IndyCar team owner Michael Andretti has confirmed that his company Andretti Autosport are seriously considering branching out from IndyCar and setting up a team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Although IndyCar is extremely popular, NASCAR is America's premiere Motor Racing category.
Michael Andretti confirmed that they looked into setting up a team last year and for this year but they were unable to put the sponsors or engine deal in place. It would very interesting if it was to happen as Andretti would join fellow IndyCar team owners Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi who have managed to transfer their success in IndyCar to the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
It has emerged however that Dodge who are losing the Penske team to Ford next year are very keen to team up with Andretti Autosport in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Andretti has said that the scope to attract big sponsors in NASCAR is one of the reasons why he is looking to set up a team.
So here's an interesting scenerio, with Danica Patrick now racing in NASCAR full time could she leave JR Motorsport and join her old IndyCar boss in NASCAR? Danica arrival in NASCAR has proven to be a huge success for both parties and she enjoyed some great results during her five008 year stint with Michael Andretti's Anretti Green Racing and later Andretti Autosport Indy team. Their main success came at the 2008 Japan Indy 300 when Danica became the first female driver to win an open wheel race.
I believe that this would make huge commercial sense for both parties particularly for Andretti because Danica has experience of racing in NASCAR and who is driving a Dodge car. So we'll have to watch this space.
Friday, 29 June 2012
Thursday, 28 June 2012
London GrandPrix could be on the cards
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has announced plans for a London GrandPrix. The announcement comes on the back of confirmation last week that one of the bids for the Olympic stadium in London was from a company who are looking to stage the London GrandPrix at the the site. When asked about the bid Ecclestone said that he was not involved in the bid but that he would back the plan.
However to the Times newspaper is reporting that Bernie plans to run a GrandPrix on the street's of London. The reports says that Mr Ecclestone is looking to spend £35 million on the project.
On Thursday Santander, the title sponsor of the British GrandPrix are hosting an event in London to promote the idea of a London GrandPrix. The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver's Jenson Button will demonstrate McLaren F1 cars around the proposed circuit map.
The proposed circuit would start at Charing Cross and head down the Mall, turning right onto St James Street where there would be a chicane and then it would fly past the Ritz before heading down Picadilly then turning left onto Wellington Street and flying past Buckingham Palace with a chicane by the Wellington Barracks, heading down towards Birdcage Walk, heading past Big Ben and back to the star finish line at Charing Cross.
I think that it is a fantastic idea to host a full blown GrandPrix in London because previously the like's of Dublin and London have only ever had demonstration's and I think that it would be great to have a fully blown Formula One race on the street's of London.
I also think that it would be great for tourism in London. Formula One is no stranger to the street's of London as in the build up to the 2004 British GrandPrix Regent Street played host to a Formula One demonstration.
In 2009, following on from his horrific crash in Valencia RedBull's Mark Webber and his mechanics performed a pitstop demo i front of Big Ben so I think that it would be a MASSIVE success if a GrandPrix was held in the centre of London.
When asked about the project the mayor of London, Boris Johnson was positive about the event provided that noise impact and air quality issues were addressed. He also stated that he wanted to make sure that any race would be economically viable.
No date has been set for any prospective event so watch this space....
However to the Times newspaper is reporting that Bernie plans to run a GrandPrix on the street's of London. The reports says that Mr Ecclestone is looking to spend £35 million on the project.
On Thursday Santander, the title sponsor of the British GrandPrix are hosting an event in London to promote the idea of a London GrandPrix. The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver's Jenson Button will demonstrate McLaren F1 cars around the proposed circuit map.
The proposed circuit would start at Charing Cross and head down the Mall, turning right onto St James Street where there would be a chicane and then it would fly past the Ritz before heading down Picadilly then turning left onto Wellington Street and flying past Buckingham Palace with a chicane by the Wellington Barracks, heading down towards Birdcage Walk, heading past Big Ben and back to the star finish line at Charing Cross.
I think that it is a fantastic idea to host a full blown GrandPrix in London because previously the like's of Dublin and London have only ever had demonstration's and I think that it would be great to have a fully blown Formula One race on the street's of London.
I also think that it would be great for tourism in London. Formula One is no stranger to the street's of London as in the build up to the 2004 British GrandPrix Regent Street played host to a Formula One demonstration.
In 2009, following on from his horrific crash in Valencia RedBull's Mark Webber and his mechanics performed a pitstop demo i front of Big Ben so I think that it would be a MASSIVE success if a GrandPrix was held in the centre of London.
When asked about the project the mayor of London, Boris Johnson was positive about the event provided that noise impact and air quality issues were addressed. He also stated that he wanted to make sure that any race would be economically viable.
No date has been set for any prospective event so watch this space....
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
German banker sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison
The former German banker who was at the centre of a corruption trial in relation to the sale of Formula One shares has been sentenced to 8 and 1/2 years in prison. Gerhard Gribkowsky, who was the chief risk officer at German bank Bayern LB.
