[F1] Nieuwtjes #37: Met Osram als hoofdsponsor.

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Tost calls for customer cars rethink

Formula One should reconsider the decision to ban customer cars from the sport in 2010 in a bid to help make the sport more economically viable.

That is the view of Scuderia Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost, who believes that the way Red Bull have managed to successfully run two teams shows how costs can easily be driven down in the sport.

He sees there being little benefit from forcing small teams like his to become constructors, because of the unnecessary financial outlay needed to produce a car.

"There are six manufacturer teams and 12 places, so I think there should be six manufacturer teams and six private teams, and each private team should work together with a manufacturer," said Tost, whose team will have to become constructors from 2010 unless F1's regulations change.

"The philosophy with Red Bull was always to have one engineering centre providing the two teams with the car. We have halved the costs, because our budget is a quarter of that of other teams and we are able to win.

"That means that what we have done so far from the efficiency and economic point of view is the right way to go. But the regulations are something different and therefore we have to change."

Tost believes in the current financial climate it is crazy to force teams to build their own cars, when manufacturers could so easily have the option to run their own works outfit and a customer partner.

"Look at what happens today in the economy," he said. "The great car manufacturers work together. Why do they work together? They do not want to spend so much money on development and research, which is exactly right because in the end the result nearly is the same.

"We are searching for a wind tunnel. I can tell you now with 150 people working in a wind tunnel, we will not bring a revolutionary car onto the starting grid because it is not possible from the regulation or the physics. All the cars look nearly the same.

"Colour them white and I will make a bet with you that there are not five people who can tell you which car belongs to which team. But regulations are regulations and we are pushing in this direction."

Toro Rosso are due to increase their staff numbers by 80 in the near future as they ramp up their preparations to become a constructor, as a lot of work is put in to finding suitable wind tunnel facilities.

"We are in negotiations with several wind tunnels and it's a tremendous job," said Tost. "I'm not convinced this is the correct way to go in Formula One."

In the shorter term, and despite Sebastian Vettel's shock victory in the Italian Grand Prix, Tost says he will be happy to finish the season with just a few more points-scoring finishes.

"We will move forward but we must keep our feet on the ground," he said. "If we score points in the last four races then I am quite happy. I don't think that we will be in the position to win another race this year because Ferrari, McLaren and BMW are still ahead of us. Not just a little ahead, but far ahead."

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Op zaterdag 20 september 2008 00:13 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Die nieuwe McLaren topt nu al de lijsten.. Ziet er goed uit voor volgend jaar met Hamiltons tweede wk.

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Op zaterdag 20 september 2008 22:31 schreef ElmarO het volgende:
De teams reden, als ik het goed las, tijdens deze test met zowel 2008-spec als een gedeelte 2009-spec. Dus die tijd van De La Rosa zegt dan niet zo heel veel over volgend seizoen.

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Fernando Alonso wants Massa to win the Formula One World Championship
^{By h.b. - Sep 21, 2008 - 10:45 AM}

However the driver from Asurias thinks that the winner will be Lewis Hamilton.
Spanish formula one driver, Fernando Alonso, has said he wants Felipe Massa to win the drivers championship this year, because if he doesn’t it means that Lewis Hamilton will.

However Alonso said that if he had to place money in a bet he would bet on Hamilton, who he said benefitted from a good car, a highly motivated team, and plenty of good luck.

Asked about the failings of his current Renault team, Alonso said that they had failed to correct adjust to the new Bridgestone tyres for the past two seasons, plus they are aware that the car lacks a bit of power and could perform better aerodynamically.

He said he hoped everything would be in its place next year and he could fight for the world title again.

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Double Dutch prevail in Race 2
^{by setantasports.com staff, 21 September 2008}

PSV Eindhoven emerged as winners of Race 2 of Superleague Formula in Germany on Sunday afternoon, driver Yelmer Buurman capitalising on a late mistake by AS Roma to nip by the Italian car with just minutes of racing remaining.

Second was Anderlecht, with Leicester's Craig Dolby on board, with championship leaders Beijing Guoan third. Long-time leaders Roma were fourth.

In a reverse grid following Race 1's results, Roma and Liverpool got off to a flying start and streaked away from the field.

Tottenham was forced to retire early after a clash with Al-Ain, while Liverpool followed shortly afterwards, retiring with mechanical problems on lap four.

Early pace setters Basel were next to come to an abrupt halt - on lap 13 - with Eindhoven's pace coming to the fore at same stage of the event.

One man on an excellent charge, however, was Rangers' James Walker who had climbed from 15th on the grid to fourth before a spin on lap 15 ended his race and brought the Safety Car out on track.

Also weaving his way through the field was Race 1 winner Robert Doornbos, who even barged Atletico Madrid out of his way at one point. The Dutch racer eventually finished sixth, a result perfectly acceptable considering he started last on the grid.

