***Official*** Formula One Thread

[Bad Collin]

F1 is better than ever at the moment and it's about time we had a proper, long term F1 thread.

So it's the British Grand Prix tomorrow, qualifying is happening now. It is good to see Hamilton and Button at the top of the standings but Red Bull seem to find more speed every race.

McLaren have abandoned the blown diffuser for this race and they look well off the pace.

Discuss F1 - Brother!

[radon]

I enjoy F1 but this season I have found myself less excited.

Two reasons.

1. No refueling. To me, takes out a major tactical edge and excitement from the sport. Some people disagree - thats fine. But to me, the cars look huge and sluggish and not as nibble as they were in previous seasons.

2. 3 non competitive teams in Lotus, HRT and Virgin. Its useless having 6 cars that are just getting in the way of everyone. They were 6 second slower in qualifying. Got in the way of many cars. Think they should have introduced one a season or something along those lines.

[Bad Collin]

Right this is the best F1 season for about 15 years so let's try this again.

Suzuka this weekend, it is a brilliant, fast track and with the top five separated by the points equivalent of one win the title is on a knife edge with four races left.

Personally I hope Webber wins, he seems like a very genuine bloke and he has worked hard to get a top drive. His reaction and performance after Vettel's kniving at Silverstone was particularly inspiring.

It is 6,000 days since Senna's fatal accident, here is an excellent video of his biggest fan driving his famous MP4: http://blogs.timeslive.co.za/wheeldeal/2010/08/02/lewis-hamilton-drives-sennas-mclaren/

[Matt E]

Haha. I think there's been an F1 thread every year for the past decade and it's never once survived the season.

Should be an interesting finale anyway, hopefully at least one driver from each of the three teams is in with a shout come Abu Dhabi. Would like to see Webber win it overall but for the purposes of entertainment I hope he DNFs this weekend to close it right up.

[Bad Collin]

Anyone but Alonso.

[Matt E]

Webber > Button > Alonso = Vettel > Hamilton

[Ozanne]

Hamilton for the WDC for me, love the bloke. One of the top 3 drivers in the world currently, even with the couple of recent mistakes.

[Bad Collin]

Hamilton is fantastic but he will have years to win titles, best that Mark gets his now.

[da_man]

I'm half asleep this morning but I'm sure Martin Brundle just dropped in a bizarre internet legend reference...

"Kobayashi is going all Leeroy Jenkins! He's taking them all on by himself!"

:spit:

YouTube - Leeroy Jenkins

[Bad Collin]

:lol: yeah I heard that but it wasn't Brundle. The audio cut out and I think it was the radio five guys.

Not the greatest GP this morning and that whining little fuck won as well. Hopefully Alonso and Vettel take each other out on Korea.

[Bad Collin]

So, Korea this weekend. Looks like and interesting circuit, the Mclarens and Ferraris should be quicker on the plentiful straights and the Red Bulls elsewhere.

Button and Hamilton both need podiums or their title challenge is all but over.

[Matt E]

Button's out of it then. Hamilton and Alonso both with their teams behind them, big question for Red Bull now as to whether they should favour Webber.

[Bad Collin]

They won't, Vettel is the golden boy.

Good race today once it actually started. Mclaren seem too far off the pace to win the last two.

[da_man]

Please don't let that dick Alonso win the title. :nono:

[Bad Collin]

Seconded.

[Ozanne]

Don't worry Lewis will still do it, I have every confidence in him.

[Matt E]

Can't see it happening, there just isn't enough in the car to overhaul all three around him. The radio messages did make me smile though, could tell how desperate he was to try and gain some ground.

[Ozanne]

His raw talent alone will make up for the lack of performance. Plus I'm sure that fact that Christian 'Twat' Horner won't pick Webber as their number 1 driver for the next 2 races will cause problems. Then Alonso's luck will run out. Plus we have Timo Glock at Brazil to help Lewis out again....

