Russian GP to become night race – Ecclestone

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In the round-up: Bernie Ecclestone says the Russian Grand Prix will become a night race in the near future.

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Bernie Ecclestone unsure over future of Italian GP: 'I have no idea, they've got a contract all they have to do is find a pen' (Daily Mail)

"Ecclestone also revealed that the Russian Grand Prix, which will take place in May for the first time next season to coincide with a national holiday, could host its first night race within two years."

Lewis Hamilton removes video of him on Instagram using automatic weapon (The Guardian)

"Lewis Hamilton has denied he was responsible for posting a video of himself firing an automatic weapon on Instagram, that attracted considerable criticism."

Lotus shine despite off-track problems (Reuters)

Ecclestone: "I think they’ve been in problems for quite a while. So this is a good place for somebody to start an action."

F1 team bosses defend Pirelli after Rosberg failure (Motorsport)

"McLaren racing director Eric Boullier said that his outfit had been reassured about the situation, and was comfortable that a theory the issue was related to a car part touching the tyre meant it was something unique to Mercedes."

Pirelli wants tyre monitoring videos (Autosport)

"Maybe live feeds, which some teams have now of their different parts of the cars may have been useful."

Jenson Button says lack of pace at Belgian GP a 'massive surprise' (Sky)

"When I completed the lap, I thought it was good and then I was told P17 and a second behind the car in front, which was a massive surprise. I didn't expect to be that far off."

Christian Horner: Red Bull waiting for answers from Renault on 2016 (Adam Cooper's F1 Blog)

"The contents of any agreement between the parties are confidential, but as is standard in any competitive contract, or supply contract, there’s obligation from both sides. Those obligations are quite clear between the two parties."

Felipe Nasr Q&A: I have to take advantage of all the bad starts (F1)

"Somehow I am pretty confident we can move up some places."

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Comment of the day

While some feel F1 is still too slow, for others the spectacle of Spa hasn’t failed to impress:

Did you see that shot of Bottas coming up over Eau Rouge? The speed was simply gob-smacking.

It looked like it was on fast forward, but it was real-time. Even the commentators were stunned. No doubt all the other top drivers were the same. No way on earth you could call that slow, the Williams was nearly airborne, despite all the downforce. Simply stunning speed.
Narikin

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On this day in F1

Former F1 driver Giorgio Pantano suffered a cruel fate in the GP2 race at Valencia on this day in 2008 – he ran out of fuel on the final lap. Title rival Bruno Senna also suffered the same fate and Vitaly Petrov capitalised by taking the win:

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50 comments on “Russian GP to become night race – Ecclestone”

  1. Yay! Sorry, I meant “Yawn”. I don’t think making it a night race will save it from being dull.

    1. I didn’t think Sochi was that boring. Had Rosberg not locked his tyres at the start we might have had a decent race. People in general are convinced that Russia is one of the villains in this world, maybe this situation may change as it did with the magnificent Bahrain GP. Which was apart from one year a fantastic venue for racing, not for good publicity.

      1. @peartree ‘99% of Russian athletes are doping’, it’s fair to say that Russia is becoming more of an authoritarian regime the longer Putin has been in power.. 15 years and counting?

        1. @fastiesty There probably would not be many countries to visit after we make a list of each of their sins…

          1. But if we make it just the ones who have invaded their neighbouring countries recently and keeps part of them occupied, we would narrow it down quite a bit @xtwl

          2. @bascb So no more British GP, no more Belgian GP or German GP, Chinese GP gone, bye bye to the US GP too, and then we have the countries who should probably spend their money on other things like the Mexican GP, Brazillian GP, Abu Dhabi GP and Bahrein GP. Spain is in financial crisis so we better cut that one out too. We go to Sochi to race, not to hold a political debate about what the country should or should not do. There is plenty of politics going on already without F1 trying to be the police officer that points out bad things. Let the entire situation be dealt with by those who can actually make a difference.

          3. Sorry, but that is nonsense, I asked about countries that have invaded their neighbouring countries recently
            Tell me please @xtwl, what territory of the Netherlands, France, Germany or the UK is Belgium currently occupying, what part of Denmark, NL, BE, France, Austria, Poland or the Czech Republic did Germany take this year?

            No, the only ones who would clearly make that list are Russia (parts of Georgia, Moldava, and Ukraine) and China (nepal), Israel would count but they don’t have any race on. As for the US, are they currently occupying any such regions? The rest is not.

          4. @bascb I’m sorry, the Congo is indeed not neighbouring us.

