[F1] F1 nieuwtjes topic deel 24: Met voorlopige kalender '08

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Spyker: We'll still be here in 2008

After a three week 'summer holiday' the FIA Formula One World Championship returns to action with the Turkish Grand Prix on 26 August, round 12 of the 17-event series. The challenging 5.338km Istanbul Park Circuit, designed by circuit constructor du jour Herman Tilke, stands on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, the first time the championship has returned to the Asian continent since the Bahrain Grand Prix back in April. The 14-turn track is the first anti-clockwise circuit of the year with a thrilling combination of undulating straights and corners and long sweeping bends.

The Spyker Formula One Team has continued work apace during the break, with work progressing on its new B-spec challenger. Following a successful test of the new rear-end suspension and gearbox between the German and Hungarian Grands Prix, Adrian Sutil conducted a productive 50km shakedown last week. On a more public note, the team also participated in Bavaria City Racing, where the Spyker F8-VII was run round the streets of Rotterdam.

The team now goes to Turkey with a renewed determination to continue its progress this season with team principal and managing director Colin Kolles discussing a few of the issues at hand, such as their 2008 driver line up and the team’s possible sale…

It's been a busy few weeks for the team.
It's not been so much of a break for our team; work has continued on the new B-spec car, both in the factory, wind tunnel and also on the track. Under the current testing regulations we could only complete a 50km shakedown with the new car, but we were able to gain a lot of information that should help us in our ongoing development cycle. We also completed a demonstration run in Bavaria City Racing in Rotterdam and an aerodynamic test with Fairuz Fauzy. All in all, not too much time to take a holiday!

Christijan Albers drove the Spyker F8-VII in Rotterdam. Is this an indication of an ongoing relationship with the team?
Christijan is a very popular driver in Holland and the demonstration would not have been the same without him. He was a complete professional in the event and everyone, the team, Christijan himself and the fans all benefited from his appearance, but this should not be taken as a sign of any change in the situation. For 2007 we are now committed to our driver line-up of Adrian Sutil and Sakon Yamamoto.

Do you think the combination of Adrian Sutil and Sakon Yamamoto is working well?
Yes, I was very pleased with the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend. As we have seen, Adrian is pushing very hard and is now blending that speed with a greater maturity. To out-race a works team needed a lot of concentration and focus and he didn't put a wheel wrong. Sakon also did a very good job in difficult circumstances; he came into the team at short notice, got on with it and got closer and closer to Adrian over the weekend. Ultimately he made a mistake in the race, but as his confidence and experience in the team grows I am sure these mistakes will be eliminated.

Have you made any decisions about 2008 driver line-up yet?
For us it is too early to finalise the 2008 line-up. At present we are focused on finishing the 2007 season with Adrian and Sakon and working hard to ensure the B-spec is successfully introduced.

There were some strong rumours in the press regarding Roldan Rodriguez being signed for the team for 2008.
Yes, I read them too. Roldan is someone we are watching since Adrian Campos introduced him to us some time ago and now, after his podium in the GP2 race in Hungary, we are looking at the possibility of testing him fairly soon. But we have no concrete plans for 2008 and it is too early for us to make any decision about next year.

Will the team be in a stronger position in 2008?
I believe so. We said at the start of the year that 2007 would be a foundation year for the team, both financially and technically. I think after the changes in ownership we needed to set a firm grounding so the team could move forward and this is what I believe we are doing now. We have a 50% wind tunnel and a further wind tunnel in Italy working for us, which brings the team in line with the top teams, and we have the B-spec car that is a very important part of our development cycle.

Has the news that Spyker Cars N.V. is conducting a strategic review of its own affected the team?
The ongoing financial and strategic review of Spyker Cars N.V. is not a new development. The company started the review in May 2007 to consider how best to re-structure to safeguard its future. One option available is to (partially) sell the team, but this should not be taken as a sign that the team will close, fold or change hands completely. The review has not affected the team's day to day running in any way, we're still working on competing in the championship and the team still has the necessary means to complete this season and beyond.

