Categories
Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren

Alonso set to push Button out of McLaren

Fernando Alonso

It’s hardly a surprise to learn that Fernando Alonso is getting closer to signing a deal with McLaren for the 2015 Formula 1 season. However, it’s now looking likely that it will be the 266-race veteran Jenson Button who will make way for Alonso.

The expectation is that 22-year-old Kevin Magnussen has done enough in his rookie year to keep his seat next season and will drive alongside the 33-year-old Spaniard. That will give McLaren another good blend of youth and experience as it reunites with Honda in 2015.

It’s understood Alonso had initially wanted to sign a single year deal with McLaren, in case a seat opened up at Mercedes in 2016. It’s now being reported that Alonso will sign a two-plus-one deal with McLaren which could secure him with the Woking-based team until the end of the 2017 season.

On pure performance, Button may seem miffed at being pushed out in favour of Magnussen. The young Dane leads Button nine–eight in qualifying, but the 2009 world champion has performed much better on race day, with 94 championship points compared with Magnussen’s 53 points.

If Button is pushed out then a switch to endurance racing is expected, with a high profile move to join Mark Webber at Porsche his most likely option.

[Source: BBC]

Categories
Formula 1

Bernie’s grip weakens as CVC acts to end F1 crisis

Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone’s once unshakeable grip on Formula 1 has unmistakably loosened in recent days, with the F1 supremo admitting he was at fault for the financial woes facing the mid- and lower-ranked teams.

“There is too much money being distributed badly,” Ecclestone admitted in the build up to last week’s United States Grand Prix.

“Probably my fault,” he added. “Like lots of agreements people make, they seemed a good idea at the time. I know what’s wrong, but don’t know how to fix it.”

In response there was a very real threat that Force India, Lotus and Sauber were going to boycott the race in Austin. Thankfully, for US F1 fans, who are used to being shafted by the sport, that mini-crisis was averted.

But it wasn’t Ecclestone who saved the day, it was Donald MacKenzie, co-chairman of F1’s largest shareholder, CVC Capital Partners.

MacKenzie called Lotus boss Gerard Lopez and assured him his concerns would be addressed, regardless of Ecclestone’s position. Therefore, it was only Caterham and Marussia who were missing from the starting grid, as expected.

Up to £100m in base payments is said to be distributed among the smaller teams, irrespective of their championship positions, with a view to securing their medium-term participation.

“To be honest, it’s really not a complicated thing to do,” said Lopez. “It just requires a bit of goodwill. The overall amount we’re discussing, once you start dividing it by the number of teams, is not that massive.

“I really think there is a way to solve this in the coming days, probably even to get to a proposal before Brazil [next Sunday]. In which case I don’t see the point in doing anything drastic that would damage the sport.”

Monisha Kaltenborn, Sauber Team Principal, added: “Nobody is asking for anything unreasonable here. We have to recognise times have changed, the level to enter Formula 1 has changed.

“There was a reason for the system earlier, now things have really changed, so one has to rethink that. We have all put in too much investment into this. You can’t just let it fizzle out.”

[Source: The Guardian & BBC | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

Categories
Motorsports News

Nürburgring fans, meet Viktor Kharitonin

Viktor Kharitonin

Viktor Kharitonin is a name you may not have heard of before. He’s a Russian business tycoon with connections to Roman Abramovich and has made his cash in pharmaceuticals, among other things.

According to recent reports Kharitonin has stepped in to save the Nürbrgring by buying a controlling stake in the Capricorn consortium which won the rights to the Ring earlier this year. The new owners are set to take control of the famous track on 1 January 2015.

Capricorn teamed up with German-based Getspeed to form the winning bid back March, with Capricorn comitting to around two-thirds of the required cash. It’s understood Getspeed is still in the frame for its one-third share and that Kharitonin has taken over Capricorn’s component.

German media has reported that Kharitonin’s business NH Holding came to the rescue by covering two payments owed by Capricorn, one due earlier this month and one due in December.

If those payments weren’t made there was a very real risk that the Ring could cease it’s daily operations with near immediate effect. So, on the one hand it’s great that the Nordschleife is safe; at least for now.

But what of Kharitonin and the longer term future and security of the Ring?

Well known Save The Ring campaigner Mike Frison had this to say: “It’s the worst case come true. So many times the administrators and politicians kept saying that the Ring would be taken care of. That it would never fall into the hands of some Russian oligarch. Never trust a politician, QED. For me it’s so sad to be right again.”

