usapang 2009 F1 season

[devdevlin]

mga mods kung meron na ganto topic paki merge na lang.

as the 2009 season is drawing near, and a couple of manufacturers have already launched their challengers here are my thoughts on how things are shaping up so far. kayo mga chiefs ano tingin nyo mangyayari ngyon season?

due to the new regulations, ang masasabi ko lang sa itsura ng F1 challengers now eh ang papangit nila. it looks more like an F3 than a proper formula 1 car. i understand the new rafts of changes were needed to cut down cost and introduce more racing. i am not a physicists nor an aerodynamicists, but i think if they could have left the rear wing alone it will still look proper. ok, go ahead with the lower and wider nose, slicks, lesser aero appendages, and smaller diffuser, but don't change the rear wings with a slender and higher one. eck - ang panget talaga ng itsura. i agree with xtian klien saying "it's the worst Formula One car I have ever seen".

ferrari - si kimi galit to for the dismal 2008 campaign he had. for me he's way better than massa kaya malamang lampasuhin nya yun this 2009. massa, throughout the years napansin naman ng lahat yun development ng raw talent nya by joining ferrari as a test driver. even as schumi's prodege, feeling ko kulang pa din to challenge the likes of a raikkonen or alonso for a straight fight. my opinion is just like DC in his 2001 campaign with mclaren, 2008 was the first and last season massa would have a crack at the drivers crown.

mclaren - cant say too much about this team. to be honest i really dont like hamilton that much. whether he challenges for the crown once again or not, ok lang. hekki on the other hand has been overshadowed by world champions during his 2 full seasons in F1 that's why it's quite understandable his difficulty to shine.

bmw - although a manufacture team, their chassis is holding them back. remember during early to mid 2000 that bmw was the highest revving engine on the grid at 19000rpm at 1000hp. the main reason why they called it quits with Williams was the chassis was not flattering the engine. hence the switch to sauber. though, as with previous sauber campaign which they performed so strongly during the 1st half of the season they tend to slip during the final races. the same thing is happening with bmw now with kubica being crtical of their performance dip after canada 2008. i would not be surprised if 2009 is no different.

renault - for me, si alonso ang pinaka-galit this 2009. after a dismal 2007 season with mclaren, and an under developed renault in 2008 he will charge for the drivers crown sabado pa lang sa Australia in march. everyone know's he's good, he knows he's good, his competitors know he's good, even people who do not like him knows he's good. i would like to see a straight battle with kimi and alonso given that renault have developed a good challenger. they should have as Alonso has they strongest technical background in the current grid. he knows whats wrong with a car and knows how to improve and develop it as the season goes. this was the achilles heel of fisi during 2007. he didn't have the technical knowledge Alonso brought in so the car was never got developed. for piquet, im surprised hindi pa sinipa ni flavio to mid-2008 tapos ngayon renewed pa kontrata nya. the only thing this guy has going for him is his last name - that's it. dapat may 3 race clause sa kontrata nto eh na pag hindi nya madikitan si alonso sisipain sya palabas ng team.

williams - the last remaining hardcore racing privateer team in the grid in my opinion. it's disapointing to see the current state of the team after losing bmw a partner. lets not forget that williams were dominating the sport back in the 90's as with ferrari and mclaren are doing now. they should get their act together and produce a decent challenger to retain the services of nico. unlike piquet, nico carries his name well with his ability inside the cockpit. its understandable that nico is starting to weigh his options with other teams as his machinery isn't flattering his abilities one bit. though, with the ratifications of the rules, everyone starts with a clean slate with the 2009 challengers. it's gonna be interesting what williams has created, i will not be surprised if they produce a car which can challenge the likes of ferrari and mclaren. for me, the big 3 will always be ferrari, mclaren and williams. as a customer engine supplier, i question what will happen to toyota pag nilampaso sila ng williams this 2009. cant say much about nakajima, not much impression was made during the last season sad to say. if it wasn't for the toyota backing nakajima brought, i would rather have watched takuma any day.