[Bad Collin]

Brazil and Abu Dhabi will suit the better handling of the Red Bulls. It could easily be two one-two's. Webber is 14 points ahead of Vettel so a first and a second would probably do him.

I would love Lewis to do it but he is too far back with a car which is too slow.

Anyone but Alonso...

[Ozanne]

I thought Brazil would be more suited to the McLarens/Ferrari's that the Red Bulls. According to Lewis they do have some updates for the last 2 races as well.

Just look at the amount of races were Red Bull have started pole (14 I think it is) then look at how many races they've dropped points in. I can see that carrying on especially with the pressue on them.

[Bad Collin]

Fantastic quali yesterday. Amazing to see Hulkenberg on and pole and nice to see Alonso down the field a bit as well. Hopefully Nico goes across to block Vettel and lets Webber slip through.

[Aussie_Outlaw]

I have this crazy feeling that Alonso is going to win the championship purely because Red Bull will continue to throw all their effort behind Vettel rather than Webber.


An interesting article ran late last week with Webber saying he doesn't feel the team is behind him. Which is something which was quite obvious 1/3 of the way through the season. But Webber clearly isn't bright on occasion and is signed up for 2011 with them.

[Matt E]

It wouldn't surprise me if he leaves though. If Vettel doesn't let him through and Alonso wins the title I simply can't see how he could stay next year, the atmosphere would be poisonous. If he wins he might just call it a day as the trust between him and the team has obviously gone.

[Bad Collin]

Surely they won't do that. Say Vettel is leading Webber with Alonso in third they have to let him through. It would be a classic sporting moment too; "Sebastian, Mark is faster than you, do you understand this message?" :)

[Aussie_Outlaw]

That's the weirdest thing though, Webber signed a new contact after it'd become clear that they'd support Vettel over him.

And I wouldn't be surprised if Vettel pretended not to get the message just to pick up the race win. Murray Walker has said a few times through the year Vettel loves picking up stats (wins, polls, fastest laps)

[Prototype16]

That was a suprise but I'm pleased Vettel won it

Funny seeing Ferrari throw it away in the last race after all the mistakes Red Bull have made this season. Great job by Petrov

[da_man]

Alonso - classless to the end. Well done to Vettel.

What a stunning venue btw.

[Genius loves Company]

Hats off to Petrov and Kubica. Good Racing!

Oh, and since we could not beat Spain in Football, at least here!

Great Day for a German:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Cagsx60Pw

Möchten Sie die Kühe melken?

Iss dein Schnitzel, sonst gibt es kein Nachtisch!

[Bad Collin]

Fair play to Seb, he has been a moaning git for a lot of the season but he was the quickest and most consistent at most races.

I loved watching Alonso labour behind Petrov, I enjoyed that more than if he had crashed.

[Ozanne]

Fair play to Seb, he has been a moaning git for a lot of the season but he was the quickest and most consistent at most races.

I loved watching Alonso labour behind Petrov, I enjoyed that more than if he had crashed.

:yes: Agree totally.

Plus I'm kind of glad that Alonso didn't win it after the infamous 'Alonso is faster than you' line.

Next season McLaren will be strong though. Lewis' title all the way.

[Matt E]

Bloody hell, Kubica already out for the start of the season after a rally crash, suspected broken arm and leg.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9388940.stm

[Bad Collin]

Stupid idiot, why was he rallying this close to the season?

[BBF]

Nice race today. Vettel is going to be hard to beat in that car but I'd like to think MacLaren could push him quite hard. Really beginning to hate Alonso though, not sure why.

I've backed Petrov to finish in the top 6 this season and put a nice sum on him to win a race at some point too. Think he's going to do really well this season.

[Bad Collin]

Alonso is more of a cunt than Torn, that takes talent.

Decent race today, Seb looks unstoppable again but at least Lewis was vaguely competitive.

