Re: 2012 World Motorsports Discussion Thread

[Professor Voodoo]

As abysmal weather meant an extended Red Flag, my DVR only recorded Q1 and Q2 up until the Red Flag, so I had to hit the web to find out how qualifying went.

I set my own machine up for an extra hour of over-run and still didn't see the re-start of Q2. They did air the dry morning P3 session though, so it wasn't a total waste.

[Kiskaloo]

Sad thing is I actually woke up ay 5:30AM so I almost just turned it on to watch live, but decided instead to go back to bed for three hours.

[Kiskaloo]

2012 Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix Results

Spoiler:

[Professor Voodoo]

2012 Formula 1 British Grand Prix

If I was trying to explain to a person how much of a strategic "chess match" modern F1 is I would show them a review of this race. Webber & Red Bull played the tire game perfectly...even though I think Alonso had more outright speed.

Such a sharp contrast with last year; Mark is definite title contender, although if Red Bull really hits their stride and regains last year's advantage the pendulum could swing back to Vettel. Still, if I had to bet my money would be on Alonso for the drivers' title this year. He always comes on strong in the second half of the season...but this year he's laid down a good foundation during the first half.

[Kiskaloo]

After talking with Ferrari, Mark Webber decided to extend his contract with Red Bull another year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/18780239

[Professor Voodoo]

German Grand Prix Qualifying:

Spoiler:

I attended a few races at Hockenheim in the late 90's (World Superbike Championship & FIA GT Championship). Not my favorite track in the world, but a terrific place to camp. It's surrounded by a huge old-growth forest...rare in Europe these days. Walk just a few hundred yards away from the world of ultra-modern racing and you could easily imagine yourself transported back 1000 years to Medieval Germany. Nice contrast after a day at the track.

I only got to run Hockenheim once, and not even a full session. Just when I was learning the track and getting up to speed some other rider fell and oiled the track down...ending my only session prematurely.

[Professor Voodoo]

German Grand Prix, Results;

Spoiler:

[Kiskaloo]

Spoiler:

[Kiskaloo]

What is it with rain and motorsport in 2012?

For Forumla One, it pours during the Malaysian Grand Prix as well as practice and qualifying for the British, German and Hungarian (at least for practice - we shall see how qualifying turns out) Grands Prix. Now watching Grand Am at Indianapolis and it's pouring there.

There was the Sibiu Rally Romania on 20–22 July where it was so dry that only the lead car could put in a competitive run as the rest of the field had to slow for dust, but that seems the aberration this season.

[Professor Voodoo]

Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying;

Spoiler:

[Professor Voodoo]

...and Hungarian GP results;

Spoiler:

[Kiskaloo]

All three girls will now have to save up their allowances during the Summer Break.

[Kiskaloo]

WRC Neste Oil Rally Finland SS5 Video Spoiler

Spoiler:

[Professor Voodoo]

Toyota looks ready to get their mud-flaps dirty again...Toyota Confirms Rally Return.

Don't get too excited; it's not a full-fledged factory WRC entry yet, but hopefully it will lead to bigger things.

I drove a rental Yaris on gravel and slippery sand-blown asphalt and found it pretty entertaining...all the while thinking I wonder if this would make a good rally car?

[Kiskaloo]

After the Summer Break, Formula 1 is back in action at Spa, though with the track looking like New Orleans at the moment, not much happened for Free Practice 1 and 2. The weather is said to be better the rest of the weekend, though.

[Professor Voodoo]

After the Summer Break, Formula 1 is back in action at Spa, though with the track looking like New Orleans at the moment, not much happened for Free Practice 1 and 2. The weather is said to be better the rest of the weekend, though.

Kara: I've got good news and bad news for you, Mari.

Marisa: What's the good news?

Kara: Your Toro Rosso boys took 3rd & 4th in Friday practice.

Marisa: Yes! Umm...what's the bad news?

Kara: One of Elio's Williams' got 2nd fastest.

Marisa: %#^&*!

