Hungarian GP 2010: Vettel Fastest As Ferrari Find Form In FP2
Sebastian Vettel remained fastest in FP2 in Hungary but not by much as Fernando Alonso and his Ferrari team found more form.
Also worth noting (okay so he had a problem!) but Sakon Yamamoto was FASTER than another car. Amazing.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:20.087 33 2. Alonso Ferrari 1:20.584 + 0.497 34 3. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:20.597 + 0.510 36 4. Massa Ferrari 1:20.986 + 0.899 33 5. Petrov Renault 1:21.195 + 1.108 33 6. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.308 + 1.221 30 7. Kubica Renault 1:21.375 + 1.288 37 8. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:21.623 + 1.536 41 9. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.730 + 1.643 33 10. Schumacher Mercedes 1:21.773 + 1.686 31 11. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:21.809 + 1.722 38 12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:21.844 + 1.757 36 13. Rosberg Mercedes 1:22.039 + 1.952 28 14. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:22.212 + 2.125 37 15. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:22.469 + 2.382 43 16. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:22.507 + 2.420 22 17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:22.602 + 2.515 38 18. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:23.138 + 3.051 36 19. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:24.553 + 4.466 37 20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:25.376 + 5.289 35 21. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:25.669 + 5.582 32 22. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:26.745 + 6.658 33 23. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:26.798 + 6.711 32 24. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:27.705 + 7.618 5
Hungarian GP 2010: Vettel Flies In FP1
Red Bull Racing looked once again hugely dominant in FP1 as Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:20.976 29 2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:21.106 + 0.130 27 3. Kubica Renault 1:22.072 + 1.096 21 4. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.444 + 1.468 17 5. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:22.601 + 1.625 25 6. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:22.764 + 1.788 24 7. Alonso Ferrari 1:22.772 + 1.796 25 8. Rosberg Mercedes 1:22.777 + 1.801 25 9. Schumacher Mercedes 1:22.792 + 1.816 26 10. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:22.966 + 1.990 25 11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:23.003 + 2.027 19 12. Massa Ferrari 1:23.007 + 2.031 26 13. Petrov Renault 1:23.249 + 2.273 24 14. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:23.327 + 2.351 23 15. di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:23.520 + 2.544 19 16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:23.780 + 2.804 22 17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:23.868 + 2.892 28 18. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:24.075 + 3.099 15 19. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:25.032 + 4.056 22 20. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:25.210 + 4.234 23 21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:25.990 + 5.014 21 22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:26.686 + 5.710 17 23. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:26.990 + 6.014 34 24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:28.157 + 7.181 24
Lotus Plans to Increase IndyCar Involvement
Lotus, who returned to Formula One for the 2010 season, have announced they plan to increase their involvement with the Indycar series from 2012.
The manufacturer, who won the prestigious Indianapolis 500 in 1965 and 1966, are currently running a car in the series fully liveried to match the Formula One cars. It is being driven by Takuma Sato, formerly of Honda and Jordan in F1.
Their increase in involvement is said to revolve around designing an aerodynamic package for the new Dallara chassis,a next generation chassis that teams can purchase and create various aerodynamic packs for. The packages of wings and aero have to be designed to work on ovals, and another to work on the street circuits that the series visits following its tie in with ChampCar some seasons ago.
Lotus Cars motorsport director Claudio Berro said: “We plan to do our own bodykit. It is a natural evolution of our involvement in the IndyCar Series.”
Monaco Secure New GP Deal
Monaco have secured a new deal to host Formula One Grand Prix’s it was revealed this evening.
The event, often labelled “the blue ribband” of F1, was potentially under threat following comments from Bernie Ecclestone that no event on the calendar, not even Monte Carlo was safe from being removed.
However the tight exciting street circuit, which is known for fast and furious races where the cars scrape the barriers through corners like Lowes Hairpin, the Swimming Pool and the infamous tunnel, is now set to be a fixture on the calendar until 2020.
The new 10 years deal was confirmed in London this morning, with next years Grand Prix date for Monaco being set as the 29th May.
Ecclestone Predicts Grid Shrink Before End Of Season
Bernie Ecclestone has said today that he believes the Formula One grid will shrink before the end of the season with one or two teams falling by the way side.
