Formula One!

[PIMking]

Who's going to watch the Australian Grand Prix? It's just getting ready to start!!!

[STeeLy]

Been watching since the beginning of the race.

Thought it was going to be a more leveled playing field between 5 different teams. Looks like McLarens will pull away here.

[Bertuzzied]

They really need to water the track every race. zzz hehe

At least Jenson Button's girlfriend is superhot, but not staying up late or getting up early for.

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

They really need to water the track every race. zzz hehe

Oh hey Bernice Eccelstone, how's it going?

[Otsy]

I like the race. Too bad for Maldonado crashing on last lap, that's very unfortunate. I'm glad Raikonen is back making or at least attempting passes most drivers won't do. And lastly I'm glad Vettel didn't win. He's gonna win his share of races this year, but hopefully won't have the drivers championship wrapped up so early like last year.

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by Otsy

I like the race. Too bad for Maldonado crashing on last lap, that's very unfortunate. I'm glad Raikonen is back making or at least attempting passes most drivers won't do. And lastly I'm glad Vettel didn't win. He's gonna win his share of races this year, but hopefully won't have the drivers championship wrapped up so early like last year.

I think Vettel is going to have much closer competition this year compared to the previous year.

Their car may be a little more agile than the McLarens, but they are definite lacking in straight line speed.

[St. Pats]

Originally Posted by STeeLy

I think Vettel is going to have much closer competition this year compared to the previous year.

Their car may be a little more agile than the McLarens, but they are definite lacking in straight line speed.

They were sure trying on the broadcast to talk up the improvement of various teams. Even if it was only to say they didn't suck quite as bad as expected. Having a dominant driver(team etc) without anybody to really beat cheapens the wins. When you hear stuff like "coasted to the victory" it's really not the same as fought tooth and nail. Makes no difference points wise and a win is a win and all that. But as a fan I really only remember wins by my favorites or ones where it was a thriller.

So let's hope there is some real competition this year.

[Otsy]

I think there will be good competition this year. You know the red cars aren't just gonna sit back and watch McLaren and Red Bull get all the points, Alonso is still one of the best drivers around. Mercedes could steal a few podiums as well this year I think as the season goes on.

Also I think there'll be a lot of good racing in the next group of cars. Mercedes maybe not really in the elite group, so there'd be them, Lotus looks good, Williams already looks a hell of a lot better then last year, STR and Force India should have some pace as the season moves on. I think we're in for a good season of racing all around.

[#22]

-Brilliant drive by Button. When he originally went to Mclaren, I thought Hamilton was going to wipe the floor with him, but he has really stepped up his game. I think it will be Mclaren and Red Bull duking it out for honors this year, with both teams having 2 very strong drivers (Webber should have a better year, as the car suits his driving style a little better by the sounds of it).
-Ferrari's not looking too good, even Alonso will have trouble winning with that car, and Mercedes is still too hard on it's tyres to consistently battle for race wins, although they have closed the gap speed-wise, and the Schumacher vs Rosberg battle will be interesting.
-Great to see Raikkonen back in F1 where he belongs, that Lotus definitely has some speed in it, as proven by Grosjeans qualy.
-Felt terrible for Maldonado crashing like that on the last lap, but at least Williams is showing better pace and should be in the points consistently this year. Here's hoping Frank and his crew can stick it to the big boys once in a while

[devo22]

What a great race in Malaysia today! Weather conditions were extreme today - heavy rain from the start, and the race had to be stopped after 8 laps because of it. They started again after an hour or so, and the track slowly dried up.

- Brilliant drive by Alonso, who once again showed why many people consider him the best driver in the F1. Ferrari had the best strategy and was very fast on intermediate tyres while it was still fairly wet. As it got drier, Perez was much faster than Alonso, but he managed to get his 28th win. He always gets the maximum results out of a mediocre car, it's fascinating to watch.

- Massa was horrible once again. While Alonso finished 5th and 1st in the first two races, Massa finished 16th and 15th. Unbelievable. Rumours say that Ferrari is planning to replace him as soon as next race. Adrian Sutil would be a candidate - and Sergio Perez obviously, who has been part of Ferrari's youth programme.

- Perez was outstanding today. Very clever and very fast towards the end of the race. The kid has got some serious talent, he will surely end up at Ferrari sooner or later. Big result for Sauber Racing - manager Peter Sauber cried tears of joy.

- not a great result for McLaren - Button made a mistake by colliding with Kartikheyan early, and he finished out of the points. Hamilton lost time in the pit and fell behind Alonso and Perez. He couldn't handle their speed, but secured third-place. Damage control by Lewis, as the McLaren clearly has problems when it's wet.

