Ecclestone: HRT buyers Scorpion “too late” for 2013

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In the round-up: Bernie Ecclestone says the group attempting to take over HRT are unlikely to get a place on the F1 grid in 2013.

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Scorpion move ‘too late’ – Ecclestone (Sporting Life)

“They want to buy all the bits from HRT, then form a company and ask for an entry, but I personally don’t think it will happen. It’s all a bit too late. Maybe they could do it for next year.”

Allison will remain with Lotus – Boullier (Autosport)

“It’s up to him, but my understanding is that definitely in 2013 he will be with us.”

Mark Webber on Lance Armstrong friendship, cancer and life ban (BBC)

“Red Bull Racing had gone out of their way to meet all his demands, which were not inconsiderable, and had everything laid on, but he failed to show without a word of an apology. I thought it was very poor form and I was disappointed.”

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https://twitter.com/PaulHembery/status/296241806209859584

Comment of the day

Not everyone finds Kimi Raikkonen hysterical:

Everybody seems to love Kimi’s attitude but I’m just going to put this out there, and I might be the only one that thinks this, but I think the guy is just plain rude.

His comments on the team radio during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix? I tell you something if I was his race engineer I wouldn’t have been very happy with him at all. To me those comments sound very ungrateful, at the end of the day that team employs him, and no matter how fast he is surely he’s got to show some respect.

I think he’s lucky that everybody finds his rudeness and supposed ‘personality’ funny and I’m the odd one out. I mean the team even made his comments from that race into T-shirts? I’m sorry guys I just can’t see the funny side of it.
@Rob-Wilson

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On this day in F1

Controlling costs in Formula One has been a focus of discussion for several years. One proposal which has come up several ideas is the idea of introducing a budget cap.

Five years ago Nick Fry, then CEO of Honda’s F1 team, said a budget cap was a “logical” solution to the problem. Despite the passage of five years and the withdrawal of Honda at the end of 2008, followed by two more teams the year after, there remains no long-term solution to the problem of controlling costs.

While a budget cap may seem like a simple solution, it seems unlikely a plan for adequately policing the teams’ spending could be found.

Image © HRT F1 Team

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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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138 comments on “Ecclestone: HRT buyers Scorpion “too late” for 2013”

  1. I’m sorry but I disagree with the COTD but that is just my opinion, Kimi is an experienced driver, I think he knows when to warm his tyres and brakes etc, and as he has said if he wants to know something he would ask, otherwise he just likes being left to himself, but that is just the character Kimi is.

    Webber’s column is a very interesting one to read, and probably reflects the views on a lot of cycling fans currently, and there was a nice bit down the side on drugs in F1, something that’s rarely brought up.

    In regards to Scorpion, a year to prepare would do them good IMO, especially if they are in for the long haul, otherwise they will more than likely struggle, especially as they have no drivers, personnel etc.

    Meanwhile, should RoGro struggle this season, he could always take up photography, he managed to get an angle of that Lotus in which it looks good!

    1. Kimi is an experienced driver, I think he knows when to warm his tyres and brakes etc, and as he has said if he wants to know something he would ask, otherwise he just likes being left to himself, but that is just the character Kimi is.

      That’s no excuse for rudeness.

      1. @prisoner-monkeys If you were leading the race with several of the best drivers in the world driving faster cars behind you, I don’t think you’d be in the mood for getting advice about something you don’t even need to think about.

        1. you think you don’t even need to think about.

      2. How about being in the middle of a job which is high pressure and requires great concentration?

        1. I’ve been there and done that. It didn’t require any extra effort to be polite.

          1. You dare to do the dastardly crime of comparing yourself to a GP driver.

          2. Let’s see: it’s the day after the staff Christmas party. Everyone except you is still drunk, a truckload of stock just arrived and needs to be unloaded, it’s forty degrees outside, customers are pushing and shoving trying to get to the freshest stock first (and there are so many of them that there is barely room to stand), and your boss has just started complaining about shooting pains in his left arm.

            Yeah, I know what it’s like to be in a high pressure job that requires great concentration. Even if I’m not a Formula 1 driver.

          3. lmao! @prisonermonkeys Yeah beacuse its sooooooo much harder working in a shop than being an F1 driver! Bet you get paid more than they do to.

          4. Again, I was the only sober staff member in the store on a sweltering-hot day while throngs of busy crowds were pushing and shoving one another and the boss was having a heart attack. I suggest you go back and read matt90’s original question:

            How about being in the middle of a job which is high pressure and requires great concentration?

            I’d say everything I just described was high pressure and required great concentration.

          5. Not to the extent that a split-second break in concentration can cost you your entire days work.

          6. Oh come on @prisoner-monkeys. While at times I find the majority of your comments and views interesting to read, there’s this high and almighty arrogance going on, which for me I find at times quite rude.

            Comparing your “stressful” situation to what Kimi deals with, is like comparing the stress of going for a job interview to the stress of being a hostage negotiator with civilians lives at risk.

          7. @dphect – Oh, so because I’m not a Formula 1 driver, I can’t possibly know what Raikkonen was experiencing at the time, and therefore his rudeness is justified?

            I don’t buy that. There is no excuse for what he did, and people are wrong to celebrate him as having “character” because of it.

          8. While I am not completely sure the situation you describe compares to driving an F1 race for about 2 hours for level of concentration, the pressure would have been comparable or even worse four you @prisoner-monkeys. For me such situations, when they continue for a longer time at least, make politeless harder to do, but on the other hand, experience with a situation makes it easier to deal with it, and I would say that Kimi certainly has enough of that to be able to cope reasonably well :-)
            The notion that its not comparable to each other is wrong @dphect, @brawngp, these kind of experiences are comparable enough for one to be able to imagine the situation, even to the extent where companies regularly bring about what PM describes to assess new people for how they do cope with stress. Not the same, but comparable enough to do the job.

          9. @prisoner-monkeys, what you fail to realize is that KR probably IS drunk when he does this, so his stress totally trumps yours :-)

            Anyway, I dont think anyone can compare stocking a shop to driving at 180+mph in a multi-million dollar car with even more millions behind it. If you watch the eyes at night races, these guys dont even blink.

            I work on machines where simple mistakes can cost millions in physical losses, even more in damage to corporate image, and Ive seen people make them, but 45mins of F1 video games is about all I can take before I need a break.

            And in any event, I dont see the big deal in what Kimi said, and I dont see it as rude. He didnt threaten the guys mother, or insult his wife. This is F1, not the “Happy FunTime Camp for Simple Children”. If one gets “butt-hurt” with something so simple as “leave me alone…” then one should probably explore other opportunities. The Driver is the captain of the ship when it is in motion. DON’T QUESTION.

