Jerome D’Ambrosio tipped for race seat

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In today’s round up, Virgin Friday driver Jerome d’Ambrosio is tipped for a race seat with the team in 2011.

Links

Premat escapes horrific Adria crash (Autosport)

"Audi and Mercedes have hailed the safety of the current DTM cars after Alexandre Premat walked away from a horror shunt at Adria.

"The Frenchman’s Audi A4 speared into the wall opposite the pits at the end of the first lap after he was clipped by Maro Engel.

"The car hit the wall hard, and as it spun around after the impact it dug into the ground and rolled several times.

"The crumpled remains of the Audi came to rest up against the wall, and Premat ejected himself from the cockpit just a few seconds later."

D’Ambrosio close to Virgin deal (ESPN F1)

"Jerome d’Ambrosio is set to make his Formula One debut with Virgin next season."

Webber has blown title chances, says Brabham (ESPN F1)

"Mark Webber has blown his chance of becoming Australia’s first Formula One world champion since Alan Jones back in 1980 according to the country’s most famous driver, Jack Brabham.

"Webber had the destiny of the title in his own hands going into the Korean Grand Prix but the pressure appeared to take its toll as the Red Bull driver crashed out of the race. According to Brabham, the mistake has cost Webber his only chance of lifting the title.

"’It would mean a lot to me and it would mean a lot to Australia, but unfortunately I think his real opportunity has been blown last weekend,’ Brabham told the AAP news agency. ‘I’m really there behind him in the hope that he gets there but if he doesn’t do it this year, I don’t think he ever will.’"

Red Bull have fastest cars but their naive strategy may prove fatal (The Guardian)

"Milton Keynes is just the place to go for a modern interpretation of Aesop’s fable about the tortoise and the hare. OK, there are two hares at Red Bull and there have been – comparatively speaking – 22 tortoises in this Formula One season. But the fundamental principle remains and Red Bull just may have taken too many naps to win an enthralling season that they have dominated, at least until chequered-flag time.

"The Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel are the class cars. They have won 14 pole positions in 17 rounds and on eight of those occasions they have locked out the front row. Neither are they particularly shy in the matter of winning; no team can match their seven victories. But it has not been enough."

The Williams F1 team, Hulkenberg and Maldonado (James Allen on F1)

"For the past few weeks the word inside the F1 paddock has been that a deal for Pastor Maldonado to race for Williams F1 next year is done. There is an assumption that this would be at the expense of Nico Hulkenberg, who is in his first season in F1.

"Williams currently refuse to confirm or deny this, however they did announce this week that Maldonado will take part in the Young Driver test for Williams at Abu Dhabi next month. At 25 he is not exactly a young driver by today’s standards, but he qualifies in terms of his level of F1 experience."

Fernando Alonso title could devalue Formula One says Max Mosley (Independent)

"Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso will devalue the Formula One championship if he wins it by less than seven points, the governing body’s former president Max Mosley said yesterday."

Comment of the day

"Senna" – the film documenting the life of Ayrton Senna, due to air in the UK next June – has sparked some great memories among F1 Fanatics.

Alec S. says:

I thought I’d share an unusual privilege I had many years ago. When I was in high school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, I dreamed of a racing career and was trying to race karts. I went to see a kart race at the Oscar Galvez track, in 1980 or 1981, and saw Senna race when he went by Ayrton da Silva.

I’ve no idea what the technical specs of karts are these days, but back then they were of the ultimate simplicity, with the aim of keeping costs down and making driver differences count. The karts had 100cc engines, no clutch, and no gears. And it worked, the races were so even that there was constant overtaking, and the lead would typically change every lap.

The race was like a swarm of bees going around trading places. Except for one bee.

Sa Silva had such a ridiculous edge over everyone else that he lapped almost the entire field, and that was a NUMEROUS field. The other drivers included some names that were to go on and become really big at the national level, like Marcos di Palma and Gustavo Der Ohanessian. It was obvious to me as a teenager that I had seen something really special in the works, and I remember telling all my friends at school next day that I’d seen a future world champion of F1. It was that commanding a difference, it left no room for doubt that really huge things were to come.
Alec S.

From the forum

M Sakr has kicked off a thread on the F1 2010 patch – have you downloaded it?

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday Joe Jones – hope you have a great day!

