My shout on Twitter earlier today calling for some news from Super Aguri was answered . The team broke the radio silence the team’s co-owner Mr. Akita has some news to share with us through Reuters. Unfortunately the only thing that seems to sure (or does it ? ) is Super Aguri’s presence in Melbourne.

“The cancellation was because some parts hadn’t arrived in time. We are usually scrambling to be ready for the start of the season. It was very tight last year and this year is following the same pattern. But we will be on the grid for Melbourne. We’re not worried at all about missing out.”

However there is not much news yet on the takeover or investment news, only statement of the fact that the talks are still going on:

“Talks are still going on and I’m told there are three potential investors. Obviously, we have to think of the future and what’s best for the team.”

This remark however suggests that even total sale (or buyout) of the team would be considered:

“It might be 100 percent. But obviously any sponsors or investors who leave the infrastructure there and back the team to improve results would be ideal. How much any potential stake in the team would be does depend on the conditions the investor has. But even if it’s a 100 percent stake you can’t sensibly get rid of the team per se.”

Well, and this is an intersting hint… Does this describe something that actually is on the table ?

“If you have no Aguri (Suzuki) you probably lose Honda as engine suppliers. If investors come in and say they can bring in BMW engines that’s a different story. But even if we give up 100 percent share it doesn’t necessarily mean the owner or the team name goes with it.”

No word on the drivers yet … Sato and Davidson still have to wait …

F1Wolf

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Some teams will continue testing in private tests next week. Barcelona however was the last major test involving most of the teams. The results and times do not tell much. Few would conclude that Toyota is the fastest car just because Trulli clocked the the fastest lap yesterday . So what Formula 1 drivers and team bosses think after the last test of the season:

Ferrari:
Jean Todt:

“We have two excellent drivers and it looks like the car is good too. We are satisfied and the situation is encouraging. But we need to wait for the races, let’s hope for the best.”

Kimi Raikkonen:

“I think we have a strong package, but we don’t know how fast the others are. We will only see that in the race. We are quite happy with what we have done over the winter so we will see in Melbourne. I think we have good reliability. We had some small things last year that unfortunately stopped the car in the race but it can always happen. We have done everything we can and it will be nice to get back racing again. In Melbourne we will see who is fast or not, because you cannot say from the tests. The times look close. Somebody goes fast one day and another guy another day. We will wait for a couple of weeks and we will know in qualifying. But I think McLaren are for sure strong, so we need to see how good they are in the race.”

Felipe Massa:

“I feel really powerful this year. If we are lucky, we will have a stronger start of the season than last year’s. This year we aim for the same situation we had in 2007, Ferrari was the best team and both drivers were in equal positive conditions. I feel strong to fight for the championship.”

Sam Michael (Williams):

“Ferrari are about three of four tenths ahead of them (McLaren), and seven or eight tenths before the group including BMW, Renault, Red Bull and us.”

Fernando Alonso (Renault) on Kimi Raikkonen

“He has the self confidence and he is obviously very quick, so he has put himself in a very strong position.”

McLaren:
Lewis Hamilton:

“Winter testing has gone really smoothly. We have had steady reliability and the car is feeling good. We have had some great testing days, easily covering the mileage and getting confidence in the car. It has been a good week, in addition to the test development programme we have been working with the race team on getting back up to speed with activities such as pitstops. As I just said, the car is feeling good, but as always we still have work to do. A Formula One car is under continuous evolution, and when you look back at how far we have come since the MP4-23 first hit the track in January, it is encouraging. The work doesn’t stop for anyone just because testing has concluded.”

Heikki Kovalainen:

“We have improved the car, I have improved myself and I have gotten to know the team better. Everything has just very positive; there haven’t been any negative moments. Of course some days are more difficult than others but we are making progress all the time. So overall a very good winter and we have the pace to have a strong year.”

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F1Wolf

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It is funny how different views can 2 former Formula 1 champions have. This is what today’s news brought.

