This page will be updated throughout the day.
Please if you are on Twitter press the press the tweet button below. If you re-write and tweet individual story headlines (tweeted) with links, please make sure you use #F1.
Pirelli bolstering chances for 2014 (09:03)
2014 Calendar (09:03)
Vettel missing the party (09:15)
Kimi, Ferrari and 2014 (11:05)
————————————————————————————————————————————
Pirelli bolstering chances for 2014
Pirelli has agreements in place with all the teams for 2014 according to Paul Hembery.
“We have agreements from all the teams, we have agreements with the promoter.” In Spa all but one team have signed agreements with Pirelli.
“In two weeks’ time we are meant to be giving the data for next season’s tyres and the wind tunnel tyres in three weeks. We’ve had no indication that there’s any issues at all. The practicalities are that we’ve been working on 2014 and beyond for quite some time.”
Should Michelin still be interested in joining, and manage to secure a sole supplier contract, it will present a problem for teams designing their cars for next year. This season has shown us the aerodynamic effect the tyre construction had on performance and one can imagine how teams like Lotus and Force India, two of the few teams who got it right with the 2013 spec tyres, will object to the construction changing.
2014 Calendar
It should come as no surprise that Bernie Ecclestone has said they [FOM] did not release the calendar that was circulated to the media on Thursday. According to Ecclestone the calendar has not been produced yet and when asked who released it he told Sky that “it wasn’t us.”
Who was it then Mr Ecclestone? What we are seeing now is an example of how Mr E gets signatures. As TJ13 said on Thursday, there won’t be a New Jersey race until someone comes up with around $100m in cold hard cash.
It appears Ecclestone is reaching out with an olive branch (if you can call it that) saying, “We have a contract with New Jersey and I hope they can honour the contract.”
The calendar is yet to be approved by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council when they meet on September 26-28 so is this a ‘hurry-up’ message for New Jersey’s organisers to find something to sell with their hotdogs to fund the $100m?
Vettel missing the party
It appears Webber is getting under Vettel’s skin, if he admits it or not. Monza is the last European race of the F1 season and a number of people will attend this race rather than flying around the world. In order to share his farewell cake with as many of the F1 fraternity as possible, Webber had a farewell party in the Red Bull energy station last night.
German publication reports the party drew the likes of Ross Brawn, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. Even Frank Williams were carried up the stairs to join the party. Meanwhile Vettel sat downstairs playing on his phone. The lonely life of an F1 world champion you ask?
Not quite. When asked why he is not joining the party Vettel replied “We are no longer friends. But we respect each other.” Were they ever friends?
Is this one step too far or do we have to admire Vettel for being upfront and not two-faced? … or, did he even receive an invite to the party and that is why he is upset? 😉
Kimi, Ferrari and 2014
The shadow of Kimi is very much haunting the Ferrari camp this weekend. TJ13 sources say, “both drivers have asked Stefano Domenicali about their future at Ferrari, and he has told them both ‘let’s wait and see’“.
Leo Turini wrote a rather coded piece in Milan’s Il Gallo this week that he’s had dinner with Stefano, and he mischievously concluded by revealing they drank Vodka and the eagles were playing in the background, “I can’t tell you why” (1979).
Alonso’s demeanor in the Thursday press conference was remarkable. Gone was the arrogance as he answered question after question – often at length – and continually stumbling as he searched for the right English words in his replies. He appeared nervous, shifting his gaze continually – very unlike the relaxed, even nonchalant, Alonso we saw in Hungary.
It is getting more and more obvious that there is an almost irreparable breach of trust between Alonso and a number of influential figures in the Scuderia, Fernando and Stefano have been avoiding each other at Monza and have not once been seen together.
TJ13 reported that ordinary team members call him names behind his back. Ferrari will have to decide soon, because 3 does not go into 2.
So how will the Ferrari ménage a trios be resolved?
Fernando Alonso – The team has the utmost respect for Fernando as a driver, his work ethics and the results he brings home, but from a human point of view Domenicali is very disappointed in Alonso.
Felipe Massa – For Felipe it is exactly the other way around. He is by far the most loved of the two, but the focus is on Alonso and Felipe’s results are disappointing – although he has sacrificed his own drive testing revolutionary parts for the team in Monaco and Germany.
Kimi Raikkonen – Was ousted by Ferrari to make way for Alonso who Santander were demanding get the drive. Kimi was paid a years salary by Ferrari despite being out of F1. Domenicali has been the one pushing for the team to bring about Kimi’s return and warmed Il Padrino (LdM) to the idea.
It is becoming more difficult to see how Ferrari and Alonso can repair this breach of trust.
So it could yet be that Kimi will not be replacing Massa and Ferrari will know after this weekend – certainly following Singapore – whether Alonso has any chance of winning the title.