[Aussie_Outlaw]

And Webber sucks again. I hope he now realises he's the distant #2 driver at that team after it came out that Vettell gets something like 60mill more than him.

[radon]

I found the race quite boring actually.

[Genius loves Company]

Good Racing today. But how can Petrov lose his steering wheel? When i heard that (and saw it in the replay) i was like:freak:

Vettel dominated the Race. Kudos to Kobayashi, Webber and Heidfeld for their respective perfomances today:yes:

[Bad Collin]

That's what happened to Senna isn't it? Scary.

Anyway, Fuck off Alonso for fucking up Hamilton's race. What a cock face twat he is.

Seb is just unstoppable at the moment, looks like he will win this year at a canter.

[Bad Collin]

:wtf: They gave Lewis and Alonso a twenty second penalty?!

[Matt E]

Hamilton's I can understand, he was warned about weaving on the straight last year. I guess they felt they couldn't penalise him without doing Alonso either since the contact probably had some effect on Lewis dropping down.

[Bad Collin]

Alonso drove into him.

[RFF Champ]

What a tit Button is. That's quite incredible, going into the wrong pit lane.

[BBF]

Great race from Hamilton. Unlucky for Button but Webber had the race from heaven. Great stuff.

[Bad Collin]

Amazing race today, shorter wearing tyres are going make this season even better than last year.

[Bad Collin]

I hate the fact that Murdoch is sniffing around F1, PPV would kill the sport.

[Prototype16]

Anyone watching this?

Vettel desperately holding off Alonso and Button after close to 60 laps on the same tyres - then a huge crash causes a red flag

Race could be about to restart with six laps to go

[Bad Collin]

Petrov ruined that :(

[Genius loves Company]

Crazy Race. Kudos to Button, great Race also by Schumacher, and Vettel is still a human being!:D

[Prototype16]

Rain and Canada is normally a good combination.

This was probably the highlight though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nq1wCkMZct0

[Chris Scott]

None of you F1 fans seen the Senna film yet?

[Bad Collin]

Not yet, maybe this weekend. It looks amazing.

[Chris Scott]

I highly recommend it.

[da_man]

The 'use both tyres' rule is absolutely ridiculous. Massa got screwed.

[Bad Collin]

Really good GP again today. Great drive from Jens, one of these days he needs to win a dry race however.

Good to see Lewis at his mental best, his move on Vettel was ace but spinning back the right way in front of Di Resta was incredibly stupid.

[Chris Scott]

I missed this, need to catch highlights.

[Bad Collin]

Yes, you do.

[BBF]

What a brilliant start :lol:

[Aussie_Outlaw]

Two yellow flags in 5 laps. Mental start.

And good to see Webber back to sucking in 2011 after a fantastic 2010.

[BBF]

Yep indeed. Fuck off Webber.

Been a great race. This battle for third is fantastic. McLaren have to call one of them in soon.

[BBF]

GET IN JENSON.

[Bad Collin]

I missed the start, what happened?

[BBF]

Alonso tore away at the start. Him, Lewis and Vettel were neck and neck at one stage.

Plus right at the back Liuzzi was weaving left and right to try and get through. Touched the grass and skidded into the first corner knocking Petrov, Rosberg and a couple of other out of the race.

[Bad Collin]

Alonso and Vettel can fuck off

[Aussie_Outlaw]

Alonso tore away at the start. Him, Lewis and Vettel were neck and neck at one stage.

Plus right at the back Liuzzi was weaving left and right to try and get through. Touched the grass and skidded into the first corner knocking Petrov, Rosberg and a couple of other out of the race.

And then Webber shunted into the side of Massa (?) two laps later as Vettel passed Alonso on the outside of a corner around 300kph and outbroke him. Wonderful pass.

[Matt E]

Sucks that it's all over but at least there's some decent racetracks left.

Raikkonen to Williams rumours, seems kind of odd. Can't see how they'd afford him unless Kimi's taking a huge pay cut from what he was used to before.

