My Formula 1 Blog » BMW

Who is going to be third?

F1fan — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:04:36 +0000

A number of teams think they are going to be third in the constructors championship this year. Jarno Trulli says that Toyota can be fighting for third, Mario Theissen believes his team have broken free of the midfield pack and will maintain their position as third best behind McLaren and Ferrari, and Sam Michael at Williams believes that his team can be fighting for podiums.

My money is on BMW, and Wiliams beating the Toyota (even though they have the same engines).

2008 Standings (My Picks)

F1fan — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:28:37 +0000

It has been an interesting pre-season this year with a number of teams talking up their chances. Williams has contunially been talking about how good their car is this season with Sam Michaels, Patrick Head, and even Frank Williams talking about their chances. Given they have a very good driver in Nico Rosberg, maybe things will be better this year. I hope so.

Jarno Trulli has also been talking about how good the Toyota TF108 is this year. Given their budget, and the mandates coming from Japan, they need to do better. David Coulthard has also been discussing how good his Red Bull car is this year.

Given these discussions, here are my picks for 2008.

Drivers Championship

Lewis Hamilton
Kimi Raikkonen
Felipe Massa
Heikki Kovalainen
Nico Rosberg

Constructors Championship

McLaren
Ferrari
Williams
BMW Sauber
Renault

BMW unveil the new F1.08 in Munich

F1fan — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:12:11 +0000

Autosport.com (among others) is reporting that BMW has unveiled their 2008 car.

The new F1.08, with which the German outfit hope to take a step forward from last season, is BMW’s third Formula One car since the manufacturer took over the Sauber squad in 2005.

The car, which will do a few laps at 2pm on a special track at the BMW Welt, incorporates a low triple-plane front wing, X-wings behind the cockpit and wheel covers in the front and rear.

McLaren Brazil appeal deemed inadmissible

F1fan — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:41:46 +0000

As reported at Formula1.com, the McLaren appeal has been rejected. The reason given is not that they were wrong, only that they were not allowed to appeal. Therefore, Williams and BMW get to break the rules with no retribution, and Ferrari get another world championship handed to them by the FIA. Grandprix.com has a good line on this story. Formula 1 is getting to be a joke because of the FIA’s mis-management and favouritism. Williams and BMW’s should have been disqualified from the Brazilian GP because they broke the rules on fuel temperature and gained an advantage from the breach. Hamilton should not have been moved up, and therefore Kimi would have retained the drivers championship. Instead, the FIA said it was a non-event. Ridiculous.

Schumacher quickest in testing return

F1fan — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:29:06 +0000

As reported in Autosport.com, seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher made an impressive return to Formula One action by topping the times on the first day of testing at the Barcelona circuit.The German driver, who had not driven a Grand Prix car in anger since he retired from the sport a year ago, posted a best time of 1:21:922 in Ferrari’s F2007 to edge the Italian squad’s test driver Luca Badoer by over a two tenths of a second after 64 laps.

Alonso lining up for Renault return

F1fan — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 22:29:23 +0000

As reported at ManipeF1.com, Fernando Alonso and Renault are close to reuniting ahead of the 2008 formula one season. Although Alonso wanted a single season contract, and Renault wanted a 2-3 year contract, they are apparently close to agreement. It will be a multi year agreement with an out clause based on performance (or lack thereof). Therefore, in the event that Renault endures another uncompetitive season in 2008, Alonso can still defect to Ferrari or BMW in 2009. Britain’s The Guardian, meanwhile, reports on Wednesday that “if Alonso signs [for Renault] he will be partnered by Nelson Piquet Jr”, with Heikki Kovalainen “the most likely candidate” to fill Alonso’s seat at McLaren. The newspaper said 34-year-old Italian veteran “Giancarlo Fisichella has been told there is no place for him next year”.