Go, RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, Go!!

Silly Cow · Post by **Silly Cow** » Sun Apr 06, 2003 10:30 pm

Yess, another win for the Finnish Iceman. Although a bit tainted one, it still doesn't remove the fact that Räikkönen leads the F1 with 26 points.

And he is the third Finnish multi-win driver. And all the Finnish drivers that have had a win in a race also have been the world champion. Go, Räikkönen, go!

Too bad for DC, though. This had all the makings of being the Coulthard-year...

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sun Apr 06, 2003 11:10 pm

And I'm damn glad it won't be. He deserves zip... Raikkonen is now the third succesive team-mate [of 3 - Hill, Hakkinen, Raikkonen] to blow him out of the water. But now we have to see his mishapen head complaining how everyone should have crashed so he should win, and that should be in the rules.

Nasty race though - several horrid accidents. Montoya & Pizzonia were so lucky, and if Juan didn't piss himself in fear, he's a very strong guy. Jos could have been on the podium... Poor Alonso. And if Webber dropped that [i.e. it wasn't mechanical] his superlicence should be confiscated.

Yeh, my heart went out to Fisi even though I'm not a big fan... though Kimi's just getting some lukc back after least year and Melbourne.

But don't write Michael off yet. The F2003-GA looks dynamite, the new McLaren less so...

Lord Zarak · Post by **Lord Zarak** » Sun Apr 06, 2003 11:15 pm

Alonso looked very hurt, and I hope he's ok. I felt sorry for Webber, he had such a great weekend, though the one who must really be hurting is Barichello. 9 stright years without a hom-GP finish, let alone win. My heart goes out to him.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Mon Apr 07, 2003 12:20 am

Yeh, Alonso took a hell of a whack there... even with the yellow flags, he seemed caught out badly... and Rubens is another one I'm no fan of, but really felt for there...

Sixswitch · Post by **Sixswitch** » Mon Apr 07, 2003 1:00 am

So, is the new rules and such for F1 proving to be a success? I mean, are we seeing the better drivers winning the race, not the better mechanics?

Or is it just too early to tell?

Oh, and could someone please summarise the new rules, just so that I know what they are, and all that.

-Ss

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Mon Apr 07, 2003 5:02 am

Originally posted by Sixswitch
So, is the new rules and such for F1 proving to be a success? I mean, are we seeing the better drivers winning the race, not the better mechanics?

Or is it just too early to tell?

Oh, and could someone please summarise the new rules, just so that I know what they are, and all that.

-Ss

Hmmm.... it's very difficult still to tell. Everyone had the nerves in Melbourne, Malaysia belongs to Michelin and was a bit squiffed after Michael's brain fade, and today's race was plain insanity. Ferrari are generally all over the place, though Shcumahcer is having a fair bit of bad luck - their speed in qualifying points to them having the best car, they've just had misfirtunes every time in the race... That said, McLaren are going to be strong this year, but they need to pick a #1 driver or Schumi will just outscore the pair of them... I think we're back to Europe next, and the European races tend to be a little more settled...

The new rules:
- Points for the first 8 finishers instead of 6 - 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1
- "Hotlap" qualifying - one timed lap on Friday which establisheds the running order for Saturday [fastest goes out last], when one timed lap decides grid order... unless the car is damaged on Saturday, or if qualifying is missed for some reason, it is then untouched overnight [no fuel top-ups, setup work etc.] until it starts the race.

Those are the two main ones... there are a few tweaks such as the tyre debacle today...

So far the early stages have been quite good as most people are having a go, having no idea what fuel loads others are on, though from the first stop on it's pretty much back to the strategy game... There's been a bit of overtaking generated from the jumbled grids, but I'd be surprised if that doesn't change towards the end of the season as all the drivers get used to the hotlap qualifying, meaning the faster ones qualify further towards the front... there really hasn't been many more overtakes than you'd normally expect though - Melbourne and Sepang were basically designed for overtaking, and wet races always mean passes.

I'm just worried that the early interest will be misinterpreted by the powers that be, and more of the same will be forced in, and the damn thing will end up like CART.

For the casual fan, I'd say tuning in for the first half hour or so is well worth it though.

