Mallya plans to keep Hulkenberg and Perez

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Force India co-owner Vijay Mallya wishes to retain drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez.

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Force India happy to retain drivers, says Mallya (Reuters)

“We have options on both and I’m very happy with both of them and I see no reason why we should be looking at any change.”

My consistency key to title – Rosberg (BBC)

“It is always going to be a tight battle and I just need to be a little more consistent than the other guy.”

Vettel “absolutely committed” to Red Bull, says Horner (Adam Cooper’s F1 Blog)

“Sebastian’s absolutely committed to the team, there’s no doubt at all that he’ll be with Red Bull next year and he’s enjoyed so much success with the team, he’s happy in the team and the team are very happy with him.”

Capelli behind Monza rescue plan (Autosport)

Ivan Capelli: “It must produce something to improve its situation. I think that for the teams, the garages are average for F1 now. We also have to do a lot for the spectators, that is one of the objectives.”

Lewis Hamilton aims to eclipse Michael Schumacher’s Hungaroring record (The Guardian)

“I just generally love the track. It’s an old classic circuit and they don’t make them like this any more. There’s a lot of braking and that’s where I gain my time, generally. You do have to throw the car around more. It’s been a good track for me.”

How Williams put the dark days behind them (The Telegraph)

Felipe Massa: “Ferrari went through a bit of a tough period. I was thinking that maybe I have a big possibility to stop, not that I wanted to.”

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Comment of the day

Azerbaijan is to hold an F1 race in 2016, but how many people live near to it? Here’s one of them:

It’s my neighbour country I can get easily so in theory it’s good for me.

But, be ready to pay the police money (for nothing, of course) on every step, the corruption level in Azerbaijan is beyond anything I’ve seen. It’s like my country in 1991-93 (after the Soviet Union collapsed), but with golden bogs with marble floors.

I’m happy for Azerbaijanis, but honestly, I would like to see France or/and Turkey instead.
@Totocaster

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On this day in F1

Lewis Hamilton and McLaren claimed the first win for a hybrid F1 car in the Hungarian Grand Prix five years ago today. His MP4-24 was powered by a combination of a Mercedes V8 normally aspirated engine and Kinetic Energy Recovery System, which had been introduced into F1 for the first time that year.

Image © Force India

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20 comments on “Mallya plans to keep Hulkenberg and Perez”

  1. And I imagine Force India will indeed keep both drivers. I think Hulk meds to show that he can develop in one team, and Perez doesn’t really have any better options. The only thing that might make them leave is if someone from the top teams leaves early.

    1. If for whatever reason Vettel did go to Merc, this might trigger drivers with performance clauses to also shift too, ie Alonso. This wont happen, however, hypothetically we could see VET to Merc with ROS. Perhaps ALO might go to RBR if they can convince Newey of staying on, and Ham to Ferrari. On the other hand if those 3 drivers dont slot into all of those positions, then HUL would be a smart choice. The other unknown qty for next year is Mclaren and how fruitful the Honda engine might be straight up and whether HUL wants to try his luck at that, or perhaps Williams revival this year isnt just a 1 season wonder and be just as competitive as next year. So many factors at play, I think VJ is just trying to make it easy for HUL to stay.

      1. oh I forgot to mention, VJ might be trying to secure sponsorship for next year using HUL and PER lineup as a strong driver pairing, which it has been to date.

  2. So no one else with KERS won a race in 2009 until Hamilton at Budapest? Amazing

    1. @cornflakes Yeah, only some teams used KERS. Renault and BMW Sauber did at some races, but not the whole season. Only Ferrari and McLaren used it throughout I think. 3 races in 2009 were won by cars with KERS (Raikkonen in Spa, Hamilton in Singapore), and noone used it in 2010.

      1. @enigma Thanks. Weird to think KERS wasn’t much of an advantage back then, and how much progress there has been now. Brawn managed to be so dominant without it

        1. It was very heavy at the start, and had its glitches too, @cornflakes, but what really made the difference was that the teams that had focussed on it, had neglected to really think enough about the rest of the car, and that is where Brawn and Red Bull got out on top.

