2006 Malaysian Grand Prix - Race 2/18

[Flibster]

McLaren to modify rear wing for Australia

McLaren have confirmed that they will be making minor changes to the rear wing of their car in time for the Australian Grand Prix.

It was revealed this morning that McLaren and BMW have joined Ferrari in being told that they will need to bring new designs to Melbourne amid a clampdown on flexi-wings in Formula One.

The FIA has made it clear that it will not allow the designs that have been run by the three teams to race again after stepping in to prevent a controversial post-race protest in Malaysia.

The news about McLaren and BMW comes despite both teams having signed a document on Sunday complaining about the flexi-wings on the Ferrari and threatening to protest Michael Schumacher's car unless the situation was resolved before the race.

A McLaren spokesman confirmed that the team would be modifying their wing before the next race of the championship, although insisted that it was not a major problem.

"We have received no formal communication from the FIA on this matter," said the spokeswoman. "However, a minor issue with an attachment on a secondary wing came to our attention in Malaysia and this will be rectified for the Australian Grand Prix."

McLaren are due to introduce major upgrades to their MP4-21 in time for the Australian Grand Prix in a bid to help them take their first win of the season.

The FIA has made it clear that it is hopeful the flexi-wing controversy will be sorted by the time F1 arrives in Australia for the third race of the season.

An FIA spokesman said: "We've been concerned about several teams and confident the issues will be resolved before Melbourne."

 

[Type_R]

The best there was and the best there ever will be. Without a doubt the finest F1 driver we have seen.

RIP Senna.

 

[Creature]

RIP Senna.

The legend will live on.

 

[Flibster]

A worthy tribute that Simon.

I never got to see him race in the flesh but I'll never forget some of the in car footage of his qualifying laps - an absolute genius in a racing car.

Cheers. I'll admit that it was all nicked from his Wikipedia entry though - immensely better than anything I could have written.

He was an absolute perfectionist in the car.

There's a story that I love about him going for a qualifying lap *and getting pole* where he went flat out through a chicaine - which no-one else did as the margin for error was non existant - and there was a marshall leaning over the tyre barrier watching.

Marshall met Senna a bit later on and congratulated him on his pole position and Senna asked him if got a good view from leaning over the tyres at the chicaine.



That ability to process data is just astounding. I have trouble spotting people when on a track let alone being able to recognise someone and know where and who it was...

We won't see anyone with his natrual talent and skill for many years, if at all.

Sorely missed.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Arc]

Its amazing to think it all took place back in 1994, I still remember those few hours as if it were yesterday and also the BBC news report in the evening covering his death.

Its hard for any sport to recover from losing their brightest star at their peak and its something that F1 really has struggled with over the past few years. Tbh, I dont think the current generation of F1 fans will ever forget it.

We won't see anyone with his natrual talent and skill for many years, if at all.

I'd disagree there, I think we've seen one and we have been lucky to see him in his prime.

Another way to look at it is that most of the current F1 field may have 99% of Senna's technical skill but its that missing 1% that makes all the difference. The one thing they all lack is the "aura" that seemed to follow his personality and driving, it had heart.

Could be that ironically F1 has become just too safe and too commercial now with so much money and some many big company names involved that everthing has to be done "PC".

Funny how they did not protest about Massa at the same time, especially as afterwards he finished in front of MS

Only need to prove one Ferrari isnt complying with the rules and the other one will get thrown out to. Rather odd that BMW and McLaren were complaining yet had a similar effect with their rear wings (Renault must be laughing now). Ah well, no one complained last year when they were slow, must be a bit frightened this year .

 

[Flibster]

BMW also modify rear wing

BMW-Sauber have already modified the design of their rear wing in order to fall in line with a request from the FIA.

Both BMW and McLaren have been asked to make minor changes to their cars amid the increased focus on flexi-wings in Formula One.

