It's on the 16th March. (whoopee)

I'll be able to get rid of my F1 withdrawl symptons..

My son has to go to Melbourne on the 15th March and stay in five star accomodation, and watch the practice's and the race in the corporate box of a large international truck manufacturer, whilst being plied with large amounts of food and drink and then being flown home on the monday.

All because he spent about $15,000000, (thats right, fifteen million dollars) with them last year.

The poor guy

I have offered to take the trip for him, (only trying to help) but he said that he couldn't possibly put his father through such an ordeal and would go himself. (isn't he thoughtful)?? 

Yes! 2 more weeks to go!!!

Oh wow! How lucky is your son!!!

Could I tag along. He'll be so busy - I'm sure he could do with an assistant!

I'm sure he could do with an assistant. (He smuggled me into the Gabba once).

I'm smugglable!

I'll let him know...

Yaaaay!! hehehehe

Two sundays from tonight, we'll be sitting back enjoying the F1 fix

Yeah, I cant wait. 

10 more days till P1!!

It will be interesting to see how the different teams perform at the first practice.

Yeah.... All I hear in testing is that Kimi is really fast. Don't really have an idea of how the rest of the field is doing.

Plus we'll need to brush up on all the new rules, new quali format etc!

Yes I've heard that Kimi and Filipe are going very fast.

I wonder how they will get on without traction control??

I would think that lack or traction control would adversly affect Lewis' driving style.

Yeah, that's the general thought abt Lewis, although he doesn't admit it

Less than a week left!

Woohoo!!!!!!!!!

I see that Sir Jackie Stewart is coming to Aust this month to launch his new book "Winning is Not Enough".

He will be in Syd on the 12th and Melb on 13th March. (bet he hangs around Melb till at least Monday)  

heheheh Bet he does....

4 more days till that high pitched roar!

Can't wait!

Me too....

Wonder if any of the teams/drivers are in Sydney. I could stalk em

Dunno bout that....

Jackie Stewart  will be in Sydney tomorrow morning at Dymocks George St, and will be giving an "Author Talk" at Cremorne Orpheum tomorrow evening. (www.orpheum.com.au)

Here it is.

Will cost you $18 though!

Author Talk??

I want revving engines!

Feels like the GP this year is very low key.

Not many marketing events

I think he does impersonations...

LOL!

I must try and find some pictures!

Yesh!!

Back to normalcy

*phew*

I didn't know this........

Sunday's race will already start later than ever before, at 3.30pm, in a bid to boost television ratings in Europe for the start of the world championship.  [Link]

I had to laugh when I read this post from a guy in the USA.............

yeah, in the USA we're pretty screwed either way really. This damn grand prix nearly cost me my marriage last year as I got home from my anniversary to find the race was just beginning and I declined my supposed husbandly duties to stay up and watch the race. I still haven't heard the end of it, though thankfully this year my anniversary is on Monday (P.S. for the more savvy of you, it's also St. Patrick's Day, an intentional date so I would never forget my anniversary) 

ROFL!

He made the right choice....

Yeah, there's been talk of pushing the race back to 5 pm next year

Looks like being a twilight race, which would mean awkward driving conditions.

Should be okay.... given that it'll be summer and daylight till abt 8 pm?

Oh, I forgot that you guys have a long twilight down there.

Up here once the sun goes down, it gets dark fairly quickly.

Ohhhh.

Yeah, usually only really starts getting dark after 7ish

But we'll see Sundays race before you..

We'll see it at 2.30pm, but you won't see it till 3.30pm. 

HAHAHHAHA

mmm hmmmm

Hey I've been away from F1 for too long, I didn't realise that Ron Dennis was about to Quit............

Yeah, I've been seeing rumours about that for a while now

Seems that Merc want more control or something

I think they should take it over completely and run it as a Merc team.

Just like the good old days

Sure, I'd like that...

Like when BMW branched off on their own.... except they haven't lived up to my expectations yet

Then we need Auto Union (Audi) to step up to the plate again!

Although I think they're content to stay with sports racing cars. 

