I'm with you on this but I can't help wondering about what we don't know, information to which we are not privy. Ricciardo's brilliance surprised everyone this year, and his promotion to the top team surprised everyone last year when there were big names in the frame, but with hindsight we can now see that they knew what they were doing all along - funny that! Similarly perhaps, it might have seemed more logical to promote the more experienced Vergne over Kvyat for 2015 and let Daniil hone his racecraft at Toro Rosso where there's less at stake. But they didn't. There may be political or personality issues involved, we don't know; it may be because they have a wealth of young drivers to choose from and Vergne's had his chance, which looks likely; whatever it is, they feel Kvyat is the man and he's ready for the promotion. A decision like this is a huge one and wouldn't be taken lightly, even though his announcement looked like a knee-jerk to Vettel's defection. Think of all the money involved in the WCC and the risk of putting a novice into that seat: you have to presume that they know what they're doing again; they're not Ferrari
Marussia are obviously well progressed with 2015 work, surely someone would be interested in that, especially with new teams so close. Haas will be using the Ferrari engine like Marussia, it fits.
I thought exactly the same when I saw it. It would be a great way for Haas to cure some of their teething problems before running their own design in 2015. They could gather plenty of data on the tyres, engine and circuits, and get sorted on the logistics of F1, pit stops etc. I can remember in 2010 Horner saying something about Red Bull only then getting proper airlines for their garages or something. That was a world championship winning team in their sixth year. That's how long it takes to get evertything in place. Disappointed but not surprised about Vergne. Hopefully he can find a drive in F1 or WEC for next season.
You can't make this s**t up. Yeah, guys, you aren't Schumacher-era Ferrari, I don't think that's going to go so well...
It's a strange request because they don't actually need special permission to run 2014 engines. The rules aren't that different for the cars either, but it would save them the hassle and cost of crash testing I suppose.
Apparently when asked what he thought about Mattiacci's firing, Vettel asked "Is it true?" Four more years! Four more years!
This is the counter argument to the spending cap and the redistribution of wealth in the sport. It could be argued that Caterham are making very little effort to improve performance and just make the grid. I fundamentally disagree with the current F1 set up and the haves and have nots, but F1 can not become a sport whereby people enter to profit and not race competitively.
And yet, if customer cars were allowed, Caterham could run and develop a year old car and be a heck of a lot more competitive than they are. Whereas they will now just run around at the back of the grid, collect their money and go home, with no intention or prospect of picking up any points.
I doubt they have a budget or the staff to develop the car right now. They have still to secure a buyer.
I think the reason Caterham are more likely to find a buyer than Marussia is the amount of debt involved. Caterham needed a couple of million to make Abu Dhabi, whilst Marussia are several tens of millions in debt. Whilst the 2015 Marussia is more advanced, it's still probably not likely to challenge for points regularly, so why take on the extra debt?
[h=1]Red Bull: F1 can't be afraid of Mercedes quitting over engine rules[/h] Interesting, is Horner: A) Losing it B) Thinks everyone is stupid C) Angling for Bernies job. Just as meaningful engine freeze rules are about to come in he's still pushing for new engines. Does he expect us to believe that all the manufactures are going to write off past research costs? Does he not think Honda may be slightly annoyed at all their work being for a single year. The old engines were cheap as they had always been totally optimised and couldn't be improved. It's not like engine costs are a new thing, over 10 years ago Jordan was spending $30m on engines from a budget of $50m. Prost was even spending $20m back in 2001. If you want costs to come down then let the freezes come into play, allow concessions if the Mercedes is still to far ahead by all means, just don't get silly. Horner is upset as he's not winning, it's toys out stage. Unfortunately for him the toys out stage never makes you look good. His reasoning and arguments are beyond poor, in fact I don't think I could make a point that poor even if I tried
In relation to the engine issue, if Merc are unwilling to allow greater development and the performance gap remains, why not introduce a ballast? It would be more cost effective, not that I agree in principle with hindering a team/engine manufacture.
Horner seems such a hypocrite doesn't he? Has he forgotten his own threats that Red Bull would quit if penalised for breaking rules, or not getting preferential treatment or rules written in their favour, etc.? Has he conveniently overlooked that similar (ahem, Ferrari: the team Red Bull does its best to emulate) noises about quitting F1 were bolstered by disproportionate rewards for taking part, thus justifying such threats by virtue of the proof of their importance? Is he crying foul at others to divert from his own team's very deliberate and definitely not accidental, latest flouting of the rules that would have had him screaming from the treetops if others were found deliberately doing something clearly outlawed in the rules? Little Jack is back. – In the corner. Horner in the corner, Horner in the corner… Horner in the corner, Horner in the corner… (Please adopt very childish, mocking, playground chant!)
Sainz confirmed! Formula Renault 3.5 champion Carlos Sainz Jr will race for Toro Rosso in Formula 1 next year, the team confirmed on Friday. The Spaniard, son of two time World Rally champion Carlos Sr, will partner Formula 3 graduate Max Verstappen in an all-F1 rookie line-up at the team next year. Sainz, who tested with Red Bull this week at Yas Marina, replaces Jean-Eric Vergne, who revealed earlier this week that he would not be staying with Toro Rosso for 2015. "Ever since I have been part of Red Bull's young driver programme, this has been my aim and I want to thank Red Bull for putting their faith in me," said Sainz. "I have had a very successful season in World Series by Renault this year and now I am looking forward to taking the step up to Formula 1. "In the next few months I will be working hard on my preparation, ready to get in the cockpit in Jerez for the first test of next year." Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost added: "With Carlos joining Max in our driver line-up next year, we continue the tradition of providing youngsters from the Red Bull programme with their first steps in Formula 1. "I have watched Carlos progress through the junior categories, always improving as he moved higher up the ladder, culminating in a well-deserved win in this year's World Series. "However, I also remember the day's testing he did with us at Silverstone in 2013 in the STR8. "He really surprised me and his engineers that day, with his mature approach and his speed." Sainz became the first Red Bull junior to win the FR3.5 title, taking a series-record of seven wins in a season.
