F1 Fanatic round-up: 18/8/2010

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An article written by Keith on the drivers who defied team orders will be up on the site later.

Until then, here’s today’s round-up:

Links

Pirelli upbeat about testing prospects (Autosport)

"Pirelli is upbeat about its prospects for its return to Formula 1 as it begins testing its tyres this week with Nick Heidfeld in charge of driving duties.

"Pirelli admitted it was very happy to have secured Heidfeld’s services.

"’We’re delighted to welcome Nick into the Pirelli family, and we’re confident that he’ll do a great job for us,” said Pirelli’s Motorsport Director Paul Hembery.’"

Nick became father for the third time (nickheidfeld.com)

"Nick and Patricia are really happy about the birth of their second son. Also Juni and Joda are excited about their new little baby brother.

"’I am delighted to announce that my third child was born tonight. Our little son is called Justus. We are all well’, said the happy father."

Rosberg as good as Vettel, says Berger (ESPN F1)

"Gerhard Berger doubts that Sebastian Vettel is currently the best German driver on the Formula One grid.

"According to the former McLaren and Ferrari driver, there is nothing now to separate the Red Bull man from his young compatriot at Mercedes, Nico Rosberg."

Horner expresses concerns over Spa and Monza (ESPN F1)

"Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner is concerned that the low downforce nature of the forthcoming rounds at Spa Francorchamps and Monza could play into the hands of title rivals McLaren."

James Allen: Assessing the title run-in (ITV)

"When the season reconvenes after the summer break at Spa at the end of the month five drivers from the grid’s leading trio of teams are poised to go toe-to-toe for the world championship spoils over the final seven rounds.

"But after Red Bull blitzed the field last time out in Hungary, what are the chances of Ferrari and McLaren’s respective challengers getting a realistic look-in? ITV.com/F1 columnist James Allen analyses how the balance of power is likely to swing from Belgium to Abu Dhabi.

Windsor: I’m a better person for USF1 – and I’d do it again (Yahoo)

"Reflecting that ‘a bit of humiliation is always good for the soul’ and that things should be kept in perspective, Peter Windsor has spoken publicly for the first time since USF1 bit the dust earlier this year, admitting that he has learned a lot from the failed venture and is ‘a better person’ for it – and confessing that were the right opportunity to present itself, he would do it all again."

Comment of the day

Mc Phisto has come across the first pictures of the Pirelli tyre test:

Here are some pictures of Pirelli’s test:
http://formula1home.wordpress.com/fotos/
Mc Phisto

From the forum

The most stupid type of qualifying?

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday Pink Peril and Adam Smith!

On this day in F1

The Pescara Grand Prix was held on this day in 1957.

This is the only time a Formula One championship race has been held at the Pescara circuit in Italy. It was added to the calendar following the cancellation of the Belgian and Dutch Grands Prix earlier in the season.

It’s best remembered for being the longest circuit in F1 history, at 16 miles long. Juan Manuel Fangio qualified on pole but the race was won by Stirling Moss for Vanwall.

57 comments on “F1 Fanatic round-up: 18/8/2010”

  1. Finally someone recognizing Rosberg’s talent. Schumacher was very, very unluky to come back facing such a pilot. At least he didn’t pull a Villeneuve and gave up.

    And a great day for Heidfield it seems. I wonder if he can secure a place next year in the grid. I’d bet on Force India or maybe in the new team, unless it’s the Villeneuve team, for reasons stated above.

    1. ive always rated rosberg heigher than vettel, and finally someone else who see’s slightly the same way

      1. id rate Heidfield above the two of them.
        were would Heidfield be now if it were not for the evil ron dennis golden child?aka scamilton

        poor Heidfield never givin his top team drive.

