F1 Fanatic round-up: 9/2/2010
Today sees the eighth F1 car launch of 2010 as the Force India VJM03 breaks cover. We’ll have pictures and hopefully some video of the car around 9am British time.
Later on I’m off to Spain in time for the resumption of F1 testing tomorrow. If you’ve got an opinion on what you’d like to see or hear from the test join the discussion here.
Here’s today’s round-up:
Links
Williams Enter Agreement with Williams Sports (Williams)
“Initial CFD analysis has shown that the aerodynamic profiling of a top surface trip and diffuser geometry to the underside of a driver* head, does, under control conditions, lend the club a smaller wake and improved pressure recovery. The net gain for the golfer is a reduced loss of swing energy in addressing the ball and a more stable head angle better enabling a clean and directional ball strike. In simulations, the Williams Sports’ FW32 driver demonstrated 19% less drag force and an 11.5% decrease in drag coefficient as against a similarly-specified TaylorMade Burner driver.” *As in golf driver, not racing car driver!
Petrov’s Renault Seat is Not 100% Secure (Will Buxton)
As posted in the comments yesterday. There’s a bit more background on the story from Joe Saward too.
Comment of the day
Are race promoters squeezing fans out of General Admission areas? Here’s Jeff’s experience:
I attended the ‘07 USGP for $90 for three day seats in the grandstand about 300 meters before T1. Indy, although not a great F1 course, offered numerous excellent vantage points to take in the practice and race from.
I attended the Canadian GP in 08, and since Indy had so many open viewing areas with great views of the track I decided not to buy a grandstand seat. Big mistake. The event organizers/powers-that-be took nearly every opportunity to put up plywood, trees, privacy screes, and to outright restrict access to certain parts of the track for GA ticket holders. It was a terrible waste of money.
Now if I want to see the race I’ve got to buy a grandstand seat and pay $230 minimum to sit in the worst seats. That’s way to much money. I can see Indycar for $70 a weekend and ALMS for less. Granted I much prefer F1, but the ticket prices are still way out of line.
Jeff
Site updates
I’ve been working on implementing comments from Twitter into certain articles – you should see the results on the F1 testing posts starting tomorrow.
Happy birthday!
No F1 Fanatic birthdays today. If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.
On this day in F1
Ten years ago today Sylvester Stallone gave up on his plan to make a film about F1 racing. He eventually made a film, “Driven”, about CART, which was widely panned. F1 dodged a bullet, there, though I still say it was better than Will Ferrell’s execrable “Talladega Nights”.
Can someone please make a decent film about motor racing?
Diffusers on Golf drivers?
please
“execrable”
great word, thx keith! makes me think “part miserable, part excrement” and a good way to describe that movie.
Driven is waaaaaay worse because it is trying to be serious. At least Talladega Nights is supposed to be a joke…..it was sort of funny.
I’ll take a bad comedy over some cheesy drama with CART cars driving through the street and fiery flaming crashes….oh yea, and Stallone humming while he’s ‘in the zone’….horrible
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1hh2Kq-Pow
trailer for ‘Driven’.
looks ShOcKiNG!
I agree there, at least Talladega Nights is funny (I liked the film) where Driven is absurd, think of a guy who weights more than 100 kilos and at least 1,90m height driving a CART car…
Just say “crepe”!!!!
Driven may have been bad, but at least it was so bad it was good!
I thought Talledaga Nights was far far better than Driven, which, I’m sorry to disagree Ned, was not bad enough to be good, it was just plain bad. Awful, in fact.
Talladega nights was a hilarious, and somewhat accurate, parody of NASCAR culture in America. I enjoyed it immensely, especially the way that it portrayed the American attitude towards F1. Its probably a lot more enjoyable for those of us in the states who have been exposed to NASCAR-mania for so long.
OMG Driven really was awful… but I have to agree with you there, Will Ferrell’s try was even worse!!!!! :O
Days of thunder Kieth, everyone learned about slip streaming in that movie don’t deny it..
