lildave3 Posted 26 August 2007 Posted 26 August 2007 Think I jinxed itWhat a bore-fest Only point of interest was a puncture State of the racing at the minute What was the commentator on about? 'He's still got about a mile to go before the pit lane....oh no wait, he's there.'
Brainy Posted 26 August 2007 Posted 26 August 2007 Think I jinxed itWhat a bore-fest Only point of interest was a puncture State of the racing at the minute 1 retirement too. Not sure ill bother with the highlights tonight. The qualifying sessions are more exciting than the races these days.
Milky Posted 26 August 2007 Posted 26 August 2007 Worst race of the season really. Suppose looking on the brightside it's now very much a 4 horse race.
Gené and Tonic Posted 28 August 2007 Author Posted 28 August 2007 Monza chicane modified at GPDA request By Jonathan Noble Monday, August 27th 2007, 18:43 GMT Formula One drivers have won their battle for safety modifications at Monza's second chicane, just a fortnight ahead of this year's Italian Grand Prix, autosport.com can reveal. The Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) issued a statement immediately after the 2006 race stating they were unhappy that their calls for safety improvements at the high-speed track had been ignored despite a seven-year campaign. Matters reached a head when circuit representatives failed to attend a meeting with the drivers at the track to discuss the situation. In the GPDA statement issued after the race, the drivers called for the track owners to at the very least replace the gravel trap at the second chicane with an asphalt run-off area. Discussions to find a solution that would appease the drivers' concerns have been ongoing since then, and the GPDA has now been officially told of improvements that will be made at the corner. Although the drivers' ultimate hopes of a reprofiling of the chicane to make it a right, left flick, have not been realised, track owners have agreed to replace the gravel trap with an asphalt run-off area. Jarno Trulli, who has played a key role in the Monza discussions, confirmed to autosport.com that the drivers have been informed of changes to the track. "I spoke with the Monza director at the weekend, and at the second chicane the gravel trap has been resurfaced, so it will be asphalt," he said. "Already, that is a good step ahead." Several drivers have welcomed the change, which they hope will allow cars to scrub off more speed if they spin off at the corner. "Anything that improves safety has got to be a good thing," David Coulthard told autosport.com. "It is a fact that tarmac slows the car down quicker than gravel. The old theory of digging into gravel is fine, but what happens with these flat bottom cars is that they bounce over the gravel." Despite backing the change, however, Coulthard believes that the GPDA should continue to campaign for changes to the corner - either by eventually reprofiling it or replacing the high kerbs. "The asphalt is a step in the right direction, but they may need to do something else. Even if there were different kerbs. "What is the problem with running over a flat kerb if you know you get a penalty if you go too far? Having those (high) kerbs, I think they can damage your suspension. You can go through the two Lesmos and not know about it until you run down to Ascari at 200mph." The Monza track owners have had difficulty trying to make major changes to the track layout, however, because the trees near the corner are protected by law as part of Monza's park, so cannot be cut down. Alex Wurz added: "The asphalt is an improvement if that is the case, but it needs something else to be honest. It is a cool chicane, I like it to drive, but the way you drive it with these cars is too aggressive. You are always asking for it to damage material and then you are asking for a high-speed crash. "I think they have to come up with a better solution at one point. We know they have problems with the trees, so it is not easy, but it would be good if we could find a compromise." It is believed that the drivers will inspect the changes during this week's pre-Italian Grand Prix test at Monza, which starts on Tuesday. Coulthard is an idiot. The high kerbs are there for a reason, don't cut the track if you don't want to damage your suspension. Every track should go back to high kerbs, drivers just didn't cut the corners when they were there
Gené and Tonic Posted 31 August 2007 Author Posted 31 August 2007 Not F1 but.. MotoGP to hold first night race in Qatar By Jonathan Noble Friday, August 31st 2007, 12:45 GMT MotoGP will beat Formula One to the accolade of holding a first world championship night race after announcing plans for an evening event in Qatar next year. While F1 still considers holding night races in Malaysia and Singapore, MotoGP bosses have signed a deal with Qatar for the opening event on next year's season, on March 9, to take place in darkness. At a press conference in Misano on Friday, MotoGP commercial chief Carmela Ezpeleta from organisers Dorna said: "It's a great day for us. Maybe three or four years ago we started to talk about the possibility of using the circuit in Qatar in the night. "We did some tests during the 2006 Grand Prix, and the Qatar people continued working on this matter. I think if everything goes well, Qatar will be the first world championship race in the night. It's a fantastic possibility for us to do it." The lighting for the Qatar race is being presided over by American sports lighting