[F1] F1 nieuwtjes topic deel 53; Waar Ferrari laatste is

quote:

Williams seeks early end to Toyota deal

Williams has requested a release from its engine contract with Toyota for 2010, AUTOSPORT has learned, with the team now weighing up its options about which power-unit to run next year.

Although Williams has another year to run in its partnership with the Japanese manufacturer, moves are now being made for the deal to finish at the end of this year.

It is understood that Williams has already held talks with several car manufacturers about a supply for 2010 - with Renault emerging as favourites for a new partnership, although Mercedes-Benz could also be a possibility.

Team boss Frank Williams told AUTOSPORT that he expected a decision about the identity of the engine partner to be made imminently.

"It will be quite soon," he said. "We have got to find a way to put it into a car, haven't we?"

Although AUTOSPORT understands that talks have already opened with Renault about a potential supply deal for next year, Williams declined to comment on who was favourite if the team's deal with Toyota comes to an end.

"The paddock is full of gossip," he said when asked if Renault was his preferred option. "Tomorrow it might be Mercedes-Benz, and then the next day Ferrari – and I get a free car with it!"

Toyota has confirmed that it is 'flexible' to the possibility of Williams ending its deal early – providing it was not hurt financially by the move.

"It is a slightly complex situation," team president John Howett told AUTOSPORT. "The original document we gave the right for Williams to seek an alternative engine. The basis was that should they get a free engine in the future, perhaps from a new entrant manufacturer, then we would not be there to damage Williams in any way with purely contractual relations.

"Earlier this year they pushed us to sign an extension agreement covering specifically next year, which we have concluded, but they are asking, or seeking, to find an alternative supplier.

"Toyota's position is normally flexible. If they do not wish to take our engine, I don't really feel materially, provided we can reduce the stock and are not left with any liability, that we hold them to the contract."

Renault has been pushing hard to keep its customer supply operation in place for next year, and AUTOSPORT understands it has upped its efforts to try to convince current partner Red Bull Racing to extend its successful partnership.

Red Bull Racing is seriously considering a switch to Mercedes-Benz for next year, but a hard push from Renault chiefs to show its commitment to helping the Milton Keynes-based outfit appears to have put the French car manufacturer back in the frame again.

Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull Racing, said his outfit would take its time before deciding what it would do.

"We have still got time on our hands," Horner told AUTOSPORT. "Renault is doing a great job for us, showing great support, but we are not in any rush."

quote:

Toyota unlikely to retain Trulli

Toyota team president John Howett says the Japanese squad is unlikely to renew Jarno Trulli's contract after not reaching an agreement following initial talks.

"We are in negotiation (with Trulli) and we haven't reached an agreement and there is a possibility that we won't close the gap," Howett told Reuters after qualifying for the European Grand Prix.

"At the moment the gap is reasonably large. We have to say there is a very strong probability not (to renew)."

Howett, whose team has an option on Timo Glock, made it clear that Toyota is ready to wait for the driver market to move before making any decisions.

"To be honest it looks like the driver market will be opened up quite significantly," he said.

"It was said by three or four teams in the press conference and we are waiting to see if the rumours are correct of Alonso [to Ferrari] and how that affects the current line-up, and what the position will be for the BMW drivers, etc, everybody will wait to see and we will see quite a lot of movement."

Trulli said after qualifying in Valencia that money was not an issue in the negotiations, although at the same time he suggested the team was looking at cutting costs.

"Money has never been an issue," he said. "I understand the position of the team, on many things. At the moment there is a lot of cost-cutting.

"I do believe the driver has to play his role in this and I am more than happy to... for me this is not only a team but a family. So I understand that we need to save the team and save the people who work in it."

"So a cut in the budget and, let's say a cut in my budget, this is not a problem. I need to understand what the team wants."

When asked if the number of drivers available made things harder for him, he said: "It depends what the Toyota team wants to do. It is not really in my hands. All I can do is my best, which is what I have always done.

"The rest I think we can always talk with the team and understand what they want, because eventually maybe they are not happy about me, I have no idea. I don't know. We didn't talk about money."

The Italian veteran also dismissed suggestions that the key to the market was Fernando Alonso's rumoured move to Ferrari.

"I don't think Fernando is the key," he said. "I think that the teams in general are looking at the economics problem. They are all waiting to understand what they can do for next year, what their budgets are, whether they will make a move. At the moment it is hard."

Trulli still admitted he remains hopeful he will be in Formula 1 next year.

"I hope so, but in confident in this economic crisis... nothing is sure. If you look back over the last year it is a disaster. Honda has pulled out, BMW has pulled out, and probably they will not be the only one."

quote:

Op zondag 23 augustus 2009 12:41 schreef ElmarO het volgende:

[..]


[..]

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 03:04 schreef Gauner het volgende:
Tvp

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 08:34 schreef Automatic_Rock het volgende:

[..]

ik ook

quote:

'Bekendmaking Ferrari-deal Alonso uitgesteld'
24 augustus 2009

De geruchten over Fernando Alonso en Ferrari blijven maar doorgaan. Aanvankelijk was het de verwachting dat in Monza bekend zou worden gemaakt dat de Spanjaard naar het Italiaanse team zou vertrekken, meer het online magazine GPWeek meldt dat de bekendmaking is uitgesteld.

Ferrari zou uit respect voor Felipe Massa nog geen coureurs voor 2010 willen bekendmaken. De Braziliaan is namelijk nog altijd herstellende van de verwondingen die hij in Hongarije opliep en het is nog onzeker of hij voldoende zal herstellen om volgend jaar weer mee te racen.

Een bron dicht bij Alonso en Ferrari vertelde aan GPWeek: "In Monza zou de deal worden bekendgemaakt, maar het team heeft dat moeten uitstellen wegens de onzekerheid over Massa. Fernando zal echter in 2010 een Ferrari-coureur zijn. Dat contract is getekend. De vraag is alleen wie zijn teamgenoot zal zijn, en uit respect voor Felipe zal Ferrari pas iets bekendmaken wanneer duidelijk is of hij kan terugkeren."

Mocht Massa niet in staat zijn om volgend jaar voor Ferrari te racen zouden Kimi Raikkonen, Michael Schumacher en Robert Kubica de belangrijkste kandidaten zijn om zijn plaats in te nemen.

quote:

Ferrari vervangt Badoer mogelijk na België
24 augustus 2009

Teambaas Stefano Domenicali gaf op zondag aan dat Luca Badoer in België waarschijnlijk nog wel in de Ferrari zal zitten. Of de Italiaan ook daarna zal blijven racen voor het Italiaanse team, is echter nog maar de vraag.

"We verwachten een grote stap voorwaarts van Luca, en daarna zien we verder", vertelde Domenicali. "We moeten er goed over nadenken. We kunnen wel een jonge coureur in de auto zetten, maar vanwege het testverbod is dat misschien niet zo goed voor de veiligheid."

Badoer kende een moeilijke eerste race voor Ferrari. De Italiaan kwalificeerde zich als laatste in Valencia en finishte de race, mede door twee spins, ook als zeventiende en laatste.

quote:

Bridgestone reveals final allocations

By Pablo Elizalde Monday, August 24th 2009, 09:27 GMT

Formula 1's tyre supplier Bridgestone has announced the final final compound allocations of tyres for the last four rounds of the championship.

The Japanese company said it will return to the philosophy of leaving a rubber stiffness gap between the two tyre compounds for the Japanese and Brazilian Grands Prix.

The Super Soft and Soft compounds will be used at the Singapore Grand Prix, while the Soft and the Hard compounds will be taken to Japan.

Super Soft and Medium tyres will be used in Brazil, while the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will see the teams using the Soft and Medium compounds.

"We are pleased to release our final allocations," said Bridgestone's Hirohide Hamashima. "Singapore is a street course and based on our experience there last year we feel the soft and super soft is the best choice. For Suzuka we will have a gap in compound hardness.

"This will be an interesting return to this great circuit as half of the circuit has a new surface, so tyre usage considerations could be challenging. In Brazil we also stay with the stiffness gap. It can get very hot in Sao Paulo and we usually see a good race there, although I think we will struggle to have a race as exciting as the one we had last season.

"Abu Dhabi is a new destination for us. Although it is technically a street course, we are bringing harder compounds than we use at the other street courses. We feel that the hard compound would be too stiff for this new circuit, so we are bringing the consecutive soft and medium compounds."

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 11:03 schreef bodylotion het volgende:

[..]

Is Schumacher nou serieus aan het overwegen om een volledige comeback te maken??

quote:

Op zondag 23 augustus 2009 16:43 schreef Sinister-D- het volgende:

[..]

En als je die 2 berichten combineert lees je eigenlijk: Totyota zit niets meer in Trulli en willen hem kwijt, hij wordt vervangen door Nakajima die mooi klaar gestoomd is bij Williams -maar alsnog niets presteerd-. Williams zou dan de motoren moeten kopen van Toyota omdat ze al een andere vervanger in gedachte hebben voor Nakajima dan weer een Japanner, en dus geen wederdienst wil leveren aan Toyota in de vorm van opleiding voor een van hun protege's. Maar Toyota vraagt teveel geld voor hun motoren en dus wil Williams ervanaf.

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 13:16 schreef voyeur het volgende:

[..]

Of je leest dat Toyota mogelijk de F1 gaat verlaten. Dat zou veel van het wispelturig gedrag verklaren. Het F1 team heeft nog geen budget voor volgend jaar. Dat zal geloof ik in November bepaald worden afhankelijk van de situatie waarin de autofabrikant zich dan bevindt. Het zou dus kunnen dat het rijtje Honda, BMW nog aangevuld wordt!

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 13:33 schreef sasquatsch het volgende:

[..]

Dat gaat ze dan veel geld kosten omdat ze het Concorde Agreement hebben getekend. Ook BMW zal 50 miljoen dollar moeten betalen omdat ze uit de FOTA stappen, maar die hoeven de FOM niet af te kopen. Toyota zal dat wel moeten en dat zal meer zijn dan die 50 miljoen dollar.

Wel duidelijk is dat het budget van Toyota volgend jaar veel minder zal zijn dan de afgelopen jaren, maar dat moest vanwege de afgesproken kostenbesparing toch al.

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 13:55 schreef Gauner het volgende:
Schumacher en Alonso samen bij Ferrari..
Wat een droom.

quote:

Marc Gené heeft toegegeven niet zo blij te zijn met de beslissing van Ferrari om Luca Badoer in de auto te zetten als vervanger van Felipe Massa. De Spanjaard was wel aanwezig in Valencia als reservecoureur van het Italiaanse team.

"De afgelopen weken zijn voor mij niet makkelijk geweest. Het is moeilijk te verwerken dat ik niet mijn thuisrace heb mogen rijden, nadat ik de 24 uur van Le Mans heb weten te winnen", schreef Gené in zijn column voor de Spaanse krant El Mundo. Wat Ferrari ook beslist voor België, ik zal het accepteren en me erbij neerleggen. Als ik mag rijden is het fantastisch, en als ik niet rijd, gedraag ik me zoals altijd."

