F1 Formula 1 Gossip

[GazHyde]

Marussia went out of business on Friday after failing to raise funds to continue in the sport. They had gone into administration last month.

Kaltenborn, whose team are also struggling financially, said: "It is shocking news that we are not in a position to keep such a team alive."

There is a bit of me left wondering if Jules Bianchi is causing the problems finding new finance/sponsors. Lets face it would you be likely to invest in a team which has a driver in such a bad condition after an accident.

That's not that I'm saying they are at fault, but it's not exactly a good news announcement which a lot of investors will be looking for from a tie up.

 

[hard top]

Ratzenberger & Senna on the same weekend did not make the blindest bit of difference.
Just car safety mods.

 

[zedonist]

There is a bit of me left wondering if Jules Bianchi is causing the problems finding new finance/sponsors. Lets face it would you be likely to invest in a team which has a driver in such a bad condition after an accident.

That's not that I'm saying they are at fault, but it's not exactly a good news announcement which a lot of investors will be looking for from a tie up.

I disagree, I know it shouldn't, but the situation guarantees air time for sponsors and logos, plus it gives you an opportunity to spring board from especially the recovery and return of Jules, I think there will be a lot of interest, just finiding the right ones and time.

 

[hard top]

Saturday, 8 November
Formula 1 gossip: Vergne could stay and Massa takes a pee.

Torro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne says the whole of the team are "pretty keen on me staying" for the 2015 season.

Williams driver Felipe Massa was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop during Friday's second free practice session. The Brazilian driver tweeted this picture.

Fernando Alonso says he is not concerned by Friday's engine failure during FP2. The Spaniard's session ground to an abrupt halt with flames coming from the back of his Ferrari power unit.

Lewis Hamilton says he is taking inspiration from his hero Ayrton Senna before this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, as he moves closer to his second world championship crown.

 

[BMBabe]

Any JB fans on here? JB starts P5 he has made improvements but is it all to late and not enough to keep his seat?

 

[hard top]

Hi @BMBabe, you an F1 fan? If so, you will have to join up with the Zorg fantasy GP mob on Badger GP next season.

Jenson Button insists he has not made a decision on his future - but hinted he will do soon and he may leave Formula 1.

Asked if he had decided what to do in 2015, Button said: "No. Nothing. Yet."

But he said that being unsure about his future "opens your eyes to different challenges and possibilities".

Button, 34, has had talks with Porsche about moving to endurance racing next season, a move former F1 driver Mark Webber made at the end of 2013.

McLaren are leaning towards retaining Magnussen, who is in his debut season this year, and it is understood that even if the team were to ask Button to stay, he may turn them down.

 

[BMBabe]

Hi @BMBabe, you an F1 fan? If so, you will have to join up with the Zorg fantasy GP mob on Badger GP next season.

Jenson Button insists he has not made a decision on his future - but hinted he will do soon and he may leave Formula 1.

Asked if he had decided what to do in 2015, Button said: "No. Nothing. Yet."

But he said that being unsure about his future "opens your eyes to different challenges and possibilities".

Button, 34, has had talks with Porsche about moving to endurance racing next season, a move former F1 driver Mark Webber made at the end of 2013.

McLaren are leaning towards retaining Magnussen, who is in his debut season this year, and it is understood that even if the team were to ask Button to stay, he may turn them down.

I love F1 GO GO GO GO JB He needs to fight for his seat!! JB is is waaayyyy better than Magnussen

 

[hard top]

@BMBabe check out the Badger GP thread.

https://zroadster.org/threads/badger-gp-2014.4038/page-21#post-73075

 

[hard top]

Sunday, 9 November
Formula 1 gossip: Marussia could race in Abu Dhabi

Marussia could still race in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on 23 November as a rescue package is being discussed that would enable the team to take part.

Talks have broken down between F1 teams over the lifting of an engine freeze, which would have allowed a mid-season upgrade.

All looks serene on the morning of the race judging by this picture tweeted by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso.

