How are you spending your Grand Prix-free weekend? As ever, let us know in the comments.
Here’s today’s round-up:
Links
Engine parity key to RBR’s Renault deal (Autosport)
Christian Horner: “I think it demonstrates the job the guys are doing with the chassis, they are doing a phenomenal job at the moment because we probably are 20-30bhp down on the class of the field. While we enjoy a chassis advantage at the moment, that might not be the case in two or three races times, and then the engine becomes a determining factor, and once you have frozen a product to freeze an advantage or a disadvantage for a three or four years period is unfair.”
Vettel needs to win his audience back (Metro)
“Before lap 40 you wouldn’t have found a single person who had a bad word to say about him. He was seen as a brilliantly fast driver destined to be champion and, unlike so many who have found themselves in that position, an approachable lad with a great sense of humour, mature for his years, and very media-savvy. Perception has changed. Now he’s viewed by many inside and outside of the sport as stroppy, immature, unable to pull off a simple overtaking manoeuvre, and receiving favourable treatment over his team mate.”
Bourses stage strong rebound (Financial Times)
“Pirelli saw big gains of 3 per cent to ??0.54 after it emerged that it looked likely to win the F1 tyre contract for 2011.”
Comment of the day
Loads of comments appeared in reaction to yesterday’s story about Lewis Hamilton being told Jenson Button wouldn’t pass him shortly before he did in the Turkish Grand Prix.
But Alex’s excellent guest article on the Isle of Man TT prompted an equally interesting debate about the acceptability of danger in motor racing. Beneboy wrote a very detailed comment drawing on his personal experiences. Here’s part of it:
My grandfather raced motorbikes for 40 years and suffered nothing worse than a few broken bones, a couple of years ago he was killed riding on the road because some guy didn’t use his mirrors when changing lanes on the motorway. This is not an unusual story amongst the other racing families I know, even though I know loads of people who have been racing motorbikes for decades I only know one person who has ever died on the track, it’d take me a while to list all of them I know who have been killed on the road.
This isn’t some abstract argument for me, there’s normally at least one person I know racing at the TT each year and a good friend of mine will be entering as a rookie next year. I’ve also seen somebody die less than twenty feet from where I was watching from a few years ago. It isn’t nice and we all do everything we can to prevent it but for some of the people I know not being able to compete at the TT would be worse than death.
Beneboy
Happy birthday!
A special happy birthday today to my brother, who posts on here as Ratboy. We’re off to the BTCC meeting at Oulton Park tomorrow to celebrate.
If you’re there too and would like to say hi at the track, please leave a comment below or Tweet me.
On this day in F1
The Tyrrell team scored its final Grand Prix win on this day in 1983. Michele Alboreto’s win at the Detroit circuit was the last time a normally-aspirated engine beat the dominant turbos.
The team persisted for another 15 years before its entry was bought by British American Tobacco to form the BAR team.
BAR became Honda, Honda became Brawn GP and finally Brawn became Mercedes this year.
Ned Flanders
5th June 2010, 1:03
Happy birthday Tom! Enjoy the BTCC.
Oulton Park is probably my favourite circuit in Britain. I especially love the fast, blind corners round the back off the track. I’d love to see it host a Moto GP race or something like that- I find Silverstone’s monopoly on the all the biggest events a bit boring
Red Andy
5th June 2010, 9:20
Yeah, Oulton Park is a great circuit. One of the reasons I love it is because it was the first motorsport venue I went to, but that aside it is still a superb track, especially when the full layout is used.
TommyB
5th June 2010, 21:27
Happy Birthday Tom, Have a good one :)
Ned Flanders
5th June 2010, 1:17
I think that the Metro’s assessment of Vettel is a bit harsh. The media are notorious bandwagon jumpers- they love to eulogise over drivers when things are going well but at the first signs of trouble they try to fan the flames and engineer a real crisis. They’ve done the same with Hamilton, now it seems it’s Vettel’s turn.
Admittedly, Vettel has gone down in my reputation of late, but it’s not a zero to hero, light switch move like the Metro suggests. Before the crash I was already unimpressed with his performances in the last couple of races. Now, despite his mistake and subsequent petulance, I still think he’s a great driver and one of the nicest guys in F1
bosyber
5th June 2010, 9:19
True – that metro column seems to only exist to bash the drivers/teams when an opportunity presents itself, but it is so one sided and humorless that it has a stink of itself. Compare to, for example F1blog, who make fun of everything in F1 – sometimes a bit harsh, but mostly with a sense of humor.
George
5th June 2010, 22:15
I agree Ned, Seb still appeals to me as a person even though he has been very unhappy this whole season. I think he probably got talked up too much last season owing to Mark’s injury (we’ll never know if that had an effect on him or not), but he is still a brilliant driver.
