tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17067020393557475522023-06-20T06:45:23.760-07:00RUMBLING V8F1 In My EyesS R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-64399518798588064982010-03-16T09:27:00.001-07:002010-03-16T10:25:18.010-07:00Bahrain GP<p>What bugs me most more than the lack of drama in the Bahrain GP at Sakhir is I missed 1 hour of the race due to the clocks losing an hour due to daylight savings. Couldn’t it have happened on some other Sunday! I didn’t really expect racing with full tanks would make a race so processional. It is good that Schumacher scored points on his return and beat all but 5 drivers. I’m hoping he’ll be back to his form in a few races’ time. Red Bull were a big surprise to me considering they were largely silent in winter testing. While the first fly-away races are definitely a better indicator of the pecking order than testing, judgments have to be reserved until we get to Europe. I’m expecting to see some shake-up in the order of the first four teams. Jenson Button and Mark Webber performed as expected (somehow you don’t expect them to match or beat their energetic teammates, at least not every time). </p> <p>You have to go all the way back to 2004 to find a season which Ferrari started in such a great fashion, which means it’s the first time Ferrari’s new management have tasted a 1-2 in the season opener. Alonso was cementing his position at the top with a series of blinding laps at the end but Massa could well have done the same had he not been required to run his engine rich. </p> <p>Force India did very well to open a season with points and they last did this 9 years ago when they were Jordan. But it was actually a </p> <p>disappointment as Sutil could well have scored substantial points but for the first corner melee. Their progress is significant as it is clear that they getting ever closer to the top teams all the time, and they beat teams like Renault, Williams and Sauber on merit. </p> <p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:a1569b9a-06ae-4b91-84db-674889d9e731" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/F1+Bahrain+GP+2010" rel="tag">F1 Bahrain GP 2010</a></div></p> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-2863434070423608362010-03-09T11:41:00.001-08:002010-03-09T11:41:14.625-08:00New teams<p>One of the questions you can ask about F1 this season is, “Has it been diluted due to the addition of new teams?” I know it’s loutish to be asking this question when someone is putting in colossal efforts to make it to the top echelon. But when one of them, USF1, isn’t going to make it to the grid, and the other, Campos, had to go through so many difficult changes, you can’t help yourself. Isn’t F1 supposed to be a brilliantly orchestrated world where things fall into place, in the eyes of the public, smoothly? </p> <p>A hasty addition to expand the grid is what it looks like from the outside. The new teams will have had nowhere near the input that the old teams have into their cars. Don’t get me wrong, I have huge respects for the folks at Lotus and Virgin Racing for having an F1 car ready for testing in a such a compressed timeline but all of them should have gone racing for the next season. They will have had much more preparation by then, would not have been 5 seconds behind the other teams and would have made racing more exciting for us fans by mixing it with the lower midfield, which I doubt they will do this year. </p> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-17012524067744631432010-03-01T11:05:00.001-08:002010-03-01T13:58:49.434-08:00What testing tells<p>The just-concluded winter testing tells us that it is very close between four teams this season—Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes. For a while it looked like Ferrari were going to wipe the floor with the rest of them and then suggestions came out that McLaren were actually looking a little faster. While Ferrari and McLaren seemed to be slugging it out, Adrian Newey’s team did not seem bothered to grab the headlines. Then Mark Webber slams in just that—a headline lap time. So the Milton Keynes team is there in the mix too? You bet. Michael Schumacher went from being slightly lukewarm about Mercedes’ chances for the start of 2010—not totally surprising, as he has not been known to play up his or his team’s chances in the past—to concluding it is looking positive after all. The Saubers and the Williamses look to be behind the leading bunch and it looks like Force India are going to go after them. The Silverstone squad are talking about taking their aero package, which was very good last year in terms of low-ish drag, and adding a healthy helping of downforce to get the car working in corners. The downforce/drag ratio is a difficult thing to nail and it should be quite exciting to see how much Force India have improved in this area. More championship points this season? It could be easier this time given the changes to the points system. I think a good measure of Force India’s improvement this year will be lap times rather than points. It is also worth noting how their in-season development changes after James Key’s departure to Sauber. </p>S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-68385295596244982042009-03-30T09:40:00.001-07:002009-03-30T09:51:47.725-07:00Australian Grand Prix<p>That was an unbelievable showing from the whole Brawn GP team. The cars were reliable and had spectacular pace. And both the drivers put those to good use to take a well-deserved and much celebrated 1-2. It shows not only Ross Brawn’s midas touch but also the potential of the ex-Honda squad he leads. I have to admit that I shared the popular skepticism with regards to the reliability of the cars—after all they didn’t have so much as a proper winter testing—but happily they got to the end. I also think the driving style of the drivers helped—I was always under the impression that Button had a bit more in reserve. </p> <p>David Coulthard was talking later on on whether Ross Brawn purposely builds a physically strong car and I suspect he does. That is the only way Rubens could have got away with his nose relatively intact after his clashes. Normally, as Eddie Jordan said, the nose cone would be flying in that kind of impact.  </p> <p>Vettel in the Red Bull stayed vaguely in touch with Button’s Brawn although promptly lost a podium finish with a clash with Robert Kubica whose BMW came alive in the last part of the race on prime tyres. </p> <p>It’s difficult to know what Ferrari could have done if many of the things that went wrong for them had went right: strategy, cold tyre problems in the restart, Raikkonen’s mistake and a steering issue for Massa. I think it’s fair to say that the Ferrari of these days don’t seem to radiate the solidity of the Jean Todt/Ross Brawn/Michael Schumacher days. Getting back lost operating philosophies is more difficult than clawing back lost performance. I hope the team have not yet fully forgotten their methodical perfection of the recent years. </p> <p>And it was incredible to watch how quickly fortunes change; Hamilton’s arrival had the F1 media nearly forget that there was at least one other talented British driver on the grid (read Button) who can get the job done. And now Button is leading the championship with an inch-perfect driving and an incredible start to the season! Keeping my fingers crossed for their reliability in the Malaysian GP!</p> <p>More Information: <a href="http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2009/03/29/australian-grand-prix-pictures-race/" target="_blank">Race Pictures</a></p> <script>function fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;}</script><style><br /><br /> html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/share/facebook_share_icon.gif?8:26981) no-repeat top left; }</style><a class="fb_share_link" onclick="return fbs_click()" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2009/03/australian-grand-prix.html" target="_blank">Share on Facebook</a> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-84227541004920968932009-03-28T13:38:00.001-07:002009-03-28T13:39:49.309-07:00Briatore’s mantra<p><a href="http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2009/03/flavio-briatores-latest.html" target="_blank">I previously sussed</a> that Flavio Briatore bases his recent comments on the diffuser issue on what people call the ‘spirit’ of the regulations. His latest thoughts on the issue clearly highlight this: </p> <blockquote> <p>The interpretation of the regulations was very clear in the past - the cars need less downforce for safety reasons. Correct? <strong>Every time we build a new car it was to be two to three seconds slower than the previous car. Correct? That was always the intention of the Federation. </strong></p> <p>What happened here is that the three teams (<em>Brawn GP, Williams, Toyota) </em>are going pretty clearly in the direction of downforce. And as we all knew that we will run on slick tyres from '09 on, it was the <strong>intention of FIA president Max Mosley and the Federation to impose new rules to reduce downforce.