Author Topic: Official Racing Thread (Read 137215 times)

ferrar1 · « **Reply #640 on:** September 30, 2008, 08:42:53 AM »

Quote from: ctz on September 29, 2008, 10:48:56 AM

Well, I'm beginning to love Piquet for turning the boring Grand Prix to greatness. It's the same thing with all the street circuits, passing is impossible, but some relatively small misfortune can shuffle the results to something completely unexpected. And that I like.

I do like happenings in F1 as well as they add to the unpredictability and excitement

But not when it happens to the team you support

RatBastich · « **Reply #641 on:** October 01, 2008, 06:57:59 PM »

F1 safety car rule deemed 'humiliating'; McLaren exec expects change

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Ferrari and McLaren have attacked the safety car rule that decided last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix, describing it as "humiliating" and "hopelessly wrong" for Formula One.

Fernando Alonso won his first race for Renault because he pitting before the safety car emerged a third of the way into the grand prix. It enabled him to tack onto the back of the field under safety car conditions and then go to the front when other drivers pitted when the pit lane was reopened.

McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh expects the Singapore events to prompt a change in the rules relating to when drivers can pit under safety car conditions.

JFC · « **Reply #642 on:** October 01, 2008, 07:32:04 PM »

While I can understand the point being made, other people would simply say that Alonso, like any good driver would, saw the situation and made it work to his advantage.

I seriously doubt McLaren would be raising this much of a stink if Alonso was still driving for them.

RatBastich · « **Reply #643 on:** October 02, 2008, 11:13:02 PM »

Castroneves, sister indicted on tax charges

MIAMI -- Helio Castroneves and his sister were indicted Thursday in Miami on charges of conspiring to defraud the United States of income taxes, prosecutors said.

The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and his sister, Katiucia Castroneves, were also charged with six counts of income tax evasion for the years 1999 through 2004.

The indictment alleged they used a Panamanian shell corporation to fraudulently conceal from the Internal Revenue Service income received from Penske Racing and another company.

Castroneves, 33, lives in the Miami suburb of Coral Gables.

He won fame outside the auto racing world last year when he beat out English pop singer Melanie Brown to win "Dancing with the Stars," in which celebrities compete in ballroom dancing contests.

Castroneves was paired on the show with professional dancer Julianne Hough.

RatBastich · « **Reply #644 on:** October 03, 2008, 08:42:30 PM »

Rosberg, Nakajima to stay with Williams; Hulkenberg to test drive

LONDON -- Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima will again drive for Williams next year and Nico Hulkenberg will test drive for the Formula One team.

"I am delighted we are able to maintain continuity with our drivers going into 2009," team principal Frank Williams said Wednesday. "Nico Rosberg continues to be one of the most capable drivers in the sport. Kazuki is getting stronger all the time and has more to offer and Nico Hulkenberg is developing well."

Rosberg, driving for Williams since 2006, celebrated a career-best second place last weekend in the Singapore Grand Prix. It was his second career podium after a third at the season-opening Australian GP. He finished 17th overall in 2006, ninth last year, and is 12th in the current championship with 17 points.

Nakajima made his F1 debut in the last race of 2007 and has earned points in four of the 15 races this year. He's 15th with nine points.

JFC · « **Reply #645 on:** October 09, 2008, 03:25:50 AM »

WEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!

Canadian Grand Prix dropped from 2009 calendar

Updated Tue. Oct. 7 2008 1:48 PM ET
- CTV.ca News Staff

The Canadian Grand Prix, which is held annually in Montreal, has been removed from the 2009 Formula One calendar.

The race, which was first held in Canada in 1967, takes place every summer in Montreal, generating tens of millions in revenue for the city.

Canadian Grand Prix promoter says only government can save F1 race

Tue. Oct. 7 2008

MONTREAL — It is up to government if the cancelled Canadian Grand Prix is to be revived.

A spokesman for race promoter Normand Legault said Wednesday that government bodies were already looking at ways to bring back the annual race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve that was abruptly dropped from the Formula One calendar this week.

Normally the thought of a movement to save the event would be promising. However...it's dependant on the Canadian government, so I'm not holding my breath.

reina's eyes · « **Reply #646 on:** October 09, 2008, 03:48:29 AM »

I had no love for the track at indianapolis and montreal had nothing too special (unless you liked the wall at the last turn that ate cars for lunch), but to not have any race in north america at all....

CART's disintegration left long beach without a race. I wonder how hard it would be to fashion a track there to current f1 standards. I haven't been to a race there since the circuit modifications a few years ago, but it was a pretty neat venue.

JFC · « **Reply #647 on:** October 09, 2008, 04:02:33 AM »

Quote from: reina's eyes on October 09, 2008, 03:48:29 AM

montreal had nothing too special

Indeed, there was nothing special about Circuit Gilles Villeneuve...aside from the fact that most F1 drivers have said that it's one of the most difficult and abusive tracks for engines, transmissions, and brakes and that they'd have to adjust their normal driving styles to keep their cars from blowing up on them.

ferrar1 · « **Reply #648 on:** October 09, 2008, 09:06:25 AM »

How can they take off canada from the calender? That is such a historic circuit with the champions wall!!

I guess they are really shifting their focus to the asia now since there is where the $$ is.

