bloggarriv

Honda have announced that they are pulling out of Formula 1. they have spent €500 million on the sort in the last season and in the current global economic climate, they felt that this was too much. They have said that they will wait until the end of the year to find a buyer, before closing down the team. If the team does indeed shut down, there will be only 18 cars on the grid next year, with also the possibility that more teams will follow suit.

Max Moselly will be using this as an example to try and bring down costs for Forumla 1 teams. He is trying to bring in a standard engine and gear box for all teams. While this would reduce costs, it would leave F1 only a slight step above the A1GP series, which uses the same car, engine and chasis for all teams.

written by Dave \\ tags: f1, formula 1, honda

Have you heard about Bernie Eccelstones latest hair-brained idea? He wants to scrap the current points system where the top 8 receive points and replace it with a Gold, Silver and Bronze medal for each race. The world champion will be crowned based on the number of wins he has accumulated over the season.

How can anyone think this is a good idea? It is basically the final nail in the coffin for the smaller privateer teams who generally would not have much chance of finishing in the top 3 places. A single point for the smaller teams at the back of the grid could be like a win to the likes of Ferrari or Maclaren. Look at how pised off the Force India team were after Kimi Raikonnen crashed into the back of their driver in Monaco.

This idea he thinks will increase the amount of overtaking, as drivers will have to go all out to get the win. That may indeed be the case, but is it worth it when there will be a reduced field when all of the “back markers” pull out of F1 as there is nothing in it for them anymore?

written by Dave \\ tags: f1, formula1, motorsport

Lewis Hamilton squares up to resident Top Gear driver The Stig
Formula One star Lewis Hamilton is to swap his multi-million pound, 230mph McLaren to drive a modest family car for BBC Twos Top Gear show on Sunday.

Hamilton takes part in the programmes “star in a reasonably priced car” feature, where celebrities compete to post the fastest lap around a track.

The 22-year-old Briton is out to beat a time of one minute 44.4 seconds, set by Top Gears resident driver The Stig.

Hamiltons time will be revealed during the programme which starts at 2000 GMT.

Former Formula One stars Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Mark Webber have already taken the challenge.

The select group of former drivers is pitted in a separate category to stars such as Hugh Grant, Simon Cowell, Ellen MacArthur and Gordon Ramsay who have all taken the challenge in the past.

The appearance will be the first on the show since Hamilton narrowly failed to win the world championship in his rookie season, losing out to Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen by one point.

written by Coolgarriv \\ tags: f1, top gear, TV