2004 F1 Championship

[the B]

It's unlikely they can find someone quicker than Trulli so quickly, during the Monza GP - his fastest lap was actually the 7th fastest - ahead of Alonso by a few hundreths.

Speaking of which, it was Rubens and then Michael who were quickest. Rubens by about 2 tenths in the 1.21 region.

Pizzonia was almost a second behind, significantly faster than JPM who was trailling BARs for much of the race though and then (surprisingly) it was Fisichella.

Jordan purchase rumours are not longer limited to unknown consortiums out of the middle east, Arden (on the basis of the new regulations that look likely to come into force) may be interested in buying out Jaguar or Jordan.

And outside of F1, F3000 has come to an end. Winners of this Formula in the past include Jean Alesi, Christian Fittipaldi, Olivier Panis and JP Montoya, Zonta, Heidfeld, Justin Wilson and the last champion is Liuzzi.

 

[g force]

Do Arden have the cash to buy out Jag? I'd be shocked if they did.

If Arden take over Jordan, then Jordan disappears due to the IP issues, so the grid will still have the same number of cars. I think Arden would prefer to go it alone - Ford seems likely to drop its WRC programme to concentrate on F1 for the next 2 seasons...after that who knows.

I hope Luizzi gets the Sauber seat, if only to restore my faith in the lower formulas providing new drivers. The next few seasons are going to be interesting as a lot of drivers come to the end of their careers - MS, DC and the new drivers get prove their worth.

Not sure we'll see Klien, Wilson, Pantano when Wirdhiem, Briscoe and Davidson are pushing for seats and seem to be quicker.

 

[wordie]

It's looking more and more likely that Jacques will be in a Renault in China and Trulli will be on gardening leave.

Rumour has it that JV is having a seat fitting at Enstone today and could be testing at Silverstone tomorrow. Renault are testing there anyway for three days and interestingly enough, Trulli is not scheduled to be there even though it's the last chance teams have to test before shipping out for China....

On the Arden/Jordan deal, I don't see the point of simply replacing a name. Will Arden be better able to race in F1 than Jordan was, and if not, other than for Eddie J to get his hands on some ready cash, what's the point of the sale?

And Ford? What on earth are they doing? Having spent zillions on Jaguar, now they're thinking of dropping that name and running under the Ford oval. What a shower!

Walter Hayes, where are you when they (and we) need you?

 

[g force]

But Trulli wasn't ever scheduled to be there - it's Alonso and Montagny. they wouldn't let him test new stuff, knowing he's going to another team, esp if it's Toyota.

I think JV would be a huge mistake...he was good in a championship winning car, but I doubt he'll do any better than Trulli.

Well, it would be better for Arden to habve their own team, but the logic is that Arden are arguable the best chassis manufacturer out there and Jordan need a decent chassis. A new engine would be even better! I think Eddie would stay on to manage whatever happens, Arden woudl be technical staff.

TBH a massive cash injection would be better to try and sort themselves out and maybe convince Toyota to supply engines (as has been rumoured).

IMO, sacking Lauda was their biggest mistake - he was on the verge of kicking arse, but then Rahal came in, went again and now it's run by suits who know nothing about F1. And it shows...they've lost Webber, HSBC are pulling sponsorship at the end of this year and they want to get rid of Klien who brings in money

 

[Ich bin ein Mod]

Getting rid of the Stewart people was their biggest mistake. Stewart had made genuine progress, what has Jaguar done?

 

[the B]

Certain components of F1 cars in the future (from next year) will have to be manufactured to have a tough coating of kevlar or an equivalent substance around them to reudce debris when damaged by around 80% (presumably to stop the exploding tyres situation).

Arden will want to get into some kind of high end racing since F3000 has ended - and they ended it well - almost 3 seasons running winning both championships (they lost the drivers in 2002 when the driver failed a drugs test and lost points as a result).

Jordan would be selling up for about £50 million apparently.

Ferrari will continue to supply Sauber with engines and I think JV will be 'ok' at Renault, but not as good as Trulli. I don't think he could get used to the rather 'funny' Renault too quickly and he had a reputation as a bad starter...when the Renault is a car that needs really good starts to do 'it's stuff'.

 

[the B]

Trulli has officially been sacked and has revealed he has a drive for next year - despite it being almost blindingly obvious who it will be (Toyota) - he still won't disclose who it is.

 

[g force]

Arden have the deal for the new F2 series chassis, so they've got plenty of work already, taking on Jordan or Jag would IMO be a huge mistake.

TBH I wish Stewart had remained in F1, they were a breath of fresh air before the corporate bods at Ford got involved - Rubens win was a great moment in recent F1 history.

I can't believe Renault's attitude...Trulli won Monaco for them, and apart from a big fuck up in France has had a good seaso. Mayeb Flv shoudl look to his favoured driver Alonso for the reason why they've fallen behing BAR.

It would make more sense to have Montagny drive seeing as he knows the car better than anyone. TBH if JV does get the drive I hope he fucks it up because Falvio is being an utter cunt. Go BAR!