The ring leader of F1 was talking to The Daily Telegraph in an exclusive interview about the state of the teams in F1 today. While there had been a lot of concern surrounding Renault recently, Ecclestone canned fears that they might be leaving the sport by stating that Genii Capital who own the team were in good financial condition.
”All that was [the Renault situation] was the fact that one of the shareholders didn’t want to take money from another one of his companies because that would have meant convening a board meeting,” Ecclestone said.
“But I never gave them the money. And they got over the crisis so everything is fine.”
However Ecclestone was no so bouyant about the state of other teams in F1. He reckons that one team is very likely to leave, and another may well follow. He also downplayed the significance of the new teams that entered the sport at the start of 2010 claiming that Lotus were the only serious and important team.
“I would not be surprised if one or two of them did not make the end of the season. I think there are a couple of teams in Formula 1 who really shouldn’t be there. They are a bit out of their depth at the moment.”
“All we ever want is 10 teams,” he said. “Lotus is a good name. I wouldn’t want to lose them. But in general this year has been a bit of a nuisance because it has cost money to keep these [struggling] teams in. It has cost a lot of money to pay for them to compete.
“The bottom line is they haven’t really and truly given us value for being there. If suddenly these teams don’t turn up at races then I don’t think the crowds will get any smaller, or the TV sets will turn off, or the newspapers will stop writing, will they?”
With F1 looking for another team to take the empty place of the failed USF1 project for 2011, it really devalues their position. With regard the team that is most likely to leave, that is almost certainly a reference to Hispania. HRT were a last minute team, and have already been in financial struggles. There is great paddock rumour that Bernie himself paid out for the team to continue running, but they had to use Indian driver Karun Chandhok. Now he has been dropped from the team, Bernie seems to be telling it how it is.
He also didn’t seem convinced then about Virgin Racing in the sport, despite the fact that Timo Glock is near the pace of the Lotus’. It would be a big surprise if they were packing their bags and leaving F1 at the end of the season.
Yamamoto Retains Hispania Seat Despite Poor Results
Sakon Yamamoto has retained his race seat with Hispania for the Hungarian Grand Prix, despite poor performances across the weekend in both of his previous races.
The Japanese driver, who has previous race experience with Spyker and Super Aguri, was drafted in as a replacement for Bruno Senna at the British Grand Prix. However last weekend Senna was back for the German Grand Prix, and popular Indian racer Karun Chandhok was dropped.
There has been a furor of speculation surrounding the appointment of Yamamoto, who was a second slower than Tonio Liuzzi in qualifying for the German Grand Prix – worth noting the Italian had smashed his car up only 3 laps in to qualifying too, with people suggesting the decision revolves entirely around money.
If the decision was on driver skill then the other test driver, one of the sports most overlooked men, Christian Klien should be racing.
“I can’t wait to go back to the Hungaroring as I know the circuit already very well from my Formula 1 races with Super Aguri, Spyker F1 and with ART in GP2 series,” said Yamamoto in a team preview.
The team say they are retaining Chandhok, but the chances of him racing again this season are looking slimmer by the day.
Ecclestone Thinks Team Orders Rule Should Be Dropped
Bernie Ecclestone, the owner of Formula One says that the team orders ban in Formula One must be dropped following the incident in last weekend’s German Grand Prix where Ferrari switched Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso so that the Spaniard could win the Grand Prix.
Team orders had been banned in F1 since 2002 thanks to a similar incident involving Ferrari, although there have always been allegations of secret orders through many top teams since the ban.
In the wake of last Sunday’s events though, Ecclestone believes it is at the team discretion to have their drivers finish in a particular order, believing F1 to be a team sport rather than one of the individual.
“I must confess I would agree with anyone who thinks that [the team orders rule should be dropped],” said Ecclestone. “We make people call it a team, we say it’s got be a team.
“All the cars have to be exactly the same, the drivers wear the same overalls, so everybody has to look like a team – a team of people that are racing.
“I believe what people do when they are inside the team, and how they run their team is up to them. That’s my opinion.”
When asked if he would push for the rule to be dropped in his high profile position of power within the sport, he added ”I don’t know, we’ll have to see. It’s something that needs to be discussed.
