2006 Australian Grand Prix - Race 3/18

Why bother sleeping?

Anyway...

Stoddy is out from 2008 it seems... :(

Prodrive confirms 2008 entry submission

David Richard's Prodive company has confirmed it has submitted an entry to enter the Formula One World Championship in 2008.

As revealed earlier this month, Prodrive, which currently competes in the World Rally Championship as well as in other series, had already announced plans to build a state-of-the-art factory for their Formula One team.

"Formula One is still regarded as the pinnacle of motorsport and therefore a natural next step for Prodrive," said Richards.

"While we may be a very large company in motorsport terms, we are very much a minnow in comparison to the vehicle manufacturers who currently dominate the sport.

"However, on the basis of the new regulations being proposed by the FIA, we believe the time is now right for us to take this next step."

Applications for the 2008 championship close today and will then be considered by the FIA before a final list of entries is confirmed on 28 April.

The 11 teams currently competing in F1, as well as former Minardi boss Paul Stoddart, have already submitted their entries. Under the terms of Concorde Agreement, there are only 12 spots available.

If Prodrive's entry is accepted, it would be the first time the company competes in Formula One. Richards, however, had been BAR's and Benetton's team boss before.

Prodrive's facility is still subject to planning permission, but should it be granted, construction would begin at the end of this year. Prior to this, Prodrive would run the programme from its existing facilities.

"The next few months will see the clarification of the rules for 2008," added Richards.

"Should our entry be accepted, we would aim to play a constructive part in determining the new rules with the objective of creating an environment where private teams, without access to the massive resources of the vehicle manufacturers, can once again be competitive - a situation we believe will be far healthier for the long term future of F1."
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Flibster said:
Why bother sleeping?

Anyway...

Stoddy is out from 2008 it seems... :(
Click to expand...

He was on TV today in an interveiw, hes already got the engines and most the other stuff and he said if he cant get into 2008 which he is trying to he will try again.

Will prodrive be bringing subaru into things as they are one of the big componys they work with? :confused:
 
Flibster said:
Why bother sleeping?

Anyway...

Stoddy is out from 2008 it seems... :(
Click to expand...

Aye, was just on my way in to post that one... Real shame but there's no way that Max will let Stoddy in if *anyone* else has an entry in.

However Prodrive still have an uphill struggle to get things moving in time for 2008 with the problems they're having getting planning permission for the new factory. Engine supply is also going to be an issue, I wonder if the new 5 year freeze will see an improvement in the availability of engines, I think it's fair to assume that Cosworth would supply two teams if there was stability in designs. Prodrive don't really have any associations as such, they've run Subaru in WRC, Ferrari and Aston at Le Mans and DR himself has run Benetton and BAR from the pit wall so there's no firm favourite.
 
Pollock cagey on 2008 entry.

Craig Pollock refused to confirm or deny suggestions that he has placed an entry for the 2008 world championship when questioned in the Australian Grand Prix paddock.

Bernie Ecclestone has reportedly said that the British American Racing founder had joined Paul Stoddart and David Richards on the list of hopefuls chasing the twelfth and last spot in the entry. Stoddart has made it very clear that he is serious about his intention to return to the sport but, as ever, Pollock prefers to keep the media guessing.

One logical reason for a Pollock project would be to ensure continued employment for Jacques Villeneuve, although it remains to be seen whether the Canadian would be tempted by another start-up project. Villeneuve will turn 37 early in the 2008 season and joined BAR in its first year, after a successful period with Williams. He subsequently found himself ousted when Richards took over at the Brackley team, ended up taking a sabbatical before returning, full-time, with Sauber in 2005. He currently drives for the BMW team.
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FIA Receives 22 entry applications for 2008
Twenty two teams have applied for 12 available slots in the 2008 Formula One championship, the sport's governing body FIA said on Friday.

"The FIA has received applications from 22 teams wishing to compete in the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship," a statement said.

"All applicants have been invited to a meeting in London on April 10, 2006."
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22??? Yikes, I was expecting maybe 15-16 tops, where the heck have the others come from?

Now, do you get preferential treatment if you already have an entry for 2006/7? Could you imagine Ron's face if McLaren get punted for being "toublemakers" :eek:
 
Why is it limited to a 12 team grid, why not 13 or 14, other race series race with more than 28 cars.

