michael where are you?

 

what a strange qualifiing session on Friday and resulted in a very strange front row. This could be a VERY interesting season. Let the games begin!

 

they're off! come'on ***** !

 

it's gonna rain! what next?

 

Congrats, Giancarlo. Well deserved win. He looks so calm & confident now that he could really be the dark horse champion this year. That Renault is awesome! Did anyone see how good those tires looked at the end of the race? Unlike Montoya's tires, both Renaults' tires looked terrific. Should be a good year.

 

Rich,

Yup... those tire grooves looked pretty clean to me... it really helped him to finish strong. Renaults took 1st and 3rd.

 

Tony,

I didn't know you were into F1. We should have gotten together tonight! Maybe for the next one as I believe it's on a Saturday night, too. Have a good weekend and I hope I can make it to Darin's next Friday.

Rich

 

lets not get ahead of ourselves here -but i would agree that it does look to be an interesting few races to begin the year until the maranello mob get things sorted out with the new equipment. in a few weeks time, that renault will look average.

 

Mike,

The Renault has been a very good package during the last 3 seasons. They have the potential to win the WDC, I believe. Whether they do or not is a different story. However, this result is not entirely surprising since many felt that would win it even before the weekend.

How about Red Bull? DC looks like he's got the old spark in him. Let's see if they can still maintain that pace on the faster circuits......Biggest disappointment had to be BAR. Oh, well. Bring on Sepang...

 

rich-

i agree about renault. they look mighty. i'm just pissed because ferrari never seems to have their act together (new car) for the opening race. the season started today, not in a month. i second the red bull surprise. good weekend for dc. i can't imagine they'll keep that up, but who the hell knows at this point!

 

Yup, it was interesting, but I think it is too early to jump to conclusions about new champions and such. What I do find interesting is how they can now make tires that last a whole race and an engine that can last for 2 races!!!! Not to mention, the aerodynamic changes mandated, yet the engineers manage to get back all the downforce that was suppose to be lost by raising the wing's height! Think about those things for awhile. A couple of years ago the teams would change engines and tires like they were free, like it was no big deal...now that they are mandated to make these items last, they can suddenly find the technology to make these items durable. Pretty interesting.

 

Yes I agree with Hawk................ the qualifiying weather in Oz distorted the out come of the race, theres much more to come from the other teams who didnt get to show what they were really capable of during qually, and Ferrai look forboding once again.

I'll be really surprised if they dont lead from the front.......... soon

 

I don't expect Ferrari to beat McLaren or Renault very soon, or at least until their 2005 car shows up.

This time I think Ferrari is taking the right route - the impact of the new rules will not be completely clear for at least another 2 races. By delaying their new car, Ferrari can do much more to the design to take advantage of the regulations, race strategy, tire wear etc.

Still, looks to be one of the most exciting seasons in a very looooong while!

 

For those of you who may have missed the race, Speed TV is showing it again at 12:30pm EST today.

 

Hey, you guys are F1 fans. Awesome! If you guys have any plans to get together to watch races, I'd love to hook up with you guys. I am a big F1 fan.

I was really happy for Giancarlo and Renault. I am actually rooting for them to do well this year, even though I am a Schumacher fan. I like Alonso and I think it's time for Giancarlo to finally get some recognition as a talented driver. Renault looks like a serious challenger to the WDC this year. But let's wait and see what Ferrari's F2005 brings. And I think McLaren will still be heard from. I used to like Montoya when he raced over here, but he's such a whiner, that I don't like him anymore. But Kimi's the real deal. He will be heard from this year.

Do you guys think now that Schumacher retired his car, they will bring the F2005 for him in the 4th race instead of the 5th race like they originally planned?