F1 in 2014

[Sven]

grandprix.com is reporting that the Caterham F1 team has been sold to Arabian interests based in Switzerland. What this means for the team going forward is anyone's guess....

Fernandes to confirm Caterham team sale this week

Ever since team founder and main backer Tony Fernandes departed Twitter with the message "F1 hasn't worked", Caterham has been officially silent.
The back-of-the-grid team did say Indonesian driver Rio Haryanto will drive the green car in the post-Silverstone test, but otherwise the lack of noise from Caterham has been filled up with speculation.
"I will be 100 per cent ready to work to the plan the team set and help them develop as best I can," Haryanto, who also drives for Caterham's GP2 team, said.
But now, team sources are spilling the beans behind the scenes.
Multiple reports have the details about Fernandes' falling out of love with F1 amid spiralling costs and the lack of results.
Veteran Swiss journalist Roger Benoit says he has heard that Fernandes, the Malaysian entrepreneur best known for the low-cost airline Airasia, will front Caterham's staff at the factory in Leafield on Tuesday.
There, Benoit wrote in the Blick newspaper, staff will be told that Caterham has been "sold to a consortium of Arab businessmen in Switzerland".
He said Fernandes, now enamoured with his newly premiership-qualified football club Queens Park Rangers, is particularly dismayed that F1 consistently failed to implement the budget cap he was promised from the start in 2010.
Team sources also claim that Caterham will make the news public before the British grand prix, adding that team boss Cyril Abiteboul will return to his former F1 employer, French engine supplier Renault.

 

[Sven]

Here's the official announcement from Caterham

CATERHAM F1 TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT
Leafield Technical Centre, UK - 2nd July 2014
Caterham F1 Team is pleased to confirm that Tony Fernandes and his partners have sold the team to a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors, advised by former F1 Team Principal Colin Kolles.
Under the terms of the sale, the team will continue to race as Caterham F1 Team and will remain based at Leafield for the foreseeable future.
The new ownership takes charge with immediate effect. Former Dutch F1 driver, Christijan Albers, assisted by Manfredi Ravetto, will take over the day-to-day running of the team, reporting directly to the board and replacing Cyril Abiteboul who will leave the team to pursue new challenges.
Christijan Albers:"We are aware of the huge challenge ahead of us given the fight at the bottom end of the Championship and our target now is to aim for tenth place in the 2014 Championship. We are very committed to the future of the team and we will ensure that the team has the necessary resources to develop and grow and achieve everything it is capable of.”

 

[ManWithNoName]

Colin Kolles?

Inb4 Sakon Yamamoto.

 

[Team DJ]

Im starting to agree more and more with BE.

A grid of 3 car teams

Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull, Lotus, William and Force India would be far better.


Plus have who heard he is threatening Monza. That will never ever happen/ Classic BE posturing

 

[ricardogp]

Yeah, the fact that he is quoted as saying "It's gone, bye bye" or something equally dramatic makes me think it is showboating. He's just after tweaking the 'commercial' aspects so that he gets more money.

Said the same about Silverstone for about 2 years.

 

[tazzietiger]

Bernie Ecclestone could be on the way out.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jul/03/formula-one-owners-sell-stake-bernie-ecclestone

 

[imadodgyumpire]

Just to bring to you guys attention. If you have a digital radio, there's an F1 preview on ABCGrandstand radio, from a bunch of guys who refer to themselves as "Box of Neutrals". They started for Austria. It's on from 9, and goes on right til the start of the race. More entertaining than the C10 preview.

https://twitter.com/BoxOfNeutrals

 

[tazzietiger]

Rumours are that Sainz Jr could be placed in a Caterham for the remaining races of the season.

Carlos Sainz Jr. has emerged as a possible candidate for Caterham, thanks to the Formula One team's relationship with Red Bull, and a deal has been discussed for the Spaniard to race for the team this season.

Sainz Jr., his father and Helmut Marko were seen paying a visit to the Caterham motorhome during the course of this past weekend.

Giving Sainz some race mileage now, prior to a possible move to STR for 2015, would be a logical step. However, a senior Red Bull source said that in the short term the company wants Sainz Jr. to focus on winning the Renault 3.5 series, which he currently leads after nine of 17 rounds -- although none of the remaining races clash with the F1 calendar.

It's worth remembering that in 2010 Red Bull placed Daniel Ricciardo at HRT in the middle of the season, in a deal brokered by Caterham advisor Colin Kolles.

http://msn.foxsports.com/motor/story/carlos-sainz-jr-in-frame-for-caterham-formula-one-seat-070814

 

[Sven]

Charles Pic tests Pirelli 18" concept tyre at Silverstone

The car was way off the pace because aerodynamically it is designed for the current 13" tyres, but the new tyres certainly look the part....