</strong></p> <p>But somebody was going in the downforce direction that was forbidden by the FIA, and that is <strong>not following the principles of the rules.</strong></p> </blockquote> <p><font color="#000000">It’s certainly the intention of the new rules to reduce downforce. Having said that, you can’t expect a Brawn aero boffin to tell his colleagues, “All right guys, the FIA wants us to go slower this year and so make sure you build a slow car.” That will be ridiculous. What the three teams have done is simple: they read the regulations and interpreted in such a way that they could put into the car their fastest possible diffuser concept all the while staying on the correct side of the rules. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to expect this of any team. <a href="http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2009/03/28/williams-makes-point-with-protest/" target="_blank">F1Fanatic says</a> Williams made a point with their protest against the Ferrari and Red Bull teams. This was a masterstroke from Williams.  </font></p> <p><font color="#000000"><a href="http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2009/03/flavio-briatores-latest.html" target="_blank">As I’ve been saying</a>, any team’s job is to make sure their car complies with the regulations. If they also factor into their car design the supposed outcome of the regulations (which Briatore seems to claim his team did), well, they are doing something which they don’t need to. </font></p> <p><font color="#335577"><font color="#000000">This diffuser row, if anything, is putting into spotlight the inadvertent (or may be intentional) practice of the FIA to leave their technical wordings open to widely differing interpretations.</font> </font></p> <p>More Information: <a href="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73968" target="_blank">Briatore’s Say</a></p> <script>function fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;}</script><style> html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/share/facebook_share_icon.gif?8:26981) no-repeat top left; }</style><a href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2009/03/briatores-mantra.html" onclick="return fbs_click()" target="_blank" class="fb_share_link">Share on Facebook</a> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-23551354693213638412009-03-27T16:17:00.001-07:002009-03-27T16:18:28.669-07:00Surtees’ indelicate comment on Button<p>The only MotoGP <em>and </em>Formula 1 champion, John Surtees, reportedly had the following to say of Jenson Button: </p> <blockquote> <p>Sebastian Vettel is an example of a real driver, look at Button - frankly, I wouldn't have confirmed him with the team. If you don't give 100 per cent, even when the car is not good, you have to be sacked - you can't just be good when you have a good car.</p> </blockquote> <p><font color="#000000">I consider this comment to be seriously flawed. Firstly, comparing Button with another driver from another team is not the right way to go about criticizing (or commending, for that matter) his performance. The two operate in completely different scenarios in just about every area and it is simply not right that their results are matched just like that. If Vettel winning the wet Monza has made him the ‘real driver’ in Surtees’ eyes, what does he make of the Button who won the rain-soaked Hungarian GP in 2006? Secondly, I don’t understand how Surtees is so certain that Button is not giving his 100%. From his on-track results? Results are skewed by a number of factors—car performance being the primary one. Only the driver and his engineers know what he’s doing in the car. Nobody else does. </font></p> <p>More Information: <a href="http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/03/24/brawn-should-have-sacked-button-surtees/" target="_blank">Surtees On Button</a></p> <script>function fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;}</script><style> html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/share/facebook_share_icon.gif?8:26981) no-repeat top left; }</style><a href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2009/03/surtees-indelicate-comment-on-button.html" onclick="return fbs_click()" target="_blank" class="fb_share_link">Share on Facebook</a> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-27827180508284403072009-03-21T12:42:00.001-07:002009-03-22T10:20:52.996-07:00Flavio Briatore’s latest<p>The Renault boss man is on it again. <a href="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73673" target="_blank">His latest gripe</a> is about some teams cleverly exploiting the diffuser rules and its associated performance gain. <a href="http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2008/12/renault-engine-issue.html" target="_blank">He famously got wound up</a> when his team fell back on horsepower and now it is the diffuser issue. Reportedly, he stops short of saying that Williams and Toyota employ illegal diffusers in their cars. </p> <p>Without doubt the Renault aerodynamicists are as clever as the others in the paddock. I wonder why then Briatore chooses to go public instead of pushing his engineers to go into the same ‘loophole-exploiting’ mode as the Williams and Toyota men do? Being illegal is operating deliberately outside the regulations which is clearly different from being right on the edge in sticking to the rules. </p> <p>There’s always going to be two answers to this problem—the diffuser is legal if you go by the wording of the rules (the Williams and Toyota way) and it is illegal if you bring the ‘spirit’ of the regulations into the picture (which seems to be Flavio’s premise). The ‘spirit’ of the regulations is not what the teams have to be concerned with, in my point view. It’s the FIAs job to do that. The FIA Technical Working Group will have (must have) framed the diffuser dimensions to make it work to their target and their target might have been to reduce the downforce. The teams are obliged to design their cars to the <em>rules </em>and not to the effect which the rule change promised to bring. </p> <p>If, as is reported, the Toyota, Williams and Brawn cars’ diffusers are designed per the wording of the regulations, they are legal. This is how I see this issue. </p> <p>More Information: <a href="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73083" target="_blank">Technical Analysis</a> | <a href="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73140" target="_blank">Diffuser Is Legal</a></p> <script>function fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;}</script><style> html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/share/facebook_share_icon.gif?8:26981) no-repeat top left; }</style><a href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2009/03/flavio-briatores-latest.html" onclick="return fbs_click()" target="_blank" class="fb_share_link">Share on Facebook</a>S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-72976573080046715282009-03-19T11:35:00.001-07:002009-03-20T09:19:34.699-07:00The new “winning” system<p>"The world champion is the one who wins the most Grands Prix." That’s fantastic! The previous points system used to reward consistency and I think it’s right it has been changed now. I watch F1 to see who wins and not to see who potters around to finish in points scoring positions when a win is within their reach. Raikkonen won only 1 GP in 2003 to Michael’s 6. But he nearly won the championship with his consistency. I personally wouldn’t have liked if that had happened. </p> <p>Plus, the teams who are not competing for the titles are not affected because the existing points system remains the same for them. </p> <p>And the talk of the previous championship results being different is all a bit academic. As some one said, what positions the drivers aim for depends on what the points system is. Doing a quick math and juggling around the positions from previous years may not be exactly useful moving forward.</p> <p>More Information: <a href="http://prakashms.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-points-system-in-f1.html" target="_blank">The Hot Exchange!