Tuesday is here and with it brings our first action of the week, in the shape of a Force India launch. The team are going online with their new car, so let's hope they are more successful than Virgin were. Keep an eye out for the breakout thread ahead of the action at 9am. Meanwhile, here are some of the things we're talking about:
- F1 Debrief is up and ready for everyone to listen to, and I would warn you of two things. Firstly, there is quite a lot of Twitter talk, and whilst we both find the service leaves a bad taste in our mouths, it is revolutionising F1 coverage all the time. Secondly, I try and be down with the kids a couple of times and it's quite embarrassing. Enjoy!
- Adam Cooper has been delving into the history books to find out some of the stories of other new teams, in this case Mastercard Lola. It's fair to say that fiasco is an understatement, but it makes fascinating reading, and like the comments say, let's hope for more history from Mr Cooper.
- I may have started another blog yesterday, and whilst that may not make a change, the content is certainly a bit different to our normal offerings. After thinking about it a lot, I started writing fiction again, and I've posted the beginnings of an F1 story that you get to control. Hopefully it is self-explanatory, but head on over to Ten Step Stories and cast your vote.
That should do it for now. Hopefully, you've had a good start to the week, let us know, and I'll see you in the comments.
GRRR
Websites with Auto-play music should be shut down, i opened Chrome and music is playing but i dont know which tab its coming from!!
am liking adam coopers blog a lot - "...the whole thing collapsed like, well, a house of MasterCards"
:)
Speaking of Twitter (in the Daily), I'm halfway through the Twitter-related post I keep promising.
will it be up today?
If today is Tuesday, then hopefully :)
i.e. probably not until I've had a chance to rethink some of it after work. I can't seem to bang out blog posts in WP like I could in Blogger.
no worries.
Just realised that's another MCM I've missed. Nuts.
Oh god why did I start watching creepy tv home alone at night? I'm such an idiot....
I need someone to knock some sense into me....
The MasterCard Lola story should serve as a warning to the new teams entering this year.
I will see you all tomorrow.
night will.
Just heard this on TWiT. Google ad showing how Tiger Woods can use google to sort his life out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcZ-arbR0EE
Night Will
Ah it's okay. I'll watch a documentary about skin cancer for some light relief....
Yesterday's medical terminology class wouldn't have taxed anyone here. It lasted ten minutes (i.e. just long enough to get the pleasantries out of the way) before there was a power cut to the entire area (including the McDonald's across the road). Everyone got evacuated...
Originally we were told to continue the class (bit difficult when your classroom has only two emergency lights on and the class consists of worksheets and dictionaries with tiny print) but then it was discovered that the emergency lights two floors down hadn't come on, which meant I spent over an hour in the train station with a book before I could go home.
That sounds cheery and a really good idea when you are just back from a hot country
It's okay. I won't get skin cancer. I use sun block. I always have. I'm nice and pale and I don't want to tan.
:) :)
Masters 2005 chip shot FTW! :D
Grrr it really is sleep time :( I have a tummy ache :(
Hang on. Alison, you're still awake? It's past 3 AM there.
Yeah. Bad times :(
I can't sleep. I have a sore tummy.
Oooh. Not good. Did you take medicine for that?
Nah. I'm sure it'll be fine in the morning. I'm off tomorrow so I can have a sleep in.
Oooh. Good for you! :)
So. . .
Anyone else as excited as me about the impending RBR launch?
Im even excited about the Force India. Im very keen to see how they go this year. Pity about the driver line up though!
I'm confused. Have Red Bull missed out on testing time by not launching before?
They have, but it'll be fine. i promise. :-)
@ journeyer
Are you in Australia?
Yes but the flip side is that they have been able to spend more time developing the car. Given how reliable the cars have been so far missing a few days testing should not harm them. In 1988 McLaren launched there car one week before the season began and managed little more than a shakedown test. All the experts said they would struggle but they won 15 out of 16 races and were leading the other one when Senna crashed with a backmarker.
who can name that backmarker?
Why isnt there a 'sidepodcast quiz'?
we could all submit questions and the winner would get a kiss from Mrs C or MR Mrs C, depending on your preference. LOL
Jean-Louis Schlesser
Sidepodquiz - http://sidepodcast.com/category/sidepodquiz/
So far there has only been one. I think there is a wiki page for future contestants but the future could be a long way away.
You can sign up on the wiki page but people signed up more than a year ago and so far they have been so busy that they have been unable to fit the quiz into the schedule.
http://wiki.sidepodcast.com/page/Sidepodquiz
Time I was in bed.
Good night all
Yeah i didnt like that quiz. no offense.
