Saturday turns into Sunday, and it's the return of the live Debrief show. Unlike last week, there is no chance that karting can be used as an excuse to postpone the show. That's not to say there can't be some other bizarre reason, but fingers crossed everything goes to plan. Until then, there's still plenty to talk about:
- Mark Hughes has been taking a closer look at the Ferrari, and come up with some interesting technical insight. How far can teams bend the rules before it becomes unacceptable? And who'll be the first to push it too far?
- Webber has given us a date for his comeback. I can't wait to see him back in the car, although I don't really feel like I missed him from the previous tests. Roll on 11th Feb, I say.
- In the live show, we'll be doing the Fantasy Racers rundown - a quick list of everyone who has signed up so far. This will be an interesting experiment live, as it took a few takes last year. Anyway, if you haven't signed up already, click on the new link in the sidebar to take you to Fantasy Racers, and you'll hear your team read out later today.
That'll keep us going until later today, when the thread for the Debrief show will be opened. The schedule says 7pm GMT, but no promises. Until then, I'll see you in the comments.
oh goodness, i still haven't created my team yet. I have such an awful memory.
oh and hey everyone ;)
If you're reading out people's 5 teams, can you save the Dumbo-Flugel team until last? You read the other 4 and then you get that as the final masterpiece :D
I like the fantasy racers button on the side btw, very handy :)
Here's a thing that hasn't been brought up yet.
Hamilton mentioned post-Brazil that he'll stay at McLaren for the rest of his F1 career.
But with Ron's retirement, does that change things? We know Anthony tried to shop him around other teams in the past, and even had entry-level negotiations with Williams. Will he try jumping ship to, say, BMW or Ferrari (assuming Alonso isn't there, of course)?
And I haven't even mentioned the fact that Lewis wasn't informed of Ron's retirement until just minutes before the public announcement.
I don't know if anybody have suggested this here before (sorry, not too much time to read all the daily comments), but there is an idea theat is getting stronger between F1 bloggers here in Brazil about the new Honda team (if there will be one). Maybe they'vwe copied the idea from somewhere else, but I found it quite nice.
Before Honda, the team was named BAR. Before BAR it was the Tyrrel team. So why not rename it to Tyrrel again?
What do you think about it? To me, it would be awesome have the Tyrrel team back. The same team that was incredibly strong in the early 70's, had the 6-wheeler, the first "moustache" front-wing iin the 90's. It is a strong name, and it could bring back that amateur feeling (in a good sense) back.
The short answer is no. If you take someone like Hamilton. Since he first got a kart to handle to his liking he has had the front end nailed to the ground and has learned to brake into a corner controlling the slide of the tail then to apply the throttle and balance the tail with that. He can't suddenly become and Alonso or Kubica who have the tail nailed and slide the front under braking and just know when it is going to bite before it does. Equally neither of those two could cope with the tail dancing about because they have no frame of reference for that as any time they have had it in the past they have dialed it out.
Effectively that was Kimi's problem last season. His style needs the front to grip and it slid all over the place so he had no way to pivot the rear on the front tyres as the front end just didn't grip. Couple that with a rear end that wouldn't step out of line and everything he had ever learned wouldn't work because he didn not have a platform to start from.
There may be some issues with the Tyrrell name trademark. But if the family agrees, why not?
That said, I'm not sure I want people like Nick Fry tarnishing the Tyrrell name. Ross Brawn, sure, why not? But Fry, no.
Lastly, a project with Tyrrell's name on it has to get involvement from a certain J.Y.S. It's the right thing to do. :D
My view is regardless whether he thinks he will stay there his whole career or not it is massively unlikely he will. He may not have had much notice but it was clear Ron was not going to go on much longer in his current role. However Ron is still running the business and will still have a big say on things like drivers.
Sonner or later McLaren will make a few bad cars in a row and like Senna he will leave.
I think whoever buys it will name it smething new. The past is gone. The future should not just copy the past.
I would be surprised if the rights to the Tyrrell name were included in the sale so it probably is not an option anyway.
I think his main involvement would be to tell the family not to get involved.
But isn't there a difference here?
Senna never tied himself down to McLaren. He was always after the best car on the grid available to him. He initially didn't even want to drive for McLaren in 1993. So I don't think it was ever in his mind to stay in McLaren for the rest of his F1 career, never mind say it in public.
