Formula 1

Great stuff, and answers my question pretty clearly i think! 

Just how fast is a F1 car? Well only way to find out is to put one out on a track against a few road cars!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http://youtube.com/watch?v=IpJshzMrpD4

As good as that video is I have to point out that there is no way that F1 car went from a stand still to almost max speed having been left cold for that time, as if you have ever watched a F1 race you will note how they always keep their tyre pressure up when the safety car is out and immedietly before the race starts they do a formation/warm up lap to get the brakes heated/tyres warmed/engine heated without this done the car would not perform.

The F1 car might of had a bit of a warm up lap before hand.. trust me I don't think they are going to bullshit to the public about how quick an f1 car is.

I know what you mean though, the tyres have to be hot to perform.. same with the brakes otherwise the car will not perform no where near what it could perform to.

New season of F1 sure looks good. New drivers like:
Sebastian Bordeu, Nelson PK Jr, plus all new teams and best of all my favourite, Mark Webber the aussie is much better.

Anyone going to an event in Silverstone come the summer then?

Off we go again then folks 2008 FORMULA 1 ING AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (Melbourne) 14 - 16 Mar

Just been watching the qualifying and Kimi Raikonen is out of the race due to a fuel distributor fault which they are unable to fix before tomorrows race.  Mark Webber is also out of the race with car trouble.   Coultard Hamilton is fastest so far with a 1:26.161 1:25.187.


Watch this space.

Went there yesterday, I'm not a big fan, but it was pretty cool.
Liking the grid girls 
Jeez there loud, they give you these little earpieces to protect your ears, but they don't seem to work.
Is there a reason they're so loud or is it just the engine or speed or that?

Qualifying results for Australian Grand Prix:

1. L Hamilton McLaren 1:26.714

2. R Kubica BMW Sauber 1:26.869

3. H Kovalainen McLaren 1:27.079

4. F Massa Ferrari 1:27.178

5. N Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:27.236

6. J Trulli Toyota 1:28.527

7. N Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:28.687

i hope Webber can get into the 8 by the end of this race...           an F1 car weighs just 90 kg without wheels & engine

Went there yesterday, I'm not a big fan, but it was pretty cool.
Liking the grid girls 
Jeez there loud, they give you these little earpieces to protect your ears, but they don't seem to work.
Is there a reason they're so loud or is it just the engine or speed or that?

It's likely to be down to the sheer power the engines which produce 700+ bhp and can give an average of 120db from close range.

Melbourne F1 Grand Prix 2008 Results

A great start to the season for Britain's Lewis Hamilton who took a convincing first of the season in Melbourne to keep the Ferrari's at bay, who incidentally did not finish the race with Kimi Räikkönen scrapping a point by default.  New McLaren driver Hekki Kovalainen was narrowly denied a forth spot by a bit of clever driving from Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg of Toyota gained the first podium finish of his F1 career finishing in 3rd behind Nick Heidfeld.  Below is a full rundown of the final race positions all stats provided courtesy of F1.com.


Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 58 1:34:50.616 1 10
2 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW 58 +5.4 secs 5 8
3 7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 58 +8.1 secs 7 6
4 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 58 +17.1 secs 11 5
5 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 58 +18.0 secs 3 4
6 8 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 57 +1 Lap 13 3
7 14 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 55 +3 Laps 17 2
8 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 53 Engine 15 1
Ret 4 Robert Kubica BMW 47 Accident 2 
Ret 12 Timo Glock Toyota 43 Accident 18 
Ret 18 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 32 Transmission 19 
Ret 6 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 30 Accident damage 20 
Ret 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 29 Engine 4 
Ret 9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 25 Accident 8 
Ret 11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 19 Electrical 6 
Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 8 Hydraulics 22 
Ret 10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 0 Accident 14 
Ret 16 Jenson Button Honda 0 Accident 12 
Ret 19 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 0 Accident 21 
Ret 15 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 0 Accident 9 
Ret 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 0 Accident 16 
DSQ 17 Rubens Barrichello Honda 58 +52.4 secs 10 

Great race...
From 22 drivers who started only 7 finished the race. I've got to say i like the fact that traction control is goooone. Now it'll be much more entertaining. Imagine the Monaco GP

Great race...
From 22 drivers who started only 7 finished the race. I've got to say I like the fact that traction control is goooone. Now it'll be much more entertaining. Imagine the Monaco GP

Malaysia ain't that hot w/o assistance either and that's up this weekend.

