alfy28

I see, i always pictured them having a civil war against each other. Having turrets mounted on each other car, shooting b b pellets at each other.

PerSmitt

So who will win the last race?

I am tempted to place my bet on Button now that all pressure is off him.

What do you guys think?

ATL-GP

Hamilton

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Barrichello

mike1324a

Luca Badoer

Mazmart

iTrader: (12)

Lewis will take it or at least podium.

Paul.

shaunv74

Webber.

alfy28

I wan to say Hamilton, because he is baby jesus. but the track has alot of straights, not sure if mclaren car will do well on this track

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Isn't KERS suppose to help on long straights?

shaunv74

Maybe Sutil then.

alfy28

yes, but have you seen the layout of the track yet? that doesnt look lilke a mclaren track at all. even with kers, its a tough fight for mclaren. its like spa to me.

PerSmitt

I want Hamilton to win! As a Hamilton fanboi I always want him to win.

I don't remember if there are sweeping highspeed corners or not on this track. If there are high-speed corners the McLaren will suffer here too. If it is a start/stop track Hamilton will be on the podium.

With sweeping corners I would bet on Brawn and Red Bull. My favorite there would be Vettel, but he might be down now after becoming "first loser". Button would stand a greater chance there in my opinion.

Can't wait until practice to see what is what on this brand new track.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Your champion begs to differ.

Lewis: Abu Dhabi will be a KERS Track

Lewis Hamilton is confident the new Abu Dhabi circuit will suit his McLaren car and give him a chance to end a difficult season on a high.
The Woking squad has struggled to be competitive on fast circuits where a lack of overall downforce has hampered it, but has been much stronger on slower tracks such as the Hungaroring and Singapore, where Hamilton was a dominant force.
The Briton, who saw the mantle of world champion pass to compatriot Jenson Button in Brazil, thinks the tight and twisty 3.45-mile Abu Dhabi layout should be ideally suited to the MP4-24 and its Kinetic Energy Recovery System.
“We’ve had a fantastic second half of the season, and it would be perfect to end the year with a win – it would send us into the winter fully motivated and pumped up for the 2010 season,” he said.
“All the signs point to Abu Dhabi being another strong track for us – there are plenty of slow corners leading onto long straights, where KERS will be very advantageous.

“Seeing as it’s likely to be the last race for KERS, it would be fantastic to send it off with a perfect result – that would be a very fitting farewell for all the engineers who have worked so hard to make the McLaren Mercedes system the best in the business.”
McLaren ahead of Ferrari into third place in the constructors’ championship courtesy of Hamilton’s podium finish at Interlagos, but with only one point separating the arch-rival teams, the battle is still very much joined.
Heikki Kovalainen says he is determined to help McLaren seal third place, and can’t wait to sample the new circuit.
“I had a very strong race in Brazil and I’m determined to rack up a points finish in Abu Dhabi to make sure we hold on to third position in the constructors’ championship,” said the Finn.
“From what I’ve seen of the track, it looks pretty good – it’s got a couple of fast corners at the start of the lap, but then there’s a real low-speed, technical section towards the end.
“It still looks like it will be a tough track for overtaking, but the facilities look amazing – totally world-class – and I think the idea of a dusk race is very good for our sport.
“Singapore has set the standard very high with its night race, but Abu Dhabi looks like it will set new standards in Formula 1. I can’t wait to get out there.”

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=47263


I am thinking you will see at least a McLaren and just maybe a Ferrari on the podium.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Donington GP bid looks to be over


Donington Park's hopes of staging the British Grand Prix from 2010 look to be over after the operators' latest fund-raising attempts fell through.
Earlier this month, Donington launched a bond issue in an attempt to raise £135m, but that proved unsuccessful.
The track operators, Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, issued a statement on Friday confirming the bond had "failed to secure enough subscription."
Silverstone could step in to host the grand prix if offered a long-term deal.
The statement continued: "Donington Ventures Leisure Limited can confirm that a bond for £135 million to cover the cost of the F1 redevelopment at Donington Park has been unsuccessful.
"Despite higher than expected levels of interest and very positive early indications, the bond - which was launched with Citi Group last week - has failed to secure enough subscription ahead of today's deadline.
"The news dealt an unexpected blow to staff and management at the circuit, who still have a deadline of 12pm on Monday 26 October to remedy a breach of contract with Formula 1 Rights Holder Bernie Ecclestone, in order to keep any plans for retaining the existing 17-year Formula 1 contract alive.
"Information regarding the circuit's future plans is not yet available, however the major focus is on providing security for the Leicestershire venue and all related parties, including staff and suppliers."
Donington have previously missed several deadlines to provide financial guarantees.
In June, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said there would definitely be a British Grand Prix in 2012, and that it would be at Silverstone if Donington failed to come through.

But more recently he has backtracked and said it is not certain there will be a Grand Prix in Britain next year at all.
Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, the company that operates the track, has faced legal and planning problems since being given the rights to stage the race.
Chief executive Simon Gillett was initially given a deadline of the end of September to demonstrate the funding was in place to carry out the planned multi-million pound revamp of the circuit and its facilities. That deadline was extended by a few days until 3 October.
Motor racing at Donington ceased in September so work could begin to prepare the venue for next year's race.
Silverstone has hosted every British Grand Prix since 1987, while Donington, which is synonymous with MotoGP, has held only one F1 race, the European Grand Prix in 1993.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/moto...ne/8300268.stm


So Donington will remain a cute club track.
Oh, and Todt was just elected to be the new FIA President.

alfy28

I see, i was just going by what mclaren said in the past with track with lots of straight aways. but if the messiah has confidence, then so do i

alfy28

lmao. i cant believe he said that though.

any how, Possiable Button with MClaren? i sure hope not. i want Kimi please

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh has refused to dismiss reports tipping new world champion Jenson Button to become Lewis Hamilton's teammate in 2010.

