Renault R31 launch pictures (31st of January)

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Lotus Renault GP unveiled their much-discussed 2011 challenger, the R31, in the pit lane of Valencia's Ricardo Tormo circuit on 31st Jan'11.

Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov revealed the R31, with reserves Romain Grosjean, Bruno Senna, Jan Charouz and Fairuz Fauzy.

Technical specifications

Chassis Moulded carbon fibre and aluminium honeycomb composite monocoque, with engine incorporated as a fully-stressed member
Suspension (front) Carbon fibre double wishbone, operating inboard torsion bar and damper units via a pushrod system
Suspension (rear) As front except via a pullrod system
Engine Renault RS27-2011 2,400 cc (146.5 cu in) 90° V8, limited to 18,000 RPM with KERS naturally aspirated mid-mounted
Transmission Seven-speed semi-automatic titanium gearbox with reverse gear "Quickshift" system
Weight 640 kg (1,411 lb) (including driver)
Fuel Total
Tyres Pirelli P Zero

OZ Wheels (front and rear): 13"

Links

Renault R31 ? Launch Details and Analysis (Scarbsf1's Blog)
"What was formerly the Renault F1 Team and now Lotus Renault GP (I?ll use the term LRGP for this article) have unveiled their new car the R31. It seems some critical details are not fitted to the car for its unveiling, indeed the car was shown only briefly to the press before it was covered back up and returned to the garage. Despite the mystery surrounding the cars exhaust exit location, its clear this is a very new design for the team. In creating this the team were given a mandate to take risks, which probably explains the very different front and rear end treatments."

Renault R31 Front Exit Exhausts (FEE) ? Explained (Scarbsf1's Blog)
"Renault have found a new solution to the blown diffuser concept. In fact they?ve turned it on its head. With an exhaust that exits at the front of the sidepods.

Last years teams reintroduced the blown diffuser concept, either by blowing exhaust gasses over the top of the diffuser, or by creating an opening into the diffuser to blow inside the diffuser. Both solutions created more downforce. With the latter solution now banned, it seemed the less effective over-blown solutions are all that?s left to race."

Renault R31 launch pictures






Photos © Renault/LAT

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Braun Racing Toyota Elliott Sadler Stanley Ford Mike Bliss

Barrichello back in Williams frame

Formula 1 always goes a little quiet over Christmas, but one team that has been making waves - both publicly and behind the scenes - are Williams.

The team that dominated F1 for much of the 1980s and 1990s are one of only two outfits still with an obvious vacancy in their driver line-up - the other being back-of-the-grid HRT.

And it seems that Rubens Barrichello, the veteran who has driven for the team for the last two seasons, is back in with a chance of staying with them for 2012.

Rubens Barrichello

Rubens Barrichello had been tipped to vacate his Williams seat. Photo: Getty

Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado is staying on in one of the cars after an up-and-down rookie season in 2011 - his position in the team is secure thanks to a multi-million sponsorship deal with his country's national oil company.

But the second seat is still up for grabs, and while Williams are not the attractive proposition they were in their glory days, they are the only decent choice for a whole host of drivers wishing to continue their F1 careers.

These include Barrichello, German Adrian Sutil, Brazilian Bruno Senna, Toro Rosso rejects Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Sutil, who had an impressive second half of the season for Force India, has been the favourite for some time, but the situation appears to have shifted recently.

My sources tell me that Barrichello, who appeared to be out of the running as his 19th season in F1 drew to a close in November, has come back into the frame and now has a reasonable chance of a Williams drive in 2012.

Barrichello has been arguing for some time that, with the huge ructions going on at Williams through 2011 and over the winter, it would make sense to have a known reference in the drivers.

"With all the changes for next year on the engine side and engineers," he said at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, "it would be clever from the team to keep the drivers and keep on going. I'm not pushing them, I'm just trying to show them that is the way to do it."

You can see his point. The team are changing engine suppliers, replacing Cosworth with Renault, and have undergone a wholesale restructure of the design department, with a new technical director, head of aerodynamics and head of engineering.

