Formula One

[bill]

First race of the season for me,and what a great race it was.Deserved win for Nico Rosberg and Ross Brawn,no tears lost over Shumacher from me.Button unfortunate with his last stop,but it actually added to the great finish having him come out behind the pack chasing for second.Big cheer when he passed Vettel for second,also when Webber did the same for fourth.

[the big man]

What a difference a week makes , looks like normal service resumed at red bull, mclaren had a nightmare in the pit lane again this week , where did redbull find that amount of pace in one week maybe T I might be able to shed some light on that one , cracking effort from kimi , maybe he should have went up the right hand side when trying to pass vettel ? Those two lotus cars look well on the pace . Cracking race by di resta , all in all a great race again .

[The Insider]

Bahrain,

Big Man,

I'm not 100% sure that RBR have found anymore pace, it's sounds and looks like a case of "the others got it wrong"

McLaren had disasters in the pits, the Spags are nowhere, Mercedes were in the wars, Mark couldn't keep up with the two Lotus cars and Force India had a 6th place, nice one Paul Di R.

I'm almost sure the McLaren pitstops were ruined with these new wheels that incorporate the wheelnut, the Spags have mastered it (the only thing they have this season) McLaren are trying hard and RBR are struggling to perfect it too.

There really doesn't seem to be any consistancy in results so far this season, the tyres are incredible and seem to suit different cars at different circuits, makes it interesting though.

I will be in Mugello next week for Marussia, lets see what the lads up and down the pitlane have to tell me, I'll be the Kintyre Forum Hack at the test.

Oh, and frosty, you MUST be happy with KR?

He's still got it mate and looks as happy as ever he put in a descent shift yesterday in a half tidy car that they seem to have produced this year.

It's going to be a good year, Barca should be tight as they will use all the pre season test data.

Keep you posted

TI

[Frosty]

T.I.
I've been working away, plus just returned from a two week holiday, hence the reasons for my abcense from contributing to this wonderfull thread!
''The Iceman'', plus Lotus( Renault), seem to be pushing out some great resuls, 2nd and 3rd at Bahrain was a fantastic achievement. Eric says that there are further developments to come. Plus I'm more than happy that Kimi has managed to achieve something (a podium finish) that Michael has been trying to achieve since his return?!?!?
What a season so far! I'm not too sure, either, that RBR found a great deal more speed. They were correct to return Seb to the same car that Mark was driving, McLaren cannot seem to get a good relationship between the wheel nut material and the shaft material which the wheel sits on! What did Mercedes do, though, with the speed and motion that Nico was showing all through FPs 1,2 and 3? He has also lost a wee bit of momentum after his wonderfull first race win at the Chinese GP? Perhaps the revolutionary rear air diffuser, which directs air down the side of the car and onto the front wing, wasn't working too well in the sandy conditions of Bahrain? He was a wee bit lucky not to get any further action after the one or two incidents which he was involved in, I don't think Fernando is too impressed with the Stewards decisions?
So, Sebs back on top after a quite start to his second title defence. Spanish GP next, I wonder if Mrs fROSTY would consider allowing me a weekend away?

fROSTY

[Frosty]

So, it looks like Mr Massa is on the way to the exit door in the Ferrari garage at the end of this season!
Who will race, next season, in the red cars, as a No.2 to Fernando? There isn't a lot of drivers knocking on Stefano Domenicali's office door, though?
Sergio Perez, currently doing rather well in the Sauber, is in the natural path of progression to the Ferrari race seat! Jenson, or, the current rumour, Mark Webber? Mark, '' not bad for a No. 2 driver-----'', may well not fit into the '' -- Fernandos faster than you --'' contractual obligations that Alonso seems to have engineered into the Ferrari school of track management?
There is definitely a lot of talk concerning '' rumours '' with regards to Felipe's seat. A lot of ''smoke '' which could not be possible without a wee bit of fuel for the fire?
Lotus, piloted by Romain, have came out equal top of the times, along side the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi. Kimi won't get a chance to test, they will stick with Romain for the remainder of the time at Mugello.
Ferrari are still, apparently, intent on getting their pre season exhaust design, the one which heated up the rear tyres too much, to work. After over a 100 laps they're still not too sure, don't expect it to be on the race car in Spain!
I seeTimo's fastest lap was just behind Gary Paffett in the McLaren and Charles's fastest put him just behind Michael's Mercedes, did the Marussia Team have a productive second day and retire back to their Hotel happy?
Any idea how Bruno got on T.I.?

fROSTY

[The Insider]

Mugello Test,

Hi Guys, not a great deal to report from Mugello, I did catch up with a lot of people and there were a few interesting things going on but everyone seems to be playing their cards close to their chests.

I'm not sure that the test was a success in the eyes of the teams, the track is very like Silverstone in respect that it is an immensley fast and flowing facility that offers only a degree of technical info about the cars.

The drivers enjoyed themselves though, it's a real joy to drive an F1 car at any high speed track, our Russian mate didn't enjoy himself too much though, did he?