Will the team change hands?
Spyker Cars N.V is investigating the option of selling some or all of its shares in the team, but this is just one option available to the company. For the F1 team back in Silverstone, they have seen out many storms and stayed alive; if this is the option that Spyker Cars N.V. follows I do not think this will be any different. We'll still be here in 2008.

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Coulthard needles Massa over fuel gaffe
^{By Alan Baldwin - Thursday, August 23rd 2007, 15:30 GMT}


Brazilian Felipe Massa bristled on Thursday at a suggestion that Ferrari might have sacrificed his Formula One title hopes in favour of teammate Kimi Raikkonen.
Red Bull's David Coulthard needled the Brazilian at a Turkish Grand Prix news conference by questioning Ferrari's failure to refuel their driver's car in qualifying for the previous race in Hungary.
The glaring oversight wrecked Massa's race and, after he finished 13th, dropped him behind Raikkonen in the overall standings.
It also cost Ferrari crucial points in the constructors' championship led by McLaren.

"How do we know that Ferrari didn't deliberately not put fuel in Felipe's car?" asked Coulthard, adding a mischievous twist to a discussion about team strategy.
"Maybe that was a team decision to benefit Kimi. How do you forget to put fuel in a car?"

Massa, sitting in front of the Scot, smiled uncomfortably and replied: "Yes, but it was not on purpose. It was a misunderstanding."

"A pretty fundamental misunderstanding," retorted Coulthard, who was Raikkonen's teammate at McLaren from 2002 to 2004. "I think it's a conspiracy to favour Kimi. Good luck."

Raikkonen, who joined Ferrari from McLaren at the start of the season as replacement for retired seven times world champion Michael Schumacher, has won three races to Massa's two.
The Finn has 60 points to Massa's 59. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton leads with 80.
If Hungary was a low point in Massa's season, he was more optimistic about the return to the Istanbul Park circuit for Sunday's 12th round of the season.
The Brazilian took his first Formula One pole position there last year and went on to celebrate his first win the following afternoon.

"It's a special circuit for me," he said. "Hopefully we can repeat that, it would be fantastic.
"Hungary was a disaster for me, a disaster result... Here it is a very good track, I think our car must be very competitive and I'm really looking forward to having a great qualifying and a great race."

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Massa had 'inside info' in Hungary - report
^{Friday 24 August at 11:18 :}

Yet another controversy could be set to arrive in the formula one paddock.

According to the specialist magazine Auto Motor und Sport, Ferrari team members might be enjoying inside information from F1's governing body, the FIA.

Two journalists have told the publication that Felipe Massa knew Fernando Alonso and McLaren would be punished by the stewards in Budapest three weeks ago, before the officials actually handed down their verdict late on Saturday night.

About an hour before the stewards published the verdict, Massa told the unnamed reporters in a restaurant: "Alonso will lose five places and his team will score no points."

The German newspaper Bild wonders: "Where did Massa get his information? Is there a mole?"

Meanwhile, Massa confirmed to reporters on Thursday that he does not have a problem with Spaniard Alonso despite their recent post-race swearing match in Germany.

They both played in the F1 drivers' football team on Wednesday, and Massa said afterwards: "Sometimes we might have a problem in the race but that's the way it works.

"Everybody saw the problem I had, but it doesn't mean that I don't talk to him any more."

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Felipe's joy 'bores' teammate
^{From correspondents in Istanbul, Turkey - August 27, 2007}

BRAZIl'S Felipe Massa celebrated an "amazing" victory, after leading Ferrari teammate, Finland's Kimi Raikkonen home in the Turkish Formula One Grand Prix overnight.

It was his second consecutive Istanbul victory and left the Sao Paulo-born driver smiling from ear to ear as he relished the prospect of a party on the Bosphorous with his family.