I eman like a 50 question bonanza. maybe 10 questions from each decade. so 60 then.
no fill in the gap stuff. some multiple choice stuff even.
Nope. I'm in the Philippines.
Christine wasn't so keen on creating so many questions. :)
VivaF1 (formerly Pitlane Fanatic) do have a weekly quiz that we Sidepodders usually join on Wednesday nights. But it's currently on hiatus.
The weekly quiz has 25 questions (numbered 1-26, there's no 13 in F1).
More info here.
Night Steven.
wow, thanks for that journeyer.
i think i remember you saying once before now, that your were in the philippines
it's bloomin hard work. we'll do something some day though.
Has anyone seen JA's new head banner? It actually looks nice...
mm, was mentioned yesterday. certainly the best yet.
First, the nice looking twitter aggregator, then this.
I'm starting to wonder if he got new designers this year...
morning mr c.
i think he must've. it's weird though, because i always thought he designed his own headers or something, but i recall dank saying the header designer got a special mention in his book.
either way, vast improvement.
we must stop meeting like this, people will talk.
:D hahaha! you mean they're not talking already? :D
but i'm always awake this time of the day. tough luck. ;)
noted ;)
Hey everyone. Watching BTCC on SpeedTV right now. Top Gear wasn't kidding. It's like NASCAR with right hand turns.
New article, I hope Claire doesn't issue a restraining order on me because of this.
LINK: http://www.racingeagles.com/2010/02/i-heart-claire-williams.html
Good morning everyone.
Looks like the Force India website is having trouble.
A F1 launch wouldn't be an F1 launch without a failing website.
It's becoming a tradition.
hello.
Overnight, the vote on the story swung completely in the opposite direction. How exciting!
http://tenstepstories.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/life-in-the-fast-lane-part-1/
am i missing the bit that shows the results? or are you the only one who can see that.
I set them as private, cos I thought otherwise it might be a bit spoiler-ish.
got ya. i assumed from you comment i was missing something obvious.
Nope. Only that I went to bed thinking what would happen next and woke up to find it had all changed.
Pesky voting ;)
The power of democracy! :D Hey Christine. :)
Oh, when does Part 2 come out? Am excited to read it. :)
:D
Not 100% sure yet. Initially I thought it could be a weekly thing, but that is much too long. Even I want to know what happens next before then :)
Woohoo! :D That's great to hear. :)
have tweeted her :)
Why am I getting bright red in embarrassment when I am over 5000 miles away?
awww.
Speaking of this. If we had to pick the best non racing departments in F1. Would it be Williams for PR, Red Bull for Marketing, and ????? for sponsorship recruitment?
fernando alonso
definitelly not Force India, they continue in their fine tradition of pasting logos of different Mallya's companies and brands over the car. not much 3rd party sponsorship there ...
Ah!!!
I was about to say the Argentine government for their ability to re-sell toasters.
but give him credit, he's still around in Year 3. which is more than can be said of Midland or Spyker. and Super Aguri just barely made it too.
I will say it was fun watching him get chased all over Europe by creditors.
I am not sure I would want to be the one giving him credit :-)
:D
Morning everyone
definitelly not Force India, they continue in their fine tradition of pasting logos of different Mallya's companies and brands over the car. not much 3rd party sponsorship there ... {Comment #67}
Unfortunately true. Which now there seems to be some sort of problem getting the money where it is needed, is pretty frustrating :(
At least he's trying though - as Journeyer pointed out, at least he didn't cut and run at the first sign of trouble like the last two.
Morning everyone {Comment #73}
Good morning, Lukeh!
Todt will stay for only one term
Wow. Didn't see that coming. This could be a Mosley-like plot for the others to convince him to stay, but... somehow, I think this will be different...
It makes sense, then if people dont want him in a few years time he can claim he always only wanted to stay for 1 term...
He also confirmed the whole 3 races thing as well
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81359
Something that might interest some people. Video footage of the Gran Turismo 5 GT Academy Portuguese finals racing on the Nurburgring Nordschleife and a bit of real life footage from the track as well http://bit.ly/9QszHs
According to the Lotus story yesterday, they are doing a shakedown with the car at Silverstone today. Wonder if there'll be any spy shots.
My mistake, doesn't mention a location.
I dont know whay they keep going to half of silverstone, surely if its just a shakedown then their must be other options?
Have they announced the colours yet or are we all assuming its Green and yellow with lots of malaysian flags? I guess we will find out today
maybe 'stone is pushing for more work/money?
lack of testing must've hurt their bottom line last year.
apparently there is lots of circuit construction happening down at the park. I must go there! There was nothing last time I was there!
