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Formula One 2009 I


DJDonegal

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I think the current qualifying method is a lot better than the old one hour I remember from growing up. Much more exciting. Next year, with the refuelling ban, we should be able to really see who is fastest without waiting for the times to be recalculated based on how much fuel they're holding because they'll be allowed to refuel after qualifying and before the race.

I can see where you're coming from Slick, but I think it's really quite rare that qualifying is disrputed so disastrously as it has been lately. Valencia is a road circuit, so it's easy to end up ruining things with a crash, and the run offs in Suzuka weren't doing their job well enough, so they need to be made longer. I think maybe a system where if qualifying is stopped once, there's no alteration made to the time, but if it's stopped twice an average lap is added on to the time, or something like that, and so on is a good way forward.

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I think maybe a system where if qualifying is stopped once, there's no alteration made to the time, but if it's stopped twice an average lap is added on to the time, or something like that, and so on is a good way forward.

Sounds perfectly sensible. I know it's rare for quali to be very disrupted, but it clearly is possible.

And I definitely don't want to go back to the old system. Quali was worth getting up at 6am for on saturday. :)

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On the subject of qualifying, why can't they add on a couple of minutes to the time if there's a crash? Under the current regulations it's possible, with a lot of accidents, for nobody to put a time down at all.

You're right there. Ten years ago drivers who were on a hot lap when a red flag came out got another lap, so I would only be fair to let anyone whose lap has been disrupted by an accident to go out one more time.

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You're right there. Ten years ago drivers who were on a hot lap when a red flag came out got another lap, so I would only be fair to let anyone whose lap has been disrupted by an accident to go out one more time.

That was because the total number of laps was limited. I don't think they'd get extra time after the hour had expired. The risk of having your fast lap disrupted is part of the game. If all goes according to plan doing your lap as late as possible is the winning strategy. But you can always get stuck in traffic or slowed down by an accident. That's why it's prudent to do a run early in the session. It's the team's job to watch traffic on the track and send out their driver at the right time.

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Yeah you're right. The Brawn's shouldn't have waited till the end of the session to do one hot lap, but I still think there should be the oppurtunity to do another lap if yellow or red flags prevent you from setting a hot lap.

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I like to think he has the sense not to put his life at unnecessary risk. I know with him being an F1 driver who puts his life at unnecessary risk every time he hits 200mph that I might be dreaming in a fantasy land, but a man can dream. And at least he has solidly ruled Interlagos out - shows he's not willing to take too many risks.

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Yes, but not very quickly.

Ferrari

Already confirmed - Alonso in for Raikonnen, Massa returns, Fisichella to be test driver.

Red Bull

Already confirmed - team line up to remain the same.

Brawn GP

No confirmations. Likely to keep Button, but rumours of Rosberg replacing Barrichello are abound.

McLaren

Lewis Hamilton stays. Kovalainen is surely out. Kimi to come in?

Force India

Have said they have no reason to change line up, but Indian driver Chandhok has been linked with a move, possibly as a test driver for now.

Renault

Alonso is off to Ferrari, to be replaced by Robert Kubica. Grosjean is yet to learn his fate.

Toro Rosso

My guess is they'll probably stay with Alguersuari and Buemi for one more season. They've already ousted their deadwood driver Bourdais anyway.

Toyota

No confirmation yet, but Trulli is probably on his way out, with no word on what Glock is going to be doing.

Williams

Brand new line up expected. Nakajima is supported by Toyota, who provided the Williams engines this year, but Williams are getting their engines elsewhere next year. Rosberg is out, it's just a matter of where he ends up.

USF1, Campos, Manor GP and Lotus

All the new boys in town are without drivers at the moment, so we'll be seeing a lot of new talent next year I would hope.

Heidfeld is still available.

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Why should it go faster? There is too much uncertainty about the lineup of teams. BMW has been sold but isn't officially on the grid yet and there are still rumors about Toyota pulling out. Nobody knows if Brawn can repeat this year's performance so signing up with them is a gamble. Nobody knows if the new teams can really pull it off. When was the last time somebody started a team from scratch? Must have been Toyota. And before that? Minardi? Sauber? Formula One is a big mess right now.

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Why should it go faster? There is too much uncertainty about the lineup of teams. BMW has been sold but isn't officially on the grid yet and there are still rumors about Toyota pulling out. Nobody knows if Brawn can repeat this year's performance so signing up with them is a gamble. Nobody knows if the new teams can really pull it off. When was the last time somebody started a team from scratch? Must have been Toyota. And before that? Minardi? Sauber? Formula One is a big mess right now.

Before Toyota I think the previous teams to start from scratch were Stewart and Lola in 1997. I imagine the new teams will be hoping to be closer to Stewart than Lola who only managed to make it one Grand Prix where they failed to get out of pre-qualifying.

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Why should it go faster? There is too much uncertainty about the lineup of teams. BMW has been sold but isn't officially on the grid yet and there are still rumors about Toyota pulling out. Nobody knows if Brawn can repeat this year's performance so signing up with them is a gamble. Nobody knows if the new teams can really pull it off. When was the last time somebody started a team from scratch? Must have been Toyota. And before that? Minardi? Sauber? Formula One is a big mess right now.

I'm not saying it should be quicker, but I kind of expected more than just two teams to have complete line ups. Raikonnen knows he's out of the Ferrari set up, everyone knows, and his best hope for a championship challenge really is McLaren (who seem to want him) so why doesn't he just sort stuff out already? That would leave McLaren done and dusted.

Some drivers aren't good enough to hang around. I expect Heidfeld will at least get snapped up by one of the new teams, but should he settle for just that? A smarter move would be to get himself sorted in a car for next year, and Williams would be a good bet for him. Definitely starting next season, they were the first team to commit to F1 away from FOTA, so their loyalty is almost assured. They're not a team for the front row, but they're better than Heidfeld's other options. They have space with Nakajima leaving and Rosberg may pop up at Brawn.

Barrichello must know that either way Brawn won't want him for another season. At least, I wouldn't if I was a Brawn employee. He was completely rude to the entire company earlier in the season, and not shying away from the public about it to make matters worse. Regardless of him winning the championship, I expect him to be thrown out on his rear. Williams might be calling him, I hear.

So... yeah. things could be moving slightly quicker. I don't expect to know the full grid by now or anything though.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This Kamui Kobayashi seems to be a good find. After filling in on the Friday of the Japanese GP he's in for the whole weekend this time round and avoided being the slowest driver like Fisichella, Badoer and Grosjean all achieved. I would include Algesauri in that but he started out in the slowest car anyway, plus he's shown some good speed at times.

Giancarlo Fisichella managed to stall his car at the end of the pit-lane while attempting a practice start. :dunce:

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Button can be handy in the rain - his first win came in a poor Honda car in Hungary when it was hit with rain. But yes, I guess Vettel would not be upset at all to see some rain coming in.

The driver's ability matters far less than the tyre temperatures. The Brawn struggles to get heat into the tyres, and rain magnifies this problem. The Red Bull overheats its tyres, and rain is ideal for them.

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