I’ve had a couple of emails asking for a clarification on how comments are handled here.
I want F1 Fanatic to be a place where F1 fans can discuss and argue, share jokes, ideas and experiences. I do not want the joyless experience I find on certain sites (by no means just F1 sites) where the tone never drops below hysterical and comments are a perpetual slanging match between warring factions.
Comments that do not abide by the comment policy will be removed. That includes obvious things – spam, advertising, swearing, racism, homophobia etc… – much of which is handled by automatic filters. But it also goes further than that in order to try to keep a constructive and healthy debate.
On top of that there are some technical limitations to work around. For example at the moment if a comment is deleted any comments posted in direct reply to it must be withdrawn as well, otherwise they end up orphaned at the bottom of a thread, lacking any sort of context.
It’s not an exact science and I won’t pretend I get it right all the time. The quantity and quality of comments on the site continues to grow and I take that as an encouraging sign things are heading in the right direction. But there’s always room for improvement and if you have any suggestions how to do that please post a comment here and let me know.
Now, on to the round-up:
Links
First flying lap of the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit (YouTube)
Pirelli to make tyre offer to F1 teams (Reuters)
“Michelin and American-based tyre manufacturer Cooper have already emerged as possible suppliers for next season with Pirelli now entering the fray having sounded cautious about the idea just a week ago.”
Ferrari F1 barcode a ‘smokescreen for cigarette adverts’ (The Times)
Ferrari: "The bar code is part of the livery of the car, it is not part of a subliminal advertising campaign."
So Mr. Carroll we meet again! (My name is IRL)
“Adam Carroll really ought to be racing in Formula 1, thank goodness he’s not. It is stupendously good news for IndyCar Racing that Andretti Autosport has secured his signature for a select number of races later on this season.”
No big Williams update until Monaco (Autosport)
Sam Michael: “We do have some stuff for Barcelona, and that’s a good step, but I think the bigger steps will come for Monaco and Istanbul.”
Comment of the day
Here’s Hairs on the new-look Silverstone:
This is shocking, shocking news and spells the end for the British GP, Silverstone and the BDRC as an organisation.
Here’s a group that thought about what would make for a good race, then talked to the racers about what they wanted, then decided to appoint a company to do the work based on the quality of their previous work, then consulted the racers again, and came up with a design that seems to satisfy as many people as possible while maintaining the integrity and history of the GP, all within a sustainable and reasonable budget.
This won’t go down well with the FIA and Bernie at all.
Hairs
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Oliver and ccolanto! Have a great day, guys.
On this day in F1
F1 raced at the revised Imola circuit for the first time on this day 15 years ago. Damon Hill won after Michael Schumacher crashed out on the damp track.
Several chicanes had been inserted into the circuit following the two deaths at the track in 1994. The first of which, Roland Ratzenberger’s was 16 years ago today.
Read more: Roland Ratzenberger biography
Untitled258
30th April 2010, 0:33
I was convinced anyway, the video has convinced me more, the new part of the track will only bring goodness!
Shame it was a damp lap, i wanna see it full throttle :(
macahan
30th April 2010, 1:14
I would have to agree. Don’t think it taken anything away from Silverstone actually added to it and given one or possibly two more overtaking spots. None of this Bahrain twisty turney slow addition that was no good for anything but remove one overtaking spots.
Was fun to watch the lap hearing him saying going 7th gear flat out and he almost giving no gas ;) ohh yeah not him the other drivers ;)
Can’t wait to get to Silverstone this year and I get to see the first F1 race there in person from what it might look to be the best seat in the house now =)
BasCB
30th April 2010, 7:32
The car seemed quite a handfull on that damp track! Funny having im tell you over 195 mph when he was going a lot slower.
Still the video gives a nice impression of what it will be like.
Sideshow bob
30th April 2010, 20:08
Yeah, look at Martin manhandling that car! Some armfuls of oversteer there.
f1yankee
30th April 2010, 0:52
are people just now realizing the ferrari bar code is an uncanny representation of the marlboro lettering? honestly, what have these people been looking at all these years?
macahan
30th April 2010, 1:11
lol kind my thought when I saw those articles pooping up today was like. DOH I could told you that years ago…
BasCB
30th April 2010, 7:30
“I was stunned when I saw it. This is pushing at the limits.”
