Today In F1

[JHS 1]

10th place in the WCC gives him a huge cash boost. When you are at the back of the grid fighting for the lesser scraps, team bosses don't give a crap about how they achieve their results, anything that puts money in the bank is a huge bonus. And I personally think Lotus deserve it, they are the only one of the new teams that have impressed me this year.

I agree. Hopefully they'll be fighting in the mid field next year at least.

[wapi 4]

I am not sure they are going to be on the grid next year, and certainly they will not be able to fight with Sauber, Williams or Torro Roso.

[JHS 1]

Let's wait and see. Nobody knows that for sure. I think Lotus has the strongest future out of any of the new teams.

[wapi 4]

Let's wait and see. Nobody knows that for sure. I think Lotus has the strongest future out of any of the new teams.

I agree.

[Argento Reloaded 1]

10th place in the WCC gives him a huge cash boost. When you are at the back of the grid fighting for the lesser scraps, team bosses don't give a crap about how they achieve their results, anything that puts money in the bank is a huge bonus. And I personally think Lotus deserve it, they are the only one of the new teams that have impressed me this year.

Well I can´t agree with you. Lotus with wind tunnel and experienced drvers and money is in the same league of HRTand Virgin and maybe next year they won´t be Lotus anymore!

They introduced themselves as a strong new team and at the end of the season they are fighting with Virgin and HRT for the track keys in order close the circuit on sunday nights!

[Eric 0]

Korean Grand Prix promoters really pulled a Vettel on this one. The track's all set; now they have to build parking lots. The promoters are using Facebook to give tickets away free to foreigners willing to subject themselves to the horrors that await. Meanwhile, Champ Car called. They want their annual Korean race disasters back.

Portimão (Algarve) had been contacted as a replacement, but will not be needed. As consolation, they will host winter testing in 2011. It's a shame they won't use a non-Tilke track, because it's a fine circuit.

Also, a Russian Grand Prix is certain for 2014, as Putin and Berne said so, and if I had to trust anyone in this world, it would be Putin and Bernie. It will take place in Sochi. The Winter Olympics will also take place in Sochi in 2014. After all, in Soviet Russia, the only thing with a larger presence in society than vodka is government.

Here is the track behind Barnie. Mickey Mouse called. He's demanding royalties for this one. Even the ovals of NASCAR are more original than that.

(Two so-and-so called, one in Soviet Russia, and one NASCAR reference. This was a post of which to be proud).

EDIT: Without thinking, I mistyped "Bernie" as "Barnie." But I'll leave it.

[JHS 1]

I fail to see how the calendar's going to remain at 20 races with this new influx of places wishing to hold events. Sure, some might not happen, but on the basis that they will, there's Rome, rumours there will soon be a French GP again, Austin of course, as well as the Indian Grand Prix and I believe people are pushing for a Grand Prix in Africa too.

I just hope it doesn't come at the expense of any of the real classics like Spa, Monza or Interlagos. It saddens me that most new tracks these days are street track based circuits. Sure, they look great on TV, but they produce pretty lousy racing coupled with Tilke's boring designs. I sincerly hope that the people in Austin get it together, because the track map for that race actually looks pretty damn good. I don't know, maybe with the new regs and ground effect and what have you soon to come into the sport, we'll finally see some more action on street circuits.

Street circuit racing can work and be exciting, you only have to look at other levels of motorsport to see that, but with how the current crop of Formula One cars are designed, I just don't see the appeal to be perfectly honest.

[Delta 0]

Personally, for me, the answer to accommodating new races is to get rid of the current ones that simply contribute nothing. Almost every year (bar 2006) Hungary has provided one processional race after another, Valencia in my opinion just hasn't worked, and most races at Barcelona are also pretty processional. Formula 1 needs to drop it's obsession with the "traditional" circuits, and look to provide entertainment.

[wapi 4]

Personally, for me, the answer to accommodating new races is to get rid of the current ones that simply contribute nothing. Almost every year (bar 2006) Hungary has provided one processional race after another, Valencia in my opinion just hasn't worked, and most races at Barcelona are also pretty processional. Formula 1 needs to drop it's obsession with the "traditional" circuits, and look to provide entertainment.

I do not expect to be entertained by F1. I enjoy using my brain while I watch F1, which is not the case while I am entertained.

[JHS 1]

Personally, for me, the answer to accommodating new races is to get rid of the current ones that simply contribute nothing. Almost every year (bar 2006) Hungary has provided one processional race after another, Valencia in my opinion just hasn't worked, and most races at Barcelona are also pretty processional. Formula 1 needs to drop it's obsession with the "traditional" circuits, and look to provide entertainment.

By replacing said events with street circuits? Really?

[Delta 0]

I do not expect to be entertained by F1. I enjoy using my brain while I watch F1, which is not the case while I am entertained.