“As far as I’m concerned a team is a team, and they should run it whichever way they want to run it.
“Nobody should interfere as to how they run their team.
“But of course if they do something that’s dangerous then obviously they’re going to be in trouble, otherwise get on with it.”
German GP 2010: Alonso Takes Controversial Victory – Ferrari Fined For Team Orders
Fernando Alonso has won today’s German Grand Prix at Hockenheim in highly controversial circumstances following team orders which led to Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa yielding the lead to Alonso.
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was 3rd.
Race Review
Sebastian Vettel got a poor start off the line unlike Fernando Alonso but the German forced Alonso right into the wall of the pit straight. However the young German ignored Felipe Massa who took the lead, and some how Alonso managed to keep 2nd place.
Lewis Hamilton had a good start and jumped both Jenson Button and Mark Webber.
Immediately there was action and drama with overtaking and break downs. A proper classic race circuit in Hockenheim, albeit not the original track, was on for providing us with a classic.
Jarno Trulli had gearbox issues which really destroyed any chances of a good result for him and he made it back to the pits eventually. Down at the hairpin turn 6, Jaime Alguersuari back ended team mate Sebastian Buemi the Swiss driver lost his rear wing and was forced to retire immediately.
Adrian Sutil had a problem too and the German dived into the pits. Moments later Liuzzi pitted too, and it was only many laps later we learnt that the team had been expecting the cars in a different order hence why a front wing was ready for Sutil when he didn’t need one. This meant that Sutil had Liuzzi’s tyres and Liuzzi had Sutil’s. A bit of a blooper from Force India who had been proving themselves a point scoring team this season. The drivers pitted to swap as the rules stated.
Following the pit stops of the front runners, all except Jenson Button who went for a long run, Fernando Alonso was heavily hassling Felipe Massa who was clearly struggling with the hard tyre. The Spaniard was trying everything to pass, including an audacious move between Massa and back marker Sakon Yamamoto but couldn’t make it stick.
Further back, home hero Michael Schumacher was struggling to pass Robert Kubica but the German finally appeared to have some race spirit back.
Sauber’s Pedro de La Rosa had a crazy race full of overtakes and bumping with other cars, but he only managed 13th in the end. With Kobayashi 11th, neither Sauber managed points on Sauber’s 40th anniversary in motorsport.
It had been a mildly exciting race up until now but the best was yet to come. For the first time in a long time, clear team orders were asked of Felipe Massa. Massa himself now denies the team asked him to move aside, and that he told his engineer he wanted Alonso past. Massa appeared to have a slow get away from the hairpin and Alonso slipped passed. It was a bad moment for Ferrari according to many, most comparing it to 2002 in Austria.
Alonso went on to win the race, and Massa held on to second and Vettel made third. Hamilton was 4th and Button was 5th, points again for McLaren who now have 300 in the constructors title.
Webber was 6th, although he had an oil consumption problem. It will be interesting to see if that affects the engine next week.
With regard the Ferrari team order situation, the team have been fined $100,000 and will have to appear in front of the World Motorsport Council. The classification remains unchanged.
Race Result – POST FIA
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1.28.38.866 |
| 2 | F. Massa | Ferrari | +4.196 |
| 3 | S. Vettel | Red Bull Renault | +5.121 |
| 4 | L. Hamilton | McLaren Mercedes | +26.869 |
| 5 | J. Button | McLaren Mercedes | +29.482 |
| 6 | M. Webber | Red Bull Renault | +43.606 |
| 7 | R. Kubica | Renault | +1 lap |
| 8 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes Benz | +1 lap |
| 9 | M. Schumacher | Mercedes Benz | +1 lap |
| 10 | V. Petrov | Renault | +1 lap |
| 11 | K. Kobayashi | Sauber Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 12 | R. Barrichello | Williams Cosworth | +1 lap |
| 13 | N. Hulkenberg | Williams Cosworth | +1 lap |
| 14 | P. De la Rosa | Sauber Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 15 | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso Ferrari | +1 lap |
| 16 | V. Liuzzi | Force India Mercedes | +2 laps |
| 17 | A Sutil | Force India Mercedes | +2 laps |
| 18 | T. Glock | Virgin Cosworth | +3 laps |
| 19 | B. Senna | Hispania Cosworth | +4 laps |
Retirements
| Driver | Team | Lap | Reason |
| H. Kovalainen | Lotus Cosworth | 58 | Unknown |
| L. di Grassi | Virgin Cosworth | 51 | Failure following spin |
| S. Yamamoto | Hispania Cosworth | 20 | Unknown |
| J. Trulli | Lotus Cosworth | 4 | Gearbox |
| S. Buemi | Toro Rosso Ferrari | 1 | Rear wing |
Post Race Penalties
Scuderia Ferrari – $100,000 for bringing the sport into disrepute through team orders
Heikki Kovalainen – Reprimand, no penalty due to incident with De la Rosa
Force India – Reprimand, no penalty for giving drivers wrong tyres
German GP 2010: Vettel Grabs Pole From Alonso By Tiny Margin
Sebastian Vettel grabbed pole position for tomorrow’s German Grand Prix by the smallest of margins. He beat Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso by just 2 thousands of a second.
