F1RWRS 2017 - DE BOCK WDC JONES WCC -- Vote ROTY NOW!!!

[Aerond]

F1RWRS 2017 -- ROUND 8 -- NORTH US GRAND PRIX -- Road America

Weather: DRY all Weekend

PRE-QUALIFYING

1.Martin McFry (NRE) -- 1.43.595
2.Philippe Nicolas (Arrowtech) -- 1.44.008 (+0.413)
3.Daniel Melville (Kamaha) -- 1.44.084 (+0.489)
4.Hagane Shizuka (Kamaha) -- 1.44.215 (+0.620)
5.Hiroto Tojo (Mecha) -- 1.44.288 (+0.693)
6.Jesus Plaza (Mecha) -- 1.44.477 (+0.882)
7.Alessandro Lucarelli (PORE) -- 1.44.658 (+1.063)
8.Miko Fakkinen (Fusion) -- 1.44.727 (+1.132)
9.Daniel Martins (Sunshine) -- 1.44.884 (+1.289)
10.David Neuberg (PORE) -- 1.44.893 (+1.298)
11.Daniel Moreno (Gillet) -- 1.45.294 (+1.699)
12.Gregor Pascal (NRE) -- 1.45.303 (+1.708)
13.Shinobu Katayama (RLR) -- 1.45.345 (+1.750)
14.Shane Skeelenberg (RLR) -- 1.45.708 (+2.113)
15.Barii Mori (Sunshine) -- 1.45.860 (+2.265)
16.Geoff Donnelly (Fusion) -- 1.46.186 (+2.591)
17.Connor O Heagan (Boxtel) -- 1.46.186 (+2.910)
18.Eric Swerts (Gillet) -- 1.46.995 (+3.400)
19.Benoit Voeckler (Boxtel) -- 1.47.515 (+3.920)
20.Hansuke Shioya (Arrowtech) -- No time

QUALIFYING

1.Wouter Lamberigts (Dacia) -- 1.42.184
2.Alexey Buyvolov (Aeroracing) -- 1.42.477 (+0.293)
3.Ron Mignolet (Voeckler) -- 1.42.836 (+0.652)
4.Danny van Rijkens (Gauthier) -- 1.42.962 (+0.778)
5.Ben Fleet (Foxdale) -- 1.43.114 (+0.930)
6.Kay Lon (Aeroracing) -- 1.43.120 (+0.936)
7.Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- 1.43.155 (+0.971)
8.Dave Simpson (Dacia) -- 1.43.195 (+1.011)
9.Thomas de Bock (Voeckler) -- 1.43.356 (+1.172)
10.Martin McFry (NRE) -- 1.43.480 (+1.296)
11.Andrej Kremnicky (Revolution) -- 1.43.520 (+1.336)
12.Alberto Cara (HRT) -- 1.43.565 (+1.381)
13.Diego Alvarez Torrente (Jones) -- 1.43.602 (+1.418)
14.David Neuberg (PORE) -- 1.43.687 (+1.503)
15.Fredo Mestolio (MRT) -- 1.43.761 (+1.577)
16.Jesus Plaza (Mecha) -- 1.43.771 (+1.587)
17.Jean-Luc Schiller (MRT) -- 1.43.875 (+1.691)
18.Douglas Mann (Foxdale) -- 1.43.917 (+1.733)
19.Nicolas Steele (Autodynamics) -- 1.44.118 (+1.934)
20.Du Lei (Gauthier) -- 1.44.247 (+2.063)
21.Alessandro Lucarelli (PORE) -- 1.44.415 (+2.231)
22.Gregor Pascal (NRE) -- 1.44.694 (+2.510)
23.Marco Bizzarri (Revolution) -- 1.44.887 (+2.703)
24.Daniel Melrose (Autodynamics) -- 1.44.935 (+2.751)
25.Hiroto Tojo (Mecha) -- 1.45.016 (+2.832)
26.Hagane Shizuka (Kamaha) -- 1.45.135 (+2.951)
DNQ.Daniel Melville (Kamaha) -- 1.45.500 (+3.316)
DNQ.Carter Simpson (HRT) -- 1.45.541 (+3.357)

** HRT drops to Pre-Qualifying from Round 9

RACE

1.Mark Dagnall (Jones) -- 1h 27m 21.001
2.Thomas de Bock (Voeckler) -- +28.619
3.Alexey Buyvolov (Aeroracing) -- +45.610
4.Diego Alvarez Torrente (Jones) -- +1.30.814
5.Dave Simpson (Dacia) -- +1.38.980
6.David Neuberg (PORE) -- +1.41.299
7.Wouter Lamberigts (Dacia) -- +1 Lap
8.Jean-Luc Schiller (MRT) -- +1 Lap
9.Nicolas Steele (Autodynamics) -- +1 Lap
10.Alessandro Lucarelli (PORE) -- +1 Lap
11.Du Lei (Gauthier) -- +2 Laps
12.Danny van Rijkens (Gauthier) -- +2 Laps
13.Ben Fleet (Foxdale) -- +2 Laps
DNF.Martin McFry (NRE) -- Puncture
DNF.Daniel Melrose (Autodynamics) -- Oil Leak
DNF.Gregor Pascal (NRE) -- Engine
DNF.Hagane Shizuka (Kamaha) -- Engine
DNF.Hiroto Tojo (Mecha) -- Loose Wheel
DNF.Andrej Kremnicky (Revolution) -- Loose Wheel
DNF.Douglas Mann (Foxdale) -- Transmission
DNF.Alberto Cara (HRT) -- Accident
DNF.Fredo Mestolio (MRT) -- Puncture
DNF.Marco Bizzarri (Revolution) -- Water Leak
DNF.Ron Mignolet (Voeckler) -- Engine
DNF.Jesus Plaza (Mecha) -- Transmission
DNF.Kay Lon (Aeroracing) -- Transmission

