Schuey’s Return Could Show Raikkonen Up – Lauda
Never one to shy away from controversy, Niki Lauda has said that Michael Schumacher’s return to Ferrari and F1 could well show Kimi Raikkonen up.
Raikkonen, the 2007 World Champion has not really performed well since his championship win, and with a poor car in 2009 the team have been sliding. His second place in Hungary last week is his best result of the season thus far. Lauda reckons Schumacher’s return will force him to be faster.
Lauda himself made an F1 comeback after retirement in the 1980′s and won the world championship. Whether Schumacher can do the same thing is unknown, but highly unlikely. Race wins and podiums are expected, but he has 10 races less experience than the other drivers, doesn’t know Valencia and may well not be fit.
“The most interesting thing will be to see him up against Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari – who will be faster?” the Austrian told Britain’s Daily Mail. “Put it this way: Kimi has to get his act together or be shown up.”
Niki Lauda and Michael Schumacher (with footballer Lukas Podolski centre)
Michael Schumacher Makes Shock F1 Comeback For Ferrari From Euro GP
Michael Schumacher, the most successful racing driver of all time has made the shock decision to come out of retirement to race for Ferrari from the next Grand Prix onwards after Felipe Massa’s unfortunate incident in the last grand prix weekend.
Schumacher, who won the F1 world championship 7 times, will now spend the next few weeks preparing himself to drive the Ferrari F60 car, he has not tested it thus far. The last time Schumacher drove an F1 car was testing in 2008, and he retired in 2006 at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Since Massa’s incident, rumour has been flying about who would replace the Brazilian for Ferrari, and now the rumours are put to bed as Schumacher returns.
“The most important thing first: thanks God, all news concerning Felipe are positive. I wish him all the best again,” said Schumacher.
“I was meeting this afternoon with Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take the place of Felipe.
“Though it is true that the chapter Formula 1 has been closed for me since long and completely, it is also true that for loyalty reasons to the team I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation. But as the competitor I am, I also very much look forward to facing this challenge.”
BMW Sauber To Leave Formula One At The End Of 2009
BMW have announced that their Formula One team, BMW Sauber will not be competing in F1 beyond the end of the 2009 season.
It is a bitter blow for the German/Swiss team which had seen gains through 2007 and 2008, but have suffered with a poor car in 2009.
The team were formed after BMW, who had supplied engines to Williams from 2000-2005, decided to buy out Peter Sauber’s small but successful Swiss team, Sauber based in Hinwil. They took over, and in 2006 they had an average season with Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve at the wheel. In 2007 they were much more competitive with Robert Kubica partnering Heidfeld. In 2008, Kubica recorded the teams first victory in Canada, a circuit where a season before RK left in a medical helicopter following a horror shunt.
Dr. Norbert Reithofer, chairman of BMW said this morning: “Of course, this was a difficult decision for us. But it’s a resolute step in view of our company’s strategic realignment,” he said.
“Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. In line with our Strategy Number ONE, we are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability. Our Formula 1 campaign is thus less a key promoter for us.
“Mario Theissen has been in charge of our motor sports program since 1999. We have scored a large number of successes in this period, including some in Formula 1 racing. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mario Theissen and his team for this.”
There are lots of unknown’s following today’s ruling. The team is likely to be put up for sale, and could be bought by one of the teams who failed to get into F1 such as Lola or Prodrive or perhaps by a new investor looking to buy a going concern. The latter would secure jobs, but if the slot is made available then the jobs will be lost. Epsilon Euskadi has expressed interest in taking the slot of the team if they fold altogether.
Robert Kubica is a very talented and young driver, and although he stated he is keen to try his hand at rallying it is likely a big team will buy him in. Williams could be looking for a Nico Rosberg replacement, McLaren are looking for a replacement for Heikki Kovalainen or perhaps if Massa will not drive in F1 again and Alonso doesn’t have a contract with the Italian’s he could make a shock move to Ferrari. Nick Heidfeld on the other hand is far more uncertain, and at his age he might struggle to get another drive on the back of always promising good things but never really delivering.
Will Massa Ever Race An F1 Car Again?
Rumour has been flowing from Hungary and the AEK hospital where Felipe Massa is currently recovering from a shocking incident in qualifying for the Grand Prix of the country last weekend about whether he will ever drive again.
The flambouyant Brazilian who missed out on winning the 2008 World Championship by an agonising 1 point, was hit in the face by a spring from the Brawn GP car of Rubens Barrichello. It pierced the helmet of Massa and caused significant damge to his skull.
While a recovery is expected, a professor from the hospital, Robert Veres, is quoted as saying Massa may never race an F1 car again, indeed another doctor said he could be ruled out for the rest of 2009 “at least”.
