Massa threatened with jail over team orders


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Brazil’s F1 fever may have overstepped the mark after a local prosecutor threatened Felipe Massa with a six-year jail term if he “defrauds” the sporting public by letting Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso past at Sunday’s grand prix. The story, reported by a local paper and picked up by the Daily Telegraph, is the latest of several anti-Massa reports to emerge from his home country since the team orders controversy at the German Grand Prix earlier this year. The Daily Telegraph's Tom Cary reckons that Massa simply isn't living up to his home crowd's high expectations.
“A public raised on a diet of Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna were simply appalled and saddened in equal measure by Massa’s apparent lack of ambition.”

Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/11/massa_threatened_with_jail_ove.php

Tom Bridger Tony Brise Chris Bristow Peter Broeker Tony Brooks

New F1 season could prove unpredictable

The Formula 1 teams arrived in Melbourne's Albert Park to be greeted by grey skies, intermittent rain and blustery wind. But not even the weather could dampen the palpable excitement and nervous tension.

The start of the new season is just a few hours away and everyone from world champions Red Bull to lowly HRT is desperate to find the answer to the question they have been asking all winter. Where will they be come Saturday and Sunday afternoons?

The F1 teams like to keep outsiders guessing before the first race by saying they don't know where they are in terms of competitiveness, but usually this is little more than kidology.

Such is their capacity to analyse data with massive super-computers that usually they have a very good idea of their position in relation to their rivals, despite the well-known difficulty of predicting form from pre-season testing.

But this year seems different; they genuinely don't seem to know - so the usual anticipation ahead of the first race of the season is magnified.

Lewis Hamilton said that judging by the data that mattered from winter testing he felt McLaren were "in the top three or four".

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso has also bigged up his team's chances for the 2012 season. Photo: Getty

Meanwhile, a senior engineer from one of the teams who will be contesting what is expected to be a congested midfield battle told me he was pretty sure Red Bull and McLaren were out front but he didn't know "whether we will be third or seventh".

Some people's anticipation is more nervous than others', though.

For teams such as Mercedes and Lotus, there is a genuine sense that they have done a good job and moved forward over the winter.

In fact there is a growing sense in the paddock that Mercedes may even be able to give McLaren and Red Bull a run for their money, something team principal Ross Brawn was quick to dismiss as "unlikely".

For others, the desire to discover the true pace of their car is tinged as much with trepidation as anticipation.

Ferrari have had what Fernando Alonso described here on Thursday as a "tough" winter, struggling with "quite a complex car in terms of set-up and understanding it".

Alonso was doing his best to talk up the team's chances, saying: "Maybe we didn't reach our targets but it doesn't mean that we are slower than the other cars. That we will not know until Saturday."

Others are keen to play down the importance of this first race of the season.

Vettel said that Australia this weekend and Malaysia next would do no more than demonstrate a "trend" for performance over the season.

And Brawn said he "preferred to look at the first four races and the range of circuits we have and see how that looks".

But the statistics belie that point of view.

Albert Park might be a unique street circuit, with a dusty, low-grip surface, and the teams may only just be beginning to work with their new cars. But actually it has proven to be a rather good arbiter of the season to come - five of the last six winners of the Australian Grand Prix have gone on to become world champion that year.

Other themes are also emerging this weekend that will have importance to one degree or another as the season develops.

F1 wouldn't be F1 without a good technical conspiracy and this year looks like being no different.

Already during pre-season testing there have been eyebrows raised at the way some teams are trying to exploit exhaust gases for aerodynamic effect.

This practice was supposed to have been ended by rule changes that have restricted the positioning and angle of the exhaust pipes and put much stricter limits on engine mapping - both an attempt to rid the sport of so-called exhaust-blown diffusers that became such important tools over the previous two seasons.

But this weekend another potential controversy has emerged over the rear wings on several cars, particularly the Mercedes, Red Bull and the Ferrari.

These new devices - that some believe to be on the fringes of legality - seem designed to exploit the DRS overtaking aid in ways not originally intended.

The DRS was designed as a tool to make overtaking less difficult - if a driver is within a one-second margin of a car he is trying to overtake, he can use the DRS in a specified zone on the track to give him a straight-line speed boost.

Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari, meanwhile, have what appear to be extra slots on the rear wing that can work in conjunction with the DRS to either increase straight-line speed even further, or allow the teams to run extra downforce with no drag penalty.

The most noticeable feature of the 2012 cars, though, remains the noses - and specifically the ugly 'platypus' step on all but the McLaren and Marussia.

This is a result of a rule that has lowered the nose tips of the cars to increase driver safety, but not lowered the top of the chassis.

The result is a grid full of ridiculous and ugly-looking cars, and very few are troubling to hide their frustration at the situation.

"It is unfortunate," Brawn said, "and the teams should look at themselves and blame themselves.

"[Governing body] the FIA tried to do what they could and a number of teams wouldn't agree to the changes because they said they wanted to carry over their chassis, which we all know is a load of nonsense because nobody has carried over their chassis.

"We've ended up with a very odd feature on the cars which is not very endearing and I'm sure will get fixed for 2013."

The noses, of course, will soon be forgotten if the season is close and competitive. And that will only begin to become clear as this weekend unfolds.


Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/03/new_f1_season_could_prove_unpr.html

Tony Brise Chris Bristow Peter Broeker Tony Brooks Alan Brown

36 Ford (my 1st chop) FINISHED PICS!!

I was inspired to build this after seeing several nice examples online. I love the curves of this coupe and I reckon they look good as taildraggers.

This is my 1st chop job. I spent a week trying to decide how/if I should do it. I bought a second kit in case I mess this up!

