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Welcome back Muzza!!

Firstly- what were your views on the Hispania debacle in Australia and how do you think they have done since then?

Will we see michael schumacher return to challenging the frontrunners?

Hello Murray, my question is: "Is the racing we've seen from DRS and Pirelli too artificial?"

Thank you

Hello Murray,

my question is, what is your view on Bernie Ecclestone's sprinkler idea to create artifical wet races?

Shanghai 2011 reminded me of Mexico 1990, where Alain Prost qualified 13th on the grid, but still passed all of his rivals, to take an amazing win, making sure he had good tyres at the end of the race(no stops), to be competitive throughout, after Ayrton Senna ran into chronic tyre issues.
Senna took too long in coming in, and paid the price with a blown rear, putting him out.
Can you recall a better race similarly exciting race in the dry?
A good thing about the 'artificial racing' line - most of Lewis' overtakes were without DRS.

Do you think the lifetime of the hard compound tyre is not enough, therefore leaving more discarded rubber on track which just isnt necessary?

Do you think that Jenson Button's mistake at the Chinese Grand Prix, by pitting in the wrong pit box, cost him the race victory?

Murray! One question for you: I'm a young American who has been in love with F1 since 2006, a short stint so far, I know. I'd like to get your opinion on the current state of Formula One now that we have the first 3 races in the bag.

The Chinese Grand Prix this year was the most amazing race I've ever witnessed in any form of motorsport, and I watch everything from WRC to MotoGP to NASCAR (yeehaw).

Do you feel that the new rules and regs (DRS, Pirellis, KERS etc) are really onto something? Or was the Chinese Grand Prix just a perfect storm?

Hi Murray,

Is there any chance we will hear some of your commentary magic his season - Martin's great but it would be nice to hear your infectious tones on a live race again?

do you think hispania will make it to the end of the season????

During the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ forum, a Red Bull employee suggested that Jenson Button had entered the Red Bull pit box deliberately to disrupt their pitstop. There is no doubt that Hamilton gained an advantage from this "mistake" and Jenson's explaination that he was "looking down" sounds extremely strange. Had Jenson been "looking down" then the chances are he would have crashed, not stopped in someone elses pit box. Could Jenson or McLaren have really been involved in something dishonest?

Which of the new drivers have made the biggest impression on you?

I am interested to know if it is against FIA rules to fit different tyre types to front and rear axles. I used to work in the tyre industry and I know it is done with motorcyle racing tyres to optimise performance. Perhaps soft tyres on one axle and hard on the other would be a way to balance under or oversteer.

Do you support me that there should be a rule if someone takes you out of a race or ruin your chance of solid points, should there be a way where you get to keep ur points like Alonso-Hamilton last week even though hamilton was wrongly seen to be guilty, but there were several instances of this of vettel last season in which he ruined other races and got away with it

Hi Murray, I've been waiting for your video blogs, it so good to have you back.

My question is, how impressed are you by Paul Di Resta and how long do you think it will be before we see him in a top team, like McLaren?

Thank you,
Zoot, Isle of Wight

DRS - with the current ruling about being 1second, behind the car in front of you - does that have to be the car in track position in front of you or, can there be a backmarker infront of you and you be able to use the DRS to take him and the next car?

Murray, what is your opinion on the potential impact of the marbling issue for the Monaco GP? Also, do you think that the DRS will even be used? I could only see it possibly being used on the run form Ste. Devote to Massanet, or from Portier to the Nouvelle chicane, although it might be trickyunder braking for the chicane because it's downhill on entry...

Welcome back Murray!
Good to have you back...just the one question

What is wrong at Ferrari?

Hope to hear more from you during the season...

Would you like to see an unlimited Kers, where there is no 7 seconds per lap or 80 BHP rule?,
so the teams/ Kers manufacturers can technology race it to gather and spend as much energy as they can, even if the FIA limited team spend per year on KERs to stop it getting too costly. I think this would lead to improvements in the "green" technology, and provide the teams with a "real" turbo style boost button to attack and defend and gain lap time with.