Run, amy, run!
Here is a photo from someone else http://img158.yfrog.com/i/rrds.jpg/ just to soothe my circuit construction needs.
Woohooo! And so it begins :)
I hadn't had time to get there in the weekends because the tennis was on and then the weekend just gone I wanted to hibernate and then today I was not at work but I went to ikea instead. Perhaps I will go tomorrow night if its still daylight when I finish work :D
True, but you would think other circuits could offer the teams more in terms of garages and facilities, and they would have grandstands e.t.c...
Although i guess they need less marshals on a short track, so less costs?
garages tend to be small and pokey. awnings can be as big as you like.
I'm not here... But because it's a kind of #MFC style question you might be interested... Today's post on my blog is about what people will be amazed at us not having had in our lifetimes... In the same way I'm amazed that I've met people who didn't have electricity at home when they were kids.
http://gamboling.co.uk/2010/02/09/what-will-the-third-generation-be-amazed-at/
In Danica news: Danica to make Nationwide debut at Daytona
Nationwide is one rung below Cup, but many of the Cup drivers race there too. If she does well enough there...
Twas nice knowing ya, IndyCar.
http://www.f1today.nl/foto/7579/
A photo of the Lotus transporter... that logo looks reaaaaally retro...
me like!!
Interesting, I love its classic theme
alll of it apart from the weird car clipart thing
also nice: http://www.f1today.nl/foto/7578/
that's a watermark.
who did lotus buy the transporter from. is it an old ferrari motorhome or something? renault maybe.
oooh Singapore prices are out
http://singaporegp.sg/ticket/ticket_price.php
HELP ME CHOOOOSE
Niiiice!
#EpicNickFail
What's your budget in SGD?
The Premier Walkabout option is mighty tempting...
But I'd say Padang if you're on a budget, Stamford if you can afford a bit more.
I don't want it to cost more than any of my other 3 because spending more on Singapore than Spa or Monza is ridiculous. Padang I did last time so don't want to do again, I was thinking Stamford...
Im disappointed there isnt a Piquet Corner option listed :(
If you're lucky with your Stamford seat, you'll get seated at either the left-side edge (and thus see the best overtaking point of the circuit) or the right-side edge (and see the cars twice a lap).
although Stamford is more than I planned to spend when I started planning this, back then I was thinking perhaps Waterfront Esplanade. Ahhhh decisions, I hate you.
Have you considered Connaught?
that was on my initial list but the more I think about it, it seems to be the poor mans Stamford?
Yup. And this might be the best fit for you budget-wise.
budget-schmudget (I make snap decisions and worry about consequences later :D )
because you see, as I will purchase on March 1, by the time September 24 rolls around months and months and months and months later, anything I spent will be long in the past and paid off and forgotten about :D
:D Hahaha! Very well. If budget isn't so much of a consideration, take Stamford.
Be advised, though - when I went in 2008, this was the first grandstand to sell out (this was my first choice, and because of the uber-slow server, I couldn't get it). Not sure if they sold out last year, but you'll need to act fast.
very true, dat. :)
Hmm I wonder what time on March 1 this all kicks off :D Must...buy...first....
(Stamford it is!)
In 2008, it (planned to) kick off at 8 AM SGT. Which would be 11 AM your time.
they have banned laptops from work but I am going to flout the rules!
BTW, Amy, did you get an email last year inviting you to stress-test their servers by buying tickets?
I did, and everytime I got one I got sad that I wasn't going :(
Will the ticket arrive before you leave for Europe?
I'm assuming so, my 2008 one came pretty early. It's more my Monza one I am worried about, the site implied they don't send them until quite late.
Their servers were flawless last year. But let's see if they do it again this year...
Why not just pick it up at Monza itself?
I don't like that option. I always get lost when I try and find ticket booths. Always.
Hm are you still going to Munich. If yeas you could let them send the ticket to my parents/sister and collect it from there.
Then you'll have to call Monza and check if they'll send it to you in time.
(sleepy Kathi -> even worse English than usual, sorry)
nein, Munich has been crossed from the itinerary sadly. My LJ archives tell me I got my 2008 tickets on 6 August. :D
You just missed out on one question mark and misspelled yes. Not bad English at all. :)
where would you be by then this year?
at home. I don't leave til the 22nd.
Interesting question!
perfect! :)
Indeed. Have duly answered. :)
Crikey... last time I heard of a Zoltar Machine http://twitter.com/zoltar_machine/status/8853341041 Tom Hanks was acting like a child.
I am worried.
