F1 Fanatic round-up: 1/9/2010

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In today’s round-up an early look at the trailer for the forthcoming Ayrton Senna film:

Links

Ayrton Senna film trailer (YouTube, Japanese)

Renault: Petrov still needs to improve (Autosport)

“It is sometimes hard to forgive a mistake like that he made, but this is F1 and it is not easy. He did a very good race. He avoided all the traps from the rain and I have to say that he did a very good performance.”

Man allegedly tried to steal IndyCar tires while drivers celebrated

Andrew W. Browne… allegedly took an unattended Target Ganassi IndyCar tire cart while Driver Dario Franchitti and his team were celebrating their Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 win.

Comment of the day

The teams are discussing holding a pre-season test at Bahrain – presumably to ensure nothing interesting happens when they race there – and Icthyes isn’t impressed:

I’d like to see no pre-season testing at any track that’s currently on the F1 calendar. Look how boring Barcelona usually is because the teams know it like the back of their hands.

Ideally, we’d have one test at Valencia, one at Portimao, with the final test being in Dubai, before heading off to Bahrain or Melbourne. I’d also like to see any genuinely new team be given near-unlimited testing (so long as they can afford it, and no more than three days out of every week) prior to December 23rd after being accepted, to help them get up to speed.
Icthyes

From the forum

Would this have been Hermann Tilke’s best F1 track if it had been built?

Site updates

An update on the caching plugin yesterday appears to have caused a problem where some users find their log-in details are ‘forgotten’ while navigating the site. I’m looking into the problem.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to chris sz!

On this day in F1

Stefan Bellof was killed during a sports car race at Spa-Francorchamps on this day in 1985.

The young German driver was tipped as an F1 star of the future, particularly after his showing in the wet Monaco Grand Prix in 1984 where he was catching Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna before the race was abandoned.

Bellof died after colliding with Jacky Ickx while trying to overtake him at Eau Rouge.

Author information

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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67 comments on “F1 Fanatic round-up: 1/9/2010”

  1. Oliver
    1st September 2010, 0:10

    Senna died just a couple of months after I was born so I never witnessed his greatness but I still have to see that film. True legend

    1. Enigma
      1st September 2010, 0:31

      We must’ve been born the same month then – I was born a couple of months before his death too.

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        damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
        1st September 2010, 3:06

        I was born in November 1993 but I’d happily switch it for November 1983, just so I could have seen some of the best years of Formula 1 and of course, Ayrton Senna.

      2. Calum
        1st September 2010, 7:47

        I was born just a few months before the death of Senna as well, September 1993.

      3. Stealthman
        1st September 2010, 10:18

        January ’94 over here… I was barely four months old. :(

        1. Sparky
          1st September 2010, 15:24

          I think I was 14 at the time, I was watching it live on TV, I remember how shocking it was….

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            beneboy (@beneboy)
            1st September 2010, 21:15

            I’m about the same age as you then Sparky.
            Shocking is probably the best word but in all honesty I think we need a new one to describe how I felt watching that race, it still leaves me cold just thinking about it.

            I couldn’t say he was the best ever but he’s the best I’ve ever seen and as a young kid back then I used to think of him as if he was almost superhuman. Prost, Mansell and a few others were good but he was just something else and he had something about him that captivated me in a way no other F1 driver ever has.

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      US_Peter (@us_peter)
      1st September 2010, 2:40

      Senna died in the first F1 race I ever saw, so I never really witnessed his greatness either…

      1. Harv's
        1st September 2010, 7:03

        You guys are so young!

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          US_Peter (@us_peter)
          1st September 2010, 7:11

          I didn’t get to see much F1 as a kid, since it didn’t/doesn’t receive much attention in the US. I saw the ’94 San Marino GP while living with family friends in Germany and was instantly hooked, then came back home to no F1 coverage. It was years again before I was able to watch regularly.