Both teams have had no issue with making the modifications, having been part of the group of eight teams who complained about the flexibility of the front and rear wings of the Ferrari in the letter to the race stewards at Malaysia last weekend.

A McLaren spokesman confirmed earlier today that they would be modifying their wing before the Australian Grand Prix.

"We have received no formal communication from the FIA on this matter," said the McLaren spokeswoman. "However, a minor issue with an attachment on a secondary wing came to our attention in Malaysia and this will be rectified for the Australian Grand Prix."

A spokesman for BMW-Sauber told autosport.com that there had been no official request from the FIA to make changes to their rear wing, but that a verbal request was made in Sepang.

The team duly completed this design tweak after the race, even though the legality of their F1.06 had not be called into question.

"There is no official message communicated by the FIA to our team," said the spokesman. "The Technical Delegate of the FIA verbally informed us that we were supposed to change a certain detail on the rear wing before Melbourne.

"This is not unusual and this minor change has already been performed. Jacques Villeneuve's car was checked by the FIA after the race in Malaysia and found to conform to the rules."

The confirmation of McLaren and BMW's position means that Ferrari are now alone in claiming that they have no plans to change the design of their front and rear wings.

A spokesman for the Maranello outfit said earlier this week that reports that Ross Brawn had agreed to change the design of the wings for Melbourne were wide of the mark.

"Ross never said this, and we have no reason to do it," the spokesman said. "We simply said that we will comply with whatever the FIA requires. Whatever the FIA asks us to do, we will comply.

"If the FIA decides to change the flexibility tests, we will do what is necessary."

 

[Flibster]

Mosley pressures GPMA with engine freeze

The 2008 F1 sporting regulations will be considered by the World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday, and they include a freeze on engine development that has allowed FIA president Max Mosley to apply extra pressure on the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association.

A proposed engine freeze for 2008-09-10 has long been a key element in Mosley's plans to implement cost-cutting measures.

Last month the FIA president suggested that a deadline for presenting such an engine could be as early as June this year. All potential entrants have since been told to present a definitive 2008 engine specification for homologation by the FIA before June 1st.

The five GPMA members did not receive formal notification, until a draft copy of the sporting regulations was sent to all Formula One teams on March 15, just as most of the bosses were on their way to Malaysia.

Article 86e of the proposed sporting regulations states: "Only engines which have been homologated by the FIA in accordance with Appendix 6 may be used at an Event during the 2008, 2009 and 2010 seasons."

The all-new Appendix 6 explains how the homologation process will work:

--------------------------------------------------------------------

1. A homologated engine is an engine identical in every respect to:

(i) an engine delivered to the FIA prior to 1 June 2006, or,

(ii) an engine delivered to the FIA after 1 June 2006, or modified and re-delivered to the FIA after 1 June 2006, which the FIA is satisfied, in its absolute discretion and after full consultation with all other suppliers of engines for the Championship, could fairly and equitably be allowed to compete with other homologated engines.

All such engines should be delivered in such a condition that the seals required under Article 85(d) can be fitted. Engines will be held by the FIA throughout the homologation period.

2. The supplier of a homologated engine and/or the team using the homologated engine must take and/or facilitate such steps as the FIA may at any time and in its absolute discretion determine in order to satisfy the FIA that an engine used at an Event is indeed identical to the corresponding engine delivered to and held by the FIA.

3. The FIA, in consultation with the TWG and the engine suppliers, will from time to time issue indicative information as to the tests and inspection procedures to be applied.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The June 1st deadline apparently remains open for discussion. However, the real significance is that unless they enter the F1 World Championship by March 31st, the GPMA teams will not be allowed to take part in any debate about this or any other rules, even if they eventually join in before June. They thus have an extra incentive to sign up and get their entries in by the end of this month.

The engine suppliers currently represented within the teams aligned with Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA are Ferrari, Cosworth and, via their customer teams, Toyota and Honda. However, as things stand, BMW, Mercedes and Renault have no say.

