The demise of USF1 from Formula One even before they got a chance to make the 2010 grid is a microcosm of the level of interest - or lack thereof - Americans have for the sport. However, just because one team crashed and burned faster than we could say ’go’, doesn’t mean that we’ve seen the last of a US-based team in F1.
According to ESPN, a company named Cypher Group has been formed with the intention of picking up where USF1 left off, that is, fielding a team that can compete in Formula One in the near future. The new outfit has made it clear, however, that their success will hinge on whether they can find the necessary funding to make the F1 application a worthwhile endeavor. Considering that lack of funding doomed USF1’s hopes, we’re not exactly optimistic of Cypher Group’s chances, especially since its been reported that the team will pretty much pick up the scraps left by USF1, holding its headquarters in North Carolina - similar to USF1 - and employing most of the people the worked for, you guessed it, USF1.
The only thing different about Cypher Group - and we suppose this is a good thing - are the notable absence of both Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor, the two main proponents of USF1’s failed F1 attempt this year. Whether this new team has a chance to make the grid next year is anyone’s guess, but unless they get the proper funding, we’re really not holding our breaths.
Red Bull’s dominance in this year’s Formula One season has led to the unthinkable.
Rumors are circulating within the paddock of a rumored alliance among three bitter rivals with one goal in mind: catch up to Red Bull and knock them off of their pedestal.
According to Autocar via reports from Germany’s Bild-Zeitung newspaper, Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes have all joined forces to exchange data on Red Bull in an effort to try and catch the front-runners from running away with the 2010 Driver’s and Constructor’s championships.
Whether this rumor has some legs on it or is merely a stretch for all three teams isn’t why we were all shocked when we found out about it. The mere insinuation that all three teams, especially Ferrari and McLaren, are forging an unholy alliance, is about as shocking a news as we’ve received in the Formula One season. Given the two teams’ acrimonious story, the notion that they’re now working together seems to be as likely as Max Mosley and Jean Todt sharing an afternoon of tea together.
It goes without saying that this rumor is one that we’re going to take a close look at it to see whether there’s some (shocking) truth to it. Trust us, it’s as big a rumor as any we’ve heard in quite a long time from the circus that is Formula One.
We really didn’t see the point of having it in the first place, but ever since Ferrari decided to put some subliminal messaging on the bar code of the Ferrari F10’s engine covers, the team has been under fire. What was the message? Oh, just a little subliminal reference to the tobacco brand, Marlboro. At least as far as the critics were concerned.
For the longest time, Ferrari’s F1 team has been a sponsor of Marlboro, but ever since F1 decided to ban tobacco sponsorships on any of the participating teams, the all-too-familiar Marlboro logo was removed from every Ferrari sponsorship platform, including the car and the driver’s overalls.
So, to avoid any more controversy, Ferrari decided to just get rid of the bar code and the cars driven by both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa in Barcelona was completely devoid of it, leaving only a simple rectangle box to replace it.
While Ferrari denied any type of guerilla marketing with the bar code design, a lot of people - including us - really didn’t see the point of having one there in the first place. And when the talk surrounding the double meaning of the bar code gained more steam, Ferrari just opted to do the prudent thing and take them out completely.
That was probably a good idea, Ferrari, because if it was meant to be some sort of subliminal message, it probably wouldn’t have worked anyway.
The US Grand Prix may finally return to the F1 calendar starting in 2012, but if tentative plans push through, the race might not be held in Indianapolis anymore.
Instead of the Brickyard, Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey has become the favored site to host the US Grand Prix from 2012 to 2016.
According to local reports that surfaced a few days ago, a city spokeswoman has confirmed that there have been preliminary discussions between city officials and their F1 counterparts regarding the possibility of Jersey City becoming the official site of the US GP.
The rumors began gaining steam after documents showing plans for a 3.6 mile track within the 1,200-acre park ended up on the Internet. Jersey City mayor Jeramiah Healy likewise issued a statement that while no plans have been made, Jersey City has nonetheless been approached by Formula One regarding the possibility of hosting future F1 races.
"Jersey City is one of several cities the (F1) are pursuing," the mayor was quoted as saying. "There have been a few, preliminary conversations and this is very much in the exploratory phase. However, this may not be something that is in the best interest of Jersey City or Liberty State Park," he added.
Changes in Formula One occur just about as often as Charles Barkley chows down on cheeseburgers, so it really didn’t come as a surprise that F1 is on the verge of having a new engine formula that would run for six years starting in 2013.
According to Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo, an agreement in principle has been reached to begin using - effective in 2013 - a four-cylinder, 1.5 liter engine that comes with twin-turbo, direct injection, and the KERS system.
In an interview with Autocar magazine at the Beijing Motor Show, Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa said that F1 should take the necessary steps to begin using engines that could also be translated to road-driving conditions. "If F1 has to develop something helpful for real (road) driving conditions, then the best solution is for an engine that is turbocharged and GDI (gasoline direct injection)," he said.
For all the drama and hype surrounding Michael Schumacher’s return to Formula One, the seven-time world champion doesn’t have much to show for it. Struggling may be an appropriate word, but whatever Schumacher has going for him, his performances on-track have not resulted from it.
So, while it’s easy to point the blame on the lackluster car Schumi’s driving, the emergence of teammate Nico Rosberg, who, incidentally drives the same Mercedes F1 car, has put Schumached under quite a quandary. In an effort to show that he still has ’it’, Mercedes has decided to give Schumcher a new chassis engine for the F1 season’s next race in Barcelona on May 9, 2010. There are no rules being broken by having two completely different chassis on the same race car so, it may not be that far-fetched to have the Mercedes teammates racing the remainder of the 2010 season in two different cars.
If and when it does happen, Michael Schumacher will have to take care of the rest and the only way that he can take that big retirement gorilla off his back is to stir up one impressive result after another because, to be honest, the Schumi we’ve so far seen this year, is merely a shell of the Schumacher we’ve come to love.
Posted on 06.16.2009 12:00
by
Kirby
Filed under:
| F1
With more and more factory backed teams preparing to make a break from Formula One in 2010 due to conflicts regarding rule regulations and budget disagreements, it’s a welcome relief that there are a host of new entires for next season, like the USF1 effort, or a champion of the past like Lotus.
Last seen in 1994, Lotus is potentially seeking a comeback in Formula One to recapture some of that old glory it had back in its heyday when it won a total of seven world championships and boasted a field of Hall of Fame drivers that included world class drivers like Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti.
The principal behind Lotus’ re-entry into Formula 1 is no other than Mike Gascoyne, the venerable F1 veteran who is now part of the Litespeed Formula 3 team that was able to secure the rights to use the Lotus brand in its bid to re-enter the prestigious world of F1.
The winner of the title last year and one of the three championship leaders, Kimi Raikkonen, pushed last sunday, before the race, a well respected photographer, that has been taking pictures on the Formula 1 for the last decades.
Following the incident involving Kimi Raikkonen and Paul-Henri Cahier on the starting grid of the British Grand Prix in Silverstone, that saw the finnish driver assault the photographer, we decided that it was necessary to clarify a few points.
There never was any contact between the two men, nor did Paul-Henri ever touch Kimi’s equipment. Furthermore, the distance at which Paul-Henri Cahier was taking a picture, although close, was completely standard. The photographers who take pictures at Grand Prix races are all professionnals who have been accredited by the FIA, and as the dozen other photographers who were standing next to Paul-Henri Cahier prove, there was nothing unusual or unethical about this situation.
Finally, Paul-Henri Cahier has been an F1 photographer for almost fourty years and has been close to the greatest champions, but none of them has ever behaved in such a rude manner. It is understandable that drivers might get irritable because of the pressure they undergo, but Kimi Raikkonen never even attempted to express his discontent in a non violent way. Paul-Henri Cahier luckily did not suffer any injury, and so does not intend to take any action, but he regrets the arrogance with which Kimi Raikkonen treated someone who was merely doing his job.
If you want to see the video of the incident, click here.
After a busy year, in which they were accused of stealing Ferrari’s secrets, after being disqualified from the Formula One’s Constructor Championship, that they could easily have won, after their driver Lewis Hamilton lost the Driver Championship by 2 points, finally McLaren can be happy. They have a better car than Ferrari. A car that won eight of Formula One’s 17 races, a car – MP4-22 – that won the Racing Car of the Year award at the Autosport Awards ceremony held in (...) > Full story
Lewis Hamilton received last night the prizes for Best British Competition Driver, Best International Racing Driver and Rookie of the Year at the Autosport Awards held at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane.
Viviane Senna, who presented Lewis with an award, compared the British driver with her brother Ayrton Senna: “He reminds me of Ayrton, as a pilot.”
After receiving his awards, Lewis said that he was more nervous when he received these awards than he was in 1995 at the (...) > Full story