If this was done, surely we could lose the contrived and overally complicated rule driven DRS but get as much overtaking, with more tech interest.

My other question is...

Do you think when DRS is enabled the FIA should allow the engines to rev a little higher say an extra 500 rpm, to prevent or reduce teams just banging into the rev limiter so much and perhaps push engine reliability more?

I'm a lifelong Williams fan, and I'm deeply concerned that the team is dying in a fashion we saw with some other great teams, namely Brabham and Lotus (the original one).

Do you believe that Williams alone can recover or is a tie-up with a manufacturer the only way they can return to their former glory?

Hi Murray,

I have two questions.

How is it that two customer teams (Red Bull and Mclaren) are able to consistently beat their two manufacturer teams (Renault and Mercedes) and also of course Ferrari.

Secondly could a customer team (for example Mclaren) make and run their own engine, effectively bypassing the ban on engine development and allow them to introduce an engine more tailored to the current regulations / tyres etc.

Welcome back Murray!
A lighthearted question for you.

Given that David Coulthard insists on constantly calling one of the drivers "Nick Hide-Field" do you have any fond memories of any of your own clangers?

The most prominent for me are the time you inadvertently poked Nigel Mansell on his bruised head and, during a motor race saying the leader "was moving serenly to victory" at which point said leader promptly hit a bank and somersaulted out of the race. Come to think of it, you were a lot more amusing than David.
Please come back!!!

I'd like to know which of the current drivers you enjoy listening to the most in interviews.

Hi Murray,

Have you noticed lately that when we have a British driver on the podium the Union Flag is flown upsidedown (in relation to the other flags). Surely if, as a mark of respect, they are going to play the correct anthem then they should sort out the flags. This happens all too often in F1 I'm afraid.

Hi Murray. I would love to hear your opinion on the DRS and Kers. Do you see any negative aspects in these systems?. I ask this because Some teams are suffering DRS and Kers failures that are effecting their results.

Having said that, todays race was fantastic :)

Hi Murray
At Canada 2010 we saw team doing 2-3 stops on the Bridgestone tyre. Do you think we could see teams do as high as 5 stops at Canada this year on the Pirelli tyres?

Hello Murray, Hope you are well!

What do you think of the 'sprinklers' Idea through a race as suggested from Bernie Ecclestone?

Hi Murray,
If Michael Schumacher decides to retire again at the end of this season, do you believe Paul Di Resta will take his seat at Mercedes?

Good to see you back Murray,
Rosberg led for much of the race and had good pace, do you think that Mecedes could have got their first win since reforming if there wasn't such a difference in the times of the soft and hard tyres?

Should drivers be allowed to break a tow to the car behind with long and obvious moves like hamilton was penalised for in malaysia 2010? It's the car behinds decision to follow or not and I thought it was a great bit of back and forth between them which put no one at risk. If anything lewis was constantly opening the door to the car behind.

Love ya Murray hope you're well! ^_^

Hi Murray, great to have you back again!

Do you think the two Sauber drivers have a good future ahead for themselves in other more experienced teams and do you think they'll get on the podium this year after appearing in the points in every race so far (despite the unfortunate DSQ in the first).

Dear Murray, What fond memories of your commentry on F1. Why did you ever leave? Just watched the Chinese Race in a bar in Ibiza. Great. Could you explain about the strategy with the tyres. ie. how many laps do soft last against hard & how many times can they change tyres?

Agree with #9 muddly_talker Please Please Please join the commentary team for a race or qualifying session even a practice session would be great and whilst you're at it get jackie stewart to join you to!!!

Given what we have seen so far this season do you think there is a case for making an extra pit stop to be certain that you have to optimum tires on the car especially on circuits like China which allow for lots of overtaking. As we clearly saw today being on fresher tires at the end of the race clearly has a huge benefit!

