Grand Prix Rejects

dr-baker wrote:

CoopsII wrote:

Waris wrote:On a related note, Max Chilton looks great in shorts, I think, but he does look underage.

Underage for what?

Waris is female.

I didn't know that {straightens tie and splashes cologne}

CoopsII wrote:I didn't know that {straightens tie and splashes cologne}

But Coops I thought you were a married man!

Im trying a new role as a bounder and a cad. For example, the cologne was a gift from the wife

Who else but Coops-mire?

f1andrea wrote:

That has to be a parody twitter account. Has to be.

takagi_for_the_win wrote:

f1andrea wrote:

That has to be a parody twitter account. Has to be.

They've also revealed their livery and that Kubica will be testing the car in January. It's got to be real.

I choose to believe in this and if that's wrong then I don't want to be right.

takagi_for_the_win wrote:

f1andrea wrote:

That has to be a parody twitter account. Has to be.

MonsieurF1 was making the same claim back in October. I will believe in Stefan GP when they win the World Championship, and not a moment sooner.

Backmarker wrote: I will believe in Stefan GP when they win the World Championship, and not a moment sooner.

BUT... But then they would not be the reject team we are all hoping and praying they will be!

Waris wrote:On a related note, Max Chilton looks great in shorts, I think, but he does look underage.

CoopsII wrote:Underage for what?

dr-baker wrote: Waris is female.

CoopsII wrote:I didn't know that {straightens tie and splashes cologne}

You know, I believe she's Dutch as well. Possibly Amsterdam...?
EDIT: Oh wait, it says that under her avatar picture...

Moving away from your best attempts to scare Waris off...

As promised, I took a trip down to the Marussia factory earlier today. Incidentally I also went past Mercedes in Brackley - they have proudly displayed a pretty big board declaring themselves 2014 champions with each win inside a silver wreath, a bit like what JPS used to do on the Lotuses with their world titles.

As for Marussia, everything is still inside by the looks of things. There were three or four cars parked outside, and a guy sat at reception. There were quite large and obvious "Lot" labels on stuff so I'm guessing they're inviting interested serious parties around the place to look at some of the bigger machinery and car bits. The open area of the reception off to the side is full of bodywork bits, along with the show car, still all in one piece. I couldn't get a decent shot up close because of the tinted glass unfortunately.



You might be able to make out the Marussia logos still on the glass doors. There's an A4 piece of paper on one of the doors that says something along the lines of "These premises are closed. For access please call... (and then a list of phone numbers, probably the administrators, but I didn't study it in too much detail as the guy on reception looked ready to escort me off site!) Bits of bodywork are just visible through the doors. The car and rest of the bodywork is further off to the right, behind the brown tinted glass. It's worth bearing in mind at this point that this building wasn't built by Marussia. It's the former factory of Ascari Cars before they hit trouble. I'm pretty sure they had a car featured on Top Gear at one point. It sat empty for a few years before Marussia moved in, in 2011.



The main indicator that the building was the home of an F1 team was the sign on the perimeter fence which runs along the road. This has been covered up for some time now with black bin liners, ironically taped to the sign with Marussia-branded white tape! It's lovely to see the messages of support for Jules around it. They've been there for a little while now, the rain has got to them a little bit but they're all still readable. It's clear that they've been made by younger fans which is a really nice touch. Forza Jules!

And just for reference, in case anyone is curious, the Marussia factory is this building on Google Maps.
The MTC it is not!
The photos were taken from Overthorpe Road, the entrance is to the left of the row of car parking spaces parallel to the road. Looking at it now, I wish I'd gone round the back and checked the entrance onto Dorcas Road. I bet the trucks would have been parked outside. Ah well!

Thank you for your visit, very interesting

Their assets are going to be auctioned.

Prepare your monies

FMecha wrote:Their assets are going to be auctioned.

Prepare your monies

The auction will not be complete if Stefan GP doesn't get the half-built 2015 chassis

I bet all my money that some sheik buy cars to start his own team, the cars are to create the car for 2016, mainly through reverse engineering

FMecha wrote:Their assets are going to be auctioned.

Prepare your monies

At first I thought there were no 2014 cars in the photos, but there they are in image 9.
Image 68 tells us that their CMM, a crappy Hexagon one, was out of calibration at the end of May.
Very nice FARO Arm in 86 to 89. In fact, lots of decent-looking inspection gauges and equipment for anyone who runs a machine shop.
Surprisingly, no CNC machining centres, just toolroom machines.

Chilton: “It’s definitely not over but I agree that it’s made it more difficult. [9th position] It gives us a lot more funding that we’re used to, and that makes it much more approachable for investors.”

Faustus wrote:At first I thought there were no 2014 cars in the photos, but there they are in image 9.
Image 68 tells us that their CMM, a crappy Hexagon one, was out of calibration at the end of May.
Very nice FARO Arm in 86 to 89. In fact, lots of decent-looking inspection gauges and equipment for anyone who runs a machine shop.
Surprisingly, no CNC machining centres, just toolroom machines.

Actually a nice insight into the factory of a small F1 team. Sadly, everything looks like it has been left in a hurry.
There are still empty glasses on the desks, water bottles, coffee cups. You can even see jackets left in the office.

Very interesting interview with Max Chilton about Marussia situation:

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/27983 ... own-future

AndreaModa wrote:As promised, I took a trip down to the Marussia factory earlier today. Incidentally I also went past Mercedes in Brackley - they have proudly displayed a pretty big board declaring themselves 2014 champions with each win inside a silver wreath, a bit like what JPS used to do on the Lotuses with their world titles.!

