Official 2010 F1 Pre-Season Thread

Jokes aside, Ralf Schumacher + Davidson is a deadly combination for any new F1 team. Much better than TRosso's lineup IMO.

Any lineup including Ralf Schumacher is a bad idea. He simply has no race pace to speak of. If he would not be MSC's brother, he'd never have gotten a seat in ANY professional series. Have you looked at his results in touring cars?

His best result ever was a fifth place, did not even make it into the top ten in any season.
 
He was decent enough in his early F1 days, albeit bit reckless and wild at Jordan, he showed flashes of inspiration. He drove superbly in 1999 for Williams and was unlucky not to pick up a win at the Nurburgring that year. By 2003-2004 it was clear that he wasn't really interested anymore and seemed happy enough just collecting his fat pay cheques from Toyota. He refused to engage with the media, and consequently they refused to engage with him. I remember a big spat between him and Matt Bishop in 2005 (I think) which resulted in Ralf walking out of a planned photoshoot and Bishop swearing at him.
 
Gonna move it along though.

Bernie: December 9 D-Day for Silverstone


Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone has revealed December 9 is the deadline for a deal to be done if the British Grand Prix is to take place next summer.

Plans to switch the race from Silverstone to Donington have fallen through, and talks with circuit owners to try to keep the grand prix at Silverstone have stalled.

Ecclestone, Formula One's chief executive, said: "They had a contract in place that they could have signed if they'd wanted to but they haven't. At the moment there is no British Grand Prix.

"I think December 9 is when the Formula 1 commission meet so that's when it will be taken off the calendar. If there's no contract in place there won't be a British Grand Prix."

Ecclestone also revealed he was surprised at World Champion Jenson Button's switch to join Lewis Hamilton at McLaren next season in an all-British team.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme, Ecclestone said: "He (Button) obviously knows what he's doing and he must be satisfied with the arrangements he's got in hand. I must confess I was a little surprised to see it happening.

"I suppose he feels confident enough to take on Lewis and that's it. It's a bit of a task to take on, that's all."

Ecclestone believes the two Britons can work well together, with the faster one becoming the team's number one.

"I think it will work," said Ecclestone. "They're both English guys and understand each other. I don't see a problem at all.

"Lewis isn't the sort of guy that needs pushing so I don't see how it will benefit the team other than they've got two World Champions and two super drivers on board.

"I suppose the number one will be the guy that is the quickest."

Ecclestone, however, dampened down expectation that German legend Michael Schumacher was about to return to the sport with Mercedes, who have taken over the Brawn team.

He said: "I would think it's most unlikely. I don't see any reason why he should. I would be very doubtful it would happen."

sorce

We'll know by then whether we have a British GP or not for 2010. Although Ecclestone has also stated last week that there is a chance Donington may get a reprival. I hope not, would prefer to see it at Silverstone.
 
Any lineup including Ralf Schumacher is a bad idea. He simply has no race pace to speak of. If he would not be MSC's brother, he'd never have gotten a seat in ANY professional series. Have you looked at his results in touring cars?

His best result ever was a fifth place, did not even make it into the top ten in any season.

let's see...

Wins 6
Podiums 27
Career points 329
Pole positions 6
Fastest laps 8

bad driver? not a bloody chance. Considering that the silly test ban in '09 and 2010 and the limited mileage from all the rookie drivers, having Ralf Schumacher in a newly formed F1 team can pretty much guarantee valuable constructor points, race after race.
 
There is a llloooonnnggggg list of drivers I would choose before Ralf Schumacher even began to pop into my head. He would be expensive as well.
 
Yeah, the only reason his stats look good is that because of his name he was put into a good car, which then inflated his stats. Put Michael into that BMW Williams and he would have been champion. Ralf Schumacher was one of those people who was maybe the 15th best driver on the grid, and yet had the 2nd best car...
 
let's see...



bad driver? not a bloody chance. Considering that the silly test ban in '09 and 2010 and the limited mileage from all the rookie drivers, having Ralf Schumacher in a newly formed F1 team can pretty much guarantee valuable constructor points, race after race.

Oh dear, I seemed to have opened a can of worms with my comment, sorry! Just to clarify, Ralf isn't necessarily a bad driver but if you had a choice of all the drivers in the world, would you really pick him and Davidson for your dream team (even if they are better than STRs line-up)?


Anyway, I'm going to post this on the Silly Season thread (though it seems to keep spilling on here!), but Mercedes to confirm their first driver at 1pm CET -Rosberg, I presume.
 
Oh dear, I seemed to have opened a can of worms with my comment, sorry! Just to clarify, Ralf isn't necessarily a bad driver but if you had a choice of all the drivers in the world, would you really pick him and Davidson for your dream team (even if they are better than STRs line-up)?


Anyway, I'm going to post this on the Silly Season thread (though it seems to keep spilling on here!), but Mercedes to confirm their first driver at 1pm CET -Rosberg, I presume.

I'd rather have Ralf Schumacher scoring points than having rookie drivers with limited F1 race experience like Alguersuari, Nakajima or Grosjean.
 
