What a fun-filled day we have had today! It's gratifying to know that even a big company like Toyota can underestimate how much pressure they'll put on their servers, and everything can fall down around their ears too. Of course, the TF109 was launched today, but there were other things happening in F1 as well:
- Dank pointed out that the Toro Rosso website has ditched it's French translation for a Japanese one. What does that tell us about who may be their second driver? Is there any need for speculation anymore?
- Bernie is still banging on about getting the points system changed. At least now he's come to the conclusion that the medals system is not the best idea in the world, although it sounds like he's putting the burden on the teams to come up with something instead.
- It seems like a day for sponsors extending their deals, as Panasonic signed up for a few more years as Toyota's title brand, whilst Randstad extended with Williams. What credit crunch?
That'll do it for now. There's no time to blink, as McLaren are set to launch their 2009 "contender" today, although it possibly won't be the media-friendly fest that Toyota delivered. Nevertheless, adding another set of pics to our 2009 photo album is worth waiting for. Until then, I'll leave this discussion thread open, and I'll see you in the comments.
just to bounce a recent comment from miley, over onto this thread. it looks like a DTI investigation of honda could be the story of the day:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-1118262/New-twist-Button-Honda-1-deal-faces-probe-DTI.html
that is an ominous sign isn't it? not a trivial effort by any means either.
carlos crash video:
http://axisofoversteer.blogspot.com/2009/01/ouch-carlos-sainz-crashes-out-of-dakar.html
well the aftermath at least.
I guess Ryan and myself are probably the only ones that see this as a good sign?
I can't deny I really want to see the short Japanese dude back in F1, and I'm hoping this indeed is a sign towards his signing.
hrumph
;)
one day Honda or those involved with honda will hit the headlines for a good reason.
2 minutes in the next car along almost does the same thing
that coulda been nasty.
It is absolutely criminal. Something like that should have been in big bold ref letters in the road book.
One thing the vid shows though is that the doc had little to do with stopping them continuing. That co-driver was in no condition to continue and had made up his mind he was going no further
sidepodspace
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/marsmethane.html
They have found methane on Mars. That should change the standard view of the planet.
that's a hell of an update!
Haha, sorry Mr C
bernie says sir jackie's going senile:
"Most times - and I am frightened about this - when people get older, they become a bit senile and he's just caught it a bit early, that's all."
more: http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=36838
Hmmm... is he Max's puppet now?
That's not good to hear from Bernie. Not good at all.
Bernie should be frightened about this because he's 9 years older than Sir Jackie. I think Bernie has already gone senile first he wants medals now he wants to revamp the point system, he can't seem to make up his mind, that's gotta be a sure sign he's losing his marbles or lost them.
To be fair to Bernie, he may want a points revamp since his medals idea sunk very fast.
Well, everyone thinks they're younger than they actually are. :)
Hi everyone, just online for a bit. Not sure if you've all talked about this before but thought I'd post a link. I think this picture of M.Schumacher giving autographs in Costa Rica was interesting.
Similar story: in english
I hope you're all well :)
Oh my god!
How does that conversation go? "Hi Mr Schumacher, I'm a big fan. Can you sign my baby?"
McLaren Launch T-Minus 75 minutes and counting.
Well, it's out....
No decent pictures yet though.
Morning Guys,
The full interview is here, but here's what I think:
So does that mean he's dropping the idea then? I agree with making a win worth more, but then the current system has given us four brilliant championships - so why change it?
Great. The cars are so ugly even he doesn't like them!
So Bernie opposes KERS too... hmm, I don't think he and Max get along very well if he doesn't like all the changes he is pushing through. But I thought he had the power to veto such things?
Have you looked in the mirror lately, Mr Ecclestone?
McLarens site is now a little like Toyota's was yesterday....
and when you do get through to the 2009 gallery - there are no images available.......
WOW!.
The McLaren MP4-24 has some of the mose extreme sidepods I've ever seen!
The sidepod openings are literally half that of Ferrari's from what I can see. It's not particularly slim at the rear like the Ferrari is, but from first look, *apart form the rear wing* it's prettier.
Just on another note...
