F1 2008 Australian Grand Prix

[Monster]

The best looking car on the track today.

http://imageshack.us

 

[450SEL6.9]

Pretty disastrous for Ferrari. At least Kimi got a mercy point! And he didn't even deserve that. I think his engine problem was caused (at least in part) by his amateurish stunts while overtaking. Still it is clear Ferrari have reliability issues.

It is possible that Hamilton will get the max 20 points after two-races, while one of the Ferraris gets only one or zero! They do have consistent race pace, assuming they can get to the race in one piece and with a reasonable starting position.

Kimi threw a great result away. It took him forever to get past Rubens and he went kamikaze on Heikki. He could have waited for pitstops and taken the race there.

I have more respect for him than for Hamilton, sorry to break everyone's heart

I think Alonso did a great race with a slower car. He might have switched from a one stopper to a two to gain track position. It didn't work out at first, but he made the most of it because of the safety cars. I have more respect for Alonso than all the other drivers, especially Kimi! He got a lucky title last year, but I think Ferrari is much better off with Alonso as team leader.

 

[Zonda]

How was his engine problem caused by overtaking manouvres? Remember, 0 out of 6 Ferrari engines finished the race. Not to forget the problems in quali. Ferrari has a reliability issue!

Overall a very eventful race. And I'm overjoyed to see Rosberg on the podium, well deserved and about time! Lewis did an outstanding job but I had hoped for Hekki to match his pace a bit better. And it's great to see BMW going fast as well.
Ferrari on the other hand need to get their act together. Sure, Hekki's trap on Kimi was awsome, very much like Lewis' on Massa in Malaysia last year. But Heikki had another stop to do and Kimi should have played it cooler.
Give Alonso a few more races to sort his car out and he'll give the Williams a good fight!

 

[Centurion]

How was his engine problem caused by overtaking manouvres? Remember, 0 out of 6 Ferrari engines finished the race. Not to forget the problems in quali. Ferrari has a reliability issue!

Overall a very eventful race. And I'm overjoyed to see Rosberg on the podium, well deserved and about time! Lewis did an outstanding job but I had hoped for Hekki to match his pace a bit better. And it's great to see BMW going fast as well.
Ferrari on the other hand need to get their act together. Sure, Hekki's trap on Kimi was awsome, very much like Lewis' on Massa in Malaysia last year. But Heikki had another stop to do and Kimi should have played it cooler.
Give Alonso a few more races to sort his car out and he'll give the Williams a good fight!

I'm happy for Rosberg as well, he's a promising driver and it was his time of the day to finally stand on the podium. Heikki could off course have done better but remember that this is his first race for a top team and he yet to learn how to fight at the top while staying out of trouble. After 2 or 4 more GPs he'll probably be better at maintaining a high pace. And also he had a pretty lackluster launch at start, especially compared with Massa, Hamilton and Kubica. I bet he as just a little nervous because the pressure is big driving for Mclaren just behind pole. Speaking off the Bimmer boys I believe that they will challenge Heikki in a tough manner.

We're going to have a 6 way battle at the top this season, so everybody need to be fearless and at the top of the game. What's going to make Hamilton tough to beat is his qualifying talent, starting at pole is a very big advantage and is deceive on street circuits like Malaysia, Valencia and Monaco.

 

[450SEL6.9]

How was his engine problem caused by overtaking manouvres? Remember, 0 out of 6 Ferrari engines finished the race. Not to forget the problems in quali. Ferrari has a reliability issue!

Sure, Hekki's trap on Kimi was awsome, very much like Lewis' on Massa in Malaysia last year. But Heikki had another stop to do and Kimi should have played it cooler.

I don't have the telemetry, but the way he kept throwing it off the track might have had something to do with breaking that engine. I'm only speculating, but it wouldn't surprise me if his driving had something to do with it.

Yes, there is a reliability issue for Ferrari and a few more will break in Malaysia's extreme heat.

Awesome trap? He just moved across, nothing too impressive about it. The only thing awesome was how awesomely stupid Kimi was.

 

[Zonda]

That's the thing, moving across at the right time and tricking the other driver to dive for it when it's too late. Just like Lewis did in Malaysia last year. He drove defensively, delibaretly gave Massa a window just when it was too late and sent him off the track. These drivers do know a few moves and to see them succeed in a league as high as F1 is a joy!

 

[450SEL6.9]

^^ But Kimi missed that braking point by a country mile. The chance that he could dive for it and make it stick was probably 0%. It wasn't one of those 50-50, marginal decisions. The commentators for the broadcast I watched thought he was crazy. He should watch some Alain Prost tapes to see what strategic driving is about.

