h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Right then...
Schumi will win it

And first everyone should rent 'Grand Prix' and see the track as it was in 1967. The tunnel, the waterfront, the pits, Casino... it's all there, and it's fun to see how much and yet how little it has changed.
It's the only track still recognisable in the movie and you get to see real BRG, and that Scottish plaid stuff, real Scottish plaid stuff.

But in no way should that allusion to the cross of Saint Andrew be interpreted as an expression of favouritism or a prediction. Nope, no predictions from me til after qualifying.

Hmm, much as I'd like to agree with you, Tink, it is DC's home territory... and ol' Iron-Jaw is on a wee bit of a roll just now. Mike should get on the podium and give the media something to talk about Championship-wise though!

On other matters - does anyone else think it unfair that Kimi has to wait for another 10 days to see if he keeps his points from Austria? Secondly, does anyone believe that Toyota have a clue what they're doing, or that their recent acquisition Gustav Brunner can do enough damage control in the time remaining to keep them from being back of the grid all next season?

NQAH (chatty for a change)

Might be an interating race, if the 'lectrics pack up on the grid this time it could turn into a very short race.

*waves her Ferrari flag*
Nah Schumi will win it! After DC won in Austria he'll be driving twice as well and with Coulthard winning it last year too, he'll know that he needs to pull out something even more special than usual. I reckon DC and Hakkinen will be 2nd and 3rd though in what order I'm not sure.

Appeals usually take this long, remember the bargeboard incident with Ferrari in Malaysia? Mind you that was probably slightly quicker as it was deciding a championship (Irvines!) but it seemed like it took ages! I think the reason why it's a tough case is that whilst it seems clear that he did overtake Panis under a waved yellow , the flag was being miswaved and the race stewards had already been questioned why it was still there when the incident it was being used for happened 5 laps earlier...

The BMW power is to no avail at Monte Carlo. It's Ferrari/MacLaren.
But there are six Ferrari's now aren't there and at least the Sauber's keep finishing in the points one way or another. I saw some pix of Kimi and Nick deplaning from their Petronas commuter jet - big grins - imagine, being that young and that ..lucky. The Kimi ordeal is interesting - they may just slap him with one hand and finally give him his license with the other.

Rain is always a factor here. So I'm still waiting for the qualifying order and a weather forecast to make a prediction about Coulthard's victory.
This is where young Wurz was banging wheels with Schumi back when AW was the up and coming young star ..and little was heard of him but bad news after that. It's a strange and magic place, with lots of ghosts.

OK I need to rant. All the websites are still seeing Barichello's disappointment on the last podium as being a big sulk because he had to give second to Schumi. No way. (Ferrari has just announced that he and Michael have renewed their contracts for next year.) He was p****d because he couldn't get past DC. Because he couldn't get up to P-1 he had to give up 2nd to Michael. If he had got past Coulthard he could have had the win. He was disappointed in himself for not winning over DC, for not coming first, for not scoring another win which was so close. Only when it became obvious he was not going to be able to get by the Scot, did he do his job and let his partner, friend, team-mate, mentor and champion past into second.
Of course they renewed his contract. He almost won, and when everyone realised he wasn't going to, he played for the team.
End of rant. Thank you.

Hello....Nice to know thaere are other F1 nutter out there... I keep getting strange looks every time I bounce into work of a Monday after Davie has won....or the Cobbler Snr. hasn't. OK, so it don't happen often, but more so lately.
As to Monaco...I'm sorry, but Davie is on a roll, the Cobbler Snr. is having a LOT of problems and Hakkinen is really no-where to be seen!!!!!!
Monace is ALWAYS interesting though. If only because you never know how many perople are actually going to FINISH the full race.
This is where we get to see how good Montoya REALLY is (sits dreaming of the way he overtook the Cobbler snr.), and if Button can handle his new car over that track....

I probably should know this, but I am stuck in a country where I don't understand the commentry, so why exactly was Truilli disqualified last race?

Correct me if I'm wrong folks (and that's a first come, first served offer BTW), but Trulli was DQ'd for leaving the pit lane while it was 'closed'. The only time the pits are closed in F1 is the period where the safety car is leading the pack round the start/finish straight under a yellow flag. If someone was to come screaming out of the pits just as the pack was crawling past the exit, it could be very messy. And so, if you do go out then, it's a black flag for you.

NQAH (laying down the law)

Ah. Thanks. How unwise of the man.

Yeah - I knew some F1 fans would be somewhere round here ...

I am not sure who will win at Monaco but please don't let it be Mr S Senior! I have to confess to thinking that David is much better driver and so much nicer (and yes, I have met them both personally so do feel qualified to have an opinion on that!)

One thing I don't get from the last race is how come Ferrari don't seem to be getting more grief for making Barichello give way to Mr S - when McClaren did the same with David & Mikke in Australia a couple of years ago they got an absolute slating for doing so... Hum is this a case of one rule for red cars another for silver?

Wasn't there a massive fuss followed by a debate, the conclusion of which was that it was officially OK for teams to favour one car above the other if they want to? I thought the David/Mika thing ended up effectively being the test case that clarified this?

But I still felt it was pretty rotten, and I think Ferrari are just relying on the fact that they have an extraordinary amount of goodwill from their fans. So even though more or less everyone (Ferrari fan or not) was unhappy, it doesn't make much difference to their enduring popularity.

news:

Mika fastest in first day's practise at Monaco.

Schumi to revive Maserati in 2005. (You heard it here first!)

... and a further bulletin, more on the Trulli black flag: apparently the team told him to go out while the red light was on! Not sure what EJ was thinking that would accomplish, but there you go.

Team orders - these are a fact of life in many motorsports. What was so unusual about the McLaren/Melbourne saga was that it was so early in the season to favour one driver over another, particularly with two established talents more than capapble of making a good Championship run. You have to keep in mind that this is a team sport - in fact, I'm of the opinion that teams should be allowed to run 3 cars (this is not at all influenced by a vision of 3 Ferraris crossing the finish line in flying-V formation, oh no, not at all).

NQAH (drooling)

*looks on in awe*
You've met Michael Schumacher???
*too impressed to even comment on the Ferrari switch*

Hopefully Lighthouse girl will tell us more about her days as a Track Marshall.

Meanwhile, Jacques V, was in Montreal (Canada) recently for the official opening of his new multi-million dollar restaurant. When the drapery came off the sign, the crowd was dumbstruck. He's called it 'Newtown', a literal English translation of his French surname Ville-neuve.

He is now being 'villified' by every French speaking person in Canada for thumbing his nose at Quebec's language laws. He is now the bad boy of the national media.

FYI: Canada as a nation is officially bilingual and all provinces are required to offer public services in both official languages. But the mostly French speaking Province of Quebec has virtually outlawed English through provincial jurisdiction areas, such as education and laws covering signage and advertising. Because this was going to drive away McDonald's, IBM and other huge corporations and businesses with English names, a single exception was made for the names of registered businesses. All other signs must be in French.
He registered 'Newtown'.

That almost makes me warm to the man...

We're talking about the same Mika and David thing yes? The one where they swapped places at the last minute on the first race of a season? I thought it wasn't actually team orders so much as an agreement between the drivers. (But the result of the debate was that drivers are allowed to let their team members past, whether it's team orders or a personal decision...)

Or am I remembering it wrong?

*LOL*
That boy is such a rebel