Which means we were driving "around" eachother on Sunday, as I visited a friend who works with iZone at Silverstone, I found it interesting how 'secret' Merc, Force India and Marussia was with their HQ's, when we was invited in to the Red Bull building without even asking for it when we arrived there.

Oh well, it's a sad sight to see Marussia like that

According to the crash panel Jules did not slow suffiently
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/30319256

We can't ask him about it. Maybe he was damned if he did, because slowing down would have possibly robbed his car of downforce and made it more likely to aquaplane. There were no cars in front or behind him at the time that would justify speeding.

f1andrea wrote:Very interesting interview with Max Chilton about Marussia situation:

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/27983 ... own-future

It was interesting to hear him speak of the Caterham rumours. The main reason I read the interview, as well as tips on making your hair as magnificent as his, which I was disappointed not to see.

Sublime_FA11C wrote:We can't ask him about it. Maybe he was damned if he did, because slowing down would have possibly robbed his car of downforce and made it more likely to aquaplane. There were no cars in front or behind him at the time that would justify speeding.

Ericsson was a few seconds behind and on better tyres, closing in. I obviously have no idea whether he was aware of that, but it's not outside the realms of possibility the team might have informed him. (FWIW I treat the speculation that Marussia instructed him specifically to push through the yellow zone as utter bullshit, just to be clear). When I was watching the race I saw Jenson pit for wets just as Jules flashed through the top of the screen onto the start/finish straight for the last time, and when he came out of the pits Ericsson was going into T1.

It's a matter of fact that he slowed down insufficiently to avoid going off - because he went off - but the root cause of that wasn't the actions of one driver - but the long-term neglect of not enforcing what DWYs are supposed to signify - slow down and be prepared to stop. While Jules was the only one to go off, I'd be prepared to bet a reasonable amount of money that not a single driver was slowed down and prepared to stop - at which speeds even if lack of downforce had caused the car to aquaplane, the incident would have been more like Ericsson's spin under the early safety car.

Still - at least with the virtual safety car/slow zone/full course yellow - whatever specific system is put in place and what it is called - that root cause is being addressed.

I was under the impression that there were no cars within 20s ahead or behind him. Possibly Ericsson on better tyres could have been a threat in those conditions even if further back than 20s, though it's not possible to do more than guess.

Crashing in F1 is a risk and sometimes a risk worth taking. If he hadn't hit the tractor, he would have probably been safe. That said i agree that drivers and pitwalls treat yellow flags as nuisances rather than warnings that cars, debris, or marshals on track could cause serious accidents.

Faustus wrote:

FMecha wrote:Their assets are going to be auctioned.

Prepare your monies

At first I thought there were no 2014 cars in the photos, but there they are in image 9.

Those are 2013 cars...

The catalog of auctioned items is up: http://auctionhq.net/view-auctions/catalog/id/91

Pointrox wrote:The catalog of auctioned items is up: http://auctionhq.net/view-auctions/catalog/id/91

I want things like the lot #21, some clothes, a driver suit, hats, and maybe one or two prints and canvas

If there's some pneumatic actuators in any of the assemblies, I might need them...you know, for stuff.

Pointrox wrote:The catalog of auctioned items is up: http://auctionhq.net/view-auctions/catalog/id/91

Looking through that brings to mind that wonderful routine Bill Bailey does about Argos and "the laminated book of dreams" and in particular reading said and weeping "So many beautiful things, I cannot possess them all"

...though in this case, it's more like The Laminated Book Of Shattered Dreams.

Which looks like an album title waiting to happen...

Registered, and can confirm I've entered a serious amount of money in bids across quite a few different items. Fingers crossed!!

AndreaModa wrote:Registered, and can confirm I've entered a serious amount of money in bids across quite a few different items. Fingers crossed!!

You'll have to fight me for it!

I... actually got a Bianchi autographed picture from one of my friends for Christmas, and apparently he admitted that he bidded on it on eBay while being drunk.

Shizuka wrote:I... actually got a Bianchi autographed picture from one of my friends for Christmas, and apparently he admitted that he bidded on it on eBay while being drunk.

Best. Friend. Ever.

dinizintheoven wrote:...though in this case, it's more like The Laminated Book Of Shattered Dreams.

Which looks like an album title waiting to happen...

I'm pretty sure Marillion released that in the late 1980s, with the traditonal gatefold sleeve.

Klon wrote:

Shizuka wrote:I... actually got a Bianchi autographed picture from one of my friends for Christmas, and apparently he admitted that he bidded on it on eBay while being drunk.

Best. Friend. Ever.

He is actually!

So day 1 of the auction took place today. I kept one eye on it whilst at work, and I have to say, something seems a bit odd about it all. £160 RRP race boots bought for £220 plus VAT. Six notebooks for £200. All very inflated prices, so absolutely no chance that I was coming out of it with anything - not that it bothers me too much, I have enough Marussia merch already! It almost seemed like there was a bit of artificial inflation going on.

The sad thing was the race cars from last year fetched £52k (Max) and £54k (Jules) which is an absolute steal when you consider the price that some old F1 cars go for on eBay. To buy such a recent F1 car for that sort of money is madness. Craig Scarborough commented on Twitter that they were the only bargains of the whole day!

Anyone else feeling brave enough to admit they paid crazy money for something?

bathplug

Minardi Man wrote:bathplug

Post of the year.