Not too soon to start this as March will be here before we know it. Below is the 2011 season schedule. To be noted that the new India Grand Prix is contingent upon track approval. Pete
13 March - Bahrain Grand Prix
27 March - Australian Grand Prix
10 April - Malaysian Grand Prix
17 April - Chinese Grand Prix
8 May - Turkish Grand Prix
22 May - Spanish Grand Prix
29 May - Monaco Grand Prix
12 June - Canadian Grand Prix
26 June - European Grand Prix
10 July - British Grand Prix
24 July - German Grand Prix
31 July - Hungarian Grand Prix
28 August - Belgian Grand Prix
11 September - Italian Grand Prix
25 September - Singapore
9 October - Japanese Grand Prix
16 October - Korean Grand Prix
30 October - Indian Grand Prix
13 November - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
27 November - Brazilian Grand Prix
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
....and before it disappears from SportGuru, the final results for the 2010 season:
1 lindosfan 223
2 Vital Spark 221
3 JJBones 214
pitsch 214
Parahandy 214
6 redzonerocker 210
7 Pete 207
pharvey 207
9 Randy 205
Terry 205
BigBoy 205
oz 205
13 tonytequila 204
14 Richard 194
.......and the final driver standings for the 2010 season:
1. Vettel Red Bull 256
2. Alonso Ferrari 252
3. Webber Red Bull 242
4. Hamilton McLaren 240
5. Button McLaren 214
6. Rosberg Mercedes GP 142
7. Massa Ferrari 141
8. Kubica Renault 136
9. Schumacher Mercedes GP 72
10. Sutil Force India 49
11. Barrichello Williams 47
12. Kobayashi BMW Sauber 32
13. Petrov Renault 27
14. Hulkenberg Williams 23
15. Liuzzi Force India 20
16. de la Rosa BMW Sauber 10
17. Buemi Toro Rosso 8
18. Alguersuari Toro Rosso 6
19. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 2
20. Kovalainen Lotus 0
21. Glock Virgin 0
22. Trulli Lotus 0
23. Senna HRT 0
24. di Grassi Virgin 0
25. Chandhok HRT 0
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
* Published: 11/12/2010 at 12:01 AM
* Online news: World
Formula One bosses on Friday deleted the controversial rule banning team orders from the sport, the World Motor Sport Council announced.
"The article forbidding team orders is deleted. Teams will be reminded that any actions liable to bring the sport into disrepute are dealt with under Article 151c of the International Sporting Code and any other relevant provisions," said a statement after a meeting of the WMSC here.
The issue of team orders has plagued the sport in recent years.
Last season, Ferrari were fined 100,000 dollars after Felipe Massa was told to cede the lead of the German Grand Prix to teammate Fernando Alonso 18 laps from the end.
The rule was introduced in 2002 after Rubens Barrichello gifted a win to then-Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
I also see they plan to reduce the engine capacity from the 2.4 V8's they use now to 1.6 4 cylinders. The day they do that they lose an F1 fan for good. An F1 fan that goes to a few F1 races and spends a fair bit of money on his sport. For me trying to make F1 green will kill it dead and the sooner the lunatics in charge realise this the better chance they have of saving the sport.
I never forget a face but in your case I'll make an exception!
H2ODunc wrote:I also see they plan to reduce the engine capacity from the 2.4 V8's they use now to 1.6 4 cylinders. The day they do that they lose an F1 fan for good. An F1 fan that goes to a few F1 races and spends a fair bit of money on his sport. For me trying to make F1 green will kill it dead and the sooner the lunatics in charge realise this the better chance they have of saving the sport.
I disagree actually. Why not reduce engine size? Get the manufacturers to optimise power to weight ratios and performance etc.
If complaining about the engine size, weren't the pre-90's F1 cars running with turbo-charged 1.5's or 1.6's? I'm sure the likes of Ferrari, Ford, Alpha Romeo and (possibly) Brabham and Lotus did...
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - Yma o Hyd.
