In the round-up: Sebastien Buemi thinks Toro Rosso can rival Force India and Sauber.
Links
Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:
Buemi: STR can target sixth place (Autosport)
“We have some stuff coming for Spa which hopefully is going to help us,. So hopefully we will be able to close the gap to our competitors. If we do a good job, it’s still very possible to have a strong second part of the season.”
The silent threat in pit lane (MotorSport, registration required)
“In the shorter term comes this proposal that they be all-electric in the pit lane, and – short of speed bumps – I cannot conceive of anything more asinine. For a sport these days literally obsessed with safety, could there be a more potentially hazardous introduction?”
Formula One Fantasy – Renault’s Nick Heidfeld (F1)
“Q: You can only drive at one circuit for the rest of your life – which circuit, past or present from anywhere in the world, do you choose?
NH: For me it would be the Nurburgring Nordschleife because it is a very long circuit and therefore less boring. It is the best circuit in the world anyway.”
Rene Arnoux on the race with Gilles Villeneuve (Crash)
“It’s a very happy memory, even if I only finished third. It was a battle against my best mate in F1 – I didn’t call Gilles a driver, I called him the acrobat of the circuits! You could only have that kind of fight with Villeneuve; I think we had the same temperament, the same way of regarding racing, the same hunger to win.”
Keep Formula 1 Free To Air in the UK (UK Government)
Sign the petition to the UK government to keep F1 on free-to-air television.
Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.
Comment of the day
Butler_F1 wonders what kind of ‘free’ Codemasters’ F1 management game will be:
Free sounds good.
But if its like other freemium games out there, you will have a choice of grinding your way threw it to level up/make progress, or pay a few quid and get it unlocked automatically, a bit like Farmville, but with cars, and no cows, potentially groundhogs in Canada though!
Butler_F1
From the forum
Girts wants to know who will be New Zealand’s next F1 driver?
F1 Fanatic Quizzes
Since they were launched last week around 1,400 people have taken F1 Fanatic Quizzes already, with many completing all four.
It’s great to see so many people enjoying this new feature. Further new quizzes will be added next week.
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Chris Monk, Ciaran and OmarR-Pepper!
On this day in F1
Ronnie Peterson won his final F1 race on this day in 1978.
Lotus team mate Mario Andretti was eliminated in a crash on the first lap trying to pass Carlos Reutemann.
Patrick Depailler was second for Tyrrell ahead of Gilles Villeneuve. It’s a sad thought that the three drivers on the podium that day all lost their lives in crashes within the next four years.
BasCB (@bascb)
13th August 2011, 0:05
Wow, quite a few Birthday Fanatics today! Enjoy it, all of you to Chris Monk, Ciaran and to OmarR-Pepper :-)
Calum
13th August 2011, 0:07
I was disappointed to read Coulthard a Renault F1 car were in Glasgow high street on Thursday, would have been good to see the car even though it was the old Alonso title car repainted.
I was meant to be going to Glasgow on Thursday anyway but called off the visit because of the rain, I wish I’d known what was going on, Lee Mckenzie was apparently there – anyone from here go?
BasCB (@bascb)
13th August 2011, 0:15
Wow, why didn’t they put a bit more publicity into that!
A real shame.
sato113 (@sato113)
13th August 2011, 0:17
yeah and apparently it was closed to the public. lee mckenzie tweeted that she was sorry no one was able to enter the event.
anyway, here’s an interview with coulthard from the event-
http://entertainment.stv.tv/showbiz/265996-david-coulthard-races-into-glasgow-for-glitzy-watch-launch/
Talladega Knight
13th August 2011, 2:43
My sister was in Town yesterday and called me to say that; ‘Not Jake and not the one with the crazy shirts, but the other one,’ had just walked passed her on Argyle Street. Obviously I informed her that it was DC and the woman with dark her hair with him must’ve Ms McKenzie (I didn’t know that at the time!).
Unfortunately I was unable to jump on a train into town and hunt him down! My sister didn’t even bother to ask him for an autograph! :(
Mike
13th August 2011, 15:15
crazy shirts… :D
You don’t get that in Aus… Half the F1 circus seems to be in the UK at any one time…
Dj xo2
13th August 2011, 0:12
anyone else suffering from withdrawal symptoms yet. my thumbs hurt from smashing f1 2010 but it not the same
MVEilenstein
13th August 2011, 0:17
The solution is very easy – no more pit stops. One set of tires; one tank of gas.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
13th August 2011, 2:27
Might be a very easy solution, but it would be also very wrong! Pit stops are part of what makes F1 racing exciting nowadays. If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.
