Racing
December 4th, 2008 at 12:55am
Under Racing
Ferrari Formula 1 Lego - for your inner five-year-old
Lego! Scalextric! Wine! Sausages! More fun and unusual gifts with an F1 link (however tenuous)…
Toys
Ferrari Lego
When I was little this stuff would have been top of my Christmas list. And very little has changed (I’ve already got the big Ferrari F1 Lego model…)
These Ferrari Lego models come in a range of sizes for all different ages:
Scalextric
Scalextric slot cars are becoming increasingly sophisticated. These models are metal, not plastic, and are reasonably detailed as well. You can buy them as part of sets that include the track or individually. You can even get a Safety Car!
Airfix
Remember the building society advert featuring Lewis Hamilton as an Airfix model? Probably not if you’re outside Britain. Anyway, Airfix have now produced an official model of Hamilton’s McLaren in 1:32 scale.
Gadgets & games
McLaren-Mercedes gravity pen
A smart pen with the McLaren logo that stands on end and retracts and extends its nib with a weight-based mechanism.
rFactor
There hasn’t been an official Formula 1 game since 2006, so where should you look if you want to race the latest cars on the latest circuits? I recommend rFactor, which is immersive and realistic, and best of all has a huge community following. That means there are loads of people for you to race online and loads of circuits and cars to download from F1, NASCAR, CART and loads more.
Racing steering wheel
Whatever racing game you prefer, you can enhance the experience by switching from a joypad or keyboard to a proper steering wheel and pedals setup. I’ve got the Thrustmaster PC one but it’s gathering dust because I’m too busy writing F1 Fanatic…
Racing seat
If you’ve already got a selection of racing games and a steering wheel plus pedals setup, what comes next? A race seat. Immersive yourself fully in your game by mimicking a proper driving position. Several different version of these setups are available, I’ve never tested one myself, so if you’ve got a good one please leave a comment below.
Driving Games Manual (Haynes)
Haynes have branched out from car manuals to guides for pretty much everything – you can even get a Haynes’ manual for babies. Now Haynes have produced a guide to driving and racing video games, and there’s much nostalgic fun to be had in its pages. And the foreword’s by Bruno Senna.
Novelties
Laverstock Park Farm produce
Run by Ferrari’s 1979 F1 world champion Jody Scheckter, Laverstoke Park in Hampshire practices biodynamic, organic farming. Read more about his farming practices here and have a look at his produce, which can be ordered online:
Jarno Trulli wine
Toyota driver Jarno Trulli hails from Pescara in Italy which is known for several things: the huge road course which held a single Grand Prix in 1957, the local olive oil, and above the regional wines. Trulli runs his own vineyard and produces red and white wines.
You can’t buy them from his official website but you can order it in the UK from Avery’s and buyers in America will need to look up importer Marco Vivona.
“I am the Stig” T-Shirt
Who is the Stig? Ex-F1 driver Perry McCarthy was the original mute star of BBC’s Top Gear. But the identity (or identities) of the current ‘tamed racing driver’ is a mystery. Stake your claim to being the man behind the helmet with this T-shirt:
Driving experiences
I was originally going to put these in the ‘money no object’ category but a lot of them are quite affordable. Of course, the more you pay, the more laps you get and the faster the car is. You can go to Silvestone and drive the British Grand Prix circuit, and at Rockingham you can drive a full-blooded F1 race car, though it’s not cheap!
Here are some circuits in Britain which offer driving experiences, do post details of any good ones you’ve been to in the comments.
Sean Mills figurines
Recently featured on BritsOnPole, Sean Mills produces exquisitely detailed figurines of F1 drivers in limited quantities:
More F1 gift ideas coming later in this series including books, DVDs, clothes, caps and ‘money-no-object’ presents.
F1 Fanatic earns a commission on products sold via the links to our affiliate partners above, however you are not charged any extra.
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By Mikel
December 4th, 2008 at 12:55am
Under Racing
Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo is also the FOTA President
The Formula One Teams’ Association meets tomorrow to discuss changes it would like to introduce in F1. Writing on F1-Pitlane Dan Brunell declared:
I hope with the teams having a new sense of power with FOTA, they can stand up to the FIA.
Are FOTA a positive influence in F1? Do they have the strength to impose their vision of F1’s future on Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclerstone? Are their ideas any good? Here’s how they’ve performed on some of the key issues in F1 today.
The F1 calendar
In the last two years F1 has lost the United States, Canada and France from the F1 calendar, and the German round is under threat as well.
In each case the circumstances are the same: Ecclestone wants more money, as he has grown increasingly accustomed to governments (mainly but not exclusively Asian ones) paying through the nose to bring F1 to their shores. Many ‘traditional’ F1 venues cannot afford the sharp increase in fees.