New tech boss Mike Coughlan is admired as being very clever, but his last role as a technical director was with the now-defunct Arrows team, who collapsed in 2002. As chief designer of McLaren after that, he was involved in the spy-gate scandal that engulfed the team in 2007 and for which he was sacked.

The technical changes at Williams were made even more seismic when it emerged on New Year's Eve that not only was co-founder Patrick Head stepping down as director of engineering, he was also resigning his position on the F1 team's board, thereby cutting all his ties with the sport.

It had long been known that Head, one of the most respected engineers in the history of the sport, would no longer have an active role in the day-to-day F1 operation, but it was a surprise to hear he was not going to be on the board of directors.

Head has insisted that his decision to end his day-to-day F1 role was based on feeling his relevance in F1 was diminishing.

In Brazil, he said: "I certainly didn't have an ambition to stop my involvement in Formula One with a season like this last one we've had behind us.

"But when I have a look at what specifically I can do to assist Mike Coughlan and (chief operations officer) Mark Gillan and (head of aerodynamics) Jason Somerville, I came to the conclusion that it isn't really enough to justify me carrying on doing the same thing."

He will still be involved at Williams through their subsidiary company Williams Hybrid Power and remains close to team boss Sir Frank Williams, who will doubtless be turning to him for advice on a regular basis.

All the same, many will consider it unwise that a team in such flux, and with such a grave need to improve, will not have on their board the guidance and wisdom of a man who not only co-founded the company but who was directly responsible for seven drivers' championships and nine constructors' titles.

Why will he not be there? Williams and Head were both unavailable for comment on Monday. I'm told, though, that his difficult relationship with chief executive officer Adam Parr was a part of Head's decision to step down.

Ironically, Head's departure may ease Barrichello's path to a return.

Head is forthright character and I'm told he had grown tired of the Brazilian's complaints about the team's difficulties.

With the 65-year-old no longer involved, that on the face of it is one less barrier to Barrichello being in the car again.

It seems, though, that all the driver hopefuls will have to wait. Williams are in the process of sponsorship negotiations with the Gulf state of Qatar, and they take primacy over a final decision on drivers.

With more than a month until the start of pre-season testing on 7 February, there is plenty of time to sort out drivers. After all, it's not as if Williams are struggling for choice.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/01/barrichello_back_in_williams_f.html

Tony Raines Long John Silver s Chevrolet Tayler Malsam Iron Horse Jeans Toyota

Red Bull RB7 launch pictures (1st of February)

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Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel presented their 2011 car, the RB7 to the media at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain on 1 February 2011.

Chief technical officer Adrian Newey explained some of the changes from the championship winning RB6 and the new RB7:

?Preparing for the new season has been an interesting challenge for all of us,? he says. ?There have been a number of changes to the regulations and while they are not as comprehensive as the changes for 2009, the major differences ? such a the re-introduction of the KERS system and the arrival of a moveable rear wing to aid overtaking ? have meant that RB7 is quite different to last year?s car.

?However, what we have done is taken the philosophy of continuing evolution. We have evolved RB6, which itself was an evolution of 2009?s RB5, and this is, if you like, the third generation of a successful lineage.?


Technical specifications
Chassis carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite monocoque, designed and built in-house, carrying engine as fully stressed member
Suspension (front) Aluminium alloy uprights, carbon-composite double wishbones with springs and anti-roll bar, push rod-actuated multimatic dampers
Suspension (rear) as front, except pull rod-actuated rear dampers
Engine Renault RS27-2011 2,400 cc (146.5 cu in) 90° V8, limited to 18,000 RPM naturally aspirated mid-mounted
Transmission Seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox with reverse gear Hydraulic system for power shift and clutch operation
Weight 640 kg (1,411 lb) (including driver)
Fuel Total
Tyres Pirelli P Zero

OZ Wheels (front and rear): 13"

Link
Red Bull RB7 ? Open Fronted Exhaust Blown Diffuser (Scarbsf1's Blog)
"Despite rule changes Newey has found the loophole that allows exhausts to blow inside the diffuser for more downforce. Although the rules were revised for 2011 to try to prevent double diffuser and openings to allow the exhaust to blow inside the diffuser. The rules did permit openings in the outer 5cm of the diffuser, an area where teams have recently split the floor and created raised lip, coincidentally a practice first exploited by Newey on the RB5."

