The movable rear wing.
Attachment 41563
Printable View
The movable rear wing.
Attachment 41563
Have you seen the new McLaren Paul?
I refuse to post a pic :laugh:, but check out their side-pods...
Strange side pods, nice looking car. I like the Lotus Renault best, its the colours :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Noxide
Some sad news today.. :(
Quote:
Robert Kubica’s Formula One career is in the balance following high-speed rallying crash in Italy
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...r_1819928c.jpg
By Tom Cary 9:40PM GMT 06 Feb 2011
The Pole appears certain to miss the start of the season in Bahrain on March 13 but of more concern was whether the 26 year-old makes it back to the sport at all.
Kubica’s Skoda Fabia collided with a wall on the opening stage of the Ronde di Andora rally. After being trapped in the car for an hour, during which time Kubica lost a lot of blood and, briefly consciousness, he was airlifted to the Santa Corona Hospital near Genoa where Professor Igor Rossello, a hand specialist, performed surgery.
Kubica’s co-driver, Jakub Gerber, escaped from the wreckage unharmed.
“We were driving the first four kilometres of the first trial,” Gerber said. “I was looking at my notes and didn’t notice that the car skidded.
“Only after the moment of impact did I see that Robert was holding his arm and shortly afterward he lost consciousness.”
Kubica’s manager, Daniel Morelli, speaking outside the hospital, denied there was a risk of amputation, which had briefly been feared.
“At this stage there is no such risk,” Morelli said. “We’re talking about the functionality. The surgeons are trying to restore the functions of his right hand. They have already re-vascularised the limb and repaired the bone structure.”
Kubica’s friend and fellow F1 driver Fernando Alonso, of Ferrari, paid a brief visit to the hospital. There are unconfirmed reports that Kubica’s injuries may have been caused by the protective crash barrier penetrating the cockpit of his car, which could explain why the right side of his body was injured rather than the side by the door.
Kubica’s accident is bound to call into question Renault’s decision to allow him to indulge his passion for rallying, a sport in which he regularly competes.
Kubica is no stranger to serious accidents. He had titanium bolts fitted into his arm when he was the passenger in a serious road accident in 2003. He also escaped virtually unharmed from a spectacular crash at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2007 when driving for BMW.
A likeable personality, Kubica is generally regarded as one of the sport’s outstanding talents, a man capable of winning the world title given the right car. His injuries constitute a major blow to Renault who have just signed a £100million sponsorship deal with Lotus.
Although Renault are not expected to compete for the title this year, they raised eyebrows with a radical exhaust system at winter testing in Valencia last week where Kubica set the fastest time.
Kubica’s team principal Eric Boullier said it was too early to discuss his driver’s chances of making Bahrain but if he fails to do so his seat will likely be taken by either Bruno Senna or Frenchman Romain Grosjean.
Both men have been named as “third” drivers by Renault, although Boullier has hinted Senna will be first reserve.
I just don't understand why any of the racers would risk taking part in any other form of racing just before the F1 season starts.
Surely they know the risk. Especially rallying.
Anyway, it's a big blow to F1. I think he would've been good this year.
Kubica is a great driver,but he has no luck :(
Sounds like you're describing the Iceman :laugh:Quote:
Originally Posted by Duje
Adrenalin junkies, speeds in there blood.Quote:
Originally Posted by Noxide
A month before season starts though, stupid. Surprised Renault let him rally.
Very lucky to be alive. Surgeons say rehab on his right hand will take one year at best.Quote:
Originally Posted by Duje
Kimi Raikkonen to Renault?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul
Unfortunately not. :(
It's either Grosjean or Senna
Stupid in my opinion, but that's just me.
Could happen, id put money on it.
I don't know if I'd put money on it.
Kimi's already signed another year in the WRC.
Would be awesome though.
If Renault want Kimi, and Kimi fancies it, it will happen.
I read this yesterday..
Quote:
By Adam Cooper
With medical experts acknowledging that Robert Kubica could be out for the season, attention has inevitably moved to the identity of who could replace him.
