Darlington RacewayTrack?s security director Mike Richardson accepts award for being an industry leader during 2011 Southern 500 race weekend DARLINGTON, S.C. (Jan. 10, 2012) ? One of the top priorities for Darlington Raceway each year is to make sure its race fans, competitors, media and others attending the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 race…more»
Oscar Gonzбlez Aldo Gordini Horace Gould Jean Marc Gounon Emmanuel de Graffenried
Human right groups have called for Formula 1 to boycott the Bahrain Grand Prix amid continued unrest in the kingdom. The Sakhir event was cancelled in 2011 because of the situation in the country, but the race is scheduled to return to the calendar in 2012, as the fourth round of the championship on 22 April.
Bruno Giacomelli Dick Gibson Gimax Richie Ginther Yves Giraud Cabantous
Thomas D Smith danced with the draft all the way to the top of the NASCAR iRacing.com Class C Series at Talladega Superspeedway during Week Eight competition at the popular track. Over 2,200 sim racers tried their hand at the unique breed of online oval racing and when the dust settled and the points were tallied, it was the 2011 Season Three runner-up who stood tall over all who dared to tackle the 2.66-mile tri-oval. Smith?s win came in a 4565 Strength of Field (SoF) race on Tuesday in which he led 17 of 50 lap en route to the win. Pole sitter Adrian Duncan was second in the event, followed by Dylan Duval, Rodney Harris and David Rattler. NASCAR iRacing Pro Series driver Matt Whitten led the most laps [...]
Denny Hamlin Z Line Toyota Kyle Busch Toyota Kimmy Z Line Designs Toyota
Chevrolet?s Detroit auto show display will include two style-heavy concepts aimed at the youth (i.e., under 30) market. According to U.S. Census data? which Chevrolet cites with dollar signs in its eyes?that includes some 80 million consumers in America alone. ?Young customers tell us they want functionality with coupe-like aesthetics. Both the Code and Tru [...]
Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney Michael Duane Bliss Kurt Thomas Busch Kyle Thomas Busch
I get up every morning just like most people and I have a plan. That plan is carried-out based on the events of the day, what I have to do and when I have to have it done. Now, I can see that funny look on your face already, one that says “What does this have to do with iRacing?” What this has to do with iRacing is this: It?s all about management. We manage tasks in our daily lives. We know when to give a task everything we have and when giving a task a little less is enough. Sim racing is no different. iRacing has advanced in so many ways that we are now forced to manage our resources during a race. We have to think about when [...]
David Hobbs Gary Hocking Ingo Hoffmann Bill Holland Jackie Holmes
Volkswagen has officially unveiled the E-Bugster concept at the North American International Auto Show. It features an electric motor that produces 114 hp (85 kW / 116 PS) and 199 lb-ft (270 Nm) of torque.
Lewis Hamilton was in a cautious, yet satisfied mood after pipping Sebastian Vettel in Brazilian Grand Prix practice. Hamilton beat Vettel by 0.167 seconds, while Red Bull’s Mark Webber was third ahead of Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. It was all very tight though with Red Bull and McLaren set for a fascinating battle this weekend. Speaking [...]
Denny Hulme James Hunt Jim Hurtubise Gus Hutchison Jacky Ickx
In 1951, Milton Friedman coauthored a paper on road pricing. It would be a mere footnote in both Friedman’s career and in the intellectual history of road pricing, if not for one sci-fi flourish: The authors propose painting radioactive material alongside expressways, so that road operators can charge drivers using car-mounted geiger counters. Obviously, this [...]
Gene Hartley Masahiro Hasemi Naoki Hattori Paul Hawkins Mike Hawthorn
Felix Serralles will graduate to British Formula 3 this season with Fortec Motorsport. The 19-year-old Puerto Rican finished 12th in the Formula Renault Eurocup with Fortec last season and now becomes the Daventry team’s third British F3 signing for 2012, alongside Brazilian sophomore Pipo Derani and Formula Renault UK champion Alex Lynn. “I am very pleased to be racing again with Fortec,” Serralles said
Kevin Harvick Armour Vienna Sausage Kroger Chevrolet Clint Bowyer Zaxby s Chevrolet Brad Keselowski
Driving the big-daddy Bentley Mulsanne is like driving a very powerful, very deluxe English drawing room. Driving a twin-turbo 567-hp, 12-cylinder Continental GT is less so, even if the smaller car still does a fine impersonation of Ron Burgundy?s apartment?i.e., many leather-bound books, smells of rich mahogany. ?And it?s probably a safe bet that nobody [...]
Juan Pablo Montoya Joseph Francis Nemechek III Ryan Joseph Newman Kyle Eugene Petty Floyd Anthony Raines
Filed under: Sedan, Videos, Cadillac, Honda, Humor
This crash isn’t as odd as the California melee that saw a Saturn end up on an apartment roof, but it’s still a little out of the ordinary. Apparently a driver in Wellesley, Mass. missed a curb, and wound up driving up and over a Cadillac CTS that was inside a parking structure.
We’re a little baffled as to how this all went down, and the Wellesley police don’t give us any clues in their video. Check out what happened after the jump.
Continue reading Honda Civic gets frisky with Caddy in strange accident
Honda Civic gets frisky with Caddy in strange accident originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Dale Arnold Jarrett Jimmie Kenneth Johnson Kasey Kenneth Kahne Matthew Roy Kenseth Alan Dennis Kulwicki
Thomas D Smith danced with the draft all the way to the top of the NASCAR iRacing.com Class C Series at Talladega Superspeedway during Week Eight competition at the popular track. Over 2,200 sim racers tried their hand at the unique breed of online oval racing and when the dust settled and the points were tallied, it was the 2011 Season Three runner-up who stood tall over all who dared to tackle the 2.66-mile tri-oval. Smith?s win came in a 4565 Strength of Field (SoF) race on Tuesday in which he led 17 of 50 lap en route to the win. Pole sitter Adrian Duncan was second in the event, followed by Dylan Duval, Rodney Harris and David Rattler. NASCAR iRacing Pro Series driver Matt Whitten led the most laps [...]
Willi Heeks Nick Heidfeld Theo Helfrich Mack Hellings Brian Henton
Filed under: Sedan, CES, Technology, Chrysler, Dodge, Design/Style
Dodge has given the 2012 Charger the black treatment with a new style package debuting at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. The 2012 Dodge Charger Blacktop is as monochrome as a vehicle can legally be.
With tinted windows, massive blacked-out five-spoke wheels and a smoked tail light array, the Blacktop package gives the already purposeful Charger an even thicker dose of attitude. In fact, the only color we can spot outside are the aluminum exhaust finishers. Details are still scarce on how much the package will cost you, though Chrysler has said that the vehicle will feature a standard Dr. Dre Beats audio system when it debuts.
As you may have heard, the stereo features 10 speakers pushed through a 12-channel amplifier, and an 8.4-inch Uconnect screen controls the sound. While Chrysler hasn’t said exactly what the Charger Blacktop will feature under the hood, we suspect a certain familiar 5.7-liter V8 or a 3.6-liter V6 are good bets. Hit the jump for the press release.
Continue reading 2012 Dodge Charger Blacktop goes stealth at CES
2012 Dodge Charger Blacktop goes stealth at CES originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Richard Allen Craven Kerry Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr Carl Michael Edwards III
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There are very few cars in this world that can keep up with the Pagani Zonda, but even with its AMG-powered 7.3-liter engine that produces 555 horsepower and 563 lb/ft of torque, it isn’t the most powerful car in the Pagani family.
That title belongs to the Pagani Huayra and its AMG-powered 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12 engine that generates 700 horsepower and 740 lb/ft of torque.
This video, courtesy of EVO Diaries, features the two Pagani supercars partaking in a nice little joyride on an isolated road. What’s fascinating about this 53-second video, apart from getting a good look at the Zonda’s fancy interior, is how much more meat the Huayra has over its older sister. Check out the video around the 30-second mark and you’re going to see the Huayra’s serious power as it breaks away from the Zonda when the road straightens out.
Like we said, we’d take very few cars over the Zonda, but if there’s one car that will completely change our mind, it’s the mind-blowing Pagani Huayra.
Video: The Pagani Zonda meets the Pagani Huayra originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 7 January 2012 06:00 EST.
Willi Heeks Nick Heidfeld Theo Helfrich Mack Hellings Brian Henton
Tech 3 Yamaha team boss Herve Poncharal does not think his new rider Andrea Dovizioso’s collarbone injury will get in the way of his preparations for the 2012 MotoGP season. Dovizioso, who has moved from the factory Honda line-up to Tech 3 this year, broke his right collarbone yesterday when he had a minor fall while riding a motocross bike and landed awkwardly.
Hans Klenk Peter de Klerk Christian Klien Karl Kling Ernst Klodwig
Renault has unveiled the 2012 Mégane. It features revised styling and three new engines.
Terrence Lee Labonte Randy Joseph Lajoie Kevin Paul Lepage William Ashton Lewis Jr Sterling Burton Marlin
Reader Paul Murphy sends along this ad from the Australian division of Giant Bicycles. The spot, by the Melbourne-based firm Leo Burnett, started airing last summer as part of Giant’s “Real Riders” campaign. Imagine if images of grocery bags slung over handlebars could somehow saturate the airwaves as much as sleek new luxury sedans gliding [...]
Out! Pet Care Toyota Jason Leffler David Carl Allison Gregory Jack Biffle David Lee Blaney
Even when romain jerome titanic dna are actually perhaps the most impressive jewelry watches today, there are many more options. Shopping for the perfect Jewelry watch doesn’t have to take a lot of time or be difficult. With the right information the right accessory can be found quickly and easily. To make sure your trip to the jeweler’s is quick and easy make sure to know what you want to purchase before you leave. If you know what you want and how much you want to spend you are less likely to over spend and the decision process will happen quicker.
Shopping efficiently can be done in several ways. Some tips on how to shop for jewelry watches follow.
To start find pictures of some different types of jewelry watches that you like the most.
The internet is a simple place to find these images. Or you can take trip to your local library and look for images there. Begin searching for images at the library if you are interested in antique or vintage pieces. To get an idea of the size and style of the watch you want, take some time going through jewelry books or collector guidebooks. Another option is to look through magazines to get an idea of what pieces are popular right now.
Now you can choose what materials you would like for your jewelry watch to be made from. What type of store you go to for a watch that is beaded will be different than other types of material. A jeweler’s shop is where you would look if you wanted one with precious stones or diamonds. Would you prefer the watch not be made of metal? Opt for something with a leather band or that fastens to your clothing. Before you start shopping it is important to decide these things. There are so many options on the market that you can easily become overwhelmed or discouraged if you don’t know what you are looking for.
Make sure you know what the current cost is for any precious stones or materials that you want in your watch. Of course, this is more important if you want your watch to look like a piece of expensive jewelry. Knowing the prices of different carats of diamonds can keep any jewelers from trying to take advantage of you. If you know how much something costs, you will know how much of a markup to expect.
To make sure you get the lowest price make sure and have this information with you when you go shopping. The more you know when you start shopping, the better experience you will have. Buying a jewelry watch on the internet doesn’t have to be all that hard. There is a wide variety of websites that you can use to help you find the watch that you really want the most. It is better to go slowly when you are buying things on the internet. Do some research. Look for the very best deals you can find! You will eventually find the perfect watch at the perfect price. It is possible that you will be able to find it for less than you would have purchased it at a “real” jewelry store. Enough with the window shopping, lets relax with some old arcade games!
Well it’s not as powerful as Yamaha R6 2009 neither amazing like Ducati 848 Price however it truly is convenient! When you are trying to make a decision about a recreational vehicle, there are a bunch of things to contemplate. It’s beneficial for you to know how big of an RV you need, what attributes you desire, how much money you can spend and what fashions you like. When you are making a large purchase like this, you don’t want to overlook any essential details. The following guidelines will help you to find an RV that is ideal for your needs.
One of the mistakes many over eager buyers make is not having a mechanic thoroughly scrutinize it first. It’s important that it be in perfect working condition and that all of the paperwork and warranty information is readily available. If you are considering an used RV always ask for the vehicles history and all service records. Understand the warranty limitations too. When you are ready to have it inspected it’s important to make sure the motor runs well, the transmission isn’t faulty, the electrical systems are in good working order and the frame is solid with no signs of rust. You should take into consideration the idea of buying an RV that is previously owned, if you are on a limited budget. Acquiring a recreational vehicle in excellent condition with several good years left in it is attainable, although you need to be cautious. If you purchase a previously owned RV from a registered dealer, you will generally obtain some type of warranty, however you need to be confident that you understand everything they are guaranteeing and the kind of protection that comes with the vehicle. You’ll save a lot of money if you buy an RV from a private person, however in this situation you need to pay special attention, as you will not be protected from any type of warranty. This means that unless you are a mechanic or thoroughly aware of RVs, you should get it checked out before you purchase it.
Each vehicle we buy, RV or not, has a cost that is not always reflected on the sticker price. If you’ve never bought an RV before, stop and think about the administrative fees associated with it like insurance, taxes, or registration because they’ll be much higher than the same fees for you car. RV insurance is a good deal different from car insurance, so take your time and be sure you get it right. With an expensive purchase like an RV, you want to be sure you’re covered as much as possible. You therefore have to make sure you can afford the right insurance for your RV, as this is essential with a purchase of this magnitude. Buying a recreational vehicle is a serious decision. For many people, it will be their new home. Therefore, this is not something to hurry into prior to doing a lot of investigation on the various models out there and how much you are willing to spend on them. The input mentioned above will allow you to make a great choice when you are out shopping for an RV. Then you can become fond of the plethora of adventures you’ll be partaking in on the open road for many years to come! And whenever you got your relaxation go experience one of these Ducati Streetfighter price
Having painted a 62 Belair body in Corrona Cream I'm "forced" to do the interior in FAWN, the only factory option with the cream. The AMT color chart clearly shows this but I wasn't paying attention and had planned on black – not available on any Belair.
An internet search didn't help much so can anyone post (or direct me to) pix?
Thanx
Peter Kennedy
Bruno Giacomelli Dick Gibson Gimax Richie Ginther Yves Giraud Cabantous
In Monaco before Christmas, Formula 1′s governing body held a meeting to discuss one of the key and most controversial aspects of 2011 – the Drag Reduction System or DRS.
Introduced amid much controversy and no small amount of trepidation in some quarters, questions about the validity of the overtaking aid, not to mention the wisdom of employing it, decreased during the season. So much so that, at the Monaco meeting, it was decided that only small refinements needed to be made to its use for the 2012 campaign.
But while the FIA and the teams all agree that DRS has played a valuable role in improving F1 as a spectacle, they are determined to ensure it performs in the way intended. In particular, no-one wants to cheapen one of the central aspects of a driver’s skill by making overtaking too easy.
Sebastian Vettel enters the DRS zone at the Spanish Grand Prix. Photo: Getty
To recap briefly, DRS was introduced in an attempt to solve the perennial problem of there being too little overtaking. After years – decades even – of discussions, F1′s technical brains hit on what they thought could be a solution: DRS.
DRS does what it says on the tin. When deployed, the top part of the rear wing moves upwards, reducing drag and giving a boost in straight-line speed. In races, drivers could use it only if they were within a second of the car in front at a “detection point” shortly before the “DRS zone”. The DRS zone was where DRS could be deployed, which was usually the track’s longest straight.
The idea was to make overtaking possible but not too easy.
There is no doubt that racing improved immeasurably as a spectacle in 2011 compared with previous seasons. But how big a role did DRS play? And did overtaking become too easy at some tracks and remain too hard at others?
It is a more complex issue than it at first appears because it is not always easy to tell from the outside whether an overtaking move was a result of DRS or not.
In Turkey and Belgium, for example, several drivers sailed past rivals in the DRS zone long before the end of it, leading many to think the device had made overtaking too easy.
But, armed with statistics, FIA race director Charlie Whiting says appearances were deceptive. What was making overtaking easy at those two races, he said, was the speed advantage of the car behind as the two cars battling for position came off the corner before the DRS zone.
Whiting showed me a spreadsheet detailing the speeds of the respective cars in all the overtaking manoeuvres that happened in the Belgian GP.
“This shows very clearly that when the speed delta [difference] between the two cars at the beginning of the zone is low, then overtaking is not easy,” he said. “But if one car goes through Eau Rouge that bit quicker, sometimes you had a speed delta of 18km/h (11mph). Well, that’s going to be an overtake whether you’ve got DRS or not.”
According to Whiting, the statistics show that if the two cars come off the corner into the DRS zone at similar speeds, then the driver behind needs to be far closer than the one-second margin that activates the DRS if he is to overtake.
“One second is the activation but that won’t do it for you,” Whiting said. “You’ve got to be 0.4secs behind to get alongside into the braking zone.”
Confusing the picture in 2011 – particularly early in the season – was the fast-wearing nature of the new Pirelli tyres, which led to huge grip differences between cars at various points of the races. A driver on fresher tyres would come off a corner much faster and brake that much later for the next one. That would have a far greater impact on the ease of an overtaking move than DRS ever would.
Critics of DRS might argue that while it may be useful at tracks where overtaking has traditionally been difficult, like Melbourne, Valencia and Barcelona, for example, it is debatable whether there is a need for it at circuits where historically there has been good racing, like Turkey, Belgium and Brazil.
According to Whiting, DRS does not diminish the value of an overtaking move at tracks where it is usually easy to pass. It just means that DRS opens up the possibility for more. In other words, it works just as it does at any other track.
McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe is an influential member of the Technical Working Group of leading engineers which came up with DRS. He said people had been arguing for years that engineers should alter the fundamental design of cars to facilitate overtaking.
However, tinkering with aerodynamic design was never going to be a solution, according to Lowe, because F1 cars will always need downforce to produce such high performance, and that means overtaking will always, by the cars’ nature, be difficult.
“What’s great [about DRS is] at least we can move on from this debate of trying to change the aerodynamic characteristics of cars to try to improve overtaking,” added Lowe.
“We’ve found something much more authoritative, much cheaper, easier and more effective, and adjustable from race to race.”
Whiting thinks DRS worked as expected everywhere except Melbourne and Valencia.
Valencia’s DRS zone could be extended for 2012. Photo: Getty
So for next season’s opening race in Australia, he is considering adding a second DRS zone after the first chicane, so drivers who have used DRS to draw close to rivals along the pit straight can have another crack at overtaking straight afterwards. As for Valencia, traditionally the least entertaining race of the year, the FIA will simply make the zone, which is located on the run to Turn 12, longer.
There is potentially one big negative about DRS, though.
There is a risk that its introduction could mean the end of races in which a driver uses his skills to hold off a rival in a faster car. Some of the greatest defensive victories of the modern age have been achieved in this way. One thinks of Gilles Villeneuve holding off a train of four cars in his powerful but poor-handling Ferrari to win in Jarama in 1981, or Fernando Alonso fending off Michael Schumacher’s faster Ferrari at Imola in 2005.
The idea behind the introduction of DRS was for a much faster car to be able to overtake relatively easily but for passing still to be difficult between two cars of comparative performance. In theory, if that philosophy is adhered to rigidly, the sorts of races mentioned above will still be possible.
However, once an aid has been introduced that gives the driver behind a straight-line speed advantage that is an incredibly difficult line to walk, as Whiting himself admits. “You’ve got to take the rough with the smooth to a certain extent,” he said.
Bob Gerard Gerino Gerini Peter Gethin Piercarlo Ghinzani Bruno Giacomelli
Ferrari have apparently proceeded to a second name tweak for their 2011 F1 challenger, following the controversy surrounding the initial designation of the car back in January. According to the ?Horse Whisperer? column ? an online interface commonly used by Ferrari to share its likes and dislikes with the world ? the new name of the racer will be Ferrari 150° Italia.
?It might seem like a Kafkaesque scenario, but the affair relating to the name of the car with which Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will tackle this year’s Formula 1 World Championship saw its final and decisive episode played out these past few days with the concomitant withdrawal by Ford of the summons. Therefore common sense has prevailed,? wrote the columnist.
The car?s initial name was Ferrari F150, but in mid-February was changed to F150th Italia as a result of the legal proceedings issued by American carmaker Ford to the US District Court in Detroit.
This situation occurred because Ferrari?s car name and logo resembled Ford?s trademark for their line of pick-up trucks, the famous F-150. A couple of days back, Ford announced it has filed a notice with the US court for dismissal of the case, after it had reached an amicable agreement with their Italian counterparts.
In order to avoid the slightest risk of anyone confusing a Formula 1 car with a pick-up truck, for their part, the men from Maranello have decided that the car will lose the F that precedes the number 150 and which stands for Ferrari, as it has done on numerous occasions when it’s come to giving a car a code name, be it for the race track or the road
It appears that this could have caused so much confusion in the minds of the consumer across the Pond that, at the same time as losing the F, the name will be completely Italianised, replacing the English ‘th’ with the equivalent Italian symbol.
Therefore the name will now read as the Ferrari 150° Italia, which should make it clear even to the thickest of people that the name of the car is a tribute to the anniversary of the unification of our country.
Let’s hope the matter is now definitely closed and that we can concentrate on more serious matters, namely ensuring that our car that already seems to be pretty good out of the box, becomes a real winner.
- The Horse Whisperer
Original article by Ovidiu Panzariu of autoevolution 
Brian Hart Gene Hartley Masahiro Hasemi Naoki Hattori Paul Hawkins
As a potential second plug-in-hybrid offering, Volvo has announced it will unveil the XC60 Plug-in Hybrid Concept at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week.
Loris Kessel Bruce Kessler Nicolas Kiesa Leo Kinnunen Danny Kladis
Formula 1 always goes a little quiet over Christmas, but one team that has been making waves – both publicly and behind the scenes – are Williams.
The team that dominated F1 for much of the 1980s and 1990s are one of only two outfits still with an obvious vacancy in their driver line-up – the other being back-of-the-grid HRT.
And it seems that Rubens Barrichello, the veteran who has driven for the team for the last two seasons, is back in with a chance of staying with them for 2012.
Rubens Barrichello had been tipped to vacate his Williams seat. Photo: Getty
Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado is staying on in one of the cars after an up-and-down rookie season in 2011 – his position in the team is secure thanks to a multi-million sponsorship deal with his country’s national oil company.
But the second seat is still up for grabs, and while Williams are not the attractive proposition they were in their glory days, they are the only decent choice for a whole host of drivers wishing to continue their F1 careers.
These include Barrichello, German Adrian Sutil, Brazilian Bruno Senna, Toro Rosso rejects Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi.
Sutil, who had an impressive second half of the season for Force India, has been the favourite for some time, but the situation appears to have shifted recently.
My sources tell me that Barrichello, who appeared to be out of the running as his 19th season in F1 drew to a close in November, has come back into the frame and now has a reasonable chance of a Williams drive in 2012.
Barrichello has been arguing for some time that, with the huge ructions going on at Williams through 2011 and over the winter, it would make sense to have a known reference in the drivers.
“With all the changes for next year on the engine side and engineers,” he said at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, “it would be clever from the team to keep the drivers and keep on going. I’m not pushing them, I’m just trying to show them that is the way to do it.”
You can see his point. The team are changing engine suppliers, replacing Cosworth with Renault, and have undergone a wholesale restructure of the design department, with a new technical director, head of aerodynamics and head of engineering.
New tech boss Mike Coughlan is admired as being very clever, but his last role as a technical director was with the now-defunct Arrows team, who collapsed in 2002. As chief designer of McLaren after that, he was involved in the spy-gate scandal that engulfed the team in 2007 and for which he was sacked.
The technical changes at Williams were made even more seismic when it emerged on New Year’s Eve that not only was co-founder Patrick Head stepping down as director of engineering, he was also resigning his position on the F1 team’s board, thereby cutting all his ties with the sport.
It had long been known that Head, one of the most respected engineers in the history of the sport, would no longer have an active role in the day-to-day F1 operation, but it was a surprise to hear he was not going to be on the board of directors.
Head has insisted that his decision to end his day-to-day F1 role was based on feeling his relevance in F1 was diminishing.
In Brazil, he said: “I certainly didn’t have an ambition to stop my involvement in Formula One with a season like this last one we’ve had behind us.
“But when I have a look at what specifically I can do to assist Mike Coughlan and (chief operations officer) Mark Gillan and (head of aerodynamics) Jason Somerville, I came to the conclusion that it isn’t really enough to justify me carrying on doing the same thing.”
He will still be involved at Williams through their subsidiary company Williams Hybrid Power and remains close to team boss Sir Frank Williams, who will doubtless be turning to him for advice on a regular basis.
All the same, many will consider it unwise that a team in such flux, and with such a grave need to improve, will not have on their board the guidance and wisdom of a man who not only co-founded the company but who was directly responsible for seven drivers’ championships and nine constructors’ titles.
Why will he not be there? Williams and Head were both unavailable for comment on Monday. I’m told, though, that his difficult relationship with chief executive officer Adam Parr was a part of Head’s decision to step down.
Ironically, Head’s departure may ease Barrichello’s path to a return.
Head is forthright character and I’m told he had grown tired of the Brazilian’s complaints about the team’s difficulties.
With the 65-year-old no longer involved, that on the face of it is one less barrier to Barrichello being in the car again.
It seems, though, that all the driver hopefuls will have to wait. Williams are in the process of sponsorship negotiations with the Gulf state of Qatar, and they take primacy over a final decision on drivers.
With more than a month until the start of pre-season testing on 7 February, there is plenty of time to sort out drivers. After all, it’s not as if Williams are struggling for choice.