Alonso had shown good form throughout the entire session and makes his first front row start of the season as he tries to get his title challenge back on track. Team mate Felipe Massa starts in 3rd, with Mark Webber back in 4th.
Its an all McLaren 3rd row with Jenson Button just outrunning Lewis Hamilton for 5th and 6th.
Home favourite Michael Schumacher didn’t make Q3 as rookie German Nico Hulkenberg sneaked through for Williams, a team which is showing good form.
It was a bad day for Tonio Liuzzi though who smashed his Force India up early into Q1. The crash on the start/finish straight red flagged the session and means he will start only 22nd tomorrow. Still despite completing only one run he will be ahead of the appallingly poor Sakon Yamamoto, and Lucas di Grassi who didn’t complete a flying lap due to a gearbox problem.
We’re all set for a cracking German GP tomorrow!
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:15.152 1:14.249 1:13.791 2. Alonso Ferrari 1:14.808 1:14.081 1:13.793 3. Massa Ferrari 1:15.216 1:14.478 1:14.290 4. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:15.334 1:14.340 1:14.347 5. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.823 1:14.716 1:14.427 6. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.505 1:14.488 1:14.566 7. Kubica Renault 1:15.736 1:14.835 1:15.079 8. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:16.398 1:14.698 1:15.109 9. Rosberg Mercedes 1:16.178 1:15.018 1:15.179 10. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:16.387 1:14.943 1:15.339 11. Schumacher Mercedes 1:16.084 1:15.026 12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:15.951 1:15.084 13. Petrov Renault 1:16.521 1:15.307 14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:16.220 1:15.467 15. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:16.450 1:15.550 16. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:16.664 1:15.588 17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:16.029 1:15.974 18. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:17.583 19. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:18.300 20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:18.343 21. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:18.592 22. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:18.952 23. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:19.844 24. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
German GP 2010: Alonso Fastest In FP2
Fernando Alonso put down a strong marker to the rest of the field by edging Sebastian Vettel to be the fastest driver in FP2. The Spaniard promised Ferrari and its fans better performances, culminating in the world championship title, and this showing of strength for the F10 is a good sign for their fans.
The top 7 was business as usual with Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton locking out the places. Renault and Williams rounded off the top 10.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Alonso Ferrari 1:16.265 35 2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:16.294 + 0.029 26 3. Massa Ferrari 1:16.438 + 0.173 37 4. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:16.585 + 0.320 40 5. Rosberg Mercedes 1:16.827 + 0.562 32 6. Schumacher Mercedes 1:16.971 + 0.706 20 7. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.004 + 0.739 10 8. Kubica Renault 1:17.009 + 0.744 37 9. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:17.056 + 0.791 37 10. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:17.204 + 0.939 44 11. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:17.336 + 1.071 44 12. Petrov Renault 1:17.547 + 1.282 35 13. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:17.573 + 1.308 39 14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:17.701 + 1.436 38 15. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.739 + 1.474 36 16. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:17.871 + 1.606 33 17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:18.147 + 1.882 45 18. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:19.327 + 3.062 48 19. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:19.553 + 3.288 30 20. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:20.008 + 3.743 34 21. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:20.106 + 3.841 31 22. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:20.377 + 4.112 37 23. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:21.988 + 5.723 37 24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:23.066 + 6.801 37
German GP 2010: Sutil Fastest In Wet FP1
Adrian Sutil came out as the fastest man in free practice 1 in Germany. The German national edged Felipe Massa in a session which saw multiple spins and crashes due to the poor weather conditions.
