F1 2016

[1%er]

McLaren bring in new CEO for F1 team
He is the eminently qualified Jost Capito, the boss of Volkswagen Motorsport. He will replace Jonathan Neale (who himself was a temporary replacement for Martin Whitmarsh). I think this is all about leaving Eric Boullier free to concentrate on the F1 team and not mixed up all the time with trying to be a bridge between Honda and MaLaren. Capito has lots of experience with racing teams and also understands how manufactures operate, so is the ideal candidate to ease any tensions that arise between Honda and McLaren during this development process.

PDVSA late again with Maldonado payment
As I think was mentioned in the 2015 thread PDVSA are again late with their payment this year also, the Venezuelan state oil company (PDVSA) are late in making the $50 million payment for Maldonado's drive for the Renault F1 team, so maybe K-Mag could get a drive after all. The payment is about 7 weeks late but with the recent election in Venezuela this could be just down to election law. Iirc many State institutions are not allowed to make any large payments for about 3 months prior to an election as a safeguard against corruption (Brazil has a similar rule). It has been reported that K-Mag was seen at the Renault factory in recent days. In a statement from Renault they say their driver line-up is still Palmer and Maldonado, so the reports that the money has not reached them yet may be just a ploy to get PDVSA to pay up quicker.

Trouble in Azerbaijan
Not sure it will effect F1, but there are on-going street protests in Azerbaijan, The problem is the low oil price and the effect it has had on the local currency, the Manat. It has fallen by around a 1/3 recently and now the Central Bankto has stopped supporting the Manat after spending half of the country’s foreign currency reserves in an attempt to prop it up. This has meant a rise in the price of many goods by as much as 30%. My advise to anyone going to the race there this year is take US$ as you'll be sure to get a great rate on the open market.

 

[Supine]

The Venezuela government pay $50m for a F1 race. That really is obscene isn't it! The poor people over there could use the money surely... He isn't even that good!

 

[1%er]

The Venezuela government pay $50m for a F1 race. That really is obscene isn't it! The poor people over there could use the money surely... He isn't even that good!

The State oil company sponsors Maldonado the driver and have done for many years, he takes that money with him to the team he races for. Many drivers only get to race because they take sponsorship money to teams, very few drivers are paid to drive.

Could the money be spent in a different way? It comes from the marketing budget of PDVSA, so I assume they believe it is money well spent on Brand awareness and advertising, they get there company seen around the world at 21 races at the biggest sporting event in the world. Formula 1 is 3rd behind the World cup and the Olympics in world viewing figures and both of those other events are only held once ever 4 years, so it is the sport that has the biggest number of viewers on an annual basis.

 

[Supine]

How many want to buy oil from Venezuela though. I'd prefer going local for mine

 

[1%er]

How many want to buy oil from Venezuela though. I'd prefer going local for mine

It is just another oil company like Petrobras, Shell, Total, Mobil, Petronas and Cepsa (who all sponsor F1 in some form), just because you can not buy it at your local petrol station doesn't mean people in other countries can't by it in theirs

 

[steveo87]

It hosted the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012, the European Games were held there this year in June and Baku is one of the cities hosting the Euro 2020 football tournament, it is also a member of the Council of Europe. Its one of those transcontinental countries that gets to claim the best of both worlds.

A friend of my Son who has visited Baku says it is "wicked"

And more importantly than that: it fucking loaded.

Plus as other posters have said, it opens up a whole new region for Formula 1 to explore. I can see there being a Tehran race soon enough.

 

[1%er]

Manor F1 get serious with Nikolas Tombazis
Former Ferrari chief designer Nikolas Tombazis has been appointed as chief aerodynamicist of Manor F1, giving the Banbury a team a huge credibility boost. The 47-year-old Greek began his career at Benetton in November 1992 under Ross Brawn, becoming chief aerodynamicist just two years later. Brawn recruited him to Ferrari in February 1997, and he became Maranello’s chief aerodynamicist in July 1998. He joined McLaren in April 2004 as chief engineer (aerodynamics). He later became vehicle project director, but after just two years he returned to Ferrari as chief designer, and remained a key member of the Italian team for nine years.

Force India - Aston Martin deal off (for now)
As mentioned above the deal between Force India and Aston Martin was put on hold, it now seems that the deal is off. At first it seemed that the team could have been re-branded Aston Martin and then it looked like the power-unit could have been called Aston Martin, but it now app[ears that the whole deal has stalled.

