Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 79 total)
  • F1 – It's Car Launch Week
  • jota180
    Free Member

    Pretty much all of the teams will launch their 2013 cars in the next week, starting with Lotus this evening.
    Hopefully not as many ‘ugly bugs’ this season.

    I can’t wait for the posturing to begin 🙂

    I have a bad feeling about Force India this season, I reckon there’s a reasonable chance that they wont make it through till November, or even the season opener in March if some of the pundits are to be believed.

    richmtb
    Full Member

    Vettel will make it four in a row.

    You heard it here first

    the-muffin-man
    Full Member

    Wow – you’re going out on a limb there richmtb! 😀

    I’m looking forward to Lotus’s/Renault’s/Benetton’s/Toleman’s (delete as appropriate!) launch tonight and the live feed falling over as is normal for F1 web launches!

    atlaz
    Free Member

    Hopefully not as many ‘ugly bugs’ this season.

    Pretty sure the FIA banned those ugly stepped noses. They can have them but have to put some sort of cowling over the ugly bit.

    the-muffin-man
    Full Member

    Pretty sure the FIA banned those ugly stepped noses.

    I don’t think they’re banned – as you say they are allowed to put a ‘modesty’ cover over it though to make them look prettier!

    andrewh
    Free Member

    richmtb – Member
    Vettel will make it four in a row.

    .
    I’m going to guess Button, best chance he’s had for a while. McClaren were fast at the end of last year and there have been no big shake-ups to the car. He is in the nice position being number 1 in his team. Just need McClaren to sort reliability issues.
    .
    I also think Massa will win more than one race this year, he’s getting his form back (it was a recently as Malaysia 2010 that he lead the championship, if only he hadn’t had his accident)

    mashiehood
    Free Member

    I think Lewis and Rosberg may spring a few surprises. But for this year, I think Fernando and his Ferrari will take the biggest prizes.

    richmtb
    Full Member

    Predicting Vettel is hardly sticking my neck out I know but its hard to see past him.

    It would be good to see Button do well. The 2012 McLaren was indeed quick but he will need to sort out his pace in qualifying if he wants to be a serious contender – Button has only had one pole in the entire time he has driven for McLaren.

    Hamilton will be nowhere

    Alonso will be driving another disappointing car.

    If you want a good outside bet for the championship then I would go with Kimi. He is fast and if Lotus improve on last year he could be a contender.

    ScottChegg
    Free Member

    Button has only had one pole in the entire time he has driven for McLaren

    So what? He’s managed to win pretty often and if he wants to set the car up for the long game rather than 1 lap then it seems to work for him.

    the-muffin-man
    Full Member

    My predicitons!…

    Alonso will win championship
    Vettel second
    Kimi third

    Hamilton will win a race or two

    Button and Webber won’t be happy with their car set-ups and will have baffled looks on their faces when they finish 45 seconds behind their team mates!

    Outside bet for championship – Perez

    richmtb
    Full Member

    So what?

    Around 50% of races are won by the pole sitter.

    That’s So what.

    Also qualifying further up the grid tends to keep you clear of first lap incidents

    Jenson won three races last year and finished 5th in the championship. He has openly admitted he has to “do better on a Saturday” to have a realistic chance of winning the championship

    jota180
    Free Member

    So what? He’s managed to win pretty often and if he wants to set the car up for the long game rather than 1 lap then it seems to work for him.

    3 seasons, same car, same races
    Hamilton 657 points
    Button 672 points

    Hamilton is undoubtedly a quicker driver most of the time but he’s not as consistent as Button

    roady_tony
    Free Member

    McLaren i think will be better off from focusing on a number 1 driver much like all the other teams, (yeah i’m talking about Red Bull too, even though they try and not show it, by the mid season it was obvious even though they all denied it), unlike last year where they went the wrong way for Button but it was the right way for Hamilton – IMHO, Buttons “form” returned when it was probably known internally that Hamilton was not going to re-sign for this year, a shift of focus towards Button perhaps.

    If Ferrari can produce a fast car from the start, they are taking it as Alonso is driving the best he ever has if last season is anything to go by.

    one thing is for sure, for some reason last season i started to not like F1 as much as i once did, and i wont be tuning in for every race. perhaps its the BBCs coverage that just annoys me far too much.

    mashiehood
    Free Member

    oh please can we not turn this into another stat fest! If Hamilton is Mr accident prone/inconsistent/immature than why is he only 15 points behind Button. The reverse applies as well ie if Button is slower/not quick enough on sat etc etc!

