F1 Fanatic

Franklin misses pre-season tests
Bradley Downton was the only Williams driver able to get any running in on the Williams today, with Jamie Franklin being forced to sit out due to circumstances out of his grasp. However, Jamie kept up to date with the sessions, and we were able to get a quick word with him later that same day.

“Yeah, it was disappointing to miss the tests, as it would have been great to drive the car for the first time, but sometimes that’s just the way it is. With any luck, we’ll be able to have a private test, or another scheduled test soon. If not, then I’ll just have to rely on the simulator, which has been great to work with so far,”

We asked Jamie about the times that were set, and whether he thinks the car will be able to compete at the front of the grid.

“I don’t see why not. Bradley showed that he could get within a good distance of Oli in most sessions, and that’s something to be happy about. Obviously, I don’t know the various fuel loads, but I’m quietly confident that at least one of us can achieve a front row with a clean lap come Melbourne,”

Anyway…I’m in Milton Keynes now, and I do have free wifi :D But, I don’t have my Playstation with me, so although gaming is not on the agenda, I should be able to Skype, so if @Olliekart, you could tell me when you were planning on it, I can decide whether I should go and use the free facilities here :P (Swimming pool and sauna!)

Hmm for some reason I haven’t been able to post on the thread recently, but it seems to have just been page 21.

@jamiefranklinf1 *tuttuttut* Missing testing to be in the sauna, the life of a champion must be going to your head ;)

@sirspuddington Sorry I couldn’t make it, I had work to do :( I messaged Ollie to explain since I couldn’t post here due to the glitch I mentioned. Good to see that you got on well though!

@raginginferno fair enough, really weird glitch tho I’m glad that its sorted now. Yeah I did pretty well with a podium each race, I’ll pm you on setup for australia as I am not having great luck so far

Crawford Misses Test To Focus On Simulator

Mercedes rookie Sam Crawford decided to miss out on pre season testing this year to focus on vital simulator work, and told press how much it has helped with his setup.

“Well, for sure it is not great to miss out on a test, but I got in some good simlulator work, for sure. Well, I hope that getting used to the Mercedes in the simulator will help me to focus on having good car setup and this will give me a good chance of providing strong results for Mercedes.”

“For Sure”

Mercedes seem to have a quick car underneath them, but will sacrificing real life running for simulator work hinder their reliability? Only time will tell…

Unless you’re just another sam crawford lol

Downton Confident of Solid Season after Testing
Bradley Downton has proclaimed himself “extremely happy and excited” ahead of the new season after sampling his new Williams FW34 in testing. The Brit was constantly towards the top of the times in Qualifying and although the races didn’t go his way he was confident that the car had showed good pace.

“The car felt absolutely amazing. We firstly went to Barcelona and in all honestly, I really hate the circuit and can never find a rhythm. I managed to go third quickest however, really close to second. We were all miles behind the Sauber but it’s to be expected, their car was just nailed there. When we moved on to Canada I was delighted to find I was the quickest man. Unfortunately we never got a clear enough lap to go fastest but I was still second with a poor one. Australia was good as well. We finished half a second behind the Sauber but it was still very solid in performance. The car felt nailed to the track and was beautiful to drive.”

It definitely looks like Williams could be set for a strong season and this could indeed be the year where Downton can pick up his first win. When questioned on this subject Downton responded: “The car looks good enough for it. We’ll have to wait and see.” he added with a smile.

Oli Peacock quiet on Sauber’s pace

Oli Peacock has not made any remarks on the pace of his car despite being quickest in all 3 days of testing. ‘The Car has some great reliability’ was his only conclusive note. ‘Sauber have produced another solid car this year, it feels good but we dont know what the other teams are running’ Sauber elected to put Peacock behind the wheel to get a good baseline set-up over his less experienced teammate, Tea Kirkham, ‘Yeah Monisha decided it would be a good idea to compare last years car and this years car with someone with more experience although im sure it wouldn’t of hurt @tayzz94 to put down a few laps to get used to the new enviroment’ When pushed for an answer on his ultimate pace he quipped back ‘For Sure’, puzzled faces of the media looked around to see if anyone else understood this.