Massa “wanted to race with a Mercedes engine”

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Felipe Massa says he set his sights on moving to a team with Mercedes power after losing his seat at Ferrari last year.

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Felipe Massa Q&A: Williams move has given me extra motivation (F1)

“Many people said Mercedes was in front and doing a great job with the engine. I think that was in my mind – that I wanted to race with a Mercedes engine.”

Paris : le pilote de F1 Jules Bianchi se fait voler une montre à 70000 euros (Le parisien, French)

Jules Bianchi was mugged for a £58,000 watch from sponsor Richard Mille when he stepped outside a hotel in Paris to have a cigarette with a friend.

Mark Webber says Lewis Hamilton and Williams will dominate F1 season (The Guardian)

“I’m predicting a big strong year for F1 in the UK, because you’re probably going to have Lewis [Hamilton] at the front and also Williams doing well.”

Grosjean says Australia no test session (Autosport)

“We have to try and score points. Being there just to compete is nice but it’s not what we want.”

Michael Schumacher: Sabine Kehm confirms F1 legend is ‘still in wake up phase’ and dismisses other medical reports as false (The Independent)

“The situation has not changed. Any medical information published which is not confirmed by the team of doctors treating Michael or his management has to be considered as not valid.”

#ForzaMichael! – 7 March (Ferrari)

Bernie Ecclestone: “It was a long night to convince both Eddie Jordan to release you and Flavio to take you but apart from my loss of sleep, it worked out well and I was very proud to have made it happen. I have always been one of your big supporters, so don’t let me down. My warmest wishes!”

Ecclestone Hails F1 Deal (The Wall Street Journal)

“I think everyone has forgotten about [the Concorde Agreement] to be honest because with the agreement we currently have with this Strategy Group, we don’t really need it.”

What’s Hot: A chat with Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone about races and maybe getting sued (Press-Telegram)

“Keeping his companionable and soft voice at the same timbre, Ecclestone said, ‘Be careful what you write. As much as I hate suing in America…’ and his voice trailed off a bit, but the drift, as we understood it, was that he was willing to go endure the distasteful task of ruining us financially, even though we’re just a couple of cable bills shy of bankruptcy anyway.”

Ecclestone says Mexico GP on, French GP possible, so what now for New Jersey? (Racer)

“We have got a contract on the table with France for a race at Magny-Cours. To meet the terms of our contract, the organisers will need money and we will want some kind of guarantee that it’s not going to be a one-night stand. It was [originally] going to take place this year, actually.”

Norway lawmakers have questions on $850 bln wealth fund’s F1 deal (Reuters)

“The fund, which invests Norway’s oil and gas revenues, bought a $1.6 billion stake in motor racing’s Formula One in May 2012, together with investors BlackRock and Waddell & Reed.”

Ron Dennis on Justin King as successor to Ecclestone: “It would be a steep learning curve” (James Allen on F1)

“I know him well. Competence in business is competence in business. But it’s a pretty steep learning curve that he would be faced with.”

Ricciardo ready to take the Bull by the horns (Reuters)

“Obviously I don’t expect to be treated like God. I’m not the world champion but at the same time I’ve been reassured I’m going to get the equal side, the same length of straw, whatever you want to say.”

New FOM graphics for 2014 and Coulthard gets a tablet (The F1 Broadcasting Blog)

“According to [BBC F1 editor Mark] Wilkin, we will be getting a complete overhaul of the world [television] feed, with a new graphics set.”

FW36 to Have Updated Senna Logo for 2014 (Williams)

Frank Williams: “I was very close to Ayrton and the iconic double S logo has been a mainstay on our cars since his death 20 years ago. This new logo is our way of celebrating his achievements as a racing driver, and also the sterling work of his Foundation which is doing so much to promote educational opportunities in Brazil.”

Driver rotation: gimmick or fix? (MotorSport)

Gimmick.

Tweets and pictures

Here we are , on the way to our first ever Formula 1 GP in Australia ! #ReadyFreddie

A photo posted by Daniil Kvyat (@danydk1) on

Daniil Kvyat: “Here we are , on the way to our first ever Formula 1 GP in Australia ! #ReadyFreddie”

Comment of the day

@Electrolite relishes the anticipated contest between the two Mercedes drivers:

The prospect I find exciting about this season is the battle between Mercedes’ two drivers. Even more so than Ferrari’s, because the W05 seems a likelier candidate for a drivers’ championship.