        2. @cornflakes BasCB forgot also to mention that if KERS wouldn’t have become mandatory in 2010 no team would think about using it as it would never translate in an advantage, mostly because of the ruling but practically because of the physics and limitations in 21st century technology and also its cost. In 2014 with these rules and tech, the benefits of the electrical part of the powertrain are still questionable as probably these cars would do better without the electrical engines and the 100kg battery, these aspects would strip the car of 170 BHP but also would strip the car of certainly +100 kgs which would free up cooling and aero performance. My rough calculations say these cars would become at some tracks almost 5 secs quicker, if the weight loss was not to be translated in ballast weight if so the advantage would half that of 5 secs.

    2. I was thinking about this the other day.

      I went to see my first F1 races (well, my only ones..!) in 2009, and what a bizarre season it was:

      *Brawn absolutely killing it (I saw a glorious 1-2 in Monaco sat opposite the Casino)
      *The FOTA row. Bear in mind, FOTA had actually published an alternative calendar! I remember seeing lots of FOTA t-shirt at the British GP supporting the breakaway series. I seem to remember Williams being one of the only big teams to stay in ‘F1’
      *The KERS saga – Many of the established teams invested a lot of time and money in to KERS, only to realise that they compromised the designs of their cars so heavily to facilitate it.
      *The return of the slick tyre!
      Was a crazy season.

  3. Regarding Williams’ revival, and McLaren’s lack of success this year, one thing that’s stuck out to me is that it seemed possible that the key factor was one guy – Sam Michael. I don’t know anything about him personally, he’s probably a really great guy. But one person in a position like his can have a massive effect on an entire organization, and when you see someone in a critical role make a move, and then suddenly an entire organization shifts, I wonder how much of an effect that one person can have.

    F1’s a team sport, sure – but it’s a team sport that’s run by people. If you look at Disney Animation, for instance, before and after the arrival of Pixar’s John Lasseter & Ed Catmull, the difference is night and day, and it’s fairly clear given the timing of their arrival and the timing of the almost-total turnaround that they were the key factors. Same goes with Sam Michael’s move from Williams to McLaren, and while I sincerely doubt he’s the only factor, it seems like a significant one.

    1. hmmm I totally see what you are saying, and I definitely raised eyebrows a his signing too – BUT even as a long-time McLaren fan I have to admit we’ve definitely been witnessing a downward slide since long before they signed him.

      1. i remember reading somewhere that he has a very mixed reputation in the paddock. but mclaren have bigger problems than one guy.

    2. i am an aussie and as such always try to support my countrymen where i can. I have been aware of sam since his days at williams prior to becoming 5eam principal there and i also had this same thought when he took over the reigns at williams, i remember a time when frank came back after a prolonged stint out of the paddock and i think it was to put sam under the spotlight, or probably the entire team. however, since sam left williams they have been faring better. sometimes it is not that the individual is bad, but perhaps he is still learning the ropes and maybe thats why ron is in the thick of it with him in mclaren to help him along.

    3. The Sam Michael curse, your not the only one who noticed it ha

  4. “My consistency key to the title – Rosberg”
    Nah, it should be “My luck key to the title”

  5. 2009 new gen season was a great season, 2014 new gen season might also become a great season. 2009 was not really acknowledge yet so the same might be the case for this season.

    1. 2009 was a great season?

      I thought it was one of the most boring seasons I’ve seen

      1. @todfod @bascb
        2009
        Cons: No fight for race wins. Not dramatic enough(Con, for some Pro for the rest). The popular teams and drivers were down.
        Pros: True racing (No DRS) that actually resulted in great overtakes and exciting results. New talent and teams coming through(Con for most) as McLaren and Ferrari faltered.

        2014
        Pros: Good racing withstanding the dramatic effect of Pirelli degradable and DRS. RBR isn’t winning.
        Cons: 1 team miles ahead, tyres and DRS have been inconsistent. Popular teams are as of 2010 still monopolizing F1. Questionable stewardship.

    2. After the opening 10 rounds, I’d like to think this 2014 season is already a cracker and a half. Possible better than 2009 because their are two guys gunning for the top spot, as opposed to Jenson walking all over Rubens.

      It puts a smile on my dial to reflect back to Brawn GP taking full advantage of the rule change in 09, and here they are again (This time named Mercedes) doing it again!

      We saw RBR eventually developing a quicker car than the BGP001 towards the end of the season, albeit having shocking reliability. Is there any hope for RBR to repeat this form of development?

    3. 2009 was not acknowledged, because apart from the novelty of seeing different teams winning (Brawn and Red Bull) the on track action left a lot to wish @peartree. This year is already a lot better for on track action.

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