Formula 1 - 2009

[the-mk]

a new season has begun - with some new faces on the podium!

Brawn GP did a nice job!

Vettel vs. Kubica - could have been better

KERS - a nice new feature

let us see how this season continues! maybe not so as it was the last years

[alpha]

Yeah it was a shame about Vettel and Kubica with only 3 laps to go. Mario Thiessen from BMW implied that Brawn should have been concerned if Kubica had been able to pass Vettel safely. The 10-place grid penalty for the Malaysian Grand Prix that Vettel has received seems harsh to me.

Also, Trulli's penalty seems strange to me. I'm not feeling bitter about it just because Hamilton was able to gain another place, it just seems a strange rule that if you mess up behind the safety car, you're not allowed to drive ahead back to your rightful place. Unfortunately, they didn't broadcast Trulli's mistake here, so I don't know how much "time" he lost, but he couldn't have lost too much if he was able to get back to where he thought he should be, unscathed.

I'm not sure KERS is making an awful lot of difference. At the start of the race, it was hard to say for sure if it gave a significant boost because Barichello's problem caused congestion. The seven cars running KERS in this race had spectacularly lacklustre performances overall though.

Overall it seemed like the kind of race where a lot of people got lucky due to other's mistakes. Exciting nonetheless and I hope Brawn GP continue to succeed!

edit: I forgot to mention, Sebastien Buemi did a great job in his first race!

[Shish]

I was pleased to see JB get the flag. Well deserved after putting up with Honda to the death. And ol' Ruben on the podium and still giving a bit of stick. Strange about the TOY boy tho', still can't figure that one, mebbe just another of the FIA's obscure rules.. Mind you tho', Ross Brawn getting backed by the "Golden Boy" (or should it be Golden B*lls!!!) may just be a lethal combination cos Branson has a lot of good luck with most things he gets involved with. Never could figure why....
Still, high hopes for an exciting season and early days for the developement of all the new rules. KERS ain't that new, been tried in the US if I remember but mebbe alright for a lite weight driver but that weight penalty for some of them where every gram is measured and trimmed? Think that's a wait and see mebbe.

[Flyvapnet]

A Formula 1 thread! This is a good sign. Perhaps intelligent life exists on the Web after all.



In the States it's still difficult to follow Formula 1 on television, because actual broadcasts of the sport don't exist over here: one has to have a cable subscription, but I find that to be money ill spent. "Hundreds of channels and still nothing's on."



My enthusiasm for the sport, which has waxed and waned over the decades, began in the early 1960s and culminated in 1980 with the one and only Formula 1 race I've ever attended: the Long Beach Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet winning. Since then -- especially in light of the medieval, stultifying and whimsical Ecclestone/Mosley lock on the sport -- I've been merely an occasional fan.



But I shall henceforth look to this thread for news! I'm very glad it's here.



=^..^=

[alpha]

Welcome Flyvapnet!

How did you like being track-side on a race day? I've only ever been to a testing session (Silverstone last year) but that was very exciting indeed - getting to see the cars and drivers in the flesh was a treat! I must admit though, I do prefer watching the action on TV, with all the onboard footage and always being where the action is.

It doesn't sound like you caught the first race of the 2009 season? If not, you missed a great race and if it was anything to go by it should be a great season, so try and tune in for the rest.

[Fozzie]

I think the tyres had a big impact on the race. Very strange that the two compounds were so very different.

I think KERS will make a bigger diference on the power tracks and the ones with longer straights where the push to pass will help a lot, and the big stops will regenerate the KERS system faster.

[alpha]

The two tyre compounds have been chosen specifically to be further apart than the hard vs. soft from last season. The whole reasoning was to make it more interesting because it is tougher for the teams to choose when to use each set.

Also, generating the energy quicker for your KERS battery might not help that much because the regulations state you can only boost for 6.6 seconds per lap. As long as you've got it when you want it, that's all that counts.

[Shish]

Watching Kimi, it seemed he was wasting his KERS, mostly, or mebbe hadn't got the hang of it. Didn't get much of a view on how the KERS cars were using theirs tho'. Nice to see the return of slicks and the 2 grade difference in compounds adds an extra "technical guesswork" element so maybe the smaller teams can get some extra luck with this. As a long term follower of F1 and one time competitor/wannabe in lower grades of motorsport, and having been briefly involved with some of the technical stuff, my interest is being revitalised this season and it will be nice to see some of the more sober drivers having a go or taking a risk and mebbe even losing it all and evening the odds somewhat can only be good though I must admit, I miss the "Fantasy Island" technical stuff which came with the freedom which produced the Lotuses of yore. Keeping the cost down can only be good, but too much rigidity in the regs takes away a lot of the appeal of this unique sport.
And there are plenty of websites now putting out the racing in full more or less so viewing is not tied to those paying exhorbitant cable fees. Nice to see the Beeb doing it as well and IPlayer is useful for those without a scheduler or even for getting it to friends not in the correct internet area.