“He has suffered some damage to the eye,” said Veres. “We don’t know whether he’ll be able to race again.”
However, there has been some good news from the Massa camp, saying he could be leaving hospital in just 10 days, and that he is spending a lot of time awake talking to family and friends. His wife, parents and brother are with him, and many Ferrari officials have been periodically visiting him in hospital.
“My expectation is that he would walk out of the hospital on his own. If his recovery continues at this pace, I wouldn’t rule out that he could leave within 10 days.” Peter Bazso, medical director of AEK hospital said
“I would like to point out that although he’s recovering, this is not the end of the story, he is still in a life-threatening condition,” Bazso added.
Massa's mechanics dedicated this pitboard to him at Hungary saying "They love him"
Who Could Replace Felipe Massa At Ferrari?
Although Felipe Massa’s condition is said to be “improving” there are underlying doubts that the Brazilian will compete in the European Grand Prix at Valencia in 4 weeks time. There are some doubts to when he will return, and if he will during the entireity of 2009. This has sparked a huge debate on who could race for Ferrari, and here I take a look at some of the possibilities Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo could be assessing in the next few weeks. Get well soon Felipe!
Luca Badoer
Luca Badoer is Ferrari’s main test driver and has been with the team for sometime. The Italian also drove for Minardi, Scuderia Italia and Forti throughout the early 1990’s, and despite competing in many races he failed to score a point. His last appearance in a race 10 years ago with Minardi could mean he is out of form and fitness, but he has done plenty of testing especially with the KERS system.
Marc Gene
Marc Gene is Ferrari’s “other” test driver, and works a lot on straightline speed testing. He drove for Minardi in 1999 and 2000, before moving to test with Williams where he was a substitute driver for 3 races. He is also a factory team Le Mans driver for Peugeot meaning he is fit and healthy enough to haul an F1 car around for 2 hours. Scoring points on his substitution for Williams in 2003 is impressive, and he would be my choice of the two test drivers.
Michael Schumacher
The most successful F1 driver ever, and Ferrari’s darling looks like the obvious choice on paper. Indeed he has everything going for him, and keeping his hand in with occasional testing he should have no problems with the F2009. However his manager has cast doubts on his return, and Schuey has always denied wanting to drive again. Could he be the one to help them out of a rut? I’d like to think so, and so would Bernie Ecclestone who must be rubbing his hands with glee at the chance of getting Schu back in a car.
Fernando Alonso
A bit of an “off-the-wall” choice, but it does make some sense. Rumour says Alonso has signed a contract for 2010 with Ferrari, and with Renault being suspended from the next GP there is a slim chance Alonso could make his Ferrari debut some 8 months earlier than expected at another ‘home’ GP of Valencia. It would be quite interesting to see the Spaniard alongside Raikkonen.
Bruno Senna
No-one has really considered Senna’s impressive nephew Bruno, but he has no race seat and is a proven fast driver. He also drove at the Ferrari anniversary celebrations at Silverstone a few years back. He’s young, fast and this could be a perfect break for him.
Selected Others:
Sebastien Bourdais – About as likely as me to get the drive
Niki Lauda -I think he was joking
Takuma Sato – Probably more likely than Bourdais
Renault Handed European Grand Prix Race Ban After Alonso Tyre Failure
The Renault F1 Team have been handed a suspension from the next round of the FIA Formula One World Championship in Valencia, the European Grand Prix after Fernando Alonso’s tyre incident in this afternoon’s Hungarian GP.
The Spaniard was released from the pits, his first scheduled stop with the front right hand wheel not correctly attached. The wheel hun “spinner” then spun round at high speed, undoing the centre nut and releasing the tyre from its housing sending it bouncing down the Hungaoring circuit. It was a tyre that hit Henry Surtees’ helmet in Formula 2 last week, killing the 19 year old.
The FIA reprimanded the team under safety breach 3.2 with article 32.1.i being broken, with the car being knowingly released from a pitstop without being safe.
The statement said that Renault “knowingly released car no. 7 from the pitstop position without one of the retaining devices for the wheel-nuts being securely in position, this being an indication that the wheel itself may not have been properly secured.”
It added that Renault, “being aware of this, failed to take any action to prevent the car from leaving the pitlane….failed to inform the driver of this problem or to advise him to take appropriate action given the circumstances, even though the driver contacted the team by radio believing he had a puncture.”
Renault will appeal the decision, with an appeal, the letter and 6,000 Euro fee being lodged around 20 minutes ago by Renault management at the circuit. The hearing will likely take place within the next 2 weeks.
Alonso's Renault with the near wheel rim clearly out of position compared with the other Renault of Nelson Piquet passing.
