Official Discussion Thread of the 2009 Formula 1 Season

DID THEY PAINT THE CIGARETTE AD OFF OF THAT CAR!?!?!? MAAARRRGHHHBBSBSBSBHAHHA!

(does anyone have a video of the goodwood run?)
 
I went on the Internet earlier today, and I found THIS! :mrgreen:

Yes, there's life in the Life.

I went on the internet today and I found this, this, and this

This is a superb resource for hi-res 2009 pics by the way :)

matdizzle said:
DID THEY PAINT THE CIGARETTE AD OFF OF THAT CAR!?!?!? MAAARRRGHHHBBSBSBSBHAHHA!

They must've done, although the Williams was still in it's full Rothmans livery...
 
Something good has at last happened...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76751

Fuji pulls plug on Japanese GP

By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, July 7th 2009, 06:51 GMT

Fuji International Speedway has pulled the plug on hosting the Japanese Grand Prix in the future, track officials confirmed on Tuesday.

The circuit had been planning to share the event with Suzuka, having held the last two Japanese GPs, but the global economic downturn that has affected track owners Toyota has forced a rethink.

A statement on the circuit's website said that although planning had already been underway for the 2010 event, the track had no option but to abandon its plans.

"In view of the sharply deteriorating business conditions and few signs of a rapid economic recovery, we decided it would be extremely difficult to continue holding the F1 Japanese Grand Prix," said the statement.

Fuji returned to the F1 calendar in 2007, following huge efforts by Toyota to revamp the circuit.

Lewis Hamilton won that first event amid torrential conditions, while Fernando Alonso took a surprise win for Renault in last year's event following a chaotic first corner.

Fuji said its focus now would be on holding Formula Nippon and Super GT events.

Hiroaki Kato, president of the Fuji track, could not hide his disappointment at the decision that brings an early end to the track's return to the F1 schedule.

"It is just gut-wrenching," he said. "Our customers were looking forward to the next grand prix at Fuji, so it is with great regret that we have had to do this. I apologise deeply for being unable to live up to expectations."

Suzuka is due to hold this year's Japanese GP, and the future of the country's race will now depend on whether the track's owners Honda wish to bankroll the event in the future - having already pulled out of F1.

Toyota's decision to stop the bankrolling of the Fuji event, which Reuters has suggested was costing it around ?12-?18 million, come against the backdrop of the company expecting overall losses of ?5.5 billion in the business year to March 2010.


Bye bye Fuji, I don't think anyone will miss you. *hugs the Suzuka Circuit*
 
That is good news! <3Suzuka<3
 
hell yes, no one cared about Fuji anyway. Don't you just love Bernie's plans back fire?
 
Joy for Brother Michael and whoever supported one of his points of view:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76752

Vatanen 'interested' in FIA presidency

By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, July 7th 2009, 08:13 GMT

Ari Vatanen, the former world rally champion, has thrown his hat into the ring as a potential candidate to stand against Max Mosley as FIA president later this year.

The Finn, who won the WRC title in 1981 and was a member of the European Parliamant until this year, has been mentioned in recent weeks as a possible contender to go up against Mosley.

Now Vatanen has confirmed that he is seriously considering the prospect of standing against Mosley, if the current president chooses to restand for another term in October.

Vatanen was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters: "I'm consulting the member clubs and am already seeing positive feedback. I think the time has come for a change. I would go for it, even if not sure of winning."

Mosley had agreed with F1 teams to step down at the end of his current term, but he is considering his options after what he claims were 'deliberately misleading' comments made by them to the press.

He has told the FIA member clubs that it is important the governing body maintains its strengths and does not sacrifice powers to the teams - something that requires a 'strong' president.



And, apparently, some of the things he was saying in his European Parliament campaign... (found on the Autosport forum):

"Reducing carbon emissions is the biggest hype since stalinism."

"Climate change was invented by green movement - who were disappointed by marxism and Soviet Union - to put blame on people."

"It is absurd to think that man could predict the climate. Nobody knows the weather next saturday."
 
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I think Vatanen deserves the Official Top Gear Royal Chair!

*that chair that the boys wanted to give to that minister*
 
Technical director leaves Red Bull
10 July 2009

With Brawn GP having already lost its chief designer, championship rivals Red Bull Racing have now parted company with technical director Geoffrey Willis, who is now available to other teams ahead of the 2010 season.

With a reshuffling of the Red Bull technical management reportedly leaving no place for Willis, the British engineer - who ironically contributed highly to Red Bull's recent and dominant update package, introduced at Silverstone, and has previously expressed a desire to join the Ferrari team - is now without a contract for next year after team principal Christian Horner told the BBC that his position had become 'redundant'.

Willis has previously worked with the Leyton House operation, working with chief designer Adrian Newey, and both men again worked together at the championship-winning Williams team in the mid-1990s before Willis switched to McLaren in 1997. A move to B.A.R (British American Racing) came in 2001, as Geoff remained with the squad which became Honda in 2006. His move to Red Bull two years ago saw the Willis-Newey partnership reunited.

Source

I don't know if that's a good thing...

Force India confident of keeping motorhome
10 July 2009

The Force India team is positive that it will retain possession of its motorhome after German police officers arrived at the N?rburgring on Friday afternoon. It is believed that the officers were looking to take possession of the team's hospitality unit, supposedly bought by former team owner Colin Kolles and not fully paid for by Force India.

With Force India having bought out the Spyker team ahead of last season, reports in the N?rburgring paddock suggest that the motorhome in question was purchased by the Futurecom company, a name also behind a current DTM team, owned by Colin Kolles who was head of Force India until last year.

