Australia: The Race
It’s all been building up to this. Formula 1 teams have been literally working day and night since the chequered flag dropped in Brazil to ready their 2008 challengers for race day in Melbourne.
We’ve followed winter testing, we’ve read the form guide, we’ve watched free practice and qualifying, and now we want to see a race. The banning of traction control / engine braking has already shown us that the cars will at least look dramatic, let’s see if that translates to some on track action. The dash to the first corner will be unmissable at the very least.
The temperature in Melbourne is currently 34°, it’s going to be a warm one. Race starts at 15:30 local time.
As ever, we’ll be following online live timing, while watching ITV’s television coverage.
For anyone looking for online video, we got decent mileage out of TVlizer yesterday. Also, apparently SopCast player will allow you to watch Network Ten Australia’s broadcast (although we haven’t tried it yet).
A reminder of the qualifying positions can be found on f1.com.
We’ll be providing the usual comment updates during both the build up and throughout the race. Please shout if you’re watching live. If you’ve stayed up late, or woken early let us know what fix is keeping you conscious and where you’re watching.
As has been the case all weekend, comments posted here will form the bulk of our F1 Digest coverage later on today.
Bring in on!
March 16th, 2008 at 3:38 amme said:
on the table this evening x1 can of red bull, and x1 can of coke zero.
f1 is not good for our health.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:41 amDan Brunell said:
Can Kimi come from the back once again? Will Alonso last even the race without throwing Renault under the bus? Will BMW continue drop jaws? Will Lewis Hamilton choke once again?
Oh boy is this going to be great!
March 16th, 2008 at 3:42 amChristine said:
Sutil starting from the pitlane - more damage than we realised.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:44 amme said:
really, really hoping they do.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:45 amMichael Roberts said:
Morning all. I’ve got to stop getting up at 3am each year, I think is my 9th year in a row.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:47 amme said:
9 years! c’mon the night races
March 16th, 2008 at 3:47 amChristine said:
Nick Fry says JB is about to sign a new three-year deal with Honda.
Three more years of misery then!
March 16th, 2008 at 3:50 amDan Brunell said:
Thanks for the fix me,
On Speed right now they are playing a Formula One preview that sounds more like a corporate BS piece. Really… it’s terrible.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:50 amme said:
they give him this years overalls, and he still doesn’t heed the warning?
March 16th, 2008 at 3:53 amMichael Roberts said:
Just ignore Nick, he seems to think Honda can win the championship within the next 3 years - he is obviously crazy.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:53 amme said:
we have lewis discussion traction control and starts.
sounds like we could have a couple of drivers embarrassing themselves in the first few races. gonna be tricky for the aguri drivers who’ve had next to no practice at all.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:53 amDan Brunell said:
BTW: The server is slow. I’ve been timed out twice so far.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:55 amScott Dryden said:
I don’t find it particularly tough to stay up, but waking up at 3:30am would be hard work. I might get some sleep after the race, mind, otherwise I’ll probably end up falling asleep early evening.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:55 amIan Lockwood said:
Morning! - Remember to remind yourself of your FantasyRacers team too, so you know who you are cheering!
March 16th, 2008 at 3:56 amSteveintheUK said:
Sorry for being late to get here, I just tried TVlizer but not sure what video player they are using as tried it twice and both times in crashed my PC.
I think I will stick to watch ITV-F1.com/live with volume on low, listening to BBC Radio 5 Live, watching formula1.com Live Timing and trying to keep up with the live comments here. Oh and trying to work on some website designs at the same time, both think I’m going to get must design work done tonight.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:57 amChristine said:
Just read on Autosport that the FIA have imposed a 90 second engine mapping freeze for the start of the race, to try and dissuade teams from giving the drivers any boost.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:57 amScott Dryden said:
I wonder whether ITV were jumping the gun with regards to the JB stuff. Ted implied the three-year contract was imminent, but Fry himself said he expected the deal to be completed sometime this year.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:58 amme said:
apologies, it’s been pretty solid all weekend, we have some speed improvements coming for the next race, hopefully it’ll hang in there until the finish.
pls yell if it doesn’t get any better.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:00 amme said:
that is a sore subject, one of mine’s starting from the pitlane
March 16th, 2008 at 4:02 amMichael Roberts said:
Ditto. I’ve also got Kazuki, Nico and Seb Vettel. Should do pretty well then…
March 16th, 2008 at 4:02 amIan Lockwood said:
Maccas hedging their bets on tyre choices - Lewis starting on hard, Heiki on soft
March 16th, 2008 at 4:03 amme said:
i need to know what trulli thinks about that.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:07 amme said:
i would’ve thought that if heikki was heavier he’d want to start on the harder tyre. maybe it wasn’t a great qually lap from him?
