F1 - Formula 1 World Championship

kineticKid wrote:


No, because he won't be driving Lewis' McLaren. Smoke will drive the 1995 McLaren that they modified to fit around Nigel Mansell.

All kidding aside, Smoke actually did go on a diet this year and lost about 15 to 20 lbs. Won't be long before he's doing Carl Edwards style back flips.

About women drivers, I think Cassee makes a strong point. Although, I suspect Danica has a smaller hat size than most F1 drivers, thus slightly less weight to support by her neck. No, I'm not suggesting she's an air-head. On the other hand, you do need an over-inflated ego to be able to compete in F1, soooo....what was my point again?

Hmmmmmmmm.. maybe the neck muscles won't be a problem at all. Look how small Massa is, someone like Hayley Wickenhauser could beat him up with one hand.

Does Danica have it? I don't know but she wouldn't get into it unless she thought she could.
I always liked Kathryn Legge. Don't know what happened to her.
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Boullier 'surprised' by Heidfeld's leadership

http://www.planet-f1.com/news/3213/6785480/Boullier-surprised-by-Heidfeld-s-leadership

I don't know why he's surprised. It's what you would expect with a driver of his or JV's character.

Perhaps Heidfeld is making Petrov look really bad.

Maybe just maybe if the Renault has the legs, Nick could be the surprise driver of the 2011 season.

Also another maybe, is this Indy Car $5 million dollar challenge. Could it be something JV would be interested in going after ? (if he qualifies)

sessions

If you win your first race in your 12th formula one season, I'm not sure you can still be considered as a surprise

ledug,

Not that he wins his first race. (If the car is quick), He could be the surprise driver by wining several races with the possibility to be in the running at the end of the season for the WDC title.

sessions

sessions wrote:ledug,

Not that he wins his first race. (If the car is quick), He could be the surprise driver by wining several races with the possibility to be in the running at the end of the season for the WDC title.

sessions

I love your optimism sessions at least when it comes to Heidfeld.

Cassee,

It's most likely much more hope than optimism. I think if the Renault gamble of going radical would pay off Nick has the professionalism and proven consistency to make a dent in the standings. Once he broke the camel's back with that 1st win others could follow without too much difficulty ( only if the Renault has wings )

sessions

Villeneuve questions Schumacher's motivation

http://en.espnf1.com/mercedes/motorsport/story/42312.html?CMP=OTC-RSS

A bit of a remix of other interviews plus

""He was less relaxed when asked about the new generation of grand prix venues. "These modern circuits; you see nothing, the grandstands are too far from the track," he said. "There is no sense of speed, you don't appreciate the drivers' risks. Anyone playing a video game thinks he can do the same thing." ""

Mario, Michael and Marco: The 3rd Generation of Andretti in Formula 1?
By Matt Hill (Contributor) on March 7, 2011 104

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/627475-the-third-generation-of-andretti-in-formula-1-mario-michael-marco

Petrov says Renault form hard to judge

By Mark Glendenning and Pablo Elizalde Thursday, March 10th 2011, 09:41 GMT


http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89840

""The Russian admitted he feared the car was not good when he first tested it, but conceded he is now feeling a lot better about it.

"In the beginning on the first day of testing I was not happy about the car. I was thinking I was in the s*** maybe, because it was really difficult to drive with these tyres. If the car started to lose the rear, you couldn't control it because it was so quick.

"With the Bridgestone you could control it, you could slide, do a rally a little bit, you know? But with these tyres, if it comes, it comes quite quick and it's difficult to control.

"But now that we have a lot of new aero parts and a lot of other new things it is getting better and better. I think after a few grands prix we will have more parts coming and it will be much better."""


I'll be the most surprised of anyone if Petrov does well this year.

Call me suspicious! Does it cost money to get parts out of so called customs or are they saving money by not testing?..........................................