On this day in F1

Mika Hakkinen won his first world championship on this day in 1998 at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

Hakkinen won the drivers’ championship with 100 points, to second place Michael Schumacher’s 86. This gave McLaren their first constructors’ title since 1991.

The Finnish driver retained the title in 1999 but lost his crown in 2000, when he was thwarted by unreliability.

In his 11-year F1 career, Hakkinen spent 10 years as a McLaren driver, scored two championships, 20 wins, 420 points and 161 race starts.

49 comments on “Jerome D’Ambrosio tipped for race seat”

  1. That is… incredible that an almost full on impact like that, doesn’t severely injure the driver. I’m glad Premat is ok. As I see it, the car hit on the front left wing, and span the car, hence dissipating the energy somewhat. The car did what it was supposed to do and transfer that energy elsewhere.

    Sickening shunt though.

    1. How many of these shunts will we have to be seeing in the coming years before someone gets seriously hurt again?

      I think the FIA and drivers and other intimates should have a think about why there were so many of these accidents of late and think about a way out of it.

      Glad the cars are up to coping with this kind of crashes though.

      Oh and a happy birthday to Joe Jones, did you celebrate with Mika in 98?

      1. Didn’t the guy in the superleague formula crash at brands get injures? Granted I don’t think it was life threatening (couple of broken bones) but you get what I’m saying. It was plain bad luck though, the car flew into part of a bridge if I recall

      2. Seriously? Its racing. There will be wrecks and when someone does something boneheaded in a high speed section, there will be BIG wrecks. No one died, heck there hasn’t even been that many people that have been seriously hurt. I would call that a MAJOR improvement over 15 years ago. Plus, its getting better with each passing year as old designs (with old safety standards) get phased out.

  2. That was one nasty crash.Nice to see not only is F1 but other forms of motorracing as well.

    Who will Jerome d’Ambrosio replace in Virgin? De Grassi?

    If Williams did want to go with Hulkenberg and Maldonado then next to Sauber this will be the youngest team in 2011 as far as experience is concern.It is hard to believe that they are throwing away Barrichello who to me is a real asset to any team just due to his experience,it will be a very poor thing for a team like Williams if they think that younger people will bring more money will help them then older people with experience.

    1. I think Hulkenberg has come out and said he basically has no money, if Williams keep him it won’t be because he’s bringing more sponsorship than Rubens.

  3. CarsVsChildren
    1st November 2010, 1:41

    Fantastic comment of the day. It reminds me of the story of the guy whose son got comprehensively thrashed at karting by a young kid called Lewis Hamilton. He was so amazed at Lewis’ skill that he went down to the bookies and placed a $10 bet that one day Lewis would win an F1 grand prix.

    1. When I was in my teens, sometime in the late 90s and early 00s. local television showed a national karting series. Some kids with a Yellow helmet used to trip around pulling out some audacious moves, and would win races and eventually the season. Now and again this yellow helmet would re-emerge in different forms of racing, then I saw him in GP2 in Hungry, and remembered I’d seen him when he was a kid.

      Even in those early days, people knew he was special. I think the commentators did too.

  4. Max Mosley – “Fernando’s title could bring the sport into disrepute.. blah blah.. it would definitely question the sports credibility.. blah blah.. not great for the image of F1.. blah blah.”

    After these statements, Max Mosley leaves the room to engage in some Nazi sex with hookers. Talk about bringing the sport into disrepute and hampering the image of F1… Mr.former President.

    1. Actually I agree with Mosley on this rare occasion, although disrepute might be a bit strong wording, it would not be a good thing if the title was won with points gained in a breach of the rules.

      1. Mosley also said that it would be better for Hamilton not tin win the 2007 championship because of the Spying controversy. In any case he didn’t, but I’ve often wondered how many would drag up the “won by illegal means” argument over the years. This situation is no different.

  5. Well in regards to Barrichello, me thinks we will know within the next 7 days.

    I see him as a man that is greatly respected, so I’d say Williams would give him the decency to not only allow him to announce his retirement so that he is going out on “his terms” and not being dumped, but also before his home GP.

    That said, the whole Williams situation is mere speculation.

    1. I find it very interesting. Williams is impressed by Rubens, they have been confirmed by Huelkenberg, that he is the guy they signed up now but still they are looking for a place to fit in Maldonado.

