Formula One Updates

Yes, there is Formula One news happening right now, and yes, there are some big stories. Here is a recap of some of the stories that are happing as I type.

Firstly, Renault is again meeting to see if racing in F1 is viable to the success of their company. They have been on the fence for a couple of months about whether to stay or leave and there has been rampant speculation flying around that they would be the next to leave after Toyota and BMW this season. Earlier in the off season, they announced that they are committed to F1 and that they would certainly be racing. Now, the company is having another meeting to discuss their future, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the team goes on the chopping block. However, it sounds like there is a buyer should that happen.

David Richards, the owner of Prodrive, has been looking for a way into F1 for a couple of years now. It is being tossed around that he could be the buyer of the team should the company decided to get rid of it. And while the team may not be in the sport, they will probably simply become an engine supplier so that their name is still there. Look for news of this possibly in a few weeks, as the board is scheduled to meet on December 14th. In other F1 news, Sauber has been confirmed as the 13th team. This means that there will be 26 cars on the grid and it could get really congested out there. This is a good thing though, as Peter Sauber had been wanting to stay in F1, even after BMW called it quits, and now it looks like that will be a possibility. The team will be taking the place of the departing Toyota squad and has been confirmed so long as they sign the Concorde Agreement, which shouldn’t be a problem.

And winter rookie testing continues to move forward at Jerez in Spain. Though the time sheets change all the time, it is interesting to note that the Red Bulls and the McLarens and Brawns are still at the top of the sheets. Meanwhile, the F60 Ferrari continues to be a difficult car to drive as it resides down the sheets for many of the tests. Here’s hoping that all the cars get on pace so that the season is especially exciting and comes down to the wire once again.

Top Gear 14.3

This week, the boys once again took on the caravan, drove a new Lambo, found out the greatest car maker and had a star in a reasonably priced car.

The caravan is the scourge of the British road network. Every year these monstrosities clog up roadways and cause traffic jams that delay other motorists and annoy the general populace. James May has a solution for you. And that solution involves hot air balloons. You see, all you have to do is attach a caravan to the underside of a balloon and you can take to the skies and there will be less clutter on the road networks for the people who actually enjoy driving. So this is what James did, while Richard got to hoon around in the new Lamborghini Gallardo Balboni. As always happens, James got into trouble with the air police as he had no control over where he was going and forgot to factor in that there might be a slight breeze while in the air. On the ground, Richard loved the Balboni, and found that it was the perfect car for buying with your heart, but not your mind. If you think about it too much, the investment doesn’t seem all that great. Sure, it is a rear drive Lambo, but it costs $20,000 more than the standard Gallardo and that means you are paying for less. Less driven wheels, less weight, less power = more money. Well, whatever, Lamborghini will still manage to sell all of them because there are many people out there who still think with their heart rather than their heads.

The star this week was none other than Chris Evans. To say that he is a fan of Ferraris would be an understatement. In fact, he is the person who bought the 250 GTB short wheel base for 12+ million dollars at auction. He seems like a good guy though as he lends out his collection to be driven by anyone who is a high bidder for some charity cause. Plus, his former girlfriend was Billie Piper, and you can’t argue with that. His lap was actually pretty good for it being so dang wet on the track though and he was the best guest that they have had this season so far.

In the final part of the show, the boys went so far as to determine which car manufacturer has made the most brilliant cars ever, thus making them the greatest car company in the world. Out of the millions of people who responded to the question, nine came up with the same answer. No, it wasn’t Ferrari, Lamborghini, Ford or BMW or Mercedes. It was, drum roll… Lancia?! Yes, the Top Gear crew has lost its mind. Sure Lancia has made a significant contribution to the motoring and rallying world with the Stratos, Integrale, 037 and Fulvia. But to say that they made more great cars is a little out there. Now, I am in full agreement that these cars are great, in fact I love the Delta Integrale and the Stratos is a thing of beauty, but they haven’t made a contribution to the automobile world in more than a decade, as the Delta Integrale was last made in 1994. Truthfully, I would have said Ford or Ferrari, but sometimes these guys just have to be different. Honestly though, I was happy to see a show that featured a Stratos and an Integrale because these cars are some of the best there have ever been and, especially the Stratos, are some of the best looking that have ever been produced.

Top Gear 14.2

In this week’s episode of Top Gear, the boys built their own car, a guest drove round the track and they performed a test of an Audi and a Chevrolet.

First off, the guest. I had no idea who this guy was, but apparently he is in some Twilight movie that is quite popular. His name is Michael Sheen, and really, that’s all I know about him. Other than he was in Frost/Nixon and does a good impersonation of Tony Blair, he is also very quick around the track. Even though he didn’t seem to be taking the correct line or driving very smooth, he somehow managed to eek out a lap that was very impressively fast. I believe that the whole lap was won in the second to last corner, where he entered at an unbelievable pace that I have never before seen. Maybe more stars should use that tactic.

In the car test, Clarkson had an Audi R8 V10 on track. He said it was amazingly quick, and it should be. The thing has a Lamborghini V10 in the back that pumps out 520 hp, but it also costs about $150,000. And it doesn’t even look that much different from the V8, except for the little V10 badge on the arches and those horrible looking wheels. Really, those wheels are horrendous and I’m surprised they were approved. Overall, the car sounds good, looks good and goes really fast; but not as fast as the Chevy Corvette ZR1. Though these two cars may not seem like direct competitors, they are actually closer than you might think. For one thing, the Vette has a supercharged V8 that pumps out a ridiculous 638 hp and 604 ft lbs of torque. This means that it is faster than the Audi through the quarter mile and has a higher top speed. It is also surprisingly faster around a track, though you really do have to work at it to make it fast. Also, the Corvette costs only $107,000, and that is a bargain for the performance that you get. However, the Audi is, of course, put together better, will last longer, is faster in the real world, looks better and isn’t made of plastic. Plus, Corvettes have some of the worst seats in the business for being a sports car. Hell, my Subaru has sportier seats that that thing. In the end, the Vette blitzed the Audi around the track, even though it was damp as well. I can’t imagine how fast that thing would be if it had actually been dry.

In the third segment, the boys took a look at building their own electric car and posed the question, “How hard can it be?” turns out, it’s really hard. With Hammond on the chassis, May on the motors and Clarkson (the useless sod) on the body, their work all came together to create Geoff. It turned out to be a big box with a TVR chassis and two batteries for power. The top speed of Geoff was a paltry 10 mph and, as everyone should have seen coming, the boys got into trouble when they clogged up streets, caused slow downs on motorways and eventually left the car alone where it rolled down a hill and into a tree. But that wasn’t the end of the car. They came back in the second half of the segment and remade Geoff as the Thrust Eagle Hammerheadi… or something like that. Anyway, the basic car was exactly the same, with a new bumper and more batteries. They then took the car to the UK proving grounds and put it through its paces. They smashed it into a wall, put it in the side impact machine and performed a drag race with it against tough competition. The car, amazingly, passed all of the tests with flying colors and was given to the auto reviewers at Autocar so that they could test it. Turns out that it actually sucks.

Next week it sounds like they will be making rally cars or something and be figuring out which car company has made the greatest number of brilliant cars. Also, flying caravans; so stay tuned.