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[Chris R]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/2010-05-26-3619290455_x.htm

Bad news everyone.

Vaderno.gif

I knew this was the case deep down in my heart, but I still held onto hope

 

[StoOgE]

I knew this was the case deep down in my heart, but I still held onto hope

It's basically a requirement for getting Bernie on board. That track in New York had to have Tilke come in and certify the course.

Hockenheim.. never forget

 

[torontoml]

Been to Montreal three times now, going again this year. Super stoked. I love that track and the city is great too.

How expensive is it to go to this race for a weekend? Being in Canada I'd love to go but I just don't think I have the money.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

How expensive is it to go to this race for a weekend? Being in Canada I'd love to go but I just don't think I have the money.

$150 for 2 days. Travel = $40 return ticket via Megabus. Hotel = average of $60 per night.

 

[torontoml]

that $150 is the cost of the ticket?

 

[Mobius 1]

I knew this was the case deep down in my heart, but I still held onto hope

We all knew it was coming. Won't change until Bernie leaves.

 

[Juicy Bob]

Regarding Tilke, this article by Keith Collantine explains that Tilke is basically restricted by the FIA regulations in terms of what sorts of tracks he can design. So if the Austin track turns out to be shit, make sure you blame the FIA just as much - if not, more - than you do Tilke!

 

[Pimpwerx]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/2010-05-26-3619290455_x.htm



Bad news everyone.

Vaderno.gif

Vanilla. PEACE.

EDIT: So F1 is gonna be run mostly on Tilke abortions in the future. Wow!

 

[Chris R]

We all knew it was coming. Won't change until Bernie leaves.

Bernie is NEVER leaving. He will be ruining F1 until he dies :<

 

[navanman]

Looks like this deal will be announced this weekend with no change of tyre size for next year anyway.

Pirelli is on the verge of being confirmed as Formula 1's official tyre supplier, AUTOSPORT has learned, as teams close in on signing a deal with the Italian company.

Following weeks of discussions between teams about their preferred route for 2011, the last days have been spent evaluating a straight head-to-head choice between Michelin and Pirelli.

And after a number of conference calls involving members of the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA), it is understood that Pirelli has emerged as the preferred option for next year.

Although a final contract has not yet been agreed - with commercial terms and confirmation from the FIA and Formula One Management still needed to be settled - it is understood the situation is far enough agreed for an announcement to be made as early as this weekend.

Pirelli chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera told Gazzetta dello Sport: "We'll see, there is this hypothesis. By Friday we should know something."

The confirmation of Pirelli will at least ensure teams can begin designing their 2011 cars with some knowledge of what tyres they will be running, as well as give Pirelli the green light to start development of F1 rubber.

As part of the deal with the teams, Pirelli will supply 13-inch tyres for at least the next two years, and it is likely it will receive guarantees that there will be no tyre war until 2013 at the earliest.

Pirelli's racing manager Mario Isola told AUTOSPORT earlier this month that he was confident about his company's bid - even though it has not been involved in F1 since 1991.

"I think that Pirelli has a very big tradition in motorsport," he said. "We have been involved in motorsport for more than 100 years. In all our story, we showed that we have the technical ability to build motorsport tyres – also in the past with F1, with WRC recently as the sole supplier contract.

"In that case, it was not easy because there were some teams that had never used our tyres, they started in an unknown situation so we showed that we were able to build and develop a tyre that was consistent and reliable. I think the teams recognise that we have the ability to do it."

 

[StoOgE]

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-tilke-designing-200m-austin-track/

Veteran circuit designer Hermann Tilke will be responsible for the Austin F1 track, promoter Tavo Hellmund has confirmed to SPEEDtv.com. Hellmund also says the project is also much further along than has been assumed, and the track has already been drawn.

“This has been long in the works,” he said. “Everything is in place.”

Although the former racer told local media yesterday that three possible venues were still under consideration, that suggestion was apparently a smokescreen.

While several alternatives were under consideration, one site was settled on some time ago, and the land – over 800 acres – has already been purchased. Not only that but initial permissions for amenities such as water and waste, which are usually time-consuming affairs, have already been granted.

Although Hellmund has yet to divulge details of what he calls a "killer location," he confirmed that the site is to the east of the city, a few miles from the airport. It is said to be in hilly countryside that has provided Tilke with a good starting point for a design.

