I’m voting for the FIA post as my pick for Post of the Year. It’s quite something when they admit they don't actually know much about Formula 1, quoting themselves: "I don't know much about formula, I just improvise." They even went as far as calling for the McLaren crew to get together ("...come out of your burrows."), especially since there's footage of Hakkinen overtaking both Zonta and Michael Schumacher... and so on. 😁 👋
Carl Foster8 said:Correct me if I've got this wrong... Isn't that car meant for next season? 😕 🙂
Not quite. While the MP4-18 was retired, the new MP4-19 actually uses its core design as a foundation. They've essentially taken that base and integrated an entirely new aero package along with updated safety features. Everything else has been refined too, and the testing phase is still in full swing.
Rain Bow said:Well, I'm glad to see you too! It feels like there haven't been many posts lately, so seeing both of us popping up really brightens my day.
People are posting plenty, just not in this specific corner of the forum.😁 I actually just hit my 2,000th post under this username, though I probably should be closer to 3,000 since my first account was deleted right around the 1,000-post mark.
Rain Bow said:Have you grown??? 😁
Yes, but in all the wrong directions!😁 I definitely overdid it on the Christmas cookies this year.😳
Carl Foster8 said:Is that McLaren car actually making progress, or are they just going to sit out the rest of the season with this new chassis?😁
They're making steady gains.😁 I’d say most other teams haven't even come close to finishing their new models yet, whereas McLaren has been out on the track for months now, breaking one record after another.👍
Hugh 'n' Pepper said:...people are dancing, jumping, or just losing it to whatever you're playing... there was even some autograph hunting going on, though I'm not quite sure what the deal with that was...
Haha, tell me about it! My brother actually went absolutely nuts because you wouldn't sign his stuff!! Now he calls me every single day about it—I can't get rid of him until you finally sign his concert ticket from Lollapalooza!😉
Here are a few updates from our new car testing sessions. I can only say one thing: we are incredibly fast! It’s been an exhilarating start to the season. 😁
TESTING TIMES Indianapolis
Thursday, December 11, 2003
AccuWeather: dry, a high of 68 degrees
Fastest times of the day: Driver Constructor Time Laps Pedro de la Rosa Team McLaren Mercedes 1m16.203s 53 Lewis Hamilton Renault 1m16.690s 118 Marc Gene Williams BMW 1m17.144s 90 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams BMW 1m17.328s 62 Alex Wurz Team McLaren Mercedes 1m17.653s 67 Franck Montagny Renault 1m17.788s 106 Luc Badoer Scuderia Ferrari 1m18.332s 76 Rubens Barrichello Scuderia Ferrari 1m18.360s 53 Takuma Sato🙂 Honda 1m18.426s 71 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 1m18.585s 71 Christian Klien Jaguar Cosworth 1m18.730s 92 Mark Webber Jaguar Cosworth 1m18.776s 66 Olivier Panis Toyota 1m18.830s 69 Jenson Button BAR Honda 1m19.639s 51 Neel Jani Sauber Petronas 1m20.269s 93 Ho-Pin Tung Williams BMW 1m22.077 42
Indianapolis
Wednesday, December 10, 2003
AccuWeather: A high of 55 degrees, dry
Fastest times of the day: Driver Constructor Time Laps Pedro de la Rosa Team McLaren Mercedes 1m17.166 72 Lewis Hamilton Renault 1m17.861 98 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams BMW 1m18.221 75 Luc Badoer Scuderia Ferrari 1m18.515 73 Jenson Button BAR Honda 1m18.552 89 Rubens Barrichello Scuderia Ferrari 1m19.041 63 Mark Webber Jaguar Cosworth 1m19.048 84 Alex Wurz Team McLaren Mercedes 1m19.480 43 Olivier Panis Toyota 1m19.561 56 Marc Gene Williams BMW 1m19.628 111 Christian Klien Jaguar Cosworth 1m19.812 88 Satoshi Montoyama Renault 1m19.999 67 Felipe Massa Sauber Petronas 1m21.165 86 Bjorn Wirdien BAR Honda 1m21.313 79 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 1m21.494 28 Franck Montagne Renault 1m27.523 7
Elizabeth Hughes regarding Sergio Marchionne said:Anyone who isn't putting in the work during the season better get moving now (I'm looking at you, David Coulthard)... 🙄 😛
It’s quite an achievement to stay in the top eight by the end of a season, and David has been part of that elite group for years. Personally, I'm expecting him to hang up his helmet and move on from Formula 1 and McLaren after his run as a world champion.😁
B.A.R. Honda has officially locked in their partnership with Michelin for next season, and Toyota is set to unveil their new car on January 17, 2004. That’s all the news on the Asian team for now; let's shift our focus back to McLaren.🙂The MP4-19 managed to pull off three solid days of testing, completing 127 laps without any major hiccups during the sessions in Valencia. Kimi is still enjoying some downtime while Wurz and Coulthard take the wheel.
I feel like we've all drifted a bit away from the main topic, which is whether Juan Pablo Montoya should join McLaren Mercedes for 2005! Hooray !!!! I know he might not quite reach Kimi Räikkönen's level, but he’s definitely ahead of David Coulthard, so he'd be a great asset for McLaren as they chase that constructors' championship.
We finally have Montoya!!! Honestly, if they gave Wurz a shot next season instead of David, everything would be perfect. I'm hearing rumors that Villeneuve is definitely leaving F1!
I noticed nobody has weighed in on the latest news regarding Montoya, who stated he’s definitely seeing his contract through to the end—meaning one more season at BMW Williams. Since the most decorated driver ever might be moving on in 2005, it looks like Montoya will be the top target for the two heavyweights: Ferrari and McLaren.
Feel free to share all your updates regarding the upcoming season and any major team shake-ups here. The latest news is that Ferrari is bolstering its ranks by bringing on one of the top aerodynamics experts in the business; John Iley signed with them just this week after his time at Renault.
Read more here: Ferrari has hired former Renault employee John Iley as its new head of aerodynamics.
Iley, who worked in a similar role with Renault under the direction of Mike Gascoyne, has joined Ferrari in what is a newly created role. He will report to Ferrari's chief designer, Rory Byrne.