In the round-up: Lotus to make an “announcement about the future of our team”.
Links
Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:
“Lotus say they will make an ‘incredibly exciting announcement about the future of our team’ on April 27th. The announcement will be at Duxford where they already had a straight-line aerodynamic test planned. You have to wonder if it has something to do with the court case.”
“It’s rubbish. The sport is not for sale.”
News Corp considers joint bid for F1 (FT)
“News Corp could, in theory, provide an international broadcast partner to a bid team. However, any News Corp move on F1 would have to factor in sponsors’ desire to generate the largest audiences possible, which means some broadcast rights being kept for free-to-air providers.”
Bernie Ecclestone the only winner in battle to grab F1 wheel (The Guardian)
“”It’s rubbish,” Bernie Ecclestone told a reporter this week when asked to comment on the rumour that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation is planning to buy Formula One. Which, on past form, means that this is a potential deal worth keeping a very close eye on.”
“This article I wrote in 2009 includes thoughts on why Ecclestone might want a deal with Sky: Why the government must protect live F1 broadcasts on free-to-air television”
“To all moaning Sky would be a disaster, name a terrestrial broadcaster with £200m to spend in F1.”
“Unsurprisingly, Murdoch employee @eason52 supports a Sky F1 takeover. But fans don’t want partisan, ad-ridden ITV-style coverage.”
Via the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa turns around his season (BBC)
“Within the team, Massa’s support comes only from Smedley and the two are operating as their own little unit within a big picture of Alonso-centricity.”
Richard Branson is a man of his word (Imgur)
An advert for the flight on which Richard Branson will serve as a stewardess after losing his bet with Lotus’s Tony Fernandes.
The Coulthard Commentary: ‘F1 2011 has roared into life’ (Red Bull)
“I don’t know how it came across to our viewers, but my fellow BBC commentator Martin Brundle and I were absolutely buzzing after our commentary. Sunday’s race was an instant classic, a fascinating strategic battle that remained in the balance right up until the chequered flag. In days past, you would know what the race order was after the final round of pits tops. Not any more.”
Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.
Comment of the day
Stefanauss had first-hand experience of the 2003 San Marino Grand Prix – the race that featured in “On the Day” yesterday:
I was there!
It was my first and for now only Grand Prix. I’ll never forget. The two brothers were starting right in front of me. It was so sad to hear what was going on in their family and all the speculation about Michael and Ralf possibly (although unlikely) not racing that day.
Ross Brawn was the practically the last person to leave the grid and wish Michael good luck, you could tell from his face it was quite intense. A different Sunday.
Stefanauss
From the forum
WelshF1 hands out the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix Awards.
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On this day in F1
Ayrton Senna scored his first F1 win on this day in 1985:
Michael Griffin
21st April 2011, 0:03
Kevin Eason proving again what an absolute *insert vulgar word* he is.
Gucha
21st April 2011, 0:08
Indeed. He’s now claiming he was misquoted by Keith.
Ads21 (@ads21)
21st April 2011, 0:56
I’ll be honest as I regular reader of The Times I loathe its F1 coverage, nearly all written by Kevin Eason. And I also lost my temper with him across twitter the other week, so its fair to say he’s not my favourite person in the world.
But I still think saying he supported the move to Sky on the basis of those tweets was maybe a little bit of a stretch. Especially considering his piece in the Times didn’t betray any suggestion of support for the deal (and usually he’s rather bad at hiding his bias). I think it’s possible that on twitter he was simply playing devils advocate.
I still think F1 moving onto Sky TV would be bad for the sport in many ways and don’t like the idea. But as far as giving it protected status goes, the idea of the government guaranteeing certain sporting events for free to air TV is not something that sits comfortably with me. It requires politicians to pick and choose which events they think are culturally valuable. But since my opinion isn’t the criteria used for choosing what’s protected, and looking at the current sports chosen, F1 probably should be on the list of free to air events.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st April 2011, 7:43
But those tweets were all positive of such a move. Stating it would be without ads and giving other advantages as well.
