2009 Formula 1 Pre-Season Thread

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^ The last line :lol:
 
Lol :D At least there's some laughter about it :p
 
"Lifeboat on standby"

:lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao::lmao:
 
The lifeboat? Surely, we're not THAT hopeless
 
50th anniversary of a very sad moment in the history of motor racing.

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21129.html

Fifty years ago today Britain lost its first World Champion

Mike Hawthorn had been crowned World Champion on October 1958 after the Moroccan Grand Prix in which he had been beaten by his title rival Stirling Moss, but had won the World Championship thanks to Phil Hill, who obeyed Ferrari team orders and allowed Hawthorn up to second place. He retired from racing immediately at the age of 29.

Three months later - on January 22, 1959 - Hawthorn crashed his 3-4-litre Jaguar saloon on the Guildford bypass. It is an accident which has never really been explained and many believe that Hawthorn was racing with team owner Rob Walker, who was driving a Mercedes just behind Hawthorn's Jaguar when the accident occurred. Walker always insisted that the two had not been racing and that it was a coincidence that they were running together on the same piece of road.

It was a wet and windy day and Hawthorn was driving a Jaguar which he had often raced in Britain. The car was fitted with experimental Dunlop tyres and had a hand throttle. Hawthorn had seen Walker ahead of him on the road and had accelerated past as they went down the hill by John Coombs's garage. It was reckoned that Hawthorn was travelling at well over 100mph as the car went into the gentle righthander that followed. The rear of the car went away from him and clipped the kerb, sending the Jaguar into a spin and it went sideways into a tree beside the road. Hawthorn died soon afterwards.

There will be a memorial service in his memory at St Andrews Church in Farnham on Sunday, January 25. The service will be held at 13.30.
 
RIP, the guy was great :) Respect for all thos guys who had the balls to race back then...let alone win championships...
 
Swiss Speedweek claims that Bourdais will stay in Toro Rosso.
 
This is the biggest indication he has been signed by Toro Rosso.

https://pic.armedcats.net/a/an/anonymous/2009/01/23/STR.jpg

^From the Toro Rosso website, he wasn't listed as a 2009 driver before.
 
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72964

Drivers in dispute over superlicence fee

By Jonathan Noble Friday, January 23rd 2009, 12:55 GMT

Formula One driversFormula One drivers are refusing to sign their mandatory FIA superlicences amid a fresh dispute with the sport's governing body about their price, autosport.com can reveal.

Last season drivers were unhappy about a price hike from 1,725 Euros plus 456 Euros per point for the licences, to 10,000 Euros plus 2,000 Euros per point for the 2008 season.

They accepted the payments then, however, despite calling on the FIA and Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone to justify the increase in costs.

Former world champion Fernando Alonso said at the time: "It is a very serious matter...we all agree that it is not fair that from one year to the next it (the cost) increases 500-600 percent."

There was talk mid-season of the matter resulting in a drivers' strike at the British Grand Prix, but these reports proved unfounded.

However, high level sources have revealed to autosport.com that drivers have now taken the matter into their own hands because of a further minor increase in the licence costs due to be introduced for the 2009 season.

The price of a licence has increased by 400 Euros (to 10,400 Euros), while drivers must pay an extra 100 Euros ( to 2100 Euros) per point scored. There is also a 2,720 Euros compulsory insurance charge.

Although the 2009 increases are purely the result of inflation, it is understood that the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) is deeply unhappy about the price increase. Under the current fees, world champion Lewis Hamilton will have to pay 218,920 Euros for his licence fees this year.

The GPDA has taken up the matter on behalf of its representatives to try and get the increases cancelled, and has urged drivers not to sign and pay for the licences until the situation is sorted.

Autosport.com understands that correspondence has already been exchanged with the FIA about the matter, and is understood that president Max Mosley said he was willing to discuss the situation, but only if drivers could provide him with details of their earnings so he could judge whether the fee was too high.

With no resolution in sight between the drivers and the FIA, and amid a risk of the situation not getting sorted before teams head to Melbourne for the first race, the matter has now been tabled for discussion at the next meeting of the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) that takes place early next month.

This week the GPDA urged drivers not to sign their superlicence paperwork, despite pressure beginning to come from their teams, before the FOTA meeting.

In an e-mail sent to drivers by the GPDA, a copy of which has been seen by autosport.com, it was made clear that the drivers' body wanted all members to hold firm.

"(The) Superlicence issue will be addressed at the next FOTA meeting which will take place on February 3," said the email. "We would like you to wait approximately three more weeks to sign or pay for the Superlicence.

"This should give us enough time to hear from the FOTA and at the same time increase our pressure on the FIA."

It is not clear how much FOTA will wish to get involved in the drivers' situation, with sources suggesting teams do not wish the superlicence matter to overshadow progress being made between them and the FIA about cost cuts and other changes to the sport.

Mosley said at the start of last year that the licence fee had increased so much because of the rising costs of safety.

"We spend a fortune on safety and most of it is for the benefit of the drivers," Mosley explained. "A lot of the people who have otherwise been meeting the bill said 'Hang on a minute, these drivers are all earning megabucks and we are spending a fortune to try and make sure they are safe. So hence the increase."


Kyalami 1982 all over again?
 
haha. Weren't you like -10 around 1982?

I think the FIA actually have a good point - the drivers are paid a lot, however I don't think it should be based off of points from prior season - as vettel probably didn't make nearly as much a kimi or an alonso, nor even those close to or below his points - button or trulli. Someone shouldn't get charged more for success. Perhaps a percentage of their salaries.
 
Webber keen to commit
Australian wants to see out F1 career with RBR

Last updated: 24th January 2009

Mark Webber has said he is keen to extend his stay at Red Bull Racing, the Australian stating his belief that the team will show significant improvement this season.

Webber, who is currently recovering from a broken leg suffered in a mountain bike accident late last year, joined Red Bull at the start of the 2007 season and has a contract that runs until the end of this year.

He has yet to achieve the sorts of results many believe he should be netting - Webber finishing 11th in last year's Drivers' Championship, albeit in a season that saw RBR overshadowed by the Red Bull-backed Toro Rosso outfit.

Nevertheless he is keen to pledge his future to the team, telling autosport.com: "I am happy with Red Bull and I hope Red Bull will be happy with me.

"If I keep my consistency and get everything out of the car, I will have no worries for the future. I plan to stay on with Red Bull long-term. In fact, I do not see me working with any other team."

The 32-year-old also said he thought 2009 could be the year when Red Bull finally pushed their way towards the front end of the grid.

"I see no reason why Red Bull should not do well in 2009," he added. "The car looks extremely good. We have all the key people for success. I am sure we will run with the top this year."

Source

This doesn't surprise me one bit that Webber wants to stay at Red Bull. I really hope they have a strong season this year.
 
Tbh I can't imagine the guy anywhere else...he just seemed out of place at Jaguar and BMW Williams, here he just fits. I hope they start winning though...
 
50th anniversary of a very sad moment in the history of motor racing.

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21129.html

There was a time when people at Lotus were building race cars into the night before the race and then ragging them cross country early in the morning to make it to the track in time for the race.

Very first run of a Lotus 49 the clutch fails, requiring the guy testing it to borrow the company Miles Messenger (G-AKIO) for a quick flight to fetch a new one from Cosworth.

Or the time someone welded up a split in a fuel tank on the start finish straight, while it still has some fuel in it.

One things for sure, you just don't get that sort of thing in motor racing any more..
 
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