F1 silly season

[EauRouge]

It's getting very silly now with these rumours of Alonso going to Red Bull- can't see it happening. I hope it won't be Kimi either. Seb needs a good number 2 behind him, someone that won't challenge him for the championship. I reckon Ricciardo is Red Bull's best bet.

[EauRouge]

Good point, this one is nearly all stuff about last year. Started a new one right here.

[magimedi]

Is this the only thread running about this year's F1?

Mighty quiet, isn't it?

Can someone link me if there is another thread - I've had a search & can't see anything.

[90sthrowback]

Just getting myself onto this thread ahead of watching quali on the beeb

[StyleOverSubstance]

Am settling down to watch practices now that I have done my motherly duty of dropping off various children at various schools and attended assembly which DCs class did a special performance in. Blissss. Hot cup of tea in hand, I go to enjoy the start of the new season...............

[EauRouge]

Sounds like Hamilton is the favourite for this season. We'll see how things look on Saturday!

In other news, Fangio is still the best driver ever.

Still no news about Schumi :(

[StyleOverSubstance]

New F1 Show starts on Friday - and there is a classic race shown afterwards, voted for by viewers, so go onto sky website to see the options available (think they do about 5 per week to chose from) from now until end of November. Will be watching BBC live text again tomorrow, dipping into see how things are going.

[StyleOverSubstance]

Don't think they can believe it either!! they didn't have a bad day yesterday, Ricciardo got a good few laps under his belt, so I think they were really hoping to build on that success, but it was not to be. Mid field teams seem to be doing really well - would be great to see them scoring some significant points at the start of the season. Lower placed back markers not too shabby either - maybe Caterham and Marrussia will break their duck!!

[EauRouge]

I can't believe they didn't even manage one lap. Wow.

[StyleOverSubstance]

Not. One. Single. Lap. Not a one! Red Bull must be bricking it at the mo - with so many changes to cars, they need to get as much mileage as they can and it is just not working for them. I know they have always been masters of catch up in the past and haven't always started the season with the best package, but it is going to be incredibly hard this year to do the same. Renault engine is reckoned to be ok and will be on the pace by some of the oft quoted 'insiders' - so if they can get the car design right to keep engine cool, then things could come good again.

For once, Adrian Newey's pet topic of aero isn't the driving (pardon the pun) force of design and I suspect he is struggling with the concept of having to accommodate a temperamental power train. Maybe this will be the year that makes him decide enough is enough and he will take Ben Ainslie up on his offer to design racing yachts and leave F1... Suspect Christian Horner is going to be Mr E's replacement, so Red Bull may well find themselves ringing a certain Mr Whitmarsh to ask if he is free to join them.............. stranger things have happened!!

Still standing by my prediction that Williams are going to be the 'dark horse' this year. Cant wait for season to begin.

[StyleOverSubstance]

Red Bull seem to have taken over from McLaren this year in having such a bad car they would do better using last years model - except that this year they really, really cant. I know Red Bull are usually masters of sandbagging so no-one knows where they are on the grid, but this car is looking beyond redemption. Mark Webber must be sat there thinking its karma, mate, karma.

Did you see the piece Red Bull put out re the supposed hissy fit Seb had in Jerez. Very funny and the last paragraph was a corker!!

[EauRouge]

8.25- Vettel leaves the pits.
8.30- Vettel causes the session to be red flagged.

Oh dear

[EauRouge]

Interview with Eric Boullier- another one who moved at just the right time!

[StyleOverSubstance]

Sniff Petrol article - hilaire! (to quote Miranda)

MW will still have involvement with RBR through other commitments and as far as I know, is still involved with Christian Horners other racing outfit, so will definitely know what is going on and will most definitely be finding it very funny indeed.

He has tweeted support for fellow Aussie Dan Ricciardo, which is really nice and I am sure much appreciated as even Dan hasn't been smiling much the last few weeks. He is probably thinking about McLaren and Sergio Perez in that he only got a year, when in reality, with the dog of a car they had been given, it would have been like trying to polish a turd to get anywhere near the podium, so he had little opportunity to show his talent.

[EauRouge]

Very interesting Whitmarsh rumours. I can well believe that version.

I'll miss Wibbah too, so many of the drivers are boring corporate drones now. He definitely got out at the right time though! I bet he's pissing himself laughing.

Did you see this on Sniff Petrol?

[StyleOverSubstance]

At least some of the madness has ended - the double points for the last three races has been officially knocked on the head.

FOTA is no more - Martin Whitmarsh was, I seem to remember, the last chairman of the group and he resigned last season.

