New F1 Rules Explained

[gman]

Not sure how many F1 fans there are out there, but the Redbull Team has a great visual overview explanation of the new '09 rule changes.

Have a look at if your interested:

http://www.redbullracing.com/4th-Sector/Webber--Vettel-Rip-Through-The-Rule-Book/

[poita]

thats a good video they have done.

fuk even i understand it hahahha

[Jerram]

Great production there.

I'm very much looking forward to this season of F1. It's gonna be great, and the gap between the teams will narrow.

[sooty]

Good vid that.

[gslrallysport]

My Prediction:
- Red Bull will be a regular podium placer.
- Weber will get his maiden win.
- Vettel will, at least until late in the season be challenging for the WDC.

Why?
- History shows when massive rule changes come in, one Adrian Newey shines above all others, and he's done an excellent job of being very radical with the new Red Bull (like pull rod rear suspension!!!)...
- Renault have been given exceptions on the engine freeze to get more power, after everyone agreed their motors have been down on power.
- Red Bull haven't had to worry about the development of KERS and it's integration with the engine, that's all been done by Renault, so the RB Chassis should be a ripper!
- With the funding of Red Bull, and a design team that's been there for about 3 years now, they're actually one of the most stable teams in the paddock.
- Red Bull [Technologies] have twice the cars to pull feedback from.
- Whilst Webber is still managed by Flavio, I have 100% faith that the engine in the back of the RB is the same as what's in the back of the Renault. For some reason I don't have the same faith in the Ferrari motor being the same case in the Torro Rosso...

If at least one of my predictions doesn't come true I'll be highly surprised...

[JohnBu]

My Prediction:
- Weber will get his maiden win.


Hope so, otherwise he'll retire 'should have, could have but didn't'.

[gslrallysport]

And we'll continue to blame Vetel for taking him out in the wet when he should've won...

[gman]

I have to agree...

Red Bull has always been a favorite of mine and they seem to be the current masters of the "technology deal", with Renault. Newy is also a genius and the work he did at McLaren was fantastic...

Renault is also extremely good with new tech. You just need to look to their now banned front suspension "damper" that had them at the front of the field for so long and gave Alonso his world titles...Once that was gone they dropped back very quickly and have only now started to get back to the top.

The 09 season should be great...Better aero and slicks for overtaking...KERS for a "powerboost" a la A1GP....

I hope Weber can get to the front again...As long as he doesn't have reliability issues like they did when they had the Cosworth engines that saw it fail at Monaco when he was running a clear 1st...

[gslrallysport]

Just came across this too!!!
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/3/8970.html

That's Vettel in first place, daylight in second, and the rest after that...

[gman]

Geez don;t the cars look totally different too....

[gslrallysport]

RYou just need to look to their now banned front suspension "damper" that had them at the front of the field
Yep, all Red Bull need is a renault front mass damper and a BAR-Honda front torque distributor and cheating fuel tank and we'll be onto a winner! :p

I still reckon the biggest question mark (haha.. no pun intended...) will be how Mark pulls up after his accident, not how Newy's car pulls up... That's why I've got Vettel pen'd for the WDC, not Webber, at least not this season.

[gslrallysport]

Just came across this too!!!
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/3/8970.html

That's Vettel in first place, daylight in second, and the rest after that...
Then again, I've just noticed where Force India's brand new car has debut'd, so maybe we won't take too much away from this test just yet...

[gman]

Then again, I've just noticed where Force India's brand new car has debut'd, so maybe we won't take too much away from this test just yet...

LOL...Go Force India....

Vettle has alwys been quick at Jerez...he's done lots of laps there...Though you'd think Alonso would be on the pace there too...

[gslrallysport]

Still, over a full sec ahead of anyone else, that's a big margin, and bodes well for RBR! Embarrassing though the McLaren engined Force India beat the McLaren engined McLaren on debut... :p

Regardless, looks like being a cracker season!!!

[Neeko]

great video. nice new look.

oh and what a german accent lol

[ROCCO]

Webber on the podium....what drugs are you on?? I've never laughed so hard in my life...you know his main goal for this season should be to finish a race

[DirtyHarry]

man looks like f1 has just too many rules and regulations.

