Comments on 'Whitmarsh, McLaren and Barcelona' on F1 Insight

Comment by Keith Collantine

12/03/2009 14:05:10

You just can't get enough of that BMW picture, can you? :-) Really, this should have been one of the top things that came out of FOTA's announcement the other week. Lots of fans - and not just those in America - really want to see F1 back in the States, and Canada for that matter too. Ecclestone simply has to make some movement on this issue. Surely CVC, with so much money vested in the sport, can understand the logic of making a few financial concessions to races in America in order to tap into the enormous potential fan base, to see nothing of the potential value to the manufacturers?

Comment by Clive

12/03/2009 14:13:40

Actually, this was one of those posts where I could put any photo up, so varied was the subject matter. I thought of Toyota but their site is giving me problems at the moment, I've had enough of Brawn GP pics for the moment, and then I suddenly thought, "We haven't had a BMW for a while!" I had completely forgotten the recent article on Nick's F1.09 from that superb angle. Ah well, what can you expect from a Beemer fan? As for American GPs, I think Bernie is afraid that, if he gives them concessions, all the other circuit owners will start expecting them too. I can understand his reluctance, given that he has to make enough money to keep CVC happy, but a better businessman would be able to work a compromise somehow.

Comment by Steven Roy

12/03/2009 21:22:32

Bernie will be ecstatic if the teams pay for a US GP. He gets the fee he wants and gets all the other income that he normally gets with none of the usual aggro.

Comment by Clive

12/03/2009 22:03:41

True, Steven. What he will lose, however, is his reputation as the impresario of F1. And that may be the first step in getting rid of him. After all, if FOTA can arrange races, who needs Bernie shoving his nose in?

Comment by Journeyer

13/03/2009 06:11:18

As long as CVC is there, Bernie will be too. If they want to get rid of Bernie, they'll have to propose a MUCH better replacement to CVC.

Comment by alan

13/03/2009 07:32:40

It is basically bad business to withold from the biggest car owning/buying country in the worl the chance to see some of the best drivers in the world - and the biggest car manufacturers - a showcase in america. You have to speculate to accummulate - its advertising? - time for the poison dwarf to move on and let others take charge - ps if you want a beemer - why not show one

Comment by Lee

13/03/2009 09:29:39

Interesting that Maclaren seem to be only a small way behind Ferrari and BMW in this test. It would also be nice to know when in the day these times were set as Fisichella has said that they would have been in the 1:20.5s if they had run later in the day when the track was much quicker. Still an amazing time set by Brawn GP. Even if they are running light etc it seems that their reliability is pretty good.

Comment by Woffin

13/03/2009 09:31:05

Surely with less testing for the teams, there would be room to extend the calendar to 20 races and fit in the French, USA and Canadian GP without dropping any others? Instead of having more back to back races, why not just extend the length of the racing season a few weeks?

Comment by Clive

13/03/2009 12:20:31

Journeyer: Bernie will stay as long as he breathes, yes - but there may be ways of working around him.

Comment by Clive

13/03/2009 12:25:51

Alan: Bernie cares only for the money he can earn for CVC. I think Martin Whitmarsh is making a very good point when he says that the manufacturers should step in to ensure a race in North America. As you say, they are the ones who need such a GP most so it makes sense that they should contribute towards its funding. As for the pics of Beemers, Keith was only joking. He knows I think the F1.09 looks great whereas most think it's ugly. If I keep putting up pics of it, sooner or later everyone will see the error of their ways! :D

Comment by Clive

13/03/2009 12:30:11

Lee: It does seem that the McLaren team made progress with the car over the 4-day test in Barcelona. It's later times were much closer to the opposition's, as you say. Presuming that this will continue in Jerez next week, McLaren will be competitive in Melbourne as expected. The Brawn's reliability has been good during its first testing period and it has set quick times over long distances too. I really don't think it's a flash in the pan.

Comment by Clive

13/03/2009 12:35:36

Woffin: Twenty races per season is what Bernie is aiming at and the teams have grudgingly given their agreement to this. It is a limit, however, and Frank Williams has said that there is no way his team could do more than that. With circuits dropping out as Bernie's charges prove too much, however, it is a bit optimistic to talk of twenty races. It seems that as fast as Bernie introduces new GPs, an older one folds up. That is the real problem, not the amount of time taken up by testing.

Comment by Lee

13/03/2009 12:48:14

Clive, I have it on good authority that the Brawn GP car has been in development with Honda for the last 2 years! Aparently Honda never planned on running a competitive car last season and just lumped for running a modified version of the 07/08 car. The engineers were a bit peeved to say the least at the irony of Honda pulling out when they had just produced a quick car. It may also explain why brawn has managed to get good backing, after all the car was known to be quick internally.

Comment by Clive

13/03/2009 14:14:45

I don't doubt it, Lee. There has been so much time and thought gone into the BGP 001 that we should not really be surprised at its performance straight out of the box.

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