I always feel so cheap using a MacBook Pro in the apple store.... but they're sooooooo cool...
ha :-D
Also the magic mouseamajig scares me... for some reason...
worst.mouse.ever
True fact... somebody at the office just lent me their iPod nano so I could listen to a couple of tracks they recomended. They pressed play and wondered off.. I couldn't work out how to pause it... I kept touching the play/pause button but nothing happened! Apparently you have to press the button... urgh... how old fashioned ;)
I'm surprised it took you so long to try pressing it. ;)
I asked my lj-friend. She got her Monza tickets at the end of June last year
I just did some scouting of their website, it says they send the first lot out in June and I bought them the first week they are on sale, so your comment and my scouting make me feel much better :D and I should go to sleep on that, its 1.21am :(
:) Goodnight
very true.
Night Amy. :)
About to go to bed, but before I do:
What do Cherie Blair, Heather Mills, Max Mosley, and Brangelina all have in common?
They've all sued News of the World!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8505035.stm
I only used it for 5 minutes and it went all funny on me... so I just kinda... walked off with it going funny...
Oops :)
SAFETY CAR RACE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIuIbO2Ul1U
epic. totally epic
heheh, awesome! I like how it has graphics and everything!
If you're a sarah palin fan, you need to see this...
Lets hope this works
That happens on the Thursday before every race. They have one hour set aside for the drivers of the safety and medical cars to go out and play. Not sure what they do in Monaco where they have practise on Thursdays
I knew they went out but didnt realise that they "raced" but then it's not a bad idea because they'll push each other and know exactly where the limits are!
Hi everyone
lol cool!
I don't think they race but they push the cars as hard as they can so they know the limit. I think someone was just having a laugh making it look like a race.
A more complete version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BorYVg8nkbs
They even use short-hand names. Who needs ALO or MSC when you have SC1 and MC1? ;) It works like an FP, so they're just setting hot laps rather than racing.
Really going to bed now. :D
I guess the timing people will use the safety/medical car runs to check out their equipment as they will be the first cars on track and clearly they have timing transponders in them which I didn't know.
it helps the camera men, directors and graphics people. they do it for every event i think. also checks the timing beams etc.
this was from alan van der merwe last year:
"Plane been diverted to Kuala Lumpur because of bad weather in Singapore. Lets hope I make it there in time for track test!"
5live referenced taking bets on the cars at each race, but i've no idea if they were serious.
http://twitter.com/alanvdm/status/4329967529
I wouldn't be surprised if the drivers were betting with each other on who got the fastest lap
that would be fab. i guess with access-all-areas this year, we'll be finding out a lot more background info about the paddock.
Even more awesome, it's at Indy!
You need to ask Claire. I can't imagine 4 racing drivers being let of the leash and not competing with each other. it's in their nature to compete at everything so there is bound to be some form of competition.
If they can just change that infield section, that would be a great road course. They need to take out a couple of holes in the golf course and put in some proper turns.
First image of the Lotus!
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81365
I think they've added some turns since then. Don't know if it was made any better, though.
Not a lot of sponsorship on that car
I assume Notus are not planning on racing with those wings and Gascoyne has something clever up his sleeve.
The motoGP course is interesting, it gets rid of the terrible "double hairpin" turn and adds a lengthy chicane at the banked turn.
Personally, I would like to see something like Daytona's road course where they use almost all of the banking and oval... speaking of which... off to quickmaps.
The front wing looks really odd
That's becoming a theme this season.
has more than BMW Sauber ;)
Hey! You just watch us
Evening all.
#sorryRG
Not being biased or anything, but that "Lotus" does look good in those colours! :P
I know its a poor quality, but I don't like it. I think there is just too much dark green. Needs more yellow I think.
That may just be the interim livery. We don't know (not even me) what the final livery is until the launch on Friday.
It's not exactly a Lotus green though.
I think the low camera angle makes it look as though there is less yellow than there really is. From a normal F1 high camera angle you will see more yellow as they have a stripe on the nose, the wings and on the top of the sidepods.
Mind you, seeing as it's not actually a Lotus, I guess it doesn't have to be exact. Can be as close as they want it to be.
Evening all. In the pub listening to sidepodcast podcast. Hurrah!
This what I had in mind.
why are you in a pub by yourself?
bassano i can understand, but alex?
From that Autosport spy shot the new Lotus team looks really odd...doesn't look like a good looking design
that green is going to be too heavy, right?
same reason jaguar raced in a lighter colour.
I am about to meet up with a mate (Nick from SofaF1) who I have known since I was 12. He's been reading the second draft of my novel and is about to give me his notes. He's an author too so it should be very interesting.