Fernando Alonso tweets a picture on the morning of the Brazil Grand Prix

​

 

[hard top]

Should F1 bosses be doing more to help Marussia and Caterham survive?
This vote is now closed. Here are the results:

Yes
86.3%

No
13.7%

 

[hard top]

Monday, 10 November
"Open civil war" broke out in Formula 1 on Sunday night, as Bernie Ecclestone told Force India, Lotus and Sauber they will receive no more financial help, "plunging the sport into fresh depths of bitterness and acrimony".

Francois Guiter, the former marketing manager of the Elf oil company which provided financial backing to a host of French F1 drivers - including the likes of Alain Prost and Francois Cevert - has died at the age of 86.

A month after his crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, injured driver Jules Bianchi remains in a "stable but critical" condition in hospital, Marussia sporting director Graeme Lowdon has said.

Williams driver Valtteri Bottas says a loose seat belt was one of a number of issues which saw him finish down in 10th place at Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso says he feels "zero frustration" towards Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen after the Finn fought so hard to defend against him late in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

There was a lot of love for Williams driver Felipe Massa at his home race in Brazil this last weekend, but it seems Red Bull rival Daniel Ricciardo has made a new friend in Massa's son Felipinho. After Ricciardo and Felipinho shared a hug during Sunday's drivers' parade, the Australian tweeted Massa to ask "can I borrow him mate?"

Daniel Ricciardo retired on lap 39 of Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix with suspension failure

 

[hard top]

Tuesday, 11 November
WTF.....Red Bull chief Christian Horner and singer Geri Halliwell, who was part of the pop group Spice Girls, have announced their engagement.

Jenson Button's future at McLaren is in question and the racer has hinted the team have made him feel like an unwanted family member at Christmas.

Nico Rosberg tweeted:"Sorry, again I'm speechless...watch my different view on Brazil and Abu Dhabi races...". He includes a video of himself using actions rather than words to answer questions on his drivers' title battle with team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Formula 1 teams have rejected new proposals of how to deal with lapped cars in safety car periods.

Red Bull have spent £196m on their F1 campaign this year, more than double that of some of the sport's struggling teams like Marussia, who have spent £76m.

Meanwhile, Hamilton swapped his F1 car for a shopping basket as he took a trip around a supermarket with pop singer girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger. He tweeted "Great to be back in London! Just been out grocery shopping with my lady helping her move into her new spot." Hamilton also tweeted his respects on Remembrance Day.

Lewis Hamilton has a 17 point lead over Nico Rosberg in the drivers' title standings with once race left

 

[hard top]

Wednesday, 12 November
Formula 1's small teams say F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has floated a plan to boost the grid with 'Super GP2' cars.

Lotus boss Gerard Lopez, 43, has warned that Formula 1 has a lot of issues it needs to address if the sport wants to become great again.

Alice Powell, a 21-year-old racing driver from Chipping Norton, is in contention to drive alongside the likes of Lewis Hamilton in first practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after her grandfather said he would pay to turn her dream into reality.

Monaco-based Lewis Hamilton, 29, will spend the next week enjoying home comforts in England with his family and pop singer girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, in an attempt to recharge his batteries for the title showdown in Abu Dhabi.

After 42-year-old singer Geri Halliwell and Red Bull chief Christian Horner, 40, announced their engagement, the Daily Express asks: "Has Geri finally found Mr Right?"
Don't hold your breath.

Jenson Button, 34, has responded to an article in magazine F1 Racing about his future by tweeting:
"I've been reading your messages and must say I'm overwhelmed with the support."
The McLaren driver Button, who re-tweeted the front cover of F1 Racing, added:
"Hopefully soon I'll be able to give you more info about my future."

Jenson Button is seventh in the drivers' title standings with one race left

 

[hard top]

Thursday, 13 November
Honda's new Formula 1 engine will run on track for the first time on Friday, as McLaren's development MP4-29H takes to the track at Silverstone alongside two classic McLaren Hondas.

Five drivers have shown interest in potentially taking Ericsson's place in Abu Dhabi.

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has revealed the switch from V8 to V6 engines in 2014 led to him questioning whether F1 was the motor racing series for him.

