2010 Formula One season [Huge update on page one]
Posted by madotter
Better yet... Kobayashi to Sauber?! :D
[en.f1-live.com]
Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it
[en.f1-live.com]
Looking at that, I'd say the drive is almost Petrov's to lose. Kobayashi wouldn't work alongside him - Sauber wouldn't want a team with 2 chaotic races between them. 
gav Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Looking at that, I'd say the drive is almost
> Petrov's to lose.
True, but I don't think Sauber's the only team to realise he has lots of money behind him
He's also been linked closely to Campos and Renault, so it looks fairly certain we'll get the first Russian driver in F1 in 2010. Also, this will probably be good news for Bernie, who will no doubt renew his plans for a Russian GP.
X (@ed24f1)
-------------------------------------------------------
> Looking at that, I'd say the drive is almost
> Petrov's to lose.
True, but I don't think Sauber's the only team to realise he has lots of money behind him
He's also been linked closely to Campos and Renault, so it looks fairly certain we'll get the first Russian driver in F1 in 2010. Also, this will probably be good news for Bernie, who will no doubt renew his plans for a Russian GP.
X (@ed24f1)
Thats a sh1t load of sponsor-money! wow!
"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL
"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL
Not much of a surprise, Manor GP becomes Virgin Racing
http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/11/30/manor-gp-becomes-virgin-racing/
http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/11/30/manor-gp-becomes-virgin-racing/
Have a read of this. Quite interesting stuff concerning a possible Renault buyout. All speculation, however, but still an interesting read.
[willthef1journo.wordpress.com]
Back in Abu Dhabi I had a rather interesting chat with a colleague regarding BMW-Sauber and the Qadbak deal which, as we now know, was ultimately doomed to failure. Nobody ever really gave the Qadbak buyout a chance of working out, the involvement of Russell King stamping enormous warning signs and attaching blaring alarm bells all over it to anyone in the F1 paddock.
My colleague however suggested that there was another reason the deal wouldn’t come off, and it had to do with the diminutive but colossally powerful supremo of the sport, one Bernard Charles Ecclestone. Bernie, said my source, was fuming that his preferred choice of Sauber-saviours had lost out in the bidding process to Qadbak. It wasn’t the fact that nobody trusted Qadbak, it was more the fact that Bernie trusted someone else.
Bernie’s apparent choice of BMW saviours was Gravity, a management firm of pan-European reach based in Luxembourg which has on its books not only a few racing teams under the Gravity Racing International banner, but a number of pretty nifty drivers. GP2 hotshot Jerome d’Ambrosio is one such driver, as is Chinese racer Ho-Pin Tung, who received a last-minute call-up to take part in the rookie F1 test this week for Renault.
It is Tung’s last-minute call-up that has kicked off rumours surrounding Gravity, with Swiss Publication Motorsport Aktuell claiming that the firm is in talks with Renault over a potential take-over.
Now, if we assume that Bernie Ecclestone is backing Gravity’s attempts to make a move into F1, that he trusts them and believes they have the finances to do a proper stand-up job of taking over a team, then these reports need to be treated pretty seriously.
We know that Renault is wavering in its commitment to Formula 1 in the long term , with the manufacturer’s President Carlos Ghosn not doing anything to silence the rumours of a Renault pull-out with his recent comments that never mind F1 being important to Renault, he doubted it would remain important to anybody if it didn’t address a few environmental issues. Not the words of someone planning to plough money into the sport and give their new signing Robert Kubica a car worthy of his talents. Not the words of a man hoping to hang around in the sport, one would assume.
Over the last few weeks we’ve therefore seen a few different rumours over potential suitors. David Richards of Prodrive was in Abu Dhabi and seemed to spend some time hanging around the Renault part of the paddock. Was he interested in making a move for the team? The chat at the time was he’d be interested in a share option for 2010 before a full buyout in 2011, but it was never confirmed.
