Formula 1 2009

[raketooy]

They've already decided to drop it and use the normal points system for this season.

Oh, I was a bit torn about the wins-decide-the-champion thing but IMO they should at least change the point system somehow. Maybe bring back 10-6-4-3-2-1.

 

[Dell19]

Personally I would just give more points to the winner as having 8 positions score points makes the races a bit more interest as there is usually some sort of worthwhile battle occurring.

 

[Formaldehyde]

It's all worth it just to hear this sportwriter whine about it:

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/606638

Because of a worldwide public outcry (translation: fans went wild) that followed the highly unsatisfactory conclusion of the world championship of drivers last year (in which the guy who won the most races, Felipe Massa, was beaten in the points on the last lap of the last race by a guy, Lewis Hamilton, who only had to finish fifth and managed to do so in suspicious circumstances), the FIA announced last week that from now on the world champion would be the driver who wins the most races.

I have argued for years that the only thing that matters in car racing is winning. The winner of the race is the guy who gets the money and the girl.

I do not go to car races to see somebody drive "consistently" (as Mark Webber put it — and if ever you want a definition of "cruising" or "cruiser," all you have to do is watch that guy drive). No, I go to car races, be they NASCAR or F1 or Indy cars or supermodifieds, to see somebody drive balls to the wall to win. Nothing else matters to me.

My favourite driver is — and remains — Paul Tracy for that very reason. All the years he was at the top, in CART, he would always talk about trying to finish races "to get the points" but I knew he was lying because all that ever mattered to Tracy was winning.

Before Tracy it was Gilles Villeneuve because whether it was Formula Ford or Formula One, he wanted to set the fastest speed in qualifying and then win every lap of every race.

So a guy who had to finish fifth in the last race and drove like it won the world championship last year. If I was a fan of Lewis Hamilton's talent, I was robbed in that race because he didn't drive to his potential. He didn't drive to win; he drove to finish.

Boo hoo. I suddenly remembered why I don't read sports columnists. What could I have been thinking?

 

[GravityWave]

Go rear diffuser three! Still won't quite believe Ferrari are where they are until after qualy, but it seems like they ain't sandbagging and have made a mess of things, though not as much as McLaren. Wish it was Saturday already - can't wait.

 

[Darth_Pugwash]

Yeah, I can't wait either. I'm going to take a wild stab at a prediction and say: Barrichello for WDC, Brawn for WCC.

Bring on the race!

 

[raketooy]

Wow, that was shocking. I hadn't followed the media much before this qualifying and I am just shocked by Brawn's performance.

 

[Rossiya]

I am happy for Button. That will show the ITV up for licking Hamilton's balls since time immemoriam.

 

[Formaldehyde]

All I can say is wow. Brawn GP taking the first 2 positions in its very first race. A new team hasn't won pole since Jackie Stewart did it in 1970 for March.

It's just too bad that rules interpretation is really the reason. Three teams interpreted the new diffuser rules to their distinct advantage. A huge ambiguity like this should never happen in sporting rules and regulations in the interest of fairness. It's really too bad it won't be resolved oneway or the other until at least after the next race.

It also means that all the teams will now have to be building new rears so as not to lose even more time if the ruling goes one way or the other.

I also didn't realize that the KERS system has the capacity to electrify the entire car so it can be a hazard if a course worker touches it after an incident or a breakdown. What an incredibly bad idea that could cost a driver his life by slowing response after a serious incident.

 

[Darth_Pugwash]

I'm not surprised that the Brawns are on top; in fact I was expecting them to be the team to beat. They've been working on the car for more than a year and they were the fastest team around by quite some margin once they began testing.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Simply because they are one of the 3 teams that used the liberal interpretation of the rules. Essentially, we now have a 3-team F1 championship until this is resolved.

Looking back on it, it's pretty easy to come up with what probably should have happened. When there are drastic rules changes like this, I think the FIA needs to actively inspect the resulting designs for signs of taking advantage of interpretive holes in the rules like this.

 

[Joe Harker]

Simply because they are one of the 3 teams that used the liberal interpretation of the rules. Essentially, we now have a 3-team F1 championship until this is resolved.

Looking back on it, it's pretty easy to come up with what probably should have happened. When there are drastic rules changes like this, I think the FIA needs to actively inspect the resulting designs for signs of taking advantage of interpretive holes in the rules like this.

Why, I'd say it's a great engineering solution by the three teams. As long as it hasn't broken the rules, I'd say well done to the three teams who found a way to get the best out of the part. And I don't think it's fair to constantly moniter each teams desgin. And I don't still see how it would have prevented the situation, the three teams would have still designed it and used it, the other teams would still be complaining about it, the only thing it could do is confirm the legality of it earlier.

Just a note though, I get the distinct impression that the diffuser is not the only major advantage Brawn GP has, since they were still a considerable faster than the Williams and the Toyota's in qualifying.

 

[raketooy]

Now that it's legal I don't think it's gonna take long for other teams to make similar rears.

 

[Darth_Pugwash]

The Brawn is just a good, quick car, especially over long runs if testing is anything to go by... it's not all down to one part.

I doubt we'll see a three-horse diffuser-team championship, Williams and Toyota looked to be around upper-midfield in quali and that's with Toyota apparently running an illegal rear wing (for which they'll start at the back of the grid tomorrow).

My feeling is that the diffusers will be ruled legal anyways, they'll probably all be using the protested design by the time the season is half way through.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the race, can't wait to see what happens. Honestly I won't mind at all if Brawn run away with it, because it would be such a great story after what happened in the winter.

Nine hours to go!

 

[Formaldehyde]

Now that it's legal I don't think it's gonna take long for other teams to make similar rears.

No, the stewards at the tracked ruled it was legal. Now comes the inevitable appeal which must be heard in a court:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/sports/autoracing/28iht-PRIX.html

Race stewards ruled late Thursday that the diffusers are legal. But several teams served notice of intention to appeal the decision, and the race results of the three teams will not be official until the appeal is heard.

My feeling is that the diffusers will be ruled legal anyways, they'll probably all be using the protested design by the time the season is half way through.

Well, that's hardly fair. It would actually be much fairer if the appeal is granted and the 3 teams with the substantial advantage are all disqualified. Either way, it should never have happened. There should be no broad interpretation like this in the rules. It simply isn't fair to all the other teams.

 

[azzaman333]

Sucks to be Vettel and Kubica right now.

 

[classical_hero]

Definitely. But Hamilton did quite well to finish were he did.

 

[raketooy]

Brawn 1-2 wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, at least for Barrichello's part. Shame to see Räikkönen go again. I'm counting on Ferrari and McLaren to get diffusers for the third or fourth race and we'll see really tight competition.

How is this Buemi guy's surname pronounced? Is it like German 'Bümi' or something other since he seems to be French-speaking?

 

[Smokey_Monkey]

Great result for the British drivers!

 

[Rossiya]

Nice to see a team that isnt filled to the brim with corporate advertising win.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Definitely. But Hamilton did quite well to finish were he did.

Pfft. It seems to be nothing short of miraculous. Unfortunately, the Australian coverage ignored him most of the day so we really didn't get a chance to observe his progress through the field. At least the McLaren appears to race much better than it qualifies.

Nice to see a team that isnt filled to the brim with corporate advertising win.

I bet that will soon change based on this race alone, much less the next few races until the other teams catch up to the new new rules..