Official Discussion Thread of the 2009 Formula 1 Season

Red_Bull said:
According to James Allen, 'it starts with Bahrain because Australia needs to be scheduled for a date after the clocks go forward to shorten up the time difference and make the race time in Europe later.'
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So Bernie gets his way with a better start time for European Viewers albeit not the time he wanted and the organizers don't have to put up with his BS demands for a night race or one of those Malaysia type late starts.

Oh and yay for Canada being back hope its still there when the real calendar comes out.

I also recall reading somewhere that Bernie wants more money for Spa to stay on the calendar (Surprise Surprise :rolleyes:)
 
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Red_Bull said:
According to James Allen, 'it starts with Bahrain because Australia needs to be scheduled for a date after the clocks go forward to shorten up the time difference and make the race time in Europe later.'
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Makes sense, but why Bahrain?

Bahrain as the season opener and Abu Dhabi as the season closer smacks a little of Bernie pandering to rich Arabs, as neither ever have particularly large draws, atmosphere, or redeeming qualities.
 
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Oops:

Tyre issues are back, says Brawn

By Jonathan Noble Sunday, August 30th 2009, 09:29 GMT

Ross Brawn at SpaRoss Brawn fears his team's tyre-warming 'curse' has returned, despite earlier optimism that work on the BGP 001 car in Belgium had cured the problem.

Both Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button struggled to get sufficient heat into their tyres in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix, and Brawn thinks it shows how much more work his team needs to do before it can feel comfortable with the situation.

"It was the curse of the tyre temperatures again," said Brawn. "We were struggling to get the tyres to work, and obviously those teams that managed to get the tyres to work made a very good step.

"With Jenson particularly, we really struggled with the tyres again. On Friday it didn't look too bad, but we just slipped off a little with tyre temperature. Our curse has slightly returned - not as bad as it could have been. On fuel, with a longer run it's not bad. For qualifying we struggled."

Brawn believes that Button's recent struggles, having been edged out by his team-mate in recent races, can be attributed to his smoother driving style.

"He's inherently quieter on the tyres," he said. "Normally that's an advantage but in these circumstances he struggles a bit more. He's quite a smooth, gentle driver which is normally a benefit. But when we are on the edge of getting the tyres to work, he seems to struggle a bit more.

"I think that it is just using the tyres. The approach of how you use them and getting the tyres to work in these circumstances. Perhaps it's no accident that four of the oldest, most experienced, drivers in F1 are at the front of the grid."

Despite the difficulties in qualifying, Brawn thinks that Barrichello, who starts fourth on a light fuel load, can still deliver a strong performance in the race.

"We're pretty light on fuel to try and compensate," he said. "But Rubens is pretty good at starts and he doesn't really have any KERS cars around him this time, so if he can make one or two places on the start he'll have a very strong race.

"The middle period, which will almost certainly be on the hard tyre, he will be very strong. The start and the middle part of the race will be crucial."
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http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78165
 
How can it be so difficult for them getting the tyres warm? Just drive it into a corner like a mad spanner, that'll get it hot. =)
 
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78195

FIA to launch probe on '08 Singapore GP
By Jonathan Noble Sunday, August 30th 2009, 16:08 GMT



The FIA is to launch an investigation into the events at last year's Singapore Grand Prix, where Renault's Fernando Alonso claimed victory on the back of a crash by his team-mate Nelson Piquet.

Alonso's success was sealed by the timing of a safety car in the early stages of the inaugural event - which had been called out when Piquet crashed into the wall shortly after his team-mate stopped for fuel.

The timing of Piquet's crash prompted wild conspiracy theories that the Brazilian had been ordered to deliberately spin to help Renault take its first victory of the year. Piquet himself insisted at the time that the accident had been caused by him simply trying too hard.

"It was my mistake," said Piquet. "We tried two extreme strategies with Fernando quite short and me quite long in the hope of getting a safety car. If I hadn't crashed I would have been lucky with the safety car later in the race because I was very happy.

"We're always scraping the walls, and once you've touched the wall a little too much and lose control that's it."

It is understood, however, that fresh evidence about the events that took place in the race have now come to light - which has prompted the FIA to step in.

Piquet was dropped by Renault after this year's Hungarian Grand Prix, and has been outspoken in his criticisms of the outfit - and in particular team principal Flavio Briatore. It is not clear if the Brazilian himself has been a catalyst for the investigation, or if the evidence has come from elsewhere.

The FIA has not elaborated on the details of its inquiry, but a spokesperson confirmed to AUTOSPORT that an investigation was under way.

"The FIA can confirm that an investigation is underway regarding alleged events at a previous world championship race," said the spokesperson.

Should the FIA investigation suggest there is any evidence of foul play involved, then the governing body could call a hearing of the World Motor Sport Council to discuss the matter.
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Erm... what? :jawdrop:
 
Whoopsy daisy...
 
ladora said:
Whoopsy daisy...
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Piquet perhaps feeling a bit bitter and spilling the beans to the FIA?

What can they actually do? Massive fine? Race ban?

Renault still would have finished 4th in the WCC last year without those 10 points, so it wouldn't have affected prize money...

However Alonso would have dropped from 5th to 7th in the WDC, but applying that retrospectively if they are found guilty isn't really going to change much now.
 
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Will the usf1 car be a shade of pink with 'video removed' written on it?
 
vikiradTG2007 said:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78195



Erm... what? :jawdrop:
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The investigation was mentioned during the broadcasting of the race today here in Brazil, and to be honest it sounded as if the presenters had reasons to believe that it might be true. Something about Nelson Piquet Senior mentioning a couple of months ago that there was a good reason for him to be attending all races, and that something huge was to be revealed.

Time will tell, I guess...
 
Yeah this was posted here yesterday but I was reluctant to post here till it was confirmed by something more reliable...scary stuff cause F1 doesn't need any more of this crap :(
 
Maybe Renault will get a decent whack for cheating this time if it turns out to be true.
 
As much as I'm sorry for Piquet getting unfair treatment at Renault and getting the boot early, I don't think it's in his own best interest to tell on Renault.

In this business, there will always be strategies that will raise more than an eyebrow and drivers need to know that some secrets are never to be revealed.

No team wants a driver that tells on them. Piquet isn't the best driver and so he's not in *great* demand. It does him no good in showing that he can't be a team player. No one will be inclined to hire a driver that lashes back at the team using such schoolboy tricks just so that Piquet can feel level. It's very childish.

Sure, Renault maybe be banned a bit, but his career may take a very bad turn.
 
No matter. Surely Jr has agreed to it. I just have the impression that he's really pampered.
 
A bit of a random thought/occurence... BMW has recently had an upturn in performances as we saw at Spa.

And, at the same time, it has been observed via TV footage that Nick Heidfeld has shaved his long beard off.

Coincidence? :lol:
 
zephyrus17 said:
No team wants a driver that tells on them. Piquet isn't the best driver and so he's not in *great* demand. It does him no good in showing that he can't be a team player. No one will be inclined to hire a driver that lashes back at the team using such schoolboy tricks just so that Piquet can feel level. It's very childish.
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I don't think it's fair to say he isn't a teamplayer, considering the team never really did anything for him.
Quid Pro Quo.
If the team couln't be arsed to help him out, why should he be arsed to keep quiet?

Like you say, he's not in great demand right now... and the way he was treated at Renault is partly responsible for that. So, in a way he's got nothing to lose by becoming a whistleblower.
 
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