New F1 season starts this weekend !! Who's gonna be watching ??
 

Looking forward to this season. By all accounts it looks like it won't be another Red Bull, and in particular Vettel walk in the park.

The new changes seem to have made quite an impact on most of the teams. Will be interesting to see who will come out on top.

Lewis Hamilton is the favourite this year, but the Mercedes have still got a lot to prove !

Will be an all-nighter for me on Saturday night. I think the race starts 1:30am UK time...


:pimp

I will be all over it. Can't wait! :)





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sure - i want to see how 75% of the cars break down

Didn't like the new colour scheme at first but must admit the Ferrari looks pretty slick !

http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/arti...14-3060267.jpg

Raises hand in a frenzy! ;-)

{Can't wait to see all of these weird new noses!}

Very much looking forward to it.

really looking forward to it, althogh not sure it will be that easy for red bull at the start of the season, pre season testing not been good. think there could be a lot of breakdowns - would be nice to see someone like caterham or force india have a good year :)

Where is a good place to watch on DirecTV?

They are struggling just now but everyone knows they will get it right eventually.

I think it's very important teams like Mercedes and Ferrari get some big points in the board early before the Red Bull's are in full working order...

KIMI!

I expect a steep learning curve for the first few weeks of the season as things shake out.

Hoping for more parity, would like to see what Sebs can do in a less than perfect car.

Red Bull are scum.

I do just fine falling asleep in front of the TV as it is, so no need for me to tune in and watch :thumbsup

I'll be watching it. As long as it doesn't become another Sebastian Vettel win.

I'll be in the city that day doing something else, so although I can't (immediately) watch it, I will certainly be able to hear it. :D The noise is phenomenal, you can hear them from inside a house that's 10km away from Albert Park Lake...

Going to Austin, TX next month for the MotoGP races... would love to check out the F1 race there this November, but I don't like the championships that are already decided that late in the year. Might look at going this year if it's a close race for the championship.

I stopped watching after Schumi Ferrari years. And the final straw was Ferrari hiring Alonzo.... Since then I did not see a single race as far as I remember. 10 years ago I was watching every single race.

I agree, poisoning people like that should be punishable crime. Or at least 18+ activity same as alcohol.

I'll be up early for it, especially since there's a big chance of rain. Oh, and I'm in a pool betting how many Renault engines will actually finish based on testing results. ;-)

:stoned

ADG

melbourne GP sucks, such a boring track

I am desperate for the first race... Mercedes gonaa rock this time....

Not one of my favourites, but always just happy to see it bring in a new F1 season...

http://msn.foxsports.com/speed/formu...title-in-2014/

1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve says Sebastian Vettel?s run of titles is definitely over.

?He?s not going to win this year for sure,? the French Canadian, who is set to return to the Indy 500 this year at the age of 42, is quoted by Italian publications including Autosprint and La Repubblica.

?To me, Renault seems completely lost and unable even to finish a grand prix.

?Even if they (Red Bull) are making a new car for the European races it won?t change anything ? maybe they?ll do 30 laps instead of 15. It?s not the car but the engine.

?I?m joking, but why bother going to Australia? They can?t do half a grand prix and are slower than most.

?Williams now has the Mercedes and it?s only because of that they?re doing so well.

?It?s good for (Felipe) Massa, because he was finished and for a few years didn?t even seem like an F1 driver. I think that shows just how good his car is.

?We?ll have to see if they also have the money to develop.?

Beyond that, however ? and Mercedes? obvious advantage ? the former Williams and Honda driver is not entirely sure what will happen in 2014, as F1 undergoes its technological revolution.

?I don?t know if it will be a great championship. It could even be funny,? said Villeneuve, ?because in Australia we could see a Marussia on the podium.?

He thinks Kimi Raikkonen?s move from Lotus to Ferrari for this year, even though he will be partnered by the excellent Fernando Alonso, was a good one.

?For the first time, I see him working seriously. Maybe his year without pay was good for him,? said Villeneuve.

?Alonso is a fighter from the first lap and so he might use too much fuel,? he explained. ?It also depends on the attitude that he (Alonso) has.

?The Alonso of 2012 could win this year, but not the Alonso of 2013.?

Villeneuve also predicted a tough season for confused spectators, and thinks F1 has missed some obvious opportunities to spice up the action.

