Red Bull, Sauber and Toro Rosso car launches today
F1 Fanatic round-up
Red Bull RB7, 2011
Three more F1 cars will be launched today by Red Bull, Sauber and Toro Rosso.
Sauber are up first and will reveal the C31 at 10am. World champions Red Bull will show off the RB8 at 1pm and their young driver team Toro Rosso will follow at 4:30pm (all times UK time).
Links
Alonso glad Ferrari went radical (Autosport)
“I like the innovative ideas that the car has. I think all Ferraris are beautiful cars. I don’t remember any Ferrari that is ugly or any Ferrari that you don’t like. The red colour and the passion of each car that Ferrari does make the car beautiful anyway.”
Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.
Comment of the day
Lotus was prettier last year only it was a Renault as the Lotus last year was ugly but not as bad as the Lotus this year which is Caterham wait, I’ve confused myself-what car is this?
Steph
Site updates
A change of priorities at F1 Fanatic
For the past two years F1 Fanatic has been my sole line of work. It’s been terrifically rewarding to see how much the site has grown and I am very grateful to everyone who has contributed to it in that time.
However declining revenues from the site mean this year I will have to take on other projects and income streams. Naturally, this is going to require some changes in how the site is run and how much time I am able to put into it.
This does not mean the site is going to be closed or parts of it are going to be taken down. But it will means a change in priorities.
I intend to focus more on publishing original content and continuing to develop and expand the wonderful community of motor racing fans we have on the site. However the day-to-day news agenda will account for less of the new material on the site, and nor will I be able to spend money and time covering events in person, at least not those outside the UK.
Polls, quizzes, the daily round-up, statistics, comment of the day, the Predictions Championship, opinions pieces, picture galleries, reviews, caption competitions, race weekend analysis – all these and more F1 Fanatic favourites will continue to appear here.
And of course the site will continue to grow and be developed – indeed, the next version of the site’s layout already in development, which contains some useful new features. I intend to deploy it before the start of the new season, and I hope we can all enjoy it and another exciting season of Formula 1 together.
From the forum
- More idea for what theme Sky should use in place of “The Chain”?
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Chris Gordon-Smith, charlieshan and Motor_mad!
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 F1 world was stunned one year ago today by the news Robert Kubica had been seriously injured following a crash in a rally in Italy. It remains to be seen if and when he will be able to return to the sport:
Magnificent Geoffrey (@magnificent-geoffrey) said on 6th February 2012, 0:05
Of course Sauber launch their car when I’m out and can’t watch! :(
sato113 (@sato113) said on 6th February 2012, 0:17
they’re not doing a live stream anyway. are they?
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 6th February 2012, 2:42
Of course three teams launch their car when I have no internet access for 24-ish hours (I’m coming to you live from the local library!).
Scalextric said on 6th February 2012, 5:04
Of course 3 teams launch their car when I’m moving across a continent. Luckily I have enough patience to wait until I get to my destination. I’m think these launches are substantially less interesting than the pre-season practices. Which in turn are less interesting than FP1 at the first GP. And so forth. But it’s all we’ve got in these loooong winter months.
Wonderduck (@wonderduck) said on 6th February 2012, 6:47
Of course three teams launch their cars when I’m dead.
I got better.
Dobin1000 (@dobin1000) said on 6th February 2012, 10:24
I bet someone launches their car after the heat death of the universe…
cjpdk (@cjpdk) said on 7th February 2012, 20:50
Of course three teams launch their cars when all of reality has dissolved and time has stopped.
Dammit
Enigma (@enigma) said on 6th February 2012, 5:27
Of course three teams launch their car when I’m home for the whole day!
Txizzle (@txizzle) said on 6th February 2012, 11:19
of course 3 teams launch when i’m……….*wait for it*………….*almost there*…………at home all day long, so I won’t have to miss thing! :P
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65) said on 6th February 2012, 0:06
Sad to hear about your situation with the site, Keith.
Wish the next updates make it for you, and you can spend as much time as in the past two years.
I guess we will notice the difference because you put so much effort into F1F every day. But this is still the best site out there for me, so I’ll still stick with you!
Best wishes in your new (parallel?) projects!
Victor. (@victor) said on 6th February 2012, 1:08
Indeed, sad to hear. Difficult times. The site has been (and I suspect it still will be) great. Good luck to you though :)
Victor. (@victor) said on 6th February 2012, 1:09
This sounds a little bit like a farewell, which it wasn’t meant to!
Dusty in California said on 6th February 2012, 4:27
Is it possible to support the site as a patron? I understand that advertising will likely be the bulk of the income, but I’d still like to contribute.
graham228221 (@graham228221) said on 6th February 2012, 6:04
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/contribute-f1-fanatic/donate/
MaroonJack (@maroonjack) said on 6th February 2012, 7:56
I respect the fact that Keith is not asking for donations, but this link really should be featured in today’s round-up. Especially if the site has some troubles.
Also, I think that the site should feature a prominent “donate button” and something like “this website is made possible by your contributions”. Some forms of encouragement would also be nice (like a minor monthly award for a random contributor).
verstappen (@verstappen) said on 6th February 2012, 7:47
Keith, you’re doing a marvellous job! It’s a shame you can’t continue fulltime, but not entirely unexpected. Because these are hard times indeed.
