The Final F1 Pre-Season Test :O

They are the same people, I think they just needed better leadership and direction and Ross brings just that so I think Honda lost a chance but still they are a business first and foremost so I understand their position.

But yeah a japanese duel would have been awesome, the battle of the ugly ducks of F1 rising to the challenge.

chet Wrote:
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> Trulli is another i would like to see to have
> another chance with a decent car.
> I hope this years Toyota is as good as it seems
> :D

yes, hopefully trulli and glock have a good year, i've usually liked both of those drivers

also, it would be good if toyota, and renault, in particular have a good year, because i fear they may quit the sport if they don't get some good results this year.

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X (@ed24f1)

[planetf1.com]

That says it all bout the odds

Things I would like to see this season:

Jenson Button utterly stuffing Lewis Hamilton (not gonna happen but the British sports nobs reaction would be interesting)

Hamilton simply not doing very well (again because I want to see if all these "new" F1 fans are fans of F1 or of glory, I suspect it's the latter). That's a bit harsh though. It's not his fault.

Kimi stuffing Massa - will we see the old Kimi now that we have proper cars?

Rubens doing really well

Kubica winning again

Vettel destroying Webber

Less politics. A pass is a pass. A victory is a victory.

No medals. Stupid IMO.

More rain. I like wet racing

More than anything though I just want to see close racing again with more than four or five drivers fighting for wins. Which makes me think - how much did Alonso and Vettel's victories add to last year? A lot.

loque Wrote:
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> Things I would like to see this season:
>
> Jenson Button utterly stuffing Lewis Hamilton (not
> gonna happen but the British sports nobs reaction
> would be interesting)
>
> Hamilton simply not doing very well (again because
> I want to see if all these "new" F1 fans are fans
> of F1 or of glory, I suspect it's the latter).
> That's a bit harsh though. It's not his fault.

You're entitled to your opinion, but you are stereotyping Lewis Hamilton fans as glory hunters. I don't like that some people think they are more 'F1 fans' than people who support Lewis. It doesn't matter who watches the sport or who they support. If they are, it's good for F1. You can't argue with the fact that Lewis is pulling in those viewers, and he's good for F1.

Yep, I've been watching F1 since 2001 and I support McLaren right from the beginning. So I haven't witnessed the glorious 1998 and 1999. I cheered for Hakkinen & Coulthard, I cheered for Raikkonen & Montoya and I cheered for Hamilton & Heikki (Sorry but no supoort for Alonso). And when Hamilton won the championship I didn't become a Hamilton fan, I just witnessed a moment I desire. So, as said above, supporting Hamilton doesn't make anyone glory hunters. There will be some, sure, as there was for Alonso, and Hakkinen and Schumacher.

AJTWWE Wrote:
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> [planetf1.com].
> html
>
> That says it all bout the odds


Indeed. Whether the Brawn test pace is their genuine form or not, the bookies are clearly rattled, the odds are crashing faster than the economy.

I put a couple of bets on today, and almost immediately after hitting the confirm button on Button at 25/1 for the title, they slashed him down to 12/1. I put one on Rubens as well at 33/1. I'd love it if he won, I'd wave a wad of cash in Bruno's face :P

I was going to have a punt on Brawn for the constructors as well, but they were already down to 10/1, so decided not to.

Though to be honest... I think Ferrari are still favourite.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2009 12:16AM by J i m.

yeah, obviously i didn't mean ALL hamilton fans are glory hunters. and yes there have been many others for alonso, kimi etc but what i do know now (and people will probably get where i'm coming from here) is that there are a hell of a lot of people in england who support man utd and now support lewis hamilton. there are people who support man utd because they live in manchester, or because they have always been genuine fans. there are genuine lewis hamilton fans who are fans of f1. but the people i am talking about are the people who only support a team or in this case a driver because they will win.

would they be watching if lewis wasn't winning? no. would they give a crap about f1 if lewis wansn't winning? no. would they support man utd if they were not consistently one of the top three english teams? no.

these people know nothing about the sport, the history of the sport nor the way of the sport. they only care about following people who win so that they feel that by following that driver and witnessing his success they have achieved something. i'm not saying that about anyone on this forum, i'm saying it about general people i know or have heard talking.

is it good for the sport? yes. is it good for me? no. i don't want to share the sport i have loved since i was 5 with a load of ignorant glory hunters who think lewis hamilton and mclaren are the only reason to watch f1.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2009 12:11AM by loque.

jbnd05 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> loque Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Things I would like to see this season:
> >
> > Jenson Button utterly stuffing Lewis Hamilton
> (not
> > gonna happen but the British sports nobs
> reaction
> > would be interesting)
> >
> > Hamilton simply not doing very well (again
> because
> > I want to see if all these "new" F1 fans are
> fans
> > of F1 or of glory, I suspect it's the latter).
> > That's a bit harsh though. It's not his fault.
>
> You're entitled to your opinion, but you are
> stereotyping Lewis Hamilton fans as glory hunters.
> I don't like that some people think they are more
> 'F1 fans' than people who support Lewis. It
> doesn't matter who watches the sport or who they
> support. If they are, it's good for F1. You can't
> argue with the fact that Lewis is pulling in those
> viewers, and he's good for F1.