1. Kamui Kobayashi Japan Sauber-Ferrari 2m 11.389s
2. Pastor Maldonado Venezuela Williams-Renault 2m 11.941s
3. Daniel Ricciardo Australia Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m 12.004s
4. Jean-Eric Vergne France Toro Rosso-Ferrari 2m 12.824s
5. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 2m 13.191s
6. Sergio Perez Mexico Sauber-Ferrari 2m 13.861s
7. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 2m 14.210s
8. Valtteri Bottas Finland Williams-Renault 2m 14.660s
9. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 2m 14.860s
10. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 2m 15.402s
11. Paul di Resta Britain Force India-Mercedes 2m 15.812s
12. Timo Glock Germany Marussia-Cosworth 2m 16.409s
13. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Force India-Mercedes 2m 16.786s
14. Vitaly Petrov Russia Caterham-Renault 2m 16.788s
15. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 2m 16.827s
16. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 2m 16.861s
17. Charles Pic France Marussia -Cosworth 2m 17.519s
18. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Caterham-Renault 2m 18.199s
19. Pedro de la Rosa Spain HRT-Cosworth 2m 19.546s
20. Dani Clos Spain HRT-Cosworth 2m 19.689s
21. Romain Grosjean France Lotus-Renault 2m 38.701s
22. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 2m 40.749s
23. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Lotus-Renault 2m 46.580s
24. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari no time
25. Bruno Senna Brazil Williams-Renault no time
26. Narain Karthikeyan India HRT-Cosworth no time

[Kiskaloo]

Grand Prix of Belgium Results

Spoiler:

In other news, Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series have agreed to merge their two road racing championships: http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/sportscar-alms-grand-am-finalizing-merger/

[Professor Voodoo]

Grand Prix of Belgium Results

Elio: *groan* Do I win anything if Maldonado sets the record for most grid-spot penalties in a single season?

Marisa: Sure you do. (hands him the lunch cheque) You get to pay.

In other news, Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series and the American Le Mans Series have agreed to merge their two road racing championships: http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/sportscar-alms-grand-am-finalizing-merger/

Interesting...ALMS has the more interesting formula, but Grand-Am has been more succesful in terms of car count. Whatever they do I hope they maintain 4 classes on track. I've always considered Grand-Am's attitude that "The poor dumb fans can't keep 4 classes straight...lets cut it down to two" pretty insulting.

[Kiskaloo]

Romain Grosjean will be sitting out the Italian Grand Prix for causing the accident at Spa that took himself out along with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. Backup driver Jérôme d'Ambrosio will be driving the car.

Fernando Alonso's gearbox gave up the ghost in Free Practice 2, however he is allowed to change it without penalty since the cars are not yet in parc fermé conditions (that will happen when they take to the track for qualifying).

[Kiskaloo]

Meanwhile, at Taverna Tifosi....

Grand Prix of Italy Qualifying

Spoiler:

[Professor Voodoo]

Yeah, hopefully I'll get to catch this race...the satellite TV is finally working on this barge.

Kara: "A bottle of your best 151 rum, please, Mr. Alboreto.

Elio: (looks at Kara's fake ID) You don't actually think I'm going to fall for this, do you?

[Kiskaloo]

Yeah, hopefully I'll get to catch this race...the satellite TV is finally working on this barge.

Kara: "A bottle of your best 151 rum, please, Mr. Alboreto.

Elio: (looks at Kara's fake ID) You don't actually think I'm going to fall for this, do you?

Kara: "The Drinking Age in Italy is 16, Mr. Alboreto. And I'd really rather not remember today. Plus, Allison is the Designated Driver."

[Kiskaloo]

2012 Italian Grand Prix Results

Spoiler:

[Professor Voodoo]

2012 Italian Grand Prix Results


Did you notice all the Lega Nord / Padania flags in the crowd?

No ...satellite aboard the barge was out again. This should be the last race I miss though, I'll be back home in New York in two weeks.

I had actually dared to hope for a Cinderella-story win for Massa...but it looks like he had a decent race even if he missed the podium. Did he pull aside for Alonso again?

---

Marisa: "Make that two, please. That way I can be sick so we can't go to lunch tomorrow."

Elio: I didn't believe Kara's fake ID...you expect me to believe this one, Marisa?

Marisa: (faking a deep voice) Who is this Marisa you speak of? My name is Sergio Baretti, a businessman from Padua.

Elio: Sure. The fake moustache almost sold it, but I don't know many businessmen who come into a bar wearing a plaid skirt and sneakers with purple laces.

Marisa: Damn! Knew I should have worked harder on my disguise!

