F1 2008 Megathread

Just saw the Friday practice times....bleh...Honda still about 2+ seconds off pace. :frown: Looks like the bunny ears aren't helping much. Maybe the rubber dildo or the a rubber chicken on the nose cone might have been a better option after all. :wink: :tongue: :biggrin:
 
navyflydoc said:
We have females flying F-18s. Why not F1?
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You are the one making it a sex issue, not me. So you want F1 to be politically correct now, have equal opportunity, maybe even have affirmative action? If so, as a "minority", get me a seat with Honda.

navyflydoc said:
We don't hand F-18 keys to cargo pilots and vice versa. All student aviators go through strict flight training curriculum regardless of gender. They are pre-selected to go jets, propellers or rotary aircrafts after completing a grueling preliminary pilot training. Only the top students in their respective peer group go jets.

They then have to elevate their performance to earn their wings and proceed to fly their platform specific aircraft. Each phase requires more advance training and dedication. No one ends up flying Hornets or Falcons "by mistake" or based on gender preference.....


.....
Danica Patrick would make an ideal fighter pilot. She has the mental and physical toughness. Skill wise, she is malleable and trainable.

If a championship driver such as Hans Stuck thinks that Danica Patrick has the talent to drive in F1 then I have no reason to doubt him.

No, I do not assume that it "...doesn't take much skills" to drive at 200+mph on oval track.

My point is this. Danica Patrick is a unique specimen. She has the right stuff, skillwise and mental fortitude. Plus, the huge advantage of weighing only 100-110 lbs. The fact that she is female is irrelevant. IT IS HER WEIGHT OR LACK OF WEIGHT THAT MATTERS THE MOST.

She has the foundation to be good in F1. I think the victory in the Japan Grand Prix is a huge validation of her skills.

The transition to road racing takes time. It's called practice, practice, practice. No one is born to be F1 driver. Even Senna had to practice.

If I were a F1 team owner, I would groom her first in F3 and allow her to learn the tracks and be comfortable with road racing and the culture of living in europe. Build her confidence with success in F3 and then graduate to F1. Surround her with good supporting cast members and see what happens.

In summary, it is very unusual to find a talented open wheel driver who weighs only 110 lbs. with huge mental toughness. I hope a top F1 team will give her the opportunity.
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As a Marine, I know the process to become a Naval Aviator and the airframe you get selected for. You've said it yourself, only those that show potential get selected for the more difficult airframes. Even then, being preselected doesn't mean you're gonna make the cut. You wouldn't want a pilot that couldn't cut it with fighter jets, now would you?

As for Danica, you keep preaching that she has the skills for F1, but then say that she needs grooming and has the foundation to be good F1 driver. I'm not saying she's a bad driver, I'm just saying she's not F1 material, and from the looks of it, i'm not the only one.
 
NSXrebel said:
You are the one making it a sex issue, not me. So you want F1 to be politically correct now, have equal opportunity, maybe even have affirmative action? If so, as a "minority", get me a seat with Honda.



As a Marine, I know the process to become a Naval Aviator and the airframe you get selected for. You've said it yourself, only those that show potential get selected for the more difficult airframes. Even then, being preselected doesn't mean you're gonna make the cut. You wouldn't want a pilot that couldn't cut it with fighter jets, now would you?

As for Danica, you keep preaching that she has the skills for F1, but then say that she needs grooming and has the foundation to be good F1 driver. I'm not saying she's a bad driver, I'm just saying she's not F1 material, and from the looks of it, i'm not the only one.
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You are correct, being preselected doesn't guarantee success. And no, I would not want unqualified people flying jets or any aircraft either. But that is exactly why we screen and preselect in the first place to increase the rate of graduation. Female pilots once winged and fully qualified in fighters mean that they made the cut. I'm not sure the reason for your argument. We are on the same page. The military has proven that gender is irrelevant in terms aviator selection.

As for D. Patrick, I said she has the foundation to be good in F1 not that she will succeed in F1. No one knows until given the opportunity. I'm just responding to people knocking her as an Indy racer without skills to drive in F1. If Hans Stuck said that she is "good enough to be in F1 " and Team Renault is interested then you can be assured that they have inside knowledge about her ability.

I'm not sure where you are going with the statement about me wanting F1 to be PC, affirmative action, equal opportunity..... relax, it's Hans Stuck and Flavio that are interested in giving her a chance dude.

As far as F1 material, If people think that she doesn't have it then it's an opinion and they will be proven correct if she actually fails in F1. But give her a break, she has not driven in even one event yet.

I might be wrong but I think her best chance to make it in F1 will be to get her feet wet first in F3, memorize the tracks and gain road racing experience. Win some races to boost your confidence. Afterward, perhaps jump into a top tier F1 team as a test driver then proceed to F1.

