Takagi's F1 game - Britain race up!

[Alextrax52]

And even if the cars are based on their real life 2000 counterparts, which I suspect it is, no driver on earth can make up a second deficit from the Williams to the Ferraris and McLarens. Might as well go for two solid hands like Ralf Schumacher and Fisichella who can do a solid job for a fraction of the cost and save the rest of the money for development.

Forget it man, just let them bankrupt themselves out of sheer incompetence. When 2000 sees McLaren steamroll everyone because we're the only team anywhere near the front with a sensible driver lineup, then they might get the picture.

Just getting a podium for Jaguar will be a victory in itself and we are trying to sign drivers who have that podium pedigree

[Collieafc]

Oi! Dont give them ideas on stealing my bids!

I'm not too fussed about the logic involded in other teams - the game will sort itself out, and probably to much amusement. If i can make Sauber anything other than a midfield number-maker then I will be happy.

If I revise my bids Takagi, do you want me to edit my original post or add a new one?

[Salamander]

Just getting a podium for Jaguar will be a victory in itself and we are trying to sign drivers who have that podium pedigree

So your top choices are... Alesi in the twilight of his career and Marc Gene. Seems legit.

[takagi_for_the_win]

If I revise my bids Takagi, do you want me to edit my original post or add a new one?

Either or, as long as I can see which is your final choice I don't mind

If you all could have your final driver choices ready by 19:00 GMT DST tomorrow, that would be cracking.

[Alextrax52]

Just getting a podium for Jaguar will be a victory in itself and we are trying to sign drivers who have that podium pedigree

So your top choices are... Alesi in the twilight of his career and Marc Gene. Seems legit.

Hey Jean did put in some good drives in 2001 scoring 5 points and if we don't get him we'll try and get Rubens or The Boss

[kevinbotz]

All I want are points. Perhaps just one point. I'd be happy with even a non-points paying seventh place.

And I want that juicy, juicy Spanish sponsorship combo as offered by de la Rosa and Gene. If that doesn't happen, I guess I'll be charitable and serve as the footstool for larger teams, preparing young, prospective rookie drivers so they're ripe and ready to be poached from my humble little outfit.

EDIT: I just realized that two of the drivers that Minardi is presently engaged in negotiations with, Alonso and Raikkonen, are being offered $4.5 million and $2 million race contracts, respectively, by BAR-Honda. I'll not remove them from my negotiations list, but allow me to be the first one to concede the services of Messrs. Alonso and Raikkonen. All the best of luck and bon voyage!

[andrew]

Cheers for the advice people,my offers are now the following

Driver 1
Jaques Villenueve (2.5mill)
Olivier Panis. (2.1 mill)
Nick Heidfeld (0.9 mill)

Driver 2
Jarno Trulli (1.5 mill)
Johnny Herbert (.9 mill)
Marc Gene


Testers
Ricardo Zonta

[andrew]

Okay, picture this if you will. The year is 2000, and fresh from their thrashing in 1999, BAT and Honda have gone with new management to bring them success. Said management decides to try and hire an 18 year old Spaniad who has done one year of car racing in Formula Nissan, and a 20 year old Finn who has done a grand total of 13 open-wheeler races. And between those two drives, management decides to spend over 6 million dollars, which is over 20% of the

Ok I think I understand now, I should offer the contract to cheaper for expireianced drivers instead of 2 unknows

[Rated]

Prost GP's final offers.
Slightly changed some driver offers and added some new ones. Driver offers in order of preference.

Driver 1
Giancarlo Fisichella - (2.5m) Lead driver - 1 year
Jarno Trulli - (2.5m) Lead driver - 2 years
Jean Alesi - (1m) Lead driver - 1 year
Olivier Panis - (750k) Lead driver - 1 year

Driver 2
Giancarlo Fisichella - (2m) Equal status - 1 year
Jarno Trulli - (2m) Equal status - 2 years
Jos Verstappen - (1.5m + bring that JVC/Lost Boys sponsorship with you) Equal status - 1 year
Pedro de la Rosa - (1m) Second driver - 2 years
Pedro Diniz - (750k) Second driver - 1 year
Marc Géné - (750k) Second driver - 1 year
Alexander Wurz - (750k) Second driver - 1 year
Toranosuke Takagi - (500k) Second driver - 1 year
Nick Heidfeld - (750k) Second driver - 2 years
Luca Badoer - (250k) Second driver - 1 year