Pfft cant believe i got dragged in to watching this crap, one of the worst ways to blow $100. It is barely watchable on TV live you just hear them zooming past you and you cant hear a bloody thing. Anyways the quality women in attendence compensated for the sh*te race.

and Webber, does he ever finish??

Pfft cant believe I got dragged in to watching this crap, one of the worst ways to blow $100. It is barely watchable on TV live you just hear them zooming past you and you cant hear a bloody thing. Anyways the quality women in attendence compensated for the sh*te race.

and Webber, does he ever finish??

I think he finished a egg n spoon race once........

Very much doubt that......could not  score in a brothel that chap.

Webber = Unluckiest Driver Ever... It's slack for the lad. He's a pretty good driver. look at the end of last season always in the top 6 or 7.(with a redbull)

 Next up Malaysian Grand Prix Sunday 23rd March start 7am GMT

Qualifying results are as follows

Pos No Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.347 1:34.412 1:35.748 17
2 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:35.645 1:34.188 1:36.230 13
3 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:35.227 1:34.759 1:36.613 12
4 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:35.392 1:34.627 1:36.709 18
5 11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:35.205 1:34.825 1:36.711 18
6 4 Robert Kubica BMW 1:35.794 1:34.811 1:36.727 13
7 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:35.729 1:34.648 1:36.753 13
8 10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:35.440 1:34.967 1:37.009 18
9 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:35.983 1:35.140 1:38.450 18
10 12 Timo Glock Toyota 1:35.891 1:35.000 1:39.656 20
11 16 Jenson Button Honda 1:35.847 1:35.208  15
12 9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:36.058 1:35.408  12
13 6 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 1:36.074 1:35.562  12
14 17 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:36.198 1:35.622  15
15 15 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 1:36.111 1:35.648  15
16 7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:35.843 1:35.670  13
17 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:36.240   9
18 8 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:36.388   9
19 14 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 1:36.677   8
20 18 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:37.087   9
21 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:37.101   10
22 19 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:37.481   9    

Looks like Hamilton had a dodgy session yesterday as Mercedes McLaren changed some settings in his car prior to qualifying and he struggled to keep the car under control.  With the strict new rules I doubt he will be able to change this setup too much to correct the problem but let's hope it's nothing major. 

F**k it gets worse!

McLaren drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton will each drop five places on the grid for Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix after stewards decided they had blocked rival drivers in the closing stages in qualifying. They will now start the race eighth and ninth respectively.

Kovalainen and Hamilton were called before the stewards after suggestions that BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld and Renault’s Fernando Alonso were impeded during their final Q3 runs, when the McLaren drivers were conserving fuel on slowing-down laps, both having completed their final runs.

"The first corners of my last lap went smoothly, but then there were several cars driving very slowly on their in-laps,” said Heidfeld, who qualified seventh, but will now start fifth. “Apparently they had no information that the qualifying was still going on. Before Turn Four I lost a lot of time because both McLarens were cruising on the racing line.

“I think this has cost me about two tenths of a second, which would have meant being third instead of seventh. I just couldn't drive on the line I wanted and, even more importantly, could not brake were I wanted.”

McLaren are not expected to appeal the decision, which means row two on the grid will now be formed by the Toyota of Jarno Trulli and BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica. Red Bull’s Mark Webber moves up to P6 to join Heidfeld on the third row, while Alonso moves up from P9 to P7.

Shame for Hammilton who had 19.9 seconds in the pit stop
And Massa was doing well until he slid of the track from no where!
Alonso finished 8th, he's got some work to do

2008 Malaysian F1 Results

1 1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 56 1:31:18.555 2 10
2 4 Robert Kubica BMW 56 +19.5 secs 4 8
3 23 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 56 +38.4 secs 8 6
4 11 Jarno Trulli Toyota 56 +45.8 secs 3 5
5 22 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 56 +46.5 secs 9 4
6 3 Nick Heidfeld BMW 56 +49.8 secs 5 3
7 10 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 56 +68.1 secs 6 2
8 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 56 +70.0 secs 7 1
9 9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 56 +76.2 secs 12 
10 16 Jenson Button Honda 56 +86.2 secs 11 
11 6 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 56 +92.2 secs 13 
12 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 55 +1 Lap 17 
13 17 Rubens Barrichello Honda 55 +1 Lap 14 
14 7 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 55 +1 Lap 16 
15 19 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 55 +1 Lap 21 
16 18 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 54 +2 Laps 19 
17 8 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 54 +2 Laps 22 
Ret 15 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 39 Hydraulics 15 
Ret 2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 30 Spin 1 
Ret 20 Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 5 Hydraulics 20 
Ret 12 Timo Glock Toyota 1 Accident 10 
Ret 14 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 0 Spin 18 

Well two races in and Britain's Lewis Hamilton is leading the driver's championship even though he finished fifth in what was a disappointing race and reminded me of the last race in Brazil last season where he kept closing down the time gap betweenhim and Trulli who had an excellent race I must add and did well to keep Hamilton @ bay.  Prat of the day has to go to Massa for taking it easy while in second and spinning off the track and beeched his car. 