If either win the championship, it’ll be a big deal – Rosberg because he’s ever truly been held in the same regard as Vettel/Hamilton/Alonso/Raikkonen – somewhat an underdog out of the top drivers; Hamilton because, like Alonso, it’s been long time since his last – not mention it would truly vindicate the decision to move to Mercedes that split so many opinions. A huge year for both.
@Electrolite

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Icthyes, Les and Preekel!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Another of F1’s major rules shake-ups resulted in a dominant performance by one team on this day in 1998.

McLaren romped to an emphatic one-two in the Australian Grand Prix, but courted controversy when David Coulthard waved team mate Mika Hakkinen past. Hakkinen had been leading until making a pit stop by mistake due to a problem with his radio.

Image © Williams/LAT, Red Bull/Getty

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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82 comments on “Massa “wanted to race with a Mercedes engine””

  1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    8th March 2014, 0:04

    That’s the spirit Mark!
    Well, if he said Red Bull are to dominate he would be lying

  2. Bianchi robbed while smoking a cigarette? I thought the days of F1 drivers smoking were long gone with all of the fitness work they put in. Maybe running round at the back in a Marussia isn’t too physically demanding!

    1. Nothing wrong with keeping in decent shape and having a cigarette here and there. What’s the saying, something about moderation being the key to a long life? Speaking of which I’m gonna pour a beer and step outside for smoke : P

      1. @maciek
        I´m puffing away as I type! You enjoy your beer and smoke friend! 2 huge thumbs up from me to you!

        1. @karter22
          Aajght, but honestly I can’t say it’s a pride thing for me, either. I’m not a militant smoker. I think it’s great that we can’t smoke in restaurants and bars for example – though, not being able to smoke at outdoor tables starts being iffy. But anyways, my point was simply to say that there’s benefits to enjoying many of the things this world has to offer in some kind of sensible moderation.

    2. Three men approached him asked for a light and before he could produce the lighter 2 of them pinned him to the floor while the third removed his watch.
      I must admit I was surprised to learn he smokes, its obviously not a desired habitual attribute for an F1 driver or any sport.
      But I know at least one more driver on the grid who smokes.
      Tobacco advertising being all over F1 when I was growing up, my first toy F1 car was Senna’s car at the time carrying JPSpecial logos, it definitely made smoking acceptable and ‘cool’.
      Im so glad they outlawed it and that in this day and age its so frowned upon and ‘un-cool’.
      Disgusting habit, and even one cigarette can be costly as Jules Bianchi just found out to the tune of €70,000!
      Might give him the incentive to quit now.

      1. ugh i hate it when people preach about how smoking is bad. people can do what they want. i wish i lived in the 70s when no one gave a fudge.

        1. True that

        2. very true

        3. @sato113 I didn’t read any “preaching” in comments by @johnnik

          The statement was just one of surprise that when someone goes to great lengths to be fit for their profession, that they’d negate some of that effort by smoking. Do you not believe that it harms a person’s health?

          1. @3dom

            Do you not believe that it harms a person’s health?

            Well it’s all a question of degrees, right? You cannot compare the effects of a pack a day to those of a couple of cigarettes a day (not that we know where Kvyat fits into that scale, but I would imagine it’s at the lesser end). Just like it’s one thing to, say, eat deep fried food here and there or eat it as a steady diet. And it makes all the difference in the world for how less healthy things affect you if otherwise you’re generally healthy and active or if you aren’t.

        4. enjoy your smoke, but nothing you say is going to make the habit any less harmful. You should bear in mind that most smokers smoke because they have to, because it’s an addiction and when they choke their addiction, it kicks back.

          What’s worse than smoking is that he was wearing a watch worth 70k. I don’t get it.

      2. Doesn’t mean Bianchi was smoking. Maybe he went out with his friend so he could smoke, safety in numbers etc. Shame it didn’t work.

      3. I always laugh when people act as though a single cigarette could kill you or that smelling someone else smoking as you walk past is dangerous etc. The average person has an exposure to radioactive radon gas that is the equivalent of smoking 1-2 cigarettes a day in terms of airway (lung, throat, mouth) cancer risk. Having a couple of cigarettes during a night out is statistically negligible.

