The F1 off season thread

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Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 3:34 pm

Rather than the 2009 F1 thread being necro'd from time to time, then carrying on next spring, I locked it, we can start a new thread with the new 2010 season.

In the meantime, it's all kicking off. As predicted, Mercedes have bought into Brawn as their official team, and sold their stake in McLaren. Jenson may wish he'd taken up Brawns offer, the smart money is on 2 German drivers, probably Rosberg & Heidfeld. No definite news yet on what engines McLaren will have for 2010, but Crash.net reports that MB will honour their existing deal.

Meanwhile, Alonso's Ferrari carreer gets off to a great start as Ferrari's President drives him into a gravel trap at a 'meet the fans' event at Valencia Embarassed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBFWONEWWU8

Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 3:42 pm

McLaren will have the same supplier of engines for at least the next 2 years, announced in news at 15:00GMT

Button would be most likely to move, apparently his £8M is cheap. (relatively)

Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:26 pm

Rumour mill is working overtime today.

Crash.net report:

Quote:

Jenson Button 'has agreed' three-year McLaren deal

Maybe, but I read those inverted commas the same way as when you have won 'up to' £3 Million, ie take it with a pinch of salt until its official.

Old Nobby Haug over at Mercedes - Brawn has said they may have a 'surprise' driver, and Schumi only signed a contract with Ferrari to help them with their road cars, leading to the inevitable speculation that we could see Michael out for one last swansong season making an all German team with Rosberg. What a grid that could make

Merc
Schumi & Rosberg

McLaren
Hamilton & Button

Ferrari
Alonso & The other Guy (sorry Filipe)

Red Bull
Vettel & Webber

On the other hand, I thought Michael's neck was too bad for him to replace Massa, has it got better now? Not everyone takes it seriously, from Crash again:

Quote:

I can confirm it is true!! After his fledgling years in sportscars with Mercedes, he has taken the opportunity for that one last fling with F1 - to end his illustrious career in a "Silver Arrows".

Yes, Ladies and gentlemen, it is true. Sir Stirling Moss will be back behind the wheel in 2010.

And, in more shock news...today it has been announced that USF1 will be using none other than Colonel Sanders for their catering at Formula 1 races...keeping it "All American". Not to mention finger-licking good.

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:03 pm

BBC are reporting that Button has signed.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8363892.stm

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:33 pm

I wonder how good friends Button and Hamilton will be when they are competing against each other in identical cars. Whichever is slowest will be claiming his car is slower by design.

Meanwhile Kimi has decided to trouser the millions Ferrrari have given him not to drive (to make way for Alonso), and he's off to the World Rally Championship instead, after a competetive outing in Finland earlier this year (before he crashed). Those Finns have to drive sideways on ice to go to the shops, so seem to be expert at any motorsport. I hope he's happy there, his heart clearly wasn't in it this year.

A sad end (for now) to a career in racing that I witnessed the very start of, when he came to the Uk as a schoolboy to do Formula Renault. He never said more than a couple of words to me, some things don't change.

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:41 pm

I've got a feeling Kimi will be back next year. With fresh energy. After all he's one of the more talented drivers. About the sideways driving: I was in Finland for work a few years ago, it was in November. I wondered about the ticking sound of the cars driving by through town. It was the spike tires that aren't even allowed over here. Smile

Hamilton and Button: Two ex-champs. Nice line-up. I guess we all know who will turn out to be the better pilot.

I doubt we will see Schumi back in an F1 car .. With his status he can only lose.

Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 4:19 pm

You don't believe me when I tell you these things.......

Quote:

Michael Schumacher is poised for a sensational return to Formula 1 with the new Mercedes team, according to BBC Sport pundit Eddie Jordan.

Quote:

The plan is for Schumacher to be a stop-gap before Mercedes can prise German rising star Sebastian Vettel out of Red Bull.

The move would reunite Schumacher with Mercedes GP team boss Ross Brawn, who masterminded all his seven titles at Benetton and Ferrari.

I guess its down to his neck surgeon then.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8368107.stm

Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 8:02 am

While I do not know how bad Massa's head injury was, I think that he would a fool to come back. As much as I like the guy, I think that he should count his lucky stars and retire.

The way that Mclaren came on at the end of the season, I think that they are going to be a force to deal with.

It will be interesting to see how Button deals with Hamilton. I see this as a team with two number one drivers neither of which want to be number two.

Just my opinion.

Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 9:57 am

Arthur Dent wrote:

It will be interesting to see how Button deals with Hamilton. I see this as a team with two number one drivers neither of which want to be number two.

