Motors The Official bit-tech F1 2010 Thread - Post season washup

Pedro de la Rosa has left McLaren for a race seat at Sauber:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8467514.stm

Another slot on the grid is gone then, the remainders should be filled in the next couple of weeks...

 

That also terminates the short-lived rumors that Fisichella would score that Sauber seat. I still want to see Fisi in a race seat besides the red test seat.

 

But you can bet Ant won't be in one of those seats. Shame.

 

QFT. I'm rooting for Ant all the way.

Having said that I do quite like DlR - he didn't do too badly when he filled in for Montoya the other year either iirc.

 

Just what i was going to post he did quite well as the stand in back then. Id rather have Ant than some newbie ive never heard of.

 

I can't quite decide about Ant. Much as I'd like to see him back driving, I also don't want to lose his radio 5 commentary. If only there was some way he could do both. Mid-race in-car punditry?

 

w0000t! Tickets booked for a fun filled weekend of motorspot at Silverstone

 

Toro Rosso have retained Jaime Alguersuari and therefore have the same line-up as last year...how boring

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8475881.stm

 

Oh good. I wonder if they'll sack him by text message half way through the calendar and find someone else?

 

LOL, I think the fact that JA is still there shows how hard it is to find suitable drivers its just not as easy bringing in a newbie as it used to be. Im sure Torro Rosso could have gone for a better driver but there just werent any available.

 

The trouble is that the field is so close, a rookie like JA would've done really well 5 years ago, but all the teams have closed up so far with the new regs it makes him look hopeless.

I like the guy a lot - he seems like a very honest and down to earth kind of guy, I hope he gets a better seat in a couple of years too.

 

JA does seem like a decent enough bloke; hopefully he'll be even more competitive this year after having some pre-season testing.

In other news, apparently Valentino Rossi finished his 2-day test of a Ferrari F2008 in Catalunya with a best time of 1:21.9 - just 0.23 off the fastest lap in the 2008 race. That's a pretty decent time...ignoring the much colder conditions that let the engine develop noticeably more power of course

 

Catalunya is one of those circuits where power makes a pretty big difference too I reckon.

I don't think he'll be switching, he'll probably just keep having fun with Ferrari's generosity.

 

From the fact Massa had a good sesh, maybe it was just a clever way to get him some track time before he takes the new car out for a spin?

 

USF1 have a driver!

http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,18954,3213_5879660,00.html

Kerching! $$$$$$$$

 

Heidfeld joins Merc GP as a Test Driver, after not getting the second Saber seat.

Merc GP to Unveil new Livery later today in Stuttgart. Also excpected to confirm the "test driver" statements made by Nick's Manager.

 

First photo! Pretty lame quality but it looks fairly nice IMO.

http://twitpic.com/zomvv

Edit - better photos from Jake Humphrey's twitter:

 

Looking good. Nice mix of Merc-Silver and the Brawn GP lines, IMHO...

 

It's hard to tell how silver it is but the 3-colour design looks pretty clean; hopefully the professional shots will start appearing sometime soon.

No sign or mention of Heidfeld though.

 

I see it has more sponsorship on it now than the Brawn had all last season!

Not bad - need to see some better pics though. And a comparison to BGP01 to see the changes.

Where are they fitting the drop tanks?