    3. Really??? So any athlete is not allowed to have a smoke once in a while?? Do you know for a fact that he is a habitual smoker or just a social smoker? I cannot comprehend why people nowadays make such a big thing about who smokes or does not. Let smokers be!! If he feels like lighting up than good for him dammit! It´s his life, he should be allowed to do as he pleases without giving a damn what people think about it or him! **Rant off**
      And then there are cynics talking how we should have more “James Hunt” in F1…

      1. No-one said that he isn’t allowed to – of course he’s free to do so. But if you are an athlete and aspire to make it to the top of your sport (and are currently sitting somewhere near the bottom of the pack) why would you choose to do so? Surely it shows a bit of a lack of commitment in this day and age that you would prioritise looking cool on the streets of Paris to your physical wellbeing. And perhaps it was just a one-off, but then people who don’t smoke are likely to not like smoking so that seems unlikely.

        It’s a real sign of lacking attention to detail in his preparations which could be a negative aspect in any team’s decision to hire him in future – albeit one that he may be lucky enough to be able to outweigh with phenomenal race speed. But if it comes down to a toss-up over himself and another similary talented driver it could make or break his career.

        On the other hand smoking is supposedly good for weight loss – maybe the Marussia is well over the weight limit and he’s helping the team!

        1. But if you are an athlete and aspire to make it to the top of your sport (and are currently sitting somewhere near the bottom of the pack) why would you choose to do so?

          Tell James Hunt that

          1. That was before fitness was quite as important to F1 as it is today anyway.

          2. David not Coulthard (@)
            8th March 2014, 12:19

            @todfod Well, among the things he did in order to win races, smoking wasn’t one of them. He smoked to enjoy himself, not to increase competitiveness…

          3. @todfod, James Hunt had a lot more to worry about regarding life expectancy than cigarettes, and the tobacco companies were very busy putting out the message that smoking was harmless. Today we know better, when I see a young person smoking I classify them as not-to-bright and I know they lack self-discipline, not good qualities for a F1 racer.

          4. Come to think of it Hunts’ premature heart attack was probably smoking related.

        2. @karter22 I have to say I completely agree with @johnnik @JKorz and @jerseyf1

          While I agree that it is within anyone’s rights to smoke if they like, as long as it doesn’t harm anybody else (I suppose it’s legal after all), there’s no denying that it’s a detriment to your health. I work in health care, and there are so many smokers that seem to bury their heads in the sand and ignore this fact, simply because the effects are chronic and they don’t notice them at the time. I’m yet to be convinced that people start smoking for any other reason than to look cool, be accepted socially or because someone they know does it. Surely it’s rare for anyone to do it and enjoy it the very first time they do it, unless it satisfies an already established addiction that’s come about from years of passive smoking (smoking does seem to be more acceptable in other European countries after all). Regardless, it will affect his overall fitness and may affect how employers/sponsors perceive his commitment or both, so I feel we’re right to question a professional sportsperson’s choice to smoke

          1. @Dom

            Exactly.
            Funny and a bit sad reading the reaction of some people trying to detract from negative effects of smoking and imply ridiculous logic to risks etc.
            How much better is society now that smoking is banned in bars,clubs,restaurants,public transport etc?
            Society has woken up to how disgusting and destructive smoking is and its now classed as uncool.

            I’ve been a Formula fan since I first heard and saw them on tv as 4yr old in the early 80’s, I grew up during the heydays tobacco advertising. nicotine,tar and all the dozens of toxic chemicals were presented like confectionery is today.
            Like I said earlier my toys had tobacco advertising emblazoned all over them, it was everywhere as a young boy growing up I thought it was cool and couldn’t wait till I was legally old enough to try it.

            In 25-50 years from now i suspect smoking will be really taboo, reserved for self destructive hardcore rebels, outcasts, drop outs and people who think they might die from something like slipping on an iced staircase.
            @jerseyf1
            All smokers are sheep they followed a trend into Addiction, enslaved to a branded expensive habit that kills you! Wake the ‘$%&# up!
            You don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to smoke where ever you like !?
            Forcing people (including children) to put up with the horrible smell and breath in toxic second hand fumes?

            My Granddad was in the RAF during most of the second world war, he lived through some crazy battles in life but was a smoker and died from lung cancer when I was young, I’ve lost several people to smoking related illnesses’ Its disgusting and anybody that thinks otherwise is addicted and blind in denial.

            And know what’s worse?
            I’m a smoker.
            Been trying to quit for years and years…
            Disgusting habit!

