Now if you're an F1 nutter you would know that Prodrive's application to race in F1 next season was accepted out of a few but then (yes a then), THEN Williams (who is not so happy about Prodrive using a full fledged 'customer car,' engine and chassis built by McLaren) did a I-may-use-another's-engine-but-I-ain't-happy legal challenge. Of course this matter could and would have been taken care of early on but no, it was dragged on and on.
Weeks later, we finally got a clarification, when it is clear that they will not be able to place a car on the 08's grids that is. Note that the current Concorde Agreement currently basically says no to the use of the same cars manufactured by a fellow just a few garages down from you in the pit lane at the same year... So basically DR's team would race, in 09 if they're lucky. Which brings the question, would they get fined? I remember a while ago Toyota dropping out and getting fined (well who cares, their pockets are deep). But one can argue on the virtue of Max's promise that Prodrive would be allowed to race even though on customer cars... Which will it be?
-Barney On the Attack! Beware of the Purple Gloop! No Wait, it's Just Bernie On the British GPs...-
Part 1
First he slammed Silverstone (on time might I add for his monthly rants on circuits...) saying "Britain is supposed to be the heart of Formula One racing and our circuit is bottom of the list. With a tiny percentage of what the government are wasting on the Olympics, they could support Silverstone. They know exactly what they have to do. They've known for at least five years. It's not for us to say where the money comes from but it's strange because most of the events we have now are supported by governments." Firstly, why don't you kick Monaco out? It's useless, it's boring, it's absolutely a draaaaag to watch. Secondly, how bout YOU shell out some moolah from YOUR own £2,243 m pocket? It won't cost ya that much (like you said) and b'sides, you'd be getting extra money from that auction of your 50 very rare cars...
Part 2
After having his share of fun on Silverstone, he moved on to London. He said that a race in London would be a money spinner (true, a Piccadilly circus background and fast cars whooshing past by the river makes for a nice scene). Again he poked around at the you-are-focussing-too-much-on-the-olympics-when-you-can-spend-less-and-
gain-more-through-F1 stick. Come on Mr. E, be a bit more...giving (who am I kidding?)...
-The Drivers Market: Grumpy Gramps Wants That Macca Seat-
His really really bad days of Toyota logs ended by Brazil this year. Okay fine, good, thanks, bye! But now, he is without drive and without sizzle... Not to mention he thinks he's perfect for the coveted McLaren seat. Wait. McLaren never even contacted him... Nothing to speculate here folks, move along...
>>>Ferd the Blurb, Biding His Time<<<
*silence* Alright for the sake of filling the space, reports say that he is vacationing in Spain, location unknown while his manager starts to sound like he needs to be replaced by the Flav. Oh speaking of the Flav, he reportedly said Ferd will be back in his arms in two days time, the second time. 6 days have passed, nothing. Ferd wants one year to be free when Kimi's contract expires, Ghosn wants 3. You gotta get your money's worth...
Let's take the Tritter plot line from the TV show House, it bares a very good lesson... The longer you hold out, the sooner your chances go. This may be to someone in Alonso's camp a way to make it happen in Renault, the psych games... But they are a team that is capable of getting good drivers. It's only because of Flav that Renault hasn't lost interest in him. If Flav wasn't there, don't you agree that they would have said "adios" to Ferd by now? He's in no condition to bargain. If he loses Renault, he would have to take a mid fielder team, or worse, chase after that damn Spyker seat that seems to be so hot right now. Then his chances of getting into Ferrari goes from a teensy itsy bitsy chance to well you get the picture...
Two time champ or not, when you take too long, it annoys people, so they pull out. Patience may be a virtue but if you tug on it too much, well... When most of the field has been decided, doesn't that signal for you to start so? The longer he takes, the less room he gets...
DC also said the door to Red Bull for Alonso is closed. When DC speaks, it never hurts to tune in. BUT in his latest entry for his column in ITV F1, I only found myself making it as far as one fourth of the darn thing. It may be just because it was a Sunday, lazy day, or maybe something about it. Who knows...
Bottom line, Nico is the number one choice to replace Ferd at Macca. The thing is, Williams are not so willing to let him go. Reports claim that at 22 million quids, there might be a chance but Patrick said "No way!" and Sir F. Williams said "If I sold Rosberg, I'd sell the team." Keke ain't so happy about the idea of Nico to Macca either. This time around, daddy knows best...
