The F1 Thread (3 Viewers)

[Komit]

Well there you go. I was right about 1998.

There was some controversy about it as well because Ferrari and McLaren re-signed with them and everyone thought something shifty was going on. Ahhh, it's all coming back.

 

[Cape]

Anyone watch RPM today when they interviewed Bernie? I ended up in a yelling contest with the tv, lol. I can't believe Bernie some days, geez, his attitude changes more than the times I change stations during a race!

Oh and ralfie! omgosh, he was such a lil cutie when he was a kid. Even my mum thought so! And most of that interview was from Jan when Toyota launched the car. Although I was just about crying when they showed the two indy races

 

[Komit]

Hahahaha - shut up. Obviously you haven't seen that shot of Ralf with his braces and pimples all over his face.

Bernie is a faggot. He done so much for the sport, but he is going to ruin it along with Ferrari.

Interesting.........


Kimi to replace Schu at Ferrari?




Ferrari are ready to replace reigning World Champion with McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen for next season if the Finn fails to land this year's drivers' title, according to a report in the News of the World.

The article quotes an unnamed Ferrari source, which says that the team are pretty certain the German will retire at the end of the season should he claim the final F1 record that eludes him - Ayrton Senna's record of 65 career pole positions.

The insider revealed: "Michael has done it all.

"He has won seven world titles and holds just about every record there is in the sport - apart from the number of pole positions.

"If he gets that, as he is likely to do this season, he has hinted he will call it a day.

"The pole position mark is the only worthwhile record left he has to break."

Schumacher is just one behind that tally as things stand after the Hungarian GP, and Raikkonen refused to commit his long-term future to McLaren when asked about the rumour on Saturday.

"I have not made up my mind about my future," he responded.

"I don't know what is happening yet.

"Maybe I stay with McLaren because I am happy with all the people there, even if we have had some difficult times.

"But we need to work in a better way just to make sure the car is very reliable."

The 25-year-old's championship hopes were boosted last weekend when he claimed victory in Budapest, but several engine failures have left his overall chances in tatters.

 

[Cape]

Bullshite!
Michael is NOT leaving ferrari at the end of the season, and I wouldn't be surprised if he did stay on after 2006.

Kimi won't join ferrari until Michael goes. Because poor lil Kimi doesn't want to be Michael's bridesmaid. Dennis will do anything to keep Kimi, but I think Kimi is fed up with Mclarens poor reliability. Todt wants Kimi at Ferrari.

I wouldn't be surprised if at the end of 2006 (if schumacher retires) that Kimi does go to Ferrari.

 

[Orange Juice]

i doubt kimi would change at the end of this season, maybe the next but not this one...

 

[Cape]

All this started because it was leeked that Kimi does not have a contract for next season. And then you know what happens next Its the same thing thats happening with Mika - going to BMW, which hes not.

Mclaren will resign Kimi whenever, but they have much bigger issues to deal with first, ie: their engine reliability and a possible WC!! Although Dennis better put together a binding contract, otherwise Kimi will go. I think if he has another year, like the past 2 years, hes off to ferrari definately.

 

[Grizzly]

Todt wants kimi coz he knows he's better than michael hands down.

 

[Cape]

Grizzly, sweetie, lets not start on the Michael vs Kimi debate AGAIN! Cause we both know which driver is better Michael

Lol, its the summer break and rumours are going throught the field faster than Montoyas drugs! Yesterday it was Mika returning to BMW as well as Fisi and Webber to change seats.

I need a race, I'm already going insane

 

[johnny_87]

Kimi may have more outright pace than Schumi now (probably not), but he certainly doesn't have the racecraft and ability to bring the car home.

Schumi is wiser than Kimi and would have had no problem pitting for a new tyre and picking up 8 points at the nurburgring had he been in Kiimi's shoes.

How one can say that the driver of the quickest car out there who has achieved little so far is better than a 7-time WDC with almost every record confuses me.

BTW - Kimi is #2 IMHO, just not quite at the level of Schumi.

 

[Cape]

Kimi may have more outright pace than Schumi now (probably not), but he certainly doesn't have the racecraft and ability to bring the car home.

Not Kimi's problem that Mercedes haven't got their act together. I've just finished watching a few races from 2001, and omgosh, those mclarens had reliability issues then, and they STILL have no improved over 5 years!

Schumi is wiser than Kimi and would have had no problem pitting for a new tyre and picking up 8 points at the nurburgring had he been in Kiimi's shoes.

I don't know if Schumacher would have pitted. They are both racers, they want to win. And who was actually to know that the tyre would blow up at the first corner of the last lap, the tyre could not have blown up at all. Its a little bit of luck

How one can say that the driver of the quickest car out there who has achieved little so far is better than a 7-time WDC with almost every record confuses me.

Kimi scored points on debut, Michael didn't. Although, Michael did qualify better than Kimi in debut. But alot has changed. Kimi will probably be successful, but never to the extent Michael is. Michael is like a household name!

Jesus! I sound like I'm defending Kimi!!! Which is pretty sad Kimi is a great driver, if he had the reliability, then we could be in for some GREAT racing. But he won't be the next Schumacher, cause technically, the only person who can be the next Schumacher is Ralf

 

[johnny_87]

Kimi scored points on debut, Michael didn't. Although, Michael did qualify better than Kimi in debut. But alot has changed. Kimi will probably be successful, but never to the extent Michael is. Michael is like a household name!

Well Schumi qualified 7th in a Jordan almost a second ahead of his experienced team-mate (De Cesaris I think). And at a driver's circuit.

