Looking ahead: Formula 1 World Championship 2009

[arrrgh]

Anyone taking bets on how many front wing replacements there is going to be in the first GP? If some guys (Rosberg) managed to wreck the previous rather compact and sturdy looking wing (relatively speaking) twice in the same race I think teams would better be stockpiling wings already..

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Anyone taking bets on how many front wing replacements there is going to be in the first GP? If some guys (Rosberg) managed to wreck the previous rather compact and sturdy looking wing (relatively speaking) twice in the same race I think teams would better be stockpiling wings already..

It wouldn't surprise me if half of the field had to pit for new noses after the first lap of the Australian GP.

[Antaris Veteran]

De la Rosa: No fears over KERS safety.

Hamilton encouraged by first '09 test.

Seems like Lewis likes the MP4-24!

Trulli: New cars very difficult in wet.

[h00nta]

I doubt this is something to be concerned about - then again it is F1 we're talking about..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport...one/7848504.stm

[h00nta]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport...one/7876889.stm

For once I'm in agreement with Max Mosely - the GPDA need to take a long hard look at themselves, otherwise they might just find they won't need a licence as they don't HAVE a sport.

[Antaris Veteran]

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree, all that is going on, is that money is slowing up, and they are doing this quick fix to fill in the budgetary gaps. Not good on the drivers, how can anyone justify a five-fold increase?

[Shibby]

The way it's done just seems pointless. They might as well get the teams to all pay a one off fee.

If it's for the safety, then why should the people that score points pay for the likes of Nakajima who is a bit reckless.

Really the FIA should use it's revenue stream from F1 to fund such stuff or ask a teams to pay an equal amount each.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Time to revive this thread.

Testing times of today, March 11 2009:

Pos  Driver		Team					  Time	  Laps
 1.   Button		Brawn-Mercedes	   (B)  1:19.127  124
 2.   Massa		 Ferrari			  (B)  1:20.168  109
 3.   Kubica		BMW Sauber		   (B)  1:20.217  109
 4.   Glock		 Toyota TF109		 (B)  1:20.410   99
 5.   Alonso		Renault R29		  (B)  1:20.863  107
 6.   Vettel		Red Bull-Renault	 (B)  1:21.165  102
 7.   Rosberg	   Williams-Toyota	  (B)  1:21.324   89
 8.   Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes (B)  1:21.545   97
 9.   Buemi		 Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:21.569  140
10.  Hamilton	  McLaren-Mercedes	 (B)  1:21.657   82

With today's and the previous day's result I'd start becoming very worried as a McLaren fan. They're too far off the pace and experimenting too much two weeks before the first GP still.

Biggest surprise: Brawn GP. Button's 1:19 wasn't a show lap to attract sponsors either; according to posts on the Autosport forum he's done long-ish stints with times in the high 1:20s/low 1:21s today - which is really impressive for a car which has only seen a few days of testing so far. They have the potential to be the biggest surprise of the season.

In a way Brawn GP is a return to the roots of F1: An English privateer team with customer engine and a limited budget. It worked for Lotus, Tyrrell, Brabham, Williams et al. in earlier decades - I don't see why it shouldn't work for Brawn now.

Edit: Mods: Could you unpin the 2008 thread and pin this one please?

[Pilsbury]

You've maybe all seen this, but, worth a watch...

2009 car changes by S Vettel

[CrashG]

New safety car rules for 2009

New safety car rules for 2009FIA race director Charlie Whiting has confirmed that the safety car rules have been altered for the 2009 season. The previous regulations, which saw the pit lane closed for a period of time after the safety car?s deployment, came under intense scrutiny last year after several drivers were penalised for pitting to avoid running out of fuel.

The revisions for 2009, however, will see the pit lane remain open at all times. But to prevent drivers rushing back to the pits (the reason for the original rule change), a new electronic system, which uses the standard engine control unit (ECU), will be implemented.

?The rule introduced in 2007 was a bad one, and we?ve gone back to the 2006 regulations,? Whiting explained. ?The only difference is we intend to implement a minimum time back to the pits. When we deploy the safety car, the message will go to all the cars, which will then have a ?safety car? mode on their ECUs.

?As soon as that message gets to the car, it?ll know where it is on the circuit, and it?ll calculate a minimum time for the driver to get back to the pits. The driver will have to respect this and the information will be displayed on his dashboard.

?If you remember, the reason we closed the pit entry was to remove the incentive for the driver to come back to his pit quickly. That?s gone now, as you won?t be able to reach the pits any quicker than your dashboard display allows you to.?

The teams have already sampled a version of the new system after taking part in a trial, which was held during the 2008 French Grand Prix weekend.

Source

I like this method better than last seasons rules. For one main reason, it keeps you from being screwed if you didn't pit before the SC and are about to run out of fuel. Although it'll be interesting to see how many penalties result from gtoothe pits a little too quickly.

Can't hardly wait for the season to start. Only 15 more days till Melbourne (first practice session anyway).

[.mcman]

oh man, I can't believe it's just 15 more days. :jump: I hope McLaren and BMW will do good and their ugly cars will be fast.

Also, thumbs up for the new safety car rule, looking forward for a demonstration. :D

[CrashG]

I hope all the changes really do help to make passing easier. Also hope that several teams are able to battle for the top spots not just the "big" teams. Of course we won't really know how each team measures up until 3-4 races into the season, then we'll have a good idea where they stand. This could be quite an interesting and exciting season.

