Category: Formula 1

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Formula 1

F1 winter testing: Bahrain I day 1

Nico Hulkenberg, Force India VJM07

Nico Hulkenberg set the fastest time on the opening day of F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain overnight. It’s the first of two four-day blocks of testing at the Sakhir circuit and Mercedes-powered cars continued to dominate proceedings, following on from last month’s testing in Jerez.

Hulkenberg registered 78 timed laps in the Force India VJM07, his fastest was 1:36.880. That was one second quicker than Fernando Alonso (1:37.879) who completed 64 laps in the Ferrari F14 T. Lewis Hamilton (1:37.908) did 74 laps in the Mercedes AMG W05, while new boy Kevin Magnussen (1:38.295) racked up 81 laps in the McLaren MP4-29.

Sebastian Vettel (1:40.224) was fifth fastest overnight and will be elated that he managed to complete a timed lap in the Red Bull RB10. Yet the world champion team has new struggles after its woeful performance in Jerez. Vettel only managed 14 laps and said shared his thoughts afterwards.

“We sorted out the issues from Jerez and we were able to do some laps today,” Vettel said. “However, very often you fix one problem and another pops up, which is what happened. That’s testing. We all knew this year was a massive challenge and we knew it would be difficult. We obviously didn’t want this, but it is what it is and we are working flat out to solve the problems.”

Andy Damerum, Red Bull’s Race Engineering Co-ordinator tried to remain positive. “It’s been a very long two weeks for everyone back at the factory and I have to say that while it might not appear so on the surface there has been a big improvement since Jerez,” he explained. “We are obviously playing catch-up and for us this was very much like a first test, so we were sending the car out to do one lap, then two and trying to build from there.

“In that regard the laps completed were good. However, we were sidelined by a mechanical gremlin but one unrelated to the issues in Jerez.”

Sixth fastest was Adrian Sutil (1:40.443), who ran for 82 laps in the Ferrari-powered Sauber C33. The most laps completed by a Renault-powered driver was Robert Frijns (1:42.534) in the Caterham CT05 who notched up 64 laps.

However, the other Renault-powered cars didn’t fare quite so well. Daniil Kvyat (1:44.346) could only manage five laps in the Toro Rosso STR9, while Romain Grosjean (1:44.832) did just eight laps in the first outing for the Lotus E22.

Meanwhile, the Williams FW36 could not repeat its strong form from Jerez with Felipe Massa failing to record a lap time in any of his five laps. Similarly, Marussia driver Jules Bianchi completed only three laps and failed to record a time.

Continue reading “F1 winter testing: Bahrain I day 1”
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Formula 1

Free donuts for Formula 1 winners!

2013 Brazilian Grand Prix

Good news race fans, the FIA has given post-race donuts the green light after making revisions to Formula 1’s sporting regulations.

It’s better than that, too, the change to the regs is quite open ended and states the winning driver can “perform an act of celebration” after the race. There are some caveats to this unbridled joy, of course. Any post-race celebrations must be “performed safely” and not “endanger other drivers or any officials”. Further, the actions must not “not call into question the legality of his car” and should “not delay the podium ceremony”.

After winning the 2013 Indian Grand Prix, thereby securing his fourth world championship, Sebastian Vettel celebrated the hell out of his rear tyres and faced the wrath of the FIA in the form of €25,000 fine. Undeterred, he repeated his act of celebration routine after winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and again at the season finale in Brazil (pictured above) without sanction.

Going back to the wording of the revised regs, what other actions could a driver to when performing “an act of celebration”?

[Source: James Allen | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Ferrari Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Renault

F1 winter testing: Jerez by numbers

2014 Jerez test infographic

Formula 1 pre-season testing resumes tonight, this time in Bahrain. The big story to emerge from the Jerez test last month was the paucity of laps completed by the Renault-powered teams.

We’ve taken a quick look at the numbers and come up with this simple infographic comparing the laps completed with a focus on the Power Units used (Mercedes: 4 teams; Ferrari: 3 teams; Renault: 3 teams).

As you can see the big winners from Jerez were the four Mercedes-powered teams. In contrast there were only three teams each for Ferrari and Renault. Of course, Lotus, a Renault-powered team, was absent from the test as well.

The lines beneath the larger numbers represent the laps completed by each team, with the colours referencing the Power Unit used. In the bottom right hand corner is a comparison showing the total numbers of laps completed by all teams combined at Jerez in 2013 and 2014.

