Crane delays Porsche race
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/potential-start-delay-at-monaco/
Spider Webb Mark Webber Volker Weidler Wayne Weiler Karl Wendlinger
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/potential-start-delay-at-monaco/
Spider Webb Mark Webber Volker Weidler Wayne Weiler Karl Wendlinger
Michael Schumacher's collision with Williams driver Bruno Senna in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix has once again focused awkward attention on the German legend's lacklustre performances for Mercedes.
A senior member of the Mercedes team used the word "mediocre" last weekend when discussing the 43-year-old's driving, and that was before Schumacher clumsily ran into the back of Senna's car in the race.
It was the sort of error you might expect from a beginner, not a man with 91 grand prix victories and seven world titles under his belt.
Coming at Senna from a long way back, Schumacher seemed simply to misjudge the closing speed of the two cars and, caught in two minds about which direction to go, he ran into the back of the Williams.
Schumacher called Senna an "idiot" on the radio as he sat in the gravel trap in the immediate aftermath, and, even after watching replays, he still seemed convinced it was his rival's fault. The stewards disagreed and gave him a five-place grid penalty for the next race in Monaco.
Schumacher's reaction will have surprised no-one in F1 - he has always seemed to lack the ability to accept he can ever be wrong.
In an aspiring young driver, this is a characteristic one might expect. But age is supposed to bring wisdom and, in this aspect at least, it appears not to be the case with Schumacher.
With the passing years comes an inevitable waning of physical abilities, and it is surely now beyond dispute that this has come even to him.

Michael Schumacher collides with Bruno Senna during the Spanish Grand Prix. Photo: Reuters
How long can he go on raging against the dying of the light? More to the point, perhaps, how long can Mercedes accept it?
There is no shame in Schumacher not being the driver he was - one can argue there is honour in him being able to achieve even what he has as he heads into the middle of his fifth decade.
The facts, though, are that he is now no more than a decent F1 driver - and some may argue not even that.
Statistically, this is the worst start to a season in Schumacher's career. But statistics can be misleading - Schumacher actually started the season well. He was the stronger of the two Mercedes drivers in the first two races.
But then came China and Nico Rosberg's qualifying lap, half a second quicker than his team-mate, who was second on the grid.
The gap was explained almost entirely by a stunning middle sector of the lap from Rosberg, which Schumacher, I'm told, justified to himself by Rosberg managing to turn his tyres on better.
That may well have been the reason, but the gap was there nonetheless. As it was again in the race, when that excuse was less justifiable. Schumacher was simply outclassed by his team-mate.
They have been more evenly matched since, but still Schumacher is almost certainly getting no more from the car than a number of other drivers could manage.
The contrast, with what Fernando Alonso is doing in the Ferrari - which is not dissimilar to the sort of thing Schumacher used to achieve in his early years with the team - is stark.
The tragedy of Schumacher's current situation is that it is leading some people to question his earlier achievements of seven world titles; two with Benetton and five with Ferrari between 1994 and 2004.
His criticisms of the Pirelli tyres after Bahrain drew uncomfortable parallels with the bespoke tyres from Bridgestone which Schumacher enjoyed for much of his Ferrari career, a subject that was largely unexplored during his pomp.
Some are beginning to wonder if seven titles really was such an amazing achievement, given the advantages he had at his disposal?
This would be wrong, though. There is no doubt that the Schumacher of the 1990s and early 2000s was an outstanding racing driver, one of the greatest there has ever been.
But that Schumacher belongs to the past.
The current one is out of contract at the end of this season. This, in fact, was the context in which the "mediocre" remark came up.
So what reasons do Mercedes have to keep him on, rather than try for someone else?
Lewis Hamilton, also looking for a new deal in 2013, may well not be available, or interested. Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button are committed to their current teams. Those left are all unproven.
Schumacher may continue to embarrass himself in wheel-to-wheel racing occasionally, but he's close to Rosberg's pace these days - and Mercedes' top management rate their younger driver very highly indeed.
The other reason is less palatable for those who like to consider F1 as the arena in which the very best drivers in the world do battle. It's commercial.