red bull - mark webber will be the yard stick for vettel. will he perform the same as he did in toro rosso given the lack of power the renault engine is giving compared to the ferrari? or will it be the other way around? malalampaso kaya ni vettel si webber. though, in the back of my mind webber might become the dark horse for the 2009 campaign flattering a chassis by making it go faster than it should. remember 1999 when schumi broke his leg? he came back with dominance winning back to back to back championships. wala lang, baka kasi yun common denominator by being a back to back champion - breaking a leg muna hehehe

toyota - feeling ko this will be the final season for toyota whether they get their maiden win or not. they have been in the sport since 2002, and after billions and billions of dollars spent they really have nothing much to show for it. if i were trulli or glock, id weigh other options with other teams as early as now.

torro roso - in my opinion signing buemi was a lousy mistake (eto ang squatter ng 2009 grid). remember due to the new regulations, everyone starts from scratch for producing their challengers for 2009. you will need an experienced driver to help the engineers and mechanics to develop the car throughout the season. though i also think it was more of a PR move to keep the red bull bosses happy by signing one of their own. i do not think torro roso would consider developing their car as they have accepted long before that they are F1's back markers whether they had their maiden win in monza last year. also as they will be receiving customer chassis from main team red bull, i think rather than pulling their resources developing and improving their car iasa na lang din nila yun. i feel for bourdais as he had been left hanging for so long by torro roso bosses on who would be signed. as multiple champ champion i know he had numerous options to go racing back in the US, but as the announcement of the signing of beumi was made so late, i'm certain his chances are now dwindling to get a drive in other series. i doubt he will be signed for the final seat in the team even with his improved performance during the closing stages of the 2008 season. for most people in the paddock, they would rather see takuma race once again rather than bourdais.

honda - i doubt they will find a buyer in 2 months to line up in Australia. best for jenson is sit out this season and make a comeback in 2010. i do believe that jenson is comparable to a raikkonen or alonso (and way better than hamilton) given some decent machinery. it would have been interesting if he handn't left renault in 2003. i believe that he and Alonso developed that car helping the team win their back to back championships. he didn't get the chance to help develop honda as a the team themselves have admitted that they produced a horrible car to begin with by getting their measurements wrong when producing their chassis in 2007. hence the appointment of ross brawn the following season - but he is no magician that can turn around a team quickly which is obviously light years behind the sharp end of the grid. as for rubens, his best chance for the championship was with Ferrari. but due to the schumi effect, he will always be number 2 as long as he is a signed racer with the team. better for rubens is to retire and hone new drivers back in sau paulo.

force india - i do not understand why vijay mallya fired Mike Gascoyne. the same person that produced the ferrari killer renault that alonso used for his back to back championships in 2005-2006. perplexing sobra! is he crazy like the toyota bosses in japan? not because you have billions and billions of dollars can you produce a car to challenge at the sharp end of the grid in 1-2 years. only since 2001 since i've begun watching F1 religiously, and even i know that is an unheard of feat. from the start of the 2008 season they have been the most improved team shaving off 2 (or even more) seconds in their lap times towards the end. that in itself is unbelievable, but they did it due the the vast technical knowledge of Mike Gascoyne. i do not believe that fisi has done much to help develop that chassis given his history with renault. crazy... talagang crazy yun pag tangal kay gascoyne.

ow well, i'm still excited for the 2009 "F3 looking" F1 season come march. once again it be a toss between wwe smackdown and the live broadcast come sunday evening cheers!

[batangmahal]

Formula One: Wins not points to decide F1 title

Agence France-Presse | 03/18/2009 9:33 AM


PARIS - Formula One chiefs ruled on Tuesday that as of this season the coveted drivers' championship title will be awarded to the driver who wins the most races, and not he who collects most points.

The dramatic move is part of reforms aimed at giving a new lease of life to the troubled sport that has been badly hit on the one hand by the world financial crisis but also by processional races with little overtaking.

Under the new rules if two or more drivers finish the season with the same number of race wins, the title will be awarded to the driver with the most points, the allocation of points being based on the current 10, 8, 6 etc. system.

The decision was one of several made at a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Tuesday, a meeting called to "help reduce costs and increase interest in the FIA Formula One World Championship" according to a statement released by the FIA, world motor sport's governing body.

"The WMSC accepted the proposal from Formula One Management to award the drivers' championship to the driver who has won the most races during the season," added the statement.

"If two or more drivers finish the season with the same number of wins, the title will be awarded to the driver with the most points, the allocation of points being based on the current 10, 8, 6 etc. system.

"The rest of the standings, from second to last place, will be decided by the current points system. There is no provision to award medals for first, second or third place. The Constructors' Championship is unaffected.

