Bleacher Report - Articles by Negative Camber

Brawn Hints at Mercedes Deal; Or Does He?

Negative Camber — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:44:16 -0500

Two different interviews with Ross Brawn reach two different conclusions. I guess it will be up to you to decide which is closer to the truth.

First, the official Formula One site has a Q and A up with Ross Brawn that features this exchange:

Q: How will the Brawn GP team look next year? Will it be Brawn-Mercedes?
RB: I could not possibly comment on that.

OK. But then the Telegraph goes into this:

Brawn also hinted that a link-up with engine manufacturers Mercedes-Benz was not far away from being finalised.

The German car giants have been linked with taking a 75 percent stake in the Brackley-based team which could provide the financial backing required to again see off Ferrari and McLaren.

“Mercedes is a very important part of our team and without the engine we would not have won the championship,” said Brawn.

“It was the best engine in Formula One and we have formed a great partnership together.

“We are looking at all opportunities for the future but it is too early to announce anything yet.

This could be a matter of situation—with F1 [or whatever official arm of Brawn GP did the Q and A] Brawn has to be very matter-of-fact and straight to the point. The Telegraph might be a bit looser and the reporter likely tried to draw the confirmation out of Brawn.

There also is the room for interpretation we get from the Telegraph; we don’t just have the question and answer exchange.

The Q and A also allows Ross to go easy on new FIA president Jean Todt:

Q: The FIA has a new President in Jean Todt. You know him very well from your days together at Ferrari, what are you expectations?

RB: Jean takes a very strong team approach to whatever he does and he is the glue that holds the whole thing together. He does recognize in other people their talent, and he uses that talent to achieve the best results.

What we are going to see with Jean is that he will probably not be very high profile as a person, but will be the conductor of an orchestra that will contain many people, and help it to move forward. Formula One has been through a fractious period over the last year or two and there was reason for that.

The Formula One community is now looking forward to some stability and a quieter time. I have a lot of respect for him.

He will do a great job. Max Mosley did a very good job but became controversial over the last two years. Jean will do the job perhaps in a less controversial way.

I’m sitting here trying to imagine what Todt would have to do to be as controversial as Max.

Finally, with the Telegraph Brawn essentially confirms what we all know: Virgin is moving on and won’t be back with Brawn. [Expect to hear officially about Virgin Manor any day.]

Google Ordered to Pay Rubens Barrichello $500,000

Negative Camber — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:01:17 -0500

Google, Inc. has been ordered to pay Rubens Barrichello $500,000 in damages because one of its social networking sites hosted fake profiles of the now Williams driver, according to Agence France-Presse.

While I’m not seeing this news all over yet, I do believe AFP is a pretty solid source.

Here’s the story [and yes the link is to Google]:

Google ordered to pay 500,000 dlrs to F1 racer Barrichello

(AFP) – 1 hour ago

SAO PAULO — Internet giant Google has been ordered to pay 500,000 dollars in damages to Formula 1 racer Rubens Barrichello for hosting fake online profiles of him on its social network Orkut.

The decision by the court in Sao Paulo was published Monday in the Brazilian state’s official government gazette.

It said the damages could be raised to 700,000 dollars because of the case was lodged in July 2006, and that Google risked a daily fine of 590 dollars until the pages referring to Barrichello were removed.

Orkut, owned by Google, has a big following in Brazil, though it is losing some ground to a new Portuguese-language version of Facebook that has become available.

The 15th district court of Sao Paulo hearing the civil case determined that Google’s responsibility was proved because it managed the site and established the rules for its use.

Media said there were more than 300 fake profiles under Barrichello’s name on Orkut.

The US Internet company made no immediate comment on the judgement.

Brazilian specialists said the amount of damages was the biggest yet awarded for false web profiles and online libel.

Not sure what to add right now, other than that’s a pretty sizable chunk of change to land in Rubens’ pocket. I don’t recall the details of his contract with Williams, but that surely has to represent a pretty large percentage of it.

We’ll keep our eyes on any follow-ups.

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Michael Schumacher to Race in Vegas

Negative Camber — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:08:22 -0500

Of course, it will be in karts!

Still, for any Michael Schumacher fan in and around America’s Sin City, the news deserves an exclamation point or two. Or three!

Sorry, I’m still trying to shake off the snark I felt obliged to infuse to the latest Nelson Piquet news .

The seven-time Formula 1 champ will be in Vegas in less than two weeks for a SKUSA Nationals event:

Seven-time World Formula One Champion Michael Schumacher will be a part of the Tony Kart Factory team line-up at next weekend’s (November 18-22) SKUSA Nationals in Las Vegas.

Schumacher will be competing in the Super Pro (KZ2) category, six-speed gearbox 125cc engine, in the 13th Annual SKUSA Nationals that will take place in front of the Hotel Rio in the centre of Las Vegas.

[snip]

Schumacher will be joined in the line-up for Tony Kart Racing Team in the Super Pro (KZ2) category by 2007 winner and multiple world champion Italian Marco Ardigò and Englishman Gary Catt.

Catt boasts several prestigious international titles, such as the victory of the Italian Open Master, the victory of the Margutti Trophy and of the Winter Cup. He has been also vice European and World Champion.

I believe I just heard Todd checking airline websites for cheap fares to Vegas. Don’t forget to catch Cirque du Soleil while you’re there!

USF1 Peter Windsor Exclusive with F1B Downshift No. 6

Negative Camber — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:04:21 -0500

Join Mark and I as we unpack the terrific interview granted us by USF1 team boss Peter Windsor!

With all the rumors circulating about the future of the American F1 team, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to go to the source and seek his insight and opinion on:

USF1’s likelihood of staying in F1
Driver search
Crash testing
German Media coverage
Former BMW F1 team & Peter Sauber
Ferrari lumps instead of mandatory Cosworth
Kyle Bush
14 teams
and more…

Thank you to Mr. Windsor for the time and insight as well as to Mark H. for the hard work.

Nelson Piquet, Jr. Surprised by Truck SpeedI tou

Negative Camber — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:39:50 -0500

Call this a case of tying up loose ends.

While F1B and others announced that Nelson Piquet Jr. would be testing NASCAR trucks in October, I’m not sure many of us followed up with what, exactly, happened.

Well…for those who have been holding your breath for the past couple of weeks—apologies. It’s just you had to dig into Nelson’s own web site to find the news . But dig we have, and I think you’ll agree it was well worth it.

A few highlights from Nelson’s quotes, which come at the bottom of the item:

“I was actually surprised at how fast it is on the oval.” Also, that the car did not suddenly crash on its own.

“Once you get used to the weight and the brakes and the power, I think you can find where the edge is and not go over. If you go too hard into the corner, you will spin out or hit the wall.” This also will tend to happen if you purposefully crash into the wall.

“I just want to meet a lot of people, visit with teams and ask a lot of questions.” But, yes, I hope to get a job somewhere, anywhere. Do you have an opening?

Here is the complete item from the site:

TOM DELOACH, Team Owner, Red Horse Racing

How impressed were you with Nelson Piquet and Vitor Meira during the recent test at Motor Mile Speedway?

“I was really impressed with both Nelson (Piquet) and Vitor (Meira). I anticipated that it would take a lot longer for them to get accustomed to the trucks once they started, and that they would be really hard on brakes. With his Indy Car experience, we figured Vitor would be more comfortable on the oval, but both drivers really adapted well. We made some changes to the trucks in hopes to give each driver certain feelings in the truck, and they both explained exactly what feedback we were expecting. Both drivers have very impressive skill sets, and they really exceeded my expectations for the first time in a Camping World Truck Series Tundra.”

What did both drivers adapt to in the truck that was a surprise?

“I think the biggest thing for drivers coming from different disciplines of racing is car control. These trucks are so heavy compared to cars that they are used to that it would be pretty easy to go too hard in the corner, have a hard time slowing it down enough to get a good corner exit. Both Vitor (Meira) and Nelson (Piquet) were turning impressive lap times, without really wearing out the brakes. That tells me that they understood early the importance of getting the truck slowed down, hitting their marks and accelerating early off the corner. That really impressed me.”

NELSON PIQUET

What were your impressions after your first laps on an oval?

“I was actually surprised at how fast it is on the oval. It’s a lot of fun, and not as easy as people might think it is. It takes a little different driving technique to be fast, but I was lucky to have a good team helping me adjust to some of the differences about driving an oval.”

How difficult is it to get used to braking in such a heavier race car than what you’re used to?

“I think it’s just natural as a driver. Once you get used to the weight and the brakes and the power, I think you can find where the edge is and not go over. If you go too hard into the corner, you will spin out or hit the wall. So really, it’s just natural for a driver to get used to braking points.”

How physically demanding is it to drive a stock car compared to a Formula 1 car?

“It’s a lot easier in the truck. Since the straights are so short, you’re almost always turning and it’s only to the left. And the lap times are so short. The biggest difference is mentally getting used to driving in circles. If you mess up in one corner, that’s half the track and your time will reflect that. You really need to stay focused and get into a rhythm because you’re trying to hit the same two marks over and over again.”

Are you interested in a NASCAR career?

“I’m just exploring at the moment. I just want to meet a lot of people, visit with teams and ask a lot of questions.”

