On paper, Mercedes blew everyone away in Free Practice 2 in Melbourne, finishing the session eight tenths clear of their nearest rival, the Red Bull of Max Verstappen. But speaking after Friday’s running, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner seemed content with his team’s work nonetheless – while he also issued a warning shot that Mercedes’ W10 car, while clearly fast, looked like a tough beast to handle.
Asked about Red Bull’s pace on Friday compared to Mercedes and Ferrari – with the team running their Honda power units in anger for the first time – Horner replied: “Long runs we look pretty sensible. I think the one-lap pace of the Mercedes in [FP2] looked pretty impressive. But the car looks stiff and difficult to drive, so whether that's sustainable for a Grand Prix, I don't know.
FP2: Hamilton heads Bottas as Mercedes go clear of the field
“Ferrari looked like they under-delivered to what we thought they had in testing, and our guys both had pretty decent runs. Max got quite a bit of traffic on his fast laps but I think there's more potential there, there's more set-up changes. We don't know what fuel loads people are running, but it looks interesting.”
Verstappen and new team mate Pierre Gasly ended up P3 and P4 in FP2, the pair separated by just 0.042s. And while believing there was more fine-tuning to be done on the RB15 over Friday night, Verstappen was happy enough with his new car’s performance out of the box in Australia.
“We for sure have some things to improve, but I think everyone has,” said Verstappen. “It's the first day – you start here. It's been alright. The Mercedes looks very quick. We've got lots of work to do and for sure we'll analyse a lot.
“There are always areas to improve, so we're looking at that tonight. From the engine side, no problems. [Honda] just went very smoothly and things were good. I guess we'll find out more later on in qualifying.”
Well Hamilton is always good for a pole position. Vettel is close to him, but not as perfect as him and then we have Bottas in the same car as Hamilton and for the first time Charles Leclerc in the same car as Vettel. Bottas in my opinion isn´t on the same level as the other three guys. Now I just "gamble" and say Charles Leclerc will take the first Pole Position in 2019!
I am too far away to have a "strong opinion" on issues another nation has. With that said I prefer to listen to people who come from the USA!
Do you support Trump and his plans to built a wall at the border to Mexico and do you think he deals appropriately with this issue and the opposition in his country, that obviously disagrees with him?
We have a few knowledgable people here as members who come from the USA. So I am especially interested in your thoughts!
Zitat von Babylonian Mastiff im Beitrag #6And another Mastiff of the Alani people also known as Alangu Mastiff, or ancient type of Bully Kutta. The typical traits are loose & wrinkled skin, in general very thick. A broad head type and a strong built dog.
Famtastic! They are much better fighters than Tosas. They never lay down on the floor to rest and they can fight very long in extreme heat. This is the perfect Mastiff, the ancient Alani Mastiff:
I don´t believe in "ancient dogs, preserved unchanged from ancient times", so I am 99% sure, that these dogs were not the dogs of the Alani people!
Just have a look at this article I wrote on one of my two wordpress pages. I actually have two wordpress pages, the second one is about formula one.
Ok, here now the article.(In my opinion it is one of the best you can find on the internet, as it is completely written without having an "agenda" in mind. I have tried to inform where the Alani people where located at a certain time and when they moved to Europe and new "hunting crosses" evolved, by crossing the dogs of the Alani people with European gripping dogs used for hunting, as well as with sighthounds.) OK, enough "talk" now, here is my article:https://alaunts.wordpress.com/2019/03/03/alaunt-3/
Zitat von Chui im Beitrag #2I am really looking forward to see how well he does against Vettel, Verstappen, Hamilton and Bottas!
I suspect he’ll do remarkably well.
I surely hope so.
I saw how quick and consistent he was during the first test session.
If allowed, he might take the fight to Vettel. If not, they can surely get the Manufacturer’s Championship as I suspect he’s quicker than Bottas.
In the past, if the two teams Ferrari and Mercedes were pretty equal concerning their performance (and it always only were these two teams fighting for the championship) it aöways only was a battle between Hamilton and Vettel. Hamilton usually was more consistent than Vettel and with that said also desrved the title more than Vettel. Bottas was never in the class of Hamilton and could not challenge him, so it was their "number-two-driver" Concerning Ferrari they sadly always had this strategy of having a "number-two-driver" and the last years their "number-two-driver" was Räikkönen, while Vettel had a "number one status". It would be awesome if with this step (replacing Räikkönen with Leclerc) Ferrari ends their old philosophy of having a "number one & number two driver" and allows Charles Leclerc to take the fight to Vettel and to fight for the championship too. This would be awesome and way more interesting than only Hamilton vs Vettel! Beside that I also agree with everything else you said. Charles Leclerc was consistently fast during the first tests!