Assuming that Vitaly Petrov drives on the first two days of the next test, then the R31 will be awaiting the replacement driver in Jerez on Saturday February 12.
The fact that the seat is potentially available for the whole year – and that any driver signed in the next few days will still get six days of testing at Jerez, Barcelona and Bahrain – puts a whole new complexion on things.
Indeed, this morning team principal Eric Bouillier told the BBC that the team would have to look for a ‘new’ driver, rather than a reserve.
Bruno Senna was revealed exactly a week ago today as the team’s main reserve driver, on the basis that he raced last year and would thus be relatively fresh, should he be called upon in an emergency.
However even the Brazilian would accept that given its ambitions to win races sooner rather than later – and the R31 was fastest in Valencia after all – for a full season the team has to take a proven driver who can get the job done.
Given the changes over the winter, the number of free agents who raced last year is surprisingly small. Of those who raced in 2010 and are without a current contract with a team, Kubica’s former team mate Nick Heidfeld has to be top of the list, while it’s unlikely that Tonio Liuzzi or Pedro de la Rosa would tick all the boxes for Genii and Group Lotus.
Of those already committed elsewhere, the only third driver with obvious qualifications is Nico Hulkenberg, but it remains to be seen whether his contractual situation with Force India would make it easy for him to take up a chance elsewhere.
While there are probably a few contracted race drivers up and down the pitlane who might envy the Renault seat, it would take a lot of shuffling around for anyone to jump ship.
The one name that keeps springing to mind is Kimi Raikkonen. He’s committed to a part WRC season with Citroen, and has been pretty ambivalent about a possible return to F1. He even had a bit of a war of words in the media with Renault last year after his name came up as a possible 2011 driver.
The difference is that the team didn’t need him then, and he would have been joining a team that already had Robert Kubica. Indeed Petrov was pretty much confirmed anyway, and the fact that the Russian always looked likely to stay means that any discussion of Kimi’s prospects was academic.
This time it’s different. He has the chance of a full season, with six days of testing, in a car that could turn out to be competitive. Group Lotus will certainly be keen to have a big name, and his presence will suit Dany Bahar, who was still at Ferrari when Kimi was there. He wants to be like Ferrari, so hiring the Italian team’s last World Champion is not a bad plan…
Bernie Ecclestone, who likes to get involved in these things, will also be keen to see Kimi back. The Finn still has a huge following, and it would mean yet another World Champion on the grid.
It’s probably not widely known that Kubica and Raikkonen are good friends off track – they share a dislike of the BS that floats around the sport, as well as a passion for rallying – and I am sure that Robert would be the first to tell Eric Boullier and Gerard Lopez that Kimi is the man for the job.
And Lotus Renault would have obvious appeal for Kimi, in that he won’t have the sort of PR commitments that he faced at McLaren and Ferrari. A one-year deal would at least get him back in the game – he could either walk off and return to the WRC in 2012, or put himself in a position to go elsewhere.
Kimi is committed to the opening 2011 event in Sweden, which starts this week and clashes with the Jerez test. But if it takes time to sort things out, he could still miss that and get some sensible mileage in before Bahrain.
There are complications in terms of unwinding his arrangements with Red Bull and Citroen, and the winter ‘misunderstanding’ with the Renault management would have to be cleared up.
But in the end it’s likely to come down to one thing. Will Kimi want to do it?
.........................Quote:
Renault have named three drivers who are under consideration to replace Robert Kubica, and the absence of Kimi Raikkonen appears to end intense speculation he might be tempted back to Formula One.
Raikkonen has not made any comment, but Renault boss Eric Boullier told reporters outside the Santa Corona Hospital that "the names considered are [Bruno] Senna, [Tonio] Liuzzi and [Nick] Heidfeld".
"The team is close to Robert, we wait for him with open arms," Boullier said. "It was Robert's choice, he wanted to go rallying at all costs and Renault authorised it. Now we just wait to know what the recovery time is for our driver."
