March 25, 2010
Australia First Practice 2010
Since SPEED doesn't provide coverage of the first Friday practice session, I'm afraid I can't be sure of what's going on, but it seems that Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi is having a bad day. To whit:
Yes, having your front wing come off in the tight confines of Australia's Albert Park is probably the very definition of "having a bad day."
From what I've been able to find out, earlier in the session he hit a pylon and lost his wing, ending up in the kittylitter (causing a red flag for the session). The car was returned to the pits , the nose repaired and he went back out... and then the nose fell off on it's own? That's gotta be a horrible feeling for a driver.
Coverage of P2 will come around sometime Friday evening.
Yes, having your front wing come off in the tight confines of Australia's Albert Park is probably the very definition of "having a bad day."
From what I've been able to find out, earlier in the session he hit a pylon and lost his wing, ending up in the kittylitter (causing a red flag for the session). The car was returned to the pits , the nose repaired and he went back out... and then the nose fell off on it's own? That's gotta be a horrible feeling for a driver.
Coverage of P2 will come around sometime Friday evening.
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March 21, 2010
F1 On SPEED!: Australia 2010!
After the snorefest that was Bahrain two weeks ago, the F1 Carnival heads to Australia this week. On the whole, the semi-street circuit at Albert Park in Melbourne brings us an entertaining race every year, so we can only hope that this year is more of the same. Let's take a look at the track map:
The Australian track runs around a man-made lake in a large city park. For those of us in the US, imagine a racetrack in New York City's Central Park, and you've got the basic idea. It uses tarmac built specifically to be part of the circuit, parking lots and public roads to create the layout. Because of this, there are a ton of slippery spots all the way around the track due to the painted lane stripes. These stripes are what gives it the nickname "God's Slot Car Track." Due to a resurfacing in 1996, it's pretty smooth and thus easy on tires, though some braking zones have some surprise ripples. It's not particularly hard on brakes. The track is wide and forgiving for the most part. Basically, it's an easy circuit to drive. But, like most street circuits, there's armco barriers all the way around and very little runoff area where there isn't armco. You get off-track here, and you've usually broken your car.
The other interesting feature of the race is the start time, 5pm local. The sun will be in the drivers' eyes all day as they come down the main straight and the run from Turn 2 to Turn 3, getting lower all the while. That's just gotta be annoying.
Well, the good folks at SPEED will do their darnedest to bring us their usual stellar coverage. Friday's second practice session comes to us live from 1230am to 210am on Friday morning. The Quals are Saturday morning from 1am to 230am, more-or-less live. The Grand Prix of Australia itself is Sunday morning from 1230am to 3am, and there are no replays scheduled that I can find... so either stay up late, record it, or miss it altogether! All times are Central Pond Time; subtract two hours for San Francisco, add one for Cleveland.
See you then!
The Australian track runs around a man-made lake in a large city park. For those of us in the US, imagine a racetrack in New York City's Central Park, and you've got the basic idea. It uses tarmac built specifically to be part of the circuit, parking lots and public roads to create the layout. Because of this, there are a ton of slippery spots all the way around the track due to the painted lane stripes. These stripes are what gives it the nickname "God's Slot Car Track." Due to a resurfacing in 1996, it's pretty smooth and thus easy on tires, though some braking zones have some surprise ripples. It's not particularly hard on brakes. The track is wide and forgiving for the most part. Basically, it's an easy circuit to drive. But, like most street circuits, there's armco barriers all the way around and very little runoff area where there isn't armco. You get off-track here, and you've usually broken your car.
The other interesting feature of the race is the start time, 5pm local. The sun will be in the drivers' eyes all day as they come down the main straight and the run from Turn 2 to Turn 3, getting lower all the while. That's just gotta be annoying.
Well, the good folks at SPEED will do their darnedest to bring us their usual stellar coverage. Friday's second practice session comes to us live from 1230am to 210am on Friday morning. The Quals are Saturday morning from 1am to 230am, more-or-less live. The Grand Prix of Australia itself is Sunday morning from 1230am to 3am, and there are no replays scheduled that I can find... so either stay up late, record it, or miss it altogether! All times are Central Pond Time; subtract two hours for San Francisco, add one for Cleveland.
See you then!
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March 13, 2010
F1 Quals: Bahrain 2010!
So the first qualifying session of the 2010 season is in the books, and while some things have changed, the results sure look the same. Let's take a look at the grid:
A bunch of new rules changes that we need to talk about before we get around to discussing the grid. First off, all qualifying sessions are now done on low fuel. Prior to this year, teams had to declare how much gas they'd start with in the race, and carry that in Q3. Since there's no refuelling in-race now, everybody gets the same amount of gas (more or less). Another switch is that the cars in Q3 have to start the race on the tires with which they set their fast lap. In other words, if they used (say) soft tires to qualify, that very same set must be on the car to begin the race. Finally, teams are limited to 11 sets of dry tires for the entire weekend, and can only use six sets during the race itself, three of each compound.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's look at how the cars'll line up for the race! No shock at the top of the grid, what with Seb Vettel and Luscious Liz on the pole. Perhaps a small surprise in Massa beating his teammate, HWMNBN, particularly considering the rumors that Felipe is a little twitchy being back in the cockpit. No surprise at all is that Nico Rosberg handily beat his teammate, Slappy Schumacher. Schumi's been unhappy with his car all weekend, and has been right around 8th on the timesheets the whole time. World Champion Jenson Button must be disappointed to be picking up right where he left off last season with a lukewarm qualifying session. His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, is probably also disappointed, despite ending up fourth on the grid... he always expects to be on pole when he's got a halfway decent car under him. And a big 'attaboy' to Force India for their 10th-12th qualys. I'm amazed, but we might have to consider them halfway serious contenders!
Really, though, we need to give the techies at HRT a round of applause. Despite a major gearbox problem that prevented Karun Chandhok from getting any track time in the three practice sessions, the team pulled an overnighter to get the car in running order. Of course, Chandhok ended up 24th, but he got seven laps under his belt, each one faster than the one before it. His first flying lap was 2:11, and taking six seconds off the time is pretty good. Okay, yes, he's nearly 11 seconds off the pace, but good job anyways! None of the new teams could be considered quick, however. Actually, "quick" isn't in their vocabulary... yet.
So here we go! The first race is right around the corner, and I can't wait! See you tomorrow!
A bunch of new rules changes that we need to talk about before we get around to discussing the grid. First off, all qualifying sessions are now done on low fuel. Prior to this year, teams had to declare how much gas they'd start with in the race, and carry that in Q3. Since there's no refuelling in-race now, everybody gets the same amount of gas (more or less). Another switch is that the cars in Q3 have to start the race on the tires with which they set their fast lap. In other words, if they used (say) soft tires to qualify, that very same set must be on the car to begin the race. Finally, teams are limited to 11 sets of dry tires for the entire weekend, and can only use six sets during the race itself, three of each compound.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's look at how the cars'll line up for the race! No shock at the top of the grid, what with Seb Vettel and Luscious Liz on the pole. Perhaps a small surprise in Massa beating his teammate, HWMNBN, particularly considering the rumors that Felipe is a little twitchy being back in the cockpit. No surprise at all is that Nico Rosberg handily beat his teammate, Slappy Schumacher. Schumi's been unhappy with his car all weekend, and has been right around 8th on the timesheets the whole time. World Champion Jenson Button must be disappointed to be picking up right where he left off last season with a lukewarm qualifying session. His teammate, Lewis Hamilton, is probably also disappointed, despite ending up fourth on the grid... he always expects to be on pole when he's got a halfway decent car under him. And a big 'attaboy' to Force India for their 10th-12th qualys. I'm amazed, but we might have to consider them halfway serious contenders!
