I have been very happy out of what Eric Boullier has put on display during the Kimi Raikkonen potential of 2011. We all know that now it is not going to happen, but what was most shocking was Kimi’s childish reply to the team. Earlier this week we had mentioned Kimi was not going to Renault and was very upset with the Renault team boss for even using his name. He accused Boullier and Renault of using his image to further the team commercially. I was shocked at the response…
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Episode 59 – Openpaddock.net Podcast
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Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadApologies for the late arrival. The show is 24 hours old but I left all of my important server uploading info on an external drive that I left at the hospital. #EpicFail! We take a good look at the season finale as well as the pecking order that is the IZOD IndyCar series. Silly season rumors are everywhere for IndyCar and the WRC, while we talk a little bit about Petit. Great discussion and a little comedy makes for a really long show time,…
Read MoreF1 – Renault Excercise Caution…Rightfully So!
Eric Boullier and the Renault Formula 1 team have worked very hard this season with driver Robert Kubica to turn around what was a joke last season. A team that nearly folded shop has seemingly been returned to prominence this year and it has had to be THE feel good story of the year for F1. Kimi Raikkonen is still on the fence for his 2011 plans and Renault said today that they would not mind meeting Kimi face to face in order to understand what Kimi actually wants. I…
Read MoreF1 – World Motorsport Council News and Ferrari
So the World Motorsport Council met earlier this morning and have confirmed a few points of business already. There will be no new team on the grid, and the schedule has been proposed with 20 races set for 2011. We still are waiting on the Ferrari stuff to fall out, but it looks as though Ferrari are prepared to lose out on the decision as they have announced a poor performance in Monza will lead the team to begin full development of next year’s car. We here at the paddock…
Read MoreF1 – Raikkonen and Buemi Rumor Mill
While we thought that the extension of Massa and Webber would put a stop to big movers and shakers this silly season, that has not stopped some other names from picking up the slack. While Kimi Raikkonen has been the subject of a number of F1 seats since his departure, Sebastian Buemi has only been linked with his seat and its defense but now finds himself the subject of perhaps a Red Bull Racing seat. Raikkonen has been linked to Renault once before after being released by Ferrari. Rumor has…
Read MoreF1 – Massa Extension Settles Market
Ferrari has announced this morning the extension of Felipe Massa until the end of the 2012 season. This will give the Maranello based squad the lineup of Alonso/Massa until that point. A smart move by Ferrari who need to keep things relatively the same until they produce better results. It was thought that Alonso and Massa would give Ferrari a nearly untouchable combo this season and while the season is still young, it has been far from roses for the Italian marquee. This decision however will make for a very…
Read MoreF1 – Ferrari on Massa and 2011
Felipe Massa looks set to continue his driving days at Ferrari after the Italian marquee indicated their interest in extending his current deal. The man who joined Michael Schumacher in 2006 after a stint at Sauber becomes a free agent at the end of the season. Currently Felipe leads the drivers championship after three rounds and has shown his championship potential in past seasons. There was news that Robert Kubica was going to take the seat after his Renault contract ends, but at this time I think that both Ferrari…
Read MoreF1 – Torque Drive Ended Vettel’s Race
It has now being reported that the left torque drive was the reason for Sebastian Vettel’s retirement down under this weekend. This coming out as Brembo says their brake system was in fact not at fault for what happened to the 22 year old star. Below is a segment of the press release from Brembo: “With regard to the retirement of the Red Bull Racing’s driver Sebastian Vettel during the Grand Prix of Australia, Brembo communicates that the cause of his exit in Turn 13 was not caused by the…
Read MoreF1 – Australian Grand Prix Thoughts
Saturday night/Sunday morning brought us the second round of the Formula 1 2010 campaign and WOW! What a difference a wet track makes! Jenson Button would take an impressive victory and would actually get a couple respect points added in my book. The first corner clash of champions would prove too much for Michael Schumacher to overcome, but what about Fernando Alonso? What a dominant performance in the Ferrari after being spun completely around. I for one had wrote him off after that and he then showed me why he…
Read MoreF1 – Renault Power to Blame…
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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