2253 replies to this topic

[Nacho]

I'll just leave this here

Actually when I first read the headline I thought they were talking about another F1 boss

Sadly, he's sort of right.

[PittHockey]

fucking nazi lovers

[vietlol]

I kinda agree with him...
Latvala has a win it or bin it approach...
dude totalled his car on the last 2km super special stage while in 2nd place with like a 30 second lead... he could've pushed the thing around the track to secure 2nd, but he hits a barrel and crashes out...

race before, he went off course while in lead on the last bend right before the timing boards losing like 5 minutes...

Yeah but thats for team bosses to sort out, if Miko thinks he's hot shit he shouldnt need help beating Loeb.

[Shi]

Yeah but thats for team bosses to sort out, if Miko thinks he's hot shit he shouldnt need help beating Loeb.

well Sordo takes points off Hirvonen when the Fords struggle, so Hirvonen expects Latvala to do the same to Loeb when the Citroens hit trouble

[_R_]

Yeah but thats for team bosses to sort out, if Miko thinks he's hot shit he shouldnt need help beating Loeb.

you always want your #2 to score as much as they can... not only to help win the drivers title, but you want the manufactures title as well...
the only way Miko will win the drivers title against Loeb is to wait for Loeb to mess up... no one is at Loebs level that currently drives in WRC...

[_R_]

Bernie Ecclestone's controversial comments about Adolf Hitler that emerged over the weekend have led to the cancellation of a meeting he was due to have with a German state leader at the Nurburgring this weekend.

Ecclestone told The Times on Saturday that he liked the way that Hitler was able to 'get things done' because of his dictatorial approach. Those comments caused a huge uproar, with leading Jewish organisations and politicians calling on him to step down.

Now, the German press agency DPA has reported that Gunther Oettinger, prime minister of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, who was due to meet Ecclestone to discuss the future of Hockenheim, has called off their get-together because of the controversy.

Ecclestone has not yet issued an official statement in response to his comments, but German newspaper Bild quoted him as saying the story had been the result of a 'huge misunderstanding.'

He told the tabloid paper: "I did not put Hitler up as a good example, but I simply pointed out that before his terrible crimes, he had acted successfully against unemployment and the economic crisis."

Ecclestone further added "when I said Hitler, I meant Stalin..."

[_R_]

Formula One bosses appear poised to have to fend off another controversy ahead of this weekend's German Grand Prix, amid claims that they 'hand-picked' newcomers for the 2010 championship based on their willingness to use Cosworth engines.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph's business section over the weekend, the FIA stands accused of 'commercial bias' in its decision to offer entries to US F1, Campos Grand Prix and Manor F1 - who are scheduled to join the existing ten teams on the grid next season - ahead of more established names such as Prodrive/Aston Martin and Lola, both of which were widely assumed to have been 'kept back' in order to exert extra leverage on the dissident FOTA teams in the battle for control between the teams organisation and FIA president Max Mosley.

The report claims that many of the twelve teams overlooked for a place in F1's new-look line-up have now revealed that they had been told that running engines from Cosworth - which won an FIA tender to supply a spec-engine to the category - was a 'mandatory condition' for selection by the governing body. Unaware of the requirement, the disgruntled teams submitted their bids with plans to use alternative power suppliers - with one believed to have spent £1m preparing its bid.

"We were told that, if we wanted to take up the 2010 grid slot, we would have to sign a three-year engine contract with Cosworth," one team boss claimed, while another insisted that his outfit 'had a real possibility of obtaining a Renault, Mercedes or Ferrari engine'.

As Cosworth insisted that it did not put pressure on the FIA to impose such a condition on entry, a third team insisted that the newcomers had been 'hand-picked for political, rather than sport[ing] criteria', underlining suggestions that, with current engine suppliers BMW, Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Toyota all potentially involved in the proposed FOTA breakaway, the FIA needed to find an independent alternative that would render such a pressure scenario unlikely in future.