If you click on the image above you’ll get a larger version with extra detail.

[Source: Formula1.com]

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Formula 1 News

No criminal wrongdoing in Schumacher ski fall

Michael Schumacher

Prosecutors in France investigating the Michael Schumacher skiing accident have found no party is criminally responsible for the seven-time F1 world champion’s fall.

“No infraction by anyone has been turned up,” French prosecutor Patrick Quincy said in a media conference yesterday. This rules out any suggested fault from the Mirebel ski resort or any equipment manufacturer.

The case looking into Schumacher’s accident is now closed and the official report stated in part: “There were no breaches by anybody. The accident occurred in an off-piste zone. The signage, marking, staking and information provided about the edges of this slope adhere to French norms in place.”

The report said Schumacher hit a rock off the marked ski run and then hit the right side of his head on another rock a further 10.4m away. Both rocks were more than 4m off-piste investigators found.

Schumacher remains under strict medical supervision while doctors slowly ease him out of an induced coma. His family is keeping reports of his progress confidential for now, although it’s understood a full prognosis on Shumacher’s health could still be months away.

[Source: Deutsche Welle]

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Formula 1 Video

Transforming Albert Park into an F1 circuit

Australian Grand Prix teaser

The official YouTube channel for the Australian Grand Prix has released this teaser video showing some of the stats involved when transforming Albert Park from tranquil green open spaces into an FIA approved Formula 1 circuit.

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Formula 1 McLaren

McLaren MP4-29 infographic

2014 McLaren MP4-29

McLaren Racing has been kind enough to share with the world an infographic which takes us through some of the key changes for the 2014 F1 season and, of course, its MP4-29 racecar.

Check it out after the break.

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Formula 1

Williams Martini Racing to become reality?

Martini-Brabham at 1975 Dutch Grand Prix

One of the world’s greatest motorsport liveries looks set for a revival with word Martini is tipped to become the title sponsor for the Williams F1 Team.

Apparently Martini looked at deals with other F1 teams, including Ferrari and McLaren, but the carrot of full naming rights dangled by Williams seems to have done the trick.

Nothing official has been announced yet but confirmation is expected after a Williams shirt was briefly published on an F1 merchandise website.

Martini’s last exposure in F1 was from 2006–08 when they had a minor placement on Ferrari’s car. However, full naming rights brings hope we’ll get something more akin the the Martini Brabham pictured above during the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix.

Williams will launch their racing livery before the Australian Grand Prix which is just over four weeks away. They will no doubt appreciate the heightened anticipation that launch will now bring.

[Source: Autosport | Pic: Martini]

UPDATE 7 March: See the new Williams Martini Racing livery here.

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Formula 1

Tyres key to possible F1 qualifying changes

Pirelli P Zero F1 tyre

The current rule stating an F1 driver must start the race on the same tyres he qualified could be scrapped with immediate effect at a meeting between the FIA and the teams to be held on 21 February.

Last year, with increasing prevalence, we saw drivers choosing to sit out of the final qualifying session in order to gain free choice of tyres on which to start the race. A smart strategic move, but seeing only a handful of cars bother to set a lap time in a top-10 shootout is not a great spectacle.

According to Autosport some possible outcomes include making a driver use the tyres used to set his Q2 time to start the race. The theory being drivers will want to push to make the final Q3 session 10 rather than risk falling as low as P16 on the starting grid.

Although, from a pure entertainment viewpoint, an alternative approach to allow Pirelli to supply a dedicated qualifying tyre which is used only in Q3 has the most merit. If drivers know they can attack Q3 with impunity as far as tyre strategy for the race goes they are more likely to light up the track in the chase for pole position.

There’s also talk Q3 could be extended from its current 10 minute limit to better allow drivers to post two flying laps with less chance of coming across slower traffic.

For any of these changes to be approved all teams will need to sign-off unanimously, before being presented to the FIA and its World Motor Sport Council for ratification.

In the unlikely event that all teams put the betterment of the sport ahead of any competitive shyness the changes could come into effect before the Australian Grand Prix in mid-March.

[Source: Autosport]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

“I just hope he gets better starts than I did!”

Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo

Mark Webber reckons Australia’s next great F1 hope, Daniel Ricciardo, has the skills to match it with his new Red Bull Racing teammate four-time world champion Sebatsian Vettel. At least as far as qualifying goes, anyway.

