Any Formula 1 racing fans out there?

[KimT]

Nice work from Rubens.

P1 really shows the stuff he's made of, unlike his lousy teammate Button who didn't make it better than P14

A shame that Vettel failed and ended up as number 16. At least he isn't far from Button

Can't wait to see the race tomorrow.

[Partario]

Sorry I've haven't posted here in ages but don't worry I've still been keeping up with our beloved F1.

Congrats to Button and Webber, fantastic race in Brazil, as always. Shame about Alonso and great job by Kamui Kobayashi, what a first race.

Oh and Trulli, Heikki and McLaren have all been given penalties. Here is the article on f1.com

Edited October 19, 2009 by Partario

[KimT]

But after ‘failing to leave the track as required by the marshals immediately after the incident and aggressively confronting Sutil’, Trulli was found to have breached Article 151 © of the 2009 FIA International Sporting Code, which rules against ‘any act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or to the interests of motor sport generally.’ Consequently he was reprimanded and fined US$10,000.

What a retard.

Trulli is gone from F1 within long.

Thanks for blowing Alonso's race - great work on that Mr J. Trulli

(yes I know Sutil hit Alonso, but it was after Trulli forced him off track and handed Button enough points).

Also great job from Kovalainen in trying to make Raikonnen into a human torch - I guess he doesn't like the idea of Raikonnen taking over his seat at McLaren

Mr. Kobayashi sure showed his worth and we might see him in a seat next season after such a great race.

Perhaps he could replace Mr Spin Around at Renault?

[MetroiD]

One word:

YAY!!!

P.S.: KimT, congrats mate. I had pretty much written off Renault, but if there's anyone with the inner drive to help them out of their self-dug pithole, it's Kubica. Next season should be a REALLY exciting one - despite all the turmoil, F1 has become so much more than it was a few years back.

Edited October 19, 2009 by TheOtters

[KimT]

Yeah having Kubica around will be good for the team.

Now who's on 2nd?

Kimi?

[MetroiD]

who's on 2nd?

Don't get me started, it's been a long rainy day here...

[KimT]

Last GP of this season.

New track.

Alonso's final ride with Renault.

It could have been great, but Q1 is over and both Renaults are parked in the garage.

P16 and P18 isn't really good enough.

It's still going to be a great race, I am more than convinced those McLarens will tear the grid apart and win.

Next year:

Kubica and Glock with Renault - it's going to be a blast

[MetroiD]

Was sad to see Hamilton having to go out of the race so early on... I was hoping he'd come in first, followed closely by Button in second :(

Well done to the Red Bull guys though - and to Kobayashi too, what an impressive young lad!

We're in for an exciting off-season now. You reckon Brawn are indeed going to splash out on Jenson & his wage demands?

[The Cobra]

With all the money coming in, Brawn could give so to Janson, that's for sure.

Ferrari had another "what are we doing here?" race, but the big trouble was that Raikkonen was alone for the last third of the season (Fisichella ended up being as disappointing as Badoer).

And, I knew that Toro Rosso looks a lot lik Red Bull (colors and everything), but Alguersuari should know the difference.

Finally: hats off to Kobayashi, a Japanese driver who seems to belong in Formula 1.

[sairen]

im gonna watch the race tonight, i had it recorded.

[MetroiD]

Yeah, Alguersuari and Fisichella both had absolutely _appaling_ days! In Fisi's defence, this season's Ferrari was quite obviously an awful car, I think even Schumi would have struggled in it. But Jamie Alguersuari just looks like another Bourdais - simply not good enough.

[KimT]

Ferrari admitted a long time ago that they've stopped the development of this season's car - which explains the crappines of it. Same goes for Renault.

Congrats to Red Bull for kicking some serious megablocks

I doubt Brawn will be the top notch team next season, but that remains to be seen.

Let the puzzle of drivers start

[DB24]

Mostly boring race, 'cept for the last couple of laps!

I can't believe Webber successfully defended off the much faster Button. I really thought Button had him there on the last lap!

Now to play the waiting game

[KimT]

1. Brawn GP
   
2. Red Bull Vettel & Webber
   
3. McLaren Hamilton & ?
   
4. Ferrari Alonso & Massa
   
5. Toyota Kobayashi(?)
   
6. Williams Barrichello & Nico Hulkenberg
   
7. Renault Kubica & Glock (?)
   
8. Force India
   
9. Toro Rosso
   
10. Campos Meta Bruno Senna & ?
    
11. Lotus
    
12. USF1
    
13. Qadbak Super
    
14. Manor Virgin F1
    

So how about it?

