it would be a1gp the cars where based on the Ferrari 2004 championship carQuote:
Originally Posted by 52Paddy
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it would be a1gp the cars where based on the Ferrari 2004 championship carQuote:
Originally Posted by 52Paddy
I am biased - so lets have Stefan and USF1 team up with those Toyotas - Bruno Senna and Nick Heidfeld presiding.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mia 01
Good?
I thinks it's a bit weak that they have to cross there fingers in the hope some other team drops off. If they can race let em race,
It's certainly a weird situation. We could end up in a situation where very fast Stefan GP cars are sitting on the sidelines at the first race while Campos and USF1 are trying to complete a lap without breaking down and being 10 seconds off the pace. :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by turismo6
Prodrive entered F1 at a time when customer cars were going to be allowed. They were geared up to run McLarens and the deal had been done for that to happen. The goalposts then moved and Prodrive were not in a position at that time to build and design their own car.Quote:
Originally Posted by thunderbolt
In some ways it's similar to the position the four new teams we see this year find themselves in. They decided to go ahead on the basis of the "F1 on a budget" proposals which subsequently changed, making it a rather more expensive proposition than they had previously imagined. 1Malaysia F1 and Virgin seem to have coped ok, but USF1 and Campos do appear to be struggling.
I just read at http://www.ts.fi/f1/uutiset/108569.html (sorry, it's finnish) that Stefan GP has bought rights for cars built by Dallara and thus Campos won't be able to get the ones they have ordered (Stefan would still be using "Toyotas"). It also says that Villeneuve and perhaps Nakajima would be the drivers and that Bernie is on their side because he doesn't believe a completely new team could be as competitive as Stefan with Toyotas.
Has anyone else confirmed this?
Thats a very clever way of getting on to the grid :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Nikey
I would rather see Campos AND Stefan GP, but Stefan would probably put up the best performace of the 2.
I also agree with other comments - let them all in whilst maybe bringing back the 107% rule, or a limit to the number of cars that can start the race.
This is getting farcical now. I mean, second-hand Toyotas and no race entry is one thing, but Villeneuve?! :p
Stefans only hope is that the Toyotas he's bought have the stuck-throttle problem!
I'm starting to love this Stefan GP team, they play dirty. Will we see Flav at the helm soon?
Well as a cheat he'd fit right in.
agreedQuote:
Originally Posted by turismo6
I think the tracks and pits can handle 28 cars. That would be glorious.
And as to hiring the tow ex mclaren guys, to me it is a stroke of genius. Those guys are very competent engineers no matter what anyone thinks or their alleged transgressions.
i am hoping that Jean todt sees the light and lets this team in.
It would be really good for F1, the fans and the spectacle.
Can you imagine a grid with 28 cars. wow that would be great. I would be like a kid in a candy store. I would then have a valid reason to tell my wife why I need that new 64 inch HD TV I saw at Best Buy
no 107% rule or limit on the cars to start a raceQuote:
Originally Posted by RS
too many teams invest too much to nt be able to race at the end of the day.
Also with limited testing, racing is the only way these teams can improve.
If Super Aguri where not allowed to race because of the 107% rule at the start of their inception, or force India, or STR then those 3 teams would have never improved over the course of the year. By the time Honda betrayed Super Aguri, They were doing decent times and were inching towards midfield. And we all know that both Force India and STR are fairly competitive today capable of scoring points.
Let them all race I say. The more the merrier :)
I wouldn't want a 107% rule, but maybe back to the old days of a 26 car grid (with 27th downwards non-qualifying) if we ever get more than 26 cars. Although if the tracks can handle 28 cars, why the hell not I guess.Quote:
Originally Posted by truefan72
The news today is that Bernie Ecclestone is pushing for StefanGP to be allowed to race in 2010, "because he doesn't believe USF1 (a.k.a. WTF1) and Campos will make it to the grid". While I welcome trying to get StefanGP to race, I also wonder why Bernie doesn't instead try to use his influence/financial prowess to help out the other 2 teams at a critical junction to ensure they make it to the grid, as opposed to being apparently convinced and even keen on them to fail??
I want 28 cars on the grid!!!!!!!!!
BERNIE NOW BACKING STEFAN GP
I give up - this is simply ludicrous now - If teams are now allowed to have these 3 no shows, then wouldnt Stefan at Bahrain be pointless? USF1 and/or Campos would simply just be using up the first of their 3 no-shows and thus buying them the time they need??
Stefan has done everything so pathetically from day 1 if you ask me......smiling like a baffoon in his cardigan at Toyota HQ like some hero and sending our press releases in broken and bad English with phrases such as 'If you worked for Toyota you have better chance of job with us!' and 'We make history by being first team to send freight to race in which we have no entry' and personally thanking his current 8 employees by name in the latest press release' - I half expect him to add 'LOL' and 'smiley faces' onto his official team communications!
They have no racing pedigree, no known operations of their own to build/operate a car and if it wasnt for Toyota servicing for them, they wouldnt even be able to exist as an F1 team now - they are claiming they are some kind of heroes to F1 - laughable! This is 'F1' here, not F3 - do they really deserve to be here ahead of USF1/Campos/Lola/Prodrive??