"The whole grid would be at the mercy of the car industry and no new team would be able to enter without their permission," an FIA spokesman confirmed.

US F1, Campos and Manor all came through the selection process designed to fill at least three places on the 2010 F1 grid after the FIA opened up extra grid slots in a bid to 'improve the show'. Although the potential of additional entries was closed by the peace accord hammered out between Mosley and FOTA, many of the teams missing out in the initial selection had revealed that they remained in conversation with the governing body should an opening become available.

Brawn GP CEO Nick Fry has also intimated that the 2010 grid is not yet set in stone, particularly as the three newcomers had all submitted their bids on the basis of the sport being subjected to a £40m budget cap - an idea scrapped as part of the deal that brought the two warring factions together shortly after the British Grand Prix.

hmm....

[vietlol]

well Sordo takes points off Hirvonen when the Fords struggle, so Hirvonen expects Latvala to do the same to Loeb when the Citroens hit trouble

thats true but sordo is very inconsistent about it like JPM helping kimi in 05

[vietlol]

you always want your #2 to score as much as they can... not only to help win the drivers title, but you want the manufactures title as well...
the only way Miko will win the drivers title against Loeb is to wait for Loeb to mess up... no one is at Loebs level that currently drives in WRC...

Havent Ford had the <edit>constructors<edit> title in the bag past few years? because they have two good drivers and Citroen just has Loeb?

[_R_]

Havent Ford had the drivers title in the bag past few years? because they have two good drivers and Citroen just has Loeb?

Loeb has won the title for the last 5 years...
Petter Solberg was the last person to win a title before Loeb... Marcus Gronholm has been the only person to give Loeb a run for his money...

[vietlol]

Loeb has won the title for the last 5 years...
Petter Solberg was the last person to win a title before Loeb... Marcus Gronholm has been the only person to give Loeb a run for his money...

Yeah I said Ford, I know Loeb was the driver's champ. He also Lost out to Solberg by just one point

[vietlol]

Yeah I said Ford, I know Loeb was the driver's champ. He also Lost out to Solberg by just one point

oh oops I said Ford drivers title, yeah my bad I meant constructors

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

Fuji pulls plug on Japanese GP

By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, July 7th 2009, 06:51 GMT

Fuji International Speedway has pulled the plug on hosting the Japanese Grand Prix in the future, track officials confirmed on Tuesday.

The circuit had been planning to share the event with Suzuka, having held the last two Japanese GPs, but the global economic downturn that has affected track owners Toyota has forced a rethink.

A statement on the circuit's website said that although planning had already been underway for the 2010 event, the track had no option but to abandon its plans.

"In view of the sharply deteriorating business conditions and few signs of a rapid economic recovery, we decided it would be extremely difficult to continue holding the F1 Japanese Grand Prix," said the statement.

Fuji returned to the F1 calendar in 2007, following huge efforts by Toyota to revamp the circuit.

Lewis Hamilton won that first event amid torrential conditions, while Fernando Alonso took a surprise win for Renault in last year's event following a chaotic first corner.

Fuji said its focus now would be on holding Formula Nippon and Super GT events.

Hiroaki Kato, president of the Fuji track, could not hide his disappointment at the decision that brings an early end to the track's return to the F1 schedule.

"After only having announced barely three years ago, in March 2006, that Fuji Speedway would hold the F1 Japanese Grand Prix, it is heart-wrenching that we were not able to avoid the decision to abandon our plans to hold the race from 2010," he said.

"To the people who attended the event at Fuji Speedway last year and the year before, to those who were looking forward to the event there in the future, and to all those locally and elsewhere who granted us their immense understanding and encouragement, I deeply apologize for a result not commensurate with your expectations.

"At the same time, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for your kind support.

"Fuji Speedway intends to devote itself with even greater intensity to promote motor sports. For this, we humbly seek your continued understanding."

Suzuka is due to hold this year's Japanese GP, and the future of the country's race will now depend on whether the track's owners Honda wish to bankroll the event in the future - having already pulled out of F1.