March 16th, 2008 at 4:07 amDan Brunell said:
Speaking of people on the move… how long till you think Vettel is going to get an offer from a bigger team? I know Red Bull has marked him to replace DC, but I have to think more than Red Bull are interested in his talents.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:09 amScott Dryden said:
I found that Hamilton/Kovalainen feature on ITV to be really cringeworthy. It was incredibly forced, and actually left the impression that they don’t have all that much in common, so wouldn’t usually chat socially together.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:10 amme said:
somewhere i read today that he’s maybe ferrari’s reserve driver (something to do with the engine deal). could be a load of nonsense though.
the fact they put him in the rbr car during testing says a lot about their plans. he’d make a good replacement for massa methinks.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:11 amKris said:
I’ve just seen that awful contrived kovalainen/hamilton joint interview: I can’t believe that ITV showed it! It was a terribly disguised attempt to assert that what went on between Alonso and Hamilton last year wasn’t Hamilton’s fault: - see?! he’s so easy to get along with!
The itv pro-hamilton bias iritates me at the best of times, but Im coughing up my popcorn as we speak (which given the time might be a good thing)
March 16th, 2008 at 4:12 amMichael Roberts said:
Another quick German in a Ferrari? We know what that means.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:13 amSteven Roy said:
I saw the Vettel / Ferrai item. It was quoted from Bild so it is absolutely certain to be rubbish.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:13 amme said:
it’s very flaky, if you have itv i’d stick with that.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:14 amDon Speekingleesh said:
Morning all.
A few hours sleep and a pack of crisps is all I need to stay awake.
I think this is my 13th year of getting up for the race. All the Melbourne ones.
Watching the ITV coverage until the Setanta coverage starts. Glad I won’t be watching it all season.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:16 amChristine said:
The grid walk makes me cringe.
I want crisps!
March 16th, 2008 at 4:20 amAlenyaa said:
There we are again, covered in blankets watching F1 (for the 11th consecutive time)
Let’s get racing!
March 16th, 2008 at 4:21 amme said:
has anyone spotted any “paddock boys” holding flags? thought they were mixing up girls / boys at this gp?
all i see are girls with flags.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:23 amSteveintheUK said:
DANNI MINOGUE, I knew it was worth staying up
March 16th, 2008 at 4:23 amScott Dryden said:
Spot on, I really couldn’t agree more. Ryder managed a new low with all that ‘look how nice and pleasant it all is now they’ve got rid of that nasty Spaniard’ crap.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:23 amSteven Roy said:
If anyone needs an internet video feed TVU 53060 Wheels looks really good just now.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:25 amme said:
ferrari like a fast out lap to warm up their tyres, macca prefer a slower tour.
wonder if this’ll be a *very* slow warm-up lap?
March 16th, 2008 at 4:25 amSteveintheUK said:
Sorry, but glad to say no, men in tight shorts, high heals and low cut tops would just not look right.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:25 amme said:
hahahaha. glad it’s not just me
March 16th, 2008 at 4:27 amDan Brunell said:
So let’s make this interesting… how many cars wreak on the first corner today?
March 16th, 2008 at 4:28 amMichael Roberts said:
My money is on Massa and Trulli.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:28 amSteveintheUK said:
Heldfelds drink bottle is feeding him drink all the time, I dont think he is going to have any drink left soon, that will make for a nice easy race for him. Wonder how long that takes to change?
March 16th, 2008 at 4:28 amme said:
7. and no spare cars!
March 16th, 2008 at 4:29 amScott Dryden said:
I’ve plenty - nipped out to Sainsbury’s and stocked up on crips and peanuts before they closed. I should’ve got myself some bacon to fry too, and then I’d have the ultimate in unhealthy snacks to enjoy.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:31 amSteven Roy said:
I predicted 6 DNFs in the GP Wizard Grid Game
March 16th, 2008 at 4:31 amDon Speekingleesh said:
I’ve eaten my crisps now. It’s up to the race to keep me awake.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:33 amSteveintheUK said:
At least one car will stall on the first start
March 16th, 2008 at 4:33 amScott Dryden said:
It’s certainly not. He [Ryder] really wound me up at Hungary last year during their race coverage when he was hypercritical of Alonso’s antics in the pits, but then justified Hamilton getting Daddy to run to the FIA (and thus get his own team-mate a penalty) by saying that sometimes you have to be ruthless if you want to be a champion.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:34 amSteven Roy said:
Safety Car
March 16th, 2008 at 4:34 amme said:
woooooooohoooooo!