Test driver
Gaston Mazzacane - (250k) 1 year
Tarso Marques - (250k) 1 year
Esteban Tuero - (250k) 1 year
Christijan Albers - (250k) 1 year
Shinji Nakano - (250k) 1 year
Laurent Redon - (250k) 1 year
Jonathan Cochet - (250k) 1 year
Sebastien Bourdais - (250k) 1 year
Stéphane Sarrazin - (250k) 1 year

[Peteroli34]

Ferrari bid update

Driver 1
Mika Hakkinen £10M Lead Driver 3 Years
David Coulthard £8M Equal Status 3 Years
Eddie Irvine £6M Equal Status 3 Years
Rubens Barrichello £6M Equal Status 3 Years
Heinz Herald Frentzen £5M Equal Status 3 Years

Driver 2
Jenson Button £1.5M Equal Status 3 Years
David Coulthard £8M Equal Status 3 Years
Giancarlo Fisichella £5M Equal Status 3 Years
Mika Salo £2.5M Equal Status 3 Years

Test Driver

Luca Badoer £800K
Marc Gene £500K
Olivier Panis £800K

Both drivers will have equal status unless Hakkinen Joins the Team

[roblo97]

bid uptate from williams


Driver 1: Mika Hakkinen (7.5m)
Michael Schumacher (11m)
Johnny Herbert (4m)
Eddie Irvine (4m)
Jean Alesi (4m)

Driver 2

Jos Verstappen (pay driver)
Pedro De La Rosa (6m sponsorship money)
Giancarlo Fisichella (2.843,927m)
Johnny Herbert (4m)
Eddie Irvine (4m)
Jean Alesi (4m)
Jenson Button (1.5m)

all drivers are to be given equal status on a 2 year deal
If that fails…

Test driver 1: Pedro De La Rosa (6m sponsorship money)
Test driver 2: Fernando Alonso (800k)

[good_Ralf]

Driver 1 - Heinz-Harald Frentzen (2.5m) for 3 years
Driver 2 - Jacques Villeneuve (4m) for 2 years

If not
- Juan Pablo Montoya (3m) for 2 years
- Mika Salo (3m) for 2 years
- Nick Heidfeld (2m) for 2 years
- Stéphane Sarrazin (1m) for 2 years

Test driver 1 - Allan McNish (1m) for 2 years
Test driver 2 - Jenson Button (0.5m) for 1 year

EDIT: Driver status

Driver 1

Frentzen
Villeneuve
Montoya
Salo

Driver 2

Heidfeld
Sarrazin

[takagi_for_the_win]

Driver 1 - Heinz-Harald Frentzen (2.5m) for 3 years
Driver 2 - Jacques Villeneuve (4m) for 2 years

If not
- Juan Pablo Montoya (3m) for 2 years
- Mika Salo (3m) for 2 years
- Nick Heidfeld (2m) for 2 years
- Stéphane Sarrazin (1m) for 2 years

Test driver 1 - Allan McNish (1m) for 2 years
Test driver 2 - Jenson Button (0.5m) for 1 year

I presume they're all equal status?

By the way, the FIA will refuse to issue the drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso race superlicenses, as they are too inexperienced by far. (Just in case anyone had any hopes of nabbing them for 2000) However, you can offer them testing roles alongside their existing commitments for 2000

Finally, Rated- Jos Verstappen will bring 2m with him

[Collieafc]

I'll just repost this to save scrolling

DRIVER 1 - in order of preference. Whoever gets this has clear number 1 status
Ralf Schumacher - 4m for 3 years
Fisichella - 3.5m for 2 years
Alesi - 2m for 2 years
Panis - 2m for 2 years

DRIVER 2 - Again in order of preference
Pedro de la Rosa- (6m) 1 year
Diniz - with all his Pamalat millions (8 million) 1 year
Heidfelt - 1m for 1 years
Panis - 2m for 1 year
Bruno Junqueira - 0.5m for 1 year

Test/3rd Driver
Bruno Junqueira - 0.5m for 2 years (yes, its twice as long if hes test driver)
Alonso - 0.5m for for 2 years
Webber - 0.5m for 2 years

[takagi_for_the_win]

Quick reminder- I'll be running the RNG this evening at 7, so have your final driver choices up by then

