Ferrari 1-2
 

I'm sure some folks were NOT happy to see that finish.

I'm still hopin Mclaren can be competitive before the end of the season -- at least Lewis had a podium to start off the year -- MUCH better than last year.....:icon17:

Sucks what happened to Vettel. Though I predicted a Ferrari 1 2 on my pick 10 and that is exactly what happened, so I am ok with it.

FERRARI:happydance:

They certainly kicked @$$ today. Will be interesting to see if the other teams can catch up or if the "red cars" are simply that far ahead of the rest of the racers. I think they were a little (understatement) embarrassed last year. PLUS, I'm sure having Fernando & Felipe as your drivers ain't too bad either...:driving:

Last year the competition most definitely caught up to Brawn GP so I think we'll see some of the same.

RBR is fast, like last year, but we'll see if they're going to be consistent. Ferrari was pretty awesome, and Alonso is simply one of the greatest ever. Good to see Massa back with a good run, but unfortunately for him Alonso is on another level.

I see Ferrari being top dog this season, with McLaren and RBR in pursuit. I think Mercedes will become contenders by race 5 or 6.

Could not have asked for a better race finnish. well if hamilton stayed out of the podium it would have been better, but I can only ask for so much.

Ferrari 1-2... I feel bad for Massa, not going to be able to win a championship with Alonso in the team. But its going to be good getting the title back to Maranello.

I'm glad that I ignored this thread. I usually wait until afternoon to download the BBC race coverage... so much nicer than Speed. :)

I think that was the most boring race I've watched in years. 24 second pits mean that the strategy is bland, and 2:00 is way too long for a single lap.

The first 5 laps and the last 5 laps were the only entertaining part of the race and that is unfortunate. Maybe when they're out of the desert heat and the teams aren't having to baby their engines it will be more interesting.

^^^ the only thing that will make a difference, will be the tracks which are aggressive on tires.. hungry, Canada, etc...

its not like pit stops are that much slower... its only 4-5 seconds slower... so pit stops still play a role.

But yeah it was a pretty event less race.

Bridgestone needs to come back with a softer tire that's going to wear more. You always have better racing when the grip falls off and the drivers are really having to manhandle the cars. I think they were expecting the full fuel loads to be much harder on the tires than they were.

I guess it's early yet, but the way their tires held up it seems to me like they'll all be one stoppers like this. m4a1 is probably right... Give them less tire! ;)

Anybody else bored with F1? I have been watching since the late 90's and I have just lost interest. I really don't want to see another season of Ferrari vs Mclaren(Merc). I hope that Redbull cleans up. Most of the car manufactures are gone and every year they(the powers that be) try to make changes to improve the show. More regulations= worse show. And what a waste of a potential money making juggernaut called, the INTERNET. If Bernie had a clue he would charge a subscription and allow online services in real time during practice, quali, race.

I don't mean to offend anyone, F1 just continues to dissapoint me. Looking forward to FIA GT this year though!

^^^ it was always been "X" vs Ferrari. It will always be the same thing. F1 was never really a drivers race, it was more of a which team has more money and can develop cooler things. for even action, nascar, indy car, etc... is the best bet.... for real driver racing, rally is where its at.

Not Always. Ferrari was mediocre for a VERY long time until Schumacher came along.

^^ sir me and the people of Maranello, have chosen to ignore that almost decade, with the 2008 race in sao paulo from the history books.. and it shall never be brought up again.

thank you

Haha. Ferrari wasn't really there in the 60s. Villeneuve brought life to them in the 70s and they were contenders. The 80s and 90s were dull for them, save for the late 90s when Schumi and Brawn revived the team and started their run of dominance. :)

But yes, the Tifosi have a habit of basically erasing those long, dull stretches of history. :)

Impressive, Steve. And I completely :iagree:

I used to work as a security guard in the pits at Watkins Glen back when they hosted F1. Today's version is nothing like it was back then. I met Mario Andretti, Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Ronnie Petersen, Alan Jones. Man, The Glen, and F1, was so cool back then. Now all the drivers are such coddled and it's all about the $$$$$$$

Yup.... those we're the glory days for sure. Drivers were drivers and would race anything... there was none of the elitism that there is today. Jimmy Clark used to run some Nascar when he had time, heck, Jackie Stewart was a Nascar broasdcaster for ABC for a long while. They used to come over and run the Indy 500... ah man.

Really, its the same now in all top level motorsport. Corporate sponsorships limit what drivers can do, so there aren't anymore Foyts or Andrettis or Clarks. Though some guys like Tony Stewart are throwbacks to that era when a racecar driver would race anything because its what they loved to do. You don't see much of that anymore.

Ferrari Previews the GT Roller Coaster

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Bizarro, Millennium Force, Nitro and other attention-grabbing roller coasters need to watch their backs. Ferrari has previewed its Ferrari World Abu Dhabi GT roller coaster, and it promises to be one of the most memorable amusement park rides on the planet.

"The GT roller coaster is a racing coaster, which will send two competing roller coaster carriages sprinting along twisting parallel tracks on a race to the finish line," said Ferrari in a statement. "Each coaster car is a replica of a Ferrari F430 Spider."

It is the second of two roller coasters that will anchor the amusement park. The other is billed as the world's fastest roller coaster, with a speed of up to 125 mph that is intended to simulate the feeling of driving a Ferrari F1 racing car.

The roller coasters are two of 20 rides and attractions set for the amusement park, which opens on Yas Island here later this year. The Ferrari GT theme is not only carried on via the roller coaster, but also in the roof of the enclosed theme park. The roof is inspired by the "classic double-curve side profile" of the Ferrari GT.