Super Aguri did well to get in when they did.
 
lineaR said:
Why is it limited to a 12 team grid, why not 13 or 14, other race series race with more than 28 cars.
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We used to have 36 entrants with Saturday pre-qualifying dropping 6 and Saturday afternoon saying goodbye to another 4.

The choice to limit to 24 was taken alongside the introduction of the entry bond to ensure that all the entrants were financially sound and virtually guaranteed to make it to the end of the season.

There's no real reason not to have 26 or 28 car girds, the tracks have enough space (well maybe Monaco might be a bit tight) the only problem might be engine supply unless the major manufacturers supplying multiple teams.
 
rpstewart said:
22??? Yikes, I was expecting maybe 15-16 tops, where the heck have the others come from?

Now, do you get preferential treatment if you already have an entry for 2006/7? Could you imagine Ron's face if McLaren get punted for being "toublemakers" :eek:
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I'm just still surprised at the 22...

Thats double the current field. :eek:

rpstewart said:
We used to have 36 entrants with Saturday pre-qualifying dropping 6 and Saturday afternoon saying goodbye to another 4.

The choice to limit to 24 was taken alongside the introduction of the entry bond to ensure that all the entrants were financially sound and virtually guaranteed to make it to the end of the season.

There's no real reason not to have 26 or 28 car girds, the tracks have enough space (well maybe Monaco might be a bit tight) the only problem might be engine supply unless the major manufacturers supplying multiple teams.
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I really want to see 36 back again...but that was a time where you could buy a complete car from other teams and race it - or guild one in your garage. Will never happen again. :(

TBH 26 would be best - enough space for them and if they allowed 1 car teams again it'd be great. Imagine 15 teams fielding 26 cars

Simon/~Flibster
 
I remember having to get to Silverstone on the Friday at a stupid early time to catch the pre qualifying, then a short break and then practice sessions and then day 1 qualifying started. Those were the days when things actually happened on the Friday. :)
 
Curiosity surrounds identity of applicants

Despite high interest in the 2008 world championship, with 22 teams applying to enter, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone says there will only be slots for 12 teams.

The current 11 teams have submitted applications and can expect to be on the 2008 starting grid.

Other applicants are known to include former Minardi owner and aviation entrepreneur Paul Stoddart, and ex-BAR and Benetton team principal David Richards' Prodrive company, which confirmed it had applied earlier on Friday.

Craig Pollock, a BAR founder who is also the manager of Canada's 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve, could be another would-be entrant.

"Anybody who puts an entry in is making a huge personal commitment," Pollock told Speedtv.com without confirming or denying his interest.

"It's not a long way away - they'd have a very short time to build up anything. And I wish everybody a lot of luck. It'll be tough for everybody."

Some manufacturers may be planning 'B' teams. Mercedes-powered McLaren are known to be interested in such a step, while others competing in junior series such as GP2 might also want to move up to the top level.

The FIA said applications will be accepted or rejected in the governing body's absolute discretion.

"The FIA will publish the list of cars and drivers accepted together with their race numbers on 28 April, 2006, having first notifed unsuccessful applicants," the FIA said.

All applicants have agreed to pay a 300,000 euro ($363,500 USD) entry fee to the FIA by November 1, 2007, if successful.
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Expected rain makes qualifying a challenge

Formula One drivers and teams are bracing themselves for a more fraught than usual qualifying session in Melbourne this afternoon, with rain hitting the Albert Park circuit.

Overnight showers look set to continue all day, and this almost certainly means a more difficult challenge in the new knockout qualifying format.

"I think the showers are in for afternoon, so the track is certainly going to go through different stages," said Williams driver Mark Webber.

"It is going to be difficult to judge when to get your time in, but at least qualifying is not like with the old system, when you had an allocated slot. You are still going to be in the lap of the Gods though."

Honda Racing technical director Geoff Willis believed that the limited time in each knockout session in qualifying would put more onus on the drivers to perform and get their tyre choice right.

"The weather is going to make things quite difficult," said Willis. "If it is a fully wet session, then there is the risk of someone throwing it off, especially in the first session, so drivers are going to need to get out there and do the laps.

