2008 Formula 1 Season Thread

Any idea when? I'm nervous as hell...
 
All hope can go down to shit now.

Guess who the FIA have on the prosecuting side of things? None other than Nigel Tozzi

How the fuck is bullshit like this even allowed? How can McLaren stand for it? It makes no sense at all.

Yeah. I'm pretty pissed off right now, so fuck this.
 
Hamilton awaits appeal verdict
22 September 2008

Having made his case to the FIA Court of Appeal today, Lewis Hamilton has left for Singapore awaiting tomorrow's decision on whether his 25-second penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix will be overturned.

Hamilton appeared in front of the appeal judges in Paris when typically a driver will just provide a written statement.

"I just hope the judges see the truth," Hamilton said as he left the court. "I'm a racing driver and that's what I do. The day was long and intense and I told them what was on my mind because in that position you can be talked down to."

Hamilton clashed with a Ferrari lawyer during the proceedings when being cross-examined blasting, "Are you a racing driver? No! I've been a racing driver since I was eight, and I know pretty much every single move in the book, and that's why I'm the best at my job."

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2008/09/22/hamilton-awaits-appeal-verdict/
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They must have put him under a lot of pressure, I feel sorry for the guy...
 
I have a question. Is it too late to give back Hamilton's victory and just impose a grid penalty?
 
mclarensmps said:
Now that I've calmed down a bit... how can the FIA be using a Ferrari lawyer to be cross examining Lewis in this case?
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Yeah, that's beyond me too - wtf is a Ferrari lawyer doing there? Surely the case is between McLaren & the FIA. Ferrari should have no involvement whatsoever.
 
Since everyone is a bit tense about the verdict, here is something to make you giggle. Certainly did the trick for me from PlanetF1

BOOKIES SPECULATE ON LEWIS APPEAL
With speculation mounting ahead of Lewis Hamilton's FIA appeal in Paris this week, leading bookmakers have started offering odds for a successful outcome. The McLaren driver had 25 seconds added to his winning time at the Belgian GP despite stewards failing to notify race control that he was under investigation during the race. McLaren are hoping that the FIA will reverse the post-race decision.

Punters looking for an interesting and unusual bet can also bet on:
The likelihood Richard Branson will shave his beard off - 10 to 1.
The chances of John McCain being elected, then handing over to Sarah Palin as President - 500 to 1
Finding Life on Mars - 10,000 to 1
The chance of Lewis Hamilton getting his six points back - 100,000,000 to1*

*and even Lehman Brothers didn't think this one was worth a punt.


TAKING KERS TO THE MAX
Several drivers have voiced their concerns in the ongoing safety row over the installation of the new KERSystems. The BMW team were obliged to set up a major investigation after one of their mechanics was painfully electrocuted during testing of the new device. However FIA boss Max Mosley has stepped in and said that it is vital F1 pushes ahead with the new energy-saving technology. In fact Max has personally volunteered to test all new devices, along with a group of friends at a private address. Starting with the BMW.

STEWARDS TO GET SOFTWARE BACK-UP
Bill Gates has offered his help to the FIA by producing new software that will simplify and speed up the penalty process. Microsoft Steward Assistant will be very much like Microsoft Word Assistant, the "funny little paper clip" that helps format documents. All the stewards need to do is type in such key words as Car 21, Car 22, Kovalainen, Hamilton, McLaren, Heikki or Lewis and Microsoft Steward Assistant will come up with a range of penalties from a 10,000 Euro fine to life imprisonment that can be awarded for various offences on the track.

Max Mosley's F1 representative Allan Donnelly, who gets himself involved in all controversial decisions, has welcomed the software as being a great addition to the sport. As long as he gets to operate it.


GLOCK APPOINTS BLUNDELL
...and finally Toyota's Timo Glock has announced that he has taken on ITV's Mark Blundell as his new press spokesman. Inspired by Blundell's don't-be-afraid-to-state-the-bleedin'-obvious punditry on ITV Glock came up with his first Blundellism for the Singapore GP preview: "...as it is a night race I don't expect it will be like daylight in every corner."

Diamond.
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Necx0 said:
TAKING KERS TO THE MAX
Several drivers have voiced their concerns in the ongoing safety row over the installation of the new KERSystems. The BMW team were obliged to set up a major investigation after one of their mechanics was painfully electrocuted during testing of the new device. However FIA boss Max Mosley has stepped in and said that it is vital F1 pushes ahead with the new energy-saving technology.
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A while back I was going to make a particularly sarcastic observation... KERS will not be made mandatory for next season if Ferrari don't have theirs ready in time. If it is ready, it'll be imposed even if the BMW mechanics are still getting shocks and the charge transmits through the car so that what remains of Robert Kubica's hair stands on end. Sit back and watch it happen...

In fact Max has personally volunteered to test all new devices, along with a group of friends at a private address. Starting with the BMW.
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Although he'll be a bit disappointed when he tests Honda's KERS. I genuinely believe theirs will be working properly.

