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The Official 2012 F1 Thread...

Does this finally imply that no Honda turbo V6 will be forthcoming in 2014?

Probably not, the turbo engine of the 80's is totally different than the engine of 2014. Consider the rule still apply for the engine to last. Back in the day, they just pressurize it and hope it will not blow up... who ever built the toughest housing wins...lol
 
This is a must read on McLaren's web site:

If Alain Prost is #3, and Mika Häkkinen is #2, while Nigel Mansell is #48, then I think in a few days, just before the Suzuka GP, we'll see it ceremoniously announced that Ayrton Senna is McLaren's #1 driver.

This is all high quality marketing: McLaren needs to build up their mystique, their brand, in order to sell road cars anywhere near the quantity that Ferrari is selling nowadays.
 
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Re: Lewis Hamilton to join Mercedes in $100m move from McLaren

HOLY SH*T...I can't believe it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mo...-join-Mercedes-in-100m-move-from-McLaren.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/sep/28/lewis-hamilton-formulaone



Wow it just goes to show how good of a guy Jenson is if he still volunteered to help Lewis and play second fiddle to his attempt at winning the WDC this season. This is insane. It's his right to leave McLaren but this is almost like the whole Lebron leaving the Cavs situation.

I can believe it and I think McLaren will be better off without all of Hammo's drama. This is not a lot different than '07 when Alonso still had a shot at the WDC but it was obvious that Hamilton was going to get the push at the end of the season, not Fernando. Lewis can drive the wheels off anything but if Ross Brawn doesn't give him a competitive car, he will throw his toys out of the pram. I think Jensen and Perez will work well together and it's no small coincidence that Perez is bringing Carlos Slim's TELMEX money with him. Got to be a bitter pill for Luca Di Montezmolo that of all the teams, McLaren has snagged the prize pupil of the Ferrari Driving Academy.

Just a thought, does this drive Schumacher back to Ferrari in some role or into retirement? IMHO, he's not ready to hang it up. We will see---
 
On the other hand, just look at how disorganized McLaren was from 2005 to 2008 and it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to root for that team now:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLaren_Racing

Now you see what Hamilton went through before JB joined the team and everything appeared to go much smoother from then on.

During that bad period of 2005 to 2008, Ron Dennis was in charge of the racing team.
 
On the other hand, just look at how disorganized McLaren was from 2005 to 2008 and it's hard to imagine anyone wanting to root for that team now:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McLaren_Racing

Now you see what Hamilton went through before JB joined the team and everything appeared to go much smoother from then on.

During that bad period of 2005 to 2008, Ron Dennis was in charge of the racing team.

Ahem. That's patently BS, get your facts straight. The period you're quoting includes 2 years with Hamilton, one of which (2008) he was WDC and in 2005, Raikkonen & Montoya won 8 races between them. For your info, Ron Dennis was Team Principal from 1981 through 2009 with multiple World Driving (1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008) and Constructors (1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998) Championships. Apparently, the names Lauda, Prost, Senna, & Hakkinen don't register with you.

You may not like them but McLaren has been a force in F1 since way before Hamilton was even born and they will continue to be after he 's retired. As I said, he can drive the wheels off of anything but if it's championships he wants, there's 3 teams, (maybe 4, counting Lotus) that can give that to him and Mercedes ain't one of them. They remind me way too much of BAR Honda or Toyota---all of the resources on the planet but just can't get it together for whatever reason.
 
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Apparently, the names Lauda, Prost, Senna, & Hakkinen don't register with you.
They do register with me, very much so in fact. But all three drivers have long retired or died by 2005.

Hamilton started to drive for McLaren F1 team in 2007.

