After failing to find a suitable buyer for the F1 team it acquired just four years ago, BMW has sold the team back to its founder, Peter Sauber.  As much as we love to drive a 3-series, BMW’s departure from F1 has left a sour taste in our mouth.  Very un-Munich, to say the least.

Earlier in this decade, BMW partnered with Williams and came up with one of the strongest engines in F1.  Suffice to say, the chassis from Grove just wasn’t quick enough.  Despite having a top-flight lump, BMW did not win a championship and had to settle for race victories and a pair of second-place finishes in the constructor’s standings.

Frank Williams refused to cede control of the team to BMW, and the couple divorced in 2005.  BMW promptly acquired Sauber, at the time a very good second-tier F1 team run (uniquely) from Switzerland.  Peter Sauber is a sober, cigar-chomping Swiss with a racer’s heart.  This is the guy who put a very young Michael Schumacher in a Mercedes sports car for Le Mans.  But, being Swiss and therefore efficient, Sauber read the writing on the wall.  A sale to BMW gave Sauber a nice retirement, full of raclette and Cuban stogies.

Even though BMW started with small expectations, the team never experienced the kind of success it hoped for.  A three-year plan was developed, from newbie to world champion. In the event, things did not go as planned.  Driver selection was spotty–Nick Heidfeld is a capable driver but he will never be a world champion.  The choice of Robert Kubica was inspired.  Kubica is one of the grittiest drivers on the grid and is unafraid of anything (witness his huge shunt at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2007).  The cars were immaculate, the presentation complete.  But, in light of its resources, the team underperformed.

Wins finally came, but the board grew impatient. In 2008, development was halted in order to begin work on the 2009 challenger.  This irritated Kubica who felt (rightly) that BMW was giving up on his shot at the championship.  Perhaps BMW grew frustrated with the endless political wars between the FIA (read: Max Mosley) and FOTA (read: manufacturers).  Mosley’s personal sex scandal did not help matters.  BMW also felt the FIA was “dumbing down” F1 in the interests of cost-saving.  This was inconsistent with BMW’s reason for entering the sport in the first place.

Suddenly, in July 2009, BWM announced its departure.  The stated rationale seemed paper thin: the company was to focus on its “green” credentials and F1 did not aid in that effort.  Many in the paddock thought this smacked of bullshit, and BMW was called out.

We viewed BMW’s departure as the actions of a company smarting over its lack of instant success. Perhaps team principal Dr. Mario Thiessen had misled the board into thinking that race wins would be more frequent by this point.  Perhaps the economy, politics, and various F1 scandals led BWM to conclude that F1 no longer delivered the necessary return on investment.

Whatever the reason, after great fanfare in 2005, BMW quit F1 in 2009.  Peter Sauber tried to buy back his team, but the terms were onerous and he backed away.  A reported sale to the Qadbak investment group was touted, yet it quickly evaporated.  When allegations of past chicanery emerged about Qadbak’s managment, many wondered how BWM had missed the mark so badly.  The sale of the team seemed bungled and chaotic, compared with Honda’s more orderly depature from the sport.

Peter Sauber taking control of his old team is a win-win for F1 and the team.  The factory and race team will continue on, albeit slightly smaller.  Racing will still continue in Switzerland, which (for some odd reason) we like.  BMW’s investment in infrastructure is certain to aid the team down the road.  Peter Sauber could not have done this on his own.

The irony is that BWM, like Honda, could find itself having withdrawn from F1 just as its investment begins to bear fruit.

IMAGEM: BMW/Divulgação (NICK lidera Robert no GP da Alemanha em 2009)

Estará lá, para sempre, nos registros históricos da Formula 1, que o polonês Robert Kubica foi o primeiro e único piloto a ter vencido um Grande Prêmio de Formula 1 sob a marca BMW.

Ok, isso é fato. Mas olhando mais de perto o desempenho de Robert ao lado de seu companheiro de equipe, o veteraníssimo Nick Heidfeld, o grande feito de Robert perde um pouquinho do seu lustre.

Eu sequer me dei ao trabalho de levantar estatísticas, na verdade, foi a própria BMW quem fez o bom trabalho para esse blogueiro. O site da equipe mostra AQUI (clique!) que em 57 corridas juntos dividindo a BMW, os dois pilotos travaram uma equilibrada luta com a vantagem pendendo para Kubica nos detalhes.

