May 19, 2008
Autosport.com is reporting that Fernando Alonso says he is aiming to spring a surprise at the Monaco Grand Prix, despite admitting that his Renault team are behind the top three squads.
The Spanish driver has won at the principality for the last two years, although this season his chances look a lot slimmer as Renault have been unable to match the pace of Ferrari, BMW or McLaren.
But Alonso reckons that Monte Carlo could be a performance equaliser and he is hoping to achieve a strong result.
“We have progressed, but we are still behind Ferrari, McLaren and BMW,” the Spaniard said. “Even though Monaco is a circuit where the driver can really make the difference, a good car will always be an advantage and makes things easier.
This will be an interesting race, especially with the loss of traction control this year, and should provide a lot of incidents. In addition, the problems that McLaren was having in the slow corners in Turkey doesn’t bode well for them in Monaco.
Posted in McLaren, Monaco Grand Prix, Renault 
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May 16, 2008
Grandprix.com is reporting that FIA President Max Mosley has sent a letter to the FIA club presidents around the world, going into details about why he has not resigned and why he must be allowed to stay on until the end of his mandate in October 2009. They have acquired a copy of this letter.
It makes explosive reading.
Mosley begins by saying that he has had letters from clubs representing 85 votes at the General Assembly (this is slightly less than half of the votes that will be cast) and says that 13 of them suggested that he should re 62 urged him to stay. He nonetheless accepts that his tenure of the office of FIA President needs to be examined by the General Assembly, but argues that he should be given the chance to finish the job he has started.
Indeed, he argues that it would be “irresponsible, even a breach of duty, to walk away from a number of negotiations currently under way, all of which are of fundamental importance to the FIA”.
Clink on the link above to see the complete report.
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May 15, 2008
Autosport.com is reporting that Nelson Piquet has been told he must improve his results as quickly as possible if he is to stave off question marks about his future in Formula One.
The Brazilian has had a difficult start to the 2008 campaign and, in particular, has struggled to make an impact in the past two races.
And after slumping to 17th in qualifying for the Turkish Grand Prix, Renault’s sporting director Steve Nielsen has said it is vital Piquet turns his season around - just as Heikki Kovalainen did last year.
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May 14, 2008
The Turkish Grand Prix was an excellent race, even if it was dominated by Massa. There were some great over taking moments by Hamilton, Kovalainen , Glock, Rosberg, etc.
Massa won the pole and led for most of the race, finishing first. Hamilton, on a three stop strategy, did pass him on the track, but Massa got the lead back when Hamilton had to pit. Hamilton was able to hold on to second place, even under pressure from Raikonnen, who finished third. The Ferrari was dominant for the whole weekend, and they could have had a 1-2 finish if Raikonnen had had a better qualifying attempt, and hadn’t hit Kovalainen in the first corner, damaging his front wing.
The start in Turkey is always the same, with a real benefit to being on the clean side of the track, as was proved when the first three on the clean side passed the first three on the dirty side.
Hamilton had a good race, but should have been on pole after qualifying with a light load of fuel. The problem McLaren had is that they couldn’t get the soft tyre to work at all, and couldn’t get the car to work in the last 1/3 of the track. Kovalainen had an excellent qualifying session, starting in 2nd place. This though, put him on the dirty side of the track, and then he was hit by Raikonnen in the first corner giving him a slow puncture. His race was effectively over at this time, but it was fun to watch him passing other drivers as he tried to move up the field and finally finished twelfth.
BMW had a good weekend with Kubica finishing fourth, and Heidfeld finishing fifth.
Renault once again showed that it has improved the car, with Alonso finishing sixth. A lot of the credit has to go to Alonso’s skills though, with Piquet finishing fifteenth.
Red Bull had a very good weekend with both drivers making the top ten after qualifying. Mark Weber finished seventh and Coulthard finished ninth. In addition, David Coulthard managed to finish a race without hitting anyone else.
Rosberg finished eighth with his teammate Nakajima being taken out in the first corner by a stupid move by Fisichella. I don’t know what he was thinking when he drove over the top of Nakajima, and we can only be thankful that the accident wasn’t much worse.
Toyota did not have a good weekend with poor qualifying attempts, and Trulli finishing tenth and Glock finishing thirteenth.
Honda also had a poor weekend, with a car that was significantly slower than any of the other cars in the speed trap. Button finished eleventh and Barrichello finishing fourteenth in his 257th race, setting a new record for longevity in Formula 1.
Force India did not have a good weekend, and with Fisichella’s stupid move, it didn’t help. Sutil finished sixteenth.