My personal view is this is all down to Vijay Mallya and his financial/business problems, as well as what appears to be confusion over who actually owns the Force India F1 team. Diageo have claimed in their annual report that the F1 team is their company asserts valued at $130 million.


€5 million not enough for a splash and dash
Mumm Champagne will no longer be sprayed from the winners podium at F1 races, apparently the €5 million sponsorship offer was deemed “insufficient” by FOM, so after 15 years we will see Moët et Chandon during the trophy ceremony. Pernod Ricard said in a statement: “We are very proud of our past and have enjoyed 15 years as the official champagne of Formula 1, seeing great success in terms of visibility and awareness".

Verstappen takes to the ski slopes in F1 car

 

[1%er]

And more importantly than that: it fucking loaded.

Plus as other posters have said, it opens up a whole new region for Formula 1 to explore. I can see there being a Tehran race soon enough.

I think the drop in the oil price means it isn't as loaded as it was, they have spent half of the country’s foreign currency reserves in an attempt to prop up the local currency with little success as it has fallen by around 1/3.

There has been speculation of a race in Iran for some time, but I think that is unlikely in the next few years, but the list of "new" venues keeps growing, Bernie must be rubbing his hands with glee.

 

[Pingu]

refueling to make a comeback?

F1: Refuelling is back on agenda for chiefs

cant see it myself but thoughts?

 

[1%er]

refueling to make a comeback?

F1: Refuelling is back on agenda for chiefs

cant see it myself but thoughts?

Ah, this old chestnut. It comes up every now and then when people don't have any other ideas. I think it unlikely it will reappear because of safety and also cost, but it is back on the agenda for the next strategy group. You'd think with the manufactures new power-unit cost proposals, Pirelli tyre issues and other matters they'd have enough to deal with.

 

[1%er]

€12million per season for customer team
While there is yet to be an official announcement from the FIA, it seems that a deal has been done by the 4 engine manufactures (Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and Honda) that they will supply the 1.6-litre V6 turbo-charged hybrid systems to teams at a cost of €12million per season. It also seems that they have agreed to supply all teams that want a customer unit. These new regulation will come into force from the start of the 2018 and will last for 3 seasons until the end of the current Concorde agreement in 2020.

This puts to bed the idea of an independent engine supplier once and for all during this contract term. There is currently formal approval for the aforementioned plans but they still need to be ratified by the World Motor Sport Council in March.

It was also agreed as a further cost reduction measure that drivers will to be limited to three gearboxes per season.

The Marussia name formally leaves F1
At the F1 commission meeting yesterday in Geneva the name change for the team formally known as Marussia (Manor-Marussia in 2015) was agreed and that team will now be officially known as Manor Racing. The British based team started out as Virgin Racing in 2010 before transferring to Russian ownership and taking on the name of Marussia. They went into administration 3 races before the end of the 2014 season but were rescued by Stephen Fitzpatrick just before the start of the 2015 season, they failed to score any points in 2015. They are the only team yet to announce their driver line-up for 2016.

Lewis desperate to join Red Bull for 2013 season
Christian Horner claims Lewis Hamilton was 'desperate' to drive for Red Bull in 2013 but he just couldn't fit Sebastian Vettel and Hamilton in the same team. Horner said he played a role in Hamilton landing the drive at Mercedes and admitted he did not expect the team would become the dominant force they now are. He said "The McLaren had been very competitive in 2011 and 2012 and I thought it would probably be better for us for Lewis to be at Mercedes than McLaren. So in the event of us not being able to sign him I encouraged Niki Lauda to sign him to weaken McLaren, not envisaging that Mercedes would become the absolute powerhouse they are today".

List of Channel 4 free to air races 2016
As has been widely publicized, Channel 4 will be the only free-to-air channel showing F1 races live in the UK. The races that they will show are Bahrain, Spain, Azerbaijan (the European GP), Britain, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico and Abu Dhabi. The other 11 races will be highlights only. So far the only member of the commentary team to be names is David Coulthard, whose company Whisper Films has been given the production contract.

How Ferrari plan to overhaul Mercedes
For those who like a bit of Technical analysis, there is an interesting article here about how Ferrari plan to use variable intake trumpets to increase their engine performance. Previously banned in 2014 they are now legal due to rule changes in 2015.

 

[Limejuice]

Re: Hamilton and Mercedes - the law of unintended consequences bites Mr Horner's backside.