Charles Leclerc -A new highly talented driver for Ferrari.
Charles Leclerc (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁl ləklɛʁ]; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver, currently driving in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. Leclerc won the GP3 Series championship in 2016 and the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017. He made his Formula One debut in 2018 for Sauber, a team affiliated with Ferrari, for which he was part of its driver academy. With Sauber having finished last the year before, Leclerc led the charge to improve the finishing position in the constructors' championship to eighth, being the highest ranked of the two Sauber drivers. Leclerc has agreed on a contract with Ferrari for the 2019 season where he will drive alongside Sebastian Vettel
During his childhood, the Monaco-born Leclerc was a friend of the late Jules Bianchi from nearby Nice, who won his first racing championship when Leclerc was 10 years old. Leclerc began karting at the track managed by Bianchi's father in Brignoles. Like Bianchi, Leclerc joined the ARM management company headed by Nicolas Todt. In an interview in 2018, Leclerc revealed that Bianchi was also his godfather.
Leclerc has an older brother, Lorenzo, and a younger brother, Arthur. His father, Hervé, also raced cars, driving in Formula 3 in the 1980s and 1990s, and was well respected in karting. He died after a long illness, aged 54, just four days before his son won the feature race at the 2017 Formula 2 Baku weekend. He has been in a relationship with Italian Giada Gianni since January 2015.
Karting: Leclerc began his karting career in 2005, winning the French PACA Championship in 2005, 2006 and 2008. In 2009 he became French Cadet champion before moving up to the KF3 class in 2010, where he won the Junior Monaco Kart Cup. He continued in the KF3 class for 2011, winning the CIK-FIA KF3 World Cup, the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy and the ERDF Junior Kart Masters. During the year, Leclerc also became a member of Nicolas Todt's All Road Management company.
Leclerc graduated to the KF2 category in 2012 with the factory-backed ART Grand Prix team, winning the WSK Euro Series title, as well as finishing runner-up in the CIK-FIA European KF2 Championship and the CIK-FIA Under 18 World Karting Championship.
In his final year of karting in 2013, Leclerc claimed sixth position in the CIK-FIA European KZ Championship and finished second in the CIK-FIA World KZ Championship, behind current Red Bull Formula One driver Max Verstappen.
Sebastian Vettel's 2018 Formula One season can be summed up in one phrase: "unfulfilled promise". That promise started early on and it looked, for a while, that the season would go down to the wire. As it was, his own errors and Lewis Hamilton's brilliance meant the Briton's fifth title became a formality from Singapore onwards.
Although they will want to finish the season on a high in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari can start to look towards 2019. Vettel can do so, too, but with it comes a fresh challenge posed by a new team-mate.
And again the version for Smartphones. Just click the picture on and it will enlarge:
Out goes the long-standing, steady number two driver in Kimi Raikkonen and in comes the, talented youngster, Charles Leclerc. Could the 21-year-old Monegasque even beat the four-time champion?
In his four years at Ferrari Vettel has had the trusty Kimi Raikkonen as his companion - a steady team-mate whose finest form is well behind him but who is a willing wingman and capable of contributing to the team cause. Despite a resurgent season, Raikkonen has not regularly challenged his team-mate. Over their four seasons together the German has scored nearly 30 per cent more points than Raikkonen.
The last time Vettel had a team-mate who actually challenged him? 2014. The driver was Daniel Ricciardo, who was in his first season at Red Bull. The Australian took three wins that season (Vettel none) and scored 238 points to his team-mate's 167. Until this year, it was probably Vettel's most difficult season.
Leclerc's arrival presents Vettel with a similar situation, albeit without huge regulation changes as a backdrop. Will the Scuderia still favour the German? Leclerc is, after all, their academy driver and one of their own. He is, if all goes well, where their future is.
Leclerc has done everything he could have done as a rookie. Yes, he has been helped by an improved Sauber team but he has still blown away his team-mate. Especially in the qualifying he only was beind Ericsson the first two races. From this point on he won every single Qualifying agtainst Ericsson. I guess nobody since Ayrton Senna was such a good qualifier from his first season onwards! Marcus Ericsson may not be the most highly rated driver on the grid but he has competed in nearly 100 grands prix and in 2018 has achieved some decent results. His team-mate's record speaks for itself. 27 points to Ericsson's nine and eight points finishes. He has clearly not been fazed by the demands of his first season in F1. Ferrari is a different matter.