</a> | <a href="http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2009/03/17/which-new-rules-will-improve-f1-poll/" target="_blank">F1 Fanatic’s Poll</a> | <a href="http://fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pressreleases/wmsc/2009/Pages/wmsc_170309.aspx" target="_blank">From The FIA</a></p> <script>function fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;}</script><style><br /> html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/share/facebook_share_icon.gif?8:26981) no-repeat top left; }</style><a class="fb_share_link" onclick="return fbs_click()" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2009/03/new-winning-system.html" target="_blank">Share on Facebook</a>S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-65972846303808103872009-03-13T11:56:00.001-07:002009-03-13T12:09:22.663-07:00Most exciting start to a season for me<p>It looks like we’ll be off to a bloody exciting season when the Oz Grand Prix kicks off the 2009 F1 season this 27th. Lots of questions are in my mind currently…can Ferrari fend off the amazing Brawn cars to win the first grand prix…is the 2009 season for McLaren going to be like their 2006 season or the 2004 season (which was even worse)…where does BMW stack up in relation to its rivals? </p> <p><a href="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73698" target="_blank">Felipe Massa has openly voiced out</a> that his car stands not a chance of beating Brawn on pure pace. I can’t see why he would want to play it up more than what it is. I’m just astounded as to what Brawn GP is up to. My big cheers and respects for the whole team. It’d be really exciting to see the scarlet and white cars fight it out on track. </p> <p>A lot of stories on McLaren’s pre-season form were doing rounds in the recent weeks. Seemingly to bring all that to an end, <a href="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73695" target="_blank">Martin Whitmarsh, earlier today, came out and said</a> that they are not where they want to be. That didn’t actually quite drive into me the seriousness of their situation. But what did was <a href="http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/03/13/mclaren-in-emergency-talks-over-performance/" target="_blank">this</a>—the team principal, just a few hours ago, has sort of told the media that McLaren are in <em>really</em> big trouble. Are the team looking at the nightmare 2004 season repeating itself again? But we should also remember that they did a stunning job that season to bounce back in the second half to win the Belgian GP. </p> <p>Lastly, where the hell is BMW in the pecking order. They drive me crazy—they look like they don’t want to give a clue of what they are up to. </p> <p>More Information: <a href="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73696" target="_blank">Whitmarsh, Haug Interview</a> | <a href="http://allenonf1.wordpress.com/2009/03/13/mclaren-admit-problem-but-how-bad-is-it/" target="_blank">Allen On McLaren</a></p> <script>function fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;}</script><style><br /> html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/share/facebook_share_icon.gif?8:26981) no-repeat top left; }</style><a class="fb_share_link" onclick="return fbs_click()" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2009/03/most-exciting-start-to-season-for-me.html" target="_blank">Share on Facebook</a>S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-87095534141128948822009-03-12T09:48:00.001-07:002009-03-12T09:48:57.140-07:00FOTA proposals<p>The FOTA has come up with a set of changes to make F1 better and to also reduce the expenditure involved for the competing teams. The proposals include a reduced, fixed price for buying engines, gearboxes and the KERS system. What I’m wondering here is if manufacturers can sell engines, gearboxes and the KERS system for a set price, why can’t they manufacture, and race them at a set price? Reportedly, some teams are against the idea of budget caps. My point is budget caps have a great potential to maintain technological innovation, that has been a preserve of F1 thus far, but still allow for controlled expenditure. Engineers love to challenge themselves and innovate and if you give them free reigns to develop their car within a certain amount of money, they would still love it. In a short while, we could well see them take the efficiency of innovation to unprecedented levels. I believe they would rather buy into this idea than seeing their hands tied with regard to what they can develop in their car. </p> <p>More Information: <a href="http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2009/03/06/fotas-f1-fans-survey-results-in-full/" target="_blank">FOTA Fan Survey</a> | <a href="http://www.teamsassociation.org/press-release/2009-03-05/fota-press-release" target="_blank">FOTA Proposals</a></p> <script>function fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;}</script><style><br /> html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/share/facebook_share_icon.gif?8:26981) no-repeat top left; }</style><a class="fb_share_link" onclick="return fbs_click()" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2009/03/fota-proposals.html" target="_blank">Share on Facebook</a> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-53399174483216659732009-03-05T20:12:00.001-08:002009-03-05T20:13:52.194-08:00Force India in 2009<p>New McLaren (Applied Technologies) partnership, new technical people at the helm, a shuffled management structure…Force India is showing itself to be a serious aspirant indeed. Although I’m not really sure if all the changes made are going to give the expected effects, I’m happy that Vijay Mallya is very serious about his team’s performance. The testing times seem to be a bit promising but, as always, it’s not the best idea to read into it too much as testing is just that, testing. What intrigues me much, however, is Mallya’s claim that the team’s ex-technical director, Mike Gascoyne, didn’t fit into the team well. Here is the man who played a big role in transforming Renault into sharp-end runners and worked his talents to good effect in getting Toyota to its heights in 2005. Could the management have done anything different to better <em>use </em>the talents of Gascoyne to its own good? I don’t know, but that’s one question that keeps popping in my mind. </p> <p>Anyway, to me the new livery looks better than the previous one—the old one was far from being ugly but saffron looks better to my eyes; a change for the better! I know it’s a new team and all that but still I wish Force India put some more efforts into <em>polishing </em>the details. For example, Mallya’s suit—as worn by him in the recent FOTA meeting—has a not-so-painstakingly-designed Force India logo embroidered. It just doesn’t sit well with me at all. Their Web site design could also be a lot better. It just doesn’t give the polished feel that I get from McLaren’s or BMW’s Web sites. If you ask me then, they have to put even more efforts into the intangibles as well. All said, I don’t expect them to be doing everything better from the word go. I’d be satisfied if they show improvements moving forward.  </p> <p>But nothing can take away the fact that I cheer big time for the team. They have all my wishes with them for a better new season. Forza Force India!</p> <p>More Information: <a href="http://www.formula1.com/gallery/launches/2009/381.html" target="_blank">VJM02 Photos</a> | <a href="http://www.formula1.com/gallery/launches/2008/249.html" target="_blank">VJM01 Photos</a> | <a href="http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2009/3/8983.html" target="_blank">Mallya Interview</a></p> <script>function fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;}</script><style><br /> html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/share/facebook_share_icon.gif?8:26981) no-repeat top left; }</style><a class="fb_share_link" onclick="return fbs_click()" href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2009/03/force-india-in-2009.html" target="_blank">Share on Facebook</a> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-43157747929827028022009-02-28T14:16:00.001-08:002009-02-28T14:54:01.689-08:00Red Bull RB5<p>The new Red Bull racer was widely touted to be the best-looking car on the grid and so I was very eager to see its pictures. Well, the rear end of the car looks astonishingly narrow. It’s just unbelievable to think how the engineers could pen it but that’s F1, right? But the Ferrari F60 has the RB5 beaten in the height of the sidepods. The F60’s just as equally astonishingly make a rapid swoop moving backwards from the radiator inlet. But I don’t think the front of the Newey car is any better a looker than its rivals—it has a high nose (which I hate), makes an abrupt transition somewhere in the region where the nose cone merges with the monocoque and it has thin endplates that doesn’t quite appeal to me. </p> <p>Although it must be said that the McLaren’s tail is neither as narrow as the RB5 nor is its sidepod as low slung as the F60. We can only guess which of the three turns out to be the performance torch-bearer on track. Or is it going to be some other team? Too difficult to answer.