Official Discussion Thread of the 2009 Formula 1 Season

Here's a crazy theory for ya (not at all serious, but still):

Ferrari convinced or even paid Piquet to rot out Renault's 2008 Singapore fake crash. Renault gets a suspension, a huge fine, loses Alonso to Ferrari as well as Red Bull as engine client - they will pull out of F1. BMW, Toyota and India will go too,, one of the new teams probably won't make it either. All of that for Ferrari to be able to put 3 cars on the grid, one with Massa/Kimi, other with Alonso third with Schu. This way they can retire Badoer, not pay Kimi $45m severance, keep Massa as a test/backup, giving him a full year to recover, while maintaining F1 presence, and, in the end let Kimi go and put Massa in, as simple as that. A year later Michael will probably retire (again) and they can replace him with Vettel, as his deal with Red Bull runs out.

That actually sounds great. McLaren will have Lewis, Rosberg and Sutil/Glock, Williams - Kovi, Nakajima and Hukelberg, Brawns picks up Kubica, Red Bulls play around with Grojean, Piquet and Heidfeld, while the newcomer USF1 can get Trulli, Montoya and Kyle Bush (Danny Hamlin, Jimmy Johnson), Campos can get Fisi + Sutil/Glock or De La Rosa.
 
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That is the craziest idea I have ever heard, you should write Soap Operas.
 
I stopped reading as soon as Ferrari have anything to do with Renault. When would that ever happen.
 
Montezemolo would rather eat a contract than sign one with ze playboy Flavio.
 
But this sort of thing would never be in a contract of any kind.

It would be only their word against each other.
 
http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2009/9/9859.html

Ask the Expert - Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari

At what race and in which year did Fernando Alonso score his first victory? How many Formula One points have Toro Rosso scored? Which buildings in Barcelona were designed by renowned Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi? And the Panoramabar in Berlin is a top venue for which type of music?

These are just some of the questions we thought Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari would take in his stride after he agreed to be the latest participant in our personal trivia test, ?Ask the Expert?...

Q: You won the British Formula Three championship last season. Which driver did you inherit the title from?
Jaime Alguersuari: Marko Asmer
Correct

Q: One of your sporting heroes is tennis star Rafael Nadal. Why couldn't he defend his 2008 Wimbledon title this year?
JA: He had an injury. I guess it was his knee.
Correct

Q: You are the first driver born in the nineties to land a Formula One race seat. But which driver and which team won the world championships in 1990?
JA: Ayrton Senna in a McLaren
Correct

Q: The only other Spaniard to grace the current F1 grid is the illustrious Fernando Alonso. At what race and in which year did Alonso score his first victory?
JA: I am pretty solid on the career of Fernando. It was the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2003.
Correct

Q: You won the British F3 championship last year. Which other current F1 driver or drivers have won this series?
JA: Jenson or Rubens. It must have been one of those two.
Half a mark - it was Rubens Barrichello in 1991.

Q: Apart from Fernando Alonso, just five other Spaniards have scored F1 points. Can you name them?
JA: Marc Gene, Pedro de la Rosa, Luis Perez-Sala. That's all I can remember.
Three points from a possible five - the five and their points tallies are Pedro de la Rosa (29), Marc Gene (5), Luis Perez-Sala (1), Paco Godia (6) and Alfonso de Portago (4).

Q: Your father, also called Jaime, was a racer. How many points did he score in his Moto 50 career?
JA: I have no idea.
Incorrect - it was eight.

Q: You are a confirmed golf fan, but can you name the two Spanish golfers to win PGA tournaments this year?
JA: I can only come up with one name: Sergio Garcia.
Just one point - the other was Alvaro Quiros.

Q: You deputised for the injured Mark Webber at last year's Race of Champions and got knocked out in the first round by NASCAR driver Carl Edwards. Who beat Edwards into second place in last year's NASCAR Sprint Cup series?
JA: Jimmie Johnson
Correct

Q: At the same event you were paired with bike racer Troy Bayliss in the All-Stars team for the Nations Cup. What country is Bayliss from, and how many World Superbike titles did he win in his career?
JA: He's from Australia and my guess is three.
Correct

Q: Prior to the 2009 European Grand Prix, how many Formula One points have Toro Rosso scored?
JA: Shame on me, but I cannot answer that.
Incorrect - it's actually 53.