[Bad Collin]

I have lost interest in this season. Simgapore is a shit race, I am looking forward to seeing what the India track is like but I doubt I will watch too many of the upcoming races.

[Glen]

Come on guys, it;s the first practice of the Formula One Season 2012 in Melbourne! It's raining like fuck, but this is going to be a VERY exciting season.

Also, Sky Sports F1 HD is the greatest thing to happen to the sport in years.

[Bad Collin]

Is it? I'm not sure that splitting the broadcasting talent and stopping people without Sky watching half the races is a good thing.

I just hope that Vettel doesn't piss it again this year.

[Bad Collin]

Well, that is a good start. Gwan the Lewis!

[Murphy]

Tried to watch this. Still find it boring as fuck.

You're welcome.

[Glen]

GET IN JENSON SON!

[Fanny]

I watched Senna the other night and it was genuinely the only time I've ever found Formula 1 interesting in the slightest - even then only because it was heavily overdramatised and every race was condensed to look exciting.

[Murphy]

I was a fan during the Hill/Schumacher days. :yes:

[turdpower]

I still don't really understand why it has it's own channel.

[Bad Collin]

The joy of Formula one for me is in the detail. The races would be boring if it was constant overtaking or if there was none at all, I think they have done a very good job of balancing the excitement and safety of the sport in recent years.

This morning we had lots of overtaking from Alonso, Vettel etc, a few cars crashing into walls and the top four cars finishing within ten seconds of each other. It is going to be a fascinating season if Red Bull and McLaren are this close throughout.

Also, get in there Jenson son. Imagine winning a GP then getting to bang Jessica Michibata on a pile of money afterwards. Lucky bastard.

[Torn]

I still don't really understand why it has it's own channel.

I imagine so they get more subscribers, as with the extra channel they make it available to people who have the HD package but not Sky Sports.

[Hlebsfall]

It's not only on HD though. It's in standard def on 459. I agree, it's a pointless niche sport, for fat wankers with beards who wear Ferrari clothing.

[Bad Collin]

F1 is not a niche sport in any way. It is as big as anything except Football, Cricket and Rugby and is watched the world over unlike two of those.

4.94 Million people watched the British GP on the BBC last year.

I agree about the wankers in Ferrari clothes though.

[turdpower]

F1 is not a niche sport in any way. It is as big as anything except Football, Cricket and Rugby and is watched the world over unlike two of those.

4.94 Million people watched the British GP on the BBC last year.

I agree about the wankers in Ferrari clothes though.

What is this figure? One race or every race?

I think you can say it's not popular enough to actually warrant it's own channel. As Torn says; it's basically a marketing gimmick.

[Bad Collin]

I don't think it needs its own channel but Sky have always tried to be bigger and better.

I am disagreeing that it is a niche sport. According to BARB, 5.15 million people watched the Spanish GP and over 5 million also watched the Monaco GP. I can only assume that the other races got similar numbers.

[Matt E]

Pastor Maldonado ffs :D

Awesome, 5 different teams winning. Not out of the question Lotus could make it 6 next time out.

[Bad Collin]

Great drive from Maldonado today, I am so happy to see Williams winning a race again.

[Bad Collin]

Great race this evening, great to see Lewis on the top step where he belongs. I laughed so hard at Alonslow being passed by Grosjean and Perez at the end. Brilliant stuff, Canada normally provides a good race and today was no exception.

[Prototype16]

Great race there from the safety car onwards. Not seen much of this season for various reasons but there have been some amazing results. Hopefully it continues into the second half - could be a great year

[Bad Collin]

I missed it today, it sounds like Hamilton got screwed.

[Matt E]

He did in that the collision was Maldonado's fault, but he also didn't really play the long game. His tyres were shot, he'd have struggled massively to hold onto third. Might well have been better doing what Alonso did last time out and pick up whatever points he could have, 4th was almost guaranteed.