Forgetting fuel consumption (which actualy on power:weight is better than most road cars) , I'd imagine the carbon footprint of most teams transporting all the gear worldwide is pretty horrific.
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - Yma o Hyd.
F1 drivers face tougher penalties (from BBC Sports)
Formula One drivers will face tougher sanctions next season for dangerous or unsporting driving.
In 2011 stewards will be able to exclude drivers from a race or suspend them for the next grand prix.
The FIA, the sport's governing body, also identified driving practices it wants to eradicate.
They include drivers making more than one change of direction in trying to defend a position or the deliberate crowding of a car.
Drivers must also use the track at all times and not leave it, as some were criticised for doing last season, to gain a driving advantage.
If they do come off, they must return when it is safe to do so without gaining any advantage.
In addition back markers in a race must allow a faster car to pass at the first available opportunity.
Any driver who ignores the waved blue flags that indicate a slower car should move aside will be reported to the stewards.
Previously, stewards could only impose drive-through or time penalties on drivers or drop them down the grid if they were deemed to have infringed the rules.
The FIA also plans to introduce a curfew on team personnel at Formula One races.
The curfew will run from midnight to 0600 when practice starts at 1000 on Fridays, and from 0100 to 0700 when practice starts at 1100 on a Saturday.
However, each team will be permitted four exceptions to the rule during the course of the season.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
A Formula One racing car driven by Australian Mark Webber of the Thai-owned Red Bull Racing zooms past spectators at the Democracy Monument during an exhibition of F1 driving show Saturday, which was held as part of His Majesty the King's birthday celebrations.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
F1 cars set for major changes inspired by Head & Byrne
Exclusive by Andrew Benson - BBC
Formula 1 cars are set for more radical changes in time for 2013 as bosses look to make the sport more efficient and potentially more exciting.
Cars will have much smaller wings and specially-shaped underfloors designed to generate downforce differently.
They will use 35% less fuel and be a little slower but more challenging to drive, although passing may be easier.
Drawn up by respected engineers Patrick Head and Rory Byrne, the rules would be the biggest design change since 1983.
The draft regulations, which were requested by governing body the FIA, are to be sent to teams this week ahead of a meeting in January of F1's Technical Working Group (TWG), which scopes out rule changes.
The TWG, which includes the design heads of each team, will discuss the proposals and suggest any changes they feel might need to be made.
But the fundamental philosophy that has been created is expected to remain intact.
The major changes will be:
* Much smaller front and rear wings;
* A far greater proportion of the total downforce of the cars will be created by the underfloor, compared to the wings;
* A major reduction in the amount of total downforce created by the car;
* To achieve this, the underfloor of the cars will be shaped along its length to generate downforce for the first time since the 1982 season - currently cars have bottoms that are flat between the wheels;
* The average proportion of a lap that a driver is able to spend on full throttle to be cut from 70% in 2010 to 50% in 2013;
* Tyres will remain large and chunky to ensure cornering speeds remain high.
Head, director of engineering for Williams, and Byrne, a former chief designer for Ferrari, have between them been involved in the design of cars that have won 17 constructors' titles for Williams, Benetton and Ferrari.
The pair started work on the new rules in March and have now presented a set of draft regulations to FIA race director Charlie Whiting, who will finalise them before sending them off to the teams.
"We are only going to have roughly 65% of the amount of fuel and a [limited] fuel [flow] rate - that was a given," said Head, talking exclusively to BBC Sport.
"We were just told 'That's what it will be, you've got to come up with a car spec that is not going to be more than five seconds a lap slower than a current F1 car'.
"So some circuit simulation was done by Rory at Ferrari and when we'd come up with some numbers in terms of drag and downforce it was then to try to come up with a geometry of a car that could try to achieve that."
Head and Byrne were charged with ensuring the new rules did not make overtaking any harder and, as it turns out, they could actually make passing easier.
That is because a car should lose less downforce when it is following another car if more of its total downforce is created by its underfloor rather than its wings.
This makes it easier for drivers to follow closely behind cars they are racing and therefore easier to pass.