I may be starting to like the post-scandal Piquet more than the pre-scandal one. At least I actually hear about him talking and doing stuff.

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Force India Announces Tech Upgrade to Formula 1

Negative Camber — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:03:11 -0500

Force India today announced an upgrade to its CFD programming today “that will provide the company’s drivers with the best chance of a podium finish.”

Before get too excited like I did, wondering just how much merchandise I should buy online, notice in the announcement that about half the Formula 1 teams are using this new-to-Force India technology, which seems to be a super-quick storage system that keeps pace with the wind-tunnel simulations.

Still, it’s good to see a “back marker” team stepping up with improved technology. [I hope they aren't spending their lawsuit money prematurely.]

Rather than muck-up the technical details, here is some of the language from the press release:

Panasas, Inc., the leading provider of high-performance storage solutions for the world’s most performance-intensive applications, announced today that Force India Formula One Team has increased the performance and capacity of its engineering simulation solution through the deployment of Panasas ActiveStor storage. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are a critical part of Force India’s car design process to continually improve the team’s on-track, aerodynamic performance.

In conjunction with physical wind-tunnel testing, Force India relies on virtual prototypes and CFD methods to improve racing car aerodynamics. Maximizing the impact of its CFD process leads to engineering advancements that provide the company’s drivers with the best chance of a podium finish. The challenge Force India faced from an IT perspective was providing a data storage solution that could keep pace in this rigorous environment.

Where’s Todd’s abacus when I need it?

One item I do find funny, which I quoted in the lead to this post: “the best chance of a podium finish.” Force India, to their credit, aren’t getting too big for their britches. They aren’t expecting to develop the “best chance of a victory,” just finding one of those coveted winner’s steps.

Hey, it’s more substantial than anything we’ve seen from USF1GPEXYZ, right?

Are there any experts out there among our readers who can put this more into context? Is it a big deal—or even just “a deal?" I figure my notice that half the teams already are using it suggests it is not necessarily something that will fly Force India to the front, but if they were improving before having this extra “oomph,” it can’t hurt. Let’s hope it helps them figure out downforce on the car.

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Kimi Raikkonen's Troubles Extend Home

Negative Camber — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:49:18 -0500

And I mean that literally.

I just turned up a Bloomberg story from a few days ago that didn’t pop up on the searches before:

Kimi Raikkonen is having difficulty selling his “second home” in Finland. Raikkonen now lives in Switzerland, where all the smart, big money-makers go to avoid taxes.

Apparently, there isn't a huge market around Helsinki for a 14.5 million Euro (about $21.5 million) home, even if the neighbors include fellow F1 champ Mika Hakkinen and Finland’s two political leaders.

The house comes in just under 10,000 square feet (about 900 square meters).

Now, the Bloomberg story also points out that last year, before being dumped by Ferrari, Raikkonen was second to Tiger Woods as the highest paid athlete in the world.

So, I don't think having to sit on the property, the most expensive in Finland, would be the hardest thing to do.

However—and here’s where this “fun celebrity story” gets a bit relevant — from some periphery dealings with noteworthy people, I have learned that he too may be in the financial hot-seat.

I know it is difficult to imagine that Kimi has serious financial concerns, but the upkeep on that home—any taxes, whatever mortgage he’s likely paying, given no cash was invensted intially—can add up and add up fast.

So, not being able to unload this home could affect his decision about racing in 2010, especially when there are rumors that he might be more valuable by not driving.

This would then make the Nick Heidfeld to McLaren rumor a bit more substantial.

Don’t discount the result of having this home on the market, though, even with potential depreciation of the house.

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Sam Michael: It's the Circuit, Not the Car

Negative Camber — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:38:03 -0500

According to Williams F1’s technical director Sam Michael, the lack of passing in F1 today is not just down to the cars. In an Autosport story Michael was quick to explain that while the Overtaking Working group has made improvements to the 2009 car from an aerodynamic standpoint, the real culprit may just lay in the actual circuit design.

“I think that clearly the changes made the cars easier to follow, however, there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done,” said Michael.

“One of the things that wasn’t addressed in the 2009 rule changes was circuit design. If you look at tracks like Barcelona where nobody overtakes, and take exactly the same cars to tracks like Monza, Hockenheim etc, there’s plenty of overtaking. The difference is circuit layout.

“Organisers need to look closer at creating slower speed corners which feed onto straights, and at removing chicanes.

“If you look at somewhere like Abu Dhabi, there are some good aspects to the circuit, but there are fundamental mistakes. There wasn’t good enough racing there and the organisers need to rectify that before next year. You can’t keep blaming car design.”

No question that F1 has been joined at the hip with Herman Tilke and his design group for many years and have relied on his expertise in providing practically all of the circuit design layout over the last decade. It also comes as no surprise that the importance of track amenities and commodities has taken a front seat to the actual track itself.

Tilke’s design have met with some criticism of late as they have seemingly accommodated the glitterati with opulent media centers, hospitality locations and facilities but the main goal to create exciting racing has taken a back seat.

Circuits like Spa Francorchamp, Monza, Silverstone, and Moncao still out rank all the new tracks in popularity and prestige.

Is it the circuit or the car?

The palatial and over-the-top opulence of Abu Dhabi’s maiden Grand Prix this year was a real testament of bling before zing. It gave our heads dizzying images but left our hearts bereft of real racing. I’ll take the musty, beer-stained old air base at Silverstone any day over Abu Dhabi.

Sebastien Buemi to stick with Toro Rosso

Negative Camber — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:10:36 -0500

Toro Rosso has resigned Sebastien Buemi for the 2010 season, and he is expected to be joined by this year’s team mate Jaime Alguersuari, the BBC is reporting.

And that tells you all you need to know about the news of the day in Formula 1: It’s sparse. I mean, the BBC breaking a Toro Rosso signing? One of the only two teams on the grid (with big brother Red Bull) that everyone expected to re-sign both drivers?

Well, we’ll take what we can get.

Here Are The Important Details

Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi will stay on with the Toro Rosso team in 2010.

The 21-year-old has been given a second chance to prove his potential after scoring eight points to finish 16th in the championship in his debut season.

Team-mate Jaimi Alguersuari is also expected to stay with Toro Rosso, but a spokesman for the team was unable to confirm the Spaniard's position.

"We have re-signed Buemi for next season, but we have not yet signed Jaimi," a spokesman told BBC Sports.

Buemi revealed his new contract himself in an interview on Swiss television on Sunday.

"I had some contact with other teams because of my good results at the end of the season," he told the Television Suisse Romande programme Sport Dimanche.

"Toyota could have been a possibility because they had not yet hired any drivers, that was not the only one, and anyway I was always talking with Red Bull. Finally I signed with Toro Rosso for 2010."

The taem confirmed the deal when contacted by BBC Sport on Monday.

I know, shocker.

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Lewis Hamilton: Silverstone Has To Be on the Calendar

Negative Camber — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:04:41 -0500

Lewis Hamilton says he’s more in love with Formula One right now than ever and that he cannot imagine a season without Silverstone in a Q&A from his official website that seems to be the big news of an incredibly slow weekend.

Although I do like Todd’s pick-up about Nick Heidfeld going to McLaren. If only I looked good in Macca colors.

This Hamilton interview has been floating around all weekend, but it still is showing up—probably for one of two reasons: 1. Hamilton is pretty bankable when it comes to people’s interests and 2. it is, as I said, slow out there in the F1 news world.

I thought Todd fairly successfully reacted to Sir Frank WIlliams’ comments by putting hit thoughts in between the questions. So here is the whole Q&A , only broken up—but nothing has been left out.

A few quick preliminary thoughts, though. I’m much less a “Hamilton hater” than many. I agree his father has done his son’s image a lot of hurt, and I certainly don’t “like” Anthony Hamilton. And Lewis has had a few immature moments that have made it easy to point at him and say he lucked his way into a great McLaren car and he’s presented himself at times in an polished and off-putting way. I also think his handling of “Lie-gate” to start the season was pathetic; he was old enough to make the right decision there.

But he can drive. And as I posted after Abu Dhabi, I think he finally started to show the maturity that could help bring him a handful, perhaps, of titles.

And I’ll wade into one other Lewis Hamilton issue. After having been to Monza and seeing the crowds and thinking of all the paddock photos I’ve seen, I am sure Lewis Hamilton has had to deal a lot with his race—in ways obvious to him and perhaps in ways less so.

I recognize that Northern Italy is not the most diverse area, but the crowd at Monza was speaking just about every European language there is. And that crowd was very white. I’ll take the leap that the crowds in Germany, Monaco, Hungary, Belgium, and other tracks are mostly white, as well, and don’t necessarily reflect the diversity of the cities and countries where those races are held.

Formula One is and has been an elite sport, from the “gentleman driver” days to today when you have to have millions and millions of dollars to participate. It is changing, and Hamilton—like him or not—is part of that changing landscape—whether he likes it or not, come to think of it.

I don’t mean to dive too deeply into this issue; I, just as Monza, was struck by what it must be like for Hamilton. We’ve seen the overt shows of racism; I’m more thinking about the less obvious signs that are there, just on the fringes.

