Barcelona ***spoiler***

[David M]

BAR Honda have lost the 10 points that they scored at Imola, because they were able to use 5kg of fuel as ballast in defiance of the rules. In addition they will not race this weekend in Spain nor at the next race in Monaco.
How will this affect "our Jense's" contract? It is widely believed that he has an "out" clause if the team underperforms. Will he leave BAR before the end of the year? I guess it depends on what arrangement Sir Frank and Nick Heidfeld have in place.
Renault like Barcelona and have tested there heaps - most teams have. They are confident that their new engine and a more normal circuit will assist them. Fischi will have to qualify early on a dirty track, so he won't be better than mid-field.
Ferrari have done less testing there and they will be on "old" engines. Mind you, MS had the fastest car at Imola. I would expect them to put at least MS on the front row.
Will Kimi have any luck at all?

 

[Pate]

they were able to use 5kg of fuel as ballast

The extra tank was 15kg's not five. Jenson would be better off with some other team no matter how well the end of the season goes with BAR.

Kimi will not have any luck. He is a stupid kid in the stupid team.
Ron Dennis is almost like stand-up comic when he have been explaining the absence of Montoya... Drove a motorcycle at a tennis court, hit the ball and fell.
Like Keke Rosberg said "Ron wants public to think that everything is in control like always, but there is something strange going on at McLaren"

Only 2 teams have been caught in major cheating last 20-years. Toyota Rally team with flexible turbo intake and BAR Honda with 15kg of illegal fuel ballast and 5kg underweight.

How many japanese have comitted seppuku because of these 2 incidents?

 

[pugjet]

what time is channel 10s coverage set to begin tonight?

anyone have a list of starting positions, also?:wink2:

 

[parry]

11:30 I believe on 10

19RaikkonenMcLarenMP4-20M01:15.7101:14.8191:16.602 27WebberWilliamsFW27M01:15.8341:15.0421:16.626 35AlonsoRenaultR25M01:15.8451:14.8111:16.880 417R SchumacherToyotaTF105M01:15.9581:14.8701:17.047 516TrulliToyotaTF105M01:15.9971:14.7951:17.200 66FisichellaRenaultR25M01:16.4151:15.6011:17.229 710MontoyaMcLarenMP4-20M01:16.7361:15.9021:17.570 81M SchumacherFerrariF2005B01:16.7751:15.3981:18.153 914CoulthardRed BullRB1M01:17.0841:15.7951:18.373 1012MassaSauberC24M01:17.1121:15.8631:18.361 1115LiuzziRed BullRB1M01:17.6511:16.2881:19.014 1211VilleneuveSauberC24M01:18.2401:16.7941:19.686 1319KarthikeyanJordanEJ15B01:19.6341:18.5571:20.711 1418MonteiroJordanEJ15B01:19.9711:19.0401:20.903 1520AlbersMinardiPS05B01:20.5701:19.5631:21.578

 

[parry]

Try this link should look better

 

[pugjet]

thanks parry:wink2: .

webber? again? sheesh that kids fast but hey such an unproven race day commodity. lets hope he shines a little in tonights race.

 

[gti138]

what time is channel 10s coverage set to begin tonight?

anyone have a list of starting positions, also?:wink2:

Here it's listed as 11:30 but it will probably run late thanks to the start of big brother

I'm planning to look at it live on formula1.com and see if it's worth staying up for. I've also stumbled across a live radio broadcast from BBC (www.bbc.co.uk) on fivelive. They had the whole qualifying session on earlier tonight so I'm hoping they do the race too!!

 

[gti138]

It's a win for Raikkonen!

With Alonso in a distant 2nd place for Renault The other positive was Fisi's comeback from a damaged front wing. Even setting the fastest lap of the race on the last lap on his way to 5th.

The race seemed to be a bit processional. With the exception of M.Schumacher failing to finish again and Webber doing his usual disappearing trick from the front of the grid into the middle of it. Still it's another points finish for him!