Yeah, I think they recently stated that

When I first started watching F1 there was, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Ferrari, Auto Union etc....

Wow....

When I started watching, there was hmmm.... well....

Ferrari and Renault

Can't remember if Toyota was in a partnership or not

Then there was British Racing Motors, Cooper Climax, Vanwall, Repco Brabham, McLaren, Lotus, etc......

LOL!

Not in my time!

Dennis stays on as McLaren chief

And I completely forgot that Kovalainen is Hamilton's new teammate!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7264847.stm

'In short, Hamilton is Dennis's baby.'

So all the speculation about Dennis' retirement were just that. (speculation)?

Ferrari seem to be on the money with the F2008. (at least in testing times)

Yeah, Ron tucks him in every night and reads him a story. 

LOL! I wouldn't be surprised!

Yeah, Ferrari have been looking strong in the testing. As have BMW I think.

2 more days!!

Only 1 more now..

*goes mad with the anticipation*

I wonder if they'll telecast the practice sessions tomorrow

Top Gear's preview

There's a war on

Yep, practice starts tomorrow at 2pm and Sat at 10am, on Ch10. (Syd time)

I imagine the V8's and others will be interspersed with it.

Hahaha at the Top Gear article, The only time Lewis will see a Ferrari in his rear mirrors, will be as they come up to lap him. 

heheheeh yeah....

Hmmm..... maybe I'll work from home tomorrow....

The start of the new Formula One season is just a few days away, and as usual all the teams and drivers are expressing their optimism about having a good year.

They cannot all be right, so here is a guide to who really is hot and who is not as the field prepares to roar into action in Melbourne on Sunday.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7276489.stm

IT STARTS TODAY!!!

Woo hoo!

Okay, here's the 08 line up: http://www.formula1.com/teams_and_drivers/

Somehow the fact that Bourdais joined the Toro Rosso team completely escaped me.

WOO HOO! I like him 

Good news! Raikkonen lead in P1!

Mark Webber column

Mark in his straight shooting style as always

They are good articles deezee, gotta go now and watch some practice.

I've been watching the live timing online. (telecast is being taped)

Webby is the fastest right now!

I had to go out and only just got back home, so don't know what's happened.

Local Govt elections (here in Qld) tomorrow, so just went and cast a pre poll vote, so I won't have to go out tomorrow and can watch all the quali's.

I've got my race weekend avatar going, so that should bring us luck.

heheheheh Kimi's looking good!

I've been watching the afternoon's coverage - the Ch 10 crew are just crap!

I like that the race is here, but their commentary just kills it.

Amateurs!

Some pics from Melbourne...

The Pits.....

Pit Girls....

You'll have to speak up, I can't hear you...

Kimi and Kiss....

Kimi..(for deezee)...

Now we know why hamilton is fast..

How Marlboro overcame the tobacco advertising ban.

(just use the barcode)

Looks like Ross Brawn has lost some weight??

Yeah Cam McConville and co are really crap.

They're only knowlege base is the V8's and Holden and Ford. (and it shows).

LOL! Those pics are hilarious! Loving your commentary Andro!

And yeah, I agree. The best bit is how they try and sound all clued in and part of the 'in' crowd.

Yeah, whatever

It's a pain havingv to resize all the pics to fit tangler.

Oh!

the originals are big?

Most of them..

Awww... thanks Andro.

Dek appreciates it! (Esp the Kimi ones)

Yeah it is a good pic of Kimi. (the one with the tats)

Sure is!

And Brawn looks so different eh?

I not a fan of Kiss.

hahaha

Yeah Ross looks happy though, doewsn't he??

He does. I'm glad to see him back. Always liked him.

I guess a year away from all the stress has done him wonders

Yes it appears so, he was looking very stressed when he went on his sabbatical.

Well, can't be easy working for a world champion

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7274450.stm

Some interesting opinions there. Looks like good things in store for Red Bull. And Bad for BMW.

