2006 Spanish Grand Prix - Race 6/18

Brawn gives a few hints Raikkonen - Schumacher a 'nice' line-up

Ferrari is edging ever nearer to confirming raging paddock speculation that Kimi Raikkonen will join the team in 2007.

Technical Director Ross Brawn admitted at Circuit de Catalunya that the Finn together with Michael Schumacher, would make 'a nice combination'.

The Briton told Premiere: "We must wait, however. Kimi is obviously a very good driver."

Brawn, meanwhile, justified Schumacher's delayed decision about next year by saying the famous German can 'take as much time as he wants'.

Raikkonen increasingly seems Ferrari-bound. According to the German Bild newspaper, he was scolded by McLaren boss Ron Dennis at Barcelona on Friday after arriving late in the garage for free practice.
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Alonso's not light, Briatore insists

Flavio Briatore has denied paddock rumblings that the pole-sitting Renault of Fernando Alonso is carrying less fuel in Barcelona than championship rival Michael Schumacher's Ferrari.

"I am pretty optimistic that (Alonso) will stop before us," Ferrari Technical Director Ross Brawn had said.

But Renault's Briatore said ahead of Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix: "Nonsense. Both will pit around the 16 or 17-lap mark."

A significant part of Sunday's race, meanwhile, will occur in the dash to Barcelona's first corner, with the second-placed Giancarlo Fisichella no doubt a concern for Schumacher's crew.

Indeed, Brawn noted: "Giancarlo is on the dirty side of the track, which is a disadvantage for him here. It's a shame that he is ahead of us and I only hope that he does not hold us up."

"But I am very confident. We were fastest in the (low fuel) second qualifying, Michael is in good form, so is the car, and we can drive consistently quick throughout each stint with the (Bridgestone) tyres."
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Renault on verge of GPMA split

Renault could be on the verge of announcing that it has joined Ferrari in signing the 2008 Concorde Agreement according to the latest speculation.

Should Renault sign up, it would mean that the French company has abandoned four other carmakers in the GPMA alliance and broken an agreement to stick together until at least September of this year.

Bernie Ecclestone dropped a big hint about the rumour at Circuit de Catalunya, telling the Daily Telegraph that the team led by Flavio Briatore is being 'more sensible' than its rivals.

Additionally, the man who would have to sign the deal, Renault F1 President Alain Dassas, made a rare appearance in the Formula One paddock earlier this weekend.
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All GPMA members agree to sign new deal

All five members of the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association are now ready to sign a new commercial deal that will bring long term stability to Formula One.

"All GPMA members are now prepared to sign," McLaren's Ron Dennis revealed.

The manufacturers - Mercedes, BMW, Renault, Honda and Toyota - have held a series of meetings over the last 48 hours in Barcelona.

They are now awaiting the arrival of CVC's managing partner Donald McKenzie to the Spanish paddock, later today.

The deal could be signed and announced today, with more details to follow later.
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Latest odds from William Hill

Ourtight Winner

F Alonso - 1.66
Michael Schumacher - 2.87
G Fisichella - 7.50
F Massa - 17.00
K Raikkonen - 26.00
R Barrichello - 51.00
J P Montoya - 51.00
J Button - 51.00
Ralf Schumacher - 101.00
J Trulli - 101.00
N Heidfeld - 126.00
N Rosberg - 151.00
M Webber - 151.00
J Villeneuve - 201.00
D Coulthard - 201.00
C Klien - 201.00
V Liuzzi - 251.00
S Speed - 301.00
T Sato - 501.00
T Monteiro - 501.00
F Montagny - 501.00
C Albers - 501.00


Points Finish

F Alonso - 1.12
Michael Schumacher - 1.20
G Fisichella - 1.28
F Massa - 1.36
K Raikkonen - 1.44
J P Montoya - 1.57
J Button - 1.57
R Barrichello - 1.66
Ralf Schumacher - 1.90
N Rosberg - 2.20
M Webber - 2.20
J Trulli - 2.20
N Heidfeld - 2.62
J Villeneuve - 3.00
D Coulthard - 5.50
C Klien - 5.50
V Liuzzi - 7.00
S Speed - 9.00
T Monteiro - 26.00
C Albers - 26.00
T Sato - 34.00
F Montagny - 34.00
 
Aguri eye July for new car debut

Super Aguri's new car could be up and running by the French grand prix at Magny Cours, in Mid July.

The Japanese team's technical chief, although admitting some disappointment at the level of support from Honda, said that the 'SA06' car will feature a state-of-the-art 'seamless shift' gearbox.

Not even Ferrari and Renault are currently using the new technology.

'We need to find two to three seconds with this car to get among ... the others,' Mark Preston said, 'and I think that is achievable.'
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Flibster, do you have a bio for Mark Preston?

Reason I ask is I went to uni with a guy by the name of Mark Preston, real smart cookie type and the only photo I've ever seen of the Super Aguri Mark Preston is similar to the point that I can't say for sure or not if they're the same guy....

It's been bugging me for a few weeks now and I can't come up with anything on the guy's background.
 
