If nothing else, all of the movement with the drivers and the constant rule changes certainly keep F1 interesting. I came for the unreal driving skill and stayed for the drama.
After 32 years in the sport, Bridgestone has decided to call it a day after 2010 as a result of the ongoing economic crisis. http://www.examiner.com/x-21840-Pro...9m11d2-Bridgestone-withdraws-from-Formula-One
I wonder who will come in to the sport. Michelin are unlikely after the Indy fiasco and the vilification they received from Mosley, and also Todt was a Bridgestone man at Ferrari. Pirelli? Goodyear?
Michelin won't supply but not because of the Indy fiasco because they've got over that with titles in 2005 and 2006. The reason why they won't do it is that their philosophy is to compete against others, not be the sole supplier. That and yes, the fact that the FIA have a spat at them as Pirelli was chosen to be the sole supplier in WRC too. Who might come ? Maybe a brand that needs global recognition like the Koreans of Hankook.
That's the thing about F1. That's why it's called The Circus after all. I think F1 is a little theatre of the World, there are so many things to be interested in beside the sheer racing. That being said, I also think I had my share of drama for this season and there are some growing trends I could do without. Like in real life...
I really doubt that we'll have a basically unknown supplier come into the sport. The developers of the tyres need to be technoligcally adept and should at least have some form of track record in terms of competitive motorsports. I'll repeat, we will definitely not see a relatively unknown supplier take over the manufacting of the tyres. The FIA wouldn't allow that to happen, and I'm sure a lot of teams would balk at that idea the instant it was thrown into the room.
You know the World is turning upside down when Bernie actually has a good idea about something... http://www.crash.net/f1/news/154361/1/ecclestone_i_want_more_f1_races.html For me the complete ban on testing is an aberration in F1. Testing the week after the GP on the same track -like they do in Moto GP- is a good compromise to limit logistical costs. Concerning the fact of having 20 GP, well, we'll have 19 normally next season, so we're almost there yet. I think around 20 is about right, an F1 GP must also remain an event.
Renault also talking about pulling out. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8343221.stm
I wonder if Cosworth re-entering the scene (and getting the engine contracts of Williams and the 4 new teams) had anything to do with Toyota pulling out? Probably not, but for a while it seemed like a couple of those teams were looking at going with the Toyota powerplant.
They're dealing with either sell the team which should be saved (otherwise signing Kubica was absurd) or open the capital to others. Normally, whatever happens - and that includes continue as such - the engine supplies are not said to be threatened. It could be like the 90's when Renault kept a foot in the sport through its engine. Anyway, it looks like the end of the manufacturer teams era in the sport even if the case of Renault is quite different from Honda, Toyota or BMW since they have a great history in F1 even as a team since 1977 (don't say it's old ! ). Mercedes may be relishing the prospect to remain the sole manufacturer team along with Ferrari once they buy Brawn and go head to head with the Scuderia which would make them re-enter in the legend of the sport while the privateers will fight for bits of glory. It will be another balance of power but will it be necessarily more exciting than the failed equilibrium previously set by the FIA ? Also, how many engine supplier will remain ? Will other join under this set of rules or the next ? From a French perspective, Renault has always thought there wasn't enough room for other teams ; so hopefully if they go and if the costs are truly reasonable, I hope that Oreca, ART or DAMS will be able to mount an F1 team.
I think Cosworth wasn't owned by Ford when they powered the Williams in 2006. They had a lot of reliability issues at the time but that should not be the case with the current regulation. A set of technical rules that tends to negate huge differences anyway. The best case scenario for them would be to make the best use of the fact that they can still develop the design unlike the others (normally).
i thought i was wrong too. hope so. love to see them put a competitive product on the line i wonder what will happen to all the toyota and bmw stuff....
Yeah but they still gave the Sprint Cup a helluva lot of votes... Also are you ready for this? Mercedes has bought out Brawn GP and the team will thus now be known as Mercedes GP with Ross Brawn still being left in charge of operations. This also signals the end of Mercedes' shareholding in McLaren, with Ron Dennis saying that the current buy-back plan should be completed by 2011. In addition, McLaren will continue to have its engines manufactured by Mercedes until 2015, and possibly even longer.
More exciting news... Are you guys ready for this one? After years of speculation, Rossi from MotoGP will finally have a crack at a Formula 1 Ferrari car.
not sure where you got this from, he drove the Ferrari F1 car at least once before already. he was about a second slower a lap than the F1 drivers with the same car, which is not bad for a 'beginner', but still a lot in racing terms. and that last second to the top is the most difficult to make up. so it's nothing more than a publicity stunt, Rossi will never drive in F1.
I think this will also mean that Nico Rosberg will join this newly formed Mercedes team. Mercedes has been trying to sign a German driver ever since returning to F1 (well, they did have Frentzen at first with the Sauber team, but that was before they had a team good enough to fight for championships).
Not just this but I can see the pieces of the chess moving towards Mercedes making Brawn GP a German team with Rosberg and Heidfield and Mclaren a British team with Hamilton and Button. Interesting...
Hmmm...I rather see Kimi than Heidfeld joining Brawn though...Hamilton and Button would be the last champions, so it sounds good on paper, but I don't think that Button is that good actually...he just happened to be in a car that was way ahead of everybody else this season...