He thought it was unsafe for F1 cars with regards to run off areas, don't make me laugh Vitaly, why would you then race at Monaco mate??

I had a good look at these new rims with the integral wheelnut, it all looks a bit too messy and the tyremen now have 30% MORE work, it never seems to get any easier in the pitlane when it comes to new kit.

As for the Williams pace and Bruno, I'm not sure what went on there fROSTY, I was long gone by the time the first wheel turned on the circuit, I knew I had been there too long when I was standing in the Marussia garage and my old Cosworth mates fired the engine up, that was my queue to leave for the airport as my work was done, it's all a bit too noisy for me now.

There is every chance I will be doing the full Monaco GP week with Marussia, I've had the offer but they need to up their rate, you can't get 10 years race team experience for the same rate you pay lads drive and polish trucks.

Time will tell.

TI

[Frosty]

Well, there is T.I. and I wondering, in our last replies, were the pace of the Williams car had gone? '' Pole position in the next race .'' is the reply from the Team!
Fantastic qualifying yesterday, a great pit wall interview by Gary Anderson with Matin Whitmarsh - it was obvious, especially when the cameras picked up Lewis being given a quick briefing by McLaren, that the truth would eventually come out! McLaren certainly win and loose as a Team. Hamilton got Hammered for the mistake and Jenson was left in the pits to watch the other drivers knocking him out of Q3 and, perhaps, to admire the new front nose on his car or to wonder how on earth he is going to manage with the new break material that he has to run with?
Red Bull gave up the chase for Pole, however they have watched Kimi come through the field, in past races, with new tyres!
I think, for this race, they have realised that there is more to the weekend than gaining Pole position?

So Pastor Maldonado has given Frank Williams an unexpected, but wonderfull, 70th Birthday(FW70) present with pole position for the Williams Team. Bruno was so unlucky not to hold onto his car before he spun off, otherwise there certainly would have been two of their cars on the top 10 grid slots.
Fernando Alonso, with all the recent Ferrari up dates on his car, is alongiside the Williams( isn't it great to see a Williams and Ferrari side by side at the front of the grid again?)
Third and fourth sees the two fantastic Lotus cars side by side. A fantastic Saturday for Romain and Kimi, watch them go, without Team orders. Podium places, once again, though I hope Kimi gets another race victory to add to his career total.
Can Seb. come through the field, it will cedrtainly be interesting to see the race pace of both Red Bull cars?
Lewis, from the back of the grid, will suffer as there isn't to much of a time difference between the slower cars so they will be a lot closer together and, therefore, more difficult to pass.
What a season so far, a lot of this is down to the brave decisions made by Pirelli! Mr Schumaker describes the experience of driving with their tyres as '' ... like driving on raw eggs'' Kimi seems to have managed then, since his return? He cannot use this as a valid excuse as to why he hasn't made a return to the podium yet!

A great race in store and lots to look out for from further back on the grid, when the lights go out.

fROSTY

[Govangirl]

Great post Frosty but surprised no views on Hamilton's luck. He put in a fantastic lap yesterday and I can't believe his bad luck. In my opinion he has been the most consistent driver this season. Has Whitmarsh been punished at all because surely heads must roll for this? And I can't stop thinking that if that if the car had a red horse on it the driver would not be put back 23 places on the grid!!!!! Hamilton did say a few months ago that after such a bad 2011 season he would think about his future with McLaren if the first few races were disappointing so I don't know what the future holds. But certainly, McLaren need to get a grip!!!!

[Frosty]

Thank you, Govangirl. I'll pass on my thoughts concerning the actual race later.
Let's hope evryone who was caught up in the fire / explosion within the Williams garage are OK.
While watching the BBC Forum, after the race coverage, it became apperent that a serious fire had ignited in their garage during pack up. There has been reports of injuries to personnel and the live coverage I saw was quite frightening, the garage is small and any fire within that size of building would be serious.

It is such bad luck to end what must have been a dream weekend for Sir Frank Williams in this manner.
I hope that there are no serious injuries and that all the Team can go to Monte Carlo, with the momentum that they have now built, and concentrate on making it two wins in a row?

fROSTY

[Frosty]

The Spanish Grand Prix - what a fantastic race. This season keeps on getting better and better. As DC said, with 5 laps to go, '' ...... I can't take anymore of this, I wish someone would tell me how it is going to end?''
It could have been Kimi's first win for Lotus, it could have been Fernando's win at his home grand prix, however it was the first win in the history of F1 for a Venezuelan driver. Well done Pastor Maldonado, pole to flag, a great qualiying and fantastic win for Williams GP, they always seem to enjoy a great / productive relationship with Renault engines!
IF (nearly the F1 mirror image) Lotus had given Kimi the all clear to push earlier, in the last two races, they would have, more than probably, been first past the flag. This is a great car that both Kimi, he never smiles, and Romain, he has enough smile for both of them, to enjoy.
On the flip side, there goes another race where Schumacker hasn't enjoyed his drive in the Mercedes AMG, he certainly wasn't smiling when he ran into the back of Bruno's Williams! He didn't think much of his car's performance, however Nico managed to get the best out of his and finished with some points! A five place grid penalty for the Monaco race will probably ensure that his lack of enjoyment, from this seasons races, continues! He cannot come back for a second time, it will be interesting to see who is driving for Mercedes AMG next season?
Lewis Hamilton had a wonderfull drive, much better than myself, himself or McLaren could have hoped for! He is now returning to the racer that we all have seen in the past! To finish in 8th place, after starting at the back, on a two stop strategy, whereas everyone else opted for three, by managing his tyres through two very long, Pirelli will thank him for the data received, stints of 21 and 31 laps respectively was brilliant. I thought Jenson was the smooth driver who could take care of his tyres, Lewis has learned a lot and now seems to be getting the better performance out of the McLaren package.
I can't wait for Monaco, could it be, once again, for the sixth time, a different constructor and driver who wins?

