We've not been around much today, and have only managed to keep an occasional eye on the comments. We'll tell you more about what we've been up to in this week's emergency show. Apparently, Honda didn't like the idea of us having a holiday. Having missed out on some of the conversations, I can only really guess at the topics fresh on everyone's mind:
- Probably still Honda, and perhaps even Jenson Button's reaction to the news. I didn't realise he would be such a trooper, trying to rally everyone's spirits.
- The standard engines are still weighing on my mind. I'm not sure I completely understand why and how it's all going to come about, but every bit of news we get seems to be making at least a tiny bit more acceptable.
- The upcoming Jerez test next week. What are we expecting to see? More fugly BMW-style wings, or maybe an evolution of these that is more pleasing to the eye? Will the Red Bull foursome have made any revisions to the 2008 car or will they still be concentrating on testing out the drivers?
If I've missed the pressing news of the day, feel free to continue the conversation here. As ever, any thoughts and ideas you have are welcome, even if they don't fall under any of the categories mentioned above. We'll try and be in the comments more tomorrow, and check the upcoming schedule for details on the show.
Una! Which is the Tagalog word for First. :P
emergency show - I like the way that sounds, even if it isn't ideal. ;)
Now, I'm betting Jenson will only go to Toro Rosso if Honda doesn't find a buyer (which, as I've said yesterday, is unlikely). But if he DOES end up going there, who gets the boot? Here's what I think STR's priorities look like at the moment.
Button
Buemi
Bourdais
Sato
While it would be fun to see a Button-Sato lineup again, the odds on that just seem too long (esp. when one sees Buemi in that list). But STR shouldn't bank too much on Button jumping ship - as I said, I'm pretty confident Honda will get a buyer.
I've just been listening to the "Now Show" podcast (BBC Radio 4 comedy for those who don't know). Each week they ask the audience a question and read out the best answers. This week's question was inspired by the Dorset Lapland story: What was your biggest disappointment?
Answer: My first day at work for Maclaren where I discovered I would be making push chairs.
:)
What was your biggest disappointment?
Answer: My first day at work for Maclaren where I discovered I would be making push chairs. :) {Andy Taylor - previous comment}
Now that's funny :D
Just to make it more complicated - Senna might now be back in the hunt for a Toro Rosso seat.
Hmmm. Good point. But I don't think STR are as interested in him as Honda were. If STR were interested, Senna would've stayed at it there and not jumped ship to Honda. Also, Berger isn't around anymore, so there's no one there to really push for him.
it's on monday evening btw. not sure if that's been properly communicated, but the calendar is up to date. we're testing out new stuff later today, which means we can't live podcast at the usual time, so we'll bounce it to monday evening.
hope that's ok.
Normally I never check the calendar but after the last message I thought I would. Nice to see the Dec. 25th show in its rightful place. I know Christine was not planning one this year but I think it is a must every year.
Prediction (for what it's worth):
Honda gets a buyer: Button & Senna get the drives
and at STR... Sato & Buemi
If Honda folds:
STR: Sato & Buemi anyway.
Also just realized that we're faced with having only 1 British driver on the grid...and what's poor old Alex Wurz gonna do with himself now?
I agree.
I disagree. If Honda folds, STR gets Button and Buemi.
I agree with the Scarab. I don't think that STR will pick up Jenson, even if he becomes available without baggage. Whilst Jenson is pretty to look at, so is Sato - and he speaks a language that every corp. will be happy with. Jenson can't demand 20MillionGBP and expect to make it through this period.
Can I ask why everyone thinks that Jenson will still get paid, even if Honda doesn't find a buyer? Surely there are clauses in his contract that speak to this eventuallity? I can't believe that Honda would be caught with their pants down in this situation.
Given the way Honda are talking about releasing Button from his contract if STR want him, it doesn't look like such clauses do exist.
I'm sure Jenson is willing to get an F1 drive for almost any price at this point. As I said earlier, one must swallow their pride if one is to survive. Also, his CV of 1 win, while not plentiful, is still 1 win more than the rest of the STR contenders put together. Getting Jenson gives STR back the credibility they would've lost after Vettel left for RBR.
So you think that that win counts for much, given the dubious circumstances that led to it - or is it simply a case of 'a win is a win'? I guess it depends who you ask - and I think F1 asks people that have spare money to spend on sponsor's products, regardless of their commitment to watching the sport. In that case, whether is stole the win or not - he is still a good buy for STR etc.
I like Jenson well enough; I think he is couragious off track but weak on, I think he is a good role model for youngsters (but then, so is Sato et al.) and I think he is a clear and thoughtful speaker. And I totally agree that he would give them some 'credibility' after the loss of Vettel... but I just want Sato back, and if I say it enough times maybe it will happen.
:)
am i never allowed a day off?
haha. i likes it.
Morning all,
It might be the off season, but there's still something of interest for motorsport fans on TV today.
It looks like there's going to be a trilling finish to Rally GB. Loeb is only 7.3 seconds behind Latvala, and this is the only long-standing rally he's never won. But Loeb's not able to throw caution to the wind completely, as despite having wrapped up the drivers' title, Citroen are still chasing the manufacturers' championship.
