Andy W

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  • #165295
    Andy W
    Participant

    How about you let the season develop a bit before you write it off….

    I know how right everyone was after Bahrain last year and what an absolute snorefest of a season it was, and how every race just got duller and duller… Remember EJ talking about watching the grass growing being the highlight of the season.

    The 1st race with new regs is always a bit dull, because teams want to make sure they finish the race… They don’t want to throw away a handful of points this early in the season on taking a risky and ultimately pointless gamble… McLaren junked a load of their advanced designs and made their car go far quicker than it did in pre-season testing.

    Red Bull took a gamble and didn’t run KERS at all… and it worked out for one of their drivers…. the other thou…. it appears to have hurt… had Webber been able to punch a KERS button and attack Lewis in the 1str corner of the race to equal Lewis’ ability to recover from a bad start by punching his KERS… What if Lewis had made a good start (no wheel spin) and passed Vettel, could Seb have attacked him back?

    All I can suggest is that if you find old folks knitting more exciting than F1, and see that as being the rest of the season that maybe this isn’t the sport for you….. Personally I found this race to be good but nothing special (despite a number of great drives), I thought DRS was poorly implemented and didn’t have the desired effect… but using it is a learning process both for the people who set the regulations for each individual race, and for the drivers who get to use it and need to defend against it. KERS is a new technology, most of the grid don’t have any experience with it… there is going to be a steep learning curve, but hey thats part of the sport… I remember when turbos were introduced… they gave an obvious power advantage… but also blew up on a regular basis… the same can be said for f ducts, blown diffusers, double diffusers, skirts, traction control, automatic gear boxes, hell even wings if you go back far enough…..

    #164898
    Andy W
    Participant

    I love how people try to make huge statements about drivers based on the back of one race, or their rookie season… The thing about rookies is that they are often inconsistent, they often make ‘school boy’ errors…. thats what it means to be a rookie for crying out loud.

    Petrov put down a marker at Melbourne, he has set a high bar for himself and for the team, as well as his team mate Heidfeld. Its not like Petrov fluked his qualifying position or managed to score a lucky podium because of a safety car. He beat Heidfeld in practice, he looked comfortable and confident in the car all weekend.

    Yes he may have been driving out of his skin, actually he was… but he drove that race he qualified the car at the sharp end of the grid, he made up positions with his start and he defended against both Webber and Alonso several times during the race whilst still looking after his tyres so he was able to stop 1 time less than either of them….

    Don’t blame the tyres thou… take a look at Alonso strategy soft, soft, soft, hard… Alonso had to make his 3rd stop to use both compounds of tyres… this was a strategy decision. Webber was the 1st driver to stop for new tyres (without having had a puncture or an off).

    Heidfeld on the other hand had a stinker of a weekend, and I am sure Renault did keep him out long after they had given up hope on him scoring any points, simply so they could get the extra testing mileage on the car. However at no point during the weekend did Heidfeld look like the dominant team mate that many of us expected him to be, this is a guy who kept Kubica, Massa and Kimi all honest when he was partnered with them. I just want to see how he performs at Malaysia, can he raise his game and put Petrov under pressure, for that matter can Petrov take the form he showed this weekend and keep his Renault at the sharp end of the grid and compete for podiums, can he reach that bit higher and compete for race wins? Probably not given how dominant the Red Bull looks and McLaren did seem to have a good step more pace… but we all know the sport and we all know that cars capable of competing for podiums can win if the circumstances are right.

    #165224
    Andy W
    Participant

    How about letting this season develop a bit and see where we are mid season before saying its so predictable and by association boring… Compare Melbourne this year to Bahrain last year. Teams tend to take the 1st race conservatively after big rule changes…

    Red Bull took it so conservatively they didn’t even run KERS if you look at it that way… If KERS teams make even a fraction the progress that both McLaren and Ferrari made in 2009, then I suspect its going to rapidly be a case that Red Bull will have to deploy this technology sooner rather than later, and I am sure they are probably planning to being it on the car as part of the european spec car that is no doubt in the works. Yes teams are having niggles and problems with it, but thats part of the learning curve of introducing any new technology… how long did it take teams to learn how to implement and master radical technologies such as double diffusers, f ducts and blown diffusers?

    The DRS didn’t work as hoped and will be revised at each subsequent race, but as it hadn’t really been tested before under racing conditions I expected them to play it cautiously and given Sutil’s scare in qualifying I am glad they weren’t more adventurous at Melbourne… but they now have some basic understanding of how its going to work on track and given that each track is different…. each is going to apply a unique implementation of DRS that will informed by how previous races went…

    #164891
    Andy W
    Participant

    I doubt Kimi and Renault will happen… but I do expect there to be a lot of noise in the media about the possibility, the chances of him returning to Ferrari to partner Alonso…. I suspect that would happen the race (or maybe 3 given how long they kept Badoer in the car) after they give up Jackie Stewart’s return.

    Nick has done himself no favours this weekend, and his stock within the media is going to freefall… he needs a strong result in Malaysia if he wants to stop everyone calling for his head.

    #164945
    Andy W
    Participant

    What a relief…. at no point over the entire qualifying or race did I ever even feel the need to scream at the commentators, yup definitely a few rough edges to smooth off, and DC needs to be a little more confident about some of what he says… but as this was their first time in the spotlight I was impressed, far superior to the unfortunate partnership of the imbecilic leggard and Brundle…

    I thought the way Brundle introduced DC was a clear indication not just of his friendship with DC but also of his relief about not wanting to commit murder live on the air, something I often felt he was inches away from over the past couple of seasons. Not sure about his none coverage of the start, but really the action speaks for itself…. I suppose I just grew up with GO GO GO….

    #164887
    Andy W
    Participant

    Great drive and great result for Petrov, just want to know WTF happened to Nick… he had a stinker of a weekend…. How long before EJ starts talking about getting him out of that seat and bringing in some other driver…. or will he continue to pour scorn on Massa.

    #164929
    Andy W
    Participant

    Have to agree with Chick0, Jake needs someone with him to speak sense when Eddie starts to run off at the mouth. Don’t get me wrong and think I want rid of EJ, I think the guy is superb and gives a lot to the team with his insights and contacts in the pit lane and more importantly he has the experience and balls to ask those unaskable questions driving to the heart of the matter with team bosses and the like. I just think that he needs someone to tell him when he is speaking gibberish, and thats not Jake’s role nor does he have the experience/ knowledge to take him down a peg or two when he needs it.

    #164884
    Andy W
    Participant

    We have had one qualifying session and 3 practice sessions… I think its really to early to be judging either driver.

    I must admit I was impressed with Petrov last season, no he wasn’t a rookie like Lewis, but he also did much better against a great team mate than many a rookie driver has done in the past. Lets see how they both do in the race, I am hoping for a points finish for Petrov and if Nick can get himself solidly into the points he will silence many critics.

    It bugs me that given the thinking and strategic sport that is F1 how people are already savaging drivers (yes I mean EJ) before anyone has even taken a race start this season.

    #164923
    Andy W
    Participant

    I thought they put down a good starting mark, it was such a relief not to be shouting at some cretinous statement.

    No it wasn’t perfect… but it was the 1st time under the spot light and the mistakes were minor and picked up. DC gave good and insightful commentary and it was great to hear a 2nd knowledgeable voice in the commentary box. I am really looking forward to how good they are going to be by the end of the season. They already kicked off a country mile better than leggard and Brundle at their best.

    Can’t wait to find out what Martin has planned for the lights out moment.

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