such is the difference

[hudsonhawk]

Fellas,

Ruben is only as fast as ferrari and michael will allow him to be. Do you truely believe that ferrari will allow Rubens to rain on their parade, take the glory away from shuie running away with a devastating 5 successive titles for ferrari in a row? This record will stand for years and years to come. Think about the marketing potential of this for ferrari. Shumacher is synonymous to ferrari and visa a versa.

Rubens is merely a pawn on the chest board (okay, maybe a "bishop"), but, bascially, he's a limited edition, with limited moves and options. He dreams of winning a championship, he may well do it, but, whilst shuie is around, he has a better chance of growing his hair back. To every conspiracy theory there is always an element of truth.

No, i am not anti ferrari, but i despise what ferrari have become since the shumacher virus infected them.

Hudsonhawk

[oneBMW]

It worries me that you guys want to give credit to the "package" but not the driver. "Anyone can win in a Ferrari" and "putting weights on the Ferrari". Wow you guys really hate Ferrari. I am new to this forum and am ashamed that people want to penalize the man and put him down for winning.

The man and the machine are dominating. You may never see this again! I tell all my "racing fan" friends (NASCAR) That history is being made, you are seeing a man dominate his opponents, you need to witness this. I am really not a Schumi fan, but the man doesn't deserve to have a brick around his neck just because you guys are Mclaren fans or back Williams. Domination means the folks in the shops at BMW and Mercedes, Eddie Jordan, Jag, Honda, Renault, etc, etc...have to work harder. And the excuses that he gets special treatment or that he is cheating is just that, an excuse.

This will probably not happen again for a long time, and something you'll be able to tell future F1 fans about.

[West]

I don't hate Schumi at all, regardless to what Ferrari is doing. If they let up they wouldn't really be in the spirit of competitiveness. MS is really doing much better than Barrichello, aside from all the nonsense of "team orders" or the winning streak or what not.

The rules were rewritten in 2003 in hopes of hurting Ferrari and it almost worked to a point. With the same rules this year it's just that Williams and McLaren aren't doing a good a job as Ferrari as, which is really strange compared to their competitiveness last year.

Besides, as an engineer, I believe that Ferrari has again set the standard as to how a car should be built, regardless of how much money they spent.

[hudsonhawk]

Your right onebmw, about history being made that is. F1 is going down brother. Thats the history. As ironic as it is, your watching the destruction of a billion dollar sport. Its is imploding. Wake up, stop hitting the snooze button and dont just watch the sport, but understand it. It has become a boring spectacle, watching tiger woods on the 1st hole at the US masters is more exciting, then watching your F1 slot cars race.

Has anyone here been watching the Motogp. You want talent, you want excitement, then watch Valentino Rossi on the underpowered yahama. That kid has done to motogp what shuie has done to F1 in terms of dominating, but, despite rossi's domination, the sport has maintained the trill and action. Rossi has talent and he doesnt rely on his package to propel him to victory nor does he sacrifice his sport for his own selfish glory.

I guess what i am trying to say is that dominating a sport is not an issue, but "winning at all costs" is an issue. You see the by-product of this attitude (winning at all costs) sacrifices racing. People like you and me watch F1 cause we like racing. Ferrari have stolen this from us.

Get aboard the Rossi express.

For-moo-you-lay-one. This is the ancient apachie phrase which means "as exciting as sleeping with a cow".

hudsonhawk

[mep]

It's only ferrari

[Guest]

Has anyone read June's F1 Racing? "they (Ferrari) have a messianic devotion to the cause". What is wrong with winning? Peter Windsor/ Same issue "When people say they want more overtaking in F1 what they are really saying is they want more drivers to be able to overtake Michael". And Peter will break it down for you alot better than I ever could on how F1 is surviving, and will prosper. I rather think that people just don't like Michael winning, and are ready to jump ship on a sport that right now has someone dominating. I enjoy F1 because A driver takes his sport seriously. Read "Winner takes all" in the June issue. I wasn't much of a Michael fan, but after reading that, I understand that he's dedicated to winning, and I've become a fan. I just think it's shameful people want to stop watching and want to criticize and penalize someone for winning.

[oneBMW]

Finally someone understands! Read the issue, and I would have to agree, I too thought it was great issue and have changed my view of Michael. "You never hear him boasting about planes or boats or houses or meeting equally famous people: Post championships aside, you never see pictures of him doing silly things in night clubs or jacuzzi's. He is devoted to his family, to their privacy and stability. He is devoted, in other words, to all the things that most other drivers find boring.

I guess when you're devoted to winning and have everything together your just not entitled to winning championships.

[hudsonhawk]

You had to read the F1 magazine to be convinced that F1 is not boring and one story to want to become a shumacher fan ?!?! What happens after you read 3 stories on him, will you get that twinkle in your eye ?

