2011 F1 Thread

[sh@un]

so so so much better than last years effort

[Do-Luck]

Ditch the red end plates and it's all kinds of win! Feel sorry for the "original" Lotus team, but at least now the name will be up the pointy end of the field again!

[zebra]

So whats the go with Lotus now? Did Renult take them over or did they go by the way side (broke) after 1 season?

[Necx0]

There are now two Lotus F1 teams, as there are two Lotus groups. Team Lotus, the one from last year, were allowed by the Chapman family to use the name. However, Proton, who owns the Lotus that actually makes the Lotus cars, have now bought a stake (or become a huge sponsor of) the Renault F1 team.

Hence we have the schemozzle that is two teams with effectively the same name on the grid. Add to this the fact that if Petrov retains his seat next year, the Renault F1 team will be sponsored by Renault, Lada, Lotus and Proton. What a farce.

And to add my two cents, adjustable rear wings are gayer than Christmas. I love F1, but the rule makers really haven't got a clue.

[Granthem]

Hopefully Kubica shows some great pace again this year... he is the only driver who can really mix it with the top 3 teams.

Hopefully he scores a decent team in the near future and IMO could really be a title treat in 2 -3 years

[ctjet]

Domenicali is such a typical italian

I bet they miss Ross more and more everyday

[ctjet]

massa baby

your ass is on the way out!!

hope Virgin racing treat you well

[wolverine]

more info??

[ctjet]

Di Montezemolo Slams Below Par Massa

step 1 is now complete

Edited December 16, 2010 by ctjet

[ctjet]

Jonathan Legard's tenure as the BBC's F1 commentator is all but over and the latest report claims David Coulthard will take over his seat next year.

Legard replaced James Allen as Martin Brundle's co-commentator when F1 coverage moved from ITV to the public broadcaster in 2009.

Although he had his critics in the opening season, the BBC decided to stick with him but news that he lost the support of Brundle during 2010 was the death knell.

The public broadcaster has so far stayed tight-lipped about their F1 team for 2011, but it has emerged that former F1 driver Coulthard will take over from Legard.

come on 2011!!

[sh@un]

smell ya later Legard

[Do-Luck]

Who is replacing him?

[NISMATT]

DC

[sh@un]

...'s in da house

jump jump rejoice

[Do-Luck]

Bullshit! That's awesome! Got a source? Haven't read it anywhere...

[ctjet]

Vitaly Petrov will stay on at Renault in a new two-year deal, the team has confirmed.

Although the squad had called for more commitment and consistency from the Russian rookie during the year, in recent months it had become clear that a contract extension for Petrov was the most likely option. Renault had already re-signed Robert Kubica for next season.

Team boss Eric Boullier said Petrov would now have the chance to develop the promise he had showed during 2011.

"We are very pleased to confirm that Vitaly will be staying with us for 2011 and 2012, in order that both he and the team can build on a promising 2010 campaign," Boullier said.

"The entire team has been working flat-out over the past months to improve our competitiveness, and a stable driver line-up is essential to achieving our targets.

"Robert Kubica provides a remarkable benchmark for both speed and consistency, and we are certain that Vitaly will move closer to this level of performance next year."

Team chairman Gerard Lopez agreed that there had been no doubts over Petrov's ability, and that the Russian should able to turn that potential into better results with more experience behind him.

"Last season, he showed on several occasions that he clearly has the potential to deliver," Lopez said. "It was just a matter of putting everything together during the same weekend, race after race, and this will be his target for 2011."

Petrov said he was delighted to have been kept on, and acknowledged that the pressure was on to improve next year.

"I am very happy to continue with the team and proud to be representing Lotus Renault GP for the 2011 and 2012 seasons," he said.

"I learned a lot about the sport, the circuits and the car this year. That will help me improve even more in the future. I am very excited about working with this great team once more, and I'm confident that I will deliver.

"In many ways, 2010 was about learning. 2011 will be about performing. Today, I feel I am ready to rise to this challenge."

Lopez added that Renault was keen to capitalise on Russian interest in F1 generated by both Petrov's presence in the field and the deal for Russia to host a grand prix from 2014.

"Also, thanks to Vitaly and the team, Russia is opening up to Formula 1," said Lopez. "Over the past few months, we've established close links with this country and with some of its strongest companies.

"We're looking forward to building on this special relationship and turning it into a very successful adventure over the next two seasons."

Although Petrov had a mixed rookie season, including several costly crashes, he also impressed with drives such as his strong run to fifth in Hungary, and his defence against Fernando Alonso in Abu Dhabi. He finished 13th in this year's championship

didnt expect that

dont think he'll make the two years though

[zebra]

I think its good that drivers are getting a chance to improve by staying with one team....its been too much like the aussie cricket team latley, a couple of bad runs and they get the boot.

[Beer Baron]

petrov is not bad. He might pull his socks up and surprise a few. if he can get close to cube then he's doing well as cube is a polish driving GOD!

[89CAL]

I think the engine thing is stupid. They wanted to cut costs so they told everyone to build V8's then put a freeze on development. Now they want to change them again

Seriously.... it must cost several times as much to design basically a whole new engine then to just refine what you already have.

And is a turbo 4 really going to be much more economical then a V8 in terms of race engines?

[N1GTR]

sweeeeeeet!!!

it even shames the renault factory team

Awesome, just awesome