Category: Formula 1

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

VIDEO: Karun Chandok previews new Korean GP circuit

Karun Chandock

The inaugural Korean Formula One Grand Prix is just a few weeks away (22–24 October) and rumours are abound that the track won’t be ready in time. Red Bull Racing took an RB5 and a lonely F1 driver to the Korean International Circuit last weekend to see how things are going.

At 5.6 kilometres in length and with 18 corners the new track is sure to keep drivers busy. The first sector will be very fast, suiting the likes of McLaren. While the final two sectors are technical and will reward cars with string downforce, such as Red Bull. So, there’s a bit there for the two teams at the head of the championship race.

After completing a few laps Karun Chandok reckons, “The track’s got a good mix of corners and I think we’ll see a lot of overtaking in the first sector – there are long straights into slow hairpins. The straight after turn one and two is really long, so we may see some good slip streaming there, like in Shanghai. From turn seven onwards, there’s a fast section of flowing corners all the way back to the start-finish line – so I think the Red Bull Racing guys will be happy in sectors two and three.”

Video footage from Chandok’s test run can be seen after the break.

[Source: Formula1.com | Pics: Red Bull Racing/Getty Images]

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Formula 1

Art imitates life

F1 2010 (video game)

One of those pics above is a screen grab from the soon-to-be-released F1 2010 video game, the other was filmed during the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix. Watch the video below to see which is which.

[Thanks to Wes for the tip]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber’s encore performance for Canberra Milk

Mark Webber - Canberra Milk kid

Back in March AUSmotive brought the world up to speed with the Canberra Milk TV commercial that was being broadcast on high rotation into Webber’s home town during the Australian Grand Prix. In that time the clip has registered over 75,000 views on YouTube and countless comments. Also in that time we’ve seen the emergence of the “Leaping Webber”. Well, now Mark is back with a second installment from Canberra Milk. Check it out after the break, it is simply sold gold viewing. Good on you Mark!

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Formula 1 News

Ayrton Senna movie preview

Ayrton Senna

A trailer for the upcoming Ayrton Senna movie has been posted to YouTube. You can see the clip after the jump. The movie is sure to be compelling viewing and, as in life, the movie about Senna will most likely polarise opinions, too. On talent alone Senna is clearly one of the best drivers we have ever seen. But he was a complex character. Was he hero or villain?

[Thanks to Micky for the tip]

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Formula 1

Draft layout for new US Grand Prix track revealed

US GP draft track layout

A draft layout for the new United States Grand Prix track has been revealed by Tilke GmbH (click the above image for a larger version). The course has a US$200m budget and will be located at Austin, Texas. The first race is scheduled for the 2012 Formula One season.

The course runs in a counter-clockwise direction and contains 20 turns, many of which have been inspired by existing F1 tracks. Turns 3–6 are similar to the Maggots–Becketts section at Silverstone. Corners 12–15 are reminiscent of Hockenheim. While turn 8 and turns 16–18 are similar to sections of Istanbul Park.

Supposedly there are four ideal places for overtaking. Race promoter Tavo Hellmund, expects Turn 1 to be the track’s signature corner, “Everybody will pull out and probably go three-wide into that braking turn.”

[Source: American-Statesman]

UPDATE: Further information is now available from the Formula 1 United States website. Also included below is a new map of the circuit illustrating elevation changes.

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Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Belgian Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Belgian Grand Prix

As expected the McLaren chassis was more suited to the high speed straights of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit compared to the Red Bull Racing machines. Also, as expected, rain played havoc with best laid plans and while the first three drivers on the starting grid ended up forming the podium placings, the race was anything but straightforward.

Inclement weather and safety car periods ensured the 2010 Belgian GP was a race you could not afford to stop watching. Ultimately, though, Lewis Hamilton drove an almost flawless race in his McLaren to take home the major trophy. There was one blemish, however, which almost cost him the race. At around three quarter distance more rain came. Holding out on slicks as long as he dared, the wet track provided no grip for Hamilton’s braking into Rivage and he went off into the gravel and narrowly avoided contact with the tyre wall. Luckily for him he had enough of a gap to rejoin the circuit with his lead in tact. With the race win Hamilton also takes a slender lead in the drivers’ title race.

Despite starting from pole, Mark Webber had a dreadful start, he found himself in sixth place by the first corner. Through dexterity and determination he managed to stay on the black stuff the whole race and worked his way into a position where he could finish the race in second. Robert Kubica was consistently at the top of the time sheets throughout the weekend and he spent much of the race in second position. It wasn’t until the final flurry of pitstops that he over shot his pitlane box by a metre or so. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to allow Webber to exit pitlane ahead of the Pole.

Elsewhere Fernando Alonso spun his Ferrari out of the race towards the end and Sebastian Vettel crashed his Red Bull into the side of Jenson Button’s McLaren. Vettel was able to continue, but was well out of contention due to a drive-through penalty for the contact with Button and another imprecise overtaking move on Tonio Liuzzi (Force India). This contact resulted in a rear puncture for Vettel who needed a the best part of a full lap to limp back to the pits.

The lack of points for those three drivers saw Hamilton and Webber begin to build a gap on the chasing pack. With six races left, are we starting to see the makings of a classic two-horse race for the championship?