Williams' Brazilian driver Felipe Massa tweeted a cartoon poking fun of him stopping at the McLaren garage during Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Massa has hit back at compatriot Nelson Piquet after the three-time world champion claimed modern drivers had an easier job than in his era.
Massa said: "Back then you had the steering wheel, throttle, brake and clutch, but nowadays we are changing things while we are driving in the corners. It's another world - another sport."

Felipe Massa stopped at the McLaren garage during the Brazilian Grand Prix

 

[hard top]

Friday, 14 November
F1 faces a new threat as the EU wants alcohol sponsorship banned because alcohol awareness group Eurocare says it sends "mixed messages" given the "destructive prevalence of drink-driving". Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and Jose Cuervo all sponsor teams, while this season Williams took on Martini as their title sponsor.

The beleaguered Caterham team, who are in administration and have not paid staff in nearly two months, look set to fall short of a £2.35m target through 'crowdfunding' to make it to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but an administrator says they could still take part in the final race of the year.

Kimi Raikkonen says he has sacrificed championship points this year in pursuit of a car that suits his driving style, but admits he has not made as much progress with the Ferrari as he would like.

Harrison Newey, the 16-year-old son of Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey, has signed up for the forthcoming British Formula 4 winter championship.

Mercedes tweeted this picture of Nico Rosberg winning a Bambi award for Best Sportsman, commenting: "Hat's off sir!".

Rosberg is hoping to add the world driver's title to his list of awards

 

[hard top]

Saturday, 15 November
Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that he is no longer pushing for a repeat of his controversial scheme to award double points at the last race of the season.

Bernie Ecclestone: F1 is better off serving rich over-70s than youth.
Formula One would rather cater for rich over-70s than chase a younger generation who cannot afford luxury watches and is more interested in social media, according to Bernie Ecclestone.
“Young kids will see the Rolex brand but are they going to go and buy one? They can’t afford it.
Or our other sponsor UBS – these kids don’t care about banking. They haven’t got enough money to put in the bloody banks anyway. That’s what I think, I’d rather get to the 70-year-old guy who’s got plenty of cash, if marketers are aiming at this audience, then maybe they should advertise with Disney” he said.

Ecclestone said no one would miss the Marussia and Caterham teams who went into administration last month. With typically controversial language, Ecclestone suggested other struggling teams should simply spend less.
“These teams don’t need to be in financial trouble. They need to think about what they have got to spend and do the best they can with that … it’s the same problem with ladies and credit cards” he said.

Caterham will race in F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix thanks to fans’ cash.
Fans and businesses around the world have pledged almost £2m in only seven days to get Caterham to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix next weekend, in only a week the fans have made the impossible possible.
The team’s desperation has led to some like the Lotus owner, Gérard Lopez, to criticise Caterham’s aims, in particular as he feels they have made F1 a laughing stock.
He said crowd-funding was “a one-off and I think it’s sad if you think about what it’s being used for.
A team principal came to me and was laughing about the crowd-funding thing. I think it’s pretty sad. It’s pretty telling about the sport when people are laughing about that kind of stuff.”

McLaren set to decide between Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen.
McLaren’s racing director, Eric Boullier, is to sit down with the chief executive, Ron Dennis, this week for a final round of talks in a bid to resolve the team’s driver lineup for 2015 discussions have been ongoing between the duo for some time as they mull over who should partner the returning Fernando Alonso, who is due to be confirmed by McLaren by the end of next week.
As to his team-mate, paddock sources have suggested Boullier and Dennis have a difference of opinion, with the Frenchman favouring Jenson Button, while the latter prefers Kevin Magnussen.
If Dennis needed any convincing Button’s experience was the way to go then his performance over the weekend in Brazil will have helped, the 34-year-old has now scored nearly double the number of Magnussen’s points – 106 to 55.
The clock is ticking, although Dennis ultimately has the final call.

McLaren's development Honda Formula 1 car, the MP4-29H with Honda's new V6 turbo engine, took to the track at British Grand Prix venue Silverstone on Friday for its maiden laps.
McLaren have denied recent rumours that their supercar manufacturing business, McLaren Automotive, contributes to its Formula 1 team McLaren Racing.

Nico Rosberg posted a selfie on twitter of him in Berlin with German "football legend" Miroslav Klose: "#selfie mit miro. was für eine Fussball-Legende!!"