company Musco Lighting, who conducted an F1 night test event at Indianapolis ahead of this year's United States Grand Prix. Musco president Joe Crookham, who believes that the Qatar race will be the biggest ever sports lighting event, said: "We very much appreciate the opportunity to take on this challenge. We've been in the motor sports lighting business for 25 years, but this is going to be a new challenge for us. "Safety will of course be the first priority. We will be spending time understanding the riders' needs. We're doing testing to understand that. "We are quite confident that this can be done in a manner that the riders, television and spectators will all be able to enjoy. It's going to be a quick project. There is not a lot of time left to get all this done. The first products have already been shipped from the United States and tests will be going on between now and March." Night tests at the Qatar track are due to be conducted throughout this autumn while the entire lighting setup will be completed by February 15. Ezpeleta said that it was not decided yet whether all three classes of MotoGP will race at night, but he did make it clear that the practice sessions will also take place under the lights throughout the weekend. With the Qatar event having agreed to race at night, there is also the possibility of the Malaysian event switching to an evening schedule as well. Ezpeleta said: "We have some ideas and they are developing the project but we don't know exactly what will happen." Also got some awesome team radio from JPM: Really funny Bit angry
Gené and Tonic Posted 1 September 2007 Author Posted 1 September 2007 Pedro de la Rosa topped the times on the final day of rain-hit testing at Monza on Friday, but his margin over Ferrari's Felipe Massa shows there is little separating the world championship rivals.Nine teams stayed on for an extra day of running following Thursday's wet weather, but conditions were not much better in the morning. Overnight rain showers left the Monza track soaked early on and most teams stayed in their garages while the circuit dried out. With the sun breaking through the teams took an early lunch break to maximise their running in the afternoon - a decision that proved well founded when the conditions turned out sunny and hot. McLaren and Ferrari, who are locked in a tight battle for the world championship, did plenty of long runs to prepare for the race, before trying out some shorter evaluations later in the day. In the end de la Rosa's best effort of one minute 23.285 seconds was just four thousandths of a second faster than Felipe Massa. Robert Kubica maintained BMW Sauber's position as best of the rest with the third quickest time, while Nico Rosberg was fourth quickest before an engine failure at the end of the day brought an early end to his running. Jenson Button showed some more encouraging form for Honda Racing to set the fifth quickest time, ahead of Vitantonio Liuzzi who brought a red flag out at 5.20pm when he stopped on the track. Ralf Schumacher was the other driver who brought a red flag out at 4.10pm, when he stopped on track as a precaution following a warning signal from his car. Today's times: Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:23.285 55 2. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:23.289 67 3. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:23.575 68 4. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:23.962 94 5. Button Honda (B) 1:24.537 61 6. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:24.760 79 7. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:24.837 39 8. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:25.185 69 9. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:25.416 104 All timing unofficial
Gené and Tonic Posted 3 September 2007 Author Posted 3 September 2007 Indian tycoon set for Spyker deal Mallya is one of India's most successful businessmen Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya has emerged as the potential new owner of the struggling Spyker Formula One team. He and Michiel Mol, Spyker's director of F1, have had a £50m bid accepted by Dutch owners Spyker Cars NV. "I have been dreaming about owning a Formula One team. I was looking at the right opportunity to show up at the right time," said Mallya. "2008 will be the starting point for a gradual improvement. No miracles are going to be produced." Mallya is chairman and controlling shareholder of the UB Group, which has beer, spirits and airlines operations in India. With him in charge, it could mean an Indian driver in F1 next season, potentially Narain Karthikeyan, who is currently a test driver for Williams. It is also likely the team will race under a different name in 2008, although Mallya was unable to confirm driver or team name possibilities. "It would give me immense pleasure to see an Indian drive an Indian F1 car, but we have to consult with the team principal and chief technical officer," he said. "As of today I won't be able to commit whether Spyker Ferrari will continue to maintain the same name or not next season. "What name the new team will race under is subject to approval of other teams and the F1 management. "But the deal is good for F1. It's good for India and for F1's management because viewership (in India) is going to shoot up now." Think this was the bloke trying to organise an Indian GP
Floating Fox Posted 3 September 2007 Posted 3 September 2007 Think this was the bloke trying to organise an Indian GP Great News.