...........and now Uncle Bernie is publicly supporting their cause:
http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/8107.html
What a blummin' farce. I love an underdog, don't get me wrong, but this smacks of unprofessionalism.
They have a car, a factory and money and they are going to test their car before the F1 season starts which is more than can be said for a couple of the other teams yet.
I'd rather they all made the grid but Stefan GP (+1 team) is better than a potential -2!
Haha, that Stefan GP is so crazy that I'm starting to like them. :D They have their own way of making it onto the grid - by using sheer raw force instead of some formal FIA selection methods. They may well be renamed as TGR - "Tough Guys Racing", featuring Coughlan and Ryan. :p : Villeneuve and a crazy Jap (Sato would be better than Nakajima for that matter though) would be a perfect addition.
Then get one of those energy drink companies with a weird or agressive name to sponsor them and we are there... :DQuote:
Originally Posted by jens
Then get one of those energy drink companies with a weird or aggressive name to sponsor them and we are there... :DQuote:
Originally Posted by jens
will Toyota have to recall Stefan's cars cos of a dodgy throttle pedal?
Here's the perfect one: :DQuote:
Originally Posted by DexDexter
http://womantribune.com/postimages/hypeenergy.jpg
[quote="Dave Brockman"] but Villeneuve?! :p
QUOTE]
... should I go out and get some salt?
Maybe (probably) not yet.
I don't think there was ever any risk of Trullis pedal sticking while flat out :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Robinho
a team like thatQuote:
Originally Posted by maximilian
http://energyandthensome.com/http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...a%3DX%26um%3D1
http://i49.tinypic.com/30volfo.gif
Bernie said today: "I do not believe in the participation of US F1 or Campos".
He went on to declare that Stefan should be allowed to participate and that Ralf Schumacher would be an ideal driver for the Toyota technolgy based team.
What Bernie wants - he usually gets - especially when he is good friends with those who will gain.
Windsor and Campos should make sure their participation agreements are water tight because if Bernie wants you OUT of f1, he will find a legitimate way to boot you.
In this case he won't have to do much but point to the contract on the first Friday of Bahrain when one or both of these teams don't show up or come ill prepared to perform.Quote:
Originally Posted by Saint Devote
Sadly it appears that teams will be able to miss three meetings without penalty.Quote:
Originally Posted by truefan72
Like others I'm starting to warm to the "rebel" aspect of this would-be team. If it sets a precedence that drives a truck through the FIA's selection/vetting procedure (unlikely I know, but..) then I'll be eternally grateful.
Latest news I got: Dallara has finally broken its link with Campos, because StefanGP has bought the rights over their F1 chassis. It's not that StefanGP needs this chassis (they already have Toyota's), but this way they make sure Campos is not able to make it to Bahrain, so they get their slot.
Money talks! :(
TBH I'm not surprised, nor care. Campos shouldn't have been let into F1 anyway. But they need a better name than Stefan GP.
Agreed. :up:Quote:
Originally Posted by I am evil Homer
If they wanted a good Spanish team they should've chosen Epsilon, and not anything related to this Campos :(
Iīm not surprised Bernie prefers Stefan over Campos... or over whatever.
A team doing something like buying other teamīs chassis supplier (even when they have their own chassis) only to f*ck the other is just the way Bernie likes. Business, they call it.
The bad thing is that if Campos could have got enough money maybe theyīd be at the grid in Bahrein or wherever, and that could (big COULD) mean a grid of up to 28 cars, but now itīs more than difficult they do something which is not dissapearing, so we should have 26... if USF1 manages to put things right... which would leave us with 24, always assuming Stefan GP is accepted because if not... 22 cars. Just like the Super Aguri days. I hope we donīt lose someone else...
If they truly had the money they should have bought Toyota's operations. It seems they never really did have enough and needed drivers to bring cash in. That's not the way to run an F1 team
I personally like the name. Nice, clear and short, not long and clumsy "Stefanovich GP", and not something weird nationalistic stuff in the example of USF1 and Force India. Stefan GP sounds like a proper name for a true garagiste team. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by I am evil Homer
USF1 and Campos both insist they'll be in Bahrain:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81275
That's good news. The more the merrier! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by christophulus
They are leaving things late if the crash tests do not go well.Quote:
Originally Posted by christophulus
At least Windsor is honest "it might not be pretty" :D
thats not the story i've seen. Stefan GP have talked to/Signed up with Dallara to help develop their ex Toyota chassis, which has no effect on their contract with Campos to build them a chassis (although i'd argue it does seem like a conflict of interests)Quote:
Originally Posted by Pulidor
Stefan GP seem like a cold-blooded outfit. I don't think I'll appreciate their tactics - too Bernie-like. I'm sure Stefanovich has all of the necessary components to bring an F1 team together and even be successful. I just don't like what I'm reading about his approach to joining the sport so far - although that is mostly helped by the Dallara situation. Even if it is a separate issue (one of development rather than supply) to that of Campos, I can't help but feel that Stefanovich is thinking way ahead and knows that he can f*ck Campos over.
But Bernie will like that and I do expect to see them on the grid eventually.