I had the strangest day yesterday. One moment, I am talking to my wife on the phone at work, the next I am on the floor with all my colleagues around me telling me I had fainted. Apparently I had the shakes and everything :-(
The Paramedics arrived and took me to hospital, did some tests and told me I was fine, but I need to get my head checked next week (They needn't bother - we all know I'm crazy :-D ). So after two hours (and three fits of vomiting) I was picked up by my wife and driven home.
So, now I'm at home resting and feeling fine. The worst part about all of this is that I was going to go to a Poker Night tonight and have a day trip skiing in Sweden tomorrow, but now I have to rest :-(
Something else I would like to ask about...
Apparently the engine change rule (from Alianora's blog) now reads that you can only use 8 engines per season, with a 10-place grid penalty applying from number 9 onwards.
Does this apply for engines in cars that blow up or retire? What I mean is, under the old rule you could change your engine 'for free' without penalty in this case - but in 2009 this would still count as an engine change and therefore the driver would have one less engine to use?
I had the strangest day yesterday. {Gavin Brown - 2 comments ago}
Sad to hear that, Gavin. Hope you have a swift recovery.
As for your question about engines, yes the figure of 8 engines includes ones that blow up in races. However, there is nothing to stop someone taking an engine from a car that retired, getting seals put on it and using it later on (even several races later on if the seals are intact). It just means that engine changes after retirements won't be automatic the way they used to be.
Unless you use a 9th engine (or beyond), there will be no penalties for engine changes, irrespective of whether the reason is because it's done its share of the work, there's a massive amount of throttle in the next race or simply because the engineers decided they wanted the unit to use as a coffee table.
seconded. on the plus side you can't break anything resting :)
Hmm, interesting...
How 'homologated' are the engines? What I mean is, can you make small changes to the engine that would make it better suited to Monza & Spa for example, or are the engines 100% frozen?
Got this through on Autosport Text while I was out just now:
Ron Dennis will step down as McLaren team principal on 1st March, handing the role to Martin Whitmarsh.
At first I was surprised but after I thought about it, it was a case of when rather than if.
How ‘homologated’ are the engines? What I mean is, can you make small changes to the engine that would make it better suited to Monza & Spa for example, or are the engines 100% frozen? {Gavin Brown - 2 comments ago}
They are supposed to be 100% frozen. But they were supposed to be 100% frozen last year and I haven't yet checked in the Technical Regulations how the FIA intends to enforce this in 2009.
Hence why I call the engine freeze "engine sorbet".
I'm putting that in the Dictionary ;-)
:D
I know a lot of geeks hang around these parts... So totally off topic:
"Two strings walk into a bar, and the bartender says 'We don't serve strings here. You aren't a string, are you?'
The first string says 'No, I'm a frayed knot.a$$%3333343__RG__RG__RU__FG'
The second string says 'You'll have to excuse my friend, he's not null-terminated'.
oh dear.
nick fry's response to this morning's allegations:
"It is evident that attempts are being made by external parties to frustrate this process. However, we will not be deterred from our focus of securing a positive future for the team and its 700 employees and achieving our target of lining up on the grid in Melbourne for the start of the 2009 season."
more: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72829
oh VERY dear.
Off-topic, what was that site where we were able to create street circuits by drawing routes on google maps?
No denials, then?
Whether Fry acted improperly or not, as long as he is a potential buyer, there is a conflict of interest. There's no two ways about it.
yup. no question. however, if you were in his position, and knew the team was probably the bargain of the decade... what would you do?
Declare my interest as a buyer before the bidding process even begins. The fact that Fry hasn't even admitted to that yet is causing bigger problems. Had Fry made his intentions clear earlier, he probably won't be having this brouhaha now.
Nick Fry, frustrated me as a Honda fan when they were around, frustrating me even more as a Honda fan when they're trying to come back.
Grr! I wish he just sorted out his intentions before all of this insetad of potentially making it even worse with a possibly investigation which will delay things even further...
I miss the good times at Honda. As rare as they were... :(
fair point. if we assume brawn's also involved, then he's hardly being mr. transparent either though.
True, but as the one who'd lead the management buyout, and as the one leading the vetting process, the main accountability would still land on Fry's desk.
Off with his head?
