In the round-up: McLaren racing director Eric Boullier says he can “definitely” see a future where teams use 3D-printing to create replacement parts while at races.
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Giant ovens and cake: The secretive world where McLaren F1 cars are made (CNN)
"Asked whether 3D printing could mean car parts could be actually made trackside during a grand prix rather than being flown around the world at great cost, Boullier said: 'Yes definitely. This is what we want to achieve.'"
Ecclestone baffled by Renault's delay over Lotus deal (Motorsport)
"They've been waiting for us to make a contribution to give them a reason to do something, which we've done two weeks ago. So I don't know."
Formula One facing crisis as futures of three teams are thrown into greater doubt (The Mirror)
"The mechanics’ lunch came from a local pizza take-away."
Button can see himself racing in WEC (Autosport)
"I can definitely see myself racing in the WEC in the future."
Jules Bianchi on the paddock's mind as F1 returns to Suzuka (Sky)
"I left the paddock last year going to the hospital and spent the night, so definitely when I came back today it was a strange feeling in the paddock. It will be a strange weekend, but we try to do our best to show him respect."
It would be 'wrong' to talk about winning the title - Sebastian Vettel (ESPN)
"There's a lot of races still to come, but every Sunday is a new opportunity. It's wrong in this moment to talk about the championship for us."
Aquaplaning Massa still concerned by Suzuka drainage (Crash)
"“I don't know (what the solution is) because there's a lot of up and down and hills, so it's not so easy. You can even see on the television there are a lot of rivers and this was always a problem with this track since I started, so I really don't see an improvement."
Tweets and pictures
@virtualstatman various other hospitality units and eating with the paddock club staff… None of this their fault, got to feel for them.
— Jason Swales (@Jason_A_Swales) September 25, 2015
It cuts me to the quick seeing my former team scratch a daily existence; especially here in Suzuka, where Benetton won the 1995 championship
— Steve Matchett (@MrSteveMatchett) September 25, 2015
Survived another Bento Box lunch in media centre. Contained the famous cherry marinated in battery acid and boiled boogers in seawater.
— f1bastard (@f1bastard) September 25, 2015
By the way, some in McLaren did want to paint the car white with flashes of orange. To reflect Honda and historic McLaren. Ron said no.
— Andrew Benson (@andrewbensonf1) September 25, 2015
Car in Super FJ practice went off at 130R in the wet. First thing that appears is a tractor in front of the barrier. Here of all places. 2/2
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) September 25, 2015
Two things they do well in Japan: Really wet races and motorsport commentary. Here's a video favourite: http://t.co/2jZgCaBLhR
— F1 Fanatic (@f1fanatic_co_uk) September 25, 2015
Bloody hell! man gives straight answer to a question in the FIA conference. Well done J Neale of McLaren. #worldstopsturning
— f1bastard (@f1bastard) September 25, 2015
Team bosses press conference over already.Suzuka always a good place to bring big issues. Journos too bloody exhausted to chase anything #F1
— Byron Young (@byronf1) September 25, 2015
The fellow in front of me in the press room is in a deep slumber. So is the bloke over to my left. I hope it's not catching..
— Alan Baldwin (@alanbaldwinf1) September 25, 2015
Thankfully F1 heritage teams didn't suffer "disillusionment" with F1 when not competitive. Dietrich, pls sell your teams to real racers #F1
— John Sertori (@Adorimedia) September 25, 2015
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Comment of the day
A theory on the Jenson Button situation from @GregKingston:
It sounds a lot more like McLaren are not exercising their option on him, with a much publicised pay increase that takes him to less than 50% of Alonso’s salary, and would instead like to re-sign him afterwards for less. At the same time they’re publicly saying how much they’d him to stay.
Jenson’s clearly been wrestling with a very difficult decision. Few drivers actually get to exit the sport on their terms and walk away from a drive. But he’s closer to the end of his F1 career than the beginning, and the prospect of driving an equally awful car for another year cannot be attractive.
He seems happy though and has reconciled himself with his decision, no matter what that is. As a fan I feel as conflicted as he is – I don’t want him to leave but equally I don’t want to see him lead Manor racing around circuits for another 12 months whilst McLaren try and develop a reasonable car for 2017.
@GregKingston
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Ron, Greg and Theo Parkinson!
If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is via the contact form or adding to the list here.
On this day in F1
Fernando Alonso denied Sebastian Vettel a victory at Singapore on this day five years ago. Mark Webber finished third and held on to the championship lead with the top five covered by 25 points with four races remaining.
Panagiotis (@papalotis)
26th September 2015, 0:17
to all of those going crazy about the mclaren honda red white livery, can you just go and check the livery on the 1996 car, and the engine it has.
There you go, the red and white has nothing to do with honda, it is connected with marlboro
Colonel RPG
26th September 2015, 2:26
I support your rage in this! It’s ok to be mad!
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
26th September 2015, 2:29
McLaren was originally white and green, just throwing this one. I think Ron just doesn’t want to look like a team desperate for attention or sponsors. The sponsors paint the car full stop.
spoutnik (@spoutnik)
26th September 2015, 12:12
I’m sure Ron could be tempted anyway once he has a winning car (if ever).