And adding race into a mix that includes his overbearing dad, his immediate success at a top team, his relationship with Ron Dennis—well, I think Hamilton could have handled himself these past three years a lot worse given the situation he was in.

There—more context for my comments than you ever wanted. Here it Lewis, from his official site so it is a controlled interview without any tough follow-up questions.

Lewis’s postseason Q&A
Friday, 06 November 2009
On Saturday, you looked unstoppable around the Abu Dhabi circuit, but the race brought the first mechanical retirement of your Formula 1 career – was it a weekend of mixed fortunes?
“Not really. Of course, it’s disappointing not to finish a race – particularly when you’re at the front leading it – but I have to be realistic: to have got through nearly three seasons of racing and to only now be stopped by a mechanical failure is an incredible statistic.
“You almost take reliability for granted these days, so it was weird to be stood in the garage watching the race rather than being in it. But I think we can all be proud of what we’ve achieved this year. We started the season with what was the slowest car in the field, but we never gave up, and on Saturday in Abu Dhabi, you could argue that we had the fastest car out there. That’s an absolutely incredible achievement – and I can’t think of a single team other than Vodafone McLaren Mercedes that could have done that.
“It would have been great to have won the race and sent us into the winter with our heads held high, but it wasn’t to be. I loved the circuit – for a new track, it has a good blend of corners and it needs you to be very focused and precise to get the best from the laptime. We’ll be back to try and win it next year!”

This statement follows my “maturity” thinking; I really believe that Hamilton found the trust and faith in McLaren (especially the post-Dennis McLaren) that will make him a better teammate and better team member in 2010 and beyond. And that should worry his competition.

Let’s look back over the season – it’s been a years of highs and lows, but what has been your highlight?
“I think there are a few moments that will stay with me from this year. The first was at Silverstone, where I arrived knowing that I wouldn’t be able to fight for a win, and where I was just overwhelmed by the amount of support from the people at the circuit. I would never have imagined it would have been such a positive and inspiring weekend for me – even if our results weren’t that great.
“I’d had such an amazing race at Silverstone in 2008, and it really meant a lot to me to see that people had kept the faith and were behind me even if I couldn’t score a win for them.
“On the track, one of my biggest highlights was in Germany, when we tried the upgrade package for the first time. Before I’d even driven the car, you could see that it was a big step – we’d completely changed the front wing, the top body and the floor, and there was a lot of pressure for it to be right – and it looked good, the car looked fantastic.
“And it only took me a few laps to realise that the car was an incredible improvement. Finally, after months of struggling, I could finally get the car to do what I wanted: I could get it turned in properly, and get hard on the power and just rely on the grip to get me out of a corner. Coming out of the Nurburgring hairpin and heading uphill into the fast esses, I accidentally left my radio switched on, and the whole team could hear me yelling and screaming because the car felt so good!
“I felt a bit embarrassed afterwards, especially when Martin told me he’d played the recording back to the whole team! But I can see now that that was important for everyone’s morale.
“The other highlight was winning in Hungary. I’d always said that winning a race this year was going to feel sweeter than anything else we’d achieved, just because it would be such a satisfying conclusion to all our hard work. And the Hungarian Grand Prix was just a dream come true – to be able to measure my pace over the others and to get the car home first was just unbelievable. Total satisfaction…”

I may start to sound like a broken record—but there’s that maturity, again. And not just that he was embarrassed for the team to hear his screaming but that he’d be willing to relate that story to the public.

Conversely, what was your toughest moment?
“There were a few. The first difficulty we faced this year was during testing: we knew the car wasn’t the fastest but, at the Barcelona test in week 11, it became really clear to us that we were struggling and we just didn’t have the pace of the frontrunners. I remember phoning Ron and Martin and explaining to them that we had a lot of work ahead of us if we were going to turn MP4-24 into a race winner.
“That was a difficult call, but Ron and Martin gave me their full support and we actually started to look at a rescue plan immediately – there was no waiting. So what was a difficult experience at first actually turned into a positive one.
“The other tough moment happened not long after, in Melbourne and Malaysia. And that was a difficult time for me personally – but I strongly believe that I used that experience to grow as a person and to become stronger through it. I’m a firm believer that every experience you have – even the bad ones – help to define and build your character. You can’t change the past, but you can definitely learn from it, and I overcame that situation in Melbourne, I had the courage and conviction to man up about it in Malaysia and, ultimately, I came out of it stronger.”

Yep—broken record time. He brings up Melbourne, albeit a little obliquely. But perhaps this is evidence that “Lie-gate” was a big part of Hamilton’s maturing this year and getting, as he says, “stronger.”

A few quick questions: what was your favourite circuit this year?
“Abu Dhabi was an absolutely incredible place, but the best circuit I visited all year was Suzuka. Monaco still has a very special place in my heart – and it’s totally unique – but Suzuka really is the greatest race track in the world.
“Also, I can’t not mention Silverstone – the older circuits on the calendar all have this incredible character – places like Silverstone, Monaco, Spa, Monza – they are the best circuits we visit, and we need them on the calendar. I know that Silverstone still isn’t confirmed for 2010 – but it has to be on the calendar, I can’t imagine racing in Formula 1 without it being there.”

We are starting to see the growing support for Silverstone among current and former drivers, and I think that is one of the few areas of influence that could force Bernie Ecclestone’s hand. I may be a bit optimistic, but I think a strong show of unity on the drivers’ part would play a big role in solving the track issues in F1. [I wish he'd mentioned Canada, but he probably doesn't have the fondest memories of it.]

Favourite race?
“Monza was good fun, but probably either Suzuka or Brazil. I raced my heart out at Suzuka, my battle with Jarno in the first stint was seriously hardcore – it was like doing 20 qualifying laps in a row. But Brazil was even crazier – the car was probably the best it has felt all year and I didn’t stop pushing from the first corner until the last corner. That was probably my best drive of the whole year.”
Proudest moment?
“Taking the team back to the top step of the podium in Hungary – and then having four weeks before the next race to hold onto it! Seriously, that was the greatest achievement of our season. I’m so proud of everyone who played a role in getting us back to the front. Believe me, we really deserved that result.”

His mention of Monza is interesting, given the result. And that might be the best PR Jarno Trulli has had in years; I wonder if Lewis’ statement will seal Jarno at Lotus?

What do you take away from this season?
“I’ve learnt a lot about effort, dedication, motivation: things that you almost take for granted when you are at the front, but which mean a lot more when you are fighting at the back. I’ve grown as a man, and as a driver – I’ve faced bigger hurdles this year than in my previous two seasons and I think I now know how to cope with things better than I did – even from one year ago.
“I also think we are a much closer group now, too. We’ve known each other for one more season, and the physical bonds between us all are so much tighter – we’ve been through a lot together and we know each other a lot better. That’s something I really appreciate – and I think that will make us a better fighting unit next season.”

This may be smart PR talk, but Hamiton here keys in on the most important thing: He’s now struggled at the back. He maybe could have used with an entire year of that struggle, but that the car’s problems were solved so quickly—and so much more quickly than any other team—obviously has given him confidence in his team. There also is something to said for going through a bit of adversity with people.

Of course, you have to keep it in perspective. Adversity here meant they were at the back of the F1 grid! Not the worst place in the world to be.

What’s next for Lewis Hamilton?
“I’m at Brooklands this weekend for the Powered By Mercedes-Benz event – I’ll be there with Heikki, and we’ll be driving last year’s MP4-23. After that, I’m really going to start training hard: I want to start next season fitter than I’ve ever been, and I’ve been working with our team doctor to make sure that I’m better prepared than ever for the new year. I’ll be training hard, at home in Geneva and in Finland.
“After that, I’ll have a short break for Christmas – I’m not planning to go away anywhere, but I’ll probably spend it with my family. After that, it will be back to work – meetings with the engineers, the launch and testing the new car – which looks fantastic.
“To be honest, I’m ready to go racing again next week – at the moment, I think I can safely say that I’m more in love with Formula 1 than I’ve ever been, and I just can’t wait to get back out there again!”

His “I’m more in love with Formula 1″ comment has been the lead on stories I’ve seen based on this interview. I agree it is important in that it shows he still has that “fire in the belly.” [By contrast, we all wonder about Kimi Raikkonen's fire, right?]

But we know Hamilton is fired up. Again, what comes through to me is not just that he wants to keep winning—but that he is gaining the perspective to do so.

Am I off base? Is he just a petulant and coddled driver?

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Raikkonen's Demands Could See Heidfeld at McLaren

Negative Camber — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:40:54 -0500

I was perusing Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport (actually translating through a suspect translation service) and discovered that there is a sentiment that could be pervasive around the offices of Germany’s leading automobile magazine. They were thinking, out loud, that if the rumored Kimi Raikkonen-to-McLaren deal isn’t sorted quickly, Nick Heidfeld could find himself “coming home” in a manner of speaking.

You’ll recall that Heidfeld was a McLaren-Mercedes test driver in 1998 and won the F3000 title for the McLaren Junior team. You may also recall that McLaren chose Sauber teammate Kimi Raikkonen over Heidfeld for the retired Mika hakkinen’s seat in 2001.