[5150 Lego]

We're in for an exciting off-season now. You reckon Brawn are indeed going to splash out on Jenson & his wage demands?

There's really no need. Jenson in all honesty is nothing speacial. Theonly reason he won the championship was because of his car had such a huge advantage over the rest of the field. Once everyone were on equal playing fields, he fell short. If you do the math and started the points mid season were everyones(wellmost) cars were evenly matched, he would have been like 5th or 6th in points. Hamiltion would have had around 40, and Jenson around 25 or so. Championship or not, He's not worth what he's asking.

.

Finally: hats off to Kobayashi, a Japanese driver who seems to belong in Formula 1.

Kob. is going to kick some serious a$$ next season. He's going to be the underdog that gives all the big players a run for their money. You just watch!

1. Brawn GP
   
2. Red Bull Vettel & Webber
   
3. McLaren Hamilton & ?
   
4. Ferrari Alonso & Massa
   
5. Toyota Kobayashi(?)
   
6. Williams Barrichello & Nico Hulkenberg
   
7. Renault Kubica & Glock (?)
   
8. Force India
   
9. Toro Rosso
   
10. Campos Meta Bruno Senna & ?
    
11. Lotus
    
12. USF1
    
13. Qadbak Super
    
14. Manor Virgin F1
    

So how about it?

Wait, Glock has been confirmed for Renault? Ithought Romian had a 2 year contract or something?

[KimT]

No, Glock hasn't been confirmed yet.

My bad. I just thought he had.

[MetroiD]

I wouldn't say everyone's cars were matched up during the mid-season, nor that Jenson is necessarily such a bad pilot. Surely I rate him much, much higher than Felipe Massa - and the Brazilian has been tipped as the next world champion on a number of occasions so far! I also think that during these last few years there's been a lot of drivers who have indeed had a good car in their hands and have not been able to make the most of it - just look at Kovalainen's last season for an obvious example. It's drivers like Kubica, Vettel or Button who've been consistently scoring points for their teams, regardless of the chassis they're provided with, who are the real fighters. After this season, I'd also add Lewis to that line-up, especially having seen what he managed to squeeze out of the crappy MP4-24.

So, even though everyone's in a hurry to write off Jenson's success this year as something he owes purely to Brawn's top-notch engineering advancements, I don't think that's the case - it takes a combination of good car and great pilot to win the championship and when things are the other way around, achievements would most often fall short of the expectations.

[5150 Lego]

No, Glock hasn't been confirmed yet.

My bad. I just thought he had.

Ahh. ok. Cool.

I wouldn't say everyone's cars were matched up during the mid-season, nor that Jenson is necessarily such a bad pilot. Surely I rate him much, much higher than Felipe Massa - and the Brazilian has been tipped as the next world champion on a number of occasions so far!

What???? Jenson better than Massa???? have you lost your Lego?? There's nothing in his 10year career that shows that he was anything speacial. Before this yr, i believe he only had 2 or three wins under his belt between Renualt and Honda. Massa is a much more consistent driver with much more talent. I mean, isJenson a terrible driver like Nakajima or Piquet Jr? Absolutely not. But he's nothing special that's for sure.

And while your correct that not everyone's cars were even, they were matched up better than they were in the beginning of the season. I still believe that Brawn had a much more superior car than anyone else, but Button wasn't able to pull away like he should have. He's just average.

I also think that during these last few years there's been a lot of drivers who have indeed had a good car in their hands and have not been able to make the most of it - just look at Kovalainen's last season for an obvious example. It's drivers like Kubica, Vettel or Button who've been consistently scoring points for their teams, regardless of the chassis they're provided with, who are the real fighters. After this season, I'd also add Lewis to that line-up, especially having seen what he managed to squeeze out of the crappy MP4-24.

If Hamilton, Kimi, Massa, Vettel,or kubica had the Brawn chassis from the start, they would have dominated the entire season. Not just the beginning. We've seen how Jensen handles a poor chassis (his last year at Honda) and how the top runners do. He proved that when he has competition he doesn't have the extra needed to push. While i understand he won the championship, i still strongly believe it had had to do with Brawn's car design.