Really, though, we need to give the techies at HRT a round of applause. Despite a major gearbox problem that prevented Karun Chandhok from getting any track time in the three practice sessions, the team pulled an overnighter to get the car in running order. Of course, Chandhok ended up 24th, but he got seven laps under his belt, each one faster than the one before it. His first flying lap was 2:11, and taking six seconds off the time is pretty good. Okay, yes, he's nearly 11 seconds off the pace, but good job anyways! None of the new teams could be considered quick, however. Actually, "quick" isn't in their vocabulary... yet.
So here we go! The first race is right around the corner, and I can't wait! See you tomorrow!
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March 12, 2010
F1 Practice: Bahrain 2010!
F1 is back, ladies and gentlemen, and today's practice sessions have pointed out something I surely didn't expect: everything's changed, and nobody has a clue what the hell is going on. It's just that simple... nobody knows which teams are fast, and even the fast teams are being looked at with raised eyebrows right now.
For example, the fast team for the second practice was Mercedes. Nico Rosberg was fastest of all, and Slappy Schumacher was third, but both drivers had problems dealing with their cars. In particular, Slappy spun repeatedly in the first session. Still, they were able to squeeze fast laps out there. But nobody knows what their fuel loads were... a heavy fuel load now could easily be worth five to 10 seconds a lap.
Lap times at Bahrain have gone through the roof. Obviously a lot of that has to do with the new section, but when lap times have climbed from 1:30 to 1:56, it's not just because of the longer track.
One thing that we do know, however, is that the new teams are brutally, brutally slow. Nico Rosberg's fast lap of the second session was 1:55.409. Bruno Senna, turning the first ever laps for the HRT HRT, maxed out at 2:06.968. That's right, 11.5 seconds slower. The fastest of the newbies was Heikki Kovaleinninninnie's Lotus, at 2:00.873. Six seconds faster than the HRT HRT, but over five seconds slower than the Merc. Even Minardi was better than that, usually.
Another thing we've discovered today is that all that fuel weight is pure raw hell on the tires. For this race, Bridgestone has brought the super-soft and medium compounds. As has been the case in the past, the super-softs are only lasting for a few laps, except instead of "a few" meaning 10 or so, now "a few" means "two, maybe three" before they stop being tires and begin pretending to be wagon wheels. "Sure," I hear you saying, "but that's the softys. The mediums must be a lot more durable." Yes, if you consider six or eight laps to be durable. Of course a tire change pitstop is only going to take three seconds or so, and Red Bull is claiming that they've gotten it down to 1.8 seconds, but there's still the travel time down the pit lane. If you have to make three or four stops... *shaking head*. If Sauber is going to win races this year, this is how it's going to happen, because they are reportedly very easy on their tires... just as BrawnGP was last season.
Finally, it looks like Felipe Massa's recovery from the horrendous "spring upside the helmet" incident last season is complete... but Brazilian reporters are saying that he's seeming rather... tentative behind the wheel. He isn't as fast as HWMNBN, to be sure. Is that because of rust? Or something deeper?
So, the season is underway, and all is right with the world. But who's driving? Click "more" for your official F1 Update! driver list!
more...
For example, the fast team for the second practice was Mercedes. Nico Rosberg was fastest of all, and Slappy Schumacher was third, but both drivers had problems dealing with their cars. In particular, Slappy spun repeatedly in the first session. Still, they were able to squeeze fast laps out there. But nobody knows what their fuel loads were... a heavy fuel load now could easily be worth five to 10 seconds a lap.
Lap times at Bahrain have gone through the roof. Obviously a lot of that has to do with the new section, but when lap times have climbed from 1:30 to 1:56, it's not just because of the longer track.
One thing that we do know, however, is that the new teams are brutally, brutally slow. Nico Rosberg's fast lap of the second session was 1:55.409. Bruno Senna, turning the first ever laps for the HRT HRT, maxed out at 2:06.968. That's right, 11.5 seconds slower. The fastest of the newbies was Heikki Kovaleinninninnie's Lotus, at 2:00.873. Six seconds faster than the HRT HRT, but over five seconds slower than the Merc. Even Minardi was better than that, usually.
Another thing we've discovered today is that all that fuel weight is pure raw hell on the tires. For this race, Bridgestone has brought the super-soft and medium compounds. As has been the case in the past, the super-softs are only lasting for a few laps, except instead of "a few" meaning 10 or so, now "a few" means "two, maybe three" before they stop being tires and begin pretending to be wagon wheels. "Sure," I hear you saying, "but that's the softys. The mediums must be a lot more durable." Yes, if you consider six or eight laps to be durable. Of course a tire change pitstop is only going to take three seconds or so, and Red Bull is claiming that they've gotten it down to 1.8 seconds, but there's still the travel time down the pit lane. If you have to make three or four stops... *shaking head*. If Sauber is going to win races this year, this is how it's going to happen, because they are reportedly very easy on their tires... just as BrawnGP was last season.
Finally, it looks like Felipe Massa's recovery from the horrendous "spring upside the helmet" incident last season is complete... but Brazilian reporters are saying that he's seeming rather... tentative behind the wheel. He isn't as fast as HWMNBN, to be sure. Is that because of rust? Or something deeper?
So, the season is underway, and all is right with the world. But who's driving? Click "more" for your official F1 Update! driver list!
more...
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March 08, 2010
F1 On SPEED!: Bahrain 2010!
The FIA tells us that the 2010 Formula 1 season officially opens with Friday's first practice session. But I have come amongst you, brethren and sistren, to tell you different. For I have heard the holy wail of St Fangio the Quick's blessed V10, and it tells me that here at The Pond, the season begins...
...now.
And things will be different this season. We no longer have refueling, so pitstops now are for tires only, and in testing were running sub-three-seconds. We've got three brand new teams, running nearly five seconds behind the frontrunners. We have six drivers that weren't on the grid last year, from rookies Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov to some guy nicknamed "Slappy." There's a new points system. There's no KERS anymore. And there's a new location for the first race of the season, cutting in front of Australia.
And even THAT'S new, because the people who run the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain have realized that maybe, just maybe, Hermann Tilke doesn't have the slightest idea how to design a successful racetrack. Let's take a look at the new layout:
Well, that's a rather serious change. Everything from Turn 5 to Turn 15 (which is a reprofiled Turn 7 on the old layout) is new, as you can see if you compare the layout to last year's map. While the old circuit design may have been the best of Tilke tracks as far as passing went, it sure wasn't what anybody would've called conducive to overtaking. The new bit, which adds nearly a kilometer to the overall length, is supposed to facilitate passing by throwing in new braking zones for drivers to take advantage of. At least from looking at the map, I'd say Turns 11, 16 and 18 will be the new hot spots, with brave pilots maybe trying Turn 13 as well. Of course, nobody really knows because the teams haven't turned a wheel on it yet. It's worth mentioning that Renault's Robert Kubica doesn't think the new section will add any new passing opportunities.
Just another advantage of building a circuit in the desert, 12 miles away from the nearest city. Bahrain is probably the safest track in F1, complete with built-in sandtraps, runoff areas that you could build small suburbs on and the most modern infield medical complex in the series. And there's no neighbors to annoy when you update the complex, to boot!
It's pretty safe to assume that it won't be raining for the race, though there is always a chance for sandstorms. The organizers even thought of that, however, as they spray an adhesive over the sand around the complex before race weekend. Even with that though, the track should permanently be considered "dirty," with a thin layer of sand off the racing line.
We'll get our first look at the Bahrain "Endurance" Circuit, as it's called, on Friday March 12th, with SPEED's live coverage of the day's 2nd Practice session from 5am to 640am. Saturday brings us the first Quals session of the year, plausibly live from 5am to 630am.
Sunday, of course, is the beginning of Daylight Saving Time, so remember to shift your clocks ahead one hour at 2am! That way, when you set your VCR for the race, which will be coming to us live from 630am to 9am, you'll actually get the race. There'll also be replays at 1230pm to 3pm on Sunday and another from 1130am to 2pm on Monday.