[Simmo Fortyone]

So what was funnier

1) Vettel being a cunt
2) Hamilton driving into the wrong pit?

[Bad Collin]

Hamilton.

I loved how Vettel couldn't decide whether to be honest or not about what he did. At first he said he misunderstood and then he said he was sorry and he ignored the order.

[Simmo Fortyone]

We call our pub trivia team "Vettel Did Nothing Wrong" last night. We weren't real popular.

BC you might know this. We were discussing this last night. Say Hamilton went into the wrong pit (which he did), and the crew were so well drilled that they started taking tyres off before realising what was up. Would there be penalties involved? Or would Hamilton being held up by his own dumbassery be enough?

[Bad Collin]

If the crew started to change the tyres then I don't see how Lewis could be punished. If he drove in there to disrupt McLaren then there certainly should be be.

Proof today that Vettel runs Red Bull: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22106490

I really hope that Webber can out race him this year.

[Bad Collin]

It was a very entertaining GP yesterday. Webber just has no luck at all does he? Shame Alonso won but great to see Lewis hold of Vettel for a podium place.

[Rip]

Have to say I've been very impressed with Hamilton this year, considering the car he's performing exceptionally well.

[Bad Collin]

F1 was shit last year but Red Bull are really struggling in testing. Hopefully Vettel will be nowhere and we have a decent title battle this year.

[Glen]

This is going to be a delightful season.

Also, Sky is far and away kicking the BBC's arse in terms of coverage.

[Tyson]

Bumped.

Absolutely shocked that this thread has been collecting dust for over seven years…

[Pablo Diablo]

I mean you could have bumped it with something more than bump. :p

For example when I saw the bump I assumed it was in respect of Frank Williams who passed yesterday.

Or we could bring up the driver's AND constructor's championships coming down right to the wire in these last two races. I still think Max will do it simply because all he really needs is one Hamilton mistake. Mercedes has got the faster car now, but a bad pit stop or even a crash and the speed doesn't matter.

[Tyson]

I mean you could have bumped it with something more than bump. :p:

Write a couple paragraphs and watch it collect dust because nobody else on the forum gives a shit? Nah man. :D

I’m brand new to the sport, having binged “Drive To Survive” this past Spring; this is my first season watching races, I’m even getting up early on Sundays to catch it live. Me and my friends started a couple online leagues in “F1 2020” on the XBox this past Winter, which led me to the Netflix series and ultimately becoming a full-fledged F1 fan.

We’ve never seen Saudi Arabia, so we have no clue what to expect; there is a suggestion that it’s going to be a fast one, which favours Mercedes. Max obviously has the inside track for the driver’s title, Lewis needs another win here to have a legit shot.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.the-saudi-arabian-grand-prix-by-numbers-as-the-worlds-fastest-street-circuit.4ShMwqxs71iPo7DUmm1dux.html

I think Lewis deserves a lot of credit for painting the LGBTQ+ flag on his helmet, prior to three consecutive races in the Middle East.

I’m at odds with my group of F1 friends: I’m predicting that if Hamilton gets #8, he retires. His eight consecutive titles passes Schumacher, he’s already got the career victories record, is rich beyond belief. He’s got nothing left to prove. Why would he keep risking his life only to have some young punk ultimately dethrone him? He can enjoy the rest of his dream life, continue to help out with social causes when/as he sees fit.

[Pablo Diablo]

I don't see him retiring. I think he's enjoying the competition that Max is giving him and I also think he wants to see how much Russell will challenge him in the same car. My personal guess is that no matter the result this season he will be with Mercedes for 2 more seasons and then that might be when he retires.

[Pablo Diablo]

Well that was some qualifying.

[Pablo Diablo]

And so it all comes down to the final race. Equal on points but Max can win if they both end up out of the points (somehow).

