3530 replies to this topic

[chiuey]

A bit early to be putting Vettel in a Ferrari isnt it?

agreed. He is talented, no doubt, but he hasn't proved anything other very minor glimpses of brilliance

[Skyliner]

Has this been posted?

[Skyliner]

Trulli's engineer, said with 10 laps to go, "Try to keep Kovalainen behind you."

Ya'think?

[Shi]

Trulli's engineer, said with 10 laps to go, "Try to keep Kovalainen behind you."

Ya'think?

I would have been like "wtf do you think I'm doing?!"

[chiuey]

I would have been like "wtf do you think I'm doing?!"

maybe they were implying that if he can't it's ok. Coz Heikki is much faster?

[Ximian]

It's true. Look up all the news bulletins that have him scoring a podium.

[_R_]

The FIA is to discuss a dramatic rise of almost 150 percent in the entry fees for teams competing in Formula One next year, to help pay for services and equipment, in its World Council Meeting in Paris tomorrow.

Less than a week after drivers went public in venting their frustrations at the escalation in the cost of their mandatory superlicence, the FIA is to consider raising the cost of a team's entry in F1 from this year's 300,000 euros to 740,000 euros.

The move comes because the FIA wants the teams to pay for improved safety and logistical facilities provided at races, as it is no longer willing to bankroll their provision itself. The plans have been revealed in an agenda for tomorrow's meeting in Paris that has been seen by autosport.com.

The services that the FIA wants teams to pay for from the start of next year are:

1) A marshalling and positioning system (known as F1MS) that provides race control with real time information about a car's location on the track and enables light signals to be sent to cars. The total cost for this is 1,026,000 euros.

2) The increased use of light panels around the track to supplement flag signals - which not only provide better visibility for drivers but also give race control a more accurate record of what signals are shown when. The total cost for this is 1,232,000 euros.

3) The Surveillance Data Record (SDR), which is fitted to cars to monitor car parameters and also gather data in the event of a crash. This has been used for the past six years and, although the teams have previously paid the supplier directly, this will now be sourced directly through the FIA. The cost of this is 130,900 euros.

4) A new Pit Lane and Garage Network to provide a totally secure messaging service to replace the need for paper copies of documents from race control or the stewards. All FIA communication with teams would be done via this network and, with teams having to acknowledge receipt, it would prevent the kind of situation that happened in Japan last year when Ferrari claimed they failed to receive an email detailing the use of wet tyres. The network would also distribute the F1MS information, weather data and car data from the SDR and Standard ECU. The cost of this is 70,400 euros for each team.

5) Weather forecast. The provision of weather information to the teams costs the FIA 485,000 Euros per year.

6) Pit wall intercom system. The intercom system that has been used by teams for the past six years to speak directly to race control has cost 780,000 euros. The cost of this will be split between the teams, with the FIA also making an equal contribution.

Based on ten teams competing, the raft of safety and logistical measures will cost each outfit 428,700 euros per year.

That is why the FIA wants to raise the entry fee from this year's 300,000 euros up to 740,000 euros, which also takes into account an index link rise of 3.7 percent.

Although such an increase in fees may at first appear draconian, it comes on the back of FIA president Max Mosley making it clear that he wants the sport's commercial rights holders to increase the amount of money they pay the teams from track and television rights. The FIA is set to indicate on Wednesday that it will only sign a new Concorde Agreement if there is a dramatic rise in the income that the teams receive from Ecclestone.

The FIA and commercial rights holders Bernie Ecclestone and his financial backers CVC Capital Partners are at loggerheads over what should be in a new Concorde Agreement, and the FIA's decision to make teams pay for services that have been provided by it for some time must be viewed as part of the ongoing situation between the FIA and Formula One Management.

It is clear the FIA is losing patience with Ecclestone, and the imposition of a fee hike will also show the teams just how valuable the role of the FIA has been in recent years. The rising costs will also likely make the teams keener to improve any financial terms they get off Ecclestone to offset their rise in costs - or put pressure on Ecclestone to pay the FIA directly himself.

The FIA is also to consider opening the period of entries for next year's world championship from July 1 to July 31 - meaning any new outfit will have just one month to put together their plans.

The World Council is also due to discuss the 2009 F1 regulations, the work of their various commissions, and the Motor Sport Development Fund.

not just the drivers paying up the wahzoo

[F1]

I smell breakaway series...

[_R_]

and it looks like the FIA is going to be busy this week

The next two days will decide the future of the World Rally Championship, via a brace of high-level meetings at the home of world motorsport's governing body, the FIA.