      Surely a testing job for Rubens would be below his standards, wouldn’t it?
      And giving Pastor the test/3rd driver role, even with letting him do fridays will hardly get them the complete cash pot, will it?
      But would Weber (Huelkenbergs manager, you know the guy who managed that other German) put up with the Hulk retreating to the benches for Williams? And does he actually have another team to go to?

      I am looking forward to hear more in this saga.

    2. Williams isn’t in the habit of acting out of sentimentality. Hill, world champion: out the door. Mansell, world champion: ditto – merely the two most clear examples.

      If FW and PH think Rubens has had his last season then that’s it.

      Personally I think he still has a lot to offer, especially alongside an inexperienced driver. He’s still fast, still races well and makes very very few mnistakes.

  6. Where was Max in the Schumacher era?
    Just because he had a fall out with Ferrari he now takes every opportunity to hit low blows.

    1. something wrong with Mosley’s mind, not the firt time, I digress.

    2. Sorry, but I agree with Max on this.

      I actually think that Alonso will win the title, and if he does I’ll be quite happy and think that he will be a deserving champion. He has battled steadily away all season, his attitude has been exceptional and he hasn’t let the bad times get to him. But I sincerely hope that he does win it by more than 7 points, because if he doesn’t then the title will be marred by controversy, with many people saying rightly or wrongly that the title can be bought for $100,000. The F1 drivers championship shouldn’t be belittled in such a way.

      1. I agree to, Personally I think team orders should be allowed but this season it is against the rules so they shouldn’t profit from it.

        He is an amazing driver and has a great come back so fingers crossed its by more than 7 points.

      2. McLaren will most likely back Hamilton from now on and if it is necessary, RedBull will make a decision too during the n´last two races. So if one of these drivers benefits from a team decision, do we have to deduct the points he gains from those 7 points or not?

        If it went unnoticed, I find the whole discussion rather stupid.

  7. On this day was Abu Dhabi last year, if anyone remembers.

  8. Fernando Alonso title could devalue Formula One says Max Mosley (Independent)

    Right… let’s listen to a morality lesson from the man who embarrassed F1 with his sexual, uh, “antics” and then refused to resign after even Bernie said he should go.

    Also, that’s a great comment of the day.

  9. In 11 years racing only one driver have achieved more then him Schumacher. Really miss him a lot, in those days he was the only one who could haven broke Schumacher on track but sadly he never came back.
    Same thing that will happen with another Finn, Kimi I doubt that he will ever mistakenly come back in F1.

  10. “Alonso title could devalue F1, says Mosley”

    Just like the team order-assisted titles of Raikkonen and Hamilton that happened on your watch devalued F1….oh wait.

  11. Just to remind everyone that work is well under way on Silverstone’s new pit block, it’s starting to take shape, it’s going to look great once it gets the exterior cladding added:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/silverstonecircuit/sets/72157625156415554/detail

    1. Does that mean they are going to move the starting grid to that part of the track?

      1. Yes, it does. The new right-hand Abbey will be Turn 1.

  12. undeniably, every motorsport is more hazard than sport, serious accident is a matter of time, statistics prove.

    in this case, everybody was lucky – the driver and marshalls nearby. Parts of the car were flying uncontrollably and there was a lot of pure luck that nobody was hurt.
    This barrier was completely wrongly put on that place, however, it should not be there at all.

  13. It might be seven points for the switch on paper but the impact is so much more.

    If he wins by 2 points or 30 it make no difference, if you believe breaking / twisting the rules devalues winning the championship you can’t really say greater than 7 is ok. It totally changed the whole dynamics of the championship.

    As it happens, what has transpired since then is an amazing run of form, if Alonso wins it, fair play it will be a great come back, maybe a little tainted, but as worthy as many previous champions.

  14. I hate this “Red Bull’s naive strategy” “Red Bull might not win the championship due their strategy” article title’s everywhere!

    I would be happier to see Vettel or Webber loosing their championship because of Red Bull’s strategy then seeing Red Bull catch up the same strategy as Ferrari.

    1. Well no, the teams first priority is to win, and at this point in the season their strategy is very questionable.

    2. I think it is not that far fetched.

      After the FIA WMSC did not give Ferrari a harsher punishment than the monetary fine dealt by the stewards, it changed the game and both RBR and McLaren will have to anticipate this and react if they want to stand a fair chance of winning this year.

