F1 2008

[David Morton]

New 2008 Qualifying format :
1st. session: 20 mins and slowest 6 eliminated.
2nd. session: 15 mins and another 6 eliminated.
3rd. session: 10 mins AND NO REFUELLING afterwards. (What is in the tank after this
last session is what they start the race with)

[Nicholas Gomez]

If any GT40 fans are coming to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia it would be fun to have a chat.

[Frank Catt]

David, So the grid form up in the pit lane after they have all refuelled, should be some interesting starts !

[David Morton]

Why not Frank? If I was a Team Manager or Engineer it would be my choice almost every time.

[David Morton]

Looks like somebody broke wind !

[David Morton]

It seems that the circuit di Imola has changed hands from being Local Council owned to being owned by a private London based bank. Now, a little probing around and it seems that Ecclestone has contol of it.
I reckon the San Marino Gp will be back withi 3 years.

[Pete.]

From F1.com.

Following its launch in Stuttgart earlier this week, McLaren’s 2008 car made its track debut in Jerez early on Wednesday morning. Tester Pedro de la Rosa, who was tasked with taking the MP4-23 out on the Spanish circuit for the first time, pulled out of the garage at just after 0900 hours local time.

The Spaniard will be joined by newly-signed race driver Heikki Kovalainen later on in the day. Kovalainen, who raced for Renault in 2007, will take charge of a second MP4-23, as he makes his first on-track appearance for McLaren.

The squad, who are scheduled to test privately for the next three days, will concentrate on kick starting the 2008 car’s on-track development, ahead of next week’s multi-team session at the circuit.

[David Morton]

Some breaking news- According to German press Auto Motor und Sport - Mercedes take over at McLaren - so Manser and Ron sail off into the sunset?
I doubt Big Ron can let go that easily.................

[Pete.]

Nah, Ron would have negotiated a spot for himself.

Glock and Toyota quickest.
From F1.com.

The weather was not on the side of the Formula One teams testing in Jerez on Wednesday, with rain falling sporadically throughout the final day of this week’s session. The damp track, however, didn’t prevent Toyota’s Timo Glock from topping the timesheets in the Japanese team’s new car.

Glock clocked a best time of 1m 19.779s in the TF108, finishing over three-tenths of a second ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. The young German covered 96 laps despite spinning into the gravel just before lunch. He was joined by tester Kamui Kobayashi, seventh, who was charged with giving last season’s Toyota its final run.

Just under three-tenths down on Hamilton, who also had a trip into the gravel, was former team mate Fernando Alonso in the Renault. Meanwhile, Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais impressed for Toro Rosso, clocking the fourth-fastest time. Bourdais, who covered 61 laps, was joined for a third day by team mate Sebastian Vettel, who finished in 14th.

Felipe Massa was the quicker of the two Ferrari drivers in fifth, with team mate Kimi Raikkonen finishing eighth. Raikkonen completed 88 laps, Massa 85, as the duo continued development work on the Italian team’s 2008 car. Williams race driver Kazuki Nakajima was ninth fastest, while the British team’s new tester Nico Hulkenberg finished in 13th in the second interim FW29B.

Adrian Sutil took over from where new team mate Giancarlo Fisichella left off, as he continued to work through Force India’s electronic evaluation. Sutil, who clinched tenth slot, also conducted several fuel cell tests, but only covered 71 laps.

“'Obviously a fairly disruptive day for Adrian and the team due to the weather,” said chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne. “The rain showers meant that the conditions on the track were fairly changeable until the last hour or so when we were able to do some dry running, but nevertheless it's good for Adrian to get back in the car after a reasonably long lay off over the Christmas period.”

Red Bull’s Mark Webber and David Coulthard were 11th and 12th quickest respectively. With Webber running in last year’s RB3, Coulthard was behind the wheel of the team’s new RB4.

Most teams will stay in Spain over the weekend ahead of next week’s three-day session at the Valencia circuit. Renault, however, will remain at Jerez for an extra day as Alvaro Parente enjoys his prize for winning the World Series by Renault championship and tests for the French team.

Unofficial Wednesday times from Jerez:
1. Timo Glock, Toyota, 1:19.779
2. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:20.099
3. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1:20.363
4. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 1:20.407
5. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:20.500
6. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 1:20.535
7. Kamui Kobayashi, Toyota, 1:20.577
8. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:20.646
9. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 1:20.758
10. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:21.705
11. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:22.275
12. David Coulthard, Red Bull, 1:22.581
13. Nico Hulkenberg, Williams, 1:24.023
14. Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso, 1:24.873

[David Morton]

Would you like to be a driver in F1?
If so you will need a thing called a 'Super licence'

Here is a list of the estimated costs for drivers super license in 2008:

