Official Discussion Thread of the 2009 Formula 1 Season

What about that 1/2 point race button won - must count as a whole win then for the purposes of the drivers championship?
 
Ask the Expert - Brawn GP?s Rubens Barrichello

How many times has Tiger Woods won the PGA Player of the Year award? What does ?karaoke? mean in English? What is team mate Jenson Button?s best recipe? And where did Tony Kanaan finish in the Indy 500 wearing Barrichello?s helmet? These are just some of the questions we thought Brawn GP?s Rubens Barrichello would take in his stride after he agreed to be the latest participant in our personal trivia test, ?Ask the Expert?...

Q: You sometimes like to relax with karaoke, but what does ?karaoke? mean in English?
Rubens Barichello: No idea. Tell me.
Incorrect - ?empty orchestra?.

Q: You?re a fan of golfer Tiger Woods. But how many times has he won the PGA Player of the Year award?
Rubens Barrichello: That?s a tough question! I think he won four majors - but player of the year award? But definitely must be more than four times.
Not close enough - the correct answer is nine.

Q: You replaced Eddie Irvine at Ferrari. How many wins did Irvine score with the Italian team?
RB: I have nine. I know he has less than half! Four?
Correct - well deducted.

Q: You?ve scored nine Formula One victories over the course of your career. Which other driver currently on the grid has scored the same number?
RB: I?ve seen that the other day. It?s Hamilton.
Correct - McLaren?s Lewis Hamilton.

Q: What did your team mate Jenson Button say he?d want to be if he wasn?t a Formula One driver?
RB: A playboy?
Incorrect - it might be true, but he actually said a fighter pilot.

Q: Button excelled at a British triathlon event last year. Where did he finish out of the 1700 competitors?
RB: Around 200?
Incorrect - 117th.

Q: You live in Monaco. When does the Principality celebrate its National Day?
RB: It?s November. November 19!
Correct - well done.

Q: You drove for Stewart for three seasons. How many Grands Prix did team boss Jackie Stewart win over the course of his career?
RB: Jackie won 27.
Correct - spot on.

Q: In 2007 you endured the worst year of your Formula One career, failing to score a single point. What was your best qualifying performance that season, and your best race finish?
RB: Qualifying was in Monaco - I was ninth. Best finish was also ninth, at Silverstone.
Two out of two - well remembered.

Q: Who are the most successful team - in terms of victories - to have raced at your home circuit Interlagos?
RB: Ferrari?
Correct - they?ve won eight times. McLaren are next up on seven.

Q: In 2008 you became the most experienced Formula One driver of all time, surpassing the record of 256 Grands Prix held by Riccardo Patrese since 1993. How many wins did Patrese achieve during his F1 career?
RB: I have a good memory for those things. Must have been six - I love to go back and watch those races.
Correct

Q: Where in the UK was your boss Ross Brawn born?
RB: South of London? I don?t know.
Incorrect - Manchester.

Q: At which race did you score your first Formula One pole position?
RB: Spa 1994.
Correct - the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix.

Q: You have not yet won your home Grand Prix. Your compatriot and friend Ayrton Senna did it twice in 1991 and 1993, but how many poles did he claim in Brazil?
RB: He had plenty. Must have been six or seven.
Correct - six.

Q: What does Jenson Button claim was ?the best thing he ever cooked??
RB: Spaghetti? How on earth should I know such things?
Incorrect - broccoli and stilton soup.

Q: You enjoyed your first victory of 2003 at the British Grand Prix. During the race, however, the safety car was brought out because of a bizarre incident. What happened?
RB: There was a guy wearing a kilt running on the track. Hilarious!
Correct

Q: You once reportedly said ?I would call him a friend, even if we don't telephone each other daily? about which driver?
RB: Schumacher.
Correct - former team mate Michael Schumacher.

Q: In May 2006 you swapped helmets with friend and countryman Tony Kanaan, wearing his at the Monaco Grand Prix. At what race did he wear your helmet, and what place did he finish?
RB: It was in Indy in 2006. Did he finish third?
Half marks - Kanaan finished fifth at the 2006 Indianapolis 500.

Q: At the International Challenge of Go-Kart Champions in Florianopolis, Brazil, back in December, you took the winner?s trophy. But who came second?
RB: Di Grassi.
Correct - Renault driver Lucas di Grassi.

Q: You started your Formula One career with Jordan, but how many races did you finish in your debut season?
RB: Eight? I should know that one.
Close, but no cigar - seven, out of 16 Grands Prix.

Final score: 14 points from a possible 22
Ask the Expert rating: 64%

Current leader board:
1. Robert Kubica - 70%
2. Jenson Button- 69%
3= Sebastian Vettel- 64%
3= Rubens Barrichello - 64%
5. Nick Heidfeld - 57%

More drivers coming soon.
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PaperBiro said:
I'm so sick of this stupid idea that I've now lost the will to care.
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The more sickening thing is the fact that it was canned for '09, but then they slipped it, very quietly, into the 2010 Sporting Regulations.

We should have predicted this when the Bernard said "Wins-based system will be in 2010, it will be in the 2010 Sporting Regulations and the teams will be able to do nothing about it...(cue manic laughter of an evil old kid who threw his toys out the window of his castle)". What the Bernard wants, the Bernard gets. Even if it means stamping on the face of millions of fans worldwide.


EDIT: Sent a short e-mail to FOTA's contact address... let's hope they reply. Their lack of reaction to this change is worrying. Seems as if they don't know about this yet.
 