[gslrallysport]

http://www.pitlanefanatic.com/viewtopic.php?f=39&t=611

Awesome comparison... Interesting! Red Bull have the longest wheelbase out there, and there's two distinct groups of wheel base, short and long, and only really Renault and Force India who have taken the middle ground...

And look how short the Toyota nose is, closely followed by Red Bull...

[gslrallysport]

his main goal for this season should be to finish a race
I'm missing something here cause he finished 15 out of 18 races last season...:confused:

[ROCCO]

I'm missing something here cause he finished 15 out of 18 races last season...:confused:


last place doesn't count....he is a choker...qualifies awesome gets ont he grid and chokes...

[gslrallysport]

last place doesn't count....
12 of those 15 were in the top 10...
9 of those 10 were in the points...

[gman]

I'm missing something here cause he finished 15 out of 18 races last season...:confused:

Same here...


last place doesn't count....he is a choker...qualifies awesome gets ont he grid and chokes...

Think that's a bit harsh and simplistic. He's not perfect, but he's still one of the better drivers out there. Coulthard had the same car (and more F1 starts) and look where he was finishing in 90% of races. Weber convincingly beat him in the championship standings....I think you'll find the problems he and Coulthard had were with the RB car (documented and commented on by Adrian Newey throughout the 07 & 08 seasons) were:

That the launch control was CRAP,
The RB car was quick if alone on the track but the aero was easily upset if following another car and it was running in "dirty" air; and
The engine/gearbox packages they have had were always slightly down on power (both Cosworth and the Renault customer engine was down on power) and had reliability probs (especially the Cosworth engine).

Sure he stuffed up a few times, but then so did Hamilton in both the 07 and 08 seasons, but he had a better package under him with better aero, better power and power delivery and better "interpretations" of the rules.

Not taking anything away from Lewis, he is an amazing driver and seems to have taken up right where Schumacher left off. If I was an F1 driver I know I would have been thinking "Great, Schumacher's gone!" only to see Hamilton turn up and spoil everyones party.

Not sure if you've ever driven an open wheeler (I have, a couple of different formula cars-but not an F1 car I admit) but they are VERY tricky and the current crop of F1 cars even more so. And they are all very different too. I saw Schumachers Ferrari close up in the pits in Malaysia and Raikkonen's McLaren. Scumachers throttle pedal had over twice the travel vs. the other setups.

That's because (as the Ferrari tech explained) he drove the car on the throttle and balanced it that way. You can see on the telemetry, many other drivers are/were (as a McLaren mechanic described) "digital" in the throttle inputs. The power is either on or off 95% of the time.

Schumacher used the throttle so that he could balance the car through the corner, so it had more travel for greater throttle control and resolution. It went even further that his ECU's (engine, transmission, diff) were programmed very differently to the other Ferrari to deliver power/torque/traction to suit his driving style. And that's as much as they would say. Nothing the rest of the paddock didn't know, but interesting for someone from outside F1 looking in...

[gslrallysport]

And the "political shit storm" has started already! {<-Feel free to use that one! ;)}

http://www.f1technical.net/news/11877?sid=23130de755ad8aefc21589a25c8201f6

Is anyone else getting butterfly's??? 2 days to go!!!

[gman]

Its looking SO good...

Arguing over rear diffusers at this late stage...Pre-new car nerves...SOOOO looking forward to this weekend... :)

[MatsHolden]

Can't wait to get trackside. Going to be good.

[gslrallysport]

Its looking SO good...

Arguing over rear diffusers at this late stage...Pre-new car nerves...SOOOO looking forward to this weekend... :)
Fark yeah! I'm not a massive circuit racing fan (I genuinely despise V8's for their lack of production car base, but credit them for seemingly polishing a turd well), but I have butterfly's about the F1 this year!!! :blush:

Maybe cause it's the first time I can genuinely see Webber having a decent chance, though some 2007esk reliability issues have started to creep in over testing, but it certainly looks the closest F1 season in terms of all 10 teams look VERY good! And all look capable of race wins.. that's NEVER happened before in the history of the sport, and KERS and adjustable wings looks like it's gonna be a very interesting year to watch...