As 29-year-old Button's dispute with his Brawn bosses over the size of his retainer continues, newspapers including the Daily Mail and the Sun said the 'number 1' could be back on a silver-coloured car next season.

The Daily Mail said the British sponsor Vodafone "would welcome the tantalising lineup", and a source at the mobile company added: "Any team would like to have two world champions in their ranks."

Another source told the Sun tabloid: "Vodafone would be very keen on the idea."

Asked directly about the rumours, Whitmarsh said: "We've talked to a number of drivers. It wouldn't be appropriate to say more than that.

"We'll hire the two best drivers available to us as we always have," he added, amid expectations Heikki Kovalainen will not be retained.

The newspaper also said Toyota is interested in Button "but he is unlikely to go there".

http://www.worldcarfans.com/10910232...claren-reports

morkusyambo

Hmm. Alonso and Massa, or Hamilton and any other driver including Kimi?? I'll take red for next year please.

Renesis_8

The Silver Knights Guild is moving into the house of Brawns next year tho...............

What colours are McLaren gonna use I wonder

alfy28

morkusyambo

Here is a prediction. If Red Bull can get their hands on a Mercedes powerplant, Sebastian Vettel will be trading blows with Alonso and Hamilton all year long. I am not a huge fan of his (Massa homer), but there is no denying his talent. I didn't think he had what it takes experience wise this year. That became self evident with a few stupid mistakes. Combing that with the unreliability of the Renault engine and it is very impressive that he sits at 2nd in the championship. For those that want to say the only reason their favorite team/driver was not as successfull this year due to double decker diffusers, take a look at Red Bull. They also did not start the season with said diffuser and were quicker than Mclaren and Ferrari out of the box. Then when they realized they could use said diffuser, they had to redesign the entire rear end of the car, which lets face it, might as well be an entirely new car. Why couldn't Mclaren and Ferrari do the same? I don't know the answer, but neither do any of you.

-Yambo

alfy28

answer is pretty simple. Redbull didnt have a driver fighting for the championship. so they moved on to 09 car , like the rest of the teams. where ferrari and mclaren were head to head against each other. so they put all their time in the 08 car, to the last race. not making excuses for those 2 teams, but that is what happened. which is why you see mclaren and ferrari mid season, back on top of their game.

next year will be a different story. i feel that both ferrari and mclaren will be the top 2 teams , fighting each other again.

morkusyambo

Sorry. That line about not working on the '09 car because of the '08 championship tilt was first put out by the media and when Mclaren and Ferrari heard it they thought to themselves, hmmm....That sounds like a great excuse and everyone allready seems to be buying it, so why not make it our official party line? I refuse to believe anything just because the media and my favorite team/driver says it is so. I'll never claim to be a racing purist(who even knows what that is?) but the idea of any team with the resources to put a winning car on the grid, but doesn't because they believe the interpretation of rules was unfair(here is looking at you Ferrari) really grinds my grits.

At least Mclaren has kept trying to improve their car all season long. Just based off of effort, they deserve more good things to happen to them next season than Ferrari. Of course, deserving/fairness and what actually happens are usually different....Go Massa!!

I'll also say this once again. Red Bull started out the season without a double decker diffuser just like Ferrari and Mclaren. It doesn't matter if they started developing their '09 car back in 2007. When they realized the diffuser could be used, they had to basically redesign the entire car due to their original rear-suspension setup. That leads to redesigning the way the engine sits in the chassis and everything bolts to it since it is a load-bearing member of said chassis. A redesign of the transmission, not in function, but is length width.

Red Bull did all of this in a little under a month. Ferrari never even tried, except for slapping a diffuser on the bottom of an allready bad car. At least Mclaren kept putting effort in up to this point. Their car still has a big weakness, but they have done a great job covering that up with Kers, changing the weight distribution, and several aero modifications.

To make a long story even longer, I don't care how many times someone says Ferrari and Mclaren are "victims" of their success last season. I will continue to call baloney.

-Yambo

alfy28

^^ lmao, you being F1 fan, i would think you would know that each s race, they progress on their car, especially with cars going for the championship. come on yamo, i know your better then that.

just like ferrari already gaven up their 09 car, 4 races ago, and working on their 10 atm

PerSmitt

Actually McLaren went out in an interview and said that the culprit in this case is the KERS. Not only does it weigh but also takes place. The KERS was in the way for the double diffuser. I expect the same is true for Ferrari.

Red Bull had to redesign the rear for the suspension but that is "easier" than moving up a heavy KERS box (which would raise the center of weight to unacceptable levels).

I do think McLaren are using a double-diffuser now. They found a solution somehow, even if it was trickier together with the KERS system.

But sure, Red Bull did an awesome job with their car. But keep in mind that it was competetive from race #1. Vettel crashed when fighting for second place in Australia.

lesper4

iTrader: (3)

dont post in hear much but i just read that USF1 is looking to have Kyle Busch as their driver, urgh the guy has talent for sure but i hate him as do most. I dont think he would cut it in the F1 world.
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/24/r...driver-duties/