Someone just needs to get up enough ***** and tell Ferrari to shut up already......

Maybe they haven't heard about the world economy that maybe, just maybe, had something to do with car makers exits..

 

Typical Ferrari.... NEXT!

 

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of Grand Prix Racing 2010 (cue melodramatic music intro)...

The soap opera that is USF1 just keeps on rolling...


F1: FIA’s Charlie Whiting Visits USF1
Written by: Adam Cooper http://www.speedtv.com
02/24/2010



Race director and F1 technical department head Charlie Whiting was believed to be visiting the US F1 facility in Charlotte Wednesday morning, having traveled to the USA Tuesday.

Although FIA sources would not confirm his presence, and trips to F1 teams are part of his normal schedule, it’s assumed that Whiting was paying the visit in order to find out exactly what the state of play is at the beleaguered team.

USF1 boss Ken Anderson recently asked the FIA for dispensation for the team to appear at the fifth race of the season in Barcelona. The governing body has recently issued a clarification insisting that teams cannot miss any races, despite suggestions that the Concorde Agreement allows teams to skip three events.

Whiting will be able to determine whether the team has any chance of competing even by Spain, and will presumably submit a report to that effect back to FIA President Jean Todt.


Well, will Charlie give USF1 a thumbs down or will Ken & Peter get the dispensation that they so much desire?

And what of Monsieur Todt?

Will he rise to the occasion and axe Anderson & Windsor making room for the serbians of Stefan GP allowing them to make the grid in Baharain?

Tune in soon dear viewers to see if this and other intriguing questions will be answered on the next installment of Days of Grand Prix Racing 2010...

 

LOVE IT!

 

Just got the new Race Tech magazine and they were talking about KERS and how it was a flop. But they're in discussions about some other type of "green" technology. All I hope is that it involves forced induction. Sure, it'd be cool to have a TDI F1 car, but turbos and the sounds they make are just soooo sweet.

 

I hope that, for the present, F1 does not go down the road of "extreme technical inovation" as demonstrated by the attempted implementation of KERS.

I believe that F1 should be innovative, demonstrating advanced engineering concepts, but in today's fiscal climate that would seem highly impractical.

Presently, F1 is struggling to fill the grid. Start-up teams such as Virgin, Lotus, Campos, et. al. would find it an uphill stuggle trying to get a car to the grid if a new green technology were introduced.

Additionally, though the TDI technology is fascinating, I fear that the introduction of it (TDI) to F1 would (for me at least) lessen the spectacle that is a screaming F1 engine at full chat.

Having witnessed the Audi R10/R15 TDI LMP prototypes run, I can say that though visually stunning they lack the audio soul that I have come to expect in a racecar... Blindingly fast but really quiet.

There is alot to be said for the mechanical symphony made by a V-12 boxer, V10, or the V8 that is currently used in F1, yet I love the sound of a turbocharged engine and recall the turbo days of F1 and the sound the cars made... way cool!

Lets hope that the ruling powers of F1 don't succumb to the temptation to mollify the eco-masses and come up with a green plan for F1 until such time that the teams are better able to afford the technology and also give the teams the lead time necessary to implement that technology, rather than something on short notice ala KERS.

 

So, you will be a NO vote when they propose hydrogen fuel cell F1 cars?

 

YES! (emphatically) YES!

All kidding aside, I guess the underlying question is multifold...

Does the new (green or otherwise) technology enhance racing?

Does the new (green or otherwise) technology improve the breed with the result filtering down to the road cars of tomorrow?

Is it (F1) really about technology or racing... Are the cars the stars or is it the virtuoso performances of the men at the wheel that we come to watch?
Gads! I feel as if I am opening Pandora's box...

 

Speaking of drivers...

Motorsport Magazine's own Nigel Roebuck has revised his list of the top 10 GP drivers.

Lets see what he has to say...

We compiled out Top 10s in 1987, and at the time I rated the drivers thus:

1)Stirling Moss
2)Jimmy Clark
3)Alain Prost
4)Alberto Ascari
5)Juan Manuel Fangio
6)Jackie Stewart
7)Gilles Villeneuve
8)Ronnie Peterson
9)Niki Lauda
10)Jochen Rindt.

