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Fernando Alonso 2007-11-04 07:35:36 Ok, so we know now that Fernando
(as expected) will not be at McLaren next year. So where will he go?
Well it’s no secret that Flavio would like him to return to Renault, openly stating as much, however Fernando has said that Renault is not his first choice.
Ferrari have got their driver lineup sorted for the foreseeable future, so that’s out, and leaves some of the teams that are not considered front runners.
Toyota obviously have a slot, but it’s known that they are wooing Timo Glock to replace Ralf, however that too does not look good, with BMW blocking Timo’s move to the Japanese team.
Other teams that would be willing to have the Spaniard (and be able to pay his large wage) are Red Bull, Williams and Toyota.
Let’s have a look at these options. Red Bull have a completed driver lineup, with Mark Webber and David Coulthard both with signatures on their contracts, if the team were to secure the Spaniards services, it’s likely that the driver under Read more:Alonso
, Fernando Alonso
10 year engine freeze 2007-11-01 11:45:49 It seems that the FIA have proposed a 10 year freeze on engine designs to start from 2008.
Now I can see the point in trying to make the sport ‘greener’ and ‘cheaper’, however this is F1.
If a large manufacturer has 500million to spend in a season, HE IS GOING TO, most of the smaller teams will benefit from engine advancements, as they run manufacturers engines anyhow, so where is the problem?
The system works fine in other sports like MotoGP, where teams run engines and even chassis from factory manufacturers, these satellite teams get as much help from the factory teams as the factory teams do themselves, so why not introduce a similar system where the satellite teams are only at worst one pace behind the factory teams, and in some cases in MotoGP they are actually used as development bikes, having the advancements in engine/clutch/exhaust technology first, allowing the factory teams to run safe, while still garnering intelligence on the new parts?
Teams like
Max finally gone mad? 2007-11-01 11:23:20 Max Mosley has spouted again, it’s not enough to put down one of the finest names in F1 history (Stewart), he has now said that Lewis Hamilton’s success is bad for the sport, wtf?
Yes I too am a little sick of the over importance the British press has heaped on Hamilton’s shoulders, but this?
"If he does the same thing next season as he’s done this season, it will certainly have a big effect," he told the BBC’.
"It will start to be negative because we’ll get the Schumacher effect where people start writing to me saying can’t you do something to slow him down."
He says this after one of the best seasons of F1 in years?
Max is so used to getting his own way, that he thinks he can call Jackie Stewart a ‘half wit’ and get away with it, now this? English papers are now dubbing him ‘Mad Max’, and to be honest, I don’t think there too far from the mark.
Come on Max, Step down, you have had your tim
F1 to move from Sony to EA? 2007-11-01 10:31:12 I t seems that the young Brit Lewis Hamilton has signed a $10 Million deal with gaming Giant Electronic Arts (EA Sports).
This has lead to speculation that if the EA brand has invested so heavily in an F1 heavyweight for marketing of a game, then they are also in talks to purchase the F1 right’s, currently held by Sony
.
If this is true, it’s excellent news in one way, and not so good in another. It would mean that the F1 games would be multi platform (XBox 360, PS3 at least) and people who are not on the Sony platform would again be able to play F1 games.
However it’s possibly not all good news, the current F1 game available on the PS3 is decidedly arcade’y and very easy. If EA bring the F1 franchise in house, then perhaps they are also looking to purchase the Sony Liverpool Studio’s (the current developers of F1), and if so the game would stay in it’s arcade form. It is possible though that the game would be taken over by one of EA’s plethora
Season 2008 2007-10-22 09:09:46 Let’s leave the 2007 season behind us, let’s rather look forward at what may be the highlights of the 2008 season.
First lets speak about the new team next year. After a battle for the last team place on the grid, Pro Drive won, and the rumor has been that they will run McLaren cars, and use the McLaren test drivers for their lineup.
This has however come to question, as Pedro de la Rossa has publicly stated that he will be with the McLaren team again next year.
So if the Pro Drive team don’t take the grid, will they sell their place? and if so who too?
There is also all the driver lineup that will without a shadow of a doubt change. Who will be at McLaren next year? will Alonso stay with the team? will the rumors of Heikki moving to McLaren with Alonso to Renault come to fruition? Will the 2005/2006 world champion not want to go back to Renault now that Flavio will not be as focused on the team? and hey they have not been the world title team that they were just a Read more:Season
Will fuel decide the title? 2007-10-22 07:44:20 And more to the point, should it?
This season has had it’s fair share of FIA judgments that have impacted the sport in a negative way, will the fuel irregularity be the last sting in the tail for the 2007 season?