On an unrelated Red Bull note, I dont see how they can have a 30hp disadvantage, the Mercedes cars apart from McLaren (who I’m assuming they are measuring against) dont have much of a speed advantage over the Renault team do they?
sato113
5th June 2010, 1:27
happy birthday ratboy! didn’t know you were related. :D
i’ve already started my weekend with some F1- I rewatched the whole of the Turkish GP! not nearly as good as when it’s live though…
Sush Meerkat
5th June 2010, 10:04
I know its shocking isn’t it!, we must dig up all the dirt of Keith so this doesn’t happen again.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RATBOY!.
Scalextric
5th June 2010, 1:32
Did BAR/Honda/Brawn/Mercedes inherit any facilities, cars, designs, staff from Tyrrell or did they just take the F1 entry?
I wonder because Ken Tyrrell was one impressive innovator and, while the ’09 Brawn double diffuser obviously is not related to his efforts in the least, it is typical of his heritage of rule-stretching endeavours.
mfDB
5th June 2010, 1:53
My non-race weekend consists of driving to the mountains of North Carolina and buying a new (used) mountain bike – 2008 Specialized Stumperjumper FSR Expert!!!! Since you asked Kieth, what does your non-race weekend consist of??
The Metro article is interesting. I had started to notice that about Vettel and then as Mark was winning more and more it was getting worse. I really noticed it at the Red Bull pool celebrations after Monaco…Seb looked like a sheepish little boy (i guess he kinda is though)….
Icthyes
5th June 2010, 2:20
Happy Birthday Keith’s brother!
One of the best COTDs I’ve seen by Beneboy, death is always tragic but it’s not always meaningless. I’m sure we’re all just glad that death is less commonplace in the pursuit of that meaning these days.
And as for that Metro article, whilst you would be hard pressed to find anyone who thought negatively of Vettel beforehand, a few of us have been sceptical for a while.
wasiF1
5th June 2010, 2:38
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM. Have a nice day in Oulton Park.
I think the main reason for choosing Renault engine was that the engine have huge amount of torque which helps the car to get a good traction out of the corners.
Mark Hitchcock
5th June 2010, 5:24
I’ll be spending my weekend training for a 5K charity run which I kind of regret signing up for!
And watching the BTCC. Only on TV though unfortunately.
steph
5th June 2010, 9:53
Which charity (if you don’t mind me asking Mark)?
Best of luck. It sounds like a painful but excellent idea.
However, if in training you find yourself very out of breath of feeling a bit dizzy just sit back, get some water and take it easy. We need you back here and on the lvie blogs for Montreal, it hasn’t been on since 08 so you can’t miss it :P
Mark Hitchcock
5th June 2010, 14:06
Hospiscare. If anyone fancies sponsoring me here’s a link: http://www.justgiving.com/Mark-Hitchcock
As you can see, my friends have so far been less than generous!
Thanks :) It shouldn’t be toooo bad because it’s all flat and the route they’ve chosen is incredibly narrow so it’ll be crowded and therefore quite slow!
If it gets difficult I’ll think of the live blog and soldier on! Very much looking forward to Montreal :D
Adam pahal
5th June 2010, 8:07
my weekend will consist of packing my bags for my 80 hour greyhound journey from Vancouver to Montreal :)
UneedAFinn2Win
5th June 2010, 8:26
What free weekend, MotoGP is in Mugello, INDY is in Texas speedway and there’s an IRC event with live stages on Eurosport from Italy.
Patrickl
5th June 2010, 8:34
Lol, Red Bull can choose between Renault and Cosworth. So pick Cosworth then.
Besides, the engine manufactures analyzed engine performances last year and they concluded that the spread wasn;t too big. Only red Bull keeps insisting that the difference is that much.
The analysis DID reveal that McLaren has a very efficient gearbox which gives the Merc engine an extra performance over other cars. I guess only in the FI and the McLaren cars though. Mercedes use the Honda gearbox still don’t they?
Hamish
5th June 2010, 9:27
Red Bull Audi has a good ring to it. So does Porsche Red Bull.
Prisoner Monkeys
5th June 2010, 10:31
Except that a) Volkswagen want in, they’ll want in under the Volkswagen name and they won’t be coming until 2013, and b) as a Championship-worthy team, an supplier who provides engies to Red Bull will want to supply them for more than two seasons.
Harv's
5th June 2010, 9:51
i think seb vettel has been visting metro with alot of checks!