[Kiskaloo]

I had actually dared to hope for a Cinderella-story win for Massa...but it looks like he had a decent race even if he missed the podium. Did he pull aside for Alonso again?

He snookered Button at the start and was running 2nd until his first pit stop. He made it back up to third, which is where he stayed most of the race, until Perez and then Alonso got by him, but I do think his tires were giving up the ghost by then and Alonso did have the fastest car on the grid (breaking the anti-roll bar in Q3 is what scuppered him) so I do not believe it was team orders - after all, if Massa really is out, why stand aside for Alonso? All-in-all, though, this was much like the Massa of pre-Hungary, which is good.

[Kiskaloo]

2012 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix Qualifying

Spoiler:

In other news, looks like the provisional note for Singapore on the 2013 Calendar is superfluous as a new five-year deal was signed this weekend, though the race may not continue to be held at the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Massa and Senna didn't have a very good qualifying. I think Senna should be worried about being able to stay with Williams, but I think Massa may very well be safe at Ferrari. It's pretty much assumed that Vettel is going to the Scuderia in 2014 to pair with Alonso, so there is no way Perez will go to Ferrari for one year just to then be shown the door. Kobayashi might be an option, but Sauber is a solid team. As such, I think Ferrari might keep Massa for one more year.

[Kiskaloo]

2012 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix

Spoiler:

[Professor Voodoo]

2012 Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix

Spoiler:

[Kiskaloo]

Ending speculation they would leave F1 at the end of this year, Mercedes AMG have announced they are ready to sign the 2012 Concorde Agreement.

Now that Mercedes' future in F1 looks to be confirmed, this should clear the way for Lewis Hamilton to sign a contract to drive for the squad in 2013 if he wishes to.

[Professor Voodoo]

More on next year's lineups...

Citroën Racing has confirmed they will remain in the World Rally Championship through 2013 but Sebastien Loeb will scale back to running only a partial schedule. This might explain why Mikko Hirvonen was so eager to move to the team, even though it meant going from Ford's #1 driver to living in Loeb's shadow...he was promised it was only going to be for one year.
Loeb is linked with a possible Citroën entry into the World Touring Car Championship in 2014-15!

And in other news, Bentley is preparing a GT3 car; to be ready hopefully by the end of the 2013 season.

Kara: For the love of all that is Holy...FUND IT!

[Kiskaloo]

And in other news, Bentley is preparing a GT3 car; to be ready hopefully by the end of the 2013 season.



Kara: For the love of all that is Holy...FUND IT!

[Kiskaloo]

Kara: "Time to have Hilshire teach you Das Lied der Deutschen, Allison."

As rumored, Lewis Hamilton has signed for Mercedes AMG for 2013-2015, replacing the departing Michael Schumacher. Sergio Perez will replace him at McLaren.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/19755236

[Alfisti]

Ending speculation they would leave F1 at the end of this year, Mercedes AMG have announced they are ready to sign the 2012 Concorde Agreement.

Speaking of Mercedes, looks like from next year they'll be joining Nissan in helping to spice up the V8 Supercars.



I will admit, I did not see that coming.

[Kiskaloo]

V8 Supercars is not as bonkers at BTCC, but I do enjoy watching the races on SPEED.

[Professor Voodoo]

Kara: "Time to have Hilshire teach you Das Lied der Deutschen, Allison."

Allison: Later, Kara...I'm busy learning Himno Nacional Mexicano.

Lewis Hamilton has signed for Mercedes AMG for 2013-2015, replacing the departing Michael Schumacher.

If I was a betting man I'd have wagered against that. I figured all the Merecdes hype was just a tactic by Hamilton's managers to squeeze McLaren for extra concessions.

Sergio Perez will replace him at McLaren.

And that announcement came awfully quick...considering McLaren claimed they had no back-up plan should Hamilton leave (the British paper The Mail on Sunday did advance this possibility last week).

By this move Perez is not only cutting his Ferrari ties, but possibly his ties with Carlos Slim and the TELMEX money that's been backing him (unless TELMEX & Vodaphone have some sort of merger/partnership deal).

Speaking of Mercedes, looks like from next year they'll be joining Nissan in helping to spice up the V8 Supercars.

When you posted that I had to check my calender. Nope..it's not April first. This should be interesting.