Coefficient
21st April 2011, 8:50
Indeed!! We all know that Murdoch and chums like to brag about budgets etc but there’s only one reason why sky subscription targets have fallen below targets and that’s because it is inferior in every way to the main free to view channels. Everything on sky looks like cost a fiver to produce, especially the spots channels. The info graphics look like they’re done on a Nintendo SNES or Commodore 64 and the photography and directing skills look like they’re done by 16 year work experience kids.
McLarenFanJamm (@mclarenfanjamm)
21st April 2011, 12:11
Sounds like you’re mixing up Sky with ITV to me.
I don’t support Murdoch’s proposed move to buy F1 or the broadcasting rights or whatever but I think their sports coverage isn’t too bad. Their football coverage is good and their Ashes coverage was excellent. Other “less important” sports do suffer though.
I think blaming their subscription rates dropping solely on their coverage is a bit narrow minded, we are still suffering the effects of the credit crunch and people will be looking to save costs everywhere, cancelling Sky is one big money saver.
Please don’t think I am supporting them, I think Newscorp having any involvement would be a huge blow to F1 in the UK at least. You can throw as much money as you like at a sport but if you don’t have the viewers it’s pointless. F1’s top drivers are already some of the highest paid sportsmen on the planet, chucking another £200m their way will only increase their pay packets. F1 doesn’t need that kind of money.
CVC’s debt from F1 was something like $2.9bn when they bought the sport and that will apparently be completely paid off by 2014. Given the recent surge in viewing figures and so far apparent success of the current rules I don’t see why they would sell it, it will make them far more money in the future than they would make from selling it now.
mike77 (@mike77)
21st April 2011, 21:15
Never ever ever ever let f1 leave the bbc, or at least free-to-air tv. Remember f1Digital+?
JPQuesado (@joao-pedro-cq)
21st April 2011, 0:20
I’m wondering about what is that ‘incredibly exciting announcement’ from Team Lotus about. Maybe they managed to kidnap someone from Lotus Renault and Lotus Renault has conceded the rights of the name Lotus to Team Lotus. Still this is highly improbable seen that Team Lotus is in a good way to win in the court.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
21st April 2011, 1:05
They clearly think they’ve won. A decision was expected before the Turkish Grand Prix, though I highly doubt they’d be able to keep it quiet simply so that they could have their moment of rubbing it in.
Cacarella
21st April 2011, 3:27
or they know they’ve lost and they’re going to say something like ‘we changed our minds about the whole thing, we don’t think we’re the original lotus’
… but i think you’re explanations more probable.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
21st April 2011, 3:52
The only conceivable scenario where Fernandes gets favourable conditions from the court hearing and can control the date the information is released is if he has come to a settlement with Group Lotus, one where he changes the team name, gets some kind of remunerating from Group Lotus, and the FOM television rights are preserved.
But based on what we’ve seen from them and their go-for-the-jugular attitude, it’s unlikely they’d agree to anything.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st April 2011, 7:47
But when one of the parties knows they will lose it might be the best thing they can do to go for a settlement instead of letting the court decide and dictate what happens next.
I do expect this to be something like that rather than one of the parties winning.
As you say, only with a settlement would Fernandes be able to control the date of announcement.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
21st April 2011, 8:15
I can’t see Fernandes settling in such a way that he retains the Team Lotus name and then waits a week or more to tell the world about it because nothing about the team would change. They wouldn’t have to come up with a new name and logo and (possibly) livery. That would fall to Group Lotus; they’d be the ones looking to delay the annoucement to give them time to get organised.
I think a settlement that would be suitable for Fernandes would be Group Lotus agreeing to drop all claim to the history of Team Lotus and instead goes by Lotus Cars. Fernandes would drop the Team Lotus name and adopt something new, like Team AirAsia. Group Lotus would also pay out a select amount to Fernandes, whilst FOM would agree to consider “Team AirAisa” as Lotus Racing with no loss in television rights. This may involve retroactively changing the 2010 results so that Lotus would appear as AirAsia. I think that’s the only settlement they’d agree to. And they’d only agree to it if they knew the writing was on the wall. Otherwise, they’ll take any opening they’re offered to try and keep the Team Lotus name – no matter how small it is.
Of course, this annoucement on the 26th could have nothing to do with the court case at all.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st April 2011, 8:42
I pretty much agree with that. A settlement would have to be Fernandes dropping the name in return for something if he believes he will lose.