The manufacturers generally embrace new markets (China) but some are less valuable to them (Bahrain, Abu Dhabi). Despite plunging new car sales the North American market remains hugely important and having no Grand Prix there at all for the first time in five decades beggars belief. Several team bosses have said they want it back.
The German car manufacturers have expressed concern at the potential loss of their home race and supported the idea that F1 must keep events at traditional venues.
But so far FOTA have not shown any ability to influence Ecclestone’s choice of F1 destinations in line with their wishes. More’s the pity, in my opinion, as the USA, Canada, France and Germany are four countries that should always be on the F1 schedule.
Technical rules
FOTA’s first showdown came when representatives Luca di Montezemolo (Ferrari) and John Howett (Toyota) met Max Mosley in response to his demands for proposals from the teams on how to reduce costs.
Details of what was agreed at the meeting are here: FIA-FOTA agreement: Teams’ proposals accepted as Mosley backs down on KERS
The original plan for manufacturers to supply customer engines at a cost of €10m per season has since been revised to €5m per season - in line with one of Mosley’s original requests.
At the same time, Mosley has been pushing for the adoption of standard engines all built to the same standard, which the manufacturers are strongly against. However a few of them (notably Honda and Renault) have proposed equalising the performance of the current engines for 2009.
Did Mosley play them - or is the battle still going on?
Pitpass reckons ‘the old Mosley magic’ was key in turning FOTA around on the subject of cheap engine supplies:
Following Tuesday’s meeting of the Formula One Teams Association, it is believed that, yet again, Max Mosley has worked his magic, leaving the teams thinking that they have made a decision whereby they are merely agreeing to what he really wanted in the first place.
When setting out his case for standard customer engines, the FIA President offered two other options, knowing exactly how manufacturers such as Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, Renault and Toyota would feel about running, for example, a re-badged Zytek powerplant.
[...]
As long-time Mosley observers will have predicted, it appears that the teams are looking at the third option - better known as the more acceptable of the three evils.
Did Mosley force FOTA into accepting the solution he wanted? If so, then why is the FIA pressing ahead with its plans for standard engines which, Pitpass suggests, was only ever part of an elaborate bluff?
Sporting rules
FOTA proposed dropping refuelling, Mosley put his foot down
Refuelling
One of the first suggestions of changes to F1 that FOTA wished to push for was the banning of refuelling. That got a positive reaction from me and many (though not all) of you.
But Max Mosley quickly quashed the idea, saying at the time he was not interested in implementing ideas that might alter the quality of ‘the show’.
Qualifying
Some FOTA members have expressed a desire to change qualifying. They propose an all-new ‘knock-out’ system where every car goes on track and the slowest car on each lap is eliminated, until a few cars are left which then have a shoot-out for pole position.
The proposal drew mixed reactions. Clive on F1 Insight was a fairly positive about the idea:
I suppose that it would be quite entertaining, with tension mounting as drivers dropped out and the survivors trying to avoid that bad lap that puts them in the danger zone… So I am guardedly in favor of the change.
Ollie on BlogF1 was less receptive:
I’ve never really been a fan of knock-out systems as it only reduces the number of potentially odd possibilities, one-off specials and rain-induced pole positions from the back-of-the-grid teams.
And I’m not keen either:
If the teams can agree to such a drastic overhaul of qualifying, could they not just as easily agree to amend the present system so that Q3 takes place with the cars using low fuel? That’s what I’d like to see.
Is it a good idea or not? Tomorrow’s meeting will show whether FOTA gets behind the plan and tries to get it approved by the FIA. Similarly, FOTA will discuss Ecclestone’s ‘gold medals’ plan in the same meeting (more on that tomorrow).
One for all and all for one?
Unity will always be a worry for FOTA. Their ten constituents represent different companies with different needs, and all are intensely competitive.
FOTA are ripe for exploitation: if one team manager feels he can gain a competitive advantage by selling out the other nine, he could be tempted. So far FOTA have proceeded cautiously and avoided falling prey to ‘divide and conquer’ tactics.
But it’s clear some of the business before them is only supported by some of the teams: equalising engine power and changing qualifying, for example.
In a bid to maintain unity they have set the bar for agreement on decisions quite high. Existing business must gain the unanimous support of all ten teams to be approved; new business requires a two-thirds majority, which means seven out of ten.
The potential downside to that is FOTA risks rendering itself incapable of taking tough decisions when the time calls for it.
Good or bad, weak or strong?
F1’s political sphere is especially murky and uncertain territory. Only a handful of people really know what goes on behind closed doors - which proposals are serious, and which are throwaway remarks to the press that get blown out of proportion.
I thought FOTA’s proposals in response to Mosley’s request for cost-cutting were sensible and I know from reading your comments how strongly many of you feel about the idea of standard engines in F1. I am not yet convinced that Mosley’s plans were a bluff.
