F1 2010

[Pete McCluskey.]

A letter has gone out to members of New York's Monticello Motor Club, an exclusive driving resort race track ninety miles from Manhattan, informing them of progress in talks to bring the United States Grand Prix to the facility for 10 years, starting in 2012.
Ari Straus, President of MMC, has told Grandprix.com exclusively: "MMC Chairman Bill McMichael and I are honored that Formula One World Championship is considering Monticello Motor Club as a venue for the United States Grand Prix, and we are taking this opportunity with all the seriousness it requires. Hermann Tilke has surveyed the facility and laid out what modifications we need to implement, from the standpoint of the circuit, as well as access and local infrastructure."
The circuit was opened in 2008 in the lower Catskill mountains, as a resort for driving enthusiasts, and boasts a membership roster that includes NASCAR Champion Jeff Gordon and entertainer Jerry Seinfeld. It has been used exclusively for non-commercial purposes until now, but is poised to make the changes necessary to accept an event of the level of Formula One. It is currently the nearest major road course racing circuit to New York City.
Straus said, "We are in a position to move forward for many reasons, notably our proximity to the New York City metropolitan area, and the flexibility we have in terms of making changes to the track itself and its access for fans. Our members are a very forward thinking group of individuals who are a great asset themselves to this project, on different many levels."
Straus further asserts that realistic funding is in place to warrant moving forward and that a letter of intent has been signed by Formula One Management, that allows the next steps to be to be taken.
Straus and McMichael have been engaged in talks with F1 Boss Bernie Ecclestone for the past few months, and while admitedly far from a done deal, signs point towards this being a serious project.

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

It's Official, Lone Star state to Host U.S.G.P.

Formula 1? - The Official F1? Website

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

From Eason's blog in the Times, I totally agree, if the Victoria Police go ahead with this Australia will be embarrassed.



Kevin Eason

He won’t, of course, but just suppose Lewis Hamilton decided to fight it out in court with the Victoria Police. Yes, the boys in blue in Melbourne are determined to have their day in court with a motor racing superstar and have charged Hamilton with an offence described as “intentionally losing control of a motor vehicle”. He is summoned to appear before Melbourne magistrates on August 24, which is the week of the Belgian Grand Prix, so great timing there.
My, what a fuss about not much in the first place. Before all the road safety anoraks overheat and snap their suspenders in rage, I fully appreciate the need for care and attention on the roads.
But this is silly. How much will it cost to put through Hamilton through the court procedure? The likelihood is that he will not have to attend and the fine will be in the region of about £300 plus points on an Australian licence he does not have. But rules is rules and the straitlaced Victoria Police want to put the 2008 world champion through the ringer.
They were pretty po-faced at the time they nicked Hamilton doing his “burn-out” and “fishtail” on his way out of the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne a couple of days before the Australian Grand Prix in March, but it was almost as though they were struggling to contain their glee at capturing such a famous face. They all had their 15 minutes of fame on the telly, from the copper who stopped Hamilton’s Mercedes – he got more airtime than Adrian Chiles – to various government ministers who had to have their dib at the lad.
Meanwhile, Hamilton was genuinely contrite. He is a 25-year-old who gets things wrong occasionally, so his punishment was as much being plastered over every newspaper around the world and being ridiculed by the local Victoria authorities – including a threat to use Hamilton as the face of a road safety campaign. Not sure the 300 quid will make much of a dent in Hamilton’s coffers.
And now a court case and, no doubt, another series of warnings to drivers not to try this at home. If drivers are daft enough to try burn-outs on public roads, they don’t need encouragement from Hamilton. They were at it in Melbourne long before he turned up.
Or Hamilton could just contest the charge. Send a good lawyer down there and ask the police to prove the charge that he was “intentionally” not in control of his car when it fish-tailed. This is a young man who fish-tails for living, so why would he not be in total control of his car? He could prove it with a lap of Albert Park next March with the magistrate in the passenger seat.
Fair enough, this is a somewhat specious argument but the point is that the Australians need to get a grip. They don’t need the formality and expense of a court case and Hamilton does not need more grief. He got it first time around. Even Mark Webber was embarrassed when he worried publicly about Australia’s nanny state and there was a feeling at the time that this was an incident blown out of all proportion for the sake of a bit of publicity for the boys in blue.
My advice to the Aussie authorities is to loosen their corsets and go after proper criminals, not just easy, high-profile targets.

 

[Pat Buckley]

I would pay 300 pounds to see the magistrates face after that lap......

Hell, I'd even pay his laundry bill.

 

[Keith]

I always find it amazing that one of the (if not THE) most politically incorrect nation on earth (and I thank God for that) can come up with this mindless tripe.

