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Here’s today’s round-up:
Links
US F1 boss blames ‘bad timing’ for team’s collapse (BBC)
Peter Windsor: “It was Ken Anderson’s call and he said it would kill our team if we didn’t build our own car. He would rather go down doing our own rather than race someone else’s. I didn’t agree with that.”
The financial issues facing F1 (Autosport, subscription required)
“That VW, on track to become the world’s largest manufacturer within the next decade via a product palette offering everything from (Suzuki) mopeds through family saloons, luxury cars and exotic sports cars (Lamborghini/Bugatti) to massive MAN trucks, has rejected F1 on the basis of its cost-ineffectiveness, speaks volumes. That F1 cannot presently attract Europe’s biggest car manufacturer, nor serious applicants for the 13th slot, surely points to a underlying problem with the structure.”
Q&A – McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh (F1.com)
On whether he would prefer Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button to win the world championship: “Genuinely I have no preference. Fact is that I very much admire Jenson’s bravery in joining McLaren. I would be delighted if he became world champion. I have known Lewis since he was 11, and [inevitably] people see me very close to him. I think Lewis still has many years ahead of him, and I am sure he is going to win many more world championships, and I hope in our team. So providing a McLaren driver wins, I would be happy and then I don’t care which one wins.”
Comment of the day
Lewis Hamilton isn’t the only person unimpressed with the Singapore Sling. Fer No. 65 doesn’t care for the controversial chicane either:
It’s the worst corner in the whole calendar.
It’s just a car breaker corner; it’s not about driver talent, it’s about luck.
The whole concept of that corner is seriously wrong.
Fer No. 65
From the forum
Bought F1 2010? Share how you’re getting on in single-player mode here.
Happy birthday!
Two readers birthdays today – best wishes to James Brickles and WouT!
On this day in F1
Fernando Alonso won his first world championship on this day five years ago.
Third place in the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix was enough for him to end Michael Schumacher’s streak of five consecutive world championships.
Alonso also became the youngest-ever world champion, breaking a record set by Emerson Fittipaldi 33 years earlier.
Lewis Hamilton took that record off him in 2008, and Sebastian Vettel could be the next person to claim it if he wins the championship this year.
Read more: Youngest-ever champion Alonso crowned
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
25th September 2010, 0:18
wiiii! COTD! :D 2nd time :D!
US_Peter (@us_peter)
25th September 2010, 0:24
Great to finally hear from Windsor. In retrospect it’s probably a good thing Ken Anderson isn’t in the sport. I admire his dream, but his stubbornness crushed the dreams of all the US fans that were rooting for them. They knew the be-all end-all date that they had to have the chassis crash tested, and they should have worked backwards from there to figure out what they were and weren’t capable of.
Hairs (@hairs)
25th September 2010, 10:06
Peter Windsor, despite this interview, can’t escape his part of the blame either. And all his excuses only serve to highlight how deluded, badly thought out, and hopeless the USF1 project was.
1) Arguing they didn’t have time to design and build a car, when Lotus managed to do just that in less time than USF1 had.
2) Admitting that the two founders can’t even agree on whether or not to buy in a chassis while at the same time claiming everything was “ready to go” from when the bid was launched. Decisions don’t get any more fundamental than this.
3) Getting the entry in July, but not doing anything until September, then complaining about “running out of time” to get to the crash test.
Nonsense. The only remaining question is how did this guy survive in Williams at their heights of success?
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders)
25th September 2010, 0:26
I never used to like Peter Windsor. Then after all that happened with USF1 I just felt sorry for him. And now I’m back to disliking him again. Why can’t he just hold his hands up and say, ‘sorry, we ****ed up’ rather than just clutching at excuses?
Steph (@)
25th September 2010, 10:02
To quote a popular America show that Dan Thorn may know “the more he defends himself the more he needs to defend himself”.
He probably was in a difficult a situation and didn’t agree with the way Ken was doing some things but it just sounds like passing the buck now.
