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http://www.gpupdate....tay-at-mclaren/

Ron Dennis is puffing his chest out. He must know that there are no seats left anywhere else.

Yes, Whitmarsh said something along the lines of "I think he will stay, for good or for bad, we will be stuck with each other"

In both cases (MW and RD) none of them seem too thrilled about the perspective, nor does Lewis. I feel that it is not about the car, or the championship possibilities (as it is true that McLaren is, objectively, Lewis best option unless Vettel leaves RBR). I think that, since a while ago, things between Ron and Lewis had gone sour. MW was always more fond of Button, IMHO, but not as much as to "sabotage" Lewis in any way, maybe make Lewis feel a little dejected and missing those "happy bubble" days but nothing more. But with Ron I definitely sense bitterness. Perhaps that also explains the sudden sympathy between Lewis and Nando?

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http://www.totalf1.c...ockenheim_race/

So many jokes...so little time...

He even falls over in a cool way wub.png Ahem, excuse me..

As for Dennis, his recent interviews on Hamilton could hint at a souring of the relationship. Then again, he's known for being a hard negotiator, right? It could just be that. But anyone would have to agree that Lewis is unlikely to be happy about continuing with Mclaren through a lack of other reasonable options, and that will always lead to some tension in the team.

I think Alonso and Hammy's recent respectful comments are because they both matured a lot (esp. Alonso), they are also probably true and a nice way of keeping Vettel's ego under check, the one who has actually been most successful lately.

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RBR continues to make news.

News would be Horner admitting they had done something dodgy in PF.

:rolleyes:

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How is the best way to celebrate the winning of your favourite formula one pilot? There´s a new contest that gives you the chance to show your way of celebrating to the whole world with a video or an image. It´s a very funny idea for a contest....Have a look.....Formula Santander - YouTubewink.gif

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Silly season: Kimi & Jenson possible candidates for a 2013 Ferrari seat.

If they are, then so am I.

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RBR continues to make news.

http://www.autosport...t.php/id/101572

I find that one a bit odd.

Article 34.5 of the Sporting Regulations states: "In order that the scrutineers may be completely satisfied that no alterations have been made to the suspension systems or aerodynamic configuration of the car (with the exception of the front wing) whilst in post qualifying parc ferme, it must be clear from physical inspection that changes cannot be made without the use of tools."

"It was something that could either be changed by hand or by tool, but the FIA said they preferred it was a tool that was used," Horner told AUTOSPORT.

I have no idea of the validity of the statement from Horner, but surely the rule doesn't say it's preferable for a tool to be used? The only thing I can think of is that it's possible the suspension settings could be altered by hand, but nobody from the FIA has actually tried it :lol:

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The rule is indeed very clear. Horner also said that he wasn't sure how long the car's suspension had had that ability, to be altered by hand, but it had been on the car for a number of races. Some people think it explains how Red Bull have been able to run so low in qualifying, with apparently more rake than anyone else. But it's also been pointed out that it seems a bit hard to believe that such a simple and blatant solution (changing the car in parc ferme by hand) is the answer. It does beg the question though of why this story only just emerged now and was only discovered in Canada if it had been the case in previous races too. Also seems unlikely, given Red Bull's form on pushing the rules, and Adrian Newey's mind, that such a breach would happen coincidentally ("oh you can change that by hand, why we had no idea!") as Horner makes out when apparently it could give quite a significant advantage.

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I can't wait for Christian Horner to be out of Formula One because to this day my brain tells me I'm seeing "Homer" and not "Horner." Very annoying.

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If they sent Helmut Marko to do it manually then it is a moot point as they actually used a tool.

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The rule is indeed very clear. Horner also said that he wasn't sure how long the car's suspension had had that ability, to be altered by hand, but it had been on the car for a number of races. Some people think it explains how Red Bull have been able to run so low in qualifying, with apparently more rake than anyone else. But it's also been pointed out that it seems a bit hard to believe that such a simple and blatant solution (changing the car in parc ferme by hand) is the answer. It does beg the question though of why this story only just emerged now and was only discovered in Canada if it had been the case in previous races too. Also seems unlikely, given Red Bull's form on pushing the rules, and Adrian Newey's mind, that such a breach would happen coincidentally ("oh you can change that by hand, why we had no idea!") as Horner makes out when apparently it could give quite a significant advantage.

I don't believe RB have been changing the suspension in parc ferme. However, as you say, it's amazing how such a system could accidentally happen :lol:

Still, the rule states that it should not be able to be adjusted by hand, not 'only if we catch you adjusting it by hand'................

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I don't believe RB have been changing the suspension in parc ferme. However, as you say, it's amazing how such a system could accidentally happen laugh.png

Still, the rule states that it should not be able to be adjusted by hand, not 'only if we catch you adjusting it by hand'................

Yeah, I doubt it too although it's not possible to rule it out until we get more information. I suppose the other teams would have made more of a stink if they believed that's what Red Bull were doing, though. With the rules as they are, it seems at best to be very stupid from Red Bull, to leave yourself open to the accusation.

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Mercedes to have a new aerodynamics chief. They need one to stay ahead of the backmarkers.

