KPerez

As predicted Riccardio is going to Toro Rosso but not as race driver but Friday tester...but this is just window dressing...Buemi will be replaced by Riccardio before the '11' season finishes.

Not much left for the Hulk...talking to Force India...bye to Liuzzi....this is definitely a lateral if not a step down for Hulk.

Eccelstone's seat almost got filled after he was mugged (some head injuries)...and in front of the girl friend, no less, who was stripped of all jewelry...~200K Sterling was total...now we NO why Bernie needs all the $$$ coming in!

Later, Ken

KevinD

iTrader: (56)

i wasn't terribly impressed with hulk. he seemed like a mid field runner to me. just average. i'm not surprised he was dumped, and i'm not surprised no one else seems to want him either. if petrov (who also just seems average), comes to the team with big bucks behind him and can get similar results, why would you want to pay a driver to be average?

Crester

When was Bernie mugged???

Billy@EnglishRacing

iTrader: (18)

It happened within the last 48 hours

Billy@EnglishRacing

iTrader: (18)

Karun Chandhok looks to be headed back to GP2, he is still searching for an f1 job, but after his lack luster drives last year, i don't really see any team being interested in him as a test driver.

KPerez

Last year after the first or second race there were crys of foul play i.e., not adhering to the technical rule changes. Specifically, the DD. What was the team that screamed the loudest despite the fact that three other teams were within the FIA spec and deemed legal...Ferrari boss spokesperson, one of the biggest A-holes on the planet, Montezemolo who was "enraged" over FIA's ruling that the other teams DD were legal interpretations of the rules. The hypocracy of this individual would have raised its ugly head if the opposite had been true...if Ferrari had perfected the DD with the others lagging behind, Mr. A-hole would have been silent and, if asked, indicate that their DD was within the regulations.

Now we have the stage set for a repeat performance with the adjustable rear wing, the replacement for the '10' F-duct. Guess who is preparing the ground work...Montezemolo again,.."As for the rear wing, I hope we start the season with total clarity as regards the regulations,"...but he is really thinking this:[ "I sure hope our rear wing is better than all the rest and if so , we can say we adhered to the new regulations. If not, I can say all the rest cheated."]

I was hopeing that he would be one of the heads that would role at Ferrari after their loss in both constructors and drivers championship but alas it looks like we will have yet another season of his hot air to deal with

Later, Ken

KPerez

Yes, it is true, I am talking to myself...again...but what is interesting here is Toro Rosso has now revealed/suggested,..."Though Buemi and Alguersuari have secured deals to race with STR in 2011, both are believed to only have firm contracts for part of the year..." So if true, both seats will probably be filled by Riccardio and a frenchman, Visigne (sp?). Since both of the current drivers R average, at best, IMHO, I think this will happen by midseason or before.

Later, Ken

GG06MR

iTrader: (9)

No argument from me on Buemi, but I really do still believe there's hope for Alguesuari. He's still my odds on favorite to replace Webber at RBR when he leaves, unless they give up on him and grab someone off of the free agent market.

KPerez

Really? For Webers seat, I see Kubica first and Ricciardo next depending on latters performance in '11' as real possibilities IMHO...Alguesuari is going to struggle this year just to keep his seat at TR.

Later, Ken

KPerez

2011 F1 entry list:

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing
2. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing
3. Jenson Button Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
4. Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
5. Fernando Alonso Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
6. Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
7. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team
8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team
9. Robert Kubica Renault F1 Team
10. TBA Renault F1 Team [Petrov is a maybe]
11. Rubens Barrichello AT&T Williams
12. TBA AT&T Williams [Maldenado]
14. TBA Force India F1 Team [Sutil]
15. TBA Force India F1 Team [Hulkenberg is a maybe]
16. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber F1 Team
17. Sergio Perez Sauber F1 Team
18. TBA Scuderia Toro Rosso [Buemi]
19. TBA Scuderia Toro Rosso [Alguesuri]
20. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus
21. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus
22. TBA HRT F1 Team [don't care]
23. TBA HRT F1 Team [don't care]
24. TBA Marussia Virgin Racing [Glock]
25. TBA Marussia Virgin Racing [?]
Later, Ken

KPerez

Earlier there was speculation that "heads would role at Ferrari" following their failure to win either the constructors or drivers championshisp in'10'. It appeared that this was an ugly rumor for no one has been sacked in the F1 team. However, the fall guy may have been higher up. Specifically, Ferrari head, Montezemolo. Fiat board directors may have finally said it is time for him and his blusterings to go and never come back...this upcoming press conference with his possible entry into Italian politics/run for Presidency may just be a guise to concel his sacking (http://formula-one.speedtv.com/artic...to-hold-court/).

Later, Ken

GG06MR

iTrader: (9)

Yep. He's young as hell, and I could really see him putting things together within the next 2-3 years. You have to realize that RBR never expected that Webber would push Vettel as much as he has the last couple of years, and really whoever replaces Webber will be there to collect points and help them win the constructor's championship. As long as Vettel is there, then consistency will be more important than who the next upcoming star is, and Alguesuari has a tendency to finish races, even when starting in the area of the grid with a high rate of clusterf!ck wrecks.

KPerez

Ok, we were aware of the engine changes for 2013 season, namely a 1.5L 4 cyl turbocharged engine coupled with KERS (http://www.planetf1.com/news/18227/6...ngines-in-2013). However, there have been some changes increasing the bore slightly to 1.6L producing 600 bhp with another 150 bhp from KERS. These figures R supposed to be the best F1 can do... costing millions of dollars...Is this the best from the "pinnacle of motor sports"?

I say this is pathetic and does not represent the "pinnacle of motorsports" from a performance point of view. If this was the best motor sports can do in two years , then we need to give the nod to AMS motorsports as the best today because they have currently exceeded the 2013 goal of de novo F1 engines using a mass produced engine from Mitsu motors, the 4b11T! Specifically, AMS, with some mod's, now produces 900 hp on pump gas (as opposed to F1's 600hp), from a modified 4B11T engine (http://www.amsperformance.com/cart/a...x_package.html)...yes, the engine displacement is larger than the upcoming F1 engine by 0.7L but so is the hp output significantly larger...in short, it is equal to if not better than the proposed new F1 engines.

One would think, with millions of $$ and higher octane fuels, F1 could do better than a small company like AMS in producing significantly greater performance from a 4 cyl turbo charged mass produced engine!! However, if this lower power output is an attempt to lower fuel costs, I say this: What about the fuel costs of transporting all the F1 cars to all points of the world ...like from Abu Dabai to Brazil in two weeks...if these power plants R F1's answer to going "green", then they need to rethink the whole process again!!

Later, Ken

Crester

A lot of people have hate for Bernie... but I don't think he's any where near of the a$$hole that Di Montezemolo is.

Isn't the whole deal with F1 that the engineers are supposed to push the limits to figure out ways to get the most out of their cars? If something is legal... then it's legal.

KPerez

Yup, and the screams arise from those that don't figure it out while the others that do claim innocence and integrity to the rules...thats F1 in a nutshell...no one wants parity...they all want to "out-engineer" the other.

Later, Ken