Bruno Senna ditched his Hispania on the exit of the final corner, while Lewis Hamilton smashed his McLaren up after a spin early on in the lap.
Michael Schumacher, one of the home favourites, languished down in 23rd.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:25.701 20 2. Massa Ferrari 1:26.850 + 1.149 27 3. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.936 + 1.235 16 4. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:26.947 + 1.246 21 5. Petrov Renault 1:26.948 + 1.247 21 6. Rosberg Mercedes 1:27.448 + 1.747 20 7. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:28.114 + 2.413 31 8. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:28.193 + 2.492 24 9. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:28.300 + 2.599 19 10. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 1:28.486 + 2.785 23 11. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:28.735 + 3.034 21 12. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:28.735 + 3.034 21 13. Kubica Renault 1:28.903 + 3.202 20 14. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:29.048 + 3.347 13 15. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:29.280 + 3.579 17 16. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:29.366 + 3.665 34 17. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:29.429 + 3.728 8 18. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:29.500 + 3.799 19 19. Alonso Ferrari 1:29.684 + 3.983 15 20. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:29.690 + 3.989 17 21. Fauzy Lotus-Cosworth 1:30.938 + 5.237 27 22. Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:31.720 + 6.019 23 23. Schumacher Mercedes 1:32.450 + 6.749 13 24. Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth 1:32.791 + 7.090 26
Red Bull Drop Hartley From Test Role And Junior Programme
Red Bull have announced today that they have dropped up coming race driver Brendon Hartley from both their F1 test driver role and from their junior driver programme.
Red Bull run one of the most diverse athelete sponsorship programmes, and have worked with drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Vitantonio Liuzzi on their path into F1 along with other sports competitors such as Lindsey Vonn. Their junior motorsports programme is one of the most competitive to be a part of and usually guarantees some form of success, however Hartley has now been dropped from the funding scheme and faces and uphill battle to save his motorsport career.
The New-Zealander was racing in Formula Renault 3.5 with little recent success, and will be replaced in the Red Bull team in that series by Jean Eric-Venge. Daniel Ricciardo becomes the sole test driver for Red Bull Racing.
Christian Horner said: “We would like to thank Brendon for all his efforts and the work he has done with Red Bull Racing over the last few seasons. He has provided useful feedback for the team and we wish him all the best for the future.”
Meanwhile Hartley told this weeks Autosport Magazine: “I want to get across that they have given me a lot and I’m not bitter.”
Alonso And Ferrari Fired Up Following Poor Results
Fernando Alonso has declared himself and his team to be fired-up and ready to fight for race wins and ultimately the world championship as F1 hits Germany.
The Spaniard has been in commading positions to score big points in the last two races, but run ins with the FIA and safety cars have led him not to score a single point. Despite this, and the deficit to the top, Alonso believes he can still win the title.
“I’ve been in Maranello four days last week working with the team,” Alonso said in a video interview for Ferrari’s website.
“Overall I felt a very good atmosphere in the team. All the guys in Maranello are very, very focused on fighting for this championship.
“After these two bad races people are even more motivated than before because they feel we deserve a good race finally.”
“We saw this year if you have two or three bad races or two or three good races, it can change the picture of the championship completely,” Alonso said.
“We arrive [in Germany] after two bad races with not many points. I think before long we will arrive at a good moment. We need to take the maximum from our car, do two or three podiums in a row, and I’m sure with the new points system we can be in the fight for the championship very soon.”
Fauzy To Get Hockenheim Run
Fairuz Fauzy, the Lotus test driver will once again be given the opportunity to test the F1 car taking over from one of the permanent race drivers in free practice for this weekend’s German Grand Prix.
Fauzy, a Malaysian national, will once again drive the car after he hit major mechnical issues during his practice at Silverstone.