          1. Calum
            1st September 2010, 8:14

            And then you found the internet :P

      2. Alex
        1st September 2010, 9:15

        You at least saw his very last race. I started watching from Monaco ’94 so never got to see the great master at work. Of course I didn’t know any of that at the time, as I was a 10-year old who came upon an F1 broadcast on Eurosport completely by accident! I’m really looking forward to that Senna documentary now.

        1. Oliver
          1st September 2010, 10:57

          I’m February ’94. The top gear senna tribute bit was the main sort of thing that converted me

  2. Jake
    1st September 2010, 0:12

    Quick unrelated question keith. Is there anywhere where we can access the results of all the ‘rate the race’ polls for this season and the last 2?

    1. Enigma
      1st September 2010, 0:32

      It’s usually published after every season.

      Also, it was published after the German GP, as it was the worst rated.

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    Icthyes (@icthyes)
    1st September 2010, 0:22

    This is me being stunned at another COTD…thanks!

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    sato113 (@sato113)
    1st September 2010, 0:24

    check out this page going around,
    seems the red bull wings flex most when dipping in and out of a slipstream.

    http://f1enigma.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/%CE%AC%CE%BB%CE%BB%CE%BF-%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%B1-video-%CF%80%CE%BF%CF%85-%CE%BA%CE%AC%CE%BD%CE%B5%CE%B9-%CF%83%CE%AE%CE%BC%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%BF%CE%BD-%CE%B3%CF%8D%CF%81%CE%BF-%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85/

    wings usually flex more when going in and out of a slipstream, but not this much…

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      Scribe (@scribe)
      1st September 2010, 10:49

      You can see it even more clearly on the onboard shot of the crash. His entire front wing rocks up and down as he comes out of Buttons turbulance, movement on that scale would have made the car highly unstable. Watch from 0.52, if the obvious flexing seen in the video contributed to the crash RBR are racing a seriously dangerous bit of kit, possible contributer to Webbers Valencia crash?

      http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8953382.stm

      I think this has already been raised on the site though.

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      Icthyes (@icthyes)
      1st September 2010, 11:59

      The coincidence in the way the wings flex is pretty striking. We used to see in the past where cars bottomed out they would lose grip and spin wildly, maybe this is a similar phenomenon with disturbing the airflow.

      Also, great to see a Greek F1 blog ;)

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    sato113 (@sato113)
    1st September 2010, 0:27

    my comments aren’t appearing…

    1. Enigma
      1st September 2010, 0:34

      After you write a comment you have to wait a few seconds and then refresh – seems like there’s a delay or something.

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        sato113 (@sato113)
        1st September 2010, 1:32

        oh yeah. Keith please delete the last 2 comments.

        1. Mike
          1st September 2010, 11:11

          Sato those Videos are brilliant, They clearly show that both times the wing was moving violently. Which as it happen in two similar accidents, could be a key reason for them.

          Now I wonder if the FIA will finally take up it’s power to punish the Red Bull team even if the wings pass the tests. . .. … maybe this is why the team stayed very quite about the penalty…

  6. Adam
    1st September 2010, 0:59

    Typo: Bellof was at Spa, not Le Mans.

  7. Soeren
    1st September 2010, 1:17

    He surely didn’t die 25 years ago at Le Mans while crashing at Eau Rouge?

    1. BasCB
      1st September 2010, 9:33

      Having such a speed that you crash all the way from Eau Rouge to Le Mans will certainly get you killed though :-(

  8. Myles Woerner
    1st September 2010, 1:26

    Keith, Bellof died at Spa, not Le Mans

    1. Calum
      1st September 2010, 7:49

      Was it not in a Lemans prototype at Spa?

      1. Alex
        1st September 2010, 9:17

        It was in the Spa 24 hour race in a Porsche Le Mans prototype.

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          jihelle (@jihelle)
          1st September 2010, 12:36

          Bellof died at Spa but it wasn’t during the 24 hours. It was the 1000 kilometers. He was driving a 956 and Prototypes are not allowed to compete at the 24 Hours of Spa since 1953.