Kimi slowing down mid-corner at Brazil to force Hamilton into the clutches of Alonso was a good trick. Lewis' trick on Massa last year was good. This Heikki vs. Kimi move was a blunder by a guy I see as overpaid and overrated.

Suffice to say, I will never be Kimi's biggest fan, even though he is in a Ferrari.

 

[siko]

My 2 cents:

• BMW's pace is legit (and they weren't light vs. McL, haha all you doubters)
• Too bad for Kubica
• Awesome result for the Reds! More of this every race and it'll be a good season!
• Williams' is back, I'm very happy about that
• Bourdais had an amazing debut until his prancing heart stopped prancing
• Even though I hate him, Alonso had quite the drive!
• Barrichello should just retire... he's too old to notice traffic signalation

P.S. What is it with Japanese drivers taking out BMW cars !

 

[Centurion]

IMO both Massa and Coulthard share the responsibility of the incident. Coulthard is as stubborn as his jaw is big, he knew that Massa's car is much faster but still didn't want him to slip by and tried instead to close him out. Massa knows that Coulthard is a tough nut so pass by and off course he didn't want to lose the duel by driving off track so the prancing horse in him made him mash straight into David's right side. Pretty successful collision for Massa but in the end both were careless and stubborn.

Overall Ferrari did a terrible job, especially Kimi who was all over the place. A bit of focus similar to how Alonso was during one of the later GPs last season.

 

[Remy Zero]

Pretty disastrous for Ferrari. At least Kimi got a mercy point! And he didn't even deserve that. I think his engine problem was caused (at least in part) by his amateurish stunts while overtaking. Still it is clear Ferrari have reliability issues.

It is possible that Hamilton will get the max 20 points after two-races, while one of the Ferraris gets only one or zero! They do have consistent race pace, assuming they can get to the race in one piece and with a reasonable starting position.

Kimi threw a great result away. It took him forever to get past Rubens and he went kamikaze on Heikki. He could have waited for pitstops and taken the race there.



I think Alonso did a great race with a slower car. He might have switched from a one stopper to a two to gain track position. It didn't work out at first, but he made the most of it because of the safety cars. I have more respect for Alonso than all the other drivers, especially Kimi! He got a lucky title last year, but I think Ferrari is much better off with Alonso as team leader.

nonsense! IMO, yes, both Ferraris did some c*ck ups today. but did u stop and think that Ferrari messed up Kimi's strategy? plus, that track is one helluva of a difficult track to overtake.

i assume u don't know that Kimi started in 15th, and by end of the 1st lap, he was 8th? thats long for you?

also, its an F1 driver's job to seize every small space given on the track. Kimi went for it, paid the price for it. shiit happens. move on. what dod u expect Kova to do? park his car by the side and wave Kimster by?

 

[Remy Zero]

How was his engine problem caused by overtaking manouvres? Remember, 0 out of 6 Ferrari engines finished the race. Not to forget the problems in quali. Ferrari has a reliability issue!

Overall a very eventful race. And I'm overjoyed to see Rosberg on the podium, well deserved and about time! Lewis did an outstanding job but I had hoped for Hekki to match his pace a bit better. And it's great to see BMW going fast as well.
Ferrari on the other hand need to get their act together. Sure, Hekki's trap on Kimi was awsome, very much like Lewis' on Massa in Malaysia last year. But Heikki had another stop to do and Kimi should have played it cooler.
Give Alonso a few more races to sort his car out and he'll give the Williams a good fight!

+1

 

[Remy Zero]

Awesome trap? He just moved across, nothing too impressive about it. The only thing awesome was how awesomely stupid Kimi was.

He saw a chance, he went for it, paid the price. so what? he's ice cool and he's the champ. he'll get over it.

 

[warot]

Bloody ITV, they are so slow with uploading the entire race on their website, they are holding it back, I just woke up and watched the first lap until my curiosity killed me and I went to F1live and read a race report!!

The start was amazing BMW is officially in the game, Kubica no doubt gave Hamilton a good chase in the start. But still ZOMFG!!! The race was nuts only 7 finished!!!!!!! That is a whole lot less than I played on bet on. Crazy crazy, big applause to Alonso for making it to 4th position and keeping his skin untouched. But I guess that what happens when the SC steps out a few times, the ones who wacky cars get a chance to climb out. I feel sorry for Kubica who had it going on but at least Heidfeldt got to stand on the podium.

HA HA at Ferrari there you get for all that pre-season hype about you being fast. eat your heart out. Hamilton Hamilton what are we to say about him, one again even with traction control he has demonstrated what an amazing driver he is, absolutely flawless driving. I'm so freaking happy, but will watch a rerun of the race at my uncles place.