I was incandescent at the time and couldn’t understand the decision (in hindsight I have been vindicated for my unnatural defense of Heidfeld) yet the Raikkonen/Heidfeld saga may just occur once again.

Apparently, Raikkonen is being bullish on his salary demands.

McLaren, it is rumored, is offering a low-ball figure as they know Ferrari have just handed the sacked driver a wad of cash and they figure this, coupled with their offer, would make a tidy sum and salary on par with what he is used to. That theory is apparently not going over well with Raikkonen’s management.

To add to the rumor mill, Toyota has just announced its immediate departure form the sport and conventional wisdom would say that the former BMW, now Qadbak, team will inherit the grid position vacated by the Japanese manufacturer.

Should that happen, it is likely they will want to retain the services of Heidfeld as they have already lost Robert Kubica to Renault for 2010. Having a veteran in the team when making such a large transition (in ownership) seems favorable by anyone’s measure and one might assume that Heidfeld knows where all the bodies are buried.

Knowing this is the case, will McLaren continue to haggle with the Raikkonen handlers or take an option for Heidfeld as a good veteran to have with Lewis Hamilton?

The McLaren offer is a crafty play on “total salary.” It has been rumored that Ferrari have offered $10 million to Raikkonen if he joins a team for 2010. But it could be $17 million if he would choose to sit our for the 2010 season. McLaren have taken the $10 million sum and added $5 million in additional monies to come to a grand salary of $15 million.

Raikkonen’s handlers suggest that the Ferrari payment is not part of a total salary package and it is to be treated as additional monies outside the current salary negotiation.

Effectively, it is off the table and not an option to include when discussing total salary for 2010.

When thinking over the details of the haggling for Raikkonen, it becomes clear that Heidfeld would be considerably less, more of an asset as a car developer, more of a team player for Hamilton, a better number two driver than outgoing Heikki Kovalainen, and a driver that could be a long-term prospect for consistency and results (aka, David Coulthard).

All this at a fraction of what the interminably listless Raikkonen would cost. Oh, and Heidfeld is German which should make engine supplier Mercedes happy (which, if you believe rumors, are nonplussed about the prospect of a returning Raikkonen).

But all of this is supposition, theorem and rumors.

The best machinations from sports writers idling away behind their desks with little else to report on after the shelling we received from the Bridgestone and Toyota announcements last week.

There is no doubt in my mind that when Raikkonen is on, he is as strong a driver as I have ever seen. The real trial in that statement is getting him on song and invested in what is happening. It is part of his character.

Raikkonen needs to be in F1 and F1 needs him. He galvanizes people without really doing or saying anything. His off-track antics are the only clue we have that the Finnish star is actually a living, laughing human being and yet he leaves many speechless without any grand speeches.

However, even admitting that Raikkonen is one of the best, I would take Heidfeld in a minute over Raikkonen at McLaren. Hamilton is number one and what they need is a strong number two who will push Hamilton, without frazzling him, and help him learn car development.

Nick Heidfeld has unfinished business at McLaren and it would be nice to see him come home to show the team what they had seen in him in the first place all those years ago.

Grace vs. Laura Marieee: Fisichella Retires

Negative Camber — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:22:44 -0500

Not every season ends with the retirement of a trusted and valued friend. But when the time has passed and the memories are long—it becomes such a year. With the retirement of F1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella (Fisi), I asked the two females of F1B to take a “pro” and “con” position.

The idea was to give you, the reader, a great look at both sides of the coin. A review of the career that was overwhelming to some and underwhelming to others.

What better way to do that than offer the F1B women the opportunity to slug it out in fine fashion. Laura will take the “pro” position with her panache, poetry, and British charm while Grace will take the “con” position with her…snark. Grace quickly opted for the “con” position. It seems reasonable as she’s not the biggest Fisi fan.

Be careful, no matter who you agree with—they are both terrific and we couldn’t be more elated to offer the first joint op-ed featuring the two most beautiful parts of F1B.

Laura Gets the Discussion Started

So that’s it, the 2009 season is over! And the sad thing is, for many of the drivers, they have no idea who they’ll be driving for next season, if indeed whether they’ll be in F1 at all.

In particular, Fisichella is one of those. After switching from a drive with Force India to Ferrari for the last five races of the 2009 season, it looks unlikely that he will drive in F1 again next year as he will be Ferrari’s reserve driver.

So, seeing as he’s been in the sport for quite some time, Todd thought it would be a great idea to team Grace and I up to talk about Fisi, and how much he’s achieved—or not—and how much he’ll be missed—or perhaps not in Grace’s case. So I’ll do what I usually do, and Grace will chip in with her usual snark…

When Fisi was confirmed as Massa’s stand in at Ferrari from Monza onwards, for him it was a dream come true, and for the fans it was a case of, “Yay, Badoer out. At least Fisi will be able to do a better job.”

But it didn’t exactly happen like that. After qualifying on pole at Spa and matching the pace of Kimi, in what was later to become his last race with Force India, it seemed fitting he should get the chance to drive for the Prancing Horse. But since his move, he hasn’t been able to deliver, and he has regularly propped up the back of the grid, and indeed the back of the pack during the race.

While driving for Ferrari has been a dream for Fisi, it hasn’t been quite what the fans were expecting. His last race for Force India was a sign of just how good Fisi can potentially be, and with a good performance under his belt, many thought he would jump into the Ferrari and be straight into Q3 each race, and scoring as many points as possible. It hasn’t happened.

Fisi has said he has no regrets in joining Ferrari, which of course came right at the time when he was starting to achieve more with Force India. In many ways you have to hand it to him. To sacrifice the success he was beginning to have with an up and coming team, when Badoer was proving how difficult it was to be successful in a Ferrari you’ve never driven before, is impressive. There is also the fact that both Force India drivers—Sutil and Fisi’s replacement Liuzzi—were considerably better than Fisi in Monza, in both qualifying and the race. Even Liuzzi’s retirement simply being down to a reliability issue rather than driver error. Although Fisi finished, Liuzzi had been running ahead of him before his retirement.

Of course Fisi has had some great moments in F1, and this season he’ll be remembered for that impressive pole at Spa and his eventual second place after holding on to Kimi throughout the race.

All in all, during his F1 career he has had three wins, his first in Brazil in 2003 for Jordan. In 2005, he scored his first pole in the season opener in Melbourne, and went on to win the race for Renault, however, despite five more podiums, it was his teammate, Alonso, who went on to be more successful. In 2006 he claimed his third win and finished fourth in the championship standings.

In 2007, Renault were less successful, and it was rookie Kovalainen who out-shone Fisi, and in 2008 he moved to Force India. He didn’t achieve great successes with the team, until his last race with them, and after that, he was living the dream, driving for Ferrari. But after many years in F1, where he has become a bit of a veteran, it is a shame that if this is it for Fisi, that he couldn’t have gone out on more of a high—something he perhaps may have got at Force India—and then again if he had remained there, he may still have a seat in F1. But these are all "what ifs."

Maybe it was never meant to be for him, unlike it has been for Hamilton in his early career, and for Button who after years of striving to be the best has finally taken the title.

Even though he won’t be leaving F1 with a championship under his belt, he will leave as a recognized driver who will be remembered, even if it is simply for achieving his dream.

And Now a Word From the Redoubtable Grace

Congratulation race fans—the middling career of one Giancarlo Fisichella from Rome, Italy—is finally over. Sure, he’ll continue as a reserve driver for Ferrari, but seriously who are we kidding? How many veteran test drivers do you know that have returned to F1 and had a successful career?

That’s what I thought. Not that I blame the guy because I think living your life out in the plush arms of Ferrari is definitely the way to go. Nice vacations in the mountains, the pretty girls—it seems pretty win/win to me. Besides, why stick to a team that has the potential for mid-field dominance at best, when you could go out with the best—but maybe that’s just me.

So as I look back over Fisi’s career two phrases stick out to me: potential and bad luck. Now it’s a hard line to draw between actual skill and perception, especially in F1 where a driver’s talent is masked by the car they are driving, however, this can’t be very comforting to the man behind the giant white sunglasses.

Sure, he wasn’t the most successful driver out there, but he certainly wasn’t a strong middle either. He didn’t even have the consistency or the car set up knowledge that a DC brought to the field. Frankly, at the end of the day, Fisi was a nice guy, who made a good pizza and should go back to his quiet life in Rome. A great Formula 1 driver was never in the cards for him and in many ways I’m surprised he’s lasted this long on good looks and experience.

Sure Fisi had some great moments, like Japan 2005. Oh wait, that was one of my favorite Fisi moments, probably not one of his. And sure, it wasn’t a fair comparison to put him up against Alonso at Renault, but he couldn’t even perform a constant P10, let alone win races. Without the brilliance of a Kimi Raikkonen, consistency is all a driver has in F1. If you can’t consistently bring it home for the team, then you’ll be consistently out of a drive. Come on, Khaki Hovalovian did better at Renault than Fisi did and we all know how I feel about the human paper shredder.

Really the highlight of his career was during his one year stint at Sauber in 2004, where he consistently scored higher than his team mate: That’s right my other favorite driver. No, not Webber but Felipe Massa. Oh how interesting that worked out for both of them.

