Formula 1 07

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Valentino Is God @ Mar 23 2007, 05:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I know that but he is as close as a current F1 driver will come...possibly excluding Hamilton!
What about Fernando then?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Franco Fangio @ Mar 23 2007, 05:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>What about Fernando then?
I don't think he's in the same class as Kimi Raikkonen to be perfectly honest. Alonso is good, but comes only 2nd to Raikkonen in my books. Fine, Alonso has beaten Raikkonen 4 times out of 5 in the past but now that Raikkonen has a great car he's going to really struggle to keep up with him. I think Kimi is the quickest guy on the track, but possibly not the most reliable!

Kimi is the fastest driver on the grid however he makes more mistakes than Alonso and is much less reliable than Alonso. This season Kimi will be champion.

If i was a f1 team manager though given the choice i would have alonso.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Valentino Is God @ Mar 23 2007, 06:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Kimi is the fastest driver on the grid however he makes more mistakes than Alonso and is much less reliable than Alonso. <span style="color:#3333FFThis season Kimi will be champion.

<span style="color:#009900If i was a f1 team manager though given the choice i would have alonso.
I've highlighted two sentences in your post. You claim that Raikkonen will be champion this year but you'd rather choose Alonso over Raikkonen. If so, then you don't think that Raikkonen will be champion and Alonso will get better results than Raikkonen?

Raikkonen will be the champion this year because of his superior car.

If Raikkonen and Alonso were teammates though i think Alonso would beat Kimi in the championship.

So say for example i was the ferrari boss, i would rather that i had alonso as my driver due to the consistant results and almost faultless driving he seems to do.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Valentino Is God @ Mar 23 2007, 07:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Raikkonen will be the champion this year because of his superior car.

If Raikkonen and Alonso were teammates though i think Alonso would beat Kimi in the championship.

So say for example i was the ferrari boss, i would rather that i had alonso as my driver due to the consistant results and almost faultless driving he seems to do.
I think the reason behind this though is because Fernando Alonso has always had a fast and reliable car underneath him whereas Kimi Raikkonen has not. Over the past 2 years the Renault has been superb and always consistent and fast, but the McLaren has lacked reliability and sheer speed last season. Now that Raikkonen is in a Ferrari (which is obviously the best car, as of yet), he is flying ahead and leaving the others, including Alonso, behind! I think if you put them both in the same car, that Raikkonen would beat Alonso fair and square, 4 times out of 5 - I think it would of been the same if Schumacher had stayed in F1 with Ferrari and Raikkonen replaced Massa. This year Alonso seems to have the disadvantaged car and we'll see how well he does compared to Raikkonen who this time round is in the best car.

