F1 Fanatic

In the round-up: Adrian Newey says F1′s technical rules leaves designers with too little freedom.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Current regulations stifle creativity – Newey (ESPN)

“I think it is a shame that they are so tight in a way, there’s no doubt that it stifles some of the creativity. But that’s the world we live in. It would be fantastic to not have them, but with the size and resources of the teams an arms war would result which would means a tremendous leap in performance for the cars.”

F1 Owners Eye Huge Payout (Sky)

“The owners of Formula One (F1) motor racing are plotting to pay themselves a windfall worth hundreds of millions of pounds as part of a refinancing that would load the business with more debt.”

“First Alonso should win the title, then we won’t hire a team mate who bothers him” (James Allen on F1)

Luca di Montezemolo: “[Fernando Alonso is] right that there aren’t any ‘phenomenons’ in circulation. But first Fernando should win the world title and then we will certainly not put anyone alongside him who would bother him.”

Whitmarsh: Perez ‘no apprentice’ at McLaren (F1)

“I don’t see why – if we give him a good enough car – he can’t turn up at the first race in Australia vying for a win.”

Local firms to bid for Istanbul F1 track (Hurriyet Daily News)

“Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone is also interested in the plot, sources said, adding that while he had not yet obtained the tender specifications, he was looking at doing so.”

Fifty years celebrated in a special way (Ferrari)

Ferrari chief mechanic Francesco Uguzzoni: “The worst was Singapore 2008, the race in which there were problems with the refuelling on Felipe’s car. It was a very difficult moment and I will never stop thanking Ferrari for having supported me and shown confidence in me: it’s not by chance that I still have the same role of supervising the pit stops: and in that respect one can see the difference with the other teams.”

Hamilton cuts his ties with the team that made him (Unibet)

My new article for Unibet.

Tweets

@cosworth A real dilemma. Love Suzuka but @bloodhound_ssc in Cornwall would have been quite a spectacle. Good luck from @marussia_f1team!

— Marussia F1 Team (@Marussia_F1Team) October 3, 2012

Getting used to the Japanese timezone over the last few days,awake night and day but sleeping mornings & evenings Almost ready for the race!

— Heikki Kovalainen (@H_Kovalainen) October 3, 2012

Also like Eau Rouge, most drivers now say 130R is taken flat & it’s not the test it used to be, but they still smile when they talk about it

— Caterham F1 Team (@MyCaterhamF1) October 3, 2012

Look! Mr. Di Montezemolo, I won’t bother Fernando at all for 2013. As I told you, I am ready.

— Taki Inoue (@takiinoue) October 3, 2012

Comment of the day

@Kingshark is worried about how the championship is going to be decided:

As a Ferrari fan I really hope Alonso can wrap up the championship in USA. I don’t think my heart can take another title-deciding season finale after what happened in Brazil 2008 and Abu Dhabi 2010.
@Kingshark

From the forum

• Which ten F1 races do you want live on the BBC in 2013?
• Robert Kubica is aiming to do a season of competition in 2013
• Do you support a driver or a team?

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Iceshiel and StrFerrari4Ever!

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 1967 world champion Denny Hulme died 20 years ago today.

Hulme was competing in the 1992 Bathurst 1000, driving a BMW M3, when he suffered a heart attack.

Image © Red Bull/Getty images