F1 2007

[David Morton]

Flavio is the past master of the "short arms deep pocket syndrome".
Talk is cheap, and Flav is especially good at that as well. I firmly believe that Flav would definitely not pay what FA would ask for - simply because ING would not go there.
Now Big Ron has been accused and his team have been found out - and found guilty of cheating and, furthermore, has become accustomed to parting with vast sums of dosh, and especially now his 'boy' has nearly written his name on the big cup, the situation is a SNAFU. I really think Big Ron will stop FA from driving anywhere, at all costs. I really think the Woking Heavies (Big Ron and Bratty Norbert) don't give a diddly squat about F1 or sport or anything else unless it's writ large in a balance sheet.
It is definitely not a sport no matter which way you look at it.
I anticipate the CRB (Contracts Recognition Board) and the Swiss courts will be busy over Christmas.
Call me a cynic.................

 

[David Tickle]

Oh David, you are a cynic!

I still think there are issues with this emailing business.

1). I have sent emails that have not been received and I have had no returned failure messages from the system. ie I don't know they have not been received. Emails are not 100% reliable.
2). Seemingly, the email from the stewards was sent over an hour before the start. What would happen if the sun came out, would all the teams still have to start on full wets?
3). Since when have the stewards the power to dictate tyre choice to the teams? Surely it is a matter for the drivers/team managers.
4). Were Ferrari on the original "Sent to" list of the email? ie was it a cock up on the stewards part by not sending the email to Ferrari in the first place, or did Ferrari just not receive it in time. Apparently they said they did receive it, but not till after the race had started.
5). It still seems very strange to me that when everyone is so close, email has to be used. Emails rely on umpteen server/routers located all over the world. There can be all sorts of delays.
6). How did the stewards know that Ferrari were not on full wets once the race had started? You cannot look at the speeding car and see the tyre detail. The only way of checking I can think of is to examine all the teams tyre stock and work out which tyre they must now be using. But, this would take more than a few minutes. Do they have a steward stationed by each car as the mechanics take the tyre warmers off one minute before the start?
7). Was the stewards instruction to the Ferrari team to stop the cars for a change of tyre also sent by email? Or did an actual person go to the team to tell them????????
8). As Ferrari claim not to have received the original email, why didn't they tell the stewards (to use the latest F1 jargon) to "F**k Off"? Maybe not a good idea, as I think the stewards have more or less ultimate power at a race meeting, but they could have had a good arguement for a few minutes!!

All very strange to me.

Regards

Dave

 

[Keith]

How did the Stewards knew about the Ferrari tyres? That's simple Dave - McLaren "grassed" them mate (or whoever was near them on the grid or hates them enough - let's see, how many teams are there in the pit lane?).

No doubt....

One thing is for sure - it was a total disaster for the Japanese teams.....

Why is their performance so poor, after all, they were big winners as engine suppliers. Apart from the increasingly comedic Ralph, is it down to personnel?

PS One person I'm never going to a Casino with - Jenson Button.

 

[David Morton]

Well, it's been sorted. There will be an exchange of pigeons prior to the race expressing the wish of the FIA and each team will send a pigeon back to the FIA
with a signature that says the first pigeon and it's message has been received.
Until Charlie Whiting has his 11 pigeons back in his garage, the race will not start.
Actually, there are stewards of the meeting at just about every abeam car grid position prior to the start.
As for the emails,Ferrari probably ignored their 'inbox' until they realized they'd been f---ked over.

 

[David Morton]

From F1sa

FIA on Sunday promised to improve its method for advising teams of important rule changes.
Ferrari claimed after the Japanese grand prix that it was the only team that did not use extreme wet tyres for the start of the Japanese grand prix because it did not receive an email from the stewards.
The FIA said "all competitors" with the exception of Ferrari received the email at 12:37pm -- more than an hour before the race started.
"To avoid any recurrence of today's problem the agreed method of using electronic communications will continue to be used but in future will be backed up by the traditional method of written communication," F1's governing body said in a statement.

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

David T a couple of good points, what if the sun did come out? I assume the teams would all have changed to inters...
I agree with you, what right does the FIA have to tell a team which tires they must start on? I assume it is written in their rule book somewhere, but like the vast majority of their rules it is bollocks.