“I think he’ll give Seb a real hard time in qualifying,” said Mark. “It’ll be 50:50 in the first year, I reckon.”

Webber says the dramatic changes to F1’s aerodynamic regulations could be the key for Ricciardo.

“I took a few off Seb last year—and the blown floor is gone now,” Webber told Motor Sport magazine. “I think Daniel will be fine, and it certainly won’t hurt him that he’s come through the Red Bull system. I just hope he gets better starts than I did!”

It would be no mean feat for Daniel to fulfill Webber’s qualifying predicition. As Mark says himself, Vettel has few peers when it comes to a one-off flying lap even though he rates Fernando Alonso as the best driver he raced against.

“I always thought Fernando was the best, and I still do—on Sundays,” he said. “On one lap, though, I think Seb’s got him covered—and I’m talking in terms of preparation, not just pace.

“Fernando’s had a lot of poles in his time, but probably age has come into it—you lose a little bit. In the race, though, he’s got more strings to his bow than anyone else, and he’s relentless.

“Seb’s strengths, as we know, are escaping at the start, and running in clean air—when you get these things in clean air now, it’s a whole other story, in terms of tyres and so on. He’s like a computer, isn’t he? His only weakness was always fast corners.”

Some interesting comments from Mark there. And good work from Motor Sport magazine to get that many words from him without one “obviously” in there.

[Source: ESPN F1 | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Ferrari Formula 1

Another batch of retro F1 joy

Bruce Thomson F1 sketches

We’d never heard of Bruce Thomson until this morning, but we can see he is clearly a good bloke. His blog is chock-full of stunning motorsport themed sketches. Some of the highlights are an ongoing series of retro F1 drawings.

Rather than just applying a retro livery to an existing modern design, Thomson has taken things to a new level by sketching his own cars as well. Who knows if they’d prove to be effective aerodynamically, we do know they’re damn effective visually.

Some sketches are a blend of old and new, others are reinterpretations of old iconic liveries. All are beautiful things to look at. Getting the Thomson treatment are Ferrari, Williams, Mercedes, Lotus and McLaren.

Make sure you check out Thomson’s F1 Cartoon series too.

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Formula 1 McLaren Video

VIDEO: 2014 F1 steering wheel display

McLaren MP4-29 steering wheel display

The Racer’s Edge (aka Peter Windsor) YouTube channel brings us video of the steering wheel display from the McLaren Electronics PCU-8D. It forms part of the the standard ECU used across all teams. There’s no commentary, but it’s still worth watching the display scroll through a series of demonstrations.

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Formula 1

Post-Bernie era draws closer for F1

2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

At 83 years of age it’s hardly rocket science to suggest Bernie Ecclestone’s days in Formula 1 are numbered. However, as the F1 supremo increasingly finds himself dealing with unwanted court cases the landscape of F1 and its ownership could be facing significant change.

Joe Saward explains:

Financial rumours are always to be treated with care because one never knows why the news is being leaked and who gains the most from such leaks. Quite often such stories are not at all what they seem to be. The word, however, is that US media billionaire John Malone, who is in the middle of a major expansion into European markets, is looking to buy control of Delta Topco, the parent company of the Formula One group, in order to be in a position to decide which TV channels would be buying the media rights to F1 racing, so as to either boost the revenues of other companies in his empire, or to charge his rivals more for the same privilege.

Malone has been busy investing in Euro television channels, including Virgin Media (Britain), Ziggo (Netherlands), Telenet (Belgium), Unitymedia (Germany) and he also own a controlling stake in Eurosport. It seems too simple to think that he could simply buy the Formula 1 media rights and hand over the broadcasting to his own companies.

That’s because it is too simple, as Saward goes on to explain:

The word is that he [Malone] wants to acquire the Formula One shares currently controlled by CVC Capital Partners, which wants to cash out in F1 because its plans for a stock market flotation have been blocked by the legal troubles surrounding F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

However, this does not necessarily mean that a buyer would actually control the Formula One empire because this appears to influenced by a parallel company called Delta Prefco, which has some of the same shareholders as Delta Topco. These investors get a different (and preferential) deal to those involved in Topco.

The rights to Formula 1’s broadcasting and wider management is certainly a confusing tale of corporate intrigue. We recommend you follow the source link to read Saward’s article in full.

[Source: Joe Saward | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]