The Official 2008 F1 Series Thread

[TDE30]

Any idea how the driver's championship will pan out?

My bet for the top ten...

P1: Kimi Raikkonen
P2: Nick Heidfeld
P3: Robert Kubica
P4: Lewis Dennis, I mean Lewis Hamilton
P5: Felipe Massa
P6: Fernando Alonso
P7: Nelson Piquet Jr.
P8: Heikki Kovalainen
P9: Mark Webber
P10: David Coulthard

Reasoning: I think Kimi seems very surefooted at SF, he has found his place and was doing quite consistent in 2007. P2 and P3 are just my own personal hopes, BMW-Sauber is a very, very consistent team (particularly Heidfeld) and I think the lack of TCS will leave them an opening in the remaining two podium positions. McMerc will probably do decent, I have to wonder how Lewis (with his new "number one" status) will mesh with Kovalainen. I don't see Renault shining this year, as a matter of fact, I really hope they don't shine. They have two new drivers this year, so 2008 could be a year of adjustment for them, (again) especially with the lack of TCS. I imagine either STR or RBR will bring up P9 and P10, but I may actually stop watching Formula One if Coulthard doesn't retire at year's end. We will see, but I am looking forward to F1 putting 2007 away and moving forward into a series that relies more and more upon driver ability. Should be interesting, a little over a month until (possibly the last) Australian GP.

[Hick]

Testing times from Jerez (February 12)


1. HAMILTON McLaren 1m19.102s < Slow because people dont like him
2. DE LA ROSA McLaren 1m19.287s
3. KUBICA BMW 1m19.539s
4. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m19.601s
5. PIQUET Renault 1m19.660s
6. HEIDFELD BMW 1m19.958s < with his advanced knowledge of cars w/o TC
7. WEBBER Red Bull 1m20.013s
8. ROSBERG Williams 1m20.029s
9. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m20.105s
10. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m20.176s
11. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m20.418s
12. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m21.133s
13. DI GRASSI Renault 1m21.200s
14. SATO Super Aguri 1m21.400s
15. LIUZZI Force India 1m21.553s
16. WURZ Honda 1m21.950s

[sennafan]

I don’t like to get carried away with testing times, but Ferrari is flying at the hands of Kimi and Renault seems to be on a steady incline as the winter goes on. It’s going to be a good year!

[Hick]

I don’t like to get carried away with testing times, but Ferrari is flying at the hands of Kimi and Renault seems to be on a steady incline as the winter goes on. It’s going to be a good year!

Yeah, Kimi over 2 seconds faster than last years time during testing at Bahrain is no joke!

[Hick]

Testing times from Jerez (February 13)

1. WEBBER Red Bull 1m18.628s < Fastest preseason time so far
2. ROSBERG Williams 1m19.091s
3. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m19.215s
4. ALONSO Renault 1m19.710s
5. KUBICA BMW 1m19.829s
6. HAMILTON McLaren 1m19.857s
7. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m19.883s
8. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m19.889s
9. PIQUET Renault 1m20.014s
10. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m20.152s
11. HEIDFELD BMW 1m20.201
12. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m20.536s
13. BUTTON Honda 1m21.147s
14. SATO Super Aguri 1m21.376s
15. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m21.710s
16. SUTIL Force India 1m22.244s

[z31maniac]

Indeed, i need more friends this into the sport

Mothafucking werd!

I'm pulling for Mark Webber this year!

And down with the primma donna Alonso.

[Hick]

Testing times from Jerez (February 14)


1. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m17.974s
2. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m18.485s
3. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m19.117s
4. HAMILTON McLaren 1m19.49s
5. KUBICA BMW 1m19.535s
6. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m19.688s
7. PIQUET Renault 1m19.817s
8. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m19.848s
9. HEIDFELD BMW 1m19.934s
10. WEBBER Red Bull 1m19.980s
11. FISICHELLA Force India 1m20.669s
12. BUTTON Honda 1m20.988s
13. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1m21.010s
14. HULKENBERG Williams 1m21.116s
15. DI GRASSI Renault 1m21.286s
16. WURZ Honda 1m21.605s

[Jparkr]

Man, Im really, really, hopping BMW gets it together... I may just be pushing for Force India and Renault this season.