I was reading my latest Auto Sport late last night and someone, I can't remember who, wrote that a good way to spice up F1 would be to allocate points for the number of cars one past in a race. (On the track not the pit lane.) And the fastest in qualifying gets to choose which grid position they want.
The theory being, the fastest guys would choose grid positions towards the back to enable them to gain points for passing and the slower drivers would choose positions up front in an attempt to gain a place.
It won't happen, but it sure would make the racing interesting.

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

From F1.com,

ANOTHER BUN FIGHT?:lurker:



For most of the season the Formula 1 lawyers has been waiting for a Concorde Agreement dispute to be settled over the question of what constitutes "a constructor". This is clearly defined in the 1997-2007 agreement and Spyker F1 is arguing that neither Scuderia Toro Rosso nor Super Aguri F1 are true constructors and thus should not get the benefits and indeed results that they have claimed this year.
If Spyker wins the case both of its rivals will have to be thrown out of the Constructors’ rankings, which would move Spyker up to eighth position. Under the current Concorde Agreement that would be worth around $1m. This is probably what it will cost to pay for the arbitration.
When signatories to the Concorde Agreement disagree with one another, there is a process of arbitration, governed by Article 17.3 of the agreement which states that all disputes arising shall be "finally settled under the Rules of Conciliation and Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce" in Lausanne, Switzerland. This involves the case being heard by a panel of three arbitrators who listen to the arguments put forward by both parties and then issue a ruling.
The arbitration panel will meet to consider the case on Tuesday, October 9, giving the teams time to get back to Europe from Shanghai. If the court rules against Toro Rosso and Super Aguri F1 there is likely to be trouble in Brazil as there will no doubt be arguments that neither team should be allowed to race. There is also the question of points won this year as Super Aguri has picked up four points and Toro Rosso and Spyker are fighting over the point for eighth place in Japan.
This seemingly obscure issue could have an effect on the World Championship as the removal of points gained by Takuma Sato and the necessary reissuing of points for those who finished behind him, could mean that the fight for the title will be altered as Fernando Alonso finished seventh in Montreal and would move up one place and gain an extra point. This would mean he is 11 points behind Lewis Hamilton rather than 12. The others who would benefit are Giancarlo Fisichella, who would gain a point along with Mark Webber and Ralf Schumacher. In the Constructors' title it is less relevant as McLaren cannot score points. It would mean that Renault would get one more point, although there is no competition for third place in the Constructors' title. The points gained by Webber and Schumacher mean little as they would in effect cancel one another out as both teams would make the same gain.
The decision is also important for the longer term as there is no new Concorde Agreement at the moment - and after a year of negotiation it is not likely that there will be one in the next few days. The teams have decided that the best way forward is to roll on the existing agreement into 2008, (rather than trying to run the sport without a Concorde Agreement) and that means that the definition of a constructor would still be in place and Prodrive should not be allowed to enter the World Championship with a McLaren chassis.
It would also make like very difficult for Toro Rosso and Super Aguri as they would have to try to find some way build a car for next year without using their current equipment and suppliers. In theory both teams could go back to old chassis that they have but these are not going to be very competitive.
The ruling should therefore help to move the Concorde Agreement negotiations forward so that a deal can be done before December 31 when the current agreement runs out.

 

[David Morton]

Ferrari's Montezemolo mouthing off. He's probably right though.

From F1sa.
Luca di Montezemolo has continued to fume at the outcome of the espionage saga involving Ferrari's runaway championship rival McLaren.
After Lewis Hamilton's win at Fuji Speedway last Sunday, and in the light of the tyre rule email controversy, the Ferrari president has amplified the view that the FIA was wrong not to totally exclude the British team.
"I still think it was a serious error to not also disqualify the drivers," the Italian is quoted as saying by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"All I want to say is that if Hamilton wins the world championship, he will have won it thanks to Ferrari, because within his car there is plenty of our team."
Montezemolo was also critical of the FIA's allegedly "unprofessional" behaviour in not properly informing Ferrari of a pre-race tyre rule change, but speculation says he is even angrier with team boss Jean Todt.
The media, for example - like the ten other teams - also knew well in advance of the Japanese grand prix that teams must start the race with extreme wet tyres fitted.
Gazzetta said on Monday morning that Ferrari "drowned" in Japan. "This time an email betrayed Ferrari".
The newspaper L'Unita added that "Ferrari did everything wrong".
Montezemolo said: "I have not spoken about it much with Jean Todt. The tyre choice was not the right one but it was taken on the basis of not knowing the decision of the FIA.
"I have total confidence in the men who in that moment took their decisions."
Amid speculation that Todt is being pushed out of Ferrari by Montezemolo and the prospect of Ross Brawn's return from sabbatical, Todt suggested in Japan that he has no plans to retire in the next five years.
But he added: "There is no official decision about my future and when the proper time arrives, which can be sooner or later, then we will announce it."

 

[Keith]

Ferrari's Montezemolo mouthing off. He's probably right though.

Amid speculation that Todt is being pushed out of Ferrari by Montezemolo and the prospect of Ross Brawn's return from sabbatical, Todt suggested in Japan that he has no plans to retire in the next five years.
But he added: "There is no official decision about my future and when the proper time arrives, which can be sooner or later, then we will announce it."

So that's it then - in F1speak, Napoleon is gone...

Quel dommage.....

 

[Pat Buckley]

Interesting.

From what I have read there also seems to be some animosity between Todt and Alonzo.....and if that means there is a personality clash between them that will preclude Alonzo moving to Ferrari next year then it very well could be that the little nail biter will be histoire.....making space for Ross is icing on the cake.

 

[David Morton]

What ever Monte Z wants, Monte Z gets. Napoleon will be sent into exile (again) and
Kimi will get the hump because he'll have to leave the Scuderia in 08 to make room for the deigo to be Numero Uno but only after FA has made his garden look good in 07.
Ralf's latest funny is that he should go to Big Rons team, the Big macs to replace FA.
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

[Keith]

After his performance in Fuji, he'd be lucky to get a job as a pizza delivery boy...what a waste of space...

 

[John Lowe]

I wonder what Massa must be thinking having ridden shotgun for the red barron if FA gets the numero uno treatment and he is back as part of the supporting cast?

 

[Pat Buckley]

Schumacher-the-lesser will probably end up driving for McClaren as they are one of the few teams who can afford to pay him what he feels he is worth.




NOT!

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

Whoa Pat, I was about to give you a serve until I saw the NOT!:lol:

Uncle Ron is not that silly RS, will be in Champ cars or similar next year.
One scenario that has appeal is Jenson and Lewis with Mclaren. Two Brits fighting for the Championship in one of the best cars, good for publicity and the Sponsors and the $$$$$.

Interesting that MonteZ is blaming the missing email for not having the correct tire on. It was pissing cats and dogs and Todt made the totally wrong choice.
I. When he ignored the email.

And 2. When he didn't look out the window.

 

[Pat Buckley]

Agreed.

One would have thought that the drivers would have some input to this as well.....It seems to me that Massa spun more than once on the parade lap. (or ran off the track at least)

Hello...?

 

[David Morton]

Hamiltons win in Japan is under investigation. Webber has complained that Hamiltons driving behind the safety car was erratic and caused the accident in which Vettel hit the rear of Webbers car. It could be that Hamilton was found to be in error and points redistributed.
Now I am totally cynical.

This was broadcast in the media in the UK from midday today and IMHO has to be total bullshit OR more manipulation of the championship to keep the interest going until Brazil.
I wonder what the ticket sales are like for Interlagos now that Massa can't win and the old, back marker 'has been' Barichello is a no hoper.
Soon they probably won't be able to give them away.

 

[CraigB]

And of course Mark Webber driving with food poisoning and a vomit filled helmet must surely have been at the top of his game!!!

If the Stewards and Marshals decided after a 7 hour meeting in Fuji not to penalise Hamilton how the hell are stewards in a different country going to come to a more "enlightened" decision.

 

[David Tickle]

Very odd. How come it takes 4 days to invent this one?

As Hamilton knew that his main rival Alonso was out, I'm sure his main thoughts would be to finish the race with good points (if not the win) and maximise his advantage. Why on earth would he start playing silly buggers with braking tricks on the other drivers. It wouldn't have helped his points situation if someone had run into him.

Regards
Dave

 

[Frank Catt]

How much did Ferrari pay Webber ------ ?