But I was alarmed by FOTA’s qualifying proposal. It seems utterly unnecessary when F1 is faced with far more serious problems. Is it symptomatic of difficulties FOTA is having reaching consensus? Frankly I hope it is a minor suggestion that has simply received too much attention and will be largely ignored tomorrow while FOTA focuses on the more serious matters at hand.
What do you think of FOTA? Are they strong or weak? Are their proposals largely good or usually bad? Have your say in the comments.
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By Mikel
December 4th, 2008 at 12:55am
Under Racing
Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, home of premier Formula 1 and MotoGP races, is to undergo renovations to its paddock.
The works are slated to take place after both 2009 events, with the Spanish Grand Prix scheduled for May, and MotoGP’s Catalan Grand Prix in mid June, according to Catalunya Radio.
Circuit boss Ramon Praderas said the bulk of the work inside the venue would be on the 40,000 square metres of asphalt otherwise known as the ‘paddock’.
“We are going to pull up the paddock and make it again,” he confirmed, explaining that the task will take two or three months.
Praderas said it will be the first time the paddock has been re-laid, at an estimated cost of $6 million, since the circuit was constructed in 1991.
This is a news story from the GMM agency. Looking to trim down your F1 Fanatic feed so you don’t receive news? There’s now a feed that does just that - get the link here.
Read more about the Circuit de Catalunya
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By Mikel
December 4th, 2008 at 12:55am
Under Racing
Renault’s 2009 car, the R29, will make its test track debut on January 20th, team driver Fernando Alonso said at a sponsor event on Tuesday.
He also declared at the Madrid charity event, organised by Renault title sponsor ING for UNICEF, that he is scheduled to drive the 2008 car with slick tyres at Jerez on December 10th.
Alonso pointed out that the January car, to feature a KERS system for the first time, will be very different to the final configuration that will be taken to Melbourne in late March.
“The later you get the car ready, the better,” he told reporters.
“In fact, the car we will unveil on January 20th will have nothing to do with the car that arrives in the first race.”
This is a news story from the GMM agency. Looking to trim down your F1 Fanatic feed so you don’t receive news? There’s now a feed that does just that - get the link here.
Keep up-to-date with the launches and tests for 2009 using the F1 Fanatic calendar
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By Mikel
December 4th, 2008 at 12:55am
Under Racing
In the grip of the global financial crisis, Honda’s Formula 1 team has cancelled its usual annual post-season media lunch.
About 40 lucky guests were set to meet with chiefs of the Japanese squad this week at the plush Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons restaurant, located near Oxford about a half hour drive from the team’s Brackley (UK) factory.
However, in the wake of Japanese rival Toyota’s decision to forgo an official launch event for its 2009 car, Honda chief executive Nick Fry is believed to have decided to cancel the lunch.
In an email of apology, Fry confirmed that “severe economic pressure” was to blame for the change of plans.
“Honda, like others, has been forced to put production on short-time,” he explained.
“In light of this we do not think it would be appropriate to continue with our lunch,” said Fry.
This is a news story from the GMM agency. Looking to trim down your F1 Fanatic feed so you don’t receive news? There’s now a feed that does just that - get the link here.
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By Mikel
December 4th, 2008 at 12:55am
Under Racing
Fernando Alonso has said he will consider leaving Formula 1 if the sport enforces standard engines from 2010.
The FIA proposal has been highly controversial, particularly among F1’s car manufacturers, who have hinted the move might be reason enough to withdraw from the grid.
Former double world champion Alonso, who drives for Renault, agrees with their logic.
“If they approve a single engine, that would be the last straw. It would be time to start thinking about retirement,” the 27-year-old said at a team sponsor event in Spain.
Alonso said standardising parts like engines would be another “backwards step” for formula one.
He said the last V10 engines with nearly 1000 horse power, before the sport reverted to the current V8s, were “exciting for the drivers - auto racing at its limit.
“We’ve gone from a glimpse of the future to cars without electronic aids and no grip (and) which are a visual image of the past.”
This is a news story from the GMM agency. Looking to trim down your F1 Fanatic feed so you don’t receive news? There’s now a feed that does just that - get the link here.
Read more: Ilmor tipped to win FIA standard engine tender
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By Mikel
December 4th, 2008 at 12:55am
Under Racing
The government of Germany’s Baden-Wuerttemberg state has convened a meeting to discuss the financial strife of the formula one circuit Hockenheim.
The loss-making venue said this week that it will no longer host the Grand Prix in 2010 or beyond without state financial support.
And even though state officials have so far declined direct grants, the Mannheimer Morgen newspaper said a meeting with stakeholders of the local region has been organised with the aim of finding a solution.
The German car manufacturers on the grid, however, insist it is not their role to bail out race hosts.
“The teams and manufacturers are responsible for the sport, not for the financing of the race meetings,” Mercedes’ Norbert Haug told the news agency SID.