March 16th, 2008 at 4:35 amme said:
pit lane closed
March 16th, 2008 at 4:36 amChristine said:
Vettel is out, Button looks broken. I ain’t happy.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:38 amMichael Roberts said:
Massa stacked it for no reason. Just can’t handle the pressure.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:38 amSteven Roy said:
Webber out
March 16th, 2008 at 4:38 amme said:
massa, sheeesh. terrible driving.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:40 amme said:
bmw not able to live with the mclaren at this stage.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:41 amScott Dryden said:
Who’s the kamikaze Fisi was taking about?
March 16th, 2008 at 4:42 amme said:
it looked like french seb. but was only a brief shot.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:42 amChristine said:
Reason J. Allen makes me angry #1657:
Because now is not the time to tell me Vettel likes Monty Python.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:44 amSteven Roy said:
Raikkonen in the points already
March 16th, 2008 at 4:46 amme said:
very impressive, if he’s full of fuel that’s amazing stuff.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:46 amDoug E said:
What a start.
Kimi 15 -> 8
Already lost one Force India.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:46 amme said:
button says vettel took him out.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:47 amScott Dryden said:
To make things easier, we could have le Seb and der Seb.
I’d really like to take credit for that one, but it came from a Red Bull press release.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:49 amDan Brunell said:
I wonder who Massa is going to blame this on.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:49 amme said:
sutil pits
March 16th, 2008 at 4:52 amme said:
act of god
March 16th, 2008 at 4:53 amChristine said:
Piquet is last.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:54 amme said:
liking the nascar style ticker graphics
March 16th, 2008 at 4:54 amSteven Roy said:
Hamilton keeps doing purple first sectors but not second and third sectors
March 16th, 2008 at 4:55 amMichael Roberts said:
Piquet is close to useless.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:55 amme said:
sato doing a *fine* job, given the laps he’s done this w/end
March 16th, 2008 at 4:56 amChristine said:
Sato-train just doesn’t sound as good as Trulli-train.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:57 amme said:
finally managed it. odd.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:58 amScott Dryden said:
Sato’s lap times are poor, and he’s a queue formed behind him. However, I agree that he’s doing a great job under the circumstances.
Glock has just got past Sato.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:58 amme said:
kubica early stopping, really not holding a candle to the mclarens.
March 16th, 2008 at 4:59 amChristine said:
I prefer the ones down the side.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:03 amChristine said:
Masterclass in the art of overtaking.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:03 amDan Brunell said:
You think that they would figure out by now a way to show races without commercial breaks like they do for the world cup or the Olympics… really come on you guys!
March 16th, 2008 at 5:03 amScott Dryden said:
I don’t like tickers either - they’re often distracting. American TV uses them a lot.
The thing is, given that we’ve moved from 4:3 broadcasting to 16:9, in terms of percentages we now have less height and more width. Therefore, it makes sense to position the graphics at the side, where there’s more free space.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:04 amDan Brunell said:
Damn Kimi is good.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:05 amScott Dryden said:
I think Raikkonen was a little lucky there, as some harder racers would have probably closed the door, and he’d have lost his nose.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:05 amme said:
ferrari struggling to pass an aguri, bring on the ‘09 aero regs.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:07 amChristine said:
Genius.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:08 amme said:
enjoying watching these tail happy cars.
alonso hanging it out. but having a quiet afternoon.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:08 amDoug E said:
Trulli gone
March 16th, 2008 at 5:10 amScott Dryden said:
I agree, ‘me’. You can really see the cars moving around a lot. They’re a lot better to watch now.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:10 amSteven Roy said:
Raikkonen 0.8s slower than Hamilton on the last lap
March 16th, 2008 at 5:11 amSteveintheUK said:
Just waiting for my other computer with the ITV live feed to reboot, it was nearly 1.5 laps behind the BBC Radio 5 Live commentary, most annoying
.
Very true, so why did they change it?
March 16th, 2008 at 5:13 amme said:
kubica coming under pressure from his teammate.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:13 amDoug E said:
How much fuel do think Kimi has? He’ll have to pit and then he’ll be behind the BMWs.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:13 amme said:
MASSA!!!!
ffs
March 16th, 2008 at 5:14 amScott Dryden said:
I think Raikkonen’s lap times are being affected by being stuck behind Kovalainen.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:15 amme said:
actually, dc could’ve given him more room.
safety car
March 16th, 2008 at 5:15 amSteveintheUK said:
Does DC not know that his car has mirrors? Its not the first time he has done this
March 16th, 2008 at 5:15 amDoug E said:
Massa and DC!!!
March 16th, 2008 at 5:16 amme said:
can kimi and fernando make it round?
March 16th, 2008 at 5:16 amSteven Roy said:
His 1st lap behind Kovi was 1.3s slower than his previous lap
March 16th, 2008 at 5:16 amChristine said:
Trulli said his battery was leaking acid and it was really hot under his right knee. Then stalled and everything shut down when he stopped in the pit box.
