FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[EwanM]

Give Autosport their due, they picked a right time to look at the legendary FW18 in this weeks issue.
Williams are back - Over the entire season? We'll have to wait and see.

What is annoying is the pace of Renault. I expected Piquet to be doing his thing, but the car looks slow. I know they've had some problems with tyre temp in practice 2.

It looks a handful. The BMW Sauber looks even worse to drive. :/

It did look awful

Kubica wasn't happy at all!

[Hanwombat]

Give Autosport their due, they picked a right time to look at the legendary FW18 in this weeks issue.
Williams are back - Over the entire season? We'll have to wait and see.

What is annoying is the pace of Renault. I expected Piquet to be doing his thing, but the car looks slow. I know they've had some problems with tyre temp in practice 2.

It looks a handful. The BMW Sauber looks even worse to drive. :/

It did look awful

Kubica wasn't happy at all!

Would be great if Williams really are back, this is going to be an exciting season for sure

[EwanM]

Lewis Hamilton unwittingly reveals McLaren car trouble on team radio• Reigning F1 champion unable to see braking points
• Car running too low and bottoming on circuit bumps
Digg it Maurice Hamilton in Melbourne guardian.co.uk, Saturday 28 March 2009 00.01 GMT Article history
Lewis Hamilton has reported handling difficulties with his McLaren. Photograph: Mark Horsburgh/Reuters

Lewis Hamilton unwittingly revealed the full extent of the problems with his struggling McLaren during practice for Sunday's Australian grand prix when he was overheard criticising the car's handling in a conversation with his engineers.

Hamilton, who recorded the third slowest time to indicate the task he faces to retain the world title, had no idea that television viewers could hear the conversation in which he discussed the difficulty he was having on the bumps on the Albert Park circuit here.

"The car's bottoming out, I can barely see the marker boards," he said, referring to the car hitting the ground so badly that he could not see the boards which show the distance to the next corner and designate the braking points. "Understood," came the reply from the McLaren pit.

Unaware this news had been shared with the world at large, Hamilton initially gave an upbeat response at a press conference to two 90-minute sessions which confirmed his McLaren-Mercedes is as off the pace as pre-season testing had suggested. "It's not too bad," he said. "It's great to be back but we're not as quick as we would like to be. But we've got a good programme and we made some decent steps – at least for us."

The 24-year-old was then confronted with the fact that his problems had been revealed to millions of viewers. His body language betrayed annoyance but he composed himself to give a measured reaction, having been 1.7sec slower than the fastest time set by the Williams of Nico Rosberg.

"The first session didn't prove too productive for us," he said. "We worked hard to get the tyres to operate effectively but the track conditions and our set-up made it difficult to get them to work, and it didn't give me the confidence to push hard. The changes we made for the second session made the car feel much better. We're still working to refine the balance – and we have a number of issues still to address – but we are heading in the right direction."

He described being at the back as "tough": "We've a steep, very tough challenge ahead of us but if anyone can do it, I believe my team can."

Even though Hamilton's radio conversation was conducted in the usual businesslike manner without a hint of frustration or hysteria, such a basic difficulty – although common on the first day of running – did reveal the depth of McLaren's problem. Hamilton explained that they lowered the car in an attempt to improve its handling but it had been too low for bumps on this temporary track.

The uneven surface was less of a problem for Williams, Toyota and Brawn, the three running the aerodynamic diffusers objected to by the remaining seven teams on Thursday. They occupied six of the top seven places, with Britain's Jenson Button fifth fastest in his Brawn. The protest made by three teams was rejected by the race stewards and an appeal by Renault will be heard on 15 April, 10 days after the next race in Malaysia

Because the three cars have not been declared illegal, it is unlikely that they would lose any points accumulated should the appeal be successful. But it is clear from yesterday's lap times that their adventurous interpretation of the diffuser design has earned a performance advantage which will make Hamilton's struggle even more pronounced.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/mar/27/lewis-hamilton-mclaren-handling-australian-grand-prix

[7UpJordan]

In his third season in F1 you would think Hamilton would know by now that sometimes some of his radio transmissions will get broadcast on live TV.