Word at the circuit on Friday indicates that, despite numerous discussions having allegedly taken place between Futurecom and Force India, the motorhome is still officially owned by the former, which demanded possession under German law once the F1 fraternity arrived in the country.


An official statement from Force India reads as follows:


'The Force India Formula 1 team today received a visit from legal representatives accompanied by uniformed personnel who demanded that the team's motorhome be vacated as they wished to seize the team's property.

This dispute with the contractor has been ongoing since last season and pertains to the quality of construction of the motorhome and its functionality.

The contractor decided to take matters into their own hands without due notice and process and approached a local German court who were presented with highly disputable facts.

Force India will resolve matters during the weekend with the contractor but will fiercely contest the wrongful claims made by them before the local German Court if no amicable settlement is achieved.'

Source
 
This dispute with the contractor has been ongoing since last season and pertains to the quality of construction of the motorhome and its functionality.

They don't want to pay because it doesn't have automatic sliding doors like the other teams? ^^
 
Wheel 'covers' likely to be banned
11 July 2009

Wheel 'covers', or 'fairings' under their technical term, are likely to be banned in Formula One next year, Sam Michael revealed in Germany. The devices, often spinning and used to assist airflow and create more downforce, are believed to reduce chances of overtaking.

First seen in F1 in 2006, the wheel fairing devices have been analysed with a general belief now being that overtaking opportunities would be greater when cars are running without the components, allowing competitors to follow more closely, thus creating more chances to pass.

"One of the things that has been discussed for next year is to remove wheel fairings and not have static or rotating wheel fairings," Williams technical director Michael said at the N?rburgring, before explaining how CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) research led to the conclusion. "It is the sort of thing where you need to find three or four little things like that and that will add up to a difference, so I think it is going in the right direction but it just needs more."

Source

I don't have a problem with that.

Willis departure no major change, says Newey
11 July 2009

Adrian Newey has explained that the departure of technical director Geoff Willis from the Red Bull Racing team will result in no significant modifications to the running of the team or indeed its performance, after team principal Christmas Horner revealed on Thursday at Willis' role had become 'vacant'.

With Willis, who moved to Red Bull from Honda in 2007, now unemployed and likely to be signed by an alternative team, Newey has revealed that his job will be split up and managed by 'four or five' individuals within the Milton Keynes-based group. "My role and my daily way of operating will stay the same, as it is," confirmed technical officer Newey, a key figure behind the race-winning RB5 car driven by Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

"What does change is that we have four or five very senior people on the next level down and we will be expecting them to take on more responsibility for their departments and run in a way which means that we don't need a single technical director." Those taking on greater duties, therefore, are likely to be personalities such as chief designer Rob Marshall.

Source

James Allen via Twitter said:
Mercedes boss Norbert Haug told us this afternoon that he is in talks to supply three customers next year, this will include Red Bull

The Mercedes engines are good, they would only help improve Red Bull I'd think.
 
I thought the supplier can only supply engines to 2 teams? this year was an exception, but 4 next year? Isnt that too much? I hope they will maintain the quality.
 
3? those are McLaren, Force India And RBR? what about brawn GP?

Little bit of misunderstanding there. It's 3 teams without counting McLaren.

If you read the quote it says they're in talk with 3 customers. So that's three teams not including McLaren themselves.

And IIRC, they are allowed to supply to more than one team if the exsisting customer team allows it. (Force India allowed the engines to be supplied to Brawn this year.)
 
The danish commentators were absolutely over the moon about the supposedly "brilliant and exciting" race at the N?rburgring today. They said it had lots of excitement and overtaking.

Now either I was watching a different Fomula One race, or the commentators were trying to lie about the race immediately after its ending.

Are the people covering Formula One on danish television complete idiots, or am I the idiot for not seeing the supposed excitement and overtaking? At several points throughout a race, I find myself almost asleep, and when it's still ten laps to go, I find myself just waiting for the "practice session" to end. Actually, that's not fair: at least the last ten minutes of a practice session have some level of excitement.
 
Maybe you should just watch practice so you dont have to watch the race so you cant complain?

The race wasnt that bad. And there was quite a few overtakes by Alonso, Sutil and Fisichella and the last ten laps werent as you described as their was the battles for 4,5,6,7 and 8,9,10,11,12
 
The danish commentators were absolutely over the moon about the supposedly "brilliant and exciting" race at the N?rburgring today. They said it had lots of excitement and overtaking.

Now either I was watching a different Fomula One race, or the commentators were trying to lie about the race immediately after its ending.

Are the people covering Formula One on danish television complete idiots, or am I the idiot for not seeing the supposed excitement and overtaking? At several points throughout a race, I find myself almost asleep, and when it's still ten laps to go, I find myself just waiting for the "practice session" to end. Actually, that's not fair: at least the last ten minutes of a practice session have some level of excitement.
Yeah, these overtaking efforts have failed. I almost fell asleep but I persevered and found the last half plenty exciting.
 
I thought the race was quite good. It was not a nailbiting thriller like quali, but it was a good race. All we need is rain in Hungary...
 
I half agree with evans, after amazing quali session and predicted rain what we got is quite average. The start was good, the order changed nicely but lack of overtaking was clear. the last 10 minutes I hoped for something but nothing happened. Alonso sure did some laps but couldnt overtake Rubens. I may have liked the race more if Lewis wasnt terminated on lap 1 so I got quite upset...
 
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