Force India Launch The VJM02
Force India have launched their 2009 car, the VJM02.
It will be driven by experienced Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and young German Adrian Sutil. Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi will be the third and test driver for the team.
The new car looks very different to the VJM01, thanks to the swathes of new technical regulations, but also in terms of colour. The Force India has gone from a very similar colour scheme to McLaren to a white/orange/green scheme designed to portray the national colours of India.
The car features a wider nose similar in some ways to that of the Renault R29. We like the flaps in-built onto the centre of the front wing too. Force India have utilised some aerodynamic downforce from external winglets at the end of the sidepod in similar fashion to Ferrari and Red Bull Racing.
It is Force India’s second car, and it will be powered by Mercedes Benz engines in a new deal.
“At least from my perspective, winning races I think I can certainly aspire for maybe in 2010, but for 2009 I would be happy if we are regularly in the points,” said team co-owner Vijay Mallya “That would be already a major step forward.”
The car will have its official track debut tomorrow at Jerez, but it had a shakedown at Silverstone last week.
Front 3/4
Above
Front end
VJM02 with Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil
Vitantonio Liuzzi, Vijay Mallya, Giancarlo Fisichella, Adrian Sutil
Shakedown at Silverstone
Williams Launch Final FW31 Livery
Williams have launched the definitive final livery for their 2009 car the FW31 in a minor ceremony at their factory in Grove today.
We released a picture spotted in the back of a garage at Jerez of the colour scheme earlier on this month (http://f1fanatics.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/spotted-williams-fw31-2009-livery/ ).
The final edition is very close to that, and feature heavy branding from electronics supplier Philips and former banking giant RBS with whom the sponsorship deal will end this season.
The team are hoping that they can get a win this season, having not experienced the top step of the podium in the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix with Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya.
“We’d love to be a winner or in the top three all the time,” said Williams.
“But to be very close to the top three would be a big step for year one. It’s by no means impossible, but it depends how good we’ve been this winter. We might get lucky with the car.”
Button Agrees To Slash Wages For 2009
Jenson Button has allegedly agreed to cut his wage retainer in half to stay with the reformed Honda F1 Team under the name of “Brackley F1″.
Button looked unlikely to gain a seat for the forthcoming season after Honda pulled out of the sport at the end of 2008, however with the management buy out from Brawn the future is looking distinctly more rosy for the British driver and his former team mate Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Button was on a $15million retainer in 2008, and he will cut that in half to $7.5million.
He is also cutting his wages because of the large number of job losses expected. Around 300 staff of 700 will be made redundant, but under Ross Brawn they are likely to get a better payout than they would have done if the team had folder the newspaper said.
Brawn Buys Out Honda And Team Is Saved!
Rumours leaking from the Honda Motor Company in Japan are suggesting that former Honda team principal and Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn has successfully bought out the Honda F1 Team.
Leaks are coming thick and fast from Japan, but no official word has been heard yet and it could be a few days before a statement is released.
Brawn will be joined by an as yet un-named person as part of the buy-out, but it is unlikely to be Brawn’s former protege dirver Michael Schumacher whose boss denied claims of cash injections to the team yesterday.
Jenson Button will be on track next Thursday in a blank 2009 car, and apparantly his job has been saved and he will be the teams #1 driver. Rubens Barrichello is also rumoured to have kept his race seat for one more season, after Swiss newspaper Blick reported that Bruno Senna has got a seat in DTM “The young Brazilian will drive in the DTM championship (in 2009).”their correspondent said.
The team will be hitting the track for another 2 official tests in Spain, likely with power from Mercedes Benz engines.
The team will have to be renamed, and it could possibly be called “Brackley F1″ but that is completely unconfirmed rumour.
MORE NEWS AS AND WHEN IT HAPPENS.
Barrichello Linked With USF1 Drive
Rubens Barrichello has been linked with a drive for the new USF1 team, launched in Charlotte yesterday.
The veteran Brazilian could prove useful for the new team with his masses of experience. It could also prove useful to Rubens who has no drive for the current season now the Honda F1 Team have gone bankrupt, and if they are reformed the chances are his seat with go to rookie Bruno Senna.
An interview from The Guardian newspaper with Peter Windsor suggested the need for someone experienced.
“In year one, certainly there is an argument for having an experienced Formula One driver in the car,” Windsor said
“There’s definitely an argument for that, and then maybe having a young American in the other car,”
Favourite at the moment to secure the other seat is Danica Patrick, IRL’s sweetheart.
