Category: Formula 1

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Formula 1

Mark Webber sets the pace at Barcelona

Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber quickly found his way to the top of the time sheets in his RB6 during pre-season testing at Barcelona overnight. Once Webber found his rhthym he was never headed and settled with a best time of 1:21.487, almost one full second ahead of his nearest rival, Nico Hulkenberg, Williams (1:22.407).

Webber’s Red Bull team were focusing on a race weekend simulation, including qualifying and full race-distance programs. Speaking on the RBR website Webber said, “We had a pretty good day of testing. We did some simulations and performance items in the morning and a race simulation in the afternoon. We had a precautionary stop in the middle of the race simulation because of a gearbox oil alarm, but the guys got the car turned around pretty quickly and we finished the session, so it wasn’t too bad.”

Reliability seems to be the only concern for Red Bull Racing as both drivers have been consistently on the pace in pre-season testing so far.

Sebastien Vettel steps into the RB6 for the next two days of testing, while Webber will return for the final day on Sunday. A schedule of drivers can be seen HERE. You can follow the action when it resumes later tonight on twitter and autosport.com.

[Pics: Getty Images]

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Formula 1

F1 pre-season: Barcelona test schedule

Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP

The final Formula One pre-season test window opens at Barcelona later tonight (Australian time) and will run until Sunday. So far the form at Valencia and Jerez has played out as expected, with the major players of Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes GP all looking solid. Although Ferrari probably look the strongest at this stage. Some of the lesser lights have also shown some very good pace, namely BMW Sauber and Toro Rosso.

Inclement weather has robbed teams of precious dry track time during testing, especially at the two Jerez sessions. However the forecast for Barcelona this week looks reasonably good. Sunny days are predicted for Thursday and Saturday, while light rain is expected on Friday and Sunday. You can checkout the schedule of who will be driving when after the jump.

UPDATE: Mark Webber showing great pace in the RB6 during the morning session—quickest by over one second. Don’t forget you can follow the action live on twitter and autosport.com.

[via GPUpdate.net]

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Ferrari Formula 1

Division bell

Ferrari F10

An anonymous blog entry on the Ferrari website has savaged Max Mosley’s Formula One legacy. The article under the banner of The Horse Whisperer is titled “For whom the bell tolls” and brings in to question the merits of introducing new teams into F1. It’s not so much that new teams are in the sport that is the issue, but more the structures employed by the FIA to facilitate these introductions that is causing concern in Maranello.

The closing paragraph of the piece reads, “The cause in question was to allow smaller teams to get into Formula 1. This is the outcome: two teams will limp into the start of the championship, a third is being pushed into the ring by an invisible hand … and, as for the fourth, well, you would do better to call on Missing Persons to locate it. In the meantime, we have lost two constructors along the way, in the shape of BMW and Toyota, while at Renault, there’s not much left other than the name. Was it all worth it?”

In the current off-season, then, we have seen the return of, arguably, the sport’s greatest driver. As a seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher is certainly the most successful driver of all time. Reigning champion Jenson Button has moved in with the Hamiltons at McLaren. Journeyman Rubens Barrichello has similarly departed Brawn GP, the team he, along with Button, helped raise from the ashes to deliver the constructor’s title after both men were effectively unemployed a couple of weeks before the season began. That team, in itself, has since been bought out by the world’s oldest car manufacturer.

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Formula 1 McLaren

Button fastest at Jerez

Jenson Button, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

Jenson Button saved his best for the last day of pre-season testing at Jerez when he became the first and only driver to break the 1:19 barrier. Button’s time of 1:18.871 was four tenths quicker than the previous best lap set by Mark Webber on day three. Robert Kubica (Renault, 1:19.114) and Kamui Kobayashi (BMW Sauber, 1:19.188) also bettered Webber’s best lap on day four.

A full list of times is available after the jump. The final pre-season test window opens at Barcelona on Thursday night (Australian time). It will run over four days, ending on Sunday 28 February. The first race of the 2010 Formula One season is at Bahrain on 14 March.

[Source: Formula1.com]

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Formula 1

Webber leads the pack at Jerez – photo gallery

F1 pre-season testing, Jerez, February 2010

Formula One pre-season testing at Jerez finally saw some sunshine overnight and Australia’s Mark Webber made the most hay while it did. Webber piloted his Red Bull RB6 to the quickest time posted at Jerez so far in 2010 with a time of 1:19.299. Last week Lewis Hamilton topped the sheets with his lap of 1:19.583.

A full list of times from last night can be seen below, with the dry weather allowing all teams to record their best times for the week.

Mark Webber isn’t getting ahead of himself, though, and he knows pre-season form doesn’t count for much. Speaking to autsport.com he said, “I promise you that in Malaysia we won’t be talking about the second test in Jerez, things change fast in F1.”

Fernando Alonso was second fastest last night (1.20.115) and the word on the street is that the Ferrari F10 is shaping up as the car to beat in 2010.

After the jump you can see a gallery of pics featuring Ferrari, Lotus, Mercedes GP, Red Bull, Renault and Toro Rosso.

The final day of testing will start in a couple of hours and the only change to the original schedule will see Jenson Button behind the wheel of the McLaren instead of Hamilton. You can follow all the action by reading AUSmotive’s F1 list on twitter. Also keep an eye on the autosport.com website for their live updates as well.