Hamilton, on the other hand, has been with Ron and McLaren for a decade or so now. It's the only thing he really knows.
I remember that rumor where BAR was going to be renamed Lotus. Now Tyrrell. Interesting.
They're most certainly not included. I don't think it was even included in the sale to BAR 10 years ago. (wow, that long ago?) Anyway, if the new team owner wants the name, he'll have to talk to Ken's family to get it.
It depends on who's buying, really. I wouldn't necessarily close the door right away. But yes, whoever is buying it must be a man of good standing and would be able to run an F1 team to the level of success and ethics that Ken did.
Well i've finally signed up to fantasy racers. I saw one of your previous comments left today, 'me', where you said the cut off point for them being read out tomorrow/later is midnight. ;) dun worry about including my team, i'm not fussed if it's read out or not.
Yay for the team name!
All one of us needs to do now is win... ;)
The real cut off point is when I make the list and that hasn't happened yet :)
I think the plan is to give everyone a name check, its just a matter of whether you make this weeks show or not.
Mornin all.
Still scaling the scary hights of fourth I see in fr, bet it'll only last till late March.
I should be at the debrief thingy tonight, completley forgot what it is, but y'know ;)
Us too.
Morning all,
I know it's not F1, but in response to the story about A1GP I found this:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4822498a1823.html?source=RSSsport_20090118
Shame really, I know Chris Van Der Drift was already very disappointed with not having an F1 test at Honda. Still, we get these stories about A1GP every year so let's hope they can do something...
I think part of the problem is that the idea of an off-season single-seater championship has become very 'diluted'. When A1GP started there wasn't much choice in the off season, and now we have Superleague 'Formula', GP2 Asia, and F2 as choices for a driver wanting an alternate route to F1. A1GP may end up being a victim of it's own success - and that would be very sad :-(
What success? It launched four years ago and was marketed as a future rival to F1. Since then it's descended year-on-year into pretty much a farce, with organisers still trying to sort out the changes midway through a current season!
I can't see A1GP running for much longer. I'm surprised it's lasted this long given how it's financed and how unstable finances are globally at the moment. I would have thought those debts would have been called in long ago.
That's a bit harsh!
True, there have been elements of it that were a farce, such as venues
that never happened, or venues that were just plain rubbish.
In the first three seasons the racing in general has been very exciting and it has been the perfect launching platform for a lot of young talent that may not have been noticed before. I attended the first race in Taupo and we all thought it was a very well run and fantastic event - almost as good as going to an F1 race. So those countries that made an effort tended to have good races and good teams.
The series should have been made even stronger by Ferrari but the idiotic way that they handled the new car has killed the series. One does suspect that Ferrari may have done this 'accidentally on purpose' to kill off A1GP - remember, they unofficially run F1 and I wouldn't be surprised if killing off A1GP did them some favours with the FIA.
I mean come on, all of a sudden the car (which is heavily based on the F2004) wasn't ready because of suspension problems? This is the car that dominated in 2004 with supreme reliability and all of a sudden they are having problems with it? No way, man!
And they had a year to make 30-odd cars - they should have had the capacity to do it otherwise A1GP should never have given them the contract.
Also, which tractor did they get the engine out of? I have never heard a Ferrari with such an uninspiring engine note - the Zytek it replaced was a real screamer!
So yeah, there were lots of external factors such as idiot organisers, idiot bankers and idiot constructors which have killed off the series, but to last four seasons with all those problems and produce some great racing is a testament to how good the series could have been, even with no endorsement from the FIA or Bernie ;-)
I would be surprised if the rights to the Tyrrell name were included in the sale so it probably is not an option anyway. {Steven Roy - 11 comments ago}
I don't think BAR ever got the rights to the Tyrrell name in order to sell them on to Honda. The initial plan was for that to happen, but there was a falling-out between the Tyrrell family and BAR, so the Tyrrell family kept the name.
So short of the ex-Honda team being bought out by someone on better terms with the Tyrrell family than Craig Pollock and BAR were, I can't see that happening.
Kobayashi has done a few runs in the TF109 this morning. Shark-fin makes a return:
http://www.xpb.cc/thumbnails/2009/f1-2009-alg01/su/0WOCUF4038Y0E90Q7P1C00044IO1_450.jpg
Car looks very long!