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 14:55 schreef CloseToTheEdge het volgende:
Ik begin te denken dat Ferrari de loyaliteit/trouw van Badoer beloont met een paar races en ik hoop dat ze na Belgie sterk overwegen een andere coureur in te zetten. Gene lijkt me, ook al heeft hij in een formule 1-auto nooit veel laten zien, een veel betere keuze (vooral omdat hij naast het testwerk bij Ferrari ook "echt" racewerk verricht).

quote:

'Bekendmaking Ferrari-deal Alonso uitgesteld'

De geruchten over Fernando Alonso en Ferrari blijven maar doorgaan. Aanvankelijk was het de verwachting dat in Monza bekend zou worden gemaakt dat de Spanjaard naar het Italiaanse team zou vertrekken, meer het online magazine GPWeek meldt dat de bekendmaking is uitgesteld.

Ferrari zou uit respect voor Felipe Massa nog geen coureurs voor 2010 willen bekendmaken. De Braziliaan is namelijk nog altijd herstellende van de verwondingen die hij in Hongarije opliep en het is nog onzeker of hij voldoende zal herstellen om volgend jaar weer mee te racen.

Een bron dicht bij Alonso en Ferrari vertelde aan GPWeek: "In Monza zou de deal worden bekendgemaakt, maar het team heeft dat moeten uitstellen wegens de onzekerheid over Massa. Fernando zal echter in 2010 een Ferrari-coureur zijn. Dat contract is getekend. De vraag is alleen wie zijn teamgenoot zal zijn, en uit respect voor Felipe zal Ferrari pas iets bekendmaken wanneer duidelijk is of hij kan terugkeren."

Mocht Massa niet in staat zijn om volgend jaar voor Ferrari te racen zouden Kimi Raikkonen, Michael Schumacher en Robert Kubica de belangrijkste kandidaten zijn om zijn plaats in te nemen.

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 13:55 schreef Gauner het volgende:
Schumacher en Alonso samen bij Ferrari..
Wat een droom.

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 13:55 schreef Gauner het volgende:
Schumacher en Alonso samen bij Ferrari..
Wat een droom.

quote:

Brawn unsure if tyre issues will return
Monday, 24 August 2009 19:02

Ross Brawn admits he is unsure whether or not the BGP 001 will experience the same tyre temperature struggle in Belgium that had began to derail its championship push before Valencia.

The championship-leading outfit, having opened up huge title leads following the first seven races, struggled to get its tyres into their correct operating range in Britain, Germany and Hungary – three races in which the team scored just a single podium finish.

However, the 30C plus air temperatures that were a constant throughout the European Grand Prix weekend meant the team had no such issues, which allowed Rubens Barrichello to claim its seventh win of the year.

But with far cooler conditions expected in the Ardennes region of Belgium, as is usually case, for this weekend’s race, Brawn said he couldn’t be sure the tyre issues wouldn’t return given it has had no running in such weather since Hungary.

Asked if there was a risk its situation could revert to how it had been before the summer break, he said: “Yeah, we have got to try [and resolve it].

“It’s a paradox isn’t it: you work most of your time to try and produce a car that’s easy on tyres, makes them last and can do all the normal things.

“And we’ve now got a situation where it’s hurting us and with no testing to go out and scan things, check things, do things, to see what happens in a range of tyre pressures, settings and downforce.

“So there is any number of things in testing you can evaluate and look at, but it’s so difficult over a race weekend.”
While the team had fallen well short of its early-season form in the three races before last weekend, Brawn believes the tyre problems masked the improvements it had been making to the BGP 001 through aerodynamic revisions.

He says further upgrades packages will be introduced for Belgium and Singapore next month; where it will hope low temperatures don’t restrict its car’s potential.

“Well I think they were all pretty good,” he said.

“That again was the frustration that, hidden behind this problem we had, there were some quite useful upgrades to the car.

“New floor, new wings, you’ve seen the bits on the sidepods – and they all got lost in the problems we were having.

“But now we have got the tyres working they have come back again.

“So we’re quite pleased on all the numbers, all has stacked up on the aerodynamic side, when we put the changes on we saw the improvement, but with the overriding issue of tyre temperature it didn’t come through.

“We have got some more modifications for Spa, we have got an update for Singapore, so it is all coming along.”

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 21:03 schreef Tarado het volgende:

[..]

www.itv-f1.com

quote:

After a fourth consecutive poor result for Jenson Button at the European Grand Prix, the world championship leader is clearly feeling the pressure.
When the title is at stake you often see drivers raise their performance to a higher plane. Mika Hakkinen and Damon Hill did it when they closed in on their championships, and last year Felipe Massa raised his game even though he ended up just losing out on the title.
Button, who eventually finished seventh despite being the fastest man on the track for much of the second half of the race, holds an 18-point lead in the championship. He has been really lucky because his main rivals - Red Bull drivers Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel along with Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello - have not consistently seized the opportunities Button has offered them.

Button is now tightening up in the car. His first lap in Valencia was rather clumsy
Martin Brundle
The drives he put in earlier in the season were some of the finest I have commentated on. They were champion's performances without doubt. His easy command of the Monaco circuit was a pleasure to witness and he was utterly peerless in Turkey.
Up to now he has massively impressed me with his calmness, the way he has attacked qualifying, and the great overtaking moves we have seen in early laps.
But now Button is tightening up in the car.
His first lap in Valencia was rather clumsy, and he overreacted to an inevitable chop off the line from Vettel. Clearly off balance he then ran across the 'no man's land' at Turn Four, meaning he had to yield to Webber before he finally settled down in an initial ninth place from fifth on the grid.
Can he lose the championship from here? Of course he can.
Button himself was saying before the weekend: "I've lost 15 points in the last three races to Webber and I can't lose five points a race or I'm in trouble."
He got lucky in Valencia as Webber was off the pace and he was able to get ahead of the Australian during the pits stops with some fine pace on his in and out laps.
There are still 60 points remaining, and he is 18 ahead of second-placed Barrichello, but Button has to stop finishing in the tail end of the points. That is a double whammy because it would be wholly unreasonable to now expect Barrichello to support his championship crusade.

I don't believe Rubens can outscore Jenson by 18 points on pace alone in the same car, but reliability and incidents can soon change that.
In the past, we've seen these championship fights played out between say Ferrari and McLaren when it was a foregone conclusion that the two teams would be out front hoovering up the big points positions and race victories.
This championship run-in is different because the relative performances of several teams are very close and unpredictable with McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, Williams, Brawn, and Renault regularly in the points and even the podium.
This helps Button providing the other teams are not between him and Red Bull. Or his team-mate, as happened in Valencia.
Button has not had a reliability issue yet this season, whereas some of his rivals have - most significantly Vettel, who may well have to take a grid drop in the closing stages should he take a ninth engine.
It would also be so easy for Jenson to tangle at La Source hairpin in Spa this coming weekend, or get caught out by a rainstorm at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. But so could the others.
It will be interesting to see which teams can create a good aero package for the one-off high-speed Monza layout too. That race will be very important.
The one confidence booster that Button can take home from the European GP is his race pace - he's still fundamentally one of the very fastest drivers on the grid. He can still win the drivers' championship comfortably if he keeps his head and can sort out his qualifying pace.
It would have been painful for him to take part in the team post-race photo shoot on Sunday to celebrate a jubilant victory for Barrichello. But will that represent a powerful motivation tool or just more pressure?
The victory will boost the Brazilian; he is right back in contention for the championship. Had the result been reversed, Barrichello would surely have been duty bound to offer his support to Button for the remainder of the year.
Instead he is now the main enemy from within, which will take some handling with the inter-team politics. As Red Bull boss Christian Horner pointed out, even more pressure has been added to Brawn's equation.
It was a dark day for Red Bull, the championship's other main protagonists.
Brawn won 12 points in the constructors' race and Barrichello leap-frogged Webber for second in the driver standings.
To make matters worse for the Australian, who very honestly said that given his pace he got the result he deserved, he didn't score any points to cement his gap over his team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
The worrying thing about Webber is why was he so far off the pace? He was never properly fast at any point and I heard that he was so disappointed and angry after the race that he could hardly speak.
This week we move on to the Belgian GP. There's lots of surmising about which track suits which car, but I don't buy into all that because the key teams are relentlessly developing their packages and they are so close anyway.
What is clear is that Brawn has rediscovered its speed from earlier in the year, which is significant.

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 20:50 schreef Trystar het volgende:

[..]

Dan krijg je een Hamilton, Alonso situatie zoals in 2007 bij McLaren.
Als Alonso echt naar Ferrari gaat dan moet er een duidelijke tweede rijder zijn, die zie ik in Massa en Raikkonen niet.

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 20:50 schreef Trystar het volgende:

[..]

Dan krijg je een Hamilton, Alonso situatie zoals in 2007 bij McLaren.
Als Alonso echt naar Ferrari gaat dan moet er een duidelijke tweede rijder zijn, die zie ik in Massa en Raikkonen niet.

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 21:42 schreef vosss het volgende:
Grosjean. Die lijkt me uitermate geschikt om nog 2 jaar naast Schumacher tweede viool te spelen en af en toe Schumacher om zn oren te rijden en als Schumacher dan stopt dan wordt ie de nieuwe WK

quote:

Doch wer immer noch an einen zweiten Comebackversuch des Rekordsiegers glaubt, ist ein Träumer. Wie inzwischen durchgesickert ist, waren bei Schumachers Mugello-Test nicht die Fliehkräfte in den Kurven das große Problem, sondern die Erschütterungen auf Bodenwellen und die Stauchungen des Nackens beim Bremsen. Schumacher hatte offenbar nicht nur mit Schmerzen zu kämpfen. Ihm soll teilweise schwarz vor Augen geworden sein, und er hatte deshalb Mühe, die Strecke genau zu erkennen und sich zu konzentrieren.

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 22:01 schreef vosss het volgende:
Ik ook niet, maar jammer is het wel.

Je kan de beste mof een klootzak eersteklas vinden, maar sturen kon ie wel

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 14:55 schreef CloseToTheEdge het volgende:

[..]

Ik begin te denken dat Ferrari de loyaliteit/trouw van Badoer beloont met een paar races en ik hoop dat ze na Belgie sterk overwegen een andere coureur in te zetten. Gene lijkt me, ook al heeft hij in een formule 1-auto nooit veel laten zien, een veel betere keuze (vooral omdat hij naast het testwerk bij Ferrari ook "echt" racewerk verricht).

quote:

Op maandag 24 augustus 2009 23:40 schreef Trystar het volgende:
Davidson, wat een grappenmaker

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 00:06 schreef Kleffe_Dop het volgende:

[..]

Gené, Davidson, Sato, Bourdais.
Dat zullen wel de usual suspects zijn.

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 00:12 schreef bodylotion het volgende:

[..]

Gene oke, maar waarom die andere 3
waarom zou Ferrari dat willen?

quote:

Fisichella will be presented as new Ferrari driver this morning

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 10:24 schreef Fluffy_Augurk het volgende:
Sorry, heb hier nog nooit gepost maar moest dit even plaatsen

[ afbeelding ]

Uit De Pers.

BTW. Welke twitter zegt dat van Fisico? Geloof er vrij weinig van

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 10:56 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
http://www.f1times.co.uk/(...)eam-manager-379.html

Hij wil het heel graag en ze manager zal wel aan t bellen zijn. Maar er is geen enkele houdbaarheid voor dit bericht van de kant van Ferrari.

Hoe de Pers over F1 schrijft is nu wel grappig, maar al die Nederlandse kranten verdraaien vaak F1 nieuws en verslagen naar hoe hun vinden dat mensen het makkelijk kunnen interpreteren. Ik lees t iig niet meer

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 08:33 schreef Tarado het volgende:

[..]

twitter

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 12:08 schreef TommyGun het volgende:

[..]

