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What a bell.
Everyday I think more and more, that him and Maximillan have gotta go.
Berinie rules the world man.
he has the one ring.
Not long until first practice now. I wonder what the biggest surprise, if any, will be.
Not long until first practice now. I wonder what the biggest surprise, if any, will be.
People realise Ecclestone was right and Mclaren were sandbaging as Lewis goes 2 secs faster than everyone else.
Sets the Pole with ease and wins the race by 2 laps.
F1 lifts bushfire victims' spiritshttp://www.autosport.com/news/grapevine.php/id/73869
By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, March 24th 2009, 09:28 GMT
BMW Sauber test driver Christian Klien and former Minardi boss Paul Stoddart on Tuesday did their bit to lift the spirits of victims of the recent Australian bushfires, with an F1 demonstration through the streets of a town badly hit by the disaster.
Klien drove his BMW Sauber while Stoddart provided a two-seater Minardi for Zsolt Baumgartner to drive, on a special 220-metre track that had been laid out through the centre of Kinglake.
More than 200 people were killed in the bushfires last month, which badly ravaged parts of Kinglake.
Town residents packed the streets and Stoddart arranged for some of those who suffered in the tragedy to get a ride in his two-seater.
Speaking about his experience afterwards, Klien said: "We saw on the news back in Europe what happened with the fires, and I flew there this morning by helicopter and you could see what happened to the land there.
"It was nice to bring the people up there a bit of happiness and to run our Formula 1 car there. You really could see the smiles on the faces of the kids, and it was a really nice thing to do."
The demonstration at Kinglake is just the start of a weekend of efforts by the F1 community to help the victims and honour the heroes. The F1 drivers on Sunday are set to have their pre-race parade laps on the back of local fire trucks.
Red Bull 'optimistic' about RB5 pacehttp://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73867
By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, March 24th 2009, 09:01 GMT
Mark Webber has said that his Red Bull Racing team is heading into this weekend's Australian Grand Prix in an 'optimistic' mood after some encouraging results from testing.
The new RB5 set some promising times during its initial running and, although it did not repeat such headline-grabbing performances in more recent testing, Webber is bullish about the team's prospects.
"We are going in with a little bit of optimism actually," said Webber in Melbourne on Tuesday. "We are looking forward to seeing how all the times roll out after qualifying.
"With Barcelona and Jerez, we tested at only two tracks in Europe for the whole of winter testing and now we have come to a different venue, so we need to get our head around Albert Park very quickly, which is the same every year. But we are optimistic we will be somewhere up there."
He added: "It's been a different testing situation with the testing ban, so a lot of teams here are probably a little bit undercooked, but we are all in the same boat - so we are all looking forward to getting the season under way. It will be a good season ahead and I'm looking forward to it."
Webber concedes that rival Brawn GP is heading into Melbourne as favourites judging by its pre-season testing form, but behind those cars he thinks the field is very open.
"The Brawn cars look quite interesting. They started quite late but it looks like they have produced a very, very fast car... as they were doing times at Barcelona that nobody else could get near.
"I think you have got Toyota up there and you can never underestimate Ferrari. There are so many teams doing the same lap times with the exception of Brawn, so we will just have to see how it goes come this weekend. The only probable surprise is McLaren because of its lack of performance, but you can never underestimate McLaren."
Although Webber is walking with a limp as a legacy of November's leg-breaking cycling accident, he says there is no concern about his fitness for driving.
"Yeah I am pretty good," he said about his recovery. "I was being pretty aggressive in the last few months as I always wanted to be better one week than I was the week before.
"The people around me have been good at getting me to this stage. I am absolutely fine, and in the car is fantastic. I would like to be able to walk a bit faster, and walk a bit cleaner, as I have a little bit of a limp, but that will happen with time.
"It is still healing a little bit, but when I am in the car it is absolutely fine so there is no need to worry about that."
Red Bull Racing will not be starting the season with KERS, even though engine supplier Renault has given the go-ahead for its system to be used this weekend.
Webber said he did not expect his team to have its device ready to race until at least the start of the European season.
"We are not ready as a team," he explained. "It could be five or six races before we bring it on."