Senna is already signed to Renault as a reserve driver, while Heidfeld is out of contract after being released by Sauber at the end of last season. Liuzzi had a contract to drive for Force India in 2011 but was nevertheless replaced by Paul di Resta and so has to be considered a free agent.
With the second of four testing sessions starting in Jerez on Thursday, Boullier needs to make an appointment in the next few days if Kubica's replacement is to get fully adjusted to the car in time for the season opener in Bahrain on March 13.
Boullier's comments also appear to rule out Nico Hulkenberg, who was controversially released by Williams at the end of last year. Although he is contracted to Force India as a test driver, it had been rumoured he may have been able to exercise an escape clause if Renault approached him.
Heidfeld it is then.
Yeah I think so too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul
They'd be stupid to take Senna.
The name doesn't make the driver
Driver Car Time Laps
1. Felipe Massa Ferrari F150 1:20.709 101
2. Sergio Perez Sauber C30 1:21.483 94
3. Mark Webber Red Bull RB7 1:21.522 94
4. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso STR6 1:21.755 31
5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren MP4-26 1:21.914 58
6. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso STR6 1:22.689 42
7. Adrian Sutil Force India VJM-04 1:23.472 28
8. Vitaly Petrov Renault R31 1:23.504 57
9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes W02 1:23.963 67
10. Jarno Trulli Lotus T128 1:24.458 54
11. Timo Glock Virgin MVR-02 1:25.086 42
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams FW33 1:34.968 13
Looks like it's a good car if Massa can keep it on top...
:whistle:
Day two at Jerez
First session
Driver Car Time Laps
1. Michael Schumacher Mercedes W02 1:20.352 57
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari F150th Italia 1:20.413 56
3. Mark Webber Red Bull RB7 1:21.613 46
4. Jenson Button McLaren MP4-26 1:21.614 28
5. Sergio Perez Sauber C30 1:21.857 45
6. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso STR6 1:22.019 14
7. Adrian Sutil Force India VJM-04 1:22.445 42
8. Pastor Maldonado Williams FW33 1:22.591 31
9. Vitaly Petrov Renault R31 1:23.041 30
10. Jarno Trulli Lotus T128 1:23.216 35
11. Timo Glock Virgin MVR-02 1:25.874 15
It seems there is already some controversy surrounding Schumi even before the season opener.
People say the fast lap that he did was just a ploy to impress the media.
Wasn't only him though.
Barrichello also did the fastest lap and there's talk it was done because of the fact that Williams is on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Politics...
Just race.
From F1live
Sebastian Vettel has admitted he dreams of racing for Ferrari one day and joked he would offer Fernando Alonso a year's holiday to take his place.
He told La Gazzetta dello Sport: "I'm happy at Red Bull but I dream of Ferrari."And when asked hypothetically who he would drive for if he could not race for Red Bull, Vettel joked: "I would pay a year's holiday to Alonso to have the red car."
Confirmed, Heidfeld replaces Kubica.
Indeed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul
I think it's a good choice.
Kubica himself was pushing for Liuzzi though. :blink:
................Quote:
Fernando Alonso attempted to undermine Lewis Hamilton's chances at the 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix according to a new book titled: No Angel: the Secret Life of Bernie Ecclestone.
Hamilton's acrimonious relationship with Alonso while the pair were together at McLaren has been well documented, with them becoming embroiled in on and off-track battles. One such row broke out at the Hungaroring, when Alonso was stripped of pole position after he blocked Hamilton in the pits.
Fresh details have now been released about the pair's relationship, with Tom Bowers' book claiming Alonso asked McLaren team manager Ron Dennis to make sure Hamilton's car ran out of fuel. It also claims Alonso gace Dennis an ultimatum, threatening to supply the FIA with incriminating emails unless he was treated as McLaren's No. 1 driver ahead of the Briton.
The duo are now on separate teams as the 2011 season approaches, starting in Australia on March 25, and their rivalry is likely to have intensified following the latest revelations.
