Kubica has final operation on elbow

F1 Fanatic round-up

Posted on

| Written by

Thanks very much to everyone who watched me on “The Flying Lap” yesterday. I’ll post a video of the interview as soon as it’s available.

Here’s today’s round-up.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Update on Robert (Lotus Renault GP)

“As scheduled, Robert was back in surgery today as doctors at Santa Corona Hospital treated the complex fracture to his elbow.”

Alonso feared for injured star Kubica (CNN)

“It was not so clear he was going to survive. I tried to drive to the hospital to find out exactly what his injuries were,” before Alonso said he received more positive news. Now he is recovering well and we hope to see him back very soon in F1.”

Webber could stay at Red Bull in 2012, says Horner (Reuters)

“”Mark isn’t approaching this year that (as if) this is his final year. I think we both agreed to keep the contract on a yearly basis at this stage in his career because it’s important for us to see that he’s got the speed, the motivation, the hunger and commitment.”

The implications of the Gribkowsky affair (Autosport, subscription required)

“Now, though, Mosley is gone, and sources within the FIA indicate his successor Jean Todt is intent on restoring the FIA’s overall control of the rights. The Munich matter, plus CVC’s investigation – which is expected to be extremely thorough, given the standing of the commission’s members – could well provide Todt with the means of doing just that, possibly in conjunction with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund […] or the teams’ collective.”

McLaren Roll Hoop and Cooling Arrangement (ScarbsF1)

McLaren’s 2011 solution is to provide a dedicated feed for each of the different cooling requirements. The engines main coolers reside within the sidepod, fed by the "L" shaped inlets. These vent partly through the rear of the sidepod and partly through the bulge in the tail of the upper engine cover”

Video Games Awards Nominees in 2011 (BAFTA)

“F1 2010” has been nominated for a BAFTA award. Congratulations to everybody at Codemasters!

Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.

Comment of the day

Tomforpresident asks what happens next at Renault:

On one hand i would really like Heidfeld to do well, and shut up all the doubters. Never really been a huge Heidfeld fan but i think he is getting a lot of flak for no reason.

On the other hand, if he does do well, what happens when Kubica is fit to return?

Given the reports we are getting it looks unlikely that he will be better within the first half of the season, surely there is a point of no return if Heidfeld is consistently scoring points or heavens forbid fighting for the championship that they just wouldn’t bring Kubica back.

Is it a possibility he could steal Petrov’s seat if he under-performs? or is that complicated with him being a pay driver?
Tomforpresident

From the forum

Pinkeyed points out how you can cheer up Robert Kubica.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Steve_P83!

On this day in F1

On this day last year the news began to break that F1’s 13th team, US F1, wouldn’t be making the start of the season. The vacant slot they left on the grid has still not been filled.

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...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

80 comments on “Kubica has final operation on elbow”

  1. Can I just ask, what happened to the idea of banning tyre warmers??

    1. I think it was dropped on safety grounds…I don’t really see that it would have saved that much money anyway.

      1. clever decision IMO

        1. dumb idea in the first place

          1. Tyre warmers are probably the cheapest tool in an F1 garage.

            The teams already own them.

            The saving in energy by banning them would be microscopic.

            I can’t think of any other plausible reasons for banning them.

            But mostly, as Adrian says, for safety reasons.

        2. I disagree, it would have added another skill requirement for the drivers, the ability to heat the tyres up in the first place rather than just preserve them.

          1. That’s the element of skill that you think we’re missing in the current racing?

            Anyway, tyre warmers dont get the tyres up to full temps, they just get them into the bottom of the range so the cars dont just plough straight ahead in the first corner.

          2. @gdog thats not what Icthyes said. He said it would have added another skill requirement.

            And in that respect, I agree with him. Not entirely sure if it would produce better racing though, but it would provide a performance differential between cars that use their tyres hard or those that use them less so they last longer.

          3. I agree, look at other racing series where the tyres are not pre warmed, making a pitstop trickier for the driver (I would mean thinking about running starts again, would that be good?)

            Then again, maybe we now want to motivate them to take that stop and risk a bit of strategy.

    2. One of the issues was that Bridgestone couldn’t be bothered to produce a tyre that would be any faster than 8 or 9 seconds off the pace when not pre-warmed. If that had been rectified it might have been a viable proposition. Personally I’d have liked to have seen it, as others have said it would have required an extra skill to handle the tyres properly when cold.

  2. Given the reports we are getting it looks unlikely that he will be better within the first half of the season, surely there is a point of no return if Heidfeld is consistently scoring points or heavens forbid fighting for the championship that they just wouldn’t bring Kubica back.

    Is it a possibility he could steal Petrov’s seat if he under-performs? or is that complicated with him being a pay driver?