TJ13 reported in the daily news that Kimi had signed for Ferrari but insisted on a couple of clauses.
First, Kimi wanted to give Lotus the chance to show their good will and funding, that timeline has now run its course. Secondly, there was some debate over the contract which is for 2 years with a further 1 year option and it was Kimi who wished to control the right to the take up of the 3rd year.
Regardless of the Horse Whisperer’s meanderings earlier in the week, TJ13 believes the cat is out of the bag over Kimi and Ferrari will have to make an announcement soon.
It shouldn’t matter what Vettel thought or felt, his people should have told him to show his face, smile, shake hands, work the room, press some flesh and leave discreetly after 20 minutes.
Here he looks like a moody teenager.
Agreed !
Even if he had some Cake and a drink – Didnt even have to talk to Mark !
Would you lot really go to a party of someone you don’t like? I bet he couldn’t care less what we think he looks like, but what WE look like is gossipping old women, because we make that even a topic of discussion. It’s the same useless stuff like wondering about Kimi’s or Lewis’ life style or love life. It’s THEIR lives and none of our business IMHO
I wont … One less two faced person in the paddock? Go Vettel 🙂
I thought Vettel is the “wonderboy”, can’t do a thing wrong. It seems his good manners have left him. He only has to put up with it for a little longer. He has just shown the world what a petulant child he is. IMHO 🙂
What? Because he didn’t party with someone he doesn’t want to party with? Some people would call him a jerk for wiping his arse after taking a dump. Jeez
Its not just that he didn’t party with him, its that he made a point of showing everyone he didn’t want to join in. He should either have turned up briefly, or not gone and left the area quietly.
I’m not sure your “Some people would call him a jerk for wiping his arse after taking a dump.”, has translated into English very well, as it doesn’t seem to make sense with regard to what we are discussing.
Yes, I would go out of respect ! Danilo
Could understand if it was someone at another team ..
But hey – F1 would be dull if they all liked each other!
Cant believe Pic and Chilton snubbed Mark 😉
Thank you for the update on Kimi! There’s one thing I don’t get, though. Could you please explain the part about Leo Turini? I don’t understand what’s meant with the Eagles reference…
Leo is always very criptical, that they drank wodka is offcourse a reference to Kimi, and obviously Domenicali has told him something, but he can’t share that for now, hence “i can’t tell you why”.
This is tipical Turrini style, when he asked Stefano who will drive for Ferrari next year, he replied “no idea” (Kimi Renault commercial).
Yesterday he posted BREAKING NEWS “tervetuola!’ which is Finnish for Welcome!
Turrini is good friends with Stefano or Il Dom as he calls him and Luca Di Montezemolo, when they tell him something, he can’t just quote them literally, so he brings the message in a crytic way.
When you don’t speak Italian fluent, it’s hard to get the messages that he hides in his columns.
Thanks! So it’s pretty much sealed now? No question marks anymore for you?
No, not for me, who Kimi will replace is another question.
Has our little troll not woken up yet? Come out and play, cav, I know you must be seething with indignation at this latest claim!
I nearly LOL’ed my arse off about the Fezza’s in qualifying. Doing the slipstream limbo all the time and in the end Massa illegaly goes faster than Fernando. There’s going to be a good ol’ flogging in the red camp tonight 😀
Alonso:” Massa was perfect with the strategy”.
Decision time boys, the air is poisoned in the Ferrari box.
Giddy up. 6th and 12th.
Hulkenberg deserves a very special mention for getting 3rd in qualifying, that was a special lap from him.
Red Bull walked it in qualifying and Mercedes kind of self-destructed, cavallino has earnt his right to troll about it for the remainder of the weekend. Alonso apparently told his own team “You’re really idiots” after they missed their tow test will not go down well with LDM I think. Tomorrow’s race could be toxic for them but I don’t see Massa being a prick and holding Alonso for the sake of it.
Good qualifying by McLaren too, both cars made it in Q3 and I think they’ll get good strong finishes. I’ll be watching if Mercedes can gain a few places, particularly with Hamilton and see if they pull something out of the bag tomorrow. Rosberg can do a strong race as well. I don’t think the rain will come but if it does, that would be fun. But, I think Red Bull have just too much pace for anybody to match them tomorrow and Vettel should get an easy win.
So, how do you guys read Alonso’s “Mama mia” quote over the board radio?
That’s my translation: “I’m a cycling team owner now. Prepare my papers, folks.”
Shame for Lewis, great to see an honest response for his balls up too. Fantastic result for Nico Hulkenburg, no idea where that came from, can’t do his hunt for a seat any harm.