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Vikirad... imagine if you single-handedly became responsible for one of the most important decisions (or lack of) in Formula One history by sending an email.:D
 
Cobol74 said:
What about that 1/2 point race button won - must count as a whole win then for the purposes of the drivers championship?
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1/2 a race win would make perfect sense. If he and another driver won 4 other races, he would win, but if the other driver had 5 wins, he would lose.
 
Peter3hg said:
1/2 a race win would make perfect sense. If he and another driver won 4 other races, he would win, but if the other driver had 5 wins, he would lose.
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No.

A race win is a race win, regardless of the distance. Point wise, yeah. Like everyone else.. Jense would have to settle with half points, but it is still consider a win at end of the day.

That's if they decide to change it for 2010.
 
LMAO @ the 1/2 race win...what has the world become...:p
 
MadCow809 said:
No.

A race win is a race win, regardless of the distance. Point wise, yeah. Like everyone else.. Jense would have to settle with half points, but it is still consider a win at end of the day.

That's if they decide to change it for 2010.
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So if they did 1 lap and it was red-flagged, they should still get a full race win? If it is worth less points, it is worth less of a "medal" or a race win. It seems a strange distinction to make to me.
 
Peter3hg said:
So if they did 1 lap and it was red-flagged, they should still get a full race win? If it is worth less points, it is worth less of a "medal" or a race win. It seems a strange distinction to make to me.
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Yes, a full race win.

And I think you are the only one that think it's strange. Half points explains the race distance, race win is a race win regardless of conditions.


THE REAL STIG said:
LMAO @ the 1/2 race win...what has the world become...:p
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Exactly, you never get 1/2 race wins.
 
MadCow809 said:
Yes, a full race win.

And I think you are the only one that think it's strange. Half points explains the race distance, race win is a race win regardless of conditions.




Exactly, you never get 1/2 race wins.
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Yes, but we aren't really talking about race wins in the traditional sense. Of course he has won the race. Lets just assume race wins were worth 1 point rather than being referred to as a race win. Would you then mind if we had 0.5 points? You are effectively getting one "super" point for a race win so going for only half for a shortened race seems logical.
 
Peter3hg said:
Lets just assume race wins were worth 1 point rather than being referred to as a race win. Would you then mind if we had 0.5 points?
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I don't mind the half point idea, in fact I think it's rather fair, as long as the winning driver gets to keep his race win title.

Peter3hg said:
You are effectively getting one "super" point for a race win so going for only half for a shortened race seems logical.
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Yes, but by the same token, everyone who participated that race will get half points as well. It all works out in the end. As long as everyone participared under the same condition, it really makes no difference, whether it's 10 laps or 100 laps.

You can't divide or half the race win (but you can with points). It's physically impossible and sounds pretty retarded if you think about it. Which driver is gonna say "I won half the race" :lol: No, they will say "I won the race which was half distance"

I see where you are coming from. You think it's unfair because the winning driver is awarded with a full race win, where he only raced for half of the race. But such is life, things like this happen from time to time. It's motor racing.
 
Twilight races here to stay ? Ecclestone

The concerns of organisers and drivers aside, Bernie Ecclestone insists F1's controversial new 'twilight' start-time concept has been a success.

In Australia and Malaysia this season, the green light was delayed until 5pm local to better serve the bulk European live audience.

In Melbourne, drivers complained about the light conditions, while a week later in Malaysia torrential evening rain left no time for a delayed race re-start.

But to the Independent newspaper, F1's Chief Executive said the twilight concept is here to stay.

"All our TV up to now has been up 300 percent," said Ecclestone.
"We have been getting more than 50 percent of the market share."

The concept was a compromise in the face of expensive floodlighting, however Ecclestone told the newspaper that Sepang is now to join Singapore as a night race.
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Force India to join the KERS ranks

Force India will begin using a Kinetic Energy Recovery System as of mid-July, team owner and boss Vijay Mallya has announced.

The Indian Team Principal told the online magazine GPWeek that the Mercedes-Benz system currently used by McLaren will be fitted to the VJM002 for the ninth round of the 2009 championship at the Nurburgring.

"In Germany we will introduce KERS, because the car is KERS enabled and we have a contract with Mercedes for the KERS," Mallya said.

In Bahrain nearly two weeks ago, eight drivers - for the McLaren, Ferrari, Renault and BMW Sauber teams - were equipped with KERS.
But Mallya thinks post mid-season is the best time for Force India to begin using the technology.

"By that time the KERS will have been sorted out, McLaren will use their experience and KERS will have been debugged - if there were any bugs," he explained.
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sauce

I like Force India's approach to KERS: let someone else make it, develop it, and we'll just buy it and stick it on our car - job done. :D
 
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Gman333-X-ferrari said:
I like Force India's approach to KERS: let someone else make it, develop it, and we'll just buy it and stick it on our car - job done. :D
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Isn't that their approach to everything?
 
Dogbert said:
Isn't that their approach to everything?
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Pretty much so. They are rich enough to buy just about anything they want.

But right now McLaren does have the best KERS system. I can only see a big boost for FI.

Looks like BMW is in trouble :cry:
 
Gman333-X-ferrari said:
sauce
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You can't critisize Bernie for being a businessman, that's what he does. It's natural he wants more viewers tuning in.

However:
Melbourne: Good. Beautiful lighting, serves the casual fans.

Sepang: BAD. Time needs to be moved back where it was. Bernie is an idiot for trying to move it to a night race. He should have looked at Qatar to see what happens when rain and night-racing mix.
 
PaperBiro said:
Bernie is an idiot for trying to move it to a night race. He should have looked at Qatar to see what happens when rain and night-racing mix.
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Bernie doesn't want to have anything to do with MotoGP. When he became the promoter of the Turkish GP, he almost immediately cancelled the deal for the MotoGP Turkish GP.
 
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