Meanwhile Kimi Raikkonen was cleared of any wrong doing in connection with making contact with Sebastian Vettel, the stewards deemed he lost control of the car and touched in a “racing incident”.
Hungarian GP 2009: Hamilton Takes First Win Of Season
The reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton has taken his first win of the season in a tables turned Grand Prix in Hungary.
Race Review
Fernando Alonso led from the start, having a good getaway from pole position and pulling away from the pack on his light fuel load which would see him pit on lap 12.
Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton had good getaway’s with their KERS enabled cars, squeezing 4 cars abreast the main straight. Sebastian Vettel was one of the drivers swallowed up by the fatser cars. Raikkonen forced Hamilton into Vettel as the cars squeezed into turn 1. There was a lot of positional swapping, but Hamilton made a move around the outside of Mark Webber stick for 2nd place.
During this move, Webber came towards Raikkonen who lost the backend of the Ferrari sliding into Vettel causing damage to the Red Bull car which later led to the German’s retirement although both would continue. Raikkonen is under investigation for the incident.
Alonso pitted on lap 12, and there was a problem – his wheel mechanic on the front right failed to secure the over aerodynamic rim. As such the wheel cover came lose, spun around and pulled the nut out of the centre of the tyre causing it to fly off half way around the lap. Alonso crawled back to the pits with 3 wheels, did another lap but it was clear that there was some terminal damage to the Renault.
Hamilton then dominated the rest of the race, failing to lose his position at the front. When Raikkonen and Webber pitted, a problem for the Red Bull crew mated to pulling Webber out into the path of Kimi allowed the Ferrari driver in front, into 2nd position. It looked as though the Finn might catch Hamilton in the McLaren but it never came to fruition and Webber stuck in for 3 place too.
With Nico Rosberg making 4th place, and a valiant effort from Kazuki Nakajima the Williams team showed improvements too. Unlike Brawn, Barrichello ended up in 18th position off the start, and Jenson Button never really looked like troubling the top guys with an oversteering Brawn he kept continually complaining about. It doesn’t seem like the monster car that took him to the top of the points table. His only salvation would be that Vettel retired half way through the race with a suspension problem.
Jaime Alguersuari completed an uneventful first GP, just cruising around out of trouble managing though to beat his team mate Sebastien Buemi who spun late on into the race.
Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | L. Hamilton | McLaren Mercedes | 1.38.23.876 |
| 2 | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | +11.529 |
| 3 | M. Webber | Red Bull Renault | +16.886 |
| 4 | N. Rosberg | Williams Toyota | +26.967 |
| 5 | H. Kovalainen | McLaren Mercedes | +34.392 |
| 6 | T. Glock | Toyota | +35.237 |
| 7 | J. Button | Brawn Mercedes | +55.088 |
| 8 | J. Trulli | Toyota | +1.08.172 |
| 9 | K. Nakajima | Williams Toyota | +1.08.774 |
| 10 | R. Barrichello | Brawn Mercedes | +1.09.256 |
| 11 | N. Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | +1.10.612 |
| 12 | N. Piquet | Renault | +1.11.512 |
| 13 | R. Kubica | BMW Sauber | +1.14.046 |
| 14 | G. Fisichella | Force India Merc | +1 lap |
| 15 | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 16 | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso Ferrari | +1 lap |
Fastest Lap: M Webber, Red Bull – 1.21.931
Retirements
| Driver | Team | Lap | Reason |
| S. Vettel | Red Bull Renault | 30 | Suspension |
| F. Alonso | Renault | 16 | Tyre Failure |
| A. Sutil | Force India Merc | 2 | Water Pressure |
| F. Massa | Ferrari | DNS | QLF Accident |
Felipe Massa Undergoes Successful Surgery After Crash In Hungary
Reports from Ferrari say that Felipe Massa has undergone successful surgery on his injuries from the horror crash in this afternoon’s Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session.
The Brazilian was hit by a piece of debris from Rubens Barrichello’s suspension which hit Massa on the helmet at his speed, knocking him unconcious. The Ferrari then smashed into the barriers.
He was airlifted to the AEK hospital in Budapest, where it was revealed his had a fractured skull amongst other injuries.
“After the accident during the qualifying session of the Grand Prix of Hungary, Felipe Massa was airlifted to the AEK hospital in Budapest,” the early Ferrari statement said. “Felipe was conscious at the arrival at the hospital and his general conditions remain stable.
“Following a complete medical examination it emerged that he had suffered a cut on his forehead, a bone damage of his skull and a brain concussion. These conditions need to be operated on after which he will remain under observation in intensive care.”
After surgery Ferrari said he was in a stable condition in intensive care, a statement backed up by Rubens Barrichello on his official Twitter page where he said Massa was comfortable, sleeping and had a clear brain scan. Barrichello also said Massa’s family were on the way to Hungary.
