Yeah I read that today on the F1 site. So how complicated is it going to be to follow the season. Lets say one person wins 3 races for the year and all the other races are won by the rest of the field. And what if they fail to perform in other GP's. I guess I need to see how it plays out over the season, but prefer the old points system, then do a count back if 2 drivers are level at the end of the year.
Jerez - 17/03/2009 1 . J. Button - Brawn Mercedes BGP 001 - 1:17.844 (+ 0.000 ) - 114 laps 2 . N. Rosberg - Williams Toyota FW31 - 1:18.041 (+ 0.197 ) - 66 laps 3 . N. Piquet - Renault R29 - 1:18.382 (+ 0.538 ) - 128 laps 4 . L. Hamilton - McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 - 1:19.121 (+ 1.277 ) - 118 laps. Times courtesy of Jerez Earl ALEXANDER © CAPSIS International Testing continued today at Jerez, once again under sunny skies. Following a gearbox problem that halted the BGP 001 yesterday, Jenson Button duly returned to the top of the timesheets for Brawn GP. Button lapped the 4.428km circuit half a second under Fernando Alonso's best time recorded yesterday, stopping the clocks in 1:17.844s and concluding the team's brief and impressive pre-season test programme. Nico Rosberg was just two-tenths off the ultimate pace for Williams Toyota but suffered a substantial off, striking the retaining tyre wall with the right hand side of the FW31. This restricted the German racer to just 66 laps on the day. Nelson Piquet took over testing duties from Fernando Alonso for the final day of testing at Renault. The Brazilian put in an impressive 128 laps and was third fastest, just half a second shy of Button. Lewis Hamilton was back behind the wheel of the MP4-24, but had to be content with the fourth fastest time, over a second off the pace. Testing continues on Wednesday with just McLaren Mercedes and Williams Toyota in action. http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090317175125.shtml
It was well reported at the time that when McLaren switched from a V10 to a V12 many moons ago, that Mr Senna promptly told the boys at Honda that their V12 was craaap... less power, more weight, slurped more fuel... way less driveable.... He still won with it... because Mr Senna was "the business" Interesting to read Mr Barichello's comments about the Mercedes engine... about how the old Honda motor was not not driveable either.... kinda like a Type R Civic I guess... above 6000 rpm, super cool.. below that... no quicker than a Honda lawnmower
What chance a protest about the diffusers at the first race next week? FIA has said they're a clever interpretation and its a boost for the three teams that most need one in terms of survival, Brawn, Williams and Toyota. However a protest forces a re-evaluation and that interpretation could be banned. Briatore wants it resolved...
yay..McLaren finally beat someone Jerez - 18/03/2009 1 . H. Kovalainen - McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 - 1:18.202 (+ 0.000 ) - 85 laps 2 . K. Nakajima - Williams Toyota FW31 - 1:20.023 (+ 1.821 ) - 103 laps. Times courtesy of Jerez Earl ALEXANDER © CAPSIS International
The Spanish sun took on the role of a ray of hope for McLaren on Wednesday, as the beleaguered F1 giant conducted its penultimate day of a troubled pre-season. At the Jerez test circuit, it was not Heikki Kovalainen's defeat of the only other test runner Kazuki Nakajima that was significant, but the fact the Finn would have been within half a second of Brawn's stunning pace of the day before. When Brawn and Renault were still circulating on Tuesday, Lewis Hamilton had been more than a second off the pace. McLaren's post-day press release reflected the improvement: "The test proved extremely productive, both in terms of evaluating the lap time potential of the new components and their effectiveness over the course of a simulated race stint." McLaren and Williams' final day of running on Thursday marks the formal close of the 2009 winter period. Source: GMM Image Unavailable, Please Login
Just like one year ago, Bernie Ecclestone is placing his pre-season bet for the drivers' title on Felipe Massa. Prior to the 2008 season, in which 27-year-old Massa won more races than any other driver and finished one point behind champion Lewis Hamilton, the F1 Chief Executive tipped the Brazilian for the title.
