Woooohooooo!!!!! Australian F1 Race...

[Dueller]

WOW!!!! Nine laps in and the leader is out front by over 8 seconds. What a race!!!!! No...wait a minute...they're showing the heated battle between the 14th and 15th place cars...OOOOOOH...there may be a PASSSSSSSSS!!!!!! Wait....NOPE.....false alarm. Guess we'll have to wait for the first rounds of pit stops before a change in position.

Seriously...the track is beautiful. And the technology coupled with the talent defies the senses that these cars can be controlled with their outrageous cornering capabilities.

Carry on....nothing to see here...move along, now

[Dueller]

Bands and dancing girls before the race. A military jet flyover. Reports of drivers getting into fistfights in the pits. 50 mph pit lane limits. Drive thru penalties. WOW. F1 is taking a page outta the NASCAR playbook.

[Erik Mckenna]

Has Kimi won yet? hahaha

[Rearden]

The strategists in the McLaren pits allowed Alonso to make a dramatic pass on Hamilton by staying out a few extra laps before his pit stop. The way the fueler short-filled Alonso had me on the edge of my couch.

edit: congrats to Hamilton. Very cool that a rookie (and a person ethnically different from the traditional F1 driver) made such a professional debut. Well done, mate.

[Dueller]

Originally posted by Rearden
The strategists in the McLaren pits allowed Alonso to make a dramatic pass on Hamilton by staying out a few extra laps before his pit stop. The way the fueler short-filled Alonso had me on the edge of my couch.

Now THAT is good humor

[Dueller]

Originally posted by Dueller
Bands and dancing girls before the race. A military jet flyover. Reports of drivers getting into fistfights in the pits. 50 mph pit lane limits. Drive thru penalties. WOW. F1 is taking a page outta the NASCAR playbook.

OOOPS...almost forgot. Toyota is racing a car in the series unavailable to the public and resembling nothing they actually sell.

[Gene Wilkes]

I say we all call our local toyota dealers and request a V8, carbed, rear wheel drive camry and get irate when they say they don't make one! Remind them you saw one on TV sunday!! ;-)

[Erik Mckenna]

Yep! it's gonna be a GREAT year.. Kimi Will be CHAMP!

read my lips.. on that one

[Porsche-O-Phile]

And Honda ripping off other cars to avoid having to put their own R&D into the race. . . I seriously hope they get told "uhh, no" by FIA.

But I suspect there will be a payoff somewhere and it'll result in a 10-spot penalty on the grid for one week or something.

[CurtEgerer]

I've always thought that winning a NASCAR race should be based upon a points system, not who crosses the line first.

0 points - crossing the finish line first
1 point - each pass
2 points - each re-pass
5 points - each fender contact (bumpin' & rubbin'....)
15 points - bumping someone into the wall
25 points - triggering a multicar pileup
50 points - physical altercation before/during/after the event
75 points - somersault during multicar pileup
100 points - the ultimate, sliding across the finish line on roof

This point system would cater to what the fans deem important and would be further incentive for more passing, bumping and crashes.

[Erik Mckenna]

BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.. there more of that Ferni!!!!

ahahaha Go Kimi!

[Rearden]

Curt,
I bet you would agree that watching a Grand Prix would be much more interesting if the officials could figure out a way to eliminate the dramatic aero wash that occurs whenever a car follows too closely to another. These cars are so aerodynamically fine-tuned and create such turbulence behind the rear wing, that the only way to pass is in the pits or if one car has a huge horsepower advantage and can draft on the straight.

When I started watching F1 30 years ago, passing didn't seem to be such a problem.

Enough of my whining. Get your Melbourne pit babes here!
http://www.f1-live.com/f1/en/photos/2007/index_pitbabes01_01.shtml

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Anyone else think the PC bull$hit has gotten out of hand when a sponsor worth MILLIONS to the sport (Marlboro, in this case) isn't allowed to even put their name on the cars/suits they're paying a fortune for?

Oh, boo-hoo, some poor young child might see "Marlboro" and be drawn into a life of poverty and drugs. . .

Sorry for the rant - the race was fun to watch, but everytime I see that stupid "bar code" thing on the Ferrari cars it gets my hackles riled. And no, I'm not a smoker.

[Steve PH]

Not exactly the most exciting of races (although "crazy" Dave move on Wurz was errrrr interesting), bring on the rain and hopefully some real action will follow!

Oh yeah and regarding young Hamilton as they say this side of the pond "The boy done good!", definitely one to watch.

[Turbo_pro]

I would agree that advertising prohibitions on perfectly legal products sends a message of confusion to the same people the bans are designed to protect.

One word to the advertising wizards at the giant tobacco companies. Patches

Start selling Marlboro stop smoking patches. It will improve their corporate image and show future juries a more responsible side.

You can't advertise tobacco products but you can advertise a stop smoking patch and a corporate logo is a corporate logo..

[pavulon]

500 points if you're on your roof AND on fire at the finish line...
200 extra points for each week in the burn unit
-50 if you die from a race incident...unless your last name is France

Originally posted by CurtEgerer
I've always thought that winning a NASCAR race should be based upon a points system, not who crosses the line first.

100 points - the ultimate, sliding across the finish line on roof

[Aerkuld]

Was it just my imagination, or has Kimi learnt to modulate the tone of his voice during interviews and even to laugh and smile?

He still did a little monotone rambling - well he's Kimi he has to - it actually makes me laugh when you can only pick out one word in seven that makes sense.

Does anyone know what he's talking about?

I'm convinced that he will be #1 this year though!

GO KIMI

[Dueller]

Rumor has it Coulthard learned his passing maneuver from watching JPM's pass in the Mexico Busch race.

[porsche911girl]

Originally posted by Turbo_pro
I would agree that advertising prohibitions on perfectly legal products sends a message of confusion to the same people the bans are designed to protect.

One word to the advertising wizards at the giant tobacco companies. Patches

Start selling Marlboro stop smoking patches. It will improve their corporate image and show future juries a more responsible side.

You can't advertise tobacco products but you can advertise a stop smoking patch and a corporate logo is a corporate logo..

LOL now *that's* funny!

[Aerkuld]

Originally posted by Dueller
Rumor has it Coulthard learned his passing maneuver from watching JPM's pass in the Mexico Busch race.

Yeah, but the difference is that Coulthard is enough of a gentleman to go to Wurz after the race and apologize to his face, in person, in front of a TV camera.

That's style.