He will clearly not race in tomorrow’s GP, and is unlikely to return at Valencia in 3 weeks time, where speculation is rife over who will replace him.
Hungarian GP 2009: Alonso Takes Pole As Massa Hits Wall In Horror Crash
Fernando Alonso has taken pole position in a highly chaotic qualifying session, which saw Felipe Massa taken away in a medical helicopter and the FOM lose timing screens.
Alonso outqualified everyone in a Renault car which looked unbeliveable, reminding us that the French team based in Enstone could make race winning cars. He will be alongside Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber just behind in 3rd for tomorrow’s race.
A better McLaren car this weekend has seen improvements from both drivers with Lewis Hamilton starting in 4th, Kovalainen 6th split by Nico Rosberg of the Williams team.
Raikkonen will start the race 7th, his team mate Felipe Massa had a horror crash at the end of Q2. He was racing around when he was hit on the helmet (in a similar fashion to Henry Surtees) by a piece of Rubens Barrichello’s suspension. It knocked him out and his Ferrari went straight into the wall. He managed to brake a little bit, but still smashed into the tyres with enough force to light up the emergency G-Light. He has been airlifted to hospital and is said to be in a stable condition – more news when we have it.
Rubens Barrichello got knocked out in Q2, and will only start 13th behind Sebastien Buemi who did a marvellous performance to 12th. Toyota looked disappointing again, just scraping in. Not as disappointing as their German based counterparts BMW Sauber who failed to get out of Q1. Heads will be rolling at Munich for sure.
Jaime Alguersuari will start last after a good Q1, he attempted to better his time but the Toro Rosso car broke down on his out lap. Harsh luckl for the 19 year old who wasn’t too downbeat.
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 1. Alonso Renault (B) 1:21.313 1:20.826 1:21.569 2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:21.178 1:20.604 1:21.607 3. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:20.964 1:20.358 1:21.741 4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:20.842 1:20.465 1:21.839 5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:20.793 1:20.862 1:21.890 6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.659 1:20.807 1:22.095 7. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:21.500 1:20.647 1:22.468 8. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:21.471 1:20.707 1:22.511 9. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:21.407 1:20.570 1:22.835 10. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:21.420 1:20.823 11. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:21.571 1:21.002 12. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:21.416 1:21.082 13. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:21.558 1:21.222 14. Glock Toyota (B) 1:21.584 1:21.242 15. Piquet Renault (B) 1:21.278 1:21.389 16. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:21.738 17. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:21.807 18. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:21.868 19. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:21.901 20. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:22.359
Hungarian GP 2009: McLaren Stun Pack With Top 2 In FP2
McLaren stunned the Formula One field today with a 1-2 finish in Free Practice 2 at the Hungaoring. With Kovalainen on top in FP1 aswell, fans of the silver arrows would be forgiven for thinking a front row start could be on the cards.
Williams remained strong, and Sebastian Vettel picked up the pace for Red Bull. Felipe Massa crashed down the timesheets, and Jaime Alguersuari bettered his morning time, but remained in last place after his first day of being an F1 driver.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.079 36 2. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.126 + 0.047 36 3. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.154 + 0.075 47 4. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.369 + 0.290 29 5. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.426 + 0.347 40 6. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.550 + 0.471 30 7. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:22.641 + 0.562 38 8. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:22.663 + 0.584 28 9. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:22.690 + 0.611 43 10. Glock Toyota (B) 1:22.751 + 0.672 45 11. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:22.763 + 0.684 38 12. Alonso Renault (B) 1:22.793 + 0.714 37 13. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:22.806 + 0.727 42 14. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:22.870 + 0.791 36 15. Piquet Renault (B) 1:22.927 + 0.848 36 16. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:22.978 + 0.899 28 17. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:23.029 + 0.950 39 18. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:23.156 + 1.077 32 19. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.176 + 1.097 45 20. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.942 + 1.863 40
Hungarian GP 2009: Kovalainen Fastest For McLaren In FP1
Last year’s race winner Heikki Kovalainen was fastest in FP1, slipping ahead of Mark Webber who had led until 6 minutes remaining. A valiant effort from McLaren saw Lewis Hamilton in 3rd.
