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F1 2009 - The Official Thread


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The Ferrari garage will be an interesting place to be next season:

Massa: Alonso knew about race-fixing

Felipe Massa says he remains suspicious that Fernando Alonso did know about the deliberate crash plot at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix - but has vowed not to let it affect his future relationship with the Spaniard.

Massa spoke to Brazilian media during a get-together in Sao Paulo on Wednesday and, during the lunch, he said he was in no doubt that Alonso had to have been aware of the plans for Nelson Piquet to crash deliberately in the Singapore event last year to try and help him win.

"In all, he is the least of the problem," Massa was quoted as saying by the Brazilian media about Alonso's involvement in the affair.

"It was the team and Nelson - but Alonso was part of the problem. He knew. We can not know it [but] of course he knew. [it's an] absolute certainty."

The comments created a huge media storm in Brazil ahead of this weekend's grand prix, and Massa and Ferrari moved to clarify the remarks in a statement issued on the Maranello team's official website on Wednesday evening.

In it, Massa said that his comments relate to a feeling he has rather than being based on facts, and he totally respects the FIA's findings from its investigations that Alonso was not aware of the crash plot.

"What I've said is the outcome of a hunch I've had and is not based on any concrete evidence," Massa said in his statement. "The FIA World Council announced that there was no indication that Fernando may have been informed of what had happened and I respect this outcome.

"Obviously I'm very disappointed about what transpired last year in Singapore: I have already said several times what I thought about it and now it's time to close that chapter and to look to the future.

"What is certain is that this episode will not mar in any way the relationship I'll have with Fernando when we will be team-mates."

:o

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Argghh, why can't JB do qualifying?!

He's had to drive brilliantly the last few races to maintain his lead in the WDC. If he'd done those drives from the front of the grid rather than from the middle he'd be World Champion by now; he keeps letting himself down in the qualifying.

What a weird, weird season. I want JB to win, but I'll be happy for Rubens if he does. I can't think of another driver on the grid who I'd prefer the Championship to go to if it doesn't go to a Brit.

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A great race. I'm really happy for Jenson - he deserved it. Shame for Rubens - and a real shame he won't get a chance in a championship winning car again by the sounds of it. I really wanted him to end on a high in Brazil. I was always thinking Rubens will win in Brazil but Jenson will win the championship. I got it half right. Ross very emotional - and nice to see the sportsmanship and friendship between Jenson and Rubens.

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It's a shame crashgate has put you off, but it was so obvious it was going to damage the sport I'm not surprised to hear some people saying they're not interested anymore.

I bet you'll be back if Vettel goes on a run next season though. ;)

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Thanks Danny, and agree about seeing Massa back in the sport.

Ferrari: Alonso - Massa

McLaren: Hamilton - Raikkonen(?)

Arguably the four best drivers in the two "biggest" teams. It's up to the designers and engineers now to build two cars worthy of these drivers. I don't want this lot fighting it out in the midfield like we've seen this year.

That said, I don't want Button to be the third British WDC in a row unable to defend his crown because he ends up in a crap car (after Hamilton in this year's poor McLaren and poor old Damon Hill being shunted off to Arrows 12 years ago). Brawn must deliver!

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See how Brazilians are angry with Barrichello...

The video is in Portuguese, but the reaction is universally undestandable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VcGhTSWPGI...feature=related

The video was show just after Massa won for the first time the Brazilian GP in his second season in Ferrari.

Rubens is in F1 for 16 years and never ran well in Brazil.

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Thanks Danny, and agree about seeing Massa back in the sport.

Ferrari: Alonso - Massa

McLaren: Hamilton - Raikkonen(?)

Arguably the four best drivers in the two "biggest" teams. It's up to the designers and engineers now to build two cars worthy of these drivers. I don't want this lot fighting it out in the midfield like we've seen this year.

That said, I don't want Button to be the third British WDC in a row unable to defend his crown because he ends up in a crap car (after Hamilton in this year's poor McLaren and poor old Damon Hill being shunted off to Arrows 12 years ago). Brawn must deliver!

The impression we seemed to be getting over the weekend was that next year could be the most open championship in years.

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I can't see Ferarri and McLaren getting it so wrong next year. Both built cars which were too conservative and both missed the double diffuser "trick" which Brawn used so effectively. The cat's out of the bag now and the new 2010 chasiss will be built to accommodate all of this. If KERS is allowed next year they'll also have a huge headstart on the other teams (though I'm not sure it will be allowed).

That said, it's not as though next year doesn't have its own round of rule changes which could mix things up again, the biggest of which is the lack of refuelling which will require a larger fuel tank and a certain amount of redesigning. McLaren, I feel, are probably in the lead in this regard having built a "bulky" 2009 car to accommodate their KERS system. Cars like the Red Bull, which is a skinny thing, will have to undergo a fair amount of redesigning to accommodate such a tank.

I think McLaren and Ferrari will be back at the top again next year, Brawn will be on their tails as will Red Bull because they have the two best brains in the sport. The rest will be behind this lot. The new teams, I'm afraid, will probably struggle. I hear Manor F1 aren't even using a wind-tunnel to design their new car because of costs. That's a real throwback! Subsequently, I think gap between the front and back of the grid will be much, much wider than the last few seasons.

Well, there's my predictions. I could be miles off and probably will be now I've said all that!

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I think the end of refueling will require major redesigns, since the space and weight of the fuel tank is only part of the problem. Aerodynamics will be key, since the change of weight during the race will affect the tires and the stability of the car, requiring improvements in the set up and in the design of spoilers and distribution of weight. Not to mention that having big powerful engines will be useless, unless fuel consumption is not high. Big powerful gasoline demanding engines will not be used at their full capacity, due to the risk of not finishing the race.

I think this single change will require a major redesign in all cars, which makes the task to guess the prospective best team a pure guessing game, as it was for this year. And, don't forget that pilots will have to adapt as well. Ayrton Senna mastered the skills of driving fast and saving tires and fuel, in a era without refueling. I saw him win many races by just relying on less pits than its opponents.

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