2253 replies to this topic

[PeaceCalling]

oooh yeh Jenson ftw and Lewis 3rd

[PeaceCalling]

I'm actually really enjoyed reading James Allen's blog.

whats he doing these days?

[Nacho]

spec series yes, but not all teams are created equal... (ie: if F1 were spec like gp2, are you saying the same driver in a Force India would win as much as if he was in a Ferrari?)
and if reports are true, about how Kovy was treated as a #2 last year at McLaren, then i don't doubt that when Alonso was complaining that Lewis was getting prefered treatment, that that was true as well...

I have said that Lewis is a good driver several times, but he lucked out coming into F1 when McLaren was basically the best car on the grid and one of the top teams. I mean look at Kimi, when he was at McLaren, those cars were made of glass and blew up every race, put a good car under him and he won the world championship first time out... the Renault was the car to beat in 2005 and 2006.

that said, Lewis wouldn't be the second coming of christ if he started off on shit cars like every other rookie...he'd be a standout, that's for sure. he's definatelly one of the best young guns out there. I think that Alonso would be a 3 time champ right now if Lewis wasn't in the McLaren in 2007...
hell, what would've happened if Vettel ended up with a good team, toss him in a Ferrari, McLaren, or BGP car and see what the kid can really do... he's probably one of the best out there right now, but he's not in a top drive... Piquet is just a cluster...

Kovi has shown many times that he can't keep up with Lewis on track. That's beyond 'preferred fuel strategies' and qualifying positions. You'll watch Kovi struggle to keep up with people while Lewis is either driving off in the distance or easily working his way up the pack. Silverstone in 08 is a perfect example. Even the race that Hekki won last year showed that he couldn't keep pace with the top runners on equal footing.

Just as Alonso would have won if Lewis wasn't his teammate, Lewis would have won in 07 if he was actually given preferential treatment over Alonso/had another teammate.

Additionally, I don't understand why people continue to discount the RBR/STR cars. They may be from a non-manufacturer team, but they're using top-flight powerplants with a top-flight car designer and more or less free reign to spend nearly whatever it takes. The cars that Skittle has had access to at those teams are a far cry from the hunk of shit repainted Minardi that Speed and Liuzzi had to drive around, or the carry-over Jaguar that DC was using (or even the 60+ hp deficit Renault powered Newey car)..

[_R_]

Kovi has shown many times that he can't keep up with Lewis on track. That's beyond 'preferred fuel strategies' and qualifying positions. You'll watch Kovi struggle to keep up with people while Lewis is either driving off in the distance or easily working his way up the pack. Silverstone in 08 is a perfect example. Even the race that Hekki won last year showed that he couldn't keep pace with the top runners on equal footing.

Just as Alonso would have won if Lewis wasn't his teammate, Lewis would have won in 07 if he was actually given preferential treatment over Alonso/had another teammate.

Additionally, I don't understand why people continue to discount the RBR/STR cars. They may be from a non-manufacturer team, but they're using top-flight powerplants with a top-flight car designer and more or less free reign to spend nearly whatever it takes. The cars that Skittle has had access to at those teams are a far cry from the hunk of shit repainted Minardi that Speed and Liuzzi had to drive around, or the carry-over Jaguar that DC was using (or even the 60+ hp deficit Renault powered Newey car)..

Kovi isn't in the same league as Lewis... and basically I think we're making the same point... just cause you have a good car doesn't mean you'll be on top, also if you have a good driver and a shitty car you're going to struggle. Lewis got the best of both worlds (excellent driver, and a top flight team) right off the bat where as every other rookie that should be a good driver ends up with a shitty car for a couple seasons and moves up.

and agreed with if Lewis had another team mate, than he would've been world champ in 2007...

RBR / STR cars in theory should have the pace, but much like the McLarens of old, they are too fragile. hit a bump the wrong way and your suspension explodes or the transmission becomes swiss cheese. they just don't have the reliability.

[MrHahn]

whats he doing these days?

Hopefully failing like the miserable cunt he is

[Nacho]

Kovi isn't in the same league as Lewis... and basically I think we're making the same point... just cause you have a good car doesn't mean you'll be on top, also if you have a good driver and a shitty car you're going to struggle. Lewis got the best of both worlds (excellent driver, and a top flight team) right off the bat where as every other rookie that should be a good driver ends up with a shitty car for a couple seasons and moves up.

Eh, i think he still would have been a big deal, as he would have put much 'lesser' cars much higher up the grid than his teammates.

That said, who better to put in the McMerc in 07? I honestly couldn't think of a better available driver for the job than Hamilton. De La Rossa is solid, but not a real standout driver in a race situation. I don't even remember who else was available for the slot at the time though, honestly.

[Redliner]

RBR / STR cars in theory should have the pace, but much like the McLarens of old, they are too fragile. hit a bump the wrong way and your suspension explodes or the transmission becomes swiss cheese. they just don't have the reliability.

