICTORY.... wander what's going to be this time?

Ouch, 5 place penalty for Hamilton and Kovalainen for blocking Heidfeld/Alonso at end of the session..

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/66021

Serves right to McCrucks team!

[Scirwode]

I went there at around 11.30 in the morning, arrived and collected my tickets and had a stroll around the Main Concourse. Qualifying was really good and it ran like clockwork. Nearly every team went out straight away as they were all afraid of the rain that looked like it was bursting :p ! Not that much changed as most of the front runners were posting good times, especially during Q2. However, Hamilton disappointed me as he was very much behind his team mate and only went 4th (before being penalised). Another team that surprised me was BMW Sauber, who were really quick, especially through Q2.

I really enjoyed it, much has improve since my last visit two years ago but there is still some room for improvement. One thing that was bothering me was that there was hardly any entertainment before qualifying, and the appointed radio stations were just blaring out pop hits. Parking was improved, as well as general amenities, such as toilets and surau's. Formula team merchandise still cost the earth, evident by the fact that one of the shirts cost RM500, about more than a quarter of my salary :p !

I just hope that tomorrow it doesn't rain so much. When I came back from Sepang, there was a thundering storm so anything like that during the race will certainly result in a delay, or even a cancellation. I want rain, just not that much :p !

I'm going to bed now as I'll probably leave at around 11 in the morning, so I see you another time. I'm at Hill Stand at Turn 1, so there will certainly be a lot of action!

Scirwode

[Crazysah]

First of all hats of too BMW and too Ferrari. I loved the Qualifying session and I can't wait till the race tomorrow.

Secondly, Does anyone seriously think it is going to rain tomorrow? All the drivers are hoping to avoid the rain cause of lack of traction control... Will be interesting.

[Fourjays Veteran]

I agree with the penalty on the McLaren's, but I feel there were another 3 cars that should've also been penalised or at least warned. Hamilton, Kovalainen, Massa, Raikkonen and Kubica (or Webber, unsure which) were all going far too slow and pretty much in the way. Was a slalom for Heidfeld and Alonso, although I doubt it would have made much difference anyway.

I think Hamilton is partly heavy on fuel and partly struggling with the car. He seemed to have some oversteer problems. Might be rain tomorrow so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Edited March 22, 2008 by Fourjays

[Neil]

I agree with the penalty on the McLaren's, but I feel there were another 3 cars that should've also been penalised or at least warned. Hamilton, Kovalainen, Massa, Raikkonen and Kubica (or Webber, unsure which) were all going far too slow and pretty much in the way. Was a slalom for Heidfeld and Alonso, although I doubt it would have made much difference anyway.

I think Hamilton is partly heavy on fuel and partly struggling with the car. He seemed to have some oversteer problems. Might be rain tomorrow so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

But the Mclaren's were on the racing line which was unacceptable at those slow speeds. Rain tomorrow will stir things, wet start with no traction control will be interesting.

[CrashG]

Maybe Ferrari can pull out a win on my Birthday. :fun: It's a shame the McLaren's won't be right behind them at the start, they were not the only two cars that were in the way. If it rains it'll really interesting, especially without TC.

Edited March 22, 2008 by CrashGordon

[.mcman]

I agree with the penalty too and I understand why only McLaren drivers were penalised. But I think cars that are going to the pits shouldn't be moving so slow when the others are still racing. Anyway, if there will be a rain tomorrow, I hope it won't be too heavy. Start+safety car= :x

[CrashG]

Here's the revised Grid:

At least three drivers will drop from their original qualifying positions on the grid for Sunday?s Malaysian Grand Prix. McLaren?s Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton both lose five places for impeding rival drivers in Q3, while Williams? Kazuki Nakajima starts from the back after his ten-place penalty for a collision with BMW Sauber?s Robert Kubica at the last round in Australia.

The full provisional grid is as follows (the final grid will be published as usual by the FIA on Sunday morning - we will bring you details of any additional changes):

1. Felipe Massa, Ferrari

2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

3. Jarno Trulli, Toyota

4. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber

5. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber

6. Mark Webber, Red Bull

7. Fernando Alonso, Renault

8. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren

9. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren

10. Timo Glock, Toyota

11. Jenson Button, Honda

12. David Coulthard, Red Bull

13. Nelson Piquet, Renault

14. Rubens Barrichello, Honda

15. Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso

16. Nico Rosberg, Williams

17. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India

18. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso

19. Takuma Sato, Super Aguri

20. Adrian Sutil, Force India

21. Anthony Davidson, Super Aguri

22. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams

[arrrgh]

I'm thinking they were using Kovalainen and Hamilton as examples.. I bet we won't see as much coasting in the next Q.

