All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL) racing thread

Re: All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL, CCWS) racing thread

And, since no one has brought up the Australian GP...

Uh, damn. Kimi looked really dominant. And Honda looked really pathetic.

Nice debut by Hamilton, too.

 

Re: All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL, CCWS) racing thread

I never posted about it, because it was one of the most boring races I've seen in some time. I hope that's not a harbinger for the season.

 

Re: All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL, CCWS) racing thread

True enough.

At least Massa should be able to keep pace with Kimi. That should be entertaining as long as there are no team orders in effect. I don't think there will be, but you never know.

 

Re: All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL, CCWS) racing thread

It looks to me like it's going to be Ferrari, McLaren ... and everyone else. No other team approached the pace of those two teams.

 

Re: All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL, CCWS) racing thread

BMW may be close on their good days, but I doubt they'll sustain a challenge every race.

Renault is disappointing. It would be interesting to see what the car would be capable of with a stronger driver. Fisi is just not that good and Kovaleinen was really shaky in his first race.

 

Re: All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL, CCWS) racing thread

Anyone else watch Malaysia?

Damn, is Lewis Hamilton good. Good to see McLaren taking it to Ferrari, too. This could be a fun season.

 

Re: All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL, CCWS) racing thread

It's always fun to watch Massa take a giant dump.

 

Re: All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL, CCWS) racing thread

Couldn't believe he butchered the same corner twice.

Good lord, this Champ Car race from Vegas is brutal to watch.

 

Re: All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL, CCWS) racing thread

I didn't buy much into the all of the post-Australia Hamilton mania because all he did in my mind at Albert Park was steer a superior car to its expected finish. Rookie or not, he managed the race as a F1 driver should.

But he did look good at Malaysia. Those opening laps were fun as hell to watch. He did an excellent job.

And Felipe Massa is thrilled there's a race next week at Bahrain so he can attempt to salvage something positive before they return to Europe. If F1 had its usual two-week lag, he'd be getting his ass kicked all over Maranello this week and rightfully so.

And I'm tired of hearing how Kimi Raikkonen is Fernando Alonso's equal. Alonso > Raikkonen, but Raikkonen is still somehow put in his class despite virtually no comparative reason for him to be there.

 

Re: All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL, CCWS) racing thread

I think the assumption a lot of people made was that the only thing keeping Kimi from beating the Renaults and Ferraris was a lack of dependability in the McLaren. Funny - now that Alonso's at McLaren they're doing fine and Ferrari is suddenly having engine issues. Something tells me Kimi may not be entirely free of fault.

Massa was my championship pick going into the season. Looks like I need to reconsider. He was pretty unimpressive today.

 

Re: All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL, CCWS) racing thread

Not a good start for Champ Car ...
The lone American -- Graham Rahal -- wrecks before getting to Turn 1.
Before that yellow-flag period is over, another spin takes place.
Bourdais gets caught in a wreck midway through the race, which finishes with 9 cars on the track.

The only real drama was whether or not Will Power was going to run out of fuel and give up his 16-second win.

OTOH, the new Panoz chassis looks pretty cool and, bugs aside, seems rather drivable. It doesn't live up to the hype CC was trying to give it ("this is the most significant development in the history of open-wheel racing"), but it seems pretty good. I'm not sure if it changes very much to the naked eye, but it's supposed to be more nimble and allow closer racing by limiting dirty air.

 

Re: All-purpose open-wheel (F1, IRL, CCWS) racing thread

McLaren looked great at Sepang, looks like Ferrari will have some competition this year. Hamilton was great at the first corner, showing big attachments in going around both Raikkonen and Massa. That was the race right there. Too many drivers in F1 would have hung back and played it safe. All credit to Hamilton for showing guts.

Massa looked silly making the same mistake at the same corner twice. Foolish. He tried to force it when it wasn't there. After that his pace was never enough to catch up Hamilton, or even get around Heidfeld. How much do you think Todt misses Michael right now?

As for Raikkonen breaking the car, that's not fair. The engine electronics are so fail safe that a driver can't blow one up. It's not Kimi's fault that a hose cracked and the engine lost coolant.

Massa better not have a repeat performance in Bahrain or the 4 weeks until Spain will seem like an eternity. The press will eat him alive.