F1 : 2012

Tom said:

Try Phil Hill, 1961 World Champion I think

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I meant in recent years, that was before I was born!

Thailand's government sports authority says it has struck an in-principle deal to host a Formula One race in Bangkok in 2014, with negotiations ongoing about the hosting fee, according to a report in The Nation newspaper.



Kanokphand Chulakasem, governor of the Sports Authority of Thailand, was quoted as saying "Formula One has decided to include Thailand in its 2014 season calendar" with a race slated for November.



He said the government will fund 60 per cent of the cost, with the rest coming from sponsors including Red Bull — half Thai-owned — and the Singha brewing group. The SAT governor said talks were proceeding between F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and representatives of Red Bull chief Chalerm Yoovidhya.



"Once the negotiations are complete, we will bring this before the cabinet for discussion and approval," Kanokphand was quoted as saying. "We will sign a deal only after we get the nod from the government."



He said the hosting fee would not be more than that paid by Singapore in its just-completed contract, which he said was 1.2 billion baht ($39.2 million) per year.



Areas reportedly under consideration for a circuit include the historic Rajdamnoen government district in central Bangkok, the city's Klong Toei port area or the northern suburb of Muang Thong Thani. Kanokphand said there had been feasibility talks with F1 officials about the prospective areas.





Wow... Sepang, Singapore AND Bangkok! All within and hour and a half of me! Apparently Phuket is F1 heaven! At first I thought they were going to rebuild Bira or something but it sounds like a street race a la Singapore...

The New Jersey race for 2013 has been postponed, it won't happen now until 2014. At least they have one race in the USA this year and next year to enjoy.

Massa has avoided the executioner's axe, how fortunate. Though either way it won't matter next season, because whether he does well or not he's still going to get replaced in 2014. Too many drivers looking for top seats and he is on a downward trajectory for his career.

So will Vettel match the uber-German's overall F1 title total? Maybe if he sticks with Red Bull/Newey.

i'm getting tired of the newey praising.

is the redbull a great ,competitive car since 2009?yes,definately.

has it been significantly better than especially the mclaren since 2010? nope.

in qualifying maybe, but race pace the mclarens have been just as good and more reliable.

let lewis hamilton and sebastian vettel change cars and vettel still wins the championship 3 times.the only car that does seem to be a little behind is the ferrari, but even in that case i'm not buying that alonso (who was smacked pretty hard by a rookie and was nowhere in the renault afterwards) is the uber-spaniard.definately on hamiltons/buttons and maybe vettels level , but definately not a league above them.

Adrian Newey has designed a lot of cars that have won world championships, for example, for the Williams team in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996,1997. For McLaren in 1998 and for Red Bull in 2010 and 2011, not to mention they're likely to win it again in 2012. The guy is a legend in car design if you're a serious F1 fan. Oh and by the way, they're just the constructors championships I've given you examples of. Ask any decent F1 driver and they all want to get in a Newey car if they can.



I'd also challenge your claim that the McLaren cars have been more reliable than the Red Bull for the most part but to be honest I can't be bothered to look up all the stats right now on that.



Given how slow that Ferrari was at the start of the season compared to the rest (and Ferrari admitted that themselves) Alonso did a hell of a job to get as many points as he did. I admit I don't like the guy myself, but give him a sniff of a win and there's no way he will back off, you can't deny his talent.



You're entitled to your opinion of course, Cliche but I have to tell you I think you're wrong.



