F1 Fanatic round-up: 6/6/2010

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F1 fans in Britain don’t forget to watch “Hammond meets Moss” on BBC 4 at 9pm, with Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond interviewing Sir Stirling Moss.

Here’s today’s round-up:

Links

Richard Hammond meets fellow crash survivor Stirling (Daily Mirror)

“I told him that when I was recovering I felt like having a T-shirt printed that said ‘I’m fine thanks’ on the front and on the back ‘I’m still poorly’. Then I asked what he’d have had printed on his T-shirt after his coma. There was a long pause. And Stirling, not a man prone to emotional outbursts, looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘It would have said: ‘I’m lost’.'”

Barrichello Monaco crash – spectators’ video (Youtube)

New angle on Barrichello’s crash in Monaco.

Comment of the day

Is F1 really a ‘world’ championship? Ned Flanders had this to say:

Looking at that map you could argue a more approriate name for the ‘world championship’ is the Eurasian championship, or the Northern hemisphere, the distribution of races is seriously imbalanced. Most concerningly of all to me is that Africa remains unrepresented. I could well see a South African GP within a few years though- assuming they carry the momentum of the World Cup into the future.

Out of curiosity I’ve just checked Wikipedia to see how the distribution of WRC and Moto GP events compare to F1. In WRC, there have only been two events per season outside of Europe and Asia in 2009 and 2010. However, at least the Europeans races are spread around the continent a bit more; there are plenty of rallies in Scandinavia and Eastern and Southern Europe.

Moto GP is no better either. All but 3 races are held in Europe and Asia, and there are no races in South America or South Africa. Worst of all, there are 3 countries which get more than one event- Spain, incredibly, has 4.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Paradoxos!

On this day in F1

Jim Clark made his first Grand Prix start on this day 50 years ago.

He got the offer to drive for Lotus when Colin Chapman found himself without the services of John Surtees due to a clashing motorbike race.

Clark qualified his Climax-powered car in 11th place for the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort. Impressively, he was dicing for fourth with Graham Hill’s BRM when his gearbox seized after 43 laps.

Just two years later he was runner-up to Hill in the championship – before claiming his first world title in 1963.

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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66 comments on “F1 Fanatic round-up: 6/6/2010”

  1. Sush Meerkat
    6th June 2010, 10:14

    Wow, that Williams has perfect weight distribution, unlike Alonso’s Ferrari which tipped itself backwards when the crane lifted it.

    1. I’m not sure if thats a good thing though. Rear bias seems to be the optimum this year. Mercedes suffered no end because of front bias, I’d love to see the Redbull on a crane.

      1. And this would vary with fuel load. And lift point placement.

        1. …and which wheels have been busted off in the crash. If it’s not a complete car you can’t really fairly judge the weight distribution.

  2. Rubens said he threw out the steering wheel because he wanted to get out the car quickly, but he hardly bolted out once he’d disposed of it. I still think his throwing it out was anger and as much as I love him, it was quite petulant! We certainly didn’t get that fantastic ‘clunk’ as the HRT car picked it up on the official replays.

    1. Sush Meerkat
      6th June 2010, 10:35

      I like Karun’s attitude to running over his steering wheel, he stated it was under his car and then it got stuck to Bruno’s chassis.

      SO ITS BEEN FULLY HISPANIA’D!

      1. Ned Flanders
        6th June 2010, 11:13

        Karun Chandok = nicest guy in F1! I really want him to succeed

        1. Agreed! I’ve got nothing but best wishes for Karun, Bruno, and HRT.

        2. Completely agree, his Mum sent us a letter and some autographs :D!!

    2. Yes he clearly threw it out in a tantrum.
      The excuse was to cover his bad behaviour especially as it could have caused another Massa type accident if flicked into the air by one car into the path of another.

      I was very disappointed with him. Even if it wasn’t dangerous the steering wheels are very expensive and he probably caused his team unnecessary work and expense depending on whether they have to make or modify the steering wheels in house.

      I liked the video, shows how slowly they really go sometimes under the safety car.