Those of us who are daily stuck with this kind of shite always look to Oz philosphy to achieve balance, and my heart sank at this news.

It's not a 'race' thing (fnarr fnarr fnarr) is it? :uneasy:

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Nah, nice pun though. Race would have nothing to do with it. More likely what we call "tall poppy syndrome".I.E. his celebrity status coupled with the fact the Victorian cops have the worst reputation in Australia for being arseholes.

 

[Keith]

Nah, nice pun though. Race would have nothing to do with it. More likely what we call "tall poppy syndrome".I.E. his celebrity status coupled with the fact the Victorian cops have the worst reputation in Australia for being arseholes.

That all sounds a little er, Victorian to me mate... Fnarr fnarr - there goes another one.

Seriously though - that sucks.... :thumbsdown:

 

[Price Walton]

Could have been worse, those Victorian coppers can actually shoot straight....

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

<HR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #dedcd7; COLOR: #dedcd7" SIZE=1> <!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali says the Italian squad is set to retain Felipe Massa when his current contract ends.

With speculation mounting about who will partner Fernando Alonso from next year, Domenicali told the BBC on Thursday that Ferrari is almost certain to keep Massa for another year.

"Yes, I think so," he said of Massa staying on.

When asked if he was sure, he said: "Yes."

Massa has been with the team since the 2001 season and his contract ends at the end of this year.


Domenicali also insisted the team has been very happy with the performances of Alonso, despite some costly errors.

"I don't want to speak about mistakes," he added. "We are a group and the team do the best with the car and the drivers do the best with the performance.

"I'm very pleased with him. He came into team in a fantastic way and I think that he gave input to the team and I say let's wait until the end of the season. He will be very strong - I have no doubt about that."

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

.............SPOILER..............................Qualifying results.

Go Mark.