Ralf is a below average driver and I'd rather a young driver having a go than a never-has-been wasting a seat and preventing other drivers getting a go in F1.

Of course though, it's never ever Ralfs fault for anything.
 
Now when McLaren is independent team again, will they have the balls to paint their car orange?
 
I hope not, I would preffer the red and white scheme....

By the way, why on Earth are there 2 threads about the 2010 season?? It's really frustrating to check both threads, for the same information essentially...
 
^ This one is more or less dedicated to winter testing, regular news and paddock gossip, the other is related to the driver market. :) Theoretically, at least.
 
Anyone have an idea when tickets for Canada might go on sale based on previous years? I went to my first Grand Prix at Silverstone this year and I'm looking to go to Montreal next year. I imagine demand will be extra high with it being out for a season.
 
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80330

Donington could still host British GP

By Edd Straw Wednesday, November 25th 2009, 08:58 GMT

Donington Park could still host the British Grand Prix in 2010, according to track boss Simon Gillett, but only if a third party either invests in or buys out the company that runs the track.

Gillett's company, Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, went into administration last week after failing to raise the required funds to complete ambitious redevelopment plans.

Gillett is confident that there is still time for the key works to be completed before next year's grand prix, with the hospitality and other facilities completed for the 2011 event. This means that a grand prix could be held at the track next year if the money is in place, opening up the possibility of a new contract being agreed.

To get the track to an acceptable state for 2010, around ?50 million would have to be spent, with a further ?40 million to complete the additional facilities for 2011.

"Next year is possible, but it wouldn't be all of the construction," Gillett told AUTOSPORT. "You'd end up doing pit garages, race control and the track the bare essentials to get the track up and running for 2010 and there's still plenty of time for that to happen.

"It's a very short period of time that we are working to on that front, but it's a really good opportunity for someone. Where on earth can you buy a Formula 1 grand prix? Here you can, potentially. If someone is out there and has that funding at the moment, they have a unique opportunity to steal away the British Grand Prix.

"It would have to be 2010 because Silverstone would not take it for one year and no-one, me especially, wants to see the British Grand prix lost to the UK."

Gillett said that if Donington wants to host the British Grand Prix it will have to be ready for 2010 rather than 2011, as Silverstone would not accept a one-year deal and if the race falls off the calendar it could jeopardise the event's future.

Although the 17-year-contract that DVLL signed with Bernie Ecclestone last year is no longer valid because the track failed to meet its obligations, Gillett is confident that the F1 supremo would be willing to consider a new deal on a similar basis.

"That contract has gone," added Gillett. "But Bernie Ecclestone has said that if someone turns up at Donington with the right ideas and the right money then he will talk to them."

Although continuing with the British Grand Prix project is Gillett's favoured direction, it is one of three options for the future of the track.

Gillett is hopeful about the interest shown in the circuit since it went into administration, although should a buyer or investor not be found, DVLL could be forced to go into liquidation.

"We are now seeing who is out there," he said. "There are multiple paths that we can go down. One is to go back to the good old national and club venue that it was and another is to take it to a hybrid and create the new track for national and club racing.

"The third is if someone comes in with significant funding and go for F1. So that's what the administration process is going through at the moment.

"There has been a significant amount of interest, but predominantly we've been talking about F1, because time is of the essence. But if that doesn't pan out then there will be more interest in the national circuit."

The completion of any buy-out would need to take place within the next two weeks, as Ecclestone has said that the 2010 F1 calendar must be finalised by December 9.


Simon Gillett needs to be spoon-fed a very heavy dose of REALITY. And he still looks like an absolute cock in the photo inserted in that article.

Wake up, idiot. Nobody has the cash to invest in the track. Your dream has been over ever since it's started. BGP 2010 is going to be either Silverstone or bust.


EDIT: On another note... Thanks to DMN on the Autosport forum for this information: "The Scream of Science", the intro that the BBC used for the Australian GP in order to mark their return as the UK's F1 broadcaster, has won a Royal Television Award. Apparently the judges described it as:

"a slick, beautifully conceived and executed piece of work, with skilful design following throughout"
 
Last edited:
We now have partly confirmed rosters for the Jerez young driver test which is coming up next week (Dec 1st-3rd):

BMW (they will give these tests and then vanish): Alexander Rossi - Day 1, Esteban Gutierrez - Day 2, TBC - Day 3

Mercedes/ex-Brawn: Mike Conway & Marcus Ericsson - all three days

Ferrari: Jules Bianchi - Days 1&2; Marco Zipoli/Daniel Zampieri/Pablo Sanchez Lopez - Day 3

Force India: JR Hildebrand & Paul di Resta - all three days

McLaren: TBC

Red Bull: Daniel Ricciardo - all three days

Renault: Bertrand Baguette - Day 1 (WSR prize test), Lucas di Grassi - Days 2&3

Toro Rosso: Brendon Hartley - Day 1, Mirko Bortolotti - Days 2&3

Williams: Andy Soucek - Day 1 (F2 prize test), Nico Hulkenberg - Days 2&3

http://www.circuitodejerez.com/es/docsentrenaf11209.cfm
 
3 Days for Ricciardo!!! Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi!!!!!
 
Top