Malaysia Qualifying

Once again the new qualifying routine has some kinks to work out.  Malaysia is the hottest circuit of the year and it is not unusual to see teams start to cut small holes in the bodywork of the cars to get air into them.  This year was no different.  

After a terrible Austrailian GP, Ferrari was back on top with an all-red front row.  That's a good sign because Australia marked the first time in 11 years that both Ferrari's had mechanical failure and the first time in 14 years that both cars didn't finish because of engine failure.  It wasn't looking like it was going to be there year.  I had my money on McLaren.

Here's where the new qualifying rules got in their way.  You now have to start the race with the fuel you end qualifying on.  What do the teams do to save fuel?  They coast to the pits after their flying lap in qualifying.  That's all well and good unless there are a half dozen or so cars still whipping around the track and you get in their way.   That's what both McLaren drivers were penalized with by the stewards.  McLaren had both their silver cars dropped down 5 places on the grid for impeeding the lap of the Heidfeld's BMW and Alanso's Renault.  It was a good call and I'm sure that there will be changes to the rules to avoid this happening again.

All in all it was an exciting session and the race....well you'll have to wait for the next post.

Australian Grand Prix

The first race of the season and wow, what a race.  At the end of it all, 8 cars finish.  That's it.  Everyone in the points.  

The newcomers didn't fare so well in their first race out.  Timo Glock went flying through the air after going wide in a turn.  He sat in the car for a few minutes I think trying to figure out what happened.

Sebastian Bourdais did really really well and although his car gave out on him he did get some points.  Piquet Jr was just too nervous I think.  He has some big shoes to fill.  

Mind you, so does Nico Rosberg and there he was on the podium all smiles.  A well deserved 3rd place for Nico and the Williams Team.

Here's Nico doing his father (F1 legend Keke) proud on his way to his first podium.

BMW are going to be a force to be recond with this year and I'm going to g out on a limb right now and say, I see them taking the constructors championship this year.  Write that down.  Nick Heidfeld finished 2nd and as always, put in an almost perfect, error free drive.

Here's Nick in the "horned" BMW.

The win of course went to Lewis Hamilton who just reminded everyone that he is a champ and if it wasn't in '07, it will be soon.  He is so at ease in the cockpit of his McLaren, he made it look so easy.

For Ferrari it was a mess.  For the first time in 11 years, both cars fail to finish.  For the first time in 14 years, both cars have engine failure.  Actually, every car running a Scuderia (Ferrari lingo) engine failed to finish the race.  Not good.

I was kind of hoping for a fight at the end of the race.  When Massa passed Coulthard and took him out (bad), the Scot was pissed.  In his pit interview he said if Massa didn't appologize he would kick the S*$T out of him.  David does need some anger management classes.  If you watch F1 on a regular basis you'll be nodding your head right now.

It was a great race despite the lack of cars at the end.  Here is the final tally.  See you in Se pang.

1	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	58	1:34:50.616	1	10
2	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW	58	+5.4 secs	5	8
3	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	58	+8.1 secs	7	6
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	58	+17.1 secs	11	5
5	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	58	+18.0 secs	3	4
6	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	57	+1 Lap	13	3
7	14	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	55	Engine	17	2
8	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	53	Engine	15	1
Ret	4	Robert Kubica	BMW	47	Accident	2
Ret	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	43	Accident	18
Ret	18	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri-Honda	32	Transmission	19
Ret	6	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	30	Accident damage	20
Ret	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	29	Engine	4
Ret	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	25	Accident	8
Ret	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	19	Electrical	6
Ret	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	8	Hydraulics	22
Ret	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	0	Accident	14
Ret	16	Jenson Button	Honda	0	Accident	12
Ret	19	Anthony Davidson	Super Aguri-Honda	0	Accident	21
Ret	15	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari	0	Accident	9
Ret	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	0	Accident	16
DSQ	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	58	+52.4 secs	10

Australia Qualifying

Well wasn't that a mess. The reigning Champion doesn't make it past Q1, the hometown hero spins out and Honda actually does ok.

