The F1 thread

Fretwired

Nitefly said:

Nomad said:

No ad breaks during the races is good.

Presenting team to be announced next year - I guess they want to see how many of the existing ones they can get. Hopefully, at least Suzi, EJ and DC. If they can get Brundle back in as lead commentator, that would be a score (MB and DC together were rather good, I thought).

All but the Irish dwarf, pleeease!  Agree about MB and DC though.

C4 won't get Brundle - he left the BBC as he only wanted to do live races. Coultard could go to Sky as he'd be better than Mr Personality Bybass Damien Hill.

Heartfeltdawn

Sky will offer a lot of cash for DC as he's the best guy out there on the grid right now for my money. Given C4's reputation for BME presenters, I fancy Karun Chandok might be a good tip to end up on C4's coverage in some form or other. 

Fretwired

Heartfeltdawn said:

Sky will offer a lot of cash for DC as he's the best guy out there on the grid right now for my money. Given C4's reputation for BME presenters, I fancy Karun Chandok might be a good tip to end up on C4's coverage in some form or other. 

Agree - or they could get that Indian ex-F1 racing driver. He covered for Coultard when he went racing and was pretty good.

Heartfeltdawn

Fretwired said:

Agree - or they could get that Indian ex-F1 racing driver. He covered for Coultard when he went racing and was pretty good.

Depends on racing commitments. Karun isn't involved in Formula E this year but might well be at Le Mans. Karthikeyan might be a stand-in for him during that time but Karun is the better of the two for me. He'd be perfect for the comedy interview segments. 

chillidoggy

Chandok is awful. Personality nil.

chillidoggy

The rest of the field must have their fingers crossed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/35299887

57Deluxe

Suzy Perry

holnrew

http://beta.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/122625/magnussen-set-to-replace-maldonado

Good. 

chillidoggy

I told you they'd punt the twat out, yet no-one would believe me.

stickyfiddle

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/02/01/maldonado-confirms-f1-exit/

Woo! Couldn't happen to a nicer idiot.

He will be missed, but not the right reasons...

chillidoggy

Smug moral high ground retained.

Heartfeltdawn

chillidoggy said:

Smug moral high ground retained.

It boiled down to PDVSA not paying the cash on time. Had they paid, he'd still be there. It wasn't a decision done purely on driving ability. That Mags got in there and JEV doesn't seem to have been much of a consideration does make you wonder what F1 team would pick up the Frenchman in the future. 

Fretwired

Thank the Saudis who have dumped the oil price forcing Maldanado's sponsors to pull out as cash is tight. I really don't rate Mags though .. I'm sure they could have got someone better. I guess he's just seat filler until the car gets competitive and they can sign a big name.

stickyfiddle

KMag officially back for Renault. Car is black with yellow bits for testing, but may change for racing, apparently..

Heartfeltdawn

stickyfiddle said:KMag officially back for Renault. Car is black with yellow bits for testing, but may change for racing, apparently..

So different to the colour scheme they had planned for Maldonado then: black and yellow with broken bits. 

Fretwired

Maldonado's planning to return in 2017.

stickyfiddle

Fretwired said:

Maldonado's planning to return in 2017.

He might be. I doubt anyone else is though!

Fretwired

stickyfiddle said:

Fretwired said:

Maldonado's planning to return in 2017.

He might be. I doubt anyone else is though!

I think he's spending a year to raise a lot of cash. Let's not forget that if his sponsor had paid Renault he'd still be driving. There will be teams who need to employ a paying driver.

FX_Munkee

I don't know, on the one hand he's not very good and I detest the fact that he's only there because of the sponsorship money he brings with him.
But on the other hand, having him swerve around at the back of the field in a Manor Marussia as the official "mobile chicane" would make a lot of the races/processions a damn sight more interesting/fun.

Fretwired

FX_Munkee said:

I don't know, on the one hand he's not very good and I detest the fact that he's only there because of the sponsorship money he brings with him.
But on the other hand, having him swerve around at the back of the field in a Manor Marussia as the official "mobile chicane" would make a lot of the races/processions a damn sight more interesting/fun.

He was offered a seat and turned it down (according to comments in the press).