Of course, the F1 Update! crew will be providing our usual post-race writeup. F1 is back, and it promises to be one heckuva season!
...now.
And things will be different this season. We no longer have refueling, so pitstops now are for tires only, and in testing were running sub-three-seconds. We've got three brand new teams, running nearly five seconds behind the frontrunners. We have six drivers that weren't on the grid last year, from rookies Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov to some guy nicknamed "Slappy." There's a new points system. There's no KERS anymore. And there's a new location for the first race of the season, cutting in front of Australia.
And even THAT'S new, because the people who run the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain have realized that maybe, just maybe, Hermann Tilke doesn't have the slightest idea how to design a successful racetrack. Let's take a look at the new layout:
Well, that's a rather serious change. Everything from Turn 5 to Turn 15 (which is a reprofiled Turn 7 on the old layout) is new, as you can see if you compare the layout to last year's map. While the old circuit design may have been the best of Tilke tracks as far as passing went, it sure wasn't what anybody would've called conducive to overtaking. The new bit, which adds nearly a kilometer to the overall length, is supposed to facilitate passing by throwing in new braking zones for drivers to take advantage of. At least from looking at the map, I'd say Turns 11, 16 and 18 will be the new hot spots, with brave pilots maybe trying Turn 13 as well. Of course, nobody really knows because the teams haven't turned a wheel on it yet. It's worth mentioning that Renault's Robert Kubica doesn't think the new section will add any new passing opportunities.
Just another advantage of building a circuit in the desert, 12 miles away from the nearest city. Bahrain is probably the safest track in F1, complete with built-in sandtraps, runoff areas that you could build small suburbs on and the most modern infield medical complex in the series. And there's no neighbors to annoy when you update the complex, to boot!
It's pretty safe to assume that it won't be raining for the race, though there is always a chance for sandstorms. The organizers even thought of that, however, as they spray an adhesive over the sand around the complex before race weekend. Even with that though, the track should permanently be considered "dirty," with a thin layer of sand off the racing line.
We'll get our first look at the Bahrain "Endurance" Circuit, as it's called, on Friday March 12th, with SPEED's live coverage of the day's 2nd Practice session from 5am to 640am. Saturday brings us the first Quals session of the year, plausibly live from 5am to 630am.
Sunday, of course, is the beginning of Daylight Saving Time, so remember to shift your clocks ahead one hour at 2am! That way, when you set your VCR for the race, which will be coming to us live from 630am to 9am, you'll actually get the race. There'll also be replays at 1230pm to 3pm on Sunday and another from 1130am to 2pm on Monday.
Of course, the F1 Update! crew will be providing our usual post-race writeup. F1 is back, and it promises to be one heckuva season!
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March 03, 2010
RIP USF1
USF1 is now, for all intents and purposes, completely dead. Over the weekend, the team requested permission to miss the 2010 season and have their slot on the grid held until 2011. On Tuesday, the entire staff of the fledgling American team was put on unpaid leave, pending the FIA's decision.
Today, the decision was handed down... and the answer was "No." The team no longer has a place on the grid for this year or next year. Considering that any legitimate investor will look at the team's track record and run screaming for the hills, there's practically no chance for USF1 to rise from the dead and reapply in 2011.
Nobody has seen Peter "Smarmy" Windsor for months. The one driver they announced is about to join Campos Meta (which, after financial troubles of their own, has been renamed HRT F1) as their reserve. Ken Anderson is squarely in the targeting reticule as having mismanaged the team into the grave.
At least StefanGP didn't get the slot. The FIA decided to go with a 12-team grid this year, instead of letting the obnoxious Toyota grave robbers take the slot. So there's some small blessing in all this.
Damned shame, this.
Today, the decision was handed down... and the answer was "No." The team no longer has a place on the grid for this year or next year. Considering that any legitimate investor will look at the team's track record and run screaming for the hills, there's practically no chance for USF1 to rise from the dead and reapply in 2011.
Nobody has seen Peter "Smarmy" Windsor for months. The one driver they announced is about to join Campos Meta (which, after financial troubles of their own, has been renamed HRT F1) as their reserve. Ken Anderson is squarely in the targeting reticule as having mismanaged the team into the grave.
At least StefanGP didn't get the slot. The FIA decided to go with a 12-team grid this year, instead of letting the obnoxious Toyota grave robbers take the slot. So there's some small blessing in all this.
Damned shame, this.
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February 28, 2010
USF1 2011?
Word came down today that USF1 has officially petitioned the FIA to delay their entry into the Formula 1 World Championship until the 2011 season. As reported by SPEED, the team has offered to pay a substantial bond to the FIA as a show of good faith.
If this is true, the FIA has only two options: approve the delay, in which case we might see the team next year, or deny their request and strip them of their entry altogether.
A last ditch effort to combine forces with Serbian-based StefanGP, who purchased the assets of the former Toyota F1 (including their 2010 chassis) but has no entry, failed spectacularly. After talks broke off, the owner of StefanGP released a statement castigating both the FIA and USF1. In part, it read "...the dreamers from the USA will have to explain their actions, because they are deliberately weakening F1, dreaming about a perfect world and fairytales of success. And success doesn't come by talking but with hard work and a lot of guts."
And from buying another team's car, apparently. In any case, if the FIA kills the USF1 entry, they then have the option of awarding it to another team. StefanGP is the most likely candidate, but they've also cheesed off a lot of people.
Two weeks to go...
If this is true, the FIA has only two options: approve the delay, in which case we might see the team next year, or deny their request and strip them of their entry altogether.
A last ditch effort to combine forces with Serbian-based StefanGP, who purchased the assets of the former Toyota F1 (including their 2010 chassis) but has no entry, failed spectacularly. After talks broke off, the owner of StefanGP released a statement castigating both the FIA and USF1. In part, it read "...the dreamers from the USA will have to explain their actions, because they are deliberately weakening F1, dreaming about a perfect world and fairytales of success. And success doesn't come by talking but with hard work and a lot of guts."
And from buying another team's car, apparently. In any case, if the FIA kills the USF1 entry, they then have the option of awarding it to another team. StefanGP is the most likely candidate, but they've also cheesed off a lot of people.
Two weeks to go...
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February 24, 2010
USF1 DOA?
Just over one year ago, Peter (Smarmy) Windsor and Ken Anderson went on SPEED and announced that they were forming a F1 team to be based in Charlotte, NC. This team eventually had Youtube founder Chad Hurley join the roster as the primary investor, with the promise of more to come. Their website showed promising signs of car building, and everything seemed quite rosy.
However, as early as three months ago annoying troll Bernie Ecclestone was going out of his way to tell any news outlet he could reach that he didn't believe that the team would make the 2010 grid. When they named Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez as their first driver, it was widely assumed that it was for the $5 million that would come with him in sponsorship. The "pay driver" has a long and ugly history in Formula 1, and it's never a good sign for a team's fortunes.
Recently, some ugly reports have started to surface regarding the American F1 team. They "requested clarification" about missing races; they were wondering about missing the first four and joining the grid in Barcelona. Then, anonymous sources said that the team has been late issuing paychecks to their employees. 10 staffers have quit the team. One potential sponsor, Locstein Group AG, a Swiss-based financial services firm, recently confirmed that they will not be involved with the team because USF1 won't make the grid for the first race. Fingers of blame are being pointed at Anderson, saying that he is unable to manage such a complex project, and at Windsor, who has only rarely been seen at the team's factory. Meanwhile, Lopez is reported to be in talks with another new team, Campos Meta, to join them, abandoning ship while he still can.
Then come reports that Charlie Whiting, F1's technical manager and race director, is visiting the team's home factory on Wednesday to see just exactly what's going on.