Blame Newey. His car designs are too fragile - starting to think his designs are over-rated.

Check out what Rubens did in the race - ram 2 cars, half the nose is falling off and it still maintained enough pace to get points before being gifted 2nd.

Brawn is quickly becoming a legend for the ages in my eyes...

[Nacho]

Blame Newey. His car designs are too fragile - starting to think his designs are over-rated.

Check out what Rubens did in the race - ram 2 cars, half the nose is falling off and it still maintained enough pace to get points before being gifted 2nd.

Brawn is quickly becoming a legend for the ages in my eyes...

Brawn is a legend, but to discount Newey is a bit short sighted when you look at the #2 car for most of the entire race.

And we've seen cars from all sorts of teams take what look like small hits and fall apart, and other times take what looks like a big hit and carry on fine. It's just a matter of the details of the hit.

[DrDickAction]

Brawn is a legend, but to discount Newey is a bit short sighted when you look at the #2 car for most of the entire race.

And we've seen cars from all sorts of teams take what look like small hits and fall apart, and other times take what looks like a big hit and carry on fine. It's just a matter of the details of the hit.

Not to mention the newey car did it without a magic diffuser.

[Nacho]

Not to mention the newey car did it without a magic diffuser.

As Boobens said; he lost his diffuser, so it's obviously not the whole reason the car is fast.

Additionally, the Newey car won't work with a 'trick' diffuser due to how they did the back of the car.

[kngrsll]

As Boobens said; he lost his diffuser, so it's obviously not the whole reason the car is fast.

Additionally, the Newey car won't work with a 'trick' diffuser due to how they did the back of the car.

how the hell do you know that??

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

As Boobens said; he lost his diffuser, so it's obviously not the whole reason the car is fast.

Additionally, the Newey car won't work with a 'trick' diffuser due to how they did the back of the car.

i think it will work, but not to the extent of any of the other teams due to their decision to go with the pullrod suspension limiting how much space they can work with down there.

[kngrsll]

i think it will work, but not to the extent of any of the other teams due to their decision to go with the pullrod suspension limiting how much space they can work with down there.

does the current rear packaging explain their apparent pace over the weekend? or is that just vettel?

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

does the current rear packaging explain their apparent pace over the weekend? or is that just vettel?

i think just overall newey made a terrific design..

[_R_]

how the hell do you know that??

RBR is using pull rod rear suspension... no room to fit in the diffuser without basically redesigning the whole rear of the car

[kngrsll]

RBR is using pull road rear suspension... no room to fit in the diffuser without basically redesigning the whole rear of the car

oh, lol... i suck at F1 design 101

[_R_]

oh, lol... i suck at F1 design 101

looking at the illustrations someone posted in another thread, it looks like a good design, keeps things compact and lower to the ground, and i get the basic idea how it works after some explanation

[Nacho]

how the hell do you know that??

Which part?

[HighTachPres]

i think just overall newey made a terrific design..

could this mean RBR will be in the top 3 this year with an updated rear similar to BrawnGP?

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

could this mean RBR will be in the top 3 this year with an updated rear similar to BrawnGP?

i don't know if RBR can keep up with the development pace of ferrari/mclaren. honestly if brawn doesnt wrap up the title early then they could get beat...

[Nacho]

could this mean RBR will be in the top 3 this year with an updated rear similar to BrawnGP?

They can't update the rear! :madrun:

[Nacho]

i don't know if RBR can keep up with the development pace of ferrari/mclaren. honestly if brawn doesnt wrap up the title early then they could get beat...

I think even with hardcore dev from the other teams, the Brawn will have enough momentum to consistently score points. The lack of in-season testing is going to hurt even the big teams, as their first test of new dev parts will essentially be race weekends.

That said, if the Brawn car really picked up 9% more downforce between their track debut and Melbourne, they might be pulling a Super Aguri and making great process from a small, dedicated staff of outside the box thinkers.

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

I think even with hardcore dev from the other teams, the Brawn will have enough momentum to consistently score points. The lack of in-season testing is going to hurt even the big teams, as their first test of new dev parts will essentially be race weekends.

That said, if the Brawn car really picked up 9% more downforce between their track debut and Melbourne, they might be pulling a Super Aguri and making great process from a small, dedicated staff of outside the box thinkers.

i don't think their clear #1 status will last beyond race #5. there, i said it...

[kngrsll]

Which part?

the whole thing! i guess i just didnt realize all that... pretty snazzy logic yo

[Nacho]

i don't think their clear #1 status will last beyond race #5. there, i said it...

I don't think they'll be clear #1s all THAT long, but I think they'll be solid enough in the running order to maintain a fighting chance in the overall championship....Assuming they even last that long.

Then again, RBR seems to think Button was 'toying' with them as far as pace. Seems to make sense as he'd seemingly open up gaps at will on Vettel whenever need arose. If that's the case, and they're still significantly faster than they've shown even so far, the grid may have a bit of a challenge.