Hmmm....
Eventhough I'm a Kimi supporter, I do think Fernando is the more complete one of the two. I don't think Kimi is ''just very fast''. Some people seem to think that that's the only strength of Raikkonen. I don't think that's true at all. Raikkonen doesn't make many mistakes (like Fernando). I think he doesn't need to have a great car to challenge for the title (as he has proved in 2003). Kimi is also very consistent, but same goes for Alonso. When it comes to raw speed I rate Kimi higher than the Spaniard, but being a fast driver doesn't win you a title, a reliable and fast car does!! I think if Kimi and Fernando would be teammates it would be a really interesting battle. They are considered to be the top drivers of today's grid. I don't think one of the drivers would beat the other with a huge distance, I think they would both be able to beat each other. Some people also say that FA is better cause he has won 2 titles and Kimi didnt, but I think it's way too easy to come to that conclusion. FA won his both titles when he had a very reliable car, which can't be said of Raikkonen's McLaren in 2005, in 2003 he did have a reliable car, but Ferrari was the team to beat, considering that, KR did a great job in 2003. Hopefully Kimi will win the title this season. I really don't care if people will say ''ow it's the car'', cause It's ALWAYS the car. Let's just wait and see what will happen. Ferrari seems to be 2 steps ahead than the rest at the moment. If Kimi and Massa steal points from each other, then FA very well could end up being the winner in the end. Either way, this season should be interesting!!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Franco Fangio @ Mar 23 2007, 07:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Hmmm....
Eventhough I'm a Kimi supporter, I do think Fernando is the more complete one of the two. I don't think Kimi is ''just very fast''. Some people seem to think that that's the only strength of Raikkonen. I don't think that's true at all. Raikkonen doesn't make many mistakes (like Fernando). I think he doesn't need to have a great car to challenge for the title (as he has proved in 2003). Kimi is also very consistent, but same goes for Alonso. When it comes to raw speed I rate Kimi higher than the Spaniard, but being a fast driver doesn't win you a title, a reliable and fast car does!! I think if Kimi and Fernando would be teammates it would be a really interesting battle. They are considered to be the top drivers of today's grid. I don't think one of the drivers would beat the other with a huge distance, I think they would both be able to beat each other. Some people also say that FA is better cause he has won 2 titles and Kimi didnt, but I think it's way too easy to come to that conclusion. FA won his both titles when he had a very reliable car, which can't be said of Raikkonen's McLaren in 2005, in 2003 he did have a reliable car, but Ferrari was the team to beat, considering that, KR did a great job in 2003. Hopefully Kimi will win the title this season. I really don't care if people will say ''ow it's the car'', cause It's ALWAYS the car. Let's just wait and see what will happen. Ferrari seems to be 2 steps ahead than the rest at the moment. If Kimi and Massa steal points from each other, then FA very well could end up being the winner in the end. Either way, this season should be interesting!!
So you also think that Massa could be in among the mix for regular race wins and podiums? I sure hope he will be and I think he's good enough to do this, although the competition behind Raikkonen and Alonso has heated up even further with the new guys such as Hamilton and Kovalianen stepping in, but others such as Mark Webber and the BMWs for sure are also going to put a plug in the way of Massa finishing as high as he would like to finish. I don't think he's going to be challenging Raikkonen for too many of the high points this season, which is a compelte opposite of what I thought before the first race in Australia.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Alex @ Mar 23 2007, 08:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>So you also think that Massa could be in among the mix for regular race wins and podiums? I sure hope he will be and I think he's good enough to do this, although the competition behind Raikkonen and Alonso has heated up even further with the new guys such as Hamilton and Kovalianen stepping in, but others such as Mark Webber and the BMWs for sure are also going to put a plug in the way of Massa finishing as high as he would like to finish. I don't think he's going to be challenging Raikkonen for too many of the high points this season, which is a compelte opposite of what I thought before the first race in Australia.
I definitely expect Massa to challenge Kimi for wins this season. If Ferrari is indeed the best team by a distance, then Kimi can only expect real danger from his own teammate, Massa. For all we know Massa will win the next few races. I don't expect too much from Webber to be honest. He's a good driver imo, but let's face it, his car is crap, don't think it will change a lot. I do hope for DC and MW it will, but I'm really having my doubts. I think McLaren, BMW and maybe also Renault can challenge for the podium spots, don't see the other teams in that position, under normal circumstances of course.

You said you don't think Massa will challenge Kimi that much (and before Australia you thought the opposite). Why is that if I may ask? Just because Kimi won? Of course Kimi did a great job, taking pole, winning the race relatively easy, and driving the fastest lap as well, but don't you think it would have been different if Massa wouldn't have suffered that mechanical failure in the quali?? Or do you think winning the race gave Kimi an enormous confidence boost, and that because of that he will do even better. Cause I guess it can make a difference, knowing that you can achieve something is one thing, but actually doing it, is something else. I personally think it will be a close battle in Malaysia between the Ferrari drivers. I just hope Kimi won't have a blown engine (obviously hoping to see Massa having no problems either!!). I'm just hoping to see a fair battle between the two drivers.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Franco Fangio @ Mar 23 2007, 08:03 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I definitely expect Massa to challenge Kimi for wins this season. If Ferrari is indeed the best team by a distance, then Kimi can only expect real danger from his own teammate, Massa. For all we know Massa will win the next few races. I don't expect too much from Webber to be honest. He's a good driver imo, but let's face it, his car is crap, don't think it will change a lot. I do hope for DC and MW it will, but I'm really having my doubts. I think McLaren, BMW and maybe also Renault can challenge for the podium spots, don't see the other teams in that position, under normal circumstances of course.

