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Signing Russell, a move which has not been done via any Mercedes commercial support, is considered a significant statement of intent from Williams that it wants to put its competitive prospects above its financial needs.
This is also why Ocon remains an attractive proposition despite not bringing any backing.
However, after signing Russell, the team cannot afford to bring in Ocon without securing the necessary funding.
Motorsport.com understands that Williams hopes to raise the budget to cover the second seat independently, which would give it freedom to choose the second driver purely on preference.
Time to see what Stroll has got up against a seasoned driver like Perez. I hope Sauber keeps progressing and Kimi still gets to whip some ass with his new whip.
I think Perez could wax him, but we'll see....
...and +1 on the Sauber!! Hope to see Peter at some of the GPs.
00TL, my brother and I will be in turn 9 grandstands again. First time I've gone back since 13! Excited about it tho!
PMd you my #
Today was a wash (literally) not much on track in FP2. We missed most of FP1, was nice to sleep in for once.
A bit disappointed in the merch setup this year. Last year, each team had their own booth & a larger selection. There was prior season overstock available last year too.
All 10 teams, Pirelli, Senna, and general F1 merch was all in 1 tent together. Really crowded & not restocked quick enough.
FanZone stuff was set up better this year. The F1 2018 'simulator' set up was twice as big & it was all working this year. Last year they only had 8 stations & 2-4 were constantly down.
Didn't hear the 2 seater, guess it only runs in the dry.
Cars are a bit louder this year, I think. The Honda still sounds weird, compared to the rest.
Talked with my brother the other day-him and Peter Windsor had some conversations about filming a GP documentary about Watkins Glen. Right now they're scouring the Motor Racing Research Center archives to see if they can find Andretti's 1968 pole lap. Windsor will be heading there soon to continue the talks. I asked my brother to let me know so I can watch the filming, could be pretty cool.
Talked with my brother the other day-him and Peter Windsor had some conversations about filming a GP documentary about Watkins Glen. Right now they're scouring the Motor Racing Research Center archives to see if they can find Andretti's 1968 pole lap. Windsor will be heading there soon to continue the talks. I asked my brother to let me know so I can watch the filming, could be pretty cool.
Cool. I'll volunteer to be an extra. I can double as Dan Gurney.
Kimi can still handle the pressure of leading very well
Vettel , wanted to see him take #5 WDC this year
The runoff areas at Austin are HUGE, it was interesting to see the lines, apexes, and recoveries.
They're almost too big
He's definitely made a strong case this year. The fact that he's collecting another title when his car was not the best in the grid for most of the year.
Wiki has some info and graphs now for F1 drivers for their wins,
pretty unreal for Vettel in early 2010's and Hamilton in late 2010's.
Hamilton has won 49 races in the last 5 years, which is ~1/2 of all the races
Not a bad weekend. Very wet Friday & we got to the track right as Leclerc red flagged the session. Parking was chaos with the mostly grass lot F being quite soft, lots of stuck cars.
Saturday was much drier, but really windy. Headwind into T4 gave some nice spark shows.
Perfect day Sunday, I left the stands about 1/2 way & headed for the gate at pit exit. Made it about 40yds from the podium.
Finally got through my 3k photos & got the blurry & washed out ones deleted. Will post some up later this week when I can pick some keepers from the remainder & get them uploaded.
Last year we sat in the T9 bleachers & it was a great spot, as you could see from about T6-T12.
We chose T4 bleachers this year, which gets you views of T2-T6, T12-T13, and T16-T18.
The T4 stands had more views of action, especially in T12, along with a bit in the run up to the esses T3-T5.
We stayed about 1/2 hour away from the track, and overslept on Friday, so we got out of the car when Leclerc red flagged the FP1.
Parking was a mess, lot F was a soggy swamp & there were lots of stuck cars (people didn't read the many signs stating to park with 2 wheels on the paved/gravels parts).
Weather was quite wet on Friday, so FP2 was pretty quiet for the first 45 min or so. The wet conditions made for a mess on a lot of the unpaved walking areas around the track.
Saturday was better, with drier conditions, getting around the track was better, but it was chilly & quite windy (something like a 13mph wind, headwind into T4). We didn't stay for the post track events concert (Bruno Mars).
Sunday was as near a perfect day as we could ask for. Predominantly clear & sunny, temps warming throughout the day.
The Stroll/Alonso event occurred right in front of us, was recording the first pass on lap 1 with my phone & just missed the hit, but caught them sliding off.
I left the T4 stands a little after half-way through the race & made my way over to the pit exit gate & onto the track once the race was over. A quick sprint (I'm way out of shape) down the main straight & I got to about 40yds from the podium.
We didn't stay for the Sunday after-show either (Brittany Spears).
An enjoyable race, a bit moreso than last year, IMO; especially with the nicer temps, last year was a broiler.
No 2-seater this year, I guess the F1 Hot Laps took its place instead.
I'm assuming the drivers did the laps with the lucky passengers in 6 cars (2 AMG GT-Rs, 2 Mclaren 720S, and 2 Aston Martins).
Last year, each of the teams had their own merchandise booth in the main area around the COTA tower, along with a booth elsewhere around the track, was hoping for that again this year, as they usually have prior season stuff at a discounted price. They also had a lot more non-clothing items (model cars, helmets, etc) there wasn't any of that in this year's big store.
