so... i thought michelin was pulling out of F1 in 2007, not immediately. sheeesh. congrats to scuderia ferrari.

 

But it's true... Really, in any form of auto racing, it's the same (not that I'm in any way supporting nascar). It's just the nascar guys tend to be a bit more obvious about breaking the rules while other forms of racing tend more toward bending them. Remember Gordan Murray's fan car ? Teams are always trying to find gaps in the rules that allow them to get one step ahead.

That said, the race today was a pleasure to watch. I was woried a bit when Shumy came out after his first pit and didn't lay down some fast laps but the Ferrari strategy came through again.

 

You're right of course, it happens everywhere to one degree or another -- the fact that it happens isn't the disappointing bit though. What bothered me was the attitude -- it was as though the guy either didn't even know it was wrong to break rules or he just didn't care -- like breaking the rules is the coooool part. I wish I had it recorded and could post a clip -- I think you probably had to see/hear it to get the full effect. Besides turning my stomach, it's also not the kind of attitude I like to see displayed in a spectacle popular with kids.

 

Don't forget Tyrrell's getting caught with the metal ***** in the gas tank (dissolved with the fuel, raised the octane) back in 1984. If I recall correctly, they were "disqualified" from all official results for the entire year. Cheating goes on at all levels of sport, and yes, it is the job of the teams " ta break tha rules ", without getting caught, of course.

 

Super Aguri just launched their new car, the SA06, today. Do you think it will be a drastic improvement? Do you think they will be able to give the Midland guys a serious run now? What are all your thoughts?

 

It's certainly a better looking car than the SA05

Tough call. Technically, the senior Honda effort isn't providing much reason believe they will be any more competitive.

I've been very disappointed in Sato . . . I used to consider him a quick, solid driver . . . but someone must've hit him with the stupid stick around 18 months ago. The new guy is far from proven.

I hope that Johnny Herbert will remain with Midland even if the team were sold . . . and I so miss Eddie Jordan. That team is only a shadow of its former self . . .

 

I hope we havn't seen the last of Eddie Jordan or Paul Stoddart for that matter. Only time will tell.

Sato has always been a bit kamikaze to me. Fast, no doubt, but little control. That doesn't mean I don't like the guy, I wish him the best.

I just hope Super Aguri hangs in there. I would love to see them a bit more competitive and hopefully, they're financially secure enough to keep in the game for a little while. This sport takes a bit of time to acclimate yourself to the competition.

 

Paul Stoddart might be running a Champ Car team next year.
http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns17163.html

Mark

 

Not to pip the exciting news of the new offering from "Super" Aguri *cough*stillbackofthegrid*cough* but there is some news on F1 from Utah this week...Utah?

Honda hasn't done much on the F1 circuits this season, but they have now set the land speed record for legal F1 cars at the Bonneville Salt Flats although falling short of their goal of 400 kph.

They have ended their attempt this week with an average speed of 397.360 kph (246.908 mph) over two runs of the Bonneville flying mile. They have reached the 400 kph plateau, but for the record the speed must be maintained for 1 mile in each of two consecutive runs, out, then back...the driver for the run was Alan van de Merwe of South Africa...see and read all about it here: http://www.bonneville400.com/

They used a fully legal F1 car, but replaced the rear horizontal wing with a vertical fin for stability...

 

Very Cool! Love the wingless look on the rear.

 

I have to wonder what the car's stability would be like at that speed. Imagine if he tried to turn the wheel. Whoops!

 

So...Hockenheim this weekend. I'm betting Ferrari haven't missed a beat and Michael's gonna turn in a three-peat. Now if only Massa can take points away from Alonso and Renault. Or maybe one better, an Alonso/Renault DNF! Their luck is bound to run out sometime soon...but...perhaps it's just wishful thinking on my part.

 

I don't care if Ferrari or Renault wins....as long is we see a race! I'm getting tired of watching the passing in the pits.

So if Ferrari wins this season, so you think Renault will decide to pull out of F1? (I guess they were thinking about it at the end of last season or something)

 

I don't think they (Renault) will be pulling out anytime soon. As long as Carlos Ghosn thinks it's a good idea, Renault will be fighting for the championship.

 

I've been archiving some of my older Grand Prix recordings to DVD of late, and one thing that becomes immediately apparent watching some of these races is that . . . believe it or not . . . there used to be a heckuva lot of dicing and passing for all positions! Geez, I just watched an incredible move that Stefan Johansson put on Gerhard Berger at Adelaide in '85! Johansson's Ferrari also got a little squirrel-ly on the backend, too.

