Brainy Posted 24 September 2007 Posted 24 September 2007 A bit late but an interesting read: Montoya 'feels sorry' for Alonso Ron Dennis wants to control everything, and Fernando did not like that Juan Pablo Montoya Former McLaren star Juan Pablo Montoya has said he feels sympathy for world champion Fernando Alonso's situation at the team this season. Montoya believes Dennis is favouring Lewis Hamilton over Alonso and said he was shocked when he and his wife heard they were going to be team-mates. "We immediately felt sorry for Fernando because Lewis is Ron's baby," he said. "Ron paid for his whole career, so Ron wants him to win and not Fernando. Lewis is like his own child." Montoya added: "Fernando is nothing to him. I think Fernando is angry. He thought he was going to come in and be number one, and he's not." Montoya spent six seasons in Formula One, including a season and a half at McLaren in 2005/06, before splitting acrimoniously from the team and moving to the US Nascar series. Alonso and Hamilton are in their first season together at McLaren. Montoya said: "Fernando is a nice guy, but he was the number one at Renault and he was used to winning and getting everything. "Ron, outside the work environment, is a great guy but he's two different guys. 606: DEBATE Give your reaction to Montoya's views on Alonso and Dennis "The guy who I signed with and played golf with, he just didn't exist in the office. He was just a different person, you wouldn't even recognise him. "He wants to control everything, and Fernando is not used to someone controlling everything and did not like that." Montoya said he was not surprised how the spy scandal that has rocked the sport developed over the season. McLaren were fined £49.2 million and expelled from the constructors championship after being found in possession of a 780-page dossier packed with Ferrari's technical secrets. Montoya said: "It's just how Formula One is. Teams are allowed to bend the rules too much. "I always felt like people bent the rules and that some teams were allowed to bend the rules more than others. But this? This is crossing the line." It was later revealed through e-mail and text message exchanges that Alonso and test driver Pedro de la Rosa had intimate knowledge of the Ferrari set-ups. Dennis said the scandal had developed when Alonso threatened to divulge compromising information to FIA after a team dispute at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Wycombe Fox Posted 25 September 2007 Posted 25 September 2007 I don't know if anyone's interested or not but the full report of the McLaren hearing can be found at the following link - all 115 pages of it! http://www.agilehands.com/files/FIA20070913.pdf I found it quite interesting.
isaidno Posted 25 September 2007 Posted 25 September 2007 lots of rumours going around that Massa's going to Toyota at the end of the season. I very much doubt it.
Brainy Posted 25 September 2007 Posted 25 September 2007 Only if Toyota make a bigger step-up than BMW have this season.
Floating Fox Posted 25 September 2007 Posted 25 September 2007 Only if Toyota make a bigger step-up than BMW have this season. They've got the money...
billabob Posted 25 September 2007 Posted 25 September 2007 lots of rumours going around that Massa's going to Toyota at the end of the season. I very much doubt it. There are loads of rumous about massa though! so far iv heard that alonso is going to buy himself out of his contract and if not then ferrari will pay and take him (thus paying mclarens fine for them!) and massa then leaves for toyota or williams. if alonso and ferrari decide this is a no-no then mclaren could send him to there soon to be sister team pro-drive and then take on either button (unlikely though so dont get to excited!) or nico rosberg although they will have to buy him out of his contract with williams thus leaving the space for massa. Mclaren will then make ron dennis's love child with anthony the undisputed number one so they dont go all tough this again! i think we can agree though, alonso wont be at mclaren next year!
isaidno Posted 27 September 2007 Posted 27 September 2007 Wet race at Fuji Rain is Forecast, the race starts at 5.30 am
isaidno Posted 27 September 2007 Posted 27 September 2007 Fernando Alonso has again played down the chances of him leaving McLaren at the end of the season.The revelations at the World Motor Sport Council hearing - where team boss Ron Dennis admitted that he was no longer on speaking terms with the world champion - increased speculation that the tense Alonso-McLaren relationship could not continue into 2008. But at Fuji today Alonso insisted that he was going nowhere and was perfectly content. "For next year I have a contract with this team and I don't see any problem on that," he was quoted as saying by Reuters. "I have been working with the engineers, with the mechanics, with everybody from the beginning of the season, until now with the same relationship. "They are all very professional, very focused on doing the best we can and we are achieving good results. "I won four races, I make some good podiums and I am fighting for the world championship so everything is going quite well for me and I am happy." Although Alonso had primarily been linked with a return to Renault, there had also been some speculation that he could replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari. But both Ferrari drivers dismissed this possibility in their media briefings in Japan, with Kimi Raikkonen saying the Alonso-to-Ferrari rumours were "just talk". "It would interesting to race him in the same car," Raikkonen said. "But I don't think it is going to happen."