That said, I doubt the FIA and FOM would be able to agree with a name change like that. Wouldn’t it involve all teams to agree in such a case? Would Kolles and Virgin go along with such a move without getting any bonus themselves?
Lets see what this will be about then after the Easter holidays!
By the way are you going that mountain road again this weekend? I would love a few pictures, it must be quite something.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
21st April 2011, 9:03
The teams would have to agree on a name change, but I don’t think they’d have an issue with it, because it’s the same team that earned 10th place last year. They’re entitled to the money.
It doesn’t affect them. If Fernandes were to change his name, the money wouldn’t default to Virgin or Hispania (or both). It would go back to FOM and be recycled into the 2011 television rights payout. And if the name change was a part of a legal agreement, they’d have no scope to prevent the change. They’d be able to influence the name Fernandes would ultiamtely use, but they wouldn’t be able to force Fernandes to keep the Lotus name because there is a legal agreement that says the name must change. Any team that tried to tried to force them into keeping the Lotus name could open themselves up to legal action because they’d be preventing it from happening.
Nah, it was just a one-time deal. I don’t have pictures of it, largely because I don’t have a camera. I do, however, have this map route. It would make for an awesome rally stage – even if it is over twenty kilometres longer than the maximum allowable stage length.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st April 2011, 9:14
Actually I wonder weather Kolles would disagree with a name change (Mallya and FW might as well) just to ensure Fernandes has a bit tougher ride, as that might postpone him becoming a tier 2 team (3 top ten finishes) and would take away a bit of his budget.
I had a look at that map, really looks great for a fun drive. I drove something similar between Switzerland and France, it was full of motorcycles going doing it up and down though!
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
22nd April 2011, 4:14
1Malaysia is the holding company that owns Team Lotus. “Lotus” is officially designated as their constructor name. Changing the constructor name is what will threaten the money. Sauber kept the BMW name because their constructor name was BMW Sauber.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
21st April 2011, 9:36
They wouldn’t risk it. Blocking a name change that must happen legally would open all teams up to legal action from Fernandes. If Fernandes did not change his name, as he legally agreed to do so, he would be open to penalties. If, however, that failure was a direct result of other teams deliberately blocking a name change, it’s unlikely Fernandes would be held accountable for the failure and the teams that blocked him would be on the receiving end of penalties of their own. If not legal action, it’s likely the FIA could strip them of championship points and FOM could exclude them from receiving any television rights for the 2011 season.
It’s likely that if Fernandes agrees to change his name, the other teams will be told that a name change has to happen, and that vetoing it from happening at all would not be an acceptable vote because Fernandes would be legally obligated to change his team’s name, and the ruling in the high Court would trump FIA/FOM regulations. The other teams could prevent Fernandes from adopting a particular name, but they couldn’t stop the name change from happening.
Yeah, it was pretty empty until I got to Ginger’s Creek (switch to satellite view; there’s a large open space about one third of the way across) when I picked up a tail who clearly thought he was Lewis Hamilton (after five minutes, I decided he was Nelson Piquet Jnr., though). There’s nowhere to pass on the mountain, and this guy wanted to get past something severe. He took to harrassment and intimidation to try and get by, riding my bumper the entire way down in an attempt to pressure me to pull over. It only got worse when I hit a convoy about 15km from the end of the line. When we finally got off the mountain, he overtook four cars at the first opportunity – a stretch of road barely long enough for you to take a look, judge the distance, pass a car and safely pulling in. I was doing 120km/h when I passed the car in front; he then shot by doing at least 160km/h. The guy was an accident waiting to happen to someone else, and probably a fatal one at that.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st April 2011, 9:50
Those kind of people are really annoying. I mean, I like to drive a bit adventurous at times, but pushing on a road clearly not enabling you to go past … .
Good thing you didn’t get stuck in a convoy waiting for the emergency services to clean him up later :-(.
As for the teams blocking Fernandes, they would not be as much as blocking him to change the name. He can get a new name without anyone agreeing, just he loses the rights to the money from FOM and continuity of results.
