FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[Mr.Snuggles]

Ferraris new car is fantastic, best car i have seen so far of the pack
still my beliefes are its gonna be a championship car

[Mr.Snuggles]

and yeah Al4x i agree it is round 2
and we all no the Reds are bringing us the trophy home

[racechick]

I thought you liked Honda? Incidentally Force India are running faster than Honda at present.

[Mr.Snuggles]

Yeah i do..and yeah i agree its going to be quit an exciting little battle at the back runners, wouldn't you agree?
and yeah i know..i think if you look at all the pictures Ross Brawns in he either looks drunk or not very happy
Its not going his way
hes had a car that does everything he wants
to a car that does the complete Opposite
i feel quit sorry for him lol

[texasmr2]

Yeah i do..and yeah i agree its going to be quit an exciting little battle at the back runners, wouldn't you agree?
and yeah i know..i think if you look at all the pictures Ross Brawns in he either looks drunk or not very happy
Its not going his way
hes had a car that does everything he wants
to a car that does the complete Opposite
i feel quit sorry for him lol

[Mr.Snuggles]

you know you would love to agree matey?

[McLaren Fan]

From autosport.com:

Ferrari cautious despite testing form

By Michele Lostia and Jonathan Noble Monday, February 25th 2008, 10:37 GMT


Ferrari do not believe that they are the clear favourites for the Formula One world championship this year, despite their impressive pre-season testing performances.

With Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa having set some strong times in recent testing, many believe that the reigning champions are already the team to beat.

But technical director Aldo Costa has said he remains cautious about their chances and thinks main rivals McLaren and Renault are still a big concern for them.

"I carry on believing that the championship will be hard fought," said Costa, during testing at Barcelona in Spain.

"For us there's a very strong (Lewis) Hamilton in the McLaren, and an improving (Fernando) Alonso in the Renault, so we expect difficult rivals as usual.

"Therefore we keep our feet on the ground. We will try to get to the first race in the best possible way, especially by taking care of every detail in order to maximise reliability."

Ferrari's belief that they are still not in perfect shape was sealed during their private test at Barcelona on Friday, when test driver Luca Badoer failed to complete a race distance simulation because of a mechanical problem.

Last year, it was reliability issues that cost the team several strong results and allowed rivals McLaren to fight them all the way to the final round of the season.

Speaking about their pre-season preparations, Costa said: "We've clearly tried to anticipate many decisions, and done many tests in order to prepare ourselves best. But, as you could see, we haven't reached perfection yet, so we aren't 100% satisfied."

When asked what he was most afraid of for the new season, Costa said: "Well, the little problem of reliability. We need to take care of all aspects. We are sure we will get to the first race in the best possible condition, not only from a performance point of view, but also in terms of the reliability."

I think it's actually pretty tough to call between Ferrari and McLaren. Ferrari have the authorities on their side, plus a $100 million headstart and McLaren not being allowed to develop certain areas of their car, so they should win both titles. However, McLaren have shown they won't be pushed about by the sport's top brass, have good reliability (something which will seriously help them over Ferrari), and showed last season that they could continue to develop the MP4-22 at ferocious pace, even with all the extra-curriculuar activities affecting the team. So, Ferrari favourites, yes. McLaren though have a very good chance of spoiling the Maranello mob's party.

As I've said before, this looks to be a great season, so let's hope it's decided soley on the track.

[7UpJordan]

I hope it's another close season between McLaren and Ferrari, but this time with the cars not having huge advantages over each other at certain circuits (ie. McLaren at Monaco, Ferrari at Turkey etc). Hope Massa comes out and gives Kimi a good run for his money, he was pretty unlucky last year.

[McLaren Fan]

I hope it's another close season between McLaren and Ferrari, but this time with the cars not having huge advantages over each other at certain circuits (ie. McLaren at Monaco, Ferrari at Turkey etc). Hope Massa comes out and gives Kimi a good run for his money, he was pretty unlucky last year.

McLaren have lengthened their wheelbase slightly and Ferrari made theirs a little bit shorter. As a result, I think both will have produced better all-round cars.

[McLaren Fan]

From autosport.com:

Schumacher: Ferrari stronger this year

By Jonathan Noble and Pablo Elizalde Tuesday, February 26th 2008, 11:26 GMT

Michael Schumacher during testing at BarcelonaFerrari have made clear progress since last year and are ready to fight for victories in 2008, Michael Schumacher said after testing the Italian team's new car at Barcelona.

The 39-year-old German had not driven the F2008 before, but got back to action yesterday for the first of two days of testing at the Spanish circuit.

Ferrari are using Schumacher's expertise because of the introduction of a ban on electronic driver aids for 2008.

The seven-time champion says the new car is a real stop forward compared to last year's.

"The progress is very clear," Schumacher told reporters at the end of testing. "In all areas, it never changes, so why it should change now. It is not one thing you have to improve to go quicker, it is just everywhere.

"I feel we are ready and prepared to fight for victory."

Schumacher predicts an exciting season, and he reckons Ferrari and McLaren will again be the main contenders.

"It will be very interesting. You have two contenders as last year, you have some questions marks about what they can or they cannot do, so it should be very exciting."

The German said the lack of traction control and engine braking is making the driving quite a bit trickier.

"You would be surprised how much when you have to work without all the systems," he added.

"It is just that you have to be careful, especially in the morning when it is very slippery, you have to use your brain."

I agree that Ferrari have made some progress, but their reliability looks as bad as last season. As anybody from who's worked for McLaren in the last ten years will tell you, it's a niggly problem that does not go away quickly. It's only really in 2007 that McLaren produced their first bullet-proof car in God knows how many years.