          10. Some of the commentators are reading too much into a couple of radio messages and missing the big picture. It’s like someone heard 30 seconds of your argument with a friend and then told you for six months that they know everything about your personality and how you treat your friends.

            First of all, drivers often try to keep their radio messages short. Saying stuff like “pardon me, but could you please use little less team radio, because I need 100% focus on driving to win this race and I’m well aware what I’m supposed to do, because you – as my race enginer – briefed me so well before the race. I know you’re just trying to do your job, but I hope you understand. If you have any bad feelings about this, we can talk about it after the race” it would’ve taken half a lap.

            Secondly, there probably was some shorter way for Kimi to say that he’d appreciate a little bit less team radio, but should we really condemn Kimi for a couple of wrong words he chose under pressure? Kimi and his engineer probably talked about this after the race. Or then they didn’t, but we don’t know the truth. Neither do we know whether Kimi had already said in a nicer way that he didn’t want any more radio – he had to say it at least twice anyway.

            Now I’m just waiting the “yes, but I’ve heard that his race engineer left, because Kimi is so rude!” It really seems that some people lose their ability to be rational when it comes to Räikkönen and then post tens of comments in a day that say Kimi is a rude person, like it’ll become a truth if they say it enough many times. Kimi probably offended them by wearing green sneakers or something like that.

      3. Agreed. All the engineer was doing was assisting Kimi in maintaining the Lotus in an optimal operating state. Blasting someone for doing that their job, isn’t what I call acceptable no matter what kind of pressure you are experiencing.

          1. So, what would an acceptable response from Kimi have been, to pull over, get the engineer to a Couple’s Therapist, and start talking about their feelings? I can see it now…

            Race Engineer: “Why dont you listen to me, sometimes I feel you dont respect me”

            KR: Silent

            Therapist: “Come on Kimi, we need you to open up”

            KR: Silent

            Race Engineer: “See, he just shuts me out, never tells me his real feelings, I cant go on with this relationship with such a heartless person.”

            Therapist: “Kimi, we really need a reaction here, come on, lets work together and bring this to a healing resolution for everyone”

            KR: Stands up, uncorks and pounds full bottle of Finlandia, smashes it on the ground, back-hand slaps the Race Engineer and busts the Therapists nose with a crushing jab, blood flies everywhere.

            KR: Screaming “Here Ya go Bioches, Hows that reaction for ya? You woke the beast and now you got em. Happy, ARE YOU HAPPY NOW? Got anything else to say? I told you, I know what Im doing, do you damn well better leave me alone. ”
            Kimi Storms Out…

            Race Engineer: Quivering in the corner “I deserved that. Its my fault he gets so mad, He is right, I should treat him better.”

            Based on some of the comments in this thread, one could assume my fictional story was indeed, not fiction.

        1. I disagree, to me it was constant nagging just like a back seat driver, Kimis response may have been curt (he had a lot of other things to concentrate on) but it was hardly rude, you would think he had told them to EF off the way people go on about it.

          1. I’m with @hohum on this one: it wasn’t the one radio message that Kimi received, it was several. Towards the end he was just trying to silence his engineer because he needed to concentrate for the re-start, and having someone nagging in your ear makes you lose focus.

          2. Yes, I’m in agreement with @hohum on this, as well. I was starting to think I remembered wrong, and maybe Kimi had leaped from his car and started physically attacking his engineer or something, judging from the way some people here have been talking about it. The way I remember it, he was terse and seemed irritated. I’m glad I don’t catch **** every time I sound that way at work!

      4. I Love the Pope
        30th January 2013, 5:31

        Is rudeness a crime? Is it even “rudeness” anyway? Who defines it?

        1. This is the crux of the matter really. I don’t think it was too out of order given the pressure cooker environment. Also, for all we know the engineer might have been reminding him about his tyres after every sector which would have been rather irritating. Kimi was firm but for all we know it was not undue. Kimi is pretty laid back usually and seems pretty hard to rattle so I suspect the team had been overdoing the radio messages a bit in their desperation not to chuck a win away by letting the tyres go sub optimal. Hence the content of his reply which was something along the lines of “ok, ok leave me alone I’m doing it all the time you don’t need to remind me every 5 seconds” as I recall. At the end of the day, Raikonen is a safe pair of hands and can be relied on to do the job without being spoon fed which to me is what the team appear to have been doing.

      5. Rude? I think today race engineers intervene too much, they are annoying. Kimi is oldschool racer and he doesn’t need advice every lap.

      6. Really, no excuse? Sorry, but sometimes there’s just no time to be polite. If you need to concentrate and what you’re doing is time critical, then taking the time to politely wait for the other person to finish and then explain to them that you can’t talk right now is going to screw you up. Martin Brundle has said repeatedly on commentary that those messages would have distracted him. Some drivers are going to be like that. Surely KR’s race engineer knows he’s this type of driver, and wouldn’t interrupt him unless he had something important to say. Well, in this case he’s mentioned fairly obvious things, to me that’s rude. And it’s fair enough to be rude when someone is being rude to you.

      7. Sviatoslav Andrushko (@)
        30th January 2013, 10:49

        People, why do you have problem with this? Kimi was rude, Fernando was rude, Lewis was rude.
        I understand that this is preseason, no testing, there is almoust nothing to talk about. But what the point of this “debates”?
        I remember there was an interview with Ferrari race-engineers Smedley and Stella. There were asked whether thay said smth rude, obscene or insulting to their drivers. Both of them acknowledged.
        Spa-2011, for instance?
        “…., Felipe!!!!” – Rob Smedley on situation, when Alonso plus Hamilton overtook Massa.

        1. Sviatoslav Andrushko (@)
          30th January 2013, 10:52

          thEy*

      8. why not? why should F1 drivers be polite when talking to their engineers? i think the political correctness nowadays is going too far. finally when we have some interesting and honest radio communication people start complaining. you cant have it both ways. you want a driver to be super fast and take risks but you want him to be polite while doing it.

        whats wrong with what he said? he didn’t use swear words. and if your “polite” argument is that he hurt the engineers feelings, than that’s just laughable.

        1. Exactly, they all do it regularly. It’s inevitable. Hamilton often bemoaned the Mclaren stategies over the radio. I also recall Jenson saying “how can this car be this bad” over the radio during the 2009 British Grand Prix. Not exactly rousing and this from a guy his renowned for his team spirit and ability to unite the garage. It’s clear the off season is too long for some people so they start to complain about ridiculous things. I have to say the PMs comparison between his work pressure and that of Kimi’s is rather like someone who can use google calling himself a hacker. Totally unreasonable.

    2. Sir I must say @craig-o, I enjoy the way you post, not only do you attack all the articles in one post but you have some good dialouge.

