Looking ahead: Formula 1 World Championship 2009

[Fourjays Veteran]

If that's what we're talking about...

Ross Brawn said that Honda are developing a light system for 2009 and is confident it won't have the same issues as Ferrari's. I think Ferrari also said they plan to use it in 2009 again, once they have solved the issues.

It's no substitute for good pit training though. McLaren are one of the best at pit stops, IMO.

[Fourjays Veteran]

Three bits of news for 2009:

Chinese GP moves to April date

Renault retain Alonso and Piquet for '09

FIA to explain stewards' decisions

The last one is particularly good news. Nice to see that the FIA are taking actions to ensure rulings are more timely, transparent and therefore consistent.

[Mike]

might not make them consistent & fair, if anything it'll give people the actual reason to argue against rather than guessing what they thought

[Antaris Veteran]

Well, this past season that stewards decisions have been met with soooo much confusion, not just by the public, but by the drivers too.

Btw, updated the first post, cheers Fourjays

[Shibby]

I've got no idea why Ferrari even put the manual button/pit stop system in place.

Surely they knew from the start, some sort of small switch with interacted with the car system would have been fine!

Requires no mods on the fuel rigs, just the fueling area of the car.

[Nicholas-c Veteran]

tbh i dont like the fact that they are changing aerodynamics rules, cars looked coolest this year :p

[Mike]

If that's what we're talking about...

Ross Brawn said that Honda are developing a light system for 2009 and is confident it won't have the same issues as Ferrari's. I think Ferrari also said they plan to use it in 2009 again, once they have solved the issues.

It's no substitute for good pit training though. McLaren are one of the best at pit stops, IMO.

With the Ferrari system there is a button that overrides the lights. So if the refueler finishes, the button can stop it going green. Why? To stop unsafe pit releases. What happened in Singapore was that the override button was being used to set red/green due to the busy pit lane and the auto-button on the refueler not being used. The person on the override button saw someone coming so pressed his button thinking it'll stop the lights going green, but instead it set them to green. He noticed half a second later and let go of the button. That changed the lights but Massa was gone.

Honda, i think, will use a similar system but won't change the roles people have so no mistakes happen.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

tbh i dont like the fact that they are changing aerodynamics rules, cars looked coolest this year :p

Blasphemy. The 2008 cars with all the winglets and odd horns on the nose and whatnot look a lot worse than the cars from the early 90s.

Example: The Ferrari F1 641 from 1990:

Looks much cleaner and sleeker than the 2008 generation, doesn't it?

[Antaris Veteran]

More news:

Di Resta: I'm ready for an F1 seat

Sato to have second chance with Toro Rosso

Mallya takes the helm at Force India

Force India link up with McLaren and Mercedes

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Also in the news:

Di Montezemolo smashed TV after finale

[Mike]

Blasphemy. The 2008 cars with all the winglets and odd horns on the nose and whatnot look a lot worse than the cars from the early 90s.

Example: The Ferrari F1 641 from 1990:

Looks much cleaner and sleeker than the 2008 generation, doesn't it?

looks too plane to me :p as i said, i prefer the 2008 cars but not with the horns on the nose and shark fin/anvil engine cover :p

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Williams revealed the 2009 wing package today.

Picture:

Looks... odd. I can live with the wider front wing, but the rear wing? That's going to take a while to get used to.

[Nicholas-c Veteran]

Does the rear wing have to be that size/shape ? If so, why ? i understand chopping all the bits off but that just looks fail.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Does the rear wing have to be that size/shape ? If so, why ? i understand chopping all the bits off but that just looks fail.

Yes, it does have to be that size/shape. The goal of the aerodynamic changes for 2009 is to make overtaking on track easier. We'll see how it works out.

Btw, any bets how many drivers will have to come in for a new front wing after the first lap of the Australian GP? :p

[simonlang]

Blasphemy. The 2008 cars with all the winglets and odd horns on the nose and whatnot look a lot worse than the cars from the early 90s.

Example: The Ferrari F1 641 from 1990:

Looks much cleaner and sleeker than the 2008 generation, doesn't it?

i think this is one of the most beautiful cars ever built. :D

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

i think this is one of the most beautiful cars ever built. :D

In my opinion this is the most beautiful F1 car ever:

Ferrari 412 T1, 1994

[simonlang]

In my opinion this is the most beautiful F1 car ever:

Ferrari 412 T1, 1994

yay, sexy looking car as well. do you know this was build completely without any wind-tunnel at all? :o

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

yay, sexy looking car as well. do you know this was build completely without any wind-tunnel at all? :o

The 412T1? Doubtful. Designing a car without using a wind-tunnel in the 90s was a recipe for disaster - read the story of MasterCard Lola as an example.

No, the Ferrari 412T was a relatively successful design by John Barnard. Its successor on the other hand, the F310 for the 1996 season - Michael Schumacher's first Ferrari - was simply awful. Ugly, clunky (especially the 'shark nose' version used from the Canadian GP onwards), unreliable.

</end of F1 history lesson>

[tuckeratlarge]

i think this is one of the most beautiful cars ever built. :D

I'm with you on that one. No car since has been as beautiful as the 641.

They sometimes say that the most beautiful car is the one that wins, maybe so, but the 641 dispels that assumption.

Yes, I admit a huge amount of bias - being tifosi - but look at the thing.

[Lewism]

It's official now. Formula 1 will not come back in Canada next year. Ecclestone wants $173 576 802 for the next five years and the governments only want to give him $143 270 292. This sport is only about money these days. It's not about racing.

[Fourjays Veteran]

Even China is complaining about the cost now (http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=44612). Over-charging will be his downfall.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Even China is complaining about the cost now (http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=44612). Over-charging will be his downfall.

Cut Bernie some slack. He has to pay for his divorce somehow?

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

I know it's only testing, but look at this photo of a BMW Sauber from today:

What's up with this monstrosity of a nose?

[Fourjays Veteran]

Reminds me of this...

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Shot from a different angle:

Looks like a bloody snow plough rather than a F1 car if you ask me.