Na última prova que disputaram juntos os dois pilotos estavam empatados no placar da classificação em 28  X  28, e só mesmo em Au Dhabi é que Robert levou a melhor.

Em pódios: Rubica 7  X  6 a seu favor.

No quesito voltas mais rápidas, onde supostamente Kubica deveria demolir o velho alemão, a diferença ficou também em um ponto, 29  X  28.

Mas é nos pontos que Nick rouba a glória de Kubica, com um placar consistente de 150 a 137 a seu favor.

Eu sei que “Kubitza” é amado por Galvão Bueno — que acaba levando consigo a opinião de “nosso público” junto — mas confesso que nesse duelo o dilema da Tostines ficou no ar: será Nick Heidfeld melhor do que se imagina ou Robert não tão bom quanto se prega por aí?

Quatro hipóteses para a equipa alemã

O processo de ’selecção’ do segundo piloto da equipa na ‘nova’ Mercedes Grand Prix vai continuar a dar que falar durante mais algum tempo. É certo que Kimi Raikkonen continua a ser forte possibilidade para a equipa alemã, só que não vai ser fácil convencê-lo, pois o pré-contrato que o finlandês tem (ler notícia relacionada, ver link abaixo) permite-lhe disputar ralis, como ele queria e voltar à F1 em 2011, com um bom carro e a auferir bem mais do que a Mercedes lhe quererá pagar este ano.

Mas as hipóteses da Mercedes não se resumem, obviamente a Kimi Raikkonen. A verdade é que com a saída de Button, a Mercedes precisa de um piloto ganhador para se juntar a Nico Rosberg, e neste contexto, para além do finlandês, os ‘jokers’ mais prováveis no baralho são:

Nick Heidfled: Competente e experiente, mas longe do perfil ganhador que a Mercedes gostaria. Será sempre uma segunda escolha.

Robert Kubica: A Mercedes vai esperar pela decisão da Renault para tomar a sua. Se os franceses abandonarem a F1, Kubica fica livre para ingressar na equipa campeão do mundo

Michael Schumacher: Um regresso espectacular, mas que o alemão já desmentiu. No entanto já se viu que na F1 a regra é “Nunca digas nunca”. Pode vir a integrar a equipa, mas com funções de gestão.

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

We are contemplating to launch a global P1Mag format in English language in 2010. We would like to offer you a first peak on how our e-paper looks in its current German version. As a bonus we’re offering our latest silly season report in English about the background on Schumacher, Räikkönen and Kiubica regarding Mercedes GP.

You can download it for free from the official P1Mag homepage

Dear colleagues, please be so kind to quote P1Magazin when breaking the story about Nico Rosbergs likely team-mate to your readers. Thank you !

Updates on this story HERE

O futuro da Renault na Fórmula 1 continua a não estar perfeitamente definido. O presidente da aliança Renault-Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, é citado na revista Forbes India a questionar a importância da modalidade na estratégia actual da marca francesa.

Bastante empenhado no desenvolvimento de tecnologias de propulsão alternativas viáveis, Carlos Ghosn frisa ao longo da entrevista ao Forbes India que existe a necessidade da F1 dedicar maior atenção à questão ambiental, de forma a ir ao encontro dos desejos da marca.

“Existem desafios na ecologia da Fórmula 1 e como se conjuga a F1 com as preocupações ambientais. Será que se consegue atingir o nível de emissões zero através da tecnologia? Por isso, existem muitas questões relativamente à F1″, referiu Ghosn, expressando depois a sua dúvida quanto à validade da categoria na prossecução destes objectivos.

“Não creio que a F1 vá ser importante para muita gente se não conseguir encontrar algumas respostas para este tipo de questões. No último ano, três construtores saíram da F1. Três num ano, o que quer dizer que há muita coisa que temos de resolver”, explicou, em resposta se a F1 é importante para a Renault.

Com o seu futuro na F1 ainda por conhecer, a Renault tem já Robert Kubica assegurado para 2010, ao mesmo tempo que os últimos rumores dão conta da possibilidade de Kamui Kobayashi se juntar à Renault.

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

Sebastian Vettel mostrou vontade de disputar ralis mas a Red Bull já o desincentivou.