[KimT]

I have to agree.

Though he has to be one of the 20 best drivers around,otherwise he wouldn't be in an F1 Racer, would he?

If he can kick some next season, the I might change my thoughts.

Until then, he just got lucky this year.

It's the same we saw when Rubens was the 2nd best of all - he drove the Ferrari that Schumi and Ferrari designed.

Simple...

Alonso has worked wonders with this year's Renault racer, it's crap and he made it look average.

That's talent, same goes for Hamilton's results with the McLaren racer.

Pure talent and crap car

[MetroiD]

Alonso has worked wonders with this year's Renault racer, it's crap and he made it look average.

Pure talent and crap car

Couldn't resist pointing out just how great the Spaniard is, could you I have to agree though...

Regarding Button - guess next season will show who's right and wrong. I enjoyed seeing him win the championship and would love to see a British fight next season.

5150, you say that Button has done nothing for the last 10 years. Well, what has Massa achieved then? All these years, Button was helping push mediocre Honda along and Hamilton was the one branded as the boy born with a silver spoon seeing as he had an arrangement with McLaren and he was a home-grown talent (which is not wrong in any way, unless you're a Ferrari fan ;). Massa, on the other hand, spent his years spinning cars and commiting one mistake after another, all the while "learning his trade". Then Ferrari took him (cheap wage, perfect second driver), at which point he saw fir to... continue spinning. And crashing. He's been consistent in doing that ever since. Don't get me wrong, but even if perennial underachiever Nelsinho Piquet had the backing of the entire Ferrari team with the developments they'd had up until a year ago, he would have been fighting for the championship (instead of fighting in courtrooms :P).

[5150 Lego]

I have to agree.

Though he has to be one of the 20 best drivers around,otherwise he wouldn't be in an F1 Racer, would he?

Alonso has worked wonders with this year's Renault racer, it's crap and he made it look average.

That's talent, same goes for Hamilton's results with the McLaren racer.

Pure talent and crap car

10th or 9th best isn't bad!

And as much as it cringes me to say, i have to admit i agree with your comment about Alonso. One of the worst chassis of the year, but he did manage to scrape some performance out of it.

5150, you say that Button has done nothing for the last 10 years. Well, what has Massa achieved then? All these years, Button was helping push mediocre Honda along and Hamilton was the one branded as the boy born with a silver spoon seeing as he had an arrangement with McLaren and he was a home-grown talent (which is not wrong in any way, unless you're a Ferrari fan ;). Massa, on the other hand, spent his years spinning cars and commiting one mistake after another, all the while "learning his trade". Then Ferrari took him (cheap wage, perfect second driver), at which point he saw fir to... continue spinning. And crashing. He's been consistent in doing that ever since. Don't get me wrong, but even if perennial underachiever Nelsinho Piquet had the backing of the entire Ferrari team with the developments they'd had up until a year ago, he would have been fighting for the championship (instead of fighting in courtrooms :P).

Well Button's career has been longer than Massa's. That equivalents to more Experience than. As for spins, what are you talking about? In the rain maybe, but Massa'a admittedly isn't the best in the rain. Did he have full backing from Ferrari? Sure. But so did Button. Only difference is he proved competitive in an equal field, unlike button. Again,one only needs to look at the points standing if it were started in the middle of the season. Button would have been like 5th in the points championship. And that's with a car that still has an advantage over the competition.

Again, I'm not saying that Button is a bad driver, cause he's not. But he hasn't proven to be anything special either.

[KimT]

From autosport.com:

Toyota is expected to announced later today that it is withdrawing from Formula 1 with immediate effect, according to reports in the Japanese press, following a decision by the company's board of directors on Tuesday in Japan.

The official announcement is expected to be made on Wednesday afternoon Japan time, with representatives of the Toyota Motor Company reportly planning to hold a press conference to explain its decision.

The decision comes after months of speculation about the future of the team, a year after its Japanese rival Honda has withdrawn from F1 and just days following Bridgestone's announcement that it will end its F1 involvement after next season.

The Cologne-based Toyota team joined F1 at the start of the 2002 season, taking part in 139 grands prix and - albeit having one of the largest team budgets in the sport - failed to take a race win.

