isaidno Posted 5 May 2009 Posted 5 May 2009 Donington Park has until the end of June to satisfy planners over proposed upgrades to the circuit to enable it to stage the 2010 British Grand Prix. Councillors handed leaseholder Simon Gillett a month's extension to clarify his plans for developing the track. Gillett's company Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd also faces legal action over unpaid rent to the track owners. But Gillett told BBC Sport: "We are 110% committed to making this happen and 100% confident that it will." He added: "We have our little trials and tribulations but we are still confident the Grand Prix is coming to Donington next year. North West Leicestershire District Council gave Gillett's plans the green light in January but has now made it clear that unless certain crucial agreements are signed by 30 June then the planning permission regarding the planned £100m redevelopment will be revoked. Before the development can get the go-ahead, Gillett needs the signature of circuit owner Tom Wheatcroft, and the leaseholder is optimistic that their dispute will be resolved in the coming weeks. It emerged last month that Wheatcroft is seeking £2.47m in rent arrears from DVLL, who secured the 150-year lease in 2007, as well as forfeiture of the lease. "We will be in a position to be able to sort that out very soon," said Gillett, who conceded the Donington development had been slowed by the global economic downturn. "We are in in-depth meetings to button down the finances and you should see a resolution on this situation soon." Donington Park secured a 10-year contract to host the British GP at the expense of current hosts Silverstone and is due to stage its first Formula 1 Grand Prix since 1993 in July next year. Silverstone, which is owned by the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), stalled over signing a new deal and F1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone was impressed by Gillett's plans to redevelop Donington. However, Gillett's redevelopment has been delayed by a series of "trials and tribulations". Firstly, the Motor Sports Association refused to grant the track a safety certificate which led to a cancellation of a number of events. The debenture scheme to raise private investment was also due to launch at the end of March but has failed to get off the ground. The legal dispute with the track owners, the council's concerns and the BRDC's insistence the race should return to Silverstone have added to Gillett's headaches. I'm still working to the mantra that it's Donington or the Grand Prix goes outside of the UK Despite the delays, Gillett is optimistic he can meet his self-imposed deadline of 1 April 2010 to revamp the track. "We have a nine-month construction programme and that has never changed," said Gillett. "We have always known we could construct everything we have to in nine months but we have the construction in hand. "We need to be in a position to roll everything out by July 2009 but we are not panicking yet." Gillett is determined to get Donington ready in time to ensure the British race, one of the sport's oldest Grands Prix, remains on the F1 calendar. "I'm still working to the mantra that it's Donington or the Grand Prix goes outside of the UK," he said. "We are here to try and save the British Grand Prix not to jeopardise it. "At the moment the British Grand Prix doesn't have a home, we have stepped in and given it a lifeboat. "Without the Donington circuit being available it would have gone already - we are here to make sure it stays here."
hairy Posted 8 May 2009 Posted 8 May 2009 Should be a good weekend with amendments being made to defusers by most if not all teams. We will see what Button can really do in the next few races. See if he can win the championship. I liked Alonso's quotes to Hamilton yesterday about the 'lie-gate' or whatever it is they are calling it at the moment. Very mature and hopefully a sign that they have patched things up.
General Smuts Posted 8 May 2009 Posted 8 May 2009 Should be a good weekend with amendments being made to defusers by most if not all teams. We will see what Button can really do in the next few races. See if he can win the championship.I liked Alonso's quotes to Hamilton yesterday about the 'lie-gate' or whatever it is they are calling it at the moment. Very mature and hopefully a sign that they have patched things up. What was the quote?
hairy Posted 8 May 2009 Posted 8 May 2009 What was the quote? He is a great champion and should just keep winning," said the Spaniard. "Lewis has always been a great driver. He fought for the world championship in his first season in Formula One, and won it in the second season. "So to help his reputation that is damaged now, that is very easy - just keep winning. He will make people, his supporters, happy. Should be a good race if Friday is anything to go by with under 2 seconds seperating all 20 drivers
General Smuts Posted 8 May 2009 Posted 8 May 2009 Should be a good race if Friday is anything to go by with under 2 seconds seperating all 20 drivers That's not good, Fernando's supposed to be a dickwad. What's he being nice for? Must be an evil plan.
isaidno Posted 8 May 2009 Posted 8 May 2009 This is my least favorite race of the year, hardly any overtaking at this circuit. no-one has won from outside the front row since 1996.
dandannieldanok Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 Ferrari are just plain stupid at times, Raikkonen clearly should not have been out after Q1, way too complacent.