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      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      1st September 2010, 10:45

      Sorry about that – fixed it.

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    wasiF1 (@wasif1)
    1st September 2010, 4:45

    When will the movie be released? & moreover will we be able to see this in English? It will be interesting to see the inside story between Prost & Senna.

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    US_Peter (@us_peter)
    1st September 2010, 5:41

    So the Austin track layout was just released. Counterclockwise with knockoffs of Maggots/Becketts, parts of Hockenheim, and Instanbul turn 8… 133 ft. of total elevation change, with turn 1 being the high point. Actually looks better than I had expected. Fingers crossed.

    http://www.statesman.com/sports/formula1/promoter-unveils-f1-track-layout-890582.html

    1. dangarcia
      1st September 2010, 6:18

      Great to see the track for the first time, but check out the quote from the article:

      “Unlike some NASCAR races, there’s typically not much passing in an F1 Grand Prix. Some F1 fans blame that situation on Tilke GmbH, the German engineering firm that has designed most of the sport’s modern circuits and is also overseeing the U.S. Grand Prix project.”

      Tilke designs bad tracks, discuss.

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        US_Peter (@us_peter)
        1st September 2010, 7:08

        I figured that went without saying amongst other fellow fans…

      2. cyanide
        1st September 2010, 7:52

        Hey, atleast if more people start saying that, Tilke might actually be forced to design racetracks that actually excite drivers rather than corporate sponsors who want to sit in outlandish buildings constructed on the side of the racetracks.

    2. HounslowBusGarage
      1st September 2010, 8:05

      Yes, it doesn’t look bad at all. Better than I expected, but I wish the two straights weren’t both preceded by such low speed corners as it means the cars spread out before they even get onto the straight and the tow advantage is broken. Looking forward to seeing how the topography works.

      1. NickV
        1st September 2010, 9:17

        It looks quite good but surely they could have come up with some original sections rather than just copying the best from Europe?

    3. BasCB
      1st September 2010, 10:19

      That does not look too bad. It might give some nice driving, but not too sure about that “turn eight” working, i hope Tilke is able to reproduce it so it will work.
      Also quite a bit of speed in there, that straight is long and on the run through turns 3-9 a car should be able to get a good speed as well. The hairpin could work like the one at Hockenheim.

    4. BasCB
      1st September 2010, 10:38

      I am really curious about that Red Bull run in Korea next weekend with Karun Chandhok, and weather they will allow him to freely twitter about the event. It might even be, that the FIA World Council is closely following this to determine weather to go ahead with the GP.

      There is some serious rule bending going on to allow that Korean GP to take place. It seems the teams are going to have to take not only their cooking equipment for the catering crew, but the actual sinks as well. Worse is, the track surface itself looks pretty doubtfull at the moment.

      Look at what Adam Cooper has to say about this: http://adamcooperf1.com/2010/08/31/fia-breaking-own-rules-to-make-korean-gp-happen/

      1. BasCB
        1st September 2010, 10:39

        that should not have been linked to this article, but as a separate post, sorry.

    5. Mike
      1st September 2010, 11:19

      “best chance for passing, or overtaking as it’s called in F1.”
      What’s that? … seems overtaking is a weird alien word… But the writer forgot our third way of saying it “Alonso is faster than you”. :D

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        US_Peter (@us_peter)
        1st September 2010, 18:15

        I’m guessing that’s because in Austin, most of their readers are NASCAR fans who call it “passing.”

  11. Hamish
    1st September 2010, 6:22

    Senna movie looks decent. That said, they could just show a still frame of him for 90 minutes and I’d still say its an awesome movie.

    I remember a few months back there was a trailer for another F1 movie based around the late 70’s early 80’s on this site. Does anyone have that link?

  12. Lustigson
    1st September 2010, 7:34

    Oh my goodness… that Senna trailer gave me chills down my spine. Can’t wait to see the documentary.

    1. Alex
      1st September 2010, 9:07

      +1

      Exactly what I feel

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      TomD11 (@tomd11)
      1st September 2010, 9:52

      Same here, especially that first shot.