Valentino Rossi lies 15th going into the final day, but is unlikely to move up the leaderboard - unless anyone ahead retires - as he's over a minute behind the next driver.
The rally can be followed on wrc.com where there's live radio coverage and timing. The first stage today is the 28 km long Rheola, which starts at 7:55am.
Also, there's going to be an interview with Mosley on Sunday Live with Adam Boulton (Sky News, 10:00am-12:00pm).
Loeb is quicker than Latvala by 5.1 seconds through Rheola - only 2.2 seconds behind now.
Morning all, do you ever get the feeling F1 just doesn't like you? This emergancy show, will it affect my diary?
Speaking of motogp drivers in rally events, Loris Capriossi was in the Suzuki Swift Cup the other week and managed to finish third. Which I think was his first ever rally.
I'll keep that on in the background. Loeb 1.4 secs behind Latvala now, Sordo 42.4
{S}Pitpass are speculating the future of Red Bull: http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=36700
According to them Mateschitz might be looking to sell both RBR and STR together... or, er continue for as long as possible or shut up shop.
Talk about hedging your bets.
And only two stages to go. This is great! :D
By the way, Mosley's interview will be shown around 11:30.
Speaking of which, the guy's now 14th.
Is it on the tellybox anywhere?
There's highlights on both Dave and British Eurosport this evening.
Okay, cheers.
How's this for a christmas present, for the weblog awards nominations and winners
Finalist Announced - December 25
Finalist Logos Available - December 25
Finalist Voting Page Available* - December 29
Finalist Voting - January 2 through January 10
Cool. I was supposed to go on Friday, but Motor Sport Magazine messed up my tickets and gave them to somebody else. To be honest, it was probably a blessing in disguise as they cancelled a few of the stages due to ice didn't they?
Yeah, two were cancelled and four shortened. Not good at all for spectators. The restrictions on tyres are just silly - Pirelli aren't even allowed to make cuts in the rubber, let alone offer an alternative tyre.
Both Citroen and Subaru have spoken out against the regulations, saying they should at least be allowed to use an emergency tyre in such conditions.
Loeb made a good point in that it's all very well trying to save money by banning gravel crews and restricting tyres, but when you have drivers writing off cars (as happened to Subaru's Chris Atkinson) that's soon negated.
"Mad Max - Please don't sue me." I bet he loves that...
Interview in 10 mins now.
Drama in Wales - Loeb does a cracking job through SS18 to go through 9.2 secs faster than Latvala, then he gets slapped with a 10 sec penalty for jumping the start.
Daniel Elena shakes his head in disbelief.
Bit off topic but, Dave has a podcast??
Mosley's really enjoying all this attention he's receiving from the media, isn't he? He even seemed delighted to discuss the sex scandal - I got the impression he feels that he actually has the moral high ground on that one now.
I noticed that the other day. Haven't listened to it, mind.
So, the final stage of the rally is another run through Port Talbot. Loeb was only 0.8 sec faster than Latvala on the first run through, and is 2.2 sec behind. Man, this is tense. The stage gets under way in 20 minutes.
But Loeb got a 10 sec. penalty, right? So that means he's 12.2 sec behind? Or is 2.2 with the penalty already?
ok that's cool. any chance you can make it after 5:30?.. i'll defiantly be home by then, never mind if you can't though.
He's only 2.2 secs behind, as he was 9.2 secs faster through SS18 (the stage where he received the penalty).
Ah. If Loeb is only 2.2 behind, he'll nick the win, i'm pretty confident of that. I predict Loeb to win by less than a second. Probably 0.7 or 0.8. :)
Loeb's 1 sec quicker through the first split. It's going to be close.
2nd slip - still only 1 sec quicker. Not enough!
Still 1 sec after the 2nd split. How many more splits to go?
Split, not slip.
There's five timing points, so we'll get four split times during the stage.
Loeb now only 0.2secs behind after the 3rd split. Nuts!
11.3 km (3rd spilt)
Loeb 2 secs quicker! :O
I can't believe this.
Neither can I. :O
4th split (16km)
Loeb is 4.5 secs up.
Loeb now up by 4.5. He now leads by 2.3. So long as Loeb keeps it on the road, he'll win.
Thing is, Loeb's been losing time to Latvala in the final section of the stages right the way through the rally.
Loeb has won, according to WRC radio.
LOEB WINS!!!!
11 wins in the year he won his 5th title... yep, that's Michael Schumacher in 2002 for ya. :P
Is Ford staying in the WRC for 2009? Given their US troubles, I wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly announced a pullout.
It's been an incredible year for him. He's won every long-standing rally on the calender now. Rally GB was the only one that had escaped him in the past.
To be frank, while Loeb is indeed VERY good, the loss of Marcus Gronholm to retirement means that no one challenge Loeb consistently right now. While Hirvonen is the best of the rest, let's remember that he had a forgettable stint with Subaru prior to Ford, and I see him as a WRC version of Massa (hard worker who's consistently improved, but lacking that last bit needed to be champion).
They've already confirmed their 2009 participation, although like you say, it must be hard to justify given that they're (allegedly) technically bankrupt, and have been for some time.