Williams too looked impressive with 2nd and 5th, Ferrari down in 7th and 8th and Jaime Alguersuari was last on his debut run with the Toro Rosso.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.278 21 2. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.337 + 0.059 27 3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.554 + 0.276 20 4. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.615 + 0.337 21 5. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.619 + 0.341 25 6. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:22.705 + 0.427 17 7. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:22.796 + 0.518 23 8. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:22.855 + 0.577 25 9. Alonso Renault (B) 1:23.001 + 0.723 28 10. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:23.130 + 0.852 25 11. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:23.146 + 0.868 24 12. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:23.154 + 0.876 23 13. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:23.209 + 0.931 24 14. Glock Toyota (B) 1:23.234 + 0.956 30 15. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:23.283 + 1.005 25 16. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:23.484 + 1.206 20 17. Piquet Renault (B) 1:23.678 + 1.400 22 18. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:23.845 + 1.567 18 19. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.998 + 1.720 37 20. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:24.228 + 1.950 42
My Day At The Williams Factory – Thanks To Philips
Today I went on the visit to the Williams factory, which I wrote a preliminary article on a few days ago ( http://f1fanatics.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/going-to-the-williams-factory-next-week-competition-time/ ) . The day has been utterly fantastic, and here I shall write a few things regarding the day, visiting the museum and factory of Williams at the pleasure of the team and Philips who are running the great competition to drive an F1 car (see link in blog roll).
I was up bright and early for the drive down to Williams, a quick word with the gentleman on the gatehouse and parked the car up outside the facility known as the RBS Williams Conference Centre. It was formerly where BMW built their Le Mans car, which won and when this happened tied with BMW leaving Williams as an engine supplier in 2005, they vacated the building which now houses the conference facilities and the museum. Indeed, as you walk through the doors, past a fantastic topiary of a pit stop, there are two F1 cars greeting you, a 2008 Williams FW30 and a 1997 Jacques Villeneuve Williams suspended from the ceiling. I met the gentlemen from Synergy who were hosting us, and also some other bloggers and writers from all kinds of sites. We then met two Williams reps, and we were split into groups for the factory tour.
My tour was headed up by Millie, who not just a pretty face appeared to know a fair bit about F1. Which is just as well really! We started in the seat fitters part of the factory, where we had a chat and a look round with a gentleman who loved his job, he just adored seats and making them perfectly. We looked at the materials used, and also how different drivers have different needs. 2 anecdotes now; Mark Webber managed to get a stress fracture to his ribs while driving for Williams in 2005 after a ridge in the seat pressed against them. And secondly, the man who spoke with us said his worst “customer” was Juan Pablo Montoya, who over the course of 2004 managed to put on 10kg’s of weight over the season making him almost too overweight to fit in the car!
Next stop on the tour was the composite carbon fibre factory, where Paul (one of 8!) talked to us about various parts they make from Carbon Fibre, and how it is probably one of the best materials for racing cars. He showed us how they make front and rear end safety zones, and how the carbon is layered to allow it to crumple in an accident. We also saw a glimpse of a sheet of developments for the FW31, which was whisked away in seconds! Moving through into the factory where machinists were we met Bernie, a man who has worked for the team since it’s existence. He really hammered home what a great place it was to work, and how it was a family. I was told later that Sir Frank Williams often wheels himself around the factory, and knows almost everyone by name. Here we saw parts, and discussed how they made the cars super-light-weight, including using titanium spinners in the gearbox, with small holes to allow just enough oil to be sprayed into the gearbox to keep it running and keep weight down! Mind you, the ballasts we saw add a heck of a lot of weight! Moving on, we saw the race bays where the cars are taken apart and put back together, unfortunately most were gone just a display car left thanks to the Hungarian Grand Prix taking place this weekend. On from there we go the chance to visit another Paul, who talked us through various parts in an engine, exhausts and even showing us the size of the internal brakes. We also saw the simulator, and spoke with Jeff Callam, who would answer our questions later on.
Back to the Silverstone boardroom suite, and with jokes about “Sir Alan, I’m sorry – nope you’re fired” we settled down to talk with Sam Michael, the Williams tech chief. A very interesting man, who came across very well and clear in his knowledge field. He admitted that he felt the FIA were holding back development, F1 did have corporate responsibility to be green, and indeed he always wanted to be an engineer not a driver (but wouldn’t mind a go in one of the cars!). Jeff Callam was adamant that the simulator was vital in giving the driver’s the edge, and giving junior drivers a chance to see the tracks. He cited Nico Hulkenberg as a good example, with him driving 2 tracks he had never seen before and getting 2 3rd place qualifications, indeed he was fastest at Silverstone having only done 1 installation lap previous after an engine failure.
We then headed off down to the museum, and after a theatre style film ‘bigging’ up the Williams team, with interviews even from the gardener we got to see the cars, almost one from every year through to 2007, with informative films and footage throughout. The first Williams winner, the 6 wheeler, Senna’s 1994 car, the 1997 Villeneuve car with a dent where Schumacher hit it, right through to Alex Wurz’s actual 2007 race car from late in the season. Along with a trip to the well stocked trophy room, and a good laugh at some of the terrible looking trophies (Adelaide’s plastic cup comes to mind, or perhaps the Fosters pint glass), the day was almost done. We luncheoned, and talked F1 politics from Scott Speed, to the Canadian Grand Prix to even FOTA and the future of the FIA (and an almost golden handshake that Jean Todt will be the next president).
