Absolutely, ever so often when a small team gets a big result is one of the things which makes the sport so magical. We all rejoiced when Minardi scored a point, we all commiserated when Badoer broke down in tears at Nurburgring 99, his car having broken down whilst looking good for points. Considering the sheer disproportionate distribution of revenue in F1.. I think Caterham and Marussiaby J i m - F1
Indeed, the Toro Rosso was actually a pretty good package in 2008. And this was back when the actual chassis was supplied by Red Bull Technologies. It was essentially a Red Bull with a Ferrari engine in it. And back then the Ferrari was a stronger proposition than the Renault because Renault had taken the development freeze more literally than the other manufactures and lost out in performance asby J i m - F1
Yeah Sauber seem to have opened a can of worms and have more pay drivers than they can handle. Shame they couldn't have signposted a couple in Manor's direction.by J i m - F1
Will he? Well who knows? It depends so much on being in the right car at the right time. But judging by his performance this year... Then he has what it takes to win one.by J i m - F1
marcl Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Yeah I know what you mean but for me I'm just > looking at it as winner takes all. > > Lewis could have a 49 point lead break down at the > last race and Nico wins. Its just such a nasty > thought tbh. > > Lewis just needs to finish 2nd in the last two > races but I just don'by J i m - F1
marcl Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What worried me about Williams is will they still > be up there next year? > > They have done a great job this year, but they > also done a great job in 2012 then had their worst > year in 2013. > > Will be interesting. That is a worry, and the next couple of seasons are going to tell us mby J i m - F1
Williams were at some kind of risk the moment they split with BMW and started their slide down and past the mid-field. But they've done well to keep finding new areas of investment.by J i m - F1
There does seem to be a lot of confusion over how third cars are going to arranged. It already sounds like a complete mess as it's basically ramdom. I don't really like the sound of it at the moment. I think it would be far more attractive if the regs were opened up to permit customer cars again. With with one condition though, that only cars of the previous season can be sold. Whichby J i m - F1
Ferrari2007 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Marussia has entered administration and confirmed > it will miss the US GP. It has also emerged that there 'might' be a buyer for them.by J i m - F1
Aye, it's not looking good. I don't know if either team will be able to find a buyer, although Hass and Rozza Corsa (or whatever it is) might want to have a quick look. I guess the current engine formula is just too expensive for these teams. Either way three car teams in some way are looking ever more likely for 2015. And Sauber are now the back markers...by J i m - F1
It's interesting, but very doubtful. I don't think they have anything to gain by doing F1 plus they'd have to scrap the WEC, DTM and other programes to do it which would be a crying shame.by J i m - F1
marcl Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think if they have to run a third car they > should have to run a young driver. Especially if they already run a young driver scheme. Many of the teams support talented drivers through the junior series but relatively few of them actually promote them into the F1 team. They just simply take their money or sponsorby J i m - F1
So there are serious doubts over Caterham or Maurssia surviving long enough to race at Austin and Sauber aren't exactly in rude health. These are probably not the only teams struggling with finances either. The FIA have said that should the grid fall below twenty cars this season then they won't force any team to enter a third car, and some teams think that logistically three car teaby J i m - F1
There's also serious doubts over Maurussia making it to Austin as well now.by J i m - F1
In present circumstances I'd be very surprised if Caterham make it to Austin, the administrator won't even let the team into the factory where the cars are. If they can't get to the factory or cars then they can't race at Austin. It does look like there's only space left for a couple more nails in the coffin.by J i m - F1
The whole thing is a complete clusterfuck. I feel sorry for the staff.by J i m - F1
Aye, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Alonso put the ex-Caterham on the podium either, it seems to have gelled rather well with the Honda powertrain.by J i m - F1
Right! Let's make a Melbourne 2015 thread right now :Pby J i m - F1
It was an excellent recovery drive considering he did double the prescribed distance on one set of tyres, overtook cars on track who by then had fresher tyres and also set his fastest lap almost at the very end. I would as far to say that if was a better performance than Hamilton's charge at Singapore.by J i m - F1
Double points or not, Rosberg could win all the remaining races and he would still have fewer wins than Hamilton this year. Since Monza onwards Hamilton has regained the momentum. Rosberg was unlucky at Singapore but at Monza, Suzuka and Sochi he rolled over onto his back and wilted too easily. I'd like it very much if Rosberg won the championship but over the balance of the year Hamiltonby J i m - F1
Incident 2k9 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I would love it if Rosberg snatched the > title...just because it would piss so many people > off. Which is as good a reason as any. Indeed. But on win count... And wheel to wheel combat Hamilton has earned this year over Rosberg now.by J i m - F1
I honestly didn't expect Hulkenberg to be considered by a top team for 2015 anyway. I mean he hasn't been for the past couple of years when arguably he should have, then why should this year be any different? I also sense his forward momentum has stalled somewhat over the last third of this season. Last year he picked that Sauber up and carried it on his back, but of late it seems likeby J i m - F1
mitadumapaga Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > adelaide had a fantastic layout to its longest > straight - a 3th gear corner. No wonder no passes > happened onthe start/finish straigt. after all it > had a 90degree corner leading to it , which made > overtaking there virutally impossible. I miss Adelaideby J i m - F1
An almost typical 'flap' by Rosberg into turn 1, but a genuinely impressive recovery drive. However, on win count alone Hamilton deserves the championship more now. Nice to see Bottas back on the podium again, you can sense the frustration in him that the Mercs are just too far ahead, and the last lap fastest lap was a small glory to take away from them. Seeing him power slide over tby J i m - F1
I don't expect Lotus to make a big step over the winter, but neither can it be ruled out. It's not completely unusual for teams to have extremely uncompetitive cars one year and then really quite good ones the next. A couple of examples; In 2008, Honda had a car that struggled to score points at all. The very next year as Brawn they won the championships. Whilst it's true thaby J i m - F1
I think the venue idea is quite neat.. but the actual layout seems to be a mishmash of Abu Dhabi and Valenica. But at least some of the corners present an off camber challenge. Kyvat did a very good job, top red bull sponsored driver and a strong P5. But Bottas had me out of my seat... Damn but that was exciting, he came within a hairs breadth of taking that pole. It didn't come off, bby J i m - F1
It will be interesting to see how far Lotus can recover towards the front again. I'm not convinced that this year's poor form is entirely down to the engine so wouldn't assume an automatic return to 2012/13 form and they did loose a lot of good people last year. But at least Grosjean has reason to be hopeful. I'd like to see him have a proper crack at a win. Toro Rosso haveby J i m - F1
As bad as colliding with the recovery truck was, and as heavily damaged as the car was, recent reports suggest that Jules did not suffer any significant blow to the head. And this would tally up with pictures showing Jules unconscious in what was left of the car with a relatively unscathed crash helmet. The biggest contributory factor to Jule's injury seems to be the sheer deceleration foby J i m - F1
I haven't seen the onboard footage, but I've seen the amateur trackside clip and it's a minor miracle that Jules survived even a split second let alone to be still be fighting for his life. Looking at the scene of the accident, that was always going to be a massive impact even without the truck in the way. And how fortuate are those marshals not to have been hit?by J i m - F1
I hope the F1 world is able to take a good breath, after horrible accidents like this there is always the risk that the world over dissects what happened. But now is not the moment to be pointing fingers or jumping to conclusions until a cool and calm investigation has been carried out. Let's not forget that a man's life is at stake here and it's good to see the drivers unitingby J i m - F1