return of the TAG???
Posted on 08/05/2009 7:57:45 PM PDT by Chode
This will be a general purpose thread for F1 news and pings that really don't require a thread of their own.
return of the TAG???
I do follow ALMS and have for years. They make great race cars, but that doesn’t change my lack of enthusiasm about Audi. They were pioneers in WRC too.
Its just one of those things I think—all the biggest a-holes I knew in high school or college drove...Audi. Colored my opinion of the make ever since.
Knowing Porsche, someone else will be paying for the project, either a 'business partner' such as TAG or the end users. Porsche will make a profit off the F1 engine.
Petit Le Mans pre-race show right now. I’ll be checking in on it throughout the day as I clean up from our stormy week here in the northeast.
Porsche hybrid talk right now.
Chode did you go to Watkins Glen this summer? I think next summer (if they have them again) I’ll do Lime Rock and Watkins Glen.
hope things are ok, we got 5" of rain thurs... only went to the IndyCars this year and they won't be back... 8^(
the Rahal race next year for sure...
“...all the biggest a-holes I knew in high school or college drove...Audi. Colored my opinion of the make ever since.”
Quite a scientific way to judge cars.
Audi outsells BMW and MB in Europe.
Audi wasn’t selling cars in America when I went to HS and college.
>>Quite a scientific way to judge cars.
Um, yeah I wasn’t judging the car. They make awesome cars, I just don’t happen to like them.
I was judging their entry into F1 and being ‘excited’ about it. Which I’m not.
Clear enough for you, or do you need things spelled out even more?
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says it is almost certain European races will be dropped from the schedule in years to come but he is very keen for a race to continue at Spa in Belgium.
Full story: rtbf.be (in French)
Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari says his dream is to be crowned world champion driving for Red Bull or Torro Rosso, as they are the team who have believed in him since he was a teenager, and it would not be the same winning for another team.
Full story: Sport.es (in Spanish)
Mercedes team chief Ross Brawn says they are finally getting to where they want to be with their car, following Michael Schumacher's fourth-place finish at the Korean Grand Prix. "It took a little longer than I expected but I see real progress," he said.
Full story: Speedweek.de (in German)
Organisers of the inaugural Korean Grand Prix admit the race had its teething problems but they will iron out problems for next year. "I know the work that we need and we will do it," said race promoter Yung Cho Chung.
Full story: autosport.com
Spanish team Epsilon Euskadi, who failed in their bid to get a place on the grid for next season, are still hopeful they could feature in the future. "We are still working with a range of investors and we hope soon to have a final decision. If the decision is positive, we have a range of options. We can go for the 13th entry in 2012, or for 2011 buy an existing team," said team chief Joan Villadelprat.
Full story: Noticias de Gipuzkoa (in Spanish)
Williams will give 2010 GP2 champion Pastor Maldonado and Formula 2 champion Dean Stoneman a run-out in Dubai in November as part of the young driver test programme. They will also keep Valtteri Bottas as their test driver in 2011.
Full story: formula1.com
Red Bull gave F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone a walking frame fitted with a steering wheel as an 80th birthday present last weekend.
Full story: Reuters
Michael Schumacher's 1994 Benetton Ford B194, in which he won his first world title, is for sale for 1.5m Euros.
Full story: Auto Motor und Sport (in German)
Sebastian Vettel leads Mark Webber in KoreaRed Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has declared it is still too early for the team to throw its full weight behind Mark Webber in the title chase and will continue to give Sebastian Vettel an equal shot at becoming world champion.
Full story: Autosport
down to the wire...
I would love to be a fly on the wall at Red Bull after the last race. Every way possible to lose a championship will be covered. It will not be pretty. This will cause the two drivers to not work together for 2011 ( as if they needed any more reasons ).
Of course given Mark's big mouth I thing the world will hear the details of the meeting.......
European races gone?? Turkey’s gone next year which is a shame as its’ a great track...sorry, but Silverstone is a bore to me...do they really need Valencia??
madness Eccelstone strikes again... KEEN on Spa, but no commitment
Max Mosley rules out F1 return despite Ecclestone wish Max Mosley, the former president of motorsport's governing body the FIA, has ruled out any chance of returning to a role in the sport.
Mosley stepped down in 2009 as part of a peace deal to end the threat of a breakaway championship by F1 teams.
Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone told BBC 5 live: "I didn't want Max to go and it would be nice to have him back."
But Mosley said: "I think my F1 days are finished and I've moved on to other things. One should never go back."
Asked further about speculation that he was considering returning to motorsport, Mosley told 5 live: "It's completely a rumor. I follow it vaguely at a distance. I'm really now just an ordinary fan, I watch it on the television, but it's no longer my responsibility.
