nudge

7 million? His buy-back clause was 2,5 million (and only because Paderborn got promoted; otherwise it would have been 1,5 million only). At any case, it seems Schalke want to sell or loan him out directly again, apparently a deal with Fortuna is on the cards already.

I don't think China is just going to stand aside and watch though. As Azeem said, they have invested way too much in the region just to watch it go out in smoke.

Yes hears some rumours about; would be very excited for an Old Republic related movie...

Indy 500 tomorrow too!

Jesus Christ. And congratulations!

The Trump administration is apparently also considering an "emergency exemption" that would allow it to make an arms shipment to Saudi Arabia without the approval of the Congress. Reagan did this in the 80s and both Bush presidents did it right before the 1991 Gulf War and 2003 Iraq war. What a bunch of monumental cunts.

Well yeah that's the perfect solution; maybe you should give them some hints...

Get the man his Darmstadt badge ffs!

I honestly don't know how you two manage it, to be fair... now personally I'm a bit of a loner, so obviously even the thought of having so many people (especially including toddlers!) in the house all the time makes me feel uneasy, but even someone who is a family person needs some alone-time and opportunity to relax and enjoy things on their own... Add work responsibilities to the equation, and it's no wonder you feel drained of energy most of the time. Definitely take a break as soon as you can. I reckon your children should all chip in and send you two on a well deserved proper vacation

Every once in a while; for sure. I think most people do. Even if things are "normal" and you've got no serious problems to deal with, there's times when all sort of thoughts creep up on you seemingly out of nowhere. Maybe based in some uncertainty about something - whether it's work, finances, family, or just future in general. I think most of the time we're too busy with daily life to be dealing with all kind of thoughts and emotions so we just suppress or ignore them for a while but they still linger somewhere. Or maybe it's just good old melancholy. Any chance for you to schedule a weekend getaway alone with your wife (or just with some friends) away from home? Sounds like you need a break...

With the NASA's Mars 2020 Rover mission slowly approaching, you can now submit your name to be sent to Mars... All submitted names are reviewed, approved and then etched onto a microchip. The microchip is placed aboard the Mars 2020 rover, which will land on Mars. https://mars.nasa.gov/participate/send-your-name/mars2020 Pretty cool!

BMW with a class ad and friendly banter regarding Zetche's retirement

nice; free beer!

Wow didn't realise it was THAT serious

Have fun in Croatia... There's promotion system in pub darts?

Haha I'm just a motorsports freak and watch or follow pretty much all major racing events. With the exception of Formula E but that will also change next season as Porsche enters the series!

Well it costs a LOT of money and there's little to none direct return of investment (i.e. teams aren't making profit); the main reason why car manufacturers participate in F1 (or any other motorsport series) is usually marketing and engineering. Marketing/advertising one is obvious but it can also be a double edged sword - it can boost road car sales due to exposure and success, but it can also bring your reputation down if you are a major manufacturer and fail to build a competitive car that delivers. Engineering aspect is a bit more complicated as some technology developed for race cars can be relevant and innovative in road cars too, most of it isn't directly transferable though. For many brands financial cost of running an F1 team just can't be justified. We might get more major car manufacturers joining as engine suppliers under new regulations though. Many major manufacturers have taken part in F1 in one way or another in the past. Talking about the ones you mentioned, Ford actually developed the Cosworth engine in the late 60s that was very successful and they also competed as a team in F1 under the Jaguar name until 2005 but then sold its assets to Red Bull due to rising costs and little on-track success. They were said to be somewhat interest in a potential return due to hybrid technology which is highly relevant to their road cars but only if there are budget caps as they still consider it too costly. On top of that, they run a successful GT programme in IMSA and WEC and participate in NASCAR and rally. BMW spent numerous years in F1 too both as engine supplier and as a team (with Sauber) but in the end the costs were deemed to high and they now concentrate their efforts in touring and GT cars. Chevrolet target audience is pretty much the US so it makes more sense for them to participate in IMSA, NASCAR and Indy instead of wasting money on a global racing series that aren't too popular in the US compared to the domestic motorsport events. Bugatti doesn't even have a racing programme; their cars are just luxury hypercars showcasing the technology. Many brands are now focusing on Formula E simply because the electric technology is more relevant and so they can use the series to develop it for their road cars. Plus it's also much cheaper. That's also where I could see Tesla in the future instead of F1 as to be fair there's just no point for an electric car manufacturer to join a internal combustion/hybrid power unit based racing series...

Yeah the car was poor; mostly because they couldn't launch a joint bid with Andretti or Penske this year and use a Honda engine due to falling out with them so decided to entry a car on their own and had to resort to using a Chevrolet engine and partner up with Carlin as no other top Chevy teams were interested apparently... Marred with technical problems throughout preparation; not enough practice and speed. They even got setups from Penske and shock absorbers from Andretti right before quali but it wasn't enough.

Uh-oh. Alonso misses out on Indy 500 next weekend due to failing to qualify...

Yeah, it's on my list to watch but I'm currently hooked on Catch-22... three episodes in; three more left - then I'll get back to watching the Warrior

I think you tagged the wrong person here @ManuelNeuerGegenPorto is the newcomer

Why?

Yeah I think so... I have Teo on fb (and had her on Instagram until I deleted my account) but never talk to her... Just thought it's a pity she didn't join us here.