    3. I agree with you @craig-o. Even after that incident his engineer acknowledged that Kimi doesn’t like radio chatter. I mean really, if you’re driving at 200mph I would think a little quiet so you can concentrate is not too much to ask. Nonetheless he is the Dennis Rodman of F1. But it would be a lot less interesting without a few characters. Besides, they aren’t diplomats, they’re drivers.

    4. Alonso and Hamilton have both asked over the radio to be left alone in the past couple of years, so I don’t even see it as unusual to be honest. Kimi has a generally rather blunt manner, but he’s obviously popular among the other drivers and within the Lotus team so I doubt they find him rude or difficult.

      1. Alonso said in the 2010 Australian GP when A.Stella told him that Hamilton was 3s behind him “Ok I don’t want to know ” and in the 2010 British GP when he race was compromised with the drive through penalty “No more Radio for the rest of the race”,
        In my point of view a driver is free not to listen to the radio but in the other hand there is a race engineer who is paid to provide the driver with all the kind of useful information to ensure he finishes the race in the best possible position

    5. vuelve kowalsky
      30th January 2013, 9:00

      fans are fed up with all the new f1 robot type drivers nowadays. He is a breath of fresh air. he is different, so many people like him. In 1976 he would have been considered rude like others, but now he is considered fun by most.

      1. The thing is Formula 1 right now is not like Formula one of yesteryear. Things started to change in the 80’ies. An F1 driver right now bares the responsability of not only himself but all those that support him, may it be sponsors, investors, countries, etc etc. Like you can’t compare a footballer like Pelé to a Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, because things are much, much more professional nowadays, down to the thousands of a second. Formula 1 is now, more than ever, a team sport. A pure talent like Kimi is one in a million, definitely, but his unique character, specially as a team player or as a professional, is his downfall. I remember reading Vettel is always one of the firsts to be in track inspections, takes his time and takes notes. He is fast, probably not as naturally fast as Raikkonen, but he does work hard, probably harder than most “great talents” on the grid. I remember seeing his Top Gear moment in the reasonably priced car- he was concerned about the height of the seat, the calibration of the tyres, the steering- this is the competitive spirit needed for Formula 1 and what I truly respect on a driver that is in the pinnacle of motorsport. Bellow him are tens of thousands of aspiring formula one drivers that never got the chance to do it and where hard working. Kimi has fun and is a great talent, but his recurrent displays of lack of professionalism are, in my view, a disrespect to all those that support him and those that never even got a chance to prove their worth. He can say and do all his “cool”, non corporate, swearing moments, as a TV audience I find that entertaining, but don’t expect me to like those “I’m lost because I missed track inspection” moments. As for the I know what I’m doing I didn’t particularly found that harmful. I think this was actually a boost of confidence for the team, to not be so nervous and to trust on him. There was too much hanging on the outcome of that race (that’s what I thought from the post race interviews), and Raikkonen just put his team on its place and stay calm.

        1. Good comment

        2. At the same time though, because its popular for the fans, it is also popular for the sponsors, and as pointed out the team is making the most of it.

          So in some respects his lack of professionalism, is actually better from a commercial point of view.

          1. Indeed, look how much we are talking about KR now, thinking about Lotus and the Palmolive family of products. “No such thing a bad publicity”

        3. @sergio-perez – you’ve summed it up pretty much perfectly! I think he was entirely justified to tell his engineer to just let him get on with it: he did know what he was doing and he proved that when he set fastest lap on the first lap of the re-start – a rare occurrence.

    6. Klaas de Vries
      30th January 2013, 11:10

      I agree with @craig-o. Before finger-pointing to Kimi’s supposed rudeness I think one must take into account the level of familiarity between Kimi and his racing engineer. I mean it’s not the first time they have spoken to each other, they work side by side and communicate a lot and one shouldn’t be surprised if some ‘familial’ language appears between them.
      I work together with a guy that I know for a long time and we developed this ‘familial language’ like using swearwords (ex. get the f* out) and we know that it’s not with the purpouse of offending but people from outside could very much consider that we are being rude to each other.
      If Kimi’s engineer was really offended by that radio message, I’m pretty sure he would have let the team know about his feelings and they never would have made those T-shirts.

    7. Personally I agree with the COTD and with @prisoner-monkeys on this one. While I am a huge fan of Raikkonen, and love his driving style and his appreciation for the history of the sport, the fact is there’s no reasonable justification for speaking to your colleagues in the way he does. His engineer is just doing his job by keeping him informed; the engineer is trying to help maximise the driver’s performance. To shout at someone for doing their job is very petty, especially when that person’s job is to help you achieve your goals.

      I don’t buy the excuse that he acts like that because of the pressure of driving. Of course, the cockpit of an F1 car is a high pressure environment, and the nature of the job is that it is stressful. But I don’t think that stress is going to be significantly higher than other people have to deal with. I’ve had to deal with providing technical support for video conferences where the equipment has failed minutes before the CEO is due to contact a business partner on the other side of the world to negotiate a deal potentially worth millions, and I’ve been the one responsible for getting that up and running again. That’s a high pressure, high stress environment, where technical ability is tested to its limit and mistakes will have serious consequences. However, even in that situation, the need to be professional is paramount. The CEO would never speak to me in the way that Raikkonen spoke to his engineer. Likewise, if a colleague suggested restarting the codec, I wouldn’t dream of responding “yes yes, I’ve restarted the codec, I do it all the time. Just leave me alone I know what I’m doing”, because doing so would fundamentally damage the working relationship I have with my colleagues. And of course, just maybe it’ll be that one time in a hundred where I’ve missed out restarting the codec. There is of course a need to be efficient and sparing with the language used, where action is more important than discussion, however that is no excuse for taking out your stress on a colleague. I don’t react this way because I have experience to fall back on, so I rely on my methodology and my faith in my own abilities to get me through difficult challenges, removing the need for a panicky lashing out at others when I should be getting on with my job.

      I appreciate with Raikkonen, it’s something which must be accepted by the team. Raikkonen is a prodigious talent, and it seems that this is just an aspect of his personality. However, don’t confuse this to mean that his rudeness facilitates his speed. It doesn’t. It’s an obstacle to progress which he needs to overcome. His lackadaisical attitude towards the business of being an F1 driver has arguably resulted in him winning far fewer championships than his monumental talent deserves. Accepting this flaw in his character is one thing, but I think what sticks in my craw is the fawning reaction of some of his fans, applauding as if this behaviour is not only acceptable, but somehow preferable to maintaining a good relationship with his colleagues. Well I don’t like it. It’s childish, bullying behaviour which he really should have grown out of by now. Until he does, he’ll never be able to take his place among the true greats of the sport.