-Slicks Gonna Go Grubbin' at Jerez Testing-
The last we saw of the slick rubber tyres was ten years ago. But they will be supplied by Bridgestone for the Jerez testing for data collection, keeping in mind that in 09, "bye bye grooves" is very likely... It's all about more stability and grip with these slicks. It was kicked out because, well you're already going fast on that V10 then. But now that we stepped back into V8s, hhm... Did I mention that there was a suggestion for tyre warmers to be banned? Crazy....
Bye Bye V10s: check
Spy Scandal: check
Engine freeze: check
Tyre Warmers Ban: ???
Yup that's right. The King came and showed us he still knows how to drive. The seven time champ won race one but lost out in race 2 when he found out he basically had no brakes finishing sixth but rounding a total of 35 points, enough to give him overall victory by two points from second place dude, Luciano Burti. Last year's winner, the event organizer himself Felipe Massa was still happy even though he came in fifth overall. After saying he (Schu) would happily return next year to defend his title, Massa offered and he immediately accepted.Race 1:
Pos Driver Time
1. Michael Schumacher 21:59.406
2. Nelsinho Piquet + 5.687
3. Luciano Burti + 5.737
4. Rubens Barrichello + 8.147
5. Lucas Di Grassi + 8.218
6. Marcos Gomes + 9.090
7. Felipe Massa + 16.328
8. Thiago Camilo + 16.548
9. Ricardo Zonta + 18.736
10. Tony Kanaan + 19.107
11. Enrique Bernoldi + 22.220
12. Vitor Meira + 22.616
13. Ricardo Mauricio + 29.499
14. Caca Bueno + 34.065
15. Popo Bueno + 34.252
16. Tarso Marques + 36.523
17. Roberto Pupo Moreno + 36.703
18. Xandinho Negrao + 1 lap
19. Gil de Ferran + 1 lap
20. Antonio Pizzonia + 10 laps
21. Felipe Giaffone + 10 laps
22. Rodrigo Sperafico + 12 laps
23. Alexandre Barros + 31 laps
Fastest lap: Rubens Barrichello, 40.681 seconds
Race 2:
Pos Driver Time
1. Lucas Di Grassi 22:12.328
2. Luciano Burti + 3.506
3. Felipe Massa + 4.579
4. Rubens Barrichello + 4.775
5. Marcos Gomes + 6.674
6. Michael Schumacher + 7.087
7. Felipe Giaffone + 7.273
8. Antonio Pizzonia + 11.157
9. Tony Kanaan + 16.198
10. Vitor Meira + 21.943
11. Enrique Bernoldi + 23.248
12. Rodrigo Sperafico + 24.042
13. Ricardo Zonta + 29.616
14. Roberto Pupo Moreno + 30.973
15. Luca Badoer + 31.273
16. Popo Bueno + 31.416
17. Nelsinho Piquet + 1 lap
18. Ricardo Mauricio + 1 lap
19. Tarso Marques + 1 lap
20. Thiago Camilo + 2 laps
21. Caca Bueno + 12 laps
22. Alexandre Barros + 13 laps
23. Gil de Ferran + 14 laps
24. Xandinho Negrao + 23 laps
Fastest lap: Michael Schumacher, 40.956 seconds
Final standings:
Pos Driver Points
1. Michael Schumacher 35
2. Luciano Burti 33
3. Lucas di Grassi 31
4. Rubens Barrichello 26
5. Felipe Massa 24
6. Marcos Gomes 21
7. Nelson Piquet 20
8. Tony Kanaan 13
9. Ricardo Zonta 12
9. Enrique Bernoldi 10
9. Vitor Meira 10
12. Felipe Giaffone 9
13. Thiago Camilo 8
13. Antonio Pizzonia 8
15. Ricardo Sperafico 4
16. Ricardo Maurício 3
17. Caca Bueno 2
17. Roberto Pupo Moreno 2
19. Popo Bueno 1
19. Luca Badoer 1
21. Tarso Marques 0
21. Xandinho Negrao 0
21. Gil de Ferran 0
21. Alexandre Barros 0
You'd Have To Buy My Team If You Want Nico, 22 million quids anyone (Ron)?