"It's amazing," said an emotional Massa after an all-the-way win.

"Really fantastic. I love the track, love the place. Here was where my career made a switch, where I started winning races and fighting with the front-runners.

"It is a special place for me. Having he second win is special, it is difficult to find the right words."

Massa's only problem came when he had to remove part of a broken helmet.

"I had a crack on the cooling system on the helmet and my head was going up and down and I lost concentration. I cracked it completely and took it off and it was better," he said.

Massa, 15 points behind championship leader British rookie Lewis Hamilton, is now looking to maintain the momentum going in Ferrari's home race, at Monza, in two weeks' time.

Raikkonen said the result had been decided in Saturday's qualifying. He was third on the grid, but made a good start to move ahead of Hamilton at the first corner.

"I had a very good car, but it's difficult to get past,"

said Raikkonen, now in fourth place in the standings behind Massa.

"The race was really decided yesterday. I tried to do something at the pit-stops but when two teammates are fighting usually whoever is first is going to stay there. The car was good but there was nothing I could do."

Raikkonen, 16 points behind Hamilton with five races remaining, set the fastest lap of the race with two to go, but admitted he had done it out of boredom.

"It is boring driving behind other cars," he said.

"In F1 these days the races are pretty much decided after qualifying, but I just wanted to push the other cars. It gives you something to do."

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Op maandag 27 augustus 2007 10:55 schreef Googolplexian het volgende:

[..]

Waarom doet ie dat de hele race dan niet? Dat rondje was 'ie ineens bijna 2 seconden sneller dan de rest van het veld.

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De auto waarvan in Turkije foto's zijn gemaakt is er één met een nieuwe voor-, achtervleugel en engine-cover. Onderhuids is gewoon nog sprake van de F8-VII, dus bijvoorbeeld zonder nieuwe radiatoren en versnellingsbak. De 'echte' B-spec zal nog wat slanker zijn, bevestigde Spyker tegenover FORMULE 1 RaceReport.

Wat aan de hand van deze foto's opvalt is dat met name de vleugels anders zijn. Opvallend is het verschil tussen de oude en de nieuwe voorvleugel. De vleugeltjes op het onderste element lopen nu door en de nieuwe vleugel bestaat uit twee dwarselementen. Ter vergelijking: op de achtergrond is de oude zichtbaar.

Op de uiteindelijke B-auto zitten nog meer nieuwe onderdelen. Het gaat onder meer om een compleet nieuwe achterkant, versnellingsbak en achterwielophanging.

Vanaf morgen wordt er drie dagen mee getest in Monza en het is de bedoeling dat de B-versie in het weekend van 7-9 september haar debuut maakt bij de Grand Prix van Italië.

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Op maandag 27 augustus 2007 16:40 schreef Xaobotnik het volgende:
Ik heb de pitspost gemist. Olav Mol had het tijdens de kwalificaties over een Button die eerlijker was dan hij hem ooit had gezien. Had Button nog iets interessants te melden???

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Op maandag 27 augustus 2007 13:26 schreef sasquatsch het volgende:

[..]

Omdat dat geen zin heeft. Het is lastig inhalen met twee auto's die volledig gelijkwaardig zijn. En om geen risico te lopen je teamgenoot eraf te rijden bleef hij erachter aan rijden. Alleen heeft hij wel laten zien de snelste van de twee te zijn.

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Op dinsdag 28 augustus 2007 04:42 schreef Googolplexian het volgende:

[..]

Sorry hoor ... maar als je 2 seconden van de tijd van je teamgenoot af kunt rijden moet je er ook langs kunnen als het verschil zo klein is. 2 sec. win je niet zomaar in 1 ronde.

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Zelfs Barichello kreeg te horen dat Button hem de oren waste (met 2 sec per lap ... ook al was het ietjes minder) :

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Riekt naar team-orders ... zou ook wel verklaren wrom Massa zo blij was (#1 status) ... maar dat is natuurlijk puur speculatie mijnerzijds.