[MatsHolden]

And the return of slicks!

It's interesting that the new F1 cars are becoming a bit more like the older A1GP cars and the new A1GP cars are becoming a bit more like the older F1 cars with winglets and barge boards.

[lee683]

is anyone from syd going down this weekend??

[JohnBu]

I've been travelling around Japan and Europe.

Haven't had much time to read the new/sports.

So just found out about Webbers 2nd place in China.

Well done to him and Vettel.

Hope he does one better and gets 1st place. He deserves it, but 2nd place is pretty damn good.

[Jerram]

I've been travelling around Japan and Europe.

Haven't had much time to read the new/sports.

So just found out about Webbers 2nd place in China.

Well done to him and Vettel.

Hope he does one better and gets 1st place. He deserves it, but 2nd place is pretty damn good.

It was a good drive indeed - the Red bull is excellent in the wet.

Will be interested to see how Webber goes in Barcelona given his poor finish in Bahrain was due to getting blocked qualifying.

Also the Red Bull is getting a heap of upgrades at Monte Carlo, so I'll be eagerly seeing what sort of improvements those bring about.

[ROCCO]

If webber was such a good driver like you all say....he would have finsihed well. He is crap....he has a great car under him this season....and is yet to do anything with it??
Vettal his team mate is doing great things...webber has the same setup and all he can do is 9th...so what if he gets blocked in qualifing...just means he has to try harder and not give up before the lights go out.

[Shay]

If webber was such a good driver like you all say....he would have finsihed well. He is crap....he has a great car under him this season....and is yet to do anything with it??
Vettal his team mate is doing great things...webber has the same setup and all he can do is 9th...so what if he gets blocked in qualifing...just means he has to try harder and not give up before the lights go out.

dude save it for all those people who know nothing about motorsport.

[gslrallysport]

dude save it for all those people who know nothing about motorsport.
+1

[SKM_87]

+2
just look at webber v team mate. the only one to have beaten him is vettel. he has owned all his formor team mates

[gman]

+3

Webber's current form likely has more to do with internal Red Bull politics, team orders and testing of new parts that any actual driving deficiency on the part of Weber.

The RB cars in Shanghai were definitely not exactly the same, I got a very close up look in the pits and an explanation from one of the team engineer's (who works with a friend and got us pit passes.

Apart from the setup differences, the aero was very different and they were talking about more changes to come in light of the "diffuser-gate" hearings.

Also, Webber is seen as a "Mentor" for Vettel. He has good car skills but needs race craft.

Remember it was Vettel who crashed into Weber at the 2007 Japanese GP under safety car in the wet taking them both out loosing them 2nd and 3rd place respectively...And its not the only time he's done something untoward...He can drive, maybe as good as Hamilton, but they are boht the same in that they need to learn the stratagy and race craft to last in F1...

Both Webber & Vettel are there to race, and Weber is the more experinced driver and they are getting him to help technically build what is a totally new car from what everyone has had before.

Weber can drive or he would never have made it to F1 let alone consistently get new drives with Minardi, Jaguar, Williams and Red Bull..

Look at his Minardi 2002 seaon...5th place in Melbourne, Rookie of the Year (Autosport.com & F1 racing mag)....And he was leading Monaco before his Cosworth engine expired on him..And he put an uncompetitive car on the podium before...

[gslrallysport]

pft, he's been lucky...











... yes i am taking the piss.

[DirtyHarry]

look i have to disagree, if webber was a good driver then he would have had more consistant results.
i think his just another has been / could have been, and because his "aussie" the media and other people tend to be biast in their view.

[Shay]

If webber was such a good driver like you all say....he would have finsihed well. He is crap....he has a great car under him this season....and is yet to do anything with it??
Vettal his team mate is doing great things...webber has the same setup and all he can do is 9th...so what if he gets blocked in qualifing...just means he has to try harder and not give up before the lights go out.


look i have to disagree, if webber was a good driver then he would have had more consistant results.
i think his just another has been / could have been, and because his "aussie" the media and other people tend to be biast in their view.

the worst driver ever,
should have left years ago,
cant drive for shit...