They had to look away quite a lot the last couple of years, not to notice what a casual watcher knows for a long time.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
30th April 2010, 7:54
My reaction too!
Harv's
30th April 2010, 8:28
what is the ferrari barcode for anyway?
What company does it belong to?
I’ve always been curious. Ferrari would not just put it thier because the fell like it.
ajokay
30th April 2010, 9:21
It’s subliminal marlboro advertising, and under law, it should have been removed years ago, and I really don’t understand how they’re still allowed to have any kind of tobacco advertising, ‘team title sponsor name’ or not. Once again, Ferrari exception to the rule, nay, European law.
macahan
30th April 2010, 14:47
But I think the law say no direct name mentioning or similar thing. The bar code itself don’t spell out Marlboro in addition the car is not Ferrari red but rather Marlboro red. The only thing I think they break law wise is to call themselves Marlboro Ferrari. Always found it amusing that those advertisments are not allowed but it’s ok to advertise alcoholic beverages in a car racing series/team and surprised that that has not been prohibited yet. After all driving and alcohol don’t mix….
PJA
30th April 2010, 11:01
If there is a sponsor in F1 I don’t know about I don’t usually try to find out what they do.
So when I started watching F1 in the early 1990s I only realised Camel, Marlboro etc were cigarette brands when I learned the reason why their logos didn’t appear at some races.
If the cars had carried their full tobacco liveries at every Grand Prix I probably wouldn’t have found out what they did until much later as no one in my family smokes and it has never appealed to me in the slightest.
TommyB
30th April 2010, 16:20
I only just noticed the black dashed lines about the bottom making them look like cigarettes but that video proves no one notices it at all. I only noticed after looking and thinking about it loads. Its silly.
DC
30th April 2010, 9:29
The BBC World Service uses a barcode-type graphic on its introduction. Are they in on this conspiracy too?
Eh. I think the Ferrari barcode branding is quite clever, actually.
DGR-F1
30th April 2010, 11:05
Do Ferrari use the ‘Barcode’ anywhere else in their advertising – I mean for their road cars?
It doesn’t appear on any Ferraris in ALMS or other Sportscar events.
We all know its a hangover from the days when only some racing venues didn’t allow cigarette advertising, and it was as boring then as it is now.
And it shows that Ferrari really don’t have any more ideas or sponsors to put on the fin, even after all this time….
PJA
30th April 2010, 11:13
I don’t know if Ferrari use the Barcode anywhere else but Marlboro do with their sponsorship of Ducati in MotoGP
http://www.autosport.com/gallery/photo.php/id/13248734
TommyB
30th April 2010, 16:16
What amazes me more is that Malboro pay Ferrari a fortune to have advertising on the car which seems like most people believe is advertising Coca-Cola
TommyB
30th April 2010, 16:22
It’s not the lettering its the fact that it looks like cigarettes in a pack… kind of… but not really.
Scribe
30th April 2010, 16:53
If it’s subliminal advertising it’s not very good subliminal advertising. It might be that we all already know what it is, but it’s never once compelled me anything.
Magnificent Geoffrey
30th April 2010, 1:07
I’ll just take this opportunity to pay my respects to Roland Ratzenberger. He was a true racer, just like all the other heroes who risk their lives for this incredible sport we all love. We won’t forget about him, just like we will never forget all the other men and women who have had their lives cruelly cut short while doing what they love most.
Icthyes
30th April 2010, 1:23
Seconded. Apparently they found an Austrian flag in Senna’s car, he had intended to dedicate a victory to him. I was a big Schumacher fan but have always felt a little ashamed at this disparity.
Hopefully they will be the last two people to die in F1. Respects to Henry Surtees too, it’s been less than a year and the memory feels like it too.
Gman
30th April 2010, 1:24
Senna and ratzenberger , i remember that weekend so sad. 1rt time and only time i cried for any sport. Both true gentlemans. My respect to them. And yes!!!!! I belive its true Schumi, wouldn t never won as much if senna was alive. Senna would have gone to ferrari and create a new era.
Icthyes
30th April 2010, 1:32
Speaking of Schumacher, here’s another perspective, probably more relevant than my earlier 1996 comparison, the point of which was not to say Schumacher wasn’t doing any worse, but to caution against snap judgements.
