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.
It was just a wild guess but I’ve always had the hunch that when the Aston-Martin finally came together, it would be by fits and starts. ‘Member a few posts back when I wrote that Newey had some serious upgrades coming for Hungary? He’s saying the ‘B’ version of the car they’re debuting there will be “seconds” faster.
If he’s built a car worthy of his genius, and if it’s developed well enough now that it’s down to the fine-tuning, there’s enough season left for ‘Nando to make a serious nuisance of himself.
If it had a Corvette body Chode would have loved it!
I hope AM can put it together a bit this season.
At least the drivers can survive an entire race without being rattled do destruction...
3.8 seconds off last year’s pole, in perfect weather.
Regardless how good the updated car is, A-M’s streak of bad luck is still present and correct. Everybody else has been at the Hungaroring for a couple of days but A-M only got their cars pieced together and delivered today.
Regardless, the rest of the field is on tenterhooks over what it might be capable of. At this point I suspect A-M has written off the 2026 season and all development is aimed at 2027.
After two test sessions, Newey says the B-model Aston Martin shows promise but it’s a work in progress and there will be further updates at the three races following the summer break.
‘Nando says the car felt good but there’s still a long way to go. His best lap in FP2 was slightly more than 3 seconds off Hambone’s pace but the time was deleted for exceeding track limits. And of course no one who knows will say how hard he was pushing (it stands to reason the first obligation is to get Newey his data).
If they want to get serious about exceeding rack limits they should swap the rumble strips at the corners for spike strips and let the punctures be a self-enforcing penalty.
Gary Anderson details all the visible changes to the new Aston:
https://www.the-race.com/formula-1/aston-martin-b-spec-f1-2026-car-gary-anderson-verdict/
‘Nando qualified 16th. It was the first time this season than an A-M got out of Q3.
Both Mercedes had their final flying laps scuppered because Verstappen spun exiting the final corner before the finish. His car was wiggling A LOT and he knew he had to take risks to stand a chance at pole.
Hambone is P2 but as I write this I’m awaiting a stewards’ decision for Hambone possibly impeding Piastri. Piastri is currently P5, 0.465 adrift of pole.
P4 Antonelli also is under investigation for violating the yellow flag precipitated by Verstappen’s spin.
Hambone is demoted to 5th on the start grid for impeding Piastri. Which, karmicly, promotes Piastri to the spot ahead of him.
George Russell’s Merc broke down on the track and the team says it was a water leak. They don’t specifically state it was ICE coolant but — other than the driver — I don’t know of anything else on the cars than can be water cooled. And you don’t stop on the circuit because the driver drinks system broke.
GP Blog is stating as fact that there will be a 2026 GP of Bahrain but it will be held at the Sepang circuit.
I’m sure the teams are rejoicing over having to fly a million miles to get to a race that they thought already was in the record books.
But, as always, Liberty Media is only interested in the Benjamins.
Yup. Malaysia it is. And they’re only having to pay $3.5 million as a hosting fee. Monaco pays the least, just $20M, so they’re making Malaysia a real sweetheart deal. But I’m sure Liberty Media will find a way to bilk them all the same.
This reminds me of the times they held a San Marnino GP at Imola because San Marino is barely big enough for a go-kart track (and it’s mountainous so boot). But Ecclestone had shot off his mouth and pretended there was a rule prohibiting one country to host two GPs, and that was his work-around to give Italy a 2nd race.
I’ve always thought they should have a Grand Prix of Kwajalein and hold it at Reims.
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