F1 2016
- Thread starter 1%er
- Start date
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
Game on.Oh maybe more rain
spitfire
Walty McWaltface
I put a tenner on Jenson for the win. Don't know why but let's see what happens!
Hmmmph.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Oh that's who it was
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
I must admit I didn't know who it was.
He's under 50 and wasn't wearing a name badge.
1%er
Well-Known Member
Limejuice
Well-Known Member
I could do with captions for some of the characters Brundle speaks to on the grid-walk.
Bakunin
I am Noodle's bitch.
You didn't need them when he spoke to Ozzy Osbourne during a pitwalk.
Oh, the embarrassment...
1%er
Well-Known Member
Will Nico Rosberg sign contract extension
It is thought that there are two major sticking points on the contract negotiations between Rosberg and the Mercedes team, the first is about the money, Lewis is currently on almost double the sum that Nico is getting and clearly he wants parity [personally I can't see Mercedes paying Nico anywhere near the amount they are paying Lewis], the second issue appears to be the length of any future contract, it has been reported that one side [Rosberg] want a multi-year deal while the other [Mercedes] wants a 1 year contract extension.
It came to light over the Monaco weekend that Gerhard Berger has taken over negotiations on behalf on Nico having been asked to by Keke,
"Keke (Rosberg) asked me if I would take over the negotiations for him," Berger said. "But this has nothing to do with a collaboration in the future. It is purely an act of friendship".
I wonder if this is the reason we started getting reports that Rosberg was talking to Ferrari, Berger drove for Ferrari
Halo 2 will be used in 2017 season
It has been reported that F1 chiefs have decided that a modified version of the halo device will be introduced for the 2017 season (or have they?). A modified version of the halo will be tested in June before a planned final agreement in July. It is said to be a more elegant solution than the design tested in Spain and is made of titanium rather than steel and the central hub where the forward and side arms intersect is smaller. The halo also requires further testing but no major issues are expected. It still has to go through the official legislative process before it is formally adopted, starting with the strategy group, the FIA and F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone.
Personally I prefer the aeroscreen, it has more elegant aesthetics and also offers the driver better protection as it is fully closed across the front (like a car windscreen) while the helo is open, so small pieces of debris like a part of a drain cover or rear suspension spring (that hit Massa back in 2009) would have pasted through the helo device.
Monza deal done on handshake
It is being reported in Italy that Bernie and those negotiating on behalf of Monza reached a handshake deal during the Monaco weekend. Early indications are that the deal will be only for 4 years, so the contract will be from 2017 until 2020. Other recent deals have tended to take the contract with circuits beyond 2020 giving FOM some leverage with the teams for the new Concorde agreement.
Jules Bianchi’s family legal case
This will be a very interesting case and while I feel for the family I'm not sure they can win. Unless they can show "negligence" I believe the legal disclaimers in Jules contract will say, the team, the FIA and FOM can not be sued in the case of an accident, not only by the driver but also his family and representatives. Drivers are legally well represented when it comes to their contracts with a team and will fully understand what a "waive to all recourse" means.
I'm sure that a legal waiver can be challenged if there is negligence involved but the family have not included the Suzuka circuit or the race promoter, Mobilityland Corporation (which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Honda Motor Company) in the lawsuit, which I find strange. In my experience marshals are usually volunteers who work for the circuit and it would have been the Suzuka marshals who determined what equipment was brought to the side of the track, also the investigation into the accident while careful not to blame Bianchi, it did make clear that "the speed at which he [Bianchi] was traveling was one of the contributory elements".
It is thought that there are two major sticking points on the contract negotiations between Rosberg and the Mercedes team, the first is about the money, Lewis is currently on almost double the sum that Nico is getting and clearly he wants parity [personally I can't see Mercedes paying Nico anywhere near the amount they are paying Lewis], the second issue appears to be the length of any future contract, it has been reported that one side [Rosberg] want a multi-year deal while the other [Mercedes] wants a 1 year contract extension.
It came to light over the Monaco weekend that Gerhard Berger has taken over negotiations on behalf on Nico having been asked to by Keke,
"Keke (Rosberg) asked me if I would take over the negotiations for him," Berger said. "But this has nothing to do with a collaboration in the future. It is purely an act of friendship".
I wonder if this is the reason we started getting reports that Rosberg was talking to Ferrari, Berger drove for Ferrari
Halo 2 will be used in 2017 season
It has been reported that F1 chiefs have decided that a modified version of the halo device will be introduced for the 2017 season (or have they?). A modified version of the halo will be tested in June before a planned final agreement in July. It is said to be a more elegant solution than the design tested in Spain and is made of titanium rather than steel and the central hub where the forward and side arms intersect is smaller. The halo also requires further testing but no major issues are expected. It still has to go through the official legislative process before it is formally adopted, starting with the strategy group, the FIA and F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone.
Personally I prefer the aeroscreen, it has more elegant aesthetics and also offers the driver better protection as it is fully closed across the front (like a car windscreen) while the helo is open, so small pieces of debris like a part of a drain cover or rear suspension spring (that hit Massa back in 2009) would have pasted through the helo device.
Monza deal done on handshake
It is being reported in Italy that Bernie and those negotiating on behalf of Monza reached a handshake deal during the Monaco weekend. Early indications are that the deal will be only for 4 years, so the contract will be from 2017 until 2020. Other recent deals have tended to take the contract with circuits beyond 2020 giving FOM some leverage with the teams for the new Concorde agreement.
