Entries in Andretti (3)
Audi
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 11:05AM
Following on from yesterday's comments on Audi being involved with the design of the 2013 F1 engine, their racing Chief, Dr. Ulrich, came out and said "There's a very good reason why we are not in F1, there's no relevance to the road. At Le Mans, one of our cars will cover 325 miles more than an F1 car will cover in an entire season, our average speed including pitstops will be 20mph higher than an F1 car and we will use 42% less fuel." And a lot less tires! They can run two or three stints of 45 minutes or more on a set, so a GP's worth. Now some of this is down to the characteristics of the Le Mans circuit, but can you imagine if they stopped every thirty miles or so for a set of treads? Anyway, it goes back to the question why Audi was involved in the F1 engine in the first place?
The blood has started to flow over at Ferrari after Sunday's disaster of being lapped with Aldo Costa "stepping down" as the Technical Director in favor of Pat Fry. Several other changes were made, but Domenicali is safe, for now.
Back at Indy it seems qualifying did not end Sunday. As Paul Tracy said, Monday is now Check Book Bump Day with Andretti buying a seat at Foyt's team for their man Hunter-Ray. So we sat and watched all the pathos of Ryan and his girlfriend after he was bumped, and the anguish on Michael's face, only to have him buy their way in. No wonder he looked anguished, he was calculating what it was going to cost him. Perhaps there is a whole new business here, get qualified for a race and then sell the place, or just hire yourself out. What would pole in F1 be worth do you think? What sort of joke is this? What do the fans who actually sat through the day, rain and all, think? A very sad day for a famous race. We know drivers have been buying their seat in Indycar, under whatever name, and some do in F1, but buying a starting spot?
Talking of buying a starting spot, Kimi is confirmed on the entry list for this weeks Nationwide race in Joe Nemechek's team. And yes I can be two-faced and say this once is OK.
The blood has started to flow over at Ferrari after Sunday's disaster of being lapped with Aldo Costa "stepping down" as the Technical Director in favor of Pat Fry. Several other changes were made, but Domenicali is safe, for now.
Back at Indy it seems qualifying did not end Sunday. As Paul Tracy said, Monday is now Check Book Bump Day with Andretti buying a seat at Foyt's team for their man Hunter-Ray. So we sat and watched all the pathos of Ryan and his girlfriend after he was bumped, and the anguish on Michael's face, only to have him buy their way in. No wonder he looked anguished, he was calculating what it was going to cost him. Perhaps there is a whole new business here, get qualified for a race and then sell the place, or just hire yourself out. What would pole in F1 be worth do you think? What sort of joke is this? What do the fans who actually sat through the day, rain and all, think? A very sad day for a famous race. We know drivers have been buying their seat in Indycar, under whatever name, and some do in F1, but buying a starting spot?
Talking of buying a starting spot, Kimi is confirmed on the entry list for this weeks Nationwide race in Joe Nemechek's team. And yes I can be two-faced and say this once is OK.
Kimi
Monday, May 23, 2011 at 11:28AM
Just as I thought, there is a Nationwide Toyota waiting for Kimi to drive this weekend at Charlotte. It appeared in Joe Nemechek's shop and will be entered by his team, Kyle Bush does not have a Nationwide team, yet. Kimi has a guaranteed start due to Joe's owner's points in the series. Is he going to test beforehand? I would think the Nationwide car would be easier to adjust to than the truck, but what do I know, that's where they all seem to start. This is a marketing dream for NASCAR, even bigger than Montoya. Perhaps I'll watch the Nationwide race this week?
Renault are saying it is unlikely that Kubica will return this year, which is no real surprise. Let us just hope he can return at all.
Bernie gave the Crown Prince of Bahrain an audience at Barcelona. How important must Bernie feel when he has Royalty coming to see him? Of course the Prince came to give Bernie the message that it is safe to come back, but I doubt the teams feel that way. Ross Brawn is against the extension of the season, says his guys need a break. Nice way to not go.
Pirelli media celebrity, Paul Hembery, announced himself happy that the hard compounds did not wear. Did not grip either according to the drivers, especially Alonso. Steel tires would probably not wear either, and we would not have the "marbles" that were still very evident at Barcelona.
No protests after the race, but Colin Kolles of HRT is telling the teams they need to fix their engine mapping or he will protest in Monaco. Their supplier, Cosworth, have joined the "do not change the engine in 2013" brigade as they fear their teams cannot afford it. My buddy Peter Geran pointed out that in the Motor Sport article I quoted the other day the Audi engine chief had been in on the FIA panel advising on the new engine. As Peter says, how does someone who has no investment in the sport get to help make decisions? But from my experience that is how most of these decisions are made. When I was running Moto GP's the Road Race Commission was comprised of FIM elected members not one of whom had a dime invested. Still, you can see where Todt was going with this, let's get some more manufacturers involved, after Max's reign where he tried to get rid of them. There could also be a darker motive as Allen Petrich has hinted at. Todt said the other day that the 4 cylinder is going to be the engine of the FIA's top series, and if they do not like it they can go and race in another series. Is this how he breaks the 100 year deal with Bernie?
I watched a little of Indy bump day, thanks to the rain that's all there was. Can't say I found it very exciting, and judging by the lack of spectators not many others do either. The most interesting thing all day was the look on Michale Andretti's face when Marco bumped his other team car right at the end. "How do I explain that to the sponsor" was the look I saw.
Renault are saying it is unlikely that Kubica will return this year, which is no real surprise. Let us just hope he can return at all.