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Op woensdag 29 augustus 2007 08:46 schreef sanger het volgende:
BMW komt imo steeds dichterbij op McLaren en Ferrari
Gat tussen Toyota en Williams is wel erg groot, maar Williams lijkt de aansluiting te hebben gevonden.

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Spyker suspend their chief designer
^{Monday, August 27th 2007, 18:49 GMT}

Spyker have suspended their chief designer John McQuilliam, autosport.com has learned.

McQuilliam has joined Jordan in 1991, shortly after the team entered Formula One, and has worked with the Silverstone-based squad ever since.

He moved up the ranks to the role of technical director, remaining in that position when the team was bought out by Midland. When Spyker took over the team, he remained at the role of chief designer.

But last week team principal Colin Kolles has suspended the Briton, although he would not divulge the reasons for the suspension.

Kolles also refused to say whether or not McQuilliam's suspension has anything to do with Spyker's new B-spec car failing a crash test just days before its debut.

"His position is currently being investigated by the team," was all Kolles would say when asked about McQuilliam's situation.

Spyker were forced to abandon plans to race their B-spec car at last weekend's Turkish Grand Prix after it failed crash tests in the week before the event.

The team had to revert to their original car for the weekend but are hoping to have the B-spec version ready for the Italian Grand Prix.

The news about McQuilliam's situation comes amid continued rumours that former Red Bull Racing technical director Mark Smith is on his way to Spyker to renew his working relationship with technical chief Mike Gascoyne.

Smith's future at Red Bull has been in doubt since Geoff Willis joined the team last month.

Red Bull are still waiting to hear whether or not Smith will accept a new role at the company.

Sources at the Red Bull Racing outfit insist, however, that Smith is now almost certain to leave and make the switch to Spyker.

Spyker themselves have declined to comment on these speculations.

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Hamilton responds to Alonso comments
One person can't do it all... 27/08/07 16:06

Lewis Hamilton has hit back at teammate Fernando Alonso's claim that he is personally responsible for much of McLaren's step forward in 2007.

Spaniard Alonso, already at loggerheads with his British teammate and boss Ron Dennis, told reporters in Turkey that he had felt nothing "given back to me" despite delivering up to six tenths of a second per lap of performance to the MP4-22.

And while championship leader Hamilton confessed that the reigning World Champion had contributed to the team "hugely" this year, he suggests that Alonso's comments fail to recognise the contribution of McLaren's 1000-strong staff.

"It's a lot of people, so if he's found six tenths, then what have they found?" the Briton wondered to ITV. "It's really through their work."

Hamilton acknowledged a good driver's contribution to a team's performance but said no individual can take all the credit.

"You know...
they make improvements, we test them out, so it's really a team thing; it's not one individual that's found all that time."

While playing down Alonso's comments, meanwhile, McLaren's F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh surmised that the quotes might have been motivated by the Spaniard's competitive streak.

"I think Fernando is immensely competitive and looking for an advantage," he said. "He's certainly bringing a lot –- he's a great, great driver."

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[29-08] De B-specificatie van de Spyker F8-VII heeft vandaag zijn eerste meters gemaakt op het circuit van Monza. Tijdens de test op het Italiaanse parcours, volgende week het toneel voor de Grand Prix van Italië, gaf Adrian Sutil het nieuwe apparaat 76 ronden lang de sporen.


In Turkije nog in de parkeerstand, vandaag in actie op Monza
Een verpletterende indruk liet de Duitser daarbij overigens nog niet achter: Sutil eindigde de dag als langzaamste, met een beste tijd van 1:25,278. Daarmee was Sutil iets meer dan twee seconden langzamer dan Fernando Alonso, die met een rondje van 1:23.155 de snelste man van de dag was.

