Formula 1 2011

[Emerald Emblem]

Ferrari and Red Bull have left FOTA due to failing to reach an agreement about cost cutting.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/16009873.stm

[Retro_Link]

So Williams have confirmed Maldonado in a race seat for 2012, and Bottas as their reserve driver.

 

I think confirming these guys and not Rubens pretty much means they have no interest in Rubens... and are simply waiting on a decision from Force India to see which driver (Sutil) they can get to fill the other seat.

 

Personally I think it would be good to see Sutil in the other Lotus Renault (though a fit Kubica would obviously be great). Sutil put in a decent drive this year and is worthy of a better car option.

[Retro_Link]

Just incase anyone was wanting another reason not to spend £40 a month on Sky... the rumour doing the rounds is that Sky F1 is to be presented by Steve Ryder and Mark Blundell!

[Retro_Link]

Damn you Sky!!!

 

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96673

 

Sky has officially confirmed that former BBC Radio 5 commentary duo David Croft and Anthony Davidson are to join its Formula 1 coverage next year, alongside Martin Brundle.

 

Croft will be joined by Brundle in the commentary box for every race, with Davidson being used for each of the weekend's practice sessions.

 

Sky's pitlane reporters will be Natalie Pinkham and Ted Kravitz, with the latter also co-presenting an F1 magazine show on Sky Sports with Georgie Thompson.

 

Martin Turner, Sky Sports Executive Producer, said: "In Martin Brundle we have the outstanding F1 broadcaster - on the track and in broadcasting, he's proved it time and again.

 

"Working alongside him, David Croft is a passionate, experienced commentator and Anthony Davidson can bring great technical knowledge to live practice sessions."

 

Sky has also announced that the F1 race weekend programmes will be presented by Simon Lazenby, with veteran broadcaster Steve Rider being used for interviews with F1 legends.

I don't care about the presenters, but they've taken all the best commentators! plus Ted and Natalie who are also great!

[Goron_3]

Retro are you going to be watching the season next year?

[Retro_Link]

Yeah I'll definately be watching the BBC coverage at least... you and everyone else will be as well right, there's no reason not too.

 

Hope to go to a race next year as well.

 

Also... we need an N-E F1 meet up in 2012... F1 related or otherwise (just a day at Silverstone Classics or something).

Edited December 7, 2011 by Retro_Link

[Murr]

Renault sign Romain Grosjean for 2012

 

GP2 champion Romain Grosjean will drive for Renault, who will become Lotus in 2012, alongside returning 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen next season.

 

Grosjean, 25, raced seven times for Renault in 2009 but failed to impress alongside team-mate Fernando Alonso.

 

"There's a big grin on my face at the prospect of getting behind the wheel of next year's car," Grosjean said.

 

The team's current line-up of Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna are currently without a drive for 2012.

 

Grosjean added: "To be racing alongside a former world champion - and someone who is hungry and returning to Formula 1 - will be a great experience. I'm sure it will help raise my level of performance too.

 

"I feel that my successful season in GP2 Series has helped me mature a lot. I am a much more complete driver than I was last time I was competing in this sport.

 

"Returning to Enstone [Renault's base] as a race driver feels like coming home. I will not disappoint."

 

Raikkonen, who had talks with Williams about a return to F1 next season before signing for Renault last month, was drafted in to replace the team's number one driver Robert Kubica after the Pole failed to recover in time from serious injuries sustained in a rally accident in February.

 

Petrov, Senna and the team's reserve driver Grosjean, who was born in Geneva but has dual French and Swiss nationality, were all in the frame to take the second seat.

 

 

Grosjean impressed in this season's GP2 Series, the feeder championship to F1, taking five wins and 10 podiums on his way to a maiden title.

 

The 25-year-old then got behind the wheel of a Renault in the first practice sessions at the final two races of the season in Abu Dhabi and Brazil where he impressed team principal Eric Boullier.

 

"Romain has shown a lot of maturity in the past 12 months both through his GP2 Series victory and his development as third driver with us," said Boullier, who has pushed for Grosjean to be given a second chance following his low-key F1 debut.

 

"We were impressed when he drove for us in the first practice sessions in Abu Dhabi and Brazil.

 

"We are confident that drafting him into one of our driver's seats will help us in our rebuilding process.

 

"I would like to thank Vitaly Petrov and Bruno Senna for their contribution to the team's performance this year and I wish them all the best for the future."

 

 

BBC Sport

 

 

Bye Bye Petrov & Senna then.

 

thought that Petrov had fairly respectable seasons with Renault the past 2 seasons.

 

F1 is a tough business then.

[Retro_Link]

Hopefully Petrov and Senna will be able to find a race/3rd driver seat and stay in F1!

 

I'm a tad worried by this.

 

Grosjean is managed by the Team Principle Eric Boullier.

 

I hope we don't get another Ferrari/Massa situation, and the team build this team/car around Kimi... because when a team does, it's an almost unstopable combination!

Edited December 9, 2011 by Retro_Link

[Goron_3]

Yeah agree with you there Retro..if they give Kimi a good car and develop it in the right direction they'll see great results.

 

Felt a bit nostalgic and watched Suzuka 2000 today. ALL of it. Found this part on youtube and it's just spectacular. The atmosphere is incredible, something which NONE of the modern tracks have. It's also the same track where Senna won all his titles and it's particularly emotional for Michael after the misery of 1997/98 and the misfortune on 99. Finally won it for Ferarri

 

 

Watch it from 4:13 onwards and you'll see genuinely praise from driver to another, when Mika hugs Michael and says 'Well done Michael!'

 

Great to see, it's an example to other sports to see our drivers behave this way.

[gaggle64]

I'm gonna be a bit worried for Kimi next year - a hell of a lot has changed in the last couple of years, it might be half a season before he finds his feet even with his talents. Shame Bruno & Petrov are out on their tod (though Petrov may be going to Marussia, possibly knocking out Glock), both have proven themselves worth of another season on the grid. Both Buemi & Algesuari may be getting dropped by Torro Rosso and Trulli may get dropped by Caterham as well as the 2nd seat at Williams and bth Force India seats yet to be made official. Looks like there's going to be quite a lot of horse trading over the next few weeks.

 

Also, Lotus better have enough room in the budget for ice cream.

[Retro_Link]

^ ROFL!

 

 

Great video!

 

Yeah there's just that incredible sound and atmosphere about the classics like Sazuka! When Michael steps out the garage at 7.40 there's something about the scenery and the sky and everything.

 

I miss the old cars!! The look the sound.

 

Ferrari miss Jean Todt.

 

Also a young Stefano Dominicalli at 7.50 right?

[Retro_Link]

You were right @gaggle64!

 

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96745

 

Ricciardo, Vergne to race for Toro Rosso in 2012 Formula 1 season

 

Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne will race for the Toro Rosso team in the 2012 Formula 1 season, the team has announced.

 

The news means the duo will replace Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari.

 

Toro Rosso said the decision to replace its current drivers was taken in conjunction with Red Bull.

 

"Over the past year, both Daniel and Jean-Eric have proved their worth and I expect them to make a significant contribution to the team's performance next year. Daniel has the benefit of having actually raced in Grands Prix for much of this year, while Jean-Eric proved he could adapt quickly to the demands of driving a Formula 1 car.

 

"As they have both worked with the team and its engineers very recently, this should allow us to get up to speed right from the start of winter testing in a couple of months time. I must also thank Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari for all their hard work over the past three seasons.

 

"They have delivered some excellent performances which have helped the team move forward and develop. We wish them well for the future. However, one has to remember that when Scuderia Toro Rosso was established in 2005, it was done so with the intention of providing a first step into Formula 1 for the youngsters in the Red Bull Junior Driver programme.

 

"It is therefore part of the team's culture to change its driver line-up from time to time in order to achieve this goal."

It makes sense in that Toro Rosso is supposed to be a Red Bull driver development team... But I don't think it was a particularly good decision.

 

Shame for Alguersuari, I hope he gets a drive somewhere, even if it's just a 3rd driver seat for 2012 and stays in F1.

 

Also neither Ricciardo or Vergne would be ready for the Red Bull seat should Webber retire at the end of 2012... and Buemi and Alfuersuari wouldn't have driven for a year!?

 

---

 

Driver Market talk...

 

OK so we have Petrov, Senna, Alguersuari, Buemi, Rubens, Sutil (most likely)...

 

Sutil to Williams has obviously been talked about.

 

Petrov to Replace Glock you say? Surely Marussia would be better off bumping PIC down to 3rd driver for this year and taking one of these better drivers flying around? Btw Glock made a real mistake joining Virgin!

 

I wouldn't want to see Alguersuari wasted at HRT and would rather Williams or Caterham give him a look, but it would makes sense with them being the new Official Spanish Team.

 

Either way, one of those guys should be in the second Caterham seat alongside Heikki.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Retro_Link

[Murr]

That's a little extreme isn't it replacing both the drivers at once.