</p> <script>function fbs_click() {u=location.href;t=document.title;window.open('http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+encodeURIComponent(u)+'&t='+encodeURIComponent(t),'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=626,height=436');return false;}</script><style> html .fb_share_link { padding:2px 0 0 20px; height:16px; background:url(http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/share/facebook_share_icon.gif?8:26981) no-repeat top left; }</style><a href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2009/02/red-bull-rb5.html" onclick="return fbs_click()" target="_blank" class="fb_share_link">Share on Facebook</a> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-24080326800552309632009-02-14T16:05:00.000-08:002009-02-14T16:20:13.531-08:00Well, 2009 season, what elseI'm so happy that the 2009 season will be starting soon. As much as there is the debate about who has got the fastest car, there is a debate running on who has the prettiest one! To me, the McLaren looks the best of the lot. The nose is more rounded than their recent versions (& other rivals) and that does it for me. I'm eagerly waiting to see if Felipe Massa is going to show the way around for Kimi Raikkonen yet again this season. But no such expectations at Renault. Fernando Alonso will be the team's priority and Nelson Piquet Jr. will attempt to get close to his teammate if he decides he has had enough with F1. Ah, there is our Red Bull! Is Sebastian Vettel going to run rings around Mark Webber? I suspect not; at least in qualifying. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for our own Force India. I'm still not convinced firing Mike Gascoyne is the best of the things thay they could have done. <div><br /></div><div>I hope, first and foremost for the employees' sake and the sport's sake, that Honda go racing this year too. The team looks too promising to be put in the sidelines. </div>S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-10956779704835401182008-12-21T14:01:00.000-08:002008-12-21T14:09:52.918-08:00The Renault engine issueI couldn't just understand when Briatore sort of complained that his team were left behind in the engine development during the 2008 season. The FIA has told you what not to change and it has also told you what you can change. You don't change things and you pay the price. He claims Renault took the rules 'as such' hinting at being too naive or some thing. I can't do anything but laugh at these stuff. Okay, granted you take the rules as such. Then why do you want to tune your engine now? Is tuning the engine gradually as the season progresses less naive and less 'aggressive interpretation of the rules' than throwing in a bunch of upgrades at one go in the winter?S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-33734076414304278712008-12-21T10:52:00.000-08:002008-12-21T10:58:36.000-08:00...but where's Honda?It's a shame Honda pulled out of F1 just when things seemed to go right with the arrival of Ross Brawn (and the massive input of the whole team). Honda has always been proud of its racing involvement giving it an edge in making some of the best engines in the automotive market but it looks like the economic downturn has had another big casuality.S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-30145876265410614732008-08-05T08:24:00.001-07:002008-08-05T08:24:46.426-07:00ALONSO OFF TO HONDA<p><font color="#000000">Really? I strongly believe so. The reason is </font><a href="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/69692"><font color="#000000">Alonso himself</font></a><font color="#000000">. It's not unusual for Fernando Alonso to take a swipe at anyone but this time </font><a href="http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/69692"><font color="#000000">he has gone a bit far</font></a><font color="#000000"> saying Renault can't get out of their troubles. Ever. Now, it's one thing for a driver to comment - negatively - about his team's <em>current</em> season form-- but the following season? If Alonso is not confident that Renault will fight for the championship next season, surely, it might be an early warning to Renault: guys, I've had enough of watching the rear wings of Raikkonen, Hamilton et al. and so good bye to you all. </font></p> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-45464177994384553222008-07-23T08:56:00.001-07:002008-07-23T09:04:59.223-07:00Thoughts on Hockenheim<p><font color="#000000">Two different scenarios in two factories: jubilation in Woking and dismay in Maranello; this is the upshot of the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. It's easy enough to understand the atmosphere prevailing at Ferrari. The F2008 has largely been usefully faster than its chief rival, the McLaren MP4-23, for most of the season. Since the British GP, however, the McLaren seems to have turned the tables on the F2008. There can be a few reasons:</font></p> <p><font color="#000000"><em>Setup problems:</em></font></p> <p><font color="#000000">No matter how much pace a car has, setup is crucial to realising it. A badly setup <em>winning </em>car can still struggle to get anywhere close to its true potential; case in the point being Massa's Ferrari and Raikkonen's Ferrari in Monte Carlo. While Raikkonen was struggling with his rear slipping and sliding all over the place, Massa was on the pace right from the start.</font></p> <p><font color="#000000">Ferrari have won five of the ten Grands Prix and that's ample proof to the winning pace of the car. However, Raikkonen has not always been able to find the sweet spot with his car and that, he claims, is the reason for his less than competitive pace in Grand Prix weekends this season. Is the Ferrari a difficult car to set up or is Raikkonen not all too inclined to get his car working?</font></p> <p><font color="#000000"><em>Drivers:</em></font></p> <p><font color="#000000">I've already discussed about the <a title="Raikkonen vs Massa" href="http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2008/05/massa-vs-raikkonen-part-1-of-3.html">driver situation at Ferrari</a> and if Ferrari are really now lagging behind McLaren in performance, how much can we attribute to Raikkonen finding solutions to his problems rather than developing the car? Finding solutions to existing problems with a car is going to eat into the development time that can potentially make the car go faster. Imagine this situation: Hamilton, in a McLaren that's a bit slower than the Ferrari, but in a position of having understood his car fully versus Raikkonen, a bit faster than Lewis in the McLaren, but having a few problems nailing the setup every weekend. Potential problem for Kimi and Ferrari. Again, we can only surmise all these. The Ferrari might still be the faster car: the British GP's inclement weather might have prevented them from fully extracting potential and the German GP might well be a one-off.</font></p> <p><font color="#000000">It must also be noted that Hamilton has the team all to himself, something neither Raikkonen nor Massa can claim to have. The Ferrari drivers taking points off themselves cannot help their Championship standings.</font><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <div style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px; display: inline" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:ce6d4280-6109-4a69-aeab-3eb9f9c3bd7e" class="wlWriterSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/German%20GP" rel="tag">German GP</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hockenheim" rel="tag">Hockenheim</a></div> <p><font color="#c0c0c0" size="3">Add to feed readers:</font></p> <p><a href="http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to Google Reader or Homepage" src="http://buttons.googlesyndication.com/fusion/add.gif" width="104" height="17" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My Yahoo!" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/my/addtomyyahoo4.gif" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Subscribe in NewsGator Online" src="http://www.newsgator.com/images/ngsub1.gif" /></a></a></a><a href="http://feeds.my.aol.com/add.jsp?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My AOL" src="http://favorites.my.aol.com/ffclient/webroot/0.2.1/locale/en_US/aol/images/myAOLButtonSmall.gif" /></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><font color="#ff8040"><font color="#808080">You might want to see <font color="#3fc527"><a title="Click to view my other blog, WHEELS OF RAM" href="http://wheelsofram.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">this</a></font> too!</font></font><font color="#808080"> </font></p> <p><font color="#808080">Love what you see here? Or loathe? <font color="#85d35f"><a title="Click to drop a quick word with Sriram" href="mailto:ssriram87@gmail.com">Leave a word with Sriram</a></font></font></p> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-66643247261523854872008-07-02T07:20:00.001-07:002008-07-02T07:27:59.036-07:00SHOULD F1 GO BACK TO THE 60s<p><font color="#000000">As a mechanical engineer my answer is 'yes'. In F1, going back means reducing the reliance on aerodynamics of the car. Formula 1, as is well known, started off as a no-aero-all-power concept--you can't see wings or T-flaps in the 50s and the 60s. Those were eras in which, apart from the driver skill, engine power was the dominating factor in how fast a car+driver package went. In this era, however, it's all topsy-turvy: frozen engines mean little advantage can be gained from them meaning windtunnel is the choice over engine test rigs. And the ever increasing reliance on the aero doesn't seem to encourage on-track racing either. </font></p> <p><font color="#000000">Shaving off those wings and shifting the emphasis to tyre+suspension+engine+driver should be great for the drivers and the spectators alike. For the mechanical engineer in me too!