The 2009 Chinese Grand Prix Thread

[GhoGho]

Looks like the Chinese don't know there is a country called Austria !!!
Did anyone notice they played the British anthem yet Red Bull isn't British
Imagine a Toyota winning and playing the German anthem ... Oh no
I just hope someone in Shanghai doesn't get hanged because of that

Bahrain, now that would have to be a dry race ..... please!!

Not strange at all, the anthem of the teams home base is the one that will be played, just as the Italian anthem was played for the STR team last year when vettel won. Austrian owners but Italian anthem.

[GhoGho]

Red Bull beats Renault
Brawn beats McLaren
STR beats Ferrari

Well done to the customer engined teams for beating the factory teams all round

Factory teams hang your heads in shame

I'm loving it

[Julian Mayo]

Red Bull beats Renault
Brawn beats McLaren
STR beats Ferrari

Well done to the customer engined teams for beating the factory teams all round

Factory teams hang your heads in shame

I'm loving it

Yup.......................McLaren now needs Mercedes more than Mercedes needs McLaren..................Hmmm.................I wonder when that contract is up for renewal..............

[mlittle]

Red Bull beats Renault
Brawn beats McLaren
STR beats Ferrari

Well done to the customer engined teams for beating the factory teams all round

Factory teams hang your heads in shame

I'm loving it

Yup.......................McLaren now needs Mercedes more than Mercedes needs McLaren..................Hmmm.................I wonder when that contract is up for renewal..............

That'd be an interesting conversation btwn. Norbert Haug and Martin Whitmarsh, for starters........
Haug: "Maybe we should divert more resources to the Brawn---"
Whitmarsh: "NNOOOOOOOO!!!"

Of course, one can only imaging the conversations btwn. Red Bull & Renault and/or Toro Rosso/Ferrari..............

[Julian Mayo]

Red Bull beats Renault
Brawn beats McLaren
STR beats Ferrari

Well done to the customer engined teams for beating the factory teams all round

Factory teams hang your heads in shame

I'm loving it

Yup.......................McLaren now needs Mercedes more than Mercedes needs McLaren..................Hmmm.................I wonder when that contract is up for renewal..............

That'd be an interesting conversation btwn. Norbert Haug and Martin Whitmarsh, for starters........
Haug: "Maybe we should divert more resources to the Brawn---"
Whitmarsh: "NNOOOOOOOO!!!"

Of course, one can only imaging the conversations btwn. Red Bull & Renault and/or Toro Rosso/Ferrari..............

Or the conversation between FA and MW, whos' friendship predates F1.
"Mark, what say we swap coveralls, helmets and cars on the start grid?"
"Ferdi, you wouldn't be able to see over the dash in mine........."

[mlittle]

Yup.......................McLaren now needs Mercedes more than Mercedes needs McLaren..................Hmmm.................I wonder when that contract is up for renewal..............

That'd be an interesting conversation btwn. Norbert Haug and Martin Whitmarsh, for starters........
Haug: "Maybe we should divert more resources to the Brawn---"
Whitmarsh: "NNOOOOOOOO!!!"

Of course, one can only imaging the conversations btwn. Red Bull & Renault and/or Toro Rosso/Ferrari..............

Or the conversation between FA and MW, whos' friendship predates F1.
"Mark, what say we swap coveralls, helmets and cars on the start grid?"
"Ferdi, you wouldn't be able to see over the dash in mine........."

Even better, imagine this line of thought btwn. Haug and Formula 1...........
Haug: "Perhaps we should take our resources to North America and return to Indy....."
Formula 1: "NNOOOO!......*followed by a collective collapse to the floor of F1 officials, starting w/Sado-Max and the Dwarf*......

[Julian Mayo]

That'd be an interesting conversation btwn. Norbert Haug and Martin Whitmarsh, for starters........
Haug: "Maybe we should divert more resources to the Brawn---"
Whitmarsh: "NNOOOOOOOO!!!"

