F2008 launches today (Ferrari F1)

[flemke]

rubystone said:

Flemke - haven't seen you so openly vitriolic on here - you're usually a lot less confrontational/direct. Nothing niggling you then....you didn't go and swap your equity for some in Merrills did you

LOL.
I thought I was usually more vitriolic than this.
In the interests of my ongoing education, whereof do you speak?

[130R]

Anyone know what all the buttons do on the steering wheel?

[kevin ritson]

130R said:

Anyone know what all the buttons do on the steering wheel?

Just the usual stuff, Traction Control, Launch Control, email the plans to McLaren, ring the FIA to whinge if the car's not in the lead...

[Fidgits]

kevin ritson said:

130R said:

Anyone know what all the buttons do on the steering wheel?

Just the usual stuff, Traction Control, Launch Control, email the plans to McLaren, ring the FIA to whinge if the car's not in the lead...

[Athlon]

Well it looks like Ferrari have gone from building the most sublime looking racing cars to the most ugly looking things, damn shame.

[another 3 points]

Athlon said:

Well it looks like Ferrari have gone from building the most sublime looking racing cars to the most ugly looking things, damn shame.

No photographs of the view Hamilton will so often get this season: the rear?

[forsure]

Athlon said:

Well it looks like Ferrari have gone from building the most sublime looking racing cars to the most ugly looking things, damn shame.

Looks like an exhibit from Lego Land.

[skeggysteve]

kevin ritson said:

130R said:

Anyone know what all the buttons do on the steering wheel?

Just the usual stuff, Traction Control, Launch Control, email the plans to McLaren, ring the FIA to whinge if the car's not in the lead...

And there was me thinking no one could be a cynical as me.

Anyone read this link

Ferrari complaining about McLaren (the people that build the control ECU) - I'm old enough to remember when Enzo ran the show and I hate to think what he would have though about F1 today.

OT: One of my favorite quotes from Enzo was about Gilles snapping drive shafts - "We need to make them stronger then"

Edited by skeggysteve on Monday 7th January 00:56

[flemke]

another 3 points said:

Athlon said:

Well it looks like Ferrari have gone from building the most sublime looking racing cars to the most ugly looking things, damn shame.

No photographs of the view Hamilton will so often get this season: the rear?

...as he is about to lap Raikkonen and Massa.

[JeremyK]

flemke said:

another 3 points said:

Athlon said:

Well it looks like Ferrari have gone from building the most sublime looking racing cars to the most ugly looking things, damn shame.

No photographs of the view Hamilton will so often get this season: the rear?

...as he is about to lap Raikkonen and Massa.

Edited by JeremyK on Monday 7th January 09:28

[rubystone]

Fidgits said:

kevin ritson said:

130R said:

Anyone know what all the buttons do on the steering wheel?

Just the usual stuff, Traction Control, Launch Control, email the plans to McLaren, ring the FIA to whinge if the car's not in the lead...

and another

[rubystone]

skeggysteve said:

Ferrari complaining about McLaren (the people that build the control ECU)

I have been wondering just how much work teams will be allowed to perform "downstream" of the Mclaren supplied ECU in order to solve the "safety" issues arising from its implementation? If we can buy chips for our Audi RS6s that "piggy back" the standard ECU yet are undetectable by that ECU, then I'm sure Ferrari could knock something up that solves the safety issues they say the McLaren ECU brings with it....

[sleep envy]

Teppic said:

megy said:

Which one of those buttons do you think operates the Traction Control and Launch Control then?

Alice?? Who the fuck is Alice?

[/RoyChubbyBrown]

[rude-boy]

sleep envy said:

Teppic said:

megy said:

Which one of those buttons do you think operates the Traction Control and Launch Control then?

Alice?? Who the fuck is Alice?

[/RoyChubbyBrown]

I believe that the reference to Alice is widely reported to be one of Ferrari’s main sponsors.

They are of course wrong. It is a veiled reference to “Alice in Wonderland”. You know make believe, packs of jokers, funny white powder and so on. This is where the Ferrari top brass live in order to make believe that they have the divine right to win every year and where they obtain many of their Press Releases from.

Now I think we can all work out who the Mad Hatter is, but any prises for guessing who the evil queen is

[coetzeeh]

flemke said:

jon- said:

flemke said:

coetzeeh said:

stemll said:

Of course Ferrari cheat. All F1 teams cheat. The only thing different in 2007 was that McLaren and Renault got caught.

Spot on - if you get caught you've got only yourself to blame.

Does that mean that if you have a senior technician who is respected throughout the pitlane, and you piss him off so much that he gives away your team secrets to a rival, then you've got only yourself to blame?

Perhaps a moot point, but NS didn't show much integrity in his actions. While Ferrari dicked him about I'm sure his wage and working conditions were fair.

Indeed, NS's behaviour is impossible to defend.
What I was referring to was yet another sweeping comment and strong opinion from someone who appears not to have read the transcripts.
No offence to coetzeeh (really), but the concept that "if you get caught, you've got only yourself to blame" has all the depth and complexity of a puddle. The only way that that idea can have any meaning is if you ascribe all the consequences of all the actions of all the members of an organisation to its leaders. But if you do that, you must say that Stepney's actions were to Ferrari leadership as Coughlan's actions were to McLaren's leadership.

Apologies again, coetzeeh.

No offence taken at all flemke.

I do take simplistic view of life in general hence my comment. It was based on the fact that Stepney did hand Ferrari info over to Coughlan, and this "came out".

With hindsight, Mclaren may just have handled the situation different (or not) to avoid the fiasco we saw in 2007 F1 politics. Had the situation been reversed (and Ferrari were the recipient of Mclaren data) I would have made the same comment (no seriously!).

I really hope that in 2008 Mclaren will deliver a car as competitive as the one in 2007, and we have a fair and square season. I take no pleasure out of Mclaren's pain inflicted over the last 9 months by a heavy handed FIA - and neither do I agree with the fact that Ferrari made a meal of it!

Here's to a great Mclaren (and F1) year.

[D_Mike]

interesting that they still have some sort of dials for the differential (????) labelled, entry, mid, and exit, even though TC Is banned. I assume that's what they're for anyway.

[flemke]

D_Mike said:

interesting that they still have some sort of dials for the differential (????) labelled, entry, mid, and exit, even though TC Is banned. I assume that's what they're for anyway.

This may not be the actual wheel for the '08 car.

[jon-]

flemke said:

D_Mike said:

interesting that they still have some sort of dials for the differential (????) labelled, entry, mid, and exit, even though TC Is banned. I assume that's what they're for anyway.

This may not be the actual wheel for the '08 car.

My assumption would be they were for the e-diff too. Entry controls the locking under no power, mid under steady power and exit under hard power.

I'm more than likely well off the mark but that's how things might work in my head.

[flemke]

It's good to see that Ferrari continue to elevate the sport by focusing on their own job and not taking shots at their rivals:


"I think that, with these new regulations, Lewis Hamilton may have a rough time," Baldisserri was quoted as saying by Gazzetta dello Sport.

[sleep envy]

it's not as if psycological pressure isn't used in other sports

you never see that in the back pages when reading about football, do you...