Three wheel? How does that work?soujiro_seta said:Watching the Korean GP, and I just saw Webber do a 3-wheel :lol
rhfb said:Track didn't look that bad really. Dusty for sure and the wall around the "city" portion just looks silly due to there being no buildings there yet, but like I said earlier, best Hermann custom yet (not saying much :lol )
The hump at the end of the long straight makes the cars look strange when the camera is head on.
navanman said:Both BBC and F1 website are predicting heavy rain for Sunday. Could cause mayhem in the S3, with lots of spins and people going off today and Montreal like concrete walls.
SourceLotus Racing boss Tony Fernandes appears to be under pressure to drop the Lotus name if he wants to secure his supply of Renault engines.
Lotus Racing terminated its three-year engine supply deal with Cosworth three weeks ago and has already announced a drive train collaboration with Red Bull for 2011. The anticipated confirmation of the Renault engine deal, however, has not been forthcoming.
It appears that industry politics may have lodged a spoke in Fernandes' wheel. It seems that Renault does not wish to supply F1 engines to a company in dispute with a fellow manufacturer - in this case Proton. Fernandes recently had a licence to run as Lotus in F1 from Group Lotus-owning Proton, terminated, prompting his purchase of the rights to Team Lotus from David Hunt, as announced in Singapore. But, judging from the recent PR tennis, is seems that Group Lotus has different racing plans for the Lotus name.
After ending a partnership with VW in 2007, Proton held talks with both Renault and GM in early 2009 about possible future relationships. A Proton spokesman said at the time: "We are discussing how we can explore working together. An alliance is vital. We need to have scale."
Alliances make sense for Proton given that developing a new model can exhaust almost 50% of its cash reserves and it has lost significant ground to both Toyota and Honda in its home market.
To cut reliance on the Malaysian market, Proton is also focusing on the Middle East/China/India/South east Asia and in the next decade is targeting overseas sales accounting for 70% of the total as against 20% now. A political association with Renault to further those aims would not be out of the question, with a deal already in existence for the supply of the 1.2-litre engine from the Twingo/Clio for use in Proton's Savvy.
There are suggestions too, that Renault could even play hardball if Fernandes refuses to drop the name and embarks on a protracted legal wrangle over the rights to Lotus in F1. Should he lose and thereby need a name change, to Air Asia F1 let's say, he would require agreement from his fellow competitors, one of which is obviously Renault...
With the cars having bottomed out a lot at the Turn 16 apex, with the kerb lower than the track itself, race organisers are now re-profiling the kerb to make it higher. This should prevent drivers from being encouraged to cut the corner too much.
Work is also being done to re-profile the wall on the exit of Turn 16. The original design had the wall filtering in close to the edge of the track on the right hand side exit of the curve, and that has now been moved back so it runs parallel to the track.
Furthermore, the organisers are building a new apex kerb at the final Turn 18 apex, after drivers kept cutting the corner during free practice - which dragged dirt and stones onto the circuit.
The new kerb will be made lower than the apex of the turn, which will act as a deterrent so drivers do not cut the corner. This should also make the final Turn 17 much more of a kink, with drivers having to be more careful as they exit the long right-hander.
Yeah, I know it's their first race and all, but it's not there aren't people to hire who have experience building tracks and managing races.Shaneus said:Fuuucking hell... this is like the F1 equivalent of the Indian Commonwealth games :lol
Shaneus said:Fuuucking hell... this is like the F1 equivalent of the Indian Commonwealth games :lol
Coincidentally, one of the Force India drivers :lolAndyD said:Who gets the snake in their car? :lol :lol
Mark Webber's bid to seal a victory in the Korean Grand Prix that could help move him closer a maiden Formula 1 title has been boosted after he elected to take a fresh engine for the event on Friday night.
The Australian has had a new power unit in reserve ever since the Italian GP, when he was the only one out of the championship contenders who chose not to take a fresh engine for that race.
With the title chase now in a crucial phase, and power quite important for the long straights of the new Korean venue, Webber will now take his eighth and final engine for the rest of the weekend.
Although the advantage of a new engine will not make much of a difference in qualifying, it could provide him with a vital boost for the race because he will not be under as much pressure as his rivals to conserve it for future use.
Webber currently enjoys a 14-point advantage over team-mate Sebastian Vettel, and if he outscores him in Korea this weekend then he will only need to finish behind the German in the remaining two races to be sure of beating him in the standings.
Webber's engine situation puts him in a comfortable position for the final three races of the season - in contrast to Ferrari's Fernando Alonso who has been looking after his power-units ever since he lost engines earlier in the campaign.
Button, his car attracts all sorts of things, from TV remote to VettelAndyD said:Who gets the snake in their car? :lol :lol
S. L. said:with a fresh engine he can floor the throttle when he has to make up the places he lost at the start eh
You'd seriously think that Senna would at least put up some sort of a fight with his pedigree... did he work his way up through the leagues or was he just put in because of his surname?wonderkins said:I'm not one to complain about backmarkers. They have as legitimate a claim to race as the others.
But.
These fucking HRTs are going to ruin qualifying and the race. And also create peril at pit entrance. They are so far off the pace that they'd probably be better off driving a Mini around the circuit. Certainly would have better handling.
He had it in the bag when he matched Alonso's time in the second sector. The third sector is RBR landAnimal said:Holy shit @ Vettel's last sector. He came out the last corner much faster than anyone else! He must of taken some huge risk in the preceding corners. Well deserved.
S. L. said:He had it in the bag when he matched Alonso's time in the second sector. The third sector is RBR land
Dead Man said:Bugger, Webber should have only done one lap, would have been better off starting third.
will be a lazy 8AM here >_<jambo said:Can't wait for the race this Sunday, gonna have a lazy afternoon watching the F1s and drinking beer!
S. L. said:will be a lazy 8AM here >_<
Ah, overnight rain would help his cause. Also, what is with pictures of him this year? Are there just more of them since he is more successful, or is he actually the goofiest guy in F1?navanman said:Don't think it will matter as with the heavy rain predicted overnight and wet,damp track expected at the start, all the grid will be equalised.
Dead Man said:Also, what is with pictures of him this year? Are there just more of them since he is more successful, or is he actually the goofiest guy in F1?
moojito said:Aye, that's going to be a crazy race if it starts raining. I predict kobayashi to storm to victory with one massive power slide round the entire track screaming DOOOOOOOREEEEEEEEEEEFTOOOOOOOOOO!.
Dead Man said:Ah, overnight rain would help his cause. Also, what is with pictures of him this year? Are there just more of them since he is more successful, or is he actually the goofiest guy in F1?
:lol I'd put a fiver on that!moojito said:Aye, that's going to be a crazy race if it starts raining. I predict kobayashi to storm to victory with one massive power slide round the entire track screaming DOOOOOOOREEEEEEEEEEEFTOOOOOOOOOO!.
:lol :lol :lolDilly said:
John_B said:Should be a very exciting start tomorrow. Will Webber choke? Will we finally have a genuine Hamilton vs Alonso duel?
Animal said:Holy shit @ Vettel's last sector. He came out the last corner much faster than anyone else! He must of taken some huge risk in the preceding corners. Well deserved.
moojito said:Aye, that's going to be a crazy race if it starts raining. I predict kobayashi to storm to victory with one massive power slide round the entire track screaming DOOOOOOOREEEEEEEEEEEFTOOOOOOOOOO!.