So as dusk draws dark on Fisi’s career, I stand by his decision, big sunglasses and all, and wish him a fond farewell. Sure, he left FIF1 as it was starting to go up, but he must know what I’ve been suspecting—Spa and Monza were flukes. Otherwise, he would have either stayed at Force India in 2009, or returned to Force India for 2010. The fact that he’s staying with Ferrari as a test driver just further cements the obvious in my mind.

So enjoy the good life Giancarlo, and don’t get too close to that Sutil kid. I hear he’s a bit of a crasher.

Report: Brawn Has Plenty in Store for 2010

Negative Camber — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:57:06 -0500

There is a ton of interesting information in this post at the BBC’s “F1 Mole.” And none more so than the insight that Brawn GP made a calculated decision to switch development from the 2009 car to the 2010 one when Ross Brawn himself determined they had enough in the tanks for 2009 to win the championship.

If that doesn’t sound like the Magnificent One himself, I don’t know what does.

Given Brawn’s strategic genius, the idea of his calling the team together and saying, essentially, “We’ve got enough to get us home, get started on 2010″ is one we all should have considered.

Conventional wisdom has been that maybe Brawn just didn’t have the money to keep development the car, which was obviously the most advanced one at the start of the season.

Now, if Brawn really did actively switch development to the 2010 car—well, that certainly has to throw them back in the mix for 2010 along with Red Bull, McLaren, and, if it gets its act together, Ferrari.

In other words: Don’t count Brawn and Jenson Button out just yet.

Here’s the “Mole” information on Brawn:

Team boss Ross Brawn admitted on Saturday night that his car had been out-developed by Red Bull and McLaren, but revealed an impressively daring strategy that should ensure his team are not a one-championship wonder.

The Brawn car arrived at the first grand prix this year as the most developed car of all. Where other teams were only on their Mark I designs, Brawn was at the equivalent of Mark III.

Add what turned out to be the legal double-diffuser concept and they had a massive head start.

The team did some development work on the car, but by the time of the Turkish Grand Prix in early June, Brawn took a gamble.

He believed the car had enough in hand to win the championship, so told his design engineers to switch their attentions to the 2010 car.

Brawn told us that they only switched wind-tunnel attention back to the 2009 car for one week between mid-summer and the end of the season when they realised they might need a bit more performance to secure the championship.

All the other time was spent on next year’s car.

Ross Brawn is clearly building foundations for the long term, and since the 2010 car won’t have the compromised radiator layout and gearbox mounting that this year’s car had to accept because of the late switch to Mercedes engine, next year should be stronger still.

And now some further snippets on the two Red Bull teams:

Red Bull also face a potential problem with their engines.

Team boss Christian Horner’s desire to have the Mercedes power-plant in his cars seems to have been torpedoed. A final decision from both sides was delayed for so long that it is now too late to incorporate a change of engine.

Rumours in Abu Dhabi suggested Red Bull’s Mercedes deal was blocked after pressure from current Mercedes teams Brawn and McLaren, who don’t want a potential championship rival sharing their ‘best in class’ engines.

So, needing to know which engine to build his car around, design chief Adrian Newey was left with no choice but to stay with the Renault, despite Red Bull’s very public comments and private concerns about the French engine being unreliable and lacking top-end power.

[snip]

This won’t be confirmed for a few weeks, but Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari will be staying at Toro Rosso for next year. Team boss Franz Tost let the cat out of the bag when we spoke on Friday, albeit in the context of a slightly negative remark about his drivers.

The gist of it was that Toro Rosso has essentially had a good season and had scored some points, but there had been too many mistakes from the young drivers. When they both come back next year, Tost explained, Buemi and Alguersuari will be expected to deliver, drive fast, and not crash.

The post has a little on most of the teams, as well.

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Frank Williams on Todt, Mosley, Button…and Everything!

Negative Camber — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:41:10 -0500

Sir Frank Williams has been the recipient of my praise for many years now and while I don’t always agree with his “con” position to everyone’s “pro,” I certainly can appreciate the logic applied in most cases.

Williams seems to me to be a man of character, integrity and decorum, but I suspect there is a rapier wit behind the all-very-British exterior. The interview at Arabian Business seems to bear that out.

Williams has never been one to mince words regarding issues that involve F1 and as one of the longest privateers in the business; he shouldn’t.

What’s most interesting is his willingness to discuss topics that are otherwise taboo in F1 circles and certainly to discuss them in the detail and candor that Williams does:

On Michael Schumacher’s return to F1: “Not a chance. No.”

On ex-Ferrari-boss-turned-FIA president Jean Todt: “He was a very difficult character. Very hard to get on with.”

On former president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Max Mosley: “Max is seriously unfairly clever.”

On having an independent team: “Being independent means lots of things, not just not having enough money.”

And on who is the fastest driver today: “Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel.”
No conversation about aerodynamics can be fully completed without the mention of Adrian Newey and as a former employee of Williams, there is little doubt that his prowess with pencil and paper is well knows:

“There is a man who works in Formula One at the moment, he works for Red Bull, called Adrian Newey. When it comes to where the air goes around the car, he is a magician. He just understands it.

He has a brilliant understanding of aerodynamics. He was with us for about eight years, and then McLaren pinched him for a great deal of money. Now he is getting even richer, but he deserves it, at Red Bull.

“I don’t know when his contract finishes. Everyone is dying to know. But the Red Bull man is spending a great deal of money, his own money, and I think he is happy there unfortunately,” he chuckles.

It is also intriguing that Williams seemed to know the fate of Toyota as the interview took place over the Abu Dhabi race weekend well prior to the Japanese car makers announcement.

“There is certainly one manufacturer going, and Honda has already gone. The next, we think, will be Toyota—although I don’t know, I am only surmising.

"Toyota doesn’t share their business dealings with Williams. They’ve had such poor results really for years. I imagine they’ll withdraw sooner rather than later,” he says.

The intriguing part of the interview for me was his comments on new FIA president Jean Todt, as well as the former president Max Mosley. Todt first:

“I must try to be a diplomat here. He ran Ferrari for a long time. He was very successful. His methods weren’t methods that we would use. But he delivered. He was then a difficult character. Very hard to get on with.

"Very clever, don’t misunderstand me, he did a fantastic job for Ferrari. And he had a brilliant driver with Schumacher. But hard man, hard worker, long career in motorsport.

Now that he is in the presidential role, and I met him recently, I think he has taken some charm lessons. I mean that in the right way. I think he is going to try to be a different character, with a more paternal view of Formula One generally.”

But what about the famed Ferrari Red Rule that always goes Ferrari’s way?

“I imagine he will know everyone is watching out for that, so he will be behaving himself. He’ll soon hear about it from the teams if we think there is a bias. And frankly I think he will be very straightforward about it all.”

And what of Mosley?

“Always mixed feelings about Max. Max is seriously unfairly clever. His father was brilliant politician in his day, despite the fact his views were unusual, to say it charitably. Max inherited all of his brainpower and his ruthlessness.

"He was almost impossible to beat in any argument, legal or otherwise. His greatest contribution to F1 was safety.

"When three drivers were killed in 18 months, including Ayrton Senna, he shook F1 by the head and by the tail. He made us make much stronger cars, and they have been very safe since.”

With over 30 years in motor sport, Williams knows a fast driver when he sees one and awkwardly the question was put to him, “who is the fastest driver?”

That’s never an easy question for anyone to answer and as a team owner you have to measure your words—especially being a British team owner with a newly crowned British F1 champion.

“Jenson is very gifted. He a terrific example of one of the guys who have a natural gift for going fast. When Jenson is driving, the car doesn’t seem to slide. Michael Schumacher was much more physical.

"The trick is, you’ve got to be a great racing driver and you’ve got to be a great judge of who’s going to have the best F1 car next season, or two seasons out. Michael was always good at that.”

It’s not hard to see that Williams believes Button is a competent driver but it has more to do with the right car and time than pure pace. He suggests that Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel or McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton hold the coveted place as the fastest drivers on the grid.

Williams has always remained driver-neutral over the years suggesting that the most important part of is the car. That sentiment may be something he relies heavily on in 2010 as he is losing both 2009 drivers for veteran Rubens Barrichello and rookie Nico Hulkenberg.

HE may also need to find that granular presence of patience as he contends with the new Cosworth engine that has not been tired and tested in anger.

With all these challenges, I suspect Sir Frank Williams is just the right man to deal with them—he always has been before.

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Fernando Makes First Trip to Ferrari

Negative Camber — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:31:23 -0500

Just when some of you were starting to appreciate Ferrari’s press releases , well, I think the team may be back on your bad side.

Fernando Alonso took his first trip to Maranello today, and Ferrari offered up the following :

Alonso’s first day in Maranello

Maranello, 6 November 2009 – Today early in the morning, just after 8am. Fernando Alonso arrived at the gates of the Scuderia Ferrari for his first contact with the new team, although still not as an official member due to his contractual commitments regarding image management, which still tie him to his previous team and his sponsors.

