motor

blue8 · 11-07-2007, 04:01 AM

Official: Rosberg and Nakajima confirmed for Williams

"I am delighted to confirm that Nico will be racing for the team for his third consecutive year after demonstrating impressive and widely applauded form in 2007," team owner Frank Williams commented.

"Nico will be ably partnered by Kazuki, who has impressed the team over the past year. He has pace and the right aptitude to develop into a competitive Formula One racer and over the course of the next season, we will provide him with all the necessary support and assistance to hone his talents."

Teams so far:
Ferrari: Raikkonen and Massa
BMW Sauber: Heidfeld and Kubica
Williams: Rosberg and Nakajima
Red Bull: Coulthard and Webber
Honda: Button and Barrichello
Toro Rosso: Vettel and Bourdais
Super Aguri: Sato and Davidson
McLaren: Hamilton
Renault:
Force India: Sutil
Toyota: Trulli

dali · 11-07-2007, 06:33 AM

I wonder if William's confirmation of Nico is serious or if he is just gambling with McLaren?!

J.K. · 11-07-2007, 07:54 AM

Formula 1: Renault, 62 milioni di euro dagli sponsor per riavere Al0nso
Indice Ultim'ora

PARIS - Fernando Al0nso and the Renault are always more' neighbors. Of it and' convinced the Spanish printing than does not exclude that the Agreement can arrive in day, even if the daily one "As", talks about a negotiation than durera' still some day but that could conclude itself in week. According to "As" the Renault and' in search of backers for take again Alonso and yesterday to Madrid there a meeting between three large businesses would have been, that would have found an Agreement to fund the operation and have been ready to put available 62 millions of euro to season. (Agr)

62 millions :shock:

5vz-fe · 11-12-2007, 11:25 AM

That decision should make Button happy. However, I beleive they need more that Brawn to get back on their feet.

blue8 · 11-12-2007, 12:12 PM

Ferrari's new management structure:

The Ferrari team have announced Stefano Domenicali will take on the role of Director of the Gestione Sportiva, a position held by Jean Todt.

Domenicali was the team's sporting director.

Ferrari also said technical director Mario Almondo will now be the team's operations director, while Aldo Costa will take on the role of technical director.

Gilles Simon will be Ferrari's engine director.

The announcement comes after Honda confirmed Ferrari's former technical director Ross Brawn will join the Japanese squad as their team principal.

sameerrao · 11-12-2007, 12:47 PM

I must admit the last two changes were pretty shocking. I would have expected Todt to quit the racing team and give team principal status to R Brawn.

Yes, Ferrari won the two championships this year but they did it by the narrowest of margins. There were examples of poor strategy calls, poor reliability, etc over the season.

I'm sure Ross would have managed the situation better. If Renault can improve next year and McLaren stays where it is, the Scuderia will have a tough battle on its hands and needs to really put out its A game.

saadie · 11-12-2007, 01:02 PM

^^ and exactly that will make the next season a whole lot better to watch

4 teams batteling it out ..
Ferrari
Renault
McLaren
BMW

blue8 · 11-12-2007, 01:09 PM

Ross Brawn said he decided to join Honda as team boss rather than return to Ferrari because he wanted more of a challenge than the Formula One champions could offer.

"The fact that Ferrari wasn't in crisis made it less attractive to me," the Briton said in a conference call on Monday after the Japanese team announced that he would be joining them at the end of the month.

"They've done well and will do well and have got a good structure there to go forward with. My job now is to beat them."

More: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/63908

Hmmm... what do you think of Alonso to Honda? I've heard that Honda is very disappointed with Rubens and I'm sure they're willing to drop him for the Spaniard.

ae86_16v · 11-13-2007, 04:57 AM

Originally Posted by sameerrao

I must admit the last two changes were pretty shocking. I would have expected Todt to quit the racing team and give team principal status to R Brawn.

Yes, Ferrari won the two championships this year but they did it by the narrowest of margins. There were examples of poor strategy calls, poor reliability, etc over the season.

I'm sure Ross would have managed the situation better. If Renault can improve next year and McLaren stays where it is, the Scuderia will have a tough battle on its hands and needs to really put out its A game.

Yeah, I don't understand that either, why Honda if Jean Todt was stepping down/moving up?

