Just wanted to check and see how many people enjoy F1 as much as I do. I, for one, am excited about the upcoming season. I am a Williams fan, and it is nice to see that they, and McLaren, will field machines that will hopefully outpace Ferrari's F2002 in the first few races. I'm not thrilled about the cost cutting measures in the future (one engine for 4-6 races), because it seems to take away from the cutting edge technology that defines F1. However, the rule changes during the off-season will ideally provoke more competition than last season.

An F1 site with great coverage. (http://www.dailyf1.com/en)

Tell me what you think.

Originally posted by velociti
Just wanted to check and see how many people enjoy F1 as much as I do.Me, me, me. Our vacation last year was spent in Germany and Belgium, attending Rallye Deutschland and the Belgian F! GP at Spa-Francorchamps. What a crying shame that there may never again be an F1 race at Spa.

Have also attended the British GP at Silverstone and the Australian GP (Adelaide twice and Melbourne twice). You get a better all-round coverage on the telly, but there's nothing quite like being there and experiencing first-hand the awsome aural assault of 22 engines at 16,000 rpm!

Thinking of making the trek to Indy for this year's GP, or maybe Montreal.

I am, I am!!!

March 9th is fast approaching.... Go McLaren!

I visit Daily F1 often, it is a great site, F1i isn't too bad either.

I don't think they will go to one engine for 4-6 races, I think that will actually cost more. The rule changes will certainly be interesting. I hope that DC and JPM will put the hammer down on Ferrari this season. I'm sure this season will be much better to watch then last year's boring season.

Eccles, you must be rich, I am jealous :)

Rob

Has it been officially decided who is going to carry F1 in the states this year?

---jps

me too.

not too excited about the rule changes, but would love to see montoya take some more races from schumacher this year. last year was so boring.

actually, i may be the phattest F1 fan on this forum...

i used to be obsessed abotu it, and through 2001 i did not miss a minute (thank god for SPEED and TSN's carriage of Network Q's coverage: their commercials usually overlap!! :D)...

so, i was psyed about writing about and handicapping F1 on my buddies site www.crazypicks.com, but it kinda died :(

here (http://www.crazypicks.com/forum/index.php?) is all the stuff that i'd written...

anyhoo, i'm SOOO FREAKIN" PSYCHED about the new rule changes, and they're STILL changing them... like how the fuel that they finish qualifying with on Saturday will be the fuel they have to start the race with?? :eek: freakin' awesome!!
and i can't wait to see how some of my new favourites fair against the mouldy oldies with the foot clutches and manual gearboxes... it's gonna be a GREAT season...

just a note about the top 3 teams though: i honestly don't think that Ferrari is going down easy with their F2002 car in the first few races, and the burden will be on Williams (finally with something decent from Head... :mad: took long enough) to outpace them with their scintillating engines, while McLaren just haven't impressed me enough with their power, not to mention that Michelin already tailors their tyre more to Williams AND that their new car might be off track as long as Ferrari's, to really have a go at beating everyone else... but at Monaco, i really wouldn't be surprised to see Coulthard on pole again (as in 2001), and maybe this time he can finish first...
As soon as Ferrari gets their F2003GA onto track though, it's all over... i just hope that Mr. Brawn can get it through his head that team orders are bad for the sport, and that he's gonna win the championship no matter what.
oh, and i don't understand what everyone sees in Montoya!! he's overly aggressive (A1 Ring, 2001 sticks out in my mind as the stupidest one i can remember, but he does it all the time), has a nasty habit of doing things to blow up his car (Hockenhiemring, 2001 was the absolute worst, but he still effs himself up all the time), and is really only a one-lap wonder... on top of that, he doesn't strike me as the brightest blub in the lightstore... he's not got a hope of ever winning the title.

