F1 Is Back!

[saveferris]

It was a decent race, Ferrari will be the team to be beat I think the playing field is getting closer and closer together. Honda's poor performance as an example.

Should be a decent season, I hope there are a variety if winners though. Makes for a more interesting season. Could fault Schumacher's class but when he dominated they were boring seasons.

[lfc4ever]

Can we sticky this please, "F1 Season 2007", to replace the six nations sticky perhaps?

thanks.

[dirty_sanchez]

You've misspelt your topic title. It's spelt "cack".

[Mumsafan]

You've misspelt your topic title. It's spelt "cack".

[dirty_sanchez]

HIGH FIVE! Stupid mind numbing sport with no overtaking and charisma vacuums driving the cars.

[Neil Young]

You've misspelt your topic title. It's spelt "cack".

HIGH FIVE! Stupid mind numbing sport with no overtaking and charisma vacuums driving the cars.

[lfc4ever]

Malaysian Grand Prix
Report: Alonso leads McLaren one-two
Sepang - 8 April, 2007

Alonso led home Hamilton for a McLaren one-two in Malaysia

Reigning world champion Fernando Alonso secured his first victory for McLaren as he claimed a pillar to post win in the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Alonso climbed above Kimi Raikkonen in the title race, leading home Lewis Hamilton for a McLaren one-two and their first win since Japan in 2005.

Briton Hamilton, 22, held off a late charge from Ferrari's Raikkonen.

Pole-sitter Felipe Massa blew his chances when he slid off trying to pass Hamilton on lap six and finished fifth.

"It is absolutely fantastic and a wonderful surprise," said Alonso, who chalked up his first win since his victory in Japan for Renault last October.

"The team has done a lot of work on the car but we never expected to be that competitive."

Alonso had rounded Massa at the first turn and, in an audacious move, Hamilton rounded both Ferraris from fourth on the grid.

Massa, who had been fastest in practice and took pole, briefly passed Hamilton on lap three, but the British rookie came round the outside of his Ferrari to move back up to second.

Massa's challenge was ended for good when, allowing his frustration to get the better of him, he tried to move beyond Hamilton again but skidded onto the grass and slid back to fifth.

"I made a mistake," the Brazilian said. "I tried to attack Lewis but ended up in the grave.

"It is not easy to overtake on this circuit but I knew I had to try and I cannot blame myself for trying."

Raikkonen's own early attempts to move up the field were thwarted, but the Finn delivered a thrilling finale to the race as he chased down Hamilton.

The Australian Grand Prix winner reduced the gap between his Ferrari and Hamilton to 0.8 seconds on the last lap but, despite running at a faster pace than the McLaren, he ran out of time as Hamilton nosed across the line in second.

"That was the most difficult race I have ever had," said Hamilton, 22.

"I had Kimi hunting me down for most of the race. I can't explain how tough that was, it was getting hotter but I had to keep pushing and I made no mistakes."

Alonso and Hamilton's feat in Malaysia saw them complete McLaren's first one-two since the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2005.

Raikkonen had to settle for third which saw him slide two points behind Alonso in the drivers' standings.

"I was happy to get some points but disappointed at the end," said the Finn.

"All weekend we've had problems so it was just one of those weekends. I got close to Lewis but didn't have the same speed as Felipe and couldn't challenge him."

Nick Heidfeld claimed fourth place for the second race in a row after also benefiting from Massa's mistakes.

JB

The German moved up the field after Massa's excursion on to the grass and drove steadily to again press home BMW Sauber's improvement this season.

There was also some welcome progress for the Renault team as Giancarlo Fisichella finished sixth with rookie Heikki Kovalainen winning his first point in eighth. Toyota's Jarno Trulli split the Renaults in seventh.

Williams had shown some impressive pace in Malaysia, and had both their drivers inside the top 10, before the team's reliability problems came back to haunt them when Nico Rosberg was forced to retire from seventh with smoke streaming from his car.

It was another dismal day for Honda as Rubens Barrichello finished 11th, one place ahead of British team-mate Jenson Button.

Super Aguri's Anthony Davidson took 16th while David Coulthard retired his Red Bull on lap 39 after informing his team that he was "not comfortable with the car".

Results from the Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang:

1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1:32:14.930
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren +00:17.557
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 00:18.339
4. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 00:33.777
5. Felipe Massa (Bzl) Ferrari 00:36.705
6. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 01:05.638
7. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 01:10.132
8. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 01:12.015
9. Alexander Wurz (Aus) Williams-Toyota 01:29.924
10. Mark Webber (Aus) RedBull-Renault 01:33.500
11. Rubens Barrichello (Bzl) Honda 1 lap
12. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1 lap
13. Takuma Sato (Jap) Super Aguri-Honda 1 lap
14. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 lap
15. Ralf Schumacher (Gear) Toyota 1 lap
16. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri-Honda 1 lap
17. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 lap
18. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1 lap

R. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 13 laps
R. David Coulthard (GB) RedBull-Renault 19 laps
R. Christijan Albers (Ned) Spyker-Ferrari 48 laps
R. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Spyker-Ferrari 56 laps

Key: R = retired

Fastest lap: Lewis Hamilton, 1:36.701, lap 22




tandings

Drivers' world championship 2007
Name Car Nat Points

1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes Spa 18
2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Fin 16
3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes GB 14
4 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber Ger 10
5 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault Ita 7
6 Felipe Massa Ferrari Brz 7
7 Jarno Trulli Toyota Ita 2
8 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota Ger 2
9 Heikki Kovalainen Renault Fin 1
10 Ralf Schumacher Toyota Ger 1
11 Rubens Barrichello Honda Brz 0
12 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda Jpn 0
13 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault Aus 0
14 Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari Ita 0
15 Jenson Button Honda GB 0
16 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda GB 0
17 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari Ger 0

Constructors' world championship 2007
Team Points
1 McLaren-Mercedes 32
2 Ferrari 23
3 BMW Sauber 10
4 Renault 8
5 Toyota 3
6 Williams-Toyota 2
7 Honda 0
8 Super Aguri-Honda 0
9 Red Bull-Renault 0
10 Toro Rosso-Ferrari 0
11 Spyker-Ferrari 0

Positions after Malaysian Grand Prix

[SouthAfricaRed]

Formula 1 without Schumacher is like watching the Premier League without Liverpool

[Neil Young]

So basically Alonso took the lead at the first corner and that was it.

[dirty_sanchez]

Who says F1 is dull and predictable....

[Shaggy]

So basically Alonso took the lead at the first corner and that was it.

I honestly don't think there's anything more boring in the whole world than an F1 'race'. I'd rather toss myself off with a handful of sandpaper.

I wasn't going to comment in this thread but I couldn't resist it. Sorry.

[Neil Young]

I honestly don't think there's anything more boring in the whole world than an F1 'race'. I'd rather toss myself off with a handful of sandpaper.

I wasn't going to comment in this thread but I couldn't resist it. Sorry.

I wasn't going to either - especially after DS's earlier comment which said it all - but I couldn't resist it either.

Of your two options, personally I'd rather watch Formula 1 mais chacun à son goût.

[captainfog]

I honestly don't think there's anything more boring in the whole world than an F1 'race'. I'd rather toss myself off with a handful of sandpaper.

I wasn't going to comment in this thread but I couldn't resist it. Sorry.

[tsb]

Of your two options, personally I'd rather watch Formula 1 mais chacun à son goût.

He could be doing it with the hand that isnt holding any sandpaper.

[dirty_sanchez]

The MotoGP is much much more interesting and exciting than F1.