Ja daaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaag

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 12:16 schreef Tarado het volgende:

[..]

http://twitter.com/charlygp

zo beter?

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 12:19 schreef Fluffy_Augurk het volgende:
Schumacher rijdt in Spa

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 12:18 schreef TommyGun het volgende:

[..]

En wie is charlygp? Ik kan hier ook wel zeggen dat Schumi in Spa rijdt zonder echte bron

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 12:21 schreef Tarado het volgende:

[..]

ik neem ook zeker niet alles over wat ik op twitter lees maar deze man is; Redactor de Grand Prix Actual (España)- Grand Prix Actual Magazine journalist (Spain)

Laten we maar afwachten of hij de juiste bronnen heeft

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 12:56 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Ik las ook dat ProDrive Force India wil overnemen, en dat het zondag gaat regenen.. Beide berichten hebben op dit moment evenveel houvast

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 10:56 schreef Atreidez het volgende:


Hoe de Pers over F1 schrijft is nu wel grappig, maar al die Nederlandse kranten verdraaien vaak F1 nieuws en verslagen naar hoe hun vinden dat mensen het makkelijk kunnen interpreteren. Ik lees t iig niet meer

quote:

Brawn finds backing to secure F1 future

By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, August 25th 2009, 12:46 GMT

Brawn GP has now secured the funding to guarantee its Formula 1 future for the next three years, AUTOSPORT has learned, after confirming for the first time that its deal with Virgin will end later this season.

The outfit had come into this campaign with enough funding from Honda to see it through to the beginning of 2010, but it needed to find additional backers to guarantee its place in F1 beyond then.

A sponsorship deal with Virgin was signed at the Australian Grand Prix but hopes it could be expanded into a title-sponsorship deal were scuppered when the two parties could not agree on the level of funding. Virgin is now on its way to the new Manor Grand Prix team.

Despite failing to find a deal with Virgin, it is understood that Brawn GP has now managed to put in place agreements with a number of unidentified major backers that will commence from the start of 2010.

Brawn GP CEO Nick Fry said the identity of the sponsors would likely be kept secret until the launch of is 2010 car. The team has been linked to deals with Emirates airline, Monster energy drink, Bwin and Telmex in the past.

"We have zero worries on funding for this year, next year, the year after, and the year after that," he told AUTOSPORT. "I smile when people talk about money, because we've always had the finances for this year, and neither Ross nor I would not have taken on the team if we did not have the money for this year.

"We've signed some nice contracts, and those will come out into the open when we launch the car next year, but we will see what happens. There is zero worry on our side."

Talks with team backers accelerated over the summer once the new Concorde Agreement was in place - as it guaranteed the future of F1 and ended talk of a breakaway.

Team principal Ross Brawn said: "That was a log jam because sponsors wanted to know what the situation was, and things are freeing up. Everyone up the pit lane will find that things are now much better because we know what the commercial basis is for the future.

"We know we are going to be racing for the next three years at least in this championship - and I hope beyond, I hope we don't get into discussions about alternative championships again."

Fry also publicly confirmed for the first time that Virgin was leaving the team at the end of this season, following its first foray into F1.

When asked if the company's logos would be on the Brawn GP car next year, he said: "No. We've had a great relationship with Virgin.

"You have noticed different stickers from Virgin on the car over the year, and that is the result of additional requests from their side, which has increased our income as well, which is nice. I think they have had a great initiation into F1, and we are helping where we can in advice about what they can do with Manor.

"I really do hope they are successful not only next year but beyond, because they are a good company and it is a good company for F1 to have."

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 12:56 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Ik las ook dat ProDrive Force India wil overnemen, en dat het zondag gaat regenen.. Beide berichten hebben op dit moment evenveel houvast

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 18:02 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Nouja, niemand roept hier ook dat Alain Prost aan een comeback bezig is.. alle geruchten hebben wel een redelijke kans, maar t blijven allemaal geruchten he

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 18:28 schreef vosss het volgende:
Nou Surtees Junior is er 1 die zeker NIET gaat rijden

quote:

Op dinsdag 25 augustus 2009 18:28 schreef vosss het volgende:
Nou Surtees Junior is er 1 die zeker NIET gaat rijden

quote:

Renault-rijder Romain Grosjean blijft zijn Formule 1-carrière voorlopig combineren met een baan als bankmedewerker. Zo heeft de 23-jarige Fransman laten weten. Grosjean maakte afgelopen weekend zijn Formule 1-debuut, in Valencia.

"Ik heb van elke seconde genoten", zei Grosjean over zijn eerste race. "Ik wil het team enorm bedanken voor alle steun en hulp die ik afgelopen weekend kreeg. Alles was nieuw voor mij, dus ik had enorm veel om te leren. Ik had een goed gevoel over de auto en gedurende het weekend werd dat gevoel ook steeds beter. Over het geheel genomen ben ik wel tevreden over mijn eerste race. Het belangrijkste was dat ik de finish haalde en zoveel mogelijk ervaring opdeed. Toen ik aan de finish kwam, zag ik al mijn monteurs op de pitmuur juichen. Dat gaf een erg goed gevoel."

Grosjean is naast zijn baan als Formule 1-coureur ook nog parttime werkzaam bij een bank in het Zwitserse Genève, waar hij geboren en getogen is. De voormalig Europees F3-kampioen is voorlopig niet van plan om te stoppen met dat werk "Ik heb er afgelopen dinsdag nog gewerkt", vertelde Grosjean. "Ik heb veel plezier in mijn werk daar, dus ik zou het graag blijven doen. Tot dusver heb ik het altijd goed kunnen combineren. En daarbij, het houdt me met beide benen op de grond."

Over zijn doelen voor de Grand Prix van België zei hij: "Het team legt geen druk op me, maar ik zou zelf graag wat competitiever zijn in Spa. Ik weet echter dat ik nog erg veel te leren heb, dus ik zal het stap voor stap moeten bekijken. Na afloop van de vrije trainingen zal ik voor mezelf gaan kijken wat er mogelijk is in deze race."

Vorig jaar wist Grosjean de GP2-race op Spa-Francorchamps nog te winnen

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 13:27 schreef kepler het volgende:
Grosjean is gewoon nog bankmedewerker

http://f1.gpupdate.net/nl(...)j-bank-niet-opgeven/
[..]

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 16:32 schreef Atreidez het volgende:


Ik had gelezen dat Spa uitverkocht was? Is dus gewoon onzin! Even kijken of er nog een paar lastminutes te krijgen zijn voor weinig, ik ga tenslotte toch niet op vakantie.

edit: Hmm, alle tribunes op mooie plaatsen zijn iig weg, of ik moet met een kinderkaartje binnen kunnen komen General admission bronze is 160 eu, en dan kan je op allerlei plaatsen gaan staan, op zich wel betaalbaar. Nog meer mensen die interesse hebben om te gaan?

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 16:32 schreef Atreidez het volgende:


Ik had gelezen dat Spa uitverkocht was? Is dus gewoon onzin! Even kijken of er nog een paar lastminutes te krijgen zijn voor weinig, ik ga tenslotte toch niet op vakantie.

edit: Hmm, alle tribunes op mooie plaatsen zijn iig weg, of ik moet met een kinderkaartje binnen kunnen komen General admission bronze is 160 eu, en dan kan je op allerlei plaatsen gaan staan, op zich wel betaalbaar. Nog meer mensen die interesse hebben om te gaan?

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 17:31 schreef Schunckelstar het volgende:

[..]

brons is kut op zondag weet ik uit ervaring, dat zou ik niet doen
wij doen het iig nooit meer

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 17:38 schreef bodylotion het volgende:

[..]

waaaaat hoezo? Wij hebben brons

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 17:50 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Heb t idee dat je met brons of heel vroeg moet zijn, of heel lang moet zijn... En dan ws. ook nog alles door een hek moet bekijken zonder echt goed overzicht.. Al staan er wel genoeg schermen opgesteld langs de baan

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 18:06 schreef bodylotion het volgende:

[..]

oh lengte heb ik gelukkig wel . Hoe zit het met die tv schermen? Valt alles daar een beetje fatsoenlijk op te volgen?

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 19:18 schreef Gauner het volgende:
Rechte stuk na Eau Rouge is ook leuk om even te zitten, maar vond dit een mooiere plek.

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 20:53 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Nouja, met die stoeltjesoplossing moet je daar wel tegen die schuine wand aan kunnen zitten, maar veel zien doe je er niet.. Met die tests ook, zag je ze heeeeel rap komen en ook weer gaan.. Als er wordt ingehaald is de kans dat t daar gebeurt wel groot

quote:

Voor de liefhebbers van Formule 1 is er nu de officiële applicatie F1 Timing. Met F1 Timing kun je onder meer de posities van de coureurs in realtime volgen op je scherm tijdens de training, kwalificatie en de gedurende de wedstrijd zelf. Dit alles weergegeven op een realistische 3D kaart van het circuit. Naast het bekijken van de coureurs op de kaart, kun je ook alle tussentijden bekijken en krijg je per ronde live (geschreven) commentaar.

De realtime postities van de coureurs op je scherm zijn tot op 180 meter nauwkeurig (de ontwikkelaar zegt te werken aan een nog grotere nauwkeurigheid). Je kunt verder je favoriete coureur selecteren om die te volgen, zodat je altijd kunt zien waar deze zich bevindt ten opzichte van de concurrentie. In- en uitzoomen op het circuit is ook mogelijk door te pinchen.
Je kunt achteraf, maar ook tijdens de wedstrijd, ieder moment in de wedstrijd terug bekijken. Dit geldt ook voor de trainingen en de kwalificaties. Ook alle tussentijden van alle coureurs zijn zowel live als achteraf te volgen via de applicatie. Verder krijg je per ronde geschreven commentaar te zien over het verloop van die ronde.


Er zijn twee versies van F1 Timing: de Starter Pass en de Championship Pass. Met de eerste krijg je enkel toegang tot de gegevens en livetracking van de coureurs tijdens de trainingssessies. Met de Championship Pass-editie krijg naast de trainingssessies toegang tot de kwalificatie en de wedstrijd zelf. Aan de volledige editie hangt wel een pittig prijskaartje: 13,99 euro. De Starter editie kost 1,59 euro. Overigens is het ook mogelijk om bij de Starter Pass via een in-app purchase toegang te krijgen tot de gegevens van de kwalificatie en/of de wedstrijd. Wat dit kost is niet direct te vinden op de website van de ontwikkelaar.
De F1 Timing App Starter Pass is te koop voor 1,59 euro in de App Store. De volledige Championship Pass editie kost 13,99 euro. bron

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 23:02 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Wat een gezeik met die iPhone steeds, die krijgt allemaal leuke gadgets.. Maar er is een legio aan smartphone's en windows mobile devices die veel meer worden gebruikt, en daar is amper een livetiming voor te vinden

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 21:18 schreef CloseToTheEdge het volgende:
Morgen vertrekken we om 10:00 weer naar de camping om de tent op te zetten en daarna naar het circuit te gaan voor de pitwalk (als die er is tenminste). (Ik ben die jongen met de McLaren pet en EF 70-200/F4 op een EOS40d )

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 19:54 schreef bodylotion het volgende:
_{mag je je eigen drank meenemen eigenlijk}

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 23:48 schreef Gauner het volgende:

[..]