Hispania forced to call off test of new car

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9422903.stm

Liuzzi and Karthikeyan have been forced to sit out testing in Barcelona
The struggling Hispania team will go into the new season having not tested their new car after they were forced to call off a planned run on Saturday.

The team were unable to test after launching their new car on Friday because parts were held up in customs.

Team boss Colin Kolles said on Friday evening that they could not get the suspension components out.

"The result of this is that we can't run tomorrow," he said. "This is life and we will overcome this problem."

Saturday, the final day of pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona, was to have been the only day's running of the car before the first race of the season in Australia on 27 March.

It means the car's first miles will be in first practice for the Melbourne race on Friday 25 March.

It will be the second year in a row that Hispania have arrived at the first race with an untested car.

Last year, which was their debut season, they also missed much of Friday practice as they completed the building of their cars.

Drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi have tested this winter in the 2010 car, the slowest on the grid in 2010.

Hispania's withdrawal means that only four teams will take part in the final day of testing on Saturday - Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Williams.

Heavy rain has prevented any serious running so far on Saturday.

Yeah, not much credibility left in HRT...not that they hand any to begin with. They are becoming quite the annoyance. They claimed that one of their pay drivers (Yamamoto, I believe?) had food poisoning and Klien had to step in for one of last year's GPs. Yamamoto disputed the claim, and by miraculous coincidence an Austrian liquour sponsor, based in Kliens' hometown, appeared on the car.

Only thing more hilarious than that fairy tale was Dr. Theissen's story about the dropped engine

No doubt, Theissen must have been dropped on his head as a baby, which accounts for his lousy disposition and worse judgement calls.

sessions :

Prost joins Senna… At Lotus Renault

http://adamcooperf1.com/2011/03/17/prost-joins-senna-at-lotus-renault/

We aren't the only ones finding it quiet right now............




A bit quiet…March 18, 2011 by joesaward

http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/a-bit-quiet/

There are a lot of preview type stories kicking around this week – not surprisingly – but the “Michael says I can still win” kind of thing is really not that exciting and I’ve been flat out doing the preview edition of Grand Prix Plus, which should hit subscribers tonight or tomorrow, depending on things beyond my control. Then I’ll knock out the weekly newsletter, pay some bills, worry about Chinese visas and then I’ll peck my Significant Other farewell and will be flying to Oztralia on Monday. Oh, and I forgot, I’ve been redesigning websites in my spare time… So, yes, the blog had been quiet because there is nothing to say, and other things to do. I might write a treatise about Japan but the whole mess that has been going on there since the earthquake. It is a reminder of the power of Mother Nature and also of the power of media immediacy in the modern age. We have all seen the tsunami up close and personal and I found this a very humbling experience. Mountains of water do not discriminate between rich and poor, black or white, Sunni or Shia. A pal of mine rang yesterday and said that we should forget the Japanese Grand Prix. I hope not. I hope that whatever happens we will be there in autumn to show our support for the Japanese. They deserve that. Bahrain on the other hand seems a very sad and wasted chapter in F1 history. I got to like the place and the people and I hate to see what is happening there but I cannot see us going back any time soon. Even if the people in charge restore their regime, I believe that Formula 1 should not associate itself with the kind of things that have been going on there on recent days. I feel very sorry for the moderate and intelligent folk because the country is being ruined by people who cannot grasp the lessons of history. Despots cannot last forever, particularly in a world where the Internet shows us all what everyone else is doing.

I am looking forward to Melbourne. Aside from a noisy bunch of whingers (Poms, no doubt) the Australians are a great nation and the GP is a great event. If they are stupid enough to let it go then what can you do? Hopefully F1 is not dumb enough to leave.

And hopefully the sport is smart enough to know the kind of places it should be going in the future… based on concepts other than just money.

F1: HRT In Major Financial Trouble ?

http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/story-156061.html


HRT is straining under "major financial problems", a source at the team has told a specialist website.