Hi Murray,

Would like to ask what your opinions of the new regs for 2011 and what you think of the start of the season in comparision to past seasons?

Also, given Virgin's lack of pace (even Hispania, whose troubles have been extremely well documented by the media, look faster) do you think the team will have to re-evaluate their design philosophy given that CFD solely isn't working for them.

Hi Murray, looking forward to another year of blogs!

My question is: What do you make of the rumours that Hamilton is set to join Red Bull next year?

Thanks,

Tom

Hello Murray, Great to have you back again!! I know it is early in the season but do you think that Alonso and Ferrari will be in the mix for the championship at the end of the year?

Great to have you back Murray!

What do you make of Hispania and do you think that they'll finish ahead of Virgin this season since the car seems to have some pace?

What do you think of the talk of bringing back turbos on smaller 4 cylinder engines? Is Bernie or Jean right?

Which do you think has made the racing more exciting: the pirelli tyres or the KERS and DRS?
Holly Woodward
(by the way great to see your Q&A back!)

Murray, with the superb race in China, where there was so much 'action' that the excellent Martin Brundle and DC couldn't report it all, do you agree KERS and the rear wing DRS are a good thing for the sport? I don't agree with some detractors who say they are producing 'false' racing, as I think DC said 'the whole car is an overtaking device . .'

Hi Murray,
I'd like to know why, despite Nico Rosberg clearly outperforming Michael Schumacher last season, he remains officially the second driver at Mercedes?

Hi murray. whats your view on DRS in qualifying and the race? why can you use it anywhere in qualifying ? why not standardise it , keep the race and qualifying rules the same

Hi Murray

Is Mark Webber being handed too many problem from his team to really see himself as an equal within Red Bull to Vettel ?

Hi Murray,

Not really a question about the season so far but more a historical question...looking back over the history of F1 - what do you consider to be the most poignant moment?

Thanks, Hywel

Murray, two questions:
If KERS is energy stored from braking why is it available off the start and not from the end of the first lap?
On the list of 3-letter drivers names on screen showing positions etc, all are surnames eg BUT, VET, HAM etc, except Michael Schumacher who is MSC, ie his first name too. Why does he have this acknowledgement when no other driver does?

Hi Murray,

Are Red Bull ahead as far as much as people say, or is Vettel just pulling out some fantastic performances early on? Are McLaren on par with the team from Milton Keynes?

Hi Murray, welcome to the 2011 season!
My question is Do you think that F1 has become too much of a stratagy based competition, where the true racers are held back to "nurse" their tyres?

Thanks

Helenka

Hello Murray,

Good to see you are back! What are your views on Pirelli's high degradation tyres?

I fell that they stymie true aggressive racing, put the rest of the grid at a disadvantage because they have to push harder to catch up and therefore wear their tyres out faster, and could potentially represent a hazard with significantly increased marbles on the track off line. There's no doubt that it makes for an interesting race for the spectators, but is it true racing, or just a tyre management contest.

Hi Murray,

For years there has been complaints of processional races yet the last few years have produced some of the best championship battles of all time with various grand prix winners. Now the DRS/kers/Pirelli combo is so far producing even more exciting racing but do you think it will improve the racing at tracks which have become considered boring, like Valencia and Abhu Dabi, even Monaco too is generally a procession?

if the indy 500 was to once again be a round in the F1 championship, how competitive would the F1 teams be?

hi murray whats your biggest disapointment so far after 3 races? and please come back for one race itll be as a big as schumacher coming back and 100 times better!!!!

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

We saw a lot of drivers have fantastic races at China, but who do you think had the best race in terms of what that particular driver is trying to achieve and why?

Eddie Jordan is probably one of the most idiotic people ever to pick up a microphone and yet the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ are much to dumb to see it. Discuss.