Toyota's decision to stop the bankrolling of the Fuji event, which Reuters has suggested was costing it around £12-£18 million GBP, come against the backdrop of the company expecting overall losses of £5.5 billion GBP in the business year to March 2010.

http://www.autosport...rt.php/id/76751

So either Suzuka all the way or no more Japan GP

[_R_]

Yeah I said Ford, I know Loeb was the driver's champ. He also Lost out to Solberg by just one point

yeah, i'm kinda pissed still about that...
Citroen told Loeb to bring the car home and stop pushing to catch Solberg, then they changed their mind on like the last 2 stages, told him he could go flat out...

not that 5 titles is anything to be disappointed at...

[DrDickAction]

http://www.autosport...rt.php/id/76751

So either Suzuka all the way or no more Japan GP

Wow, fucking wow.

[vietlol]

http://www.autosport...rt.php/id/76751

So either Suzuka all the way or no more Japan GP

The belt tightening in F1 continues. Today Toyota confirmed that it is withdrawing from a deal to host the Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway, as it deals with mounting losses. Earlier this year the company said that it expected to lose over $1 billion in 2009.

The race will now be held at Suzuka, which, ironically is owned by Honda, who withdrew from F1 last year.

The actual cost of hosting the race is relatively modest compared to the running costs of the F1 team. The event sanctioning fee will be in the $20 million per season range, around 10% of what Toyota is likely to spend this year with the cost cutting measures put in place last December by FOTA and the FIA. But Toyota is able to recoup much of that from ticket sales, so the withdrawal is saving quite a modest amount and is clearly symbolic more than anything else.

Toyota, as part of the Formula One Teams Association, is in the process of finalising the rules and cost saving measures for 2010 and 2011, as agreed two weeks ago in the breakthrough deal with the FIA.

Although there have been rumours all season that Toyota may be pulling out of F1 soon, the team has always denied this and implied that the rumours were being spread by people who would like Toyota to leave F1.

Today’s announcement does not make it more likely that the team will pull out, after all they recently committed to stay in F1 until 2012 as part of FOTA’s side of the deal with FIA and FOM, but it does show that the red pen is out at Toyota and it sends a strong message to the FOTA negotiators that the board is calling for deep cuts in F1 spending when the 2010/2011 rules are finalised. FOTA has committed itself to getting budgets down to early 1990s levels, that is to say around £40 million without engine costs.

On a personal level, although I love Suzuka, I shall really miss Fuji. Being close to Tokyo helped a lot, as Suzuka is very isolated. The Fuji event was much better than I thought it was going to be and the circuit has a tremendous atmosphere. It also lent itself to exciting racing.

Meanwhile it seems that in the UK and Germany the scrappage scheme, whereby you can recoup £2500 off the cost of a new car if you scrap your old one has slowed the fall in new car sales, giving some relief to troubled car makers.

http://allenonf1.wor...utting-hits-f1/


Cant say I will miss Fuji but interesting nonetheless

[Redliner]

http://www.autoblog....-blames-jews-f/



Bernie is owning himself lately...I'm waiting for his impending doom!

[_R_]

However, success in the fight for FIA president is not just about the attributes of the single man standing for the top job - because it requires a whole 22-strong 'cabinet' list to be nominated prior to the election taking place.

This cabinet system was introduced in 2005, just prior to Mosley successfully winning another term as president after standing unopposed. The original aim of the cabinet system was to ensure that wild card candidates could not put themselves forward and hope to capitalise on merely a negative vote for the current president.

In a letter sent in 2005, prior to the FIA senate approving the cabinet system, Mosley said: "In order to be successful, a candidate for the presidency would need the open support and backing of major participants in the FIA.

"This would mean that the presidency would tend to go to someone with a team and a programme, both of which had broad support throughout the FIA rather than the backing of any particular interest group."

In a reminder document sent last week by the FIA to national motoring authorities worldwide, which has been seen by AUTOSPORT, the process by which the elections at the General Assembly on October 23 will take place were laid out.