[Kiskaloo]

By this move Perez is not only cutting his Ferrari ties, but possibly his ties with Carlos Slim and the TELMEX money that's been backing him (unless TELMEX & Vodaphone have some sort of merger/partnership deal).

If Vettel is going to the Scuderia in 2014 to partner Alonso, that meant Perez at best had one year with the team (replacing Massa for 2013) - and Ferrari was on record saying they didn't think he was ready to join the team. So I can understand him feeling that Ferrari was not an option for him.

As to the Telmex money, Perez doesn't need that with McLaren, who will pay him a salary (and saving a mint compared to what they would have had to pay Hamilton).

Esteban Gutiérrez is the reserve driver for Sauber and he's Mexican, so I expect Telmex will now back him and he'll be promoted from the Lotus GP2 team to replace Perez at Sauber.

[Professor Voodoo]

You know who really must be grinning right now; Jenson Button.

He's just been guaranteed another two years at least with McLaren...as #1 driver for as long as he can hold onto the role. Furthermore, while he always seemed to get along very well with Lewis Hamilton their styles are widely different. Button is generally regarded as one of the smoothest drivers...Hamilton is famous for grabbing the car by the scruff of the neck and forcing it to do his will. Car design & setup had to be a compromise between the two styles.

Now, Button will have a car designed around him. Perez will probably do well with a car designed for a smooth driver too. Sauber has been getting very good tire life this season, which implies to me that their car rewards smooth driving, so that's what Perez has experienced with.

[Alfisti]

Speaking of Mercedes, looks like from next year they'll be joining Nissan in helping to spice up the V8 Supercars.

When you posted that I had to check my calender. Nope..it's not April first. This should be interesting.

Speaking of marques entering places you wouldn't expect them in a manner you wouldn't expect them to. This was on the cover of the latest Lotus Club mag:



Being campaigned in the European Rally Championship apparently. So much yes.

[Professor Voodoo]

Speaking of Mercedes, looks like from next year they'll be joining Nissan in helping to spice up the V8 Supercars.

When you posted that I had to check my calender. Nope..it's not April first. This should be interesting.

Speaking of marques entering places you wouldn't expect them in a manner you wouldn't expect them to. This was on the cover of the latest Lotus Club mag:

I've seen them competing in Rallycross, but a step up to the European Rally Championship is a bold move indeed.

[Kiskaloo]

Speaking of Bentley and motorsports, Kris Meeke and James May drove a Bentley Continental on the Sweet Lamb stage of the Wales Rally.

http://www.carsuk.net/top-gear-take-the-bentley-continental-gt-rallying/

[Professor Voodoo]

Japanese Grand Prix; Qualifying

Spoiler:

[MP5]

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 results

1 1 TeamVodafone Paul Dumbrell / Jamie Whincup Commodore VE2 112 02:09:8007
2 52 The Bottle-O Racing Team Dean Canto / David Reynolds Falcon FG 144 02:09:9220
3 888 TeamVodafone Craig Lowndes / Warren Luff Commodore VE2 142 02:09:7749
4 22 Holden Racing Team Cameron McConville / James Courtney Commodore VE2 137 02:09:7260
5 34 Fujitsu Racing GRM Michael Caruso / Greg Ritter Commodore VE2 117 02:10:2125
6 19 Tekno Autosports Jonathon Webb / Scott McLaughlin Commodore VE2 145 02:10:1677
7 47 Lucky 7 Racing Tim Slade / Andrew Thompson Falcon FG 8 02:10:2804
8 4 Irwin Racing Lee Holdsworth / Craig Baird Falcon FG 137 02:10:0826
9 66 Supercheap Auto Racing Russell Ingall / Christian Klein Commodore VE2 145 02:09:8842
10 17 Team Norton DJR Alex Davison / James Moffat Falcon FG 139 02:10:1883

11 5 Orrcon Steel FPR Ford Steve Richards / Mark Winterbottom Falcon FG 142 02:10:1281
12 9 SP Tools Racing Luke Youlden / Shane van Gisbergen Falcon FG 139 02:09:5962
13 51 Pepsi Max Crew Greg Murphy / Owen Kelly Commodore VE2 66 02:10:4220
14 21 Wilson Security Racing Chris Pither / David Wall Commodore VE2 9 02:10:8886
15 15 Jack Daniel's Racing Rick Kelly / David Russell Commodore VE2 15 02:10:3049
16 33 Fujitsu Racing GRM Jack Perkins / Alexandre Premat Commodore VE2 6 02:10:7624
17 18 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson / Allan Simonsen Falcon FG 152 02:10:5486