John H
25th September 2010, 0:32
That Singapore Sling is a challenge. What do we want in F1, nice smooth corners everywhere that are as forgiving as the run off areas?
Whilst cars launching in the air at head height isn’t the best I admit, the fact remains that it still requires talent to get through it quickly without being punished severely. The risk factor of it ending your race at any minute is what F1 should be all about, no?
We need more corners like this in F1… but I think I might be a bit outspoken on this one $:)
roberttty
25th September 2010, 1:58
if i am not wrong, Herman Tilke designed that chicane – to discourage any overtaking moves over there because:
1) if it’s a sweeping left-hander, there is no room for run offs in that section, so it’s dangerous if any driver makes a mistake and slams head-on into the wall
2) the upcoming Anderson Bridge after the Turn is narrow and too dangerous for any overtaking moves to happen there.
Macca
25th September 2010, 3:32
I totaly agree with you on this one John H.
To say this corner is not about driver talent is ridiculous. To thread the car through this sequence of corners as quick as possible with absolutely precision is immensely difficult and if you get it even a fraction wrong the consequences are dire as we saw with Sutil yesterday.
Joey-Poey (@joey-poey)
25th September 2010, 4:16
On the one hand I totally agree that that is what corners should be about, but on the other, there’s nothing really inspiring about it. It’s always seemed like more of a frustration than a challenge.
Invoke
25th September 2010, 8:50
Exactly, drivers are constant hypocrites on track layout and design. They claim they are too safe one week and call for more gravel, then they get to Singapore and whine… “It’s too bumpy… I Don’t like it! This corner’s too difficult, make it go away!”
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
25th September 2010, 17:50
while i agree at the first bit, i don’t agree about the concept of that particular corner
they go airbone half the time it takes them to travel that corner.
Look at every great corner in the calendar. They don’t have kerbs in the middle of the road.
Of course, we could always throw some ice cubes in the middle of Eau Rouge to make it “a bit more interesting”. But that’s as wrong as that Sling.
Jake
25th September 2010, 1:42
shortened answer of what Martin answered = “Jenson”
Sammy
25th September 2010, 6:46
Yeah…lol…..thats a bit easy to decipher
Hairs (@hairs)
25th September 2010, 10:12
Fascinating differences between the slavish Flav interview and how the McLaren interview starts out, isn’t it?
No mention of “scandal” in Flav’s interview at all.
That’s the thing about Bernie – he’s always up front. People claim he’s Machiavellian, but he’s not. He always makes it abundantly clear what he wants to happen, people just don’t seem to accept that such brazen obviousness isn’t hiding something else. Even what he’s hiding he’s usually holding in the other hand and waving around. Jake’s first interview with him in Singapore, I think he expected Bernie to be someone he’d have to massage and outwit to get an answer out of, like he managed with Max. Bernie, of course, just gave him a couple of short answers and ignored anything he didn’t want to get into. Classic. We’ll miss Bernie.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
25th September 2010, 3:33
Peter & Ken dream is now becoming a nightmare.
Sush Meerkat
25th September 2010, 7:53
“USF1 boss was quoted as saying “I put my hands up, I admit it, it was the other guys fault!””
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders)
25th September 2010, 11:38
Hahaha (I bet this comment’s too short….)
f1yankee
25th September 2010, 8:06
after playing a bit of f1 2010, i can say singapore is my least favorite track yet. a never-ending sequence of nearly identical point-and-squirts. i could never tell what part of the track was on tv, and after driving the fake version i’m just as baffled. this track sucks.
also, i found bahrain, china and malaysia to be both dreadful and indistinguishable.
f1yankee
25th September 2010, 8:14
oh, yeah…that corner is terrible. i did enjoy keith’s score, ned flanders with the assist:
NF: what is the likelihood of a modern F1 car actually making an overtaking move in that area?
KC: The Anderson Bridge or the entire track? Either way the answer’s probably the same…
SteveMovieVoice (@welshf1)
25th September 2010, 9:30
A popular day to have a birthday, its mine aswell!