Unlike Raikkonen, the Scuderia's new recruit will not be employed to be a malleable, solid and reliable back-up to their main man. The Monegasque has shown his talent this season, with Ferrari promoting him after less than a full season in F1. It is a statement of both intent and faith. Leclerc has done everything he could have done as a rookie. Yes, he has been helped by an improved Sauber team but he has still blown away his team-mate. Especially in the qualifying he only was beind Ericsson the first two races. From this point on he won every single Qualifying agtainst Ericsson.
There will be a lot of pressure on Leclerc. More than he can currently know. Putting in occasionally eye-catching performances in a midfield car is not the same as having to deliver every week at the front. Raikkonen, for all his faults in his second stint at Ferrari, has done that well in 2018 with 11 podiums including one victory. Will Leclerc be able to deliver that consistency in only his second season?
It would be wrong to look at 2019 as a make or break for Vettel. He is, after all, a big factor in his team's recent revival. But he has also been a factor in their failures in 2017 and more prominently 2018. Would Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton have made the same costly mistakes?
In terms of his reputation, it is a big moment. Deliver a championship for Ferrari and all is good. Even great. Get beaten (comfortably or otherwise) by a fresh and talented team-mate and his standing will be reduced and his future at Ferrari will be called into question. A cool and laid-back man outside of the cockpit, Vettel has a tendency towards impetuosity in the car when things do not go his way. If Leclerc starts quickly, he could get really under his team-mate's skin.
Vettel will of course back himself. And so he should. This year he has been beaten by Lewis Hamilton on his absolute best form. His own mistakes have been amplified as a result. You do not suddenly become a bad driver. He has comfortably beaten Raikkonen in the past three years and will do so again in 2018.
Charles Leclerc is an unknown. That should be exciting for fans - especially the tifosi - and slightly worrying for Vettel. Leclerc's outlook and situation could hardly be different to Raikkonen's. We have a young man at the start of his career, being given a dream seat and a man who, still quick, but with his best years and probably most of his drive behind him. There is still a while to wait yet but Vettel vs Leclerc will be one of the most fascinating stories to follow in 2019.
Me personally I am enthusiastic about his epic brilliance when it comes to overtaking, as well as his qualifying speed! He is not less aggressive than Max Verstappen, but he has a god given instinct to assess the situation correctly! With that said he isn´t less aggressive than Verstappen, but he get´s all his spectacular overtakes done without crashing into another car (which often happened to Verstappen the last years). He is aggressive, spectacular, has an epic instinct to assess the situation correctly, but still is fair and leaves his opponents enough space, so he doesn´t force them off the track or crashes into them! This video shows exactly one of a few other things that fascinate me about him!
I started being a fan of Charles Leclerc after I watched him in Formula 2. I really hopes at that time that we will sonn see him in Formula one! However I didn´t expect that it would be so soon! What I especially liked abou´t him, was his outstanding ability to overtake other drivers, but beside that hhe also was extremely good in qualifying. Now many people say, his first year cannot say much because he had Ericsson as teammate and Ericsson is not known for being a top driver. However my analysis comes to a different result! If people say that Ericsson isn't much of a benchmark for him, this might be true, but Ericsson hasn't been as bad as people say in general especially over one lap. With said that we have to compare Ericsson to his oter teammates before coming to any conclusion! Especially the qualifying pace is very interesting in this comparison.
Last year he went up against the fairly highly Wehrlein, which to Pascal's credit he was also a rookie. Wehrlein held a very narrow qualifying edge of 11-8 over Ericsson, which wasn't a bad result. Pleaase remember that many people said Mercedes should replace Bottas by Pascal Wehrlein as in their oppinion Pascal Wehrlein would be more able to challenge Hamilton than Bottas. Bottas dissappointed in some ways against Hamilton and was never really able to changelle Hamilton. So the majority of people had more trust in the skills of Wehrlein!
Prior to Wehrlein, he went up against Nasr, who was also reasonably highly rated (although maybe incorrectly). Their quali pace during their time together was in Ericsson's favour, slightly, with him beating Nasr 13-7 in 2016 and him losing 9-10 in 2015 for a total of 22-17 in Ericsson's favour!
Overall against these two drivers who most consider fairly promising they had more or less equal quali pace against Ericsson, within the normal very slim margins anyway.
So far Leclerc only was beaten by Ericsson twice in qualifying, namely in the first two traces! With that said, the two times Ericsson did qualify ahead of Leclerc were when Leclerc had just entered the sport as a rookie, since then its been straight for Charles and usually the gaps weren´t small. From the third race onwards Charles Leclerk won every single qualifying against his teammate Ericsson. The last time a rookie was that dominant in qualifing against his teammate right from the start, was nobody less than Ayrton Senna! Leclerc looks on a completely different planet to Ericsson generally.
