The F1 Thread (3 Viewers)

[ohdato]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Valencia looks rather long and open for a street track design which is cool.
And Singapore looks tight around that round-a-bout. But prob not something of Monaco standards.

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Valencia is actualy shorter than Singapore - but only just. And if you check out the Wikipedia page on the Singapore Grand Prix, someone has posted a layout that doesn't include that massive corner. I don't know how accurate it is (this is Wikipedia we're talking about), but it doesn't look half bad anyway.

 

[Cape]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Heres a video of Webber driving the Singapore circuit.
Webber drives singapore

Rumours going around lately that Imola won't be back on the calender next year. Dispite the pit lane / paddock upgrade they are doing.

Saying that, after last nights race, I'll be very happy not to see Catalunya on the calender next year. Talk about a snooze fest

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Too bad, Cape, they extended the Catalunya contract until 2016. I would jump on Wikipedia to check it out (I know it isn't reliable, but this ain't a uni assignment I'm doing), but the 2008 page shows a table of drivers and teams and states that Lewis Hamilton will not only be carrying the number 1 in 2008, but will be driving alongside Gary Paffet at "Telecom New Zealand Prodrive Mercedes Team" ... which just goes to show why I don't like Wikipedia. We're only five races into the 2007 season, so no-one has earned the number one for 2008, McLaren probably won't be surrendering Lewis to anyone let alone a Mercedes B-Team (which both David Richards and Ron Dennis have denied is happening) and while Prodrive say the sponsorship contract is signed, Richards is staying tight-lipped about the whole thing until the British Grand Prix.

As for the Webber video, I think he was being very diplomatic (and it didn't really show all that much of Singapore) ... and the presenter's accent was annoying.

 

[Cape]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Urgh, I remember reading about the contract renewal. Bloody hell.

Theres absolutely no way Hammy is going to Prodrive, Hammy is Dennis's baby through and through. However he's talking about retiring soon. Maybe Paffet and Nico Hulkenburg? I guess that depends if Willi Weber is good pals with David Richards.

Or we can just continue picking random drivers out of a hat until theres an annoucement!

Speaking of announcements, any ideas on Red Bulls theme this year for Monaco?

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Dennis might retire soon, but I suspect Martin Whitmarsh will take over, and Whitmarsh isn't stupid. Just because Ron leaves, that doesn't mean McLaren is going to fall apart. They didn't groom Hamilton since the age of ten simply to let him go to Dave Richards after a year of racing. But I don't think we'll see a Paffet/Hulkenburg line-up at Prodrive. Dave Richards is looking at "a newcomer mixed in with someone experienced". Translation: if he can't coax an old hand to join Prodrive (read: Jenson Button is apaprently frustrated with Honda, Barichello is up for contract renewal soon, whoever comes off second best at Red Bull might be looking for other employment next year, Toyota have two curiously quick-quick-slow drivers and Sebastian Bourdais is hanging out for a Toro Rosso drive in 2008), he's still got all the third/test drivers who are looking for a race drive next year. If that's the case - and especially if the deal with McLaren goes ahead - Pedro de la Rosa is tipped to take the drive.

Anyway, I suspect that the Wikipedia article was simply someone trying to appear knowledgeable on the subject. Just look at Scott Speed; he wasn't confirmed as Toro Rosso's second driver until the eve of the opening round (apparently Gerhard Berger isn't too impressed with him, particulalry his attitude, which is why Bourdais might be taking over from him next year [and good luck to him if he does; he's going to do it ... no ChampCar driver - Zanardi and da Matta spring to mind here - has succeeded in Formula One since Jacques Villeneuve]). The article had Hamilton and Paffet at "Telecom New Zealand Prodrive Mercedes Racing Team" and carrying the numbers 1 and 2 with Alonso and de la Rosa at McLaren. Jarno Trulli had apparently signed a five-year contract with Toyota and was number 13 (yes, number 13, even though that number is never carried on an F1 car), while Jenson Button and Rubens Barichello had 'confirmed' for "Honda Earth Team" and were numbers 18 and 19. Raikkonen and Massa were also 'confirmed' for Ferrari. In short, those drivers who were 'confirmed' as racing for their respective teams had numbers that corresponded with their teams' current championship standings.

I don't know if Red Bull are doing that any more. Monaco isn't until next week, and they pretty much kept quiet about the Superman Returns livery until the last moment. But with Coulthard in Catalunya proving the RB3 has still got that Adrian Newey magic combined with his third place last year, we might be in for a bit of a surprise. Honda may actually have some luck as well; both Button and Barichello were reporting the RA107 was producing so much downforce that it was counter-productive, but Monaco requires such extraordinary amounts of the stuff that most teams bring along a specialised aero package.

