FIA Formula 1 Championship 2012

[niky]

McLaren didn't offer as much money, and Lewis is sick of team issues robbing him of points, even though he has a winning car at the moment.

McLaren finally anted up last week and offered to match Mercedes' money, but I guess the writing was on the wall.

Mercedes now has a garage full of engineers pirated from McLaren and other top teams, a championship driver (possibly one of the three best qualifiers on the grid) and a crapload of money. If they don't win the title next year, or at least place second in the constructor's, it'll be embarrassing.

-

Perez is the rumored favorite to replace Hamilton. Good for him, he's been putting in some really good drives this past season.

[Monseratto]

Confirmed...Sergio heads for Mclaren. Felipe's seat seem safe for now...

Sauber seat up for grabs!

Pérez confirms multi-year deal with McLaren

28 September 2012

McLaren has confirmed the signing of Sergio Pérez on a multi-year deal, paving the way for the announcement on Lewis Hamilton's switch to Mercedes. The Mexican has impressed many in the paddock since joining the sport in 2011, with a trio of podium finishes this season ultimately convincing his new employers.

More to follow.

[niky]

Freaking happy for Perez. Good for him to get a seat at one of the big boys.

Now let's see Pastor Maldonado in a Ferrari.

[Monseratto]

Lolo Schumi should really, really, really consider retiring for good...

Schumacher's Formula 1 future in doubt
28 September 2012

Michael Schumacher's Formula 1 future is currently in doubt, with Lewis Hamilton being confirmed as his replacement at Mercedes for the 2013 season. The German, who has endured a challenging return to the sport, will now assess his options.


"I have had three nice years with the team which unfortunately did not go as well as we all would have wanted on the sporting side," said Schumacher. "I wish Lewis well and for the team to achieve the success we worked so hard for in the build-up.

"I would like to thank the team for their trust and all the guys for their unconditional commitment. I will now concentrate on the next races."

Schumacher's career has not necessarily been ended by Mercedes's decision to replace him, but if he wishes to remain in the sport he will face a fight to find a seat.

[niky]

Too bad. The strange thing is, in the races that he's finished, he's been finishing ahead of Nico Rosberg.

Perhaps Mercedes is retiring the wrong driver?

[Verbl Kint]

Schumi was on the fence regarding a 2013 drive while Lewis' management team was actively courting suitors during late spring/early summer. I think it's a combination of Merc needing assurance of getting a quality driver in 2013 and Hamilton needing to leave McLaren for a competitive team.

I think Ross Brawn will be a big help to Lewis in ways that Martin Whitmarsh or even Ron Dennis could not match, as RB has always been good at dealing with egos. Bob Bell, Aldo Costa and Geoff Willis being technical maestros should also help assure LH that he is moving to a team determined to win many titles.

[Retz]

wow! a whooping $100M Mercedes deal for Ham!

[Monseratto]

From the guy who first reported the Hamilton switch...Schumi to Sauber?

Michael Schumacher 'undecided on whether to stay in Formula 1'
By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Michael Schumacher has not decided whether he wants to continue racing in Formula 1 next year.

The German legend has been dropped by Mercedes in favour of Lewis Hamilton, and is left with the choice of retiring or trying to find a drive elsewhere.

His manager Sabine Kehm said: "Michael didn't stay at Mercedes because he wasn't sure he wanted to drive and that didn't change over time."

Asked whether he had now made that decision, Kehm said: "No."

She insisted that Schumacher "would have been able to sign if he had wanted to earlier in the summer".

There are a number of seats potentially available for Schumacher should he wish to continue.

Autosport reported on Friday that Kehm had had talks with Sauber at last weekend's Singapore Grand Prix about Schumacher joining the team.

But Kehm denied this, saying her visit was social.

"It's true I was at Sauber," she said. "I have been there quite often. I have known them for years. But that doesn't mean anything more than I'm regularly there."

Team boss Peter Sauber told the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport in Singapore that he would sign Schumacher "immediately" if he became available.

But a Sauber spokesman said the team would not comment on any of the drivers linked to the team.

There are few other options for Schumacher should he wish to continue racing.

There is a potential opening at Ferrari, but it is thought most likely that Felipe Massa will be retained as Fernando Alonso's team-mate next season.

Williams have a vacancy alongside Pastor Maldonado, but that is likely to be filled by their reserve driver Valtteri Bottas if they do not keep their current second driver Bruno Senna.

Lotus have not confirmed their line-up, but Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean are both under contract and expected to stay.

Force India are expected to continue with rising stars Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg, although the German has been linked with a possible Ferrari move.

It is unlikely Schumacher would consider a role at lower-grid teams Toro Rosso, Caterham, Marussia or HRT, or that any of them could afford to pay him.

[Retz]

FIA publishes 20 race 2013 F1 world championship calendar



Sep.28 (Reuters) The International Automobile Federation (FIA) has published a 20-race 2013 Formula One World Championship calendar.

New Jersey has been penciled in for June 16 next year, subject to confirmation.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has previously raised doubts about New Jersey, a race with the New York city skyline as a backdrop, when he said this week that organisers had not complied with the terms and conditions of the contract that had now lapsed.

Promoters for the race issued a statement on Friday welcoming the date and without mentioning any problems.

Spain, gripped by the Euro zone debt crisis, will have only one race instead of two, with a grand prix in Barcelona on May 12. Valencia, which had hosted the European Grand Prix in the port area, has agreed to alternate.

The season will start in Australia on March 17 and end in Brazil on Nov. 24.

Six pairs of races, all long-haul destinations from Europe, will be on back-to-back weekends.

