2012 Formula 1 Off-weeks Thread

[E90SLAM]

Maldonado and Bottas confirmed for Williams

Williams has confirmed Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas will be its drivers for the 2013 Formula One season.

The news had been expected for some time, with Bottas stepping up from the reserve driver role to race driver and taking the place of Bruno Senna.

''In Pastor and Valtteri we have two of the most exciting talents in motor racing and I am especially excited about what 2013 can bring for Williams," team principal Sir Frank Williams said. "Pastor has always demonstrated remarkable pace and this year has seen him mature as a racing driver. Valtteri is quite simply one of the most talented young racing drivers I have come across and we expect great things from him in the future. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our departing driver Bruno Senna for his hard work over the past year and wish him the best of luck going forward.''

Maldonado continues at the team for a third consecutive year and is hoping to build on his first victory at the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this season

''I'm really enjoying my time with Williams and I was obviously very happy when I was told that I would be continuing with the team in 2013. 2012 was a memorable year for me with the win in Barcelona and we made a big step forward in terms of performance. I have a lot of confidence in the team and hopefully next year will see us move even further up the grid and taste more success.''

Bottas has driven in 15 free practice sessions for Williams this year and was the GP3 champion in 2011.

''It has always been my life-long dream to compete in the Formula One World Championship. To do so with one of the most legendary teams in the sport is incredibly special. I've really enjoyed my three years with Williams so far and feel very at home here so my goal was always to stay for 2013 and progress to a race seat. I'm looking forward to getting my Formula One career started and enjoying a lot of success with Williams.''

http://en.espnf1.com/williams/motors...ory/96626.html

Senna saw Bottas announcement coming

Bruno Senna said he was not surprised to find out he will be replaced by Valtteri Bottas at Williams next year, but insists he has no hard feelings towards the team and will announce his plans for 2013 soon.

On Wednesday Williams confirmed Bottas will join Pastor Maldonado at the team next year, leaving Senna to look elsewhere for a drive. But in a statement on his website, Senna said he had been anticipating the news since the start of the year.

"Since the beginning of my program with Williams I accepted that I had to share the car with Valtteri Bottas in 15 Fridays as a part of his preparation for a likely debut in 2013", he said.

Looking back on his season, Senna said he was proud he scored points at 10 of this year's 20 races.

"It has been extremely satisfying to be the team's most regular point scorer and for me to demonstrate my pace in all 20 races. I have learned a lot and improved considerably through the season. I have had a relatively short career so far and feel as though I have come a long way in just a few years.

"I had some notable achievements this year, such as the fastest lap in the Belgian GP, my favourite track, scoring points on a regular basis and making up many, many places through the races. Regularly racing in the top ten has certainly been a step forward in my still relatively short career and has allowed me to further sharpen up my race craft. Working with a competitive and supportive engineering team like Williams has left me well prepared for the next step in my career."

And he also thanked team boss Sir Frank Williams for giving him the opportunity to race a full season.

"I would like to thank the whole team and particularly Frank for giving me the chance of completing my first full season in F1. It has been extremely rewarding to develop the Williams FW34 into a consistently competitive race car and cracking the challenge of the Pirelli tyres has been just one of the satisfying points."

http://en.espnf1.com/williams/motors...ory/96636.html

[E90SLAM]

Sad ending to a useless team. But I feel pain for the mechanics and staff, they are the ones who hit the most.

Nov.28 (GMM) A brawl broke out at ailing F1 team HRT's Madrid headquarters after staff returned from Sao Paulo, El Mundo newspaper reports.

The report said the fight involved drunk mechanics who had gone straight from the airport to the team's factory to collect compensation for their redundancies.
"The atmosphere heated up and police had to be called to intervene," said the report.
A member of the failing team's management confirmed: "They began to threaten, push, hit; and because there was a violent situation we did call the police."

http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/dr...wl-at-factory/

[Nang Vann]

Sundays ain't the same without F1, can't wait for the new season to start for sure!