Forza Mclaren!!!!!!!!!!!1

While I agree that Hamilton raced well, I still don't see what the fuss is about. He was first place pretty much from beginning to the end and had a clear track all the way. The second place car (aka BMW) never matched his time, which I think was down to the car, not him. Kubica was never close to competing with him if you ask me.

So supposedly, Heiki pressed the wrong button thus allowing Alonso to pass him again. Sucks for him, but I still really have respect for Alonso.

And also, what happened to Massa? Was it damage to his front suspension from the crash with DC? I cannot freaken wait til next week already

 

[Deleted member 25]

What was incredible with hamilton was the maturity of his drive, he never did a fault and maintained an amazing pace, but never drove at the limit and then saved his tyres during the entire race. And this is the mark of big guys.

 

[Centurion]

While I agree that Hamilton raced well, I still don't see what the fuss is about. He was first place pretty much from beginning to the end and had a clear track all the way. The second place car (aka BMW) never matched his time, which I think was down to the car, not him. Kubica was never close to competing with him if you ask me.

So supposedly, Heiki pressed the wrong button thus allowing Alonso to pass him again. Sucks for him, but I still really have respect for Alonso.

And also, what happened to Massa? Was it damage to his front suspension from the crash with DC? I cannot freaken wait til next week already

The fuss is:

1. Despite the pressure from behind he managed to drive flawlessly without TC and didn't do any silly mistakes.
2. Ferrari didn't dominate and were far from superior as everyone claimed they would be.


BTW with a crazy race like this on a dry track I can't wait for the drivers to get it on in wet conditions on a track like Spa, Nurburgring or Fuji

 

[warot]

The fuss is:

1. Despite the pressure from behind he managed to drive flawlessly without TC and didn't do any silly mistakes.
2. Ferrari didn't dominate and were far from superior as everyone claimed they would be.

1. What pressure are we talking about? He had the fastest car and was followed by a BMW most of the way. I think you know how much I love BMW but we aren't quite the same level as McL. The top 4 drivers pretty much didn't do any mistakes. That's why they were still running at the end of the race.

2. I meant what was the fuss about Hamilton's performance, not the race itself. Obviously he had nothing to do with Ferrari being worthless this weekend. I think it's fair to assume that Massa is just no good without TC. He spun the first corner by himself. Kimi on the other hand started way the hell back in the grid. Granted he lost his cool, but I wonder how he would have done if he was let's say, 2nd on the grid. I'm going to wait until Sepang to really gauge how good or bad they are. It's not looking good though.

What I'm trying to say, and I'm probably the minority, is that Hamilton wasn't THAT fantastic. Yes he drove without errors, but so did other drivers. But he had the fastest car and was leading the whole time. Why aren't we talking about Vettel (who did great imo) or Bourdais? Rosberg should also get an honorable mention

 

[Centurion]

1. What pressure are we talking about? He had the fastest car and was followed by a BMW most of the way. I think you know how much I love BMW but we aren't quite the same level as McL. The top 4 drivers pretty much didn't do any mistakes. That's why they were still running at the end of the race.

The pressure comes when the SC bounces on to the track and close the gap the Hamilton had gained. But I get your point he does have a fast car after all. In the end he is champion material and did what he was meant to do. STILL he did a good job keeping the car on the track unlike........uhm..........the other 15 drivers who felt the wrath of an ECU without traction control.

At least now we know that BMW has the capacity to be as fast as Mclaren and Ferrari. What remains now is to see if they can maintain a very high pace throughout an entire race.

 

[warot]

The pressure comes when the SC bounces on to the track and close the gap the Hamilton had gained. But I get your point he does have a fast car after all. In the end he is champion material and did what he was meant to do. STILL he did a good job keeping the car on the track unlike........uhm..........the other 15 drivers who felt the wrath of an ECU without traction control.

At least now we know that BMW has the capacity to be as fast as Mclaren and Ferrari. What remains now is to see if they can maintain a very high pace throughout an entire race.

Totally agree with you Luw. I hope Ferrari can bounce back just so that it is an entertaining season

 

[Centurion]

Totally agree with you Luw. I hope Ferrari can bounce back just so that it is an entertaining season

Personally I rather see the Bayern boys at the top rather than Ferrari. German car manufacturers FTW!!

 

[warot]

Personally I rather see the Bayern boys at the top rather than Ferrari. German car manufacturers FTW!!

Me too obviously... although I'm rather new to F1 (only really started watching 2~3 years ago), I would much rather see a 3 way (hehe ) battle. These duos are getting old.