Calendar:

March 17 – Australia (Melbourne)
March 24 – Malaysia (Sepang)
April 14 – China (Shanghai)
April 21 – Bahrain
May 12 – Spain (Barcelona)
May 26 – Monaco
June 9 – Canada (Montreal)
June 16 – New Jersey (to be confirmed)
June 30 – Britain (Silverstone)
July 14 – Germany (circuit to be confirmed)
July 28 – Hungary (Budapest)
Aug 25 – Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
Sept 08 – Italy (Monza)
Sept 22 – Singapore
Oct 6 – South Korea (Yeongam)
Oct 13 – Japan (Suzuka)
Oct 27 – India (Noida)
Nov 3 – Abu Dhabi
Nov 17 – USA (Austin)
Nov 24 – Brazil (Interlagos, Sao Paulo)

Source: FIA publishes 20 race 2013 F1 world championship calendar | YallaF1.com

[niky]

Yay... NJ!

[Retz]

[CoDer]

Does this means JB will the main man of McLaren?

[Retz]

Paris 2012: Ferrari shows off carbon fiber chassis for upcoming F70



The house of the prancing horse has chosen Paris to reveal the chassis for its hybrid powered flagship car. Ferrari has been investing heavily in innovation in preparation for its first-ever hybrid model. Ferrari has already revealed the power unit's architecture and components, the debut of the new composite chassis derived directly from Formula 1 technologies shows that we're getting closer to the real thing.

The upcoming limited-edition model draws on Ferrari's vast experience in working with composites for single-seater. Ferrari chose to skip industrial carbon-fiber manufacturing techniques, such as RTM (Resin Transfer Moulding), normally adopted in the automotive sector, which the carmaker feels does not meet its requirements.

The materials, design methodologies, construction processes, staff and instruments used are all shared with the Scuderia Ferrari, with the formation of a working group which relied on an important contribution from Rory Byrne, Ferrari's F1 chief designer who was behind 11 of the team's Championship titles.

more....
Paris 2012: Ferrari shows off carbon fiber chassis for upcoming F70 - Auto News

[Retz]

Schumi just announced his retirement yet again by end of this years Formula 1 season.

[Monseratto]

Hope he stays that way...

Michael Schumacher to retire at the end of 2012 - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com

Michael Schumacher to retire at the end of 2012
By Jonathan Noble and Simon Strang Thursday, October 4th 2012, 07:50 GMT

Michael Schumacher will retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2012 season, the 43-year-old German announced on Thursday at Suzuka.

Following last week's announcement that the seven-time world champion will be replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, Schumacher called a press conference along with the team in Japan to call time on a career that has spanned 21 years and more than 300 races.

Speaking of his decision, Schumacher said: "We did not achieve our targets but I can be happy about overall achievements in my career.

"I would like to thank Daimler, Mercedes-Benz, the team, my engineers and my mechanics for the trust they put in myself.

"I would like to concentrate now on the end of the season and enjoy those races with you."

Schumacher added that he had felt his energy and enthusiasm had begun to wane, just as it did when he quit Ferrari and the sport the first time at the end of 2006.

"I have been thinking for quite a while [about this]," he said. "We had a three-year agreement, hard to keep motivation and energy - it's natural you think about this more than when you are young.

"I have had my doubts for quite a while whether I had energy to [carry on]. I said in 2006 my battery was empty and now I am in the red zone. I don't know if there is time to recharge them - but I am looking forward to my freedom.

"I have no hard feelings. In a different way we achieved a great deal...

"Now I will do exactly as I did the first time - to finish and focus 100 per cent on what I do."

Speculation had linked Schumacher to a move to Sauber, where he began his world championship-level career with the Mercedes-backed Swiss-team's endurance prototype squad in 1990, but that proved wide of the mark.

[niky]

It's about time. Those three years, Mercedes could have spent developing a new star driver.

Schumacher didn't do so bad, all things considered. He had terrible luck with mechanical problems, and got no respect at all from young drivers, which is why he had so many retirements, but he's paced Rosberg in qualifying this year, and finished ahead of him a lot in the races that he's actually finished.

But Mercedes doesn't need a slow but steady Rosberg and a semi-slow but unsteady Michael. They need fast, consistent drivers. That's what they're hopefully getting in Hamilton.

[CVT]

Too bad. The strange thing is, in the races that he's finished, he's been finishing ahead of Nico Rosberg.

Perhaps Mercedes is retiring the wrong driver?

NR is suspect... He's now in trouble with LH....

17.0K:out:

[number001]

Schumacher will be missed. In his pre-championship days, he was similar to what Perez or Maldanado are today. That is being able to score wins, podiums or front row qualifying with less than ideal equipment.

Lets hope Perez will do well in Mclaren and not end up like Kovalainen.

Hamilton got talent but he needs to finish more races and not crash into or get crashed by.

[Monseratto]

Qualifying results - 2012 Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix


Pos. Driver Team Time Laps
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 01:30.839 11
2. Mark Webber Red Bull 01:31.090 15
3. Jenson Button McLaren 01:31.290 14
4. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 01:31.700 16
5. Romain Grosjean Lotus 01:31.898 20
6. Sergio Perez Sauber 01:32.022 20
7. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 01:32.114 17
8. Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 01:32.208 18
9. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 01:32.327 17
10. Nico Hülkenberg Force India no time 12

11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 01:32.293 12
12. Paul di Resta Force India 01:32.327 14
13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 01:32.469 10
14. Pastor Maldonado Williams 01:32.512 11
15. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 01:32.625 16
16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 01:32.954 14
17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 01:33.368 14

18. Bruno Senna Williams 01:33.405 8
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham 01:34.657 6
20. Timo Glock Marussia 01:35.213 8
21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT 01:35.385 6
22. Charles Pic Marussia 01:35.429 8
23. Vitaly Petrov Caterham 01:35.432 8
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT 01:36.734 6

[Retz]

2012 Japanese GP Qualifying Results