BAAAAHAHAHAHAHA
I don't care if it makes them 5 seconds a lap quicker, it looks TERRIBLE!
Attachment 42252
Any idea when this Senna film is out, Nox ?
http://workingtitlefilms.com/feature...tional-trailer
EDIT: June in UK.
It's finally starting again.
I felt robbed after Bahrain got taken away.
It's going to be an awesome race.
Rain forecast for Melbourne.
That's good. Then we won't have to wonder how the Pirelli's hold up in the wet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul
Red Bull :glare:
Well done Vettel. Stunning race.
Alonso... :(
Great race.. Alonso had a bad start :(
And well done to Petrov and Vettel :thumbsup:
What a drive by Perez in his first GP :clap:
Both Saubers thrown out though, what a shame.
Yeah that sucks.
One would think that they would know the rules. It really is a shame because Perez was awesome
Well done to the Porker.
Webber had a fantastic race, but what the hell is going on with Ferrari? :blink:
Great race, and brilliant from Webber finishing 3rd after starting 18th.Quote:
Originally Posted by Noxide
I know. Really slow start from Ferrari.
Quote:
Skysports - Montezemolo demands more
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has demanded that they improve their performance following a disappointing start to the Formula One season
The Italian marque's tough start to its 2011 campaign comes despite it being tipped as a pre-season favourite alongside current world champions Red Bull.
While the latter outfit have won two of the three races to date with drivers' champion Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari's best result was Fernando Alonso's fourth place in the Australian Grand Prix.
As a result, Ferrari currently lie third in the constructors' championship table with less than half the points of leaders Red Bull.
Montezemolo told Ferrari's website on Monday that "this cannot and must not be the team's level".
He also said he expected "our engineers to act with determination and know-how and to improve the performance of the car in a short time".
The next race on the calendar is the Turkish Grand Prix on May 8.
Meanwhile, after finishing down in seventh place in Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix, Alonso acknowledged that he had seen "better Sundays".
In an action-packed race, the double world champion came out on top in a battle with seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.
However, he still finished behind team-mate Felipe Massa for the second successive race.
"It was a good battle, but I would have preferred to have been doing it for a podium finish rather than seventh place," said the Spaniard, who lined up fifth on the grid over a second slower than polesitter Vettel.
"Unfortunately, our race pace was too slow and I don't think that a different strategy would have changed anything. I've had better Sundays in my career, but I won't get downhearted or lose confidence.
"We know we have to improve to get to the front: McLaren and Mercedes have managed it and there is no reason to think we can't do the same."
Ferrari have principally struggled for qualifying pace this season but they also fared badly during the race in Shanghai.
Massa and Alonso both briefly led, although that was more down to Ferrari's decision to place them on two-stop strategies.
Vettel also ran a two-stopper but his fastest race lap was almost three-quarters of a second quicker than Alonso's best.
Indeed, that effort was also bettered by Team Lotus's Jarno Trulli, who also stopped twice on his way to 19th place.
Alonso said Ferrari know where their weakness lies and will be working hard to rectify the issue in the three weeks before the next race in Istanbul.
"Clearly, aerodynamics is our Achilles heel at the moment and that's what we have to work on the most," he said.
"The car has not changed, while others have made progress."
Nico Rosberg has emerged as a candidate to replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari when the Brazilian's contract ends after the 2012 season.
Rosberg has impressed alongside Michael Schumacher at Mercedes in the last two seasons and Italy's Autosprint magazine reported that there had been "contact" between his management and Maranello based Ferrari.
The article added Ferrari was merely checking on Rosberg's contractual situation - he is believed to have inked a three-year deal when he joined Mercedes in 2010.
The rumours would tie in with speculation Paul di Resta is being lined up for a Mercedes race seat, and also suggestions Massa could replace Mark Webber at Red Bull.
Catalunya coming up...
Predictions??
Did Catalunya on F1 2010 today, its a tough track. Didn't get past Q1 in qualifying in 18th and got 5 grid pen for smashing in to Vettel so started 23rd. Finished the race in 23rd.
