Here we go! The first race weekend of the 2008 FIA Formula 1 Championshnip is under way - and boy is it gonna be good.

We've got new teams, new drivers and new rules, all meant to make the spectacle even better than it was last year.

The banning of traction control means that a fast lap time is more up to the driver now - and less up to all the computers on the cars. Driver errors are more easier to induce which is meant to make for some great under-pressure racing.

This weekend, Ferrari and McLaren went into the race as clear favourites to lock out the front two rows - but that's not how it happened.

A fuel regulator failure for reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen meant him and his Ferrari will start from 16th on the grid after his car ground to a halt near the pit lane entrance.

But, an absolutely brilliant lap from Hamilton scored the pole position - but the ever improving Robert Kubica in his BMW Sauber F1.08 would have nicked it if it wasn't for a slight oversteery moment coming out of Turn 12.

New boy Kovalainen starts the race from 3rd place, one spot above Massa - who's Ferrari, extremely quick, in winter testing, did not shine today.

A brilliant qualifying session with yet again more bad luck for Mark Webber - brake failure -, but a very exciting one at that.

_

P1:
http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=41944

P2:
http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=41946

P3:
http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=41964

Qualifying report:
http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=41967

For me, the cars looked brilliant out there, sometimes sliding all over the place. It just looks generally fast and it's shaping up to be a great race.

So, post away your thoughts on everything and get ready for 2008! :)

I'll be going to bed nice and early tonight so I can watch it live. I'm hoping Webber can make up a few more places.
I'll also be watch the BMW's with interest, I saw a bit of an interview earlier today with one of the drivers saying their car was almost improved with the lack of TC.

I'll be going to bed nice and early tonight so I can watch it live. I'm hoping Webber can make up a few more places.
I'll also be watch the BMW's with interest, I saw a bit of an interview earlier today with one of the drivers saying their car was almost improved with the lack of TC.

The lack of TC really showed what drivers are really gutsy. I was extremely impressed when Kubica went off and still kept his foot on the throttle. He might have beat the great Lewis Hamilton for pole position.

I will be watching it live.

The lack of TC will show who has good car control and who cannot. Kubica was unlucky to miss out on pole but the pace of the mclaren could have beaten Kubic's time even with out the error.

I was very happy to see Raikkonen break down and miss out on Q2 & Q3 as it was a really good moment and i hope 1 of many failures for ferrari to come this season. Webber was unlucky to spin out, but when a brake disc explodes their really aint much you can do.

Kovalainen was impresive on his mclaren debut but piquet jnr was terrible, he had no pace but the renault was off form last season and looks to be suffering the same fate, their 2yr old driver (aka alonso) wasn't much faster. Force India was impresive but with Fischella they could improve. Super Aguri only just scraped though to get to Austrailia as the just secured a deal with the Magma group and barely did any testing as a result so they are bound to be off pace.

Hopefully Mclaren can get a 1-2 and BMW get a car on the podium.

Ah, I dunno who to back; the up and coming Brit Hamilton or the BMW representative Kubica!

Qualifying was interesting though

Wow with 25 laps left, cars are dropping out left and right. Half the field isn't running. Looks like the Silver Arrows will sweep.

My two favorite drivers got knocked out in the first minute or so, and with Hamilton up so far I think I can go to bed.

Holy cow, Timo Glock just failed his pilot lisence with a hard landing that absolutely destroyed his car. He hit a small berm that sent him flying. Then, what were you thinking HONDA! Lolipop man too trigger happy and fuel man got pulled along, and then Rubens runs past the red lights at the end of pit road, this equals a DQ. So with 11 laps left we have 13 cars out.


Edit:

14 cars out and possibly 15 with Kubica done and Nakajima with damage.


Edit 2:

Raikkonen off the pace!

What an interesting race. All the names down the bottom of screen go hamilton ...... out out out out out out. Its pretty humourous.

Yep, its official, Raikkonen out. If Rubens does get DQd only 7 cars will finish this race and Bourdais will get a top 4!

EDIT: OOOOOOHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOO WITH 2 laps left Bourdais BLOWS UP!!!!!!

Bourdais now out.... another down.

1. Hamilton

2. Heidfield

3. Rosberg

HELL YEAH!!! 6 Points to Rosberg, 8 points to Williams! I am so happy :D

(I might do something more detailed later on...maybe)

WOOT ... Long Live mclaren!

I'm surprised on Bourdais' performance since this is his first ever race for Formula 1.


EDIT: Just realized that there were alot of cars that retired.

I was worried all the cars would break down and i would have to watch hamilton run across the finish line..... :)

Anyone think they have forgotten how to drive safely since Brazil? 8 cars left! Oh dear :S

^^ Probably due to the fact that TC has been removed. Along with engine brake mapping.

Hell YEAH !! What a Gran Prix !

Six cars left, Hamilton unbeatable, Rosberg & Bourdais promisingly quick, great over-taking, big crashing... fantastic !

Damn the time zones to hell. This race sounds to have been interesting... only six cars left! That's like some Disney racing game for Playstation One... completely surreal.

But I didn't get to see it. It was boardcasted live at like 5 AM-ish.

What a race! Only 8 cars finished?

Glad to see Ferrari (aka F.I.A Arse Lickers) failed.