Blues Clues · Post by **Blues Clues** » Mon Apr 07, 2003 9:14 am

Raikkonen didn't deserve that! The two previous laps rule is stupid, should be only one. That would have been Fisi's first win too. Coulthard and Ralf got pretty screwed by the timing of their pitstops. Really gotta feel sorry for Rubens, he had it in the bag! Webber had a good chance of finishing in the top 3. Cliffy, he lost grip on his real tyres, which sent him spinnin'. (Try and take his superlicence and i'll drive over your legs!

). Alonso hurt his leg but should be fine. Its good to see them get out of the car themselves after a shunt like that.

Was cut to see Schumacher fly off. Long way to go yet though. I really hate seeing people like Irvine say sh*t like "Michael buckles under pressure" just because he wasn't on the podium in the first two races! Yeh, cause there's no pressure in winning 5 World Championships :rolleyes:. Dickhead! I'd have expected more from Sir Jackie Stewart too.

I quite like the new rules. Well, the new points system and the hotlaps anyway. Should still be able to change the car between Qual and Race though. Too early to say if the race results have been directly due to the changes. The first 3 races have certainly been interesting.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Mon Apr 07, 2003 1:00 pm

Originally posted by Blues Clues
Raikkonen didn't deserve that! The two previous laps rule is stupid, should be only one. That would have been Fisi's first win too.

Yeh, it did seem a little odd - especially with Brundle quoting the rules as totally different to what seemed to have happened...

Webber had a good chance of finishing in the top 3. Cliffy, he lost grip on his real tyres, which sent him spinnin'. (Try and take his superlicence and i'll drive over your legs! ). Alonso hurt his leg but should be fine. Its good to see them get out of the car themselves after a shunt like that.

Hmmm, he really shouldn't have lost grip on that part of the circuit at that stage of the race... As for Fernando, hmm, adrenaline always blurs these things. Just so long as Coulthard II, Allan McNish, doesn't get anywhere near a race car this season I'll be happy...

Was cut to see Schumacher fly off. Long way to go yet though. I really hate seeing people like Irvine say sh*t like "Michael buckles under pressure" just because he wasn't on the podium in the first two races! Yeh, cause there's no pressure in winning 5 World Championships :rolleyes:. Dickhead! I'd have expected more from Sir Jackie Stewart too.

Yeh... to be fair, it was a mistake, though I don't think the pressure's really getting to him... That corner was damn ridiculous. I'm waiting til I see the new Ferrari & McLaren racing each other before I'm going to buy Ferrari being on the rocks... Schumacher's got, what, 8 points from 3 races, and he's damaged his car in all 3 - that's not bad going... A couple of wins and he'll be right back in there.

Blues Clues · Post by **Blues Clues** » Tue Apr 08, 2003 1:07 am

Originally posted by Cliffjumper
Yeh, it did seem a little odd - especially with Brundle quoting the rules as totally different to what seemed to have happened...

I was wondering about that, because Brundle said that it was one lap, which meant Fisi had won.

Originally posted by Cliffjumper
Yeh... to be fair, it was a mistake, though I don't think the pressure's really getting to him... That corner was damn ridiculous. I'm waiting til I see the new Ferrari & McLaren racing each other before I'm going to buy Ferrari being on the rocks... Schumacher's got, what, 8 points from 3 races, and he's damaged his car in all 3 - that's not bad going... A couple of wins and he'll be right back in there.

Oh, I agree. It was a bitch of a corner. He was definatley faster than the McLaren's at that stage, would have liked to see him go further. I don't think the pressure is getting to him either. It annoys me how people expect him to be flawless. He makes one or two mistakes and they think he's turned into a Yoong. Irvine should be shutting his mouth and concentrate on getting his drive back.

I reakon Schu still has a good chance to take the title even if the new cars didn't come in. Ferrari have been the faster car in all 3 races still.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Tue Apr 08, 2003 1:35 am

Yeh, Schumacher does tend to make 3 or 4 errors a year - it's just in the past they've been when he's in the lead by 50s or 20 points clear in the WDC... I don't think it was an error at all at that corner, what with the Bridgestone 'wets' and all... Barrichello was crawling around it. He was on race-winning form at that stage, and all that confusion at the end would have been behind him had he been running... I mean, he was battling Raikkonen with bits of his car falling off in Melbourne, and when you consider that he lost best part of a lap in Sepang [admittedly thru his own error] he did very well to come home so high... http://www.f1rejects.com noted that the points system designed to stop him from cakewalking is currently keeping him in the picture though!

