Yesterday FOTA were supposed to be having a meeting to discuss what, if any, changes should be made following the anti-climatic season opener at Bahrain. Let’s see if we here of any immediate developments. Here’s today’s round-up:
Links
F1 diary: Bahrain Grand Prix (Daily Telegraph)
“HRT finally gets its second car finished: it was ready to leave the pits in the morning, but a hydraulic failure struck Karun Chandhok before he’d turned a wheel. He finally gets to try the car, then, while everybody else is in qualifying mode. The Indian’s mum sends him a text: ‘At last! I’ve seen your car on TV…'”
Comment of the day
Sharp-eyed DC spotted some dodgy developments on the US F1 website:
The US F1 website has been updated, sort of. I guess they are trying to rewrite history. The post about Lopez being signed has simply disappeared.
Compare:
http://www.usgpe.comhttp://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache:Sb-MifITUAkJ:www.usgpe.com/+usgpe&cd=1&hl=fi&ct=clnk&gl=fi
DC
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
Giancarlo Fisichella scored his third and final Grand Prix win on this day in 2006.
He started from pole position at Sepang and won comfortably, partly thanks to team mate Fernando Alonso being delayed in qualifying by taking too much fuel on board.
sato113
19th March 2010, 0:10
‘if we here’
should be ‘hear’ of course.
you work to late keith! ;D
Icthyes
19th March 2010, 0:14
This is why I refrain from correcting others’ spelling on the Internet ;-)
458italia
19th March 2010, 0:41
you mispelled “too”!
sato113
19th March 2010, 0:58
ha, so I did!…
Tengil
19th March 2010, 1:28
You misspelled misspelled, isn’t this fun? ;)
Enigma
19th March 2010, 0:15
There’s a chance of rain in Melbourne next weekend! ‘More clouds than sun’ the prediction says.
GB2009
19th March 2010, 0:30
Whatever you want in Melbourne, you generally get the opposite!
I was hoping for a bit of rain, as I am going, but I guess that means it will be sunshine all the way…
That also seems to be the latest I am seeing…
Enigma
19th March 2010, 0:34
Enjoy the GP then! Where at the track will you be?
Macca
19th March 2010, 4:09
Yer, I’m going to and was also hoping for rain, but I think it’s going to be pretty hot.
An interesting article that I read in Melbourne’s Herald Sun today.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/formula-ones-boring-dilemma/story-e6frf9if-1225842540259
Nice to see Bernie doesn’t always get it wrong.
Pink Peril
19th March 2010, 5:35
The only way to predict the weather in Melbourne is to be out in it…
As long as its not 4 days of 40 degree heat like 2008, I’ll be happy.
Magnificent Geoffrey
19th March 2010, 11:19
Agreed times a billion.
mike-e
19th March 2010, 0:30
FOTA have just announced they will be introducing a length of rope between each car on the grid, starting from the pole sitter to the car right at the back of the grid in Australia, attached to each car in turn, occasionally one falling off the back. Its said this is to improve the fuel consumption of the car in tow down the straights to improve the “show”. There has also been suggested removing the engines from 23 of the cars to save fuel. Fans believe this will make it harder to pass though… Seems they’ve dropped the ball again.
Mike
19th March 2010, 1:22
I heard the fuel economy will be improved by banning tyres, apparently it will save a lot of weight.
But I dislike it as I’ve been harping on about increasing mechanical grip, Although I do like the idea of racing in the padded cells of the mount peninsula mental hospital, It will improve the events safety standards. To bad the track was designed by Tilke after he was committed because I am not really a fan.
Barney Gumble
19th March 2010, 4:36
I heard they were banning the use of cars altogether. In future races will basically be running races around the track, like at Monaco 2000 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqXWN9ClOr8 @0.15
But apparently Red Bull are insisting the drivers have to come into the pits to change their trainers twice during the race…
Leon
19th March 2010, 14:01
Yeah….put all the F1 drivers in pedal cars.
That’d be good.
Keep things nice and simple !
Mike
19th March 2010, 19:07
Pedal power like Turbo power before will not last, I think the FIA will ban it to reduce manufacturing costs.