        1. McLaren were considering Hamilton, Paffet and De La Rosa for that seat. Not Heidfeld.

          Raikkonen was the one who ruined any chance that Heidfeld had at career at McLaren. Heidfeld was indeed supposed to move over to McLaren (around 2000), but then Raikkonen showed that (even as a rookie) he was already better than Heidfeld. Only a whole lot of mechanical failures at the end of the season kept Raikkonen from actually beating Heidfeld in his rookie season.

          I do think it would have made sense to put Heidfeld next to Hamilton. Pairing a feisty racer like Hamilton with a consistency driver like Heidfeld would be a good idea. Better than Hamilton and Kovalainen at least.

        2. Heidfeld started F1 in 2000 he’s had more chances than most and he just isn’t a top driver worthy of the praise some give him.

          Rosberg and Vettel really are forces to be reckoned with, Heidfeld never was probably never will be.

          I personally wouldn’t like to choose between Rosberg (Could show a lot more in the right car) and Vettel (Can deliver in a great car but maybe a touch overrated).

    2. Berger is starting to talk to the press regularly. We already heard him say, that Schumi’s move was nothing special in his time, but what he tells us here makes a lot of sense.

      I also think Rosberg is very good, he has a driving style not that far from Schumi and manages the car better than him.

      Not sure about Heidfeld, as pointed out somewhere else, it was very disappointing to see him speed up almost 0.4 seconds when Kubica replaced Villeneuve and started pushing him. If he had that much left, why not show it (that’s the reason Peter Sauber does not want him).

      1. ” We already heard him say, that Schumi’s move was nothing special in his time, but what he tells us here makes a lot of sense”

        In the 1990 Imola race Berger seemed to try to run Mansell off the track. It wasn’t too popular back then… Although I do agree tyhat driving standards have changed quite a bit and I do have a lot of respect for Gerhard.

        Also, it’s interesting that Berger says this abotu Rosberg after having been with Toro Rosso in 08 and watching Vettel win. I think they’re quick in different ways. Some times Rosberg is a cracker like Aus 08 and Sing 08 and 09 and others he’s very good but not quite that brilliant. Also, I see Seb as a pole man and think that Rosberg is maybe a quicker guy in the race esp when Kazuki (who I think was fairly rubbish but did have some good days) out-qualified him sometimes if I recall correctly.

    3. How did Villeneuve ‘give up’? Villeneuve made a lot of bad choices on many levels for too long and it ended up frittering away his career, no question. But I don’t get why there’s so much negative attitude towards him.

      1. Agree, I can hardly imagine why he’d want to start a new team if he’d given up on driving so easily. It’s like Ralf, things didn’t go quite right, he said the wrong things, and poof, there goes a good reputation.

    4. It’s Michael Schuamchers car is the problem,it would suit Jensons driving style and probably suits young Rosberg.
      I cannot believe (just as the mathematics overrule the logic) in this situation,that a 7 (nearly 10) times World Champion and a driver who has won more GP’s than all the others in F1 is to blame for the failure of Mercedes GP this year..It has to be something VERY wrong with his car.However Michael will have to prove the critics wrong,the ball is in his court now.

      1. Actually Rosberg likes the car pretty much the same way Schumacher does (both have been saying this several times this year), just Rosberg has found it easier to get around that this year, probably because he has less trouble with the tyres.
        Another difference is said to be, that Michael has trouble doing simulator runs.

      2. Indeed. Brawn explained that they got the front tyres wrong and therefore designed the wrong car (wrong weight distribution).

        There is only so much that they can change to rectify the situation during the season.

        If the only problem was that the car was designed for Button they would have long fixed that by now. It’s just nonsense. It’s sweet of Button to try and defend Schumacher, but it makes no sense.

        Also, people seem to forget that it took 5 years before Schumacher won a WDC at Ferrari. Ferrari with all it’s top people, a technical veto from FIA and annual 80 million bonus from FOM and still it took 5 years.

        Why would Mercedes be able to give him a WDC quicker than that?

        Of course they won the championship last year, but that car cost a fortune to design and it mostly relied on a clever trick which the other teams took half a season to replicate.

