Friday 13/03/15

Still trying to get my head around the fact that Terry Pratchett is gone :¬[

Away from the devastating news of STP's death, the F1 season kicked off in Australia.

The situation at Sauber gets even more ludicrous: they sat out FP1 and then sent Erricson & Nasr out in FP2 whilst Giedo had a seat fitting (so much for they can't redesign the car). Not sure why he didn't start but I'm guessing that his superlicence hadn't been rubber-stamped in time. It remains to be seen whether he will drive this weekend and, if not, whether his lawyer will activate the contempt of court proceedings. If they do, there is a genuine risk that Monisha Kaltenborn will go to jail/get a fine & all the assets of the team being sequestored by bailiffs. It's possible that the 2 registered drivers will drive this weekend & then the line-up will change for Malaysia.

Whatever happens, it's a complete fucking mess. How on earth did an experienced contract lawyer manage to cock-up so completely? Her recklessness has overshadowed what should have been a great start to the new F1 season and risks the entire team going out of business. Despite this being down to her (not least as team principal) she says she has no plans to resign. As she holds a stake of 33.4% of the team she will probably be safe from being fired, even if Peter Sauber (who owns the other 66.6%) wanted to.

Sky: http://bit.ly/1BBsEdj

Update: According to autosport, both parties have agreed to an adjournment until Saturday morning (Oz time) to resolve matters http://bit.ly/1Atv4H6

Along with the news of Terry's passing, it was announced that (barring any unforeseen problems) the tickets for Asylum XII would finally be going on sale on the 18th.

Seemed to do all the work today as McCavity spent a lot of time on walkabout.

Sue R popped in and said that the Hardware Support Store next door was bing turned into a meeting room (and possibly a video conferencing facility too). Should be nice in there when the machines are running!

Had a nomtastic 'Shroom burger from the S&H van.

Met Lou in town for a few beers at the club and a log conversation with people, then home.