 

As you've said should Webber move next season I figure you'd want drivers with more experience in the seat, hence Buemi or Algesuari (really can't spell their names heh)

 

I assume finishing behind Sauber wasn't ever going to go down well so changed personal on that result too.

 

 

Still stunned that Petrov & Senna are without a drive so far.

 

Also -

 

Sebastian Vettel voted best F1 driver of 2011 by team bosses

 

Sebastian Vettel has added yet another accolade at the end of his remarkable 2011 campaign - by being voted as the best Formula 1 driver of the year in AUTOSPORT's exclusive team principals' top 10 rankings

 

In the now annual poll, Vettel emerged as a clear winner ahead of Jenson Button - with last year's winner Fernando Alonso dropping two places down to third.

 

The annual team principals' verdict is compiled by getting the top ten driver rankings of every boss, which are kept secret, and then converting their rankings into the F1 points' system (25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1).

 

The final scores are added up to discover which driver the team bosses overall believed had done the best job throughout the campaign.

 

Vettel is the first world champion since Lewis Hamilton in 2008 to earn the top place in the drivers' rankings.

 

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner believed that it would have been wrong for any driver other than Vettel to have come out on top on the back of his dominant campaign.

 

"It would have been a surprise if any driver other than Sebastian would have been voted as the driver of the year, after the season he's had in 2011," Horner told AUTOSPORT.

 

"He won 11 races, finished second in five, third in one, had a fourth place and one DNF which is quite a remarkable run of results.

 

"On top of which, he scored a season record of 15 pole positions to secure his second consecutive world championship title. Therefore he fully deserves to have been recognised as the outstanding driver of 2011."

 

Paul di Resta was the leading rookie driver, earning 44 points to take seventh place, while Heikki Kovalainen's efforts for Team Lotus were rewarded with ninth place.

 

This year's voters were: Horner, Martin Whitmarsh, Stefano Domenicali, Ross Brawn, Eric Boullier, Frank Williams, Vijay Mallya, Peter Sauber, Tony Fernandes, Colin Kolles and John Booth. Scuderia Toro Rosso declined to take part.

 

AUTOSPORT TEAM PRINCIPALS' TOP TEN - 2011 RESULTS

 

1. Vettel 241 UP 1

2. Button 200 UP 4

3. Alonso 188 DOWN 2

4. Hamilton 122 DOWN 1

5. Rosberg 90 UP 2

6. Webber 70 DOWN 2

7. Di Resta 44 NEW ENTRY

8. Sutil 38 RE-ENTRY FROM 2009

9. Kovalainen 26 RE-ENTRY FROM 2008

10. Schumacher 23 NEW ENTRY

 

 

Source - Autosport

Edited December 15, 2011 by Murr
Automerged Doublepost

[Retro_Link]

Apparently Jenson's Head and Shoulders ad has won a 'worst advert of 2011' award somewhere... pfft what do they know! :p

 

And in related news I found a second Canberra Milk advert, even worse than the original!!

 

[Retro_Link]

I'll start a new 2012 thread when I have some more time next week/or as we near the Feb car launches/test... but a couple of interesting news stories from today...

 

Don't know if anyone has been following this story over the last few days since James Allen reported about it, but here's todays conclusion...

 

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96952

 

Lotus's rivals set to be forced to copy innovative reactive ride height system

 

Lotus's rivals look set to be forced to copy its innovative reactive ride height system ahead of the 2012 season, with the FIA happy the concept is totally legal.

 

There has been much intrigue in recent days about the mechanism that Lotus was reported to have tried out at the Abu Dhabi young driver test last year.

 

The mechanical system helps maintain a standard ride height during braking - when often the front of the car would dip down.

 

Rivals teams are understood to have looked into the system and its legality over recent days - with a report in Gazzetta dello Sport this week suggesting it was driver adjusted by the use of a pedal in the cockpit.

 

However, if the drivers were changing the ride height of the cars under braking then that would be a breach of the rules.

 

Article 3.15 of the F1 Technical Regulations states: "With the exception of the parts necessary for the adjustment described in Article 3.18 [the DRS], any car system, device or procedure which uses driver movement as a means of altering the aerodynamic characteristics of the car is prohibited."

 

AUTOSPORT can reveal, however, that the adjustment to the ride height - which improves aerodynamic performance and stability on the Lotus under braking - does not come from the driver.

 

Instead it is reactive to brake torque and is linked directly to the suspension - so cannot be classified as a moveable aerodynamic device in the way that independent mass dampers were.