Leon
19th March 2010, 14:22
Ferrari would never agree to that.
It would mean their shiny red supercars being literally connected to one of the new teams awful, nasty little cars ….
aaarrrgh !
wasiF1
19th March 2010, 2:25
I think USF1 is trying to book their place in 2O11 F1 grid.
DC
19th March 2010, 5:59
Yeah, supposedly. The FIA will open up the bid process again, as they should. I can’t imagine them getting a slot next year, unless Hurley throws $100 million in USF1’s bank account and they show the statement to the FIA. Even then I’d be doubtful.
I’m interested in reading a comprehensive “what went wrong” article about this whole disaster. What does the Argentinian government think? What do ex-employees have to say? If the FIA had visited them multiple times, why did they do nothing?
wasiF1
19th March 2010, 6:56
I hope Prodrive (Aston Martin) get the slot in 2011, they really deserve this slot.
steph
19th March 2010, 13:42
They really don’t deserve it in my opinion. Whoever can make it should get the spot.
wasiF1
19th March 2010, 14:55
@ steph
May I ask you why you think that Prodrive shouldn’t get the grid? I think with Dave Richard on board with a squad who have good experience in motor racing ( Prodrive used to manage Subaru WRC team ) they seems to be one of the best candidate.Plus we may see another manufacture in F1, probably the second U.K team after Mclaren,a very good car manufacturer in F1.Also I want an establish team in F1,not someone who is 3-5 second off the pace of the front runner.& i think prodrive may have it.
steph
19th March 2010, 15:00
Prodrive had a chance before and didn’t make it, someone else should get a chance. I think it should be an open spot and whoever is the best gets it. There’s not much to suggest Prodrive would have made it over the new teams last year.
Prodrive will almost certainly be off the pace anyway as F1 is so competitive and they would really be starting from sratch. They won’t be immediate front runners (if ever) and their past experience may help but it’s no indication as to how they will do in F1.
Prodrive just brings with it a nice name but we already have Merc, Ferrari, Mclaren and Williams so one big name won’t make a difference. F1 needs to look to the future and who is best. The new teams could be off the pace now but they need time, we don’t know how they will develop.
The thing that annoys me is this idea that they deserve a spot just because of their name (this isn’t Prodrive’s fault but I feel how fans interpret the situation). A spot has to be earned.
steph
19th March 2010, 15:01
of course that’s just my opinion and there’s plenty of fans who disagree with me :P
wasiF1
19th March 2010, 15:08
@ steph
I think the first time Prodrive tried to get in F1 was in 2008 ( correct me if i am wrong) but due to FIA they couldn’t.Again they tried in 2009 again the FIA didn’t let them. I doubt that whether they will even try in the future, but to me a squad tried 2-3 times to come in F1 should at least be given a chance.
But I have to strongly agree with your points as well.
Thanks for the reply.
donwatters
19th March 2010, 20:48
Prodrive didn’t get the slot because Mosley and the FIA moved the goalposts on them. In my humble opinion, Prodrive and Lola are the two most deserving of the additional slot. USF1 blew their chance and lack the credibility to be included.
wasiF1
20th March 2010, 2:05
FIA invites new teams to enter 2011 championship
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2010/3/10550.html
I hope Lola & Prodrive submit their entry application.
Pink Peril
19th March 2010, 5:32
This could only happen to Mark Webber …http://www.theage.com.au/sport/motorsport/webber-transport-truck-involved-in-pileup-20100319-qkyh.html
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th March 2010, 9:10
Apparently it’s not one of the team’s F1 trucks.
AJ
19th March 2010, 5:55
The full article is still available on their site though:
http://www.usgpe.com/news/us-f1-team-announces-jose-maria-lopez-as-driver-for-2010-season.html
John H
19th March 2010, 14:01
How amateur can you get!
