Mercedes Benz Buy Controlling Stake In Brawn GP

Mercedes Benz have announced that they have purchased a controlling 75% stake in the Brawn GP team.

The German automobile giant had been speculated with a move to Ross Brawn’s championship winning team, which it supplied engines too in 2009, since September and today’s announcement seeked to tidy up the paddock thoughts ahead of 2010 preparations.

It is now likely that Brawn, who won both titles in their maiden season, will be re-named Mercedes Benz Grand Prix however Ross Brawn will stay on as Team Principal alognside Norbert Haug of Mercedes Motorsport.

Mercedes Benz will also be pulling out of McLaren with the team having to buy back the 40% shares over 2 years, but remain with the German’s as an engine supplier until 2015.

Jenson Button is now set to go to McLaren to race alongside Lewis Hamilton, the Briton visited the factory earlier this week.  He claims not to be motivated by cash in the move, however his salary is likely to be greater than the £3.5million Brawn offered him.

With Nico Rosberg looking ever more likely to head to the new Mercedes GP team, Nick Heidfeld is a suprise team mate choice, Norberg Haug says he has held various meetings with the perennial underperformer ousted from BMW this season.

“We are speaking with Nick Heidfeld as well,” Haug told DPA.

“Mercedes-Benz supports the idea of signing an experienced and capable German driver. There is however no reason to finalise the driver situation too hastily.”

More news this evening.

Lewis & McLaren Snubbed Dennis At Awards Ceremony

A leading British newspaper has suggested that Lewis Hamilton and the McLaren team have turned their backs on Ron Dennis after snubbing invitations to an awards ceremony last week.

Dennis, who recently resigned from the post of F1 Team Principal to conentrate on the McLaren road-cars divison, was recieving an award at the Sport Industry Awards last Thursday.

A McLaren table was withdrawn at the last moment with none of the 10 reserved places filled.  Lewis Hamilton was asked to hand the award to Dennis, who has been his mentor [and indeed money supplier] for the past 10 years or so, but Hamilton declined deciding to abandon his former boss.

And, according to the Daily Mail it wasn’t for tying as “Hamilton turned down repeated requests to attend the function at the Battersea Evolution or even send a short tribute to his former team boss.”

McLaren Tried To Make The FIA Look Like A Bunch Of Idiots – Trulli

Jarno Trulli still appears to be scathing about the actions of McLaren and Lewis Hamilton over the scandal, now known as Lie-Gate, which followed the Australian Grand Prix.

In an interview ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, some 3 weeks since the incident, Trulli believes that McLaren were trying to make a joke out of the FIA and make them look like fools.

The Italian driver was displaced from 3rd, for overtaking under yellow flags.  This was the story Hamilton gave to the race officials.  However, it turned out Hamilton had let Trulli passed, leaving him no other option than to break the rules.

“The FIA took such a strong decision because they felt that someone was making a joke of them and they want to show everyone that the FIA is just like a judge,” Trulli is quoted as saying by the Mirror.

“Go in front of the judge and you have to be honest and tell the truth,” he added.

The punishment will be handed to McLaren soon, but is expected to be some race bans.

Could Liar Lewis Be Disqualified From The World Championship?

There is feverent rumour this evening that Lewis Hamilton could be disqualified from more than just the Australian Grand Prix, it could be the entire season – or even a Super Licence revoke.

All day the presses have been flowing with reports about Lewis’ lies to the FIA stewards after the first race of the season, and he has quickly gained the nickname “Liar Lewis” in Britain with may tabloids running with scorching headlines and news stories criticising the very man they were supprting just a few months ago.

An FIA steward in Malaysia, who wished not to be named, claimed that further action against the current world champion could not be ruled out.

“It is potentially an extremely severe situation. We cannot rule out further action” he said

The only driver ever to be disqualified from an entire season was Michael Schumacher in 1997, after the final race of the season in Jerez where it was alleged that he deliberately tried to put Jacques Villeneuve out of the race.  A ban this early in the season is unprecedented.

He could also face having his super-licence revoked some papers have rumoured.  The last driver to suffer this fate was Japanese driver Yuji Ide in 2006, after an accident at the San Marino GP where the then Super Aguri driver pushed Midland driver Christijan Albers into a barrel roll early in the first lap of the race.

Whatever impact on his racing, this has almost oblitratted his image with the public and could have at least halved his future earning potential.

