F1: Paddock Notes – July 28th Edition

Sealed with a kiss: Nico Rosberg married his partner Vivian Sibold at a ceremony in Monaco just days prior to Germany winning the 2014 World Cup. (Image source: dailymail.co.uk)

'Whale, had one HELLUVA time gettin' Duh 'Ol 'Confuzer to cooperate after its return, albeit purely a software interfacing problema between Zoomtext 10.0, which has turned into a Piece 'O SHIT! With 'Lucy, my ARSE-steamed screen reader continuously locking up and NOT being able to read the Firefox/mOOhzillah webpage, plus freezing up when simply trying to do a "Save As" in microSOFT's Pain in thy ARSE MS Office 'O7 word; Blah-blah-blah; as I digress, again...

Thus, whilst originally I thought I'd be away on Holiday playin' in Duh Sand Dunes, along with continuously playing 'Ketsup on 'Der Bloggenspot; Ja-Ja! Here's a few F1 tidbits which tickled my fancy over the past few weeks whilst continuously scouring De Vurld 'O Motorsporten, Ja Volt!

PIRELLI TESTS 18-INCHERS'

First heard about this via Adam Cooper's F1 blog, noting how Pirelli planned to run some experimental 18" rubber's at the in-season Silverstone test.

Lotus to Demo experimental low profile tyres at Silverstone

As the chassis in question was the Lotus E22, surprisingly for Mwah, with ex-Marussia-Caterham F1 driver Charles Pic at the wheel, being unawares that the Frenchman had been signed as a Lotus Reserve Driver this year.

With Grizzled Journo' Joe Saward giving a good insight into the thoughts upon running 18-inchers in the future along with a pic' (Pun intended) of the prototype Pirelli tyre.

Wheel sizes in Formula 1

Meanwhile, apparently Monsieur Pic wasn't overly impressed with the Larger-is-Better tyre concept after running 14-laps on the experimental rubber...

Charles Pic unimpressed by low profile Pirelli tyres after Silverstonetest

HUGO BOSS LEAVES MCLAREN

Not surprisingly, with McLaren's impending switch to Honda power next year, longtime German clothier sponsor Hugo Boss is leaving the Woking outfit  for Mercedes GP next season...

Hugo Boss to leave McLaren for Mercedes

HORNER-SPEAK'

While I certainly  agree with Niki Lauda's comments for Seb' Vettel to QUIT crying like a schoolboy, Seb's boss Christian Horner has also chimed in upon the matter; Blah-blah-blah...

Christian Horner: FIA made right calls on Vettel, Alonso fight

'This will be my Hockenheim World Cup special edition helmet with the FIFA trophy. How do you like it???' Asked Nico Rosberg upon his Twitter account prior to this year's German GP. (Image source: dailymail.co.uk)

FRONT-REAR-INTERCONNECTED-WHAT?

Otay, so FRIC which is an acronym for Front Rear Inter Connected suspension was A-L-L the rage leading up to the German Grand Prix, after the FIA's Charlie Whiting issued his directive upon quitting the practice in 2015 upon universal team adoption or else! Which is about as likely in F1 as Pig's Flying! While Mr. Saward gives us a layman's view in;

All about FRIC

Yet apparently Mercedes GP has planned to circumnavigate the matter by supposedly disconnecting its apparently controversial FRIC system, which implies to Mwah that there wouldn't be any universal Paddock agreement,  to which made it  unclear whether or not this would claw back some of the Mercedes W05-Hybrid's advantages over its competition this season...

Mercedes to remove FRIC for Hockenheim

BENCHING KIMI'

Since I couldn't SEE I-T! I don't have an opinion to form upon thy 'Wee Willie Buxom's (Will Buxton) latest blog post titled Benching Kimi, which surely won't happen at 'Der Hockenheimring since the allure of the Finn plus la Scuderia is simply too overpowering, right?

Nevertheless Buxton makes a valid point  in his post, since it does make one wonder over the fairness of penalties  being handed out by the FIA Stewards, as thee 'Kimster's tyre (carcass) nearly hit an unexpecting Max  Chilton in the head, which the result wouldn't have been any different than Romain Grosjean's Belgian GP incident in 2012, for which he was given a one race ban plus $50,000 fine...