Double DRS banned from next year. Maybe Lotus will pull the plug on it this year. Makes no sense to invest money in it, unless it's for the minor matter of getting Kimi to win a WDC.

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If they sent Helmut Marko to do it manually then it is a moot point as they actually used a tool.

Funniest thing I've heard in a long time

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Heikki Kulta, a veteran Finnish F1 reporter, had an interesting article today (http://blogit.ts.fi/...parasta-paitsi/ for those speaking Finnish) in which he asked some of his colleagues to rank this years cars. Thought I could share those rankings, as I found some of them quite surprising.

- Giorgio Piola: 1. Red Bull, 2. McLaren, 3. Ferrari, 4. Lotus

- Will Buxton: Doesn't really give an order, simply lists good cars: Lotus (says maybe best), Sauber, McLaren, Red Bull.

- Gary Anderson: 1. McLaren, 2. Red Bull, 3. Lotus (and says that the best all-around package at the moment is Lewis in McLaren)

- Martin Brundle: 1. Ferrari, 2. McLaren, 3. Red Bull, 4. Lotus (says Ferrari not fastest, but best because is nevertheless fast at every track and in any condition)

- Michael Schmidt: 1. Ferrari, 2. McLaren, 3. Red Bull, 4. Lotus.

- David Coulthard, 1. McLaren, 2. Red Bull (Ferrari has developed the most)

- Mika Salo: 1. Lotus, 2. Red Bull, 3. McLaren, 4. Ferrari, 5. Sauber (says has seen Ferrari data, and based on that, Alonso has been driving fantastically at times)

Not surprisingly, everyone thought McLaren and Red Bull are among the best cars, but other than that, the opinions appear to differ quite alot. In my opinion this is a very good situation from the racing point of view.

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It's a conspiracy!!! Brundle is trying to make the Ferrari look good to make Alonso look worse to make the British drivers look better!!! I can't believe they asked someone from Sky Sports!!! Why not ask a former F1 driver??!?!?!

Seriously, though, it is very interesting to see the differing opinions, as you said. It shows that none of us have any idea what's going to happen in these next nine races and to me, that's so exciting. The teams are really close and it has nothing to do with tires or DRS or anything people want to say. They've run the same tire strategies in races, had similar DRS usage, similar KERS usage, and there's nothing separating them.

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ESPN's doing that thing they like to do when properties they want are up for grabs.

They never show F1 highlights, or F1 results, or mention F1.

But now they are. In fact, they showed Senna multiple times over the weekend.

ESPN did the same thing with hockey when NHL was in bidding.

SPEED Channel is likely to dissolve by 2014 and become FOX Sports 1.

I realize this is only relevant to any U.S. readers of this forum (and the few, infrequent posters). I hope this doesn't happen. ESPN does a **** job with literally everything they cover.

That said, F1's U.S. TV deal is probably one of the least important things ever discussed in this thread, so... :P

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A few days ago in F1, Double DRS was banned for 2013 (so still legal for the rest of the year). The teams agreed to do this. I wonder if Mercedes and Lotus are hoping no one will invest in developing a Double/Super DRS now that there's no long-term use.

Anyway, I hate the ruling, personally. I don't like DRS much, mostly because I don't see the need for it and have found it to be a buzz-kill too often, but I did at least appreciate DRS leading to teams innovating (with Double/Super DRS). It started to become an avenue for differentiation, with teams designing better DRS systems to get an advantage. So while that made the gimmick bigger, it also made the gimmick an integrated part of the sport, which makes it more acceptable, if that makes any sense.

So I'll miss Double/Super DRS...

...actually I'll probably forget we ever even had it by the time it's 2013. laugh.png

I'll just keep on enjoying this year. It's good stuff.

Also: Circuit of the Americas has sold tickets to residents in all 50 U.S. states, and to people in 37 different countries. That's really impressive. It's a huge amount of money to get a Grand Prix, but I suspect it generates a lot more tourism than other events (NASCAR, IndyCar, etc) would. Will it ever make economic sense? Don't ask because the last time I tried to reason that I out I made a gigantic, long-winded mess of nonsense. :P

But good to see they're doing well in sales.

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Well, most teams never even considered the Mercedes route apparently because of the "cost to benefit" ratio not quite working out, although Ross Brawn said recently that it wasn't that expensive at all (but he would say that). Mercedes' system has also been speculated to have caused them more trouble than good, leading them down a limited avenue of aerodynamic development, making the car unstable on corner entry and increasing tyre degradation, none of which seems too enviable (which is not to say other teams couldn't get it to work if they tried). Lotus' system is different, of course, and has taken them quite a long time to develop.

It seems likely at this juncture that no team would be inclined to copy Mercedes' system (they would have already), and they haven't got the time to design, develop, test and then race Lotus' solution. Lotus have said they are going to develop their car longer than usual into the season and so they could be formidable in the latter half of this championship. They were also very innovative at the start of the year with that suspension system they had (iirc) which got banned, so have definitely had their thinking caps on this year.

As for DRS+ type systems, I am pretty much ambivalent to them. It is good to have some added performance differentiators, though.

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