Alternate F1 - The Current Era (2011 is GO!)

[HawkAussie]

JJD linked to Stefan, Red Bull, Ferrari for 2012?

Following his acrimonious departure from Mercedes, where both sides accused the other of ripping them off, it has since been revealed that James James Davies is looking for a seat on the 2012 F1 grid. Among the teams he is rumoured to be in discussions with are Stefan, Red Bull, and Ferrari.

"I'm still in my prime, no matter what those losers at Mercedes say," said Davies in an interview, "They couldn't handle me telling them their designers were about as capable as a rock ape. So they tossed me out, and I'm perfectly fine with that, because I don't need my good name tarnished by such a ridiculous melange of amateurish idiots."

This continued for a good half hour before Davies was finally brought back on topic.

"I'm a championship winning driver. I don't have time for teams that aren't committed to that. As far as I can see, there's probably 3 teams that can do that. Ferrari have a real strong package - anyone in that car's gonna be a threat for the title, except maybe Ralf Alden. So obviously I wouldn't mind getting in that situation, since that'd be pretty much game over for everyone else for the title. Another strong team is Red Bull - the car they've had, it's amazing that they haven't been running away with both titles, and you really have to point the finger at the drivers there, they've both been really underwhelming from my point of view. They could really use someone who actually knows how to win championships - like me. And lastly is Stefan. They've kinda tailed off lately, but with good reason - they're probably throwing everything they got at next year's car. And this year's car is something special as well, I mean, Nakajima and Katayama are both third-rate drivers at best, and they were giving everyone headaches at the start of the year. Again, though, that's a team that needs title-winning experience, of which I have plenty."

"I've been in some discussions with all 3 teams, and I'm fairly confident that you'll see me back on the grid next year. After all, I don't think Formula 1 is totally full of idiots that would leave a prime talent like me just fall by the wayside, not when on the market."

Talks already, intersting

[takagi_for_the_win]

God almighty, what happened to Restov there?

Anyway, here's my Silly Season input

Restov to Renault?
With the 2011 season winding down, the driver market is still well and truly open and many good seats are up for grabs. Naturally, in situations such as these, some drivers will end up disappointed, and many talented drivers will end up in seats not worthy of their talent.

One such driver is young Russian, Evgeny Restov. The 23 year old is only in his first season in F1, with the tailend USF1 team, but he has still managed to score his first podium (which was incidentally the teams first as well). In the first half of the season, he was very much a thorn in the side of bigger teams, and was constantly sniffing around the fringes of the points, but has seen his form tail off lately, which he claims is down to the raft of upgrades USF1 have introduced.
"For sure my recent results haven't been what I want," he said before the Inidan Grand Prix, "I feel it is the changes to the car. They much suit a smoother driving style, which is why Jan is streets ahead of me at the moment. If you put Jan back in the car we had in pre-season, he wouldn't get it off the back row. This isn't just me talking myself up either. If you look, my results haven't improved at all since the changes, while Jan has become incredibly quick. For sure, he's a good driver, but a second of a lap quicker than me? I think not."

"I hope to be in F1 again next season. For sure I think I have proven myself, and with my pace, I think there should be plenty of teams after me."

One team rumoured to be chasing the Russian is Renault. The French team is undergoing something of a renaissance since losing works Renault support, with fellow youngster Romain Grosjean really beginning to impress. In the second seat, Nicolas Prost hasn't done much, and his place at the team could be under threat. Restov also has a wealth of sponsors behind him; a fact not lost on Genii Capital, who are at present funding Renault out of their own pocket.

These factors could well see young Restov move up the grid for 2012, and on his form this season, it wouldn't be undeserved.

[Ataxia]

For your information Klon, I'm handing over Williams at the end of the season after a somewhat dismal year. Do what you want with them; hand them over, dissolve them, stick 'em in a stew.

[TomWazzleshaw]

For your information Klon, I'm handing over Williams at the end of the season after a somewhat dismal year. Do what you want with them; hand them over, dissolve them, stick 'em in a stew.

Goddamnit, you're not supposed to give Klon ideas

[takagi_for_the_win]

For your information Klon, I'm handing over Williams at the end of the season after a somewhat dismal year. Do what you want with them; hand them over, dissolve them, stick 'em in a stew.

I suppose if they were to become available, and there's no waiting list, I wouldn't mind looking after Williams

Although I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to turn them into a stew, with lots of carrots and spuds

[Onxy Wrecked]

For your information Klon, I'm handing over Williams at the end of the season after a somewhat dismal year. Do what you want with them; hand them over, dissolve them, stick 'em in a stew.

