Well, did you see any of the action yesterday? Even if you weren't enamoured with what was actually happening out on track (not all that much, if we're honest), it was still good to see the cars again. Yes, I said that, even though I still think they are really bad looking. Today is qualifying day, the best day of the weekend. Bring it on! Meanwhile, here's what we're talking about:
- A quick link, via Joe, to GP Guide. It's essentially a big database of statistics, more than you could ever dream of needing, and they're presented in an easy to use format and free! GP Guide is normally published as a book, but this site has it all.
- The Factbyte Factbox had a fabulous launch yesterday with two successful Free Practice sessions completed. We're not sure whether we're going to be doing this for all Friday's, but we certainly intend to cover the weekends. The ability to have the highlight posts really makes it for me - check out Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 if you missed any of the day's running.
- As a celebration of the return of Formula One, and really because we just couldn't decide which photo to use, we decided to do an F1 Big Picture special. Instead of one, you get ten photos, with moments throughout the sessions on Friday. We like to think there's something for everyone.
That should do it for now. I don't know about anyone else, but I am exhausted after just one day. Goodness knows what we'll be like on Sunday! I will see you in the comments.
It's the first qualifying day of the season
yay!!
Should be fun!
Reckon there's going to be a biiiig gap from front to back though. At least 10 secs. Such a change from last year.
CampospaniaRT are going to be a joke, sadly.
Justin Wilson left his racing boots at home...
- long day at the track. Spent most of it working on finding some race boots! Half of my stuff didn't make the plane.
- Strangely enough, not many driver have the same size shoe as I do. I think we have found some and Im trying to stretch them right now lol
and some replies :)
EJ Viso: @JustinWilson22 I can lend u mines. Y u ddnt ask brother
Dan Wheldon: @JustinWilson22 I can lend you mine!!! Hahahahahaha
JW: @EJVISO They might go on my big toe, but thanks for the offer.
@danwheldon Yer yer. You and @EJVISO are funny ;-)
EJ Viso: @JustinWilson22 or on ur big nose. Hahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahha. Hua hua hua hua rsrsrsr
...Which I will miss as I am going to look at my new flat I will be renting.
But I promise to make a graph of the times and blog it after I catch up in the evening...
Only one team will be that slow though. Virgin still 7sec back, pleased to see Lotus only 5sec back at times...
Q1 will be a little prequalifying session. All of the above plus one Sauber.
Jono, maybe me or you could help?
Would have said Pedalo, but Kamui has been right behind him in both sessions.
haha. Justin! I have size 12 boots or maybe they're 13, i forget
I'm a size 11.
Mine are Kart ones actually, they aren't fireproof so he couldn't use them! Shame!
Size 10 here, and I thought I had boats for feet!
I have some sneakers I bought from Spain that say "F1" on them...
Time for bed.
See you for FP3
night Steven
I'm chatting to Justin Wilson about shoes.
This is a wierd day!
Night Steven
Well if you ever need some spare kit, it looks like he's your man.
And with that I retire for the night. See you in the evening and have fun for quallies guys ;)
I bet his kit costs considerably more than mine!!
Night!
night Gavin
heheh
I'm off as well, catch you either for FP or for Qual.
I'd hoped to watch FP then get my hair cut between sessions... thinking I may not wake up now :)
night Pat. You will wake up, you'll be fine. :)
adios!
I didn't for FP1 :)
It was a school day I mean a work day. Different on a day off.
I really do have to sleep. Night anyone who is still awake/living.
night Jon
Morning all :D I am off to watch a charity tennis match shortly, the one they did in Melbourne was amazingly funny so I am hoping the one in California is just as good,
I also like that I spent most of last year complaining that Heikki didn't have a site and now he has a site and a twitter and a youtube and a flickr. I totally blame McLaren.
As long as he doesn't go on anymore about how fine his rear is!
http://twitter.com/H_Kovalainen/statuses/10366632849
I will not make FP3, but maybe Quali. Night all.
Can't sleep
Morning everyone :)
I think I'm the only one
Well don't worry Joe we can get this party started!
*cracks open a cup of coffee*
Sounds good, I'm stuck at work, it's 0121 and can't sleep. I'll get up at 0600 to watch qualy
You're at work and trying to sleep?
Yeah, I'm in a firefighter so I'm on 24 hours. So, yeah, I am trying to sleep but not happening. So here I am. I don't think we have any coffee here and I can't walk to 7-11 to get a cup so enjoy your coffee
I see. Sorry for mentioning the coffee.
Most firefighters I have ever met have mentioned that there is a lot of waiting about. (I've met two, and both mentioned it)
We've been slow today, lots of rain and cool so that kept the calls down. One of my co-workers is going to run a 5k at 0600 so I told him to wake me so that I can watch qualy
We have a great station, individual rooms with wireless internet, so I can entertain myself without disturbing others
Sounds pretty good :)
So Alex, how does this season shape up for you? I think we are going to see a multi-class race like Le Mans, with the haves and the have-nots
I think that's true. I am loving the controversy already with a clever design from McLaren. But I don't want them to be too far ahead. That was a great story last year. But this year I want there to be real competition between the front runners - and for that I want the front runners to be close.
I think I see 3 classes of team:
1) McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes
2) Williams, Renault, Torro Rosso, Force India, Sauber
3) Lotus, Virgin, Sauber
It will be great to see the rivalries develop. But if any of the teams get to jump up a category by the end of the season they will have won something tangible.
The important thing to note is that with 4 front running teams (if you agree with my analysis) then there are only 3 points left for the remaining teams. It's going to be hard for them to show they are best of the rest unless they do start mixing it with the big boys and take advantage of any slip ups.
Oh no! I've woken up an hour early for practise. This could mess up my plans for the day (I now only have one hour between practise and quali instead of two, which could put a spanner into the works of getting shopping done).
