The official 2009 European Grand Prix thread ***SPOILERS***

Great drive by Rubens, he did what he needed to do when he needed to do it, and got the job done.

Ferrari have a problem here, I'm not sure what the rules are regarding the amount of drivers in a season, but either way, to the best of my knowledge they can only use 1 more driver. Sure it was a noble gesture to give Badoer the drive, but it really hasn't worked out well, and if they replace him, Ferrari have to get it absolutely right.


Was it my imagination or was Jonathan Legard being bit of a tool during the early parts of the race, particularly around laps 19-20?

Frantic Wrote:
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> Hey guys, in Fox Sports (they give F1 to Latin
> America) said Frank Williams said they are leaving
> Toyota engines... is it true??

Apparently they're snuggling up to Renault... Williams Renault again?

EC83 Wrote:
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> RUBINHO!!!!!
> RRRRUUUUUBBBIIINNNNHHHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
>
> OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEA
> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
> HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> !!!!!!!!
>
>
>


YEAH HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fantastic race from Rubinho. always on the pace and never backing down right towards the end. Glad to see he finally got his win after the Ferrari days and he even mentioned that! Such an emotional guy and truly deserved it.

McLaren effed it up 100%. They knew that that's where they lost it and couldn't admit it. You could see Lewis getting frustrated in the car because the fuel rig was nearly out and the tyres weren't complete. Complete error from the team.

Ferrari were up there again (yay!) with Kimi. Glad to see we got a successive podium again. Luca was just driving around for the fun of it and did the best of a bad situation. Gene for Spa anyone?

Team CLR schreef:
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> Ferrari have a problem here, I'm not sure what the
> rules are regarding the amount of drivers in a
> season, but either way, to the best of my
> knowledge they can only use 1 more driver. Sure it
> was a noble gesture to give Badoer the drive, but
> it really hasn't worked out well, and if they
> replace him, Ferrari have to get it absolutely
> right.



Badoer himself regarded this as a test, so we should judge him on his performance at Spa I guess. If he's as slow over there, Ferrari should really start considering putting Gene in the car.

gav Wrote:
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> Williams Renault again?

Those two words when put together almost sound like a dream dont they.

edit - just to put it out there, "omfg redbull favouring mark" has not yet been mentioned. Funny that. Now I do wonder the response had Barachello's engine failed. There were lots of talk yesterday on forums saying Rubens did better but wont be alowed to beat Button tomorrow blahblah. People are very funny creatures arnt they.

edit again - [www.f1network.net]

random stats. cant believe 10-1 to Vettel in Qualifying!!

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2009 06:12PM by chet.

Gene won't be any better really, Le Mans is something else from F1, at Le Mans he was also one of the slower Peugeot drivers if I remember correct. Ferrari should just take Bourdais or something, atleast alot better then Badoer :P

why not take a punt on dc or piquet?

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Piquet doesn't seem like a bad idea. I mean they could take him on and create him to be the next Felipe Massa. Piquet and Massa both seemed erratic at the start of their careers and now look at how Felipe performs in races

There was a rumour about Fisichella doing it a few weeks ago, before MS was announced. I think this would be a very good option, and it would be a good way for Fisi to end his career on a high (assuming he ends his career this year, which seems reasonably likely)

It would also give Liuzzi a chance in the Force India which would be nice to see.

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X (@ed24f1)

Firstly let me congratulate Rubens, a solid and deserved victory. Lets hope theres more from him and Brawn to come.


Now, onto more hilarious but serious matters. Why are Ferrari covering for Badoer? If he is this slow in Spa he should be out of that race seat so fast he doesnt have time to ask why. The exscuses coming from Ferrari are there not only to help Badoer feel better, but also to cover up the fact neither Badoer or Gene were anywhere near ready to race in F! - thus their decision originally to race with Schumie.

Now, if Spa is as bad then they should find someone younger, even if they arent ask fasst as Kimi. Davidson, Sato (lol), or a young GP2 or Ferrari endorsed driver.

So happy for Rubens right now

Deserved it so much, great to see the emotion he had a winning

Chet there hasn't been any of the "omfg redbull favouring mark" stuff because there's been nothing to hint at it, nothing like the pit incident earlier in the year with Rubens

Pity to see Badoer struggle so badly, really need to introduce the Friday practice rule for young drivers again, or something that states you have to use one Test driver over the Friday sessions

Agree that he should be replaced if he can't up his game soon, but why Gene, Bourdias or Piquet, Gene hasn't raced since Le Mans as far as I know and Piquet and Bourdias have had there chances now

Get a GP2 driver in there, some one who has been racing week in and out and has something to prove, the season is pretty much over for Ferrari, and they are starting to put resources on the 2010 car, there really isn't a whole lot to lose

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Races: 163 - Wins: 23 - Pole Positions: 24 - Fastest Laps: 22
Season 9: Constructors' Champions

I suppose the only saving grace for Badoer is that Ferrari's next driver will be their last option, so they might be a bit more hesitant to try out another driver now, as if Gene or whoever was in the for the next race, then they couldn't race Schumacher later in the year, should he recover, and they'd want to at the first opportunity.


chet Wrote:
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> edit - just to put it out there, "omfg redbull
> favouring mark" has not yet been mentioned. Funny
> that. Now I do wonder the response had
> Barachello's engine failed. There were lots of
> talk yesterday on forums saying Rubens did better
> but wont be alowed to beat Button tomorrow
> blahblah. People are very funny creatures arnt
> they.