Sir Jackie Stewart for The Herald

“It’s not unusual for a new driver like Lewis to struggle a bit in the second season. He is no longer an unknown quantity. He is in the position where people are expecting him to win every race he starts.

It’s a curious thing: Lewis will think he can nail this year’s championship, because he came so close last time around, but that can make you push too hard, and, before you know it, little things can start going wrong which make the difference.

A lot of factors have changed this season and Kovalainen’s arrival at McLaren could mean that the shoe is on the other foot. Suddenly, here is another bright-eyed, bushy-tailed contender and, if Heikki makes a good start in the first few races, the publicity and press attention might revolve round him.”

He is not exactly writing Hamilton off, but it looks like Stewart has his doubts about Hamilton’s mental strength. The way Hamilton let the 2007 title slip away after mistakes in Shanghai and Brazil may suggest Stewart may have a case.

Now Alain Prost for Autosprint:

“This year electronic aids will disappear so life will get harder for the drivers. But I’m convinced of one thing: contrary to what could be thought, Hamilton will draw an advantage from this change, and you know why? Because he’s phenomenal. Last year he did something exceptional, but not so much for his performances, which were fantastic anyway. He was twice exceptional at a psychological level: first in the way he put up with the pressure of his debut, and then for the way he put up with the ever-increasing pressure for a season that went on until the last GP and with all the mess that had happened.

Can you imagine? A rookie that resisted until the last race before giving up. And after all, let me tell you one thing: before starting winning championships, I lost some too, if you can remember that. But then, when I started…

Hamilton must not be complacent, as Kovalainen will certainly be a very tough cookie. With regards to the championship, the Finn looks definitely dangerous.”

Quite a different opinion …

One thing however both these guys have in common. They both regard Heikki Kovalainen as a serious contender. Not bad for a guy who was allegedly only McLaren’s 3rd choice after Rosberg and Vettel …

F1Wolf

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Today my ticket for Australian GP landed on my desk and the first thing that came to my mind was this:

Those who saw the race will remember, for those who perhaps missed Ralf Schumacher’s attempt to take off there is a video inside this post.

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F1Wolf

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The 2008 Formula 1 season is just around a corner, the gap between now and Australian GP is already smaller than the summer break between Hungarian and European Grands Prix.

I have been posting screensavers from 2007 Formula 1 season during the winter break and I just realized that 3 of them still did not make it. So as a final farewel to the last season here are all of the 2007 Formula 1 screensavers, including the missing ones - Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Toyota.

Kimi Raikkonen 2007 Screensaver - 2007 Ferrari Screensaver - 2007 McLaren Screensaver - 2007 BMW Sauber F1 Screensaver - 2007 Renault F1 Screensaver - 2007 Williams F1 Screensaver - 2007 Red Bull F1 Screensaver - 2007 Toyota F1 Screensaver - 2007 Honda F1 Screensaver - 2007 Super Aguri Screensaver - 2007 Toro Rosso F1 Screensaver - 2007 Spyker F1 Screensaver

Bring on the 2008 F1 season !

F1Wolf

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Over the weekend I joined the conversation over at Sidepodast that evolved around the fact that Formula 1 own corporate hospitability and advertising business ended up $3 million in red. Here Pitpass confused me a bit, as they say that Silverstone made as much money as Formula 1, having made 1.3 million pounds, while in another article they report that F1 has lost that money. Anyway, let’s assume Bernie’s business lost $3 million. Even if it made the same money, it is pretty lousy result for mighty Bernie …

Here I with my permission quote my weekend self :

I am confident that with a bit of fresh thinking that 3 million loss can be eliminated a turned into profit easily. But some fresh thinking would have to replace the greed.

