I stuffed up. 4pm EST for qual race tomorrow 5pm EST Qual is live on one HD, but two hours delayed Race is also live, but at the same time as the race! gee i'm funny. There's pre race stuff at 4.30pm
http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/cgi-bin/TV/detail?date=Friday_24_April&chan=ONE&state=Melbourne&descrip=MARK+WEBBER+CHALLENGE&fta=1&fox=0&opt=0&time=11%2e30+pm
McLaren Mercedes were invited to attend an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris today to face charges of multiple breaches of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code - essentially fraudulent conduct which brings the sport into dispute. Today a statement from the FIA WMSC announced that the Woking-based squad has received a suspended three race ban for its actions, a light sentence that essentially reflects the teams efforts to apologise to the governing body and fans of the sport. Having regard to the open and honest way in which McLaren Team Principal, Mr Martin Whitmarsh, addressed the WMSC and the change in culture which he made clear has taken place in his organisation, the WMSC decided to suspend the application of the penalty it deems appropriate," the statement read. That penalty is a suspension of the team from three races of the FIA Formula One World Championship. This will only be applied if further facts emerge regarding the case or if, in the next 12 months, there is a further breach by the team of article 151c of the International Sporting Code, it concluded. The whole sorry lie-gate situation dated back to the season-opening Australian Grand Prix where Lewis Hamilton was instructed by the team to allow Jarno Trulli to pass him whilst behind the safety car. Trulli had made an error and slipped off the circuit allowing Hamilton to initially gain the position. Following the race the stewards deemed Trullis pass illegal on Hamilton and handed the Toyota driver a 25 second time penalty dropping the Italian from third to a non-points scoring position. It later emerged that Hamilton had deliberately let Trulli past and the time penalty was retracted. There were five charges against the McLaren Mercedes team. Firstly, on 29th March they told Australian Grand Prix stewards that no instructions were given to Lewis Hamilton to allow Trulli pass when behind the safety car. This was untrue. Secondly, the team procured Hamilton to confirm this untrue statement to the Melbourne stewards. Thirdly, the team knew that as a result of its actions, Trulli would be stripped of his third position and the team made no attempt to rectify the situation. Fourthly, on 2nd April a second meeting with the stewards in Malaysia saw the team continue with its untrue statement despite being allowed listen to team radio instructing Hamilton to allow Trulli past. Finally, the team again procured Hamilton to continue with his false statement. Sporting Director Dave Ryan, present with Hamilton in the stewards hearings, took the fall for McLaren with the team announcing on 3rd April that he had been suspended from his position. Four days later when acknowledging the 'invitation' to attend the World Motor Sport Council meeting, the team announced that the long-serving Ryan had been sacked. Hamilton meanwhile was busy making his apologies to the media in Malaysia claiming he had been 'misled' by Ryan. It was uncomfortable viewing as the defending champion deflected all calls that he had deliberately lied to the stewards. I went into the meeting. I had no intention of... I just wanted to tell the story of what had happened and I was misled," he said. "Thats just the way it went. Im not a liar, Im not a dishonest person, he claimed. Im a team player and every time Ive been instructed to do something Ive done it. This time Ive realised it was a huge mistake and Im learning from it. Its taken a huge toll on me. Back at the Woking base Ron Dennis announced on 16th April that he was severing all ties with the race team to focus on the road car division of the company. Many saw this is an action to try to appease the sport's governing body, given the long-running feud between Dennis and FIA President Max Mosley. "I admit I'm not always easy to get on with," Dennis said at the time. "I admit I've always fought hard for McLaren in Formula One. I doubt if Max Mosley or Bernie Ecclestone will be displeased by my decision. But no-one asked me to do it. It was my decision. Equally, I was the architect of today's restructure of the McLaren Group. Again, no-one asked me to do it. It was my decision." The team regrouped, completed the Chinese and Bahrain Grand Prix before Martin Whitmarsh travelled alone to Paris today to give his account of the teams actions. While McLaren certainly has a lot to learn from 'lie-gate' the same can be said for the FIA stewards who initially took the words of two individuals to penalise a rival driver without checking the facts thoroughly. Earl ALEXANDER © CAPSIS International