      1. To be fair, team orders have been used on multiple occasions since 2002 in the run-up to the end of the season, and they’ve never been punished, even though according to the rules they’re exactly as illegal as team orders in the early part of the year. Asking your drivers to swap places to give one of them a better shot of the championship, when the other is out of it, is just sensible.

        But still illegal – which is possibly the reason why Ferrari weren’t punished too harshly after Germany, because it would have called into question all those ignored team orders from the past. There was even some suggestion that Ferrari would pursue a similar claim in the civil courts had they received a severe punishment from the WMSC.

  15. Premat ejected himself from the cockpit just a few seconds later.

    I was so hoping it would be with a James Bond style seat! Glad that he’s okay.

    If we had the medals system, or winner takes all, would we have seen what happened at Hockenheim? At that point Webber had three wins to Alonso’s one, which wouldn’t be that great a gap and a Massa win would equalise their standing. What am I saying, of course it would have happened. The sooner two-car teams are gone the better. I know that’s controversial but the teams have shown they can’t be trusted with having an extra driver to manipulate things with. The days when drivers would willingly give a place to someone else from a genuine feeling they deserved to be the champion are gone; now we just have arrangements of convenience to impress your employer.

    1. The days when drivers would willingly give a place to someone else from a genuine feeling they deserved to be the champion are gone; now we just have arrangements of convenience to impress your employer.

      So does the former motive make team orders (or voluntary place-switching, or whatever) more acceptable, in your view? I recall plenty of complaints after Germany that Ferrari had potentially denied us an exciting finish to the race, which would have been true whatever the reason was that Massa let Alonso past.

      My view is that two-car teams are fine and that teams should be allowed to structure their drivers in any way they wish. Most teams allow both drivers a fair chance until one is realistically (not mathematically) out of it (e.g. Ferrari favouring Raikkonen over Massa at the end of 2007, and the reverse in 2008, based on championship standings towards the end of the season). This year is a little different, with Red Bull and McLaren proclaiming equality because public sensitivity to team orders is unusually high, and one team has already been hauled over the coals for it this season.

      But what I am saying is that explicit “No. 1” and “No. 2” arrangements are increasingly rare among the top teams in F1, since competition for both championships is so high (McLaren discovered in ’08 what it means to have a weak second driver in a tight constructors’ championship battle). I believe that if the team orders rule was scrapped entirely, teams would tend to regulate themselves in this regard. We might get the occasional “Austria 2002” or “Germany 2010” incident, but it would be a certain improvement on the messy, half-hearted enforcement of the rule that we have today.

      1. So does the former motive make team orders (or voluntary place-switching, or whatever) more acceptable, in your view?

        Well that’s thing, isn’t it? They’re not the same. It doesn’t produce any “fairer” a result but at least they’re not being told to do it or doing it out of some calculation of future personal gain (Massa and Raikkonen in 2007 and 2008 spring to mind). So yes, I would say it is more acceptable.

        I have to confess my comment was a bit of a trap. In saying we should get rid of two-car teams, I was attempting to show how ridiculous the “get rid of the ban” option was too. I should perhaps have just said it in the first place but you get a much better idea of how silly the two ideas are if you read it as if it were a serious suggestion. Personally (genuinely) I believe in three-car teams.

        The reason I believe they are both as stupid as each other is because they both involve throwing the baby out with the bathwater. If we were to get rid of two-car teams we would lose a lot in terms of quality; similarly if we were to get rid of the ban on team orders we would lose some integrity in the sport.

        I disagree with our assessment of why there aren’t many #1 and #2 situations this season. Up until very recently Red Bull and McLaren have been unable to actually determine who will be their best bet for the championship. Ferrari could do that long ago, which is why they implemented the system. They can spin their stories all they want but it’s almost certain that in the next race at least one will at some point have to formally implement such a system. There are of course other factors for the delay, such as McLaren wanting to play the PR game and it being Sebastian Vettel who’s 25 points behind, but the other reason is just as true.

        I actually do believe in a team’s right to have a set #1 and #2. Without it in 1996-1998, Ferrari wouldn’t have been anywhere near as competitive. After all from a driver’s point of view, simply having a better car than your rival is an unfair advantage (we all know that in reality it’s a driver-team combination, but the championships are judged separately). But when the cars are quite balanced in their performance, that reasoning goes out of the window. A team may perfectly be in their right to want that one little extra advantage to win – they are after all under big pressure to do so – but that doesn’t mean we have to let them.