STEWARDS TO GET SOFTWARE BACK-UP
Bill Gates has offered his help to the FIA by producing new software that will simplify and speed up the penalty process. Microsoft Steward Assistant will be very much like Microsoft Word Assistant, the "funny little paper clip" that helps format documents. All the stewards need to do is type in such key words as Car 21, Car 22, Kovalainen, Hamilton, McLaren, Heikki or Lewis and Microsoft Steward Assistant will come up with a range of penalties from a 10,000 Euro fine to life imprisonment that can be awarded for various offences on the track.
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Where'd you get these from, Necxo?

Someone who's got it in for Giancarlo Fisichella, clearly...

Max Mosley's F1 representative Allan Donnelly, who gets himself involved in all controversial decisions, has welcomed the software as being a great addition to the sport. As long as he gets to operate it.
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Although it'll bluescreen midway through its first penalty decision. For which McLaren will lose all their points, wins and championships from 1981 to the present day...
 
A very interesting read, it doesn't really paint a pretty picture for F1.

How the credit crunch will affect F1

Monday, 22 September 2008

Last week?s extraordinary turmoil in the financial markets has convulsed the global economy, prompted drastic action by the US authorities in taking over the toxic debt of the nation?s banks, and quite possibly changed capitalism for ever.

One of the mighty investment banks that fell, Lehman Brothers, owned a minority stake in Formula 1; and with many of the sport?s sponsors, fans and other stakeholders likely to be affected by the fallout from the credit crunch, F1 as a whole will surely not be immune.

In a feature for itv.com/f1, industry experts Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid ? authors of Formula Money (www.formulamoney.com) ? explain how F1 is likely to be buffeted by the economic malaise.

The Formula 1 world championship has been running for nearly 60 years but the sport has rarely faced such varied challenges, from rising fuel costs and increasing difficulty getting credit to environmental concerns. It will need more than a roadmap to get through it.

The economic backdrop

Bankruptcies, bailouts and sweeping industry change. That is what has gripped the headlines over the past week.

Top US investment bank Lehman Brothers went bust, sending company share prices into freefall, only for them to skyrocket a few days later after the US government agreed to pump in ?380m into the ailing economy.

Formula 1 may be some way from Wall Street but as probably the most financially-intensive sport in the world it has already caught a cold after America sneezed. It could soon turn into a fever.

Lehman went bankrupt as a result of having given a great many loans to people for buying houses that they couldn?t actually afford. So when they failed to make repayments, Lehman racked up ?335bn of debts.

Amongst its assets, which are now being sold off, is a 16.8% stake in Delta Topco, the Jersey-based company which owns F1's commercial rights.

Delta is majority-owned by private equity firm CVC, which now has first refusal on buying Lehman?s shares, so F1 has narrowly escaped any lasting damage from this. However, the worst may be yet to come.

Rising F1 costs

Despite the introduction of measures intended to cut costs, such as the requirement that engines are used for two races, the combined costs of all UK-based F1 teams rose by ?22.3m to ?573.7m in 2006.

This is made all the more surprising by the fact that Force India?s costs could not be included in the 2006 total since the team's accounts have still not been filed.

Its 2005 costs came to ?47.9m and are likely to have increased since then.

The teams? revenues did not increase in line with the costs and remarkably the only UK-based outfit to make a profit in 2006 was Red Bull Racing.

Even its ?744,000 after-tax profit was only achieved after its owner Red Bull poured in ?85.6m during the year.

And F1?s drive eastwards, with this weekend?s inaugural race in Singapore and new grands prix in Abu Dhabi and South Korea to follow over the next two years, isn?t perhaps the best direction to help boost team finances.

A glaring omission

More team sponsors come from the USA than any other country and bring a total of ?61.9m.

However, the US Grand Prix is off the F1 calendar this year for the first time since 1999, which makes it harder for US sponsors to trumpet their F1 investment in their home country.

Since they each spend an average of ?1.4m this could be a big factor in whether they renew their deals.

Having no US GP on the calendar also means that the teams can?t tempt prospective US sponsors in the Paddock Club on their home turf.

?The North American market is absolutely vital to us, and for all the luxury car makers especially it is key,? said Nick Fry, Honda GP's chief executive recently.

BMW Sauber boss Mario Theissen agrees, saying: ?It is important for BMW as a manufacturer but also for our sponsors?.

The importance doesn't just extend to manufacturer-owned teams, as Frank Williams said: ?Many of our sponsors are very active in the US, and several American ones, like Thomson Reuters, AT&T, are looking to expand ? Philips too.?

Highlighting the importance of the country to the motorsport industry, MotoGP is hosting two races in the US this year whereas F1 has none.

Likewise, instead of building up its involvement in Germany, which has been one of its biggest European markets, F1 has halved the number of races it holds there following Michael Schumacher?s retirement.

This has amplified the waning interest and, according to Marcel Cordes, executive director of consultancy firm Sport+Markt, ?the viewing figures in Germany have now once again declined around 15% after the 2007 downturn?.

The impact on the business is already being felt as Werner Heinz, Nick Heidfeld's manager, recently said ?it has clearly become harder to convince even smaller sponsors?.