Red Bull RB7 launch pictures







Photos © Red Bull Racing/Getty Images

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Dodge Dodge Trevor Bayne Jason Leffler Great Clips Toyota

Nascar Makes Finding Online Discounts Easy

Many Nascar fans would pay anything to gain an edge on any type of Nascar information. The information they get online might be about their favorite driver or it could be an interesting tidbit about the next racing season. Some racing fans are so keen on the motor sport that they will do some amazing things to be privy to something about Nascar that their friends do not know.

If the fans learned about a new raceway online that would be built near their hometown, then they are liable to get a jumpstart on reserving certain seats for their entire family to sit in and enjoy Nascar action at its finest. Nascar makes it easy to purchase tickets online, and will generally take reservations for tracks that are about to be finished.

A Nascar fan might even consider buying extra seats through the online ticket outlets so that they can turn around and offer those premium seats to their buddies at a premium price. The competitive nature of Nascar is not limited to the race track area only and some people enjoy the competitive sale of tickets to latecomers at the raceway for a regularly scheduled race.

Some people might not know how to go about purchasing Nascar tickets online. Nascar makes it very easy for fans to buy the number of seats that they want at any raceway that is listed on the racing schedule. Fans can review the racing schedule online and see which races that they want Nascar tickets for that will cover the entire year. The discounts for Nascar tickets could be found through other ticket retailers online because some people have extra tickets that they can not use.

There are many Nascar discounts available online that will allow fans to go to the track dressed in style. Every Nascar driver has a sponsor and a large assortment of gear that is fashioned after the drivers colors. Fans can find coolers, ball caps and plenty of tee shirts through online retailers and the discounts placed through the online outlets are sometimes lower than what is offered at the Nascar track.

There are inexpensive memorabilia for Nascar that is perfect for all age groups. Some people have large collections of Nascar gear that they purchased at a discount through a retailer that has set up their business on the internet framework. Many fans love showing their guests just how devoted they are to their driver and will create marvelous wall displays that are adorned with posters that were autographed at the track where the fans went to enjoy a race.

James Brown writes about http://www.teamlogoandgear.com

Article Source: Nascar Makes Finding Online Discounts Easy

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/13630/nascar-makes-finding-online-discounts-easy

Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota Kyle Busch M and M s Toyota

NASCAR Tickets - Brotherly Duo Is Double Trouble for Sprint Cup Series

23-year-old racecar driving prodigy Kyle Busch has been all the talk of the NASCAR world so far this season, but after the Kobalt Tools 500 race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in March, the spotlight shifted to the other Busch - 30-year-old Kurt. The Busch brothers have attracted flocks of fans and undying attention over the past several years as they have proven their place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and the elder Busch's recent Atlanta victory has sparked speculation that Kurt and Kyle Busch are the next brotherly duo to dominate the NASCAR realm, perhaps even being one the best sibling pairs of all time to conquer the racing circuit together.

When it comes to Cup Series victories, the Busch brothers stack up as the sixth overall sibling combo with the most wins in NASCAR history, coming in behind some of the best family names in the history of racing. Kurt and Kyle Busch have collectively accumulated 32 wins in their racing careers, but there are still a handful of siblings who beat this remarkable record. The winningest family name in all of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is still the Allisons, as brothers Bobby and Donnie racked up an outrageous 94 combined wins during their reign over stock car racing.

Coming in as the second most winning sibling combination is the Waltrips, as Darrell and Michael have accumulated 88 wins in their joint careers. The Flock brothers (Tim, Fonty and Bob) are third on this list with 62, and Herb and Donald Thomas rank fourth with 49. Rounding out the top five are the Labontes, as Terry and Bobby have 43 victories under their belts. The Buschs are currently at sixth place, but because this brotherly duo is so young, Kurt and Kyle Busch have plenty of time to rack up several more wins on the NASCAR circuit before they retire from the sport, perhaps already making them the best brotherly duo to ever grace the racing scene.

