Australian GP

Post by **mike.perry** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:04 pm

Congratulations to Jenson Button and the Brawn team for a magnificent effort over the weekend and Barrichello for his attempt to eliminate half the field on the start line including Mark Webber who did a Coultard by getting caught up in the mess, whereupon the Aussie crowd lost interest and it was up to us Brits scattered around the circuit to cheer on Button. If it had been at Silverston the crowd would have drowned out the engines.
The free concert by The Who was fantastic, all their old favourites including songs from Quadraphenia and Tommy and a few more recent numbers.
The volume sounded like a couple of hundred decibels and my ears were still ringing the next morning.
And all for a lot less than the price of a British GP ticket.
Albert Park
Melbourne

Post by **alanworland** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:08 pm

Did you take the Morris round the track Mike!

Post by **d_harris** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:09 pm

Was wondering how long it would take!!

So you were there then??? I really enjoyed the TV coverage. We have Fleetwood Mac back!

Post by **rayofleamington** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:25 pm

Nice one Mike - You got to see a great race.
I hope you got a good view of the Barrichello carnage - the TV footage was worth watching twice

And not forgetting Hamilton - 3rd place from starting at the back.

A 1-2 for Braun was amazing - not to mention the top 2 teams being UK based engineering..

Post by **d_harris** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:26 pm

Most of them are UK based aren't they?

Post by **bmcecosse** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:59 pm

McLaren really dropped the ball with this year's car - what were they thinking of! ? But it all makes for much better racing - just hope the 'diffuser' is not now ruled illegal after the event - when the teams asked if it was legal before the race !!

Post by **mike.perry** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:20 am

We had a good view of the track after searching for a good vantage point but unfortunately there was no visible screen and the speaker was on the other side of the track so for a while we didn' know whether it was Button or Barrichello leading especially as the race program did not even have the team entered! Nor did the driver's points table which made 2 pages of the program instantly obsolete.
Afraid my Minors are locked up in the garage at home so I didn't get a chance at the lap record although there was an interesting parade of historic cars.

Post by **stiguk** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:47 am

loved the start great race all round me thinks
lol

Post by **stag36587** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:53 am

Fantastic start to the season. And if the diffusers are eventually ruled illegal we'd still get a British winner. Not a bad result from 18th!

Post by **Kevin** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:09 am

Agreed all fantastic stuff not sure about the new suggested team name though.

Brawn Button Barichello British Bouncing Bumpercars

Still at least they have a good strong car.

Post by **rayofleamington** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 10:45 am

Still at least they have a good strong car.

I wa impressed how the Barrichello (BatterredToHell-o) car could withstand so many bangs whilst the others lost wheels and wings at will.

Post by **dalebrignall** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:21 pm

it was a great win for button,he really deserves some good machinery ,looks like we are in for a cracking season.

Post by **tonym911** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 4:34 pm

mike.perry wrote:for a while we didn' know whether it was Button or Barrichello leadiing especially as the race program did not even have the team entered! Nor did the driver's points table which made 2 pages of the program instantly obsolete..

Last year I was involved in the production of a VIP/F1 guide for the Williams team and I found it remarkable that there appears to be no requirement to display numbers on the cars. Nowadays you have to rely on tiny detail differences to distinguish one team car from another, or on knowing a driver's helmet livery (assuming you can see it, buried deep within the bodywork as it is these days). Not sure when the numbers disappeared, but I do remember 'our Nige', or Red 5 as he was also known.

Post by **rayofleamington** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 5:01 pm

or Red 5 as he was also known

unless Murray Walker was commentating, who could never tell the difference between 2 cars despite the numbers on them!

Post by **tonym911** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 5:09 pm

Well, he is getting on a bit. Always was getting on a bit, actually. I recall him commentating on the 'scrambling' in the '60s with Jeff Banks and the rest

Post by **mike.perry** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 12:16 pm

When the cars are shooting past you at a zillion miles per hour you don't have time to focus on them. We could identify the two Brawns and the Red Bulls, the Ferraris and Hamilton's McLaren but that was about it. The noise was fantastic though, even with ear plugs.
Trouble is with with the current engine regs they all sound the same, not like the old days of Cosworth V8s, Ligier V12s, Ferrari flat 12s, Renault turbos and even for a short time the Lotus 56B turbine which just whistled past.

Post by **ferret76** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:01 am

I wouldn't say the Aussie crowd lost interest when Webber decided to take no further part in the race. It's just that you can't bet on him crashing in the first lap, the Gaming Commission reckons it's unfair on the bookies.

Post by **jonathon** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:09 am

Just heard Lewis has been excluded from the results in Australia. Here we go again

Post by **superchargedfool** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:29 am

Shame we can't just ahve racing where they race each other and not have to worry about the rules and regs as much as the car behind.

It sounds like hamilton has tripped over the regs and worries of being penalised. If anyone was going to fall foul of it mclaren would!

Still think its brilliant to see button win the first race though.

Post by **jonathon** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:06 am

Yep , really chuffed for both Button and Rubens they are two excellent drivers way overdue some success given their commitment to Honda over the last few years.
Did Trulli get re instated then?