What about Williams?! When are they actually going to turn their pace into solid points? Quick car, but in my opinion, Nakajima (and even Rosberg to an extent) just doesn’t cut it. Like Piquet, I think he’s only in F1 thanks to his name.

So all the teams are improving (well they would with a two-week break and a rule exploitation to make with diffusers), except possibly Ferrari, who, it would seem, are just moaning about the OPTION to have a budget cap. Because Ferrari don’t like it and might leave, Bernie may abolish it, calling it “un-sustainable” or some garbage.

Actually, I have no evidence for that. But I like what S&M-ax Mosely said about F1 being fine without them. Stand up to ‘em, Max!! The F1 team has made me dislike their road cars!

The reason Ferrari is p*ssed (along with BMW) is that it creates a two tier competition, which is stupid. Ferrari have stated that they would support a budget cap, but it would have to be brought in gradually so that current development could be finished off and future development spending tapered down. Thats what Ecclestone proposed, a staggered reduction in budget caps over the next few years down to 40 million euro a year.

As Frank Williams has said, if Ferrari etc are moaning about a 2-tier championship, then why don’t they all sign up to the budget cap? Then there would only be one set of rules followed. I’m wondering if Fezza are moaning as one major advantage they’ve had over the last decade or so is the ability to out develop the competition by out spending them. Something the budget cap restricts. I suspect Macca would moan as well if they hadn’t turned all fluffy and lovely with Max!

BMW’s new aero package supposedly includes new smaller sidepods that are too small to fit the existing KERS battery pack into. So they’re rethinking the KERS concept. They are sticking with it, as Mario believes the fastest car in the 2nd half of the season will have KERS.

Ferrari are also running aero updates at Barca, and are sticking with KERS.

And that’s about all I know!

Having written that, it’s not actually what Sir Frank said. He said he wanted everyone to sign up to the budget cap so there wasn’t a 2-tier championship. He didn’t moan at Ferrari!

The involvement of the FIA in F1 is far to big. All we are writing and complaining about over the last few years has to do with the FIA and their stupid rule changes and penalties. Image the same in football with the UEFA. About time the teams start their own race series wzout the FIA. Challenge for Flavio?

sure Ferrari isn’t doing well at the moment but if it was this time last year there is no way that Max would make those comments F1 would fail with out Ferrari, lets face it the majority of supporters go for either McLaren or Ferrari. If Ferrari, McLaren, BMW and any one else formed coalition and all threatened to leave F1 it would have very creditable weight. I personally think the budget caps are not a good idea because f1 is the forefront on technology in going forward and around corners as fast as possible if u can’t afford to race in arguably the most prestigious championship in the world, ship out.

I love the contrast between Max Mosely & Bernie Ecclestone’s attitudes to Ferrai threatening to leave.

Bernie says “We can’t lose them, they’re the biggest player!” Trying to keep Fearrari in the game to draw more viewrs you reckon?

Mosely states what damn near everyone is thinking: “Let them leave, no-one will care.”

Rock on Max!

Let Ferrari throw the rattle out of the pram!!!
there just ragin’ because it means if they build a duff car they cant throw money at the problem to make it go away.Even if they do leave (highly unlikely as its the cornerstone of their bisiness)we’ll have companys like Aston Martin and people like Dave Richards kickin’ Bernie’s door down with the budget cut comin’ in to effect!!!!

Ferrari haven’t just been moaning about next year regulations. Test driver Marc Gene did a straight line test a few days ago with a what’s been dubbed by some fans as the F60B. It has different sidepods, front wing and a new diffuser.

Don Luca is the current image of Ferrari. Confused and lost, he’s always looking for someone else to blaim, while his team is back to 1982.

Let’s be serious, Ferrari will not leave F1. They will get to a compromise, as they did every time for 60 years.

Anyway, I don’t support tier 2 F1 either, but he’s just diverting atention to his real problems.

Do you really think Ferrari will leave F1? It’s like a second religion to Italians, I think it’s just hot air… well, I hope.
On Spain, I really hope someone apart from Button wins, I know he’s British, but it’s boring. Let’s see Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso and Jenson battling it out!

RIP
Max Mosley’s son has just been found dead in his house. The police are not treating his death as suspicious.