Body will be satin black and the fenders will be metallic red. I plan to install a Revell Parts Pak Caddy V8 with the six carbs.

I don't know where to buy Lancer hubcaps, but I reckon the Edsel hubcaps would look good on it.

I'll make some bullet rear lights to go on the stalks and I'm thinking about adding some chrome trim to the rear skirts.

First cut:

Second cut:

Pillars lined up:

Thanks for looking.

Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/1000553.aspx

Mario Andretti Michael Andretti Keith Andrews Elio de Angelis Marco Apicella

Gearing up for the new F1 season

Hello there? How's your winter been? I hope this blog finds you well, my friends, and that 2012 is being kind to you. It's certainly about to get kinder for us F1 fans as the season gets under way this weekend.

My winter flew by faster than Seb in qualifying as I juggled various TV commitments, along with the usual jobs such as visiting the dentist, watching Norwich City (amazing!) and doing a spot of gardening (thankfully my garden is tiny) - all things that between March and November there just isn't time for!

Thankfully, just a couple of weeks ago I managed to grab a week in the Maldives with my wife, and that break will be valuable as I jump onto a treadmill that will carry us to the end of 2012.

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For me it's the start of the F1 season, off to the European Football Championship, the British GP, two weeks at the Olympics and then the end of the F1 season followed by Sports Personality of the Year. So time to take a deep breath and dive on in as the stories develop, the drama unfolds and air miles continue to clock up.

As you know this weekend is the start of a new era of F1 coverage on the BBC, and the job for the team over the winter has been to best deal with the cards we've been dealt in terms of the broadcast rights.

Having sat through various production meetings, having exchanged emails, swapped ideas and planned how best to bring the season to life, I'm confident we will deliver a new-look season that you will enjoy.

It's been like the first day at school for some of the new faces to our team this weekend. Gary Anderson and I got the tram together to collect our accreditation when we arrived in Melbourne on Thursday morning and it was great fun being regaled by stories of F1 from the days when Gary was designing race winning cars.

He also had a few decent stories about being employed by Eddie Jordan but I think they're best left out off the blog - as entertaining as they were!

I'd also really like to welcome Ben Edwards to the fray. Ben is a great commentator who has raced cars himself and spent the last few years commentating on all forms of motor racing.

He's passionate, informative, hopefully likes a night out and a beer, and best of all he's as much a journalist as he is a fan. Good luck keeping David Coulthard in check Ben!

Talking of DC, we had our first dinner of the new season together last night as we both headed out for some Japanese food and a drop of sake here in buzzy, beautiful Melbourne.

Pastor Maldonado, Bruno Senna and Lewis Hamilton were all in there tucking into sushi and sashimi while working out whether to chat to each other or act cool and bag an early psychological advantage ahead of a year when the competition will be intense.

They mainly opted for the latter by the way. I'll post a blog later in the season about how the drivers live and work together while still being rivals - it's fascinating.

Meanwhile on radio we've got a whole new team - and it's a great line-up of commentator James Allen, pit-lane reporter Jennie Gow and co-commentator Jaime Alguersuari, who brings real insight having just stepped out of an F1 car himself.

So, what have I learned so far this week? Well I've been told that the two new drivers at Toro Rosso have made Mark Webber feel more motivated than ever.

I chatted to Jenson Button who (if it's possible) seems even more chilled out than he did in 2011.

I've also been to the other end of the paddock where Caterham say the decision to put Vitaly Petrov in the car instead of Jarno Trulli is the right move regarding both finances and the future - and I've heard plenty of speculation and gossip surrounding HRT and Marussia, who have not run at all in pre-season.

Anyway, it's amazing how quickly we all get back into the swing of F1. My 'no crisps' rule lasted all of 30 minutes, the first running order for Saturday's qualifying show has been written, and I've got a date with Chris Moyles on Radio 1.

We're delighted to be back, I'm really happy DC and EJ remain part of the team, and this weekend don't worry about setting your alarm.

We've got highlights of qualifying at 1pm on Saturday, and a full two-hour highlights show from 2pm on Sunday. We'll have all the important action, and plenty of driver interviews and race reaction.

Three years ago I started these blogs - there will be plenty more coming your way in our fourth season of coverage. But what you get is up to you - what do you want to see here during the season..?

Have a great weekend. We're back!

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/2012/03/gearing_up_for_the_new_f1_seas_1.html

Larry Crockett Tony Crook Art Cross Geoff Crossley Chuck Daigh

Hello

Just making the obligatory first post as the new guy. I've been hanging around here for a while, just watching the trends and checking out techniques. Since I just finished a model and wanted to post it, I decided now was as good a time as any to join.

 

Been building for as long as I can remember, maybe 20 years now. Being in the Army has taken it's toll on actually finishing projects. I think I've finished a total of maybe 2 or 3 in the last 5-6 years. I build pretty much everything, cars, military, planes and helos, but I can't say I've ever tried my hand at shipbuilding. I'm happy to be around, and hopefully you'll all get to see some finished work from me, as opposed to the hundreds I have in progress.

Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/1009750.aspx

Kurt Ahrens Jr Christijan Albers Michele Alboreto Jean Alesi Jaime Alguersuari

Webber ‘will threaten’ Vettel in 2012

Bernie Ecclestone has stated his belief that Mark Webber could be Sebastian Vettel’s biggest rival for the title this year. Check out our review of Red Bull in 2011! Webber failed to win a race last year of course, but Ecclestone is convinced that the Australian will improve, threatening his Red Bull team-mate along the [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/WvCtgq-iUMQ/webber-will-threaten-vettel-in-2012

David Brabham Gary Brabham Jack BrabhamÜ Bill Brack Ernesto Brambilla