A Ford withdrawal would be 5-10 times more damaging to the WRC than the Honda pullout was to F1. Kinda like McLaren withdrawing from F1, the loss of Ford would mean that except for the Subarus, no one really will challenge the Citroens.
In Loeb's first full season, he had the better of his team-mates - Colin McRae and Carlos Sainz. McRae was according to many the most naturally talented rally driver ever, and should have been in his prime, but wasn't really a match for Loeb. It's hard to see how anyone's going to come close to him. He even won the World Championship in 2006 despite missing a quarter of the rallies with a broken arm.
Sebastien Ogier has looked very good in the JWRC this year, and has been very impressive making his WRC debut on the Rally GB. Leading on the first day is some way to announce yourself.
The benefit the WRC has, though, is that even if all the manufacturers were to disappear, they'd still have a strong line-up of reasonably well sponsored cars. F1's problem is that they're almost completely reliant on the manufacturers.
Hmmm... But the thing is, aren't the cars created BY manufacturers? So for example, Stobart runs Fords, other privateer teams get satellite cars from the manufacturers, so unlike F1, where the privateers still have to construct their own chassis, this doesn't happen with the WRC. And unlike F1, WRC doesn't have as large a fan base, so there's less room with which to maneuver if things go to pot.
While Loeb lacks competition, the way he dominates now, the way he wins those races and titles he has no business winning: that makes it must-watch TV. :)
Hmmm. Sebastian vs. Sebastian for the title. The Sebastians of the world aren't just lording it over Toro Rosso, they might do it now to the whole WRC!
In the case of Ford and Subaru, the cars are actually designed and developed by privateers. You mention Stobart - in actual fact that team is run by M-Sport, the same organisation that runs the works Fords. Even when Citroen pulled out, a privateer (Kronos) just stepped in - sponsored by Gauloise - to run the Xsaras, and Loeb still won the title.
So if the manufacturers withdrew, instead of the car companies funding the teams, it'd be organisations like Gauloise, VK, Stobart, etc. Sure, the budgets might end up not being as big, but as rallying is based around privateers running cars for manufacturers (rather than manufacturers running cars for themselves), they'd be better placed than F1 to survive in the very worse case scenario.
Agree completely. When he did have genuine competition, he ended up forcing them into retirement anyway.
And all the Sebastiens are successful too. Even though Bourdais hasn't had the best of seasons, he's still managed to win the French F3 championship, F3000 and four Champ Car titles in the past.
Ahhh... so this is kinda like the Ilmor-Mercedes arrangement in the 90s, where McLaren ran Mercedes-badged Ilmor engines? If that's the case, I'll give them a better chance of survival. But again, they need a credible rival to Loeb, otherwise, those casual fans will stay away, and given that the WRC is so unique, I'd want them to stay strong and healthy.
Rossi came 13th after the Special Stage (which I assume is the last one)! That's great! :D
(I have to admit that the WRC hasn't been particularly exciting for me since the British contingent of the early 2000s left, but I support Rossi in MotoGP and like the fact that the cross-over has gone well).
Now I just need to find out how Tom Cave did - he is the other driver I'm interested in.
He finished 37th :) Not bad for a first-timer to the WRC in the production class...
It turns out that he even beat a certain T. Jardine by two places. Has Britain found its next WRC champion?
They're all called Special Stages, actually. :) Yup, that would be... I believe SS18. :)
Rossi's done very well. Given practice and a competitive car, he'd be right up there. But can he beat Loeb on his current form? I seriously doubt it.
Tony Jardine? Surely not! Hehe. Nice coincidence there.
They’re all called Special Stages, actually. {Journeyer - previous comment}
That shows you how long it's been since I last seriously followed WRC. Back when I did so, Special Stages were rare, quite controversial things, stages shortened for easy public consumption (especially in stadiums and the like).
Also, it turns out that I was a little wrong about the positions. I was using the WRC tables and accidentally read the left-hand column (the stage position) instead of the right-hand one (overall). Unfortunately their site is now down, presumably dur to heavy traffic.
But I do know that Rossi has risen to 12th. Easily the fastest Stobart in the field, and the third-fastest non-manufacturer entry.
Similar. The manufacturer dictates the model to be used (normally decided for marketing reasons), and then the likes of Prodrive and M-Sport get on with designing and developing the car.
All mainstream sports have live TV coverage, and that's rallying's biggest problem - it just isn't really suited to that. Eurosport have shown some stages live this year, but they're always meaningless shorter runs. The stages that are actually important and act as deciders are very difficult, and highly impractical to televise live.
If you imagine it can sometimes be a logistical nightmare covering a circuit race live, taking place on a 4 km track. Well trying to televise a 30 km special stage through a forest would be ridiculously expensive. You'd need ludicrous amounts of cabling for all the hard wiring, and then you've got to deal with the fact that you're working in a somewhat challenging environment.
And things get even worse with on-boards. Sure, you can have helicopters following all the leading cars to rely the signals. But even if you ignore the fact that this costs crazy money and the helicopters won't even be able to fly if the weather's bad, it often doesn't work very well and you end up getting a lot of breakup anyway.
I noticed Tom seemed to be getting quite a lot of publicity in the run-up to Rally GB.
'Co-driver Gemma' who they mention in that video is actually Gemma Price. She's one of Britain's best co-drivers, and spent a couple of years in the WRC alongside Antony Warmbold.
