Official 2010 Formula-1 thread

[mnazri.tan]

I am happy that schumi manage to make the best out of the situation... I was never a schumi fan till he come back...simply bcoz nowadays he is more a human than before...a struggling human being trying to achieve what seem almost impossible now....but then again, if he manage to turn things around next year...he will definitely be the best there is...for which , i am a big fan now....hehehe

Sutil - what was that...we all know it is like driving on ice...but yours seem like having a two pair of ice blade rather than actual tyre...he is all around the place

Komui once again prove what he is made of...surely not a sushi erand boy...ehehhe...gutsy driving...he really dont care....he push really hard....great fighting spirit...typical jap....For once i though yamamoto share similar DNA when i saw the qualifying result...but then again, .........

I read on news today, it was the longest GP since 1950's ...and i love every bit of it...the whole 3 hours...i am just glued there watching the tv....and how exciting to see how the championship evolve...The DNF for both RBR was a huge shock...looking at how cool vettel pacing through all 3 restart, i would imagine he could have been thinking of how to celebrate just before his race end

Heiki did a good job as well in getting his car in tact ...ensuring no major drama and cruise to a very good finish for em...

I think Hulkenberg did tried hard as well...knowing his future in balance, that was a great effort...though not very rewarding...

kubica was almost did not exist yesterday...not much highlight on him...the 5th place was almost without much drama and the rest of the race the camera was hardly on him...that is not good for the sponsor ...hehehe

was suprised to see the petronas backdrop...i wouldnt imagine they wanted to sponsor Korean GP...not much of petronas present in Korea... all this while and through out my frequent visit to South Korea...seriously not once i come across with Petronas brand....but then again the whole world watching it...so that is good enough for the brand...

So to the next two race and after that....arghhh i hate it ...months of waiting for the season to start.....

[takashi78]

On other news, RedBull gave this present to Bernie for his 80th birthday LOL

[mnazri.tan]

I enjoy watching the safety car as well...i though most of the corner during the korean gp the saftey car would slip and crashed...they push the car to the limit....really...so much of a saftey car eh...but OMG...the car stick to the slippery tarmac like a train on a rail....incredible...

[takashi78]

LOL   

[Gigi]

THis is the F1 should have been

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qquujo0LaHE&feature=related

[zuki]

i am still hoping that sebastian vettel win the championship

[mnazri.tan]

Seb lead the pack and make 1-2 win for RBR at Sao Paolo last night  (local time)...resulting they clinch their inaugural F1 Constructor Championship...Thus i put on my Seb Vettel endorsed edifice today...Bravo RBR...bravo Casio...now let see whether they could repeat that this 14 Nov at Abu Dhabi for driver championship...

[takashi78]

Bravo to Redbull!
Newey is really a genius is designing cars.

But i gotta say that race this morning was BORING! I feel asleep many times.

[mnazri.tan]

owh really ? i fall asleep long before the race start.....hahahahahhaha

[mnazri.tan]

This is really exciting...if it really happen, then i would want to buy TW steel or what ever watch company sponsoring the team...

Taken from paultan.org


Renault F1 could become Lotus-Renault next season? The Lotus name saga continues!

We already have an F1 team in the grid with Lotus in its name but here’s something new, apparently the REAL Lotus is also making an entry into F1 via a tie-up with the current Renault team, as the French manufacturer continues its plans to scale down its involvement in the sport to perhaps being just an engine supplier.
Renault team boss Eric Boullier has confirmed ongoing talks with Lotus Cars, but he said that the team is also in talks with other potential sponsors. Most people are saying that Lotus Cars will likely become the title sponsor of the Renault team first, with a buy-over perhaps in the cards in the future.
The Renault team could just end up being called Lotus-Renault from next year onwards, which would pretty much be Dany Bahar’s dream come true, and if these plans were already on the table for quite some time now it would very much explain the problems that have come between Tony Fernandes’ Lotus Racing team and Lotus/Proton.
Renault will probably end up having its engines in both the “Lotus” teams on the grid. Interestingly, when news broke of the recent engine supply deal between Renault and Tony Fernandes’ Lotus Racing, the press releases from both companies do not mention the word Lotus at all – instead it is referred to as either 1Malaysia Racing Team (UK) Ltd or “Anglo-Malaysian team”, but perhaps this is something to do with the fact that the matter is still at court so they cannot use the name at the moment? The LR8 drink logo on the side of the Lotus Racing F1 car was also replaced by a question mark as seen in last weekend’s race.
Another interesting fact is that while all of this is happening at the exciting race track, in the real world where companies build 4-cylinder A to B vehicles for commute and not for racing, Lotus Cars’ owner Proton also seems to be cosying up with the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
Proton already uses a Renault 1.2 liter engine in the Proton Savvy, an enlarged Renault engine is also used in the Proton Satria Neo S2000 rally car, and most recently there have been rumors for the Renault-Nissan Alliance’s compact car platform and engine to be used to underpin an upcoming production car based on the Proton EMAS Concept.

[takashi78]

This whole Lotus name thing is going out of hand and even reading it confuses me.

[takashi78]

So who do you guys think will be WDC this weekend?

My bet is on Alonso but i still think he has a 50/50 chance only.

If RedBull dont screw up then i support Vettel.

[adrian]

Vettel!!! But the betting man would put money on Alonso for sure.

Do you guys feel Mark Webber is just being taken lightly as a potential champion? Vettel needs 16pts to be champion but Webber only needs 9, yet in the last interview after the race, it looked like the interviewer totally ignored his chances and talked up Vettel's chances instead.

[takashi78]

Saturday results.
Hope is going to be a epic battle tonight.

[adrian]

VETTEL!!! The youngest ever Formula One champion! Great year for RBR.

[takashi78]

Congrats to Vettel! Finally this season he drove a flawless race and very deserving of the tittle.

I was very disappointed with Alonso's hand gestures at the end to Petrov, they were clearly racing and Petrov has every right to make it difficult for him to pass.

MS was really lucky to get out of the accident un-hurt.

3 world champions on the podium, how often do you see that?









Wow the 2 Lotus drivers not very tall eh


What is a race without those 2 eh 

[takashi78]

[takashi78]

Just two days after the 2010 season reached its nail-biting climax in Abu Dhabi, the teams will be back out on-track for the annual Young Driver test session. Set to be staged at Yas Marina for the first time, a total of 21 men will be taking to the tarmac over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Abu Dhabi Young Driver line-up is as follows:

Red Bull-Renault
Tuesday: Daniel Ricciardo, 21 (AUS)
Wednesday: Daniel Ricciardo, 21 (AUS)

McLaren-Mercedes
Tuesday: Oliver Turvey, 23 (GBR)
Wednesday: Gary Paffett, 29 (GBR)

Ferrari
Tuesday: Jules Bianchi, 21 (FRA)
Wednesday: Jules Bianchi, 21 (FRA)

Mercedes GP
Tuesday: Sam Bird, 23 (GBR)
Wednesday: Sam Bird, 23 (GBR)

Renault
Tuesday: Mikhail Aleshin, 23 (RUS)
Wednesday: Jérôme d’Ambrosio, 24 (BEL)

Williams-Cosworth
Tuesday: Dean Stoneman, 20 (GBR)
Wednesday: Pastor Maldonado, 25 (VEN)

Force India-Mercedes
Paul di Resta, 24 (GBR)
Yelmer Buurman, 23 (NED)
Antonio Félix da Costa, 19 (POR)

Sauber-Ferrari
Sergio Pérez, 20 (MEX)
Esteban Gutiérrez, 19 (MEX)

Toro Rosso-Ferrari
Tuesday: Jean-Eric Vergne, 20 (FRA)
Wednesday: Jean-Eric Vergne, 20 (FRA)

Lotus-Cosworth
Tuesday: Rodolfo González, 24 (VEN)
Wednesday: Vladimir Arabadzhiev, 30 (BUL)

Virgin-Cosworth
Tuesday morning: Rio Haryanto, 17 (INA)
Tuesday afternoon: Jérôme d’Ambrosio, 24 (BEL)
Wednesday: Luiz Razia, 21 (BRA)

Hispania-Cosworth
Tuesday: Pastor Maldonado, 25 (VEN)
Wednesday: Josef Král (CZE), Davide Valsecchi, 23 (ITA)

[mnazri.tan]

Garry Paffet is not young...and definately not a rookie...he probarly drove the mclaren more often than heiki kovailanen....hehehe

and what with 30 years old bulgarian and the Venezuelian where is the malaysian driver ? why cant the bring in nabil or fauzy so much of malaysian pride ? the young driver programme is about giving oppurtinity....

at least virgin could give opportunity to an indonesian chap....

[takashi78]

Fauzi is currently contracted with Lotus and i think that the program is for people who are not yet in F1 (regardless of how old they are).

Nabil tested for Lotus also and maybe he isnt yet qualified to test for F1 since the highiest formula he raced in was only Formula BMW.

You know..i think even Fauzi wont have a full time seat ever, doesnt look like he is fast enough and maybe money issues also?

[HusH]

A video of the champ during his younger days

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/videos/570/10-year-old-sebastian-vettel/

[takashi78]

Team orders ban dropped
10 December 2010
 

The rule forbidding team orders has been deleted, the World Motor Sport Council announced today following its final meeting of the year in Monaco. The decision has been taken as a result of this year’s German GP, where it was shown to be unenforceable after Ferrari gave Felipe Massa a ‘coded’ message to let Fernando Alonso through.

The FIA reminded the teams though that any actions liable to bring the sport into disrepute can be dealt with under Article 151c of the International Sporting Code and any other relevant provisions.

A number of other amendments to the sporting and technical regulations were confirmed as well including amendments to the list of penalties Stewards are permitted to apply.

[takashi78]

Greener engines confirmed by WMSC
10 December 2010
 

The World Motor Sport Council has announced, as expected, that F1 will switch to ‘greener’ engines from 2013 with the introduction of 1.6 litre four-cylinder turbo engines. It is hoped these will deliver a 35 percent reduction in fuel consumption.

‘The WMSC approved the introduction of a new specification engine from 2013, underlining the FIA’s commitment to improving sustainability and addressing the needs of the automotive industry’, read a statement from the FIA, the sports’ governing body.

‘Following dialogue with the engine manufacturers and experts in this field, the power units will be four cylinders, 1.6 litre with high pressure gasoline injection up to 500 bar with a maximum of 12,000 rpm.

‘The engines will deliver a 35 percent reduction in fuel consumption and will feature extensive energy management and energy recovery systems, while maintaining current levels of performance.

'In 2013, five engines will be permitted per driver, but each year after that the limit will be four.’

For 2011 meanwhile, in addition to rescinding the ban on team orders (see separate story), there was a ‘refinement to the principles already agreed concerning moveable rear wings’ and it has been decided that gearboxes must now be used for five consecutive races, instead of four.

The World Motor Sport Council will convene again on March 8 at the FIA’s Place de la Concorde in Paris.

[takashi78]

Full WMSC statement
10 December 2010
 

The FIA published the following statement this afternoon after the meeting of World Motor Sport Council in Monaco, which confirmed the introduced of greener engines from 2013 and also rescinded the ban on team orders with immediate effect.

The full statement, in relation to the Formula One World Championship, read:

Formula One

The WMSC approved the introduction of a new specification engine from 2013, underlining the FIA’s commitment to improving sustainability and addressing the needs of the automotive industry.

Following dialogue with the engine manufacturers and experts in this field, the power units will be four cylinders, 1.6 litre with high pressure gasoline injection up to 500 bar with a maximum of 12,000 rpm.

The engines will deliver a 35 percent reduction in fuel consumption and will feature extensive energy management and energy recovery systems, while maintaining current levels of performance. In 2013, five engines will be permitted per driver, but each year after that the limit will be four.


Sporting and Technical Regulations

A number of changes were made to the Sporting and Technical Regulations for 2011, including:

- The article forbidding team orders (39.1) is deleted. Teams will be reminded that any actions liable to bring the sport into disrepute are dealt with under Article 151c of the International Sporting Code and any other relevant provisions

- Amendments to the list of penalties Stewards are permitted to apply
- Revisions to driving and driver conduct
- A limit on the width of the fast lane in the pits
- The introduction of a regulation permitting the Race Director to close the pit lane during a race for safety reasons
- The re-introduction of intermediate tyres for 2011
- Penalties to be applied to any driver who fails to use both specification of dry weather tyre during the race
- An amendment requiring gearboxes to be used for five consecutive races, instead of four
- Clarification on when cars can overtake the safety car
- A refinement to the principles of the regulations already agreed concerning moveable rear wings
- A better definition of the reference plane, and reinforcement of bodywork deflection tests, especially at the front of the reference plane
- The allowance for anti-intrusion panels to protect drivers’ legs


Amendments to the 2012 Technical Regulations were made in the following areas:

- Team communications will be made available to broadcasters
- The inclusion of fuel compounds produced from biomass
- A limitation on suspension uprights

[mnazri.tan]

i am not quite happy with the smaller engine concept...F1 should be about raw ultimate power..and high tech on engine...smaller engine good that it make sense to road car...but i would rather see road warrior on F1...heheh....