 

[Cape]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Yip, De la Rosa is a possible choice too. He's not the fastest driver out there, but he's had the experience, which is what the team will need next year.
I reckon both Button and Baz will stay at Honda and both Webber and DC will stay at Red Bull. Webber would only move somewhere like Renault, but he'd be crazy to move there with an Adrian Newy car at his disposal. Hopefully Bourdais gets a drive at STR, despite, he might follow the paths of the other drivers you mentioned. However, during testing, he's been significantly faster than Speed. And why Luizzi still has a drive is beyond me.

I've heard rumours on other forums of Red Bull possibly doing an Oceans 13 theme or Pirates theme for Monaco. Pirates is released the day of practice. Imagine if DC gets of the podium


Oh crappy, you know what I forgot! Congrats on Sato and Super Aguri for getting their first constructor points in Spain

 

[gibbo67]

re: The Official F1 Thread

I've heard rumours on other forums of Red Bull possibly doing an Oceans 13 theme or Pirates theme for Monaco. Pirates is released the day of practice. Imagine if DC gets of the podium

That would be quite a scene. Hopefully mark can finish the race without having his car fall apart underneath him again.

The circuit at Singapore would need a fair amount of artificial light in order to make it safe enough to race under, I would imagine. It's probably the only reason why no-one else does it on a normal circut (up to this point), but only on the nascar and speedway racing ovals.

 

[el gwapo]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Singapore's created this image of boring-ness and with Malaysia nearby I think Singaporean authorities had to bend over further to get their F1 race, which looked down in the water a couple of years back. Without the night race they wouldn't have had any agreement with Ecclestone.

About the Spanish GP, that chicane did nothing... no overtaking, no-one overrunning it, very boring indeed but I think that's been a result of further advancements in aero.. it won't get any better in Monaco.

Lewis to Prodrive? Talk about an advanced mid-life crisis....Ferrari, Renault, BMW would snap him up in an instant if given the opportunity, he is a talent.

I agree that Mark Webber deserves some luck and at least reach the finish line.. it's been a novelty thing as of late

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

re: The Official F1 Thread

That was a poor Wikipedia article that had placed Hamilton at Prodrive. There is no way McLaren will give him up without a Buttongate.

And I think Singapore applied for Grand Prix status because Ecclestone was talking about night races. Sure, they've tried in the past, but once they heard that Mr. E was looking to do a night race, they jumped at the opportunity. It also helped that he's looking to get more street circuits on the calendar.

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Anyone else think Red Bull's once-off "Faces" livery for Silverstone is A) ugly and B) a rip-off of the EarthCar? There's an article on it over at Formula1.com; the Austrian team will open a website where you can upload you picture and the car you want it on for ten pounds sterling, with all the proceeds going to charity. Hang on a second, didn't Honda have a website where you could pledge your name to an environemntal cause and have it placed on Button or Barichello's car to make up the picture of the Earth?

Also, Adrian Sutil at numero uno on the timing sheets today was a huge surprise. Nice to see Honda running in the top ten (even if it is #9 and #10 for JB and Ruby respectively). Rain forecast for qualifying and possibly tomorrow's race.

 

[Cape]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Ok, who laughed at Kimi and Massa parked at Rasacasse

I hope it rains during the race, Kimi needs all the help that he can get. And I see Lewis Dennis is becoming a prat by saying Webber held him up and cost him pole, however Lewis did a mistake on that lap. Even Dennis said it was Lewis's mistake.

That kid is starting to piss me off! He'll struggle to finish the race, especially if the rear of the car slides out from underneath him for 78 laps.

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Why are you so critical, Cape (and where the hell did "Lewis Dennis" come from)? Yes, traffic at Monaco is always a problem, and maybe Webber held him up a little, but anyone who's looking for a clear run at Monaco is kidding themselves.

I know what it is. You're just pissed off that someone not driving a Ferrari is doing well for once. You always do this; Hungary 2006 being the best example of it. Get over it; Lewis Hamilton has much more personality than Kimi Raikkonen has ever had.

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

re: The Official F1 Thread

The FIA are apparently looking into McLaren's team orders, suggesting they told Hamilton not to puch Alonso in order to let the Spaniard win. Ron Dennis has said that yes, they did instruct Hamilton to be cautious while runing 1-2, because a passing attempt could easily put both McLarens out of the running, but he says they did not instruct Hamilton to let Alonso win.

At least, that's my translation from Ronspeak to English ...

 

[ohdato]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Ron is usually easy going with the team orders and lets them race. But I'd be stupid at a place like Monaco. I was expecting Hamilton to drill Massa in a noob effort.

Mclaren sideways around the swimming pool FTW.

 

[Cape]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Team orders my ass. Ferrari do it every single race if they have a 1 - 2.

Bloody hell, the bloody english media and wanting to sell a few headlines. Lewis was never going to win Monaco. Alonso had track position the whole race. Lewis was on the verge of destroying the car on several occassions, ronny boy would not be a happy chappy then!