In 2005, Schumacher also had 10 points after 4 races (in today’s system it would be 24). Yet no-one was questioning his ability (probably because of his 2nd place in San Marino). As the year went by, it became apparent Schumacher’s dip in performance was down to the equipment he was using.
Of course, Rosberg is doing better than Schumacher is now, and he has less points in real terms than in 2005. But everyone was writing off Button just over a month ago; now people are lining up to eat their words, ironically in possibly prematurely hasty fashion (sorry, grammar fans!).
If the Mercedes modifications work and Schumacher ends up winning a race or two, will people be similarly inclined?
GeeMac
30th April 2010, 6:56
It just goes to prove that you are only as good as your last result, whether you are Paul Belmondo or Michael Schumacher… F1 fans are fickle like that sometimes.
I have no doubt that at some stage MSC will be in a good position to challenge for a race win and when he does he will rise to the challenge. For now, I’m pretty sure he’s just focused on trying to make the car a bit quicker.
(Said by someone who isn’t a fan of MSC by the way!)
MouseNightshirt
30th April 2010, 1:58
One thing I notice about the new arena circuit is that very humped kerb on the hairpin right after Village. Surely I thought they were trying to do away with those as not to launch cars that go over them?
plushpile
30th April 2010, 3:00
They say Club’s bee reprofiled, but i didn’t notice a difference…
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
30th April 2010, 7:55
The right-hand part used to be a long-radius turn. Now it’s two separate turns. It’s not shown very well in the pictures though.
Scalextric
30th April 2010, 3:55
That video was so much better, even when damp, than the Red Bull simulator laps we’ve seen on the previews. Wheeeee! Nothing matches the scale of Silverstone and I don’t think the changes have reduced the sheer impression of power that the place brings out in a car.
BasCB
30th April 2010, 6:48
Looks like Pirelli are trying to cash in on the information from the FOTA meeting, that Avon was new but cheap (partly because of staying with 13″) and Michelin was 3 times the cost.
So if Pirelli offers a comparable package to Mcihelin at 1/2 or 2/3 the cost, maybe the teams would go for it. It might still end up in a tyre war though.
BasCB
30th April 2010, 7:02
James Allen had a lap in the 2 seater with Martin Brundle driving (reffering to the video shown above) and promises a follow up as well:
IDR
30th April 2010, 7:24
San Marino 1994 was one of the blackest GP in F1.
Barrichello had an accident on Friday sessions and he broke his nose and an arm.
Ratzenberger loose his life during Saturday practice just minutes before the classification.
Senna loose his life during the race. After Senna’s accident, all cars were called to boxes but Larrousse allowed Eric Coma’s car to leave boxes and he did a lap with everybody on track attending Senna. He avoided to hurt anybody, but after this lap, he was very impressed and decided to leave the race. Senna saved Eric’s life during a practice session at Spa in 1992.
Michelle Alboreto’s car loose a wheel hurting 4 mechanics (Ferrari and Lotus)
BasCB
30th April 2010, 7:36
That weekend did seem to go from bad to worse.
I think everybody on track had a real hard time and even watching from TV it was a real bad feeling, like something doomed.
Scribe
30th April 2010, 16:58
In the Senna documentary the drivers all say the weekend felt wrong right from the very beggining, everything kept going wrong, most of them were racing with the thought of leaving the whole weekend behind as soon as possible.
Hairs
30th April 2010, 8:14
I’d just like to say that I never had any doubts whatsoever that I’d end up with COTD today. While I may not have posted much recently, it’s a happy thing to see that my genius shines through with the bright clarity that it always has.
graigchq
30th April 2010, 10:29
lol – another comment of the day methinks
Hairs
30th April 2010, 18:39
I need some sort of avatar to show off my enlightened worldview – perhaps a small picture of me, lit from behind, holding out the apple of knowledge to a dove…..
How do you link an avatar to your name on here again?
Scribe
30th April 2010, 19:00
Gravatar, an if that doesn’t help try google…
or here http://en.gravatar.com/
I’ve an idea for you, how about just a little bulb, to show an idea, but a energy saver as your all enlightened.
Hairs
1st May 2010, 0:32
Unlike a light bulb, my genius is immutable and cannot be switched off.
maciek
30th April 2010, 8:23
Man that video gave me a serious hunger to go karting…. I loved how Brundle was fighting the wheel spin on the exits. Nice.