The first meeting was with Stefano Domenicali, who then left him to the technicians, who started to work with the driver on the upcoming season’s programme. Between meetings connected to the new single-seater’s project Fernando visited the wind channel to see the model and worked on the sitting position in the car’s cockpit, while the day ended just after 5pm. Before leaving Maranello, Alonso was received by Chairman Luca di Montezemolo, who personally wanted to welcome the Spaniard at Ferrari in a cordially meeting of around half an hour.

Today’s intermezzo was a couple of laps on the Fiorano race track with the 458 Italia, naturally in red: as he couldn’t yet drive a red Formula 1 car Fernando wanted to feel the emotion of driving a Ferrari on the track where all the Prancing Horse’s single-seaters are born and raised.

Good to see the team is back with the safe corporate speak. Those literary allusions and veiled comments about Max Mosley killing off Formula One were too much.

More seriously—Alonso is not wasting any time, is he? I wonder though if that is enthusiasm for his new team or worry about just how bad the car really is.

Final side note and fun fact: When I got contracted on to F1B and made my first visit to the mid-America corporate HQ, I also got an opportunity to take to the track. Of course, it was in an old Yugo with the F1B logo. Still, pretty fun to throw it around.

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Tamara Ecclestone: Jenson Button 'Doesn't Deserve to be F1 Champ'

Negative Camber — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:47:13 -0500

Admittedly this is just a “fluff” piece of gossip that you might find in loads of tabloids around the world but I thought it interesting nonetheless as Bernie Ecclestone just had a pleasant “buddy” session with Jenson Button.

It seems Tamara Ecclestone , eldest daughter of commercial rights boss Bernie Ecclestone, doesn’t feel that World Champion Jenson Button deserves the coveted position.

The row stems from an interview the 25-year-old sometime-model, sometime-broadcaster for Sky Sports conducted with Button in which he took a phone call in the middle.

Tamara told the Daily Mail’s columnist Richard Kay that she was not impressed by his recent performance.

‘I don’t think Jenson Button deserves to be the world F1 champion,’ said Tamara, at the opening of Mayfair members’ club The Red Room. ‘He has been in it such a long time and never really came close to winning a championship.

‘Suddenly the car is good and he’s won the championship. He only won six races and they were all at the beginning of the season.

‘If they’d all had the same car, then Jenson Button definitely wouldn’t have won this season. Lewis Hamilton is a better driver, and he’s a nicer person.’

‘He was just answering his phone in the middle of the interview and I was like: “Dude, I’m sitting here, what are you doing?”‘

I wonder if it was her father calling Button during the interview?

Speaking of Ecclestone daughters, it seems Petra, the younger of the two daughters, lost a libel case against the Daily Telegraph today.

It seems she felt misquoted when saying “I don’t have much time for people like the McCartneys and Annie Lennox”, in reference to their vegetarian position. Ecclestone, a designer, was being asked about her use of leather in her designs.

Seems they may be a chip off the old block when it comes to controversial comments in the press. They stand to go far in this dangerous and perceptive world.

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Toyota Won't Sell Team a la Honda

Negative Camber — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:38:19 -0500

If any of you were hoping that the 2010 championship would be won by the team that rises out of Toyota’s ashes—and, hey, there’s precedent for that now — it is time to shelve your optimism.

Toyota team boss—former, I guess—John Howett scuttles those ideas (with a little opening left) in a Times piece .

In Cologne, there was continuing gloom over Toyota’s sudden exit, which was announced in Tokyo on Wednesday, with the likelihood that many people will lose jobs as the company reorganises itself to focus on other areas of motor sport apart from Formula One.

There have been reports that Toyota may try to sell the team as a whole, so that it could continue in Formula One, or that John Howett, the team president, might try to lead a Ross Brawn-style buyout.

However, Howett told The Times yesterday that both of these options had already been considered by senior managers in Japan. “I think it has already been discussed and rejected,” Howett said of a possible sale. “Maybe these ideas can be reopened but, at the moment, it would appear not.”

Also, I don’t think F1B wrapped this up—but the Toyota exit announcement was very emotional. Tears, apologies, the whole deal. Here’s the Times take ; elsewhere I saw reports of the president breaking down into tears during the announcement.

Bowing to the cameras in Tokyo, Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota and scion of the founding Toyoda family, apologised for the miserable performance of the team.

“This was a difficult but inevitable decision,” said Mr Toyoda. “Since last year with the worsening economic climate, we have been wrestling with the question of whether to press on in Formula One. Now we are exiting Formula One completely. I apologise to Toyota’s many fans for not being able to achieve the results we had intended to achieve.”

[snip]

Toyota also apologised publicly to its sponsors: it is understood that the company did not warn them in advance that it was about to quit. A spokesman for Panasonic, the largest sponsor of Toyota’s F1 team, said that it “respected” Toyota’s decision.

I suspect the phones of Panasonic and others have been ringing off the hook. They must be sick of Gasgyone’s leaving his cell number by now.

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Williams Optimistic over Cosworth

Negative Camber — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:48:50 -0500

While this isn’t really a story, I decided to report on it for two reasons: (1) When you have no where to go but up, of course you are optimistic. (2) Sam Michael’s talks about the Cosworth/Williams relationship sounded like an ex-girlfriend and it entertained me.

Apparently, Williams just wasn’t that into Cosworth, but after three years with Toyota, it realizes that it left a good thing and after showing up on Cosworth doorstep with a boom box, Cosworth has accepted the ring and they’re happily back together; unless they sent Patrick Head to do the deed, and then it was mostly like a bunch of thugs, not a boom box.

Williams technical director Sam Michael:

"We won’t know that until we get it on the track. Our target is always to be at the front and with the grid being so tight now, it’s even more realistic to have that as a target as the regulations have closed everything up so much.

"Finding one or two tenths from aerodynamic or some other gain can put you in with a shout of winning races. That’s why there have been so many winners this year. Cosworth are going to do a good job.

"The sport has changed massively since 2006. If you look back from the early 2000s to the last 18 months, it has been manufacturer dominated, but that’s shifting significantly. There were different reasons for not being with Cosworth back then. But you can also ask if the decision we took was correct? We don’t know, because history sets itself and that’s it. If we had continued with Cosworth back then, maybe it wouldn’t have been the best thing.

"That’s the great thing about F1—it keeps evolving and it’s a process of change right now and that has led things back to an independent engineering group being the best thing for Williams.

"Cosworth has got two big hurdles. Fuel consumption is critical with no refuelling, and their target for the winter is to improve that. The other is reliability. Everyone has accumulated three years of running on their engines while Cosworth has been out and gained thousands of kilometres of knowledge."

But at least it still hugs well.

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Aerolab Rubbishes Data-Passing Reports

Negative Camber — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:34:46 -0500

Who knew the biggest support industry in England would be photocopying services?

First the recap: Force India called foul on Team Lotus because their car looks like theirs and the tires they are using in testing have Force India team members' handwriting on them. Mike Gascoyne then stepped in and said look we aren’t doing anything wrong and if you have a problem talk to Fondtech because they’re the ones with the common link—not us.

Latest update: Aerolab has stated that it did not pass any information from Force India to its parent company Fondtech and thus any aero similarities between Lotus and Force India didn’t come from them.

And in a further twist, Aerolab is said to take legal action against FIF1 for “serious and persistent breaches of contract.”

Aerolab’s managing director Jean-Claude Migeot.

It is quite unusual for us to comment on negative matters but we have been given no other choice but to make public the facts after press reports in recent days suggested that Aerolab has passed on information to parent company Fondtech which enjoys a close technical relationship with Lotus F1 Racing. These rumors are designed only to tarnish the company’s reputation and professionalism and to divert attention away from the facts. The truth is that Aerolab is suing Force India for not fulfilling its obligations.

And I thought the offseason would give me a chance to catch up on non-F1 related things.

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Your view: Which story this week will have biggest impact?

Negative Camber — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:46:12 -0500

Will it be Toyota’s exit from Formula 1, leaving no Japanese makers in the sport?

Will it be Bridgestone’s plan to leave the sport when its contract ends after the 2010 season?

Will it be Renault’s eventual decision—whichever way it goes?

Or perhaps one of the other stories: Ferrari’s shot at the FIA; the FIA’s quiet response to all the news; Danica’s expected announcement that she’s going to do part-time racing in NASCAR. [That's a joke, folks!]

A big part of what is great about F1B—and what drew me when I was reading Todd and Grace’s posts a couple of years back—is the readers, and their thoughts. Or, to put it more plainly: YOU.

So, don’t hold back—especially any of you who don’t regularly post comments. It’s easy, it’s [relatively] safe, and it helps us get a better sense of what your interests are, and why you stop by F1B.

So...who wants to go first?

Lotus Wants Experienced Drivers: Has Contacted JV

Negative Camber — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:00:43 -0500

Calling itself the best of the new teams, the new Lotus F1 outfit is intent on signing two experienced drivers—and to do so by the end of the month—in the hope of being among the “bottom of the established teams” in 2010.

At least, so says Lotus chief Mike Gasgoyne, and Autosport .

Jarno Trulli is the team’s top choice—and given Toyota’s pull-out, it seems a pretty strong inevitability that Trulli will end up there—but it also has contact former champ Jacques Villeneuve, and Christian Klien. Both of those drivers were seen with Lotus people at Abu Dhabi.