That said, wouldn't Mercedes have won the Constructor's and Driver's championships with Rosberg in the big seat and a strong-ish number 2 driver?

Re: Channel 4 - I guess now we see how well Messrs Coulthard and Jordan got on...

 

[1%er]

Could F1 weekend format be about to change
There are rumors floating about that the format for F1 weekend could be about to change. At the moment we have practice on Friday and also Saturday mornings, qualifying on Saturday afternoons and the race on Sunday. But the rumors are that maybe things will change, with qualifying becoming a 45 minute race with the slowest driver being called into the Pitts every 3 minutes until there are only 10 cars left on track and they will race to the end to decide starting positions for the race (with the possibility of points being awarded during qualifying). This could reduce the race time on Sundays to 90 minutes, so the same amount of fuel was used for racing over the weekend. I must stress, this is only a rumor!

Monza extension still possible but arguments rage over hosting fee
FOM are back in negotiations with Monza about extending their race contract past 2016, but there appears to be an $8 million difference in what they want to pay and what FOM want to hold a race there. Italian Automobile Club CEO Sticchi Damiani has offered $20 million a year but FOM are asking for $28 million, the same fee that is paid to host the Austrian Grand Prix. It seems like a good deal when you consider some tracks pay as mush as $68 million and the new European race to be held in Baku will be paying around $50 million.

This raises the question again about, is F1 becoming un-affordable? Personally I don't think it is when looked at with a global view with comparative sporting events. In viewing figure terms the only other events that compare to F1 are the Olympic Games and World Cup. Also in investment terms it is only those two events that come close, it cost billions to host both the Olympic Games and World Cup but only tens of millions to build a track and get a formula 1 race, and while the Olympic Games and World Cup will be one off event F1 will continue year after year in most cases. Governments both national and local will puff out their chests if they will a bid to host the Olympic Games or World Cup and spend billions for this one off events. So I think F1 is still great value for money and the exposure it brings to a country and city, so there

Refueling not going to happen
The old chestnut of refueling came up again at the recent strategy group meeting and was again voted down. How out of touch is Jean Todt with the realities of formula one, he claimed that cost wouldn't be an issue as it would only cost about €50,000 a year per team. He was soon shot down when it became clear that it would cost teams far more than that. It is thought it would cost at least £200,000-250,000 to buy the equipment, Freight costs for shipping equipment would be around £175,000 plus staffing cost. It seems that a number of drivers think it would be a good thing but the teams don't agree.

Baku race set to start at 6pm local time
This seem a strange decision as surely it will become a twilight race towards the end with sunset at 9pm local time. I thought F1 had decided that they wouldn't have twilight races again for safety reason. I thought the FIA’s investigation into Jules Bianchi’s accident at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix recommended that races should not start later than 4 hours before dusk/sunset and that decision changed the start time of some races last season

It is a street circuit and a new track for all the drivers, I'd have thought an accident there is highly likely, thus meaning the race could be delayed for some time to clean up the track, meaning the race could last much longer than just two hours. I understand they don't want to clash with the start or finish of the Le Mans 24hr race but surely driver safety overrides that

This means the race will start at 2pm UK time, the time they like most races to start but surely if it started a little earlier it wouldn't really make much difference.

 

[1%er]

The FIA cockpit protection solution
The FIA have for some time been looking at 3 cockpit protection devises in an ongoing campaign to safeguard drivers from being hit by objects during accidents, notably loose wheels. They appear to favor the "Helo" (pictured below). The three different designs that have been in the pipeline for some time, the first of the other two concepts, known as the AFP-V2, involves an updated version of a rollcage on the nose of the car, with a trio of protruding blades designed for deflection. The second is a centreline rollhoop consisting of three bars that run from the front bulkhead and connect with the air intake above the driver's head.

Unlike a fully-closed cockpit, which has been looked at in the past, the 'halo' also allows relatively straightforward extrication of a driver should they be involved in an accident. Two key design areas relate to how the 'halo' would be attached to the car are, whether it folds up or articulates at a certain point, and what strengthening would be required of the chassis. Ideally, a universal concept would be more practical from an FIA standpoint, but the governing body appreciates each team may prefer freedom of design, which would lead to each needing to be tested in its own right.


