[Newpunter]

Gary Paffet has been with Mclaren so long as a test driver that Mclaren probably trust his feedback more than the regular drivers. That is probably the reason why they used him and not Lewis or Jenson. It wouldn't matter much anyway coz the cars as well as the tyres would change a lot from now and the beginning of next year. It was funny though that Mclaren ran Paffet even during the Young Driver Test .

[anachronix]

^^ In that case, Pirelli can give more information to Mclaren than what Paffet could give from a driver's perspective.

Nothing can beat the individual driver inputs. The drivers could have possibly done a direct comparo of their times with the Pirelli to the AbuDhabi GP with the Bridgestone.

[Hatari]

I just hope a set of Pirelli softs dont last the 30 laps like Bridgestones did!
that is a shame. makes a mockery out of hard and soft compounds.

Tires that are slightly unpredictable in (handling and wear) lead to far ore exciting racing and focus on driver skill.

F1 needs to compensate for the Michelin vs Bridgestone war.
A single manufacturer can just produce a low wear/grip compound and see off the entire season.

[raj.barcode]

Originally Posted by Hatari

I just hope a set of Pirelli softs dont last the 30 laps like Bridgestones did!
that is a shame. makes a mockery out of hard and soft compounds.

Tires that are slightly unpredictable in (handling and wear) lead to far ore exciting racing and focus on driver skill.

How i wish that would be true but these bosses who sit higher up will make sure it wont be like that

[Hatari]

Sad to see Hulkenberg being forced to consider a testing role for 2011.
According to Pedro de la Rosa, 2011 is the worst year to get into F1 if are not a pay driver.

Anyone here know why the tobacco companies are not indulging in surrogate advertising in F1? Are the laws that strict outside India?
.. After all thats where the money is

[Newpunter]

Originally Posted by Hatari

Anyone here know why the tobacco companies are not indulging in surrogate advertising in F1? Are the laws that strict outside India?
.. After all thats where the money is

The laws are very strict in this respect and F1 teams had decided long ago to move away from tobacco sponsorship. Ferrari are the only team to continue using Tobacco sponsorship from Philip Morris. They were recently forced to remove their bar code logo which resembled Marlboro and constituted Surrogate advertising. Funny thing was that the new paint scheme resembled Marlboro even more, but Ferrari denies this and claims it is part of Ferrari's color scheme .

[anachronix]

In that case, the Mclaren has still got the paint scheme of 'West Lights'!

But nobody complains

You should see the Ferrari logo for 2010!

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by anachronix

In that case, the Mclaren has still got the paint scheme of 'West Lights'!

But nobody complains

You should see the Ferrari logo for 2010!

That looks like a pack of Marlboro!

[anachronix]

^^ And the shape of a factory right next to the box. Very well executed!

[Hatari]

Originally Posted by Newpunter

The laws are very strict in this respect and F1 teams had decided long ago to move away from tobacco sponsorship. Ferrari are the only team to continue using Tobacco sponsorship from Philip Morris. They were recently forced to remove their bar code logo which resembled Marlboro and constituted Surrogate advertising. Funny thing was that the new paint scheme resembled Marlboro even more, but Ferrari denies this and claims it is part of Ferrari's color scheme .

I meant Marlboro mineral water, music CDs, etc etc

[Zensi]

Originally Posted by Newpunter

Well, we have a Chinese GP with no Chinese driver, Malaysian GP with no Malaysian driver, Korean GP with no Korean Driver, Bahrain GP, Abu Dhabi GP with no middle east driver etc. I don't see any reason why Indian GP should be any different. I would like to see an Indian driver in F1 based on merit , not just because he is indian. And to be honest, In my opinion , Karun doesn't deserve to be in F1.

I dont agree with the statement. He was the highest placed HRT driver despite competing in few GP's, outpacing Senna and the more experienced Klein. In F1 today more than the driver, the machinery matters, for e.g. Barrichello was a title contender with Brawn last season and saw where he finished this season with Williams....

If Karun gets a FI drive - am sure he will prove to be better than what Luizzi did this year...

[Hatari]

^^ Agree. I do rate him above Narain.

Newpunter, do Petrov & Maldonado deserve to be in F1?
apart from the 10 million obvious reasons?

He deserves a fair chance in a decent team (Toro Rosso & above)
Think he will prove his worth then

[anachronix]

A nice pic from Ken's FB



With caption:
Dear Seb 1.0 and Kimi; I don’t remember much from Sunday night, but I had a great time. So... what did we decide about teaming up for 2011??? -KB

[anachronix]

autosport.com - F1 News: Ecclestone injured in London mugging

Bernie Ecclestone was mugged in central London on Wednesday evening, suffering a head injury in the attack.

The 80-year-old Formula 1 commerical boss and his girlfriend Fabiani Flosi were jumped by four men outside the Knightsbridge offices of his Formula One Holdings company.

Ecclestone was kicked and punched before his attackers escaped with around £200,000 worth of jewellery, according to media reports.
A police statement said he was taken to a west London hospital for treatment and was later discharged.

"There were no reports of any other injuries," it continued. "The items stolen are believed to be a quantity of jewellery."

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by anachronix

Bernie Ecclestone was mugged in central London on Wednesday evening, suffering a head injury in the attack.

The 80-year-old Formula 1 commerical boss and his girlfriend Fabiani Flosi were jumped by four men outside the Knightsbridge offices of his Formula One Holdings company.

Ecclestone was kicked and punched before his attackers escaped with around £200,000 worth of jewellery, according to media reports.
A police statement said he was taken to a west London hospital for treatment and was later discharged.

So, does it mean London is no safer than Sao Paulo? Terrifying to think he was mugged just outside his office

Happy to hear he is back to work, according to his daughter.