Schumacher's marketing value to Mercedes is huge. After Rosberg's victory in China, vice-president of Mercedes motorsport Norbert Haug delighted in how "fantastic" Schumacher had been in front of 800 guests at the launch of a new road car model in Shanghai the previous night. It had been, Haug said, "the perfect weekend".
Schumacher may no longer be one of the best F1 drivers, but around the world he remains arguably the most famous - and therefore the most valuable to Mercedes off the track. And in Germany, Mercedes' home, he is largely untouchable, voted recently the greatest national sportsman in history.
Ultimately, though, Mercedes are in F1 to win - and it is no secret that, after two disappointing seasons, the pressure on the team at the start of this season was enormous.
It will have been alleviated somewhat by their win in China, but the team have faded after a promising start and currently look no better than they did through much of last year.
In a season as topsy-turvy as this, that could easily change - and, who knows, if everything comes together perhaps Schumacher can win again. After all, who before the weekend would have predicted Pastor Maldonado's victory in Spain?
But, all things being equal, that looks unlikely. For a team with an average car who need to win, is a "mediocre" driver, however famous, good enough?
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/05/fresh_questions_over_mediocre.html
Teddy Pilette Luigi Piotti David Piper Nelson Piquet† Nelson Piquet Jr
Source: http://feeds.worldcarfans.com/~r/worldcarfans/Jxfz/~3/I6Z8c9jitv0/bmw-zagato-coupe-introduced-videos
Eric van de Poele Jacques Pollet Ben Pon Dennis Poore Alfonso de Portago
Gastón Mazzacane Kenneth McAlpine Perry McCarthy Ernie McCoy Johnny McDowell
I was just wondering if anbody had any news concerning Fred's website. I am looking forward to ordering products.
Thanks,
Craig
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/1017805.aspx
Guy Ligier Andy Linden Roberto Lippi Vitantonio Liuzzi Dries van der Lof
Reine Wisell Roelof Wunderink Alexander Wurz Sakon Yamamoto Alex Yoong
I thought I would try something different here this time and try replicating my black 1979 Camaro Z/28 I bought brand new back in January of 1979. It's funny how I never gave this car I once owned much thought until recently and it seems now I can't get my mind off of it. I sure wished I had it today...how many of us have said that before? It was my first "brand new car" and I sure had fun with it until kids came along and then I started thinking conservatively and a muscle car did not seem practical any longer so I sold it and bought a full sized Chevy Caprice. Anyway, if I want to own a car like this today it will have to be a model and that is why I decided to build this Revell version. Unfortunately my car did not have the "T" top as this model does but this kit does not include the optional aluminum wheels which my car had so I will have to go with the standard "body coloured" steel wheels but this will be as close as I can get to it. I have a set of Red/Orange decals coming from Keith Marks but I'm going to get started on the kit anyway and hope the timing works out with the decals arriving so I don't have an interuption in the "wip". When you ordered a carmine (red) interior General Motors automatically included the trim decals in Red/Orange to match the interior. Thanks for following this topic.
My 1:1 car

The model. Exterior will be painted Testors "Gloss Black" enamel and the interior painted in Testors "Flat Red".

Engine will be painted in the correct factory colour "General Motors Blue".

More to come......................![]()
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/1005364.aspx
Keith Andrews Elio de Angelis Marco Apicella Mário de Araújo Cabral Frank Armi
Does anyone know of a source for 1/12 F-1 rain tires?
I want to build a Ferrari 312 T3 that was run in the rain.
Thanks
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/1017331.aspx
Reg Parnell Tim Parnell Johnnie Parsons Riccardo Patrese Al Pease
Nico Rosberg looks every inch the archetypal image of a grand prix driver - blonde, good looking, perfect smile, the lot. And in Shanghai on Sunday, at the 111th attempt, he finally delivered the most important part of the package - the perfect win.