I agree and love it too. I think that the full fuel loads will potentially alter the outcomes of the race. I'm thinking Williams or Force India will stumble onto the top step of the podium
With more points available, the new teams will be racing for the "other championship"
well that was the most awkward match of tennis i have ever seen. Now home for dinner and f1!
Welcome to the oh, no club
donuts?
I think I woke up two hours early!
And I can't get to sleep!
I think I woke up two hours early!
And I can't get to sleep! {Comment #53}
That's even worse!
no donuts, i dont dare tackle the markets on the weekend. Heading to a supermarket now though so any suggestions gratefully received
any thing that can be grilled
Hey everyone. I finally turned down the TV, the USF1 excuse machine known as the SpeedTV commentators are really getting to me. TV is turned down.
Morning all.
Morning :)
Morning Mrs. C!
hi.
Good morning, Mr and Mrs C! Ready for more F1 action? ;)
Hello Mr. C.
Very good morning, all!
I've got to head out soon, but I'm worried I won't be back before 1100
I went with chocolate icecream. I don't think that can be grilled.
Sorry, have to explain, I am watching FP2 replay on SpeedTV which they are trying to tell me is live. Did I mention how much I hate this channel.
I must say, brilliant plug with GP Guide, Christine! I would normally buy a book with all of that info (and I have one from a long way back), but now everything I need is here. That's one more tree saved.
ohh excellent. i haven't had chance to look around it properly, but it already looks better than forix.com.
circuit mode is great, if you want a different figuration, click on the the letter by the year it was raced in and it has the original circuit and modifications underneath. It's fantastic! I highly recommend it...
and it's free, whereas forix is not...
morning everyone
Damn - poor Karun
@Jamesallenonf1
#f1 Senna is 40 km/h slower at speed trap on sector 2, which is the new section. That could cause problems in Q1 for the front runners
Hmm...
Fancy joining a Fantasy Team F1 league on Facebook?
League ID: 1638
Password: 12345
I have only entered 1 team (Volatile Racing) as opposed to the 5 I have entered on Fantasy Racers!
*sits in daily for a little bit*
Tis nice not being in work on a saturday :)
did you book time off for qually?
Wow - gotta feel a little sorry for Chandhok this morning. I was hoping he'd at least get some laps in.
No, I originally tried to book the week off for the Joe evening but I had to wait a few weeks until I could use my holidays hours because of other people at work so I let them give me whatever week they wanted. Luckily it turned out to be this one :D
if you need to give lots and lots of notice... remember goodwood!! :)
for lou:
World champion Jenson Button was heard conversing with his girlfriend Jessica Michibata in Japanese this evening. He didn’t learn anything but the most basic Japanese in his six years with Honda, yet he’s en route to being fluent after just 12 months with a Japanese girlfriend. Go figure!
http://www.williamsf1.com/news/view/1254
My holidays hours get reset next month so dont worry, i booked that off aggggges ago :D also the last week of August...
Wow! Go Jenson :)
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that.is.awesome.
i've always wondered how much Japanese he could speak.
brilliant :)
I (heart) Williams.
more Jenson news, Darren Heath says
'Just got back from shooting.Jenson looking ragged,over driving perhaps.Qualifying should be intense.'
Legard clearly has lost name status with Andrew Benson
http://twitter.com/andrewbensonf1/statuses/10415730836
Remember you can change your pole poll predictions up to 11am and then that's it...
http://aaserver.co.uk/widgets/poll.cgi?race=0
http://aaserver.co.uk/widgets/poll.cgi?race=1
I like dragging and dropping because it means I can put even less thought into it than normal.
It's almost too easy :)
Last year I kept having to think, "have I forgotten somebody". That shouldn't be a problem this year.
I had so much fun I forgot to put my name on it. Thanks for fixing it Mr Alex!
ooo i nearly forgot! thank you giggles.
Sounds like an odd George Foreman advert
I always call that a George Fornby Grill... When I'm cleaning griddles etc.
Anyone know anything about 'Racewraps' and their 3D work?
http://twitter.com/Racewraps/statuses/10415713465
:D
just looking now, new to me, but the bbc must be improving their 3d grid walkthrough.
It's nothing to do with that slow motion thing?
from abu dhabi? that was FOM, not the beeb.
gotcha!
I can't predict for the life of me, but have entered.
hurrah!
I will need constant reminders though, am bound to forget ;)
Don't worry I'll remind people ;)
Also if you fail to enter your prediction from last time gets carried forward*
*will get carried forward when I have written that bit ;)
Anyone know the odds on Rosberg winning the WDC this year? I know it's unlikely but it's got to be pretty high (50:1 or so). With Schumi past it, I reckon he'll be using all his low fuel techniques from every FP2 session last year and get a decent grid place.
hehe :D
I think when things get serious McLaren and Ferrari are going to be so far ahead of Merc that both their drivers scores added together wouldn't win the championship.
Note to self: Don't play the piano in the middle of the night, unless at a smokey club.
Just got a gentle phone call asking me to stop. My neighbors across the street heard me playing the piano.
Are they not up for qualifying anyway
I should of asked her that. I would gotten silence on the other end of the line.
Alex? I am very confused by your pole poll. Why are there two pages and what am I guessing on each? There are no instructions and I'm stupid :P
I predict with my heart instead of with my head which is why I want Rubens to have the most poles and unlike the majority I say NO to Rosberg winning his first race :D
Ah sorry. The first one (with a 0 at the end of the link) is for the whole championship
The second one (with a 1 at the end of the link) is for this race.
I need to make that a bit clearer
:)
Also, there are instructions here: http://www.sofaf1.com/2010/03/sofa-f1-2010-championship.html
just because its the first qualy of the year and this is an occasion, I am drinking out of a 'premium quality' plastic wine glass (with detachable base)
My brother (Pete) has followed the driver numbering system to predict the winners. But other than him only one person has predicted Jenson to win the championship. Can you guess who? ;)
Good point :)
Jessica?