Asha Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 'We thought we were safe'? That's twice that mistake has been made now. Absolute shambles.
Asha Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 Im loving Ferrari's arrogance I wouldn't say it's arrogance so much. There's obviously an advantage to not going out again...saving the tyres for example. But with the field so competitive they really can't afford to take the chance, none of them can.
Asha Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 Car's definately looking better though with the upgrades. Gewon Felipe, stick it in the top 5.
Asha Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 Happy with that. Great qualifying. Need to start making the podiums.
StanSP Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 Happy with that. Great qualifying. Need to start making the podiums. What happened with Raikkonen ??
Hitesh Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 'We thought we were safe'?That's twice that mistake has been made now. Absolute shambles. Its amazing how they can make the same mistake twice! They had a good setup to both do well in Q3 and Massa showed this - would have helped with Kimi on the 3rd row at least! His weekend is pretty much over now, just hope Felipe can do the business tomorrow and maybe get a podium!
Hitesh Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 What happened with Raikkonen ?? Ferrari underestimated the other teams and thought that he would qualify though P1 fine but instead he dropped out as his time wasn't quick enough. SImilar to what happened to Massa earlier in the season!
Asha Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 Its amazing how they can make the same mistake twice! They had a good setup to both do well in Q3 and Massa showed this - would have helped with Kimi on the 3rd row at least! His weekend is pretty much over now, just hope Felipe can do the business tomorrow and maybe get a podium! Do you like Ferrari then? The car looks a lot better. Was a 1-2 in practice, and I'd like to think Massa was quite heavy on fuel as well, and then with the KERS advantage off the start he can have a real go tomorrow. Think the Brawns and Red Bulls will be too strong though. Progress, at least. Could do without the silly errors though.
Brainy Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 "My lap wasn't that great but we thought we were safe" Very rarely in modern F1 can you get away with setting a scruffy lap without punishment.
isaidno Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 Great lap by Button but what a balls up by Ferrari again . I'm guessing Button has less fuel than the other front runners.
isaidno Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 Pre-race weights & provisional grid For the 2009 season, the FIA are making public the weights of all cars ahead of the race start to help give an idea of relative fuel loads. The cars that made Q3 are weighed after qualifying, while the weights of the remaining cars must be declared by their teams shortly after the session.Below is the provisional grid for Spain with each car's weight. 1. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 646kg 2. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 651.5 3. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, 649.5 4. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 655 5. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 651.5 6. Timo Glock, Toyota, 646.5 7. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 655.5 8. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 645 9. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 668 10. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 660 11. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 676.6 12. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 677.4 13. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 676.3 14. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 683 15. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 678 16. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 673 17. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 669 18. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 657 19. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 675 20. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 656 What a lap by Massa, had the heaviest fuel load out of the leaders. He has KERS at the start aswell.
Brainy Posted 9 May 2009 Posted 9 May 2009 Depends if he knows how to use KERS wisely though. The heavy weight + poorer car + starting on dirty side of track doesn't really favour him, but he should make atleast one place.
Asha Posted 10 May 2009 Posted 10 May 2009 Massa's in good shape for the race. Badly needs a good result today and hopefully Raikkonen can get in the points as well.
AjcW Posted 10 May 2009 Posted 10 May 2009 I just watched the "On board with the pole sitter" feature on bbc.... Button is such a technically sound driver, it made me remember a conversation I had with a fellow f1 fan were I told him how I refuse to support lewis hamilton as he is in my opinion "All about the car" were-as button is good enough to make an average car great.
dandannieldanok Posted 10 May 2009 Posted 10 May 2009 I just watched the "On board with the pole sitter" feature on bbc.... Button is such a technically sound driver, it made me remember a conversation I had with a fellow f1 fan were I told him how I refuse to support lewis hamilton as he is in my opinion "All about the car" were-as button is good enough to make an average car great. To be honest it looked a bit of a ragged lap until the last sector where he just drove sublimely. I've always preferred Button to Hamilton, no emphatic reason just probably the fact that Button has been in it longer and has had to tough it out more at the back of the grid. Both are undeniably great drivers. As for today, I think Button could well be usurped by Vettel. For once Button will be pitting earlier than his main rival(s) and won't have that window of opportunity that he has had previously. I'd be very surprised if he didn't finish at least top 2 though. Come on Jenson!
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