The 2016 Formula One Thread.

TomcatMF said:
So Massa has announced his retirement at the end of the year.

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/felipe-massa-column-why-i-m-retiring-from-formula-1-813646/
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Damn.

Felipe is my guy. Has been from the beginning. Seeing him lose the WDC like he did was just crushing. He has shown an incredible amount of heart and resilience in the face of some monumental challenges and always been a class act. His time at Ferrari with Alonso was my favorite pairing in F1 history, and the fact that he always gave Fernando a run for his money is all the proof anyone should need that he is among the very best.

I will miss watching him.
 
Nicely done by Felipe. I always liked him too. Sad to see him go but I can't help wondering if the current state of F1 is part of the reason.
 
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Well, another not-too-exciting race. Hamilton ran over his dick again at the start and was 6th after the first chicane, with Nico first. He recovered to finish 2nd behind Nico, but now his lead is down to two points. Hamilton said on the radio that the botched start was totally his fault, but then in the post race interview he said it was "definitely not my fault." What an asshat.

Funny scene in the green room after the race: Vettel accidentally put on the first place hat and wore it for a few minutes before an official pointed it out.

In other news, CVC's sale of their share of F1 is apparently imminent:

"Auto Motor und Sport (Germany), La Gazzetta dello Sport and Sky (Italy), the Sunday Times (Britain) and Auto Bild (Germany) all agree that Liberty Media, headed by US tycoon John Malone, is buying F1 for $8.5 billion."

The sale is supposed to be initiated next week.

"That may well undermine Ecclestone’s position as the sport’s chief executive, with Eddie Jordan, a former team owner-turned-pundit, suggesting the 85-year-old could be gone by the Singapore Grand Prix in two weeks’ time.

"However, when this was all put to Ecclestone after Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix he had a one-word reply. 'Bullshit,' he said."

I'm gonna miss Bernie.

And speaking of Eddie Jordan, here's the best Eddie pic ever:
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Might as well give the WCC prize to Mercedes. They are unbeatable this year.

Ferrari chunked their strategy IMO. They might have had a double podium if they had gone for a one stop strategy after Hamilton blew the start. That's been one of their biggest weaknesses this year, a failure to properly adapt to unplanned events to take advantage of opportunities.

Even with the new ownership, F1 still has a lot to do to make improvements. Unfortunately the sport has too many cooks in the kitchen making stupid rules, and no one is listening to the fans at all.
 
Flatspotter said:
A modern F1 car could easily take Masta flat. I have the '66 version of Spa in my racing simulator, and it's scary even in the virtual world. The guys who drove it in real life have the biggest balls in the world.
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Where can I find that track? I don't have rF2 but I do have Automobilista, which uses the ISI engine.

It was supposed to come out on PCARS, (yeah, yeah, I know, but unless I want to pay to play on iRacing-which I don't-that is the only sim with a reasonable on-line presence...), but they never released it.
 
2112 said:
Where can I find that track? I don't have rF2 but I do have Automobilista, which uses the ISI engine.

It was supposed to come out on PCARS, (yeah, yeah, I know, but unless I want to pay to play on iRacing-which I don't-that is the only sim with a reasonable on-line presence...), but they never released it.
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The classic version of Spa comes with RF2.
 
And Liberty Media will buy CVC's Formula 1 portion but Ecclestone remains CEO

The total transaction is worth $8bn and includes $4.1bn worth of Formula 1's debt.
 
Force India has been purchased by Mexican uber rich guy Carlos Slim. He is a big financial backer of the Mexican GP and the current Mexican drivers in F1. I guess that explains Perez opting to stay put at Force India. I wonder if they will call it Force Mexico and bring over Esteban Gutierrez from Haas. All all Mexican team, even with the almost obligatory UK based team tech, would be a pretty popular thing to go with the new Mexican GP. I met a ton of people at the Austin GP who came up from Mexico to watch the race. The family sitting next to me last year were from Mexico City and were huge Perez fans.

Oh, and Button still isn't retired, but isn't driving next year. :messedup:
 
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Is that Force India deal a fact or rumor? The latest I read is Perez signing a 1 year deal with Force India because he wants a shot at Ferrari in 2018, and with that would be his backing from Carlos Slim.
 
TomcatMF said:
Is that Force India deal a fact or rumor? The latest I read is Perez signing a 1 year deal with Force India because he wants a shot at Ferrari in 2018, and with that would be his backing from Carlos Slim.
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It seems the original story from the Mexican press from a couple of days ago was not a reputable source. Plenty of denials from both sides about the take over purchase of the team. You can find links here...

https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/51l59y/carlos_slim_4th_richest_person_in_the_world_just/
 
It's official. F1 has been sold to Liberty Media. Bernie is supposedly staying on for 3 years.

And Button may say he's not retiring, but I'd be shocked if he ever drives in F1 again.
 
Flatspotter said:
It's official. F1 has been sold to Liberty Media. Bernie is supposedly staying on for 3 years.

And Button may say he's not retiring, but I'd be shocked if he ever drives in F1 again.
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Yeah, I agree on Button. He might do some testing and development work, but baring a driver injury or Alonso telling McLaren to fuck off, he isn't going to race again. A shame, as I like Button, but he isn't getting any younger and F1 is a young man's game.
 
Button is a real class act. During the pit walk on Saturday at last year's Austin rainpocalypse, Button was one of a few drivers to stand out there until everyone got a pic and autograph. He told a group of us that he is appreciative of having such dedicated fans, so being there is the least he can do for them. Alex Rossi also stood out there the whole time and he said he was just happy to have anyone wanting his autograph and free Manor hats.
 
Latest rumors are that Bernie is out after Abu Dhabi due to a clash with new boss John Malone, and Malone also isn't keen with paying Ferrari extra money just for being Ferrari. "Sue me!" Malone is quoted as having told Marchionne during recent negotiations. "I have the time and the money." Marchionne is reportedly not amused.

If this is true, it will probably result in Ferrari threatening to take their toys and go home. I'm not sure they would carry out that threat.
 
Hamilton uncharacteristically chokes in Q3 and Rosberg's on pole. Ricciardo 2nd, Hamilton 3rd, Verstappen 4th, Kimi 5th. Vettel had a problem in Q1 and is starting last. Ricciardo could realistically win this race if Rosberg gets a shitty start.
 
A surprisingly good race. Ricciardo almost caught Rosberg at the end. Another lap or two, and he might have pulled it off. Vettel came from last to finish 5th; an outstanding drive. Hamilton was 3rd, another mopey face on the podium.

What the fuck happened at the restart after the safety car on the first lap? There was still a marshall on the track as the cars came down the front straight for the restart!
 
It was a pretty good race. Ricciardo trying to run down Rosberg at the end made it interesting. Definitely more of a classic style F1 race where good strategy could make a difference in the outcome.
 
Well, that was an interesting race! Rosberg getting punted by Vettel at the start, Vettel blaming Verstappen, Hamilton's engine going kablammo, Ricciardo getting a well-deserved and overdue win, and the whole podium drinking champagne from Ricciardo's shoe!

Hamilton was whining that the team is against him and doesn't want him to win the championship and is sabotaging his engines. Later he backtracked and claimed he meant god was against him.

"My question is to Mercedes. We have so many engines - there are eight Mercedes cars - but mine are the only ones failing. Someone needs to give me answers. Something just doesn't feel right. Someone doesn't want me to win this year."

What an asshole.
 
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