Battery acid? Scary.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:17 amScott Dryden said:
Another safety car then.
I was looking at some stats on f1punter.com, and it would appear as if safety cars crop up more than average at Melbourne. I seem to recall seeing evens offered on the chances of at least one safety car period. Should have gone for that, as there was clearly some value there.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:17 amSteven Roy said:
Massa wasn’t ahead so it is DC’s corner.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:18 amme said:
yeah, i assumed it was massa to start with but need to see replay.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:18 amSteveintheUK said:
Has F1 not heard of lithium batteries?
March 16th, 2008 at 5:19 amme said:
dc says:
“gonna kick the s*** of out the little ba*****”
fighting talk
March 16th, 2008 at 5:21 amDan Brunell said:
How can Massa’s Ferrari is not be damaged after that?
March 16th, 2008 at 5:21 amme said:
March 16th, 2008 at 5:22 amSteveintheUK said:
DC just said on BBC Radio % live that that crash was completely Massa’s fault, I think its time he retired, his brain and eyesight have clearly gone
March 16th, 2008 at 5:22 amScott Dryden said:
Haha… DC really has a problem with Massa, doesn’t he? This isn’t the first time they’ve had a run-in.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:22 amDan Brunell said:
Sorry, poor grammar…
How they heck could Massa not be damaged after that?
March 16th, 2008 at 5:24 amSteven Roy said:
Nice driving by Kovalainen
March 16th, 2008 at 5:24 amSteven Roy said:
Massa out
March 16th, 2008 at 5:24 amme said:
massa in trouble. ferrari reliability really, really poor this year.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:25 amSteveintheUK said:
Your where saying? Massa just pulled up
March 16th, 2008 at 5:25 amme said:
credit to him. doing a damn good job.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:25 amScott Dryden said:
I remember someone complained to Ofcom after Fisi described his car as ‘f***ing s**te’ on team radio at Bahrain a few years back. ITV should get away with it this time, as I’m sure it’ll be bleeped out of the repeat.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:25 amme said:
only 12 cars still running!
jeez.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:26 amSteven Roy said:
I meant for moving out of Kimi’s way
March 16th, 2008 at 5:26 amDan Brunell said:
That answers my horribly worded question(s).
March 16th, 2008 at 5:28 amme said:
sato out, le seb looking strong.
will there be enough to fill the podium?
March 16th, 2008 at 5:29 amScott Dryden said:
So… how many finishers are we going to have?
JA speaking about Bourdais the IndyCar driver. Hmm… Seb has only ever competed in one IndyCar race (the Indy 500, in 2005).
March 16th, 2008 at 5:32 amme said:
alonso’s going to struggle to make it if he picks up any more turf.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:32 amDoug E said:
Does ITV interrupt the race at the most crucial moments for commercials? Speed clearly does.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:33 amme said:
yup.
ferrari have no idea what happened to massa’s car.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:34 amDan Brunell said:
Was that a pair of pigs at the track… never mind it was the Osbourne’s.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:35 ammagmount said:
How many runners need to stop for the “other” tyres?
March 16th, 2008 at 5:36 amme said:
alonso does
March 16th, 2008 at 5:36 amSteven Roy said:
Raikkonen seems to have lost all his pace. He is running in clear air and has lost 8 seconds to Lewis since his stop
March 16th, 2008 at 5:37 amme said:
picked up something, or just annoyed? must be full of fuel.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:39 amDan Brunell said:
I think running off the track that much screwed up his bottom and suspension a bit.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:39 amme said:
why is kovi not on hamilton’s pace?
always falling backwards.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:41 amChristine said:
Barrichello is in 5th. Crazy race.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:42 amme said:
wow, heck of an escape from kimi
March 16th, 2008 at 5:42 amMichael Roberts said:
Kimi should go home now before he does himself some damage.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:42 amScott Dryden said:
Haha… not that I wish to lower the tone of the conversation too much by talking about celebrities, but for once a ’star interview’ didn’t annoy we. I thought Danni Minogue came across as if she at least had some level of interest in the sport. And she’s not unattractive either.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:43 amSteveintheUK said:
Are we sure Raikkonen won the championship last year? Bourdais and Glock are both driving better than him, if a little slower
March 16th, 2008 at 5:43 amSteven Roy said:
Kovalainen just set the fastest lap
March 16th, 2008 at 5:44 amme said:
massive accident for glock!
woah.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:44 amMichael Roberts said:
Is anyone going to finish?
March 16th, 2008 at 5:45 amSteveintheUK said:
Damn… what was I just say about Glock driving better than Raikkonen?
