Motors Formula 1 2004 Season

Couldn't find a thread so I thought I'd start one. I'll be updating this post throughout the season with the lastest standings for drivers and teams as the races progress. So to get the ball rolling here are the current standings after race 1 Melbourne.

Red = next race

Calender
Date Grand Prix
7 March Australia, Melbourne
21 March Malaysia, Sepang
4 April Bahrain, Sakhir
25 April San Marino, Imola
9 May Spain, Barcelona
23 May Monaco, Monte Carlo
30 May European, Nurburgring
13 June Canada, Montreal
20 June USA, Indianapolis
4 July France, Magny-Cours
11 July Great Britain, Silverstone
25 July Germany, Hockenheim
15 August Hungary, Budapest
29 August Belgium, Spa-Francorchamps
12 September Italy, Monza
26 September China, Shanghai
10 October Japan, Suzuka
24 October Brazil, Interlagos

Teams & Drivers:
FERRARI
Michael Schumacher
Rubens Barrichello

WILLIAMS
Juan Pablo Montoya
Ralf Schumacher

McLAREN
Kimi Raikkonen
David Coulthard

RENAULT
Fernando Alonso
Jarno Trulli

BAR
Jenson Button
Takuma Sato

SAUBER
Giancarlo Fisichella
Felipe Massa

JAGUAR
Mark Webber
Christian Klien

TOYOTA
Olivier Panis
Cristiano da Matta

JORDAN
Nick Heidfeld
Giorgio Pantano

MINARDI
Gianmaria Bruni
Zsolt Baumgartner


Standings:

Driver / Team / Points
1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 50
2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 38
3 Jenson Button BAR 32
4 Jarno Trulli Renault 31
5 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams 23
6 Fernando Alonso Renault 21
7 Ralf Schumacher Williams 12
8 Takuma Sato BAR 8
9 Felipe Massa Sauber 5
10 David Coulthard McLaren 4
11 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 3
12 Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber 2
13 Nick Heidfeld Jordan 2
14 Olivier Panis Toyota 1
15 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren 1
16 Mark Webber Jaguar 1
17 Zsolt Baumgartner Minardi 0
18 Christian Klien Jaguar 0
19 Giorgio Pantano Jordan 0
20 Gianmaria Bruni Minardi 0



Constructor / Points
1 Ferrari 88
2 Renault 52
3 BAR - Honda 40
4 Williams - BMW 35
5 Sauber - Petronas 7
6 McLaren - Mercedes 5
7 Toyota 4
8 Jordan - Ford 2
9 Jaguar - Cosworth 1
10 Minardi - Cosworth 0



Have to say the first race was a little disapointing with Ferrari being so dominate. Hopefully this year other teams apart from Williams (maybe Renault?) will be able to mount a good challenge. Who does everyone want to win the championship this year? And who do you think actually will? Also what's everyone's opinion on the new race format? (maunual starts etc).

 

Well I support Ferrari. I know it sounds corny, but I was at the Ferrari factory this summer and you have to experience it to know why I support Ferrari. I suppose the new rules are better than the rules of last year, but Ferrari just rulz. Even with all the stupid rules to make them lose, they win. And whatever people say, they won last Sundays race in last years car!

 

I will support ferrari till i die. even though i never will own one, one ride in a 355 spider and seeing/hearing an F50 in person is enough to make me love them. a ferrari is just one of those things that you either get it or you don't. but i guarantee you would be hard pressed to ever find a car id rather drive every day than a ferrari.
*ponders* if i had all the money in the world, id buy every nice car, but my daily driver would definatly be a red F50 GT. with 19" momo tuner (red) rims.
you just cant match that quality and reputation that ferrari has. even a stupid ricer would appreciate a ferrari!

 

IMO the race was boring, little/ no overtaking and ferrari really walked away with it... Tho, the temperatures favoured the bridgestones over the michelins, which will probably not be the case at the next race.
The new 2004 ferrari is an awsome beast, its broken the track record at almost every track its tested/raced at so far.... pretty impressive.
The new rules have made little/no difference. The one engine/weekend hasnt changed anything, and the reduction in rear wing elements hasnt changed anything either as aerodynamic improvements have been made elsewhere. As for no launch control, most of the drivers have had experience of this before, so it probably wont make much differnece.... the renaults still own all off the start line anyways. Same go's for the ban on fully auto gearboxes TBH, tho at least the drivers actually have to do some work now, rather than just point and squirt....
Hopefully the racing will be closer in future races, with Ferrari pulling ahead at jsut the right time. Jenson Button looks promising this year as well, the BAR is really quick over a single lap, lets hope they can improve on the race pace as well, gettin the same time as Montoya isn't half bad.....

