Jalopnik: Formula

Honda Rumored To Be Selling F1 Team

Andrew Didorosi — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:30:00 EST

According to GrandPrix.com, Honda may be attempting to sell their F1 team before Christmas. If the sale does not take place before then the team could be dismantled. It's still 4:00 am in Japan so there's no official comment.

Reports are coming in stating a flurry of applications from Honda F1 employee-hopefuls have been going unanswered for some period of time. This is a bad sign; not responding to apps could mean management doesn't see a future for the team. We hope either this report is false or some big Daddy Warbucks steps in to buy himself a plaything. Thanks to Mark and everyone for the tips [GrandPrix]

F1 Loves All Its Fans Equally, Except Some More Equally Than Others

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 10:40:00 EDT

The F1 Paddock Club is the seating area where the Formula One uber-rich go to wine, dine, converse and oh yes, watch some cars do something or the other. Although most invitees to this exclusive club have an income level rivaling some small nations, it must be so bothersome to actually attend the races when they could be out on their yacht in the middle of the Mediterranean. The Paddock Club assists them by acting as a shanty of sorts providing the barest of essentials to help them make it through a day roughing it at the track. Frankly, it's a wonder they even manage to have pan seared tuna and on-site pastry chefs. The folks at F1Fanatic have put together a guide to this brave new world. [Check out the digs at F1Fanatic]

McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa Thinks Women Are Too Weak To Race In F1

Mark Arnold — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:20:00 EDT

With all the buzz over Danica Patrick wiping the floor at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan last weekend, it's easy to forget there's other talented females engaged in various forms of motorsport across the world. Just look at Michèle Mouton's rally career — multiple wins in her Audi Quattro and finishing a close second place in the 1982 WRC championship. So you know that the girls can go just as fast as the boys — and as we saw this past weekend, sometimes faster. So this ultimately leads to the question, "Can a women be successful in Formula One?" Well, veteran McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa seems to think women might just not be strong enough to deal with the rigors of the track.

According to F1-Live, the 37-year old de la Rosa said:

"There are less and less obstacles because there are now many women in kart racing ... The base of the pyramid is expanding ... I would be delighted to see it happen sooner or later, but it is more difficult for women because of the important physical elements of racing in Formula One,"

Although we wonder what Danica would have to say about that, we're pretty sure she's too busy on a Sports Illustrated or FHM shoot to dignify it with a response. Of course as soon as she's done with that, she'd probably point out to de la Rosa that she managed to do pretty well against Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Dan Wheldon and Tony Kanaan. Of course none of them were in Formula 1, but who's counting. [via F1-Live]

Geely GF Formula Racer Is Actually Real

Mark Arnold — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:20:00 EDT

When we first showed you a rendering of the Geely formula car, details were unavailable on what exactly it would be. We scoffed and expected nothing more than a semi-functional fiberglass F1-wannabe. But it turns out Geely actually turned up to the Beijing Motor Show with a relatively impressive machine. While it's not going to be racing in Formula One, it will be raced in Formula Geely, an Asia-only spec-series. How close is it to F1 specifications?

Well, the car is allegedly made of carbon-fiber. Though we're not too sure how much time (if any) has been spent refining the aerodynamics in a wind tunnel. Power comes from a 3.5-liter engine, which is pretty impressive, considering that F1 cars only have 2.4-liters. Thing is, while the 2.4 in Ferrari or McLaren racer is a V8 estimated as making around 800 HP, the Geely's 3.5 is a V6 that we estimate as making around 80 HP— ok, maybe a little more than that. We're not saying we'd turn down a chance to take it around a track and play with its 6-speed semi-automatic gearbox, but until it gets a fancy nose piercing like Ferrari's race car, we're not so excited by the GF.
[thetycho]

New F1 Rules: Will They Have an Effect on Spectators?

Mike Spinelli — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 08:38:39 EST

New rules here