Schumi Invited To Buy Honda Team
Former 7 time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher was approached by Honda to buy the team out, it has been revealed today.
The German legend’s manager Wili Webber released the news as it was alleged by a spokesperson of Honda that their buyer was in place.
Schumacher was offered the team, possibly by Ross Brawn, but he felt it was not the right time for such an investment, especially given the current economic climate.
“There was an enquiry,” Weber confirmed to the Cologne newspaper Express,
Bbut neither I nor Michael are going to take part in Formula One in this way.”
“Michael is happy with his life and – as far as motor racing is concerned – I am focused on the career of Nico Hulkenberg,” Weber added.
BBC Confirm They Will Use “The Chain” As The Theme Song For Coverage
The BBC, who have won back coverage of Formula One from ITV, have announced today that they will be reviving the iconic song “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac for the introduction titles of their coverage.
It is the first time the song, which epitomises Formula One for many people, will have been used since the coverage was lost in 1996.
However, the song, recorded in 1996 by Fleetwood Mac will be back and could be recovered just for the introduction. It’s bass ending will be sounding out in living rooms across the country every Sunday afternoon.
“There has been one enormous issue on all the message boards and that was the question of what music we are going to use,” said a BBC spokesman. “Whether it’s a surprise or not, we’ll leave for you to decide.”
Murray Walker, who will be working as an online correspondant for the BBC’s F1 coverage, was absolutely delighted with the news.
Enjoy BBC’s 1990 Introduction before the Monaco Grand Prix with the iconic soundtrack
USF1 Launched – New Car Ready By Autumn 2009
The USF1 team was launched today in Charlotte, USA. In a major broadcast with Speed TV, the team’s plans were finally revealed after months of speculation.
The team will have a USA based, designed, driven and sponsored machine for the F1 season in 2010. It has conservative aims for its first two years, but after that wants to establish itself as a high midfield runner before hoping to contend for titles in the future.
Former Ligier and Onyx technical director, Ken Anderson, the team principal of USF1, told the world that the new car will be ready by Autumn 2009, and should be hitting the track by the end of the year.
“We’ll have a car on the ground in September/October to start doing static rig testing,” he said. “There are still some things up in the air right now as far as who our engine supplier is and when that contract would start.
“We’re in a state of flux and all these things will come out in the next four to six weeks. But the rule as it is right now is that you’re not supposed to run a car between the last race and January 1st, so I would say we’re not planning to actually run the car until January next year – but then you have almost three months to the first race anyway.”
Ken Anderson at the launch
Peter Windsor, sporting director, spoke of their aims.
“A truly successful 2010 would be first of all proving that a Formula One car can be designed and built in the United States, outside of Europe, breaking the mould and doing that efficiently and cleanly. By that I mean we produce two good cars that are reliable, we finish races and maybe get a decent result in year one.
“In year two I’d like to think we could be scoring some points, which means top 10/top eight finishing. Then the sky is the limit after that. I am being quite conservative because this is a new team and we need to walk before we can run.”
Windsor added that there would be a European base as well as the main USA site.
“We’re going to have a European base which is mainly for the trucks, the motorhome, the pit equipment and for operating when we’re testing. It’s a logistics operation, not large, and it could therefore be anywhere.”
Peter Windsor
McLaren Title Sponsor Vodafone Slashes Jobs
The title sponsor of the McLaren Mercedes F1 Team, Vodafone, have announced large job cuts today. The cuts will occur in the UK and see some 500 people out of work.
Vodafone, a major player in the world telecommunications market, says it is adjusting to the current economic conditions. Their next step would be to close stores a spokesperson added.
Vodafone have been the title sponsor at McLaren since 2007, when they parted ways with the Ferrari F1 team whom they had sponsored since 2002. The company said it wanted to be a title F1 sponsor, and it could not do that with Ferrari whose top sponsor is the Marlboro tobacco firm.
“Vodafone UK has today announced reductions to its operating costs in order for it to compete more effectively in the UK market,” the company said.
“As customers look for best value in their mobile services, Vodafone intends to reduce its cost base whilst continuing to invest in new products and services to meet changing customer needs.”
There is no indication they wish to end their deal with McLaren at the moment, but it has to be a possibility; especially on the back of ING announcing F1 retirement leaving Renault without a top sponsor. The rumour mill suggests Santander will being sponsorship of Ferrari instead of McLaren in 2010, so if Vodafone go to the British team could be a bit short in the sponsor department come next year.