18 7 Jack Daniel's Racing Todd Kelly / Tim Blanchard Commodore VE2 6 02:10:7188
19 11 Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing Karl Reindler / Daniel Gaunt Commodore VE2 140 02:09:9850
20 23 Shannons carsales.com.au Cameron Waters / Jesse Dixon Commodore VE2 4 02:12:0642
21 8 Team BOC Jason Bright / Andrew Jones Commodore VE2 13 02:10:1871
22 12 Jim Beam Racing Dean Fiore / Matthew Halliday Falcon FG 88 02:10:5695
23 14 Lockwood Racing Fabian Coulthard / David Besnard Commodore VE2 11 02:10:1990
24 6 Trading Post FPR Ford Will Davison / John McIntyre Falcon FG 10 02:09:7358
25 2 Holden Racing Team Garth Tander / Nick Percat Commodore VE2 11 02:10:0752
DNF 3 Team Hiflex Tony D'Alberto / Dale Wood Falcon FG 12 02:10:7610
DNF 30 Team iSelect Taz Douglas / Scott Pye Commodore VE2 87 02:11:0058
DNF 49 VIP Petfoods Paul Morris / Steve Owen Falcon FG 5 02:10:4518
DNF 91 Tekno Autosports Michael Patrizi / Jonny Reid Commodore VE2 8 02:11:3622

During the final lap....
Allison, Kyo, and Ryo: (chanting) Vo-da-fone! Vo-da-fone! Vo-da-fone!

Whincup crosses the finish line ahead of Reynolds. The three erupt into cheers and whip off their team shirts and wave them around in celebration

Jennifer: Well, looks like I owe you three dinner this time.

The three teens continue celebrating and hooting and hollering

Jennifer: I'll wait til you've all calmed down...

[Kiskaloo]

2012 Japanese Grand Prix Results

Spoiler:

General Commentary

Spoiler:

[Kiskaloo]

And once again, Talladega does not disappoint. As soon as they went G - W - C I knew it would not end well. Seriously, they should call it G-W-W for Green - White - Wreck.

[Professor Voodoo]

2012 Japanese Grand Prix Results
General Commentary

Personally, I think Vettel has his third straight DC in hand. With the new Red Bull double DRS he should be a favorite for pole position at everywhere but Austin (and then only because nobody has any track data). So he should be well-positioned to win or score well for the rest of the season, which should put him in an unassailable position.

Well, I put my money on Alonso earlier this season and I'll stick to it. He's had some bum luck these last few races but nobody can pull out late season magic like he can.

Marisa: Damn...fine time for Maldonado to decide to score some points again.

Allison: At least your Toro Rosso boys have working gearboxes...what might have been, Jenson.

Kara: (fingering Agapita's rosary beads) So how do I get these things to sync with my iPhone?

In other news, salute to Seb Loeb for clinching his 9th World Championship. He is clearly the best automobile driver alive on the face of the Earth today, and that is no overstatement.

[Kiskaloo]

Well, I put my money on Alonso earlier this season and I'll stick to it. He's had some bum luck these last few races but nobody can pull out late season magic like he can.

Well the Red Bull has shown to be unreliable at times, so one never knows, but starting on pole is a good way to stay out of the carnage (Alonso's DNFs have been because he was back in the field at the start and was taken out in collisions).

In other news, salute to Seb Loeb for clinching his 9th World Championship. He is clearly the best automobile driver alive on the face of the Earth today, and that is no overstatement.

Which is why I am glad he is retiring. He is just so much better than any other WRC driver that he can only lose a race if he suffers a mechanical failure and the DS3 is reliable enough that he'll win enough to guarantee the championship. So one only watched WRC to see who finished behind him or for the wrecks.

And that FIM race in Magny-Cours was something.

Marisa: Damn...fine time for Maldonado to decide to score some points again.

Allison: At least your Toro Rosso boys have working gearboxes...what might have been, Jenson.