Geen probleem, is bij die ingangen vaak zo druk dat ze rugtassen etc. nooit doorkijken. Mij nog nooit gebeurt in ieder geval.

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 23:49 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Maja, je eigen braadworst meenemen zou ik niet doen. Die van daar zijn superlekker

quote:

Op donderdag 27 augustus 2009 00:00 schreef nils7 het volgende:

[..]

Op Istanbul Park moest ik dit jaar wel alles open maken... meer voor de zekerheid dat het geen bom was ofzo..
Best afgezaagd als je net voor de hoofdprijs twee blikjes Burn hebt gekocht bij een officieel standjes op zo'n 5,34 meter van de portiers

quote:

Op donderdag 27 augustus 2009 00:08 schreef Gauner het volgende:

[..]

Ja denk dat dat meer aan de locatie ligt dat ze bang zijn voor terroristische aanslagen, in Spa is het een stuk gemoedelijker.

quote:

Op donderdag 27 augustus 2009 00:07 schreef Gauner het volgende:

[..]

Nou zelf eten meenemen is echt wel de moeite waard op Spa.
Weet niet meer precies wat het kostte maar een puntzak friet met 500gr.
zout was erg duur en echt geweldig vond ik het niet smaken.

Vorig jaar had ik een groep Duitsers voor me die een grote koelbox bij zich hadden met
echt tien soorten vlees erin.

quote:

Morgen vertrekken we om 10:00 weer naar de camping om de tent op te zetten en daarna naar het circuit te gaan voor de pitwalk (als die er is tenminste).

quote:

Op woensdag 26 augustus 2009 23:10 schreef bodylotion het volgende:

[..]

wij vertrekken vrijdag. we staan op 'camping' Stavelot, met een witte bus.

quote:

Kimi Raikkonen Q&A: I have a contract for 2010

Whatever the Formula One rumour mill might say about Ferrari’s 2010 driver line-up, Kimi Raikkonen remains as cool as ever on the speculation surrounding his future with the team. The only thing he is willing to admit is that he has a contract for next year - and that any decisions will be made by people other than him…

Q: Kimi, is Spa one of you favourite tracks?
Kimi Raikkonen: Yes, it’s a nice place and I always like to race here.

Q: Do you think it’s possible here for Ferrari to have a fourth podium in a row?
KR: We will try, but we have to wait for tomorrow to get an idea of what will be possible. First you have to drive to see what is realistic.

Q: Is a win possible on a dry track?
KR: As I said before, we have to wait until tomorrow. Now there’s no point in thinking of how we could do. The car has been good in the last three races - as good as it can get, I think. But remember, that track in Valencia is close to that of Monaco and so it behaved better than at many other circuits.

Q: How much of a help will KERS be on this track?
KR: It helps at every race. I haven’t been in a meeting yet to find out where we will use it, but usually in the first corner and at the exit of the last corner - and somewhere in between - but that will be discussed with the engineers.

Q: There are a lot of rumours about you next season. What is your position now?
KR: It has not changed since the last race. I have a contract. I don’t worry about me - there are other guys out there who worry much more. As I said, I have a contract and it’s not me who makes the decision, so it makes no difference. I don’t worry.

Q: How many engines do you have left for the rest of the season?
KR: I don’t know. But we haven’t broken any of them, so we should have plenty.

Q: Are you satisfied with your personal performance this year?
KR: I’ve given my best at every race. For sure, there have been races where I haven’t been happy how it went, but that’s always part of racing. Sometimes you have bad races and you are disappointed with how it went, but that happens every year. Overall I am happy how things are going. For sure, we always want to be higher up.

Q: You have delivered good results in the last two races, so are you upset that the car has not developed better throughout the year?
KR: Sure, we would like to be better in the standings, but I think for now it is okay as it would take out time of the development of next year’s car. Once you fall behind you don’t have much of a chance to catch up. We still have some chances to get good results and get points, and of course everybody wants to win.

Q: Do you think that Luca (Badoer) will do better here than in Valencia?
KR: It should be easier here because he has been here before and has more knowledge about the car. But how well he’s doing we will see in practice.

quote:

Op vrijdag 28 augustus 2009 09:54 schreef TommyGun het volgende:
VT1 about to begin

Is er ergens nog een streaming linkje?

quote:

Op vrijdag 28 augustus 2009 11:35 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Bah, net te laat wakker om iets te zien

Waarom noemen ze in verslagen die laatste bocht nog steeds busstop trouwens.. Het heeft neits meer met een busstop te maken. Die bocht is nog meer verkracht en aangepast geweest als de neus van Michael Jackson

quote:

Reporters annoy Button in Belgium - F1-live.com 28/08/09 11:44

Button coming under pressure despite his huge championship lead

Jenson Button came close to losing his temper in the Spa Francorchamps paddock when meeting with English speaking reporters.

After the championship leader finished just seventh while his Brawn team-mate Rubens Barrichello won a week ago at Valencia, a brave journalist asked Briton Button what he thinks about those who wonder if he really wants to win the title.

"I don't think people are saying that seriously," he answered. "Who could possibly say that?"

Button's brow furrowed and he worded the question to himself: "Does Jenson want this title or not? It's a pretty silly question, isn't it? Why the f*** am I here?"

It was explained to the winner of six Grand Prix this year not that his desire to win is actually in doubt, but that it is good to hear his unequivocal response anyway.

"This is not what I have to say because that is not a question, is it?" Button continued. "In reality, that is not the question - it can't be.

'Does he want the title?' 'No, I want to finish second or third'," he said mockingly, then laughed.

It is reported that Button was overly critical of Sebastian Vettel's driving at the Valencia start last Sunday, and predicted by pundits that his slump in form has a psychological rather than a technical source.

He told the reporters in Belgium: "What I'd like to do now is stand up, walk away, have a good weekend and then we'll talk about it afterwards because there will be loads of silly questions.

"This is not the part of the job I need to be thinking about too much now, I want to focus on the driving," Button added.

quote:

Waiting list

It might not be the best season for the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, but the possibility to drive one of the Reds must be very appetising, at least when one considers the number of drivers, who have been brought up by the media and the fans and even by some of the drivers themselves as candidates for Felipe Massa’s F60 number 3, without even considering some suggestions from the afterworld…
The list is so long that almost every letter in the alphabet has a corresponding driver…but let’s see the details:

A as in Fernando Alonso
B as in Jules Bianchi, Mirko Bortolotti and Sebastien Bourdais
C as in David Coulthard
D as in Anthony Davidson
F as in Giancarlo Fisichella and Luca Filippi
G as in Marc Gené
H as in Nico Hulkenberg
K as in Robert Kubica
L as in André Lotterer and Vitantonio Liuzzi
P as in Nelson Piquet (Jr.) and Giorgio Pantano
R as in Valentino Rossi and Davide Rigon
S as in Takuma Sato and Bruno Senna
T as in Jarno Trulli
V as in Jos Verstappen
Before anyone feels offended we want to underline that we have the highest respect for all of these drivers and we apologise also in the name of those who brought up their names to those who haven’t been mentioned, like Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button, but there’s always time for some fresh ideas.

quote:

Op vrijdag 28 augustus 2009 13:39 schreef Tarado het volgende:
Ze hebben wel gevoel voor humor bij Ferrari, zie onder de "F1 waitinglist"
[..]

http://www.ferrari.com/En(...)F1_Waiting_list.aspx

quote:

Op vrijdag 28 augustus 2009 14:09 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Verstappen stond er nog op ivm laatste gerucht uit 2002 ofzo

Iemand nog een stream? Oh, hier is iets van beeld :

http://www.eplsite.com/channel1.html

quote:

March 14 – Bahrain (Sakhir)
March 28 – Australia (Melbourne)
April 4 – Malaysia (Sepang)
April 25 – Turkey (Istanbul)
May 9 – Spain (Barcelona)
May 23 – Monaco (Monte Carlo)
June 6 – Canada (Montreal)
June 27 – Europe (Valencia)
July 11 – Great Britain (Donington)
July 25 – Germany (Hockenheim)
August 1 – Hungary (Budapest)
August 22 – Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
September 5 – Italy (Monza)
September 19 – China (Shanghai)
September 26 – Singapore (Singapore)
October 10 – Japan (Suzuka)
October 24 – Brazil (Interlagos)
November 7 – Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)

quote:

Op vrijdag 28 augustus 2009 20:09 schreef ElmarO het volgende:
De kalender voor volgend seizoen?
[..]

Canada

quote:

Op zaterdag 29 augustus 2009 00:31 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Weer opening in Bahrein Hebben ze weer de mooiweerspelen of wat het ook was in Australie, of is t weer een geld kwestie..

quote:

Op vrijdag 28 augustus 2009 22:54 schreef Trystar het volgende:
Canada terug zou goed nieuws zijn, ik zit alleen niet op Donington te wachten.

quote:

Raikkonen geeft mogelijk vertrek bij Ferrari toe
29 augustus 2009


Kimi Raikkonen heeft voor het eerst toegegeven dat hij volgend jaar mogelijk niet voor Ferrari zal rijden. Al langer gaan geruchten dat het Italiaanse team zijn contract wil afkopen, en voor het eerst heeft de Fin laten doorschemeren dat er een kans is dat hij het team zal verlaten.

"Als ik om wat voor reden dan ook volgend jaar niet voor Ferrari rijd, weet ik dat ik bij een ander team zal kunnen rijden. Dat is geen probleem. Andere teams willen me wel. Ik ben nog te jong om te stoppen", vertelde Raikkonen aan The Daily Telegraph. Geruchten dat hij de Formule 1 zat zou zijn, weerlegt hij ook. "Als ik volgend jaar niet had willen racen, had ik geen contract getekend."

De Ferrari-coureur maakte dit jaar al enkele uitstapjes naar de rallysport, met als hoogtepunt zijn debuut in het wereldkampioenschap in juli. De finishvlag zag hij na een crash niet in Finland, maar tot dat moment lag hij derde in zijn klasse.

quote:

Op zaterdag 29 augustus 2009 23:34 schreef nils7 het volgende:
Ik was daarnet, in mijn nieuwsgierigheid, wat aan het rondneuzen op Wikipedia waar ik een lay-out van een F1 Circuit nabij Parijs.
Nu weet ik dat ze de Grand Prix weer in Frankrijk willen hebben bij Versailles of EuroDisney maar dat dit al heel concreet was... was het zelf nog noooooit tegen gekomen of ik heb zitten slapen:

[ afbeelding ]

Linkje

quote:

Mercedes to sort engine plans by Monza

By Jonathan Noble Sunday, August 30th 2009, 09:11 GMT

Mercedes-Benz is hoping to reveal its customer engine plans for 2010 at the Italian Grand Prix, amid mounting speculation that a deal to supply Red Bull Racing has now been agreed.

AUTOSPORT revealed in April that Red Bull Racing was chasing a supply of Mercedes-Benz engines for next year, once its current contract with Renault comes to an end later this season.

It is understood that Red Bull Racing's recent engine problems have accelerated the moves towards Mercedes-Benz, with an announcement on the outcome of those negotiations expected imminently.

A Mercedes-Benz deal with Red Bull Racing would mean McLaren's engine partner supplying four teams in total next year - as Brawn GP and Force India will also receive customer units.