Team boss Tony Fernandes said: “It’s an exciting day for all of us in the Lotus Racing team – being able to tell Fairuz he has another Friday run a week before he thought he’d be back in the car is a great way to start the week, and we all know he’ll deliver for us, both on track and in the feedback he’ll provide the team.
“He’s an inspiration to young drivers around the world, proving that being determined to make your dreams come true can make very exciting things happen!”
Yamamoto In, Chandhok Out – F1 Fans In Uproar as HRT Change Drivers Again
Sakon Yamamoto is set to replace popular Indian F1 driver Karun Chandhok at the German Grand Prix next weekend, as the Japanese driver makes his second appearance this season for HRT F1.
Yamamoto replaced Bruno Senna in surprise circumstances the evening before the British Grand Prix, a move widely suspected to be about sponsorship money. However it has been revealed in Auto Bild and on popular motoring website Pistonheads that Senna was allegedly replaced because he sent an email criticising team boss Colin Kolles to…wait for it….Colin Kolles himself! A bit of a mistake from the talented Brazilian.
“After Sakon Yamamoto gave a very positive performance in Silverstone, the team has decided to give the Japanese driver another opportunity to drive the car alongside Bruno Senna,” said the team in a statement.
But now pay driver Yamamoto is racing alongside Senna, there has been uproar between fans on Twitter, with campaigns being started to get Chandhok his seat back. The man himself though is less concerned about his situation, believing he will race again this season.
“It’s not defined for the rest of the season and I expect to be back in the car at some races,” the Indian driver told Autosport this morning.
“Probably not all of them, but I do expect to be back in the car and racing soon.”
Wirth Research Set To Move Factories
Wirth Research, the people behind the construction of the Virgin Racing cars are set to move factories over the course of the next few months.
However the move will not be finalised until the chassis for Virgin’s second car, the VR-02 is complete.
Wirth Research created the first F1 car to be designed using total CFD, without the aid of a wind tunnel. They had intial teething troubles, with a slow car, parts having a habit of falling off but most embarrassing was the fact the new VR-01 car did not have a large enough fuel tank.
“It will be sometime early next year, probably after the F1 car is built,” Wirth told Autosport in an exclusive
“The move starts in the August shutdown and will continue for several months to fit in with the build-up of next year’s F1 car. People who have to stay will stay behind until the car is built and on its way.
“It’s a phased process, but we’re used to working all over the place so it’s not really going to be much of a change.”
The team will be housing themselves in the old Ascari cars factory in Banbury.
“In terms of our business both on the F1 side and on all the other projects, it represents a major step to get everyone into such a great facility that is still in motorsports valley.
“We’re moving everything under one roof. It’s sized and designed to take us to the next level of research and development and the next level of computing power. We literally can’t fit any more computers into where we are now!”
Jacques Villeneuve Makes Team Entry Bid For 2011
Jacques Villeneuve has announced he has made a bid to enter Formula One under the team banner of Villeneuve Racing.
The new team, launched by the Canadian, is said to have already passed both financial and technical barriers imposed by Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA in order to make sure there would be no repeat of the USF1 incident.
Details of the new project are scarce, Villeneuve himself is only at this stage recognising the fact a bid for the 13th slot has taken place. We do not know if he will just be managing the team or whether the 39 year old will race for his own team.
“I’ve never made it a secret that I’m working hard on an F1 project,” Villeneuve told BBC Sport. “But I’ve not discussed the details or what my plans were and I won’t be drawn on it now. I’m not commenting.”
Jordan Wants Dennis Charged With Criminal Damage Following BBC Stunt
Eddie Jordan has allegedly told the BBC that he wants Ron Dennis charged with criminal damage following a practical joke that was played on the Irishman while he was live on British television.
Jordan, who formerly owned the Jordan F1 Team, has been working with the BBC as a main anchor on their F1 coverage since it returned to the channel last year. However it all got a bit nasty at Silverstone last weekend while live on air, Jordan was interviewing Christian Horner of Red Bull. He was asking Horner about the team’s controversial weekend, when Ron Dennis stepped behind Jordan, before EJ’s microphone went dead and Dennis ran off into the crowd laughing.
While many saw it as a fun practical joke, according to The Sun newspaper EJ didn’t see it quite in the same light and wants to prosecute the former McLaren team boss.