[takagi_for_the_win]

Turns out this deciding where drivers go lark takes longer than I thought. Anyway, onwards to the drivers that I got done before the lure of Chinese food and good TV distracted me

Michael Schumacher- The two time world champion only received two offers- one from McLaren, the other from Williams. Whilst the lure of taking an inferior car to the title remains, the fact is that he spent 4 years unsuccessfully doing so at Ferrari. The prospect of joining up with Adrian Newey and Mercedes means that he is more likely to join McLaren.
McLaren- 0-70
Williams- 71-100
Aaaaand it is 2! Michael Schumacher will thus spend the next 3 years trying to bring success to Woking

Mika Hakkinen- With Schumacher having taken his seat at McLaren, reigning double champion Hakkinen immediately saw his options reduced to two- Ferrari and Williams. Hakkinen would love to keep his name in lights, and feels Ferrari is the best choice on that front; the Scuderia are also offering him more favourable terms. However, his good friend Keke Rosberg is very affluent in his praise of Williams
Ferrari- 0-75
Williams- 76-100
Aaaaaaand it is 68! Hakkinen shoots off to Maranello, replacing the man who kicked him out of McLaren.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen- the German was one of the more popular targets during the silly season, with 4 potential seats open to him. Jordan are looking to retain, with McLaren offering him a seat alongside Schumacher, and Benetton and Arrows are both offering him the role of teamleader, with higher wages than Jordan and McLaren.
Jordan- 0-30
McLaren- 31-60
Benetton- 61-80
Arrows- 81-100
Aaaand it is 82! Frentzen may get the Arrows seat, but there are those above him in the pecking order.

Jenson Button- the 20 year old Brit was another popular man, with McLaren, Ferrari and Williams all offering him drives, and Jordan offering him a testing role. Ferrari and Williams are offering him favourable, multi-million contracts, but the lure of partnering Michael Schumacher could be too much. Jordan don't stand much of a chance.
McLaren- 0-25
Ferrari- 26-60
Jordan- 61-70
Williams- 71-100
Aaaaand its 15! Button will wait and see if those ahead of him (read Frentzen) get the McLaren seat!

Juan Pablo Montoya- the man who took the CART scene by storm in 1999 has 3 options- stay in CART and defend his crown or come over to F1, with either Jordan or Arrows. Jordan will almost certainly be more competitive, but Arrows have the smooth talking Tom Walkinshaw and a small mountain of gold for the Colombian.
Arrows- 0-60
Jordan- 61-90
Stay in CART- 91-100
Aaaaand its 50! Arrows have managed to pull off a major coup with that signing! Of course, it also shuts the Arrows door in Frentzen's face.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen(again)- having been thrown aside by Arrows in favour of Montoya, his options now are- stay at Jordan for another 3 years, take a small rise and move to McLaren, or follow the big-bucks to Benetton. Frentzen however would dearly like to take on nemesis Schumacher in equal machinery.
Jordan- 0-25
McLaren- 26-75
Benetton- 76-100
Aaaaand its 26! Jordan came close to retaining their man, but in the end he shuttles off to Woking, giving McLaren an all-German driving line-up, and meaning Jenson Button has to make his home elsewhere.

[takagi_for_the_win]

More driver signing fun!

Jenson Button(also again)- having seen the McLaren seat taken by Frentzen, Button now has 3 choices- a multi-million pound, multi year race contract at Ferrari, a multi-million pound race contract at Williams, or a short term testing contract at Jordan. Needless to say, the 20 year old is angling towards the greater financial security and glamour of the race seats.
Ferrari- 0-50
Jordan- 51-65
Williams- 66-100
Aaaaand it is 20! Britain's next big hope will partner reigning champion Hakkinen at Ferrari.

Jacques Villeneuve- following a torrid 1999, the former champion has only two options- take a substantial pay cut and stay in the uncertain political atmosphere of BAR, or take a slightly less massive pay cut and move to Jordan, who also are more likely to have a competitive car. Thing is, JV isn't sure if he wants to leave "his" team just yet
Jordan- 0-45
BAR- 46-100
Aaaaaand it is 5! After just one season Villeneuve abandons the BAR project to move to Jordan! Surprising stuff

Ralf Schumacher only got one offer- lead driver at Sauber. Needless to say, the German accepts.

