Formula 1 chit-chat

Peter Fenwick wrote: Surely he could just buy any car he wants? It's not like he going to be hard up is it

I'm sure he is wealthy enough to buy 'any car he wants' but the car has to be on the market before one can buy it, and all of those will be in private collections which will not be for sale, like the one in question whcih is in the in the Mclaren collection.

Rubens and his F1 facts

Honda superstar (for now at least) Rubens Barrichello has hinted that he may spill the beans on his F1 career, including his six years at Ferrari, saying: “The public does not know even half of the story about what I experienced with Ferrari – perhaps they will be able to read the truth one day in a book.”

In anticipation of this blockbuster, we can exclusively reveal just a small selection of Rubens F1 Facts – Ferrari and otherwise...

* According to Wikipedia (so it must be true) Rubens’ lucky number is 11, which is exactly how many points he scored in 2008 and quite impressively 11 more than he scored the previous year.

* When Rubens gave Michael Schumacher victory just metres away from the finish line at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, people were really very cross and team orders were officially banned. They have not been used since. Not even a little bit.

* Another former Schumacher support act, one Edmund Irvine, reckoned that trying to compete with the German was like being hit over the head all day with a cricket bat. In his book Rubens will reveal that Michael Schumacher does not like cricket. So maybe he is a decent chap after all.

* On the rare occasions these days that Barrichello makes it to the podium, he famously likes to do his Norman Wisdom ‘tripping over impersonation’.  While Norman Wisdom is, to this day, one of the biggest stars in Albania, Rubens has yet to crack it in the former Byzantine state.

* Finally – Rubens Barrichello is one of the top F1 drivers in anagram terms with a staggering 58,824 variations on his name, including our favourite ‘Rhubarb Niece Rolls’, though somewhat predictably Michael Schumacher beats him by one (and you can check this) with 58,825.

source - http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=Gravel_Trap

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?id=44608&PO=4460 8

"The sign-off for Donington Park’s redevelopment plan has been delayed by its local district council – raising fresh doubts about the venue's readiness to stage the British Grand Prix in 2010.

Donington won the contract to host Britain's GP from Silverstone earlier this year when Bernie Ecclestone signed a surprise 10-year deal with the Leicestershire circuit.

The owners are planning a £38 million redevelopment scheme to get the facility up to Formula 1 standards by 2010, including a new pit and paddock complex and an extension of the track itself.

Planning approval was expected this month, but North West Leicestershire District Council has postponed its decision until 27 January in order to carry out a full environmental impact assessment.

 It means organisers will have just 14 months to complete work on the circuit before their self-imposed deadline of 1 April 2010.

Nevertheless, they remain confident that the construction work will be completed on schedule. "There is no question that Donington's ability to stage the race will be jeopardised by this delay to the planning procedure," a spokesman told the Daily Telegraph newspaper. (Yeh right!) "As soon as permission is granted construction work will begin."

Ecclestone has made it clear that Britain's race will simply be taken off the 2010 calendar if Donington cannot satisfy the FIA that it will be ready in time.

thepits wrote: Bridgestone's Kobayashi on the progress of slicks - here

Mad Max wants to bang on about costs but they are still producing two compounds of tyre??????

Why not one tyre of one compound for all the team at all the circuits?

thepits wrote: Sporty1 wrote: Mad Max wants to bang on about costs but they are still producing two compounds of tyre?????? Why not one tyre of one compound for all the team at all the circuits? like Goodyear used to do in "The-Good-Old-Days"

Abso-f%&king-lutely.

The way i see it, F1 cars aren'tmeant to be pretty, they are function more than form. If they deliver wins, I'm not sure the drivers give two hoots what they look like!

Hamiltons car is stunning though, I saw it at Mercedes Benz world last week and compared to Mika's winning car (also there) it look totally different. It's amazing how quickly they change.

Mike