So Marcus Ericsson compared to his other team mates hasn't been embarrassing at all, he's had fairly similar pace to them. So Leclerc being so far ahead straight away is indicative of him having frightening potential.
Wow, a pretty big Mastiff with a huge head. I indeed would not call this type an "Alaunt Veantre", as it indeed seems not like a dog bred to run down large game. It seems to be too heavy for a hunting dog. Agaain, I would agree to call it a Mastiff. What I wonder now is what was the purpose of such a heavy boned dog, as the Alani people were herdsmen and also bred horses. So I doubt an ancient Alani dog would be that heavy.
Some other names for the "Caucasian Volkodav landrace" are, North Caucasian Volkodav, Daghestan Volkodav, Nagazi and Georgian Mountain Dog. Kaplan in the picture above, is two-time champion of the Caucasus (2001-2002.), Champion of Russia and the CIS of 2001. The older is the line of his great-grandfather Dato. Kaplan belongs to the Dato line (see. Tribal Journal). Dato was imported from Georgia, as well as other famous ancestor Kaplan – Rolly. The formation of the type also influenced the intermediate line Borza, Kaptsа, Aldon, Karabakh and others. Traditionally employed as a fighting dog, livestock protector and property guardian, the North-Caucasian Volkodav is a very serious and resilient worker. Said to be extremely aggressive towards strange dogs, while being very protective of its own canine pack, this breed is also much friendlier towards humans than the Caucasian Shepherd Dog. However, the North-Caucasian Wolfdog is a committed watchdog and will not tolerate any intruders, especially after dark. This is a valued wolf killer and a prized contestant in the mountain fighting tournaments, but is a surprisingly relaxed and an even-tempered dog when not working. However nowadays this breed is more a fighting dog than LGD. Fighting tournaments are a big thing these days in Caucasus and Russia.
Dagestan is famous for their fighting lines. These dogs are send to international mixed breed tournament to China, where they have already been successful and winning the title. The North-Caucasian Wolfdog is a fast runner, with excellent jumping skills and impressive stamina. This is a wide-chested and broad-headed breed, with a fairly short and blunt muzzle, large and edged head-type an trinagular eye shape, often a curled tail and large teeth. Compared to the popular Kavkazkaya Ovcharka, the rugged North-Caucasian Volkodav has a different body structure, but is equally powerful and noticeably more athetic. The body is squarely built, with a slightly shorter neck and a straight back. The moderately short, hard coat is known as „wolf-hair“ and is densely undercoated and fully weatherproof.
Fighting rules for Caucasian Volkodavs: (TRIAL RULES FOR CAUCASIAN WOLFHOUNDS Author: Semenov Igor, Magazine „Volkodav“.)
This article is offered to your attention in an attempt to shed some light on the history, development and selection processes of ancient molosser dog breed rarely seen in the Europe and USA. Originated from the part of the world where laws and moral values differ from ours some traditions will not seem acceptable to us, but it is important to know about them in order to understand true character of the dog, as well as responsibility involved in raising safe, social, controllable, pleasant companion and protector for your family. 13 Trial rules for Competitions of Caucasian wolfhounds aka Caucasian Volkodavs:
RULE 1 Competitions are held to keep such breed as Caucasian wolfhounds, to improve their unique qualities within the frame of the „Nonviolence to the animals“ law.
RULE 2 Before the competition the chief judge, a veterinary and both masters examine the wolfhounds revealing a possible presence of dangerous substances. In case they are revealed both the master and the wolfhound are disqualified.
RULE 3 During the compCaucasian-wolfhoundsetition both masters and the chief judge are allowed to the ring. Two assistance’s of the chief judge are outside the ring. If there are some disputable questions, other judges outside the ring have a deliberative vote. The chief judge pronounces the final decision.
RULE 4 Wolfhounds compete without collars. The competition begins in the center of the ring.
RULE 5 If a hound refuses to move towards the rival, the hounds are inter-changed. If the situation repeats the chief judge can disqualify the hound.
RULE 6 During the trial the master is not allowed to touch his hound, the hound of his rival, the master of the other hound, also it is forbidden to approach the hounds closer than three meters, to wave a lead or gesticulate, to whistle, swear or obstruct the view. If any of violations above takes place, the chief judge can make a point, if the situation repeats then the dog can be disqualified for the unethical conduct of its master. The master is allowed to encourage his dog.
RULE 7 If the dog was not exposed to the competition, it is pronounced a loser.
RULE 8 If during the Competition one of the hounds pierces the lip with its fang, the competition stops, the fang gets free and the fight resumes.