Hopefully, Mike’s worst case scenario doesn’t hold true and we can all look forward to enjoying the Nürburgring for many years to come.

[Source: Pistonheads | Pic: Siberian Times]

Categories
Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

2014 United States GP: Post-race press conference

2014 United States Grand Prix

Here’s what the first three drivers in the United States Grand Prix had to say after this morning’s race. Not surprisingly there were a few questions about the double points coming up in Abu Dhabi. We can expect those questions to increase until the season climax in the middle east.

In some ways the best result in Brazil this weekend would be to see Nico win and Lewis have a retirement. That way the two drivers would go into the final race separated by a single point and the double points novelty is just that, a novelty and not the determining factor in who wins the championship.

Continue reading “2014 United States GP: Post-race press conference”
Categories
Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 United States GP

Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 United States Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has extended his championship lead by winning the United States Grand Prix. With two races left he now enjoys a 24 point lead over his teammate, Nico Rosberg, who finished second in Austin.

Rosberg made a clean getaway from pole and held Hamilton at bay until around one third race distance. Once Hamilton took the lead he had Rosberg’s measure.

Finishing third was Daniel Ricciardo who dropped places after a poor start from P5. He fought his way back up the field through a combination of great on track driving and clean pit stops.

The Williams pairing of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas finished fourth and fifth. Ricciardo overtook Massa in the last round of tyre changes and opened up a small but comfortable gap. Massa came back late in the race but couldn’t get past the likeabkle Australian.

Fernando Alonso finished sixth ahead of a fast charging Sebastian Vettel who made a late change for fresh tyres and spiced up the latter part of the race with his charge through the pack. Kevin Magnussen, Jean-Eric Vergne and Pastor Maldonado rounded out the top 10.

Maldonado finished P9 on track but was given a 5 second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He still finished in the points, the first time for him in 2014.

The F1 circus backs up next weekend in Sao Paulo before the double points novelty of Abu Dhabi closes out the season. Of course, that means Rosberg can easily close up that 24 point gap to Hamilton with a good drive or a stroke of luck.

However, Hamilton has won five races in a row now and has 10 wins for the year, compared with Rosberg’s four victories. It would be unjust if Hamilton didn’t win his second world title. And if that proves to be the case won’t the British F1 media mafia let it be known!

Continue reading “Lewis Hamilton wins 2014 United States GP”
Categories
Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Sebastian Vettel to sit out USGP qualifying

2014 Japanese Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel expects to miss qualifying for the United States Grand Prix in Austin this weekend due to an enforced penalty for exceeding his allocation of five power units for the year.

“As far as I know, the plan is to use the opportunity to change, to have a sixth component of all the various components,” Vettel said. “Obviously for that as far as the regulations are concerned we have to start from the pitlane.”

As you can see the regulations make the prospect of participating in a pointless qualifying session pretty unattractive.

“For the weekend, our plan could be a little bit different in terms of how we approach practice and qualifying in particular,” Vettel explained. “Once you have to start from the pitlane your focus is not on qualifying because no matter what you do in qualifying it doesn’t matter because you still have to start from the pitlane.

“So that’s why in practice, largely, we will try to focus on the race.”

The grid is already down four cars thanks to the absence for Caterham and Marussia and the prospect of last year’s winner in Austin sitting out quali is not ideal. But as Vettel says, he doesn’t make the rules.

“I didn’t make the rules,” he said. “It’s a rule that is the same for everyone. But for the people come to watch the cars, to watch qualifying, it’s a very bad rule.”

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

Categories
Caterham Formula 1

How much does it cost to run a Formula 1 team?

2014 Singapore Grand Prix

With confirmation that we’ll only have 18 cars on the grid in Austin this weekend much of the chatter around Formula 1 has been to do with the costs of running a team. People are asking: is F1 in crisis?

Every time serious discussion about putting a cap on spending is raised one of the bigger teams, usually Ferrari or Red Bull, threatens to throw its toys out of the cot in disgust. Clearly, F1 doesn’t want to lose one (or more) of its biggest drawcards and we’re left with a perennial problem; the haves keep winning, which in itself is nothing new, but the have nots keep folding.

The introduction of new regulations this year hasn’t helped matters much. In a bid to highlght the issues at the back of the grid Caterham, Force India, Marussia and Sauber have written to FIA President and former Scuderia Ferrari boss, Jean Todt, saying teams now need around $120 million per year just to stay afloat.