FASTEST LAP: Mark Dagnall -- 1.43.007
DOTR: David Neuberg (PORE) -- Did everything alright to score PORE's first point of the season
ROTR: Ron Mignolet (Voeckler) -- Poor comeback weekend with an off track trip and car folding up a few laps later.

[DemocalypseNow]

Phoenix, you lazy bum, I asked for Agyemang-Badu to have the Aeroracing YDT spot along with Yamamura and you've said nothing for weeks! Confirm or deny already! Please!

[Phoenix]

Sorry, man, I've been busy! Agyemang-Badu can have the seat in the YDT. I want to confirm it.

[AndreaModa]

Thumbs up from Jones as Dagnall leads championship

Sammy Jones has declared that he is satisfied following the performance of lead driver Mark Dagnall at the recent F1RWRS race at Road America. The Jones driver sealed a comfortable victory which has seen the triple champion climb to the top of the drivers' championship for the first time this season.

"Both Mark and Diego drove great races today" Jones told reporters after the race.

"Ultimately we want to be leading both championships, and it's results like today's that really ensure that we are able to do so. I say it all the time, but really I just want consistent points finishes from both of my drivers, and what's great is that both are managing that quite comfortably. Yes, we dropped the ball at the last race, but we've bounced back very well. First and fourth overall is a decent result that puts more distance between ourselves and Voeckler and Aeroracing. Providing we can keep that up, come the end of the year, I'll be very happy indeed."

[SuperAguri]

Well that was my last race for the Sunshine team, I do wish them luck for the rest of the season. The Kamaha team had some engine issues so we did have a great qualifying session.

for the YDT test we are pleased to announce that we have AR2.0 North America championship leader Roger Ibe in one car, we are talking to other teams but we are looking at Ricardo Llosa, my namesake Jayleen Mori and Kyoko Katayama

[dr-baker]

Sadly, I still don't seem to be able to access the spreadsheet with the current budgets. Could somebody please tell me Foxdale's current post-Road America, either on this thread or by email? Thank you...

[Ataxia]

Sadly, I still don't seem to be able to access the spreadsheet with the current budgets. Could somebody please tell me Foxdale's current post-Road America, either on this thread or by email? Thank you...

Aerond's not updated for race eight, but it should come to 490 Cr.

[dr-baker]

Sadly, I still don't seem to be able to access the spreadsheet with the current budgets. Could somebody please tell me Foxdale's current post-Road America, either on this thread or by email? Thank you...

Aerond's not updated for race eight, but it should come to 490 Cr.

Thank you.

[Nuppiz]

Gregor Pascal gets the sack, NGP wants Mori results

BASF Nurminen Grand Prix have announced that Swiss pay driver Gregor Pascal has been released fom his contract due to poor performance, which has occasionally caused the team tomiss the prequalifying cut. His replacement is Barii Mori, who has reportedly gotten tired of Sunshine's underperformance and is looking for better results in the latter part of the season.

[Ataxia]

Aerond made me write this:

The F1RWRS Mid-Season Review - Part One

Oh-ooooh, we’re half-way there! 2017 has brought a number of surprises to the fore, and perhaps it’s time to determine who’s giving it a shot and who’s living on a prayer.

Jones-Ford – 9/10
Jones have picked up where they were from last season, although with a greater focus on the bigger results with five victories in the bag. Having opted for a brand-new chassis rather than updating their old unit, the British team haven’t quite enjoyed the near bullet-proof reliability of their 2016 but instead the car has simply been quick in race trim. Not to take anything away from Rhys Davies’ title last season, but more often than not the Australian drove steadily in order to maximise his chances of points every weekend as the front runners would often struggle to get their cars to the finish. The team often holds back on a Saturday, since the Ford engines are still down on power over the course of a flying lap, but the races are the time when the two cars come alive. The only real low point is the refuelling gaffe that the team managed at Phoenix, when Mark Dagnall ran out of fuel on the last lap and lost a slam-dunk win.

Mark Dagnall – 8/10
Dagnall’s recovered that winning form that makes him a threat every single weekend, but the start of the season was shaky at best for the British ace. Dagnall was quick at both Adelaide and Bathurst, but silly errors caused retirement at both Australian races; a collision with Pascal was the culprit in the first instance, but dropping it just before the Esses at the famous Mount Panorama venue was a real blot on his copybook. That said, Dagnall found his feet at Brands Hatch despite having his weekend almost ruined by a slowing Shinobu Katayama. He took his first win for Jones at Monza, and since has been a far more confident driver.