That worked really well when they had Hamilton and Alonso together.....

Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 1:46 pm

I doubt that Hamilton will be number 2. As mentioned above, when Alonso went to McLaren he was back to back world champion. But hamilton is Ron's blue eyed boy. So imo it was a brutal move on Button's part. I remember reading on the bbc website that Mercedes wanted an international team. Should that be inter-national. I think they are kidding themselves if they think they'll get Vettel away from Redbull that easily? I doubt they'll have more than a mid grid car. And ol' shuey coming back. That'd be brilliant. But honestly, do you think they can pull another rear difusor trick?

V

Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2009 11:54 pm

The interesting thing is who will front as the drivers for the new Lotus team.
The American team looks like there in for a great start, with there drivers paying the team to drive..

Quote:

The new US F1 team is lining up Jose Maria Lopez as its first driver - provided the 26-year-old Argentine can put together a full sponsorship package.

Lopez announced on his personal website that he had concluded a provisional deal with US F1 after a visit to its factory in North Carolina earlier this week.

He has now returned to Argentina to work on finding the rest of the money required to secure his first Formula 1 race seat.

Meanwhile the Shoeeee' melodrama rolls on.

Quote:

Triple world champion Niki Lauda believes the rumours that Michael Schumacher will make a Formula 1 comeback next year are highly implausible.

A lingering neck injury forced Schumacher to abort plans to deputise for Felipe Massa at Ferrari during the summer, but he has recently been tipped for a 2010 return with the rebranded Mercedes Grand Prix team.

The fact that the seven-time champion was a Mercedes protégé in his youth, his close ties with team principal Ross Brawn, and the regret he expressed at missing his opportunity to race again have all fuelled speculation that he might be tempted to join Nico Rosberg in an all-German driver line-up.

Schumacher’s spokeswoman has insisted no negotiations are taking place, but Mercedes – which now owns 75.1% of the Brackley-based squad and is likely to have a big say in driver choices – has not denied that it is targeting the 40-year-old.

Old men, parks and domino's come to mind.

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 11:33 am

Any thoughts about the sale of the BMW team to Peter Sauber.
With no confirmed 2010 entry.
I can not see all four of these new teams making it to the grid for the first race.

Also, I thought that I read somewhere that the cosworth engines will have poorer fuel milage than the other engines. This will force the cosworth runners to carry more fuel/weight to complete the race.

Posted: Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:54 am

No word of Sauber entering yet, Beardie Branson is sponsoring the Manor team and will get it named after his Virgin brand.

Quote:

2010 F1 teams entry list

1 Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes
2 Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes
3 Nico Rosberg, Brawn-Mercedes*
4 TBC, Brawn-Mercedes
5 Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault
6 Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault
7 Felipe Massa, Ferrari
8 Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
9 Rubens Barrichello, Williams-Cosworth
10 Nico Hülkenberg, Williams-Cosworth
11 Robert Kubica, Renault
12 TBC, Renault
14 Adrian Sutil, Force India-Mercedes
15 Vitantonio Liuzzi, Force India-Mercedes
16 Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso-Ferrari
17 TBC, Toro Rosso-Ferrari
18 TBC, Lotus-Cosworth
19 TBC, Lotus-Cosworth
20 TBC, Campos-Cosworth
21 Bruno Senna, Campos-Cosworth
22 TBC, US F1-Cosworth
23 TBC, US F1-Cosworth
24 Timo Glock, Virgin-Cosworth
25 TBC, Virgin-Cosworth

*Has applied to change its name to Mercedes Grand Prix

Of course its the TBC at number 4 I'm excited about, but they tease me with the will he wont he? return of the Schumeister. Smile

Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2009 6:02 pm

@ Arthur Dent:

Quote:

The FIA has confirmed Sauber will be granted the 13th slot on the 2010 F1 grid after it was left vacant by departing rivals Toyota.

Although the team have officially competed as ‘BMW-Sauber’ for the past four years, this confirms the return of Sauber as an independent outfit in F1, last seen in 2005.

Sauber still have to sign the Concorde Agreement which will guarantee their space on the grid.

It remains to be seen if Toyota will have to pay a fine to the FIA for leaving the sport despite having committed to it until 2012.

Sauber have been tipped to use Ferrari engines next year, as they did in F1 from 1997-2005, during which time they were badged Petronas.

However hopes for a full 13-team grid may yet be dashed as Renault have not confirmed their participation in 2010.