    If Heidfeld were to be a genuine championship contender – though I personally doubt he will – then it is unlikely that Renault would put Kubica back in the car, and they cannot replace Petrov unless Petrov underperforms. They will likely keep Kubica benched and have him resume his physiotherapy than stick him in the car. Unless Kubica is able to come back halway through the season, in which case it is unlikely Heidfeld will be in a position where he can easily win the championship.

    1. And how about for 2012 season? maybe if Nick do well (not WDC contender but maybe the occasional podium) he could take Petrov’s race seat, couldn’t he?

      1. Oh no, please no more Kubica-Heidfeld… I like them both but they simply don’t fit together in the same team…

        1. Why wouldn’t they make a good team? They’ve worked together at BMW so I see no reason to rule that out as a possibility.

          Again, it comes down to future results and if anyone on here knows the future please get hold of me… I’ve got some stock market questions to ask you.

          1. Why wouldn’t they make a good team?

            Kubica raced alongside the guy for years, but named Tonio Liuzzi as his preferred replacement.

          2. Well if I’d been outscored by Heidfeld 3 out of the 4 years we’d raced in the same car, I’d try and get a perennial underachiever like Liuzzi over the other side of the garage too.

          3. Looking back at their conflicts in Sauber gives me the right to predict that this time it wouldn’t be better…

            No stock market information, sry ;)

            @Feynman
            1. Dude, compare Heidfeld and Kubica’s experience in that period and then start posting comments.
            2. In 2006 Kubica raced only 6 times, so it’s quite obvious he was outscored by Heitfeld. 2007 was his first full season in F1 and as a rookie he lost only by 3 points to his colleague.

            So I am sorry, but your arguments are weak…

      2. He could take Kubica’s. If the Renault brass get the slightest whiff that RK is even 2% slower than Heidfeld, they’ll throw him out the door without so much as ‘goodbye’.

        F1 is a brutal business. Does anybody remember last winter, when Massa was given glowing press, and the Ferrari team waxed poetic about what a part of the family he was and how they were all in it together? Six months on, a hint of weakness, and Ferrari smacked him down to ‘hired help’ status and the press started running career obituaries.

        If you’re hurt as a driver, you’re not a threat, and everyone loves you. But once you’re well again? Your manager will throw you under the bus if you’re not commanding lucrative deals, your team will screw you to the wall at the slightest hint of weakness, and the other drivers will start sharpening the knives in preparation for the next silly season.

        It was ever thus.

      3. And how about for 2012 season? maybe if Nick do well (not WDC contender but maybe the occasional podium) he could take Petrov’s race seat, couldn’t he?

        Only if Petrov failed to meet the performance criteria. But even if he does, it’s unlikely Heidfeld would join the team – he’s been talking abut spearheading BMW’s 2012 DTM campaign.

        And with Kubica being forced out, it’s likely the performance clause in Petrov’s contract will default to a statement that says he must score a certain amount of points to retain the seat, not that he must score a certain percentage of his team-mate’s points.

    2. It would all come down to what Robert’s employment contract says and what Nick’s contract says.

    3. Think the fact is anything is possible guys. If you told me 3 years ago that Jenson Button would be a World Champ and Mark Webber would be winning GPs I would have gone into a severe laughing fit.

      This Renault may just be a simply awesome car. We cannot confirm it, nor can we deny it however. And the reality these days is he with the best car, will win.

    4. The money to pay off Petrov/Russia for a third of the year might be less than the benefit to the Constructors’ Championship if Kubica comes in, in which every place means a lot of money.

    5. Surely Kubica would have a contract that says that if he is fit, he races.

      Pity contracts don’t mean anything in F1.

    6. Why are we talking as if Heidfeld could win the title.

      He’s never won a race in a team who hasn’t won since 2008.

      Sure he may be quick and could get points but WDC. Really?

      1. Agreed, I think some people need to recalibrate their brains and come back down to earth. If Nick Heidfeld wins the championship this year then I vow to go and live in a tribe in the Amazon

      2. Jenson Button went into 2009 with only 1 win with a team (Brawn/Honda) that hadn’t won for the same amount of time.

        1. If Button could do it, Heidfeld could do it with ease. However, Button had a car that was way ahead of the field, which I dont think Heidfeld will have.

          1. Agreed. I think Heidfeld could do it if he had the same advantage Button had had. But he won’t. The top teams’ cars will likely be even more closely matched this season than last would be my guess.

        2. Yea you have to remember that brawn used the new regulations to their advantage by developing their car years before to throw the big teams off balance, the reg changes this year are tiny compared to 2008-2009.

