It's good to see 'parkerfe' has slipped so seamlessly into the role imperial83 vacated recently. I guess the only real difference is instead of hearing 'Ferrari 1-2!!!!' we just have to listen to how great Fernando is... in every single one of his posts.
No worries, his main prediction (Kimi will not win a single race in 07) was thrown out at the first GP. And he won't win his other prediction (Alonso WDC 07) either. But I do agree with him that Alonso is CURRENTLY the best of the grid. CURRENTLY might change however as the season progresses.
I do hope Raikkonen can clean up his loose ends. So far his performance has been everything we've seen in the past, and I was expecting him to blow everyone away. I don't disagree that Fernando might be the best complete package on the grid right now. I just think Kimi is probably the best pure driver, and I love his 'win it or bin it' philosophy. Remember Montreal last year? When they asked Kimi what he thought about losing second to Michael on the last lap? He said something like: "I don't care much, because if I can't win, then second is the same as third," or something along those lines. Sadly, this all-or-nothing approach didn't work for Steve Prefontaine either did it?
I love it too as it reminds be about Gilles Villeneuve. However I think Kimi has learned a few tricks over the winter and no longer lives by it: His conservative drive in Sepang with the potentially sick engine was testimony to that.
I'm impressed by Trulli's jump from 1st to 2nd practice. Rumor on the street is, that Ralf is out of a drive at Toyota next year. Who'd pick him up?
Wheat from the chaff boys and girls. One thing is certain; Monaco comes down to tires and driver ability. As everyone's got the same tires that leaves driver ability. Looking at the times one thing is certain. Fisi = Truli > Massa. Massa's got the second best car on the grid and he can't do the job. Truli put the move on him (passed- in Monaco) during Massas final flying lap and I think that says it all. The Toyota and Renault are no where near the Ferrari at this point in the season and Massa should have trounced both of them. Oh, but he was faster in the first session! First session at Monaco is a set-up and shake down session. Second session tends to be the true indicator of performance. If it rains look for Massa to back pedal through the grid.
If it rains during qualifying Massa will pray for a mechanical DNF in the first session: That way his supporters have a nice excuse for why he didn't get pole and victory.
LOL! That's about the truth, although i'm sure he could get a seat at Spyker or STR if he wanted to step down to a backmarker team.
Well, I was right about Alonso the last two years... regardless, I pull for the driver, not the team...if Ferrari would hire an interesting driver who wasn't a cheat, I would pull for them...
Do You Know What You're Saying? Did you see the overtaking? So, for you who have the best car on the grid? "Alonso" or maybe Kimi can't do the job as well. download the video of the Renault overtaking Massa's Ferrari: http://rapidshare.com/files/33193304/Monaco_07_FP2_Massa_vs_Renault.avi
Just because someone has a fave driver does not make them a troll. Just because someone may not like one of the Ferrari drivers does not make them a troll either. It's actually refreshing to see someone openly state their bias, rather than the weeks/months of covert bias that people claim not to have. *cough* People should be free to express their opinion without being labeled a troll by the Ferraristi.
God lets hope Ralf is out of a drive, not only at Toyota, but anywhere else too. (I better watch what I say, or else I will be labeled an anti-Toyota troll just because I dislike Ralf)
hmmm... I'd have to go ahead and say that the CAR has... ohhh... a MASSIVE amount to do with it. All tires are equal. By the rationale above, the Spyker could be the winning car, if Hamilton was driving it? I don't think so. Not in this reality.
Again while I mostly agree, I sat in the rain of the 84 race and NOBODY thought that bloody rookie in that friggin Toleman had even the slightest chance against the mighty McLaren in the hands of the masters Prost and Lauda. And nobody gave a sou for that other rookie in that crap box of a Tyrrell, yet he was chasing the first rookie... Monaco is a driver's circuit. Monaco in the rain is the equalizer of all cars. Hamilton in a Spyker in the rain winning Monaco? Probably still a no, but he'd definitely do better than Albers in the Spyker in the dry anywhere else.
Different people have different ways of enjoying racing. I am a fan of the drivers, therefore I have my favorite driver, regardless of what team they are on. Others prefer to root for the team, regardless of what drivers that team has at any given time. Either way is fine and, in my opinion, no better then the other. I didn't miss Carol's point, she's ripping on Kimi, somebody else is ripping on Massa, it's the same and in this case they both still want Ferrari to win. I have rooted for Mclaren drivers for at least the last 15 years, not because they were with Mclaren but because they were the drivers I liked. I was excited to have my driver finally driving for Ferrari, but you suggest I shouldn't even be on this forum. I'm here (on Ferrarichat) as a Ferrari owner and Ferrari lover anyway and since I also love F1, regardless of what driver or team I like, why shouldn't I hang out and have my opinion in the racing section.