De acordo com o jornal alemão ‘Bild-Zeitung’, Vettel tinha dito: “Para os pilotos de Fórmula 1, os ralis são uma moda.”. Kimi Raikkonen já correu na Finlândia, Robert Kubica ‘treinou’ em Itália e vai correr em França, e agora fala-se também no Heikki Kovalainen. Contudo, Christian Horner, patrão da Red Bull já fez saber que por razões de segurança “Nem pensar.”

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

Despite the not so impressive first half of the season, it seems the Formula 1 world have recognised that the car was to blame and not Lewis Hamilton. This was evident in the second half of the season when improvements to his McLaren MP4-24 saw Hamilton back on top again, twice, in Hungary and Singapore, and competing for the top spot in most other races.

Hamilton thanks his car for victory in Hungary

Lewis Hamilton has been voted the number 1 Formula 1 driver of 2009 by not one, but two of the most prestigious publications in motorpsort.

Autosport
Arguably the number 1 motorsports magazine in the world has a 2009 Formula 1 season review issue out at the moment which rates the top 10 drivers of 2009. At number 1 is Lewis Hamilton. The 9 drivers below him were rated as follows:

2 – Jenson Button
3 – Sebastian Vettel
4 – Mark Weber
5 – Robert Kubica
6 – Fernando Alonso
7 – Felipe Massa
8 – Kimi Raikkonen
9 – Rubens Barrichello
10 – Nico Rosberg

Very interesting top ten indeed – I’ll be picking up my copy tomorrow to see what justification there is for Barrichello being in only 9th place. Sure he didn’t do as well as team mate Button but he did his part to ensure Brawn GP won the constructors championship and towards the end of the season he was a better driver than Button himself. Also, Kubica in 5th – was that based on Brazil alone?

You can flick through a tiny version od the current issue over at Autosport.com

GP Week
If you didn’t know already, GP Week is a free, yes FREE, online publication with excellent written content and superb photos. They have rated the top 5 Formula 1 drivers of 2009, and like Autosport have Lewis Hamilton taking the number 1 spot. The other 5 are as follows:

2 – Sebastian Vettel
3 – Jenson Button
4 – Mark Weber / Rubens Barrichello
5 – Sebastian Buemi

The first thing you’ll notice is the inclusion of 2 drivers at #4 – there’s your top 5 there guys, but I will let you off as the extra driver is Buemi who performed very well considering his absolute dog of a car. Interesting to see they rate Rubens Barrichello a lot higher than Autosport, and rightly so in my mind.

So, anyone agree or disagree with the two sets of rankings?

Sebastian Vettel pode ter perdido o título Mundial para Jenson Button, mas para os patrões das equipas de Fórmula 1, foi o melhor piloto, e como uma boa vantagem sobre o Campeão verdadeiro.

No balanço do ano publicado esta semana pela revista inglesa Autosport, e com votações similares às do Mundial de F1, o resultado foi o que pode ver na lista abaixo. Lewis Hamilton ficou no ‘pódio’ e Fernando Alonso foi quarto, apesar da má época da Renault. Veja a lista completa:

[Fonte: autosport.aeiou.pt]

Robert Kubica vai participar do Rallye du Var, última etapa do Campeonato Francês de Rali, com um Renault Clio Sport R3

Robert Kubica confirmou presença no Rallye du Var, última etapa do Campeonato Francês de Rali, que acontece no próximo final de semana. O polonês vai estar ao volante de um Renault Clio Sport R3 duas semanas após participar do Rali Taormina-Messina, na Itália prova que acabou abandoando depois de bater e destruir a frente do carro.

O novo piloto da Renault não escondeu a satisfação por disputar novamente uma prova de rali. “É uma categoria muito exigente e espetacular, e eu pensava em participar de um rali há um bom tempo. Depois de me juntar com a equipe Renault, tive a oportunidade perfeita para tentar fazer isso”, declarou Kubica.

“As estradas no sul da França são desafiadoras. Eu vou tentar me divertir tanto quanto eu puder ao volante Clio Sport R3 da equipe”, encerrou Kubica.

[Fonte: esporte.ig.com.br]

Just two weeks after his first experience in a Clio Renault Sport R3 on the roads of the Rally Taormina-Messina in Sicily, Robert Kubica will take part in the Rallye du Var, the final round of the French Championship and the Clio R3 West European Trophy.

