motor

ZfrkS62 · 09-10-2004, 10:36 PM

According to the 2001-2002 F1 Record Book, Beruit is trying to host a race in it's streets. They were apparently bidding for the 2004 season but obviously that failed. Does anyone know if they are still vying for a race?

And what happened to the talks of a moscow or new york venue?

mindgam3 · 09-13-2004, 10:13 AM

i was browsing autosport magazine in a shop today and its got a 4 page article on rumours that ford are jacking in WRC and the Jaguar F1 team and bringing back their own completely ford F1 team. Anyone heard this also? I cant find any news anywhere else on it

Wutputt · 09-13-2004, 10:32 AM

Yep, I heard it also a week ago or so. I will look it up to find more details about it.

edit: found it. It was a rumour during the GP of Belgium

Reasons given:

There is a strong body of opinion at Ford that the company should benefit from the F1 programme, not only Jaguar, if it is spending all the money. Using the Ford brand will open up many more possibilities for marketing but it's commonly know that Ford wants to reduce its costs a little more and is looking for a partner to take over 30% of the team and help with the funding. The management of the team should not be affected by any of the changes.

My opinion: besides those reasons, another reason could be Ford wants to have more control over their money spend in F1. Rebranding their F1 division is, in my opinion, just one step to get more control over their money flow going towards F1

But it's a shame they would give up their rally team, because they are getting good results in the WRC.

ZfrkS62 · 09-13-2004, 12:11 PM

But it's a shame they would give up their rally team, because they are getting good results in the WRC.

ford already has a very strong customer base with the focus, i think they want to shift focus (no pun intended) to their high performance capabilities. Espicially since the Jordans have been so poorly. thats just a guess though

hwe · 09-13-2004, 03:01 PM

Villeneuve to join Renault tomorrow ??

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns13492.html

5vz-fe · 09-13-2004, 03:11 PM

It has been denied .......

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=31093

hwe · 09-13-2004, 03:35 PM

haha, that didn't take long.

Thanks for the info.

sameerrao · 09-15-2004, 01:34 AM

Source: http://f1.racing-live.com/en/
Jacques Villeneuve to test for Renault!
Starting tomorrow at Silverstone

The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team this evening announced that French- Canadian Jacques Villeneuve will test for the team at Silverstone on Wednesday and Thursday.

Villeneuve conducted a seat-fitting at the team's Enstone base on Tuesday evening, and will begin acclimatising himself to the Renault R24 tomorrow at the Northamptonshire circuit.

Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Managing Director Flavio Briatore commented:

"We have reached an agreement for Jacques to test for the team at Silverstone on Wednesday and Thursday. This test might lead to Jacques joining the team for the final three races of the season beginning next week at the Chinese Grand Prix."

SPEEDCORE · 09-15-2004, 02:14 AM

Good news for JV fans bad news for Trulli fans

dons5 · 09-15-2004, 05:09 AM

i have a feeling somehtin is up at renault and trulli, either there doin somethin to the car, or trulli is drivin bad on porpuse so that he can make renautl do bad, and pretending renault are messin him up but really trulli is the one whos laughin, but soemthin is up its just too much of a coincidence that all of a sudden this happens when its official that hes out

ZfrkS62 · 09-16-2004, 11:28 AM

and Sauber will lose the Ferrari gearbox next year, sucks for them.

i think next year we will be seeing a few Saubers brought back to the pits on the flatbeds due to gearbox failure...Unless they have dismantled the Ferrari gearbox and studied evey molecule of each component and developed the exact same manufacturing process

But i think its a nice step for Sauber to be bringing in their own stuff. It really shows a strong desire for them to be in Ferrari's position at some point in time.
They have already shown they can move up the grid, now they just need to get the consistency.

5vz-fe · 09-16-2004, 02:26 PM

^Even if they did, it will be hard for them to get the materials just right for durability. What Sauber needs is a more aerodynamic efficient chassis. Given the fact that they used the same engine and gear box as Ferrari this year, they clearly lose out on chassis design. (I hope the influence of shell is not that much)

sameerrao · 09-28-2004, 12:09 PM

Originally Posted by Ronin005

any news on Sir Jackie Stewart making a return to F1 with the purchase of jaguar?
oh man how sweet this would be, he would def help make something out of that team.

He was interviewed by Peter Windsor at the Chinese GP and asked the same question. His reply was " We have looked at this possibility but the economics do not work out for us" By us he meant he and his son who together managed Stewart Ford.

mindgam3 · 09-28-2004, 01:42 PM

Well jaguar was basically Stewart Ford. I still find it amazing how such a big company like ford can not have a team in the ultimate of car championships. I suppose its not AS big in america where fords main market is, but still, they should be in there somewhere.

sameerrao · 09-28-2004, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by mindgam3

Well jaguar was basically Stewart Ford. I still find it amazing how such a big company like ford can not have a team in the ultimate of car championships. I suppose its not AS big in america where fords main market is, but still, they should be in there somewhere.

Jackie said that it was a shame that when Ford was dominant (as engine supplier) and had won championship after championship in the 60s and 70s, it was never used well for marketing purposes. Particularly in the States (which is pretty insular in its view of sports).

Now when F1 has become prohibitively expensive requiring a board level approval for granting funds ... Jaguar has performed pathetically and doesnt have the results to justify the marketing...