Gribkowsky, was involved in the sale of of the bank's shares in Formula One to CVC, the commercial right's holder. I believe it is going to be extremely interesting to see what happens with Bernie Ecclestone as following the trial the German prosecutor said that he believed that Bernie Ecclestone was more involved in the case instead of just being a witness in the case.
During the trial, Ecclestone gave evidence and admitted that he had made payments to Gribkowsky however he said that this was due to the fact that he (Ecclestone) claimed he made the payments because he was being blackmailed.
The news that Gribkowsky has been convicted and sentenced comes just over a week before the British GrandPrix at Silverstone where Bernie Ecclestone is more then likely going to be asked by the media about the case and what it means for his involvement in the sport.
I suspect that Mr Ecclestone will try and dodge the questions that will be asked. So we will just have to watch this space.
Gribkowsky, was involved in the sale of of the bank's shares in Formula One to CVC, the commercial right's holder. I believe it is going to be extremely interesting to see what happens with Bernie Ecclestone as following the trial the German prosecutor said that he believed that Bernie Ecclestone was more involved in the case instead of just being a witness in the case.
During the trial, Ecclestone gave evidence and admitted that he had made payments to Gribkowsky however he said that this was due to the fact that he (Ecclestone) claimed he made the payments because he was being blackmailed.
The news that Gribkowsky has been convicted and sentenced comes just over a week before the British GrandPrix at Silverstone where Bernie Ecclestone is more then likely going to be asked by the media about the case and what it means for his involvement in the sport.
I suspect that Mr Ecclestone will try and dodge the questions that will be asked. So we will just have to watch this space.
Sunday, 24 June 2012
Feature: 3 podium's in 8 race's for Kimi
So I have been doing this blog since January and so far I haven't done a feature. So as the European GrandPrix was on today I thought that I would take the opportunity to reflect on the performance so far of a certain Kimi Raikkonen who is back in the sport after two year's away from the sport.
I am a huge Kimi Raikkonen fan and was over the moon when Kimi announced his return with Lotus at the start of the year. And he has really hit the ground running. Both he and Romain Grosjean showed during the preseason testing period that the Lotus E20 was an extremely quick car.
So far this season Kimi has scored points in 7 out the 8 races we've had and has finished all races this season. he results have been very consistent, to date he has finished 7th, 5th, 14th, 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 8th and 2nd and where you compare that with Romain Grosjean who has finished DNF, DNF, 6th, 3rd, 4th, DNF, 2nd and DNF. However Romain has been fantastic in qualifying but has just been unfortunate in the races.
After eight races the team are third in the Constructor's championship on 126 points, just 9 points behind McLaren. Some sections of the media have questioned Lotus' decision to sign Kimi but in my opinion he has certainly answered his critics with three podiums in 8 races and he has achieved more podium's in eight races then Michael Schumacher did in the three year's since he came back
I am a huge Kimi Raikkonen fan and was over the moon when Kimi announced his return with Lotus at the start of the year. And he has really hit the ground running. Both he and Romain Grosjean showed during the preseason testing period that the Lotus E20 was an extremely quick car.
So far this season Kimi has scored points in 7 out the 8 races we've had and has finished all races this season. he results have been very consistent, to date he has finished 7th, 5th, 14th, 2nd, 3rd, 9th, 8th and 2nd and where you compare that with Romain Grosjean who has finished DNF, DNF, 6th, 3rd, 4th, DNF, 2nd and DNF. However Romain has been fantastic in qualifying but has just been unfortunate in the races.
After eight races the team are third in the Constructor's championship on 126 points, just 9 points behind McLaren. Some sections of the media have questioned Lotus' decision to sign Kimi but in my opinion he has certainly answered his critics with three podiums in 8 races and he has achieved more podium's in eight races then Michael Schumacher did in the three year's since he came back
EPIC European GrandPrix as Alonso becomes first repeat winner
Ferrari's
Fernando Alonso came through from 11th on the grid to win an EPIC European
GrandPrix in Valencia. Sebastian Vettel failed to finish the race. The German
started the race from pole position but his RedBull car stopped on track.
Meanwhile his teammate Mark Webber fared better as he started the race from
19th and finished in 4th just behind Michael Schumacher who took his first
podium since his return to F1 in 2010.
It
was a frustrating race for Romain Grosjean who was in second for a large part
of the race but failed to finish due to a failed alternator. Despite Ferrari's
win the Lotus team are still in third in the Constructors championship thanks
to Kimi Raikkonen’s 2nd place finish.
It
was an epic GrandPrix and who said that the European GrandPrix in Valencia was
a boring race. Lewis Hamilton had a terrible day as he failed to finish the
race following an incident with Williams Pastor Maldonado who went on to finish
in 10th place.
Up
until his retirement from the race Sebastian Vettel was dominating the race.
Meanwhile the Sahara Force India team had a great race as Nico Hulkenberg
managed his best result of the season as he finished in 5th place
just behind Mark Webber. His teammate Paul Di Resta continued his good form by
finishing the race in 7th place.
