F1 World Championship 2013 Thread

[simonlang]

this honestly came not as a big surprise for me. with webber gone and raikkonen probably already been signed for ferrari there was hypothetically only alonso left - but we know what a primadonna and diva he would be if he faced vettel. he couldnt even stand hamilton in 2007 and made the team implode. sure, marko and horner have been aware of this. the strongest argument pro ricciardo for me is that somehow redbull needs to proove their junior team is still the way to go and promote someone from there. if it works, awesome, if not, they can still get another driver. 

seen ricciardo on tv yesterday, and he just could not stop smiling - certainly knows its the chance of his life. 

[MightyJordan]

seen ricciardo on tv yesterday, and he just could not stop smiling

 

 

Yeah, he's been like that for the past three years. :P

 

New Red Bull signing can't stop smiling

Following last night?s news that Daniel Ricciardo is to replace Mark Webber at Red Bull next season, sources within the team?s Milton Keynes factory have expressed concern that their new signing ?literally cannot stop smiling?.

 

?It?s a real problem,? confessed one insider. ?I mean, we knew he was quite a smiley sort of bloke and originally we thought that was because he was excited to be in F1. But come on, he?s been doing it for almost three years now. You?d think the excitement would have worn off. But no, and if anything signing for a top flight team has just made things worse.?

 

Red Bull engineers are already expressing concerns about the aerodynamic implications of Ricciardo?s inability to stop beaming away like a bit of a simpleton. ?We have to make the helmet slightly wider to accommodate his over-developed jaw muscles,? admitted an anonymous engineer. ?Not only that, but we also have to make it deeper too because all the smiling makes his chin lower than normal. Basically, we?ll have to dig out the helmet we used for Coulthard.?

 

However, Ricciardo?s perma-smiling isn?t all bad news for the British team, as one senior insider revealed. ?Whenever he smiles, which is always, he opens his mouth quite a bit,? he admitted. ?So we?ll probably take advantage of that and pop a couple of sponsors? logos on his teeth. Do you have a number for Colgate??

[mps69]

This has got to have been one of the worst kept secrets in the F1 paddock lately.

In many ways I feel sorry for the guy, While all the wheels are going forward on Vettels car, Riccardo won't be passing him, even if he could.

I can't see Riccardo winning many races or even threatening to win the championship while Vettel is in complete control of things. I personally think this was one of the reason of signing him, he'll tow the party line nicely. Many of the other top drivers wouldn't play second fiddle to Vettel.

The only times I see him winning is when Vettel has won the championship with a few races to go......even then I don't think Vettel will let the opportunity go so easily.

[Noir Angel]

Well Ricciardo has moved up to fill webber's role as the Red Bull bridesmaid. Hard to know whether to feel pleased for him or not in all honesty.

[JoeC]

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/23953397

 

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner expects their new driver Daniel Ricciardo to be rivalling Sebastian Vettel in 2014.

 

Ricciardo, 24, replaces Mark Webber, who is leaving F1 to join Porsche in sportscar racing next season.

 

"We expect him to challenge Sebastian," Horner told BBC Radio 5 live. "He'll get the same chance, the same equipment and it will be down to what he does on the circuit that counts at the end of the day."

 

[Noir Angel]

Mhm. I'll eat my socks if Horner and Marko let that happen.

[MightyJordan]

Adrian Newey's wet dream...

 

[Chasethebase Reporter]

Provisional calendar for 2014, adjustments are in bold.
 

DRAFT 2014 CALENDAR

March 16 - Australia (Melbourne)
March 23 ? Malaysia (Sepang)
April 6 ? China (Shanghai)
April 13 ? Korea* (Korea International Circuit)
April 27 ? Bahrain (Sakhir)
May 11 ? Spain (Barcelona)
May 25 ? Monaco (Monaco)
June 8 ? Canada (Montreal)
June 22 ? Austria (Red Bull Ring)
July 6 ? Britain (Silverstone)
July 20 ? Germany (Hockenheim)
July 27 ? Hungary (Budapest)
August 24 ? Belgium (Spa)
September 7 ? Italy (Monza)
September 21 ? Singapore (Marina Bay)
October 5- Japan (Suzuka)
October 19 ? Russia* (Sochi)
October 26 ? Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina)
November 9 ? Mexico* (Mexico City)
November 16 ? USA (Circuit of the Americas)
November 30 ? Brazil (Interlagos)

[MightyJordan]

Provisional calendar for 2014, adjustments are in bold.