28 - 30 May 2010
2010 FORMULA 1 TURKISH GRAND PRIX

<TABLE class=raceResults cellSpacing=0 summary="" cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR><TH>Pos</TH><TH>No</TH><TH>Driver</TH><TH>Team</TH><TH>Q1</TH><TH>Q2</TH><TH>Q3</TH><TH>Laps</TH></TR><TR><TD>1</TD><TD>6</TD><TD noWrap>Mark Webber</TD><TD noWrap>RBR-Renault</TD><TD>1:27.500</TD><TD>1:26.818</TD><TD>1:26.295</TD><TD>18</TD></TR><TR><TD>2</TD><TD>2</TD><TD noWrap>Lewis Hamilton</TD><TD noWrap>McLaren-Mercedes</TD><TD>1:27.667</TD><TD>1:27.013</TD><TD>1:26.433</TD><TD>18</TD></TR><TR><TD>3</TD><TD>5</TD><TD noWrap>Sebastian Vettel</TD><TD noWrap>RBR-Renault</TD><TD>1:27.067</TD><TD>1:26.729</TD><TD>1:26.760</TD><TD>18</TD></TR><TR><TD>4</TD><TD>1</TD><TD noWrap>Jenson Button</TD><TD noWrap>McLaren-Mercedes</TD><TD>1:27.555</TD><TD>1:27.277</TD><TD>1:26.781</TD><TD>18</TD></TR><TR><TD>5</TD><TD>3</TD><TD noWrap>Michael Schumacher</TD><TD noWrap>Mercedes GP</TD><TD>1:27.756</TD><TD>1:27.438</TD><TD>1:26.857</TD><TD>19</TD></TR><TR><TD>6</TD><TD>4</TD><TD noWrap>Nico Rosberg</TD><TD noWrap>Mercedes GP</TD><TD>1:27.649</TD><TD>1:27.141</TD><TD>1:26.952</TD><TD>18</TD></TR><TR><TD>7</TD><TD>11</TD><TD noWrap>Robert Kubica</TD><TD noWrap>Renault</TD><TD>1:27.766</TD><TD>1:27.426</TD><TD>1:27.039</TD><TD>19</TD></TR><TR><TD>8</TD><TD>7</TD><TD noWrap>Felipe Massa</TD><TD noWrap>Ferrari</TD><TD>1:27.993</TD><TD>1:27.200</TD><TD>1:27.082</TD><TD>18</TD></TR><TR><TD>9</TD><TD>12</TD><TD noWrap>Vitaly Petrov</TD><TD noWrap>Renault</TD><TD>1:27.620</TD><TD>1:27.387</TD><TD>1:27.430</TD><TD>21</TD></TR><TR><TD>10</TD><TD>23</TD><TD noWrap>Kamui Kobayashi</TD><TD noWrap>BMW Sauber-Ferrari</TD><TD>1:28.158</TD><TD>1:27.434</TD><TD>1:28.122</TD><TD>17</TD></TR><TR><TD>11</TD><TD>14</TD><TD noWrap>Adrian Sutil</TD><TD noWrap>Force India-Mercedes</TD><TD>1:27.951</TD><TD>1:27.525</TD><TD></TD><TD>18</TD></TR><TR><TD>12</TD><TD>8</TD><TD noWrap>Fernando Alonso</TD><TD noWrap>Ferrari</TD><TD>1:27.857</TD><TD>1:27.612</TD><TD></TD><TD>14</TD></TR><TR><TD>13</TD><TD>22</TD><TD noWrap>Pedro de la Rosa</TD><TD noWrap>BMW Sauber-Ferrari</TD><TD>1:28.147</TD><TD>1:27.879</TD><TD></TD><TD>14</TD></TR><TR><TD>14</TD><TD>16</TD><TD noWrap>Sebastien Buemi</TD><TD noWrap>STR-Ferrari</TD><TD>1:28.534</TD><TD>1:28.273</TD><TD></TD><TD>15</TD></TR><TR><TD>15</TD><TD>9</TD><TD noWrap>Rubens Barrichello</TD><TD noWrap>Williams-Cosworth</TD><TD>1:28.336</TD><TD>1:28.392</TD><TD></TD><TD>14</TD></TR><TR><TD>16</TD><TD>17</TD><TD noWrap>Jaime Alguersuari</TD><TD noWrap>STR-Ferrari</TD><TD>1:28.460</TD><TD>1:28.540</TD><TD></TD><TD>16</TD></TR><TR><TD>17</TD><TD>10</TD><TD noWrap>Nico Hulkenberg</TD><TD noWrap>Williams-Cosworth</TD><TD>1:28.227</TD><TD>1:28.841</TD><TD></TD><TD>15</TD></TR><TR><TD>18</TD><TD>15</TD><TD noWrap>Vitantonio Liuzzi</TD><TD noWrap>Force India-Mercedes</TD><TD>1:28.958</TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD>8</TD></TR><TR><TD>19</TD><TD>18</TD><TD noWrap>Jarno Trulli</TD><TD noWrap>Lotus-Cosworth</TD><TD>1:30.237</TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD>13</TD></TR><TR><TD>20</TD><TD>19</TD><TD noWrap>Heikki Kovalainen</TD><TD noWrap>Lotus-Cosworth</TD><TD>1:30.519</TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD>11</TD></TR><TR><TD>21</TD><TD>24</TD><TD noWrap>Timo Glock</TD><TD noWrap>Virgin-Cosworth</TD><TD>1:30.744</TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD>9</TD></TR><TR><TD>22</TD><TD>21</TD><TD noWrap>Bruno Senna</TD><TD noWrap>HRT-Cosworth</TD><TD>1:31.266</TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD>9</TD></TR><TR><TD>23</TD><TD>25</TD><TD noWrap>Lucas di Grassi</TD><TD noWrap>Virgin-Cosworth</TD><TD>1:31.989</TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD>9</TD></TR><TR><TD>24</TD><TD>20</TD><TD noWrap>Karun Chandhok</TD><TD noWrap>HRT-Cosworth</TD><TD>1:32.060</TD><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD>10</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[Dave]

Vettel...What a German Dckhead.....

 

[tom pritchett]

Vettel really looked disappointed at his result of being 3rd in qualifying. This is ties the worst qualifying for him all year. I almost feel bad for him....

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Well after Vettels brain fade, I think Mark will be thinking don't get angry,
get even. I would love to have been a fly on the wall in debriefing:veryangry:

Red Bull
Mark Webber (3rd)
“Sebastian had a bit of a top speed advantage, he went down the inside and we were side by side. I was surprised when he came right suddenly, as I was holding my racing line. It happened very, very fast and it’s a shame for the team. Not an ideal day. The McLarens were solid and it was a good race between all four of us up at the front until then, neither of us wanted to make contact with each other. It’s obviously not ideal, but it happened. There was a long way to still go in the race, but that was an interesting few metres on the track between both of us. In the end it wasn’t the result that either of us wanted. We’ve got great character in our team and two fast drivers at the front - we’re not dicing for 15th and 16th - we’re going for victories so there’s clearly a lot at stake. I’ll have a chat with Sebastian about it, we might have a difference of opinion but we’ll be adults about it and press on.”

Sebastian Vettel (DNF)
“If you watch it on the TV, you can see what happened. I’m not in the happiest of moods. I was on the inside going into the corner. I was there, I was ahead and focusing on the braking point and then we touched. Mark’s car hit my rear right wheel and I went off – there’s not much more to say. We were all on the same pace during the race, I think I was a bit quicker than Mark for two or three laps, I was catching him and thought I could get him on the back straight. I was very close and passed him on the left, that’s the story. This is something that happens, no one needs it, but there’s not much you can do now.”

Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal
“It’s disappointing for the team to have got into that position today. The one thing I always ask the drivers is that, yes, they can race each other, but give each other room, and that’s exactly what didn’t happen. They were too far over on the left, Sebastian got a run on the inside of Mark, but then came across too early. They didn’t give each other room; it’s as simple as that. It was a massively close race between us and the McLarens up until that point. We managed to get ourselves ahead with a better pit-stop and a better strategy for Sebastian and were first and second. Sebastian was a bit happier on the prime tyre than Mark and was looking quicker at that point in the race. He got a run on Mark up the inside and we saw what happened. It’s massively disappointing and the situation shouldn’t have occurred. To give McLaren 28 points on a plate is very frustrating for everyone in the team - especially after so much hard work. We’ve lost a lot of points today with what’s happened. We need to learn from it, so we don’t find ourselves in this position again.”

Fabrice Lom, Renault, principal engineer track support
“Today’s result is a big shame. We had a very good result in our hands, but unfortunately we didn’t cement it. But, if we want to keep the positive, we have to underline that both cars were trouble free mechanically today - the engines performed very well and we gave a very good defence on the long straight against the McLarens. We are still in a good position in both Championships, so let’s put this behind us and recover for the next race in Canada.”

 

[Keith]

I'll go with that Pete. "New Schumacher" - true. He could have put a good pass on Mark or at least tried and instead put a Schu move on Mark. Didn't work....

But at least Mark survived. :thumbsup:

By the way, I don't subscribe to the current era of blame culture either in politics or F1. You either win or you fail...

Racing is racing. Nobody here, least of all me, can possibly comment on what it's like to rub wheels at 180 mph - my hat is off to all these pilots..

 

[Pat Buckley]

The incident between Vettell and Webber I see this way:

1. Vettel was too ambitious in his move on a team mate
2. Webber responded the way Webber always responds to someone trying to pass him - he does not really give them enough room and will squeeze you to the gates of hell.
3. Vettel, once he nosed ahead of Mark, made the decision to enforce his will on Webber by moving him over to the right - and found out that Webbers will is powerful enough to include not caring if he crashed.......a lesson Vettel will keep in mind in the future - as will all the other drivers who watch replays of this incident.

Two things I couldn't understand:

1. JB's attempt on Lewis AFTER Lewis had been told to conserve fuel ( I assume JB got the same message? This to me was very bad form......when you're told to slow down for whatever reason you do not immediately try to pass your team mate! Reminds me of the Gilles Villeneuve/Didier Pironi situation that was an indirect cause of GV's death at the following race.....

2. What the hell is it with McLaren that they have to be concerned about running out of fuel? Is Whitmarsh that weak?

In any case, I loved this race - it was fantastic from start to finish and even the driver interviews were good.

 

[Keith]

Hey Pat. I construe both incidents as a direct result of coded team orders. RB were obviously sufficiently worried about LH on SV that they "ordered" SV to pass MW. Naturally, MW said "bollocks" and the result was plain, otherwise there is no way they would have hugged Vettel on the pit wall. No way - their complicity was plain.

Kudos to MW for not only surviving the fiasco, but keeping a tight lip afterwards.

As for McLaren, "Save Fuel" is a classic coded message to hold station, but again, Button wasn't having any of it naturally as World Champion until he was "leaned on" by the pit wall and that explains him falling back the way he did. Witness LH behaviour afterwards. He was obviously very pissed off that JB did not obey "team orders" (which are of course, illegal). Never seen a winner with a long face like that, ever.

Low fuel? Bollocks.

Regretfully, despite protestations to the contrary, these guys are not allowed to race if it buggers up the team thinking, and that just about sums up F1 these days.

Apart from that, great race, but more importantly, great track.

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

I agree Keith, "conserve fuel" has long been code for "hold station" and after JB tried to pass LH, the "fuel critical" transmission meant remember who pays you. Lewis was obviously not happy if body language means anything.
At least the circus is interesting this year.

 

[Doc Kaler]

Potentially good news for us Texans (and the rest of the US I guess)....F1 GP coming to Austin in 2012. Great topography, hope they build a suitable track. (And, I hope I can track my SLC on it!).

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Let's hope it happens and it's just not another stunt from Bernie.

 

[Cliff Beer]

Nah, nice pun though. Race would have nothing to do with it. More likely what we call "tall poppy syndrome".I.E. his celebrity status coupled with the fact the Victorian cops have the worst reputation in Australia for being arseholes.

There's lots of precedence for this sort of thing....Lewis isn't the first to be asked to abide by the rules everyone else has to follow.....

F1 champ Nelson Piquet loses drivers license &mdash; Autoblog