Imola replaces Bahrain on GP2 Asia calendar

F1 Fanatic round-up

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Nick Heidfeld, BMW, Imola, 2006

While Bernie Ecclestone tries to get F1 back to Bahrain, GP2 Asia is going to Imola instead.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Imola added to GP2 Asia Series calendar (GP2 Asia)

Yes, Imola’s not in Asia. But it wasn’t in San Marino either…

Timo Glock on Twitter

“Hello everyone, thanks for all the great messages that, helps recovery :-) Greetings from the Hospital to everyone! Will be back soon, Timo.”

Via the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app

Toddler Di Resta thrilled by racing

Video of a young Paul di Resta karting (UK only).

Alonso lashes out at new Spanish speed limit (Times of Malta)

“I don’t support this measure. To reduce fuel consumption there are other measures that are much more effective than this one. At 110 kilometres an hour, it is even difficult to stay awake.”

Adrian Sutil Q&A: Force India under no illusions (F1)

“We reached an agreement in Korea. It was a handshake agreement between [Force India boss] Vijay [Mallya] and my manager Manfred Zimmermann. There were lots of stories and rumours in the media about who would eventually inherit my cockpit when in fact it was clear for a long time that I would drive for Force India in 2011.”

SingTel renews sponsorship for Singapore Grand Prix (Channel News Asia)

“Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said it will continue to be the Title Sponsor for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix for two more years in 2011 and 2012.”

Greater Noida Formula 1 Circuit (Skyscraper City)

Pictures of building work at the site of the Indian Grand Prix track.

Lewis Hamilton at CeBIT

McLaren on Twitter

Lewis [Hamilton] is in Germany at the tech expo CeBIT today – here he is doing an interview with RTL on the Vodafone stand.”

Via the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app

Construction at Austin’s Grand Prix site not 24×7 (Austin American Statesman)

“Construction at the F1 site south-east of Austin has increased in the past two weeks but it’s more like 12×6, limited to daylight hours with Sundays still a rest day of rest.”

Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.

Comment of the day

Lots of doubt over whether a race in Bahrain in August is feasible. Here’s DavidS:

38C air temperature, and that’s what’s measured officially using a Stevenson Screen and specific criteria for measurement. The temperature in the sun on a solid piece of concrete or asphalt is going to be much much higher with lots of heat radiating from those materials.

Many outdoor industries have a temperature where they cannot allow people to work. Bernie is crazy if he thinks that it would be OK for F1 to go to a hot country in the hot season and race around on a hot surface in a heat source.

Remember, when an area experiences a heat wave of a lesser intensity than the average Bahrain summer, authorities advise people to check on people his age to make sure they haven’t died of heat stroke.
DavidS

From the forum

Thoughts on the differences between F1 cars and Moto GP bikes.

2011 F1 season preview

Starting tomorrow on F1 Fanatic…

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Kaushal!

On this day in F1

Michael Schumacher had a fright on the first day of the 2001 season when he rolled his Ferrari.

Following the crash he criticised safety standards at the Melbourne circuit.

Image © BMW ag

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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125 comments on “Imola replaces Bahrain on GP2 Asia calendar”

  1. Imola. Would love it back in f1 as well!

    1. Ugh. Imola is just an endless series of chicanes these days. Plus, there’s the whole only-one-race-per-country thing going on that Ferrari have been very supportive of. It’s unlikely Formula 1 will return to Imola any time soon – even without the serious problems with the start line (the kink immediately after it has caused quite a few big accidents of late) that is almost impossible to sort out because of the geography around the circuit.

      1. Do miss Imola though with the chicane it is still a better circuit then the one in Valencia. There were talk of it to be improve but it was never done.

        1. It has been improved, I checked their website yesterday. The chicane at the end of the lap has gone and the pits have been upgraded.

          1. But the problem is the left kink after the start line. It’s caused a lot of crashes, and it can’t be smoothed out because there’s a grandstand on one side and the pit building on the other. Any changes to it would need to have those building moved back, which would be very expensive normally. However, behind the grandstand is a hill that the back part of the circuit runs over, so it would be almost impossible to dig enouh space to move the grandstand back without compromising the integrity of the racing surface on the hill. And behind the pit building is a creek that meanders quite a bit, so creating a stable surface there to build on is similarly impossible.

          2. Hm, I think you have just ruined the hopes of all people wanting to see Imola back on the F1 calenar PM. ;-)

            Sounds like they are really tight for space there. Good thing they even managed to get the track in there in the first place

        2. I have never watched a race at Imola, but I love to play it on games.

      2. Montreal and Melbourne have as many or more chicanes than Imola (albeit some faster chicanes) and are regarded among the better tracks on the calendar.

        So I don’t think the Chicanes=bad tracks argument is always true.

        1. Especially with Imola’s chicane’s, as they’re all fairly quick and have unique character.

      3. last “traguardo” chicane is removed, only 3 remains for cars, yes motocycles using new variante bassa but…cars are using only 3

    2. Great venue, fantastic crowd and atmosphere. But the track was ruined after 1994. F1 outgrew it.

      1. I remember reading about Tamburello, as Ayrton Senna and Berger went there after bergers massive crash to see what could be done to extend the run off area.

        There is a lake not far behind the wall as it was then, so it was deemed too difficult to get around that.

        Tragic really.. if only there was no lake behind it.

    3. If only Keiths title said

      Imola replaces Bahrain on F1 calendar

      1. Unlikely as it would be, that’s what I thought it said. It was only when I scrolled down that my hopes were cruelly dashed. Curse you unfortunate headline placement and my own unrealistic hopes, curse you! :P

  2. Why not have an august running of the san marino grand prix, instead of the bahrain grand prix.

    1. And call it the Bahrain Grand Prix

      1. Not a bad idea!

        1. Sure, all the Crown Prince has to do is buy the circuit. It’s a bit like the way some F1 engines have been badged. Who cares about the source as long as it has your name on it.

      2. Just brilliant!

      3. And call it the Bahrain Grand Prix

        Excellent idea! It’s not like the San Marino GP was ever in San Marino anyways, it’s just taking that concept one step further :P

      4. Yeah! The Crown Prince could just buy the naming rights. ‘the Bahrain San Marino Grand Prix’

  3. The Indian GP is showing up on Google maps now, roughed in at least. From what Karun Chandhok said on last week’s Flying Lap, it should have almost all the tarmac laid at this point, but at least you can see where it will sit: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=indian+grand+prix+circuit&aq=&sll=28.347295,77.543135&sspn=0.023568,0.039568&ie=UTF8&t=h&rq=1&ev=zo&split=1&filter=0&radius=1.45&hq=indian+grand+prix+circuit&hnear=&ll=28.348466,77.537556&spn=0.023568,0.039568&z=15

    1. It’s looking good. I forgot how promising the Indian track was. I like how it’s short compared to the other new tracks (predicted about 1.17), where lap times start getting into the 1.30’s and 40’s.

      Does anyone know if they have modified turn 7 yet? Teams gave feedback and apparantly it was going to aid overtaking into that double apex corner if they smoothed it out. You can’t see clearly on that map, it’s hard to tell.

      1. Yes, it’s been modified. The teams suggested the approach to turn five be shortened to make open the angle of the double-apex five and six. Some of the drivers suggested widening the circuit to further shorten the apex. Both changes have been implemented.

        1. Thanks PM, I don’t think I meant turn 7 now i’ve got your answer though :P

          I’m looking forward to it.

          1. I figured you meant the first right-hander after the double-apex left.

          2. I’m looking forward to it too. I think it could provide better racing than most Tilkedromes. I still have high hopes for Korea too, though we won’t know how good it is until we see a dry race there.

          3. Looking again PM that is what I meant ;)

        2. Thank heavens, I thought that was one of the worst ideas ever in the original circuit.

          1. Oh, the idea was there. The intention behind it was actually pretty good. It was the execution that needed sharpening, which it has been. This video shows a lap of the circuit in rFactor (though I don’t know how accurate it is). The complex starts at 0:43; it looks like a double-apex left that ends with a quick flick to the right to allow the drivers to take a faster line exiting the corner because they don’t have to stick to the second apex religiously. That entire section from the double-apex bend, around that giant right-hander and up the hill looks to be pretty good. I especially like the uphill left-right from 1:06 onwards.