DanThorn
5th June 2010, 10:46
I’ll be heading off to Cornwall for the week to visit my parents and celebrate my Dad’s birthday. Why I’ve decided to travel on sunday with both the BTCC and MotoGP on I don’t know!
denis james
5th June 2010, 10:55
Now that the dust seems to have settled on this debacle perhaps now would be a good time to see if its possible to make sense of it all.
My take and I would be interested in other opinions, is that prior to the race Marko had decided that Vettel should be given the chance to win. Horner and Vettel were so advised (and I’m giving Horner the benefit of the doubt here) .Webber and his Engineer were not!
It went to plan .Webber established a lead, fending off the McLaren challenge with Vettel trailing along “conserving” fuel and waiting for Webber to allow him through as per “the plan”. When the McLarens went to fuel save mode ,something Marko and Horner would be aware of via the radio and with their lap times stabilised ,baring calamity the race outcome was pretty well set.
Vettel now had a slight excess of fuel and could run full power for another lap or two (important for the PR after the race) and to make sure of the pass Webber was instructed to change his engine settings to save fuel. The stage was now set for Vettel to power past Webber and reassert his de-facto No 1 status in the Team. Sadly no one appears to have told Webbers camp of the “plan”. And when Horner gave Webbers Race Engineer the order to let Vettel pass he being a good guy with morals (apparently a rare commodity amongst the Red Bullies Management Team ) he refused to pass them on. Thus Webber treats it like a race, behaves like a genuine racer and didn’t make it too easy. Vettel expecting a freebie is taken by surprise ,locks up a rear and loses the car.
That scenario goes a long way towards explaining Vettels antics out of the car, the hugs and kisses on the pit counter from his co-conspirators and his “not happy” interviews. Also the early comments from Marko and Horner .Webber, the rotten sod ,hadn’t followed the script!. Vettel had been awarded a race win but Webber had ignored Team Orders and Vettel had crashed out. Dear me! Mind you I’m not at all sure that Webber, had he been asked would have been party to any of this manipulation but it explains why Vettel and Marko were so incensed.
The real villains in this are Marko and Horner. I don’t believe Vettel had the moral strength to pass up a freebie particularly after being comprehensively beaten by Webber previously but as to the other two- well I can’t think of words that would adequately describe them. All the BS and the posturing in an attempt to sacrifice an innocent Webber leaves me livid and I don’t even know the man.
I hope the FIA get involved and perhaps if enough people email they may have to get interested. Don’t hold your breath though, too much money involved but its worth a shot..
As for the future, for a race or two Webber will get equal treatment but after that I fully expect some of the old bad luck will reappear. Unless of course, the fans anger and rage continues.
Mike
5th June 2010, 18:25
Good sir, I believe that what you have written to be complete and utter balderdash.
Now, Although I don’t believe it, I will admit that it is possible there is favouritism going on within the team. But what you have said is a mockery to anyone who thinks that, because by writing rubbish as elegantly as you have, You make it so hard for more moderate people be able to argue their ideas.
—————————————–
Both cars started on the same fuel, Vettel, who had not been pushing as hard as mark, saved a small percentage of fuel compared to him. Vettel used this to attack Mark late in the race.
Both drivers made a mess of it, with Mark pushing Vettel just a bit too much, and Vettel clearly not realising that Mark wouldn’t just let him have the position.
Now comes the mess, Rather than avoiding trouble, Mark in the interview put crude oil on the fire that is the media, by suggesting that “all as not as it seems” which I read as “I’m really p****ed off”.
Now together with the Mclrean team (who helped quite a bit) the Media have turned it from a racing incident into a huge scandal, most likely due to the lack of any really scandal, now that Mosley is gone.
Now some fans, like yourself, have decided that the whole thing was a huge conspiracy because Vettel is the teams favourite.
——————————————
You don’t believe that the US government was being 9/11 or think that the Aliens are hunting us do you?
denis james
6th June 2010, 2:48
Mike, I hate conspiracy theories,the grassy knoll,explosives in the twin towers etc etc etc ad-nauseum pretty much because they never fit all of the facts. Which is what I tried to do. I did say that it was my take on the matter and welcomed others to fit all of what happened into another interpretation. Not just some of what happened but all of it and that was the best I could do.I really would prefer another happier explanation but I’ve been following F1 on and off since the late 50’s and sadly this interpretation is not out of the park
And yes there are aliens here ,Fangio,Clark,Moss etc but only Moss has stayed around to share his wisdom.
denis james
10th June 2010, 7:28
From the BBC site. Aint data collection great.
Blame for the contact itself has already been discussed. Red Bull, having gone through the steering traces in their telemetry, confirm that Vettel moved to the right and across Webber when he was only three quarters of the way past the Australian.