You said you don't think Massa will challenge Kimi that much (and before Australia you thought the opposite). Why is that if I may ask? Just because Kimi won? Of course Kimi did a great job, taking pole, winning the race relatively easy, and driving the fastest lap as well, but don't you think it would have been different if Massa wouldn't have suffered that mechanical failure in the quali?? Or do you think winning the race gave Kimi an enormous confidence boost, and that because of that he will do even better. Cause I guess it can make a difference, knowing that you can achieve something is one thing, but actually doing it, is something else. I personally think it will be a close battle in Malaysia between the Ferrari drivers. I just hope Kimi won't have a blown engine (obviously hoping to see Massa having no problems either!!). I'm just hoping to see a fair battle between the two drivers.
There aren't any live practice sessions like Moto GP for me to know who's doing well and who isn't, i've simply got to judge it for myself in qualifying and the race. Massa might of got 2nd or 3rd if he started from a respectable position on the grid, but I think Raikkonen was still going to be faster, and under pressure Raikkonen could probably of gone even faster!

Raikkonen had the race under control and could have easily gone about half a second a lap faster had he of had a stronger challenge for the race victory. Massa would of come 2nd had he of been able to start from a top 10 grid position.

Massa should challenge Kimi for victories because firstly the ferrari is the best car and secondly Massa showed towards the end of last season that he is capable of beating Schumacher at times although Kimi is better than MS IMO.

Massa was actually faster over the practice sessions but Kimi looked so comfortable in the race i think he had the win anyway.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Valentino Is God @ Mar 23 2007, 11:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Raikkonen had the race under control and could have easily gone about half a second a lap faster had he of had a stronger challenge for the race victory. Massa would of come 2nd had he of been able to start from a top 10 grid position.

Massa should challenge Kimi for victories because firstly the ferrari is the best car and secondly Massa showed towards the end of last season that he is capable of beating Schumacher at times although Kimi is better than MS IMO.

Massa was actually faster over the practice sessions but Kimi looked so comfortable in the race i think he had the win anyway.
Damn..Kimi better than Michael Schumacher???? I know you said in your opinion, but are you serious??? Michael is one of the best drivers ever!! He's not just great, but also a complete driver imo, something Kimi isn't. I wish he was man, but he definitely isn't.

About the Australian GP. I think Kimi would have been challenged by Felipe during the race, if it wasn't for the brazilian's mechanical failure the day before. Kimi said he didn't push that hard, I guess if felipe would have been behind him, he'd have a reason to push harder. It's hard to say what could/would have happened. Let's hope Malaysia will bring some of the answers..

If Kimi does not win the title this year then he cannot be described as a great driver or even a very good driver. He has the best car so should win and Massa is not that good so should not beat him overall.

MS cheated so despite actually being a good driver has "basically shot himself in the foot" in terms of his reputation and general opinions of him - particularly mine!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Valentino Is God @ Mar 24 2007, 05:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>If Kimi does not win the title this year then he cannot be described as a great driver or even a very good driver. He has the best car so should win and Massa is not that good so should not beat him overall.

MS cheated so despite actually being a good driver has "basically shot himself in the foot" in terms of his reputation and general opinions of him - particularly mine!
I can understand why people might not see him as one of the best, cause he ''cheated''. I do understand it makes people look at him differently. Having said that, it's absurd to even think or say Kimi is better than Michael Schumacher. I think you said that in one of your posts. Again, I do understand you don't rate him as one of the best ever, cause of his controversial history, but come one..Kimi better..LOL
As you said yourself, if Kimi won't win the title while having the best car, people maybe can't/shouldn't call him ''great''.
We only had one race so far, let's just wait and see what will happen. Btw, I wouldn't underestimate Felipe. Seems a lot people are doing that, but he's not the wild driver anymore from a few years back. He's mature now and he showed us he can win races. I wouldn't rule anything out..

Massa was very good towards the end of last season but he is not one of the top drivers on the grid IMO. Kimi, Alonso, Hamilton etc are better than him.

MS was past his best for the last couple of years and had the best car last year so should have won the title. 2006 Kimi was out of sorts his best year was 2003 where he could have won the title but for a couple of mechanical failures. 2005 Kimi would have won the title but his car was quick but unrelialble rather like Kimi i suppose!

Kimi can be better than MS but can also be a lot worse!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Valentino Is God @ Mar 24 2007, 06:46 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Massa was very good towards the end of last season but he is not one of the top drivers on the grid IMO. Kimi, Alonso, Hamilton etc are better than him.