1 of many this season i hope. Glock somehow launched his car of a service road which chouldn't normally be able to do that, supprised it never rolled. Massa got a little to throttle happy at turn 1 and hit the wall, then took out coulthard.

A mclaren won thats the main thing.

Raikonen's driving was pretty poor so was Ferrari during the whole weekend... They better step their game up, because McLaren was just cruising.

What a race! The whole race was just action packed. The fact that only 8 cars made it till the end is just amazing, it seems that the ban of TC and engine braking has made a significant impact on F1.

Ferrari was just filled with bad luck this weekend. First it was Raikkonen with his fuel pump problem and then it was Massa who spun on the first corner damaging his front wing and then his incident with DC. Hopefully they will get back into momentum in Malaysia.

Also Timo Glock's crash was just spectacular. He just went up into the air and landed hard on his front right tyre, looked like fun. :p

Very nice race. It seems like Kimi was hit hard by the lack of TC. I was impressed by the performance of the BMW's and Williams today. Honda seems to have improved a fair bit over last season as well. I think its got to do with the new paint job. Still doesn't hold a candle to the lucky strike of 06.
Good to see Hamilton got a good lead over the Ferraris. Though I'm not sure if he will need it this year. I'm really hoping its a Mclaren, BMW and Williams battle.

It also seems like the rookies and younger drivers coped with the swap to driver control better than the more experinced drivers like Kimi. Does anyone remember when TC was first introduced?

So 7 cars finished, 6 if you exclude Barrichello.
What a race, and If this is anything to go by, Sepang could give similiar chaos.

Well done to the top 3 drivers. Probaly the only ones that had a care free day, and all 3 completly deserved it. But Kovy should've been there, he held 2nd perfectly, and then Glocks crash brought out the safefy car.

Speaking of Glock, poor Glock, not the best way to start of his comeback. demoted 10 places, and then that mad crash. he didn't even hit the wall or anything. Very unfortunate.

As for Ferrari. Could it have gone worse. Massa messed up come first corner, while Kimi had the perfect start, and then went around both Alonso and Coulthard. But from there it got worse. Massa did well fighting back, picking off drivers very well, until coulthard.
To be honest, that was more Coulthard than Massa, Massa couldn't have done anything more there. He was already half on the grass.
Of course then Massa's engine failed.

Kimi had a near equally bad day. Going off on turn 3 twice, very lucky to have kept it going. He really messed up at the end, and then like Massa, his engine failed.

I personally don't like Bourdias much, but he really deserved 4th, I wouldn't blame him for going mad after his STR came to a halt.

Which brings up an interesting point. Not one ferrari powered car finished the race. Bourdias, Massa and Kimi all had engine failures. While the other 3 never had a chance to get as far as failing.
Clearly, somthing went wrong with Ferrari engines this weekend.

BMW seem to deffinetly have less pace during the races, but still. Deffinetly they'll win a race. Heidfeld drove a perfect race, staying clear of any and all troubles. So a 2nd place well deserved.
However, Kubica had less luck. He got stuck behind Bourdias which ruined his strategy, and then ended being hit by Nakajima.

Williams the only team besides McLaren to have both drivers finish, and Rosberg was on the podium, yeaaaaaaaah. At last.
Nakajima though, I've already heard a few drivers mention Nakajima in their "why I didn't finish story" The main one being Kubica. But he gets a 10 place penalty next week.



So to the sum up
No TC proves to be more of a probelm than thought, so I'd expect more this action throughout the season, espically at places like Monaco, Hungary and Montreal.
Even the heat of Sepang could prove troublesome.
So i think that consistency will play a huge role this year, meaning that teams like McLaren and Ferrari could expect a threat from BMW and Williams etc despite being faster

From a Williams perspective:

The new car seems to be a definite step up from the FW29, though in such a race it is a tad unclear as to where the car's definite pace is in relation to everyone else. Nice to see that the car didn't fail under such extreme heat, and the pace seemed really good.

Rosberg had an almost perfect run. Jumping up to 4th (thanks to Massa slightly) after turn 1 was a dream start, and to hold on to get 3rd and 5th fastest lap is very very good.

Nakajima had a pretty ordinary race, and is notably slower than Rosberg. He's also a bit clumsy around the track; something that will probably disappear from him as the season goes on.

Even the heat of Sepang could prove troublesome.

The ambient temperature in Melbourne was about 38ºC (100ºF), with track temperatures before the race started of 51ºC (124ºF). In Malaysia, at this time of the year it gets to about 30-32ºC (86º-90ºF), but it's fecking humid, so it'll be a tad cooler in terms of temperature at Sepang then it was in Melbourne.

I've updated the Dream team thread.
http://sportscarforums.com/f18/f1-dt-offical-score-thread-24588.html

I'm not a huge fan of this new brand F1. I liked F1 a lot for the technological advances and how clean the races were in terms of limited number of safety cars and crashes.

But when you're left with 33% of the original grid, it changes my opinion of F1 all over again.

I'm sure it'll take a few races to adjust to it, but I don't like the idea of lower teams getting points just because the grid is being reduced.

Man, I feel like a fool for going to bed from what I hear.

I honestly thought Raikkonen had a good shot at first but he really flew into that corner and couldn't brake in time.

I'm not a huge fan of this new brand F1. I liked F1 a lot for the technological advances and how clean the races were in terms of limited number of safety cars and crashes.

But when you're left with 33% of the original grid, it changes my opinion of F1 all over again.

