The Official F1 2012 Season Discussion Thread

[Mutley]

I was quite looking forward to this season until I heard Sky HD had bagged the exclusive coverage. Then I was angry. Then I remembered we had Sky HD installed a few months ago and all was well with force again

I think Ferrari are going to be stronger this year than a lot of people seem to be predicting after testing but what really interests me is what's going to happen further down the pack with the likes of Force India, Lotus and Caterham

Agreed. Caterham have something to prove, they need to show real progress at attacking the mid-field. Lotus are making good noises, but I think they are a shadow of the former team. Mercedes also need to demonstrate real forward progress, now they have alot more people and technical skill. They don't want to end up like Toyota. The new budget restrictions will help there, as will mid-season testing.
Force India is an interesting one. Mallya has sold most of his stake to Sahara I think, and not before time - his assets were recently frozen. From what I've read he has been involved in some very shady dealings in India with his low-cost airline. So if Mallya disappears, it isn't clear what affect that would have on Force India.

Last chance for Schumacher as well? And what about Hamilton pulling his thumb out? Will he stay with McLaren?

Will the split in FOTA cause real problems? I think Bernie is behind that - his usual divide and conquer approach.

Should be an interesting season, one which should be more competitive imo.

[Golden Dragoon]

I really need to look into the sky F1 channel, I have sky hd, but if I have to subscribe to ss then I won't do it, I am not interested in 99% of what they have to offer on ss.

[malfunction]

It's free with Sky HD, you don't need the sports package - try channel 408

[Ciber]

This I agree whole heartly with the season just seemed to dragged last year it was too long. worked better with a few less races ....

I agree. If anything 12 races makes more sense to me. F1 is my favourite sport to watch but last year I was getting bored of it by the end.

[Hoonigan]

Who's excited then?

Practice starts in about 8 hours, but not a clue how I'm gonna be able to watch it

[Lanky123]

Practice starts in about 8 hours, but not a clue how I'm gonna be able to watch it

Sooner than that, practice 1 starts at 1:30am GMT. But yeah, I'm not sure who has the rights or inclination to televise the practice sessions.

[hnosyalnif]

Practice sessions are on Sky F1 channel. Won't be on the BBC.

And yes I am excited and gutted I'll probably miss the first 2 races due to being in Tignes...

COME ON McLAREN!!

[Hoonigan]

Yeah, EVERYTHING is broadcast on the Sky F1 channel, but I can't afford that yet, so I need to find a stream or something to watch it on..

Anyone?

[hnosyalnif]

Try watching the German RTL feed (should be on their website - http://www.rtl.de/cms/sport/formel-1.html) Stream I think will appear later. You can use BBC 5live audio to get English commentary instead of the German one.

[Spank]

Watching sky's practice atm via http://eplsite.biz/stream4.html

[shaithis]

Yeah, EVERYTHING is broadcast on the Sky F1 channel, but I can't afford that yet, so I need to find a stream or something to watch it on..

Bloodzeed

[Andy3536]

Should be a really interesting opener.
Facinated by the Mecedes f duct inspired front and rear wings too. Should be quick on the straights.
I'm pleaseed the FIA seems to be talking about how to get rid of the stepped nose for 2013 though

Really looking foward to seeing how they all shape up.

[Hoonigan]

My dad's come in as an absolute legend and he's letting me use his Sky Go account to watch the F1 with.. Absolutely chuffed with that!

Sky HD F1 FTW

Although, a quick question for everyone, am I the only person that missed Jake Humphrey last night? The new presenter just didn't seem anywhere near as good

[hnosyalnif]

GET IN! McLaren 1-2 now to do it in the race as well. 7/10ths quicker than Red Bull, awesome.

[Andy3536]

Great to see Mclaren 1-2.

The only real shame is i very nearly put i bet on Romain Grosjean, to win was 50-1 and top 3 iirc 20-1.

Looks close though, Rosberg clearly had more pace and it'll be intesting to see Kimi Tomorrow morning coming from the back with 2 sets of fresh soft tires.
Interesting to see team boses are still persuing the legality of the mercedes too.

[MSIC]

Great to see Mclaren 1-2.

The only real shame is i very nearly put i bet on Romain Grosjean, to win was 50-1 and top 3 iirc 20-1.

Looks close though, Rosberg clearly had more pace and it'll be intesting to see Kimi Tomorrow morning coming from the back with 2 sets of fresh soft tires.
Interesting to see team boses are still persuing the legality of the mercedes too.

+1 +2 +3

Well done Mclaren boys, but Grosjean for me was the standout of the race - especially when you compare and contrast one driver to their team mate (come on Kimi - you can do better than that! What went wrong?).

By the way - does anyone know the legality of streaming these F1 streams from abroad?
I can imagine that Sky's lawyers are all over it right now...