Mercedes-Benz motorsport boss Norbert Haug told AUTOSPORT that he could not reveal the details of any discussions that his car manufacturer was having, but said news would come at the Italian GP in a fortnight's time.

"I definitely will not mention any team names," he explained. "These are confidential negotiations, and I hope by Monza we know everything - so that is a fortnight away. Everything should be finalised by then.

"We have talked to various teams, more than one team, and I would like some understanding that these are confidential discussions so I cannot talk about it any more."

F1's regulations stipulate that any manufacturer supplying more than two teams in F1 needs special dispensation from the FIA. Haug confirmed that his company had received such approval to supply four teams.

"We have that in writing, and I think the FIA is very interested in a manufacturer who helps in this situation," he explained. "There are not so many who would jump in and volunteer and would want more than one customer team, but you have to have the logistics, you have to have the capacity and you need to build it up.

"We could not have done it two years ago, but all in all we build half the engines for four teams including rebuilding that we did for our own team two years ago. This is a big, big efficiency programme. It also helps refinancing, but you need to be absolutely very lean. I am not sure whether everyone could do that."

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner said earlier in the Belgian GP weekend that his team was close to making a final decision about its plans - and that recent engine problems would not be the only factor in what his team did.

"We're obviously in a position where, as an independent team, we have a choice of engine," he said. "We've been very, very happy with the supply that we've had from Renault for the last three years.

"Any decision that will be made, will be made not on the outcome of a single weekend but based on what we believe offers us the best opportunity of performance and relationship for the future.

"We haven't made any firm decisions yet, but we're obviously nearing a time when we need to make a commitment for next year."

quote:

Op zaterdag 29 augustus 2009 23:43 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Het is meer dan een plaatje, het is een uitgewerkte layout Maargoed, welke kant rijden ze op, dat vraag ik me weer af. Je zou verwachten counterclockwise.

quote:

Op zondag 30 augustus 2009 12:05 schreef Game_Error het volgende:
die bocht rechtonder is een beetje raar voor counterclockwise, je hebt dan al bijna geen snelheid dus waarom nog een chicane erachteraan gooien?

quote:

FIA to launch probe on '08 Singapore GP

The FIA is to launch an investigation into the events at last year's Singapore Grand Prix, where Renault's Fernando Alonso claimed victory on the back of a crash by his team-mate Nelson Piquet.

Alonso's success was sealed by the timing of a safety car in the early stages of the inaugural event - which had been called out when Piquet crashed into the wall shortly after his team-mate stopped for fuel.

The timing of Piquet's crash prompted wild conspiracy theories that the Brazilian had been ordered to deliberately spin to help Renault take its first victory of the year. Piquet himself insisted at the time that the accident had been caused by him simply trying too hard.

"It was my mistake," said Piquet. "We tried two extreme strategies with Fernando quite short and me quite long in the hope of getting a safety car. If I hadn't crashed I would have been lucky with the safety car later in the race because I was very happy.

"We're always scraping the walls, and once you've touched the wall a little too much and lose control that's it."

It is understood, however, that fresh evidence about the events that took place in the race have now come to light - which has prompted the FIA to step in.

Piquet was dropped by Renault after this year's Hungarian Grand Prix, and has been outspoken in his criticisms of the outfit - and in particular team principal Flavio Briatore. It is not clear if the Brazilian himself has been a catalyst for the investigation, or if the evidence has come from elsewhere.

The FIA has not elaborated on the details of its inquiry, but a spokesperson confirmed to AUTOSPORT that an investigation was under way.

"The FIA can confirm that an investigation is underway regarding alleged events at a previous world championship race," said the spokesperson.

Should the FIA investigation suggest there is any evidence of foul play involved, then the governing body could call a hearing of the World Motor Sport Council to discuss the matter.

quote:

Op zondag 30 augustus 2009 18:44 schreef Trystar het volgende:
Het moet toch niet veel gekker gaan worden.

quote:

Op zondag 30 augustus 2009 19:31 schreef Sinister-D- het volgende:
Omg is Piquet olie op een vuurtje aan 't gooien ofzo?

quote:

Op zondag 30 augustus 2009 19:37 schreef ElmarO het volgende:

[..]

En op het moment dat Grosjean crashte plaatste Piquet ook Boa Grosjean (Good Grosjean) op zijn Twitter. Volgens mij is er dus iemand een beetje frusti.

quote:

Op zondag 30 augustus 2009 19:41 schreef Trystar het volgende:

[..]

Zo verliest Piquet wel wat van zijn helden status bij mij

quote:

Badoer gelooft er trouwens ook nog steeds in

'Badoer hoopt op puntenfinish in Italië'

quote:

FORMULA 1
"Alonso in Ferrari a Monza"
Sarà lui a sostituire Badoer
L'annuncio del Gr1: lo spagnolo bicampione del mondo guiderà la rossa dal Gran Premio d'Italia, al posto del deludente veneto. In Renault verrà spostato Robert Kubica dalla Bmw-Sauber

Fernando AlonsoSPA - Alonso in Ferrari al Posto di Badoer da Monza. L'accordo, che è stato anticipato dal GR1, sarebbe stato raggiunto nella notte e verrà annunciato martedì. Gli sponsor di tutte le parti interessate hanno dato il benestare. Ovviamente gli organizzatori del Gp d'Italia si stanno leccando i baffi. Al posto di Alonso in Renault andrebbe il polacco Robert Kubica della Bmw-Sauber, che ormai è una squadra in dismissione.

Arriva però la secca smentita di Flavio Briatore. "E' una cosa che non può succedere si contuinano a diere delle gran c..."
30 agosto 2009

quote:

Op zondag 30 augustus 2009 19:41 schreef Trystar het volgende:

[..]

Zo verliest Piquet wel wat van zijn helden status bij mij

Badoer gelooft er trouwens ook nog steeds in

'Badoer hoopt op puntenfinish in Italië'

quote:

Op zondag 30 augustus 2009 19:51 schreef Sinister-D- het volgende:
Dat gaat 'm nog lukken ook! zijn vorige uitdaging -Q2 bereiken- heeft ie toch ook met succes vervolledigt

quote:

Op zondag 30 augustus 2009 18:34 schreef ElmarO het volgende:

[..]

quote:

Op zondag 30 augustus 2009 19:41 schreef Trystar het volgende:

[..]

Zo verliest Piquet wel wat van zijn helden status bij mij

Badoer gelooft er trouwens ook nog steeds in

'Badoer hoopt op puntenfinish in Italië'

quote:

Op maandag 31 augustus 2009 08:30 schreef Googolplexian het volgende:

[..]

Mjah ... Monza is wel een baan die hij beter kent dan alle andere coureurs ... theoretisch.

quote:

Op zondag 30 augustus 2009 19:31 schreef Sinister-D- het volgende:
Omg is Piquet olie op een vuurtje aan 't gooien ofzo?

quote:

Op maandag 31 augustus 2009 09:00 schreef Fluffy_Augurk het volgende:

[..]

En volgens zijn Twitter is zijn toekomst "F1 F1 F1 "

quote:

1 August 2009 by Keith Collantine
Here’s a round-up of F1 news and other interesting links I’ve found today.

If you’ve spotted a hot news story, interesting new website or just something funny from the world of F1, please share your links in the comments below.

Giancarlo Fisichella on red alert for Ferrari

Giancarlo Fisichella's manager Enrico Zanarini: “I repeat, nobody has been in touch. And to tell you the truth, we find ourselves in a fantastic team with a great car for Monza because, if the car is good here, it is good there.”

Kimi Raikkonen will take pay-cut to race for Brawn next season

"Kimi Raikkonen has offered to take a £10million pay cut to be Jenson Button's team-mate at Brawn next season."

Massa creates new category to train pilots in Brazil

Google translation of Portuguese article,

Mercedes to sort engine plans by Monza

"F1's regulations stipulate that any manufacturer supplying more than two teams in F1 needs special dispensation from the FIA. Haug confirmed that his company had received such approval to supply four teams."

Tyre issues are back, says Brawn

Ross Brawn: "The middle period, which will almost certainly be on the hard tyre, he will be very strong. The start and the middle part of the race will be crucial."

Vatanen meets with FOTA in Spa

Ari Vatanen: "They have lived in fear without knowing what the future holds, and that's no way to run a sport. I can't see why different members of the same family cannot work together without one side or another wanting to dominate the other."

Herbert goes back to his roots after horror crash

"Today's debut comes at a happier hunting ground, Silverstone, where he won the British Grand Prix in 1995. But even that moment – which he describes as the best of his career – was tainted by the accident. 'For the last 12 laps I was screaming in the car when I was braking,' says Herbert, who was struggling to brake with his left, more damaged foot in order to give the right a rest. 'The toes got sliced at the top and there's a lot of callous – it was that part that was hurting' he says. 'When I got out of the car I could not tell anyone because I would have been chucked out of the sport!'"

Button fears for championship lead

Jenson Button: "We have a couple of weeks before Monza and hopefully we can find out the reasons. The car doesn't feel to me like it did earlier in the season. We had a couple of cold races but since it has been warmer, I still can't find a good balance."

Teams set to discuss third car concept

Frank Williams doesn't want three car teams: "Three cars? I would block it. It is not necessary today. [...] I am sure it is the case for other people too and if you were Ferrari you could get 1-2-3 in every race, with more testing. It is obvious."

These are links I’ve bookmarked using Delicious. You can see my Delicious profile here.

quote:

Op maandag 31 augustus 2009 15:35 schreef Game_Error het volgende:
hoe wil je dan het circuit schoonmaken? het idee van een saftey car is dat de marshalls steeds 2 of 3 minuten hebben waarop ze de baan op kunnen zonder uit te hoven kijken voor auto's

quote:

Badoer: "Mij vervangen zou absurd zijn"

Volgens Luca Badoer zou het 'absurd' zijn als Ferrari hem vervangt voor de Italiaanse Grand Prix. Volgens vrij hardnekkige geruchten heeft Ferrari zijn ook laten vallen op Giancarlo Fisichella, maar Badoer zou het onzinnig vinden als hij niet mag rijden op een circuit dat hij zo goed kent als Monza.

"Ik kan zeggen dat ik na twee races veel meer grip heb gekregen op alle dingen die ik moet leren", zei Badoer tegen persbureau Reuters. "Ik heb zo veel geleerd in deze twee races en heb veel ervaring opgedaan. Het zou zonde zijn als de zaken nu zouden veranderen."

"Monza, Mugello en Fiorano zijn de circuits waar ik het meest heb gereden. Het zou absurd en zeer teleurstellend zijn, want ik denk dat ik in Monza het juiste gevoel zal hebben."

Badoer finishte op Spa-Francorchamps als laatste, terwijl teamgenoot Kimi Raikkonen de race won.

quote:

Op maandag 31 augustus 2009 16:16 schreef Trystar het volgende:

[..]

quote:

Giancarlo Fisichella's pole position and second place finish at the Belgium Grand Prix isn't so much of a shock when you look at the basic ingredients and where Force India has been heading of late.
They've been gathering pace and threatening to do this for a while but haven't delivered - in Germany last month, Fisichella's team-mate Adrian Sutil started seventh on the grid.