A long time ago, I was part of the voluntary crew of a dutch F1 site. Now, I can’t commit myself to regular writing, but maybe others can. Using volunteers will mean that the quality suffers à bit, but it might be the way to offer news and make people return à few times per day to the site. Just an idea.
dennis (@dennis) said on 6th February 2012, 7:56
Agreed. Really a shame to hear this. Especially since there really is no other F1 news site as good as this.
kenneth Ntulume said on 6th February 2012, 9:51
Just want to say Keith that we appreciate your time and effort in ensuring a steady supply of great f1 content, I wish u success in your other projects, that you will embark on as well, We continue to pray for you, and we pledge to support in whichever way we can, the survival and growth of this great site
sam3110 (@sam3110) said on 6th February 2012, 0:11
I hope Sauber can bring a more defined identity to the grid this year, the livery has been pretty uninspiring and the sponsors seem a little bit ‘slapped on’. I also can’t wait to see the RBR as there will be some interesting interpretaions of the rules from Newey!
Toro Rosso will also be interesting, as they had the double floor last year and have been looking for additional sponsorship to help cut expenditure, and this may influence the livery slightly. I liked the addition of red from Cespa later on in the season, and hope to see more changes away from the RBR livery
Carlitox (@carlitox) said on 6th February 2012, 0:17
Well, there’s a sneak pic that shows the car with more blue parts, I think they’re having a nice livery this year, let’s se how’s the stepped-nose is like.
However, I’ll always mantain that I loved last year’s Sauber.
matt90 (@matt90) said on 6th February 2012, 0:15
It’s very unfortunate that as the site has really cemented itself as just about the best free F1 news site it’s become unsustainable. Good luck in whatever else you do @Keith-collantine!
matt90 (@matt90) said on 6th February 2012, 0:26
@keithcollantine
George (@george) said on 6th February 2012, 17:29
I wonder if an edit button will be part of the new version? ;)
Jake (@jleigh) said on 6th February 2012, 0:21
looking forward to the launches. Really excited about the new season now, I have just re-watched this years Canadian GP which I had recorded and it still makes my hairs stand on end at the end.
Really sad to hear about the site situation Keith, but the site is so good that I’m sure it will remain my main F1 site of choice.
Jake (@jleigh) said on 6th February 2012, 0:38
oh and loved the COTD, knew it would be the second I saw it
Cole (@cole) said on 6th February 2012, 0:29
Thank you very much for the effort you put in the site Keith!
It`s clear to all, and that`s why we all love it.
No many places you can find as many news per day, beside the newspapers!
Best sports site in the web wether F1 related or not!
Plenty of success with your other commitment!
We owe you part of our passion.
Scalextric said on 6th February 2012, 5:07
Well said. This site has re-kindled my enjoyment of F1.
Julian (@julian) said on 6th February 2012, 0:31
I’m just glad a team who said they were going to produce a radical/aggressive car finally did produce a radical/aggressive car.
snowman (@snowman) said on 6th February 2012, 0:44
Dunno if I am on my own here but dropping the day to day news to concentrate more on original content seems an excellent idea even if the income stream didn’t require it. Good luck with the new direction Keith.
xeroxpt (@ukfanatic) said on 6th February 2012, 0:45
cant you just put more publicity ? do you earn more for visits or clicks or both ?
Cornflakes (@cornflakes) said on 6th February 2012, 0:52
:( I admire your work ethic Keith. Keep up the good work as much as you can, and I’ll always be reading. Also got a few mates onto your website, and they’re just as hooked as me.
Mach1 (@mach1) said on 6th February 2012, 1:12
@keithcollantine – Sorry to hear about site revenue. I never got so hooked onto F1 until I began frequenting this site, and now a day rarely goes by without a visit.
Just to let you know yours is one of the few sites where I turn all my ad-blockers off. Anytime I have to buy stuff on Amazon – I do it via f1fanatic, and I do not do that for any other purchases I make. Great Site, hope your plans work out.
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders) said on 6th February 2012, 1:31
Fine by me! The former is the reason I visit this site. To be honest I rarely bother reading straight news stories and driver quotes on here, I go to Autosport for that
sato113 (@sato113) said on 6th February 2012, 2:35
my thoughts exactly!
xeroxpt (@ukfanatic) said on 6th February 2012, 2:46
yes me too, but this also means that Keith wont be able to give us that special insight that im sure he enjoys alot.
TheBrav3 said on 6th February 2012, 4:23
Sounds like a great idea! I’ve long thought you’re far to generous in aiding amoeba brained tabloid journalists generate hits. Can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Steph (@steph) said on 6th February 2012, 15:30
Agree Ned, I’m just sorry that Keith’s having to look for other projects but I believe the site will stay as good as ever.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley) said on 6th February 2012, 2:47
It’s unfortunate to hear that you’re in this position Keith, but I firmly believe this won’t affect the site’s popularity in the slightest. The opinion pieces and statistics articles are the most popular features on this site, and you only have to look at the number of comments to see that. Of course, some of the major breaking news articles (Sky’s takeover from the BBC springs to mind) get an amazing response in the comments section, but I assume you’ll continue to publish the major events, but focus less on the smaller articles; such as team reviews after each weekend. Would I be correct?
Fixy (@fixy) said on 6th February 2012, 15:07
I understand your problems @keithcollantine . This site is really amazing but you don’t have the resources to concentrate uniquely on this, and I know that although you will have less time to spend on improving the site and its content you will continue with the same passion as before, which is the reason why you created this website. You have given a home to all Formula 1 fans for years and the content on here is amazing both in quality and in quantity.
I wish you all the best luck in your new activity/job!
Michael Horwitz said on 6th February 2012, 3:24
I’m sure I don’t speak only for myself, but I would gladly Subscribe to your site for $20 per year; the math is easy from there. Thanks for offering the best home for F1 fans like me.
F1Yankee (@f1yankee) said on 6th February 2012, 3:27
i’m sorry this isn’t quite working out for you. a man’s gotta do what a man’s got to do. this remains the best, and my favorite, motorsports website by a mile.