I appear to have arrived 10 minutes early.
And that is how Lotus wont make it onto my top 5 liveries, but Jaguar did: http://northernwaffler.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/my-top-5-f1-liveries/
I'll leave the livery be until I see a better shot of the car, but the actual design looks like something you would of see on a Forti car. Especially the front end.
I'm sorry but the Jaguar livery is plain boring.
Whhhaattt?!!
Didn't you say the same thing about Virgin's?
I am in shock right now.
When are Lotus launching their car? Well, luckily I can go and find out thanks to Sidepodcast's calendar... http://sidepodcast.com/calendar/ ;)
It looks like the wind-tunnel model.
No, I said the same about the Renault livery lol. But I'm talking about the actually design of the Lotus, not the livery.
AUTOSPORT needs to be thankful that Max still isn't in charge. With all the "spying" they are doing, I can only imagine a 100 million euro fine for them as well. ;)
I look at this:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_P1bHXJPv6L8/SnyxfCsa5hI/AAAAAAAAAN8/UruANOnnOsg/jag_thumb[4].jpg?imgmax=800
and that does for me. It's just green and white, there's no colour to offset it. It's the wrong shade of green, and despite using metallic green, it still doesn't make it look any better for me.
The green and yellow on the Lotus work well because they offset each other. Just something about the shades they've chosen that go together nicely.
can we moderate him for that?
hello!
I've taken some time to think about it... but i've decided i really really don't like the lotus livery, it's hidious, Of course it could be the camera/lighting/angle and i'll reserve my final judgement till i see the press shots but atm i just don't like it at all. I can cope with the green (although it needs to be a bit lighter), but it's the wrong shade of yellow, and the yellow on the wheels is just wrong - yuck!
Alright then, so aside from Lotus, what is your favourite livery.
Ermm....I need to have a think.
Stefan GP's livery is my favourite
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81361
...wait just a second.
evening Lou :)
I'm undecided on the spy shots... I'll wait and see how it looks in the studio first. #Sauber
Still waiting for the Titanic... I mean... USF1 to come into port and show me what they got. If it is the All American Eagles Dark blue with a white racing stripe... my heart will be taken.
I'm quite liking it so far.... and I actually like the yellow on the wheels!! But we'll see when we get proper shots of it, in better light etc
Yellow wheels are a Lotus tradition. This pic makes the green look darker than it really was.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00614/000lotus_585x350_614195a.jpg
see, i like that livery. just not the new lotus..
Speaking of car launches... check out the Indy Car Concept that Swift made to meet the 2012 regulations.
It's a cross between the batmobile and a F1 car...
If only the IRL would make it to 2012.
I would love to see the IRL do something that looked like any of those because it would force the FIA to change the tech regs so that F1 cars didn't look like they were ten years out of date. That gives them an opportunity to tackle some of the problems with overtaking etc.
Really cool concept but I find it hard to believe that the finally thing would look like that if it actually happens.
Bah, I wish I'd bought some of the Brawn GP stuff now I'd seen in this new F1 shop in cardiff...
wait.. you were able to walk into an f1 shop with brawn stuff in and not buy anything.. *applauds*
It was on sale too :( The had the AWESOME jackets... but it was still expensive...
Though saying that, the Formula Nippon design from Swift has a few of those design elements
http://www.swiftengineering.com/motorsports.shtml
am intrigued that circuit de catalunya is now tweeting about the LG fan survey. fota / teams i understand. but circuits?
Stockholm Syndrome?
Re: Ten Step Stories.
Am gonna close the polls in about half an hour. I figure that a day for voting is good, then a day for writing, then new post, and repeat. Get your vote in if you haven't already :)
Voted yesterday
Disappointing. :P
#Random
I think this might be my favorite Automotive AND Super Bowl commercial of all time
love the ending :)
Evening.
Oooh, nice livery. Car looks fairly conventional, even conservative, apart from the wings. They even look like '08 wings from that angle.
New blog post:
http://zerodownforce.blogspot.com/2010/02/change-would-do-wrc-good.html
Random question but.... how well will Jock Clear and Schumi get on at Mercedes? When Jacques was champion in 1997 his engineer was Jock and I remember reading somewhere ages ago about something unrepeatable that Jock said regarding beating Michael...
Shov is Schumi's engineer, and Jock doesn't have any need to work with Schumi directly if he doesn't want to. I suspect a lot of the information would be passed between engineers and not drivers.. (this could be very wrong)
Ahh, of course. I keep thinking Shov is engineering jenson... doh...
i wish he was... ;)
I am sure Jock will be doing everything he can to make Rosberg beat Schumacher
Somehow, I get the feeling that Schumacher's "neck" injury will come back if that starts happening.
