Formula 1 season 2010

[Dougal Maguire]

Hamilton's behaviour  is a far cry from that of the great Stirling Moss who showed remarkable sportsmanship in the 1958 Grand Prix of Portugal. During the race Mike Hawthorn spun his car but was able to continue and eventually finished second. Which when added to his fastest lap gave him 7 points to Moss' 8 for the win. Hawthorn though, was accused by the officials of breaking the rules by restarting in the opposite direction. Moss who witnessed the incident came to his rival's defence and a relieved Hawthorn was able to keep his 7 points. As a result, Hawthorn became the first British world champion beating Moss by one point.

Some time later someone said to Moss, ' Why did you tell?  No one would have ever known and you'd have won the World Championship" 

Moss replied, ' But I would have known.'

[gerry]

the list gets longer

F1: Ron Dennis set to quit McLaren to save Lewis Hamilton

   
   

By Byron Young in Shanghai 16/04/2009


Ron Dennis looks set to quit Formula 1 today to save Lewis Hamilton's career.

The move by the 61-year-old head of the McLaren empire comes in the wake of the Liargate scandal with the team facing draconian action including a ban or massive fine at the hands of the sport's governing body.

Although Dennis officially handed over command of the F1 team to Martin Whitmarsh on March 1 he was on the pit wall in Melbourne when the saga began.

Until now he has said that he would be involved in the F1 operation but have a greater focus on other activities within the group.

In the wake of Liargate the FIA has said it will investigate his role in the events which led up to sacked sporting director Dave Ryan and Lewis Hamilton lying to stewards.

The world champion and Ryan lied not once but twice to stewards at hearings in Melbourne and Sepang.

And it was only after the intervention of Whitmarsh and Hamilton's father Anthony that Ryan was suspended and then dismissed.

[gerry]

more rain today

[gerry]

Chinese Grand Prix results

1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Mark Webber
3. Jenson Button
4. Rubens Barrichello
5. Heikki Kovalainen
6. Lewis Hamilton
7. Timo Glock
8. Sebastien Buemi
9. Fernando Alonso
10. Kimi Raikkonen
11. Sebastien Bourdais
12. Nick Heidfeld
13. Robert Kubica
14. Giancarlo Fisichella
15. Nico Rosberg
16. Nelson Piquet Jnr
17. Adrian Sutil

Did not finish

Kazuki Nakajima
Felipe Massa
Jarno Trulli

[Estimator]

Ferrari to quit Formula One at the end of 2009 season

Its breaking news on Sky Sports - no further details yet.

Update:

If F1 go ahead with the budget cap rule change next season then Ferrari will not be togging out next year.

[tyronefan]

toyota and red bull also threatening to pull the plug if the rule changes go through as proposed

[thebigfella]

It's impossible to enforce the budget cap. They say it doesn't apply to corporate hospitality but can you imagine the amount teams being creative with the accounts. 2 grand for a cup of coffe you say? 

[tyronefan]

Hamilton compares Formula 1 to jail


http://www.rte.ie/sport/motorsport/2009/0515/hamiltonl.html

Is this guy serious, he is getting millions for racing cars and he is still whinging.

I know this a jail I wouldn't mind being in.

[mountainboii]

Martin Brundle is the best interviewer in sport, his wee stroll down the starting grid before the race is brilliant TV.

[Square Ball]

Martin Brundle is the best interviewer in sport, his wee stroll down the starting grid before the race is brilliant TV.

very funny, he mistook Geri Halliwell for Bernie Ecclestone's daughter, and scared the life out of Button's da

[corn02]

Martin Brundle is the best interviewer in sport, his wee stroll down the starting grid before the race is brilliant TV.

Was just thinking the same AFS, strolling through and talk about seamless links, fantastic stuff!


2Micheal Johnston a word for your current employers" 

[Tony Baloney]

He is very good. He shows a healthy disregard for people who take themselves very seriously. The fact that he is an ex driver is obviously a great help for access  as he seems to know everyone, and they know him.