I just love this bit about Hamilton, as written in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Hamilton


During qualifying for the European Grand Prix, Hamilton crashed at the Schumacher chicane after a problem with the wheel nut caused by the air gun used on his car. He was taken to the circuit's medical centre on a stretcher with an oxygen mask and drip, but was conscious throughout.[70] He was unable to complete qualifying and his existing laptime was surpassed by all other competitors during Q3, thus he qualified in tenth position.[71] After a final medical check on Sunday morning, Hamilton was cleared to race.[72] During a heavy rainstorm which caused the race to be red-flagged Hamilton slid off into a gravel trap, however as he kept his engine running he was lifted back on to the circuit and able to rejoin the race after the restart. His ninth place finish in this race was his first non-podium and non-points finish, enabling title contenders Alonso and Massa to reduce Hamilton's championship lead.[73] Hamilton became the first driver to have his car recovered by a crane and put back on the track during an F1 race, although several drivers have been pushed back onto the circuit by the marshals without mechanical aids when judged to be in a dangerous position, such as Michael Schumacher during the 2003 European Grand Prix.[74] Since then, the FIA have now banned the use of mechanical assistance to help move a car back onto the track, meaning that Hamilton became the first and the last driver to have his car recovered by crane back onto the track.

What they didn't say, and maybe it didn't need to be said, is that Hamilton was still strapped into the car when the crane lifted up the car and placed it back on the track. Now that's dedication to winning at all costs.
 
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myhui, we will have to agree to disagree. I'm not questioning Lewis' talent level, abilities or desire. In fact, I love watching him race. My problem with him is his erratic, drama queen behavior. I suspect that after he tweeted copies of his & JB's Q3 telemetry sheets at Spa, the McLaren race engineers & mechanics were ready to hang him in the garage with an air hose. Quite simply, Lewis couldn't stomach the fact that Button had made the right wing choice, he didn't and as a result got out-qualified. Conversely, Senna may have been emotional & temperamental but he would have NEVER revealed proprietary team info to the world as that would have given his rivals an advantage.

Did McLaren not handle the negotiations with XIX Management the right way? Maybe. Had Hamilton already decided to leave regardless? Probably. Are both parties better off because of the split? In my book, yes. Now, I just want to see who wins the fight to wear the yellow helmet, Lewis or Rosberg. :biggrin:
 
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myhui, we will have to agree to disagree. I'm not questioning Lewis' talent level, abilities or desire. In fact, I love watching him race. My problem with him is his erratic, drama queen behavior. I suspect that after he tweeted copies of his & JB's Q3 telemetry sheets at Spa, the McLaren race engineers & mechanics were ready to hang him in the garage with an air hose. Quite simply, Lewis couldn't stomach the fact that Button had made the right wing choice, he didn't and as a result got out-qualified. Conversely, Senna may have been emotional & temperamental but he would have NEVER revealed proprietary team info to the world as that would have given his rivals an advantage.

Did McLaren not handle the negotiations with XIX Management the right way? Maybe. Had Hamilton already decided to leave regardless? Probably. Are both parties better off because of the split? In my book, yes. Now, I just want to see who wins the fight to wear the yellow helmet, Lewis or Rosberg. :biggrin:

Pretty much agree with everything said here.
 
Pretty much agree with everything said here.

Ditto. Will they make one of them change helmet colors? Will the colored camera boxes on the cars be enough to differentiate the drivers? Who cares! All I care about are my two favorite drivers driving for Macca now!
 
Ditto. Will they make one of them change helmet colors? Will the colored camera boxes on the cars be enough to differentiate the drivers? Who cares! All I care about are my two favorite drivers driving for Macca now!

+1. I like the choice of Perez to partner Button. IMHO the only other logical considerations would have been DiResta or Hulkenberg, didn't see the point or logic in having Raikkonen or Kovalainen return for a second stint. As an aside it also would not surprise me to see Jo Ramirez (long-time Macca engineer, now retired) come back around as I understand he has been somewhat of a mentor to "Checo".

What's apparent to me is that Button & Perez have similar driving styles in that both have incredible feel for how much momentum can be taken into a corner and this allows then to be very smooth in their steering & throttle input which equates to them being very easy on tires. Following that train of thought, I'll be interested to see how much technical info Perez can bring from Sauber as that car may be the best on the grid in terms of tire wear. This, of course, is all dependent on what Pirelli brings to the table next year for tires. I, for one, would like to see a wider working range for temps---too much heat and these tires fall off the cliff.
 
Schumi Retires!

I feel bad for him. Almost like he wanted to stick around but got forced out and now is saving grace by rejecting the lower tier teams.

