A. see previous post
b. only one pitstall rubens had to wait
c. that was just plan wrong he should have been out adn never have been left to get back into the car.
d.Ferrari is just showing there dedication to the sport by werking hard
e: it took 40 secs for them to reach ralf . that was way too long
f. maybe shuey is that good or maybe there are team orders to make sur ethat number one drive gets number one or maybe it was in his contract who knows

 

F1 is just not popular in the US. I guess that we don't like anything that turns right as well as left and has technology that extends beyond carburetors.


I like Montoya's strategy --> we can't have Michael win every race this year so why not crash into him under yellow.

 

A) The 2 move thing was marginal - I'll give Schumacher that, even though I'm tired of seeing it.
B) Even the press is marveling at exactly how that transpired. Michael won't talk about it in detail and Sato said that he let Michael by.(WTF?)
C) The FIA clearly have their heads stuffed up somewhere, that was pathetic event management.
D) All the other teams 'werk' hard too, but something needs to be done. Unless you're a Ferrari fan the last several seasons have been almost a complete bore.
E) See 'C'
F) Of course there are team orders. That was a rhetorical question. Racing politics make for bad, boring racing.

I've been an F1 fan for a long time. The biggest problem is that you've got the best driver in the best car, and there is nothing in place to allow anyone else to catch up. Great for Ferrari and the Tifosi, bad for F1 and the fans.

 

Who here thinks Michael Schumacher should retire this season after his Formula 1 championship win? I think he has a contract with Ferrari till 2006.
Also Michael has broken every main record there is in formula 1, except the most pole positions starts, which he is not far from!!

I think he should retire at the top of his game. IMO he defiantly is one of the best, you cant really argue with that!

 

This really surprises me that so many people are into F1 on this board. I have bean watching F1 for several years now and I thing the sport need to start to watch its back! It has got to the point when diehard fans are getting board with it and I can’t remember the last time I was able to watch a whole race (I either fell to sleep, forgot, or was watching moto GP or Super bikes).

In my opinion, the sport needs a BIG shake up. I think we need to start to penalising the likes of Ferrari and help the smaller teams/drivers. I would introduce weight penalties for wherever you qualified. I have seen this used to good effect in the BTCC here. You have the first 10-12 places with a progressive weight disadvantage and then let the rest run and the min weight. To other way is to do it solely from where you finished in the last race (this is the best as it reduces tactics in qualifying). This also means that the guy on pole may also be running light!

Another way is to restrict the power of certain cars with air flow restrictors. These are used in sports car racing and effectively level the playing field for performance. But I still think the results would stay much the same.

There are other things that you can do like changing tyres to one make, but the fastest will still be the fastest and the slow slowest.

If there is not something done soon the sport will wipe its self out (similar to GT racing in the mid 90s). I hope it can be resolved as it is still the panicle of motor racing (IMO)!

Thanks Chris.

 

I agree chuntington101. There really does need to be a big shake up! If you compare the teams Ferrari spends about 300million a year on developments, and what ferrari spends on lunch on race day is Minardis total budget for the year!!!

SOme thing needs to happen!

 

Believe me...rallying is better..

 

wrcevo you are right. but why should it be? why cant rallying and F1 both be entertaining????

and on the whole Schume thing. you cant blame him, he is just good at what he does, its the sport that need to alter to make it easier for others. look at moto GP. Rossy, probaly the best rider in the world swapt teams and has made the racing soooooooooo much more interesting! why cant Shume move to BAR and see what he can do there? altough that would mean Button would have to go or be his number 2! thats would be wrong! LOL

Chris.

 

The best thing that has happened to MotoGP in a long time is Rossi switching to Yamaha. MotoGP had lost my interest as well, especially as it's been dominated by Honda for a long time (Doohan, Rossi). Rossi is showing that he can win on anything and at the same time made the racing much more interesting. F1 has become a parade, with Ferrari leading the way. The cars are so spread out in performance, passing usually takes place in the pits.

I know Schumacher is most likely the best race car driver I will ever see in my lifetime, and I continually remind my kids of that fact since what we are watching is motor racing history. But I am much less likely to spend my time and money on something I already know the outcome of. F1 is a fringe motorsport in the US and Bernie's attitude of "people will tune in to see who can finally beat Michael", shows the complete lack of understanding of their fan base here in particular. There were 200,000 people at the first USGP at Indy, this year they were estimating 120,000 which appeared to be a bit optimistic considering all the empty stands. F1 won't survive here on Ferrari's shoulders alone.

 

I was at the Canadian GP and have been every year since 2000. It's a great experience. It sucked this year though, I was dying to get my car out on the track. I'll just have to wait until September when I can drive up to Montreal - if you're careful, you can get your car out on the track at night and turn hot laps - no one cares. I can't wait!

 

well i just came back fro the USGP. this was my 2nd time ive been. it was a great race. i saw a bunch of evos and stis there. saw a white evo downtown with a exhaust,,and a girl in the passenger seat, any of you? anyways congrats to Sato.

 

The race was a blast, I'm sporting my ferrari red sunburn lol... saw a few evos, not as many as i expected though. Now the wait for next year!

 

yea i feel you. i got sunburnt really bad.where were u sitting

 

northwest vista, u?

 

We sat in the Press Paddock Penthouse, I'd seriously recommend it if you go again next year. Two rows of chairs, not benches, and totally covered from the sun. The only thing I'd do differently is sit in the front row and not the back so that the screens across the track are easier to see. Great way to see the action, and very convenient, there are dedicated concessions and restrooms for the penthouse sections... on Saturday we even saw Taku leaving the Mikado Japanese restaurant in downtown Indy... he was totally being mobbed by fans.

We also went to the Speed Channel VIP party on Friday. Did anyone else go? I got to talk to Matchett, Varsha, Hobbs (and got my picture with each of them) and Peter Windsor was sitting on a bed just hanging out with fans, so I just got a picture but didn't talk to him at all. What a great time- at the Penthouse of the Malibu and with an open bar and great hors d'oeuvres. All you had to do to get invited was be a member of the forums on speedtv.com.

I agree with 992gnt in that Schumacher is a fantastically talented racer.. but he is a real bastard on the track as well. He's great at managing his own PR but one only has to look at Australia 1994 or Jerez 1997 to see that he's more than willing to deliberately crash into competitors in an attempt to secure the championship. Not all hope is lost, 2003 was a very exciting season and I think that BAR is shaping up well to be a credible Ferrari competitor in coming years. Takuma Sato in particular seems to have a gift for overtaking and driving aggressively while remaining a likeable guy in the post race interviews. After the race, it was gratifying to see how much more applause Sato got than either of the Ferrari drivers. Maybe that'll open Bernie's eyes...