Het beste nieuws voor Spyker was ongetwijfeld dat de nieuwe auto gisteren zonder problemen door de crashtest van de FIA gekomen is. Vlak voor de Grand Prix van Turkije werd de auto nog afgekeurd, zodat Sutil en teamgenoot Yamamoto in de oude auto moesten racen.

,,Het was vandaag best een goede dag”, vertelt Sutil over zijn eerste kennismaking met de B-spec. ,,We hadden wat meer willen rijden, maar door een probleem met de versnellingsbak verloren we wat tijd. We hebben gewerkt aan de afstelling voor de Grand Prix, en we zijn druk bezig om te ontdekken hoe de auto zich gedraagt in een lage downforce-configuratie. Het is lastig om te zeggen waar we nu precies staan ten opzichte van de concurrentie. Monza is natuurlijk een heel typisch circuit, waar we met veel minder vleugel rijden dan op andere circuits, maar ik heb het idee dat we een goed begin gemaakt hebben.”

Morgen neemt Sakon Yamamoto het stuur van Sutil over.

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Spijkers op laag water

[15-08] Het nieuws rondom Spyker blijft maar komen. De ene week wat meer dan de andere. Maar eigenlijk altijd met vraagtekens. Nu gaat Michiel Mol weer weg bij Spyker Cars en legt hij tijdelijk zijn functie als directeur van het raceteam neer.


Er zijn daar nu opeens wél financiën nodig, terwijl drie weken geleden alles nog categorisch ontkend werd. Als reden geeft men op dat Mol geen belangenverstrengeling wil. Hij denkt erover het raceteam te kopen. Maar dat heeft hij toch al gedaan?

In mijn gesprek met hem op de Nürburgring heeft hij tot drie keer toe aan mij, en de tv-kijkers, bevestigd dat hij de baas is bij SpykerF1. Hij en niemand anders. Waarom zou een baas van team een job bij de moedermaatschappij opzeggen om baas te worden bij het team, waarvan hij zelf zegt dat hij al de baas is? Ik snap het niet, maar dat heb ik wel vaker.

Colin Kolles was volgens Michiel ook niet de waakhond van Alex Shnaider. Maar Kolles neemt nu wel alles waar bij SpykerF1. Waarom daar dan niet een interim-manager neergezet? Het meest bizarre vind ik nog dat deels de schuld bij de negatieve berichtgeving in de pers wordt gelegd. Dat zoiets invloed heeft op de waarde van de aandelen snap ik wel. Maar volgens mij heb je daar geen last van als je financieel de boel op de rit hebt. Als je gewoon doet wat je moet doen; auto's bouwen en afleveren.

Het lijkt steeds meer op spijkers zoeken op laag water, troebel water dan wel, want van enige transparantie is eigenlijk geen sprake. Albers moest niet weg omdat er geld nodig was, zei men. Yamamoto rijdt, alleen omdat hij het benodigde geld binnen een dag op de rekening van SpykerF1 had staan. En dan de pers proberen te overtuigen dat Yamamoto toch echt een groot talent is.... Ja, en ik kom uit een ei!!

groeten, Ollie

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Spaniard removed from FIA appeal panel
ICA aiming to minimise suggestions of favouritism
^{30/08/07 09:35}

A Spanish lawyer has been pulled from the panel of the FIA's International Court of Appeal ahead of the upcoming espionage hearing.

The panel was to feature Xavier Conesa, but due to his Spanish nationality - the same as reigning world champion and McLaren driver Fernando Alonso - he has been stepped down to minimise suggestions of favouritism, according to the newspaper Diario As.

To further scrutinise McLaren's involvement in the so-called 'Stepney-gate' spy saga, and requested by Italy's motor sport authority, the Paris appeal is scheduled for September 13 - the Thursday after Monza.

A five-man panel will be made up of lawyers from Belgium, the US, Portugal and Monaco. The fifth member, replacing Spain's Conesa, will be known soon.