Predictions?.. Vettel to win. :laugh:
I have a feeling that it's going to be Webber, Alonso or Hamilton...
Don't think Vettel has this one...
What's the point of "hinting" at it constantly!
Just do it already !!! :mad:
Quote:
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says the future of the sport is in the teams' hands and has warned that a breakaway series is one possible course of action available to them.
The Concorde Agreement binds the teams to Formula One's current owners, CVC Capital Partners, until the end of 2012. However, when that contract expires Montezemolo says there will be three options open to F1, two of which do not involve CVC.
"I think we have to be very pragmatic," Montezemolo said in an interview with CNN. "At the end of 2012, the contracts of every single team with CVC will expire. So, we have three alternatives. We renew with CVC, or we theoretically - as the basketball teams did in the U.S. with great success - we create our own company, like the NBA. Just to run the races, the TV rights and so on. And third, to find a different partner."
Late last year Montezemolo made a similar statement but Bernie Ecclestone, who works on behalf of CVC, responded: "Luca's a lovely guy but he likes to say these things and then he forgets what he is saying."
However, set against the background of News Corporation and Exor, an Italian investment company with close ties to Ferrari, showing an interest in buying the sport, Montezemolo's comments should carry added weight. The Ferrari president said ultimately the teams would decide on the sport's future.
"Bernie Ecclestone did a very good job but he has already sold out three times, so he doesn't own the business anymore," Montezemolo added. "It is CVC that will sell. It will be the teams' decisions. At the end of 2012, the contract will expire, so theoretically CVC doesn't own anything. I think it is important to have alternatives. We will see. We have time to do it."
The teams have already made clear that they are looking to gain a bigger share of F1's profits when it comes to negotiating the next Concorde Agreement, but they are also looking for greater investment in the future of the sport. Montezemolo said there were several areas that he feels need more attention.
"We have to invest in the USA," he said. "We have to improve new technologies in F1 for the people watching the television, for iPad, for the internet. So I think we are in front of a very important moment.
"We will race in Russia and India. F1, thanks also to Bernie Ecclestone, has become a worldwide sport. Now we have to find the best solution. It is important to invest for the future and the other teams."
Montezemolo also criticised the new rules for 2011, which on the whole have been well received.
"We have gone too far with artificial elements," he said. "It's like, if I push footballers to wear tennis shoes in the rain. To have so many pit-stops - listen, I want to see competition, I want to see cars on the track. I don't want to see competition in the pits.
"A little bit, yes - but in the last race there were 80 pit stops. Come on, it's too much. And the people don't understand anymore because when you come out of the pits you don't know what position you're in.
"I think we have gone too far with the machines, too many buttons. The driver is focusing on the buttons, when you have the authorization to overtake. We have gone too far.
"Ferrari will push a lot with the authority - with the respect that we have to the federation and the other teams - to avoid going too far with F1. Because I think it can create problems for the television people and on the racetrack."
Fernando Alonso has committed his future to Ferrari until the end of 2016 after signing a new contract with the Italian team.
Alonso joined Ferrari for the start of 2010 after a difficult two years at Renault and a troubled time at McLaren in 2007. He came within four points of the title in his first season at the team and, despite a slow start to 2011, expects to see out his career at Maranello.
"I am very happy to have reached this agreement," he said. "I immediately felt comfortable within Ferrari and now it feels to me like a second family. I have the utmost faith in the men and women who work in Maranello and in those who lead them: it is therefore natural for me to decide to extend my relationship in the long term like this, with a team at which I will no doubt end my Formula One career one day."
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said he was delighted to have the two-time world champion onboard.
"It is a great pleasure to have renewed our agreement with a driver who has always demonstrated a winning mentality even in the most difficult circumstances," he said. "Fernando has all the required qualities, both technically and personally to play a leading role in the history of Ferrari and I hope he will be enriching it with further wins very soon."
What an awesome race!!
I actually found myself rooting for Hamilton. :blink: