3530 replies to this topic

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The BMW Sauber team will retain both Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld in the 2009 season, the German squad announced on Monday.

The team said Christian Klien will stay on as a test driver.

"We see Nick and Robert as a strong driver pairing and Christian as an experienced test driver," said BMW motorsport boss Mario Theissen.

"We are in no doubt that we will again achieve our ambitious aims with them in the team's fourth year."

The announcement ends weeks of speculation regarding the future of Heidfeld, who was yet to be confirmed at the team.

The confirmation also closes to door to Fernando Alonso, who had been linked with a move to BMW. Now the Spaniard has Renault and Honda as his only options for 2009.

[kngrsll]

Bernie in with the sweet burn.

[Robert]

I'm sure young Lewis was just misunderstood. He is a respectful, selfless, and gracious gentleman beloved by all the world.

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The Canadian Grand Prix has been dropped from the 2009 Formula One calendar, leaving North America with no grands prix next season.

The FIA issued on Tuesday the World Motor Sport Council's decision, with the Montreal race absent for the first time since 1987.

The governing body confirmed an 18-race calendar, including a summer break thanks to having moved the Turkish Grand Prix from August to June.

The WMSC also agreed to give FIA president Max Mosley the authority to deal with the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) for the introduction of "radical measures to achieve a substantial reduction of costs in the championship from 2010."

"Failing agreement with FOTA, the FIA will enforce the necessary measures to achieve this goal," said the FIA in a statement.

"It was further unanimously agreed to allow Formula One teams to equalise engine performance across the field for 2009, pending the introduction of cost-saving measures from 2010," it added.

[mads]

repost

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repost

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Ferrari has decided to bring back the pitstop 'lollipop' for the three final races of the 2008 championship battle.

Following problems with the Italian squad's unique 'traffic lights' system in Singapore and also elsewhere, Team Principal Stefano Domenicali confirmed to Sky Italia that Ferrari will fall in line with the rest of the Formula One teams for the decisive races in October and November.

He insists that the traffic lights system usually delivers 'significant time savings' at pitstops.

"But we are going back to the old system, with a lollipop, because we have recognised that the team needs to be calm," Domenicali said.

At the last race in Singapore, when a mechanic wrongly pressed a button while Felipe Massa's car was still being refuelled, the Brazilian driver ripped the hose from the rig and dragged it the entire length of the pits.

Instead of taking the championship lead from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, he fell a potentially terminal seven points behind with just the Japanese, Chinese and Brazilian Grand Prix to go.

Domenicali continued: "At this stage of the season and with all the tension, it is better for everyone who works in the heat of the battle to do so with as little stress as possible."

He acknowledges that Massa's points position now makes the title less likely, but vowed to push hard to the finish.

"I am convinced that we have the right ingredients to win the next three races," Domenicali said.

"It will not be an easy task, but it is definitely not impossible either," he added.

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

bring back the lollipop

im happy to see stefano swallow his pride on this matter and just concentrate on reliability for a change.

[MrHahn]

Hope its not a repost

http://www.formula1....08/10/8487.html

Formula One teams to run 'green' tyres at Fuji

Formula One racing will show its support for the FIA’s Make Cars Green campaign by running on unique green-grooved tyres at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. The sport’s official tyre supplier, Bridgestone, launched the specially-designed rubber at a ceremony in Tokyo on Wednesday.

“We hope that the launch of the Make Cars Green tyre will draw public attention to the many environmental initiatives in and around Formula One,” explained Bridgestone CEO Shoshi Arakawa. “Environmental preservation is at the centre of our work at the Bridgestone Group and we hope that this collaboration with the FIA will help to spread this ethos worldwide.”

Next season energy regenerating hybrid devices will be introduced to Formula One racing. This adoption of KERS technology is just one of a number of initiatives launched by the sport to improve its environmental credentials and, hopefully, help accelerate the use of fuel-efficient technology on public roads.

“New rule changes, alongside the support for awareness-raising initiatives such as the Make Cars Green campaign, will change the face of motor sport and place it at the very heart of environmental developments in the automotive sector,” explained Max Mosley, President of the FIA, Formula One racing's governing body. “The FIA is determined to ensure that future investment in motor sport will also help drive the development of technologies that will benefit the public at large.”

McLaren team mates Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen were in attendance at the Tokyo launch, alongside Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.

“I’m really pleased to help support this campaign, the new tyre for Fuji is a great way of using the sport to send a positive message to a massive global audience,” said Raikkonen. “But it’s not only about marketing, F1 attracts some of the best engineers in the world. I think some of the most important work they’ve done has been in terms of safety, it’s improved hugely in recent years.

“If the safety and the new green technology lessons learned in motorsport are applied to motoring then the sport will have played a really important part in saving lives as well as perhaps helping to save the planet.”

Hamilton added: “Since it first launched I’ve been happy to help promote the very positive messages of the Make Cars Green campaign. It is a subject that goes far beyond racing. The car is an incredibly positive thing and I think the messages of the campaign help to show us that we can all choose to drive in a greener way.

“The new Make Cars Green tyre that all the teams will be running on in Fuji is a great way to promote the campaign and a real first for Formula One. The sport can also help in other ways, especially with the launch of new energy efficient technologies next season.”

The Make Cars Green campaign aims to reduce the impact of motoring on the environment in a number of ways, such as through the promotion of fuel efficient driver behaviour; the introduction of new technologies to help motorists monitor their environmental impact; the improvement of tyre design to help save energy; and by encouraging the global use of unleaded and sulphur free fuels.

The softer of the two Bridgestone tyres used at Fuji this weekend will retain its central white groove as normal.

Hope hotlinking works

Honda be having raging orgasms about the colours!!

[vietlol]

those look kinda teal almost cyan, not really green

[b7r]

The green tyres idea is lame as hell

[Redliner]

F1 needs to stop doing crap like this.

F1 needs to bring back Canada! You asstwat frikkin bernie.

and does anyone really believe KR said this?

“I’m really pleased to help support this campaign, the new tyre for Fuji is a great way of using the sport to send a positive message to a massive global audience,” said Raikkonen.

[More&Faster]

now that raikkonnen isn't winning, he has to step into line with the sponsors to keep the team happy


green tires....what a stupid gimmick

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green tires....what a stupid gimmick

but it's earth friendly

I'm going to paint my house green and call it a "green home"...
helps solves the energy problem for sure

[Skyliner]

but it's earth friendly

I'm going to paint my house green and call it a "green home"...
helps solves the energy problem for sure

I'm going to paint all my cars green and maybe they'll magically use less fuel.

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

I'm going to paint all my cars green and maybe they'll magically use less fuel.

you don't want to be seen driving a green colored car, so it'll sit in the garage all year long.

unless said 'green' car is this:

http://upshizzle.com...G_2763sized.jpg *NWS!

[MrHahn]

I can see it now in the new Fast and Furious movie

"y0 holmes, whats with kermit da frog ova he-ar"

"It aint kermit, and if this race is longer than a quarter mile - guess whos gonna make the finish line."

"Whats under the hood holmes?"

"2 engines bro, thats how I roll. Prius - literally more than you can afford, pal"

[More&Faster]

I can see it now in the new Fast and Furious movie

"y0 holmes, whats with kermit da frog ova he-ar"

"It aint kermit, and if this race is longer than a quarter mile - guess whos gonna make the finish line."

"Whats under the hood holmes?"

"2 engines bro, thats how I roll. Prius - literally more than you can afford, pal"

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

wow... seriously ross brawn.. is this is the best you could come up with?

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Formula One team principals are set to hold talks about ways to get the Canadian Grand Prix back on the calendar in 2009, autosport.com has learned.

The race in Montreal was dropped from the schedule earlier this week, meaning F1 currently has no race in North America for the first time since the world championship came into existence in 1950.

Although there are suspicions that F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone could be using the Canadian GP situation to improve the financial terms of holding the event, both from the promoters and the teams, there is genuine concern in the paddock about the impact of losing the race from the schedule.

Honda Racing CEO Nick Fry told autosport.com: "I don't think it is a short-term problem, but it is a problem that does need to be addressed. We are a global series and not to be performing in one of the major continents is a serious problem - even more so because it is a continent that is very important for the motor manufacturers who are involved in F1.

"We need to look at the north American continent situation from a more strategic point of view and work out how we increase our popularity. I don't think you can just look at one race – you have to look at the whole situation there and put together a package which increases our appeal in North America. Then, the financial problems we have appearing at just one race in the continent, will go away."

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen added: "I haven't got any explanation of the decision and how it came about, so I think we will discuss it."

The decision to drop Canada and hand its June 7 date to Turkey was prompted by the teams' desire to have a summer break inserted into next year's calendar.

It is understood that one solution being looked at now is for Canada to return to its original date, and the Turkey event to then switch to early August, just one week after the Hungarian GP.

[F1]

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

The sport is all about a driver's ability and this will never have anything to do with their race or the color of their skin,

...he's black and he's very successful. For us, if he's successful, it will be excellent, really, really good for Formula One.

[Skyliner]

Does it help them if he's a pompous douchebag?

[_R_]

wow... seriously ross brawn.. is this is the best you could come up with?

is that the honda version of the pit lights?

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

is that the honda version of the pit lights?

yup.