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Formula 1

VR masters of PR

Virgin Racing - Life's a beach

Virgin Racing looks set to be making the most of the PR opportunities that Formula One offers. Here is a YouTube clip which is described on the team’s official twitter page as being a “Jerez round-up”. Now, if the F1 pitlane was a government it is becoming clear that Virgin Racing would be the minister known as the master of spin.

Most of us would probably think a round-up from pre-season testing might include some feedback on the new VR01 racecar, a bit of discussion on lap times and general info on how the team is settling into F1. But not the guys at Virgin Racing, check it out below…

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Formula 1

F1 pre-season: Jerez test #2 schedule

Scuderia Toro Rosso - Sebastien Buemi, Jerez 2010

Tomorrow night (Australian time) the F1 circus returns to Jerez for the third of four sanctioned pre-season test windows. There will be four days of testing and as with the previous sessions the teams generally run one driver per day. The schedule of who will be driving when is available below.

A reminder that you can get the latest news from testing as it happens by subscribing to the AUSmotive F1 list on  twitter.

Fernando Alonso topped the time sheets at the first session in Valenica, while Jaime Alguersuari (pictured above) was on the pace in Jerez. Alguersuari posted the second best time last week, behind Lewis Hamilton who was able the most of the infrequent dry weather available on the last day of testing. The teams encountered mostly wet weather last week and the forecast for this week is pretty ugly as well. Let’s hope there’s dry weather in Barcelona for the final test window, which starts 25 February.

This week will be the first official test program for the new Lotus-Cosworth T127.

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Formula 1 Lotus

VIDEO: Lotus T127 launch & shakedown

Lotus Cosworth T127

Lotus Racing have provided some behind the scenes footage of the launch of their new Lotus Cosworth T127. There’s three clips in all and they can be seen below. The first Lotus in Formula One since the mid 90s was first revealed on Friday. It will be driven by Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli.

For more on Lotus Racing make sure you bookmark their website.

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Formula 1 Lotus

Lotus unveils 2010 F1 car

Lotus Cosworth T127

Overnight Lotus Racing unveiled their 2010 Formula One racecar, the Lotus Cosworth T127.

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer, spoke at the launch and here’s a bit of what he had to say, “The last few months have been some of the most challenging of my career, but it’s been a challenge the whole team and I have thrived on since we first started work on the car up in Norfolk.

“I’m delighted that we’ve reached this point, and now we have a beautiful car that gives us a great base to work from for the season ahead and a fighting chance of going racing in the right way, with a winning mentality. The hard part starts now, and I know everyone in the team and I are up for whatever lies ahead.”

More images available after the break.

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Formula 1

Virgin Racing VR01 shakedown

Virgin Racing

Just a few days ago now the first Virgin Racing formula one car, codenamed VR01, was driven for the first time. A simple shakedown at Silverston with Timo Glock at the wheel. According to trackside reports at Jerez, Glock is about to take the VR01 out for its first official test run. Before he does that, take a quick squiz at this YouTube clip courtesy of Virgin Racing.

If you would like a closer look at the VR01, then check out the Virgin Racing gallery.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

OFFICIAL: Red Bull Racing unveils 2010 F1 car

Red Bull Racing RB6 - 2010 F1 car

The machine Red Bull Racing hopes will deliver 2010 success has just been revealed at Jerez. The RB6 is very much an evolution of last year’s car, and at first glance, it looks pretty much the same. The most noticeable changes, though, are to the car’s front wings and nose, as well as revised side pods. And that dramatic engine cover, of course.

Red Bull skipped last week’s test session at Valencia to give them more time to develop the car. This approach seems to have been confirmed by Christian Horner today who was quoted by Autosport F1 Editor, Edd Straw, as saying, “Like all teams we have quite an aggressive development program. We have components we will introduce in the next couple of tests.”

Adrian Newey explained further, “We have been able to design the rear suspension and gearbox with the double diffuser in mind.”

Meanwhile Mark Webber is keen as mustard to get the RB6 out on the track, “The car looks great. I’m really looking forward to what it can do.”

Webber also says missing testing last week was not a big issue, “Valencia is not the best track in the world for characteristics. We’d have liked to be there but I don’t think we lost too much.”

Thanks again to Edd Straw’s tiwtter feed for the trackside quotes. For live commentary from Jerez check out Autosport.com – lap times are already being posted, as inclement weather closes in.

Lots more pics from the Red Bull Racing launch after the break. Some high resolution studio shots of the preview pics posted earlier today are available. Click on any of the pics to load wallpaper-friendly sizing.

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Formula 1

Red Bull Racing previews 2010 F1 car

Red Bull Racing RB6 - 2010 F1 car

UPDATE: High resolution images NOW AVAILABLE

Red Bull have published these preview images of their new RB6 2010 racecar ahead of today’s official launch. With only a couple of hours to go until the full reveal, expect to see some higher res pics online very soon.

More of this very nice looking Red Bull machine after the break. From what we can see so far, the RB6 will be one of the nicest looking cars on the grid. Not that there’s any Aussie Mark Webber bias here at all!

[Source: RedBull.com]

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