Also believed to be an interested party is Megafon, Renault F1’s Russian mobile telecoms sponsor. With Vitaly Petrov finishing runner-up in GP2 this year the Russian is hot property and with a brace of government backed Russian companies behind him is a favourite for promotion to F1 in 2010. No doubt the chance of him racing for a Russian team would be a dream for Russian sponsors, and Megafon remains linked with a take-over of Renault F1.
Tung’s run for Renault this week however has been met with much interest in the usually disinterested Chinese market. Motorsport Aktuell’s report suggests that Tung is only making the test run to try and bring some Chinese money into Gravity’s hands for a take-over of the Renault F1 Team. Gravity, says the publication, is linked with a venture capital firm named Mangrove, through which the team purchase would be made.
So is this Gravity thing serious? To be honest, there are enough factors pointing positively towards it to tell me it could be.
Gravity has taken on Eric Boullier, long time stalwart of the DAMS outfit, one of the most successful racing teams in the world at all levels of competition. As DAMS Team Manager he oversaw the team’s many successes over the past decade, but quit at the end of the 2009 season to move over to Gravity. Having achieved championship success in A1GP and GP2, why would Boullier have quit a well paid and high profile job unless there was a step up for him? And where does one step up to from GP2 other than F1?
I spoke to Boullier at the GP2 finale in Portimao when Flavio had first been booted from Renault and the Frenchman’s name had first been linked with the vacant Renault F1 Team Boss slot.
“There’s been no direct contact,” he told me, “but a couple of indirect ones. I know my name was put on a list within some talks by them and obviously if tomorrow somebody is doing direct contact I would be pleased to speak to them. It is Formula 1 and it’s a different world to GP2. I would consider it a lot if such an opportunity was offered to me.”
Could that indirect contact have been through Gravity, for whom he had pledged to work in the future at the end of his DAMS contract?
There’s another factor in the Gravity situation as well. The company recently signed up Jacques Villeneuve, who raced for Gravity in the Spa 24 Hours in a Mosler MT900R partnered by… Ho-Pin Tung! JV was to be seen nowhere but hanging around BMW-Sauber over the last few races of 2009, or at least for as long as the Gravity boys were negotiating the sale of the team. What odds that the eagle eyes in Enstone see a familiar Canadian knocking on their door anytime soon?
If these reports are true, Renault could be about to get the bailout for which its chiefs are desperate. A Gravity buyout could keep the team in F1, give it a young, passionate and hugely talented new Team Principal in Eric Boullier, a brace of talented young testers along the lines of d’Ambrosio and Tung, and the cherry on the cake… Jacques Villeneuve in an incredible return to the F1 cockpit to partner Robert Kubica in 2010.
Sound bonkers? Add up the component parts and it’s not as mad as one might at first assume. And with the way this winter is already panning out, it really isn’t the craziest suggestion out there.
Circuit Thermalito
Liverpool Waterfront Circuit (WIP)
[willthef1journo.wordpress.com]
Back in Abu Dhabi I had a rather interesting chat with a colleague regarding BMW-Sauber and the Qadbak deal which, as we now know, was ultimately doomed to failure. Nobody ever really gave the Qadbak buyout a chance of working out, the involvement of Russell King stamping enormous warning signs and attaching blaring alarm bells all over it to anyone in the F1 paddock.
My colleague however suggested that there was another reason the deal wouldn’t come off, and it had to do with the diminutive but colossally powerful supremo of the sport, one Bernard Charles Ecclestone. Bernie, said my source, was fuming that his preferred choice of Sauber-saviours had lost out in the bidding process to Qadbak. It wasn’t the fact that nobody trusted Qadbak, it was more the fact that Bernie trusted someone else.
Bernie’s apparent choice of BMW saviours was Gravity, a management firm of pan-European reach based in Luxembourg which has on its books not only a few racing teams under the Gravity Racing International banner, but a number of pretty nifty drivers. GP2 hotshot Jerome d’Ambrosio is one such driver, as is Chinese racer Ho-Pin Tung, who received a last-minute call-up to take part in the rookie F1 test this week for Renault.