Just the Facts:
—The roller coaster cars are replicas of the Ferrari F430 Spider.
—The racing coaster sends carriages on parallel tracks to a finish line.
—Another coaster in the park reaches speeds as high as 125 mph.


Ferrari Previews the GT Roller Coaster- Yahoo! Autos Article Page

VW looking to step into F1 with “world engine” formula
May 5, 2010




Volkswagen is interested in formula one but has no intention of launching a Mercedes-like works team. That is the latest message given by Hans-Joachim Stuck, a former grand prix driver and now the motor sport representative of the German carmaker giant.
“It is clear that we are looking at formula one,” he is quoted as saying by Sport Bild magazine.

“We are waiting for the FIA’s decision in respect of the use of a world engine for formula one. If there is (a world engine) we will discuss whether to build it for formula one,” added Stuck.

He clarified that VW would only be an engine supplier and not have “our own team like Mercedes”.

The ‘world engine’ concept – with possible deployment across various motor racing categories – has been touted by the FIA.

But regarding a new engine formula for 2013, the current discussions in F1 are about the likelihood of a 1.5 litre turbocharged 4-cylinder and a powerful KERS.

It is believed that the world engine concept is not popular among F1’s existing manufacturers.

While pushing for smaller engines for 2013, the FIA is also keen to improve the fuel efficiency of the current 2.4 litre V8 designs.

Ferrari’s former engine boss Gilles Simon, now working with the FIA, said in the latest edition of In Motion magazine that F1 should “push forward with fuel efficiency”.

“If, as an engine engineer, I am given a maximum fuel load, I will try to give the driver the maximum horsepower possible, building the most efficient engine I can,” he said.

Simon added that the FIA wants “to try to adapt the rules we have in the run-up to the new engine formula”.

So what do you guys think of the penalty they handed Schumi for his illegal pass at the final corner? I for one am happy about it. I think he's an epic weasel.

I think it's ******* stupid.

Sometimes I don't understand why the FIA does things the way they do... The race was finishing under the SC, so why the hell do they have the SC pull off? Just lead the cars to the damn finish line like any other freaking series that allows races to finish under yellow.

Yeah, Schumi shouldn't have passed Alonso, but it's not a big deal. All they have to do is put him back behind Alonso in the results. So stupid.

Oh, and I bet Damon Hill had a big hand in making sure Schumi got a big penalty. Hill is a pussy and has an axe to grind with Michael. I bet he was salivating at the chance to penalize him.

Is Damon Hill an official or something?

He was on the board of stewards. One of the changes that Todt made when he took over as president of the FIA is that at each race, a former driver will be on the board of stewards. Driver representation is something the drivers have been asking for for years, because the rest of the stewards have never been drivers, so there was nobody who could understand or represent things from the drivers' point of view. As for Damon Hill having an axe to grind with Shumacher, well, if someone deliberately crashed into me on track (or anywhere else), I'd have an axe to grind with them too. Call it karma.

Karma is karma! What goes around, comes around!:tiphat:

Michael should know better... its not like the rule was placed this year.

I loved this race. Alonso did a stellar job conserving tires and passing the 6 slower cars. I am also glad that the kangaroo won this race...

but next race in Turkey, Massa better get back with the program.. he owns that track.

So I re-read the rule and it seems pretty clear. Something along the lines of "In the event a race will end under caution, the SC will pull into the pits on the last lap and the cars will accelerate to the finish line maintaining their current position."

So either there was some miscommunication or a brainfart on MS's part... wateva!

Ah, but the plot thickens! The key phrase is ""In the event a race will end under caution . . ." Apparently, it has now come out that right before the SC went back into the pits, the lights and flags went back to green! So now there's some ambiguity (go figure). Mercedes is appealing the decision on that basis. Should be interesting to see how it turns out. If that race was in fact intended to end under a caution (which I think is everyone's assumption, including my own) then shouldn't the lights have remained yellow all the way to the very end? Why flip them back to green in the final seconds. I can understand Michael's confusion.

Nobody else got confused except MS :shakes head: but you are correct, it should have ended under yellow, somebody fked up.

Of course, just to play devil's advocate, MS supporters would phrase things differently. They'd say that it wasn't a case of MS being the only one confused at all, but rather a case of MS being the only one astute enough, sharp enough, on the ball enough, to seize the narrow opportunity. Everyone else was just asleep at the switch, they'd argue. (I'm not a fan of MS myself, btw. But I have to respect him for his abilities.)

Oh yes, of COURSE! Michael has those CATLIKE REFLEXES and he POUNCED! (Can you tell I'm not a big fan either :icon17: )

If the lights went green then they should reverse the penalty.

Rubens Barrichello should be penalized for throwing a temper tantrum. What if that steering wheel would have hit Massa in the head…………..

I agree. That would've been awful. "Remember that spring from my car that nearly took you out last year? Yeah, that didn't work. Let's try a steering wheel instead."

As an aside, however, the stewards no longer have the authority to investigate incidents on their own. The race director (Charlie Whiting) must request an investigation in order for the stewards to investigate. And Charlie didn't request one for what Barichello did, so there's not much the stewards can do. I believe I heard the guys on Speed explain that this provision is new for 2010.

The FIA bugs the hell out of me sometimes with how they officiate races.

Maybe then he would go back to driving like he was before the first hit in the head.

I'm pretty sure he's the same old Massa. Alonso is just in a different league.

Rubens Barrichello should be penalized for throwing a temper tantrum. What if that steering wheel would have hit Massa in the head…………..

Some one please fill me in, it sounds like I missed a lot of good action!:excited:

Looks like he had a suspension failure at the top of the hill, had a couple big hits, then threw his steering wheel from the car in anger.

Yeah, onto the track, where Karun Chandok promptly ran right over it. :facepalm: