75 replies to this topic

[commadore183]

What always humors me is how many around the globe will nit-pick Indy, but then there's the run down facilities in Montreal, and Imola (obviously not racing there anymore), the death trap that's Monaco, and the borefest known as the Hungaroring.

Indy may not be the ideal F1 track - however it's facilities are top notch, and certainly worthy of hosting a F1 race.

I don't think there's anyone that knocks Indy's F1 facilities, it is top notch. Bernie's biggest complaint about Indy (other than mucho $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$) is that the city itself has no "night life", whatever that is (I've never been to Indy for any race, let alone an F1 event). For Bernie, if it ain't uber-luxorious to kiss mucho ass, he's not happy with it. Another knock against Indy is the complex known to many fans as "Mickey and Mouse" (Turns 9 and 10, the double hairpin turns). Indy did redo that portion of the circuit for MotoGP, so maybe F1 cars would work on that configuration.

Indy is a dream for any race promoter, as where else in the world can one have a race and have nearly two hundred thousand asses in the seats? Very, very few, I imagine. Indy also has history (I think it's the second oldest operating speedway in the US, second to the Milwaukee Mile). The people that live in Indy (or Speedway, IN for that manner) are most likely passionate race fans, so you have a large core built in there.

Here's some interesting news that might keep Sauber out of F1:

Contrary to earlier reports, it has emerged that Sauber will be missing from the FIA's forthcoming provisional 2010 entry list.

The specialist publications Blick and Auto Motor und Sport report that, in order to avoid a $150m fine for not honouring the Concorde Agreement, Toyota is instead looking to hand over its team entry to Serbian outfit Stefan Grand Prix.

Monday or Tuesday's FIA entry list, however, will reportedly precede detailed talks about the coveted thirteenth and final 2010 team spot.

Stefan GP, headed by the engineering company AMCO and its chief executive Zoran Stefanovic, filed a complaint with the European Commission in August about the FIA's team selection process.

It is reported that the team could use Toyota engines at a price of 5 million euros in 2010 and 2011, as well as the Japanese marque's Cologne facilities until a move thereafter to Serbia.

It's entirely possible that even if Toyota sells to this Stefan GP, Sauber may still appear on the grid after their investor group, Qadbak, dropped out. Problems surrounding Qadbak had led to team principles not wanting to add Sauber as a 14th entry, but with it out, Sauber may still race if Toyota sells to avoid a fine for not honoring the Concorde Agreement.

Sometime in December is when the FIA will deal with the 13th entry. Until then, we'll just have to enjoy F1 politics .

[commadore183]

French GP plans suffer fresh blow

Hopes that the French Grand Prix will return to the Formula 1 calendar soon suffered a blow on Tuesday, after plans for a new circuit to host the race were cancelled.

Earlier this year, French authorities singled out a 4.5 kilometre track at Flins-Les-Mureaux, north west of Paris, as its preferred venue for a future F1 event.

The track was going to form the centrepiece of a new industrial complex that would attract major investment to the Yvelines region. It was hoped the track would be ready to host the French GP in 2011.

However, even though the industrial parts of the project have gone ahead and been a success, local authorities have decided to scrap plans for the F1 track.

Apparently, the backing for the projected GP wasn't there when they thought there was. So, again, no French GP for a few more years, it looks like . The article did say that the people at Paul Ricard are interesting in hosting the GP, which would be fine if 1) Bernie didn't buy the circuit to make it into a testing circuit, and 2) Bernie didn't get rid of the grandstands when he made it into a testing circuit. I don't see Paul Ricard returning to hosting a GP anytime soon, especially with Bernie involved with it .

[commadore183]

Sauber secures F1 slot

Sauber has been granted the final slot on the Formula 1 grid, the FIA has announced, bringing to an end months of uncertainty about the future of the team.

The Swiss-based outfit had been hanging in limbo since the summer following BMW's decision to pull out of F1.

An original deal with Qadbak proved troublesome, especially because it came too late for the team to be guaranteed a place on the original 2010 grid - with the 13th slot having been handed to Lotus.

However, the post-season decision by Toyota to quit F1 handed Sauber a fresh chance to get back on the grid – and its hopes were further boosted when Peter Sauber took over the outfit following the eventual collapse of the deal with Qadbak.

With Toyota having relinquished its entry, the FIA confirmed on Thursday that Sauber's application to join the championship had been successful – meaning the team will be racing in F1 next year.