Shaped undersides were banned in F1 at the end of the 1982 season because it was felt cornering speeds had got too fast and the cars too dangerous.
But back then they were used with skirts that touched the ground and sealed the low-pressure area, vastly increasing its efficiency.
This will be made impossible in 2013 by making the centre of the car lower than the sides.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
This season I'm going to switch from Sportguru to Superbru for the pool. Same format but Superbru had more than 20,000 participating last season vs Sportguru 2,000+. Actually, I think they're one and the same anyway, or in some way associated. You can pre-register at the link below to be notified when things are ready to open. I'll set up the pool then. Pete
prcscct wrote:This season I'm going to switch from Sportguru to Superbru for the pool. Same format but Superbru had more than 20,000 participating last season vs Sportguru 2,000+. Actually, I think they're one and the same anyway, or in some way associated. You can pre-register at the link below to be notified when things are ready to open. I'll set up the pool then. Pete
''Sister'' sites, with Superbru being the original and based in SA - Sportguru was formed in the UK initially only with the domestic rugby calendar. Superbru certainly still remains the more popular and better supported of the 2.
Does seem a bit strange that they double up on tournaments though.
Already swotting up to avoid last place.....
"Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things" - Yma o Hyd.
World champion Sebastian Vettel laid down a marker for the 2011 season by setting the fastest time on the opening day of testing in Valencia.
The 23-year-old German marked his first outing in Red Bull's new RB7 car with a lap of one minute 13.769 seconds.
His closest rival in a 2011 car was Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, 0.784 secs off the pace and fifth overall.
Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta of Force India and McLaren's Gary Paffett all made the top four in 2010 cars.
It is difficult to read too much into the lap times, especially on the very first day of testing for the new season.
This is a time for experimentation - with some teams launching their new cars and other still using last season's models - and fuel loads are unknown.
Regulation changes for 2011 mean teams can now deploy an adjustable rear wing but devices such as 'F-ducts' and double diffusers have been banned.
Kinetic energy recovery systems (Kers) return after a one-year absence and Pirelli have replaced Bridgestone as the sport's sole tyre supplier.
"It is difficult to say [how our main rivals are faring], we haven't seen all the cars, particularly the McLaren car," Vettel told BBC Sport after the first of three days' testing.
"This was the first day and it's very hard to draw conclusions with so little running - we need to have more running on track to see where we are.
"It is practice for all of us, different programmes, different days and we need to be aware of the big teams - hopefully us and I guess McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes.
"Also maybe a surprise like Renault, who perhaps have an interesting concept.
"It is different to last year, so many things changed, so we will see how we get on. The car does feel a bit different but not that much."
Mark Webber will share the Red Bull duties with Vettel on Wednesday before having the car to himself on Thursday.
It is day one and not much time between Abu Dhabi and here - 10 weeks - but for the guys to build a car that has no issues is, I reckon, good news. We can be happy and proud of what we have achieved so far
Sebastian Vettel
Vettel completed 93 laps of the track and his flying lap was 0.17 seconds quicker than that of second-place Hulkenberg (71 laps).
McLaren reserve driver Paffett (91 laps) set a time of 1:74.292 to finish third, with fellow Briton Di Resta 0.692 seconds off the pace in fourth.
Two-time world champion Alonso, who will also drive on Wednesday before Felipe Massa takes over for Thursday, racked up an unrivalled 98 laps in the new Ferrari F150.
The Spaniard chalked up a fastest lap of 1:74.553 before coming to a halt at the final corner when his car ran dry - perhaps as part of Ferrari's test strategy.
"I think generally it is better to be on top of the rankings rather than being on the other end," added Vettel, the youngest-ever F1 world champion.
"It was the first day and it was most important to do laps, which we did - 93 laps is quite an achievement and looking back it is something we never got as good at on the first day over the last two or three years, so that is a very good sign.
"On top of it I feel quite comfortable in the car, I enjoyed myself today and I think it was a good start."