From http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk

Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 10:38 pm

Announced today. Silverstone will continue to host the British Grand Prix.

Quote:

Silverstone has agreed a 17-year deal to host the British Grand Prix from 2010, ensuring the race is not axed.

The Northamptonshire circuit stepped in to stage the race, which next year takes place on 11 July, after Donington Park was stripped of the rights.
Under the deal, Silverstone will redevelop the pit lane and paddock.

Work is due to start as soon as possible after Christmas but is not expected to be completed until 2011.

F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone welcomed the deal, adding: "This will ensure the British Grand Prix is included on the Formula 1 calendar for many years to come, which is something I've always wanted.

The 2010 race calendar will be officially released later this week, when the Silverstone showpiece will be confirmed for Sunday, 11 July - the same day as the 2010 World Cup final.

The main delay in establishing a deal appears to have been the length of the contract and the inclusion of a 7% annual escalation fee.

The contract on the table was believed to demand a £12m fee for 2010, with an increase of 7% per year after that.

However, it is now understood the increase has been pegged at 5%.

There is also a clause in the contract that allows either side to end the contract after 10 years.

Taken from The BBC sports website

Also, in the news and I apologise is someone has reported this.

Quote:

Renault is trying to strike a deal to sell the team to Prodrive, the engineering company behind the Subaru world rally team which is run by former Benetton and BAR F1 team boss David Richards.

Prodrive, who had an F1 entry for 2010 turned down by the FIA in the summer, would not comment specifically when contacted by BBC Sport, but a spokesman pointedly did not deny the story.

"We're looking at all the opportunities and the reasons for going in (to F1) would be based on the same criteria we set 12 months ago - competitiveness and cost-effectiveness," he said. "We are looking at everything that's out there."

Taken from Andrew Benson's Blog

So, Seems Robert Kubica could be back on the market. How many drives are left on that list of yours Roy? He's such a good talent, I'd imagine that he'd be grabbed one of the top teams. Maybe Mercedes-Brawn will have him. Considering there not having much luck shifting the young Mr Vettel from Redbull.

V

Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2009 7:01 pm

Uh, any of you folks watch NASCAR?

Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2009 7:56 pm

^^ That's the one where they go round isn't it?

Round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round.

And then all bunch up again and go round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and then bunch up again.

And then round some more.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

I like banger races.
All those clapped out cars colliding with one another.
Rather like watching the M8 in Glasgow.

Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:38 pm

I'm a Nascar fan, Jonas! Thumbs up

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 10:07 am

Jonas Parker wrote:

Uh, any of you folks watch NASCAR?

Yes, and JP Montoya rocks. Or crashes, its an either/or thing.

However this is the F1 thread, NASCAR can get its own,

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 10:44 am

^^ A NASCAR thread would just go on forever without really getting anywhere, so don't encourage them.

It would just go round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round.

Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 8:35 pm

^^ You should not forget, The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round.

I was reading somewhere that talks between Peter Sauber, and B.M.W had failed. Can't remember where, can anyone confirm?

And it seems Renault are in talks with a guy called Gerard Lopez. Promising.

V

Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 5:45 pm

I would start a Nascar thread, but it wouldn't last long. Laughing

Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 6:08 pm

It'd probably just Go Round, and round, and round and round and ahh hell, ye get the point..

V

Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 3:04 pm

Corona wrote:

I would start a Nascar thread, but it wouldn't last long. Laughing

Perhaps we could have an all purpose 'motorsports' thread for the 2010 season, we once tried the same with a 'football' thread which included all variants, round balls or oval ones all included.

Then we could have MotoGP, Nascar, F1, Indy, what have you.

Or maybe not, as non-petrolheads would find it impossible to follow.

ETA: In another tab, I'm toying with whether to buy tickets for the recently saved Silverstone F1 GP. Last time I went as Basic Footsoldier, and only saw the race at all after I bribed someone to let me watch from the trackside. I notice that if I buy an Earlybird 3 day ticket at Beckett's (with a seat in the grandstand) I can get it for the price of a Sunday ticket, and Fri/Sat can go in any grandstand I want.

Not cheap though, payment to Bernie via WU.

http://www.silverstone.co.uk/events/2010-Formula-1-Santander-British-Grand-Prix/

BTW, the layout is changing because of the MotoGP LINK

ETA: Booked a 3 day Gold ticket, plus camping so I dont have to worry about parking / getting in and out etc. Probably no net access (unless I work out how to post from my mobile), but I warn you now, there will be photos. The wife can never know how much it cost. Wink