[MariahMan]

Anyone else an F1 fanatic? Schweddy i know you are Anyone else?

Those that are don't forget to watch the final round of the 2007 championship tomorrow (Sunday)

Go Ferrari!

[dudders]

I am a big fan too Ryan - isnt Lewis Hamilton incredible??? He will be a dominating driver next year, regardless of who he drives for.
I went to the Monaco Grand Prix in '04, absolutely awesome, too bad I am too broke to go again.
GO Mark Webber Team Red Bull - (but will actually probably GO straight back to the pits with another break down!!!!).
I am also a big V8 supercar fan - You dont get our V8 races in the States and Canada but it is great to watch,
and Superbike follower (Casey Stoner is awesome) he won the world champs today.

[MariahMan]

Sweet Tony! Someone else to talk F1 with.

Yeah Lew Ham is pretty amazing. If you know his history its not to surprising that hes so good. He's been groomed by Ron Dennis, team principal at Mclaren Mercedes, since we has about 7 or so. He is a great driver, but given his performance this final round, it looks like he was feeling the pressure early on and making some rookie mistakes.

I gaurantee that Lew Ham will be racing for Mclaren Mercedes next year and i'll bet he will be the world champion. Giving his performance in his rookie debut, he will only get better.

I envy you for going to Monaco! That is amazing. After i graduate college the plan is to go to Monaco for the race and spend a couple weeks over there. I don't care how much it costs, it'll be amazing!

By the way, congrats Kimi Raikonnen and Ferrari, 2007 Driver and Constructor Champions!!!!!!!

[dudders]

If those damn McLarens will stay on the road then Lewis will have a good chance.
Of course I am a big Webber fan (being an Ozy and all).
The Monaco trip was awesome, pity there were so many crashes and both Schumakers not finshing, still it was awesome to be there.
You can go on some web sites to book accomodation and if you book far enough ahead its not sooo expensive. Food and drinks etc is the killer.
I cant imagine McLaren having to pay that enormous fine for stealing information from Ferrari - what the hell were they thinking?
And to have the money to pay over $100 mil in fines is just mind blowing.
It has always amazed me the money involved in this sport.
You should try to make it to Melbourne for our round of the Grand Prix, I will come over and show you around. (I used to live in Melbourne and still have friends and family there).
Take care.

[mikeyt]

aye lads....Formula 1 is a girlie mans sport.

[dudders]

Ok MikeyT, what is you it you like (other than boating!).
I suppose BMX ???

[mikeyt]

I KNEW that would generate a response!

[MariahMan]

So Tony, what did you think of the Brazilian GP and Lew Ham's performance? I was surprised to see him make the rookie mistakes that he was making at the beginning. Up to this point he's been so composed, but it looks as though the pressure was getting to him. Of course the transmission/electrical issue he had didn't help anything, but he wasn't doing very good up until that point anyway.

Definetely disappointing for Mark Webber. He was in 5th place when he suffered hydraulic issues i think. Definetely not a good day for Mark or Red Bull. He's had quite a tough year with that car. He's a great guy to. He always gives great interviews with Peter Windsor (speed tv journalist) on the grid. He's not full of himself like a lot of the other drivers seem to be.

I was looking at GPtours.com for packages they have. I would definitely go all out when i went. It's one of those things you don't get the opportunity to do that often. Australia would be pretty sweet as well. Maybe we'll compete one of these years in Formula SAE Australia if we raise enough money to send the team. I've always wanted to visit Australia and do some scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef as well. Being able to do all that in one trip and see an F1 race would be amazing. It would be awesome to meet up with you and get the full tour of the area. That would definitely be a lot of fun!

Considering McLaren has a $400 million budget just for vehicle development, $100 million probably won't be that big of a deal to them. I personally think its the drivers, not the team, that should have been penalized. Alonso and Pedro De La Rosa admitted to viewing the material and using it to their advantage. The only reason they got away without a penalty is because they came forward. That doesn't excuse them and the effect it has on Ferrari. Oh well, the better team and better driver won so that's all that matters! I certainly can't see Alonso with McLaren next year. It'll be team Lew Ham next year just like it was team Schumacher at Ferrari back when Schumi was driving.

I think Mikey is just jelous that the sport he follows, the drivers don't get to turn right! Ovals are easier for him to follow. F1 is just too confusing for him to follow, lol!

[mikeyt]

Me jeolous? Not a chance.......but......gawd.......i cant stand Nascar or any of that other oval sh**. You know, when i bought the Mariah some idiot had stuck a Nascar #3 sticker (not sure who it belonged to) on both sides. That was the first thing i removed from the boat.

Actually i used to watch some Formula 1 back in the days of Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell & Niki Lauda. It just seems far more political and predictable now than it did back then. A long time ago (like 30 yrs...) i used to be involved with a team of guys who ran a couple of Brit cars (a TR6 and an Austin Mini Cooper S) down at Shannonville raceway and Mosport (both a little east of Toronto). I got to take the cars onto the track for test runs etc but never actually got into a race. It was fun but didn't last more than a couple of years because of the time commitment and the expense.

Now give me some old British sports cars and a hill climb or even a rally & i might be interested......or even lawn mower racing! )

[dudders]

Lawn Mower racing!!!! I knew it would be some weird s**t you would be into Mikey..lol.

Rallying is definately a fantastic sport to watch, I have been to a couple of events
that they staged here in WA, incredible to watch. Went to the pits for the Subaru team,
and watched them do a wheel alignment in 45 seconds!!!
My bloody mechanic charges me $50 and says it took 30 minutes!! Lazy bas**rd is ripping me off !!!!.

Mikey is right on one point though, it is getting political and a bit predictable.
Mark Webber is just your typical Ozy bloke, we are all like that..... less money though.
Yes it will be interesting to see who goes where at the end of this season.
Ferrari will be very particular in who they pick up.... we all know 2 they wont consider anyway.
Unfortunately I didnt get to watch the Brazilian GP, our comms were down on the rig at the time so couldnt even record it.
I will have to go onto the web site to get an update.
I didnt realize Alonso and De La Rosa came forward regarding that issue. But I am sure there is more to that than meets the eye.
Watched a bit of the Indy cars in Surfers Paradise the other day, that looked good, dont know any of the teams really but the course was tight and quick, nice venue. Dont know why the call it "Surfers Paradise" the surfing there is pretty ordinary, but I suppose calling it "Surfers Just So So" doesnt have the same appeal.
Talk again later mate.