F1 Fanatic round-up: 22/9/2010

Posted on

| Written by

The predictions championship is open for your Singapore entries so get over there now and make your predictions.

Here’s today’s round-up:

Links

Promoters offer more details about planned Formula One site (Austin-American Statesman)

“Clearing race fans from the site within three hours would take as much as $15 million in major road improvements ?óÔé¼ÔÇØ which even in the best case could not be completed by the projected 2012 opening date, according to the county planners’ analysis.”

F1 2010 is Codies’ biggest ever release (MCV)

“2m copies of the console game have been shipped to retailers in Europe and North America, and it will also be available digitally on PC.”

First Austin F1 hearing (Youtube)

Questions and answers on the 2012 United States Grand Prix at Austin. Thanks to Hallard for the tip.

Singapore GP – Conferences (FIA)

Nick Heidfeld, Mark Webber, Heikki Kovalainen, Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg up first.

Packing now (Gravity)

Blog by Jerome d’Ambrosio ahead of his F1 practice debut for Virgin.

Singapore turn 7 pictures (Facebook)

Posted by Roberttty.

Comment of the day

Much as I liked Travis’s suggestion I should aware COTD to myself – provoking a controversy second in magnitude only to Hockenheim 2010 – I thought GeeMac raised a good point about Felipe Massa:

Does anyone else think that the "ghost of Singapore 2008?óÔé¼?? is something that Massa is allowing to haunt him?

Whenever he gets a chance, he brings it up. I really do feel that he has got a bit of a complex about it, and that he thinks that 2008 may have been his only chance of winning the WDC. Of course that is a load of nonsense because he has proved his pace against highly rated team mates and is now firmly entrenched in F1?óÔé¼??s elite.
GeeMac

From the forum

A look at the championship showdowns over in America in Indycar and NASCAR.

Happy birthday!

It’s Sato113, Cwojdek and MattB’s birthday today so best wishes to the three of them!

On this day in F1

The first F1 race at the Mont-Tremblant circuit in St Jovite, Canada, was held on this day in 1968.

The circuit was only used twice for F1 races. Here’s footage from the last race there held 40 years ago:

Mont-Tremblant is still in use, holding a round of the now-defunct Champ Car World Series three years ago. And in 2008 Ferrari visited it for one of their customer driving days. There’s some truly wonderful noise in this video:

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

47 comments on “F1 Fanatic round-up: 22/9/2010”

  1. The link for the turn 7 pictures isn’t working?

    1. I’m at a loss to explain why it wasn’t worked before but I’ve re-done it and it’s working now.

      1. Nice. That close up of the wet tire is very interesting. Here’s hoping we see some of those this weekend!

        Chance of thunderstorms right at race time!
        http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?hourly=1&query=zmw:00000.1.48698&yday=268&weekday=Sunday

        1. Normally I’d agree Peter, but at Singapore I fear rain = red flags, which would be a disaster at this stage of the season. So, for once, I might find myself doing a dry dance come Sunday afternoon

          1. It’s raining here in Singapore even as I post this… I wonder how this will affect the support races if this continues over the weekend…

        2. Let hope it does not rain during the race. I fear for the safety of the drivers. I hope we see a nice, clean, dry race which leaves the WDC wide open :)

  2. I actually had the opportunity to drive on the Circuit Mont-Tremblant this summer.

    Before we went to Montreal for the GP my family went to Mont-Tremblant for a few days. One day we were driving around and saw a “Mercedes-Benz Driving Academy” trailer next to the Circuit, so we got out and talked to them. Turns out they had a few cancellations, so my Dad, my Brother and I were able to spend the whole day lapping AMGs around the track for $1200.

    Absolutely beautiful track, and a great program to boot.
    http://www.mercedes-benz.ca/content/canada/mpc/mpc_canada_website/en/home_mpc/passengercars/home/passenger_cars_world/driving_academy_-.html

  3. The .pdf on that Statesman article on the Austin GP is salivating. Looks like the grandstand at the Hockenheim section would be a great spot to watch, as you’ be able to see the Maggots/Becketts section, as well as a good portion of the long straights as well. Sounds like they still have a lot of opposition to overcome though in order to get it together in time for 2012.

    1. I had the same thoughts on those grandstands. And the “natural viewing” areas look like general admission might be quite good as well, which bodes well for the fans.

      The green parking might get to be something of a camping site, i suppose that would make it good to visit by camper as well.
      Interesting circular park as well.

      I suppose an event this big and with loud engine noises once in a while will always call for a certain amount of opposition. But the creek will stay as it is and there is quite a bit of green, so i think they should manage it.

