Formula-1 2010

[Overdrive]

How long is a piece of string? I think its a lost cause talking about it. Team orders and driver favouritism is part and parcel of this sport. though one chooses to accept it or not, it is pretty much present. some teams do it blatantly and some more discretely. What ever the outcome, it has been one of the most existing and entertaining f1 seasons in the recent past. Last race for the bridestones after 14 years!

[isurujosh]

I think it was established at the time that Vettel had saved one lap worth of fuel so he could run rich in order to attempt a pass while at the same time Webber couldn't do the same because he was marginally short. As much as Webber has whinged this season and Vettel is the definite future of RBR, Christian Horner and Adrian Newey have in all probability been as fair as possible with the two under very challenging circumstances. Even the Silverstone incident - what do you do when you have 1 new-spec wing and 2 drivers? Of course one party will feel aggrieved but that's just human nature.

what do you do when you have one driver with a very good chance and another with a very remote chance of winning the WDC? well we saw what happened in Brazil. when it is webber who has to be put at a disadvantage then RBR does exactly that but when it is vettel's turn then RBR play the "fair" card. is that really fair?

on the notion that webber's engine "had to be turned down". did they have to turn it down just when vettel started pushing? why couldn't they delay it further?

[KLM]

what do you do when you have one driver with a very good chance and another with a very remote chance of winning the WDC? well we saw what happened in Brazil. when it is webber who has to be put at a disadvantage then RBR does exactly that but when it is vettel's turn then RBR play the "fair" card. is that really fair?

on the notion that webber's engine "had to be turned down". did they have to turn it down just when vettel started pushing? why couldn't they delay it further?

A. They have yet to ask Webber to concede to Vettel.

B. If they didn't ask Webber to change engine settings they risked running low towards the finish.

Nobody is denying that RBR will probably lose the title because their drivers took points away from each other, but under trying circumstances, they've stuck to their policy of letting them fight it out for better or for worse. Its not difficult to see that.

[isurujosh]

A. They have yet to ask Webber to concede to Vettel.

B. If they didn't ask Webber to change engine settings they risked running low towards the finish.

Nobody is denying that RBR will probably lose the title because their drivers took points away from each other, but under trying circumstances, they've stuck to their policy of letting them fight it out for better or for worse. Its not difficult to see that.

the incident took place on lap 40. turkish gp has 58 laps.

[KLM]

the incident took place on lap 40. turkish gp has 58 laps.

Teams plan for the finish well in advance. But if you must, feel free to think that RBR intentionally did that to give Vettel a chance at passing Webber.

[MasterDon]

Did Webber choke???

anyways Alonso and Ferrari are sitting pretty at third with webber two places back,and looks as if he'll take the title(fingers crossed hoping he does).Not bad for a guy many had written off before the Spa GP...Having said that I won't be massively dissapointed if Vettel takes the title.Wouldn't mind seeing him in a Ferrari someday.

1.S.Vettel R*D B*LL 1:39.394 5

2 L.Hamilton McLaren 1:39.425 6

3 F.Alonso Ferrari 1:39.792 6

4 J.Button McLaren 1:39.823 6

5 M.Webber R*D B*LL 1:39.925 6

6 F.Massa Ferrari 1:40.202 5

7 R.BarrichelloWilliams 1:40.203 7

8 M.Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:40.516 6

9 N.Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:40.589 6

10 V.Petrov Renault 1:40.901 3

11 R.Kubica Renault 1:40.780 -

12 K.Kobayashi BMW Sauber F1 1:40.783 -

13 A.Sutil Force India 1:40.914 -

14 N.Heidfeld BMW Sauber F1 1:41.113 -

15 N.Hulkenberg Williams 1:41.418 -

16 V.Liuzzi Force India 1:41.642 -

17 J.AlguersuariToro Rosso 1:41.738 -

18 S.Buemi Toro Rosso 1:41.824 -

19 J.Trulli Lotus F1 1:43.516 -

20 H.Kovalainen Lotus F1 1:43.712 -

21 T.Glock Virgin 1:44.095 -

22 L.di Grassi Virgin 1:44.510 -

23 B.Senna HRT F1 1:45.085 -

24 C.Klien HRT F1 1:45.296 -

[Pericles]

Personally Don, I don't like either of them. Here's hoping they both have mechanical issues.

[vishkid]

I see a lot of people here refusing to see apparent favoritism at RBR which in my opinion has cost them the title as this point - before the race.

