F1 Fanatic round-up: 19/10/2010

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Thanks as ever to Cari for taking care of the Monday round-up yesterday.

I spent my Sunday at the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch where I saw some great racing and this terrifying crash which saw Robert Wolk somersaulting through the air at Paddock:

Incredibly, he was unhurt. Dennis Lind of Denmark won the Festival and second place went to Australian Scott Pye, who’s been mentored by ex-Andrea Moda driver Perrty ‘The Original Stig’ McCarthy.

Here’s today’s round-up:

Links

F1 2010 Patch News (Codemasters)

“The F1 2010 patch will enable the [PC] game to run on DX11. All of the graphical improvements are configurable from graphical options when in DX11. Specifically, “ultra” settings for ‘shadows’ and ‘postprocess’.”

Singapore F1 draws 40,000 (The Straits Times)

“Singapore is currently contracted to host the F1 race until 2012. The FOA has the option to offer an extension for an additional five years. In the event Singapore decides not to extend it, it will have to serve notice with FOA to end the arrangement, with the last race to be held in 2014.”

South Korea F1 will not lure local carmakers (Reuters)

“‘The Grand Prix could be a gateway to becoming a premium car brand, but Hyundai is simply not interested in Formula One,’ an F1 industry official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.”

The Journey to ‘Senna’ (The Spectator Arts Blog)

“The Senna family have been receiving variations on this ‘pitch’ twice a year for the last decade – sometimes thinly veiled, sometimes very cleverly disguised – but always about Senna’s death. It is not the way they want him remembered.”

The Jaypee F1 Circuit (Ubaid Parker via Facebook)

Pictures of India’s F1 circuit in its early stages of construction.

A Paul di Resta-Karun Chandhok combination would be perfect for Force India in 2011 (Daily Telegraph)

“Both Chandhok and di Resta are personable guys. Good to interview. Would guarantee good PR. Chandhok opens up India ahead of 2011 Indian GP and could deliver plenty of sponsors. Di Resta, meanwhile, opens up the British market/media for a team which, let’s not forget, are based at Silverstone and are still to all intents and purposes British.” Makes a lot of sense to me. Vijay Mallya’s never seemed that keen on signing Chandhok, though…

Comment of the day

Sato113 has been number-crunching on the new Championship Calculator and found a way the top five drivers can finish within a point of each other:

OK here we go. Let’s imagine that the top five in the championship all finish the last three races in the top 5 positions:

Korea: 1st. BUT 2nd. ALO 3rd. HAM 4th. VET 5th. WEB

Brazil: 1st. HAM 2nd. VET 3rd. ALO 4th. BUT 5th. WEB

Abu Dhabi: 1st. BUT 2nd. HAM 3rd. VET 4th. ALO 5th. WEB

Therefore the championship after Abu Dhabi would be:

ALO 251 (1st)
VET 251
BUT 251
WEB 250
HAM 250 (5th)
Sato113

From the forum

They’re not in contention for the championship but they’ve both had good seasons. So who is the better driver, Kubica or Rosberg?

Happy birthday!

Today we’re wishing a happy birthday to Daykind!

On this day in F1

Happy birthday to Heikki Kovalainen – the Lotus driver turns 29 today!

The last Grand Prix on the old-style Kyalami circuit was held on this day in 1985.

There were threats to boycott the race in the race in the weeks leading up to it, due to international condemnation of the country’s apartheid regime. The race went ahead, but some teams and sponsors stayed away – note the absence of Marlboro logos on the McLaren in the video below.

Read more: 1985 South African Grand Prix flashback

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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55 comments on “F1 Fanatic round-up: 19/10/2010”

  1. That crash was terrifying!
    He was unhurt, that’s amazing!
    I’ve never seen a car bounce like that, it was rather odd, did he hit the tires at the base just right to do that?
    Seems like the somersaulting took off a lot of crash energy.
    Here’s to him getting back in the car safely soon!

    1. A perfect show off of the reasons for tarmac instead of gravel traps.

      I am glad he survived, that looks terrible.

    2. MouseNightshirt
      19th October 2010, 7:54

      He was exceptionally lucky that tyre wall wasn’t a foot higher or his head would have smacked it and the car would have bounced off that rather than the front of the monocoque.

      Is it just me or has motor-racing had an increase in horrific crashes over the last couple of years?

