Formula 1 2012

[ryushen21]

Anyone here watching this season? It seems to be shaping up to be more interesting than last year's and a lot more competitive. I have to say that I like the fact that there is already controversy over the Merc team's wing design.

[PSNELKE]

I could really see one of the McLaren guys winning it this year.
I would like to see Lewis winning it, cause he is the better driver in the team, Button however is more consistent.

I don't think the FIA is going to let them change anything on their design, they simply got something over the others, just like Red Bull last year with the double diffusor which made even a bigger difference.
Seems like they really closed the gap to Red Bull Racing, who had by far the superior car in the previous years.

And I really hope Schuhmacher makes it on the podium at least once this year, as it seems they also have an improved car.

Ferrari will have a VERY difficult year of 2012, they seem even worse than last year to me.

[ryushen21]

I think that Hamilton wants it the most. I mean just look at his face on the podium from Australia. He knew that should have been his race.

I'm glad that FIA ruled in favor of Merc's design being legal if for no other reason than it might give Schuey a serious chance at a win. He just has to have another win before he hangs it up for good.

I think that there is just a huge storm around Ferrari. It was a good thing for them that Alonso pulled of 5th place last week but they have got to get it together. I don't want to seem like a bandwaggoner but I think that Massa needs to go because he just has not performed up to anyone's expectations. That team really needs people who will just drive the hell out of the car.

All together though, this should be a really good year.

[West Coast Ace]

I'm not happy - why does McLaren have the nicely contoured nose while all the other teams have the ugly (non-aerodynamic) step down nose? I'm not a conspiracy guy - but something tells me the powers that be really want McLaren to win after Red Bull's dominance. I cannot believe no other team figured out how to get the same measurements without the nasty step down.

I tend to root for Alonso - can't believe Ferrari still can't come up with a decent car. Wouldn't mind seeing Kimi have some good results too.

Also not happy with the price of the 2012 F1.com Timing app for the iPhone. $28.99? How many mansions do you need Bernie?

[bezs]

I hope Nico Rosberg manages to win his first Grand Prix this season.

[TopFH]

McLaren and Red Bull are the contenders for the driver and team titles. Ferrari needs fast changes to keep up.

[chmee]

Well, leading the championship after two races is not that bad result for a presumably mishappen car. Due to the difficult race conditions today, luck and Alonso's special talent secured him the first place anyway.

I think we are into a season with many contenders for race wins and a close call for the championship in the end. My humble quess would be Button, but I'm actually rooting for Rosberg since I have bet him to beat Schu in total points.

The Red Bull's edge has literally been blown away with their blown diffusor (not double diffusor) being prohibited. McLaren looks very strong, especially in qualifying. So does Mercedes GP, but due to tyre degradation issues their race performance has been disasterous so far. Besides these four teams, Lotus and Sauber seem to me very competitive. Perez could easily have overtaken Alonso today
before the flag had he not been so impatient.

On the other paw we have seen no ordinary race yet this season. Today it was the weather, and Melbourne is rather a special track anyway to allow much conclusions.

As to the noses in this year's design Glock said something like 'the winning car allways is beautiful'. I second that

[ryushen21]

Good stuff all around.

I was really looking at the McLaren today and I can't figure out how they managed to avoid the repugnantly ugly step down in their design. But like Mercedes' F-Duct, it passed scrutineering so what the heck do I know? I think the more competitive the season the better.

Obviously I think that McLaren are the front runners right now. I think that today's race could have easily gone Hamilton's way if they had pitted him first and the jack man hadn't f'ed up his pit stop. Behind them it's really hard to say.

I think that if Mercedes can keep from eating up their tires on race day then they will have a chance to be serious competitors. Red Bull just seems to be struggling a whole lot to find the groove with their cars right now. Ferrari has chance to pull something together if they could get a decent partner for Alonso and I also really like the Lotus team as well. I don't want to speak too soon on Sauber but I think that things are looking up for them as well.

I'm looking forward to see what developments occur between now and China. I'm just glad that we have a far more exciting season.

