The F1 season 2006

I honestly think its got the raw pace. Schumi shot himself in the foot at Monaco with his parking stunt, car was plenty fast enough to probably allow him the win there. If it wasnt a decent car he wouldnt be 2nd in the championship. But thats just my opinion

 

Really? I wonder...

More fact than opinion I'd say, but overall it doesn't appear decent enough to allow MS to win on his (and the car's) merits. Renault have the dominant package (driver/chassis/engine) and McLaren seem to be getting their act together again.

 

The problem is that we cannot tell wether it is the car or the driver that is slow or fast. Given the huge differences between Alonso and Fisichella, I would say that the Alonso-Renault package is very fast. Schumacher-Ferrari seems slower, but there is also a large gap between Schumacher and Massa.

So one cannot really say anything more than this: Alonso-Renault is faster than Schumacher-Ferrari. One could perhaps add that Fisichella is very fast (Schumacher said so), and that would point to the fact that Alonso really feels good with the Renault.

Another point is that even if everyone is saying that Alonso is cruising, he often says the victory was not easy, that is, he actually had to push hard. So perhaps he is really making the difference. How much of that difference is greater than Schumacher's difference to Massa is a moot point.

 

I think that it is clear now that the car matters as does the driver.

We haven't seen it so clearly for quite some time.

And yes Alonso does have to work hard to win as his car is difficult to drive (but fast as well).

Ian

 

So Montoya then, did he leave, or was he pushed surprised he left 1/2 way through the season, would have thought he'd work all his contract, so he's going to do Nascar then ya well I think that'll better suit his driving style, (no corners ).

 

Really ?
NASCAR is almost entirely corners.

 

Hmmm, in the light of yesterday, I might have to eat those words. But then the Bridgestones behaved themselves. Will they do so at the next track? Perhaps I should also make that driver/chassis/engine/tyre combination.

The Swiss commentators made the interesting comment on Schumacher, Alonso, Massa and Fishy - one can see the gulf between the No.1 and No.2 drivers. Thankfully we haven't yet reached the stage where the driver contribution counts for nothing.

 

I don't know if this is of any interest to anybody, but I find the following article a reasonable explanation as to why formula 1 is less than interesting at the moment.

http://atlasf1.autosport.com/99/san/preview/soerensen.html

The maths is a bit schoolboy, and they make some dubious assumptions (that they admit), but overall I think it serves to illustrate that formula 1 has gone in the wrong direction - at least as far as racing is concerned

Apologies if this article has been mentioned before - I just don't have time to go through this whole thread

Cheers

Andy

 

I've just been doing some sums and realised that the season is over. If Micky Shoes wins every remaining race and Alonso is second, Alonso is champion. Given that that is extremely unlikely, I think that only one or two mechanical failures is going to stop Alonso from winning again - and since the Renault seems to be bomb-proof, that is also extremely unlikely.

Good, I can stop watching whenever I want!

 

"I think that only one or two mechanical failures is going to stop Alonso from winning again - and since the Renault seems to be bomb-proof, that is also extremely unlikely."

I have been predicting at work that Renault will not win the constructors championship for a while now and that thee drivers championship will be very close. It won't need many more races like that for MSC to have a very good chance of winning the drivers.

"Good, I can stop watching whenever I want!"

Of course you can. But it might get a bit more exciting now.

It is a shame that the TV coverage missed BUT and BAR overtaking competitors in the early stages of the race.

Ian

 

I think the TV director was pushing buttons at random. Not for the first time I was screaming at the tv.....why do they insist on cutting to something trivial just as the action perks up.

 

Like adverts They do seem to last for several laps and to come up with depressing regularity. Do wish it was on BBC!

 

Hmm, I'd never make a living as a prophet, would I? You'r clearly better at this prophecy business than I am, Ian - but then, yours is a form of insider trading!

As you say, it could indeed get exciting again - Ferrari seems to have found its groove again. Now, it would be really nice if some of the others would challenge Ferrari and Renault. And I look forward eagerly to Jenson Button's first win. The guy clearly has talent - with matching machinery he could do it.

 

"but then, yours is a form of insider trading!" Tones

I do have access to quite a bit more information!

Not surprisingly we are also eagerly awaiting Jenson's first win.

Ian

 

The mass damper thingie seems to be an important factor in Renault's success, judging from their (lack of) pace in the last race.

Ian, could you enlighten us about the politics behind the FIA ban of them? Classifying them as moveable aerodynamic devices looks a bit ridiculous to an outsider since the mass damper is mounted inside the body, i.e. not in the air flow.

 

Markus,

Don't think anyone knows how big an effect it was on Renault losing the mass damper last weekend. They certainly had worse ride but it was a circuit that they weren't going to do to well at in any case. But I doubt anyone expected them to be that bad!

They have been banned as they reduce the body oscillation and therefore it is deemed that they must affect the aerodynamics. Mainly because the car can then be run at lower ride heights and because the aero platform is more stable.

I would bet that they were banned as the FIA want to slow cars down. As quite a few teams are running them then that is an easy way to slow the grid.

They have a greater effect on Michelin tyres and so it would have been in Ferrari's interest to try and get them banned....

Ian

 

I think its now very likely that Ferrari and Schumacher will win both championships. Told you that Ferrari was a fast car.

 

I think we should be running a poll - who's stupider, Alonso or Schumacher?

 

traffic rage as DAV calls it!!

 

WELL DONE, JB!!!

Hopefully the first of many.