      1. MouseNightshirt
        19th October 2010, 7:56

        Oh yeah, specifically referring to the point @0:31

        1. The crash reminds me of the F1 2010 game. They roll over way too easily, great that he’s okay though. Come to think of it we’e seen quite a few cars roll over this year. Theres quite a few at brands, a few at Silverstone and Valencia of course.

    3. Yeah! A danish guy won! As me and my classmates are in the middle of restoring a Formula Ford car for next season, this is a good sign for us if we get a chance to go to the festival. Good luck in the future to Dennis, he is truly a great driver.

      Also a mechanic from the danish Fukanumi team won the Zetec trophy congratulations Julian!

  2. I remember seeing a McLaren car in the Donington museum. You can see a little vinyl sticker has been added to ’round off’ the Malboro logo. Now I know what it was for :)

  3. Great news about the F1 2010 patch. Been playing it since release and was looking forward to having the few issues fixed by the patch. But now to find out that they will be adding other improvements is very exciting. Great work by codemasters, I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed such dedication to make the customers happy from a games company.

  4. Another huge crash at Brands? :S

  5. yey got a COTD! (i think I may have got the second or third ever comment of the day way back…)

    incredible crash. did you film that Keith? if not, where did you watch the race from?

    someone needs to figure out how the top 5 (so no KUB, sry US_Peter!) could stand GOING into Abu Dhabi. and how close it could possibly be.

    1. Fair enough, but unless there are other drivers in the mix, there’s no way you can get it as close. If the top 5 finish in the top 5 in the next two races the closest the points could get would be within 8 points:

      Korea: 1BUT, 2HAM, 3ALO, 4VET, 5WEB
      Brazil: 1HAM, 2BUT, 3VET, 4ALO, 5WEB

      That puts them at 240-WEB, 235-HAM, 233-ALO, 233-VET, 232 BUT

      If you add other drivers in the mix though as I showed, they could be headed to Abu Dhabi all separated by 1 point, and since there are 19 other drivers on the grid, it’s possible.

    2. I liked Kyles version, having them all finish on 220 points and with Webber winning (https://www.racefans.net/2010/10/18/try-the-brilliant-new-championship-calculator-designed-by-jamie/comment-page-2/#comment-454830) although it is pretty far fetced it would mean 3 races won and a lot of podiums (probably) by the likes of Kubica, Massa, Rosberg, Schumi, Kobayashi, Barricello, Sutil.
      Basically it has only Button finishing on the podium once of the 5 WDC contenders.

    3. did you film that Keith? if not, where did you watch the race from?

      No it was filmed by someone else. I was actually watching from the commentary box on top of the pits as a mate of mine was on the commentary team. He’s the one you can hear saying “big one at Paddock Hill bend”.

      1. :) – I had to say what I saw. Keith will confirm that there was a collective gasp from everyone in the box as from where we were it looked like he was going over the fencing. I’m glad to say he’s ok just v shaken

        It has been a bad year for big crashes.

        In the races I’ve commentated on I’ve had the above crash (one of many big shunts at Brands over the weekend), the Chris van der Drift Superleague shunt, and the terrible GT Cup crash at Thruxton earlier in the year :(

  6. I agree about Di Resta and Chandhok, that would be a great lineup, and as for the rumors of Malya not signing Chandhok because he’s worried Chandhok would become the star for Indian fans and not the team, that will be the case whether or not he’s driving for Force India. Wouldn’t he rather see all the Indian fans rooting for Force India than HRT?

    1. I don’t agree, We have seen Senna (Roughly Chandhok’s equal) being swept aside by the returning Klien. And Di Resta (despite showing a lot of promise) Has no experience in F1 so naturally is a bit of a wild card.

      Force India have been fighting to be an upper midfield team, The lack of a strong driver (like Sutil) would hurt them in this fight considerably I think.

    2. I second that US_Peter. Although he might just go for Sutil (i expect Renault to keep Petrov, so where should he go, replace a Schumi who is not stopping now?) and DiResta with Chandhok in the 3rd driver seat.

      It would do the promotional part, especially with some driving outings on friday and Mallya would keep a known fast driver line up.

    3. Anyone else bored of the whole “Chandhok is such a nice guy and he has lots of sponsorship money, he’s Indian and we want F1 in that market, I hope he gets a drive next year” thing?

      1. In fact, I think F1 has been a better place with him on the sidelines (I’m sure he’d rather be in the car) but I’ve really enjoyed listening to him during the practice sessions.