Klose (left) holds the record for the most goals scored at World Cup finals.

 

[hard top]

Sunday, 16 November
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has reassured his two drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, that whoever loses out in this year's title race will get another chance of championship success later in their career.

Meanwhile, Mercedes reportedly have a psychologist on standby to help the loser of their titanic Formula 1 title battle cope with defeat.

Caterham made their 230-strong race team redundant on the very day they announced they were going to go to Abu Dhabi for the last race of the season. The workforce have not been paid since September.

Italian Dino Chiesa, who managed Hamilton and Rosberg as young karters in 2000-2001, says he is more likely to speak to the Finn before next Sunday's big race: "I'll talk to Nico for sure. He is polite, calmer. When he is home, he is home. He has a wife. He is settled. Lewis is very busy. He has less time to spend with people - I don't mean that in a bad way; it is normal when you become more of a VIP. I think he wants to spend time with his friends and girlfriend. I am not part of his family. Lewis has changed his phone number many times and it isn't always easy to get hold of him. But he has my number if he wants me."

BBC commentator David Coulthard tweets a picture of himself in a kilt with his wife Karen Minier, the Belgian TV presenter, and writes: "Can you tell who wears the trousers in the family?"

The couple have a son, Dayton Minier Coulthard, born in 2008

 

[t-tony]

Don't understand that about Lewis changing his number " He has my number if he wants me" sounds like a man touting for business to me. I can't see Lewis needing "councelling either" if he wins or loses.

 

[hard top]

Monday, 17 November
Briton Max Chilton, who drove for Marussia this season before they went into administration, has emerged as a surprise candidate to race the second Caterham in Abu Dhabi this weekend.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen says he has struggled with the tyre construction this year after being out-performed by team-mate Fernando Alonso, but would like to stay at the Italian team beyond 2015.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff wants to resume contract talks with Lewis Hamilton as soon as possible.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton says he is feeling relaxed, confident and ready to win ahead of the Formula 1 title decider in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Championship leader Hamilton tweeted a picture of himself at the poppy installation at London Bridge, which he said he passed during a run over the weekend.

Hamilton stopped to admire the London Bridge poppy installation

 

[hard top]

Tuesday, 18 November
Lewis Hamilton says the Mercedes team have been working flat out to try and ensure bad luck does not play a part in this weekend's title decider in Abu Dhabi.

Former Ferrari and McLaren driver Gerhard Berger believes Mercedes' Nico Rosberg needed to win the United States Grand Prix to have a realistic chance of pipping team-mate Lewis Hamilton to the world title in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Oxford:
Ex-Caterham owner Tony Fernandes has "walked away" from employees, a former worker at the Formula 1 team claims.
Jim McManus, a senior analyst for team based in Leafield, Oxfordshire, was one of 230 people made redundant on Friday. He said he wanted Mr Fernandes to "take some responsibility for the situation".
"He's a wealthy man, an owner of a Premiership football team and I think he's got a moral responsibility to the employees to do the right thing."
Mr McManus also said the team had been "insensitive" to announce crowd funding success at the same time as job losses.
British female driver Alice Powell is hopeful of making her debut at a Formula 1 weekend with Caterham at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix later this month.
Powell's grandfather is among a number of private investors who are trying to raise enough money to seal her a seat.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has said Formula 1's front runners have no obligation to help smaller teams.

McLaren test and reserve driver Gary Paffett will leave that role at the end of the season, having been with the team since 2006.

Force India, Sauber and Lotus have written to Bernie Ecclestone calling for a meeting in Abu Dhabi this weekend to discuss the way Formula 1's finances are divided.

Governing body the FIA says it is still too early to know whether its virtual safety car plan will be ready for the start of the 2015 F1 season.

Formula Renault 3.5 champion Carlos Sainz Jr will join Daniel Ricciardo in Red Bull's line-up for the final F1 test of 2014 in Abu Dhabi on November 25-26.

GP3 champion-elect Alex Lynn remains in contention for a Toro Rosso race seat in 2015, despite strong competition from Jean-Eric Vergne, Carlos Sainz Jr and Pierre Gasly.