Definetely did not suggest that you or anyone should not be on this forum. It is an open forum. But I still believe that you missed Carol's point. Her response was to another poster that seemed to be happy that Massa was so far back. Frankly, I really do not care for those comments either. This is a Ferrari chat site, most of us are fans of the Ferrari team and would most certainly prefer to see the Ferrari win the race, whether Kimi or Phil. Especially beating McLaren whose principle absolutely hates Ferrari. Frankly, I would guess that most people on this forum absolutely hate Ron Dennis. So why would anyone on a Ferrari chat site post comments that they are happy a Ferrari driver is not doing well? You can cheer for whomever you want, that is everyone's right, but then Carol had the right to be upset with such a comment. She can rip one of our Ferrari team drivers as have I, but at the end of the day, we still want them to win, and not any other team. I do not care who wins the WDC, as long as it is Phil or Kimi. I do care who wins the Constructor's Championship, and that is Ferrari. Not McLaren. So by all means, voice your opinion. But remember most of us are cheering for the Ferrari team to win.
Absolutely. Massa was on his fastest lap of the session, he posted his best time of the day in sector one and then came upon some traffic and he slowed to leave a gap. Fisi (thank you for correcting me I'd said Jarno) took the opportunity, passed him and leapedfroged him in the time sheets. What are you screaming about? Fast drivers, champions, are defined by their ability to go in for the kill. Massa is more than capable of winning from pole but when it comes down to passing he's mediocre. Fisi and Jarno are much better at it. The pass certainly wasn't an elegant one but it shows who's got the b@lls and who doesn't. I'd say for most tracks the Ferrari is the best car on the grid. But this isn't most tracks it's Monaco. And because of the nature of this track, TIGHT turns a short wheel base is optimal. That gives the McLaren the slight edge. For the record, IMO that site sucks. There's a reason YouTube fetched such a high price and that is because it's ease of use. Anyone can use it effortlessly. That cannot be said for rapidshare. They should call that site mulitplewindowpleasebuyoneofourpackagesareyouconfusedyetshare.com Usually the car does have MASSIVE amounts to do with having an advantage. But, Monaco eliminates much of the front runner’s advantage. First everyone runs maximum downforce and that means maximum drag. The top teams spend buckets of cash to increase aerodynamic efficiency but this track all that efficiency doesn’t give an advantage. Granted some of the cars will be generating more downforce than others but it certainly won’t be the same advantage. So, on the aero front it’s a wash. I doubt, the McLaren, Ferrari, or BMW are too far off from each other. I’d say here they’re equal and I’d also say running in this configuration allows the second group to close the gap close enough to say that, for the most part, it’s close enough to call it equal. That brings us to engines. Due to this years engine rules all the engines are very close on power. Again close enough to call it too close to call on a circuit such as this. So that eliminates that as an advantage. That brings us to tires. Now anyone who’s raced knows the difference a good set of tires can make. Everyone will be selecting from either the soft or the super-soft compound. Now the mechanical grip produced by each car with these tires will give some an advantage but not by much, I’d say a car that has a bit less grip but a better balance will do better than one that’s got better grip but doesn’t handle properly or instill confidence in the driver. With the tires being equal it’ll come down to driver ability to not only get this proper set up but also to exploit it. Normally I’d rank it this way in level of importance. 1 Tires 2 Engine 3 Chassis 4 Driver For Monaco 1 Tires 2 Driver 3 Chassis 4 Engine
Thank you Ron for your comments in your first paragraph and throughout your post. I am also on this forum as a Ferrari owner, like racing (prefer sports cars over F1), and a definite member of the Tifosi. Carol
You are certainly entitled to your opinion and I enjoyed reading your reasoned argument. I guess we will see. I think there is a fair amount of talent further down the grid than just Ferrari and McLaren, so it will be interesting to see if BMW or Williams or Aguri could take a pole position and snatch a race win. I tend to think it won't happen and that the quali/finishing order will match closely what it has at races up until now, BUT, I would love to be proven wrong! Actually I would LOOOOVE to see Quick Nick take a win! Let's hope you are right and it does mix it up at Monaco with everyone on the same tires. We shall see