I hope BMW and Renault do well again this season, I'd really like to see (at least) a 4 team battle for the championship and not just a Ferrari McLaren fight.

[sundayx Veteran]

I can't wait, all these car changes means more exciting and surprising races!

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Today's testing times:

Pos  Driver		Team					   Time	 Laps
 1.   Barrichello   Brawn-Mercedes	   (B)  1:18.926  110
 2.   Rosberg	   Williams-Toyota	  (B)  1:19.774  120
 3.   Glock		 Toyota			   (B)  1:20.091  128
 4.   Vettel		Red Bull-Renault	 (B)  1:20.576   83
 5.   Alonso		Renault			  (B)  1:20.664   64
 6.   Massa		 Ferrari			  (B)  1:20.677   92
 7.   Kubica		BMW-Sauber		   (B)  1:20.740  134
 8.   Hamilton	  McLaren-Mercedes	 (B)  1:20.869   70
 9.   Buemi		 Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:21.013   62
10.  Fisichella	Force India-Mercedes (B)  1:21.045  141
11.  Bourdais	  Toro Rosso-Ferrari   (B)  1:21.629   27

:blink: @ Barichello's lap time. Almost 2 seconds faster than Hamilton? Wow.

[Antaris Veteran]

Another impressive day for Brawn-Mecedes!

[Dark_ph0enix]

I'm super-hyped for the 2009 / 10 season, mostly 'cause of the move to the BBC. On the off chance any of you haven't read this yet, here's an update from the BBC, laying out their plans for qualifying / test sessions, etc:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport...one/7755219.stm

[MightyJordan]

Wow, I'm surprised at Brawn-Mercedes! Topping the session yesterday and again today! I'm getting even more excited for the new season now thanks to this! 2009 is going to be a really interesting season. If Brawn can keep this up, perhaps we might see Jenson Button as a possible contender for the title this year?

[simonlang]

can anyone add a poll like in the f1 2007 and f1 2008 thread please? that would be nice

[CrashG]

can anyone add a poll like in the f1 2007 and f1 2008 thread please? that would be nice

I'm sure there will be one once someone makes a Official 2009 F1 thread.

Here's some news about the Ross Brawn team:

Rubens Barrichello Q&A: We will be the surprise of 2009

Robert Kubica Q&A: Brawn could be BMW?s biggest challenger

Felipe Massa Q&A: Brawn threat is genuine

Time will tell, but as a new team and a new car they do look quite strong in testing.

Edited March 13, 2009 by CrashGordon

[Shibby]

no one has said anything about Mercedes doubting the pace of their own car!

[CrashG]

no one has said anything about Mercedes doubting the pace of their own car!

Since you asked for it, here it is. :p

McLaren: We can make up performance shortfall

McLaren have admitted that their 2009 car is unlikely to challenge for victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, following its lacklustre testing times in Spain this week. However, the team insists the MP4-24?s problems are fixable.

World champion Lewis Hamilton and team mate Heikki Kovalainen languished in the lower half of the timesheets throughout the four days at the Circuit de Catalunya, prompting the team to concede that they may not be competitive in time for Melbourne.

?This week the car has run in Barcelona with an updated aero package, as we had always planned it would, and a performance shortfall has been identified that we are now working hard to resolve," said team principal Martin Whitmarsh.

McLaren are now hoping that an additional test next week - a luxury most of their rivals don?t have - will allow them to pinpoint the downforce issues before the team departs their Woking base for the Albert Park race at the end of this month.

?We aim to continue to develop the car, and the result should be measurable on the stopwatch,? added Whitmarsh. ?Will MP4-24 be as quick as we want it to be by March 29? Perhaps not. Will it be quicker than it has been this week at the Barcelona test? Yes. Will it improve as we develop its aero and thereby address its problems in the coming weeks and months? Most certainly."

Mercedes-Benz Motorsport?s Norbert Haug, who also saw his company?s engines top the Barcelona timesheet courtesy of Ross Brawn?s new team, echoed Whitmarsh?s comments, insisting McLaren are quite capable of coming from behind to challenge for the title.

"We have fixed problems together in the past and we will succeed in doing it again,? he said. ?Expect us to fight back even if it takes some time. If we were not be capable of building competitive Formula One cars, we would not have won one third of all Grands Prix during the past four years."

McLaren?s final pre-season test runs from March 15-18 at Jerez in Spain.

Source

[MightyJordan]

Oh no. :( Just seen on Sky Sports News that the championship is going to be decided on race wins now instead of points.

This is seriously gonna F things up now. :(

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12433_5063206,00.html

[Fourjays Veteran]

A driver wins 2 races and bins the car for the rest. Another guy wins 1 and comes 2nd in all other races. Second driver is clearly better but the first still wins? :hmmm:

[MightyJordan]

A driver wins 2 races and bins the car for the rest. Another guy wins 1 and comes 2nd in all other races. Second driver is clearly better but the first still wins? :hmmm:

Exactly. It could happen, but it shouldn't. Does anyone here know of another racing championship that uses this system and is still going strong today?

[CrashG]

Can't say that I like the new rule change on who wins the championship. Use points to decide the winner and finishes to determine ties like usual.

Off topic: Congrats Fourjays on the staff position. :)