I've got to say for Fisi, though, while he's going to be very pissed off, 6 points in that dog of a Jordan is a very respectable result... now, if he could just do a more conistent season - aside from last year, he's always been a plendid third place in a poor car one race, anonymous midfielder the next chap... over the first two races, Ralph Firman hammered him...

Blues Clues · Post by **Blues Clues** » Tue Apr 08, 2003 1:57 am

Originally posted by Cliffjumper
http://www.f1rejects.com noted that the points system designed to stop him from cakewalking is currently keeping him in the picture though!

Sweet, sweet irony!

8 points for second now. Firman hasn't exactly been shining himself. But, I agree that Fisi needs to be more consistant.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Tue Apr 08, 2003 2:08 am

8 points, d'oh, stupid me... Hm, in races at least I've been quite impressed by Firman - he was 8th in Melbounre before dropping the thing, and had a damn good run at Malaysia - in those 2, he certainly outshined Fisi... but he needs to get his qualifying sorted, frankly. Ralph had a nasty crash on Sunday though. I think the reason I like Firman is because he sounds like he should be flying in the Battle of Britain...

I can see Minardi ending up pointless, sadly - Sunday was the type of race they would have scored in, especially with Jos going at a cracking pace, but nothing seems to be falling for them at the mo...

Blues Clues · Post by **Blues Clues** » Tue Apr 08, 2003 3:31 am

Can't remember Firman's run at Malaysia, but remember his exit at Melbourne. Didn't think he was that high up in the order. He was quite unfortunate on sunday with his suspension blowing out like that. I'm probably basing my opinion of him on his qualifying performace more than the race as I haven't paid too much attention to how he goes.

As for Minardi, I think Wilson is doing a pretty good job. Between him and Verstappen, and with the points going down to 8th, they have a good chance to pick up a point or 2 down the line.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Tue Apr 08, 2003 12:43 pm

Firman was in 8th, I think on dries, when he crashed in Melbourne... and was was fighting with Trulli and Panis for 5th or 6th at Malaysia at one point... he had trouble finding a gear in the pits IIRC...

Hmmm, Minardi seem to have too many problems with the car at the mo... I mean, in Malaysia Jos was pretty much a lap down from the start in a race he could have scored in...

Blues Clues · Post by **Blues Clues** » Tue Apr 08, 2003 1:04 pm

Minardi still seem to have quick car (well, by their standards anyway

). If they can sort of the reliability in the next few races, they might have a pretty good second half to the season.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Tue Apr 08, 2003 1:45 pm

Yeh... Jos probably isn't actually fit yet, he had big problems early on when he came back for Arrows in 2000 early on, and look how well that went [for the first year, anyway...]. Wilson seems to know what he's doing, though...

Blues Clues · Post by **Blues Clues** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 3:10 am

Raikkonen may lose Brazil victory!

http://f1.racing-live.com/en/index.html

Interesting comments by Schumacher, down the page a bit.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Thu Apr 10, 2003 3:38 am

Confusing... I'm kind of in two minds over this...

On one hand, I love the underdog, so Jordan winning would be nifty, it'd be nice for Fisi and it helps Michael Schumacher out, three things I'd like to see.

On the other hand, if Michael was to beat Kimi to the championship by two points by Suzuka, we will never hear the end of this, all the Ferrari conspiracy theorists will crawl back out of the woodwork and Ron Dennis will go on about it for the next decade. Also part of me feels that for better or for worse a result should stand after final scrutineering, except in astonishing circumstances... it kind of cheapens the whole thing if 3 or 4 days after the event someone turns round and says "no, that wasn't the guy who won". It's a bit like a goal in football being declared offside and void a few days later...

Blues Clues · Post by **Blues Clues** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 5:23 am

I've been wanting the decision to go in Fisi's favour. Now I find out that if it does, Webber will be striped of his points.

Though, as much as I hate to see him lose points, Fisi was a deserving winner and, as you said Cliffy, its helps Schuey out too, which is good.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 2:07 pm

It's official, Fisi is the winner... Maybe if Webber hadn't hurled his car into a wall in the first place

?

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/030411/80/dxjsu.html

TFARCHIVE FORUMS

Go, RÃ¤ikkÃ¶nen, Go!!

Go, Räikkönen, Go!!