  2. Whole lot of excuses coming from Peter Windsors mouth.

    I see him as the good guy out of the two. But regardless of what excuses he comes up with fact is he failed, and failed miserably.

    1. i’d like to see some of your failures documented by international press.

      1. My failures personally?

      2. And, importantly, he tried. I doubt any readers of this fine web site have ever tried to establish an F1 team from scratch. This positive aspect of a failed business enterprise is more highly regarded in the US than in the UK. At least in my experience which covers both sides of the pond. In fact such battle scars are often regarded as excellent experience indicators here.

        1. I think your right, and from the interview Windsor also takes is like that. He is sure to have learnt a great deal from the experience.

          And as stated, Ron and Frank and most of the others did not succeed at the first try.

        2. Yea thats all well and good to put forth that sort of “as long as you tried your best” feedback but the fact is F1 doesn’t have room for people who “try”, they only want people that “succeed”, and “win”. Hence F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport.

          People who only strive to “try” usually “fail”, leaving them the subject to ridicule, and it hasn’t really helped the image of the sport trying to break back into a crucial market for F1 and the participants. Thank god that the GP is Austin has eventuated.

          I have nothing against Windsor, hes seems like a decent guy with years of experience. I do however think Ken Anderson is a joke.

          The reason the team didn’t move forward was because of him, and everything having to go through him, which slowed down every process albeit there was staff there already with the experience and intellect to make things eventuate. The fact that he made his son, with no F1 experience the design director tells me that this team was all about him and his own agenda.

          In the end everyone was worse off. F1, Jose Maria Lopez, Chad Hurley and most of all the group of people who quit their jobs and travelled around the world to take up a position that promised so much, yet resulted in so little.

          1. I also think Anderson was mostly responsible for not going for the Toyota car when offered it (he would have to give something out of hand).
            It did hurt all those involved and it did a lot to make it even harder for a new team to come in now.

          2. “Yea thats all well and good to put forth that sort of “as long as you tried your best” feedback but the fact is F1 doesn’t have room for people who “try”, they only want people that “succeed”, and “win”. Hence F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport.”

            So you’re saying if you don’t win your first race, you’re not meant for F1? Sorry, but a lot of times succeeding means quite a few failures before you manage to get it right. This is probably why Windsor says he’d do it all again. Failure is nothing if not a great teacher. Knowing what NOT to do is just as important as knowing what TO do. USF1 tried and failed, but I do believe there are many teams this year who haven’t even gotten that far and already pulled out. Where is the criticism for them?

          3. From everything I’ve read it’s pretty clear that Anderson is a stubborn idiot and single handedly brought everyone else down. It’s too bad Windsor couldn’t have stood up to him. You can bet those two won’t be in business together ever again.

          4. “People who only strive to “try” usually “fail””

            What’s that, saying… hindsight is always 20/20? Sorry Hamish, but that’s a bunch of macho hogwash. USF1 turned out to be an abject failure, but there’s no point in swinging clichéd phrases around. It’s a pretty circular argument to say that they failed because they didn’t strive to succeed. They failed for very particular reasons and it would be great to read a truly detailed account of the fiasco – would make for a fascinating management case study I think.

          5. Thank you for the kind words.

            You guys have missed the point, and have made some big assumptions/conclusions on my point of view in forming your point of view.

            The people of USF1 knew from an early time that they were doomed but didn’t have it in them to acknowledge it. There is a very good write up in F1 Racing magazine a few months ago and I do recommend you have a good look at it and then reflect on what I have said and perhaps it may make a lot more sense…..Maciek

            I think my term “win” has been taken somewhat out of context. By “win” I do mean achieve the goal at hand. For the new teams this was merely to be present in the sandpit come March 2010. USF1 couldn’t achieve that, and at no time did they look like achieving that. The organisation had no organisation and basically had two sheep leading sheppards. It was a nonsense dream of Ken Andersons that got as far as having a few pictures on an internet website.

