F1 Fanatic round-up: 25/2/2010

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The final test of 2010 starts today – keep your eye out for the F1 testing live post shortly before the actions starts at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Here’s today’s round-up:

Links

Lucas di Grassi on YouTube

Lucas di Grassi now has his own Youtube page.

Max Mosley – Lunch with a retired president (James Allen)

“Mosley didn’t have any particular agenda beyond wanting to make it clear that he was not pushed out of his job by FOTA last summer as part of the peace deal over the breakaway, as Luca di Montezemolo said at the time. […]

“He says that the proof that he planned to stand down in October 2009 is an entry for Who’s Who he submitted in April 2009, which said that he was FIA president until October 2009. Apparently, due to publishing deadlines and in agreement with the publishers, it is common practice to put confidential future information like that in submissions.”

Locstein Comments on USF1 Team Partnership

“Locstein did engage USF1 Team regarding sponsorship, but when it was apparent that the team was not able to participate in the entire 2010 season, Locstein elected to withdraw from further involvement with USF1.”

Flavio Briatore’s Bentley for sale (Auto Trader)

“The Italian playboy was the first owner of the 1996 Bentley Turbo R, which is fitted with a 386bhp 6.75-litre V12 engine.”

Comment of the day

More from the discussion of Ferrari’s rant against F1’s new teams. Tim points out the humbler roots of several teams on the grid today:

Of the teams currently entered into the 2010 championship, all but 3-4 have graduated in some way from the lower formulas.

McLaren were effectively taken over in 1980 by Ron Dennis and his Project Four organisation, which had run cars in the lower levels and was looking to move up to F1. Marlboro brokered the deal because they thought Project Four could do a better job than the original McLaren management.
Tim

Read the full comment here.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to ivz!

On this day in F1

It’s also FIA President’s Jean Todt’s birthday – he’s 64 today.

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: 25/2/2010”

  1. “Marlboro brokered the deal because they thought Project Four could do a better job than the original McLaren management.”

    Seems typical of F1…
    While I wasn’t a massive fan of the cost cutting 2tier system, and mostly the way it was being enforced….

    The whole concept to keep cost down and actually make f1 a legitimate profitable business for F1 teams…seems one too hard for them to comprehend.
    Control and power is more important to some teams than anything else.
    And then you have the FIA…and how extraordinarily weird and poor they are…they couldn’t get drunk in a brewery. (LOL I cleaned that up a little)

    1. Marlboro were almost certainly right though. Before the Project 4 takeover in 1980, McLaren was failing badly. It had failed to get its head around technical advances like ground effect and was going backwards fast.

      Ron Dennis brought in modern management arrangements and John Barnard to head up the design team. There was an immediate improvement and the following year’s MP4/1 was the first carbon fibre monocoque in F1. Marlboro, Dennis and Barnard paved the way for all of McLaren’s success from the 1980s to present day. If Marlboro hadn’t intervened, the team would probably have gone the same way as Lotus or Brabham.

    2. The whole concept to keep cost down and actually make f1 a legitimate profitable business for F1 teams…seems one too hard for them to comprehend.

      From what I gather it’s already profitable for the top teams, the ones who spend the most money (now that Toyota and Honda are gone).

      But it could easily be profitable if so much money wasn’t taken out of the sport by the commercial rights holder to pay off massive debts owed to banks.

      1. Couldnt have said it better myself!

        1. im not sure about profitable yet, ferrari only spend £40 million a year on marketing and all of it goes into formula 1, pmi cover the rest of ferraris costs. In the long run its profitable for ferrari because they easily earn back what they spend in advertising value and as a result generate more sales.

  2. You could add this to the roundup :
    FIA inspects US F1’s ability to join grid : http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81677

  3. The bad news from USF1 is coming pretty regularly now. I wish they could have made it. I’m American, so I desperately wanted to see them on the grid. I’ve given up hope though. I think asking to be allowed to miss four races is ridiculous and it should never be allowed. Peter and Ken announced the team over a year ago and continually make excuses about why the team has failed. Actually, I have never understood why Peter was so involved and always talking about USF1’s American roots and connections when he isn’t even American himself. Honestly, the whole thing kind of felt like a scheme to get publicity and earn money from the beginning. I’m just sorry that I fell for it and pulled so hard for this team to make it. What a waste of effort.

    1. I wanted to see them make it, if only to see what they came up with in terms of car design. I would love to see their design for a car with a tranverse gearbox as it would certainly be unique…

    2. Understand that your American and wanted usf1 to really get in but the dream is over now lets be realistic even if they somehow miracolously got in do u think they would be by yeard end a big no if the managemnt fair at the start which they have their is no way that usf1 will be succesfull their lack of managemnt has really shown unpaid wages , saying that they they are ahead on the project from the other new teams they are joke and a half. I realyy feel sorry for the people who have put in their efforts into usf1 and now this well done peter and ken u failed miserably and thats fact

  4. It just shows hard formula 1 is to get in when you think you’ve got the time (windsors been planning for years apparently), sponsors, a paid driver and much more yet USF1 have failed and to be honest I can’t see them making it. Could spell an end to new private teams for a while due to them realising its harder than it looks

    1. Didn’t FOTA say they were going to give technical help to the new teams? FOTA’s old guard hasn’t been honest either.

  5. “Flavio Briatore’s Bentley for sale”

    Would YOU buy a used car from this man?

    1. If it hadn’t been crashed first…

      1. Imagine who’s been on the back seat….and then blank out that they’re with Flavio…

    2. red bull tastes like crap
      25th February 2010, 17:49

      that’s a good one.

  6. what time the tests starts?

  7. ‘The Italian playboy was the first owner of the 1996 Bentley Turbo R’
    says alot about the man doesn’t it.

    nice comment by Tim btw.

  8. To paraphrase Borat, “I think it is good that you let retired have lunch with you”

  9. Keith. Is anyone timing the pitstop practices? Id be interested to see if any team is particularly speedy!?

    1. red bull tastes like crap
      25th February 2010, 17:51

      red bull 4 secs.

  10. Anyone got anything on the new Ferrari Wheel Design? I saw a picture at http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/image/9549.html
    but it doesnt really say what the purpose and idea behind is.

    1. It looks like they found a new way to build a Frisbee. It other teams starts following we will know for sure.

    2. Someone somewhere reckons its so that there’s only one big nut to do making stops quicker. Or something to that effect. Looks rank

  11. Forgot to check this yesterday but happy birthday (for yesterday) Ivz and Mr Todt!

  12. I wish Max luck with his privacy legal matters…

Comments are closed.