    3. ha, how on earth does throwing your steering wheel out on to the track get you out of the car quicker?!

    4. I noticed that too! It was really interesting actually being able to hear the car crash. Somehow it makes it a little more terrifying when you can hear all that carbon fiber going *crunch* *crunch* on the barriers.

  3. I was watching the Moto GP quali last night and relised that Ducati have also had to remove the barcode logo from the side of there bikes like Ferrari had to with there cars.

    Just something I found interesting.

    1. This whole barcode thing annoys me, If they have removed the Barcode that is indicative of guilt for having Tobacco sponsorship.

      Question:
      If I am murdering a person, I will get in trouble. But I have , but am not currently breaking the law by murdering someone, Do I get in trouble?

    2. Neither of them ‘had’ to do it, but after Ferrari changed their livery Ducati felt obliged to as well.

  4. Good comment by Ned Flanders. I know from seeing the comments on Lewis Hamilton’s FaceBook page how many of his fans are from Africa, and it is also a shame that there are not more races in South America. The whole world is interested in F1, so the drivers and races should be representative of that. I think that the issue of money is the main factor why not.

  5. Ned Flanders, is American wrestling a World Championship? Everyone says, “He is the WWE Champion of the world” when the USA are the only country to do wrestling.

    1. They also call MBL finesl the world series and the NFL winners champions of the world.

      1. I should have also made it clearer that I do agree with Ned’s comments, it should be further spread across the globe.

      2. Actually we just say they won the Superbowl. I don’t know of anyone here who calls the winners “world champions.”

        Also, The World Series is a name dubbed over a century ago, so it’s a leftover from another era. No one honestly believes it means the series includes teams from the entire world and it’s out of the question to rename it by now.

        F1’s “World Championship” though, IS considered indicative of a championship actually extending across the globe. IMO there is a slight difference in the intent which is what makes F1’s title worth standing up to it’s name.

        1. Surely it means that the Championship is open to all nationalities? Whether the events cover all four corners of the globe or not is another matter. Quite different to the ‘World Series’. The World Cup of Football this year takes place in Africa, that doesn’t limit its eligibility of being a championship for the whole world. OK FIFA try to spread it around, but for example Australia have competed before, as have New Zealand, who do again this year, when were the World Cup Finals last held in Australasia?

    2. @ Lucas.M

      Wrestling takes place all over the world, and the WWE do shows all around the world as well.

      1. …. You said it, WWE is a show…. Try Thai Kick Boxing! …

    3. Well to their defence, they travel all over the world to do shows :)

      It’s also a world championship involving all nationalities.
      Spreading it all over the world even more, will give many extra costs.
      Most things are centered around Europe and then you will see we have a great sporting history, including many great tracks. So why spend millions going everywhere when that isn’t always a good thing.

  6. Ned Flanders
    6th June 2010, 11:06

    That steering wheel made quite a noise when Chandok hit it, it must’ve been pretty substantial. I think most of us (including Chandok himself) saw the funny side of the incident, but if it had of hit a driver/ marshal then it could’ve been nasty

    1. Apparently it was fully functional when returned to Williams. Can’t recall where I heard that, probably on Speed.

      1. yep, on he simulator now.

  7. Lol at the steering wheel

  8. Ned Flanders
    6th June 2010, 11:12

    That Stirling Moss interview excerpt above should be a collectors item… he didn’t use the word crumpet! Or perhaps he used it later in the sentence: ‘I’m lost…. but the crumpet helped me pull through!’

    Did anyone on here follow F1 back in the 1950’s? If so, was ‘crumpet’ the ‘for sure’ of that era, or was it just a Stirling thing?!

    1. Crumpet was a term used by the male species of humans to describe , in general, the female species of humans no doubt in part due to the soft, tasty, holey nature of the……

      1. OK W154….thanks for that but Too Much Information ! lol ! But you’re right, and crumpet was followed by ‘Bird’, then ‘Dolly Bird’, then ‘Sqeeze’, …and so on.. Bloody hell ! I’m getting old !

