[John]

SUFFICE TO SAY THIS IS NOT THE THREAD FOR YOU IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE RACE YET !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, no more blown diffusers. No more dodgy engine maps. No more exclusive BBC coverage !
Are exhaust exits going to be the next big thing ? Is Kimi going to be as good as we remember and will Mike Gascoigne remember to log off twitter or enable the keypad lock before sticking his phone in his pocket

Who cares ?

Well we all do. F1 is back in a few hours time.

[BluWarfareHD09]

Not sure if I'm going to be able to watch the pratice as there's quite awhile between practice 1 and 2, but will deffinatly be getting up or staying up for quali and the race

[John]

Ooh, Mercs passive fduct declared perfectly legal

Let the upgrades begin

[bri1]

Can't seem to find out much regarding the BBC F1 forum, is this happening this year, looked on freeview 301 nothing after their Australia highlights program, is it only on after the full lives one's?

[hdsport]

Originally Posted by bri1

Can't seem to find out much regarding the BBC F1 forum, is this happening this year, looked on freeview 301 nothing after their Australia highlights program, is it only on after the full lives one's?

It was announced that it will be on after all races (obviously recorded for non-live weekends).

BBC Sport - TV and Radio - BBC Red Button schedule

[BluWarfareHD09]

I'm sure the on board cams had a better picture last year? Look really grainy to me

[hdsport]

Difficult to make too many judgments from FP1 except that Ferrari looks a handful! Lewis clearly had some more time in the bag before hitting traffic.

[BluWarfareHD09]

Really impressed with Force India and Merc, so far, would have been nice to see Paul go back out with a set of the softer tyres like Hulkenberg

Added: Did they change Michaels tyres when he entered the pit or did he put that time down on the inters/wets(not sure which they where) that he had on as he got wheeled back into the garage

[The Atheist]

Originally Posted by BluWarfareHD09

Really impressed with Force India and Merc, so far, would have been nice to see Paul go back out with a set of the softer tyres like Hulkenberg

Added: Did they change Michaels tyres when he entered the pit or did he put that time down on the inters/wets(not sure which they where) that he had on as he got wheeled back into the garage

Has it been raining then? Not had chance to watch any of practice yet.

[hdsport]

Originally Posted by The Atheist

Has it been raining then? Not had chance to watch any of practice yet.

Rained overnight dried during FP1 then an unexpected huge downpour between FP1 and FP2 so plenty of hanging around.

[jonneymendoza]

I notice his back with his missus again from pussy cat dolls? Ain't she the reason why his head wasn't right last season?

[amd mad]

Lewis will be ok this season , as long as he keeps away from the other cars .

[Kebabhead]

Will we have to have two threads one for Sky and one for BBC

[BluWarfareHD09]

I've just noticed that the ferrari and I think it was force india have a hole in the top of the nose, as opposed to redbulls slot near the top, has any one else noticed this, as I remember them saying redbull were the only ones with a hole/slot

[tapzilla2k]

Horner let slip that Red Bull have yet to do a run on low fuel (said it on the Sky F1 show).
So that adds a bit more murkyness to where Red Bull are exactly.

Merc looked pretty good. Can't wait for Q3!

[John]

Originally Posted by tapzilla2k

Horner let slip that Red Bull have yet to do a run on low fuel (said it on the Sky F1 show).
So that adds a bit more murkyness to where Red Bull are exactly.

Merc looked pretty good. Can't wait for Q3!

I caught that too, but then I don't believe that any of the top teams have shown what they can really do yet. Except maybe Ferrari

[tapzilla2k]

Well some Ferrari fans think it's all one big sandbagging operation and that Alonso will whack it on
pole no trouble. While in the real world Ferrari are apparently going to have a new chassis for the first
of the European Grand Prix's (one that makes it's original exhaust system work). I guess the trouble for Ferrari is they can't pound around on their private test track all winter ironing out problems like this before a season starts.

I think Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes and Lotus are all sandbagging to different degrees. Couldn't really tell much from those practise sessions, other than HRT being in all sorts of trouble.

[John]

Originally Posted by tapzilla2k

Well some Ferrari fans think it's all one big sandbagging operation and that Alonso will whack it on
pole no trouble.

A quick view of the side by side shots (as seen on the F1Show this morning this afternoon and this evening,no doubt) of Alonso and Button steering their way round the track, should put paid to that theory.
It looks a dog

[tapzilla2k]

Yeah Jenson was Mr Smooth, Alonso was Mr Whoa Nearly Crashed into the wall.

[Joe Pineapples]

Just a reminder for BBC viewers that the qualifying highlights are on BBC TWO tomorrow at 1pm.

[golden phoenix]

can i just as guys, someone who is completely new to the sport..what is the best way to intergrate myself into understanding how it all works and what I should be watching?

is it as simple as..you complete circuits in different country and you get points on the time your complete you laps etc..this is then added to a leaderboard, then the one with the most wins?... or is it not that straightforward..

[John]

Originally Posted by golden phoenix

can i just as guys, someone who is completely new to the sport..what is the best way to intergrate myself into understanding how it all works and what I should be watching?

is it as simple as..you complete circuits in different country and you get points on the time your complete you laps etc..this is then added to a leaderboard, then the one with the most wins?... or is it not that straightforward..

there is free practice 1 & 2 on fridays (except its a Thursday in Monaco), morning and afternoon
free practice 3 on saturday morning followed by qualifying

qualifying is split into 3 session, with the slowest dropping out in q1 & q2 leaving the 10 fastest to qualify for the top 10 grid slots in q3, fastest starts in pole position on the sunday.

race sunday winner gets 25 points with point scoring positionsall the way down to 10th

driver with most points at the end of the season wins the drivers title, team with the most points wins the constructors.

[BluWarfareHD09]

How come monaco'a on a thursday for practice, never knew this, saying that this is the first time Ive done the pratice sessionsnormally only do the quali and race

[Surebrec]

I remember years ago watching a documentary on the monaco GP that mentioned it is run on thursdays and saturdays because friday was the harbour market day. local people with small businesses still needed access to the harbour for numerous reasons to make a living.

nowadays, I think it's that way more for traffic reasons, the roads can be opened on the busiest day of the week.

[metropolis]

good morning my fellow F1 chums...let the new season begin

[BluWarfareHD09]

been up since 3 to watch practice, only had 2 hours sleep so far, so back to bed after this. What do you guys think about Lotus and Redbull complaining about the merc

[metropolis]

Originally Posted by BluWarfareHD09

been up since 3 to watch practice, only had 2 hours sleep so far, so back to bed after this. What do you guys think about Lotus and Redbull complaining about the merc

i was in the enchanted forest surrounded by big tellys at 3 am

has the merc been declared legal or are there any investigations going on ?

[BluWarfareHD09]

It's been cleared, but Lotus and Renaul(think including redbull) are going to protest it

[hdsport]

Originally Posted by metropolis

i was in the enchanted forest surrounded by big tellys at 3 am

has the merc been declared legal or are there any investigations going on ?

According to Ted Kravitz Lotus have said they will protest it after quali.

[Surebrec]

well, there you go, the veil has been lifted. red bull weren't sandbagging as much as I thought they were.