Formula One 2009

[sil3nt]

Surprised no one had made a thread already! Surely there are some other F1 fans around here. 2009 is shaping up to be the best season since god knows when. The cars look a bit silly :whocares: although the rule changes have mixed the pack up nicely.

The fourth Grand Prix is about to start in Bahrain in just under 30 minutes on sky sport one with Toyota having their first 1-2 in qualifying since they entered. Im a bit of a Ferrari and Red Bull fan hoping one day Mark Webbers luck will change and he will at least win one race :woohoo:

So please show your support for F1 here unless your a Hamilton fan :shifty: :bleh:

[locatelli]

Yep, The Skys on waiting……
F1 fan here for years. Support the Ferrari’s, but Brawn GP looks like doing ok so far.
Great to see a mixture of different teams up front. BBC coverage seems to be pretty good as well. :yes:

[sil3nt]

Yes no more James Allen makes F1 much more enjoyable.

[locatelli]

Couldn't agree more!

[sil3nt]

Damn that was an awesome start Lewis is a knob :bleh: Webber is on a charge :woohoo:

[locatelli]

Yey, another person that thinks Hamiltons a knob :clap:

[Boob Johnson]

*Hamilton fan sulking in the corner*



BUT NOT FOR LONG!!! :devil2:

[robboh]

Interesting race.

Would have been even more interesting if the Truli Train hadnt come into play.

Good to see Button getting some just reward after a miserable few years at Honda.

Also great to see Toyota back up playing with the leaders.

And even Baby Piquet might have done a good enough job to get himself a reprieve from the F1 executioner.

[sil3nt]

Piquet does not belong in F1

[robboh]

Piquet does not belong in F1

Fully agree with you... on the other hand, do you remember what Massa was like when he first arrived in F1. Granted he was quick, but VERY erratic with it!!

[Karl08]

Also Massa did not have to contend with the whole "just like the old man" syndrome.

Missed the race, but nice to know there are others keen to do work on a Monday after 4 hours sleep.

As much as I have loved F1 since being a wee fullah who wrote to Didier Peroni after his shunt, I have to say I am digging on the new snow plough look of the front wing.

[discotex]

I have enough trouble keeping up with the WSBK and MotoGP seasons let alone F1, Indy, A1GP, V8 Supercars and WRC as well.

Will watch them all if they happen to be on tho.

[Mully]

This is shaping up to be the most interesting F1 season in years.

And MotoGp too, I think.....

[Karl08]

Spain will be interesting given it's the first race they can head to from their bases- as opposed to the last 4 "fly away" races.

KERS- mmmm not sure

Slicks- About bloody time

Budget Cap- come on! This is F1, not a charity- if smaller budget teams can't keep up it should not be the fault of the sport. It is about the cutting edge blend of man and machine- not a feel good love fest where just anyone can turn up and race. Those days are gone.

Alonso- Will drive for Ferrari at some stage, maybe Vettal too

Should be working, but distracted by the thought of the next race.

[Conquiztador]

Yep, I do follow F1 and have for years. The changes that have been adapted (an more to come) sadly are a must if the sport is to survive. At the same time they have taken away the predictability and made the racing more interesting. If Ferrari, McLaren etc. are best, then they should be best under any circumstances.

Imagine what teams that did in the past run on a "shoe string" (shoe string in F1???) budget could do now. This could have been the year Sauber took the championship...

On another note, I do not have Sky, so to be able to watch F1 I paid a one year fee of $30 odd to be able to watch 100's of TV channels on my puter. Why did I not do this before!!! I found 3 channels (inside a couple of minutes of searching) that showed F1 live. One was a Chinese one, another Brasilian (I think) and one more that did not really do the trick. I am sure there are heaps more. I can now also watch all other motorsports that are not on TV in NZ!

[sil3nt]

There are free live streams out there that i watch when they do not show it on Sky Sport 1 which is usually all the practices, qualifying and a few races.

[Karl08]

Great News:


New Zealand driver Brendon Hartley has inched closer to a Formula One drive after being granted an international superlicence this week, allowing the Red Bull team to immediately name him their reserve driver beginning with the Spanish Grand Prix from May 8-10.

Hartley will understudy German Sebastien Vettel and Australian Mark Webber. He will take the wheel if either fall ill or get injured leading into the race.

Hartley qualified for a superlicence when he stepped in for an injured Webber in December for testing, successfully completing over 300km at the Jerez circuit in Spain.

He has also tested for the Toro Rosso F1 team which is sponsored by Red Bull.

Red Bull who based at Milton Keynes in Britain is currently second in the F1 Constructors Championship and, after winning the Chinese Grand Prix, Vettel is third in the drivers' championship.

"I am very happy to have been granted my super licence," Hartley said.

"I must thank Red Bull for all their support since 2005 and this new role is another step on the path to reaching my goal of being a Formula 1 driver.

"I know that with the new in-season testing ban, I'm not likely to get much cockpit time, but I will be part of the team and will learn a lot from that."

Hartley's elevation has been hailed in New Zealand.

"We were notified this morning of the application approval by the FIA (International Automobile Federation)," Motorsport NZ president Steven Kennedy said.

"This is a great achievement for Brendon as he is the first New Zealand driver in over three decades to have achieved F1 driver status.

"We are delighted that another New Zealander will be seen carrying the flag in one of the highest profile sports in the world."

Hartley has lived and raced in Europe since the age of 15 when he was invited to a Red Bull junior driver assessment course in Portugal at the end of 2005.

In 2007 he took the championship title in the Formula Renault Euro Cup and last year came third in the competitive British Formula 3 series.

The next three weeks will be hectic for Hartley. He is currently in Belgium for this weekend's second round of the World Series by Renault championship at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

After the Barcelona Formula One round, he will race the opening round of the European Formula 3 Championship at Hockenheim in Germany.

Since the Formula One championship began in 1950 only eight New Zealand drivers have competed and it is nearly 30 years since the most recent, Mike Thackwell in 1984.

The other kiwi drivers to have raced in Formula One are 1967 champion Denny Hulme, Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon, Howden Ganley, Graham McRae, John Nicholson and Tony Shelly.

-NZPA

[sil3nt]

Good news alright hope he gets a drive soon!