Were I compiling the list now, it would read as follows:

1)Stirling Moss
2)Jimmy Clark
3)Alain Prost
4)Ayrton Senna
5)Alberto Ascari
6)Juan Manuel Fangio
7)Jackie Stewart
8)Gilles Villeneuve
9)Michael Schumacher
10)Jochen Rindt.


An interesting list of GP greats!

How do you all feel about it?

Feel free to chime in and voice your opinion!

 

Kind of amazing that the person who has been more successful than anyone else was in slot 9. What does he have to do to move up--get killed? He won more championships than anyone else, including 5 in a row. Closest competitor was Fangio. And why not Niki Lauda, who won 3? He clearly was on the road to more when he had his crash, and campaigned for safety.

I'd drop Villeneuve and Rindt, possibly add Fittipaldi (who won 2). Seems Häkkinen (2) ought to be there somewhere, and Piquet (3). And surely Schumacher should be bumped up. Top 3 (for me) would be Fangio, Schumacher, and Senna, who also likely would won a 4th championship. I don't know what order, though.

Or do we not value the more recent drivers, who are clearly talented? What about the the differences in the cars, and how it factored in to making those drivers great? Or those who pushed for development of the sport?

 

There seems to be a tendency among F1 fans to overrate the recent drivers. Why? They never got to actually watch the the drivers of decades gone by. I've been watching and reading F1 since 1965. Schumacher in his Ferrari days had a car no other team could match. That's undisputed. How many WDC's would he have if he continued to drive for Benetton?

I think the drivers from the previous "no refueling" and "no tire changing" days will always be superior to the current crop. Having to drive and win races on the same fuel load and tires you started the race with? THAT'S TALENT.

Admittedly, Nigel is a bit biased towards Stirling. Always has been. I'de move Alonso up in place of Rindt though, and Fangio to the top, with Fittipaldi in place of Villeneuve.

 

Well, the flip side is the I think a lot of F1 fans overrate the drivers of old. The cars are two entirely different breeds of cat, with or without refueling (and that's one change we'll see this year. Modern drivers need much better reflexes (and probably eyesight) to handle the higher speeds and horsepower. Remember when people thought you'd die if you drove more than 100 miles an hour? Fangio was a lot closer to that era. Those drivers didn't pull nearly the g's they do now, either, which is a huge demand on the modern racers. So if you're going to compare drivers with drivers, and not cars with cars, or even car + driver vs. car + driver, you have to consider that. And that was (I thought) the original question.

No question Fangio should be right up there. But some of the others?

 

Um, no I don't remember when people thought you'd die if you went over 100 mph. That was over 100 years ago.

Compared to the drivers that drove the 1000+ hp turbo cars of the 80's, with no refueling or tire changes, the drivers today have it easy.

The crash that Kubica walked away from in Canada with only a sprained ankle? He would have been dead 20 times over in the 70's.

The drivers of yore had to manage the car, a LOT more than the drivers today. It's technological progress, but as an old fart who CAN compare both from real time observation, the elder drivers were better. When was the last time you saw a current driver in a four wheel slide around a corner?

 

It's pretty much a common sentiment that the cars of old are much more difficult to drive than modern cars. I remember Aguri Suzuki saying, after he tested one of his Super Best Friends cars, that he was surprised how much easier the car was to drive, compared to what he remembered.

I almost wonder if sportsmanship isn't coming into play with that list also. Schumacher never had a great reputation as a sportsman. Same goes for Piquet.

Gilles needs to be taken off that list. There are others with multiple WDCs that are more deserving. I think Jochen needs to drop off too. Where's Lauda?

 

You make it sound like you're 80 years old! (Or are you?) I've watched a lot of F1 over the years, too, from long before the time of Schumacher.

Just because they don't die now doesn't make the old timers greater. Or is that the definition of greatness? Personally, I'm glad a bunch of them teamed together with the engineers and DEMANDED safer cars (and tracks).

Drivers of yore didn't get into some of the high-speed "saves" you see now, either. Yes, they died before. Personally I'd rather see raw-edge, 10 10ths driving skills demonstrated, rather than a blanket over a body.

One other comment--how many of these drivers were on the list just because they had colorful personalities?

 

4-wheel slide = Alonso in an uncompetitive Renault. He was wringing that car's neck last year.

 

USF1 Asks For Delay Until 2011.