Critics suggest that the June freeze defies common sense. Not only are the V8 engines in their infancy, but also development will effectively carry on for another 18 months, through the rest of the 2006 and 2007 seasons, before the manufacturers have to take a step back to what they were able to present in June this year.

However, in theory they could deliver a specification that is not yet fully tested and proven, and then spend the intervening time making it work.

Mosley is thought to be keen on bringing the engine freeze forward to 2007, if the agreement of all parties can be achieved, which would at least add some logic to the situation.

All manufacturers employ huge engine departments, and offloading employees who suddenly have nothing to do may not be easy, despite the financial savings that Mosley is seeking.

Moreover, a new engine spec will presumably be allowed from 2011, and prior to that makers would have to ramp up development.

"We're not too keen on the idea of freezing the whole engine," Honda's Nick Fry said.

"It makes it very impractical for all the engine manufacturers, because you'll need a development team every two or three years, so the work load goes up massively and then down massively, and really doesn't suit anybody at all.

"I haven't heard one person or one engine manufacturer who is really too keen on this idea. I think we all agree that we need to cut costs, but this idea needs some refinement.

"The problem is that if you're ahead - and we're in a very good position at Honda - it's not so bad. But for those that are behind, you're then behind for a long period, which is really not on.

"In North America, when similar things have been done, it's ended up as a bit of a farce, where the team that was behind, which were one of our competitors, were then given some behind-the-scenes advice on what they could change.

"It all became a little bit of a farce that the organisers then tried to equalise the situation after a freeze. This needs a lot of work."

"I think it's extremely difficult," said Toyota's John Howett. "If you read the letter we received, it did say that there was still room to actually discuss with those people who signed up for 2008, and there is still room for change. We have to see what the final decision is.

"But three years out is quite a long way to freeze an F1 engine after a very limited period of running with it.

"We more or less got the regulations on Wednesday, just before leaving for Malaysia, and I need more time to talk with [engine chief] Luca [Marmorini] and discuss the real implications of what the FIA is proposing."

Good god - what a blatently stupid idea...

The sooner Max sod's off the better.

 

[rpstewart]

Another way to look at it is that most of the current F1 field may have 99% of Senna's technical skill but its that missing 1% that makes all the difference. The one thing they all lack is the "aura" that seemed to follow his personality and driving, it had heart.

There are some drivers out there who are close to Senna's level of ability but certainly not as close as 99%.

Take Monaco 1988 for example. Senna put the MP4/4 on pole only to be pipped by Prost in the sister car. Ayrton then went out for a second run which was 1.5 seconds faster than his illustrious team mate.

Think about that again - 1.5s round Monaco, in a car with a clutch pedal and a manual H pattern gearbox

Senna subsequently described the lap as an almost religious experience, he declined a third run, not because he didn't think he could better his time but because he was scared of how fast he would go if he went out again

Just for the record, Berger took the third spot that day, over 2.5s back.

 

[SoliD]

The best there was and the best there ever will be. Without a doubt the finest F1 driver we have seen.

RIP Senna.

my sentiments exactly, such a legend, and i still think of him when watching f1 at times, he was a genius, and anybody that thinks schumacher is a better driver, is an absolute fool!

R.I.P

 

[rpstewart]

There's another big article on autosport.com in the Weekly Grapevine section, I'll not post the whole thing here because of it's length but there are some interesting points which are worth looking at.

Vodafone seem to be a takeover target for CVC Partners (the new F1 commercial rights holder). Does this have anything to do with McLaren's apparent move towards signing up for F1 in 2008?

CVC is being partnered in the Vodafone takeover by Apax, who own 49% of Prodrive - does this have any relation to David Richards F1 ambitions? If it does everything is going to get very complicated - Prodrive would be partially owned by a company which has a holding in the title sponsorship of another.

Is the situation complex? Certianly. Is it worth keeping an eye on? Definitely!

Well if anyone understood all that it's just become a whole lot more complicated.....