There’s a much easier solution for this and for once I agree with Bernie(not only because of safety): ditch the whole all-electric business in the pitlane altogether. Leave it to the Priuses and the Insights in the car parks and slow lanes where it belongs. F1 is not the place for it, and the whole bullcrap of making F1 “road relevant” must stop at once or the essense of Grand Prix racing will be lost forever.
MVEilenstein
13th August 2011, 3:20
I knew I should have qualified my comment: I’m being completely sarcastic. I don’t agree with the proposal at all.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
13th August 2011, 13:01
hhh ok I’m sorry about that. Guess my sarcasm reading skills aren’t very good at 4am :)
javlinsharp
16th August 2011, 17:02
I dont know, I think F1 is completely road relevant
– My big SUV gets about the same gas mileage
– Traffic on my commute looks like an F1 start and its impossible to get past slower cars with out some boost.
– You should see the HUGE WINGS Ive put on the car…WHEEE
BasCB (@bascb)
16th August 2011, 21:43
:-D
sato113 (@sato113)
13th August 2011, 0:19
oh yeah- new leaked F12011 game dev diary-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECeZPBq4U90
;)
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
13th August 2011, 3:08
Is it just me, or does the Force India livery look wrong? I don’t remember it being so red.
Journeyer (@journeyer)
13th August 2011, 4:14
Seeing as Sutil’s overalls look a lot more orange-y, I’d say you’re right.
PieLighter (@pielighter)
13th August 2011, 5:22
The colour of the video is all stuffed up, it’s nothing to do with the game itself.
TommyB (@tommyb89)
13th August 2011, 11:02
Interesting to see the Toro Rosso has the updated livery with the gold sponsors on rather than the one from the start of the year.
Maybe that means there’s a chance we’ll have Ricciardo in the HRT too?
Eggry (@eggry)
13th August 2011, 13:58
Great suspension and front wing vibration
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
13th August 2011, 14:38
Nice find! I wonder how they managed to leak that…
The shot of the Toro Rosso over the kerbs is fabulous!
TED BELL
13th August 2011, 1:28
Villenueve was my hero.
I saw him race when he was at the top of his game. His ability to control the car was something else. He would get more out of a less than great car than others who were in superior machines. How unfortunate he refused to let up in qualifying at Zolder when it was vogue to have the “Big Slicks” that lasted but only a lap or two. That pursuit of being fastest in the end left a chapter of Grand Prix history unwritten.
Lying about his age to lengthen his race career and the need for a more competitive Ferrari were aspects of his personna that came unrealised. My guess is that had he lived he would have established many of the f1 records in performance.
I read this morning that the Pirelli people are suggesting a new tire that would last for only a lap. It is painful to think that history could repeat itself if this pursuit continues. I lost my hero that day and hope that the lesson would never be forgotten.
Even Bernie suggested that more tires are needed for each Grand Prix. Figure out a better method Pirelli. Racing isn’t better from how ridiculous your tires perform. Your softs and supersofts and really extra supersofts are nothing more than a path down the wrong branch of the tree of technology.
History seems certain to repeat itself. I hope not for the memory of Gilles Villenueve.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
13th August 2011, 2:44
While I couldn’t agree with you more about Gilles, I couldn’t agree less about qualifying tires.
The safety in F1 is so vastly improved in F1 compared to 30 years ago both track-wise and car-wise it may as well be completely another form of racing. If GV had had his accident today he probably wouldn’t have been even seriously injured.
And there’s nothing that symbolizes F1 racing more than a single all-out pushing the limits everywhere qualifying lap. F1 is all about pushing the envelope, being on the limit. I want the real qualifying back! And if Pirelli can make it happen without escalating costs then, I say, by all means go for it.
I’m also pretty sure that had Gilles been alive he would’ve most certainly agreed with me, because he was the epitome of the “real racer”. A man about whom A. Prost said that “he was the last great racer, we all are just a bunch of good professionals” could say no different.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
13th August 2011, 12:22
I’d just give the qualifying tyres to the top ten. Two sets each for those who make the final qualifying session.
I know it only took two cars to have Villeneuve’s accident, but just 10 cars should be safe enough. Having all 24 out on one-shot tyres would be stupid and dangerous.
No point putting super-sticky tyres on HRTs and Virgins anyway, it’s like putting running shoes on a pig.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
13th August 2011, 13:07
Haven’t thought about that, but your idea makes sense. Qaulifying tires for Q3 only is a good compromise between costs, safety and all-out performance.
Mike
13th August 2011, 15:23
Of course having a tyre that may suit some cars more than others could lead to weird results.