Here’s more:

“We are looking for two drivers with experience,” [Gasgoyne] told AUTOSPORT. “We are not looking for pay drivers or new drivers. We think that is very important for the team.

“What is becoming clear to every one of the new teams is that we have gone from last to first of the new teams very rapidly. We are being seen as a serious entity. We have got quite a lot of interest, but we want two experienced drivers there.”

When asked about Trulli being top of his list, Gascoyne said: “He is one of the guys we would like to have. Jarno has, over one lap, always been sensational. That is even more important in a new team because you need to know where you are on a Saturday. Jarno can always give you that.”

[snip]

“We hope by the end of November,” he said. “We don’t want to be hanging around, we want to be proactive in what we are doing, rather than reactive. That is something we want to tie up pretty soon.”

Gascoyne says that the design of the 2010 car is on schedule, with a first shakedown scheduled for February.

When asked if he felt his early ambition to be best of the new teams was still on track, he said: “I think that is not our target any more.

“That is a given, and now we are aiming at the bottom of the established teams. We want to be as close as possible to them,” he added.

Hey, if they are aiming for the bottom of the established teams, maybe “stealing” [allegedly!!] Force India’s designs makes more sense.

The team could do worse than a Trulli/Klien pairing, though, couldn’t they? I had heard Anthony Davidson’s name attached to Lotus, so I do have to admit I’m a bit disappointed he appears to be off their radar.

Is there a better line-up for Lotus? And is Gasgoyne being a little too big for his britches?

Bernie Blase About Toyota Departure

Negative Camber — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:34:50 -0500

Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has been pretty quiet in the past few days, despite the news that both Bridgestone, and Toyota are leaving the series.

One has to look to the bottom of this Telegraph story to get some lukewarm statements from him about Toyota, for instance. And even when you get there—well, it just isn’t much:

Ecclestone would not be drawn on legal action against Toyota and said: “We’re looking into it.”

He added that he was not concerned for the future of Formula One in the light of the Japanese company’s withdrawal. “When you look at the history since Formula One started, I think there have been 73 teams coming and going, so this is what happens,” Ecclestone said.

“The only people that have been with us for ever, since Day 1, are Ferrari. Car companies make decisions based on nothing really to do with Formula One racing.”

Best I can figure is that Bernie and his partners have decided that a muted response to this week’s news is the way to go. Although we also know that Bernie is always super calculated, and he isn’t going to show any concern, as that would demonstrate weakness and panic.

But his statement that “this is what happens” certainly does not suggest F1 is going to do anything about the rash of exits. We’ll have to see if that is the right strategy.

Force India Wins $4.6 Million in Suit Against Sponsors

Negative Camber — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:20:22 -0500

Former Force India sponsors Eithad and Aldar today were ordered to pay the team $4.6 million in compensation for terminating their deals after the team made its switch from Spyker to Force India.

Do you suppose Giancarlo Fisichella is on the phone to Vijay Mallya yet?

The new-to-me Arabianbusiness.com says it has the exclusive story :

Etihad and Aldar, the title sponsors of the team, switched its sponsorship to the Ferrari team for the 2008 season citing conflict with Kingfisher, the airline owned by Force India shareholder Vijay Mallya.

The original three year deal was signed between the team and Etihad on April 16, 2007 and agreed at $5 million for 2007, $6 million for 2008 and $9 million for 2009.

[snip]

At the time, the team was called Spyker and there was no conflict. That occurred when Vijay Mallya bought a shareholding in the team the following year. Mallya was prepared to continue the agreement and not promote his airline on the cars.

However on January 27 2008, the airline terminated the deal and signed with Ferrari in a deal believed to be worth $10 million a year.

Judge Gray awarded $2.483 million for the wrongful termination of the agreement after only one year in. He awarded $500,000 for termination of the bonus for points agreement and $1.3 million for termination of the championship performance bonus agreement.

Judge Gray said the damages award would have been much higher if the team had no mitigated its loss and found replacement sponsors.

[snip]

An Etihad spokesperson said: “Both Etihad and Aldar Properties were surprised at the judgement and strongly disagree with its conclusions. We have been advised that there are strong grounds for appealing the decision and will be pressing on with an immediate appeal.”

If the decision stands, it has to be a decent boost for the team; as a comparison, during the American broadcast of the Abu Dhabi race the announcers said the difference between finishing third and fourth in the constructors championship was $5 million.

Vatanen Speaks…Since Todt Isn't

Negative Camber — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:49:50 -0500

Since Jean Todt’s FIA has very little to say about the recent Bridgestone, and Toyota announcements, other than the obligatory “we’re concerned and might sue” statement sprinkled with a dash of “see? Mosley was right about cost-caps” nonsense, it seems we have to look to the person who should have been elected FIA president, upon Max Mosley’s retirement, for actual presidential leadership .

Ari Vatanen has spoken out about the recent shock news in F1, which I am just waiting for someone to coin “manufacturer-gate”, or “Maker-gate”, following Bridgestone and Toyota’s announcement of their departure from the series. Renault is understood to be seriously considering exiting the sport, as well in an extraordinary meeting of the board of directors yesterday.

If I am honest, I was expecting much more from Jean Todt than the weak and heavy-handed press release the public received yesterday concerning the news. In fact, it was downright depressing to be honest. The tone, content, and hind-pokery was just sophomoric, and smelt of week-old Mosley wordsmithing.

A clear indicator that what the FIA member clubs voted for was indeed a regime, and it is made manifest by the notion that the first crisis, since taking the helm, for Jean Todt is met with the most pedestrian of Mosley-esque moves. The clear design that commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone is still at the helm, and that the FIA is a shill for his needs, and desire to reduce the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) to a shambling heap of gelatinous goo.

FOTA is now reduced to three manufacturers, and Ferrari issued one of its strongest statements yesterday concerning Toyota’s exit equating it to a murder mystery. The new teams, as I stated before, are like the remote African FIA motoring clubs who will vote anyway you need them to, as the promised checks are enough of an incentive to cast integrity headlong into the wood-chipper.

So is Ferrari right ? Is it economics, or something else akin to an Agatha Christie novel? Vatanen thinks it’s the latter:

“If you analyze it Renault is right, they are a serious international corporation and not loonies like Max Mosley [former FIA president] has called them, they are just very disillusioned with the governance of Formula One,” he said.

“[Renault] would stay in the FIA championship if the sport was known for positive news and if it was a good avenue for marketing and promotion — but Formula One is only known for conflict, crisis and court cases recently, and big companies cannot afford that,” Vatanen added.

“We must realize the economic realities is nothing to do with the crisis. Big companies always look to market and promote, even when times are tough, but only if it is in a sensible way.

“I do hope [Renault do not leave], but if they do it is the final alarm call that we cannot continue with business as usual. I’m sad to say the old guard are still in power in the FIA but teams are starting to vote with their feet,” Vatanen added.

Like Ferrari, Vatanen sees the Molsey regime still in power, and actively diluting the FOTA position. FOTA won victory last summer, and both Ecclestone and Mosley knew all too well how dangerous the combined efforts of manufacturers could be, but they sallied forth to destroy FOTA, and have done a yeoman’s job of it by successfully replacing Mosley (forced out by FOTA) with a hand-picked successor who would follow the beat of the Ecclestone drum in lockstep with the Mosely regime.

The Mosley regime is an insidious machination working within the guise of the FIA, and Ecclestone himself is the largest part of their leadership. FOTA failed in successfully starting a breakaway racing series last summer, and at some level were duped by Ecclestone/Mosley into re-signing the Concorde Agreement.

Now they have Todt carrying water for the sycophants, and perhaps the future looks bleak for the world’s largest car makers. Perhaps in time we will see the real reason for leaving F1, but until then, Toyota, Bridgestone, and possibly Renault, are content with blaming the economy.

Op-Ed: Ferrari 'war' statement gets traction

Negative Camber — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:31:40 -0500

I may be going out on a bit of limb, but I think that Ferrari’s reaction to the departure of Toyota from Formula 1 may end up having the bigger impact on the sport—far larger than the sudden disappearance of Japanese makers from the grid.

Ferrari undoubtedly is the big boy in F1 circles. And it has to like it there—after all, who doesn’t want to be king of the mountain, so to speak?

I think its statement is a preemptive shot against two threats to its dominance: 1) the growing influence of engine manufacturers, especially Mercedes; and 2) the strength of the FIA leadership, now under former Ferrari man Jean Todt.

Judging from the how much the media is picking up the story, and the way it is being spun, Ferrari has to be feeling like the shot hit its mark.

The BBC has this headline : “F1 ‘war’ on car makers – Ferrari”. The story is pretty straight-forward.

The Times of London headline has to have hearts pounding happily in Maranello: “Ferrari blame Max Mosley for departure of Toyota”.

The story follows that line: “Ferrari launched a new attack on the FIA last night, blaming Max Mosley, its former president, for Toyota’s decision to follow Honda, BMW and Bridgestone in quitting the sport.”

The Telegraph ramps up the rhetoric, as well: “Ferrari furious with Formula One’s rulers as Renault prepare to exit.” It goes on the refer to the statement as an “outburst.”

Amazingly, The Sun doesn’t seem to have figured out it has a real fight on its hands, and not one faked up for the pro wrestling ring.