Apax have approached ITV in partnership with Goldmann Sachs to take a majority stake in the broadcaster.

Looks like we could be stuck with the prat Allen for all eternity

 

[Sone]

only started to watch F1 in 1994 so never got to see the mans real genius

do you think we would have beaten Micheal and got 7, 8 ,9 or 10 world championships?

 

[rpstewart]

do you think we would have beaten Micheal and got 7, 8 ,9 or 10 world championships?

OK, I feel up for a game of "What If??"

First off you need to remember that Senna was in his tenth season of F1 when he died, aged 34 so probably only had a few years left so how would it have panned out?

1994
FW16 is a dog out of the box having reverted to passive suspension after 3 years of active ride. Three pole positions for Senna suggest there's speed but consistency is lacking. History proves that upgrades mid season allowed Hill to go into the final race still in with a shout. If you remove the hammer blow of Senna's death which really affected the team then it's fair to suggest that the car development would have continued to the same level if not higher

Champion: Senna

1995
Would Renault want to jump ship to Benetton if Williams had Senna going into 1995? Assuming that the FW17 was the only Renault powered car on the grid then it's fair to suggest that Senna would stroll to a fifth championship so let's make things interesting - Renault go with Benetton. Hill & Senna take points off each other allowing the Baron to squeeze through on the stand side rail.

Championship: Schumacher

1996
Schumacher tempted to Ferrari in megabucks deal - Senna being 36 was not an option for a long term rebuilding effort. F310 turns out to be a total lemon bar a wet win in Barcelona. FW18 retains Renault power, Newey design easily outpaces B196. Senna romps to fifth title.

Championship: Senna

1997
This is the interesting one, would Senna want to beat Fangio's five titles? Personally I doubt it - Senna retires following 1996 season.

Championship: Who cares, without Senna in the field the crown is devalued.

 

[Flibster]

Uh Oh.....

FIA's WMSC ratifies 2008 regulations

The FIA's World Motor Sport Council approved on Wednesday the sporting regulations for the 2008 Formula One season.

The WMSC also approved Max Mosley's proposed one-week window for entries for the 2008 season. The entries will have to be confirmed between 24 March and 31 March this year.

"The FIA will then begin a series of meetings with the teams which enter the 2008 Championship in order to finalise the regulations for 2008," said the FIA in a statement.

"The regulations which affect the design of the cars must be finalised before 30 June 2006 to give the competing teams sufficient time to design and develop their 2008 cars.

"The regulations not affecting the design of the cars can be modified at any point up to the start of the 2008 season.

"A regulation can be modified following a majority vote of the Sporting Working Group, consisting of one senior representative from each team, and ratification by the Formula One Commission and the World Motor Sport Council."

The 2008 regulations, aimed at reducing costs and improving the show, will be published in full tomorrow, the FIA said.

 

[Flibster]

Cosworth top list of F1's fastest engines

Cosworth, F1's smallest engine maker, is leading the pack in terms of horse power and revs in 2006, according to an analysis.

Germany's 'Sport1.de' publication printed the results of an apparent acoustic study, showing that Williams' independent Northampton-based supplier is packing the highest revs with its V8.

The analysis, believed to have been conducted by a rival F1 team, estimated that Cosworth is nipping the heels of the elusive 20,000rpm barrier. Close behind, however, is Mercedes-Benz, generating a maximum of 19,600 revs per minute for the silver McLaren cars. In third and fourth places are Ferrari and BMW, with about 19,000 rpm each.

Acoustic rev studies are carried out by recording the sound of an engine whilst it is lapping a formula one track.

 

[Flibster]

Petition targets Monza GP threat

The fate of September's Italian GP continues to look uncertain, after a civil court last week refused to overturn a ban on noisy cars at Monza.

Although the historic grand prix might be protected, one junior-category event at the track has already been axed.

Now, like F1, the ban also threatens events like touring cars and Italian F3 and formula 3000.

