F1 Fanatic round-up: 14/10/2010

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Apologies those of you who noticed a ‘phantom’ round-up that briefly appeared on the site yesterday due to a technical glitch. This one’s the real deal…

Links

Bosses cool on two-day GP weekends (ITV-F1)

“Although neither team principal showed a great appetite for all of the serious track action to be held on the same day, Horner does think the schedule on Fridays needs to be looked at, with one idea to move pre-event scrutineering back a day.”

Thoughts on Renault F1 (Joe Saward)

“I feel it would be suicidal in the circumstances to drop Vitaly Petrov. His nationality opens the way for major league sponsorship from Russia.”

Lost in translation (ESPN)

“At one point a girl with an “I love DC” (David Coulthard) t-shirt came in and made a beeline for Sebastian Vettel. He gave her a bit of a funny look and joked “Who’s DC?” but he signed his name on the t-shirt anyway, and then above the “I love DC” he wrote “I’m not sure if…” It was great fun and the girl actually gave him at t-shirt, although I’m not sure he knew what to do with it.”

Abu Dhabi Formula One tickets nearly sold out (The National)

“Fans can still buy tickets in the Support Pit Grandstand and the South Grandstand. Both cost Dh2,000 for three days and Dh1,800 for two days. Tickets are still available for the Al Jood hospitality area of the North Grandstand, which cost Dh4,250.”

Sauber says signing Perez not a risk (Autosport)

Monisha Kaltenborn: “Kamui [Kobayashi] is no longer a rookie because he has one year. He has shown a remarkable performance this year. He has gained his experience, which he will be able to utilise the following year.”

Comment of the day

Horacio takes a dim view of drivers who ‘get stuck’ behind their rivals:

To me it is extremely disappointing to verify how this new view of a driver getting stuck behind another is more and more common.

This is, to put it simply, against the ultimate core of racing: you need to overtake the guy in front of you. If you can’t, don’t complain, this is what racing is all about. This "getting stuck" trend is just plain nonsense, unless we are talking about some kind of business, not racing.
Horacio

From the forum

The alternative HRT acronyms thread is attracting a lot of responses.

Site updates

There may be a brief period of down time tonight as some work is done on the server. This is an attempt to address, among other things, the problem experienced by some users whose comments are not appearing automatically.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Magnificent Geoffrey and pablopete80!

On this day in F1

Qualifying for the final race of 1983 framed the three-way championship showdown between Nelson Piquet (second on the grid), Rene Arnoux (fourth) and Alain Prost (fifth).

Arnoux’s team mate Patrick Tambay took pole position at Kyalami in South Africa. The slowest qualifier, Piercarlo Ghinzani in the Osella, was 8.3s slower than Tambay’s Ferrari.

To put that into perspective, in Q1 at Suzuka Sakon Yamamoto’s HRT was 5.3s slower than Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull.

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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52 comments on “F1 Fanatic round-up: 14/10/2010”

  1. Excuse me for being cynical but can’t abu dhabi only accomidate 50,000 spectators? If so it’s not that impressive when you think at least 120,000 were at silverstone this year.

    1. What’s your point? Abu Dhabi have recognised that they probably can’t attract over a hundred thousand people, and so have built their seating to a more realistic level. Having more seats does not mean they will all be filled – seen any of the Turkish Grands Prix of late? Abu Dhabi might have a smaller capacity crowd than Silverstone, but at least they’ll be spared the embarrassment of empty stands.

  2. Happy birthday to Magnificent Geoffrey and pablopete80, hope you have a good one.

    Great update on links opening in new tabs now Keith! I’ve been hoping that would come for a while now. Thanks.

  3. happy bidet to the magnificent one and pablopete80!

    1. i have a present for you guys, in the form of a giancarlo fisichella sighting!

      a cnn clip on ALMS. i laughed when they said it was part nascar, part f1 :P

      http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/sports/2010/10/13/close.inside.american.le.mans.cnn?hpt=C2

  4. Happy birthday to Magnificent Geoffrey, one of my favourite Fanatics! And to pablopete80… hey, I don’t know you, but have a good day anyway!

    1. Same from me, both a happy birthday today and enjoy it.

  5. Im not registered to the forum, and its a bit late tonight but here is mine:

    Harry redknapp’s tits

    1. senna would be better off racing these bad boys….

  6. Happy birthday Magnificent Geoffrey and pablopete80! Have a good day.

  7. Happy Birthday to Magnificent Geoffrey and pablopete80.

    1. I do like the idea of having Sat & Sun weekend.With all the practice session on Sat & then on Sun lets say qualifying at 11 GMT with the race on on 14 or 15 GMT, which will allow some time for the driver to relax.

      Abu Dhabi will be able to sell all their tickets as they only have I guess 50,000 grandstand seats.

      1. I’m interested to know what happened to the various support races at Japan, since everything must have been moved around to accommodate the F1 Qualifying on the Sunday morning, they must have dropped at least one of the other races scheduled that day, which is fine for the F1 fans, and maybe the drivers, but not for the other Championships which happen around it.

        1. I don’t think so the other supporting series are watched by too many fans who have watched the F1 race.

      2. yous right. abudhabi has only 50,000 seats.