 

No need for a delay request now.....

Bye bye USF1 hopes. The fat lady sung...

 

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of Grand Prix Racing 2010 (cue melodramatic music intro)...

When last we left you dear viewers...

The fate of USF1 (comatose, on life support, with the ever present beep of the EKG echoing in the background) lay in the balance...

The dark hand of fate is slowly moving and it seems that the deliverance of the team from its deathbed has not come to pass as the FIA looks ready to pull the plug on Anderson & Windsor!


F1: Game Over at USF1
Written by: Adam Cooper http://www.speedtv.com
03/02/2010

There has been no official confirmation - very little has come out of the team in months - but the dream of Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor appears finally to be over after the staff of US F1 were told today to pack up and go home.

A desperate attempt by Anderson and Chad Hurley to salvage the project by asking the FIA for permission to postpone for a year has not worked.

It's been said for some days that Windsor is out of the picture, but even Anderson was not around to give the bad news to the guys on the shop floor. One source says that they have been told that it may yet be temporary, which suggests that there may be some hope for a revival for 2011.

However the signs are that the shutdown was prompted by a negative response from the FIA to the request for a year's grace - and that if there is any tiny glimmer of a future for US F1, it's merely that the team would be able to re-apply along with anyone else if there is still a free slot in 2011. And logic suggests that US F1 won't get a second chance if there are other credible bidders.

Meanwhile a source close to Chad Hurley says that the Silicon Valley entrepreneur sounded yesterday like he had had enough of trying to get involved in F1, and that the chances of him investing elsewhere appear to be slim.

We now await news from the FIA about what happens next. It seems likely that there will be two documents from the governing body within the next day or so - a definitive 2010 entry list, along with a separate statement that either explains why Stefan GP is on it, or confirms that there will be an open spot in 2011 and that an entry bid process will be launched.

It still seems likely that the latter course will be chosen. It if is, then it will to some degree showcase Jean Todt flexing the FIA's muscles in the face of strong pressure from Bernie Ecclestone to let Stefan GP in.

Intriguingly a source in Cologne told me tonight that it was now 'almost impossible' for the team to make it to Bahrain, so a positive decision is going to have to come very soon.
The entry list will also confirm the new name of Campos Meta - some sources suggest that Hispania Racing might not be the final choice - and will finally show the name of the BMW Sauber team for the first time.


Looks bad doesn't it!

But wait maybe there is hope yet... a miracle procedure that can save poor old USF1... Perhaps a postponement of their entry until 2011 can be secured by throwing themselves before Monsieur Todt and the FIA and pleading for mercy...

Will Jean Todt show mercy or will he "code" the patient and let USF1 slip quietly into the night?

And what of the Serbians and Stefan GP?

Will they get a chance to wiggle their way onto the grid at Baharain?

Will his supreme highness Bernie the Troll come to Stefan GP's aid?

All this and more on the next... Days of Grand Prix Racing 2010!

(cue music and fade to black...)

 

USF1... we hardly knew ye.

 

Just the nose.

 

Well, I've already made my views on Shcumacher clear. He'll be off that list when I am king. I'd move Senna down to his spot, if he did stay on. Senna really was pretty amazing in any car he was in, though. You certainly can't arrive at that list by comparing numbers, though. The cars of my childhood and before were much more difficult to drive, broke down more often, and killed you more readily when you made a mistake. In fact, considering the safety issue, I'd try to figure out a way to get Jackie Ickx on that list. He was as good as any of them, but concentrated on sports cars, and championed safety. I suspect his move to sports cars may be the reason he lived and so many of his contemporaries did not, especially considering some of the wrecks he's survived.

In fact, I am off the fence. Drop Senna, make it 11, and add Ickx.


I'd miss having USF1 around, if I'd had them around. Best of luck to them.

 

Mario Andretti turned 70 last Sunday.

Man, do I feel o-l-d...

 

Why? Are you 70 too?

I turned 60 last year, but you're only as old as (the women) you feel, and my wife is a youngster of only 55!

 

I'm turning 60 in December. I guess the thing that makes me feel old, and yes I do sometimes, is that I met him about 30 years ago (gads, THAT makes me feel old, too). He was in his racing heyday, then--in fact it was at a track in Texas, where he was racing a Champ car, or whatever was immediately preceding them.