**** 2007 Australian GP ****

[sameerrao]

Yeaahhhh Baby! The F1 racing season is on again. The wait has been painful for all the fans including me.

This season should be awesome due to so many drivers changing steeds, pesonnel changes, etc. Hopefully we will get a dynamite season like 2003, 2005 and 2006. Also hopefully Kimi will get his first WDC - there isn't a more deserving guy out there.

First a moment of silence for the absence of Michael Schumacher for the first time since 1991. It will a touch difficult to watch the first few races and not see the red helmet guiding the Ferrari aggressively to a pole or a victory. We miss you Michael! You are one the best of all time! Have a wonderful retirement! 8) 8) 8)

On to Australia:

Circuit info:

2006 Race Results
1 Fernando Alonso
2 Kimi Raikkonen
3 Ralf Schumacher
4 Nick Heidfeld
5 Giancarlo Fisichella
6 Jacques Villeneuve
7 Rubens Barrichello
8 David Coulthard

Melbourne has become a firm favourite of the Formula 1 fraternity since it took over from Adelaide as the home of the Australian Grand Prix in 1996.

The switch caused consternation, for Adelaide had been hugely popular as both a venue and a racetrack.

In its end-of-season position, it played host to two unforgettable championship climaxes: Nigel Mansell’s spectacular tyre blow-out in 1986 and Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill’s controversial clash in ’94.

For 1996 the race not only moved to Melbourne and a spectacular new lakeside track in Albert Park, but to the other end of the calendar, becoming the season opener.

Melbourne soon proved that it could match Adelaide for thrills and spills, as the inaugural race saw Jacques Villeneuve take pole position for his first GP, and ITV’s Martin Brundle escape a massive first-lap crash in which his Jordan flew into a terrifying sequence of barrel rolls.

As the first chance to see where the balance of power lies at the start of the new season, Melbourne is always eagerly awaited.

Its high-speed layout punctuated by chicanes and dusty surface often leads to unpredictable and dramatic races, and punishes the slightest mistake with a trip into one of the ever-present concrete walls.

The safety car traditionally gets a lot of mileage in Melbourne…

Weather forecast:
On Thursday sun gave way to cloud and a very quick shower, and the forecast is for more showers on Friday, with an ambient temperature peak of 23 degrees Celsius. Locals, however, are sceptical about rain as this part of Victoria has been very dry of late. Thereafter it will be partly cloudy on Saturday and Sunday, with respective temperatures of 23 and 22 degrees

Grid run down:
http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=General&PO_ID=38643

Thursday press conference: http://www.formula1.com/race/news/5771/770.html

I'll add more info tonight :)

[racer_f50]

Hope Massa and Kimi can pull of a 1-2 :D

All Kimi has been missing these past years was a reliable car so hopefully Ferrari has accomplished that again this year.

[ZfrkS62]

feels so weird not seeing Michael Schumacher on the grid :|

[nthfinity]

Hope Massa and Kimi can pull of a 1-2 :D

All Kimi has been missing these past years was a reliable car so hopefully Ferrari has accomplished that again this year.

or perhaps he's been pushing the car so hard that he's using 200-300 extra rpm that his teammates havent...

[nejcdolinsek]

MASSA KIMI 1-2!!!!!!

FORZA FERRARI!!!!!

[deuces]

i definitely wanna see massa and kimi tear it up...but look out for kubica!!! :wink:

[TopGearNL]

Gonna watch it in hospital with my dad, for sure hope its going to be a great race! :D

My money is on Massa!

[deuces]

does anyone know of a way to watch the race on the internet, even if its just uploaded after it happens? unfortunately i don't get the speed channel in the dorm which means i don't get the race, so i've never had to deal with this before. any ideas?

[TopGearNL]

Fernando that spanish foo

Everytime I see that LMAO!! :lol:

[nthfinity]

does anyone know of a way to watch the race on the internet, even if its just uploaded after it happens? unfortunately i don't get the speed channel in the dorm which means i don't get the race, so i've never had to deal with this before. any ideas?

last year, i used www.f1.com 's "live timing" and read the race as it happened. sometimes, i used it in conjunction to while watching the race

[sameerrao]

does anyone know of a way to watch the race on the internet, even if its just uploaded after it happens? unfortunately i don't get the speed channel in the dorm which means i don't get the race, so i've never had to deal with this before. any ideas?

last year, i used www.f1.com 's "live timing" and read the race as it happened. sometimes, i used it in conjunction to while watching the race

I used it on occasion too when I was travelling! The info on the net is actually a bit ahead of the so called "live" TV broadcast here in the US.

Another possibility - There is a software called "tvuplayer" that allows you to catch TV broadcasts from Asia. Go to the Star Sports channel - they should be broadcasting F1 there. You will get a blurry and small image but hey it is free and better than no image.

Google for the link - her is one random source: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Internet-Radio-TV-Player/TVUPlayer.shtml

[deuces]

^^ sounds good thanks a lot :D

[Mattk]

This will be a very interesting race. Alonso is in a new team, no Michael Schumacher, Raikonnen in a reliable machine...the playing field is levelling.

[sameerrao]

Friday Practice 1 times
1 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:29.214
2 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:30.707
3 35 Sebastian Vettel BMW 1:30.857
4 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:30.878
5 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:31.162
6 38 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:31.401
7 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:31.528
8 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:31.571
9 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:31.661
10 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:31.737
11 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:31.782
12 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:32.011
13 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:32.194
14 20 Christijan Albers Spyker-Ferrari 1:34.043
15 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:34.627
16 21 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:35.055
17 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:37.249
18 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:39.221
19 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:39.242
20 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:39.550
21 19 Scott Speed STR-Ferrari 1:41.763
22 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:44.130

Report
A slippery start in Melbourne


Alonso heads Massa as track conditions improve

16 March 2007

At last, the first official practice session of the season got underway under grey Melbourne skies here at Albert Park on Friday, with BMW’s Sebastian Vettel heading out Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and Spyker’s Adrian Sutil promptly at 10am.

Conditions were fearsomely greasy initially as a light drizzle persisted, with Sutil besting Vettel in an inter-German fight. As things dried a little, Fernando Alonso for McLaren and then Jenson Button in the earthy Honda vied for fastest time with respective laps of 1m 42.878s and 1m 42.769s.

The next spell saw the Ferraris set the pace, Kimi Raikkonen lapping his in 1m 39.242s and Felipe Massa coming out to do 1m 39.277s after sitting out all of the session up to that point. Strong overtones of Schumacher there!

For these new hour and a half long practice sessions teams must nominate which drivers will run. In this first one everyone ran in team order except for Vettel standing in for Robert Kubica, and Kazuki Nakajima for Nico Rosberg at Williams.

There were plenty of minor incidents; Rubens Barrichello, Trulli, Heikki Kovalainen, Button and Alonso all had minor off-track adventures, and one of the BMWs decimated a pigeon that unwisely stayed on the line a moment too long.

The times all fell further as conditions continued to improve, a fact signalled when Nick Heidfeld pushed his BMW to the fore with a lap of 1m 37.249s shortly after the hour. Before long Alonso was back out, pushing his McLaren to second place ahead of team mate Lewis Hamilton (1m 37.610s and 1, 37.962s), but with seven minutes left Red Bull timed it well to put Mark Webber on dry tyres, and he slashed down to 1m 32.194s to go fastest. No prizes for guessing the crowd’s reaction!

The local hero subsequently improved to 1m 31.661s before a minor off in Turn One, narrowly holding off Button who did 1m 31.976s before being supplanted by team-mate Barrichello’s 1m31.737s. But quicker than you could write that Button went quickest in 1m 31.162s from Nakajima’s 1m 31.401s, and then Vettel beat them with 1m 30.857s.

Conditions were improving so fast that those who made dry-tyre runs went so much quicker than those who only shortly before been setting the pace on wets. In the final minutes Alonso stamped his authority by taking fastest time away from Massa, 1m 29.214s to 1m 30.707s. And to please McLaren further, Hamilton’s super-clean first session yielded 1m 30.878 for a close fourth behind Vettel.

Behind them Button’s 1m 31.162s held up for fifth ahead of the impressive Nakajima (1m 31.401s), Coulthard (1m 31.528s), Kovalainen (1m 31.571s), Webber (1m 31.661s), Barrichello (1m 31.737s) and Takuma Sato (1m 31.782s).

Left behind in all this were Giancarlo Fisichella (1m 32.011s), Wurz (1m 32.194s), Sutil (1m 34.043s), Liuzzi (1m 34.627s), Albers (1m 35.055s), Heidfeld (1m 37.249s), Davidson (1m 39.221s), Raikkonen (no dry-tyre run and 1m 39.242s), Schumacher (1m 39.550s), and then Speed and Trulli (1m 41.763s and 1m 44.130s), each having mechanical problems.

What does it all mean? It’s hardly worth trying to assess just yet, as the track will be drier still this afternoon. But for the first proper run of the year, it was great fun to watch.

[sameerrao]

Another report:

Free practice: Champ Alonso leads the way
Friday, 16, March, 2007, 00:45


World champion Fernando Alonso got his title defence off to a perfect, if slightly misleading, start as the first 90-minute practice session for the Australian Grand Prix was affected by heavy morning rain.

Subsequently the McLaren star came out top of a five-minute scramble by a number of drivers, including his rookie team-mate Lewis Hamilton, who switched to dry tyres in the final moments of the session.

To his credit, Alonso was always near the top of the times whenever on track, but questions as to whether he has the pace to challenge Ferrari on Sunday remain unanswered as the drying track turned the session into a lottery.

Felipe Massa, the winter pace-setter, was also among the gaggle of late, dry-shod, runners and the Ferrari driver ended the session 1.5s slower than the leading McLaren.

But both the Brazilian and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen looked ominously fast when the track was still wet, half-way through the session, and are likely to be more of a threat in session two.

The Finn, never even bothered to try slicks, such was his confidence in finding his touch in the afternoon.

For many, the spotlight was on the other McLaren of Hamilton though, as F1's first black driver took his public bow.

But while the track was treacherous for the first hour of the session, and the pressure was clearly on the 22-year-old Englishman, he didn't drop so much as a wheel on the grass.

In fact Lewis took just two laps to match the pace of his senior team-mate in the wet, and went quietly about his business to end the session fourth fastest overall.

Test driver Sebastien Vettel was third for BMW as the young German sat in for Robert Kubica.

Vettel was one of a couple of drivers (along with Jarno Trulli and Adrian Sutil) to venture out early on in the session and was never far from the front when he was on track.

Team-mate Nick Heidfeld also set the pace for a while as the track was drying out, proving BMW's winter potential, but his 17th place can be put down to his lack of a dry run.

Behind Hamilton came Jenson Button in fifth, another to revel in the wet conditions - circumstances in which he is peerless - but the Briton grabbed the chance of a dry run late-on to stay in the mix.

Japanese tester Kazuki Nakajima, briefly second in the last-minute shuffle, was sixth fastest as he stood in for Nico Rosberg at Williams, ahead of David Coulthard's Red Bull and Heikki Kovalainen's Renault – which twice ran off the track mid-session.

Mark Webber had home glory stolen from him in the last three minutes.

The Aussie was the first to venture out on dry tyres, immediately going five seconds quicker than Heidfeld's previous mark, but Mark had fired too soon and was quickly usurped by the pack.

Rubens Barrichello rounded out the top ten ahead of Takuma Sato's impressive Super Aguri/Honda and Giancarlo Fisichella in the second Renault.

Alexander Wurz was 13th for Williams, the last of the dry runners proper.

Adrian Sutil worked hard for 14th in the Spyker. The German debutant clocked up 26 laps as he learned the Albert Park track, and he was rewarded by outpacing his senior team-mate Christijan Albers by more than a second.

Vitantonio Liuzzi's STR split the two Dutch cars.

Anthony Davidson ended up 18th just behind Heidfeld's BMW, but the Englishman, effectively still a rookie, was as high as third when the track was still wet and was another not to bother with dries.

Raikkonen, Ralf Schumacher, Scott Speed and Jarno Trulli (lucky not to clout the wall in a huge spin at Turn 11) completed the runners.

[ZfrkS62]

and one of the BMWs decimated a pigeon that unwisely stayed on the line a moment too long.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

sounds like the highlights are already starting to pile up and we haven't even gotten to qualifying yet! I hope they showed that on TV :lol:

[SPEEDCORE]

Finally the season has started!!! WOO HOO!!

Im still sad Schumie retired as this could of been his greatest season, but alas I must move on and Massa is the driver for me I think. Kimi being ex-Mclaren has alot to prove(i hate mclaren) soo might be afew races b4 I can start really supporting him.

Both sessions just finished today. Good to see Ferrari at the top even tho its only practise. Hamilton looks like a contender and I will laugh really hard if he beats Alonso on sunday!!

Forza Ferrari!!

[5vz-fe]

As much as I am disappointed, but all the new unknowns and team switching make the season still very very exciting to chase after. I just hope there will be more wet race this season.

[sameerrao]

Practice 2 results and report
Practice 2: Massa on top as Lewis shines
Friday, 16, March, 2007, 05:25


Ferrari confirmed it's pre-race status as favourites when Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen ended Friday's free practice for the Australian Grand Prix first and second fastest.

The Brazilian was in control for much of the second session, as first Fernando Alonso, then Nick Heidfeld and finally Lewis Hamilton all tried and failed to break the Ferrari man's grasp on the session.

But the British rookie Hamilton did however end the his first day as a grand prix driver, third overall and best of the rest - four places ahead of his double-world champion team-mate Alonso.

The teams has a great deal of ground to make up following the morning's mostly wet session, so most of the field was on track as second practice began.

Massa immediately set the agenda by lowering Alonso's morning mark to 1m29.1s, but just behind, the increasingly impressive Hamilton snapped at his heels.

The pair swiftly chased the target time down into the 1m28s bracket and before long were joined by Alonso and Raikkonen.

By the end of the first runs the order had taken on something of a testing feel to it, with Massa's 1m28.111s putting him 0.4s clear of the pack, which was led by Alonso, with Raikkonen a further 0.1s back, just in front of Hamilton.

But just before the half hour mark, BMW's Robert Kubica, having sat out morning practice, hinted that this wasn't going to be a total McLaren/Ferrari affair by going second quickest – proving that the German squad really does intend to mix it with the top two this weekend.

And just as Alonso moved back to the front with an hour still to go, the Pole's team-mate Nick Heidfeld lapped within a tenth of Kubica to prove the point.

Then the red flags came out at half distance after Heikki Kovalainen's Renault stopped on the track with a fuel system problem at the same time as Rubens Barrichello crashed at Turn 14.

Both had yet to try for quick laps.

As soon as the lights went green again, Massa reclaimed his place at the front with a lap of 1m27.868s.


And while Heidfeld initially tried to usurp the Ferrari, the Brazilian simply ran off a number of short bursts of hot laps as he worked down to an eventual, and unreachable, 1m27.353s.

Team-mate Raikkonen waited until almost the end of the session to join Massa at the front of the queue, the Finn having spent most of his afternoon seemingly on long runs.

But even Kimi's best would still fall some 0.4s short of Massa.

Hamilton's fastest lap came late in the session as he staved off a determined effort from Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella, who was fourth quickest.

But the world champion team will be concerned that both its drivers were forced to park their cars out on track with the same problem, before the end of the session.

No such worries for Heidfeld, who claimed fifth after a particularly consistent run following the red flag period.

Alex Wurz put in a brilliant and unexpected flier late on to go sixth for Williams, while team-mate Nico Rosberg proved the team's pace in eighth.

Alonso dropped away from the fight after the red flag and ended the day 0.68s off the ultimate pace in seventh, while Kubica and Red Bull's David Coulthard completed the top ten.

Anthony Davidson made it a great day for Super Aguri as the Honda B-team drivers outpaced the factory squad.

The Englishman, embarking on his first full season as a grand prix driver, was 11th fastest after a session-long battle with his team-mate Takuma Sato who ended up 13th behind Toyota's Jarno Trulli.

For much of the 90 minutes Jenson Button looked like a candidate for the top ten, but in the final analysis he slipped down the order to an ignominious 14th.

The crest-fallen Brit had predicted as much yesterday.

Barrichello wiped out at Turn 14, lightly damaging but beaching his car in the gravel, and was thus forced to watch as he slipped down the order to 15th, just ahead of Ralf Schumacher.

Mark Webber could not match DC's pace in the second Red Bull in 17th ahead of Kovalainen's striken Renault.

Toro Rosso, rather unexpectedly, may find themselves in a fight on and off the track with Spyker this weekend.

As the row rumbles on as to whether or not Super Aguri and STR are using customer chassis, Spyker chief Colin Kolles will have been pleased to see Adrian Sutil and Christijan Albers taking the fight to Scott Speed and Tonio Liuzzi.


Australian Grand Prix, Free practice session 2 results

1. MASSA Ferrari 1m27.353s
2. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m27.750s
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1m27.829s
4. FISICHELLA Renault 1m27.941s
5. HEIDFELD BMW 1m27.970s
6. WURZ Williams 1m27.981s
7. ALONSO Mclaren 1m28.040s
8. ROSBERG Williams 1m28.055s
9. KUBICA BMW 1m28.281s
10. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m28.495s
11. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1m28.727s
12. TRULLI Toyota 1m28.921s
13. SATO Super Aguri 1m29.009s
14. BUTTON Honda 1m29.066s
15. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m29.542s
16. R SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m29.574s
17. WEBBER Red Bull 1m29.801s
18. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m30.097s
19. SPEED Toro Rosso 1m30.383s
20. SUTIL Spyker 1m31.108s
21. ALBERS Spyker 1m31.175s
22. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m31.693s

[sameerrao]

- Isnt it funny that the "customer" ;) Honda team beats the official team.
- Toyota looks pretty awful
- Awesome job by Lewis on his first ever run in Melbourne 8)
- Toro Rosso is showing the negative aspect of not doing much testing and deciding their driver line-up at the last minute. The cars and drivers looked loose/rusty.

[5vz-fe]

Wow......season after season, the Mclaren just not reliable.

Mclaren and reliability just don't mix.

[Max Power]

kimi went purple in s1 and 2 on the last lap and then pited... :-/ 8)

ws F1...finally :D

[xecutioner]

just came back from todays practise

3 hours was madness

awsome stuff by the ferrari's and yeh kimmi was flyin rite at the end

im impressed with lewis hamilton so far

cant wait for tomorrow now

[sameerrao]

Where are the pictures? :)

[R8audi]

This looks like it could be BMW's year!!! It's gotta make you think that Williams were holding them back quite badly. I'm not naive enough to think they going to consistently be in the top 3, but they certainly look set for some podiums this year!

Kubica and Heidfeld look quite promising... 8)

I'm so excited for the season!!!!!!!!

[TopGearNL]

Yeah Toyota is just a joke, and it shows..

Awesome job by Hamilton! :D

[Erez]

MASSA KIMI 1-2!!!!!!

FORZA FERRARI!!!!!

8)

[sameerrao]

Saturday Free practice report and times
Kimi shows his hand in final practice
Saturday, 17, March, 2007, 01:15


Kimi Raikkonen fired a warning shot to Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa by topping the times in final practice for the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday.

Having been overshadowed by the Brazilian throughout the winter and in Friday practice at Albert Park, Raikkonen landed an important psychological counter-punch ahead of qualifying this afternoon.

The Finn ended the hour-long practice nearly half a second clear of Massa, who was shuffled back to fifth amid the traditional frantic scramble in the closing minutes.

Giancarlo Fisichella emerged second fastest for Renault, confirming the promising pace he showed yesterday and suggesting the world champion team will be a contender at the front this weekend.

Debutant Lewis Hamilton did another sterling job to finish third on the timesheets, once again upstaging his champion team-mate Fernando Alonso.

But the real eye-opener was the performance of Anthony Davidson, who jumped to a sensational fourth in the dying moments for Super Aguri.

Some light rainfall just before the start of the hour-long session meant the action took a little while to get going, as most drivers confined themselves to installation laps before taking refuge in the pits.

But after 20 minutes a flurry of cars left the pits and the session got underway in anger.

Giancarlo Fisichella set the initial benchmark, clocking a 1m29.866s on his first lap and improving to 1m29.065s and then 1m28.366s on his next two circuits.

Just before the halfway mark Alonso moved to the top with a 1m27.612s and in the subsequent 10 minutes the leaderboard changed virtually by the second.

After a couple of laps to get into the swing of things Raikkonen became the first man to crack the 1m26s barrier at this year’s event, taking command of the session with a 1m26.616s.

Team-mate Felipe Massa initially couldn’t match that pace, going second quickest with a 1m27.352s.

But the Brazilian soon reasserted his authority, pipping his team-mate’s time by an infinitisemal 0.008s.

Meanwhile debutant Lewis Hamilton underlined his quality by immediately thrusting himself into the thick of the action after sitting out the first half-hour.

The 22-year-old Briton went straight to P5 on his first flier and moved up another two places with a 1m27.083s next time around – demoting team-mate Alonso to fourth in the process.

With 13 minutes left on the clock, Raikkonen – perhaps tiring of Massa hogging the limelight at Ferrari – vaulted back to the top of the charts with an emphatic 1m26.106s.

That remained unbeaten, but Kimi shaved another few hundredths off his time anyway with a final lap of 1m26.064s to finish 0.4s clear of Fisichella and Hamilton.

The only threat to his supremacy came from Alonso, who looked as if he might usurp his old sparring partner on his final flier when he set a new sector one benchmark and followed it up with an equally strong middle sector.

But the Spaniard blew the lap with a mistake in the final corner and had to content himself with seventh on the timesheet.


Davidson's performance in lapping little more than 0.4s shy of the ultimate pace was quite remarkable given the inexperience and financial constraints facing Super Aguri.


Takuma Sato's best effort in the sister SA07 was three-quarters of a second slower but that still put him ninth overall.


Free practice session 3 results

1. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m26.064s
2. FISICHELLA Renault 1m26.454s
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1m26.467s
4. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1m26.491s
5. MASSA Ferrari 1m26.547s
6. HEIDFELD BMW 1m26.753s
7. ALONSO McLaren 1m26.786s
8. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m26.937s
9. SATO Super Aguri 1m27.266s
10. WURZ Williams 1m27.322s
11. WEBBER Red Bull 1m27.390s
12. KUBICA BMW 1m27.753s
13. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m27.887s
14. TRULLI Toyota 1m27.897s
15. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m28.039s
16. ROSBERG Williams 1m28.061s
17. BUTTON Honda 1m28.119s
18. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m28.208s
19. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m28.332s
20. SPEED Toro Rosso 1m28.485s
21. SUTIL Spyker 1m28.678s
22. ALBERS Spyker 1m30.547s

[5vz-fe]

Super Aguri is in damn good shape. I really don't know how that happen, they are suppose to use 2nd grade car.

[sameerrao]

They may be going v. low on fuel to get some nice exposure. Let's see how they do in qualifying. But both guys are miles ahead of Button/Barrichello :lol:

Hamilton continues to amaze!

[5vz-fe]

What I am hoping is that Kimi don't push the engine too hard so early.....

[5vz-fe]

Massa's car broke......crap!!

Kimi for pole....unfortunately that spanish fool is 2nd.

[SFDMALEX]

This Hamilton hype is getting really annoying.

[bmagni]

This Hamilton hype is getting really annoying.

anything but Alstronzo :D

[SFDMALEX]

This Hamilton hype is getting really annoying.

anything but Alstronzo :D

I hope Hamilton beats Alonso I just dont want to hear Hamiltons name every 10 seconds.

[5vz-fe]

^That would really make my day!!

[ZfrkS62]

fuck yeah. Kimi up front :D let's see Mercedes' engine gremlins return this year :mrgreen:

[ae86_16v]

Way to GO Ferrari! Glad to see Kimi take the Pole! Let's hope tomorrow's race pans out!!!

That Red & White does look cool:

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/174/raikkonenmelbournez0717if7.th.jpg (http://img174.imageshack.us/my.php?image=raikkonenmelbournez0717if7.jpg)

[sameerrao]

Raikkonen puts Ferrari on pole


Mixed fortunes for Italian team; Super Aguri sparkle

17 March 2007

World championship rivals Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso will start from the front row in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, after the Finn beat the Spaniard by a hair over four-tenths of a second. But where Alonso’s McLaren partner Lewis Hamilton backed him strongly with a second-row start on his debut, Felipe Massa was only 16th after suffering gearbox problems.

In a session run under warm sun and on a bone-dry track, Raikkonen set the pace in first qualifying, was content to let Alonso do so in the second, and then banged in the 1m 26.072s lap that secured him the pole in the third and final runs. He thus became the first debutant Ferrari driver to take pole position since Juan Manuel Fangio back in 1956.

“Today we spent time getting a good set-up on car,” Raikkonen said. “For one lap it was still not ideal, not for me at least, but the main thing is it was quick enough. We have a good race package, so I am more confident for the race than for qualifying. This can be quite a funny race, but we’ll do our best and hope to win.”

Having been obliged to play second fiddle most of the weekend to Hamilton, Alonso pulled up in the final session with a lap of 1m 26.493s to depose the impressive young Briton, who also found himself pushed down a place by speedy Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber. Hamilton lapped in 1m 26.755s, completing another session devoid of mistakes, but dropped to fourth when the German took his F1.07 round in 1m 26.556s right at the end.

Alonso said he was still building his confidence in the car, and added: “I think at end we are there and to start where we are is fantastic news for the team. They have made a huge step forward since last year and we need say thanks to team. I really hope it will be a close race tomorrow, and it can be very interesting; we have been very competitive all weekend.”

Robert Kubica’s chances of improving on 1m 27.347s in the BMW Sauber were stymied by a mistake on his final run, leaving him fifth ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella, who did no better than 1m 27.634s for the hitherto dominant Renault.

Mark Webber boosted the crowd (and himself) with seventh-fastest time in his Red Bull, after a lap in 1m 27.934s, then, against expectations, came the Toyotas of Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher on 1m 28.404s and 1m 28.692s respectively. Both of them had initial dramas: Trulli inadvertently dragged a jack all down the pit lane and then on to the track when he first went out; Schumacher had a tyre problem and had to creep back to the pits before getting going again.

While they celebrated getting into the top ten, Takuma Sato was cock-a-hoop down at Super Aguri. A year ago the team had to borrow a show car from a local mall to make the race; 12 months on they made the top five rows on merit after a great performance yielded a best lap of 1m 28.871s. If there was anything bittersweet about the success, it was that Super Aguri team mate Anthony Davidson just failed to get through to the third session, but he will line up as second-fastest Briton in 11th place with a lap of 1m 26.909s. Nico Rosberg will be alongside him in the Williams with 1m 26.914s, followed by debutant Heikki Kovalainen in the second Renault on 1m 26.964s. He shares row seven with a very despondent Jenson Button, who did all he could to squeeze a disappointing 1m 27.264s out of his Honda.

Alex Wurz lapped his Williams in 1m 27.393s for 15th, while poor Felipe Massa had a gearbox problem in the second session and will start 16th for Ferrari with no recorded lap time.

The first session weeded out the second Red Bull, both Toro Rossos, both Spykers and Rubens Barrichello’s Honda. The Brazilian lapped in 1m 27.679s which left him 17th ahead of an on-form Scott Speed (1m 27.305s), David Coulthard (1m 27.579s), a troubled Tonio Liuzzi (1m 29.267s, before a defective refuelling rig prevented him getting enough juice for his second run), debutant Adrian Sutil (1m 29.339s) and Christijan Albers (1m 31.932s).

Thus the grid is set for the opening race of 2007, and a terrific battle is in prospect. If anything happens to Raikkonen or Alonso, could Hamilton become the first man since Giancarlo Baghetti back in 1961 to win on his debut?


Pity about Massa - he would have been on P2 for sure.

[Max Power]

speed commentators are fun to watch (listen)...

that foo better not win...that's all i'm rooting for this season...

[xecutioner]

just came back from todays qualifying

so glad to see kimmi in a reliable and fast car for once

to bad for massa

bah alonso

to bad he hasnt got the renault launch anymore which prob helped him win every race

cant wait for tomorrow

im already sunburnt bad and i dont think it can get any worse so me going tomorrow will hurt but its worth it

[yg60m]

Very promising grid IMO, too bad for Massa but I am soo happy that Kimi did the pole :D I would have been disappointed if Felipe had beat him ... We will see in the next GP ... Anyway it's been a long time I wasn't so happy to see Ferrari in front :lol:

[bultaco_metralla]

Yeah baby F1 again!!! Nice job by Hamilton, as ive said many times, this guy promises!!! Nice Pole by IceMan!! Fist face off between Raik FA.lonso... too bad that mechanical failure of Massa... Waitiing for the race!!! Yuhuuuuu!!!! are you going to wake up for it ?? i will going for party and will come back for the race!!

[pagani]

Go mclaren mercedes.
Where is m schumacher??
I hope that spyker f1 will do good.
The iceman is fast.
:D 8)

[blue8]

\Where is m schumacher??

I hope that question wasn't serious... where have you been :P ? Basically he retired. Sad but he had to leave eventually. The Ferrari Team will certainly still do well!! :D :!: 8)

[pagani]

\Where is m schumacher??

I hope that question wasn't serious... where have you been :P ? Basically he retired. Sad but he had to leave eventually. The Ferrari Team will certainly still do well!! :D :!: 8)


I kown where he been is but i saw jean todt in the ferrari pitbox but not m schumacher that found i very surprising
Schumacher schould be in the ferrari pit box.
:D :?:

[MortyBubba]

Anyone here a little shocked by the results of Hamilton in qualifying, 4th thats really really good for his first time in race qualifying for F1. Also Kubica did a great job getting 5th on the starting grid.

Also great job for the Iceman!!

[deuces]

^^ kubica is a very talented driver so i'm not surprised by that :mrgreen: . bully for hamilton as well he did a great job

[ZfrkS62]

Great race! Raikonnen from start to finish without a doubt. A spanish fool chased down by his team mate who's made a hell of a splash in his F1 debut.

Couldn't believe how close Kubica came to getting his bell rung by DC's car :shock: 6 more inches and i think the live feed would have been cut....

Massa only got 3 points, but as long as they get that gear box twitch figured out.

Malaysia in 3 weeks :D

[Max Power]

Couldn't believe how close Kubica came to getting his bell rung by DC's car :shock:
^u mean Wurz...

Massa is useless from the back... :?

f1 is back :D

[blue8]

\Where is m schumacher??

I hope that question wasn't serious... where have you been :P ? Basically he retired. Sad but he had to leave eventually. The Ferrari Team will certainly still do well!! :D :!: 8)


I kown where he been is but i saw jean todt in the ferrari pitbox but not m schumacher that found i very surprising
Schumacher schould be in the ferrari pit box.
:D :?:

oh... :D
Well anyway, it was a great race! Glad to see Kimi on top! This should be a very exciting season between Ferrari and McLaren!! :!:

[xecutioner]

just came back from the race

im so happy that kimmi is in a mad car now and winning

he even smiled on the podium infront of us haha havent seen that before

pissed off that alonso the wang finished 2nd

good stuff by massa startin from the back

im just glad f1 is back

[deuces]

i didnt get to see the race :x . how well did kubica do before his gearbox failure?

[blue8]

just came back from the race

im so happy that kimmi is in a mad car now and winning

he even smiled on the podium infront of us haha havent seen that before

pissed off that that spanish foo the wang finished 2nd

good stuff by massa startin from the back

im just glad f1 is back

He's still incomprehensible though during the press conference :D

[acmarttin]

Youngest F1 grid ever. Crazy stuff. I'm really happy for Kimi, that guy was scary fast in the Ferrari. Young Lewis Hamilton had an impressive start also. He was lucky he never had to pay for his mistakes, though.

[nejcdolinsek]

Ferrari's pace is scary:

The results of the Australian Grand Prix show that Kimi Raikkonen won the Australian Grand Prix by 7.242s over Fernando Alonso with Lewis Hamilton third in the second McLaren Mercedes.

The margin of Raikkonen's win could well have been a great deal more as he controlled the pace from early on in the race. Looking at the fastest laps of the 58-lap race, Raikkonen's best lap in the new F2007 is a second clear of anyone else. The maths are simple, flat out, Raikkonen could have won the event by a minute, as Felipe Massa spent his race stuck in traffic.

Renault won the Australian Grand Prix in 2005 and 2006 with first Giancarlo Fisichella and then Alonso. This year Fisichella fended off Massa to finish fifth, while Heikki Kovalainen had an erratic race to tenth spot. Fisichella's best lap was 1.6 seconds off the best of Raikkonen and over half a second off Alonso's best in the McLaren Mercedes.

The Ferrari advantage at this stage of the season is huge.

Melbourne - 18/03/2007
1 . K. Raikkonen - Ferrari F2007 - 1:25.235 (+ 0.000 ) - Lap 41
2 . F. Alonso - McLaren Mercedes MP4-22 - 1:26.314 (+ 1.079 ) - Lap 20
3 . L. Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes MP4-22 - 1:26.351 (+ 1.116 ) - Lap 20
4 . R. Kubica - BMW Sauber F1.07 - 1:26.642 (+ 1.407 ) - Lap 19
5 . N. Rosberg - Williams Toyota FW29 - 1:26.721 (+ 1.486 ) - Lap 40
6 . N. Heidfeld - BMW Sauber F1.07 - 1:26.722 (+ 1.487 ) - Lap 37
7 . G. Fisichella - Renault R27 - 1:26.892 (+ 1.657 ) - Lap 18
8 . F.
Massa - Ferrari F2007 - 1:27.044 (+ 1.809 ) - Lap 28
9 . M. Webber - Red Bull Renault RB3 - 1:27.501 (+ 2.266 ) - Lap 21
10 . H. Kovalainen - Renault R27 - 1:27.592 (+ 2.357 ) - Lap 44
11 . D. Coulthard - Red Bull Renault RB3 - 1:27.706 (+ 2.471 ) - Lap 44
12 . R. Schumacher - Toyota TF107 - 1:27.796 (+ 2.561 ) - Lap 42
13 . J. Trulli - Toyota TF107 - 1:28.034 (+ 2.799 ) - Lap 45
14 . R. Barrichello - Honda RA107 - 1:28.098 (+ 2.863 ) - Lap 17
15 . V. Liuzzi - Toro Rosso Ferrari STR2 - 1:28.282 (+ 3.047 ) - Lap 44
16 . A. Wurz - Williams Toyota FW29 - 1:28.303 (+ 3.068 ) - Lap 24
17 . J. Button - Honda RA107 - 1:28.387 (+ 3.152 ) - Lap 42
18 . T. Sato - Super Aguri Honda SA07 - 1:28.487 (+ 3.252 ) - Lap 20
19 . A. Sutil - Spyker Ferrari F8-VII - 1:28.687 (+ 3.452 ) - Lap 40
20 . A. Davidson - Super Aguri Honda SA07 - 1:28.849 (+ 3.614 ) - Lap 41
21 . S. Speed - Toro Rosso Ferrari STR2 - 1:28.953 (+ 3.718 ) - Lap 22
22 . C. Albers - Spyker Ferrari F8-VII - 1:30.899 (+ 5.664 ) - Lap 9


.... I'm not complaining! FORZA FERRARI! :D

[xecutioner]

yeh i think everyone can see kimmi + ferrari = scarey

great stuff i see

gonna take alot to stop this man

blue8 lol hes interviews are still the same tho

nuthing but mumbles but great to see him smile for once lol

[blue8]

From Motor Authority:
Ferrari dominates Oz F1 with McLaren close behind
http://www.motorauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/motorsport/F1/Ferrari/2007/ferrari_f1_raik.jpg

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen took top honors at Sunday’s inaugural F1 race in Melbourne, despite having no radio contact with the pit crew and racing under the legendary marque for the first time. His pace was excellent throughout the day, leading from the start and leaving a score of fastest laps behind him.

The day also turned out favorable for McLaren’s new drivers, with 22-year old Lewis Hamilton holding off current world champion Fernando Alonso in second place for much of the race before succumbing to his teammate and ending in third. With both Alonso and Hamilton finishing on the podium, McLaren are leading the constructors’ championship while Raikkonen’s in charge of the driver standings.

The BMWs were quick off the start and both drivers, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, were poised to finish in the top ten. Heidfeld managed to come in fourth position but unfortunately Kubica failed to finish because of mechanical problems. Giancarlo Fisichella came in fifth, edging out Raikkonen’s teammate Felipe Massa who finished just 0.3seconds after the Renault driver. This was an amazing feat for Massa considering he started right at the back of the grid due to penalties.

Toro Rosso’s Scott Speed went off the road in spectacular fashion along with Christijan Albers who crashed his Spyker early on. David Coulthard and Alex Wurz also suffered a nasty crash towards the end of the race.

[bultaco_metralla]

Great Race of Kimi and Ferrari!! Hattrick in his debut!! NICE!! Alonso 2º GOOOOD!! Hamilton awesome with his podium, including the overtake at the start of the race, i had been watching live timing and Alonso is faster... But anyway Hamilton made a great JOB!!! Also Massa from last to 6º !!! Poor Kubica, he deserves more than a gearbox failure !!! And whatabout Renault... no comment ...

fuck ... three weeks for next race....

[blue8]

Transcript from the press conference:
http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/18032007/13/australian-grand-prix-press-conference-part.html
http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/18032007/13/australian-grand-prix-press-conference-part-ii.html
Very helpful! :D

[bmagni]

nice race, pity about Hamilton losing second with no apparent reason, Alstronzo couldn't get past him until he got stuck in traffic and made a 2 sec slower pit stop...

[gucom]

good to see kimi in a reliable fast car :D great performance by him, also awesome of hamilton ofcourse 8)

great job also by coulthard, retarded overtaking move almost killing the first F1 driver in 13 years :roll: [/sarcasm]

[acmarttin]

From Motor Authority:
Ferrari dominates Oz F1 with McLaren close behind
http://www.motorauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/motorsport/F1/Ferrari/2007/ferrari_f1_raik.jpg

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen took top honors at Sunday’s inaugural F1 race in Melbourne, despite having no radio contact with the pit crew and racing under the legendary marque for the first time. His pace was excellent throughout the day, leading from the start and leaving a score of fastest laps behind him.

The day also turned out favorable for McLaren’s new drivers, with 22-year old Lewis Hamilton holding off current world champion Fernando that spanish foo in second place for much of the race before succumbing to his teammate and ending in third. With both that spanish foo and Hamilton finishing on the podium, McLaren are leading the constructors’ championship while Raikkonen’s in charge of the driver standings.

The BMWs were quick off the start and both drivers, Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica, were poised to finish in the top ten. Heidfeld managed to come in fourth position but unfortunately Kubica failed to finish because of mechanical problems. Giancarlo Fisichella came in fifth, edging out Raikkonen’s teammate Felipe Massa who finished just 0.3seconds after the Renault driver. This was an amazing feat for Massa considering he started right at the back of the grid due to penalties.

Toro Rosso’s Scott Speed went off the road in spectacular fashion along with Christijan Albers who crashed his Spyker early on. David Coulthard and Alex Wurz also suffered a nasty crash towards the end of the race.

Man if anybody can find a high-res version of that picture of Kimi celebrating that would be awesome.

[Max Power]

^ imagesf1.com

[xecutioner]

hey mad site

thx for that

[novass]

I finally got to watch the race. It has been sitting on my TiVo since it aired just haunting me LOL

Great season opener IMO. Kimi was off from the get go, I hope he keeps it up! Too bad Massa had to start from the back but all things considered he moved up quite a bit in position and at least got some points for Ferrari. Hamilton did a great job for his first outing, I have a feeling this guy is gonna be someone to watch. DC almost killed Wurz, that was interesting :shock:

Glad the season has begun :D , but 3 weeks until Malaysia :x !

[5vz-fe]

Ahh good old crying baby Ron

McLaren Mercedes boss Ron Dennis has accused BMW Sauber of 'showboating' in the Australian Grand Prix.

Hinwil based BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld had an impressive start to the Melbourne race, leaping ahead of Fernando Alonso, but the German made his first pit stop very early and was among only three competitors to start on the 'soft' tyre.

In the official post-race press release, Dennis described BMW's strategy as

'unexpected' and 'very disruptive' to McLaren's plans to win.


Later, the British chief told reporters: "Our race was seriously compromised by the Heidfeld strategy, which we just didn't understand. It smacked of showboating in the opening part of the race."

http://www.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/070319091839.shtml

[TopGearNL]

I really enjoyed the race!

Not very action packed but it was ok.

Great to see Kimi and Ferrari win, and Massa did good to starting from the back!

Awesome job by Hamilton, huge respect!

[TopGearNL]

^^ Very sad indeed..

Its racing Ron, you win some you loose some..

And besides they became 2nd and 3rd, no way that they could have catched Kimi, so what is he complaining about? :bah:

[Pokiou]

why does every1 hate alonso ?? i dont get it ...

but melbourne and monaco I reckon are the best F1 tracks to ever be raced on.

[Chaos in 1983!]

Glad to see Ferrari win in Melbourne...I was cheering for Massa but too bad for him, but I'm still glad Kimi won, Kimi + Ferrari make a killer team, and it appears Hamilton did a great job finnishing 3rd. Too bad I didin't get to see the race...any idea where I can find it for download? will the highlights be posted on JW as usual?

[blue8]

^^ Very sad indeed..

Its racing Ron, you win some you loose some..

And besides they became 2nd and 3rd, no way that they could have catched Kimi, so what is he complaining about? :bah:

But there's more from Ron...

From Sport Network
http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s85/st113540.htm

The Ferrari F2007 Is Illegal
By Dale Calkins - March 19 2007

With the new season, comes new allegations of the Ferrari racecar being outside the rules from other teams. This time there are claims, possibly from McLaren, that the floor of the F2007 is a moveable aerodynamic device.

With the new season, comes new allegations of the Ferrari racecar being outside the rules from other teams. This time there are claims the floor of the F2007 is a moveable aerodynamic device. Apparently the floor of the Ferrari has been designed to drop down, bringing the car closer to the racing surface and thus reducing the air moving underneath the car. This would in turn increase the speed of the car in a straight line. Further to this, less wing would be required on the rest of the car, while still maintaining a high level of speed.

Of course this floor would be illegal, as it classifies as a moveable aerodynamic device. There has been no formal declaration of speculation from the FIA with regards to this issue. However, FIA stewards were seen at the Australian Grand Prix to be paying special attention to the floors of cars and specifically to the Ferrari's.

Speculation of the Ferrari being illegal may have come from McLaren's Ron Dennis as he was rather vocal about many cars being illegal when he spoke to American television network SPEED:"We will see how things are in two or three races. There is a whole range of things that come to light in the first race and you go and you say what is legal, and what is not legal. Most teams are given that current race to enjoy the benefit of the doubt. I think there will be a rationalization of some aspects of some cars that would close the gap if no one did anything.

You look at people’s cars, you are not always of the opinion that rule interpretation has been strictly adhered to, and you get in to, ‘Hold on a second, what are we allowed to do and what are we not allowed to do?’ and that always takes place at the first event. So it takes a race or two to know what is or isn’t permitted."

A Ferrari spokesperson responded to the criticism, stating this to SPEED:

"It’s part of the game any time Ferrari is quickest. It’s not the first time that there have been questions about legality. If someone has a complaint, there is always the FIA."

Now first of all, I must state that if the Ferrari is indeed illegal, which it may be, action should be taken against the Scuderia. However, this may simply be posturing from the other Formula 1 teams as they feel threatened by Ferrari's very impressive pace in pre-season testing and the race in Australia. As with everything in Formula 1, only time will tell.

[TopGearNL]

Typical this..

They can't keep up with Ferrari so they try and slow them down.. :fist:

[RAMMIUS]

And how did that imbecil Ron draw that conclusion ? :lol:
Oh yeah, after the race Ferrari gave him Kimi`s car for a quick inspection.
This is so pathethic yet so typical from some of the british teams :alienflip:
Remainds me of last year and the flexi wing story:
After Imola
Honda representative: Ferrari has flexi wings
Ross Brawn : we have videos that show a whole lot of teams with flexi wings :lol:

[5vz-fe]

Seriously, Ron is always f**king pathetic. I think we should look into replace Ron into some nick name like Alonso LOL

[bultaco_metralla]

I think we should look into replace Ron into some nick name like that spanish foo LOL

I dont think so, in fact im fucking angry with the A.lonso nickname, this is an international forum and supossed to respect all opinions of their members... i dont have ever swear at raikkonen or Schumi or you, but you always swearing at Alonso... FU YOU NERDS

[RAMMIUS]

LOL , if even spanish guys bash Alonso, then definetly is something wrong with the little prick. :roll:

[saadie]

LOLOL .. even if their win was compromised because of heidfeld's streategy ... its soo constipated of ron dennis to say some bullshit like that haha ....
mclaren was no where near ferrari anyway 0X

[5vz-fe]

I think we should look into replace Ron into some nick name like that spanish foo LOL

I dont think so, in fact im fucking angry with the A.lonso nickname, this is an international forum and supossed to respect all opinions of their members... i dont have ever swear at raikkonen or Schumi or you, but you always swearing at that spanish foo... FU YOU NERDS

This is a forum owned by Jabba. He can pretty much do whatever he wants. You are in a democratic forum where majority rules. :wink: You really need to chill. Even if the name got replace, I don't believe it is stopping you from expressing your opinion towards him. If you are pissed on small little things like this in life, how are you gonna tackle bigger things? Suck it up and move on.

[5vz-fe]

I like the first one better, you know, be more factual LOL

[TopGearNL]

I'd change 'that spanish foo' for Asslonso or Alonslow - just to have something different for the 2007 season :wink: :mrgreen:

I agree to that, both will do! :lol:

[Max Power]

i vote for 'fat alice'

[bultaco_metralla]

I think we should look into replace Ron into some nick name like that spanish foo LOL

I dont think so, in fact im fucking angry with the A.lonso nickname, this is an international forum and supossed to respect all opinions of their members... i dont have ever swear at raikkonen or Schumi or you, but you always swearing at that spanish foo... FU YOU NERDS

This is a forum owned by Jabba. He can pretty much do whatever he wants. You are in a democratic forum where majority rules. :wink: You really need to chill. Even if the name got replace, I don't believe it is stopping you from expressing your opinion towards him. If you are pissed on small little things like this in life, how are you gonna tackle bigger things? Suck it up and move on.

the nickname is just the top of all the swears and wishes of die for Alonso... anyway i should have added some smileys in my messange cause i didnt want to seem so angry or make it personally, im spanish and sometimes i cant write as i think LOL :D :D im enought chilled :wink:

[5vz-fe]

^Cool :)

[blinkmeat]

spanish foo is perfect!

What a cock :roll:

[TopGearNL]

alonso, alonso, alonso :twisted:

[bultaco_metralla]

LOOOOOoooooOOOOoooooOOOOOOooooOOOOOL

http://img462.imageshack.us/img462/5612/dibujodw5.th.jpg (http://img462.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dibujodw5.jpg)

and btw try tto search "that spanish foo" , the exact words, you will only find results in JW !!! 4 pages of Google LOl

[5vz-fe]

LOL, damn that Google engine is powerful :mrgreen:

[blue8]

More on the flexi-floor issue (from F1-Live):
Alongside Ferrari, it has emerged that Swiss-German squad BMW Sauber is also implicated in F1's new controversy about allegedly moveable floors.

It has been reported that the under-bodies of the teams' single seaters, which may lower at speed to give a performance advantage in a straight line, came under scrutiny by rivals and the governing body in Australia.

The FIA did not answer a request for comment.

Other news(?)
Lauda hits out at Todt's podium antics
Todt seemed far too happy says Lauda...

Former champion Niki Lauda has hit out at Ferrari's Jean Todt for acting insincerely and disrespectfully on the Australian Grand Prix podium.

The 58-year-old Austrian, who won his first two drivers' titles for the Maranello based marque, watched the Melbourne ceremony from the foot of the podium as a commentator for the German TV station RTL.

Lauda heralded Kimi Raikkonen's win from pole and observed that Ferrari has handled 'the transition from Schumacher to Kimi perfectly.'

But he hit out at Todt's antics on the podium, accusing the Frenchman of feigning a close relationship with Raikkonen.

"I have to condemn his behaviour," Lauda said, pointing out that Todt has often compared his relationship with Schumacher as fatherly, which was developed over more than a decade through handfuls of constructors' and drivers' championships.
Cliquez ici...

Lauda said of Todt: "He was acting as if his best buddy Schumacher had just won."

After the champagne-soaked celebrations, reporters asked Todt about his relationship with Kimi.

"It is professional and friendly, and everyone can see that Kimi smiles much more than in the past," he said. "Everyone is really happy. I really enjoyed being on the podium with him."

:roll: ^ I don't see anything wrong here. "...condemn his behavior" (?!?)