So here are few bits that come to my mind without need for too much thinking:

The greed:

1) Milking more and more from the race organizers - the favourite hobby of Mr. Ecclestone, this comes before motoracing

2) Facilities, facilities, facilities - If Bernie was talking about facilities for spectators, I would not protest much. I would for example like TV screens that actually are OK to watch (unless you are right next to the screen there is no way to read the names or times, or the latest invention to squeeze 16:9 picture into 4:3 TV screen on the track - Sepang), or perhaps food that is OK to eat or beer that is OK to drink (Shanghai). But these things are rarely or never mentioned. Most of the talk is always about the Paddock facilities … The fate of the race should not hang in the balance just because Mr. Ecclestone does not have room cool enough for drink with Flavio Briatore …

3) Ticket prices - While I understand that organizing Formula 1 race costs money, charging close to $1000 per ticket is mad. Unfortunately organizers do not have that many other options to recover their payments to Mr. Ecclestone …

4) Formula 1 merchadise - If someone looks for a definition of “ridiculous” when it comes to prices, the best place to go to look for a benchmark is the official Formula 1 store on Formula 1 website.

And now few of those fresh thinking suggestions:

1) CVC should get rid of Bernie Ecclestone sooner rather than later. Despite popular belief Bernie does not own the Formula 1 circus. He did his bit, now it is time to go fishing. Ross Brawn may be willing to give some tips for good fishing spots.

2) While I understand that the exclusivity and glamour is part of the Formula 1 attraction, F1 will be nothing if the fans run away. The more fans, the more revenue sources. Now the revenue comes only from people willing and able to spend a lot. Those who are not willing or can’t afford to spend a lot, spend nothing, because there is nothing to spend ‘not a lot’ for. OK, keep the carbonfibre keychains and mousepads in your merchandise lines for those few who wish to have them. But have something ready also for those who wish or can spend only a dollar or two or five. It should not be that difficult …

3) We live in 21st century and whether F1 likes it or not, web rulez ! F1 however still did not get it and tries to rule the web. Please wake up, it will not work ! The main reason why there is so much ‘illegal’ F1 video footage on the web is … guess what … no legal video footage. Free race highlits released by Formula 1 would not kill Formula 1. It would make the fans happy. Broadcasts from testing, Friday and Saturday practice sessions over the web would make many fans happy even more. There would sure be quite a few willing to spend that reasonable ! buck for pay-per-view online access or for season long package. The next step - full race video downloads. Technically these could be available the day after the race. If some TV rights holders do show replays in a day or two after the race, then OK, wait till Wednesday before releasing the race for download. But do it !

4) TV coverage is … very basic. TV coverage is mostly on free to air channels (although not here where I watch …). Keep it that way and available for everybody. But create a premium option with features similar to handheld Kangaroo TV (available at some tracks). The footage is available, release it to viewers, let them choose what they want to see, let them follow the drivers they want to follow, let them get the race data they want and anytime they want. And let them go for their bathroom breaks when they feel they need them. Do not force us to go when TV decides to show us Renault drivers in roles of ING private banking advisors or McLaren drivers as fighter jet pilots.

And final note - Do not spit into fans’ faces by getting rid of tracks like Silverstone, Monza, Spa … Yes, we want Formula 1 to make it to the 21st century finally, but some things have to stay !

F1Wolf

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Make or break - is the nature of the trip to Japan Aguri Suzuki embarked on ? Perhaps not. According to the news reports Aguri Suzuki travelled to Japan to hold talks with Honda the future of his financially troubled team. The latest reports coming from Japan suggest some news on the short term future of Super Aguri may be out during this weekend.

There are 2 possible reasons for these talks:

a) Despite all the efforts from Aguri Suzuki there are no new backers, sponsors or investors in sight and therefore Honda may have to foot most of the Super Aguri bill. Suzuki needs to find out how much of financial support and for how long he may count on.

b) More likely scenario is that Suzuki has several bids for the team on the table but they are either not very acceptable to him (perhaps asking for more he is prepared to offer) or the conditions of the investors may not be acceptable to Honda (like the demand for race seat for Narain Karthikeyan from Spice Group).

I expect some solution that will keep Super Aguri on the grid this year to come out of these talks. What kind of solution it will be likely depends on how much can Honda compromise and how they see the long term future of Super Aguri. If Honda’s plans with Aguri do not extend beyond 2008, they may simply pay the bills this year and give Suzuki free hand in making any deals with any investors, buyers or sponsors from 2009 onwards. If their plans are long term but do not include paying all the bills, they may have to compromise right now. This would mean accepting some of the conditions the prospective backers may have even if Honda is not too comfortable with them.

I however already feel sorry for Super Aguri in 2008. No matter what will come out of the talks it looks like they will end up stuck with Honda RA107 car …

UPDATE - No deal has been concluded yet in Japan and Super Aguri will miss the final round of tests in Japan. The talks between Aguri Suzuki, Honda and apparently also some potential investors still continue. Despite missing the final test the team seems to continue the preparations for the Australian GP.

F1Wolf

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Welcome to the penultimate edition of the 2008 Formula 1 season countdown. Yes, there is only one more to go, and no, I will not start counting down day by day after we hit the 10 days mark .

For the past month I have been running a poll here. You voted for the 2008 F1 Driver Champ. It looks like Kimi Raikkonen is the overwhelming favourite, at least among the F1Wolf readers. (click on the thumbnail to see the votes). There is a new poll running now, I expect the results to be closer .

We are only 20 days from the start of the season and there are still 2 unconfirmed seats - although both Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson testes when the team last time made it to the test track, none of them has been officially confirmed yet. The team itself is in troubles. They cancelled their plans to test in Barcelona last week and Aguri Suzuki is in Japan as we speak talking his team’s future with the Honda brass. A year ago this time the only empty seat was in Toro Rosso, where the team waited till the last moment to confirm Scott Speed, only to let him go few months later. By the way, when talking about a year ago this time - check my 2007 Formula 1 predictions and please do not laugh too much .

In Singapore the tickets for the first F1 night race went up for sale with a bang… perhaps with a crash is more accurate. At about the same time the Singaporean public got the first taste of an F1 car on the streets. Red Bull car show was a part of the annual Chingay parade. It was driven by Robert Wickens, a young driver racing A1 this weekend in Durban.

The winter testing season is coming to a close. Since the last summary the teams tested in Jerez, in Barcelona and in Valencia. Valencia was pretty much a private test for BMW Sauber. We were all hoping to see where Ferrari and McLaren stand, unfortunately the Barcelona test was affected by wet weather and it is rather difficult to make anything from the times. Still, the general view of the situation is Ferrari on top of the game right now, with McLaren behind them. After that it is anybody’s guess. Some see Renault much stronger than they are willing to show (Gene). Fernando Alonso has totally different opinion and sees BMW Sauber in very strong position. Jarno Trulli is quite upbeat about the Toyota car. And surprisingly even boys, despite the poor winter performances, seem to be feeling quite good about their package… It looks like the only guarantee we have for this year is 11th for Super Aguri, that is if they make it to Melbourne.

Unfortunately the racism issues are not going away. Last 10 days the talk was about reactions of Bernie Ecclestone and Fernando Alonso. I am quite willing to believe that Bernie meant what he is said to have said. But as far as Fernando Alonso goes, I would like to see the full interview or speach where his remarks were taken from before making any opninion on that. All I had chance to read were excerpts only.

Outside of F1 there were some interesting developments too. Ralf Schumacher found his ride in DTM with Mercedes. He also admitted that he made up his earlier claims about being sure to remain in Formula 1 after leaving Toyota. Jacques Villeneuve lost his drive in NASCAR after his crash at qualifying race for Daytona 500.

