Formula 1 2010

[Goron_3]

Just get rid of USF1 and Campos, I mean seriously who the hell cares about them?! I can't believe Max and his minions thought they'd be contenders to be on the grid and put them ahead of Prodrive who might have run under the Aston Martin name. As slow as Virgin and Lotus are currently, give them a season or 2 and I reckon they'll get up to pace, like what Force India have done over time. Campos have no hope, it's a joke they are gonna be competing against names like Ferrari and Mclaren.

 

Also word on the street is that none of the teams have, as of yet, sorted out flights/hotels for the Korean race. Apparently work started really late and it doesn't help the track is, quite literally, in the middle of nowhere :/

[Retro_Link]

Yeah Campos was a rubbish choice from the start, and USF1 continue to be practically non-existant!

 

What a waste of time the Korean GP is!!

 

It'll be the same old story of the first year getting good attendance, then after that it'll just be forgotten about, and another boring wasteland slot on the calander.

 

 

 

Seemed very happy

In terms of overall time he finished 30th. Lost 26 minutes or so in a snow bank... had it not been for that he would have finished 10th and grabbed 1 point (they are now using the new F1 points system).

 

Edited February 17, 2010 by Retro_Link

[Emerald Emblem]

Well on the Stafan GP story the BBC had said the new teams can miss 3 races, they've since amended that saying they don't expect Campos Meta and USF1 on the grid for the 1st race, I am confused.

[Retro_Link]

Stefan GP did a clever thing in taking over Toyota's cars from them! Though tbh Stefan GP are another waste of a team on the grid!

[gaggle64]

All sorts of crazy things going on with USF1 apparently well into it's death throes maybe. They're either already dead, dying, badly wounded or doing just chipper albeit with a few snags, depending on who you believe.

 

Nakajima is already signed with Stefan GP with Villeneuve "close" to signing as they fire up their car.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81593

 

Meanwhile rumours are Jose Mariea Lopez is set to be announced at Campos alongside Bruno Senna having already jumped ship with his Argentine federal millions. Chad Hurley is also believed to have taken himself and a Youtube sponsorship deal elsewhere, possibly to Campos but more likely to an "established team".

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100218/F1/100219890

Edited February 19, 2010 by gaggle64

[Emerald Emblem]

USF1 is struggling financially, they are putting in a request to miss 4 races:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8526137.stm

[Will]

I'd be surprised if Stefan GP don't get their spot at this point. USF1 just seem to be a complete mess.

[Retro_Link]

^ Stefan GP have had to cancel there testing plans because Bridgestone won't supply them any tyres, apparently they are only contracted to supply the 2010 tyres to those with official confirmed places on the grid, and as such Stefan GP don't want to risk running on any other non suitable tyres.

 

I think someone must have had a word with Bridgestone, because surely they must have had some tyres they could have let them test on.

 

I doubt Stefan GP could go the first race having never raced on the 2010 spec tyres before, so I think they're pretty scuppered now!

 

 

EDIT:

 

Harsh but fair?!...

 

Ferrari slams FIA's new team 'holy war'

 

Ferrari has attacked the FIA's push to bring new teams into Formula 1, in the wake of the problems currently surrounding Team US F1 and Campos Meta.

 

With neither outfit yet having a car ready to run, and US F1 hoping to miss the first few races of the season, the sport is facing up to the fact that it will probably not have as full a grid as it had hoped to have for 2010.

 

And in a column published on Ferrari's official website on Tuesday, the team has openly attacked the FIA's policy of encouraging new teams - labelling it as a 'holy war' – and suggests the sport may have been better off looking after manufacturers like Toyota and BMW, who walked away.

 

"Of the thirteen teams who signed up, or were induced to sign up, for this year's Championship, to date only eleven of them have heeded the call, turning up on track, some later than others, and while some have managed just a few hundred kilometres, others have done more, but at a much reduced pace," the Ferrari column titled 'the Horse Whisperer' claimed.

 

"As for the twelfth team, Campos Meta, its shareholder and management structure has been transformed, according to rumours which have reached the Horse Whisperer through the paddock telegraph, with a sudden cash injection from a munificent white knight, well used to this sort of last minute rescue deal.

 

"However, the beneficiaries of this generosity might find the knight in question expects them to fulfil the role of loyal vassal. All this means, it is hard to imagine the Dallara-designed car showing its face at the Catalunya Circuit, with Sakhir a more likely venue to witness the return of the Senna name to a Formula 1 session.

 

"The thirteenth team, US F1, appears to have gone into hiding in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the dismay of those like the Argentinian, Lopez, who thought he had found his way into the Formula 1 paddock, (albeit with help from chairwoman Kirchner, according to the rumours) and now has to start all over again.

 

"Amazingly, they still have the impudence to claim that everything is hunky-dory under the starry stripy sky."

 

Ferrari also makes it clear it is unimpressed by the situation surrounding Stefan Grand Prix, which is still hoping to secure an entry for this year's championship.

 

"Next, we have the Serbian vultures," continued the column. "Firstly, they launched themselves into a quixotic legal battle with the FIA, then they picked the bones of Toyota on its death bed.

 

"Having got some people on board, around whom there was still a whiff of past scandals, they are now hovering around waiting to replace whoever is first to drop out of the game, possibly with backing from that very same knight in shining armour whom we mentioned earlier."

 

And Ferrari clearly lays the blame for the situation at the door of former FIA president Max Mosley, who clashed with the manufacturers last year in his bid to encourage new teams in.

 

"This [situation] is the legacy of the holy war waged by the former FIA president," he explained. "The cause in question was to allow smaller teams to get into Formula 1.

 

"This is the outcome: two teams will limp into the start of the championship, a third is being pushed into the ring by an invisible hand – you can be sure it is not the hand of Adam Smith – and, as for the fourth, well, you would do better to call on Missing Persons to locate it.