At no point when Vettel and Webber been in direct competition have either been disadvantaged that I can think of. The problem people have with Brawn is that Rubens only ever seems to be disadvantaged when he's directly ahead of, or close to, Button.

How about that guy who shattered the lap record of Fiorano (?) in winter testing? Bartorelli or something?

Bortolotti.

I had written a paragraph in the post above, but deleted it when I realised Ferrari haven't introduced a rookie since... erm... Scarfiotti?

Has it really been that long ago?!? Now I start thinking of it, I can't really remember anybody from recent times. Not the 00s and 90s anyway. Prior to that time I know pretty much nothing of F1 :P

gav Wrote:
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> At no point when Vettel and Webber been in direct
> competition have either been disadvantaged that I
> can think of.

The end of the Turkish GP would be the only possible candidate - but most teams wouldn't allow their drivers to battle in the last couple of laps anyway.

chet Wrote:
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> random stats. cant believe 10-1 to Vettel in
> Qualifying!!

Yes, that is an extremely unusual statistic, considering that Webber is 8-3 up in races, and 4.5 up in points. The conclusion from this, I suppose, is that Vettel's execution in the races this year has been fairly poor - although not all have been his fault, like today's race.

chet Wrote:
------------------------------------------------------
> Now I do wonder the response had
> Barachello's engine failed. There were lots of
> talk yesterday on forums saying Rubens did better
> but wont be alowed to beat Button tomorrow
> blahblah. People are very funny creatures arnt
> they.

If this is aimed at myself, I did clarify to note that there was no way this would happen if they were several places apart (e.g. Silverstone), but - as Gav alluded to - it has happened when they have been close together (e.g. Barcelona, Nurburgring)

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X (@ed24f1)

Yay kimi on podium, what a good drive, dont know how he passed Kovy though? Maybe through the stops?

Rubens was great, perfect fast laps when needed to get Kovy then Hamilton, deserved a race win this season and what a good way of earning it!

Badour is crap, letting Grosjean through in pit lane exit..wtf!

Nickv Wrote:
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> Has it really been that long ago?!? Now I start
> thinking of it, I can't really remember anybody
> from recent times. Not the 00s and 90s anyway.
> Prior to that time I know pretty much nothing of
> F1 :P

I had to check.

Ignazio Giunti drove his debut at Spa for Ferrari in 1970, though he only finished that race. Arturo Merzario made his debut in 1972, driving 2 races.

There doesn't appear to be anyone after that. It's fair to say Ferrari aren't big fans of plunging young talent in at the deep end.

Schuey sorry, not aimed at you, or anyone...

nothing to hint at it, nothing like the pit incident earlier in the year with Rubens

Nurburgring?

Same happened to Vettel today. But worse

The problem people have with Brawn is that Rubens only ever seems to be disadvantaged when he's directly ahead of, or close to, Button.

Spain is questionable, but they did to Rubens which they thought was quickest but he did not make it work.

Do you also mean Nurburgring? Again, Vettel today had a fuel rig issue. They are random occurances.

My point being the Nurburgring issue and today with Vettel are almost exactly the same apart from Vettel didnt get fuel.

Now, im not saying RBR are favouring Webber, just that it is impossible to think Brawn have favoured Button in the past using evidence from today and Vettel (without thinking RBR are favouring Webber). Using Nurburgring as an example to get across the message of favouring is the most flawed argument anyone can ever come up with. There is absolutley zero evidence of it happening. Two exactly the same issues and yet for one, Brawn get blamed and for the other 'oh, its racing' as far as I can tell its pretty much double standards.

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"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL

Anyone consider that McLaren had a "planned" pitstop problem? With a Mercedes engine car in 2nd, and a perfect opportunity for Brawn to continue to lead both championships....I can almost see Norbert Haug saying something about "team sport blah blah"and "woops, where those tyres go?"

Anyway, jokes aside, nice drive by Rubens. Excellent pace. Shitty track though.The designers had the chance to build a street circuit that actually had proper braking zones to allow overtaking and they messed it up. After the start, it was ho-hum. Hamilton's pit problems was as good as it got.

Spa, here we come!

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2009 08:24PM by slider.