</font></p> <p><font color="#000000">But how do you get back the speed after you've lost all the aero grip? </font></p> <p><font color="#008000" size="3">Getting the pace back</font></p> <p><font color="#000000">Employ the following:</font></p> <p><font color="#000000">- Active suspension - </font></p> <p><font color="#000000">- Multi-compound tyres - </font></p> <p><font color="#000000">- Turbo engines - </font></p> <p><font color="#c0c0c0" size="3">Add to feed readers:</font></p> <p><a href="http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to Google Reader or Homepage" src="http://buttons.googlesyndication.com/fusion/add.gif" width="104" height="17" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My Yahoo!" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/my/addtomyyahoo4.gif" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Subscribe in NewsGator Online" src="http://www.newsgator.com/images/ngsub1.gif" /></a></a></a><a href="http://feeds.my.aol.com/add.jsp?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My AOL" src="http://favorites.my.aol.com/ffclient/webroot/0.2.1/locale/en_US/aol/images/myAOLButtonSmall.gif" /></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><font color="#ff8040"><font color="#808080">You might want to see <font color="#3fc527"><a title="Click to view my other blog, WHEELS OF RAM" href="http://wheelsofram.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">this</a></font> too!</font></font><font color="#808080"> </font></p> <p><font color="#808080">Love what you see here? Or loathe? <font color="#85d35f"><a title="Click to drop a quick word with Sriram" href="mailto:ssriram87@gmail.com">Leave a word with Sriram</a></font></font></p> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-76247172157719135432008-05-30T07:05:00.001-07:002008-05-30T07:05:05.635-07:00MASSA VS RAIKKONEN - PART 3 OF 3<p><font color="#008000" size="4">The Showdown</font></p> <p>The final instalment of this article on Massa and Raikkonen does a head-to-head comparison of the two Ferrari team-mates in an attempt to get to grips with who is having the upper hand.</p> <p><font color="#008000" size="4">Points</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SEAJdg4WP3I/AAAAAAAAAIM/nrsObuKsjCs/s1600-h/image%5B9%5D.png"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Grand Prix Points" align="left" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SEAJew4WP4I/AAAAAAAAAIU/YYy1VQupKZg/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="240" height="145" /></a> (click to enlarge)</p> <p>Massa debuted in the year 2002 for Sauber-Petronas who were strictly a mid-field team. He was then signed up as the test driver of Ferrari for the following season before taking the race seat at Sauber-Petronas again for the 2004 season. He remained with the same team for one more season before parting goodbye to join Ferrari. </p> <p>Raikkonen too debuted for Sauber-Petronas in the year 2001. However, he was quickly snapped up by a top-team, McLaren, for the 2002 season. He remained with them for five more years before departing to Ferrari. </p> <p><font color="#008000" size="4">Massa - Sauber Era</font></p> <p>Sauber-Petronas were not in a position to score points consistently and that probably explains the points disparity between him and Raikkonen until the 2005 season. In his racing years at Sauber-Petronas, partnered by Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Giancarlo Fisichella and Jacques Villeneuve, Massa was beaten by only Fischella. It is to be noted that Villenueuve was the 1997 World Champion while Frentzen was a very close competitor to Michael Schumacher in the late 90s. </p> <p>He was often regarded as quick but wild. Rubens Barrichello reportedly threatened Felipe Massa with his laundry bills...!</p> <p><font color="#008000" size="4">Massa - Ferrari Era</font></p> <p>Massa came to Ferrari and 'learnt' (in his own words) a lot from the 7 times Champ Michael Schumacher. As a consequence, his driving got ever better, culminating in two wins that included his popular home win at Interlagos. Ross Brawn once claimed after the 2006 season that Schumacher had a comfortable performance advantage over Massa throughout the season, even in the later stages where Massa showed himself to be more mature in terms of driving. </p> <p>When Kimi Raikkonen came to Ferrari, many expected Massa to be blown away. But that didn't happen; at least in the initial stages. The belief stemmed from the fact that Raikkonen was often perceived to be on par with Schumacher, in terms of raw pace, who in turn had the measure of Massa. Massa did however lose out to Raikkonen in the title race. He claims it was down to lady luck. We can only speculate...</p> <p>The 2008 season sees Massa at his closest ever to his World Champion team-mate. He dominates his team-mate in qualifying and matches him in the number of Grand Prix wins. Why and how exactly, is the question. Is it down to below-par driving by Raikkonen or due to the ever-improving race-craft of Massa? I suspect both the factors play their part in some proportion. </p> <p><font color="#008000" size="4">Raikkonen - Sauber/McLaren Era</font></p> <p>Raikkonen finished behind Heidfeld (in Sauber) and Coulthard (in McLaren) twice. That's all. Until now he is yet to be beaten by his team-mates, which include the likes of Montoya. He came ever-so-close to the 2003 title, with an year-old car. The consistency was breathtaking for a young driver--he took just one win early in the season but managed to stay in the title hunt by virtue of a zillion podium appearances. The infamous McLaren reliablility cost him the 2005 title. Otherwise, he took 9 wins in his 5 years at McLaren and, if I must add, two missed titles.</p> <p><font color="#008000" size="4">Raikkonen - Ferrari Era</font></p> <p>Struggling with the switch to Bridgestones early in the season, Raikkonen got his act together in the later stages of the season to take the title. He, however, was beaten time and again by his team-mate and for sure didn't enjoy as much performance advantage over Massa as did Schumacher.</p> <p>The same trend continues this season too. Massa has had a run of podium finishes, including two wins, that sees him just one point behind Raikkonen in the title race. On Massa's day, Raikkonen looks patchy and the same is true vice-versa. This is one of the reasons why it's getting increasingly difficult to believe Raikkonen will trump Massa fair and square. Even Ross Brawn has expressed his surprise about Massa's up-turn in performance. Again, it's difficult to know if Raikkonen is not at 100% or it's simply that Massa is too good these years. I'm afraid we'll have to wait on that. Lastly, as my pal JS likes to put it down, Massa's favourite tracks are all over. So, now might be the time to gauge his 'true' performance. </p> <p>Here are some more graphs to ponder over:</p> <p><font color="#008000" size="4">Wins</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SEAJfw4WP5I/AAAAAAAAAIc/qmsc2lRgyyY/s1600-h/image%5B4%5D.png"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Grand Prix Wins" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SEAJhQ4WP6I/AAAAAAAAAIk/jGQIbpeHqaI/image_thumb%5B1%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="240" height="145" /></a> (click to enlarge)</p> <p><font color="#008000" size="4">Poles</font></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SEAJiQ4WP7I/AAAAAAAAAIs/AkT4ZbEV7M4/s1600-h/image%5B8%5D.png"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Grand Prix Poles" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SEAJjg4WP8I/AAAAAAAAAI0/bTuUsEkmfb4/image_thumb%5B3%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="240" height="145" /></a> (click to enlarge)</p> <p>My verdict: Massa is not the same Massa of 2006. Raikkonen is probably the same Raikkonen as his previous years. So, a new, constantly evolving Massa stacked against the old, always-the-same Raikkonen is beginning to show its effects. </p> <div style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px; display: inline" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:092afefb-e7a5-4deb-8a15-b8424d5b339f" class="wlWriterSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Raikkonen" rel="tag">Raikkonen</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Massa" rel="tag">Massa</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Ferrari" rel="tag">Ferrari</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Raikkonen%20vs%20Massa" rel="tag">Raikkonen vs Massa</a></div> <p></p> <p><font color="#c0c0c0" size="3">Add to feed readers:</font></p> <p><a href="http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to Google Reader or Homepage" src="http://buttons.googlesyndication.com/fusion/add.gif" width="104" height="17" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My Yahoo!" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/my/addtomyyahoo4.gif" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Subscribe in NewsGator Online" src="http://www.newsgator.com/images/ngsub1.gif" /></a></a></a><a href="http://feeds.my.aol.com/add.jsp?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My AOL" src="http://favorites.my.aol.com/ffclient/webroot/0.2.1/locale/en_US/aol/images/myAOLButtonSmall.gif" /></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><font color="#ff8040"><font color="#808080">You might want to see <font color="#3fc527"><a title="Click to view my other blog, WHEELS OF RAM" href="http://wheelsofram.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">this</a></font> too!</font></font><font color="#808080"> </font></p> <p><font color="#808080">Love what you see here? Or loathe? <font color="#85d35f"><a title="Click to drop a quick word with Sriram" href="mailto:ssriram87@gmail.com">Leave a word with Sriram</a></font></font></p> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-83904139912178899652008-05-29T20:20:00.001-07:002008-05-29T20:26:12.776-07:00MASSA VS RAIKKONEN - PART 2 OF 3<p>We'll attempt to know better how Kimi Raikkonen has gained his reputation...</p> <p><font size="4"><font color="#008000">Team-Mate Comparis<strong>on</strong></font></font></p> <table border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" width="400"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80"><strong>Year</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="80"><strong>Team</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="80"><strong>Points</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="80"><strong>Position</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="80"><strong>Team-Mate Position</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2001</td> <td valign="top" width="80">Sauber</td> <td valign="top" width="80">9</td> <td valign="top" width="80">10</td> <td valign="top" width="80">8</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2002</td> <td valign="top" width="80">McLaren</td> <td valign="top" width="80">24</td> <td valign="top" width="80">6</td> <td valign="top" width="80">5</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2003</td> <td valign="top" width="80">McLaren</td> <td valign="top" width="80">91</td> <td valign="top" width="80">2</td> <td valign="top" width="80">7</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2004</td> <td valign="top" width="80">McLaren</td> <td valign="top" width="80">45</td> <td valign="top" width="80">7</td> <td valign="top" width="80">10</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2005</td> <td valign="top" width="80">McLaren</td> <td valign="top" width="80">112</td> <td valign="top" width="80">2</td> <td valign="top" width="80">4</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2006</td> <td valign="top" width="80">McLaren</td> <td valign="top" width="80">65</td> <td valign="top" width="80">5</td> <td valign="top" width="80">8</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2007</td> <td valign="top" width="80">Ferrari</td> <td valign="top" width="80">110</td> <td valign="top" width="80">1</td> <td valign="top" width="80">4</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2008*</td> <td valign="top" width="80">Ferrari</td> <td valign="top" width="80">35*</td> <td valign="top" width="80">2*</td> <td valign="top" width="80">3*</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SD9yVw4WPzI/AAAAAAAAAHs/iV8juhrOFbM/s1600-h/image%5B26%5D.png"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Raikkonen and his Team-Mates" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SD9yXA4WP0I/AAAAAAAAAH0/-k1209Nyf8k/image_thumb%5B15%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="240" height="145" /></a> (click to enlarge)</p> <p>Kimi Raikkonen finished behind his team-mates on his debut seasons for his two teams--2001 for Sauber and 2002 for McLaren; on all the other occasions he has been comfortably ahead. His team-mates: Nick Heidfeld, David Coulthard, Juan Pablo Montoya, Pedro de la Rosa, Alexander Wurz and Felipe Massa.</p> <p><font color="#008000" size="4">Career Highlights</font></p> <table border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" width="400"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100"><strong>Year </strong></td> <td valign="top" width="100"><strong>Wins</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="100"><strong>Poles</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="100"><strong>Fastest Laps</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2001</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2002</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> <td valign="top" width="100">1</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2003</td> <td valign="top" width="100">1</td> <td valign="top" width="100">2</td> <td valign="top" width="100">2</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2004</td> <td valign="top" width="100">1</td> <td valign="top" width="100">1</td> <td valign="top" width="100">3</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2005</td> <td valign="top" width="100">7</td> <td valign="top" width="100">5</td> <td valign="top" width="100">10</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2006</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> <td valign="top" width="100">3</td> <td valign="top" width="100">3</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2007</td> <td valign="top" width="100">6</td> <td valign="top" width="100">3</td> <td valign="top" width="100">6</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2008*</td> <td valign="top" width="100">2*</td> <td valign="top" width="100">1*</td> <td valign="top" width="100">3*</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SD9yYA4WP1I/AAAAAAAAAH8/_q4L7z3rl0U/s1600-h/image%5B21%5D.png"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Grand Prix Wins, Poles and Fastest Laps" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SD9yZQ4WP2I/AAAAAAAAAIE/ScnJ1lgdHwM/image_thumb%5B10%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="240" height="145" /></a> (click to enlarge)</p> <p>Raikkonen has a large number of fastest laps to his credit (he heads the list amongst today's F1 drivers) and his number of Grand Prix wins is the second highest on the grid.</p> <p><font color="#008000" size="4">Extra</font></p> <p>Win Percentage: 13.2</p> <p>Pole Percentage: 11.72</p> <p>Fastest Lap Percentage: 21.88</p> <p> <div style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px; display: inline" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:35f7ce76-6814-4ca1-a934-35ee3fcc97ec" class="wlWriterSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Massa%20vs%20Raikkonen" rel="tag">Massa vs Raikkonen</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Kimi%20Raikkonen" rel="tag">Kimi Raikkonen</a></div> </p> <p><em>Head-on comparison between Massa and Raikkonen comes this evening...</em></p> <p><a title="MASSA VS RAIKKONEN - PART 1 OF 3" href="http://rumblingv8.blogspot.com/2008/05/massa-vs-raikkonen-part-1-of-3.html">Click here to read Part 1 of this article.</a></p> <p><font color="#c0c0c0" size="3">Add to feed readers:</font></p> <p><a href="http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; 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border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My AOL" src="http://favorites.my.aol.com/ffclient/webroot/0.2.1/locale/en_US/aol/images/myAOLButtonSmall.gif" /></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><font color="#ff8040"><font color="#808080">You might want to see <font color="#3fc527"><a title="Click to view my other blog, WHEELS OF RAM" href="http://wheelsofram.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">this</a></font> too!