            What I’m trying to point out is that every country has it’s list of sins. One is just making theirs a bit longer but that should not prevent F1 from racing there. Judging and amending this is the job of the UN, not F1.

          5. still missing the point by several decades there @xtwl, you haven’t kept hold of that for quite a time, even if you possibly still have thoughts of that colonial grandeur (which is in effect the reason for Russia claiming part of UA), its not quite the same as actively going there less than 2 years back and staying

          6. @bascb That what I’m trying to point out. If we go back in each GP country their history they all have done things that would be reason enough to not hold a race. This race in Russia had nothing to do with anything that the Kremlin decided or hold high as their international policy. It is just a race track where we go to race cars.

          7. Yes, and that is exactly where you go awol and make a farce of things @xtwl.

            There is an incredible void between “looking at countries HISTORY” and finding everyone has invades someone in the past vs. looking at the present, at countries who did so in the last few years and/or are holding on to such occupied territories in the current world.

        2. @fastiesty And so are the athletes of the entire planet. In the UK we protect the doppers and award them knighthoods. Olympic games world champs and other international competitions are a way of advertising the strengths of your country. The world knows taking away Russia’s medals hurts Putin therefore the world is taking the gold plated necklaces from Russia.

        3. 99,(9) US athletes are doping, so what?

      2. It hasn’t changed, the news just moved on. And last time I checked, Bahrain didn’t go and invade Qatar or one of the Emirates.

      3. Ron Brooks (@)
        23rd August 2015, 7:02

        Withdrawal from Ukraine would impress. A night race, not so much.

  2. Also why do everybody insist on bombarding us with Hamilton’s social life?

    1. It’s more like he is filling a vacuum. Besides Hamilton f1 has no compelling driver personalities, loved or hated, who provide “content” for media. In an era where 20 somethings live their lives on social media we have a grid full of ghosts. Hamilton appears to be the only driver living the life of danger and glamor f1 seems to push as its brand, so all eyes on him. Of course his danger appears to be jet skis and his glamor is liming at crop over, punctuated by religious bromides, but it’s what we got. There are about 50 nba players with more outrageous lifestyles but we have to make do with him.

    2. You got all the other news too didn’t you? Looks like the admin is just not leaving any stone unturned. Granted, it’s not race news, but it is news about a F1 driver. Hint: It’s an F1 site, it’s free, it’s being jam packed with any and all F1 news, race news or not. I know it will not stop you from viewing the site. However, if it eventually does stop you from viewing the site, then you will be replace by someone wanting to know more about LH. It is just MORE F1 and I think it is kinda unfair to complain about someone putting in extra work. If you put in extra work around me, you’re hired. And no, I’m not a F1Fanatic lemming.. I don’t even have an account. I am here cause the journalism is second to none, and the extra work and time put into it is muchly appreciated by this race fan. It’s kinda puzzling to see the complaints considering nothing is lost and only more added.

      1. It’s kinda puzzling to see the complaints considering nothing is lost and only more added.

        It’s annoying.

    3. What’s the big deal? We always knew he was an arsenal fan…

  3. Toto Wolff said “Lewis is a rock star and he is living his life.”

    Except he is not a rock star, he is a F1 race car driver. If he ever releases any music, he may become a hip-hop or rap star, but I seriously doubt he will ever actually be a rock star.

    1. @mtlracer

      Thank you, Captain!

    2. Lewis is a prime example of what you’d call a poser. His twitter and instagram feeds reek of desperation to be seen as something he isn’t, which is rather sad, since what he really is actually is a great F1 driver.
      He seems like a really vain person and I don’t think he could said something meaningful, unless it’s something F1 related. #onlygodcanjudgeme

      1. Brogan Fraser
        23rd August 2015, 1:23

        I couldn’t agree with you more about him being a great F1 Driver, and couldn’t disagree with you more about him being a poser.
        First off, why do you care, if you don’t like it, don’t look at it?

        But personally, the more attention he can get for F1, the better.
        Whether its the kind of attention you like or not, the only way this sport can stay relative is with a new younger fan base, which unfortunately for you, use social media.

      2. Yes but look how far Beckam extended his top-earner status by enrolling in the celebrity circus, Lewis may yet have the last laugh.

        1. Noone is doubting he can get the money out of it, but when people like Kardashians are getting money for the same reason, it doesn’t really breathes respect, does it?
          I’d rather not sell myself.

          1. tons of people sell themselves every day, most probably don’t even know they are doing it. If Lewis can up his interest quotient by keeping up with social media good for him.

        2. @hohum On the other hand, look at Eddie Irvine, or maybe Jody Scheckter.