Pat Fry to join Manor Racing
Manor F1 appear to bring in some very experienced people, Pat Fry as joined the team albeit at this stage just in the capacity of engineering consultant. Fry will join another ex-Ferrari man designer Nicholas Tombazis who joined the team recently, (as mentioned above). Fry is a refugee from a cull at Ferrari during the turbulence of 2013-14. He was brought into Ferrari following Fernando Alonso’s arrival at the team in 2010, the pair having worked closely together in 2007 at McLaren. Fry has had a long career with positive stints at McLaren, where he successfully headed one of the two project teams responsible for designing the cars, he also worked closely with Manor Racing Director Dave Ryan again at McLaren for many years; the pair were in charge of David Coulthard’s race effort. It shows that even the lowest ranked teams provide a pathway for the senior people like Ryan, Tombazis and Fry.

Pirelli’s two-day wet tyre test concludes
Sebastian Vettel was fastest as Pirelli’s two-day wet tyre test concluded at the artificially soaked Paul Ricard track. The day’s action ended early after the three teams present completed enough running to satisfy Pirelli’s requirements. The Italian company said: “Yesterday we tested in heavier wet conditions, today we simulated a drying track.” Between them the three teams completed 659 laps, for a total of 2326kms. Having taken the 2015 Ferrari over from Kimi Raikkonen, who drove yesterday, Vettel set a best time of 1m.06.7s. He only just beat Dany Kvyat, who replaced Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull. The Russian suffered a technical problem late in the day, having recorded 1m06.8s. Meanwhile Stoffel Vandoorne set a best of 1m.07.7s for McLaren after losing time with an issue in the morning. The next major test with be with the 2016 cars at Barcelona on February 22nd.

 

[1%er]

OFFERED
I have "No Angel" the biography of Bernie in both EPUB & MOBI if anyone wants a copy, just send an email address to me via PM and I'll send you a copy.

 

[1%er]

Possible Renault driver announcement next week
Despite the announce some months ago that Pastor Maldonado would be driving for Renault in 2016 there are growing rumors that Kevin Magnussen could still get the drive. PDVSA have still not paid Renault, although it is believed they have paid a small deposit the oil company is struggling to pay the rest. K-Mag is believed to have around $7 million to take to the team but that really is just a drop in the ocean when looked at as a percentage of the teams budget.

The Renault/Magnussen decision is quite significant as it is likely to have an effect on the only two other seats available in F1 for this season. Manor have still to announce their driver line up and 3 drivers appear to have the money to buy the drive. They are Alex Rossi, Will Stevens and Rio Haryanto, with Pascal Wehrlein being mentioned as having an outside chance.

Renault also have a long sponsorship history with Total the french oil company, so if PDVSA don't come up with the money Total could help fill the sponsorship gap.

Pirelli reintroduce the "cliff"
Pirelli have said that the tyres they plan to use in 2016 will be more like the tyres they used in 2013 and will feature a performance “cliff”. Pirelli changed its approach towards more durable rubber midway through the 2013 season following strong criticism from F1 figures, which intensified after that year’s British Grand Prix was almost stopped due to numerous tyre failures. A further step in durability was introduced to cope with the high-torque hybrid turbo engines and stronger rear tyres were introduced last year. The net result was a reduced number of pit stops.

As well as producing new tyres, Pirelli is also working to create live tyre information available to F1 viewers during the 2016 season, a move made necessary as drivers will be able to pick from three compound choices. Bernie has also changed his mind about tyres, He was supportive of Pirelli and their heavily-degrading tyres claiming they were good for the show, but recently the drivers have been asking for tyres that allow "maximum attack" and Bernie now says he agrees with the drivers "a million percent".

Azerbaijan in real financial trouble
The oil rich country is going the same way as others because of the low oil price, reports in the financial press are claiming that they have asked the IMF for $3 billion in financial aid and are also looking to the world bank for more. It is unclear if or how this could effect the F1 race in Baku.

 

[1%er]

Pastor Maldonado exits F1
As mentioned above, PDVSA are unable to provide the funds to continue sponsoring Maldonado because of the political upheaval in Venezuela and the falling oil prices.

Pastor Maldonado has announced his departure Formula One five years after making his debut as a Williams driver. “Today with the utmost humility I inform you that I will not be present at the starting grid for the 2016 F1 season,” he said, “thanks for all your messages of support, passion and concern for my future, I feel very honored with the support of all of you and proud of my professional performance”.

(I heard the sigh of relief from the combined F1 stewards as I was walking my dog on the beach after lunch )

It now seem likely that K-mag will get the drive, unless an experienced french driver with loads of sponsorship turns up (I wonder what Romain Grosjean is saying to himself right now as it looks unlikely that he will get the Ferrari drive when Kimi leaves at the end of the season).