The German has been asked to create a fast circuit with challenging corners that resemble those of classic established circuits such as Silverstone, Hockenheim and Spa. It will be over three miles in length.

Tilke first sent a representative of his company to Austin around two years ago, an

200 million dollar course, land already purchased and it sounds like Tilke has already done a rough sketch of the course and all of the construction permits are in place.

Hopefully that bolded part is true and Tilke makes this a fast track with quick corners.

Hilly land East of town near the airport? Sounds like it's going to be on my parents back porch where 183, 131 and 45 all come together which provides really easy access to all of the major roadways into and out of town.

 

[Dead Man]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/2010-05-26-3619290455_x.htm



Bad news everyone.

Vaderno.gif

Not unexpected, but saddening none the less.

 

[Cereal KiIIer]

Fuck... That will be the first track more boring than an oval in NA.

 

[StoOgE]

Fuck... That will be the first track more boring than an oval in NA.

Can't be worse than Indy was. or Las Vegas.. or Phoenix.

 

[AndyD]

that $150 is the cost of the ticket?

Yep. Its one of the cheaper races to go see if you are in the US or Canada already. Unlike other places.

 

[navanman]

Looks like all the teams will have their variations on McLarens' design this weekend.

Red Bull Racing will try out its version of the F-duct at this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix as it bids to maintain its advantage at the head of the field.

As part of a raft of updates that the team is introducing for Istanbul, world championship leader Mark Webber has confirmed that the team will try out a F-duct during Friday's free practice sessions.

"Yes, we will give the F-duct a go tomorrow," Webber said during a pre-event press conference in Turkey. "We will give it a chance."

The F-duct provides a straight-line speed advantage through helping stall the rear wing, with McLaren having led the way in pioneering the concept at the start of the season.

BMW Sauber, Williams and Ferrari were the first teams to introduce their versions of the design, while Force India and Red Bull Racing will be using their devices for the first time in Istanbul this weekend.

Although Red Bull Racing heads into the Turkey event as clear favourite for victory, Webber thinks there is no guarantee that his team will be ahead of the opposition this time out.

"I think it will be hard to do it again like Barcelona," said Webber, referring to the team's total domination of qualifying in Spain. "Venue to venue things can move around, and we saw in Barcelona that things could be a bit different.

"Lewis [Hamilton] was our closest competitor at that track, so if we had Turkey after Barcelona you could say McLaren would be our closest challenger here. But we are mindful that if Ferrari or Mercedes have a clean weekend then lots of guys can come towards us. We are not taking anything for granted."

The Force India team will run its own F-duct system for the first time in this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix.

The Silverstone-based squad will join several of its rivals in trying the system pioneered by McLaren.

Force India driver Tonio Liuzzi said on Thursday he was confident the F-duct will prove beneficial for the team right from the start.

"We are really optimistic about it," Liuzzi said. "You can never know. It might change tomorrow, but the team has done a big work in the wind tunnel for the last two weeks to test it and it seemed to work pretty well.

"Tomorrow we'll get the confirmation because on track you never know, but we are pretty optimistic that it should be spot on."

The Italian said the team had been working on the system since McLaren introduced it, and that Force India had implemented it in a way that didn't force the driver to take his hand off the steering wheel to activate it.

"We made a simple system with the wrist so we don't have to take the hand off the steering wheel," he added. "We tried with many positions and I think that's the easiest one to make it work and also the most comfortable one."

Ferrari is also experimenting with the location of the duct hole this weekend, while it is also believed championship leader Red Bull Racing could run its own version tomorrow.

Lots of updates for RBR could mean they romp off into the distance this weekend.

 

[navanman]

According to Massa anyway, he is:

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali says the Italian squad is set to retain Felipe Massa when his current contract ends.

With speculation mounting about who will partner Fernando Alonso from next year, Domenicali told the BBC on Thursday that Ferrari is almost certain to keep Massa for another year.

"Yes, I think so," he said of Massa staying on.

When asked if he was sure, he said: "Yes."

Massa has been with the team since the 2001 season and his contract ends at the end of this year.

Australian Mark Webber and Pole Robert Kubica have been linked with the seat.

