Formula 1 2014

Aldo Costa says rejoining ex-Ferrari colleagues at Mercedes was too tempting to turn down
By Michele Lostia and Matt Beer Monday, October 3rd 2011, 10:29 GMT

New Mercedes recruit Aldo Costa says the opportunity of renewing his relationship with Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher to challenge their old team Ferrari was more than enough to tempt him back into Formula 1.

Former Ferrari technical director Costa lost his position with the Italian team earlier this season after the disappointing start to its campaign. Mercedes announced on Friday that it had recruited Costa, who had worked with team boss Brawn at Ferrari during the Schumacher era, as its new engineering director.

His appointment came at the same time that ex-Williams, Honda and Red Bull man Geoff Willis was announced as Mercedes' new technology director, and follows the signing of former Renault man Bob Bell as Mercedes GP's technical director.

"I'm enthusiastic. Mercedes is pushing to be successful and that philosophy matches my ambitions and my character," Costa told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Once it was over with Ferrari in early July, I spoke with Brawn and Bob Bell. Just a few words with Ross were enough to find ourselves on the same wavelength as ever.

"Once out of Ferrari for many weeks I didn't want to think of anything, I just took care of my personal stuff.

"Yes, I considered the possibility of doing something outside racing. But then the possibility of returning with a big team like Mercedes drew me back in.

"I will be engineering director, leading the team that will take care of designing and developing the car. I will also follow young technicians. It's an exclusively designing job, I won't go to the track, a bit like I used to do in Ferrari before becoming technical director."

Costa added that he was thrilled to be working with Schumacher again.

"I haven't heard from Schumacher yet, but I will do soon," he said. "No one is as good as him in interpreting a car and its development. He will be fundamental, and I strongly believe in him as a driver too."

The Italian said that though there had been criticisms of his efforts from Ferrari after his departure, he still had fond memories of his time there.

"I don't agree with the accusations made against me," said Costa.

"However I have great memories of Ferrari and all its men, after winning eight constructors' championships and six drivers'.

"Schumacher's first title after a long draught was exhilarating as was [Kimi] Raikkonen's. The biggest regret is the title lost by [Felipe] Massa in 2008 after the finish line at Interlagos. He would have deserved it."

Costa said he would still think of Ferrari as "friends" even as he pushed to ensure Mercedes was ahead on the track.

"These things happen in sport and in life," he said of his departure from Ferrari. "Afterwards enthusiasm returns.

"The idea of challenging Ferrari with a group of former Ferrari men excites me, even though on the other side there will be friends instead of enemies."


(was in 2012.. when he was fired and was on gardening leave when merc acquired his services)

Mercedes have also acquired the services of two leading engineers from world champions Red Bull to boost their technical staff.

Mark Ellis and Giles Wood will join Mercedes in June 2014
they are currently on gardening leave (gardening leave means that when the teams cut loose their staffs they cant join other teams immediately so that the technical input doesnt go quickly to other teams)

A Mercedes statement said the recruitment of Ellis and Wood would "further strengthen the team's technical organisation, particularly in the fields of simulation and vehicle dynamics".

"This evolution has been proposed and supported by all four engine manufacturers currently involved in Formula One."...FIA

so.... all engine manufacturers after all came upon with agreement more than 3 years ago...

so why are ferrari and renault not happy now ...

and arq... Bahrain was one of the best races ever... we had merc drivers absolutely fighting each other... we had riccardo and vettel fighting each other.. williams force india ferrari fighting closely...

i dont understand what do u mean by flat , sterile and dogless race..

it was a killer race!!

JespSwe, my world, you are a fcking formula guru

Mr Nick09 wrote:JespSwe, my world, you are a fcking formula guru

I second that. An absolute f1 guru

gb wrote:

Mr Nick09 wrote:JespSwe, my world, you are a fcking formula guru

I second that. An absolute f1 guru

lol you guys make me like some kind of f1 genius.. stop it hahahaha   

im still in learning phase. i would really enjoy and appreciate all of your enthusiasm and thoughts in f1.

i know many of u are not liking this engine formula, but its solely due to the architectural design of power unit, making it sound weird. but this engine formula was really forced not necessarily ... due to FIA, or teams wanting to bring new engine, but i would say mostly due to economy.

i wouldnt rule out ofcourse that in f1, teams are always expected to bring the best out of engineering, and therefore the challenges are set by FIA. its bit of both, i would say.

we had 2008 the most severe financial recession, believe me or not it really hit f1... never ever expected all car manufacturers leave the sport all at once!!! honda, toyota, bmw, followed by renault... (though renault sold the team to GENII capital, they choose to only become engine supplier, though later, they regretted sales of team due to enstone based team doing so well, and word has it that they even wanted to buy back the team). we had mercedes and mclaren fighting each other... i think most of them read my post on why mclaren and mercedes split.

mclaren werent as good in financial shape than they were when they were with merc. and merc didnt want to spend anymore like in heydays with mclaren. actually my thoughts here were confirmed recently when dr. weber gave thoughts...
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/26943423

mercedes also almost quit the sport, due to massive pressure from the board, like i said, shareholders questioned whether merc should have had f1 teams... they should have been better off just remained as engine supplier or quit altogether. Dr. Zetche once told that we want to build the best engine and f1 provides perfect platform. he also said that in f1 that they want to become a benchmark or there is no point of mercedes staying f1 playing second fiddle to the likes of red bull or mclaren.

their reason of staying in f1, has been justified by doing exceptional job in engine department.


because of new engine regulation, we have honda coming back to sport, and word has it, that bmw are also considering to come back, but this is just rumors. a while ago bmw said they dont want f1 come back because they are satisfied with just their manufacturing cars racing in the sport.

and just to make ferrari fans feel better. i would say have a bit of patience.

obviously the incoming of james allison and dirk de beer those talented guys, followed by their upgrade of new windtunnel, ... the result will take a bit of a time. i actually have faith because of this.

they are actually in the design phase for the next year car, with those people and using new resources... if the result doesnt come by next year, then yes... ferrari fans should question why result hasnt come.

its been a difficult times for ferrari they have made necessary changes.. it takes time... besides rivals are not just sleeping... competitors are strong, and fans should accept that.

Breaking news : Domenicali resigned

Vibe wrote:Long time coming...Hopefully we can get Brawn out of his fishing boat.

Briatore also rumored,but pls no.Although Alonso-Briatore is a proven formula...Mattiacci sounds like an interim solution which is not permanent.This guy is a car salesman,no racing experience.

not surprised. heard like domenicalli resigned. domenicalli put a lot of faith in Pat Fry. Fry and Nicolas Tombazis are on the tightrope now...

Vibe wrote:Long time coming...Hopefully we can get Brawn out of his fishing boat.

Briatore also rumored,but pls no.Although Alonso-Briatore is a proven formula...Mattiacci sounds like an interim solution which is not permanent.This guy is a car salesman,no racing experience.

for me ... brawn is a better solution. brawn has strong technical, and political standview, but briatore is known to be arrogant, flamboyant .. his reputation has been damaged because of renault singapore crash incident.

i would say ferrari is better off not gambling on briatore.

either ross brawn .. or

Bob Bell, ... Mercedes just made annoucement that Bell is due to leave the team in November... huge loss for Mercedes ... especially considering they are very strong now, and Bell has been already involved in future projects, as Mercedes has already been designing 2015, 2016 cars.. and that technical knowledge could potentially pass on to whoever hires him

JespSwe wrote:

Vibe wrote:Long time coming...Hopefully we can get Brawn out of his fishing boat.

Briatore also rumored,but pls no.Although Alonso-Briatore is a proven formula...Mattiacci sounds like an interim solution which is not permanent.This guy is a car salesman,no racing experience.

for me ... brawn is a better solution. brawn has strong technical, and political standview, but briatore is known to be arrogant, flamboyant .. his reputation has been damaged because of renault singapore crash incident.

i would say ferrari is better off not gambling on briatore.

either ross brawn .. or

Bob Bell, ... Mercedes just made annoucement that Bell is due to leave the team in November... huge loss for Mercedes ... especially considering they are very strong now, and Bell has been already involved in future projects, as Mercedes has already been designing 2015, 2016 cars.. and that technical knowledge could potentially pass on to whoever hires him

also Bob Bell, has previously worked with enstone team (previously renault now Lotus team.. and was pivotal in alonso's championships)... and knows guys like Allisson and Dirk De Beer very well so who knows...

lol, Vettel is such a dick. Passes Webber when team orders are not to overtake, today doesn't let Ricciardo pass him in spite of an order from the team to do so. Serves him well that Ricciardo passed him anyway.

Congrats to Hamilton for a third straight win. Mercedes seem to be the new Red Bull.

It's also as I thought it would be, Räikkönen is quite clearly inferior to Alonso.

