I lost interest in F1 with the advent of Schumacher's dominance... I hope he retires at the end of the season, not that I'm a Schumacher-hater or something, but it's just soooo boring when one guy is twice as fast as all the rest (and when the wealthiest team - Ferrari - has a budget 10 times as big as the poorest- Minardi).

Now if Ayrton Senna were still alive, that would be a different story and a different series.

Still far too dominated by financial considerations, but can be compulsive viewing.

Let's hope for a more competitive season.

mirco wrote: Manunkind wrote: Now if Ayrton Senna were still alive, that would be a different story and a different series. Don't think so (not that I think Shumi is better driver than Senna, but for the age span; if Senna was still alive his age didn't consent him to be still competitive IMHO).

I'm not so certain... I don't know how old Senna would be now, but there are precedents for 50+ or thereabouts drivers tearing up the track on equal terms with the younger guns - Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti in the American Indycar series (now the Champ Car series).

But even if Senna wasn't able to remain competitive enough over the long term, he still had plenty of racing left in him, and would have shown Schmuacher a thing or two and curtailed the latter's confidence somewhat for the remainder of his career.    

What if you could have a fantasy situation whereby the greats such as Senna, Prost, Schumaker etc. were all at their peak at the same time, and in identical cars? Who'd win?

Many pundits reckon Fangio would have beaten the pants off them all!

Plus ca change...plus c'est la meme chose...

Expect a sudden,"unexpected" improvement from Schuey's Ferrari around the second half of the season.

Short of withdrawing for half a season, how else can Ferrari make the Championship competative?

mirco wrote: any F1 fan around here? I'm ferrarist, but think this is the year of Michael Shumaker oblivion...

Obviuosly,  i'm a Ferrarist too, but this year in the end of a era !

In the last 4 yrs FIA got mad trying to change F.1 regulations almost every day, attemping to damage Ferrari and avoid borig Schumacher's monologue in GP's; this time they finally made it !

However, must be said that Ferrari simply couldn't go on winnig championships forever !

I only wonder who, and when, can match Ferrari performaces and achievements of the last 6 years !

Raikkonnen put in a lap of genius to grab provisional pole from Alonso,today.

Pity that lucky,lucky Arsenal stole the Cup from Man Utd this afternoon.

Tony R wrote: Pity that lucky,lucky Arsenal stole the Cup from Man Utd this afternoon.

Did they? I bet there are a lot of people celebrating in Moss Side today!!!

Oh, and on the F1 stuff, my heart is divided: I was a Ferrari fan before Schumaker made it too boring to support him; and now, as a good Spaniard, I'm supporting Alonso (but not neccesarily Renault). Yes, Hakkinen took the lead, but his car has proven to be much less reliable than Alonso's, so we'll see what happens in the race...

Arkitek...Jaguar dont race anymore

Tony.......re Man U.................brilliant!

Re Schuie....... maybe best driver....definately best car...for years now, until now. Lets see him really drive now, the tw*t

mirco wrote: Snow Dog wrote: I hate Ferrari And i was about to give you my Testarossa... Maybe you prefer a Jag.

I'll take either, I'm not that fussy!

Those bloody wheels...

I'm pretty new to F1 so i don't recognize half the names (the greats) in this thread, but i do like to watch it wen i can. Unfortunately, being in Australia, most of ther aces are on too late for me to watch. I wanted to watch Monaco because of Webber getting 3rd on the grid, but i couldn't. I saw the live timing of the start on f1.com and saw Webber drop down to 5th, got a little angry, and went to bed  Then i check the results this morning and what do i see? His first podium finish!

Anyway, i think it's really refreshing that Shumacher's dominance has been quelled, at least for now. Finally i can watch a race and not ponder on who will come second, behind Shuey. I've got no problem with Shumacher and obviusly he's a great driver, but i'm glad to see Alonso grabbing some glory. I thought he raced really well last year and he is definitely one of my favourites (along with Webber, although i'm biased there ).

I saw the end of the race , funny as hell seeing Ralf Schumacher ahead of his Brother

Reverie wrote: I'm pretty new to F1 so i don't recognize half the names (the greats) in this thread, but i do like to watch it wen i can. Unfortunately, being in Australia, most of ther aces are on too late for me to watch. I wanted to watch Monaco because of Webber getting 3rd on the grid, but i couldn't. I saw the live timing of the start on f1.com and saw Webber drop down to 5th, got a little angry, and went to bed  Then i check the results this morning and what do i see? His first podium finish! Anyway, i think it's really refreshing that Shumacher's dominance has been quelled, at least for now. Finally i can watch a race and not ponder on who will come second, behind Shuey. I've got no problem with Shumacher and obviusly he's a great driver, but i'm glad to see Alonso grabbing some glory. I thought he raced really well last year and he is definitely one of my favourites (along with Webber, although i'm biased there ).

