167 replies to this topic

[GoldenColt]

Cows mooing, the wonderful smell of fresh weed (calm down potheads, it’s not Marijuana I’m talking about), rivers full of Red Bull and grumpy looking farmers with arms more muscular than those of  Mike Tyson  can only mean one thing: It’s the Austrian Grand Prix!

 

Embedded into a wonderful landscape in the middle of nowhere (or Spielberg, as the aborigines call it), this circuit basically represents the whole country: It’s small and neat, partly spectacular but it doesn’t take you very long to see all the important bits and you always feel as if your journey is over way too soon.

 

 

As if the small amount of corners wasn’t enough, Didi Mateschitz made sure to change one corners name from Lauda-Kurve to some sponsor-related name which enraged Niki so much, he almost took his cap off to scare away all the tourists. Almost.

 

 

 

However, one should not underestimate any of those 8 corners, as previous races have shown. With T1 being extremely tight, drivers used to run wide until the other end of Austria to gain time in the 2000s:

 

 

Turn 2, also known as the Remus-Kurve, always presents an opportunity to pass. Or, if you are Montoya, to destroy your own and your rivals race. 

 

 

Turn 3, a corner named after the worst Austrian beer to ever go down the throats of thirsty F1-fans, is yet another opportunity to make up places, unless Mika Hakkinen is the guy ahead:

 

Turn 4 and I'm running out of things to remember about it, so I'll just mention that "Rauch" stands for "smoke" but also for an Austrian drinks-company. Decide for yourself which of these two facts you find more interesting. 

 

Turn 5 is the corner which used to be called Lauda-Kurve, so here's another picture of Niki almost taking his cap off:

 

Turn 6 is just as boring as it looks and I guess that's why it hasn't even got a name. Therefore, my suggestion would be to name it after Christian Klien or Patrick Friesacher. 

 

Turn 7 and I'm breathing a sigh of relief because there's something to say about it. Named after possibly the greatest Austrian F1 driver ever (yes Niki, keep your cap on), it's a spectacular and fast right hander which caught Lewis Hamilton out last season as he was on course for an almighty lap. Speaking of Rindt, there are rumours that he might have had some German roots and even a German passport, but people who are going to visit Austria for the first time need to know that mentioning any of those things in public can be punished with up to 3 years of imprisonment or, optionally, a life-long membership to the most famous Austrian footy-club Rapid Wien. 

 

Turn 8 (aka Red Bull Mobile-Kurve) looks like the slightly less kinky sister of Turn 7 but just one tiny mistake and you're in the tyre barrier on a piece of astro turf which saves your ass. Unless you're Pastor Maldonado (sorry AndrewHope, I just had to).

 

Now that we're done with the more creative part, let's get down to the facts of last years Grand Prix:

 

Pole-Position went to Felipe Massa with a stunning lap in the Williams FW 36

 

Here are all the results from Quali (as if anyone cares for more than Pole and Lewis Hamilton's blunder-related 9th place)

 

Race-result:

 

The winners-trophy (I would hereby like to apologize for the ugliness of it) as well as the trophy for the most hilarious face of the weekend went to Nico Rosberg:

 

 

Nothing beats his Melbourne-face though:

 

 

Huh, there seems to be a trend developing....

 

 

Bottas almost got axed:

 

 

Anyway, here's the schedule for the weekend:

 

FP 1: Friday, 10:00 - 11:30

FP 2: Friday, 14:00 - 15:30

FP 3: Saturday, 11:00 - 12:00

Q: Saturday, 14:00 - 15:00

R: Sunday, 14:00 - one of the Mercedes takes the chequered flag

 

All times are my local time. 

 

Weather forecast:

 

http://www.yr.no/pla...lberg/long.html

 

So...

 

- which one of the two Mercedes guys is going to win the race?

- is Pastor Maldonado going to expand his points-streak to 2 races in a row?

- how often is Niki Lauda going to lift his cap? 

- which tone of red will Helmut Markos face have after the race?

- who is going to win this years oldie F1 pre-race-race (last years race is to be found below)

 

- 

Edited by GoldenColt, 16 June 2015 - 14:27.

[Marklar]

 
All times are my local time. 
 
So...
 