 

"In the meantime, we have lost two constructors along the way, in the shape of BMW and Toyota, while at Renault, there's not much left other than the name. Was it all worth it?"

 

Ferrari's criticism of the new teams situation is not new, with the Italian outfit having claimed back in May last year that F1 would perhaps be better off rebranding itself as 'Formula GP3' if the grid became full of the new outfits who had originally lodged entries early last year.

Edited February 23, 2010 by Retro_Link

[Goron_3]

Epic statement from Ferrari, loved it! James Allen and other journalists are due to hear Mosleys response tomorrow, it'll be interesting to hear his thoughts on the topic.

[gaggle64]

I disagree that the FIA were responsible for Toyota and BMW leaving - that manufacturers got their way and defeated a budget cap but still Toyota, BMW & Renault all upped-sticks because they couldn't justify hurling 100-300mil a season into a team for no results in a recession. The new teams were obviously chosen with an eye on expanding the market, maybe not the best picks in hindsight but I think the F1 Management are allowed and I think not unwise to do that. USF1 may have tanked as a start-up but it wouldn't be the first one, or the last.

 

To me it sounds like Ferrari are laying down their bargaining positions for the coming season with the sport undergoing an extensive period of change at the moment. Lots of unfinished business from the 2009 political bust-up. I think we know how it'll play out: Rule/engine/management changes will be proposed, Ferrari might threaten, or threaten to threaten to leave for Le Mans or WRC or Indy Car or start their own space program or something round about June time, some teams might threaten to join them, others won't, there will be an "Eleventh Hour Meeting" and a compromise will be reached where everyone leaves mad. Then we start again next year.

[Emerald Emblem]

At least Lotus seem ready if uncompetitive. Virgin have some hydraulic issues, despite they seem about ready. That makes us back to 20 cars for the grid (Despite Stefan GP having a car, but no tyres)

[Retro_Link]

(Despite Stefan GP having a car, but no tyres)

haha, when it's put like that it's pretty hilarious!

[Retro_Link]

 

[Emerald Emblem]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8539308.stm

 

Never can trust testing.

[Retro_Link]

OMG!!NHWDC2010FTW!!

 

Yeah, other tha Ferrari looking very strong, I'm not reading anything into testing. Roll on Bahrain (underwhelming start much!), then we'll see!

[Nicktendo]

 

 

HAHA Those stupid shark fins look ridiculous.

[Emerald Emblem]

11 days to go. Anticipation is beginning to go up!

[Nicktendo]

11 days to go. Anticipation is beginning to go up!

 

What's everyone's prediction for Bahrain?

 

I'd love to see Schumacher win, I also think Force India, Sauber and Williams will surprise a few people.

[Emerald Emblem]

I think we all expect and hope for a close run thing, though lets not forget the diffuser business which will make overtaking all the more difficult. We'll have to wait and see in that department. I think Ferrari and Mclaren look to be the preseason favorites as usual. But these past few years have proved anything can happen.

[Retro_Link]

I think McLaren may turn up with the best car in Bahrain, but I expect it to be extremely close between McLaren/Ferrari/Red Bull/Mercedes.

 

I honestly find it difficult to make any predictions without near enough naming all the teams!

 

Because Williams, Force India and Renault could spring surprises (and I really hope they do, well not so much Renault, I'm not that bothered about them), but really I expect them to be fighting it out in a strong midfield, though hopefully a few podiums here and there.

 

Personally I'd like to see Red Bull and Vettel get the championships this year, but lets see what happens!

 

It's gonna be hot and dry out in Bahrain...

It'll probably just come down to managing tyres with heavy fuel, on a hot track!... whoevers car manages that the best will win in Bahrain, yet may not specifically have the best car for the season!

[gaggle64]

It's certainly looking nice and close at the top - Ferrari & McLaren definitly seem to the be the front runners, but I think they gonna find themselves with even less breathing space then they might hope for. I'll be amazed if the Newey Red Bull isn't even more competitive then last years, and having slept through every GP from 2000-2004, the idea of Schumacher and Brawn being on the same side again still fills me an odd sense of wonderment mixed with abject terror.

 

At the other end hopefully the new squads, Virgin, Campos & Lotus can all at least latch on to and be battling around the bottom end of the midfield by the end of the season. Virgin especially with their all-CFD designed car. F1 needs to be able to prove that fresh young blood with new ideas can survive and compete effectively in the sport, so fingers crossed.

[Nicktendo]

GPUpdate.net are reporting that USF1 have offered the FIA a "seven figure sum" of compensation to miss the entire season and keep their entry for 2011.

 

Absolute joke. Get rid of these idiots now.

[Will]

Yep they really need to just let them go completely. I doubt they would be able to make it next year either, how exactly will they keep themselves funded? There really is nothing to lose in giving Stefan GP the slot now, hopefully with Villeneuve in one of the seats.

 

As to earlier conversation I'd say Red Bull and Ferrari will be the top teams in Bahrain with McLaren and Mercedes just behind them. A win for Alonso would be a great start imo.

[Retro_Link]

I'm torn with USF1 because I think it's so important that America gets itself back into the sport, and with no US GP seemingly happening any time soon, I'd have really liked to have seen this team give it a real go.

 

But I don't agree with them buying themselves a years break, no way!

I'd much rather see Prodrive/Aston Martin being given a chance now, as I'd love to see them in the sport!

 

Stefan GP seem like another waste of time to me.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Retro_Link

[Will]

Stefan GP seem like another waste of time to me.

 

Why? They have a car ready to go, a lot of ex-Toyota people behind them and a budget for racing. Right now I'd say they are the best option for the vacant slot on the grid.