I’ll be keeping an eye on what’s coming out of Maranello and subsequent reaction. I’m also waiting for a certain seven-time world champion to say something.

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Breaking: A1GP Cancels Races, Puts Series' Equipment in Storage

Negative Camber — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:22:57 -0500

Hey, at least Formula 1 will be around in 2010. [Right?]

The future is not looking so hot for the A1GP series.

All credit to Autosport for getting this one up:

The Chinese and Malaysian rounds of A1GP have been cancelled because the series’ rescue package has not materialised in time.

The scrapping of the races at Zhuhai and Sepang follows the cancellation of the opening round at Sufers Paradise in Australia last month.

This week’s AUTOSPORT magazine reports that A1GP’s administrator is hoping to sell the entire fleet of cars to someone wanting to continue the series, although the cars will need to be modified to meet the FIA’s latest head-restraint and side-impact regulations.

Several key A1GP personnel have now left the company and the series’ equipment has been put into storage after the lease on its hangar at Silverstone expired last week.

There is a ton of information to digest in those few paragraphs. The cars are all for sale. But they need to be updated, so really it is like buying last year’s model. That’s not exactly enticing.

And the folks who probably know how to run things—OK, that might be arguably, too—are gone. So where is the experience and knowledge to go with all the equipment?

And a final thought: Does anyone care?

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IndyCar Series: Danica Patrick Part-Time in NASCAR, Izod as Title Sponsor

Negative Camber — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:50:31 -0500

A couple of notes from the open-wheel world in America.

First off, rumors have circulated that Danica Patrick will try to get the best of both worlds by keeping a full IndyCar schedule while also running a dozen or so races on NASCAR’s Nationwide series.

Here’s the skinny from ESPN:

IndyCar Series and crossover media star Danica Patrick is nearing completion of a two-year contract with JR Motorsports, the NASCAR Nationwide Series operation owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., and a source close to the negotiations described the talks as being “in the final phase.”

A second source close to the situation confirmed the deal is moving forward, saying “talks are moving in a very positive direction and it would probably be a surprise if it didn’t happen.”

[snip]

Sources also told Smith the first race on Patrick’s tentative schedule is the ARCA event at Daytona Speedweeks. Depending on whether or not she is approved by NASCAR to run the Daytona Nationwide Series event in February, Patrick plans to run 12 or 13 Nationwide races in 2010, sources said.

If Patrick is not approved by NASCAR, she would likely debut at Auto Club Speedway the following week.

[snip]

Sources said GoDaddy.com, which already sponsors Patrick in the IndyCar Series, is expected to be the primary sponsor for the car.

Contrary to reports that Patrick will make $300,000 a race, sources said she would make in line of the typical Nationwide salary—between $50,000 and $100,000 a race. “She’s not in it for the money,” a source said. “She’s in it for the experience.”

Patrick, the 2005 Indy 500 Rookie of the Year and the first woman to win an IndyCar Series race, will continue to race full-time for Andretti Green Racing in IndyCar.

The other news, expected to be announced officially later today, is that Izod—yes, the clothing company responsible for those alligator shirts—will come on as the title sponsor for the IndyCar series.

And thus, Izod IndyCar shall be born.

Lotus Under Scruntiny for Car Design

Negative Camber — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:01:30 -0500

The new Lotus team, headed by been-around-the-block Mike Gasgoyne, finds itself under the microscope this week because the initial designs of its car resemble that other another team.

And that’s a big no-no, although one that Lotus only will be officially bound by once it signs the Concorde Agreement.

But I think we all will agree that’s not the big news here. The big news: the team that Lotus is accused of parroting.

Red Bull? No.

Brawn GP? After all, it just won both championships. Not it.

McLaren? Try again.

OK...Ferrari? I mean, the car was kind of hopeless there at the end, but surely it has a solid base to begin with, right? No.

The Lotus wind-tunnel design looks, apparently, an awful lot like Force India’s car.

I know, I know, this might be a bigger sign of Lotus’ unlikelihood of making the grid than USF1’s unpainted HQ.

As a bit of a Force India fan, even I wouldn’t look to those cars for my model. Of course, Gasgoyne is an old Force India employee, so you can see where the issue starts.

Here’s a bit more from Autosport :

Force India is keeping a close eye on the progress of the Lotus Formula 1 team’s 2010 design, with team sources saying it is concerned about the similarities between its old car and the new Lotus.

Lotus recently published photographs of the wind-tunnel model that will form the basis of its new car. At the time, there was discussion about how similar it looked to the Force India – especially because Force India’s former Aerolab wind tunnel and technical chief Mike Gascoyne are now working together on the Lotus project.

Sources suggest that there were details on the wind tunnel model that have become a cause for alarm for Force India’s senior management. These relate to the design of the front wing assembly, which Force India believes is virtually identical to that which it started last season.

Furthermore, the team is concerned by the fact that the Lotus was fitted with wind-tunnel tyres that featured hand-writing from Force India staff – meaning they could only have come from the Silverstone-based team.

[snip]

“Obviously our wind-tunnel model was designed for us by Fondtech in Italy,” Gascoyne told AUTOSPORT.

“It is based around a 2010 chassis, because there is a big fuel volume in it, it has a Cosworth engine, an Xtrac gearbox, our suspension, and other stuff designed by us. The Fondmetal guys put some generic bodywork on [for the tests].

“Some of the staff had been working on different projects. And whereas you cannot copy anything or take anyone else’s IP, you can use your expertise – and you will base that on what you know and what directions you know have been happening. That is what has happened.”

Gasgyone’s argument is that Lotus is working with designers who know how the cars are put together, and so they put together a car that looks like the cars on the grid.

Sounds a bit fishy, though, given the connections to Force India. Plus, Gasgoyne drops this whopper: “Gascoyne added that because Lotus sub-contracts its design work to Fondtech, then any complaints Force India has should be directed to it – not Lotus.”

That sounds like he knows they’ve done something wrong to me—and not just picking the wrong car to mirror.

Oh, and there’s that whole “signed tires” issue. Sounds like the case is coming together pretty solidly.

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Op-Ed: On Renault's official response

Negative Camber — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:28:16 -0500

Renault’s Chief Executive, Carlos Ghosn, has made a statement to Reuters news agency that a decision about the French car maker’s involvement in F1 would be made before the end of 2009.

“You will have to be patient,” Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn told reporters. “We will make an announcement on our participation in Formula 1before the end of the year.”

In a previous statement by Managing Director Jean-François Caubet, it was suggested that Renault was staying put in F1 and has defined their budget as well as signed their drivers for the 2010 season.

Certainly one would see Caubet’s comments as matter-of-fact and in the hopeful column but Ghosn’s words are more cautious–more calculated. You would expect nothing less from the CEO and to those ends, it leaves room for doubt and rumor.

This comment seems to be an attempt to leave an open door and yet assuage the ravenous news media. It would not be hard to assume that the board members did not reach a complete agreement as some things may need time to mature in order for the board to make a final decision.

What things could those be? Toyota’s departure is apparently in breach of contract according to the Concorde Agreement they signed this summer. The FIA has made innuendos and asked for clarification from Toyota as to their intentions given this contractual obligation.

Renault could be biding time to see if anything comes from this threat of litigation and to what extent the damages may be as they are signatory to the same document which obligates them to participate through 2012.

This, alas, is all speculation but to delay a decision generally means that all the information necessary to make that decision was not present during deliberation. Most corporations collect all cost, revenue, risk and brand equity when making decisions regarding vertical markets and their presence in those markets.

The desire to enter F1 was most likely met with the creation of a proforma to determine the viability of the operation and to exit a vertical market is usually met with a similar proforma to show the exit costs and viability as well.

It remains to be seen if the cost of leaving F1 outweighs the cost of staying coupled with the brand equity impact of both decisions. This also assumes they will remain as an engine supplier. This offered as a consolation prize for leaving FOTA and F1 bereft of the French car maker’s existence in the series.

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Formula One: Renault Officially Delays Decision

Negative Camber — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:20:13 -0500

Despite Renault managing director Jean-François Caubet’s insistence that the team will remain in Formula One, the official line is this: We haven’t decided.

Reuters has the word from a higher source than Caubet—Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn.

Here’s the Reuters report :

PARIS, Nov. 5 (Reuters)—French carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) said on Thursday it would decide by the end of the year whether to stay in Formula One following Toyota’s exit from the sport.

“You will have to be patient,” Renault Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn told reporters. “We will make an announcement on our participation in Formula One before the end of the year.”

Toyota announced on Wednesday it was quitting the sport, less than a year after Japanese rivals Honda pulled out and only days since BMW ran its last race.

Sole tyre supplier Bridgestone has also said it will leave at the end of 2010.

Renault won the 2005 and 2006 championships with Fernando Alonso, but the Spaniard has now left for rivals Ferrari. Title sponsor ING has also departed, leaving a big hole in its budget.

If I were Robert Kubica…well, I don’t know what I would be doing now. If I were Timo Glock, I’d be calling McLaren right now.

My best sense is that Renault will sell the team and become an engine supplier for that team plus Red Bull.

Thoughts? What do you think would be Renault’s best path?

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