Imhotep Evil

- BMW and Renault take the first 4 places; winner Kubica
- Super Auguri follow 5 and 6
- both Ferrari are black black flagged
- the McMercs finish on the last 2 places; both drivers whine to the press that the other was favored and/or had to "lose" victory; the british and spanish press declare WWIII

Curb Zone

 

siko

Vettel in for Kubica at Indy

Robert Kubica has been refused permission to take part in this weekends United States Grand Prix.

The Polish BMW driver emerged practically unscathed from the violent accident he endured last weekend in Montreal, but fears of a second concussion soon after the recent one put paid to his hopes for Indianapolis.

"I am disappointed especially as I feel so good," the Pole commented following the decision, having earlier explained that he felt 100% ready to race.

His place will be taken this weekend by 19 year old German Sebastian Vettel, the BMW test driver who impressed on his appearances for the team on Fridays last season.

Kubica will undergo further tests before he is allowed to return to the cockpit.

Mirage77

Ecclestone reiterates that American race isn't necessary in F1
- June 15, 2007
AP


INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone is not sold on coming to America.

One day after Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials hoped to sign a long-term agreement to keep the United States Grand Prix at the famed track, Ecclestone wrote a letter reiterating his position that an American race isn't a necessity for the globe-hopping F1 series.

"It is not vital to Formula One to be in the United States," Ecclestone wrote, the series' Web site reported on Thursday. "There are bigger markets for us to be in other parts of the world. We could be in India soon instead of the United States."

Ecclestone voiced a similar opinion last summer before signing a one-year extension to continue racing at Indy. He was expected to arrive in Indianapolis late Thursday.

Speedway president Joie Chitwood declined, through a spokesman, to respond to the letter.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, before the letter was made public, Chitwood said Ecclestone and speedway boss Tony George were expected to meet this week and that race organizers wanted to have a long-term deal in place by the end of Sunday's U.S. GP.

"We've enjoyed the relationship and we'd like to see that relationship continue," Chitwood said.

Ecclestone, known as a fierce negotiator, may be using this as a tactic to get a better deal.

Traditionally, Indianapolis, the only American race on the F1 schedule, draws one of the biggest crowds on the circuit. Attendance figures are not released at Indy, but estimates have typically been around 125,000 for each of the past six years. The inaugural race in 2000 drew more than 200,000.

Ecclestone has previously indicated he would consider racing in another American city, such as New York or Las Vegas, and in his letter cited India's interest in hosting a future race as another possibility.

"We don't have a lot of sponsors from the U.S., no American teams and only one driver," he wrote. "I get along with Tony George and I hope we can strike a deal, but we have offers from other places in the U.S., too."

Sunday's race, the eighth U.S. GP staged in Indy, has had some memorably poor moments.

In 2002, Rubens Barrichello edged Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher in what many considered a payback for Barrichello parking his car and letting Schumacher win a race earlier in the season.

Three years later, 14 of 20 drivers entered pulled off the track just before the start of the race to protest tire safety issues. Schumacher won that race, but George refused to wave the checkered flag or appear in the winner's circle. Schumacher, now retired, is the only driver to win five times at Indianapolis' historic track.

And just before last year's race, Ecclestone rankled American fans by saying he didn't think F1 had to race in the United States.

Not everyone agrees. BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld said it was important for his team to be in America, which is the biggest market for BMW cars.

"I think it's important for F1 because it's labeled as the world championship," said Heidfeld, who finished second in the Canadian GP last week in Montreal. "America is a big country and has a lot of history with auto racing, so I think it is important to race here."

Besides BMW, F1 team principals and sponsors Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, Toyota and Renault also call the U.S. their biggest market.

Imhotep Evil

F. Alonso 1:11.925
N. Heifeld 1:12.391 0.466
L. Hamilton 1:12.628 0.703
S. Vettel 1:12.869 0.944
K. Raikkonen 1:12.966 1.041
N. Rosberg 1:13.020 1.095
F. Massa 1:13.040 1.115
.
.
.

P.D.- That's all, Practice 1 finished.


BMW smokes the Tifoseria Again.
Hope it's a trend of things to come.

Heidfeld top speed with 333 Km/h

Centurion

Oh snap, seem like BMW is going to be on fire this week too

vabboud

if everything continues with the curretn trends you can expect BMW to be second in constructor's championship by the end of the year
ferrari down the drain fast, renault typical french, sso it's settled!

Imhotep Evil

1. I hope so, BMW > ferrari
2. Renault F1 are only partially french, in no way typicaly french.

vabboud

yes but if u have 0.1% frenchness in you yu cannto escape
it's my anti french bias talkin, in no way logical
besides i ahve very close french blood relatives!

Imhotep Evil

Renault is a name in F1 history.
They influenced F1 more so than any other, except for Lotus. They'll bounce/come back.

450SEL6.9

- After Monaco, Ferrari said it will bounce back at Canada. They got smoked.
- After Canada, Ferrari says it will bounce back in the U.S. They will get smoked.
- After US, Ferrari will say they will bounce back in France.
. . . Fast Forward . . .
-After Brazil, Ferrari will insist that they will bounce back in 2008.

The point is they won't bounce back, not this season.

I knew Ferrari would have trouble keeping the BMWs at bay. Unless they are sandbagging, the Scuderia is sinking fast. I reckon they are just not fast enough. Either their development stalled or the other teams leapfrogged them massively, they are just too slow.

This race is interesting to me more so because of Vettel. If he races to a podium, I wonder what praises he will get relative to Hamy.

Curb Zone