Q: You finished eighth in last year's prestigious F3 Masters event. Where did your Red Bull stablemate Brendan Hartley finish?
JA: Fifth
Correct

Q: You were born in Barcelona, which is famous as the home of several works by renowned Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi. Can you name three of his buildings in the city?
JA: That's an easy one: Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Park Guell, Casa Batllo
Correct - he could have also mentioned Bellesguard's Tower, Casa Calvet or Casa Vicens.

Q: Barcelona used to stage a Grand Prix within its famous Montjuich Park. When was the last race there, and who won it?
JA: Must have been in the mid seventies, but no idea who won.
We think that deserves a point - it was the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, won by Jochen Mass.

Q: You are a keen DJ, but what record is widely-acknowledged to feature the first-ever scratching?
JA: Scratching is not my thing. No hip-hop music.
Incorrect - it's believed to be Grandmaster Flash's, 'Adventure On the Wheels of Steel'

Q: Ove the summer break you enjoyed a holiday in Ibiza and have recently raced in Valencia. How far away from the city is the Spanish island?
JA: Around 80 kilometres
That's close enough for us - it's 79 kilometres.

Q: What is your team mate Sebastien Buemi's best Formula One result?
JA: Eighth?
Incorrect - it was seventh at the 2009 Australian Grand Prix.

Q: Your team principal Franz Tost competed in two racing series in his younger days. Can you name either of the two?
JA: You will be surprised, but I know that one. Formula Three and Formula Ford.
Correct

Q: The Panoramabar in Berlin is a top venue for which type of music, which you claim to be a fan of?
JA: Ah, that question is for me - it's tech house music.
Correct

Q: Faenza is obviously the home of Toro Rosso. But what is the city's other famous export?
JA: Ceramics?
Correct - majolica pottery, to be precise.

Final score: 22.5 points from a possible 31
Ask the Expert rating: 73%

Current leader board:
1. Heikki Kovalainen - 86%
2. Mark Webber - 84%
3= Lewis Hamilton - 80%
3= Kimi Raikkonen - 80%
5= Kazuki Nakajima - 73%
5= Jaime Alguersuari - 73%
7. Sebastien Buemi - 72%
8. Robert Kubica - 70%
9. Jenson Button - 69%
10. Giancarlo Fisichella - 68%
11. Nico Rosberg - 66%
12= Sebastian Vettel - 64%
12= Rubens Barrichello - 64%
14= Jarno Trulli - 58%
14= Timo Glock - 58%
16. Nick Heidfeld - 57%
17. Adrian Sutil - 54%

So... only 3 drivers left to face this interview: Alonso, Grosjean and whoever replaces Badoer in the second Ferrari.
 
Renault warned of serious consequences

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has warned that there could be 'serious' consequences for both Nelson Piquet and Renault if an investigation into race-fixing at last year's Singapore Grand Prix uncovers anything suspicious.

The FIA is currently looking into claims, which emerged during last weekend's race weekend in Belgium, that Piquet may have been asked to crash deliberately in Singapore last year to help team-mate Fernando Alonso win.

The nature of the claims, or who has provided them, has not been revealed, and the FIA has only confirmed that it is looking into 'events' at a previous world championship race.

However, Ecclestone has confirmed that the incident being looked at is Singapore - and says he and the governing body is taking the matter seriously.

"The FIA has launched a thorough investigation into the allegations about Nelson," Ecclestone said. "I do not know if they are true or not.

"But if they are true then I would have thought Nelson was in just as much trouble. If I tell you to go and rob a bank and you get caught you can't say, 'Well Bernie told me to.'

"It all seems very strange to me and I do not know the truth."

Should the FIA find any evidence of foul play then it would most likely call a meeting of its World Motor Sport Council to discuss the matter. If the WMSC finds Renault guilty, then punishments range from a reprimand through to fines, race bans and even exclusion from the world championship.