Finally Sebastian Vettel was classified seventeenth, which really was a good race for him as he wasn’t taken out in the first corner. Bourdais was out with a mechanical problem on the 25th lap.
Now we move on to Monaco.
World Championship standings, round 5:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. Raikkonen 35 1. Ferrari 63
2. Hamilton 28 2. BMW Sauber 44
3. Massa 28 3. McLaren-Mercedes 42
4. Kubica 24 4. Williams-Toyota 13
5. Heidfeld 20 5. Red Bull-Renault 10
6. Kovalainen 14 6. Renault 9
7. Webber 10 7. Toyota 9
8. Alonso 9 8. Honda 3
9. Trulli 9 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2
10. Rosberg 8
11. Nakajima 5
12. Button 3
13. Bourdais 2
Posted in Turkish Grand Prix No Comments »
May 14, 2008
As reported at Autosport.com, Honda Racing CEO Nick Fry has hit back at claims he went out of his way to ensure Super Aguri did not continue in Formula One.
Fry spoke out in public ahead of crunch meetings between Aguri Suzuki and the Honda board in Japan, saying he was skeptical about the success of a proposed rescue-bid by the Weigl Group.
He was also at the center of claims that Super Aguri’s trucks were barred from entering the paddock at Istanbul last weekend after he told Bernie Ecclestone the team would not be racing in Turkey.
Fry’s influence in the situation did not impress Suzuki, who criticized him in a farewell press conference in Tokyo last week.
Let’s be realistic about this. The Honda works team (run by Fry) no longer wanted to take the chance that they would be shown up by the Honda second team (Super Aguri). Why spend your own money to embarass yourself.
This is a real shame. Super Aguri did wonders with very little money. They were screwed by their main sponser (SS United) who reportedly did not pay the agreed sponsorship money. Formula 1 cannot afford to lose more teams.
Posted in Honda, Super Aguri No Comments »
May 14, 2008
Autosport.com is reporting that Formula One is aiming to establish a 110 million Euro budget cap by the 2011 season, this week’s Autosport magazine reveals.
A budget cap is set to be introduced in the sport from the start of 2009, and FIA consultant Tony Purnell has written to all Formula One teams with the figures the governing body would like to be set as a starting point for future discussions.
The figures proposed are 175 million Euro for 2009, 140 million by 2010, and 110 million a year later.
The cap would not cover expenditure on engines, KERS systems, marketing costs or driver and team principal salaries.
The figures, however, have received mixed reactions from some team bosses.
This is an approach that will not work in Formula 1, and shouldn’t.
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May 6, 2008
As reported at a number of outlets, Scuderia Toro Rosso are to stick with their old car for at least one more race, with a lack of spare parts forcing them to abandon plans to introduce their new STR3 at this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix.
The Faenza-based outfit had been scheduled to run their definitive 2008 contender at Istanbul for the first time, having used a modified version of last year’s STR2 in the first few races of the season.
Posted in Toro Rosso No Comments »
May 6, 2008
Autosport.com is reporting that Super Aguri have withdrawn from the Formula One world championship with immediate effect.
After weeks of speculation about their future following the collapse of a proposed takeover by the Magma Group, a last-minute rescue package by German automotive company Weigl Group was not good enough to keep them racing.
Team principal Aguri Suzuki is understood to have met with the Honda board in Japan on Tuesday, but the outcome of that meeting was that the team will no longer be racing.
This is very disappointing news.
Posted in Super Aguri No Comments »
April 30, 2008
As reported in an earlier posting, Aguri was to meet with Senior Honda people today. Autosport.com is reporting that Super Aguri will have to wait until next week to find out if they can continue in Formula One, with no decision on their future made in a meeting between team boss Aguri Suzuki and Honda chiefs in Japan today.
The Leafield-based outfit have been fighting for survival since a proposed deal with the Magma Group fell through shortly after the Bahrain Grand Prix.
With their participation in last weekend’s race in Spain only possible due to Honda agreeing at the last-minute to bankroll them for the event, the outfit have been searching to find a fresh investment deal so they continue in the sport.
Posted in Super Aguri No Comments »
April 30, 2008
The Renault appeared much quicker at this weekends Spanish Grand Prix, even when taking into account the lighter fuel load. Autosport.com is reporting that Renault’s director of engineering Pat Symonds says the French squad have gained three tenths of a second on the leading team following the introduction of several new components ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
Renault have endured a difficult start to the season, but a big upgrade introduced in Barcelona seemed to get them closer to Ferrari, McLaren and BMW.
Fernando Alonso qualified on the front row for the first time this year and was fighting near the front before an engine failure put him out of the race.
Symonds reckons his team took a significant step forward, although the Briton admits the gap to Ferrari is still big.
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