"But you are going to need to balance out getting the lap in and not using up too much engine mileage.

"There is definitely a bigger risk of making a mistake than there will be in the dry, and I think the drivers are going to have a bigger say on things.

"They are going to have to put the laps in and choose the right moment to go on to dry tyres. It is going to be quite busy."
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BMW set the pace in practice 3 - Australia

Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve demonstrated the potential of the BMW-Sauber team on Saturday morning when they topped the times in final practice for the Australian Grand Prix.

Heidfeld recorded a fastest lap of 1:35.335 in the final stages of a wet-and-dry session run in changing, windy and unpredictable conditions at Albert Park.

His teammate Villeneuve was second fastest, with a time of 1:36.281.

This left the two BMW drivers ahead of Tonio Liuzzi, who was third fastest for the Toro Rosso Cosworth team, ahead of Italian compatriot Giancarlo Fisichella in the leading Renault.

Ralf Schumacher, in a Toyota, was fifth ahead of the two Ferraris - Felipe Massa taking sixth place ahead of teammate Michael Schumacher.

Defending champion Fernando Alonso was 17th, a full four seconds slower than the two BMWs who made the best of a drying circuit in the final minutes.

The hour-long session was run on a wet circuit, and oil was cleared from four of the opening corners as the cars began lapping.

It was little wonder that there was a long sequence of incidents with virtually everyone spinning off and regaining control all over the track.

In the opening 20 minutes, the off-track drivers included Massa, Yuji Ide in his Super Aguri Honda, Jarno Trulli in his Toyota, Juan Pablo Montoya in a McLaren, and Nico Rosberg in a Williams Cosworth.

Alonso, testing tyres and the circuit's conditions, went off twice at the opening turn in the first half hour as well, before the track began to dry, but even then as conditions improved, there were plenty more drivers taking a route across the grass.

Remarkably, the only driver to lose his car in the gravel trap and abandon it was Christijan Albers in his Midland Toyota, soon after the halfway mark in the session.

In all of this chaos, which included an off-track excursion for local hero Mark Webber in his Williams, the Renaults were the fastest cars in the early stages, with Fisichella and Alonso trading times.

On the half hour mark, Jenson Button took over at the top in his Honda before Villeneuve, then Fisichella and Villeneuve again clocked quickest laps.

As the sun flickered through, and a drying wind took grip, the track began to dry, but there were still wet areas under the trees, the leading men began to try running on dry-weather tyres.

The Renaults led the way, but both found life difficult and Fisichella ran off and on at turn 15 before the BMWs delivered the fastest laps of the day.

Notably, McLaren chose to run very lightly, conserving their cars for qualifying.
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Saturday Free Practice.
Code: 
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Team			Time[/b]
1	16	Nick Heidfeld		Sauber-BMW		1:35.335		
2	17	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-BMW		1:36.281		
3	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	STR-Cosworth		1:36.373		
4	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			1:36.414		
5	7	Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			1:36.445		
6	6	Felipe Massa		Ferrari			1:36.506		
7	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			1:37.332		
8	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda			1:37.481		
9	8	Jarno Trulli		Toyota			1:37.492		
10	21	Scott Speed		STR-Cosworth		1:37.852		
11	15	Christian Klien		RBR-Ferrari		1:37.947		
12	9	Mark Webber		Williams-Cosworth	1:38.036		
13	12	Jenson Button		Honda			1:38.505		
14	14	David Coulthard		RBR-Ferrari		1:38.683		
15	10	Nico Rosberg		Williams-Cosworth	1:39.401		
16	18	Tiago Monteiro		MF1-Toyota		1:39.515		
17	1	Fernando Alonso		Renault			1:39.654		
18	23	Yuji Ide		Super Aguri-Honda	1:40.261		
19	22	Takuma Sato		Super Aguri-Honda	1:41.448		
20	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	1:44.350		
21	3	Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	1:48.284		
22	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota

Sector Times - Free Practice 3

Code: 
[b]Sector 1[/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	7	Ralf Schumacher		32.413	
2	16	Nick Heidfeld		32.661	
3	8	Jarno Trulli		32.687	
4	5	Michael Schumacher	32.831	
5	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	32.854	
6	21	Scott Speed		33.193	
7	11	Rubens Barrichello	33.262	
8	17	Jacques Villeneuve	33.262	
9	6	Felipe Massa		33.481	
10	14	David Coulthard		33.516	
11	15	Christian Klien		33.696	
12	9	Mark Webber		33.707	
13	10	Nico Rosberg		33.775	
14	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	33.844	
15	23	Yuji Ide		34.009	
16	22	Takuma Sato		34.379	
17	12	Jenson Button		34.420	
18	18	Tiago Monteiro		34.453	
19	1	Fernando Alonso		34.886	
20	3	Kimi Räikkönen		35.046	
21	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	35.481	
22	19	Christijan Albers	37.044

Code: 
[b]Sector 2 [/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	16	Nick Heidfeld		24.990	
2	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	25.346	
3	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	25.403	
4	17	Jacques Villeneuve	25.434	
5	11	Rubens Barrichello	25.499	
6	12	Jenson Button		25.614	
7	7	Ralf Schumacher		25.717	
8	5	Michael Schumacher	25.724	
9	6	Felipe Massa		25.750	
10	21	Scott Speed		25.756	
11	15	Christian Klien		25.792	
12	23	Yuji Ide		25.864	
13	10	Nico Rosberg		25.869	
14	8	Jarno Trulli		25.939	
15	9	Mark Webber		25.971	
16	14	David Coulthard		26.002	
17	1	Fernando Alonso		26.095	
18	18	Tiago Monteiro		26.378	
19	22	Takuma Sato		26.525	
20	3	Kimi Räikkönen		27.359	
21	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	27.672	
22	19	Christijan Albers	30.568

Code: 
[b]Sector 3 [/b]
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time[/b]
1	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	37.215	
2	5	Michael Schumacher	37.253	
3	6	Felipe Massa		37.275	
4	17	Jacques Villeneuve	37.585	
5	16	Nick Heidfeld		37.589	
6	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	38.041	
7	9	Mark Webber		38.090	
8	11	Rubens Barrichello	38.154	
9	10	Nico Rosberg		38.158	
10	12	Jenson Button		38.266	
11	15	Christian Klien		38.281	
12	1	Fernando Alonso		38.293	
13	7	Ralf Schumacher		38.315	
14	18	Tiago Monteiro		38.630	
15	21	Scott Speed		38.637	
16	8	Jarno Trulli		38.866	
17	14	David Coulthard		38.932	
18	23	Yuji Ide		40.334	
19	22	Takuma Sato		40.459	
20	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	41.197	
21	3	Kimi Räikkönen		41.403	
22	19	Christijan Albers	41.488

Speed Trap

Code: 
[b]Pos	No	Driver			Time		Speed[/b]
1	5	Michael Schumacher	11:59:23	298.5	
2	21	Scott Speed		11:54:55	294.5	
3	16	Nick Heidfeld		11:56:42	294.4	
4	17	Jacques Villeneuve	11:48:50	293.1	
5	14	David Coulthard		11:48:23	293.0	
6	15	Christian Klien		11:45:41	291.0	
7	1	Fernando Alonso		11:49:48	290.6	
8	6	Felipe Massa		11:42:58	290.1	
9	7	Ralf Schumacher		11:53:52	287.4	
10	9	Mark Webber		11:45:17	287.3	
11	8	Jarno Trulli		11:53:38	287.2	
12	18	Tiago Monteiro		11:45:09	286.7	
13	11	Rubens Barrichello	12:00:54	286.5	
14	10	Nico Rosberg		11:43:03	285.3	
15	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	11:57:59	284.6	
16	23	Yuji Ide		11:59:05	283.6	
17	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	11:31:45	283.0	
18	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	11:11:48	273.9	
19	22	Takuma Sato		11:59:21	266.6	
20	19	Christijan Albers	11:34:29	262.8	
21	12	Jenson Button		11:34:18	253.7	
22	3	Kimi Räikkönen		11:13:04	250.4
 
Glad you lot are up for this :D

BMW put in some very nice laps :D

I have to go out later so i wont see the secon douting if there is one :(
 
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