Today's WRC Commission meeting will provide further discussion between those in the sport, while tomorrow's World Motor Sport Council meetings will ratify the decisions which will shape not only the sporting, but also the potential commercial, future of the sport.

Both Citroen and Ford have confirmed they will walk away from the sport if the right decisions concerning the future of the World Rally Championship are not made in Paris this week.

The two key issues, which are pivotal, are the appointment of a global promoter for the WRC, and the rubber-stamping of the technical regulations for the 2010 season.

Ford of Europe's motorsport director Mark Deans said: "This is a watershed moment for the World Rally Championship. It's impossible to overstate the importance of this week.

"Failure [of the World Motor Sport Council] to make clear progress in the appointment of a global promoter would put Ford's participation in the WRC in jeopardy. Ford wants to be satisfied that there is an absolute commitment to put the promoter in place and that it (the FIA) is going through due diligence before announcing the name of the promoter in September or October.

"Ford is right on the cusp of a new contract with M-Sport and, of course, we want to stay in the sport, but it would be corporate negligence if we didn't see these decisions taken before we committed."

Deans added that the shape of that potential future participation depended on the technical regulations.

"We need to get a definite agreement on the regulations," he added. "We need to start looking at starting the development work on cars for the future, and even if that comes immediately, it's a struggle to get it done in 18 months.

"If we don't get these decisions from the meetings this week, then it's October and that's just too long - that's just over a year before they come in."

Deans' counterpart at Citroen, Olivier Quesnel, is in complete agreement.

"At the moment, the promotion of rally is nothing," he said. "Look at other sports, it's incredible. Look at DTM, it's so much more than WRC.

"This has to be (put) right for Citroen to continue, otherwise it makes no sense. And the technical details, how can I answer your question about Citroen's future in the sport when we don't even know what kind of car will be legal for the sport in 2010? We need to know the regulations so we can make decisions."

Decisions are expected to come out of the World Motor Sport Council meeting on Wednesday afternoon.

[_R_]

and more Bernie news...
i hate that guy more and more as time passes

Bernie Ecclestone has warned Max Mosley to keep his nose out of F1's commercial affairs.

It emerged at the weekend that, amid the threat of a 'breakaway' series, the FIA President is planning a counter-offensive for the World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris on Wednesday.

It is expected he will only sign a new Concorde Agreement if F1's owners, run by chief executive Ecclestone, agree to release more income for the competing teams.

But in an interview with The Times newspaper, Ecclestone reminds his former ally that the FIA is not allowed to meddle in the sport's commercial affairs.

"I'm sure if that happened, the European Commission would move in," the 77-year-old said. "Under the agreement with the European Commission, the FIA are the regulators of the sport - like the police - and Formula One Management are the commercial rights holders."

"The money doesn't belong to Max, it doesn't belong to him to touch," Ecclestone added.

He laughed at suggestions he is unlikely to win a war with Mosley because he is lacking the trained barrister's "world-class political brain.
"

For example, while Mosley may win the teams' support over the issue of more commercial income, at Wednesday's WMSC the FIA will simultaneously call on the teams to pay higher championship entry fees.

"I'd hardly say what Max has been doing lately is world class or political. In any case, most of the time it's the other way round. He calls me for advice," Ecclestone said.

But as all-out war with Mosley now seems inevitable, Ecclestone vehemently denies that he is the furtive figure behind the devastating expose about Mosley's sex life.

"You must be joking," was the reply.

"It is nothing in the world to do with me in any shape or form," he said from his London office.

"Secondly, this sort of thing is not my style -- not the sort of way I would operate. Thirdly, there is no way in the world that I would want to destroy Max."

"To suggest I would want to do that is such a lot of bollocks, quite frankly -- it's not true."

[yonson]

5) Weather forecast. The provision of weather information to the teams costs the FIA 485,000 Euros per year.

Fuck'n A, for 485k Euro/year I can give them MUCH better weather info...

[Redliner]

Geezus. What a clusterfuck the FIA & FOM are creating now. This is starting to become a war between BE & MadMax. This has nothing to do with F1 IMO...

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

5) Weather forecast. The provision of weather information to the teams costs the FIA 485,000 Euros per year.

Fuck'n A, for 485k Euro/year I can give them MUCH better weather info...

you always see this sort of shit going down in large bureaucratic organizations where the people who sign off on budgets are so damn rich in the first place that they don't know the going price of basic services or what it takes to get things done at the bottom level. its like they're budgeting to fly a team of meteorologists around the world to each race when they could just hire one guy and get him a phone (to call local weather authorities) and an internet connection. every country that f1 races in has some sort of agency equivalent to the NOAA here.