 

The crappy thing about the ferrari website is that you cannot look at anything without paying through your nose..........

 

Have to agree with most of what has been said. As far as teams go I think both BAR and Renault will be the teams who make the most progress this year. Button is looking good and the Renaults have improved the speed and launch of their cars again this season. Williams new car looks amazing I love the styling (still not sure how good it actually is though).

McClaren IMO will be the most underperforming team the car seems slow compared to others not sure if they even have the right attiude (see Dave C pre race interview where he made a point about the car being uncompetative.).

 

Hey -H- can you add all the team websites to your initial post?

 

Done Also added who drives for which team although that normally changes during the course of the season.

 

The new qualifying is a bit dull, but once the second session started the tension did build in a good way. Needs fine tuning though.

I can't believe how far behing McLaren were, it's like 1994 all over again. I thought DC was gonna do his qualifying lap OK and then he went off! Not that I'm a fan of his. I actually can't stand him and the way he doesn't seem to go well unless he's at the front. He's almost as annoying as Jackie Stewart.

Williams were duff, Montoya should go well but I predict will have his usual two or three brilliant races and then fade into obscurity.

Personally I'm a Minardi fan at heart

As far as tyres go, the next race will tell all. Unless it rains.

 

Yes, it was a boring race. Yes, it was a boring qualifying. But I have high hopes for later races. Especially:

Sepang - It'll chuck it down more than likely, giving more interest
Dubai - Just how well will F1 cars go when there's sand / dust on the track?

Who am I backing for the title? I'll stick my neck out and say JPM. Although how much support he'll get from Williams is questionable seeing as he's off to McClaren Next year. And I hope Button does well - he's our only hope now that Coultard is destined for a ignominious slide through the back marker teams until retirement, much like Damon Hill did.

And if it is to be a redwash this year, I do hope Rubens gets the title. And will someone please tell Jean Todt that cardigans are not really F1-Chic...

 

Kewl! Thankyou.

 

The Marmite of motorsport, if you will...

 

I personally like Ferrari road cars better than their race cars but that is all personal opinion.
I'd really like to see BAR or Renault run away with the championship this year just to put the HUGE budget teams in check. Williams seems to be in a year of 'just getting by' with the 'rumors' of both drivers leaving at the end of the year. I like BMW but I think they have become to comfortable being second and need to step it up a notch or four.
Since sponsorship rules may change in the next few years (no more tobacco sponsors allowed), I think F-1 is going to become a VERY widely viewed sport. I've been following for about 5 years now and more competition
(due to decreased sponsorship) would only help to raise the fan base.

 

Ferrari win again, but JPM keeps in sight.

and

WAY TO GO JENSE!!

 

This looks quite good for the rest of the season. Schumi might not have rubens to back him up if he has many more races like that.

Anyone else here hate Ralf Schumacher? Good to see his car stop!

Panis was funny too!

 

The gap is closing, maybe next time MS will gave to race to win...
Good job jense, nice race
have to agree on the Panis gestures tho, v funny!

 

Ferrari WIN AGAIN! Want to start "betting" on the outcome of the season?

 

Well I missed the race but looking at the results it's good to see both BAR and Renault getting good results. Hopefully this means they replace Williams / Maclaren - Mercedes as the next 2 big teams. I think Ferrari will dominate the early part of the season until some of the other teams sort their cars out it's just a question of how far ahead they get before another team mounts a serious challenge.

Anyway has everyone seen the track at Bahrain? It looks amazing it's litterally in the desert nothing around for miles. So much sand gets blown on to the track should make for a interesting race.

 

Yeah - I don't like him at all, I think he has a really bad attitude problem.
I hope his car stops again in the future!

 

From BBC.Co.uk

Man this sucks I really wish they would just stick to a format that has been decided before the season begins to give conitinuatiy throughout the season. Instead of changing from race to race.