A BBC source told tabloid: “Eddie was really spitting feathers and wanted the BBC to charge Dennis with criminal damage.”
FIA Bans Filming Day Testing
The FIA are set to ban the testing of new parts on in season filming days, it was revealed this evening.
Teams had been using a legal loophole to use so called ‘filming and promotional’ days to test new parts. However following complaints from various teams, there has been a change in the regulations which means that the only parts that may be used on the filming cars are ones which have been raced.
Concerns were raised within FOTA after both Mercedes Benz and Ferrari tested new parts during film days.
FOTA and McLaren principal Martin Whitmarsh told Autosport Magazine:
“I personally did not feel there was any ambiguity, but others argued that there was,” he said. “But that is pressure, and when people are under pressure they try and take a different view.
“It is now clear that, if you are doing a demo run, then you must use components that have been raced before – and it has to be a legitimate demo run.”
Raikkonen Backs Away From 2011 F1 Return But Considers 2012 Date
Kimi Raikkonen has backed away from claims he was about to make a shock return to Formula One next season with the Renault team.
Raikkonen, who won the F1 world championship in 2007, left the sport at the end of last season. He now races in World Rally with the Citroen Junior Team in partnership with Red Bull.
Reports from within the Renault team camp suggested that they had made an offer for Kimi to join Robert Kubica at the team for next season replacing Vitaly Petrov. However today Raikkonen suggested he was happy with rallying, for the time being at least.
“I don’t miss Formula 1 and I am enjoying what I am doing now,” Raikkonen told reporters
“I have still not decided what I am doing next year yet. Soon I have to decide, maybe it will be just after Rally Finland.”
Meanwhile Oliver Quesnel of Citroen Motorsport was confident the Finn would sign for another season.
“I’m sure this will happen,” he said. “For myself, he is really involved in rallying and he wants to succeed. I will be pleased if he will stay. he has done one year and he needs to do one more year to make sure.”
Red Bull are said to be very happy with their partnership with Raikkonen, and there is still a possibility he could return to F1 in 2012 but with the high flying Red Bull team in place of Mark Webber. He would theoretically be racing alongside Sebastian Vettel.
Alonso Feels Testing Ban A Mistake
Fernando Alonso, the former two time world champion, has said he feels the total in season testing ban imposed on Formula One is a mistake and has made the sport feel ‘stale’.
Alonso, who won championships with Renault, currently drives for Ferrari and despite early good form in winning two races he has recently struggled with penalties during the race received from the FIA.
He also believes that the team spent too long developing the F-Duct as opposed to making higher downforce parts for the car. Ferrari has huge facilities and Fernando believes they have been the hardest hit by the austerity drive in F1.
Other Formula One community members including Geoff Willis and Eddie Jordan have told news sources they believe the total test ban to be a mistake, and we here at The F1Fanatics Blog agree.
“The goal is always to win but it’s not so easy,” Alonso said. “You cannot invent new things without testing. There is little room for creativity; our technicians have their hands tied,”
“The test ban is not the perfect thing when you are behind, when you have to close the gap to the top teams. But I think it hurts a bit more for Ferrari because we have superb facilities in Maranello. We have everything here, we have the Fiorano circuit and when we look out the window it is normally empty because we cannot test the Formula One car. It’s sad to see that but that’s the way it is, the teams agreed to do that.
“We need to be better than the others in some other aspects; we have to be better than the others with simulations, etcetera. I think we have all the tools and all the facilities to be the best.”
Renault To Introduce F-Duct At Spa
Renault’s team principal Eric Boullier has announced that the team will be running an F-Duct system on their car at the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August.
The team had been concentrating previously on increasing downforce on their car, which is driven this season by Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov. The F-Duct project had taken a back seat but as preparations for its introduction to the R30 are almost complete, we will see it for the first time at Spa.
“We have a two-step F-duct coming,” Boullier said. “It depends on the schedule, Budapest is a high downforce track so we don’t need to have it for that. Maybe we’ll get it before, or very likely right after.”
