You think David Coultard will get the pole?

But I get the impression it's so hard to judge qual or raceday performance based on practice times. It seems like so much data is gathered in practice, pored over by the drivers and engineers, then used to revamp car setups overnight that next-day performance can be night-and-day compared to practice.

Even at Malaysia the best practice times were a full two seconds slower than qual or race laps! It was like some garages were visited by the LowLapTime elves on Friday night, and other garages were just infested by gremlins.

It seems like Interlagos requires a combination of high horsepower for the long straights (BMW engine) and, for the twisting infield, precise driver input (Montoya). And the projected heat may favor Michelin tires.

My money's on Montoya with Michelin tires and reliable BMW horsepower.

Where's the Malay babe-o-rama pictures?

Damn Jim, you always go into perfectly ON-Topic threads and ask for pictures of chicks... do you miss that guy OffTopicPictures? ;)

Anyway, Coultard could get it.... but I'm gonna have to second that Montoya vote, either him or Schumacher... Ralf Schumacher that is... BMW-Williams is a lock....... i hope :D

I want BMW-Williams to win it all. Next year. I want to see Michael peg the history books first.

My money's on Montoya for pole, too. Guess we'll find out in six and a half hours!

I'm really curious to see how the F2002 turns out ... those boys always seem to save a little something from practice ...

Jim, here's a little somethin' for ya:
http://www.dailyf1.com/en/photos/pitbabes/index.phtml

And good luck to us all, gentlemen. :) Time to fire up EA's F1 2001 ...

Jim, I had the pics in hand when I visited the ladies on a layover last weekend in Singapore, but . . . in my hurry to check out of the hotel my dumb ass left the photos in the room. Doh!! So I gotta wait til I get back to Singapore in about two weeks before I can scan and post the pics.

TiAg, do you drive F1 2001 too???!!?? I've put in about 120 laps at Interlagos, testing and tuning. Best lap time so far is 1:16.397. How about trading setup tips or racing online? I'll pm ya.

Back on-topic: Yeah, I'd like to see how the F2002 fares versus Barrichello's F2001. Oh, and I wonder if the BMW engine reliability has improved as it seems from Australia and Malaysia.

I wonder if Montoya's engine failures last season can be partly attributed to the botched, extended pit stops and resulting overheating. Did they solve that problem?

Outstanding point regarding pit stop times.

Montoya
Michael
Ralf
Coulthard
Raikkonen
Trulli

Looks like McLaren is having teething problems with the "Mercedes" engine, made my Ilmor.

D'oh! First-turn follies strike again ... but what a battle between the bros! I feel bad for Rubino, though. It's about time he got a chance to finish.

Looks like that F2002 is a hell of a machine, too. Looks like a great aero package ...

Sidenote: Columbia-Tristar put out a DVD reviewing the 2000 season; does anybody have any word on a similar disc for 2001?

Question: Everyone saw when JPM made the move to pass MS, and MS cut across to block him, but I thought that he could only move over once. He is a piece of shit for blocking to the right as well. I am not against trying to make the guy behind you work for the pass, but blocking because he can, just makes my blood boil. Schumacher is a good driver, but people are congratulating him on being in front and block out his competition. He probably stepped on the brakes a bit, who knows?:complain

I think MS is going to push the rules as far as he can until someone starts complaining. Voice your opinion to the FIA and see if they start watching more closely. Michael is the crown prince, so to speak, so he can probably get away with a lot of trash.