  7. Happy birthday Daykind… even though you disagreed with me about Hulkenberg on the Forum :)

    (for the record, I rate the Hulk)

    1. Yes, happy b-day Daykind!

    2. Happy birthday from me as well Daykind.

    3. Happy birthday!

  8. The old Kyalami really was a thrilling track. It was simple and fast. I’m not as familiar with the new one, but man, I really wish the old one was still around.

    1. The new layout isn’t as good. It’s pretty low speed now, and the lap is really short but still has a good amount of elevation change and a couple of corners that require real bravery to get through quickly. They added a silly chicane (“the kink”) for safety reasons a few years ago that really spoils the flow of the circuit.

      They still have World Superbikes at Kyalami, so you could always check those videos out on YouTube to have a look at the new layout.

      1. As far as I can see that chicane has been removed.

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bGak65LtPc

  9. Omg!! What a horrific crash! Thank God he’s unhurt and none of the audience were either!

    Couldn’t they make the cars heavier without affecting their speed so that they don’t bounce like that, or maybe a switch that activates once a car is airborne? – I know 0 engineering…

    1. I doubt you can “create” weight once the car is airborne :D Believe me, I’m an engineer!
      What suprises me more is how little the car seems to “crash” on the first impact as that would really kill momentum.

    2. The engineering of making cars heavier is quite simple, the problem is the physics involved.

      If velocity is constant but the mass of the car is increased then a crashing car would have more energy. That extra energy would need to be dissapated through the crash barriers and the car in a relatively controlled way. Otherwise, the risk is that it would result in more injuries and fatalities to drivers.

      Your idea about having a device that works when a car is airbourne isn’t so daft. In 1994 NASCAR introduced flaps that would open in the car’s roof to prevent cars getting airbourne in crashes. Conclusions on how well they’ve worked are mixed and it’s difficult to see how you could incorporate the concept in single seaters. Google NASCAR roof flaps for more information.

      1. I still remember Prost’s terrible comment when Senna crashed. He was on French TV as a co hoster then. The main host said “But look, look, the car doesn’t seem too damaged!” and a very gloomy Prost to say :”It means the body took all the damage”… Or something in line with that.

  10. Why did the car bounced like that? Singapore will be a GP that like Italy, Monaco, Belgium, UK feel sorry for France will be on the calender for a very long time.

    1. I think it might have something to do with the gravel trap as well, had there been tarmac, it would probably not have rolled over back into the air.

    2. Looks like he launched off the right rear of the car in front of him and sheer momentum kept flipping him. It was a combination of that a a very rigid chassis as Tango mentioned above us.

      That lad was damned lucky.

  11. Happy birthday to Daykind.

    I love the COTD! Possibly one of the best comments I have seen. How long did it take to calculate that? I haven’t been bothered to play around that much, but I wish the outcome you have produced would be possible with one race to go, then 5 drivers would have a chance!

    1. I think it’s a bit pointless. Fat chance of a McLaren sweep, and an even fatter chance for Button to win two of those.

  12. First shot of the Polyphony Digital X1 Prototype, the take-no-prisoners formula concept designed by Adrian Newey for GRAN TURISMO 5:

    http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/red-bull-x1-prototype-front-640×689.jpg

    http://www.gtpla.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/red-bull-x1-prototype-side.jpg

    It’s also got some pretty incredible stats – a gas turbine engine that produced 1483bhp at 15,000rpm (527 pounds per foot at 12,000rpm) which is capable of 249mp/h (400km/h); a continuously-variable rear-wheel drive transmission, it weighs just 545 kilograms and comes with enclosed wheels and a vaccuum “fan element” similar to the Brabham fan car to increase downforce at low and medium speeds.

    Sebastian Vettel’s best lap at Suzuka this year was a 1:30.833, but his time in the game using the X1 was a 1:11.540 …

    1. It shows some of the things F1 teams would try to do if not for the engine limits.

      How exiting it would be, if they really got to actually building something like this!

    2. Wow…

      (this comment will be too short, so I’ll say it again: wow!)

