The 'F1 Challenge' Championship- 1999 Season

[Benetton]

Well the weekend was prettyy good. I was veryu happyy with the qualifying and the race was okayyu.. but we have some problem with the engineu, we had to set the limiter on and couldn't push maximum but still I am pretty satisfied to finish fifth as this was only my first race. Also many car not make the finish, so to have both Prost score point is really good. Looking forward to the next race and lets continue with the same rhythm.

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Interlagos, São Paulo, Brazil - Qualifying
Conditions: Dry

Code: Select all

1) Douglas Mann  Williams-Renault  1:16.546
2) Daniel Melrose  McLaren-Mercedes  1:16.695
3) Robert Finley  McLaren-Mercedes  1:16.883
4) Daniel Martins  Benetton-Honda  1:17.047
5) Barii Mori  Williams-Renault  1:17.170
6) Jeroen Krautmeir  Prost-Renault  1:17.183
7) Scott Menard  Williams-Renault  1:17.200
8) Thomas de Bock  Sauber-Peugeot  1:17.430
9) Louis Duval  Prost-Renault  1:17.527
10) Ed Kevin  Ferrari  1:17.554
11) Ron Mignolet  Prost-Renault  1:17.573
12) Damon Cannon  Arrows-BMW  1:17.609
13) Pippa Mann  Reynard-Toyota  1:17.864
14) Jan de Friis  Arrows-BMW  1:17.890
15) Hagane Shizuka  Benetton-Honda  1:17.922
16) John Zimmer  Reynard-Toyota  1:18.070
17) Rhys Davies  Benetton-Honda  1:18.151
18) Constantin Ferdinand Maria  Stewart-Ford  1:18.766
19) Ben Fleet  Reynard-Toyota  1:18.968
20) Poppy Whitechapel  Jordan-Renault  1:19.191
21) Aurelien Moll  Jordan-Renault  1:19.199
22) Tristan Jung  Sauber-Peugeot  1:19.886
23) Philippe Nicolas  Jordan-Renault  1:20.208
24) Jack Christopherson  Sauber-Peugeot  1:20.225
25) Andreas Jonsson  Stewart-Ford  1:20.249
26) Giovanni Roda  Ferrari  1:20.301
27) Yahya Albaf  Minardi-Porsche  1:20.408
28) Matej Uram  Minardi-Porsche  1:20.717
29) Phoenix McAllister  Arrows-BMW  1:30.097

[Wizzie]

We were 1-2 for most of the session but I have to give Douglas a ton of credit for that last lap he did. I was watching it on the monitor and that was on the absolute ragged edge. Onto tomorrow and we are expecting to turn this result into a big points haul. And to imagine that we developed the car from such a horrid baseline to the potent machine that it is. It's a credit to the guys back at the factory.

[Shizuka]

Well, I totally set up the car in a wrong way. I fail at Interlagos.

[This]

Jeroen has copied my set-up, seems that that wasn't a wise decision... On the other hand, i'm on the edge of the top 10, would could make points possible.

[DanielPT]

It was a decent qualifying session and the car was well set-up we could get a run for the second row. We still got behind 0.5secs from pole, so tomorrow we hope to improve on race pace and reduce tyre wear in order to fight for a podium.

[East Londoner]

Bloody hell, what a waste. I had to sit out all but the first ten minutes of the session because of one stupid mistake on a better lap. My quali time was set with my very first timed lap. Obviously, I decided to press on and was on a better lap coming through turn 13 where I got slightly off-line for no reason. Big mistake, as it meant the right rear of the car impacted the wall at 170mph, completely wrecking the rear suspension, and meant I had to dump the car in the run-off for the Senna S. 12th isn't a complete disaster however. I feel that the car has pace around here, and I should at least bring it home in the points. Phoenix's transmission decided to die a slow, gruesome death on his only timed lap, which has probably ruined his race tomorrow.

Complete disaster. This Jordan is so twitchy at high speeds, there was absolutely no way I was going to risk going at full tilt in the third sector. Again, I'm right in the thick of it, so I'm not expecting much apart from tomorrow.