(MVP award Nicole kidman for providing leg action for the lesson), Le Mans (film) was killer i remember watching that film over and over just to see that car launch into the tree in a ball of fire
and i am gonna say it but i liked driven especially the night street scene, as if Singapore f1 council didn’t hire that film a night before they agreed to host the race! & & & & “YOUR NOT ON FIRE RICKY BOBBY” & & & & “you got one kilo of Colombian BAM BAM tied to the bottom of your car with a cougar in it what are you going to do do Ricky booby?
I watched Le Mans for the first time the other week, and it was a great movie. Much better than other racing movies I’ve seen. It mostly just focuses on the racing, rather than ego of the drivers. Pure Porsche versus Ferrari battle.
There is also “The World’s Fastest Indian” starring Anthony Hopkins. I guess it’s sort of a racing movie, well it involves speed, and wheels, and competition. Anyway it’s about this dude called Burt Munro who set the land speed world record for a 950cc bike in 1967 on his home modified Indian Motorcycle. Then there is the Disney-Pixar movie “Cars”, it’s a pretty fun movie, if not very accurate.
Cars is an excellent film.
The Herbie films have a few race scenes in them, if I remember correctly. They were always more Mario Kart than F1, though.
Remember ‘The Saint’ with Roger Moore? I caught an episode of that where he competes in a mini-Le Mans around the Pennines in a Marcos…….! Great driving shots, which must have been from real rallying and racing of the period, all big saloons and sports cars.
Just reading about Petrovs seat at Renault
http://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/2010/02/08/petrov%E2%80%99s-renault-seat-is-not-100-secure/
“When I told Vitaly we could not find the money and that he would be better to forget about Formula 1, he started to cry… as a child he never cried”
In Australia we say “PAD UP MATE” sad to see that f1’s new crop are a bunch of rich daddies boys who’s next in line TUNG?
Most F1 drivers are rich daddies boys. How else do you account for them having so much money and taking their fathers everywhere?
That’s probably a bit of a generalisation. Michael and Ralf Schumacher certainly weren’t rich daddies boys.
Most not all. Also it was a comment made slightly in jest although F1 has always been a rich man’s sport.
What’s wrong with the classic Aussie film ‘Running on Empty’???
I’ve never seen that – what’s it about?
well spotted dude!!!!
running on empty was a classic
http://www.pitstop.net.au/upload/products/15246.jpg
great pic
I don’t know if this is of any interest to you Keith, but in Melbourne’s Hearld Sun today, a spokesman has said that ticket sales for the Australian GP are up 20% on this time last year.
A good sign considering crowd numbers were starting to dwindle in the last couple of seasons.
Just thought you might like to know.
@ Macca
Well spotted, even I was looking the sales figure in bookF1.com & yes they tell the same story.But I am afraid the ticket sales in Asia is not doing good.When F1 trying to expand globally we do need the price of ticket to come down,especially here in Asia.
I forgot to mention,
Is Schumacher the key for the rise in ticket sales? I think yes,may not be the 20% but surely some of it.
Will we see other places like Turkey & Valencia do better than last year?
@wasiF1 – I think a combination of Schumacher being back, 3 new teams and Mark Webber in a competitive car is the reason for the rise in ticket sales.
Thanks Macca – got a link?
Saw it too. Here it is:
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/return-of-formula-one-legend-michael-schumacher-a-huge-boost-for-australian-grand-prix/story-e6frf7jo-1225828061244
Thanks AG, I wasn’t sure of the link because I read it in the paper.
Keith, if u find Kubica in Jerez, plz ask him abt R30 B and language which he uses to comunicate with Pietrow
Have there ever been any good movies based on F1 that aren’t “Grand Prix”? Also, I would love to see a big name director try to re-tell the 07 or 08 seasons in a suspenseful way.
