Tag: Toro Rosso

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Formula 1

Ricciardo has Friday on his mind

Daniel Ricciardo & Sebastien Bueml

Young Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo (left) will take another step towards an F1 career with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2011. The 21-year-old will drive in the Friday practice sessions at all 20 races next year.

Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi (right) have already been confirmed as Toro Rosso’s drivers for next season and they will miss alternating Friday sessions in 2011 to make way for Ricciardo’s role.

Ricciardo will also continue to race in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, but says F1 is his long-term goal, “I am really excited at the prospect of driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso in the practice sessions next year, so I have to say thanks to Red Bull for this great opportunity.

“My main priority for 2011 is to win the Formula Renault 3.5 championship, but my ultimate aim is to be a full-time Formula One driver and this new role has to be the best step towards achieving that ambition.”

The news follows this week’s earlier rumour suggesting Buemi could make way for Ricciardo in a full-time capacity. While that doesn’t look like happening just yet, Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost has left the door open for the young West Australian, “When our team was created, its stated aim was to bring on young drivers from the Red Bull Junior Team, so Daniel’s appointment as our third driver is an obvious one.

“Although Daniel has done some F1 testing already, running on Fridays at the grands prix will give him a valuable insight into the additional pressures of doing it for real during a race weekend. I am also sure that having a hungry youngster on the books will keep our current driver pairing nice and sharp!”

[Source: Scuderia Toro Rosso | Pic: STR/Getty Images]

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Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

2010 Chinese Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Chinese GP

Rain in Shanghai ensured qualifying form was tipped upside down at yesterday’s 2010 Chinese Grand Prix. Jenson Button furthered his reputation as a rain master by winning his second wet race of the year. Teammate Lewis Hamilton was close behind as they crossed the line. MercedesGP driver Nico Rosberg continued his dominance over Michael Schumahcer to finish on the podium for the second race in succession.

Red Bull Racing have had a driver start from pole position every race this year. Unfortunately for them it hasn’t led to a race win for the pole man. Shanghai was no different, with both Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso getting past Sebastien Vettel off the line. Although, Alonso did jump the start and was forced to pit for a stop-go penalty. It was strategy and tyre choice, though, that undid Red Bull’s qualifying supremacy. Both drivers finished well below expectations—Vettel unable to follow his Malaysian GP victory with a podium and he finished in sixth, Webber further behind in eighth.

Four races in to the 2010 Formula One season and what do we make of Michael Schumacher’s comeback? It’s not gone to script, has it. Rosberg is to be commended for leading the way for MercedesGP so far in 2010. And while Schumacher has shown moments of raw pace, he is yet to string together the consistency required to see him challenging for a podium finish. Rosberg out qualified Schumi here in China, which means, for the first time, Schumacher has been out qualified by his teammate for four races in succession.

Quotes from drivers and team principals are now available on Formula1.com. You can also enjoy a total of 50 images from the Chinese GP here on AUSmotive, check them out below.

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Formula 1

The wheels have fallen off

Sebastien Buemi, Chinese GP practice 2010

Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Buemi got the shock of his life during Free Practice 1 at the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday. As you can see from the image above the wheels literally fell off his Formula One car in a spectacular incident. Luckily the only damage was to the car and Buemi did not suffer any injuries.

Speaking after the crash he said, “There’s not much to say about what happened in FP1. I braked, the wheels came off and that was it. Physically, I was fine though.”

Fine, yes, but not happy, “But I have to say, I am extremely disappointed that, once again, through no fault of my own, I have been unable to run for almost all of the three hours available. I will have to try and catch up on Saturday morning and we will be relying on Jaime’s data from today to see which way to go.”

A bit surly perhaps? The team’s Technical Director, Giorgio Ascanelli, explained fixing the cause of Buemi’s accident was straightforward, “Sebastien’s accident this morning was down to a technical problem on the right hand upright, which proved simple to identify once we got the car back. We have resolved the problem, which the many laps completed by Jaime this afternoon confirms.”

If you have not seen any vision of the incident, you can see a video clip below. Like the cat, I expect you will be amazed, too.

Meanwhile, Red Bull Racing duo have once again hogged the front row all to themselves with Sebastien Vettel snatching a last gasp pole position from Australia’s Mark Webber in yesterday’s final qualifying session. Best of luck to both for this afternoon’s race.

[Thanks to Chris for the tip]

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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.

Continue reading “Webber leads the pack at Jerez – photo gallery”
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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo one step closer to F1

Daniel Ricciardo

Twenty-year-old Australian and current British Formula 3 champ, Daniel Ricciardo, has been signed for Formula One reserve driver duties with both Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso. Joining Daniel, in what will be a shared role, is 20-year-old New Zealand driver Brendon Hartley.

Both men took part in the F1 end of season testing at Jerez in December 2009. Ricciardo made a name for himself by topping the time sheets driving the Red Bull RB5, while Hartley also impressed at the wheel of the Torro Rosso TR4.

Even though in-season testing for Formula One has been drastically reduced in recent years Ricciardo and Hartley will get a great opportunity at learning the ropes through marketing roles and participation in team meetings.

It’s a great step for both guys who are also members of the Red Bull Junior Team. The shared role will see the drivers alternate their appearances on a race-by-race basis.

[Source: MarkWebber.com]

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Formula 1

Mark Webber’s Singapore Grand Prix preview

There’s quite a few preview clips for this weekend’s Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix out there in cyberspace. Here is Red Bull Racing‘s effort with Mark Webber talking us through a lap.

The first F1 race to be held under lights—it should be a belter!