Jules Winfield (@jules-winfield)
26th September 2015, 13:25
Thank you for setting the matter straight, oh learned one.
Morton
26th September 2015, 0:33
Honda not allowing Lotus F1 team to use their hospitality is disgusting.
Chris
26th September 2015, 0:46
Im wondering where is hamiltons melancoly comming from?
dragoll (@dragoll)
26th September 2015, 1:10
Rhiana?
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
26th September 2015, 1:18
I just don’t understand Lewis remark “like the colour of our skin” on that post. Wonder what he gonna say if he ever post instagram thankful note about his mother…
beneboy (@beneboy)
26th September 2015, 1:33
Racists generally don’t differentiate between black people and mixed race people, what’s not to understand ?
Go read any F1 article on the Daily Mail website and you’ll often find plenty of examples of the attitudes Lewis is referring to.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
26th September 2015, 1:46
You just made generalization of Racist. An assumption about a group of people based on only a few people. Some of us Racist are intelligent enough to know the difference, you know? :)
@HoHum (@hohum)
26th September 2015, 2:43
@ruliemaulana, Really ? so intelligent that you don’t realize that Lewis’ fathers skin did not become any whiter when he married a fair skinned anglo-saxon woman.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
26th September 2015, 2:51
@HoHum Here I was thought adding smiley at the end was enough. Should any joke or sarcasm need full detail disclaimer?
@HoHum (@hohum)
26th September 2015, 3:04
@ruliemaulana, No smiley on the original post, putting your hands up and saying “just joking” doesn’t always cut it.
Explanation accepted.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
26th September 2015, 3:22
@HoHum LoL. You didn’t reply to my original post…
trublu (@trublu)
26th September 2015, 23:30
How complicated is it that you can’t understand? When he was a kid there people (even parents of other kids) that thought he had no business racing because he was black and tried to discourage him from staying in the sport.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
26th September 2015, 2:33
Again I think he’s depressed.
@HoHum (@hohum)
26th September 2015, 2:52
He may well be worrying about the possibility of suffering the same fate as Jules Bianchi.
JohnBt
26th September 2015, 3:53
Hey I don’t think that’s a nice thought. What I think is, should it be a wet track on raceday drivers will be thinking of Jules even more and the race will be a slow one.
RL
26th September 2015, 3:36
Who’s to know exactly but Lewis? I suppose all that rain limiting track time and the return to the site of Jules Bianchi’s terrible accident gave him cause for introspection.
It is a nice touch though for him. It’s a change from all the tattoos, private jets and celebrities, which as a Lewis fan I’ve tolerated and just glossed over as of late.
oya
26th September 2015, 5:22
Awww that’s a cute pic.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
26th September 2015, 1:00
I’m afraid F1 gonna lost 6 seat in 2016. No Lotus, Red Bull & STR.
The only logical explanation for Romain to made the deal with Haas is that he knew Renault deal failing.
Bernie got my sympathies this time for trying hard saving & supporting Enstone team.
ColdFly F1 - @coldfly (@)
26th September 2015, 8:01
Would an arsonist handing the victims a leaking bucket of water also get your sympathies?
Captain Pie (@captainpie)
26th September 2015, 17:01
Yes, if said arsonist was attempting to burn down CVC or Bernie 😉
mantresx (@mantresx)
26th September 2015, 1:18
mmm 3D printed parts on site seems like a great idea but dragging around the machine to every race seems like an even bigger expense than just bring spares of everything.
What the teams could do instead is share the cost of transporting just one or two “printers” and then just use it in case one of their drivers crashed. But there’s a long way to go before it’s even technically possible anyway.
ruliemaulana (@ruliemaulana)
26th September 2015, 1:37
The idea is to force every race track to provide giant printer facility of FIA chosen Industrial 3D printer manufacture. So all the team only need to transport chassis, engine and sponsor stickers. They can email 3D body parts 3 days before Friday practice to be printed on site.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
26th September 2015, 1:54
@rukliemaulana Someone will then take the printer’s data and using that take a look at what other teams are printing….and thus printergate shall be born……
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
26th September 2015, 1:56
@ruliemaulana
Fast
26th September 2015, 2:28
force, that’s a nice approach :-)
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
26th September 2015, 2:39
It’s impossible to 3d print carbon composites, therefore it would have a very limited use for the short term, next 20 years.
Fast
26th September 2015, 7:12
Clearly Boullier’s political acumen lends itself well to F1 as the 3D printing comment highlights. Instead of getting all hot & bothered and letting Whitmarsh go, perhaps Ron should avoir regardé l’autre gars à la place.
Jaanus (@lepondo)
26th September 2015, 7:25
According to Renault Trucks Corporate Red Bull Racing is already using 3D printers during the race weekends.
anon
26th September 2015, 8:14
@mantresx, there is some evidence that Red Bull has been using 3D printing to manufacture small replacement components, such as front wing endplates, at the track itself for a couple of years now. However, I don’t think it will be going into widespread use for a number of years yet, mainly because of the difficulty in producing composite materials with the requisite performance properties via 3D printing.
OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! - @omarr-pepper (@)
26th September 2015, 1:52
In that The Mirror article, they say Maldo had to shelter from the rain in another team’s hospitality… Doesn’t he have ENOUGH money to rent a bus or 2 and shelter his whole team? I thought PDVSA gave him more money, or that, even if that’s not the case, he would spend some pocket money to accomodate HIS team.
I know it’s not his responsibility, but come on, this guy has the funds to do it.
paul
26th September 2015, 5:26
What’s getting sponsorshio got to do with getting rich?
That’s some ridiculous and delusional thinking.
Neil (@neilosjames)
26th September 2015, 2:12
I’d imagine at some point a team will be able to just take a few photos of a rival car, run them through a fancy computer program and 3D-print the whole thing. Maybe not soon, but one day…
Fast
26th September 2015, 2:29
:-)
Strontium (@strontium)
26th September 2015, 2:24
Really really strange to see Bernie doing something kind and helping a team. I can’t help but feel he is so desperate for Renault to come in that he is just helping them to survive until then. In any other situation maybe he would’ve let it collapse now?
@HoHum (@hohum)
26th September 2015, 2:33
@strontium I’m sure you are correct, were there a couple more teams running to keep the numbers up Bernie wouldn’t have cared less.
RL
26th September 2015, 3:38
I suppose he knows this is a team that’s necessary for the business, whilst Caterham, Marussia and HRT were mobile chicane pretenders who were hanging on by a thread to begin with
@HoHum (@hohum)
26th September 2015, 2:28
I think any plans made by a major manufacturer of diesel engined cars will, this week, have been put on hold till the dust settles.
There seems to be a lynch-mob hysteria developing all around the world regarding VWs admission that the very old practice of tuning engines to pass tests for economy, and more recently, emissions has been perfected to the point where it is called cheating.
Fast
26th September 2015, 2:43
It’s because they pass at a lesser mileage then they actually really get that raised the ire of the EPA, who then created the hysteria. Most cars go into a type of test mode for efficiency when being tested and then perform at a lower mpg in normal mode. Contrary to others though, the reality is that the TDI gets more mpg than rated without more emissions.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
26th September 2015, 2:44
@hohum Was it a coup d’etat then? Apparently the head of Porsche is in charge now.
@HoHum (@hohum)
26th September 2015, 2:58
@peartree, @fast, I think it was more likely the heads of Ford and/or GM, too high a price to pay just to get Porsche back in charge.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
26th September 2015, 5:13
@Hohum It’s inane right. Not inconceivable though, Porsche apparently wants independence from VW who has topped worldwide sales this year, so you never know. You said it yourself, VW is being hammered for doing standard practice in the automotive business. On the other hand the story did blew up in the US, so you’re probably right.
@HoHum (@hohum)
26th September 2015, 5:43
@peartree, American car companies have either failed or not bothered trying to penetrate the market with diesel, but VW was on a roll that neither Ford, Chrysler or GM had an answer for, makes me wonder just who was financing that study and why.
maarten.f1 (@maarten-f1) (@)
26th September 2015, 6:21
@hohum here’s more info on that
Arrows98 (@arrows98)
26th September 2015, 3:43
sooo, VW engines were just “flexing” their fuel emissions so they could pass scrutiny???
we can see now why Red Bull wanted them to take over… ;)
@HoHum (@hohum)
26th September 2015, 5:37
@arrows98, exactly the example that came to my mind too.
Fast
26th September 2015, 7:02
@HoHum @Peartree Only the Chevrolet Cruze diesel provided any sort of competition for the 2litre TDI. Since the gov’t owns GM courtesy of the 2009 bailout it needs to protect the investment. (@maarten-f1) The Atlantic magazine portrays itself as Liberal yet it is really a right wing outlet. BTW, as compared to the UK and Europe, there really isn’t a Left-wing in the US. Just right of center and then further right.
@HoHum (@hohum)
26th September 2015, 7:46
@fast @maarten-f1, thanks for that but I can’t place much trust in an article that doesn’t know the difference between economy and emissions. I just love it when the good old boys liken Obama to Hitler because the’re both socialists.
ColdFly F1 - @coldfly (@)
26th September 2015, 7:44
Interestingly the Pictures in the ‘tweets and pictures’ section do not show in my browser (Chrome OS X).
Thank you!
greg-c
26th September 2015, 10:31
Thanks for the birthday shoutout Keith ,
I still lurk around here in the shadows :)
Now Australian Tv broadcasts of F1 is half behind a paywall I’ve been watching replays on you tube of just the highlights during the week ,
I cannot remember when I have missed this many live races ?
By the way , I was born on the same day
the Beatles released Abbey Road ,
26-9-69
Alan (@alan77)
26th September 2015, 20:34
Maybe McLaren/Honda can 3D print a better car & engine?