Oh well, it's here again, first race of the season and for the wealthy amongst us who can watch it live via Skyrobbers an early morning beckons.
The poorer of us will just have to wait for the back-stabbing BBC to show us what they consider to be the "highlights" on Sunday night

Then again, I'm a tight-fisted git so I've got two options lined up; RTL television via satellite does free-to-air coverage and Radio 5 Live can provide the commentary, if required. Or I'll watch it live on an internet feed

Anyway, enough of the grumbling about the shoddy way the British fans have been treated and onto podium predictions.....


Qualifying;

1. Hamilton
2. Button
3. Vettel

Race;

1. Hamilton
2. Alonso
3. Button

Yeah, a total shot in the dark and probably 100% wrong!

Ooh - this is exciting

Quali
1. Vettel
2. Hamilton
3. Button

Race
1. Button
2. Vettel
3. Hamilton

Nothing new there.

Looking forward to watching this live on Sunday, can't wait to see what the Sky coverage is like.

Qualifying;

1. Vettel
2. Hamilton
3. Skippy

Race;

1. Hamilton
2. Vettel
3. Button

Qualifying:
1. Vettel
2. Raikkonen
3. Alonso

Race:
1. Vettel
2. Button
3. Webber

I can't wait for this to get started. The quali session are going to be so interesting, have Red Bull kept their advantage? Has their new exhaust, which pushes the regs to the limit, been worth it. They could have the same issues as Renault did last year and never quite get it to performa as expected whereby it ends up compromising the whole car.

Either that or they will storm qualli and then dominate the season... again

Very excited!

I think any of the front runners who stuffs qualifying will be in trouble as the midfield teams will be fast enough to be very hard to pass. Could spell trouble for Button and Webber, for example...

Although Red Bull look unflustered, it really is anyone's guess until the chequered flag on Sunday.

If the race is major incident-free, I suspect Vettel will be hard to beat. Other than that, I have no idea.

Qualifying:
1. Vettel
2. Raikkonen
3. Hamilton

Race:
1. Webber
2. Vettel
3. Button

Webber to qulify 4th and work his way up the field relatively un-noticed. Hamilton to lose a nose cone and come 6th.

Dammit - you mean the Beeb havn't got the first GP of the season!! I assumed they would have @*!@**

Quali:

1. Vettel
2. Button
3. Hamilton

Race

1. Hamilton
2. Vettel
3. Button

I hope Vettel doesn't walk it, but in all honesty I can see it happening again.

Does anybody know what the F1 channel number is? all of the adverts seem to omit this information and I've not got round to flicking through the guide!

Channel 516 on Virgin.

i think it should be about 6 more than Sky Sports 1.

I'll be in Berlin. Wonder what they're showing there?

I assume Channel 516 is going to disappear for all the VirginMedia customers that haven't (and won't) sign up for all the SkySports channels?

F1 channel on Sky is 459

And for those that like to see every little whisker on Jensons chin the HD channel is 408

I have Sky Sports on Virgin Media (and I know this makes me a bad person), but I am a little miffed that even though I cough every month to get football I don't watch in HD, I'll only get F1 in SD.

Yeah but will it make any odds on your telly Jim with it's dodgy volume and shadowy V effect etc

A fair point, well made. But like "Loretta" in Life of Brian, I want the right to HD.

So far I'm the only true Ambassador of Satan, who has Sky Sports on Sky in HD, then. Muhahahaha!

I shall be sure to post at length about Jenson's Stubble. As it happens I was watching a review programme on F1HD yesterday, and it seemed to look *way* better than Auntie's HD coverage last year. More bandwidth assigned, perhaps? Or just that I'd cleaned my glasses? Its also going to be in 5.1 audio. PROVIDE.

Quali:
1. Vettel
2. Button
3. Kimi (I can't spell Raikkkoekkenkkenen)

Race:
1. Vettel. I hope I'm wrong.
2. Button
3. Alonso

A lot of love for Button here. I would love to see him do well, but I can't help feeling his tendency not to perform brilliantly in qualifying will hamper him.

Unless Adrian Newey has produced another all-conquering uber-machine, my own tip for the championship is Hamilton. I know it may sound deranged, but if he truly has shaken off his demons/distractions and if the McLaren is quick enough to be competitive in his hands, I think he has a lot to prove and the talent to do so.

I don't disagree with that, but Hamilton shaking the demons is a big if. I'm not convinced he's done it.

Quite excited about Kimi's prospects as the season wears on, though. He seems even more comfortable than before, which may mean he is technically asleep.

I'll be watching the stubble version, cheers Nobby - series link set!

I agree that it is a big night-club bouncer of an "if" (re: Hamilton), but it will be highly entertaining if true.

I genuinely think that the big decider will be avoiding getting caught in the chasing pack.

Everyone from Mercedes to Lotus, Force India to Sauber has looked potentially rapid, not to mention Toro Rosso and a potentially re-nascent Williams (OK, the last one is unlikely). Get mixed up with that lot and your chances of a podium will be seriously reduced.

Big question: Will Ferrari be up with the leaders or back in the pack?

Unfortunately he's back with her

I agree the midfield will be closer to the front, but Pirelli will have engineered the tyres to 'drop off the cliff' even more than the first half of last season, potentially enabling plenty of passing and helping those kinder on tyres.

I expect Ferrari to be up there in quali and then fail in the race or vice versa, they just can't seem to get the middle ground of late.

Touch of Yoko syndrome going on there, RK...?!

[quote=Jim_ClennellTouch of Yoko syndrome going on there, RK...?! [/quote]


Ono there isn't

I'm on the dark side too but only because I have the HD package. No sports package for me so well please. I pity the wife and neighbours at 6am sunday when they set off in full 5.1 DD sound....

I decided to convert to The Dark Side with Sky too - installed today and definitely looking crisper HD than what I can recall from the Beeb last year. Watching on my phone via SkyGo is cool too :-)

Quali -

1. Vettel
2. Lewis
3. Kimi

Race:

1. Vettel
2. Button
3. Alonso

Lewis & Kimi DNF

Well i hope this isnt an omen for my experience of the sky coverage, but i swtiched on the TV just intime to see a car turn a corner and then an advert break

Seems to be alot of chatter about some Merc airducting. Initial thoughts are that when they open their DRS a vent is opened in their side pods blowing air over the lower part of the rear wing near the rear light.

People are calling it a "Super DRS".

Here are the details:

Merc F-Duct reimagination

"a system – which vents the air through the endplates and in to the main plane, to help stall the wing and boost straight-line speed...

However, despite the way the system effectively makes use of driver movement when he activates the DRS, the FIA has no doubts that it complies with the regulations."

MSC fastest in FP2 - and looking comfortable. Not sure you can read a lot into these times either - especially on a drying track.