How is the wheel on the BMW with the moulded grips? I will be interested to see if that kicks on...

Todd

Nah, they dropped it with the three spoke wheel. :p

can it be retrofitted? :)

Hey Scotty, can you point me in the direction to your F1 guessing game. I can't find it and I need to put in my picks for this weekend. THX

OT: Sports ;)

http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112203

Times from Practice 1:


1 35 Alexander Wurz Williams-Cosworth 1:34.946

2 38 Robert Kubica Sauber-BMW 1:35.733

3 36 Anthony Davidson Honda 1:35.997

4 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.709

5 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 1:37.042

6 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:37.043

7 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:37.557

8 37 Robert Doornbos RBR-Ferrari 1:37.604

9 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:37.826

10 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 1:38.448

11 40 Neel Jani STR-Cosworth 1:38.668

12 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:38.837

13 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 1:39.599

14 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 1:39.899

15 39 Giorgio Mondini MF1-Toyota 1:40.092

16 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 1:40.123

17 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 1:40.608

18 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:41.072

19 23 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 1:43.449

Friday weather update - 94 percent humidity

Welcome back to the Malaysian Grand Prix. Very heavy storms left the region relatively cool last night, but the humidity will build again to 94 per cent today, and the ambient temperature will reach 30 degrees Celsius.

The same conditions will apply tomorrow, while raceday will be about a degree cooler, which won’t actually make much difference. As David Coulthard remarked yesterday, it makes it like doing everything in a sauna when you are driving.

There are strong chances of rain again today, and stronger still on Saturday and Sunday, but the storms normally come late in the afternoon or early evening.

The 5.543 kilometre circuit is unchanged since Fernando Alonso put his Renault on pole and won last year. The race will run over 56 laps (310.408 kilometres) and will start at 1500 hours local time (0700 GMT).

F1.com

Wow, early practice I know, but that is a BIG time gap that Wurz has at the moment.

oops.. forgot to post times 2 in here...


Practice 2: Times



1 36 Anthony Davidson Honda 1:35.041

2 35 Alexander Wurz Williams-Cosworth 1:35.388

3 1 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:35.806

4 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.924

5 3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.132

6 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:36.182

7 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:36.617

8 12 Jenson Button Honda 1:36.661

9 17 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 1:37.045

10 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:37.270

11 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:37.317

12 16 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 1:37.418

13 38 Robert Kubica Sauber-BMW 1:37.457

14 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.463

15 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 1:37.590

16 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 1:37.603

17 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:37.695

18 40 Neel Jani STR-Cosworth 1:37.831

19 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 1:37.926

20 9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 1:38.081

21 10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 1:38.205

22 39 Giorgio Mondini MF1-Toyota 1:38.256

23 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 1:38.644

24 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 1:38.918

25 37 Robert Doornbos RBR-Ferrari 1:39.105

26 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 1:39.416

27 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:41.549

28 23 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 1:43.164

Wow, early practice I know, but that is a BIG time gap that Wurz has at the moment.
Friday drivers aren't completely indicative of pace.. the cars run with the revs turned up :p

Whatever, just so long as Williams finish ahead of Sauber. :p

Whatever, just so long as Williams finish ahead of Sauber. :p
Exactly... tell Heinz and Fritz to go back to Germany and think about it for a while:p

-Dan

*PW*

Whatever, just so long as Williams finish ahead of Sauber. :p

See session 2. :p

I hate Frank Williams - have since I was a kid, he killed my childhood hero Ayrton Senna. I tolerated them while they were powered by BMW, but now that is over I can go back to hating them!

GO BMW!

grid:
1 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:33.840

2 12 Jenson Button Honda 1:33.986

3 10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 1:34.626

4 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:34.668

5 9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 1:34.672

6 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.916

7 3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.983

8 1 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:35.747

9 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 1:38.715

10 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:34.586*

11 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 1:34.614*

12 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:34.683*

13 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:34.702*

14 17 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 1:34.752*

15 16 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 1:34.783*

16 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:35.091*

17 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 1:36.297**

18 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 1:36.581**

19 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 1:37.426**

20 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 1:37.819**

21 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:39.011**

22 23 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 1:40.720**

Notes: * time set in second 15-minute period ** time set in first 15-minute period

mschu will drop 10 places because of engine change

You actually beat Scotty to posting it!! :o

You actually beat Scotty to posting it!! :o
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2321493&postcount=53

;) :p

mschu will drop 10 places because of engine change
MS, FM, DC, RB, RS all with engine changes/10 place penalties.

Renault-Honda front row at Sepang

Giancarlo Fisichella has pole position for the Malaysian Grand Prix, with Jenson Button alongside him and the Williams of Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber behind them on the grid.
But what does this really mean, when the McLarens of Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen, and Fernando Alonso’s Renault were all significantly slower during this afternoon’s final 20 minute session?

It means that different people ran different fuel loads, and that as usual the true picture as far as performance is concerned must wait until the race.

For the record, Fisichella lapped in 1m 33.840s; Button in 1m 33.986s (having set the first sub-1m 34s lap in the second session of qualifying and the weekend’s fastest time overall of 1m 33.527s); Rosberg 1m 34.626s and Webber 1m 34.672s.

What can be said is that Rosberg continued to impress, regardless of how light (or otherwise) his Williams was, and that the FW28 looks like a pretty good car. One of the Williams duo will have to stop at least one lap sooner than the other (to avoid traffic in the pit), so it will be fascinating to see which of them was running heavier.

Michael Schumacher actually split the Williams, with 1m 34.668s, but drops 10 places following an engine change on his Ferrari after this morning’s practice.