[dr-baker]

We were 1-2 for most of the session but I have to give Douglas a ton of credit for that last lap he did. I was watching it on the monitor and that was on the absolute ragged edge.

Thanks Daniel. Yeah, it was quite a lap. And Pippa did alright on her lap - 13th I think is roughly what the Reynard is capable of, but Ben, on both of his best laps, got baulked by Roda. And how Roda ended up ahead of three other cars, I have no idea...

[SuperAguri]

We do need to have prequalifying as I got held up by Roda again and those Minardi's. I should have been challenging for pole rather then lose tenths of a second every flying lap I did. Why do we need qualifying with 29 cars? 26 or 24 should be plenty and even then 24 cars on the grid should be enough.

[Malinth]

Well it's not a bad effort. Not really what we wanted, but still not disastrous. The car feels pretty good here, but the McLaren's were just crazy fast, and Doug did an awesome job to put it on pole. Barii and I both got held up by traffic on numerous occasions, but I personally don't mind that. There's a 71 lap race tomorrow, and our performance then is what matters. I gotta congratulate Robby on his fantastic qualifying attempt, because he's still been complaining about the grooved tires.

I'm glad to be third! Really really happy, but to be honest, I was just scared! The car was all over the place, which was really my fault because I just hate the characteristics of these tires, and under braking my car was just awful. When I got back to the pits, we did some major adjustments to the wings and stuff, for maximum downforce, and I was eventually confident enough to push hard, then harder, and then I guess hardest. I lost quite a lot of top speed due to the changes, but I'm still delighted with the result. I'm just hoping I don't bin it tomorrow!

[Phoenix]

I'd like to know what the heck was wrong with the transmission of my car. It just broke after exiting the pits for my flying laps! Now I'll have to deal with Giovanni Roda for position, and I have to say, I'm really affraid of what he could try...

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Interlagos, São Paulo, Brazil - Race
Conditions: Dry

Code: Select all

1) Douglas Mann  Williams-Renault 
2) Rhys Davies  Benetton-Honda  +2.557
3) Daniel Melrose  McLaren-Mercedes  +3.339
4) Damon Cannon  Arrows-BMW  +35.777
5) Daniel Martins  Benetton-Honda  +36.705
6) Thomas de Bock  Sauber-Peugeot  +1:05.638
7) Barii Mori  Williams-Renault  +1:10.132
8) John Zimmer  Reynard-Toyota  +1:12.015
9) Louis Duval  Prost-Renault  +1 LAP
10) Constantin Ferdinand Maria  Stewart-Ford  +1 LAP
11) Jan de Friis  Arrows-BMW  +1 LAP
12) Pippa Mann  Reynard-Toyota  +1 LAP
13) Ben Fleet  Reynard-Toyota  +1 LAP
14) Tristan Jung  Sauber-Peugeot  +1 LAP
15) Hagane Shizuka  Benetton-Honda  +1 LAP

Code: Select all

Drivers Championship

1. Daniel Melrose/McLaren/AUS - 14
2. Douglas Mann/Williams/IMN - 10
3. Jeroen Krautmeir/Prost/GER - 6
4. Rhys Davies/Benetton/AUS - 6
5. Ed Kevin/Ferrari/IRL - 4
6. Hagane Shizuka/Benetton/JPN - 3
7. Damon Cannon/Arrows/UK - 3
8. Louis Duval/Prost/FRA - 2
9. Daniel Martins/Benetton/POR - 2
10. Jan de Friis/Arrows/NED - 1
11. Thomas de Bock/Sauber/BEL - 1

Code: Select all

Teams Championship

1. McLaren - 14
2. Benetton - 11
3. Williams - 10
4. Prost - 8
5. Ferrari - 4
6. Arrows - 4
7. Sauber - 1

Code: Select all

Engines Championship

1. Renault - 16
2. Mercedes - 14
3. Honda - 9
4. BMW - 5
5. Ferrari - 4
6. Peugeot - 2
7. Toyota - 2

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Nations Championship

1. Australia - 16
2. Isle of Man - 10
3. Germany - 6
4. Japan - 5
5. Ireland - 4
6. United Kingdom - 4
7. Portugal - 3
8. Belgium - 3
9. France - 3
10. The Netherlands - 1