- which one of the two Mercedes guys is going to win the race?
- is Pastor Maldonado going to expand his points-streak to 2 races in a row?
- how often is Niki Lauda going to lift his cap? 
- which tone of red will Helmut Markos face have after the race?
- who is going to win this years oldie F1 pre-race-race (last years race is to be found below)

Mine as well

-It's not just between the Merc guys.....but I think Lewis.
-Yes (otherwise we will see the SC)
-twice (after Quali and race)
-as red as the Ferrari
-Niki

[Exb]

Very nice OP   . Thanks for starting it, I always start to get impatient by Monday night if there is no build-up thread.

 

I was checking out the weather forecast this morning - Friday and Saturday look like there could be a chance of showers but Sunday looks sunny and warm.

 

Palmer is again driving FP1 instead of Grosjean.

 

- which one of the two Mercedes guys is going to win the race? Can't see past Lewis to be honest.

- is Pastor Maldonado going to expand his points-streak to 2 races in a row? Very good chance as its another race where the Merc engine will be a huge benefit.

- how often is Niki Lauda going to lift his cap? At least twice - when Lewis gets pole and then wins (if its a Nico weekend, then not at all ;) ).

- which tone of red will Helmut Markos face have after the race? This: 

- who is going to win this years oldie F1 pre-race-race (last years race is to be found below) no idea, can't see the link as I'm at work

[molpid]

Quality OP 

[jonpollak]

Jp

[JAW97]

Can't see anything past a Lewis win tbh, though I wonder if Williams might threaten Ferrari. A 4th for Bottas would mean he matches Heidfeld's record for points without a win.

[Ellios]

Turn 3, a corner named after the worst Austrian beer to ever go down the throats of thirsty F1-fans, is yet another opportunity to make up places, unless Mika Hakkinnen is the guy ahead:

 

 

 

oh man that was great to see again, thank you!

 

quality OP as well!

[HuddersfieldTerrier1986]

Very good OP (though sadly you reminded me that the last 2 turns as well as turn 1 and turn 2 have tarmac on the exit therefore meaning no actual punishment for going wide, therefore you lose credit for that, however you gain a little bit of credit back by showing us that the track also has gravel on the outside of some corners, which probably means that they've been told to change it to all tarmac runoff before the race weekend starts so that it doesn't breach the FIA's "nobody should be punished for going wide or making a mistake unless they're stupid or they get hit by someone up the rear" rule which means all corners should be tarmac runoff only).

 

Anyway, enough of my nonsense, it's a good OP and I hope we have an interesting race with someone other than Mercedes winning (don't care who, just not a Mercedes please), and yeah, not sure what else to say really without going on about wishing they'd actually put gravel (or even grass) on the outside of the last 2 turns and turn 1 and 2 so that drivers could actually be punished for making a mistake. Erm......yeah.

[OvDrone]

Jp, I fixed that for ya:

 

 

Better.

 

Damn fine OP, Colt. Hell of a way to start my day. Cheers.

[thegforcemaybewithyou]

Isn't this the track where the cows next to the track say things like

 

Cow1: Mooooo!

Cow2: Didn't you listen, that's exactly what i said a minute ago, he definitely was off track!

 

 

Btw, this is what google tells us about Lauda's hat

 

[andrewf1]

Hilarious thread title! But I'm afraid most of the users here won't savor the delicate spelling and meaning of "servus und griaß eich" 

 

Great OP, GoldenColt

Edited by andrewf1, 16 June 2015 - 10:39.

[ConsiderAndGo]

Hamilton to dominate.

 

Rosberg will follow him 10+ seconds behind. Vettel further behind.

 

Kimi will f*** up.

 

Williams to pressure Ferrari.

 

RB....its going to be awful.

 

99% sure its going to be a precession.

[BRG]

Jp, I fixed that for ya:

 

 

 

Is that Kurt Busch's international assassin ex-gf?

 

Or Danica in a wig?

[FullThrottleF1]

Jp, I fixed that for ya:

 

 

Better.

 

Damn fine OP, Colt. Hell of a way to start my day. Cheers.

 

Also, in the background. Its nice to see that McLaren have finally painted their car orange.   

[krapmeister]

Nothing more certain than it's going to be a dismal weekend for anyone running a Renault engine...

[redraven9]

Wow.. Fernando owned Kimi last year in qualy...

[muramasa]

That track layout....looks "Honda bully"

[TomNokoe]

I hate predicting whitewashes for Merc.
 

Part of me thinks Ferrari have learned slightly from Canada, and they can really attack the circuit, but if their fabled traction problems still exist then

If Williams upgrade holds true then they'll definitely be podium challengers
It'll be nice to see McLaren's new nose, but it won't make any tangible impact thanks to track layout.

