Sam Michael to leave McLaren... Could be great news for them... As soon as he left Williams, they started to improve.. and ever since Michael has been at McLaren, they've got worse each year!
With his recent track record (unintentional pun), I've got a better chance of getting a job at Mercedes!
MAJOR news for McLaren that Sam Michael is leaving. They will definitely be a team on the up. His record has been very poor with them. Although we don't know all the ins and outs of why McLaren has struggled. 2015 might be too soon to catch Mercedes but 2016 will be very interesting. His role was 'Sporting Director' - is that something Ross Brawn could be interested in? Less hands on but suiting his organisational strength?
I hope they're not doing this for the wrong reasons. Don't want to see Honda people shoehorned in for the sake of it
I don't think that's totally fair on Michael. While he does seem to be the grim reaper for a team's fortunes, his main job was to sort out the team's pit stops and that's the only thing Mclaren currently do better than they did in 2012.
I'm sure there are lots of positives he brings or else why would he be employed? I just struggle to think of many tangible positives I have seen on track in recent years.
Autosprint are claiming that the 2015 Ferrari is slower in the wind tunnel than the current model. @pitlanetalk: The model is 60% complete and was tested in the wind tunnel and simulator. The results were bad. Full article: http://t.co/WPzRodFhOD #F1
Not sure how it could be slower, the nose will have to be changed a little but I think the rest should just be an evolution. Are they starting again with a new concept?
They are replacing the nose with vettels finger which is proving to be not so aerodynamic after all....
Lol - I don't know, but they have had major issues on the correlation of wind tunnel to track data for years. The article insinuates that it was supposed to be a step forward but failed and was a factor in Alonso's decision, then again it could just be BS.
I can believe it tbh. Ferrari have lagged behind a few teams in Aero for a while and as Red Bull have shown, even hampered by a weak engine, aero and chassis can still make a car a winner. (well, that and the mercs breaking down). It is their main weakness IMO and the one thing they desperately need to sort most urgently for next season (and they knew it, hence trying to poach Newey). So they fail on that, promise a big step forward and put next years car in the tunnel and it's worse than this years dog? If i was Alonso i think i'd walk too on hearing that. Also worth noting McLaren have Prodromu doing next years aero, a works engine deal etc (even though the unit is unproven), suddenly Alonso jumping over there on the aero news doesn't look quite so crazy....
Mindgames. Kimi will have the car sorted for him now Alonso is on the move. We all know what the Finn is capable of then.
Michael Schumacher's former manager doubts Sebastian Vettel can emulate the F1 legend's success at rebuilding a beleaguered Ferrari team. More sensentive Willi Weber, also known as the lucrative 'Mr 20 per cent' after brokering Schumacher's mammoth Ferrari contracts, is worried quadruple world champion Vettel's personality might not be as suited to the task. If something is not working well, the pressure at Ferrari is greater than it is anywhere else. Ferrari is expected to confirm German Vettel's arrival as departing Fernando Alonso's replacement in the days before the US Grand Prix. Famously, in 1996, his countryman Schumacher similarly arrived at Maranello as the reigning champion and within five years Ferrari was established as F1's dominant force. But Weber told Germany's Auto Bild: "Sebastian is much more sensitive than Michael. "If something is not working well, the pressure at Ferrari is greater than it is anywhere else. It is not always 'peace, joy and pancakes', but a lot of politics. I think if a Fernando Alonso cannot deal with it, then no one can," Weber said. Different times Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko, who groomed Vettel from boyhood to F1 stardom but is now losing the 27-year-old to his arch rival, also doubts Vettel can emulate Schumacher's fabled feats. "Michael benefitted in his time from an unlimited number of test kilometres and close cooperation with the tyre partner Bridgestone. These are advantages that no longer exist today," the Austrian added. Also doubting Vettel's ability to match even Spaniard Alonso's feats at the Italian team is the former F1 driver Robert Kubica, who was close to Alonso. "I think Vettel is not as strong as Fernando," the Pole told Italy's Sky this week, "as even without a great car, Fernando was still able to win races." Codename '666' The latest whispers from Maranello are also not positive. Italy's specialist Autosprint claims Ferrari engineers were unhappy with the first set of aerodynamic figures after wind tunnel testing the 2015 car, whose project is codenamed '666'. The 2015 car will be the first Ferrari produced under the technical leadership of James Allison.
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Does this mean they'll be losing Grosjean and relying on Maldonado's constistency to get Alonso a win a la Spinapore 2008?
thats not legit right? now here is a wild rumour for 2016! http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/audi/89171/audi-to-join-f1-in-2016? would they do it?