Formula 1

[Sark79]

Not long now untill the first race of the season.

I can't wait for this. It has been my favorite sport for years.

I was pleased to see Schumacher back on pole. It was sad to see a great driver like him struggle last year. His new team mate Massa is going to give him a run for his money this year.

This is my top 3 for the season .

1. Schumacher will be champion again.  As this will more than likely be his final season, his motivation will be higher than ever. I just feel he is too good not to win this year. So far the ferrari looks good, even if the Mclaren proves to be a stronger package. I still feel Schumacher will be the Champion come the end of the season. Back in 94/95 the Bennetton wasn't as good as the Williams, but Schumacher used his talent to overcome any disadvantages.

2. Raikkonen will be runner up. I can see Raikkonen winning alot of races. But overall he will finnish second. It will be a great fight between him and Schumacher.

3. Alonso/ Button.  This is a tough one to decide. Because Alonso is leaving Renault at the end of the season, this may sway the momentum in favour of Button. The Honda looks good and Button is out to prove his critics wrong.

I think BMW will spring a few suprises as well.  Jacques Villeneuve knows this is his final chance and will be under pressure from his team mate Nick Heidfeld. Heidfeld is underated, and at one time was Montoya's main rival in Formula 3000. This is my favorite team and Villeneuve has always been my favorite driver since his Indy Car days. I think there will be podium finnishes from this team.

Who do you think will win the championship?   Who will be the suprise of the season?

[TightEnd]

I enjoy Formula 1, but no where near as much as when I was younger.....


I prefer saloon car racing. why?

formula 1 is processional...very little overtaking and many races decided by strategy and pit stops. In part this is the design of the tracks, in part technology, in part aerodynamics

Indianapolis last year made a mockery of the sport. I think the spectre of Ecllestone and politics dominates the sport, to its detriment.

any sport dominated by a few teams without the element of surprise becomes monotonous...money talks in a lot of sports, but Formula 1 is a prime example. Alonso winning last year was good news but this year will be dominated by Renaulty, Ferrari and Mclaren. Again. Yawn.


that said


to win the championship...Raikkonen...i hope it happens before he goes to Ferrari, possibly next season on Schumacher's retirement

surprise? well here we are really looking for a hot up and coming driver rather than any genuine expectation that a second tier team will be up there....I think Nico Rosberg, who was terrific in the junior marques, may mark himself out as something special at Williams this year

[Colchester Kev]

And I would rather watch paint dry

[Sark79]

Mid 90's BTCC... fantastic . John Cleland, Menu, Rydell. Such a great series.

I hope Rosberg does well also.

When I see a talented young driver come into f1. I always remember back to 97 when Jan Magnusson came into f1 for Stewart- FORD.

In the years leading up to f1 he was compared to Ayrton Senna. He actually beat Senna's record of F3 wins in 94. ( he won 14 races in 1994 ) However within 18 months of getting the F1 seat with Stewart he was sacked.

I hope Rosberg does well, but I am not going to comment just yet.

[Jim-D]

what is the start time for this?

[TightEnd]

Mid 90's BTCC... fantastic . John Cleland, Menu, Rydell. Such a great series.

I hope Rosberg does well also.

When I see a talented young driver come into f1. I always remember back to 97 when Jan Magnusson came into f1 for Stewart- FORD.

In the years leading up to f1 he was compared to Ayrton Senna. He actually beat Senna's record of F3 wins in 94. ( he won 14 races in 1994 ) However within 18 months of getting the F1 seat with Stewart he was sacked.

I hope Rosberg does well, but I am not going to comment just yet.

and even the BTCC is a shadow of its former self...such a shame. I have actually become a big fan of the Indy car series on the American Ovals.....now that is dare-devil stuff...Dan Wheldon a Brit won it last year

I am not annointing Rosberg as the next big thing, but it would be good to see the sport have a new superstar

[Sark79]

ITV, at 10:30am, Jim

Yea I agree the I.R.L is a great series.  It would be nice if Rosberg could become the new star of F1. His dad did it, so why not him.

5 years from now f1 will have so many son's of ex-drivers.  Lauda's, Mansell's, Senna's nephew, Schecter son could switch from I.R.L, and Rosberg, Nelson Piquet Jnr.  It will be like f1 from the eighties all over again. All of these are on their way up in motorsport right now. Also watch out for Lewis Hamilton. He is doing special things in the junior series and will be a british star soon.

[neeko]

I am a big fan of Formula 1 and this year should be one of the best.

Whenever they introduce big changes there is always a few races whilst the teams work out the best way to adapt.

The 3 best people in F1 are M Schumacher, Adrian Newey and Ross Braun, (although I will give a lot of respect to Willie Webber for negotiating such massive contracts for Ralf Schumacher (and WW's 20%) when RS is rubbish).

Each of them can add a second a lap to a car though either driving, design or tactics.

I hope Raikkonen wins the championship with Mclaren this year, although I again fear for their consistancy and his just plain bad luck.

It will be close all year with hopfully at least 6 different race winners. (Michael, Rubuns, Jenson (finally), Kimi, Fernando and either Filippe or Juan Pablo).

Roll on Bahrain, my pick is Jenson for tommorrow, and finally a decent presenter Steve Rider should be a lot better than Jim Rosentall  although it will take a while till he sounds convicing, that he knows what he is talking about, I see the polo shirts have gone as well.

[TightEnd]

Steve Rider has extensive business interests in motor racing and really knows his stuff...a huge improvement on Rosenthal

and Brundle is one of the best "colour" men in the business....a wonderful commentator and was a much under-rated driver

[Gryffles]

This is what really got me into F1 way back when:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7409591382618201716

That wasn't part of a race, it was a duel pure and simple.
Unfortunately the sport has progressed with the times and become more PC and less "who's going to die this season", which is probably a good thing, but its a good deal more boring.

Hopefully the new rules and the smaller engine sizes make for some more interesting races this season.
One interesting thing is that the engines rev to around 19-20k, which should make them faster wearing and less reliable, which should increase variance for the drivers ( ha - had to get a poker term in somewhere ).

[Gryffles]

PS: Why is everyone saying Schumacher had an awful year last year?
He finished third, to drivers who were clearly in faster cars, and yet he still beat their teammates.
He had a good year but was let down on the team side of things.

[TightEnd]

Unfortunately the sport has progressed with the times and become more PC and less "who's going to die this season", which is probably a good thing, but its a good deal more boring.

probably?

crikey, care to delete the word probably?!

[Sark79]

lol. Gryffles

I knew that was going to be the clip.. because that is my favorite f1 clip as well. It is so amazing.

My other favorite is from an Ayrton Senna video. He is driving through Monaco and it shows onboard views.  

Senna is still my hero. He was brave, commited and had fantastic talent. I am not sure who is the greatest Senna or Schumacher.

I love the way Schumacher has driven against some of the great drivers from the past, Senna, Mansel, Piquet, Hill, Prost, Patrase, Hakkinen. And he is still able to mix it with the modern stars like Raikkonen and Alonso. He reminds me of Stephen Hendry who has played with different generations of stars.

[Nem]

I enjoy the hype which surrounds F1, but tbh it is very boring to watch after the first corner.