March 16th, 2008 at 5:45 amDoug E said:
What ever happened to Trulli’s predictions of Ferrari’s dominance?
Lewis with a 20+ second lead twice now.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:47 amme said:
just lewis
March 16th, 2008 at 5:47 amScott Dryden said:
I wonder whether Barichello received sufficient fuel.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:47 amSteven Roy said:
Kovi has a problem now because he is going to lose a stack of places when he pits
March 16th, 2008 at 5:47 amDoug E said:
Wow, Glock then Ruben in the pits…this is starting to feel more like Nascar than F1.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:48 amme said:
lollipop man at honda gonna get some grief for letting rubens go early. half the crew appear injured.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:48 amChristine said:
Do they have backup pit crews trained up?
March 16th, 2008 at 5:49 amSteveintheUK said:
Why does the service road have such a huge launch ramp right next to it? Glock would have saved that other wish, all his wheels fell off as he landed, no walls where harmed doing that crash. Unlike the Honda Fuel Guys, hope they are OK, but Why where they refueling under yellow?
March 16th, 2008 at 5:49 amScott Dryden said:
Just said over the team radio that RB’s fuel is good.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:49 amMichael Roberts said:
Heidfeld has a (slim) chance to win this one.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:50 amme said:
not enough people surely? at least he doesn’t have to come in again.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:51 amDan Brunell said:
I think Ross Braun just blew a gasket…
March 16th, 2008 at 5:51 amme said:
he’s gonna run out of laps or fuel, losing out through no fault of his own.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:51 amSteveintheUK said:
Each driver has his own pit crew, so they have plenty of spare trained up.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:54 amme said:
zero fuel left.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:55 amSteven Roy said:
There is only one pit crew per team for pit stops
March 16th, 2008 at 5:55 amSteveintheUK said:
BBC just said all Honda’s pit crew are fine, fuel hose guy was a new guy called Matt, his first race as fuel man, hope its not his last.
Now Williams driver has just run over something in the pits, I think all the pit crews need to go back to bootcamp.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:56 amDan Brunell said:
This race is insane.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:56 amme said:
crew keeping distance, when stop go happens
nakajima smacked the back of kubica
go le seb
March 16th, 2008 at 5:57 amSteveintheUK said:
What are the guy who work on the cars in the garage’s and on the grid called? its them that I meant, total number more than needed for the pitstops
March 16th, 2008 at 5:59 amme said:
kimi not gonna make it home.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:00 amDan Brunell said:
With Robert Kubica, “Team Lotus-Cosworth” has lost their first driver… with the way today is going… I feel very lucky.
(knock on wood.)
March 16th, 2008 at 6:02 amScott Dryden said:
Le Seb is doing a top job - only 0.8 slower than Hamilton on the last lap.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:02 amme said:
you have GOT to be kiddin’ me?
March 16th, 2008 at 6:03 amScott Dryden said:
Le Seb is holding his own, last time round he was 0.8 faster than Alonso, and only 0.5 slower than Hamilton.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:05 amMichael Roberts said:
Points for everyone!
March 16th, 2008 at 6:05 amDan Brunell said:
Crap… there goes Kimi… make that two drivers left…. (I just had to say something…)
March 16th, 2008 at 6:05 amSteven Roy said:
I just lost my first driver when Kimi retired
March 16th, 2008 at 6:05 amme said:
noooooooooooooo
bourdais!!!!!
March 16th, 2008 at 6:05 amScott Dryden said:
FFS!
March 16th, 2008 at 6:06 amSidepodcastfan said:
Ruben may have left the pit under Red according to Speed
March 16th, 2008 at 6:07 amScott Dryden said:
Go on Fernando!
Get in!
March 16th, 2008 at 6:08 amme said:
black flag.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:08 amDan Brunell said:
Horrible day for Ferrari… not only is their team gone, but all their engines as well…
March 16th, 2008 at 6:09 amme said:
mamma mia. did all that just happen.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:09 amDan Brunell said:
Way to go Nico!
March 16th, 2008 at 6:09 amme said:
how is that possible?
especially after yesterday.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:10 amSteveintheUK said:
At least poor Bourdais still finished up in 8th, so will gets some points
March 16th, 2008 at 6:10 amme said:
hell of a podium.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:10 amMichael Roberts said:
It’s crazy that this is Rosberg’s first podium.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:10 amDoug E said:
What a race! Good job Lewis.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:11 amme said:
credit to him, not phased the whole weekend.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:12 amNelson said:
You know it’s a crappy race when you don’t finish the race and you still get points.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:12 amme said:
only 6 finishers, with rubens dq. bourdais still gets 2 points
March 16th, 2008 at 6:12 amSteven Roy said:
I can’t believe anyone anywhere forecast the first 3 or 15 DNFs
March 16th, 2008 at 6:13 amme said:
when was the last time that happened? the 80’s?
