Please Scuderia, I'm begging you ... drive a spirited, error-free race, with absolutely no mechanical snafus. Is this asking too much on the day the Indianapolis 500 also is staging its annual event?
1) The Nurburgring is located in the Eifel region of Germany, 60km north-west of Koblenz and 90km south-west of Koln. 2) The track is approximately 5.148 kms long. 3) The track's fastest lap record is held by the greatest racer of all time, Michael Schumacher driving the Ferrari F2004. That record stands at 1:29.468. 4) The greatest ever victory at Nurburgring belongs Tazio Nuvolari. Nuvolari drove a legendary race on 28th July, 1935, for Scuderia Ferrari. He raced in a 3800cc eight cylinder Alfa against the 3990cc Mercedes W25 M 25 B 8 cylinders and Auto Union "type B" 4950cc 16 cylinders. Even though his car stood no chance of victory, he proved the greatness of Ferrari's technical abilities and the greatness of racing skills. So confident had they been that a German would win the race, the organisers did not even have a copy of the Italian national anthem to play as Nuvolari received his winner's laurels. Luckily Tazio always carried a copy as a lucky charm and the strains of Marcia Reale echoed around the grandstand much to the annoyance of the assembled Nazi hierarchy. It was a triumph of the human virtues of skill and courage over the science of speed and horsepower and is still acknowledged as the finest race of Nuvolari's long and illustrious career. The first legend of the Ring had been born. 5) The fifth and most important fact is that... Ferrari 1 - 2 Today!
Good morning Imperial - hope you have a great day and it's a good race. I much preferred the new method of qualifying but got to thinking about something this morning. I know this if off the subject but, when we were in Imloa last month the tickets are purchased for each day - no weekend pkg. With no F1 activity (like the warm-up on Sunday used to be with the old Saturday qualifying - even David Hobbs mentioned this yesterday) prior to the race, just the support race - that 263 Eur per person seat in Acqua Minerali is expensive for a 1.5 hour race!! Yeah, we'll still request the same seats next year but Bernie might consider adding something else to the cost of his show or going back to the old qualifying days. Oh well . . . Hoping the start is a good one - I won't be watching row one nearly as much as I will be watching the Montoya-Alonso row. It's fun to take the grid and come up with all sorts of ideas as to the start! Forza Ferrari Carol
263 Euros is a very small price to pay when considering you are watching the greatest racer ever drive for the great race team ever created. But your point is well taken. Ticket prices in F1 have been steadily increasing and "show" is ever shrinking. Hopefully enough organizers and teams will take notice to make Bean Bag Bernie do something about it.
come on boys !! Let's see two red shirts on the podium today, Michael win it for the homeland ! FORZA FERRARI !!!!!
what are start ! good job steering clear boys, wheew almost involved, is rubens car damaged ? Schumy gained three last lap, 14th to 11th !! GO RUBENS !! WHAT DRIVING TWO WIDE FOR THREE TURNS !!!!!
HOLY MOLY KIMI's wishbone just exploded on the last lap !!!!! Lucky no one was hurt in this one. Alonso first heid sec and RUBENS THIRD !! yeah Ferrari on the podium !! Schumy 5th, way to go boys !
3th and 5th... the first lap incident that Montoya caused could have resulted in a better finish. Someone fire Montoya... the guy is a nuisance.
1. Great driving by Ruby nice to see red again on the podium. 2. Kimi drove a great race sorry to have seen him go out like that. 3. Montoya is nothing more than a truck driver. 4. F I A your going to kill someone with this one tire rule !
Is Germany so devoid of dignitaries that Boris Becker (Boris Becker!!) is enlisted into the podium trophy presentation?! And doesn't the ever-anal FIA have some sort of rules of decorum for podium attire? I mean, here's a guy who, at his zenith, was a tennis player, and who for the last ten years has made headlines purely for his marital indiscretions. And to boot, he's all gussied up in his finest blue jeans and leather jacket. Nice to know he took the podium honor so seriously.
Can we please petition to have Montoya driving NASCRAP? I swear the guy is not worth it to any team. He not only wrecks his own team's multi million dollar equipment weekend after weekend, but also puts others at risk. Kimi must be glad that he is qualifying up front, I am sure if those two were side by side Kimi would be sitting in the gravel trap.
Watching what happened to Massa and KR's tyres, I still think that the one tyre rule is very dangerous, to the drivers, to their fellow drivers and to the corner workers and possibily the public. The carbon-fiber shards are being fired off at such a high speed I can't see how they can be deem not dangerous, and seeing how the McLaren almost collected the BAR just makes this rule even more insane. I realize that the rule allow tyre changes if it has become dangerous, but it is a rule set-up without much of a brain cell. 1) You can only change the tyre legally if you can prove the tyre is failing or has failed. By that time, you are already a risk on the track. 2) In the spirit of F1 racing, how many teams and drivers will come into the pits and change tyres when they are out there competiting for the race and WC? By nature, they all think they can pull this one out, that the tyre will hold on for just long enough to win, thus again, endangering others. Your thoughts on this?
I wish FIA would wake up and bring back tire changes and qualifying sessions and not hot laps. That or have a SINGLE TIRE manufacturer because it is causing a very unfair advantage to some teams.
Actually, I thought Weber was to blame for the mess in the first corner. He just blew into it too hot and didn't turn in like everyone else. When Montoya turned right, Weber was there
I for one believe that if you fade away you shouldn't try to come back. JV needs to realize his days are over and find another subject.
Another thing that sucks about the rule is that there is room for interpretation. Some situations, like blowouts, are obvious. But if, in the name of safety, the FIA starts to allow tire changes in a flat-spotted case like Kimi's, then this will lead to intentional lock-ups prior to a pit stop. Screwing with the tires is an illogical way to deal with racing speeds and on-track competitiveness. Thank God the tether performed so well.
Here is another riddle... The tires on the Renault were bald, yet they weren't penalized. Are the so called rules just mere suggestions?
Exactly, same old deal with FIA. It is so much easier to be brave sitting behind the desk at FIA office then being behind the wheels of the cars. Creating a situation that can turn into a masacare in the name of "competition" is plain wrong. FIA needs to review this rule fast and think of the drivers instead of their wallets or whatever they are thinking of, or with.
Actually Webber, in an interview during the race, admited that it was his fault. Too bad about Kimmy, he should have pitted instead of taking that chance. He had a shot at pole position at least.
If you watch the race again you will actually see the tire just miss Kimi's head and if it wasn't for the steel cable attached to the tire he would have most certainly been hit by it. The F I A need this tire rule changed now.
J.P. Montoya is somewhat of an enigma, but he brings a lot of flamboyance to F1. He won last season's final race in Brazil for Williams, jumps to McLaren, then can't get on a consistent track during the first seven races, his injury notwithstanding. I think he'll make his presence felt before too much time passes, together with the reigning World Champion. However, last year the two North American races were a disaster for both J.P.M. and his then-teammate, Ralf Schumacher. Expect Montoya to excell at Magny Cours during the French G.P.