F1today.nl in Holland also claims the Spanish team's explanation about not being able to test the new F111 recently in Barcelona due to parts being held in customs was not true.

And suspension parts were not the only ones running late, as components as fundamental as "front and rear wings" were still in production, the report added.

"People with half a brain can understand what is going on," the source is quoted as saying. "We engineers have gone unpaid for two months.

"Five engineers have quit already," he revealed.

"That we could not test due to dampers being in customs is of course nonsense," the source continued. "Everything is transported by truck from Germany.

"And it was not just the suspension that was not there, it was a big list of missing parts," he added.

The news coincides with rumours in Germany that Bernie Ecclestone is now getting involved with the team's survival.

HRT's business affairs boss Manfredi Ravetto denied all the claims.

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What a joke! Sounds like USGP.

Buy the team Jacques!!! Lol

fish wrote:Buy the team Jacques!!! Lol

I can't wait for the Hispania toasters!

They should recruit Peter Windbag to be an advisor. Apart from recording a weekly F1 radio show in his basement, I hear he's available.

I have high hopes for this F1 season, mostly due to Pirelli. By the sound of it, they've been quite aggressive with tyre development in the face of harsh criticism from pampered prima donnas like Trulli.

It's not surprising that Trulli has the biggest problem with the high tyre degradation as he's always been a guy who's quick over one lap but can't keep up his race pace because of balance changes due to tyre wear.

Bring on Oz!

Ready guys for a new season ?!
GO GO !

Petrov: I can lead Renault!

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/167890/1/petrov_i_can_lead_renault.html

Hmmm It'll take more than one race for me to believe that.


Come on Heidy. You can do it.

So what's your take on yesterday's season opener, Cassee? My two cents:

1-McLaren has all the power/speed needed on straightaways with the combination of KERS and adjustable wing. They however do seem to lack something otherwise.
2-Petrov has done it again. Abu-Dhabi part 2 in Australia... Fly off on the start, then hold your position.
3-Ferrarri seems to me like thay have a quicker car than they showed yesterday.

Australia is not your typical track. Malaysia should give us a better idea of the true pecking order. Plus the feedback from the first race. Sadly Red Bull's KERS wasn't working so we may see even more speed out of them.
All and all it still looks like the same three leading the way with Mercedes, Renault, and maybe Sauber offering a challenge here and there.

sessions

kineticKid wrote:I can't wait for the Hispania toasters!

They should recruit Peter Windbag to be an advisor. Apart from recording a weekly F1 radio show in his basement, I hear he's available.

I have high hopes for this F1 season, mostly due to Pirelli. By the sound of it, they've been quite aggressive with tyre development in the face of harsh criticism from pampered prima donnas like Trulli.

It's not surprising that Trulli has the biggest problem with the high tyre degradation as he's always been a guy who's quick over one lap but can't keep up his race pace because of balance changes due to tyre wear.

Bring on Oz!

Love it.


As for Oz, it didn't do much for me. Vettel had no competition. Hamilton did well as did Petrov.

Button screwed up. Massa seemed to be back to his old self.

Schuey was a major disappointment again. Maybe he was never that great a driver.

Too bad the Saubers got disqualified.

I hope Ferrari and Alonso can do better next race.


Dam it Jacques, I need you to make racing exciting again.

By the way, what is the latest on Jacques ? Anything on an Indy car appearance in the 500 or the Las Vegas 5 million dollar deal ?
Nothing concrete @ NASCAR ? What about following Kimi with a team of his own ?
Times a ticking.

sessions

sessions wrote:By the way, what is the latest on Jacques ? Anything on an Indy car appearance in the 500 or the Las Vegas 5 million dollar deal ?
Nothing concrete @ NASCAR ? What about following Kimi with a team of his own ?
Times a ticking.

sessions

We do not know anything for sure sessions. But the current spin on things is that he is trying to build a nationwide team, which could lead to more or less 12 races in 2011, and hopefully a full ride from 2012 on.