        1. @craig-o Indeed you could say that. And to an extent you’d be right – it’s never really acceptable to behave like that. But the key difference here is that we’re not talking about a one off isolated incident made in the heat of the moment, or unusual circumstances. You’re talking about a person who has, for years, taken this attitude systematically, as a matter of course, with his colleagues, his fellow competitors, and the press. And we’re not talking about fans who say “yeah, he is a bit of a jerk sometimes, but he makes up for it with his speed” – the attitude is actually that this is an inherently positive trait which should be applauded and admired. Even describing him as a ‘character’ is a ridiculous claim. In pretty much everything I’ve ever seen him in, including supposedly relaxed environments, he’s shown less character and personality than a wet teabag. He merely skulks around like a surly teenager.

          Don’t get me wrong, I love Raikkonen as a competitor, and he’s one of my favourites on the track. But his attitude stinks, and he really lets himself down with these juvenile little outburst.

          1. @MazdaChris Everybody in the paddock is a character one way or another. It’s just different people have different characters. Some are obviously liked more than others for whatever reason. It’s like I don’t like Alonso because of his arrogance, but I just accept that is just one of his traits. I struggle to see how you can justify that it’s not a one-off incident as well..? Most drivers have their childish outbursts at some point. Hamilton, Massa, Alonso, Button, Webber et all have all had their moments where they’re at their worst but that tends to happen when cameras and microphones are on you pretty much all the time. I can’t think of a single driver over the past few years who has not had a moan at something which can be perceived as ‘wrong’ or ‘childish’ or ‘unprofessional’, because at the end of the day, it’s impossible to please absolutely everybody all of the time.

          2. Personally I didn’t take KR’s radio comment as rude…just to the point, in the heat of battle. I think the fact that they made T-shirts about it and had a laugh about it proves that it was just KR being KR, the engineer being the engineer, and they moved on from it with a laugh, and it sounds to me like they may have even bonded a bit more over it.

    8. I totally disagree with the COTD as well.
      Right at the beginning, I don’t see one bit how his comment was rude.
      He simply expressed in a strong way, but not being angry, that he does not need input at that particular time. I bet he has a close relationship with his engineer,and they both understand each other and can afford to say things in non-sugar coated ways and know that there are no bad feelings involved, like some couples can. It is not like he insulted his engineer.
      And whats more, when did we actually hear or read Kimi make a bad remark about somebody? Never, but that not can be said about any of the other “big” drivers. And considering the amount of media and journalists, the high stakes, tension, stressful situations and so on… Kimi must be the nicest driver on the grid with best moral, in spite of his life style. I don’t agree with the drinking and what not, but I’am not one to question him on that, because I agree with with everything else he stands for, including taking others as they are and not polluting the air with negativity if it in not going to change ****.

      And on it being funny: well it got transmitted on the live feed, and he won, so it is one of those small things in life you have to enjoy. Kimi being Kimi(Iceman). Its also the way he stayed it, nearly not giving a **** enough to finish the sentence, it is a bit funny, not hilarious, I agree. But he has an enjoyable personality, which we rarely see, behind the boredom being asked the same question for the millionth time.

      Mate, you have to stop being so tough on people and start enjoying the little things.

    9. Kimi is refreshing because it is tiring and all too predictable to listen to the politically correct typical babble from many drivers who act more like an automaton than a human being. I prefer the human response over corporate mentality. Even if it be a bit brusque at times.

    1. Looks like Valencia’s best race may just be it’s last. Good article (except for the mistake), thanks for posting.

  2. Mike Seymour ‏@MikeSeymourF1
    Very interesting. Just received confirmation e-mail for McLaren’s launch on Thursday and Paddy Lowe is no longer in the Q&A line-up. #F1

    I don’t know if it’s reliable.

    1. Maybe he’s staying with them, but if he did Q&A we all know what questions he’d have fired at him…

      1. Yeah, maybe he’s just got a stomach bug and doesn’t feel up to answering questions.

        I wouldn’t be reading too much into it. Lowe’s supposed move to Mercedes hinged on Ross Brawn being let go. Since Brawn is staying – and has the support of Toto Wolff – Lowe’s move is looking less likely.

        1. I agree with you all.
          Just found it interesting.

        2. I would say it makes perfect sense for McLaren to do this, regardless of whether Lowe is or is no going to move.
          After all their target is to have people ask about the new car, or their new line up, not about one of the team rumoured to go away. Surely all self respecting journalists would want to at least ask him for his comments on it, so its better to avoid that, at least for now.

  3. If Scorpion are serious about getting on the F1 grid, and they seem to be, they should definitely sit this year out. Wait for the new engine regulations, use the time to get completely organized personnel-wise and financially. Hopefully they can buy what is left of HRT and do everything else properly and thoroughly and fill a grid slot for 2014 (and actually be a little competitive at the same time). I think it would be good for F1 to have an American or Canadian constructor, a team that people in North America could really get behind as a “home team”.
    Now whether the Scorpion people will actually do this is a different story. F1 does not need another HRT. A team sloppily managed and loping around the track several seconds off the pace of Caterham is pointless and is ultimately a waste of money for everyone involved.
    Basically what I ‘m trying to say is: Do it right or don’t do it at all.

    1. I would argue that now is the perfect time for Scorpion to get involved in Formula 1.

      The 2013 regulations are very, very similar to the 2012 rules, and so the HRT F112 would be legal under the 2013 regualtions with only minor changes here and there. Scorpion would be able to purchase a team and its cars run them at a minimal cost, which gives them a year to establish themselves in the sport and build up a profile that they can use to work on 2014. Yes, it means that they will struggle for a season, but it will also give them a head-start for 2014.

      1. But would they actually get to race if they had an entry? I don’t think it’s terribly unreasonable to assume that an HRT put out for this year would be very close to, if not the same as, the HRT and the end of last year. But, since there haven’t been any major crackdowns on regulations, surely the front-runners will be running faster and, more crucially, closer together.

        At Brazil, HRT were at 106% of the Q1 time and 109% of the pole time. If the competition continues to become closer like we expect in times of rules stability, then the front-running teams will have to put in more representative laps in Q1 and Q2, making it less and less likely the HRTs set a time fast enough to be allowed on the grid.

        1. They would naturally have to do some development work on the car, and since it was developed by Dallara, the data from its initial development probably won’t have been lost. They might have to struggle through a few races at first while Dallara restart development, but it would give them a presence on the grid.

          Even if they just treated the entire season as a testing and development year, sending their drivers out to each race and only taking part in free practice and qualifying for the races where they could, it would give them experience for 2014.

          It’s less than ideal, of course, but I think that holding off entirely until 2014 is a risky strategy. Any sponsors they have for now may want them to enter in 2013, even if it means they will struggle.