I particularly liked this:

Will the night race in Singapore be a success?
I don't see any reason why it shouldn't be a good race. If I was Singapore, I'd be saying, well, we're putting up all this money, why don't we have a Grand Prix at the time that suits us? I'd be rather nose out of joint if I was told the only reason you're having the race on at that time is to suit Europe, or someone else.

- Patrick Head

I agree with Head 100%, they've moved Melb back 1½ hours this year, and want to make the Aust GP a night race. The organisers of the Melb GP say that that will be the last straw and that will be the end of Aust as a F1 venue.

And yes BMW promised so much last year, but have been a tad disappointing so far this year.

Yeah.... It gets a bit irritating after a while.... Especially since Malaysia has been running at the regular time all this while

Yeah.........

Hey, do you happen to have on hand what time quali is tomorrow?

My TV guide shows it from 9.00am-4.00pm, which would be 10.00am-5.00pm for you..

D'oh! will have to wake up early tomorrow

Thanks!

Yay yay! Quali starts in 5 minutes! Yay yay!

Desperately waiting for Kimi to get to the track

Here we go..(fasten your seat belts)Me waiten for Kimi Too

Thank goodness they have the ITV team for commentary... at least they're a tad bit less irritating

And I keep mistaking Kovalainnen for Kimi in the McLaren.... He even has a similar helmet design to Kimi's old one!

Oh no!

Kimi's going really slow!

NOOOOOooooooooooooo

Yeah, they have irritating voices, but at least some of the time they know what they're talking about, and Brundle has racing experience. (James Allen stuffs up sometimes)

They are still miles ahead ot McConville and Beattie though..

For sure! Completely agree with ya

And at least they try to be partial, tho we know they are Lewis fan-boys

They slowly wheel Kimi to the pits

*sobs*

Dammit!!! Kimi's been banned from running in quali anymore. #&%#$#*&!!!

NOOOOoooooooo!

Webby gone too! Lost it at a corner

kimi's G box is buggered, webby's out. (what next)????

Exactly!!

I think I'll support Kovalainen now!

hrrrmph!

Massa is still there

Meh... I don't know why, I've never taken to Massa...

I would go for Bourdais, but he's already out!

hahahaha

I have to say, taking traction control away might be the best thing they've done for the sport in a while.

I sense good, exciting times ahead

It'll be carnage in the wet 

hehehehe yeah

Just the way I like it... unless it's Kimi crashing out

I don't like crashes

It can really serve my purpose sometimes...

Wow... Vettle is doing really well!

And Alonso doesn't make it to Q3!

Holy Moly!!

The final 10 are not what I expected at all!

1. Hamilton
2. Kubica
3. Kovalainen
4. Heidfeld
5. Massa
6. Vettel
7. Rosberg
8. Coulthard
9. Trulli
10. Glock

I'se glad Alonzo missed out

heheheh Thought you might be...

But then again, I wasn't expecting much from Renault, judging by last year's performance

Well at least Coulthard made it through.

Yay!

And Trulli!

(I like 'im)

Truely??

really trulli!

heheheh

(We get bored in the breaks don't we?)

Yep, we do.

I'd like to see Heidfeld get a good run.

Heidfeld and Kubica are from Williams right?

Not completely up to speed with the teams and drivers

Too many to remember for my poor brain

Same!

Aha! Massa takes p1 for now.

(I'm also looking at the live timing chart)

oops... and then he's promptly beaten by Rosberg and Heidfeld!

Okay, they're settling down a bit now. Ferrari and McLaren in the top 3

Vettel's out of his car without setting a real time. Didn't look like anything was wrong.

I'm confused

I had a phone call from my son this morning and I could hardly hear what he was saying. He said guess where I am and I said what is that screaming noise I can hear. He said I am at the pit wall in Melbourne and that is the noise of the cars going past, It sounded very loud and he said I can't talk much as I've got to put the ear plugs back in before I burst an ear drum. It was very loud over the phone.

Oh!!!

That makes me soooo jealous!

He must be having a ball right now!