I maintain what I said earlier in the season. Bernie isnt the man he used to be in the eighties. too much money and perhaps too many years in a high pressure environment has changed him, and not for the better. Gone are the days when Bernie could have a word in someones ear and fix everything

The F1sa website claims it was a drug OD

i think jenson will just manage get the tital back but it will be hard it going to be a good race on saturday i know i will be watching

sunday!

Off topic, but hilarious http://www.youtube.com/wa tch?v=GaLMFNFlrA8

Why do they always play such s$?t music on those videos over at the F1 website?

KERS really isn’t suitable for Barcelona, because only 61% of the lap is spent on full throttle. I’m not expecting any of the teams to run it.
On a different note, what’s up with Ferrari? Does anyone remember last year, when they threatened to leave F1 over the medal system? The day after they said that, the FIA ditched the idea. So why the sudden aggression towards Ferrari then over the budget cap?

i have a feeling ferrari will do a lot better in spain. I mean, kimi got in 6th without a double diffuser, so maybe WITH one he can get onto the podium. and those new aero tweaks will help.

Shame there is this testing ban this season, went there for the last 5yrs to enjoy the cars go round and round wzout the crowd and the jams.

So happy that so far Ferrari and especially Hamilton have not won a race lets hope this new order continues with Jenson, Rubens, Jarno, Timo,Sebastien Vettel and Mark all racing for the win on their day. What a start to the championship the best for years come on Jenson get one up on Hamilton again and Jenson for the title great if another Briton wins it. Brawn supremecy is not to bad not when we consider where they were as Honda and the fact the Italian team and the Whitmarsh team have fallen back.

For those interested in what Ferrari are bringing to the Spanish race, I’ve plucked this bit from the ferrariworld website:

At the Catalunya circuit this weekend, the Ferrari F60 will be fitted with a new aero package that was always scheduled to debut at the Spanish Grand Prix: it features new bodywork, with modifications to front and rear wings among other elements. In addition to the scheduled updates, the Barcelona package also includes some extra changes, originally scheduled for the Turkish and British events, but now brought forward. Of course, the most obvious aspect of the new package and the one that was not part of the original plans is the new diffuser. It is only a first attempt at designing a part that was not part of the initial design, but is now a required element following the new clarification of the rules governing this component, which emerged as a result of the pre-China GP Court of Appeal hearing and judgement. The new diffuser has only been on the car since last week, when it was tested on Saturday in Vairano, as part of the allowed aero test days, with Marc Gene at the wheel. Initial results inevitably show that the car now produces more downforce and will be quicker than in the early part of the season. How much quicker this will make the F60 when compared to the opposition that has been using this component for a while and those who, like Ferrari, are introducing it in Spain, is hard to say. The first indications will only come during Friday’s free practice sessions when all teams run on the same track at the same time. Adding to the uncertainty is the fact that, thanks to the new rules, this is the first major development on the car that has been carried out without the benefit of track testing.

Accommodating the new rear diffuser has been a complex task. The engineers have had to redesign much of the electronics and hydraulics systems at the rear end of the car, in order to relocate components to make way for the new diffuser. This redesign has been a more complicated procedure than designing, producing and fitting the diffuser itself.

In addition to these performance related modifications, a new chassis (number 279) will be used in Barcelona by Kimi Raikkonen. It is lighter than the existing chassis and the reason only Raikkonen will use it is that clearly, his natural physique and height means he weighs more than Felipe Massa and therefore it is more of a challenge to accommodate the additional weight of the KERS system on his car. This was part of a planned programme which began at the end of 2008. Making the chassis lighter has in no way compromised the safety aspect and indeed, the new chassis was put through a crash test, which it passed. And on the subject of KERS, this will be used again in Spain, after much work has been carried out on the reliability of the system since the last race. With temperatures expected to be much cooler than the extreme conditions experienced in Bahrain, it is hoped that reliability will not be a concern.

Still don’t get this anti Hamilton or Ferrari saga.
Who cares who wins as long as the race is exciting.
Until now the race for the win has been boring.
Nice for Button and Vettel but last yr we saw more racing and competition between McLaren and Ferrari!
Last year we had 6 different winners! (in great looking cars!)