Domenicali also insisted the team has been very happy with the performances of Alonso, despite some costly errors.

"I don't want to speak about mistakes," he added. "We are a group and the team do the best with the car and the drivers do the best with the performance.

"I'm very pleased with him. He came into team in a fantastic way and I think that he gave input to the team and I say let's wait until the end of the season. He will be very strong - I have no doubt about that."

 

[gutterboy44]

How expensive is it to go to this race for a weekend? Being in Canada I'd love to go but I just don't think I have the money.

I love grandstand 24 so it is $395 for the weekend pass for that grandstand. Since it is really the only trip I consistently go to each year, planning my savings isn't too hard. For me, having a clear view, a designated seat and close proximity to a big screen is worth the price. Hotels range in price depending on how many friends I bring. We all try to cram into one room. Occasionally we get a great deal renting someone's apartment for the weekend on the cheap.

You can get different seats for a lot less, and some others for a lot more. General Admission is $75 i think, but Montreal isn't a great GA track and you have to show up really early to claim a decent spot.

Edit: The hairpin is typically one of the most active passing zones in Montreal maybe only second to the final chicane. Our seats gave us a very horrifying view of Kubica's crash. I still have a piece of his car on my shelf at home.

 

[DrM]

Looks like all the teams will have their variations on McLarens' design this weekend.

Yeah, Mercedes will also try their full F-Duct system tommorow.

Also, new chasis for Vettel - 'Randy Mandy' :lol

 

[Deadman]

For the first time in ages ill be able to watch all of the practices without other things getting in the way. Interested to see red bull and force india's f duct.

Also, new chasis for Vettel - 'Randy Mandy' :lol

Awesome.

 

[Chris R]

Red Bull with an F-Duct??? As long as the cars don't break, talk about an unstoppable combo.

 

[Shaneus]

What exactly is the F-duct? Plenty of stories mentioning how controversial it is, none on what it actually is.

 

[StoOgE]

What exactly is the F-duct? Plenty of stories mentioning how controversial it is, none on what it actually is.

hole in the cockpit where the driver shoves his foot to redirect airflow and decreases down-force on the rear wing to increase the top speed.

probably good for a 4-5 MPH burst.

 

[Juicy Bob]

Spoiler

Sir

Martin Brundle explains it best.

 

[navanman]

FP1 is just over. Fairly uneventful stuff so far except for Sutil having a huge crash on the exit of Turn 8, the ultra fast 3-apex corner.

Track is very green and dusty so expect times to improve over the weekend, looks like being one of the hottest weekends of the year so far also.

 

[navanman]

Free Practice 1 results:

 

[S. L.]

Saubers better finish this race!

 

[Goldrusher]

 

[Shaneus]

Massa has a weird head/body combo.

 

[DrM]

Saubers better finish this race!

Sauber should change engine and gearbox supplier.

 

[navanman]

McLaren's still the fastest in this session.

The sector split is showing both RBR cars as fastest in S2 which is the high speed section though.

Its very hot on track now, track temperature of 50C and could be hampering the outright speed of the RBR cars. Bit too early to tell yet.

 

[DrM]

Turn 8 will be fun with heavy cars numerous drivers with problems there, Massa made same mistake twice in FP2

EDIT: Red Bull with some mechanical problems - Vettel with water pressure, and now also Webber with engine problems.

 

[navanman]

I reckon this weekend will really show how reliable & how good its cooling is on RBR cars.
Its very very hot on track and 200km at full speed with heavy fuel load will test any car.

FP2 is over now,
Button fastest followed by Webber, Vettel, Hamilton & Alonso.

McLarens must faster than RBR in S1, RBR much faster by S2 and even in S3.

 

[Dead Man]

Turn 8 will be fun with heavy cars numerous drivers with problems there, Massa made same mistake twice in FP2

EDIT: Red Bull with some mechanical problems - Vettel with water pressure, and now also Webber with engine problems.

Gah. Come on RBR, sort this crap out.

 

[navanman]

Gah. Come on RBR, sort this crap out.

Confirmed as engine failure for Webber. Is that him penalised 10 slots now for the race?
Time to change my bets pronto!!!

 

[Dead Man]

Confirmed as engine failure for Webber. Is that him penalised 10 slots now for the race?
Time to change my bets pronto!!!