It confirmed that the list of candidates for president may be submitted from September 11 to October 2. The document also said that an application to stand for president had to include the 'full name, position and signature' of each of the 22 candidates being put forward to form the 'cabinet'.

This core group of people must include a President of the Senate, a Deputy President for Sport, a Deputy President for Automobile Mobility and Tourism, five members of the Senate, seven vice-presidents of the FIA for Sport and seven vice-presidents of the FIA for Automobile Mobility and Tourism.

Assembling a 22-strong team ready to be so public in its support is not an insurmountable problem, but one big difficulty is that none of the individuals on one presidential hopeful's list can be present on another.

The FIA document said: "A list cannot include a candidate who is already registered on another list, on pain of ineligibility of the said candidate. Should such be the case, (and after the identification by the FIA Secretariat) the list reader must provide a replacement for the 'lost' candidate in the conditions set out in the FIA Internal Regulations."

The impact of the system is that it is almost certainly beneficial to the incumbent. So, should Mosley choose to stand again, he will likely have in place the strongest team with the most widespread support - leaving rivals with no option but to choose a team of different cabinet members who may not be anywhere near as influential.

Furthermore, if there is more than one candidate that chooses to go up against Mosley, then that could further dilute the strength of the members of each of their rival cabinets.

Should Mosley see through with his decision not to stand again, then his influence over elections could still sway matters. The candidate who has his support could end up with his best cabinet members - which would be a massive boost to the chances of success.

While the FIA and Formula 1 teams await with bated breath to see if Mosley will stand again in October's elections, the fight for the future presidency will be as much about what takes place behind closed doors up until October 23 as it will be about what happens in the ballot boxes on election day.

man that's complicated...

[dgr81]

FOTA walked out of it's meeting with the FIA.

Also, Bourdais is being fired after this weekends race lol

[_R_]

FOTA walked out of it's meeting with the FIA.

After a summer of dispute, negotiation and finally some agreement, the so-called breakaway threat from the eight Formula One Teams' Association came to nothing as the group agreed to compete in the FIA sanctioned Formula One World Championship next season and beyond.

FIA President Max Mosley declared that he would not stand for re-election later in the season while the £40m cost cap for next season was seemingly dropped in favour of a vague promise of competition costs coming down to levels seen in the early 1990s – which presumably is not a million miles from £40m... It did seem that FOTA had won the battle for a short time.

Then of course the FIA President said that he may run for re-election after all and this week it has emerged that the budget cap may not be so easy to remove from the regulations without the consent of not just the eight FOTA members, but also the three new teams as well as the Williams and Force India. Of course, FOTA has yet to agree a new, more favourable, commercial agreement with Formula One Administration either, but that’s another matter.

Today all of the teams met in Germany for the latest gathering of the Technical Working Group in which the 2010 rules were scheduled to be hammered out and signed off once and for all. However, the FOTA members ‘walked out’ of the meeting according to the FIA and should this be confirmed by the team alliance, this emphasises the lack of progress and tolerance between the alliance and the governing body.

"Following the decision of the World Council on 24 June to revert to the pre-29 April version of the 2010 F1 Sporting and Technical Regulations, the FIA today met the teams which have entered the 2010 Championship to seek their agreement to these changes," a statement from the FIA read.


"All changes have now been agreed subject only to the maintenance of the minimum weight at 620kg and the signing of a legally binding agreement between all the teams competing in 2010 to reduce costs to the level of the early 1990s within two years, as promised by the FOTA representative in Paris on 24 June."

The chassis weight limit may be an issue, but the fact that FOTA has yet to sign any agreement to reduce costs for next year's championship is significant. As is walking out of the meeting…

"The eight FOTA teams were invited to attend the meeting to discuss their further proposals for 2010," the FIA statement continued. "Unfortunately no discussion was possible because FOTA walked out of the meeting."

FOTA had made a lot of noise about setting up its own championship for next season. The group of eight met on numerous occasions, put out press releases and pushed their cause before retreating to the fold of the FIA and FOA.

