2012 Formula 1 Season Thread

Red_Bull said:
Dont really see what the big deal is about Red Bull. Benetton are a clothes manufacturer who owned and ran a highly successful grand prix team in the mid nineties. The man they got to run the team, Flavio Briatore, was one of their business managers who had no interest or knowledge of the inner workings of the sport. You think that didn't upset established figures such as Ron Dennis or Frank Williams?! :p
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I love how Steve Matchett tells of his time working for Flavio, how Flavio would leave you alone as long as you were busy working on something that looked technical.
Hah, found the quote!
"In this respect, Flavio was one of the best bosses one could hope to have. For example, during the lunch hour I could be working away, repairing the carburettor from my road car, or making a bookshelf bracket in the fabrication department, and if Flavio walked past he would have no interest whatsoever in what I, or anyone else, was up to."
-The Mechanic's Tale, Page 100

Flavio was there purely for the marketing department, he only cared how well the stickers were placed on the car and not why that bit of the car is important to how fast it can go. He had other men for the mechanical aspects. It's a good thing Luciano Benetton understood that when he brought in Flavio because otherwise we would have never seen the full potential of that team.
 
Topgearfanatic said:
I love how Steve Matchett tells of his time working for Flavio, how Flavio would leave you alone as long as you were busy working on something that looked technical.
Hah, found the quote!
"In this respect, Flavio was one of the best bosses one could hope to have. For example, during the lunch hour I could be working away, repairing the carburettor from my road car, or making a bookshelf bracket in the fabrication department, and if Flavio walked past he would have no interest whatsoever in what I, or anyone else, was up to."
-The Mechanic's Tale, Page 100
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Yup, or how he said he always felt more nervous when Ron Dennis was watching him work because he actually knew about cars and components!
 
Austin is still on the calendar! http://t.co/SzchdkKC

Hellmund is no longer listed on COTA's page as a founding partner...hmmmm. Sounds like whatever deal they worked out must've ousted him.
 
Ok....I'm a bit happier now.

Might actually start looking for tickets and such so I don't have to pay exorbitant amounts of money to fly in. Guess I should maybe wait and see how the track build progresses first. Good to see though. None of this New Jersey BS for me.
 
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Red_Bull said:
Dont really see what the big deal is about Red Bull. Benetton are a clothes manufacturer who owned and ran a highly successful grand prix team in the mid nineties. The man they got to run the team, Flavio Briatore, was one of their business managers who had no interest or knowledge of the inner workings of the sport. You think that didn't upset established figures such as Ron Dennis or Frank Williams?! :p
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To say the truth, and I know some sour people out there will disagree, Benetton success came a little from their project and a lot from their driving talent, one Mr. Michel Schumacher, who could make that car perform at 235%. Compare his results to all other team mates he had, whether seasoned F1 drivers or new upcoming talents, nobody could take it as far as to compete with Williams other than him.
 
mpicco said:
To say the truth, and I know some sour people out there will disagree, Benetton success came a little from their project and a lot from their driving talent, one Mr. Michel Schumacher, who could make that car perform at 235%. Compare his results to all other team mates he had, whether seasoned F1 drivers or new upcoming talents, nobody could take it as far as to compete with Williams other than him.
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235%? No, probably more like 99.9%. No matter how good he was he couldn't out drive his car! He extracted the maximum out of the package unlike all of his other teammates. He did a damn good job (conspiracy theories aside) against Damon Hill who probably had the better car.

Okay, he was a major factor in Benetton's success in 1994 and 1995, but it wasn't just him as Benetton employed some very competent people such as Pat Symonds, Tom Walkinshaw, Nigel Stepney, erm...great list of corrupt personalities so far :p, Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn. At least those last two were/are on the level!
 
We're back! Yaaay!:D

Well, hopefully. Here's the press release....

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 7, 2011

Formula 1? and Circuit of The Americas? Ready to Roll

10-Year Race Contract

Brings F1? Back to the U.S. in 2012; Construction to Resume

Immediately

AUSTIN, Texas ? December 7, 2011 ? Circuit of The Americas announced today they have

reached an agreement with Formula One Management that ensures the Formula 1 United

States Grand Prix remains on the FIA Formula 1 World Championship race calendar.

Red McCombs, chairman of McCombs Enterprises and founding partner of Circuit of The

Americas stated, ?Mr. Ecclestone received his check today. We want to thank the fans

supporting us, the local officials and businesses that have encouraged us, the State of Texas,

Circuit of The Americas? staff and Bernie himself. I want to thank and commend Bobby Epstein

for getting us across the finish line. Bobby?s perseverance and leadership kept the project on

track despite unfair and unfounded criticism.?