It is Tung’s last-minute call-up that has kicked off rumours surrounding Gravity, with Swiss Publication Motorsport Aktuell claiming that the firm is in talks with Renault over a potential take-over.
Now, if we assume that Bernie Ecclestone is backing Gravity’s attempts to make a move into F1, that he trusts them and believes they have the finances to do a proper stand-up job of taking over a team, then these reports need to be treated pretty seriously.
We know that Renault is wavering in its commitment to Formula 1 in the long term , with the manufacturer’s President Carlos Ghosn not doing anything to silence the rumours of a Renault pull-out with his recent comments that never mind F1 being important to Renault, he doubted it would remain important to anybody if it didn’t address a few environmental issues. Not the words of someone planning to plough money into the sport and give their new signing Robert Kubica a car worthy of his talents. Not the words of a man hoping to hang around in the sport, one would assume.
Over the last few weeks we’ve therefore seen a few different rumours over potential suitors. David Richards of Prodrive was in Abu Dhabi and seemed to spend some time hanging around the Renault part of the paddock. Was he interested in making a move for the team? The chat at the time was he’d be interested in a share option for 2010 before a full buyout in 2011, but it was never confirmed.
Also believed to be an interested party is Megafon, Renault F1’s Russian mobile telecoms sponsor. With Vitaly Petrov finishing runner-up in GP2 this year the Russian is hot property and with a brace of government backed Russian companies behind him is a favourite for promotion to F1 in 2010. No doubt the chance of him racing for a Russian team would be a dream for Russian sponsors, and Megafon remains linked with a take-over of Renault F1.
Tung’s run for Renault this week however has been met with much interest in the usually disinterested Chinese market. Motorsport Aktuell’s report suggests that Tung is only making the test run to try and bring some Chinese money into Gravity’s hands for a take-over of the Renault F1 Team. Gravity, says the publication, is linked with a venture capital firm named Mangrove, through which the team purchase would be made.
So is this Gravity thing serious? To be honest, there are enough factors pointing positively towards it to tell me it could be.
Gravity has taken on Eric Boullier, long time stalwart of the DAMS outfit, one of the most successful racing teams in the world at all levels of competition. As DAMS Team Manager he oversaw the team’s many successes over the past decade, but quit at the end of the 2009 season to move over to Gravity. Having achieved championship success in A1GP and GP2, why would Boullier have quit a well paid and high profile job unless there was a step up for him? And where does one step up to from GP2 other than F1?
I spoke to Boullier at the GP2 finale in Portimao when Flavio had first been booted from Renault and the Frenchman’s name had first been linked with the vacant Renault F1 Team Boss slot.
“There’s been no direct contact,” he told me, “but a couple of indirect ones. I know my name was put on a list within some talks by them and obviously if tomorrow somebody is doing direct contact I would be pleased to speak to them. It is Formula 1 and it’s a different world to GP2. I would consider it a lot if such an opportunity was offered to me.”
Could that indirect contact have been through Gravity, for whom he had pledged to work in the future at the end of his DAMS contract?
There’s another factor in the Gravity situation as well. The company recently signed up Jacques Villeneuve, who raced for Gravity in the Spa 24 Hours in a Mosler MT900R partnered by… Ho-Pin Tung! JV was to be seen nowhere but hanging around BMW-Sauber over the last few races of 2009, or at least for as long as the Gravity boys were negotiating the sale of the team. What odds that the eagle eyes in Enstone see a familiar Canadian knocking on their door anytime soon?
If these reports are true, Renault could be about to get the bailout for which its chiefs are desperate. A Gravity buyout could keep the team in F1, give it a young, passionate and hugely talented new Team Principal in Eric Boullier, a brace of talented young testers along the lines of d’Ambrosio and Tung, and the cherry on the cake… Jacques Villeneuve in an incredible return to the F1 cockpit to partner Robert Kubica in 2010.
