The Official 2012 F1 Thread. Spoilers possible!

[g®eg]

Lotus appear in Korea with a 'coanda' exhaust\sidepod





Lotus coanda exhausts, Aero testing with sensors to map the exhaust flow



I wish this picture was bigger....

[g®eg]

translated from the Polish site Motorsport GP

Michael Schumacher of Mercedes AMG Petronas team was put to rebuke the Friday practice before the race for the Grand Prix of South Korea.
Seven-time world champion during the second practice session at the track Korea International Circuit has repeatedly blocked both drivers HRT F1 Team team, which broke Article 16.1 of Formula One Sporting Regulations.
Gray-haired race have decided to impose a reprimand Schumacher and do not draw any major conclusions from the above situation occurred.

[g®eg]

Red Bull seems to be dialed in so far...

F1 - Free 2: Red Bull set the pace in second practice at Korea

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber fastest in practice two


12 October 2012 - 08h45, by Andy Young The Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber have set the pace during second practice ahead of this weekend’s Korean Grand Prix, with Championship leader Fernando Alonso a close 3rd for Ferrari. Jenson Button followed the trio in 4th with Michael Schumacher 5th only +0.498 seconds off the pace.
Unlike the opening practice session earlier in the day, practice two saw drivers immediately attack the Korea International Circuit. Lewis Hamilton became the first driver to take to the track, followed closely by the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen. The Briton set the initial pace with a 01:41.851, before the Finn of Raikkonen rose to the top with a 01:41.368. The times at the top quickly began to tumble, with drivers deciding against completing installation laps and immediately setting flying laps.
Nico Rosberg and then Jenson Button momentarily went fastest, before the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher stormed to the top of the timing sheets with a 01:40.424. Mercedes power remained fastest as the session progressed, however it was the Force India of Paul di Resta who went fastest with a 01:40.331. Michael Schumacher returned to the top of the timing sheets shortly afterwards, before the reigning World Champion of Sebastian Vettel asserted his authority over proceedings with a 01:39.794.
The McLaren duo of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button then went fastest, before the Ferrari duo of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa did likewise, with the Brazilian driver setting a 01:39.687. Bruno Senna spun at turn 12 but was able to rejoin the circuit, with the Williams driver getting his first taste of the Korea International Circuit after making way for Valtteri Bottas in the opening practice session.
Jean-Eric Vergne became the first driver to opt for Pirelli’s super-soft tyre compound, as the Red Bull of Mark Webber shot to the top of the timing sheets with a 01:39.404. Sergio Perez joined the Toro Rosso of Vergne in opting for the super-soft compound, as the Marussia mechanics frantically worked on changing Charles Pic’s steering rack in the pits.
Sebastian Vettel returned to the top of the timing sheets as the session wore on, once again asserting his and Red Bull’s dominance with team-mate Mark Webber a close 2nd. Whilst HRT fixed a new rear-wing to Pedro de la Rosa’s car, Sergio Perez came to a halt at turn 11 on the track, with an actuator issue in relation to the engine on his Sauber. This momentarily saw a lull in the track action, as the marshals took their time to retrieve Perez’s stricken Sauber.
The Red Bull duo continued to assert their authority over proceedings throughout the session, as Mark Webber and then Sebastian Vettel went fastest with the latter setting a 01:38.832. The Red Bull’s remained fastest as the session drew to a close, with the majority of the field running race simulations in the latter half of the second practice session. Sergio Perez looked set to be returning to the track after his earlier issue with only 13 minutes remaining in the session, however the Mexican driver eventually failed to return to the track with mechanical issues still plaguing his Sauber.
As the session came to a conclusion, many drivers began out-braking themselves into turn 1 with the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa doing so in tremendous fashion. Whilst numerous drivers struggled to negotiate the opening corner, the astroturf lining the majority of the circuit began to once again rip up, particularly on the exit of turn 1.
However, as the checkered flag emerged it was the Red Bull duo who topped the timing sheets, once again demonstrating superlative one-lap pace. Championship leader Fernando Alonso followed the Milton Keynes-based outfit in 3rd position, with the top ten split by only one second. The teams and drivers now have only one practice session remaining to prepare for qualifying tomorrow afternoon, which will determine the grid for the race on Sunday.

[g®eg]

LINK

SPEED WIll Lose F1 After This Season And That’s Probably A Good Thing

Travis Okulski

Gearhead channel SPEED has been under a lot of scrutiny lately as people speculate that Fox will turn the all car channel into a general sports channel called Fox Sports One next year.
We now have more evidence that this may happen: F1 looks to be leaving after 17 years on the network.
The F1 partnership began on Speedvision in 1996, with the channel airing nearly every race live with extensive pre and post race coverage.
But now that Fox is turning the channel to all sports, it appears that F1 is going away. The AP has learned that F1 is now negotiating with NBC to carry the races for the 2013 season. It is unclear if it would be on the NBC Network or possibly another NBC property like the NBC Sports Network.
If it goes on NBC that's amazing. If, more realistically, it goes on NBC Sports, it could also be a good thing. F1 could be the marquee sport for the entire network, which already carries IndyCar and full coverage of the Tour de France, as opposed to an also-ran to NASCAR coverage.
Personally, I'm a huge fan of SPEED's F1 coverage, but interrupting coverage for other events, like NASCAR practice, and most recently, soccer, has been a bit vexing. The lack of a budget has also meant that there is one person on the ground at each race, instead of a full team of journalists.
It is unclear what will happen to the commentary team of David Hobbs, Steve Matchett, Bob Varsha, and Will Buxton at this point. Hopefully they can stick together and go to the new network.