I donlt think it will happen but if it does there will be all sorts of excuses.
Hence the Nick Heifeld security blanket.
I mentioned this on my blog, but is Mercedes the frist team in recent memory where there is a good argument that their test driver is better than their "#2?"
This is what the Notus should have looked like
http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs51/f/2009/324/9/5/Lotus_F1_2010_by_hanmer.jpg
Good question. First one that comes to mind is McLaren 93 with Andretti and Hakkinen as the test driver. I suppose you could argue Williams with Patrese and Damon Hill as the test driver
Benetton had McNish as the test driver and as far as I am concerned he is better than whoever was racing for them
Kovalainen and Pedro ? #sorryamy
Badoer and Gene
Evening
I like. I also like that Tamiya sponsor them
Still doesn't work for me. The black rear wing so does not work, too many sponsors on the sticky-out-thing on the side of the car and I don't like the logo either.
However, did we know those guys were better going in. This situation is weird. Either Mercedes wrote Nick a really nice check or there are a lot of the lower teams that are in serious financial trouble.
Judging by the amount of stickers on cars... I think it is the latter.
Tamiya do some really nice Lotus F1 car kits. As far to my knowledge, we've got kits for the 25, 49 and 78 at CTL.
It looks a lot better than the real thing though. Just look at the overall livery and ignore logos and stuff
I am not convinced Hill was better than Patrese but his record says he is. He was never rated as world champion material until 94. His junior record suggested he was anything but star potential. If you had been in an F3 paddock when he was racing and said you wanted to bet he would win the championship in ten years you would have been killed in the rush of people trying to take the bet.
At the start of 93 Michael Andretti was expected to be really good so no-one expected Hakkinen to be better in the short term.
They do some top notch competition RC stuff too
I suppose if you look at last year there is a good case for saying Hülkenberg was better than Nakajima, di Grassi was better than Piquet or Grosjean and maybe that Liuzzi is better than Sutil
I think the short answer is no
Now this is beautiful
http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/58447ferrari_f60/index.htm
i would show you that I used to race on of these but they aren't quite as exciting to look at
f1 is in a huge amount of bother. i'm sure of it.
the financial crisis hit much later. but likely much harder.
They always say F1 is the last to be hit and the last to recover..
sounds likely, but, how hard will it be hit?
I appear to be developing early symptoms of a cold.
I think the worst is over in terms of the loss of sponsors. The question now becomes, can the teams hang on until the money returns?
i dunno. when does the philip morris contract expire? vodafone?
williams also need to replace RBS next year.
Actually, that something I've been working on for a blog post on and off. We had a big reception last week with some companies. I went around and asked some of them. I am saving a lot for the article but this one stood out.
I got to talk to a representative from T-Mobile
That's because they have lots of multi-year contracts. Imagine if RBS were re-knewing their Williams deal every year. There is no way they would have been in F1 for the past two seasons
I thought Philip Morris renewed only recently, could be wrong. I think Santander and Vodafone will be around a couple more years at least.
Yes true.. I can't see them sticking around if they are still owned by the gov't.
Looking forward to it. T-Mobile sponsor (or used to?) a cycling team, I can't say I've noticed them in motorsport.
BMW?
(Sorry, I hit submit instead of preview)
I asked them about their BMW-Sauber sponsorship. What he told me was the company was drastically cutting back. Even if BMW was still in the sport, it was highly questionable if they would of resigned.
In America they are getting killed because they sign the contract with Microsoft and Google instead of Apple. In Europe, they are having a hard time in the European market trying to combat the new players in the market and the everchanging regulations. It wasn't a question of wanting their sticker on the side of a car, it was a question of their priorities.
Like the Rolling Stones song, it was less what they want and more what they need.
Erm, possibly.
hehehe!
If it wasn't the F60 then yes it would be ;)
makes a lot of sense.
I would like to see 7up back in F1, so I can see a return to the old Jordan livery. http://f1colours.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/jordan91-pic3.jpg
All rigjt, who started this? http://twitter.com/tedkravitzfacts/
superted!
Interesting pic from Scarbs. http://twitpic.com/127cbw Haven't seen any other team take a section out of their beam wing. I wonder how good that FIF1 diffuser is and whether others will copy this idea
From a lot of the big guys, it was pretty much the same story with all of their sponsorship, advertising, marketing, R&D, Government affairs, and communications budgets getting slashed like crazy. People are trying to hold onto capital since they don't know when the recovery will come and that it takes so much more capital now to leverage loans.
pluggety, pluggety: http://www.f1minute.com/2010/02/09/go-force-and-prosper/
:)
I feel like I am missing out by not having any fake twitter accounts.