New Force India Launch On Sunday
The brand new 2009 Force India will be launched on Sunday, the team announced yesterday evening.
The car, named the VJM02 after its founder Vijay Mallya, will be using Mercedes Benz engines and drivetrains after a switch from Ferrari units in 2008.
The new car will be driven by veteran Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and young German Adrian Sutil.
Their programme before the start of the season can begin with the shakedown test at Jerez.
Spy-Gate Saga Finally Ends In Italian Courtroom
The Spy-Gate saga which rocked F1 throughout the 2007 season where it was discovered that McLaren Mercedes designers and staff had conspired to steal information from rivals Ferrari has finally ended in a court room in Italy.
Mike Coughlan, Nigel Stepney and many others were involved in the case which recieved front page headlines around the world and damaged the image of some of the best designers in F1. Stepney had been in the Ferrari family and suffered a lot from Italian’s who saw him as a traitor. It was Coughlan’s fault that the world found out when he sent his wife to a photocopying shop with thousands of pages of material marked “Confidential, Ferrari”.
The court had a ‘nolo-condere’ (no contest) between the lawyers, and a judge ordered fines to be handed out. Mike Coughlan must pay 180,000Euros, whereas others must pay 150,000Euros.
A McLaren spokesman said: “The proceedings in Italy were merely the officialising of what had been proposed long before, namely the ‘nolo contendere’ agreement. A line has finally been drawn under this matter.”
Allmendinger Not Interested In USF1
AJ Allmendinger, a ChampCar race winner and NASCAR driver has said he is not interested in racing for the USF1 team which is to be launched in the next few days.
The driver, currently racing in the Sprint Cup series in America, would like to sample an F1 car but admitted that it is not his current focus.
His last experience of open wheel racing was in ChampCar, where he drove for RuSport before switching to Forsythe Racing, a team he won 5 races for.
“I’m not focused on that,” said Allmendinger. “I loved being a part of NASCAR. Going to all these races and being around the fans, I enjoy being here. I enjoy the racing… I enjoy all that.
“I’m a true American at heart; I like to in-between races…watch my NFL on Sunday and all that. I’ve learned in this sport, after everything that has happened to me the last couple of years, don’t deny anything. Just nod your head and smile and say there’s a chance.”
“Driving a racecar, no matter what it is, has intrigue to me. That (F1 car) is something that I haven’t driven before, so it’s intriguing, but it’s not my focus either.”
In other American racing news, former Minardi and Red Bull Racing driver Robert Doornbos has secured a seat in the Indy Racing League (IRL).
Doornbos drove for Italian minnows Minardi in F1 in 2005, before moving to test with Red Bull Racing in 2006. He has driven in races for the team in 2006 after Christian Klien left the team. He performed well, qualifying in the top 10 on his first attempt at the Chinese Grand Prix.
He has also competed in various demonstrations of F1 machinery, in ChampCar where he won 2 races and more recently in the Superleague Formula.
He will drive for the Newman/Haas/Lanigan team.
“I’m very happy and proud to get this chance to race with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing,” Doornbos said.
“Racing in the IndyCar Series has been my biggest dream and especially to do it with Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. The history of the team and the big success they have had in the past really attracted me, and it makes me proud to become part of this winning team.”
“It will be tough, but I’m training as much as possible and am in good condition and ready to achieve results. I’m also excited to race in the legendary Indy 500.”
Branson Loves F1 But It Needs To Change Before He Will Enter
Sir Richard Branson has declared his love for Grand Prix and F1 racing in an interview with BBC this morning, but admitted it needs to change before it is viable for Virgin to enter.
Branson, said that cost cuts needed to be made and that it was not environmentally friendly enough for his image to enter, but it won’t rule out his bid for Honda.
It is odd that a man who runs an inter-continental airline is concerned about the environment, but there you go. It can be more green by holding 90% of races in Europe at the proper venues, there’s an idea Bernie!
“I love grands prix,” said Branson, who was a guest of Force India at last year’s Italian Grand Prix.
“If Bernie Ecclestone can make it more cost-effective for the likes of the Virgin brand to come into the sport, and if he can champion clean motor-car racing – which is possible to do by making sure all the cars run on clean fuels -then at some stage we might be interested in getting involved.”
“I think there are faults that would need to be rectified before we could go into F1.” he added
A Virgin Atlantic 747 Jet at Goodwood Festival of Speed
Suzuka Reconstruction Nearly Complete
The modification and partial rebuild of the Suzuka Circuit in Japan is set to be completed within two months ahead of Formula One’s return to the figure of eight track.