Sauber has to sign onto the latest Concorde Agreement before they can officially become part of the 2010 grid, but that will happen probably sometime this month.

[commadore183]

Benvenuto piccolo Felipe!

Ferrari driver Felipe Massa became a father on Monday afternoon after his wife Raffaela gave birth to their first child.

The baby boy was born at 6:27pm local time at Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein hospital, where Massa had been recovering earlier this year following his accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Congrats to Massa and his family That's cool how the Ferrari crew welcomed the newest member to the Ferrari family

[commadore183]

British GP fate to be known on Monday

The fate of the British Grand Prix will be announced on Monday, with Silverstone management and track owner the British Racing Drivers' Club scheduling a press conference about the future of the event.

Silverstone has been locked in discussions with Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone about putting together a deal that will secure the long-term future of Formula 1's British round - following the collapse of Donington Park's plans.

Although there had been some sticking points, especially relating to the long-term fee structure, it had appeared that progress had been made in recent weeks.

Hopefully there will be a British GP next year and the years afterward. And hopefully the BRDC (owners of Silverstone Circuit) will make the necessary paddock upgrades that are desperately needed (and not exactly what Bernie wants), and that they can actually, gasp, make a profit from the race (which is contrary to Bernie's "Only I can make a profit" business model ).

We'll just have to wait until Monday, then, to see if the historic GP will remain on the calendar.

[commadore183]

Silverstone secures British GP from 2010

The British Grand Prix will stay at the Silverstone circuit next year after the Northamptonshire track reached a deal with Bernie Ecclestone after weeks of negotiations.

Silverstone looked set to lose the race last year when Ecclestone signed a 17-year deal with Donington Park to host the grand prix from next season.

However, Donington failed to raise the funds to carry out a redevelopment project and so Ecclestone began talks with Silverstone.

The British Racing Drivers' Club, owners of the track, confirmed on Monday morning they had secured a 17-year agreement to host the British Grand Prix from 2010.

The circuit will also host a MotoGP race next year.

"The title of Silverstone as home of motorsport has come true," said BRDC president Damon Hill. "It is a place for all motorsport. Everyone in the BRDC loves motorsport and we are looking forward to the MotoGP as well as the British Grand Prix.

"It is not easy to enter into a contract of this magnitude and you have to take on a lot of responsibility, but the BRDC wanted this relationship to continue.

The BRDC will start work on revamping the paddock and pit areas after Christmas this year, hoping to finish by the time of the 2011 British GP.

There's also a clause in the contract where either BRDC or Bernie can break off the deal after 10 years if either party isn't satisfied.

And finally, it looks like Silverstone may try to get the F1 cars to run on a new layout called the "Arena" circuit:

Silverstone chiefs will wait until early next year before deciding on which layout the 2010 British Grand Prix will take place on.

The Northamptonshire venue is undergoing a £40 million revamp as part of an upgrade originally planned for MotoGP - with a completely new layout being built in the middle part of the circuit.

The plan is for this new 'Arena' circuit, so called because of the great views it will offer fans, to be used for the Formula 1 race as well.

Here's an image of the proposed circuit layout:


I'll wait to see how the F1 cars do on that circuit (if they can get it homologated) before passing judgment on it, but the hairpin looks like a nice overtaking spot for the cars.

[commadore183]

New points system approved; ex-drivers to assists stewards

The top ten finishers in a Grand Prix will score points next season under a new system ratified by the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) on Friday.

The race winner will take 25 points, with 20 and 15 being awarded for second and third places respectively. The next seven finishers will score 10, 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 and 1 point respectively. It replaces the current structure of the top eight drivers scoring 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point respectively and takes into account the expansion of the grid to 13 teams for 2010.

Friday’s WMSC meeting agreed a number of other changes for 2010, including the use of experienced former F1 drivers to assist stewards in decision making relating to race incidents. A permanent panel of three FIA stewards will now attend every Grand Prix, joined by an additional local steward at each race.

Not a bad idea to expand the points awarded to 10th, as it will give the new teams an incentive to race hard. Also like the idea of former drivers assisting the stewards, maybe we'll get some consistency in rulings next season.

Also, refueling will be banned for next season, so that should take some of the strategy out of the races, as well as save the teams money for transporting the pressurized refueling rigs.

Also, the final calendar for next season has been released, and as follows:

14/3 BHR Bahrain
28/3 AUS Australia
4/4 MYS Malaysia
18/4 CHN China
9/5 ESP Spain
16/5 MCO Monaco
30/5 TUR Turkey
13/6 CAN Canada
27/6 ESP Europe (Valencia)
11/7 GBR Great Britain
25/7 DEU Germany
1/8 HUN Hungary
29/8 BEL Belgium
12/9 ITA Italy
26/9 SGP Singapore
10/10 JPN Japan
24/10 KOR Korea*
7/11 BRA Brazil
14/11 ARE Abu Dhabi

*Subject to the homologation of the circuit.
Note: The races in Australia and Abu Dhabi will start at 1700 local time, in Malaysia at 1600 local time, in Canada at 1200 local time, in Singapore at 2000 local time, and in Japan at 1500 local time.

The Abu Dhabi GP will be the last race of the season, again, as opposed to the penultimate round of the championship. I'll update the calendar on the first page after this is posted.

[commadore183]

Trulli, Kovalainen confirmed at Lotus

Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen will race for Lotus next year, after the newly-formed Formula 1 team confirmed its line-up in a press conference held in Malaysia today.

Malaysian-born Fairuz Fauzy was also announced as the team's third driver.

The Lotus line-up was officially revealed by Malaysia's sports minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek in a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, and the minister emphasised the government's expectations from its support of the new team.

I'll update the first post after this is posted.

[commadore183]

Di Grassi to partner Glock at Virgin

Virgin Racing has confirmed that Lucas di Grassi is to race alongside Timo Glock at the team next year.

After what the team itself called 'the worst kept secret in F1', Virgin Racing unveiled its new logo and showed off its drivers in public at a launch in Notting Hill, London, on Tuesday.

Although Glock signed for the team several weeks ago, di Grassi only recently committed to the outfit - having tested for the Renault team in the recent run out for young drivers in Jerez.

Di Grassi arrives at the team after four seasons in GP2, and having gained experience of F1 through his role as a Renault test driver.

Parente, Razia join Virgin as testers

Virgin Racing has announced Alvaro Parente and Luiz Razia will be its test drivers in its debut season in 2010.

Updating first post now.

[commadore183]

Renault will stay in Formula 1 despite selling its team

Renault will race on in Formula 1 next year following a deal to secure the team's future, as BBC Sport exclusively predicted last week.

The company had considered quitting F1, but the team will continue under new owners with the French car company retaining a minority 25% shareholding.

Luxembourg-based investment firm Genii Capital will own the rest and share the running of the team with Renault.

It's good to see Renault stay in F1 for the foreseeable future, and nice to see that Kubica may have a ride for next year.

Teams plan joint launch in Valencia

Formula 1 teams are scheduled to put the finishing touches to plans for a common car launch of their 2010 contenders on Thursday, with outfits looking to unveil their machines in Valencia in late January.

So we're gonna see all of the new machinery launched at the same time from the teams. Pretty cool idea from them .

[commadore183]

Sauber F1 team recruit Japan's Kamui Kobayashi

Sauber have signed Japan's Kamui Kobayashi as one of their two race drivers for the 2010 Formula 1 season.

Kobayashi, 23, impressed for Toyota while standing in for the injured Timo Glock in the final two races of 2009.

A test driver for the team in 2008 and 2009, he seized his chance by finishing sixth in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

A good pick up for Sauber. Kobayashi was one of the most impressive drivers in the final 2 races. He has a tempered aggression to him and it looks like he has the raw talent and skills to boot. He's become one of my favorite drivers since his first F1 race at Brazil.

Petrov piace alla Renault

Sfuggito Kamui Kobayashi, con Ho Pin Tung che verrà relegato al ruolo di terzo pilota, la Renault Genii Capital sta cercando un valido compagno da affiancare a Robert Kubica, sempre che il polacco decida di rimanere. Giustamente, Kubica vuole capire come sarà il progetto, e quale sarà il budget, del nuovo arrivato Gerard Lopez. Essendo questi legato al Gravity Management, appare logico pensare e ai nomi di Jerome D'Ambrosio e Christian Vietoris, che fanno parte di tale società. Ma se il tedesco è ancora acerbo, potrebbe esservi qualche chance per il belga, da due stagioni in GP2. Prende però sempre più corpo l'idea di Vitaly Petrov. Vice campione GP2, il russo porterebbe in dote importanti sponsor che non fanno mai male. Si profila quindi una coppia inedita per la F.1, con due piloti dell'est Europa?