        3. @jerseyf1

          it shows a bit of a lack of commitment in this day and age that you would prioritise looking cool on the streets of Paris to your physical wellbeing

          That is what is wrong… you just said it.. in this day and age, yeah, in this day in age one is frowned upon if one smokes or if you wears a fur coat… I say F everybody… What do you know why he does it? He might have just tried it once and truly did like it! It doesn´t mean he does it to look “cool”. Nobody should intervene with that. It is his life and he can do as he pleases.
          It irritates me to death how non smokers preach and pretend to make smokers drop it! You can die by slipping on a staircase that iced and have smoked 60 years and was the cause of death smoking? No!
          That is what is wrong with the world today… bunch of pansies that want everybody to abide by “the norm”. Sheep I call them… and those sheep might aswell live longer than a smoker but so what? Is it really worth living a little bit longer having to listen to people B and moan about smoke?
          And another thing, how do you know if it affects his physical fitness? Are YOU him?? I know a lot of people that can play 90 (hard played)min. of soccer and after the game is up, they light up! So, so much for that! Every Body is different period!
          You can preach all you want but this is one subject I will not put up with, it is bad enough that “society” has made an outcast of us smokers and have to deal with their BS regulations and smoking areas on a daily basis to have to read it here. I saw the article and just though: “Damn, that´s bad luck!” on the other hand everybody else who is a non smoker starts criticizing him for smoking and how it shows a lack of “commitment”… REALLY???

          @sato113

          ugh i hate it when people preach about how smoking is bad. people can do what they want. i wish i lived in the 70s when no one gave a fudge.

          I totally agree with you man!! Ugh!!

          @todfod

          Tell James Hunt that

          Hear, hear!! It´s funny how hypocritical these sheep are when they long for more James Hunt in F1 but these same people throw a hissy fit when they read something like this article about Bianchi… Sheep!!!! bah bah bah!!!

          1. All you lot care about is that he was smoking, HELLO!!! The guy was mugged!

            I for one hope he’s alright

          2. @dominikwilde

            The guy was mugged! I for one hope he’s alright

            Amen to that!!! Just goes to show what society is about in this day in age! Never mind him getting mugged… he must be burnt at the stake for smoking and showing lack of commitment! REALLY??

          3. Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
            8th March 2014, 11:48

            @karter22

            Well maybe we are just conceded for his physical welfare, because Smoking is Bad!!!!

          4. @karter22, Keep telling yourself that. Addicts have an amazing capacity for self delusion.

          5. @karter22

            I didn’t frown upon him for doing it nor say that nobody should or should be allowed to smoke. I support freedom of choice. My point is that if a rational team boss were to have him and another equally skilled driver to choose from the rational choice would be to take the non-smoker for the reasons I’ve set out.

            how do you know if it affects his physical fitness?

            From you apparent love of the 70s perhaps you are still living in the past, we have this thing called science now which gives us facts which are sometimes useful. Another invention you might not have heard of is statistics. For example someone who smokes for 60 years will almost certainly die as a result of illness caused by smoking – I don’t have the actual statistic but I know that it’s very close to 100%. Someone who regularly uses stairs may have a miniscule increase in risk of death but is highly unlikely to die (or even suffer any minor inconvenience) as a result of their choosing not to avoid stairs (in this case I have no particular sampling to back it up, but I’m very confident it could be!)

    4. Nicotine boosts thermogenesis and your metabolism… I would just go about it with nicotine gum though.

    5. LOL I wasn’t expecting 2 line comment to start such a bunfight!
      To the people that think I was preaching, I wasn’t. To the people that pointed out that I made a statement of surprise, that’s exactly what it was, and all it was.

      Bianchi is welcome to do what he likes, doesn’t bother me one jot.

      I think my surprise was bolstered by remembering that Webber said he can have a meal now he’s retired from F1 (or words to that effect), so smoking any amount seemed off the cards. But, yeah, whatever, it’s his choice, nowt to do with me.

      1. I really hope this experience of being mugged dosen’t lower his performances on Sundays…

  3. A great and well-put CotD, at last. Couldn’t have phrased it better.

  4. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    8th March 2014, 0:25

    About COTD, I guess this is a quadruple menace (WWF talking) because in 2007, Alonso and Hamilton canceled each other’s chances to be champions, so Kimi won. Now, both Kimi and Alonso can put down the other’s chances to be champion again, but so do Rosberg and Hamilton.
    It may well be a 4-horses battle till the end, and maybe another guy clinches it because of the double points, and because everybody else was too worried focusing in the wrong rival (as in 2010). SO don’t put Massa out yet, or Hulk, or Vettel, if the car reacts soon.

    1. or Hulk

      I can’t even entertain the idea of a Force India taking somebody to a championship at the moment.