?Our investors have believed all along that this project has tremendous benefit for our region,

and provides a strong economic engine for the future,? stated Epstein, founding partner of

Circuit of The Americas. We remain committed to reaching our goal of being valuable

community partners as we establish a platform for sports and entertainment. We?re glad that

Tavo?s vision of bringing F1 to the people of Texas will become a reality.?

Engineering and construction teams working on the track will resume immediately, ensuring

completion for the 2012 race date.

?We have a substantial number of fans who have expressed interest in buying tickets and

hospitality, so today is a win for all of them as much as it is for Circuit of The Americas,? said

Steve Sexton, president of Circuit of The Americas. ?We encourage everyone to visit our

website and register for information. Registered fans will receive the first communication

regarding ticket sales plans. In a matter of weeks we will have more exciting news as we unveil

our full calendar of world class events.?

Fans interested in receiving information about tickets for next year?s Formula 1 United States

Grand Prix can register their contact information at

www.circuitoftheamericas.com. Ticket sales

information will be communicated to those registered prior to general public notification.

About Circuit of The Americas

Circuit of The Americas will be a world-class destination for performance, education and

business. It will be the first purpose-built Formula 1 Grand Prix facility in the United States

designed for any and all classes of racing, from motor power to human power.

The master plan for Circuit of The Americas features a variety of permanent structures designed

for business, education, entertainment and race use. Its signature element will be a 3.4-mile

(5.5-km) circuit track. Other support buildings will include a medical facility, 14 executive

meeting suites, a conference center, and a banquet hall, as well as an expansive outdoor live

music space. Future proposed amenities include a driving/riding experience, a motorsports

driving club, kart track, grand plaza event center and tower, and a trackside recreational vehicle

park.

For more information and downloadable video, audio and photos, visit:

www.CircuitofTheAmericas.com.

Media Inquiries:

Jeff Hahn

Representing Circuit of The Americas

Office: 512-344-2017

jhahn@hahntexas.com

Ali Putnam

Circuit of The Americas

Office: 512-301-6600

ali.putnam@circuitoftheamericas.com
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Myself...I think Red McCombs was just convinced to cough up ALL the money. He's as rich as anyone in the state, IIRC.

Also, the race is in November (thank GOD!) so we won't melt under the 100 degree plus (35c) Texas sun. Too bad about Tavo being left on the sidelines, though. Apparently he had a falling out with the track folks.
 
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Interesting, yeah. I'm happy for Grosjean though, I think he deserves another chance in F1 given the difficulty surrounding his earlier foray.
 
MadCow809 said:
In any which case, good luck on the second attempt. He will be destroyed by Kimi.
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I'm gonna go against the flow and predict that Grosjean is going to give Kimi a far closer run for his money than he expects. Kimi has had two years out of F1 with pretty much no direction and decreasing motivation, Grosjean has had two trying years in lower formulae and has actually made the most of his opportunities. Right now I'd say the motivation factor advantage is on the French side of the garage... narrowly.
 
Red_Bull said:
235%? No, probably more like 99.9%. No matter how good he was he couldn't out drive his car! He extracted the maximum out of the package unlike all of his other teammates. He did a damn good job (conspiracy theories aside) against Damon Hill who probably had the better car.

Okay, he was a major factor in Benetton's success in 1994 and 1995, but it wasn't just him as Benetton employed some very competent people such as Pat Symonds, Tom Walkinshaw, Nigel Stepney, erm...great list of corrupt personalities so far :p, Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn. At least those last two were/are on the level!
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Ill just say that the driver is part of the team, if you have someone to outdrive your car nd help you win then congrats to you, thats a good thing.
 
Jos Verstappen has claimed recently that Schumacher's Benetton was equipped with illegal driving aids back when they were teammates in 1994. To firstly clarify, yes it was. However the program was a remnant from their 1993 code and was disarmed. McLaren and Ferrari also had programs that were deactivated and the FIA took no action against any of those teams, despite thoroughly investigating all three outfits. They were satisfied that Benetton and the others werent using them to gain an unfair advantage in 1994. It's just funny that after 17 years since the Benetton B194 last turned a wheel in anger that no evidence has ever been leaked to confirm the use of driver aids in Schumacher's car. Not a word from Benetton employees past or present, or anyone with close connections. All we have have had so far is unsubstantiated rumours mainly based on a bitter comment made by an aggrieved Senna at Aida claiming he thought Schumacher's car had some sort of illegal traction control. Never mind the fact that he was out of the race at the time and facing a season with an uncompetitive Williams Renault, and a highly motivated Schumacher with an on song Benetton team.

And if Schumacher's Benetton was equipped with an active traction control system, why was it not fitted to Verstappen, Lehto or Herbert's cars? Clearly they were the guys who probably would've benefited most from it! I dont know anything about Verstappen's career before F1, or even after it, but I know that during his intermittent involvement in the sport, he has not shown any sort of above average talent or provided a reason why he should've had more success in the sport.
 
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