As of the Atlanta race on March 8, the name Busch has taken the title of a Cup race for two out of the season's four races, with Matt Kenseth sweeping the first two races of the year. Kyle Busch was the victor of the Las Vegas race on March 1 (competing at his hometown track) and brother Kurt followed up the win with a March 8 victory at Atlanta. The Busch brothers are both currently in the Top 12 of the 2009 Sprint Cup standings, with Kurt Busch in third place while Kyle Busch is in seventh, the latter working his way up the totem pole after suffering an early race-ending crash triggered by Brian Vickers and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at Daytona.

While Kyle Busch is largely considered the favorite of the two Busch brothers, Kurt has proven in the last couple weeks that while he is proud of his brother he certainly won't give up without a fight. With NASCAR tickets you can see both Busch brothers battle for the 2009 Sprint Cup title in person, so browse your favorite online ticket reseller and make your way to the grandstands today to catch these young stock car drivers spin circles around their competitors.

This article is sponsored by StubHub.com. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - Brotherly Duo Is Double Trouble for Sprint Cup Series

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Joe Nemechek

Nascar Devotion Is Resilient When Change Occurs

There have been many changes to Nascar over the years, but changes are expected by fans and also by driver's who are circling around a racetrack at speeds that exceed 200 miles per hour at times. The driver is an expert at changing speeds and lanes and changing speeds once again to be within the legal limits of those speeds posted on pit row.

Most of the changes in Nascar racing have occurred over time and have been directly related to the high-speed pursuits around million dollar raceways. Some of those changes have been painful ones but the Nascar family has remained strong through each of them. Some of the most violent experiences that occasionally occur at a raceway will no doubt cause some people to rethink their past relationships with sponsors, owners, and family.

The cascading effects of those thoughts might lead drivers to other action and cause them to change their driving commitments and their relationship with the world of Nascar excitement. These changes will in turn, put them on a new career path that is a welcome change but a change that might not be a delight to all fans who do not have a full understanding on why those changes needed to happen.

Some of these changes are due to a repositioning of priorities by a team owner or the change might occur because a driver needs to take a step back and rethink things long enough to begin establishing a new view on self-worth and on the view that commitment to self should take precedence and priority over family persuasion and other control factors. No changes that occur in Nascar should directly impact the drivers ability to keep the commitments that are expected by fans. Fans expect their favorite drivers to give their all to win the race they are in, no matter what team they are driving for that year.

Some changes in Nascar racing can keep that from happening though. In an instant, enthusiasts may have more action than they bargained for when they must see the gut wrenching tragedies unfold in front of them. These tragedies can change people in an instant because the action comes from race cars that inadvertently crash at inopportune moments into the various turns of any raceway. Other drivers are lost while they are enroute to the track.

Fare affected by the change and are committed to remembering those moments many times through the years with reverence. The commitment of fans to Nascar and their driver is what keeps changes from dampening the endearing spirit of the crowds. There is one change that will never occur. The fans will always be there on race day and every day after in some small way.

James Brown writes about Worldwide Sport Supply discounts, The Y Catalog coupon codes and MySupplementStore.net coupon codes

Article Source: Nascar Devotion Is Resilient When Change Occurs

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Marussia Virgin MVR-02 Launch pictures (7th of February)

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Marussia Virgin Racing unveiled their 2011 challenger at BBC Television Centre in London on 7th February 2011.

The Virgin MVR-02 is designed by Nick Wirth for the 2011 Formula One season. Like its predecessor, the Virgin VR-01, the MVR-02 is designed entirely with computational fluid dynamics (CFD), with Nick Wirth's Wirth Research design studio doubling their CFD capacity ahead of the 2011 season.

As compared to its predecessor, as well as many of the current F1 challengers , the new MVR-02 presents a lower nose design, while also featuring a tighter rear section. As far as the livery for the 2011 F1 season goes, Virgin's partnership with Marussia Motors reflects in a slightly different color scheme, with some white added to the front of the car's nose.The air intake on the front nose has been designed to resemble the one on Marussia's road car, the Marussia B2.