  8. Ha, Joe Saward referring to a certain F1 journalist. I won’t use names:

    “There are so many people these days defrauding their readership that it is becoming a joke. I read somewhere that “we’re” going to Korea. The implication was that the author would be there. Well, I doubt he will be, as he has missed half the races this year, despite always giving the impression that he is there on the spot.”

    1. Who is he referring to? Is he referring to Keith?

      Well, I shouldn’t have to point out the hypocracy on Saward’s part. He might attend each and every race on the calendar, but most of his reports largely concern the journey to and from the circuit rather than the race itself.

      1. Hes not referring to Keith, someone far more obvious. I’d say who it is but I don’t want to be spreading the bad word of someone on this site when the only person it could affect is Keith.

        I don’t mind Saward. Its a different type of journalism. He more states the opinions of himself, and others. As a result I don’t think its the best site to hit if all you want is the facts of the weekend, but more if you want an insight into the rumblings that don’t make it as far as mainstream journalism.

      2. I have a feeling I know who he may be referring to. If Saward’s correct it also strips more credibility from ONE’s coverage seeing they cross to this person “on the ground in …….” (or used to, I haven’t bothered with their pitiful pre-race show for a few rounds now).

        I’m convinced Beattie’s “research” for his pre-race analysis comes from reading 3 blogs, possibly this one, Adam Cooper and James Allen. I’m sure I’ve heard him regurgitate almost word-for-word what i had read on one of those about 2 hours earlier.

        But at least Beattie’s more credible than the absolute muppet who hosts the show, but Rust’s another rant for another day.

        1. Just to clarify – I’m not saying Darryl Beattie is who Saward’s referring to. Beattie hosts the race from the studio, but they cross to a journo “on the ground” before the race for last minute news

    2. I don’t read Joe Saward since some months, just because I become tired to see him criticizing (hardly) other people just because they don’t agree on what he wrote. And I must say I don’t miss him.

      I think he has some kind of superiority complex (that is not any other thing than a kind of an inferiority’s one) mixed with bad temper, not nice combination, indeed.

      1. I quite like Joe’s reporting, he tends to give a good insight on what it is like to be “on the inside” at a GP and he is excellent at putting stories in context with a lot of historical detail. However the flip side of that is that he often reads too much into things that are happening, leading to some rather outlandish predictions.

        But I totally agree on the superiority complex part. Every time someone tries to point out his transparent pro-McLaren stance (something that came through a lot in his GrandPrix.com days, too), basically his response is “Shut up and go away.”

        Apparently the journalist in question contacted Joe and let him know he was not too happy about being referred to in such a way….

    3. He is reffering to James Allen who posted a blog with that title the same day.

      I also prefer for some of the guys to have actually been there when they come up with paddock insider stories afterwards.

      Although it does not mean his site is worse for interesting information (like that Virgin/Wirth simulator and the Lotus stories), just with a different content.

    4. And how many FIA press conferences has Saward done?

      1. Well thats irrelevant. He goes to each Grand Prix – attendance at a press conference is not fundamental nor the determining factor between a good journo and a not so good one.

  9. “The best story to come out of Saturday that I heard of was about a guy who put a bet on Jaime Alguersuari to top the timesheets on Saturday morning and won £5,000.”

    CLASSIC.

    1. To be honest I’m not fond of the idea of mid race bets… Doesn’t it kinda defeat the point?

      How much easier would the F1 prediction championship be then eh?

      For starters, Anyone who picked Massa last race…

  10. Man I can’t wait for Abu Dhabi! My tickets arrived a couple of days ago and I actually jumped for joy…

    Please let both championships still be on the line!

  11. http://www.smh.com.au/national/kennett-says-he-was-shot-at-twice-20101014-16le8.html

    Former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett claims he survived two separate assassination attempts when Melbourne upsurped Adelaide and claimed the Australian Grand Prix. His house was also vandalised and he claims to have received death threats over the subject, given that there were some intense protests over the plan. No-one was ever charged over it, because no-one knows who was doing it. It was, after all, fifteen years ago.

  12. Bernie Ecclestone and Vladimir Putin are reportedly in Sochi today for the signing of a contract to establish a Russian Grand Prix from 2014.

    1. That’s kind of like Al Capone and John Dillinger meeting to open a bakery.

      1. Prisoner Monkeys
        14th October 2010, 10:59

        I was reading the other day that Putin was helping a group of Russian scientists studying grey whales … by shooting it with a crossbow from a rubber dinghy (the bolts were blunt and contained some kind of tracking device).

        How is that anything other than incredibly awesome?

        1. Well for starters cults of personality around ‘dear leaders’ are never a very good direction to go.

    2. So he’s Putin his name on the dotted line?

      (groan)

      1. Prisoner Monkeys
        14th October 2010, 12:04

        No, he’s apparently already done it. Expect stories soon.

      2. Apparently they want to build the circuit from the same package they have put up for the olympics. Makes sense, as that will mean billions of rubles spent anyway, so another 200-400 million dollar wont even go noticed.