Compared to Heidfelds overtaking manouvre on Alonso, Weber's was far less pretty though!.

But exciting stuff nonetheless

I stopped following F1 when McLaren hired Senna as the second driver to Prost. Formula 1 racing always had credibility problems IMHO and eyes , but right there and then , it took the plunge. Senna became the best at Prost's contact (especially for the fine tuning of the car) but the man destroyed so many cars (and ultimately himself). Funny that at the fatal Imola race, everybody blamed the circuit instead of the driver and the unsuitable car!. A car must be suited for the road , not the opposite!!!!

As I was happy that Ferrari came back to power in the late 90's , with the best driver around (although this was not an instant success) , but this quickly became tiresome also. The team Todt-Barnard-Schumacher-Ferrari was without equal even when they bended the rules to stop Ferrari from winning.

Time for a renewal. Time to stop polluting the planet for a bunch of rich pricks to have fun. F1 racing (and also all other kind of motor racing) is one of the sorriest excuse for human activity.

Can you believe some Bedouins are so rich that so they have the honour to host (and show-off their wealth and prestige) a grand-prix, they glue the sand for miles around the Bahrein desert (or whatever Emirate ) the GP is held in as to avoid having it blown on the racetrack. Now , that is ecology if I ever heard it.

I also have a problem understanding why people pay a fortune to breathe burned gasses full of nitro-glycerine and whatever other crap that gets fed in those engines.

Snow Dog wrote: Oh dear Sean! Shame you say that, killjoy! What with the Belgian Spa circuit being the best in the world!

that that to that Robbing Hood/Mafioso Bernie Ecclestone. Actually Francorchamp is the best circuit in the world (gloat, gloat , gloat) but it is not sitting well with this mass-murderering tobacco industry that the people of Belgium passed a law against advertising on TV and in the press, so they decided to boycott it but would not dare do so with bigger countries like  France , Germany etc....

I will make a super bad concept album called "Killjoy Was Here" and made  by a group called Stynx!! And make a hit called Mr Lobotto!! Should sit well with F1 fans!

Snow Dog wrote: The same ban is here and France too, but they still race without adverts on the cars!

\Well there was no Belgian GP in 2003 in a ploy to bend politics, but for once they held good , although the francophone part of the country were cry-babies about it!

FIFA never suppressed a French , UK or German GP. Ecclestone is a bloody dictator and  he can be since F1 racing is his private property. He is among the most loathsome capitalists I can think of (besides a few drug lords and Oligarchs)

Snow Dog wrote: The Fia tried to stop the UK GP this year in fact! I forget the full story.

F1 is not worth the time we spend on this thread, anyway

read ya elsewhere tomorrow.

Sean Trane wrote: IAs I was happy that Ferrari came back to power in the late 90's , with the best driver around (although this was not an instant success) , but this quickly became tiresome also. The team Todt-Barnard-Schumacher-Ferrari was without equal even when they bended the rules to stop Ferrari from winning.

YES ! ...and this year they made it !      

I love F1.

My favorite sport

abyssyinfinity wrote: F1 IS BORING! W IRL, LE MANS, CHAMP CAR, GT & TOURING CAR RACES!

It's only boring when you got one person winning every race. Like last year, and in some respects this year. I dont think it's good for the sport to have someone dominating like we do now. O well, mabye one year when i watch it, it will be closer.

Damnit. I missed the last 20 laps of the race, because my TV crapped out due to a Thunder Storm .

Laurent wrote: Damnit. I missed the last 20 laps of the race, because my TV crapped out due to a Thunder Storm .

O man that sucks. That happens to me alot too. Stupid weather

abyssyinfinity wrote: W IRL, LE MANS, CHAMP CAR, GT & TOURING CAR RACES!

Add NASCAR to the batch

If anyone doesn't know this already - 6 (yes, you've heard me right, SIX) cars have started the USA Grand Prix. The Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi teams (2 cars each). The other teams have boycotted the race because of some controversy surrounding the tires.

AND SOME  INCREDIBLE IDIOTS ARE THROWING CANS and MINERAL WATER BOTTLES ONTO THE TRACK!!!!!! WITH THE DRIVERS DOING SOME 400 km/h!!!!!!! REALLY, IF THESE PEOPLE WERE LOBOTOMIZED THEY'D ACTUALLY BE SMARTER!!!!! 

Bloody Ferrari as usual.