Jules Bianchi’s family legal case
This will be a very interesting case and while I feel for the family I'm not sure they can win. Unless they can show "negligence" I believe the legal disclaimers in Jules contract will say, the team, the FIA and FOM can not be sued in the case of an accident, not only by the driver but also his family and representatives. Drivers are legally well represented when it comes to their contracts with a team and will fully understand what a "waive to all recourse" means.
I'm sure that a legal waiver can be challenged if there is negligence involved but the family have not included the Suzuka circuit or the race promoter, Mobilityland Corporation (which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Honda Motor Company) in the lawsuit, which I find strange. In my experience marshals are usually volunteers who work for the circuit and it would have been the Suzuka marshals who determined what equipment was brought to the side of the track, also the investigation into the accident while careful not to blame Bianchi, it did make clear that "the speed at which he [Bianchi] was traveling was one of the contributory elements".
1%er
Well-Known Member
Take a lap around the Baku city circuit
One thing struck me as I was watching this lap, there are lots of overhanging trees in some parts, so I hope it is a dry race or it could take ages for the track to dry with rain dripping from those trees.
Drivers silly season in full swing
What do we know for sure? Well Jenson Button, Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas are all out of contract at the end of the season and Romain Grosjean signed with Haas for only the 2016 season. There is a lot of talk in the Brazilian press that Massa is talking to Renault, if that is true it looks like there could be two seats available at Williams. I believe that Ferrari will keep Kimi for 2017, while he hasn't set the track alight so far this season he is one point ahead of Vettel and is a better option than any of the other drivers who are out of contract. Red Bull look set to keep the drivers they have.
Mercedes Benz Boss Dieter Zetsche is again reported in the press as saying Rosberg is under contract with the team for 2017 (he is the top man so he should know), so it seems what they are currently talking about is an extension past then, so Mercedes appears to have a stable line-up. So Mercedes, Ferrari (who really need stability at the moment) and Red Bull look to be keeping there drivers, so what is left. The next two teams are Williams and Force India, I believe Force India will keep there driver line-up (unless something happens with Vijay Mallya and the team), so we have Williams, there is no better drive available for Bottas so he is likely to stay and my pick for the 2nd seat there is Jenson, he is a big star and will not cost the team megabucks and could help them develop their new car. That leaves a seat at Renault who I believe will replace Jolyon Palmer with Felipe Massa and keep K-Mag. McLaren are likely to keep Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne will take over Jenson's seat.
That leaves Romain Grosjean the only driver out of contract and without a seat, he is highly likely to stay with Haas as there isn't really anywhere else for him to go. As regards Toro Rosso I think they would like to keep there line-up, I'm not sure Kvyat wants to stay, but where can he go. Sauber will take anyone who has enough money to pay them to race, if they manage to sell peters shares in the company, can Nasr stay with the team having reportedly ignored team orders 3 times already this season (he is reported in the Brazilian press as claiming that Ericsson ignored team orders twice last season, but I'm not sure that will cut it with the team as an excuse for his actions), he brings a lot of money to the team via sponsorship but is it enough to keep him there.
What do you think will be the driver line-up for 2017?
One thing struck me as I was watching this lap, there are lots of overhanging trees in some parts, so I hope it is a dry race or it could take ages for the track to dry with rain dripping from those trees.
Drivers silly season in full swing
What do we know for sure? Well Jenson Button, Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas are all out of contract at the end of the season and Romain Grosjean signed with Haas for only the 2016 season. There is a lot of talk in the Brazilian press that Massa is talking to Renault, if that is true it looks like there could be two seats available at Williams. I believe that Ferrari will keep Kimi for 2017, while he hasn't set the track alight so far this season he is one point ahead of Vettel and is a better option than any of the other drivers who are out of contract. Red Bull look set to keep the drivers they have.
Mercedes Benz Boss Dieter Zetsche is again reported in the press as saying Rosberg is under contract with the team for 2017 (he is the top man so he should know), so it seems what they are currently talking about is an extension past then, so Mercedes appears to have a stable line-up. So Mercedes, Ferrari (who really need stability at the moment) and Red Bull look to be keeping there drivers, so what is left. The next two teams are Williams and Force India, I believe Force India will keep there driver line-up (unless something happens with Vijay Mallya and the team), so we have Williams, there is no better drive available for Bottas so he is likely to stay and my pick for the 2nd seat there is Jenson, he is a big star and will not cost the team megabucks and could help them develop their new car. That leaves a seat at Renault who I believe will replace Jolyon Palmer with Felipe Massa and keep K-Mag. McLaren are likely to keep Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne will take over Jenson's seat.
That leaves Romain Grosjean the only driver out of contract and without a seat, he is highly likely to stay with Haas as there isn't really anywhere else for him to go. As regards Toro Rosso I think they would like to keep there line-up, I'm not sure Kvyat wants to stay, but where can he go. Sauber will take anyone who has enough money to pay them to race, if they manage to sell peters shares in the company, can Nasr stay with the team having reportedly ignored team orders 3 times already this season (he is reported in the Brazilian press as claiming that Ericsson ignored team orders twice last season, but I'm not sure that will cut it with the team as an excuse for his actions), he brings a lot of money to the team via sponsorship but is it enough to keep him there.
What do you think will be the driver line-up for 2017?