        I think the location makes a lot more sense for a F1 venue, than for winter olympics. Sochi is more of a beach-side, like Russian mediterrainan than it is known for any snow and ice.

  13. Happy birthday guys!

    I don’t quite agree with Horacio. Has he(?) forgotten how stupidly difficult to pass in F1 it is today? In the same equipment you’d have to be a seriously inferior driver to be overtook.

    1. You are being ridiculous, why don’t then everyone do their race simulations on Friday compare who is fastest, award points accordingly and go home?

      I hoverer completely agree with Horacio, racing is not about who is fastest over one lap, but who is faster from lights to flag whatever obsticales you have to manage and overcome, and thats difficult, BUT RACING IS DIFFICULT!!! Thats why not everybody can do it successfully.
      It would be similar if ice-hockey games would be decided who had the best shots on goal or who had most control over the puck, rather than who scored the most goals!

      1. Because that would be exactly the same thing, sure…ever heard of a straw man?

        I’m afraid the only one being ridiculous is you. Your only argument is a simplified principle that rarely ever applies in the real world, ironically exactly for the reason I said.

        1. Sorry, I don’t understand your stand point then. What I understood is you appose his point of view, that this term ‘ got stuck behind’ shouldn’t be used, you say that it is appropriate to use because overtaking is difficult. What I say is that its part of what the word ‘racing’ defines and phrases as ‘was outperformed’ or ‘outraced’ should be used instead.

        2. I’m sorry, I’d like to take this back. I was annoyed by your tone but that’s no reason to resort to name-slinging.

          Yes, Horacio does have a point. I don’t disagree with him totally. But it isn’t quite so simple as “you can’t get past, you’re not better”. Where Horacio’s point lies in that “getting stuck” shouldn’t be a synonym for “he was blocking me unfairly”

  14. PM you beat me to it! I saw that on the news tonight and came here now to post a link!

    And Happy Birthday to the goldfish guy…. ;)

  15. A good idea from Christian Horner here in respect of the race weekend shake ups:

    “But with Fridays, there is more we can do with it, for sure. To have teams at races on Wednesdays does not make any sense. So perhaps if you bring scrutineering in for Friday, or perhaps give incentives for young drivers on Friday.”

    I do like the idea of young drivers running on Fridays, but I’d quite like to see them in their own cars running along side the two race drivers to give a better indication of their true pace (and to allow teams a bit more development time)…but that won’t happen as it will (if you believe this argument) be costly to bring a third car to race weekends…

  16. Thank you very much, all of you. You’re all a thoroughly smashing bunch!

  17. Happy birthday Magnificent Geoffrey and pablopete80. Hope you both have a great day and many happy returns. I’d also like to thank Mag for always inspiring me to attempt to make better F1 puns and being such good fun. Happy birthday you two!

  18. Sorry I missed the boat so to say, just wanted to wish a Happy birthday to Magnificent Geoffrey and pablopete80, it’s been a hectic few days! Hope you both enjoyed it as much as we enjoy your contributions :)

  19. Sorry I missed the boat so to say, just wanted to wish a Happy birthday to Magnificent Geoffrey and pablopete80, it’s been a hectic few days! Hope you both enjoyed it as much as we enjoy your contributions :)
    Keith, I’m new to twitter, how do I join the Aussie GP group? Your help would much appreciated.

  20. i received my tickets for abudhabi just last week.
    hope the championship war continues till the last rae, which will be very exciting.

    1. I’m sure it will.

      There’s quite a few other people planning to go if you’ve not seen the discussion thread yet: 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix discussion

  21. FOM’s Japanese GP video is up:

    http://www.formula1.com/video/?inptC=Japan&inptY=2010&inptT=Race%20Edit

    A few things of note:

    * Hülkenberg onboard is pretty dramatic!
    * Footage of Hamilton losing third gear, looks like it happened on way out of chicane, told about Button catching him afterwards
    * Cool reaction shot of Japanese crowd after one of Koabayashi’s passes
    * Mercedes drivers being told “you are free to fight but be careful”

    1. What about onboard of Vettel’s “jump start”.
      Interesting to see an onboard view of it, from the outside it looked like there was less movement. Still wasn’t enough to deserve a penalty though, because he didn’t cross the yellow line.
      Not a bad video though, at least we didn’t have to wait about a week and a half after the race to watch it, unlike the singapore one! :)

  22. Just back from a few days in London, the F1 related stuff from my trip?

    Ferrari store has a life size F2005 Schumacher car which you are not allowed to take pics of :/

    Science museum has a Mclaren 1999 car crashed by Mika in Germany and still has damaged front wing ECG, but you are not allowed to take pics of :(

    The only F1 thing I could find that I could snap was a Mclaren exhaust pipe in the science museum.

    Also, since it was really sunny, I had been going round the capital with my Hamilton cap on, and quite a few people joked about this: Button fans telling me I bought the wrong Mclaren hat, the Ferrari store staff thumb downing me, and a tube staff member telling me where to go to find ‘Hammersmith’ before telling me Redbull are number 1. :P

    Disappointing about the lack of snaps, especially (the lack of) ones of a broken decade old Mclaren!!

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