F1 2007/2008 Winter Testing and Rumours

One thing is consistent though: the 2 Hondas are routed to the bottom of the time sheet. Has anybody reminded them that that the aim is to reach the front of the grid and not the back? :D

I mean, even Toyota thought it necessary to save face and run with a light fuel load if only to show that they can top a time sheet, if it was necessary. And thats saying something.
 
sunama said:
I mean, even Toyota thought it necessary to save face and run with a light fuel load if only to show that they can top a time sheet, if it was necessary. And thats saying something.
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Testing is not the time for saving face.
 
gord said:
Testing is not the time for saving face.
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It is for Toyota, when you have the biggest budget ever seen in F1.

When your boss asks you how things are progressing, the last thing you want to say is that you have conducted a series of pre-season tests and we are consistently finishing near the back of the grid. Saving face could mean keeping your job for the next few months, so to be able to say that on the final day of testing your team posted the fastest time, is pretty important.

Pre-season testing provides a great indication of who will be quick when the season begins. If you are posting the fastest times in testing, there is a high probability that the same will be true on the race weekends. Similarly, if you are posting the slowest times in testing, there is a high probability that you will do the same on race weekends.

Of course, in 2 weeks time, testing is the last thing we shall be talking about.
 
The wagons are circling. The Times is reporting that Ron is probably on his way out of McLaren this week. Pity.
 
sunama said:
What is the reason for his departure?
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According to the Times, he's "determined to achieve a better balance between his family life, other McLaren businesses and the Grand Prix team". If he does step down as principal, I can't see him taking any further part in the workings of the GP team.

A compromise plan has apparently been worked up where he hands over to Martin Whitmarsh (chief exec at McLaren) a few races into the year. But as Richard Rae says, Ron doesn't compromise.
 
So, basically, he has been asked to move aside because of all the furore regarding the spying that happened at Ferrari in 2007?
 
sunama said:
So, basically, he has been asked to move aside because of all the furore regarding the spying that happened at Ferrari in 2007?
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He would have quit at the end of last season had he not had to deal with the fallout from Spygate.

Dennis is expected to announce his decision in midweek. He is under no pressure from other shareholders and many staff have been urging him to stay on. The biggest factor which might still stay his hand is the perception outside McLaren.

Dennis maintains that when he told the FIA that the Ferrari information had not been disseminated widely within his team, he was telling the truth as he then knew it. He will not want it to be said that he is being forced into moving as a result of having been proved to have mislead the FIA, unwittingly or otherwise.
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- from the article this morning.
 
JRS said:
He would have quit at the end of last season had he not had to deal with the fallout from Spygate.
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So, you are suggesting that he was scheduled to quit at the end of 2007, however, stayed on to sort out the fallout from Spygate? In otherwords, he just delayed his departure by a few months?
 
sunama said:
So, you are suggesting that he was scheduled to quit at the end of 2007, however, stayed on to sort out the fallout from Spygate? In otherwords, he just delayed his departure by a few months?
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Yep. If he'd quit then, it really would have looked like he was pushed out. Now he can step down on his own terms.
 
Dennis should have been forced out of Maclaren. He is either a liar who got caught or he had no idea what his employees were up to. There was cheating on a grand scale going on at Maclaren and the boss expects us to believe he had no idea what was going on. He is either a liar or incompetant and in either case deserves to go.
 
IMO he definitely knew what was going on as too many employees wouldve known about it. Or are we to believe that the only people who knew were the 2 drivers who lack the ability/capability of physically setting up the car by themselves?

However, although Ron did wrong, he shouldnt be castigated for it. He and his team have served a huge fine and I feel this is sufficient to deter them or anyone else to partake in this sort of thing again.

The problem is that spying in F1 has always gone on. What happened last year was that there was solid evidence/proof that it actually took place. Had there been no evidence (ie. all concerned agreed to keep their mouths shut and destroy all evidence), then nothing could or would have been proved.

Either way, he is gearing up to step down now, so it doesnt really matter.
 
Like I keep saying - by all means spy. Just don't be so incompetent that you get caught doing it....
 
JRS said:
Like I keep saying - by all means spy. Just don't be so incompetent that you get caught doing it....
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Hehehe. I agree.

I actually think that spying should be part of F1. It makes it all the more interesting and there should be part of the budget set aside for "Black Ops". Most of the time the investment in these Black Ops wont yield much, but occassionally it might. Sometimes, when titles are being won by 3 pts or less, every little bit of information and intelligence on your opponent can help to give you the edge.
 
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