Technical specifications

Chassis carbon-fibre construction monocoque and nosebox
Suspension (front) carbon-fibre wishbones with titanium flexure joints, aluminium alloy uprights, Penske dampers
Suspension (rear) as front
Engine Cosworth CA2011 2,400 cc (146.5 cu in) 90° V8, limited to 18,000 RPM, naturally-aspirated, mid-mounted
Transmission Seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox with reverse gear, Aluminium construction, "seamless shift", electronically controlled hydraulic differential
Weight 640 kg (1,411 lb) (including driver)
Fuel BP
Tyres Pirelli P Zero

BBS Wheels (front and rear): 13"

Link

Virgin MVR-02 ? Exhaust Positioning (Scarbsf1's Blog)
"One detail of note on the car was the exhaust system. Already the buzz word at every launch, the exhaust mates the simpler diffuser to help produce downforce. In Virgins case they have extended the exhausts to blow over the diffuser. Nick Wirth did confirm a Renault style front exit was simulated, but the more conventional approach has been adopted on the launch car at least."

Marussia Virgin MVR-02 Launch pictures




Photos © Marussia Virgin Racing

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Joe Kelly Dave Kennedy Loris Kessel Bruce Kessler

Has Hamilton finally turned the corner?

Somehow you suspected that, after all his problems this year, there was going to be a happy ending for Lewis Hamilton somewhere along the line - and it came with a top-class, controlled drive to victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

As he celebrated on Sunday, the healing nature of the weekend's events was clear in the McLaren driver's face.

Suddenly all the bad things that have turned this into what Hamilton himself has called his worst season in Formula 1 took on a new perspective in the wake of his first win since the German Grand Prix back in July.

This was a Hamilton that has not been seen in 2011, calmly ticking off the laps at the front, resolute in the face of a challenge from Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, the sport's most relentless competitor, doing just enough to keep the Spaniard at arm's length without extending his car and tyres more than he needed to.

In that sense, it was very like many of the wins taken this season by Sebastian Vettel, whose domination has left Hamilton over-striving, increasingly frustrated in the face of the Red Bull's generally uncontainable speed.

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Brilliant as they were, Hamilton's two previous wins this season in China and Germany came about on weekends when Red Bull were slightly off-form in one way or another.

But Hamilton did not have to worry about Vettel in Abu Dhabi after a mysterious puncture pitched the German into a spin at the second corner of the race.

The flailing tyre did so much damage to the car as the world champion wrestled it back to the pits that Vettel was forced to retire at the end of the first lap.

Whatever the cause of the failure, it means it will remain a tantalising mystery as to whether Hamilton could have beaten Vettel had the Red Bull remained in the race.

The Englishman was certainly confident that he had a good chance. He had looked the form man all weekend, to the extent that it was something of a surprise that Vettel pipped him to pole position on Saturday. As much as it can be a surprise that a man who has taken all but four pole positions all season should get another one, anyway.

Hamilton drove superbly throughout the three days in the desert, showing none of the mental instability or driving misjudgements that have stymied him in recent races and led to so many of his well publicised contretemps with Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

Hamilton said after the race that he had felt much more positive this weekend than at recent races, and it certainly looked that way.

It was, as McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh pointed out, "a great recovery from where he's been in the last few months".

Certainly, it was a marked contrast from previous races, where his state of mind -
about which Hamilton was unusually open in Abu Dhabi - was clearly anything but peaceful.

He talked of his "problems", saying he had lost the "happy bubble" around him that he sees benefiting team-mate Jenson Button - and he wanted to get it back.

The end of his four-year relationship with pop singer Nicole Scherzinger last month has clearly affected him - he mentioned that he did not intend to stay single for long.

And after his victory on Sunday, Hamilton added that he wanted to get his father Anthony and brother Nicholas - both of whom were at his side at all the races until this season - back to provide him more support.

As well as the issues in his personal life, he also talked about a "negative vibe from everyone" that had surrounded him recently as he was faced with "negative questions" from the media about his troubles on the track. All this, he said, "affects your judgement".

Hamilton's willingness to discuss these problems in public is to be applauded - it gives an all-too-rare insight into the inner workings of one of world sport's biggest stars, and in Abu Dhabi at least he found the means to rise above it.