Sound bonkers? Add up the component parts and it’s not as mad as one might at first assume. And with the way this winter is already panning out, it really isn’t the craziest suggestion out there.
Circuit Thermalito
Liverpool Waterfront Circuit (WIP)
Certainly an interesting development - and I'm sure Villeneuve would have a point to prove against Kubica, after BMW replaced him with Kubica in 2006.
X (@ed24f1)
X (@ed24f1)
JV proved to be pretty close to Nick Heidfeld... He wasnt as far back as some made out. I personally would love him back in F1, and I think he could still cut the musturd and hopefully we will get an idea of whether or not the grooves did hamper his driving.
Its a shame Kimi is almost certain to miss the grid this year, otherwise imagine the procpect of JB, Lewis, Kimi, Alonso, Schumacher and Jacques all world champions and against each other! When was the last time so many WDC were on the same grid?
"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL
Its a shame Kimi is almost certain to miss the grid this year, otherwise imagine the procpect of JB, Lewis, Kimi, Alonso, Schumacher and Jacques all world champions and against each other! When was the last time so many WDC were on the same grid?
"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL
renault possibly being offloaded to prodive?
[www.jamesallenonf1.com]
fits with the rumours circulating earlier in the year, sell the team but carry on supplying engines.
(though the suggested buyer at that point was flavio
)
i wonder how kubica would fit into all this. I'm still of the opinion that the reason mercedes haven't made a decision on the 2nd seat is that they're waiting for the renault saga to play out. if they do pull the plug, then they'll be in for him.
[www.jamesallenonf1.com]
fits with the rumours circulating earlier in the year, sell the team but carry on supplying engines.
(though the suggested buyer at that point was flavio
)i wonder how kubica would fit into all this. I'm still of the opinion that the reason mercedes haven't made a decision on the 2nd seat is that they're waiting for the renault saga to play out. if they do pull the plug, then they'll be in for him.
Its certainly looking more and more likely that someone will buy into Renault.
Just in the last few weeks we've had rumours of Russian buyers, the Gravity company, and also Prodrive. At least it looks like Renault seems to want to stay in the sport supplying engines - which is good considering we already only have a small number of them left.
EDIT: A Prodrive announcement looks close now, at least according to Joe Saward
[joesaward.wordpress.com]
While it will be disappointing to see Renault go, as they have been one of the most successful manufacturers in F1 over a long period, an Aston Martin team would be brilliant!
X (@ed24f1)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2009 02:38PM by SchueyFan.
Just in the last few weeks we've had rumours of Russian buyers, the Gravity company, and also Prodrive. At least it looks like Renault seems to want to stay in the sport supplying engines - which is good considering we already only have a small number of them left.
EDIT: A Prodrive announcement looks close now, at least according to Joe Saward
[joesaward.wordpress.com]
While it will be disappointing to see Renault go, as they have been one of the most successful manufacturers in F1 over a long period, an Aston Martin team would be brilliant!
X (@ed24f1)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2009 02:38PM by SchueyFan.
David Richards as a fully-fledged F1 boss would be fantastic for the sport.
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Will Prodrive finally get the break into F1 they've been trying so hard for?? I do hope so, DR to take charge with Bob Bell alongside would not be a bad team.
"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL
"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL
Interesting to see Bianchi get a Ferrari deal, as well. I wouldn't be surprised to see him take a similar route to Massa, possibly going to Sauber in the next few years.
X (@ed24f1)
X (@ed24f1)
Head of driver development? Yoong?! A lesson in how not to do it I guess then!
"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL
"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL
Fisi in a Sauber would make good sense TBH. Everything fits - the Ferrari connections all round, Fisi is experienced and would be a safe pair of hands for one of their cars, Sauber is just the kind of team that brings out the best in Fisi as a driver. And, of course, he's driven for them before.
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