Diego Alvarez Torrente – 7/10
I don’t think anyone expected the Spanish driver to win a race this season, let alone two! Granted, both came after Alexey Buyvolov had retired, but to be in that position in a rookie season is commendable. Diego seems to fit the Jones mould; solid and dependable with a good level of pace is appreciated within the team. However, it still seems he’s holding back a little; he’s not shown that qualifying spark that he demonstrated in junior formulae, and his debut race in Adelaide was a bit of a nightmare after pretty much single-handedly getting through Jones’ front wing supplies in one weekend.

Aeroracing-Audi – 9/10
The Aeroracing Engineering team are having their first real title tilt; although they’ve been at the front for a few years now they’ve not been the team to beat at any point. In 2017, it seems like their time has finally come; they’ve unearthed a real gem in Alexey Buyvolov and the Russian’s brought speed and flair to their already accomplished chassis. The team is certainly flavour of the month in qualifying trim; Buyvolov has swapped Poles for poles as his heroics for the former Dofasco outfit have translated into a number of front row starts at his new team. The team have still struggled with reliability in comparison to the other front-running teams, but the team has the resource to deal with that.

Alexey Buyvolov – 9/10
Buyvolov is unquestionably 2017’s real breakout performer. Fine, the Russian’s had a few incidents, but he was brought in to be an understudy to Lon and has far exceeded the expectations put upon him. He is fantastically quick; he’s claimed six out of the eight pole positions on offer already this season and although he’s not managed to convert that into six wins reliability hasn’t exactly been on his side; Buyvolov has scampered into the distance a number of time before his car has cried enough. If he can keep going with that natural speed of his, then he’ll go far.

Kay Lon – 7/10
Lon has been known to be outspoken, brash, exuberant and also blindingly quick. Yet, the German has been a quiet man all season; rumours of his exit at the end of the year are widespread, possibly to greener pastures in the USA. However, perhaps his new attitude isn’t as much of a hinderance as some think; although Lon’s been happy to sit back and let rookie teammate Buyvolov claim the glory his results are still impressive, as well as consistent. He’s still a big asset to Aeroracing, and will be difficult to replace if he does leave.

Voeckler-Renault – 8/10
Despite the new management at the former Scuderia Alitalia team, things have carried on as normal. Choosing to retain their lineup from 2016 seemed like a good start to life as Voecker GPE, but with Spencer and Mignolet being shuffled around like a deck of cards the team have proven that they cannot accept failure. The signing of Thomas De Bock has proven to be inspired; the Belgian was disappointed at a stagnant Gillet team, and moving to Voeckler has given him the tools to potentially challenge for a title! The team are still front-runners, there’s no question about that, but they don’t seem to have two cars at the top on a regular basis this year.

Thomas De Bock – 9/10
Voeckler offered De Bock the chance to swap Gillet for pastures new, after the Belgian had been at his national team for a number of years without much to show for it; Gillet had slipped into pre-qualifying, so it was a real no-brainer. It’s a move that’s been vindicated; De Bock has become the de facto team leader with four podiums in his first five races with the team; like Jones, Voeckler underfuelled De Bock’s car at Phoenix and denied him five visits to the rostrum. The only thing left for the Belgian to do is to find a win from somewhere; whether the Voeckler package is good enough remains to be seen.

Ron Mignolet – 6/10
Mignolet’s driven for three teams already this season, although that’s not entirely his own fault. Swapped for de Bock, Mignolet found himself at Gillet; although it would usually be an honour to drive for your “national team”, the “Ecurie” setup is one that has declined over the last few seasons and both of Mignolet’s races ended in DNPQs before he set off to help Gauthier out. After a couple of impressive performances with the team, the Belgian came full circle to replace a benched Spencer at Voeckler.

Nathanael Spencer – 6/10
Spencer hasn’t exactly shone so far this season; if anything, the Brit’s been quite anonymous. Although he outscored Mignolet in the first three races, he’s not been able to hold a candle to De Bock and thus has made a few errors, probably out of frustration. It’s expected that Spencer will return to the Voeckler seat at some point later in the year, as Mignolet thinks about trading his racing boots for a pair of slippers. He doesn’t deserve to be benched, but Voeckler need two drivers at the front and Spencer hasn’t quite delivered on a consistent basis.

MRT-BMW – 7/10
Melrose Racing Team currently find themselves bouncing back from a 2016 where they were expected to challenge for two titles, only to find themselves laden with abject disappointment. The technical glitches are still there, but have been ironed out a lot more compared to last season and the team are more consistently in the hunt for points, despite having less pace compared to last season. However, the team are expected to bring a big upgrade out for the second half of the series; it will be interesting to see the effect this has. Thus far, the team have been solid if unspectacular, barring the 1-2 at Phoenix where they were handed 17 points on a plate.

Jean-Luc Schiller – 6/10
The Swiss driver showed his class last season as he managed to keep Mark Dagnall honest in a car that was essentially a hand grenade on wheels, but this season Schiller has been a lot quieter on track. He’s still produced some good performances, but Jean-Luc appears to be playing it safe so far as MRT look towards the second half of the year for a greater points haul. However, Schiller’s come a long way from being nothing but a source for an open chequebook.