  9. With the HRT picking up the steering wheel of the Williams, is that classed as their first official update??? LOL

  10. Funny to hear a man swearing in Italian at about 1:00 in the video. I can’t understand who’s angry with, however it doesn’t seem to be Barrichello.

  11. very efficient marshals at monaco

    1. They where fantastically quick. The majority of the debris was gone before two laps were gone. Best marshalls in the world at their job at least. Still reckon Silverstone marshalls are the best on a normal track.

    2. Søren Kaae
      7th June 2010, 9:17

      They really are a lot faster than at many normal tracks. I think some of these guys should go to the next WTCC race @ Marakech, where 12 out of 13 laps were run under safety car because of 2 crashes…

  12. I know its competing with the Moss interview and I’ve probably done more than my fair share of plugging already this week. But the Sidecar TT race yesterday was a classic and had thrilling finish, well worth checking out at 9pm tonight on ITV4.

  13. The most mature driver on the grid throws his steering wheel on the racing line. Stupid.

  14. I really can’t believe that Rubens didn’t get at least a reprimand for throwing the wheel onto the racing line.

  15. I found some fan shot footage of the Conway crash, you can really see how shocked the fans are after seeing it infront of them.

    1. Having been watching the 500 for nearly 20 years now, it was one of the worst crashes I’ve ever seen happen in front of my eyes at Indy. Absolutely terrifying.

      1. Wow, you were there? Please tell us more!

        1. I’m sorry, poor wording on my part. I meant in front of my eyes as in live on TV, instead of recorded footage of old.

          I SHOULD have been by now seeing as how I’ve been a race fan my whole life and live all of 2 hours from the circuit :C. It hasn’t been in the cards yet.

  16. one thing i simply cannot understand, the FIA sanction other races like Superbike, GT, A1 (in the past),etc to Kyalami – South Africa, yet for some reason and maybe Bernie can answer this why is it that Formula 1, has not visited South Africa for so many years, F1 Teams used to even test here but now don’t. if Bernie says it’s because of the World Cup Soccer, that South Africa isn’t host a GP this year, all i say is that is complete bogus, why can’t SA host two big events in one year, i didn’t see the German GP get dropped when they hosted the WC Soccer. Come on! enough of the excues BERNIE its about time Africa hosts a Formula 1 race again, otherwise its not a World Champion as the world is not fully represented track wise.

    1. It comes down to two words. Money and Markets. Ecclestone runs F1 to make maximum profits for his employer, CVC Capital Partners, who are only in F1 for the income it generates. So it’s very unlikely at the present time that any circuit in SA could find the money to cover CVC’s annual charges, which are simply staggering ! It’s as cold-blooded as that.

      If there was a huge market for luxury cars in SA ( and I mean huge like China, India and Russia, where Ferrari, for example, could sell every car they make annually ten times over at the present time ) then the big manufacturers would put pressure on F1 Management to return to racing in SA.

      But CVC would still demand fees from any circuit that would make your blood run cold.

      1. South Africa would make a great race destination. We already have a track (although I’ll be the first to admit that Kyalami needs some attention before it sees the F1 circus), we have places that would make great street races (can you imagine watching the boys navigate those awesomely fun hills and corners around Clifton/Sea Point in a street race?), we have a fantastically tourist-friendly population and a wide range of fun touristy activities.

        However, we have a largely impoverished population – 57% living in poverty, according to http://www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0000990/. Add to that, South African car prices are higher than in the rest of the world. Also, the vast majority of our population watch ball sports rather than motor sports. So, the SA population are not a great target market for F1, because probably very few would be able to afford/care enough to buy tickets to a race. In addition we’re at the end of a ten hour flight from Europe, making it costly and logistically tricky for foreign fans to come to a race here.

        While I’d love to see a street race in Cape Town, I don’t think Bernie will ever see a South African race as a profitable business opportunity.

  17. Ned i’m starting the get jealous! One day, just one day, I might get comment of the day!

    1. Ned Flanders
      6th June 2010, 16:45

      Haha I only have two! And one of them was basically just an Eddie Jordan quote!

