2009 Formula 1 Round 1 - Australia

[superjohn]

I like all racing for different reasons. The V8 touring cars are fun, but F1 still holds a special place in my heart.

[C230drvr]

  HAMILTON WAS COMPLETELY BRILLIANT......LAST TO 4TH

[DucLeone]

interesting race over all.
Just the front wing looks hideous in my opinion

[Xiphias]

Not a bad race - it was nice to see the status quo upset. The change with aerodynamics might just make for a more exciting season.

[C230drvr]

HAMILTON WAS COMPLETELY BRILLIANT......LAST TO 4TH

Promoted to THIRD on a stewards ruling...... which is bittersweet since I am a Mercedes and Hamilton Fan...the stewards are WAY WAY to active in F1...there need to be rule changes to limit the effect they can have on race outcome!

[superjohn]

I like seeing the shake-up. Vettal is going to be a force this year and the Brawn GP team have really done their homework. Throw in the reliability (or lack thereof) questions and it could be anybody's championship.

And how about Buemi mixing it up and scoring points in his first GP?

Now, if only we can get 6 more cars on the grid in the next couple of years to truly make it interesting.

[derby]

Promoted to THIRD on a stewards ruling...... which is bittersweet since I am a Mercedes and Hamilton Fan...the stewards are WAY WAY to active in F1...there need to be rule changes to limit the effect they can have on race outcome!

"Toyota’s Jarno Trulli has lost his third place in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix after stewards penalized him for passing under the safety car in the closing laps."

if he did indeed made a pass during the safety car period, shouldn't he have been penalized?

what rule would you propose to "limit the effect they can have on race outcome?"

[derby]

Not a bad race - it was nice to see the status quo upset. The change with aerodynamics might just make for a more exciting season.

well, you have the aero changes + the tire compound changes...

regarding the aero, if the decision stands regarding the diffuser on the brawn, et al., i expect the non-downforce-diffuser teams to adapt to that interpretation and get stronger moving forward.

with last year's tire compound rules (using two neighboring/similar compounds) the performance differences were often subtle. this year, with a  wider spread in the compounds used for the race, you can actually get it very wrong.

i believe it was said that the intent of the new tire rules was to actually challenge the teams and make it "more difficult" to work with the tires.

[derby]

further stewards' decisions:

http://www.crash.net/Formula+One/News/144577/1/vettel_punished_for_melbourne_clash_with_kubica.html

Although race footage led most 'experts' to claim that the collision three laps from home was little more than a 'racing incident', with both drivers guilty of trying to retain an advantage, the FIA-appointed stewards decided that Red Bull Racing's Vettel - making his debut with the Milton Keynes-based team - was more to blame. As a result, the German was not only hit with a ten-place grid penalty for next weekend's race in Malaysia, but also fined heavily.

[Ash]

that's lame.

kubica had as much to do with the incident as vettel.

let the boys race!  hit happens.   

[derby]

that's lame.

kubica had as much to do with the incident as vettel.

let the boys race!  hit happens.   

yup... this is what happens when your race stewards are "some random local shmoe" that changes every round instead of people that actually know what's going on (like ex-racers, etc).

[Ash]

i do have to say the secondary (and debilitating) crashes that they both had after the incident were entirely their faults!  i mean, you lose your barge board of a wing, don't bother slowing down... nay, you speed up and then *turn*... yeah, they both crashed into the wallm what did you expect?     imo that's where the real stupidity occurred.

must say i'm impressed with barrichello's racing and the brawn's resilience in light of the frontal impact, as well as the rear impact.  he was right in the interview- it demonstrated that it's not just about the diffuser- the car is overall pretty good.

also, what's up with some cars making some strange sounds this year that *would* be explained away by KERS kicking in, if it were only occurring in KERS cars?  I'm talking about the sound where it seems as though the car is skipping through a gear and the engine is overrevving before catching.  it's a strange sound and the commentators noticed it once but blamed it on KERS- problem is, the KERS icon wasn't showing the driver actually using the boost.

and I also heard it on kubica's car which doesn't have it.

[derby]

i do have to say the secondary (and debilitating) crashes that they both had after the incident were entirely their faults!  i mean, you lose your barge board of a wing, don't bother slowing down... nay, you speed up and then *turn*... yeah, they both crashed into the wallm what did you expect?     imo that's where the real stupidity occurred.

well, he may not have been able to see that he no longer had a front wing. they're kinda invisible from the cockpit.

[derby]

also, what's up with some cars making some strange sounds this year that *would* be explained away by KERS kicking in, if it were only occurring in KERS cars?  I'm talking about the sound where it seems as though the car is skipping through a gear and the engine is overrevving before catching.  it's a strange sound and the commentators noticed it once but blamed it on KERS- problem is, the KERS icon wasn't showing the driver actually using the boost.

i heard/saw the same thing and had to rewind to double-check.

and I also heard it on kubica's car which doesn't have it.

you sure that wasn't his teammate's car? i'll have to go back and re-watch the race.

[Ash]

well, he may not have been able to see that he no longer had a front wing. they're kinda invisible from the cockpit.

awwww cmon.. there was debris flying everywhere!  i don't buy that... the car twisted n carbon went flying- anybody with a brain would realize it's the fragile front wing that just grenaded 

i heard/saw the same thing and had to rewind to double-check.

mayhaps it's the sound of KERS charging?  but it should only operate under braking, so that can't be it.

you know, the KERS "empty" icon is bs.  it's not that the system is fully discharged, but that it's been used for the allotted amount of time.  if the KERS completely discharged, then charging wouldn't be immediate the way it seems to occur.  so i'm wary of the icon in general... it should be a timer and not a battery indicator- it's misleading.

you sure that wasn't his teammate's car? i'll have to go back and re-watch the race.

could have been.  let me know what you find.  i already deleted my recording.