In the round-up: Reports suggest Brabham is considering a takeover of the Force India team.
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Brabham supercar and F1 team mooted (Autocar)
"The Brabham revival is believed to be backed by money from US investors and the plan is for the Silverstone-based team to be rebranded and used to promote a supercar company. This would be similar in concept to McLaren's business plan, which has proved to be very successful in the course of the last 25 years."
F1 owners discuss demonstration run on London streets before British Grand Prix (The Telegraph)
"Officers from the Greater London Authority and Westminster City Council have met with event organisers about a potential showcase event in central London, not a race. Discussions are at a very early stage and as such nothing has been agreed."
Hamilton: Vettel tyre tests don’t give Ferrari an advantage (source)
"I don't think Ferrari has an advantage, I think they hit the ground running in Russia as we did, for example, in China."
Hulkenberg says Renault took 'good step' in improving race pace (Motorsport)
"Still not entirely happy, I think there's still more work to do, for my taste there's still a little bit too much of an offset between the two."
Renault feels sorry for Palmer after problems (Autosport)
"Looking at the data it was obvious there was nothing he could have done to avoid that incident."
View from the Pit Lane: Russia (Channel 4)
"Bottas seemed more willing to sacrifice entry speed, to hold back and make sure he got the apex at the exit. The Finn has always had good technique around Sochi and that really helped him out in comparison to his teammate this weekend."
Russia tech roundup - slotted T-wings, upgraded barge boards & more (F1)
"Williams debuted a new T-wing design in Russia. Instead of having two separate elements as before, it now has a single element on top of the engine cover’s shark fin."
Bernie praises Putin for Sochi success (F1i)
"He will be remembered as a great president, who does a lot for his country and for world peace."
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.@JensonButton's message to Fernando ahead of his #Indy500 test today. #McLarenIndy pic.twitter.com/dfCLHFm9zi
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— Mike Perez (@MikePerez86) May 3, 2017
Ecclestone says Putin has "done a lot for world peace", which strictly speaking is true, in that he's greatly diminished it.
— Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) May 3, 2017
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Comment of the day
Liberty Media: Better by comparison or just a welcome change?
I really hope the positive feelings I have towards Liberty aren’t just down to me disliking the old regime so much.
A bit like when you get a new girlfriend, and everything about her is absolutely wonderfully perfectly amazing until you realise you’re only feeling that way because she isn’t your old girlfriend.
Neil (@Neilosjames)
From the forum
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Jack Sargeant, Martin Stanley, Three4Three, Skodarap, Vickyy and F1_Barbie!
If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is via the contact form or adding to the list here.
Jordi Casademunt (@casjo)
4th May 2017, 0:26
In F1 terms, Maldonado does a lot for driver safety.
Michael Brown (@)
4th May 2017, 4:26
Especially when he’s not an F1 driver
Fran
4th May 2017, 9:48
Wake up Michael
Adam
4th May 2017, 10:12
#facepalm
Wesley (@)
4th May 2017, 21:51
Directly over your head
Strontium (@strontium)
4th May 2017, 0:29
Although I don’t think we should get too political here, if we want to talk about Russia and world peace, one ought to not be so fast to buy into the western media. Given that it’s the UK and the US, amongst others, who have been bombing everyone under false pretences, I don’t think anybody is in a position to criticise other leaders for their part without recognising that our own leaders are no better. I don’t agree with Ecclestone’s words either, but it’s not as if other leaders are any different.
The Brabham Racing proposition excites me. They’ve been trying to make plans to enter WEC and F1 for about 3 years now, so that would be great to see. However, I’d worry about the future of the team if there weren’t a solid investment so they could keep up the current momentum. I would hate to see them go the same way as Sauber.
Taking over a competitive team must be a tempting proposition for manufacturers, surely? I would have thought that the likes of Fiat and Alfa Romeo, or VW and Audi / Lamborghini, would have their eyes on this.
just.daz (@nemo87)
4th May 2017, 0:59
Personally I see Force India and a ‘sitting duck’ for a take over.. and given Vijays current ‘situation’ I think if the right offer came along he would snap at the chance.
As much as I’d love to see them bought out by a manufacturer I’d be equally as happy seeing them being taken over by a thoroughbred racing outfit like Brabham or even Carlin, although I’m sure I’ve read they (Carlin) just don’t have the budget behind them!?