Fredo Mestolio – 7/10
Having secured his maiden win at Jones last season, Mestolio once again came alive in America with a win at Phoenix despite it rather being given to him by default. However, the Italian has deserved some luck; several runs in the points have come to nothing after a litany of failures or issues with his MRT. He announced a move to Fusion for 2018, but Mestolio will still want to impress the MRT higher-ups as he looks to make the most of their much-touted upgrade package.

Dacia – 8/10
People were impressed with the Simpson team when they entered F1RWRS; the media had them down for occasional points in their first season. Unfortunately, two years of battling with pre-qualifying ensued. However, in 2017 the team have benefitted from increased support from Renault (hence the Dacia rebranding) and the return of Dave Simpson along with qualifying genius Wouter Lamberigts has helped the team have a breakout season so far. Having wrestled with DNPQs for years, they got out relatively easily this season and the team’s hard work was rewarded with a sensational 2-4 finish at Austria.

Dave Simpson – 7/10
Simpson has proved that there’s life in the old dog yet as he’s helped them to their best ever season already. The first few races were certainly good for a team mired at the bottom, but a podium at Austria brought tons of cheer around the world as they applauded an excellent race for the Simpson team. To prove this was no fluke, the team boss managed to snatch 5th place at Road America to put his own team above Autodynamics in the constructors’ standings. If he finally signs out of racing, he’ll have done so on a high.

Wouter Lamberigts – 6/10
The Belgian has continued his reputation as a Saturday specialist having been the only driver to hold a candle to Alexey Buyvolov on the qualifying timesheets. Lamberigts has claimed two pole positions and helped his team to a double points finish at Austria with a fine 4th place. That’s Lamberigts’ only reward thus far; by his own admission, he struggles in race trim and we’ve seen him slip down the order early on in the races as he gets flustered in direct confrontation. However, he IS improving and we won’t be surprised to see him add to his points tally.

Autodynamics-Gillet – 5/10
Last year’s heroes haven’t exactly become zeroes, but the team’s been struggling with finance this season as they lost Jean-Vincent Albertini for the first half of the season. Having negotiated a chassis swap deal with Simpson that saved them falling into debt, they’ve dropped back a touch with regards to performance. The team have slipped into pre-qualifying a few times, but the car is quick enough to pull free. Autodynamics haven’t kept their 2016 form going, but there are reasons to be hopeful.

Nicolas Steele – 6/10
The American driver has been the leading light thus far for Autodynamics this season; Steele took a brace of 3rd places in the first two Grands Prix, but has been denied further points through mechanical issues and bad luck. Admittedly, Steele was poor in the race at Brands Hatch, but he’s put in some assured, under-the-radar performances this season, despite the former Simpson chassis not being to his taste.

Daniel Melrose – 4/10
Melrose has been the go-to substitute in the latter portion of his career. After Albertini was given half-a-season’s ban for his part in some F2RWRS incidents, Melrose received a knock on the door from the Autodynamics higher ups, and accepted their offer to drive the #10 for the first eight races. Let’s not beat about the bush here, he’s been largely disappointing. The Aussie turned in a good performance at Brands Hatch, but a failure to qualify at Melbourne was embarrassing, and he’s not matched his team-mate for pace. It’s probably time he hung up his helmet for good.

ArrowTech-Gillet - 3/10
ArrowTech were the best of the rest in 2016, and the pairing of Nicolas and Bosevic brought a number of good results home en route to a fourth place finish in the Constructors’ Championship. Apart from a 2nd at Bathurst, 2017 has been nothing but a disappointment. The new car has fallen well short of the mark, and although Nicolas has managed some good results with it there are obvious issues which have ensured that the team momentarily dropped to pre-qualifying.

Phillippe Nicolas – 7/10
The Frenchman has taken his dog of a car and produced two fantastic results with it. A second place at Bathurst took the entire team by surprise, and a 6th at Monza again showed that Nicolas was able to punch above the car’s weight. However, he’s not had any more opportunities to shine, as ArrowTech managed to slip into pre-qualifying. Phillippe has been linked with a return to MRT, and boy, does he deserve a top car.

Hansuke Shioya – 2/10
The signing of the Japanese driver has done nothing but puzzle the F1 fraternity. He doesn’t bring any financial incentives, and despite taking a 2nd place for Gauthier last season it was something of a fluke result. Shioya has been poor all season, and although he’s occasionally managed to match Nicolas for pace in qualifying his team-mate has sailed ahead in the races. To be honest, with ArrowTech losing out in the development stakes they need someone who can bring money to the team, and Shioya is dead weight right now.

Holden - 5/10
Holden have had some pace, and have managed some good results. But they’re the nearly men every weekend; they take plenty of top 10 finishes, but don’t have that little bit extra to force their way into the points. Saturdays are their biggest issue here, and Mann and Cara often find themselves in the lower half of the time-sheets which nips their point-scoring aspirations in the bud. If they could address that, the team would have a much better time of mixing it up in the top six. The team has a difficult start to the second half though, having to deal with pre-qualifying after substitute Carter Simpson failed to qualify at Road America.

Douglas Mann – 5/10
Mann has been middling at best, which is probably why HRT have decided to dispense with him. The Manx driver has been largely outperformed by his rookie team-mate, although the tables were turned at Austria as Mann cruised to a 5th place finish. However, he’s failed to step it up from last season and with the Australian team looking to kickstart their development cycle they’ve opted for Michael Robertson for the second half of the season. Mann has returned to Foxdale, replacing sister Pippa in the cockpit of the #25.