The circuit, owned by Honda, has been off the F1 calendar since 2006, as Fuji Speedway owned by Toyota has been the chosen track. Discussions about a Pacific GP at Suzuka collapsed almost as soonas they started but it is now back at its spiritual home.
“Full-scale renovation work will soon be completed,” stated Honda, which will host a ‘Start Suzuka Opening Thanks Day F1 Kick Off Party’ on April 12.
Honda have admitted they are fully behind keeping F1 at the track despite leaving F1 as a manufacturer.
Massa Fastest On Bahrain Test Final Day
Felipe Massa was fastest on the final day of testing in Bahrain.
The Brazilian completed a faultless day in the Ferrari F60, topping the timesheets by a couple of tenths. He concentrated on reliability tests and long stints in preparation for the first race of the season which is around 1 month away.
German Nick Heidfeld was second, but he was once again hindered by two mechnical problems. However, some good setup work was completed.
“Although we lost some time due to a sandstorm last week, the long test in Bahrain was very productive,” said BMW Sauber’s technical director Willy Rampf. “We could work with the cars in temperatures we would not have encountered in Europe at this time of the year, making it good preparation for the first races of the upcoming season”
Timo Glock went from fastest to slowest as he propped up the sheets today, completing just 65 laps for the team.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:32.162 113 2. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:32.225 122 3. Glock Toyota (B) 1:32.445 65
Honda Could Still Disband The Team Despite New Interest
A spokesperson for the Honda Motor Company has declared that shutting down and disbanding the F1 team is still an option despite heightened interest in the past few days about a purchase.
The Japanese company admitted that a buy-out was still the favoured option, but something needs to be sorted out soon otherwise they will have no other option.
It is also believed that Mercedes Benz, who have offered a full Engine, Gearbox and KERS system to the new team want a decision by next week about supply otherwise they will pull their offer. Norbert Haug said a short time ago that they could not wait forever for a decision.
Honda spokesman Hiroyuki Murase told The Associated Press: “It’s true that we are pursuing several potential buyers. But the team may still have to be disbanded if the negotiations fail.”
Richard Branson and the Virgin group are believed to have made an offer to buy the team, and an MBO from Nick Fry is still another main option.
Bernie Ecclestone said in an interview with The Mirror newspaper that he was very happy Sir Richard was interested in F1.
“We would welcome them with open arms. He’s exactly the type of person we would want in the sport.
“Sir Richard Branson is a wonderful guy. I met him at Monza last year and we got on very well.”
Danica Flattered By F1 Interest
IRL driver Danica Patrick has declared herself very flattered by the interest that has been shown in her by new F1 project, USF1.
The USF1 team is a new venutre which wants to put a US designed and built car, on the grid with US sponsors and drivers.
Last week they claimed they were very interested in running Danica Patrick in the team, seeing her as a good driver and also someone who could get more American’s into F1, away from their diet of NASCAR and IRL.
“There weren’t any quotes from me because they haven’t spoken to me,” Patrick was quoted as saying by the Globe and Mail newspaper.
“It’s very flattering. I think that any time you are in the same sentence as Formula One, it’s a flattering thing.”
“I haven’t really expressed a lot of excitement and interest in world travel. We’ll see what they’ll say though. Maybe they’ll call.”
Glock Fastest In Bahrain Test
Timo Glock was fastest in the third test of the week at Bahrain.
The German driver took his TF109 to the top of the timesheets after a trouble free day.
“That was another good day for us,” said Glock. “We didn’t have any major problems and we again made it through a lot of work. We concentrated on set-up and went through our programme smoothly.
“It has been a bit tricky to drive today because there was a lot of wind, which was also blowing from a different direction to yesterday when Jarno (Trulli) was driving. But in the end I’m happy that we did so much work and it’s positive that we found some useful directions to work with.”
Felipe Massa took over from Kimi Raikkonen for the first time this week, and ran into some trouble with a gearbox problem in the morning and then just before the end of the session an electrical fault.
Nick Heidfeld was 3rd, once again working on setups with the BMW Sauber F1.09, but he also endured a couple of major mechnical faults hindering mileage to just 82 laps.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Glock Toyota (B) 1:32.492 132 2. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:32.917 105 3. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:32.993 82
Also, just wanted to wish my good friend Dani a very happy birthday today!
Honda Confirm Branson Interest And Offer For Team
The Honda F1 Team have confirmed that multi-billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson is one of the front-running parites in the purchase of the team ahead of the 2009 season, and has put in an offer.
