multi21

My how things have changed! Did hell freeze over? I can't believe what I just read Get this man a red shirt!!!

Unfortunately, Ferrari is going to have to be lucky or both Brawn cars/drivers unlucky to win this weekend. Ferrari, Red Bull and Toyota are 2nd tier teams all playing catch up. But it is the Scuderias best chance thus far this year as they go extremely well at this venue. Other possibilities will be Spa and Monza, but those races have a high probability for rain which puts Vettel and Red Bull as the favorites.

wanna911

Nothing has changed, I've never disliked Ferrari as a team, I just don't like the politics, and Ferrari is the head honcho in that area so I will despise that aspect of their organization and the people in the FIA that promote it and favors them.

I just can't stand to see drivers that aren't even top tier running away with the championship like it's easy. Makes me sick. If they were earning the wins with hard fought battles against cars that were equals it would be one thing, but that is not the case as has been the last few years.

jbossolo

I (very respectfully) disagree with your statement. Jenson Button always had the potential of being a frontrunner, it just so happens that he never had a good ride until now. He's making the most of the situation, just like any other driver would, given his position. If you want "equal cars" then go watch spec racing. The truth of the matter is that F1 has totally changed since last year, thanks to Ecclestone/Mosley et al. Nobody protested last year when McLaren/Ferrari were so dominating over the other cars. Now it's Brawn's turn. Next year it might be another team. IMHO it makes for a more entertaining series.

multi21

Interesting year maybe, but more entertaining? I don't agree with that statement. Interesting in seeing the traditional teams struggling and a team that was 3 weeks away from death dominate in the fashion they have been doing with a driver that was about to retire and another that is possibly average or better.

In 2007, the championship came down to the last race of the season and in 2008, it came down to the last corner of the last lap of the last race. Hard to argue that THAT is not entertaining.

It's a forgone conclusion that Brawn is going to win both championships this year. We're just waiting to see if anyone else can win a single race (aside from what Vettel already did).

jbossolo

Well, I never did say that last year was not entertaining. All I'm saying is that's refreshing to see new faces on the podium. And remember, if they were not talented they wouldn't be at this level of racing. The car doesn't drive itself. Not yet, anyways.

multi21

True. And I think the fact that Button and Rubens were on the podium early on was entertaining/interesting. Their complete dominance of the field with hardly any resistance from other teams/drivers is probably what is making it less interesting at this point in the season.

If any team, Ferrari with their improvement or Red Bull with their good form and consistancy can just begin to challenge, the season would be far more entertaining.

As it is, the Brawn cars have virtually no weakness. Dry or wet, street or circuit, tight or fast, low grip or high grip, mechanical or aero dependent, and most of all reliability, the car is fantastic.

jbossolo

Would be really interesting to see what a driver like say Adrian Sutil, or Sebastien Bourdais would be able to do in one of them Brawn cars! I think that just about anybody, save for maybe Nelson Piquet Jr, could put it in the podium.

Ray S

Practice 1

Friday Practice Session 1
POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT TIME
1. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 1:28.952
2. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1:29.263
3. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota 1:29.271
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1:29.337
5. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari 1:29.342
6. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 1:29.371
7. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari 1:29.398
8. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault 1:29.422
9. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 1:29.525
10. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 1:29.590
11. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes 1:29.747
12. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1:29.864
13. Timo Glock Germany Toyota 1:29.934
14. Nelson Piquet Brazil Renault 1:30.132
15. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1:30.176
16. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 1:30.645
17. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 1:30.689
18. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Mercedes 1:30.729
19. Sebastien Bourdais France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:30.838
20. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:30.944

Ray S

Practice 2

Friday Practice Session 2
POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT TIME
1. Heikki Kovalainen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.841
2. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault 1:28.847
3. Robert Kubica Poland BMW Sauber 1:29.056
4. Kazuki Nakajima Japan Williams-Toyota 1:29.091
5. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1:29.202
6. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota 1:29.207
7. Nico Rosberg Germany Williams-Toyota 1:29.257
8. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Brawn-Mercedes 1:29.305
9. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1:29.383
10. Nelson Piquet Brazil Renault 1:29.401
11. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari 1:29.416
12. Jenson Button Britain Brawn-Mercedes 1:29.430
13. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1:29.435
14. Timo Glock Germany Toyota 1:29.518
15. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari 1:29.520
16. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 1:29.550
17. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1:30.081
18. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Force India-Mercedes 1:30.091
19. Sebastien Bourdais France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:30.295
20. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:30.629

George S

vettel does 4 laps in P2 good enough for 3rd, which settled at P5 at the end of the session. hope the red bulls can get the gearbox issues squared away before quali.

is brawn gp sand bagging or do they not have the pace?

nice to see kubica in 3rd after P2.

ltc

Just looking at practice times and not knowing who ran which tires and what fuel loads is usually meaningless.
FWIW, I don't think Brawn is showing all of their cards in practice...

George S

yea, i watched this morning. looked to me that everyone was having problems with the soft option tyre.

i too think that brawn is not showing all there cards in practice, just surprised at where they ended up in the P2 session.

multi21

This soft tire is going to take some time to come up to speed when the track rubbers in.


What was with the oversteer on Hamilton's car?


The "diffuser" at the rear of the front wing for the McLaren looks cool. I'm wondering if we'll actually see it in qualifying.

the flyin' scotsman

SV sat in the pits while they worked on gear ratios? Went out, did 4 laps and was up at the sharp end...........hmmmmmmmmm. Then the car died.

Brawn will wait out their options............the others are very very busy testing all the new bits.

multi21

Is this who I think it is on pit lane? Don't want this to go OT P&C, but could he be Max Mosley's replacement?