AH!! just a side note....

i've been a dailyf1.com guy for a long time, but the site i first started on was www.formula1.com, which (once up) is actually pretty good...

but the best site by far is Pit Pass (www.pitpass.com), and F1i.com is just a freakin' tabloid... i hate those guys ;) no tech write-ups like in the mags!! heh heh heh...

he's young, let him get a couple of seasons under his belt, i think you might change your mind

he's not that young, and he's been a champion in much lesser formulae... but when really put to the test, it's clear he's just a pretender... i'll put my stock in Raikonnen, or Alonso as the next great champion.

i would say its between montoya, and Raikonnen. montoya has amazing talent, he just get's a little to excited from time to time, as soon as he settles down a little bit, he's going to be amazing

Thanks for the new sites, I was unaware of them. I've been a McLaren fan since their CanAm days, though I haven't followed F1 closely these last few years.

Are the new rules a reaction to Ferrari's awesome performance or are there serious money problems in F1 because of the declining quality of the show?

serious money problems have been there for a while (first Prost and now Arrows have bitten the dust), it's just that the rule makers are slow to react... this new qualifying setup (the "Superpole") will really really tighten up competition, and really accentuate the tiniest little mistakes: qualifying in F1 used to be extremely difficult, and it just got much harder.

don't think for a second that Ferrari are gonna stay on top forever... the 2003GA is proof that they're getting a little stagnant... yes, it is much faster than the F2002, but there is very little in the way of something truly new on it as there was on the F2001 and F2002... with this in mind, it looks to be that as long as Mercedes get their act together, and Adrian Newey doesn't run out of really really good ideas, McLaren will be back on top soon... Williams will be there in the short run with a pretty good new car and fantastic new engine (+19k redline), but honestly, they don't have someone who can compare with Villeneuve, and the only thing they have going for them is BMW...

Yeah... my wife and I are both big F1 fans!

We live in Austin, TX, and in 2000, went to our 1st F1 race in Montreal. Then last year (2002) went to the opening race in Melbourne. Had seats across the starting grid from the Ferrari & McClaren pits. We got to see Juan Montoya by accident while tooling around Melbourne a couple of days before the race. Then we kinda followed him for a while. He and his entourage and news cameras were going around in a street car, and we were in another street car just behind him. Even got up close enough to get a pic of my wife standing next to him. It was all pretty exciting to us!

Looking forward to the 2 days of qualifying this year. Hopefully, the clear track in qualifying will also mean everyone will have a chance to do their best times, and make for closer competiton.

I hope Ferrari has some competition this year.

Related to RX-8... I was so excited when I first saw that the RX Evolve had paddle shifters ala F1. I thought "Wow! Mazda is rampin' up the anti... paddle shifters for a semi-auto gearbox with at least 5 gears! This will be it!". Then when the I started reading about only the six speed manual and the 4 speed auto (which is down 40 hp) I was a little disappointed. I've gotten over it now, and am looking forward to my 6 speed manual, but it would be oh so cool to have the semi-auto paddle shift with the full complement of horsepower and gear ratios!

Originally posted by javahut
He and his entourage and news cameras were going around in a street car, and we were in another street car just behind him.They're not streetcars, they're trams dammit, and we Melbournites are proud of 'em.

It seems that you and I have done reverse trips - you live in Austin and visited Melbourne; I lived in Melbourne and moved to Austin. :)

I am also a big fan of F1. Didn't miss a race last season.

Am I the only one who is a Michael Schumacher fan? I think that he is probably the best driver in the world, definately the best F1 driver.

I am also a Ferrari fan because, even with all the controversy that surrounds them, the still have this style that no one else can match.

I don't particulaly like McLaren, but that is mainly because I don't like David Coulthard and Ron Dennis does nothing but moan and complain all the time.