"The WMSC rejected the alternative proposal from the Formula One Teams' Association to change the points awarded to drivers finishing in first, second and third place to 12, 9 and 7 points respectively."

Had the new rules been in place in 2008, Britain's Lewis Hamilton would have lost the title to runner-up Brazilian Felipe Massa, whom he pipped on the final bend of the final race of the season.

Nelson Piquet of Brazil would have lost all three of his titles, Stirling Moss would have become the first British world champion, and Ayrton Senna would have won the 1989 title, giving the legendary Brazilian four consecutive wins between 1988 and 1991.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has welcomed the new rules. He said: "If I need a gold medal to win the championship, I will overtake. It's just not on that someone can win the championship without winning a race."

Ecclestone added to BBC Radio 5 Live: "If you're in the lead and I'm second, I wouldn't want to risk falling off the circuit or doing something stupid to get two points."

This year's Formula 1 championships comprises 17 races starting with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 29 and ending with the new Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 1.

The FIA also announced it would publish the weights of the cars after qualifying for each Grand Prix. That could give a clue to which teams are using the optional kinetic energy recovery system (Kers).

[4agze]

I have mix emotions on some of the new rules, but i like the slicks are back and interesting how the new KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) will come in to play.

[tidus1203]

I know its controversial but I think its a good idea to put pressure on people to go for the win instead of settling for the safe 2nd and 3rd places which happen last year a lot...

[CVT]

^^^
Unless you have another occurrence of a MS-Ferrari tandem where the season's WDC winner is decided on the first few races....

Looks like they do not expect this to happen in a long time.....

7707:band:

[CVT]

I am not commenting on the teams' capabilities until after I see the first few races. The changing landscapes on tyres, (use of) KERS and diffuser have altered a lot of factors vs. last year.....

7707:band:

[Horsepower]

This should have been implemented a long time ago. It's really weird for a champ not to have the most wins (like hamilton vs massa).

[tidus1203]

^^^
Unless you have another occurrence of a MS-Ferrari tandem where the season's WDC winner is decided on the first few races....

Looks like they do not expect this to happen in a long time.....

7707:band:

Well if you dominate like MS-Ferrari did in the early part of this decade then you truly deserve to be champion. I mean one can only become champion past the mid-way point of a season (assuming you have won every single race until that point) with this new rule. If your opponents still can;t find an answer mid season with your dominance then its fair for you to be called champion.

[niky]

The rule is pretty stupid.

The past three or four seasons have gone down pretty much to the wire. People were fighting for points till the end... and it's only in the very last race that the last two seasons have been decided.

If you apply this rule, retroactively to the past twenty season of Formula One, as a friend on another board did..., it would actually make nine of those seasons considerably shorter.

In other words, the winner would have been decided by just over halfway through the season.

Think of it this way... how would you feel if Ross Brawn GP (formerly Honda) sacrificed all 8 of their engines for the season within the first nine races by running them at extreme full power and won all those races... then sat out the rest of the season not racing, but still win the championship?

Many of the teams and drivers are against this rule. This means that one guy could drive very inconsistently all year and still win the championship. In other words... not having to fight for position. It's the fights for position that makes F1 interesting... where Kimi or Lewis gets a bum qualifying, then has to drive balls out to eke out a few points from a miserable start.

And how about teams in the back? Part of the excitement from F1 last year was teams like STR and Renault making a surging comeback in the latter half. And part of it was having four guys in contention for the title by a little over halfway through, and three guys in mathematical contention by the last three races, and two guys neck-in-neck at the last race. With the rule in place last year, it would have been down to a two horse race by the last half of the season, and decided way before Brazil.

My take: if a team or driver slacks off in the later half of the season... they deserve to lose their place to someone else. Period. F1 is all about excellence and consistency. Real bull**** rule. Hope it's overturned.

[Horsepower]

That's the dilemma. It's banking on the assumption that the teams would scramble to win and hopefully the results would be spotty. If all the other teams are lame (like during the MS-Ferrari domination), it would be boring because the season would get cut short. They are probably hoping that the teams would do and sacrifice what they can to win which would lead to crashes (which of course makes the extreme sport exciting).

However, championship losers can also vie for 2nd and 3rd with much much more prizes and benefits to make it worth fighting for or something to that effect.

The point system isn't perfect either. It makes the GPs all too boring because of the procession.

There must be a better way.