2017 Suzuka Pre-Race Thread

Being out on bail and due back in court on November 20th, he might skip the Country.


OCTOBER 4, 2017

Force India named in Mallya money laundering


Vijay Mallya is accused of laundering money related to his F1 team Force India.

On Tuesday, the former Indian billionaire was arrested in the UK and later released on $80,000 bail.

"He will return to court on November 20," the financial news agency Bloomberg reported, quoting a prosecutor as saying one charge involves money laundering that "relates to Force India formula one team".

A prosecution statement said some of Mallya's allegedly laundered money in the case "ended up with the Force India racing team".

Outside court, he did not deny the charges.

"You heard it all (in court)," said Mallya.

"Many allegations are extraordinary and you will hear it in the next hearing, no doubt. Whatever I will say I will say in court and do not have to repeat to the media."

 

He has no Passport it seems. He is not very mobile without that and I would think he is being monitored somehow discreetly.

 

Please noooooo.Thought we had seen the last of his smug face,what a quitter.No doubt he will be doing the interviews post race too.Wish he would just stay home on his sofa.

 

Nico who?

 

Any driver who retires can be called a quitter. You need to move on. LH lost last year. Its old news as is the critical comment on a WDC who put up a good fight and came out on top. He drove smarter and worked harder. A few lessons there for Vettel Id say. He is more than qualified to be a commentator on SKY.

 

Must win race for Ferrari.

 

Sorry but you did not understand that...When Nico went for second instead of winning after taking profit of his opponents misfurtune it was call "championship-unworthy", when Lewis does the same not even a year later it is called genius Prost-esque driving

 

LOL! My friend Rainer is very much thinking the same way

 

Morning guys. Great pics..... forza ferrari!

 

They only have one safety car and one medical car? If something breaks, what do they do?

 

Good day. How are you doing/feeling!! Race weekend

 

I'm recovering, thank you for asking. After being in on the **** that was Sunday night, I could do with a positive end to the week, so I hope ferrari get their act together and show Mercedes how it's done for once. Pressures off really, barely a hope to get the WDC now, so let's turn it up to max and beat em

 

+1 - re-focus to 1 race at a time!!

 

One of the more interesting questions for the weekend - https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132210/hamilton-and-mercedes-debating-aero-package


Lewis Hamilton says he and the Mercedes Formula 1 team will decide on Thursday evening whether to run the team's latest aerodynamic package during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.

Mercedes introduced an upgrade ahead of last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, which both drivers used in free practice.

But Hamilton reverted to the previous-specification ahead of qualifying and went on to secure pole before finishing second, while team-mate Valtteri Bottas said he regretted sticking with the update after winding up fifth in qualifying.

Hamilton said he and the team were still split on which direction to take at Suzuka.

"It's not decided at the moment, it's a constant discussion," said Hamilton.

"The guys want to go one direction and I'm hesitant and more feeling for another way.

 

Sky Sports F1 exclusive: New footage of Sebastian Vettel-Lance Stroll crash released



http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/11067518/sky-sports-f1-exclusive-new-footage-of-sebastian-vettel-lance-stroll-crash-released

 

OCTOBER 5, 2017

Red Bull strength good for Vettel says Marko


Dr Helmut Marko thinks Red Bull's strength could play into the hands of former team driver Sebastian Vettel this weekend at Suzuka.

Current Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won last weekend in Malaysia, and now Marko thinks the team will once again be strong in Japan.

"It could help Sebastian if we are ahead of Mercedes once again," Marko told Auto Bild.

He is referring to the fact that Mercedes notably struggled at Sepang, despite the fact that Ferrari's technical problems meant Vettel's points deficit to Lewis Hamilton blew out to 34 points.

"We will be strong in Suzuka again," Marko added. "And we are still developing our car.

"In qualifying, Mercedes is still stronger with the qualifying mode of their engine. But in the race we were stronger last time," he said.

Meanwhile, Marko has hinted that news about Pierre Gasly's future at the junior team Toro Rosso will be forthcoming this weekend.

"Gasly will definitely end the season with us," he said. "It is not yet decided about Austin, because he is able to win the Super Formula title in Japan."

But when asked about 2018, Marko said of Frenchman Gasly: "I expect him to be at Toro Rosso next year."

 

Update on Ferrari's Gearbox and Turbo Manifolds.


OCTOBER 5, 2017

No gearbox penalty for Vettel in Japan


Sebastian Vettel's Japanese grand prix weekend has started well.

After Ferrari's horror outing in Malaysia last week, Vettel headed to Suzuka under a cloud due to his bizarre post-race crash with Lance Stroll.

The team had sent the German driver's gearbox back to Maranello, fearing a replacement would cost Vettel five penalty places on the grid this Sunday.

But Ferrari says the gearbox is in fact "still available" to use in Japan.

"Only the outer casing of the gearbox was damaged," a Ferrari source told us. "That can be replaced without a penalty."

The source added: "It's our best news for weeks."

But another piece of good news for Ferrari is that the carbon connections for the turbo units were also sent back to Maranello for checks, following two near-identical failures that cost both Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen in Malaysia.

The parts have reportedly been reinforced for Japan, with the changes also not incurring penalties because they were completed purely for reliability.

 

....errr ''only the outer casing of the gearbox is damaged, so no penalty''..........so who's watching ? ?
If all 6 top cars are really on form, there could be some very good racing...looking forward to that, now that Max and Ricci are up with best.

Those earlier posted spreadsheets showing attendance figures.....interesting............is being a spectator just tooo expensive now ? or is it just a lack of interest. ?
Too many races turning into processions.........cars now can't slipstream for fear of overheating etc etc...? How will they try to get the crowds back ?

 

I guess the plan for 2020 is the solution....maybe LOL

 

Whoa! There is the smoking gun and the proof in the pudding all wrapped in one: Look at this and it is clear that Stroll did nothing wrong. He even steered away from Vettel.

Seb totally blew this one. Case closed.

 

You need less aero and screaming engines to get fans back! And get rid of grid penalties.

 

+1