The 6 ahead of him were Senna, Mansell, Patrese, Alesi and Berger (forget the other). All in top cars. A magnificent effort. And he cooked his clutch at the start because he had never had to start a F1 car before. :rofl:

And yes Kimi will be a top driver. I hope he beats Alonso this year as I just can't stand him. When he holds his fingers up to indicate how many races he's won it just reeks of a wanna-be Rossi. He's too arrogant considering he's only ever won 7 races and has had tremendous luck this year. Rant over.

 

[Komit]

Yes it was De Cesaris, but in 1991 the 7Up Jordans weren't all that bad. They had ran in the top six a few times, and in Hungary (one race before Belgium), Gachot set the fastest lap. Nonetheless, Schumi's debut was stunning - and if he continued, he may well have finished on the podium as De Cesaris was running second until he crashed or retired (can't remember).

At the moment though, Kimi is BETTER than Michael Schumacher. Why? Because the driver performances tend to fluctuate with different conditions, and some real signs of Schumacher weakness are creeping out as the endless rantings of "SCHUMI CAN WIN IN ANY CAR" are being dispelled.

 

[Grizzly]

komit, i hear some arrows f1 memrobillia, and even perhaps a car, is goin up for auction...

 

[johnny_87]

At the moment though, Kimi is BETTER than Michael Schumacher. Why? Because the driver performances tend to fluctuate with different conditions, and some real signs of Schumacher weakness are creeping out as the endless rantings of "SCHUMI CAN WIN IN ANY CAR" are being dispelled.

Well he's not superhuman. There's only so much one can do in F1 now that driver aids bridge the gap. Just have a look how convincingly he is beating Rubens (no slouch) by - as much as he ever has.

He qualified 1st by 0.95 at Hungary with 3 laps more fuel than Raikkonen. A dusty track does not make THAT much difference. Kimi still makes too many small mistakes. You wouldn't see Schumi (and haven't so far) continually lock his brakes so badly that the vibrations cause the suspension to go bang.

 

[Komit]

The suspension went bang because of the flat spots on the tyres and the vibrations because of that. And there are no driver aids in F1 any more.

 

[johnny_87]

I know that. Maybe I didn't word it too well.

Lock brakes ---> Flat spot the tyres ---> Vibrations --> Suspension shot


TC is a driver aid. So is power steering.

 

[Komit]

I don't think locking up the brakes has had much to do with flat spotting as has the new tyre regulations.

I don't consider traction control as a driver aid, as in many ways, it complicates the driver's job more. The drivers have to no manually change traction control settings, override the TC system and most importantly, they have to this with impeccable timing and precision - most often approaching or mid-corner.

As for power steering, I guess it is. And if we are going into the detail, the biggest "driver aid" would have to be the process of changing gears. They just flick the paddle and the car's software and hydraulics do the rest. However, in light of all the other shit they have to do (brake bias, diff pressure, lock, etc.), the whole process is extremely difficult. Let's face it, they can all drive any car incredibly quick, but it's the ability to use the technology and resources given to them to maximise their speed which separates the good from the best - and this is why Schumacher has excelled over the years. But now that the car isn't up to scratch, he is finding it quite difficult.

 

[johnny_87]

But do you really think Kimi would be just 8 (or 10) points behind Schumi if Schumi were in the McLaren and Kimi in the Ferrari?

And locking the brakes is still the same. It's just that one was able to get away with doing it a few times in a race because they went through 3 or 4 sets of tyres in a race rather than just the one. Also, once you flat spot a tyre, it becomes easier to flat spot it a second and third time. So when a tyre is flat-spotted 5 or 6 times, it can easily cause the suspension to break (like with Kimi).

 

[Komit]

I was making the point that if Schumacher had a better car he would be winning. So yes, in the McLaren, Schumi would be much more dominant because that's what he is best at - using what he has to it's fullest potential.

With flat-spotting, the vibrations and suspension damage set in when the tyre scrubbed to about 3-4mm and all you get is the carcass, so this would never occur when they were allowed to change tyres. Nowadays (even with the harder compunds) flat-spotting has become more frequent - and locking the brakes isn't the key contributor, although, it can intensify the flat-spotting process. The Nurburgring (where Kimi's suspension broke), is very hard on tyres and many of the Michelin runners did suffer flat-spotting and did suffer from vibrations, but Kimi's case of flat-spotting was worsened by the fact that he had run off-course and lock up heavily while lapping Villeneuve. Regardless of this, you can't really blame him for what happened at the 'Ring as it was Ron Dennis' decision that kept him out there. Maybe he could have nursed the tyres a bit more, but ultimately, it was the basic premise of not being allowed to change tyres that caused his suspension to break - not poor driving.

P.S. I have no doubt, though, that if Schuey was in Kimi's position, he would have won 0 flat spots and all.

 

[Cape]

And yes Kimi will be a top driver. I hope he beats Alonso this year as I just can't stand him. When he holds his fingers up to indicate how many races he's won it just reeks of a wanna-be Rossi. He's too arrogant considering he's only ever won 7 races and has had tremendous luck this year. Rant over.

Oooh ... your more than welcome to keep saying that ... its no rant, its fact!

Kimi at the moment is in a better CAR, hes not a better driver than Schumacher. Kimi would not have been able to keep the car on the track at Hockenheim when schuey lost all treads on the tyres. Michael knows when its over, like in Hungary, he knew that it was better to conserve his tyres throughout the whole race than to run the risk of having a blow out. Unlike Kimi or Alonso, these two drivers don't appear to have the control Schumacher does.

Some of Schumacher's drives this year have been sensational, something which is expected of a world champion, remember San Marino, Hockenheim, Canada, Hungary and Monaco to name a few. Schumacher vs Barrichello, exactly the same car, but Schumacher qualifies up the front of the field, baz qualifies with Minardi.

And going out on track first really does have a disadvantage. Its a stupid rule. Thankfully will be changed next year