Now if COA would just speed things up and release ticket sales I could go ahead and get mine for November!

[West Coast Ace]

@ryushen21 - +1. Want to go to Austin too.

Rain in KL? Who would have thunk it? Too bad little King Bernie is too greedy to start the race earlier to avoid the afternoon downpours.

[bigant2984]

i like the way the season has begun so far, way better that last year, its nice to see 2 different drivers win in the first 2 race of the season, i hope lewis can get a win soon after starting on the pole twice, i am also very impressed with kimi in his first 2 starts, he finished good last race even being penalized, alonso got a some luck throw his way last race, alot of the younger drivers are looking better seems there finding there way, i just hope lewis can put a win up so we can bring home another world champion ship for 2012

[bigant2984]

Originally Posted by West Coast Ace

I'm not happy - why does McLaren have the nicely contoured nose while all the other teams have the ugly (non-aerodynamic) step down nose? I'm not a conspiracy guy - but something tells me the powers that be really want McLaren to win after Red Bull's dominance. I cannot believe no other team figured out how to get the same measurements without the nasty step down.

I tend to root for Alonso - can't believe Ferrari still can't come up with a decent car. Wouldn't mind seeing Kimi have some good results too.

Also not happy with the price of the 2012 F1.com Timing app for the iPhone. $28.99? How many mansions do you need Bernie?

yeah i think mclaren made the right choice not goin with the stepped nose, there are looking really fast

[ryushen21]

Originally Posted by bigant2984

i like the way the season has begun so far, way better that last year, its nice to see 2 different drivers win in the first 2 race of the season, i hope lewis can get a win soon after starting on the pole twice, i am also very impressed with kimi in his first 2 starts, he finished good last race even being penalized, alonso got a some luck throw his way last race, alot of the younger drivers are looking better seems there finding there way, i just hope lewis can put a win up so we can bring home another world champion ship for 2012

Lewis will get his wins. I still think that if he had pitted first and hadn't had that bit of bad luck with the jack man, that he would have been in the lead instead of Alonso.

But I can't say that I am really mad about the result because I love the Ferrari history with that team and definitely want to see them have success.

I think that Kimi is a bit of a wildcard and that is definitely something that F1 needed.

Originally Posted by bigant2984

yeah i think mclaren made the right choice not goin with the stepped nose, there are looking really fast

I think that the more important question is HOW did McLaren get away with that nose. Considering how much the teams spend on engineering and aerodynamics, It just doesn't exactly match up that only one team out of all of them would figure out how to pull of that type of nose design.

WCA,

I'm looking forward to Austin. I know that I will probably only be able to afford GA tickets but that would be better than nothing. I would love to sit up on the grandstands but I just think that the cost will be too much.

[Ash_Smith]

I believe that McLaren already a lower front wing position than the rest of the field last season, so therefore it wasn't a massive stretch for the engineers to find a solution for this season's regulations.

As for Lewis, the pit crew cost him the opportunity to take the win, had the rear jack man been clean, Lewis would have been out in front of Fernando and had the chance to take the win. Fair play to Alonso though, that Ferrari has no business being out in front, it's a real pig by all accounts, but he absolutely drove the wheels off it!

Looking a good season!

Cheers

[ryushen21]

Originally Posted by Ash_Smith

I believe that McLaren already a lower front wing position than the rest of the field last season, so therefore it wasn't a massive stretch for the engineers to find a solution for this season's regulations.

As for Lewis, the pit crew cost him the opportunity to take the win, had the rear jack man been clean, Lewis would have been out in front of Fernando and had the chance to take the win. Fair play to Alonso though, that Ferrari has no business being out in front, it's a real pig by all accounts, but he absolutely drove the wheels off it!

Looking a good season!

Cheers

I think that was probably the most impressive thing. Since testing they have been complaining about how bad the car handles and all the other problems plaguing them. But you wouldn't have known it at all by the way he drove that thing.