I'd imagine she'd be competing on the world stage now, if there were more top drivers about using English language pace notes.
It was a lot easier to watch rallying when it was in a nice hour-long package at a consistent civilised time on a terrestrial network, that was for certain. It made a decent compromise between making it exciting and risking stripping out important stuff. Unfortunately, Eurosport (and, until recently, Dave - which is/was a UK digital channel...) are a bit of a niche channel and when it was on Channel 5 before, it tended to be something of a movable feast (and sometimes too late at night to watch).
They're still around, but they now have a super name: Super Specials. :)
WRC's site has been slow all race weekend, it's the first time it's happened to them all year. Now, I know Wales Rally GB is also a round of the British Rally Championship, but I don't think they have THAT many fans that it would cause them to slow up?
Designing and developing? Not just modifying the actual roadcar model?
Petter Solberg uses English pace notes, oddly enough. I think that's because he has a British co-driver. :)
ESPNStar (who broadcasts F1 here) shows a 90-minute highlight show the Monday night after every rally. Great stuff to watch. :)
I noticed Tom seemed to be getting quite a lot of publicity in the run-up to Rally GB. {Scott - 2 comments ago}
There's a good reason for that - he had to pass his driving test in order to meet the criteria to rally in Britain (his previous experience is in Finland, which isn't as restrictive about paperwork) and the timing of his birthday meant he only got one shot at it if he wanted to do this year's Rally GB.
Luckily, he passed on the first attempt...
‘Co-driver Gemma’ who they mention in that video is actually Gemma Price... ...I’d imagine she’d be competing on the world stage now, if there were more top drivers about using English language pace notes. {Scott - 2 comments ago}
I have a feeling that in a couple of years' time, she will be on the world stage - and it'll be good to see. It's not only F1 where women are distinctly under-represented...
It's actually the very same man. He's a keen amateur rally driver. Jardine has actually competed with Lee McKenzie as his co-driver before, who will work on the BBC's F1 coverage next year.
But golly, after seeing the May-Hakkinen segment in TG 2 weeks ago, the Finnish paperwork just becomes a minor detail, doesn't it? :)
it IS Tony Jardine? WOW, great stuff. They should publicize that a bit more, maybe even make a documentary out of it. :)
Now, I know Wales Rally GB is also a round of the British Rally Championship, but I don’t think they have THAT many fans that it would cause them to slow up? {}
Perhaps not - but is it possible that a much larger proportion of them know the site address and accessed it, given that it has multiple links from BBC (among other English-language news outlets) and that British people are generally very internet-savvy?
But hey, other parts of the world are Net-savvy too, so the Brit access shouldn't have any additional effect than in previous rounds. :)
The WRC was the stage for Michele Mouton's achievements, who is the most successful female driver of all time.
She is still the only woman to have won rounds of the WRC, and was a close second in the 1982 championship.
His rallying exploits have been featured on TV in the past, although since leaving ITV he's not really so high profile any more, and doesn't receive much coverage these days.
I hate the WRC site. When I try to go on there now, it keeps trying to display some video full-screen. The first time I had to shut Firefox down, the second required a complete re-boot of my computer (because the video took too many resources) and the third "only" required me to shut down the WRC site. This keeps happening before I can view the whole results :(
Wow, this was the reason why the GP2 Asia race at Dubai had to be cancelled.
http://www.autosport.com/gallery/photo.php/id/120884
For you, alia: http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=405&season=2008&rally_id=GB
Welcome to Lake Dubai. Makes the Shanghai marshes look like concrete paradise, no? :P
Mweh, get the powerboats out and have a race on them
BTW, that video is actually a playlist of highlights from the current rally. Given that the last stage of the last rally of the season just finished, that's a looooong playlist.
Isn't the powerboat racing series also known as Formula 1? Formula 1 Powerboats, to be exact?
The only thing I can think of was that because the battle at the front was so enthralling, a lot of visitors were attracted to the site. Also, there's not really anything in the way of other motorsport to distract people this weekend.
Although they look like their road-going counterparts, underneath they're entirely different. The Production World Rally Championship (run alongside the WRC) does use more-or-less showroom spec cars, though.
I've heard it said that English is the best language to have your pacenotes in, although have no idea whether that's true. Spanish is crazy, though. Luis Moya never even used to get a chance to pause for breath alongside Carlos Sainz.
Now I remember. Englishman Phil Mills is Petter's co-driver. As for pace notes, Loeb is doing well with French pace notes, merci beau coup.
BTW, is Daniel Elena now the most successful Monagasque motorsport person ever? Most successful Monagasque motorsport driver for me is probably still Louis Chiron. :)
It was really bad. They've had floods there before, as well (although not during a major race weekend). Team personnel were told not to return to the circuit, except for where equipment needed to be collected. Some of those who did go back managed, or perhaps attempted, to surf down the pitlane on planks of wood.
Oh, any boxing fans in the house? Our very own Manny Pacquiao just sent Oscar de la Hoya off into retirement, and we're pretty sure he wants your very own Ricky Hatton next. :)
I've a feeling he probably is, although Olivier Beretta has had a reasonable career after Formula One, having taken five class wins at Le Mans.
