F1 2014 thread

[Grouter]

Most of those free streaming sites are a nightmare without an ad-blocker. I only know that from trying to view them on other people's pc's.

 

[AR_GTR]

I'm not hating. I just love F1 and have done for over thirty years. To win "at all costs" is not always sporting. I don't support any particular driver. I just love the sport. I've watched every F1 GP since 1984.

Joe Saward wrote a piece about "crashgate" in Singapore in 2008 which I believe should be compulsory required reading for anyone thinking of getting involved in motorsport - in fact, any sport for that matter.

You can find it here: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/two-crashes/

But I'll paste in the last (salient) paragraph:

"Winning is not about finishing first, winning is about passion, about pride, about the joy and the thrill of the contest.

And if you have to manufacture that, then you are lost… and have no place in the sport."

A win is a win. The driver with the most points at the end of the year is the champion.

 

[Grouter]

A win is a win. The driver with the most points at the end of the year is the champion.

The "It's not how you play the game, it's whether you win or lose" argument doesn't wash with me.

 

[Polish]

Click link
Wait for 8 or so second count-down
Click tiny X:
http://gyazo.com/522a83eee2156b7d92676cfc9b312b98
Click second tiny X:
http://gyazo.com/ffbb16264e26d80a3ca49c151db07c28
Streaming starts
Click any other tiny X's that appear over the image.

Final result:
http://gyazo.com/6749531b7cd8d1a4c41d9b95466f752f
I use adblock so that's what I see - without adblock it might be different.

ok lets see how it goes, i'll tune in Sat morning.

 

[Polish]

Schumacher returns home to continue recovery

Michael Schumacher has left hospital in Switzerland and returned to his family home to continue his recovery from the extensive head injuries he suffered in a skiing accident eight months ago.

However, the seven-time world champion still faces a "long and difficult road" to recovery, according to his manager Sabine Kehm.

"Henceforth, Michael's rehabilitation will take place at his home," said Kehm. Considering the severe injuries he suffered, progress has been made in the past weeks and months. There is still, however, a long and difficult road ahead."

Schumacher suffered severe brain injuries when he hit his head on a rock at a French ski resort in December. He underwent two operations to remove haematomas from the brain and reduce swelling at the Grenoble University Hospital before he was transferred to the CHUV Hospital in Lausanne.

"We would like extend our gratitude to the entire team at CHUV Lausanne for their thorough and competent work," Kehm's statement added. "We ask that the privacy of Michael's family continue to be respected, and that speculations about his state of health are avoided."

It was announced by Schumacher's family in June that he was no longer in a medically induced coma.

http://en.espnf1.com/f1

Keep fighting MS !!!

 

[AR_GTR]

Luca di Montezemolo is officially stepping down. Alonso is free to join McLaren next year

 

[thestaggy]

If Alonso goes to McLaren, what does this mean for Ferrari? Raikonnen and Jules Bianchi? Beyond that, Bottas is contracted for 2015, but keep an eye on his progress next season and add him? Maybe target a potential Mercedes outcast if those two can't play nicely?

 

[Grouter]

Vettel to Ferrari?

 

[Polish]

Luca di Montezemolo is officially stepping down. Alonso is free to join McLaren next year

Didn't take long, did it.

 

[Polish]

Didn't take long, did it.

I do feel that this may further upset things at Ferrari in the short term. Change at the top is usually strategic in the name of long term improvements. Marchionne will come with his own strategy and Mattiacci will need to readjust, unless that was the whole plan from the beginning.

 

[Polish]

Vettel to Ferrari?

possible

 

[Polish]

If Alonso goes to McLaren, what does this mean for Ferrari? Raikonnen and Jules Bianchi? Beyond that, Bottas is contracted for 2015, but keep an eye on his progress next season and add him? Maybe target a potential Mercedes outcast if those two can't play nicely?

He can only leave if Ferrari finish lower than 3rd, so ja, at this stage he can go, Williams are 15 points ahead of Ferrari and not looking like they are slowing down.

 

[Willie Trombone]

Didn't take long, did it.

Just one call from the Godfather...

 

[Agent_Smith]

I see Luca De montezemelo has resigned from (or forced out?) Ferrari. Article on Supersport.

 

[Willie Trombone]

lol...works now....how dumb...who would have thought to click them?

I suspect that if you don't have adblock enabled, you'd actually see the rest of the ads - all you get are the blank overlays. Works like a kiddies club secret handshake lol.

 

[Willie Trombone]

He can only leave if Ferrari finish lower than 3rd, so ja, at this stage he can go, Williams are 15 points ahead of Ferrari and not looking like they are slowing down.

And now he's in a position to make it happen should he wish

 

[TehStranger]

Vettel to Ferrari?

Oh please no.

Would be happy with Alonso at either Ferrari or McLaren.

 

[Polish]

And now he's in a position to make it happen should he wish

Hehe, yes true this, and Kimi helping

 

[Polish]

Ferrari through and through - Luca di Montezemolo in profile

Luca di Montezemolo’s impending departure from Ferrari will bring to an end one of the most enduring partnerships in F1 racing.

