F1 - Formula 1 World Championship

Cassee Fri 28 Jan - 16:35

No Mercedes return likely for Heidfeld

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/28012011/23/mercedes-return-likely-heidfeld.html

Another good driver left out in the cold.

PleinGaz Fri 28 Jan - 17:14

but he likes it... I saw him shoveling the other day! Razz

SpeedMetal Fri 28 Jan - 17:25

Hey Cassie, I'm glad to see you here! cheers

Nonetheless, about Heidfeld, frankly, I must admit that he was not my preferred one.

But I may have an answer in regard with the next Mercedes driver that will be hired after Schumacher. I have not found the article in English but in you can translate that (I still don't know how it works):

http://www.toilef1.com/DTM-Di-Resta-la-route-inverse.html

The idea is: as Mercedes supply engines to Force India, they possibly gave them some financial advantages to make Di Resta the second driver of this team instead of Hulkenberg...

I hope that my post is gonna make sense for you... scratch

PleinGaz Fri 28 Jan - 18:48

Three things I have to say: Politics, politics and... politics.

That't what excluded some pilots and retained others... Neutral

abf1 Fri 28 Jan - 20:43

Nice spot for talking F1 !
Thanks Cassee.

SpeedMetal Tue 1 Feb - 13:28

Good morning Cassee,

I am curious, what do you think about the coming F1 season?

Your preferred teams and drivers?

Which team(s) and driver(s) will be at the front as per your undertanding?

The regulations?

The competitive level?

You can take your time giving your idea to all points, if you wish to... We are not in a hurry...

Have a nice day!

Monte Cristo Tue 1 Feb - 13:43

abf1 wrote:Nice spot for talking F1 !
Thanks Cassee.

Yop, good idea Cassee.

Cassee Tue 1 Feb - 15:45

Petrov can't expect to be spoon-fed, stress Boullier and Kubica

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/01022011/23/petrov-t-expect-spoon-fed-stress-boullier-kubica.html

""“That is one of the many subjects that we have discussed with him, that if he wants to deliver he has to find it by himself, not expect people to give [it to] him for free – and it is the same for the relationship he has with Robert.”

Kubica, for his part, was quick to dismiss notions that he had cold-shouldered his team-mate last year – Petrov’s rookie campaign in F1 – but he did hint that the pair may not always see eye-to-eye and that their working relationship would likely never develop into an actual friendship.

“Definitely I think Vitaly will have fewer problems this year than he had last year,” the Pole opined. “It was normal for a rookie driver joining the team that it wouldn’t be easy for him. He’s definitely starting from a better level, [with] an easier task than last year.

“To be honest, I’m happy because I have learnt something from him even without knowing or wanting it – how not to go off the track! No, I’m joking – I’m happy to have Vitaly as a team-mate and that’s it. I don’t want to get too much into the details. If he says this, he has his point-of-view. I have a bit of a different point-of-view.” ""

Cassee Tue 1 Feb - 15:49

F1: Brown Could Be Next Ecclestone - Report
Zak Brown is being mentioned as the next Formula One chief...

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-zak-brown-could-be-next-bernie-ecclestone-report/

Cassee Wed 9 Feb - 14:11

SpeedMetal wrote:Good morning Cassee,

I am curious, what do you think about the coming F1 season?

Your preferred teams and drivers?

Which team(s) and driver(s) will be at the front as per your undertanding?

The regulations?

The competitive level?

You can take your time giving your idea to all points, if you wish to... We are not in a hurry...

Have a nice day!

Hi Speedmetal

I like Alonso a lot. He's the real thing, a real racer.

I used to like Massa but after last season, I'm not so sure.

I didn't initially like Hamilton with Ron Dennis at the helm but I'm starting to appreciate him.

Button is talented but he bores me.

I used to like Vettel much more than I do now. If he grows up like Hamilton did, I might support him again.

I wanted Webber to win last year because he was the "underdog" and that was probably his only opportunity to win a WDC.

When JV was racing in F1 or Nascar I felt passion. Sometimes, I could barely watch I was so nervous.

Now I watch F1 but no driver gives me butterflies.

Some races are really boring (when they can't pass) and its not exciting to watch.

I don't think Petrov, Liuzzi belong in F1. I hope Senna gets an opportunity and does well.

I hope this year that the racing is exciting and that Alonso does well.

I hope HRT is even worse than last year.

SpeedMetal Wed 9 Feb - 15:15

I am a bit surprised because I feel about the same to all points you mentionned.

But last year, I was a bit disappointed by Alonso because I felt that he was bitching and whining after the first third of the season. Then, di Montezemolo made a public declaration and then, Alonso came back very strong... leading the whole team. It was nice to see that.

By the way, he is the (only) one that my girlfried prefer as well. To kid her, I call him: "Eyebrows"...

I now appreciate fully Hamilton as he is always pushing and pushing... I feel Rosberg will show about the same character when he will have a good car...

Vettel seems to be a real great driver as well but often act as a kid...

Kubica was a very good one as well, he seems to be very devoted to his work and to the team.

