That account is not fake.

Quote: Sonny wrote in post #597

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Autosport.com (Mark Hughes) rated Kimi the 7th best driver of 2013. And Romain was 6th!




I can't believe that bullshit was even published

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I saw on another website someone posted a tweet from E.B. Saying everything was a rumour and he's staying at LF1 next year

Quote: miezicat wrote in post #602

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That account is not fake.

Quote: Sonny wrote in post #597

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Autosport.com (Mark Hughes) rated Kimi the 7th best driver of 2013. And Romain was 6th!




I can't believe that bullshit was even published

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I was when I saw it. He seems to only look at the last races. a joke!
and Webber was 8th..

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Does anyone have ANY news about this tyre test going on?!

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Pirelli’s 2014 tyres are slower
By Editor on Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Pirelli’s new range of tyres for 2014 is more conservative, according to the whispers from private testing in Bahrain.

A three-day, Pirelli-organised test in the island Kingdom kicked off on Tuesday, with Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and Toro Rosso in attendance with their 2013 cars.

The testing of next year’s tyres, which will have to handle the much-higher torque of the new turbo engines, is taking place behind closed doors, and laptimes and details are not being disclosed.

But Italy’s Autosprint said: “The general indication is that they (the tyres) are slower.

“Even with the same (2013) cars, the laptimes are expected to rise, because the tyre supplier is taking a more prudent approach.”

Pirelli had a tumultuous 2013 season, characterised by the tyre-exploding British grand prix and constant complaints about questionable durability and quality.

Autosprint said F1′s official tyre supplier has taken “dozens” of compound and construction combinations to Bahrain, but they all have one thing in common — the internal kevlar belt.

“The experiment with steel belts, which gave so many problems at the beginning of 2013, is over,” the report added. http://www.f1zone.net/news/pirellis-2014...e-slower/21469/

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Adrian Newey warns F1 risks rules stagnation in the future
By Edd Straw and Matt Beer Wednesday, December 18th 2013, 11:11 GMT
www.autosport.com

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Red Bull technical chief Adrian Newey says Formula 1 is at risk of stagnating if it continues to tighten its regulations.

It has become commonplace for technical innovations in F1 to be outlawed on cost grounds or because they exploit grey areas in the rules, with the double diffuser, f-duct and exhaust blown diffusers among the developments affected in recent years.

Newey accepted that some breakthroughs being stopped by rule changes was inevitable.

AUTOSPORT's F1 2009-13 tech special: Brawn and the double diffuser

"I think it's part of the game and I don't mind investing and being knocked back," he told AUTOSPORT.

"We were all of the view the f-duct was probably going to get banned at the end of the season and it seemed likely the double diffuser was going to get banned at the end of the subsequent season as well.

"You make a decision as to whether you want to invest heavily in pursuing that technology knowing it could be banned fairly quickly or whether you concentrate on other areas that will last longer."

But he feels frustrated that rule changes continue to limit designers' freedom.

"I think what's more of a shame is that most of these things when they're banned - the exhaust being a very good example - it's actually just further restrictions," he said.

"That's a shame and a danger that if the regulations continue to become ever more restrictive we'll eventually get the point where the car's more or less designed by the rulebook.

"You'll then have, effectively, GP1 cars where the differentiators are the engine and the driver. For me, it's not Formula 1."

Newey believes the ability to gain a technical edge is part of F1's core appeal.

"One of the big things that differentiates Formula 1 from almost all other sports, with perhaps the exception of the Americas Cup, is that combination of man and machine," he argued.

"You can have a great car with an average driver and you won't win, a great driver with an average car you won't win. It's about both.

"I think the public appreciate that and you'd have to say, at the moment, if you judge this season and indeed last season the blend seems to be about right."

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I love how the final sentence just proves Adrian thinks he is the biggest in F1!

I'm sorry.. But a 20% drop in horsepower on a heavier car with less aerodynamic performance does not sound like formula 1 to me

Sebastian Vettel favourite for 2014 despite new rules - Mark Webber


By Andrew Benson (www.bbc.com)
Chief F1 writer

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Mark Webber believes his former Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel will start next season as favourite to win a fifth consecutive world championship.
Major rule changes for 2014 mark a reset for F1 but Webber says Red Bull will adapt well to the new regulations.
"Seb's the favourite for the drivers' championship," said Webber, who has quit F1 to race for Porsche at Le Mans.
"They'll be favourites for starting the season very strongly, which is probably not what people at home want to hear."
But Red Bull chief technical officer Adrian Newey, whose team have dominated under the 2009-13 rules regime, says next year's regulations are "a fresh roll of the dice for everybody".
Continue reading the main story
“
On Sundays, Fernando [Alonso] over two hours is a handful. Over one lap I think he's not with Seb [Vettel].
”
Mark Webber
In 2014, Formula 1 cars will have turbo-charged engines for the first time since 1988 and these will be fitted with extensive energy-recovery systems. A series of aerodynamic changes have also been introduced which will prevent Red Bull exploiting some of the areas in which they have excelled.
But Webber said: "I think they are going to be very strong.
"It's an engine category next year more than probably a car/aerodynamic category, which is probably not a bad thing for some people.
"But there will also still be decent driver input, especially from a brainpower perspective in terms of pacing and managing and all the technology the cars are going to have next year, which will help Sebastian. That's right up his alley. Perfect for him."
Webber, in an exclusive interview with BBC Sport, was asked to name the best driver he had raced against in his 12-year F1 career.
"Probably between Seb and Fernando [Alonso of Ferrari]," the 37-year-old said.
"You've got to pull everything together. It's hard to say. We've had to always tweak our skill-sets, that last part of our profession - Pirellis, refuelling, one-lap qualifying, all that sort of stuff.
"So to try to answer your question, on Sundays Fernando over two hours is a handful. There is no question about that. Over one lap I think he's not with Seb. But on Sundays between those two it's very, very tight.
"Lewis [Hamilton of Mercedes] is handy but probably not quite as much of a machine as those two are. They are literally 'plug them in and off they go'. They are very, very handy."
Webber's career also coincided with the latter part of seven-time champion Michael Schumacher's.
Australian Webber said of the German: "I didn't race Michael really, because he was in a Ferrari [in the early part of my career] and I was in something else [less competitive] and when I was in a Red Bull he was in a Merc, which was further back.
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Mark Webber's F1's highs and lows
"But those two [Vettel and Alonso] were certainly in their prime when I was."
Webber was asked about the controversies Schumacher had been involved in during his career, particularly the infamous incident in qualifying at the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix when the German deliberately stopped his car on the track to prevent his rivals - including Alonso and Webber - from beating him to pole position.
"It was horrendous, absolutely horrendous," said Webber, who was second on the grid behind Alonso after Schumacher was disqualified and sent to the back of the grid for his actions.
"To stop in the middle of qualifying so the rest of us don't do a lap, that's certainly a low point for him, and obviously that's a legacy, isn't it? They are the choices he made at the time and he made a few of those.
"He's got a decent trophy cabinet but some of the stuff, for your fellow peers and colleagues, there are limits that you go to to push each other and that respect factor. That day he made a big mistake."

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...and only 5 engines per year, even if they are of new design...the ferrari engine for example is supposed to be constructed from totally new novelty materials
less fuel, slower tyres, heavier car....as Button said, Jerez may be really "interesting" !!!!!!!