  4. Sounds like its going to be an absolute abortion trying to leave the US Grand Prix in 2012.

    1. Remember how long it took for Silverstone to get improved access roads? Live the Dream… :-)

      1. The difference is, Silverstone was already running races when the traffic became an issue. Austin hasn’t even broken ground yet and they have to have a plan to meet the required evacuation rate to even get the permits for the site. Plus, it is entirely possible that the US Army Corp of Engineers will red flag the entire project until every last seasonal stream is rerouted or replaced.

        Also, the Ron Paul nutter in the background of the video is hilarious.

  5. So, Aussie’s are winning the F1 and Indy Car championship at the moment. Let’s hope we get the double !

    1. Nah, Hamilton and Franchitti are gonna turn it round! Go Britain!

      1. We’ll see Ned, we’ll see !

        1. It would have been good if Stoner was up there too. We could have had a trifecta.

          1. I didn’t try chat her up, I didn’t try kiss her, and I certainly didn’t trifecta…

  6. Austin is reminding me so much of Donington… I am very hopeful that the race materialises, because it looks like an excellent location and a interesting city to host it, and of course the US GP is vital to F1. But until the tarmac is laid and the ribbon is cut, I shall remaain sceptical

  7. wet track bright lights would be a no no in my book.it would up end up like a wall of bright misty fog.then add dark visors to drive in ..hope its dry and boring with a 1-2 for ferrari gooooooooooooooooooooo alonsooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
    :)

  8. I find the comment about the game being the biggest release sort of odd. In the United States they canceled the Street Date at Gamestop and other stores. I went today to pick up my copy, and found they canceled the street date last week because they felt sales would be only okay. Also, in my whole state, Iowa, I was one of only 10 people to pre-order a copy. So now I have to wait until Saturday to get my copy, because they won’t have it until the 23rd or 24th and I work everyday until Saturday so I’ll be stuck missing out. My whole day was planned around playing the game, since I had the day off. To think Gamestop’s booklet of releases, my pre-order receipt, everything wasn’t made into a false advertising gimic due to ‘lower than expected pre-orders and interest’, as the Gamestop manager put it. Pissed, but I’m sure I’ll love the game. But won’t pre-order another Codemaster’s game again.

    1. Don’t know about the US, but if you pre-order over the internet in the UK from Game it’s often delivered first thing release day morning, or sometimes even the day before if Royal Mail get their fingers out. I haven’t been to a game shop on release day in years now.

      Must be something similar offered within the US? Also the game has been released on Steam for pre-ordering I think, probably an awful lot of people buying it that way.

      1. Well, I bought it for xbox 360 as my pc can’t run the game. Also, if I had ordered it from GameStop online or Bestbuy online, the ship date is the release date. So still would wait until the 23rd or 24th for it to show up.

  9. Keith is there any chance of sorting my predictions issue? And no the issue isn’t Im not good at making predictions.

  10. Re-routing gas & oil pipelines ?

    Trying to decide whether to STUDY what it takes to manage traffic ?

    2012 ?

    oh well, i guess we don’t have to lose an existing one to accommodate Austin in 2012

    1. Those will probably not have to be re-routed in the end.

  11. Interesting little proposition for you:

    Jacques Villeneuve wants to buy a team. That much we know, and have known for some time. He claims that he’s not looking to buy Hispania, and is instead looking at some other team.

    I shouldn’t have to say this because it’s so obvious, but he’s not going to be able to buy McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes, Renault or Ferrari. Or Williams, for that matter, but with Sir Frank offloading parts of his namesake, Villeneuve might be able to buy into the team, to make it Villeneuve-Williams (unlikely, since he’s working with Durango).

    There’s been on-again/off-again rumours of Force India being in trouble for a while now, the Aerolab case and talk of unpaid debts to Ferrari and Mercedes for engine deals – but 2011 sees the debut of the Indian Grand Prix and Vijay Mallya will go to the ends of the earth to ensure his team is there.

    Peter Sauber has said that his team’s budget is in place for next season. Combined with the signing of Esteban Guiterrez as test and reserve driver and Carlos Slim’s talk of there being a Mexican in Formula 1 in 2011, Villenueve isn’t involved in this one.

    Tony Fernandes will never sell Lotus, not when they’re doing so well. And, of course, there’s the push into GP2 with Team Air Asia and Lotus ART.

