The Formula One 2004 thread

[jarmo]

2004 F1 CALENDAR

 
The new FIA provisional calendar for 2004


7 March         Australia (Melbourne)
21 March       Malaysia (Sepang)
4 April           Bahrain (Bahrain)**
25 April         San Marino (Imola)
9 May           Spain (Barcelona)
23 May          Monaco (Monaco)
30 May          Europe (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 (Sao Paolo)

* subject to conclusion of a contract

** subject to circuit approval

*** subject to a satisfactory financial agreement with competing teams regarding the absence of tobacco sponsorship
 

The French GP has currently been removed from the calendar after the organisers failed to find the money to stage the event.

But the FIA have now extended their deadline to come up with money and a decision on whether the race will go ahead is expected in January.

--

Teams & Drivers:


Ferrari
Michael Schumacher
Rubens Barrichello

Williams
Ralf Schumacher
Juan Pablo Montoya

McLaren
Kimi R?ikk?nen
David Coulthard

Renault
Fernando Alonso
Jarno Trulli

Jaguar
Mark Webber
Christian Klien

Toyota
Cristiano Da Matta
Olivier Panis

BAR
Jenson Button
Takuma Sato

Sauber
Giancarlo Fisichella
Felipe Massa

Minardi
Gianmaria Bruni
Zsolt Baumgartner

Jordan
?
?



/jarmo

[Ignatius]

Can't wait for the season to kick off...

For Obvious reasons, I hope Fernando Alonso wins a couple of more races this year. He is not ready yet to aim at the tiltle, Renault cars can't compete yet with Ferrari's, BMW, or mercedes....

[jarmo]

Can't wait for the season to kick off...

For Obvious reasons, I hope Fernando Alonso wins a couple of more races this year. He is not ready yet to aim at the tiltle, Renault cars can't compete yet with Ferrari's, BMW, or mercedes....

I don't mind if Fernando wins some races, as long as Kimi wins the title and Schumacher doesn't.  

He was so close last year with that inferior car.....


/jarmo

[John Daniels]

That's true! I hope this is the season of R?ikk?nen's. as long as Schumi doesn't take it, it's fine by me  

and it's very highly thought that Heidfeld will be in Jordan in this season. he already gave his test drive to the sponsors which will choose one of the two Jordan drivers.
 

[jarmo]

Looks like Jos Verstappen might drive for Jordan in 2004.

He's got a sponsor, Trust, and Jordan probably needs the money.

-------------

VERSTAPPEN BREAKS OFF JORDAN TALKS
Last Updated: Tuesday, 27 January , 2004, 14:50
 
Jos Verstappen has called off negotiations with Jordan about a drive for 2004.

The move puts an end to the Dutchman?s hopes of driving in Formula 1 this year.

Verstappen?s advisors last Friday gave Jordan an ultimatum to clarify whether they wanted to do a deal.

The deadline passed without a response from Jordan and the Dutch have now decided to end the talks.

Verstappen told his website: "We all did our very best to come to an agreement. But at the current time it's not useful to continue with the negotiations.

?Again, I want to say that we have a fantastic group of people around us, especially Michel Perridon from Trust, who did his best to get to a positive outcome.

?We broke the negotiations with Jordan with the support of all the sponsors involved."

Of all the candidates for the Jordan drives, Verstappen appeared to be the one with the most financial backing so it will be interesting to see what the team?s next move is.

Allan McNish has been linked with the job while 2003 driver Ralph Firman has spoken of his determination to continue.

The team tested Nick Heidfeld, Timo Glock and Bas Leinders at Barcelona last week.

http://www.itv-f1.com



/jarmo

[Danilo]

I hope that Rubens Barrichello, win some race this year.

[John Daniels]

It's now Official. Nick Heidfeld is now officially Jordan's driver in the season 2003-2004

[Danilo]

The finishes race going to be in brazil?

[silverarrow]

Hi everyone , i'm new here and very passionate about F1 , you can easily guess what's my favorite team/driver , just by my name . It's realy cool to see things that i'm real passionate about kinda come together , my band and F1 .
I'm excited that the season is about to start , just a week now...cheers

[jarmo]

Hopefully the silver arrows will be better than last year and that the driver who came in 2nd place will get higher up in the championship.

--

DENNIS CALMS FEARS
Last Updated: Friday, 27 February , 2004, 15:02
 
Despite recent concerns aired by Kimi Raikkonen, Ron Dennis reckons the team are ready for 2004.

Earlier this week Raikkonen startled the F1 world by saying he didn?t think the McLaren would last the distance Down Under.

That was just days after the Finn requested more power from his Mercedes engine.

But now team boss Ron Dennis paints a different picture and believes the team is on schedule and that a win in Melbourne is on the cards.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to suss just who is telling the truth over at Woking.

