1302 replies to this topic

[Redliner]

F1 news is so slow this time of year now - it used to be full of testing and car launches. Now it's just nothing...

[kngrsll]

damn piquet... so full of aids/fail

[mads]

USF1 Video is pretty cool

[vietlol]

sup guise, Im the new #2

[chiuey]

sup guise, Im the new #2

I'm surprised Ron Dennis has not made him shave that ass fuzz off this face already!

[_R_]

sup guise, Im the new #2

he looks like a kid from the make a wish foundation getting his wish fulfilled...
looks horrible...

[AErrorist]

Love it!

[DrDickAction]

sup guise, Im the new #2

[vietlol]

Raikkonen: WRC title more valuable
By Pablo Elizalde Tuesday, January 5th 2010, 11:07 GMT



Kimi Raikkonen says winning the World Rally Championship would mean more to him than having taken the Formula 1 title.

The Finn, the 2007 F1 champion, is moving to the WRC with Citroen for 2010 after nine years in grand prix racing.

Speaking to the Red Bulletin magazine, Raikkonen admitted a WRC crown would be a huge achievement for him.

"More than my F1 world championship title," Raikkonen said when asked what a WRC title would mean to him.

cool story bro

[_R_]

Former Renault F1 managing director Flavio Briatore is free to return to the sport after the lifetime ban he received for his leading role in the 'Singapore-gate' race-fixing scandal was overturned by the French High Court today (Tuesday).

more to follow...

[Redliner]

You know, I'm not surprised because the FIA still has never provided to the public clear evidence that they have been guility of wrong-doing...

[yonson]

cool story bro

I wonder how true that is, or if they are just putting words in his mouth...

[yonson]

Who didn't see this coming...

[_R_]

cool story bro

i hope that's the vodka talking

[yonson]

i hope that's the vodka talking

Yeah, it doesn't sound like anything Kimi would say...

[_R_]

The FIA has been ordered to tell the public and teams that the bans from motor sport imposed on Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds for their part in Formula 1's race-fix scandal have been lifted.

A French court ruled on Tuesday that the decision to ban the two Renault men had been "irregular" and overturned the FIA's decision, meaning both Briatore and Symonds can now return to work in Formula 1.

The court found that the FIA did not have the power to decree such a penalty - as neither men held any licences to compete.

"The FIA ... can sanction licence holders, leaders, members of the ASNs [national sporting authorities], but it cannot with respect to third parties, take measures equivalent to a sanction - in contravention of article 28 of its statutes," the verdict read.

"The World Council, by forbidding FIA members and licences to work with Messrs Briatore and Symonds, on the one hand added a negative condition – to not work with them – which is not provided for within the FIA statutes."

The verdict also suggested there was a conflict of interest in the ban, as former FIA president Max Mosley was already in dispute with Briatore – and he played a part in both the investigation of the matter and the handing down of the penalty.

The court judgement added: "The decision of the World Council was presided over by the FIA president, who was well known to be in conflict with Briatore, with Mr. Mosley having played a leading role in launching the enquiry and its investigation in violation of the principle of separation of the power of the bodies.

"The decision [of the FIA World Motor Sport Council] is not annulled but declared irregular, and rendered without effect in its provisions against Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds."

The court added that the FIA will be now forced to notify F1 teams and the public, through adverts in French newspapers, that both Briatore and Symonds's bans have been lifted.

"The FIA is consequently obliged to notify within two weeks it is lifting the provisions to its members and licence holders, particularly the 13 teams entered into the FIA Formula 1 world championship 2010," it added.

"This must be published in the French newspapers, of the choice of Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds – at the FIA's cost, up to a limited cost of 15,000 and 5,000 respectively."

The FIA is considering appealing the French court's ruling.

you know flava flav is just grinning right now...

[DrDickAction]

you know flava flav is just grinning right now...

Who's gonna hire this guy though?

[Redliner]

Who's gonna hire this guy though?

I would. Depending on the evidence that comes out...he knows how to win and pick drivers, right?

[_R_]

Who's gonna hire this guy though?

I'd hire Flav and Pat in a heart beat...
I mean if Nelson can get back on the grid, there is no way these two shouldn't be there...