Edit, just got a reply to an email I sent a friend in Denmark who say the radio news has just announced that a deal has been done and Kevin Magnussen will drive for Renault in 2016, there has been no official announcement from Renault yet, but as they haven't acknowledged Pastor Maldonado's message that he has left the team, I guess they will make both announcements at some point during the week.

 

[1%er]

What has happened to safety first in F1
Following the fatal accident involving Jules Bianchi in Japan the FIA came up with a number of recommendations, two of which are these:
1) It is proposed that a regulation or guideline be established such that the Start time of an event shall not be less than 4 hours before either sunset or dusk, except in the case of night races.
2) It is also recommended that the F1 Calendar is reviewed in order to avoid, where possible, races taking place during local rainy seasons.

As mentioned above, the race at Buka does not fall into these recommendations as it starts later than 4 hours before sun-set, it also appears that 3 other races will also start lass than 4 hours before sun-set, they are (all times are local times), the Australian Grand Prix Starting at 16:00 with a sun-set time of 19:31, the Japanese Grand Prix starting at 14:00 with a sun-set time of 17:27 and the US Grand Prix starting at 14:00 with a sun-set time of 17:31.

So if the FIA sticks to Article 5.3 of the F1 Sporting Regulations, which states that, "should the race be suspended (see Article 41) the length of the suspension will be added to this period up to a maximum total race time of four hours", so we could see races cut short because the sun has set .

There is also some new public information about what happened before the Suzuka race in 2014 where there was a meteorological forecasts that a major tropical storm would reach the circuit during the race. Allegedly, Charlie Whiting had asked on two occasions for the race to be started earlier than scheduled but the race promoter Honda and F1’s commercial rights holder (FOM) refused to budge from their contractual arrangements. Starting the 2014 Japanese GP earlier would have moved the race ahead of the tropical storm. Apparently the records show that Charlie Whiting made his request as the race director, but he is also the FIA’s F1 safety delegate and could have, in that capacity, simply sanction and enforce the earlier start time.

Some believe that he was concerned that the race promoter (Honda) and commercial rights holder (FOM) would have taken legal action against the FIA had he taken such action. While we will never know that if the race had been brought forward Jules Bianchi’s death may not have happened, surely, it is now time to to change what is clearly a conflict of interest and separate the job of race director and FIA’s F1 safety delegate, so we don't see the same thing happening in the future.

 

[1%er]

Kevin Magnussen confirmed by Renault
Kevin Magnussen has been confirmed as a Renault driver in F1, alongside Jolyon Palmer, with Esteban Ocon, who was under contract to Mercedes has joined the team as the third driver. The new car is black and silver, but that could change before the start of the season.

Who owns the Force India F1 team (part 27)
As has been mentioned numerous times the ownership of the Force India teams is again in the news. The team owned by Subrata Roy 42.5% (who has been in jail in India since March 2014), Vijay Mallya 42.5% (who is currently facing a number of fraud charges and has been named as a "willful defaulter" by many banks) and the Mol family 15% (who have kept their shares since the team was called Spyker).

It now seems that Subrata Roy wants to sell his shares in the team before the Indian court appoints its own receiver to sell off his assets to repay the victims of his fraud. It still isn't clear who owns the shares that "once" belonged to Vijay Mallya, the drinks group Diageo claim they now own Mallya's shares as he defaulted on a lone and the shares were listed as an asset in Diageo accounts.

It is likely that the team may well have a new owner before the season starts, because of the position they finished in the last couple of seasons they are in line for a substantial payment from FOM, around $70 million this year and even more next year.

 

[Bakunin]

Pastor Maldonado exits F1
As mentioned above, PDVSA are unable to provide the funds to continue sponsoring Maldonado because of the political upheaval in Venezuela and the falling oil prices.

Pastor Maldonado has announced his departure Formula One five years after making his debut as a Williams driver. “Today with the utmost humility I inform you that I will not be present at the starting grid for the 2016 F1 season,” he said, “thanks for all your messages of support, passion and concern for my future, I feel very honored with the support of all of you and proud of my professional performance”.

(I heard the sigh of relief from the combined F1 stewards as I was walking my dog on the beach after lunch )

It now seem likely that K-mag will get the drive, unless an experienced french driver with loads of sponsorship turns up (I wonder what Romain Grosjean is saying to himself right now as it looks unlikely that he will get the Ferrari drive when Kimi leaves at the end of the season).