Really? Shit. I'll wait another 12 hours to make any changes, but still, not good.

 

[DrM]

Confirmed as engine failure for Webber. Is that him penalised 10 slots now for the race?
Time to change my bets pronto!!!

Hm, is this his first dead engine? I think that he can replace it without penalty (teams are often using old engines for free practices).

 

[dalin80]

Confirmed as engine failure for Webber. Is that him penalised 10 slots now for the race?
Time to change my bets pronto!!!

No as its just an old test engine.

Its a far from ideal circumstance but probably wont play any role in the race itself.

Although worth noting is that the red bulls have always had some issues with overheating and it is hot in turkey and that all through testing vettel has had issues with coolant pressure dropping which is never a good thing for a engine.

 

[StoOgE]

Confirmed as engine failure for Webber. Is that him penalised 10 slots now for the race?
Time to change my bets pronto!!!

No penalty as long as he hasn't gone over the limit for the season.

 

[DrM]

Horner confirms that it was old engine and they would use new one tommorow anyway. Probably same with Vettel

Red Bull Racing says it has no serious concerns about engine reliability problems, despite Mark Webber's late-practice failure at the Turkish Grand Prix.

The Australian stopped near the end of second practice with an engine blow-up - prompting fears that the team could be set for a repeat of the power unit dramas that blighted its campaign last year.

But the team says it is calm about the situation – because the unit in the back of Webber's car was very near the end of its scheduled running anyway.

"Mark's engine was right up at the end of its mileage," team principal Christian Horner said:

"I think it stopped about 50 kilometres short of its target miles, so it doesn't affect his programme. It is just important for Renault to understand exactly what the failure was – but it was an engine right at the end of its life."

Horner said the engine had already completed 2,000 kilometres, and it was scheduled to be withdrawn from active duty after the day's running anyway.

"While disappointing to have an engine failure, it has cost Mark just five or six laps," added Horner.

Webber himself conceded that he knew the engine was right 'on the limit' prior to it blowing up – and said his biggest frustration was trying to get marshals to put something behind his car's front wheels to stop it rolling back once he had got it off the track.

"I was telling them, just find some common sense," he said. "There is no handbrake on an F1 car, so I was telling them to put something behind the wheel to stop the car rolling back. It took them 10 minutes to try and explain that I couldn't stop the car from rolling back. It was a simple thing but frustrating."

Autosport

 

[Pimpwerx]

Dammit! I wonder if I should bother torrenting practice. I slept in late and didn't record it either. I'll catch the encore of FP2 on Speed, I guess. PEACE.

 

[DrM]

Dammit! I wonder if I should bother torrenting practice. I slept in late and didn't record it either. I'll catch the encore of FP2 on Speed, I guess. PEACE.

Ah, the most exciting stuff can be seen here (it will probably not last very long), aka Mark Webber trying to communicate with alien...em, Turkish track marshalls :lol

 

[moojito]

Webber clearly didn't use the "wedge it under" hand gesture. Totally his own fault. The pointing is just saying "something's on fire there, put that shit out".

 

[DrM]

Red Bull Racing decides not to run F-duct

Red Bull Racing has decided against running its F-duct for the remainder of the Turkish Grand Prix weekend, AUTOSPORT has learned.

The team ran its version of the rear wing stalling device for the first time in Friday morning's free practice session, and the early indications were that it had brought a performance benefit to the pace-setting RB6 cars of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

The team wanted to wait until after close analysis of car data in the post-session debriefs, however, to decide whether the F-duct was actually worth sticking with.

Following those meetings on Friday night, AUTOSPORT has learned that the team has decided against running the F-duct for the rest of the event - and it will now likely re-appear during free practice for the next race in Canada.

It is believed that the team felt that although the F-duct did bring the required straight-line speed boost, there were compromises to the downforce of the car - and it was not working in a consistent enough manner to risk running it for qualifying and the race.

Red Bull Racing is already clear favourite for victory in Turkey, with or without the F-duct, and the downforce advantage that the RB6 enjoys over its rivals will likely still overcome any straight-line speed deficit it suffers to opposition like McLaren.