I suppose if they were to become available, and there's no waiting list, I wouldn't mind looking after Williams

Although I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to turn them into a stew, with lots of carrots and spuds

And there goes my plan to merge with Williams and create a constructor of engines using the pool of funding by buying Cosworth.

[takagi_for_the_win]

For your information Klon, I'm handing over Williams at the end of the season after a somewhat dismal year. Do what you want with them; hand them over, dissolve them, stick 'em in a stew.

I suppose if they were to become available, and there's no waiting list, I wouldn't mind looking after Williams

Although I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to turn them into a stew, with lots of carrots and spuds

And there goes my plan to merge with Williams and create a constructor of engines using the pool of funding by buying Cosworth.

Ah never mind, having checked the first page it turns out there is a waiting list I'll be ruling myself out of this one

[DemocalypseNow]

No doubt over Voeckler contract extension, claims father

Despite rumours linking Renault to a new recruit to partner Romain Grosjean in 2012, Alexandre-Laurent Voeckler's future at the Renault team is assured, and a contract extension a formality, claims the driver's father and manager Jeremy-Etienne Voeckler.

ALV has had a wayward half-season with Renault so far, having come in as a replacement for the underperforming Nicolas Prost. He took his debut win only shortly after making the step up to F1 - before his more experienced team-mate Romain Grosjean - but has suffered from very unpredictable form since.

"Yes, he is having good days and bad days, but this is normal for a rookie," said JEV. "Renault are aware this is typical of a rookie's development cycle. They see the potential in him, he has already delivered a result that proves he can justify his place at the team. Once he develops the consistency, which is a skill that takes time, he will be a top driver."

"For this reason, Renault have directly given us assurances he will be staying in their programme for 2012. The contract is not yet signed, but it is more or less a formality. It's just small legal stuff in the way. The important part is, Alexandre-Laurent is happy here, the team is happy for him to be here, he will stay."

[Klon]

2011 Bharat Petroleum Indian Grand Prix I - Race

Race Control Addendum: Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro have been fined €2.000.000 due to their driver in car #3 (Rhys Davies) causing an avoidable accident involving car #18 (Nico Rosberg).

-- Positives --
Sebastian Vettel - made the most of the rain and wins both INFINITE IMPROBABILITY DRIVE OF THE RACE and the race for Williams.

Robert Wickens - now if only the Mercedes engine this year was not as gutless as it is he would have probably won this race.

Shinobu Katayama - another great fourth place for the Japanese rookie,

Alexandre Voeckler - if his dad's media statements were true, today's performance shows it was right by Renault to retain Voeckler.

Rubens Barrichello - while "www.rubensscoredpointstoday.com" will result in a 0.404 error, he was Super Aguri's hero today, unlike the Regenmeister.

-- Negatives --
Vitaly Petrov - in itself P9 is obviously a job well done, but he was still 47 seconds off his team mate.

Robert Kubica - he must indeed be careful, such a mediocre performance may not go unpunished anymore.

Michael Schumacher - just a zero compared to Barrichello's hero.

Nicolás Fontana - unlike Bourdais, Fontana never looked like getting some of his mojo back after being forced to pit.

Rhys Davies - gets Ferrari fined before running into the wall and earning REJECT OF THE RACE.

[Klon]

2011 Bharat Petroleum Indian Grand Prix II - Qualifying

1. Nathan McKane / Mercedes - 1:29.819
2. Daniel Melrose / Mercedes - 1:29.860
3. Rhys Davies / Ferrari - 1:29.935
4. Kazuki Nakajima / Stefan-Renault - 1:30.040
5. Robert Kubica / Ferrari - 1:30.082
6. Nico Rosberg / Sauber-Ferrari - 1:30.111
7. Lewis Hamilton / McLaren-Mercedes - 1:30.248
8. Robert Wickens / McLaren-Mercedes - 1:30.272
9. Sebastién Bourdais / Red Bull-Honda - 1:30.362
10. Sebastian Vettel / Williams-Honda - 1:30.854
---------------------------------------------
11. Shinobu Katayama / Stefan-Renault - 1:30.238
12. Davide Valsecchi / Force India-Renault - 1:30.462
13. Alexandre Voeckler / Renault - 1:30.699
14. Vitaly Petrov / Williams-Honda - 1:30.855
15. Sergio Pérez / Sauber-Ferrari - 1:30.940
16. Jenson Button / Red Bull-Honda - 1:31.052
17. Romain Grosjean / Renault - 1:31.207
18. Rubens Barrichello / Super Aguri-Honda - 1:31.317
---------------------------------------------
19. Pastor Maldonado / KQ-Hyundai - 1:31.467
20. Nicolás Fontana / Force India-Renault - 1:31.664
21. Evgeny Restov / USF1-Honda - 1:32.111
22. Jan van der Maeyede / USF1-Honda - 1:32.380
23. Ralf Alden / KQ-Hyundai - 1:32.628
24. Michael Schumacher / Super Aguri-Honda - 1:32.851
25. Jérôme d'Ambrosio / Lola-Renault - 1:33.875
26. Max Chilton / Lola-Renault- 1:34.287