Alberto Cara – 6/10
The Tropican finally found his way into an F1RWRS seat on a provisional basis. Taking 4th in his first race, Cara impressed the Holden camp enough to keep his seat for the rest of the season. Although he’s proved to be a much quicker driver than Mann, Cara’s still struggled a little in his rookie season as he gets to grips with the HRT machinery. However, he’s shown a lot of promise and will be the man to help Holden start getting some points together again, if he can just find himself a run of form and consistency.

Plus One-Ford – 5/10
The-team-formerly-known-as-Kingfisher-or-is-it-currently-we’re-not-sure has suffered with a number of reliability issues this season, which have been a real hindrance to any progress from 2016 where they ended the year on impressive form. It took the team until Italy to clock their first finish, and although the ever-present David Neuberg has been just that, the second seat has been swapped around a lot after Nathan McKane chose to leave the team following some less-than-impressive results. The team have currently settled on Alessandro Lucarelli for now, having previously plugged the gap with Chinese journeywoman Du Lei.

David Neuberg – 6/10
Neuberg could easily slot into any top team. However, the German chooses to remain at Plus One such are the strength of his roots with the Kingfisher team. The instability of the second seat hasn’t exactly helped him, but Neuberg has risen above the issues within the team as he drove a fantastic race at Road America for 6th. The team really need to pick up the pace on the development to ensure the German ace has a chance of more success. Otherwise, those aforementioned roots will be tested to the limit.

Nathan McKane – 3/10
McKane struggled with reliability the most, but it was clear that the Scottish driver wasn’t enjoying his time in F1RWRS and decided to call quits after Austria, where he failed to qualify. Du Lei covered the second seat before a permanent replacement could be found, which has come in the impressive Lucarelli, who managed a 10th on his debut grand prix.

Kamaha-Suzuki – 3/10
Despite two race wins last season, Kamaha had a pretty awful season in 2016 as the reliability of their car was hideous. Yet, the team have somehow become a smidgen worse as the team have flirted a few times with failures to qualify and disappointing pace at even the faster circuits, where the team have previously thrived. The pre-season removal of Bastiaan van Nieuwenhuijzen was perhaps a blessing in disguise for the Dutchman, as he’s found form in AR3.5.

Hagane Shizuka – 5/10
Although Shizuka managed a point at Bathurst, the Japanese driver hasn’t done a whole lot more. Last season at Kamaha, he had a fast, young driver in the shape of Tomo Kazama pushing him on to pick up some strong results, which created a team dynamic that encouraged competition. This year, he’s got nobody really pushing him as Daniel Melville has been well off the pace all season and thus Shizuka has presumably lost motivation since the goal of being his team-mate has been so effortless he doesn’t need to try.

Daniel Melville – 2/10
Melville was hired because he brought money. He hasn’t shown much pace, he’s holding his team-mate back in the land of pre-qualifying and when he does make it into the races he will generally finish well down at the back, despite the car probably being capable of a bit more. What more is there to say?

[FMecha]

RE:

F1RWRS commission to charge for driver changes from 2018

F1RWRS commission has announced today that they will start charging teams every time they move a driver from next season, following a recent round up of driver movements across the grid which will see half of the teams with different line-ups than those which started the season only 7 races ago.
Daniel Prieto was clear on why such a move will come; "We've seen too many driver changes lately. It's completely nonsense. Teams need to learn addressing their issues in a different way than by swapping drivers, and we somehow need to protect drivers rights here. I also guess talented drivers like Ron Mignolet need more security on his job, he doesn't need to be thrown from one team to another like that and I guess this doesn't make him any good, nor it makes him drive faster. So, we've decided to start charging teams an administrative fee which is yet to be determined but which should make team owners think twice before changing a driver. We are also thinking to introduce some mandatory clausules in every contract which should protect the drivers against such moves"

Do the 4-driver limit still in force with the "charging for driver changes" thing? And would this new rule supplant current restrictions on driver changes?

[Aerond]

RE:

F1RWRS commission to charge for driver changes from 2018

F1RWRS commission has announced today that they will start charging teams every time they move a driver from next season, following a recent round up of driver movements across the grid which will see half of the teams with different line-ups than those which started the season only 7 races ago.
Daniel Prieto was clear on why such a move will come; "We've seen too many driver changes lately. It's completely nonsense. Teams need to learn addressing their issues in a different way than by swapping drivers, and we somehow need to protect drivers rights here. I also guess talented drivers like Ron Mignolet need more security on his job, he doesn't need to be thrown from one team to another like that and I guess this doesn't make him any good, nor it makes him drive faster. So, we've decided to start charging teams an administrative fee which is yet to be determined but which should make team owners think twice before changing a driver. We are also thinking to introduce some mandatory clausules in every contract which should protect the drivers against such moves"

Do the 4-driver limit still in force with the "charging for driver changes" thing? And would this new rule supplant current restrictions on driver changes?