No Lou ;)
sssshhhh i'd feel awful if i didn't..... plus you all laughed at me in the past for picking him... am sticking with my driver :) hehe
gosh! Never would have seen that coming!
you tease me cause i'm predictable... but he's the champion don't ya know ;)
Well you never know lou you never know.... I almost almost thought about it... almost...
BBC now
Hi. I'm kind of here but not really... in that I'm going to see the BBC intro then run off for a haircut (my usual barber is quite fast), unless there's a queue in which case I'll come straight back! I don't have time to go after quali
:)
Ah very useful. Thankies! :D
Karun has not even turned a wheel yet, so it could be interesting to see how far off he'll be if he puts in a time.
Crazy situation regarding Chandhok, but I love his attitude
And now from F1 qually directly to IRL practice
:)
Just for the real stupid story of the day: taxi drivers are offered application forms in Braille.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7108021/Taxi-drivers-offered-their-Hackney-Carriage-licence-forms-in-Braille.html
*Jumps back into the daily*
no weights. my life feels empty. It's only 11.30pm and it's possible I could sleep before 2am if I wanted to.
awww.
That was fun :D
Watching possibly the worst live feed ever. IRL from Brazilian TV (if only I understood Portuguese) with a mostly blurry picture that loses connection every 20 seconds
Grrrrr.......
I shall transcribe some Joe instead. Sleeping is for chumps :D
I'm on Race Control on indycar.com and that's doing the same
aww i miss the weights.
Agreed. I wasn't keeping up with comments to see what other Aussies were saying, but I was swearing at the incompetence of OneHD going to ad break at the wrong times.
I must get that proxy thingy sorted.
This is brilliant - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm61svN4U5g
:D
I don't
Because... they're famous.
She was relentless!
Just when I thought the world had forgotten about that guy *weeps*
Maybe he took a long hard look at himself
but it was more than two years ago!
Ohhh my.
I'd never seen it before
Same here!
Football Focus has The Chain and is very racing punned.
maybe it never made it there :D he was huuuuuge news in Australia for way too long. He even went on Celebrity Big Brother!
Ohhh. Now thats annoying.
It did, he was on all the big news bulletins.
yet another annoying Corey
I'll catch you later or tomorrow. Off for a haircut and then some golf, then seeing a band later.
Although I won't see you for the race either come to think of it, because I'll be at Mum's...
See yo Pat
Enjoy the race, see ya :)
Oh shoot stupid mothers day. I completely forgot.
oh no!! me too!
Oops....
see ya! enjoy the race.
Mine subtly reminded me this morning...
I am glad ours is in May because it's always the same week as my brothers birthday which means I always remember :D
Have fun where ya going Pat, bye!
I didn't forget Mother's Day, but I kinda get away with it. Parents are at a wedding this weekend, I said "hope you don't mind, but I'll fore-go the overpriced Mother's Day cards in favour of something else". The response: "bottle of wine'd be good!"
Hah I actually think I have a present I meant to give for her birthday last year that I lost at the time. I'm sure that'll be fine.
Let me tell you how much of an upset that was. Not one person predicted Vettel on Pole for the race!
Correction: Just 1 person...
Still think Vettel will take the title though
And on that bombshell I must go and eat hotdogs.
Then I shall go and rent this streetcar for 2 hours so I can pick up my new television (replacing the stolen one).
This means I will be unlocking the car with my iPhone!!!
I will, of course, provide you with video :)
of unlocking the car not the hotdogs
I'm incredibly excited for you! I must away to bed, but I love hotdogs, cars and televisions.
I want a Twitpic of the awesome hotdogs, please. :)
I suppose i should get some coats together.. i'm off to the zoo again :)
Right - IRL 1st practice has just finished. I'm going for a bile ride to ready myself for GP2 Asia Race 1 and IRL practice 2.
This day isn't done yet!!
yay!!! I want to come!:)
it's a different zoo to the one i went to the other week, and i'm on a mission to get as many good pics as i can for my interview project for monday. i love living in kent we have so many zoos to choose from! :)
ooh... Is the weather nice there as well today then? Even when the weather was dull last time your pics were just vibrant :)
Can we lend a zoo in south Wales please? Our closest one is Bristol.. It does rock though.
sky is patchy i'd say.. should be alright. hopefully no rain this time.
okay i'll be back soon! byee! xx
have fun :)
Where did that picture of the adorably cute sleeping panda come from?!
Have fun at the zoo
sleepy doohickey :)
I love it. I leave it for 15 minutes just to see it again. :D
:)
World champion Jenson Button was heard conversing with his girlfriend Jessica Michibata in Japanese this evening. He didn’t learn anything but the most basic Japanese in his six years with Honda, yet he’s en route to being fluent after just 12 months with a Japanese girlfriend. Go figure! {Comment #81}
That's easy enough. If your significant other is Japanese, you'll be using the language every day. If your bosses/engine suppliers several thousand miles away are Japanese... ...maybe you use it a bit less.
And I'm back - how is everyone this afternoon?
And I'm back - how is everyone this afternoon? {Comment #191}
I'm fine, thank you. Not long since had lunch (pasta pesto) and looking forward to a relaxing afternoon.
I guess this proves alison isnt scottish. we have been going out 4 months and i am yet to speak a word of it ;)
"I miss Nick, for I hardly knew him."
How's that for a funeral eulogy?
Afternoon guys ;)
Gettings from the Land of Fog-damped Tundra.
I am sure that everyone's that interested has checked out their Fantasy Racers team to see how well or poorly they are doing as now you get points for your team's qualifying results and ntoiced that the scores have yet to be posted......
