De la Rosa not yet confirmed at Campos because hes waiting out on Epsilon?

[Giuseppe F1]

Interesting piece from grandprix.com....


Could make sense -

If Episilon likely to get the BMW slot (Plus, there are now rumours the FIA will open up 2 new team slots now - one the BMW slot and one brand new one, so 14 potential teams in 2010), then expected they would go with Renault engines and it seems Pedro de la Rosa may see move performance potential in an Episilon Euskadi-Renault package than a CamposDallara-Cosworth one as big rumour is that Cosworths are to be seriously uncompetitive next year.


Would make sense owing to Red Bull as current Renault customer looking at Merc units from next year as well as Joan Villadeprat's historical relationship with Flavio and Benetton/Renault.


It was long rumoured that Adrian Campos would have announced his drive line up at the last race in Valencia (De La Rosa/Vitaly Petrov) and it seems this is the sticking point - That Pedro is waiting to see whether Epsilon get an entry or not. If they do, hes with them, if they dont, hell go to Campos.

Also rumoured that Campos has now secured significant backing from Telefonica and BBVA (Spain's second biggest bank behind Santander) so together with USF1 (YouTube) and Manor (Virgin) its kind of amazing to see these brand new teams with brand new sponsorship departments coming in with such coveted and high profile sponsors to front their maiden F1 efforts.

This kind of reminds me of the 2000 season at the height of the dot com boom when ALL the teams in F1 up and down the paddock had significant sponsor deals with some impressive big brands (at the time at least), even the smaller teams (Arrows-Orange / Prost-Yahoo / Minardi-Telefonica etc....)

[Giuseppe F1]

Heres the grandprix.com link:

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21749.html

AUGUST 25, 2009
Campos and Petrov

Adrian Campos was supposed to name his drivers during the Valencia weekend but he was unable to do so. The latest stories suggest that this was because the team's planned number one driver is Pedro de la Rosa - who is currently McLaren's test driver. He is believed to be waiting to see if Epsilon Euskadi gets an entry. This is entirely logical as Campos is committed to run Cosworth engines and Epsilon is likely to arrive with a much more competitive Renault deal (there will be some of the French engines available when Red Bull Racing announces its planned switch to Mercedes-Benz).

The word in F1 circles is that the Cosworth engine is not going to be very competitive. Designed several years ago, it is heavier and less fuel efficient than the current generation of engines and while this can be improved upon in the mid-term, it is not going to happen before the start of the 2010 season. It is reckoned that because there will be no refuelling next year, Cosworth cars will have to carry an additional 18kg of fuel. This will mean that the designers will have to build bigger fuel tanks and this will effect both the weight distribution of the cars and the handling. The result of all this will be that the cars will use their tyres less efficiently than the existing teams. Engineers from rival teams calculate that this will cost the three new Cosworth teams around three to four seconds a lap.

It is whispered that Campos has found the support of Telefonica, which was a sponsor of Renault until the start of 2007. The Spanish telecommunications giant then moved its support and became the title sponsor of the European GP. There is also talk of support from Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), the second largest bank in Spain behind McLaren sponsor Santander. The bank has recently focused on overseas expansion, notably in Asia. Thus an F1 sponsorship makes a lot of sense. In addition there have been stories of a sponsorship involving El Corte Ingles, a highly diversified company, best known for its department stores. The company is also looking to expand internationally.

The latest rumours say that the second Campos seat would likely go to Russian Vitaly Petrov, who has been racing in GP2 in recent years with Campos's team (which is now owned by Alejandro Agag and renamed Addax). The 24-year-old Russian seems to have plenty of money behind him, although the identity of his sponsors is not really clear. He is rumoured to have as much as $15m to take to a Formula 1 team and, of course, the F1 world is keen to get more Russian involvement in the sport, as it is a country which has potential for many of the F1 sponsors.

[Giuseppe F1]

The word in F1 circles is that the Cosworth engine is not going to be very competitive. Designed several years ago, it is heavier and less fuel efficient than the current generation of engines and while this can be improved upon in the mid-term, it is not going to happen before the start of the 2010 season. It is reckoned that because there will be no refuelling next year, Cosworth cars will have to carry an additional 18kg of fuel. This will mean that the designers will have to build bigger fuel tanks and this will effect both the weight distribution of the cars and the handling. The result of all this will be that the cars will use their tyres less efficiently than the existing teams. Engineers from rival teams calculate that this will cost the three new Cosworth teams around three to four seconds a lap.


WTF!! Is that a typo?

Three to four seconds a lap??? Do they mean three to four tenths a lap??

Heck, if it IS three to four seconds a lap, then forget Campos commissioning Dallara to build them a brand new F1 chassis, theyd be better off just using one of Dallara's GP2 cars and theyd be less off the pace with that then 3-4 seconds!

[ioan]

WTF!! Is that a typo?

Three to four seconds a lap??? Do they mean three to four tenths a lap??