I really think that is something that those teams like HRT would push for. No one can force them to agree with Fernandes team keeping its money and beat them.
A possible settlement deal could be including some compensation for that happening.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
21st April 2011, 10:00
He could, but if the settlement guaranteed he would retain the $36 million from FOM – which would come with FOM’s agreement – the other teams would powerless to stop it from happening.
Siv
21st April 2011, 22:35
Is there really a risk to the money? Doesn’t the team officially have the name 1MalaysiaF1 or something like that?
I think the problem that Sauber had was the team was officially called BMW Sauber F1 and that’s why they had to keep it.
Although this is all a puzzle as Brawn managed to change names from Honda and didn’t lose any of the money – in fact they gained a whole bunch from previous years of Honda F1 participation.
Andy C
21st April 2011, 11:06
Adrian Newey is joining as tech director. You heard it here first :-)
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
21st April 2011, 14:59
Rumor has it that it’s about major sponsorship deal with Maybank, largest banking group in Malaysia.
mike77 (@mike77)
21st April 2011, 21:17
look at bbc f1 gossip column – takeover by caterham??
Skett
21st April 2011, 23:47
Well honestly, even if its not it would be a genius name change if they lose the settlement!
pinecone (@pinecone)
21st April 2011, 0:41
Love the Richard Branson flight ad. He’s a good sport. ;)
Warwick
21st April 2011, 8:47
..And has a good marketing team. :D
Patrickl (@patrickl)
21st April 2011, 1:36
Lol, that article about Massa’s great form harps on how Massa was held back by a poor pitstop in Malaysia. How about Alonso’s poor pitstop in China then? That’s what got him stuck behind Schumacher which pretty much finished his race.
Jay
21st April 2011, 2:53
I really cant understand this whole defending Massa phase that the whole F1 Fraternity is going through just now.
We all know that Alonso is public enemy number 1, everybody hates him and of course Massa is the victim. Its made to look like Massa is racing against the odds by putting in good performances.
Lets just face it, putting it bluntly, Massa doesnt and never had the character to lead a team, he is a contemporary of Barichello, he’s a nice guy and a good racer. You dont win multiple world titles by being a nice guy.
Alonso is the better driver, and I am still waiting for the day that people actually will start to see that.
Lets put it this way..do you think Barichello or Irvine would have won 5 world titles (ok maybe more than 1) on the trot at Ferrari if equal treatment was practised?
If the answer is yes, I guess I should stop watching F1 all together
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
21st April 2011, 3:59
I think you answered your own question:
He won a lot of hearts and minds with his podium performance in Brazil 2008. It was one of the most genuine displays of sportsmanship we have ever seen in the sport.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
21st April 2011, 7:20
Great response PM!!
I thought the Massa article was quite good and provided some real insight to the inner-workings of Ferrari. I feel the result of the article will cause even more people to root for Massa.
I also detest the argument that a “nice guy” can’t win in F1. There have been many nice guys and many WDC among them, look at Button, at Vettel, pretty nice guys. Massa may be one of the nicest, but shouldn’t we applaud him for that?
I don’t want to root for a selfish, egotistical driver like Alonso. Nice people need nice drivers to believe in Jay, and that is why there will always be fans for drivers like Felipe. I find it sad that you can’t understand it.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
21st April 2011, 8:35
I think that Massa is totally out of place at Ferrari. I don’t think he would have had a shot at the championship with a team like McLaren or even Red Bull, but at Ferrari, I do think he’s a man of honour in a den of thieves.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st April 2011, 7:48
Nailed it down exactly. Not a fan of Massa myself, but I do like the guy and wish him to give Alonso a fight for it.
Girts (@girts)
21st April 2011, 8:58
Well I think you won’t find many F1 fans who would put Massa in front of Alonso in their list of ‘the best F1 drivers of the 21st century”. However, performance level of a racing driver is not a constant value. It changes all the time because of different circumstances. And Massa has done a better job than Alonso in the 1st chapter of 2011 season. So he is capable of beating Alonso in certain circumstances. Moreover, it takes more than just a nice guy and a good racer to fight for the drivers’ championship with Lewis Hamilton until the very last km of a F1 season but this is what Massa did in 2008.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
21st April 2011, 9:09
But how do you define “best driver”, though? Are you ranking them purley on their racecraft? Or are there other factors that you have to consider? What if there was a driver out there who was super-fast, but universally despised because they were arrogant, ignored fans, blamed everyone else for their failures (but always took sole credit for success), and generally threw temper tantrums when things didn’t go their way? Could they reasonably be called one of the best drivers of the twenty-first century when they made Muammar Qaddafi look cuddly?