Jedi James
5th June 2010, 11:05
Happy Birthday RatBoy.
I am getting ready for my wife to have our first baby, due to be induced on Tuesday….now term + 9 days!
At least it will come between the Turkish and Candaian GP so I don’t miss any action.
Have a great weekend everyone and stay safe.
sato113
5th June 2010, 11:39
‘At least it will come between the Turkish and Candaian GP so I don’t miss any action.’ haha brilliant. a true fanatic!
Mike
5th June 2010, 18:27
A Hero amongst men (wipes tear from eye)
Dianna
7th June 2010, 22:18
You could always take your mini tv into the delivery room,your wife won’t mind.LOL.:) God bless the “3” of you.
sato113
5th June 2010, 12:29
political instability in Korea threatens gp…
http://en.espnf1.com/korea/motorsport/story/19359.html
Scribe
5th June 2010, 21:01
This is really bad, I’m not sure they’ll let us race under artillery.
Be amazed if it kicks off though. North Korean Leadership may be many things but they probably have a sense of self preservation. Countries been in exsitence for long enough.
TrueF1Grit
5th June 2010, 13:54
We were going to go to Oulton, but i have exams the next day, and for the whole week, GUTTED. But at least I have Silverstone to look forward too :D
VXR
5th June 2010, 14:10
Doesn’t look like Rossi will be riding for a while.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/84151
Prisoner Monkeys
5th June 2010, 15:43
In related news, Rossi reckons that if Ferrari want to succeed, they need an Alonso-Vetel-Rossi superteam for 2011.
VXR
5th June 2010, 16:05
Now we’re back to the three car thing. Non-starter if you ask me.
Ferrari need bigger mirrors…need to watch out for those green cars soon.
Burnout
5th June 2010, 19:57
You mean the brown ones. Those low-downforce, low-drag HRTs could spring a surprise at Monza!
sato113
6th June 2010, 1:40
lol. they could fare better just as force india did well at spa and monza.
Prisoner Monkeys
6th June 2010, 2:45
While it’s nothing more than a power-grad by Ferrari, I find it interesting should it happen. No team would agree to allow others to run a third car (optional or not) if there was a reasonable chance than one or both of their drivers would not make it to the grid. So if they agree to it, it means the grid will be expanded and with thirteen teams for 2011, that measn thirty-nine cars.
Actually, I figure that if Rossi is to make it into the sort, it’s likely to be through Parris Mullins buying into Toro Rosso and modelling it as a North American Ferrari team, like the old NART outfit.
sato113
5th June 2010, 14:27
don’t forget UK viewers can watch MotoGP on sunday from 12:30 on BBC2
and BTCC from Oulton Park from 12:00 on ITV4. (lets see if we can spot keith in the crowd!)
John H
5th June 2010, 17:23
Where does this 20-30bhp figure _actually_ come from? It seems an insane amount.
mateuss
5th June 2010, 18:04
Although 30bhp isn’t actually that insane, because in identical cars it would make very little difference in top speed, but it is definitely exaggerated and almost certainly pulled out of @ss!
Mike
5th June 2010, 18:39
Although pulled out the thou’s posterior it may be, I think they do have a disadvantage.
30BHP is a huge amount in this class of racing, and if it is that high, It only goes to show how talented Newey is.
It’s not only top speed, but acceleration as well, and every little bit of speed the Merc cars have that they don’t really need, equates to a fair whack of extra drag causing down force.
mateuss
5th June 2010, 21:15
Well I’am not arguing that their lack of power is a disadvantage but I’am saying its a relatively minor one because it is never one thing that makes a car good or bad its the whole package, and the engine is belived to have a good drivability which should help acceleration out of corners. But just consider this – Schumi with the same engine as the Mclarens (who were fastest trough the speed trap in Turkey) was slowest trough the speed trap from the established teams and only Senna, Glock, Lucas di Grasi, Trulli and Kovalainen were slower, it just goes to show that a good engine doesn’t make up for inefficient areo, and also should be something for the Merc team to consider for Canada.
HounslowBusGarage
6th June 2010, 0:05
“because we probably are 20-30bhp down on the class of the field”.
Whaddya mean Christian? You *are* the class of the field.
Ratboy
5th June 2010, 19:47
Thank you for all the Birthday wishes :) sad to say we went Kartin and Keith wouldnt let me win lol :p
Eastman
5th June 2010, 23:28
If you’re headed to Canada next week, like myself, for the GP and will be around on the Thursday prior to practice, check this out!
http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/autoracing/Canadian+gives+fans+hands+treatment/3111611/story.html
I’ll still be commuting unfortunately, but it sounds pretty great.