F1 Fanatic round-up: 26/8/2010
26th August 2010, 0:01 by Cari Jones 32 Comments »
Here’s today’s round up:
Links
In conversation – Ecclestone & Schumacher (Formula1)
“Their names are synonymous with Formula One racing. One abandoned his driving career after two Grands Prix, became a successful team boss and then transformed the sport into a global phenomenon. The other rewrote its record books from behind the wheel, accumulating a set of career statistics that may never be surpassed.
“They are, of course, Formula One Group CEO Bernie Ecclestone and Mercedes GP’s seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. Their friendship goes back almost 20 years. No surprise then that they always have plenty to talk about.”
Villeneuve would accept tough start (Autosport)
“Jacques Villeneuve says he would accept racing at the back of the field in a possible return to Formula 1 as long as he can lay a solid foundation for the future of his own squad.
“The 1997 world champion is still awaiting a decision from the FIA regarding his bid to return to the sport through a partnership with former GP2 squad Durango. Villeneuve is hoping to get back behind the wheel and at the same time help build a team that can be successful in the long term when he retires from driving.
“The Villeneuve-Durango project formally presented its bid in Geneva on 13 August, and the Canadian remains positive about the outcome of the tender, which he expects to come in a few days.”
McLaren could yet run F-duct at Monza (Autosport)
“McLaren could yet decide to keep the F-duct on its car for the Italian Grand Prix, despite the team saying earlier this week that it would be removed for the Monza event.
“McLaren’s managing director Jonathan Neale said on Wednesday that the team will wait until it has analysed the performance of the F-duct at Spa this weekend before making a final decision.
“‘We have the option to run it or not [at Monza],’ Neale said. ‘At the moment we’re just looking at all the options. We’ll watch carefully where the end-of-straight speeds come out at Spa and make the decision in the following week.”
McLaren take stock of their faltering title challenge (BBC F1)
“McLaren say recent results have forced the team to sit down and analyse their stuttering performances as they look to keep their championship hopes alive.
“The team trail Red Bull in both the constructors’ and drivers’ standings with Mark Webber leading the race.
“‘I think we underperformed in Hungary,’ McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale told BBC Sport.
“‘The gap to Ferrari and Red Bull was significant and that has obviously caused us to go back and take stock.’”
Q&A with McLaren’s Jonathan Neale (Formula1)
“Fresh from Formula One racing’s annual summer break, McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale seemed pretty intent on keeping his cards close to his chest ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix during a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ‘Phone-In’ session.
“But with just seven races left, the 2010 season has entered its last critical stages and considering just how close the title battle is, Neale can be forgiven for staying tight lipped about the British team’s planned upgrades.”
Comment of the day
Keith interviewed Anthony Davidson this morning and discovered that F1 is a “closed book” for him now in favour of focussing on winning the Le Mans 24 Hours. HounslowBusGarage says:
Yes, that was a super interview that really painted a portrait of Anthony. But I wish he had enjoyed more racing in the F1 world before moving on to sports cars. He should really have had a better ending than Super Aguri.
He’s now joined the ‘lesser’ world of sports cars, and raced in one of the world’s most historic and under-reported races: Le Mans. It’s not that sports car racing isn’t sexy, but the principal reason that LMS/ALMS does not have anything like the public profile that F1 does has got to be Bernie.
Like him or loathe him (the latter, personally) you have to accept that he has achieved an enormous amount for the Formula 1. There cannot be many males in the developped world who could not name at least four Formula 1 drivers. The same is not true for sports car drivers.
Personally, I still think I prefer sports cars because of their complexity and diversity. As Anthony said there’s diversity in almost everything: engines, bodywork style, tyres, team composition, and skill levels!
HounslowBusGarage
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
The Turkish Grand Prix was held on this day in 2007.
Felipe Massa led the race from start to finish, followed by Kimi Räikkönen in the second Ferrari and Fernando Alonso for McLaren in third. This was Ferrari’s second consecutive win at the new Istanbul Park circuit.
Michael Griffin said on 26th August 2010, 0:07
That was Ferrari second consecutive win at Istanbul, Raikkonen won the first race in 2005 for McLaren.
Cari Jones said on 26th August 2010, 8:12
So very true. I’m ashamed.
JT19 said on 26th August 2010, 2:36
oohhhh man, i am soo desperate for it to rain on sunday. i like the fact that a saturday is dry n then race day is wet, dunno why, jus gets me excited. this happened back in china, when i woke up early feeling miserable to watch the red bull domination of a race, but to my surprise (and excitement), the formation lap went out n guess wot….it started to drizzle!! anything like that at belgium would put a big smile on my face. even if it didn’t i’m still happy the fact that the 4 week break is over
US_Peter said on 26th August 2010, 4:15
Looks like only a 20-30% chance of rain on any of the days, but Friday afternoon has a chance of thunderstorms…
BasCB said on 26th August 2010, 6:37
Hopefully Spa will live up to its reputation and give us at least a local drizzle or shower on part of the track this Sunday!
Joe said on 26th August 2010, 20:29
I am personally hoping for half the track to be a lake and half the track to be bone dry, as it should be and often used to be.
gDog said on 26th August 2010, 4:05
arggghhh… when will the weekend start??
Patrickl said on 26th August 2010, 11:06
Usually near the end of the week
US_Peter said on 26th August 2010, 4:16
It will certainly be interesting to see if Schumacher can tailor next year’s car to his style enough to be competitive, and what will be even more interesting if he does is to see how he and Rosberg fare against each other.