          All the money minus most of the media – although if Lewis doesn’t mind the media, they yeah…..why should we judge?

          @brace At least they get money selling themselves – we don’t get money selling ourselves to the NSA (though that’s a completely different matter)!

        3. @hohum – “…This represents the social media phenomenon, which can now significantly impact a firm’s reputation, sales, and even survival. Yet, many executives eschew or ignore this form of media because they don’t understand what it is, the various forms it can take, and how to engage with it and learn.”
          [from: “Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media”, Business Horizons, Volume 54, Issue 3, May–June 2011, Pages 241-251
          Jan H. Kietzmann, Kristopher Hermkens, Ian P. McCarthy, Bruno S. Silvestre]

      3. Ron Brooks (@)
        23rd August 2015, 7:05

        Given what little I know of his background, insecurity seems more likely than vanity.

        1. Amateur psychologist proves why psychology requires years of education. In other headlines, internet denizen has opinion and is keen to share it.

          1. Ron Brooks (@)
            29th August 2015, 23:45

            Guilt as charged .
            Well said.

    3. I’m sure Wolff was speaking in metaphor. In our current vernacular, rock star has turned into someone who participates in a very public lifestyle, known for being outgoing, attending social events and always in the media spotlight.

  4. That Alonso shot is suggestive as the label also induces more rumours. It’s not just that every publication is stating that RBR and Renault are having a rough patch. We are also left with the impression that RBR’s contract with Renault is null due to some performance clauses. I’ve read one article that claims this situation to be truth, and final with the master puppeteer trying to get Merc to save Dietrich from leaving F1. That said I’m still wondering why is RedBull sponsoring Honda in MotoGP, 20 years of Repsol Honda, and this is the 1st year RB sponsors the team rather than just the riders. All I can think is that this is all a master plan to get Renault to front F1

    1. Honda may come good in F1 and the MotoGP connection might be useful for 2017 but unlikely for 2016. Good point @peartree.

    2. It could also be that Repsol have cut back on their sponsorship budget this year – Repsol, like quite a few companies in the oil sector, has seen its profits slumping – and Red Bull have taken advantage of that to increase their profile with the works Honda team given the huge amount of hype around Marc Márquez.

  5. The Furore about the gun thing is a bit ridiculous. Automatic rifles are not illegal in Colorado and lots of people shoot guns at ranges all over the u.s. I’m as pro gun control as anyone but if a sports figure is invited to a range to shoot and does so i don’t see a scandal.

    1. I think part of the “rage” was to do with this video being posted on the same day that a heavily armed guy got into a rampage on a train between Amsterdam and Paris @dmw.

      Off course there are other problems with “everyone” wielding that kind of weapons that many object to, but I doubt it would have gotten as much coverage if not for that coincidence

      1. ColdFly F1 (@)
        23rd August 2015, 9:37

        I haven’t read the article (had to scroll up again), but am disappointed it’s deemed the second most important link of today’s round-up.

  6. Have to agree with the COTD. I just love the onboard shots at Spa. Awesome.

    1. Me too, it just shows how much better coverage and camera angles can help a lot (and should be far cheaper and easier to install than a car overhaul) to make F1 more exciting

  7. ILuvSoundtracks (@)
    23rd August 2015, 6:30

    Holy!…Is it for this year or the next years?

  8. I pray that Sochi isn’t made into a night race. One of the best things about it was the stunning crisp, clear light that all the photographers raved about. Also, the buildings added interest to an otherwise dull track. Take the daylight away and it will look like a race around a car park lined with concrete walls. Nah just keep us under the bright blue Black Sea autumnal skies please.

    1. They will surely light up the buildings to make them stand out. But yeah, I really see no advantage to running it as a night race either.

  9. Why do we need more than one night race? What’s the point of a night race?

    1. This is of course my own opinion, but night races tend to look better on the TV.

      Bahrain looks aesthetically more interesting as opposed to a dull sandy backdrop since it switched to a night race. It helps with the tyres there too.

      That being said, I don’t think a night race is Russia would benefit in the same way… And I imagine it would play havoc on the tyres due to very cold evening temperatures. I’m sure the only reason it’s happening is to change the TV times in Western Europe.

    2. @f1mre
      Poor disco lighting has been helping fugly guys like me get laid for years, maybe Bernie thinks the same principle will help boring tracks appear interesting and attract viewers.

  10. If I were Bernie, I’d suggest to Sochi that they run a night race but forego the lights. It probably won’t hurt if no-one is able to see such a boring race.

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