In the mean time, there's always F1 2012 on Playstation

[gary88]

I finally started playing F1 2012 again after not touching it for about a month, finished 24th in Hungary and 18th at Spa while qualifying last at both

[ChrisAW]

Originally Posted by gary88

I finally started playing F1 2012 again after not touching it for about a month, finished 24th in Hungary and 18th at Spa while qualifying last at both

driver assist on easy

[007MCoupe]

do you have a wheel or controller? what setting are you on?

[gary88]

I play on hard with traction on medium and everything else off with a controller. I swear I'm not bad I'm just in a Torro Rosso

[007MCoupe]

HAHA I haven't gotten 2012 yet, but I play on hard with traction off too, but I have the logitech g27. it makes a WORLD of a difference.

[ChrisAW]

Originally Posted by 007MCoupe

HAHA I haven't gotten 2012 yet, but I play on hard with traction off too, but I have the logitech g27. it makes a WORLD of a difference.

I just play with the arrows LOL.

I was looking at the SRW-S1 motion sensing wheel since I dont want something bulky that sits on the desk. Is that thing any good?

[Nang Vann]

Yeh that F1 2012 game is not easy on professional level, amateur and intermediate is alright.

A little bit of traction control helps

[007MCoupe]

Originally Posted by ChrisAW

I just play with the arrows LOL.

I was looking at the SRW-S1 motion sensing wheel since I dont want something bulky that sits on the desk. Is that thing any good?

the logitech wheel is awesome. I haven't used any other wheels for comparison though. The force feedback is great. after a few hours of practice, qualys, and the race (each race) i have to take a break! lol

I like it because when you start to lose traction, the wheel starts ease up, almost like it would in a real car. The feedback through different turns is amazing. (example) turns 1-3 in Malaysia, going from a long right hander to the hard left and having to get on the throttle at the right time proved REALLY difficult when I took the traction option off. Turn 11 in China sucks for me as well. the wheel going from left to right like that is a little stiff, but managable. Now take Eau Rouge. a FAST right-left with this wheel is not only FUN, but really realistic (not that I've done anything near that in a real car yet). The throttle and brake pedals are really sensitive too. You barely press the gas, you're going.

I just have mine attached to my old computer desk for now and use a dining chair for the seat. lol

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by gary88

I play on hard with traction on medium and everything else off with a controller. I swear I'm not bad I'm just in a Torro Rosso

That's tough!!!

[Nang Vann]

Woo Hoo just recieved my Melbourne F1 grand stand tickets in the mail!

Can't wait, c'mon Webbo bring it home in front of all the Aussies!

[Deovann07]

This will not cause any complications at all, however, new changes are expected since McLaren needs someone to replace Hamilton’s seat.

Formula one may take a new course in this year of 2013, with high expectations and a title to catch

[UltimateBMW]

This has been a pretty busy off season.

With Bernie on the edge of a lawsuit and Mallya's holding folding up, we may see Force India change hands to a well known figure and if you really put your tinfoil hat on good and tight, it may be renamed something quite iconic.

[Lee]

Question: I live in Germany and am able to watch races on the BBC, when they air them. Does anyone know of a way to watch all of them in English? I don't mind paying, I just want to see them all. Thanks.

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by Lee

Question: I live in Germany and am able to watch races on the BBC, when they air them. Does anyone know of a way to watch all of them in English? I don't mind paying, I just want to see them all. Thanks.

Sky TV. Not sure if you get that in Germany.

[Deovann07]

The 64th Season of the Formula one Grand Prix 2013, which is known to be the highest class of competition for open wheel racing cars and a motor racing championship for Formula one cars is recognized by the Sport’s governing body Federation Internationale de I’Automobile (FIA).

[Deovann07]

Australian Grand Prix to be held in Albert Park, Melbourne on the 17th of March 2013 at the Melbourne’s spectacular Albert Park street circuit..