Don't know if I'll stay up to watch the whole event. Might save that for tomorrow night.

 

[orestes]

it was a decent race, but i didn't wake up until 15 laps into it or something :roflmao: a bit of a one horse though, but at least that horse wasn't red, so it doesn't affect the standings to much. I don't know whats wrong with Jaun Pablo though, every one of the fast teams this season seem to have one middle of the pack, and one front runing driver.

 

[gti138]

it was a decent race, but i didn't wake up until 15 laps into it or something :roflmao: a bit of a one horse though, but at least that horse wasn't red, so it doesn't affect the standings to much. I don't know whats wrong with Jaun Pablo though, every one of the fast teams this season seem to have one middle of the pack, and one front runing driver.

apart from Williams of course that has a quick driver for one lap and then two mid-pack runners for the entire race

 

[n b j]

apart from Williams of course that has a quick driver for one lap and then two mid-pack runners for the entire race

ehheehe so true.

Shame about webber having such a bad start. He dropped from 2nd to 4th place into turn1 and that got him stuck behind the Toyota. Then that obviously completely screwed up his 3stop strategy and when he came in for his very early pit stop, the team decided to fill him right the way up and change it to a 2 stop strategy considering his start was not what they had planned.

He still seems cursed. 5th Place in Aus' in the Minardi is STILL his best finish!

I'm a big Kimi fan, glad he won, although would have been nice to see Alonso please his home crowd with a win

 

[gti138]

ehheehe so true.

Shame about webber having such a bad start. He dropped from 2nd to 4th place into turn1 and that got him stuck behind the Toyota. Then that obviously completely screwed up his 3stop strategy and when he came in for his very early pit stop, the team decided to fill him right the way up and change it to a 2 stop strategy considering his start was not what they had planned.

Does anyone think that it's a poor launch program in the williams or does it come down to the driver not being able to get the car off the line. I recall that when Webber started off the front row in Malaysia last year (i think) that he went backwards then too....

It's a pity that we havent seen Heidfeld up the front to see if he drops backwards as well. It's easier to blow past cars from the back of the grid espescially when the Minardi's dont move off the grid!

So far Mark seems to get stuck behind the Toyotas. The aerodynamics as they are make it difficult for anyone to pass. Sure we have close racing - but I want passing damnit!!

I'm a big Kimi fan, glad he won, although would have been nice to see Alonso please his home crowd with a win

Ditto - It's good to see the Spainards getting into F1 in the same way that they have been into bikes for years!

 

[purrr-geot]

So ferrari are preety good? Bridgestones are great tyres.

What was with Jacques V & his lame 45degree parking on the grid, idiot lol .

 

[PLAYLIFE]

A decent race for Spain which is usually quite actionless as we've seen in the past.

Kimi was unstoppable, and Fisi drove very well, shame about his problem - he would have finished an easy 2nd.

Bridgestone/Ferrari woes continue, it's quite clear now that it's simply a tyre problem. The car is fast, Schumi holding fastest lap mid way through the race. I honestly don't recall a tyre manufacturer doing so badly that they cannot last a race distance.

Webber again putting another nail in his already, in my opinion, wailing reputation. Again he makes a mistake under pressure (went wide off the circuit when Schumi was closing) and lost a position. Good qualifying effort, despite he being on fumes, as he had no running on Friday due to the engine problems.

Bit of a lack-lustre race for Alonso, out-driven by Fisi surprisingly. Good race for Toyota, and another podium for Trulli. Ralf was faster than him almost the entire race but could not pass him.

 

[CHRI'S16]

Kimi will not have any luck. He is a stupid kid in the stupid team.

As a Kimi fan, i resent that comment however, i let his result speak for it self. - Chris

ps. Great race though.

 

[nate]

The car is fast, Schumi holding fastest lap mid way through the race.

