Category: Formula 1

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Formula 1

CAMS and AGPC kiss and make up

2010 Australian Grand Prix

The 2011 Australian Grand Prix will go ahead as planned after CAMS announced they have called a truce on their bickering with the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC). A letter from CAMS CEO, David Morgan, has been distributed to affiliates which reads in part, “I am very pleased to advise CAMS members that our President Andrew Papadopoulos announced today that we have signed an agreement with AGPC for CAMS to be the sporting Organiser as defined in the Formula One Sporting Regulations.”

Tensions were raised when the AGPC threatened to de-register the role of CAMS as GP organisers if they did not lower the fee charged for running the event.

Now, though, both parties should be singing from the same hymn sheet with Morgan’s letter continuing, “CAMS is delighted to have reached this agreement and looks forward to continuing its role in one of the world’s best Formula 1 events and helping to make it an even greater success.” The full letter from David Morgan can be read after the jump.

In other Australian Grand Prix news, Qantas has renewed its sponsorship for the 2011 race. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said, “Qantas has been associated with the Australian Grand Prix for 25 years and we are especially looking forward to next year’s event with Qantas as the Premier Partner.”

Next year’s Australian Grand Prix will run across the weekend of 24–27 March and will follow Bahrain as the second race on the 2011 F1 calendar.

[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images | Thanks to Mick for the tip]

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Formula 1

FIA confirms F1 team lists for 2011

2010 Brazilian Grand Prix

The FIA has released a confirmed list of teams and drivers for the 2011 season. Following the news from overnight, we can now add Pastor Maldonado to the vacant Williams seat, which leaves nine drives still up for grabs.

Interestingly, Toro Rosso is shown as having no drivers confirmed, despite team boss Franz Tost already on record as saying Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi will return next year.

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Formula 1

Faster Pastor

Pastor Maldonado

Williams F1 has just confirmed 25-year-old Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado will drive for them in 2011. Maldonado will take the seat vacated by Nico Hulkenberg and joins veteran Rubens Barichello.

Maldonado first caught the attention of Sir Frank Williams in 2007 when the driver won at Monaco in his debut GP2 season. Earlier this year a run of six vitories on end helped Maldonado pocket the GP2 championship.

He drove for Williams on all four test days at the recent young driver testing held immediately after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Sir Frank is happy to have him on board, “We are very much looking forward to developing his talent over the winter and a fruitful season with him next year.”

It’s closing in on three decades since a Venezuelan has driven in F1, the last man to do so was Johnny Cecotto, who would be familiar to touring car fans thanks to his time driving for BMW. Maldonado is looking forward to seeing his country represented in Formula One again, “I will be doing my best over the winter to prepare myself, and I know the team will be working hard to ensure a successful season. 2011 will be the first time in nearly thirty years that a Venezuelan has driven a Formula One car so I will be looking to get some good results in return for the support my country has given me to help get me to this position today.”

You can learn more about Pastor Maldonado in the Q&A interview included with the official Williams press release after the break.

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Formula 1

Ricciardo has Friday on his mind

Daniel Ricciardo & Sebastien Bueml

Young Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo (left) will take another step towards an F1 career with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2011. The 21-year-old will drive in the Friday practice sessions at all 20 races next year.

Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi (right) have already been confirmed as Toro Rosso’s drivers for next season and they will miss alternating Friday sessions in 2011 to make way for Ricciardo’s role.

Ricciardo will also continue to race in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, but says F1 is his long-term goal, “I am really excited at the prospect of driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso in the practice sessions next year, so I have to say thanks to Red Bull for this great opportunity.

“My main priority for 2011 is to win the Formula Renault 3.5 championship, but my ultimate aim is to be a full-time Formula One driver and this new role has to be the best step towards achieving that ambition.”

The news follows this week’s earlier rumour suggesting Buemi could make way for Ricciardo in a full-time capacity. While that doesn’t look like happening just yet, Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost has left the door open for the young West Australian, “When our team was created, its stated aim was to bring on young drivers from the Red Bull Junior Team, so Daniel’s appointment as our third driver is an obvious one.

