F1 Fanatic round-up: 26/1/2010

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Sadly my hopes that we might get the move to the new server completed in time for the start of launch season were dashed – we’re still on the old system and I’m afraid that’s why we suffered some downtime yesterday. I am expecting the move to be completed very soon though.

January 26th is only a few minutes old and already we have our first story – confirmation that Jose Maria Lopez will drive for US F1. Here’s the rest of today’s round-up:

Links

Virtual goodbye

Toyota put up a website to say goodbye. I’d already forgotten about them…

Bernie Ecclestone believes F1 is now in stronger position (Daily Mirror)

Bernie Ecclestone: “Campos and the American team are having problems, financial, not technical. But Formula 1 is looking much stronger than it has for a long time. It’s a shame to lose some manufacturers but let’s be honest, we all knew their time in Formula 1 was limited.”

Comment of the day

Ronman wants to see pit stops made more challenging:

What F1 should have done is along with minimising the amount of team members that go to the races, they should have decreased the number of people allowed to operate a pit stop.

Two jack-men, four air gun-men, and one tyre-dude for each corner instead of two. Now that will make things a little more interesting?óÔé¼?ª

From the forum

Newnhamlea1 pines for the days of shrieking V12s and V10s: Why did the FIA ruin the look and sound of F1 cars?

Site updates

I’ve added the Toro Rosso launch date to the F1 Fanatic Google Calendar

Happy birthday!

Double birthday time: happy birthday to Stealthman and Weasel Chops! With names like that you should seriously consider forming a crime-fighting duo…

On this day in F1

Graham Hill started his 176th and final F1 race at Interlagos in 1975, driving a Lola T370 run by his own team. At the time his career, spanning 18 seasons, was the longest ever, as well as including his championship wins in 1962 and 1968.

Having survived the best part of two decades in F1 when the sport was perhaps at its most dangerous, it was a terribly irony that Hill lost his life when the plane he was flying crashed later the same year he retired.

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...

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25 comments on “F1 Fanatic round-up: 26/1/2010”

  1. Goodbye Toyota. I’m sorry to say that I don’t really miss you.

  2. A few new ones to the twitter directory?

    @OfficialMGP and @JAIMEALGUERSUAR

    Although Jaime it’s not sure if its official yet but Scott Speed has been chatting to him and said it’s actually him.

    1. Yeah someone else pointed me in the direction of the Alguersuari one, not sure if it’s real but I’ll take a look.

      1. It is real, he’s given us proof with a pic

        1. Thanks, added to the list: F1 Twitter directory

  3. Refering to Ronman’s question.

    Is their a limit or set number of people allowed as the pit crew?

  4. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Stealthman and Weasel Chops.
    GOODBYE Toyota.

  5. Minor problem Keith- you didn’t mention what year Graham Hill retired.

    Sayonara Toyota- it’s hard to get emotional about such a crappy team…

    1. Have added that detail, thanks!

  6. If they wanted to reduce pitstaff there wouldnt be jackmen – they could have mandated air cylinders or something to jack the car up. I dont see the tire handling guys going away- in other racing series w less tire guys the tires tend to roll away down pitlane if theyre careless!

  7. “Ronman wants to see pit stops made more challenging”

    I don’t see the point here. Pit stops is one of the most chalenging maneouvres of F1, and quite espectacular for everybody (newcomers included)

    I don’t understand why this trend of making F1 simplier downsizimg technology, rules… Up to a point there will be no diference with lower series… but the money one have to pay for watching it.

  8. Bernie says US F1 and Campos are in financial trouble. Why? Because they didn’t offer a star driver 35 million for the first year?

    I believe it’s ridiculous to expect brand new teams, starting from scratch, to do things the same way a long-established team like McLaren or Ferrari would do it.

    Just because they are not as profligate with money as you are, Bernie, does not mean they are ready for receivership. Oh, but of coure, it is never your money that you spend, is it, Bernie?

  9. What’s Banjo Bernie on about? It’s a car racing sport so noone would expect major manufacturers to leave, so saying we knew they had limited time is a bit of a porkie. And that said the day after a car makers joins? He makes it up as he goes along…

    1. No, he’s absolutely right. The car manufacturers were in F1 for one reason and one reason only – profit. As soon as that dries up then they’ll bail out, which is pretty much exactly what happened. It was predictable, and it was predicted.

  10. Hee, thanks for the birthday shout-out and the careers advice Keith!

  11. Yep, same here. Thanks for the birthday shout and career suggestion Keith… :)

  12. I will be glad to see the teams with small budgets upset the big boys a bit. It will be great for F1.

  13. Thing is, Red Andy, is that Bernie and Max were happy enough to welcome the manufavturers with open arms at the time. Also, at the end of 2008 no-one predicted that three of them would be gone in a year’s time. They left because they couldn’t justify the expense in a recession – their failures on track (and let’s not forget BMW and Honda in particular had every reason to feel confident about 2009, and Toyota nearly won their first race) were really only the final push; only if these teams (except Honda, who felt they had no leeway) had become title contenders could they have been saved.

    In ten years’ time Bernie will be complanng how the independent teams had a small business mndset and praising/praying for the return of the manufacturers.

    1. Its strange how Bernie forgets that the likes of Honda and Renault have been there before, and left, and then returned.
      Manufacturers come and go, either with works teams or engine deals; the teams grow in size and then run out of steam – remember how McLaren and Williams started, for example – neither of them came in with megabudgets.
      And if the teams never ran out of steam or cash, we would still have names like Shadows, Hesketh and Bennetton on the grid….

  14. While I know this may not be a popular opinion, I applaud Toyota for their farewell gesture. Whereas BMW turned tail and ran for the hills in a flash, and haven’t publically spoken a word about F1 since their surprise departure (even in light of the apparent debacle that Sauber will have to continue using their name in 2010), Toyota doesnt seem willing to let go. It leaves the impression that the toyota F1 team was at least very passionate about the sport, even if their performance was woeful, their spending ludicrous, and their management inept.

  15. At least Toyota made an effort….

    “Hey…we tried but,we are not fast enough.Wanna buy a hybrid?”

  16. In ten years’ time Bernie will be complanng how the independent teams had a small business mndset and praising/praying for the return of the manufacturers.

    Oh, noooooooooooooooooo, not ten more years of Bernie !

    Joking aside, I agree with your comment. Fickle, isn’t he?

  17. I quite like the toyota’s virtual goodbye…

  18. Hi. Thanks a lot to Keith for the Toyota team’s photos.
    They are so nice that I came for re-visiting that page.

    By the way, the video “Goodbye Panasonic TOYOTA Racing” (virtual goodbye) was uploaded almost 2 months ago.
    The time goes by…

  19. I wrote :
    ” the video “Goodbye Panasonic TOYOTA Racing” (virtual goodbye) was uploaded almost 2 months ago. ”

    I’m sorry I thought you were talking about the video. I didn’t know a new site was born.
    Thank you for your information.

    – hoping Kobayashi gets many points ! –
    – hoping Toyota wins the sprint cup !! –

Comments are closed.