1302 replies to this topic

[Nacho]

nice repost bro


so the music is about to stop and it looks like kimi might end up without a chair


ham/butt at macca and berg/beard at merc

I for one am all for this development, mostly the bearded part

now for Koba to get a drive...

Button could end up out as well, should McLaren go with Kimi and Brawn/Mercedes go with Nico/Nick.

[DrDickAction]

Button could end up out as well, should McLaren go with Kimi and Brawn/Mercedes go with Nico/Nick.

Man, those "off to arrow" jokes are turning true.

[DrDickAction]

has any one else heard the rumours that Mercedes wants to have a super German Team? They have link Heidfeld and Rosberg as the 2 drivers for Brawn, which will be re-badged something along the lines of the Silver Arrows.....


IB







Sorry if this offends anyone here....

fuck,

[More&Faster]

The legendary Silver Arrows works Mercedes Benz F1 team will return to Formula 1 racing next year for the first time in 55 years.

Picture 26
Mercedes Benz is buying 75.1% of the Brawn team. Mercedes CEO Dr Dieter Zetsche and Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug announced this morning that the team will be rebranded as the Mercedes team from next season onwards and the colour scheme will change to the Silver Arrows livery.

The move allows Mercedes to have its own brand to the fore, rather than subservient to the McLaren brand, for a fraction of the cost of what they have spent in the past on F1, thanks to the resource restriction agreement and greater commercial revenues.

The move is a massive vote of confidence in Ross Brawn personally. Mercedes might have expected to win more during its time with McLaren and the fact that they didn’t is largely due to Brawn’s management of the Ferrari technical team and of Michael Schumacher.

Brawn had nothing left to prove after winning the championship this year with his own team, but here Mercedes are investing in him and he has committed to stay with the team for an undisclosed period, in addition to retaining a shareholding. By rough estimates, presuming that he held a majority stake in Brawn GP, he must have personally made around £30 million this year from taking on the team from Honda for £1 and then reselling it nine months later.

McLaren’s Ron Dennis responded with a statement saying that the deal was a “win-win” for both companies and that his team would continue to be called Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and would retain its silver and red livery. Mercedes will continue to supply engines to McLaren until 2015.

Dr Zetsche said that the reason for the move away from McLaren was that the two companies were not aligned on road car projects, with McLaren pushing forwards with a new sportscar, the MP4/12C which is a direct competitor to Mercedes supercar programme. He refused to be drawn on what effect the spy scandal of 2007 and this years lying scandal had on their decision.

Although this move has been foreshadowed for some time, the execution is subtly different from what has been rumoured. First the Abu Dhabi investment company Aabar is taking a 30% shareholding in the team, with Mercedes taking 45.1% and Brawn directors keeping the remaining 24.9%. It had been speculated that Aabar would hold the entire 75% until the end of 2011 when the contract with McLaren was due to expire. By giving away certain rights, McLaren and Mercedes have arrived at a compromise which works for both parties and allows Mercedes brand to be at the forefront of its

Dr Zetsche said, “Our relationship with McLaren was affected in recent years by the fact that the other shareholders were interested in building up a new automotive company building sports cars and supersports cars. That was not in the interests of Daimler and Mercedes Benz and because of this lack of alignment we were discussing to withdraw and McLaren group agreed to purchase 40% shares from Daimler within the next three years.”

“We can now rearrange our F1 activities with the consequence that we will reduce our F1 budget to about a quarter of what it used to be. We want to accomplish that in the next two years. The reason for that is the resource restrictions agreement between the teams and the FIA, greater revenues from the commercial rights and greater revenues from partnerships and sponsorships as the Silver Arrows works team. We are acquiring 75% of a team which has been very well funded to begin with.”

Mercedes is very cannily taking over a team which is perfectly suited to the F1 business model of the future, which has been built up with BAT’s massive investment in the 1990s and Honda’s money in the 2000s. Literally billions have been spent on this team and Mercedes is picking it up for a fraction of what it would have cost if they had decided to ‘do a Toyota’ and build their own team up from scratch.

Logistically it makes perfect sense too, Mercedes Benz High Performance Engines facility is based in Northampton, 20 miles away down the A43 from Brawn’s Brackley base. They are either side of the M1 motorway.

As for drivers, Jenson Button and his management have made a big play of wanting to be ‘valued’ but they may have got their timing and tactics wrong. They have tried to back Brawn into a corner. But I cannot help but feel that Button should have taken the deal on offer and signed a contract this Autumn and just got on with it. Brawn’s team is clearly the place to be and to risk losing everything for the sake of a few million quid when you have fought for your whole career to be in the right car, seems counterintuitive.

Button will have known about this takeover for some time and Mercedes will have been involved in the background of the decision making process. Where they are in the negotiation reflects how they value him. The deal is still on the table for Button and I get the impression that Brawn would still like him to drive alongside Nico Rosberg. Some commentators see it that Mercedes has pushed Button out and that he is going to McLaren as a result. I’ll post on this in more depth later.

Four drivers are in play here; Button. Rosberg, Raikkonen and Heidfeld. There are three seats available. Although Rosberg is the German driver sitting in the Mercedes car for the next few years, there is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that Sebastian Vettel is the driver Mercedes want long term and he will become available in 2012. You have to wonder about Mercedes’ plans for Lewis Hamilton too. His contract with McLaren is for five years from 2008, but I can imagine that Mercedes and Hamilton would be factoring each other into their plans for the future.

[_R_]

does this open the door for Red Bull to use the Merc engine?

[Nacho]

does this open the door for Red Bull to use the Merc engine?

I wondered that as well.

Perhaps not for 2010, but going forward, I'd imagine that Mercedes can unilaterally supply whoever they want... although it's not really in their best interests to supply really strong competitors now that they're a full team.

[vietlol]

http://www.guardian....claren-contract


Jenson Button agrees to join McLaren on three-year, £6m-a-year deal


herp a derp derp

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

http://www.guardian....claren-contract


Jenson Button agrees to join McLaren on three-year, £6m-a-year deal


herp a derp derp

In for Button being put back in his rightful place on the F1 ladder

[_R_]

I hope he never wins another race...

[DrDickAction]

Jesus. In for British Bandwagon Boner team failure next season.

The commentary is going to be painful...even speed is going unbearable with the sound of Hobbs masturbating into a union jack in the background.

[kngrsll]

i like jens, but he gonna get schooled by hammy

[yonson]

[DrDickAction]

seriously. I guess kimi is done.

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

seriously. I guess kimi is done.

If he had really wanted to have a seat at McLaren there was an offer on the table apparently. He chose to take the path with more money and less work instead of being a F1 driver, so maybe his priorities are different now that he's a world champion.

[DrDickAction]

If he had really wanted to have a seat at McLaren there was an offer on the table apparently. He chose to take the path with more money and less work instead of being a F1 driver, so maybe his priorities are different now that he's a world champion.

Hard to tell how much of that is true, how much of that is rumor. Even if he checked himself out of F1, I'll still miss rooting for the man.

[More&Faster]

http://www.guardian....claren-contract


Jenson Button agrees to join McLaren on three-year, £6m-a-year deal


herp a derp derp

ungrateful brat

[vietlol]

ungrateful brat

but but Brawn doesnt value him!

[kngrsll]

from what i understand, i though Haug has always liked Kimi, so he could end up there

[Redliner]

What a wacky off-season...so wacky, I've got to use smiley representations reserved for small Asian females...

>.<'

[Nacho]

Jens; you're fucking up.

[_R_]

Jens; you're fucking up.

this coming from you is

"yeah, hi Brawn? yeah, thanks for saving my f1 career, giving me an epic car to work with, and taking me from mid-fielder to world champ, but since you didn't pay me $2m more, I'm out... "

dumbass...

i hope Alonso, Lewis, Kimi (assuming he's back), Massa, Vettel and the 2 Brawn drivers do donuts around Button next season...

[MrHahn]

If he sells his shitty, unimaginatively painted Veyron he could almost recoup that $2m in one transaction. What a dick lover

[Nacho]

this coming from you is

"yeah, hi Brawn? yeah, thanks for saving my f1 career, giving me an epic car to work with, and taking me from mid-fielder to world champ, but since you didn't pay me $2m more, I'm out... "

dumbass...

i hope Alonso, Lewis, Kimi (assuming he's back), Massa, Vettel and the 2 Brawn drivers do donuts around Button next season...

I've liked Jenson since I've been interested in F1, but Jesus man, you've just proved to everyone that all you give a fuck about is money.... and left a championship winning team that you've been with for a decade or so now only to get schooled by hands down one of the best drivers on the grid in the same equipment.

Jenson can put it all together, and I honestly do believe he's a quick driver, but Lewis is just on another level in terms of ability, hunger, and aggression. Not only that, McLaren is now Lewis' team and Jenson is leaving Brawn/Mercedes which was more or less his team with the best strategist in the business at the head. Doesn't make sense.

PS: Nick to Mercedes. I'mna call it now.

[vietlol]

Glock joins Manor for 2010
By Jamie O'Leary Tuesday, November 17th 2009, 08:46 GMT



Timo Glock has been announced as Manor Grand Prix's first driver for its maiden Formula 1 World Championship assault next year.

The 27-year-old German, who had also been linked with a move to Renault for 2010, joins the British team following two seasons with Toyota.

"I had several options for 2010, some of them with more established teams," said Glock.

"Every driver has the same overall objective - to win the world championship one day - but the way I want to succeed is to be part of the process of building a team and to play a key role in developing the car. This is why the opportunity with Manor Grand Prix is so exciting for me.

"I have spent a lot of time with [technical director] Nick Wirth, [team principal] John Booth and other members of the team and what I liked most is that this a real racing team run by true racers.

"The team may be small and new but it has big ambitions and a very impressive car and development programme. I am confident that I can play a big role in terms of my technical input and that's a fantastic opportunity for me. I can't wait to start testing the new car early next year."

Wirth, who previously ran the Simtek F1 team from 1994-95, said that he was pleased to have snapped up the 2007 GP2 champion.

"It has always been my recommendation that we have at least one driver with experience of the 2009 cars to help our development programme, but to get a driver that has not only achieved podium finishes in 2009 but has such proven talent and the potential to take us forward for many years is very exciting," he said.

"The fact that he has come and seen all aspects of the project before making his decision speaks volumes about what we have achieved so far. Now we just can't wait to get Timo into the new car once track testing begins next year."

Glock finished 10th in last year's world championship with Toyota, despite missing the final two races following a heavy qualifying crash in Japan that left him with an injured leg.

Koba to Renault?

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

What a wacky off-season...so wacky, I've got to use smiley representations reserved for small Asian females...

>.<'

I'm not quite sure what that is supposed to represent..