Jean Alesi- the veteran Frenchman was the subject of a varied bunch of offers. Williams offered him both seats at the team, with Jaguar offering him slightly more wonga for a lead role. Old friend Alain Prost offered him a seat at his eponymous team, but with a lot less money.
Jaguar- 0-30
Williams first driver- 31-60
Williams second driver- 61-85
Prost- 86-100
Aaaaand its 25! Alesi joins Jaguar for what could possibly be one last hurrah

Johnny Herbert- the veteran Englishman received offers from Williams and BAR. Williams are offering him the lead role and more cash than BAR, who want him to be number two.
Williams- 0-85
BAR- 86-100
Aaaaand its 77! Herbert will spend the next two seasons driving for Williams in a rather surprising move

[takagi_for_the_win]

And yet more....

Giancarlo Fisichella- despite having a reputation as one of the best in F1, offers from the top 2 teams failed to materialise. Williams offered him their second seat, and Prost offered him both seats, but realistically the best option is for him to stay at Benetton, who are offering him the best deal.
Williams- 0-30
Benetton- 31-70
Prost 1st seat- 71-85
Prost 2nd seat- 86-100
Aaaand its 40! As expected, Fisichella stays at Benetton for two more years.

Jarno Trulli- the other highly rated Italian also saw a total lack of offers from top teams. Prost also offered him both seats, and BAR offered him the second seat, with lower wages than Prost but having the added incentive of not being Prost.
Prost 1st seat- 0-40
Prost 2nd seat- 41-70
BAR- 71-100
Aaaaand its 100! Desperate to escape from the clutches of Alain Prost, Trulli signs the first thing that comes his way- a nice juicy BAR contract.

Olivier Panis- Trulli's team mate from the past two seasons didn't have the disappointing lack of options that he did. The still highly rated Panis got offered testing roles at McLaren and Ferrari, and race seats at Benetton, Prost, Sauber and BAR. The Benetton contract is easily the most lucrative for him, and he doesn't seem keen on spending a year as a test driver if he can help it.
McLaren- 0-10
Ferrari- 11-20
Benetton- 21-60
Prost- 61-70
Sauber- 71-85
BAR- 86-100
Aaaaand its 75! Panis decides to accept Sauber's offer, but seeing as he's not their top priority he may well be back again.

Pedro de la Rosa- the moneyed Spaniard was hot property amongst the lower down teams, and Williams surprisingly. Williams, after a bit of extra cash, offered him both a race seat and a testing contract, with Sauber, Prost and Minardi all offering him race seats. The only team to offer him a basic wage is Prost, and that could work in their favour.
Williams 2nd seat- 0-25
Williams test drive- 26-35
Prost- 36-60
Sauber- 61-80
Minardi- 81-100
Aaaaand its 42! De la Rosa will thus spend the next two years at Prost, god help him.

Jos Verstappen- the experienced Dutchman was the subject of three offers; all from predominately midfield teams. Williams offered him a seat purely for his sponsor money, and Prost and Arrows both offered him seats with a basic wage. The fact that Arrows have lined up Dutch sponsors could well be a swinging factor in this for him.
Williams- 0-30
Prost- 31-60
Arrows- 61-100
Aaaaand its 93! Verstappen signs for Arrows, completing their driver line-up.

Mark Webber- the likeable Australian received only two offers- a race seat at Minardi for nothing, or a one year testing contract with Benetton. The money, and lure of a possible competitive race seat in the future, will probably be enough to tempt Webber away from Faenza.
Benetton- 0-60
Minardi- 61-100
Aaaand its 39! Webber looks to sign a testing contract with Benetton; however, this is dependent on others turning down the same role.

[takagi_for_the_win]

Good news! I have all the driver RNG's done, and the majority of the seats have been filled. As you can imagine, there was an awful amount of them, so I figured that rather than force you all read my inane number-based scribblings, I'd just whack up the teams and their driver line-ups. However, if for some mad reason you actually want to sit through the remaining 17 RNG's, feel free to ask. Anyways, here is your grid for 2000.