I still would prefer Webber to win the WDC because he started from very far, he had to work very hard for every steps he made, and had so many accident and injuries, and continue to work (with his close team) against almost everybody (even his own global team) without almost no complaint...

Cassee Sat 12 Feb - 3:43

Jerez, 11 Feb 2011
P Driver Constructor Car T Time Gap Avg
Speed Laps
1 Michael Schumacher Mercedes W02 P 1:20.352 198.432 112
2 Felipe Massa Ferrari F150th Italia P 1:20.413 0.061 198.281 116
3 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes MP4-26 P 1:21.009 0.657 196.823 69
4 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR6 P 1:21.214 0.862 196.326 72
5 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault RB7 P 1:21.613 1.261 195.366 113
6 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes VJM04 P 1:21.780 1.428 194.967 73
7 Sergio Pérez Sauber-Ferrari C30 P 1:21.857 1.505 194.784 56
8 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth MVR-02 P 1:22.208 1.856 193.952 57
9 Vitaly Petrov Renault R31 P 1:22.493 2.141 193.282 66
10 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth FW33 P 1:22.591 2.239 193.053 37
11 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault T128 P 1:23.216 2.864 191.603 40

Virgin beat Renault Shocked

kineticKid Sat 12 Feb - 16:19

I really hope Nick gets the nod to step in for the injured Kubica. That R31 looks like a fantastic car, even when you look past that great livery. It looks like they've taken a very aggressive design approach. Not a fan of Boullier, but Nick is an exciting racer despite being understated in the press. He always had loads of respect for JV and vouched for his pace in 2006 when Mario and Peter Sauber began their bullshit campaign about how much better Kubica was.

Here's the times from his "tryout" today. Nick set the best time at the beginning of an 8 lap stint:

1 Heidfeld Renault 1m20.361s
2 Alonso Ferrari 1m20.493s +0.132
3 Schumacher Mercedes 1m21.054s +0.693
4 Hamilton McLaren 1m21.099s +0.738
5 Kobayashi Sauber 1m21.242s +0.881
6 Vettel Red Bull 1m21.574s +1.213
7 Buemi Toro Rosso 1m21.681s +1.320
8 Kovalainen Lotus 1m21.711s +1.350
9 Barrichello Williams 1m22.227s +1.866
10 Di Resta Force India 1m22.945s +2.584
11 D'Ambrosio Virgin 1m25.471s +5.110

abf1 Sat 12 Feb - 18:10

Hum, seem that Nick is the man ?

Cassee Sun 13 Feb - 17:06

Jerez F1 test times - Combined

http://www.crash.net/f1/results/166635/1/jerez_f1_test_times_-_combined.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

Combined times showing the full results of four days of F1 testing in Spain
1. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m 19.832s
2. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 20.352s F
3. Nick Heidfeld Lotus Renault GP-Renault 1m 20.361s S
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 20.413s F
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 20.493s S
6. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m 20.601s
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m 21.009s F
8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m 21.099s S
9. Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 21.213s
10. Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 21.214s F

11. Bruno Senna Lotus Renault GP-Renault 1m 21.400s
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m 21.483s T
13. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m 21.522s T
14. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m 21.574s S
15. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus-Renault 1m 21.632s
16. Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 21.755s T
17. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m 21.780s F
18. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 22.103s
19. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m 22.208s F
20. Vitaly Petrov Lotus Renault GP-Renault 1m 22.493s S

21. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m 22.591s F
22. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m 22.945s S
23. Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m 22.985s
24. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus-Renault 1m 23.216s F

I guess the weather changed from day to day, nevertheless Nick did well.

Cassee Sun 13 Feb - 17:12

kineticKid wrote:I really hope Nick gets the nod to step in for the injured Kubica. That R31 looks like a fantastic car, even when you look past that great livery. It looks like they've taken a very aggressive design approach. Not a fan of Boullier, but Nick is an exciting racer despite being understated in the press. He always had loads of respect for JV and vouched for his pace in 2006 when Mario and Peter Sauber began their bullshit campaign about how much better Kubica was.

Here's the times from his "tryout" today. Nick set the best time at the beginning of an 8 lap stint:

I think Nick is the obvious choice and if they don't hire him, they're crazy.

Part of me would like to see JV there but it would only mean it would screw up Nascar for another year.

JV said no one works harder than Nick.

It would be nice to see Nick get that elusive win. (Mario screwed him out of a win)

Simon Sun 13 Feb - 20:36

On the other hand, it is way so easy to make a particular driver look good in testing. Me thinks it's kinda obvious that since Quick Nick seems to be the only valid candidate, the team prepared a car in which he could shine. Shameful, but also makes that nobody will contest the choice.

Darn F1 politics.

kineticKid Sun 13 Feb - 20:48

Also interesting to hear Nick talk about the relative tyre degradation of the new Pirellis. Regarding his work ethic, he observed fairly high degradation on Friday while watching the other drivers' data. When he got in the car Saturday he noticed it was not quite as bad as he thought it would be. Nick manages his tyres very well.

Having worked with KERS before also gives him a leg up. He noted the Renault system is already better than BMW's.