 

Hamilton was on for some almighty quali lap before he fudged turn 7 last year, so I think the pole time will be a significant jump from last year, as their was a good half second left in the track. 1:07.7 I reckon. 

[topical]

Expecting a thrilling battle for victory between Hamilton and Hamilton.

 

And the usual McLaren swingometer between hope on Friday and despair on Sunday.

[Goron3]

The lack of run off is brilliant

[Retrofly]

Weather forecast?

[maverick69]

Weather forecast?

 

Raining Fri and Sat. Drying up for the race.

 

Should make things interesting.

[Marklar]

Expecting a thrilling battle for victory between Hamilton and Hamilton.

 

And the usual McLaren swingometer between hope on Friday and despair on Sunday.

 

Now it's possible

[Marklar]

Weather forecast?

 

Chances of rain

 

First practice: 30 %

Second practice: 30 %

 

Third practice: 30 %

Qualifying: 50 % (Rain forecasted: 2 l/square meter)

 

Race: 50 % (Rain forecasted: 1.5 l/square meter)

Edited by Marklar, 16 June 2015 - 12:09.

[Beamer]

Great opening post! Lets have the 1st rain race of the season...

[maximilian]

Hilarious thread title! But I'm afraid most of the users here won't savor the delicate spelling and meaning of "servus und griaß eich" 

 

Great OP, GoldenColt

 

I'm totally savoring it!  Being an expat Austrian, the title actually startled me!

[CurbPainter]

Great opening post! Lets have the 1st rain race of the season...

 

Agreed with both !

 

Here's the weather forecast to keep an eye on...

 

Long Term Forecast Spielberg

 

http://www.yr.no/pla...lberg/long.html

[GoldenColt]

 

Agreed with both !

 

Here's the weather forecast to keep an eye on...

 

Long Term Forecast Spielberg

 

http://www.yr.no/pla...lberg/long.html

 

I've included your link in the OP. 

[CurbPainter]

I've included your link in the OP. 

 

...in a couple of days it will give the hourly forecast also and it gets updated several times during the day, so it's a great site to keep track of the weather.

[blacky]

The weather will play a big role this year. After two hot and sunny weeks here in Austria, there was a change in the weather pattern yesterday. Until sunday hardly more than 20 degrees predicted, good chances of mixed conditions for the whole weekend, better on Sunday.

 

Tyre temperature will be the key factor for quali.

[Slackbladder]

oh man that was great to see again, thank you!

 

quality OP as well!

 

One thing to notice from that is how close the cars were able to drive behind each other.

[Jon83]

I don't think the track is anything overly special, though I do like bits of it, and don't have confidence that a great race is ahead, but the setting is up there with the best and it is on my list to visit in the future.

 

For the sake of the championship, I hope Rosberg finishes ahead of Hamilton. I'd love a Ferrari win but can't see it. I suspect that in the end, the usual 3 will be on the podium, in the usual order. Rain might spice it up a bit but the Mercedes in the wet last season was untouchable.

[thegamer23]

Looking forward to it. Austria and Red Bull Ring just looks gorgogeous with all those green and mountains around.

But look out for the rain! I expect a dramatic wet quali!

[andrewf1]

Longer and better video of the Schumacher - Montoya battle from 2001. Being the new young gun and underdog in the fight against Michael, JPM was my favorite driver back then. 

 

[Marklar]

I don't think the track is anything overly special, though I do like bits of it, and don't have confidence that a great race is ahead, but the setting is up there with the best and it is on my list to visit in the future.

For the sake of the championship, I hope Rosberg finishes ahead of Hamilton. I'd love a Ferrari win but can't see it. I suspect that in the end, the usual 3 will be on the podium, in the usual order. Rain might spice it up a bit but the Mercedes in the wet last season was untouchable.

I think the best for the championship would be an complete Merc DNF and a Vettel victory ;)

Im just joking unfortunatelly. I think regarding the championship we're stil lucky that the gap between the first and second is just 17 points, it's some kind of a miracle actually....but I agree Rosberg needs to beat Hamilton for the sake of the championship to build confidence. Otherwise it will be a very boring season....

Edited by Marklar, 16 June 2015 - 13:16.

[Jon83]

I think the best for the championship would be an complete Merc DNF and a Vettel victory ;)

Im just joking unfortunatelly. I think regarding the championship we're stil lucky that the gap between the first and second is just 17 points, it's some kind of a miracle actually....but I agree Rosberg needs to beat Hamilton for the sake of the championship to build confidence. Otherwise it will be a very boring season....