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/8137795/Schumacher-I-Had-Options-To-Stay

Michael Schumacher says he could have continued racing in F1 next season but "didn't really feel like it."

The seven-time World Champion, winning of 91 grands prix, announced on Thursday that he would walk away from the sport at the end of this season.

Schumacher's decision came in the wake of Mercedes's confirmation last week that Lewis Hamilton would take his place next season.

However, Hamilton's arrival did not necessarily mean Schumacher's F1 career was over as the 43-year-old says he had other "options."

"If I wanted to stay I had options to stay, but I didn't really feel like it, quite honestly," Schumacher told Autosport.

Asked what he planned to do next, the German said: "It is very clear what comes next. Six races to go. That is what comes next.

"Whatever comes after, we will see. There is no point or any need to find any decisions right now, and I will do it exactly as I did it the first time, although I didn't at that time think there was a second time but here we are, which is to focus and finish 100 percent on what I do.

"And then I will think about what I am going to do next after that.

"There is no more to say about this. I have options obviously yes, and you know some of the options. But whatever they will be, we will decide when the time is there."

Pressed as to whether retiring from Formula One, which he previously did in 2006 before returning with Mercedes in 2010, was a tough decision, Schumacher admitted he actually felt "relief."

"If [anything] at all, it is relief. We had a three-year agreement and already it was hard work for me to keep the motivation and keep the energy and always go forward.

"With all that I have achieved, it is natural that you think about it a little bit more than maybe being young. So in a way how things have developed, I am actually very pleased.

"I have always been informed by the team, so I knew what was going on and I am quite happy that things have developed in this direction and I am free to get back the freedom I had before.

"I told you at the time [of my first retirement] in 2006 that my battery was empty, and [now] I am on the red zone with my batteries.

"I was not sure if I could recharge them with the time we have available or not, and I felt it is time for freedom again."
 
From PF1:

Planet F1 said:
Kimi Raikkonen was at his best during a post-qualifying interview at the Suzuka circuit where he made his thoughts on the subject at hand quite clear.

The Lotus driver, who had made it through to Q3 in qualifying for the Japanese GP, came up short in the final minute when he lost control of his E20 at Spoon Curve and beached his car in the gravel.

As the chequered flag was waved the yellows were still out for Raikkonen's car meaning his rivals were forced to back off in that sector.

Asked what happened, Raikkonen said: "I spun."

Clearly.

Asked about the impact his yellows would have on the rest of the field, he said: "I don't care what happened to the others."

You have to love him.
 
And the winner in ten hours is ...

mcla-butt-suzu-20123-886x590.jpg


This race last year had Vettel squeezing Jenson off the track as they approached turn one after the start, and then Vettel claims he didn't see Jenson, despite swiveling his helmet multiple times to check for Jenson's car.
 
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And the winner in ten hours is ...

mcla-butt-suzu-20123-886x590.jpg


This race last year had Vettel squeezing Jenson off the track as they approached turn one after the start, and then Vettel claims he didn't see Jenson, despite swiveling his helmet multiple times to check for Jenson's car.



I would hope!! :biggrin:
 
We're all rooting for Jenson but this time it's going to be a little more difficult for Jenson to pull off the win. I wouldn't be surprised if Vettel dominates the race from start to finish.
 
We're all rooting for Jenson but this time it's going to be a little more difficult for Jenson to pull off the win. I wouldn't be surprised if Vettel dominates the race from start to finish.

Too bad Pastor is farther back in the field to work his magic up front. Wait, there's still hope, Lettuce is up there in 4th!!! :biggrin::eek::wink:
 
Yeah very disappointing day for Alonso.Good work for Massa he was so happy on podium that he almost broke champagne bottle.
Nice to see Kobayashi on podium in front of home crowd.It will be thougt for Lewis to fight for WDC now after Merc contract.

This RB's are again flying.
 
Hamilton is quoted everywhere as saying:

"The guys did a great job with my strategy. The car behaviour was a bit strange. I had understeer in qualifying and today was the same. That's why I was falling back at the start.

"But after about 20 laps, I felt a thud on the rear and all of a sudden the car started turning and I was able to push. We have to analyse why that happened."
I think the most likely cause is a locked-up differential that eventually went back to normal.
 
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