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
1. Mika Hakkinen (10m per year, 3 years)
2. Jenson Button (1.5m per year, 3 years)
Test driver: Luca Badoer (800k per year, 3 years)

West McLaren Mercedes
3. Michael Schumacher (10m per year, 3 years)
4. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (3m per year, 2 years)
Test driver: Scott Dixon (300k per year, 2 years)

Benson & Hedges Jordan Mugen
5. Jacques Villeneuve (4m per year, 2 years)
6. Nick Heidfeld (2m per year, 2 years)
Test driver: Allan McNish (1m per year, 2 years)

HSBC Jaguar Racing
7. Jean Alesi (4.5m per year, 2 years)
8. Marc Gene (2m per year, 2 years)(also brings 5m per year in sponsorship)
Test driver: Gaston Mazzacane (400k per year, 2 years)(also brings 5m in sponsorship)

Compaq Williams BMW
9. Johnny Herbert (4m per year, 2 years)
10. Eddie Irvine (4m per year, 2 years)
Test driver: Marc Hynes (500k per year, 2 years)

Mild Seven Benetton Playlife
11. Giancarlo Fisichella (5m per year, 2 years)
12. Mika Salo (3m per year, 1 year with option for another year)
Test driver: Fernando Alonso (1m per year, 1 year)

Gauloises Prost Peugeot
14. Rubens Barrichello (2m per year with possible raises, 3 years)(also brings 2m in sponsorship)
15. Pedro de la Rosa (1m per year, 2 years)(also brings 6m in sponsorship)
Test driver: Tarso Marques (250k per year, 1 year)(also brings 5m in sponsorship)

Sauber Petronas
16. Ralf Schumacher (4m per year, 3 years)
17. Olivier Panis (2m per year, 1 year)
Test driver: Bruno Junqueira (500k per year, 2 years)(also brings 2m in sponsorship)

Orange Arrows Supertec
18. Juan Pablo Montoya (6.5m per year, 2 years)
19. Jos Verstappen (1m per year, 2 years)(also brings 2m in sponsorship)
Test driver: Norberto Fontana (no wage, 2 years)(brings 4m in sponsorship)

Telefonica Minardi Fondmetal
20. Mark Webber (no wage, 2 years)
21. Pedro Diniz (no wage, 2 years)(also brings 8m in sponsorship)
Test driver: Kimi Raikkonen (no wage, 2 years)(also brings 2m in sponsorship)

Lucky Strike BAR Honda
22. Ricardo Zonta (1m per year, 2 years)(also brings 2m in sponsorship)
23. Jarno Trulli (1.5m per year, 2 years)
Test driver: TBA

Where it wasn't explicitly clear, I assumed the contract length to be 2 years.
Also, I'll adjust the teams' cash balance in the OP to reflect the first years salaries- teams will pay the years salary at the start of the season. Sponsorship money works in the same way- it's a per-year thing, and is added to your budget at the start of the season.

Also, if roblomas, Rated and andrew could nominate unsigned drivers for the TBA slots please?

[andrew]

Can I sign Burti for half a season a then review him at mid season point?

[roblo97]

Could Williams please have Dario Francitti as test driver please on a 1 year contract worth 65k?

Thanks

[Ataxia]

I'm confident we've got a good lineup at Benetton; Fisichella and Salo have both been linked with the bigger teams in the past and I hope we can really fight for 3rd in the constructors' championship. Pleased we've secured Fisichella on a two year deal, and our deal with Salo is a win-win for both sides; if he impresses, then he gets another year in the bag.

[takagi_for_the_win]

Can I sign Burti for half a season a then review him at mid season point?

Nope, its either a full season contract or nothing I'm afraid.

Could Williams please have Dario Francitti as test driver please on a 1 year contract worth 65k?

Thanks

65k? As in 65,000? Dario's not even going to honour that with a response.

Fyi Rob, Montoya, who just beat Franchitti to the CART title, is on 6.5m and is a team leader

[Collieafc]

Sauber are pleased to unveil their lineup of Ralf Schumacher, who is an exciting upcoming talent within F1 and Olivier Panis who will bring a wealth of experience to both car development and the overall Sauber team operation. We are also proud to name Bruno Junqueira as our official test driver, a leading light in F3000 who will have a bright future in motorsports

[kevinbotz]

Mr. Minardi is very pleased with the peerless caliber of our driver lineup, comprised of Mr. Mark Webber and Mr. Pedro Diniz, in addition to our new Finnish test driver, Mr. Kimi Raikkonen, for this season. His enthusiasm has absolutely nothing to do with the ten million pounds of sponsorship cash said drivers collectively bring. In fact, Minardi, with its laudable principle of selecting drivers based only upon the merit of the drivers in question, is deeply insulted that the vituperative and sensationalist media would even consider levying such preposterous allegations against the team.

