F1 predictions 2009: Melbourne

[Souichiro]

Well Here it goes.... A mix of checking last years results, the news on testing and a bit of gut feeling.... now let's hope Brawns car is legal

1. Barichello*
2. Massa*
3. Rosberg*



* edited on friday 27-03-09 after reading the test results  :D

[eno]

I'm not going to stick my neck out until Friday .... hopefully by then we'll know if the diffuser on the BGP cars is legal.

[expat]

I'm not going to stick my neck out until Friday .... hopefully by then we'll know if the diffuser on the BGP cars is legal.

That is a point, if we make a choice and subsequently the car is illegal, do we get another go??

Matt

[MWISimmer]

That is a point, if we make a choice and subsequently the car is illegal, do we get another go??

Matt

Choices can be changed/edited up until the closing time.. if you cannot edit your choices (YaBB has time limits on editing your own post) PM me and I'll do it for you, providing you're within the time of course.

[Craig.]

the diffuser thing wont come into play. Max has already said if it is banned then likely it wont be banned untill the european races start. Barring a complete U-turn, that wont effect the race results this weekend.

[eno]

the diffuser thing wont come into play. Max has already said if it is banned then likely it wont be banned untill the european races start. Barring a complete U-turn, that wont effect the race results this weekend.

But we all know what Max says ...... and what Max actually does are, nine times out of ten, two completely different things.
It'll only take Ferrari to complain and everything will go out of the window and the teams with the "dubious" diffuser" will be starting from the back of the grid.

[Craig.]

Ferrari wont need to complain BMW were at Whitings door with a letter of protest as soon as the FIA inspections were completed.
This is no different to the Mass damper froma  few years back and Ferrari's moving floor.
All perfectly with the wording of the rules, but deemed against the spirit of competition and banned anyway. I would imagine the exact same thing happens here. Or by China everyone will be running them.

[Craig.]

nevermind thanks to useless lawyers at BMW. Ferrari red bull and Renault had to lodge a protest as bmw's was rejected on a technicality.

[expat]

nevermind thanks to useless lawyers at BMW. Ferrari red bull and Renault had to lodge a protest as bmw's was rejected on a technicality.

Well the design is legal for the moment. Guess it is easier to let them race and take the points off anyone who scores than have a grid with only 14 cars. So will it end up as catch up for the rest or mark down before the next GP?

Matt

[Craig.]

I dont think the diffusors will make that much of a differance to be honest. Toyota and Williams are on testing paper slower than Ferrari, and several teams believe BGP are only 2 tenths up on Ferrari which suggests they have just got the whole car right rather than one piece of the bodywork being a huge factor.
I can guarentee the others teams have now ramped up developement of their own diffusors and we'll likely see most have these designs ready soon.
If it fails through the appeals court then teams wont protest again as its still one of the few areas that they can make gains no matter how small.

[eno]

Well the diffusers are legal for this race and possibly Malaysia next weekend. On the basis of the practice sessions I'm going.

Barrichello
Rosberg
Massa

[expat]

With the new aero rules, for this first race, I have to "make like a sheep" and follow the rest, especially looking at the practice times :-/

Barrichello
Rosberg
Trulli

That is my stab in the dark

Matt

[C]

Mmm, I'm happy with mine. Kubica was a little disappointing, but that can't be helped.

For some reason I forgot about watching it live last night!

[Craig.]

Not having watched the second practice Its hard to say who was doing what. But from the 1st I'm going to say.

Kimi
Rubens
Nico.

Practice being replayed on red button in full.

[The Ruptured Duck]

Barrichello
Trulli
Rosberg

Massa crashes into everything in sight, Kimi  gets bored, pulls over and hits the bar, and Hamilton finds the car is faster when he gets out and pushes