'Drivingitalia.net' has set up an online petition against the court's ruling, which can be signed at http://www.petitiononline.com/m0nz4/petition.html

SIGN IT!!!

 

[Flibster]

Alonso explains Bahrain posturing

World champion Fernando Alonso has put an end to speculation regarding his celebration at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Renault driver's posturing after winning the season-opening race generated all kinds of rumours about its meaning, and even upset animal rights organization PETA, who wrote a letter criticising the Spaniard for what they interpreted to be a bullfighter's moves.

The organization said attempting to glorify bullfighting offended millions of people who are against animal abuse.

As expected, PETA has been proved wrong, with Alonso confirming rumours that his posturing was an imitation of actor Jim Carrey in the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

"It's better to clear it because there have been too many rumours," Alonso told Spanish radio Cadena Ser. "It's from a two-year old movie. A kids' movie," added the Spaniard, laughing.

By imitating Carrey, Alonso won a bet placed with friends before the start of the season.

And once again, PETA come out looking like gibbons...

 

[Flibster]

Dennis: McLaren to take quantum steps

McLaren chief Ron Dennis says his team will take "some quantum steps" over the next races as they fight to return to winning ways.

The British team have endured a somewhat troubled start to their season, while rivals Renault have won the first two races in Bahrain and Malaysia.

McLaren's winter testing progress was slowed due to problems with their Mercedes engines, but they raised their game for the start of the season and were seen as favourites to fight at the top.

In Bahrain, Kimi Raikkonen finished in third place after starting from the back of the grid, while in Malaysia the Finn retired after an incident at the start while his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya finished a distant fourth.

McLaren, however, are planning major developments for the next few races, and Dennis is adamant the team will be able to fight back.

"I don't ever get optimistic because it is a very tough sport in which to compete, but we know our car has the underlying pace," Dennis told The Guardian in an interview.

"And the most encouraging thing for us is that we know what's coming in terms of technical upgrades for our car in Australia, and we know what's planned for the Nurburgring. We will be taking some quantum steps over the next races.

"McLaren exists to win every race in which it competes," Dennis added. "Worrying about what your rivals are doing is a fruitless exercise. If you win all the races, or as many as you possibly can, then hopefully the championship will flow logically from those efforts.

"I am not a person who looks backwards and worries about what has gone before. The only priority for McLaren is looking ahead and aiming to win the next race."

 

[Flibster]

WORLD MOTOR SPORT COUNCIL
22.03.2006


The World Motor Sport Council met in Paris on 22 March, 2006. The following decisions were taken:


FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship Sporting Regulations were accepted and will be published in full on 23 March 2006.

The 2008 Sporting Regulations have three objectives:

• to reduce the cost of competing;
• to improve the sporting spectacle; and
• to maintain and, where possible, improve current safety standards.

Entries for the 2008 Championship will open on 24 March 2006 and close on 31 March 2006.

The FIA will then begin a series of meetings with the teams which enter the 2008 Championship in order to finalise the regulations for 2008. The regulations which affect the design of the cars must be finalised before 30 June 2006 to give the competing teams sufficient time to design and develop their 2008 cars. The regulations not affecting the design of the cars can be modified at any point up to the start of the 2008 season.

A regulation can be modified following a majority vote of the Sporting Working Group, consisting of one senior representative from each team, and ratification by the Formula One Commission and the World Motor Sport Council.

 

[Zip]

Uh Oh.....

I hope that the break away championship is happening by then.
F1 might have been the pinnicle of motor sport but these days there are too many regulations and arsing around to be the pinicle any more.
Its time for the break away take the title of being the pinicle of motorsport imo.

 

[Flibster]

I hope that the break away championship is happening by then.
F1 might have been the pinnicle of motor sport but these days there are too many regulations and arsing around to be the pinicle any more.
Its time for the break away take the title of being the pinicle of motorsport imo.

If it's going to happen - it has to happen in the next 10 days...

After that entries for 2008 are closed.