The Official 2008 F1 Series Thread

[z31maniac]

Possible F1 "Million Dollar Race" on Fridays? Just prize money - no points. Discuss.

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-teams-propose-1m-friday-show-race/

Jon

Meh, doesn't really interest me. Not to mention, how is adding 18 non-points races to the season going to help control out of control money expenditures?

Didn't Honda cough up approx $4mil for Super Aguri to race just one more weekend? If that's what it took to run Super Aguri, imagine what Toyota, McLaren or Ferrari spend for a weekend?

I'd rather see 2-4 more "real" races on the calendar then this gimmick.

[TDE30]

Just sounds like a random excuse for the teams of FOTA or whatever to blow enormous amounts of money. I, personally, don't get it and think it's a pretty dumb idea.

[E30Kaiser]

Wait would they use the F1 cars? Or other cars? I would love it like I said, if they use like M1's or something and the fastest from friday practice get to race with up and coming racers. F1 cars racing on Friday just seem pointless and expensive. Not to mention it is just going to be the Ferrari and McLaren guys getting rich, put them in evenly matched closed wheel cars or something so we can see who the real drivers are on Friday!

[Jon325i]

Williams-Toyota confirms drivers for 2009: Rosberg & Nakajima both retained. Nico Hulkenberg also retained as test driver.

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-nakajima-retained-at-williams-for-2009/

Jon

[E30Kaiser]

I was surprised Nakajima got the nod, even though I like him, I thought he was on the edge. I guess they have faith in him that he will keep bringing in points. Nico is an obvious choice though.

[TDE30]

I was surprised Nakajima got the nod

Me and you both.

He's taken out Kubi, Alonso, and probably someone else when I wasn't watching.

[Jon325i]

I forgot I should've posted this after last weeks' race in Singapore. I bet Alonso did something like this when the cameras were off :-P




Jon

[z31maniac]

^Hahaha, that's great!

Same surprise here on Nakijima. They must think he will get over these rookie mistakes and find the pace he had at Interlagos last year before trying to run over a crew member.

[z31maniac]

Kubica and Heidfeld confirmed for 2009.

[Jon325i]

Kubica and Heidfeld confirmed for 2009.

Linky for those who like to read....

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-bmw-sauber-keeps-kubica-heidfeld-for-2009/

[dinanm3atl]

While I love both the drivers I see another 3rd place season for BMW. Make a move for a top driver. Geesh.

[Hick]

Well, you never know how next season is going to play out. With aero changes made to help over taking, the new KERS system may call for another type of driving, and the use of slick tires may change everything.

Who knows, Toyota may be the top team next year!

With the KERS system being on the back axel only, i wonder if we will see brake bias set more to the rear, early braking, or very hard deep braking to charge the systems. Its going to be interesting.

[Jon325i]

With the KERS system being on the back axel only, i wonder if we will see brake bias set more to the rear, early braking, or very hard deep braking to charge the systems. Its going to be interesting.

I agree - there is so much up in the air with the cars for next year, it's really tough to make the call on who is going to set the performance bar which other teams will strive for. Perhaps that's why, at least to what has been disclosed, the drivers are staying put with their current team - either by contract (which is never iron clad) or by the unknown of what to expect next year.

I'm sure there will be some shuffling around - the looming changes at Red Bull & Toro Rosso have been very public. Renault, Honda and Toyota have yet to say what their drivers' lineup for next season will be.

Jon

[Hick]

Speaking of which, has anyone seen the renderings for the '09 car? My dad told me he saw something, remarked that the rear wing makes it look like an indy car, but he couldnt find the pic for me.

[Jon325i]

I found this on F1fanatic.co.uk.....



You can see the barge boards are gone, as are a number of winglets which helped direct airflow to the key aero pieces that generated the downforce - afterall, the new cars will be emphasizing mechanical grip instead of aero grip. It looks like there's a 'tray' device which you can clearly see.....most notable is the platform bit at the aft end of the sidepods - no doubt part of keeping the air flow on the underside of the car clean for the rear defuser (I'm pretty certain that's staying). The sidepods themselves don't look to be altered much from the current specification car. Lastly, the rear wing looks to be significantly reworked.

Jon