This year, all team/F1/Senna/Pirelli merchandise was in 1 F1 Shop tent, there were a few booths around the track, but they only contained the same stuff that was in the big store & usually only 2 teams in the smaller booths. It was quite crowded, and there were always a few empty racks that hadn't been restocked. Prices also seemed a bit higher than last year.
Looking forward to next year & may try for T12 or T15 for that one.
Niki Lauda, hospitalized for a “severe cough” and illness while on vacation just a few days before, underwent a lung transplant in Austria around the beginning of August. Nearly three months later, reports are that the hospital released him to undergo “intensive rehabilitation” over the next few weeks.
Motorsport.com reports that the Vienna hospital confirmed Lauda’s release and rehabilitation plans, saying he’ll still get help from the hospital’s lung-transplant team and the Medical University of Vienna now that he’s out.
Lauda, a three-time Formula One champion and non-executive chairperson of the Mercedes F1 team who is now 69 years old, was visiting Ibiza a few months ago when reports came out that he got a lung infection. Motorsport.com reports that doctors said early on the lung complications didn’t have to do with Lauda’s near-fatal fiery crash in the 1976 German Grand Prix, which damaged his lungs with smoke and severely burned areas of his body.
Lauda was visiting Ibiza a few months ago when reports came out that he got a lung infection and flew to Austria to get it checked out. He had complications in the hospital and got a lung transplant on Aug. 2, CNNreported, and the hospital said his organs were “functioning well” after the surgery and that his breathing tubes were removed. About 24 hours after the transplant, a hospital statement said Lauda was “spontaneously breathing and had full consciousness.”
That same statement said Lauda would stay in the Vienna hospital “until his full recovery,” which took several months. Motorsport.com didn’t say where the rehabilitation would happen now that he’s out, but ESPNreports that Lauda’s doctors will have a news conference on Thursday.
Having Niki Lauda in this world is good, and it’s also good that he’s hopefully planning to stick around a little while longer.
Two months post admission, he's finally out. To my surprise, the article states his lung problems had nothing to do with his fiery crash at the Nordschleife.
Two months post admission, he's finally out. To my surprise, the article states his lung problems had nothing to do with his fiery crash at the Nordschleife.
I remember Lauda in Montreal wearing a somewhat heavy jacket in June when it was in the 80's and wondering if he has difficulties maintaining body heat as a result of his accident. Here he is with my nephew
The Haas Formula 1 team has agreed a new title sponsorship deal with energy drinks company Rich Energy from the start of next year.
The deal will prompt a rebranding of the team's livery, and is Haas's first title sponsor since it joined F1 at the beginning of 2016.
The UK-based Rich Energy company has been looking at various opportunities to link up with teams, and tried hard to buy out Force India as recently as this year.
But with that door now closed following a takeover by Lawrence Stroll's consortium, Rich Energy has focused its efforts on a straight sponsorship deal.
Its CEO William Storey was in Austin last weekend and spoke to several teams before concluding a deal with Haas.
Haas boss Gunther Steiner said: "Securing a title partner in Rich Energy is another milestone moment in the development of Haas F1 Team.
"We welcome their commitment to us as an organization, and together we share an ambition to advance further in our respective fields."
I remember Lauda in Montreal wearing a somewhat heavy jacket in June when it was in the 80's and wondering if he has difficulties maintaining body heat as a result of his accident. Here he is with my nephew
Could very well be. I have a coworker who was seriously burned as a child. These days, he is always hot. He walks around winter in t-shirts. In the summer, he needs to sit right next to the AC opening or he sweats like crazy.
The Mercedes camp is so much smarter than the Ferrari camp. Vettel can share some of the blame for him not earning his 5th championship this year, but overall Ferrari's strategies in a number of races were just wrong. Add to that, that Kimi don't give a damn about Vettel's championship and you have the perfect storm for failure to win with the fastest cars on the grid. Unless Hamilton (basically) DNFs in Mexico, it's a wrap. I was hoping that it ended in the USGP so I could see it live, but oh well. Also, I was hoping to see Bottas get a shot at the last three races of the year. I hope Toto and Hamilton throw him a bone in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
Friday Practice Session 1
POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT TIME
1. Max Verstappen Netherlands Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:16.656
2. Daniel Ricciardo Autralia Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:17.139
3. Carlos Sainz Spain Renault 1:17.926
4. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Renault 1:18.026
5. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes 1:18.075
6. Valtteri Bottas Finland Mercedes 1:18.322
7. Sebastian Vettel Germany Ferrari 1:18.746
8. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari 1:18.936
9. Brendon Hartley New Zealand Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda 1:19.024
10. Nicholas Latifi Canada Force India-Mercedes 1:19.078
11. Sergio Perez Mexico Force India-Mercedes 1:19.124
12. Antonio Giovinazzi Italy Sauber-Ferrari 1:19.134
13. Romain Grosjean France Haas-Ferrari 1:19.276
14. Marcus Ericsson Sweden Sauber-Ferrari 1:19.312
15. Lando Norris Britain McLaren-Renault 1:19.646
16. Stoffel Vandoorne Belgium McLaren-Renault 1:19.716
17. Kevin Magnussen Denmark Haas-Ferrari 1:19.853
18. Sergey Sirotkin Russia Williams-Mercedes 1:19.899
19. Lance Stroll Canada Williams-Mercedes 1:20.142
20. Pierre Gasly France Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda No Time
10-19-2018, 05:40 AM
, wanted to see him take #5 WDC this year