Michael Schumacher on Thursday joined the majority of the Formula One world by questioning the FIA's latest rules changes. The former champion, still an advisor to the Ferrari team, said the lateness of the announcements prior to the season is astonishing, but he also questions the wisdom of their content. "I cannot imagine those changes to help F1, especially regarding the new (scoring) system to find the champion," said the 40-year-old German. In the past, he has been quoted as believing the points margin between first and second was only reduced from four to two points in 2003 to make it harder for him to dominate championships. But Schumacher does not agree with this change. "I cannot see how it makes sense to eventually have a world champion who has less points than the driver coming in second, even if I also think it is a good move to try to strengthen the winner's position," he added. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Jerez - 19/03/2009 1 . K. Nakajima - Williams Toyota FW31 - 1:17.494 (+ 0.000 ) - 102 laps 2 . H. Kovalainen - McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 - 1:17.946 (+ 0.452 ) - 84 laps. Times courtesy of Jerez Earl ALEXANDER © CAPSIS International The final tests ahead of the new Formula One season came to a close this afternoon at Jerez with McLaren Mercedes and Williams Toyota concluding their pre-season running. Kazuki Nakajima was on hand to wrap up testing of the FW31, putting in 102 laps of the Spanish test circuit and recording a best time of 1:17.494s. The time eclipsed Jenson Button's best of 1:17.844s recorded on Tuesday and will be a boost for the Grove-based team. Kazuki was back in the cockpit today working through last minute reliability and performance items that required sign-off for Melbourne," explained Technical Director Sam Michael. "We have put over 8,000kms on the FW31 in the last two months and, while there are always areas that require attention, reliability has been good. Weve also been working hard with Toyota to achieve good reliability on the engines working range, which has been subject to a reduction in revs but an increase in mileage. Considering the time weve had to do this, the work has gone well, he concluded" Heikki Kovalainen was back behind the wheel of the MP4-24 for the second day, the team once again using flow visualisation paint, this time on the floor of the chassis just ahead of the rear diffuser. Kovalainen was just under half a second adrift of Nakajima but three-tenths up on his Wednesday best. "The team concluded the on track proving process of the MP4-24 package," McLaren said in a statement. "New components, which arrived from the McLaren Technology Centre overnight, were fitted to the car for todays session receiving productive feedback." With the new regulations in place that prohibit in-season testing, the ten teams will now only be in action over the next 17 Grand Prix weekends, the first of which gets underway next Friday in Melbourne... http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090319174528.shtml Image Unavailable, Please Login
World champion Lewis Hamilton, and his teammate Heikki Kovalainen, are likely to qualify "in the last third" of the Melbourne grid next weekend. That is the frank admission of Norbert Haug, who has spoken candidly about McLaren's winter problems with the new MP4-24 car. In an official race preview on Friday, team figures admitted outright victory at Albert Park is unlikely. World champion Hamilton, who won the event in 2008 after securing pole, said he doesn't have "the same prospects" for success this year as in the past, while Kovalainen admitted the Woking based team "probably won't start the season as favourites." Team boss Martin Whitmarsh said McLaren is "fully aware" fighting at the front is not a prospect for Australia, while Mercedes chief Haug said winning "may not be possible." In an interview with the German news agency SID, however, Haug was more candid about the car's competitiveness, and also the time it may take for its problems to be resolved. "After our test results, we must get used to the fact that in Melbourne we will be in the last third of the starting order," the German is quoted as saying. "Clearly we have to improve our technical package," Haug continued. "This process needs time and it could be the start of the European season (before McLaren is competitive), perhaps even longer." http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090320.025/mclaren-to-be-near-back-of-grid---haug Image Unavailable, Please Login
The FIA has announced it is ready to postpone its controversial decision to name the Formula One champion with a system based on the number of race victories instead of points won over the season. The sport's governing body has declared its readiness to push back the implementation of the new system to 2010 if the teams contest. In order to increase the value of a Grand Prix victory, the Formula One Teams Association recently presented a new points table where the difference between the winning driver and the runner-up would be three points instead of two. The WMSC rejected it in favour of the 'most wins' option. Several drivers have publicly disapproved of the new system which was announced with immediate effect by the FIA's World Motor Sport Council last Tuesday, stating that a championship which rewards consistency with a points-based system is the essence of F1 competition. On Friday FOTA questioned the validity of the change after it reviewed articles of the International Sporting Code and Sporting Regulations. Several hours later the FIA announced its readiness to revert to the traditional points-based system. Surprisingly, the FIA claims that it accepted a slightly modified version of the scheme previously proposed by Bernie Ecclestone because it believed the teams agreed with it. Ecclestone's proposition of a 'gold medal-inspired' title attribution system has generated negative opinions from F1 insiders and fans for weeks. FIA statement: On 17 March, the FIA World Motor Sport Council unanimously rejected FOTA's proposed amendment to the points system for the Formula One Drivers' Championship. The 'winner takes all' proposal made by the commercial rights holder (who had been told that the teams were in favour) was then approved. If, for any reason, the Formula One teams do not now agree with the new system, its implementation will be deferred until 2010. Daniel BASTIEN © CAPSIS International
Testing rules look likely to kill a lot of young drivers chances. Brawn chose Reubens for reasons it wouldn't have if the test ban wasn't in place. Thats the problem with these knee-jerk changes. There's unintended repercussions. Watch GP2 die if we have two seasons of no new F1 drivers.