          1. Scorpion being on the grid this year would be a waste of time and money.

          2. Agreed Prisoner. As long as the Scorpion group has the cash and commitment for development and long stay, and has to obeys the 130% rule, I don’t see why they shouldn’t be allowed to enter, and it would do them a lot of good. Preparing a team takes time, and the best way is to “go to the trenches”.

          3. Good grief, I am in total agreement with @prisoner-monkeys.

        2. Given that HRT were surely running parts that were at the higher end of their life cycle in Brazil, I would think that a rebuilt car could do a bit faster, if you put an experienced driver in it at least.

          As @prisoner-monkeys rightly states, it would only make sense to get in for this year to be able to run the existing cars while maybe looking at any things that HRT had prepared but never got to actually build and put on the cars for lack of funds to keep up a bit and stay clear of those 7%. That would be the only route to get some value from buying what is left of HRT, using the existing cars to get some publicity, invite people to get them on board for next year so they have an actual chance of building any kind of car for 2014.
          As HRT never really got to building up their base proper, there are probably no assets and facilities worth a mention, why otherwise would anyone but the spanish team, and intend to go racing from the UK (which does otherwise make more sense in the F1 world, so good thinking from Scorpion).

          If not using those cars to run them and get some backers interested, it would make far more sense to wait 2-3 years. After all by then the economy might be picking up, but more importantly, we will see the first year or 2 of the new regulations behind us, and drivetrain packages might be a little bit less costly. Also by then we will know which is the better package (good performance but probably costly) and what manufacturer is hanging back a bit – giving opportunity for cheaper deals.

          1. I’m with PM and BasCB on this one. If I was in the position of Scorpion I’d be trying to get on the grid this year. They have a car that should at least be nearly capable of qualifying already, and if they can afford to put a little bit of money into it they may get it into shape to race within a few races. After all, more experience is better. Plus they’ll stand a better chance of getting sponsors in america while there is still a bit of hype from the Austin gp.

            In there situation I’d probably try and get a couple of drivers who will work for cheap, or bring money, but have experience. Maybe Senna and Karthikeyan or something. Then talk to Williams and see if they can get a bit more help than the gearboxes, maybe try and work out some deal like the one between Marussia and Mclaren for the windtunnel work.

            One other thing, isn’t there a fee for new teams in f1? (something I’m pretty sure people usually bypass by buying out existing teams) If they sit out a year will they have to pay that?

          2. @skett, The entry fee requirement was abolished around 2009 when all the teams were invited to reapply for F1 on the understanding that there would be a budget cap.

            The last team to have to pay the entry fee ($48m at the time) was Super Aguri back in 2006. It wouldn’t have made much sense for the FIA to charge an entry fee that was higher than an entire team’s annual operating budget was supposed to be!

      2. All of which makes perfect sense* unless you’re an F1 promoter who sees a 2 car reduction in the field as a way to spice up Q1.

        *This means I agree with you.

        1. reminds me of Hans Scorpio in the Simpsons

  4. “They want to buy all the bits from HRT, then form a company and ask for an entry, but I personally don’t think it will happen. It’s all a bit too late. Maybe they could do it for next year.”

    That’s odd, because Autosport are reporting that Ecclestone wrote to Scorpion last week and asked the following:

    “Have you bought the HRT company? Because if you have, they [the FIA] would be accepting you.”

    I suspect that Scorpion have got everything lined up, but aren’t going to purchase anything until they get an entry to the grid. Once they get it, everything would fall into place. It’s the only way they would stand a chance at making the grid in Melbourne, and if it happened quickly enough, they might even be able to make one of the later pre-season tests.

    1. This Bernie we’re talking about…if the Scorpion guys come up with the cash, Im sure he will accept them for this year.

      Plus, although HRT’s preseason record hasnt been the envy of others, Im sure they would have some sort of idea as to what their 2013 car would be like. This coupled with the fact that much isnt changing from last year, its not exactly a start from scratch. If the Scorpion people push the purchase through in the next couple weeks, I would expect them to be on the grid in Melbourne. Hiring a team wouldnt be too much of a problem, considering you have a whole team that just got layed off.

      …if the deal does go through…it will remain to be seen if the car turns a wheel during testing…

      1. This Bernie we’re talking about…if the Scorpion guys come up with the cash, Im sure he will accept them for this year.

        Bernie doesn’t have any control over who races. Scorpion have to apply to the FIA to be accepted to the grid. They pay their entry fees to the FIA. Bernie doesn’t see a dime of it.

        They would, however, have approached him because they would need to be included under the Concorde Agreement.

        if the deal does go through…it will remain to be seen if the car turns a wheel during testing

        Like I said, the only way that Scorpion stand any chance of making the grid in Melbourne is if they already have everything ready to be purchased, and are only awaiting the FIA’s approval to join the grid. Judging by Bernie’s comments in the Sporting Life article, they already have a plan (they want to be based at Silverstone). If they get that approval to join the grid soon – they might need the existing teams to agree to it – then they may be able to complete the purchase quickly enough that they can attend one of the final tests.

      2. I am also pretty much convinced I know

        Im sure they would have some sort of idea as to what their 2013 car would be like

        – it would be the 2012 car with the slightest updates needed to improve or counter any known issues making it tougher/more expensive to run

  5. i absolutely agree with the COTD. everybody keeps running the same line ‘oh kimi isn’t a corporate robot, he says things as they are and shows feelings – thats why we love him’ – well that may be true, but it does not automatically make it a positive trait. there’s a difference between being honest and being rude, with no class. webber is a straight-forward guy with even more experience, yet he doesn’t disrespect his race engineer, events, podium celebrations and so on.

    1. It’s a relief to know that not everyone worships at the altar of ‘Saint Kimi’, I thought it was only me that finds him a rude, classless, boor.
      The swearing on the podium in Abu Dhabi was a toe curling embarrassment for every decent F1 fan and both he and Vettel should have been far more severely censured than they were, it was disgraceful.
      No guesses as to why his race engineer has jumped ship . . .

      1. The biggest embarrassment was his detour in Brazil. Well done Iceman, too cool for a track walk.

    2. @andrewf1 – I agree with it, too. I make no secret of the way I dislike Raikkonen, and when people ask me why, I point to stuff like that radio message in Abu Dhabi. I don’t understand why people seem to think that Raikkonen is somehow clever or funny becaue of it, because to me, what he did was just plain rude. I understand that sometimes a driver might snap at his team because he’s pre-occupied or annoyed or whatever, but seeing Raikkonen’s behaviour outside the cockpit, I don’t think Abu Dhabi was an isolated incident. People try and justify it by claiming that Simon Rennie had it coming because Raikkonen had made it clear that he didn’t want to be bothered and that Mark Slade had told Rennie not to bother him, but it was, quite frankly, rude. And then there’s stuff like this, when he infamously knocks over a kid and keeps walking without stopping to check on the kid. Yes, it happened four years ago, but that doesn’t invalidate it. Common sense – common decency – demands that the least he could do is stop to make sure the kid isn’t hurt.