Code: Select all

Tyres Championship

1. Bridgestone - 16
2. Michelin - 16
3. Pirelli - 8
4. Goodyear - 6

PS: It would be nice if you guys could clarify the nationalities of your drivers. It'd be much easier on my part

EDIT 1: Corrected a few nationality errors

[Phoenix]

Would you believe it? The f*cking transmission failed again, and on the first lap! You go and try to downshift one gear, then it goes straight to second, have you ever tried it? I wouldn't recommend it. Then goes Giovanni Roda and rams me off the road, f*cking disgrace!

BTW, Phoenix McAllister is Spanish, despite what the name suggests.

[the Masked Lapwing]

I was about to say this championship roughly matches my career, and then I finish second at Interlagos of all places

[tommykl]

A point in the hopelessly slow Sauber?

[Shizuka]

Reject of the race, here I am!

[East Londoner]

That was a reasonable race. By putting my car on the outside of the Senna S on the first lap, I therefore avoided the usual prangs and bumps, taking a good load of places to reach 7th. Easily picked off Barii Mori a few laps later, although he should learn some etiquette and not weave on the straight when being passed. The team does need to sort out these bloody transmission units. I had to do the last 20 laps coping without 1st and 2nd gears, which meant I had Daniel Martins swarming all over me by race end, though I held off for 4th. Phoenix's race lasted mere metres because of the same problem. I don't what happened to my girlfriend, but that was a spectacular shunt at turn 4.

That's what happens when you get oversteer and understeer at the same time in a fast corner. Got this rotbox up to 15th at the start, but quickly dropped away and held up a load of cars. My accident also ended the race of Jack Christopherson. Now that we're heading back to Europe, perhaps Mr Jordan can sort out the 199?

Both of my drivers are British.

[SuperAguri]

Who does that Damon Cannon think he is, I was not weaving I was trying to keep my car on the road after getting a puncture after running over some carbon fibre that that stupid idiot Roda caused by spinning out and causing a couple of car pile up. The extra pit stop and nose change killed any chance I had of a podium, went from 14th to 7th in less then 20 laps but ran out of laps before I could pass the Sauber of de Bock.

Barii Mori is Japanese

Had a strong race and was battling with Louis Duval for the last 10 laps, it was exciting and 10th was the best I could hope for. I hope to improve a lot more.

Constantin is from Liechtenstein so is a Liechtensteiner, he is also a Prince :p

[Vepe]

The race went well, unfortunately not well enough to score points. There was a pretty scary moment for me nearing the end of the race when I almost hit some of the debris left on the track after a collision between one of the Ferraris and one of the Minardis.

[dr-baker]

Yeah!!! That's what I would have been talking about, had I actually been talking about it rather than just getting on with it and doing it!!! Can I win the title? Well, it depends on reliability and keeping out of trouble, doesn't it? If I can do that, then of course I could win the title, but there is still a long way to go isn't there?

Well, it wasn't our best races but what else can we do? We were promised a car that could win 'out of the box', but it is clearly just not fast enough.

The Manns = Manx (from the Isle of Man)
Ben Fleet = English/British

[Phoenix]

Who does that Damon Cannon think he is, I was not weaving I was trying to keep my car on the road after getting a puncture after running over some carbon fibre that that stupid idiot Roda caused by spinning out and causing a couple of car pile up. The extra pit stop and nose change killed any chance I had of a podium, went from 14th to 7th in less then 20 laps but ran out of laps before I could pass the Sauber of de Bock.

Eh, for once it wasn't Roda's fault. I passed him and the Minardis and some other slow cars, then my transmission went berserk when nearing Subida do Lago, my car became near stationary and Roda had nowhere to go. So you can blame me if you want. I am overly critical of Roda's driving, but for once it wasn't his damn fault.