Things look grim for the Americans. They have some options open to them, of course. First up, they can withdraw from the 2010 season and attempt to reapply for 2011. Second, they can attempt to purchase cars from another source, such as Dallara (which is what Campos Meta is doing). Third, they can hold onto their slot for 2010 and accept penalties for every race missed... penalties that are quite prohibitive and likely would drive an established team out of business, let alone a cash-strapped startup. Or they can hope for a white knight to come along and pour buckets of funding into the team.
I fear the worst.
Just over one year ago, Peter (Smarmy) Windsor and Ken Anderson went on SPEED and announced that they were forming a F1 team to be based in Charlotte, NC. This team eventually had Youtube founder Chad Hurley join the roster as the primary investor, with the promise of more to come. Their website showed promising signs of car building, and everything seemed quite rosy.
However, as early as three months ago annoying troll Bernie Ecclestone was going out of his way to tell any news outlet he could reach that he didn't believe that the team would make the 2010 grid. When they named Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez as their first driver, it was widely assumed that it was for the $5 million that would come with him in sponsorship. The "pay driver" has a long and ugly history in Formula 1, and it's never a good sign for a team's fortunes.
Recently, some ugly reports have started to surface regarding the American F1 team. They "requested clarification" about missing races; they were wondering about missing the first four and joining the grid in Barcelona. Then, anonymous sources said that the team has been late issuing paychecks to their employees. 10 staffers have quit the team. One potential sponsor, Locstein Group AG, a Swiss-based financial services firm, recently confirmed that they will not be involved with the team because USF1 won't make the grid for the first race. Fingers of blame are being pointed at Anderson, saying that he is unable to manage such a complex project, and at Windsor, who has only rarely been seen at the team's factory. Meanwhile, Lopez is reported to be in talks with another new team, Campos Meta, to join them, abandoning ship while he still can.
Then come reports that Charlie Whiting, F1's technical manager and race director, is visiting the team's home factory on Wednesday to see just exactly what's going on.
Things look grim for the Americans. They have some options open to them, of course. First up, they can withdraw from the 2010 season and attempt to reapply for 2011. Second, they can attempt to purchase cars from another source, such as Dallara (which is what Campos Meta is doing). Third, they can hold onto their slot for 2010 and accept penalties for every race missed... penalties that are quite prohibitive and likely would drive an established team out of business, let alone a cash-strapped startup. Or they can hope for a white knight to come along and pour buckets of funding into the team.
I fear the worst.
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January 22, 2010
The "F" In F1 Stands For "Frozen"
48 days and counting to the first Friday practice in Bahrain...
UPDATE: No, that's not the 2010 Red Bull car. That's the official "Show Car", based on the 2009 chassis. If you're a fan of Top Gear, it's the same one that nailed Clarkson in the plums with paintballs launched from the exhaust...
UPDATE: No, that's not the 2010 Red Bull car. That's the official "Show Car", based on the 2009 chassis. If you're a fan of Top Gear, it's the same one that nailed Clarkson in the plums with paintballs launched from the exhaust...
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January 05, 2010
Flavor Flav(io) Reinstated
Ex-Renault team principle Flavio Briatore, who was banned for life from F1 for his role in the Nelson Piquet Jr "CrashGate" scandal, is now un-banned.
Earlier today, the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris overturned the lifetime ban, agreeing with Briatore's claim that the FIA did not have legal grounds for the suspension. Which mystifies me, since both the FIA and F1 are private organizations; in theory, they should be able to make their own rules, right?
Furthermore, the court also awarded Briatore €15000 in damages. That's a far cry from the €1000000 he was asking for, but it's still a slap in the face of the FIA.
Along with Briatore, Pat Symonds, the former Renault chief of Engineering who was given a five-year suspension, was also cleared and awarded €5000. Symonds expressed his "eternal regret and shame" over his role in the scandal back when he left Renault. I guess this is some subset of "eternal" that I wasn't aware of.
Any bets on if either of them will be back in F1 within the next couple of years?
UPDATE: The FIA's response:
Earlier today, the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris overturned the lifetime ban, agreeing with Briatore's claim that the FIA did not have legal grounds for the suspension. Which mystifies me, since both the FIA and F1 are private organizations; in theory, they should be able to make their own rules, right?
Furthermore, the court also awarded Briatore €15000 in damages. That's a far cry from the €1000000 he was asking for, but it's still a slap in the face of the FIA.
Along with Briatore, Pat Symonds, the former Renault chief of Engineering who was given a five-year suspension, was also cleared and awarded €5000. Symonds expressed his "eternal regret and shame" over his role in the scandal back when he left Renault. I guess this is some subset of "eternal" that I wasn't aware of.
Any bets on if either of them will be back in F1 within the next couple of years?
UPDATE: The FIA's response:
The FIA notes the Decision of the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris in relation to Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds. The Court has rejected the claims for damages made by Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds and their claim for an annulment of the FIA's decision. In particular, the Court did not examine the facts and has not reversed the FIA's finding that both Briatore and Symonds conspired to cause an intentional crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
However, the Court did question the FIA's authority to impose bans upon Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds for procedural reasons and because they are not FIA licence holders and, according to the Court, are therefore not subject to any FIA rules. The FIA's ability to exclude those who intentionally put others' lives at risk has never before been put into doubt and the FIA is carefully considering its appeal options on this point. The Court’s decision is not enforceable until the FIA's appeal options have been exhausted. Until then, the World Motor Sport Council’s decision continues to apply.
In addition, the FIA intends to consider appropriate actions to ensure that no persons who would engage, or who have engaged, in such dangerous activities or acts of intentional cheating will be allowed to participate in Formula One in the future.
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December 29, 2009
Some F1 News and Reactions
As you remember, Michael "Slappy" Schumacher has returned to F1 as a driver for the new Mercedes team. His contract is for three years at a reported £7million per, after which he'll become a spokesman and consultant for Mercedes-Benz. Sounds a lot like his old setup for Ferrari, actually. The Daimler Executive Council, directors of Mercedes' parent company, is grumbling about the cost of the contract, saying that the laid-off workstaff can't understand the whole thing and thinks that Mercedes should, instead, pull out of F1. That won't happen, but they have a point... after all, Honda, Toyota and BMW thought that way.
Luca di Montezemelo, Ferrari head honcho, is putting a brave face on Slappy's leaving, saying that it's good for F1, and if something is good for F1 then it's good for Ferrari. Inside, though, you've gotta think that he's seething. Throw in the fact that Slappy will be teaming again with Ross Brawn, the combination that led to five Championships for Ferrari, and di Montezemelo must be wondering where the luster behind the red cars has gone. I think it disappeared when Lucky Luca unceremoniously shoved Slappy out the door back in 2006. Schumi didn't want to go, but Ferrari wanted Massa and Raikkonen instead... and forced arguably the best driver in F1 history to retire.
Of course, if Slappy is back, of course there have to be rumors that lil' brother Ralf will be returning to F1 as well, this time with Toro Rosso. I think I speak for all F1 fans worldwide when I say "No. Please, no. Just... no."
2010 is going to be a very interesting season, just chock full of built-in storylines. For example, Britain (McLaren, Button, Hamilton) vs Germany (Mercedes, Rosberg, Schumacher), McLaren vs Ferrari vs Mercedes, Hamilton (2008 Driver Champion) vs Button (2009 Driver Champion) on the same team, four new teams on the grid (or five if you include Sauber coming back), Alonso vs Massa at Ferrari... and that's just off the top of my head.
Speaking of new teams, there are visible signs of life at USF1! They (finally) activated their website, which you can see here, but more importantly there's a video on it that shows (amongst other things) substantial progress on the building of the actual chassis... and a good idea of what the car will actually look like. On the wall in one shot of the video, there's a CAD print of a F1 racer:
...which doesn't actually mean anything, you're saying to yourself. To which I'd say, I agree entirely. Except for the extended sequence that's shown a few moments later, as the team makes the monocoque and the nose of the car out of foam, plastic molds, and then finally carbon fiber. Here's a screenshot from that:
Please note that the verticals lean backwards, just like they do in the CAD drawing. Carbon fiber isn't cheap, it's not likely that a new startup like USF1 would be making noses just to fark with us.