Eltoro, I don't think Vettel needs to stick with Red Bull to win, but of course it helps. He doesn't have the team favouritism Schumacher had at Ferrari, so if he equals that amount of championships he'll have done even better in my eyes because of that.

i never said newey wasn't a genius

but where were mclaren in the early 2000s?

he's great for sure, but attributing vettels titles exclusively to newey is just plain wrong,vettel is as good as anybody out there.

alonso is probably vettels equal, no doubt about that.just as i have no doubt that those two are quite a good step above anyone else in the field.

to be honest what makes me sing vettels praises so much is not the way he behaves (which is 10x more likeable than the whining and need to presentate yourself like his opposition) but his driving.

seeing the guys live there was only one guy that really all the time nailed the exact same spots and used all the track. it was a glorious demonstration of driving perfection (at least that complex of corners ) and put away all my doubts concerning vettel.the only guy that came close (just from a spectators point of view) was alonso who has a very strange driving style...i don't know whether this can be attributed to the ferrari but he for sure had a very unique style.

vettel really is the best,or equal best out there.

i stand by my opinion, the difference between vettel and hamilton/button is as big as the difference between him and webber.not tremendous, but significant.

if vettel was british/italian/spanish he would be hailed as the next coming of jesus.

Oh you and I are on the same page regarding Vettel, cliche I have been saying he was a talent from when they first put him in a Toro Rosso. I have defended him when people said he only won because he was in the best car and when people said he couldn't overtake. I am a solid Vettel fan, have been for a long time and I sure as hell want him to win the title again this year!



Having said all that, without a decent car you can't win a race, just ask Michael Schumacher

no doubt about that! thats the beauty of motorcycle racing ,where every once in a while a freak of nature shows up to be able to win even on a ducati

oh and wet races in general!all the so called rain masters were in my opinion just those with the best natural ability to control a car.

thank god the f1 season runs longer than motogp,except for 1 more motogp race there is nothing on anymore this season..argh

There are only three more F1 races, Abu Dhabi before we get Valencia, USA and Brazil after it. So not that much more to watch there either.

well if i remember correctly its 1 race every weekend (f1-motogp-f1-f1)until the end of november which sounds way better than 1 motogp in 2 weeks time and thats it i just hope the title won't get wrapped up at texas, i love my brazilian f1 finales

If the championship runs to Brazil I'd love it to be a wet race, they're something special there. Of course as a Vettel fan I want him to wrap it up sooner rather than later.



Abu Dhabi, one of the most boring races on the calendar, can't wait, NOT!

well at least the onboards look pretty with that hotel or whatever that is.

now bahrain, that is a truly horrible track in an equally horrible country.

Yes the hotel with the changing lights on the outside. If that is enough to keep you entertained you're easily pleased

Watched the Indian GP. Gotta be one of the worst venues in the history of 'serious' racing.

Lordie, what a chickenshit, boring-ass track. Tilke outdid himself with that .........; I don't think there's one decent corner to be found.

Not that it matters - I couldn't see the cars through the smog ...oops... haze.

BLECH!



That said, the title chase is getting somewhat interesting.

Lyria said:

Yes the hotel with the changing lights on the outside. If that is enough to keep you entertained you're easily pleased

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better than nothing right?

i'm wondering whether texas will be any good.

tilke....i guess it could be worse, even korea has a few interesting corners , i just wish it wasn't tight-twisty stuff all lap and then a long straight for overtaking. no big difference in character between most of his tracks.

why can't they just race at suzuka and spa 10 times a year

Lyria said:

Yes the hotel with the changing lights on the outside. If that is enough to keep you entertained you're easily pleased

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Personally I like the bug eyed lit up building in Singapore. It looks great at night

cliché guevara said:

better than nothing right?

i'm wondering whether texas will be any good.

tilke....i guess it could be worse, even korea has a few interesting corners , i just wish it wasn't tight-twisty stuff all lap and then a long straight for overtaking. no big difference in character between most of his tracks.

why can't they just race at suzuka and spa 10 times a year

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I agree with the last line completely, Spa has always been my favourite track. I wonder how good Texas will be, not long until we find out, and it will give us an idea of how good it will be us for next season.

lil red rocket pilot said:

Personally I like the bug eyed lit up building in Singapore. It looks great at night

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See that's what gets me, we're all supposed to use energy saver bulbs and recycle everything, be green and all that, then they deliberately run a race at night under the full blare of floodlights! But you're right, it does look good