OT: Racing 2009 (Spoiler Alert)

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:45 am

Rod, it's probably right, this story - certainly it's how people expect the Raikkonen situation to resolve itself - but I'm about as prepared to trust Bild as I am to trust the Mirror's report of last week.

Martin Brundle's on the BBC F1 fans forum eating an ice cream. Looks like a Magnum or something similar. I don't know exactly why it made me think of you, but I've briefed the Beeb to expect an email lambasting Brundle for his lack of work ethic

Singapore was all a bit of a drag, wasn't it? Button's little spurt before his final stop was entertaining, as were the Toro Rosso and Sutil cameos for altogether different reasons, but as a motor race it was deathly.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 11:06 am

GB_Simo wrote: Martin Brundle's on the BBC F1 fans forum eating an ice cream. Looks like a Magnum or something similar. I don't know exactly why it made me think of you, but I've briefed the Beeb to expect an email lambasting Brundle for his lack of work ethic.

Allow me to take the first shot at Martin, mate, what a slacker. Signing up for a Beeb account.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 12:34 pm

I'm having a hard time determining which is more dull: A Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko heavyweight title fight or the F1 championship race this season.

Vitali and Wladimir paw and run their way to victory; Button is going to back his way into the title probably with his last win coming in June.

Give me the lighter weights in boxing; give me MotoGP. At least both of those are entertaining and worth my time.

Take care,
PK

Smurfy · Post by **Smurfy** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:21 pm

Forgive me folks, for I have sinned.

I am finding the artificial construct called the NASCAR Chase for the Cup more interesting than the Formula One championship.

It's a case of never say never for me.

Doctor, how long do I have left to live?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:23 pm

Smurfy wrote:Forgive me folks, for I have sinned.

I am finding the artificial construct called the NASCAR Chase for the Cup more interesting than the Formula One championship.

It's a case of never say never for me.

Doctor, how long do I have left to live?

I must be on the critical list with you, Smurf. The Martin-Montoya factor has lured me into the Chase.

The World Superbike double-header today at Imola was b*tchin', too.

Can't wait for next weekend with another WSB double-header, MotoGP at Estoril and the next Chase race. That's quality motor racing entertainment.

Take care,
PK

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 11:02 pm

Today's race from Singapore was a sleeper. I think the gigantic ferris wheel in the background was quite fitting for the circus that has become F1. On a positive not, it looks increasingly like Alonso is bound for Ferrari and Kimi will end up with McLaren. Any heat in the rivalry between McLaren and Ferrari will get even hotter if those moves come to fruition. On a side note, there seems to be a lot of talk about Piquet racing Indy cars. That could be, ahem, interesting.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 1:17 am

toonarmy wrote:On a side note, there seems to be a lot of talk about Piquet racing Indy cars. That could be, ahem, interesting.

All smoke, no fire right now. All of the speculation is based on where people THINK he might go, as he's done in F1, already has done GP2, and A1GP is on its last legs.

Other than Formula Nippon, the only other major, high-powered open-wheel series left in the world for Nelsinho is IndyCars. But that doesn't mean there's any validity to the rumors for now.

Take care,
PK

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:16 pm

pk500 wrote:
toonarmy wrote:On a side note, there seems to be a lot of talk about Piquet racing Indy cars. That could be, ahem, interesting.
All smoke, no fire right now. All of the speculation is based on where people THINK he might go, as he's done in F1, already has done GP2, and A1GP is on its last legs.

Other than Formula Nippon, the only other major, high-powered open-wheel series left in the world for Nelsinho is IndyCars. But that doesn't mean there's any validity to the rumors for now.

Take care,
PK

Well, he has been talking to IndyCar teams and has stated he wants to race in America. Here is a quote from him:

"If I can't find a place in F1, perhaps for one year I will go to America and try to do a good job there until the waves have calmed down a bit. I was there in August for a week and spoke with some teams."