Yes and No. And I'm not yet too sure about implementing this

[Aerond]

Teams required at Pre-Qualifying from Norisring

- Mobil Holden Racing Team
- Boxtel Engineering
- Sunshine Daihatsu
- Team Mecha Racing
- Revolution Engineering
- Energy T.I. Fusion Motorsports
- Gillet Ecurie Nationale Belge
- BASF Nurminen Grand Prix
- Foxdale Auto Racing Team
- Rob Lomas Racing

[Phoenix]

Alright, test:

Venue: Circuit de Catalunya.
Drivers: Kay Lon, Nick Nurmester.
Focus: Reliability.

[Shizuka]

Revolution would also like to test.

Venue: Silverstone
Drivers: Andrej Kremiczky, Dean O'Lauchlan
Focus: Reliability

[the Masked Lapwing]

Zimmer protesting HRT's demotion to pre-qualifying
Frank Zimmer has once again put himself up against the F1RWRS administrators, and this time it's about HRT's demotion to pre-qualifying after a poor showing at the recent Northern US GP. As it is now the halfway point of the season, pre-qualifying is undergoing a shuffle, and in the recently published list, HRT is now in there, due to setting the slowest combined time of the non-PQ teams in qualifying at Road America. Zimmer believes that HRT should not be demoted, due to the wording of one specific rule.

"Rule 6.1.3 clearly states that the teams that make up pre-qualifying at the halfway point of the season are the 10 lowest placed teams in the WCC," Zimmer said. "HRT is currently 8th, above the bottom 10, and thus should not be in pre-qualifying."

Rule 6.1.3 states: "The teams who compete in the first session of the season are any new teams as well as the lowest placed teams in the preceding season's constructor standings to make ten teams. After 8 races, the ten (10) lowest placed teams in the constructor standings will take part instead." Zimmer's protest stands on the second part of the rule, and it would appear to be pretty black and white. However, HRT may have their appeal thrown out because of Rule 6.2.5, which states "The slowest team on combined times will drop into pre-qualifying for the next round, unless that team is either already in pre-qualifying or immune from pre-qualifying for the next round. In the case of either scenario happening, the slowest team that isn't covered by either criteria will drop into pre-qualifying." This presents a conflict that suggests HRT should both be in and out of pre-qualifying, as there is nothing in the rules to suggest what happens in this situation.

There is currently no precedent for a team inside the top 10 dropping back into pre-qualifying, as in the previous two seasons, the team demoted after being slowest in round 8 was in the bottom 10, and would have been demoted anyway. Zimmer hopes to set a precedent, "so no one else is screwed by it. At the very least, this is a conflict in the rules that needs to be fixed."

[Ataxia]

Zimmer protesting HRT's demotion to pre-qualifying
Frank Zimmer has once again put himself up against the F1RWRS administrators, and this time it's about HRT's demotion to pre-qualifying after a poor showing at the recent Northern US GP. As it is now the halfway point of the season, pre-qualifying is undergoing a shuffle, and in the recently published list, HRT is now in there, due to setting the slowest combined time of the non-PQ teams in qualifying at Road America. Zimmer believes that HRT should not be demoted, due to the wording of one specific rule.

"Rule 6.1.3 clearly states that the teams that make up pre-qualifying at the halfway point of the season are the 10 lowest placed teams in the WCC," Zimmer said. "HRT is currently 8th, above the bottom 10, and thus should not be in pre-qualifying."

Rule 6.1.3 states: "The teams who compete in the first session of the season are any new teams as well as the lowest placed teams in the preceding season's constructor standings to make ten teams. After 8 races, the ten (10) lowest placed teams in the constructor standings will take part instead." Zimmer's protest stands on the second part of the rule, and it would appear to be pretty black and white. However, HRT may have their appeal thrown out because of Rule 6.2.5, which states "The slowest team on combined times will drop into pre-qualifying for the next round, unless that team is either already in pre-qualifying or immune from pre-qualifying for the next round. In the case of either scenario happening, the slowest team that isn't covered by either criteria will drop into pre-qualifying." This presents a conflict that suggests HRT should both be in and out of pre-qualifying, as there is nothing in the rules to suggest what happens in this situation.

There is currently no precedent for a team inside the top 10 dropping back into pre-qualifying, as in the previous two seasons, the team demoted after being slowest in round 8 was in the bottom 10, and would have been demoted anyway. Zimmer hopes to set a precedent, "so no one else is screwed by it. At the very least, this is a conflict in the rules that needs to be fixed."

Sounds a bit like Monsieur Zimmer is a little afraid of not getting out of ze pre-qualifying, non? They are scouring ze rules instead of making the car un peu faster!

[Aerond]

PRIETO: "HRT WILL BE IN PRE-Q BECAUSE IT'S WHERE THEY DESERVE TO BE"

Prieto has been quick to slam any hopes Frank Zimmer had to not see his cars run in Pre-Qualifying at the next F1RWRS event in Norisring and has stated that the rules "have been clarified" and that "there isn't any need to review anything. Rules have been clarified; it was just a question of dodgy wording. Now, HRT will have to be in Pre-Qualifying because they've gone there on merit"

[DemocalypseNow]

PRIETO: "HRT WILL BE IN PRE-Q BECAUSE IT'S WHERE THEY DESERVE TO BE"

Prieto has been quick to slam any hopes Frank Zimmer had to not see his cars run in Pre-Qualifying at the next F1RWRS event in Norisring and has stated that the rules "have been clarified" and that "there isn't any need to review anything. Rules have been clarified; it was just a question of dodgy wording. Now, HRT will have to be in Pre-Qualifying because they've gone there on merit"

Voeckler questions integrity of F1RWRS Commission

Voeckler GPE team principal Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler has slammed the F1RWRS Commission over their handling of the HRT protest, bringing into question their neutrality and objectivity.