The Italian was initially drafted into Ferrari by parent company Fiat in 1973; quickly becoming both Enzo Ferrari’s right-hand man and the Scuderia’s sporting director. The Prancing Horse had not won the world title since John Surtees had triumphed in 1964, so in that sense Di Montezemolo’s brief was simple: return Ferrari to winning ways.

After looking at the racing team’s working structure, Di Montezemolo quickly realised the value in employing one of the sport’s up and coming racers. Following a failed attempt to sign James Hunt - Di Montezemolo would later describe a meeting between Ferrari and Hunt’s then team manager Lord Hesketh as “like putting the devil and holy water together” - the stylish young businessman pushed the Maranello team to sign the promising young Austrian Niki Lauda. It turned out to be a very fruitful move.

The title eluded Lauda and Ferrari in 1974, but in 1975 everything went perfectly with double championship success secured at home in Monza.

“That was the crowning of a dream that had begun two years earlier, built day by day and the fruits of long days of hard work, evenings spent talking to the drivers, engineers and mechanics and some sleepless nights,” Di Montezemolo told the official Ferrari website .

“It was a wonderful emotion to see the joy of the team and the fans and to feel that, behind those successes, there was also the result of my work.”

Di Montezemolo’s role within Ferrari would change following that season, but he remained involved in the team until 1977 before going on to work successfully in other areas of the Fiat empire.

He’d return to Ferrari in November 1991 as president, not long after successfully managing the organising committee of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy.

The Scuderia had lost its way slightly following the death of founder Enzo Ferrari in 1988, so once again Di Montezemolo was tasked with returning Ferrari to the forefront of F1.

In the years that followed the passionate and frequently outspoken Italian was responsible for the most important moves in Ferrari’s recent history - the 1993 signing of Jean Todt to lead the Scuderia and the 1995 capture of double world champion Michael Schumacher.

Aided by the likes of Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne, Todt and Schumacher drove Ferrari into an era of unparalleled success as Di Montezemolo watched on with pride. In all, five drivers’ championships and six constructors’ crowns were captured during an incredible run between 1999 and 2004, with Schumacher’s triumph in the 2000 drivers’ championship perhaps the most emotional of the lot, coming a full 21 years after the Scuderia’s last success.

Three further titles were added in the post-Schumacher era, but further championship bids have fallen short, despite the best efforts of Fernando Alonso, a driver whom Di Montezemolo has referred to as “the best in the world”.

But even though he’s set to step down from his role as chairman of Ferrari with the Scuderia in a slight dip, Di Montezemolo will always be remembered as one of the most important people in the history of Formula One’s most iconic team.

His departing words said it best: “Together with my family, [Ferrari] was, and continues to be, the most important thing in my life”.

www.formula1.com

 

[Polish]

Three car teams a sign of panic?

The potential for teams to enter a third car has reared its head once more, this time with the suggestion that some teams could feature an extra car as soon as next season.
Over the Italian Grand Prix weekend former Williams CEO Adam Parr tweeted that 2014 was "the last year of F1 as we know it. In 2015 eight teams will contest the championship, with several teams entering three cars."
It was a suggestion denied by McLaren's Racing Director, Eric Boullier, who admitted that while it has been a topic of conversation he does not think a third car for some teams is the immediate answer to the (financial) pressure being applied at the bottom end of the pitlane.
"There is, as usual, a lot of discussion around the situation which is not comfortable for some teams," Boullier explained. "I obviously hope that there would be some understanding and some development in the business model of F1 in the near future to not go that far and not be that provocative."
The push for three car teams is not new, Ferrari has long advocated the move as a way of mitigating dwindling car numbers, but this current suggestion seems directed at something more deeply seated.
Both Caterham and Sauber have uncertain futures. While Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll has been linked with a move for the Swiss team there remain question marks over it, as there do the new owners at Caterham. With only eleven teams on the grid now, the loss of one or both would have a major impact.
When contacted by Pitpass, Parr would not be drawn further on his tweet, though we can clearly read into Boullier's response.
"Formula One is going through a transition," he said. "In the last decade budget has literally gone through the roof and now we are in a different economic situation.
"There are potentially a couple of teams that may suffer from this, and I don't know if they will be still on the grid."
The problem is that this period of economic strife has been ever present. Outside of the top few teams, where money is no issue, most have been barely scraping by. But such is the nature of Formula One – those at the top have typically flowered while those at the bottom tend to dwindle. Forti, Larousse, Brabham, Ligier and a litany of others have all fallen by the wayside.
The difference now is, with effectively a franchise system preventing new teams from easily entering the sport, and commercial self-interests putting teams at odds with any relaxation of entry requirements, there is no simple way to keep grid numbers at a sustainable level.
While Boullier rejected the notion of three car teams his reaction gave one the impression that it is far from the most radical proposal to have been tabled.

www.pitpass.com