It would be nice to see JV in anything, other than an HRT, especially after all the effort he put into F1 last year. But as Cassee said, it took away the momentum he built up in Nascar with his performances at Elkhart Lake, the Glen and Montreal. Although, luck wasn't on his side either with the Braun sale.

Meanwhile, back to the other side of the pond, Lauda chimes in with his usual thoughtless remarks:

Lauda slams 'unreasonable' Kubica after crash
Date 2011-02-13

Niki Lauda has criticised Robert Kubica for putting his F1 career at risk by rallying.

The F1 world has united in support for the Polish driver after he suffered horror injuries during a minor event in Italy recently.

Renault is now facing the 2011 season without its star driver, attracting the rebuke from triple world champion Lauda: "It makes no sense for him to put his job and his life at risk like this.

"Was it unreasonable? Of course it was."

The Austrian great said Kubica, 26, should have been banned from contesting rallies.

"He has to ensure that he can do his job, and his job is Formula One. Only he is to blame for what happened to him," added Lauda. "Did he have to be doing this? No!"

In his first interview since the crash, Kubica justified his passion for rallying on the basis that it keeps him sharp amid F1's severe restrictions on track testing.

Answered Lauda: "That's nonsense -- rally driving has nothing to do with Formula One. They are different sports."

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel, however, defended Kubica.

"Anything can always happen around the next corner so this has nothing to do with his rallying activity, and it was not his first rally," he told F1's official website.

"I think I speak in the name of all when I say that he is recovering fast and that he will be able to get back into his beloved F1 cockpit very soon," added Vettel.

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=400083

Simon Sun 13 Feb - 20:54

Essshhhhhh.... Mister Lauda lost a good occasion to shut it up, did he?

abf1 Mon 14 Feb - 10:27

Senna: Team right to want experience
Autosport

Bruno Senna says he accepts that Renault needs a 'more prepared' driver to stand in as Robert Kubica's replacement from the start of this season.

Senna was named as Renault's first reserve driver during last week's Valencia test, but following Kubica's injuries and likely long absence, team boss Eric Boullier said he wanted a substitute with more experience.

Nick Heidfeld impressed in testing for Renault yesterday, before Senna took over today. But the team denied there was any shoot-out for the drive, with Heidfeld almost certain to take it.

After his day in the car on Sunday, Senna agreed with Boullier's decision.

"I only had one day in the car and it was good, but for preparation you need much more than that - they need a driver that's ready to do it," he said.

"It wasn't a trial. In unfortunate circumstances I was given a great opportunity to drive the car and do some work for the team. Considering that I've only been here for three weeks, it's a great shot for getting some experience with the car and the team. The team knows what they need and it's up to them what they do."

Senna said he was still pleased with his day's work and believes he made a good impression on the Renault team.

"It was brilliant," he said. "It was the second test I had in a Formula 1 car, ever. Considering I raced for a year that's quite incredible. Doing a full test day in a car makes you learn so much as a driver.

"It's been a very productive day, I think the team liked the feedback I gave them. It took me a few laps to get into the KERS and rear wing systems - it's actually quite a lot in the brain. After it becomes second nature it's more straightforward."

SpeedMetal Mon 14 Feb - 13:46

Instructive paper ab, thanks!

Senna has almost no experience and only one second behind Heidfeld? And 1,1 second faster than Petrov?

Ok, it's only test but...

It seems that Petrov is safe for one year as the payment have been made and received... Then, I hope Renault will give some practice and driving time to Senna... I really think that genetic matters a lot... Even if it is "only" the nephew...

Cassee Wed 16 Feb - 18:30

Sauber said 'Shut up and drive!' - Villeneuve
Racing series F1
Date 2011-02-16

By Motorsport.com/GMM

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=400367

Jacques Villeneuve has given a fascinating insight into some of the teams he experienced during his decade in Formula One.

"I loved Williams because there was a good atmosphere," the French Canadian, who won the world championship with the British team in 1997, told the French language pitlane-vision.com.

"But that was normal because we were in front. I had a lot of freedom to work on the car and there were no political problems," added the winner of 11 grands prix, who turns 40 this year.

After his early success with Williams, Villeneuve switched to the new BAR team, headed by his then manager Craig Pollock.

"At BAR, I had a lot of freedom with the car but there were so many political problems that it was unmanageable.

"After one year there was the impression that we had been racing for 5 years non-stop -- it was pretty exhausting," added Villeneuve, who after 1997 never won another race.

His final seasons in F1 were with Sauber.

"On the other side to Williams, at Sauber, it was 'Shut up and drive, we do not want you to design the car!'" he concluded.

Cassee Wed 16 Feb - 18:42

Nick Heidfeld replaces injured Robert Kubica at Lotus Renault

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/feb/16/nick-heidfeld-robert-kubica-renault-lotus

Cassee Thu 17 Feb - 16:28

Ecclestone to act quickly on Bahrain

By Jonathan Noble

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89527

I don't mind if it gets cancelled. It was so boring last year from what I remember.

Cassee Thu 17 Feb - 17:40

A view from inside Bahrain

http://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/a-view-from-inside-bahrain/

Bad news in Bahrain
February 17, 2011 by joesaward

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/bad-news-in-bahrain/

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