Poll: Formula One

[Damien Thorn]

Question:

Are Ferrari and Michael Schumacher going to win back the championship in 2006, or will somebody else take the grand prize?

http://www.formula1.com/race/news/4335/755.html



Ciao,

Damien

[Stratofanius]

Actually I really hope that he would win, I like him much more than Alonso. Räikkönen's possibilitys are unfortunately quite weak so I don't believe to him. Also my favourite driver Barrichello don't have a possibility to do that

Btw we have already Formula One topic.

[BERTA]

Well,i'm Spanish i prefer that Alonso wins again.
But Shumi was (and is),the best.
About Kimi,well i think that he cant find his "place" into his car.
The last rece was very good for Mercedes..well, for Kimi.
I dont know what is the problem with Mercedes.
The car is one of the best,maybe the most fast,but....
I would like that the final be:

1:Alonso
2:Kimi
3:Shumi....it would be cool....for me

[NeonVomit]

Schumacher is great, but it's time to move over for the next generation.

[Mormegil]

Being a Finn, I naturally hope Räikkönen wins, but of course Schumacher does, as always.

[IceBreaker]

Bad to say, Schumi may have still very good chances to with the championship and show Alonso who is the real best there again. But Alonso is still having a great car and has also drove well. About Kimi, I agree with many of you that Mercedes is his problem. Although I wish Kimi could do it.

[stratoplayer]

I;m a Ferrari fan since age 4, so I'm glad that Shumi is doing great, I like Alonso and he has possibly the greatest car right now, but I believe Shumi is a better driver as he showed whose strategy worked better on Sunday.

Last year was a godaweful year for Ferrari because of the new car...

[Beast_Pete]

I didn't vote, because I cannot tell it, but I would say a "no", if I had to choose. I hope, that Räikkönen wins this year, but the chances are low...

[htcdude]

Nope, i think if Alonso is still racing by the end of the season it will be his again.

[Damien Thorn]

Nope, i think if Alonso is still racing by the end of the season it will be his again.

Actually, if Schumacher continues driving like he is right now, and if nothing happens to Alonso (i.e. if he keeps coming in second and does not experience anything dramatic), Schumacher will already reclaim the crown at the Hockenheimring on 30 July. It is obvious that Renault will have to start doing something soon if they want to win the championship...

Schumacher may be getting on in years, but he is an old fox and knows every trick in the book. He won Sunday's race purely on experience, tactics and discipline, which is what Formula One is all about, anyway. So, if you ask me, I would say: "Yes, he'll take back the championship for Ferrari this year because Ferrari has the best car at the moment and the upward momentum is Ferrari's at the moment. Their annus horribilis seems to be finally over.

By the way, isn't it odd that Ferrari's troubles lasted until 2 April 2006, until exactly one year after the demise of Pope John Paul II. The next race, the grand prix of San Marino on the Imola track (or the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari!) was won by Michael Schumacher again. Also, San Marino, or Saint Marinus in English, was a blacksmith from the Croatian island of Rab who founded the first ever republic, San Marino in 301.

Once again, Ferrari has all the stories; even God appears to be on their side now. The myth continues...

By the way, I also agree with some of you that Kimi Räikkönen is the man to watch. He has driven from worse than eleventh position to the podium more than once last season. Just imagine what he'll do in a proper car, like a Ferrari... Let's hope those negotiations come to a satisfactory conclusion and Ferrari sign Räikkönen. Nothing will stop him then.

Ciao tutti,

Gino Cappuccino

[Wanderer]

Hey all!

If I have to choose between Alonso and Schumacher I say Schumacher. Like Mormequil said as a Finn I'd hope that Kimi would win but the car isn't fast enough.

I'm still waiting for that Formula 1 grand prix to Finland

[Damien Thorn]

Actually I really hope that he would win, I like him much more than Alonso. Räikkönen's possibilitys are unfortunately quite weak so I don't believe to him. Also my favourite driver Barrichello don't have a possibility to do that.

Btw we have already Formula One topic.