I think we now know what the USF1 car is gonna look like. Now if only we had a rolling chassis to drool over...
Finally, one piece of good news to report! SPEED officially announced that they've re-upped their contract with Formula One Management, meaning that they'll continue to be the network to cover F1 for the foreseeable future. The Legendary Announce Team will be back, as well.
Luca di Montezemelo, Ferrari head honcho, is putting a brave face on Slappy's leaving, saying that it's good for F1, and if something is good for F1 then it's good for Ferrari. Inside, though, you've gotta think that he's seething. Throw in the fact that Slappy will be teaming again with Ross Brawn, the combination that led to five Championships for Ferrari, and di Montezemelo must be wondering where the luster behind the red cars has gone. I think it disappeared when Lucky Luca unceremoniously shoved Slappy out the door back in 2006. Schumi didn't want to go, but Ferrari wanted Massa and Raikkonen instead... and forced arguably the best driver in F1 history to retire.
Of course, if Slappy is back, of course there have to be rumors that lil' brother Ralf will be returning to F1 as well, this time with Toro Rosso. I think I speak for all F1 fans worldwide when I say "No. Please, no. Just... no."
2010 is going to be a very interesting season, just chock full of built-in storylines. For example, Britain (McLaren, Button, Hamilton) vs Germany (Mercedes, Rosberg, Schumacher), McLaren vs Ferrari vs Mercedes, Hamilton (2008 Driver Champion) vs Button (2009 Driver Champion) on the same team, four new teams on the grid (or five if you include Sauber coming back), Alonso vs Massa at Ferrari... and that's just off the top of my head.
Speaking of new teams, there are visible signs of life at USF1! They (finally) activated their website, which you can see here, but more importantly there's a video on it that shows (amongst other things) substantial progress on the building of the actual chassis... and a good idea of what the car will actually look like. On the wall in one shot of the video, there's a CAD print of a F1 racer:
...which doesn't actually mean anything, you're saying to yourself. To which I'd say, I agree entirely. Except for the extended sequence that's shown a few moments later, as the team makes the monocoque and the nose of the car out of foam, plastic molds, and then finally carbon fiber. Here's a screenshot from that:
Please note that the verticals lean backwards, just like they do in the CAD drawing. Carbon fiber isn't cheap, it's not likely that a new startup like USF1 would be making noses just to fark with us.
I think we now know what the USF1 car is gonna look like. Now if only we had a rolling chassis to drool over...
Finally, one piece of good news to report! SPEED officially announced that they've re-upped their contract with Formula One Management, meaning that they'll continue to be the network to cover F1 for the foreseeable future. The Legendary Announce Team will be back, as well.
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December 23, 2009
Schumi's Back... And This Time, It's For Real!
Michael Schumacher announced this morning that he will be returning to Formula 1 as a driver for the Mercedes GP Petronas (nee Brawn) F1 team.
Somewhere, Rubens Barrichello just yelled something obscene very loudly.
More to come once I get back to Pond Central.
Somewhere, Rubens Barrichello just yelled something obscene very loudly.
More to come once I get back to Pond Central.
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December 14, 2009
Schumi's Back? And Other F1 News
Just like the picture above, the answer has to be "not quite," but close. The BBC and the German newspaper Bild are both reporting that the only thing separating Michael "Slappy" Schumacher from returning to F1 with Mercedes is a signature on the contract. Both reports say that Luca di Montezemelo, Ferrari's grand poobah, has agreed to let Slappy go from his consulting position with the Prancing Ponies, for the good of the sport. Reportedly it's only the tiny details that need to be worked out before it all becomes official. Reports vary as to how much he'll be paid: somewhere between €3.5million and €7million seems to be the range. Obviously, we'll keep an eye on this and let you know when something becomes official.
In other news, the new Lotus F1 team announced their driver lineup for 2010 as "hiring two race-winning drivers."
That's right, Lotus F1 is putting their faith in Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovaleininninninnie. It is true that both have won races in Formula 1; Trulli won the 2004 GP of Monaco, Heikki the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix. I'm not entirely sure that one win each, 2 wins in 17 seasons combined is something to trumpet, but what the hey? Let 'em have their fun! It might be the only time this season they get to...
Just like the picture above, the answer has to be "not quite," but close. The BBC and the German newspaper Bild are both reporting that the only thing separating Michael "Slappy" Schumacher from returning to F1 with Mercedes is a signature on the contract. Both reports say that Luca di Montezemelo, Ferrari's grand poobah, has agreed to let Slappy go from his consulting position with the Prancing Ponies, for the good of the sport. Reportedly it's only the tiny details that need to be worked out before it all becomes official. Reports vary as to how much he'll be paid: somewhere between €3.5million and €7million seems to be the range. Obviously, we'll keep an eye on this and let you know when something becomes official.
In other news, the new Lotus F1 team announced their driver lineup for 2010 as "hiring two race-winning drivers."
That's right, Lotus F1 is putting their faith in Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovaleininninninnie. It is true that both have won races in Formula 1; Trulli won the 2004 GP of Monaco, Heikki the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix. I'm not entirely sure that one win each, 2 wins in 17 seasons combined is something to trumpet, but what the hey? Let 'em have their fun! It might be the only time this season they get to...
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December 10, 2009
New F1 Points Layout For 2010!
Well, this comes as something of a surprise! The FIA, with the support of the teams, is expected to approve a change to the points scheme for the 2010 season. The first change is that that the first 10 finishers will now score points, as opposed to the first eight. The reason for that is simple: there's going to be a lot more cars on the grid: 26 as opposed to 20. The percentage of cars scoring points will essentially remain the same: 40%.
The other change is the number of points everybody will score. Under the old system, 1st place netted 10 points, 2nd was 8, 3rd was 6, then 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 for 4th thru 8th. For the new system, though, the points layout will be as follows:
1st: 25 points
2nd: 20 points
3rd: 15 points
4th: 10 points
5th: 8 points
6th: 6 points
7th: 5 points
8th: 3 points
9th: 2 points
10th: 1 point.
Suddenly there's a substantially larger incentive to win. That five point differential, proportionally, is much more valuable than the two point differential we used to have. The same goes for 2nd to 3rd. The jump from 3rd to 4th, however, is even bigger than the others. This is obviously a response to the call to give race wins more weight, though it's extended over the entire podium.
Hopefully, this will stick a four-tined fork in Darth Bernie's stupid "medals" idea in which the driver's championship would be decided solely on race wins.
I think I actually like this. Who knew the FIA could actually do something right once in a while?
The other change is the number of points everybody will score. Under the old system, 1st place netted 10 points, 2nd was 8, 3rd was 6, then 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 for 4th thru 8th. For the new system, though, the points layout will be as follows:
1st: 25 points
2nd: 20 points
3rd: 15 points
4th: 10 points
5th: 8 points
6th: 6 points
7th: 5 points
8th: 3 points
9th: 2 points
10th: 1 point.
Suddenly there's a substantially larger incentive to win. That five point differential, proportionally, is much more valuable than the two point differential we used to have. The same goes for 2nd to 3rd. The jump from 3rd to 4th, however, is even bigger than the others. This is obviously a response to the call to give race wins more weight, though it's extended over the entire podium.
Hopefully, this will stick a four-tined fork in Darth Bernie's stupid "medals" idea in which the driver's championship would be decided solely on race wins.
I think I actually like this. Who knew the FIA could actually do something right once in a while?
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December 03, 2009
Sauber In, But Renault Out?
It's about bloody time:
The FIA has written to inform BMW Sauber AG that their application for an entry in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship has been successful. Subject to their signing the Concorde Agreement, BMW Sauber will be awarded the 13th entry in the championship, taking the place of the departing Toyota team.
