Australian GP 2008

[majicmeow]

look at the underdogs go!!! Wow... I wonder what kind of fuel they're carrying.

Awesome to see the midfield players that close to the top!

[Giblet]

Should I just post to the Renault sandbagging link or let you all look for it yourself?

[Giblet]

Then Heidfeld at the end?!?!

Qauli is going to be insane.

Fisi in 5th?

OMG Kubica?

[majicmeow]

Heres the final numbers from Sat Practice

wowzers, this is going to be insane come qualifying! :O

[modbaraban]

[Ray]

Unless Lewis is sandbagging, or BMW are light on fuel, I'm completely unimpressed with Hamiltons pole. Kubica went off in a big way and Lewis only bettered him by a little over a tenth. Kubica could very well win this race.

[jaho101]

Unless Lewis is sandbagging, or BMW are light on fuel, I'm completely unimpressed with Hamiltons pole. Kubica went off in a big way and Lewis only bettered him by a little over a tenth. Kubica could very well win this race.

Knowing a thing or two about F1, what you want never happens.
I'm so impressed though, Kubica's great. Anyone surprised by Renault's lack, and Toyota's amount of speed?

[joseff]

It's intriguing to see the impact of not having traction control on the cars anymore.

Two words: Sebastian Vettel.

Outqualified Fernando Alonso in a year-old STR car. Now that's class.

[fenix4life]

Glock well start from place 19.
He received two 5 place penalties after changing his gearbox and anoying a driver in his quick lap.

Wil not change a lot at the front but it's a small gain for Kimi.

[Tom Castellani]

It's intriguing to see the impact of not having traction control on the cars anymore.

Two words: Sebastian Vettel.

Outqualified Fernando Alonso in a year-old STR car. Now that's class.

I would love to have seen where Vettel would've qualified in Q3 if he hadn't had that oil pump failure. Either way, he's going to be starting 9th due to Glock's penalties. I feel sorry for Timo since he'd done real well and seems to have got caught out by regulations and misfortune. That's one of the perks of F1 I guess. I could perhaps say the same for Raikkonen and Webber.

It was a gripping session for sure, I'm glad I stayed up for it!

[P_O_L]

its very disapointing to see ferrari not on the front row. If they dont win with a 1-2 tonight i want to see kimi, massa, domenicalli and baldiseri sacked monday. then buy sebastian vettel, mark webber, mario theissen and flavio to replace them.

[manchild]

First I'd like to ask people not to start multiple threads for one and the same GP. GP is not just a race but whole racing weekend so there is no meaning in starting thread for each practice, qualifying or race. Keep it in one topic. This is third topic for Australian GP 2008

Now for some rumors. Ferrari has problems with cooling and will limit revs to 18.000 rpm.

Renault looks like a complete disaster, Piquet seams to have car maintained by some formula student team.

Kubica for WDC!

[Conceptual]

Manchild,

Let the multi-threads alone as long as Tomba says its ok... It will up your post count, I promise.

And Ferrari limiting to 18000? Eh, maybe, we will see it on the in car on the first lap I am sure.

Vettel in a year old car could have seriously cracked the top 6, shame for the double whammy for Timo.

Good on Kubica and Jarno, and for some reason, I find that I can take Alonso starting in 11th with a great deal of satisfaction. I think Alonso will fill to the brim on fuel, and just try to block his way to his first stop.

Nesshino? GO HOME TO DADDY BECAUSE YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE... SERIOUSLY!

That is all for now.

Chris

[Belatti]

its very disapointing to see ferrari not on the front row. If they dont win with a 1-2 tonight i want to see kimi, massa, domenicalli and baldiseri sacked monday. then buy sebastian vettel, mark webber, mario theissen and flavio to replace them.

Wasn´t Ferrari going to "walk it"? I think that the only possibility for Kimi to walk it is to have some Whisky... eh sorry, that was when Johnnie was McLaren sponsor. Whatever, burn the all now they are down, thats the way to support a team!

[donskar]

Looks like we could have a three make championship this year: McL, Ferrari, BMW (in that order). Given good development programs, Renault (probably) and Red Bull (possibily) could challenge by mid-season. Does Williams have the resources (tech, budget, and driver strength) to move into that group? The Formula Japan group (Honda, Toyota) could present us with some good mid-field scraps.

[Late add in light of manchild's post: Ferrari, imho, just seems to be a bit stretched. They have gotten lots of aggro and too little praise for the job they did last year in being very competitive in spite of a huge turnover in personnel. The likes of Brawn, Schumacher, Byrne, et al are simply not replaceable in the near term. If true, the 18K rev limit is a sign of incredibly faulty design work.

Manchild is right, limit the threads.

Renault will be back - or gone. Ghosn will not spend money on F1 unless he gets results.

Toyota has to be wondering about their F1 involvement. They are having LOTS of success in US NASCAR, with a far smaller investment. They have cut back production of their trucks and large SUVs, so even they are feeling the impact of the sinking economy.]

Hamilton was quite impressive and HK in the second McL validates its competitiveness. HOWEVER, I am already tired of the adulation shown Hamilton by the Speed TV (US cable) broadcasters. The cult of Saint Lewis is already on the march - and this before the first race begins.

To listen to the Speed TV crew, Hamilton was created in a McLaren lab by combining the DNA of Jimmy Clark, Ayrton Senna, and Michael Schumacher.

Would love to see BMW win tomorrow, but I think Hamilton's speed and McLaren's professionalism will pull it off.