  13. Happy birthday to Heikki! I am sure that his best years in F1 are yet to come.

    If you have access to AUTOSPORT features section, I suggest to read an article by Tony Dodgins where he defends the shortcuts idea. I had never laughed so much when reading an AUTOSPORT article before. I really hope the author isn’t serious.
    http://www.autosport.com/features/article.php/id/3123

    1. I also hope Heikki enjoys his birthday.

    2. Guilherme Teixeira
      19th October 2010, 16:50

      Tony Dodgins seems to write the most laughable features on Autosport… The way he portrayed Vettel as a villian after Turkey was nothing short of ridiculous. I don’t even bother to read his articles anymore.

      Dieter Rencken makes it worth subscribing though…

  14. Strange thing, is Singapore proud about the huge crowd of 40.000 visitors? Or is that 40.000 extra foreign visitors.

    It does not sound like to much of a crowd, compared to Monza, Silverstone etc, and looks fine only when comparing new tracks like Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, or Turkey.

    1. But for a small country with no F1 history surely it’s not bad?

      1. But it does put the “extremely successfull” image of the Singapore GP in perspective, doesn’t it?

        And it is the 3rd year running, they equal the numbers for the first year, so it is not really growing (last year was worse for the economic downturn, so it is fine to pick up again, but far from perfect).

        It makes me fear for Korea (will they top this number with a half finished track, miles from civilization in a not too big country) and India as well as Austin and Russia in years to come.

        How many races actually draw 150-300.000 crowds nowadays?

      2. Singapore has a racing heritage. Go Google it if you’re interested!

    2. it’s 40,000 foreign visitors who came to Singapore during GP season – which is an impressive figure. These 40,000 visitors could be attending all 3 days of the weekend.
      This figure also excludes the locals who turned up during the weekend.

  15. Interesting link with Hyundai stating they are not interested in getting into F1, probably Honda and Toyotas lack of success got them pre-warned.

    But at least they’re fair about it:

    “It also requires long-term investment of several years at least and it’s doubtful whether Hyundai has that patience.”

  16. Its great to hear about the patch for F1 2010. The corrupt save bug is really ******* me off. Ive lost my progress twice already.

    That was a frightening crash at Brands Hatch. Its a miracle that he didnt have any injures.

  17. Happy birthday Daykind! A great fanatic and you now have one of my favourite avatars on here :) Hope you’re having a terrific day.

    That crash is crazy!

    I’m glad there’s a patch for F1 2010. I have the corrupt load bug a few times but if I just kept restarting it eventually it would load and since the four or five times it hasn’t done it since.

    The problem I really hated about the corrupt autoload bug was that I had to minimize the game and retsrat my computer as the game refused to go away and kept wanting me to start a new career. Perhaps a good idea would be the option to quit before you even get to the paddock or the ability to load different profiles as I think you can only have one profile at a time.

    The worst bug by far was the pitstop one but that was easy to get around by pitting a lap later or earlier. Of course, we shouldn’t have to do that but it doesn’t really bother me any more.

  18. Interesting stuff about the calculation.

    The next three races will be the ultimate test of Jenson Button. I think the general consensus is that he needs to win 2 races to be realistic about winning this championship. Which isn’t going to be easy by any means. Sure, the teams have pretty much ceased development, but the drivers have no reason to hold back. I hope we see the competitive, feisty and hungry Button that we’ve seen him come into when he’s needed to in the past.

  19. Ha ha, a bet somebody ate a pork pie at post 4a. Brands hatch jinxe i’ve been told by more experienced marshals lol.

    I had to miss that day sadly on sunday having a meal with the family. But i did get some action on saturday at post 9 (surtees corner) with a guy getting t-boned in a ford fiesta pritty hard, glass all over the place.

  20. Thanks for all of the messages everyone! I’m having a great day so far on F1 Fanatic. I’ve met up with fellow fanatic Sutil-M today. Thanks everyone!

  21. Guilherme Teixeira
    19th October 2010, 16:56

    Kudos to Codemasters!

    Nowadays some developers publish games with 10 times more bugs than F1 2010 and don’t even care to patch them.

    But Codemasters are not only taking care of a lot of issues, but are actually changing design decisions to please the fans, their costumers (such as the slipt times and the ability to save replays)!

    I never seen anything like that in the game industry.

  22. Josh Hill also deserves a mention in the FFord Festival coverage: he lost a gear in qualifying, but came through his heat race and quarter final to qualify second on the grid for his semi-final. Then a slipping clutch meant he jumped the start; he ignored the consequent drive-through and black flag, so won the semi-final but was disqualified.

    This meant he started 27th and last in the final, and came through to finish 7th. Not bad!

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