Anyway i can't wait for the Fuji grand prix, it's almost a do or die for the ferrari team with 3 races to go. And they have switched back to lollipop system for the pitting. I hope being the local favourites in Japan will spur them to finish 1-2.

reina's eyes · « **Reply #649 on:** October 09, 2008, 09:26:22 AM »

Ferrari taking the top two slots would be interesting. In that case, if kimi were to win massa might find it a bit too interesting. :-)

RatBastich · « **Reply #650 on:** October 12, 2008, 10:48:18 PM »

Japanese Grand Prix just about to start on the Speed Channel.

JFC · « **Reply #651 on:** October 13, 2008, 09:23:04 PM »

Bit of a mess in the opening moments of the race. Props to Alonso for back-to-back wins.

I found it funny how near the end of the race, the announcers on the feed I was watching kept going on and on about how Massa can still win the driver's championship. All that has to happen is a Ferrari 1-2 finish in both of the final two races of the season. Yeah, that's all that has to happen.

Oh, and during the post-race interviews, I would NOT have known that that was Kubica if they didn't have his name plate thing on the table in front of him. The pronstache look is not good for him.

JDAckers · « **Reply #652 on:** October 13, 2008, 09:31:20 PM »

It was a very exciting race, and its good to see Alonso doing well again. I thought it was a bit unfair that Massa and Hamilton got the same penalty seeing as Raikkonen lost a few places because he was off the track whereas Hamilton had to let all the cars through and dropped to last place because of Massa spinning him! Also they showed a shot of the Ferrari people cheering after the incident, I expect this type of thing in BTCC, but not F1!

RatBastich · « **Reply #653 on:** October 14, 2008, 12:29:34 AM »

Alonso wins Japanese Grand Prix; Hamilton's lead shrinks after wreck on Lap 2

OYAMA, Japan -- Fernando Alonso won Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix for a victory that was almost a sideshow to a breathless race that provided another twist in the title fight.

While the rejuvenated Spaniard made it back-to-back wins in his Renault, the race's history of season-defining incidents between title rivals gained a new chapter when Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa tangled in a memorable second-lap collision.

RatBastich · « **Reply #654 on:** October 14, 2008, 09:17:57 PM »

Champ Car-IndyCar merger beefed up car numbers, series credibility

It has been nearly eight months since Indy Racing League founder Tony George and Champ Car World Series leader Kevin Kalkhoven smiled, shook hands and announced the end of the war for control of American open-wheel formula car racing.

Champ Car ran one more race for contractual reasons and then quietly disappeared, leaving half its teams to join the former rival IndyCar Series. Despite lucrative financial incentives from George, a few remaining teams could not -- or would not -- make the transition, because of financial difficulty (Derrick Walker) or sheer obstinacy (Gerald Forsythe).

Since then, the IndyCar Series staged a 16-race championship, won in typically thrilling fashion by Scott Dixon. And the yearlong celebration of unification impressed George, the man who made it happen.

reina's eyes · « **Reply #655 on:** October 14, 2008, 10:33:50 PM »

^ I was unimpressed.

The tv coverage of the last cart race at lb was horrid. No, make that nonexistent by the end when all they did was chat with dp. Would have been better to just engage in some dp.

It wasn't so much a merger as cart just plain folded and some of the teams took up irl.

ferrar1 · « **Reply #656 on:** October 15, 2008, 05:16:00 AM »

Well now everyone is attacking Hamilton for his antics on the track.

I personally hope he would never win a championship trophy ever.

JFC · « **Reply #657 on:** October 20, 2008, 07:49:16 PM »

So with a win this past Sunday in Shanghai, and only a single race left in the season, the only way for Hamilton to NOT win the F1 Driver's Championship would be to have a DNF, or otherwise really lousy finish in Brazil. The only real challenger now is Maasa, who would still have to win the race to even have a shot at it, as Kubica is pretty much mathematically eliminated.

Even without the championship, I'd have to say that Kubica has got to be one of, if not the leading candidate for driver of the year. The guy has been much more solid/consistent than practically anyone else in F1 this year.

reina's eyes · « **Reply #658 on:** October 20, 2008, 08:47:14 PM »

Next year could be really interesting if the upward trends continue for kubica with bmw and alonso if he stays at renault. Especially if ferrari and mclaren accelerate their contest to see who can throw the championship away. :-)

Miki should take a break from enka to be a racequeen at the fuji circuit.

JDAckers · « **Reply #659 on:** October 21, 2008, 11:18:04 PM »

I can't see Hamilton messing it up again, and he could be the first British champion for 12 years since Damon Hill in 1996

I think if they draw on points, the old rules were the person with the most GP wins gets put ahead;

Hamilton: 5 (Australia, Monaco, Great Britain, Germany, China)
Massa: 5 (Bahrain, Turkey, France, Europe, Belgium)

LH : 94 pts
FM : 87 pts (-7pts)

So if Massa wins, and Hamilton comes 7th or lower, Massa is champion. If Massa wins and Hamilton is 6th, then they draw on points, but I think Massa will be champion with 1 more win.
If Massa comes 2nd and Hamilton doesn't score then he is champion, but if Hamilton finishes 8th, then they will draw and I have no idea who wins. It might go down to most 2nd places!!
3rd or lower, makes Hamilton champion.

Driver of the Year has to be between Kubica, came from nowhere and is only a few point off the pace. If BMW spend their spare time helping him and not Heidfeld then he may have won?? Being a RBR fan, Vettel has done very well in the second half of the season, also winning a race for Toro Rosso. Considering Bourdais has 4 pts and Vettel has 30 in the same car!