And finally the over a decade long rift in North America is over. Champ Car and IRL series are merging:

“Indy Racing League founder and CEO Tony George and owners of the Champ Car World Series have completed an agreement in principle that will unify the sport for 2008. Gerald Forsythe, co-owner of Champ Car, signed an agreement in principle Feb. 22 in Chicago, joining his partner, Kevin Kalkhoven. George signed the agreement Feb. 21. Details of a news conference about the agreement will be forthcoming.”

The 2008 Formula 1 Season Countdown will be back for one more time in 10 days.

F1Wolf

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Another week has passed, it is time again to look at what was it like on the F1 blogs and webs.

Michael Schumacher will test again for Ferrari next week, this time alongside Kimi Raikkonen. You will definitelly look at this differently after reading this article that brings some light on all the behind scenes moves that lead to Schumacher’s retirement, Alonso’s signing for McLaren and Raikkonen’s for Ferrari. This article seems to be quite old, but for some reason it appeared few days ago among the “latest features” on F1i dot com. Very interesting (and long) reading - Michael Schumacher - The strange story of his retirement.

NASCAR made it to F1Wolf thanks to Jacques Villeneuve. And thanks to comment from regular reader and commentator “zblkhwk” we have some more insight to what actually happened there. Check the comments below the Tale Of Two Formula 1 Drop Outs post.

Singapore continues its preparations for the F1 race and sends a group of people to Adelaide to get some experience. Let’s hope the ticketing fiasco will remain the only serious glitch …

Organizers in Valencia released more information on their track and grandstands - check and see where would you like to watch the European GP from.

We are supposed to be aware of the brands that flash in front of our eyes during the Formula 1 coverage. Are we watching the F1 the way we should be ?

And to stay with the brands - check out how some of the car manufacturers’ logo evolved including some those involved in Formula 1.

See you again a in week with Spotted by Wolf.

F1Wolf

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If you expect this post to talk about Fernando Alonso’s views on the racism in F1 and the Lewis Hamilton abuse in Spain that made it to the media today, then you are wrong. I am going to talk about how Fernando Alonso sees the form of the teams ahead of the 2008 Formula 1 season .

Mark Gene, the Ferrari test driver, raised his suspicion few days ago, that Renault may be deliberately hiding their true performance. When reading what Alonso had to say, one either has to fully agree or fully disagree with Mark Gene… Make your pick:

“We are very far, very far. I think it’s looking like at the end of last year: two Ferraris, two McLarens and two BMWs, and if everything goes like that, you can almost only fight for seventh place. Thinking about the podium would be too optimistic right now, but then you arrive in the first grand prix, you start warming up in practice, your morale starts going up and you think you can be on the podium. But right now, thinking coldly, reaching the podium is a dream. In our current shape it will be hard to make it into Q3.”

He was also quoted saying:

“We are not in a position to do anything about McLaren, Ferrari or BMW. Ferrari are favourites but they’re not in a different world. We however belong more to the group including Williams and Red Bull.”

Another interesting observation for double world champ that I haven’t hear from anybody else yet refers to BMW Sauber:

“They are very fast with a lot of fuel. Sometimes you look at their times, and you see what they’ve done in stints of 25 or 30 laps. That is, with 60 or 70 kilos of fuel. They have surprised me the most in the last two or three tests.”

Now this needs some translation to fanspeak:

- Ferarri are the quickest but not as far ahead as it may seem
- McLaren and BMW Sauber are not far behind and it may actually be BMW Sauber sandbagging and not showing their true form yet.
- Alonso does not consider Williams to be the 3rd best as lots of fans do and many hope for.
- Renault, Red Bull and Williams form the strong midfield of six cars fighting for 4 spare places in Q3
- Without mentioning Honda and Toyota he sends them where most fans, bloggers and insiders send them too
- Toro Rosso, Force India and Super Aguri are not on his radar

I must say, that his predictions (translated by me) are almost identical to mine. Just it looks like I have more confidence in Renault than Fernando Alonso has . Or are the Renault guys really making these “we are very far” claims up ?

F1Wolf

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