Damn, Brawn is still a bad ass and differently will improve Honda. I really wished he would've came back to Ferrari though.

ae86_16v · 11-13-2007, 06:43 AM

Originally Posted by dani_d_mas

I don't think Ross Brawn is that important personally. Just remember Adrian Newey when he was in McLaren when Mika Hakkinen won everything in '98 and '99. Now he's working for Red Bull and what? nothing

Ross Brawn was good because there was also Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher at the Scuderia, and the success came more thanks to the combination of all those talents working together rather that Brawn's own capacity :bah:

Definitely it is a team sport. No doubt about that and it takes hundreds if not thousands of right combination of people, skill, timing, etc, etc without mentioning the obvious drivers, engineers, etc.

But I think like any sport, you need a good head coach, manager, team principle is just as important as having a good driver or player. Again it must be a good combo if not it is all for waste, e.g. Alonso and Ron Dennis.

But overall, I think Brawn is definitely a HUGE step in the right direction for Honda.

Bizi Jones · 11-13-2007, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by dani_d_mas

I don't think Ross Brawn is that important personally. Just remember Adrian Newey when he was in McLaren when Mika Hakkinen won everything in '98 and '99. Now he's working for Red Bull and what? nothing

Ross Brawn was good because there was also Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher at the Scuderia, and the success came more thanks to the combination of all those talents working together rather that Brawn's own capacity :bah:

heh, if u think its so easy to design a car from the ground up with a new team, tires, engine, tech staff, factory etc etc...lets c u do it :spaz:...at least wait till the RB4 comes to rag on the guy...

as for Brawn, I am sure he won't do any worse than what the current Honda team has done...so already he's improved the team

McLaren4eVa · 11-15-2007, 01:20 PM

I'm over the moon that allonso is out of my team, it seems as though he conspired against McLaren and brought about this whole debacle. Well that's exxagerating but he is a twat and good riddence for all I care.

blue8 · 11-19-2007, 12:39 PM

Timo Glock to race for Toyota

Reigning GP2 champion Timo Glock will race for Toyota in 2008, it was announced on Monday. Glock, who competed in four Grands Prix for Jordan back in 2004, is understood to have signed a multi-year contract with the Japanese squad.

The move marks the end of the 25 year-old’s role as BMW Sauber's reserve driver. Toyota hope that they will be able to reach an agreement with the German-Swiss squad, which will allow Glock to drive the TF107 at the next multi-team test in December.

“I am convinced Timo has the potential to help this team move forward and achieve its aims,” said Toyota team principal Tadashi Yamashina. “Timo has great experience of motorsport in several different categories and he reinforced his reputation by winning the highly competitive GP2 Series, which we have already seen is fantastic preparation for Formula One. He has demonstrated a fighting spirit and good race craft in GP2 so we believe he is the right man for the job.”

Glock scored two points at his Grand Prix debut for Jordan back in 2004 after finishing the Canadian race in seventh. He moved to the Champ Car World Series in 2005 before switching to GP2 a year later. He won this year’s title after enjoying five wins.

“It’s a great feeling to be a Formula One race driver again and I am really looking forward to this new challenge,” explained the German. “I have worked hard over the past few years to get this opportunity and I must say I am grateful to Panasonic Toyota Racing for having faith in me. From what I have seen of the team at the track I am confident we will be able to work well together to move forward. Even though I have not raced in Formula One since 2004, I have tested quite regularly so I expect it will take very little time for me to get back in the groove.”

“I have been lucky enough to race and succeed in several different championships in my career but my goal has always been to become a full-time Formula One race driver. I believe this experience has made me stronger as a driver and as a person. Of course, to return to Formula One racing as GP2 Series champion is a real honour and we’ve all seen how well Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton have performed as champions so that is very encouraging. I hope I can also make a strong impression next season.”

Regarding Alonso, he is highly speculated to drive for Renault or Red Bull.

sameerrao · 11-19-2007, 02:10 PM

Flavio has been quoted as saying that Renault will have two new drivers next season - i.e. Piquet Jr and most probably Alonso. There will be an announcement in 2 days time.

sameerrao · 11-19-2007, 06:12 PM

Originally Posted by dani_d_mas

That means Heikki Kovalainen with move to McLaren... there's no other option

I hope this happens. Heikki deserves a shot at a good car. Besides he looks to be a peaceful, apolitical kind of guy - just what RD needs this year after Alonsogate.

Briatore says 60% chance of signing Alonso. If this falls through, I think Mark Webber may switch over to Renault.