As also claims that lawyers for Renault have been working alongside Ferrari in the case against McLaren; their common paddock enemy.

It is believed that Ferrari-Renault's argument will be the peculiarity of the World Motor Sport Council finding McLaren in breach of the International Sporting Code, but applying no sanction.

In its ruling last month, the FIA said McLaren faced exclusion from the 2007 and 2008 championships if it is 'found in the future that the Ferrari information has been used'.

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Geen actie op Monza vandaag

Wegens het barslechte weer op het Italiaanse circuit Monza zullen de teams vandaag niet in actie komen. Door de slechte weersomstandigheden is het te gevaarlijk om de coureurs de baan op te sturen. De test wordt wel met één dag dag verlengd.

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Op donderdag 30 augustus 2007 09:57 schreef Googolplexian het volgende:
Hmmmm....

1) Inkopen of samen investeren;

2) Een zooitje maken (financiele problemen naar investeerders BLIJVEN verbergen terwijl alle signalen een ander scenario aanwijzen ... plus zoveel mogelijk van het bedrijf op de open markt gooien in de vorm van aandelen);

3) Systematisch terugtrekken uit leiding, paar stappen terug doen maar wel vinger in de pap houden om laatste stappen van het plan te overzien (namelijk het vernietigen van huidige structuur om het bedrijf klaar te maken voor overname)

4) Zelf bieden op het bedrijf. Vijandige overname compleet.

5) Waarom? Alles is van Bassie. Mol heeft teveel naar (mensen als) Ecclestone gekeken.

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_{SEPTEMBER 1, 2007}
Spyker deal is done

Our spies in Holland tell us that a deal has been done for the Mol family and India's Vijay Mallya to take control of the Spyker F1 team. This will mean that the name Spyker will disappear from Grand Prix racing after just 12 months and that the team will take on a new identity, probably linked to Mallya's Kingfisher brand, which is currently used to sell beer and for an airline.

It is not impossible that the team will become known as Kingfisher F1.

Backing for the operation may also come from some of Mallya's other brands, although this may not be possible because of the team's Arab sponsors, who may frown on the idea of strong alcohol.

Michiel Mol will not doubt return to head the team and it is anticipated that the remaining staff will be unchanged. The deal will be announced on the Amsterdam stock exchange at some point (as it legally has to be) so the full details will be known. We anticipate that this will be in the region of $100m. Some of this will probably be in written-off debt (Mol's share) and the rest will be in cash.

A deal was necessary because Spyker Cars NV owed $15m to the team's former owner Midland and this was due to be paid on September 15. A further $23m is outstanding. The troubled Dutch car company did not have the money to pay the debt and was looking for a backer to fund both the car business and the F1 team. It obviously failed to achieve this elevated goal and has settled for a deal to offload the F1 team and use the money to pay the debt and refinance the automobile business.

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Spyker Sold
_{Sep.1 (GMM)} The sale of the Dutch formula one team Spyker has been agreed and will be officially confirmed shortly.

The buyer is Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, who in recent days joined with the Michiel and Jan Mol consortium in a jointly (US) $110m bid, the local CNBC-TV18 reported on Saturday.

Mallya's involvement is reportedly in his "personal capacity", meaning that his airline Kingfisher will continue to sponsor Toyota.

It is not known what the new name for the Silverstone based team, also called Jordan and Midland in recent years, will be, but the joint consortium is called 'Orange India'.

It is understood that press and stock market statements are currently being drafted.

Mallya, a key supporter of a grand prix in India and also with alcoholic brands, said: "Part and parcel of bringing formula one to India is to also have an Indian company involved.

"We have drivers, we have Narain Karthikeyan, we have Karun Chandok and I hope there will be more as we go along."

The financially embattled exclusive Dutch sports car maker Spyker bought the team from Midland last September.

Mallya and Mol said in a statement: "(The) offer has been accepted by the Board of Spyker Cars N.V. and exclusivity has been granted to the consortium Orange India Holdings Sarl to proceed with due diligence ... to achieve completion within 30 days."