CAME THIRD. Another podium finish. Get over yourselves.

[Shay]

Webber on the podium....what drugs are you on?? I've never laughed so hard in my life...you know his main goal for this season should be to finish a race

lol at this...

2 already, and a lot of races to go...

[gman]

If webber was such a good driver like you all say....he would have finsihed well. He is crap....he has a great car under him this season....and is yet to do anything with it??
Vettal his team mate is doing great things...webber has the same setup and all he can do is 9th...so what if he gets blocked in qualifing...just means he has to try harder and not give up before the lights go out.


look i have to disagree, if webber was a good driver then he would have had more consistant results.
i think his just another has been / could have been, and because his "aussie" the media and other people tend to be biast in their view.

So I am guessing that the recent podiums (one way ahead of Vettel) are just what???

get him in a good car and he is exceptional. He loves Monaco and has done / shoul dhave finished well there.

Next race could be a good thing as the Red Bull is a good thing on that type of track.

[sooty]

A quick look at how good of a driver he is was that pass on alonso at the end of the straight....absolutely insane! commentators were left speechless..
anyone who saw it will know which one i'm talking about :cornut:

[gslrallysport]

A quick look at how good of a driver he is was that pass on alonso at the end of the straight....absolutely insane! commentators were left speechless..
anyone who saw it will know which one i'm talking about :cornut:
I missed the race as I was too busy partying with the fastest rally drivers in the Asia Pacific Region (and didn't my head yesterday! :()... BUT for Webber to make a pass at the end of a straight on a KERS car is phenomenal!!!


He loves Monaco and has done / shoul dhave finished well there.Monaco is a Webber track for sure, but I'm cautiously nervous about how the Red Bull is going to go considering it has the longest wheelbase of any car on the grid...

[sooty]

Race highlights here (terrible quality)
watch the move starting at around 1min, top of screen
http://www.videohighlights.net/10052009-gp-spain-barcelona-formula-1/

[gman]

That pass and how he made it stick was possibly in the top 3 best passing manoeuver's I have ever seen...

All that and he can do back flips in car's too...

I know what you mean about the RB, but it looks like it should be very good on low downforce/high mechanical grip tracks like Monoco...And the engine seems to be giving them excellent power ATM too...

Brawn with the Mercedes engine though has some serious straight line speed, but that should be less of an advantage at Monaco with only the run up the hill and through the tunnel to stretch its legs...

[gslrallysport]

Race highlights here (terrible quality)
watch the move starting at around 1min, top of screen
http://www.videohighlights.net/10052009-gp-spain-barcelona-formula-1/
Thanks for that!

I'm a little confused though... when the British commentators say "ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!" with regards to a passing move on a former double world champion, is that closer to this:

i think his just another has been / could have been, and because his "aussie" the media and other people tend to be biast in their view.OR this:

Weber can drive or he would never have made it to F1 let alone consistently get new drives with Minardi, Jaguar, Williams and Red Bull..:confused::confused:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
;);):D:D

[gman]

ROFLMAO :D

I'll take door number 2 please....It sounds like something I would have written.. Oh wait I did...;)

[gslrallysport]

I know what you mean about the RB, but it looks like it should be very good on low downforce/high mechanical grip tracks like Monoco...
Agreed! That is the one simmer of light. It easily look to have the best mech grip of any car out there... The fact that is getting equal (or better) drive out of the corners than all but 1 of the double deck cars speaks volumes for that. Also I think Renault's engine revisions this year has also gone a long way to helping that.

[gman]

If they can keep the good overall package they have AND get the advantage of the double diffuser when they bring it in and not upset teh balance then they might just have the best aero package out there...

And the Renault engine is good thing too...The RB's and Alonso (forget Piquet Jr., he's just not coming up to speed quick enough) are the proof. Alonso is putting a bad chassis in a good position on high speed tracks as it is quick straight line, just can;t get the power down and out of the corners. The chassis is not up the the engine...