Hi Murray,

What are your thought on the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ commentary team? Seem to work well to me. And would you consider co-commentary at the British GP as a guest, or at any other time for old times sake?

Hi Murray!
How do you think the season will pan out for ferrari, and do you think massa will put up a better fight to alonso than last year?

Hi Murray. What do you make of the 2011 Williams' car? Both Barichello and Maldonado have failed to score points in the first three races and only finished the race in Shanghai. Could we see them fall behind Team Lotus?

Hi Murray, firstly thanks for answering my question towards the end of last season regarding Renault and Mercedes coming back this season, you were right!
My question is: Hamilton seems really quick this season, at the hight of his career you might say. but can he or any other, Button or Alonso, really challenge Vettle, maybe Webber and the mighty quick RB7 or is Adrian Newey's mighty creation just too much for Mclaren this year? Thanks
Olly

Hi Murray im not sure about dsg what do you make of it

Hi Murray, what do you think of Paul di Resta in his rookie season for Force India? Do you think he could be a future British World Champion?

who would you say was the best f1 driver of the 21st century thanks

Murray, if the cars are bouncing off the rev limiter on the back straight, then they are going at top speed by the time they get to the DRS zone. Why is there any advantage at all from reducing the drag? The engine won't go any faster as the revs are limited, and the final gear ratio dictates the top speed at max revs?

Welcome back!

Can Vettel continue his dominance at every track?

I'd, first of all, like to say it's great for you to be back with the video blogs!!!

Murray, would you agree with me that Formula 1 Grand Prix Motor Racing should be about focusing on finding optimum performance, plus respecting safety matters, that a car can safely go, rather than focusing on "the show". Or at least, there should be a better balance, in favour of performance, over "the show".

Thanks and all the very best wishes.

I hope you forgive me (for putting more than one question in). What is your opinion on Paul Di Resta's first races and do you think anything can be read into it regarding his future career?

Thank you and best wishes.

HI MURRAY,
GREAT START TO THE SEASON - HOWEVER, DO YOU AGREE THAT MICHAEL SCHUMACHER SHOULD HANG UP HIS RACING GLOVES NOW, BEFORE HE EMBARRASSES HIMSELF ANYMORE? HE CONTINUES TO BE OUT QUALIFIED AND OUT RACED BY HIS BRILLIANT TEAM MATE, AND SHOWS LITTLE REAL CHANCE OF BEING ON THE PODIUM, WINNING A RACE OR ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP. HE IS JUST RUINING HIS UNIQUE HISTORY FOR HIS OWN VANITY.
KIND REGARDS,
SURREYTILE

Hi Murray!

Is it right that the world championship could be won by the driver who looks after his tyres over the person who is the fastest? Im not sure if you will agree but some drivers like Hamilton for instance who are very fast might struggle with races with high tyre wear rates. I don't think the pinnacle of motorsport should be about tyre conservation.

Thanks for your time

2 questions.

1) After the Perez incident in Malaysia, isn't it time for the FIA to increase the minimum weight and demand that carbon fibre tubs have a kevlar cloth lining? "Bullet-Proofing" would surely prevent penetration incidents like this ever endangering a driver? It's used in crash helmets after all!

2) With Barrichello and others complaining about the KERS data visibility on their wheel, and the amount of other data, shouldn't teams experiment with little HUD units or even "electronic paper" visor linings to give drivers fighter-pilot style HUDs with important data on?

Hi Murray,

Delighted to hear you are doing these again this year, I was starting to worry!

The obvious question is the one a lot of others have asked. What are your opinions on KERS and DRS. It would be good to hear the opinion of you who will remember the turbo era of "push to pass" better than most.

Also what are your thoughts on the new engine formula for 2013?


All the best,

Nice to see you back Murray! Who is the better driver, Vettel, Alonso or Hamilton?

Hi Murray, great to have you back!

My question is: Do you think that this year's rookies are the best ever?