It's also interesting that ESPN already has an IndyCar driver page for him:

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/driver?se ... iverId=867

Obviously this may all be smoke at this point, but it appears that it could certainly happen.

I hope he takes a crack at it. He was driving a piece of trash in F1 compared to the car of his teammate. I'm not sure, though, how receptive the IndyCar series would be to take on a guy who was so recently involved in a cheating scandal.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:06 pm

toonarmy wrote:I hope he takes a crack at it. He was driving a piece of trash in F1 compared to the car of his teammate. I'm not sure, though, how receptive the IndyCar series would be to take on a guy who was so recently involved in a cheating scandal.

I think people would be more forgiving than one might think. He was ordered by his bosses to do this. He was under pressure to keep his seat even at that time, so I don't think he had much leeway to betray Briatore and Symonds. That pressure is magnified when you're the son of a World Champion.

If the NFL can welcome back Mike Vick, I think the IndyCar Series could welcome Nelsinho.

The big question with Piquet is salary demands. There are only probably three teams in the series who could meet what I would expect his father to demand for Sonny's services, and Penske, Ganassi and Andretti aren't hiring for 2010. The new de Ferran team could be the wild card in the mix, although de Ferran's ALMS teammate, Simon Pagenaud, is widely tipped for one of the seats.

Then again, Piquet doesn't have many options. So maybe the requested salary will shrink. Still, the Piquet clan loves the Piquet clan, if you catch my drift. I'm not sure if Papa will low-ball Kiddo.

By the way, don't take an ESPN driver page as any indication of a future home. ESPN has IndyCar driver pages for P.J. Chesson, Phil Giebler, Bryan Herta, Jay Howard, Kosuke Matsuura, Franck Montagny, Franck Perera and Brian Vickers, all of whom haven't made an IndyCar start this season or in Vickers' case, ever.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:16 pm

pk500 wrote:
toonarmy wrote:I hope he takes a crack at it. He was driving a piece of trash in F1 compared to the car of his teammate. I'm not sure, though, how receptive the IndyCar series would be to take on a guy who was so recently involved in a cheating scandal.
I think people would be more forgiving than one might think. He was ordered by his bosses to do this. He was under pressure to keep his seat even at that time, so I don't think he had much leeway to betray Briatore and Symonds. That pressure is magnified when you're the son of a World Champion.

I thought Briatore was also his manager, so yeah there was enormous pressure on him to do as he was told.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:11 pm

If someone with a free seat thinks he's quick enough, they'll hire him. That's pretty much it. Nelsinho's problem when looking for a competitive drive next year (emphasis on 'competitive' rather than 'drive' in this case) is more likely to be that it's been 3 years now since he looked even remotely like a potential world-beater.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:00 pm

GB_Simo wrote:If someone with a free seat thinks he's quick enough, they'll hire him. That's pretty much it.

It's not that simple in the IndyCar Series due to the struggling economy.

If Nelsinho is bringing money, which I imagine he will, nearly every team will open its doors to him. If he's bringing no money and looking for a substantial pay packet, he could be faster than Senna at his fabled Penske test in 1992 at Firebird and most teams outside of the "Big Three" couldn't afford him.

Senna testing a CART car for Penske in 1992:

Just a few studs surrounding Senna in the cockpit in that second photo: Emerson Fittipaldi, the recently Rick Mears sporting a beard and a very young-looking Paul Tracy.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:15 pm

That's when Tracy was using the bronze horn as it wasn't fully developed yet.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 10:27 pm

No matter what you think of friend of Petrolheadblog.com Nelson Piquet, Jr. the following equation applies:

Nelsinho > Milka Duno

If he has cash, he has a ride.

I was actually thinking of Andretti when thinking about where Piquet could end up--AGR (is the G going away?) has what, two funded cars with Kanaan and Danica? Rumors have the Formula Dream sponsorship leaving and Marco's had a pretty rag-tag sponsorship package this year and is only working on a one-year deal. A fat check from the Piquets, if they can find sponsorship, would go a long way to help them catch Penske/Ganassi.