[Shay]

A quick look at how good of a driver he is was that pass on alonso at the end of the straight....absolutely insane! commentators were left speechless..
anyone who saw it will know which one i'm talking about :cornut:


Race highlights here (terrible quality)
watch the move starting at around 1min, top of screen
http://www.videohighlights.net/10052009-gp-spain-barcelona-formula-1/

was a very impressive move.
wish id remembered to watch it now...

when and where is the next race?

[gman]

Monaco...24th May

[Shay]

Monaco...24th May

cheers mate

[gman]

No prob mate.. :thumbs:

Only thing I hate ATM is the crap commentary we get in HK on Star Sports...But at least its 2 hrs earlier (like you in WA) and a live broadcast... :)

[gslrallysport]

But at least its 2 hrs earlier (like you in WA) and a live broadcast... :)
Since Ch10 launched OneHD it's live in Australia too! ;)

And usually has an hour lead up program to the race, and a comprehensive wrap up including press conference afterwards. Congrats to Ch10, and condolences if you live in Canberra and can't get OneHD! :p

[gman]

Nice.... :D

Another reason to miss Australia...I just have to keep thinking of 16% tax rates in HK....

[gslrallysport]

LOL I'd just love to earn enough to be concerned with the tax rate! :p

[Shay]

No prob mate.. :thumbs:

Only thing I hate ATM is the crap commentary we get in HK on Star Sports...But at least its 2 hrs earlier (like you in WA) and a live broadcast... :)


Since Ch10 launched OneHD it's live in Australia too! ;)

And usually has an hour lead up program to the race, and a comprehensive wrap up including press conference afterwards. Congrats to Ch10, and condolences if you live in Canberra and can't get OneHD! :p

yep OneHD is fken awesome, so neh :p can watch it at the exact same time as you, cos its live, which means i dont have to stay up as late to see it :D

so sucked in for you :p
jokes...

[Manda88]

lets all just admit... button is killing them all out there with ease!!:D:D here comes another 1-2 for brawn in monaco:D brawn excel in cornering due to kick arse aero package.. soon to get KERS but which i think will ruin them:mad:

[Shay]

lets all just admit... button is killing them all out there with ease!!:D:D here comes another 1-2 for brawn in monaco:D brawn excel in cornering due to kick arse aero package.. soon to get KERS but which i think will ruin them:mad:

button is only "killing them" cos they actually got to do extended practise, research and developement of there "kickarse aero package" pre-season,

if it had been clearly stated that they could have the (pre- china) contreversial difuser... ie everyteam had used it, rather than scrambling to do it mid season when testing is not allowed, do you really think they would be doin so well?

im not sayin barricalo and button are bad driver, they are def good, just dont think they're as good as their current standings suggest, and dont forget, RBR killed them in the wet...

[sooty]

From what i read Webber was only 0.9 seconds behind the second brawn vehicle anyway.

[Shay]

yep

Spanish Grand Prix
Last updated: 10 May 2009 14:46 UK

1
great britain
J Button 1:37:19.202

2
brazil
R Barrichello 1:37:32.258

3
australia
M Webber 1:37:33.126

4
germany
S Vettel 1:37:38.143

5
spain
F Alonso 1:38:02.368

6
brazil
F Massa 1:38:10.029

7
germany
N Heidfeld 1:38:11.514

8
germany
N Rosberg 1:38:24.413

[Manda88]

RBR killed them in the wet...


What about malayasia:p?? Not brawns fault other teams fail to read regulations properly with diffusers... and they didnt get extended practice pre season at all... button didnt even know he had a job till 2 days before... barrichello worse off with senna dispute.. after being a honda f1 supporter for years this is finnally my drivers time to shine:D:D no one will steal my excitement for them:p

[sooty]

Monaco results:
1. Button 1:40:44
2. Barrichello +7.6
3. Raikkonen +13.4
4. Massa +15.1
5. Webber +15.7
6. Rosberg +33.5
7. Alonso +37.8
8.Bourdais +63.1
9. Fisichella +65.0

Another good result for webber, only 2.3 seconds off third on a track that's renowned for being hard to pass on. Vettel was doing alright too until he lost it into the first corner...