On the back of the recent 'Bloodgate' controversy that has dogged rugby, Ecclestone said that FIA would come down hard on any guilty party.

"If the investigation finds out that that is what happened then I think there is going to be a lot of trouble," he said. "You hear of these things happening with jockeys and in football and it has led to all sorts of trouble, hasn't it?

"If it is true then it is a very serious situation. But it could just be a rumour and Nelson is just annoyed that he has been fired.

"But it is not good for the sport. People seem to be spending money betting on F1, which is good, but they will not want to do that if they think something is wrong with the result."

Ecclestone also fears that Renault could pull out of F1 on the back of the investigation - joining Honda and BMW in exiting the sport in the space of less than 12 months.

He told The Times: "This is not the sort of thing we need at the moment. I think it will p*** off Renault for a start. Them leaving the sport is a danger, obviously. I mean, I hope that it isn't like that, but it's the sort of thing that might happen."

The departure of Renault from F1 would not only hit the Enstone-based team, but would also hurt Williams, which is close to signing a customer-engine deal with the French car manufacturer.

Renault has so far not commented on the situation.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78232

This sounds to me like this has come from Piquet and Ecclestone is basically telling him to back off, or he is in the shit himself. Ecclestone realises that F1 doesn't need another scandal.
 
Just reading through other "Ask the Experts" on the F1 website and noticed a mistake in Heikki's answers. F1 states that there are 7 Finnish WRC champions. One of them being Markku Alen. WRONG! Alen was world champion for about a month before it was handed to Juha Kankunnen.

Useless bit of trivia, I feel like Vikirad!
 
From Piquet's twitter:

Things are looking good for next year guys and I can't wait to drive again!
 
Just reading through other "Ask the Experts" on the F1 website and noticed a mistake in Heikki's answers. F1 states that there are 7 Finnish WRC champions. One of them being Markku Alen. WRONG! Alen was world champion for about a month before it was handed to Juha Kankunnen.

Useless bit of trivia, I feel like Vikirad!

I'll be sending your anorak in the mail Necx0 ;)
 
Well.. That can't be good. But I think there are so many scandals in F1 that if you were to uncover them all, it would take forever.

A world championship exclusion is pointless because they aren't competitive this year anyway.
 
Just reading through other "Ask the Experts" on the F1 website and noticed a mistake in Heikki's answers. F1 states that there are 7 Finnish WRC champions. One of them being Markku Alen. WRONG! Alen was world champion for about a month before it was handed to Juha Kankunnen.

Useless bit of trivia, I feel like Vikirad!

Been there, done that ;)

They got the question about rally champions wrong though. Markku Alen never won the World Rally Championship, unless you count the few months he held the provisional 1986 title before FIA made a decision that took it from him (long story). He won the FIA Cup for Drivers in 1978 but that only became the World Championship on the following year.
 
From Piquet's twitter:


Ugh...so track workers will have to use the crane even more often, to get the kid out..at least he'll provide them with amusment and work.
 
From Sniff Petrol's twitter: BREAKING NEWS: FIA to investigate races in which Piquet Jnr "suspiciously did NOT crash"

As for Singapore, I thought all radio transmissions were open and other teams as well as the FIA could listen to them throughout a race weekend? If that is the case then how would they have told him when the crash without everyone getting onto it straight away? This also raises another good point, why would they need to tell to crash, he was perfectly capable on his own!
 
Ugh...so track workers will have to use the crane even more often, to get the kid out..at least he'll provide them with amusment and work.
Ok. He's officially labelled as 'spoiled' in my books.
 
From Sniff Petrol's twitter: BREAKING NEWS: FIA to investigate races in which Piquet Jnr "suspiciously did NOT crash"

As for Singapore, I thought all radio transmissions were open and other teams as well as the FIA could listen to them throughout a race weekend? If that is the case then how would they have told him when the crash without everyone getting onto it straight away? This also raises another good point, why would they need to tell to crash, he was perfectly capable on his own!

Based on Piquet's description of the car's handling and the team telling him to push with the handling problems, it looks like the implication ins't that he was told to crash, but that he was set up to.

Quite how you could ever go about proving or disproving that, I have no idea.
 
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