“I’m interested in all categories of motorsport and I particularly like rally,” confirmed Robert Kubica. “It’s a very demanding and spectacular category and I have been thinking about participating in a rally for quite a while so joining the Renault F1 Team has created the perfect opportunity to try this out.”

“I will approach the event cautiously, without any particular objective,” continued Robert. “The roads in the south of France are as nice as they are challenging and I will try to enjoy it as much as I can behind the wheel of the Clio Renault Sport R3 Maxi of Team Chazel.”

Jean-François Caubet, Managing Director for Renault F1 Team, commented: “As the team continues with its preparations for the start of the 2010 Formula One season, we look forward to seeing Robert taking part in the rally behind the wheel of the Clio Renault Sport R3. Rally is a category which promotes interaction between drivers and spectators and I’m sure Robert will have many fans supporting him on the stages.”

Winner of the 2005 World Series Formula Renault 3.5, Robert Kubica will also be cheered on by his most recent successor as 2009 winner, Bertrand Baguette from Belgium, will be at the Rallye du Var to support the Polish driver.

Have your say and share your views in the comments  – get writing now…

Reference Source: renaultf1.com

Ex-piloto de testes da Renault, o francês Franck Montagny está de olho na vaga ao lado de Robert Kubica em 2010. Ele assume que existem chances, apesar de serem pequenas.

“Existe uma chance real e discutimos isso várias vezes. Não espero me encontrar na lista e estou me concentrando no meu programa de Le Mans, mas surpresas podem acontecer”, disse à Radio Canada.

O francês garantiu também estar torcendo para que a Renault continue na Fórmula 1, independente da presença dele no cockpit.

“Acredito que não estava em uma situação muito boa com o Flavio Briatore, mas esta é uma equipe que trabalhei e ajudei a ganhar um campeonato. Seria triste ver a equipe desaparecer”, comentou Montagny.

(Fonte: esportes.terra.com.br)

As Renault is still considering its future in Formula One, Timo Glock is now in the picture with Manor. The German, who was almost certain to become Robert Kubica’s team mate at Renault, is on top of the list of the new F1 team according to ‘Auto Motor und Sport’.

Hans Bernd Kamps, manager of Glock, said to the magazine: “We are still in serious negotiations with three teams and Manor is one of them. We are approaching the finish and expect a decision at the beginning of next week.”

Reference: f1technical.net

As reported by BBC F1, Jenson Button visited McLaren headquarters this week, and sent the rumour mill reeling once again. There was talk a couple of weeks ago of Jenson Button joining Lewis Hamilton at McLaren but this was quickly dismissed by Brawn GP who said he was all but signed with them for the 2010 season.

Jenson Button still hasn’t signed with Brawn GP, with many citing money as the reason why. It could also be that Jenson Button doesn’t have faith in the Brawn GP car which didn’t have the same edge at the end of the 2009 season as it did for the first 6 races. Seeing how much the McLaren MP4-24 improved over the second half of the season and how much money and knowledge the team will pump into the McLaren MP4-25, there is a good chance that Jenson Button sees McLaren as the team to give him a championship winning car next year, more so than Brawn GP.

Rivals in Brazil in 2009 – team mates at McLaren in 2010?

Kimi Raikkonen has been the man linked with that second seat McLaren for weeks, even months, but now Jenson Button is possibly back in the picture, could the ice cool Finn by third choice for only 2 places? Having an all British line-up, back to back championship winning Brits at that, seems on the surface to be a dream scenario for McLaren. For a team that have become more of a brand than possibly even Ferrari, at least in Formula 1, this would get them unprecedented publicity. They would also have 2 drivers who interact well with the general public, something Kimi Raikkonen has never been keen to be involved in.

There remains one important question – could Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton co-exist in the same team? Many believe Lewis Hamilton has been the number one driver within McLaren ever since his debut season, even when his ream mate at the time was the previous season’s champion Fernando Alonso. Would we see both drivers given the same attention and chances as each other, as is the ruling of the FIA, officially anyway.

This could of course all just be games by Jenson Button to get the Brawn GP he wants and believes he rightfully deserves. If there is even the slightest chance that Jenson Button could be offered a seat at McLaren for 2010, that could be an offer far to sweet to resist.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Jenson Button, and last year did little to change that, his drive in Abu Dhabi being a lone bright spot. Do I want to see him at McLaren? I think it would make things interesting and as long as the car is 100% I think he’d do very well. However, that’s where the problem with Jenson Button lies. Unlike Lewis Hamilton who fights tooth and nail no matter how bad his car is, Jenson Button seems to fall to pieces driving a car he’s not 100% satisfied with.