Otherwise, there is a long list of teams willing to bring any headaches Nelson Sr. and Jr. might bring with them as long as they also have funding.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 11:28 pm

Dave wrote:AGR (is the G going away?)

Yes. Not sure of the new team name.

Dave wrote:Rumors have the Formula Dream sponsorship leaving

It's sounding more and more like that deal will go to Takuma Sato, probably with de Ferran's new team. Taku-san in IndyCars!

Dave wrote:Marco's had a pretty rag-tag sponsorship package this year and is only working on a one-year deal. A fat check from the Piquets, if they can find sponsorship, would go a long way to help them catch Penske/Ganassi.

Good point, especially if Mutoh fades away because the team lost Formula Dream. That would leave an open seat at a team that has a Brazilian as a lead driver ...

The other name to keep an eye on for a possible IndyCar seat in 2010 is Barrichello. Yes, that guy -- the one named after multiple deli sandwiches.

Strong speculation has it that Rosberg is going to Brawn in 2010 as Button's teammate, and Rubens has expressed an interest in IndyCars and the Indianapolis 500 in the past. Rubens and Tony Kanaan are VERY tight, and I doubt Rubens would have much trouble raising funding from Brazil if needed, especially with the street race taking place there in 2010.

But I've also read that Mrs. Barrichello is NOT keen on her husband racing on ovals one bit, especially now they have two children. So it could come down to a battle between Rubens' passion and desire to try something new with one of his best friends or the better half's wishes.

Take care,
PK

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:52 am

pk500 wrote:
GB_Simo wrote:If someone with a free seat thinks he's quick enough, they'll hire him. That's pretty much it.
It's not that simple in the IndyCar Series due to the struggling economy.

If Nelsinho is bringing money, which I imagine he will, nearly every team will open its doors to him. If he's bringing no money and looking for a substantial pay packet, he could be faster than Senna at his fabled Penske test in 1992 at Firebird and most teams outside of the "Big Three" couldn't afford him.

Very true, though I wasn't talking of the ICS specifically when I wrote that, which is what I get for skim-reading these things, isn't it? My point was more that it's a bit misguided to think there isn't at least one team in each major series, even F1, that would value speed over ethics, and equally naive to assume every sponsor would take Virgin's stance of 'no cheaters in one of our cars'. As far as the money goes, Father dearest will fund Nelsinho's next move one way or another if it's what it takes to keep him racing.

Dave, having raced him at close quarters after he's imbibed enough scotch to send a small army to sleep, I'd suggest PK > Milka Duno, never mind Piquet.

The talk over here places Rubinho in a Williams for 2010, since he's generally been expressing a strong desire to keep going in F1 and, as PK said, there was a lot of talk here a couple of years back that the missus wasn't sure about him racing on the ovals. No public mention of an IndyCar move yet. I'm almost disappointed to hear about Taku looking likely to go to IndyCar, since I don't think F1 should really be finished with him yet.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 9:08 am

GB_Simo wrote:Dave, having raced him at close quarters after he's imbibed enough scotch to send a small army to sleep, I'd suggest PK > Milka Duno, never mind Piquet.

Hey, I'm starting to come to grips with the Spec Racer Ford! Down to 57.6 at Jefferson and 1:00.7 at Lime Rock. Sober, too!

Take care,
PK

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:26 am

Another one for the rumour mongers to get their teeth into, as Sebastien Loeb confirms a GP2 test at Jerez next week:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79037

Gurantsu · Post by **Gurantsu** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 11:35 am

Is it me or does all of the exciting talk about F1 anymore is about stuff that happens away from the track?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 12:32 pm

Gurantsu wrote:Is it me or does all of the exciting talk about F1 anymore is about stuff that happens away from the track?

It's not just you.