[Onion Bag]

I said all along that F1 was fixed,

Flavio Briatore has left his position as boss of the Renault team after they decided not to contest charges of fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

Executive director of engineering Pat Symonds has also left the team.

Renault were summoned by governing body, the FIA, after Nelson Piquet Jr claimed he had been asked to crash to help team-mate Fernando Alonso's race.

An FIA spokesperson confirmed a World Motor Sport Council hearing in Paris on Monday would go ahead.

Renault have been called to answer charges that they "conspired with Nelson Piquet Jr to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix with the aim of causing the deployment of the safety car to the advantage of its other driver, Fernando Alonso".

The hearing will attempt to attribute responsibility for the Singapore "crash-gate" despite the departure of Briatore and Symonds.


Briatore has lost his job over the Singapore race-fix charge
The FIA could still impose sanctions if Renault are found guilty, including excluding the team from the championship, although that must be considered unlikely given the two people Piquet said were responsible have now left the team.

When asked for his thoughts on Briatore's demise, Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said: "Well, I feel sorry for him actually.

"Obviously, I am surprised at what has happened, and I am taken by surprise today that they've decided to walk away."

Piquet crashed in Singapore two laps after Alonso had come in for a routine pit stop.

That meant that when race officials sent out the safety car to clear up the debris from Piquet's car, Alonso was alone among the front-runners in not having to stop for fuel and tyres.

Renault's double world champion went on to take the chequered flag at Formula 1's inaugural night race and claim his first victory in two years.

At the time, Piquet attributed the crash to a simple error, but after being dropped by the team after July's Hungary GP the race-fixing allegations emerged.

The Brazilian has since testified to the FIA that he was instructed by Briatore and Symonds when and where to crash.

Renault's response was to accuse the 24-year-old and his father Nelson Piquet of false allegations and blackmail, going as far as saying they would begin legal action against them.

But on Wednesday the team said in a statement they would "not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix".

ANDREW BENSON'S BLOG
F1 has long been notorious for its skewed sense of morality, and it appears that may be what has led to this latest scandal

The statement added: "The team also wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team."

BBC pundit and former team boss Eddie Jordan said he was surprised by Renault's announcement but believes it was effectively an admission of guilt.

"Suggesting they are not going to contest the allegations is in itself an admission," Jordan told the BBC.

"I don't know what goes on in teams, and certainly in the Jordan team you would contemplate all sorts of things, but you certainly couldn't contemplate that."

It remains to be seen whether this latest controversy, and the exit of Briatore and Symonds, will affect Renault's decision to stay in Formula 1.

Briatore had denied speculation that the French team's future was under threat and the team have signed a new Concorde Agreement to stay in F1 until 2012.


Symonds was Michael Schumacher's race engineer in the 1990s
But this latest controversy, coupled with a decline in cars sales, could yet have repercussions for the staff of around 700, who are are employed at the team's headquarters in Enstone, in Oxfordshire, and Viry-Chatillon in Paris.

Former grand prix winner John Watson told the BBC: "The fact that Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds have left the team was the only solution to Renault.

"A company on the scale of Renault, a world-scale motor company could not afford to have a scandal of this magnitude rattling around in the boardroom."

As it is, Renault's statement appears to end the F1 career of two of the sport's best-known protagonists.

Briatore became Benetton team principal in 1988 and when Renault bought Benetton in 2000 to run under its own moniker, the 59-year-old Italian was chosen to lead the team.

Symonds started his F1 career in 1981 at the Toleman team, which morphed into Benetton and Renault, and worked his way though the ranks to become executive director of engineering in 2001.

Briatore was also heavily involved in the teams' association Fota, as it sought to reach an agreement on the future of the sport with the FIA this season.

[Tony Baloney]

Who says f1 isn't exciting?! Bloodbath today!

[gerry]

I must have missed that. Unfortunately it looks like button will do it