Do you think all the buttons and menus on the steering wheel could be potentially dangerous?

Hi Murray,

Just one question : with what we have seen from the races this year where drivers have made or lost multiple places based on the nothing more than how old or new their tyres are, do you see the importance of qualifying getting less and less, especially when in china we saw Lewis Hamilton decide to only have one flying lap to allow him to have a fresh set of softer tyres (which ultimately played a big part in his victory) and Mark Webber (albeit not on purpose) being able to make up fifteen places because of the tyres he saved by not taking part in Q2 and Q3?

Many Thanks

My question is, can you please please please make some cameos in the commentary box this year? It would be amazing to hear you at Silverstone.

hi murray,
i'm sure you'll agree that the chinese grand prix was an amazing spectacle. but do you expect this to be a one off, like canada was in 2010, or do you expect races like this to be the norm in the future? also, how do you think the championship is going to pan out? any predictions? personally i expect ferrari will come back due to the fact that they have a very large amount of resources (and thats coming from a mclaren supporter!) and so its only a matter of time really, but when they improve, will they have lost too much points to the front runners to challenge for the championship? that will be very interesting. but personally i also expect that red bull will get on top of their kers eventually, with it being their only major problem with the car, they will be focusing on that part. however lewis hamilton and mark webber drove like world champions, and i expect a minimum of 4 drivers fighting for the championship until the latter stages of the year.

How do you feel about an eventful race being determined by the use of self-restructing (for lack if a better term) tires??? It seems bizarre to me, not to mention, adding an element of unnecessary danger...My reference is to added debris on the track...

Hi Murray,
Remember your commentary fondly from my younger days.
How do you think the current crop of drivers (Schumacher aside), compare to the great drivers of years gone by?
Also, who is the best ever?

I have a question on tire regulations, how many sets of tires are the drivers given for each session practice(1,2&3) and for qualification (Q1,Q2,Q3) and race day? Can a tire used in Qualification(Q1,Q2&Q3) be used in race.....

After the first race of the 2011 season, Martin Whitmarsh claimed he and nobody else in the entire McLaren team saw Button's move against Massa which was penalised by the stewards.

Given that McLaren do watch the live feed do you Martin Whitmarsh was being less than truthful or was grossly misinformed?

In all your years in F1, have you ever seen a driver enter the wrong pit box before?

Do the red bull cars need to put extra fuel in when the kers is not working?

Ironically the only word to describe today is "speechless"..... but, i did notice that as the national flags of the top 3 ascended, the Australian Flag was backwards. Imagine looking at an Australian Flag, then walking around to the other side, then turning it 90 degrees and sending it up a flag pole... call me a nit pick but why not just turn the flag 90 degrees from a traditional flagpole.

any enlightenment will be appreciated

What a beauty of a race 1st class Hamilton. Can somebody tell me why Button was not penalised for:

a) missing his pit stop on the lap when the team were ready (not allowed I believe) which then compromised Lewis...?
b) why he was not penalised for stopping at Red Bull?

Thanks..... get in what a race Lewis

last year you rubbished me for saying heads should roll @ maclaren, well this week/w/e, Lewis (who has been out of sorts for 2yrs &) now getting a new lease of life, his driving is amazing, no other driver does 10 moves in a race like he does. It's a shame when maclaren don't deliver, their pit crew were not obvious in the pit lane to Jensen, they flooded an F1 car, they put the wrong tyres on last week on Lewis's car, plus I guess many things we don't know about. Thank god people are not allowed to smoke around the cars these days or Lewis would have had even more trouble.......yes I guess if Lewis doesn't continue to do well it maybe him that will roll-on to newer pastures, Lewis is in the spirit of Bruce MacClaren, 'a racer'. Now how do you really see this Murray & no fence sitting please?

Do you think Lotus can score points this year?

Do you think Team Lotus can score points this year?