Well, I have worked out my current haul of points based on my original selection of drivers and my "intermediate" selction of drivers. I must say that I have been less than brillant in removing Sutil for Kobyoshi but at least I am still on the plus side of the ledger, with 30 points going into tomorrow.
If anyone wants to see how bad a disater I could have had my blog is: http://JDKAllen.wordpress.com
Afternoon RG
How goes stuff?
hehe, i think im far enough away to survive :)
I would be careful the next time Alison serves you a meal Nick, Scottish hospitalilty has not improved since the days of Lady Macbeth....
Tis good. New flat looks nice and I am just finishing up the qualifying on the iPlayer.
At the risk of asking in the wrong thread, did you all enjoy qually and did you all get annoyed at Boris?
Hey mate.
I didn't mind Boris, it just went on for a bit too long.
Sweet - forgot about Boris the moment the cars got out on track, which was about time
Indeed. The funny thing is, I'm still not sure we have seen who will be quick or slow tomorrow because that was low fuel running!
Great to see the cars racing again and I'm going to write my first blog post soon ;)
Oi! Apologise immediately. To be fair, I don't really cook at all. Last time I was trusted with anything, I gave him burnt pizza....
Why, you have just proven my theory with your burnt pizza!
He didn't mention he had a fan oven.... If he had any sense, he'd have made it himself!
Have you thought he has sense and Nick's actually calculated that there's slightly less chance of an explosion if you cook? :P ?
Hmmmm... Pizza is a nice idea actually
I'm about to order one :D
So much for my diet - a pepperoni would be sweetness upon my belly
Pepperoni pizza that is
It's a shame I had to wait so late to see qually - I feel like I missed all the discussion here!
The poor FBFB could barely keep up towards the end of qualifying :(
Actually, the FBFB got the hang of it towards the end, but was a bit miffed at some of the mistakes it made in Q1. :)
ahhh :)
Well, Laddies and Lassies, Of to make my lunch! Western Sandwich and pasta for a lovely "Spagetthi Western" Sandwich. Hopefully without the tumbleweed! No Strangers alllowed!
I'm wondering if it'd be easier if two people worked on it? Say 1 looking at whats happening on track and the other person looking at tweets and comments and such?
There are two of us?
Did the FBFB have to make a mad dash on new tyres to just edge the LCLT into Q2?
Oh, well in that case, err, right.
Anyone want to get me out of this hole?
At the moment I do the typing, but Mr C is right there shouting stuff out. I thought we did quite a good job all things considered.
Yor shoval. Your hole. Sorry.
;)
Definitely!
:)
Aye, you did. I suppose the race will be easier to do.
Wow - my entire day has been swallowed up by fast cars. Can't believe it's 4.30 already
Aw.
Katherine took the video on the side but you can clearly see me unlocking a car with my phone.
http://drop.io/sidepodcast/asset/img-4336
Wow - this IRL race in Brazil should be interesting. Every (and I mean everyone) is hitting the concrete walls...
I watched Scrubs for 2 hours to pass some time while next door neighbours do building works.
I then ordered Season 2 on Amazon. As well as Red Dwarf, Smeg Ups, and Back To Earth. £50, the first DVDs I've bought for myself in about 4 months.
Last one was the 2008 FIA F1 Review. Price: £1 from Poundland.
Only 1p away from irony - damn.
Hey I found it there for £1 too :D
Yaaaay Rubens and his Schumacher cheekiness :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjA53pDDrc8
I'm so disappointed at IRL's street circuit in Sao Paulo. There's a perfectly good circuit not far up the road.
Tomorrow would be a crashfest in Sao Paolo, although there have been rumours that Bernie put his foot down on the IRL race at Interlagos. Wonder if there's any truth in that though
I loved that. His little face. Cute cute cute :D
Just to say I loved the FBFB. Quali is always going to be hardest an the first quali of the season the hardest of the lot. I think
youthe FBFB did great :)Woohoo for bizarre electric key!
Rumours or no rumours, if many people hit the wall it's just going to re-inforce one thing.
IRL drivers hit walls. F1 drivers don't. ;)
Wow! How odd.
:)
(ba dum tisch)
On a more serious note though, the fiddly sections are insanely tight
I'm like the derren brown of bizzare electric keys. Except my trick is really real.
what's a bit crazy is we rehearsed so much for this, and have multiple plans for server failure etc, yet neither of us thought to ask "what happens when a lot of stuff is going on"?
want!
do you get a key for when you have no signal?
true. It's interesting. I wonder how much of the time is spent personalising it?I imagine that takes quite a bit. And yet it's the personal touch that makes FBFB so endearing. I mean FBFB eeked! :)
RG might be onto something though. interesting idea.
you could also have person X watching the front half of the grid and person Y doing the back.
well. I have a smart card in my wallet which is RFID enabled (like an Oyster card) which you can hold up to the reader which you can see in the video bottom left of the windscreen (drivers side). That's the way I've always done it before until now when the iPhone app came out. The car keys are then in the glove compartment with a machine that you have to type a pin in to release.
:)
I like to feel I've got to know FBFB over the last few days and I'm pretty sure FBFB would capitalise things correctly ;)
also true :)
For those wondering it was with streetcar and I booked the car for 2 hours about half an hour before I needed it. It lives five minutes walk from my house. And two hours costs 11 pounds (and you never have to pay for petrol or the congestion charge - there's a credit card for fuel in the glove compartment).
Nick has never heard the phrase common-or-garden before and now he's laughing at me :(
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8565704.stm
There's a pole lap video within that, natural sounds, without commentary. The phrase "hit all your marks" sums it up quite accurately. Brilliant lap from Vettel.
It was awesome... i really do need more screens, i have no idea how you kept up!
Well Nick now I am laughing at you :)
that man has a very boring and condescend...ing voice.
it makes legard sound excitable.
I was very confused as to what garden salt was. I was pretty sure Common salt was what you had on the table. I didnt realise it was different to what you used on slugs!