    I read a good article a few weeks ago about Button/Lewis at McLaren
    Hamilton v Button stats compared (highest respective tally in bold)

    Qualifying
    Faster qualifying time: Hamilton 44 / Button 14
    Poles: Hamilton 9 / Button 1
    Front rows: Hamilton: 23 / Button 9

    Races
    Wins: Hamilton 10 / Button 8
    Podiums: Hamilton 22 / Button 25
    Points finishes: Hamilton 45 / Button 47
    DNFs: Hamilton 13 / Button 8
    Best race result (inc DNFs): Hamilton 32 / Button 26
    Ahead in two-car finish: Hamilton 24 / Button 13

    Championship
    Overall points: Hamilton 657 / Button 672
    Seasons finished higher in standings: Hamilton 2 / Button 1
    Highest championship placing: Hamilton 4th (2010, 2012) / Button 2nd (2011)

    jota180
    Free Member

    oh please can we not turn this into another stat fest!

    he says…………. followed by…… a load of stats 🙂

    andrewh
    Free Member

    Hamilton/Button remind me a little of Senna/Prost. Two very good, but very different, drivers. One clearly faster on natural talent and racing instinct, but the other can win just as much by using his head.

    muddyground
    Free Member

    For what it’s worth, which isn’t much…

    Alonso v Vettel all over again; Alonso to get his third title. Button will get in the way now and then when his car works OK, third when the year ends. Or tenth if the tyre pressures are a few psi out now and then. Hami will be right there with Kimi to add a bit of racing spice, both of them finishing roughly equal fourth or fifth year end. They will do the best soundbites all year. Webber will fizz away on the sidelines looking all gruff and manly but won’t really do much else. He’s kind of like those pensioners who get confused now and then in supermarkets; knows why he’s there but sometimes can’t see the apples for the pears. Some other drivers will win the odd race, but nobody would have heard of them before or after. Suzi will show her bottom quite a lot. I will watch a few races, and fall asleep each time, waking up to find the kids have drawn willies on my face in marker pen.

    chrismac
    Full Member

    Mclaren will be no where as Button has got what it takes to be a winner unless given a massively superior car. Given that’s unlikely he will be a consistent point scorer with the odd podium and maybe a win if he’s lucky. It will be interesting to see how Lewis gets on in a non mclaren team.

    glenp
    Free Member

    Fantastic self-contradiction there, mashiehood. The post you were railing against said that speed vs consistency was such that they came out about even over 3 years. You then complain that this is mere statistics, and then produce reams of statistics to prove what the earlier post was saying to start with!

    JB would be a good bet, because his odds are quite long and McLaren are just as likely as any of the top 3 to have the best car. He has come in from 11-1 to 8-1 over the past week or so – so quite a few people appear to be having a bet on him.

    Having said that, Alonso is my favourite. I don’t think Ferrari will fail again.

    glenp
    Free Member

    Chrismac – so presumably JB’s car was “massively superior” when he equaled LH’s results over 3 years?

    Button’s problem was getting heat into the fronts, same for Webber I think too. The more aggressive hard-brake/point-and-shoot drivers like Hamilton were better off last year for this reason. The tyres are slightly different this year – they may or may not improve the results for the smoother drivers.

    jota180
    Free Member

    Having said that, Alonso is my favourite. I don’t think Ferrari will fail again.

    It really does all pivot on what comes out of Maranello, no top car is likely to be massively faster than the others so all he’ll need is some sort of parity

    Trimix
    Free Member

    People in the industry must laugh their socks off when reading these threads.

    Imagine racing car drivers spouting off about mountain biking 🙂

    Having said that, Im looking forward to the season.

    mashiehood
    Free Member

    hands up! massive contradiction im my post! I get the feeling Alonso will take it. He is a superb drive (and im a Hamilton/Raikonen/Di Resta fan!)

    glenp
    Free Member

    Now I can agree with you! I know there are always ifs and buts, but (!) I think FA deserved it last year.

    Raindog
    Free Member

    I worked in motor racing for years. Everyone talks like this at this time of year, not just it managers mountain bikers 😀

    hora
    Free Member

    Alonso
    Vettel
    Kimi
    Hamilton

    Pook
    Full Member

    Lotus site crashed for anyone else?

    matt_outandabout
    Full Member

    What is the ‘F1’ you speak of?
    This proper F1?

    the-muffin-man
    Full Member

    Lotus site crashed for anyone else?

    Lotus site is down, but the launch was on YouTube.

    You didn’t miss much – it looked like it was last years car with added red bits!

    Kato
    Full Member

    Handsome

    the-muffin-man
    Full Member
    jota180
    Free Member

    Given all that red, points to the Honeywell sponsorship still possible, I hope so

    jota180
    Free Member

    And now McLaren

    [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SXlbiqVZ4Q8[/video]

    dooosuk
    Free Member

    jota – Video is Private…shame

    jota180
    Free Member

    it was working ???

    Solo
    Free Member

    Vid played for me.

    igm
    Full Member

    matt_outandabout – Member
    What is the ‘F1’ you speak of?
    This proper F1?

    Hmm… 9 consecutive championships. That’s more suspicious than Lance was.

    clubber
    Free Member

    No mention of the F138?

    Despite still not quite forgiving Ferrari for the Schumacher era, I have to admit, this looks good – nice to see McL and Ferrari both taking up the vanity panel option. And the black lower sections look good (and I guess have the bonus of making features harder to photograph…)

    http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2013/02/01/ferrari-f138-launch-pictures/

    glenp
    Free Member

    Lol-ing at being miffed at Ferrari and Schumacher for being too good.

    New Ferrari does it for me – nice car!

    boblo
    Free Member

    McL didn’t have the nasal step last year. The only one iirc.

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 79 total)

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