Meanwhile chief technical director Alan Permane told Autosport Magazine
“We’ve concentrated on other bits and bobs and put an awful lot of downforce on the car, so I still think it was the right strategic decision to not do one immediately like the other teams did,”
“We should be fighting with the Ferraris and Mercedes,” he said. “Realistically we’re just at the back of that group at the moment. We had edged ahead of Mercedes but they’ve done a very good job – they were very quick at Silverstone and they’re ahead of us again now.
“We need a little bit more and when we get our F-duct online that should help. That won’t be for another couple of races, but that’s all we’re missing compared to other people.”
Red Bull Gives You Wings…..Unless Your Name Is Mark Webber
Red Bull’s slogan gave me that terrific title you read above, okay perhaps its no better than something you might read in a tabliod newspaper like The Sun but this weekend’s controversy surrounding the Red Bull Racing team once again highlights the problems with in-team politics and the effect it can have on the drivers.
Mark Webber was denied the use of the new Red Bull front wing, after his was given to team mate Sebastian Vettel for qualifying whose new wing had been damaged in Saturday morning practice. The Australian was duly annoyed when Vettel took pole position. It was another item of favouritsm toward the young German from this season, Webber is even using one of Sebastian’s old chassis.
Despite all of this, Webber managed to win the Grand Prix – barging Vettel off the road into turn 1 – but no amount of nice press photos with Christian Horner and Adrian Newey could put the lid on the problems within the team. Mark claimed down the radio on victory “not bad for a second driver”, a clear point towards his status within the team – or at least his percieved status. Red Bull had defended themselves by claiming they were giving the championship leader the advantage, but we will see if that is true in Germany as Webber now leads the standings ahead of Red Bull favourite Vettel.
“Whether the gap between us in qualifying was the difference between the two front wings, I don’t know,” said Webber after last weekend’s British Grand Prix. “But it was a far from ideal situation and it definitely made my win taste even sweeter.”
Christian Horner came out in the Monday newspapers claiming he regretted not speaking with Webber before the decision was made, and he categorically denied that it had anything to do with Helmut Marko or Dietrich Mateschitz the owners of the Red Bull Energy Drink brand.
“There has never been any pressure from Red Bull to favour one driver over the other.” Horner told The Daily Telegraph in England
“I didn’t have a conversation with Helmut or anyone from Red Bull regarding the decision to give Sebastian the wing. It was purely a technical decision, which I discussed with Adrian [Newey].
“My one regret is that I didn’t have time to discuss the issue with Mark personally prior to qualifying as I’m sure that would have given him a more balanced understanding.”
We have seen many instances of team bias and favouritsm over the years, most recently with the arguments between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at McLaren, a row which has never really been cleared up and forced the Spaniard to leave the team and then earlier between Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello during their time at Ferrari.
Top teams have trouble keeping their drivers together and motivated, especially when they are fighting for the championship – Barrichello even had trouble with Brawn GP last year with their dominance. However this is the first time we have seen the management of a team really getting involved and openly favouring one driver over another, even during the Schumacher days at Ferrari they did not willingly pass equipment or new parts over Barrichello – definitely not during a race weekend in any case.
The path Red Bull now tread with Webber is a difficult one, but they really have the Australian cornered to an extent. He has signed a new contract, and there aren’t really any race seats with top teams on offer for next season. He could potentially leave the team, who are looking likely to win the world championship, and head to Renault alongside Robert Kubica. That would leave the door wide open for Red Bull sponsored rally driver Kimi Raikkonen to come back to F1. Or Webber can just live with the favouritism toward Vettel and get on in trying to win the World Championship.
Nick Fry, the CEO of Mercedes Benz has seen these problems before, having dealt with the Button/Barrichello problems last year and advises Red Bull to sort the issues out quickly otherwise they have the potential of shooting themselves in the foot.
“I do sympathise on the one hand with them,” said Fry
“But one of the main points is to stop shooting yourself in the foot. Just looking at it from the outside, there seems to be a case of Red Bull causing more problems than they need to.
“They have clearly got the fastest car by quite a margin, and they should be way ahead of the rest of us, and they are not. So they do need to look at themselves and try and work out what they are doing wrong.
“They are beating themselves – which is very satisfying for the rest of us but it should not be what they are up to.”
All I know is, I am glad I am not in Christian Horner’s shoes this week!!
Happy families?
