Bahrain may be the first pure grand prix of the season. As always, Melbourne was a safety-car stunted crash fest where the only true pace we got to observe was the FIA’s snail speed bureaucracy which still hasn’t finished its proceedings with the hapless McLaren team. Sepang has traditionally been the race that everybody starts to see how the championship is going to unfold, but this year Bernie, in his infinite wisdom, decided to push back the start of the race so that it would end at twilight despite protests…
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Dennis Quits Formula 1
Ron Dennis has just announced he will be quiting all Formula 1 operations effective immediately. In a press conference outside Woking, the long time McLaren supremo stated he “had no problem with Martin taking over the team.” This press conference came as a result of mounting pressure in regards to the current scandal McLaren find themselves in. This is the second scandal of this size in the last two years which have shaken the foundations of the silver team. Some believe this move also came at the request of Anthony…
Read MoreChinese Grand Prix Preview
The F1 traveling circus has left the WMSC and is now heading to Shanghai, China for the Chinese Grand Prix. This event has been moved from the end of the year and now settles in as the third stop on tour. The race has been struggling as of late and attendance is not what it was before. So much so, that the race has been mentioned as being scrapped if numbers do not improve. Where have I heard that before? Brawn GP and Jenson Button will be the favorites…
Read MoreDiffuser is Ruled Legal
After a day full of testimony and saber rattling, the diffuser row has finally come to an end. The Times Online is reporting that the double diffuser that many teams stated were illegal have been given the thumbs up by the WMSC. While keeping the championship standings the same, we now will see who will have a new diffuser lined up for Shanghai this weekend and if those without can keep pace. I am happy to see that the WMSC made the right decision. However, I am also still very…
Read MoreF1 – WMSC Rulings to Overshadow GP’s
Shanghai is the next stop on the world circus, and yet with only two flyaway races left before the European leg begins, the entire F1 world is overshadowed by imminent decisions from the World Motorsport Council. First up is the diffuser row to be settled by the WMSC tomorrow. Brawn, Toyota and Williams are running a double decker diffuser design which meets the letter of the regulations, but they somewhat defy the intent. While the other teams charge that these diffusers are illegal, Max Mosely rendered his opinion on the…
Read MoreThe Straw that Broke the Camel’s Back
This Formula 1 Season has seen a number of events that one could call extraordinary. Brawn GP and the little private teams taking it to the big factory funded giants. Some teams up to the same old dirty tactics and a young world champion on the verge of a mid life crisis ten years too early. Yet through all of this, a storm has been brewing in Maranello that few have really focused on and the relationship that brought title after title could finally be over. The world was not ready after 2006 to see…
Read MoreF1 – Vettel to Talk with Stewards Again
Sebastian Vettel has been summoned before the stewards at Malaysia. Christian Horner stated the following to Autosport: “Steward advisor Alan Donnelly has asked to have a chat with Sebastian to go through the rationale behind their penalty. I thought the penalty was harsh; we thought it was very much a racing incident – Sebastian was defending his line and the eventual decision depended on what was specifically discussed during the stewards’ hearing. I think Alan wanted to speak to Sebastian about that, to discuss the long and short of it.”…
Read MoreF1 – Hamilton Excluded from Melbourne
Lewis Hamilton was summoned before the race stewards at Malaysia where they have ruled that he and McLaren “acted in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the Stewards”. This after radio transmissions between the team and the driver were reviewed. Therefore, the stewards have excluded McLaren from the race results. Hamilton has been stripped of his retroactively applied 3rd place finish and Jarno Trulli will retroactively re-assume his 3rd step on the podium. Open Paddock would like to express our extreme…
Read MoreHamilton Summoned by Stewards
As the week goes on, we are given one reminder after another that the FIA prefers to rule F1 as a bloated parliamentary bureaucracy instead of as race directors. Flashback to the Australian GP during the last safety car period. Hamilton passed Jarno Trulli when his car went off course, despite a very respectable effort of starting from pitlane and bringing his car up to 3rd position. Hamilton passed him since he was off circuit, and then later slowed down so much that Jarno thought he was having problems, so…
Read MoreWhat Went Wrong
The first round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship has come and gone. The hype is over and what was thought to be a dream has now settled into reality. Jenson Button and Brawn GP are for real and the top teams are left asking themselves what is next. They however should not be the only ones asking that question. The radical rule changes that were put in place for this year’s championship were seen every time a car flashed past the camera. The idea to radically change the…
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