Posted July 8, 2008 We'll see about "the next Schumacher" but he's definitely got some talent, only 21 and already a permanent race seat with a clutch of points under his belt, including a point on his GP debut last year while filling in for Kubica. Apparently he's quite popular in Germany too. Theoretically, if Alonso decided to fill the empty Red Bull, Kovalainen may well be kissing his race seat goodbye. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 I suppose considering he is in a race winning car, Kovalienen hasn't been doing all that great this season. But he has chance enough to prove himself in the final half of the season. On the case of Vettel I hope he gets that red bull seat, I still don't think he's Mclaren material yet since despite qualifying performances he hasn't really gotten many points, of course you could object that the car he drives isn't one of the stronger models but if you can do well in qualifying it's perfectly possible to get good race finishes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Vettel will probably get to around Massa levels, but I don't see him being Schumacher-esque and running away with championships. Kubica on the other hand I can see being very successful if he gets a Ferrari or McLaren drive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 That won't be for a year or 2 yet. Don't forget with the new changes to the rules that other teams can get race winners frequently too. The Mclaren Ferrari era seems to be coming to an end. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Yeah I know. I just see Kubica moving to Ferrari in the future, perhaps to replace Raikkonnen if Alonso doesn't. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Ferrari is definitely one plausible destination, but I reckon Kubica could soon be scoring serious race wins if he stuck with Sauber. The team has clearly come on in leaps and bounds with BMW, and I'm finding it hard to imagine that trend not continuing into the next couple of seasons. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Do you guys think Kubica has any chance this year of taking the title if he can keep consistent results? He has only failed to finish twice and has never finished a race outside the top 5. http://www.formula1.com/results/driver/2008/815.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Don't see why not, the numbers are all there. You have to be realistic though about his chances if he's relying on the leaders to keep tripping over each other. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Well Kimi pulled it off last season. But realistically it will be close. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Ferrari is definitely one plausible destination, but I reckon Kubica could soon be scoring serious race wins if he stuck with Sauber. The team has clearly come on in leaps and bounds with BMW, and I'm finding it hard to imagine that trend not continuing into the next couple of seasons. Yeah definately. They are the clear third force this season. Let's hope they can keep closing the gap. But remember it wasn't that long ago that Williams were winning races consistantly and look where they've gone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Yeah definately. They are the clear third force this season. Let's hope they can keep closing the gap. But remember it wasn't that long ago that Williams were winning races consistantly and look where they've gone. Yeah, faded to the midfield battle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 I can't remember the dates around when the two events happened, but; reckon it has anything to do with BMW splitting with Williams? Or did Williams fade before that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 I think that's definitely part of it. Williams don't currently enjoy the total support of a big time car manufacturer like Sauber do now. Their engine is Toyota but obviously Toyota are throwing everything at their own branded squad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Do you guys think Kubica has any chance this year of taking the title if he can keep consistent results? He has only failed to finish twice and has never finished a race outside the top 5. He can definitely win the title, he's managed to for half the season, no reason that won't continue. He's not going to win it by all out speed but if the others keep messing up there's no reason he won't be in with a shot come the last race of the season. I can't remember the dates around when the two events happened, but; reckon it has anything to do with BMW splitting with Williams? Or did Williams fade before that? It's exactly that, generally teams need a works engine deal to be anywhere near competitive. Williams have been especially indicitive of this, taking championships when they've had the deals, dropping off when they've lost them. Frank Williams (It could have been Patrick Head, I'm not 100% sure) has even said, quite recently, that splitting from BMW was the worst choice they've ever made. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Something I've just wondered about. Will Super Aguri return next season if they get a permanent sponsor for their team? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Something I've just wondered about. Will Super Aguri return next season if they get a permanent sponsor for their team? No, they've been completely liquidated. They're auctioning their stuff off online at the end of the month. http://www.saf1-auction.com/index.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Oh dear god, what was Bernie thinking!!... http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=Ted_Kravitz&id=43306 Ted's Silverstone notebook In part two of his notebook, Ted Kravitz tackles the biggest news to emerge from last weekend's race: the bombshell announcement that the British Grand Prix will move from Silverstone to Donington Park in 2010. Ted's touring car as well as F1 duties mean that he knows both venues like the back of his hand, and while he has several gripes about Silverstone after a less than hassle-free British GP weekend, he also outlines the formidable hurdles Donington will have to overcome to be ready for 2010. I must declare a newly-acquired bias. Silverstone towed my and many of my ITV colleagues’ cars away on Friday. We’d parked where the security guards told us to park, but halfway through the day the parking control people from Silverstone Circuit changed the rules, and rather than knock on the ITV truck and tell us, they towed us. So my personal experience of Silverstone’s organisation