The fact that Montoya and Raikkonen lapped in 1m 34.916s and 1m 34.983s respectively suggests both have a lot of fuel aboard, and the same thing applies to them about one having to stop at least a lap earlier than the other.

Alonso was slower still, with 1m 35.747s, but that was at least partly the result of a fuel rig problem which meant he did not start the final session with his intended fuel load. His 1m 33.997s lap in the second session gives more of a clue as to what his car is really capable of.

Christian Klien made it all the way through and the Red Bull RB2s looked fast when running without fuel earlier on, but 1m 38.715s with fuel left the Austrian ninth ahead of Ralf Schumacher, who made it through to the top 10 run-off despite his Toyota blowing its engine shortly after he had lapped in 1m 34.586s in the second session.

The second session weeded out Red Bull’s David Coulthard and Honda’s Rubens Barrichello (both of whom will lose 10 places on the grid following engine changes) after they lapped in 1m 34.614s and 1m 34.683s respectively, Jarno Trulli who took his Toyota to 1m 34.702s, the BMW Saubers of Jacques Villeneuve and Nick Heidfeld (1m 34.752s and 1m 34.783s), and Felipe Massa who made it through the first session with 1m 35.091s and then sat out that one to conserve the new Ferrari engine that will also lose him 10 grid places.

Villeneuve complained of lack of grip, while Heidfeld was angry to be baulked by Coulthard.

Scott Speed headed those ejected after the first session, with a lap of 1m 36.297s in his Toro Rosso. Team mate Tonio Liuzzi was next on 1m 36.581s after the team misjudged his final run with new tyres. If you don’t cross the line before the 15 minutes is up, in either of the two preliminary sessions, any improvement doesn’t count. The team’s post-session press release headed ‘DISAPPOINTING’ said it all.

Christijan Albers pipped Midland team mate Tiago Monteiro, 1m 37.426s to 1m 37.819s, leaving Takuma Sato (1m 39.011s) and Yuji Ide (1m 40.720s) in 21st and 22nd positions for Super Aguri.

The true grid won’t be published until Sunday morning, and there are numerous complications in determining where the drivers with engine changes will ultimately be placed for the start of the eighth Malaysian Grand Prix.


(F1.com)

See session 2. :p

I hate Frank Williams - have since I was a kid, he killed my childhood hero Ayrton Senna. I tolerated them while they were powered by BMW, but now that is over I can go back to hating them!

GO BMW!

I miss Aryton Senna sooooo much :( I was watching that race when it happened and it was about 2am our time, but I still had to go and wake Nick up and tell him what had happened and that it didn't look like he was going to make it. (Later to find out that he was basically dead on impact but that they wanted to be absolutely sure) When the news finally came through, I was shattered. I couldn't watch F1 for quite awhile afterwards :(

I also remember seeing his first race and there was just 'something' about him and I told Nick then he was going to be worth watching :biggrin: I loved the fact that he didn't always conform, was 'untameable' and took amazing chances which didn't always pay off, but made him compelling to watch!! He was born exactly a month before me and was taken way too early!! I will never forget May 1st, 1994 - there will never be another Ayrton.....sigh....

Didn't they discover that the steering wheel had come off in his hands? And the force of it broke his neck or something?

It is only a small comfort that he died doing something he was so passionate about.

Woooohoooo - go Nico Rosberg!!! Another champion in the making?? Gotta feel sorry for Webber though, getting a team mate that may end up outshining him in a big way.

Didn't they discover that the steering wheel had come off in his hands? And the force of it broke his neck or something?


there's never been a definitive answer on what caused the accident in the first place, but what actually killed him was a suspension arm piercing his visor and continuing in (I'm sure you get the drift without a full explanation)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/Senna_1991_belgium.jpg

nice pic...

there's never been a definitive answer on what caused the accident in the first place, but what actually killed him was a suspension arm piercing his visor and continuing in (I'm sure you get the drift without a full explanation)

Yep, sure do :( When the accident happened, just the way his head moved, well, it just freaked me out!!

Thanks for the cool pic, that's a keeper :biggrin:

on the topic of good pics, I'm trying to find the picture of the active suspension Williams leaning into Eau Rouge, it's an awesome photo.

I think that senna one is at the bottom of Eau Rouge

there's never been a definitive answer on what caused the accident in the first place, but what actually killed him was a suspension arm piercing his visor and continuing in (I'm sure you get the drift without a full explanation)

Unless you are an Italian Coronor the generally accepted answer was:
After traveling around under saftey car for X amount of laps, the tyre pressures fell on Senna's car. Once the race restarted he was under presure from competitors who had maintained tyre temp better than him. He approached Tamburello too hot....

Going into Tamburello the floor pan of the Williams bottomed out... Thus making the Williams sligtly airbourne, meaning any steering input was redundant (hence the steering input you see in the videos going around the internet results in a lack of reaction from the car). Also braking was affected

He hit the tyre barrier/wall too hard and the steering coloumn snap, travelled through his visor and... Thus a legend died...

All I know is that Frank Williams has blood on his hands. Senna is bette rthan the Shoe Maker... he was cut short in his prime - Senna would still be dominating if it wasn't for Frank.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/Senna_1991_belgium.jpg

nice pic...

What ever happened to sparks from F1 cars?

At the drivers interviews after qualifying--do you Aussies get them?--Rosberg was a very well spoken rookie. Obviously someone, maybe Dad, had schooled him on what to say.
Go Nico!!!!!!

What ever happened to sparks from F1 cars?


FIA won't allow it anymore. It is now regulated by a plank - which is what you usually see going through Eau Rouge. If that was a present day Senna picture, you would've seen dust - not sparks.

I kinda miss the sparks myself...