CVC ‘not planning to replace Ecclestone’

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: F1 owners CVC are not planning to replace Bernie Ecclestone, who faces trial in Germany on bribery charges next month.

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Ecclestone safe for now, says firm (The Guardian)

“We don’t have any changes planned at the moment. The board constantly reviews facts and circumstances and the current position is that no changes are planned.”

Lewis Hamilton Q&A: First few races will bring surprises (F1)

“Q: We hear a lot about drivers becoming puppets on the strings of the pit wall this year. What is the reality?
LH: There will be more communication, yes, and I am not particularly happy about it because more talking in your ear is more distraction.”

Vettel: Pace isn’t there yet (Sky)

“For sure we cannot do the times that the guys at the top of are doing for a couple of reasons but at the moment we have bigger problems to solve than just the pace.”

Michael Schumacher: Family welcome tribute after first corner at the Bahrain International Circuit renamed after F1 legend (The Independent)

Sabine Kehm: “Michael’s family would like to thank the Bahrain International Circuit for this gesture, acknowledging Michael’s achievements in Formula One and interest in the Bahrain International Circuit design.”

Red Bull has ‘stunning car’ – Hamilton (Autosport)

“They look like they have a stunning car, and usually the more beautiful it is the faster it is so I’m sure they’ve got a pretty quick car this year.”

I couldn’t do the job like Bernie: Horner won’t be the new Ecclestone… he has enough on his plate with Red Bull trouble (Daily Mail)

“My commitment to this team is for multiple years to come. I enjoy what I am doing. I enjoy the challenge of running a team and working with all the talented people here that have achieved a great deal of success. I still have goals and ambitions to accomplish with Red Bull.”

Is Formula 1 in crisis? (Duncan Stephen)

“A lot of the problems are caused by the power struggles and disagreements over what direction F1 should go in. Should it be a WWE-style entertainment show sold to the highest bidder on pay TV? Should its cars be road-relevant and eco-friendly? It’s an ideological battle.”

Tweets and pictures

Many thanks to our ECU guru Robin for this frankly beautiful @kamuikobayashi CT05 shot

A photo posted by Caterham F1 Team (@caterhamf1) on

Caterham: “Many thanks to our ECU guru Robin for this frankly beautiful Kamui Kobayashi CT05 shot.”

Comment of the day

@RJOConnell speculates on the competitive order:

I have no idea where Ferrari stand. Not a bottom-half team by any means, but where are they in relation to the projected front-runners? Are they better than Williams, McLaren, or Force India? I wouldn’t put them ahead of Mercedes.

I also have no idea where to place the Renault teams. Toro Rosso and Red Bull have pace, but almost zero reliability. Caterham have reliability, but not the pace. Lotus are a mess, and that’s a real shame considering how well the team has done in recent years and how highly I rate both drivers.
@RJOConnell

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On this day in F1

The 1979 season was well underway 35 years ago today – the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami marked round three. Gilles Villeneuve won the race which was briefly stopped due to rain, while team mate and local favourite Jody Scheckter recovered from a late pit stop to make it a Ferrari one-two.

Image © Jamey Price / James Moy Photography

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38 comments on “CVC ‘not planning to replace Ecclestone’”

  1. I didn’t think I’d ever see “beautiful” and “CT05” in the same sentence. But they’re right, it’s a cracking photo, aided by an angle which disguises that awful nose.

    1. I must say, I think the photographers as a whole this year have done an amazing job with shot composition, lighting and positioning to hide a lot of the noses on the shots.

      1. Indeed.

        Photography is about good framing, good timing and good light and Bahrain has tremendous light and it’s desert colors go well with sunset.

    2. I really hope they can tune the nose regulations, a few tweaks and we could end with the best looking and sounding cars in quite a while.

    3. It’s the Sarah Jessica Parker problem. Many have failed to solve it but out of the blue some found out a solution that made those who gleam at it find after time acquire fondness to it.

    4. All i can see from the CT05 is: AIRBUS , a very appropriate name

  2. “They look like they have a stunning car, and usually the more beautiful it is the faster it is so I’m sure they’ve got a pretty quick car this year.” – Lewis Hamilton

    Oh please.

    1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
      3rd March 2014, 0:35

      I thought the Marussia’s for the past 2 years have looked pretty nice… But they’ve been mobile chicanes.

    2. The question is how much aero Adrian Newey is ready to sacrifice in order to satisfy the cooling requirements of the Renault energy F1 ?