[g®eg]

in other news....

Arrest warrant issued for Mallya

October 12 2012



Force India's billionaire team owner Vijay Mallya has had an arrest warrant issued against him by the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, according to reports in the Indian press and AFPnews agency.
The warrant, which is non-bailable, relates to bounced checks Mallya's Kingfisher airline issued to the operator of Hyderabad International Airport. The checks, for a reported $2 million, were meant to settle user fees at the airport.
"The cases were listed today for the airline to appear in the court," a spokesman for the complainant is quoted as saying by AFP. "Since they failed to appear before the magistrate, the court has ordered issuance of NBW (non-bailable warrants) against Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), Vijay Mallya and four other KFA officials."
The arrest warrant is the latest in a string of financial setbacks for Kingfisher, which is reported to have debts in the billions. The airline has failed to generate a profit since its launch in 2005. It has grounded its fleet for the past two weeks.
AFP added that Hyderabad police chief Anurag Sharma had not yet received the warrant.

[Codewheeney]

Originally Posted by g®eg

LINK

This might be good news, I've been disappointed with Speed's coverage (as are most).

Anyone watch NBC's coverage of Indy? Is it any good?

I do like their coverage of the TdF and other biking events.

[g®eg]

Originally Posted by Codewheeney

This might be good news, I've been disappointed with Speed's coverage (as are most).

Anyone watch NBC's coverage of Indy? Is it any good?

I do like their coverage of the TdF and other biking events.

I think their tour coverage is excellent, I don't watch Indy racing though, so I can't comment on that. I think Sid watches Indy, but he's likely still in a snit over last week's race....

Upside for me is my little cable company doesn't offer Speed in HD, but NBC &NBC Sports are.

[wannaklr]

Originally Posted by Codewheeney

This might be good news, I've been disappointed with Speed's coverage (as are most).

Anyone watch NBC's coverage of Indy? Is it any good?

I do like their coverage of the TdF and other biking events.

I guess I'm in the minority. I like the three guys doing the coverage of F1, and the feed they get from F1 is fine for this casual viewer. Varsha seems to know his stuff, Hobbs adds a drivers standpoint, and Matchett's enthusiasm and knowledge of the tech details is impressive.


I'm editing this to stress the CASUAL VIEWER part.

[Codewheeney]

Originally Posted by wannaklr

I guess I'm in the minority. I like the three guys doing the coverage of F1, and the feed they get from F1 is fine for this casual viewer. Varsha seems to know his stuff, Hobbs adds a drivers standpoint, and Matchett's enthusiasm and knowledge of the tech details is impressive.


I'm editing this to stress the CASUAL VIEWER part.

I don't mind the speed commentary so much (plus its fun to try to get as drunk as Hobbs sounds by the end of the race). The coverage I can find on Eurosport or BBC is just so much better, with much more pre and post race information, and Eddie Jordan's fabulous shirts.

Just occurred to me, if Speed goes sports, where will I watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

[RedRocket]

Originally Posted by Codewheeney

This might be good news, I've been disappointed with Speed's coverage (as are most).

Anyone watch NBC's coverage of Indy? Is it any good?

I do like their coverage of the TdF and other biking events.

I don't much care for their Motocross and super cross coverage. They wate too much time with fluff pieces.

[Ace100]

Originally Posted by Ace100

I'm currently in a hotel in Hanoi. During my trip through Vietnam, I've been able to find Star Sports so I was able to see F1 coverage while here. However, my hotel in Hanoi does not have Star Sports but has the most international collection of channels I've ever seen anywhere.

I have ABC (OZ), TV5 and France 24, TVE (Spain), YTN and KDS (Korea), Trace Sport, True Sports 1 & 4, VTV 1 thru 4 plus 9, Hanoi TV1.

How the hell am I going to see qualifying and the race this weekend? Every time I try to find a bar with the race when I'm traveling, it ends up being a stressful misadventure.

Help?

I'll answer my own question. The JJ Sports Bar at the Hanoi Hilton (no not THAT one) opened up for my wife and I to see Q3. We'll be back tomorrow at 1:00 pm for the race.

[g®eg]

Originally Posted by Ace100

I'll answer my own question. The JJ Sports Bar at the Hanoi Hilton (no not THAT one) opened up for my wife and I to see Q3. We'll be back tomorrow at 1:00 pm for the race.

we will need pictures of course!

[HoneyBunz]

.

[doyle]

Originally Posted by Codewheeney

I don't mind the speed commentary so much (plus its fun to try to get as drunk as Hobbs sounds by the end of the race). The coverage I can find on Eurosport or BBC is just so much better, with much more pre and post race information, and Eddie Jordan's fabulous shirts.

Just occurred to me, if Speed goes sports, where will I watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans?

Probably online only. I can't imagine NBC sports bothering to show any more than an hour or two tops of condensed, delayed coverage.

[Ace100]

Originally Posted by HoneyBunz

.

Some one lost their rug...