The Official 2008 F1 Series Thread

[E30Kaiser]

Well there was a piece of the rear flipped up when they showed that shot of the car where they were putting the wheels on. Seems like someone saw that or saw a problem with what what under there and they decided not to run for whatever reason.

Vettel did great in qualifications today as did Webber. And Kubica coming up through the pack is probably not going to happen too much, the car has been weak through practice and qualifications, and Kubica isn't the best at over taking people. And god forbid something is wrong with the transmission and they have to change it giving him like a 5 place penalty. I don't see Silverstone being a very good race for him unless it rains a lot and he is on a one stop strategy.

Looking at the times it seems like Vettel and Massa are both on one stop strategies as well which is a slightly strange gamble for Ferrari but could pay off huge in the rain. Vettel was faster than Piquet all through qualifications where fuel didn't matter and then was a second behind him in Q3 and Massa is just behind Vettel so that is why i say that.

[Dave]

Dman - haven't watched it on TiVo yet - what is up with Massa in 9th???

[z31maniac]

^That's why I don't come to this thread until I have watched!

Was really hoping to see Webber remain on pole, but 2nd is still really good.

Am I the only one who hopes the Heiki beats the shit out of Hamilton the rest of the year?

[TDE30]

And Kubica coming up through the pack is probably not going to happen too much, the car has been weak through practice and qualifications, and Kubica isn't the best at over taking people. And god forbid something is wrong with the transmission and they have to change it giving him like a 5 place penalty. I don't see Silverstone being a very good race for him unless it rains a lot and he is on a one stop strategy.

Kubi's usually quite good at maneuvering through the crowd and (with the exception of the Australian GP where he was rear-ended by that idiot from Williams,) has yet to finish worse than P5. I'd say he will be within points, maybe somewhere around P5 or P6. BMW-Sauber's high-downforce chassis should prove to be mildly successful at this track. Hopefully the transmission and/or suspension issues in Kubi's car will: a.) not reveal themselves in Heidfeld's car, and b.) be resolved by tomorrow morning.

Both of the BMW-Sauber's looked quite quick in Q1 and Q2, the Friday practice sessions didn't look great, but I'd say they made progress from Friday to Saturday.

It is my understanding that gearboxes are to last a minimum of four races. If the four-race policy is correct, most teams should be starting with new gearboxes for this race weekend. Hopefully there isn't an issue with this new gearbox that is in Kubica's car.

[sennafan]

^
Am I the only one who hopes the Heiki beats the shit out of Hamilton the rest of the year?

I am guessing yes:D

[Jon325i]

All good points about Kubica's chances for tomorrow but there is one wild card: forecasters are predicting a chance for rain. If this happens, the teams who set up a car(s) for the wet could have an advantage. I'm thinking this might be Massa's strategy. He's waaay down in 9th.....probably has so much fuel in the car its spilling from the filler as well. If the rain comes down steady enough to get things sufficiently damp, everyones' tire choice and pitstop plans will be chucked out the window - and that always makes for an interesting race.

Jon

[Jean]

Wow, this will be an interesting race tomorrow, or start.

[Jon325i]

Just a scheduling reminder: tomorrow's race is aired on Fox (not on SpeedTV) 1PM EST / 10AM PST. Be sure to check your local listings.

Jon

[E30Kaiser]

Thanks for the reminder, should be a very interesting race. Especially if it rains. I see Hamilton crashing into Kimi in the pits and Heikki running out of fuel with Webber bursting into flames and Rubens winning it. Okay maybe not that exciting but it should be really good hahaha.

[sennafan]

Because of the chance of rain, I am not counting out anyone in the top ten espically Massa. He has too strong of a team to be in 9th place.

[Jon325i]

The weather forecasters were spot on - very damp track and now they've announced more rain is likely. As I said before, this is the wildcard which can dramatically change everything. Good stuff :-D

Jon

[Erick]

Heidfeld had two separate passes that were pretty amazing. I have no clue what Ferrari is doing. Kimi's first stop had a horrible gamble gone wrong by NOT changing tires.

[Lair]

Heidfeld's move on Raikkonen and Kovalainen in the same corner was excellent.

[Erick]

This spin cycle fest is ridiculous right now!

[Lair]

Heavy rain - the X factor. :D