US F1 Employee on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ericswarren
I kno, i mean heard that it is a lot of fun.
ooooh.
Based on the evidence, my money's on Lukeh
Danica's ARCA race was watched by more twice as many people as watch the average IndyCar race. It got a 2.3 on the US rating system, IRL barely scratches 1.0 if is lucky.
http://pressdog.typepad.com/dogblog/2010/02/arca-tv-rating-230-insert-me-chugging-scotch-here.html
people sell product. schumi is showing us exactly the same thing in f1.
makes no odds what the rules are, where the races are, what the stewards say, all that really counts is the people behind the wheel.
If that's the case why aren't they watching her in IndyCar - and what happens when she leaves?
in fact, in this area nascar is way ahead of f1.
we looked into danica's eyes at the weekend. when was the last time you saw an f1 driver's eyes when they're in the cockpit?
occasionally in singapore maybe.
You wanna get that white visor.
that's a fair point. so it's people + a story?
- how will she fair in nascar... will she crash...
- how will schumi fair in f1... can he hack it...
:P :D
People don't follow IndyCar anymore. Tony George and the rest of the clowns who ran the IRL have ruined it. When she leaves, it is game up for IndyCar.
Evening :)
I'm back from my magical mystery tour of the countryside. I crashed a child's 9th birthday party.... Pretty good day I'd say!
fare
fare, sorry.
That is an advantage, as are the commentator-to-car interviews. The other thing is that she's leaving a niche and entering the mainstream.
Intentionally or no..?
Even though I'm not in the country, I've noticed the new title sponsor is really pushing the other drivers..
I like that the 'One Year Ago' section on F1 Minute is all Red Bull launching at Jerez. Nothing changes!
Hehe. She's my goddaughter. I didn't realise there was a full blown party in progress though. I might have kept a wider berth....
:)
When they use that stupid camera on the nose of the car that only shows you the driver's head
not through a reflective visor though.
Did you play party games?
The problem is that they are not bring in that much money and the entire George family is hemorrhaging money in the IRL. With Tony gone, it is only a matter of time before the family says enough is enough.
I hope there was jelly and ice cweam
True
There was a lot of cake and for some reason easter eggs?!?
I did.... I had to do 2 forfeits out the pass the parcel though. Bad times....
What were they? :D
I've just finished watching a Channel 4 documentary called "The Secret Life of Colin Chapman". All I can say is that it's hit me quite hard and has made me see the man in a different light.
But on a more positive note - I FINALLY got the UPS label printed off which I need to send my 360 away! :D
Now I just need a box and some bubblewrap. Two things which work has plenty of. Wonder if they could do me a favour on that one. :P
gotta be done. what's the turnaround time?
Usually a 10 days-2 weeks. They're extremely good with xbox 360 repiars, especially for free
See, I've had a 360 for more than 3 years and the 3 year warranty's expired, yet the fault is 3 red lights. That's still covered, right?
Just realised there's a lot of 3's in that post there :P
3 Red lights are unlimited warranty now so definitely.
Fantastic :P
*sigh* Not having a 360 that works isn't too bad most of the time, but there are times when I really really want a good thrash on Forza 3.
i'd laugh at microsoft for that, but after the toyota fiasco, at least microsoft never posed a health risk.
Must be frustrating :(
Did you know that Nurburgring got released today?
I do indeed. Shame there's isn't the "Behemoth" layout :(
And while we're talking about xboxes, any sailing fans think the 33rd America's Cup is a joke?
I do wish Larry Ellison were a gentleman (motor)racer, though. US might actually have a real car by now...
:)
Apparently 3 red light failure percentage rate is 33-40% now. Although it was worse on the first models that came out, considering there are apparently 40 million Xbox 360s out in the world now... that's still 10 million or so being returned.
But it's the Jalopnik car pack coming out in the summer that I'm so looking forward to. Can't wait to get my hands on those 2 Cossies! :D
#sidepodspace
Looks like NASA doesn't want anyone to watch this mission. The shuttle is due to dock with the ISS at 5:06am UK time tomorrow so no chance of seeing that then. However there is a launch taking place tomorrow. The solar dynamic observary is due to launch at 3:26pm UK time but we have the usual weather and NASA potentila problems that can lead to the launch being scrubbed.
Launch details at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sdo/main/index.html
What did you learn? DeLorean by any chance?