 

 

Nice to see the return of the Red Bull Ring. :) What are the asterisks on Korea, Russia & Mexico for?

[Chasethebase Reporter]

Nice to see the return of the Red Bull Ring. :) What are the asterisks on Korea, Russia & Mexico for?

That's subject to confirmation of the circuit/contract.

[JoeC]

I can't help but feel that the Red Bull ring will be a pretty dull race given the lack of space for overtaking. In fact I can't really see how they plan to fit 20-odd cars on it at the same time...

 

[philcruicks]

Yeah...its only got 8 conrners at present...unless they're gonna put in the upgrade that never happened...

source

 

Edit: having said that, its only a tiny bit shorter than the Hungaroring 4.326 compared with 4.381, and longer than monaco.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Italian GP, FP1 result:

 

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

FP2:

 

[Lingwo]

Looking like it will be close again in qualifying but no doubt Red Bull with have the race pace.

[MightyJordan]

Another potential debut for next year...

 

 

 

Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn confirmed the team will race Sergey Sirotkin in F1 next year providing he completes enough mileage to gain his superlicence.

 

The 18-year-old Russian driver needs to complete 300km at the wheel of an F1 car in two days to gain the necessary licence to race in F1.

 

?We know that we would like to have Sergey next year as our driver but he still needs a superlicence and that?s something which he should take seriously,? said Kaltenborn in a press conference at the Italian Grand Prix.

 

?So we shouldn?t think that he?s just going to get it like that. We are convinced he can do it, we will do our best to prepare him, but it still is a big step.?

 

?If that all works out we will see what options we have and announce that in due course.?

 

Sirotkin will be the youngest driver ever to start an F1 race if he is on the grid in March next year.

 

Kaltenborn said the potential return of the Mexican Grand Prix would not necessarily have a bearing on whether they retain Esteban Gutierrez for next season. She pointed out their association with the driver pre-dated their backing from Mexican sponsor Telmex:

 

?We started our relationship with Esteban much before we actually got into contact with Telmex because he came into the Formula BMW programme and from there he progressed with the team.?

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

FP3:

 

[MightyJordan]

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[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

H?lkenberg on P3 was unexpected. Excellent job.

[heslo]

Interesting qually! I'm predicting Red Bull domination tomorrow

[Kerm]

Let's hope it rains so that it's not just a Red Bull parade.

[MightyJordan]

Adrian Sutil has been handed a three-place grid drop for impeding Lewis Hamilton during qualifying.

 

The Mercedes driver caught the Force India at Parabolica during Q2 and was forced to slow down, costing him time. Hamilton eventually failed to make the cut for Q3.

 

The stewards said Sutil?s blocking was ?not intentional? however they added ?it is the responsibility of the driver to be aware of the approaching car?.

 

Sutil?s penalty drops him from 14th to 17th on the grid and does not affect Hamilton, who will start 12th.

[Noir Angel]

Sutil has had it in for Lewis since his trial, I think he knew what he was doing.

[Chasethebase Reporter]

Eh gg Vettel, I'll come back next year.

 

Still, I hope Hulkenberg can pull some good points from this, he needs to be noticed by another top team, since it's fairly clear he won't be at Sauber next season.

[MightyJordan]

I hope Hulkenberg can pull some good points from this, he needs to be noticed by another top team, since it's fairly clear he won't be at Sauber next season.

 

Maybe Ferrari's keeping an eye on him? Stefano Domenicali said last week about their future lineup "...we need good results from Felipe, so that's why we will not rush as we have to make the right decision for the team." I'm betting they finally get fed up and get rid of him after this season's over. Doubt they'll replace him with H?lkenberg though unless he pulls off a blinder in the last half of the season. Maybe if he just finishes ahead of Ricciardo in the standings, seeing as Sauber and Toro Rosso use the same (Ferrari) engine, they're on fairly level ground, and Daniel's off to Red Bull next year.