    3. Lewis and Mercedes continuing their tradition of playing up the competition and playing down their chances, lowering public expectation makes them look good no matter the result they achieve

      1. He learned from the best when being Alonso’s team mate.

    4. I didn’t read the rest of his quotation for context, but this snippet rings pretty true to me. A lot of the pleasure and sense of form in seeing an F1 car (or any car, or boat, or airplane really) comes from how it conforms to our sense of aerodynamics and gracefulness. If a car strikes one as ‘beautiful’, that feeling often springs in part from an instinctual sense of function, and so is expected to be fast.

      A lot of the revulsion to Ferrari’s nose is that the concavity seems impossibly aerodynamic, and triggers a dissonance. (I don’t think it’s all instinct though, appreciation of the form can certainly be acquired, as perhaps in seeing the rough geometry of the F-22 Raptor and grasping the synergy of stealth concerns and aero-maximization.)

    5. It’s a mix of PR with reality. That Red Bull has pace, but its flaws are holding them back. If they get their reliability issues solved and focus on performance it will be a front-runner, we just don’t know when.

    6. Does Hamilton live in Fast and Furious?

  3. Well, I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder…

    1. COTD! :)

      That was the classiest insult I’ve heard in a while. :)

  4. They say “you cannot read too much into testing” but we know there’s a lot to read and I’ve made my own top 5 so far:

    1. Mercedes
    2. Williams
    3. Ferrari
    4. Force India
    5. McLaren

    1. I’d be tempted to switch Force India and McLaren around, but I think that is about where we are at the moment.

      1. @geemac I could put them even, but seems to me FI is slightly ahead, but many things can change come FP#3 in Australia.

    2. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
      3rd March 2014, 8:27

      @jcost – I completely agree. Williams are not just the “dark horse” Jonathan Noble described them as, they are genuine frontrunners who will be challenging the Mercedes for victory in Australia. Felipe Massa may have just strolled out of Ferrari and into a better chance of victory than he’s had in four years as Alonso’s teammate. Regarding McLaren, I agree that on the basis of their Bahrain form they probably are the fifth best team, but it must be remembered that they didn’t bring their Australian package to the test, whilst the other teams you mentioned did. Come Australia, I’m expecting the see the MP4-29 as the second or third best chassis.

      1. @william-brierty Indeed. Both Massa and Hulkenberg, at some point, were fighting for the Lotus seat but I guess none of them regrets not getting that drive :)

    3. mcalren above or next to ferrari. gonna be interesting!

    4. petebaldwin (@)
      3rd March 2014, 10:49

      @jcost – I’d say that’s fair enough in general… We still don’t know much about fuel efficiency, tyre wear or reliability yet. We’ve seen teams have issues but often, it’s been with “high milage parts” as a test to see how long everything lasts.

      I think testing has given us a decent idea of where everyone will qualify but it’s just guesswork in terms of what’ll happen in the race!

    5. @jcost That also highlights the “not so bad” moves of the year … Many were disapointed to see Massa leave Ferrari and worse Hulkenberg not getting Lotus’ seat. If they were quite bad moves at the end of last year, I wouldn’t say the same now. They both end up with great chances to show what they are capable of. Another driver I’m looking for this year is Bianchi, he surely has a card to play at least at the beginning of the season. Would be great to see him running amongst mid-fielders. (I still believe Marussia hope for points come from him rather than Chilton, except if less than 10 cars reach the finish line)

      1. Couldn’t agree more my friend.

    6. The only prediction I would make is that Mercedes and Williams will do well in Australia. Overall the picture is just too fuzzy for me to come up with a pecking order.

  5. Wow, loved the Lewis Interview.

    He just sounds so much wiser.

    1. better PR coaching

  6. Wow, the caterham does look classy in that shot

  7. Jonathan Sarginson
    3rd March 2014, 9:20

    What happens if no-one completes race distance in Melbourne?

    1. Hilarity ensues.

    2. What happens if no-one completes race distance in Melbourne?

      I turn off my internet until whingers lose their steam a bit.

    3. The Blade Runner (@)
      3rd March 2014, 11:57

      They pick the drivers’ names out of a hat. The first three out get the podiums! ;)

    4. The race ends.. half points are awarded if less than 75% of the race distance has been completed (and at least 2 laps done)… Same as always..

    5. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      3rd March 2014, 14:01

      The only way that nobody ends the race, realistically talking, would be if they run full-throttle and the fuel is not enough. O course, that won’t happen and engineers are going to be very careful with the kind of mix their drivers use. That would be boring right? to see the race ending 50kph slower than usual, to save fuel.

    6. “The Show” must go on

  8. Amazing to read such a solid response against the russian agrresion (will hold debut GP this year) against Ukraine.

    Strangley F1 fanatics react on humanitarian problems very selectively.

Comments are closed.