Formula 1

yes thought dela Rosa was fantastic, the pace of the mclaren was very impressive. To be honest, Im really starting to doubt Montoyas credentials, he came with so much promise and hype but he just hasnt delivered, this year is a big year for him.

As for the race, once again thought it was very good, the new regulations certainly make the latter stages of the race very interesting with drivers strugglin with all sorts of problems. I wouldnt necessary agree there has to be such a big diff in pace to pass, there prob has being more overtaking this year than in previous years. Plus bridgestone really need to get their act together if schumacher is gonna put in a challenge.

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Originally Posted by elroy

To be honest, Im really starting to doubt Montoyas credentials, he came with so much promise and hype but he just hasnt delivered, this year is a big year for him.

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Yeah, he didn't do much yesterday. ;)

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I wouldnt necessary agree there has to be such a big diff in pace to pass, there prob has being more overtaking this year than in previous years.

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But look at how much faster De La Rosa was when he got past Webber and the same with people getting by Barrichello.

yes but its kinda logic that hes gonna be slower behind a slower car(Im not being cheeky here). Martin Brundle has always maintained that changing the circuits to longer straights and wider more heavier brakin zones is the key to more overtakin and not so much changing the cars.

By the way, what do you watch GPs on now? Im with itv cos only have setanta when Im up here in dublin, I wonder do they have so many annoying ads during the coverage

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Originally Posted by elroy

yes but its kinda logic that hes gonna be slower behind a slower car(Im not being cheeky here).

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That's my point though, he was capable of going so much faster than Webber and still had to put in a hell of an effort to pass him. With two cars at anything like the same pace, there doesn't seem to be any real chance of a pass.

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By the way, what do you watch GPs on now? Im with itv cos only have setanta when Im up here in dublin, I wonder do they have so many annoying ads during the coverage

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I watch it on Setanta because I can't stand James Allen. :D They have more ads than RTE did but still less than UTV I think (but probably not by much).

Thats bad form in fairness, a subscription channel and they still show ads during the race! rte were very good regarding breaks, itv are atrocious. Im not too keen on james Allen either, hasnt being the same since Murray left, although I do like Martin Brundles insight.

I think the reason it took de la Rosa to pass Webber so long was due to the driving of Webber, he was making his car as big as possible and driving very aggressively. Dela rosa got by Barrichello and Button a bit easier

Alonso won the last race in the Bahrain desert, having had no competition after Schumacher spun out early on.

Schumacher says he will "take risks" to claw back Alonso's lead in the Championship race. In other words he'll cheat, once again. :mad:

Nice to see the other teams getting a look in, for a change. But Hell hath no fury than a Ferrari scorned. The Italian crowd will expect nothing less than a red car winning in Imola, by whatever means!

Just like to remind our Catalan friends, that the race is called the SPANISH Grand Prix. So no support for Alonso then!! :)

F.A. won the last race, even though there was a red car with the No. 1 on it breathing down his neck for the last 10 laps. However, Schuey's getting ominously closer to winning, helped by the absence of BAR for 2 races.

F.A. won F.A. in his home GP :D , having to be content with second. He still has a healthy Championship lead, going to the streets of Monaco. The race begins 4 sets of back-to-back races in the season.

Schumacher meanwhile, is way behind in the championship, and experiencing the sort of thrashings he's handed out to his rivals in the past. However in Monaco, any half decent driver can win given the nature of the circuit, the shortest on the calendar.

After the balmy conditions at the last race in Monaco, the S1 circus leaves Southern Europe for the time being, and moves North to the Nurburgring in Germany. The notorious changeable weather conditions in the Eiffel Mountains, may produce an interesting race, but if it does lash, there will be only one winner, and he drives a red car.

Qualifying has been changed to a single lap session on Saturdays, which may produce some interesting lap times.

Well lads thoughts on the way its going so far?
bit of a disappointment Raikkonen didnt win yesterday, wouldve closed things up. Its gonna be hard to stop Alonso now, though he hasnt got the fastest car. Good to see the change to qualifying, but biggest disappointment of the season for me is Fisis showings, well below expected.

Yeah, very boring this year. Alonso's just walking away with the title.

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Originally Posted by Schumi

Yeah, very boring this year. Alonso's just walking away with the title.

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Hopefully they'll go back to last years rules (at the very least) rather than all the luck elements needed this year. How it's supposed to be safer with tyre wear like was seen yesterday beggars belief, before you take into account the reduced excitement and skill around strategies. ffs, I've watched F1 through turbos, no turbo's, full pit stops, tyre change only, back to tyres and fuel, and now to fuel only.... Very annoying...

God Im surprised, anything wouldve being an improvement on last year and I think this year is pretty good so far.
Dont think alonso will run away with it plus am expecting a late charge from ferrari. The strategy element has diminished a bit alright, however rather than the last 10/15 laps of races being a procession to the finish, now they're arguably the most exciting.

It's more competitive because the other cars have caught and passed Ferrari, which would've happened under whatever rules (look at the rise and fall of McLaren, Williams, Ferrari, Bennetton/Renault over the years). What the rule changes have done have drastically increased the influence of luck, rather than it being the best driver/car.

I used to be a huge F1 fan until recentlly when it became a predictable precession with Schuey leading the way.I have been to several G.P's and i have to say that this years championship is a breath of fresh air.It's good to see the drivers with driving ability coming to the fore and Ferrari trailing in their wake.As regards the luck,that comes and goes so i would leave the rules the same.

I used to love F1 years ago from about the time Damon Hill won, through the time that Hackinnen and Coulthard ruled in McLaren's but then started to loose interest when Shumacher dominated.

However, I am going to my first Grand Prix next weekend in Montreal. Any advise on what to watch on race day? Can you get close to the track with GA tickets or are ya better watching it on a big screen with all the times etc. Anyone ever been to a GP?

I was at the Canadian race a few years back. Honestly unless you are there early with the GA tickets, you'll be watching it on television. We had seats and we lucky but the whole event is very well organised.
Reinvigorated my whole love for the sport :)
Just de sound alone...

The championship is more interesting this year but the races - bar Europe and San Marino - are exactly the same. One strong car, walking away with the whole thing.
Schumacher wasn't the problem in the last few years - the lack of competitive racing is the issue and how to change that in a sport were money is everything.
No easy answers :rolleyes:

So, what are your expectations for Montreal?

Alongside Spa, that's my favourite circuit, and I'd really like to see my Fisi claiming his 2nd win of the season in sunday, after being in the podium for like 4 times with cars that simply don't belong there, especially the benettons.

Williams did well over there last year, before being disqualified (sorry, can't remember why), with ralfie claiming the second place and JPM in 4th, so maybe we'll finally see ralf finishing ahead off trulli. I don't know about JPM's chances, but he's definitely one of the best guys out there, did extremely well in 2003, he should be given some more time. He has the talent.

Schuey has always been very good in Canada, but it's hard to drive a car that has no tyres. Kimi is my favourite for the win, anyway, and sorry for being an arse, but I'd really really like to see Alonso DNF.

Alonso won his fourth race at the European Grand Prix, after only leading for one lap of the race, -the last one!!

Canada is usually the turning point of the season for the struggling teams, who normally begin to catch up with the leaders from this race on, and become more competitive. While it looks hard for Alonso to be caught in the championship, it can be done if he suffers a few DNF's. With 12 races remaining, I wouldn't say that the title race is over yet.