Official Discussion Thread of the 2009 Formula 1 Season

Maybe you should just watch practice so you dont have to watch the race so you cant complain?

The race wasnt that bad. And there was quite a few overtakes by Alonso, Sutil and Fisichella and the last ten laps werent as you described as their was the battles for 4,5,6,7 and 8,9,10,11,12
Having four cars follow each other around for ten laps isn't what I would call a battle - as was the case with Rosberg, the Brawns and Alonso. Perhaps if one of the drivers would have gone further than just having a peek, you could have called it a battle, but there wasn't really any trying. Now I'm not suggesting that this is down to the drivers being lazy or conservative; if there's a four-car train and no-one is able to even have a go at passing the car in front, then there's probably something wrong with the cars rather than the drivers.

Once again 8-9-10-11-12 was just five cars following each other very closely - the only overtaking move during those last ten laps was Fisichella overtaking Nakajima for 11th place.

I thought the race was quite good. It was not a nailbiting thriller like quali, but it was a good race. All we need is rain in Hungary...
And right there's the sadness of it all: it seems that everyone is hoping for rain these days, because then it'll be more exciting at least.
 
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76945

Alguersuari gets nod for Hungary debut

By Jonathan Noble Monday, July 13th 2009, 09:54 GMT

Jaime Alguersuari will become the youngest Formula 1 driver in history when he makes his debut for the Scuderia Toro Rosso team as replacement for Sebastien Bourdais at the Hungarian Grand Prix, AUTOSPORT has learned.

Following a weekend of speculation about Bourdais' future, on the back of a disappointing first half to the campaign, Toro Rosso is expected to confirm within the next 48 hours that it has decided to part company with the Frenchman.

And although the team has decided that reigning British F3 champion Alguersuari will be slotted into the seat alongside Sebastien Buemi, an announcement confirming the plan is not expected until after the Spaniard has finished competing in this weekend's World Series by Renault race at Le Mans.

Toro Rosso has decided to give the youngster the race opportunity in spite of his lack of experience as it is the only way for him to gain experience in preparation for a full season in 2010, due to the in-season testing ban. The team has so far declined to comment on the situation.

There are also suggestions that Alguersuari's step up is being eased by Spanish oil company Repsol, who are personal backers of the youngster and are poised to tie-up a deal with Toro Rosso.

Alguersuari's step-up means he will make his debut at the age of 19 years and 125 days. It beats the previous record of 19 years and 182 days held by Mike Thackwell, who drove for Tyrrell in Canada 1980 - although was officially a non-starter after a first-lap red flag.

The next youngest driver was Ricardo Rodriguez, who raced for Ferrari at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix aged 19 years and 208 days.

Despite Alguersuari's promotion to the race seat, Sebastien Loeb remains linked with a switch to F1 with Toro Rosso once his commitments in the world rally championship are finished this season.


Sorry, SeaBass. :(
 
Bye bye bourdais...
 
Unless this Alguersuari bloke changes his name, I'd rather see Loeb take the seat. We need to maintain our Sebastien quota in Formula 1!
 
Unless this Alguersuari bloke changes his name, I'd rather see Loeb take the seat. We need to maintain our Sebastien quota in Formula 1!
:lmao:

Someone teach me how to pronounce 'Alguersuari'!
 
Unless this Alguersuari bloke changes his name, I'd rather see Loeb take the seat. We need to maintain our Sebastien quota in Formula 1!

:lol: so true. I thought they were going to change Webber's name to Sebastian just to make things easier. Man he is going to be the grandpa of all the red bull family of drivers now...

And how to pronounce Alguersuari? Not like how Legard pronounces it :roll:
 
I pronounce it 'Algursuri' not sure if that is how you really pronounce it but whatever.
 
Someone teach me how to pronounce 'Alguersuari'!

Al - as in "Alonso"
guer - 'ger' , 'gue' is like in guess
suari - 'swari' , or something like that, I can't write it in English :lol:
 
or something like that, I can't write it in English :lol:

Do you know what, I'm not even going to bother. I'm just going to call him Sebastien Alluminati (or whatever I feel like).:p
 
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Kimi is leaving to go rallying, with pay from Ferrari. Will be replaced by Alonso.
 
New "Ask the Expert" installment, this time it's Lewis who takes the hot seat. :)

http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2009/7/9617.html

Ask the Expert - McLaren's Lewis Hamilton

What was the McLaren team?s first Grand Prix car called? Who was the oldest driver to have won the world championship? What was the Pussy Cat Dolls? first Number One record? And at which race did Ayrton Senna score his first Formula One victory? These are just some of the questions we thought Lewis Hamilton would take in his stride after he agreed to be the latest participant in our personal trivia test, ?Ask the Expert?...

Q: Your team mate Heikki Kovalainen is Finnish. What is the capital city of Finland?
Lewis Hamilton: Helsinki
Correct

Q: What was the Pussy Cat Dolls? first Number One record?
LH: Don?t Cha. I should know that one, shouldn?t I!
Correct - Hamilton?s girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger is lead singer of the US group.

Q: How much does it cost to join your official fan club?
LH: With this question you really caught me on the wrong foot. Sorry, no idea.
Incorrect - adults ?65 / ?90 / $140; children: ?20 / ?40 / $60

Q: You were born in Stevenage. Can you name three other famous people to have come from the Hertfordshire town?
LH: Let me think: Ashley Young and Jack Wilshere, both footballers. Sorry, but then my memory passes out.
Two out of three ain?t bad - an easy third would have been actor Rupert Grint, otherwise known as Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films.

Q: When, where and in what series did you enjoy your first single-seater victory?
LH: I should know that - it?s my life! It was Formula Renault at Thruxton in 2002.
Full marks - 16 June 2002, to be precise.