Yuck, I hate that Shark Fin - ruins the lines and countours of the car.
Car also has KERS inside? (Yellow Triangle with high voltage warning behind driver's helmet...)
I don't know how you guys see A1, but I'm a fan.
I like the concept, racing's generally very good, there's actual overtaking and there are crowds at every venue. Also tickets are much more affordable.
But the way it has been run so far, apart from the first season which was actually pretty sleekly run, does leave to be desired.
However, the series are still young and suffer from growing pains.
I do agree with Gavin though, the fact Fererari weren't able to decently prepare and live up to their commitments is strange to say the least.
If it has already survived 4 years in this fashion, I'm sure the series will be fine.
Erm, I thought shark fins were banned?
Good point - is it another 'blind spot' like the F60's Bargeboard mirror struts?
It'll probably just be for testing surely. Won't use it in the races, unless they convince its legal somehow.
Dakar has been won by Giniel de Villiers
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/world_rally/7836149.stm
They're still allowed.
15 mins til the race over on BATracer, if anyone hasn't done their practice now is the time. it's also worth remembering that the forecast for the race is drizzle .:)
Drizzle, quick, To the Bat guide
Woodwisss, should I start on hards or inters?
Meh. Last man standing ;-)
I'd like to point out that a Dane runs the team :-D
Im playing it safe on Inters, since they did good by me a moist quali a few races back. Not sure if its "right" tho...
Great I crashed out on lap 56 :-(
How come Williams keeps getting upgrades?
Damn that shoddy Oil Pressure guage.
Looking at the start, maybe I shoulda used inters. Well done Alyeena though
HONDA WINS! OMG!
One hell of a close finish, over taken on the last lap.
A 2008 Honda winning a race? This has to be in the show! :D
You're right! Alenyaa won by 0.041 of a second!
WOOT!! :D GOOO ALENYAA!
Woah. That was a mental race!
And by the looks of it, us McLarens were just behind. Any kind of shenanigans from the front two and it would have been Hello Macca 1-2! :D
I thought this was supposed to be modelled on the real life performances of the 2008 season?
Can't be that realistic then ;-)
They really aren't making any difference...
Hey, it's BATracer. Anything can happen :D
Oh good, it's Magny-Cours next... *yawn*
...and it usually does :-D
We should rename it to "Murray Walker's Random Racers" ;-)
I know, I think thats two races in a row in which BMW have had mechanical failures.
I would like to point out that Giniel is South African and originally a track racer!
And their reliability is the best out of all of the teams. WTF?
First one won by a South African too I believe.
Looks like "The Hulk" will the first to get his mitts on the new Williams
http://formula-1.updatesport.com/news/article/1232194503/formula_one/F1testing/Hulkenberg-to-debut-new-Williams/view.html
He'll be in a full time drive with them next season, you just watch.
so true. silly Magny Bores.
Well done Honda.
Apart from the Honda win this is starting to look like 2008 with all the rain and safety cars
Ferrari have no history of batch manufacture. On the day it was announced I posted somewhere that they would not deliver. It was utterly predictable.
It looke like a van
LMAO! :D Good one, steven.
Was it not during the first season that they turned up at a track and discovered the car's turning circle was bigger than the track width at the hairpin. That is so far from sleek.
you did n'all:
http://www.sidepodcast.com/2008/10/04/remind-me-whos-driving-again/#comment-119963
"Ferrari can do lots of good things but building batches of cars is not their business. A1GP would have been far better dealing with Dallara or someone" - Steven Roy, 04/10/2008
Hey what do you know. My Fuji was a popular phrase and you were hoping to go to Stuttgart for the tour.
we still are. but i can see us running out of time.
Thats pretty annoying, although it seems my wet driving style settings meant I was pretty slow in those conditions.
So well done Alenyaa who, all things considered, probably derserved the win ;)
And Trig who managed to stop 5 times and finish 7th!
Hello Macca 1-2!
Dream on Woodwiss! :P
Ah right. Just the inevitable thought of the end of the F1 winter tunnel screaching into view very shortly.
It will happen! You just wait you Italians! :P
Speaking of Italians, credit to Al Grogan in the Toro Rosso who lead for a few laps and generally performed very well.
too quickly. much too quickly.