Maybe we are all reading more into this than is actually there, after all Kimi Raikkonen has visited the McLaren headquarters and more recently his managers have too.

At this point I’m nor sure who I’d prefer to see partnering Lewis Hamilton in 2010, neither Button nor Raikkonen excite me a great deal. I’d much prefer to someone like Robert Kubica join McLaren, someone who’s hungry, talented and willing to drive his heart out for the team.

2009 Formula Renault 3.5 series champion Bertrand Baguette will test for Renault in Jerez next month – his first time in an F1 car. The Belgian driver will take to the wheel on December 1st.

Baguette said:

“This will be a great first for me. It’s all my childhood dreams come true and, at the same time, it’s every racing driver’s ultimate goal.

“It’s thanks to Renault that I was able to get into single-seater racing, by winning a programme set up by Renault in Belgium to discover up-and-coming young talent from karting.

“Since then, I’ve driven every Renault single-seater, from Formula Renault 1.6 to Formula Renault 3.5 via Formula Renault 2.0. Driving the Renault F1 R29 kind of completes the set as far as I’m concerned! The first few laps in Formula 1 must be really unbelievable, with a lighter, more powerful car that has just phenomenal cornering speeds.

“I’ll have everything to learn, not just the car itself, but also a new environment, lots of new parameters, a different way of working. The only thing I will be familiar with will be the Jerez circuit!”

“The most important thing for me is not really driving the fastest possible lap,” he added. “The aim of this day will be to work hard with the team and to carry out the test programme that Renault F1 Team is going to define seriously and professionally.

“Rather than my outright speed, it will be my ability to analyse the car’s handling and my communication with the members of the team that will be gauged. I can’t wait.

“I’m going to have to take things one step at a time and be cautious. It’s a terrific opportunity to be able to take part in testing with a team as prestigious as the Renault F1 Team.”

Renault have already signed one driver for the 2010 season – Robert Kubica, however more recently the rumours have circulated as to whether the Enstone based team will stay in Formula 1 for next season.

This is the ultimate guide to where drivers are going in Formula 1 for 2010. The guide is split between current season (2009) teams, and new 2010 teams. This page will be constantly updated.

2009 Teams and confirmed drivers

BMW Sauber

Retired from 2010 season

Brawn GP

1. Nico Rosberg
2. Unconfirmed
Rumoured: Michael Schumacher, Nick Heidfeld

Ferrari

1. Fernando Alonso
2. Felipe Massa

Force India

1. Unconfirmed
2. Unconfirmed
Rumoured: Adrian Sutil, Antonio Liuzzi

McLaren

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Jenson Button

Red Bull Racing

1. Mark Webber
2. Sebastian Vettel

Renault

1. Robert Kubica
2. Unconfirmed
Rumoured: Heikki Kovalainen, Romain Grosjean

Toro Rosso

1. Sebastien Buemi
2. Unconfirmed
Rumoured: Jaime Alguersuari

Toyota

Retired from 2010 season

Williams

1. Rubens Barrichello
2. Nico Hülkenberg

New teams for 2010 and confirmed drivers

Campos Meta

1. Bruno Senna
2. Unconfirmed
Rumoured: Pedro de la Rosa, Nelson Piquet Jr.

Lotus F1

1. Unconfirmed
2. Unconfirmed
Rumoured: Jarno Trulli, Kamui Kobayashi

Manor GP

1. Timo Glock
2. Unconfirmed

US F1

1. Jose Maria Lopez
2. Unconfirmed

2009 Drivers Currently Missing a Race Seat

• Kimi Raikkonen (ex Ferrari). Confirmed as leaving in 2010.
• Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren)
• Kazuki Nakajima (ex Williams)
• Nick Heidfeld (ex BMW Sauber)
• Giancarlo Fisichella (ex Force India & Ferrari)
• Jarno Trulli (ex Toyota)
• Kamui Kobayashi (ex Toyota)

On his official website Kimi Raikkonen said:

I am very motivated to win races and a championship again and will only remain in Formula One if I can race for a team that can give me a car to fight at the front. Let’s wait and see what happen.

