As we had wrote in our Bahrain race review, Red Bull Racing has blamed a component linked to the spark plug as the reason for Sebastian Vettel dropping off the pace. However, the trained eye of Ron Dennis seems to believe that it was a fuel issue that plagued Vettel’s chance at victory and that there may be a design flaw on the RB6. Interesting… Dennis indicated that the McLaren ECU may have remapped fuel in a move to conserve for the rest of the race. This is a completely…
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Diffuser Row Take 2
It was Australia of last year when we found out about a trick double decker diffuser that was placed on the Brawn GP machine that raised a number of questions. The diffuser was then made legal and the other teams were forced to design one for the rest of the season. However, by that time the damage had been done and Button would go on to be your champion. The FiA announced today that the diffuser will change again and now a select number of teams have been told to…
Read MoreF1 – Monster to Sponsor Mercedes GP Drivers
It would appear that Red Bull is no longer the only kid on the energy drink block as Monster has announced a deal that will see them sponsor Mercedes GP. Monster has global reach in terms of motorsport and sponsors the likes of Ken Block, Ricky Carmichael, and scores of other motorcross drivers. It only makes sense that the drink company would now make their presence known in the realm of F1 to further that global success. Below is the brief press release on the deal: On the day of…
Read MoreF1 – Bahrain Review and Some Thoughts
The first race of the 2010 world championship has come and gone and everybody can be happy that the natural order has been restored. However the most anticipated season in F1 history continued to display the same gremlins that the FiA just can’t shake. Fernando Alonso would eventually take victory after Sebastian Vettel hit engine trouble (spark plug) in the closing stages. Fernando is the second straight full time Ferrari driver to win on his debut. The Maranello based squad put on an impressive debut with a 1-2 finish as…
Read MoreF1 – Bahrain Quali Results
While yesterday marked the first day in which cars took to the track for the 2010 FiA Formula 1 World Championship, today was the first day where we actually got to see who had what in terms of outright performance. Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix was some of the most exciting action I had seen in terms of grid position in some time. Sebastian Vettel would claim his sixth career pole position in a most spectaculor fashion by beating second place Felipe Massa by a tenth of a second.…
Read MoreF1 – Friday Practice Thoughts
I will preface this bit by saying this will only cover free practice 2 since that is all we in the US are legally capable of getting. I was happy to see that cars were on track for the first time in 2010. With all the depressing news on USF1 and the other teams as well as the return of Michael and all of the positive stories in the news, I was like a boy on Christmas Eve hardly able to sleep last night. Here are just a few things…
Read MoreF1 – Humble Hamilton?…I’m Confused
Anybody who has followed F1 the last few years has come to understand that Lewis Hamilton sometimes has a way of making some pretty far out there statements. This is the man who “blew away” two time champion Fernando Alonso while both drivers were at McLaren together. However, Lewis has had a slightly different tone when discussing his on track action with Michael Schumacher. Autosport has recently ran a story where Hamilton describes his on track action at last weeks Barcelona test with the seven time champion as well as…
Read MoreF1 – USF1 Told to Stop Work
Well it was fun while it lasted, but the news out of Charlotte today is finally the end of what has been one ugly situation. For the last few weeks USF1 has been the center of attention off the track. While teams tested and prepared for the season opener in Bahrain, the struggling American outfit has done nothing but sit in a stalled state. News of backers leaving and sponsors falling off has made for one ugly PR situation for the team that announced in February of 2009 their intentions…
Read MoreOP-Ed – Ferrari the Crusader
There are times when Ferrari releases some crazy PR statements, and then there are times where the completely fall off the wagon with what can only be called ridiculous. Yesterday the team released one of those ridiculous statements. The troubles faced by the new teams on the grid have been well documented by openpaddock and many motorsport publications. Campos Meta’s near collapse teamed with the bloody and ugly falling of USF1 have driven traffic on internet sites through the roof as people search for any bit of news they can…
Read MoreF1 – Report: USF1 on Serious Life Support?
I will preface this by saying I am not on an anti USF1 slaughter fest and am willing to admit that the factory for sale post may have been slightly hasty on my behalf; however there are new troubling rumors that Peter Windsor’s dream may be over and they may have some traction. With only one driver and no cars and with about a month left before Bahrain, USF1’s main financial backer Chad Hurley MAY be leaving the team in favor of Campos Meta or Stefan GP. The rumors have…
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