He seems to have really taken Honda downwards since he took over, has he done anything successful?
Well he successfully convinced me he was trying to copy Jenson's look with the lack of shaving, the glasses and hair last season at times. But.... mmm... that's about it..
He does seem to have an unhealthy obsession with Jenson....maybe Nick wishes he was one of Jenson's playgirls
I was watching the 2005 Review last night and there's Dani Minogue parked in the BAR garage. Why doesn't Jenson just have done with it and go out with her??
True. BAR/Honda's history of team principals is very brief. First, Craig Pollock, who did a pretty good job in hindsight, in spite of that horrible 1999. Second, David Richards, who gave the team its glory days, and shouldn't have been dumped by Tokyo. Third, Nick Fry, who can seem to do no wrong in Tokyo's eyes. Given how they've only won that one race 2 and a half years ago, perhaps they should've gotten the hint already?
The bloke's too obsessed with the eco shizz
I've seen Mr Fry many times in the local Tesco's in Brackley along with loads of Japs that can't speak a word of english. I imagine they're the design team
or were...........
I was wondering who the hell you were on about when you said Ryan. Gawd am I thick.
Evnin'all, how ye be doin?
Oh, nasty to hear. Hope you get well soon sir.
You called?
Just thinking about those regs for 2009....
My guess is that the FIA are particularly worried about teams messing about with weight for KERS hence the driver comfort padding restrictions and the water bottle restrictions. Interesting stuff.
I wonder what they were buying... :)
An F1 team for a pound?
Unsurprisingly lots of Sushi!!
I used to serve a lot of the japanese engineers in one the banks in the town and they could barely string a sentence together.
I wonder how it worked up there becuase the language difficulties defo would've made it harder to work together
So glad I don't work there anymore
One of my F1 claims to fame is my band practice in the buidling next door to the Honda factory and not doubt keep the workforce happy with rock and metal at all hours of the night!
Actually may we of been one of the reasons they went downhill...all that distraction you see
:D
Another off topic randomness...
This is the Star Wars trilogy retold by a girl who hasn't really seen it and can't really remember much about what she has seen.
http://vimeo.com/2809991?pg=embed&sec=2809991
Bringing together the movie talk and the geek talk.
I messed my comment
put not doubt instead of no doubt
why aren't I allowed to edit it :-(
BAT race at Monaco is done.
I benefited from a safety car and won the race by over a minute! :D
it's a conspiracy.
or, it might've timed out (you get 5mins).
Congrats to Scott for yet another win. I always hated Monaco anyway.
Wow, 5th! Well pleased with that considering I started 20th.
Thanks teammie :)
I'm surprised I even won by that margin. 69 seconds! Had it not been for that safety car I would never have come 1st.
The safety car would not have been had I not have crashed out on the first lap :(
Steven, I think I've determined why you crashed. Gavin was directly ahead of you position wise, he made a mistake on the same lap at the same corner. You came along, got caught out as a result of it and hit the barriers. Unlucky, man :(
How can anyone think it is a good idea to put something pointy near a baby's head. One false move and that chin could kill the poor kid.
I thought it was already there because Alianora hass been calling it a sorbet for months
I thought the problem was attempts were being made by internal parties(ie not so slik Nick himself) to frustrate the process.
Find out the contents of all the bids and then disqualify myself on grounds of conflict of interest because I had been approached to be part of a bid myself.
He has successfully increased Button's bank balance
I think the water bottle is an is to stop teams running under weight. The normal practise is that any fluids can be replaced at the end of the race before the car is weighed so they don't want anyone to put a 25 litre driks container in the car and put 2 litres of drink in at the start. At the end of the race they would then be allowed to 'replace' the fluids and they have run the whole race 20kg light.
That is how water cooled brakes used to work. At the first cornerthe driver pressed the brake pedal and all the cooling water got dumped. He ran the whole race under weoght and at the end the fluids were replaced to give the 'true' weight of the car.
Knowing me, I'd need 2 litres seeing how much I can squash or juice drink in a day believe me. :P
So it was all Gavin's fault?
The really annoying part was I was comfrtably fastest in every session that didn't matter. Then Q3 and the race I was rubbish.