Girts (@girts)
21st April 2011, 9:42
In my opinion, the answer to the last question is yes. Many of the greatest F1 drivers ever have controversial personalities. I think that James Allen once wrote something like this: People shouldn’t confuse likeability with the ability to get the most out of the car. If I was asked to name who I think is the best F1 driver, I would take into account a lot of his abilities, for instance, is he a good team leader, is he consistent, can he quickly adapt to new regulations, is he still motivated when driving a crap car, can he still get the most out of it etc. But I wouldn’t take any points off for being an arrogant, selfish *****. I probably won’t be a fan of such a driver myself but that’s another story.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
21st April 2011, 10:13
I think a driver’s likeability is an important aspect. They might not be the fastest, but they do a lot for the sport in their own way – by breaking down the perception that Formula 1 is an elitist sport. I’d much rather the likes of Jenson Button be held up as an ambassador of the sport because he comes across as a really genuine guy, even when he’s unhappy. Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber might be faster, but they’re very closed people (which is totally okay; you can’t just change someone’s personality on a whim) and also seem perpetually negative. For example, I can’t recall the last time I heard something positive come out of Mark Webber’s mouth. Even when he wins, there’s still a backhanded insult or complaint thrown in there, like when he won at Silverstone last year.
David-A (@david-a)
21st April 2011, 18:24
Um, I haven’t seen anyone claim Massa is better than Alonso? I like both Ferrari drivers, and I know that even the staunchest of Alonso anti-fans will acknowledge that he is superior too.
However,
This is very true.
David-A (@david-a)
21st April 2011, 18:26
Sorry Jay, PM went and claimed Massa is outpacing Alonso. Over the course of a season, I don’t see Massa finishing ahead of Alonso to be honest.
Rahza
21st April 2011, 2:23
If I’m not mistaken Ricardo Teixeira will be driving Team Lotus’s straight-line aerodynamic test at Duxford and maybe the rumour that some of us heard months ago about Sonangol’s big sponsorship to the team will be reality. Other than that, maybe Team Lotus had won the court battle with Group Lotus. Recently Dell,Rodac and BRP coming on board that giving a sign of it.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
21st April 2011, 8:39
Those companies joining Fernandes are no indication that he has won the court case. It’s more likely the joined because it’s a young and promising team who are threatening the midfield. They’re the most attractive to sponsors, and will continue to be so even if they lose the case.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st April 2011, 8:56
Well its not just sponsors. Dell supplies them with computer HW, Rodac delivers part forf the car. These deals are more partnerships with a chunk of advertising added into getting paid a bit less for the products.
The new sponsors will want to get in as the team lookes like going forward. And Fernandes seems a good bet from past success. The advantage of getting in early is good.
Also pretty solid Asian involvement is a plus for a lot of companies (hm, where does that leave British Lotus – they seem to manage this paradox pretty well for now).
F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
21st April 2011, 2:58
for you uk people, good luck with the bbc. speed’s f1 show is about 10x worse than itv, and the fox-aired (same show, broadcast) races are 10x worse than that! i’d gladly pay twice the bbcamerica price to get the f1 coverage, even as a high quality internet video.
Cacarella
21st April 2011, 3:24
I can get the Canadian GP from fox (in Canada) and it is the WORST broadcast ever. I feel sorry for the Speed broadcasters when they have to do the ‘Fox’ version of the show. They have to explain every detail almost down to the purpose of tires.
Last years Canadian GP when Massa and Luizzi collided on lap 1, they were so excited and shouted out that Massa hit Luizzi, then they had to explain that Massa was in the Red car and Luizzi was in the white and green one and that we shouldn’t be confused with the other red or white and green car because each team has two cars and…. God, by the time they finished the explanation we were on lap 3.
