Agreed...and Bernie only asked for gold, silver, and bronze, champagne, go home, repeat eighteen times and count the gold in the lobby of the Yas in November...seems too simple.
It's not a complete divestiture, though nearly. "Mercedes-Benz and McLaren will continue to co-operate with each other and the supply of engines could continue until 2015." I'm sure they won't be throwing McLaren any hints that will give them an advantage over their own team though. I wonder whether that's even possible now during this engine "freeze" period. I think they will pull out all the stops Mother Merc's budget will allow. Naturally they will want the most successful season possible (what team wouldn't?) but I figured they would expect their first year to be a rebuilding year and working toward the championship their 2nd or 3rd season. Remember, they signed Schumacher for three years... However, I expect them to spend a lot of resources this year in an attempt to win right away since this is a particularly important season... "By taking this decision, Mercedes-Benz resumes its marvellous motor racing history on the 75th anniversary of the Silver Arrows, the world’s most unique racing cars. Mercedes wants to continue the tradition in the style of these flawless Silver Arrows, which put their stamp on each era by winning the majority of the races they competed in." I agree and I love the thought. I even think they should try a race or two combined with GP2 as multiple class series' always add that extra dimension and force all sorts of entertaining things to happen. Campos is now admitting they haven't found their entire budget yet and they're looking for an investor to buy some or all of the team before the season starts...
USF1 stuff. John Anderson named USF1 manager (Eurosport) Successful nose crash test for US F1 (GPUpdate) USF1 nose crash test [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc0wFyCIDfE[/ame]
Whiney little b*tch! Perfect place for him...and ya know that crashing intentionally to benefit another driver has nnnnnever happened in NASCAR, right? :rolleyes5:
I say someone puts him into a wall the very first race. I mean, NASCAR guys probably cheat as much as anyone else, but honor amongst thieves, so to speak.
Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger is single again. She and 2008 Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton have announced that they have split after two years.
Shortcuts. I like it. How about mandatory bathroom breaks? And the drivers would have to fill the cup completely before being allowed to return to the race. They can introduce "the cup cam" for the down the stream point of view. Have you ever noticed that you are at least 10 mph faster down a straightaway when you really have to go?
:lol: Check it out for yourself... Bernie Ecclestone stuns Ferrari party with 'short-cuts’ plan Personally I think the part of the story hardest to believe is "... accompanied by his 30-year-old girlfriend ..."
Fernando Alonso is already in love with Ferrari and says the working environment is much better than at previous teams - especially McLaren. The Spaniard, world champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006 before an ill-fated 2007 at McLaren led to him returning to the French team, made a series of digs towards the British outfit in his first official news conference as a Ferrari driver. "I've felt comfortable from my first day. The team has welcomed me like a family. Ferrari, I think, is something unique in Formula One," the 28-year-old said. "All of you have dreamed of driving Ferrari street cars, I'm the same. This will 100 per cent be my last team. I want to finish my career with a good taste in the mouth." Alonso's season at McLaren was characterised by spats in the team and his relationship with Lewis Hamilton was uneasy at best. "I lose too much time talking about it," he said. "I never asked to be a number one driver but what I don't want is to be a number two; it happened sometimes in 2007." Alonso, who replaces World Rally Championship-bound Kimi Raikkonen at the Italian team this season, has already spent time at Ferrari's Maranello base where staff love to talk. "It's a family environment and there's a passion for racing in the factory. The way of working really hit me. I was used to people sending an e-mail to someone 10 metres away," he beamed with clear delight at his arrival at F1's most famous team. "What I do is work 110 per cent with the team so if the team is not working 110 per cent, it's not right." Ferrari limped in fourth last year and have had to deal with the shock of consultant and seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher leaving to come out of retirement with Mercedes. Alonso, the only man still racing who has beaten the German to world titles, is excited by the challenge. "His return is good for the sport. For the fans, 2010 at the start will be very interesting. It's a motivation for me of course. When he wasn't here, of course there was that lack of motivation." A limit on pre-season testing means Alonso has a tough task to be perfectly comfortable in the new car for the season opener in Bahrain on March 14. "Seven or eight days (of testing) before a championship is not enough for any driver, it doesn't matter if he has arrived at a new team. I don't think there is any other sport in the world like this," he said, looking relaxed in his new, red uniform. Alonso was confident that Jean Todt would be a success as the new FIA president and said he was happy for his friend Flavio Briatore after his life ban from F1 was overturned in a French court. However, the driver refused to discuss whether the Italian was still acting as his manager. Briatore had been banned for fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix by making Nelson Piquet Jr crash so that unwitting fellow Renault driver Alonso won the race, a result which ultimately cost new Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa the world title. Alonso famously clashed with Massa in 2007 in Germany but he denied that there was any problem with the Brazilian, saying their relationship was "very good". "In 2007 we were in a race, we are competitive people. It's the past," he said.
This is a long one, but good stuff (for those who enjoy the strategy biz). Three second pit stops?!?! :eek6: How Formula 1 race strategy will be different in 2010 (BBC Sport) By Ted Kravitz BBC F1 pit-lane reporter