The same analogy holds for an experienced F-18 pilot crossing over to fly F-22 or C-130. He has to go back and re-qualify in the new aircraft. It doesn't matter if he's the best F-18 pilot in the universe. That means homework, practice in simulator and familiarization flights. You cannot expect people to succeed without breaking them in.

This is only an opinion, I think that there is a reverse biased perception toward Danica Patrick. Some people don't take her seriously because of her girly sexy image. If she were a male "Danny Patrick" and if Hans Stuck/Team Flavio say that Danny is good enough in F1, no one here will have any doubt concerning Danny's ability.
 
BTW NSXrebel, about your Honda ride. Actually, It's not a bad idea. Honda should consider giving it to you provided that you win an Indy race in Japan, obtain recommendations from Hans Stuck & Flavio and weigh 110 lbs.
 
navyflydoc said:
BTW NSXrebel, about your Honda ride. Actually, It's not a bad idea. Honda should consider giving it to you provided that you win an Indy race in Japan, obtain recommendations from Hans Stuck & Flavio and weigh 110 lbs.
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metallicblue.gif

Give it up already, you keep saying she has skills for F1, then go back to she has the foundation to be in Formula 1 racing. Bottom line, she doesn't have the skills to race in F1. You do know F1 drivers dominate lesser Formulas before graduating to Formula 1, right? Lewis Hamilton was champion in GP2 before moving on to F1, but look at him struggle now. And I have nothing against women racing F1. The more diversity, the better. Hell, I want more constructors to race in F1, like all major car Mfgr's.

And I'd like to add, she hasn't raced in F1 yet, but she has raced in road courses/circuits, and SHE admits she's not good at them. This is coming from her mouth.
 
docjohn said:
She is too old,and I think is rather getting used to eating steak.
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Not that that's a bad thing, right doc? :biggrin: regular colon cleansings should do the trick :rolleyes:

What's the line on successful moves from xx to F1 ?
- Alex Zanardi (2 time CART, etc)
- Juan Montoya (2 time CART, Indy 500)
- Michael Andretti (CART)
- Ralf Schumacher (JGTC)
- Mario Andretti - didn't really do that well
- Helio Castroneves (CART, Indy 500) - decided to try ballroom dancing instead
- Gil de Ferran (CART) - the Dilbert principle "promoted" him to "management"

At least 0 for 5 in terms of true success in F1... JPM had potential, but was eclipsed by others who had the patience, communications and temperament/judgement to stay in there (Button, Kimi, etc)

GP2 is arguably a more "direct" feeder series - cars are dimensionally identical to F1, comparable grip with less power; same tracks, get to watch/learn from the big dogs, learn the lines, learn momentum physics, etc. Witness how well Kubica, Heike K and others are doing.

Hami is arguably a true phenom, but he also had to benefit of getting "groomed" in the McL stables for many years. Plus he's a homey - Brit phenom in the Woking stables.... the second coming of Sir Jackie (!).

Speaking of the fast femme - I think Sabine would make a great test driver. Her extensive Nordschliefe background suggests that F1 tracks should be a no-brainer.
 
Didnt see the race but JB came in 6th!!! :eek: :biggrin:

Looks like most of the feild got beat down though...lots of retires. But who cares, points are points! :biggrin:
 
Seems like toyota felt sorry for honda so they called in trulli to pit for no reason.Anyone know how rubens lost his nose piece?
 
docjohn said:
Seems like toyota felt sorry for honda so they called in trulli to pit for no reason.Anyone know how rubens lost his nose piece?
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He ran into someone else coming out of the pitlane. So he had to do a full lap like that and come back in.
 
Re: Heikki's shunt

That looked potentially lethal with tires possibly hitting him in the head. I'd think the FIA would be revisiting tire wall design to keep the car from submarining under the tires.
 
docjohn said:
Seems like toyota felt sorry for honda so they called in trulli to pit for no reason.Anyone know how rubens lost his nose piece?
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Now that I think about it, if it weren't for that snafu, I think RB could have scored some points as well. He was only like 1 or 2 positions behind Button.
 
Re: Buh-bye is right

Sad to see the Super Friends go away. :(
 
Re: Buh-bye is right

It is a reality check. And the rules were changed knowing that this would be the end result. I'm not sure I understand Ekelstone, or his enormous prick of an ego, but he doesn't want any fluff on the track. Unfortunately, this is becoming more about big business and less about racing, and that only hurts the sport and it's patrons.

Everyday I seem to understand why more and more people are turned off of racing, open wheel in particular. I'd rather have a beer with Dale Ernhart than Kimi.
 
Juice said:
It is a reality check. And the rules were changed knowing that this would be the end result. I'm not sure I understand Ekelstone, or his enormous prick of an ego, but he doesn't want any fluff on the track. Unfortunately, this is becoming more about big business and less about racing, and that only hurts the sport and it's patrons.