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was the quickest man on Tuesday, as this week’s three-day test got underway at Silverstone. Massa clocked a best lap of 1m 20.188s around the British circuit, to finish just under three-tenths of a second quicker than McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen.

Full report to follow.

Unofficial Tuesday times from Silverstone:
1. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:20.188
2. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 1:20.477
3. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:20.995
4. Kamui Kobayashi, Toyota, 1:21.335
5. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:21.410
6. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:21.565
7. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 1:21.797
8. Jenson Button, Honda, 1:22.081
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India, 1:22.250
10. Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso, 1:23.853

[DrDickAction]

you always see this sort of shit going down in large bureaucratic organizations where the people who sign off on budgets are so damn rich in the first place that they don't know the going price of basic services or what it takes to get things done at the bottom level. its like they're budgeting to fly a team of meteorologists around the world to each race when they could just hire one guy and get him a phone (to call local weather authorities) and an internet connection. every country that f1 races in has some sort of agency equivalent to the NOAA here.

That and the people in power have a tendency to make sure their college roommate or wife's cousin gets the overinflated contract.

[More&Faster]

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was the quickest man on Tuesday, as this week’s three-day test got underway at Silverstone. Massa clocked a best lap of 1m 20.188s around the British circuit, to finish just under three-tenths of a second quicker than McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen.

Full report to follow.

Unofficial Tuesday times from Silverstone:
1. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:20.188
2. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 1:20.477
3. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 1:20.995
4. Kamui Kobayashi, Toyota, 1:21.335
5. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 1:21.410
6. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:21.565
7. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 1:21.797
8. Jenson Button, Honda, 1:22.081
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India, 1:22.250
10. Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso, 1:23.853

i hope honda gets rid of both button and barrichello next year

preferably they could convince wurz back into a race seat and then bring davidson as his teammate

[Skyliner]

It's true. Look up all the news bulletins that have him scoring a podium.

I'm just not sure what you're implying about Trulli. Are you saying he "can't" score a podium without someone dying, or that he "won't"?

[draobpi]

Force India's got just about all of their new aero/chasis updates minus the shark fin at Silverstone Test today.

New Sidepods:


New Front Wing:


New "ears":






entire package is supposed to get them at least two tenths.......or so they say.

[_R_]

why did they move that antenna thingie to the top of their air intake instead of in front of the driver?

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

why did they move that antenna thingie to the top of their air intake instead of in front of the driver?

the antenna they use for testing is larger, higher gain for more data bandwidth and less chance of losing signal. nobody races with a large top mount antenna. once they are out of the test sessions they will revert to the smaller antenna on the front of the chassis.

it looks like there is also a pitot-static tube on top of the top mounted antenna to measure free-stream air velocity

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

No Indy on provisional 2009 calendar

By Pablo Elizalde Wednesday, June 25th 2008, 11:53 GMT

The FIA has unveiled the provisional calendar for the 2009 season, confirming the arrival of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the absence of a race in the United States.

The season will begin again in Australia in late March and will finish in Abu Dhabi in November. The calendar will have 19 races, one more than this year.

The United States Grand Prix, absent this season, will not return next year despite Indianapolis bosses admitting they would welcome F1 back if a financial supporter was found.

Changes on the calendar include the Turkish Grand Prix moved from May to August and the British Grand Prix moved ahead of the French race.

Provisional 2009 calendar:

29 March Australia
5 April Malaysia
19 April Bahrain
10 May Spain
24 May Monaco
7 June Canada
21 June Great Britain
28 June France
12 July Germany
26 July Hungary
9 August Turkey
23 August Europe (Valencia)
6 September Italy
13 September Belgium
27 September Singapore
11 October Japan
18 October China
1 November Brazil
15 November Abu Dhabi

no USGP, no interlagos finale

plus it'd be hard to slot the USGP after or before the canadian GP now because it would result in a 3 races in 3 weeks 'problem' for the teams..

[Redliner]

no USGP, no interlagos finale

plus it'd be hard to slot the USGP after or before the canadian GP now because it would result in a 3 races in 3 weeks 'problem' for the teams..

Isn't Abu Dhabi on the way to Brazil from China? Why isn't Interlagos the last race??

Damnnit, who makes up these assinine decisions?!

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

Isn't Abu Dhabi on the way to Brazil from China? Why isn't Interlagos the last race??

Damnnit, who makes up these assinine decisions?!

china to brazil would fly over the pacific, then across the atlantic to the middle east for abu dhabi

if you fly westward then china -> abu dhabi -> brazil would make more sense.

[chiuey]

why is France still on the calendar? I thought they said it's finished!

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

why is France still on the calendar? I thought they said it's finished!

http://www.autosport...rt.php/id/68624