 

I guess reliability issues will strike eventually

[Exb]

 

Agreed with both !

 

Here's the weather forecast to keep an eye on...

 

Long Term Forecast Spielberg

 

http://www.yr.no/pla...lberg/long.html

Wow - that's nothing like the forecast I saw (how cold are those temperatures, 12 and 14°c on Sat/Sun - thats colder than the North of UK - will be a huge issue for tyres if thats accurate)

Anyway - no idea how accurate this one is, I just googled weather for the circuit (as I'm not sure how far away Spielberg was, I had the impression the circuit was in the middle of nowhere) http://www.netweathe...?action=f1;sess=

[JeePee]

Longer and better video of the Schumacher - Montoya battle from 2001. Being the new young gun and underdog in the fight against Michael, JPM was my favorite driver back then. 

 

From 16th to 4th at the start of the race. Classic Jos Verstappen 

 

(Imagine that fight with DRS and a tarmac runoff in turn 2  )

[JHSingo]

Love the scenery of this place, but...I just can't get excited for Formula One at the moment.

 

Can't it be Le Mans again? Please?

[OvDrone]

Love the scenery of this place, but...I just can't get excited for Formula One at the moment.

 

Can't it be Le Mans again? Please?

 

Man, once a year is enough. I'm still recovering from the race.

 

If the weather is going to remain as it is at the start of the week over here in Central/Eastern Europe then expect some surprises. It does seem like it'll stay like this all week long.

[CurbPainter]

Wow - that's nothing like the forecast I saw (how cold are those temperatures, 12 and 14°c on Sat/Sun - thats colder than the North of UK - will be a huge issue for tyres if thats accurate)

Anyway - no idea how accurate this one is, I just googled weather for the circuit (as I'm not sure how far away Spielberg was, I had the impression the circuit was in the middle of nowhere) http://www.netweathe...?action=f1;sess=

 

It's still 5 days from Sunday, and your link still gives what my link gave yesterday...we will know Tomorrow/Thursday much better how it's most likely going to be.

 

The circuit is close to Spielberg...

 

https://www.google.n...a5c7884!6m1!1e1

[turssi]

Weed you say? Let the other drivers toke a big one before the race so the danger is there (none for Kimi though, he spins even without :-)

[1Devil1]

Hilarious thread title! But I'm afraid most of the users here won't savor the delicate spelling and meaning of "servus und griaß eich" 

 

Great OP, GoldenColt

Everyone who can speak german can grasp the meaning, nasty dialect    Reminds me how I 'hated' my austrian room for speaking the same language, but only understanding 50% of the things he said

[Atreiu]

Has there ever been a wet GP at the A1-Ring?

[GoldenColt]

Has there ever been a wet GP at the A1-Ring?

 

Nope, only one wet quali in '98 IIRC. 

[Marklar]

Are you really excited for an wet race? After what happened with Bianchi they will probably be all the time behind the SC if it's only raining a little bit. Secondly Merc will be even more dominant if it's raining (on the other side it's the opportunity for mistakes)...

[1Devil1]

Are you really excited for an wet race? After what happened with Bianchi they will probably be all the time behind the SC if it's only raining a little bit. Secondly Merc will be even more dominant if it's raining (on the other side it's the opportunity for mistakes)...

 

I would, Vettel is something special in the rain, even last year he pulled some stunning laps in the rain. He could be much closer to Merc in the rain as under normal conditions..

[milestone 11]

Hilarious thread title! But I'm afraid most of the users here won't savor the delicate spelling and meaning of "servus und griaß eich" 
 
Great OP, GoldenColt

Well enlighten us then, neither google nor bing is any use whatsoever. Hello from bing and verifiable from google doesn't assist in savouring the delicacy.

[HeadFirst]

I would, Vettel is something special in the rain, even last year he pulled some stunning laps in the rain. He could be much closer to Merc in the rain as under normal conditions..

 

He is, but so is Hamilton. I think the tractability of the Merc engine and the balance of the chassis, still give the edge to the Silver Arrows. Ferrari's ace might be in strategy.

[Marklar]

I would, Vettel is something special in the rain, even last year he pulled some stunning laps in the rain. He could be much closer to Merc in the rain as under normal conditions..

Perhaps that's true, but still at least Hamilton is in the rain in Vettels class (for me these two guys are the best in wet weather conditions), so I don't think that he would be really much closer regarding the race victory (but as I said mistakes will be an opportunity). And my main point is stil: WIL they drive if it's raining? I'm not convinced to be honest....