They have too much power. Since they vetoed the change they should have let Ferrari drop out and at least we would have had a race.

Yes,the actions of some spectators are stupid but WTF,I know when I went to Silverstone a few years ago I paid about £100 and it has gone up in price since then.They should all demand and receive their money back. I cant see there being F1 in the USA next year.....

Manunkind...The race wasnt boycotted, Michelin wouldnt allow their tyres to be used as they were not safe for the race. Im not surprised at the spectators actions, some had travelled 100s of miles to see this and had paid a lot of money

Tony    What this has to do with Ferrari I dont know!..Oh yes I do...nothing!

Snowie: I know the spectators have a right to be angry, but to throw stuff onto the track...... I used to watch quite a lot of racing (in fact I'm watching a race right now) and I've seen enough drivers get killed or disabled. 'Nuff said.

Snow Dog wrote: Manunkind...The race wasnt boycotted, Michelin wouldnt allow their tyres to be used as they were not safe for the race. Im not surprised at the spectators actions, some had travelled 100s of miles to see this and had paid a lot of money   Tony    What this has to do with Ferrari I dont know!..Oh yes I do...nothing!

Ferrari would not allow the bend that was causing all the problems to be altered ...

Quote:

Seven teams pulled out of the US GP to boos from 100,000 Indianpolis fans as a row over tyres destroyed the race.

Only Ferrari, Minardi and Jordan - on Bridgestone tyres - raced after Ferrari scuppered a last-ditch rescue proposal.

The Italian team vetoed a plan agreed by all the other teams to introduce a chicane at the final corner, which had caused problems for Michelin tyres.

The FIA refused to allow the change - and as a result the seven Michelin teams pulled out after the parade lap.

............................................................ .....................................................

Beg doggy,beg.

Now roll over.

abyssyinfinity wrote: It's not the first year that F1 race in Indy... So you can't blame who started the race, you must blame who didn't give the chance to participate to the race, the French tyres producer...

I'm not blaming America at all-on the contrary I am suggesting that the TV companies there will pull the plug...

Snow Dog wrote: Tony R wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Manunkind...The race wasnt boycotted, Michelin wouldnt allow their tyres to be used as they were not safe for the race. Im not surprised at the spectators actions, some had travelled 100s of miles to see this and had paid a lot of money   Tony    What this has to do with Ferrari I dont know!..Oh yes I do...nothing! Ferrari would not allow the bend that was causing all the problems to be altered ... Quote:   Seven teams pulled out of the US GP to boos from 100,000 Indianpolis fans as a row over tyres destroyed the race. Only Ferrari, Minardi and Jordan - on Bridgestone tyres - raced after Ferrari scuppered a last-ditch rescue proposal. The Italian team vetoed a plan agreed by all the other teams to introduce a chicane at the final corner, which had caused problems for Michelin tyres. The FIA refused to allow the change - and as a result the seven Michelin teams pulled out after the parade lap. ............................................................ ..................................................... Beg doggy,beg. Now roll over.       The FIA refused to allow the change! You said it yourself! Richardhead!

Because Ferrari had vetoed it,you daft old mutt!!

Tony R wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Tony R wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Manunkind...The race wasnt boycotted, Michelin wouldnt allow their tyres to be used as they were not safe for the race. Im not surprised at the spectators actions, some had travelled 100s of miles to see this and had paid a lot of money   Tony    What this has to do with Ferrari I dont know!..Oh yes I do...nothing! Ferrari would not allow the bend that was causing all the problems to be altered ... Quote:   Seven teams pulled out of the US GP to boos from 100,000 Indianpolis fans as a row over tyres destroyed the race. Only Ferrari, Minardi and Jordan - on Bridgestone tyres - raced after Ferrari scuppered a last-ditch rescue proposal. The Italian team vetoed a plan agreed by all the other teams to introduce a chicane at the final corner, which had caused problems for Michelin tyres. The FIA refused to allow the change - and as a result the seven Michelin teams pulled out after the parade lap. ............................................................ ..................................................... Beg doggy,beg. Now roll over.       The FIA refused to allow the change! You said it yourself! Richardhead! Because Ferrari had vetoed it,you daft old mutt!!

A bloke fropm Ferrari said that it was the FIAs decision! I heard him myself! Can't remember his name though!

F1 officials and Ferrari refused to sanction the proposal, which was backed by the nine other teams.

This is from the bbc, I think there is some confusion here, what?

Update ......the final truth

Ferrari did object, but even if they hadn't the FIA wouldn't have allowed it! See below

The teams emerged to say nine of them had agreed to race with a chicane at Schumacher's accident spot.