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Op zaterdag 1 september 2007 23:08 schreef NED het volgende:
Dat de naam definitief weggaat is toch nog helemaal niet zeker of wel?

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Op maandag 3 september 2007 02:24 schreef Xaobotnik het volgende:

[..]

Nou, men zegt dat dit team na één jaar ophoud te bestaan. Nu is dat wat het team als entiteit zijnde natuurlijk niet waar. Dus minimaal zal de naam dus veranderen, dunkt me. Ik hoop het iig wel. De naam Spyker in de F1 in dit geval is namelijk zo ongelofelijk nep. Er is helemaal niets 'Spyker' aan die F1-bolide, behalve de naam. Spyker heeft dan ook helemaal geen F1-team, ze geven hun naam aan een F1-team.

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Op maandag 3 september 2007 15:28 schreef voyeur het volgende:

[..]

Wat helemaal waar is, maar natuurlijk ook geldt voor de grote namen. Mercedes maakt ook geen F1 auto's.

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Davidson set toretain Super seat
^{03/09/2007 - 6:16:31 PM}

Britain’s Anthony Davidson appears set to retain his position at Super Aguri next year.

The 28-year-old joined the team this season and, although he has yet to score a point, his bosses have been impressed by his efforts in both qualifying and races.

Team-mate Takuma Sato is also expected to stay put, having scored two points finishes this year.

Super Aguri managing director Daniel Audetto told autosport.com: “We want to keep the same drivers. That is our aim.

“We are very happy with the job they are doing. Anthony made a big improvement with his race craft. In qualifying he has always been fast and in the races he is now better.

“And Sato did a fantastic season. The maturity of Takuma is astonishing. You see at the start of races he always gains four or five positions.”

Davidson is happy with his season although he remains frustrated at being denied a possible podium finish in Canada after he hit a groundhog.

“I think this year has gone well for me,” he said.

“Yes I have not had the highlights that Taku has had with points, and not wanting to take anything away from him or our cars, but you do need a bit of luck to do that.

“I should be sitting here with points right now after Canada. I should have points guaranteed and it is that sort of thing that makes you less fashionable in the paddock.

“This is quite a fickle game.

“It is nice to know the team are happy with you. I am happy with what they are doing and if I am happy then everyone else should be as well.

“I am the hardest critic of them all. I always have been.”

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Gascoyne: "Spyker zal strijden met middenveld"

De technische directeur van Spyker, Mike Gascoyne, gelooft dat de B-wagen van het team hen zal toelaten om met het middenveld te strijden. Ze willen dit alvast bewijzen komend weekend in Italië.

Spyker heeft tot nu toe nog geen enkel punt behaald, maar hoopt dat de nieuwe bolide daar verandering in zal brengen. Het debuut van de B-specificatie volgde later dan gepland, daar de wagen eerst niet door de crashtests geraakte. Na de GP van Turkije werd de bolide uiteindelijk goedgekeurd. Gascoyne verwacht - na een driedaagse test op het circuit van Monza - een grote verbetering.

"We zullen sneller zijn tijdens de races én kwalificaties," begon Mike Gascoyne. "En we zullen ergens in het middenveld terug te vinden zijn als alles volgens plan verloopt."

"Deze update is nog maar het begin. De wagen zal op vele vlakken nog herzien worden. Er zal nog veel meer volgen van dit team," aldus de technische directeur.

De teleurstelling van het team omdat de wagen niet mocht debuteren in Turkije werd eveneens omgezet naar een positieve zaak. Gascoyne is van mening dat het nu alleen maar voordelen heeft om komend weekend pas met de wagen te gaan racen. In Turkije zou de B-wagen ongetest deelgenomen hebben aan het weekend, en nu heeft deze al drie testdagen achter de rug. Binnen enkele dagen zullen we meer weten...