Danny
21st April 2011, 3:57
LOL
Guelph35
21st April 2011, 4:30
This is my biggest fear about Newscorp taking over F1.
Instead of 4 races during the summer, we’ll get the “racing for dummies” version all season long, and US fans can say goodbye to seeing a race live with the exception of Canada, Texas, and Brazil.
F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
21st April 2011, 5:37
funny thing about rupert tv, speed paid whoever for the us rights to broadcast 24h of le mans. do they put it on tv? barely.
the race was on for no more than a couple hours at a stint, with at least as much time going towards their unwatchable original content and junior-league nascar. the overnight was world feed streamed on the website (no longer with radio le mans on it) while the tv channel i’m paying for played infomercials :/
like hrt reminds us, this could be YOU!
BasCB (@bascb)
21st April 2011, 9:01
Actually I saw some notions it might have something to do with a shift from fixed network broadcasting towards internet viewing and especially phones and pads coming in.
In such a case, it would make sense to buy the content, get advertising deals in and then sell that package on to be shown on devices all over the world.
Skett
21st April 2011, 23:54
Surely it would be more logical for them to show the other races live? What else do they have to show in the middle of the night?
d3v0 (@d3v0)
21st April 2011, 4:04
There are sources on the internet for this! Have to look hard for them, but that’s how I watch the BBC coverage of all races. I spend the entire weekend in a bubble with my wife, sheltered from twitter, my websites and everything related to F1, as my internet content is sometimes posted 12 hours later than the Practice/quali/race results.
Its a bit hectic, but I tried watching the Speed coverage for the first 30 minutes of Australia this year and had to shut it off, it was so dreadful. BBCFTMFW!
F1Yankee (@f1yankee)
21st April 2011, 5:14
first rule about fight club…
LocustGP (@locustgp)
21st April 2011, 7:50
the second rule about F1-ght club…
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
21st April 2011, 7:51
Back on my soap box again,
in America, we don’t have any choice but to watch SPEED. I’ve seen BBC coverage online and on youtube, but I must stand up for the SPEED boys, I think they do a fine job.
Cacarella
21st April 2011, 13:57
I agree Adam, although in Canada we’re no longer allowed to watch the Speed coverage, I liked it very much. Just hated it when they had to cover the GP’s for Fox.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
21st April 2011, 20:56
Agreed as well. Yes it sucks that they have to run ads, but they do their best to time them well and keep them short. Yes, it sucks even worse when they have to run the 4 midseason races on FOX and dumb down the commentary, but how else can they hope to make new fans? Under the circumstances and with the budget they have SPEED does exceptionally well I think. Will Buxton is as good if not better than any of the pit lane reporters on the BBC, and Steve Matchett has more technical knowledge and a sharper eye than anyone on the BBC. They also showed recently that they will do their best to cater to the diehard fans, as evidenced by fans on twitter successfully lobbying them to finally show qualifying live. They also stream practices 1 and 3 for all races now, which is an improvement. Only this morning they announced plans to show at the very least highlights of GP3 and WSR races where we can watch American drivers Connor Daly and Alexander Rossi make their way towards hopeful future F1 seats. My point is that they do a pretty decent job, and they’re always trying to improve.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
21st April 2011, 8:45
Sorry but like I said yesterday, the suggestion that News Corp. will buy Formula 1 simply because Bernie says they won’t is proof of nothing. There may have been plenty of occasions where Bernie does a backflip and says something won’t happen, only to introduce it a few months later – like Silverstone (though he needed to take the race away from the and burning Donington to make the BRDC pull their finger out) – but there have also been plenty of occasions where he has kept his word. He said that if Formula 1 ever went back to the United States, the race would not be held at Indianapois. Guess what? we’re going back Stateside, and the race is not at Indy.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
21st April 2011, 3:11
It’s so nice to be running on Chrome after so many weeks!
thanks for all Keith!
LutzF1 (@lutzf1)
21st April 2011, 6:04
YES !!!
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
21st April 2011, 6:39
Agreed! :D
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
21st April 2011, 13:16
All seems to be working well at my end too :)
jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
21st April 2011, 23:44
Indeed, no more having to run multiple browsers, thanks for the fix Keith
box this lap (@sebashuis)
21st April 2011, 7:39
last year Lotus was also going to make an “incredibly exciting announcement about the future of our team” when they said their name would be Team Lotus for 2011. With that in mind I think it’s nothing special.