[Pablo Diablo]

Bullshit

[_me]

Shane and Vince would be proud of that level of match fixing.

[Tyson]

What the fuck was that.

[_me]

https://twitter.com/F1/status/1470058598197825542

Mercedes is protesting.

[Tyson]

Max Verstappen is putting together the most dominant season in F1 history; since Abu Dhabi he’s been hearing the haters and living that MJ “And I took that personally” meme.

Consider this, the single season records that he’s chasing down:
-11 wins (Schumacher/Vettel, 13)
-335 points (Hamilton, 413)
-116 point margin of victory (Vettel, 155).

Even more impressive when you remember that Max had DNFs in week 1 and 3.

If Charles Leclerc wins out and gets every fastest lap, he will max out, pun intended, at 375 points.

[_me]

RB figured out a way to exploit the salary cap. Completely ignore your second car and driver and only develop one car. They are smart. That is how you win titles.

[Tyson]

Bumped, because the release of “Drive to Survive” means that a new F1 season is upon us.

Bahrain is a week away, I can’t wait.

[Pablo Diablo]

RB and Max are going to run away with the season I feel.

[_me]

I also bet they broke the budget cap again

[Tyson]

RB and Max are going to run away with the season I feel.

Definitely have to go with the dude who’s looking for the three peat…Max was absolutely dominant last season and I don’t suspect that car drops off performance-wise.

My hope is Ferrari can minimize/eliminate the race management issues that plagued them last season; the drivers and cars are both top-quality, the team needs to be right there with Red Bull.

The quality of the Mercedes drivers should be able to overcome most car issues, but they’ll end up a step below Red Bull/Ferrari.

As far as the rest of the field, it’s a complete crapshoot; between the driver turnover and the teams that underperformed last year, I’m not sure who ultimately ends up competing with Mercedes. I’d say the drivers with the most to prove are Stroll and Piastri: Stroll needs to perform to prove to Daddy that he deserves a ride in 2024, Piastri for the way he is associated with a very popular driver losing his seat.

Both Mercedes drivers are up at the end of 2023, but I can’t see Russell walking away from that team after only his second season. If you’re Lawrence Stroll and you have a chance to upgrade from your underachieving kid to a seven-time world champion, you probably back up the Brinks truck…

[Pablo Diablo]

The hype around the Aston Martin team seems unbelievable. I would love for another team to actually be competition up there though.

I suspect though that Ferrari and Merc probably will still be comfortably ahead of them. Hope AM can prove me wrong. Alonso has the ability to do so. Stroll...well he's Canadian as well so he gets at least some patriotic points from me.

[Tyson]

Red Bull looking damn near unbeatable. Aston Martin outpacing both Ferrari and Mercedes is very intriguing. Ferrari really needs to go on a podium run, like soon, before the other two pull away.

[Tyson]

Imola GP cancelled due to flooding in the area, disappointing but ultimately the right move.

It’s not even like FIA built themselves some wriggle room into the schedule in case of unforeseen circumstances such as this. Looking at the remaining 2023 dates, there is really no place to put Imola 2.0 without compounding the risk for the drivers…

[Romford Pele]

I know that part of the world well. The flooding has been really bad there.

[Tyson]

Max Verstappen is putting together the most dominant season in F1 history; since Abu Dhabi he’s been hearing the haters and living that MJ “And I took that personally” meme.

Consider this, the single season records that he’s chasing down:
-11 wins (Schumacher/Vettel, 13)
-335 points (Hamilton, 413)
-116 point margin of victory (Vettel, 155).

To re-up from last season:

Ten races left in 2023 and The Bad Guy has 314 points, 10 wins and a 125 point lead on #2 in the Drivers.

The records are 454 points (Max in 2022), 15 wins (Max in 2022), 155 point margin of victory (Vettel in 2013).

That race for second in both the Drivers and Constructors will be very interesting…

[Tyson]

Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari…in 2025.