Let’s look at this realistically, who are the teams set to compete in Formula 1 in 2010 that will be fighting for the Championship:

Red Bull
If it hadn’t been for Brawn GP’s fairytale start to the 2009 season then Red Bull would have beena good bet to win the Drivers Championship with Sebastian Vettel and probably the Constructors Championship with Mark Weber as his team mate. Vettel and Weber are two of just a handful of drivers that are confirmed for 2010. this means that although Red Bull could enter next season in Formula 1 as the favourites, there is no room for Kimi Raikkonen in 2010.

Brawn GP
They had a fantastic head start coming into the 2009 season and built up an unassailable lead in the first 6 races of the season thanks to the developments they made to the car while under the Honda badge and at the sacrifice to their 2008 season. While nobody expects to see such dominance in 2010, they will still be one of the teams fighting it out at the front of the grid.

While the 2 race seats at Brawn GP are still unconfirmed, we’re all just waiting for Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg to be confirmed. As much as the UK press like to try their hand at fantasy booking an all British driver team at McLaren, it isn’t going to be happening. What this means is no race seat for Kimi Raikkonen at Brawn GP in 2010.

Ferrari
While 2009 was quite a poor season, at least in terms of the previous successes of Ferrari, you wouldn’t bet against them coming back strongly in 2010 and they in fact started working on their 2010 car towards the end of the 2009 season.

Ferrari has been Kimi Raikkonen’s home for the past 3 seasons, and where he won the Drivers Championship in 2007 while finishing 3rd and 6th in 2008 and 2009 respectively. However, the least surprising move in Formula 1 saw Ferrari sign Fernando Alonso for the 2010 season, who along with the returning Felipe Massa makes up their Driving team for next season. Once again, no room for Raikkonen in 2010.

McLaren
Like Ferrari, McLaren had a bad start to 2009 but by the middle of the season they seemed to be catching up and by the end of he season Lewis Hamilton had scored more points than any other driver in the 2nd half of the season. Ironically it was Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari who had scored the second most points in that same period. Martin Whitmarsh has said that the McLaren will be faster in 2010 so we can expect the MP4-25 to be battling Red Bull, Brawn GP and Ferrari for the big points next season.

Hamilton and Raikkonen – competitors in 2007, team mates in 2010?

No disrespect to any of the other teams, but it would seem that if Kimi Raikkonen does indeed what to drive next season and be competitive, then McLaren is his only choice. It’s recently been said that Raikkonen could earn more by not driving next year than if he were to drive with McLaren. The figures being banded around are €17 million if he takes 2010 off and €15 million if he accepts the offer to drive for McLaren. In the world of McLaren the minimum €2 million pounds extra they’d need to offer Raikkonen to match his sabbatical earnings seems like a drop in the ocean, but then why should they offer him more?

It could be argued that if money is the only thing motivating Kimi Raikkonen is he really the right choice for the team and should McLaren look elsewhere to fill that second seat. I discussed the 2010 driver options here, and to be honest, even a money motivated Kimi Raikkonen could be McLaren’s best option for 2010 to get the most points possible. That is unless Renault do indeed quit Formula 1 in which case I’d get Robert Kubica into that second seat quicker than you can say ‘enjoy your ice cream Kimi’!

All will no doubt be revealed soon and I won’t be at all surprised to see Kimi Raikkonen announced as McLaren’s second river for 2010 – for how much is anyone’s guess.

IMAGEM: BMW/Divulgação (ROBERT: polonês assegura a amigo jornalista que está tranquilo quanto a futuro da Renault)

A boa nova para os fãs da Renault e de Robert Kubica (Galvão Bueno vai dormir tranquilo) não é 100% garantida, mas é promissora e foi pescada pela rabo de um artigo de Mikołaj Sokół, o Reginal Leme polonês. O jornalista, e amigo de Robert que o acompanha no paddock, assegura que, mesmo diante da decisão da Renault em adiar a decisão sobre o futuro da equipe na F1, o piloto polonês “dorme tranquilo.”

Há muita informação contraditória e incertezas sobre a equipe no momento. Para o L’Equipe, Fracois caubet, presidente da equipe, comentou que: “o orçamento está decidido e estamos inscritos para o campeonato de 2010. A temporada já começou. Carlos Ghosn nos pediu para voltar para um nível decente [de competitividade] e para isso é necessário fazer com que Enstone [sede da equipe] e Viry [fábrica de motores] se sustentarem. Eu acho que ser terceiro [no campeonato] é um objetivo razoável.”