You just need to look at the footage of Hemul Marko, Newey and the gang jumping up and down with gay abandon after last evening's qualifying. They don't give a flying %$#* where Webber finished and what is going to happen to him. Sooner he's out of their frame - it would be better for RBR and their golden boy, or so it seems.

So unless Alonso's engine decides for an early nap (which is unlikely given the care Ferrari has given to that aspect), it's hard to see how RBR benefited from all this Vettle-worshipping this season. Of course as a long term investment - they are on the right track.

I hv the bubbly out to celebrate a deserving WDC win for the most complete and deserving driver on the grid.

Let's hope is focus and engines .. hold up!

[MasterDon]

Personally Don, I don't like either of them. Here's hoping they both have mechanical issues.

Haha...Understood!

BTW I just hope I don't come off as a fanboy in my comments on this thread.

[gunat]

It has just come to light that Alonso's vigorous fist shaking at Petrov was not a "WTF, I want to be World Champion, so you should have given me your position", but they were actually playing rock, paper, scissors.

Edited November 15, 2010 by gunat

[MasterDon]

Flawed pit stop strategy cost 'nando the the title.Why were they racing Webber when they had a great grid position and the objective was to finish close to the top as possible?...even an idiot like me realised it was a bad idea when he pitted early.

oh well...congrats to the new champ!.

[isurujosh]

Teams plan for the finish well in advance. But if you must, feel free to think that RBR intentionally did that to give Vettel a chance at passing Webber.

are you suggesting to me that the only way to plan for webber's end of race at that circumstance was to turn his engine down with 18 laps to go? is turning down an engine with 18 laps to go the only way to conserve?

[isurujosh]

i am glad vettel won it coz webber is not a champion as the late season proved. the moment kobayashi ran wide right before vettel reentered from pits was the time i conclusively knew vettel was gonna become the new chammpion. as the commentator put it, that's what's called "a champion's luck". after all mechanical failures vettel had he finally deserved his share of luck in this finale.

bdw was it true that vettel never lead the chmpionship before the final race was over? amazing, what a time to peak!

the biggest surprise for me over the last few races has been hamilton's gracious manners. since he fired his father he has been a completely different animal. i guess now nicole is calling shots in hamilton's life. i miss the uncomprimising hamilton.

Edited November 15, 2010 by isurujosh

[Watchman]

are you suggesting to me that the only way to plan for webber's end of race at that circumstance was to turn his engine down with 18 laps to go? is turning down an engine with 18 laps to go the only way to conserve?

uhh.. isnt that a bit obvious? either that or he not step on the throttle as hard (same final effect though)..

What'd your solution be?

[isurujosh]

uhh.. isnt that a bit obvious? either that or he not step on the throttle as hard (same final effect though)..

What'd your solution be?

short shifting. itz not the same effect since it could well have been much delayed until vettel too turned down his. last year one driver employed this technique too.

[Watchman]

short shifting. itz not the same effect since it could well have been much delayed until vettel too turned down his. last year one driver employed this technique too.

But that too deprives the driver of more power that eh would be getting at the higher end of the rev-band, so its more or less the same thing. Its pretty basic automotive knowledge that performance and fuel economy are are inversely proportional. You ought to know that.

I really do think you're turning into one of them conspiracy nuts.

[isurujosh]

But that too deprives the driver of more power that eh would be getting at the higher end of the rev-band, so its more or less the same thing. Its pretty basic automotive knowledge that performance and fuel economy are are inversely proportional. You ought to know that.

I really do think you're turning into one of them conspiracy nuts.

both measures are intended at conserving. but short shifting offers the driver more discretion. don't you think?

however if you think RBR did not favor vettel over webber then you are free to think along that lines. however i am not inclined to that. i think we can agree to disagree in a civil manner.

[Watchman]

both measures are intended at conserving. but short shifting offers the driver more discretion. don't you think?

however if you think RBR did not favor vettel over webber then you are free to think along that lines. however i am not inclined to that. i think we can agree to disagree in a civil manner.

yep. Sounds good.

[Devinda_Z]

Lotus is back! ...........again 

For the 2011 season, a Malaysian team in black and gold livery named Lotus will be joined by a Malaysian team in black and gold livery named Lotus. Don't panic, we've got the org chart.

