The FIA has written to the teams to seek their blessing to expand to 14 teams for the 2010 season. This was prompted by BMW finding a buyer for their operation and the addition of Lotus as a new team. Lotus F1 has taken the official 13th entry on the grid for next season with backing from the Malaysian government and several Malaysian firms. The team principal has been announced to be Tony Fernandes, the founder and CEO of Tune Group who owns Air Aisa. Mike Gascoyne has been named…
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F1 – Having Your Cake and eating it too
We found out this past weekend that Santander will be sponsoring Ferrari for the next five years. However, it now appears the Spanish banking giant will now have the market cornered in terms of top teams as they have also extended a sponsorship deal with McLaren as well. What gives? This decision will see the banking company not only sponsor grand prix, but the two most successful teams in Formula 1 history. According to an article on AUTOSPORT, the deal with McLaren is mainly in line with Lewis Hamilton. Whereas…
Read MoreIndyCar – Stagnant Momentum
Shortly before the beginning of the 2008 IndyCar season the long cold war with CART/CCWS came to an end when the former series declared bankruptcy after making a deal with the IRL. The IRL offered the existing CCWS teams a free 1-year engine lease and a free chassis for 2 years to any team that would run the entire season. On top of that, the IRL’s TEAM program guaranteed all full time participants 1.24 million USD per car that ran the full season, plus additional bonuses for podiums, poles and…
Read MoreF1 – Alonso to Ferrari…Not Yet!
The Formula 1 silly season has really been centered around one individual. That man is double world champion Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard is currently the hottest driver on the market and has been all but put in the seat at the Maranello squad. Sponsors have signed, end of year banquets moved and all in anticipation for Ferrari’s next big signing. Hold the phone, President Luca has thrown a wrench in the plans by indicating that the Spaniard will probably drive one day for the red team, but next year is…
Read MoreOP-Ed – Photo Galleries on Facebook
As promised during Podcast Episode 07, we now have some photo galleries up on our Facebook Page. Search Facebook for “Open Paddock”, find our page, and become a fan. You can also get to our Facebook page from the badge on our sidebar on the right-hand side of this page. So far, we have pictures from the 100 Acre Wood Rally America event that was held in Salem, MO, the IndyCar and IndyLights race at the Kansas Speedway, IndyCar and IndyLights practice, qualification, and raceday pics from the Indianapolis 500,…
Read MoreEpisode 07 – Open Paddock Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadFinally, after 3 hours of fighting the server and getting it loaded, here is the seventh installment of the most politically incorrect motorsport show on the web! Rally Oz review, Palestinians and rocks, and a weekly round up of all the racing news you so desperately crave. Also, I finally give Doug a chance to respond to the verbal thrashings he recieved last episode. Enjoy!!
Read MoreF1 – In Nelson’s Own Words
We are on the eve of one of the more celebrated races on the F1 calendar, but unfortunately dark storm clouds loom on the horizon for Renault. While it is unfortunate that the racing this season has been overshadowed by the FIA’s bunglings and FOTA’s saber rattling, this is clearly a case where the FIA absolutely has to intercede on this matter. Nelson Piquet has alleged that he was directed to crash his car at Valencia last year to give Fernando Alonso a chance to win the race. And now,…
Read MoreLe Mans – Dixon at de Ferran for Petit
Scott Dixon will join de Ferran motorsport for Petit Le Mans. Dixon has ran in three previous ALMS races with the team and even put the Acura on pole for Sebring at the start of this year. The situations will be the same with Acura trying to take it to the real contenders in Audi and Peugeot. Going one step further with this, what are the chances that de Ferran will try and scoop up Scott for the IRL program?
Read MoreIndyCar – Danica May Do Double Duty
According to an article on ESPN.com, Danica to try NASCAR in ’10, Ms. Patrick will attempt to follow in Tony Stewart’s shoes by running a full-time IndyCar schedule while also running a significant number of NASCAR Nationwide and ARCA Series races for Tony Stewart’s team. In fact, it looks like she’s be running more races in the taxis than in proper race cars. As I see it, this is very unfortunate. The additional workload will certainly not help her racecraft in an open-wheel car, rather I’d say it will hurt…
Read MoreF1 – Schumacher/Ferrari Talk at Monza
With the silly season in full swing and the Italian Grand Prix coming up, what would be a week without a story out of Maranello. While we were lucky enough to acquire Fisichella from Force India to help finish this years campaign, we still have to focus on where we are going to be next year. So lets stir the silly season pot. Crash.net ran a story this morning indicating that both Ferrari and Michael Schumacher will be staging talks on Michael’s involvement in the team next year. However, what…
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