Yup. That and how if he'd been alive when Fred Bushell was on trial, the guy would have gotten 10 years in prison instead of the 3 he actually got.
If T10 know what's good for them, they'll make sure they put a Cosworth engine as an option for engine swaps. It has to be done!
I'm keeping my eye on the results of the various votes. The final car pack could be brilliant.
You do know the final pack's been decided?
It has?! Damn, I'm out of touch... I haven't looked at the Forza forums, only being told from forums elsewhere. is there a final list?
Indeed, here it is (cars in bold are the ones I'm most excited about):
1. 1970 Chevrolet El Camino 454 Super Sport
2. 1983 Volvo 242 Group A Homologated
3. 1982 DeLorean DMC-12
4. 1992 Ford Escort RS Cosworth
5. 1982 Lancia 037 Stradale
6. 1973 BMW 2002 Turbo
7. 1971 De Tomaso Pantera
8. 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500
9. 1977 Saab 99 Turbo
10. 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evo II
11. 1984 BMW M635CSi
12. 1971 AMC Javelin AMX
13. 1992 GMC Syclone
14. 1988 Mitsubishi Starion ESI-R
15. 1986 Dodge Shelby Omni GLHS
....phew.
Is it the summer yet??!
i so desperately need more sidepodradio shows on this subject. i learnt so much last year and i've fallen behind again :(
Yeah, exactly! I'm absolutely overjoyed that the Escort Cossie and Sierra RS500 are in it. I ADORE them both :D
Well, me and Gavin did toy with the idea of trying to do the show on a regular basis and one of the things on my List is to start a podcast. Plus, if we were to put something together in the near future, it would help using it in my uni interview portfolio. Sooo....
poor mr c :(
Oooh, intruiging :)
His words were "You can talk about console stuff and I'll bore you with iRacing talk" :D
heheh. sounds very interesting. you guys did good and if you can find the time, please do it.
The falling behind business is definitely the reason why 18th position is a career high for you on the Wii F1 game :P
Perhaps similar to Luca Badoer falling behind in his knowledge of having a competetive race. Although his was slightly longer - 10 years.
Ooh, speaking of which, would it be possible if at some point in the near future I could get an MP3 file of the Sim Racers Weekly show we did for Sidepodradio? I don't need it just yet but if that would be OK, I would like to use it in my uni interview portfolio. It's not just video editing skills they look at, but a wide variety of things including sound design, scriptwriting, photography and, interestingly enough, podcasts. :)
(amongst a variety of other things)
Time for sleepies I think. Would get up for the launch but 7:30am is just asking for trouble ;)
Night all!
Red Bull are launching that early? Crikey.
What launch?
Red Bull?
8:30 in europe.
sure things, you can download from here: http://sidepodcast.com/2009/09/07/sidepodradio-sim-racers-weekly/
An F1 launch at that time
Ahh, fantastic. Thankingya :)
and to think, we'll all be getting at at 5 in a few weeks... :P
*runs off*
You could have a blog to go with it. I'm thinking screenshots.
Those sound like a lot of fun :)
Ooh, good idea.
I tried to buy the iRacing sub Dank had in his auction but I got outbid. I can't afford the full one (and I need a new wheel).
Bye, and I think Peter Serafinowicz used your idea :)
What's funny is apparently the original engine for the RS500 without any turbo only had about 90hp. Stick in the turbo and crank up the boost and you were looking at power levels of 500-550hp!
Also, another fun fact - for the Birmingham Superprix one year they set up a speedtrap to see how fast the cars were reaching down the longest straight on the course. The F3000 cars of the time, which were headlining the event, were reaching about 140-150mph. The Sierra RS500 touring cars were going 160-170mph.
My computer hates me! It's gone mental and started installing about 30 updates that all need separate restarts... Make it stop!
STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did that work?
it doesn't hate you. today is microsoft patch tuesday.
Alas no. It's unusable... I love my sister's iPod!
in fact it's a record patch tuesday:
Microsoft today released 13 security bulletins with fixes for 26 vulnerabilities affecting Windows and Office users and warned customers to pay special attention to a slew of flaws that can be trivially exploited by malware miscreants.
recommended fix: http://www.apple.com/
;)
Hehe even the iPod when I plugged it in tried to download new software...
oh.
recommended fix: http://www.apple.com/I did write you a reply but as if to prove my point, the ipod chose that moment to restart! :P
:)
Oooh I didn't notice it autocapitalising it's own name either.... It's smarter than I thought :(
You need to tell it to stop doing it automatically :)
Control Panel - Automatic Updates - tell it to "download automatically but let me choose when to install them".
SURPRISE
;)
sorry about that. carry on