  13. Calum
    1st September 2010, 7:51

    On iphone, the mobile site that normally appears isn’t appearing, instead it is just the normal website.

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      Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
      1st September 2010, 10:03

      Which software version/model?

      1. Calum
        1st September 2010, 16:07

        Funny you should mention that, I just updated last night to iPod OS 4.0.2 which must be the latest one…

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          Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
          1st September 2010, 17:19

          Still doing it now?

  14. alexf1man
    1st September 2010, 7:57

    Today it’s testing day for 16 year old Malaysian Nabil Jeffri on the runway in Duxford.

  15. DGR-F1
    1st September 2010, 9:02

    Where can I see the number of engines and gearboxes used by the teams so far this year?
    I was wondering how close the teams are to being penalised at the remaining races.

    1. kem
      1st September 2010, 9:52

      DGR-F1, you can see them here http://www.vivaf1.com/reliability.php

      1. DGR-F1
        2nd September 2010, 10:02

        Thanks kem! Why did Pedro switch to the 9th engine before using 8th? Or did they test it and find it faulty?

  16. antonyob
    1st September 2010, 9:34

    sad to remember Bellof. Who knows but the signs were he had it all.

    Interesting article on James Allens website about why Vettel crashed. Looks like that as Vettel pulled out of Buttons wake the front wing flexed significantly on one side, this, according to engineers, could make the car unstable and could’ve contributed to him spearing into Button. It could have also contributed to other Red Bull crashes. The footage is on the beeb website.

  17. antonyob
    1st September 2010, 10:58

    actually looks to me like the left one flexes up dramatically as he moves back into the tow of Button at the last moment. The wing would have lost air over the top that close reducing the vacuum underneath and therefore grip. It wouldve only been apparent to Vettel once he moved left

  18. Hamish
    1st September 2010, 12:09

    I went into a sports memorabilia store today in downtown Melbourne (where Ive just moved) and there in a case was a official race programme for the 1994 San Marino GP signed by Ayrton Senna.

    Just a lazy $8,000.

    1. Mike
      1st September 2010, 13:08

      I didn’t know there was a place like that in the city, any chance you could let me know where it was?

      1. Hamish
        2nd September 2010, 4:18

        Its on Elizabeth Street about 2 blocks from Flinders Street Station. If you’re heading towards Flinders its on the left side. Any F1 fan would have a field day in there. Heaps of signed pictures and even a few signed helmets by Schumacher, Hamilton, Prost and Raikkonen.

  19. Mike
    1st September 2010, 12:43

    The problem about racing movies is that they often aim it at the same people who like massive crashes and drifting in their viewing…..

    This one, looks like it’s been done right.

    1. bosyber
      1st September 2010, 15:04

      I guess they call it a documentary to make clear that this isn’t your run-of-the-mill variety racing movie, but about the real stuff :)

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    Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
    1st September 2010, 17:19

    I’ve made some changes to the cache set-up and the comment log in/out problem seems to have gone away. Anyone else still experiencing it?

  21. antonyob
    1st September 2010, 17:27

    all fixed keith !

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    Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
    1st September 2010, 18:26

    The site will be down for maintenance for around four hours from 10pm this evening. This is to address some of the problems we’ve had with the server in recent days.

  23. MacLeod
    2nd September 2010, 10:18

    Personally i don’t like Senna, this because i saw him racing (karting) against a friend of mine en had a (bad) temper when he loses. He had the best matrial money could by and still couldn’t believe he lost to him. I drove also against Senna (just praticing in the cart of my friend) and he had certain skills of a great driver but the person oh boy!

    Now he passed away nothing bad about the deseased but i tell you his temper was also legendary (even when as a teenager)

  24. Robert
    8th September 2010, 15:44

    Senna died a day before my birthday , will never forget.
    Can’t wait for movie , by the way is it a movie or documentary.
    Any suggestions who would play Senna?

Comments are closed.