Tag: Formula One

Categories
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.

Continue reading “Draft layout for new US Grand Prix track revealed”
Categories
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]

Categories
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]

Categories
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]

Categories
Ferrari Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing Renault

2010 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Hungarian GP

The 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix; Red Bull Racing’s 100th GP, Mark Webber’s 150th GP and his 6th career victory. The Aussie now leads the drivers championship and Red Bull have finally reached the top of the constructors tree. There’s seven races left in 2010, can Mark and RBR maintain the rage?

Elsewhere, Michael drove his old pal Rubens up the wall. Sebastian had a mid-race nap and Robert drove into Adrian. Here’s a surprise, too; think of the six drivers from the new teams (Lotus, Virgin and HRT), if they were running their own mini-championship who do you think would be leading the charge? A gold star for you if you picked out the name Karun Chandhok.

[Thanks to Micky for the Chandhok tip]

Continue reading “2010 Hungarian Grand Prix in pictures”
Categories
Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber wins Hungarian GP

2010 Hunagrian GP

Mark Webber has just won an extraordinary Hungarian Grand Prix, in doing so he has reclaimed the lead of the 2010 world drivers championship. It was a fortunate turn of events that, in the end, delivered Webber a comfortable win from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and his Red Bull Racing teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel started the race on pole, with Webber in P2 and Alonso P3. The Ferrari man jumped Webber off the line and very nearly took the lead from Vettel into Turn 1. Vettel was able to fend off Alonso’s challenge and the notoriously difficult to pass Hungaroring looked like providing another boring procession.

However, on lap 15, before teams were planning to bring in their drivers for scheduled pit stops some debris from one of the Force India cars was positioned precariously in the middle of the track. The Safety Car was deployed and the entire field took advantage to make their compulsory tyre change; with the exception of Webber, Rubens Barichello (Williams) and Jarno Trulli (Virgin Racing). Chaos reigned in pit lane, too, with a crash between Robert Kubica (Renault) and Vintonio Liuzzi (Force India), a loose wheel from Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes bouncing down the lane among the teams and cars everywhere.

Continue reading “Mark Webber wins Hungarian GP”
Categories
Formula 1

Darren Heath Photographer

Darren Heath Photographer

Darren Heath is a pro photographer who undertakes the enviable job of following the Formula One circus around the globe. I’ve been following him on twitter for a while now. After each race he’s been updating a selection of his photos. The pics are, of course, all good in their own right, but it is his blog that often makes for some very interesting observations. Take this snippet posted after the German Grand Prix, for example, which is discussing the aerodynamic properties of the Red Bull Racing and Ferrari front wings:

…at Barcelona earlier this year Mercedes’ GPS system, busy tracking the F1 cars careening around the flat-out Turn 3, registered similar entry speeds for the MGP W01 and the RB6.

A few seconds later, at the corner’s exit, things had changed. The Red Bull was pulling away with a 12kph advantage.

If that’s the kind of performance the Milton Keynes outfit had with its old front section, imagine it with the new one.

Judging from my photographs Ferrari has worked out the secret – although the front wings on both the F10s and the RB6s have been deemed legal, so the rest must now follow.

Check out Darren’s website HERE. His full German GP blog entry is available HERE.

Categories
Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber drives virtual lap of Hockenheim

Mark Webber drives virtual lap of Hockenheim

This weekend Mark is thinking about a lot of German drivers on the grid, a huge history and repeating his 2009 success. A matching pair of German Grand Prix victories at the Nürburgring and Hockenheim would make a nice set, don’t you think.

Continue reading “Mark Webber drives virtual lap of Hockenheim”
Categories
Formula 1 Toyota

Toyota TF109 seen with x-ray vision

Toyota TF109 - x-ray vision

This nifty little image of the Toyota TF109 gives a great example of how drivers, somehow, squeeze into a modern day Formula One car. Clearly, man plays second fiddle to the form and function of the machine here. Click on the image for a larger view.

[Source: motorcentral]

Continue reading “Toyota TF109 seen with x-ray vision”
Categories
Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Webber wins British GP

Mark Webber, winner, 2010 British GP

Mark Webber has won his third Grand Prix of the 2010 Formula One season at Silverstone this evening. Webber started from second on the grid, behind his Red Bull Racing teammate Sebastian Vettel, but was able to edge ahead of Vettel into the first corner.

Through the next series of corners Vettel ran wide and picked up a puncture after minor contact with Lewis Hamilton. This setback which sent Vettel to the back of the field. From there it was a masterful race from Webber who maintained the lead for the rest of the race.

Lewis Hamilton finished second and was able to pressure the Australian in the in the first part of the race when both drivers were on the softer compound tyres. Hamilton came into change tyres before Webber, but Red Bull Racing got Webber in and out safely on the next lap and back out ahead of Hamilton. Once on the harder prime tyres Webber was supreme and the only way Hamilton could close the gap was thanks to a safety car period to clear some debris from the track.

After the restart Webber once again pulled away and established a comfortable lead. As the race drew to an inevitable end Webber slowed his pace and coasted to victory just 1.3 seconds ahead of Hamilton. Nico Rosberg finished in third place. Vettel, for his misfortune at the start of the race, managed to make the most of the safety car period to fight back into the points finishing in seventh position.

Continue reading “Webber wins British GP”
Categories
Formula 1 Lotus Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber’s spectacular crash at the European GP

Mark Webber's crash at European GP

BREAKING NEWS: Mark Webber has crashed out of the European Grand Prix at Valencia after a spectacular incident with the Lotus of Heikki Kovalainen. The contact with Kovalainen happened on lap 9 of the 57 lap race. Importantly, both drivers walked away with no injuries and have been released from the trackside medical centre.

After a poor start from second on the grid Webber had dropped back to ninth place by the second lap. Webber’s Red Bull team brought him in for an early pit stop in a bid to escape traffic; the Valencia track is notoriously difficult to pass.

Webber’s bad day continued with a less than perfect pit stop after the crew had problems changing his front left wheel. However, things were about to get much worse. After rejoining the race Webber found himself fighting with Kovalainen for track position. The Finn swerved to defend his place and the rapidly closing Webber was left with nowhere to go except up. And up, and up!

Webber’s car flipped and landed on its roof before crashing into a tyre barrier at high speed. It was an incident reminiscent of Webber’s crash during practice at Le Mans in 1999.

After the break you can see a series of screen grabs of the incident, including the view from Mark’s in-car camera. There’s an animation showing the incident, as well as footage from Webber’s Le Mans crash.

UPDATE: Webber’s teammate Sebastien Vettel won the race ahead of the McLaren duo of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. A full race image gallery will be online in the next 24 hours.

Continue reading “Mark Webber’s spectacular crash at the European GP”
Categories
Formula 1 McLaren

Team building

Jenson & Lewis build F1 car

Vodafone UK’s latest video promotion sees McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton build a Formula One car. Obvious pranks and comments are made; it’s still a bit of a giggle and shows, despite the common belief, the team at McLaren actually have a sense of humour.

Check the clip after the jump.

Continue reading “Team building”