I'm sure it'll take a few races to adjust to it, but I don't like the idea of lower teams getting points just because the grid is being reduced.

But that is assuming that all retirements were due to the absence of traction control, which is just not true.

Raikkonen, Massa and Bourdais had engine problems (although Bourdais was classified), Sato had a transmission problem, Sutil had a hydraulics problem, Trulli had an electrical problem.

Of those that had accidents, the accidents of Glock (kind of maybe), Kubica, and Coulthard were not due to no traction control at all.

So, in effect, the only retirements that were no-traction control related were the ones that occured at the start and Piquets eventual retirement, which accounts for 6 retirements out of 22.

Besides, why does the idea of lower teams getting points bother you at all? It's not as if they are going to be challenging the front runners over the length of the season anyway. They're still as fast/slow as they are, they just get a handful of points for their troubles. Then over the next 5 or 6 races, they are no where near the points. It's just the nature of the sport.

Man, I feel like a fool for going to bed from what I hear.

I honestly thought Raikkonen had a good shot at first but he really flew into that corner and couldn't brake in time.

And so you should! lol

Funny you should say something about missing the race. I was going to go to the race (as I'd been every other day), but it was seriously hot all weekend, and I had enough of it, so I decided to stay home instead. Funny that the race turned out to be a cracker, and a Williams got onto the podium!

I thought Raikkonen was a great chance as well. He was really putting in some great pace, but those two mistakes were really, really bad for him. The first, putting it on the grass on the outside, probably shouldn't of happened, and the other baffles me; how and why he was so late on the brakes I do not know.

In any case, I think Malaysia should bring everyone into some more constructive order, and the bonus is, is that it's only a week away! :D

Right lets get it out of the way:

DON'T JUDGE THIS SEASON ON THIS RACE PEOPLE !!!!

Another one:

HAVE A LAUGH 'WONDER KID' FANBOYS, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TOO :mad::rolleyes: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I will some up this race weekend with one word: CRAP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Serously that race was exciting but damn Ferrari wtf are you doing ?????????

Massa out, Kimi out & they bring home 0 points from the race weekend !!!!!!!

Why do I get the feeling that will haunt Kimi :(.

Another thing why did pretty much all the drivers get bad luck but surprise, surprise the 'wonder kid' succeeds :mad:.

I am now going to drown my sorrows and dream of what could have been from this race :o.


I think its time I watch some hockey atleast I don't have to watch some big headed, arrogant british kid being all 'I'm the best, bow down to me ITV !!!'

I am not impressed as you can tell :mad: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hamilton was just cruising, don't be so jealous and angry just because the two cars of "your" team couldn't earn more points than ONE ToroRosso.

Raikonen and Massa's driving was filled with mistakes, they deserved nothing better.

Hamilton was just cruising, don't be so jealous and angry just because the two cars of "your" team couldn't earn more points than ONE ToroRosso.

Raikonen and Massa's driving was filled with mistakes, they deserved nothing better.

I don't support Ferrari, I support Kimi so where ever he goes I support his team, infact I hate Ferrari just has much as McLaren fanboys but because Kimi drives for them I obviously have to support them :).

I have to agree with you on the mistakes bit, I just put it down to pressure 'wonder kid' was at the front and didn't have to worry about getting past the next few cars to get some valuable points plus Kimi knew being the world champion he would have to perform big in this race especially, but lets be honest if Ferrari had no problems this race weekend I reckon Kimi would have been pole anyway so if anything it isn't Kimi's fault and obviously wasn't !!!!!!


But yeah I am seriously annoyed :mad::( !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nemphis, just remember since 2000 only two people have one the world championship without the season opener or Melbourne.

The first race was good and i was really impressed with Vettel, Glock and Bourdais. These drivers are really talented. I also really like Vette's driving style.

The safety car had a lot work to do in this race :p.

Nemphis, just remember since 2000 only two people have one the world championship without the season opener or Melbourne.

hahaha, kick him while hes down Lambo. :p

Then again, didn't only two people win the championship 2000-2006 ? Schumacher-Alonso ?

Am currently watching the Formula Hamiltone show..it's quite a good race, with loads of action. Traction control has made a massive difference and it will be interesting to see how that develops!

So, eh, hate to be an akward wet-towel fanboy, but I don't have cable, and couldn't watch anything.

What happened to JB and Rubens again?

What about Sato and the Super Aguri boys?

Sounds like it was exciting either way. Sorry I missed it.

So, eh, hate to be an akward wet-towel fanboy, but I don't have cable, and couldn't watch anything.

What happened to JB and Rubens again?

What about Sato and the Super Aguri boys?

Sounds like it was exciting either way. Sorry I missed it.
Eh, i didn't watch it either.

JB I believe had an accident and Rubens was disqualified for exiting pits @ red light when the safety car was out.

Super Aguri boys retierd as well.

Only 8 cars made it till the end of the race.

Basic cable... Man I haven't watched the F1 in so long... The last time remembered... I'm still on the years of 1997-1998... The years when Damon Hill, Jean Alesi, Jan Magnessen, Juarez Trulli, David Coulthard... mmmm... The last years of the V10 and V12... All I know its been about almost 9-10 years...

^^ Don't forget the flying fin, Mika Hakkinen!