Hamilton is a truly great racing driver. But if Sir Jackie Stewart, for example, were to hear those remarks, he would be tearing his hair out.

Stewart - a three-time world champion and one of the greatest racing drivers in history - has long talked about the importance of removing emotion before climbing into a Formula 1 car. It is too easy, he says, for that emotion to cloud your judgement - and with that comes mistakes. In his era, that meant serious injury or worse.

Safety has improved and the risks are lower now, but nevertheless Hamilton seems this year to have been living proof of the truth of Stewart's remarks.

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Hamilton is an emotionally driven man, and some would argue that this is what allows him to access the stunning highs that none of his rivals are able to match. To take away the emotion, they would argue, would be to take away some of his gift, too. The one is not possible without the other.

But others would say that, whatever support mechanisms you create around you, life is unpredictable, and that whatever happens away from the sporting arena, it is a top-class athlete's job not to let those problems affect their performance.

In the euphoria of victory, Whitmarsh said of Hamilton: "There is no reason in my mind why he can't raise himself to another level now."

On the evidence of Sunday, that was exactly what Hamilton did this weekend in Abu Dhabi. Which suggests that if Hamilton can continue to keep his personal life out of the cockpit of his car, there is every reason to believe Whitmarsh's remarks are more substance than spin.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/11/somehow_you_suspected_that_aft.html

Place Richmond Airport Toyota Ricky Stenhouse Jr Citifinancial Ford Michael McDowell

Lewis Hamilton centre stage in F1's Indian adventure

The Indian Grand Prix was not the thrilling spectacle Formula 1 wanted it to be but if that amazing country is to succumb to the sport's advances after this inaugural race at least it won't be under false pretences.

The packed grandstands - unusual for a first race in a new territory for F1 - witnessed a grand prix that encapsulated in many ways what F1 2011 has all been about.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel strolled to a comfortable victory, taking only as much out of his car and tyres as he needed to. Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso - the other two stand-out drivers of the year - followed him home. And Lewis Hamilton found himself embroiled in yet another contretemps with his nemesis, Felipe Massa.

Hamilton, as has been well documented, has not had a great year. There have been some fantastic highs but by and large he has performed well below his superlative best.

On the way, he has been involved in some high-profile incidents, many of which have been his fault. But his collision with Massa in India on Sunday was not one of them.

As Hamilton's McLaren edged alongside the Brazilian's Ferrari into Turn Five on lap 24, it looked as if the Englishman was poised to pull off one of the great overtaking moves for which he is rightly famous. Instead, Massa turned in as if Hamilton was not there, and their races were ruined on the spot.

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Hamilton has had so many penalties from race officials this year that it was perhaps no surprise that up in the commentary box Martin Brundle said he thought this might lead to another one.

But it became clear from replays that this time it was not Hamilton's fault.

He was virtually completely alongside Massa as they neared the brief braking zone and he was still halfway alongside when they collided despite - as he said afterwards - trying to pull out of the move when he realised Massa was not going to give way.

Massa could be seen looking in his mirrors a number of times, and made it clear after the race that he knew the McLaren was there. But he felt he was in the right because - as he put it - he "could not see" Hamilton as he turned in. As the stewards decided, though, Hamilton was far enough alongside to have a go - and Massa should have given him more room.

The only question you can ask about Hamilton's manoeuvre was why he chose to go for the move there.

The spot he chose is not, as Brundle and fellow commentator David Coulthard pointed out, exactly an easy passing place. With his speed advantage, and knowing that - because of their history this year - Massa was unlikely to be accommodating, it would have been less risky to try the move at the end of the long straight.

For Hamilton, the collision was especially bad news. While he had struggled in the first stint of the race, he was at this stage looking like he might have a shot at a podium finish.

On his second set of tyres, he was demonstrating good speed and, had he managed to pass Massa, he may well have been able to catch Alonso, too. That would have given him third place, assuming he, like the Spaniard, had been able to leapfrog Mark Webber's Red Bull at the second stops.

As it was, it was another weekend to forget for Hamilton, who was downcast after the race.