[DrDickAction]

I'd hire Flav and Pat in a heart beat...
I mean if Nelson can get back on the grid, there is no way these two shouldn't be there...

This is true, but still that is A LOT of bad pub. And failinho (apprantly) needed some equity in a team to get a drive, I kinda have a feeling it'll be the same way for Flavio.

[Nacho]

This is true, but still that is A LOT of bad pub. And failinho (apprantly) needed some equity in a team to get a drive, I kinda have a feeling it'll be the same way for Flavio.

Do you know how rich Flav is?

[DrDickAction]

Do you know how rich Flav is?

Yes, extremely. He has also proven to be quite hesitant playing with his own $$$.

[DrDickAction]

Looks like the FIA isn't going down without a fight:

In reaction to the outcome of the Flavio Briatore court case the FIA issued the following statement:

"The FIA notes the Decision of the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris in relation to Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds."

"The Court has rejected the claims for damages made by Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds and their claim for an annulment of the FIA's decision. In particular, the Court did not examine the facts and has not reversed the FIA's finding that both Briatore and Symonds conspired to cause an intentional crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix."

"However, the Court did question the FIA's authority to impose bans upon Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds for procedural reasons and because they are not FIA licence holders and, according to the Court, are therefore not subject to any FIA rules. The FIA's ability to exclude those who intentionally put others' lives at risk has never before been put into doubt and the FIA is carefully considering its appeal options on this point."

"The Court’s decision is not enforceable until the FIA's appeal options have been exhausted. Until then, the World Motor Sport Council’s decision continues to apply."

"In addition, the FIA intends to consider appropriate actions to ensure that no persons who would engage, or who have engaged, in such dangerous activities or acts of intentional cheating will be allowed to participate in Formula One in the future."

http://www.grandprix...ns/ns22018.html

[vietlol]

fuck yeah flava flav

[_R_]

Jenson Button's decision to jump ship from the safe and familiar surroundings in which he swept to F1 World Championship glory in 2009 to join compatriot and title-winning predecessor Lewis Hamilton at McLaren-Mercedes this year is one he will come to regret, reckons Michael Schumacher's former team-mate Eddie Irvine.

After his late-season contract negotiations with Brawn GP – now Mercedes Grand Prix – hit an impasse over a failure to come to financial terms, Button began to look around for other options, and McLaren wasted little time in attracting his gaze. Before very long at all, a deal was done – and the media went mad for the constitution of an all-British 'dream team' at Woking in 2010, and one composed of the sport's most recent two world champions to-boot.

However, the move went against the advice of many of F1's most high-profile figures, with the conventional wisdom being that the 29-year-old doesn't quite realise just what he will be letting himself in for in going directly up against a man whose raw pace and single-minded determination to succeed proved enough to unsettle even double world champion Fernando Alonso in 2007 – when Hamilton was merely a 'rookie', and his team-mate widely-regarded as the best driver in the sport.

So bad did things get, indeed, that the Oviedo native wound up cutting short his three-year agreement with McLaren and returning to Renault after just a sole, unhappy campaign – and if Alonso couldn't handle Hamilton, reasons Irvine, then Button has no chance.

“Jenson has entered the lion's den,” mused the Irishman – who triumphed in four grands prix himself for Ferrari in 1999 – speaking to ESPN. “It was madness of him to move. He thinks he's going to be able to eat his steak, and that's not going to be the case – I think he's going to get murdered!

“It's the worst decision he could have made. The only reason I can think of is that he didn't want to stay at Brawn with Rosberg, who's not as highly-rated as Lewis but might be just as quick. Jenson may have thought that it's better to get beaten by Lewis than get beaten by Nico.

“Rubens Barrichello is a good little peddler and murdered Jenson in the second half of last season. Michael [Schumacher] never got murdered by anyone. Lewis came into his first year in F1 and beat a double world champion in Fernando Alonso – that's a class act. If you look at Jenson's career, Ralf Schumacher beat him, Giancarlo Fisichella beat him and Rubens beat him. There are too many races where he hasn't performed, to say he's at the level of any of those guys.”