 

[Sven]

also - is the FIA going to ban FRIC (Front and Rear Interconnected) Suspension??? Reports vary, but FRIC could be banned as early as the next race, or for the start of 2015 due to it being interpreted as producing a moveable aerodynamic device.

Whiting suggests that the way the suspension systems help control pitch and roll could be in breach of article 3.15 of F1's technical regulations.
Article 3.15 is the catch-all regulation that relates to moveable aerodynamic devices. It outlaws any part of the car that influences the aerodynamics that is not "rigidly secured to the entirely sprung part of the car (rigidly secured means not having any degree of freedom)."
The FRIC systems link the front and rear suspension to maintain a constant ride height for improved performance.
Lotus (then called Renault) was the first team to introduce the concept in 2008.
Mercedes more recently took the design to the next level and is now believed to run the most complicated system, however it is unclear which team would suffer the most from a ban.

source: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114881

here's a good article from autosport that explains the system http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114890

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

I wondered how long it would take them to nerf the Mercedes.

 

[ManWithNoName]

F1 continues the farce of changing major rules mid season.

 

[Bacon Warrior]

Big rims don't belong on open wheelers.

 

[Simple Jack]

also - is the FIA going to ban FRIC (Front and Rear Interconnected) Suspension??? Reports vary, but FRIC could be banned as early as the next race, or for the start of 2015 due to it being interpreted as producing a moveable aerodynamic device.



source: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114881

here's a good article from autosport that explains the system http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114890

It's definitely a movable aero device. It moves, and affects the aerodynamics of the car. But if I remember correctly the rule says you can't have movable aero devices on the sprung part of the car. Is the suspension on the sprung part of the car? I would say it is the 'spring'.

Anyway ManWithNoName is on the money, it's a farce. I think I made a comment on here at one of the early races where Toto Wolff said something along the lines of "we are holding back so we don't win by too much" and I believe the reason for that is when you are too dominant, the FIA tries to bring you back to the pack. Just look at the RBR/blown diffuser/rake etc situation of recent years.

The last few races with both drivers fighting each other the Mercedes' have been way too fast. Silverstone was a joke, it was like Singapore last year.

 

[DREAM TEAM BUFF]

also - is the FIA going to ban FRIC (Front and Rear Interconnected) Suspension??? Reports vary, but FRIC could be banned as early as the next race, or for the start of 2015 due to it being interpreted as producing a moveable aerodynamic device.



source: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114881

here's a good article from autosport that explains the system http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/114890

What are they not going to ban ?

 

[ManWithNoName]

FIA bans anything resembling innovation and development then wonders why the fast team at the start of the year never seems to be caught.

 

[Trent Conheady]

Charles Pic tests Pirelli 18" concept tyre at Silverstone

The car was way off the pace because aerodynamically it is designed for the current 13" tyres, but the new tyres certainly look the part....

Those rims look great on that car though, I'm not sure if they would work as well on a Ferrari or a Caterham if the rims were of the same colour

 

[ManWithNoName]

Yep...

 

[imadodgyumpire]

Watching a show called The Pits. Ivan Capelli is being interviewed. He is an actual Italian, and referred to Ricciardo as Rich-iardo. That settles it then.

 

[DrKrieger]

They discussed pronouncing his name in the commentary of an earlier race (maybe Melbourne?) and one of them said that the correct Italian pronunciation is "Rich-iardo" but dan prefers "Rickardo" as that's how he pronounces his name when asked

 

[imadodgyumpire]

Dan like Bernard Tom-itch, doesn't know how to pronounce his name then.

 

[Crawb]

Watching a show called The Pits. Ivan Capelli is being interviewed. He is an actual Italian, and referred to Ricciardo as Rich-iardo. That settles it then.

Dan has said whilst probably technically it is meant to be pronounced like that due to his Italian heritage - But Dan himself has actually always pronounced it as Ric-cardo anyway.

 

[imadodgyumpire]

Dan has said whilst probably technically it is meant to be pronounced like that due to his Italian heritage - But Dan himself has actually always pronounced it as Ric-cardo anyway.

Dan's a flog!

 

[Crawb]

Dan's a flog!

Bit harsh, it's his name after all, he can pronounce how he likes...

 

[imadodgyumpire]

These second generation immigrants. Can't pronounce their own name!