I think it's time to move on . . . the thread for this past race has literally been beaten to death. Perhaps it might be more productive to have a thread of positives, no foul unnecessary language, no "scorching" of people, no unnecessary out of line comments about those on this chat group, etc. With that being said, I feel that Ferrari will have learned much this past weekend and will be stronger than ever. I will be happy with either or preferably both Ferrari cars among the three at the end of the race. I would hope that this thread won't take the direction of the previously mentioned one. Thanks, Carol John - I decided to "take the bull by the horns" and start a thread since I won't be participating in this weekend's race threads - headed to Monza for the LMS race - 50 entries in four classes!!! Anxious to see the 908's running for the first time.
I KNEW you were about to make this thread! On a more serious note, I agree. It's nice to start talking about the race that is right around the corner for a change. It's certainly better than mourning over the last race's disappointments. -John
Darn it Carol, you take all the joy out of the Massa bashers! You know, the ones that are saying "told you so" after one bad race. After a bunch, I will be saying that also
Anyone else think it's odd that FIA only gave teams a few days to get the whole circus from Malaysia to Bahrain? There was a three week gap between Australia and Malaysia, and there's a four week gap between Bahrain and Spain. So why the rush between Malaysia and Bahrain?
I've been reading autosport news of various flavors on other sites and came across this: Luca Baldisserri: . . . . "But we can be pleased about getting both cars to the finish, given the uncertainties the day before. But we now have to work on ensuring that all elements of the package are operating at their maximum." Jean Todt: . . . ."Fortunately, in just one week's time we get the chance to make up for it at Sakhir. We will do all we can there to get the best possible result." Kimi Raikkonen: . . . "hopefully next race we can have all the right things in the car and be 100 per cent again like in the first race." Felipe Massa: . . . "I made a mistake and ended up off the track. I cannot blame myself for trying and next time things will go better. Now, we have to find out why and work to improve the situation in the coming races. But it was still important to have got the car to the flag as it is vital to always score points." On the Formula 1 website, Ferrari has a 62.07% vote for winning this weekend over McLaren with 33.74%. Carol
The sked wasn't restructured after the exclusion of Imola which was to have been 29 April. Thus the time after Bahrain would have provided transport time back to the nominal first European race. I am hopeful that with the work being done at the Imola circuit, the race will be back in '08. As I recall wasn't there some event that prompted the timing of this year's race in Melbourne? I think this weekend we will see not only the Ferrari team fired up for the top podium spots but also Nico after his race this weekend. Carol
Translated and read to me over the phone today by a friend living in Monza, an article in the Milan newspaper: It was announced that both Ferraris had transmission problems in Malaysia. This prevented both cars from being pushed as hard as possible. After years of reliability, the new transmission has caused concern within the team. Hopes of determining the problem by Bahrain are small.
That makes sense, as I remember that radio transmission that was broadcast with Kimi and someone on the pit wall talking about the gearbox,etc. Ugh...
I can't wait for Bahrain to come around, but then we have to endure a 4-week miniature off-season! I know it takes a lot to pack up an F1 team and go, but WTF!? Waiting a MONTH between races is absolutely insane. Argh x10
It's to give the mechanics a break ... not because of packing, etc. It was a request by the mechanics quite a few years ago to have a few breaks in the season. BTW: Massa will snck again and also gearboxes are always blamed for 'issues' ... I think Ferrari got beaten fair and square. Ferrari are not invincible ... you honestly did not think they were going to keep winning forever did you? They have been in the top 4 teams since the start of F1 that is pretty amazing enough. Pete
Normally I would agree that they can't say it's always the gearbox's fault, however this is a new gearbox and not just in the sense that it's not last years. From what I understand the new transmission when shifting actually has two gears engaged at once in order to make for a faster 'seamless' gearchange. Last year's gearbox and the years before that, even tho they were very fast on the change there was never more than one gear selected at once. IIRC there were only one or two teams using this 'seamless' technology last year and they had a few mishaps so I think at least for the time being Ferrari's excuse of the gearbox is a legitimate one until the bugs are worked out of this new technology. At least it shows that F1 is still on the leading edge for motorsport technology.
it doesn't surprise me that Ferrari, and others too, are having teething problems with these 'seemless' boxes. just hope they get them sorted fast. for the upcoming race, i expect Ferrari will regroup after that wake up call. not having to compromise with an engine should help put them back to spec as well. all in all, i see another battle with McLaren. with a reasonably well sorted car, my pick will again be Kimi on top--or at least another podium. just hope Massa gets his act together... we need both red cars on or near podium. after this weekend, is that stupid, ridiculous mini-break...UGH!!!
actually, i think the break will be good for both Ferrari drivers. both have gone thru so much this past few weeks. from Kimi's dominant win to Massa's c*ock up at Sepang. of cos, we'll all be bored like hell. but lets see what happens after that
i actually hope he'll do well this season. aside from both the scuderia drivers, i'm rooting for Nick, Nico and Lewis.
i think the break will be good for the teams to really elevate the performance of the cars...and hopefully Ferrari will keep out in front. yeah, it may be good for the two drivers as well. lets hope they kick butt this weekend and go into the break with a bit of momentum. or course, no racing means boredom... well, just have to make due somehow..
I hadn't heard about possible gearbox issues. When Kimi said that the team had taken certain decisions for the race, I figured it was related to the engine. If this is the case, Kimi didn't do too badly, all things considered. As for Massa, I have seen the future, and it's called Rubens! Ferrari have to follow McLaren's lead and put Massa on more fuel for qualifying so that firstly, he stays out of Kimi's way at the start and secondly, so that he can protect Kimi's back from the McLarens when the Ferraris are faster (like Heidfeld did in Oz)
Of course: they're Ferrari. Considering the technical issues with a seamless gearbox, I'm guessing that some of the mechanics aren't going to get much of a break between Bahrain and Spain. This is what engineers call "bleeding edge" technology. When you "push the envelope" you tend to get the odd paper cut from time to time. But if they couldn't get the bugs out of that shifter between Australia and Malaysia, it's not looking good for Sakir. And having to run the same lump in Spain as Bahrain could mean FA might win his home GP again. Maybe they just thought, after the last couple of years, that McLaren needed a head start to make the end of the season more interesting.
Kimi will have a fresh engine for Bahrain so hopefully he can push it. I think Malaysia was a bit of a fluke, I don't think the McLarens are quite as strong as they appeared in that GP. I would like to see another decent run for Heidfeld, perhaps a podium finish. I like the guy and it is about time he gets a decent break in F1. I don't think he is in the league of Kimi or Alonso but I think better of him than I do guys like Massa, Rubens or the Toyota duo. Kubicka has been getting a lot of the attention but Heidfeld is looking pretty good in comparison. HK needs to step up his game or he is going to be joining Justin Wilson in Champ cars. If he can't out-run Fisi then he is going to have a short career. My prediction for Bahrain: 1) Kimi 2) Alonso 3) Heidfeld 4) Hamilton 5) Fisi 6) Massa (after qualifying 2nd... )
I'm still mostly concerned about the removed spring from the Ferrari's undertray. According to Matchett this will cost them 1/2 a second per lap because they have to run the cars 2-3mm higher without the spring. It didn't take long to break the apparent Ferrari dominance from Melbourne, so I'm not too optimistic for Bahrain: 1. Alonso 2. Kimi 3. Hamilton
Splitter, not the whole undertray. Symmonds at Renault said it was a benefit for them since they could run the car lower without the springed splitter.