Kara: (fingering Agapita's rosary beads) So how do I get these things to sync with my iPhone?

http://www.bigriversoftware.com/Rosary%20Guide.html

[Kiskaloo]

Well for 2013 those of us in the United States can sleep in on Grand Prix weekends as NBC has won the broadcast rights for the 2013 Formula One season. SPEED itself is also being terminated, to become the FOX Sports 1 channel. While NASCAR will remain, they will also show MLB Baseball and College Football:

While Fox has declined to comment on its planned channel, people familiar with the matter said the company will convert its niche sports channel called Speed into a broad-based sports network.

Besides baseball, Fox will also put NASCAR racing, college football, soccer and Ultimate Fighting on its cable channel. The working name for the channel is Fox Sports 1.

While NBC has done okay with the IndyCar and ALMS races I have seen, there is no way they will be showing races live (outside of Canada, United States and Brazil) on the main channel. They do have the NBC Sports Channel (formerly VS when it was owned by Comcast) so maybe they'll keep them live on that one.

Oh well. Could have been worse... *cough* CBS *cough*

[MP5]

Well for 2013 those of us in the United States can sleep in on Grand Prix weekends as NBC has won the broadcast rights for the 2013 Formula One season.

All this because Fox wants to turn Speed into another frigging Sports Channel. Also, Will Buxton just found out via Twitter that he's losing his trackside reporting job. No one told him, which is a dick move.

[Kiskaloo]

SPEED themselves apparently only just found out - they made no mention of it during the Free Practice 2 broadcast and SPEED.com just has a comment from a FOX Sports Media Group spokesman. In this age of instant communication, not surprising Will found out via the Internet before FOX SMG could contact him.




In other news, having successfully achieved FIA homologation for the John Cooper Works Special, Mini is folding their factory WRC team at the end of the season now that customer teams can carry the brand forward while they continue to dilute the brand.

And Bernie has lowered the sanctioning fee for Korea, allowing the GP to be renewed for another four years (now through 2016) to the consternation and disappointment of everyone not Korean.

[Kiskaloo]

2012 Korean Grand Prix Results

Spoiler:

Commentary

Spoiler:

[Kiskaloo]

2012 Rally d'Italia Sardegna Results

With Monty "conveniently" on bed rest following her latest 50km service, Elio and Jethro chaperoned some of the girls to the second largest Mediterranean island to take in the 11th round of the 2012 WRC season under pleasant conditions.

Spoiler:

In other WRC news, Ford has joined Mini in withdrawing their factory team. They will provide support for the M-Sport Team in 2013 (as Mini will support Prodrive's effort). With Ford gone, Jari-Maiti Latvia will team with Sebastien Ogier at VW's factory team for 2013.

[Professor Voodoo]

Indian Grand Prix; results

Spoiler:

[Kiskaloo]

Spoiler:

[Professor Voodoo]

F1 driver status updates; Hulkenberg is confirmed at Sauber next year...no surprise there. No change at Toro Rosso for 2013...Vergne & Ricciardo keep their seats.

Marisa: That's okay I guess, although I wish they have at least tried to poach someone like Alonso, Vettel or Hamilton from the big teams.

Kara:

[Kiskaloo]

F1 driver status updates; Hulkenberg is confirmed at Sauber next year...no surprise there.

And I'm sure Gutierrez will get promoted to replace Kobayashi thanks to his Telmex money.

[Professor Voodoo]

F1 driver status updates; Hulkenberg is confirmed at Sauber next year...no surprise there.

And I'm sure Gutierrez will get promoted to replace Kobayashi thanks to his Telmex money.

It's a shame Davide Valsecchi's name isn't being mentioned in connection to any race seats. 25 does not seem too old to be beyond consideration.

[Kiskaloo]

It's a shame Davide Valsecchi's name isn't being mentioned in connection to any race seats. 25 does not seem too old to be beyond consideration.

While he finally won the GP2 championship, it took him five years to do it and that probably hasn't helped him, much as it didn't help Giorgio Pantano in 2008 when he finally took the title after four years trying.

The idea of GP2 is to come in, kick arse, win the Championship and get promoted to Formula One, not treat it as a career.

[Professor Voodoo]

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix; results

Spoiler:

[Kiskaloo]

Spoiler:

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