[Denthúl]

In his third season in F1 you would think Hamilton would know by now that sometimes some of his radio transmissions will get broadcast on live TV.

Actually, no. McLaren's in-car transmissions (certainly in both of Lewis' seasons) have been kept private except at the end of a race or on the very, very rare occasion during it.

[irons_4_ever]

In his third season in F1 you would think Hamilton would know by now that sometimes some of his radio transmissions will get broadcast on live TV.

Actually, no. McLaren's in-car transmissions (certainly in both of Lewis' seasons) have been kept private except at the end of a race or on the very, very rare occasion during it.

well i heard a few in free practise

[Jensonb]

In his third season in F1 you would think Hamilton would know by now that sometimes some of his radio transmissions will get broadcast on live TV.

Actually, no. McLaren's in-car transmissions (certainly in both of Lewis' seasons) have been kept private except at the end of a race or on the very, very rare occasion during it.

well i heard a few in free practise

You mean at Melbourne 2009? That's because there's a rule this year saying no transmissions are private. Dethul is saying Lewis wasn't used to that, as McLaren have mostly kept theirs private

[EwanM]

Mclaren would always script there public messages. What is the point?

[Rivelution]

Former Formula One world champion Nigel Mansell has accused Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull of being "caught with their pants down" over the ongoing diffuser row.

The three teams claimed Brawn GP, along with Toyota and Williams, had failed to adhere to the regulations regarding the design of their diffuser, a key aerodynamic component which governs the airflow beneath a car.

But after a six-hour hearing this week the stewards presiding over the race threw out the protest, clearing the trio to compete in this weekend's opening Australian Grand Prix.

However, their rivals immediately served notice of their intention to appeal, which will be aired after next weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix should it go ahead.

Mansell, however, told Talksport the trio only have themselves to blame.

"The biggest problem they [Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault] have is that they didn't think about it," he said.

"Williams have done a stunning job, obviously as have Brawn GP and a few other teams. The others have been caught with their pants down and they don't like it.

"It's all credit to the officials for saying that those cars are within the regulations and they cannot see anything wrong with them.

http://www.sportinglife.com/others/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=others/09/03/27/AUTO_Mansell.html




Couldnt agree more. I think Ferrari, Red Bull, and Renault are looking like little kids complaining about the diffuser teams. Its their problem they werent clever enough. Besides RBR have Adrian Newey, why dont they just have him design a badass diffuser.

[Stealthgate007]

anymore news about Macca overnighting a new diffuser? They should just take the butt plug out of the one they have...

[iPod]

Rosberg fastest again in Saturday practice! Williams looking very strong, as do BRAWN GP & Toyota.

Can't fucking wait until tomorrow!

[texasmr2]

Less than one hour to go before I get to watch qualifying on SPEED!!

[Williams4ever]

Williams 3 from 3 so far. Hopefully a first Pole in recent memory coming up in a few hours. The Big Blue cars seem to really fly smoothly around the track unlike the McLarens, Renaults and Ferraris. Lewis and Alonso and Massa too seem to be giving it everything to keep control of their cars. Brawn is looking good too- I see them being William's closest competition come Sunday. Toyota and Trulli will likely qualify well, but I don't think Trulli will have what it takes come Sunday.

[cap-dude]

It's got to be Rosberg on pole. The last time I remember seeing someone topping practice so much in one weekend was China 07 with Hamiliton. He ran away with the race.

Ahh, only 1O minutes until the BBC coverage starts.

[Acenyc]

I'm here in NYC. Just woke up.15 minutes to go. Show time---Lets get it on!!!
I get the coverage on Speed channel too. C'mon Lewis----you can do it ---P1!!!