Renault commit to F1

Just moments after McLaren team boss Ron Dennis announced that the five members of the GPMA (Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association) were ready to commit to Formula One, champions Renault became the first team to join Bernie Ecclestone by signing a new multi-year commercial agreement on Sunday.

The deal confirms that Renault will remain in the sport until at least 2008 as per their official entry, but also announced their commitment to the sport until at least 2012.

"The agreement the team have reached today with Formula One Administration expresses our commitment to Formula One," Renault F1 president Alain Dassas said in a statement. "Having entered the 2008 championship last month, this is the next logical step to guarantee the commercial stability and competitiveness of our team.

"We have worked hard jointly with our fellow manufacturers in the GPMA to reach an agreement that satisfies our desire to see a balanced distribution of the income generated by our sport," he added.

"We will now pursue our constructive dialogue with the FIA and the other teams to achieve our shared objectives of an improved sporting show and reduced costs," he explained. "These factors will form the basis for Renault's long-term investment in Formula One."
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If we are talking pics, I have two galleries from the two days I sepnt a F! testing at Silverstone a few weeks ago.

25 April

26 April

Some samples:

DSC_9094a.jpg


DSC_9048a.jpg


DSC_8447a.jpg


Wont post any more, to save bandwidth. :)
 
rpstewart said:
Flibster, do you have a bio for Mark Preston?

Reason I ask is I went to uni with a guy by the name of Mark Preston, real smart cookie type and the only photo I've ever seen of the Super Aguri Mark Preston is similar to the point that I can't say for sure or not if they're the same guy....

It's been bugging me for a few weeks now and I can't come up with anything on the guy's background.
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http://www.presspley.com/personnel/markpreston.htm

http://my.soflow.com/Mark-Preston

Thats about all I can find...
 
GPMA issues statement

In the wake of this morning's news from Barcelona, the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association has issued the following statement:

"Following a meeting in Barcelona between representatives from the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association (GPMA), a Memorandum of Understanding on the commercial structure of Formula One, as developed between CVC, FOA and the GPMA, was unanimously agreed and signed by representatives from the five GPMA teams BMW Sauber, Honda GP, McLaren Mercedes, Renault F1 and Toyota Racing.

The GPMA teams are committed to Formula One until 2012, and look forward to the commercial rights holder accepting the terms agreed today.

The Memorandum of Understanding provides the basis for a new Concorde Agreement between FOA, the FIA and the teams, and should help progress the sporting, technical and governance discussions with the FIA.

Prof. Burkhard Göschel, Chairman of the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association, said: "Today's MoU constitutes a comprehensive solution for the future of the sport. We can build on this result and look forward to jointly grow Formula One and make it an even bigger sporting spectacle than ever before."
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Wonder if this is also related to all the 2008 regs getting thrown out as well. ;)
 
Renault commit to F1 until 2012

Renault has become the first member of the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association to commit itself to Formula One beyond 2008.

Following McLaren's Ron Dennis revelation this morning that the GPMA members have agreed to sign a new commercial agreement, Renault issued an announcement saying the team will now stay in Formula One until at least 2012.

They join Ferrari, Red Bull, Williams, Midland, Super Aguri and Scuderia Toro Rosso, who have all committed already to extending their commercial agreement with the sport.

Renault F1 president Alain Dassas said in a statement: "The agreement the team have reached today with Formula One Administration expresses our commitment to Formula One.

"Having entered the 2008 championship last month, this is the next logical step to guarantee the commercial stability and competitiveness of our team.

"We have worked hard jointly with our fellow manufacturers in the GPMA to reach an agreement that satisfies our desire to see a balanced distribution of the income generated by our sport.

"We will now pursue our constructive dialogue with the FIA and the other teams to achieve our shared objectives of an improved sporting show and reduced costs.

"These factors will form the basis for Renault's long-term investment in Formula One."

The announcement quells persistent speculations that Renault could withdraw from the sport as early as next year.

Furthermore, with McLaren-Mercedes, BMW, Honda and Toyota also expected to sign on a memorandum of understanding for a new commercial agreement later today, it appears the Spanish Grand Prix will mark the end of a multi-year battle between the manufacturers and the sport's organisers.
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Q & A with Ron Dennis on the new deal

McLaren chief Ron Dennis provides insight into the new deal agreed between the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association and Formula One's commercial rights holder - what it all means and how it came about.

Ron Dennis: "The five members of the GPMA now have a complete agreement. Throughout the last 48 hours, the lawyers representing the GPMA and FOA have been continuously meeting, and from the GPMA's point of view, we are now at the point where we are prepared to sign the document.

"We are just awaiting the final confirmation from Donald McKenzie of CVC - he is either on his way here, or if he is not, then we will be speaking to him in the next hour.

"What is very pleasing is that the GPMA have stayed together and acted in unity on a difficult and challenging Memorandum of Understanding. It is quite a complex document, and obviously once you start to focus on the small print, it becomes quite a laborious process.

"It was quite a productive two days, and hopefully it will be executed today and some press announcement will follow. All the GPMA members are now prepared to sign.