  4. it’s been a long time i haven’t seen a race in imola. not going miss this race

    1. Odd. Looks like they changed the link. Anyway have updated it, thanks.

  5. Alonso, who won the Formula One title in 2005 and 2008, drives for Ferrari.

    Oh dear.

  6. I don’t support this measure. To reduce fuel consumption there are other measures that are much more effective than this one. At 110 kilometres an hour, it is even difficult to stay awake.

    What a silly comment. So what if doesn’t improve fuel consumption. Speeding is dangerous. If he wants to go faster than 110kph there are events being held at two week intervals in various countries during this and every other year, (the name of the series escapes me at the moment). He should check those out if he wants to go faster.

    Otherwise, he should obey the law. He might be a million times more famous or rich than any of us but he’s not above the law.

    He really should get over himself.

    1. he doesn’t claim to be above the law, neither does he imply people should drive over the speed limit. He is simply stating that he doesn’t agree with the measures in a mildly light-hearted manner.

      He was asked and he gave his honest opinion. No doubt you will be complaining later in the season when he’s asked a question and comes out with a dull, media trained answer.

      1. I wonder why FA isn’t a lot more outrageous. No matter what he says he’s gonna get massacred, so why does he bother trying to be nice and sensible?

        1. Because outside of F1 he’s a really decent guy.

          I’m going to make this comment my homepage as proof against bias accusations ;)

    2. Do you have an axe to grind with Alonso or what?

      I don’t particularly like the guy either, but what he says makes sense. I guess you live in a country like mine where the word “speeding” is bandied about without respect by government-sponsored safety campaigns and has lost all meaning.

      You said “speeding is dangerous”; so, what does that actually mean in the context of this discussion? 120km/h was the previous speed limit, now 110km/h is. Previous to the law change, 120km/h was a safe speed (not speeding). Now it is considered speeding, but is it unsafe? I would say no.

      In any case, the reason stated was to reduce the countries’ fuel consumption, the concept of safety or speeding wasn’t even mentioned.

      1. I don’t think your logic is very good.
        From Wikipedia:

        The first maximum speed limit was the 10 mph (16 km/h) limit introduced in the United Kingdom in 1861.

        So by your logic, everything above 16 km/h was initially considered unsafe. Ergo you would agree that it is silly to now consider 60 km/h safe?

        No offence to Alonso, but he drives a bleeding F1 car every second weekend. you’d think he’d be able to just deal with it.

        1. this is an absolutely terrible counter argument….

      2. Well, I, and I think many studies on fuel use and air-quality, and some on road safety, disagree with Alonso, but I think he does probably hang on to what I call the “Top Gear” view that roads are there to be used to the max.

        Here in the Netherlands the newish government will soon raise the max. speed limit to 130 km/h. But only on about half of the highways, as the others are too narrow, or surrounded by houses. If you actually look at the roads with increased limit, large parts of those already have local limits of 100km/h though, maybe for noise and air-quality reasons, but also for safety. So the 130km/h won’t really translate into much measurable time gain (NL isn’t that big!). I didn’t go into the rather larger problem that large parts of the day car will be happy to be going a constant 50km/h because of traffic jams.

        But I have a cousin who lives in Belgium, and he looks forward to it – he often drives to his parents in Amsterdam, and back during the night, when the quit roads would allow him his 130km/h, which makes some sense. Not sure it balances out, but still.

    3. Does the same apply to Hamilton when he was arrested for ‘hoon’ driving?
      Or is this just an anti alonso rant?

    4. I don’t agree with his opinion and what he says about saving fuel is plainly wrong.

      But let’s not slag someone off just for having an opinion.

      F1 drivers (Alonso included) are so often reluctant to offer a view on anything, this makes a nice change.

      1. What do you mean exactly when you say he is just plainly wrong about fuel consumption?

        He is saying that a speed limit of 10kph less is not the best way to reduce fuel consumption and there are better measures. He is 100% correct. True, driving slower reduces fuel consumption, but it is negligible at 10kph. Also, this isn’t a governor on a cars motor, its a law and a speed limit, so it only reduces those who obey. So what Alonso is saying, is that there are better measures for reducing fuel consumption and he’s right, there are….