Not really I don't really laugh at people... but it a standard phrase.
Legard is excitable, he just doesn't need to shout at me when there is 5 minutes of a session left.
What about the red bull muffin show? ;)
Well that's the exception that proves the rule as they say ;)
#sorrymrc
Well I'm not sure garden salt and common salt are the origin of the phrase I always assumed it was botany or ornithology.
Karun says: "I think I might be the only driver in the history of F1 to go straight into a qualifying session of a race without even having done a shakedown of the car!"
Is that right?
Karun says: "I think I might be the only driver in the history of F1 to go straight into a qualifying session of a race without even having done a shakedown of the car!"
Is that right? {Comment #266}
I think so. If he isn't, the example will date back to before I watched - things were a little more relaxed in the 1950s...
Greetings. back from Lunch.
Maybe. Do not know much about IRL, however, if IRL still has refuelling, it just might be enough to be within the ballpark of F1 lap times at Interlogos. You would not want a bunch of F1 has-beens and F1 useless retread drivers going faster than Schuie and Co in today's F1 cars now would we? Would not look good for the average fan and the sponours....
I think those poor Lola suckers (er, I mean drivers) had to the same thing back in 1997 in Australia, do remeber that the Lola had a bit of a wind tunnel run which suggested that they where in deep trouble in Australia.....
Isn't this his first time in F1? I thought he tested a couple years ago.
I think you have him mixed up with Narain Karthikeyan, Turkey Machine.
Lola practiced on the Friday prior to qualifying. They were around 14-16 seconds off before getting to within a dazzling 12 seconds of pole on Saturday
hey all.
Evening! How was the zoo?
he tested a red bull, but that was back in 07
I think in terms of taking a car which had never been driven before straight into a quali session he might be right!
awesome!! i've not been to that zoo in ages! and they've got soo many tigers! i think i got some nice pics too. an evening editing ahead i think :)
Aww yay! Look forward to seeing what you got :)
Steven would have loved it, i'm not sure i've ever seen that many tigers in one place before.
PING: http://www.f1minute.com/2010/03/13/the-back-of-beyond/
Just seen bernie going round a track on a moto gp 2 seater on tv... very odd!
Kudos, however I was definitely talking about Chandhok.
Okay I was wrong about the Lolas, way back when most of us where not born and Frank Williams outfit was a joke I am sure he fired a driver after Friday Practice and hired a new driver to do the Qualifiying.
The car had a shakedown, but the driver did not have a shakedown before getting into the qualifying, it is one of the reject driver in F1 rejects...
@adamcooperf1: Here's a cool thing. Tonight the 24 F1 cars will spend their evening zipped up in giant 'sleeping bags' as an FIA spy camera keeps watch
that answers that question then.
and a blog: http://adamcooperf1.com/2010/03/13/fia-switches-on-new-f1-garage-spy-cameras-for-first-time-in-bahrain/
Cue the geordie accent...
1:02am, and the Red Bull has woken up the McLaren. The Force India is not happy.
hhhhheeeeh!
:D hahaha
did we hear about lotus' fuel tank?
@emmastonier: F1 paddock looking at two things tmrw - if Lotus tank is big enough to finish race + if Lewis will pull a 'Schumi' esque move on Schumi!
I could swear it was Virgin about three days ago.
It was. HRT won't have a big enough tank next week probably
Bit of pessisim from will buxton with regard to what the new layout will do to the race
http://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/why-f1s-exciting-new-dawn-may-have-to-wait/
I made friends with a little monkey today. He followed me as i walked around his enclosure until i got to the glass window. He seemed to be fascinated by the sound of my camera. That or my scarf...
I took the best pic i could on my phone (as i had the wrong lens on my dslr at the time).
pic - http://twitpic.com/18cz5n
That is so sweet! Aww :D
I want a monkey now though...
Awe, so cute
I found some being given away here... it would have been awesome, but alison said i couldnt
were they lemurs?
Have to disappear for a while to feed and walk the dog and feed and walk myself. And catch up with both Heroes and The Big Bang Theory while I have the house to myself.
Later dudes and dudettes. :D
See ya TM
see ya
They were dwarf monkeys, very cute. but to be fair i dont have the time to invest to keep one. would be awesome though
See you in a bit folks - IRL qualifying is just starting, so I'm going disappearing for a while
mr. roy called that one... ooh, in february. i bet there's a comment on spc that reads:
"Quite apart from the fact that there simply isn’t enough track length between corners to allow anyone to have a decent stab at a passing move, the track width is so slim that you can barely fit two cars side by side. To the naked eye, it appears almost half the width of the rest of the circuit."
Ahhhh scratch that - qualifying might be cancelled. Dammit!!
>:(
why?
Turns out the reason everyone is crashing is there is something wrong with the track, but you have got to see this.
The dry track looks wet - everyone is spinning around and losing the backend under acceleration as if it was wet
Something to do with the track surface?
They have to grind the circuit because everyone is skidding off on the dry surface - qualifying is delayed until tomorrow
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47465000/jpg/_47465025_-53.jpg
Now, if that's not a look of sudden pain...
Dry water?
If it was F1 i would say Shumacher had requested it for superstitious reasons...
I mean it's like glass - the drivers are literally sliding everywhere, but the track is surrounded by concrete walls, so everyone is wrecking somewhat.
Beatriz and a couple of others even spun half way down the start/finish straight in practice
racecontrol won't let me in :(
you need to register
done and confirmed. just takes me to the select package page, and selecting free kicks me out.
Ok
I had this too - go back to Indycar.com
On the right under the green box, there are 6 icons in small red boxes. Click on the one that has a TV in it. It'll ask you for your username/password and should go to the feed
They're running an extra practice at the moment - another spin/crash right now
No difference to Sato.