March 16th, 2008 at 6:13 amScott Dryden said:
Alonso set his fastest lap of the race the final time round.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:13 amSteveintheUK said:
BBC said Rudens may still get kicked out for that. So Bourdais will finish 7th
March 16th, 2008 at 6:13 amme said:
gonna be one hell of a year, ain’t it?
March 16th, 2008 at 6:14 amme said:
good spot, what happened there? kovi not hassling him, gave him so space.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:15 amSteven Roy said:
According to the live timing Kovalainen has fastest lap. Alonso set his fastest lap on the last lap but 1.2 slower than Heikki
March 16th, 2008 at 6:16 amMichael Roberts said:
If ITV don’t show the press conference there will be trouble…
March 16th, 2008 at 6:16 amDon Speekingleesh said:
Frentzen finished third even though he retired on the last lap in Brazil one year. (The cars behind had been lapped)
Only 4 classified finished at monaco 1996
March 16th, 2008 at 6:16 amScott Dryden said:
Spa ‘98 was bad. I’ll check…
March 16th, 2008 at 6:16 amSteveintheUK said:
Now if only they can learn to overtake more without hitting each other then it will be a great years racing.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:17 amNelson said:
I wonder how many points I’ll score since Kubica and Raikkonen didn’t finish.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:17 amScott Dryden said:
OK… there were eight classified finishers then, but Nakano and Coulthard were five laps of the pace.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:18 amDon Speekingleesh said:
Nakano had crashed (I think), but DC was still running - they repaied his car after Schumacher hit it.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:18 amDan Brunell said:
I have to say… for the car Alonso had, one hell of a race by him.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:19 amme said:
he was sideways every time i saw him.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:21 amSidepodcastfan said:
Well done Vodafone/MclarenMercedes! Glad to see Ron Smiling again.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:21 amSteveintheUK said:
BBC just said that 75 per cent of the drivers who win here go on to win the championship, should we give Lewis the title now then?
March 16th, 2008 at 6:21 amme said:
March 16th, 2008 at 6:21 amScott Dryden said:
It’s very difficult to assess Alonso’s true pace. He had a differential problem in quali, which is why he didn’t make it through to Q3. In race he appeared quick when stuck behind Kubica, but it’s hard to know how much of that was pure pace, and how much was a result of him carrying a light fuel load.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:21 amNelson said:
So was the rest of the field. Looked more like a drifting competition than an F1 race.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:23 amSteven Roy said:
202 comments. I guess the live chat is a success
March 16th, 2008 at 6:23 amme said:
yes! thanks all. very, very much appreciate everyone’s thoughts.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:25 amme said:
we’ll be around for a little bit longer now, and then x2 podcasts coming later today. race coverage and then usual sunday nonsense (and fantasyracers review, if they’ve updated the numbers?).
could be a loooong show.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:26 amNelson said:
And so early, it’s 2:23AM. Yuck! I’m looking forward to Monaco, I wonder how that race will be without TC. I’m guessing there will be about the same amount of DNF’s.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:27 amSteven Roy said:
Lewis just said something incredible
The car was a dream to drive compared to what we had last year.
Last year’s car was pretty good. I wonder how much more he could have pushed it.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:27 amme said:
who will he have for competition? ferrari appear in disarray. renault don’t appear to have pace. bmw, maybe. even kovi never looked like troubling him.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:28 amScott Dryden said:
Whilst “me’s” MySQL server might not agree, I think live chat using comments works really well.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:28 amme said:
imagine singapore, night race, cold tyres. gonna be a fine season.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:29 amScott Dryden said:
Did you expect that? I was under the impression Ferrari had a clear advantage over the rest of the field. Have I not been keeping up?
March 16th, 2008 at 6:30 amDan Brunell said:
I can’t wait for the first race in the wet!
March 16th, 2008 at 6:31 amNelson said:
I had forgotten about that one. This season will be either one for the books or one to forget (does anyone remember what happened with the year between 2004 and 2006, I seem to be missing it from all my calendars).
March 16th, 2008 at 6:31 amme said:
we can do more to help the poor thing, all unprepared this weekend.
glad you likes. hopefully it adds something to the podcast coverage too.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:31 amSteveintheUK said:
I hadn’t even thought about Monaco without TC, should be fun times especially if it rains there.