This morning the FIA World Motor Sport Council met in Paris with McLaren Mercedes Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh to discuss events that took place at the Australian and Malaysian Grand Prix, commonly referred to as 'lie-gate'. As a result of its actions, the Woking-based team has been handed a suspended three race ban and warned that the penalty will be applied should the team again be found in breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code within the next 12 months. In a statement issued this afternoon, McLaren said that it 'accepts the FIA World Motor Sport Council's decision' and went on to thanks the WMSC for a 'very fair hearing'. "I would like to thank the FIA World Motor Sport Council members for affording me the opportunity to answer their questions this morning," Whitmarsh stated. "We are aware that we made serious mistakes in Australia and Malaysia, and I was therefore very glad to be able to apologise for those mistakes once again." "I was also pleased to be able to assure the FIA World Motor Sport Council members that we had taken appropriate action with a view to ensuring that such mistakes do not occur again," he added. Once again, the team were keen to emphasise its efforts 'to develop a closer and more co-operative relationship' with the sports governing body. Earl ALEXANDER © CAPSIS International
has someone important been forgotten about? Ron Dennis' departure appears to have contributed to the 'slap on the wrist' penalty given to McLaren by the World Motor Sport Council. After Wednesday's 'lie-gate' hearing in Paris, both new team boss Martin Whitmarsh and FIA President Max Mosley indicated that it was the recent departure of more than one McLaren figure that led council members to suspend the intended three-race ban. "Anyone involved in a decision to mislead the stewards has now left," Whitmarsh - who turned 51 on the same day - was quoted as saying by British newspapers. Team manager Dave Ryan was sacked over the affair, but until now it has not been clear that Dennis' similar departure was related to his involvement in the handling of the Jarno Trulli safety car incident. "WMSC members were convinced that the comment (by Whitmarsh) alluded to Dennis' complicity," a writer for the Daily Mail surmised. Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Mosley seemed to back Whitmarsh's suggestion that Ryan was not the only person involved in the decision to lie to stewards in Australia and Malaysia. Responding to claims the suspended ban is a mere slap on the wrist, the FIA President said: "I don't think they escaped lightly because in the end there were decisions taken by people who are no longer involved." F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone, also present, said it was Whitmarsh's totally contrite manner in front of the council that saved McLaren. "They got a slap but that was fair. It's good for everybody," he added. Mercedes' Norbert Haug also said the suspended ban was a fair outcome. E.A. © CAPSIS International Source: GMM
my goodness! As proposed the World Motor Sport Council today confirmed a number of changes for the 2010 Formula One championship, the headline being the option to run under a cost cap of £40m. The FIA body also however confirmed that re-fuelling and tyre warmers will not be permitted next year. "Refuelling during a race will be forbidden in order to save the costs of transporting refuelling equipment and increase the incentive for engine builders to improve fuel economy (to save weight)," a statement read. "Tyre blankets will be banned and that the ban on other tyre-heating devices will be maintained. " The WMSC stated that the amended 2010 Sporting and Technical regulations will be available shortly. Re-fuelling was re-introduced to the sport in 1994 after being originally banned a decade earlier. Earl ALEXANDER © CAPSIS International
Ferrari's heavily revised F60 made its track debut on Friday. The new package, up to 15 kilograms lighter than the original 2009 version according to Italian reports, is undergoing straight line testing with Marc Gene behind the wheel. The saved weight, in all areas including the material used for the seat belts, will benefit Ferrari's use of KERS, culminating in what they hope is a lap-time gain of several tenths. The Italian team has already confirmed that the updated package will feature a double-decker diffuser. The aerodynamic test at Vairano, Italy, will be completed on Saturday. E.A. © CAPSIS International Source: GMM Image Unavailable, Please Login