They all seem to be spinning from a hairpin?
And on the start/finish straight/curve too.
*notices the name Sato on the leaderboard list*
Uh oh
ah-ha! thankyou.
Wow...
Is Sato the Takuma Sato?
Yes
Yep, the Takuma Sato
Now I'm definitely watching :D
It's his first race
...but on a better note, at least the track layout looks like a keytar
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Anhembi.svg
http://www.vintagesynth.com/moog/liberation.jpg
Hehe!
Keytars are awesome
:)
I like how the pitlane appears to be halfway through a lap
While I'm waiting for some action, is this too much tea for just me?
http://twitpic.com/18d7ke
Well I'd say there's quite enough tea but not enough scones, old boy! Pip pip!
it is if you drink it all at once.
Considering your name sounds Irish, yes ;)
Incidentally I read somewhere that Kiwis drink more tea than the Brits!
That's very possible - and yes, Irish
;)
whoever said that has obviously not met my family.. :)
Boy, this live video cam from San Paulo is extremely exciting..... (ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!)
It would appear that rain is forecast for the Sao Paolo race too - should be spintastic
well with qually postponed, there wasn't going to be a whole lot going on. Think they're just using it as an extra practice though
By the way, the commentary is from Indianapolis Radio while the pictures are international feed
PING: http://sidepodcast.com/2010/03/13/f1-digest-2010-bahrain-qualifying/
Yes, but the feed can focus on the the few cars on the circuit, and not a car doing nothing on pit lane!
True
By the way, that straight is insanely long
yay :)
PING PING: http://www.f1minute.com/2010/03/13/13-mar-10-vettel-takes-pole-position-in-bahrain/
I can not believe the stupidity of American fans wanting more "American" drivers in Indycar simply becasue they are "American". I think the first thing you need is the ability to turn the car to the right..... ...
It is a mile long!
It's split 50/50 - many want US drivers (ala NASCAR), but many also realise that the best drivers are the way to go. However, you must realise that this is a primarily US series in front of a primarily US audience, so US drivers resonate
:D :D :D yay!
I will be adding a link in my blog post (still writing) ;)
Well F1 seems to get a tad more coverage in the UK when there is a Brit doing well... even if some of us are not remotely swayed in that direction...
I wonder which countries have more fans for non "home" drivers than Britain....
No different to Spain when Alonso is doing well, or Germany when Schumacher was doing wel, etc.
Just before i hit the hay...
Sato is driving for lotus :D http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82097
He's better than Kovalainen, get im in F1
And therefore no surprise that Indy want a certain number of US drivers....
and not even a #sorryamy!
Oooh yeah, err
#sorryAmy
I'm foregoing Heroes and TBBT for a spot of film watching: Stardust on Channel 4! (+1 in about 20 minutes)
There is some circular irony there,
he is in the irl through his honda conections, presumably to promote the brand , driving a car with not only the name of a rival car company down the side, but a rival engine manufacturer too.
A bit of artistic fun from Karun Chandhok's brother apparently (via Chandhok's twitter)
http://twitpic.com/17ydzi
Great pics but as to the last bit....
Nooooo.....
something for everyone who still likes f1?
;)
That's rather good! :D
I was told of this the other day, but I can't remember the exact reason it got worked out. Anyway it is just a sponsorship deal for the Indy 500 as far as I know
I can't complain, you got Timo and a Sauber in the same shot ♥
Nice!
Thanks "me"....
And your early season Kimi montage was great so I'm not complaining...
i'm sure there will be more. am also convinced we need more kimi rally threads throughout the season.
Well I may just attempt another report on my return from Jordan.... if you can bear it....
Japan has infinitly more fans for Zolt Beaugarnter than all of their Japanese Drivers combined, let alone great like Berger, Prost or Senna.....
most definitely.
Oooo....
Yes Japan was amazing ...
I was at Suzuka and every other person was in Kimi gear (not Ferrari gear but Kimi gear)... I was in a very small group of Europeans in my stand and was constantly asked if I was Finnish....
Very little support for Nakajima or Kobayashi....
Speaking of Zolt, I wonder how many fans he has in Hungary compared to say Kubica fans? :P
Yesterday and the day before Timo was up tweeting at midnight Bahrain time and tonight it's Karun...
Get some beauty sleep Mr Chandhok...
He'll have plenty of time for that when his car fails after 5 laps.
#sorrykarun
Possibly my favourite post ever: http://sidepodcast.com/2010/03/13/old-man-and-me/
PING: http://f1numbers.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/bahrain-qualifying-analysis-first-gp-of-2010/
My qualifying analysis. Still don't know whether to be happy or sad for getting rid of the fuel weights?
Less work I suppose?
Guys, check this cartoon out:http://www.newzonfire.com/Images/menvswomen.html
speaking of Nico.. he finally has a new website design.
http://www.nicorosberg.com/
and it links to his twitter
http://twitter.com/nico_rosberg/
good spot lou.
I prefer Hekki's ;)
Evening all. I have spent a great day at Brands taking loooooooots of photos.
!!!! i should have checked the brands calender... can't wait to see them :)
they're not lou standard, but some looked pretty good on the camera, am just checking them out now. such an awesome day. will flickr later
aww i'm sure they're great :) yay! link to them when they're up
i shall! they're good enough for my use, e.g a 500x500px max on my site
I'm having a good giggle at Youtube. I decided to turn on the automatic captions generated by Google to see how it transcribed the Rubens interview I uploaded earlier. Amusing outcome :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjA53pDDrc8
I'm npot sure if it's on default, so if they dont appear, look for the icon with CC on it...
thats quite hilarious
an english man, a scotsman, an irish man and a brazilian.
im surprised You Tube didnt explode
I like when it transcribes something about the speech in the middle. Very ironic :)
yeah! i thought that too.