Benching Kimi

Meanwhile Messer Saward has written 'bout Marussia's Max Chilton's near miss from the same incident involving Kimi in;

A Near Miss at Silverstone

While apparently thy 'Wee Willie Buxom' set off a Firestorm with his rant upon thee 'Iceman being banned from the German GP, which Y'all knew wouldn't happen, as its a fair argument. Does the Scuderia and its drivers deserve preferential treatment?

Reasoning, Responsibilityand Run-off

THE NICO SHOW...

So while thee young "Louise 'JAGUAR" Hamilton continues taking swipes at his team-mate 'Brittany, nee Nico Rosberg, who is German after all; Ja Volt!

Rosberg has been on a bit of a Dream Week lately. Having first married his girlfriend Vivian Sibold, then 48-hours later watching his home country win this year's world cup One-Nil' (1-0) over Argentina, before the 29yr old driver had his long anticipated contract extension; reportedly a 3yr deal for Euro $55m, announced just day's prior to contesting his second home Grand Prix at 'Der Hockenheimring.

After getting married, watching Germanylift the World Cup and then signing a new deal, winning my home race reallywould be the icing on the cake

Meanwhile, in a fitting tribute to his home country's win, Nico Rosberg has revealed his new world cup inspired theme helmet he'll wear during this year's German GP. After all, with his new contract signed, he can afford it!

Nico Rosberg reveals new race helmet inspired byGermany's World Cup win

OOPSADAISY! As FIFA's being STUPID by having a hissy-fit over Nico using a picture of its trophy; SHEISA! As I just DON'T understand why FIFA wouldn't want the FREE publicity?

Nico Rosberg forced to re-design WorldCup helmet for German Grand Prix after FIFA kick up fuss over copyright

GO NICO!

INDYCAR: Assorted Race Notes – July 25th edition

Otay, so this is long overdue, as I'd begun scribblin I-T 'Wayback whilst waiting out thee start of the Pocono IndyCar race during its ridiculously LONG Pre-amble; YIKES! Which now seems like an eternity ago; especially after having just sat thru endless hours Saturday & Sunday watchin' duh German Grand Prix and 2-in-T.O. on ONE Day IndyCar races...

NBCSN SCREWS DUH POOCH AGAIN!

Note to the BASTARDOS at "Peacock-lite!" (NBCSN) Please do NOT reveal the results of the British GP or ANY other Grand Prix's during your U$ Bank Sports Update like Yuhs did Sunday morning (7/6) moments prior to your "STUPENDOUS" 1hr IndyCar Infomercial Pre-amble; Err Pocono Pre-race, which I didn't bother watching, as thankfully the race's start time had been divulged... As I'm afraid I hit the MUTE button too early during the recap and know who won before watching the replay at 2PM Pacific; SHEISA!

Yet fortunately I'd managed to re-mute the Telescreen before hearing the points standings which would have definitely given I-T away, nevertheless, KNOCK IT OFF "Peacock-lite!" But I digress, as typical...

DOUBLE BROILER

Yet I'm jumping Duh Gun by eluding to thee "Tricky Triangle" before reminiscing 'bout what I've affectionately tagged as the "Double Broiler," nee Houston's Double -Down weekend, which I've already lamented my thoughts in;

Double Broiler...

Thus, decidedly miffed over IndyCar's STUPIDITY to race not once but twice in Houston during summer, I'd really not planned upon watching either of the races before Tacoma Bureau Chief Mary Ellen asked: Don't Yuhs wanna watch the IndyCar race before uze go home? What time is I-T  on? and low 'N behold, I suddenly found myself sitting alongside the esteemed 'Awntie Harriet watching ; Err listening to the rain delayed Saturday race; Huh? Rain in Houston in late June; WTF? As the start was delayed whilst 94-year old Harriet thanked me profusely for getting to watch a  car race with Mwah! Even if it was Mary Ellen's idea instead; as how many 94-year olds with acute Dementia do you know who get excited over watching an IndyCar race, eh?