 

[g force]

Well fuck me he's not only got 3 drives in a Renault but Sauber have signed him to drive alongside Massa!!! Bizarre...he may be a former WDC but he almost manmaged to balls that season up despite having easily the best car in the field. I doubt Peter Sauber will standfor any petulance, although maybe JV is now a little more humble than before.

Shame Massa's got the second seat, hopefully Luizzi wil be the 3rd driver to gain some F1 experience before moving to Ferrari And that means peopel like DC and Davidson are left with the crap options. I hope Ant gets the BAR drive, although I suspect DC might be given it.

Trulli has...shock....been confirmed at Toyota on a 2-year deal.

 

[the B]

Trulli got them a win and two pole positions (the last one as recent as Belgium in admittedly, unusual circumstances maybe)

Don't think JV will be 'doing the business' for them.

I'm surprised JV has been taken on by Sauber especially - because he's never been keen on doing the other side of F1 - promoting and all sponsors related stuff...

 

[g force]

Jag are looking for new sponsors afert HSBC pulled the plug, and rumour is a chinese firm will sponsor the team, likely to be simply Ford F1.

However, a sticking point is the, as yet undecided, engine regs - Cosworth hasn't started building a new engine, which in turn is holding up the sale of Jordan (who wants a team with potentially no engine supplier!) and also Minardi.

There is also fall out from JV signing for Sauber...Red Bull wanted one of their drivers, ie Paffett. Apparently, they will withdraw sponsorship from Sauber and take it to Ford who already have Klien driving for them.

And should Ford withdraw after next season, Cosworth may also be shut down, leaving no 3rd party engine supplier and 2 teams without a deal!

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

Jag are pulling out of F1 at the end of the season

 

[g force]

Fuckity Fuck!

Guess Red Bull will stick with Sauber then! Well, that certainly messes things up...where will Minardi and Jordan get engines from if the regulations change? Hopefully DC will be without a drive now too

Hopefully someone will buy their space, but when Prost and Arrows withdrew no one bought up their chassis etc and they were better than Jag!

 

[the B]

I think there's been a bit of 'blackout' on the news front.

Bernie has said he wasn't surprised Jaguar/Ford pulled out...so he must know something we don't about the slot being bought up.

Jordan and Minardi are also confident they have engines sorted out so they must know the Cosworth engine interest is getting picked up too.

 

[wordie]

Yeah, but what about the wider implications for F1 motorsport.

A wake up call for the team owners, Bernie and the FIA if ever there was one.....

 

[the B]

I think they're aware of the need to cut costs (or give the teams more money).

It's been a part of the ultimate aim of the rule changes.

 

[g force]

DC at it again!

The man is a comic genius.

From Planet F1:

"David Coulthard believes had he been the one driving the BAR this season, instead of Jenson Button, he would have a "won a grand prix or two."

"It's just down to experience. Jenson will win many races in due course, but right now I know how to win and hope I'll get the chance to prove it with BAR next season. If I do, there's no reason why I can't challenge for the title."



Superb stuff once again from DC, no doubt next year will be "his year". Amazing how his team mate can lead a GP and win another from a lower place on the grid. The only incident I can think of where DC might have done better than Jenson is US, where BAR stayed out after Ralf's accident.

Christ, he can't pass people either!

I really hope he doesn't drive for them next season - he's had his chance.

 

[the B]

DC will sadly probably get the BAR seat...not obviously who else BAR will go for.

The CRB rule on the Button saga tomorrow but he'll probably leave BAR 'legitmately' anyway. Not sure how much Williams would have to stump up for him but I'm sure BAR could get Coulthard on the cheap...

Glock replaces Pantano for the last three races.

Shanghai is meant to be designed with some reasonably good overtaking spots...

 

[wordie]

The CRB have adjourned until 16th October....

So the Button saga continues!

Typical lawyers; anything to increase their fees!

 

[g force]

Glock has great potential but, IMO is nowhere near as good as Ant, Wirheim, or Luizzi.

I'd prefer to see Nick Hiedfled in the second BAR, but I get the impression it's DC's ride. Hope he only gets a 1 year contract though.

With Jag's demise I'd guess that Klien might go to Jordan for the money, unless their mysterious backer actually comes up trumps. I suppose the 3rd seat at Sauber is a possible, but Luizzi seems to be ahead of him for that as well.

 

[the B]

If Cosworth isn't bought up soon - all the teams might get to field 3 drivers...

Bernie seems kind of keen on the idea saying 'at least all the cars would be competitive'.

It wouldn't exactly reduce costs though would it Bernie...

 

[g force]

And it also wouldn't work...the concorde agreement allows for a third car, but those drivers, for some reason, cannot take a place on the podium. Potentially you could have a situation wherere there's no one on the podium, despite scoring points for winning the race

Then there's the problem of team orders...they're banmnmed but I guarantee with 3 cars in each race there would be accuation of "tactics".