You can't be entertained and use your brain at the same time?

By replacing said events with street circuits? Really?

Not all street circuits are bad, some have thrown up good racing.

[JHS 1]

Not all street circuits are bad, some have thrown up good racing.

Yes, very, very, very rarely.

[Rainmaster 7]

Street circuits are usually not conducive to good racing, but that's missing the point imo. The idea of the street race is to see the drivers skills, be able to get closer to the action if you're attending, marvel at how close to the walls the drivers can get, and how they can thread the car through the barriers, etc. That is why Monaco, despite lacking overtaking opportunities, is still a fantastic track and Grand Prix to have. That is why F1 needs some street tracks, because it reminds us of what these guys can do. Obviously if all the circuits were street circuits it wouldn't be very good, because we like to see some racing too (or at least know the possibility exists). The tracks which need to go are the non-street tracks where racing is so rare, the fans are positioned so far away, the track is so wide, and you can't easily see driver skill. Those need to go because you're probably getting very little benefit from the race at that point.

Naturally this is a fan perspective not a Bernie perspective.

[JHS 1]

I know this is off topic, but what would people's ideal calendar be then?

I'd personally get rid of Valencia and there's also better venues in Spain, newer ones, than Catalunya.

[wapi 4]

You can't be entertained and use your brain at the same time?

To properly explain it I bump into language barrier. Nevertheless, I'll try again-

F1 is much more than "superman" or "die hard" or Madonna concert. When I watch F1, I also watch live timing, I analyze what is going on.... I am much more involved then with other forms of entertainment. I am discussing it here and on one Croatian F1 forum, so I am taking it seriously. There is much more in F1 (at least for me) than just 20 cars bumping and racing on the track.

[JHS 1]

I still fail to understand how something can't be interesting and entertaining at the same time though.

[Eric 0]

I know this is off topic, but what would people's ideal calendar be then?

I'd personally get rid of Valencia and there's also better venues in Spain, newer ones, than Catalunya.

There are so few FIA-certified tracks that you couldn't make one much different than the current one.

FIA-certified tracks not on the calendar:

Portimão (Algarve)

Motorland Aragón (I think)

Jerez

Estoril (I think)

Indianapolis (I think)

Magny-Cours

Fuji

I probably forgot a handful, but, regardless, there's nothing particularly interesting you can do to the calendar. I do like the Portimão track, but that won't ever happen; it isn't a Tilke design. They have a nice winter testing date this year and I doubt they ever get much further (however, they were contacted as a possible replacement for Korea, so maybe they'll get Austin's date in 2012 when that track never even gets started).

As far as street circuits go, they're cheaper than building an entirely new track (and easier; see Austin) or renovating an existing one to FIA standards (and easier; see Donington) and tend to get a lot more government funding.

At the end of the day, it gets sorted by who pays the most. That's just how it goes, as much as the future of the sport really would benefit from lowered sanctioning fees (at some point, even governments get tired of losing money, and fans are going to reach a breaking point eventually if the racing is p**s-poor). I think alternating grands prix will become a more popular trend in the future (i.e. Barcelona and Valencia switching off each year, some say Montréal and Spa might switch off each year, etc, etc).

I still fail to understand how something can't be interesting and entertaining at the same time though.

To be honest, I'm here to be entertained, not interested. I've always supported more open regs in F1 not because I give half a damn about automotive technology, but because series with "controlled diversity" often have much better racing than highly-regulated/spec series. F1's image as "the pinnacle" or its "tradition" or anything mean nothing to me. It's a high-intelligence sport, and that's fine, but the market of high-intelligence people isn't very big, and many high-intelligence people prefer "entertainment" to get a break from having to think too much during the week. For the majority of fans (the ones that don't post on Internet forums; this site would be an awful sample of the general F1 audience because we care too much), interesting drivers/drivers they can support comes first, entertainment comes second. Nothing else factors in for them. Fortunately, entertainment is achieved with a bit more innovation and variety, so their interests align with those here. I think a lot of people don't think the sport can be entertaining and interesting, but really, it can. They don't have to eliminate strategies or technology to increase "low-intelligence" excitement.

[HandyNZL 1]

To be honest, I'm here to be entertained, not interested. I've always supported more open regs in F1 not because I give half a damn about automotive technology, but because series with "controlled diversity" often have much better racing than highly-regulated/spec series. F1's image as "the pinnacle" or its "tradition" or anything mean nothing to me. It's a high-intelligence sport, and that's fine, but the market of high-intelligence people isn't very big, and many high-intelligence people prefer "entertainment" to get a break from having to think too much during the week. For the majority of fans (the ones that don't post on Internet forums; this site would be an awful sample of the general F1 audience because we care too much), interesting drivers/drivers they can support comes first, entertainment comes second. Nothing else factors in for them. Fortunately, entertainment is achieved with a bit more innovation and variety, so their interests align with those here. I think a lot of people don't think the sport can be entertaining and interesting, but really, it can. They don't have to eliminate strategies or technology to increase "low-intelligence" excitement.