Art Morte wrote:lol, Vettel is such a dick. Passes Webber when team orders are not to overtake, today doesn't let Ricciardo pass him in spite of an order from the team to do so. Serves him well that Ricciardo passed him anyway.

Congrats to Hamilton for a third straight win. Mercedes seem to be the new Red Bull.

It's also as I thought it would be, Räikkönen is quite clearly inferior to Alonso.

Vettel is a huge pos. Ok you've won 4 titles, but you still have to follow orders. I was pretty glad when Ricciardo passed him, it felt like he was taking revenge for Webber.

ffs Mercedes

running away with it

Riccardo 20 + second ahead of vettel, boy that felt good.
vettel said he let him riccardo pass but i dont buy that, on the first corner that riccardo overtook him, vettel on the straight was trying to defend aggressively against riccardo which proves that vettel was lying lol.


riccardo is a great talent, and even though he is from rival team, i kinda like riccardo because he is very sincere, polite, always smiling and always positive!!! really mature and really acts like a true champion. i hope one day riccardo gets the same shot with championship like vettel did.

Forza wrote:

Art Morte wrote:lol, Vettel is such a dick. Passes Webber when team orders are not to overtake, today doesn't let Ricciardo pass him in spite of an order from the team to do so. Serves him well that Ricciardo passed him anyway.

Congrats to Hamilton for a third straight win. Mercedes seem to be the new Red Bull.

It's also as I thought it would be, Räikkönen is quite clearly inferior to Alonso.

Vettel is a huge pos. Ok you've won 4 titles, but you still have to follow orders. I was pretty glad when Ricciardo passed him, it felt like he was taking revenge for Webber.

webber must be loving this lol.

yea orders are orders, even though vettel doesnt like it he have to follow it. few laps of riccardo sitting behind vettel, i would say might just have cost him podium because riccardo was in the better strategy, he was staying longer in first stint, and he was way faster than vettel.

thats why i find christian horner not like a leader, he has no balls to say anything against vettel. well, if riccardo continue to perform like this, it just gives a real idea about vettel's title credentials

while fuel sensor issues that led to riccardo and red bull disqualified is over, well, i would say they got it so lightly. 9 years ago when Bar Honda (now mercedes) had quite a similar incident with illegal fuel issues, they got banned for 3 races. and now red bull got away with just no points in australia.

and now mclaren is saying they are taking red bull to high court because , few months ago, mclaren already had reached agreement with Peter Prodoumou and Dan fallows, both aerodynamicists of Red bull to join mclaren, and it seems contractually agreed to join mclaren, and not even a verbal one.

while peter prodoumou is on gardening leave, Dan fallows meanwhile was announced to be senior aerodynamicist of red bull all of sudden, which seems to have pissed off Ron Dennis (CEO of Mclaren group) because Fallows had agreed to join Mclaren too, and he changed his mind all of sudden (lol who knows red bull tempted him to stay with pay rise or whatever). and now Mclaren is not happy and they will take this issue to high court if Red bull and dan Fallow doesn't comply with Mclaren demands.


Christian Horner argued that Mclaren has no right to argue with the issues if Dan Fallows doesn't want to work for them, which is true, but ...

if Dan Fallows first agreed to join Mclaren, and sign contract then suddenly changes mind and doesnt answer Ron Dennis, and doesnt even care to settle the issue, then Mclaren has every right to take Red Bull to court!!


i cant believe how cocky red bull are ... first they are like oh , we are right on fuel flow sensor, our own reading is correct and FIA is not!! and now, their employee signs contract and agrees to join mclaren and then doesnt want to work there... and red bull says oh thats ok, mclaren has no right to argue lol





get those cheats ROnn!!!!!

Christian Horner has insisted that aerodynamicist Dan Fallows’ decision to rejoin Red Bull Racing was his own and that the technician had not been induced to return to the Milton Keynes squad, as had been suggested by McLaren boss Ron Dennis before today’s Chinese Grand Prix. Horner added that if McLaren “want to get lawyers involved, that that’s what will have to be done”.

In the run-up to the race in Shanghai, Dennis questioned Red Bull’s actions in taking Fallows back as Head of Aerodynamics after the technician had late last year signed a contract with McLaren.

“We’re obviously not happy to be contracting people in a correct and professional way, only to find that those contracts are disregarded,” Dennis told Britain’s Sky Sports television before the race in Shanghai. “What I’m particularly uncomfortable with is that people just don’t change their minds, they induced to change their minds. People being induced to break contracts, it’s just wrong.”