            Put it this way. Look at HRT/Campos. They lacked time, and they lacked money yet they still made it on the grid. They are deemed to be a bit of a patchy team as a result but they did it, they won in their own right. USF1 had more time, they had more money yet couldn’t even put together a car. It was as though just failed to acknowledge the problem at hand praying/hoping everything would be alright.

          6. Go back to your F1 history and you’ll find various successful people who spent considerable time trying and failing before eventually finding success.

            Williams is one of the most successful F1 teams of all time, although it is currently going through a bad patch – but Frank Williams’ first attempts at F1 were regarded as something of a joke in the paddock and ended in utter failure before he finally forged a successful partnership with Patrick Head. Ron Dennis’s first attempt to take a team into F1 in 1974 didn’t even make the grid under his leadership – the Motul funded Rondel team was scuppered by the energy crisis which caused the sponsor to pull out, although the project was taken over by others and the car raced as a Trojan, well off the pace. Renault’s first faltering steps into F1 with a turbocharged engine were much mocked – but Renault kept at it until the concept eventually swept all before it.

            By contrast, Adrian Reynard’s eponymous racing car constructor was ultra successful before it became part of BAR – before 1999, Reynards had won their debut race in every category in which they raced, including F3, F3000 and CART. Despite being extremely well funded, BAR failed to score a single point in their debut season and failed to win a single race.

            Motor racing is a competition and, by definition, that means there will always be winners and losers – some of the most fascinating episodes of F1 history is the honourable failure. If we only admitted guaranteed successes to the grid it would be very small indeed.

          7. Yea I get you, but most of these teams we speak of were at least making the grid.

            Actions speak louder than words – probably best sums up USF1’s situation.

          8. Look up the site F1 Rejects.

            USF1 will then looks like a success comparatively ^^

            My favourites are Life, and Andrea Moda.

          9. “Thank god that the GP is Austin has eventuated.”

            There is a man with confidence, I hope it’s well placed. Austin so far is in a very similar situation to that which USF1 was at this stage in the proceedings, lots of talk, a location, a designer, a website and lots of promised financiers but nothing happening on the ground. Let us hope they do better than USF1 and turn it into reality, but it’s far too early to be 100% confident of that.

          10. Before you fail to score a point in a race, at least make it to the race.

          11. @Hamish – I meant no offence, but that was my sincere reaction to the way you phrased things.

  3. Horner’s comment makes me even more certain that Lewis Hamilton will be the man to beat at Spa-Francorchamps.

    1. Closest challenger would be Alonso I reckon.

      1. The next two races where it looks like that Red Bull may struggle is the chance for Mclaren & Ferrari to catch up & bring the war on all over again.

        1. Yea but haven’t we been down this track before? (thats a poor, poor pun)

          We were told Red Bull would be struggling at Turkey and Canada. Ok, this didn’t win but they weren’t exactly struggling.

        2. I am not too sure about that. They have liked to talk their chances down before, so i would not be supprised, if they were right on the pace (just not a second ahead) in Spa.

          But it is a fair chance for Alonso and the Brits to close up, for sure!

          1. Yeah, they definitely seem like Red Herring comments so it’ll be a big story again when Red Bull is fast. If they’ve learned from the mistakes they made in Montreal and Turkey yet, they could be more competitive in the next two races. I think James Allen is right that the biggest competition for Red Bull’s drivers going forward is going to be each other. It’ll be interesting to see how they both hold up under the pressure. There’s always the reliability story too, but that’s been kind of debunked now, since McLaren have actually had more mechanical retirements and raced fewer laps. Of the top three Ferrari seem to have the best overall reliability so far this season, though there were a lot of early season engine issues that could come back to bite them at the end of the season with the 8 engine rule.