Which leads to a drivers standings table of.
01 Jenson Button 51
02 Rubens Barrichello 35
03 Sebastian Vettel 23
04 Mark Webber 19.5
05 Jarno Trulli 14.5
06 Timo Glock 12
07 Fernando Alonso 11
08 Kimi Räikkönen 9
09 Lewis Hamilton 9
10 Felipe Massa 8

[xplosv57]

.. after being a honda f1 supporter for years this is finnally my drivers time to shine:D:D no one will steal my excitement for them:p

+1!!!

Team Brawn FTW!!!!!!!

[gman]

after being a honda f1 supporter for years this is finnally my drivers time to shine:D:D no one will steal my excitement for them:p


+1!!!

Team Brawn FTW!!!!!!!

I will, well sort of (cause I'm mean like that :) )....

Only kidding....100% agree Brawn is doing incredibly well..Possibly the best "new" team start ever in motor sport, but with Brawn heading it up and having free reign you'd hope so and Button is finally getting to do his thing...

But, could you imagine being the guy at Honda that pull the pin:

Honda Exec: "After all our years in F1, we have little to show in terms of results, so I have decided to pull out of Formula One."

Ross Brawn: " But I promise, we've got a good package coming up for 09, you should really think about it again!!!!"

Honda Exec: " No..It is my decision and I can see no other way but for Honda to withdraw in light of the current economic enviroment and history of the teams lack of results..."

Ross brawn: "OK, have it your way, but you may live to regret this..."

Honda Exec: "Japanese never live in regret..."

Ouch...

Seppuku in the Honda Boardroom anyone!!!!! :)

[Manda88]

05 was a good year for honda :P


i think i recall people saying red bull was going to win monaco... not a chance! brawn is far to superior atm, they got wikid aero package going and kickarse speeds to go with it and by the seems of it after monaco good physical grip.. turkey up next and will be another one for brawn .. perfect track for them:D

[ROCCO]

IMHO the only reason that Brawn are doing so well is that there car is a full 6 months ahead of everyone else.
Let us not forget that last years title was fought right down to the last corner of the last race.

[gslrallysport]

i think i recall people saying red bull was going to win monaco... not a chance!
Red Bull were never going to win in Monaco, but did extremely well considering it was the track that will least suit the RB05 all year. The RB05 has the longest wheelbase of any car in field (ok, of course the same as Toro Ross), and the only other car to have a wheel base close to the RB05 is the Toyota, and they've gone from locking out the front row a couple of rounds ago, to being dead last here, so that's an indicator of how much wheelbase has an effect.


brawn is far to superior atm,Superior, yes. far superior no...


seems of it after monaco good physical gripHave a look at the fastest to slow lap times this year, then compare it to last year. Physical grip at Monaco this year had SFA all to do with the cars, and 99% to do with tyres. The only difference mechanical grip gave at Monaco was getting longer reliable stints on the Super Softs without burning them up, and if you look at Barichello, the Brawns were far from the best in the field in that respect! You'd have to say Ferrari were making the most of the super softs, with both Brawn and Red Bull somewhere in the mid pack...

Look at the 2 teams that were disappointing over the weekend compared to previous rounds, and it was the two longest wheelbase cars, Red Bull and Toyota. Toyota went from 3 or 4 in the pack to 10th, and Red Bull went from 2nd to 3rd. That shows the strength of the car to work at a track it was never going to, and highlights Webber ability by throwing together the 3rd fastest lap of the race.

If you look at the RB's strength, and the two tracks coming up, I'll eat a small brake pad if an RB doesn't win one of the next two rounds! ;)

[MatsHolden]

Let's not forget that RBR Renault implemented 'the' rear diffuser for the first time, so it was basically a testing session for them. Not a bad result (for Webber at least) for a testing session! Interesting Vettel's car burnt up the softs really quickly compared to Webber's.