Horner, however, said that Fallows’ decision to return to the Milton Keynes squad had been entirely his own and had been made against the background of “the changes that have happened at McLaren”.

“The situation with Dan is very clear,” said the Red Bull Racing team principal after the race. “Dan decided that he was going to leave Red Bull for reasons of his own but with the changes that have happened at McLaren he decided that he didn’t want to join, and it was 100 per cent his choice to approach us and see if there was a situation still open. So it was his choice. Getting lawyers involved, if that’s the way McLaren want to act then that’s what will have to be done.”

Horner added that the recruitment of Fallows did not bring into question the ethics of Red Bull and that the new aero chief could not be made “to do a job against [his] will”.

“I don’t know how this can question the integrity of the team, as it’s the choice of the individual,” he said. “I don’t think anyone can be forced to do a job against their will. Situations change, as Ron well knows, probably more so than others, with the vast amount of experience he has. Situations change. The situation in his team changed. Therefore, Dan is with Red Bull, has been with Red Bull for a couple of weeks and will be there for quite a while to come.”

Dennis has suggested that he has an “open mind to discuss anything” and one possible compromise in the dispute could be that McLaren would drop any potential legal action in return for the early release of Peter Prodromou to begin work at the Woking team.

The former Red Bull Head of Aerodynamic’s contract with the Milton Keynes outfit runs until the end of this year and when the announcement of Fallows’ appointment at Red Bull Racing was made a just under two weeks ago, the team announced that Prodromou had been placed on ‘gardening leave’. An early end to that period in the wilderness early might ultimately be McLaren’s goal.


source: http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/

LMAO... Christian Horner still doesn't understand that there is important thing called "CONTRACT" and once employee signs to work for another team, he is legally binded to that team... no matter what he changes his mind... and decides things on his own then signs with Red bull, both employee and employers (red bull and dan fallows will be guilty) knowing that Dan Fallows had signed contract with Mclaren, knowing that he got it wrong and Red Bull decided to sign a guy who is legally binded to another team anyway ....

there is no question about it that Red Bulll will loose this fight, unless Mclaren and Red bull comes up with mediation. Good Luck Horner!!

Over a month since the last post in this thread   

Just watched the Monaco race and it was pretty boring. A Rosberg - Hamilton one-two from start to finish and the overtaking and action bits happened around the 10th place or thereabouts. I feel like I wasted my time, lol.

Friction between the Mercedes drivers now since Rosberg seemed to deliberately cause yellow flags in qualifying and stop Hamilton from fighting for the pole in his last lap there.

The only funny thing today was Lewis Hamilton whining all the time like a baby whose comforter got taken away

Yeah, well, Rosberg's antics in qualifying weren't cool, but Hamilton is making his "victim act" too dramatic.

From an entertainment point of view it might be a good thing, though, as it's looking like the only truly exciting thing about this season is shaping up to be the two Mercedes cars and the battle between them.

Well, that is actually the only improvement to the former Red Bull domination - there it was Seb driving away into the sunset alone, while now at least we have two Mercedes cars battling it out while driving away into the sunset

Rosberg never cheated in first place to cause yellow flag to deny Lewis hamilton... besides Nico was faster in pretty much in all Q session except in Q2 when track was improving.

Its the media and lewis himself caused a s..t stir... and the data and further analysis proved that Nico didnt cheat.

Lewis f.. kin needs to grow up! Lewis has been bitchin the whole weekend.

first he says oh nico grew up in the high life of Monaco, in his father's boat and all. and i grew up in my dad's couch. well, Nico never ever once has been attention seeker, he has worked his hard way to come all the way to F1, Nico even got his own sponsorship from hardwork from Mika Hakkinen instead from his dad! The last time i knew Lewis was too busy with his jets, dogs, Nicole.. making rap so that makes him a hypocrite and the biggest attention seeker and Nico said that in his life in Monaco in his free time he loves spending time in his gf kitchen making foods!!!!. and yesterday he blamed Nico and today he blames team for not giving him optium strategy. jeez.


and lets make one thing clear... if lewis was in Nico's position yesterday, it would have been whole lewis fans and british media defending him.


lewis is doing great job, but he wasn't quick ask nico in overall qualifying weekend, so he should just shut up and beat nico his way.. after all he has been in great form!!!

Well, you could say "Nico wins the Monaco Grand Prix while Lewis whines the Monaco Grand Prix" XD