-From the official FIA announcement.
Good news all around, as Peter Sauber is one of those motorsports legends that nobody really hears about, but everybody on the inside respects immensely. How much? When BMW purchased an 80% stake in what was then known as Sauber-Petronas F1 from Credit Suisse, they could have just gone ahead and renamed the team after themselves (see "Mercedes Benz"), and nobody would have blinked an eye. Instead, they decided to call themselves BMW-Sauber, even though Sauber himself was to be naught but a "consultant" for the team.
In a related note, you may remember this post that included a picture of some die-cast F1 cars I picked up in the toy aisle of a local grocery store. Two of the cars were obviously based on the Toyota and McLaren liveries, but I couldn't place the third one. I now believe that it was a half-hearted attempt to match the old Sauber-Petronas paintjob.
The FIA has written to inform BMW Sauber AG that their application for an entry in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship has been successful. Subject to their signing the Concorde Agreement, BMW Sauber will be awarded the 13th entry in the championship, taking the place of the departing Toyota team.
-From the official FIA announcement.
Good news all around, as Peter Sauber is one of those motorsports legends that nobody really hears about, but everybody on the inside respects immensely. How much? When BMW purchased an 80% stake in what was then known as Sauber-Petronas F1 from Credit Suisse, they could have just gone ahead and renamed the team after themselves (see "Mercedes Benz"), and nobody would have blinked an eye. Instead, they decided to call themselves BMW-Sauber, even though Sauber himself was to be naught but a "consultant" for the team.
In a related note, you may remember this post that included a picture of some die-cast F1 cars I picked up in the toy aisle of a local grocery store. Two of the cars were obviously based on the Toyota and McLaren liveries, but I couldn't place the third one. I now believe that it was a half-hearted attempt to match the old Sauber-Petronas paintjob.
There's even an animal on the air scoop. Okay, sure, it's a white bear on the toy and a red bull on the Sauber, but it's in the right place. The "flames" even kinda match up. So until someone comes up with with a better answer, I'm going with Toyota, McLaren, Sauber.
According to PlanetF1.com, Renault appears to be on the verge of getting out of the sport as a race team. Of course, this has been rumored ever since Crashygate came down and they got their wrists slapped, but now there's actually some names attached to it. The story is that Renault will sell their team to the Prodrive company, which had been granted a slot on the grid in 2008. That attempt fell through, but if this is true, well, they're a team with a lot of history and background.
Renault would still be an engine provider, at least through 2012, however, so they wouldn't be completely gone.
Silly season... almost as much fun as the real thing!
Tip o' the helmet to reader Madmike for the pointer!
According to PlanetF1.com, Renault appears to be on the verge of getting out of the sport as a race team. Of course, this has been rumored ever since Crashygate came down and they got their wrists slapped, but now there's actually some names attached to it. The story is that Renault will sell their team to the Prodrive company, which had been granted a slot on the grid in 2008. That attempt fell through, but if this is true, well, they're a team with a lot of history and background.
Renault would still be an engine provider, at least through 2012, however, so they wouldn't be completely gone.
Silly season... almost as much fun as the real thing!
Tip o' the helmet to reader Madmike for the pointer!
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December 02, 2009
F1's 2010 Official FIA Teams List Released
On Monday, the FIA officially announced the teams that will compete in Formula 1 in 2010, as well as an updated drivers list and car numbers. Let's take a look-see:
McLaren-Mercedes
1 Jenson Button (GB), 2 Lewis Hamilton (GB)
Brawn-Mercedes Benz
3 Nico Rosberg (D), 4 TBA
Red Bull Racing-Renault
5 Sebastian Vettel (D), 6 Mark Webber (AUS)
Ferrari
7 Felipe Massa (BR), 8 HWMNBN (E)
Williams-Cosworth
9 Rubens Barrichello (BR), 10 Nico Hulkenberg (D)
Renault
11 Robert Kubica (PL), 12 TBA
Force India-Mercedes
14 Adrian Sutil (D), 15 Vitantonio Liuzzi (I)
STR-Ferrari
16 Sebastien Buemi (CH), 17 TBA
Lotus-Cosworth
18 TBA, 19 TBA
Campos-Dallara
20 TBA, 21 Bruno Senna (BR)
USF1-Cosworth
22 TBA, 23 TBA
Virgin-Cosworth
24 Timo Glock (D), 25 TBA
A couple of interesting things leap out at the observant viewer. The biggest one is that there are only 12 teams listed. Of course that's because ToyotaF1 pulled out, but it was expected that the once BMW-Sauber-then-Qadbank-Sauber-then-finally-just-Sauber entry would be granted the slot.
It appears that that is not automatically the case. See, ToyotaF1 may have removed themselves from F1, but they still hold the rights to their slot on the grid and are bound by the Concorde Agreement to put forth a team for the season. If they sell the team, a la Honda to Ross Brawn last year, whomever purchases them would get the slot... maybe. Peter Sauber, longtime F1 guy and namesake of the Sauber team, is reportedly somewhat grumpy about the whole situation.
Next up, the rookie team Manor Motorsports has changed their name to VirginF1. Since the megacompany has slapped down the money for major, if not exclusive, sponsorship, that makes sense.
Third, two things from the Campos team. A little surprise that their engine supplier is listed as Dallara, since it was reported that the newbies' acceptance to the grid was contingent on their choosing Cosworth as their engine supplier. The Campos team has a history with Dallara that goes back a few years, and Dallara will be building the car for the Spanish rookies. It may be that in fact, they'll have Cosworth engines anyway, or perhaps Cossies rebranded as Dallara. Just an interesting bit of speculation.
The other thing is that Bruno Senna isn't listed as the team's first driver, despite being to date their only driver. Turns out there's a good reason for it: the car number. Senna is Brazilian, and Embratel, the Brazilian telecom company, is a major sponsor. "21" is the code used to dial the operator for Embratel connections. Clever.
Finally, you may note that McLaren, not constructor's champion Brawn/Mercedes Benz/Whatever, has car #1. That's because of the tradition giving the Driver's Champion the prestigious number, and his teammate #2. After that, the numbers are allotted via the constructor's standings. There have been exceptions, however. If the reigning driver's champion is not in F1 the following year (because of death or retirement, for example), his team is given car numbers 0 and 2. This has happened twice in the past, in 1993 and 1994.
Of course, #13 hasn't been used since 1976.
McLaren-Mercedes
1 Jenson Button (GB), 2 Lewis Hamilton (GB)
Brawn-Mercedes Benz
3 Nico Rosberg (D), 4 TBA
Red Bull Racing-Renault
5 Sebastian Vettel (D), 6 Mark Webber (AUS)
Ferrari
7 Felipe Massa (BR), 8 HWMNBN (E)
Williams-Cosworth
9 Rubens Barrichello (BR), 10 Nico Hulkenberg (D)
Renault
11 Robert Kubica (PL), 12 TBA
Force India-Mercedes
14 Adrian Sutil (D), 15 Vitantonio Liuzzi (I)
STR-Ferrari
16 Sebastien Buemi (CH), 17 TBA
Lotus-Cosworth
18 TBA, 19 TBA
Campos-Dallara
20 TBA, 21 Bruno Senna (BR)
USF1-Cosworth
22 TBA, 23 TBA
Virgin-Cosworth
24 Timo Glock (D), 25 TBA
A couple of interesting things leap out at the observant viewer. The biggest one is that there are only 12 teams listed. Of course that's because ToyotaF1 pulled out, but it was expected that the once BMW-Sauber-then-Qadbank-Sauber-then-finally-just-Sauber entry would be granted the slot.
It appears that that is not automatically the case. See, ToyotaF1 may have removed themselves from F1, but they still hold the rights to their slot on the grid and are bound by the Concorde Agreement to put forth a team for the season. If they sell the team, a la Honda to Ross Brawn last year, whomever purchases them would get the slot... maybe. Peter Sauber, longtime F1 guy and namesake of the Sauber team, is reportedly somewhat grumpy about the whole situation.