    5. Actually Alonso seems to be adherring to that speed limit, otherwise why would he complain about it if he was just cruising along on 180 kmh on the left lane, ignorant of speed limits?

      1. I think he should just move to Germany. We have respect for the car (sometimes I feel we have too much respect for the car and too little for the people, but well..). Also we wouldn’t mind collecting his taxes, especially since all german F1 drivers are tax fugitives (I’m looking at you Mr. I-love-my-german-fans-so-much-and-I-like-to-use-german-roads-for-pr-events-and-to-be-paid-outrageous-amounts-of-money-for-stupid-adverts-in-Germany-Vettel).

    6. Craig Woollard
      2nd March 2011, 15:44

      Does he even live in Spain? I thought he lived in Swiss-cheese land…

  7. I’m liking the elevation changes that are appearing in India. That dip down the back straight in particular looks like fun.

    1. It looks like a good one. I hope they get it completed in time, but 2010 saw the heaviest Monsoon rainfall in Deli since 1978 and Monsoon season could start as early as June.

      Don’t need much imagination to understand what heavy rain does to a construction site.

      Remember how Korea went down to the wire last season? I’m hoping the Indian circuit can avoid that.

      1. They’ll do fine. The difference between India and Korea is that Tilke GmbH has overseen the construction from the beginning. He does it to every circuit he builds – one of the reasons why Tilke has a monopoly on circuit design is because his company oversees the project from the first draft to the moment control of the circuit is handed over to the organisers – but for some reason that I don’t know, he didn’t managed Korea’s construction.

        1. The other difference is that the tarmac was being laid up to the last possible second in Korea, and if we’re to believe Karun Chandhok the tarmac in India should be done next week. That really only leaves them having to finish infrastructural elements of the circuit, which should be less of an issue with weather, assuming they’ve at least poured the concrete. I have a feeling they’ll be done in time.

          1. In several of the pics posted on the 28th you can already see the first layer done on part of the track (scroll down).
            Looks like the track will be ready, I am starting to look forward to it as it might be Tilke did a good circuit agian.

          2. Seems like it could be a true driver’s circuit, isn’t it?

  8. I’m ready to donate a map to the FIA, pointing out why Imola isn’t Asia.

    1. Maybe while you’re at it tell them Renault isn’t Lotus. Just like Hamilton isn’t Senna, Button isn’t Prost – contrary to some commentators views.

      1. The FIA has no control over the commentarors in any way. You know that.

        1. Sorry whats that got to do with the price of fish? It was merely a comparison.

      2. Well the Reanualt/Lotus one may be harder to prove now that Lotus Renault GP released pictures on twitter of a Lotus Road car in their colours, and team Lotus Reanult (Lotus) released a video on Facebook of Trulli and Heikki on track with a Renault Clio. Both teams are having serious trouble workingout who they are.

        Perhaps they need to go backpacking round Asia to “find themselves” like so many youngsters do tehse days…

        1. Lol. I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right. Renault doing promos with Lotus cars, Lotus doing promos with Renault cars. It only gets more confusing. They all just need to kiss and make up.

          1. 4-car teams. Solved! ;)

        2. LOL, maybe genii man Lopez and Fernandez could make a good trip together.

          I think Renault is really preparing for getting rid of the team (not being a constructor) and just associating as a top notch engine producer in F1.

          As far as Lotus is concerned, the FIA will be just sitting on the sides and wait for the judges to decide.

          1. That would just be far too complicated:

            “Team Lotus Renault Genii Proton 1Malaysia Air Asia Lada GP”

          2. GeeMac, don’t forget to throw Nissan, Infiniti and Tune into the mix as well!

  9. Great excuse Fernando, imagine trying to explain that one in the UK.

    ‘Sorry officer but I decided not to obey the 70MPH speed limit as I find it difficult to remain awake, so its in my best interests to go as fast as possible to to avoid falling asleep at the wheel.’

    1. UK is one of the dullest countries when it comes to road laws. I think Nando would fall asleep simply arriving in the UK.