Of course, one can only imaging the conversations btwn. Red Bull & Renault and/or Toro Rosso/Ferrari..............

Or the conversation between FA and MW, whos' friendship predates F1.
"Mark, what say we swap coveralls, helmets and cars on the start grid?"
"Ferdi, you wouldn't be able to see over the dash in mine........."

Even better, imagine this line of thought btwn. Haug and Formula 1...........
Haug: "Perhaps we should take our resources to North America and return to Indy....."
Formula 1: "NNOOOO!......*followed by a collective collapse to the floor of F1 officials, starting w/Sado-Max and the Dwarf*......

Where they would discover the bodies of all the Honda Racing management who have committed seppuku since the success of Brawn................

[Jim Watt]

"Sado-Max & the Dwarf" I love it!! I think I want to start a series of "children's tales" featuring the adventures in Taxamania where the language is 'legaleze" & the title characters are constantly stealing from anyone who either [a] has a brain capable of entertaining more than two conflicting ideas at once or any kind of god given talent which people feel good about his or her possession of it.

The race wasn't, IMHO, so very exciting, tho' I have to admit I ground my teeth having to watch Lewis overtake Kimi for what seemed like seventeen times!

So I wasn't brave enough to pick Seb Vettel for the win and I wasn't even brave enough to pick him for the podium. Now I'm thinking: "O.K. Don't I HAVE to pick the top four points leaders (Button, Barrichello, Vettel & Glock)?" And of course Webber. So that leaves only 3 names: Lewis, I suppose, will have to be included [probably in 8th] and that leaves 2: and one has, at least for next week, to be Trulli because he has twice as many points as any of the others not named. And how can I leave out Alonso? After all, had the race gone in the dry, both he and the Brauns would have tied things up rather neatly I think. It's almost as hard to get by Alonso as Webber and Rubens is no slouch at blocking either.

Well. Maybe I'll put Raikkonen in for sentimental reasons. But without looking at the record I seem to remember Bahrain as not being all that good to him.

I'm going to sleep on it.

See you tomorrow!

Jim Watt

[Julian Mayo]

Sweet dreams Jim, I hope you don't have nightmares about sandstorms....oooops.

[F1greyhound]

Jim,

are you saying the podium in Shanghai would have been the BRAWNs and FERNANDO in a dry race? I wouldnt believe so, there is particular evidence the RENAULT cant match the REDBULL at the moment...I think it would have been the same podium with JENSON possibly a bit higher...

For Bahrain I would expect the original diffusor 3 plus REDBULL to fill the top 8 unless something happens. Of the rest I would fancy FELIPE to fight back for FERRARI...

Sado-Max and the Dwarf certainly made one of their better decisions when coming up with the 2009 spec regulations

Long may they live...

[Jim Watt]

F1 Greyhound: I don't think it's the Renault that's a match for the Brauns; I think it's Fernando. Whereas He probably can't stop Seb. V. in any kind of fair fight, let alone when Seb has a faster car; If he could have gotten ahead of the Webbo early on those softs, I think he could have managed to get maybe 16 or 17 laps out of them before having to pit --and by then he should have gotten himself enough distance/time to get back out ahead on the hards --either immediately out of the pit, or later when Webbo would have to pit-- and hold off Webber, especially if he got any help from Timo G. or Jarno T. As to the Brauns, I imagine Fernando could gobble up the Rubens pretty much at will.
But then when I made my picks, you may recall, I didn't pick Fernando to get any points at all. I was flummoxed by his front row qualy like everyone else. I picked Jense to win, Jarno to place & Rubens to show; Seb V. was picked by me to be fourth.

My big mistake was including Nico R. in the points and Robert Kubica, as well --once again letting sentiment rule. I would love to see Sir Frank get a podium again, but I'm beginning to doubt it will happen. In a normal season, having the advantage he did in the early races, he would have gotten one. But it looks like we were wrong about Mr. Rosberg even as we have been wrong about Mr. Piquet. Famous names don't translate to famous speeds.

check out my picks for Bahrain later!