Mark Webber has revealed he also broke his shoulder in his cycling crash late last year. The Australian driver's recovery to fitness from a badly broken right leg has been well documented ahead of the 2009 season. But, as he arrives in his native country ahead of next week's Melbourne season opener, Webber - who is still limping - told local newspaper The Age the full extent to his injuries was not previously disclosed. He revealed that, before returning to Europe in the wake of the crash, he discovered some more bad news upon being visited by a physiotherapist. "We discovered that I actually had a fracture in my left shoulder," the Red Bull driver said. "It's just how I landed - with a backpack on and the weight in that, I crushed part of the bone. Frankly, with how bad the leg was, it was a real kick in the nuts." "Luckily it didn't need surgery, but it made it harder getting around on crutches and trying to sleep," Webber added. He also revealed that he sometimes questioned his own confidence that he would be back in action when the 2009 car was rolled out at a Spanish test circuit in February. Webber, who did manage the deadline, said 'a lot of people' told him 'that first test wasn't possible'. "I basically guaranteed (team owner) Dietrich (Mateschitz) that I'd be at the first test on the 11th of February, and there were times I thought that was probably a little naive of me to say that." Source: GMM © CAPSIS International Image Unavailable, Please Login
Formula One has now passed Rossi by In an interview, MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi has named not taking on Formula One as his only regret at the age of 30. After a spate of test drives, the Italian came close to becoming Michael Schumacher's team-mate in 2006, but ultimately decided to stick to two wheels. According to the ANSA news agency, when asked in a television interview to reveal his biggest regret, Rossi said he has only one: "Not to have switched to Formula One and raced with Ferrari. "But now I'm 30 and I made my choice then. And while Ferrari is still in my heart, I don't think I'll ever race one."
F1's governing body has agreed to call off the immediate implementation of its newly announced 'winner takes all' scoring system, amid the determined opposition of the teams. The FOTA team alliance on Friday said it had gathered in the wake of the World Motor Sport Council's announcement this week "to question the validity of this decision". It had been becoming clear to observers that the scoring rule change, and the voluntary budget cap for 2010, was part of the wider political battle over the future of the sport. In implementing the 'gold medals'-style system championed by Bernie Ecclestone, the FIA seemed to have deliberately ignored FOTA's separate proposal, where the points difference between first and second places is simply increased from 2 to 3 points. "FOTA had made a proposal that was carefully based on the results of a Global Audience Survey, which allowed listening to preferences of the public, and all the Teams firmly believe that these indications should be properly taken into account," the teams' Friday statement read. FOTA also claims the rule change contravened Appendix 5 of the Sporting Regulations and article 199 of the International Sporting Code, where it is "too late for (the) FIA to impose a change ... that has not obtained the unanimous agreement of all the" teams. In its own subsequent statement, in which the FIA suggests that Ecclestone "had been told that the teams were in favour" of the gold medals scheme, F1's governing body backed down. "If, for any reason, the formula one teams do not now agree with the new system, its implementation will be deferred until 2010," the FIA said. FOTA said the teams are willing to "collaborate with the FIA" for a jointly-defined new points system for 2010. Source: GMM
So will Mark "Potsie" Webber win next weekend?? Is McLaren actually "foxing"? Is Brawn running "legal" in their testing? The answer to these questions and more... next weekend Is the F1 coverage live on FTA #10, or do you have to watch it on their One-HD sports channel?
Win? No. Finish.... Errr I don't think Lewis wants to look slow tho... Hard to say. Maybe. The team was the 1st to start developing for 2009, tho testing pace or even qualifying pace isn't ever Race pace. I will be there, just booked my grandstand tix today Melb is always live on Ten, it's the only time they spend half the day showing everything and making out how dedicated to F1 they are, grabbing as many new supporters as possible, then pissing on them all for the rest of the season with delayed races. Hopefully One-HD will fix that Going by ten.com.au coverage starts @ 12pm on Saturday and Sunday.
The spectre of official protests against the rear diffusers of three 2009-spec cars on Monday grew ever larger. Mere days ahead of scrutineering for the Australian Grand Prix, Red Bull's motor racing advisor Helmut Marko declared that the solutions on the Toyota, Williams and Brawn cars are "illegal." "They have a double diffuser which gives them five tenths per lap (extra)," the Austrian told sportnet.at on Monday. "Seven teams - including Red Bull - are united: they are illegal," said Marko, raising the probability of a formal protest at the scene of the season opener this weekend. He claims both Renault and Red Bull discussed the legality of a similar aerodynamic concept with the FIA early last year and "at that time there was a negative answer." © CAPSIS International Source: GMM