isaidno Posted 28 September 2007 Posted 28 September 2007 Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time as McLaren dominated Friday afternoon practice at Fuji. McLaren were only briefly headed during the session when the two Renaults vaulted up to first and second after 15 minutes, beating Hamilton and Fernando Alonso's initial times by a few fractions. While Giancarlo Fisichella used the softer tyres for his 1:19.926 lap, teammate Heikki Kovalainen was running the hard compound when he outpaced the Italian by 0.030 seconds a few moments later. Within seven minutes the McLarens had reclaimed the leading positions, with Hamilton lapping in 1:19.198 and then improving to 1:18.734 shortly afterwards. Alonso remained slightly slower than his teammate on both runs, finishing the session on a 1:18.948. The session saw significantly more activity than morning practice had, with even the front-runners taking to the track immediately and most completing longer than usual runs as they evaluated tyre performance on the unfamiliar track. This meant that the majority of quick times were set early on before the field focused on race preparations. Ferrari were not quite on McLaren's pace during this session, and both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen ran wide across the run-off areas on several occasions - Massa leaving the road twice on one lap. He took third, 0.749 seconds behind Hamilton and 0.231 seconds ahead of Raikkonen. They were split by Jarno Trulli, who put in a headline-grabbing performance for circuit owners Toyota to end the day in fourth place. The Renaults were edged back to sixth and seventh, ahead of David Coulthard and Trulli's teammate Ralf Schumacher, who had a half-spin at Turn 10. BMW's Robert Kubica completed the top ten. After his impressive morning performance, Spyker's Adrian Sutil starred again early on, holding seventh for the first half of the session. He was eventually edged back to 16th. His teammate Sakon Yamamoto had a bizarre incident after 15 minutes when he had a spin in the final complex and was clipped by Rubens Barrichello's Honda as he tried to rejoin. It appeared that the Spyker had escaped damage, but its front wing then fell off as it arrived in its pit box. Barrichello continued after the incident but struggled for speed all afternoon, remaining at the very bottom of the times until improving to 17th in the closing seconds. Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:18.734 38 2. Alonso McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:18.948 + 0.214 34 3. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:19.483 + 0.749 36 4. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:19.711 + 0.977 35 5. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:19.714 + 0.980 29 6. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:19.789 + 1.055 40 7. Fisichella Renault (B) 1:19.926 + 1.192 39 8. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:19.949 + 1.215 33 9. R.Schumacher Toyota (B) 1:19.969 + 1.235 40 10. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) 1:20.069 + 1.335 45 11. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:20.069 + 1.335 35 12. Wurz Williams-Toyota (B) 1:20.233 + 1.499 37 13. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:20.270 + 1.536 43 14. Button Honda (B) 1:20.336 + 1.602 44 15. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) 1:20.462 + 1.728 36 16. Sutil Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:20.736 + 2.002 37 17. Barrichello Honda (B) 1:20.889 + 2.155 33 18. Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:20.985 + 2.251 44 19. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:20.997 + 2.263 38 20. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:21.007 + 2.273 34 21. Yamamoto Spyker-Ferrari (B) 1:21.305 + 2.571 38 22. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:21.352 + 2.618 34
Wycombe Fox Posted 28 September 2007 Posted 28 September 2007 I don't know if anyone's interested or not but the full report of the McLaren hearing can be found at the following link - all 115 pages of it!http://www.agilehands.com/files/FIA20070913.pdf I found it quite interesting. The above report has had certain words/phrases blacked out for confidentiality reasons but if you copy then paste the blacked out bits into Notepad you can read it all! Well done FIA
Brainy Posted 28 September 2007 Posted 28 September 2007 I think the calendar is also in this thread but: The new time slot means the Melbourne race will start at 4.30am in the UK rather than the usual 3am. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2008 Formula One calendar: March 16 Australia (Melbourne) March 23 Malaysia (Sepang) April 6 Bahrain (Sakhir) April 27 Spain (Barcelona) May 11 Turkey (Istanbul) May 25 Monaco June 8 Canada* June 22 France July 6 Britain (Silverstone) July 20 Germany (Hockenheim) Aug 3 Hungary (Hungaroring) Aug 24 Europe (Valencia)** Sep 7 Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps) Sep 14 Italy (Monza) Sep 28 Singapore** Oct 12 Japan (Fuji) Oct 19 China (Shanghai) Nov 2 Brazil (Interlagos) *Provisional **subject to circuit approval On the site (BBC), it says the race at Melbourne has changed start time to make it earier for Europeans to watch the race. How does it!?!? Id rather stay up late than wake up early. Which is why im unhappy about tomorrow, Sunday, and next weekend. I'll still be watching though.
Brainy Posted 29 September 2007 Posted 29 September 2007 That was worth it. Vettel :w00t: Button :w00t:
Floating Fox Posted 29 September 2007 Posted 29 September 2007 5am. Thats commitment you barrstards. Knackered now, been back to bed as well :laugh:
Brainy Posted 30 September 2007 Posted 30 September 2007 Sep.30 (GMM) Mark Webber slammed his rookie Red Bull stablemate Sebastian Vettel on Sunday after getting punted out of a career-best finish at Fuji. The Australian, who was running high in the order in the treacherous conditions despite reports of food poisoning and vomiting in his helmet, was knocked out of the race by Toro Rosso's Vettel while the safety car circulated. Talking live to the British broadcaster ITV, Red Bull driver Webber slammed the German 20-year-old - hailed in the paddock on Saturday night for an impressive performance in qualifying - as a "kid". "It's kids isn't it?" Webber said, amid whispers that Vettel's separate earlier collision with Fernando Alonso may have contributed to the Spaniard's almost certainly title-ending spin and high speed crash. Webber, adding that he noticed Vettel being "a bit wild" in his mirrors, continued: "They have not got enough experience ?- they do a good job and then they f-ck it all up. "He did a very good job of hitting me very hard." Bloody harsh.
Geo V Posted 30 September 2007 Posted 30 September 2007 Well Done to Hamilton who was full of hatred for Alonso in the pre-match chitchat . Great win in awful conditions. :worship:
The Stig Posted 30 September 2007 Posted 30 September 2007 Great win for Lewis in allmost impossible condtions.
Brainy Posted 30 September 2007 Posted 30 September 2007 Sutil handed point as Liuzzi is penalised. Hamilton is also being investigated for "unacceptable behaviour" under the safety car. And something else. Causing the Vettel Webber incident
isaidno Posted 30 September 2007 Posted 30 September 2007 Well worth getting up at 5.20 am for. Felt sorry for Webber, he was catching Hamilton when the safety car came out and then Vettel crashes into him.
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