Quote from BlueFlame :

Do you not read? Kimi can only get into the team with Qatar Bank onboard, why would he need that if Maldonado stays? PDVSA would be enough with just him and Kimi so, obviously they are thinking of getting rid of Maldonado.

No. Williams needs money. PDVSA gives them lot of money if Maldonado drives. Williams wants another driver and if Kimi is interested Williams needs more money. Apparently Bank of Quatar is interested in becoming a sponsor of Williams and apparently BoQ is interested getting Kimi to drive for Williams. Kimi wants more money than Williams is willing/able to pay so BoQ is asked to give little extra. That little extra does not mean more money to Williams. It means Williams can afford to get a driver they otherwise could not get. In other words Williams can use the sponsorship money to pay Kimi's wages and BoQ gets to put a nice sticker on the car.

Indirectly Williams might get more money as having Kimi onboard would make the team more interesting for new sponsors.

So in nutshell having Maldonado onboard means money income for Williams. The guy brings in money. Having Kimi onboard means probably less money for Williams to use for the cars but at the same time having Kimi would make it easier to get more sponsors.

Maldonado is too valuable for Williams to let go. Just like Petrov is for Renault. Or even Ricciardo for HRT.

Hello guys,

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Vimeo (1080p)
Lewis Hamilton - The Strain On The Track

Haters gonna hate - the golden rule

Cheers, Skirmantas.

Quote from Hyperactive :

Or even Ricciardo for HRT.

Ricciardo is on loan so that doesn't count as much.

Quote from BlueFlame :

Do you not read? Kimi can only get into the team with Qatar Bank onboard, why would he need that if Maldonado stays? PDVSA would be enough with just him and Kimi so, obviously they are thinking of getting rid of Maldonado.

you need to learn how a business works, they got one of the highest paying pay drivers in probably the history of f1, even if they get the qadbak deal they would be stupid to get rid of Maldonado they will likely free up the other seat so maximum profit is possible.

Quote from BlueFlame :

Ricciardo is on loan so that doesn't count as much.

Im pretty sure Redbull are paying for him to be there, not sure how much but they just removed karthekayen as soon as he came suggest it must be something as he was the only driver bringing in money before he arrived.

Finnish media says that Raikkonen is going to be confirmed as a Williams driver next weekend.

Quote from TexasLTU :

Finnish media says that Raikkonen is going to be confirmed as a Williams driver next weekend.

Awesome. \/

Same shit, different decade. It's like Räikkonen joining a Sauber-Petronas on 2001, it's cool to have him there, but I don't think he can score more points than he did in his debut season in F1...

As much as I like to see 6 world champions on the grid, I'm not particularly excited about Kimi's return. If he can't be bothered in a Ferrari, what makes you think it will be any better in a Williams that has been fighting with Lotus at the back of the grid?

Raikkonen followed Williams F1 in Twitter 18 hrs ago.

Räikkonen is pure beast, cant wait to see him back in an F1 car!

I can't see the Raikkonen thing working out personally, he'll get bored with it and give up.

Too bad Rosberg got extended. I'd have signed for Kimi-Schumi in Mercedes. Although Rosberg does deserve it, no doubt about that.

Am I the only lonely here who wants Montoya back too??


...Redbull???? ...im allowed to dream arnt i? Montoya and Vettel would be rediculously interesting.

Redbull:
Vettel
Montoya

Ferrari:
Alonso
Kubica

Mclaren:
Hamilton
Kimi

Mercedes:
Rosberg
Schumi

Quote from aoun :

Am I the only lonely here who wants Montoya back too??


...Redbull???? ...im allowed to dream arnt i? Montoya and Vettel would be rediculously interesting.