Huh? What yous said? Yous making funs off me? Jus coz yous can read and rite and rithmeticky.....

[Eric 0]

Huh? What yous said? Yous making funs off me? Jus coz yous can read and rite and rithmeticky.....

Dad gurnit Hanny, I ain't no good at reedin maself no nothin and y'all's know that durn good I reckon. I just dun like seein me no furners in them F1 cors racin in that there terrorizers and communizers and the Axis of Evil and I ain't never gonna watch til they star usin reel hot rods with fenders on em and has reel good drivers too like Dale Joonyer and none of them stoopids like that there Wan Pabla whatever his name is. If they ain't rubbin they ain't racin and if you ain't first you last! GIT-R-DUN-DID!!!

[Eric 0]

VWAG will meet in November to discuss future plans in motor racing. Right now, they are debating between two large, expensive series: Formula 1 and NASCAR. F1 seems more in-line with the company's past comments, but Hans-Joachim Stuck (a member of VWAG's motor racing division) suggests NASCAR is actually more likely. NASCAR would offer the "people's car" to participate in the "people's sport" and establish the brand in North America as something more than the company that makes that "cute little car." With a fresh Passat, NASCAR seems viable.

However, with VWAG's push for the GRE and "relevant" racing, F1's 2013 engine regulations seem to make more sense compared to NASCAR's future, which includes E15 Ethanol and fuel injection for 2011, the first of which is not something VWAG would be interested in (they rejected the IRL over a lack of using the GRE and their insistence on E98 Ethanol) and the second of which is very much a "1980 called..." innovation. Still, VW have a small presence in the U.S., the world's second largest car market, and NASCAR seems to be a more direct way to gain recognition and supporters rather than F1, which mainly targets Europe, where VWAG's brands are firmly established, and offers less "direct association" as the cars do not mirror road cars and VWAG would likely only be an engine supplier. NASCAR, too, opens VW up to a host of a drivers to use in advertisements, as there wouldn't just be one works team or one supplied team; there would be multiple teams supported in part by them, an investment that will decrease now that fuel injection is being introduced (in July 2011; by the time VW join for 2012/2013, it would be there).

Of course, though, NASCAR only targets two nations, while F1 appeals to a much broader range. North America may be a critical market, but F1 boasts 60,000,000 more viewers per race (excluding the Daytona 500).

I can definitely see the gain in racing in both series, so it will be interesting to see just what they choose. F1 could use another supplier, and the new engine regulations really ought to open it up to new ones more than ever in the past little while, but at the same time, how big of a steal would it be for NASCAR to woo a European manufacture away from F1 and to their sport? It certainly would establish the Daytona Beach crew as legitimate players in the worldwide auto racing scene if they could out-talk F1.

[Eric 0]

Mikhail Aleshin is in talks with Force India, Virgin, and that other team. Lotus I guess. He has a Renault test this winter due to his WSR championship.

Pastor Maldonado will replace Hülkenberg next year. PDVSA joins. Pay-drivers are fine, but socialist ones aren't, so Williams and Pastor move over to the dark side. Definitely a step down in talent, but a step up in funding Rubens Barrichello's championship quest for 2011 (spoiler alert: he wins. As always).

Something about Max Mosley and a coup and November 5. He helped put Todt in power and now he wants him out. Must be an American voter. Truth be told, though, I miss Max. He was interesting and was savvy enough to know not to try to work with NASCAR and get AAA back in the FIA. They laugh about Todt's Daytona visit at the NASCAR offices every afternoon. Keeps them distracted from the TV ratings and that documentary about Tim Richmond, I guess.

Rubens Barrichello is the first rumored Stig for Top Gear U.S.A., which hasn't even aired yet (and never really should). I have a hard time picturing Rubens flying to California every week to film (he spends his American time in Miami, for the record, as does Trulli, and as did Montoya and Bourdais) when he's winning WDCs and such. I'm sure its former Honda test driver Townsend Bell.

Confirmed testing in the youngins/rookies test:

• Gary Paffett for McLaren
• Jules Bianchi for Ferrari
• Daniel Ricciardo for Red Bull
• Jean-Eric Vergne for Toro Rosso
• Sergio Pérez and Esteban Gutiérrez for Sauber
• Jérôme d'Ambrosio for Virgin
• Dean Stoneman for Williams
• Paul di Resta for Force India
• Mikhail Aleshin for Renault

Ricciardo's good. Gutiérrez has potential and Pérez might, too. di Resta and Aleshin aren't bad. Vergne's too inexperienced. Bianchi's overrated. d'Ambrosio sucks. Stoneman won a meaningless title, which doesn't mean he's bad, but it doesn't mean he's any good. Paffett? I laugh.