It has been a long time coming. This is the 26-year-old German's seventh season of F1 and while Lewis Hamilton, who was his team-mate when they were teenage karters 12 years ago, was a winner almost from the start of his Formula 1 career, Rosberg's route to the top step of the podium has been somewhat more torturous. So torturous, in fact, that there have been times when some wondered whether he would ever follow his father Keke in becoming a race winner.Nico Rosberg's dominant victory in China ensured he has become the first son of a living grand prix winner to follow in his father's footsteps - and only the third ever. The fathers of Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve were killed when their son were children.
Keke Rosberg also had to wait a long time to stand on the top step of the podium - his first victory came in his fifth season. Like Nico, that was Keke's first year in a competitive car, and he ended it as world champion. It seems unlikely at this stage that Nico will follow his father in that sense, too, but after such a dominant win it certainly cannot be completely ruled out.
Nico Rosberg led from pole position to score Mercedes' first victory since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. Photo: Getty
There is no doubt about the calibre of Rosberg's win on Sunday, but it remains difficult to be absolutely sure of his ultimate potential.
He is clearly very fast - but just how fast is not completely clear. Likewise, it remains to be seen whether he possesses all the other qualities that make up a great grand prix driver.
So far, for example, he has appeared to be the sort of driver who will deliver to the potential of his car - but not one who is able to transcend it occasionally, in the manner of Hamilton or Fernando Alonso.
In his debut year, he was generally marginally out-paced by Mark Webber, his team-mate at Williams at the time. And for the rest of Rosberg's career there before joining Mercedes in 2010 he was partnered with journeymen drivers and in uncompetitive cars.
Rosberg has dominated his Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher in qualifying since then, but it is clear to most that the seven-time champion is not the same driver he was before he retired in 2006 and spent three years on the sidelines. And until Sunday, Schumacher had generally matched Rosberg for race pace since last season.
The improved performance of Mercedes this year will finally give Rosberg the chance to go wheel-to-wheel with the top drivers on a consistent basis for the first time, so a clearer picture may well emerge.
A first win, especially one so impressive, will do wonders for his confidence, although he has never lacked for that.
Rosberg is a highly intelligent man, who was planning on a degree in engineering had he not become a Formula 1 driver. He is an individual character, and can be a prickly interviewee.
It may be that will change now he will no longer be faced with endless questions about whether he believes he can be a winner.
He could not have answered them in more emphatic style.
If Schumacher had thought Rosberg's 0.5 seconds a lap advantage in qualifying was a one-off based on a unique set of circumstances, he was soon disabused of that belief in the race as the younger German sprinted off into the distance, building a five-second lead in the first 10 laps.
That margin was the foundation for his win, but it was not as if Rosberg then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging on in front of faster cars.
After the first pit stops, Jenson Button was up into a de facto second place and in clear air, but Rosberg continued to pull away, although he was on the faster tyre. Button came back at him before the McLaren driver made his second stop, but only marginally.
Had the mechanic fitting Button's left rear tyre not suffered a problem with a cross-threaded wheel nut at his final stop, the Englishman would have rejoined about 14 seconds behind Rosberg with 19 laps to go.
Button's pace on the slower tyre suggests that he would have closed on Rosberg at that stage, but whether it would have been quickly enough is a moot point.
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh admitted: "I think it would have been very difficult to beat him."
Where have a team who have gone backwards in the first two races found that pace from? Both Rosberg and Mercedes sports boss Norbert Haug had a simple explanation - set-up changes allowing better use of the tyres.
They had used them too much in the first race in Australia and not worked them enough in the second in Malaysia. Here in Shanghai they found a middle way.
Behind Rosberg was a fantastic scrap for second place, what Haug described as "one of the best races I have ever seen".
Recounting the story of Red Bull's race from ninth and 14th places on the first lap to fourth and fifth at the flag, team boss Christian Horner said he sounded "like a horse racing commentator".
The championship is clearly going to be very close and it is setting up what look set to be a superb season.
"We've had three very different races," Whitmarsh said, "and I think this is going to be a season where potentially we have 20 very different races.
"It's fascinating, really. I enjoy it and I'm sure people watching it enjoy it. Who's going to predict who's going to win in Bahrain?"
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/04/rosberg_answers_critics_in_emp.html
Hans Joachim Stuck Otto Stuppacher Danny Sullivan Marc Surer John Surtees