Jim

[Julian Mayo]

F1 Greyhound: I don't think it's the Renault that's a match for the Brauns; I think it's Fernando. Whereas He probably can't stop Seb. V. in any kind of fair fight, let alone when Seb has a faster car; If he could have gotten ahead of the Webbo early on those softs, I think he could have managed to get maybe 16 or 17 laps out of them before having to pit --and by then he should have gotten himself enough distance/time to get back out ahead on the hards --either immediately out of the pit, or later when Webbo would have to pit-- and hold off Webber, especially if he got any help from Timo G. or Jarno T. As to the Brauns, I imagine Fernando could gobble up the Rubens pretty much at will.
But then when I made my picks, you may recall, I didn't pick Fernando to get any points at all. I was flummoxed by his front row qualy like everyone else. I picked Jense to win, Jarno to place & Rubens to show; Seb V. was picked by me to be fourth.

My big mistake was including Nico R. in the points and Robert Kubica, as well --once again letting sentiment rule. I would love to see Sir Frank get a podium again, but I'm beginning to doubt it will happen. In a normal season, having the advantage he did in the early races, he would have gotten one. But it looks like we were wrong about Mr. Rosberg even as we have been wrong about Mr. Piquet. Famous names don't translate to famous speeds.

check out my picks for Bahrain later!

Jim

Jim, Webbo n FA diced it out many times before F1 and the honours were pretty well even.One of the reasons they are good friends. IMHO PK and Rossberg would make good sports car drivers..........Le Mans et al.
Hope you didn't have nightmares about sandstorms.....

[F1greyhound]

My friends, you are now grossly underestimating NICO - he didnt do that much wrong himself this year and his sheer pace was evident in the trials and qualifying sessions. KAZUKI is really quick but doesnt stand a chance....For sheer pace NICO is right up there with todays best and probably superior to Daddy even though the latter has the benefit of having won a WDC.

Dont count him out for Bahrain as he marked the fastest lap there in only his second ever GP 3 years ago....

Even NELSON is no slouch pacewise but I would agree he doesnt really get his act together in F1, quite clearly the weakest current driver(as in 2008).


Bahrain:

1.BUTTON
2.VETTEL
3.ROSBERG(pole)
4.MASSA
5.BARRICHELLO
6.GLOCK
7.TRULLI
8.ALONSO

out of the points unless one of these fails:

WEBBER
HAMILTON
RAIKKONEN
KOVALAINEN
....

Cheers!

[JayVee]

Looks like the Chinese don't know there is a country called Austria !!!
Did anyone notice they played the British anthem yet Red Bull isn't British
Imagine a Toyota winning and playing the German anthem ... Oh no
I just hope someone in Shanghai doesn't get hanged because of that

Bahrain, now that would have to be a dry race ..... please!!

Not strange at all, the anthem of the teams home base is the one that will be played, just as the Italian anthem was played for the STR team last year when vettel won. Austrian owners but Italian anthem.

Are you sure about this ?

When Honda won a few years ago did the play the British anthem or the Japanese one ?

If Toyota wins a race will they play the German anthem or the Japanese anthem ?

Is Red Bull any diiferent

[Julian Mayo]

Looks like the Chinese don't know there is a country called Austria !!!
Did anyone notice they played the British anthem yet Red Bull isn't British
Imagine a Toyota winning and playing the German anthem ... Oh no
I just hope someone in Shanghai doesn't get hanged because of that

Bahrain, now that would have to be a dry race ..... please!!

Not strange at all, the anthem of the teams home base is the one that will be played, just as the Italian anthem was played for the STR team last year when vettel won. Austrian owners but Italian anthem.

Are you sure about this ?

When Honda won a few years ago did the play the British anthem or the Japanese one ?

If Toyota wins a race will they play the German anthem or the Japanese anthem ?

Is Red Bull any diiferent

According to the FIA rule book, the anthems of the winning driver, and the winning team will be played . As Redbull compete under a licence from the Austrian motorsportthingamabob, they stuffed up