After much speculation about the readiness of USF1 and their 2010 challenger, the FIA headed to tin taxi country in good ol’ Charlotte North Carolina and were served a piece of humble pie. This can mostly be attributed to one Bernie Eccleston and his “well tapped” information. Last week Bernie stated that there had been doubts raised as to whether the US team would make the 2010 grid, and stated that the soon to be Qadbak team would not have to worry about a 14 team waiver. Further more, there…
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F1 – Suzuka Wrap-up
The Formula 1 World Championship returned to Suzuka for the first time since 2006 this weekend. Jenson Button could sure up the title this weekend as could Brawn GP. Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing would have something to say about it before all was said and done however. Sebastian Vettel would go on to dominate the Japanese Grand Prix. His victory not only kept Red Bull Racing in the title fight, but also kept the German himself in the hunt for his first driver’s title. Toyota was unable to…
Read MoreF1 – Alonso Confirmed at Ferarri
It seems like the last three seasons have been building up to this. Fernando Alonso was confirmed at Ferrari for the 2010-2012 seasons, with options on 2013 and 2014. Of course, no details have emerged on his contract, but speculation puts it around 25 million euros (36 million USD) per season. But the story goes a little deeper, due to the contracts that were already in place. With Felipe and Kimi signed through 2011, Ferrari had to make way for Fernando to join, but that was further complicated by Massa’s…
Read MoreF1 – Teams Vote Down KERS Again
Word is now coming out that the teams met over the Singapore GP weekend and voted to not use KERS in 2010. If you recall, this is the second such vote taken this season as FOTA voted to not use KERS in 2010 earlier this year. We were all wondering what would become of the system, but it was given new hope in the form of the finally released technical regulations for next year, which increased the weight minimum from 605kg to 620kg. This move was initially made so that…
Read MoreF1 – Alonso Announcement Thursday
Reports are coming out of the Spanish media that Fernando Alonso will be announced at Ferrari on Thursday. Reportedly, Alonso will make 25 million euros per year for the next 5 years, with an additional option on a 6th year. We have been hearing rumors of this deal for the last several seasons, but it was supposedly debunked when Ferrari resigned Kimi and Felipe through the 2010 season. But then we started hearing rumors earlier this season that Ferrari was attempting to buy out Kimi’s 2010 contract. At this point,…
Read MoreF1 – Eccelstone Doubts USF1
It has been known for what seems like eternity that Bernie Ecclestone is a very outspoken man. One to never let an opportunity in front of a microphone go, Bernie has now heaped scorn at the Peter Windsor/Ken Anderson USF1 entry claiming that he does not believe the team will be ready for 2010. The new Charlotte based team has worked methodically and round the clock to ensure their entry would hit the grid by 2010 and have done it all right in my opinion. They have their own chassis…
Read MoreF1 – FIA OK with Re-Homologation
Engine homologation in F1 has been a bit of a black art. The teams were allowed to make ‘reliability upgrades’ to their cars, but those upgrades have increased engine performance. So much so that Renault was allowed to make special engine upgrades during the offseason to catch up. New concerns over the performance level of the engines have come up, with many in the paddock saying that the Mercedes engine is at a very clear advantage, especially after their performance at Monza. The FIA has responded to requests from FOTA…
Read MoreF1 – 2010 Schedule Released
The FIA took the opportunity of the WMSC meeting with Renault to release the 2010 F1 calendar of events: March 14 – Bahrain March 28 – Australia April 4 – Malaysia April 18 – China May 9 – Spain May 23 – Monaco May 30 – Turkey June 13 – Canada* June 27 – Europe (Valencia) July 11 – Great Britain July 25 – Germany August 1 – Hungary August 29 – Belgium September 12 – Italy September 26 – Singapore October 3 – Japan October 17 – Korea October…
Read MoreF1 – WMSC Puts Down Smack
The FIA has issued their full verdict on the Renault ‘Piquetgate’ scandal and the arbitrary hand of FIA justice has fallen. Leading up to this mornings WMSC hearing, Pat Symonds and Flavio Briatore left the team and Renault made it known that they would not dispute any of the FIA’s findings. On top of that they issued an unreserved apology to the FIA for the actions of members of their team. The FIA found that Nelson Piquet Jr., Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds conspired to have NPJ crash during last…
Read MoreF1 – Symonds Offered Immunity
The showdown between the FIA and Renault over race fixing allegations is set to come to a head in just a few days, the FIA has reached out to Pat Symonds (director of engineering) at Renault F1 and offered him immunity from punishment if he releases further details regarding the events surrounding the 2008 Grand Prix of Singapore. Symonds has been somewhat suspect in dealing with these allegations all together. The director indicated that there were discussions about having Piquet crash, but those ideas were brought forward originally by Piquet…
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