Edit, just got a reply to an email I sent a friend in Denmark who say the radio news has just announced that a deal has been done and Kevin Magnussen will drive for Renault in 2016, there has been no official announcement from Renault yet, but as they haven't acknowledged Pastor Maldonado's message that he has left the team, I guess they will make both announcements at some point during the week.

 

[DownwardDog]

And more importantly than that: it fucking loaded.

Plus as other posters have said, it opens up a whole new region for Formula 1 to explore. I can see there being a Tehran race soon enough.

The Iranian F1 circuit is going to be at Qeshm Island in the gulf.

 

[Bungle73]

Engine restrictions to be scrapped: F1 to end engine restrictions in bid to improve competition

Seems like good news.

 

[The Octagon]

Michael Schumacher: Latest news not good, says Luca di Montezemolo

Some vague news about Schumacher, not good though apparently

 

[Bakunin]

Looks like Manor are running a team in this year's WEC:

Manor name to debut in WEC & Le Mans in 2016

 

[1%er]

Pascal Wehrlein to drive for Manor F1
Pascal Wehrlein the 2015 DTM champion (German touring car series) is the first to be named by Manor as one of their drivers for this season, he is a Mercedes signed driver, so it is likely that they have pushed for him to get the drive and are likely to have given Manor a discount on their Mercedes engines for 2016 in exchange. As for 2nd seat, Rio Haryanto has the biggest bank-roll to bring to the team but Alex Rossi has history with them and could help their profile in the USA.

Wehrlein won two races on his way to championship title last year and is the youngest DTM champion in the history of the series, he has tested for the Mercedes F1 team and Force India in the past. There is a rumor that Wehrlein already has a contract to drive for an F1 team in 2017, could it be Mercedes F1, if so they are likely to want him to get some experience under his belt. If Rosberg doesn't win the championship in 2016 will he still have a seat at Mercedes in 2017. Williams who also have very close ties to Mercedes will also be looking for at least 1 new driver in 2017 if not two.

I know it is very early to be talking about 2017 but there could be a number of drives up for grabs as Kimi, Jenson and Massa are all likely to be gone by then, Alonso may also give up if McLaren don't improve.

Will the "European" Grand Prix be funded by the IMF and World Bank?
As mentioned above, the Azerbaijan economy has gone to shit since the massive drop in the oil and gas prices. The Manat (the Azerbaijani currency) has fallen by around 50% in the last year against the US Dollar and it looks likely that the World Bank and the IMF are about to bailout the country with a $4billion loan. As Azerbaijan will pay around $40million a year (plus the annual escalator) for the ten year contract to FOM, will Bernie end up being paid to race by the World bank and the IMF

Eddie Jordan staying with the BBC
It seem that Eddie Jordan will not be joining David Coulthard at channel 4 as they take over F1 in the UK. Reports appear to indicate he will be a presenter on Top Gear along with Chris Evans, Matt LeBlanc, Sabine Schmitz, Chris Harris and Rory Reid.

 

[Supine]

I didn't know c4 were taking over

 

[Bungle73]

Eddie Jordan staying with the BBC
It seem that Eddie Jordan will not be joining David Coulthard at channel 4 as they take over F1 in the UK. Reports appear to indicate he will be a presenter on Top Gear along with Chris Evans, Matt LeBlanc, Sabine Schmitz, Chris Harris and Rory Reid.

Reports? The lineup of 7 has already been announced: LISTEN: Chris reveals the Top Gear line up, Top Gear, The Chris Evans Breakfast Show - BBC Radio 2

I didn't know c4 were taking over

Didn't know? It's was reported ages ago.

 

[1%er]

Reports? The lineup of 7 has already been announced: LISTEN: Chris reveals the Top Gear line up, Top Gear, The Chris Evans Breakfast Show - BBC Radio 2

I don't understand your point. You write "reports?" and then link to a report

 

[Bungle73]

I don't understand your point. You write "reports?" and then link to a report

My point is you saying "reports appear to indicate" suggest it was some kind of rumour. Where as it isn't a rumour, it has been officially announced. My link isn't a report, it's an official announcement.

 

[1%er]

My point is you saying "reports appear to indicate" suggest it was some kind of rumour. Where as it isn't a rumour, it has been officially announced. My link isn't a report, it's an official announcement.

OK I got it from Google news reports, I usually say "rumors" when I mean rumors