Bernie gave the Crown Prince of Bahrain an audience at Barcelona. How important must Bernie feel when he has Royalty coming to see him? Of course the Prince came to give Bernie the message that it is safe to come back, but I doubt the teams feel that way. Ross Brawn is against the extension of the season, says his guys need a break. Nice way to not go.
Pirelli media celebrity, Paul Hembery, announced himself happy that the hard compounds did not wear. Did not grip either according to the drivers, especially Alonso. Steel tires would probably not wear either, and we would not have the "marbles" that were still very evident at Barcelona.
No protests after the race, but Colin Kolles of HRT is telling the teams they need to fix their engine mapping or he will protest in Monaco. Their supplier, Cosworth, have joined the "do not change the engine in 2013" brigade as they fear their teams cannot afford it. My buddy Peter Geran pointed out that in the Motor Sport article I quoted the other day the Audi engine chief had been in on the FIA panel advising on the new engine. As Peter says, how does someone who has no investment in the sport get to help make decisions? But from my experience that is how most of these decisions are made. When I was running Moto GP's the Road Race Commission was comprised of FIM elected members not one of whom had a dime invested. Still, you can see where Todt was going with this, let's get some more manufacturers involved, after Max's reign where he tried to get rid of them. There could also be a darker motive as Allen Petrich has hinted at. Todt said the other day that the 4 cylinder is going to be the engine of the FIA's top series, and if they do not like it they can go and race in another series. Is this how he breaks the 100 year deal with Bernie?
I watched a little of Indy bump day, thanks to the rain that's all there was. Can't say I found it very exciting, and judging by the lack of spectators not many others do either. The most interesting thing all day was the look on Michale Andretti's face when Marco bumped his other team car right at the end. "How do I explain that to the sponsor" was the look I saw.
Changing gear?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 04:53PM
I have commented often on the ongoing hydraulic problems that beset the new teams, and their seeming inability to get on top of it. Well Tony Fernandes has found the answer, buy the gearbox and hydraulics from Red Bull to go with the new Renault engine. Job done. As I have said recently Tony is a man who is committed to doing F1 right, despite his comments on blue flags, and with this combination, a stable team, and more announcements coming, it seems he will not have to worry about the flags for long. Now, if we could just get the name sorted.
So, 7-Eleven have pulled the plug on Tony Kanaan's car in the Andretti-Green stable. They have been with Tony and Andretti a long time. Is it the lack of results? They are staying with Danica who has no better results, but I guess she has other attributes. Who knows, other than their marketing chief, maybe it was just time for a change or the economy still is a problem. Tony is now looking for sponsors or another drive, either way not easy I would suspect.
On the home front, I have thought for a long time about writing my experiences, particularly the Adelaide F1 and Phillip Island sagas, but there is so much more with Sinatra at Sanctuary Cove, Daytona, Road Atlanta and other projects. I have been encouraged, mainly by my lovely wife Xan, to write a book, and have started a couple of times, only to become annoyed at the outcomes all over again, so I stop. I now find the time is likely to be available and I think I have the right attitude to do it. I've solicited advice from friends and acquaintances in the business, and the response so far is encouraging. I will keep you posted.
Potentially three good meetings this week for Sol Real, one this afternoon before our usual presentation, which looks like being accompanied by the usual thunderstorms. Amazing how that happens on Tuesdays.
Not much else going on, Japanese F1 GP and Malaysian MotoGp both on this weekend. Lorenzo can wrap up the motorcycle title by finishing tenth or better, which barring Rossi punting him off should be doable. Apparently the Yamaha management has taken a very dim view of last weekends events, enough so that Valentino is now likely to make Malaysia his last race, spit the dummy and go and get his shoulder fixed.
The F1 race is extremely unlikely to decide anything, other than maybe eliminate one of the "gang of five." One thing is for sure though, being Suzuka it will be a good race.
So, 7-Eleven have pulled the plug on Tony Kanaan's car in the Andretti-Green stable. They have been with Tony and Andretti a long time. Is it the lack of results? They are staying with Danica who has no better results, but I guess she has other attributes. Who knows, other than their marketing chief, maybe it was just time for a change or the economy still is a problem. Tony is now looking for sponsors or another drive, either way not easy I would suspect.
On the home front, I have thought for a long time about writing my experiences, particularly the Adelaide F1 and Phillip Island sagas, but there is so much more with Sinatra at Sanctuary Cove, Daytona, Road Atlanta and other projects. I have been encouraged, mainly by my lovely wife Xan, to write a book, and have started a couple of times, only to become annoyed at the outcomes all over again, so I stop. I now find the time is likely to be available and I think I have the right attitude to do it. I've solicited advice from friends and acquaintances in the business, and the response so far is encouraging. I will keep you posted.
Potentially three good meetings this week for Sol Real, one this afternoon before our usual presentation, which looks like being accompanied by the usual thunderstorms. Amazing how that happens on Tuesdays.
Not much else going on, Japanese F1 GP and Malaysian MotoGp both on this weekend. Lorenzo can wrap up the motorcycle title by finishing tenth or better, which barring Rossi punting him off should be doable. Apparently the Yamaha management has taken a very dim view of last weekends events, enough so that Valentino is now likely to make Malaysia his last race, spit the dummy and go and get his shoulder fixed.
The F1 race is extremely unlikely to decide anything, other than maybe eliminate one of the "gang of five." One thing is for sure though, being Suzuka it will be a good race.