I have to agree with you on the mistakes bit, I just put it down to pressure 'wonder kid' was at the front

I don't know what your problem is with Lewis but you sound a lot like my flatmate who seems to be against this talented driver because his beloved Alonso didn't have it all his way last year. He's jealous and sounds to me like you're the same.

and didn't have to worry about getting past the next few cars to get some valuable points

That was because he was on pole. Of course he didn't have to think about passing people. That could have been said if it was vice versa but its still a ridiculous thing to say because obviously Hamilton would have driven harder if he had cars to pass.

plus Kimi knew being the world champion he would have to perform big in this race especially

You seem to like your one-sided Ferrari views. Do you consider that Hamilton would have pressure on him also? He's thrown into the deep end the year before, drives the best rookie season ever and after his team lets go of a two-time world champion in favour of him, you think that only Kimi would have pressure on him. I would have felt Lewis would have more pressure on him.

but lets be honest if Ferrari had no problems this race weekend I reckon Kimi would have been pole anyway so if anything it isn't Kimi's fault and obviously wasn't !!!!!!

So what you're saying is that if Ferrari have no more problems, Raikkonen is going to be pole in all the remaining races and win everything? Please. Stop defending him. He's a big boy and we all know it was a technical problem he had but too make him out to be invincible if his car was reliable is ridiculous.

I fell asleep during the qualifying and the race (I was out both nights and alcohol makes me sleepy) but I watched them the next day and it was a thrilling weekend. Felt a bit sorry for Kubica in his Q1 hot lap where he overcooked the corner but it was a good under-pressure lap for Hamilton for pole. Great race by Heidfeld and Rosberg and I love the decision to rid of TC. Much more interesting to watch all that extra movement in the cars.

So, eh, hate to be an akward wet-towel fanboy, but I don't have cable, and couldn't watch anything.

What happened to JB and Rubens again?

What about Sato and the Super Aguri boys?

Sounds like it was exciting either way. Sorry I missed it.

You can be proud of your Hondas. Barichello was running strong, I think he was on to finish 6th, before his team made the stupid decision bringing him in at the wrong time. To add to this, he took a few mechanics with him on his way out of the pits (due to a mistake from the lollipop man) BEFORE ignoring the red light and exiting back onto the track (although I do think he genuinely forgot this).

Button was out in the first round, but I don't think it was his fault.

Aguris were quite hopeless. One broke down, and one crashed. They didn't qualify very high either.

You can be proud of your Hondas. Barichello was running strong, I think he was on to finish 6th, before his team made the stupid decision bringing him in at the wrong time. To add to this, he took a few mechanics with him on his way out of the pits (due to a mistake from the lollipop man) BEFORE ignoring the red light and exiting back onto the track (although I do think he genuinely forgot this).

It wasn't the decision of the Honda engineers to bring him, he had to be brought in. He was scheduled to go in on that lap, and unfortunately for the team, the safety car came out on that lap, forcing the team to refuel when they were not allowed to.

Further to that, I guess the team were very eager to get the car out, and so the lollipop guy preempted the fuel hose pullout, but was a fraction to quick.

As for the light, as Barichello explains here (http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2008/03/18/barrichello-i-never-saw-a-red-light/), apparently it is very hard to see the lights at all based purely on their location. I guess it wasn't something neither him nor the team were prepared for, so none of the team looked out for it, and Barichello couldn't see it much anyway.

Right lets get it out of the way:

DON'T JUDGE THIS SEASON ON THIS RACE PEOPLE !!!!

Another one:

HAVE A LAUGH 'WONDER KID' FANBOYS, YOU KNOW YOU WANT TOO :mad::rolleyes: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I will some up this race weekend with one word: CRAP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Another thing why did pretty much all the drivers get bad luck but surprise, surprise the 'wonder kid' succeeds :mad:.

I am not impressed as you can tell :mad: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Laughs

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Kimi had bad luck in Quali yeh, but in the race he was just plain poor. 2 big mistakes at the same corner, couldnt keep Alonso or Kovy behind him, that wasnt bad luck, that was him. Engine going at the end was bad luck, but he was stone cold last anyway.

"Wonder kid" drove a pretty much flawless race, his team played his pit stops perfectly, he handled 3 (i think) safety cars, why wouldnt he succeed? Cant you just accept that he is an extreemly talented racer and sometimes he is just better than Kimi?

"Wonder kid" drove a pretty much flawless race, his team played his pit stops perfectly, he handled 3 (i think) safety cars, why wouldnt he succeed? Cant you just accept that he is an extreemly talented racer and sometimes he is just better than Kimi?

You do realize that the negrito only has won when he leaves from pole. Anything else and he does absolutely nothing. On top of that if he was so damn talented why the hell did he single handed through away a championship he had pretty much locked down (China). So yeah he is a good driver I mean he is in F1, but he is far from being so talented as you guys make him out to be.

I absolutely LOVED the Aussie GP. So much action, so much tail wagging, so much CHAOS!!! That's the most chaotic race I've ever seen!!! (besides in 2007 in Nurburgring)

I am looking forward to the rest of the season, and most especially the Singapore night race!!!.....

You do realize that the negrito only has won when he leaves from pole. Anything else and he does absolutely nothing. On top of that if he was so damn talented why the hell did he single handed through away a championship he had pretty much locked down (China). So yeah he is a good driver I mean he is in F1, but he is far from being so talented as you guys make him out to be.