In Spa both Force India drivers were near the top 10 from the beginning of practice.
This was the first race of the year requiring a medium-downforce set-up on the cars, and their package simply worked from the get-go with regard to grip, balance, and straight-line speed. Fitting new tyres and making small front-wing changes seemed to make them go ever faster.
Fisichella raised his game, too. In qualifying he wasn't fastest in any of the three sectors on his pole lap but had pure pace all the way round and, fuel-load corrected, he was genuinely faster than eventual race-winner Kimi Raikkonen.
I honestly believe that if Fisichella had been a little bit sharper on the re-start after the first-lap safety car, and hadn't got caught by the power-boost Kers of the Ferrari up the hill, he would have waltzed off and won by several seconds.
He should have backed the pack up at the restart and then bolted like a rabbit.
He had a fundamentally fast package and he clearly wasn't overwhelmed to be at the front; he knows how to win a race even if his memory is a bit rusty.
It really struck me when Fisichella was behind Raikkonen that he was using 10% less track than the Ferrari - that's always a sign that a car is handling nicely and the driver is confident.

Further down the pack, we also saw his team-mate Sutil steaming past people with tremendous pace.
Force India clearly has, along with McLaren and Brawn, the best engine on the grid in Mercedes Benz. With the engine will come other knowledge with regard to installation, electronics, and transmission which is handy.
Furthermore, McLaren's Simon Roberts is the team's chief operating officer and so there is clearly some fast tracking going on.
Are Force India relying heavily on McLaren-Mercedes know-how? The answer is they are not 'McLaren-Lite' - their chassis and aerodynamics are very different and they are developing their own package.
McLaren are busy trying to rescue their own season without sorting Force India. Any help they were giving will stop now for sure!

Force India definitely don't have the McMerc Kers system installed, so you have to say that it's all Force India in terms of making the car work. This is an experienced team who have somehow survived the Jordan/Midland/Spyker/Force India ownership changes of recent years.
What I think we saw in Spa was the effect of the ban on in-season testing. The big teams just can't relentlessly pound round and leave the little teams for dead; that's why we are seeing ever closer and more unpredictable racing too as cars are developed on the hoof.
Small teams have to get it right first time; they have no option or plan B.
Interestingly, Force India told me after the race that they would have to lose only one member of staff to meet the severe 2012 cost-cutting criteria. They already have a low team head-count and overheads and what we are seeing is how a small, focused group of people can really make a difference.
Force India also think they have an effective low-downforce setting to meet the high-speed demands of the next race in Monza on 13 September and that they are on a genuine roll. Time will tell.
Do I think they'll go to Italy, Singapore and Japan and do it all again?
I think they'll not populate their customary back of the grid places for sure, but I'd be surprised if they had clear race winning pace. They hit a sweet spot in Spa with the combination of aerodynamics, track conditions and tyres and they made it count.


In this bizarre championship battle, Jenson Button is giving everybody an open goal to aim at and they all keep missing.
His Brawn GP team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, started fourth on the grid but his engine revs bogged down and anti-stall system kicked in for the second time this season. He did well to stay out of trouble but only grabbed two points for seventh place.
Once the team recognised Barrichello's problems off the start, they were quite smart in switching him to a regular two-stop strategy and he drove a good race, but it could have been so much better for him and major pain for Button.
Red Bull are still not entirely sure what happened to their weekend; even an hour before the race they were still wondering where the relative pace they had shown on Friday had disappeared to. And they were not alone in that; similar discussions were going on at Brawn and McLaren.
When I spoke to Mark Webber on Saturday morning his mind was already on the race and working out how to outfox the Kers runners up the hill; as far as he was concerned he was already at or near the front of the grid.
If he hadn't served a drive-through penalty for being dangerously released during a pit stop he would have had a solid result. He looked thoroughly dejected on the BBC after the race.

If Button does not get himself together sooner rather than later, the title that seemed to be his for the taking could slip through his fingers
Red Bull don't have one driver consistently collecting the big points and that compounds their problems.
Sebastian Vettel finished third in Belgium having had some early dramas in the race and a very poor first lap. In the end he was just 3.8 seconds away from winner Raikkonen and that just shows how well the Red Bulls should have done.
Button himself is now coming off five dismal races by his 2009 standards. It was hardly his fault that he crashed in Spa.
If you are being Mr Sensible thinking about your race and protecting your championship lead and then a gung-ho new boy runs you off the road what can you do?


However, Button shouldn't have been so far back on the grid in the first place. He made a second consecutive and crucial mistake in qualifying to find himself in the danger zone for the race.
The bottom line is he has taken 11 points from five GPs and is still 16 points clear at the top of the championship.
He has the points, the car, the silky smooth speed, and all the ingredients to be the 2009 world champ. But does he have the head? I sense he might rebound from Spa.

quote:

Op maandag 31 augustus 2009 17:30 schreef sanger het volgende:
Mijn baas krijgt heeft een smsje van Michiel Mol gehad. Hij heeft twee pasjes over voor Monza

quote:

Op maandag 31 augustus 2009 17:30 schreef sanger het volgende:
Mijn baas krijgt heeft een smsje van Michiel Mol gehad. Hij heeft twee pasjes over voor Monza

quote:

Op maandag 31 augustus 2009 16:16 schreef Trystar het volgende:

[..]

quote:

Op maandag 31 augustus 2009 17:30 schreef sanger het volgende:
Mijn baas krijgt heeft een smsje van Michiel Mol gehad. Hij heeft twee pasjes over voor Monza

quote:

Op maandag 31 augustus 2009 23:03 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
[ afbeelding ]

Zouden die mondhoeken nog lager kunnen

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 00:10 schreef Tarado het volgende:
Foto van Montoya's garage, kijk wat er in de hoek staat

http://twitpic.com/g08ns

quote:

Op maandag 31 augustus 2009 21:35 schreef Slein83 het volgende:

[..]

Zo jammer dat hij met zijn minnares gaat

quote:

Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One commercial rights-holder, spoke last night of his fears that Renault could leave the sport over allegations that the team asked one of their drivers to crash his car to help his team-mate win a race.

In an interview with The Times, Ecclestone said that Flavio Briatore, the Renault team principal, had told him that he knows nothing about the claims that have been made. Ecclestone also described the Italian as “well and truly upset”, and added that Nelson Piquet Jr, the driver whom Ecclestone clearly believes sparked the sport’s latest cheating scandal by informing the FIA of the explosive allegations, could be finished as a Formula One driver.

“This is not the sort of thing we need at the moment,” said Ecclestone, who has seen Honda sell up last year and BMW announce that it is leaving Formula One at the end of this season. “I think it will p*** off Renault for a start. Them leaving the sport is a danger, obviously. I mean, I hope that it isn’t like that, but it’s the sort of thing that might happen.”

“What I know, I can’t say, to be honest with you. All I know is that Flavio is insisting that he knows nothing about it. I think the FIA are looking into everything. They are trying to find out the reality. I suppose they would be upset if they found out that what people are assuming is true, is in fact true, I suppose.”


Piquet’s accident early in the race proved decisive in enabling Fernando Alonso, his team-mate, who pitted before anyone else and just before the accident, to take advantage of a subsequent intervention by the safety car to score an unexpected race win from fifteenth on the grid.

The investigation is expected to involve detailed analysis of all the technical data on Renault’s participation in the race, including telemetry from the cars and voice recordings of pitwall communications with the drivers. The governing body is also likely to send inspectors to Renault’s Formula One headquarters at Enstone, near Oxford, and to the team’s factory in France to examine computers and any other data that could be relevant.

The allegations are being taken extremely seriously by the FIA, and comparisons are already being made with the recent “Bloodgate” scandal in rugby union that involved a premeditated attempt to cheat and a deliberate injury to a player.

In the case of the allegations over Renault’s conduct, there is the suggestion not only of an alleged attempt to cheat, but also an alleged instruction to a driver to take a dangerous course of action that could have led to injury or death to himself, to circuit marshals or even spectators. If the case were to be proven, then Renault would be likely to be banned from Formula One, whether or not the carmaker had left the sport already.

Ecclestone believes that it will be hard to prove a case of this sort unless there is strong independent evidence to back up the claims or technical data that bears out the alleged version of events. “The only way you could say there is a case to answer is if there is any real evidence,” he said.

“If it’s just young Piquet saying this because he wants to say it, that’s one thing. If, on the other hand, there’s some reality to it, then it’s all different. It will be difficult to prove. If there is something on the radio that said, ‘Err, Nelson, you’d better crash now,’ then what the hell can they [Renault] do? It depends exactly what comes out of the investigation.”

Piquet, who endured a torrid time at Renault before being unceremoniously dropped after the Hungarian Grand Prix at the end of July, to be replaced by Romain Grosjean, was described as “an angry young man” by Ecclestone, who added that he did not think the Brazilian would be able to continue in the sport. “You can safely say that he’s sort of in trouble now . . . you’d have to wonder what next, wouldn’t you?” Ecclestone said.

The Renault affair comes after an earlier cheating storm at the start of this season, when Lewis Hamilton and a senior manager at McLaren Mercedes tried to deceive the stewards at the Australian Grand Prix.

So far, Renault’s only response to the claims has been “no comment”.

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 09:12 schreef kepler het volgende:
Wat een bullshit, ik kan dat echt niet geloven.

Hoe kan je dat ook goed timen? Je weet niet precies wanneer de SC eruit komt en verder weet je ook nooit zeker of de SC uberhaupt wordt ingezet. Verder zijn er nog een hoop onzekerheden die het erg ongeloofwaardig maken...

Doet me een beetje denken aan de 9/11 complotten

_{Schumacher heeft zoiets wel een keer gedaan, na een startongeluk stuurde hij express de baan weer op om zo een herstart te forceren. Althans zo kan ik het me herinneren}

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 09:48 schreef Tarado het volgende:

[..]

Ik ben het met je eens dit lijkt me heel moeilijk te plannen omdat je het voor de race moet bespreken, over de radio gaat niet, in Singapore is de kans op SC wel groot omdat het hele circuit "ommuurd" is.

Schumi deed zoiets in Monaco tijden qualificatie, maar het zou me niets verbazen als hij dit nog een keer gedaan heeft , maar dan waren het wel eenmansacties.

Als Piquet geen team koopt is het met hem wel gedaan in F1, ik denk niet dat er een team is dat tegen Bernie's haren in wil strijken en hem toch contracteren.....

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 10:05 schreef kepler het volgende:
De kans op een SC is aardig groot, maar voor hetzelfde geld had tie alleen zn neus eraf gereden

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 10:04 schreef sasquatsch het volgende:

[..]

Het is juist heel makkelijk te plannen. Alonso was vijftiende, dus kon hij op een circuit als Singapore alleen naar voren komen met een vroege pitstop en een safetycar, omdat bijna iedereen dan tijdens de safetycar naar binnen zou gaan. Dus als Piquet weet dat Alonso binnenstaat, is het eenvoudig om je auto dusdanig te crashen dat de safetycar eruit moet. Of het in diezelfde ronde of een ronde later is, is niet interessant.

Als het van te voren is afgesproken, is alleen de melding dat Alonso binnen staat voldoende voor Piquet om zijn auto in de muur te zetten. En zijn spin in de opwarmronde was een goede generale repetitie. Zal alleen moeilijk te bewijzen zijn, als dit nergens is opgenomen of op papier staat.

En ik kan niet geloven dat Piquet zomaar wat vertelt om wraak te nemen. Dan zal er toch echt wat aan de hand zijn. En ik kan me ook niet aan de indruk onttrekken dat Briatore wel een man is die dat zou doen. Ook in 1994 reed Benetton met een illegale auto (met verboden elektronische hulpmiddelen) en werd Walkinshaw geslachtofferd om verdere straffen te voorkomen.