?The fuel limit is a good idea,? he is quoted by La Repubblica, ?but it should be the drivers saving fuel and not the electronics.?

Villeneuve admits Mercedes is the obvious 2014 favourite, but said the Brackley squad?s weakness is the driver lineup.

?Hamilton and Rosberg are not friends,? he said, ?but to me it seems entirely too flat, without a spark. It has to be tougher than that between teammates.?

And unlike Red Bull, Villeneuve says Ferrari cannot be written off yet.

?At the moment it?s not the best car, but it?s not so far back,? said Villeneuve. ?They can recover. We?ll know much more after five races.?




:pimp





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ok my friend I will bet some money on safetycar then :pimp
I am a big F1 fan so I am really looking forward

Looking forward to this

Yes, very much looking forward to it. New engines, rules, cars... all going to be exciting.

Also noticed that Jacques Villeneuve is returning to the Indy 500 in May. Thats interesting too.

Summary on those new things? Will that make it more exciting or more "safe"?
And why Vettel will not win "for sure", did they make his car worse?

They now have a V6 turbocharged engine package in the rules. Its 100% different from what they had the last several years.

In pre-season testing some teams have had issues... reliability issues. At the first official test sessions some teams only got 1-2 laps testing in 2 days. One engine supplier with most issues is Renault. That would include Red Bull and Lotus. The issue was so bad that at one point in testing Renault de-tuned the engines a bit but this week has said running at full boost is OK.

Engine issues and failures will add to the mystery for at least the first few races.

Williams was fastest at the last pre-season test with Massa driving.

Fuel has changed and they limit to amount that can be used - meaning there will be times when teams / drivers need to use a fuel strategy to maintain pace. This is some ways makes some of the smoother drivers seem like a good choice. Less wheel spin, better fuel mileage, etc.

No real changes to make the cars safer this season.

NBS Sports Network has the first practice later today. About 9:30pm Eastern USA Time

I will correct myself here. It's actually a 6am start on Sunday morning for us. So looks like my plans will need to change :helpme

Might just go to sleep early and get up for 6am, or just watch the replay of the race on Sunday afternoon and make sure i don't find out the results beforehand...

actually the lower nose is because of that

It is on the NBC Sports Network. {I donno the Direct TV channel # that is...but, that's where you can view it...Practice, Qualifying, and the race...}

Considering the cars with Renault engines aren't doing too well and Redbull is one of them...yea, I think this year will be the break in Vettle's finger. :upsidedow

Practice 1 was "interesting" - Practice 2 starts.....now!

Vettel 4th after first day of practice - it ain't over until the fat lady sings :winkwink:

Agreed. I am a big Lewis Hamilton fan and have been waiting for this season since 2012. When he left McLaren, there was a lot of rumours that it was a move to give him time to settle into the team so that in 2014 when the new regulations came out, he would be going for the world title, so far everything that has been said back then is looking good, his car seems to be in decent shape and he is lighting up the time sheets. Really hoping to see him have a strong season, he hasn't had a good car under him since 2008.

Ferrari as always !

Qualifying just now, is "fun"...Q2 just ended...and....

Yep, I can hear them here.

... and it's just started pissing down with lightning and thunder in Melbourne.

Hamilton on pole then. Very entertaining qualifying session. With a very interesting top 10.

And yes i would love it to rain for the race!

red bull

It's Melbourne, you might just get your wish.

I loved how the crowd went wild when Vettle didn't make it into Q3 and Ricardo did. The highlight of my day. ;-)

Right now it's sunny with a few clouds and blue sky over our building in Melbourne. So it might be a relatively dry track. However this is Melbourne so that could change before the race starts.

What is the point of fuel saving? It sucks, they do not push to the limit. It is a race, not economy rally......

I read people complaining about engines' sound.

Quite different...but, w a different engine size & turbochargers again, a new "sound" is expected...

Rosberg and Mercedes WIN's

Yeah doesn't quite have that "F1" sound to it now. Will take a bit of getting used to, before we forget what the old sound used to be like.

Mind you my gf is happy about it because she used to HATE the noise coming from the tv for 2 hours when i would be watching a race... :1orglaugh

The cars can only hold 100kg of fuel this year, about 1/3 less than last year. So if they go all out, they won't have enough fuel to finish the race.