Team principal Christian Horner said before the decision was made about not running the F-duct that his outfit would not risk upsetting its strong form

"The priority is to be ahead of the rest and McLaren and the Mercedes engines looks very strong here - especially up the hill in the last sector," said Horner on Friday night. "So we take nothing for granted.

"So far the F-duct seems to be working quite well. It seems to be replicating what we have managed to do in the tunnel and within our simulation tools, so we have a lot of data to look at tonight, and then make a decision as to whether it is maybe a little bit immature to race here. But we have a lot of very valuable data to either run it here or refine it further for Montreal."

Ferrari noted after it ran its F-duct in Spain that there had been a downforce compromise from featuring the system on its car, but refinements have improved its version for this weekend in Turkey.

Autosport

 

[dejay]

I'm never playing charades with Webber.

 

[Pimpwerx]

I'm never playing charades with Webber.

He was pointing all over the place, but I got the gist of it. Doofus with the fire extinguisher clearly didn't know what to do. There was a puff of smoke from the car, so something burned, but I guess it wasn't easy to see. PEACE.

 

[Leunam]

The season continues with a visit to Turkey and Istanbul Park. Well known for its infamous Turn 8, a multi-apex turn that catches unwary drivers off guard. With an astounding three straight wins, Felipe Massa hopes to continue to display why he has nearly mastered this course. As the season progresses, more and more adjustments are made to various cars, with more changes set to debut here. All the changes in the world could count for nothing if a drivers skill slips for even a second, however.

The venue of the Turkish Grand Prix is located in Pendik on the Asian side of Istanbul, close to the junction of Kurtköy on the north side of the TEM motorway, linking Istanbul to Ankara. It is adjacent to the newly constructed Sabiha Gökçen International Airport and is surrounded by forests and fields.

The circuit and its facilities were designed by the well-known racetrack architect Hermann Tilke, who said he designed the track to try to catch the drivers out. The inaugural Turkish Grand Prix certainly caught the drivers out, with many drivers spinning off throughout the weekend.

Turn 8 particularly caught the imagination. The corner is a fast, sweeping corner with four apexes, similar to one of the multi-apex sections of the old Nürburgring. Spectators and drivers alike raved about Turn 8, comparing it to legendary corners such as Eau Rouge and 130R. The circuit itself has already been compared to Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Another notable corner is Turn 1, a sharp downhill left-hander immediately after the front straight. This corner has been nicknamed by some as the "Turkish Corkscrew" in reference to the famous "Corkscrew" at Laguna Seca. Both the 2006 F1 and MotoGP races at the circuit featured multiple incidents at this corner. A third noteworthy area is the uphill kink in the middle of the back straight; due to its similarity to Eau Rouge, it has been jokingly referred to as "Faux Rouge."

The circuit is not, however, without its critics. After qualifying, Jenson Button claimed that the track was getting bumpier as the weekend went on, particularly at Turn 8, which was what caused so many drivers to spin off. This harks back to another circuit designed by Hermann Tilke, Shanghai International Circuit, which is said to be sinking in places because it was built on the site of a former swamp. Jarno Trulli was notable for his lukewarm feeling towards the circuit, saying that he felt the circuit was easy to learn, and that good performance was down more to the car than the driver.

Onboard Lap

Istanbul Park Onboard Lap courtesy of Ferrari driver Felipe Massa.

Take a closer look here.

Fastest Lap
Jenson Button - Brawn-Mercedes - 1:27.579
Most Wins
Felipe Massa - 3
Most Wins for Constructor
Ferrari - 3

Highlights from Previous Years

Highlights from Turkey 2008

Previous Winners

Championship Standings

Last Minute News

Jenson Button Q&A: Red Bull yet to show true pace
Exclusive Nico Rosberg Q&A: We will win soon with this car
Pre-Turkey Analysis: Ferraris Big Weekend
Ferrari set to hold on to Felipe Massa for 2011
Formula 1 set to make US return at new Austin track in 2012

 

[Mobius 1]

Bernie is NEVER leaving. He will be ruining F1 until he dies :<

Well, I didn't want to say "die", you know.

 

[Dead Man]

Great race preview post

Thanks again for the great race preview posts, Leunam.

 

[Leunam]

Thanks again for the great race preview posts, Leunam.

Not a problem, always glad to be of service. Kind of wish it was at the top of a new page though. :lol