[This]

This season is getting frustrating.

and he's - you've guessed it - Belgian

[shinji]

Just out of hospital now, I was in for ages being checked over after the engine, as I'm sure you all saw live, pretty much exploded. I had some slight burns even despite all the fire-proof clothing, which is a bit worrying. I had a bit of trouble getting out as I couldn't really see, due to the flames around me, so I guess I have to be thankful that the burns are all that's wrong with me.

As far as I'm aware after my 'event' the team thought it best to retire Gio, just in case something similar happened to him. He'd already had a spin and was a lap or two behind so I don't think he was too disappointed.

I was happy enough with the race up to my retirement, I was running solidly in the points after a decent start. Disappointed obviously, but we have to find the root cause, sort it out and move on to the next race.

[tommykl]

Obviously, both De Bock and Moll are Belgian.

[The Lukas]

Slovak Matej Uram said that even the stragglers, as Minardi team, are needed in Formula 1 Exactly one sponsors are Fondmetal Minardi, Matador, Visit to Slovacia and Bahrani Steel Company.
Minardi is currently a terrible start to the year 1999 and is on the tails rate. despite the fact that the team believes there is a chance to break out from the bottom. Despite suggestions of some leading figures F1CC that sport would be better without them, Uram said that the presence of the grid makes sense.
"Actually we do not count for the title but outsiders are important for this sport.

[dinizintheoven]

I've just been reading the last 11 pages of this thread (from before my last post) and... isn't Matej Uram supposed to be Slovenian?

I'll be updating F1RMGP's wiki pages today - looks likely I might put some skeleton F1CC pages in place that the F1CC Series Management can update at will. I notice a few drivers have wiki pages already, but by no means all of them... those are better left to people actually involved in the series.

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy - Qualifying
Conditions: Damp then Dry

Code: Select all

1) Daniel Melrose  McLaren-Mercedes  1:26.548
2) Douglas Mann  Williams-Renault  1:26.885
3) Damon Cannon  Arrows-BMW  1:27.113
4) Barii Mori  Williams-Renault  1:27.168
5) Phoenix McAllister  Arrows-BMW  1:27.717
6) Scott Menard  Williams-Renault  1:27.841
7) Robert Finley  McLaren-Mercedes  1:28.119
8) Ed Kevin  Ferrari  1:28.140
9) Jan de Friis  Arrows-BMW  1:28.322
10) Daniel Martins  Benetton-Honda  1:28.347
11) Ron Mignolet  Prost-Renault  1:28.663
12) Louis Duval  Prost-Renault  1:28.703
13) Jeroen Krautmeir  Prost-Renault  1:28.858
14) Thomas de Bock  Sauber-Peugeot  1:29.078
15) Constantin Ferdinand Maria  Stewart-Ford  1:29.276
16) Poppy Whitechapel  Jordan-Renault  1:29.472
17) Rhys Davies  Benetton-Honda  1:29.678
18) Hagane Shizuka  Benetton-Honda  1:29.852
19) Aurelien Moll  Jordan-Renault  1:29.996
20) Philippe Nicolas  Jordan-Renault  1:30.114
21) Pippa Mann  Reynard-Toyota  1:30.234
22) Tristan Jung  Sauber-Peugeot  1:30.295
23) Ben Fleet  Reynard-Toyota  1:30.991
24) Jack Christopherson  Sauber-Peugeot  1:31.817
25) Andreas Jonsson  Stewart-Ford  1:32.143
26) Giovanni Roda  Ferrari  1:32.584
27) Matej Uram  Minardi-Porsche  1:32.881
28) Yahya Albaf  Minardi-Porsche  1:33.323
29) John Zimmer  Reynard-Toyota  1:33.405

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Well, we really didn't think that the track was gonna dry up very quickly, so Ron, Louis and I gambled on going for a quick time in the damp conditions, and unfortunately that didn't really work out. Ron and I had enough laps in hand for a dry run, but I promptly smashed the car when I hit a puddle accelerating into Acque Minerale. Ron on the other hand got held up by Roda, which is a shame because he was on course for a front row start. Louis used up all of his laps during, err, when the course was damp, so he had no try. Despite this rather disappointing showing, I'm sure the Prost team will be charging towards the front tomorrow.

