Any Formula 1 fans here?

[Tom Brown]

Is anyone else here into F1? The Malaysian GP is tonight. It starts at 7 AM GMT or 1 AM CST (where I am).
I really like Alonso and am happy for him to have the pole. It will be interesting to see how long the Renaults can fend off the Ferraris.

[HCS]

I watch em whan ever I can. I'll have to try and catch it tonight. I could use a break from the war. :cool:

[572Daytona]

I'm going to try to catch it tonite as well, I like far east ones because I don't have to get up early in the AM to watch them live. I like the new qualifying format, it makes for some interesting strategic decisions regarding the fuel loads.

[HCS]

Unvailing the 2003. F1 Ferarri.
To help get us ready. http://www.ferrariworld.com/cmc_upload/1/610/858/097/PRE05_780.jpg

[Tom Brown]

Forza Ferrari.
I'm looking forward to them using the new car. :)

[twistedpair]

Sorry NASCAR, I still love ya', but F1 RULES!! What is the new qualifying format?

[572Daytona]

twistedpair:
Sorry NASCAR, I still love ya', but F1 RULES!! What is the new qualifying format? I'm not sure of all the details, I haven't kept up as much in the offseason as I should have, but I think the major change is that the fuel load that you qualify with is what you also have to start the race with. This means that you can gamble with a lighter load for better qualifying position but will have to stop sooner during the race and no one knows what that is until race time. The speculation with Alonzo winning the pole is that he has a much lighter fuel load than the Ferrari's, we will find out tonite.

[Tom Brown]

Yes. The same goes for the tires, suspension, etc.
After qualifying, the cars are impounded until the race with the exception of Saturday evening. The teams are allowed to roll the cars back to their garages for 3 hours so they will have something to impress the sponsors with when they stop by the pits. They aren't supposed to work on the cars, though.
There are two exceptions to this. The first is rain. If the event supervisors declare wet conditions, the team is allowed to change their tires and even suspension before the race to allow them to operate safely in wet conditions. The other exception is mechanical trouble. There are a bunch of bullets here but basically they are allowed to replace blown tires and such but only with tires that have at least as much wear on them as the tire that came off.

[572Daytona]

I wasn't aware of that about the tires, thanks for the info Tom. Does that mean that you can't change the type of tires during a pit stop either? Another changed that I noticed is that you now get more points for 2nd, 3rd ,etc. Which means that reliability and finishing in the points every race will become more important.

[Tom Brown]

I assume you mean change to tyres (I prefer the European spelling :D ) of a different compound in the pits. My understanding is that for a few years now, teams have had to qualify on the same type of tires they use in the entire race. The exception is wet weather tires.
Also, I believe there are only two dry weather compounds and one wet tire to choose from. Teams choose the dry weather tires prior to qualifying and they are stuck with the wet weather tire that has been provided by Bridgestone or Michelin. This is new. There used to be 3 tire compounds and two wet tires to choose from. This was done as part of a cost control program they're working on.
Also, they have banned two way telemetry. Last year, David Couthard won the Monticarlo GP because the boys in the pits were able to work around some engine problems for him. Controlling in car systems from the pit has been banned but I believe the telemetry will still go to the pits for a few races.
Lastly, they have banned traction control starting with the European races.
There were a lot of dramatic rule changes that happened at the last minute. I'm just glad they didn't go ahead with the idea of adding weight to cars based on standing. It can't be that hard to beat Schumacher... oh wait, I guess it is. :D
[ March 22, 2003, 05:39 PM: Message edited by: Tom Brown ]

[Tom Brown]

Oh ya... points now go to the top 8 positions.
If anyone is interested, there is a contest on newsonf1.com in which you pick the top 8 finishing positions as well as pole. It's free to join and there are some modest prizes.
http://www.newsonf1.com/8npole/2003/register.htm
Btw, my brother is Goggles Pizano... currently in 3rd place behind two guys tied for the lead. :)

[burbanite]

Tom Brown:
Is anyone else here into F1? Ex McLaren mechanic here :)

[Tom Brown]

I guess that qualifies. :D
Hey, what's Ron Dennis like to work for? I've got the book “teamwork” by Gerald Donaldson. Ron seems like he would be a micromanaging type. It's clear that he's a man of principle. Anyway, with his winning record whatever he's doing he should keep doing.
I was really happy to see Kimi win. He's a fun driver to watch.
I like pretty much all of the drivers, although Villeneuve got on my nerves back when he was talking so much shit at Williams and I was pissed off at Alesi for running out of gas in the Benneton just to spite the team. I warmed up to Alesi again when he had a hard shunt and Donaldson caught him at a urinal and asked him if he was OK. Jean said, "I'm OK but any time you hit the wall it hurts. [zip]". :D
[ March 23, 2003, 05:10 PM: Message edited by: Tom Brown ]

[burbanite]

Tom Brown:
I guess that qualifies. :D
Hey, what's Ron Dennis like to work for? I've got the book “teamwork” by Gerald Donaldson. Ron seems like he would be a micromanaging type. It's clear that he's a man of principle. Anyway, with his winning record whatever he's doing he should keep doing.
I was really happy to see Kimi win. He's a fun driver to watch.
I like pretty much all of the drivers, although Villeneuve got on my nerves back when he was talking so much shit at Williams and I was pissed off at Alesi for running out of gas in the Benneton just to spite the team. I warmed up to Alesi again when he had a hard shunt and Donaldson caught him at a urinal and asked him if he was OK. Jean said, "I'm OK but any time you hit the wall it hurts. [zip]". :D I wouldn't say that he was a micromanager per se, he is very driven and particularly detail oriented.
When I was there he told us that he did not feel he was qualified to take the company to the next level, he had built it into what it was but needed help for the future. He head hunted Martin Whitmarsh from British Aerospace ,(if I remember correctly), to run the operations of the company on a day to day basis.
I really enjoyed working with his kind of thinking and that company is structured completely around his philosophies. Take a look at the new building:-
http://www.mclaren-paragon.com/
It is pretty damn special.
This is a guy who, when he took over the McLaren company, put all he had into it and had to live with the family of one of his employees because he had no house of his own. Now a very successful businessman, he started out as a race mechanic that had a vision.