And that was the day, a terrific one though it has to be said!
I would like to extend thanks, and special words for:
- Martin Uttley, for the opportunity
- The guys at Synergy, for putting on a great day on behalf of Philips
- Camilla Graham-Enock for a great tour
- Paul, Bernie, Paul and all the other guys we met on our tour
Don’t forget to enter the competition at; http://www.attwilliams.philips.com/
This will be permalinked to Rob’s Column
Was fantastic to meet the guys from BritsonPole.com, F1Badger, Duncan “Doctor Vee”, Richard from F1Fans, the guys from Mobil1 and Gilette Speed Vision and everyone else who was running sites!
Villeneuve Says He Will Return To F1 In 2010 – Could It Be USF1?
Jacques Villeneuve WILL return to Formula One from the 2010 Formula One season he told German car magazine Sport Bild this week.
The Canadian is expected to race for the new American based team USF1, powered by Cosworth engines and headed up by Grand Prix veteran Peter Windsor.
Villeneuve has failed to establish himself in NASCAR, and after attending races recently the 1997 World Champion liked the return to slick tyres and flatter wings.
“It is true, I will return to Formula One.” Villeneuve told the magazine, but refused to say which team.
Meanwhile, USF1 said that their 2010 car or at least the first inception of it will be ready by October.
“Quite a lot of it is ready to manufacture,”Ken Anderson told Autosport Magazine (out tomorrow)
“The chassis is locked down, because we were waiting to hear if the [Cosworth] engine rev limit was 20,000rpm or 18,000rpm.
“The chaps will now start building the chassis in August. We will have it rolling on the ground in late September, without bodywork or stuff, and then the bodywork will get added in October.”
Alguersuari Confirmed At Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersuari has been confirmed to have gained the race seat vacated by Sebastien Bourdais at the Scuderia Toro Rosso team.
Alguersuari from Spain will become the youngest ever person to compete in a Formula One Grand Prix at the age of just 19 years and 4 months. He is one month younger than the previous record holder, Mike Thackwell who made his F1 debut at the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix and three months younger than when fellow Spaniard Fernando Alonso made his debut.
New boss Franz Tost said he is not expecting anything from the young man, but Alguersuari himself is hoping for good things of the STR.
“I would like to thank Red Bull for giving me this great opportunity to race in Formula 1,” he said.
“Ever since I started racing this has been my dream and thanks to the Red Bull Junior Programme I will now realise my ambition of lining up on a Grand Prix grid.
“I am aware that I’m facing a very tough challenge, because coming into Formula 1 is never easy, coming into Formula 1 in the middle of a season is even harder and doing so without any testing is really difficult. But already I feel that I am getting great support from the team, who have quite a reputation for looking after rookie drivers.”
Alguersuari also confirmed he will continue to race in Formula Renault 3.5. He also extended his condolences to the Surtees family after yesterday’s death of friend Henry Surtees, whom he raced with at Carlin Motorsport in F3.
R.I.P Henry Surtees 1991-2009
Henry Surtees, the race car driver son of famous F1 and Motorbike world champion John Surtees has tragically died at the age of just 18 years in an accident at Brands Hatch this afternoon.
He was racing in the Formula 2 series, headed up by Jonathan Palmer and the cars produced by Williams Grand Prix Engineering. Famous former drivers son’s are in the series, including Alex Brundle and Jolyon Palmer.
Surtess was hit on the head by a flying tyre from Jack Clarke’s crashed car, in a tragic incident. Surtees was knocked unconscious, before his car smashed into the barriers at Sheene Corner at a high rate of speed. He was clearly in trouble as his foot was stuck to the accelerator and no movement was seen inside the cockpit.
Medical crews acted quickly, and he was airlifted to the Royal London Hospital where he would tragically later die.
Henry, who will now sadly be outlived by his father John famous for being the only man to win world championships in Formula One and Motorbike racing, was a hot prospect for a future drive in the pinnacle of motorsport F1.
Surtees had driven in Ginetta Juniors in 2006, before going to single seaters racing with Carlin Motorsport in Formula BMW UK. In 2008 he drove for Formula Renault, before graduating to the new F2 series for 2009. He gained his first podium in F2 in yesterday’s Brands Hatch race.
Our thoughts and condolences are with the Surtees family on this fateful day.
R.I.P HENRY SURTEES.
Trulli Closing On 2010 Toyota Contract
Jarno Trulli is said to be close to securing a contract to drive for the Toyota team again in 2010.