</font></font><font color="#808080"> </font></p> <p><font color="#808080">Love what you see here? Or loathe? <font color="#85d35f"><a title="Click to drop a quick word with Sriram" href="mailto:ssriram87@gmail.com">Leave a word with Sriram</a></font></font></p> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-89511087912251061522008-05-29T07:02:00.001-07:002008-05-29T07:02:31.201-07:00MASSA VS RAIKKONEN - PART 1 OF 3<p>There has long been a notion doing rounds amongst the F1 media and fans that Kimi Raikkonen is the fastest, most consistent driver of today. It was not tough to believe it--many statistics, which we'll see in due course, have been in favour of him. The past two years, however, have not been all too easy for the Finn. Massa has had the measure of him in quite a number of races and has proved undoubtedly superior to Raikkonen in qualifying. What's then the realistic situation? Is Massa better or is it Raikkonen? Continue reading. </p> <p>This is a 3 part article: the first part (this one) looks at Massa's statistics since his debut year 2002. Raikkonen will be the subject of the second part, while the final part will make direct comparisons between the two, hard-slugging teammates. </p> <p><font color="#008000" size="4">Team-Mate Comparison</font></p> <table border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" width="400"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80"><strong>Year</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="80"><strong>Team</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="80"><strong>Points</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="80"><strong>Position</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="80"><strong>Teammate Position</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2002</td> <td valign="top" width="80">Sauber</td> <td valign="top" width="80">4</td> <td valign="top" width="80">13</td> <td valign="top" width="80">18</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2003</td> <td valign="top" width="80">Test Driver</td> <td valign="top" width="80"> </td> <td valign="top" width="80"> </td> <td valign="top" width="80"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2004</td> <td valign="top" width="80">Sauber</td> <td valign="top" width="80">12</td> <td valign="top" width="80">12</td> <td valign="top" width="80">11</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2005</td> <td valign="top" width="80">Sauber</td> <td valign="top" width="80">13</td> <td valign="top" width="80">11</td> <td valign="top" width="80">14</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2006</td> <td valign="top" width="80">Ferrari</td> <td valign="top" width="80">80</td> <td valign="top" width="80">3</td> <td valign="top" width="80">2</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2007</td> <td valign="top" width="80">Ferrari</td> <td valign="top" width="80">94</td> <td valign="top" width="80">4</td> <td valign="top" width="80">1</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="80">2008*</td> <td valign="top" width="80">Ferrari</td> <td valign="top" width="80">34*</td> <td valign="top" width="80">3*</td> <td valign="top" width="80">2*</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Or, if you'd rather do with a graphical representation...</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SD63Zg4WPvI/AAAAAAAAAG0/k9eX356OCEQ/s1600-h/image%5B25%5D.png"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Massa and his Team-Mates" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SD63aw4WPwI/AAAAAAAAAG8/jvcHZJn5nrM/image_thumb%5B19%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="240" height="145" /></a> (click to enlarge)</p> <p>Massa has been ahead of his respective team-mate twice up until 2007. He trails Raikkonen this season by one point. His team-mates: Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jacques Villeneuve ('97 World Champion), Michael Schumacher ('94, '95, '00, '01, '02, '03, '04 World Champion) and of course, Kimi Raikkonen ('07 World Champion).</p> <p><font color="#008000" size="4">Career Highlights</font></p> <table border="0" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="2" width="400"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100"><strong>Year</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="100"><strong>Wins</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="100"><strong>Poles</strong></td> <td valign="top" width="100"><strong>Fastest Laps</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2002</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2003</td> <td valign="top" width="100">-</td> <td valign="top" width="100">-</td> <td valign="top" width="100">-</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2004</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2005</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2006</td> <td valign="top" width="100">2</td> <td valign="top" width="100">3</td> <td valign="top" width="100">2</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2007</td> <td valign="top" width="100">3</td> <td valign="top" width="100">6</td> <td valign="top" width="100">6</td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="100">2008*</td> <td valign="top" width="100">2*</td> <td valign="top" width="100">3*</td> <td valign="top" width="100">0*</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p>Below is the graphical representation of the above information:</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SD63bg4WPxI/AAAAAAAAAHE/6DJqwJ_paNU/s1600-h/image%5B6%5D.png"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" border="0" alt="Grand Prix Wins, Poles and Fastest Laps" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/ssriram87/SD63cg4WPyI/AAAAAAAAAHM/99bOXKuyEu4/image_thumb%5B4%5D.png?imgmax=800" width="240" height="136" /></a> (click to enlarge)</p> <p>His career highlight so far has been the 2007 season in which he has scored a not-so-inconsequential 6 pole positions and 3 Grand Prix victories. </p> <p><font color="#008000" size="4">Extra</font></p> <p>Win Percentage: 7.4</p> <p>Pole Percentage: 12.7</p> <p>Fastest Lap Percentage: 8.5</p> <div style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px; display: inline" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:5847b18e-2600-4f08-9716-ec076b523a4a" class="wlWriterSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Felipe%20Massa%20vs%20Kimi%20Raikkonen" rel="tag">Felipe Massa vs Kimi Raikkonen</a></div> <p></p> <p></p> <p><font color="#c0c0c0" size="3">Add to feed readers:</font></p> <p><a href="http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to Google Reader or Homepage" src="http://buttons.googlesyndication.com/fusion/add.gif" width="104" height="17" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My Yahoo!" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/my/addtomyyahoo4.gif" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Subscribe in NewsGator Online" src="http://www.newsgator.com/images/ngsub1.gif" /></a></a></a><a href="http://feeds.my.aol.com/add.jsp?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My AOL" src="http://favorites.my.aol.com/ffclient/webroot/0.2.1/locale/en_US/aol/images/myAOLButtonSmall.gif" /></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><font color="#ff8040"><font color="#808080">You might want to see <font color="#3fc527"><a title="Click to view my other blog, WHEELS OF RAM" href="http://wheelsofram.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">this</a></font> too!</font></font><font color="#808080"> </font></p> <p><font color="#808080">Love what you see here? Or loathe? <font color="#85d35f"><a title="Click to drop a quick word with Sriram" href="mailto:ssriram87@gmail.com">Leave a word with Sriram</a></font></font></p> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-88613854274720091732008-05-25T09:04:00.001-07:002008-05-25T09:04:23.867-07:00Force India Lodge Complaint<p><font color="#808080">The Force India Formula 1 team and Adrian Sutil have officially taken up the incident involving Raikkonen with the stewards. Here's what Mike Gascoyne had to say about the incident:</font></p> <blockquote> <p>The frustration is that if that had been a Force India driver hitting a world champion we would expect to get a one or two race ban, but when it is the other way around it is disappointing that the stewards... well you know I hope they look at it and act accordingly.</p> <p>That sort of driving, taking someone else out needlessly, as I said if that had been someone at the back, a young guy doing it, they would get a penalty. But it doesn't seem to happen the other way around.</p> </blockquote> <p><font color="#666666"><font color="#808080">He's dead right. It was a needless incident from Raikkonen that spoiled things for Adrian Sutil. I'm afraid the stewards will pass on this incident as just another racing incident, as Gascoyne says. My personal view is that Raikkonen should be sent to the back of the grid for the Canadian Grand Prix with a fine imposed on him.</font> That'll give him the opportunity to bump into some more drivers. </font> </p> <p><font color="#c0c0c0" size="3">Add to feed readers:</font></p> <p><a href="http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to Google Reader or Homepage" src="http://buttons.googlesyndication.com/fusion/add.gif" width="104" height="17" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My Yahoo!" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/my/addtomyyahoo4.gif" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Subscribe in NewsGator Online" src="http://www.newsgator.com/images/ngsub1.gif" /></a></a></a><a href="http://feeds.my.aol.com/add.jsp?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My AOL" src="http://favorites.my.aol.com/ffclient/webroot/0.2.1/locale/en_US/aol/images/myAOLButtonSmall.gif" /></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><font color="#ff8040"><font color="#808080">You might want to see <font color="#3fc527"><a title="Click to view my other blog, WHEELS OF RAM" href="http://wheelsofram.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">this</a></font> too!