ITV.com live feed just cut the interviews as the drivers started talking in their own languages, that was a little rude.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:31 amme said:
much more, although if he did he may have done a kimi.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:33 amme said:
not at all. almost everyone expected kimi to win this one.
too many things went wrong for them to be just have been unfortunate. somethings not gelling for them.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:37 amme said:
kovi hit the speed limiter by mistake? awww shucks.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:37 amScott Dryden said:
I suppose it might help Christine and yourself out with the podcast too, as you’ll have many more pairs of eyes keeping an eye on the action and reporting the goings-on. I certainly found it useful.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:38 amChristine said:
Man enough to admit it, though.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:40 amme said:
absolutely, makes a big difference. appreciate it v.much.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:40 amScott Dryden said:
I really can’t believe what Steve Ryder just asked Kovalainen. He really is under the impression that everyone else should be out there to support the boy Lewis, isn’t he?
March 16th, 2008 at 6:41 amArun said:
F1 couldn’t get more enjoyable. only 8 finishers(wat happened to Barichello?) sad that none of the 6 Ferrari’s engines finished.. But then, my profantasyf1 team rocked on(drivers - Nick, Nico, Bourdais) except Ferrari being the team (constructors = Williams, damn I still love this team)
March 16th, 2008 at 6:43 amSteven Roy said:
Barrichello got a penalty for pitting when the pit lane was closed
March 16th, 2008 at 6:43 amScott Dryden said:
I joined the Autosport fantasy F1 competition, and only two out of my six drivers made it to the finish.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:44 amme said:
yup. itv’s coverage last year was despicable, and it probably won’t improve this year. ryders appearance at goodwood specifically to interview lewis last year was a particular low point.
just have to grin and bear it. f1 racing are as bad, as are autosport when it comes to front covers and features.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:46 amme said:
and maybe black flagged for exiting again whilst still closed.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:49 amLadySnowcat said:
Well I think my heart is just about back to normal….
I hope following the Kimster won’t be this bad all season….
Great drives from Alonso and Nico though….
I am packing for Malaysia…I can’t wait….
March 16th, 2008 at 6:51 amme said:
good times
are they second now?
only them and macca having two cars finish. party at frank’s.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:52 amAlenyaa said:
What a crazy race!Can’t believe the number of DNF’s!
My thoughts on the race:
- Start
The crash caused by Fisico. What an idiotic move he was trying to pull off there. Racing down the inside line when approaching the corner while others are already braking. Did provide us with an amusing start though!
Great starts by Kimi, Taku and Piquet (+5, +9, +9). Sato showed a quick initial pace and created a gap with the man behind, but lessened from lap 13 on and the gap diminished quickly, I suspect because the driver’s behind Piquet managed to pass him and were from then on easily able to close the gap to Taku.
- Still in the early stages of the race, the fight between Barrichello and and Raikkonen.
Raikkonen lost a lot of ground on Rubens when accelerating out of corners, way more than what he should normally lose due to Rubens being able to floor it earlier.
- The Rosberg/Heidfeld pitstop
Awesome! Nico shouldn’t have lost that position to Fernando the next corner though.
- Nakajima was WAY off-pace compared to Rosberg.
Which I find strange as his last race in Brazil was quite a good one, finishing 9th after having started 17th.
- The Massa/Coulthard incident
David left Felipe absolutely no space at all, but on the other hand David was still leading him when they turned into the corner. Racing incident, I think, both were too determined which ended up in a collision.
- Crazy few minutes, in which all sorts of things happened
Rubens’ pit incident
Glock crashing out
Kimi spinning after previously completely missing the braking point
- Kubica/Nakajima collision
Didn’t quite catch what exactly happened, and whose fault it was, but until then I was very happy becasue all my fantasy racers were still in (and they were all scoring due to the massive slaughter that this GP was)… :p
- Kubica’s 2nd stint was quite short, he pitted in for the second time while the safety car was out just over halfway through the race. Might have planned not to stop again.
- Kovi/Alonso
Great pass by Heikki!
According to cmomentators over here Heikki accidentily briefly activated the speed limiter, which allowed Fernando the opportunity to pass him again.
- Ferrari reliability
Dear oh dear! Suspect Kimi might have had the same prob he had in qualifying.
Conclusion: Exciting, entertaining race. Just wish Taku’s car had helt out until the end…
Look forward to your podcast!
March 16th, 2008 at 6:56 amScott Dryden said:
I watched Speed’s coverage of one race last season, and it was an immeasurable improvement on ITV.
The best coverage I’ve ever seen was on Eurosport and, a few year’s later, F1 Digital+ (where the old Eurosport commentary team was reunited). I’ve a slight preference for Eurosport, as it wasn’t PPV.
That said, I’d gladly go back to paying 12 quid per race if it meant I could avoid ITV. When you think about it, you could easily spend 12 quid by spending a few hours of an evening down the pub, so it wasn’t really bad value given the amount of quality coverage received.