RULE 9 There is one or more rounds of the trial until it is clear which of the hounds has won. Under the rules of this competition there cannot be more than three rounds. If after three rounds neither of the dogs gives up, the chief judge pro-ounces a draw.
RULE 10 The second round is set up, if after long and intense competition both hounds stop fighting, staying passively or disperse. At the command of the chief judge the masters control their dogs.
RULE 11 The defeat is announced if:
during the fight the dog starts fighting with wolf’s style of fighting (bared teeth, cross stabs with teeth, frequent minor bites) – in this case the dog is announced defeated for cowardice; one of the rivals begins whining, yelping or squeaking – in this case the dog is announced defeated for sensitivity to pain; one of the rivals stops fighting and runs from the ring; one of the rivals draws in its tail; one of the rivals has got a severe injury which is threatens his life (the defeat is announced even if a dog can continue the fight) – a technical defeat; the dog cannot to combat and yields to his rival in physical strength (the judge takes the decision) – in this case a defeat is announced because of the obvious advantage over the rival; the master of the dog acknowledges defeat before the evident loss.
RULE 12 Accidental stabs to the rival, who turns away and leaves the ring, are forgiven.
RULE 13 If one or several actions described above exist, the judge must stop the fighting. Further actions of the dogs don’t count.
The Republic of Dagestan (Russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н), or simply Dagestan (/ˌdæɡɪˈstæn/ or /ˌdæɡɪˈstɑːn/; Russian: Дагеста́н), is a federal subject (a republic) of Russia, located in the North Caucasus region. Its capital and largest city is Makhachkala, located at the center of Dagestan on the Caspian Sea coast.
With a population of 2,910,249, Dagestan is very ethnically diverse and Russia’s most heterogeneous republic, with none of its several dozen ethnicities and subgroups forming a majority. Largest among these ethnicities are the Avar, Dargin, Kumyk, Lezgian, Laks, Azerbaijani, Tabasaran and Chechen. Ethnic Russians comprise about 3.6% of Dagestan’s total population. Russian is the primary official language and the lingua franca among the ethnicities.
The Caucasus /ˈkɔːkəsəs/ or Caucasia /kɔːˈkeɪʒə/ is a region located at the border of Europe and Asia, situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, which contain Europe’s highest mountain, Mount Elbrus, at 5,642 metres (18,510 ft), located on the west of the Greater Caucasus mountain range. The Greater Caucasus mountain range acts as a natural barrier separating Eastern Europe from Western Asia, the latter including the Transcaucasus and Anatolia regions.
The Caucasus region is separated between northern and southern parts – the North Caucasus (Ciscaucasus) and Transcaucasus, respectively. The Greater Caucasus mountain range in the north is within the Russian Federation, while the Lesser Caucasus mountain range in the south is divided between several independent states, namely Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan. The Transcaucasus extends eastwards to the Caspian Sea and northwestern Iran, and extends westwards into northeastern Turkey.
The region is known for its linguistic diversity: aside from Indo-European and Turkic languages, the Kartvelian, Northwest Caucasian, and Northeast Caucasian families are indigenous to the area.
And here Tarzan a Caucasian Volkodav that won the super league of Russia in 2018: (He doesn´t look as impressive as in videos here, but he seems to be huge and also has a very long body.)
My two favourite supercars are the Ferrari fxx k evo and definitely one number one the Ferrari F80
My all time favourite at the moment is the Ferrari F80, however it is only a concept-car by now. I wish Ferrari had the guts to produce a car with this design, but usually Ferrari is too "warily". Neither the Bugatti Chiron, nor the Lamborghini Veneno comes close in terms of looks, well the latter is ugly anyway. The Lamorghini Aventador looked way better than the Veneno!
Ferrari F80
For Smartphones...click it on and it will enlarge.
And here the most beautiful picture ever: And again the version for Smartphones. Click it on to enlarge! Or click on this link, if it doesn´t enlarge: http://i65.tinypic.com/mublaq.jpg and another one...
Thank you MinhVi for posting another picture of her and a big welcome to our forum!
Here another pretty impressive dog. Tarzan a Caucasian Volkodav that won the super league of Russia last year: (He doesn´t look as impressive as in videos here. But he seems to be huge and also has a very long body.)
Does anybody of you take pictures of landscapes or of anything else, I mean in a more professional way, with a good camera etc.? I don´t, I just took this picture with my smartphone, but it looks pretty cool.
This dog belongs to our member MinhVi. It´s no Bully Kutta, but his own mix. I think it looks stunning. Such a nice structure. I bet it could be a good boarhunter.
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Fri Mar 15, 2019 2:37 pm