      1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        8th March 2014, 1:16

        @matt90 yes, I know it’s too optimistic, but what if (a big what if) the contenders turn out to be just the Mercedes-engined cars? What if in terms of reliability, FI shows to have an advantage? It’s a big dream, but you know, anything can happen this year, and Hulk is not a Chilton, he is hungry for big game!

        1. For the first half of the season at least, it looks like the Mercedes teams and Ferrari have an advantage. This could yield possible podiums for Hulk, Bottas, Magnussen, Massa, Button, Perez.. with win contention depending on reliability, and Hamilton/Rosberg looking for multiple wins, and Alonso/Raikkonen at least a win. Lotus and mainly Red Bull will come back strong though once the Renault engine has fixed its vibration problems. Sauber and Marussia will have to make hay (possible points finishes) while the sun still shines..

          1. @omarr-pepper and @fastiesty At the moment I don’t see any reason to rate Ferrari higher than Williams. Engine and reliability are both in favour of the Martini car.

          2. OmarR-Pepper (@)
            8th March 2014, 12:57

            @ardenflo the Ferrari wasn’t competitive in 2012 but the championship was decided in the last race. And now, counting the Abu Double, it’s even more plausible to see one of the Ferrari boys grabbing their next WDC

          3. @omarr-pepper I’m sorry, I’m one of those few people who don’t really buy the Ferrari nonsense of their car being terrible in 2012. It was no Red Bull but people act like it was a Force India…

            I think the relation Ferrari-RB in 2012 is not comparable to Ferrari-Mercedes in 2014. The Mercedes has a bigger advantage over the rest of the field than the RB had in 2012.

          4. OmarR-Pepper (@)
            8th March 2014, 14:20

            @ardenflo of course Ferrari wasn’t Force India, I was one of the ones who defended exactly what you are saying. I only want to say that you can’t take a team off now, because to be a little behind in pace is not a tragedy. To be well off pace, such as Lotus, Red Bull and the typical Marussia and Catherham, that needs harder work, of course.
            And The Ferrari-Mercedes difference now should be seen in the real race. Remember Button said his McLaren 2013 was “the best car ever”. That’s more than PR work, in my opinion. I guess he felt the car was better, but real racing showed all the opposite.

          5. @omarr-pepper I understand and I agree. I cannot wait untill the lights go out next sunday.

  5. The Mclaren doing burnouts actually sounds quite nice, anyone who has main grandstand tickets for Melbourne is very lucky.

    It was about time FOM updated the on screen graphics, the last time they did it was an improvement, the problem is now there’s a lot more to information to show.

    1. Mind, the last graphics had only been used since 2010. Looking back at videos and from memory, the ones up to 2003 were used since about the mid-90s, so the ‘swoosh’ was somewhat short-lived in comparison.

      I’m looking forward to seeing the new graphics anyway. I’m assuming they’ll take some getting used to.

      P.S. My favourite was 2009’s updated ‘square’ graphics.

  6. the problem is now there’s a lot more to information to show.

    I gather there is going to be a lot more information in the graphics this year.

    There’s going to be more information available to fans in general this year, Especially those of you with mobile devices who buy the official app ;)

    1. Can’t wait for the fuel one.. if that makes the cut!

      1. Fuel, battery charge, energy harvest and discharge, turbo boost, ERS-H and K power output… let’s see which ones make the cut, a very good reason to watch FP1.

      2. Surely they won’t allow fuel levels to be published information. Teams would want to keep it secret for a tactical advantage, that way it could open up another element of strategy, otherwise if someone decided to conserve fuel early on to allow all out attack at the end of the gp, then published fuel levels would allow another team to plan to defend this early

    2. Thank you, Based @GT-Racer.

      Please impart more of your inside knowledge on us!

    3. @gt-racer The graphics are still primarily designed by DixonBaxi, right? The BBC’s magazine article implies that BBC Sport are the primary designers, it could have been worded better IMO…

      “Together with our Host Broadcast partners, FOM, we have been developing a new graphics package, with much more information. This will enable commentators Ben Edwards and David Coulthard to be aware of what is happening on the track and in the pitlane and to be able to interpret it for the audience.”

      Obviously, i’m sure the broadcasters would be consulted, but that’s about it.

      1. Not sure about DixonBaxi, I know the older graphics used between 2004-2009 were done by them & the website design is done by them.

        Don’t know if they will be doing the new set or if it will be done in house by FOM themselfs, I do know that FOM were advertising for graphics designers a year ago & have brought in people to work on 3d graphics design & animation the past year.

        As to the broadcasters input, They will be able to put there ideas forward & will be informed of any changes, They won’t however be able to tell FOM what style/information to include.

  7. Yes, Massa and Hulkenberg must be patting themselves on the back about their 2014 team switches. Maldonado, not so much.

    1. Although I really like Lotus as a team, Im glad that they should have a car slower than Force India. Looks like things worked out ok for the Hulk. Sometimes not being able to reap the benefits of being a pay driver works out as well

  8. Too bad Bianchi couldn’t use the “Do you know who I am?!” defense

    1. Why? To be robbed even more?

  9. Magny-Cours?! Finally! Not the best circuit around, but there’s something about it that just pulls me in. Great news.

    1. Likewise.

  10. What I found remarkable about the Felipe Massa interview was that he said something like “everything I was saying, they were trying to do” on about three occasions. That makes me wonder how seriously his feedback was taken back at Maranello.

    1. Massa will now try to pretend that his hands were tied at Ferrari and he wasn’t allowed to win, that they didn’t listen to him etc. just to justify his below par performances. The truth is he should be thankful to Ferrari for keeping him so much. After all, they did support him in 2008 and made the WDC at that time play second fiddle to him.
      I hope Bottas beats him. Can’t wait to hear the excuses he’ll come up with…

    2. I have noticed this as well. Very curious. But then again, it’s hardly surprising that Ferrari listened to Alonso’s wishes more.

  11. New graphics! New graphics! New graphics!

    I knew it was coming, but it always feels like F1 has entered a new era when FOM introduce entirely new TV graphics.

    1. It’s when DC is given a tablet that you know it’s a new era.
      BBC sport has lost the plot – all it does is copy Sky’s lamest ideas (see Match of the Day).

      The old graphics had the lap counter in the way of the onboard views, and always showed the wrong six runners across the bottom of the screen – I’m glad to see the back of them.

  12. If Magny-Cours gets back to F1, that’d be wonderful news for F1 and yet another relief, that F1 is not moving out of Europe. Maybe Magny-Cours is not the most amazing track in the world, but it’s definetely iconic in it’s own way and is way more exciting than those new Tilkedromes. I miss this circuit very much and I’d like it to return to F1 calendar.

    1. I’m happy for France to be getting the GP back, just wish they had a better circuit for it :P

  13. There’s quite a lot of stuff in the round-up today so I just wanted to say don’t miss the Press-Telegram piece. Not very newsy but quite revealing.

    1. 15 articles! Wow! Just one of those signs that the 2014 season has dawned upon us.

    2. That piece is just such a lovely insight in how Bernie operates, thanks for bringing it to us in the Roundup @keithcollantine

    3. OH, and let me add to that, that I am glad that you summed up the article and answered the question posed as “Gimmick!” right away, I too see no other way to bill it than exactly that.

      1. @bascb,@keithcollantine, I agree that as a way to run a championship that would be another (add expletive here) gimmick, but it occurs to me that it would make a great end of season 1-day competition in the mode of a “friendly” or the champion of champions, run like multiple qualifying sessions.

        1. Yes, it would be nice if they did something like that at the start of the season, or at the end or something to give a bit of an extra for the fans @hohum.

  14. I feel like I should say something on this… I just don’t know what to say…

  15. Glad that Nico Rosberg chose a different coloured helmet this year as Lewis’ and Nico’s helmets were difficult to pick easily but now it’s Jenson’s and Kevin’s helmets that will be difficult to distinguish.

    1. no need for distinguishable helmets, just watch for the McLaren with MASSIVE oversteer.

  16. Frech media reports that the police arrested 3 suspects in Bianchi’s mugging. Apparently it was Max Chilton, Marcus Ericsson and Esteban Guttierez raising money for 2015 seats.

    1. AHHH hahahahaha!!!!

  17. Steph (@stephanief1990)
    8th March 2014, 12:13

    Wow, Nico looks so like his father I actually thought it was Alain at first.

    Awful what happened to Jules and I hope he’s okay but off topic, I am a bit surprised a racing driver is actually allowed to smoke.

    1. A) He’s French, B) he was in Paris where you actually get less smoke in your lungs if you’re inhaling the air via a cigarette filter!

      I do think this marks Bianchi as a future F1 Supremo though…

  18. If Bianchi had been mugged in Brazil the media and the F1 community would be going crazy stating that Sao Paulo is not safe and all that BS.
    But because it happened in Paris it will just be lightly mentioned and not a single person will dare say that France may be too dangerous to host an f1 race.

  19. I just hope to god that being mugged dosen’t lower Bianchi’s results…

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