TED BELL
13th August 2011, 17:42
Your idea Bullfrog is brilliant. Only those who make it into Q3 get Special Qualifying tires and I like the idea of two sets only. This would provide a level playing field via tires and would only cost Pirelli 20 sets of tires at each event.
LosD
14th August 2011, 11:27
The problem was not the tires. The problem was that GV was not using his head.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
13th August 2011, 3:12
I think these fears are largely unfounded. The cars might be relatively silent in the pit lane, but they’re not going to be invisible. Considering that there is only one direction of travel in the pits, and everyone is going to be looking for their driver to come in, the only people who are going to have trouble are those who are legally blind.
I think the resistance to these electric power regulations comes from the fear that the sport will one day be powered entirely by electric cars (which is completely unrealistic), and that by arguing against the planned changes, they can somehow delay the introduction of an electric Formula 1.
Journeyer (@journeyer)
13th August 2011, 4:26
It’s a legitimate concern. Even with loud, noisy engines, we’ve had close calls of people crossing the pitlane almost getting run over by cars (normally at pit entry, where the cars usually come in from a blind curve).
TimG (@timg)
13th August 2011, 10:49
Legitimate, but one which is easily overcome by using a klaxon which sounds whenever a car enters the pitlane. Or using pitlane marshalls to blow whistles whenever a car is coming down the pits. This is the sort of solution used at circuits around the world for cars far less noisy than F1 cars.
hey (@hey)
13th August 2011, 9:08
Can someone just tell me why apparently knowledgable people are completely disregarding the idea putting an artificially sound on the cars and completely nullifying the electric issue?
Seriously, Bernie said it and now Motorsport apparently. Am I insane or have the emergency services managed to generate sound in away that is completely unfathomale to F1 designers? Hell, just have the driver pull out a rape alarm in every pitstop. Someone tell me I’m not crazy.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
13th August 2011, 10:28
I agree. They do play a really loud siren when cars come into the pits.
And I share your suspicion about the loudest concerns being voiced by those who are sceptical of this area of development, notably Bernie Ecclestone.
BasCB (@bascb)
13th August 2011, 11:06
I see this pretty much the same way. I understand concerns about not hearing cars EV in normal traffic in city centers, but those can be solved, so there is no reason to fear F1 will not be able to do so in the controlled circumstances of the pitlane.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
13th August 2011, 14:50
I won’t even deny it; I’m with Bernie regarding the engines. But I’m not actually phased by the 2014 electric in the pits rule at all. I think it’s a nice compromise, and as long as they draw the line there and never decide to make F1 fully electric, I think it keeps people happy from both sides of the argument. I don’t find pit-stops terribly exciting, so I don’t think the fact that they’re going to be quieter/silent from 201-onwards is going to be noticed at all that much. I think the moaning is, as you say, coming from people who are worried this is the first phase of F1 going electric.
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
13th August 2011, 9:16
I’d say Toro Rosso should bring in Jean-Eric Vergne for a couple of Friday practices before the end of the year.
I think having Ricciardo there really spurred Buemi and Alguersuari on, and reminding them that there are others waiting in the wings might really help them, and would also help evaluate Vergne, who seems to be a budding talent.
Fixy (@)
13th August 2011, 9:55
Is the problem with the comment tags fixed? The buttons haven’t returned yet.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
13th August 2011, 10:17
No, sorry. Hasn’t been forgotten, though.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
13th August 2011, 10:48
I think Antony makes a valid point with his COTD.
If the game is good enough I wouldn’t mind shelling out for some micro-transactions here and there.
Antony Butler (@butler_f1)
13th August 2011, 13:31
Thanks!
I agree, if the game is good, and i have a bit of spare cash, i could see myself buying stuff if it is locked. I hope it isn’t though.
Antranik (@antranik)
13th August 2011, 10:53
Hey Keith just a question, any idea when that article about starting from 18th is gonna be on the site? Just asking because I’m really looking forward to it!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
13th August 2011, 11:05
Not at the moment, no.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
13th August 2011, 12:13
I can’t see the STR boys outperforming Sauber but 6th place for either would be good. Especially Sauber given they have a rookie.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
13th August 2011, 14:44
STR, along with Williams, seem to disappoint me more and more every year. It seems that in every pre-season the two teams get hyped up and it appears that the Williams of old has returned, and Toro Rosso have found some pace, but they always end up in about the same position every time.
Williams is more disappointing, though.
F1 98
14th August 2011, 10:55
I think force india might have a chance but not str also.
Sauber has kobayashi and perez two drivers that are good
Ps Not as good as alonso though but good
Alonso the best!!!!