    2. HounslowBusGarage
      18th August 2010, 8:49

      Horner’s comments also made me wonder if the team was ‘modifying’ their front wing to make it comply with the revised scrutineering. I wondered if he was preparing us for the resultant decrease in performance at the next two races.

      1. If you believe Horner, no changes have been made and he expects the wing to pass the new tests as well.

  4. I have to agree with Berger to certain point that if Roseberg were given the right car then he could have also fought for the title. He was Hamilton’s teammate in GP2 & there we saw his potential.

    1. Rosberg was only Hamilton’s teammate in karting I believe.

      1. Yep – they both drove for ART in GP2 but Rosberg was there in 2005 and Hamilton in 2006.

      2. Yes but that doesn’t affect Rosberg’s pure speed and talent. He is miles more mature than Vettel, who acts like a 4-year old child a lot of the time. For me, Rosberg is one of the best drivers on the grid.

        1. By the way, that comment was meant for rfs.

    2. Rosberg does seem a very mature driver these days, especially compared to Vettel. But I find it very difficult to underrate any of the current younger drivers, since most of them do compare fairly well against the older ‘experienced’ ones, and mostly make mistakes you would expect lack of experience to show, while their elders ought not to be making any mistakes at all.
      I also think Rosberg deserves special mention (all the time!) for being in the same team as ‘you-know-who’ and still being confident enough to race his own race, even though he seems to be put down every time his team mate deigns to mention him!

      1. I fully agree with that. Schumacher is one of the hardest (if not the hardest) team mate to have, and yet he has nearly triple the points of the statistcally greatest driver of all time. Sure Schumacher has had three years out, but I do believe that Rosberg could beat Vettel in a team, quite comprehensively.

  5. Happy birthday to Pink Peril (or Pink Pirelli, with the testing and all ;-) ) and Adam Smith!

    Nice pictures of the Pirelli testing there Mc Phisto. I always expected, some papperazzi would manage to make pictures.
    And that Toyota actually looks better without their livery. Compare that to this years Sauber.

  6. Oh and congratulations Nick Heidfeld!

    A new job, where you can actually drive the car, and helping your 2011 prospecst. And a third kid (only a shame you could not enjoy it very long for your trip to mugello).

    Now get us some nice tyre compounds that make for suprises and really promt teams to try alternative strategy and your our hero.

    1. I’ll second all of that!

      I think he will be at Force India, Sauber or the 13th team.

  7. And the technical review of Germany and Hungery is online. Thanks Cari, thanks John Beamer!

  8. Congrats to Heidfield. With the third kid’s arrival I’d say he is ready to settle down !

    1. No, he needs adrive in 2011!

  9. “The Pescara Grand Prix was held on this day in 1957.”

    What a nice stat/fact. I remember reading an article on the grand prix at Pescara in an old F1 Racing mag.

    It’s a handy little race to remember since most people would probably guess the old Nordschliefe as the longest circuit to have hosted a grand prix, so you can pull this one out and look extremely well-read/super nerdy, depending on the company :-D

  10. Congratulations to Nick and family!

    I think Berger might have a point about Rosberg, like how people used to say Hakkinen was quicker than Schumacher but not as consistent as a performer (not a view I personally put too much weight behind). Vettel now is at a point in his career where he needs to be learning handy tricks and not relying on just his speed, but so far we haven’t seen too much evidence of that. Yes Rosberg has been around longer to learn the ropes a bit better, but that’s just how it is.

  11. cari, good job on the round ups. but could you change your avatar to the darker f1fanatic logo! its confusing!

    1. Oh I’m sorry – I can’t really change it, it’s the new site design. Why is it confusing?

      1. because Keith uses the same avatar. sorry, it’s not really that important.

  12. Good luck to Josie for winning the final Big Brother, she’s a wonderful girl LOL! Made the show worth seeing! Let’s hope she does better in her life than some previous BB winners though.

  13. Yes! i got my birthday message!

    I completely forgot about it!

    WOO!

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