In other news, the IRL race in Brazil has had some trouble. The asphalt on certain parts of the track is so slick that they called off qualifying today.
LINK: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/82104
It's like it threw random words...
Actually it sounds like those Bollywood into English videos!
Evening all
They have Interlagos there that goes round the right way for the IRL and htey are racing on a concrete street track.. Very confused
Evening Steven.
To all those photo/camera-geeks out there.....
If you've got around £500, whats the best SLR you can buy?/would suggest?
+ a longer lens. I had issues today because i couldnt zoom in close enougb
Designed by a Kiwi :(
rumours say bernie wouldn't let them... i think?
Because I am often asked what podcasts I listen to, I made a list: http://smarterthanyouraverage.com/podcasts/
*faints*
How does one city get lucky enough to have two non-Tilke circuits?
Figures
One of which is so badly designed at the moment it's providing as much racing as A1GP ever did....
I love how A1GP has become the standard for how not to do it!
how do you fit them in?
I have quite a big iPod.
A1GP is the standard for failing motorsports across the globe. Talk about bad everything..... (I was going to say bad planning, execution, circuits and cars and drivers, but "everything" just covers all that)
:)
i meant time wise :P
I have the same problem. You kinda don't - you let some fall back every now and then...
#drwho
Oo-er. Odd photo is odd. http://www.dwin.org/expressionengine/images/uploads/drwho2_1595103c.jpg
I used to let Winamp organise them. Then I realised I wouldn't find the time to listen to them.
I hope that with my time on journeys to and from work I can listen to them.
Its made odder (if thats even a word) by the fact its the old Tardis in background.
At one point, I had loads of time to listen and I ran out of podcasts to consume. So I subscribed to loads of shows. Then things changed, I had less time, and they backed up a bit. Now I have double speed, I'm hoping to get back to a decent number.
Oh yeah! I forgot we're having a new tardis.
Might be a stupid question... is "double speed" listening to them at "double speed" so that they sound really high-pitched?
We don't get to see it right until the end of the first episode. Moffat loves keep things hidden.
The iPod Touch has x2 speed which isn't quite double speed and somehow manages to make them only slightly higher pitched but completely tolerable. It's some kind of leprechaun magic.
Something very similar happens to me.
Most days I listen to up to 6 podcasts on my commute or at my desk at work. But if I have a busy day, a sick day or go on vacation and don't listen, the podcasts really pile up!
Actually Christine, thanks - you've given me the motivation to clean up my lists!
Leprechaun Magic - the secret behind Apple's success
I actually listen to very few podcasts. I think itunes only has sidepodcast feeds.
From the few reviews I have read the best Nikon entry level dslr is the D3000... and the best entry level Canon is the EOS 1000D. I would start looking at internet reviews of those tbh.
As for a lens, I usually use a Sigma 70-300mm lens (as recommended to me by mr c), it's relatively cheap for a lens, so would fit with your budget i think. It can take really clear pics up to about 200mm where by sometimes it's best to use a tripod. It's never given me any trouble though.
hope this helps!
:( #notafan
muchos. thank you
no problem, let me know what you end up getting :)
Nooo...
'Twas where I first saw Nico Hulkenberg....
Apologies, that musta been Superleague.
Nightie night....
Sweet dreams to you all....
Night lady S
Wonder how much the BBC paid Jenson to do the voiceover for the BBC1 programme trailer?
Good night
Murray Walker's still commentating. Legend! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBIBZzNkJ-M
Why do some YouTube videos load a lot faster than others?
To be sure you will sshhh now :)
Can't keep him away! :)
This Tweet account may provide answers on the track issue for the Indycars: http://twitter.com/NZRconsulting/
I can already hear the rant from Dex next week ;)
holy stuffing heck, the track designers tweet?
Can you imagine the tweets if Tilke did too?
We need a Tilke Tweet!
"Making scaeletrix.. box provide no hairpin, slow corners. Will ask 4 refund"
Joe has a short item on Shell fuel
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/shell-takes-biofuels-into-f1/
I thought it had to be "pump gas" though?
It's something close to it, but basically it's unleaded petrol with additives.
Comment of the evening: http://f1numbers.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/bahrain-qualifying-analysis-first-gp-of-2010/#comment-744
It has to be of similar specification but how similar is similar?
Therein lies the rub!
I love the term cellulosic ethanol. Utterly meaningless. They are trying to make something simple sound high tech
blimey, how corporate does alonso look?
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/a-gallery-of-world-champions/
I'm pretty sure Bernie Ecclestone isn't a world champion
a few pics from my trip to the zoo today,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/loujohnson/sets/72157623489340683/
more later probably.
oh and this was the most evil cat i have ever come across, thank goodness there was a fence between us.
Is it just me, or do they all look like they have been photoshopped in?
That's not a cat - that's Satan hiding in a mop!
or the prince.
oh my goodness! That little monkey has the sweetest eyes!
I didn't even notice him!
hahaha seriously it ran at me from one end of the enclosure and sat at what would have been my feet (thank god for the fence) and just stared at me. I thought it would jump at me...
Now that you mention it - Schumi does...
That first animal (y'know that one) looks like he has one of those McLaren arrows on his torso.
The elephants tusk picture with the trunk has literally made my jaw drop
Look how skinny Mansell looks next to Jones
I am surprised Brabham made it he was supposed to be ill
I thought it was a Star Trek insignia
some f1 pics from today.
- sleeping f1 cars
- Trulli has a really really bad hair day
- i love the look on Nick's face!
Nick seriously is having the time of his life.
Love them tigers. Those paws are enormous
there were sooo many of them today :) i watched one of them play with a huge blue barrel for about 1/2 hour.
Sorry I meant that from what I have read Red Bull haven't done anything to outlandish, such as the McLaren rear wing, (moving knee trickery or the ferrari wheels.
It's nice to see zoo tigers that don't look old. They look so fit and strong.