I would like to know what "absoloutely nothing" is if you don't win. Second? Third? And he's shown his talent elsewhere too, Formula 3 and GP2. China was a funny one, they took a chance on the extra lap, tyre wear got too much and he got himself beached. And he would have taken the Championship at Brazil after gearbox trouble even though he had already slipped to 8th after taking a corner too quickly and going off. To call him only a good driver is ridiculous, way to make other drivers who have competed against him sounded very average.

That's the most chaotic race I've ever seen!!! (besides in 2007 in Nurburgring)
....
I've got my fingers crossed for the same circumstances. c'mon, torrential flooding!!!!!

I just hope thay put extra plating on the tractor, they might need it:eek:

Am currently watching the Formula Hamiltone show..it's quite a good race, with loads of action. Traction control has made a massive difference and it will be interesting to see how that develops!

You would have thought ITV would have learnt from last year :confused:.

It seems like they haven't :rolleyes:.

I don't know what your problem is with Lewis but you sound a lot like my flatmate who seems to be against this talented driver because his beloved Alonso didn't have it all his way last year. He's jealous and sounds to me like you're the same.

That was because he was on pole. Of course he didn't have to think about passing people. That could have been said if it was vice versa but its still a ridiculous thing to say because obviously Hamilton would have driven harder if he had cars to pass.

You seem to like your one-sided Ferrari views. Do you consider that Hamilton would have pressure on him also? He's thrown into the deep end the year before, drives the best rookie season ever and after his team lets go of a two-time world champion in favour of him, you think that only Kimi would have pressure on him. I would have felt Lewis would have more pressure on him.

So what you're saying is that if Ferrari have no more problems, Raikkonen is going to be pole in all the remaining races and win everything? Please. Stop defending him. He's a big boy and we all know it was a technical problem he had but too make him out to be invincible if his car was reliable is ridiculous.

I fell asleep during the qualifying and the race (I was out both nights and alcohol makes me sleepy) but I watched them the next day and it was a thrilling weekend. Felt a bit sorry for Kubica in his Q1 hot lap where he overcooked the corner but it was a good under-pressure lap for Hamilton for pole. Great race by Heidfeld and Rosberg and I love the decision to rid of TC. Much more interesting to watch all that extra movement in the cars.

I'm just a Kimi fanboy (I openly admit it !) but I am nowhere near a Ferrari fanboy hell I hate Ferrari as much has a McLaren fanboy and I don't think Hamilton is that good :).

*Laughs

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Kimi had bad luck in Quali yeh, but in the race he was just plain poor. 2 big mistakes at the same corner, couldnt keep Alonso or Kovy behind him, that wasnt bad luck, that was him. Engine going at the end was bad luck, but he was stone cold last anyway.

"Wonder kid" drove a pretty much flawless race, his team played his pit stops perfectly, he handled 3 (i think) safety cars, why wouldnt he succeed? Cant you just accept that he is an extreemly talented racer and sometimes he is just better than Kimi?

We will see who is laughing after the Malaysian GP eh :D ?????????

You do realize that the negrito only has won when he leaves from pole. Anything else and he does absolutely nothing. On top of that if he was so damn talented why the hell did he single handed through away a championship he had pretty much locked down (China). So yeah he is a good driver I mean he is in F1, but he is far from being so talented as you guys make him out to be.

I gotta say I agree with you on that but isn't saying 'negrito' racist :confused: [-X.

I'm surprised on Bourdais' performance since this is his first ever race for Formula 1.

He's four times World Champ Car Champion, so he's no stranger to racing high powered, competitive cars. He's vastly experienced. To be honest I thought Bourdais would impress us, as he has done in his other races over in America. He knows what he's doing and I think the season bodes well for him.

Honda seems to have improved a fair bit over last season as well. I think its got to do with the new paint job. Still doesn't hold a candle to the lucky strike of 06.

It also seems like the rookies and younger drivers coped with the swap to driver control better than the more experinced drivers like Kimi. Does anyone remember when TC was first introduced?

I'm very very excited about this season for Honda. I mean, the RA108 was even keeping Raikkonen in a Ferrari at bay. They definitely seem to have a lot more pace than they had in testing (tests at Jerez have found over a second from the car), and the car they used in this race is only a base for the season, so the upgrades they put in as the season progresses will make the car even faster.

As for the paintjob yes, it is much much better. It looks like a racing car now instead of a walking planet. Last year, I bet the drivers didn't feel very F1-ey at all, so the paintjob this year will make them feel less like hippies and more like racing drivers.

But I have to agree with you on the Lucky Strike 2006 paint job, that remains my favourite paintjob and the RA106 is probably my favourite racing car of all time.

As for the TC introduction, I think it was at the start of the 2001 season, although I'm not entirely sure.

You do realize that the negrito only has won when he leaves from pole. Anything else and he does absolutely nothing. On top of that if he was so damn talented why the hell did he single handed through away a championship he had pretty much locked down (China). So yeah he is a good driver I mean he is in F1, but he is far from being so talented as you guys make him out to be.

1. Negrito is racist; if you don't have anything nice to say about Hamilton, then don't say anything at all.

2. Ha oh ha ha. ''Anyting else he does is absolutely nothing.'' Just because every day you dream of waking up next to Kimi does not mean you have to go and disrespect Hamilton's ability. Nurburgring 2007, stunning drive by Hamilton starting from 9th. Unlucky to get a point or more because of his decision to go onto the dry tyres before the track was ready for them. I'm 100% sure that if he had to calve his way through the field on one day, he will succeed.

