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2009 Formula One Thread

MOFS said:
Good to see you had fun.:) I found it a bit disappointing watching on the TV that the commentators were going on about how great a circuit was, and yet IMHO it was probably the dullest race of the season – no doubt RBR were on form, but it wasn't possible to overtake (as Button said). IMHO the "allure" of Silverstone is based on the fans, and I think the fans would be similar at Donnington; but with some Tilke-style upgrades to the circuit, and improvements to the grandstands Donnington could be a phenomenal circuit to race at. Let's give it a chance.
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The allure of Silverstone is that the drivers love it. The first half of the track is so fast and it takes a whole load of balls to keep committed through it. It's the only track like it.

However, Donnington is also a great track and the modifications don't look TOO bad (for Tilke). The thing about British tracks is that they're almost always great for drivers and not as good for spectators.

Adrian, Christian and Mark look like they had a heavy night.
 
I will be very disappointed if FOTA go back on their word. Flavio has said the point of no return on negotiations has been passed. FIA/FOM had their chance and blew it. I hope that's true.

Then of course FIA withdrew their law suit saying legal proceedings are too rash and there should be a sitdown to work through the final few small issues. :rolleyes:

Meanwhile, when you have statements like this how can you negotiate?!

"I would hate to see any kind of takeover happen because it would be badly managed. They can't even run their own teams. They can't agree on anything. If the teams owned it they would destroy it," Ecclestone added.

He also scoffed at the leaked FOTA calendar, wondering how the body can compete with the structure operated by his businesses.

"We organise the venues which don't cost the teams a penny," said Ecclestone. "I reckon Ferrari and McLaren need us more than we need them.

"All they have to do is pitch up at a track with their sponsors' names all over their cars in exchange for millions of quid and race in front of a worldwide television audience - which I have set up and keep going.

"The bottom line is they can't afford to set up a rival championship," he added.
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Meanwhile, I haven't been following F1 that long, but I can't help but feel that old fans are excited at the though of old tracks coming back.
Former F1 venues including Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Jerez, Imola, Montreal, Indianapolis, Silverstone, Magny Cours and Adelaide were listed on the theoretical calendar...
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No space left in the cabinet
 

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Heh!
They're not far down the road in MK from where I work. Would love to work in their IT department :)
 
F1 resolution found, says Mosley

An agreement has been reached between Formula 1's governing body and the teams to prevent a breakaway series, says FIA president Max Mosley.

The two parties had been engulfed in a bitter row over planned budgetary and technical changes for the new season.

But it appears a resolution has not been found, with Mosley agreeing not to stand for re-election as part of the deal "now there is peace," he said.

More to follow.
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BBC.
 
Way to right a story when there's no story!
"There's a resolution been found!"
"No there hasn't!"

I expected Mosley would have to quit to keep FOTA happy, so we'll see what happens next
Edit: Just seen it was a typo on the BBC's part, as it now says:
The two parties had been engulfed in a bitter row over planned budgetary and technical changes for the new season.

But it appears a resolution has now been found and, as part of the deal, Mosley has agreed not to stand for re-election as president.
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On Autosport as well now.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76495

Was anyone really expecting anything else though? The teams could start a new series, but it's not worth the hassle. It would have been a lot worse for the FIA to let them leave.

I think it was probably Mosley's undoing to do this 'democratically' as it would likely have proved he was the only person in the FIA that would let the teams leave.
 
SpookTheHamster said:
Was anyone really expecting anything else though?
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I wasn't. One series was the ONLY realistic option. Everyone knew it. The Autosport forums have thread after thread on how the new series would work, where it would race, etc etc....yet, as far as I could see, the whole thing was quite obviously just ego bashing between management.
 
djellison said:
I wasn't. One series was the ONLY realistic option. Everyone knew it. The Autosport forums have thread after thread on how the new series would work, where it would race, etc etc....yet, as far as I could see, the whole thing was quite obviously just ego bashing between management.
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Exactly. In this current climate, with sponsors fleeing the sport (ING. RBoS) and a lack of credible broadcasters, the status quo has been maintained. Tho' of course, with both sides claiming they've won.:p

EDIT: With Max leaving, who do people think will be the next president? Jean Todt is the early frontrunner, but I'm wondering whether a more "neutral" person might put his (or her) name forward. Nikki Lauda? Gerhard Berger? Prost? Damon Hill? Struggling to think of the kind of person who might be interested in the job.
 
I know many here don't share this opinion, but I was looking forward to this new series. It seems like it was looking to capture a lot of what made F1 F1, but now they've surcumb to pressure. If it was all about Max - who was leaving anyway - why did everything reach the point it did? On top of that this makes any future threats - who knows how long Bernnie will be around - a lot less credible.
 