Ten million in sponsorship! Yes! Yes! The RNG gods have finally smiled upon me!

[Salamander]

Could Williams please have Dario Francitti as test driver please on a 1 year contract worth 65k?

Thanks

65k? As in 65,000? Dario's not even going to honour that with a response.

Fyi Rob, Montoya, who just beat Franchitti to the CART title, is on 6.5m and is a team leader

Not to mention that Scott Dixon, a driver who came 5th in Indy Lights, is on 300k.

[roblo97]

Could Williams please have Dario Francitti as test driver please on a 1 year contract worth 65k?

Thanks

65k? As in 65,000? Dario's not even going to honour that with a response.

Fyi Rob, Montoya, who just beat Franchitti to the CART title, is on 6.5m and is a team leader

Not to mention that Scott Dixon, a driver who came 5th in Indy Lights, is on 300k.

Could I now up the bid for Francitti to 500k please?

Thanks

[takagi_for_the_win]

Could I now up the bid for Francitti to 500k please?

Thanks

I think you're missing the point somewhat. Franchitti, as a 26 year old approaching his prime, is odds-on favourite to win the CART title. Really, short of offering him the moon and a night with Beyonce, no questions asked, you're not going to get him to accept a test seat. There are still plenty of decent drivers around that haven't been signed up yet

[andrew]

Can I give Zonta the race drive instead then?

[Rated]

Driver 1 : Rubens Barrichello (2m + possible yearly raise) - 3 years / Lead driver

We need a talented and experienced driver, and Barrichello is our first choice as he's (surprisingly) currently unsigned. A long term contract to give the team some stability and -try to- move forward. On the financial aspect, we should be okay, but we will need as much money as possible for this season and the future ones, so if Rubens could try to get some sponsors around him, that would be awesome. If he can't bring sponsorship with him, our offer stands anyways. I hope Alain Prost will use the wise words and get Rubinho in the car

If that fails :
David Coulthard (2m) - 3 years / Lead driver.
Alexander Wurz (750k) - 2 years / Equal status.

EDIT : Barrichello's yearly raise : 500k
And there's Tarso Marques in the team ! Barrichello could be his mentor or something !

[roblo97]

Could I please offer Marc Hynes the test driver role for 1 year with a 500k contract.

Thanks

[pasta_maldonado]

Could I please offer Marc Hynes the test driver role for 1 year with a 500k contract.

Thanks

I dont think 500k is enough, you might want to offer 1.5 mil, the market is tight at this stage.

Also, takagi, could I see how the Arrows test driver RNG went along, please

[takagi_for_the_win]

Firstly, andrew, yes you can promote Zonta from test driver to a race seat, but he's looking for one million per year as a salary. It would also leave you without a test driver, which although not compulsory, is highly recommended for reasons I shall outline in my next post.

Rated- the RNG for Barrichello

Ruben Barrichello- despite an impressive 1999 and being heavily linked with Ferrari, Barrichello actually missed out on a drive for 2000. Prost, who missed out on a team leader, have offered him a juicy contract, but they are unlikely to be anywhere near the front, where Barrichello feels he should be.
Sign for Prost and hope to catch the eye of a top team- 0-85
Take a year out and try and get a more competitive 2001 contract- 86-100
Aaaaand its 14! Barrichello is now a contracted Prost driver!

Also, with regards to sponsorship, given that he is the best current Brazilian F1 driver, South American companies are all over him, and he could well bring a nice sack of gold to the French team
Barrichello turns them away, not wanting to be branded as a paydriver- 0-20
He picks up a million of sponsorship- 21-60
He comes to Prost with a nice array of sponsors, amounting to 2m- 61-100
Aaaaand its 77! Barrichello brings pretty much his own salary in sponsorship; a big relief to Prost no doubt

Roblomas- Hynes, faced with either scraping together cash for F3000 or a paid F1 test drive, readily accepts Williams' offer.