This morning, Lotus Group has announced that they have acquired Renault F1, which will become Lotus Renault GP for the 2011 Formula One season, racing in Team Lotus’s black and gold livery from the 1970’s. Those of you following Formula One news will recall that Lotus Racing, one of the new teams which competed in the 2010 season, will also be racing in black and gold and will be renamed Team Lotus for 2011. Before you resort to the services of the Team Lotus crack suicide squad please peruse this chart:

It’s a mess, isn’t it? Here’s the who’s who.

Lotus Group

Colin Chapman’s original car company, founded as Lotus Engineering in 1952. This was the company that made Lotus’s sports cars. It was reorganized many times into subsidiaries such as Lotus Cars and Lotus Technology. In 1986, four years after Chapman’s death, the company was sold to General Motors. In 1993, GM sold the company to the Italian businessman Romano Artioli (the current Lotus Elise is named after Artioli’s daughter). Three years later, Artioli sold the company to Proton, a Malaysian car company partly owned by the Malaysian government.

Team Lotus (1954–1994)

Colin Chapman’s Formula One team, spun off from the sports car company in 1954. This was the Lotus that won seven constructors’ championships between 1963 and 1978 and employed drivers like Jimmy Clark, Graham Hill, Mario Andretti, and Ayrton Senna. The team went bankrupt in 1994 and left Formula One without a successor. They were not included in Romano Artioli’s 1996 sale of Lotus to Proton. The name Team Lotus was purchased by David Hunt, the younger brother of Formula One world champion and master libertine James Hunt.

Renault F1 (1977–1985)

Renault’s original factory team. They were the team who introduced turbocharged engines to Formula One and gave future four-time world champion Alain Prost his big break. Renault pulled out of Formula One after the 1985 season without a successor but remains as an engine supplier to this day.

Toleman was a British constructor sponsored by a variety of Italian companies, including the fashion company Benetton. They were the team who signed Ayrton Senna in 1984. A year later, Toleman was acquired by Benetton, who put one of their managers in charge: Flavio Briatore. In 1991, Benetton signed Michael Schumacher as driver and Ross Brawn as technical director. Schumacher won his first two drivers’ titles with Benetton. In 1996, he and Brawn left for Ferrari. In 2000, the team was acquired by Renault and became Renault’s second factory team. Briatore was hired again as team principal and he hired a young Fernando Alonso in 2003, who won two world titles for the team. In 2009, Briatore was fired after the Singapore race-fixing scandal and Renault sold the majority of its share in the team to Genii Capital, a Luxembourg-based investment firm. In December 2010, the Lotus Group—owned since 1996 by Proton, the Malaysian car company—became a major equity partner of Genii Capital and announced that the team will race as Lotus Renault GP in the 2011 season, using a livery based on Team Lotus’s black and gold.

Lotus Racing and the new Team Lotus

Malaysian airline magnate Tony Fernandes’s Formula One team, which entered Formula One in 2010 and has nothing to do with the original Team Lotus. Fernandes teamed up with British F3 team Litespeed to build the cars and purchased the Lotus name from David Hunt. Fernandes was also supported by the Chapman family: Clive Champan, Colin’s son, gave Fernandes the black cap his father used to toss into the air on Team Lotus victories. While the Lotus Group frowned on Fernandes’s use of the name—Fernades has nothing to do with the Lotus Group—their owner Proton was an investor in Lotus Racing to boost Malaysian motorsport. For 2011, Fernandes worked out a deal with Hunt to use the name Team Lotus, and he has announced that they will run their cars in black and gold.

As it currently stands, the 2011 Formula One grid will have two pairs of Malaysian-backed cars named Lotus which will use the same colors in their liveries. To compound your headache, all these teams are based in England and both Lotus Renault GP and Team Lotus will use Renault engines. Expect further legal skulduggery and Life of Brian situations.

Photo Credit: Lotus Renault GP, Máté Petrány, Simon Miles/Getty Image, Darren, Pascal Rondeau/Allsport, Clive Mason/Getty Images

Source : http://jalopnik.com/5709121/lotus-returns-to-formula-one-yet-again

[isurujosh]

which "black and gold lotus-renault" are you refering to?

i think no-one has ever recreated what original lotus accomplished under chapman's watch. so many new revolutions. amazing! colin chapman, what a guy. makes adrain newey look lot less spectacular.

[isurujosh]

"Lotus are like buses," said Mike Gascoyne on Twitter. "You wait for ages and then two come along at once."