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

re: The Official F1 Thread

The FIA have said there was nothing to suggest McLaren were attempting to influence the outcome of the race and ave cleared them of any wrong-doing.

In other news, Ralf Schumacher may have been given an ultimatum by Toyota: start performing or start looking for work elsewhere. According to German newspaper Bild, rumour has it that if Ralf doesn't start demonstrating that he deserves his seat by the end of Indianapolis, he may be replaced by another driver. True, Toyota are yet to build a racing car that can be described as anything more than "mediocre", but Jarno Trulli has been out-performing Schumacher all season. Ralf had trouble with the Spykers in Monaco. He seems to think Toyota should honour his contract until the end of the year, but then, he would think that.

I wouldn't be too surprised if Toyota sign Adrian Sutil next year. Despite his tendency to push a little too hard, the kid had postential which is being wasted in the Dutch manufacturer's car. He's been quicker than Christjian Albers even if he shows his inexperience, but he's already demonstrated he can give the other kids that he can give them a run for his money. I'm expecting Albers to be replaced any day now; it's just a question of who gets his seat. Fellow Dutchman Giedo van der Garde would be favourite, but he's the poor-man's Buttongate, locked up in a contractual quagmire with Super Aguri. The other three - Mohamed Fairuz Fauzy, Adrian Valles and Markus Winkelhock - are all too close to call.

In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest Toyota may need two new drivers next year. The team are looking to get Nick Heidfeld from BMW, possibly as a replacement for Schumacher whose contract is up for renewal at the end of the season (I'd be surprised if BMW don't keep Heidfeld after his performances so far this year). Alternately, they could take fellow German Sutil, but if Dave Richards is looking for an "experienced" driver for Prodrive, he may be able to coax Trulli away, especially if he lands the McLaren/Mercedes contract. There's no more experienced driver than Jarno Trulli save for Rubens Barichello and David Coulthard. Sure, Pedro de la Rosa is an option, but Trulli's been around longer, and he's also driven for teams in their infancy. It might seem like a step backwards, but if Prodrive get the McLaren deal, they'll be competitive provided they are competent.

As for Toyota's possible second driver, I'd say one of the Toro Rosso boys might be up for a seat. Scott Speed certainly turned heads in Monaco with 9th place, so while Gerhard berger might not be happy with the American, he'll have to pay attention to that. If Sebastian Bourdais comes into Scuderia Toro Rosso next year, Liuzzi or Speed will have to go. Liuzzi is constant if not spectacular (that accident at Monaco was not his fault, he got tagged on the opening lap) and Speed impresses when he's on form. If Trulli goes to Prodrive (unlikely, but I think it's still a possibility) and Sutil takes Schumacher's seat, that means Liuzzi or Speed might go to the Japanese marque while Bourdais fills in at Toro Rosso and Sutil's Spyker drive is taken by another rookie and Schumacher is quietly shown the door.

Of course, the whole thing could be complicated if Toyota snare Heidfeld (but it would take a lot given BMW's performance) or the rumours that suggest Jenson Button is looking to bail out of his Honda contract early. I don't think he'll go, though, as it would be the second contract he's dishonoured after the incident with Williams. No team boss is going to want a driver who jumps ship at the first sign of the iceberg. Sources close to Button say he's interested in staying with Honda as he's looking forward to 2008; the quest to develop the RA107 has meant Honda have a bucketload of test data that they can apply to building the 2008-spec car.

 

[el gwapo]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Big effin deal. I've seen this behavior by Ferrari, and that was mild from them, Massa/Barrichello holding back against Schumacher, when the second driver finally gets the car settings right in their last stint. But as a Lewis fan I would've loved him to steal the win, but it was a dull Monaco race, of course last year was quite something with the en masse pile up in the leade up to Loeuws and MS trying to stop the race by just blocking the road, of course he failed

Ecclestone again shows he is too old and too senile to run make any comments regarding the motorsport nature of F1.

 

[ObjectsInSpace]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Uh, Ecclestone isn't the FIA. He controls Formula One Management (FOM), which deals with the commercial aspects of the sport. He runs the business side of things while the FIA dictates the rules. They're two separate entites. Max Moseley, on the other hand, is the President of the FIA (though he's retiting soon), and therefore is the ultimate authority on the subject of the rules. However, while the decision to form an enquiry into McLaren's team strategy at Monaco was made by him, the actual, physical enquiry was held by a sub-committe of the FIA. It's deliberately designed that way so no one man has control over both the rules and the commercial aspects.

 

[Team 1A]

re: The Official F1 Thread

Indeed Monaco wasn't that great. But it's only a matter of time before Lewis Hamilton is way to quick for all them rich boys Anyone watch any of his GP2 driving? The boy is a freak of nature.

Do you all think Bourdais will go well in F1? He is good obviosuly, but so was Da Mata and he did nothing special. Even Will Power is giving Bourdais a run for his money these days in champ car.

I personally am a Christijan Albers fan Go Spyker!