Despite some serious reservations regarding the safety and high cost of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System
(KERS), the hybrid system has received the green light for introduction into the 2009 Formula 1 season. After BMW and Renault had some, uh, issues with KERS, Renault called a meeting to discuss whether the new flywheel-based system should be postponed until 2010. BMW Sauber, Honda Racing and Williams are apparently feeling confident enough in their own systems to resist the delay. Because F1 rules dictate that a consensus must be reached to change the previous ruling, F1 cars in 2009 will run with the new drivetrain. The only thing which could still hold back the new technology would be if the teams were unable to guarantee the safety of their systems, and this seems unlikely given that Honda has already completed a successful track test last week.
By the end of this weekend, the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships must be decided as this is the final round of the season. But if it is noticeable that there are far more media here than is usual for the Brazilian Grand Prix, a quick poll of the journalists reveals that the extra numbers are not so much due to the excitement of the duel between ourselves and our closest rivals and that between Michael Schumacher and reigning champion, Fernando Alonso but more to do with the fact that this is the final time Schumi will attend a grand prix as a race driver.
Like all great champions, Michael has had not only his fans but also his denigrators, but all agree that witnessing his sixteen year Formula 1 career will be something to remember for a long time as a special era in motor racing. Yesterday (Friday), the first day of free practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix saw Michael set the sixth quickest time on a day that started cool and damp so that both he and team-mate Felipe Massa, wearing a special green and yellow race suit to represent the Brazilian flag, did not venture out of the garage in the morning hour. In the afternoon, the local boy was seventeenth fastest.
As we have seen so often on Fridays, the free practice “podium” featured nothing but third drivers: Alex Wurz was quickest for Williams, for whom he will race next year, replacing Mark Webber. Second was Anthony Davidson for Honda with Sebastian Vettel third for BMW-Sauber who ran their cars with the message “Thank you Michael” on the rear wing in honour of Schumacher’s retirement. Fourth was the Toyota of Jarno Trulli, followed by the second Honda of Jenson Button.
more ...
Whether you like his music or not, Robbie Williams is a highly successful recording artist. After selling 25 million records as part of Take That, he went solo in 1995 and has sold 70 million records worldwide since. His latest album, Rudebox, didn't do so well, and his cash-strapped recording label EMI was left with millions of unsold CDs. The solution: use them to pave roads in China.
EMI, headed by the appropriately-named Terry Firma, announced that it is shipping over one million silicon copies of Rudebox to China for use in street-lighting and road-surfacing projects. This isn't the first time Williams (no relation to F1 team owner Sir Frank) has popped up in the automotive media, having shot the innovative Love Supreme video that splices himself into vintage grand prix racing footage alongside Jackie Stewart.
more ...
Things have gotten a bit foggy over at Williams F1. The once front-running, championship-winning grand prix team has landed on tough times. This year the team opted against holding a glitzy unveiling event like those held recently by Ferrari, McLaren, Toyota and BMW Sauber, and instead focused its energies on developing its new car, the FW30. It seemed like a strange choice for the team that will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and during the season will mark its 500th grand prix and 50,000th racing lap.
But while the team isn't holding an official unveiling, it has whipped up six special paint schemes to celebrate its milestones this year. (We doubt any of them will be as cool as Aston Martin's new-old Gulf livery, but hopefully they'll be better than Honda's tree-hugging paint scheme.) The first time the motorsport press got a glimpse of the new FW30 was yesterday at the Valencia track where the new car was being put through its paces.
Renault was also supposed to take out the R28, the new chariot it has developed for returning former champion Fernando Alonso, but the fog kept them indoors. Honda is scheduled to unveil its new car later this week, as well. Williams, for its part, is hoping the new FW30, powered under contract by Toyota and driven by Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima, will perform and be reliable enough to get it back on the track to its former winning form.
