Well it’s that time of year again, F1 beckons, as do sleepless nights (if you want to watch it live that is) and long periods of boredom (probably).

Any predictions? Mine from last year was that Hamilton was the ‘New King’ and I was nearly right. This year I reckon the lad is going to go all the way. I watched the timeint on the 2nd practice for quite a while last night and Webber was leading the time sheets for ages, then……….. Well you can see the final results of that session below. This is the clicky for Live Data Streaming of F1 Qually and Race Timing

It's not F1 without this guy

Im all excited, Go Go Go.

They should record Murray saying ‘‘and there they gooooooo’’ and link it to the lights going out at the start

Is it the normal 3am Start for the first race?

Is it the normal 3am Start for the first race?

I think it’s 04:30 this time!!!! I’m at work all day Sunday and am debating whether to stay up all night to watch it before going to work.

Just stay up !!

Just stay up !!

Trouble is I want to watch the qually tonight and I think I will end up so time shifted I may implode when I go to work.:(

Raikonnen

Masa

Hamilton is my prediction for Melbourne.

I know what this sounds like, but I'd agree with Heather, and those 3 in some shuffle or other for the Driver's Championship.

Meantime, I'll be supporting Lewis, Filipe (Mas_s_a), DC, and the Toro Rossos and Super Aguris again this year. I've not reached a view about Force India yet.

Good to see Jenson in an improved car and next year who knows……

It’s also good to see Alonso struggling a little, but for me ther are only 2 men in it. Raikonnen and Hammy.

I think the honda will improve over the year but bearing in mind Brawn didn't arrive until the start of the year it will take a few months for him to get a grip of the whole team.

Red Bull could be a good indicator of how long it takes for a major player on the technical side to make a real difference and Adrian Newey will have been much more involved in this car.

No idea about force india but the owners have plenty of cash to play with but then again so do Toyota who must be the most dissapointing F1 team ever.

Toyota - most disappointing team ever? Maybe, or it might be BAR, aka Honda?

Toyota - most disappointing team ever? Maybe, or it might be BAR, aka Honda?

I think BAR were going along the right way until Honda stepped in and Mr Richardson bowed out. What worries me slightly about Honda’s engine is, as far as I know engine design has been frozen along with the ECU thing. So I wonder where Honda will find the extra power to compete with the big boys?

I think it would also be appropriate for Ron Dennis to stuff Ferrari. He was badly treated my Max Mosley (the Berk) and is imho a man of honour and integrity (I do not believe he was complicit in the Ferrarigate affair)

Toyota - most disappointing team ever? Maybe, or it might be BAR, aka Honda?

But Toyota have had the biggest F1 budget and investment program for years and achieved nothing - at least Honda have had flashes, however brief, of going somewhere.

I think BAR were going along the right way until Honda stepped in and Mr Richardson bowed out. What worries me slightly about Honda’s engine is, as far as I know engine design has been frozen along with the ECU thing. So I wonder where Honda will find the extra power to compete with the big boys?

I see where you're coming from, but if Jacquo was as good as some people made out, and Jenson actually is, they should still be further up the grid IMO. Toyota have never had a driver of the calibre that James Allen would like us to believe those two are IMO.

Oh and why have I gone magenta!?

I think it would also be appropriate for Ron Dennis to stuff Ferrari. He was badly treated my Max Mosley (the Berk) and is imho a man of honour and integrity (I do not believe he was complicit in the Ferrarigate affair)

Ron Dennis - the face of grey and corporate! I think the disqualification of McLaren didn't go far enough; Alonso should have been disqualified too, since he was an active and willing participant in the use of the data. BTW I don't support Ferrari per se, but I have supported one or more of their drivers since 1975.

But Toyota have had the biggest F1 budget and investment program for years and achieved nothing - at least Honda have had flashes, however brief, of going somewhere.

See my reply to Amanda; F1 is a sport where the best car and rubbish drivers doesn't get results.

From my point of view, i'd like to see DC get some better results this year, a lot of talk about this being his final year, but i hope he comes through.

Jenson is undoubtedly a superb driver, whether he will ever realise his full potential in a decent car is another matter. He has regularly out driven his team mate and embarrassed Ralf when he first came into the sport and in those days Ralf was considered to be a good driver.

The Ron Dennis affair showed that apart from McLaren getting caught, that once the crime had been identified, Dennis came forward and took his punishment without a whimper. Imagine Ferrari doing that? Not bl00dy likely. This spying is routine in F1, although perhaps not on the grand scale that was uncovered at McLaren (who knows who else in F1 has had their fingers in the cookie jar) and Max Mosley has treated Ron Dennis appallingly. Dennis showed he was a real man and took everything on the chin. He may be grey, faceless and the ultimate Uber Corporate Director, but he has many admirable qualities too and when he is gone (soon probably) F1 will have lost a decent man.

Btw I like you in pink Ken, suits you sir:)

Good to see Alonso doing so well

Chris

I had hopes for Jenson; I still think FW made a mistake there. But I don't think saying "He's better than Ralf" helps his case: I'll concede I was in a minority there, but I never thought Ralf was as good as Michael. I can't prove it, but back before Jenson was a rookie, I did say that Ralf's problem was "he think's he's Michael, but he isn't!"

What did it for me with the spying was the use of data which could only be ontained from an insider; we all know that everyone photographs (and possibly copies) everyone else's aero, but you can't photograph a weight distribution!

Also, I'm pleased that you can understand the difference between supporting both of a team's drivers and actively supporting the team themselves. This happens to me a lot in motorsport (supporting individuals rather than their teams).

I had hopes for Jenson; I still think FW made a mistake there. But I don't think saying "He's better than Ralf" helps his case: I'll concede I was in a minority there, but I never thought Ralf was as good as Michael. I can't prove it, but back before Jenson was a rookie, I did say that Ralf's problem was "he think's he's Michael, but he isn't!"

What did it for me with the spying was the use of data which could only be ontained from an insider; we all know that everyone photographs (and possibly copies) everyone else's aero, but you can't photograph a weight distribution!

Also, I'm pleased that you can understand the difference between supporting both of a team's drivers and actively supporting the team themselves. This happens to me a lot in motorsport (supporting individuals rather than their teams).

I don't condone what McLaren did, but I think Ron Dennis took the major wrap for a crime he was at least partially innocent of.:(

I used to be a Williams fan, but felt they treated their drivers poorly. Admittedly they had the best cars for several years, but didn’t seem to value loyalty from their drivers.:(

As for Ralph, I never thought he was a patch on his brother, but he was often described as promising, but I guess he never graduated to 'fast':rofl:

I think Jenson poisoned his own chalice with his bad management and as such we'll never see him reach his true potential in a top running car.

Good to see Alonso doing so well

Chris

13, unlucky for some

45 mins to go to live first qualies. Hope it's a good season ............ no traction control, less politicking, more racing