“Although Daniel has done some F1 testing already, running on Fridays at the grands prix will give him a valuable insight into the additional pressures of doing it for real during a race weekend. I am also sure that having a hungry youngster on the books will keep our current driver pairing nice and sharp!”

[Source: Scuderia Toro Rosso | Pic: STR/Getty Images]

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Formula 1

Daniel Ricciardo to drive for Toro Rosso in 2011?

Daniel Ricciardo

There is a rumour developing that says Daniel Ricciardo could make his Formula One debut in 2011 with Toro Rosso. The Red Bull junior team has already confirmed Jaime Algesuari and Sebastien Buemi as its driver lineup for next year. However the door was opened for Ricciardo when team boss, Franz Tost, said, “You never know what will happen in F1.” It’s understood Buemi is the driver who would make way for the young Aussie.

Tost’s comments follow those of Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull motorsport advisor, who said, “We pushed Bernoldi, Klien, Liuzzi and Speed without a breakthrough. Daniel Ricciardo is the next top talent. A new Vettel? I don’t know.”

Ricciardo is the official reserve driver for both Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso. He has twice tested for Red Bull, at the end of the 2009 season and again earlier this month. Both times the 2009 British F3 champ has impressed by putting his name at the top of the time sheets.

In Abu Dhabi Ricciardo was asked for his thoughts on making his F1 debut following his recent test program, the 21-year-old said, “I think I’m probably as ready as I can be.”

It would be great to see the young West Australian join Mark Webber in Formula One next year, so we hope this emerging rumour is on the money.

[Source: Eurosport | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Formula 1 Lotus

Lotus Racing looking for a new name?

2010 Singapore GP

The Lotus position seems to have worsened for the Lotus Racing F1 team with an Autosport article claiming Proton-owned Group Lotus is now unwilling to work with 1 Malaysia Racing Team, otherwise known as Lotus Racing.

Technical boss Mike Gascoyne is perplexed at the stance from Group Lotus, “We don’t really understand why Group Lotus don’t want to support us in doing that job for them. We’ve brought great value to the brand and the shareholders invested something like £80 million into the brand and the development of the team, and we’re a little bit failing to understand why Group Lotus seem to want to try to kick us out.”

Group Lotus wants to cast its motorsport arm wider than F1, something which Gascoyne can’t understand, “Because they seem to want to do every racing series that there is, and for a loss-making car company, that seems to be slightly perplexing. But if that’s what they want to do, good luck to them.”

Unless some very big hatchets are buried soon the future of Lotus Racing as we know it looks increasingly likely to be operating under a different name. With a new Renault engine deal and gearboxes supplied by Red Bull Tony Fernandes and his merry men are keen to get ready fir the 2011 season. Gascoyne added, “We’ll be firing the car up on 25 January in readiness for the first test in February.”

[Source: Autosport]

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Formula 1 McLaren

VIDEO: Ayrton Senna’s first Formula One tests

Ayrton Senna

Here is some rare archival footage of Ayrton Senna undergoing his first tests in Formula One back in 1983 when he was dominating in British Formula Three. Senna’s F3 dominance was creating headlines and he was granted testing opportunities with several teams, including Williams, McLaren and Toleman.

With driving contracts already in place at Williams and McLaren it was with Ted Toleman’s team that Senna made his F1 debut in 1984. Senna’s words at the end of this clip proved true, when he claimed podium finishes at Britain and Portugal.

Senna would go on to secure three World Championships with McLaren (1988, 1990, 1991) before, fatefully, suffering a life-ending accident in a Williams at Imola in 1994.

[via Motorsport Retro]

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Formula 1 Lotus

The Lotus position

Lotus F1 history

Earlier this month a new website called Save Team Lotus was launched. If you’ve been keeping up to speed on this sorry tale you won’t be surprised to learn of the new site. If not, you’d better read on to see what all the fuss is about.

