F1 links: Donington gets June deadline
5th May 2009, 21:02 by Keith Collantine 10 Comments »
Donington plans given extra time
"North West Leicestershire District Council gave Gillett's plans the green light in January but has now made it clear that unless certain crucial agreements are signed by 30 June then the planning permission regarding the planned £100m redevelopment will be revoked."
"The Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) meets in London tomorrow to consider the latest moves by the FIA."
“I don’t hate Ron Dennis. But he was always very obstructive. And he would have been difficult in this situation (budget caps), whereas Martin Whitmarsh may not agree with us but it will be a rational disagreement, not an irrational one.”
Max Mosley privacy case cost News of the World almost £1m, editor tells MPs
"The Max Mosley privacy case cost the News of the World almost £1m in damages and legal costs, editor Colin Myler admitted today."
The Season So far From The Cockpit: Sébastien Bourdais
"The new rules are achieving what they are supposed to do, in terms of making overtaking easier. However, the drag from these cars is much higher, so the tow you get when following is also higher, so the chances to overtake are greater, but it’s still far from an easy task.
BMW won’t run double diffuser in Spain
Mario Theissen: "There is no time limit set for when we will introduce the double diffuser in our car." Oh dear…
Q & A with Renault’s Pat Symonds
Pat Symonds on Renault's updates for the Spanish Grand Prix: "The whole team is still pushing hard with development and the diffuser and floor that we brought to China was very much a first attempt and over the course of the year we will see several more versions, the first of which we hope to have in Barcelona. In addition, we've got new wheel fairings this weekend with quite a major design change to give us an increase in downforce and a new rear wing. On top of that we've got a few small aerodynamic tweaks that we will introduce on a race-by-race basis. Overall we can expect a reasonable step in performance for Barcelona."
"Ever since Senna's death in a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix there have been rumours that his life story would be turned into a film, but despite several pilot projects, none has been released."
"BMW Sauber will not run with KERS at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix."
Losing the British grand prix is preferable to giving Bernie Ecclestone millions in state funds
"The only man in the world who thinks it takes $25m to hold a grand prix is Bernie Ecclestone"
These are links I’ve bookmarked using Delicious. You can see my Delicious profile here.
scunnyman said on 5th May 2009, 22:43
I dunno if anyone has seen this, but here’s a link for all you lady F1 fanatics lol
http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/01052009/36/world-s-first-chocolate-powered-racer-0.html
scunnyman said on 5th May 2009, 23:04
i would say that given that governments spend millions if not billions on other sporting events it’s not asking too much for them to help keep the british grand prix.
But saying that i don’t agree that they should give the money to Bernie Ecclestone.
He deserves not one red cent.
scunnyman said on 5th May 2009, 23:08
With Working Title producing the Senna movie then maybe this project will get off the ground.
I’m no Senna fan, but it would interesting to see whether it will be a balanced documentary, and not see him as a saint.
scunnyman said on 5th May 2009, 23:15
Sounds to me like Mosley is still trying to divide and conquer FOTA. By saying Ferrari will still have an advantage becuse of their deal signed in 2005.
They all just need to stick together and not listen to this guy.
Just get id of Mosley
scunnyman said on 5th May 2009, 23:20
Now whether or not FOTA decide to do anything drastic before 2010 is not the most important thing.
They need to stick together an not let the evil duo dictate everything in formula one.
The last thing we fans want is for the teams to be picked off one by one by signing the new concorde agreement. Of course they may have no choice in the end.
scunnyman said on 6th May 2009, 3:18
Martin Whitmarsh need to grow a pair and show Max Mosley he isn’t going to be walked over and be a push over.
It’s obvious Mosley was/is scared of Ron Dennis.
I wonder now if there was another element to the latest Mclaren farce. Posssibly there was someone inside Mclaren working for Mosley who steered them down that road, and Mosley knew Dennis woud fall on his sword for the team.
I mean Ron Dennis’ departure from mclaren couldn’t have pleased Mosley more. I bet he had a spanking orgy to celebrate.
DGR-F1 said on 6th May 2009, 8:23
I like the article on Bernie. Does anyone know if he is still a member of the BRDC? To my way of thinking, the British Government and Damon Hill need to go to him and say – ‘As a dutiful British citizen, with spare cash in your pockets, even after the divorce, you can afford to help fund a British Grand Prix at either Silverstone or Donington. Sure, you might have to sell Circuit Paul-Ricard, which cannot be doing much now theres a testing ban, or maybe a couple of cars out of your Collection, but whats that compared to the History of F1?
‘Prove to the British Public that you want to see a British Grand Prix, and maybe you will inspire other investors too. If you aren’t going to help the Shut The @@@@ Up and get out of the country!’
Bigbadderboom said on 6th May 2009, 10:56
If it’s not at Donnington then it will be at Silverstone, Bernie will not alienate one of F1′s largest fan bases.
He is trying to postion himself to get the most from the deal, maybe the government won’t fund Donnington but there may be something they can do to help rejuvinate Silverstone. He knows he wont get 25 mill to hold the british GP but he might get 15 if he plays his cards right.
He makes too much on merchandising, and the British GP is too important to many of the sponsors to just pull the plug.
In short I think Bernie is playing big game of bluff and at the moment he seems to be getting called on it, but should he back down even slightly, then he may get some of what he says he wants (probably all he wants) and will be hailed as the saviour of the British GP.
I’m no fan of Ecclestone but he always delivers for F1, and does whats best for the sport…….in the end.
Bigbadderboom said on 6th May 2009, 11:28
Simon Gillett seems fairly confident about things at Donnington
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/75072
He seems to talk the talk, but the mans running out of time to show he can walk the walk.
Chaz said on 6th May 2009, 14:10
Sadly Mosley’s case only cost that repulsive vile and tawdry NOTW £1m. And the bitter sweat irony that it was Mosley’s case is certainly not lost.
As for the possible Senna movie, well I hope they do the great man justice.