Murray,
perhaps you can comment on the seemingly unstoppable decline of the once great Williams team? Are they the new Tyrrell?

Hello Murray, I hope you are well.

I remember the 1990 British GP at Silverstone, and the drama of Nigel Mansell’s car breaking down yet again. He complained bitterly that his car always seemed to have the problems, whilst his team mate Prost’s didn’t; and then announced his retirement.

This year with Mark Webbers dreadful car reliability compared to team mate Sebastian Vettel, and all the team politics that happened last year, do envisage something similar happening?

Murray
With all the tyre changes and the result from Sunday - does this mean that it is not now neccessary to race for pole position in qualifying, and is better to save tyres for the race? Does it also mean that qualifying in general will be a different procedure?

Hi Murray,

Great to have you back, I was only thinking yesterday that it would be great to hear your opinion on the FANTASTIC Chinese Grand Prix!

Do you agree that Pirelli tyres + KERS + DRS = Great racing?

The drivers must have to concentrate even harder now that races have ceased to be processions and that anyone could be overtaking or unlapping themselves at any time and at any place, and sometimes even on a carpet of marbles. This is shaping up to become one of the most interesting seasons in F1 history as a result of the above three elements, and great that 23 out of 24 cars managed to make it to the end yesterday.

PS I'd also love to hear some guest commentary at Silverstone this year, keep up the good work!

Hi, Why when all the track speeds and commentry all talk in MPH about the circuits and the corners. Why is all the telemetry in KMH and all the speed traps. A lot of people can relate to MPH far more easily.

Do any of the drivers from the mid-field teams have the potential to be world champions if they get a contract from the big teams?

Hi, just wondering about the start of the race yesterday. Should Vettel be punished for making two defensive maneuvers when trying to block Hamilton? The rules say that only one maneuver is allowed. Vettel moves over to block Hamilton after Button gets through, then again straight away when Hamilton moves to his right side to get by again. Hamilton got punished last week against Alonso for the same thing.

Great race by Hamilton. A great come back by Webber to finish 3rd. is it comparable to Mansell's 18th to win at Hungaroring in 1989 in the Ferrari or better do you think?

MURRAY, MY FAVOURITE DRIVER IS RUBENS BARRICHELLO AND I HAVE FOLLOWED HIM SINCE HIS DAYS WITH JORDAN. WHY DO ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ 'S MARTIN BRUNDLE NOT INTERVIEW HIM OR HIS TEAM - HE GETS LITTLE PUBLICITY AND HE HAS SUCH A GREAT SMILE AND DOES A LOT FOR HIS CHARITY WHICH HARDLY GETS A MENTION NEVER MIND HIS RECORD OF OVER 300 RACES.

LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR REPLY.

Hi Murray what do u think about two teams using the lotus name in formula one this year. Also do u we will see an improvement in the new teams performance come the end of the season.

Hi Murray great to have this feature back!
Two questions if I may (they are related!):
1) I have followed F1 since 1994 (when I was 5 yrs old!) and I cannot remember a better start to an F1 season in terms of excitment. Is this the best start you've seen?
2) Why do you think this year has been so good? We have had KERS before, moveable rear wings were around in late 60s and Pirelli have been in F1 before (albeit 20 yrs ago) so is it anyone of these reasons or a combination of the lot?

Best wishes
Tom

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Hi,

This rule about weaving more than once needs a little thought. Would you agree that there is a difference between: blocking some one from overtaking and not helping some one to overtake. I see a difference.

Blocking one from overtaking: the hunter moves first and the hunted moves over to block.
Not helping one to overtake: the hunter wants to take advantage of the slip stream and the hunted wants to shake him away. Therefore the hunted moves first and the hunter may want to follow suit. This is typical of Hamilton - Petrov last year.

What do the stewards think?

Do you think Lewis Hamilton will take up the contract offer from McLaren untill 2017, or do you see him moving elsewhere, perhaps to Red Bull?