Anyway, something had to be done. Seeing the last lap from Heidfeld's car was crazy, everyone else doing under 80 and Heidfeld blasting past at full speed, dodging cars from side to side.

[sundayx Veteran]

Ferrari's probably got this one in the bag, the important thing is how much can McLaren pick up.

[Scazza]

Ferrari's probably got this one in the bag, the important thing is how much can McLaren pick up.

You would think so, but you never know, hopefully Ferrari's Engine will hold up this race :p

But still I think this race will be a good one, Hamilton is gonna have to push really hard to gain grown on the Ferrari's and if it rains, god knows what will happen!

Rain + No Traction Control = Guaranteed Mayhem.

Just look how many cars finished in Melbourne, that was in the dry too!

[Fourjays Veteran]

But the Mclaren's were on the racing line which was unacceptable at those slow speeds.

I disagree with the slow speeds altogether, regardless of the racing line. All the cars I saw (except Heidfeld and Alonso) treated it as "session over", but they crossed the line with 38 seconds still to go, meaning some may still be doing (or starting) a hot lap even though they had done theirs. If cars purposely went that slowly in the middle of a session (say 7 minutes to go) I'm sure they'd be in serious trouble over it.

It's an exploit that has come out of removing the race fuel credits from the knock-out qualifying system. Until the session has finished, they should be required to return to the pits in a timely manner.

[sundayx Veteran]

Let's poll how many actually cars finish cross the line! I vote 11.

[CrashG]

Let's poll how many actually cars finish cross the line! I vote 11.

Dry Race: I go with 15

Wet Race: maybe 7-8

[Fourjays Veteran]

I'd also go with 15 in a dry race. They all seem more comfortable with the cars at Malaysia. Wet race I think would be as bad as Australia - I think chaos will break out as no-one has driven these new cars in the rain yet.

[CrashG]

I'd also go with 15 in a dry race. They all seem more comfortable with the cars at Malaysia. Wet race I think would be as bad as Australia - I think chaos will break out as no-one has driven these new cars in the rain yet.

The first wet race is going to be interesting to say the least. :yes:

[Neil]

I disagree with the slow speeds altogether, regardless of the racing line. All the cars I saw (except Heidfeld and Alonso) treated it as "session over", but they crossed the line with 38 seconds still to go, meaning some may still be doing (or starting) a hot lap even though they had done theirs. If cars purposely went that slowly in the middle of a session (say 7 minutes to go) I'm sure they'd be in serious trouble over it.

It's an exploit that has come out of removing the race fuel credits from the knock-out qualifying system. Until the session has finished, they should be required to return to the pits in a timely manner.

Yes it is, I believe that they should scrap the fuel qualifying system and have it like the two previous sessions, that would mean that they can bring back the days of 1-stop and 2-stop strategies.

But the cars do go slow on there in and out laps, but the fact that the Mclaren's where on the racing line makes it dangerous and effects anybody racing a hot lap.

[Shibby]

Even I support the scrapping off race fuel. But because of the engine rules, they will still go a slowish pace.

They may have to rejigg how many cars can be out on the track at the same time, then as soon as the driver enters the track, the clock starts for them. If he comes into the pit, then no one else can go out till his time has run out.

Thats is a way to get rid of this stupid slow lap stuff.

I'll wait till I see footage tomorrow to judge, but I'm sure the other slow cars were causing problems as well.

[sundayx Veteran]

Poor poor Massa. Anyone still up watching?

[simonlang]

now that was a boring race and not worth watching it :sleep: :sleep: :sleep:

after ferrari screwed up massa in the pitlane i am happy that he showed them that this time he won't support his teammate to another lucky championship but has to do it on his own now. and you could see the face of jean todt - he was not amused what they did with felipe.

mclaren was bad today but in damage control mode and got some points. the gap between hamilton and raikkonen is even bigger than between raikkonen and kovalainen which is a very nice surprise.

alonso - not possible to do more with such a truck of a car.

6 ferrari engines blown up already ... will for sure reach double digits before season is over. :laugh: