I don't want to be a spoilsport but I think it's a bit too early to start Macca bashing :fadein: Just take a take a look on the 2003 figures for the Australian GP

Qualifying
Schumi on pole
Barrichello 2nd on the grid and 0.245 sec slower
Coulthard 11th on the grid and 1.932 sec slower
Raikkonen 15th on the grid and 2.297 sec slower

End result
Coulthard 1st
Raikkonen 3rd
Schumi 4th
Barrichello DNF

So everything is still very much open tomorrow :roll:

Having said that I'm really lost for words with respect to the increase in absolute speed inspite of all the changes in regulations.

With respect to the 3rd place on the grid for Montoya and the 4th place for Button I understand that in case of equal times they go back to the 1st qualifying session and teh driver who scored the quickest time there with be awarded the higher position on the starting grid

Webber and Button have done well if their fuel strategies match Ferrari. But I think we will have to wait and see. Trulli was rather disappointing unless he and the maccas are fuelled heavy :roll:

Its gonna be a red day in melbourne in a few hours though. I can only see the prancers loping away in the distance. I dont think Rubinho is going to play second fiddle though - He is going to give schumie a run for his money! Montoya will be there in the early stages,but williams eats through the michelins rather heavily so I see him falling away (he will have to be at least 1/2 a second a lap faster than the ferraris to win, which he is not!)

An important point to remember is that there is no launch control anymore, and Shumacher senior is noted for not being the quickest guy out of the blocks. Watch Alonso and webber who recorded some of the quickest reaction times during last season.

poor DC - he is a lame duck in the water waiting for the slaughter :mrgreen: .. Wurz should just take his seat now and save him the trouble.

My dark horses for this season- webber, button and Alonso... The 2004 champ - Rubens Barrichello!

Wait Jabba, you are gonna post the vids of the race and qualifying up?

And who are these "creatures" you keep on refering to?

Back to Qualifying, I agree w/ scubywrxr, it'll be very very interesting to see if Button could hold it on. He was talking a lot of smack as of late saying they'll be challenging for podium finishes and what not. It'll be great to see him come through. Same as Sato too. That guy gotta stop crashing and doing some crazy drifts :).

But yeah, I am really really quite surprise of the qualifying results for the MP4/19. And people were saying there were "sandbagging" too. Haha, but the FW26 doesn't look all that consistent either.

I don't know. . . man, this is really exciting. I don't really like Ferrari but I gotta give them credit for coming through race after race.

But I love cheering for underdogs, so let's go Webber, Button, and Sato.

1. MS
2. Rubens
3. JPM
4. Alonso
5. Ralf
6. Button
7. Kimi
8. Webber

"creatures" = mclaren....I have my own private campaign against them....it started off as a joke but I am quite enjoying it now.....but at the risk of offending 90% of JW it would seem....its not to be taken too seriously...

ferrari rocks pretty nice 1-2, theyll finish the race like that, even they didnt make any "big changes" to the car thayre still #1 n williams is doin great also but i HATE! montoya... i dont know wots wrong with mc laren but i hope they give a good fight this year

Oh, I don't like the "creatures" either, so no offense taken :). By all means ;) .

Just a bit over 4 hrs to go. . .

ok i live in italy and yesterday they had a tv show that said that F2004 is the development of the F2003GA...still there are some differences such as the front "nose" is smaller than before that can make the car to go more agressive while cornering but unstable in high speeds(they said for scumi this is an advantage)...also they made changes at the bottom of the car so as to use in maximum the ground effect....
i hope that bmw has more fuel although i think that ferrari are going pretty strong..last week in imola they broke the record several times....

I guess its almost SCHU time....(show time)...GOOD LUCK FERRARI 8) 8) 8)

Much prefer to see british drivers do well than british teams: comon Jenson!! so i'm not too bothered about your mclaren vendetta even though i support Woking F.C (for my crimes!) just tryin to stay awake 4 the grand prix now too much lager makes u sleepy!!

still awake jabba,just 14 minutes to go b4 the start.gonna be a good race,im lookin forward to the start of the race,see if everyone can get away with this manual and no launch control :lol:

Dood, my speed channel is messed up. . . it is not coming in clearly. . . oh my god. This isn't happening NOW!!!!

LOL,unlucky man,picture is great and sound is marvelous,looking forward to the start :P

As was the result !!! :D :D :D

Once again Ferrari was in a class of its own.
When you take a look at these figures
> Polepostion times
2002 Barrichello with 1'25.843
2003 Schumacher with 1'27.173
2004 Schumacher with 1'24.408
and
> Fastest lap during the race
2002 Raikkonen with 1'28.541
2003 Raikkonen with 1'27.724
2004 Schumacher with 1'24.125
and when you realise that Schoey set his fastest time in lap #28 of the race you know that Williams, McLaren and Renault are facing an uphill battle this season :fadein:

Well, Ferrari have proven that their significant improvents over the F2003 have made a huge difference in performance, coupled with tires that got the job done.

McLaren are in a hole. Not only is merc not making a competitive engine, but the cars design is too old. It has had the twice the development time of all the other machines yet it is still substantially off the pace. The MP19's huge Brit media frenzy, on hjow it was "the car to beat ferrari" is clearly down the drain. Not only do they have Ferrari to contend with, but they have a highly competitive Reanualt and a good Williams car to beat. Kimi was lucky last year to have finished second, mostly because of the points system and the lack of reliability form the Williams. Now, with a uncompetitive car and 4 top teams withanault. entirely differnt strengths, it will be intersting to see if he can come close to last years performance.

Personally, I am loving everything about the season so far. I hate Maclaren, and i admire Renault.