An image gallery of pics from the race is all yours after the break. All images can be accessed as 2000px super images by clicking on each pic to load the larger version.

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Formula 1 McLaren Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Belgian GP – post-race press conference

2010 Belgian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) won the Belgian Grand Prix overnight. Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing), who started the race from pole position, finished second. While Robert Kubica (Renault) capped off a great weekend for him with third place, although it could have been more. The full text from the post-race press conference is available below. A picture gallery from the race will follow soon.

[Source: FIA]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber drives virtual lap of Spa-Francorchamps

Mark Webber

Formula One’s mid-season break is almost over. That means it’s time for the Belgian Grand Prix. Mark is also back to tell us about Belgian sausages, rain and, of course, one of the best circuits on the F1 calendar. For a bird’s eye look at the Spa F1 circuit click here. The view from the Red Bull simulator can be seen after the break.

Let’s hope we see Webber leaping for joy late on Sunday night!

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Formula 1

Pirelli commences F1 testing for 2011

Pirelli

It’s been a couple of months since Pirelli was announced as the sole tyre supplier for Formula One. As such they’ve extracted Nick Heidfeld from MercedesGP, put him in a Toyota TF109 and started testing in earnest prior to the 2011 season.

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said, “We’re delighted to welcome Nick into the Pirelli family, and we’re confident that he’ll do a great job for us.

“The role of test driver is a crucial one, so we were looking for a driver who had plenty of recent Formula One experience, the speed to push our new tyres as hard as possible, and the consistency to provide reliable simulations, as well as the analytical skills to relay information accurately to our engineers. Nick fits the bill in every respect and we’re very pleased to have secured his services and obviously thankful to Mercedes GP Petronas for agreeing to release Nick from his contract.”

Hembrey went on to explain the 2009 Toyota was chosen so as to avoid any conflicts of interest with any current cars, “The Toyota was the perfect solution, as it is a contemporary racing machine with proven speed and reliability but without links to any of the manufacturers currently competing in Formula One.”

The new Pirelli deal will run for three years. F1 teams will get their first chance to try the new rubber at the short post-season test session following the final Grand Prix for the year to be held at Abu Dhabi on 14 November.

[Source: Formula1.com]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Leaping Webber goes viral

Leaping Webber

After Mark Webber won the British Grand Prix in July he celebrated on the podium with what now seems to have become his trademark crab-like leap. The crab-leap made a re-appearance at Hungary, too.

In true internet stylez a few wags have taken an idea and run with it to create a new e-phenomen. Sourced from the autosport forums here are a few of the best Leaping Webber’s found online. If these pics don’t quite float your boat, then why not check out Mark’s Chippendale routine.

You may remember Mark first created a bit of an internet ruckus thanks to the Canberra Milk television commercial, which AUSmotive first brought to people’s attention in March.

[Source: autosport forums]

UPDATE: It looks like the Leaping Webber images may have originated from a Spanish forum; CLICK HERE for more.

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Formula 1 Motorsports

Formula One: Now more popular in Australia than V8 Supercars

Formula 1: 2010 Hungarian GP

Support for Formula One in Australia is currently riding a wave popularity, thanks largely to the exploits of local lad Mark Webber. The Australian, of course, is currently leading the drivers title race and is in with a real chance of being crowned this country’s first F1 World Champion since Alan Jones in 1980.

Despite this, many F1 fans might be surprised to learn that the television ratings for the sport have knocked the V8 Supercars off its perch as the most watched motorsport category in Australia.

Based on figures published in The Age numbers for the recent Hungarian Grand Prix, won by Webber, peaked at 345,000. Keep in mind the live broadcast was available on the digital only channel One HD. In contrast, viewing audiences for recent rounds of V8 Supercars have reportedly fallen below the 300,000 mark.

This figure represents a drop of more than 25% from V8 Supercar audiences from a couple of years back. Meanwhile, the introduction of the One HD channel in 2009 has given Australian audiences access to live telecasts for the majority of Grands Prix and qualifying sessions for the first time ever.

We shall have to wait and see how sustainable the popularity of F1 remains in future years when we’re unlikely to see an Australian leading the charge. For now, though, One HD, while far from perfect, must be quite content with the way things sit.

[Source: The Age via motorcentral | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

The Flav tips The Aussie for The Title

Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

Last year Flavio Briatore found himself in a bit of a pickle. Fixing a Formula One race tends to do that, I guess. At the time Mark Webber stood by his man, declaring he would not seek another manager if Briatore’s right to continue as Webber’s agent was taken away. Now, in return, Briatore has tipped Mark to win this year’s F1 world championship.

Speaking to Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport, The Flav said Webber is the driver to keep an eye on, “Watch out, Webber is on his way to win the title: what he has done in Hungary on Sunday was phenomenal. But I’m not tipping Webber just because he is one of my drivers, I only state what everyone has seen from home.

“Mark is a driver capable of exceptional feats. He has now reached a maturity and inner calmness that can take him really far. In Hungary he was the first one understanding that he could take a risk in running for three-quarter distance on the soft tyres he had at the start. That was the winning move, but it also demonstrated how much he uses his brain, unlike many others.”

[via autosport.com]