2253 replies to this topic

[kngrsll]

anyone watch motogp? dull race, surprising for motogp but the championship is wide open!

[vietlol]

More importantly, Loeb won Spain with Sordo second. He is now only 1 point behind Hirvonen going into the last race. #6 coming up

[vietlol]

Damn all the Alonso>Ferrari rumour threads have been replaced with "Person X says kimi is awesome blahblah"

[_R_]

anyone watch motogp? dull race, surprising for motogp but the championship is wide open!

More importantly, Loeb won Spain with Sordo second. He is now only 1 point behind Hirvonen going into the last race. #6 coming up

this weekend was a pretty boring race weekend...
F1 was the normal F1, at least it was at a cool track that's fun to watch
MotoGP was exciting for all 1/2 of the first lap
WRC was Loeb/Sordo dominating tarmac like normal
WSBK was a train of 4 riders with 1 pass attempt for the lead on the last lap of race one...



that said, WRC and WSBK final rounds should be nail biters as the championship can be won or lost by just a couple points

[_R_]

Nelson Piquet Jr claims that he has become the major victim of the Renault 'crashgate' scandal and admits it will be tough to begin his Formula 1 career all over again.

The 24-year-old says that despite team boss Flavio Briatore receiving a life ban and technical boss Pat Symonds being suspended for five years, he has been punished the most and could find it difficult to get another chance in F1.

"Some people have suggested I should have been punished by the FIA but, in reality, no one has been punished more than I have," Piquet said in The Times. "I am at the beginning of my career, unlike the others who have been punished in this case. I am going to have to overcome many obstacles. I more or less have to start my career from scratch in Formula 1 or justify myself in whatever category I might race in."

Piquet says the plan for him to crash to benefit team-mate Fernando Alonso's strategy was only made shortly before the race, claiming he did not have time to think it through and that he was under pressure for his place in the team.

"It all happened so quickly, I must confess that I could never possibly have weighed up the consequences," he said. "I was in a difficult position at the time and the renegotiation of my contract was in play if I didn't accept the strategy. I was taken by surprise by the request of the two most important people in the team — after all, one of them was my manager.

"The crash plan was only made hours before the race, I did not have time to think straight. If the proposal had been made during free practice I would have had more time to think and to act in another way."

Piquet suggested that had his father, Nelson Piquet Sr, been at the Singapore GP, the decision would not have been taken, and that Piquet Sr first told the FIA about the plot at the last race of the 2008 season.

"I don't believe the plan to crash would have been made [if Piquet Sr was in Singapore]," he said. "After that, my father began to go to all the races.

"The first confession was made to the FIA by my father during the Brazil Grand Prix in 2008. During the first half of 2009, both myself and my father spoke to other people about the subject. But the formalisation of the allegations only came afterwards. It was a very serious charge and, for that reason, we had to be very careful and take careful steps."

He denied that he ever used the threat of implicating Renault to try to keep his place in the team.

"Some people have suggested that I was blackmailing Renault to continue my career but the situation was more complicated for a long time before. At each race it was always the same story of threatening to withdraw my contract or the renewal for the next season... I made the allegation so that no other driver would go through what I went through and, more importantly, so that the whole episode would be clarified the way it has been."

Piquet also claimed that he had been the victim of Briatore's frustrations at the team being unable to return to its title winning form of 2005 and 2006, but says Alonso was not part of the plan as far as he knows.

"As a result of Renault not being very competitive, Briatore channelled all his unhappiness on me. He preferred to take it out on me during the two and a half seasons I was in Formula 1. I never saw other rookies being pushed as hard as I was. The pressure for results is normal, but the mental harassment is another story.

"Alonso did not participate in the meeting when the idea of a crash was developed. If he knew or not about the plan, is a detail that I do not know."

[DrDickAction]

So pretty much he's claiming that he's 24 years old, going on 12...and a retarded 12 at that.

[yonson]

Damn all the Alonso>Ferrari rumour threads have been replaced with "Person X says kimi is awesome blahblah"

That's because Kimi IS Awesome!

[vietlol]

So Renault is set to announce Kubicle apparently and decide on second driver later. Maybe Glock?

I hope Nick gets that Mclaren drive finally

[draobpi]

I think Kubica is stupid for choosing Renault over Toyota.

[_R_]

I think Kubica is stupid for choosing Renault over Toyota.

Renault can win races even when the car sucks... (sometimes with a little help)
Toyota on the other hand... P2 baby

[vietlol]

I think Kubica is stupid for choosing Renault over Toyota.

Renault are true racers, Toyota is where past it drivers go to die.

[DrDickAction]

Renault are true racers, Toyota is where past it drivers go to die.

This may not be true any more...with flabio and pat gone, who knows how development will go at renault. It's not like they had time to groom the next generation like Macca did, let alone still being there in an advisory role.

[vietlol]

That shake up might bring up unexpected talent, who knows. I still think its a better bet than Toyota.

[DrDickAction]

That shake up might bring up unexpected talent, who knows. I still think its a better bet than Toyota.

Very true. Certainly gives renault more driver options.

[kngrsll]

cant deny pedigree...

[yonson]

come on now guys, don't be talking bad about toy yoda, Skyliner might get suicidal...

[chiuey]

come on now guys, don't be talking bad about toy yoda, Skyliner might get suicidal...

given the current rate of development by toyota compared with renault, I think toyota still has a better chance of finishing higher. Don't forget what Alonso brings to the car. Without him renault has pretty much been all fail since 07

[vietlol]

Tax issue holding back Montreal GP deal

Date 2009-10-06

By GMM - Motorsport.com

The obstacle standing in the way of a final deal for a 2010 Canadian Grand Prix is tax, according to the French-language La Presse.