 

The fact that the driver is not involved, and that the system is a part of the suspension, means it complies fully with the F1 regulations.

 

AUTOSPORT understands that Lotus has been in liaison with the FIA throughout the development of the brake system, having first been proposed in 2010 and been given an official green light by the governing as long ago as January last year.

 

With the FIA happy that the brake system is legal, it means that its main rivals will now have to propose their own systems to the governing body if they want to adopt such a concept for the forthcoming season.

 

AUTOSPORT also understands that at least one front-running team has already submitted plans for a similar ride-height adjustment device to be used in 2012.

They're a clever bunch at that Renault factory when they're on it (2011 forward exhausts not included), their late 2005/2006 cars had the mass damper system (can't remember what that actually did) and then there was their incredible launch system of the same years.

 

---

 

And who knows why Ferrari haven't done something like this before now! Forget last year, Ferrari haven't been on top of the tyre since 2007/2008!

 

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96946

 

Ferrari has moved to overcome the tyre issues that hurt its form last season by signing former Bridgestone Formula 1 chief Hirohide Hamashima to work in its technical department.

 

Throughout 2011, both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa struggled at times to get the most out of their tyres - especially in using the harder compounds.

 

As part of a major overhaul of its technical structure and approach, Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali revealed at the annual Wrooom media event in Italy on Wednesday that Hamashima had joined the team today.

 

Hamashima will report to technical director Pat Fry, and will be used to help improve the interaction of the Ferrari car and its tyres.

Edited January 11, 2012 by Retro_Link

[gaggle64]

Some bad news while we're here:

 

Robert Kubica breaks right leg in accident

 

Robert Kubica has suffered another setback in his attempt to return to Formula 1 after breaking his right leg in an accident at his house in Italy.

 

It is the same leg he broke in a high-speed rally crash almost a year ago.

 

The Pole needs an operation to have a metal screw inserted just above his ankle and then faces a month in plaster.

 

He is said to have lost his footing in the garden of his house in Pietrasanta, near the coastal town of Viareggio.

 

Kubica missed the whole of the 2011 season following a crash during the first stage of the Ronde di Andora rally in February.

 

The 27-year-old was driving a Super 2000-specification Skoda Fabia when his car left the road at high speed and hit a crash barrier, which pierced the car and caused Kubica's injuries.

 

Having been cut out of the vehicle before being airlifted to hospital, the Pole underwent several operations to repair the damage to his partially severed right forearm and numerous fractures to his right elbow, shoulder and leg.

 

He is now out of contract with his former team Renault, who have changed their name to Lotus this season, after it was announced last November that he would not be ready to return by the start of the season.

 

Kubica is still hoping to make a comeback to F1 but it remains unclear when - or if - he will have sufficient mobility and feeling in his right hand to drive a grand prix car.

 

Come back to us soon please Robert.

Edited January 11, 2012 by gaggle64

[Murr]

Some bad news while we're here:

 

 

 

Come back to us soon please Robert.

 

 

That is really really unfortunate. Even longer to wait now before we see Kubica back

[Retro_Link]

Jake talks BBC Coverage...

 

 

Pretty happy about what we'll get having heard that.

[Retro_Link]

 

[Murr]

Looking at those pictures makes me want March to arrive sooner.

 

Really gotta start researching now about SkyF1 Channel. I've heard Virgin Media were in negotiations to get it.

[Retro_Link]

If you get the SkyF1 channel your season should be starting extra early with February testing coverage!

[gmac]

Looking at those pictures makes me want March to arrive sooner.

 

Really gotta start researching now about SkyF1 Channel. I've heard Virgin Media were in negotiations to get it.

 

if you get the Sky Sports package with VM the F1 channel will be included, no idea on the cost of the channel on it's own though

[Murr]

if you get the Sky Sports package with VM the F1 channel will be included, no idea on the cost of the channel on it's own though

 

Sky Sports package on Virgin is £22.50 per month if you have the M+, L or XL TV Package,

 

If you only have M Package it's £28 per month.

 

I'm on XL. I wouldn't mind getting Sky Sports and they've recently taken a few things off ESPN that I enjoyed watching such as Ice Hockey & NFL (although there are only 2 games left of the NFL season now:hmm: ) and of course the obvious premier league which i'd watch weekly.

 

I guess it'd be worth it.

[gaggle64]

So this cropped up on Tumblr -

 

 

Yes.

[gaggle64]

Williams confirms Bruno Senna will race for the team in F1 in 2012

 

I'm happy for Bruno but I'm going to miss Rubens. =(

Edited January 17, 2012 by gaggle64