Indeed, it is hard to see why FOTA finally agreed to enter an FIA championship next season when the group still has little or no control over the rules, little or no progress in terms of their commercial deal and the head of the FIA is seemingly wavering as to weather he will stand down from the post or not.

Clearly FOTA are unhappy with the current situation, but the reality is that the group had their chance to stand up and be counted, before deciding 'better the devil you know'. They cannot now turn around and re-launch their ‘breakaway’ series as they would have no credibility. We await the comments from FOTA with interest.

The Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) has accused the FIA of putting the future of the sport in jeopardy after talks to sort out rules collapsed on Wednesday.

At the end of a dramatic day at the Nurburgring, which resulted in FOTA members walking out of an FIA meeting after they were told they could have no input on regulatory discussions, the teams' organisation has gone on the attack against the governing body.

It is angry that, as AUTOSPORT revealed on Tuesday, the FIA believes the FOTA teams do not have full entries to next year's championship so cannot vote on rules.

The teams were officially informed of their 'observer' status on Wednesday, prompting frustration that left the teams with no choice but to leave the meeting.

A statement from FOTA said: "Representatives of all FOTA teams attended a meeting of the Sporting Working Group at the Nurburgring today.

"During the course of this meeting, the team managers were informed by Mr Charlie Whiting of the FIA that, contrary to previous agreements, the eight FOTA teams are not currently entered into the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship and have no voting rights in relation to the technical and sporting regulations thereof.

"It will be remembered that all eight active FOTA members were included on the "accepted" entry list as endorsed by the FIA World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) and communicated by FIA press statement on June 24.

"In light of these claims, the FOTA representatives requested a postponement of today's meetings. This was rejected on the grounds that no new Concorde Agreement would be permitted before a unanimous approval of the 2010 regulations was achieved."

The statement added: "It is clear to the FOTA teams that the basis of the 2010 technical and sporting regulations was already established in Paris.

"As endorsed by the WMSC and clearly stated in the FIA press statement of 24 June "the rules for 2010 onwards will be the 2009 regulations as well as further regulations agreed prior to 29 April 2009.

"At no point in the Paris discussions was any requirement for unanimous agreement on regulations change expressed. To subsequently go against the will of the WMSC and the detail of the Paris agreement puts the future of Formula 1 in jeopardy.

"As a result of these statements, the FOTA representatives at the subsequent Technical Working Group were not able to exercise their rights and therefore had no option other than to terminate their participation."

The standoff between FOTA and the FIA is in stark contrast to the cooperation pact that appeared to have been struck last month prior to the most recent FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting.

There, FIA president Max Mosley, FOTA chairman Luca di Montezemolo and Bernie Ecclestone agreed a deal that headed off the threat of a breakaway.

Since then, however, Mosley has reconsidered his decision to step down from his role in October because of what he believes were misleading claims made by FOTA to the media.

Today's breakdown in talks leaves the future path for the sport unclear, with the prospect of a breakaway now re-emerging.

Sources suggest that F1 owners CVC are furious with the latest development, which has cast a cloud over the future of the sport just a few weeks after peace had broken out.

FOTA is adamant that the collapse in the discussions can be pinned firmly on the FIA.

Its statement said: "The FOTA members undertook the Paris agreement and the subsequent discussions in good faith and with a desire to engage with all new and existing teams on the future of Formula One."

I just don't care anymore...

[_R_]

View of the Wayne shifter kart from this weekends MotoGP

[Nacho]

Come on BreakAway

[MrHahn]

Come on BreakAway

It's like the FIA wants a breakaway series to occur. I bet Bernie is filling his trousers

[Redliner]

It's like the FIA wants a breakaway series to occur. I bet Bernie is filling his trousers

It's hard to care these days. It's everything BUT about the racing.

[_R_]

It's like the FIA wants a breakaway series to occur. I bet Bernie is filling his trousers

CVC, the owners of F1, are pissed though...