Lewis still looks smug despite the world turning against him

FOTA Announce Changes They Want

FOTA, The formula one teams association have announced a series of changes they wish to see in Formula One, and want the FIA to accept.

FOTA is a conglomorate of all of the teams bosses, chaired by Luca di Montezemolo the CEO of Ferrari.  Their aim is to work with the fans in getting their desired changes across to the FIA who people believe just change things without consulting anyone.

This is the first major report published by the group formed in 2008.

Its changes are as follows:

FOR 2009:

• Eight engines per driver per season (100% mileage increase)
• 8million Euro customer engine availability
• Reduction in Wind-Tunnel useage
• Revised points system – 12,9,7,5,4,3,2,1
• Public data availability of strategy
• Test reduction
• Improve global F1 coverage
• Investigate new media formats
• Get the racing closer to the fans

The points system change is a big one.  It was one of the biggest complaints found in the public survey that the winner of the most races did not win the championship in 2008, Massa won one more race than Hamilton yet Hamilton’s habit of second place finishes meant he won the title.

“Audiences desire greater championship recognition for race winners and our proposal is to offer greater rewards for the race winner,” McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh said at the proposal announcements.

Meanwhile desired changes for 2010 are:

• 5 million euro engine, 1.5million euro gearboxes available for customers
• Standardised KERS, with one producer at around 2 million euro cost
• Lowered amount of homoglations allowed to reduce costs
• Standardised telemetary and radio systems
• New qualifying format
• Points for things outside of race place finishes (Fastest pitstop, fastest lap)
• Reduction of GP length to 250km
• Further testing restrictions

All of this is pending the approval of the FIA, but things are looking good.  The refuelling ban and the testing bans make me a little upset, the test ban alongside the wind tunnel reduction makes me fear that F1 will no longer be at the pinnacle of technological advancement.  Who knows, things come aronud, FOTA said they would never ban tyre changes as that is ridiculous…hang on a minute thats exactly what happened in 2005!

Luca Di Montezemolo also announced that a new Concorde agreement was on track to be signed.

“I haven’t got any written confirmation from all the teams or all the car manufacturers,” said di Montezemolo during a FOTA press conference on Thursday, “but as you know I have a lot of contact with my colleagues, and I am talking now as the chairman of Fiat, and I want to say that all the car manufacturers are prepared to enter and commit into a new Concorde Agreement until the end of 2012.

“All the actual teams and all the car manufacturers,” added the Ferrari chief, who is hopeful the new agreement will be signed before the start of the season.

“We are now in the process, our discussions with the legal department of FOM (are ongoing) to solve the latest problems and we hope and we think that we can be in condition to sign the Concorde Agreement before the start of the season and anyway, anyway we hope before March 18,” he said.

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.”

McLaren Green Fluid Mystery Solved

There was great mystery yesterday at testing in Spain, mainly involving Hekki Kovalainen’s McLaren MP4-24 and a large amount of green fluid splattered all over the car.

Was it oil hitting that chrome paint work?  Or indeed had someone put too much brake fluid in?  Or was it McLaren’s new “green” image?  Well, we were all stumped.  Until, ESPN were told by McLaren officials that it was a special liquid placed onto the car to help with the aerodynamics.

Basically, they put it on, and before it gets chance to dry the car is flying around the circuit.  As it does so, the air flow across the car moves the paint around, where it subsequently dries and shows the mechanics detailed air flows across the car.  It is common practice to confirm wind tunnel findings.

“This is what we call a ‘flow vis’ (visualisation) – where we take a paraffin-based light solution and apply it to the car,” A McLaren spokesperson told ESPN F1-Live

“The solution is light enough to flow over the car, drying quickly to determine the airflow over the bodywork.”

McLaren Mp4-24, with the green fluid evident behind the front wheels and at the base of the sidepod

Edward “Teddy” Mayer Dies Aged 73

Edward Everett Mayer, known affectionately as Teddy Mayer has died aged 73 it has been announced.

The man who worked so closely with Bruce McLaren, will be best remembered for taking the helm of the team after McLaren was killed in a CanAm accident.  Mayer took the team to two World Championship titles in the 1970’s, with Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt.

In 1976, Mayer also guided McLaren to victory in the Indianapolis 500.