I like the new "green" format. Qualifying is a little shorter this year to cut down on vehicle emmisions as part of F1's plan for a greener race series. Not sure it makes a difference.

I always enjoy qualifying and I think this year will not disappoint. The front row was not a surprise at all and that's not a bad thing. We all have our favorite team or teams. I always like Ferrari (having been to their factory museum and actually seeing a F1 car testing on their track helps fuel that love), but I also try and pick a new team to cheer on as well. Last year I was going for Red Bull. I like Coulthard and Webber. Not sure I'll pick different team this year. I like Torro Rosso (does that count as a different team) because I think Vettel will be a champ one day. Check back later to see if I change my mind.

Next Post: The Australian Grand Prix

Gabe's First Post (age 8)

Ferrari did really well last season. They won the Championship.



My favorite driver is Kimi Raikkonen. He drives for Ferrari. My favorite team used to be McLaren but is now Ferrari. I like Ferrari because it's my favorite colour and they're fast like me.

My little post has ended. Bye.

Formula One - Official 2007 Season Review

Short 2007 Re-cap.....really short

The 2007 season started out as being something of a fresh start. It was the first year in a very long time with only one Schumacher on the drivers list. That in itself was a big deal but also of note were the many drivers that moved to different teams not to mention the new faces in the sport.


Ferrari started the year off with its newest driver finishing so far ahead in the season's first race he's quoted as saying he "almost fell asleep". Kimi Raikkonen had such a great start to the season there were some that thought he would be unstoppable now that he had a fast and reliable car.


That however was not the story of the day. That was reserved for Lewis Hamilton who finished third in his very first race ever in Formula 1. As a matter of fact, fast forward through the entire season and Lewis only failed to score points in one race. That race was the Chinese Grand Prix, a race that he should have clinched the championship with but due to errors on both his part and that of the team, he stayed out too long on bad rubber and go stuck at the start of pit lane.


Although Lewis finished second in the championship, it was a season that was truly remarkable for any driver. Take into account that he was born in 1985 and it was his very first year in a F1 car and it is completely mind boggling.


McLaren as a team should have been unstoppable in 2007 but personality problems within the team cost it both in speed on the track and moral in the pits. After signing the reigning world Champion Fernado Alonso to sit in the car next to Hamilton, McLaren looked poised to take on the world. Unfortunately, Mr. Alonso didn't like driving with someone better then him. Yes that's right better. Fast, quicker, more calculated and although riskier on the track, consistently took the right risk. Alonso turned out to be the cry baby nobody expected. Don't get me wrong, I was rooting for him but F1 is not the place for whining, just winning.


The only other team that needs to be mentioned in the winning collum is BMW. Sure they never made it to the top step of the podium but could anyone else improve their car or have a more consistent package then BMW Sauber? Not in 2007.





There were some great new faces last season. Robert Kubica, Sebastian Vettel, Heikki Kovelien and even Anthony Davidson did well. These guys will all make names for themselves. Look out for Sebastian Vettel though, I think we'll be a champ one day. That is provided he doesn't run into more teammates.



I could go on and on about everything that happened last season but if you are reading this blog you probably know already. IF you don't and you are reading this for fun not knowing much about the sport, I may go back every now and then and fill the holes for you.



In the meantime, the season starts in a couple of days and for the first time in years, nobody knows what to expect. The second most popular sport in the world is full of surprises once again.



Anyone interested in having some fun for free should check out frontwing.net. You get to create your own fantasy F1 team for the season and see how they do in real race situations. It's great fun.



March 16th...Melbourne.

2008 Season is almost here

It's been a long time since I have written a blog and part of the reason for that was I couldn't find anything interesting enough to post. Well Formula 1 is my sport of choice and with the new season set to start on Sunday I should have a good 7 months worth of stuff to blog about. Over the next few days I will put together my first real post that will be a quick re-cap of the last season and then I will be posting (hopefully) on a regular basis after races. There will also be posts from my 2 boys (8 and 5) who also enjoy F1. I hope you like it too and I look forward to reading any comments that come my way.

David