After
two race’s out of the points in Monaco and Canada McLaren’s Jenson Button
managed to bring his car home in 8th place to salvage 4 points for
the team in their battle with RedBull for the constructor’s championship.
It
was another good weekend for Sauber’s Sergio Perez following on from his third
place finish in Montreal the Mexican driver finished in 9th place
just ahead of the Williams of Bruno Senna.
Meanwhile
Kamui Kobayashi in the other Sauber was handed a 5 - place grid penalty for the
British GrandPrix following an incident with Felipe Massa.
Toro
Rosso’s Jean Eric Vergne was also handed a penalty for causing an avoidable
accident. He received a ten-place penalty for the British GrandPrix due to the
severity of the incident with Caterham’s Heikki Kovalainen. He was also fined
€25,000.
So as
the team’s head to Silverstone for round nine of the championship Fernando
Alonso tops the driver’s championship on 11 points, 20 points ahead of
RedBull’s Mark Webber in 2nd place. Meanwhile in the constructor’s championship RedBull have a
39-point lead over McLaren.
Despite
Fernando Alonso’s win at the weekend Ferrari are in 4th in the
constructor’s championship 4 points behind the Lotus – Renault team.
Saturday, 23 June 2012
Vettel on pole as Lotus fly
Sebastian Vettel will start tomorrow's European GrandPrix from pole position. The RedBull driver was 4 tenthes of a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Vettel's team-mate Mark Webber had a terrible session, the Aussie will start the race from 19th on the grid.
Meanwhile the two Lotus driver's had a fantastic session as Romain Grosjean will start 4th and Kimi Raikkonen will start from 5th place putting the team in a fantastic position to pick up a big haul of points. Ferrari had a terrible session as Alonso will start 11th while Felipe Massa will start 13th on the grid. with Michael Schumacher starting from 12th.
I think it is going to a be a fantastic race and we may very well see an eighth winner but I have a sneaking feeling that we may have our first repeat winner. Of course Fernando Alonso will make his way through the field and of course Mark Webber will also make his way through the field.
Meanwhile the two Lotus driver's had a fantastic session as Romain Grosjean will start 4th and Kimi Raikkonen will start from 5th place putting the team in a fantastic position to pick up a big haul of points. Ferrari had a terrible session as Alonso will start 11th while Felipe Massa will start 13th on the grid. with Michael Schumacher starting from 12th.
I think it is going to a be a fantastic race and we may very well see an eighth winner but I have a sneaking feeling that we may have our first repeat winner. Of course Fernando Alonso will make his way through the field and of course Mark Webber will also make his way through the field.
Friday, 22 June 2012
Maldonado fastest in opening practice as Jenson recovers
Williams Pastor Maldonado set the fastest time in opening practise for this weekend's European GrandPrix in Valencia. The Venezuelan completed 22 laps and set a fastest time of 1m 40.890. Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel was second with team-mate Mark Webber 3rd for RedBull who go into this weekend's race leading the Constructors championship. McLaren's Jenson Button began his fight back in impressive fashion with the 4th fastest time, The Brit has endured a difficult couple of races so we'll see what happens on Sunday.
Meanwhile Canadian GrandPrix winner Lewis Hamilton was in 8th place just ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean who finsihed the morning session in 10th and 11th place. It was a very productive first session for Force India's Paul Di Resta who set the 6th fastest time just ahead of Micheal Schumacher and behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.
So I think this weekend's GrandPrix is going to be another cracker and I think we are going to get an 8th winner from 8 racing. It would be one of a number of driver's Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, Romain Grosjean, Sergio Perez, Kamui Kobayashi, Paul Di Resta and Nico Hulkenborg all have cars that could potentially win a race. Ok so maybe we can take Force India out of the equation for the moment but both Sauber and Lotus have certainly shown that they have the pace to challenge for victories.
Whereas with Mercedes AMG have proven race winning pace as Nico Rosberg dominated the weekend taking pole and victory. So it will be interesting to see if Schumacher can win this weekend. His boss Ross Brawn reckons that Schu and the Lotus driver's will be competing for the win on Sunday so we'll just have to watch this space.
Meanwhile Canadian GrandPrix winner Lewis Hamilton was in 8th place just ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean who finsihed the morning session in 10th and 11th place. It was a very productive first session for Force India's Paul Di Resta who set the 6th fastest time just ahead of Micheal Schumacher and behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.
So I think this weekend's GrandPrix is going to be another cracker and I think we are going to get an 8th winner from 8 racing. It would be one of a number of driver's Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, Romain Grosjean, Sergio Perez, Kamui Kobayashi, Paul Di Resta and Nico Hulkenborg all have cars that could potentially win a race. Ok so maybe we can take Force India out of the equation for the moment but both Sauber and Lotus have certainly shown that they have the pace to challenge for victories.
Whereas with Mercedes AMG have proven race winning pace as Nico Rosberg dominated the weekend taking pole and victory. So it will be interesting to see if Schumacher can win this weekend. His boss Ross Brawn reckons that Schu and the Lotus driver's will be competing for the win on Sunday so we'll just have to watch this space.
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