The Italian, who is now approaching 37 years of age will enter another season with the Japanese team who are based in Cologne, Germany. Trulli has driven for them since 2005, when he and Ralf Schumacher joined the team taking over from an unsuccessful spell with Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta.
Jarno has been involved in F1 since 1997, where he started out with the Minardi team before jumping ship to Prost midway through the season. He stayed with the French team until 1999, joining Jordan in 2000 whom he raced with until the end of 2001. For 2002-2004 he drove for Renault, and has one career victory at Monaco in the 04 season to his name.
Toyota have been looking to secure the veteran’s services after the team allegedly failed to attract Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen to a seat for 2010. Toyota are one of the few teams that could afford his lavish salary which is in the tens of millions of dollars.
“At the moment I am driving, and really enjoying it,” Trulli told Autosport about his thoughts for the future. “As long as you drive quick there is no reason to be concerned.
“Obviously you don’t know what is going to happen, as it is hard to see where F1 is heading to at the moment, but that will all be clear soon.
“I am happy about my performance and confidence. And for sure in my mind I don’t have the feeling I want to stop because I feel I have a lot to do. I feel very strong and very competitive, so I just hope I can stay in F1 and I am confident, but it is difficult to talk at the moment because the teams are busy doing other things at the moment.”
Alguersuari On Verge Of Toro Seat, Bringing In Spanish Cash
Jaime Alguersuari is on the verge of being confirmed as Sebastien Bourdais’s successor to the Toro Rosso race seat today, after straight line speed testing in Italy.
The 19 year old Spaniard will become the youngest F1 driver in history if he takes the wheel of the STR4 at the Hungaoring next weekend, trying to bring some good fortune and points to the Faenza based team.
He has hardly done any testing with the team, and close friend Ferrari tester and former Minardi driver Marc Gene says will mean he is going to have a hard debut.
“Jaime is ready, but there are lot of factors playing against him,” the 2009 Le Mans winner told Diario Sport.
“No testing, and Hungary is a tough track” he added
Alguersuari has another bonus for Toro Rosso, sponsorship. In a move which will remind older viewers of the Minardi days, he is backed by various Spanish companies including Repsol, who have sent around $2million to Italy trying t guarantee the seat for their man.
Fortunately for the 19 year old, he is a good driver too – unlike some of those who have in the past bought their seats…
Williams May Never Race It’s KERS System
Williams, the team based in Grove Oxfrodshire may well never use their Kinetic Energy Recovery system, having not brought it onto the FW31 for 2009 and with the teams unilaterally deciding not to use it in 2010 the system may never feature.
The reason it is more notable for Williams, than say other teams that have not used the system like Brawn, Red Bull and Force India is because after purchasing an energy recovery company, they set about creating a different system to all the other teams harnessing power from the flywheel of the engine.
But, the owner of the team Sir Frank Williams claims that all is not lost with the system; “[KERS] has very useful and truly interesting commercial applications.”
“It’s got its own life in that direction,” he is quoted as saying by Reuters.
Todt Confirms FIA Presidency Bid
Jean Todt, the former director of Ferrari has announced his intention to become the new president of the Formula International Association – FIA.
Max Mosley, the current president who has always been followed with controversy announced he is stepping down, and will support Todt’s bid for the top.
Todt will be rivalled by former rally champion Ari Vatanen who was on the grid in Germany trying to drum up some support.
Jean Todt released the following statement today:
“Following the decision of Max Mosley not to seek a further term of office and his unequivocal support of my candidacy, I have written to the FIA membership to inform them that I wish to stand for the presidency of the FIA.
“It is my intention to continue and expand the outstanding work of President Mosley, who for 16 years has worked tirelessly to strengthen the FIA’s major motorsport championships and to position the FIA as the voice of the motoring public, actively promoting safe, clean and affordable mobility for all.
“Given the unique structure of the FIA and its twin roles in sport and mobility it takes more than a president to run the organisation and I am delighted to announce my leadership team.
“For the position of deputy president for mobility I would propose Brian Gibbons, chief executive of the New Zealand Automobile Association; for deputy president for sport I would propose, Graham Stoker, chairman of the Council of the UK’s Motor Sports Association; and for president of the Senate I would propose Nick Craw, president of ACCUS and the current FIA deputy president (sport).
“I am confident that together we will offer the FIA the opportunity to elect a dynamic leadership team of outstanding experience and commitment. “
Going To The Williams Factory Next Week – Competition Time!
Dear readers,
I hope you would be most interested to hear that I am being fortunate enough to visit the AT&T Williams F1 Team factory in Grove next week. I shall have the opportunity to tour the factory, meet the engineers of Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima’s cars, and also the chance to look around the museum of the multiple world championship winning team.