MS was past his best for the last couple of years and had the best car last year so should have won the title. 2006 Kimi was out of sorts his best year was 2003 where he could have won the title but for a couple of mechanical failures. 2005 Kimi would have won the title but his car was quick but unrelialble rather like Kimi i suppose!

Kimi can be better than MS but can also be a lot worse!
Maybe Massa isn't a ''top driver'', but who knows, he could become one. Fact is, he's driving the Ferrari this year, and he knows the team very well. I think being Michael's teammate last season has helped him improve even more. Kimi is new at Ferrari, but personally I don't think being new in a team should make too much of a difference. Senna proved he could win in his first year at mclaren in 88 (obviously not implying Kimi's in Senna's league). Just saying that being new in a team shouldn't make a lot difference IF the driver in question is a good/great driver.

Anyway, I don't think it's that easy and say MS should have won last season. Fact is, he came back from a 25 point gap (or something like that..), but when it was really crucial, he got that blown engine. That surely didn't help him. We could talk and talk bout who had the best car, fact is, Renault won both titles. I think MS did a great job last season, even if he wasn't the driver from 5 years ago, he was still good enough to win races, challenge for the title (and almost win it!!!). IMO ''a MS past his best'' is still better than almost any of his opponents. What I found extremely funny was the way people were talking about MS after the 2005 season. They said it was time for MS to leave, cause..supposedly he wasnt ''good anymore''. That's why I wouldn't have mind if MS had won last season, but he still did a great job.

Ow btw, I really don't think Kimi has what it takes to become a better driver than MS, and I'm a huge Raikkonen fan!! I'm just being realistic.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>We knew that the start was crucial: I gave my all to hold the position I had conquered the day before and I succeeded. Once ahead of the pack after the first turn, things became slightly easier, although I could not communicate with my engineer Chris Dyer. We knew that our rhythm in the race was very competitive: I did not have to go to the limit, but maybe if the radio had worked I would have gone faster. On one occasion - just about ten laps before the end the race - I almost fell asleep! I got distracted, my concentration levels dropped a bit and I blocked the wheels and took turn number 3 slightly too wide: even without radio I knew that they were saying: 'Kimi, wake up!'.

Source

Hmm.. Kimi.. Maybe I shouldn't put my nose in on this one as tbh I don't like the guy, but I guess this is the place for opinions..

Granted, the guy is quick. Very, very quick. But the fact remains that he doesn't seem to give a toss. Not only is this the reason I don't like him, but its also the reason he isn't as complete, or as good overall as Alonso. Not saying hes not a good driver, because he is very talented, no doubts about that, but for me talent isn't everything. I think Massa could well beat him, because he's a hard worker, which I think commands alot more respect than someone who is blessed with raw talent, but doesn't seem to care much either. Its a bit of a waste imo..

Also, why are people talking about him as if hes the new Gilles Villeneuve?

So Australia has passed with impressive performances for Ferrari and McLaren and not so good showings from teams such as Honda and Red Bull Racing.

Next race up is Malaysia. Anyone got any predicitons or ideas of what may happen there?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Valentino Is God @ Mar 26 2007, 11:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>So Australia has passed with impressive performances for Ferrari and McLaren and not so good showings from teams such as Honda and Red Bull Racing.

Next race up is Malaysia. Anyone got any predicitons or ideas of what may happen there?
Yes, Kimi will fall asleep during the race (while leading) and crash out, handing the lead to Felipe Alonso will stall his car at the start and Lewis will drive a great race and win the race (overtaking FM in the last lap ). Honda will improve a lot and challenge for the podium, I think Jense can make it to 3rd position, no wait..4th position, cause Ralf Schumacher will make it to the podium

On a serious note..
I think Ferrari should be able to go for victory again. Hopefully both drivers will have a trouble free weekend, so we can finally see Felipe and Kimi battle it out. Would love to see that.
McLaren should be able to reach the podium, probably FA either 2nd or 3rd. Also curious about Hamilton's performance.

Hopefully Heikki will do a better job this time, cause last race was terrible!! Fisi will probably drive a good race and finish in the top 5.

Don't think Honda will do a good job. I hope they will, but I really doubt it...

Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

KOM OP KIMI!!!!!!!!!! KOM OP LEWIS!!!!!!!!!!!!