Redbull:
Vettel
Montoya

Ferrari:
Alonso
Kubica

Mclaren:
Hamilton
Kimi

Mercedes:
Rosberg
Schumi

That would be jizz worthy, but to have Kimi in Renault (they have a quick car) and have Button in McLaren and have Di Resta as Kimi's team mate would be alot better.

i can see what kimi will get out it, he needs to spend 12 months in F1 before there are decent drives available for 2013, but unless williams have a major turnaround in performance, i'm afraid that 2012 will go down as the year that williams were so bad that one of the fastest drivers in F1 history was unable to finish in the top 10 and as such mark the start of the end of them as an F1 team.


it's sad to say but they really do remind me of how lotus went, from a world championship, innovative team to a team that could challenge for a championship, to a team that could challenge to win races, to a team thats mid field and hires drivers depending on how much money they can bring into the team, the only difference is lotus lost their genius when chapman died, williams lost theirs when newey left. i just hope they reverse the trend


what was really sad was to see williams making a big thing on twitter about how they'd managed to gain so many places in the last race as if it was a big improvement, rather than because they couldn't get one of their cars running in qualifying and the other had been penalised for a mechanical failure that resulted in an engine failure.

Weird test piece on the Ferrari here...














And something similar on the RB

Tuesday young driver tests.

Quote :

1. Jean-Eric Vergne, Red Bull , 1:40.011
2. Jules Bianchi, Ferrari, 1:40.960
3. Robert Wickens, Renault, 1:42.217
4. Fabio Leimer, Sauber, 1:42.331
5. Gary Paffett, McLaren, 1:42.912
6. Max Chilton, Force India, 1:43.016
7. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:43.118
8. Oliver Turvey, McLaren, 1:43.502
9. Sam Bird, Mercedes, 1:43.548
10. Rodolfo Gonzalez, Lotus, 1:44.022
11. Stefano Coletti, Toro Rosso, 1:45.278
12. Dani Clos, HRT, 1:45.329
13. Charles Pic, Virgin, 1:46.930
14. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, Virgin, 1:47.292

Valtteri right around midfield in the Williams. He's a little over 3 seconds off the top, which is what the Williams did in qualifying this weekend.

Quote from BlueFlame :

Weird test piece on the Ferrari here...



And something similar on the RB

Looks like an array of pitot tubes to measure air flow. Red Bull was obviously measuring the flow off the front wing, while Ferrari seems to be more focused on the front tyres.

Quote from Rappa Z :

Tuesday young driver tests.



Valtteri right around midfield in the Williams. He's a little over 3 seconds off the top, which is what the Williams did in qualifying this weekend.

Impossible to make anything from that. Most of the teams are testing concept components for 2012.

I'm quietly impressed by Dani Clos, however. JEV and Bianchi both look very threatening up there. If Massa and Webber can't get closer to their team mates next year, lack of young driver options won't save them.

Austin Grand Prix plunged i ... ispute over race contract

ULTRA facepalm

Quote :

Unofficial Wednesday times from Yas Marina
1. Jean-Eric Vergne, Red Bull, 1:40.188, 43 laps
2. Jules Bianchi, Ferrari, 1:40.279, 91
3. Gary Paffett, McLaren, 1:41.756, 71
4. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:42.367, 88
5. Johnny Cecotto Jr, Force India, 1:42.873, 84
6. Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber, 1:43.637, 96
7. Sam Bird, Mercedes, 1:43.734, 94
8. Kevin Korjus, Renault, 1:43.776, 70
9. Luiz Razia, Lotus, 1:43.944, 89
10. Kevin Ceccon, Toro Rosso, 1:44.808, 97
11. Jan Charouz, HRT, 1:46.644, 56
12. Charles Pic, Virgin, 1:46.698, 61
13. Nathanael Berthon, HRT, 1:48.646, 9

Today's times.

Man Valtteri is sure showing how good he is, regardless of testing programs to be only 3 seconds off the pace in that dog of a car (Williams) tells me that he's a bloody quick driver!

If you compare redbulls and Williams qualifying times in abu dahbi, bottas is nearly 1 second faster then vergne.

That's assuming vergne is vettel and bottas is maldonado, which realisticly the gap could be even larger.

Quote from JackDaMaster :

Austin Grand Prix plunged ... ispute over race contract

ULTRA facepalm

Referring to German Media, the 2012 Austin GP was cancelled today by Bernie.

According to Autosport, it will be discussed at the next world motorsports council meeting at December 7th.