Thus I really don't recall all what happened, as it was KURR-RAZY! Although I do recall that my Numero Tres Boy "Symone Pagenoe" (Simon Pagenaud) started P1 - his debutant IndyCar Pole position before having issues with one front brake, or is it like one of my supporters recently mentioned; One Fender - in regards to thy Blog; Hya! With the Frenchie' fast fading from contention...

Then in the dying stages, it was too good to be true, being a timed race with a Dale Coyne 1-2 Freightrain of Justin 'B-I-G UNIT Wilson leading his rookie team-mate Carlos Huertas. And although Wilson would surrender the lead needing a splash of Methanol - Gawd, how I 'LUV the smell 'O Methanol in the Morning! Err Ethanol to make the finish, the mostly unheralded Huertas did the unthinkable by winning his first IndyCar race ahead of his idol Juan Montoya with Carlos 'Silk Munoz claiming third - with Columbians sweeping the podium for the first time ever! And then it was off to the "Aroma Dome" (in Tacoma) for a 3hr Bus Ride home...

ROUND 2: TURN ON THE HEAT!

Typin' this just hours  before the final Double of the season at Toronto, makes it seem so  "last year" already, (Especially with the propensity 'O that WET stuff that deluged T.O. during the weekend, eh!) as Hey! This New & Improved condensed IndyCar schedule is FANTASTIC, right? Err, more like BOMBASTIC! As why does the word condensed make me think of condensed milk, like Y'all know how GURR-REAT! That tastes; Oh Never Mind!

As what more can I say than noting how Symone' was completely Knackered after winning the race, saying how he wasn't gonna be like 'Ol "Spiderman" (Castroneves) during his interview, not to mention NO fence climbing! As Pagenaud commented many times upon how brutally H-O-T! It was, mentioning how it was worse being behind the Pace-car with NO air moving than when at speed, as surely the HEAT had a lot to do with determining the day's podium, which was made up all of "Young Bucks!" As Pagenaud was the elder, with his 'Rooskie team-Mate Mikhail Aleshin (Age 26) finishing a fine runner-up, first ever podium finish for a Russian, while "Union Jack" (Hawksworth) scored his debutant IndyCar podium (P3) at the ripe 'Ol age of 23! As Hawksworth's result was the best of the trio after the Englishman had survived the harsh task of holding off an overly persistent Montoya for the position.

Thus, naturally I looked forward to the evening's interview with Houston winner Symone' on duh Speed Freaks, where he revealed he'd lost at least 15lbs over the weekend, amongst other topics...

INTERVIEW: Simon Pagenaud on win, wrecks and Speedo's

TRICKILY TRIANGLE

And what a difference a week makes, as 'Union Jack wouldn't be taking part in the Pocono 500, having crashed  in practice, sustaining a 'Mega 100-G crash which ultimately bruised his heart! Along with wrecking his car's "tub," as thankfully he's recovered and the team's built up its spare chassis, with Hawksworth being medically cleared to drive at Iowa just day's later...

Hawksworth back to full strength, looks to add to Toronto success

Y'all know that Juan Pablo Montoya drove a superb race to score his first IndyCar  victory in 14yrs, as Yuhs just had a feeling 'Ol 'Monty would be there at the end of the race, after the NBCSN Booth Boyz' correctly noted how the leading car was burning an extra 3-laps of fuel for the privilege of piercing the wind for the others, as Tony Kanaan who was  stout all day, got hosed by his team's Pit strategy, as the in-car camera feed played TK's telling the crew he'd gotten a fuel alarm when leading with just four-laps remaining! Certainly a bi-product of his leading much of the race...

While I stumbled upon this brief article 'bout Montoya's crew chief in;

How Madison's Brian Campe helped make IndyCar racinghistory

Best Quip I've heard in awhile now came from Townsend Bell who said to 'R. (Robin Miller) "Robin, you've been a Vent Man for 45-years;" Hooah! Which was in regards to Miller talking 'bout what he'd do if he was the IndyCar Commissioner whilst reminiscing 'bout his days as a Vent Man on Pit-lane - which I think was in regards to his Hero Jim Hurtabise?