  3. Webber sure will stay when he wipes Vettel this season….

    1. Thats the spirit

    2. I won’t hold my breath.

      1. Don’t forget he was leading the championship before the last race.

        1. *Don’t forgt he was leading Vettel going into the final round.

          Alonso was top.

          1. Correct. He was leading the championship before he drove into a wall in Korea.

    3. Well I remember during the 2009 I was thinking “if Webber doesn’t win the title this year he never will”, only for him to lead the championship most of last season. Considering Red Bull should be fast again this year, Webber should be a title contender again.

      1. Just needs to not fall off his bike…

        1. …and find a couple of tenths in quali

          1. TheRacingCoconut
            17th February 2011, 8:23

            Doesn’t he ever. He was always such a great talent in qualifying. I remember him sticking a Jaguar on the front row in Malaysia. Vettel must be something pretty special over a single lap.

          2. not tenths.. hundredths

            I think the average difference between the two was about half a tenth or about 5 hundredths….

            Shouldn’t matter too mucyh anyway this year as with the wing if you’re behind (like Webber in Mayalsia after taking pole then having a bad astart or say in Spa), then you can just use the wing to pass.

          3. If we were to go by what Fernando says, the wing wont make that much of a difference. It can only be used for 600m on a straight, so I wouldn’t count on it if I were Mark.

  4. In other news, Lewis Hamilton’s little brother is becoming a racing driver too. I’ve got an ideal “welcome wagon” present for him too – a signed Ralf Schumacher Toyota F1 shirt!

    1. The catch being, Nicolas Hamilton is disabled, so getting someone to prepare a car for him is actually quite an achievement.

      1. I had no idea he was disabled, so it appears I’m both unfunny and a prat. (news to nobody, I’m sure.)

        The beeb report that he has Cerebral Palsy – that’s going to be some challenge to overcome to go racing. Zanardi has certainly shown what can be done with building a car for the disabled but I live with someone who has CP and I’m at a loss how this is going to go. Good luck to him anyway.

  5. “Now, though, Mosley is gone, and sources within the FIA indicate his successor Jean Todt is intent on restoring the FIA’s overall control of the rights. The Munich matter, plus CVC’s investigation – which is expected to be extremely thorough, given the standing of the commission’s members – could well provide Todt with the means of doing just that, possibly in conjunction with Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund […] or the teams’ collective”

    This, this could be a turn up for the books!

    So far, F1 is charing ever greater sanctioning fees, to allow CVC to recoup its investment, and whilst it is driving F1 into new markets – only a good thing – the fact is that its pricing iteslf out of its identity. If Todt can wrest back the rights to F1, it could mean an end to ridiculous yearly fee hikes, and high ticket prices.

    Maybe Bernie has finally made a dodgy deal too far.

    1. Please let it be true!

      1. Be careful what you wish for, the FIA are just as capable of pulling tricks for their own benefit. Look what UEFA did with the selection of France to host Euro 2016.

        1. True. Some might say better the devil you know. But I think Bernie and his CVC cronies have had their time.

        2. PS. Is that Patrese on your gravatar?

          1. That’s the Rothmans livery, so it can’t be. I think Icthyes has said before it’s Damon Hill

          2. I am sure Hill drove with ‘0’.

    2. From F1 to world governments, I believe we are seeing some weeding going on. Without true revolution however, I do not see anything changing dramatically. When people wrest power from the over-powering themselves, then real change may occur.

      I still expect that Spa and Melbourne are not on the calendar within a year or two. The saddest part of our indifference!

      1. I am afraid you might well be right about that.
        Only thing we can hope for, is the circuits replacing them are at least pretty good.
        Real shame about Spa especially, but not much we can do apart from hoping for a change in attetude towards these tracks.

        1. Well, one way would be to start a publicised boycott of a the oil-money venues by simply not watching the races held there and getting many, many, many people everywhere to do the same a couple of years in a row and making sure F1 knows about it. Easier said than done, of course.

          1. At least we have twitter and facebook and blogs to do the job.

            If people in Egypt, Bahrain, Tunesia and Iran manage, whe should be able to get some thousends to ignore these races?

            Not too sure, weather I would be able to manage not watching the races (even if Bahrain and Abu Dhabi are harldly the best races in the season, China often gives at least some exitement)

          2. People may feel strongly enough about the events in the Middle East to do something about it, but I don’t think any non-Fanatics give a monkeys about where the races are held

          3. Whether i watch the race or not it will make no difference because no one knows if i watched it. So all we have to do is convince the selected few that have those little TV viewing machines under their TV set to go and watch those races in a friends house or a pub.
            Surely that’s not too much of a sacrifice.

  6. I can’t read the Autosport article, but it sounds from that one paragraph as though Todt might use potential legal troubles to regain the commercial rights of F1 for the FIA? Interesting.