Dennis told the team website: "The 2004 season is shaping up quite well. We've done a fair amount of testing which has not been without problems, but that's what testing is for.

"Most of the time we've been pretty competitive, but, of course, you just don't know how strong your opposition is at this stage. However things have moved in the right direction and we are quietly comfortable with our progress."

But the water is no clearer after such comments for in fact winter testing has proved to be particularly inconsistent for McLaren.

December went well but the new year brought reliability issues and quick times from rivals Ferrari and McLaren.

But even if McLaren don?t perform well next weekend, Dennis is confident that the team?s development programme will soon overcome any initial problems.

He added: "We've got an extremely intensive development programme which will unfold during the course of the next few months which will hopefully, provide us with added competitiveness.

"If we can build on a strong performance in Australia, great. If we are somewhat behind in Australia it will certainly give us some confidence that we'll move ahead, because, we are constantly working hard in pushing performance."

http://www.itv-f1.com


/jarmo

[jarmo]

Winter testing top times by circuit:

Barcelona:
1) Takuma Sato BAR 1.13,797,
2) Jenson Button BAR 1.13,867
3) Fernando Alonso Renault 1.14,665
4) Ralf Schumacher Williams 1.14,679
5) Juan Pablo Montoya Williams 1.14,804

Kimi R?ikk?nen McLaren 1.16,083.

Jerez:
1) Kimi R?ikk?nen McLaren 1.16,074
2) Ralf Schumacher Williams 1.16,110
3) Pedro de la Rosa McLaren 1.16,192
4) Marc Gene Williams 1.16,245
5) Juan Pablo Montoya Williams 1.16,712.

Valencia:
1) Kimi R?ikk?nen McLaren 1.08,993
2) Mark Webber Jaguar 1.09,089
3) Juan Pablo Montoya Williams 1.19,105
4) Antonio Pizzonia Williams 1.09,161
5) David Coulthard McLaren 1.09,228.

Imola:
1) Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1.19,664
2) Fernando Alonso Renault 1.20, 493
3) Jarno Trulli Renault 1.20,767
4) David Coulthard McLaren 1.20,928
5) Juan Pablo Montoya Williams 1.21,026.


NEW FOR 2004

 
Formula 1 is back - and with it comes a raft of regulation changes, new races and some unfamiliar faces.

To clear up any confusion, here is your one-stop guide to the new F1 season...

RACE WEEKENDS

Format

2004 sees more changes to the weekend format after a shake-up following the 2002 season.

Gone is private testing on Friday. Instead the bottom six teams will be allowed to run three cars in two hour-long practice sessions.

Also out is the Friday qualifying session. Replacing it is a 90-minute session split into two with just two minutes between each session. The first session follows the same format as the previous Friday qualifying: drivers will run in the finishing order of the last race (Suzuka 2003 for Melbourne 2004). This session determines the running order of the second session with the slowest driver going first.

With just two minutes separating each session those teams at the bottom, or any drivers who make a mess of the first session, will find themselves with just a few minutes to prepare for the season all-important session that determines Sunday?s grid positions.

Teams like Minardi will therefore find themselves having to re-fuel and decide on their race strategy within minutes while the top teams like Ferrari will have much longer to go through the options.

Just like last year, when the drivers have completed their second qualifying run their cars will be impounded in parc ferme until Sunday morning.

Calendar

The F1 calendar has been extended to 18 races (there were 16 in 2003). Back is the drivers? favourite Spa after a year-off and joining the calendar are two new venues in Bahrain (4 April) and China (26 September).

 

TECHNICAL

The One Engine Rule

The biggest change to this year?s technical regulations is the introduction of longer-life engines.

Put simply, a driver must use the same engine from the start of Friday practice to the end of the race.

Should he need a change at any point during the weekend, he will be penalised. If the change is made before qualifying, he will be dropped 10 places down the grid, after qualifying and he will have to start from the very back.

The change effectively means the lifespan of an F1 engine has been doubled from around 250 miles to nearer 500 miles.

Most engine manufacturers have managed to incorporate the changes into their existing engine architecture but Renault have decided to axe their revolutionary wide-angle power unit in favour of a more conventional layout.

Needless to say, the new regs are bound to play into the hands of those teams with good reliability records ? such as Ferrari who did not suffer a single engine failure in a race last year.

Aerodynamics

The changes made to aerodynamics for 2004 are generally designed to increase sponsor visibility rather than curb performance.

The minimum sizes for the engine cover and rear wing endplates have been increased, giving teams more space to plaster their backers? logos across the cars.

One other change has been made to the aero regs - the number of rear wing elements that teams are allowed to run has been reduced from three to two.

Electronics

Launch control has been banned, a move that is likely to cost Renault most dearly as their system was widely regarded as the best in the pitlane last year.