[Argento Reloaded 1]

Mikhail Aleshin is in talks with Force India, Virgin, and that other team. Lotus I guess. He has a Renault test this winter due to his WSR championship.

Pastor Maldonado will replace Hülkenberg next year. PDVSA joins. Pay-drivers are fine, but socialist ones aren't, so Williams and Pastor move over to the dark side. Definitely a step down in talent, but a step up in funding Rubens Barrichello's championship quest for 2011 (spoiler alert: he wins. As always).

Something about Max Mosley and a coup and November 5. He helped put Todt in power and now he wants him out. Must be an American voter. Truth be told, though, I miss Max. He was interesting and was savvy enough to know not to try to work with NASCAR and get AAA back in the FIA. They laugh about Todt's Daytona visit at the NASCAR offices every afternoon. Keeps them distracted from the TV ratings and that documentary about Tim Richmond, I guess.

Rubens Barrichello is the first rumored Stig for Top Gear U.S.A., which hasn't even aired yet (and never really should). I have a hard time picturing Rubens flying to California every week to film (he spends his American time in Miami, for the record, as does Trulli, and as did Montoya and Bourdais) when he's winning WDCs and such. I'm sure its former Honda test driver Townsend Bell.

Confirmed testing in the youngins/rookies test:

• Gary Paffett for McLaren
• Jules Bianchi for Ferrari
• Daniel Ricciardo for Red Bull
• Jean-Eric Vergne for Toro Rosso
• Sergio Pérez and Esteban Gutiérrez for Sauber
• Jérôme d'Ambrosio for Virgin
• Dean Stoneman for Williams
• Paul di Resta for Force India
• Mikhail Aleshin for Renault

Ricciardo's good. Gutiérrez has potential and Pérez might, too. di Resta and Aleshin aren't bad. Vergne's too inexperienced. Bianchi's overrated. d'Ambrosio sucks. Stoneman won a meaningless title, which doesn't mean he's bad, but it doesn't mean he's any good. Paffett? I laugh.

Did you see tha last 2 FR 3.5 races? Ricciardo is well beyeond the russian and Guerrieri. He has no guts! He lost the WC in the last laps of the 2 last races. Nevertheless guerreri was the best FR 3.5 driver of the season and should be the WC.

[JHS 1]

I think Vergne become something good in time. He's really adapted well to 3.5 in a very short period of time. Surely a candidate for that championship's title if he stays in it next year.

[Eric 0]

Jérôme d'Ambrosio is close to signing with Virgin. 1Malaysia, meanwhile, are playing the Mikhail Aleshin, Bruno Senna, and Karun Chandhok financial sweepstakes. Too bad none of them bring that much money (Aleshin's funding seems to be whatever the government gives him, Senna's comes from Embratel which is Telmex who are a bit occupied with Sauber, and Chandhok's comes from JK Tyre who can't actually advertise on the cars thanks to Pirelli) and Aleshin's the only one yet to prove a lack of ability (sorry, but Chandhok and Senna are generic. Anyone could do what they do).

I expect they'll be using this livery next year, though.

Which is fortunate because I rather like it. It reminds me of the NASCAR paint schemes I would have designed when I was 4.

Sutil's blown his shot at Renault these last few races, hasn't he? Not like Petrovsky's done much better in that regard. I suppose Vitaly is vital to the driver market; Renault or gets farmed out to 1Malaysia.

Force India don't seem as keen on di Resta as the media seem to think they are. In talks with a host of drivers. Aleshin among them. Heidfeld too. Something tells me they won't replace either driver, though. That's the trend. Sutil's probably better than Force India except when he isn't. Which is 50% of the time.

[Adnam 0]

Interesting article on the Red Bull Racing from a year ago. Thought it is very relevant.

Vettel: 'Team-mates are the key'

Sebastian Vettel claims that superior teamwork could be the key to his unlocking the Formula One world championship and overtaking Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello in the final two races.

The young Red Bull driver remains resolute and refuses to give up on his title chase while he still has a mathematical chance of victory. Speaking exclusively to German broadcaster RTL, a defiant Vettel said, “Anything is still possible so I’m not giving up.

“The goal is simple: to win the next two races,” he added. “Everything else is not in our hands which makes the whole situation relatively easy for us.”

Vettel added that the drivers’ relationship between their respective team-mates could prove crucial in the final run-in. "I think we have an advantage. We work very well together as a team and over the whole year we’ve had less disruption internally.

“Unfortunately, Mark cannot fight for the world championship, which is the case for Button and Barrichello,” he explained. “As a racing driver you have to be selfish. Both Jenson and Rubens want to be first and that could be a big advantage for us.”