Kubica takes pole for now. He had a stunning lap

D'oh... Just beaten by Lewis

He's prob had a sumptious lunch and is into the free booze by now. (I guess it's quiter in the corporate box)

hahahaha

Sounds like a good way to watch the quali!

Now it gers really interesting...

Okay, this grid is really odd....

1. Hamilton
2. Kubica
3. Kova
4. Massa
5. Heidfeld
6. Trulli
7. Rosberg
8. Coulthard
9. Glock
10. Vettel
2008-03-14 21:08:04.0

Massa didn't even look like he was trying for P1

BMW have surprised everyone.

Alonzo left renault when they were on top and went to McLaren where all he did was upset people, now he is back at Renault and they are off the pace....

Sorry but I can't stop laughing 

Come on the Prancing Horse...

hhahahah

Well, he's still had better luck than Webby!

I guess Kimi will start from the pit lane now, but never mind, plenty of winners have started from there in the past. (its not impossible, just harder).

Yeah.... still, not the best of starts if Lewis wins it

Yeah well at least Webby admits that he made the wrong choice!

Lewis won't win it

True.... but only now he does...

Alonso went to a team with a good enough car. Webber can't even say that

hahahah well, I hope not too!

Son just rang again, he said he was taken on a tour of the Honda Pits and said that it was a real eye opener.

He's coming home after the race, so looks like a late flight for him.

He's there as the guest of a large Jap truck manufacturer, who (somehow) have links with Honda.

Wow... that's just so cool!

I gotta work on Tangler getting some F1 links!

Hehehheh

Just been checking and I see that Honda and Isuzu have a long history of cooperation in the 4WD and truck market. (ah-so). Now it becomes clear 

Ahhhhh

That's an interesting partnership

Yeah it is, apparantly they use each others motors and transmissions in the 4WD and light truck manufacture.

And that's exactly what my son is involved with. (so the thick plottens)

LOL!

*Looks for a job at Isuzu*

My son spent fifteen million dollars with them last year. (not his money of course)

D'oh! Will need to find a big spender then... hehehe

Alrighty, I'm off for a nap, and then to do all the things I need to do before the race tomorrow.

So much planning goes into a GP weekend

Ok, catch you later deezee!!

Ciao!

Lap 31

*sigh*

*head in hands*

The race is over.

hahahahaha What a crazy race! Only 7 finished in the end.

All my favourites dropped out one by one, starting with Webby and ending with Bourdais. SIGH

Kimi kinda messed his own race up - twice - which was very disappointing. I'm wondering if he's having trouble adjusting his driving style with no more traction control

Best moment of the race - Coulthard swearing at Massa live, in an interview.

I laughed my head off, it was so funny!

So -

1. Hamilton
2. Heidfeld
3. Rosberg

I'm quite pleased with the result actually. Always great to see new faces on the podium

Best moment of the race - Coulthard swearing at Massa live, in an interview.

That was hilarious, Coulthard said something like "I hope that Filipe will accept responsibility for his actions........If he doesn't, I will kick three shades of shit out of the little bastard"!

hahahaha, that was the funniest interview I have ever seen at a F1 GP  

I was happy to see Heidfeld and Rosberg on the podium, but not too sure about Hamilton.

Well at least Alonzo didn't make it up there.

I quite enjoyed the race, apart from the Ferrari stuff ups. (of both car and drivers)

Yeah, it was a fun race to watch. In fact, I watched it again last night!

I actually recall Coulthard swearing similarly last year, but it was nothing as funny as yesterday's!

Oh, and have you heard? Barrichello was disqualified!

So Kimi got a point in the end

Wow I didn't know that Barrichello was disqualified, I heard them talk about what he did, but I was very busy yesterday and have been feeling a bit crook today, so have not visited any F1 sites.

Thanks for that. 

So now Kimi is only nine points behind Hamilton..

hahahahah Yeah...

Ha Ha Ha Ha

  "Hahaha at the Top Gear article, The only time Lewis will see a Ferrari in his rear mirrors, will be as they come up to lap him"

  T  W  I  T  S   

LOL!

Well, it was looking that way in all the testing