Any hope for this year's F1 season?

[Dr Claw]

well, ferrari has finished out of the podium, and it doesnt look like one team is going to dominate the season (except renault but it isnt total domination yet..). i am finding F1 much more enjoyable than last year, there is actual racing going on!

anybody else catch the race? and whos going to make it to the US grand prix?

[Dr Claw]

well, ferrari has finished out of the podium, and it doesnt look like one team is going to dominate the season (except renault but it isnt total domination yet..). i am finding F1 much more enjoyable than last year, there is actual racing going on!

anybody else catch the race? and whos going to make it to the US grand prix?

[Nate]

the race was amazing... the heart of F1 seems to be coming back (knock on wood)

Yes I will be a the US grand prix and probably the canadian grand prix also

-nate

[Frank]

i find it interesting that with a significant rule change, ferrari falls behind, and renault dominate.

Does this mean renault have a better theoretical ability than emperical ability?

[Patrick W. Crane]

Ferrari hasn't used there new car yet...

but keep thinking positive! anything is possible.

[Jon Huddleston]

Hope they would go back to last years tire rules. Limiting to a single tire has eliminated the opportunity to see different strategies from team to team race to race. It was awesome watching michael run a qualifying pace last season catching up and passing alonzo.
Before: Fastest lap times possible on a fresh set of tires.
Now: As fast as you can go with one set of tires for a whole race.

Sounds like a poor attempt at slowing Ferrari through Bridgestone tires and a good step towards turning F1 into a spec series.

Will be at Indy though. Still love seeing the screamin v10's up close and personal(and the big explosions the Hondas make).

[syoung]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Does this mean renault have a better theoretical ability than emperical ability? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
FSAE guys of all people should know about the importance of setting up strong and flexible systems, etc. within a team - and that's what they've gradually done at Renault. They've been building up to this car since the 2001 season. They're just about there now at the top, but it's taken them nearly 5 years of slogging to get there, the same as Toyota and Red Bull (nee Jaguar, nee Stewart!) are finally starting to see some rewards in their... 4th and 6th? years respectively.

Ferrari has been the best in the business at adaptation to new rules and turning out excellently engineered cars for at least 6 years now. Where they have really fallen down is on tyres. There have always been limitations on teams in terms of what they can and cannot do in races - remember pre-1994, when refuelling wasn't allowed? - but banning tyre changes doesn't make for a spec series. Ferrari have only suffered this year because of their insistence on building a team with, effectively, an exclusive tyre contract. They reaped the benefit last year (check out 2004 pre-season testing times, from before Bridgestone found a tyre that worked, and compare with the 2004 race results!). The 2005 Ferrari is the only one of the leading contenders to have been mostly designed after Max Mosley woke up one morning last September and decided to change the rules in such a big way; it's going to be seriously quick.

Oh and I like the new tyre rules - it's back to the good old days of having to think about your race and manage the car and your own behaviour. This definitely makes for passing opportunities - one more lap last weekend and Raikkonen would have taken 8th, maybe even 7th! Different strategies do still exist and were, for example, a major part of Massa's strong finish in Australia (where he one-stopped to most others' two).