I don't share the 'merikan NASCAB point of view that the ONLY thing that matters is passing . . . but I'm becoming more sympathetic to the idea that something must be done to today's cars to:

1) reduce the degree to which they upset the airflow
2) reduce their dependance on that airflow

I'm all for technological advancement, but maybe its time that the FIA started restricting wind tunnels instead of engine development?

 

These are both good points.

Most of the technological proliferation that we have witnessed in the last few decades has centered around aerodynamics. It seems like every year we hear about a team building a second wind tunnel which, of course, is never cheap. And, if there are two things that are always changing from week to week in F1 (aside from tyres), it's aerodynamics which, subsequently, means large cash.

I mean, I'm all for innovation. After all, part of what makes F1 so great is the trickle down effect as much of the great technology that we have seen has made its way to the road. But let's be honest: of all the different innovations that Formula 1 has contributed for road use, F1 aerodynamics isn't on the top of the list. I really hope Bernie, Max and the boys can make some firm decisions regarding the rules for aerodynamics.

 

Interesting race - a few surprises - guess Renault's mass damping system was rather critical to their performance eh?

 

The Renault result will make it much harder for them to argue that it wasn't illegal ...

 

Sorry, but I don't understand how it could be illegal. First off, it is totally away from any airflow and by everything I've read, it is much more of a mechanical device. Also, I still don't understand how any team can run something by the FIA, the FIA approves it and then 11 races into the season (not to mention the R25 used it last year) the FIA declares it illegal.

The R26 suspension was designed with it as an integral part of it and now to have to remove it (during the testing ban no less) totally changes the characteristics of the car and puts Renault at a disadvantage.

Hopefully the appeal will be heard soon...should be interesting especially as the FIA's own stewards don't agree with Charlie Whiting.

Oh, and I understand I'm more than a bit biased about this, but it doesn't make sense to me.

 

Kim,
I don't know the details and I make no judgement about legality - but with F1 the way it is, the worse performance with it removed will be ammunition for the anti brigade ... when has logic meant anything in F1 rulings?

 

let me just say, i'm a mclaren fan and i probably don't know enough about this subject to really be posting but i agree with renaultf1.

also, i don't see why (or how) if a car like the renault has significantly different results without a certain part/system (like the mass damper) that that difference is enough to declare it illegal? i guess, by that logic, since the ferrari's (for example) are finally performing well now that the bridgestones are doing so well, the FIA should deem the tyres illegal?

 

Maybe I missed something but I thought Renault wasn't the only team with "mass dampeners" fitted to their cars before Hockenheim. It was my understanding that Ferrari and RedBull racing had a similar system and several other teams have experimented with the system earlier in this season and late last season. When the FIA made the statement that the system was not legal, every team who had such a system took theirs off prior to arriving at Hockeheim...except for Renault who brought one car (their third car) with the dampener system still on. When the stewards asked Renault why they didn't take the dampeners off, they replied that the FIA didn't make an official ruling yet and because of that, brought the system anyway.

Renault just gambled on runnning the system at Hockenheim and lost. That's why it's turned into such a big deal. The other teams with such a system obeyed the ruling and opted to take their's off. I think Renault had bigger issues in Germany than mass dampeners.

 

That is not correct...Renault went to the stewards (at Hockenheim), presented their data and the stewards said Renault were fine to run with the system because there was no aero advantage gained by using it...hence the FIA technical deligate is now appealing the FIA stewards decision...and Renault are awaiting the results of the appeal. Renault decided not to run the system (until the appeal is heard) even though the t-car was set up with it because they didn't want to risk having any points won with the system disallowed.

The other point on this is the system was approved by the FIA technical deligate in the first place in order for it to make it on the car back in 2005 and now 2006.

 

ain't that the truth! but one could always hope in this case

 

I stand corrected. An early article I read from F1-Live posted shortly after this controversy started turned out to be nothing but pre-mature speculation. I've since read that Renault did infact present data to the FIA. My apologies.

That being said, it is a fact that other teams have used/experimented with mass dampeners. They don't use those dampening systems any longer and haven't suffered a subsequent performance drop which, as I stated earlier, leads me to believe Renault has bigger issues as McLaren and Honda didn't seem to have the same blistering issues that Renault was experiencing. Hmmmm...