Feeling the pinch

Independent teams are the most vulnerable, as shown by the demise of the Super Aguri team earlier this year.

A quick flick through Williams?s latest accounts highlights the colossal cost involved.

In 2006 the team made a ?28m net loss as its revenues dipped 30% to ?58.1m after losing its deal with BMW and sponsorship from computer giant HP.

The team took desperate measures to get through this as its cash in the bank dwindled from ?20.8m to just ?30,000 and its two directors, chief executive Sir Frank Williams and engineering boss Patrick Head, took an ?800,000 pay cut.

Insiders now suspect that independent teams are finding the drivetrain budget almost insurmountable ? so the proposed budget cap, which is due to be introduced over the coming years, could come too late.

Manufacturer-owned teams have yet to flinch, with Renault F1 team principal Flavio Briatore recently saying that the car company?s president Carlos Ghosn has increased the team?s budget by as much as 40%.

It could be a last-ditch effort since not only has Renault failed to win a race since the 2006 Japanese GP but, excluding investment from owners, it already has the highest costs of any UK-based F1 team, standing at a total of ?134m in 2006.

Renault has also been more badly battered than F1's four other floated car manufacturers, with its share price falling 48% over the past year compared to 46% for them all on average.

It has far from recovered as just last week Renault hit its lowest share price for a year.

The upshot of the current crises could be that some teams are pushed close to bankruptcy in the short term and in the long run they may have to accept great changes to the core values of F1 in order to continue.

With a clear crystal ball in his hand, Max Mosley, president of F1's governing body the F?d?ration Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) said in May that a ?major financial crisis...appears imminent in Formula 1.?

He is now pressing for the introduction of standard engines and gearboxes to cut team costs and these could be introduced as soon as 2010 with an announcement of proposals at the next FIA World Council meeting.

As the banking industry changed forever in just one week, F1 may not be far behind.
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Source
 
Ironlord said:
Where'd you get these from, Necxo?

Someone who's got it in for Giancarlo Fisichella, clearly...


Although it'll bluescreen midway through its first penalty decision. For which McLaren will lose all their points, wins and championships from 1981 to the present day...
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Got them from PlanetF1. I don't get the Fischella reference?
 
It looks like the appeal was rejected as an inadmissable appeal.

FIA rejects McLaren's Spa appeal

The FIA has rejected McLaren's appeal against the penalty imposed on Lewis Hamilton following the Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps.

The decision means Hamilton remains just one point ahead of Ferrari rival Felipe Massa in the drivers' world championship with four races to go.

Hamilton would have received a drive-through for benefiting from cutting the Bus Stop chicane, but was given a 25-second penalty instead because the event was already over.

The penalty dropped Hamilton from first to third.

McLaren maintained Hamilton had not gained any advantage from jumping the chicane and decided to appeal the penalty.

The FIA said, however, that drive-through penalties could not be appealed.

"Article 152 of the International Sporting Code states that drive-through penalties are 'not susceptible to appeal'," a statement from the FIA's Court of Appeal said on Tuesday.

"The competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes appealed the Steward's decision before the International Court of Appeal in a hearing in Paris on September 22nd.

"Having heard the explanations of the parties the Court has concluded that the appeal is inadmissible."

McLaren claimed in the court that a precedent to appeal Hamilton's 25-second penalty had been set at last year's Japanese Grand Prix, when Scuderia Toro Rosso were allowed to challenge a similar punishment handed down to Vitantonio Liuzzi for overtaking under yellow flags.

The FIA told McLaren, however, that there had been a mistake in Liuzzi's original penalty - and that he too should have been given a drive-through penalty. FIA race director Charlie Whiting claimed that the chief race steward at the time, Tony Scott-Andrews, had told him there had been an error.

However, McLaren produced a statement from Scott-Andrews in court countering the claims of the FIA.

In his statement, he set the record straight by stating: "I have seen the email and I'm extremely surprised by its content. In short, it is grossly inaccurate and misleading."

Although Whiting stood by his belief that Scott-Andrews had informed him he made an error, McLaren's lawyer Mark Phillips made sure that the court should be made aware of the implication.

Phillips labeled it as an 'unfortunate email' and pleaded with the judges: "to reflect when you come to consider your judgment the way in which certain members of the FIA conducted themselves. I won't say any more.
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http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/70792
 
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What I find astonishing is that it took them the best part of a day and a half to reach this conclusion. If the appeal hadn't been admissible, it should have taken them less than an hour to throw it out.

And after all, did anyone expect any other verdict? I suspect not.
 
Well, as soon as I read there was doubt about the appeal being admissible, I knew this would happen. But as vikirad says, they should have said it there and then when the case started, not now after they clearly considered the case...
 
^ So would a conspiracy theorist say that they delayed their ruling on purpose so that Lewis would have to make the trip?
 
chitownjeff said:
^ So would a conspiracy theorist say that they delayed their ruling on purpose so that Lewis would have to make the trip?
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that's just stupid.

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Obviously nothing is going to happen to Charlie Whiting who was caught lying with his pants down regarding his friday email. What a basket case.
 
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