Also, not all Lewis fans are relative n00bs. I support Lewis simply because he's a damn good driver; I've been watching F1 for 20 years as of this year.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2009 12:13AM by EC83.

i never said they were :P

nor did i ever mean any offence to anyone here, i was just saying that (unfortunately) there are a lot of these people around where i live especially in my age group and i am tired of lewismania from people who never watched f1 before mid-2007. jenson winning would shut them up a bit. or just give them two people to worship, who knows.

As sad as it sounds Logue makes a good point.

There are always a crazy amount of people only feigning interest because all of a sudden they have a patriot who wins.

You can always tell who they are as well because their knowledge of the sport is minimal and they sprout the bollocks that people such as James Allen came out with in his commentary.

I'd invite anybody to try telling me with a straight face that F1 was really popular in Germany before Michael Schumacher, and although there has always been a strong general fan-base in the UK largely thanks to a much stronger heritage across the history of F1 you can bet it's never been more popular with Joe Bloggs than it was when Hunt, Mansell and now Hamilton were kicking arse.

Brawn GP's pace really is impressive. It looks like they could actually have a very competitive package, against all the odds. I hardly ever get excited about a team's test performance given how fickle/misrepresentative the times usually are, but in the case of Brawn GP I'm actually daring to dream(a bit) of them having a great season. Really hope they do.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2009 12:27AM by EC83.

I agree with loque.

The good news is that Internet exists and you can meet other people who watch Formula 1 because they like it, not only because a team or a driver

On the other hand, I am worried about Brawn GP's pace, it is nice that another team fights for wins but domination is not good for the show, despite they deserve it if they worked harder/better than the others (not breaking the rules).

Anyway if any team dominates, at least I hope the two drivers to fight until the end, like Senna and Prost in McLaren.

Let's see how the last sessions of testing go, the only thing I see is that Hamilton will drive a non top car.
Will he be close to M. Schumacher in 2005 or Alonso in 2008?.

Greetings from Peru.

Thanks GP3Hotlaps

I don't care if Brawn GP dominate the season, as long as Button wins the title and gets me £400 from my 40-1 bet lol. As for Mclaren, well i don't know what to make of them. I seriously believe that having two young drivers doesn't help them and Heikki hasn't performed for them. This will be a year of struggle for Mclaren and we will have to see how Hamilton performs.

As long as Ferrari don't win both championships i do not care in the slightest who wins this year.

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If BGP did dominate the season it would be Red Bull 2005 gone mental. Even if they're at the sharp end when we get to Melbourne it'll be a miracle, considering the last few months. But if BGP did start the season with a car advantage over the other teams, they'd probably find ways of catching up quite fast.
If they do dominate it I'll be backing Rubens for the title - he seems to have a definite edge over JB :P

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Brawn would probably love Barichello to win after he played the team game so gracefully for him at Ferrari.

_______________________________________________________________________

It may be too early to make such predictions, but I'd love it if Rubens won the title, after all that he's been through in his career.

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Um dois três quatro cinco seis sete oito nove dez
Eins zwei drei vier fünf sechs sieben acht neun zehn
One two three four five six seven eight nine ten
Один два три четыре пять шесть семь восемь девять десять

AJTWWE Wrote:
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> I don't care if Brawn GP dominate the season, as
> long as Button wins the title and gets me £400
> from my 40-1 bet lol. As for Mclaren, well i don't
> know what to make of them. I seriously believe
> that having two young drivers doesn't help them
> and Heikki hasn't performed for them. This will be
> a year of struggle for Mclaren and we will have to
> see how Hamilton performs.


You bastard! :P D
I was too slow and only got him at 25/1 and Rubens 33/1.

I think it would do Hamilton good to be out of the title race...he's not experienced that in F1 yet and with that pressure off...he should produce some great driving and set himself up for seasons to come. He'll win some races but only when circumstances allow....particularly when its wet...he'll have a season like Hakkinen in 2001 or Raikkonen in 2004/2006...but hopefully not as poor as Coulthard in 2003/2004.

On paper, when McLaren are bad, Ferrari should walk it....but Massa might find he needs to be more consistent this year and Raikkonen needs his motivation back. Ferrari could easily win the championship but mistakes like last year could easily lose them it...and if that happens....then here comes Renault and BMW to pick up the pieces.

My only prediction for Brawn is that they will not be right at the back of the grid. Maybe a season like Jordan's debut year? Or possibly a bit like Prost in 1997 or Stewart in 1999? (Barrichello did some of his best driving in that Stewart in my opnion.)