The owner of the Virgin group was said to be interested yesterday in a leak from the team, but today a spokesman confirmed the rumour.
“We are negotiating with several buyers and one of these parties is the Virgin Group,” a Honda spokesman stated.
“They [Virgin] have made a bid to purchase the team,”
Branson is expected to purchase the team for just £1, but needs to put at least £40million in for one season’s running. It is believed that after purchase, Branson 58, would leave the running of the team to Nick Fry and Ross Brawn.
His Virgin group would be the leading sponsor on the car.
Branson has dabbled in F1 before, sponsoring Jordan in 2002, and then sponsoring Japanese driver Takuma Sato for the past 4 years with his Virgin Atlantic brand. It is hot rumour that Sato would be one of the chosen drivers for the new team, alongside Brit Jenson Button.
Raikkonen Fastest In Bahrain Test
Kimi Raikkonen topped the timesheets on the second day of testing in Bahrain this week.
The former world champion completed a good day of testing marred by only one incident involving the KERS system. It had a major internal problem with cooling.
Although a disadvantage in the fact it meant Raikkonen lost 3 hours of testing, it did allow Ferrari to try out some of their KERS safety systems.
Jarno Trulli was in second place for Toyota, once again evaluating race setups.
Nick Heidfeld couldn’t repeat Christian Klien’s timesheet topping brilliance of yesterday and propped up the leaderboad. Heidfeld took the opportunity to work on mechnical setups in his first warm test with the F1.09.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:32.102 103 2. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:32.230 149 3. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:32.585 104
SPOTTED: Williams FW31 2009 Livery
The Williams F1 Team make a habit of running an interim livery in the off-season on their new cars, to keep us guessing well past the launch of their new car to what exactly it will look like.
This interim livery is usually a lovely dark metallic blue, which if F1Fanatics had influence within the Grove based team would be there to stay!
However, these liveries make way for a white/blue one first used in 2000 when Compaq joined the team as a sponsor.
Anyway, a spy for the Dutch F1 site, F1-Today.nl, managed to sneak into a back garage in Jerez and get this snap of an almost finished livery Williams FW31. Only the Philips and RBS sponsor logos are missing.
Branson Tipped For Honda Buy-Out
British newspaper The Daily Telegraph have tipped Virgin mogul Sir Richard Branson as the front runner in the race to save the Honda F1 Team.
Branson, a multi-billionaire, has multiple holdings through his Virgin group including Airlines, Phones and Television. An F1 team would just add to his portfolio.
Branson often enjoys one-up-manship on rivals, and also likes to be on the front pages so buying an F1 team and “saving” hundreds of jobs in one of Britain’s favourite new sports would really work for him.
“Formula one would do well to have them on board,” a source from inside the Virgin Group told The Daily Telegraph
Klien Fastest In Bahrain
Christian Klien was fastest one the first day of Bahrain testing this week.
The Austrian test driver took the BMW Sauber to the top of the timesheets, as all three drivers and teams took in well over 100 laps in better conditions than previously.
“Today was a very productive day,” said Klien. “We collected a lot of data and I even did a long run at the end of the session. Again we didn’t have a single technical problem, which is very encouraging.”
Kimi Raikkonen evaluated race set ups for Ferrari, and was happy with his progress.
Jarno Trulli completed some distance running in the TF109, completing over 2 race distances.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Klien BMW-Sauber (B) 1:32.544 131 2. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:32.804 116 3. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:33.064 141
Lauda Has No Interest In Own F1 Team
Niki Lauda has said he would have no interest in setting up his own F1 team, and that he is rather sceptical of new entries to the sport in the current climate.
The Austrian said that he enjoyed running his airline, and working with RTL television Germany.
Despite retirement from driving in the 1980′s, the triple world champion has worked as a consultant to Scuderia Ferrari and also as the team boss of Jaguar. The latter, a team to which he ended up getting behind the wheel of the car to better understand what the drivers were feeling in the cockpit.
“I have absolutely no interest (in that).” Lauda told Auto Motor und Sport in an exclusive interview
“I have fun with my RTL task and other responsibilities as well – with (car hire enterprise) LaudaMotion and my airline Niki,” he added.
“I believe the times are precisely wrong for new entires into F1, because of the world economic crisis. For the moment it is quite good, because apart from Honda, no other teams have folded.”
“But much more from the present situation should not be expected,” Lauda insisted.