[Klon]

2011 Bharat Petroleum Indian Grand Prix II - Race

Race Control Addendum: Nokia KQ Motor Sports Hyundai have been fined €5.000.000 due to their driver in car #27 (Pastor Maldonado) causing an avoidable accident involving car #14 (Romain Grosjean) and car #24 (Jan van der Maeyede).

-- Positives --
Nathan McKane - insane pace leaves his championship chances alive, he deserves respect for that.

Rhys Davies - even if he didn't even remotely won this race, the fact that he could somewhat match McKane's pace is amazing.

Nico Rosberg - amazing drive by the German to get INFINITE IMPROBABILITY DRIVE OF THE RACE and nearly another podium.

Davide Valsecchi - with the Force India being uncompetitive and suffering a puncture, nothing was expected from Valsecchi and he nearly recovered to the points.

Robert Wickens - an oil leak spoiled what could have been another great result for the Canadian desperate to keep his career alive.

-- Negatives --
Daniel Melrose - bad start is one thing, but not coming back from it is another.

Shinobu Katayama - even though she got another point for her collection, she can't be pleased with their performance today.

Renault - neither car performed great, both drivers and the vehicle were to weak to acquire anything but REJECT OF THE RACE.

Kazuki Nakajima - got unlucky on the first lap but never recovered, just like Melrose, only even worse.

Max Chilton - just slow, atrociously slow, even by his own low standards.

[Onxy Wrecked]

I guess one could put Stefan GP as a top reject this race.

[Salamander]

I guess one could put Stefan GP as a top reject this race.

That's why you need to dump those losers and hire a winner like me.

[Klon]

2011 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix I - Qualifying

1. Rhys Davies / Ferrari - 1:40.845
2. Robert Kubica / Ferrari - 1:41.135
3. Nathan McKane / Mercedes - 1:41.247
4. Daniel Melrose / Mercedes - 1:41.398
5. Nico Rosberg / Sauber-Ferrari - 1:41.433
6. Jenson Button / Red Bull-Honda - 1:41.667
7. Lewis Hamilton / McLaren-Mercedes - 1:41.761
8. Romain Grosjean / Renault - 1:41.771
9. Sergio Pérez / Sauber-Ferrari - 1:41.887
10. Alexandre Voeckler / Renault - 1:41.912
---------------------------------------------
11. Davide Valsecchi / Force India-Renault - 1:41.784
12. Robert Wickens / McLaren-Mercedes - 1:41.903
13. Sebastian Vettel / Williams-Honda - 1:41.854
14. Kazuki Nakajima / Stefan-Renault - 1:41.999
15. Sebastién Bourdais / Red Bull-Honda - 1:42.076
16. Pastor Maldonado / KQ-Hyundai - 1:42.135
17. Shinobu Katayama / Stefan-Renault - 1:42.141
18. Vitaly Petrov / Williams-Honda - 1:42.238
---------------------------------------------
19. Nicolás Fontana / Force India-Renault - 1:42.884
20. Evgeny Restov / USF1-Honda - 1:42.956
21. Ralf Alden / KQ-Hyundai - 1:43.040
22. Jérôme d'Ambrosio / Lola-Renault - 1:43.108
23. Michael Schumacher / Super Aguri-Honda - 1:43.122
24. Rubens Barrichello / Super Aguri-Honda - 1:43.136
25. Jan van der Maeyede / USF1-Honda - 1:43.496
26. Max Chilton / Lola-Renault- 1:43.798

[Klon]

2011 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix I - Race


-- Positives --
Robert Kubica - we have a new undisputed world champion, Kubica did it in style by taking a proper win.