Ok then pasta:

Gaston Mazzacane- the money man received 4 offers from tailend teams; all testing contracts. Jaguar, Arrows and Minardi all offered him more than one year in the contract, which Mazzacane appreciates, and the fact that Jaguar and Prost are both offering him a basic wage also curries his favour. As such, he's more likely to be a Jaaaaag man.
Jaguar- 0-30
Prost- 31-60
Arrows- 61-80
Minardi- 81-100
Aaaand its 27! Mazzacane takes his sack of PSN monies to Jaguar.

Norberto Fontana- having been in the wilderness for 2 years, it came as a surprise to Fontana that Arrows were offering him a test drive. Whilst he's happy in Brazilian Stock Cars, the lure of F1 is still very strong for him.
Arrows- 0-65
Stay in Brazil- 66-100
Aaaand its 41! You have your test driver pasta

With regards to sponsorship, Fontana promptly began canvassing all Brazilian stock car sponsors to help him fund his return.
1m raised- 0-25
2m raised- 26-50
3m raised- 51-75
4m raised- 76-100
Aaand its 83! A big 4 million cheque is winging its way towards Arrows headquarters!

[andrew]

Would Christjian Albers be available as a tester or Takuam Sato?

[pasta_maldonado]

Norberto Fontana- having been in the wilderness for 2 years, it came as a surprise to Fontana that Arrows were offering him a test drive. Whilst he's happy in Brazilian Stock Cars, the lure of F1 is still very strong for him.
Arrows- 0-65
Stay in Brazil- 66-100
Aaaand its 41! You have your test driver pasta

Did he say what venue he preferred for Westlife?

[takagi_for_the_win]

Would Christjian Albers be available as a tester or Takuam Sato?

Albers would, Sato wouldn't.

Did he say what venue he preferred for Westlife?

Apparently he's more of a Backstreet Boys kinda guy

[takagi_for_the_win]

Right then, before the season starts, here's a few points to note:

Upgrades and Testing
Upgrades are available through testing every second race. The system is one I've shamelessly butchered from Ataxia's game, where you pay 500k to rent the circuit if you test by yourself, or 250k if more than one team wishes to rent the circuit. There are 3 types of upgrades available- small, medium and large, and they cost 1m, 2m and 5m respectively. You can upgrade your car in 3 areas- speed, grip and reliability. You can only focus on one area per test, and there is no guarantee that the upgrade will be successful.

There are 3 factors governing the likelihood of a successful upgrade. The first is the size of the upgrade- the larger the upgrade, the less likely it is to be successful. Second is the quality of feedback provided by your drivers- this is why I recommended you all take test drivers. If you chose your pay drivers purely for the cash they bring (pasta, I'm looking at you ) chances are the technical feedback won't be as good as the likes of Badoer, McNish etc. Finally, if your car is close to the maximum value in one of the areas, you'll have less chance of it being successful than if it was miles off the maximum value.

There will be 3 FIA-sanctioned free tests- after round 4, round 8 and round 12.

I hope to start pre-season testing on Sunday/Monday

[kevinbotz]

Right then, before the season starts, here's a few points to note:

Upgrades and Testing
Upgrades are available through testing every second race. The system is one I've shamelessly butchered from Ataxia's game, where you pay 500k to rent the circuit if you test by yourself, or 250k if more than one team wishes to rent the circuit. There are 3 types of upgrades available- small, medium and large, and they cost 1m, 2m and 5m respectively. You can upgrade your car in 3 areas- speed, grip and reliability. You can only focus on one area per test, and there is no guarantee that the upgrade will be successful.

There are 3 factors governing the likelihood of a successful upgrade. The first is the size of the upgrade- the larger the upgrade, the less likely it is to be successful. Second is the quality of feedback provided by your drivers- this is why I recommended you all take test drivers. If you chose your pay drivers purely for the cash they bring (pasta, I'm looking at you ) chances are the technical feedback won't be as good as the likes of Badoer, McNish etc. Finally, if your car is close to the maximum value in one of the areas, you'll have less chance of it being successful than if it was miles off the maximum value.

There will be 3 FIA-sanctioned free tests- after round 4, round 8 and round 12.

I hope to start pre-season testing on Sunday/Monday

An Australian rookie, Pedro Diniz, and a reticent Finn.

Testing's going to be fun.

[takagi_for_the_win]

Actually, would anyone have any objections to me running the first test this evening?

[andrew]

Actually, would anyone have any objections to me running the first test this evening?

B.A.R Honda see now problems with this.