  18. Good point Ned. I think there should definitely be another North American race (which is coming, hopefully), the return of the Argentine/Argentinian, South African, and Mexican (difference?) Grand Prix, and a new GP in Finland. With all respect to Singapore and South Korea, they don’t exactly diversify F1 (China, Japan, and Malaysia already being on the calendar beforehand).

    I think F1 has done a pretty good job with diversifying. Malaysia and China were added, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi now grace the calendar (scheduling stupidity aside), and only one country has two races (which has to stop altogether). India is also a step in the right direction, as was Turkey, and as Russia would be. Unfortunately, Bernie will probably chase the money before he chases geography, but we’re lucky at least that Austin might be able to come up with the funds.

  19. Nathan Bradley
    6th June 2010, 14:28

    Sorry, I know this is out of place, but I’ve only just watched it. Does anybody know what the song is on f1.com’s Turkish GP race edit? I really liked it!

    I don’t know if anybody publishes a list of them anywhere or not, but I hope someone knows!

    Any help much appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Nathan

    1. Its Muse, off their new album but not entirely sure which song.

    2. velvet_demon
      6th June 2010, 23:08

      It’s “Watercolour” by Pendulum, from their latest album Immersion.

  20. RIP Jim Clark.

    Long gone, but certainly not forgotten…

  21. I agree bill f1 for south africa!!!I would love to see an object buitl trully for its function!and it does it perfectly!so please berny give me f1 viva f1 viva!!

  22. Nathan Bradley the song is called watercolour and is from the album Immersion by Pendulum.

  23. Ignore my previous comment I was thinking of the formula1.com race edit.

    1. Rob Gallagher
      6th June 2010, 17:04

      No, Richard you are right as f1.com is the same website as formula1.com, the song is called Watercolour by Pendulum. (I love Pendulum too)

  24. Well there are six continents that F1 could visit, obviously they can’t go to Antarctica, and they visit five of those six, with Africa the only one they don’t.

    To me, that’s a world championship.

    Distribution of races has nothing to do with it at all.

    1. If a calendar with European races + Indy 500 was considered a World Championship, I don’t see why the current one wouldn’t be.

  25. Keith, I hope you don’t mind the shamless plug, but there’s a good article on good articles over at VIVAF1
    http://www.vivaf1.com/blog/?p=3859

  26. A nice example of what brilliant, sharp work the marshalls do!

  27. Mark Hitchcock
    6th June 2010, 23:07

    That Sirling Moss program is a bit frustrating. It’s a poor mix of simple neurology, Hammond babbling on about himself in an overly-earnest fashion, and a little bit of Moss being interesting.

    I just wanna hear about Moss!

  28. HounslowBusGarage
    7th June 2010, 0:10

    Jilly Cooper eat your heart out. I feel a novel coming on. It’s called ‘The Team Mate’ an everyday story of F1 racing folk.

  29. Leon?I’m sorry but r u saying that south africa can’t afford f1?you obviosly haven’t got all your facts right!we hosted the rugby world cup we hosted the IPL cricket tornament on very short notice! We are at present hosting the soccer world cup!we are fylly capable of hosting f1 race!please get ur ducks ina row before u assume as you should no that assumtions are the mother of all…

  30. Nathan Bradley
    7th June 2010, 10:24

    Thank you to everyone who helped me with my song question, really cool song!

    I think there should be an F1 race in Argentina again, they’re completely motorsport mad over there (not that other countries aren’t.)

    The only problem is finding a track, because – correct me if I’m wrong – I don’t think the old circuit at Buenos Aires would get anywhere close to an FIA A grade right now!

    Nathan

  31. Wayne Rooney to burn on bonfire. A bonfire society unveiled its annual guy today in the form of Wayne Rooney, the scandal-hit footballer. The 49ft creation, complete with green Shrek-style ears to mock the Manchester United ace’s likeness to the animated ogre, will go up in flames at Edenbridge Bonfire Society’s annual parade and display on Saturday.

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