      I get the sense that Kimi Raikkonen just isn’t a particularly nice person. That’s just conjecture, but what I do know is that if I ran into him in a pub, I probably wouldn’t buy him a beer (or vodka) when I would for most of the other drivers.

      1. Why not pyscho analyze Simon Rennie, he might be the problem here and not Kimi. We all know that not all conversations get broadcasted and who knows what happens in the garage or behind closed doors. After all one left the team and the other has alot of support from the team… Not everything is black n white

        1. Sorry, but that sounds like a contrived defence of Raikkonen. Even if Rennie was the problem, Raikkonen should still be civil with him.

    3. True characters both have fans and ‘haters’. Whatever side you’re on, you can’t deny Kimi has character.

    4. I’m torn in what concerns Kimi. On the one hand, I like his no nonsense posture, on the other, I think that he is unprofessional- not because of his non corporate talk- but because of something like the São Paulo incident. One thing I can’t deny, is that the guy has talent and is an exceptional F1 driver, but what makes him Kimi is also what separates him from the all time greats. I picture him as a sort of Finish Nigel Mansell: naturally fast- one of the fastest- but without the mentality of an all time great.

    5. @andrewf1

      webber is a straight-forward guy with even more experience, yet he doesn’t disrespect his race engineer, events, podium celebrations and so on.

      *ahem* Silverstone 2010 *ahem*

      I don’t ‘worship at the altar of St Kimi’ (Partly cause that’s breaking 1 of the 10 commandments), but to say liken Webber to some kind of perfect, flawless personality is just as wrong as saying Kimi is. I personally like the drivers for how well they do out on the track, which means I’ve liked Petrov for quite a while, and the same with Jerome D’Ambrosio. Kimi Raikkonen, personality aside, is one of the fastest drivers out there, and there’s very few who would argue with that.
      And after all, in F1, isn’t that all that matters?

      1. @keeleyobsessed
        That’s quite an escalation in assumptions you’ve made there, at no point during my comment have i used the words ‘perfect, flawless’ to describe Webber. I said that when it comes to being straight-forward, Webber does it with far more common sense and class.
        What about Silverstone 2010? The number 2 driver quote? It has nothing to do with the subject matter and I wouldn’t really compare that situation and the tension there was at the time with Kimi’s general demeanor.
        Also, nobody argued that Kimi isn’t fast, but that’s obviously not what’s being discussed here. If it were only about that, then other drivers like Hamilton, Vettel or even Maldonado would generally be cut a lot of slack too.

        1. @andrewf1
          I was very careful with my choice of words, ‘likened’ is not the same as ‘used’.
          Going to the Webber-Silverstone 2010 argument, it’s not just the ‘Number 2 Driver’ quote, his entire attitude throughout that weekend was wrong, even taking to mocking the Red Bull policy line in the post-qualifying press conference (‘The team is very happy with the result’, followed by a quite obvious slamming down of the water cup). I’d go as far to say that’s worse than what Kimi has been doing. Kimi has been incredibly precise and to the point with what he wanted (‘Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing’) whereas Mark’s comments have been sarcastic and even mocking at times.
          My main point is that we shouldn’t be judging a driver based on their personalities, but rather their driving. To imply that Webber or Button is a ‘Gentleman driver’ can easily be disputed, but they are still good drivers in their own right. Whether a driver sticks to a team policy, deliberately deviates from it, or is known by the team to be a bit eccentric shouldn’t make a difference.

    6. John Bergqvist (@)
      30th January 2013, 10:48

      If you look at the team radio feature on the 2012 Season Review Blu Ray, you see people from the team say that when Kimi says stuff like that, he’s not necessaries rude, but just trying to convey information clearly and quickly. They showed another clip from spa where he said the same sorta stuff as Abu Dhabi.

  6. For all the regretful noises about the demise of British f3, I finally saw some acceptance on Twitter from industry figures that reality is starting to intrude. Like the cotd today, I’m going to state something unpopular on here but I think it needs to be said, and it’s as much about perception of motorsport as it is strict fact, so please don’t nitpick along the lines of “I was at X recently and it was only 15 minutes between events so everything else you say is wrong”.

    The pot of sponsorship/factory money available for people to fund any professional or semi pro motorsport entry is small, and getting smaller. The costs of running an entry are high and getting higher. The costs of running a series are high and getting higher. The cost of getting into or watching an event are high and getting higher. The tv audiences are small and getting smaller. Advertising revenue is small and getting smaller. With the rise of eco friendly attitudes in the public, motor sport is unlikely to start bucking those trends.

    The crowds are small (except for the blue riband headline events) and getting smaller (for the blue ribands too). Facilities are 40 years behind the times and going backwards; Sitting in cold, windswept, rainy metal temporary grandstands, half an hour’s muddy walk from hot food (burger vans) or a decent toilet, for a day to watch a few cars zoom past every 2 minutes, with half an hour’s break between events where nothing happens and there are no other entertainments, is not the *average punter’s* idea of a good day out. (horse racing is affected by the same change in attitudes). The uproar over the demise of fanvision at f1 events helps prove that. Even hardcore fans and professionals who were paying massive money to be at the events still needed a techno tv unit to make the event worth following. How stupid are things when you pay hundreds of quid for tickets to a live event, and you’re then forced to watch it on a handheld tv anyway to get a decent experience of it?

    Something is fundamentally wrong. Having 40 “feeder series” of crippled racing in random and fairly arbitrary distinctions, of few actual races, is pointless. I’m sorry, but 4 races is not a championship. Nor was the 5 meeting gp2 “Asia”. Feeder series have to be affordable to enter and run. They have to serve some purpose beyond giving more spaces for desperate pro-am racers to “have a go”, or fill some political fallout between industry figures. Live crowds have to be given some level of comfort. There shouldn’t be long gaps of staring at empty asphalt.

    I don’t propose to have answers to all of these, but I know sticking our heads in the sand isn’t going to help…

    1. Great post.

    2. John Bergqvist (@)
      30th January 2013, 10:56

      The problem is, all the football, sun-loving public really care or know about is F1. With endurance racing, some of the rules are just so… confusing to even some knowledable fans, like the class rules at the dubai 24 hours or the Nurburgring 24 hours.

      Ultimately, junior series only succeed cos they get tacked on to a higher profile event, like F1, or Blancpain or Le Mans. Historic series are even worse.