Of course the F1 magazine will state F1 is prospering. It needs to stay in business and wants to sell magazines you Steve Wonder's. It knows people are bailing and if you analyze the article you will understand the true reason would it published an article of this nature and topic. Fans are leaving in their droves and their magazine sales are down.

I couldnt have painted nor said it better myself mr "no name" guest.
"They (Ferrari) have a messianic devotion to the cause."
(now i am not intending to offend people here - just merely show you the flip side of the coin.) Bin Larden has a messianic devotion too doesnt he. You see when you're so caught up in the devotion and the cause, you become oblivious to your surroundings. You're like a horse racing with blinkers. You lose your peripheral vision. These are the measures you take to keep you looking straight ahead and focused on your target. In Ferrari and Shuies case, it's winning. He doesnt care if there is no excitement in his sport, all he wants is to win.

I'll repeat myself for you Steve Wonder's. There is nothing wrong with winning, nothing wrong with it. The problem/issue is winning at all costs, which is shuie's and Ferrari's creed.

Now mr "no name" guest or mr onebmw, i want to ask you this. Your a sheep in a pen and you have two paths to take. One leads to the the sheers shed and the other leads to a flock of female sheep. Which path would you take ? There is nothing hard about this question by the way.

Hudsonhawk

[Guest]

To me it seems that the teams and manufacturers are trying to win at all costs. Why else would they spend these insane amounts of money ?

/ Fx

[Carbon]

As an aside to the spectacle of F1, I just finished watching the French GP, what a snore! The commentators were talking about mid-field battles, but the producers were fixated on the front two cars - Ferrari and Renault, with only the arbitrary glimpse of the cars lower down the field. Other Series have dedicated TV crews that are knowledgeable of the sport go race to race, and know how to cover the action. If F1 would invest in such coverage, showing the on-track battles regardless of position, the sport would only benefit.

[Guest]

Definitely! Nothing wrong with Schumacher winning but the ontrack battles for positions are a lot more fun than watching Schumacher alone in the lead.

/ Fx

[sharkie17]

Now mr "no name" guest or mr onebmw, i want to ask you this. Your a sheep in a pen and you have two paths to take. One leads to the the sheers shed and the other leads to a flock of female sheep. Which path would you take ? There is nothing hard about this question by the way.

Hudsonhawk

whats your point?

btw, since you said i am supposed to be a sheep, i guess i wont choose bunch of female sheeps... now, if you said i was a ram, then i would definately choose bunch of bleeting female sheeps... and since its july, i definately will be choosing the sheers shed.

so, tell me Mr hudsonhawk, what is Williams and Renault and BAR and rest of the teams doing to keep the sport "exciting"? I guess they are voluntarily cutting their F1 budget so it can be more "exciting".

[West]

Yeah really, what team doesn't try to win at all costs?

[Guest]

The Evolution of Formula One Racing


Have technological advancements made Formula One racing better as a sport? Yes, I believe it has made the sport better but the FIA has introduced rules to slow down the sport. Change started with overweight drivers to the physical perfection of today. Engines changed from 2.56-Liter engines capable of revving to over 7000 rpms (revolutions per minute) and producing 78.02HP/Liter to 3.0 Liter V10 engines capable of revving to over 19,000 rpms and producing a massive 300HP/Liter. Other significant changes include tire width, tread design, and fill. Aerodynamics improved for increased down force and suspension for better traction. In the following paragraphs, I will explain some of the technical statistics of Formula One cars, from the early day to today’s high technological racing.


In the early days of Formula One, physical fitness was not as important to performing well as it is today. “We usually went out the night before to parties, got drunk and smoked cigarettes”, Rod Carveth, a 1960s driver from Formula Junior and Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). In the 1980s, Aryton Senna found out that being very physically fit gave him advantages. He had greater endurance, increased alertness, and the ability to recover more readily and fully from injuries. Drivers today do specially designed exercises to simulate racing. It is not possible to completely simulate racing conditions. Being physically fit gave him longer endurance for the long demanding races. Today drivers now all have special diets and do exercises that simulate racing conditions. Ferrari has taken this a step forward by making the entire team go through the exercises.


The Early Formula One drive trains were advanced compared to the road cars of the time but were not as incomparable as road cars and Formula One cars are today. Formula One engines today rival technology found in most governmental programs. Engines today are incredible pieces of engineering. The typical Formula One engine weighs as little as 130 pounds. They also can produce 900 horsepower out of a 3-liter engine. To control the immense power of these engines special transmissions are built. The transmissions now are electronically controlled hydraulic gearboxes that can shift within two thousandths of a second. The combination of this powerful engine and advanced gearbox can propel a Formula One car from 0 to 125 in 3.5 seconds the car only weighing 1300 pounds.