My Contemplation (I know it's never good, but hear me out folks)
So after seeing a glimmer bit of hope, at the back of my mind it says "The Kimster can do it" and
And now after the race, is it me or did someone hit a vocabulary guide across Kimi's face? Or is it the job of one hell of a pr guru (no I'm not talking about Matt Bishop)? Can you believe how much he's saying? I.e. "so happy it hurts", "in love with the Ferrari team", "want to feel this joy again one more time." To think when asked about the F2007, the unibrow and fiddle knows
With such a superior package this year, why didn't McLaren win? Well besides it having
The FIA. The Federal Institution (of) Asses. What a pendulum. Everyone loves 'em right? They are as fair as one can be. Of course that is as true as raw donkey $#!t being edible. Their decisions were unbiased, they punished fairly and got every damn details right. Now I'm tipping the line at sarcasm. The one thing the FIA is is a crappy load of brewed up $#!t. All the more and nothing less. Enough said don't you think?
Honda, Honda, Honda. You and your vegetable-car-green-and-blue-mashed-up-dough-livery junk. Heck you may not have gotten anything this year (except for engine busts up heated to the point where you can barbecue your t-bones on the most expensive grill) but walking home with the UNEP Green Awards is reward enough isn't it?
Now did I get to the part where the FIA allows a darn appeal to go through just to say that it's inadmissible, maybe from the fact that the appeal was submitted after 30 minutes from the posting of the race results? So McLaren might have lost the appeal by 30 minutes? Ouch! By the way, if I was Ron, I'd fire Ian Mill. The idiot brought in 2 duck eggs for McLaren while Nigel Tozzi is laughing to the bank from winning the case for Ferrari regarding the first spy scandal. Come to think of it, he can even out talk Max any day! Lawyers, pain in the a$$es, but ruthlessly efficient...
Wow, Hold Your Horses Boy!
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Okay let me get this straight, Lewis was dating beauty queen Cemre Mirel and ventured on crazy hhhm "adventures?" Is it me or does it sound a bit whack?
http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3213_2891038,00.html
Toyota Confirm Glock For 2008
Newly crowned GP2 champ, 25 year old Timo Glock who was the center of the tug of wars between BMW (as their now soon to be ex test driver) and Toyota (as their then potential 2008 driver) has finally got the green light from the CRB (Contract Recognition Board) to race for Toyota next year. Jogs your memory to when Jenson Button had overlapping double contracts a few years back ehh? This would be his return to F1 since he did compete in four grands prix for Jordan in 2004 and scored points on his debut in Canada. The deal is reported to be a multi-year deal. I wonder if he'd be any good next year in a hollow log on wheels...
-BMW's 3rd Fiddle Seat Up For Grabs!-
Now that BMW has an empty test driver seat, Dr Mario's (who's known for his eye to pick out drivers) out shopping for new drivers. As of right now they are eyeing British F3 champion Marko Asmer. But wait, they still have another possible candidate, Robert Doornbos. Yes, the dude who refers to himself as Bobby D! Thiessen said that there might be three guys out there on the scheduled shoot out at the up and coming testing at Jerez. Now, why in the world do you need to have a shoot out? I'm pretty sure you have seen their progress in there respective leagues and know what they are capable of. So what's with the need to have a darn shoot out? Just pick already!
-The Halted Driver's Market-
As of right now, we haven't heard a peep out of Fernando Alonso. Nothing! Nada! What? Is he spending time at home reflecting? And as for Heikki, he wants to stay with Renault, but is still without a seat next year. Do I hear McLaren picking up Heikki anyone?
*What a slow few days after the appeal it has been*
*Looking forward to the McLaren Appeal in December*
Dear McLaren: Where's Matt Bishop?
First if all, WHO THE IS MANAGING MCLAREN'S PR TEAM? It is a complete shipwreck, like the Titanic itself! First Martin Whitmarsh says they want clarification, fine, all you have to do is call up the FIA and ASK! But nooooo, you wanna ask with the help of your dear old lawyer Ian Mill and then bring it to court. No one on this earth brings a matter to court unless they want something in return and another's behind handed. Then after the revealing of NOT ALL fuels of the cars are checked at the end of a race rather just a random number of cars (mainly the podium finishers) and not the whole grid is another revelation!!! You just gave Nigel Tozzi a loop hole to argue on if Kimi loses his crown. Oh wait, my bad. And now McLaren fighting in a ring with merry go round facts... Fire the lawyer, hire a better one and put the Bish in effect is the way to go.
