BlueRenesis82

Well, it's not like Fisi is driving for Force India because he decided again McLaren and Ferrari, and Heiki had a bit of a rough rookie year.

T.T.

You may be right about this. Heikki has admitted that he was unprepared at the start of last season and could not set up the car correctly. However, I do not think that this was their main problem. Their car was still uncompetitive and apparently still is.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

There was a report about this posibility on Speed TV's Speed Report tonight.
Here is a news report with some information: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/65276

IB Tim

I wonder if they are in so bad of shape that once a potential comes in they back away quickly.....

nu2rx8

I for one hope that SA can make the grid this year with a reasonable effort.

This is part of the problem with the gray area around F1 teams as constructors vs those relying on customer cars. SA & STR were caught up in this mess early last year before the spy scandal came along and trumped it. It seems the reg clarification played a large part in the failed Prodrive entry for 2008 as well. IMO the FIA and the current concord members need to come to a solution that allows a few "junior" teams to run customer chassis.

IB Tim

IMO they should allow customer cars...times have changed.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

The Spanish daily sports newspaper Marca says McLaren team head Ron Dennis has been fired from his job as chief of the Formula One team. It says official confirmation will be sent to the world media shortly.

Click Here For the Article

alfy28

Man i hope not. i hope this is just a r umor

More_Revs

I think the whole spygate has been blown out of proportion. First there's not penalty, then there's the 100 million, no contructor point; BUT, the driver can keep them. It's pretty much a publicity exercise.

I personally not a big fan of Max Mosley, I think F1 is getting more expensive as he keep changing the rules.

BlueRenesis82

Yeah, so that teams that spend money hand over fist to develop their own cars can have other teams sell their technology and have non-constructor teams. Brilliant!

IB Tim

It does not look like a rumor at all.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

All this talk is based on one report from a Spanish newpaper. (see my post above)
We will have to wait and see. It shouldn't take long.

IB Tim

So at the current escalating cost of F1, it should only be a matter of time and all will drop out...great way to keep the new blood flowing...it is called economics...without SOME new blood it can fall apart...not like the old days.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh has dismissed speculation that Ron Dennis could be forced to step down, and declared that the team boss has McLaren's absolute support.
For the full report

BlueRenesis82

Hey, thats why a budget cap has been tossed around. The Concorde agreement does not permit customer cars until at least 2010 at the earliest. Then you would also have to get all the teams to agree to them, i.e. fat chance.

Also the economics of F1 still dictate that unlike the old days, you can't just buy a March 711 and a DFV and show up on the grid.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Customer cars would turn back marker teams into mid-packers (not a Wisconsin reference). The current mid-pack teams don't want to split, what they consider, their share of the points prize money. Of course the top-tier teams don't care, other than it will make lapping them harder. So I don't see this happening either.

IB_Tim, are you a net admin. I only see you posting in the middle of the night.

IB Tim

I work for IB ....Admin across all boards....I live in NM get up real early everyday...I'm on by 4:15 AM MST....


By the WAY...gang....HI...if you did not notice I love F1 it is the only racing I really watch...



Back to racing.......so what is the answer to get start up owners in, there is more money to get into then teams to buy or build from the ground up.

With todays technology it would take a team from the ground up 4/8 years to even become........ close to being a lower mid pack team...there must be an answer somewhere.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

You can all ready buy customer engines. That is legal. There will now also be a spec ecu for that engine. I think that is where the major cost to an F1 team would lie.

I would like to see flat bottom cars and narrower tires to bring the driver back into the sport.

IB Tim

OR......limit aero performance, add lots of tire and turn them loose.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

13 days left to the first race of the season.

IB Tim

It cannot happen soon enough, just wish it was on at a better time for me...

So who you is you team....and who do you think will win?

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

I was a Schumacher fan when he was with Bennilton. When he moved to Ferrari, I became a Ferrari fan too. I will still be cheering for Ferrari. Historically, I was a Renault fan back in the turbo days.

jdoo

It is very difficult to predict who will win prior to the season starting. Given the disruptions at the other teams however, I think our friends in red have a very good shot at taking the title in 2008. Kimi is an excellent driver as long as he has a reliable car to work with. Hamilton should provide a decent enough challenge to kimi but who knows.

I think the biggest questions for 2008 are:
1) Can BMW build on last years success and challenge for the title?
2) When and how will Honda and Toyota get their acts together?
3) How many podiums do we think that Red Bull and Williams may be able to capture?
4) Is Renault doomed to spend some quality time as the cream-of-the-crap with Honda and Toyota?

morkusyambo

I'm very interested to see Williams in action. I know you have to take preseason testing with a grain of salt, but they were consistently running times very close to Ferrari and Mclaren.

I also would not be suprised if Renault are sandbagging. If you remember, Alonso was saying similar things last year about Mclaren.

I will be estatic if there are more than two manufacturers capable of capturing the title.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

The latest rumors have Ron Dennis resigning and selling off his share of McLaren. If that happens, they will have begun their slow slide down in the ranks.