Still, just my opinion.

i don't much like Coulthard much either, but i will say that Mr. Dennis is far more likeable than Mr. Head of williams... ;)

the reason i like McLaren for the next serious challenge to the world championship title is because of Raikkonen, and Newey, not to mention Mercedes' development, althougth quiet, has been steady: they just blow up too frequently to challenge Ferrari. honestly though, kimi was almost the youngest driver to win a GP if McNish's Toyota hadn't blown up right in front of him coming into the chicane... of course i'm not saying "he should have" or "that almost counts", but i'm saying that's a helluva lot considering what he had to work with last season... he outqualified Coulthard 10 - 7, with (of course) a higher average grid position... where Kimi really got the butt end was with the reliability of his car, with Coulthard in 5th position of "laps completed", and Kimi down in 11th... which reflects in the points standings 41-24 for Coulthard... of course some of it is his fault for having balls (remember Spa??) and crashing out sometimes, but mostly it was that bloody engine letting go...

I think you are right about Patrick Head as well! :)

I have to admit that I like Raikkonen. I think he is one of the most naturally gifted drivers currently in F1. He was very unlucky last season and I think he could easily beat Coulthard if his car is reliable.

Also, driving through the smoke in Spa took guts. All the makings of a great F1 driver!

I follow F1 and CART.

Originally posted by wakeech
i don't much like Coulthard much either, but i will say that Mr. Dennis is far more likeable than Mr. Head of williams... ;)

the reason i like McLaren for the next serious challenge to the world championship title is because of Raikkonen, and Newey, not to mention Mercedes' development, althougth quiet, has been steady: they just blow up too frequently to challenge Ferrari.

I don't want to agree with you on McLaren being the main contender for the championship (Williams/BMW fan myself), I think I'd be deluding myself if I didn't. Raikkonen looks to have the making of a champion. I forget which round it was last year, but I loved the scrap he had with Montoya for a few turns, side by side. I also like the fact that he is soft-spoken, and not arrogant or obnoxious like some of the other drivers seem to be. I respect modesty, I just hope that in the future McLaren and Ilmor/Mercedes can give him a machine to win with.

It's kind of pointless to base any kind of potential success for a car on practice times, but I was encouraged to see Williams having success at Barcelona last week with the FW25. I'm really hoping that Ralf and Montoya are on good enough terms that they won't take each other out of races while trying to gain a position (ala US G.P.). If BMW can keep the P83 reliable (crosses fingers), I think they can challenge Ferrari and McLaren for the championship this season.

One last thing, though it's not exactly fair on my part, I almost want to see Michael out of the sport simply because his natural talent (and the machine under him) is so far beyond everyone else's reach, that it's no fun to watch him race. That's not to say that I don't respect him, on the contrary, I think he is probably the most talented F1 driver in the history of the sport, which is evident considering the records he continually sets. Still, it was downright boring last year to know that between him and Barichello, I wasn't watching who was up front, but rather who was vying for the remaining 4 points positions. I dunno, maybe I'm alone on this one, but when the two Ferrari's are lapping the majority of the field in short order, that's not really entertaining.

from shahpor: Am I the only one who is a Michael Schumacher fan? I think that he is probably the best driver in the world,
I was slow to admit it, thinking it was just the lack of sufficiently skilled competitors, but he's been on top long enough now to convince me that he's among the very best.

from velociti: One last thing, though it's not exactly fair on my part, I almost want to see Michael out of the sport simply
I don't understand this anti-Schuey view, though I've seen only a few of the races. It may be boring, but it's because he/they are nearly flawless. That in itself is historic.

Ferrari and Schuey have achieved what the other teams are investing their lives to accomplish, and what's most amazing to me is that Ferrari has done it w/o any gimmicks/new tech (turbos, grnd fx, vacuum cars, etc--or am I missing something?). Ferrari is doing the same thing that everyone else is doing, only better. Even their pit stops have gone from being laughably entertaining to being among the best in the business. While I would much rather see McLaren with this kind of dominance, they had their glory days back with Lauda & Prost.

I guess my point is everyone gets their turn on and off the podium, and eventually Ferrari will lose someone or something, and the magic will disappear. Then we'll all look back and say, "Do you remember when..." But the sport should let that happen naturally, rather than try to codify it into happening.

And to anyone who knows, how did Ferrari get their engines to be so reliable, and is this some kind of modern record?