New F1 season kicks off this weekend (Page 31 of 33)

A dry race in Malaysia and a 1-2 for Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton not at all troubled by anything as he drove a faultless race to a storming victory.  What about good old Felipe Massa.  Having been told by his engineer that (ahem) Bottas was faster than him he totally ignored any team orders and made his car as wide as possible to prevent Bottas from passing.  Later a more diplomatic message that Bottas' tyres were in better shape to Massa's made absolutely no difference at all.  Undeterred, Massa kept his line and his place.  Unhappy memories from a previous team radio "instruction" methinks.  My heart went out to Ricciardo who was looking good for a possible podium finish until a problem on a tyre change ended any hopes of that.  Hopefully he's due some better luck.  But that said, Red Bull are looking good with Vettel finishing a great third.  Two Germans on the podium, who'd have thought given Red Bull's lack of performance during testing.

Still can't get used to the sound of the cars though.

Yes, an excellent race all the down the order really.

I think McLaren were a bit unlucky really, with the firast 2 retirements they have had in a race for some time. It is clear that the Mercedes engine users all have an advantage of both power and general reliability at the moment and McLaren need to be exploiting that uring this early point of the season.

Interesting to read that Mercedes, as with Renault might have quit the sport if the current engine regs hadn't been adopted. I can remember Norbert Haug being against the development originally because of the anticpated cost and the need to supply engines to teams for 15million per season.

All that has changed of course, with now even Mercedes development boss claiming that the main board would not have continued to support F1 without the sport using powertrain systems with a direct road relationship.

Its all interesting stuff. Despite Renaults problems to date all the engine suppliers have done a fantastic job given the lead time for such complicated systems.

unusual for the team winning the first set of grand prix's not to go on and win the championship, but given the healthy competition Rosberg and Lewis clearly have it doesn't mean it is going to be a bad thing. If they are so far out of sight of the other teams then they shouldbe allowed to race hard, and irrespective of what happens Merc will win both championships.

Ah, Monaco this weekend.  Never been a favourite of mine but it's a popular race nonetheless.  With Lewis on pole and with Ricciardo just a fraction behind him should be a good run down to Saint Devote.  Let's hope both of them keep it on the track.

Enjoyed the race. Rosberg didn't put a foot wrong and took a deserved win. He did the business at the start and then it was about keeping his nose clean.
I do hope Lewis can let up on the sulks a bit. I thought in Qually Rosberg was going for a time and for me it looked like a mistake and I think a big benefit of the doubt should be given. Lewis needs to big up a bit and just get on with it.

In the race a number of them dropped it. Perez looked over ambitous going into the Station Hairpin at the start and got his desserts. Kimi overcooked it there too and cocked up all his good work. Sutil had a biggy and we were lucky not to see a huge accident in the pits. How Magnussen braked in time to avoid hitting Vergne I don't know. The Williams pit crew were waiting for their man and if the two had collided it could have been very nasty, even at ONLY 100kph.

So well done Nico but my big congrats have to go to Jules Bianchi who profited from all the retirements and got Marussia's first ever points in 9th place. Can't be easy getting a Marussia around there for 78 laps. Well done him.

Finally, well done the director who gave us numerous pictures of the backmarkers dicing away. Finally, someone who realises that there is more to F1 races than the leader

Yes Rick, you are right. I watched the World Series Renault race with the 3.5 V8's and they had a wonderful scream going around there. Looked very dramatic too. With all the cars being the same they looked naked compared to the aero festooned F1 projectiles.
Without the attendant noise the F1 machines seem slower, until you see them close up through the chicanes and so on. The on board footage from any car going around there is always a feast. I can't believe how they manage to do it, and press 10 buttons on the steering wheel!

I'm enjoying it at the moment. It will go wonky soon at Mercedes which is a shame but it was bound to happen. But I am finding the technology fascinating this year. That said.....how could you make it better.

My perfect F1. It is a team sport....so they all keep saying. OK . This isn't a new idea 12 teams, 24 drivers. Increase the season to 24 races. The drivers are all centrally registered with F1 Racings and paid on a sliding scale for the season against previous results, championships and the like. Drivers are encouraged to 'pair up' and move around each team as a two-piece. They drive for each team throughout the season at 2 Grand Prix. 2 days of extra testing are allowed prior to each race for familiarisation.
Teams concentrate on the performance of the cars. Driver telemetry is universally shared so teams know how each driver 'drives'. The best team, with the best car will probably win. We would really see who the best drivers are though.

Could Max Chilton win in a Mercedes? Could Vettel get a Caterham in the points. I don't know or care. But we might see some pretty funky races.

Oh, and there is relegation too. The bottom 5 drivers have to run off against some new talent.

Teams would be spared the cost of driver retainers, as the sport would have to fund that centrally.

It could never happen, although I would perhaps like to see World Series by Renault try it. For one year maybe. Just to see what would happen...............

Just kinda of throwing it out there.

If Haas is really serious then he should buy Lotus, Caterham or Torro Rosso. It makes zero sense to try and come in building your own car even with someone as accomplished as Dallara.
You only have to look at Caterham and Marussia. The 9th place Marussia got at MC was the only proper points scored by one of the new teams in 4 seasons of trying.
Plus, you can't run a GP team from the States, not if you want it to be challenging for points in the Championship. The experienced track and backroom staff are all European based. Even if it were attractive to live in the US not many would take the chance because the risk of the team folding is so high.

I think Carl Haas was the last to try it with the Beatrice-Lola. They supposedly had huge financing but a difficult first season saw them disappear pretty quickly. Before that I think Parnelli-Jones in '76 was the last US based team. Even Penske and UFO Shadow built their cars and operated them out of Europe.

You can never say never, but it makes no sense to me to put a further obstacle in the way of an already herculean task. Buy an established team, make it work and then re-locate it if that is the ultimate goal. Any other solution would be money down the drain.

As to the race, thank goodness for Montreal. My enjoyment was unfortunately curtailed due to a power outtage during one mother of an electrical storm, but I followed the action on-line as much as possible. Very pleased for Ricciardo, disappointed for Lewis. The Mercs should have had it in the bag but, hey, thats motor racing.

Can't feel sorry for Massa. IF he had been dicing for a podium then OK, go for it, but what Williams and Force India need is points in the bag. To throw all that away, whoever was at fault or not, is just ridiculous. Not many points separate 4th and 5th place. For both cars to end up in the wall before the last lap is just stoooopid. Perez got the grid penalty but if I was Frank Williams I would be extremely annoyed. Bottas was hampered but at least he got to the line. Yes, maybe they are racers, but sorry, there are some commercial realities out there and the drivers need to bring the thing home. Very very dumb, in my book.

Mike, I read that Perez had a brake problem, reported it to the team but they told him to stay out (I guess for the points).  Therefore I don't think Massa had a chance.  Initially I thought he'd overcooked it but the brakes issue kinda makes sense for me.  I'm so glad both drivers are ok as they were nasty shunts.

Thought the race as a whole was a real cracker - first five drivers coming home with around 2 secs between them we haven't seen the likes of that for years!!

did the 2014 season just get interesting today?