Escaped Kamui Kobayashi, with I have Pin Tung that will come relegated to the role of third pilot, the Renault Genii Capital is trying a valid companion to place side by side to Robert Kubica, always that the Pole decides to remain. With justice, Kubica wants to understand as it will be the plan, and which it will be the budget, of the new one arrived Gerard Lopez. Being this legacy to the Gravity Management, it appears logical to think and next to the names of Jerome D' Ambrosio and Christian Vietoris, that they make part of such society. But if the German is still sour, some chance for the Belgian could esservi, from two seasons in GP2. It takes but body more and more l' idea of Vitaly Petrov. Vice champion GP2, the Russian would carry in dowry important sponsor that they do not make never badly. An unknown brace for the F.1 is outlined therefore, with two pilots dell' east Europe?

While the Babel Fish translations leave a lot to be desired, from what I understand is that Chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung will be Renault's 3rd driver while Renault looks for their 2nd race driver for Kubica. Any Italian-speaking posters here do a better translation for us?

[commadore183]

Turkish GP in jeopardy after 2010

The 2010 Turkish Grand Prix could be the final one in Istanbul after Bernie Ecclestone doubled the price of the contract to keep the race after next year, according to local media.

The Turkish media reports that Ecclestone would get $26 million from the Turkish as of 2011, nearly twice as much as with the current deal.

Ecclestone's new deal looks set to put an end to the Istanbul race, which was already struggling to attract fans.

Official figures for this year's event said just 36,000 three-day tickets were sold for the circuit with a capacity for 130,000 fans.

While it's not a historic race like France, it still sucks to see a GP go because of Bernie's extortion fees . That would make it harder for other circuits to host a GP after seeing how high the fee gets jacked up after a few years, and thus no one would want to take on that kind of financial burden. From what I have found, NASCAR has a sanctioning fee of up to 6 million USD to host their Sprint Cup Series races, while the IRL had a sanctioning fee of about 1.5 million USD, fees that are very easy for the track and promoter to swallow and actually, gasp, make a profit off of! But with the current business model of Formula One by Bernie, the only source of revenue for the circuit and promoters are from concessions, ticket sales, and track sponsorship; Bernie takes the TV rights and everything else, from what I can remember. And, in a recession, Bernie is not decreasing his fees, but increasing them! With the fees Bernie demands from the circuits, only a government can take on the financial burden. That's why we're seeing more races in Asia and the Middle East. All to pay off CVC's debt for taking on the F1 commercial rights.

[commadore183]

Schumacher makes F1 return

Michael Schumacher will return to Formula 1 in 2010, after Mercedes GP confirmed on Wednesday that the seven-time world champion is joining its team next year.

The German, who will turn 41 in January, has been linked with the outfit ever since Mercedes-Benz took over Brawn GP. He finally concluded a three-year deal to make a sensational F1 return on Tuesday evening.

Now we'll get to see how some of the newer drivers (Hamilton, Vettel, etc) will fare against Schumi next season

[F.Michael]

Schumacher makes F1 return



Now we'll get to see how some of the newer drivers (Hamilton, Vettel, etc) will fare against Schumi next season

[commadore183]

Teams scrap plans for common 2010 car launch

Well-advanced plans for a common car launch for Formula One teams at the end of next month have been scrapped.

To cut costs, the FOTA teams association was earlier reported to have agreed to stage a single event for the unveiling of the 2010 cars.

It was to take place on the last weekend in January in Valencia, just prior to the first group test of the pre-season at the nearby Ricardo Tormo circuit.

Sources believe the budget for the event was around 2m euros, which if evenly divided between the 13 confirmed teams, would have meant a per-team cost of just over 150,000 euros.

There have, however, been rumours that the smaller teams were concerned that the spotlight and international coverage would not have been on them, and Germany's Auto Motor und Sport now reports that logistical reasons have been cited for the cancellation.

There was also been word that the 4 new teams (Lotus, Virgin, Campos, and US F1) wouldn't have a car to show at the launch date.

[commadore183]

Court overturns Briatore's F1 ban

Former Renault boss Flavio Briatore has won his court action in France against the FIA over his indefinite ban from involvement in motor racing.

The Italian was told on Tuesday by the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris that his case had been successful.