[Hick]

Testing times from Barcelona (February 26)

1. HAMILTON McLaren 1m21.234s
2. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m21.434s
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m21.722s
4. ROSBERG Williams 1m22.309s
5. MASSA Ferrari 1m22.513s
6. FISICHELLA Force India 1m22.516s
7. VETTEL Red Bull 1m22.558s
8. KUBICA BMW 1m22.625s
9. BUTTON Honda 1m22.659s
10. LIUZZI Force India 1m22.942s
11. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m22.977s
12. TRULLI Toyota 1m23.023s
13. ALONSO Renault 1m23.112s
14. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m23.159s
15. HEIDFELD BMW 1m23.284s
16. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m23.323s
17. WEBBER Red Bull 1m23.458s
18. PIQUET Renault 1m23.467s
19. GLOCK Toyota 1m23.561s

Not looking good for BMW or Renault. But look as Fisi!

[Hick]

Final day of testing for 2008

Testing times from Barcelona (February 27)

1. TRULLI Toyota 1m20.801s
2. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m21.258s
3. ROSBERG Williams 1m21.293s
4. KOVALAINEN McLaren 1m21.309s
5. WEBBER Red Bull 1m21.368s
6. PIQUET Renault 1m21.443s
7. ALONSO Renault 1m21.454s
8. NAKAJIMA Williams 1m21.796s
9. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m21.933s
10. HAMILTON McLaren 1m22.011s
11. GLOCK Toyota 1m22.155s
12. FISICHELLA Force India 1m22.233s
13. MASSA Ferrari 1m22.286s
14. KUBICA BMW 1m22.299s
15. BOURDAIS Toro Rosso 1m22.465s
16. SUTIL Force India 1m22.521s
17. HEIDFELD BMW 1m22.624s
18. WURZ Honda 1m24.154s
19. BUTTON Honda 1m24.275s

[skota]

Looks like some serious sandbagging.

On another note, rumor has it that Ron Dennis is stepping down.

[Maluco]

forgive if already posted..

Melbourne 16/03/2008
Kuala Lumpur 23/03/2008
Bahrein 06/04/2008
Barcelona 27/04/2008
Istambul 11/05/2008
Monte Carlo 25/05/2008
Montreal 08/06/2008
Magny-Cours 22/06/2008
Silverstone 06/07/2008
Hockenheim 20/07/2008
Budapeste 03/08/2008
Val&#234;ncia 24/08/2008
Spa-Francorchamps 07/09/2008
Monza 14/09/2008
Cingapura 28/09/2008
Fuji Speedway 12/10/2008
Xangai 19/10/2008
S&#227;o Paulo 02/11/2008

[z31maniac]

Looks like some serious sandbagging.

Testing times are rarely indicative of what the actual performance will be come race season.

On another note, rumor has it that Ron Dennis is stepping down.

More like being bought out by Mercedes.

[Hick]

13th a 11pm EST. It begins

[E-Thirty]

Q&A For the BMW drivers.

http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2008/3/7410.html

"Racing to victory? Heidfeld and Kubica in conversation

BMW Sauber were the surprise package of 2007, eclipsing reigning champions Renault to take an impressive second place in the constructors’ standings. This year the team’s management are hoping they can take their first win.

Following recent tests in Valencia, Jerez and Barcelona, drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica talk about the recent winter break and their expectations for BMW Sauber’s third season on the grid…

Q: Did you enjoy the winter break?
Nick Heidfeld: I'm pleased to say the winter break was not actually that long thanks to the regular testing we've been doing. And in between times I've been getting through some intensive fitness training. I've got a small studio at home where I can do special exercises aimed at building up the muscles in the neck, arms and torso. I managed to spend some time with my family over Christmas and the New Year, which I really enjoyed, of course.
Robert Kubica: My winter break was pretty similar. I also spent a few days with my family and chilled out a bit. And, like Nick, I stepped up my fitness training, which included joining the team for the training camp in St Moritz. I mainly focused my training on the endurance side.