      The tracks need to get local advertising for all race meetings on TV the week before the event, otherwise people will think there isn’t anything on at Silverstone for a year after F1.

      Some race series do need to merge and simplify if possible, start again maybe. It was crazy how we had 2 separate Formula Renault series a few years ago. And Formula Ford is a mess, soo many national championships it’s scary. Why don’t they just have 1 championship that visits all the UK’s circuits in a season (or a North and South one, that way it cuts down on transport)? Of course cost has a part to play, with the drivers, teams, and organisers unwilling to pay for themselves or others…

    3. Thanks for the post, sadly I have to agree with much you are writing there @hairs

    4. I agree with absolutely everything written here. Something has to be done about it.

    5. I’ll be brief, how can the track owners improve the facilities or provide other races when the fee they pay to stage F1 is more than the income they get from a meeting ?

      1. There are plenty of tracks holding motorsport events that don’t host f1 races.

    6. Ill be brief, with CVC/FOM squeezing so much money out of the track owners it is no wonder they cannot afford updated facilities or multiple races to fill in the gaps. The only way promoters can get a proper return on their expenditure is to have more fans attend and get them to pay more to do so, not likely to happen is it?

      1. Apologies for the dual post, they just disappeared of the screen when I originally posted them. @hairs, maybe the FIA is the common factor, I do agree with you completely.

  7. I have to say, if Scorpion appear on the grid any time, then I really like the name.

    The first thing I thought of when I read about the bid was Joss Whedon’s Firefly (though admittedly, it doesn’t take much to get me thinking about the series). When he created the series, Whedon wanted to come up with a name that he felt embodied the qualities of the spaceship that is central to it, and he felt that “firefly” conveyed the right sense of speed and agility.

    I see the same thing in Scorpion Racing. When I think of scorpions, I think of something small and aggressive, and when you see one, you’re wary of it, always watching it to make sure you don’t agitate it. So I feel that that really fits the image of a smaller team in that you want to keep an eye on them to see what they can do. In this day and age, when the grid is populated with teams named for corporate sponsors (Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Lotus), lazy acronyms (HRT), or pseudo-nationalistic non-sequiturs (Force India), “Scorpion Racing” is a refreshing change. It feels like a throwback to the days of teams with interesting names – like Shadow and Spirit and Eagle – with a certain almost mystical quality to them that immediately give them a bit of character. I’d like to believe that the first thing the people behind Scorpion did was to sit down and carefully think of their name, knowing that it would set the tone for everything that they did.

    1. Zantkiller (@)
      30th January 2013, 2:18

      Also the smaller the scorpion, the more venomous it is.

      Though that analogy may not send across the correct message.

    2. There’s some motorcycle gear with that name if I’m not mistaken. Not sure if there’s any connection with it. The name is not bad, but reminds me of the Abarth logo, might be a bit confusing there with the branding.

  8. Well, the COTD shows that the general public of F1 slowly adjusts itself to the upcoming years of no one but nice, good looking, spineless drivers with no character (but with lots of money).

    1. Being rude to your racing engineer – or to anyone, for that matter – is not “character”. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

      1. Well, he won, so he probably really knew what to do…

        1. Still not an excuse.

          1. so whats your excuse for being rude and slamming your opinion down everyones throat who disagrees with you? i suppose you dont need an excuse for that because your opinion is the only correct one yes?

          2. Substructure +1

          3. @substructure +1

      2. @prisoner-monkeys I really don’t know why it’s common to see rudeness or swearing as great ways to show one’s character. When I was in the school, a lot of my classmates were quite offensive, rude and swore a lot. Nobody said: ‘Oh, they’re all such cool characters, I love them!’ Such a behaviour was generally accepted and the environment was what it was but I don’t think it was really a matter of character. By the way, one of those classmates is now a public figure in my country now, he is still as extrovert and outgoing as he was more than 10 years ago but his manners have changed a lot since then.

        Whilst I support the idea that drivers should be who they are, I believe that we shouldn’t mistake bad manners for ‘character’.

        1. @girts

          I believe that we shouldn’t mistake bad manners for ‘character’.

          I agree wholeheartedly.

          Unfortunately, far too many people don’t seem to see it that way.

        2. I underwrite that thought as well @girts.

          And understanding how these kind of things are cleverly fuelled and used for great marketing success certainly does not make me feel better about it.

        3. Bad manners!
          “Leave me alone, I know what I am doing”
          What should he have said ? ” Thank you so much for that wonderful advice I have memorised it so you wont have to tell me again, now you have a wonderful day and stop worrying yourself about me” followed by ” Oh **** we’ve re-started already”

        4. The difference here is that you have to remember that he knows the people he is talking to.

          If you saw some of the things I said to my friends without hearing their replies you’d probably think I was a rude ******** as well, but no harm is intended or given.

          Though admittedly I have had to apologise to a few people who didn’t know me quite so well and didn’t take my comments as well as I thought they might!

    2. Personally I think that the idea of all modern drivers being corporate shills with no spine or personality is woefully overplayed. Are you saying that Hamilton, Alonso, Button or Maldonado for example are ‘spineless’ or have zero personality? These are all distinct people. Raikkonen isn’t some unique example of a great personality (although I find him incredibly entertaining and a brilliant talent) or a rare example of a driver ‘keeping it real’.

      1. I think that people shouldn’t judge someone’s character by a comment he makes, once, in the middle of an F1 race, with all that comes with that, especially since we know nothing in reality about how his remark, and it’s tone, was taken by those that are actually affected/unaffected by it on the team and who know and work with and likely admire him. It was one snippet of talk, chosen by the FIA for us to hear. In the grand scheme of things, it was nothing, and if a team can’t get past a remark that was prompted by a race engineer telling KR something he clearly already knew to do, both of them just doing their jobs, then there is no hope for them.

        Sure if someone is always ultra harsh in their behaviour, insulting, sarcastic, being an A hole in general, and often, then they might not even get near F1. KR left F1 and got back in. Surely he has plenty of character of a postitive nature and is worthy of forgiveness for the odd human verbal reaction in the heat of the moment. As I would like to think we all are, especially if the comment was really rather mild in the grand scheme of things.

        To me, bad manners and rudeness would be seeing someone struggling on a loading dock, in a sweltering pressure-cooker situation, with his boss having a heart attack, and not trying to help, and not understanding the situation and what the dedicated employee might be going through, suddenly left partnerless with an associate possibly dying. Someone call an ambulance for the poor man, and some of you, if you want your fresh goods, help, and be mindful of the circumstance of the moment, and allow for it being a unique situation.

  9. I think we need minimum 8 F1 teams that are competitive enough & also have the budget to continue strongly in F1 for 5-8 years.