I can heartily concur with Jeff’s assessment of general admission at Montreal. The sad part is that it used to be great. Back in ‘84 or ‘85 I went with my dad with general admission tickets for like I don’t remember, but ridiculous money (40$ maybe tops from memory.) We sat on open grass, not more than 50m from the start/finish line (which then used to be where the long straight starts now), and just generally had a fantatstic, unhassled, unobstructed great time. I went back on general admission in ‘97 and saying anything would be repeating Jeff’s description. The third time I had seats at the hairpin, had a decent, if spatially limited, view of the action and saw Kubica’s amazingly scary crash with mine own eyes. Don’t remember how much those seats cost either, since they were a (large) gift, but I do remember that it was the sort of money that I would not part with year in year out – not for those seats. General admission – there are some decent spots still actually open to general admission, but you’d have to spot them ahead of time and camp out real early on race day to grab those.
Is general admission worth bothering with elsewhere?
It looked pretty good at Silverstone when I went a couple of years back. Although the downsides of Silverstone mean that I probably won’t go back unless some. I’d certainly never pay for a grand stand ticket there.
!!!
It should say:
..unless someone gives me a free ticket again.
Keith….and also…at the end of each day of the test…create an article giving your opinion of different teams’ performances…if you know what i mean….like…how they fared…in your view
Crap…posted at the wrong venue…sorry!
Jean Todt has given an interview to Gazzetta dello Sport. Here’s a translation of the article via Google.
Grand Prix is one movie I’d rate. It’s old but it’s certainly miles ahead of its time!
Could say the same about Le Mans with Steve Mcqueen and a mention for Days of Thunder.
Talladega Nights was a great film. And it wasn’t about racing, it was about Ricky Bobby, hence the full name of the movie: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
Shake’n'Bake
A decent race movie is Michael Valliant. Not the best racing of course but it was entertaining enough for me.
Travesty…..
FIA President Jean Todt has highlighted the fact that any team is entitled to skip three Grands Prix during a season
absolute rubbish….
we need some info on campos immediately
I hope Briatore buys a chunk of it not Teixeira
Go away stefan GP
“In simulations, the Williams Sports’ FW32 driver demonstrated 19% less drag force and an 11.5% decrease in drag coefficient as against a similarly-specified TaylorMade Burner driver.” *As in golf driver, not racing car driver!”
I wish Williams could apply this technology to things like Lorries, etc.
This is great !
Good for Williams — lets see more work like this
F1 fans of USA. Wake up!
Isn’t there anybody living in Charlotte, NC that can go to the USF1 factory, bang on the door and ask them to post some updates on this beautiful F1 fanatics site?
About testing in Alabama. About testing in Barcelona.
About racing in Bahrain. About the second driver.
You have 32 days! The f1 buzz has never been this big. You cannot afford to miss three races. Not now.
well i was on twitter reading what the chief aero guy was saying for USF1 and he said the front nose was looking good or something which i guess is a good sign that they must be in final designs etc….
Maybe I missed something but can anybody tell me when the forum will be accessible again?
Thanks
I was wondering this also.
Hey just seen a spy shot of the new Lotus on Autosport… looks pretty cool…
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81365
also a great documentary to watch is called “The Cobra Ferrari Wars”.. all about Carrol Shelby taking on Enzo.. an amazing watch!!
Can’t wait for testing tonight!!
I don’t like the look of that Lotus, looks a bit like the Force India but with more simplistic aero. Livery is ok.
I agree, that car looks anything but fast
I noticed this article (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81362) on Swifts designs for a new IndyCar.
I like the idea of showing the engine, but some of the designs look almost sportcar like, or a cross between formula Nippon and the Mazda Furai concept car.
Go Speed Racer Go!… I went to the site and some of the earlier concepts are sweet… but this one should have number 5 on it…
Looks like a chance of showers in Jerez… what a shame.. I thought they had a back up plan in place.. It would be horrible if they loose some valuable practice time…
Driving in the rain can be great practice. Some races will be in the wet so I think some experience with the car in wet conditions can be a big plus.
In one of those weird coincidences, I got an email from my daughter today with this link: http://www.firstshowing.net/2010/02/09/the-coves-mark-monroe-to-make-formula-one-documentary/
So what are the chances that she sends that to me the day F1 movies are mentioned on the blog. The do misstate that Driven was about F1, but the rest sounds very interesting.