What Bernie shoudl do is fuck right off out of F1, stopping grabbing all the money and actually leave the FIA to concule with teams on changes. BMW have already said that if the money situation isn't sorted they'll be off..it's not like F1 helps them sell the 3 series.

 

[kyser_soze]

Ha ha ha...anyone read this on BBC this morning?

China hosts its first Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday, but some of its journalists are still in first gear when it comes to their knowledge of the sport.

World champion Michael Schumacher was certainly thrown by a few of the questions at his first Chinese news conference on Wednesday.

Ferrari's German star was at his most diplomatic after being asked by one reporter in Shanghai: "Why are you always in red? Is it your lucky colour?"

His Italian team have raced red cars since the F1 world championship was introduced in 1950, so the enquiry was unexpected to say the least.

After explaining that Ferrari had "been red forever", Schumacher said he hoped the colour - considered both lucky and imperial in China - would help Ferrari this weekend.

He was also a little flummoxed when asked: "Can you win the championship here in Shanghai?"

The 35-year-old actually clinched his seventh drivers' crown in August with second place in the Belgian GP.

New dawn for F1 in China

But mindful of his ambassadorial role at an event that has huge financial importance for F1, Schumacher was a model of politeness in his response.

And after winning 12 of the year's 15 races so far, he is unlikely to need the intervention of any fortune, Chinese or otherwise, on Sunday.

 

[g force]

Look out for BAR this weekend...not just because they've been quickest in warm up but because they're blue! FIA has allwoed them to run different sponsorship (555 in place of Lucky Strike) becuase it's the biggest BAT brand in China.

Looks a lot nicer too!

JV 15th in his first session and pretty off the pace.

 

[the B]

Ferrari are off the pace...I expect them to come back though...they are suffering from a fair amount of understeer...

 

[the B]

Barrichello on pole, M Schumacher spins on first corner and starts from the back of the grid

 

[wordie]

Buy the Jaguar F1 team on ebay....

I think this is what's termed "black humour."

The Jaguard F1 team is listed on Ebay.

Starting price £10,000,000. Seems a bit cheap to me!

 

[wordie]

Well, yet another race rather than a procession!

Good to see Button ending up 2nd instead of third, but JB is right when he says he needs to get off the line faster...

Ralf S was trying to justify his petulant behaviour on German TV. Unconvincingly IMO and if I was Frank, I'd consider Ralf's wages for the Chinese GP a waste of money.

Not a good way to behave for someone who tries to suggest he's a professional driver. Imagine if you were a mechanic or engineer working your balls off to get that car competitive, and then the prima donna who's driving it, get's pissed off because he has to wait to get a tyre changed.

His excuse was that he was two laps down and it didn't make sense to continue.... And that was 18 laps from the end.

He's a waste of space in my view, and Toyota will work that out pretty quickly next year I reckon.

Expect Pizzonia in the 2nd Williams for the next two races.

That said I got the impression that JPM can't really be bothered setting his car up at this stage of the season. He started 10th to Ralf Dickhead's 5th. Yet he drove to 5th place at the finish....

Did you notice Ralf?

Congrats to Barrichello for a commanding drive!

 

[the B]

No way will Pizzonia be back...Ralf has a point - why race when that far down? To gather data? Bit of sponsorship money maybe? Ralf was doing better than Montoya before his incidents took him out.

JV was crap...Renault are going to finish third for sure it seems....

Overall, I thought the grand prix was kind of...erm...dull? Button provided the most interest, that's saying a lot...

It's another 'Tilke' track and seems to suffer from the same 'unexciting' race syndrome.

 

[wordie]

No way will Pizzonia be back...Ralf has a point - why race when that far down? To gather data? Bit of sponsorship money maybe?

Well, again if I was in Frank's place I'd point out how often in the course of F1 history, cars have failed to finish 18 laps from the end. The race isn't over until the chequred flag falls, and Ralf may (in his own mind) be able to walk on water, but he hasn't yet demonstrated his exceptional powers to forcast the future. So how could he tell what was going to happen in the next 18 laps? You only need to look at Brazil last year to see how a race can totally change in the space of a couple of laps.

I'd then point out the exorbitant amount of money I was paying him. And after that I'd suggest it was the role of a professional racing driver to race in front of fans who've come to see him (amongst others) race, and who ultimately pay his wages...

Then I'd point to the position that JPM finished from a start at P10, and his very own brother's seemingly diametrically opposed attitude to racing as demonstrated at this very race.

Certainly, watching the body language of RS and Theissen discussing the "situation" on German TV, and Theissen's comments afterwards, I think there were quite a few ruffled feathers within the team. That was confirmed when RS himself came to the TV presenters and publicly disagreed with what Theissen had said.

It's not his job to decide if he races or not, so saying he has a point is irrelevant. He may have felt that, but he's employed to race. Not behave like the overrated, overpaid, egotistical, arrogant brat, that he is.

No wonder Frank got tired of him and his manager...

Oh, and I reckon there's a good chance Pizzonia will race the next two races!

We'll see in less than two weeks.