Calum
30th April 2010, 8:27
The redesigned Silverstond looks good in real life, I liked the drawing of it and from the video it seems that it will be fast! Proper Silverstone.
sapwinte
30th April 2010, 9:03
I remember seeing pics from as recently as Monaco 2007 with the Ferraris running the actual Marlboro lettering and not the barcode. When was the last time they did it?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
30th April 2010, 10:36
I think the last time they did was in pre-season testing at Bahrain in 2008. They used the barcode at the race that year though.
Alex
30th April 2010, 9:21
Alright there’s one thing I already dislike about the new Silverstone. Did you hear the commentator say: “There’s plenty of space (asphalt) to go wide here.”? That space shouldn’t be there. It should either be gravel or grass.
steph
30th April 2010, 9:26
I’d also like to pay my respects to Roland Ratzenberger. That weekend happened when I was only 3 but as I began to follow the sport more I learnt more about it. However, whenever I thought of the two that died that weekend I could easily summon up images of Ayrton and because he was in the limelight so much I felt I almost knew him or knew of the loss to motor racing but when I thought of Roland I could only think of the name; I knew almost nothing else.
It is ignorant of me and I really want to rectify it so I’ve done a little research which is something I should have done a lot sooner.
I’ve so far managed to find a small interview with Roland where he expresses his happiness at being in F1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW592NQOt7M
I believe that Roland was born the same year as Senna but apparently he used to claim he was in fact born in ’62 so he could expand his career by two years. It does show how long he had to wait to achieve his F1 dreams too and I’m pretty impressed with his determination.
His only finish in F1 was 11th at the Pacific GP in 1994 with Simtek. He had driven that track before while no other driver had but after the previous round where he failed to qualify, this was a pretty good result.
Pre F1, in 85 he won the Austrian and Central European Formula Ford Championships. He managed a podium at the Brands Hatch Formula Ford Festival and scored a win when he returned in 1986.
He raced in Le Mans several times(best result was 5th), four years later he was competing in Britain and entered the British Formula 3000 where overall he ended 3rd.
He dabbled in Touring Cars also, he contested in WTCC and the BTCC before he switched to Japan to race touring cars for two years there. He even jumped the start on one occasion when he tried to lead every race he competed in the second season.
He then changed series and cars again to race in the Japanese F3000, he scored a couple of wins but only came 7th overall and stayed for another year but came 11th this time. He was also concerned with driver safety and when fellow driver Reid crashed he rushed to the scene to help his colleague.
His intelligence when it came to his career was clear when in Japan he was fearful that he would be isolated from his home nation, from the press and form sponsors too so he paid a freelance journalist to help keep the Austrian press up to date with his results.
Then finally, he was offered a drive in F1 for 1994. Roland changed his path so many times; not just the countries where he raced but the types of cars he drove and he waited over 30 years to get into F1.
That’s what I could find on Roland and I’d like to apologise to him for not knowing that in the first place. I still feel that isn’t enough. I can only find results and although that tells me he was a dedicated and flexible driver it still doesn’t tell me much about Roland Ratzenberger. However, he got to F1 after years of struggling and I have a huge amount of respect for that; it shows not only was he a very hard worker but his ambition had a certain stubbornness needed to fulfil his goal.
I’ve never really been a fan of Max Mosley’s politics or methods but one thing I will always respect him for was going to Roland’s funeral. It was a thoroughly decent and very human thing to do.
Sorry for banging on! Happy birthday Oliver and happy birthday ccolanto! Hope you two have a wonderful day :)
greg76
30th April 2010, 10:11
I don’t think Mosley is very popular among F1 fans but we still have to respect how much he did for safety.
DanThorn
30th April 2010, 10:40
Great info Steph, thanks for sharing. I particularly like the story about deliberately jumping the start so he could lead every race!
I always hugely respected Max for going to Roland’s funeral too, although I recently read that he went because he was banned from Senna’s funeral. I can’t remember where I read that though – it might have been on Youtube and therefore hugely wrong, but if anyone has more info on that I’d be grateful.
RIP Roland.
rampante
30th April 2010, 16:51
Mosley went to his funeral because he felt that nobody would be there and as he said” everyone was going to Senna’s “.
