Formula 1 chit-chat

Brazil to pose championship dilemma for McLaren

McLaren could find themselves facing some tough calls at next weekend�s Brazilian Grand Prix, as they look to balance the respective needs of their drivers� and constructors� title campaigns.

Lewis Hamilton requires only a fifth place to be sure of securing his first drivers� title at Interlagos. However, to stand any chance of overhauling Ferrari�s 11-point advantage in the team standings, McLaren would almost certainly need a one-two finish.

�Clearly, we can afford to be more conservative than normal in our approach to Lewis�s race, but we are still pushing to win the constructors� championship and it would be wrong of us as a team to overlook this fact,� said McLaren�s Formula One CEO, Martin Whitmarsh.

And with another 18 points up for grabs, Whitmarsh is not only confident of taking McLaren�s impressive China pace forward to Brazil, the team could even add further new developments to the MP4-23.

�We do have a number of minor aerodynamic upgrades in the pipeline that we are evaluating for inclusion on our Brazil-spec car,� he said. �As with every race this season, we have brought something to the car - even if it has only been generating a few extra hundredths of lap time - and it would be wrong of us to close down that option for Interlagos.�

With no �joker� engine changes allowed at the final round, McLaren will also have to keep a keen eye on Hamilton�s Mercedes V8, which will start its second race in Brazil. However, having turned the engine down in the latter stages of his Shanghai win, the team are not expecting problems. Kovalainen, who failed to finish in China, will have a fresh engine for the season finale.

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2008/10/8581.html

Ferreari 'quit' threat........

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=44417

The F1 car of the future?

With cost-cutting high on the agenda, it has fallen to the Chinese to come up with what they think is the ideal solution to save F1 from itself � a car that costs only $400 to build and is made up of recycled materials.

Cheap and green � at least it ticks most of the boxes required these days.

Brothers Zhao Xiushun and Zhao Xiuguo from Tangshan, near Beijing, have shown that it is possible to knock together your own F1 car using scrap metal and old dishwasher parts (hang on � didn�t Andrea Moda do that in the early 1990s?) � and the resulting ZX01 is now nearly ready for winter testing.

All the intrepid duo need to make the 2009 grid is the small matter of an engine and a bit of technical help, so they are hoping that should the mooted McLaren-Force India tie in not happen, they could be in pole position to step in.

source - http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=Gravel_Trap&id=4 4420&PO=44420

Sporty1 wrote: Hope Mad Max hasn't seen that.

or he'll propose it as the "2010 cost-cutting project"

Felipe Massa sent the partisan Brazilian crowd into delirium at Interlagos on Saturday as he claimed pole position for the third consecutive year at his home circuit and kept his title hopes alive.

To compound Massa�s joy, championship leader Lewis Hamilton managed only fourth on the grid as Toyota�s Jarno Trulli took a shock second place and Kimi Raikkonen grabbed third in the second Ferrari.

Massa�s smooth and composed final lap outpaced Hamilton by nearly half a second � suggesting that Ferrari may well have given him a light fuel load to guarantee pole.

In any event, fourth place in the midst of the pack will not be where Hamilton wanted to start, even though it means he is still on target for his first world title.

The Briton needs only a fifth-place finish to secure the crown on Sunday.

kbannon wrote: It did look very suspicious alright! Brilliant, dramatic ending, with the Ferrari crew all celebrating before they realised!

A little suspicious..........it stinks, just heard a Glock interview on Radio 1 news, no explanation as to his drop off in pace, except to say he did as good as he could and he didn't help Lewis out..... what   bo$%ocks, especially when LH was off the leaders pace the whole race and Massa was not running a light fuel load as McMerc though he was.

The Fine Print: Hamilton will get his McLaren F1 LM after 3 titles

Now that Lewis Hamilton has secured the Formula One championship, supercar fans around the world are asking when he'll get his hands on that rare McLaren F1 LM. The incredibly valuable supercar – initially reported at $4 million but now apparently worth closer to 8 – was promised to the budding young driver if he won the title. However, the condition was that he win both the drivers title and, together with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, lock up the constructors' title for the team, as well. Although he won the drivers' championship, the constructors' crown went to arch-rivals Ferrari, but since McLaren chief Ron Dennis is such a good sport, he's renegotiated the terms. If Hamilton manages to repeat his title victory with a hat-trick – that is, take another two championships – he'll get his hands on the bright orange supercar. That's quite a challenge, but Dennis called it a "small price to pay for three world championships." Indeed, but by then McLaren will have a whole slew of supercars on the market for Lewis to choose from. In the meantime, he'd better keep his head down and focus on the prize.

Surely he could just buy any car he wants?

It's not like he going to be hard up is it