    As for Virgin, well, they get upset every time someone insinuates that they won’t be around for much longer. Not only are they operating on the smallest budget of all the teams, they’re also said to be coming in well under it (which seems to have been Richard Branson’s goal: to back a team that can operate on the bare minmum and enjoy success – they may not have fulfilled the second criteria just yet, but the VR-01 seems to have developed a bomb-proof reliability of late and if it weren’t for niggling gearbox problems requiring changes and penalties, they’d be racing Lotus).

    So that leaves Toro Rosso. It’s known that Dietrich Mateschitz has been trying to offload the team for a while now since the Red Bull Young Driver Program has more drivers than available seats. Epsilon Euskadi was said to be trying to buy it last year before the political maelstrom and Mateschitz kept the team to preserve FOTA’s unity.

    So here’s the proposition: if Jacques Villeneuve buys Toro Rosso, who here thinks that he shoul rename it Villeneuve-Minardi? After all, Toro Rosso was Minardi before Red Bull came along and bought it. Maybe it’s just me, but the connotation of a name like Villeneuve-Durango is a World Champion well past his prime and a failed GP2 team (and also a rare disease; “I’m sorry, Mr. Collantine, but you have Villeneuve-Durango Syndrome”). But Villeneuve-Minardi, on the other hand, conjures up the twin images of Gilles Villeneuve and Giancarlo Minardi, two of the ultimate underdogs, and would be duly awesome.

    Anyone?

    1. Maybe he would convice Schuey to be his No 2?

      1. Honestly, I can’t see Jacques Villeneuve racing and being team owner at the same time. Mark Skaife tried it a few years ago in the V8 Supercars, and he struggled from the very beginning. If Villeneuve is serious about owning his own team, then he won’t race. Otherwise, it’s going to be little more than a vanity project for an over-the-hill driver who just can’t admit that it’s time to move on. It would be a waste of a perfectly good seat and could well do enough damage to the team that they won’t last a single season.

      1. I stopped reading when I saw the name Joe Saward.

        1. Who reads web links anyway?

          1. I mean that it’s Joe Saward. It’s well documented that I don’t think very much of him as a journalist.

          2. Opinions on an internet website and something being well documented are two completely different things, but I get what you’re trying to say.

        2. I scan his stuff sometimes and have been in an argument with him in his comments – didn’t know other people didn’t rate him. Interesting.

          Is there any history I am missing, example articles or incidents etc?

    2. Interesting bit of speculation PM … but I didn’t see where Jacques was mentioned anywhere in todays round-up.

      Thread Jacquer! :P

      1. Nah, I read it elsewhere. Apparently he was talking to some publication in Italy and said he wasn’t looking at HRT, but at “another team”. I seriously doubt that he’d use the Minardi name, even if he bought Toro Rosso. Durango wouldn’t be keen on it.

        1. NP… I just couldn’t resist the play on words ;)

  12. Keith, this story hasn’t reached the mainstream F1 media yet, but it looks like Alan Jones will be the guest steward for the Korean GP.

    http://www.speedcafe.com.au/2010/09/21/alan-jones-gets-korean-gp-stewards-role/

    1. Thanks Ed!

      1. How are the ex-drivers chosen for the races? Are their names drawn out of a hat, or is it down to their own preferences and availability?

        1. It doesn’t matter. They have no power to make decisions. They are only there to make the decisions more credible.

  13. I’m sure I saw that a few days ago you were doing a review on the F1 2010 game Keith? Or did I dream that? lol

    1. There’s been problems getting hold of the review code for some formats. I’ve had the Xbox version for a week but obviously preferred to test all versions. Will have a review up tomorrow at the latest.

      1. PS3 and 360 games will be the same though…?

        1. And it’s also out for the PC which should have the better graphics of the three versions.

  14. Ah fair enough, no problem, looking forward to reading it and can’t wait for Friday to get the Xbox version! :D

  15. F1 2010 on the PC is as big a disapointment as I’d feared it would be :(

    The AI is hilarious, the damage model less than iRacing (!), the force feedback (G25) unfathomable, jerky stuttering graphics (Core i7 @ 4.2GHz & 5870 crossfire), glitching audio (Logitech G35 & ASUS Essence STX, Rapture works fine in DiRT2 btw).
    When it is running there’s no real sense of speed, even less sense of acceleration or deceleration or of the forces acting upon the car/driver/tires.

    I so wanted this to be at least as much fun as DiRT 2 (which I like very much). I don’t understand what they’ve done to the feedback at all. There’s just no progression in it.

    It doesn’t even look as good as was promised…

    It’s ONLY redeeming feature is its F1 content and all the circuits but there’s just no sense of involvement at all.

    Even worse than expected and I really really wanted this to be good…

Comments are closed.