It was a bad weekend for everyone. I was at Imola on the Friday and Saturday. I had to leave on Saturday night and I’m glad in many ways I did.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
30th April 2010, 10:40
Did you read the biography link above? Interesting story about him and Anthony Reid in there.
steph
30th April 2010, 10:47
Nope was on my mobile at the time and it is the slowestt hing on earth. Will check it out now. Thanks Keith :)
ajokay
30th April 2010, 9:42
I’m looking very much forward to checking out the new Arena layout in the flesh (Tarmac?) this weekend at the GT1 Championship.
graigchq
30th April 2010, 10:35
..did u see the yas marina race? grosjean literally blwing the doors off all the competition.. was he perhaps stripped of his F1 drive a bit prematurely? He was the only driver out there to be faster than the corvette’s, and towards the end was pulling over 1.5-2s per lap over EVERY other car..
lookin forward to silverstone, this year’s new GT1 world championship looks like something well worth following
catch up on highlights of qualifying as well as full replays of the championship races here:
http://gt1world.com/gt1tv
Mersault
30th April 2010, 9:43
Nice decision on the comments, Keith. The hysterical and overly partisan comments on other sites, while initially entertaining in a ‘car crash’ kind of way, soon become rather nauseating.
I’ll be very interested to see if your moderation policy actually results in a greater volume of contribution as well as a more constructive and reasoned tone. On the evidence so far, this may well be the case.
IDR
30th April 2010, 10:27
“I’ll be very interested to see if your moderation policy actually results in a greater volume of contribution as well as a more constructive and reasoned tone.”
I think this site is “pretty safe” of partisans and bigotry is not due to Keith moderation policy, but his own behavior with the articles.
He will surely have his own preferences in terms of drivers and Teams, but he always manage the posts with a very professional (and objective) attitude.
He shows the way to us for posting comments here, attracting people who truly love this sport, not people who only wants to rant against others (drivers, teams and bloggers).
sato113
30th April 2010, 11:08
great comment hairs!
Hairs
1st May 2010, 1:38
I know, I was just thinking that to myself as I re-read it a fourth time.
God I’m good.
DGR-F1
30th April 2010, 11:14
Its good to see that three tyre companies are now interested in F1. I wonder if the FIA would be brave enough to let them all supply different teams?
Although it might be down to which deals can be done, I don’t see why agreements couldn’t be made so that each Manufacturer supplies a mixture of top, middle and bottom teams.
And why just stop at three suppliers? Lets have four or five, since it needs something like this to help keep the connections between F1 cars and what the rest of us drive.
BasCB
30th April 2010, 11:18
No shortage of Marshalls to choose from in Korea:
http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/formula-1-news/233384/korea-receives-1-600-marshal-applications/
Looks like there are quite some fans in Korea, if they had that much applicants for it.
I know several people visiting this site have experience on marshalling from comments in the posts. Do you have any tips what the organizers should look for when choosing from the applicants and is this such a popular activity in other countries?
By the way good job all of you making racing possible and safe. Good job, and good luck to those being at GP races.
BasCB
30th April 2010, 13:40
what about this for a different driving experience. It reminds me of the first laps with the HRT in Bahrain and Virgin and Lotus during testing.
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/1002018.article?cmpid=TE01P&cmptype=newsletter
claudioff
30th April 2010, 14:52
Have you realize that the car Brundle drove could have an empty seat? What you would give to be in that second seat? Has any one here had this kind of experience? I once attended to a Stock Car race where passanger seats were adapted and some very luck guys/girls had the privilege to do some laps with the professional racers. Unfortunatelly I wasn´t one of them.
matt90
30th April 2010, 14:55
Bit off topic but I just saw this example of swerving to break a tow. Not as extreme as Hamilton, but still ‘more than one move’ yet it gets no mention from the commentators or the stewards as far as I know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFiJLCKzUdA&playnext_from=TL&videos=fyFswGR36mU&feature=grec
bx
1st May 2010, 5:16
It’s more of an example of a couple poor attempts at ‘blocking’ by Kimi on Klein rather than ‘breaking a tow’. Klein isn’t in his slipstream.
BasCB
30th April 2010, 15:49
some good news for fans of Donington:
Lets hope they make it and close the holes in the track to have cars racing there in the summer.
http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/formula-1-news/233411/donington-hoping-to-reopen-in-august/
ccolanto
30th April 2010, 15:57
Thanks for the birthday wishes!!
Chaz
2nd May 2010, 8:35
Thanks for all the hard work Keith. It is really appreciated…