Yeah, sorry, I guessed there must be, but I could not find any other F1 topic, so I created this one instead. Let's hope it stays relevant for a while. It would be terrible if Ferrari - or Alonso - have a few dramatic events happen to them and the championship is decided early as a result. Let's hope this season stays exciting for a while longer.

I also hope Rubens will still do well; he deserves at least one more big victory. Don't worry about Räikkönen, he'll get his chance next year. And, what is it with that grumpy Alonso, why doesn't he smile more often? people would find him a lot more sympathetic if he did...

New question, aside from the poll: Is there any truth in those rumours that Valentino Rossi from the Moto GP is considering partaking in Formula One? What a great move that would be! He'll be worth his weight in gold 100 times to the sponsors...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/4209814.stm

[From website] "Only one man - Briton John Surtees - has won world titles on two wheels and four when he switched to Formula One with Ferrari and took the championship in 1964."

Ciao tutti,

Luigi Linguini

[BERTA]

OLÉ ,OLÉ ,OLÉ,a...ALONSO....!!!!!!!!

NOTHING MORE TO SAY...

HAPPY DAY!

[Damien Thorn]

A hysterical penalty...

http://www.formula1.com/news/4430.html

Would Schumacher have won the Monaco GP if he had not been made to start from the pits as a penalty from the FIA for an unsubstantiated transgression? Well, here's your answer: he drove from position 22 to position 5 in 78 short laps crowded with traffic.

This penalty was just too harsh. Schumacher's half-assed "qualifying glitch" may have been intentional, but that was not proven, and the last thing I heard was: "innocent until proven guilty". Or doesn't that apply to Formula One? The FIA should have found another solution. This is just complete, utter nonsense. Fortunately, it did not mess up the championship too much, but I imagine Ferrari were not too amused by this decision...

If Schumacher intentionally blocked the road in the final lap, though, I would say he should do a better job next time and "park" his car a bit more dramatically. Lose that front wing, that will convince the stewards.

Ciao tutti,

D.

[Stratofanius]

Superman-Coulthard was cool Nice that he was third!

[Equinox]

I don't think he'll make it.

[htcdude]

Schumacher would've found it hard getting past the likes of Webber/Montoya etc if they hadn't dropped out he was lucky to get the points he did. Stupid what he did in warmup though.

[Damien Thorn]

Hi there,

After yesterday's race, I'm not so sure about Schumacher's opportunities anymore. Alonso was simply the better driver with the better car. He smoked everybody. Schumacher. Räikkonnen, Montoya. Massa; they didn't stand a chance against Renault's superior team effort. A good, clean victory for Fernando Alonso. Congratulations!

(I wish Ferrari would wake up, though...)

Ciao tutti,

Damien

http://www.formula1.com/race/news/4489/758.html

[StragOvariuS]

Nascar and Indy all the way!

[stratohawk]

I do not really care about F1. Much more about soccer! But well, I would like Michael Schumacher to win, but we all know that his chances aren't the best this year. At least he is catching up again after the bad last year.

[Damien Thorn]

Schumacher came in second again...

http://www.formula1.com/race/news/4546/759.html

Renault comes in first and fourth, while Ferrari takes places one and five. What does that tell you? I guess the Renault is just the better car at the moment. That second place for Schumacher was even a bit of a distortion, considering that the safety car significantly reduced the gap between Alonso and numbers two and three in the final laps, which allowed Schumacher to add a little pressure to Räikkönen and take second place...

Rumour has it that Räikkönen might either be racing for Ferrari or Renault next year and that McLaren is talking to Alonso. That'll become an exciting year on the tracks, if those rumours turn out to be true. Schumacher and Räikkönen in the Ferraris, Montoya and Alonso in the McLarens, and Fisichella and Massa (or Rosberg?) in the Renaults...

Cheers,

D.

[Stratofanius]

and that McLaren is talking to Alonso

What? Didn't you already know that Alonso is in McLaren in next year...?

[Damien Thorn]

and that McLaren is talking to Alonso

What? Didn't you already know that Alonso is in McLaren in next year...?

Of course I heard about that rumour, but have you seen the contract yet?