..saying that we will probably end up with Tesco F1 or Heinz racing bean.. haha!
just.daz (@nemo87)
4th May 2017, 1:01
As a sitting duck*
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th May 2017, 1:53
@strontium I agree with your comment about politics. It’s very important to know who, where and why some sources are giving you certain information. It’s a question I ask myself all the time, in exactly the same way you do. So I’m happy to agree with someone in that respect.
About Brabham I also feel like it might not be such exciting news at this stage. Proper long term finance is hugely important, and we saw with Spyker for instance, or Marussia, that “non-mainstream” (if you can call them that way) supercar manufacturers are very volatile. It’s okay if Bugatti or Aston Martin get involved, but which manufacturer would back the Brabham name to return without pasting their name at the side of the car? surely a small-ish organization.
@F1-liners (@f1-liners)
4th May 2017, 7:48
@strontium, @fer-no65
MH17! So we should not believe the western media, or even the investigation team?
Which media is feeding you that nonsense that anybody else than Russian is behind that??
There’s a lot wrong with what the USA, UK, others are doing globally; but please don’t close your eyes for the evil Putin’s Russia has done, and keeps on doing!
SpaFrancorchamps (@spafrancorchamps)
4th May 2017, 9:25
I know it is off topic, but what about the Dutch government, who admitted they were informed by the intelligence agency about the danger of flying above this war territory, but letting MH17 fly there anyway? I have lost colleagues who were on this plane, I believe Russia is responsible for taking it down, but I am sure it wasn’t intentional. Russia had zero motive to do so. Question mark is why this plane was flying there, while so many countries were avoiding this zone for a reason.
anon
4th May 2017, 18:38
@spafrancorchamps, I don’t think that he claimed that they sought to intentionally shoot down that aircraft.
However, back in the days of the Soviet Union, there was the case of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 – the Russian authorities shot down a civilian airliner because they thought that it was a US spy plane, then spent the best part of a decade trying to hide the fact that they shot it down (including hiding the flight recorders that were found and carrying out false searches to intentionally mislead other nations).
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th May 2017, 10:36
@f1-liners neither of us said anything favourable towards Russia.
@F1-liners (@f1-liners)
4th May 2017, 11:18
@fer-no65, and I did NOT say you “said anything favourable towards Russia”.
But @strontium did say, and you seemed to agree, that:
“if we want to talk about Russia and world peace, one ought to not be so fast to buy into the western media.”
“(no)body is in a position to criticise other leaders for their part without recognising that our own leaders are no better.”
Everybody should loudly and freely criticise Russia and its leader for what happened with MH17, and not cowardly hide behind ‘not trusting the media’ or ‘other leaders do bad things as well’!
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
4th May 2017, 16:50
@f1-liners i wasn’t talking exclusively about Russia, tho, but I felt the same with the reports coming from Brazil before the Olympics. It was like Brazil was hell itself and how unbelievable the contamination of the sea was, and how dangerous the place was, and etc etc, yet those reports came from countries relative to the BP spill in the USA shore, or from places where gun control is a very sensible issue everytime something bad happens, and it happens very often.
I don’t agree with not critizicing other leaders because our leaders are the same, but you’ve got to put perspective on it. I know what you’re saying, but it’s difficult to explain myself in english.. all I’m saying is that the media controls information in many ways, and we should be more than careful with it.
AceAce
4th May 2017, 3:46
There’s no difference from a stealth bomber and a suicide bomber…They both indiscriminately kill innocents for useless political purposes.
EDD (@eddfire)
6th May 2017, 20:16
Mate, If you cannot see the difference between intentionally targeting civilians to, targeting terrorists while unintentionally killing innocents in collateral damage, then I question your intelligence buddy.
BasCB (@bascb)
4th May 2017, 9:34
Sigh @strontium. Believe me, it is not just about “western media” at all. Just look at what is written by the few Russian independant media, I think that there is a great deal that many a government in the world, and many a leader can and should critisize Putin.
Yes, the US, the UK, etc certainly deserve a lot of critisizm too, but two wrongs don’t make a right at all.
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
4th May 2017, 12:21
And that’s probably a good reason to stay out of politics and stick to F1.
Chris (@tophercheese21)
4th May 2017, 0:46
Jenson’s such a lovely bloke.
Unicron (@unicron2002)
4th May 2017, 7:15
@tophercheese21 I’ve got a life size cardboard cut-out I’ve Jenson under the spare bed. Took it to Spa in 2013 in the vain hope that real Jenson would see it. On race day we sat on the Kemmel Straight and during the driver parade we hoisted cardboard Jense (with Union Jack Cape) aloft and… real Jenson saw us, pointed and gave us the thumbs up and a big grin. Mission accomplished!
