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

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

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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 ...

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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.

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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....

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

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

pirulito lollipop GP 2008 Felipe Massa Ferrari Singapore

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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.

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

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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
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autosport.com

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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.

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“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...

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

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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

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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.

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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?

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

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

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Klopt, het is gewoon onzin van Piquet.

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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.

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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.

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

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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

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

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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

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

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hoe kom je daar zo bij?

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

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

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

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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.

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

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Goed artikel ... en kende het nog niet

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

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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.

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“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...

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

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Misschien is het wel helemaal niet Piquet Maar een andere snitch

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

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

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

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Goed artikel ... en kende het nog niet

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