2005 French Formula 1 Grand Prix - Qualifying - *Spoilers*

Should be an interesting race, with MS moved up to 3rd spot after Kimi's move down to 13th. Will this be the race that Ferrari gets their launch control competitive with the Renaults? Will the tire "ovens" super-heating the Bridgestones allow them to get to peak performance quicker? What fuel stop strategy will everyone be using?

Could be fun tomorrow.

John

 

What's up with Williams ? Have the wheels come off and have they packed it in ? They look dreadful this weekend.

 

It's a bit mystifying the amount of time the Ferraris both lost in the last sector. Either one looked set for pole until that last sector. Any theories? And any predictions on number of pit stops for any of the drivers?

 

Michael to win.

 

They were able to qualify better than Red Bull. But I think the BMW + Michelin + Williams partnership has become sour and the performance on the track is a clear indication of that.

Both Michael and Rubens seem to be heavy on fuel. It will be an interesting start. I expect the Ferrari's to lose some places before the first round of pit stops. There is a good chance to have two podium finishes.

Toyota seem to be getting stronger. I have a feeling that Ralf would have qualified much higher had he not gone out first to clean the track for everybody. He also locked his wheel up going into Adelaide. Trulli will probably have a good race though.

I wonder what is going on at the McLaren camp. Kimi was about 0.800 seconds faster than Montoya. Maybe he is finally saw the red light that he was supposed to see in Canada.

Jenson Button looks to be heavy on fuel while Sato is light. Maybe BAR can manage their first points of the season from Magny-cours.

The temperature tomorrow is supposed to be a lot higher than today. This will probably help the Michelin runners to some extent.

 

You guys are assuming there will be a race. Sure there are no tire problems? MS to be on the podium.

 

I thought warm weather helped the B'stone tires vs. Mich. Am I incorrect?

 

Maybe there too warm

 

I might be worng but I was under the impression that in genral Bridgestone tires perform better over race duration under cooler temperatures. But I could be worng.

Ich wünsche, dass es regnet or I wish it rains...

 

Probably less down force, as you see in qualifying both Ferraris were the fastest in a straight line. But it should work for them, because really the only passing you can do is at the end of the straight away.

 

Actually it was rather cool. I think the heating boxes helped the Bridgestones. I just wonder how long it will take for some Michelin team to raise a protest.

Imperial thinks the Ferraris are heavy on fuel. I think they're light on fuel. What fun this guessing game has become.

It'll be interesting to see them go into the Adelaide hairpin. Sato sandwiched in between the Ferraris, should be fun. And Kimi on 12 is a bit like reversed grid.

Can't wait.

 

Kudos to Raikkonen ... a great lap considering he must be heavy on fuel starting from the mid-pack. I think Fisi and Montoya are also heavy on fuel.

I think Trulli is light on fuel. I think Schumi must be mid-pack as far as qty of fuel is considered

 

As I understand the rules, you can only heat with tire warmers, but there is not rule about where you store your tires....so boxes should be fine as long as they don't have heaters in them. A box around the wheel/tire/tire-warmer that keeps the heat in, but doesn't make heat should be allowed....I think they have added a thermostat controlled fan to keep it from over heating, but a fan is not a heater and should be allowed. There may be a rule change coming for next year, but they should be good this season.

 

If half these goofy rules were eliminated, there would be far less problems.

 

First sector Ferrari were the best. They have the speed (313.9 km/h for MS in qualifying). That will help them to overtake cars when coming to Adelaide(turn 5).


Should be a great race tomorrow.

 

The heating devices you are refering to have been approved by the FIA before use during an official race. Therefore Michelin teams have little room to mount a protest.

Fuel load: Let me put it this way... I think Michael has a heavier fuel load than Alonso and Trulli. But I think Michael is certainly lighter than Kimi. I initially thought that Sato was on a light fuel load but the post qualifying coments make me doubt that. So Sato may be actually the same load as Michael.

 

I'll bet the farm Ferrari is light. They had the best top speed but the car was extremely stable in the turns....extremely. Could they finally have figured out the mechanical grip problems enough to reduce wing or are they just light? Maybe the boys have finally got their sh...t together.

Any body from Mont-Tremblant? I'll be there this weekend for Sommet de Legends supporting 5 cars.....look me up at the Moorespeed trailer. Sorry no Ferraris...........just: 911R, 911RSR, Lola T70, and last but not least 962C

Would be nice to have a Ferrari or two in our stable.

david

 

If I'm not working sunday I will be going to Sommet des Légendes. friday and saturday I can't.
I want to see that 962C!!
ZORRO (f-chat member) should be going..

 

Come by our paddock and ask for me, David. I'll show you around. I hope the 962 performs well as we have a brand new engine in it. I also just finished a nice 2.5 liter engine for the little car that has slant port heads and high butterfly......I'm always nervous about new motors until they've had some time on them and the oil filters are free of debri other than build mat'ls.

Here's a photo of the 962 in our paddock.
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I'll stop by for sure!!!! 962? Lola T70? yummmmmmm ... I'm nearly fainting already!