3. Hamilton did not single handedly throw away the championship. Seriously, do you like, even watch F1 or just listen to what some biased media have told you? China, I admit, was a bit of a disaster from Hamilton's point of view, but Hamilton's gearbox failure in Brazil was the gearbox's fault, not Hamiltons. Without the failure I am positive he would have gained a sufficient amount of pounts to beat Kimi to the title on that day.

4. He absolutely crunched the field on Sunday and he was at one with the car and his ability pretty much held him on the track. And he wasn't even ragging it. How's that for talent.

_

I'll try not to make this too long winded as much of the main points of the race have already been said, but I want to add my own point of view:

What a fantastic race to start off the season. Good lap times, poor lap times, overtakes, crashes, drama, controvery, the lot.

First off a big congratulations to Hamilton. As I said before, he absolutely crunched the field on Sunday and he wasn't even ragging the car down the track. He made absolutely no mistakes in the race and it was a perfectly flawless lights to flag victory. Arguably even greater than his lights to flag victory in Hungary last year, when he lead every single lap of the 70-lap race.

But as I said, he controlled the race from start to finish and he was impeccable, and so was the McLaren car. Everything went well for him and in my opinion it is a fully deserved victory and it bodes incredibly well for the rest of the season. Albert Park is a tricky track so if he can get round that one, he looks good for the rest of the season. Well done Hamilton.

Kovalainen drove a great race and was terribly unlucky, as Glock thought driving on the road was boring and decided his car was a plane. He looked to have 2nd locked out but ended up 6th. A great battle with Alonso who himself was looking pretty drab at the start of the race but managed to get himself to gether and pick up 5th at the end, and unlucky to have passed him but get a gearbox full of neutrals on the straight, as Alonso passed him right back again.

Still, Kovalainen can take a lot of positives out of this race and I reckon that if Hamilton is going to win the championship, Kovalainen will be right there and he has a decent shot at taking the runner up spot. Who knows, if he gets his luck and does a great drive as he did on Sunday then he might have a shot at the title. We might have to wait and see.

Now Ferrari....Ferrari, Ferrari, Ferrari, what have you done? You bragged about your reliability being impeccable over winter testing but it's just as bad as it was last year. Fuel pump problem caused Kimi to stop in Q1 but he wasn't looking all that fast anyway. He managed to get his act together but to be honest, in my opinion, Kimi drove a half-arsed race in Australia. Over the whole weekend his performances were sloppy and him carelessly running his wheels over the grass causing him to spin and him braking a few millimeters before the corner apex were both sloppy aswell. Massa's engine failure was a grave disappointment for him but his race was over by the first corner as he spun. He wasn't looking particularly quick all weekend, either.

I think Ferrari should move on from this disaster and just look forward to Sepang.

BMW did very well with Heidfeld getting a well deserved podium, could be looking at some wins for this season. Kubica had a dreadful race as it went from bad to worse and he eventually retired in the end. But, they did show some good pace this weekend and if they can build on that, the races will be interesting.

Alonso did have a decent race with some good battles and 5th, but team-mate Piquet Jr was nowhere, qualifying 21st and eventually retiring I think? A weekend to forget for him, hopefully he can show some of the pace in the R28 that he did in 2006 in GP2.

Red BUll, DC fuming and rightly so after Massa punted him out at the first corner. More bad luck for Webber as he retired but some really promising pace from both of the RB guys.

Honda, so bloody unlucky with Button being sent off in the first corner, as he passed Alonso and another car and was bound to get some points but some people didn't get a good start and Button got in the mix of it. Glock's aeroplane sent out the safety car which meant that Rubens had to come in, and he ran the red light which was annoying. Bourdais, who was incredibly unlucky as he was 4th when his engine blew (drove a brilliant race), retired but was classified as 7th but Barrichello finished 7th on track? Don't quite get that one to be honest.

Force India, not the baptism VJM was hoping for, but good pace for them to build on, which is great. Super Aguri had a bad weekend but once they get their program up and running, they should be a lot better and on the pace.

Not many cars finished this race but it was still a cracker and I loved every second of it. Nice one Australia! :)

_

Race Report:

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=41989

As for the TC introduction, I think it was at the start of the 2001 season, although I'm not entirely sure.

'Twas 2001, but teams were running their own type of traction control systems prior to this. The FIA had no way of ensuring teams did not use traction control, so they decided to just allow it to prevent teams from bickering at each other for having it.

Now that we have a standard ECU, the FIA have much greater control on how much it can be modified, if at all.

Piquet retired after succumbing to damage he received at the start, I believe. How he ended in 21st on the grid is still beyond me.

Barichello may have finished 7th on track, but he was later disqualified for exiting the pit lane under reds (kind of like Massa at Montreal 07). Barichello reckons it is always hard to see the lights at the end of the pitlane, and I reckon none of the team were really expecting it.

By the way Benny, I think you forgot one awesome team run by one Sir Frank Williams. You know, the car driven by the young German who scored his first podium? ;)

Late to post here. Watched the start/press conference, then the replay the next day.

Lacka TC seemed to bother Kimi, but not others.

