Jenson signs with McLaren - Six Million Pounds for Car #1

It's funny how much McLaren is willing to pay for a #1 and #2 on their cars in 2010. Everyone's best guess is about 6 Million Pounds per year. Too bad that between Jenson and Lewis they only tend to win races in the beginning of the season (when they have the technical edge) as opposed to the end of the season. What do you think? Is this pairing the next Prost/Senna or is it Alonso/Piquet?

Kimi Raikkonen - King of Comedy

So Kimi may not be the most expressive pilot on the Formula 1 grid today, but as this send-up/tribute shows, the ice-man can keep a straight face while making us smile.

The image at 1:56 makes me laugh again and again. Enjoy!



(via theratterdotcom)

Formula 1 - Vodaphone McLaren Mercedes - Called into Max Mosely's office for Lie-gate

What a difference a year makes! 

So Team McLaren is definitely not having their best week ever.  So far in the last seven days the following has occurred, 

• Both McLaren cars were disqualified post-race for providing false information to race stewards in Melbourne.
  
• There was a story leaked that Lewis Hamilton was considering terminating his contract with McLaren as a result of Dave Ryan, The Team Sporting Director instructing him to lie to the Melbourne Officials.
  
• Norert Haug of Mercedes-Benz has now publicly stated that they are disappointed with recent events, and are questioning their commitment to Formula One.
• And now McLaren is once again getting called before the man.  The World Motorsports council has requested that they appear on April 29, 2009 to discuss McLaren's intentionally providing false information to race stewards.
• UPDATE - McLaren is now reporting that Dave Ryan, the Team Sporting Director has been sacked, which raises the question about who will speak on his behalf.

So if you thought that you were having a bad week, it looks like our friends in Woking might be having a slightly worse one.  See the FIA and McLaren releases below.

EXTRAORDINARY MEETING OF THE WORLD MOTOR SPORT COUNCIL

07.04.2009

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has been invited to appear before an extraordinary meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday, 29 April, 2009, to answer charges that, in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code, it

- on 29 March, 2009, told the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix that no instructions were given to Hamilton in Car No. 1 to allow Trulli in Car no. 9 to pass when both cars were behind the safety car, knowing this statement to be untrue;

- procured its driver Hamilton the current World Champion, to support and confirm this untrue statement to the stewards;

- although knowing that as a direct result of its untrue statement to the stewards, another driver and a rival team had been unfairly penalised, made no attempt to rectify the situation either by contacting the FIA or otherwise;

- on 2 April, 2009, at a second hearing before the stewards of the Australian Grand Prix, (meeting in Malaysia) made no attempt to correct the untrue statement of 29 March but, on the contrary, continued to maintain that the statement was true, despite being allowed to listen to a recording of the team instructing Hamilton to let Trulli past and despite being given more than one opportunity to correct its false statement;

- on 2 April, 2009, at the second stewards’ hearing, procured its driver Hamilton to continue to assert the truth of the false statement given to the stewards on 29 March, while knowing that what he was saying to the stewards was not true.

Update | 12:37 p.m. 

McLaren Responds:

McLaren acknowledges receipt of an invitation to appear at an FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting in Paris on April 29, received this afternoon.

We undertake to co-operate fully with all WMSC processes, and welcome the opportunity to work with the FIA in the best interests of Formula One.

This afternoon McLaren and its former sporting director, Dave Ryan, have formally parted company. As a result, he is no longer an employee of any of the constituent companies of the McLaren Group.

Un-True Ham / McLaren Mercedes - The Transcript

Apparently there was more discussion going on then Lew-Ham had initially admitted to.  The following courtesy of Crash.net.

Formula 1's governing body the FIA has published the radio communication between reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton and his McLaren-Mercedes team that led to the British star being disqualified from third place in last weekend's 2009 curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

The transcript reads as follows...

McLaren: OK Lewis, you should need to make sure your delta is positive over the safety car line. After the safety car line the delta doesn't matter, but no overtaking. No overtaking.
Lewis Hamilton: The Toyota went off in a line at the second corner...is this OK?
McLaren: Understood, Lewis. We'll confirm and get back to you.
LH: He was off the track. He went wide.
McLaren: Lewis, you need to allow the Toyota through. Allow the Toyota through now.
LH: OK.
LH: He's slowed right down in front of me.
McLaren: OK, Lewis. Stay ahead for the time being. Stay ahead. We will get back to you. We are talking to Charlie [Whiting – FIA race director].
LH: I let him past already.
McLaren: OK, Lewis. That's fine. That's fine. Hold position. Hold position.
LH: Tell Charlie I already overtook him. I just let him past.
McLaren: I understand Lewis. We are checking. Now can we go to yellow G 5, yellow Golf 5.
LH: I don't have to let him past. I should be able to take that position back, if he made a mistake.
McLaren: Yes, we understand Lewis. Let's just do it by the book. We are asking Charlie now. You are in P4 if you hold this position. Just keep it together.
McLaren: OK Lewis, your KERS is full, your KERS is full. Just be aware. You can go back to black F2, black Foxtrott 2.
LH: Any news from Charlie whether I can take it back or not?
McLaren: Still waiting on a response Lewis, still waiting.
McLaren: Lewis, work on your brakes please. Front brakes are cold.
McLaren: If we are able to use one KERS that would be good. If you deploy KERS please do so now.
McLaren: OK, Lewis, this is the last lap of the race. At the end of the lap the safety car will come in; you just proceed over the line without overtaking, without overtaking. We are looking into the Trulli thing, but just hold position.