Massa: Brawn GP our main rivalhttp://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/73863
By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, March 24th 2009, 08:13 GMT
Felipe Massa has singled out Brawn GP as Ferrari's main challenger for victory in this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Brawn GP's new car has looked quick in the limited pre-season testing it has done, and Massa believes that the form that Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello have shown is set to be carried through into the first race of the campaign.
"Looking at the latest test sessions, for sure Brawn GP is the main opponent," Massa was quoted as saying by the Associated Press before he flew out to Australia. "We saw Brawn GP rising from the ashes, running a second faster than everyone else."
Although wary of the Brawn GP threat, Massa is delighted with the progress Ferrari has made with its new F60.
"The car is competitive, it's quick and it's constant," he explained. "We were able to make a few race simulations and there were no problems with the car. We are ready to start the championship and I hope we will be as competitive as in the previous years."
Massa also admitted he was surprised that former main rival McLaren had had such a difficult time with the testing of its new car - and did not think the team was sandbagging.
"A lot of people say that the tests are not as important as a race weekend, which is true, but when you are always running behind it shows that you are not doing well," Massa said.
Flavio and Ron 'threatened to boycott' opening race
Tuesday 24th March 2009
The build-up to the 2009 Formula One season opener has been rocky, to say the least, and now it has been claimed that Flavio Briatore and Ron Dennis "threatened to organise a boycott" for the race in Australia.
Issues like the "winner-takes-all" system and the diffuser row have already overshadowed what's happening on track and it appears things are not getting any easier for Bernie Ecclestone.
According to The Times, the Renault team principal and the chairman of McLaren Mercedes held a meeting with the F1 supremo in his London office and they 'got so hot under the collar about money that they claim he owes them that they threatened to organise a boycott of the opening race of the season in Melbourne on Sunday'.
"Flavio said, 'we're not going to put our cars on the plane, we're not going to Melbourne,'" Ecclestone is quoted by the paper.
"He - Flavio - started it, aided and abetted by Ron Dennis.
"I picked up the phone to our people that handle all the freight to ask them to cancel the aeroplanes. They were saying, 'all the Fota-schmota are not going - nobody's going to go.' So I said what I'd better do is cancel the aircraft obviously. It costs a fortune to charter those things and almost as much to cancel them."
Ecclestone had the following warning to people making empty threats: "If they come in here with a gun and hold it to my head, they had better be sure they can f***ing pull the trigger. And they should make sure it's got bullets in it because, if they miss, they better look out."
Not long until first practice now. I wonder what the biggest surprise, if any, will be.
People realise Ecclestone was right and Mclaren were sandbaging as Lewis goes 2 secs faster than everyone else.
Sets the Pole with ease and wins the race by 2 laps.
Dream land. Have you went back in time to '98?
From PlantF1Flavio and Ron 'threatened to boycott' opening race
Tuesday 24th March 2009
The build-up to the 2009 Formula One season opener has been rocky, to say the least, and now it has been claimed that Flavio Briatore and Ron Dennis "threatened to organise a boycott" for the race in Australia.
Issues like the "winner-takes-all" system and the diffuser row have already overshadowed what's happening on track and it appears things are not getting any easier for Bernie Ecclestone.
According to The Times, the Renault team principal and the chairman of McLaren Mercedes held a meeting with the F1 supremo in his London office and they 'got so hot under the collar about money that they claim he owes them that they threatened to organise a boycott of the opening race of the season in Melbourne on Sunday'.
"Flavio said, 'we're not going to put our cars on the plane, we're not going to Melbourne,'" Ecclestone is quoted by the paper.
"He - Flavio - started it, aided and abetted by Ron Dennis.
"I picked up the phone to our people that handle all the freight to ask them to cancel the aeroplanes. They were saying, 'all the Fota-schmota are not going - nobody's going to go.' So I said what I'd better do is cancel the aircraft obviously. It costs a fortune to charter those things and almost as much to cancel them."
Ecclestone had the following warning to people making empty threats: "If they come in here with a gun and hold it to my head, they had better be sure they can f***ing pull the trigger. And they should make sure it's got bullets in it because, if they miss, they better look out."
Maybe one day his wish will come true ... how many times has Bernie held a gun to the whole of F1.
- By darwin daliYeah, not very active here, unfortunately. Is it […]
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