Jenson Button - a podium finish is what Red Bull needs to get a nice finish to the season.

Nathan McKane - while his title chance died a gruesome death today, he still fought bravely.

Nico Rosberg - another reasonable job which earns him INFINITE IMPROBABILITY DRIVE OF THE RACE for a lack of better alternatives.

Pastor Maldonado - another helpful point to aid KQ's cause.

-- Negatives --
Stefan-Renault - in itself P9 is obviously a job well done, but he was still 47 seconds off his team mate.

Sebastian Vettel - his India heroics are so far away now, tough reality awaits him.

Rhys Davies - had to support his team mate and then suffered an electrical problem that pushed him right down the order.

Sebastién Bourdais - just because you lost your title, doesn't mean you can drive as poorly as this and not get REJECT OF THE RACE.

Force India-Renault - even though Valsecchi's stop was not his fault it does not distract from the bad race the team had today.

[Klon]

2011 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix II - Qualifying

1. Rhys Davies / Ferrari - 1:41.111
2. Nathan McKane / Mercedes - 1:41.127
3. Robert Wickens / McLaren-Mercedes - 1:41.487
4. Lewis Hamilton / McLaren-Mercedes - 1:41.525
5. Romain Grosjean / Renault - 1:41.567
6. Sergio Pérez / Sauber-Ferrari - 1:41.641
7. Robert Kubica / Ferrari - 1:41.135
8. Jenson Button / Red Bull-Honda - 1:41.667
9. Sebastién Bourdais / Red Bull-Honda - 1:41.756
10. Alexandre Voeckler / Renault - 1:41.763
---------------------------------------------
11. Shinobu Katayama / Stefan-Renault - 1:41.754
12. Pastor Maldonado / KQ-Hyundai - 1:41.914
13. Daniel Melrose / Mercedes - 1:42.070
14. Nico Rosberg / Sauber-Ferrari - 1:42.157
15. Davide Valsecchi / Force India-Renault - 1:42.283
16. Nicolás Fontana / Force India-Renault - 1:42.294
17. Sebastian Vettel / Williams-Honda - 1:42.428
18. Vitaly Petrov / Williams-Honda - 1:42.452
---------------------------------------------
19. Kazuki Nakajima / Stefan-Renault - 1:42.288
20. Jan van der Maeyede / USF1-Honda - 1:42.494
21. Evgeny Restov / USF1-Honda - 1:42.667
22. Jérôme d'Ambrosio / Lola-Renault - 1:42.915
23. Michael Schumacher / Super Aguri-Honda - 1:43.239
24. Rubens Barrichello / Super Aguri-Honda - 1:43.259
25. Max Chilton / Lola-Renault - 1:43.400
26. Ralf Alden / KQ-Hyundai - 1:43.786

[Klon]

2011 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix II - Race


-- Positives --
Nathan McKane - the Brit makes a statement about his claim on the 2012 F1 crown, the competition must beware.

Robert Wickens - great job by the Canadian who may very well secure his future in F1 with this one.

Sergio Pérez - getting the first podium of your F1 career in the final race of the season is INFINITE IMPROBABILITY DRIVE OF THE RACE material.

Stefan-Renault - six points are an acceptable way for Stefan to end the season, especially after the weak qualifying performance.

Pastor Maldonado - could have scored again, but lost grip and therefore unfortunately lost a great drive as well.

-- Negatives --
Sebastién Bourdais - another weak performance, he has really given up on 2011.

Nico Rosberg - after being so great yesterday he decided to be mediocre as to make Pérez's efforts look even hotter.

Daniel Melrose - he must hope to get another F1 drive, because this race and REJECT OF THE RACE is not what he wants people to be the final memory of his career.

Williams-Honda - slow pace rounds out another rather miserable year for the British squad.

Alexandre Voeckler - another questionable round, he knows he can do better and plans on doing better in 2012.

[FMecha]

From this point on, I declare that I have does not fit with current F1's younger generations. Therefore, I have to retire from Formula One.

Mizuki Ukawa will take over Alden's seat.

[Onxy Wrecked]

Tons of money to throw around and it's going to be a top grade chassis next season.

[RealRacingRoots]

From this point on, I declare that I have does not fit with current F1's younger generations. Therefore, I have to retire from Formula One.

Mizuki Ukawa will take over Alden's seat.

By the by, 2011 is kinda over now.