The australian gp is still pretty far away - f1.com says 67 days. Over the past couple of days i have found myself wishing it was longer, just because of the sheer amount of work i'm starting to get/ will have by then, plus AS exams will be fast approaching. *shudders* makes me feel very nervous just thinking about it.
That happens, remember Hamilton's last corner win in Brazil, that was two months ago. Feels like yesterday it happend.
Formula one mathematics for beginners.
If you qualify in third and overtake 24 cars what position will you finish in?
7th. Tough luck Andy Trig.
Apparently according to BMW, "The Countdown is on"
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg-3DxNNEKs
I did the final 29 laps on a set of full wet tyres. Looks like two more laps and I would have been in a wall somewhere.
I think he crashed into me at the start, so that could explain why, overtook a few early on then hit a slow car.
Erm, kinda hoping the would opened the door and in the middle, the new car.
Unikely thats going to happen sadly.
Hello to everyone I want to share some photos that I found in this Nederland website about the R-29 and the Toyota for this year. As you can see the Toyota looks a little bit different from the last Wednesday presentation and of course the new Renault colors
It doesn´t look as ugly as I Though (?)
What do you think?
Take care all of you!
http://www.f1today.nl/fotos/testsessies/testsessie-algarve-18-januari-2009/
Nice one Camilo. Regarding that Renault, it's certainly got more orange on it.
Genius! I'll make sure he sees that on Driver Chat.
despite me marginally damaging his car on lap 1. Sorry about that Al :P
Great pics Camilo. I wonder how close the Renault launch car will be to the test car.
wow. thanks camilo!
thanks to camilo for these:
the r29?
tf109 on track:
more pics here: http://www.f1today.nl/fotos/testsessies/testsessie-algarve-18-januari-2009/
amazing how much a new chassis can change in the space of a week, isn't it?
bad news for bmw?
"credit suisse has confirmed that it is pulling out as a major sponsor"
http://www.f1technical.net/news/11434
another shot of the toyota on track:
http://www.lequipe.fr/Formule1/20090118_155129_la-tf-109-a-l-epreuve-de-l-algarve.html
the second team to run inters on a dry track this week.
am liking this video. very blair witch :)
cheers scott.
Hopefully we will/have found another one. Not good for us
So after an afternoon at Tate Modern I discover that I have totally failed *again* to sort out my Batracing... Will I ever learn?
I did qualifying on intermediates again :( And the race... Well...
At what point does Dave in NZ get a chance to fire me?
:D
They can't just walk away they will have had to pay some fee to get out of the contract. Anyone know how long their contract had to run?
You mean you haven't heard?
ah :)
So back to live commenting tonight. I think it's unfair to hassle Christine and Me over start time predictions. So...
What can we predict?
Here's something we need to know...
How many times this season will Mark Hughes "rip off" on of Steven Roy's comments for an article?
one of obviously!
My brother gave me his "broken" pc to fix...
It had:
1 - Missing power adaptor (and 1 flat battery)
2 - Conflicting firewalls
3 - Months out of date firewall ap
5 - Virus infected files
6 - Months out of date anti virus
38 - Missing updates to windows xp
It's almost the 12 days of Computing.
i'm going for eleven. but with the caveat that steven phones in at least that many times during the year (including panelling).
you are a big meanie!
Been having a look at the McLaren launch video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJWwAIJ-yCA at about 30 seconds in, Ron Dennis is talking to camera and mentions Lewis WDC winning drive at .. erm .. pause .. Brazil. The video also makes it look like one side of Ron's mouth is drooped.
I'm not being nasty here .. I wonder if Ron is ill, had a minor stroke or something and that's why he's stepping down?
Of course maybe he always talks like that and I've just never noticed before.
Sorry! I'll try and be better behaved ;)
(I did actually mean my sentiment)
that's interesting. didn't notice it until you pointed it out, and i can't say i've studied the man in any detail before. if he was unhappy about it they would have surely cut it though.
i know ;)
I've just had a look at some images and it looks like this is normal (for Ron).
LOL! Check this out :D
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mYeXhBT5ALM
I think it is the particular angle of the shot that accentuates something that's been there for a while.
This one's great too
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ecaAqtBWLWw&feature=related
Well, these are just superb
It's possible. He's certainly not at his best in that interview.