Q: Coming out of the winter break, how hard is it to motivate yourself again for testing ahead of the new season?
RK: It's not an issue. For me the short break was enough to recharge my batteries. I also like being in the car for testing. Plus there was the added incentive - and honour - of being the first person to drive the new BMW Sauber F1.08 on the track.
NH: As far as I'm concerned, the winter break could have even been a bit shorter. I love being in the car and look forward to every opportunity to drive it. All in all, I would prefer it if we tested less and raced more often. Almost five months without a race is just too long, if you ask me.

Q: With winter testing complete, how do you see things shaping up?
NH: Even for us as drivers it has been a long time since it was this difficult to say how the F1 teams stand against each other. The testing results of the big teams have simply been too variable to form an opinion. As for us, we have made huge progress since the roll-out in Valencia.
RK: The engineers took a certain amount of risk and have entered new territory in some areas with the F1.08. One of the consequences of this is that we were not quite where we hoped to be at the start of winter testing. But since the roll-out everybody in the team - and that means both the testing crew and the guys back at the plants - has been working at full steam, seven days a week. These efforts have paid off; we have made great steps forward and registered improvements in all areas. And I'm sure we are still far from exhausting the full potential of the F1.08.

Q: How has the absence of traction control and engine braking control affected you?
RK: In testing we noticed that the driver has a big influence over tyre wear. And that applies to an even greater extent the higher the temperature of the asphalt. Plus, it is also extremely important to avoid straying from the ideal line as much as possible. In the past, we could rely on the traction control to keep everything in check if we went off line, and even if you had a bit of a slide you would only lose a relatively small amount of time. Without traction control the driver has to take his foot off the accelerator to avoid the risk of spinning. And that means you lose more time, of course. As a whole, though, it is not exclusively a question of driving style. The car also has to make optimal use of the tyres.
NH: All the drivers have been really keen to find out how the latest Formula One cars react without traction control, and we have all adapted our driving style accordingly - after all that's part of our job. I also had the opportunity to try the car out in the wet in testing. I have to say that it was really fun to drive without traction control. The challenge for the drivers is greater, and that's the way I like it.

Q: In what ways does your team mate get on your nerves?
NH: When he's quicker than me. But that's obvious, isn't it?
RK: I would not like to be in a situation where I didn't have a good relationship with my team mate. Luckily Nick and I work very well together.

Q: What personal aims have you set yourselves for 2008?
RK: I will always give 100 percent and am looking to finish in the points on a consistent basis.
NH: I'm aiming to squeeze the maximum from both myself and the BMW Sauber F1.08, to minimise mistakes and to keep on developing as a driver.

Q: The first night race in Formula One history does not take place until September (in Singapore), but the idea has already been floated of holding further races in the dark. What do you think of this possibility?
NH: I'm generally a fan of all things new, so I can't wait to see how it all works in Singapore and what the atmosphere is like. The plan is to use artificial light to illuminate the race track as if it were daylight. So there is no comparison with the Le
Mans 24-hour race, where I once drove in the dark.
RK: I don't think there will be any problems if the weather plays along. We will probably notice hardly any difference to a normal race. But things might turn out rather differently if it rains, as reflections from the floodlights could have a negative effect on visibility. However, I'm sure that the FIA has planned for that eventuality as well and will ensure that the race takes place safely.

Q: And looking ahead to Melbourne…
RK: I'm a fan of street circuits, so I also like going to Melbourne. I've always been very quick there in the past. But I also like the atmosphere in the city, and the friendly, motorsport-mad fans there. At any rate, I can hardly wait for practice to start for the Australian Grand Prix. It will finally put an end to the weeks of speculation caused by winter testing.
NH: The opening race of the season is always something special. I like the
Melbourne circuit, as it has a character very much of its own - a cross between a street circuit and a permanent race track. As the circuit is not constantly used for racing, grip levels are extremely low particularly during the initial practice sessions. With no traction control or engine braking control it will certainly be a big challenge. Added to which, the weather has sometimes come up with the odd surprise in the past. For me, there is the extra attraction that Australia is my favourite travel destination, and I'll have a couple of days' holiday there before the race. Basically, I'm just really looking forward to the season finally getting underway."