HounslowBusGarage (@hounslowbusgarage)
21st April 2011, 9:19
Quite a detailed article here http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/8464189/Rupert-Murdoch-would-transform-Formula-1.html on the News Corp story. But there’s quite a lot of ignorance displayed in the reader’s comments below the story.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
21st April 2011, 9:25
Judging by the fact they’ve got the comments running backwards, I don’t think they’re interested in promoting a worthwhile debate.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st April 2011, 9:34
Thats why we are having the debate over here Keith :-D
This does go a bit more into detail, and I think getting content to package and sell with ads inserted to be viewed on mobile devices (Slim having better deals for being involved) sounds like a logical thing for them to be looking into.
Actually they do have a point about F1 not being active in the digital domain with their website being the last to pick up any news and no presence in twitter and FB at all.
BasCB (@bascb)
21st April 2011, 9:37
Adding to that, FOM does not even have the Malaysian race edit up, let alone the Chinese one!
Look at Indy/NASCAR and what they have online immediately.
HounslowBusGarage (@hounslowbusgarage)
21st April 2011, 10:57
Yes it’s an odd construction isn’t?
Latest comments to the top of the page, but replies to comments descending down the page from the original comment. Difficult to read a detailed exchange or argument.
It’s comments like this “Usually the result can be predicted by the practice times” that make me laugh.
Pedal to the Vettel (@pedal-to-the-vettel)
21st April 2011, 9:31
Can’t wait to hear what Lotus have to say, even if it’s the plain obvious…
Fixy (@)
21st April 2011, 9:41
That’s what gets me angry. This season starts from zero, so both drivers should have equal treatment until one of them clearly has the upper-hand on the other. Favouring Alonso, if something happens to him that takes him out of the fight for the title, then Ferrari will have no one to substitute him in that challenge. If they let both drivers fight, if something happens to one of them, they will still have one driver fighting.
topdowntoedown (@topdowntoedown)
21st April 2011, 9:54
Happy to hear that Chrome and Safari users are working OK… is anyone else now having trouble on Fireforx (v3.6) oir is it just me?
SparkyJ23 (@sparkyj23)
21st April 2011, 14:17
You might want to upgrade Firefox to 4
Derek
21st April 2011, 10:58
Lotus say they will make an ‘incredibly exciting announcement about the future of our team’ on April 27th.
The only thing I would find incredibly exciting would be if they found 2 secs per lap on a new part tested on the strait line tests.
McLarenFanJamm (@mclarenfanjamm)
21st April 2011, 11:55
That may be all well and good, but what a waste of money it would be for what would likely be less than 1m viewers. I read somewhere that the BBC coverage of the Chinese GP peaked at over 5m. Name me a satellite broadcaster that can broadcast to that amount of people in the UK.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
21st April 2011, 13:15
If the Lotus thing is to do with the naming rights then surely Fernandes would have it all over Twitter before then?
Lucas "Mr. Veloce"
21st April 2011, 16:31
Hey Keith, what do you think this ‘exciting announcement’ will be about Lotus? (Which Lotus is it? Lotus Renault or Team Lotus?)
Bernard (@bernard)
21st April 2011, 19:37
Renault or Lotus?
The clue is in the name. ;)
the-muffin-man
21st April 2011, 17:15
Team Lotus news…
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/90907
Hewis Lamilton
21st April 2011, 17:47
Essentially,
Team Lotus has been linked to a tie-up deal with sportscar manufacturer Caterham, with an announcement about a takeover possible as early as next week.
AlonsoWDC (@alonsowdc)
21st April 2011, 20:39
I didn’t like watching F1 (I’m American but I watch English broadcasts from time to time, particularly if I sleep in) on iTV but the advertisements were the only reason why.
What’s so partisan about their F1 coverage?
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
21st April 2011, 20:43
From what I remember of ITV coverage, like alot on ITV is the quality of it. Cheap.
Vincent
22nd April 2011, 23:14
Thanks for the greetings!