We’re moving house next week and my wife said the cut out has to go. No. No, he’s coming with us!
Jakob Paulsen
4th May 2017, 20:55
Comment of the day! :)
Macca (@macca)
4th May 2017, 1:02
WOW The Idea of Brabham back on the grid gives me a bit of a stiffy. I really hope this come to fruition and we see an Aussie team back at the top of F1 and WEC.
pez2k
4th May 2017, 3:30
I was heartened to see it’s actually David Brabham too, and not the German firm who were using the name on some naff bodykitted BMWs about 10 years back. If Force India could keep up their current momentum I’d love to see Brabham and Williams back scrapping it out as the greatest non-manufacturer teams in F1.
SpaFrancorchamps (@spafrancorchamps)
4th May 2017, 9:28
It would be amazing for F1 if Brabham were to make a return. It is the history that makes the sport as amazing as it is. Names as Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and possibly Brabham would be a perfect field.
Shimks (@shimks)
4th May 2017, 11:03
@macca @spafrancorchamps @keithcollantine
The Brabham name back in F1 is an exciting prospect. Fingers crossed!!
Does Bernie have anything to do with this at all – or are all his ties severed?
Macca (@macca)
5th May 2017, 1:57
@shimks
No, Bernie has nothing to do with it any more. Since the passing of Sir Jack, David Brabham has been working hard to purchase and acquire all the licensing and trademarks back for the family. Check out their website, worth a look. http://brabham.co.uk/
Shimks (@shimks)
5th May 2017, 10:06
Many thanks, @macca.
faulty
4th May 2017, 19:04
As much as a revival brand sounds good…
I think a heavy advertiser, like Red Bull basically, represents the best option for ownership in a F1 business venture.
I was thinking that Carso with its ties to Ferrari would be a good option now that Sauber is going Honda. But in reality their business is localized in Latin American countries, and the kind of investment needed begs for a global company.
Shimks (@shimks)
5th May 2017, 10:08
Yes, I half agree – from a business venture side of things. But from fan view, F1 history is massively important and backstory adds a huge amount of interest. And the more fans that are engaged, the better the business model too.
@HoHum (@hohum)
4th May 2017, 1:12
@keithcollantine, Yes and Kim Jong Un has done a lot for peace in North Korea, and would no doubt be happy to give this gift to the people of S.Korea. Maybe Liberty should send Bernie to N.Korea as Special Envoy.
TexanHombre
4th May 2017, 1:14
At this point I reckon Putin has a tape of Bernie of some sort…
Dewald Nel (@ho3n3r)
4th May 2017, 7:57
Maybe with Max Mosley…
Fran
4th May 2017, 9:50
LOL
Mach1 (@mach1)
4th May 2017, 1:23
I’d laugh if the Mclaren fails to make the grid in Monaco….when I say laugh….I mean outwardly laugh….but inside I would be crying….
Todfod (@todfod)
4th May 2017, 5:08
+1
Both cars might start.. but the safe money is on a double DNF
Lotus49 (@lotus49)
4th May 2017, 10:58
I think Mclaren should be allowed to use the Formula e circuit layout at Monaco. If they were to go that way, missing out the hill up to Casino Square and then avoiding tunnel then they might get into the points. ;)
Hugh (@hugh11)
4th May 2017, 11:09
Pretty sure Button’s planning on having a short walk from his Monaco house to the circuit, driving around in an F1 car for a bit, probably retire early with an engine failure, then wander back to his house and have a party. Not a bad weekend.
Maciek (@maciek)
4th May 2017, 1:54
1. Watched some of that Alonso test live feed – now there is a racing series that knows how to connect with people;
2. how cool would it be to have the Brabham name back… although the Lotus comeback was unfortunately underwhelming;
3. Ecclestone is like a slug leaving your garden: very slowly, leaving thick slime in his wake.
Strontium (@strontium)
4th May 2017, 8:07
@maciek a big difference with Lotus is that it wasn’t actually Lotus that came back, it was just a team (or two) branded as Lotus. If Brabham came back it would actually be a real Brabham of sorts
Gary
4th May 2017, 8:36
How is that? The “real Brabham” was Jack Brabham, Ron Tauranac, Gordon Murray and Bernie Ecclestone, none of whom are available (or will be) involved in this new Brabham. The “real” Lotus died with the unitimely death of Colin Chapman.
anon
4th May 2017, 18:47
Gary, in this instance, one of Jack Brabham’s sons, David Brabham, is supposed to be directing this move – as a direct descendent of Jack, and given that he did actually race for the original Brabham team in 1990, it is probably as close as you can get to maintaining some sense of continuity between the historic team and the potential modern reincarnation.