"The F1RWRS Commission has a habit of making up its own interpretation of the rules as it goes along," said Voeckler. "Nobody can run a team properly in such an environment. It would appear Prieto has a different copy of the rules than the 20 teams does."

"What is written in the rules and what is actually enforced have usually proven to be two different things. The Autodynamics case was handled incorrectly, and so this one has too. A body in charge of policing a system has a duty to enforce the rules as they are written and seen by everyone, not by their own special interpretation, just because they might feel it is a more 'just' result."

Voeckler admitted that Commission head Daniel Prieto had a point about HRT deserving to drop into pre-qualifying, but says the rulebook overrides any feelings of who deserves to make the drop into the dreaded session.

"Prieto is right in so much as HRT deserve to be there on the strength of their performances. But the rulebook is objective, and it clearly tells us that following Race 8, the entire Pre-Qualifying field shall be composed of the bottom half of the WCC at the end of said race."

"We're reaching the point now where we may as well throw the rulebook out the window and do whatever we feel like," he said. "As long as we can appeal to Prieto's warped sense of justice, every deliberate flauting of the rules appears to be fair game."

"I'm sick of it."

[MinardiFan95]

Following Alessandro Lucarelli's move to Plus One, Rick Simpson will take his place in the Young Driver Test for Dacia. If TMLW chooses to do so, Michael Robertson can run for HRT in the Young Driver Test in a driver swap with Dacia.

[Phoenix]

If I may throw my hat into the ring, I believe that the F1RWRS Comission has correctly interpreted the rules. Why do I think this? See, the rules state that a bunch of teams are, according to their CC position, in Prequalifying by default (but they can escape for one or several rounds if they manage to be the fastest team overall in a Prequalifying session and then manage not to be the slowest overall team in a Qualifying session). The list of teams that have to Prequalify by default from now on has been updated according to their CC position because we've reached the mid-point of the season, but to give continuity to the rule that states the slowest team overall in Qualifying is demoted to Prequalifying for the next round HRT, which has been the team unfortunate enough to end up with this distinction at the last round, has to Prequalify for round 9, which would save the team that was fastest in Prequalifying at Road America to prequalify for the next round. Not heeding this procedure would be a breach of the regulations, both the letter and the spirit since they've been designed to allow teams that have made progress not to be stuck forever in Prequalifying, which as we all know is a lottery. So HRT will have to deal with it.

[SuperAguri]

Mori calls Zimmer a whiner
Barii Mori, head of Kamaha Motorsports was one of several team owners that chimed into the prequalify debate by saying "Zimmer is just a whiner, he is scared that the car won't make it through prequalifying and is making a noise about some rule that all the team owners know what it means. They failed to make the cut in the last race and are trying to get out of it. Well most teams think they deserve to be there being the slowest team in qualifying that are not in prequalifying. Hopefully the idiot will have the grace to knuckle down and get out of PQ the first time.".

We also asked him about his chances in the NRE team, he said "Well it will be hard but I have a repretation of taking small teams and getting them points. So I hope I can do the same here.".

[RealRacingRoots]

I said Prieto has no idea what he is doing, and look what happens. He has essentially given Holden the eviction notice with this move. The issue with Autodynamics I understand, their team principle clearly doesn't know what he's doing either. But now he's ignoring his own rules because he doesn't like HRT being concerned about the future of this "sport". The boss of a series putting his foot down is perfectly acceptable, but not when he doesn't even know how his series works.

So Kamaha cleared it (which was never noted anywhere by the way) and Holden dropped into it, great. Which rule takes priority? Neither, because it's Prieto who has a skewed outlook on what makes a good race and series. Clearly he thinks he knows something everybody else doesn't, and he thinks this series would be better without one of the key OEM teams that brings fresh money into the series.

Also, speak when you are spoken to Barii Mori. You should be in Pre-Q if the rules were being enforced properly.

[pasta_maldonado]

Knight: Pre-Q rules need 'adjustment'

PORE Team Principle Luke Knight has waded into the furore surrounding the relegation of Holden Racing Team into Pre-Qualifying, despite the team sitting within the Top 10 in the Constructor's championship

"I think it's clear to see that the rules regarding pre-q need some adjustment" said Knight. "The pre-q reshuffle after 8 races is totally negated by the slowest qualifiers dropping down, along with the pre-q fastest qualifiers escaping system we already have."

"What's the point of resetting after 8 races? The only thing it does is drag teams who have escaped on merit back into the maelstrom, and promote teams who are riding on the back of a single fluke result and shouldn't be anywhere near main qualifying."

"The F1RWRS commission have been very accommodating in previous instances, so I am sure we can come to the right decision on this matter."

[FMecha]

Our contacts at Foxdale is in prequalifying too... and I have never heard them whining about it! So does Team Mecha, but come on, our next target is to be free of pre-qualifying at some time.

We do agree with PORE in regards of reforming PQ rules.