        Lastly I would disagree that its enforcement is half-hearted and messy. Certainly when you read the rule literally. But the FIA’s actions over several infringements established certain precedents, that it is okay to switch your drivers when one is out of the championship, on a contrary strategy, much faster than the other and you want to avoid an accident (which is what Ferrari tried to claim they were doing at Hockenheim, unlike McLaren two years earlier it was patently false), or to tell them to hold station to avoid an accident. If Ferrari had been punished for any of these then it would have been wrong and everyone would be right to call it for hypocrisy. But they weren’t. They were punished for doing the same thing that prompted the ban to be put in place. In future I hope the rule is re-written to take into account these things and the apparent hypocrisy will no longer exist and everyone will know the score (and hopefully, a much more meaningful fine be brought in for transgressors).

  16. When even the UK-centric The Guardian realises that Red Bull “must review their egalitarian approach to their drivers and back the main man”. it is indeed time for some British-centric “F1 Fanatics” to get off their high horses as regards their condescending analysis of Ferrari’s strategy.

    There is a fair dose of cultural clashes here: Brits (who consider themselves as the origin of practically all sports and of course F1) fundamentally don’t understand the mgmt culture of the quintessentially Italian Ferrari-team (even though it might be run by non-Italians at occasions). Italians don’t have the British knee jerk reaction of “egalitarianism”. They realise that talking about “equal rights” in one of the most decadent, elitist and discriminating sports of the world is just ridiculously delusional hypocrisy. On a symbolical level Brits consider F1 a case of “let the best man win”, while the Italians see F1 as a showcase of technological i.e. cultural display and sophistication. To make a cliché (and Modena) based comparison: who talks about egalitarianism in opera, when Pavarotti is the best? Every team in F1 has used and is using team orders (usually implicitly) – although not as blatantly honest as the Ferrari team. There are no saints in this sport.

    When even Sir Jack Stewart supports team orders (btw, thanks for the great interview, Keith) I think it is time to summarize the “evil Ferrari” vs. “the fair Brits” debate: there are no moral winners in this game. Brits must broaden their horizons and realise that the Italians are non-egalitarian and elitist (in the words’ most neutral meanings), while Italians could also broaden their minds by communicating their world-view a tad more clearly, or more correctly: to appeal to the minds of British egalitarian-focused F1 pundits. FIA might oppose Ferrari’s actions in theory, but in practice it doesn’t.

    Consequently I would propose a slightly more “international” view from the editor’s side on F1Fanatic.co.uk. I know that this site is British in its world view (.co.uk!), but Keith’s ambitious and broad approach to the sport obviously aims at a more elevated position of ”objective sport journalism” – as should any respectable journalistic publication, in order to separate it from the plethora of biased and flame-throwing F1 pundit/bigotry blogs. However, there is still some work left to do for F1Fanatic.co.uk.

    F1, as indeed any other sport, is the arena of uncontrolled nationalistic sentiments – it is part of its emotional fabric. Nevertheless, “objective sport journalism” (tricky concept indeed) is very much possible. By taking such explicit side in this debate (along the lines of very British-centric reasoning), particularly in your more “candid” Twitter-feed, or by excessively focusing on the British teams/drivers – this compromises the journalistic independence and quality of Keith’s publication/site. The labourious effort of objectively describing every team’s report after each race is praiseworthy. Nevertheless, the “editorials” are focused on the front runners and in these most “journalistic” of articles the British sentiments are explicit and obvious. No attempts to problematise non-British perspectives exist. Ferrari are villains – British-run Red Bull and McLaren are egalitarian sport hero champs. The up and coming midfield (Kubica, Rosberg etc) is almost forgotten.

    This British-centric focus of the site and its reluctance to understand “foreign” perspectives will prevent it from becoming a truly respectable sport journalistic source. The site is followed by far more non-Brits than Brits, and they expect objective international sport journalism. Keith, consider your site as a “globish” site – not English! Keep up the good work.

    1. Keith, consider your site as a “globish” site – not English

      I’ve never considered this a ‘British’ site. I’m well aware only one-third of the readers are British. I wouldn’t get hung up on the domain suffix, it’s just an address.

      I don’t agree with your generalisations about British teams considering their approach to running teams as “fair” versus the “unfair” team orders tactics of foreign teams. Frank Williams is a staunch defender of team orders and even wrote to the FIA to stick up for Ferrari.