"Today was day one for most of us, and it is a long, long way - long testing season, before we start racing again in Bahrain [on 13 March] and then a very, very long season - 20 races.
The general impression is that it felt very good - the whole car is a big step forward for us. There is more to come, certainly on the aerodynamics front, over the next few weeks
Nico Rosberg
"So even if you start with the best car, things can change so you need to keep the development up.
"Right now, we have just done the first step and we can be happy and proud of what we have achieved so far.
"It is day one and not much time between Abu Dhabi and here - 10 weeks - but for the guys to build a car that has no issues is, I reckon, good news."
Former world champion Alonso was also happy with his day's work.
"I'm satisfied with how this first day has gone, in particular regarding reliability. We haven't had any kind of problem - just as we haven't had any in the factory before arriving here," he said.
But he said it was absurd to read too much into the first run-out of the new year.
"It's impossible to have an idea of how the different teams line up after just a few hundred kilometres and I don't think that we will have a clear picture before the Bahrain Grand Prix," he said.
"I remember that last year at the last test in Barcelona we were sixth fastest with Sauber and Force India ahead of us. At Sakhir we lapped them. I think that this question mark will remain right up to the first race."
However, there was frustration for Mercedes after a hydraulics problem caused Nico Rosberg to stop on the track with only nine laps in the bag.
That issue restricted Schumacher to just 16 laps in the afternoon session and the seven-time world champion was 2.681 seconds off the pace.
It meant a disappointing end to a day that started with the British-based team launching their new MGP W02, but Rosberg was upbeat.
"The general impression is that it felt very good," said the 25-year-old, who finished 70 points above team-mate Schumacher last season.
"The whole car is a big step forward for us, which all stems from the way the company is working, which is a lot better.
"There is more to come, certainly on the aerodynamics front, over the next few weeks."
Valencia testing results, Tuesday:
1 S Vettel Red Bull-Renault* 1 minute 13.769 seconds (93 laps)
2 N Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1:13.938s (71)
3 G Paffett McLaren-Mercedes 1:14.292 (91)
4 P di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:14.461 (28)
5 F Alonso Ferrari* 1:14.553 (97)
6 K Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari* 1:15.621 (68)
7 J d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1:16.003 (71)
8 V Petrov Renault* 1:16.351 (28)
9 M Schumacher Mercedes* 1:16.450 (15)
10 J Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari* 1:17.214s (19)
11 R Barrichello Williams-Cosworth* 1:17.335s (77)
12 N Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1:18.020s (45)
13 N Rosberg Mercedes* 1:19.930s (9)
*= 2011 car
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ROME (AFP) - Formula One star Robert Kubica has been seriously injured in a crash while heading to the start of the Ronde di Andorra rally in Liguria, Italy, the ANSA news agency reported on Sunday.
The Lotus Renault GP driver from Poland was at the wheel of the Skoda Fabia he was to race in the rally when he left the road at high speed and crashed into a wall.
His co-driver, Jacub Gerber, is reported to have emerged from the wreck unhurt but Kubica remained inside.
He is said to have been conscious when emergency services removed him from the vehicle.
He was then transferred by helicopter to the Santa Corona hospital in nearby Pietra Ligure, near Savona, suffering from multiple fractures and internal trauma.
His condition is said to be serious and subsequent reports claimed he may be at risk of losing a hand that was crushed in the crash.
The rally was temporarily suspended as Kubica's car was cleared from the road.
It was not the first time the Pole had been involved in a horror crash, after he hit a wall at 300kph during the Canadian Grand Prix in 2007.
Driving for Sauber, Kubica slid off the circuit and crashed into a wall, before rebounding across the track in a barrel roll and hitting another barrier.
Kubica, however, was not seriously injured on that occasion and after being air-lifted to hospital for checks, he was found to have sustained nothing more serious than a sprained ankle and slight concussion.
He missed only one Grand Prix after the incident.
May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!
, I'd imagine the carbon footprint of most teams transporting all the gear worldwide is pretty horrific. 
Pete 