    1. The problem is that investors only want to purchase teams when they are cheap – when, like HRT, they have failed. Gerard Lopez and Eric Lux were looking at selling Lotus last year, and reportedly came very close to finding a buyer, but then Kimi Raikkonen won in Abu Dhabi, and Lopez and Lux put the price up. The buyer then lost interest.

      So if investors are only buying teams that have failed, they’re starting on the back foot from the outset. They’re getting the team for less money than if they tried to buy a race-winning team, but that comes at the cost of an uncompetitive car.

  10. ..if Scorpion gets on the grid..who dyou reckon they will hire?….since its an America-Canada JV..Alexander Rossi and Robert Wickens perhaps?

    1. @jaymenon

      since its an America-Canada JV..Alexander Rossi and Robert Wickens perhaps?

      I think it’s wrong to assume that they will only take American and Canadian drivers simply because the team would be owned by Americans and Canadians.

      If Scorpion were to make the grid, I think the most likely candidates for the seats would be Luiz Razia and Giedo van der Garde. Both are very experienced in open-wheel racing (even if they’re unlikely to go far in Formula 1), and both are believed to have considerable sponsorship at their disposal; I’ve heard that Razia alone has in excess of $20 million, and that van der Garde has been matching every offer Vitaly Petrov has made to Caterham, and he originally had about $15 million to his name.

      1. They might be having someone from the US/Canada on board as a “test” driver if they want to tap into that sponsor pool. But as you write they would take the budget from a Giedo or Luiz paying for himself to drive the advertising boards around the back of the track.
        Another option is the Chinese guy, (Ma Qing Hua), wasn’t he said to have a substantial package available to get onto the grid for the chinese GP? And it could be a good place to look for team sponsors as well.

  11. Force India presents car after two days – does it mean’s there will be no guys/pilots taking the cover off?

    1. Considering that there is still two days until the launch, I’d say they still have two days to secure their drivers.

  12. I think Scorpion will end up in thin air. The FIA already closed the door on revitalising the entry from HRT. And I thought that the entry was the only valueable asset from the team.
    If they’re really serious they start a factory in the Silverstone area and start preparing for 2014.
    The only reason for buying that old Dallara chassis is that it can help them calibrating windtunnel, simulator and CFD. But they would loose much time looking at yesteryears slowest car, that I guess they shouldn’t bother.

    I welcome Scorpion or whichever new team, but I think all shortcuts are like the one Kimi encountered in Brasil: closed.

    1. I fear you are right, and I also don’t see the point of rolling out that old Dallara chassis again. That dead horse has been flogged enough over the past couple of years.

      As for @prisoner-monkeys‘ suggestion of having them run in practice and qualifying, in case they fail to qualify, I think that would be a very expensive way of gaining experience. If they have that kind of money to throw around, they should spend it on making a car for 2014, and putting together a serious entry bid.

      1. @adrianmorse

        If they have that kind of money to throw around, they should spend it on making a car for 2014, and putting together a serious entry bid.

        But then they might be confronted with several other teams bidding to join the grid.

        1. @prisoner-monkeys, I’d love to see it, but since there are already two empty slots on the grid, such competition would require at least three interested parties for next year. Even if the 2014 regulations might present a good opportunity to step into Formula 1, I still find that extremely unlikely, in the current economic climate.

  13. Jacques Villeneuve joined Sky sport Italy F1 coverage team to comment GPs during 2013 season

    1. Great. Another opinionated ****.

  14. If you haven’t read Webber’s piece on Armstrong: stop what you’re doing and go read it now!

    I was very surprised at how open Mark Webber speaks of Armstrong. In a way it represents how many cycling fans in the world must feel. Everyone hailed Armstrong for his accomplishments, fighting cancer and becoming the most succesful cyclist in history. He convinced everyone, including himself, that he was clean, and therefore, now that the truth is being uncovered, everyone feels betrayed. I loved reading how Mark Webber’s view matches this profile exactly – the bottom line is the same, the way the story plays is different.

    Maybe connecting this to the other comments I’m reading on this page: if you’d ask a typical F1 fan who are the most distinctive drivers in the paddock, then many would respond with “Webber and Raikkonen” – both are known for not being your typical PR-robot. In my opinion, there is a big difference between these two drivers: Webber speaks his mind with respect for those around him and doesn’t try to offend anyone, Raikkonen speaks his mind with a lack of respect for those around him. The most disturbing thing to me is how this ‘rebellious’ behavior is somehow appreciated. Now, I like how he doesn’t follow the rest of the pack, but you’ve got to show some respect for others: for your team members, for journalists, for photographers, for track marshalls…

    1. @andae23

      If you haven’t read Webber’s piece on Armstrong: stop what you’re doing and go read it now!

      Hear, hear.

      1. Amen to that. it’s one of the most personal pieces I’ve ever seen a driver write. You can see how hurt he was by Armstrong’s Monaco no-show.

  15. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    30th January 2013, 9:48

    Does anyone else find the name “Scorpion” a little cheesy?
    Doesn’t really make me think of a Formula 1 team haha

      1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
        30th January 2013, 12:55

        Haha I laughed so hard at that!

    1. Don’t worry. A 13th team will join F1 after Scorpion Racing is confirmed – Meerkat Racing.

  16. Another team would be great but they shouldn’t rush anything as that will just lead to disaster. Take this season to build sponsorship and work on that Dallara chassis!

    1. If the team has sponsors, then those sponsors will probably want to get involved straight away. If there is a chance that the team can make the 2013 grid, then those sponsors will push for it to happen.

  17. @ Prisoner Monkeys

    remember the last time sponsers pushed a new team into F1 before they were ready? Something called Lola happened and its best forgotten.

    Would like to see Scorpion Racing on the grid, I want the car to be black with a blue scorpion painted on the side. It would be best to sort their team out this year and come back stronger for 2014.

    1. You make a valid point, but if Bernie is going to be shopping those spaces around, scorpion won’t want to commit. I’d rather have an assured team using the year as a year long test session while looking to 2014 than a potential team for next year.

      Personally, I’m hoping they call their first car the THUNDERGUN HELLFIRE 1.

        1. @keithcollantine Nothing I can add will make that comment more awesome.

    2. remember the last time sponsers pushed a new team into F1 before they were ready? Something called Lola happened and its best forgotten.

      Do you honestly expect sponsors to learn from that? They’ll see that the HRT F112 is ready to race and was capable of qualifying at most of the races last year. That will probably be enough to convince them that pushing for a 2013 grid entry is a good idea.

  18. Seeing Perez next to those Marlborough livery McLarens made me think I was seeing a young Emerson Fittipaldi (or the older version next to his Indy 500 winning, mercedes engined one :-) )

  19. poor form from Mark. Kicking a friend when his down – its not all about the bike. Livestrong = Legend

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