Timo Glock did a hard touch-and-go and broke the landing gear! I feel his back pain (daily)! (See: Joey Hand @ Mid-Ohio 2 yrs ago in a Rolex GT BMW.)

I was prepared to make "luzer" anti-French commentary about 4-straight Champ Car champion Sebastian Bourdais (known stateside, and heretofore only referred to in this forum as SeaBass). I was impressed. He jumped into the small pond with the big fish and looked like a serious, steady RACER (no doubt the STR guys popped a few corks...). Unlike most F1 rookies, he didn't come from some small-bore Euro F/"whatever" series. He's won with big power and ain't skeered of it. Watch this guy.

I was reading an interview with Bourdais before, he reckons, to no surprise, that the worst part of F1 is overtaking. He actually said that all he was doing was sitting back and waiting, "Like an endurance event", he said. That and the heat was effecting him, he reckons his head was "spinning". Also, on the start: "The car was heavy, I didn't feel it well, it was sliding everywhere, I couldn't get the tyres to warm up...".

He'll come good, should have a good future in F1 if he still believes it is the right place for him.

BTW, SeaBass? I am so using that!

First of all negrito is not racist when being used in a Spanish, so he will remain the negrito. Plus if i where to say 'el negro" then yes thats racist, but with the added "ito" at the end its all good, so you all know.

Second. i never said he was average I said he is a good driver, just not as talented or godly like as you guys make him out to be. I hate Kimi as well never liked his driving style, but he races for Ferrari, so what can i do.

And yes he did throw single handed the 2007 championship.. because like it or not he f**ked up in china, and he was going to win the championship there. So don't even start with Brazil, it was long overdone.

See the problem is all you guys think is that its his rookie year, well was, and its impressive, almost as if he had never driven before in his life. THE GUY HAS BEEN RACING SINCE HE WAS 4 YEARS OLD!!!!!! and still goes and pulls a China, thats pathetic. Hell on kimi's defense he has much less driving experience and at least has 1 world championship.

so yeah long live "el cavallo rampante".

Can we not go through this again? You don't think Lewis is as good as some people do, such an argument is never going to be resolved.

In other, more on topic news, information coming out of Malaysia has suggested that the failures suffered by Ferrari were not, in fact, engine related. If this is the case, then there will not likely be engine replacements for the two Ferrari drivers.

One article suggested it was an 'aerodynamic' problem, most probably due to the heat, but such a suggestion is a bit vague for my liking. Massa said they 'broke a valve' in the Thursday press conference, but I feel that if they were going to replace the engines, then I think such news would have been released by now.

You do realize that the negrito only has won when he leaves from pole. Anything else and he does absolutely nothing. On top of that if he was so damn talented why the hell did he single handed through away a championship he had pretty much locked down (China). So yeah he is a good driver I mean he is in F1, but he is far from being so talented as you guys make him out to be.

How is that bad?! He can get to pole, and keep it there a whole race!
He didnt throw it away, but his teams decision and his lack of experience let him down.
Also, 2nd, 3rd how is that nothing? You know he can overtake, we saw last year how good he was. Even the "mighty" Kimi was taken by Hammy in the overtaking move of the season. He can fight his way through the field, its just his driving and qualifying has been so good, and so consistent he hasnt ever needed to fight his way back from 12th because his driving let him down.

You would have thought ITV would have
We will see who is laughing after the Malaysian GP eh :D ?????????
Yes. Yes we will. :D

How is that bad?! He can get to pole, and keep it there a whole race!
He didnt throw it away, but his teams decision and his lack of experience let him down.
Also, 2nd, 3rd how is that nothing? You know he can overtake, we saw last year how good he was. Even the "mighty" Kimi was taken by Hammy in the overtaking move of the season. He can fight his way through the field, its just his driving and qualifying has been so good, and so consistent he hasnt ever needed to fight his way back from 12th because his driving let him down.




Ok first of all this is something all you fan boys need to understand . In a race team the final decision on tires is down by the DRIVER!!!. so no it was not the teams fault it was all his. And rookies my ass, he has been racing for his whole life, and China was well at the end of the championship, so he has experience. Once again i am not daying he sucks, its just i am getting tired of reading all the posts about how you guys think he is Juan Manuel Fangio's kid with Michael Schumachaer, and yet I have seen no championship. because remember Jacques Villeneuve, pulled a runner up in his first season and then came back to win the second, and I hear nothing from you guys on how good that dude was, and oh my god he is so talented and a wonder kid.

See the problem is all you guys think is that its his rookie year, well was, and its impressive, almost as if he had never driven before in his life. THE GUY HAS BEEN RACING SINCE HE WAS 4 YEARS OLD!!!!!! and still goes and pulls a China, thats pathetic.

Right, and the other drivers haven't been racing their whole life?

You do know that every single driver on the grid has had thousands of hours behind the wheel already? Don't try and fog us off saying he's been racing since he's four, they all have.

I can't believe you know so little about motorsport.

You're just digging yourself a hole, don't bother.

Right, and the other drivers haven't been racing their whole life?

You do know that every single driver on the grid has had thousands of hours behind the wheel already? Don't try and fog us off saying he's been racing since he's four, they all have.

I can't believe you know so little about motorsport.

You're just digging yourself a hole, don't bother.


Agreed, but the difference is I am not saying that such and such driver is the most talented person on the planet, and its his rookie year and Oh my God he is the best... Notice the difference. I follow a team not a driver, they come and go.