To end, I am so glad to hear that the fire was extinguished in the Williams garage without serious injury to any of the Mechanics or crew. Let us all hope that the source of the ignition is found and plans are put in place to ensure that there is no repeat of this accident in the future.

fROSTY

[The Insider]

Barcelona GP:

Guys,

First just to let you know it was my mate Barney (William's Chief Truckie) that was burned and injured in the post race fire on Sunday afternoon.

Barn was airlifted to hospital where he was treated for burns to his arms, legs and face after what appears to be a fuel fire in the garage, there was a lot of static electricity at the weekend but the team are keeping quiet on what actually happened until they (rightly) have all the facts.

Barn was due to fly home today for treatment in the UK, he's doing ok and should make a full recovery.

Let me assure everyone that Williams WILL make sure Barn has THE VERY BEST OF CARE, thats how Willie's are, no expense spared in this kind of situation.

As for Pastor winning the race?

Well he really has surprised me all season to be honest, I would NEVER have said (at the start of the season) he was a race winner but there you go again, what do I know

It's unfolding into an incredible season and you just can't predict who will win any race.

GG, as for Hamilton's luck??

Well to be honest I don't think it's his fault, it's the teams responsibility to make sure he has enough fuel to complete his competitive laps, AND, and I stress AND, has enough fuel left in either the Fuel Cell OR, AT THE VERY LEAST, the Fuel Rail to offer the FIA a fuel sample at the end of that particular competitive sesion.

They ran the car as light as possible and it came back to bite them on the bum, simple as really.

See you all in Monaco.

TI

[Govangirl]

Best wishes to your mate then TI. Watching the video of it was awful.
As for Hamilton, as I said above, I totally agree, it certainly wasn't his fault and McLaren definitely messed up!
You took a time to answer TI - was that because you were so upset at Fergie not coming on top?????? It must have been upsetting for you!

[The Insider]

GG,

I couldn't answer before then.

I was down there (in Barcelona) for Marussia, I drove one of the trucks home, we left the circuit at 2100hrs on Sunday night and pushed through to Calais arriving there at 1600hrs on Monday.

We went straight to bed, got up at 0100hrs on Tuesday morning and drove straight to Banbury, unloaded, washed down then drove home.

See...........the pure GLAMOUR of F1. NOT

I leave for Monaco tomorrow night with Marussia but I'm not doing the race weekend, I've had the offer but I just can't stand the place from a work point of view, it's BY FAR THE MOST difficult event on the F1 calendar from a logistical, hassle, police, space, operational and expensive point of view, in truth not many of us like it but it's F1 MAGIC for TV and spectator alike, it really is "The Jewel in F1's Crown" so to speak, but it's super difficult to work.

That said I have offered to help William's in Monaco, I told Dickie Stanford to call me if they were short, it's the least you can do in the circumstances.

When I was a full time team member the only good thing (for me) about Monaco was knowing that the next stop was Canada, we ALL LOVE Canada.

The Football:

As for old "Bacon Face"......What a GREAT day for the Premiership that we now have new champions, I am tired of hearing about the Manc's, by that I mean the red half.

Blue Moon Rising, lets hope the red lot NEVER win the title again.

Just my own view of course.

TI

[Govangirl]

Came across this video today: James Hunt punching a marshall!!!! F1 in the old days!!!!! The rest of the films on here are great too!

http://www.motorsportretro.com/2010/11/video-james-hunt-punches-marshall/

[The Insider]

Ah GG,

The Good Old Days, when mer were ALLOWED to be men istead of PR Drones for big business.

I had dinner last week in Monaco with a guy who has been in the Pitlane for 35 years, 22 of them at Tyrrell, the stories were magical.

In the early 90's he was taking the truck to Monaco and was short of another driver, it got to the leave time and Ken Tyrrell said "I'll Bloody drive the thing with you", Ken spent his 65th birthday in the truck with Ian on the way to the race, QUALITY.

Can you EVER imagine Ron D, Horner, Monte De Z or Vejay M stepping to do that in modern times? Of course not, it's totally different now but if Frank W could still walk I'm sure he would.

I'm back down there on Saturday night for the Sunday "Pack Up" from HELL.

TI