Sauber, usually a team able to compete well with limited funds, hasn’t scored a championship point all year and is currently coming tenth out of 11 teams in the constructors’ title race.

The cost breakdown provided to Todt and revealed by Autosport is as follows:

ItemCost
Windtunnel/CFD facilities$18.5 million
Chassis production/manufacturing$20 million
Hybrid power system$28 million
Gearbox and hydraulics$5 million
Electronics$1.95 million
Fuel and lubricants$1.5 million
Tyres$1.8 million
Salaries (not including drivers)$20 million
IT$3 million
HR and professional services$1.5 million
Utilities and factory maintenance$2 million
Travel and trackside facilities$12 million
Freight$5 million
TOTAL$120.25 million

 

As well as driver salaries, other items not included in the above list are: building leases, hospitality, marketing and media. Obviously, teams like Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull are spending a lot more than that, while Caterham and Marussia are (or were) spending a lot less.

No form of motorsport, no matter how good it should be, is any good if teams can’t afford to race.

[Source: Autosport+]

Categories
Audi

Limited-run Audi R8 competition revealed

Audi R8 competition

Audi of America will be launching the limited-edition R8 competition at the LA Auto Show next month. Only 60 will be made with deliveries to commence in early 2015.

Powered by the well proven 5.2 litre V10, the 570hp (425kW) on tap and 7-speed S tronic transmission can propel the R8 competition to 60mph in 3.2 seconds and on to a top speed of 199mph. According to Audi that makes it the fastest road-going R8 they’ve ever made.

To help it look the part flashes of carbon fibre can be found around the cars still very appealing bodywork, including the iconic sideblades.

Continue reading “Limited-run Audi R8 competition revealed”
Categories
Citroen Ford Hyundai Volkswagen WRC

2014 Rally Spain in pictures

2014 WRC Rally Rally-Spain

Rally Spain is the only mixed surface event on the WRC calendar. The opening day is on gravel, the remaining two days are on tarmac. It’s a huge test for the crews to work on the cars and make significant changes to setups during relatively short service stops. It’s also a big test for the drivers, who switch from cars with massive suspension travel and small brakes to firm riding track-day weapons with huge brakes.

The surface change played a key role in Sebastien Ogier’s victory, too, with teammate Jari-Matti Latvala struggling on day one, only to find his feet on the smooth tarmac roads in Catalunya. What was a lead of around 30 seconds after the first day was whittled back to a lead of 11 seconds by the rally’s end. Still, that was enough for Ogier to secure back-to-back world championships.

You’ll see from the images below that the dust on those gravel roads not only affected the outcome of the rally, but provided some truly spectacular images as well. Of note in Spain also, Ken Block took some time out from burning rubber to make one of his rare WRC appearances.

Continue reading “2014 Rally Spain in pictures”
Categories
McLaren

VIDEO: McLaren F1 owner’s manual

McLaren F1 owner's manual

Sometimes true beauty is found in the most unlikely places. Mark Roberts from McLaren Automotive takes back more than two decades to tell us of his unexpected, yet important, role in the delivery of one of the world’s greatest automotive icons.

[via Motorcentral]

Continue reading “VIDEO: McLaren F1 owner’s manual”
Categories
Formula 1 Video

VIDEO: A drone’s eye view of COTA

Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas

Here’s a very different view of the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. It’s a drone’s eye view and gives us a good look at the circuit ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix. It would be nice to see a repeat clip with the F1 circus in town, with all the added colour and scale that would bring.

[via WTF1]

Continue reading “VIDEO: A drone’s eye view of COTA”
Categories
Audi Formula 1

Audi denies rumours of Formula 1 entry

Audi F1 livery by Tim Holmes Design

Recent rumours have suggested Audi is planning to ditch both its dominant Le Mans/WEC program and its DTM participation in favour of a high-profile entry to Formula 1 in 2016. Audi Sport has used its Facebook page to scupper any such talk:

Audi‬ in Formula 1? These rumors keep appearing with regularity since years. It’s pure speculation again this time and without any foundation. We are committed to the FIA WEC, DTM and GT racing. In 2015 we will add the Audi Sport TT Cup to our program

Earlier speculation has linked Fernando Alonso to an Audi F1 entry, largely on the back of Audi signing Stefano Domenicali, former Ferrari Team Principal.

Two things are clear: as long as the sun rises in the morning a rumour about a Volkswgaen Group company entering F1 won’t be far away and that livery above by Tim Holmes Design looks first class!

[Thanks to Costa for the tip]