"This will constitute now the biggest single commercial resolution and will allow us to move forward and focus on the future of F1.

"It is a document everyone is happy with. Inevitably, in the final throes of the negotiation there have been compromises reached, and I think everybody, especially in the last two years, entered this period with a strong desire to get resolution."

Q: Is the deal a five-year deal or a 10-year deal?

Dennis: "It is inappropriate for me to pre-empt any of the content of the press release. I feel comfortable with what I said to you, but most of the other questions that you will want answered will probably be contained in the press release, if it is finally executed and if the release is issued.

"The important thing is that the five GPMA members have completely agreed, the document has now been executed, with our colleagues at CVC left to put their own signature to the paper."

Q: How did the deal get done over a Grand Prix weekend, when you are under so much pressure to deliver, rather than on a Wednesday in London?

Dennis: "This is a process that has been running for years, it has been running a long, long time. This meeting was preceded by myself and Professor [Burkhard] Goeschel (BMW executive board member) and CVC Representatives.

"We met in Jersey earlier this week, and at that meeting we were addressing 15 points that were outstanding on the MOU. We found resolution on most of them, and the document was going backwards and forwards for detailed drafting.

"Ultimately, because there are teams who desperately want stability in order to plan, there was a heightened desire to arrive at a point where we could all simultaneously sign a document in order to show to each other that we were together and focused.

"This document is only the first step to a [new] Concorde Agreement and Sporting and Technical Regulations, and there is a long, long way to go.

"It is important to remember that primarily, this is a document about 2008, it is the absolute cornerstone of the future Concorde Agreement, and therefore an extremely detailed document - but a long way from the extensive document that will be the Concorde Agreement.

"It just so happens that every time we meet away from the circuit, everyone has to travel significant distances to arrive at one point, and we are all spread around Europe, so at a Grand Prix we are all here, and at the stage we got here, we were not that far away.

"So it is easy to sign a document simultaneously, because we are all here. The core objective was a unified agreement with simultaneously signing.

"It has not been signed by CVC yet, but their lawyers have been basically interfacing with our lawyers, so the document has been agreed. There is one small commercial point that we will need Donald to resolve as and when he arrives, but nothing of real significance."

Q: Is the commercial deal done?

Dennis: "This is a document that embraces the principles that relate to all issues, so it is an MOU that embraces the whole of the situation. But of course the FIA is extremely important into the formation of the Technical and Sporting Regulations, and at the end it is the starting point.

"Now, I would assume - and it is my assumption - that there will be parallel processes that will ultimately lead to a consolidated Concorde Agreement that will have as an integral part the Sporting and Commercial agreement. This is an open issue. They may stand separate, but they may be part of a unified document."

Q: Is this the deal you were always hoping for?

Dennis: "In anything there is always give-and-take, and you always look back on something and say, well... The process of not moving forward was starting to hurt our entire business.

"Sponsors want to feel confident, we need to develop F1, we need to stabilise a whole range of issues that have moved out of the spotlight and moved out from under the microscope. We have been focusing on the bigger picture issues and now we have got to start and go back and systematically address all the issues that need to be address for 2008.

"From a timing perspective it is 2008, a lot of the decisions that need to be taken sooner than that, but there is no decision that needs to be taken before February next year. Even if you had to make new engines - I am not suggesting for one minute we do - you could still accommodate it.

"In order to get to where we want to get to, now is the time the detailed work starts and hopefully everyone will realise it is a spirit of compromise and more importantly an environment where the democratic process is important. That is what we need.

"Once you have got the rigid framework that the Concorde Agreement can give you, which means stability, then I think everybody starts to spend a lot of money focusing on that stable situation, and that is when change really starts to cost money.

"So my own opinion is that we should be democratic to the point of stability, and then locked down where individual teams cannot be penalised for innovation and things like that. There is a lot of water to go under the bridge before we get to that point."

Q: Is this different to the the Williams deal (of agreeing to extend the Concorde Agreement)?

Dennis: "Honestly, inevitably all the teams are taken into consideration. There is no question, and it is great for them, that the situation we have arrived at is executed by CVC and is significantly different and more clearly defined in the breadth of the document, and what it addresses is far more broader than any of the existing documents. That is no more than anyone wanted.

"Clarity gives you the fundamental tools to move forward. Ambiguity is difficult to reflect in clear documents, there is a degree you can go from half a dozen heads and have a simple heads of agreement but it doesn't allow you to flesh out and guide and govern this complex sport."

Q: Were Renault urging you to move on?

Dennis: "Not really. Everyone has different agendas, and they clearly needed and wanted to understand the stability of F1, and that was taken into consideration. But we are all on parallel paths with a common desire to achieve a common objective, and that is what we did."
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Type_R said:
Very nice pics Joe T :)

Don't worry about bandwidth here - 20mbit downstream at home - got to love ADSL 2+ ;)
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It's good - but VDSL is better - also a hell of a lot rarer

Still awaiting for the line to be repaired though. :( Had to go down to 8mb.. :eek:

Simon/~Flibster
 
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