F1 season 2006

[Zoid]

He´ll be 38 next year, that´s quite old in F1. And I don´t think he´ll leave F1 right away, there´s a number of options available to him. Starting his own team, racing director, consultant of some kind, manager.... He can do whatever he likes

[Ted Striker]

FORD

Did 5 laps but engine caught on fire and exploded on 5th lap


CHRYSLER

Replaced American driver with a German, standings went from 30 to 15

GENERAL MOTORS

Ran 10 laps unitl the engine stopped. Called Onstar for emergency roadside assistance

[Pekka]

That's it. Race over.. notes... Nico did reasonably well, 7th in his first ever race, and he is super young, so he's mostly still riding on talent. And the fastest lap of the race, now if he stops crashing to others, he might have a career in this thing.

Damn, the dude already makes millions.. crazy.. but he's still not a Finn. And that will be his downfall. He has superior genes, but he's stupid and arrogant like TRUE EURO, so he will end up sucking his toes.

[Zoid]

What a race!! Exciting from start to finish Kimi did an amazing race and so did Rosberg. The Ferraris surprised everyone with their speed. The gossip in the paddock claimed that Ferrari qualified with a bone dry fuel tank, thus explaining the speed. But that was a serious misconception

Toro Rosso outraced Sauber and Toyota, I said earlier Liuzzi was fast.

And the starting grid looks much more level this season, 12 cars took the checkered flag!

[BlackCat]

Yep, it was a great race .

Ferrari seems to have made a car that Schumi can work with, Alonso did a good job as did Button. Montoya dissapointed.

And then there are Kimi - he has done it before, but it must be scary to the others that he can go from 22 to third on pure driving (no pace car to allow him to cath up). Doing it on a one stop helps of course a little, but the penalty in slow initial rounds in the stints didn't seem to be there - heck - even when the others started the first pit stops he was still faster than them.

I'm looking forward to see him start in the front.

[Thorgal]

Alonso did a good job as did Button? Mmm... Alonso begins four places behind an Schumi with a great car and wins him plain and square, while Button finishes the race behind a guy that started in last position...

About Kimi, great race but dont get carried away, there is nothing special in seeing fast cars starting from last positions ending the race in first places. It is a constant. We have seen it many times yet, Alonso did it twice last year i.e. This time the thing was indeed less spectacular considering that all three teams that were at McLaren level lost one driver due to mechanical failures or accident (Massa, Fisi, Barrichelo). However it is true that Montoya was humillated this time.

Great surprise from McLaren. They seem there with the big guys. And Nico Rosberg+williams were great. This boy can become something important. It seems we´ll see an interesting season with many competitive teams.

[BlackCat]

Nah, I don't get carried away that easy - the real test is the next race when the engines starts for the second time.

With the new qualification the top ten teams actually has to get them to work for almost three races.

[Thorgal]

The new qualification system is a mess IMO and needlessly complicated. Why can they do it as in the old times? Simply a couple of sessions of half an hour or so. Or as they do in motogp...

[Zoid]

Apparently the The Moles Chief Technical Officer is also suspecting that Toro Rosso might be sandbagging to avoid speculations of unfair advantage...

http://www.grandprix.com/mole/mole16528.html

[Richelieu]

Originally posted by Thorgal
The new qualification system is a mess IMO and needlessly complicated. Why can they do it as in the old times? Simply a couple of sessions of half an hour or so. Or as they do in motogp...

I like it. Makes it fun to watch. But it does need some tweaking.

[Zoid]

Nico Rosberg did an amazing qualification today, 3rd! Just ahead of Schumi. Both Alonso and McLaren was a bit of a disappointment. But Fisi was very happy with his pole and Button with his 2nd place, not to mention Rosberg who was a all smiles on the press conference after the race. Interesting starting grid tomorrow as a lot of drivers will also get a 10 place penalty, including both Ferraris, Barichello and Coulthard.

[Zoid]

A rather dull race today, but Renault showed their excellent tactics in the pit stops

It´s bit early to predict, but if nothing spectacular happens I think Renault is going to win the championship quite easily. They such a good reliable car and world class drivers that it´s almost impossible for them to lose. Especially since the major competition is struggling to keep up. Kimis bad luck continues, the Hondas lack that last bit of speed (Barichello is making a very weak impression, even if Button looks great) and Ferrari seem to have engine trouble. Fisichella did a great race today, but I don´t think he can beat Alonso in the long run. Fisi´s just too uneven in his performance.

[Zoid]

Doesn´t anyone watch F1 anymore?

[CrONoS]

Zoid:
Yep.... BMW in fouth and sixth position!

But I wasn`t able to see the race, I was sleeping....

[Zoid]

Still not on the podium But I was a bit worried for Heidfeld there for a while... And there such a thing as a VCR you know