His father, Anthony, confirmed on Sunday what many in F1 have long suspected - that Hamilton simply wants 2011 to end and to move on to next season.

Hamilton seems to think he has identified the personal issues that have clearly affected him this year. He talked on Saturday about removing all unnecessary distractions and focusing completely on his job. For his own sake - as well as the global audience of millions for whom his aggressive, attacking style is so attractive - one has to hope it works.

The Hamilton-Massa incident provided a controversial distraction in an otherwise largely uneventful race, one of the least interesting of a year that, despite Vettel's domination, has so far generally delivered a fine spectacle.

That was a shame for the one grand prix with which F1 really wanted to make an impact. Nevertheless, while it remains to be seen whether India takes to the sport, the initial signs were good.

There were teething problems in terms of the organisation and track but these were nothing compared with the terrible problems around the Commonwealth Games last year. So despite the tight deadlines, India has now proved that it is more than capable of preparing for and hosting a major international sporting event.

The track was cleverly situated close enough to Delhi to make it accessible. And although the ticket prices were always going to be out of reach of the average Indian, they were clearly affordable to enough people to make attending the race an attractive proposition.

The result was virtually full grandstands - according to official figures, 95,000 people packed into the Buddh International Circuit on Sunday.

That is already a massive step forward from other 'new' races such as those in China, Turkey and, more recently, South Korea. In all those places - and others - F1 appears to have made virtually no impression at all, to the point that many within the sport privately question why the races exist.

Senior figures in F1 were unanimous in their praise for the work done by the Indian organisers. But that is to be expected - they are all desperate for this race to succeed in the world's second most populous country with one of the fastest growing economies.

Perhaps more telling was that the drivers were also effusive - not only about the flowing, challenging layout of the track, which Hamilton said was already one of his favourites, but also for the experience they had had there on what, for most of them, was their first visit.

"There was a big crowd and it was a big success for India," said HRT driver Narain Karthikeyan, the country's first F1 driver. "Having a high-profile event like this gives the country a boost. We are passionate people, we are happy with what we have and it is fantastic to have F1 here."

India has its share of problems - that is well known. Equally, though, if you spend any time there, it is difficult not to fall under its complicated, captivating spell.

After a debut that was unanimously hailed as a success, F1 is hoping that India will come to feel the same way about its new arrival.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/10/hamilton_takes_centre_stage_in.html

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Red Bull set to dominate?

To some, the decision of Red Bull and Ferrari to pull out of the Formula 1 Teams' Association, the umbrella group that represents the teams' interests, could look innocuous enough. In reality it could have far-reaching consequences.

The F1 teams have put a brave public face on it, but behind the scenes there are serious concerns that it could lead to a period of Red Bull domination about which their rivals can do little.

The move by two of F1's most powerful teams was provoked by continuing distrust about whether all of the competitors were adhering to the terms of a document called the Resource Restriction Agreement.

The RRA sets out limits on the amount of staff, external spend and aerodynamic research teams can employ and covers work on the design of the car - with drivers' salaries, marketing and engines excluded.

Sebastian Vettel

World Champion Sebastian Vettel's (left) team Red Bull and Michael Schumacher's (right) former team Ferrari announced that they have quit the Formula One Teams Association (Fota). PHOTO: Getty

It is not a budget cap per se, but it does have the effect of keeping costs under control, to the point that the biggest budgets have dropped from in the region of £300m in 2008 to an estimated £150-200m in 2011.

To cite just one example, the RRA limits the amount of hours a team can dedicate to wind-tunnel testing - a key way of honing an F1 car's aerodynamics, the single biggest performance differentiator.

And the more wind-tunnel hours you do, the less simulation of aerodynamics on a computer is allowed (and vice versa).

Because there is only so much of this work that a team can do, there is only so much money they can spend.

The problem that has arisen is that some of the teams - led by Ferrari and Mercedes - believe Red Bull have been exceeding these limits since 2010, the first of their two consecutive title-winning years.

Red Bull insist they have always operated within the RRA - and they counter their rivals' accusations by pointing out that it is easier for an F1 team allied to a car company (as Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren all are) to hide extra work than it is for one that operates in isolation.