Anthony
19th March 2010, 6:46
The forecast for Melbourne on Sunday, 29 March is for a minimum temperature of 16 and a maximum temperature of 29 degrees Celsius. The Weather Channel’s current prediction is that it is 67% probable that there will be no rain. However, given the nature of recent rains in Melbourne, if it were to rain McLaren’s cars may well need their snorkels for more prosaic reasons than those for which they seem to have been devised. See http://www.theage.com.au/photogallery/victoria/wild-weather-hits-melbourne/20100306-pph5.html
Leon
19th March 2010, 14:15
Wow !
Imagine what hailstones that size could do to an open race car and more particularly the driver at +200kph….doesn’t bear thinking about.
Mike
19th March 2010, 19:14
Twas a interesting day that. ^^
PeterG
19th March 2010, 7:59
I have changed my post name from Peter to PeterG. That will maybe prevent the ‘issues’ I had with the predicition game.
verstappen
19th March 2010, 13:22
well if Fisichella gets his turn again (not wishing accidents to Massa and Alonso) he might be able to win again
…hm well, Keith I guess you’re right and it will be his final win
Rits
19th March 2010, 20:01
which he never will, he axed the rest of his career himself! So much for a red tee!!!
Mike
20th March 2010, 6:56
I would think that should a driver be required, Ferrari would happily give the drive to an experienced and recent driver.
The only other realistic option would be a Rookie, but that has never really been a Ferrari priority.
BasCB
19th March 2010, 14:32
I read that the FOTA decided to support the FIA road safety program in a new article from Keith.
So the teams want to show their goodwill.
BasCB
19th March 2010, 15:40
I just read on autosport.com that Renault will be allowed to do some work on its engine:
BasCB
19th March 2010, 15:45
PitPass often have interesting takes on the finances of F1. What about cost/point scored or RedBull getting back 1/4th of its yearly cost for the F1 teams in just this one race.
Does not sound bad, although it still is a lot of money and the value may go down if nobody watches becouse of boring racing.
BasCB
19th March 2010, 16:08
Hello Keith, i read a lot of reports on the FIA clarifying the size of the hole for the starters (in the diffusor) as mentioned on the official FIA pages.
But there seems to be some uncertainty on which teams are affected. McLaren is for sure. Withmarsh stated, that another 4 cars have the same size of hole, as well as the 2009 Brawn car.
ScrabsF1 mentions the McLaren and Mercedes in his technical review, but states the hole in the Renault was deamed to be larger but not too large.
Pitpass states the other teams to be RedBull and Renault, while Autosport mentions MercedesGP and possibly Renault and Force India.
The Dutch site Formule1Nieuws.nl also mentiones Mercedes and Renault as further teams who have to change their diffosors.
Is it possible for you to find out, which teams are really involved?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
20th March 2010, 0:02
I know one of them is definitely McLaren and there’s definitely one other team involved but I’m not sure which.
Rits
19th March 2010, 20:07
I’m seriously not expecting any changes for the good atleast for this season. What happens in 2011, well, going by the FIA’s reputation and ‘shining’ past, I doubt there’ll be anything to make the fans happier. That’s sadly the truth, though I’d totally love to be proven wrong.
So, all the Bahrain ranting will eventually die down when people realize that it is as useless as ever. When has the FIA or FOM heard what the fans are saying? What makes us believe that they’ve grown new ears now?
Rits
19th March 2010, 20:10
Sorry I almost forgot, Keith.. do you check that inbox of yours mate? I think you might find a couple of emails there. I hope the ‘Contact’ section of this website works!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th March 2010, 21:53
Anything in particular I should be look for? I get a lot of email.
Rits
19th March 2010, 22:53
Yeah mate, I sent you two emails regarding a long comment – http://bit.ly/9qHYYM
which is still awaiting moderation. I don’t know why though.
Also, I’d asked you if I could send you a small article I’d written on F1’s current state of affairs and the fans’ perspective of things.
Please take a look into your inbox if you can find those emails. I’d sent them 2 days ago.
Thanks again.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
20th March 2010, 0:17
Hmm must be something up with the comment form there. I’ll take a look at it. In the meantime re-email me on editor at f1fanatic dot co dot uk.
Rits
20th March 2010, 0:43
@Keith – Just did. :)
Chaz
22nd March 2010, 18:35
lol the shenanigans of USGP…