A BMW spokesman added: “Commercial considerations are for the organisers and for FOM. It is here that a solution must be found.”
Hockenheim’s woes have raised doubts that Germany’s entire future on the F1 calendar could be in danger, given the current arrangement with the Nürburgring to annually alternate the hosting rights.
“Like some other European races, Germany is a fundamental component of the Grand Prix schedule,” a concerned Hermann Tomczyk, sport president of the German automobile club, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
This is a news story from the GMM agency. Looking to trim down your F1 Fanatic feed so you don’t receive news? There’s now a feed that does just that - get the link here.
Read more
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By Mikel
December 4th, 2008 at 12:55am
Under Racing
Heikki Kovalainen believes McLaren’s approach to the 2008 season cost him race wins.
In a candid interview with the Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell, Kovalainen has confirmed that some behind-the-scenes goings-on during his first season with McLaren often made “good results impossible”.
“Only once was I lighter (on fuel) than Lewis,” said Kovalainen, referring to qualifying, “and that was at Silverstone, where I was on the pole.
“In all the other qualifyings I was fuelled more heavily. I was often the heaviest guy in the top six or seven.
“Obviously this has an effect also in the race,” he insisted, pointing out the compromise in track position, tyre wear, and time lost in traffic.
When rumours began gathering pace that Kovalainen’s seemingly lacklustre performances this year might threaten his seat for 2009, the Finn said he had no doubt about his position.
“The team knew exactly what was taking place,” he said. “If I had been at the front more often, then I would have won more frequently.
“So that’s something we have to look at for the coming year,” Kovalainen said.
This is a news story from the GMM agency. Looking to trim down your F1 Fanatic feed so you don’t receive news? There’s now a feed that does just that - get the link here.
Read more about Heikki Kovalainen: Heikki Kovalainen biography
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By Mikel
December 4th, 2008 at 12:55am
Under Racing
Fernando Alonso on Tuesday said he is happy Formula 1 will enter a new tyre era in 2009.
The Renault driver said the last two seasons, when Bridgestone was the sole supplier of grooved tyres, were difficult.
Next year, the Japanese supplier will still be the sole supplier, but for the first time since 1997, the dry specifications of tyre will be ’slicks’.
Alonso, 27, admitted in Madrid that he was not a fan of Bridgestone’s control grooves.
“The cars had to be driven in an unique way,” he said, “with more difficulties than ever.
“The tyres were sensitive under braking and offered little grip, and had a strange feeling in the curves.
“They were very different to the days when (Bridgestone) were competing with Michelin,” added the former double world champion.
This is a news story from the GMM agency. Looking to trim down your F1 Fanatic feed so you don’t receive news? There’s now a feed that does just that - get the link here.
Read more
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By Mikel
December 4th, 2008 at 12:55am
Under Racing
High costs, empty grandstands
"This year only Canada, Great Britain, Singapore and Brazil could boast full houses, with special circumstances prevailing in each instance."
South Africa getting serious about F1?
"The story in The Citizen indicates that track designer Hermann Tilke has been to Guateng in the last month and spent three days looking at a disused quarry near Kyalami which is believed to have been earmarked for the project by Mashatile's government." Isn't there something similar already in Kyalami?
Robert Kubica, shouldn’t he be happy about his 2008 season?
"It is hard to say if these are Kubica’s real feelings or only some quotes taken out of context by media. But if I were in his position, I would also consider the 2008 season as an opportunity lost."
BMW - World champions 2009?
"McLaren certainly expect to start the season a bit behind, as they threw so much effort into winning this year’s championship. Robert Kubica was certainly very jealous that McLaren did that for Hamilton when BMW would not do the same for him. He will have his chance next season."
BBC Sports Personality shortlist confirmed
"The youngest-ever F1 world champion will go head to head with swimmer Rebecca Adlington, cycling champions Nicole Cooke, Chris Hoy, Rebecca Romero and Bradley Wiggins, sailor Ben Ainslie and runner Christine Ohuruogu as well as super-middleweight Joe Calzaghe and British tennis number one Andy Murray."
I'm sure some of Hamilton's rivals are worthy contenders, but my only interest in this is seeing an F1 person win. Yes, I'm that shallow.
Boeing Phantom Works races to develop computational fluid dynamics tools with Renault F1
"Boeing aims to capitalise on the opening of a new £10 million ($15 million) computational fluid dynamics research centre by its technical partner, Grand Prix team Renault F1, as the two companies work to develop new CFD design tools."
Kazuki: Uglier cars okay if more passing
Kazuki Nakajima: “Firstly, [the new aero rules] haven’t made the cars look very attractive. But, if the new regulations encourage more overtaking, I think it’s worth it.”
These are articles I’ve found and bookmarked using Delicious. View my Delicious profile to see what else I’m reading and recommend other links to me.
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By Mikel
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