</font></font><font color="#808080"> </font></p> <p><font color="#808080">Love what you see here? Or loathe? <font color="#85d35f"><a title="Click to drop a quick word with Sriram" href="mailto:ssriram87@gmail.com">Leave a word with Sriram</a></font></font></p> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-74711708014576174332008-05-25T08:16:00.001-07:002008-05-25T08:16:25.394-07:00The Wrecker<p>What could've been an historic Grand Prix for the fledgling Force India team was destroyed by a foolish mistake by Kimi Raikkonen. His drive wasn't worthy of a defending Champion and his mistake was frankly rookie material. I hope he gets suitably reprimanded for his reckless driving that not only ruined a competitor's race but also put an unwary life into risk at 180 mph. Fisichella made a far better overtaking manoeuvre in the same place in the past. He didn't crash into the driver in front of him and he actually made the move stick. Look what damage Raikkonen has inflicted upon Force India: if not for the incident, Sutil would've finished at least 5th. Those 4 points would have put the team level pegging on points with STR and Honda. Level on points with a car designed by a far higher funded team and a factory team. It was not only the points, it was the adulation that the team would've got back home, the sponsorship money, the increased coverage, which was reduced to shards of carbon fibre by Raikkonen. Of course, Raikkonen didn't do it on purpose. However, reckless drivers have no place in F1, which is what Raikkonen seems to be becoming. Massa comprehensively outpaced his team mate in this race and it has to be mentioned at this point that he was ridiculed by many to be a no-Raikkonen-material and a struggler in wet conditions and he put all of those into shame. I must confess that I too didn't think Massa would be this competitive in wet. Massa ran rings round Raikkonen in the wet and tricky conditions. Raikkonen for some reason doesn't seem to be the same Raikkonen of 2005 or 2006. If he had been, he would not have let his team mate dominate him and wouldn't have made silly mistakes. At the end of the day, I pity Adrian and Force India. Adrian Sutil was really superb to watch. His onboard views showed the controlled aggression-that was crucial to keeping the car on the narrow dry line that started to appear-befitting a thinking driver. He extracted everything out of his tricky-to-drive car but still kept it on the track. That's no ordinary fear when almost all other drivers, in better cars, made all sorts of mistakes.</p> <p>And, what of the race winner, Lewis Hamilton. He put in a class drive to take the lead of the Championship. I now hope the title goes to either Massa or Hamilton. Formula 1 titles are prestigious and it should go to a deserving and thinking driver. Unlike Raikkonen of this race. This race is the second time as far as I can remember that Raikkonen showed himself undeserving of his status. </p> <div style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px; display: inline" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:55ce7fe9-afd4-4f8e-8af4-ef75ea39b0e4" class="wlWriterSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Raikkonen" rel="tag">Raikkonen</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Hamilton" rel="tag">Hamilton</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Force%20India" rel="tag">Force India</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Adrian%20Sutil" rel="tag">Adrian Sutil</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Monaco%20GP%202008" rel="tag">Monaco GP 2008</a></div> <p></p> <p><font color="#c0c0c0" size="3">Add to feed readers:</font></p> <p><a href="http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to Google Reader or Homepage" src="http://buttons.googlesyndication.com/fusion/add.gif" width="104" height="17" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My Yahoo!" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/my/addtomyyahoo4.gif" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Subscribe in NewsGator Online" src="http://www.newsgator.com/images/ngsub1.gif" /></a></a></a><a href="http://feeds.my.aol.com/add.jsp?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My AOL" src="http://favorites.my.aol.com/ffclient/webroot/0.2.1/locale/en_US/aol/images/myAOLButtonSmall.gif" /></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><font color="#ff8040"><font color="#808080">You might want to see <font color="#3fc527"><a title="Click to view my other blog, WHEELS OF RAM" href="http://wheelsofram.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">this</a></font> too!</font></font><font color="#808080"> </font></p> <p><font color="#808080">Love what you see here? Or loathe? <font color="#85d35f"><a title="Click to drop a quick word with Sriram" href="mailto:ssriram87@gmail.com">Leave a word with Sriram</a></font></font></p> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-2856787418981846132008-05-24T07:05:00.001-07:002008-05-24T07:05:41.628-07:001979<p>That's the year in which Ferrari last locked-out the front row for the Monaco Grand Prix. And, they've done it again for 2008! Fantastic performance by both Massa and Raikkonen, who might have got those few hundredths which would've sealed the pole if not for the 'moment' in his hot lap. I reckon Ferrari will be in good shape indeed for the race tomorrow as their pace relative to McLaren all through the weekend doesn't encourage the idea that they've gone for an overly-light first stint. And, Massa was fastest in Q2, too. If the McLarens need to finish ahead of the Ferraris, their best chance is at the start. If Massa and Raikkonen manage to stay ahead at the start, they could stay ahead of the McLarens even after the pit-stops, not allowing for the Safety Car periods, mechanical troubles or pit-stop bungles, as they're, at least, as fast as the silver cars. Of course, there's still the rain factor, which can really mix up the pecking order of pace of the teams. </p> <p>Whatever, Ferrari have proved they were not sitting twiddling their thumbs in the build up to this historic Grand Prix.</p> <div style="padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 0px; display: inline" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:936f3f9f-2700-4425-81eb-800c78dc6001" class="wlWriterSmartContent">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Monaco%20GP%202008" rel="tag">Monaco GP 2008</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/1979%20Monaco%20GP" rel="tag">1979 Monaco GP</a></div> <p></p> <p><font color="#c0c0c0" size="3">Add to feed readers:</font></p> <p><a href="http://fusion.google.com/add?feedurl=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to Google Reader or Homepage" src="http://buttons.googlesyndication.com/fusion/add.gif" width="104" height="17" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My Yahoo!" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/my/addtomyyahoo4.gif" /></a><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Subscribe in NewsGator Online" src="http://www.newsgator.com/images/ngsub1.gif" /></a></a></a><a href="http://feeds.my.aol.com/add.jsp?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"><img style="border-top-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px" alt="Add to My AOL" src="http://favorites.my.aol.com/ffclient/webroot/0.2.1/locale/en_US/aol/images/myAOLButtonSmall.gif" /></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><a title="W h e e l s of R a m" href="http://www.newsgator.com/ngs/subscriber/subext.aspx?url=http://feeds.feedburner.com/WHEELSOfRAM"></a></p> <p><font color="#ff8040"><font color="#808080">You might want to see <font color="#3fc527"><a title="Click to view my other blog, WHEELS OF RAM" href="http://wheelsofram.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">this</a></font> too!</font></font><font color="#808080"> </font></p> <p><font color="#808080">Love what you see here? Or loathe? <font color="#85d35f"><a title="Click to drop a quick word with Sriram" href="mailto:ssriram87@gmail.com">Leave a word with Sriram</a></font></font></p> S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1706702039355747552.post-85703448315176178062008-05-19T17:43:00.000-07:002008-05-19T18:11:26.985-07:00Rossi Vindicated?The French GP at Le Mans was the venue of the latest "hurrah!" for Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi. That was one frantic race with a mix of dry and damp conditions. Rossi is now on top of the points table and is that a sign that his switch to the Bridgestones was the right move? It looks to me like that. He dominated the race 2007-Stoner style, opening up a 10 second lead to Lorenzo in the other factory Yamaha but on the Michelin tyres. Stoner's GP8 was hit by engine troubles but even before that he was not matching the pace of the Michelin front-runners. Is it that the Ducati chassis is not able to extract the best out of the winning tyre? Or is that Melandri's troubles are distracting Ducati from developing it? In any case, Rossi and Yamaha are back well and truly into the game.S R I R A Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16073792896019682344noreply@blogger.com0