On a different note, i spun so many times on F1
SteveMovieVoice (@welshf1)
25th September 2010, 9:32
A popular day to have a birthday, its mine aswell!
On a different note, I spun so many times on F1 2010 at Bahrain, now its my favourite track! I still think that many parts could be a lot better, namely spinning
Steph (@)
25th September 2010, 10:04
Happy birthday to you, James Brickles and WouT. Hope you all have a lovely day!
I actually got lost on the new layout of Bahrain…
James Brickles
25th September 2010, 22:29
Thank you Steph :)
I had a very good day thanks
BasCB
25th September 2010, 11:07
So a happy birthday to you it is Welshf1!
SteveMovieVoice (@welshf1)
25th September 2010, 9:36
sorry about that, i hit backspace and it put the first one on, then I clicked back and completed it and it did that one aswell. oh well.
BasCB
25th September 2010, 10:02
Happy birthday to both James Brickles and WouT, hope you§ll enjoy a nice Singapore qualifying and a great party in the evening!
Icthyes (@icthyes)
25th September 2010, 10:20
Back from holidays in time for F1!
I thought this was a bit strange from Martin Whit,arsh:
I think 99% of us would think Hamilton being at McLaren for a long long time was a near-certainty. After it came out Whitmarsh tried to get Vettel and would try again (which I think would be a seriously good partnership with Hamilton in years to come), am I detecting, if not an actual plan forming to oust Hamilton for Vettel from 2013, then a kind of precautionary move towards opening that option? Personally I would love to see Hamilton try his hand at another team, preferably Red Bull the way they’re going but in my dreams a revitalised conquering Williams!
Happy birthday to all celebrating today, too.
f1yankee
25th September 2010, 11:28
i think it would take a catastrophe for either hamilton or vettel to leave their respective teams. they have been brought up as company men.
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders)
25th September 2010, 11:45
This is how I’d like Hamilton’s career to go:
2007 to 2013ish- Makes his name at McLaren
2013 to 2018ish- Does a Schumi by dragging Williams out of the doldrums
2018- retirement
2021- comes out of retirement for a glorious return to McLaren!
Dan Newton
25th September 2010, 12:07
Interesting. The thought of what Hamilton could do for Williams is quite exciting! Only time will tell…
Electrolite
25th September 2010, 12:26
Awww yes! You’ve got my hopes up now…
Accidental Mick
25th September 2010, 13:37
Hamilton would never get a drive with Williams unless Frank Williams completely retires. Frank doesn’t like the driver to get more attention than his car.
One of his most famous quotes is “Anyone can win with my car.”
I confess to being a Williams fan but can recognise his faults. If the Hulk has a good season then expect him to be replaced next year.
RobR (@robr)
25th September 2010, 21:56
“Hamilton would never get a drive with Williams unless Frank Williams completely retires. Frank doesn’t like the driver to get more attention than his car.”
Well, he hired Senna didn’t he? And Senna was a huge star. If he can hire Elvis, I’m pretty sure he can bring himself to hire an Elvis impersonator.
Ned, you’re scaring me with the avatars.
bosyber
25th September 2010, 13:26
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/86948
Sensible words from Alonso saying: yeah, most of us at the top have made more mistakes this year, but guess what, the field is so much more competitive that we have to push to get ahead. And that is when mistakes become more likely. Plus, because we all are fighting for it, we get more scrutiny too.
I have to say people claiming drivers are “pussies” for thinking that chicane is stupid are off the mark – sure you can go slow through it, guess what, it is their job to find the limit of how far you can go – it isn’t really good if that launches you, which doesn’t really seem to help racing or overtaking, just encourage lack of risk taking.
James Brickles
25th September 2010, 22:32
The Singapore Sling is the most awkward corner in Formula 1, but it is a challenge to get it completely spot on. I don’t mind it too much, its the mickey-mousey 3rd sector that annoys me.