F1 links: Brawn’s exhausts under scrutiny

Posted on

| Written by

Brawn GP bodywork legality questioned

"A small scandal is brewing about the legality of the winning Brawn GP cars at the Australian Grand Prix. It is claimed that the cars ran throughout the weekend with its exhaust pipes protruding from the bodywork by 10cm, which could be outside the regulations. The Brawn bodywork was changed for the Malaysian Grand Prix suggesting that the question of legality may have been raised during the weekend."

Weber: Schumacher criticism unfounded

Willi Weber: "The attack against Schumacher makes no sense. He knows everyone and was in Sepang just by chance. The decisions from the pit wall were taken by the team."

Sepang looks to change race start time

Sepang International Circuit CEO Razlan Razali: "The issue here is whether we have enough daylight, and on Sunday this was not the case."

Could Hamilton leave McLaren?

"I find it fascinating that the person in power to whom Hamilton appears to have turned for advice in recent days is Max Mosley. He’s clearly learned what Schumacher knew, that the best way to stay ahead of the others is to have a good relationship with the man who makes the rules. Brawn GP is important for Mosley because it is a blue print for his vision of the sport; a well engineered, lean team with customer engines. Low-cost, high quality F1. The Brawn model is important now, just as re-invigorating Ferrari was in 1996. If Hamilton were to join forces with Brawn, it would give the team huge commercial appeal, as Schumacher’s arrival gave Ferrari. Brawn says he is looking for ’strong partners’ for the future. He didn’t say those partners couldn’t be drivers…"

Liuzzi to race for A1 Team Italy

"Vitantonio Liuzzi has signed up to race in A1GP and will make his debut in the races at the Algarve this coming weekend." Bit of a coup for A1 Grand Prix this. Looking forward to seeing the cars in action on the Algarve circuit.

Is this thing on?

Red Bullog is back! :-)

Martin Brundle column

"In theory, the race could have run beyond the specific two-hour time limit. That is because clause 41 of the sporting regulations (which declares that the timing system does not stop when the Grand Prix is suspended) is supplemented by clause 5, which states that any suspended time is added on to the two-hour limit. In Malaysia on Sunday, though, because the race started at 5pm, nightfall would have intervened first."

These are links I’ve bookmarked using Delicious. You can see my Delicious profile here.

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

16 comments on “F1 links: Brawn’s exhausts under scrutiny”

  1. Bigbadderboom
    7th April 2009, 15:10

    Although it seemed unbelievable just months ago, I think the Hamilton leavin McLaren story has a feel of inevetability about it. If Hamilton is really snuggling up to Mad Max (Alas Schumni) It would distance himself from those in charge at his team. And if what we are told about his innocense in the 2007/2008 scandals is true, then he must be really hacked off with McLaren by now.

    Should the budget caps come in as expected (£60 mil) then he may well end up somewhere else, but thoughts of him and jenson in the same team don’t seem likely as an all british driver line-up does not hold much international appeal for Brawn GP. Wild guess for me……..Williams!

    1. I’d love to see him in a Williams. The Hamiltons did approach Williams while Lewis was in F3 I think. If Rosberg wins races and Nakajima keeps coming 12th, who knows?

  2. if (s)hamilton leaves mclaren, i’ll eat my hat. this is just grumbling on his part, and rightfully so. at least ferrari has contained their meltdown to on the track.

    1. Mussolini's Pet Cat
      7th April 2009, 15:30

      yawn….

  3. What exactly did Hamilton do in 2007/2008?

    BrawnGP, you mean they just found that out 2days after the event?

  4. Reading that James Allen article on Hamilton, I didn’t know Alonso had actually signed for Ferrari for 2011 with an option of 2010 if Kimi underperforms – I thought that was always just a heavily speculated (but probably true) rumour?

    I wonder what would happen to McLaren if they are further sanctioned, and Hamilton and Whitmarsh go. Whitmarsh has been on-the-job training for this for a long time, just as Hamilton has been, within McLaren. Both personnel long term investments made by McLaren, but at the same time could be the undoing of them. Oh, bitter-sweet F1! Obviously, I doubt Whitmarsh would leave voluntarily, but I wonder what McLaren would do with no familiar leadership in management or drivers.

    I kinda feel like Ron Dennis passing over the reins to Whitmarsh is like Tony Blair to Gordon Brown, and Bush to Obama (ok, he had no choice in this one) – what was handed to them was something good but now/turned out to be a royal riddled mess!

    Can’t say it’s a boring time in F1 at the moment anyway!

    1. It would seem that armchair experts are not just confined to the erratic halls of the English press; this blog which sits alongside well informed opinion devalues any balanced contribution from the experts.

    2. Which blog are you talking about?

  5. If they were deemed fit at the time of scrutineering for Oz, and other teams did not protest, I assume Braun would have been aware of the detail, is it possible they were granted an exemption? Or is that not possible?

  6. So Old Schuey just happens to be at the same circuits as the Ferrari F1 team ‘just by chance’, and is allowed to take up space on the Pit Wall, presumably to chat about the good old days…….?
    Pull the other one!

    1. Isnt Schuie under contract as an advisor to Ferrari still?
      Surely he is entitled to be at any race he feels neccessary?
      Do you honestly think he would make a stupid decision like that with all the knowledge and experience he has?

    2. I’m laughing at how the statement is worded more than what it actually tells us.
      Yes, I am sure Scuey is there in an official capacity as some sort of advisor, as he was last year. Its strange then to be told his contract may not last after this year. Has he fallen out with Luca?
      What he advises and who he talks to we are never told – he ought to be there discussing tyres and set-ups with the engineers and drivers, and giving Ferrari an advantage with his knowledge of the tracks – but is he? And is he involved in strategy on race day?
      I am really surprised Ferrari haven’t used his knowledge to develop their next generation of drivers, and the future generations after that, instead of just perching him on the Pit Wall.
      So no, I don’t think he would have made that decision, it probably wasn’t his to make…..

    3. He’s probably helped to bring Massa on, but what else does he do? Martin Brundle should ask him (or is Schu still refusing to talk to him?)

  7. I think he should have been full time test driver/developer of this years car ( Last year )

    I would only assume that the contract issue will depend on the global economy.. ( Wasted money paying him )

  8. Schumi is just a consultant, he has no clearance for anything near team’s strategy… that’s just stupid. You can’t just walk to pit-wall and say:”Hey, Luca, let’s call in Kimi and put some extreme wets, and let’s see what happens..” C’mon people, get real. He’s just an ex-driver.
    Lewis leaving McLaren? Don’t think so. Kimi and Fernando are better, Massa is faster, and Button has more charm. Lewis is silver PR puppet. Always will be, even when they leave him with the smokin’ gun, all alone out there…

    1. Yeah, OK, but if he is there as a Consultant for the weekend he is there to be consulted and hasn’t just wandered in off the road has he?
      And as an ex-driver with his knowledge and understanding of the cars, tracks and strategy, it would be stupid not to consult him about everything.
      I would if I had the chance…..:-)

Comments are closed.