3530 replies to this topic

[HighTachPres]

Mercedes KERS power versus Ferrari KERS power! WHO WILL WIN DOWN THE STRAIGHT!?

does this mean Revlon or Paul Mitchell are going to sponsor F1 with their electric hair dryers?

[vietlol]

the thing that stands out most is that 25 engines cost $10m Euros...
I knew shit was expensive, but that's like $600,000 USD per engine roughly...

thats cheap, they used to spend over 100m just on r&d

[kngrsll]

thats cheap, they used to spend over 100m just on r&d

and like 1/3 of the world lives off less than a dollar a day per person

[Redliner]

and like 1/3 of the world lives off less than a dollar a day per person

I was watching a CNN special about the wall-street investor guys...it'll make you sick how much those guys spend. I don't want to quote numbers b/c I can't remember off the top of my head but it was absurd...I want to say those guys were partying so hard, combined, they would spend more in a week than the entire population of Italy.

I can't recall the accuracy of that...but it was something absurd. Maybe F1 will know since he's trying to get there

[MrHahn]

really though, so what if it's not directly applicable? look at all that f1 as brought to road cars without ridiculous 'spec rules'..

Aerodynamics: Rear diffusers, Front splitters
Braking: Disc brakes, Carbon ceramic brake discs
Engine: Direct injection, ECU, DSG/paddle shifters
Vehicle dynamics: Active suspension, TC

Are you sure about that? I thought the DSG box in F1 is counted as 2 gearboxes and not allowed. I know that Porsche had it way back in the early/mid 80's with the 956.

[Shi]

Are you sure about that? I thought the DSG box in F1 is counted as 2 gearboxes and not allowed. I know that Porsche had it way back in the early/mid 80's with the 956.

It's continously variable gearboxes that the teams aren't allowed to use, I think most teams have had the dual clutch gearboxes since at least last season

[chiuey]

It's continously variable gearboxes that the teams aren't allowed to use, I think most teams have had the dual clutch gearboxes since at least last season

The nissan GTR has one too :biggthumb:

[MrHahn]

It's continously variable gearboxes that the teams aren't allowed to use, I think most teams have had the dual clutch gearboxes since at least last season

Sorry, had to do some more digging. It seems that DSG's are grouped under CVT's so they are banned and in the technical write-up it says DSG's are too wide and tall for an F1 to use for a convenient stress member

http://www.f1network...91/st128891.htm

The nissan GTR has one too :biggthumb:

Yeah, they also break as often as Red Bull '07 gearboxes

[_R_]

Sebastien Bourdais has confirmed he is concerned about the dithering of his team bosses about 2009.

The Frenchman, who has had a mixed debut F1 season, is believed to be under pressure to finalise his plans for next year, amid a raft of offers from the American IndyCar scene.

"The bosses of Toro Rosso seem in no hurry to decide my fate," 29-year-old Bourdais told the French sports daily L'Equipe.

"I am concerned about the other proposals I have received from outside of F1, and that soon they will need my answer," he explained. "A time will come when I will have to take the responsibility."

Bourdais has had a run of better form in the past few weeks, and hopes it has been enough to earn a contract extension.

"I hope I will get a second chance, because it has been a difficult season; one of the worst of my whole career, without really being able to leave a lasting impression."

there you go, the 4 time ChampCar champion... getting outshown by a 20 year old german kid...

[_R_]

An enormous painted portrait of Lewis Hamilton will soon be on public display in central London.

Reebok, the McLaren driver's major personal sponsor, has commissioned freelance artist Ian Cook to paint a huge 96 square metre likeness of Hamilton's face.

The work is taking place this week, in Cook's unique style; he drops paint on the canvas and then spreads it around by using various remote-controlled cars.

The finished product will ultimately be hung near the Tower of London from Wedesday October 29th, and displayed throughout the decisive Brazilian round of the 2008 championship.

"It will take all week," Cook said, "and I'll be working 14-16 hours a day on it."

and you thought he had a big head before...

[_R_]

Martin Whitmarsh has moved to downplay fears that Lewis Hamilton's championship bid next weekend could be scuppered at the final hurdle by reliability concerns.

Hamilton's McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen retired from the recent Japanese Grand Prix with a Mercedes engine failure, and the Finn's race in China ended early with what was described as a problem with the 'pneumatic system'.

"Of course, we are keenly aware that the world championship could be won or lost by a mechanical failure," team CEO Martin Whitmarsh said.

Hamilton, who must finish just fifth in Brazil next Sunday to be crowned world champion, will contest Interlagos with a race-old engine, and the same gearbox he raced both in Japan and last Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.

Additionally, Hamilton's unused engine 'joker' for 2008 cannot be used in Brazil, as it is the final race of the season, so an engine problem prior to the race will result in a ten-position grid penalty.

"We don't foresee this being an issue," Whitmarsh insisted, also denying that Hamilton's two-race-old gearbox is a concern.

"The level of reliability inherent in the gearbox means we anticipate fewer problems in this area," he said.

[kngrsll]

i cant wait for brazil!!!

[Redliner]

there you go, the 4 time ChampCar champion... getting outshown by a 20 year old german kid...

I hope he gets a 2nd chance...I quite like him

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

and you thought he had a big head before...

hopefully the portrait has '2008 World Champion' on it somewhere, and he gets beat to the WDC in brazil..

[DrDickAction]

there you go, the 4 time ChampCar champion... getting outshown by a 20 year old german kid...

Bourdais NEEDS to go to renault

[vietlol]

Bourdais NEEDS to go to renault

flavor flav said he's too old for renault

[DrDickAction]

flavor flav said he's too old for renault

Well, good thing for bourdais flavor flav ain't gonna be team principal next year :biggthumb:

[MrHahn]

Am I the only one who thinks Bourdais is a whiny bitch? He's run into Trulli so many times and then complains Torro Rosso isnt deciding his fate fast enough

[chiuey]

Am I the only one who thinks Bourdais is a whiny bitch? He's run into Trulli so many times and then complains Torro Rosso isnt deciding his fate fast enough

he's french, being a whiney bitch is in their nature. And I'm being dead serious about this, I've worked with so many of them, I'm so use to it now. But normally they don't air it out in public, they just mutter it under their breath....

[vietlol]

he's french, being a whiney bitch is in their nature. And I'm being dead serious about this, I've worked with so many of them, I'm so use to it now. But normally they don't air it out in public, they just mutter it under their breath....

Except Loeb <3

[vietlol]

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

Massa delights in proving critics wrong

By Jonathan Noble and Dieter Rencken Thursday, October 23rd 2008, 11:13 GMT

World championship contender Felipe Massa says his success in Formula One is being made sweeter by the fact that many people still do not like to give him credit for the job he is doing.

The Brazilian is heading into his home race at Interlagos next weekend as the only rival to Lewis Hamilton for the crown - after a season in which he has emerged as Ferrari's leading driver.

But despite his success, Massa admits it is still hard work to erase the reputation of a 'wild guy' which he earned during a crash-filled debut season with Sauber in 2002. However, he says winning over the doubters is giving him intense satisfaction.

"I think when you show people something that they don't believe, it's even more nice for you," said Massa in a group interview ahead of the season finale in Brazil.

"People always put me completely out of the game. Nobody expects you to do a good job and then you do a better job than everyone thinks and it's even nicer.

"I'm sure if I started my career as a Ferrari test driver my reputation would have been completely different. Because of the first year, which was bad, my reputation was bad for so many years."

Massa thinks that his debut in F1 came too early - and his errors came from trying too hard to follow in the footsteps of Kimi Raikkonen.

"I was a little bit of a wild guy, it's true," he said. "But I had a very difficult car to drive. I was very young - maybe too young to start straight away.

"Sauber had the best year in 2001 with Kimi and Nick. I came in the next year and they expected me to do exactly the same as Kimi did, but the car was not as good as it was the previous season. So I tried too much.

"I made some good results, scored some good points and made some good races. But I made some very bad races as well. That was not a great thing for my image and it took very long to recover and change my image in Formula One. But fortunately I think we changed it."

Massa believes the progress he has made during the past few seasons at Ferrari is simply the result of being more experienced.

"Even when you have a difficult car to drive, if you know how to set up the car and how to work with the team, then you know how to have a comfortable car to drive," he said.

"If you have a car that doesn't match with your driving style it's very difficult and very easy to make mistakes when you drive all the time at the limit. With experience I started to learn what I needed and how I wanted the car, and how to work with the team.

"A big part of the learning (for me was) as a Ferrari test driver. That year was like a university for me. Michael (Schumacher) was like the professor and I learned a lot from him, about how to grow inside the team and work with them better.

"To say what you want and to push hard in every area. I learned a lot from him but never tried to be more than him because you cannot. I just tried to learn a lot and wait for my time, and my time is coming a little bit now and I'm quite happy for that."

Massa has the chance of clinching the world championship on home soil – and is well aware that the unpredictable events of this year mean neither he nor Hamilton can take anything for granted about how the Brazilian GP will turn out.

"I hope it will be quite a good deal," he said. "I think it is just a great feeling to first of all be in the position to fight for the world championship, to be in my home race, so I think that is really nice feeling.

"But we have had (races like) Hungary and Singapore this year – and we had many races where unfortunately we could not score. But that is racing, and until the last lap you never know what is going to happen.

"You drive a car where everything is on the limit to be at the maximum performance, but to finish the race as well. Sometimes things don't work like that, and it is racing. It won't be the first time and it won't be the last time, but you learn a lot with these bad results."

And Massa sees no reason why he should look to a future outside of Ferrari now that he is achieving great success.

"I think you can never have a clear idea what is going to happen in three or four years, but for the next two years I feel very good in the team. I hope everything stays like that, and I don't see any reason to change.

"I am comfortable and happy. I think in life the most important thing is to be happy and if you are happy then your job comes more natural."

...the problem is the new circuits - they don't allow for the spectacle. It's enough with one Monaco.

[vietlol]

Interesting read about Massa, I think his time came and is now passing this season.

[MrHahn]

I learned a lot from him but never tried to be more than him because you cannot.

[Skyliner]

flavor flav said he's too old for renault

Flavio likes his men young and supple.