      1. Now, lets see how long it takes Jean or Bernie to demand an apology from the great Nando about these comments.
        Jean has got most, if not all the F1 drivers to sign up to various road safety and car effeciency measures – I wonder if Alonso was one of them – and could get upset at a high profile driver complaining about the things he is supposed to be promoting…..
        Bernie ought to come out with a sly remark about where Alonso ought to be driving quickly……at least more than 110kmh

      2. What about the Netherlands, where the most travelled highways have a 100 kmh limit and full distance speed monitoring.

        All cars going 109 kmh on cruise control, that is for about 4 hours daily, when it is not standing in traffic jams.

        But nice to hear a F1 driver actually admit they always drive on the limit on the roads.

        1. 110kmh does seem a little slow, but every time I’ve been to Spain everyone seems to daudle about about at 50-55mph, so for the majority I don’t think it’ll be an issue.

          I understand Fernando’s plight though, our 70 limit is hugely annoying…Not that I always take note of it..

        2. That’s a bit exaggerated ;-) Yes there is a lot of ‘trajectcontrole’ but not on the entire highway.
          If I drive from Arnhem to the Hague, I come across three fully controlled areas, in total roughly 5 kms of the whole distance of 120 kms. What’s worse and more annoying is that during rush hours it takes between 2,5 and 3,5 hours.

          Personally I find cruise control under 140 kph boring and have trouble staying awake (something we can legally do by just crossing the German Border).

          I guess we’re all bored by different things. Good that Alonso keeps us entertained and busy…

          1. LOL, seems Alonso feels exactly the same as you about the cruise control!

            I find it quite handy at 70, 80 or 100 kmh as it makes it easier to keep to the limit instead of going faster.

            And from driving on those roads, most people really do seem to drive just like cruise control, as they hardly ever go faster and especially NEVER slow down a bit to make way for you to get out from behind that truck.

            Actually even in Germany most highways are being limited to 120 or 130 nowadays. Shame really, but it does make sense from a traffic control point of view.

      3. I have to say, from what I have seen, some of the smaller roads in the Sussex area certainly shouldn’t have their speed limit increased; because they are rather hollow, with tight bends and intersections just after that, often blind – Alonso would quickly learn to be careful there!

  10. Just for info, SingTel’s share price rose by 2% in the Singapore Stock Exchange after the announcement. Apparently it was seen as a good investment move by the public.

  11. 38C is not too hot for a race. I shot photography for the Indy500 last year and the air temp was 40C with a surface temp in the pits of 56C. While it was hot, it wasn’t unbearable. I just drank a lot of water.

    Don’t forget that alcohol is also hard to come by in Bahrain and forbidden in public. That should help cut down on the passing out.

    1. Quit some commenters who are regulars in the region posted here yesterday, saying 45°C is normal for that time of year.

  12. Polishboy808
    2nd March 2011, 3:49

    Wait, didn’t we have a British driver get fined a large sum of money for doing donuts in Australia? Come on people, get off FA’s back, so what if he criticises the change, it’s his oppinion. I’m not sure why this story of all gets posted on the round up as there are many more interesting things going on in the world of our beloved sport, then a man that gets more hate on this site then any other human’s oppinion. Lay off a little won’t yah?

    1. Impossible. Remember, Nando is the villain in their little story and Lewis is the hero. Without those two main characters a lot of people would be bored of F1, which is why the press have to keep reminding everyone just how evil Nando apparently is.

    2. No. We had a British driver fined $500 for sliding his Merc round one corner.

      Luckily, there is no hyperbole police otherwise you’d be looking at 5 to 10.

    3. I like him speaking his mind (he was asked about it by the reporter, not spontanious) and admitting, he would go a lot faster on the roads.

      His point is not right, as limiting speeds does the best job of saving fuel, but what other opinion would you want from a race driver.

      1. It would be a bit surprising if he said he isn’t affected because he used to drive around his grandma and she would get worried if he went over 50km/h, yes :)

        1. He might have been saying, it does nothing to him as he regularly ignores them anyway :-P

          Although that would have been taken out of the interview by his management for fear of having Todt go after his licence

      2. limiting speeds by 10kph is a feeble attempt at lowering your country’s fuel consumption, so it’s not fair to say his opinion is not right. Maybe he does know the issues and understands that there are many other things you can do to get people to reduce fuel consumption that are far better than slowing down by 10 kph…..