Schumi's fastest lap or the fastest lap of the GP?

Fastest lap was by Fisi on his LAST lap i thought?!?
No fuel & no tyres!

 

[Billy]

wasn't fisi's fastest lap the lap after he got passed webber ? (and into clear air - and webbers fastest lap was the one before fisi passed him? ...)

I don't think having a different winner makes it a good race. if it was Alonso at the front we would love it but the public would moan oh those renaults, and it would be worse if it was schumi.... it was a fairly boring, processional event... a different result is good for the sport, but that race was crap.

...see the renault engineers examining the wing of GFs car - I think the cameras cut away from the just before they turned to Flav and said "so what did we need to change this for?" :joker: heh heh

... I still think tyre war is bad. the tyre is just too significant a component to seem to be so inconsistent - the drivers pace varies soo much, makes it is hard to keep up with what is happening during the race?

Schumi's fastest lap or the fastest lap of the GP?

Fastest lap was by Fisi on his LAST lap i thought?!?
No fuel & no tyres!

 

[2cv]

Hmmm the F1 predictions dont seem to be going very well around here....Ferrari comes close to winning Imola and everyone starts the "i wonder if Renault are gonna be able to keep up" . Big mistake to make those sort of judgements from one race. And Kimi being called a stupid kid by a Fin!!! I'll let time do the telling of that one...as with all predictions

My prediction (from the start of the year) of Webber is going pretty smooth...his talent is nothing special, whilst not being a bad driver....

And ill just put my Renault specs on.....Kimmi drove away from Alonso in the first stint where Alonso was struggling with his car. After the pitstop in which his rear tyre pressure (and front wing?) were adjusted, no worries....

Still Mclaren look very strong (i made that 'prediction' at the Malaysian GP when Kimi came 3rd) especially at his hands. Before mechanical failures, they look like a rival for Renault as they seem to be quick at every GP

As Ron Dennis said in the race, how good is it to see the Ferrari's retiring again? Michael was fast at imola but they dont seem to have the package to do it every race

 

[PLAYLIFE]

wasn't fisi's fastest lap the lap after he got passed webber ? (and into clear air - and webbers fastest lap was the one before fisi passed him? ...)

Sorry for misunderstandings guys - what I meant was that Schumi held the fastest race lap for a good portion of the race - ie., he was fastest car on track for a while. Fisi then did set the fastest race lap on the last lap of the race. Makes you wonder, the Michelin's still are excellent by the end whereas the Bridgestones appear to be at their best around half way through the race (when Schumi set his best lap).

I think at Imola, Michelin got their tyre choice wrong, Bridgestone got it perfect, hence the apparent speed of Ferrari and lack of from the Michelin runners. Spain was more 'back to normal' I think.

 

[Pug-a-lug]

Missed the TV coverage, but 'watched' the updates on the web.

Good to see Kimi blow everyone into the weeds with an effortless performance. If McLaren can maintain their reliability, I look forward to many Kimi-Fernando battles as the season progresses.

It's funny how it was cool to like Webber...until this season. Now that he's in a Williams, its OK to slate him.

There is two ways to look at it.

1) The Williams is a fantastic car with great pace (as Webber has shown in qualifying) and he is throwing away podiums with his poor starts and his inability to deal with race pressure.

2) Williams have fallen behind Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, BAR and Toyota in race pace. It is a credit to Webber that he is so quick in qualifying over a single lap..but by the end of the race, his finishing position is dictated by the ultimate speed of his car... i.e. the 'natural order' of things has been reached.

Personally, I go with #2. Ever since Adrian Newey left, Williams have struggled to build a decent car.. especially aero wise. A few seasons ago they had a clear power advantage with the BMW engine which masked their weak areas, but they do not enjoy such an advantage anymore. Geoff Willis left them a few seasons ago, and that hasn't helped them either.

Ironically, Webber left Jaguar for a 'big-team', but he is still stuck in midfield.