I follow a team not a driver, they come and go.

So what's the problem with other's following a driver? There are a good few flaws in your arguement but parts I do agree with. Yeah he hasn't won the championship but would Kimi had if Lewis didn't just hand it to him? You carry on supporting your team and let others support whoever they want, however they want.

Guys, when Alonso got Heikki back...it was because Heikki ripped his plastic coating from his helmet's visor and accidently hit the pit lane speedometer button. If Alonso hadn't of reacted that quickly, there would have been a MASSIVE accident. Alonso would have been accelerating to 180 km, while Heikki would have been slowing to just 80km.

Heikki was incredibly lucky that he had such a skilled, prepared & expericenced driver behind him!

It was indeed a nice reaction from Alonso, considering how fast the cars accelerate, and also decelerate! Alonso's lucky he wasn't searching for a pit-board when he was going down the straight :p

'Twas 2001, but teams were running their own type of traction control systems prior to this. The FIA had no way of ensuring teams did not use traction control, so they decided to just allow it to prevent teams from bickering at each other for having it.

Now that we have a standard ECU, the FIA have much greater control on how much it can be modified, if at all.

Piquet retired after succumbing to damage he received at the start, I believe. How he ended in 21st on the grid is still beyond me.

Barichello may have finished 7th on track, but he was later disqualified for exiting the pit lane under reds (kind of like Massa at Montreal 07). Barichello reckons it is always hard to see the lights at the end of the pitlane, and I reckon none of the team were really expecting it.

By the way Benny, I think you forgot one awesome team run by one Sir Frank Williams. You know, the car driven by the young German who scored his first podium? ;)

Thanks for explaining it all. It all made sense once I'd read all the stories on ITV's website. Next time I'll visit the website before I ask what the hell's going on! :p

And damn, I knew I forgot someone. :( Rosberg drove a brilliant race to him, fair play, and he's got his maiden podium. Onwards and upwards, I say! (and you hope! :))

First of all negrito is not racist when being used in a Spanish, so he will remain the negrito. Plus if i where to say 'el negro" then yes thats racist, but with the added "ito" at the end its all good, so you all know.

That's alright, but wouldn't it be easier just to write ''Hamilton'', or ''Lewis'', just so people are clear about who you're talking about?

And yes he did throw single handed the 2007 championship.. because like it or not he f**ked up in china, and he was going to win the championship there. So don't even start with Brazil, it was long overdone.

If you're not forgetting, there's a whole other race weekend after China. [Brazil.] Hamilton was in pole position to take the title in Brazil even after his Chinese mishap. The gearbox problem he suffered in that race was completely out of his hands; there was nothing he could do. Yes, he ran wide and fought with Alonso in the opening few turns more than what was necessary but he was calving his way through the pack like a knife through butter before his 'box gave him a whole load of neutrals. After that it was Kimi's championship to lose, not Hamilton's to win. If his gearbox hadn't broken then I'm pretty sure Hamilton would have just won the first race, in Australia, to defend his maiden title victory.

See the problem is all you guys think is that its his rookie year, well was, and its impressive, almost as if he had never driven before in his life. THE GUY HAS BEEN RACING SINCE HE WAS 4 YEARS OLD!!!!!! and still goes and pulls a China, thats pathetic. Hell on kimi's defense he has much less driving experience and at least has 1 world championship.

He started karting when he was 8, and as breakFan correctly said, so have all the other drivers [been racing from about the same time as Hamilton.] His Chinese race was not pathetic. Remember, he had only done 15 races prior to China; Kimi has done about 8 times as much, therefore he is much more experienced. If Hamilton came into the same situation this year, no doubt he will handle it better.

so yeah long live "el cavallo rampante".

I'm guessing that basically means ''The Prancing Horse''?

One article suggested it was an 'aerodynamic' problem, most probably due to the heat, but such a suggestion is a bit vague for my liking. Massa said they 'broke a valve' in the Thursday press conference, but I feel that if they were going to replace the engines, then I think such news would have been released by now.

Yes that's what I heard aswell, a valve problem. I'm with you on this one, a valve issue sounds much more feasible than an ''aerodynamic'' problem. Besides, all Ferrari will be wanting to do is forget about Australia and get both their title defences up and running this weekend in Malaysia.

And rookies my ass, he has been racing for his whole life, and China was well at the end of the championship, so he has experience.

Only 15 races' experience, which is much, much less than his title rivals going into China.

Once again i am not daying he sucks, its just i am getting tired of reading all the posts about how you guys think he is Juan Manuel Fangio's kid with Michael Schumachaer, and yet I have seen no championship.

Haha, you see no championship? If you haven't forgotten, he has only been in Formula 1 for ONE year. Trust me, Hamilton's name on the title is basically guaranteed. It's stupid to judge him on his championship winning ability over one season.

because remember Jacques Villeneuve, pulled a runner up in his first season and then came back to win the second, and I hear nothing from you guys on how good that dude was, and oh my god he is so talented and a wonder kid.

Yes, and that's because the Williams car was so so dominant. When he hopped into different machines he was pretty much nowhere. Even back in 2006 when the BMW Sauber F1.06 was mildly competitive, he was outclassed second to none by Nick Heidfeld who had less F1 experience than him.

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By the way, Malaysian GP will be up very very soon. :)