Mayer set up his own ChampCar team and nearly won the title in the early 1980’s.  He went on to work with Beatrice Haas in that F1 project, but was never as successful as his time with McLaren.  He was an advisor to Penske Racing in America until 2007.

His son now runs the American Le Mans Series.

Ron Dennis paid tribute to him.

“Teddy was one of motor racing’s few truly great men,” said Dennis.

“As far as I and all at McLaren are concerned, he has particular importance, on account of the fact that in 1963 he was part of the very small team of talented enthusiasts who, alongside Bruce McLaren, founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd.

“Bruce died tragically young in 1970, having won grands prix but no world championships with his fledgling team, but when I bought into the team in 1980 Teddy had built on the foundations laid by Bruce, Tyler Alexander and himself and had already achieved a lot – two Formula One world championships with Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt, as well as huge success in the States.

“Those fantastic cars – the magnificent McLaren Can-Am cars driven by Denny Hulme and Bruce himself and the superb McLaren CART cars driven by guys like Johnny Rutherford, as well as James’s and Emerson’s iconic McLaren M23 Formula 1 cars – grace the boulevard reception area of the McLaren Technology Centre today.”

Photo Tribute

Robin Herd, Bruce McLaren and Teddy Mayer

Teddy Mayer with Emerson Fittipaldi

Teddy Mayer with Alain Prost

Teddy Mayer with James Hunt

Breaking News: Ron Dennis To Retire Immediately

BREAKING NEWS:   Ron Dennis, the current boss of McLaren Mercedes F1 Team has announced he is going to retire with immediate effect.

The Brit, who has been involved in F1 since 1981, has announced his plans on the day of the launch of the 2009 McLaren the MP4-24.

Dennis, who was instrumental in bringing Lewis Hamilton from kart racing to F1 and now World Champion will hand over control of the team to Martin Whitmarsh, his long time second in command.

His retirement is only from the Formula One division though, he WILL remain in control of the McLaren Group Division controlling road cars amongst other things.

“We have a clear intention for our production car programme which is really a challenge. Any product we bring to the market will certainly fall the other side of this financial period.” Dennis announced

“I stress nothing to get too excited about but it is absolute time for Martin to take over as team principal. As from March 1 he will adopt that responsibility. I will still go to races, not all of them, because I am passionate.

“I intend to work harder and will take on greater responsibility in the group. I will be full executive chairman. It is time and I have to say it is absolutely 100 percent my decision. It is what I want to do, but I do intend to work much harder.

“Don’t see it as some sort of retirement, I want to work harder in other areas and having to plan those tasks around the GP calendar is disruptive to the process. It is a job that Martin will embrace and enjoy.”

McLaren Launch Their 2009 Car The MP4-24

McLaren Mercedes have launched their 2009 car which they hope will deliver them another drivers world title.

The car, named the Mp4-24 will be powered by a Mercedes Benz V8, also present in the Force India car.

The car is strikingly different from last years thanks to the swathes of new regulation changes, but despite the close aerodynamic limits the car is rather different from their main competitor, Ferrari’s F60.  The McLaren has no aero pieces around the cocke bottle, something Ferrari have got with their ingenious wing mirrors, and also the rear wing is completly different with sloping back endplates with slashes, and its also centrally mounted.

It remains to be seen whether the two teams will be as close as they have been across the past two seasons.

“Extensive rule changes require extensive amount of work – these are the biggest rules changes we have seen in 15 years” McLaren boss Ron Dennis told presses at the McLaren Technology Centre today.

“That requires the technologists in our organisation, they are not just engineers but scientist with high qualifications, to go back to a plain piece of paper and conceptualising what the fundamental requirement are for the regulations.

“It is there you can get it wrong because if you get it wrong no amount of development can sort it out. What you see in the MP4-24 is a car correctly conceptualised.

“At the same time you are trying to make a good looking car, that is a value we put high, if it looks good it goes good, so what you see is a tremendous outcome from a lot of people, it is a credit from not just the technologists but the other people, this is a fully running car that can run on a circuit tomorrow.

“But this is a second car, the first is already at Portugal, so we feel we are in a good position to attack the time up to the first grand prix. It will be a critical time because it will set the baseline for the rest of the season.”

Taking the wraps off the new car

The MP4-24

Lewis Hamilton and Pedro de La Rosa messing around for the sponsors

Front end detail

Centre detail

Rear wing detail