[Manda88]

best race all season... best track on offer id say.. love street tracks more IMO specially tight ones.. but i found singapore was a bit dull for a street race last year hope its better this year.. (might go to it) :p:D

[Shay]

WEBBER FiRST !!!
well done matey.

Vettel 2nd.
massa
rosburg
button
baricallo

RB FTW

[sooty]

Well deserved, even after his nerves got the better of him and his rash move off the start line, he took his drive through penalty and still won his first race, congrats webber!!!:cornut:

[gslrallysport]

If you look at the RB's strength, and the two tracks coming up, I'll eat a small brake pad if an RB doesn't win one of the next two rounds! ;)
Thank fcuk for that... :D Vetell at Silverstone (the second of my two promised eat a brake pad rounds) and then WEBBER AT GERMANY!!!

There's also a multi F1 world champion who apparently has put a great deal of money on Webber for the WDC. He reckons's Webber's off season injury was ALOT worst than has been made out, and that in the second half of the year Webber and Red Bull will be the package to beat! ;)

Get ya bets in now!!!

[Shay]

not sure about WDC,
but i def think that RB can win the team championship.

barrichello has not been near as good as the start of the season.

very good to see massa gettin the ferrari up there, keeps there credibility up.
and great to see vettel's strategy paying off, as he said, whenever he got close to massa he'd put KERS on and vettel had no chance.

[gmonkey]

i was suprised by hamilton honestly! that starting line take off was nuts! if he didnt puncture it against webber it would have been the best first corner manouvuer this year IMO, but he failed (thankfully).

webber WDC?? doubtful very doubtful bit late to start now for that unless he basically wins everything and button DNFs....

[gmonkey]

there is word already of him going to renault :p maybe racing with alonso.. inwhich is acctually his friend! would be interesting to see what alonso will think of him after racing with him, seems alonso cant not be annoyed at anyone in his team

[gslrallysport]

webber WDC?? doubtful very doubtful bit late to start now for that unless he basically wins everything and button DNFs....
Button can finish in the points every race and Webber is still in with a VERY good shot...

Points from the last 3 rounds (ie. After the Double Diffuser controversy settled):
Webber - 26pts
Vettel - 24pts
Button - 17pts
Barichello - 9pts

That's 50pts to 26pts Red Bull vs Brawn now that we're all playing by the same technical regulations...

This former F1 world champion also reckons that at crunch time, Webber will be the more consistent driver. A fact backed up by Webber 100% finish record this year, vs. Vettel's 3 retirements...

[gslrallysport]

My Prediction:
- Red Bull will be a regular podium placer.
- Weber will get his maiden win.
- Vettel will, at least until late in the season be challenging for the WDC.
So.... :D

Yes, Yes and Yes. :p

Been a good year all round, one of the more exciting years! With the championship and the top 4 places all wrapped up, Dubai should be a good no-pressure race for all!

Here's hoping the Red Bull stays as strong with a fuel tank twice the current size! :angel:

[gman]

Brazil was one of the best races for a long time!!!

Really looking forward to 2010...

[Shay]

Really looking forward to 2010...

+1

will be interesting to see the outcome with everyone starting even :rolleyes:
and hopefully RB will be right up there

[gmonkey]

im not looking forward to 2010... i dont like this no fuel stop idea.. i enjoy fuel stops add tactics to the sport and lately lots of drama with the hose rigs :p

[ChrisMaz]

im not looking forward to 2010... i dont like this no fuel stop idea.. i enjoy fuel stops add tactics to the sport and lately lots of drama with the hose rigs :p

I have to agree. But it'll still make for exciting racing. Personally, This year has saved F1.

[ROCCO]

my prediction for next year...yes I'm know i'm early but I have a really good vibe about it....

FERRARI 1 and 2.

The last time a Renault driver when from Renault to Ferarri was Schue...and look what he did....now that Alonso has a decent car under him..I think Massa and Alonso will do that 1, 2

[gmonkey]

I agree ferrari will be back. Brawn and rb) will go back to mid field and I think mclaren will be unpredictable

That's my vibe

I can't believe rubens is racing again!