"It's a nice idea and very friendly to say 'come back' but the truth of the matter is it wouldn't be the right thing to do."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9137318.stm
Gee why do I wonder about this rumor at Halloween time, with the thought of costumes and role playing in the air? Speaking of that, Max what are you wearing this year?
enough to make ya wanna puke...
McLaren driver Jenson Button believes that if Fernando Alonso wins this year's Formula 1 world championship, many will question whether the Spaniard deserves it following the team orders furore surrounding the Ferrari team since the German Grand Prix.
Full story: planet-f1.com
Sunday's season-ending race in Abu Dhabi is sold out, organisers of the Yas Marina event have announced.
Full story: motorsport.com
Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey believes the new regulations which came into effect at the start of last season helped the team to steal a march on their rivals this term.
Full story: planet-f1.com
Newey says he has no plans to step down from his position at the end of a season in which Red Bull have collected the constructors' title and could well emerge with the drivers' championship as well.
Full story: espnf1.com
Force India driver Vitantonio Liuzzi will have to use a crash-test chassis in Abu Dhabi this weekend after an accident in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix left him with no time to fix his race one.
Full story: espnf1.com
Ferrari will run Jules Bianchi in the young drivers' test at Abu Dhabi. The French driver, who is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, also participated in last year's test for the team. He is currently third in the GP2 championship for ART, eight points behind 2011 Sauber driver Sergio Perez with two races left in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
Full story: f1fanatic.co.uk
Another Frenchman gearing up for the young drivers' test is Jean-Eric Vergne. The 20-year-old is a member of the Red Bull Young Driver programme and took part in the British International Formula 3 Championship this year. Vergne will drive for Toro Rosso in Abu Dhabi.
Full story: planet-f1.com
Rubens Barrichello admits he has not yet signed a contract to remain with Williams next season.
Full story: updatef1.com
Bruno Senna has rubbished reports he has agreed to switch from Hispania to Lotus next season. "There is nothing to it. The stories are ridiculous," said the Brazilian. The reports emerged around the same time that it was suggested current Lotus driver Jarno Trulli had recently visited America to explore opportunities in NASCAR.
Full story: motorsport.com
Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher has warned "we shouldn't expect any miracles" from his Mercedes team in 2011.
Full story: Kleine Zeitung newspaper via motorsport.com
Virgin confirms buy-in by Russian supercar maker Marussia. Team to be known as Marussia Virgin Racing from 2011
Red Bull duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber clear air
Newly crowned Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel has cleared the air with Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber. The pair have engaged in an intense rivalry this season and Vettel's race win at Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ended Webber's own title challenge. Vettel said: "He came to congratulate me [after the race] and showed me a lot of respect which was one of the most important things that happened. "We talked about some things that got in our way a little bit year." Webber held a seven-point lead over Vettel going into the final race of the season, but Vettel triumphed to overhaul both Webber and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, and clinch his first world title. Following the initial euphoria of his victory, Vettel revealed how they spent time together at Red Bull's drivers' room, explaining: "When everything cooled down a bit we had the chance to talk to each other." http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9196351.stm
World champion Sebastian Vettel has promised that Red Bull's championship-winning achievements in 2010 are not the end. The 23-year-old says: "The aim will be to defend both titles, drivers and constructors." Vettel was speaking in Salzburg close to Red Bull headquarters before flying back to the factory in Milton Keynes. He joked about the new-found attention: "I can't wait to be back in my cockpit because then no one will be able to ask me questions and I can rest a bit!" (AFP news agency)
Michael Schumacher says he will know when he gets behind the wheel of the 2011 Mercedes in the first test of the year whether the team will be able to fight at the front again. The seven-time world champion reckons he could tell immediately that the 2010 was not good enough, saying: " I got a warning that was later confirmed."
Full story: autosport.com
Lotus team boss Tony Fernandes says it is 'highly unlikely' that the team will alter their driver line-up of Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen for the 2011 season.
Full story: autosport.com
Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi is confident Force India will honour his contract and keep him for 2011 despite speculation linking reserve driver Scot Paul di Resta to a race seat.
Full story: espnf1.com
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says his team's double championship success is 'not a flash in the pan' and is confident the team will be competitive in 2011 despite the difficulties of a long 2010 campaign.
Full story: autosport.com
Sebastian Vettel spent the immediate aftermath of his world championship triumph talking to his team-mate Mark Webber, who saw his title hopes end, for an hour after Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The pair also sat next to each other on the plane journey to Red Bull headquarters near Salzburg for Tuesday's celebrations.
Full story: telegraph.co.uk
Red Bull's Australian reserve Daniel Ricciardo set the fastest time in the all-conquering RB6 in the first day of the young driver test which is being held at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit this week. England's Oliver Turvey was close behind for McLaren.
Full story: autosport.com
do they also produce their own engines???
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