I like the singapore one
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VmkaufC22ho&feature=related
Love 'em. :D
They are all brilliant
I like this one
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bQr2cvXkxh8&feature=related
Scott,
Just completed my practise runs
LMFAO at this one :D
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LN95tGlRwl0&feature=related
Steven - good-o. Will do mine now ;)
Me too, though it's labelled china and is clearly Japan and is in the shadow of Mt Fuji! :D
Argh, moderation strikes again!
c'mon, you're doing great with the youtube links!
I think some of them are lookbacks at the previous race.
live thread it be open:
http://www.sidepodcast.com/2009/01/18/live-the-difficult-third-season/
AND AGAIN! What is going on! :(
Just had a thought about Tyrrell - how about dropping an 'r' to make it the Tyrell F1 team? Of course the drivers would have to be replicants...
Got it.
When did Renault switch from Elf to Total? I always thought Elf was part-owned by Renault.
my fav - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HDPxZGN-Pq0&feature=related
I am innoncent - Nick Fry and haug says Merc could supply engines if someone can buy the team
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/16012009/58/honda-chief-denies-conflict-interest.html
I think Elf and Total are the same company now
Deny everything Baldrick! :)
Ah, I see.
Batty could be world champion...
Erm, I thought shark fins were banned? {Scott Woodwiss}
No, Scott, they are definitely legal.
I thought this was supposed to be modelled on the real life performances of the 2008 season?
Can’t be that realistic then {Gavin Brown}
I know it's not realistic because if Force Indias had been on the second and third rows with the frequency I have been, there would have been some serious trouble in the paddock by now.
Was it not during the first season that they turned up at a track and discovered the car’s turning circle was bigger than the track width at the hairpin. {Steven Roy}
Yes. To be fair, it was the first time any series had used the Beijing street circuit, but surely someone should have checked what the A1GP cars were capable of doing and what the track required? It's not like getting stuck at the hairpin was an essential part of the circuit's challenge...
How many times this season will Mark Hughes “rip off” on of Steven Roy’s comments for an article? {Alex Andronov}
How many times will [insert power-that-be here] need telling before he reads the blogosphere instead of assuming that simply because he hasn't grasped the FIA regulations doesn't mean nobody else has?
Talking of rules, with the 8 engines per season per car thing. Is it definite that they don't have to be in successive races?
It is, Bassano.
I refer to my comment made hours ago on the live thread (I think) that I find it funny how Alia knows more about the rule book than those people who wrote it!
Thanks
I just popped a couple of 'racetracks' in the drop.io/sidepodcast drop. I hope you enjoy them. I didn't do these ones - mine were all hilariously bad. A mate/acquaintance sorted them.
that's way too professional dave, i wanna see the hilariously bad ones :(
Ugly car ahoy!!!
http://i44.tinypic.com/35k0sn4.jpg
I think I know the engine note...
Miiiiiiing ming ming ming ming miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing
It reminds me of the Lola from the 1997 season :-D
And the Williams FW31 in it's interim livery: http://www.f1today.nl/fotos/qzkupu3w1.jpg
To dark to make out any design details at the moment. Front wing isn't too bad. Rear wing is a 2009 rear wing....
The one with the star-shaped object (1213242427688.jpg) drives by my work! I must admit, you'd have to go through an army base over cobblestones, over gravel roads, a wooden bridge and a footpath but it could work... ;-)
Nice.
Minging.
So the scores so far:
Mingers: 3 (BMW, Renault, Ferrari)
Ringers: 3 (Mclaren, Williams, Toyota)
New daily thread is up:
http://www.sidepodcast.com/2009/01/19/daily-19th-january-2009/
Sorry for delay.
Since 2000, in fact. My colleague (who used to work for them) says it's a branding thing - but he's not sure why Renault have switched to Total as Elf was their brand and Total was Citroen & Peugeot's brand...
It is clever - rather more so than Toyota's over the top creation!
BMW Sauber F1.09 is go go go!
https://www.press.bmw-motorsport.com/pcmot/p/photoStartpage.htm?left_menu_item=node__504&id=504&inclBanner=true&includeLeftMenuLink=true
Urgh...
Actually, it's not too bad IMHO. Livery's nice...
Added photos to drop.io
Post coming shortly, I believe.
Ref: 27868P90044760_resize.jpg
I quite like the car - not as bad as I expected. Next to the 2008 car it looks quite nice - very clean lines. Still a bit out of proportion though :-(