      1. OK, if not British – then what is your angle? International? Do you consider that your journalistic perspective takes into account foreign views, and don’t focus more on British teams/drivers? Don’t get me wrong. I love your site and your passion – I trust no other source to explain the lovely irrelevant details of F-duct engineering – but I want your site to become something bigger: your passion combined with a more objective and international journalistic view of the sport. Such a combination would have no equals!

        1. I don’t know, I can see both sides of the coin here.

          I’ve been reading this site since close to the beginning and as an observation there has been a huge increase in British posters on here. That said however, Britain has had back to back World Champions, and as a result of course British popularity in the sport is going to increase.

          Keith (in my opinion) doesn’t come across as a British journo catering just to the British people. Yes he has a point of view (like all of us) but he does when covering stories cover both sides of the story in such a manner that one can form their opinion, with all factors presented, and considered.

          The problem you mention is completely out of his control however. Yes, there are some pro-British “jesus didn’t rest on the 7th day, he created Lewis Hamilton” dropkicks on here, but what can Keith do about that – its either he lets everyone in or no one. Given the amount of traffic on here how do you suggest the annoyance aspect is policed?

          I don’t think there is much better out there in the way of F1 sites, as it is not just another F1 site. This site covers all bases, it covers the increadibly technical side of things, news, views and caters for those relatively new to the sport to those who have watched it for years. I think thats why it continues to grow as there is no other site like this.

          Like any forum there going to be little kids, and internet warriors, but thats just part of it.

          1. There is also a large amount of Ferrari fans on here too, irrespective of nationality and not a few Hamilton haters. The readership of this blog is very balanced.

        2. I don’t think your view that the Brits are those that oppose Ferrari tactics is the right way to go. In general, it’s wrong IMO to differentiate by country. I’m opposed to Ferrari tactics, always was, always will be. Does that mean I’m British? I’m far from it and be sure there are millions in the world like me. By the same token many Brits support team orders, as Keith said, Frank Williams supports team orders as well, so?

        3. Hi Miko, I like the discussion, but somehow I fail to see your point.

          What’s up with the “british/english” angle, or the “international” one for that respect?

          Sure we can have different views on weather TO should be part of the sport, there were thousends of posts discussing this matter. Evidently people have differing view and it is a complicated matter how far to take equality and “fair” winning.

          But in the case of Ferrari this year in Germanu they have been found to have broken the rules (Stewards decision, upheld by the WMSC), that is not about a national view on F1, just about having the rules applied or not.
          Now that Ferrari hardly received punishment, while found to have been in breach of the rules, this changes the play.

          And it makes it harder for the other teams not to use the same means for giving one of their drivers best chances, however much some of us dislike the usage of TO to do so.

          And for as far as some/one Spanish tabloid(s) try/tries to go for a national car in this, F1 is global as well as its audience and it can be of little concern as long as the fans understand who this is coming from (same goes for British, German, … tabloids).

        4. Keith doesn’t have to reflect international views. This is his blog and his opinions and he doesn’t “have” to be influenced by anyone else’s. As long as he sticks to the facts and says when something is “only” his opinion, there’s nothing more he has to do.

          Let’s say it was the majority trait of international fans to support team orders. That doesn’t change one bit whether they’re right or not. Keith shouldn’t have to consider them more desirable just because Italians, Spaniards, Mongolians or anyone else does.

  17. In reference to Mosley’s romp, unless you a Formula One follower you wouldn’t even know who Max Mosley is. Thousands more people know who Fernando Alonso is and thanks to the media will be fully aware of what happened earlier this year, but those thousand more people we probably agree that team orders have been and always will exist in team sports. Therefore I believe your average F1 fan would prefer a Felipe Massa or Mark Webber WDC as they are and have always been the underdogs people admire.

  18. Hakkinen was actually a McLaren driver for “only” 9 years – as first a test driver in 1993 (replacing Andretti for the last 3 races), then racing continuously for 8 years from 1994-2001.

  19. Just came on here to find the new Home page is up. Looking good!

  20. DTM crash… Thanks to those guys who worked to make cars safe…

  21. Some people really need to keep their mouths shut …….. e.g. Brabbham and Mosely (even though the nazi whore monger has a point) Thanks, R & R

  22. going back to D’Ambrosio.. this guy went to the same high school as I did (well I was in middle school then).. so good luck to him! I think he was euro or world karting champion in 2002

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