BigJoe
5th May 2017, 9:09
Right , so if we can find anscestors of BRM, March or Hesketh willing to buy a team, they’d all be cooler than Lotus.
The Brabham name/brand buying a current team means nothing except with rose tinted glasses.
How about Aston, Porsche or Alfa
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
4th May 2017, 2:06
The right orange color… hahaha Jenson still has that classy humor… Let’s hope he can keep that good mood after Monaco.
cm (@cm-cm)
5th May 2017, 19:44
Jenson has bad moods? News to me!
evered7 (@evered7)
4th May 2017, 6:43
Was able to see Alonso test the Indycar at IMS from their website for free. Hope F1 does something to relay the tests from next year onward.
Also loved the debrief and the on track chat between the team owners. Shows how disconnected F1 is with its viewers.
BigJoe
5th May 2017, 9:10
Shows how far up its own backsie F1 is. That will never change.
Ferrari, Seb fan
4th May 2017, 7:31
Would like brabham to return.
Kalun
4th May 2017, 7:31
Here’s the thing about Brabham returning to f1. They will not win any championship as a customer of an engine supplier.
If they want to win, maybe they should bring BMW with them.
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
4th May 2017, 12:24
Or get Repco to tune up an old engine. Brm brm.
F1Junky
5th May 2017, 0:15
Jake’s Performance. He does a lot of engines for SummerNats. They could also get NRMA roadside assist for breakdowns during the race.
Joao (@johnmilk)
4th May 2017, 7:40
Bernie, that word “success” I don’t think it means what you think it means…
AbeyG (@1abe)
4th May 2017, 8:34
Was disheartened to read that Force India maybe sold off. Clicked the article to read and saw it was written by Joe Saward. Lil relieved now because most of the time what he says/predicts about Force India or Mally is tosh. Mallya and Roy has been facing their legal problems for so long but that has never affected the team. So all these talks about about team being sold or being in problem is jus tactics to sell news.
juan fanger (@juan-fanger)
4th May 2017, 12:27
Yeah @1abe, Saward makes so much sense about F1 business most of the time but whenever Mallya is involved he flies off the handle. There’s definitely some prejudice there…
anon
4th May 2017, 18:55
@juan-fanger, that could be because Joe Saward was appointed to the board of the Caterham Group by Tony Fernandes – a potential conflict of interest that Joe did not reveal at the time – at a time when the Caterham F1 team was trying to fend off a lawsuit from Force India, only to eventually lose the case and being forced to pay considerable compensation to Force India for stealing data from them.
Whilst Joe has claimed that it is just because he dislikes Mallya, it could be that he also holds a sizeable grudge because Mallya’s financial action against Fernandes might well have hurt him financially.
Raveendhana
4th May 2017, 14:57
India might have asked for extradition of Vijay Mallya but believe me even though he faces charges back in india, it will not be easy for india to extradite him.he has money that people won’t know.
Philip (@philipgb)
4th May 2017, 8:53
I think the sale of Force India was always going to be necessary. As an independent team they can’t do any better than fourth and it’s incredible they’ve managed that.
Let’s be realistic Renault are going to creep forward, McLaren can’t stay at the back forever and if Williams had a decent driver lineup they would be further forward.
So that puts Force India fighting with Toro Rosso for 7th in a true form grid. Give them some proper backing and maybe get another manufacturer onboard though and they could mix it up front.
Patrick (@anunaki)
4th May 2017, 9:23
Oh no, how can I explain to my 3 year old son Force India will be called Brabham……
But seriously, it would be nicer if Brabham would come in as a new team. 11 teams sounds way better than 10
Tony Mansell
4th May 2017, 9:42
Is the Brabham thing another window sticker arrangement with about as much provenance as a Tag Heuer engine or the hideous reincarnation of Lotus? Because if it is, it wont work. McLaren have had 40 years to build up a brand and they’ve had huge success which gave the badge some credibility (whatever their current woes). Fishing a label out of a bin does not give you automatic rights to the historical success of that brand name.