Hmmm. I'd love to see a photo of that. Imagine if THAT happened during a MotoGP weekend.
Ah, yeah, Beretta. For Le Mans, he was competing in... GT1, is that right?
I'd like to see him face Pacquiao, although I've got a feeling that he'll probably end up fighting de la Hoya. I suspect he wants a couple of easier fights, before ending his career with a rematch against Mayweather.
Wow, this was the reason why the GP2 Asia race at Dubai had to be cancelled. {Scott Woodwiss - 11 comments ago}
Did the Dubai organisers think that GP2 stood for Go Paddle 2 or something?
Seriously, those conditions were impossible to race in. Cancelling was the only sensible option, else nobody would have finished a lap, never mind the entire race...
Yeah, that's it. He has competed in prototypes, but all his success came in GT1.
Of course, that would be assuming a number of things. First, would de la Hoya even want to come back, and if he does, would he want to go against Hatton in the same division Pacquiao demolished him in? Second, would Mayweather even want to come back? He'd probably only come back for a big-money match, and after he demolished Hatton, a rematch between them might not make as much as it needs to for Pretty Boy to be attracted. A Mayweather-Pacquiao match, on the other hand...
Just in: Hatton has said he wants Pacquiao at Wembley by the spring. This should be fun.
:D
"check the upcoming schedule for details on the show." Opening Post
Are you really gonna start at the same time as Top Gear?
For you, alia: http://www.wrc.com/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=405&season=2008&rally_id=GB {Journeyer - 11 comments ago}
Thank you very much :D
The corrected positions are:
Valentino Rossi - 12th (4th best non-manufacturer driver)
Tom Cave - 30th
Tony Jardine - 36th
Rossi 12th and 4th best non-works driver - that's amazing stuff for a 2-wheel specialist! WRC Radio weren't hiding their desire to see him fulltime in the sport.
The show's actually taking place tomorrow. So they're forcing us to miss Eastenders, which is obviously not on. This might cause all sorts of trouble. :P
Welcome to Lake Dubai. Makes the Shanghai marshes look like concrete paradise, no? {Journeyer - 15 comments ago}
Ah, but is it as pretty as the Nurburgring lake of 2007?
BTW, that video is actually a playlist of highlights from the current rally. Given that the last stage of the last rally of the season just finished, that’s a looooong playlist. {Journeyer - 16 comments ago}
Sounds interesting. Pity it never got past the spinning WRC logo on my computer :(
Probably not (since Lake Nurburgring had F1 cars as attractions), but Lake Dubai looks deeper and bigger. :)
Isn’t the powerboat racing series also known as Formula 1? Formula 1 Powerboats, to be exact? {Journeyer - 17 comments ago}
Very true. Evidently it must be powerful, since I don't recall Bernie arguing with them over the use of that title.
Aye, should read stuff first. ;)
Also, there’s not really anything in the way of other motorsport to distract people this weekend. {Scott - 17 comments ago}
True - and what is happening in the motorsport world at the moment is distinctly escapism-worthy.
Imagine if THAT happened during a MotoGP weekend. {Journeyer - 15 comments ago}
I thought the end of Free Practise 1 at Monza was chaotic enough without a pitlane evacuation as well...
Lake Dubai looks deeper and bigger. {Journeyer - 5 comments ago}
Good point. You could probably hold a swimming gala at Dubai, were there anywhere to put the lane rope attachments.
Max might use this as an excuse to introduce compulsory hovercraft racing as a way of cutting costs and making F1 greener. He will probably argue that with rising sea levels converting F1 to hovercraft makes it more road relevant.
Erm, at that rate, there won't be any roads we can speak of! :P
Autosport Awards are on this evening. Categories are as follows:
* The McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year
* International Driver of the Year
* Rookie of the Year
* British Racing Driver of the Year
* Racing Car of the Year
* National Driver of the Year
* International Rally Driver of the Year
* Rally Car of the Year
* The John Bolster Award for Technical Excellence
* The Gregor Grant Award for Lifetime Achievement
* The Autosport Pioneering and Innovation Award
Unfortunately, I can't find out who is up for what. I did read though that the Autosport website might have some live text event to go with it - for those with nothing else to do this evening!
Is anyone watching Star Wars Episode 1 on ITV? The pod race is on and Anakin's pod sounds like one of the old high revving CART cars :D AWESOME!
Brundle speaketh sense: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/formula_1/article5298985.ece
An eight-point plan to save F1 from the scrapyard.
I know Wayne Boyd is up for the Young driver of the year. I saw him drive a FFord at knockhill early in the season when I had never heard of him and he totally blew me away with his speed and his intelligence. The last FFord driver to to that to me was McNish so I think Boyd may be a bit special.
I agree with some of Brundle's ideas. I have argued for reduced pit crews for years. 22 men to change four wheels and re-fuel is ludicrous. Re-fueling is ludicrous. I would ban routine pit stops and only allow two people to work on a car at a time.
Banning in season testing is pointless. If teams can't test they will run simulations or find pther ways to replicate the test.
Reducing the rev limit and increasing engine life makes economical sense but I fundamentally disagree with multi-race components. I don't ever want to see a championship decided because one driver's engine lasted 4 races while another's only lasted 3 races and he then received a grid penalty at the next race.
