Official 2010 F1 Pre-Season Thread

cos he never won shit for Williams. In fact, he never finished a race for Williams.
 
Ironic how that season looked like a disaster for him but he was at the top of his game really. To have the first two poles of the year in that Williams, no wonder everyone was in awe of him. I have finished a couple of F1 books again and he would have wiped the floor with everyone had he survived.

Damon almost won in '94, Schuey was pretty dominant but Williams were on top again in '96 and '97. *sigh* If only :(
 
he would have wiped the floor with everyone had he survived.

yeah, with his driving style, I would have expected him to take everyone "out" :rolleyes:.



FIA criticises Briatore's data leaking
By Pablo Elizalde Thursday, November 12th 2009, 16:05 GMT



The FIA has condemned the leaking of documents from Flavio Briatore's legal case against Formula 1's ruling body.

In documents seen by the Guardian newspaper, Briatore accused former FIA president Max Mosley of being "clearly blinded by an excessive desire for personal revenge."

Former Renault boss Briatore was banned from Formula 1 for life after he was found guilty of taking part in a race-fixing plot during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

The Italian is suing the FIA and asking for a total annulment of the ban. According to the Guardian, Briatore is also demanding ?1 million in compensation for damages to his image.

The governing body on Thursday criticised the leaking of documents to the press and denied the accusations made in them.

"The FIA condemns the selective leaking of extracts from Mr Briatore's pleadings to the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris," said the FIA in a statement.

"The FIA rejects the allegations made in these leaks and confirms that the decision to impose a sanction against Mr Briatore was made by an overwhelming majority of the attending World Motor Sport Council members.

"In respect for the authority of the French Court, it would be entirely inappropriate for the FIA to comment further on this matter in advance of the hearing."

The case will be heard on 24 November in Paris.
 
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Adam Cooper:

So Mercedes has bought 75.1% of Brawn with 40% paid for by the Abu Dhabi government through one of its companies

James Allen:

#f1 Mercedes has confirmed that Brawn will be its works team next year. Cars will be Silver Arrows. McLaren will get Merc engines to 2015

Autosport:

Mercedes renews McLaren's engine deal

By Jonathan Noble Monday, November 16th 2009, 12:03 GMT

McLaren will retain its engine supply deal with Mercedes-Benz for at least another six years, despite the German car company's new involvement at Brawn GP.

Mercedes-Benz ended weeks of speculation about its future F1 plans on Monday when it announced that it was buying a controlling stake in Brawn.

Its switch in focus to Brawn had led to speculation that it could turn its back on McLaren entirely when its current deal ended in 2011.

However, following discussions over the last few weeks, McLaren and Mercedes-Benz have reached agreement for an engine supply deal until at least the end of 2015. The terms of the deal mean that there are options for the commitment to extend beyond then too.

With Mercedes switching its main focus to Brawn GP, it has also been announced that the McLaren Group will purchase the 40 per cent shareholding that Daimler AG currently has in the team. This will take place in a phased process to be completed before 2011.
 
I imagine Button will be signed up promptly now.
 
Officially official confirmation that Brawn is now the official Mercedes-Benz factory team:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80174

Mercedes takes over Brawn

By Edd Straw Monday, November 16th 2009, 12:09 GMT

Mercedes-Benz has announced that it has taken over the Brawn Formula 1 team and re-named it Mercedes Grand Prix after buying a 75.1 per cent stake in the squad.

The German car giant will retain its involvement with McLaren for the time being, but will sell its 40 per cent stake in the squad back to the team over the next two years.

"Mercedes will compete in the F1 world championship next year starting with its own factory team," said head of Mercedes cars, Dr Dieter Zetsche.

"This is possible by the agreed acquisition of 75.1 per cent of Brawn GP, 45.1 per cent of which is from Daimler. "The rest will be with the current share - Ross Brawn, Nick Fry and other members.

"The interests of Daimler are aligned therefore it will be a true Mercedes-Benz team. Ross Brawn will continue as team principal."

Neither driver has yet been announced for the Brawn squad. 2009 driver Rubens Barrichello has already joined Williams for next season while Jenson Button has yet to decide on his future.

No driver announced yet, but rumours point mostly to Button+Rosberg.
 
BBC thinks it's going to be Rosberg/Heidfeld at Merc GP, Button/McLaren at McLaren.

Don't mind this outburst... :cry: Kimi! I don't even know what to believe anymore!
 
Goddamnit, Kimi. Don't you dare take that 1 year off. Then it'll be 2 years, then 3, then forever.
 
Correct me if i am wrong but all F1 rumors this year turned out to be valid.

Anyway, Rosberg + Heidfeld is a great pair, Button + Hamilton is Button's death.
 
Abu Dhabi wants to own F1! Don't they have a share in ferrari as well through aldar?!
 
If Kimi isn't racing in 2010, I'd be surprised if he ever does get an F1 seat again..

It'll be like Hakkinens "sabbatical" :b
 
Practical question:

Will McLarens still be silver aswell or will they have to come up with a new colour scheme now? :confused:
 
^ McLaren is keeping the same livery at least while they have Vodafone sponsorship and Merc engines. Once they probably switch to building their F1 engines in-house, we might expect a change of livery.
 
Yeah, but we might have a commentators' nightmare now, since the ex-Brawns will also be some sort of silver. How they'll manage to differentiate them from the Maccas... only time will tell.
 
Quite an interesting response from McLaren based on the Brawn-Merc decision:

The McLaren Group will undertake a phased purchase of the 40 per cent shareholding currently owned by Daimler AG. As a result, the McLaren Group will become a fully independent stand-alone corporate entity

So McMerc is done for, I guess, although the McLarens will still stay merc-powered until 2015.
 
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