[Shizuka]

Bollocks!
I always got a yellow flag on my flying laps! Once Roda left the track at Tamburello, once a Minardi was braking too late at Rivazza, there was a Reynard spinning at the final chicane... geez Louise, Briattore and my engineer really timed my exits badly!

[East Londoner]

It was a shrewd move by the Arrows strategists to keep all three cars in until the last 10 minutes of the session, but it evidently worked. On a now bone dry track, all three cars are in the top 10. If i'm honest, Daniel looks out of reach for the win tomorrow, but I feel that I should be able to fight Douglas for second.

And these so-called upgrades have resulted in...16th place. Bloody hell. And we've all been outqualified by a bloody Stewart of all things! Every time I went through Villenueve, the car just wanted to snap sideways into the gravel. I'm gonna go backwards at the start, I know of it.

[Wizzie]

Whether it's in the wet or the dry the car is simply a joy to drive. It's one of those cars which simply gives you the confidence to go harder and harder every lap and I honestly think we stand a good chance of winning the race tomorrow.

[Malinth]

Well, we're not really disappointed with 6th. Considering the fact that all our times came from a not so dry track, we have reason to be pleased with ourselves. Arr, we were really just focusing on the race setup, experimenting with different things, even though the changing conditions made that a little bit hard. Let's just hope that the race weather is just as topsy-turvy.

I can't tell you how much fun I'm having in F1 right now. Dan is a great teammate, he's happy to let me copy his setups, and I just have to tweak it a bit here and there, so I don't need to worry about that so much. I'm delighted with 7th, and hopefully I can keep things together for the race and score some points. Congrats to Dan on another pole. He really deserved it!

[tristan1117]

Well, I'm a second off my teammate, my car is crap and I am on the road to a point-less season.

By the way, Tristan Jung is American.

[SuperAguri]

How many times do I have to wave my fist at Roda this season? I set my fastest lap on the damp track, but when it got dry I got balked by Roda, and it was Roda and then in my final lap I cam up against a Reynard being slow. Still I have a good feeling about the race. Our season starts now.

[Jack O Melley]

How many times do I have to wave my fist at Roda this season? I set my fastest lap on the damp track, but when it got dry I got balked by Roda, and it was Roda and then in my final lap I cam up against a Reynard being slow. Still I have a good feeling about the race. Our season starts now.

Roda here... Roda there... I usually spend only few words to commentate drivers like you around the paddock - and you're not the only one: if you are supposed to be a quick driver, then you should have overtaken me easily today. Though you're still here, complaining either about the car, or the tyres, or the team, or the mechanics or the fuel, or all the other drivers on the circuit. It's only somebody else problem, never your fault.

And, obviously, Giovanni Roda is Italian

[the Masked Lapwing]

How many times do I have to wave my fist at Roda this season? I set my fastest lap on the damp track, but when it got dry I got balked by Roda, and it was Roda and then in my final lap I cam up against a Reynard being slow. Still I have a good feeling about the race. Our season starts now.

*whistles*

[Shizuka]

This time I wasn't complaining, I said I was at the wrong time in the wrong place, because I was about 5 seconds behind Roda on my first flyer, but then I had to slow down to not get a penalty. This could happen to anyone anyway.

[East Londoner]

Tommy Nash to have Arrows test?
Rumours are flying around that the Arrows F1 team are likely to hand Canadian driver Tommy Nash a test session after the San Marino Grand Prix, with the possible intention of replacing part-time driver Jan de Friis, whose F3000 commitments mean that Monaco will be his last race until the end of the F3000 season just before the Belgium Grand Prix in August. Should the test go well, Nash will be handed his superlicence, and thus should be able to make his debut at the Spanish Grand Prix. It is likely that once de Friis returns, Nash will be loaned to another team with vacancy for the remainder of the season.

Was looking through the thread again, and realised we all pretty much ignored JeremyMclean, so I thought I'd rectify that.

[Phoenix]

At least my transmission worked this time.

[DanielPT]

Ended up a bit lower on the grid than what I think the car was capable of. Nevertheless the bet was on race pace and we hope to fight for the points in this race.