Avro Anson (@avroanson)
4th May 2017, 9:58
I think David Brabham has both the moral and legal right to use the name. He is the son of Sir Jack and a successful racer in his own right. From the Autocar article:
David Brabham, the son of three-time World Champion Sir Jack Brabham, is a former Formula 1 driver and Le Mans winner, and also won the Bathurst 1000 in Australia and was twice American Le Mans Series champion. In recent years he has been quietly working on securing all the necessary Brabham trademarks, with what he calls Project Brabham. He is not denying that there is a project.
Tony Mansell
4th May 2017, 10:09
Cool, if its that, I agree, not so bad, its not perfect provenance and he has some pedigree as a driver which helps. I didnt check it out im just a bit naturally cynical on this. I don’t like, as an Alfa owner, the sudden appearance of Alfa Romeo on the Ferrari engine cover and they even have a direct link thru Fiat. I’ve seen too many British marques trawled out of the bin and ruined to be anything other than cynical – see MG
Anthony
4th May 2017, 11:39
How cool is it that Michael gets in the car and does the shakedown and takes turn 1 flat…… Come now Toto, Horner the standard has been set…
Brabham was my favorite team as a kid, always insisted my Mom buy Parmalat yogurt etc. Was not a smoker so fortunately did not need to choose between JPS and Marlboro. Would be Great to see Brabham back provided they can compete in the midfield at least – the last few years where a bit painful but generally great looking cars….
Pity Bernie is not the nostalgic type and willing to donate a few billion to the cause….
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
4th May 2017, 12:14
I managed to watch Alo’s test, at first he was below the rookie program but from then afterwards he was pretty good, he’s watching race footage listening for advice and he said hes on race mode already. I felt sorry for the birds, he missed one down one straight and then some time later caught “2 birds ith a fireStone”.
The US made up 2 wars and many attacks, now Putin is with the Americans. Whats the difference. Do we speak of the Americans like we do of the Russians.
Ganesh
4th May 2017, 12:32
If Brabham buys Force India, it could be the most devasting thing for an aspiring team like Force India. In the modern F1 world only an engine manufacture can take this intelligent team to next level. It is a waste of time and money to just rebrand it. Why Brabham has not gone for acquiring Manor, an equally aspiring team went into administaration and disappeared to become a history of F1 motorsport.
Raveendhana
4th May 2017, 15:00
Bro force India all depends upon whether Mallya go to India or not and force India mostly won’t be affected by what happening to Vijay Mallya
Fukobayashi (@)
4th May 2017, 15:49
That Indycar is a weird looking machine isn’t it! With the covered rear wheels and narrow front tyres and very basic looking suspension. It definitely looks more raw and old school if not very pretty!
Fukobayashi (@)
4th May 2017, 15:49
Also, lovely ‘aeroscreen’ execution on that old Brabham!
NewVerstappenFan (@jureo)
4th May 2017, 20:09
Not gonna get involved in politics to much… But in general… Whatever Bernie says should be taken with a grain of salt, sometimes a pinch and often a tea spoon.
Brabham rumour is awesome. If they do a McLaren like story out of SFI, good for them and car lovers amongst us. McLaren road cars are pretty great by any standards and mostly sold out. If Brabham can do the same in 10 years.good for them.
Ibrahim (@ibrahim)
4th May 2017, 21:17
So Putin is bad, but we should be wary of the media sources, and not a single word about not racing there.
Meanwhile Bahrain and Turkey are human rights violating abominations that should be banned from holding f1 events and not visited.
Ok, just making sure I got that correct.
The hypocritical nature of the western mind is quite staggering.
nickfrog (@nickfrog)
5th May 2017, 1:19
@ibrahim – “The” western mind ? Everyone in an entire continent thinks the same way ? Are you sure ?
Or are you judging other by your own narrow minded standards ?
If you don’t like the West, please stay East. Thank you.
anon
5th May 2017, 7:26
@nickfrog, as you say, it seems that @ibrahim is blind to the fact that he himself is being just as guilty of the sort of rank hypocrisy that he decries himself when making wild generalisations and exaggerated claims about “The West”.
Josh (@canadianjosh)
5th May 2017, 22:01
You can’t take Bernie seriously at this point. The last 2 races he has been on camera and looks a bit like he’s out in left field, dementia maybe?
Carlos Furtado das Neves (@furtadodasneves)
6th May 2017, 14:37
Brabham returns to F1 !!!
Perhaps we’ll see another “Piquet” driving a Brabham… hope that Pedro can handle it, but it’s getting difficult since the boy is not delivering F3 results as expected.
Ferrari, Williams, Renault, McLaren, now Brabham, if Ligier returns we’ll be back to the 80’s top teams… great “deja vu” feelings…