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 10:04 schreef sasquatsch het volgende:

[..]

Het is juist heel makkelijk te plannen. Alonso was vijftiende, dus kon hij op een circuit als Singapore alleen naar voren komen met een vroege pitstop en een safetycar, omdat bijna iedereen dan tijdens de safetycar naar binnen zou gaan. Dus als Piquet weet dat Alonso binnenstaat, is het eenvoudig om je auto dusdanig te crashen dat de safetycar eruit moet. Of het in diezelfde ronde of een ronde later is, is niet interessant.

Als het van te voren is afgesproken, is alleen de melding dat Alonso binnen staat voldoende voor Piquet om zijn auto in de muur te zetten. En zijn spin in de opwarmronde was een goede generale repetitie. Zal alleen moeilijk te bewijzen zijn, als dit nergens is opgenomen of op papier staat.

En ik kan niet geloven dat Piquet zomaar wat vertelt om wraak te nemen. Dan zal er toch echt wat aan de hand zijn. En ik kan me ook niet aan de indruk onttrekken dat Briatore wel een man is die dat zou doen. Ook in 1994 reed Benetton met een illegale auto (met verboden elektronische hulpmiddelen) en werd Walkinshaw geslachtofferd om verdere straffen te voorkomen.

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 10:48 schreef kepler het volgende:
In hoeverre zou een getuige-verklaring van Piquet genoeg bewijs zijn?

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 10:50 schreef Atreidez het volgende:

[..]

Niet.. zeker in zijn situatie niet, imo.

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 10:05 schreef kepler het volgende:
De kans op een SC is aardig groot, maar voor hetzelfde geld had tie alleen zn neus eraf gereden

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 10:04 schreef sasquatsch het volgende:

[..]

Het is juist heel makkelijk te plannen. Alonso was vijftiende, dus kon hij op een circuit als Singapore alleen naar voren komen met een vroege pitstop en een safetycar, omdat bijna iedereen dan tijdens de safetycar naar binnen zou gaan. Dus als Piquet weet dat Alonso binnenstaat, is het eenvoudig om je auto dusdanig te crashen dat de safetycar eruit moet. Of het in diezelfde ronde of een ronde later is, is niet interessant.

Als het van te voren is afgesproken, is alleen de melding dat Alonso binnen staat voldoende voor Piquet om zijn auto in de muur te zetten. En zijn spin in de opwarmronde was een goede generale repetitie. Zal alleen moeilijk te bewijzen zijn, als dit nergens is opgenomen of op papier staat.

En ik kan niet geloven dat Piquet zomaar wat vertelt om wraak te nemen. Dan zal er toch echt wat aan de hand zijn. En ik kan me ook niet aan de indruk onttrekken dat Briatore wel een man is die dat zou doen. Ook in 1994 reed Benetton met een illegale auto (met verboden elektronische hulpmiddelen) en werd Walkinshaw geslachtofferd om verdere straffen te voorkomen.

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 11:06 schreef Peterselieman het volgende:

[..]

Idd. Die Piquet is niet een zodanig goede coureur dat hij het met opzet gedaan zou kunnen hebben, tenzij hij toen al wist dat hem het een stoeltje voor dit jaar op zou leveren ...

quote:

F1: Probe Could Mean The End Of Renault - Speedtv.com
Written by: Adam Cooper

Encouraging a driver to crash has safety implications, especially at a street circuit where spectators are close to the action, and there are issues with flying debris.- Adam Cooper (Photo: LAT Photographic) » More Photos
Things were certainly moving behind the scenes in Belgium last weekend. Under the FIA’s rules a past race can be looked into either by the stewards of the original event, or by three others nominated by the FIA. The original trios were not in Belgium last weekend, and we believe that the three Spa stewards looked into the matter when they had a little spare time, and presumably reviewed videos. They would have done so in conjunction with the FIA Observer, Herbie Blash, who was also involved in a similar role in the post-Australia Hamilton investigation.

Encouraging a driver to crash has safety implications, especially at a street circuit where spectators are close to the action, and there are issues with flying debris. Marshals and Piquet himself were also put in danger. (It was actually quite a big impact, far bigger than what was needed to trigger a safety car. The joke at the time was that the beleaguered Nelson couldn’t even crash properly...)

That’s on top of the whole question of team orders being used, and unfairly influencing the result of a competition. The safety car generated a victory for Renault that the team wouldn’t, in normal circumstances, have been able to earn. Consider too that Felipe Massa was leading comfortably until the safety car turned the race on its head. In the panic in the Ferrari pits he drove off with his fuel hose, and scored zero points instead of 10. He was to lose the World Championship a few weeks later by one point...

All of this indicates just how seriously the FIA could take this, and just how far. The FIA will also have to discover just who was in the loop.

Flavio Briatorehas had to work hard to keep Renault interested, and Fernando Alonso’s win in Singapore (and the subsequent one in Fuji) certainly helped him this time last year. Promoting Romain Grosjean to a race seat, and encouraging us to believe that he is French rather than Swiss, is another part of his attempt to keep his bosses sweet.

Ironically it seems that the same decision may have prompted the new investigation. The fact that it happened just weeks after Piquet was sacked, and that the news initially emerged from Brazilian TV, is a clear indication of that.

If Nelsinho is behind it, will it be his word against his former team’s? Did he retain some material evidence relating to the ‘plot’ – an email, an SMS perhaps? The FIA had access to Renault’s radio traffic at the time, and one presumes that it was checked and nothing untoward was found. But there may be something that seemed innocuous then – a coded message so to speak – that can now be interpreted differently.

Some of us had wondered why Nelson Piquet Sr. had attended every race this year, when we barely saw him at all in 2008. The cynical suggestion was that the elder Piquet was there to remind Briatore that it would not be wise to sack his boy, that perhaps he had some ‘information.’ If Flav in effect called the Piquet family’s bluff by replacing Nelson, he may well have cause to regret it.

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 11:34 schreef Fluffy_Augurk het volgende:
Interessant artikel over crashgate en de gevolgen ervan als het daadwerkelijk zo is gegaan, waaronder Massa die het kampioenschap heeft verloren....

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 12:01 schreef Atreidez het volgende:

[..]

Voor Massa maakte die race weinig uit hoor.. heeft ie zelf verpest, weet je nog?
[ afbeelding ]

pirulito lollipop GP 2008 Felipe Massa Ferrari Singapore

quote:

A tape of conversations on the Renault pit wall during the Singapore Grand Prix (28 September 2008) between Flavio Briatore, Nelsinho Piquet on the race radio and his wife on his Blackberry…. all happening at the same time!

In the light of the allegations being made against the Renault F1 team and their flamboyant boss, this recording has surfaced at a good time. It explains that the whole Singapore incident was a misunderstanding or rather crossed lines of communication.

Flav: Good going Fernando keep-a dah pushing. I know-a it is getting dark and we do not-a have headlights, but keep-a dah pushing. No problema.
Fernando: Hmmm
Long pause with racing sounds and radio crackling in the background followed by a ringtone. After several rings.
Flav: Pronto! Cara mia why you call-a me when-a I am-a working?
Wife: Sweet heart I am calling because it is important. And I am your wife afterall!
Flav: Yes I know you are-a my wife! Wait-a second darling… Nelsinho keep-a it steady, Fernando is strong-a and you just keep-a it steady. At least you are not-a last. If you finish-a last I will-a get-a some other guy to drive-a my car!!!
Piquet: (Static crackling) What?
Flav: Darling what-a is this-a problem-a that-a you must call me when I work-a?
Wife: There is a big box which has been dropped off at our apartment that says V-I-A-G-R-A on the side in big letters. And my mother is here visiting and…..
Flav: Why-a they deliver on-a Sunday my-a monthly supply. Imbeciles.
Piquet: (Static crackling) What?
Wife: What do you want me to do with the box?
Flav: Put-a it in the hall!
Piquet: (Static crackling) What?
Wife: Are you sure you want it in the hall, my darl....
Piquet: (Static crackling) What?
Flav: I say put-a it in the hall? (Shouting)
Four or five seconds silence followed by a big crash sound followed by scraping. Followed by another several seconds of silence.
Flav: Cara mia I must a-go. (Almost a whisper) We have-a problem-a! (Click)
Frantic indecipherable shouting.
Flav: Nelsinho what-a you do?
Piquet: (Static crackling) You said put it in the wall….
Flav: No stupido I was speaking-a with my wife!!! (Shouting) I say-s to her put-a it in the hall, my Viagra. You are-a stupido, cretino…
Sound of headset being flung and many Italian expletives.
Long pause.
Piquet: (Static crackling) I am sorry.

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 12:12 schreef Tarado het volgende:
Here the Pigate tapes
[..]

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 12:12 schreef Tarado het volgende:
Here the Pigate tapes
[..]

quote:

Ferrari does not expect Felipe Massa to return to the Formula 1 cockpit until the start of the 2010 season following the results of his his medical examination in Miami on Monday.

The Brazilian visited the Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit of the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami for a thorough examination by respected doctor Steve Olvey to asses his chances of recovery.

The prognosis was good, but the team said in a statement that with plastic surgery on Massa's skull due to be undertaken in the next few days, the team was not betting on Massa being ready to race in 2009.

"Obviously, the results of examination has been warmly welcomed in Maranello, in the sense that the team can count on Felipe 100% for the start of next season," said a Ferrari statement.

Massa is expected to have a small plate inserted into his skull at the area where it was damaged by the spring that hit his face during his qualifying crash for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Once that operation has taken place and Massa is fully recovered, he will then be able to resume physical training - having been forced to rest since his August accident.

"I'm very happy with the outcome of the tests," said Massa. "After the small operation I'll undergo in the next few days, I'll finally be able to start doing gym exercise to get back in shape a bit and, after that, I'll be able to start doing some testing on karts.

"On track with an F1 car? Let's go one step at a time: now I'm focused only on starting over with physical activity, which is already a nice step forward."

Ferrari is expected to decide in the next 48 hours who will drive its second car for the remainder of the season, with Luca Badoer having struggled for pace in the two races he has taken part in so far.

Giancarlo Fisichella has emerged as favourite to join the team, but Italian media on Tuesday suggested that Robert Kubica was also a serious possibility.

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 12:34 schreef Tarado het volgende:
Slecht nieuws voor Massa

Ferrari not expecting Massa return in '09

By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, September 1st 2009, 10:15 GMT
[..]

autosport.com

quote:

I posted this on the main site, but thought I'd post it here too.

Apologies in advance for this long post, but I recalled seeing someone saying that this was mentioned in ‘The Official Formula 1 Season Review 2008’ and I was just sorting through some books and thought I’d glance at my copy. I haven’t read through the entire book but coincidentally, the book opened at this page (I swear – scary!!!). This is what was written:

“TALKING POINT WAS ALL AS IT SEEMED
Although nobody wanted to be too outspoken on the record, many teams were deeply suspicious that Fernando Alonso’s victory in Singapore, the first of the year for Renault, had been choreographed, with Nelson Piquet Jr crashing at an opportune moment to trigger the safety-car period that swung the race towards Alonso.

Alonso had been quick from Friday’s first free practice and was deeply unhappy when a fuel-feed problem afflicted him early in Q2, before he’d had a chance to set a time. Starting only 15th on the bumpy Singapore street circuit, where overtaking was doubly difficult, his prospects were not promising. Piquet Jr had not made it out of Q1.