this year was of an incompetent, shambolic, confused mess, which only got anywhere near sorting itself out by Sunday morning. Just in time for Sunday evening, when everyone experienced huge traffic jams that left the whole circuit gridlocked until well into the evening. It took me an hour to get out of the circuit gates – the longest ever at Silverstone. There’s a reason Silverstone becomes the world’s busiest heliport on race day: No other circuit manages to mess up the parking and access like Silverstone does. I felt embarrassed in front of foreign broadcast colleagues and sorry for those who were racing off to Birmingham or Luton airports to try and catch flights home – their stress levels must have been going through the roof. Despite all that, it’s pretty clear to me that Donington Park will take more than two years to get where Silverstone is now. Here are a just a few ‘challenges’ facing Donington: East Midlands Airport When we do the British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park, the radar from EMA plays havoc with our radio cameras and radio microphone frequencies. And we’re the only broadcasters at the track. There are 25-30 broadcasters at each GP with live radio cameras. Then there’s telemetry. The touring car teams don’t use telemetry and microwave links like the F1 teams do. These would be similarly affected. Some of Ferrari and McLaren’s encrypted radio channels are very close to air traffic control frequencies. And last but not least, I don’t think half the teams would be allowed to erect their radio masts or their triple storey motorhomes in the paddock because they would reach to within 300 feet of the aircraft landing on runway 09. The paddock At present the paddock is hemmed in by the start/finish straight on one side and the Melbourne loop on the other. There is not the space to fit F1 trucks and motorhomes into that area. So either the paddock will have to move down towards the first corner (thus ruining the run from Redgate to the Craner Curves) or the entire Melbourne loop will have to be moved (putting it into what’s now a car park and closer to the A453). They could put the paddock on the bridge straight, but that’s where the exhibition centre presently is, which gains Donington so much non-racing revenue. The access The A453 is just a single lane either way. This will have to be widened. Houses will have to be demolished. The undulating Walton Hill on that road that will complicate construction. Passengers driving to the airport will be delayed. New access roads will have to be built to the north-west of the circuit. The track Run-off area and gravel traps are too small for current F1 standards. The signature bump in the road under the Dunlop Bridge would have to be ground down. New areas for a medical centre, a TV compound, and such things as fuel farms and truck parking need to be found. Money and time can solve all these problems. I don’t see how Donington Park has enough of either. Bernie's also said this: http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=43288 Bernie: No way back for Silverstone Bernie Ecclestone has insisted that there is no way back onto the Formula 1 calendar for Silverstone after next year, and that if the Donington Park revamp should falter, Britain will simply lose its grand prix. Damon Hill, the president of Silverstone's owner the British Racing Drivers' Club, had suggested that Silverstone would be ready to step in if Donington had any problems with its upgrade. But Ecclestone says this is not an option, and that Donington will be the only place where a British race will be held from 2010. “We won’t come back (to Silverstone),” Ecclestone was quoted as saying by The Times newspaper. “We’re in the same situation as we were before Donington came into the deal. "I am sure they will be ready but, if not, we will sign with another country. "There won’t be a British Grand Prix, pure and simple.” Donington's owners have pledged to carry on a £100 million redevelopment to bring the Leicestershire track up to F1 standards. The work will include a new pit and paddock complex, new infrastructure outside the track and significant additions to the track layout. But the track's joint CEO Simon Gillett admitted yesterday that not all the funding for this project was in place and that a debenture scheme would be launched shortly. I think Bernie just wants rid of the British GP pure and simple! He hasn't got the guts to take it away outright, so he's just taking the long way round! I can't see Donnington being ready, and even if they were, as Ted Kravitz has outlined, it wouldn't even be a feasable venue! Bye Bye British GP! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 EDIT:You and you blasted edits. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 EDIT:You and you blasted edits. What I do? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 It's such a shame really, Silverstone is a great circuit. It's not even that high speed, but it's the only high speed track besides Monza we've got left! I really doubt Ecclestone's trying to get rid of the British Grand Prix. What would be next? The Monaco Grand Prix? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 It's such a shame really, Silverstone is a great circuit. It's not even that high speed, but it's the only high speed track besides Monza we've got left! I really doubt Ecclestone's trying to get rid of the British Grand Prix. What would be next? The Monaco Grand Prix? Nah, not Monaco, they actually can afford his extortionate race fees. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 9, 2008 Nah, not Monaco, they actually can afford his extortionate race fees.Ecclestone's really way too powerful, and he's being a real bitch with the sport to be honest. But I doubt Silverstone's issue is the money really. Don't know how Hungary could come up with the money, or even the Belgian GP's organisation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 10, 2008 He's doing the same thing with the Australian GP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 10, 2008 Ecclestone's really way too powerful, and he's being a real bitch with the sport to be honest. But I doubt Silverstone's issue is the money really. Don't know how Hungary could come up with the money, or even the Belgian GP's organisation. The Belgian GP was canceled a couple of years ago because they couldn't afford Bernies extortion. Then they got some investment to bring it up to "standards" and basically ruined the course. Well played again Bernie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