You can't have teams inspecting another team's cars. That is not on.
The number of tyres is Brisgestone's problem and such a minor detail that it is irrelevant. I want all of Bridgestone's compounds at every race and drivers allowed to use whatever they like and not being forced to run two different compounds. What costs more? Shipping a few extra tyres or optimising a cat to run on two different tyres?
Sharing components is fine by me.
Ban KERS. It is a stupid idea.
Sort out the money flow but get rid of the franchise system and the ridiculous 24 car limit.
I disagree with banning kers, sure at the moment it is a new technology, seems to add weight for not much of a performance advantage and yes, it is expensive to develop. However, the technology will be used in road cars, making formula one more interesting for manufacturers to invest in, which is what the sport needs. As more hybrid/electric cars come to the road, the investment which it takes to develop the system will be a drop in the ocean compared to the revenue which is generates for the big manufacturers. Turbocharging seemed like an unreliable technology in previous years...
KERS in electric cars makes sense but in a car with an internal combustion engine it is little short of insane. I have used this line before but to show how pointless KERS is in a normal car I will repeat it. Imagine you have just finished a journey. Get out of your car and put your hand on the brake discs. Now put your hand on the engine block, radiator or exhaust manifold. Where is the most heat? If you are a car manufacturer who today makes cars 99+% of which have internal combustion engines would it not make more sense to recover engine heat than braking heat? Imagine cars on a motorway journey. They have to burn fuel to carry a KERS system that is doing nothing while at the same time the engine is producing so much heat that it has a radiator fitted to vent the heat to atmosphere. What is the point in having a brake energy recovery system when many journeys involve hours with the brakes barely being used whil the engine is pumping heat into the atmosphere? The bottom line however is if F1 is trying to cut costs it makes no sense to introduce new technology. F1 history tells us that any new technology results in an increase in cost.
We need to find a way to get the manufacturers out of F1 because they are the reason it is in a mess now. Manufacturers always have and always will come and go with the market but this time they own the teams so if they go they can collapse the whole deck of cards. Honda have not left F1 for the first time this week. This is the third time in 40 years that they have done exactly the same thing. The first time they were a minor team. The second they were the premier engine supplier. This time because Max and Bernie have recruited manufacturers and put technical regs in place that means it is impossible to compete without a huge budget Honda represents 10% of the grid. We need an F1 where car manufacturers are kept at the periphery as engine suppliers only.
Top Gear's on, people! :D
I think I know why Richard introduced. I downloaded Simon Mayo's show from Thursday and Jeremy was on, and he sounded very very rough.
yes Jeremy said on the Chris Moyles show, that he had left his voice in Ireland. lol
LOL, why was he in Ireland?
erm i think he said he went to Ireland, and when he got back he had no voice. lol poor Jeremy, i hear man flu is awful :P
You reckon he ate some pork over there? ;)
hehe :)
I bet the Caterham is much quicker
It beat the Veyron too.
Aww Jeremy's face.
Synthetic saliva??
awww bless them, they are ill :) aww
f1 chat :) yay
OMG, Jeremy has his voice back! :D
Jeremy's Hammer!
"Which I shall now demonstrate....with my hammer" :D
Don't be fooled, thats a copper hammer lol. They've meant to be soft.
LMAO at that hat!
"Slow down you bitch!" :D
Fishing through the floor of a car. That is original.
I want one!!
This is how all wars should be solved - a crap car race! :D
Yes...but Clarksons in control....you never want that....
I think it's safe to say some 60,000 people would disagree, myself included :D
They seem to be forgetting Lada still exists. Proof - they go World Touring Car racing! :D
You know for a second I thought that film would never end :P
I've been looking forward to Borris for the whole of this week :D
Every time Boris goes on a TV program someone produces evidence that he is saying the opposite to what he said in the past.
Autosport Awards live commentary: http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/64
Jenson is there? i don't suppose there is a video feed is there ;)
"I would like to thank Autosport for all they have done over the years. For a long time, I thought that with the internet the magazine would disappear, and lets face it, anyone who takes a laptop to the toilet is never the same!" David Coulthard, on stage in the Great Room
DC's response:
:-D
Haven't seen one sorry
ah well never mind. I'll see him next Sunday anyway :)
Yup. His first night as a chauffeur I believe?
I didn't realise we were live commenting Top Gear
I love the traditional Top Gear road test
We always do
I'm guessing that Russ Swift was involved in the Shopping Mall segment of the road test.
:(
Looked like his style
http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/64
"I found out (about Honda's withdrawal from the sport) at the same time as the rest of the team. That was Thursday. After spending even half an hour with the whole crew in every department, I realise we obviously can't change what has happened, but we have to stay positive." Jenson Button, talking to Steve Rider
yay! it's on later next week i will be home from Wembley by then
:( ah poor Honda :(
Right, who's up for sidepodpanel.
Oh wait :D
Have our favourite double act been getting ready for this emergency all day or something? I've not seen them around all day.
*emergency show
well it is their weekend off after all :)
true, true. I did forget if I'm honest :P
It's tommorow at 8
aww.
we're back with full sized keyboards.
more soon...
ooo have you been somewhere nice? will it cheer me up? (i could really do with some cheering up).
Alas, I'll not be around tomorrow as work would rather I be earning my salary.
Will catch up with the podcast but have a good show all
Cracking Top Gear tonight by the way :D
Damn, I am at work until 21:30, so will miss the fun. :(
Yes we have been somewhere nice. I believe there might be a blog post on the way.
Apologies to everyone that will miss it. Blame Honda, not us.
oooo :) gdgd i look forward to it. :D
Won't that devalue them even more, they surely have enough on their plate right now :D
i found a pic of Jenson. :) http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72383
Suited and booted :)
Ah excellent. Nice to know you guys are still alive :P LOL
Good to hear. After a season as hectic as this, you deserved it :)
Cheers Scott. Although... it really was quite hectic too :)
It better not have been to Everton v Villa, that was a game and I'd paid to have seen it live.
Other than that, sounds like you had fun.
Well it is that time of year again, so it is to be expected. GAME was packed yesterday, worse than last weekend. Still, means more business for us! :D
I suspect the two of you aren't quite at home with the concept of relaxing
Hmm. We have good intentions, but this "relaxing" weekend saw us clock 1,800 miles in the space of two days.
We try, we fail, we have fun.
'tis the most important
oooo sidepodcast road trip!! :)
Wow, 1800 miles! Can't wait to hear where you went to rack up a distance like that.
You took part in a 24 hour race where Me dressed as The Stig?
How can you do 1800 miles in two days? That must be impossible.
:D Seems the only feasible explanation
This is Sidepodcast we're talking about here. Seemingly nothing is impossible with these two :P
Doesn't have to be all driving
Apart from the darn video sync
:D Meow! :)
I have don Glasgow to Munich in 2 days but that can't be much over 1000 miles. There is no way I could have done double that.
Do you think they listened to the song "1000 miles" by Vanessa Carlton and thought "Too easy"?
ehehehe
858 miles actually
Yes, I was that sad
Did anyone read James Allen's article The human side of the Honda story on the ITV website?
Was he thinking about his Honda "mates" when he wrote this, or was this subconsciously autobiographical?
Perhaps the article headline should have been, "Poor Me".
actually, i might have given the girl duff info there. it's easily more than 1,000 though. we got lost a lot.
If driving at an average of 70mph it'd would take over 25hrs to get that far
That takes up a large chunk of a 2 day period :D
I can tell you it felt like forever.
Sidepodsatnav?
In theory, you drove from London to the Canary Islands
It may be that theoretically but it was a good deal longer by the route we went.
nope. nor a sidepodmap, nor anything. tis a long story though.
sidepodfariytale?
Should have used the AA! Route Planner that is :P
Forget maps and stuff use the force. When we drove to Munich we had a map and couldn't find the hotel so we threw the map in the back and used the force. 7 minutes later we were there.
lol :) i bet that is something that you thought you would never write.
More like a horror story :)
We may have to bring you and your force with us next time.
lol maps are over rated :P
It's sidepodcast, I write lots of stuff I thought I'd never write
SidepodPshyco?
Sounds like an interesting Blog post to be
The force is available to anyone. You just have to believe and have a very general idea where you are going.
The main Awards are just starting at Autosport now.
Hehe, that's more like it.
I sense a "This offer is not available in any shops, just send £99.95p + P&P"
:D
haha ;)
You can send me £99.95 and I will send you written instructions. :D
that explains why i was so disorientated at goodwood then :P
These are not the directions we are looking for :)
you need to play direction ping pong....
aim for a place near the place your going, and just bounce off places that are the near the place you want to go to, and you'll get there eventually :D
Murray is presenting the moment of the year award
The moment of the year was the end of the Brazil GP. Not really a surprise then.
in theory a good idea, and i was ok with Duke of Edinburgh's award, but when you have nooo idea where a place that is near to the place you want to be is it kinda doesn't help :P i must say i tried something similar at the MPH show i went to recently. I got a tiny bit lost cause i couldn't find the HUGE army helicopter that was there lol.
Is there a live feed for this Steven or are you there? :D
lol
http://live.autosport.com/commentary.php/id/64
Only following the comments as Lou said.
"22:08 The Moment of the Year is the finale of the Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix."
To be honest, if it didnt win....then id have been very surprised. I wonder what else was nominated.
Yeah, thanks guys. Just found it me self :)
Next is the Gregor Grant lifetime achievement award. Any guesses as to the winner?
i found another pic of Jenson :)
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72384
The winner is ....Stirling Moss.
I would have thought he had one before now.
Max? :)
:D
Do your jacket up Jens, scruffy pup :D
Sorry Lou
Yeah, I'm sure that's his main concern right now...
He needs to make a good impression
no worries :) i think he looks good, but then i would :P
Next award is International Rally Driver. I think this could be a foregone conclusion
When's the 'Best Sebastian of the year award'?
lol i like the sound of that, i'd go for Loeb, but if there was a "Most patient/persistant/likely to kill someone if something else goes wrong with his car" would be bourdais...
Hehe. I was about to say Toro Rosso should get an award for services to Sebastians.
LOL
They might just yet! Maybe Jenson should change his name
Sebastian Button, hmm - maybe
My tip for Young Sebastian goes to Sebastian Oglier
Sebastien Memorial Award to go to Bourdais as he won't be in F1 anymore
and the Golden Sebastien to Vettel
I could be pedantic and say that only Vettel spells his first name as 'Sebastian' but er, I have now... :-D
This is why podcasts work better... :P
Shhh, don't give them ideas. Every driver in GP2 will be called Sebastian in the hope of getting a Red Bull seat otherwise.
Best Seb of the year didn't quite have the same comedy ring to it :D
Sebastian Island anyone?
Loeb won international rally drver of the year and the rally car award went to the Citroen C4
I thinks Sebastian Senna has a nice ring to it.
Where everyone drives the cars with Red Bull cans on top.
Best of both. :P
There's a sneaky peek at our weekend available now:
http://www.sidepodcast.com/2008/12/07/whats-behind-the-blue-door/
:o
They have just given gregor Grant award to Ari Vatanen. Dave Richirds who used to be his co-driver presented it.
awesome!
What timing...
Looking forward to tommorow. :)
I wouldn;t have needed the force for that. I lived in Paris for a year and used to get my Autosport at WH Smiths which is at the end of Rue de Rivoli just before Place de la Concorde.
How can you not find Place de la Concorde anyway?
I thought the iPod Touch had GPS, or is that just the iPhone 3G?
Newman Haas got the John Bolster award for technical excellence.
Heikki Kovalainen presents the Autosport Pioneering and Innovation Award to ......
I have a question... why is Heikki Kovalainen presenting The Autosport Pioneering and Innovation Award ? seems like an odd match...
The Singapore Grand Prix
woot :D go Singapore
To make him feel part of the show. Lewis will pick up at least a couple of awards so at least this way Heikki gets on stage.
Rookie of the year award next.
Looks like Vettel from the list in the comments
It is Vettel
Had to be. Well done Seb
They light-fuelled him this time?
iPhone has GPS and location via wi-fi and cellular masts. iPod Touch can only use wi-fi.
I'm was half expecting you to go
Oh, its Glock
Thanks, that sounds about right. Maps it is then next time
Next we have the British Competition Driver of the Year. Another foregone conclusion I would have thought.
Shock result. McNish won it. :D :D :D
Jenson isn't going to get an award tonight is he?....
Probably not.
Next award is racing car of the year so he won't win that.
The 'Lets all feel sorry for him' award perhaps.
:)
coughMclarencough
Tom Kristensen is staying on stage after presenting McNish with his trophy so I guess the Audi is going to win.
Got that wrong. The McLaren won
hehe lol
I couldn't feel sorry for Jneson, he's got very rich, but sadly faded dueto his lack of desire and killer instinct. He was going to become another David Coulthard, always there but never at the very top. Good time for him to get out I reckon.
It would have been better had he known before the BBC got their team sorted
Next is International Race Driver of the Year. That has to go to Hamilton.
he was good at commentary i'll give you that. but if the BB had offered him a job i don't think he would have accepted it, bit of a change from racing.
Unless McNish gets it as well or Franck sneaks in to take it.
I don't think he's quite ready for the mic just yet. He needs to spend a few embarrassing years at the back before retiring. Oh, hang on :(
Lewis, no surprise there then
Lewis won it. That's one time each on stage for him and Heikki.
Christine wasn't counting the votes
Now they are going to do the young driver award which McNish, Coulthard etc won. They get £50k to spend on racing and they get a McLaren F1 test.
Alexander Sims won it. I have never heard of him
Alexander Sims is the winner
Yeah, and a runner up in a series of all people to win it!
Didn't Stephan Wilson win it last year and he didnt win FPA?
He on it recently but I have no idea whether it was last year or not.
It must have been last year as he did FPA last year.
"Next year we're doing the Formula Three Euroseries with Mucke Motorsport."
Alexander Sims, 2008 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner
Seems like a big jump to me, 2 years of FRenault and not winning it. Hmm
I have never heard of him so I don't know if he has had budget problems or the like. Mucke are a serious team so he should have a decent car next season. Adam Christodoulou who won the Renault championship has a big reputation.
I'd have thought Christo would have won it, but you never know what happened on the day.
Wait wait wait. Christo won Club Racing Driver...Formula Renault isn't classed as a club series, its a national series....how does that work!?!?
Award
Winner
British Club Driver of the Year
Adam Christodoulou
National Driver of the Year
Oliver Turvey
Moment of the Year
Finale of the Brazilan Grand Prix
Gregor Grant Award for Lifetime Achievement
Sir Stirling Moss
International Rally Driver of the Year
Sebastien Loeb
Rally Car of the Year
Citroen C4
Gregor Grant Award for Lifetime Achievement
Ari Vatanen
John Bolster Award for Technical Excellence
Newman-Haas Racing
Autosport Pioneering and Innovation Award
Singapore Grand Prix Night Race
Rookie of the Year
Sebastian Vettel
British Competition Driver of the Year
Allan McNish
Racing Car of the Year
McLaren MP4-23
International Racing Driver of the Year
Lewis Hamilton
McLaren Autosport BRDC Award
Alexander Sims
Interesting reading