[bigant2984]

[quote=ryushen21;6425694]Lewis will get his wins. I still think that if he had pitted first and hadn't had that bit of bad luck with the jack man, that he would have been in the lead instead of Alonso.

But I can't say that I am really mad about the result because I love the Ferrari history with that team and definitely want to see them have success.

I think that Kimi is a bit of a wildcard and that is definitely something that F1 needed.



I think that the more important question is HOW did McLaren get away with that nose. Considering how much the teams spend on engineering and aerodynamics, It just doesn't exactly match up that only one team out of all of them would figure out how to pull of that type of nose design.

WCA,

I'm looking forward to Austin. I know that I will probably only be able to afford GA tickets but that would be better than nothing. I would love to sit up on the grandstands but I just think that the cost will be too much.[/

yeah lewis did have some bad luck

its great to see the best drivers and some of the younger guys scoring points, mix things up a little

i love mclaren, but its nice to see ferrari back in the mix and running strong in a race, i enjoy it when its competitive, and im glad things didnt start the way they did last year !

im really excited about austin, i wont mind a GA ticket cause that is def all i will be able to afford , if i can afford it at all, ill stay in a crapy hotel if i have to just to be there , and i have no problem going alone, i just need to see and f1 race before i die !!!!!!!!!!

[bigant2984]

[quote=ryushen21;6425694]Lewis will get his wins. I still think that if he had pitted first and hadn't had that bit of bad luck with the jack man, that he would have been in the lead instead of Alonso.

But I can't say that I am really mad about the result because I love the Ferrari history with that team and definitely want to see them have success.

I think that Kimi is a bit of a wildcard and that is definitely something that F1 needed.



I think that the more important question is HOW did McLaren get away with that nose. Considering how much the teams spend on engineering and aerodynamics, It just doesn't exactly match up that only one team out of all of them would figure out how to pull of that type of nose design.

WCA,

its great to see the best drivers and some of the younger guys scoring points, mix things up a little

i love mclaren, but its nice to see ferrari back in the mix and running strong in a race, i enjoy it when its competitive, and im glad things didnt start the way they did last year !

im really excited about austin, i wont mind a GA ticket cause that is def all i will be able to afford , if i can afford it at all, ill stay in a crapy hotel if i have to just to be there , and i have no problem going alone, i just need to see and f1 race before i die !!!!!!!!!!

[ryushen21]

Well it looks like Red Bull is at it again still going after Mercedes and their wing design. Is it just me or does it seem like they are grasping at straws. Merc has not had a good performance regardless of their wing tech and can't keep their cars from eating tires.

I know the Red Bull team is suffering but this just seems petty to me as they have already gone through two appeals and FIA has upheld the design both times.

[ryushen21]

Any thoughts on the first practices from China?

Schuey looks good but of course the Mercs are having problems with tire degradation. Hamilton is still quick but is facing that penalty for the gearbox change.

Shaping up to be an interesting race...

[chmee]

Impressive flat out from Nico.

After Malaysia Ross Brawn described their car as a conundrum puzzle, so it is obvious that the team has done a really good job in the past three weeks. The car worked the tyres perfectly. The weather conditions of course were ideal for them, as well as the track layout. Had Schu survived his first pitstop Mercedes could even have made an one-two finish.

Behind Nico it was a close call between McLaren, RB and Lotus, with a slight edge for McLaren. Without his mishappen second pitstop Button would have been much closer to Nico, but I don't think close enough to actually challenge him, since Mercedes' strategy seemed the superior one today.

Allthough RB struggles a lot in qualifying, they are still competitive in the race. The tyre degradation issue seemingly hit Kimi the most as he dropped from the second place outside of top 10 in just 1 1/2 laps short before finish. Thus Lotus together with Sauber were the under performers today, while I think Ferrari made the most of their car under their present configuration.

Heading for Bahrain I hope we won't see any tanks on the circuit

[Ash_Smith]

Dull as dishwater until the last 12 laps and then one of the best periods of racing i've seen in years!

Cheers