Morning, folks.
Was supposed a watch a quali replay this morning, but instead I find... a videogame show. Although... Final Fantasy 1 and 2 are on the iPhone now?!
Good day for sports today. First, some boxing with Pacquiao-Clottey before tonight's main event. :D
there was one older looking siberian tiger, but the others were all pretty young and healthy i think. Generally at Howletts and Port Lympne they are great with their animals, and a lot of the time try to return some back to the wild.
Indeed, although £5.49 each? No thanking you!
Morning ;)
Gooood evening.
I've just been to see Hayseed Dixie. They were awesome.
Morning
Which reminds me... did anyone use the F1 iPhone app? Was it any good?
time for some sleep, see you all tomorrow!!! am very excited about the race :) night all! xx
Night Lou. :)
How did you get the tiger pics with no wire in the way?
F1 tomorrrrrrrrrrrooooooowww!!! :D
Sleep well, night :)
Good night
the free one? yeah it's rubbish.
my lens is awesome :D you can focus it past the fence and it hardly notices it..
The free one is OK. Nothing special. I bought the super expensive one this weekend and it has vastly impressed me, even with the odd Kobayashi at super speed 10 minutes.
There's a free one? I may have missed that discussion. I meant the paid one similar to what we used last year.
Sleep, oh gods, I remember what I was gonna do. Then I realised I hadn't finished my beer I poured 2 hours ago.
Priorities TM, priorities!
ooh, as lukeh said, that's excellent.
i think bernie has (deliberately) put them out of business with his free one, we shall see.
There's a Free one on the Formula 1 website, an official app if you will.
I thought the paid app was the official one? I'm confused...
Although as mentioned I am a big Schumacher fan, I can also see his neck becoming an issue if Nico easily beats hims for the first few races.
Sadly people will fall for the trap and push aside the far, far superior version because of the price.
But, hey, if it forces the paid app to drop its prices, I think it's a win-win solution. It's just way too expensive for me right now. But if they did a 20-30% cut by Australia, let's say, I would buy it.
I thought that might be the case. Didn't look like you were shooting through glass
it will probably force them out of business and there won't be one next year.
Time to get some sleep.
night chap.
Night Stuart.
We shall see.
Night :)
Night mate.
Good night
Night sir!
Then I shall make an even-free-er rival to Bernie's and it shall be broken thanks to my coding fail!! Take that, Bernard!
like i said. this is a move from bernie to screw their business model.
he doesn't give flying fox about live timing, why is he improving the mobile / iphone experience but not the desktop experience? both are free.
Beer finished, MOTD nearly finished, I'm hittin' the hay. Must check the SPC calendar to work out what's happ'nin' when.
See ya bright eyed and bushy tailed in the morning chaps and chapesses. :D
bye bye.
Good point.
Just to get around it will you have to come up with fake driver names? Such as Michael Shoemakker or something?
Night TM.
Looks like it's a shift change, then.
Videogame show done... and I get a friggin golf show! *facepalm*
Night mate!
I'm sure Cheat will be fine. That or Darth Schumacher.
we know otmar has gone back to work for an f1 team, we know the paid app people are not happy about this new free one.
i say it's game over and bernie has stuffed the fans experience for his own nefarious / selfish reasons.
again.
Whats new :(
Which will probably suddenly become expensive next year as there is no competition?
Has this been brought up? I would guess it has, but I may have missed it.
http://en.espnf1.com/bahrain/motorsport/story/11176.html
just wait until the codemasters app starts taking off, and refuse to give him a bigger cut. no more f1 games for fans for another 10 years.
it'll happen.
not app, console game. sorry.
i suspect it'll be binned.
Noooooooooooooo :(
you know it'll happen. no-one is allowed to make a profit on the back of bernie. same reason we're in this mess.
complete news to me.
Oooh, scoop. It was first linked to around 3 hours ago.
I knew McLaren were being forced to change but not several
oh no, my two videos from tonight are rubbish, that's really annoying
http://joesaward.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/unknown.jpeg
Brilliant photo. Could do with more Kimi, though.
And... I was right! No Piquet in Bahrain!
Really?
I might be a bit drunk and craving some Chinese... can't be bothered to go to the takeaway, instant noodles it is
How big can the starter hole be? I am amazed it is worth trying to use it
i'm amazed renault are starting an arms race...
Looking around the Net, I see 2 different Schumi caps on sale.
And he's worn both this weekend. Ugh.
I wonder which one will be the more-used cap? Am hoping Schumi gets a podium at least tonight so I can find out. :D
:D
this may be all they have, TBH. should be interesting to see how much of the car's speed is down to this.
They have to pay him somehow
Get the cap which makes your neck look straight?
@RubberGoat: yes, F1 coverage starts at 11:10am. :)
Time for me to go already.... put the laptop down dammit!
Cheers mate ;)
DVAG cap it is, then. But... I'll wait for it, anyway. Might just buy it in Shanghai if we're the only people there anyway. :D
Won't be available on Amazon until April 1, and I can't read the Schumi shop's German...
:D :D
Right, I'm off then. Time for the sleep in I should have had this morning. See you for the race ;)
Night Gavin. :)
Good night those who are leaving
Night sir and night from me, gonna miss the first part of the race but I'll catch you early on. Byee.
Night RG.
G'night guys, see you in the morning for a little known thing known as F1 :)
Just read Will Buxton's bit that was linked earlier... does not bode well does it?
Also other random notes as I skim-read...
They said the Sao Paulo track would be trouble, and so it is.
Leigh - there is no such thing as too much tea.
I now have curry flavour noodles
I really don't see the logic in the changes. Bahrain always gave decent racing but a string of slow corners is just going to create field spread. Hopefully they will change back next season
I still think they wanted to create more room for the new cars.
No doubt that was the logic but it has completely ruined that track