The report said Bernie Ecclestone wants to receive the payments of the Quebec, Ottawa and Montreal authorities over the next five but not pay federal tax.

It is said the F1 chief executive is holding back his signature until he receives a written guarantee about the issue from the Canada Revenue Agency.

Raymond Bachand, handling the governments' F1 negotiations, said last Friday that "there are always complicated elements of a tentative agreement - which we have with Mr Ecclestone - when the lawyers put it down on paper".

"There are problems that sometimes arise," he added.

[_R_]

The Formula One Teams' Association has reportedly expressed doubts about the addition of South Korea to the 2010 calendar, and would prefer instead to be returning to the United States.

"South Korea is a wonderful country and we have no problems with it, but we hear that the track is four or five hours from the nearest major city," McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh told Auto Bild.

"There's no infrastructure, no hotels, no good transport. It makes it difficult for the fans and the media," said the Briton.

He indicated that F1's priority should be immediately reinstating a North American round of the world championship.

"There shouldn't be any doubts about Montreal," said Whitmarsh regarding Canada. "North America is a big market. In the past we've messed around with North America so much that we should go there for free if necessary."

[DrDickAction]

Wow, even Macca has it right.

[vietlol]

[AErrorist]

Took me a few listens to pick it up, haha

[_R_]

As expected, the confirmation of Fernando Alonso's move to Ferrari turned the key to kick-starting the 2010 driver market.

Much of the specialist Formula One media waited in vain throughout Tuesday for the announcement of Robert Kubica's move to Renault, but the French daily L'Equipe reports that the deal will actually be unveiled on Wednesday.

The hottest new rumour is that McLaren and Toyota are not alone in pushing for Kimi Raikkonen. Germany's Sport Bild reports contact between the Finn's management and Red Bull Racing, despite the fact that Mark Webber was recently put under contract for the 2010 season.

"We are negotiating even with teams that everybody thinks have no vacancies,” admitted Raikkonen’s manager Steve Robertson.

Another new rumour is that Renault, even after replacing Fernando Alonso with Kubica, is also on the lookout for a team-mate for the 24-year-old Pole.

It is believed team management are not keen on the underperforming rookie Romain Grosjean, who was championed by the disgraced former boss Flavio Briatore.

It is believed Nick Heidfeld is near the top of the list for the drive, after the veteran German matched up alongside the highly rated Kubica at BMW Sauber this year.

However, it is understood that Renault is prepared to wait much longer - for instance until January of next year - to confirm the identity of the second driver. Also in the frame to replace Grosjean are Timo Glock and Adrian Sutil.

Williams is planning an all-new line-up of reigning GP2 champion and rookie Nico Hulkenberg alongside Rubens Barrichello, with the latter Brazilian to be replaced at Brawn by Nico Rosberg.

Likely to be left standing at the end of the musical chairs are drivers like Heikki Kovalainen, Kazuki Nakajima, Jarno Trulli and Grosjean, who may need to look at some of the incoming teams for employment.

I think silly season is now starting to kick off
also, what's up with the GP2 rookies sucking lately? after Nico and Lewis, all the GP2 drivers are dropping like flies...

[vietlol]

I think silly season is now starting to kick off
also, what's up with the GP2 rookies sucking lately? after Nico and Lewis, all the GP2 drivers are dropping like flies...

no testing

gp2 sucks

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

American driver unlikely for US F1

By Edd Straw and Jonathan Noble Wednesday, October 7th 2009, 15:59 GMT

Team US F1 is unlikely to run an all-American driver line up when it comes into Formula 1 next year, and could end up not running one in either seat.

Team principal Peter Windsor told AUTOSPORT that because of the delays caused by the late signing of the Concorde Agreement at the end of July and the lack of suitable American candidates, it is likely to employ at least one overseas driver.

"Because of all the time we've lost, our ambition to run two young Americans is looking more difficult," Windsor told AUTOSPORT.

"I'm still hoping we'll be able to run one American, but that's a tall order because there aren't many Americans out there with superlicences."

The plan to run an all-American driver line-up in the long term will remain, with US F1 hoping to fund several young drivers in junior categories next year to develop future grand prix prospects.

A1GP race-winner Jonathan Summerton, who heads into this weekend's Formula Atlantic finale at Laguna Seca with a shot at the title, has been linked to the team, which is also known to have been impressed with Indy Lights champion JR Hildebrand.

"If we can't fulfil that [the plan to run an American] in 2010, we will certainly put a programme together for young Americans," said Windsor.

"We're making sure we're disciplined to put some money aside to help them with what they are doing whether it's Formula BMW in Europe, Formula Ford 2000 in the States or even GP2.

"GP2 is expensive, but I'm hoping we can find enough money to do that if that's what needs to be done."

Windsor is keen for US F1 to run at least one driver with experience next year, with both Alex Wurz and Pedro de la Rosa linked with the team, and is confident that there are plenty of available options.

"There is a huge argument for running one experienced driver to give us that leg up into year one," said Windsor. "You could ask why that wasn't always the argument because it's a nice feeling for a new team to have two young drivers who grow at the same rate.

"But that required more downtime that we didn't have. It will be interesting when the music stops how many of the experienced guys are standing.

"It's a buyer's market. Let's hope that really talented drivers like Anthony Davidson, Jamie Green and Gary Paffett all get a chance in F1 because it's sad that so many talented drivers haven't had a chance."

He's right that its a buyers market, but the whole idea of USF1 was supposed to be a US-based team with American drivers and American support. Now it's looking like its just going to be another mid-pack F1 team that the American public will soon forget/stop caring about, only it happens to have a factory in North Carolina...