A year's worth of talks to try to reach a compromise agreement with which everyone is happy have come to nothing, leading to a situation where Ferrari and Red Bull have run out of patience. They signalled their intention to quit Fota late on Friday - although they have to give two months' notice.

Ferrari's statement was long and detailed, talking about their reluctance at a "difficult decision", their ongoing commitment to cost-reduction and other changes in F1, and emphasising their own central role in Fota since it was set up in 2008.

Red Bull's ran to only two sentences: "Red Bull Racing can confirm it has served notice to withdraw from Fota. The team will remain committed to finding a solution regarding cost saving in Formula 1."

This in itself has led to more suspicion.

It is clear, more than one insider has said, why Ferrari pulled out of Fota - if the organisation could not sort out an RRA, what was the point of it? - but Red Bull's reasoning was very different.

The implication being that the world champions did not like the RRA because they had no intention of adhering to it. Fota had become an inconvenience.

Red Bull were not available for comment.

This suspicion has been poisoning the atmosphere within F1 all year, despite attempts to reduce it.

As well as the endless meetings aimed at bringing the two warring sides together, there was an investigation in the summer by external consultants into the way the teams were detailing their use of resources.

But while Red Bull believe this effectively cleared them of wrongdoing, their accusers disagree. "The analysis showed more than one concern about what Red Bull were doing," one insider told me.

The next step, as laid out by the RRA, was for a full audit of the accounts of the team about which there were suspicions - if a certain number of teams wanted this to happen, the accused team had to agree.

But this point was never reached, and after further meetings at the season-closing Brazilian Grand Prix, Ferrari and Red Bull ran out of patience.

So what happens next? Is this the death knell for Fota? Will the departure of Ferrari and Red Bull lead to a domino effect of teams leaving the organisation?

Alternatively, will a rump stick together, recognising that there can still be strength in numbers, not least in the forthcoming negotiations with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone over a new Concorde Agreement, the document which binds the teams, the commercial rights holder and governing body the FIA together?

That may become clearer after a Fota meeting on Tuesday.

More importantly, does this mean the end for resource restrictions in F1 - and will the sport therefore revert to the 'arms race' spending that led to the RRA in the first place?

On the face of it, the answer to that is no. The RRA is still technically in force. It is a legally binding document which lasts until at least 2012, or perhaps even 2017 - depending on whom you believe, and which version of the document you are talking about.

In theory, if Red Bull's rivals feel that they are breaking the RRA, they can sue them. If that sounds unlikely, one insider I spoke to for this article raised it as a possibility.

Equally, though, Red Bull and Ferrari are due to meet the other members of F1's big four - McLaren and Mercedes - next week to discuss resource restriction and how to move forward on it.

That hardly sounds like the actions of a group of people on the verge of legal action.

In public, everyone in F1 says they want to avoid a return to unrestricted spending.

One of the main reasons for this is that (effectively) unrestricted money is no longer available to top F1 teams - the effects of the credit crunch have reached even this notoriously expensive sport's rarefied climes.

Many of the smaller teams are living hand-to-mouth to a degree, with only the top four existing in relative comfort.

But even they have limitations on what they can spend.

McLaren are a private team who have to live within the budget they can raise from sponsorship and other commercial partnerships.

Mercedes, huge car company though it may be, has set clear limits on the amount of money its team can spend.

Even Ferrari, who 10 years ago could effectively spend what they wanted, now have to be careful with money.

But Red Bull are different, or so their rivals believe.

Team principal Christian Horner insists they have far from the biggest budget in F1 - he ranks them about third or fourth.

But his rivals raise their eyebrows at that, pointing out that Red Bull is worth billions and that the soft-drinks company is weathering the global economic downturn well by comparison with car companies and traditional corporate giants. In that sense, their rivals say, they really can spend what they want.

So whether founded on reality or not, and whether the accusation at its heart contains any truth, the fear at the heart of F1 is quite simple.

If Red Bull, despite the RRA, are prepared to spend what they want, as well as having the best designer in Adrian Newey and arguably the best driver in Sebastian Vettel, who can stop them dominating for years to come?

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/12/red_bull_set_to_dominate.html

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