As far as Räikkönen goes, he is just looking for the best offer at the moment. Apparently, there already was some kind of agreement between Kimi and Ferrari, which is going to cost Ferrari 5,000,000 USD if they decide to break it. These are all unsubstantiated rumours, of course...

Anyway, I was not present at any of these meetings, so it is all hearsay, I'm afraid. I'll see who is on the grid next season...

Cheers,

D.

[BERTA]

That is not a rumour...Alonso will be in Mclaren next year.
It's already signed,before start the competition of this year.

He already said it,long time ago,here in Spain.

BERTA

[Damien Thorn]

That is not a rumour... Alonso will be in Mclaren next year. It's already signed, before start the competition of this year.

He already said it, long time ago, here in Spain.

BERTA

Well, I guess that's all fine and dandy, for Schumacher...

Because Alonso will never win the championship in a McLaren, not the way the team is functioning right now. Just compare the McLaren and Renault pit stops. I haven't seen the Renaults do a bad pit stop all season, and look at what happened to Kimi last Sunday. In formula one it's all a matter of money though, so I guess there'll be a bigger budget for the McLarens next year. There'll have to be one if they hope to be able to pay Alonso's salary.

Don't get me wrong, Alonso is a great driver, but Räikkönen will be number one if he chooses to drive for Renault next year, and his odds with Ferrari wouldn't be bad either. It will be an exciting season next year, that's for sure!

Cheers,

D.

[Stratofanius]

Nice, Alonso was just 5th Go Schumacher and others!

[Damien Thorn]

Thoroughly depressing end of the formula one season...

http://www.formula1.com/race/news/5096/768.html

There is no way, and Schumacher said so himself, that he is going to bounce back from this totally undeserved streak of bad luck. (Unless Alonso does not finish in Brasil and Schumacher wins the race, but how likely is that to happen?) So I guess we can safely predict where this poll is heading right now ("rien ne va plus...") This is a huge anticlimax to an otherwise exciting season.

Now there's just the constructors' championship, and that will be a tough one to win as well, with Ferrari at nine points down from Renault...

Ciao,

Damien

[NeonVomit]

Don't complain. Ferrari had an unbelievable streak of outstanding performances, and Schumacher will always be the greatest driver in the sport. We all have to come down sometime, and make room for the new people.

[IceBreaker]

Right.

He still can win the last race and sign his career honorably, though he can´t reach the championship. (Well, everything is still possible. )

[Damien Thorn]

Two days late, but here are my final words on the 2006 F1 season...

We all know how it went. Ferrari and Schumacher showed they could race with the best of them at the beginning of the season, then they fell behind by as much as 25 points, partly due to a streak of bad luck for Ferrari. Then, the same happened to Alonso in Hungary and during the Grand Prix at Monza, and all options were open again. Schumacher came back and took back the virtual lead in the championship from Alonso at the Chinese Grand Prix...

Then, disaster struck in Japan, when Schumacher blew up his engine (was he revving too hard?) and lost a maximum ten points to his only rival, Alonso. Qualification in Brazil did not go as planned for Schumacher either with a transmission problem. However, starting from tenth position, it only took Schumacher one lap to take back four places (!), and it seemed only a matter of a few more laps before he would be driving in first position comfortably. The Ferrari was fast enough to have lapped (!) the number three (after Felipe), whether it was Alonso or Räikkönen, at least once at the end of the race. But it was not to be. After Schumacher overtook Alonso's watchdog Fisichella, the latter decided to use his frontwing to send Schumacher back to the pits with a puncture.

So, everything seemed lost, and with any other driver it would have been, but Schumacher drove back from last place and a delay of almost a complete lap to finish in fourth position, overtaking Fisichella - who would finish in sixth place - once more in the process. It wasn't enough, however, and Renault won both the driver's and constructor's championship, although the words "fair and square" hardly seem appropriate in the case of Renault's constructor's championship title.

Some might say Fisichella's action served Schumacher right, but at least Schumacher always had the guts to do the dirty work himself. Ask Jacques Villeneuve...

Cheers,

Damien