I’m actually glad that Kimi took the title (as it currently stands), he drove well for the second half of the season, and after all the title is well overdue for the ‘Ice Man’. Yes it would have been nice to see the young Brit Hamilton triumph over the more illustrious competition, but it seemed it was not to be.
However both of the BMW’s and the Williams of Nico showed irregularities, the fuel on board the car at the stop’s was deemed to be outside of regulation 6.5.5, where the fuel has to be within 10 degrees C of the ambient track temperature. It seems however that the stewards of the course could not positively say what the ambient temperature actually was.
McLaren will take this to the FIA court of appeal, however McLaren have not got
Kimi takes both top spots 2007-10-21 14:04:48 Kimi Raikkonen is tonight crowned as the new world champion of the F1 world. He takes the title that Fernando Alonso held last year.
The race was not all that interesting from the Ferrari point of view, the two Ferrari’s where by and away the fastest cars on the track.
No all of the interesting things that happened, happened behind the two scarlet machines. First Alonso managed to get past Lewis in the Senna S’s, Lewis obviously did not like that, and tried to get back passed in the next corner, however he ran wide and lost a lot of time.
Then on lap 7, Lewis’s McLaren decided to select neutral in his gearbox, and it took him and his engineers over 30 seconds to get the car to select a gear. Eventually the car did find a gear and Lewis was on his way again, however he was now in 18th position.
Lewis drove well and eventually managed to finish in seventh position, if he could have managed another spot, then it sounds like Ron Dennis would have ‘asked’ Alo Read more:spots
Another ‘Lewis Lap’ 2007-10-06 02:14:28 Lewis Hamilton has for the second time in a row, pulled a marvelous lap out of the bag in the dying minutes of qualifying.
Lewis looked every bit fourth fastest all the way through the 3 sessions, then managed to hook a near perfect lap up in the last moments of Q3 to take the pole spot.
Kimi Raikkonen took the second place, with the Ferrari looking sorted in sectors 2 and 3, but a little out of sorts in the tight sector 1.
Massa sit’s his Ferrari in third spot, with Fernando popping the second McLaren into fourth.
Behind the top four is where the interest starts however. David Coulthard put’s his Red Bull on the fifth spot, and after announcing he wont be driving for Toyota in 2008, Ralf Schumacher put’s his car sixth.
The second Red Bull of Mark Webber is in seventh, followed by the two BMW cars (Heidfeld/Kubica) who’s cars just did not look their usual hooked up self.
Last but by no means least, is the Honda of Jenson Button, who drove superbly just to make i Read more:Lewis
Ferrari stiring the waters again? 2007-11-16 09:33:58 I know I should steer clear, and not have my say about the McLaren appeal against BMW/Williams. But hey I want to so I will….
Yes I don’t think the championship winner should be changed, Kimi won, with Lewis second, and that result should stand. However I can also see why McLaren did appeal, they have been beaten up all year over rules, and then see teams getting away with an infringement, so I can see their point of view.
Nigel Tozzi (Ferrari
Lawyer) had this to say
"It could be said McLaren are shameless hypocrites devoid of any integrity, or maybe what their representatives have said should be taken at face value.”
Well, Ferrari have not been angels this year on this exact point, so I would not go slinging mud.
“If what they want is clarity, then by all means let them have that, but do not allow them to have the world championship this way."
As I have said, the fairest result would be a dq for the cars that had transcended the rules, but no promoti
Renault complain about the electronics 2007-11-14 15:44:20 Bob Bell (Renault
’s Technical Director) has complain
ed about the new FIA sanctioned ‘Standard Electronics Unit’.
He is stated as saying
"The system has lower performance," Bell insisted. "Its capacity, complexity and functions are not on the same level."
Now Bob, is that not the point of the new system? It’s designed to stop the hidden ‘clever’ code that is tending to be hidden in the current electronics
on the cars.
He has also complained that McLaren have an advantage in using the system, this is because the system is a development effort between Microsoft and McLaren (MES - Microsoft McLaren Electronic Systems). Yes I can see his point on this, however I am sure McLaren’s system from 2007 would have been a fair chunk more complicated than the one in the standard system. There however will be similarities between the standard one and the one McLaren know and love.
That being said, so far all the drivers that have driven c
Other significant moves 2007-11-13 05:47:56 Besides the Fernando to Ferrari piece we ran earlier, there are also some other significant staff moves
to note.
Ferrari have replaced Juan Todt at the head of the F1 team by Stefano Domenicali, who will take over the running of the team from January. This shows that Todt is obviously under an increased load with managing the Ferrari group, and can no longer manage running the team as well.
