Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

[MattS]

And off we go...........

[alfablue]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

One day, 11 hours, and just over 10 min to official practice #1- http://www.formula1.com/default.html

(now being 10:16 am EST, 3/7)

edit- since that's 9:30pm EST, we should be able to watch the practice, which was streamed online last season on Speed. Let's hope they do that again.

[solovsfett]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

ok, anyone but Vettel, stand on it boys!

[manurespreader]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

If I remember, someone was having huge problems in testing, I just can't remember who. BTW there is a track package available with tickets to monaco, where you get instruction and 4 laps on a test track in a current F1 car.

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

ok, anyone but Vettel, stand on it boys!

Hear! Hear!

Even Hamilton!

(That was for you Alfa!)

[alfablue]

Hear! Hear!

Even Hamilton!

(That was for you Alfa!)

Lol!!!

[alfablue]

If I remember, someone was having huge problems in testing, I just can't remember who. BTW there is a track package available with tickets to monaco, where you get instruction and 4 laps on a test track in a current F1 car.

Besides marussa and hrt, Ferrari appears to have a LOT of problems.

[solovsfett]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

Ferrari's problems are NO BRAUN!. they never adequately replaced him I feel.

I don't recall if I posted and now I can't find the article but I read that Robert Kubica cannot even lift a glass to drink with his injured arm. Apparently his hand was severed and re-attached. How awful. I fear and feel he may never compete again.

re: Indycar - http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/...coast-600.html

I'd LOVE it if they went back to Surfers. and w/Power, and Dixon winning the crowds I'd suspect would only be better

[Timothy A]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

Ferrari's problems are NO BRAUN!. they never adequately replaced him I feel.

I agree 100%. Braun is a genius, his record shows this, and when he and Schumi arrived they eventually got to a dominating position. Braun "retired" on his own, did he not? Ferrari are too full of themselves if they thought he could be easily replaced.

[alfablue]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

Just got to watch the first 30 min of practice 1. Wow, the cars are UGLY.

This search for downforce really makes for terrible looking cars.

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

What we have learned so far in Australia...

1. The field right now is apparently wide open. Although until qualifying nobody knows for sure how fast anyone really is.
2. Massa needs to show something very quickly or he is going to be replaced. I hate it, but he looked bad yesterday.
3. HRT should just fold. They are an embarrassment.

[alfablue]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

First real results in, Qualifying in Austraila

Hamilton
Button
Grosjean....

what? A "lotus"? Made that much more cuious since Roman's teammate, Kimi, qualified last of the normal teams- barely finishing ahead of Caterham in Q3.

Schumi
Weber
Vettel

I'll stop there for my Ferrari friends here... .

I know I'm a huge fan of McLaren at the moment. But for the sake of asthetics, I really hope that this speed trend is true- for a pair of low nose cars to be fater than the ugly step sisters....

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

Congrats to Button! He was very impressive today.

Clearly the RB's and the McLaren's are the class of the field at this time. Surprising pace by the Williams and Saubers.

Alonso showed (again) why he is one of the top two or maybe three drivers in the world. Taking that dog Ferrari to a 5th place finish.

After the race today I am afraid that my man Massa isn't going to finish the season. Maybe not even make it to the summer break if he doesn't show some speed very, very soon.

[solovsfett]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

that was a very interesting race. I'm happy for Button he was the class of the field all day.

The drop off from the Braun's was surprising to me, probably as surprising as the Red Bull cars playing 2nd fiddle to McLaren (I'd assumed they were sandbagging this whole time)

I like Bruno Senna and want him to succeed but if his teammate continues to outperform him as badly as he did in qualifying this may be Senna's final season in F1

Re: Massa, I agree, he's gone by June, though who they have waiting in the wings is up for debate

[alfablue]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2012: The year of the ugly cars!

Great race by Button- did a Vettel on the field- drove away, and just stayed there.

Based on Jensen's pace, I thought Hamilton would be able to get a bigger gap, but his driving style seems to be tougher on the tires. Even with the bad timing of the yellow, he should have been close enough to vettel to not let him pass.

All in all, I'm very happy with the pace of the McLarens- for myself as a fan, and for people with eyesight and taste.

For how well Button drove, Alonso had a great race- taking a bad car (as very illustrated by Masa), and running it that fast, that long, wow. If anyone is going to keep Ferrari's head above water, it will be Fernando.

Great race for Sauber and Williams. Great to see a Williams cars in the top 10 like that.

Schumi had a great drive, but what cause what - the off or gearbox?

Next week will be a lot of root growing in my seat- the replay of the f1 race AND the opening round of Indycar.