March 16th, 2008 at 6:58 amme said:
seconded.
i really liked it, the onscreen graphics were ahead of their time.
what i really want is kangaroo tv in my house, connected via wifi. i’d pay good money for multi-camera, multi commentary at my fingertips.
March 16th, 2008 at 7:07 amScott Dryden said:
Given how much Bernie likes chasing the dollar, I believe he’s making a big mistake by not looking at making premium coverage available. In many ways, F1 Digital+ was ahead of its time, and I understand that utilising traditional broadcasting platforms was too expensive for something only attracting 20,000 viewers. But IPTV, as one example, would be a significantly cheaper. And FOM act as host broadcaster at nearly all Grand Prix anyway now.
March 16th, 2008 at 9:13 amBhav said:
mmm kngaroo at home- the pinnacle of home entertainment lol
March 16th, 2008 at 9:39 amShashank said:
Fantasy racers Scores are up
3 canadians leading
1)Bergies team-619
2)CanuckF1 -524
3)Deeg Racing -524
i’m on 72nd position …not bad
Damn ..Webber is an extremely unlucky guy…will never pick him from now on…Gr8 race though.
Good decision by FIA to get rid of TC
P.S - Christine u are on 102nd position..
thats bad for an F1 podcaster..If u want advice just mail me 
March 16th, 2008 at 9:44 ambrendanstallard said:
“now they’ve got rid of that nasty Spaniard’ crap.”
Me,
LOL, the interview was tosh, but they have got rid of that nasty Spaniard:)
brendan
March 16th, 2008 at 10:11 amJourneyer said:
P69. Interesting…
Anyhoo, Barrichello is disqualified, so that promotes Kazuki to P6 (and Williams to 2nd in the constructors!), Bourdais to P7 (good on ‘em) and Kimi to P8 (this point might come in handy at the end). This also prevents a 0-point start for Ferrari - the last was in 1998.
Will that change the fantasy standings too?
March 16th, 2008 at 10:24 amshaun said:
Scott Dryden said:
[I’ve just seen that awful contrived kovalainen/hamilton joint interview: I can’t believe that ITV showed it! It was a terribly disguised attempt to assert that what went on between Alonso and Hamilton last year wasn’t Hamilton’s fault: - see?! he’s so easy to get along with!]
(i totally agree Scott).
Good to see i’m not the only one who thought that cute cuddly awkward ‘boy next door’ chat between the McLaren pair was a totally cringe worthy TV moment.Their bloody F1 drivers not little girly boy band dolly dummies?.
That interview - like you once said about James Allen sidepodcast - was to keep all the F1 widows/WAG’s happy while F1 dominates the family TV over the weekend…get me a bucket, pah!, yuck!…
March 16th, 2008 at 11:41 ambrendanstallard said:
“The Massa/Coulthard incident”
Alenyaa,
Coulthard was pretty ticked about it. I wonder if they will cut out the interview Louise did with him in which he used the cuss words.
brendan
March 16th, 2008 at 12:00 pmChristine said:
No doubt about it. Steve Rider referred to it at the end, saying: “We heard Coulthard was pretty upset about it, although you probably won’t hear that in the re-edited version.”
March 16th, 2008 at 12:07 pmShashank said:
yup.. it should..but the fantasy racers site is not opening…
anyway i had kimi on my team so i will definetly move up.. it wont matter to most of the others cuz no one would have dared to pick barrichello in his honda
March 16th, 2008 at 12:20 pmChristine said:
Cheeeeeeeky! We’re just taking it slow to start with. You just wait.
Can you tell me where Longitudinal Inertia is? I can’t seem to get the site to load - must be busy.
March 16th, 2008 at 1:42 pmme said:
50th. while beating you is a good thing, not being first is unacceptable.
what’s worse is that MustBeatSidepodcast is in fact doing just that. grr.
March 16th, 2008 at 2:58 pmNelson said:
This is fun, I was expecting to be much higher than 38th. Not so bad.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:49 pmlou said:
91 out of 112! ok not briliant but with only 2 of my drivers even finishing the race thats not bad!
March 16th, 2008 at 4:09 pmbrendanstallard said:
“No doubt about it.”
Christine,
Coulthard puts himself about as a gentleman, with his hotel in Monaco and sharp suits, but some of his comments to Louise would have taken paint off a non media savvy person. I remember him asking her about her bra at hungary in 2006.
http://tinyurl.com/33w87q
I dunno: a bloke of his experience should know that his mouth with a microphone in front of it and the world listening is a dodgy place to curse.
As I know to my cost: you mess with the media, be you ever so big, at your peril. They have long memories, and put tomato sauce on your crunchy bits before throwing you to the dragons.
brendan
March 16th, 2008 at 10:44 pmAlenyaa said:
If only Kucica and Nakajima hadn’t collided :p