[Aerond]

GAUTHIER THROWN INTO PRE-QUALIFYING TOO

F1RWRS Commission has announced this evening that Sasol Equipe Gauthier has been demoted to Pre-Qualifying too in order to satisfy both 6.1.3 and 6.2.5 articles of the F1RWRS Rulebook as it was before being agreed modifications earlier in the day. This means Pre-Qualifying at Norisring will have an exceptionally large entry list of 22 cars, with the Top 5 teams making it through the main Qualifying Session and with the Top 2 teams escaping Pre-Qualifying from Round 10 to bring back the number of teams in Pre-Qualifying to 10 again.

[dr-baker]

Our contacts at Foxdale is in prequalifying too... and I have never heard them whining about it!

That's because we are that confident at escaping again within the next few rounds. And if not, extra credits at the end of the year!

[the Masked Lapwing]

Prieto making it up as he goes along says Zimmer
After the F1RWRS Commission confirmed that the Holden Racing Team will be taking part in pre-qualifying, before demoting Equipe Gauthier as well to make a 22-car field in pre-qualifying at the German Grand Prix, Zimmer has launched a scathing attack on F1RWRS boss Daniel Prieto.

"The p**** has no idea what he's doing," Zimmer said. "I understand why HRT are taking part, it was a bit of desperation on my part after noticing the rule conflict. But what. I don't understand is why he refused to even discuss it with me, he went out and said we "deserved" it without even contacting me."

Zimmer was also not happy with the inclusion of Gauthier in PQ at the Norisring, who should have been safe. "Obviously he thinks Gauthier deserve to be in PQ as well. This just stinks of trying to spice up the show for no reason whatsoever. 22 cars fighting for 10 spots at a track that's 6 feet long is just going to cause headaches for everyone down here, because. I can guarantee that it'll be a gigantic s***storm. Although, based on his comments, I wouldn't be surprised if he throws the results out and promotes whoever the f*** he wants because they "deserve" to get out."

F1RWRS is fun

[tommykl]

Gillet also complain about pre-qualifying

Despite not being eligible to escape pre-qualifying through any clause of the regulations, Tony Gillet has decided to follow other team bosses in arguing for the right to escape pre-qualifying. Despite never coming close to being quick enough to make any progress this season, the Belgian stated that "other teams are complaining, why shouldn't we?"

Amongst other criticism, Gillet cited that his team had a long history of good results in the series, and that this status alone should make Gillet-ENB exempt from pre-qualifying altogether. Shortly after making these comments, Tony Gillet was interrupted by a strange bespectacled man in a white coat asking him if he'd taken his pills. we do not yet know whether or not this intervention was significant in the grand scheme of things.

[Phoenix]

Now I'm getting confused. Why do Gauthier have to prequalify too? I vindicated Daniel Prieto's earlier decision regarding HRT having to prequalify at Norisring, but this new development looks as if he wants to stomp his authority no matter what, and reeks of desperate vindication on his part. He looks confused and at the mercy of whatever team bosses will tell him, and that's no good for someone running a business.

[AndreaModa]

Jones complains about complaining team bosses complaining about HRT complaints about the pre-qualifying system

Autosport were able to obtain the views of Sammy Jones following the recent fallout from HRT and Gauthier being demoted to pre-qualifying:

"I havent' got a f***ing clue what's going on anymore. Everyone should just stop complaining for a f***ing change and do something else. Can't we all sort this out over a beer or something?"

[Aerond]

E-Mail sent to tyre manufacturers as a reminder for the 2nd window of tyre development.

2018 Engine E-Mails will be sent toon

[Nessafox]

Great Leap Backward claims all teams should pre-qualify for all races.
"Because pre-qualifying sessions is capitalist bullying. This is why we don't participate in this series"
"Also we think one car starting in front of another car is unfair. All cars should have equal starting positions. And equal finishing positions too."

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Just making this official, Autodynamics will be withdrawing from F1RWRS at the conclusion of the 2017 season.

I'm just not that interested anymore

[Klon]

This story is reasonably simple, guys. HRT was demoted to PQ, whatever team went up went up, but then the full swap happens. The bottom ten should be in PQ, this is not rocket science.

[RealRacingRoots]

I am officially withdrawing from the F1RWRS waiting list. Gib Lancia to someone else Aerond.

[Shizuka]

Teams required at Pre-Qualifying from Norisring

- Mobil Holden Racing Team
- Boxtel Engineering
- Sunshine Daihatsu
- Team Mecha Racing
- Revolution Engineering
- Energy T.I. Fusion Motorsports
- Gillet Ecurie Nationale Belge
- BASF Nurminen Grand Prix
- Foxdale Auto Racing Team
- Rob Lomas Racing

NRE has a 15 point lead over Mecha (53 to 38), 47 of which is scored by McFry, you sure it's a good idea? Just asking. I don't mind it if they stay.

[Ataxia]

Let me say zis, if Fusion ever made an escape so unlikely that we do not have to prequalify for a round, we will happily swap if HRT are still stuck...

[Nuppiz]

NRE has a 15 point lead over Mecha (53 to 38), 47 of which is scored by McFry, you sure it's a good idea? Just asking. I don't mind it if they stay.

And? Our main qualifying and race results aren't even nearly good enough to justify skipping PQ.

[Shizuka]

McFry will win the PQ title by a street's margin