2012 Predictions / Driver Line-up / News etc...

Haha. Bit of a difference, though. I think Bando's thread took about two days (was it the Canadian GP thread?) to be supersized.

I just remembered how I came about the Trulli/Petrov news - I saw a link that said Mike Gascoyne had been replaced. Turns out he's actually just been moved higher up the ladder to oversee technical operations across the whole Caterham interest.

 

Ill be back with an even bigger thread, you wait....

 

Kicked upstairs. Doesn't surprise me; Gascoyne's a nice bloke (I remember his comments to ITV during the wet Monaco Grand Prix, I think it was 2008? He seemed as delighted as everyone else that Sutil was doing so well!) but I don't think he's ever managed to take a team to the next level, so the time was right to make a change.

 

Somewhat surprising timing of this decision. When has a driver ever been dropped one week into pre-season testing? Trulli's experience made him an invaluable driver and the decision to drop him was all the more shocking given that he said the new power steering was much better. F1's old guard is dropping like flies, Barrichello, Trulli, will Schuey be next??? Anyway, Italian motorsport seems to be in a bit of a crisis, Ferrari struggling the last few years(relatively), occasional questions over Monza's future and now no F1 driver.

Despite the fact that I believe Trulli at least deserved a few races to prove himself once again (lets not forget he finished 2nd in Japan 2009 in a Toyota that was by no means a top car at that stage in the season), I am glad that Petrov has got a seat. His dropping was somewhat harsh and who knows, he may flourish at Caterham. Shame, though, that money probably has a lot to do with the decision.

 

Yep. Well said Genji. And your clever, rounding-up link is fully justified. With such all-encompassing philosophy, perhaps you should take on a design job with an F1 team…

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Seconded.

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I'm also rather surprised at this. But I am not surprised that Petrov has found a way of sticking around: he's a pretty handy, solid driver (and he can fight like a dog); and his nationality is not exactly a drawback for sponsorship…

 

About three weeks back, Petrov could barely contain himself with some news he was desperate to tell but said it would have to wait until "next week". He said it wasn't the Pirelli test drive so I expected him to announce the Caterham drive about a fortnight ago - then nothing. It is a bit rum that it's come about now: were they waiting for confirmation of sponsorship? Were there legal complications? Was Trulli making it difficult? I suppose that whatever it was will come out sooner or later.

Jarno seems like a nice enough man but, IMO, he had reached the end. 15 years is more than most F1 drivers get and on a grid which has no place for Sutil and Alguersuari I don't think he merited a place.

Also, Benson, described Petrov as "a journeyman": isn't it a bit too early to dismiss him as such? He's a bit erratic but very good on his day; "fights like a dog", as Cosi says. And, of course, he's only two seasons into his career. Still, at least Benson didn't try to squeeze Lewis into the story.

 

Benson said that of Petrov? - I think that's a rather lame bit of journaleymanism…

 

Maybe he was thinking of Trulli. But I don't expect much from Benson other than Lewis in every article and if he was any good, wouldn't Sky have snapped him up?

 

Benson's more usless than a chocolate teapot.

 

No major news, but apparently Williams have hired Wurz to act as a mentor to Senna and Maldonaldo. Probably a fairly shrewd move that.

 

I like this news; thanks for sharing it.

 

Trulli spurned a seat at Ferrari

I'm not sure if I'm more surprised that they offered him one, or that he didn't take it!

 

I'm guessing they offered him the seat after the 2005 season, before they signed Massa and back when Toyota appeared to be on the up.

Plus, say what you will about Trulli nowadays but he was a fantastic driver and will always go down as not quite having fulfilled his potential.

 

Renault and Mercedes engines still using off-throttle maps

http://translate.google.pl/translat...kow-renault-i-mercedesa-w-powaznych-klopotach

This is possibly what that Renault engine guy was talking about when he said they'd done something clever.

 

Looks like we're set for last years fiasco all over again then.

 

Lotus set to get extra day of running after pulling out of Barcelona F1 test

 

It doesn't sound very clever to me. Given how firmly the FIA stated their opinion by trying to get this outlawed mid-season last year I'd say this is the primary area where development against the spirit of the regulations rather than just the letter will be heavily punished. I know it was reported last week that the Red Bull sounded like it was still blowing but I'd still be amazed if that carried through to Australia.

 

They did a bit about Charles Pic on SSN this morning. He didn't really say anything particularly noteworthy, but one of the Marussia engineers said they were still using the 2011 car because they knew it was reliable and didn't want any teething problems to interrupt Pic's running.

 

I think there is a lot of misinformation floating around.
Afaik almost every high power motor engine, even regular engines in street cars, doesn't close all valves all the time when the driver lowers the pedal.

 

Well, the valves open and close all the time, even when idling - I don't think that's what's being referred to because a) it's not especially clever and b) it doesn't explain why McLaren and Red Bull have been singled out. Perhaps they've managed to increase off-throttle blowing mechanically instead of by engine mapping software or something equally dark arts but, in this area, I think the directive is very clear and explicit: don't use exhaust gases for aerodynamic advantage. At all.