BOF Posted January 24, 2012 Moderator Share Posted January 24, 2012 54 days away but who's counting eh? The cars will start to get rolled out soon. Can Ferrari and McLaren bridge the gap to Red Bull? Can Mercedes join the party? Kimi Raikkonen is back so will Renault join the party? The Hulk is back. Grosjean is back. Along with Grosjean we have 2 new Frenchmen on the grid. We have a Senna in a Williams Renault, 18 years on. 3 teams have changed their names. We already have a technical regulation controversy (reactive ride height) so at least it's consistent. We have a 20 race calendar for the first time in the sport's history. Discuss !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidlewis Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 If it's as one sided as it was last year, I won't be watching too much. Red Bull were way out there ahead of the rest. One thing is that I don't think Vettel can cope with a fight in the middle of the pack, unless others ahead mess up big time. Canada was the best race, he couldn't take Button coming from LAST to WIN. I don't think Vettel could manage that at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted January 24, 2012 Author Moderator Share Posted January 24, 2012 Williams have made the very risky and frankly ridiculous (IMO) decision to partner Maldonado with Senna. They've not only ditched the developmental prowess and experience of Barrichello but they've also overlooked the proven talent of Adrian Sutil; dropped from Force India. So in a season where they'll likely have a pretty good engine in the car (they've switched to Renault) and should make strides forward technically, they've lumbered themselves with a potentially disastrous and inexperienced driver pairing. Maldonado last season had glimpses of talent. Would have beaten Barrichello in the WDC had Hamilton not wiped him out @ Ste. Devote. And Williams have been waxing lyrical about Senna's potential but I'm afraid I can't see it. He didn't do particularly brilliantly when he replaced Heidfeld at Renault last season. Yes, he too showed glimpses, but both of them weren't consistent enough for me. And Maldonado particularly failed to last the pace in most races. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Red Bull had by far the best car and by far the best driver last year. Hopefully Mclaren (and lesser so) Ferrari close the gap. I'll be signing up to the HD pack on Sky so that I get to watch all the races live. (current Sky customers can get £50 cashback if you sign up to HD via Quidco). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 To me Formula 1 remains a sport where the results are more interesting than the event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Williams have made the very risky and frankly ridiculous (IMO) decision to partner Maldonado with Senna. They've not only ditched the developmental prowess and experience of Barrichello but they've also overlooked the proven talent of Adrian Sutil; dropped from Force India. So in a season where they'll likely have a pretty good engine in the car (they've switched to Renault) and should make strides forward technically, they've lumbered themselves with a potentially disastrous and inexperienced driver pairing. Maldonado last season had glimpses of talent. Would have beaten Barrichello in the WDC had Hamilton not wiped him out @ Ste. Devote. And Williams have been waxing lyrical about Senna's potential but I'm afraid I can't see it. He didn't do particularly brilliantly when he replaced Heidfeld at Renault last season. Yes, he too showed glimpses, but both of them weren't consistent enough for me. And Maldonado particularly failed to last the pace in most races. I think the pairing of Senna and Maldonado is all down to ££££'s, both will attract large amounts of sponsorship money for different reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted January 24, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hopefully it's bit more competitive at the top this year. I still don't like Vettel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LondonLax Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Yes last season was a bit of a damp squib. The season before was a cracker, lets hope for something like that again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choffer Posted January 24, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hmmm. I obviously got so bored with it last year that I clean forgot I was in bof's fantasy f1 league. Is it still possible to find out how close to bottom I actually finished? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted January 24, 2012 Author Moderator Share Posted January 24, 2012 Williams have made the very risky and frankly ridiculous (IMO) decision to partner Maldonado with Senna. They've not only ditched the developmental prowess and experience of Barrichello but they've also overlooked the proven talent of Adrian Sutil; dropped from Force India. So in a season where they'll likely have a pretty good engine in the car (they've switched to Renault) and should make strides forward technically, they've lumbered themselves with a potentially disastrous and inexperienced driver pairing. Maldonado last season had glimpses of talent. Would have beaten Barrichello in the WDC had Hamilton not wiped him out @ Ste. Devote. And Williams have been waxing lyrical about Senna's potential but I'm afraid I can't see it. He didn't do particularly brilliantly when he replaced Heidfeld at Renault last season. Yes, he too showed glimpses, but both of them weren't consistent enough for me. And Maldonado particularly failed to last the pace in most races. I think the pairing of Senna and Maldonado is all down to ££££'s, both will attract large amounts of sponsorship money for different reasons.Absolutely. But BOTH drivers? For a team as rich in history as Williams coming off their worst season in history and with a good engine? It's as if they've thrown this season away already in the hope that they'll be financially secure for 2013. It's a shame. I can understand someone like HRT or Marussia doing it, but for Williams to steep so low is disappointing. I'm looking forward to seeing how Sauber & Force India get on and whether Caterham (formerly known as Lotus) can catch the tail end of the midfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted January 24, 2012 Author Moderator Share Posted January 24, 2012 To me Formula 1 remains a sport where the results are more interesting than the event.There are definitely races that fall into that category. The trick is keeping those to a minimum by picking better tracks and setting the regulations up to be more competitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted January 24, 2012 Author Moderator Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hmmm. I obviously got so bored with it last year that I clean forgot I was in bof's fantasy f1 league. Is it still possible to find out how close to bottom I actually finished?You came 25th but you won the final race of the season climbing 5 places in the process! You picked up 3 medals, one of each colour, through the season. Final table Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 look forward to it starting all over again... which for me, won't be until May but as long as there is a proper duel it should be fun. Alonso in a proper ferrari, hamilton with possible maturity, should be good. cant see mercedes or lotus with raikonnen doing much though, im sure they'll still be holding steady with force india in the middle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choffer Posted January 24, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hmmm. I obviously got so bored with it last year that I clean forgot I was in bof's fantasy f1 league. Is it still possible to find out how close to bottom I actually finished?You came 25th but you won the final race of the season climbing 5 places in the process! You picked up 3 medals, one of each colour, through the season. Final table Woohoo! Top half! Clearly my strategy for this year will be to ignore it completely - seem to pick up my best results when I'm not looking! Cheers. Bof Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knoppy1987 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I came 16th despite forgetting about it. I'll take that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted January 24, 2012 Moderator Share Posted January 24, 2012 I used to love F1 sadly I don't much care about it any more, its the only thing more spoiled than football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted January 24, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted January 24, 2012 Can't wait. Cautiously looking forward to the Sky F1 channel. Like most people, I'm hoping it's more competetive at the top this year. Vettel is duuuuuullllllllllllllll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted January 25, 2012 Author Moderator Share Posted January 25, 2012 This season's Caterham. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted January 25, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted January 25, 2012 They could have waited for the sun to come up before they took that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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