  7. You were great on TFL. Seemed like you’ve been doing it for years and years. How does it feel to be a celebrity? Good to see you chumming with Peter and Neale.
    Now, find out where the dad-gum exhaust is. You said your photographer took some “cracking good” pictures. No. Your photographer needs to take his digital camera off “automatic” and purposely overexpose some closeup pics of the lower rear of the McLaren so you can really see what’s going on. They’re using flat black paint which won’t show up on properly exposed pics.

    1. What f1aroo says, in spades.

      I don’t know what the problem has been, but in a year when everyone is hunting exhausts, double floors and diffuser channels … all we ever see are point and shoot, mid-exposed, auto-matrix metered shots.

      Someone throw us all a bone, we’re gasping over here. Stick it on spot-metering, expose for the deep shadows, blow-out the rest of the frame, and let us begin to see what’s what without having to pointlessly grub about in the sensor noise-floor and JPEG artifacts from brightened and gamma’d web-shots.

      Bonus points, maybe even fire in some directional off-camera flash to better differentiate angles and curves in shint black carbon fibre.

      C’mon boys, wakey, wakey. You’re carting around some of the finest digital image sensors photography has yet produced, at least try and meet them half way, wind them open a bit.

      1. shint = shiny

  8. You can publish a game in beta state, take money for it and get BAFTA nomination – somethings wrong here…
    (I know Codemasters can do good or even great games, but it takes them two attempts lately – vide Dirt and Dirt 2, it looks like they may do proper F1 game with F1 2011).

    1. I’m with you here – no way should that broken, unusable travesty be up for any kind of award.

      How a official F1 game can somehow not use official timing – or any kind of qualifying is beyond me.

      1. ‘or any kind of qualifying is beyond me.’

        huh?

      2. ‘Unusable’

        I love how obsessives about something lose all sense of proportion when a game about their passion doesn’t match up to their expectations!

  9. Michael Griffin
    17th February 2011, 1:29

    Frankly I’m stunned that a game so full of bugs, not using official timing, not having an in-game save option, taking a huge step backwards from previous games in the series, and still in all honesty not repaired to a decent standard, can get a BAFTA nomination.

    Might give it a go myself.

  10. Regarding F1 2010, are you talking about the PC version or a specific console version?

    On PS3 the only real problems I encounter are 1. I lose about 10 places in a pit-stop scenario even when I come in ahead of the pack, and. 2. Twice now I’ve accidentally signed a contract with the wrong team and there is no option to go back… it would be nice if they asked, as PS3 does, “are you sure… you just signed up to driver for Virgin again; do you hate yourself?”

    The game is much better than I expected from Codemasters. The tracks are much more accurate compared to Championship Edition and the tires really do fall off as you lap. There are areas that I would change, but its physics seem much better than the goofy Gran Turismo line.

    One last thing I would like to share: Wouldn’t it be nice if they could send Online Content packages that would simply update livery to the cars for 2011 for a reasonable price? Say $10USD or so. I only say this because it gets annoying to see an F1 game released only every 5 years or so and being stuck driving against retired drivers or non-existent teams. Downloadable updates seem to be the future and I would like to get more support for the petition on the correct forums.

    1. They are releasing F1 2011 later this year.

      It must be a pretty light field if F1 2010 is nominated with all the problems it’s had.

    2. For the Pit-Stop problem: set the pit-stop strategy one lap earlier than reccomended – that should help

  11. I was expecting this to be posted in the round-up, but it wasn’t, so:

    http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/89489

  12. Its my birthday too! :)

    1. Happy birthday to you and to Steve_P83 as well.

    2. Happy birthday to you and Steve_P83.
      It is my birthday too ;-)

      1. In that case, happy day to you as well Nillionaire!
        I am glad you share some of your wealth with us on this day :-P

  13. Will Buxton is currently in Bahrain to cover the GP2. Here he gives his first hand view on the state of things: http://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/a-view-from-inside-bahrain/

    1. Now added to that with an update confirming the GP2 running was postponed to tomorrow, as the medical team stays on standby in the city to react to the situation there.

  14. I just rewatched that TFL interview Keith.
    (available at http://smibs.tv/the-flying-lap/mclaren-f1fanatic).

    Really great show, Windsor really got a nice show going with great guests and interaction. I really liked your questions for Neal as well.

  15. This is a nice video of Robert Kubica playing Richard Burns’ Rally:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u_yXDL-PJk

  16. First documentary about Robert’s accident. Lots of english. eyewitness.
    part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa2Ozmkk_oE
    part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7P4rpRueJ0&feature=related

  17. I think the biggest question regarding the full recovery of Kubica is whether or not he will recover the sense of touch in his hand. Without it, I don’t see how he could drive.

Comments are closed.