Re: Martin Whitmarsh, there was an interesting comment on the Beeb's site that he had been saying for the last two seasons that he knew Ron Dennis wanted him out and although a job was in the pipeline somewhere else in the organisation, he wasn't unduly bothered about taking it. He apparently hasn't been back to the MTC since he was ousted, so rumour is that he was approached by Lotus some time ago as a replacement but turned it down and that the only other options available were Mercedes or Ferrari as anything else would be classed as a step down. Said he would need to decide soon if he wanted to stay in F1 to stay 'relevant' because of all the changes, but that he wasn't short of a bob or two, so no pressure to find something else. I think Ron has basically been biding his time after the Ferrari-gate scandal and always had in mind that he would return and saw Whitmarsh's role as 'minding the shop' until the time was right for his return.

Red Bull, it would appear, still have a lot of catch-up to do - as Ted said in his Sky Notebook Programme last night - Mark Webber chose the right time to leave. No fool is he? Will still miss Wibbah, calls a spade a spade and plays fair. Midfield teams are doing surprisingly well considering the massive changes they have had to accommodate and their relatively modest budgets - think this season is going to be epic!

[EauRouge]

I have zero sympathy for him

[StyleOverSubstance]

Poor Pastor! Apparently he is a little upset that his new brum brum doesn't go as quickly as some of the other brum brums - cos the Renault engine isn't as good as last years........ Think he is a little upset now that he has left Williams - who are looking very strong at the moment with their new line up of engine, car and personnel, that he has well and truly burnt his bridges there. Last years car was awful and I have a strange feeling they did it on purpose to get rid of him and had been pocketing the PDVSA money to invest in this season as the new and improved Willams set up looks very sweet indeed.

[StyleOverSubstance]

should have said Pastor 'written' on the Lotus - dropping verbs again!

[StyleOverSubstance]

YY - will be very confused seeing Kimi in Red overalls instead of the black and gold........ Also cant get used to seeing Pastor on the Lotus....... then Massa in Williams blue instead of wearing red overalls, (wonder if he will end up in the wrong box in the pitlane like Hamilton did with McLaren when he should have been at Mercedes) as after so many years at Ferrari, old habits will surely die hard!

Had forgotten about Kubica - that was a pretty nasty one too.

[EauRouge]

And Kubica's barrel roll in Canada 2007(?)

This time of year is so confusing for me, it takes me at least 4 races before I can remember which team everyone is driving for this season.

[StyleOverSubstance]

Mark Webber's Valencia accident and Fernando Alonso's Spa incident spring to mind of recent times - could have been a very different outcome not that long ago...........

Have got the Beeb live text on - so will be dipping into it as the day progresses to keep up with progress of teams. Mercedes are definitely looking the favourites at the moment, but still feel that it will be unknown territory and we could end up with a number of different winners over the season. Practice time extended by half an hour a day, which I am sure everyone will be grateful for as the clock is well and truly ticking now. Excited? You bet!!!

[EauRouge]

I can't believe it's been 20 years, I remember being so upset about it. I'm glad those days seem to be behind us, it amazes me the smashes drivers can get in now and walk away without a scratch.

[StyleOverSubstance]

McLaren have announced that Ayrton Senna's MP4/4 is going to Imola as part of the 20th Anniversary commemoration of Senna's life. Apparently there is going to be a special event there from 1st to 4th May, with members of family there, pictures from family archives and all sorts of other activities. MP4/4 will also be going to Australia - presume it will also be at Goodwood as they are supposed to be hosting a special 20th Anniversary celebration of Senna during the Festival.

It is 10 years since Imola dropped off the F1 calendar and there have been rumblings about it being reinstated, but a lot of people have a negative association with it because of Senna's death, so although it is an excellent 'old school' circuit, Tamburello and its associations aside, it is still undecided. I have a real love/hate relationship with it for exactly those reasons - I will never forget that weekend, it was one of the blackest in motorsport....... Such a shame the solution to the Tamburello corner wasn't done sooner..... concrete is too unforgiving at speed.

I often wonder how Adrian Newey feels about it all - he has had much success over his career, but it was the car he designed that Senna died in, I don't think that would ever leave you. He obviously learnt a lesson from it as if you look at the impact Sebs car took in Brazil last year and survived to finish the race compared to (ironically) Bruno Senna's Williams which was out of the race, safety is one of his priorities - as one of the commentators said 'they build them strong in Milton Keynes'. Same with Frank Williams, wonder how he will feel about having all the attention on Williams again, but associated with that loss....

[EauRouge]

The Red Bull is looking a bit better today, Ricciardo was a tenth off Rosberg. The Force India's looking pretty good too.

[StyleOverSubstance]

like horse and carriage aren't they - can't have one without the other! Was looking for RS at last test, but didn't see him hovering around Williams garage, presumed 'gardening leave' would have finished around now.

Think Williams is a good place to be at the moment, nice group of people in terms of knowledge, temperament and experience of F1, so am hoping it will be the start of their rise up the mid-field teams instead of languishing at the bottom.