Suggestions the car maker will withdraw from F1 has surfaced throughout the year, but were repeatedly denied by company officials. Moreover, the team signed the new Concorde Agreement just recently, committing to the sport until the 2012 season.

Toyota Motor Corp is the largest car maker in the world, but the Japanese giant is forecasting an operating loss of over 8 billion USD.

Its decision to withdraw from grand prix racing paves the way for the the new owners of the BMW Sauber team to enter Formula 1 next year.

I'll be sad to see them go.

I think we need teams like Toyota ad Honda.

They're good representatives of the Asia car companies and without them we're back to an all European lineup again.

It would be cool to have them back and throw in a pair of US car companies as well.

Or how about Köeningsegg? (spelling?)

[MetroiD]

I'd have Koenigsegg (or Königsegg) over Toyota any day!!! I can't see them joining F1 anytime soon though (or am I wrong here?).

It's a shame that Toyota have decided to leave. While it's certainly true that their team failed to live up to the high expectations (especially when compared to their huge success in American racing series such as NASCAR), I did see them as a nice team which was developing in the right direction...

[KimT]

Just hours after Toyota announced their withdrawal from Formula One, questions were raised by Renault's future in the sport.

The French carmaker held a board meeting in Paris in Wednesday afternoon to debate whether or not they will join the likes of Honda, BMW and Toyota in leaving the sport.

Interim team bosses Bob Bell and Jean-Francois Caubet were both present, however, according to the BBC they were just there to listen and were not permitted to participate in the discussion.

Renault, who won the 2005 and 2005 Championships with Fernando Alonso, recently came under scrutiny for the team's involvement in the Singapore 2008 race-fixing scandal.

Handed a two-year suspended ban by the FIA, Renault vowed to continue in Formula One. However, their participation is in now in doubt.

No word has yet been leaked on the outcome of the meeting although the Daily Mail is reporting that their exit from F1 is imminent.

'Renault's board met in Paris to discuss whether to make their own exit, possibly not until the end of next season, although they will probably remain as engine suppliers,' claims the newspaper.

'They are expected to announce their decision by the end of the week.

No dammit, Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[KimT]

From autosport.com

Ferrari: Pull-outs not due to downturn

By Matt Beer Wednesday, November 4th 2009, 17:30 GMT

Ferrari has suggested that the departure of Toyota, BMW and Honda from Formula 1 in the past year is due to the actions of the sport's bosses rather than the economic downturn.

Toyota announced its decision to pull out of the world championship earlier today, citing the "current severe economic realities" as the reason for its abrupt exit.

But an item published on Ferrari's official website argued that Toyota and its fellow car makers' decisions had been prompted by a 'war on manufacturers' in F1.

"In reality the steady trickle of desertion is more the result of a war against the big car manufacturers by those who managed the sport, than the effects of the economical that affected Formula 1 over the last years," it read.

The article reiterated Ferrari's belief that the independent teams that have been granted 2010 entries are not of the calibre of the manufacturer outfits.

"Formula 1 continues losing important parts: over the last 12 months Honda, BMW, Bridgestone and this morning Toyota announced their retirements. In exchange, if one could call it that, Manor, Lotus [because of the team of Colin Chapman, Jim Clark and Ayrton Senna, to name a few, there is hardly more than the name], USF1 and Campos Meta arrived.

"You might say 'same-same', because it is enough if there are participants. But that's not entirely true and then we've got to see if next year we'll be really as many in Bahrain for the first starting grid of the 2010 season and how many will make it to the end of the season."

The piece also made a cryptic comparison between F1's situation and an Agatha Christie mystery novel, and urged the sport to take action against those responsible for the pull-outs.

"It seems like a parody of Agatha Christie's 'Ten Little Indians', published in England for the first time in the year 1939, but reality is much more serious.

"In Christie's detective novel the guilty person is only discovered when everybody else is dead, one after the other. Do we want to wait until this happens or should we write Formula 1's book with a different closing chapter?"

Ferrari's statement comes on a day when Renault - one of only three manufacturers left in F1 alongside Ferrari and Mercedes - is also evaluating its F1 future. The company is discussing its plans at an extraordinary meeting.

Looks like the war is still waging.

Could this be the beginning of the end of F1?

Perhaps the car manufacturers are leaving F1 slowly to make room for the preparations of a new league - the so-called "Pirate League"?