2005 Formula 1 - Australian GP (1 Viewer)

NOTE: If you haven't watched the race yet, read no further.

>> spoilers below!!

I don't think Fisi's win was because of what happened during qualifying. The Renaults were the fastest cars out there, and "Fred" Alonzo came from 13th to finish 3rd. Obviously starting on poll with the fastest car is the best way to win races as he didn't have to fight traffic to get to the front.

I'm surprised that only the BARs pulled off on the last lap. Given the huge loophole in the absurd new rules it would make sense for anyone not in the top 8 to "retire" from the race on the final lap and therefore get a new engine for the next race.

I bet DC is happy to have beaten both McLarens!

..and Webber is frustrated that he couldn't get around him.

I thought it was a great start to the season. Fisi has always been one of my favorite drivers on the grid, along with Heidfeld and Webber, who now drive for Williams, my favorite team. I hope this season has some great races in store. If qualifying goes off without weather changes, the next race should show us everyones real potential. Right now, it looks like Ferrari, Renault and Williams will be the teams to beat. Hopefully the McLarens get stuck battling the Red Bulls. I was never a David Coulthard fan, but I was glad to see him finish ahead of his former employers.

Rumor has it that CBS will show some of the races this year. I hope theyre in HD, and borrow the SPEED commentating crew. I bet itll be the North American GPs and maybe the Italian ones. ABC's coverage a few years ago was terrible.

CBS is doing four races, but not the ones you might think. The races won't be in HD as the world feed will not be in HD, not sure who they will use as commentators. CBS will not be show three of the races live but will show a delayed feed in the afternoon US time.

They will show San Marino (Imola), Spanish GP, Nurburgring and then show the Candaian GP live.

There were sections of the track with two sets of double solid lines that had been painted over, so on tv it looked kinda like a life-size slot car racing circuit!

Ok, I was half right!

F1 racing tape delayed!?

Rob

well, at least we'll (hopefully) get the normal speed coverage of practice and qualifying...

so... anybody want to take a guess at how many races it'll take for michael to lead the championship this year?

also, anybody going to any of the races? i'm going to try to make it to montreal and one of my buddies is going to japan.

You gonna watch it at 4 in the morning on CBS?

i watch at 4am on speed, i'd do the same on CBS.

well, that's not entirely true. i usually start watching after my TiVo builds about 30-45 minutes of buffer so i can FF through the commericals. =)

I'm going to the USGP again. Would love to go to Montreal (& sit in the hairpin). One day I'd love to go to Spa or Monza.

Unbelievable that the most popular and most technologically advanced-racing isn't broadcast in HD, but NASCAR is. It boggles my mind!

interesting Qual results from Malaysia:

1. Fernando Alonso - Renault
2. Jarno Trulli - Toyota
3. Giancarlo Fisichella - Renault
4. Mark Webber - Williams/BMW
5. Ralf Schumacher - Toyota
6. Kimi Raikkonen - McLaren/Mercedes
7. Christian Klien - Red Bull/Cosworth
8. David Coulthard - Red Bull/Cosworth

The strong showing from Renault in Australia was no fluke. The Toyotas are suddenly near the front of the grid and the Former Jags are looking strong.

Apparently Toyota driver Ralf Schumacher has a brother who also drives in F1, but could only manage 13th almost 4 seconds of the pace. He drives for some Italian outfit.

Webber far outpaces his team-mate who was 10th.

Hope it's okay to discuss Malaysia race results now ...

How about those Renaults? I don't believe how effortless Alonso's win was - fastest in d1 qualifying, fastest in d2 qualifying, fastest in the end by a huge margin. Then there was Fisichella who was merely fastest into Webber's side

It was a good showing from Williams and Red Bull. Poor Kimi Raikkonen...

So for you F1 hardcores, what's going on with Ferrari? Is their 2005 car going to be that good? IIRC they ran the 2003 car early in 2004 and still cleaned up. They've not even been competitive this year.

Yup..

Renault and Toyota have definitely brought their 'A' game.

Don't count Ferrari out yet. Michael brought up a good point, there are still more races left than in a 'normal' F1 season (this season being 19 races long).

I agree with Coulthard. He thinks that the built-in qualifying handicap (in the form of the qualifying order) levied against drivers that didn't fare well in the previous race is unfair. And that was in spite of it working in his favor this round!

The two-race motor deal doesn't look like it's going to be so bad. The one-set-of-tires-for-the-whole-weekend rule sucks. I miss the tire changes in the pit stops and I think that it'll eventually present a major safety issue.

It's good to see Michael on the board. Now bring out the F2005.

Lastly, it seems that Flavor Flav (Briatore) isn't the only playboy in the paddock. Whats this about Jean Todt(?!) and Michelle Yeoh? Obviously old news that I must have missed.

BTW, if this is going to be the season discussion thread, can we change the title?

I wouldn't count Ferrari out yet, wait for the 2005 car for that. However the first place to look for their lack or performance would have to be the tires. If Bridgestone can't step it up, Ferrari won't be able to catch up. Although of course it could just be not getting the new aero regs right on the interim car.

Either way that does not detract from what Renault and Toyota have done to get where they are now & I bet some "genius" executives at Ford are kicking themselves at the moment, although I suppose that given their financial situation they don't have much choice.

I bet DC gives the McLaren boys a big smile and a cheery wave when he passes them in the paddock...

Yep, I think the difference is the Bridgestones too.

As a long time Ferrari fan, I'm hoping they roll out the F2005 in Bahrain and close the gap on the rest of the field. Sixth and seventh row starts are just too depressing.

Rob

But for the rest of us, F1 is fun to watch again!

IMHO all the rules (and the fact that most of them are implemented just to cripple Schumacher) are just sad.
F1 hasn't been "racing" for some time now, but it's not Schumis fault!

All the rules, added each year takes all the racing out of the sport and makes it b-o-r-i-n-g.
While some rulechanges is a good thing (like the new qualifying for instance) most are just crap and should be scrapped.

1. Remove traction control (and let the drivers actually BE drivers all the way).
2. Re-instate the tirechanges at pit-stops (bad grip is a safety hazard, regardless if the bad grip is caused by bad manufacturing).
3. Allow slicks (this might be a controversial subject seeing how speeds will increase, but safety has become developed to the point that slicks is not "as dangerous" as it once was).
4. Less restrictions on engines and aerodynamics (let the craftmanship and knowledge of the manufacturers be a factor, instead of tying their arms behind their backs by telling them what "is not allowed").

Racing was more dramatic (and more fun) when Mansell, Senna et al. was in their prime, strangely enough the rules where not as crippling as the are today.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to put the pieces together...

In short, put the "racing" back in racing and take the politics and the chase for the almighty dollar out.