Heck, if it IS three to four seconds a lap, then forget Campos commissioning Dallara to build them a brand new F1 chassis, theyd be better off just using one of Dallara's GP2 cars and theyd be less off the pace with that then 3-4 seconds!

It's about the engine not about the chassis.

[Giuseppe F1]

It's about the engine not about the chassis.

Obviously but im meaning that the 'package' would likely be quicker!

[ioan]

Obviously but im meaning that the 'package' would likely be quicker!

But not conform to the F1 rules.

[Giuseppe F1]

Lighten up, Ioan - OBVIOUSLY they wont field a GP2 car in an F1 grand prix - its called a joke :)

[ioan]

Lighten up, Ioan - OBVIOUSLY they wont field a GP2 car in an F1 grand prix - its called a joke :)

I was just trying to make sure it's a joke. Sorry if it came out otherwise. :(

[ykiki]

Wow, 3-4 seconds??? That does seem a bit much. Also, much of this is based off an extra 18kg of fuel.

This is where I need some help. Just how much is 18kg to these cars? With the 2009 setup, how much less fuel is carried by a "light" car in Q2 versus a fully-fueled car in Q3? Surely not 3-4 seconds worth. But what's the difference in fuel weight between a car running in Q2 and one running in Q3?

[ioan]

Wow, 3-4 seconds??? That does seem a bit much. Also, much of this is based off an extra 18kg of fuel.

This is where I need some help. Just how much is 18kg to these cars? With the 2009 setup, how much less fuel is carried by a "light" car in Q2 versus a fully-fueled car in Q3? Surely not 3-4 seconds worth. But what's the difference in fuel weight between a car running in Q2 and one running in Q3?

You mean extra 100 kgs of fuel!

[Saint Devote]

Talk about cash for clunkers - no wonder all the test drivers are clamoring - oops I forgot "the experienced" drivers are looking to race and be paid, ye gods!

The cars will be so slow that they could all drive like an old woman - Badoer - and nobody would be the wiser!!!! LOL!!!

If the Cosworth problem is accurate then it is time for the FIA to expand the grid to three cars as Montezemolo wants or allow engine manufacturers to supply as many they want.

Cant HAVE slow cars on track anymore it will make f1 look more ridiculous than the current idiotic tire regulations. Was Alonso ever correct on this one - but what does he know, he is only a double [consecutive] world champion.

[Saint Devote]

Dragging these f1 geriatrics back on stage is really pathetic.

Are the new f1 teams pretty lost? - in which case they shouldnt be in f1 anyway.

Asking the damn drivers to return is not good for f1. F1 is about the best not the also-rans. The Tyrrells, Jordans, Minardis and Saubers would sign NEW drivers because of their potential, not old hacks that couldnt win anything even in their prime!

If they must I guess sign the old sloggers like Heidfeld who is NEVER going to be a star driver. But leave the de la Rosa's and Badoer's where they belong, trundling around testing.

Even Schumacher's a push - why? Because the man has had his chance, as has Villeneuve.

At 40 years old its time to STAY left!

[UltimateDanGTR]

doesnt look good for cosworth teams-its gonna be like watching fortis and colonis going round if 4 secs a lap is correct.

anyway, good to hear that epsilon look good for the bmw slot, always liked them and they;ve built their own cars before, good stuff.

[I am evil Homer]

Pedro shouldn't be anywhere near F1 IMO - he's yesterday's man, and even when he was todays man he was still very average.

[jens]

Saint Devote, take it easier. :p : You seem to have a serious grudge against experienced drivers and keep bashing them in several threads. They are a natural part of F1, always have been. Just get used to it. :p :

[ClarkFan]

This kind of reminds me of the 2000 season at the height of the dot com boom when ALL the teams in F1 up and down the paddock had significant sponsor deals with some impressive big brands (at the time at least), even the smaller teams (Arrows-Orange / Prost-Yahoo / Minardi-Telefonica etc....)
Arrangement that worked out for how long? 30-40 minutes?

Definitely looks like some teams are opting for the "old tosser + new sponsor favorite" combination. We'll see how that works out - snappy battles for 21st, perhaps?

ClarkFan

[Saint Devote]

Saint Devote, take it easier. :p : You seem to have a serious grudge against experienced drivers and keep bashing them in several threads. They are a natural part of F1, always have been. Just get used to it. :p :

I have nothing against experienced drivers. I do think that drivers making up the numbers and essentially having plateaued should just shove off. And whether they are experienced [code word for the f1 geriatric] or not is not important.

Their potential has been explored and there are just too few seats and a worthy number of drivers that should be offered the opportunity.

And the teams that are really looking ridiculous on this are the newcomers. US F1 [I sincerely hope they think of a real name for the car] in particular with that little bitch named Windsor seeking to install Wurz!!!!!? and an undeserved driver merely because he is American is the most ridiculous.