04-Feb-08: Webber Winds Up Barcelona Test on Top
It’s the 4th February, I’m Christine and this is F1 Minute.
Testing drew to a close in Barcelona yesterday with Mark Webber fastest, and the Toro Rosso pair heading the boards the day before. Williams realised the problem with Nakajima’s car was more serious than they’d initially thought, and they headed home early to attempt to fix it. The entire event as overshadowed, however, by racist abuse against Lewis Hamilton, so bad that circuit officials closed off the spectator areas surrounding the McLaren garage. The FIA have warned that behaviour like this is not acceptable and sanctions may be imposed on the circuit.
Bernie Ecclestone has been questioning the future of the Australian Grand Prix, going so far as to say that it needs to be a night race for it to be on the calendar. Organisers have said they do not intend to change the time of the race, and they’re confident this latest negative spin will blow over.
In the news today, Renault have signed Sakon Yamamoto as test driver for 2008, whilst two teams headed to Bahrain for a test. It’s no surprise that the Ferrari pair headed the timesheets from Toyota.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
the Blue Orange Lion on Mon, 4th Feb 2008 19:33
This new Hamilton scandal is getting on my nerves, now because of couple of drunk idiots everyone will deem Spain as epitome of racism. I’ve been there a few times and can’t say anything bad at all about Spanish people, at Jerez they normally leave tons of garbage in the grandstands, but what can you do, if it’s in their blood… Besides they clean it up quickly. Lovely country, generally good roads, cheap petrol, good quality food; too much beer??? Southern people are normally very emotional, maybe that’s what happened???
Circuit officials should not allow any type of slogans at all, people who carry slogans are all nutters, why would anyone want to waste a good few hours of his/her short life on a stupid slogan that will end up in the garbage anyway?
me on Mon, 4th Feb 2008 19:50
yup. mostly it’s the result of uk tabloids trying to pawn a few more sheets, by pitching up with a england v spain war. hamilton v alonso. good v evil. it’s cheap copy.
they used to do the same when it was schumi against hill. nothing changes.
there’ll always be a few bad eggs in society, whatever the occasion. no need to give them anymore publicity. the best thing to do would be to ban testing at weekends. it encourages the wrong sort methinks.
i like the funny ones. they add to the atmosphere.
sebastian on Tue, 5th Feb 2008 14:39
It is always the same.
A group of idiots make a mess and a entire country gets blamed for being racist.
The media will make this bigger and bigger.
Christine on Tue, 5th Feb 2008 17:26
Sebastian, you are right. And I find the media coverage frustrating. Unless something else happens, I’m basically done talking about it.
What else is there to say?
Christine on Tue, 5th Feb 2008 19:01
Except for the next show. Which mentions it again. You know how it is.
Frank Porter on Wed, 6th Feb 2008 01:13
Re The Australian Grand Prix.
Yes Bernie is at it again but as he has been told “Threaten someone who cares!”
Simply put Melbourne can and will exist without the Grand Prix and undoubtedly some other country will be queued to fill the Ecclestone coffers
A night Grand Prix in Melbourne is NOT going to happen.
Albert Park is in the middle of an up market residential zone and the GP is barely tolerated as is.
This is spoken by a true GP fan who has attended some 250+ GP’s who is grappling with the relevance of F1 to an increasingly environmentally aware world.
Simply put how does a 19000 rpm engine of 2.4 litres which consumes better tahn a litre of “”fuel per kilometre attached to a carbon fibre chassis that has no ABS, no Traction Control, seamless gear changes , carbon fibre brakes in any way contribute or relate to motoring in general, the sport in particular or a greener world.
Not one of the major manufactures involved in F1, Mercedes, Honda, Toyota, Renault or Ferrari market a 2.4 Litre V8 in any road car
It would appear to the outside world that, with modern electronics, the road car has surpassed the race car
As a non racing friend of mine asked “Why can’t they build a tyre which lasts the whole race?” Try answering that in two sentences or less.
So back to the original topic. Yup, in a couple of weeks Albert Park will come alive for a brief period. The F1 will strut their stuff with the drivers teams and all hidden behind barriers, electronic turnstiles, media minders and hangers on and then will be gone.
Replay this in 2009, then 2010 and thats all folks.
Good luck to Singapore with their night time race. I am waiting to see how you rationalize using copious amounts of energy to generate light for an already energy extravagant sport”.
me on Wed, 6th Feb 2008 01:26
they did in 2005, and it was ever so slightly dangerous.
that was only one sentence… what do i win?
you raise some good points. however, you do seem to assume that formula 1 somehow has to be road relevant. it can be, but what’s wrong with good old sport and entertainment?
the amount of damage f1 does to the world is relatively small compared to say, 4×4 driving mums on the twice daily school run.
why should going ‘green’ have equate to ‘being boring’? i like extravagance meself.
there are many ways to save a planet but blaming F1 (despite it being highly visible and an easy target), is an incredibly misguided approach.