Q: Can you explain oversteer in fewer than 15 words?
LH: When the front turns in so sharp that the rear steps out.
Correct

Q: What was long-time McLaren team principal Ron Dennis? first job in Formula One racing?
LH: He started as a mechanic.
Correct - with the Cooper team in the mid 1960s.

Q: Whereabouts on your car?s livery is team partner SAP advertised?
LH: This is my workplace! On the nose.
Correct

Q: What was the McLaren team?s first Grand Prix car called?
LH: Must be something beginning with an M, but sorry, I don?t know.
Incorrect - McLaren Ford M2B.

Q: How many constructors? championships and drivers? titles have McLaren won in total?
LH: That part of the team history I know: 12 drivers? and eight constructors? titles.
Correct

Q: Bruce McLaren scored his team?s first victory at which race?
LH: Spa? Don?t know exactly the year, 1967 or ?68?
Good enough - the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix.

Q: Last year you became the youngest-ever world champion. Who remains the oldest?
LH: Was it Fangio? Ascari? No? No idea.
Incorrect - Nino Farina was 43 when he won the 1950 championship.

Q: You clinched your first pole position and your first win at the same event - the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix. Which other current F1 drivers managed the same feat, albeit at different venues?
LH: Webber, of course. The other one, let me think. Was it Felipe?
Correct - Felipe Massa at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix and Webber at the 2009 German Grand Prix.

Q: Can you guess how many test kilometres you covered last year?
LH: Must have been a lot. Over 8000?
Half marks - pretty close. The actual answer is 9090.

Q: How many points, wins and pole positions have you scored so far during your Formula One career?
LH: 216, 9 wins and 13 poles.
Full marks

Q: Fresh from winning the drivers? title in 1996, your fellow British driver Damon Hill moved teams and endured a tough follow-up season. What team did he move to and where in the standings did he finish that year?
LH: He moved to Arrows and I believe he finished quite far back - was it ninth?
Half marks - he finished 12th.

Q: One of your driver heroes is Ayrton Senna. At which race did Senna score his first Formula One victory?
LH: I should know that one. Must have been 1985 in a John Player Lotus, in Portugal.
Spot on

Q: In what year was the McLaren team founded?
LH: 1963.
Correct

Q: Your team mate Kovalainen has so far won one championship during his motorsport career. In which series did he claim the title?
LH: World Series (by Nissan)
Correct - in 2004.

Q: Can you guess how many laps you led races for during the 2008 season?
LH: Must have been around 300.
Close enough - 294 to be precise.

Final score: 22.5 points from a possible 28
Ask the Expert rating: 80%

Current leader board:
1. Heikki Kovalainen - 86%
2. Mark Webber - 84%
3. Lewis Hamilton - 80%
4. Kazuki Nakajima - 73%
5. Sebastien Buemi - 72%
6. Robert Kubica - 70%
7. Jenson Button - 69%
8. Giancarlo Fisichella - 68%
9. Nico Rosberg - 66%
10= Sebastian Vettel - 64%
10= Rubens Barrichello - 64%
12. Jarno Trulli - 58%
13. Nick Heidfeld - 57%
14. Adrian Sutil - 54%

More drivers coming soon.

This leaves six drivers: Alonso, Massa, Kimi, Bourdais/Alguersuari, Piquet Jr. and Glock.
 
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http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090714120539.shtml

Raikkonen rally rumours continue
Finnish media claim WRC is the target for next year

A tough season for the 2007 F1 world champion at Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen is to to quit Formula one to launch a full time rallying campaign next season the Finnish sports magazine Veikkaaja claims.

The 2007 world champion has recently contested three minor events in Finland and Italy, and will make his WRC debut in Finland at the end of this month.

It is suggested that while top teams can contractually forbid their drivers from participating in dangerous pursuits, Ferrari is keen to let Raikkonen develop his rallying hobby in order to make room for Fernando Alonso at the team next year.

A friend of Raikkonen is quoted by Veikkaaja as saying: "Kimi doesn't talk about Formula One anymore. He just talks about rally."

Raikkonen of course remains under contract to Ferrari until the end of next year and has stated on numerous occasions that his rally exploits are a hobby and that his focus remains Formula One.

?Just because I am doing this rally, it doesn?t mean I don?t want to continue in F1 next year,? he said ahead of the German Grand Prix weekend. ?I would have done some rallies a long time ago but I could not. It?s just because Ferrari is kind enough to let me do the rallies that I am doing them now.?
 
^This is very... possible. Does that mean Piquet becomes the No 1 driver for Renault? Who can be even worse than him to be his No 2?
 
http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090713153145.shtml

Alguersuari claims Bourdais has lost his seat
''I truly believe that the decision by Red Bull is just?

Jaime Alguersuari today indicated that Sebastien Bourdais has in fact been ousted from his race seat at Toro Rosso Ferrari.

The 19-year-old Spaniard is the favourite to replace Bourdais, whose immediate exit from the Red Bull-owned team is expected to be confirmed tomorrow.

"He is 30, he has a daughter, has won four championships in the American Champ Cars, won the F3000 here in Europe and, honestly, is a highly trained driver,? Alguersuari told Radio Catalunya. ?But it seems that this year he has not given it everything, as he should have."

"I truly believe that the decision by Red Bull is just, but it is never nice to see someone taken away after half a season," Alguersuari added.

Should Alguersuari make his debut as expected in Hungary in two weeks, the 2008 British F3 champion would become the youngest ever Formula One race driver.
 
^^That kind of stuff always impresses me. You only see hwo difficult the job is when something goes wrong, and it rarely does...

EDIT: Can anyone upload the video or put it on youtube, cause I can't see it here...
 
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