Automatic gearshifting has also been outlawed, meaning drivers must now change up and down manually.

 


/jarmo

[jarmo]

Australian GP qualifying results:

1. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1.24,408
2. Barrichello Ferrari + 0,074
3. Montoya Williams BMW + 0,590
4. Button BAR Honda + 0,590
5. Alonso Renault + 1,291
6. Webber Jaguar Cosworth + 1,397
7. Sato BAR Honda + 1,443
8. R.Schumacher Williams BMW + 1,517
9. Trulli Renault + 1,882
10. R?ikk?nen McLaren Mercedes + 1,889
11. Massa Sauber Petronas + 2,657
12. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes + 2,886
13. Da Matta Toyota + 3,415
14. Fisichella Sauber Petronas + 3,437
15. Heidfeld Jordan Ford + 3,770
16. Pantano Jordan Ford + 5,732
17. Baumgartner Minardi Cosworth + 6,273
18. Panis Toyota no time
19. Klien Jaguar no time
20. Bruni Minardi no time




/jarmo

[John Daniels]

doesn't look too good for Maclaren, although I believe they are with one pits stop strategy as a few drivers/teams in front of them are with 2 pits stop strategy.

[John Daniels]

Schumacher takes it all again..




Pos Driver                           Laps Time/Retired

1  Michael Schumacher   Winner
             
2  Rubens Barrichello Ferrari  58  +13.6 secs
             
3   Fernando Alonso  Renault  58  +34.6 secs
             
4  Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW  58  +60.4 secs
             
5  Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW  58  +68.5 secs
             
6  Jenson Button BAR-Honda  58  +70.5 secs
             
7  Jarno Trulli Renault  57  +1 Lap
             
8  David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes  57  +1 Lap
             
9 Takuma Sato BAR-Honda  57  +1 Lap 7  
             
10 Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber-Petronas  57  +1 Lap
             
11  Christian Klien Jaguar-Cosworth  56  +2 Lap
             
12  Cristiano da Matta Toyota  56  +2 Lap
             
13 Olivier Panis Toyota  56  +2 Lap
             
14  Giorgio Pantano Jordan-Ford  55  +3 Lap    
             
Ret  Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas  44  +14 Lap
             
Ret  Nick Heidfeld Jordan-Ford  43  +15 Lap
             
Ret  Gianmaria Bruni Minardi-Cosworth  43  +15 Lap
             
Ret  Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth  29  +29 Laps
             
Ret  Zsolt Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth  13  +45 Laps
             
Ret  Kimi R?ikk?nen  McLaren-Mercedes 9 +49 Laps

[jarmo]

Sad to see McLaren being that slow and unreliable.

They have a lot of work to do if they're gonna win any races this year.



/jarmo

[Danilo]

I wanted Mclaren it won this year.


lol Rubinho 2? place  

[Ignatius]

Malasia Grand Prix.

Schumi won again...

Alonso finished 7th. Awful Renault strategy though, Alonso started 19th and just a little bit over 3 laps he was already in the money ( 8th).

[jarmo]

McLaren....  

I wonder when they can, or if they can, get that car to finish and fight for the win in a race.



/jarmo

[jarmo]

Bahrain

1. Michael Schumacher Ferrari
2. Rubens Barrichello Ferrari + 1,3
3. Jenson Button BAR Honda + 26,6
4. Jarno Trulli Renault + 32,2
5. Takuma Sato BAR Honda + 52,4
6. Fernando Alonso Renault + 53,1
7. Ralf Schumacher Williams BMW + 58,1
8. Mark Webber Jaguar Cosworth - 1 lap
9. Olivier Panis Toyota - 1 lap
10. Cristiano Da Matta Toyota - 1 lap
11. Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber Petronas - 1 lap
12. Felipe Massa Sauber Petronas - 1 lap
13. Juan Pablo Montoya Williams BMW - 1 lap
14. Christian Klien Jaguar Cosworth - 1 lap
15. Nick Heidfeld Jordan Ford - 1 lap
16. Giogrio Pantano Jordan Ford - 2 laps
17. Gianmaria Bruni Minardi Cosworth - 5 laps

Did Not Finish:
David Coulthard
Zsolt Baumgartner
Kimi R?ikk?nen

----

McLaren has some big problems to deal with.....  


/jarmo

[John Daniels]

it seems to me that we are going to have a pooring season with Schumacher's supremacy...where's McLaren??

but then again..got to give the credit for Ferrari and Schumacher..don't blame them for working hard and for making Ferrari the number one team again..good job guys! Well, the season ain't f?rbi yet..so everything is possible. I hope Williams take their place for making the competition harder 'cause it seems that McLaren hasn't abilities to give any competition during this season. (I hope I'm wrong though. Could McLaren be a Fenix-bird?  )