But Ferrari objected and F1 officials had already ruled out making a change to the track.

"To change the course in order to help some of the teams with a performance problem caused by their failure to bring suitable equipment to the race would be a breach of the rules and grossly unfair to those teams which have come to Indianapolis with the correct tyres," the FIA said.

I agree that the fans throwing stuff on the track was absolutely disgraceful. At one point they had a shot of Barrichello running over a water bottle, or something of the short. Very dangerous. To have no respect for the safety of drivers is absolutely dispicable and these people should not be calling themselves "fans" of the sport.

IMO, the race should have been cancelled. But since there was a race, you really can't blame Ferrari, or the other 4 runners, for taking part in it. They had a job to do, and they did it, no matter how unpleasant, or ugly it may have been. I'm not saying Ferrari deserved this win, by any stretch, they didn't.  But it's not fair to vilify them for taking part either.

If Schumacher ends up winning the championship this year, I can't see it going down very well.

^^^

And was very happy about it. And rightly so, even if it was under unusal circumstances.

It reminds me of The Champ Car race at Sufers's Paradise, Australia, a few years back, when due to rain, about 95% of the race was run under the Safety Car, and due to the designated Pit Stop window rules that were around at the time, Mario Dominguez ended up the winner, after riding around at the back all day. But he celebrated just as if he had won under normal circumstances.

That race was just as big a farce as the Indy GP, maybe even more so.

Laurent wrote: Is F1 prog?.

Long tracks of variable length, lots of changes of pace, unusual time(ing) signatures, loud starts, popular Italians, Red, Close to the edge driving, Momentary lapses of reason, a fair bit of metal.........

Can't see the connection myself.

Not to mention that many F1 fans are prone to snobbery, as well as the constant arguing over which drivers are underrated, overrated or complete crap.

Snow Dog wrote: Tony R wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Tony R wrote: Snow Dog wrote: Manunkind...The race wasnt boycotted, Michelin wouldnt allow their tyres to be used as they were not safe for the race. Im not surprised at the spectators actions, some had travelled 100s of miles to see this and had paid a lot of money   Tony    What this has to do with Ferrari I dont know!..Oh yes I do...nothing! Ferrari would not allow the bend that was causing all the problems to be altered ... Quote:   Seven teams pulled out of the US GP to boos from 100,000 Indianpolis fans as a row over tyres destroyed the race. Only Ferrari, Minardi and Jordan - on Bridgestone tyres - raced after Ferrari scuppered a last-ditch rescue proposal. The Italian team vetoed a plan agreed by all the other teams to introduce a chicane at the final corner, which had caused problems for Michelin tyres. The FIA refused to allow the change - and as a result the seven Michelin teams pulled out after the parade lap. ............................................................ ..................................................... Beg doggy,beg. Now roll over.       The FIA refused to allow the change! You said it yourself! Richardhead! Because Ferrari had vetoed it,you daft old mutt!!   A bloke fropm Ferrari said that it was the FIAs decision! I heard him myself! Can't remember his name though!

I am laughing all the way to heaven about this latest incident in the worst soap opera, ever.

Tony R , your blaming Ferrari is IMHO , unfair and typical: British reactions against non-British cars not being able to win for some years now. From what I heard , Ferrari had nothing to do with Michelin Tyres exploding , the rest being F1 regulations and rules f**king up!!! As a matter of fact , tyres are one of the cause why Ferrari has not been up to par this season, as Michelin gums made quite a difference this year.

^^^

Yeah i saw that...some interesting stuff. And no i think everyone will run in the France event...so you think they want to ahve charges brought aganist them again?? Anyway, i hope things work out for the best.

O i forgot something:

I've heard that the US Grand prix might not be held at Indy (god knows there has been massive trouble there). Can anyone confirm this, and if it is true where do you think it might be??

So you do you think will take the win in France this weekend??

Alonso looks like the man!

But Ferrari might sneak through with the win, the way they're looking.

Laurent wrote: Alonso looks like the man! But Ferrari might sneak through with the win, the way they're looking.

Damn you were right

^^

Yeah, i was talking about Alonso. But, it is obvious you figured that out, thus making this yet another usless post.

Raikkonen had yet another win snatched away from him.

I miss the old Hockenhiem circuit.

Laurent wrote: Man, the new season is getting closer. Anyone else as excited as I am?.

You have no idea my freind

Anyone want me to do a preview post to get you up to speed on the latest developments over winter?

sleeper wrote: Laurent wrote: Man, the new season is getting closer. Anyone else as excited as I am?. You have no idea my freind Anyone want me to do a preview post to get you up to speed on the latest developments over winter?

Yes please...if you dont mind