Tervetuloa, Kimi! ( welcome), adios Alonso…
On the sky coverage Simon lazenby had a scrap of paper he had been handed with an apparent translation by jean allasi of what Alonso said over the radio in Italian, it ready “stupid, your all stupid, you have ruined my qualifying” LdM is NOT gonna like that up him now is he?
The big question is where would Alonso go? You got:
-Crash-gate @ Lotus/Renault
-Spy-gate @ McLaren
-Mercades have Lewis & Nico (possibly replace Nico but I belive he had a muti-year deal)
-Red Bull have already announced their drivers for 2014
So whats left for Fernando?
Sweet FA! That what, maybe Toro Rosso could use a number 2 lol.
He must wish he hadn’t burned his bridges, he only won his world titles because Renault used a very dubious suspension system that was outlawed mid 2006.
Maybe he will take up cycling…….
my guess is renault/lotus, if they loose kimi, they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sign a top driver. if they did, i’m pretty sure they would disappear into the mid-field. on the other hand, ferrari has a pattern of forcing no.1 drivers and top engineers into a sabbatical, so he might also take a year off.
he did burn a lot of bridges though, and his career would probably look a lot different if he hadn’t. i never understood why he kept complaining about renault in his championship winning year and if he had managed to deal with lewis as an equal or very strong no. 2 he wouldn’t have had to waste two of his prime years in an uncompetetive car. alonso fans like to blame the falling out on mclaren and their supposed preferential treatment of hamilton, but the truth of the matter is hamilton was signed as an apprentice and mclaren paid alonso a hell of a lot of money. you don’t waste millions on signing a double world champion just to demote him to no. 2 to a rookie, so in the end, they would have supported alonso if he wouldn’t have thrown his toys out and tried to blackmail the team. mclaren is generally looked at as having handled the alonso/hamilton pairing badly, but had mclaren given in to alonsos wishes, and turned hamilton into an obediant no.2, they would have essentially destroyed his career before it really began. it’s understandable that they weren’t willing to do that after grooming him for all these years. plus, if you look at the situation at ferrari right now, they humiliated massa to please alonso and his relationship with the team still collapsed.
I guess there is just no pleasing some people……….
If only Alonso could realise when he is onto a good thing. He tries to make out that any decent performances are all him and any poor ones are the teams fault. Well today proved it, massa had no “tow” and he was genuinely quicker. Suck it up Alonso.
If Ferrari force him into a year out with some clever contract buy out clauses then he will miss the 1st year of the new spec engines and would be an entire season behind the rest. He may be good but it would take him half a season or so to get to grips with it. So after sitting out 2014 and 2015 written off for a championship whilst getting up to speed and handicapping which ever team he drove for in the constructors, that would mean his next possible chance towin a title is 2016 and lets face it he is gonna be grasping onto the final tatters of his career by that point. I can’t see a team taking a punt on a sinario like the 1 I just descibed unless it was Williams or Sauber wanting Santander sponsor money, if indeed they still want to back the fallen angel.
I think Fred’s been misquoted yet again and thus is being unfairly maligned.His quote was clearly no more then him thinking out loud ‘I’m glad I’m off to genii’ – confirming he is Renault, errr Lotus, bound.
I think Kimi is signed to Ferrari, judging by the way Fernando is acting. Nervous in front of the press, lashing out at the team! My guess is that Domenicali gave him the news and Fernando realizes he won’t be the undisputed number 1 next year. Kimi will push him or flat out race him next year. Win or lose, there will be no drama with Kimi and Ferrari will rally behind him and I think Fernando realizes that Ferrari are fed up with his antics. Good luck next year Fernando, your punishment will be to be number 2 to Kimi because realistically you have no where else to go!
I could see him drive for Williams.
He rates Pat S, Williams have excellent facilities, they’ve got merc engines next year and the would love his Santander money. How about giving him a few shares, a decent salary (not the mega money he’s on now, but maybe 12 to 15 mil $) and announce it asap.
It would be the rebirth of Williams, replace the psva cash and would guarantee a serious influx of sponsor money into the team. Win / win for everyone. Especially Fernando when he finally sells his shares at the top end of the market.
Why would you take on a driver that’s been involved in more controversies than an NSA employee?
Because he’s a winner Danilo.
I don’t particularly care for him as a person, but he would be good for the future of the team. By giving him shares he would have an additional incentive to try and keep his negative opinions to himself.
He would also turn the public they of the team around. Williams are going the way of Tyrrell, highly respected, but relentlessly dropping backwards. They need to think outside of the box to arrest that decline.
Williams need to be pragmatic, and take a risk. Fernando is part of that risk. Along with Nico H.
What are the other options?
Apologies, he would turn the public ‘view’ of the team around. Typo!
So cycle team owner and part owner of a F1 team.. could do worse. Could he try and get Briatore in as well? Symmonds and Briatore… dream team 😛
LOL