Superman07 said:
I know many here don't share this opinion, but I was looking forward to this new series. It seems like it was looking to capture a lot of what made F1 F1, but now they've surcumb to pressure. If it was all about Max - who was leaving anyway - why did everything reach the point it did? On top of that this makes any future threats - who knows how long Bernnie will be around - a lot less credible.
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I'm just intrigued as to what interested you in a new series? For me, the only interest was the teams.
 
Same here, I would follow the manufacturers. Maybe (and thats a huge maybe) I can buy a Ferrari or McLaren, I sure can't buy a Force India car (and who would want to?). At least I can buy these cars in Forza or Gran Tourismo;) (or see them driving through town while drooling over the car and the smoking hot blonde in the passenger seat)

I would love to see the sport go into a direction where more technical freedoms are allowed. I loved the fan cars, and the 6 wheeled ones. Personally change the rules dramatically every year, throw a wrench into everyone's machine:D I like to see teams interpret rules dramatically different.
 
rezenclowd3 said:
Personally change the rules dramatically every year, throw a wrench into everyone's machine:D I like to see teams interpret rules dramatically different.
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Constant rule changes are terrible, they're one of the main reasons the teams wanted to split. Besides, there are already some considerably different interpretations between the cars, you just have to look harder.
 
SpookTheHamster said:
Constant rule changes are terrible, they're one of the main reasons the teams wanted to split. Besides, there are already some considerably different interpretations between the cars, you just have to look harder.
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Certainly a balance is needed. There needs to be a great enough variety between teams for there to be a difference between them. On the other hand, new rules cost more money to implement for the teams and can cause confusion if poorly implemented. One of the things I'd like to see is once again an attempt to reduce the effect cars have on those following them. Button struggled to get near Nico despite being a second quicker than him. Circuits also need to be improved. If Indianapolis is to return, for example, they need to sort out the non-oval section. Teams have set up their cars in the past to be quick on the oval so you can't overtake at the one place you could (the end of the straight). It'll be interesting to see Donnington next year.
 
SpookTheHamster said:
Constant rule changes are terrible, they're one of the main reasons the teams wanted to split. Besides, there are already some considerably different interpretations between the cars, you just have to look harder.
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Although ironically enough, the rule changes are the reason for the vaguely interesting (upside down) season we are having now with Jenson Button and Brawn dominating the early part, Red Bull coming back at them of late and McLaren and Ferrari both struggling (by their standards) in the midfield.
 
Vogue Harper said:
Although ironically enough, the rule changes are the reason for the vaguely interesting (upside down) season we are having now with Jenson Button and Brawn dominating the early part, Red Bull coming back at them of late and McLaren and Ferrari both struggling (by their standards) in the midfield.
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it would have been very interesting if brawn wasn't so dominant. the other have been catching up (and some already have, like red bull),but it's too late to make the championship interesting. it would take a vertical collapse for button to lose, and i don't see that happening with brawn in charge.

i think this solution is good for the fans. i would have liked them to go through, mainly to get rid of bernie and CVC and get back some tracks I like, but there are always some risks associated with such a major enterprise.

Someone mentioned it's better that there is a single championship. true, but if fota went ahead there would have been a single championship, theirs. a FIA/F1 championship with only williams wouldn't have generated enough resources to stay afloat for even one year, and i actually think they wouldn't even have started. FIA knew that, which is the reason they completely gave in to fota.

finally, the teams now have a lot more power and are a lot more credible in their (possible future) threats, because they showed that they could pull it off and now its obvious who the fans would follow
 
wow this made it into my daily newspaper.

Jebus Christ, an American newspaper with f1 in the sports section and its not only race results, wow.:D
 
benlangdon said:
wow this made it into my daily newspaper.

Jebus Christ, an American newspaper with f1 in the sports section and its not only race results, wow.:D
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Wow, which one?! I specifically check the paper over the weekend (Washington Post) and it didn't mention even a blurb about the FOTA split.
 
Don't panic said:
it would have been very interesting if brawn wasn't so dominant. the other have been catching up (and some already have, like red bull),but it's too late to make the championship interesting. it would take a vertical collapse for button to lose, and i don't see that happening with brawn in charge.

Someone mentioned it's better that there is a single championship. true, but if fota went ahead there would have been a single championship, theirs. a FIA/F1 championship with only williams wouldn't have generated enough resources to stay afloat for even one year, and i actually think they wouldn't even have started. FIA knew that, which is the reason they completely gave in to fota.
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But at least it is Brawn and Button winning with RBR challenging rather than another season of McLaren/Ferrari domination. I am a big Button fan, I like his style and professionalism and I do hope he wins the championship which will validate the way he has approached the sport over the last nine years.

The FIA Championship would in theory have been Williams, Force India, Manor F1, Campos Meta and Team USA. Although quite how any of these teams would have fielded cars when their engine suppliers were away running in the FOTA championship would have been intriguing.
 
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