- Frustrating weekend for Red Bull as well. Webber was solid, but not spectacular - he finished 4th but could not compete for a top 3-result. Vettel made a similar mistake as Button and collided with Kartikheyan as well, so he finished out of the points as well. He was very pissed after the race, clearly frustrated with the car and Kartikheyan - the gods of last year seem to have crashed down back to Earth pretty quickly.

- Raikkonen had a good race. Lotus had good speed, as Kimi was able to keep up with the Red Bulls and he only fell behind Webber because of a worse pit stop. At the end he got the fastest lap of the race ... I guess it's only a matter of time until he gets back on the podium.

- Senna (6th), Vergne (8th) and Hülkenberg (9th) all made points, while Vettel (11th), Rosberg (13th), Button (14th) and Massa (15th) did not and Schumacher (10th) only got a single point. Funny race

[3 Justin 3]

Race was pretty good last night. Sucked that it had to postponed for so long (ended up going to bed at like 5:30am), but it was fairly entertaining. I remember a few years ago no one ever passed each other, and this year they seem to be passing each other every lap or so.

Ferrari clearly has a mediocre car as Perez was just tearing Alonso up in the last 20ish laps, but couldn't pass him. May be a good wet car, but I doubt the next 18 races will be wet races. I think McLaren and Red Bull duke it out this year for both the Constructors and individual World Championship.

Sucks that after getting 3rd on pole Schumacher ended up in 10th. Had a rough start and then was hit and knocked back to 17th place.

2 weeks until the next race

[Bertuzzied]

Night and day between a dry and wet race. Blah missed out on a huge bet as in wet weather there are no favorites to win the race.

[St. Pats]

Different guys on the podium. Race with all kinds of action and conditions. Can't really ask for much more. F1 can be amazingly interesting when the results are more in doubt.

[Otsy]

Fantastic race. I was really impressed by Perez. Great to see different teams on the podium. I wonder if Maldanado will find a new way to DNF each week within the last 5 laps. That's gotta be rough, should have had two points finishes so far. Setting up to be a great season with no clear favorites. Can't wait until Kimi is back on the podium soon.

[Jimmy Stang]

I'd like to record some F1 races this season to get back into it a bit (it has been years!). I have a question about the channels/broadcasters however before I set my PVR.

I notice that the races air on both Speed and TSN. Which channel has the better coverage? Is the race blacked out on Speed (I read something about this online, but it was for the 2011 season)?

Quite simply, I just want to know which channel to set my PVR to. Also, how much should I extend the recording by to ensure that the end isn't clipped? An hour should account for any reasonable delay, I would think.

[Otsy]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

I'd like to record some F1 races this season to get back into it a bit (it has been years!). I have a question about the channels/broadcasters however before I set my PVR.

I notice that the races air on both Speed and TSN. Which channel has the better coverage? Is the race blacked out on Speed (I read something about this online, but it was for the 2011 season)?

Quite simply, I just want to know which channel to set my PVR to. Also, how much should I extend the recording by to ensure that the end isn't clipped? An hour should account for any reasonable delay, I would think.

Go with TSN. Speed is awful. An hour extra should be fine because unless there's a red flag that stops the race for a weather/accident delay, they aren't allowed to exceed 2 hours of racing anyway.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Otsy

Go with TSN. Speed is awful. An hour extra should be fine because unless there's a red flag that stops the race for a weather/accident delay, they aren't allowed to exceed 2 hours of racing anyway.

This is precisely the info I was looking for. Thank you! I'll set the PVR accordingly.

Is Speed awful because it has different commentators, production, etc.?

[KelVarnsen]

Speed is blacked out for the live broadcast anyways.

[devo22]

this season is just fantastic so far - very unpredictable! Rosberg, Schumacher and Kobayashi finish 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the qualifying for the Chinese GP Hamilton actually finished 2nd, but he'll start 7th because they had to switch the gear box. Sauber is really good this year. Räikkönen 4th Vettel missed Q3 and will start 11th

1 Rosberg (Mercedes)
2 Schumacher (Mercedes)
3 Kobayashi (Sauber)
4 Räikkönen (Lotus)
5 Button (McLaren)
6 Webber (Red Bull)
7 Hamilton (McLaren)
8 Perez (Sauber)
9 Alonso (Ferrari)
10 Grosjean (Lotus)
11 Vettel (Red Bull)
12 Massa (Ferrari)

[#22]

Amazing lap by Rosberg. Smooth and fast. Too bad Coulthard yakked through the whole onboard shot of it