isaidno Posted 6 September 2007 Posted 6 September 2007 Formula 1's on-going spy scandal has taken a sensational new twist after the FIA announced on Wednesday that it is to re-open the investigation into a breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting code by the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.The world championship leaders were found guilty at the previous hearing of possessing confidential information belonging to Ferrari, but were not punished because the FIA had insufficient evidence to prove that the team had acted upon it in any way. However the case, which was set for appeal on September 13, has now been referred back to the World Motor Sport Council after the FIA announced it had received new evidence on the matter. For the record, FIA president Max Mosley's application for appeal has been withdrawn. The sport's governing body warned in its previous verdict on the matter on July 26 that should new evidence come to light linking McLaren to the actions of the two individuals at the centre of the scandal - former Ferrari employee Nigel Stepney and McLaren's suspended technical director Mike Coughlan - then the team could face severe sanctions. The nature of the evidence, and it's origin, remains unclear, but should McLaren be found guilty in the second hearing, then it could face a lengthy period of disqualification. “If it is found in the future that the Ferrari information has been used to the detriment of the championship, we reserve the right to invite Vodafone McLaren Mercedes back in front of the WMSC where it will face the possibility of exclusion from not only the 2007 championship but also the 2008 championship," read the statement at the time. Both Coughlin and Stepney were also invited by the FIA, in the first hearing, to give reason why they should not be banned from internation motor sport for a lenghty period. This latest news comes just days before the Italian Grand Prix and will undoubtedly put McLaren under further public scrutiny in a season where the team has been beset by controversy on and off the track.
isaidno Posted 7 September 2007 Posted 7 September 2007 first practice monza Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps 1 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:22.446 20 2 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:22.590 0.144 17 3 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.618 0.172 18 4 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.840 0.394 12 5 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:23.472 1.026 21 6 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:23.668 1.222 21 7 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:23.671 1.225 22 8 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:23.703 1.257 22 9 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:23.886 1.440 17 10 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:23.965 1.519 29 11 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:24.076 1.630 21 12 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:24.564 2.118 19 13 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:24.587 2.141 15 14 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:24.595 2.149 22 15 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:24.660 2.214 20 16 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:24.689 2.243 29 17 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:24.694 2.248 17 18 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:24.810 2.364 19 19 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:25.130 2.684 24 20 19 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 1:25.439 2.993 25 21 21 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari 1:25.448 3.002 25 22 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:25.762 3.316 25
Wycombe Fox Posted 7 September 2007 Posted 7 September 2007 Friday 2nd Practice now live on TVU Wheels.
Wycombe Fox Posted 7 September 2007 Posted 7 September 2007 Doesn't look too good for McLaren http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/62097 I wonder who tipped off the FIA about the e-mail exchange
isaidno Posted 7 September 2007 Posted 7 September 2007 Italian Grand Prix free practice session two times 1. ALONSO Mclaren 1m22.386s 2. HAMILTON McLaren 1m23.209s 3. FISICHELLA Renault 1m23.584s 4. KUBICA BMW 1m23.599s 5. ROSBERG Williams 1m23.679s 6. MASSA Ferrari 1m23.722s 7. HEIDFELD BMW 1m23.821s 8. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m23.833s 9. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m23.848s 10. WURZ Williams 1m23.881s 11. TRULLI Toyota 1m23.919s 12. R SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m23.922s 13. BUTTON Honda 1m24.137s 14. WEBBER Red Bull 1m24.328s 15. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m24.462s 16. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m24.605s 17. SATO Super Aguri 1m25.328s 18. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m25.459s 19. SUTIL Spyker 1m25.531s 20. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m25.567s 21. YAMAMOTO Spyker 1m25.863s 22. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1m26.021s
Floating Fox Posted 7 September 2007 Posted 7 September 2007 Great to see Williams doing half decent again.
Brainy Posted 7 September 2007 Posted 7 September 2007 first practice monzaPos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps 1 6 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:22.446 20 2 5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:22.590 0.144 17 3 2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.618 0.172 18 4 1 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.840 0.394 12 5 16 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:23.472 1.026 21 6 7 Jenson Button Honda 1:23.668 1.222 21 7 3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:23.671 1.225 22 8 10 Robert Kubica BMW 1:23.703 1.257 22 9 9 Nick Heidfeld BMW 1:23.886 1.440 17 10 12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:23.965 1.519 29 11 4 Heikki Kovalainen Renault 1:24.076 1.630 21 12 8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:24.564 2.118 19 13 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:24.587 2.141 15 14 15 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:24.595 2.149 22 15 11 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:24.660 2.214 20 16 17 Alexander Wurz Williams-Toyota 1:24.689 2.243 29 17 23 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:24.694 2.248 17 18 14 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:24.810 2.364 19 19 20 Adrian Sutil Spyker-Ferrari 1:25.130 2.684 24 20 19 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 1:25.439 2.993 25 21 21 Sakon Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari 1:25.448 3.002 25 22 18 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Ferrari 1:25.762 3.316 25 Fluke, right?
isaidno Posted 7 September 2007 Posted 7 September 2007 My prediction for the race 1st: Raikkonen 2nd: Hamilton 3rd: Heidfeld I've got a feeling there will be a crash at the start
Gené and Tonic Posted 8 September 2007 Author Posted 8 September 2007 raikkonen's crashed in this mornings practise apparently
Brainy Posted 8 September 2007 Posted 8 September 2007 Then again, if it's serious - There's a few pictures on the F1 Site, looks similar to Hamilton's in the Nurburging. One picture looks horrific.
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