Just seen this on the Official F1 site too and thought that it was a very noble thing of the Red Bull team to do.

A lucky enthusiast has bought themselves a slice of Formula One history after snapping up the Red Bull driven by David Coulthard at the 2007 British Grand Prix on website eBay for €210,050. The online auction was held by the team on Sunday night in aid of the Wings for Life charity, a foundation set up to fund research into spinal injuries.

The RB3 went under the hammer with its special ‘Faces for Charity’ livery, which the team ran during last year's Silverstone event. More than 50,000 Formula One fans donated money in exchange for their photographs becoming part of a huge collage which covered the car’s bodywork. The car’s new owner has chosen to remain anonymous.

It's live on http://www.justin.tv/kamtronis_online and at the moment 1.massa, 2.Hamilton & 3.Glock. 25 laps to go, Come on Massa!!!!!!!!!! YNWA

Massa retired with 3 laps to go

Massa retired with 3 laps to go

    

Massa retired with 3 laps to go

Meaning Kovalainen won his first F1 race followed by Glock in second and Raikonen in third.  Hamilton still leads the championship by 5 points however due to Massa's retirement even though Hamilton himself got into a spot of bother with 20 laps to go when he hit some debris and came off the track with a puncture, but as always with this guy he never gives up and finished the race in fifth place just behing ex team mate Fernando Alonso and oicked up 4 points.

A pretty good race really and the driver of the day has to go to Timo Glock though, he qualified 5th and kept pushing throughout and thoroughly deserves the second place finish (P1 and P2 drivers were also Finnish)

Full rundown courtesy of F1.com

Ferrari failure helps Kovalainen to maiden win

In order to finish first, first you have to be Finnish

"Welcome to the world of winning, the first of many." That was how McLaren boss Ron Dennis greeted Heikki Kovalainen as the Finn scored a surprise victory on Sunday in a Hungarian Grand Prix that should really have been Felipe Massa's race.

The Brazilian took his chance with both hands and thrust his Ferrari past the front-row McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Kovalainen at the start, and then dominated proceedings.

Life got easier for him when Hamilton suffered a deflated front left Bridgestone tyre on the 41st lap and dropped back to 10th place, and in truth Kovalainen never looked likely to challenge Massa. But gradually the McLaren moved closer and closer to the red car as the final laps were reeled off. Massa completed the 67th of the 70 in the lead, but then a spectacular engine failure stopped car number two just past the line. As Massa was clambering out, Kovalainen swept past en route to a triumph that made up for all the poor fortune he has had to endure this season as Hamilton's partner.

Behind him, Timo Glock drove the race of his life for Toyota to take an excellent second, holding off Kimi Raikkonen as the Finn's Ferrari finally came alive on the softer tyre in the final stint.

Fernando Alonso did what he had to do to take fourth for Renault, holding off the recovering Hamilton to the flag. The latter's fifth place and Massa's misfortune keep him at the head of the points table, with 62 points to Raikkonen's 57 and Massa's 54.

Renault's Nelson Piquet drove well for sixth, keeping Jarno Trulli at bay in the second Toyota, while Robert Kubica had a disappointing race for BMW Sauber but kept his fourth overall with a point for eighth which brought his total to 49.

Behind them Red Bull's Mark Webber and David Coulthard sandwiched Nick Heidfeld's single-stopping BMW Sauber, in ninth and 11th places, followed home by Jenson Button's Honda, the battling Williams of Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg, Giancarlo Fisichella's Force India, Rubens Barrichello's Honda and Sebastien Bourdais' Toro Rosso. Nakajima, Bourdais and Barrichello all experienced minor fires during their pit stops, such was the heat.

Massa was classified 17th, between Barrichello and Bourdais, while Adrian Sutil retired his Force India late in the race after several pit stops, and Sebastian Vettel failed to finish with mechanical problems.