I should clarify. I agree with your statement that any driver is only as good as his car/team. Schumi is the obvious example there.

What I mean regarding Button driving a good car well is that he needs to be in a car that is light years ahead of the remainder of the pack to win. He drives well, but I don't find him to be great at passing like Hamilton. He doesn't drive the piss out of a car like Räikkönen. And I think Ross Brawn had more to do with Button's success during his championship year than Button did. I think Button does a great job at driving a ho-hum race most of the time, and in the end, that consistency may well pay off for him like it did last weekend in Malaysia. I just don't think he's on the same page as some of the other F1 champs on this year's grid.

As for F1 becoming too elitist with the removal of scrub teams, I think that's just fine. I could be wrong here, because I only started watching F1 in the last decade, but I think it was different 20 years ago when the grid had 30+ drivers each race. Back then, the rules allowed for teams to use more of their imagination when designing a car... Teams brought cars with engines ranging from a Cosworth V8 to a Lamborghini V12. Of course, the seasons were still dominated by 2-3 teams, but I think a car guy could appreciate the engineering behind someone else's engine design choices. Today's HRT team being lucky enough to break past the 107% time is saddening and a waste.

I think capping the budget and allowing teams to use their imagination drives innovation further. Of course there are limits for everything, but F1 is all about pushing those limits. If that means engineers had to get creative to build a reliable, fast, fuel efficient car on a budget...I'm sure they'd find a way.

But you're right. It's not my money, so I shouldn't care if they blow $300,000,000 per year on nothing. But to me, that's like seeing a trust fund baby drop coin on an exotic and wrap it around a tree. It's just a damn shame.

 

The new season is AWESOME fun to watch. Qualifying for this race was OUTSTANDING. Many of the top teams put in their "puttering around" laps and then went into the garage only to be beat by perennial mid-fielders. It was great! Then the leaders had to get their asses in gear and get back out there. It was great fun to watch. The degradation of the Pirelli's was something to see! It made the strategy much more interesting. It also (combined with KERS and DRS) increased passing by a WIDE margin! I was very impressed. Webber had one HELL of a drive, I was VERY impressed.

I disagree with the Schumi comments above. Last year he sucked, but the car was not developed around him and he had a hard time adapting his driving style. So far this year, he's been much more aggressive and I believe he's driving the wheels off that car now. It sucks that the car sucks so bad, but I think he's really doing well with what he has to work with.

I kinda like the 107% rule, I'd almost rather see it go to 106% though or even 105%. I'd love to see more teams enter, and then have to fight to make it to the grid. In the "old" days they had more teams than slots on the track, so you really DID have to qualify to race. I'd like to see that again.

One the one hand, I want them to drive the fastest, most technological amazing cars in the world. On the other, I want more teams to participate. I get they they are trying to save money, but I disagree with how they go about it. The no testing thing is pretty dumb. KERS is actually pretty dumb. ABS, Traction Control, SMG, active aero, Carbon Brakes, Carbon Fiber, etc, etc, etc. All of these things translate to street cars, and having manufactures develop these things for the race car, then adapt them to street cars is pretty cool. WTF is KERS for on a street car?

I thought the F-Duct from last year was GENIUS, but alas now it is outlawed. Frustrating.