Maksutov said on 26th August 2010, 5:52
Yes, that will be interesting. He seems confident that there is something he is aiming towards with the car, and that it is achievable. What that is, and how much time will that require , no idea… But the message I get from him is that he will stick to his guns until he achieves it. There is good chance that he may stay even beyond 2011, because it seems this is the type of character he is…
BasCB said on 26th August 2010, 6:39
It will sure by intereting to see. Rosberg has the advantage of growing into a role in the team when he is not being beaten by Schumi. So even if Schumi is a lot faster next year he will be OK in the team.
And their driving styles are said to be pretty similar, so the car should fit Nico as well as Michael.
Todfod said on 26th August 2010, 7:49
It would be sad to see Schumi build next year’s car around his driving style. This year’s car didn’t really suit either driver, yet, Rosberg clearly outperformed Schumacher. I hope we get to see Rosberg destroy his illustrious teammate two years in a row.
BasCB said on 26th August 2010, 6:43
It looks like McLaren is working very hard to cover all options (Monza with/without F-duct, new parts to every race), but they must be worried by those Ferrari and Red Bull front wings a lot.
If a big team like McLaren do not understand it, will Charlie Whiting be able to find a way to stop them doing what amounts to legally breaching the rule on only fixed aero parts.
It would be a bit of a damper on the season if they were banned with only a few races to go this year.
bosyber said on 26th August 2010, 10:27
I still think their “not understanding” claim is about how it can be legal according to the rules on flexible bodywork, and what the FIA will do to stop those wings being used.
That’s also why they recently claimed to start being “very creative”: a sort of notice to FIA that they better tighten those tests to stop Red Bull and Ferrari, or they will find a lot of overly clever bending bits on a lot of cars, including, the McLaren. And a lot of money can be spent on evading the tests, I suppose.
HounslowBusGarage said on 26th August 2010, 7:18
Reference the article on Motorsport site about Villeneuve.
“The Villeneuve-Durango project formally presented its bid in Geneva on 13 August, and the Canadian remains positive about the outcome of the tender, which he expects to come in a few days.””
It’s 26 Aug today. Does anyone know when we should expect the FIA announcement?
Hamish said on 26th August 2010, 8:21
My money is on today
BasCB said on 26th August 2010, 15:15
I suppose the whole FIA council will have to confirm the choice before they announce it.
Therefore I expect them to announce it after the planned FIA WMSC meeting (not the Ferrari teamorders hearing, that’s earlier in the same week) on Friday before the Monza GP.
NickV said on 26th August 2010, 8:49
What i dont get is why nearly everyone is saying that Mclarens title charge is faultering and dissapearing. They are only a few points behind in both championships, it only takes one good race for them and they are back in front. Hardly faultering in my view.
Patrickl said on 26th August 2010, 11:08
Yeah and the lost points mostly because Button seems to be struggling and Hamilton’s car failed. While driving on a track that doesn’t suit their car at all (Hunagry is similar to Monaco)
I was surprised by McLaren’s lack of performance in Germany though. Guess that has to do with their blown diffuser not working properly yet.
Other teams have had similar problems. They come with a new car and it doesn’t work as their wwindtunnel predicted.
f1yankee said on 26th August 2010, 8:56
“Villeneuve would accept tough start”
that’s good, because i’m sure that would be the only kind available.
Keith Collantine said on 26th August 2010, 9:12
A quick hello from to say that as of today I’m back ‘behind the wheel’ of F1 Fanatic, though obviously with quite a bit of catching-up to do!
Patrickl said on 26th August 2010, 11:09
I think the topics are still similar. It’s still about team orders, Schumachers “move of death” on Rubens and floppy front wings (floors)
BasCB said on 26th August 2010, 15:30
Nice to see you back Keith (although you deserve another congratulation for finding an excellent replacement with Cari!).
I suppose we are all looking forward to seeing those cars run around Spa tomorrow.
Vincent1972 said on 26th August 2010, 9:45
Welcome back Keith! We missed you.
Cari is doing great when you’re away.
leon said on 26th August 2010, 9:51
Welcome back O’ Revered Leader.
Cari’s done a great job !
What do you make of the much increased chance of rain on all three days Keith ?
Keith Collantine said on 26th August 2010, 11:09
I think people tend to over-rate the chance of rain falling and I’m not getting carried away! Would put my money on rain in FP1, 2 and 3, then dry qualifying and race (cue groans…)
Calum said on 26th August 2010, 11:42
Hey guys, I’m going to London on holiday, and I was wondering if anyone on this website could recommend or tell me about any F1 related stuff I could find in London. Any feedback would be great!
Icthyes said on 26th August 2010, 12:07
Off the top of my head, there’s the Ferrari Store on Regent Street, just put “193-197 Regent Street, London W1″ into Google Maps
Keith Collantine said on 26th August 2010, 12:19
Definitely have a rummage around Motor Books near Leicester Square – lots of great finds there: http://www.motorbooks.co.uk/locations.asp
BasCB said on 26th August 2010, 15:35
Anyone picked up this bit good of news:
Chandhok will give the Red Bull promotion car a spin on the Korean GP circuit this saturday (http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/241132/chandhok-to-star-in-korean-red-bull-demo/)!
Very nice for 2 reasons (although i will miss him for the BBC commentary
). First he is driving and keeping contact with Red Bull seems a pretty good one and second, it means the Korean track actually has tarmac to drive on!
What will the other teams say about this promotional run thoug? Will it be seen to be an unfair advantage of knowing something of the circuit, or did the FOTA go along and will they share any data gathered?
Alianora La Canta said on 26th August 2010, 18:39
I don’t think the teams will be too worried – the chances of Hispania being able to make sufficient use of Karun’s expertise to challenge the scorers (or even get a 12th, which is the minimum needed to get 10th in the championship at the moment) is nil.
BasCB said on 27th August 2010, 6:57
I was more thinking of Red Bull (owners of the car he will be driving) getting some advantage from it.
I am sure most people would like Karun to get back in the car to use his “experience” of Korea in that race.