Next up, the rookie team Manor Motorsports has changed their name to VirginF1. Since the megacompany has slapped down the money for major, if not exclusive, sponsorship, that makes sense.
Third, two things from the Campos team. A little surprise that their engine supplier is listed as Dallara, since it was reported that the newbies' acceptance to the grid was contingent on their choosing Cosworth as their engine supplier. The Campos team has a history with Dallara that goes back a few years, and Dallara will be building the car for the Spanish rookies. It may be that in fact, they'll have Cosworth engines anyway, or perhaps Cossies rebranded as Dallara. Just an interesting bit of speculation.
The other thing is that Bruno Senna isn't listed as the team's first driver, despite being to date their only driver. Turns out there's a good reason for it: the car number. Senna is Brazilian, and Embratel, the Brazilian telecom company, is a major sponsor. "21" is the code used to dial the operator for Embratel connections. Clever.
Finally, you may note that McLaren, not constructor's champion Brawn/Mercedes Benz/Whatever, has car #1. That's because of the tradition giving the Driver's Champion the prestigious number, and his teammate #2. After that, the numbers are allotted via the constructor's standings. There have been exceptions, however. If the reigning driver's champion is not in F1 the following year (because of death or retirement, for example), his team is given car numbers 0 and 2. This has happened twice in the past, in 1993 and 1994.
Of course, #13 hasn't been used since 1976.
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November 17, 2009
Silly Season Heating Up
With Mercedes' purchase of BrawnGP yesterday, it appears that Jenson Button maybe didn't believe the team's assertions that they won't be an all-German team. Earlier today, it appears that he agreed to a three-year, £6million contract with... McLaren, the team that Mercedes sent packing.
Lewis Hamilton, 2008 Driver's Champion. Jenson Button, 2009 Driver's Champion. Yeah, I'd say that's a halfway decent driver's lineup for McLaren.
I suddenly suspect that Kimi Raikkonen is headed for Mercedes. If that doesn't happen, then expect Merc to be all-German. Then expect plenty of WWII references, what with British/McLaren vs German/Mercedes... then throw in the dream of an American/USF1 team, and we're all set.
In other driver news, the favorite driver of Vaucanson's Duck's wife, Timo Glockenspiel, signed with newbie team ManorGP. That's a good signing for the team in my opinion. Not only is he a good driver, but his experience will go a long way towards improving the car during testing sessions.
Finally, a new name has arisen in the race to partner Robert Kubica at Renault. Would you believe former SuperAguri driver Franck "The Barber" Montagny may be back? What, Luca Badoer isn't available?
Lewis Hamilton, 2008 Driver's Champion. Jenson Button, 2009 Driver's Champion. Yeah, I'd say that's a halfway decent driver's lineup for McLaren.
I suddenly suspect that Kimi Raikkonen is headed for Mercedes. If that doesn't happen, then expect Merc to be all-German. Then expect plenty of WWII references, what with British/McLaren vs German/Mercedes... then throw in the dream of an American/USF1 team, and we're all set.
In other driver news, the favorite driver of Vaucanson's Duck's wife, Timo Glockenspiel, signed with newbie team ManorGP. That's a good signing for the team in my opinion. Not only is he a good driver, but his experience will go a long way towards improving the car during testing sessions.
Finally, a new name has arisen in the race to partner Robert Kubica at Renault. Would you believe former SuperAguri driver Franck "The Barber" Montagny may be back? What, Luca Badoer isn't available?
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)November 16, 2009
Silver Arrows Replaces White Knights!
Not a bad year for Ross Brawn, really. He rescues the Honda F1 team from the dead, renames it after himself, the team goes on to win seven of the first eight races, rolls on to both championships... and then Brawn goes out today and sells 75.1% of his stake in the team to German car giant Mercedes.
Which means that, for the first time since 1955, Mercedes is back as a Formula 1 team. Let me put that in perspective here: the last time Mercedes entered their own cars in a F1 race, two of their drivers were Juan Manuel Fangio (aka St Fangio the Quick) and Sterling Moss. And how are they getting back into it? Buy buying the reigning Constructor's Championship team. Not too shabby, that.
I guess we now know why BrawnGP was reluctant to re-sign Jenson Button... Mercedes wanted to choose their own drivers. Speaking of which, they've come out and said they didn't want two German drivers, which leaves the door open for Button to come back, but... but... there are three very good prospective German pilots out there. The obvious two are Nico Rosberg and Grizzly Nick Heidfeld. Perhaps we now know why Rosberg was so confident that he'd be driving this season, despite his name not being linked to any team. But what of Slappy Schumacher? Sure, his heart is with Ferrari, but is it THAT far out of the realm of possibility that he'd hook up with MercedesGP?
But what of McLaren, or as it is correctly named, "McLaren-Mercedes"? Doesn't Mercedes own a stake in the team themselves? Yep, they sure do, a 40% one, as a matter of fact... which McLaren is going to buy back over the next two years. They'll still be getting their engines from Mercedes until 2015, except now they'll have to pay for them. There's some speculation that the reason for all of this is that Mercedes is a little peeved about McLaren's new road-car, the MP-4/12c. It may be that Mercedes doesn't want to supply engines to what will be, essentially, a competitor to the SL-65 AMG.
So there you have it: BrawnGP is no more, taken over by MercedesGP. Big news indeed!
Which means that, for the first time since 1955, Mercedes is back as a Formula 1 team. Let me put that in perspective here: the last time Mercedes entered their own cars in a F1 race, two of their drivers were Juan Manuel Fangio (aka St Fangio the Quick) and Sterling Moss. And how are they getting back into it? Buy buying the reigning Constructor's Championship team. Not too shabby, that.
I guess we now know why BrawnGP was reluctant to re-sign Jenson Button... Mercedes wanted to choose their own drivers. Speaking of which, they've come out and said they didn't want two German drivers, which leaves the door open for Button to come back, but... but... there are three very good prospective German pilots out there. The obvious two are Nico Rosberg and Grizzly Nick Heidfeld. Perhaps we now know why Rosberg was so confident that he'd be driving this season, despite his name not being linked to any team. But what of Slappy Schumacher? Sure, his heart is with Ferrari, but is it THAT far out of the realm of possibility that he'd hook up with MercedesGP?
But what of McLaren, or as it is correctly named, "McLaren-Mercedes"? Doesn't Mercedes own a stake in the team themselves? Yep, they sure do, a 40% one, as a matter of fact... which McLaren is going to buy back over the next two years. They'll still be getting their engines from Mercedes until 2015, except now they'll have to pay for them. There's some speculation that the reason for all of this is that Mercedes is a little peeved about McLaren's new road-car, the MP-4/12c. It may be that Mercedes doesn't want to supply engines to what will be, essentially, a competitor to the SL-65 AMG.
So there you have it: BrawnGP is no more, taken over by MercedesGP. Big news indeed!
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November 14, 2009
Formula 1: The Text Adventure
WONDERDUCK: LOOK_
You are in 3rd place at Spa-Francorchamps. What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: PUSH HARDER_
You gain on the car in front. What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: CAST SPELL_
What sort of spell do you want to cast?
- Shield of Collisionity (L1)
- Turbo Shoes (L3)
- Steering Wheel of Misfortune (L2)
WONDERDUCK: CAST STEERING WHEEL OF MISFORTUNE_
You cast the spell.
+3 Hit Points!
The 2nd place driver loses control and crashes heavily!
You are now in 2nd place. What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: PUSH HARDER_
You gain on the car in front. What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: LOOK_
You see an Eau Rouge. How do you want to engage it?
WONDERDUCK: FLAT OUT_
You beat the Eau Rouge. What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: PUSH HARDER_
You gain on the car in front. What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: PUSH HARDER_
Suddenly everything is spinning and you are very dizzy! You have lost control.