While I was stunned to hear Tim Cindric's curt advice to DJ WillyP'; "Get your Head on Straight!"  Which was in regards to (Will) Power's block he'd thrown upon  Penske team-mate 'HULIO; which rightly-so, Beaux "Knows" Barfield 'N Company assessed the 'Aussie with a Drive-thru penalty... As my only qualm over the whole matter is Castroneves going Bananas  over the radio 'N calling for the penalty - whilst he seemingly gets treated differently in regards to his  wiggly driving wide moves on-track...

Yet Power's sour grapes afterwards during his interview when complaining over the TV announcers giving him grief made me lose a bunch 'O respect for him. As thee "Thrill from The West Hill" (Paul Tracy) so aptly put I-T! Dude, Yuhs told me to call it like I saw it and you made my job pretty easy!

James Garner: Movie Star and Man of Auto Racing passion Dies at 86...

I first heard the news of James Garner's death during the rebroadcast of the German Grand Prix upon NBCSN this past Sunday during the Pre-race show, as it was eluded to during thy 'Wee Willie Buxom's (Will Buxton) interview with another Hollywood entertainer turned 'Mega motor racing Geek "Dr. McDreamy," aka Patrick Dempsey, who was on hand at Hockenheim whilst participating in the Porsche Supercup race this weekend.

As for Mwah, Garner was always one of the "Cool Guys," albeit thee Anthesis 'O COOL for me and many others will always be Steve McQueen, for which I caught the bug unknowingly when having found an iconic Le Mans movie poster featuring McQueen in that revered blue Gulf liveried Uni' (uniform) as a teenager, before I even knew anything about motorsports in general.

But as Leigh Diffey eluded to later  during the race broadcast 'bout having grown up with The Rockford Files, (1974-80) which I fondly recall watching over the years, both live 'N re-runs, as its even still available on my local "ME TV" channel - as the fictional Jim Rockford drove one of the hottest "Muscle Cars" of the mid-1970's, a NARLY' gold Pontiac Firebird Esprit... As how many of those cars do  Yuhs think GM sold due to that show's popularity?

As interestingly, reportedly Garner was given a brand new Firebird each season of the show, albeit didn't like the  looks of the 1979 Esprit redesign and ran his '78 model for the show's final two seasons instead.

Yet as cool as Jimmy Rockford was, for Mwah, the Narliest Car chase scene of all-time will forever be Steve McQueen's ultra BAD ARSE romp thru the streets of San Francisco aboard his 1968 Mustang in Bullitt!

And whilst I knew of Garner playing the lead role in the epic 1966 Grand Prix movie, as was  I-T really nearly eight years ago when I watched it in its entirety for the first time on the Speed channel? Which I scribbled  'bout in;

Grand Prix (The Movie)

As another comment Messer Diffey made on-air that I was totally unaware of was the fact that Garner had owned his own racing team, which was called American International Racers, which apparently ran in then the B-I-G 3' Endurance races, i.e.; Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring. As DAMN! 'Ol "Pete Aron" (James Garner) sure picked the perfect trio of iconic Sports Car races to contest! As wonder if he did so in regards to current day Hollywood racer Patrick Dempsey's screen career  forbidding him from driving in open cockpit cars? As surely the studios don't want Dempsey messin' up his hair, right? Hooah!

TheJames Garner American International Racing 1968 Corvettes

Whilst I was also unawares of the fact that Jimmy Rockford had driven the Pace-car at Mother Speedway not once, but three times, leading the field at Indianapolis in 1975, 1977 and 1985.

James Garner: a man who loved the Indianapolis 500

Yet I suppose for many, he'll most likely be better remembered for his acting, then racing exploits, as I've also never seen his documentary film The Racing Scene, (1970) as I suspect the majority of "Mainstream" America remembers him from Maverick and The Rockford Files, although for reasons unknown, another film of his I've never seen sticks in my craw, that being the film victor Victoria which he played opposite Julie Andrews in 1982.

And thus, another 'Mega  successful Hollywood star, who along with the legendous' Paul Newman and Steve McQueen has taken the chequered flag...

James Garner, Witty, Handsome LeadingMan, Dies at 86