After a Safety Car mix-up, the action resumed with eight minutes remaining, though it was clear that Roma were struggling and would find it difficult to stay in front of Eindhoven.

The pressure proved too much for Enrico Toccacelo, who ran wide at Turn 1 with two minutes plus one lap left on the clock, to allow not only Eindhoven but Anderlecht and Beijing by.

There was still time enough for Doornbos to get by Galatasaray on the main straight and claim a second a second impressive result on the day for his Italian squad.

“It would be great if we can repeat this same result at Zolder again," Buurman said afterwards.

"It was a great day. I had some bad luck in the first race during the pit stop because the clutch didn’t fully engage and the wheels kept spinning. The engine stalled and I lost about 40 seconds.

“I still got the fastest race lap but if it wasn’t for the pit problem, I might not have been here now.

“I’m really happy - it was a good race. I was right behind Enrico and was waiting my chances when he must have had a shifting issue and I could get through.”

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Op zaterdag 20 september 2008 00:13 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Die nieuwe McLaren topt nu al de lijsten.. Ziet er goed uit voor volgend jaar met Hamiltons tweede wk.

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Op zondag 21 september 2008 23:21 schreef Giem het volgende:

[..]

Dan heeft die straf dus echt geen effect gehad....

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Op maandag 22 september 2008 09:08 schreef sasquatsch het volgende:

[..]

Nee, want die wordt vandaag terug gedraaid.

Het kan namelijk niet zo zijn dat een race-director (Charlie Whiting) de race beïnvloed door te zeggen dat het goed is (het teruggeven van de plek door Hamilton), waarna achteraf deze beslissing weer wordt teruggedraaid.

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Hoger beroep McLaren in behandeling genomen

Het International Court of Appeal van de FIA buigt zich maandag over het hoger beroep dat het team van McLaren heeft aangespannen tegen de straf die Lewis Hamilton kreeg na afloop van de Belgische Grand Prix. Hamilton kwam in Spa als eerste aan de finish, maar kreeg na afloop van de race een straf van 25 seconden voor het afsteken van de chicane, tijdens zijn gevecht met Kimi Raikkonen.

Na het afsnijden van de chicane liet Hamilton het gas even los om Raikkonen weer voor te laten komen. De Brit plaatste daana meteen weer een nieuwe inhaalpoging in La Source. Daar wist Hamilton zich wel succesvol langs de Ferrari te wurmen. McLaren is van mening dat Hamilton geen voordeel had van het missen van de chicane, maar de wedstrijdleiding in Spa dacht daar anders over en gaf hem 25 seconden straf. Sinds de Grand Prix van Italië moeten coureurs die een chicane missen, één bocht moet wachten, voordat zij een nieuwe inhaalactie plaatsen.

Een belangrijke reden om in beroep te gaan tegen de tijdstraf van 25 seconden, is het feit dat de wedstrijdleiding had laten weten dat Hamilton de positie op een correcte manier aan Raikkonen had teruggegeven. McLaren-baas Martin Whitmarsh zei: "Vanaf de pitmuur hebben we nog aan de wedstrijdleiding gevraagd of ze tevreden waren over de manier waarop Lewis de positie aan Kimi had teruggegeven. Tot twee keer toe zeiden ze dat dit op een goede manier was gebeurd. Als de wedstrijdleiding op dat moment had laten weten dat ze twijfels hadden bij de actie van Lewis, hadden we hem direct de opdracht gegeven om Kimi opnieuw voorbij te laten."

Door de straf viel Hamilton terug naar de derde plek en werd Ferrari-rijder Felipe Massa uitgeroepen tot de nieuwe winnaar van de Grand Prix van België.

Dinsdag wordt de uitspraak verwacht van het International Court of Appeal.

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Rain threat to come true in Singapore
^{Posted 23 September 2008 at 09:05 GMT}

Rain is a very real possibility this weekend for F1's first ever floodlit night race on the twisty streets of Singapore.

Local forecasts predict stormy, tropical and wet conditions throughout this week and into the weekend, with rain typically the most likely in the city-state in the evenings.

Wet conditions under the beaming lights of the inaugural race are a concern particularly for the drivers, who are unsure how distracting reflections from puddles on the track surface, and glimmering rain droplets, will be.

"It rains every night (there)," team owner Vijay Mallya, a long-time Singapore resident, said. "You don't have to pray for rain, it just comes."

Further complicating the unique track conditions will be the fact that, because of the European time difference, most teams have decided that not acclimatising to the Singapore time zone is the best preparation for the night race for the drivers.

While drivers usually prepare for long-haul races by arriving early and adjusting, drivers will fly into Singapore as late as possible, and will eat breakfast in the afternoon, have dinner after midnight, and go to sleep in the early hours of the morning.

"We will concentrate on getting our rest and nutrition right to ensure the body is ready to react in the right way when required," said Honda driver Jenson Button.