French media quoted the decision as saying that the FIA's decision on 21 September had been "irregular".

"The court ruled the sanction was illegal," the judge told the Paris court.

Briatore was awarded 15,000 euros in compensation. He was banned from Formula 1 for life after being found guilty of race-fixing charges.

It should be noted that, actually, Flavio was banned from all motorsports activity that comes under the FIA jurisdiction, which is pretty much all forms of auto racing. So far, Flavio has said that he isn't in any rush to return to F1.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the FIA is appealing the verdict. Also, Pat Symonds' ban has been overturned as well.

Edited by commadore183, 05 January 2010 - 07:20 PM.

[commadore183]

Alguersuari confirmed at Toro Rosso

Scuderia Toro Rosso has confirmed that Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari will stay on at the team during the 2010 season.

The 19-year-old became the youngest driver to take part in a grand prix last year, when he replaced Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards.

The only teams without a full driver line up are Renault, Campos, and US F1.

[commadore183]

Argentine Lopez set to drive for USF1 team

BUENOS AIRES, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Argentine Jose Maria Lopez was confirmed as a driver for the new Formula One team USF1 on Friday, his spokesman Miguel Mattos said.
Lopez, 26, will make his debut for the American team at the Bahrain Grand Prix, the opening race of the 2010 world championship, on March 14.

"Everything has been agreed and the official announcement will be made on Monday," Mattos told Reuters.

Friday's news came at the end of several days of meetings between the USF1 team's co-owner Peter Windsor and Lopez's sponsors in the Argentine capital.

Media reports said part of the money Lopez needed to secure a seat with USF1 was being put up by a group of firms that have backed the driver from the start of his negotiations, with added input from the Argentine government obtained late on Friday.

Lopez was a test driver for Renault from 2004-2006, which saw Renault take the 2005 and 2006 championships, so it looks like US F1 is looking for a driver that has experience developing a race car. No word on who Wndsor and Anderson are looking for the 2nd seat. Hopefully it'll all work out for the team .

[commadore183]

Bahrain unveils new layout for F1 race

Bahrain Grand Prix organisers have announced that their track will use a new layout for the opening round of this year's Formula 1 championship.

The Sakhir circuit hosts the first race of the season on March 14 and, with an expanded grid of up to 26 cars set to take part, race bosses have opted to use an existing extra loop for this year's event.

The new track will turn left shortly after Turn 4, the right hander at the top of the hill following the first sequence of turns.

There will then be a sequence of five turns before the cars head back to the original circuit. There will then be a left-right kink before a tight hairpin returns the cars onto the main track. The new layout increases the circuit length from 5.412km circuit to 6.299km.

[commadore183]

Renault reveals R30, confirms Petrov

The Renault Formula 1 team launched its 2010 car at the Valencia circuit on Sunday afternoon and confirmed Vitaly Petrov as its second driver.

The new R30 was unveiled by Russian Petrov and team-mate Robert Kubica, who will form the all-new driver line-up of the French squad this year.

Twenty-five year-old Petrov, last year's runner-up in the GP2 series, becomes the first Russian Formula 1 driver in the history of the sport.

Petrov will be partnering Pole Kubica at Renault, who is hoping to turn around its fortunes following a dismal 2009 season in which the team scored just 26 points on its way to eighth place in the championship.

"The start of a new Formula 1 season is always a time of great anticipation," said new team boss Eric Boullier. "For Renault, this is particularly true of the 2010 season as we begin a new era for the team.

"With a new structure in place, new drivers, and new colours, there is a lot to be excited about and a lot to look forward to in the year ahead.

Tung leads reserve line-up

Renault has announced Ho-Pin Tung, Jerome D'Ambrosio and Jan Charouz as its reserve drivers for the 2010 season.

Tung and D'Ambrosio are both products of the Gravity management organisation run by new Renault partner Gerard Lopez, and had been linked with race seats during the winter.

Chinese driver Tung has already driven for the team during last winter's young driver session at Jerez, and will be Renault's official third driver. The 27-year-old has GP2 experience and has been an A1GP and Superleague frontrunner. He also had a test outing with Williams in 2004.

That leaves just Campos and US F1 without a full driver line-up. There are rumors out there that Campos may be forced to hand in their entry for 2010 if they can't show the FIA that they have the funds in place to compete. Campos may have tried to lure funding in by going with the Senna name and with the Spanish nationality theme, but it looks like it's backfiring on them.