Então, qual o objetivo de protelar a decisão sobre o futuro da equipe gerando especulações infindáveis nesse intervalo? Segundo Sokół, “retardar essa decisão tem como objetivo ganhar mais influência no atual jogo político entre FOTA e FIA, que não pode dar-se ao luxo de perder mais uma montadora na categoria. Espera-se que depois de semanas de espera e discussão nos bastidores a situação se acalme.”

A linha de pensamento de Sokót faz sentido. Como se fosse uma ação orquestrada entre membros da FOTA, a Ferrari divulgou ontem um de seus “inspirados” comunicados culpando “quem gerencia a FIA nos últimos anos pela debandada das montadoras.”

BBC

RTLGP

One

Kubica bez zespołu?

Zarząd koncernu Renault dyskutuje o przyszłości w Formule 1. Kontrakt z tym francuskim zespołem podpisał niedawno Robert Kubica.

Według BBC, w spotkaniu uczestniczą tymczasowi szefowie zespołu Formuły 1 Bob Bell i Jean-Francois Caubet, ale bez prawa udziału w dyskusji. Nikt z Renault nie zdradził na razie szczegółów rozmów.

Renault, które w latach 2005-06 zdobyło mistrzostwo świata za sprawą Fernando Alonso, podobnie jak inne koncerny motoryzacyjne zmaga się z kryzysem. Z powodów finansowych z Formuły 1 wycofał się dotychczasowy zespół Kubicy – BMW-Sauber oraz dwie japońskie firmy – w środę Toyota, a wcześniej Honda.

Po tym, jak Renault stracił kluczowego sponsora zespołu, holenderską grupę finansową ING, wzmogły się spekulacje na temat przyszłości teamu. Jednak jak do tej pory nie pojawiały się żadne oficjalne informacje o możliwości wycofania się z rywalizacji w F1.

- Musicie być cierpliwi. Decyzję o ewentualnym wycofaniu Renault podejmiemy do końca roku – powiedział Ghosn.

Wiadomość o rozmowach na temat wycofania Renault pojawiła się w mediach w środę wieczorem. W czwartek rano Jean-Francois Caubet uspokajał, że o rezygnacji francuskiego teamu z F1 nie może być mowy. Według najnowszych informacji, taka możliwość jednak istnieje. Jak i rozwiązanie umowy z Robertem Kubicą…

Renault have called an emergency meeting on Wednesday to decide whether the team will stay in F1 as a team, switch to engine suppliers, or leave the sport completely.

Renault had their least competitive F1 season  this year since 2001 and finished the 8^th best constructor in a season marred by the ‘crashgate’ scandal. Previously they have won 2 drivers and 2 constructors championships and have competed in 265 races since their debut in 1977.

It is thought that the emergency board meeting will be attended by Renault F1 bosses Bob Bell and Jean-Francois Caubet, but they will have no say in the debate about the team’s future.

If they were to leave they would follow Toyota out of F1 who announced their departure this morning and leave only one manufacturer team in F1 – Ferrari.

Renault have recently signed Robert Kubica to drive for the team in next year’s 2010 season as well as a new timing sponsor – TW Steel who they would let down if they left the sport.

Pole Robert Kubica is set for his competitive debut for new employer Renault for whom he will drive in the F1 championship next season as he is set to have a go at rallying in the French rally ‘Rallye du Var’ behind the wheel of a Renault Clio.

Kubica, a one time Formula 1 race winner is moving from BMW Sauber where he spent all of his previous F1 career to Renault for next season. He is set to follow fellow F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen who entered his home rally in Finland earlier this year and despite crashing out in the final stage on day two, he described it as ‘good fun.’

On the prospect of participating in the rally, Robert Kubica said:

“It’s [the entry on du Var] not 100 percent certain yet, but there are very big chances”

“It will be only for fun – I’m not interested in times. I already asked for a video of the stages. I know some roads in this region and I realize how difficult task it will be for me.”

* Team not officially confirmed for 2010, as discussions are ongoing to expand the grid to 14 teams. ‘BMW Sauber’ team name likely to change due to the team selling up.