Everyday I seem to understand why more and more people are turned off of racing, open wheel in particular. I'd rather have a beer with Dale Ernhart than Kimi.
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Yes but I would rather go to a gentlemans' club with kimi he has a ton of 20's:biggrin:
 
Re: Buh-bye is right

Juice said:
It is a reality check. And the rules were changed knowing that this would be the end result. I'm not sure I understand Ekelstone, or his enormous prick of an ego, but he doesn't want any fluff on the track. Unfortunately, this is becoming more about big business and less about racing, and that only hurts the sport and it's patrons.

Everyday I seem to understand why more and more people are turned off of racing, open wheel in particular. I'd rather have a beer with Dale Ernhart than Kimi.
Click to expand...

maybe he's just trying to get rid of backmarkers that cant and will never afford to be a front or mid runner. if this is the case it might make racing a bit more of a smoother ride and bit more competative for those front/mid runners who pit in mid race and are stuck behind those super slower private teams who block them for a couple laps and make them lose valuable time and prevent them from making that crucial pass which could help them reach a podium or points. The guys who are in the private teams hardly ever get any points and from my point of view i think they have no place racing in f1. They dont have the right funds to help them evolve and get to the level of any major car manufacturer. They only serve as barracades for for others and dont really benefit anyone. Not even themselves. It does suck to see teams disappear but maybe one day we'll see teams of 3 instead of 2. Imagine... kimi,massa,and kubica in the same team!!! Damm!!! I think teams of 3 will be way more competative with ofcourse no team orders involved. :cool:
 
Re: Buh-bye is right

jozer said:
maybe he's just trying to get rid of backmarkers that cant and will never afford to be a front or mid runner. if this is the case it might make racing a bit more of a smoother ride and bit more competative for those front/mid runners who pit in mid race and are stuck behind those super slower private teams who block them for a couple laps and make them lose valuable time and prevent them from making that crucial pass which could help them reach a podium or points. The guys who are in the private teams hardly ever get any points and from my point of view i think they have no place racing in f1. They dont have the right funds to help them evolve and get to the level of any major car manufacturer. They only serve as barracades for for others and dont really benefit anyone. Not even themselves. It does suck to see teams disappear but maybe one day we'll see teams of 3 instead of 2. Imagine... kimi,massa,and kubica in the same team!!! Damm!!! I think teams of 3 will be way more competative with ofcourse no team orders involved. :cool:
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I'm liking this idea. Teams of 3, and get a few more Car Mfgr's participating. Strategy will really come into play, trying to juggle 3 cars in the pit lane.
 
Re: Analyze this

Jozer, I follow what you're saying and on the surface it sounds OK, but let's see if your solution helps. We can't deny that the general concept of backmarkers is part of any road racing. The real backmarkers in F-1 are not the problem since they get out of the way of the leaders or are very easy to pass. The real "difficulty" comes when the leaders have to lap (or re-pass after a pit stop) the mid pack teams. So where would we draw the line? Taking your logic another step, only the drivers allowed to race would be those within, oh, say 1.0 seconds of the pole time. That way everyone (all 10? drivers) would have open track...............that is until the leaders come up behind one of the now, "new" backmarkers running 0.9 seconds slower than the leaders but still racing hard for points. I don't think the new backmarker is about to move over right away, so we're back to where we started. Which is what makes racing hard........and interesting.

my $0.02
 
Re: Whoa Nelly, what next?????

McLaren can't seem to get a handle on a setup that's easy on tires the way Ferrari apparently has. Hamilton had to do 3 stops because they abuse the tires so badly and he remarked that Bridgestone warned them about tire wear. And with that pit lane length, that's a pretty desparate strategy they obviously would have liked to avoid. :frown:

But hey, what a see-saw season. Hamo wins the first one, then it seems to be all Kimi, then Flippy comes on strong. And Kubica continues to lurk back in 4th the whole time. And Nando seems to come and go like the wind. And how about that side by side between Kovy and Glock right behind the Button-Piquet dice? And that's just the on-track fun. We've just about forgotten about the Mosley escapade. :rolleyes:

Pretty good "edge of your seat" stuff, no? :wink:
 
Re: Whoa Nelly, what next?????

I agree yesterday's race was a good one. Too bad for McLaren's pitstop strategy but even so Hamster was able to finish just 4 seconds behind Massa.

Good pass done by Hamilton and you did see more passing in this race than last season as a whole! Kimi seemed lazy at the start and was very lucky to escape without damage.

I'm glad to see Webber scoring points for Red Bull and I still think he's the most underrated driver out there - I wish he could get into a McLaren or Ferrari then he'd be on the mark. Maybe even with BMW next year?
 

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