I'm impartial as to who's fault it was. I personally don't think anyone was at fault, just one of those things.
ha!
BATracer blows chunks. If it was rFactor, I'd beat you all!!!
i blame... oh.
Practise runs for Montreal completed. Every lap I got slower. How is that possible?
But I thought you were good at driving (after your podium in the blogger's karting?) :-)
Meh, I wouldn't like to think so. Sure, I was playing GRID last night, but my fastest laps in the races were something like 1-1.5 seconds quicker than anyone elses.
Once I get a decent desktop PC in my room, a wheel and rFactor, you'd better have a pistol because we are gonna duel, man! :D
This is online, by the way ;)
Steven - runs are done :)
KAMALSKY! Come on, explain yourself.
As if I was gonna do well in that race anyway, considering I may have forgot to do the set-up
No hard feelings sir.
Stupid game.
I have made the set up changes.
Right, I think that practice was good for me.
So... Raikkonen's still gonna test despite not feeling well.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72838
But they call it a tonsil issue, tonsil problems and a tonsil complaint, all in the same article.
Whatever happened to tonsillitis?
:D
:D
:D
Journalist obviously had a brain freeze and couldn't remember the word for it.
maybe haymarket make them meet a minimum number of words per article? why use one word when four will do just fine?
Either the journalist couldn't spell it or he was worried about Max interfering with his credentials without having his dagnosis confirmed by a doctor
As fantastic as that game is, I wish it had some kind of sliders to make the game a simulation or an arcadet game. Cornering and stuff feels so arcadey beyond belief but don't get me wrong, it';s an absolutely fantastic game!
Can't wait for Codemasters to make the F1 game this year :D
Neither can I, especially after they said it will be a full simulation game :D
Ah - they've got a newbie jorno or sub who is working to the convention that you don't use the same word over and over within a couple of sentances...
Was drummed into us one term. And then throughly drummed 'out' again the next on the 'you need to know the rules so you can break them' basis.
Whatever happened to it taking a year to do the pre-journalism course? :-(
so what is the rule, and when should you break it?
In front of me, who came second! Hoorah :-D
go you!
might have to practice for this next one. i shall get a point.
Bad news for you, I set this as my home race. So I shall get a point.
God BMW have been bad this season.
you always get a point at your home race?
Not really, but you gotta impress at your home gp haven't you.
Ah screw it, I'm gonna do crap.
Whichever race you set as your home race, you tend to do better than you normally would anywhere else.
is there any way of discovering retrospectively what one might've chosen as one's home race?
Certainly. Go to Season Standings, then Season, and which ever event on the chart beside your name is grey is your chosen home race.
So for you Mr C, your home race was Monaco just gone.
Monaco. You had a big yellow H next to it.
bugger.
i'm guessing the pink 'R' next to my name doesn't mean race winner does it?
bugger.
Sadly not. A bold red number 1 signifies a race win.
What does it stand for?
that would be 'retirement'.
And your car's supposed to be the most reliable out of them all.
Bad news for A1 GP
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72837
and it gets worse
http://a1.gpgrid.com/2009/01/15/could-taupo-nzl-be-in-doubt/
Talk about A1GP and the mod queue hates you
one second.
it's over, isn't it?
Heading that way sadly :(
that's sad. :(
and with ferrari engines too. how did that happen?
I can't see anything regarding A1GP ending. There are stories about Jakarta being cancelled and Mexico's round being moved back, but nothing on it finishing completely.
disputes over payment are generally as a result of a lack of funding.
if the money was available, wouldn't the cars be released already?
The money has really dried up, it may not be in words. But with the cancellation of events and the possibility of the New Zealand race not being taken place, then it will lose more money. And in the current situation, they can't afford that.
Then of course all the drama at the start of the season won't be helping, in theory, the Ferrari deal was bad for them.
but here - http://a1.gpgrid.com/2009/01/15/could-taupo-nzl-be-in-doubt/
it says
"[Update]
We are hearing a rumour that suggests this is not to do with a payment problem to the carriers but an injunction to stop the transportation of the cars."
so is that still about money?
correct. the carriers have been paid, but someone else hasn't.
oh right ok. thanks.