The controversial 'winner takes all' scoring system has been rubber stamped for introduction in 2010 by the FIA World Motor Sport Council. The governing body tried to introduce Bernie Ecclestone's favoured system this year, but the late change was vetoed by the Formula One Teams' Association. We reported in March that the FIA would consult the teams before trying to introduce the system for 2010, but the new sporting regulations for next year already feature the controversial rule. Article 6 states that the drivers' title 'will be awarded to the driver who has been classified first in the greatest number of races'. The news has until now slipped the attention of the media because - unlike all other changes to the rules - the amended rule was not highlighted in pink and underlined in copies of the 2010 sporting regulations. The FIA also confirmed that, accompanying the ban on race refuelling next year, drivers in 'Q3' can refuel under parc ferme conditions prior to the race. This change ensures the spectacle of low-fuel dashes for pole position, not affected by varying race strategies. Source: GMM © CAPSIS International
While BMW Sauber has dropped its Kinetic Energy Recovery System for the Spanish Grand Prix, Ferrari has confirmed that the technology will still feature on the F60 package this weekend in Barcelona. Like BMW Sauber, the famous Italian team is unveiling a major aerodynamic upgrade for the Circuit de Catalunya race. It is believed that, because BMW's upgraded F1.09 features notably smaller sidepods, there was no longer room for the existing KERS battery packs. "We're working on a new solution," team boss Mario Theissen confirmed to the German press. "Anyway, for Monaco KERS is not really compatible, and afterwards in Istanbul we will come with a new package. We are putting the whole KERS concept under the magnifying glass again." He said it is unlikely that teams will abandon KERS altogether. "I am convinced that in the second half of the season the fastest car will have KERS," said Theissen. It is believed that Renault has also abandoned KERS at least for the next two races, but the same is not true of Ferrari, despite its major car upgrade. "For us KERS is a clear advantage. We saw that with the comparison test in Friday practice in Bahrain," said Felipe Massa, to be one of just four drivers in Spain this weekend with such a system. Test driver Marc Gene, who shook down the latest Ferrari package at Vairano late last week, confirmed that KERS is still on board. "We cannot just take it off the car," the Spaniard remarked to the sports daily Marca. To offset his KERS weight disadvantage, Kimi Raikkonen's F60 this weekend will be six kilograms lighter than his team-mate Massa's. From Monaco, Massa will also have a version of the lighter chassis. E.A. © CAPSIS International Source: GMM Image Unavailable, Please Login
"We will be lining up in Barcelona with an extensive development package for the F1.09, which we have put together for the start of the European season," head of engineering Willy Rampf confirmed, "The nose section, more deeply undercut sidepods and the rear wing are all totally new while, added to which, modifications have also been made to the front wing, engine cover and underbody". Probably, the biggest deal in F1 this week has slipped by under the media's radar. Included in the FIA rule package for next season is bernie's controversial medal system. Most wins wins the drivers championship. Consistent second places can't do it with points anymore.
FIA president Max Mosley's son Alexander has been found dead at his London home. Alexander Mosley, who was a 39-year-old economist, was discovered by a relative at his home in Notting Hill yesterday afternoon. He has not yet been formally identified. "We were called at 16.20pm on Tuesday to reports of a male found dead at a property in W11," said a statement from Scotland Yard. "He was pronounced dead at the scene. The man is in his late thirties. "We believe we know the identity of the deceased. The Coroner's office has been informed." The FIA has expressed its sympathy for the Mosley family. "The FIA extends sincere condolences to the Mosley family on the sad news of the death of Alexander Mosley," said a statement from motorsport's governing body. "Our thoughts are with Alexander's family and friends, and we would request that the media respect the Mosley family's privacy at this difficult time." Whether you're for or against Mad Max, one has to have sympathy for a parent to lose their child.
Just read it's a suspected drug overdose. http://www.worldcarfans.com/9090506.018/mosley-son-dies-of-drug-overdose
Aussie EST for this weekend. FRI Practice 1 18:00 Results FRI Practice 2 22:00 Results SAT Practice 19:00 Results SAT Qualifying 22:00 Results SUN Race 22:00 Anyone got links for live streaming?
Not yet. Still waiting for passwords. Its 8am in the states and the guys aren't about yet. Got links for Spa 1000k if anyone is interested.