There's very little excitement happening on track. This season started with such on-track promise, with the new regs, Brawn and Red Bull establishing a new F1 hegemony and some excellent racing during the spring.

But this season has devolved into a gold-plated turd. Not even remotely compelling to me, as the two teams fighting for the title down the stretch aren't even close to the top of their respective form.

Take care,
PK

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:13 pm

pk500 wrote:
Gurantsu wrote:Is it me or does all of the exciting talk about F1 anymore is about stuff that happens away from the track?
It's not just you.

There's very little excitement happening on track. This season started with such on-track promise, with the new regs, Brawn and Red Bull establishing a new F1 hegemony and some excellent racing during the spring.

But this season has devolved into a gold-plated turd. Not even remotely compelling to me, as the two teams fighting for the title down the stretch aren't even close to the top of their respective form.

Take care,
PK

I disagree. "Gold-plated turd" this season is not. I think this season is an interesting one. Rubens is still within striking distance of the driver's title. Ferrari and McLaren are still neck-in-neck to in constructor's points to see which one of them can best the other. Likewise, Lewis and Kimi are neck-in-neck in driver's points. Force India has actually shown something this season. And, of course, RBR has been interesting to watch. Perhaps the past couple seasons spoiled F1 fans with great drama on the track, but this season sure does beat the seasons in which F1 fans were treated to watching Michael essentially running hot laps and totally dominating the field. The great thing is that this season is setting up next year to be incredibly interesting with the new driver lineups and the emergence of Brawn and RBR set to duke it out with a surely improved McLaren and Ferrari in 2010.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:33 pm

What Toon said. I'm also looking forward to next year as well with Felipe and Fernando (Ferrari) battling Lewis and Kimi (McLaren).

It's being reported that Alonso's contract with Ferrari could be in the neighborhood of 150m euros.

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 1316.shtml

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:57 pm

toonarmy wrote:I disagree. "Gold-plated turd" this season is not. I think this season is an interesting one. Rubens is still within striking distance of the driver's title. Ferrari and McLaren are still neck-in-neck to in constructor's points to see which one of them can best the other. Likewise, Lewis and Kimi are neck-in-neck in driver's points. Force India has actually shown something this season. And, of course, RBR has been interesting to watch. Perhaps the past couple seasons spoiled F1 fans with great drama on the track, but this season sure does beat the seasons in which F1 fans were treated to watching Michael essentially running hot laps and totally dominating the field. The great thing is that this season is setting up next year to be incredibly interesting with the new driver lineups and the emergence of Brawn and RBR set to duke it out with a surely improved McLaren and Ferrari in 2010.

I'll agree to disagree. At least in those Schumacher-Ferrari reigns of terror, you were seeing a driver and team operating at the absolute pinnacle of efficiency and performance.

Now we're seeing two teams stumbling and fumbling toward the title, and there's a good chance that the World Champion's final victory of the season will have come June 7. And Button only has one podium in the second half of the season. Talk about finishing with a champion's flair.

The racing has been desultory at best in the second half of the season, with off-track scandal taking center stage for the third consecutive year.

At least we share one thought: I'll be very happy to see the start of the 2010 season.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 7:40 am

Barrichello closing on Williams deal

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79043

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:38 am

Toseland-Spies seat swap for 2010 could be announced Thursday:

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/sport ... EPI-118862

Matthew Birt is very dialed in, so this might be the real deal.

Man, I hope this happens. Team Texas at Tech 3 with Colin Edwards and Ben Spies -- that would be FANTASTIC!

It just hasn't happened for Toseland in MotoGP, has it? The Piano Man took Colin's crew chief from behind his back last winter, yet his results have been worse this year.

Elbowz will be a welcome addition to the MotoGP paddock, and I bet he'll be fast as hell from the get-go. Spies was VERY impressive in his wild-card MotoGP appearances in 2008, and he has set World Superbike ablaze as a rookie this season.

Take care,
PK