Imagine being Kimi's new race engineer. You're just getting used to his mumbling, quiet way of speaking where you can hardly understand a single word he's saying, but you persevere and you think you're finally getting it. And then just before the first test he goes and gets tonsillitis.
You're on, Mr. Woodwiss ;-)
Get coverage from psrtv and I'm watching.
On the subject of A1GP:
Yes, they're in a spot of trouble, but there's always stories of races being cancelled (it has happened every year) and before every NZ event we are told it will be the last because of money or another venue taking it's place.
We should wait and see but hopefully it's just rumours again ;-)
am loving the new sidepodcast diary, Christine :D
Me too. I say they should take Franck back :P
Thanks both. You guys are fast :)
i spotted your status on facebook and checked pretty much straight away :P
I only knew about it that quick because Lou mentioned it :P
I'm watching the first Sidepodcast Diary. Ah, the memories :D
Thanks for nearly waking the parents up Christine ;) Had to restrain from laughing at the Trulli good one.
Geddit?
I loved seeing Christine give Mr C "the look" when he didn't know about "the wedding" again :D
Gavin - for our rFactor duel, do you fancy doing it in Meganes? ;)
I'm watching PSRTV and it's a race at Montreal consisting of Meganes, WTCC BMWs, Porsche Cup cars and SEAT Leon Supercup cars.
Thank god I'm not the only one, man that guy messed up on the warm up lap
If anyone's interested in watching some live sim racing ;)
mms://psrtv.com/LiveRacing
Hehe.
Ahhh, yes. Sidepodcast history. :D
Which episode is that in?
These commentators on PSRTV are kind of like ITV's were. The guy with the lisp is kind of like James Allen (a.k.a an idiot) and the other guy is like Martin Brundle - good to listen to and quite knowledgable.
I just heard the name of someone I know from RLB - Dave Carr Smith
As my experiences go on watching FSR, one will be a regular commentator and another driver from another series but within the same structure.
I'll be honest, he seems to be everywhere that guy
Ah good ol' DCS :D
People are just going mad at the end of the race and spinning it on purpose at the first corner :D
Its called celebrating/unleashing anger.
Impressive win, 16 secs after 21 laps. Stunning
LOL I kinda gathered that :P
Indeed, great driving on what seemed to be quite a heavy fuel load
EP 1, I think? Or is it EP 2? Not sure. :)
End of episode 1 :)
what was that site where we were able to create street circuits by drawing routes on google maps? {Scott Woodwiss}
Quikmaps.
I might create another one. Just for kicks and all.
I thought it was already there because Alianora hass been calling it a sorbet for months {Steven Roy}
It simply didn't occur to me to define the term there, since I'd first used it at F1 Insight...
KAMALSKY! Come on, explain yourself. {R.G}
I don't think he was entirely happy either. In fact, his comment, verbatim, was "That stunk!"
Imagine being Kimi’s new race engineer. You’re just getting used to his mumbling, quiet way of speaking where you can hardly understand a single word he’s saying, but you persevere and you think you’re finally getting it. And then just before the first test he goes and gets tonsillitis. {Alex Andronov}
Awful, isn't it?
It's good but well it's not really a diary is it?
that is a valid point.
i guess it's stuff that happened this week?
Well, I'll hang up the brain for the night. Might try New York in the morn. Thanks for the compliments Mr C.
Have fun live commenting sim racing.
just wondering if these can be embedded in the wiki, in any way? would be a shame if they got buried in the comments.
I'll have a look into it.
ta. i created a page, but i'm not really wikisavvy.
hey. i fluked it:
http://sidepodcast.wetpaint.com/page/Quikmaps
Taking a look at it, looks like you cannot embed it onto a wetpaint document. What I could try to do is put it on my blog as it accepts it on Blogger?
selecting:
- add widget
- other widget
and then pasting the code in, seems to work.
Aye, had just worked that out and realised you got there first ;)
we need more maps now :D
Oh aye, otherwise it'll be the R.G collection.
Night Scotty.
i do some in the morning.
night all.
good night
Night Mr C
Right off to bed for certain now, if anyone is still awake. Night to you.
Night! :P
What is your definition of a diary?