[valis]

gad........i read somewhere today that schumi is 'guaranteeing' podium finishes next year.....this 'silly season' is shaping up to be one of the silliest ever. Banishing team rules, return of KERS....what next? No overtaking except during the beer laps?

[pyritechips]

Originally Posted by valis

gad........i read somewhere today that schumi is 'guaranteeing' podium finishes next year.....this 'silly season' is shaping up to be one of the silliest ever. Banishing team rules, return of KERS....what next? No overtaking except during the beer laps?

Ha! Maybe Schumey is dreaming that Mercedes is going to make Rosberg pull over for him? I don't care how much Brawn loves him, Michael should have stayed retired and not made a fool of himself.

[valis]

agreed. Sorta like that Farve dude from (your perspective) south of the border.

[pyritechips]

Where F1 is heading:

‘Major changes’ set for 2013 Formula 1 cars

[paisanol69]

Yea...I saw that a fews(?) days ago,^^^^^^^^^^

and after following the link to another site ( from the mostly useless official F1 site) I saw the available downloads in pdf format, for the official technical specs, and the official rules (both ammended to reflect all the upcoming changes) so I downloaded them, in english.

Next year I will have them to hand, when theres controversy during a race ( I could NOT find them this year) so I am ready for whatever happens, at least until they change them again...

[paisanol69]

....thread and get it back up on the front page for a while,

What better way to start, than posting a nice juicy tidbit, that illustrates how ole Bernie can work behind the scenes ( maybe thats why he can afford to wear a third of a million dollars in personal jewelery, and donate it to charity, during a street solicitation, without batting an eyebrow)

...A former German bank executive who was charged with overseeing the sale of a large stake in the company that controls Formula 1’s commercial rights to current holder CVC has been arrested in Germany'.....


.....Gerhard Gribkowsky, a former risk manager at German bank BayernLB, was taken into custody on Wednesday on charges of corruption, tax fraud and breach of trust towards his employer amid a probe relating to the sale of his former bank’s shares in F1 to private equity firm CVC in 2006......



.......According to widespread media reports on Thursday, prosecutors in Munich are alleging that Gribkowsky led the bank to sell its 48% stake without its worth being properly evaluated and that he “in turn received $50 million in payments disguised via two consultancy agreements........

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=49863

[paisanol69]

...and what I find even more interesting, is how they are spending the money, to acquire the talent that they (Ferrari) think is going to help them be in a better position to win, in the next season.

(I wonder how much his contract cost them?)

....Ferrari replaces Chris Dyer with Pat Fry as its race track engineering chief

......Media reports in the aftermath of the strategic error that cost Fernando Alonso the title in the Abu Dhabi season finale attributed the mistake to the team’s head of race track engineering Dyer, and on Tuesday Ferrari announced that his role would be taken over by current assistant technical director Fry......

......In a further apparent bid to beef up its trackside operations and strategy calls for the new season, Ferrari has also announced the signing of Red Bull’s chief strategist Neil Martin......


......Englishman Martin, who also worked at McLaren prior to joining RBR in 2006, will head up a new operations research department at Ferrari where he will report directly to Costa......

http://www.itv-f1.com/news_article.aspx?id=49859

[pyritechips]

Good posts. I read about them both but was a bit busy to get them down.

Bankers and sleazy business and Bernie: business as usual in F1

I can see a real head-to-head battle between Ferrari and REd Bull next year but the ponies need a better second driver if they want to challenge for the constructors' championship. I'd like to see Kubica with the team.

[pyritechips]

How long before Hispania folds? They were already in trouble and now they are crying sour grapes by calling FOTA "nonsense" and admitting that they did not pay the 2010 fees. Sounds like a team up against the wall trying to save every penny possible before folding. It would not be a risky bet to say they won't be on the grid come March 13.

[paisanol69]

I think you may have it right!

They had a lot of controversy during the season last year, and now that you mention they did not pay their FOTA fees for last season, it's not going to bode well for them, with the other teams.

It's too bad that Alonso isn't a part of their organization ..LOL

[pyritechips]

On a sad note:

Tyrrell designer Derek Gardner dies aged 79

Those were heady times. Cars with wings, six wheels, big fans in the back. A time before corporate sponsorship or manufacturer's buying teams. A time when guys like Ken Tyrell and Gardner could field a car of their own dreams and win...

Bon voyage, Derek. And I miss you too, Ken.

[pyritechips]

Something to keep an eye on. Not that long ago Ferrari honcho Domenicali stated that Massa "quit" in the second half of 2010. Now these latest stories:

‘No decisions on Massa right now’ – Domenicali

(Not right now, but later?)

And:

Too many buttons on steering wheel, says Massa

(Negative reinforcement? Not a good sign.)

[valis]

too many buttons?

Yup, they're building towards something.

[pyritechips]

Yeah Tim. Don't be shocked if you see one of those "...Mutually decided to part company..." stories out of Maranello, followed closely by the announcement of Ferrari's first ever Polish driver.

Remember, you heard it here first.

[valis]

I'd not mind seeing Kubica in Ferrari livery.......love to see him smoke that whiny puke of a spaniard........