Driver Super license feeK.
Raikkonen UK£166500L.
Hamilton UK£165000F.
Alonso UK£165000F.
Massa UK£143000N.
Heidfeld UK£95000R.
Kubica UK£63500H.
Kovalainen UK£50500G.
Fisichella UK£37000N.
Rosberg UK£36000D.
Coulthard UK£27000A.
Wurz UK£25500M.
Webber UK£21500J.
Trulli UK£18500S.
Vettel UK£15500J.
Button UK£15500T.
Sato UK£12500V.
Liuzzi UK£11000A.
Sutil UK£8000R.
Barrichello UK£7000
A. Davidson UK£7000K.
Nakajima UK£7000N.
Piquet UK£7000T.
Glock UK£7000S.
Bourdais UK£7000

Get this- you need to do a spell in GP2 as well !!! There is a basic fee and and addition depending on points achieved in 2007.
Figure that out.
It pays to be near the back. Or at least it would pay my salary at least.

[David Morton]

It looks as though Ralf Schumacher might have found a new team. But in the DTM (Deutche Touring Machinen) rather than in F1. He did approximately 100 laps last week in the Mercedes DTM machine in Portugal and both he and Mercedes seem to be happy with each other.

[Pete.]

Originally Posted by David Morton

Would you like to be a driver in F1?
If so you will need a thing called a 'Super licence'

Here is a list of the estimated costs for drivers super license in 2008:

Driver Super license feeK.
Raikkonen UK£166500L.
Hamilton UK£165000F.
Alonso UK£165000F.
Massa UK£143000N.
Heidfeld UK£95000R.
Kubica UK£63500H.
Kovalainen UK£50500G.
Fisichella UK£37000N.
Rosberg UK£36000D.
Coulthard UK£27000A.
Wurz UK£25500M.
Webber UK£21500J.
Trulli UK£18500S.
Vettel UK£15500J.
Button UK£15500T.
Sato UK£12500V.
Liuzzi UK£11000A.
Sutil UK£8000R.
Barrichello UK£7000
A. Davidson UK£7000K.
Nakajima UK£7000N.
Piquet UK£7000T.
Glock UK£7000S.
Bourdais UK£7000

Get this- you need to do a spell in GP2 as well !!! There is a basic fee and and addition depending on points achieved in 2007.
Figure that out.
It pays to be near the back. Or at least it would pay my salary at least.

And I suppose the Bernie gets the bulk of the fee?

[David Morton]

Got to pay for his Knighthood somehow.
Arise Sir Bernie.....
What a load of stierscheiße......

[David Morton]

Is there a tactical slant of the new rule about blowing up engines. It seems each driver can blow one up this season and not be relegated on the grid or sent to the back.
I think Monaco could see the return of the so called 'grenades' to get a car on pole.
It's a strange 'new for 08' rule and it's a bit of a mystery to me.

[Pete.]

Talking of new rules, can anyone explain the logic of doing away with tyre warmers? Without traction control and with cold tyre's a car leaving pit lane would be much slower than the cars on the track. I.E. a dangerous speed differential.

[Pat Buckley]

IMO they are trying to make the racing more exciting.

Next thing you know they'll be having full course yellows for "debris" on the track.

[Pete.]

Sir Jack is honoured again

Australia's triple Formula 1 World Champion, Sir Jack Brabham, has been named an officer of the Order of Australia in the annual Australia Day honours list. The 81-year-old recognises his achievements as an ambassador for the sport, for his promotion of young drivers and for his support of various charity organisations.

[Pete.]

Is Ron trying to send someone a message with this announcment? Or am I reading to much into it?




Woking, United Kingdom, Friday 18th January 2008: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has today extended Lewis Hamilton's contract with the team for a further five years. The new agreement, which starts for 2008, will run up to and including the 2012 season.

RON DENNIS, CEO AND CHAIRMAN, McLAREN GROUP
"We are pleased to announce that we have extended our contract with Lewis, which will now run for a further five years until 2012. Following our initial Formula 1 agreement with Lewis, which we announced in November 2006, he went on to exceed all expectations for a rookie in Formula 1, even those of us in the team who have known him for over a decade. Given Lewis’s performances over the course of the 2007 season, it is clear that improved financial terms were fully deserved and this formed part of the friendly negotiations with Lewis’s manager Anthony Hamilton. Today’s announcement will take the length of our relationship with Lewis to a total of 15 years, which we believe is among the longest running associations between a sportsman and a team in the history of sport, particularly motorsport. This is a great achievement for everyone involved, including Anthony. Lewis is an exceptional human being, on both a personal and professional level, and will continue to be a credit to this team. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is looking forward to the new season, and we all expect that, with Heikki coming on board to partner Lewis, we will have a very competitive year."

[David Morton]

I think he may have adopted Hamilton.

And if Hamilton fails to achieve ? It could quite easily become acrimonious and Modena might well exploit that fact.