        1. if you increase the speed limit, you’d get there in a shorter amount of time. thus decreasing the time spent using fuel! :)

    4. Nah he spun his wheels coming out of traffic lights i’m sure. That wasn’t as huger deal as it was made out to be. I find it difficult enough to avoid in my Ford KA (although i’m sure it’s just a problem with my car :P)

      I’m pretty sure there was no sliding about or ‘donuts’, that’s chinese whispers for sure.

  13. I got REALLY excited for a second there, then I read ‘GP2’.

  14. Thought i should point this out.

    The reason why not a lot of Singaporeans are interested in formula 1 is because of Singtel.

    Singtel and Starhub are both very big competitors over television channels, last year when Singtel bought StarSports from Starhub, Singapore lost a whole big lot of its F1 viewers. This is because nearly everyone uses Starhub as they are better in every way than Singtel. In fact Star Sports is the only “popular” channel in Singtel. I myself have been affected by this but thanks to the great support of F1Fanatic and its live race chat and streaming, i managed to continue my enthusiasm for Formula One.

    I know Singtel is already doing a good job sponsoring. but could they at least reach an agreement for the Majority Starhub users watch some F1? I mean before the takeover people are able to talk casually about the Singapore GP, these people are not even fans, just people who happen to be browsing the channels and see a race.

    1. The reason why not a lot of Singaporeans are interested in formula 1 is because of Singtel.

      Dammit i meant “why a lot of Singaporeans are NOT interested”

      1. It is up to Starhub to approach and pay Singtel for the rights to leech off of their feed.

        So the blame can only really be blamed on the provider who does not air the show.

  15. Imola is worse then Bahrein, talking about processions… In fact, it’s worse then 2010 Bahrein. When we were watching F1 for the first few years, the races in Imola stood out because at some point we realized: ‘Oh, it’s that track… no overtaking whatsoever’

    1. I think Imola is not that bad for the GP2 cars actually.

      Funny series though, GP2 Asia. I suppose this means they had the first event with 2 races in Bahrain and now they od Imola. So that is 2 races and 2 features to decide the “champion”.
      Good luck Bianchi, on winning it. He surely knows Imola well enough to score good enough.

      1. Didn’t they originally have three races? Ah, yes the original 2011 calender – so they had a race weekend in Abu Dhabi, and will now have a race weekend in Imola; so they still loose one weekend, but at least it isn’t just all on a single weekend early in the year.

        Still a bit odd, the middle east isn’t very far into Asia. I seem to recall that it was discussed here before, and someone explained that the costs of following F1 to Malaysia, India, Singapore, Korea, would have been to high.

        1. They were meant to have 2×2 races in Bahrain, then go to Abu Dhabi for 2×2 and have the last race in Bahrain again as a support race for the GP.

          They could have at least chosen Turkey as it is in Asia.
          On the other hand Imola makes it easier as it is in the heartland of Italian racing and there will possibly be more fans at this event than at all races last season together.

  16. You’d think Fernando would try to set a good example… But no…

    1. He does, he knows what the speed limits are and falls asleep keeping to them!
      Instead of just driving about 180 kmh on the highway and setting bad examples ;-)

  17. Anyone seen that Aston Martin Le Mans challenger. It has the Gulf livery as well! http://bit.ly/evCCbm

    1. It looked much better as a closed coupe.

      1. I thought closed cockpits were part of the rules from now on? Either way, It looks trés sexy. Escpecially how they’ve masked parts of the bodywork with bare carbon fibre, makes it look open-wheeled.

        1. Although, on further inspection, the shark-fin absolutely ruins it. I wish aesthetics came before aerodynamics in the race-car-design pecking order.

      2. I liked the closed car better as well.

      3. It does look funky, but a bit blocky from the side – thanks in part to the now mandated fin – but sort of cool. Yes, last years Lola car looked better and also made more of the livery.

    2. not sure if a driver racing in a 24-hour race wants to have “power, beauty, soul” on his steering wheel. I guess its just there for the pics.

    3. It’s about as ugly as can be. It looks like a submarine on wheels. My first thought was that they got a four-year-old to draw a picture of a car and designed it based on that.