-7 reputation
What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: LOOK_
You are stranded in a gravel trap. A marshall is here.
WONDERDUCK: QUIT_
Your rank is: Finnish Rally Driver.... BYE!
You are in 3rd place at Spa-Francorchamps. What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: PUSH HARDER_
You gain on the car in front. What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: CAST SPELL_
What sort of spell do you want to cast?
- Shield of Collisionity (L1)
- Turbo Shoes (L3)
- Steering Wheel of Misfortune (L2)
WONDERDUCK: CAST STEERING WHEEL OF MISFORTUNE_
You cast the spell.
+3 Hit Points!
The 2nd place driver loses control and crashes heavily!
You are now in 2nd place. What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: PUSH HARDER_
You gain on the car in front. What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: LOOK_
You see an Eau Rouge. How do you want to engage it?
WONDERDUCK: FLAT OUT_
You beat the Eau Rouge. What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: PUSH HARDER_
You gain on the car in front. What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: PUSH HARDER_
Suddenly everything is spinning and you are very dizzy! You have lost control.
-7 reputation
What do you want to do now?
WONDERDUCK: LOOK_
You are stranded in a gravel trap. A marshall is here.
WONDERDUCK: QUIT_
Your rank is: Finnish Rally Driver.... BYE!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
12:06 AM
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Post contains 210 words, total size 1 kb.
November 11, 2009
F1 News Nuggets
Now that the racing part of the F1 year has ended, it's time for the other part: the Silly Season! To be honest, the Silly Season got started a little early this year when HWMNBN signed with Ferrari and Robert Kubica went to Renault. Now, however, there's a whole slew of seats to be filled with names, and the speculation, contract squabbles, and actual signings are flying fast and furious throughout the Circus.
A little over a week ago, Williams named both their drivers for the 2010 season. The first was a blessing for F1U!, as he has the greatest name ever: Nico Hulkenberg. I mean, come on, that right there is just begging for nicknames, Marvel-related jokes, and Bruce Banner parodies, and you may expect a lot of them next year. The other driver wore out his welcome with his 2009 team, and in the process damaged his reputation with a lot of fans. Still, there's no denying that he'll go down in history as F1's greatest wingman: Rubens Barrichello. The amazing thing is that sometime during the 2010 season, barring incident, Rubens'll reach the 300-race mark. Truly a phenomenal statistic in this sport where 30 is considered old, and racing at 40 is unheard of these days. He'll be 37 when the season starts, and is the last active driver to have raced against the late Ayrton Senna. And speaking of Senna...
Campos Meta, one of the new teams on the grid for 2010, named the nephew of Ayrton, Bruno Senna, to be one of their drivers. Uncle Ayrton said in 1993, "If you think I'm good, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno." To date, Bruno is best known for having had a run-in with a dog during a GP2 race in Turkey, but it's undeniable that he's got a whole bucketload of talent.
Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button, the 2007 and 2009 Driver's Champions respectively, still have yet to sign with any team. Rumors were that Kimi was going to McLaren, but it appears that the team isn't willing to pay the type of cash it'd take to sign him. In response, Kimi has said that he wants to drive in F1, but only for the right team (read: McLaren). If that doesn't happen, he'll be happy to take the $30million buyout that Ferrari gave him and go rallying. Button, on the other hand, is also asking for some serious coin. When it came out that he actually paid his own airfare to the various grands prix this year, one can't help but wonder why BrawnGP isn't coughing up the moolah.
Of course, that might be because Brawn will be losing Virgin as their primary sponsor in 2010. Instead, it seems that they'll be buying into F1 as a full-fledged team, not just as a sponsor. The Manor Motorsports entry is the one being rumored as the most likely to be purchased by Richard Branson's conglomerate. If it happens, expect a few "Virgin Virgin" jokes. On Brawn's part, expect to see Mercedes (or one of their subsidiaries) buy into the team, perhaps as much as a 75% stake.
The European media is proclaiming that USF1, the new American team on the grid, has no chance in hell of actually taking the lights at the start of the 2010 season. This is because of comments that Ross Brawn made to a German paper, expressing surprise that the Charlotte, NC-based team hasn't begun crash-testing their car yet. Peter (ex-Smarmy) Windsor, team sporting director, responded by saying that parts of the chassis have indeed been crash-tested. He also pointed out that FIA inspectors had visited their facility and were quite pleased with the set-up. According to earlier reports, USF1 is expecting to have their first chassis on the asphalt by the end of November.
Finally, got a few million dollars lying around? Michael Schumacher's 1994 Benneton-Ford B194 from that year's final race, the Australian Grand Prix at Adelaide, is up for auction on eBay Germany. It's been refurbished, so that little ding it got when Schumi nerfed Damon Hill, then went for a little flight, has been buffed out. You'll hardly notice.
A little over a week ago, Williams named both their drivers for the 2010 season. The first was a blessing for F1U!, as he has the greatest name ever: Nico Hulkenberg. I mean, come on, that right there is just begging for nicknames, Marvel-related jokes, and Bruce Banner parodies, and you may expect a lot of them next year. The other driver wore out his welcome with his 2009 team, and in the process damaged his reputation with a lot of fans. Still, there's no denying that he'll go down in history as F1's greatest wingman: Rubens Barrichello. The amazing thing is that sometime during the 2010 season, barring incident, Rubens'll reach the 300-race mark. Truly a phenomenal statistic in this sport where 30 is considered old, and racing at 40 is unheard of these days. He'll be 37 when the season starts, and is the last active driver to have raced against the late Ayrton Senna. And speaking of Senna...
Campos Meta, one of the new teams on the grid for 2010, named the nephew of Ayrton, Bruno Senna, to be one of their drivers. Uncle Ayrton said in 1993, "If you think I'm good, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno." To date, Bruno is best known for having had a run-in with a dog during a GP2 race in Turkey, but it's undeniable that he's got a whole bucketload of talent.
Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button, the 2007 and 2009 Driver's Champions respectively, still have yet to sign with any team. Rumors were that Kimi was going to McLaren, but it appears that the team isn't willing to pay the type of cash it'd take to sign him. In response, Kimi has said that he wants to drive in F1, but only for the right team (read: McLaren). If that doesn't happen, he'll be happy to take the $30million buyout that Ferrari gave him and go rallying. Button, on the other hand, is also asking for some serious coin. When it came out that he actually paid his own airfare to the various grands prix this year, one can't help but wonder why BrawnGP isn't coughing up the moolah.
Of course, that might be because Brawn will be losing Virgin as their primary sponsor in 2010. Instead, it seems that they'll be buying into F1 as a full-fledged team, not just as a sponsor. The Manor Motorsports entry is the one being rumored as the most likely to be purchased by Richard Branson's conglomerate. If it happens, expect a few "Virgin Virgin" jokes. On Brawn's part, expect to see Mercedes (or one of their subsidiaries) buy into the team, perhaps as much as a 75% stake.
The European media is proclaiming that USF1, the new American team on the grid, has no chance in hell of actually taking the lights at the start of the 2010 season. This is because of comments that Ross Brawn made to a German paper, expressing surprise that the Charlotte, NC-based team hasn't begun crash-testing their car yet. Peter (ex-Smarmy) Windsor, team sporting director, responded by saying that parts of the chassis have indeed been crash-tested. He also pointed out that FIA inspectors had visited their facility and were quite pleased with the set-up. According to earlier reports, USF1 is expecting to have their first chassis on the asphalt by the end of November.
Finally, got a few million dollars lying around? Michael Schumacher's 1994 Benneton-Ford B194 from that year's final race, the Australian Grand Prix at Adelaide, is up for auction on eBay Germany. It's been refurbished, so that little ding it got when Schumi nerfed Damon Hill, then went for a little flight, has been buffed out. You'll hardly notice.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:30 PM
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