Another year, another season of Formula One, and, it seems, more of the controversy that seems to dog the world’s most prestigious motorsport at every turn.
Six races in, and we have already seen debates over loopholes in the technical regulations, the “Liargate†scandal involving the McLaren and Toyota teams, and the proposal of a budget cap for the 2010 season that has brought nine of the ten teams to the brink of withdrawal from the sport as a whole, even as new teams are lining up their entries.
Though the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) has now confirmed its constituents’ entries for 2010, many questions still linger about the future and governance of Formula One.
Naturally, teams, drivers, pundits, and fans alike all have their own ideas on how to improve F1…
Here are five ideas that I believe will help F1 survive and prosper in the coming years…Â Details
FOTA teams may have arrived at an agreement in principle with Max Mosley that will find them all submitting an entry application for the 2010 championship according to GMM. It is suggested that a Proviso may be attached to Ferrari’s application regarding the governance of the sport as it is still seeking discussion and decisions on that front.
Lola, Prodrive and Litespeed have all submitted their entry forms for the 2010 season and this comes amidst the hiatus on Mosley’s 40 million Euro budget concept which now appears to be postponed until 2011. As reported yesterday, the existing teams may be willing to help the new teams be competitive next year through technical and material share programs intended to see these teams fitted with non-differentiating parts and information. What cost McLaren $100 million will now be free apparently as the new … Details
One would think that driving a Formula One car is both fun and thrilling – among a multitude of attributes, of course. And it’s not like we’re going to argue that, as we feel the same way. It’s just that we want to add up “difficult†to that list. And we don’t mean that in a drivers’ safety kind of way, as everyone knows Formula racing is, in general, a dangerous sport.
For starters, let’s proceed to a quick overview. Consider the fact that, during a grand prix race, a driver has to: change gears for approximately 3,500 times, keep radio contact with the team, check fuel level, deploy KERS (recently added), activate drink pump, select tire adaptation, preset the wing depending on the race conditions, watch the display giving him useful information on revs, lap times, speed, gear (etc), change brake settings, activate pit lane limiter (when needed), control differential settings, and so on…Â Details
BMW MOTORSPORT BOSS Dr Mario Theissen has plunged the company’s racing program into uncertainty after revealing the Bavarian manufacturer may reconsider its future in Formula One and the World Touring Car Championship.
The automaker has been left frustrated by a series of controversies which have marred the start of the WTCC and F1 seasons, forcing BMW to potentially review its commitment to both categories.
The BMW board approved of plans to continue its participation in Formula One earlier in the year, but Dr Theissen says the result of negotiations over the 2010 regulations could prompt the company to reassess its position…Â Details & Pictures
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