        1. The Aventador’s nose looks awkward. Like somebody tried to blend the Reventon’s nose with Speed Racer’s Mach 5.

          http://www.firstshowing.net/img/mach5-speed-racer.jpg

    4. polishboy808
      2nd March 2011, 13:04

      Nice, I love this new design, although last years car looked good too. The new peugeot looks the same though. Ahhh, I get to see these cars race for the first time in Sebring this year in 3 weeks!

  18. It’s a good job for Sutil that his 2011 deal was signed in Korea, presumably before the race. After the way he drove that day he wouldn’t have deserved a contract to drive a bus, let alone an F1 car.

    1. It got him so exited, he just couldn’t hold back!

  19. spain has a huge budget deficit and needs to either cut spending or increase tax revenue (or both). the VAT on petrol is a major contributor. why force people to buy less fuel?

    if the reason they gave was to save the environment and reduce CO2 emissions then ok. fair point. but they argue that the new speed limit is a reaction to rising oil prices. in a free market economy this alone would force people to save fuel, or adjust their family budget accordingly. but changing the law seems like a strange reaction of the government.

    1. Does seem a bit of a contraproductive thing, doesn’t it?

    2. it is a retarded measure. A government with a huge budget hole needs a rise in tax revenue, reducing fuel sales means reduced tax… but hey, they sit on the left and know better

  20. Let’s do a race in Imola instead of Bahrain!

  21. On a bit of a different note, what to think of that Evora concept by Lotus?

    Boy will they be stuffed if they lose that lawsuit to Fernandez and have to ask him to licence them for misusing of the JPS livery.
    http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1056149_2011-lotus-evora-enduro-gt-concept-2011-geneva-motor-show

    1. http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1051459_video-behind-the-scenes-of-lotus-metamorphosis

      Those cars just look like generic “fast car” copies without any real spirit.

      1. please someone delete this link, it hurted my manly eyes.

  22. Sergio Perez
    2nd March 2011, 11:08

    I have to agree with Fernando. In Germany, for example, certain highways have a speed limit of 250km/h. And their accidents rate is not as high as in places were speed limits are of 120km/h. Driving at that speed trully is dangerous, specially when you’re in a 3 to 4 lane highway with kilometres of straight road going into the horizon. In Portugal, for example, the major traffic accidents and deaths happen in the national roads, not on highways. And if there’s a country when people speed on Highays, that’s Portugal.

    1. But then again, those speed limits are often close to major cities, having way higher traffic density.

      Lowering the speed (thereby eliminating speed differential between cars) does help speed up trafic and lower the chance of accidents.

      Still it is a shame to see how most highways even in Germany are getting 120 kmh or 130 kmh limits now.

  23. What to think of this: James Allen goes EV!
    http://www.thechargingpoint.com/2011/02/28/james-allen-on-ev-my-journey-into-electric-motoring/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

    It fits a bit with some of the thinking in commenting on the pursuit for speed.

  24. Glad GP2 Asia is back on the cards :D

  25. There have been some reports that Sir Jackie Stewart has been taken ill:

    “Sir Jackie Stewart has been taken ill on a flight back from the Geneva. Complained of chest pains and was met by paramedics.

    “The flight landed about 15 minutes ago. One of our reporters was on it too.”

    I’ll update if further information becomes available.

  26. As much as I’d like Imola to replace Bahrain permanently, it seems quite impossible right now. Imola’s track only has a 1T license, meaning it can only host official Formula 1 tests right now.

    1. I’d rather it was replaced by the Dubai autodrome GP track. Looks like a good layout to me, and it’s top-level FIA certified too (they have GT races there).

  27. After watching pro-democracy protestors being dragged off the streets of China last weekend maybe Bernie ought to be asking which track could replace that race also. The protestors vow to regroup every Sunday.

    Does F1’s old rule still apply – make sure you brutally crush any dissent within your country well before we roll up so WE don’t face any bad press, otherwise we cancel?

  28. I would love F1 going back to Imola. For once I dont agree with Keith that F1 outgrew it, just think the circuit was unnecessarily butchered/badly redesigned after 1994.

    And you know that every grandstand would be packed to the rafters, unlike some of the newer Middle Eastern/Asian races.

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