Lotus is Lotus right? The people who made the famous Formula One cars of old are the same folks that made the road cars? Nope. It wasn’t then, and it most certainly isn’t now.

While it’s true that Colin Chapman was the driving force behind both companies, it is also true that Team Lotus (the F1 team) and Group Lotus (the road car manufacturer) were, and still are, separate entities. A move originally taken by Chapman to protect the road car manufacturer from the racing team in case of any damages brought about by insurance or accident claims.

Fast forward to 1994 and Team Lotus was forced into administration. The left over bits, including the rights to the Team Lotus name, were purchased by David Hunt and his business partner. Hunt was involved with Team Lotus prior to their demise and this, along with the fact he is the brother of 1976 World Champion James Hunt, has given him a great respect for Team Lotus history.

In 1996 the Malaysian auto maker Proton purchased Lotus under the assumption they were getting the road car outfit and the former F1 team as well. As it turned out, for reasons just explained, Proton’s purchase didn’t include any of the race team’s assets or intellectual property. Worse, Proton only discovered their position on the day their takeover was announced.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Ricciardo sets blistering pace to stay on top

Daniel Ricciardo

On the second and final day of young driver testing Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo, driving for Red Bull Racing, stayed on top of the time sheets by setting a fastest lap time of 1:38.340 – a blistering effort that bettered Sebastian Vettel’s pole position time from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by 1.3 seconds.

Ricciardo was driving Mark Webber’s chassis which won the Hungarian Grand Prix and the 21-year-old used it to his best advantage by setting the quickest times in both the morning and afternoon session. A full list of times can be seen after the break.

The F1 teams will have a rest day before commencing testing with new Pirelli tyres on Friday.

[via Autosport]

UPDATE: A new statement from the Ricciardo stable has been added below.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Sebastian Vettel talks about winning the World Championship

Sebastian Vettel

Here’s a brief video of Sebastian Vettel talking about his Formula One World Championship success. He starts by talking about his relationship with Mark Webber, before discussing his emotional response to discovering he had just won F1’s biggest prize.

[Thanks to Wes for the tip]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Ricciardo returns to the top

Daniel Ricciardo

Last December young Western Australian Daniel Ricciardo made a name for himself by topping the time sheets at the Formula One end of season testing held in Jerez. That was enough to earn him a spot as the Red Bull reserve driver for the 2010 season. Now, Daniel is back behind the wheel of an F1 car taking part in the Young Driver Testing taking place at Abu Dhabi. Daniel was expected to do well, given his access to the title winning RB6, and he has met expectations by returning to the top of the time sheets.

Ricciardo says it’s great to be back, “I’m really happy to be back in the car after such a great experience last year. 12 months may be a long time ago, but it felt good to be out there again and I was surprised at how quickly I felt comfortable. We still have a few sets of tyres to work through which is nice and means I will be able to have another good run tomorrow.”

Impressively, Ricciardo’s best time of 1:39.616 would have qualified him in third place for last week’s Abu Dhabi GP and was just a quarter of a second off Sebastian Vettel’s pole position time. But that’s not enough for the young Aussie, “The car feels amazing and to be given the opportunity to test the car that has just clinched two championship titles is a real honour. I’m happy with the progress I made today and can’t wait to get back in the car. I’m still a little bit off Seb’s time so hopefully I can find a bit more tomorrow.”

Speaking to Autosport, Ricciardo says he is ready for a full-time role in Formula One, “I think I’m ready and tomorrow we’ll try and do a few more long runs, maybe prepare more for a race situation to see how the body holds up, but I think I’m probably as ready as I can be.”

More pics after the break, as well as a brief statement from the Ricciardo stable. A full report from the first day of testing is available at Formula1.com.

[Pics: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Ferrari Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Here is our last image gallery from the 2010 Formula One season. Bringing you these pics has been a fun, albeit labour intensive, addition to the AUSmotive routine and we look forward to bringing you more great pics in 2011.

For now, though, here are 101 photos from the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It is Sebastian Vettel’s time to shine; Mark Webber fans – you may want to look away now.

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