The other, more positive move is Ross Brawn, he has joined the Honda team, and I am sure will make a difference almost immediately.
Nick Fry had this to say about the appointment
"In terms of job responsibilities. Ross is team principal and is organizationally in charge of the team," Fry said. "I will take charge of the commercial side, the marketing, sponsorship and the legal side."
With Ross having this to say about his new team
"What I have done is get an assessment of the people who own the team and I was convinced that they have the commitment and the resources. I am
Roundup 2007-12-17 09:52:49 Ok, so I have to apologise for not posting for a while, but this is the silly season, and I have been caught up in family and work.
That said, it’s also been a good off season so far for F1 news, so with that in mind, lets break it all down, let’s start with the Driver announcements.
Ralf
The younger Schumacher has left the Toyota team, and even though he played with the idea of driving for Team India by taking part in a test, it seems that he was not offered the job.
Ralf is one of those drivers that initially shone, and I have no doubt that if he was in a competitive car could be quick. However he has not got his brothers talent of setup, and overcoming the car’s deficiencies, and because of that cost Toyota not only a lot of money, but also a lot of time.
I’m sure with Timo Glock and Jarno in the driving seats the team has a good base to build a car for the future.
Rosberg
Yup Nico has signed on to stay at Williams, ending the rumours of a switch to drivin
Where did Toyota come from? 2008-02-28 11:55:33 Or day three of the Barcelona testing, as it should be titled.
Toyota
- The surprise of the third day of testing at Barcelona was without a doubt the TF-108 with Jarno at the wheel.
Jarno set the fastest time of the day in the car saying , “That was another positive day. We made some progress [...]
Fantasy F1 2008-02-27 10:56:42 Righty oh, for those that like this sort of thing I have setup a Fantasy F1 League for you to join, and beat me at.
To start your team click here and sign up for a Fantasy F1 Team of your own.
Now click on the F&E button for your team, and join the 270 League.
Go [...]
Barcelona Testing 2008-02-27 10:15:15 First and foremost, apologies on the lack of updates, right now that’s over with, on with testing news.
McLaren - The Woking team have been showing serious pace at Barcelona
. Both days of testing so far have had the McLaren Mercedes team showing their form.
The fastest man on the track, squashing talk that he would not [...] Read more:Testing
Has Dennis been bumped? 2008-02-27 07:04:46 Rumour has started to circulate in the MotorSport world that Ron Dennis
has been bumped off the top at McLaren.
It seems that Mercedes may have ‘asked’ Dennis to step down, with Martin Whitmarsh taking over the day to day running of the Woking team.
This would be a sad day for the team, and the [...]
Valencia Testing 2008-01-28 09:39:16 Looks like Ferrari and McLaren are again the teams to beat if last weeks testing in Valencia
is anything to go by. That said there are a few things worthy of speaking about besides the times that the teams set.
BMW - After showing the F1.08 off at it’s launch, with sveldt lines, and one [...] Read more:Testing
Before we go testing for the second week 2008-01-21 08:37:32 Let’s round up all the news from over the weekend.
Honda - The Honda F1 team have finally announced their testing plans. The team were absent from last weeks testing, and look to be coming to this weeks Valencia session to make up for it.
The team will initially run a modified RA107 car, and use [...]
Has ‘mad’ Max finally made a sensible decision? 2008-01-18 06:09:46 The FIA have circulated a letter to the F1 teams this week. It basically sums up the recent talks the teams had about budget caps, and engines.
The letter says that the FIA are going to go ahead and introduce the budget caps in 2009, and also details what will be exempt from the cap.
So [...] Read more:decision
Jerez Day 3 Testing 2008-01-17 08:19:00 A Surprise fastest time today, from not only a team that is not expected, but from one of the new boys as well, Timo Glock put’s the Toyota on the top spot of the time sheets for the final day.
The surprising thing was not that he set the fastest time, but who he beat [...] Read more:Testing
, Jerez
Australia practice 2 2008-03-13 23:46:12 It looked for a long time that the local boy Mark Webber was going to set the fastest session time in the Red Bull, however it was not to be, as Lewis came out towards the end of the session and smashed the time Webber set by nearly a second.
Again we saw quite a few [...] Read more:Australia
Session one 2008-03-13 19:59:39 The first session from Australia has just come to a close, and interesting it was.
The times do not really indicate on the first session, as the fastest driver is 2 seconds shy of the 2004 lap record and a second off Kimi’s qualifying time from last year. No the interest comes from watching what the [...]
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