Un-True Ham and McLaren-Mercedes Disqualified from Australian GP for Lying

The 2009 Formula One season is all of four days old, and we already have enough controversy for two or three ALMS seasons. 

Maybe for the next race in Malaysia, the teams can forego actually running the race, and instead the outcome can be completely determined by FIA stewards. 

This will be helpful in a several ways,

1.  More fuel savings than through the use of the silly KERS system.
   
2. Zero concerns about pit-stop safety or refueling.
3. Removes difficult decisions about tire choice.
4. Less pressure on Kimi to "clean-up" on Sunday morning.
5. FIA will still likely level multiple ten-grid position penalties for next race in order to give the British motoring press something to print.

Here's the press release from the FIA on the specifics:

PRESS RELEASE: Penalty Imposed On Driver No. 1 Lewis Hamilton And Competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

At the first hearing following the Australian Grand Prix, the Stewards did not have the benefit of the radio exchanges between driver No. 1 Lewis Hamilton and his Team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, nor did they have access to the comments to the Media given by Lewis Hamilton immediately after the end of the race.

From the video recordings available to the Stewards during the hearing, it appeared that Jarno Trulli’s car left the track and car No. 1 moved into third place. It then appeared that Trulli overtook Hamilton to regain third place, which at the time was prohibited as it was during the Safety Car period.

During the hearing, held approximately one hour after the end of the race, the Stewards and the Race Director questioned Lewis Hamilton and his Team Manager David Ryan specifically about whether there had been an instruction given to Hamilton to allow Trulli to overtake. Both the driver and the Team Manager stated that no such instruction had been given. The Race Director specifically asked Hamilton whether he had consciously allowed Trulli to overtake. Hamilton insisted that he had not done so.

The new elements presented to the Stewards several days after the 2009 Australian Grand Prix which led to the reconvened Stewards Meeting clearly show that:

a. Immediately after the race and before Lewis Hamilton attended the Stewards Meeting, he gave an interview to the Media where he clearly stated that the Team had told him to let Trulli pass.

b. Furthermore, the radio exchanges between the driver and the Team contain two explicit orders from the Team to let the Toyota pass.

The Stewards, having learned about the radio exchanges and the Media interview, felt strongly that they had been misled by the driver and his Team Manager which led to Jarno Trulli being unfairly penalised and Lewis Hamilton gaining third place.

I've included some video of Lewis Hamilton's meeting with the stewards and after reviewing it, I'd say its pretty damning.

F1 becomes La Cosa Nostra- Bernie makes McLaren and Renault "an offer they can't refuse" and Red Bull Racing hires a "hitman"

Bernie Ecclestone, aka "the Silver Shrimp," has stated that Renault and McLaren threatened to disrupt the start of the 2009 season in Australia by boycotting the opening event in Melbourne, due to a dispute over the distribution of F1 money.

Apparently Ron Dennis, aka "Ronny the Spinner" and Flavio Briatore, aka "Frankie Snug Pants," told Bernie that if they didn't get the money they were owed, the Renault and McLaren team cars would not be going to Melbourne for the race. In the true spirit of the phrase, "Let me make you an offer you can't refuse," Bernie reportedly said, "Fine, I'll just cancel the cargo charter for the entire grid. Done. That will save me a bunch of money in charter flights."

Having had their bluff thoroughly called, Flavio and Ron relented and both team's cars are expected on the grid in Melbourne.

The Return of "THE HITMAN" to Red Bull Racing

In related news, Red Bull Racing has hired back one of the most famous "hit-men" in motor racing as a reserve driver for the 2009 team effort, yes Mr. David Coulthard, aka, Dudley Dooright, will return to threaten the entire F1 grid with bodily harm, much as he has during the last two seasons of bouncing off of almost everything with four-wheels or a guard-rail. The good news is that David will only will be called in if Sebastian Vettel or Mark Webber aren't able to finish the job themselves. Here's a clip of one of David's more famous "hit's". Enjoy!

UPDATE- Apparently David Coulthard's "contract" with Red Bull is for one weekend only. He was called into service because team reserve driver Brendan Hartley has not received his FIA superlicence.

Can Am - 1967 - Road America

At the risk of being too heavily focused on Road America, I thought that I would share a few clips from glory days of Can-Am, when cars were light and powerful and the driver's cockpit was large enough to accommodate a large set of male attachments.

For those of you familiar with the 4 - mile wonder of the North that is Road America, check out the distinct lack of concrete barriers, catch-fences, and the tiny gravel traps that all but ensure that a tree will be the device that arrests your forward progress.  

Enjoy!  Thanks to BMWizardofOz for the video.

Part 1 

Part 2