Tires of the 1950’s were very narrow and stiff with tread patterns reminiscent of regular street tires. These tires produced poor grip compared to today’s tires but the grip was sufficient for the cars in that period. The tires were easily produced and usually the same on all cars, only differing in diameter. In nineteen ninety-eight slicks were outlawed because the FIA sought to slow down the cornering speeds of the cars. Today the tire production is as complex as the engine production. Formula one tires today have four parallel grooves with a maximum width of 14 inches wide and a diameter of 14 inches. Today the tires are not even filled with air. They are filled with a water vapor less nitrogen mixture. This does not expand as much as an oxygen filled tire.


In the 1950’s aerodynamic efficiency was not the engineers’ main concern. Early formula one cars were non-open wheeled, unlike the cars are today. In 1968, we saw the introduction of aerodynamic devices that created down force. , Brabham started research and development on the first car to use a turbine to suck air from under the car. This car, the Brabham Alfa BT46 first saw track time in 1978, finishing a strong second. It also finished third in the Constructor’s Championship the same year. It is a shame that The FIA made ground effects turbines illegal. Brabham ran out of money early in the 1992 season. Today the aerodynamics produce 2000 pounds plus of down force. In addition, the suspension was very crude but made leaps and bounds in the years that followed.



Today the suspension components are being molded out of composite materials and they maximize the tire’s contact patch. The wet weather tires of Formula One are able to clear out 26 liters of water a second. This ability to push water away that quickly gives Formula One cars superb handling capabilities in wet weather. With the advancements on aerodynamics and tires formula one car are capable of doing 4.4 G’s through some corners. Current Formula One cars use push rod suspension. Push rod suspension is now used in Formula One cars today because the ease of adjusting the suspension.




Brabham was one of the most innovative race teams of its day. In 1978, the Brabham team was the first team to introduce carbon brakes, which were lighter than conventional brakes and had increased stopping power. Other advantages to these brakes were the increased durability and tolerance of high temperatures in excess of 500 degrees Celsius. Brabham also introduced ground effects, but the FIA later abolished the use of ground effects such as the turbine, and venturi tunnels underneath the cars. This hurt the team financially; they could not keep up with the other teams, started losing and eventually went bankrupt in 1992.

The many technological advances in Formula One from carbon brakes, tires, engine power, suspension and driver fitness has made Formula One a better sport. This has increased the enjoyment for not only the drivers, but the spectators as well. As new technologies become available, the excitement and possibilities are endless, in spite of the FIAs attempts to slow down the sport by removing slick tires and ground effects. In addition, I believe that the banks that control most of the Formula One series should not be as greedy and give some money back to the teams.

[hudsonhawk]

Sharkie,

You should change your name to "Sheepie". Good to see you’re not a lesbian, but nevertheless, you’re a sheep.....keep following the pack for one day you'll end up on a plate.....

West,

Brother, I don’t see other teams having the driver hierarchy which commences from round 1 ?!?! Most team who would enforce team orders when their second driver had no chance of winning the title and this usually happened at the end of the season. Team orders were never an issue until shytemaker exploited it. This is one example of "winning at costs". It sacrifices racing.

You guys can keep convincing yourself that F1 is awesome at the moment and Ferrari’s greed hasn’t steered the sport down hill. That’s why fans are flocking to it. That’s why the ratings are sky high. The panic to change the rules is because the current ones have been exploited and slight changes are not effective enough to return the spot to its competitive nature. That why they are desperately trying to clean the slate and put everyone on a new playing field.

ITS FORMULA PITSTOP. You want another example of fartrarri's "winning at all costs" attitude. Look at the last race boys - France was a prime example. Shytemaker had a car that was capable of overtaking Alonso. Scared-i-macher couldn’t overtake him on the track, he waited for the pit strategy. They pit, short filling and take the lead that way...."Its formula pitstop". Shuie is scared of crashing, they sacrifice racing for their own selfish gain. (How much of a lead in the title does he want before he will attempt to race).

Remember the A1-ring when the fans boo'd them on the podium after parrotchello let shuie past just before the finish line. (It was a great day) Since that day Ferrari changed their tune. Shuie's greed would not be so obvious, nor would Ferrari’s team orders.

The sport will become exciting if it’s not exploited. Don't be sheep, open your eyes , think for yourselves and don’t believe everything that’s published. The media is so powerful and you shouldn’t look at things on a superficial level. You have to dig for gold.

Hudsonhawk

P.S - How was Rossi’s form at the Rio motogp? Now that’s racing fellas. He has the right attitude - he's a racer. Schumacher would have settled for the fourth place and the points if he was in Rossi’s shoes!!!