Normally, faced with Alonso’s situation, a team will fuel up and run a long first stint one stopper in an attempt to make up track position on some of the two-stopping cars and those one-stoppers with shorter stints. To go aggressive on strategy will only work on a circuit where overtaking is particularly easy and you have good top-end engine performance. Neither applied to Renault at Singapore’s spectacular Marina Bay circuit and Alonso said they did it because the brakes were running hot all weekend and would not cope with a heavy one-stop fuel load.

Alonso’s first stop, on lap 12 of the 61, was very early. On the next lap, team-mate Piquet Jr, who had already spun on the warm-up lap, received a radio instruction: “Push, Nelson!” At the time, he was going nowhere fast, stuck down in 16th position behind Barrichello’s Honda from the start. Was this a coded instruction? On the very next lap, Piquet Jr gyrated into the wall and brought out the safety car.

Rosberg and Kubica were forced to pit under the safety car, as they would otherwise have run out of fuel, attracting driver-through penalties as a result of this year’s safety-car regulations. It proved that the first scheduled stints by anyone other than Alonso had been to pit on laps 14 and 15. Most teams have a very good handle on when the opposition are going to stop, so Alonso’s lap-12 stop was both as early as it legitimately could be and as late as possible if any ‘plan’ was to work.

“Looking at it from a purely statistical point-of-view,” said a rival team strategist, “on a track like Singapore, stopping on lap 12 is not aggressive, it’s stupid, It’s something that cannot work. Your grandmother wouldn’t do it... Then, it’s true that stopping on lap 12 is the only way to open up a two-lap gap when the safety car will benefit only one car – the one that has stopped. And then, when you create this two-lap window and in it your team-mate crashes... If you add up the probability, you end up with a figure that is very close to zero.”

In light of the above, I’m surprised an investigation wasn’t carried out sooner.

quote:

“Looking at it from a purely statistical point-of-view,” said a rival team strategist, “on a track like Singapore, stopping on lap 12 is not aggressive, it’s stupid, It’s something that cannot work. Your grandmother wouldn’t do it...

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 13:11 schreef Atreidez het volgende:

[..]

Ze hadden toch ook op een SC gegokt. Zelfs als de SC in ronde 4 of 5 naar buiten zou moeten, had Alonso gepit en geen tijdverlies gehad op de rest van het veld, maar wel al de minder gunstige banden uit de weg geruimd. Ik wil niet beweren dat het allemaal niet waar is, maar er zit toch wel meer logica achter de vroege pitstop dan het er zo dik bovenop te leggen als in dat stukje

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 13:18 schreef TeddebBraak het volgende:
vanuit een kansloze positie is het niet zo heel vreemd om een stategie te kiezen om 'out of sequence' te komen. maar alles bij elkaar is het allemaal minstens toevallig te noemen.

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 15:03 schreef nils7 het volgende:
Alonso was heel dat weekend al snel... wie herinnert zich de beelden niet van de qually toen ie prompt uit viel?

quote:

Things are looking good for next year guys and I can't wait to drive again!

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 15:10 schreef Trystar het volgende:

[..]

Klopt, het is gewoon onzin van Piquet.

quote:

Massa to resume physical workouts
^{Sep 01, 2009}

AP - MARANELLO, Italy – Injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa received a positive medical report after visiting a specialist in racing injuries in Miami and – after minor surgery this week – expects to resume physical workouts as he takes his first step on the road back to Formula One.

An accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July nearly cost Massa his life but the Brazilian is hoping to return for the Oct. 18 Brazilian Grand Prix.

On Monday, Massa met with Steve Olvey, a former medical director for CART and a specialist in racing injuries.

Neurological and vision tests came back positive, Ferrari reported on its website Tuesday, adding that Massa can resume physical workouts after minor surgery on his cranium. The procedure will be performed in the next few days followed by a brief recovery period.

"I'm very happy with the outcome of the exams," Massa said. "After the small surgery that I will have done in the next few days I can finally start working out a little in the gym to get back in form, and then I can start some kart training.

"When will I be back on a Formula One track? Let's take one step at a time. Right now I'm just focused on starting physical activity again, which is already a big step forward."

Massa's Ferrari ran into a protective barrier after his helmet was struck by a loose part that broke off Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP car and caused him to lose consciousness. He was hospitalized for nine days in Hungary and placed in an induced coma because of multiple skull fractures.

quote:

South Korean circuit secures funding for 2010 GP

Organisers of the Korean Grand Prix have successfully secured funding for its F1 project as it hopes to host its inaugural race next season. The Korea Auto Valley Operation (KAVO) has secured a total of 198 billion won (¤111m) in loans from nine local financial institutions, representing 46% of the money needed to complete construction and operate the circuit.

Although absent from a provisional draft of next year's calendar circulated last week in Belgium, South Korea is still hopeful of making it onto the calendar in time. The circuit, located 320 km south of capital city Seoul, has been designed by renowned F1 architect Herman Tilke and has been designed to accommodate 135,000 spectators around the 5.45 km layout.

A total of 430 billion won is needed for construction and operational costs, with the remaining 54% coming from KAVO coffers of 60 billion won and provincial government (176 billion won). The circuit holds a seven-year deal with F1 suremo Bernie Ecclestone to host the Korean Grand Prix, and although construction was originally planned for completion last this year, it is not expected to open until July 2010, ten months from now.

“With the contract, we have secured enough funds to accelerate preparations for the country's first F1 race,” KAVO said in the statement.

Should South Korea make it into the 2010 calendar and all current events remain unchanged, F1's calendar will swell to 19 events, the most since the 19-race 2005 season.

quote:

Op dinsdag 1 september 2009 17:17 schreef Slein83 het volgende:

[..]

Waar rook is is vuur, Als er niet "iets" zou zijn qua bewijslast dan zou de FIA het wel zo laten en geen onderzoek instellen

quote:

Op woensdag 2 september 2009 11:56 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
Lol, wat een afgang.. zo'n 3e rangs opvulklasse

quote:

Op woensdag 2 september 2009 13:19 schreef VerrekteZakHooi het volgende:
Jammer dat die teams die volgend jaar met Cosworth rijden allemaal onwijs kansloos zijn . Die motoren leveren wel evenveel vermogen, maar zijn zwaarder en zuipen meer. Dubbele penalty qua gewicht dus en ook een Aero-nadeel (grotere tank = minder stroomlijn en hoger zwaartepunt). Die gaan gewoon kansloos een seconden of 2 a 4 achter de toppers aanrijden

quote:

Op woensdag 2 september 2009 15:08 schreef bodylotion het volgende:

[..]

hoe kom je daar zo bij?

quote:

Op woensdag 2 september 2009 19:38 schreef VerrekteZakHooi het volgende:
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21749.html

quote:

Op woensdag 2 september 2009 19:38 schreef VerrekteZakHooi het volgende:
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21749.html

quote:

Op woensdag 2 september 2009 19:46 schreef bodylotion het volgende:

[..]

Red-Bull en Mercedes-Benz wordt ook genoemd voor volgend jaar. Is me nog niet eerder opgevallen.

Wel grappig trouwens dat Flavio in 2008 riep dat zijn team zo matig presteerde vanwege de motor, en dat Red-Bull nu met dezelfde motor meestrijdt om de titel.

quote:

Op woensdag 2 september 2009 19:42 schreef Googolplexian het volgende:

[..]

Goed artikel ... en kende het nog niet

Belachelijk dat Cosworth geen nieuwe (competatieve) motoren ontwikkelt voor F1'10

quote:

Daniel Audetto, the former Super Aguri managing director now working for Campos Meta 1, wants the FIA to ensure any other new teams that join F1 in 2010 also have to use Cosworth engines. He told Autosport:

With all respect to Cosworth, but if the next team that comes has a Ferrari or Mercedes-Benz engine, then I don’t think that is fair on us. But that is an FIA decision.
Daniel Audetto

Other teams that applied to enter F1 in 2010 have complained the FIA required them to choose its Cosworth engine deal. But there are concerns the units, similar in design to those last used in 2006, will be too heavy and short on power.

Joe Saward puts the likely performance deficit of the Cosworth-engined cars next year at three to four seconds per lap:

It is heavier and less fuel efficient than the current generation of engines and while this can be improved upon in the mid-term, it is not going to happen before the start of the 2010 season. It is reckoned that because there will be no refuelling next year, Cosworth cars will have to carry an additional 18kg of fuel. This will mean that the designers will have to build bigger fuel tanks and this will effect both the weight distribution of the cars and the handling. The result of all this will be that the cars will use their tyres less efficiently than the existing teams. Engineers from rival teams calculate that this will cost the three new Cosworth teams around three to four seconds a lap.

The FIA’s insistence that new teams must use Cosworth engines has already brought complaints from the likes of N.Technology and Stefan Grand Prix.

In an attempt to give the Cosworth teams similar performance to their rivals the FIA urged for rules allowing the Cosworth-powered outfits to use a higher rev limit (20,000rpm instead of 18,000rpm). But the existing teams opposed the move. A similar dispensation had been used in the past – in 2006, when F1 moved from V10 to V8 engines, Toro Rosso were allowed to use a V10 Cosworth with a lower rev limit.

You have to question the wisdom of the FIA preventing the new teams from using manufacturer-sourced engines in the first place, particularly when some of these manufacturers, such as Mercedes, are interested in expanding their F1 engine production to make it more cost-effective.

An FIA-backed cheap engine supply deal for new teams is no bad thing – but mandatory, uncompetitive power plants is not an attractive proposition.

In this context it’s interesting to learn that Williams is planning for life without Toyota next year. The team last used Cosworths in 2006 and has toed the FIA line very closely this year – it was first to break ranks with FOTA and the only team to vote in favour of keeping KERS in 2010 (despite not having used the devices this year). If they considered Cosworth a viable option, you’d expect them to be first to jump ship.

The FIA-FOTA row earlier this year centred on avoiding the spectre of a ‘two-tier’ formula with some teams running to stricter technical rules than others. Having at least three teams running much older and weaker engines than their rivals would simply be another kind of ‘two-tier’ formula.

And it would hardly be fitting for the historic name of Cosworth, with more Grand Prix wins (176) than any engine constructor bar Ferrari (210), to be exclusively supplying the slowest teams in F1 next year.

quote:

“Looking at it from a purely statistical point-of-view,” said a rival team strategist, “on a track like Singapore, stopping on lap 12 is not aggressive, it’s stupid, It’s something that cannot work. Your grandmother wouldn’t do it...

quote:

Op woensdag 2 september 2009 08:04 schreef kepler het volgende:

[..]

Misschien is het wel helemaal niet Piquet Maar een andere snitch

quote:

Op woensdag 2 september 2009 22:33 schreef Tarado het volgende:

[..]

Inderdaad maar daarom had Max de Cosworth teams ook meer revs beloofd 20.000 ipv 18.000

Row brewing over Cosworth engines

27 August 2009 by Keith Collantine
[..]

http://www.f1fanatic.co.u(...)er-cosworth-engines/

quote:

Op woensdag 2 september 2009 19:42 schreef Googolplexian het volgende:

[..]

Goed artikel ... en kende het nog niet

Belachelijk dat Cosworth geen nieuwe (competatieve) motoren ontwikkelt voor F1'10