I shall naturally report back to you about my day with plenty of photos (fingers crossed!).
It is a great opportunity for myself, but have no fear readers there is a competition being put on by my hosts that they thought you would all be interested in! Philips are offering the chance to win a drive of a Williams F1 car!!
You can enter here: http://www.attwilliams.philips.com/
I would like to thank Williams, AT&T, Philips and Martin Utley for the opportunity to visit the factory ahead of the day next week.
Regards,
Robert.
Bourdais Sacked – It’s Official!
Sebastien Bourdais has officially been fired from his seat at Scuderia Toro Rosso.
The French driver, who is one of the most successful ChampCar drivers of all time, never really fired up in Formula One during his one and a half seasons with the former Minardi team.
In 2008, Bourdais came on the scene with great expectations and he had a good debut. However further on into the season, he was involved in various calamities, and became totally outclassed by German team-mate Sebastian Vettel who took Toro Rosso’s first ever win at the Italian Grand Prix.
He was retained for 2009, but became an accident waiting to happen. His incident with Heikki Kovalainen at the British Grand Prix looked the final straw, and after retirement from the German GP, emotional good-byes from Bourdais a man who often bursts into tears looked like the partnership was over.
“In Sebastien’s second year with us, the partnership has not met our expectations and therefore we have decided to replace him as from the next round of the world championship, the Hungarian Grand Prix,” said Franz Tost, team manager.
Whose waiting in the wings? Well, the number 1 most likely replacement for Bourdais is Jaime Alguersuari who has been told to go testing this week with the 2009 car. Bruno Senna, the popular GP2 driver; Nelson Piquet Jr [if he has been sacked] and Takuma Sato [who tested for Toro Rosso during the winter] are all likely candidates for the challenge too. Only time will tell…
Au Revoir Bourdais!
Nelson Piquet Jr Fired?
Rumour from Brazilian sports television network SporTV is suggesting that underperforming Brazilian racer Nelson Piquet Jr has been sacked from his role as driver with the Renault team.
Piquet, whose father is the legendary Nelson Piquet the winner of three world championship titles, has consistently underperformed in F1 leading to rumours suggesting his sacking last season, and all the way through this season. Flavio Briatore has supported the young driver, but he is said to be at the end of his tether.
L’Equipe of France says that Renault have every right to oust Piquet Jr.
Romain Grosjean, the GP2 maestro is said to be in position to take over, with Lucas di Grassi becoming Renault tester. Naturally, Bruno Senna is connected with the drive, perhaps even Sebastien Bourdais who is said to have been fired by Toro Rosso.
The truth in this rumour is as yet unknown, we will tell you more when we can – I am trying to contact Nelson as we speak.
Trulli Calls On Toyota For Massive Update
Jarno Trulli has called on his Toyota team to provide a large aerodynamic update soon as the Japanese team, based in Cologne fall behind rivals towards the back of the field.
Toyota began the season very strongly, with a double-decker diffuser and a good aero package they were competing for podiums and had a good points haul. However the other teams have begun catch-up and more-often-than-not, Trulli along with Glock find themselves right down the standings.
Red Bull Racing brought in new aero and have won 2 races, Ferrari and McLaren too have seen improvements.
“If we want to raise our game, it’s now time to take a big step in terms of downforce,” Trulli said this morning.
“If we keep improving as we have done until now, we will just maintain the gap.
“I was very pleased with the start of the year – the team did a great job. But if we want to change our season, the only way to do it is to do what Red Bull did in Britain.”
Button Remains Confident Despite Title Setbacks
Jenson Button has told reporters that he remains confident of winning the 2009 Drivers world championship title despite setbacks in the past 2 races in Germany and England.
The Englishman has lost out to Red Bull Racing’s driver pairing at the events, and with Ferrari and Williams closing the gap Button is looking ever more exposed.
However with warmer circuits, which will suit the Brawn and also some aerodynamic package updates, Button reckons he’ll be back on top of the podium soon.
“We are very experienced at being midfield, so we know all the little details and that everything has to be perfect to be competitive. We will be stronger in Hungary and I am glad we’ve got these two races out of the way, I just wish we had a few more points out of them.” Button informed Autosport.com
“You have to worry but I don’t think it is a ‘oh damn we are going to lose the championship. It is a ‘come on, let’s make the difference’. We have some new parts for Hungary, and I am looking forward to it. We know our car will be strong there, but we don’t know how strong. We have to wait and see.”
He added: “We’ve got to look forward to it. It’s only two weeks away, so not too long. Something on the aero package is new and it is a hot circuit – so let’s hope we are quick there, because if we are not then we have got a problem.”
