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2012 title chase will be tighter says Vettel
2012/02/10
06:30 F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel believes the 2012 F1 season might even be tighter than last year. Vettel: "At this stage is clear that it should be very tight again, if not tighter than last year." Top 3 teams - Different noses.
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Alonso sets Friday morning pace in Jerez
2012/02/10
12:25 1. Alonso Ferrari 1m18.877s 22 2. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m19.597s +0.720 41 3. Hamilton McLaren 1m19.640s +0.763 36 4. Grosjean Lotus 1m19.729s +0.852 24 5. Kobayashi Sauber 1m19.834s +0.957 39 6. Hulkenberg Force India 1m19.977s +1.100 45 7. Senna Williams 1m20.132s +1.255 97 8. Trulli Caterham 1m22.214s +3.337 53 RBR: FOTA now ineffective
2012/02/10
10:10 Red Bull Racing says FOTA is now much more ineffective and therefore they took the decision to step out of FOTA. Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner explains: "We felt that FOTA was getting involved in aspects that were beyond its regime. We didn’t feel comfortable with the way FOTA was evolving and couldn’t see its true agenda or purpose anymore. FOTA in the early days did some good things when the financial crisis came and suddenly rapid decisions were made about the reduction in the amount of engines and gearboxes used, or testing and wind tunnel hours. They were all good things, but recently FOTA has become much more ineffective and therefore we took the decision to step out of FOTA, to be free and see how things develop. Ferrari obviously took the same decision, as did a couple of other teams. We wish FOTA the best of luck but we are not part of FOTA in any way, shape or form." No mid-season rule changes says Sauber
2012/02/10
09:50 Sauber hopes no mid-season rule changes will take place this year says Kamui Kobayashi. Kobayashi: "Well, last year’s car wasn’t so bad. The car was actually good but during the season - due to the rule changes - we struggled a lot. I still believe that the pure car, the design, at the beginning was really good. We were quite confident that the year would work out well and were caught out by the mid-season changes. Then when everything was ordered back to square one our season was basically ruined for five to six races. We are not one of the big teams that can immediately react to such a situation and develop all over again. In contrast, at this winter test we have to make sure we understand the car fully so that when we go to Melbourne we are ready for a long season and hopefully there won’t be any mid-season changes." McLaren nose not ugly because they did not follow RBR trend
2012/02/10
09:20 McLaren's new car does not feature an ugly nose and it is all because they have a lower chassis and did not follow the Red Bull Racing trend of a high chassis in recent years. Technical director Paddy Lowe: "For those teams that went down that [high chassis] trend, which Red Bull Racing started off, pushing particularly the front of the chassis and the nose high, they have continued to pursue that policy. And being the quickest car, it is no surprise that it became fashionable as a direction. A lot of people have migrated in that direction now, although I don't think it was so true last year. They, then, are the ones that have been affected by the new rules and have had to drop the nose and introduce a compromise to that concept because you have got a step. Some people have some interesting ideas around the use of that step, and we are looking with interest at all of that stuff." Jerez test used to find develoment direction
2012/02/10
09:10 This week's test in Jerez is the first step to find the right development directions says F1 champion Sebastian Vettel. Vettel: "There's a long way to go. It's the first day. There's a lot more to come and we need to understand how the car works and then we can address the problems properly and hopefully take the development in the right direction. But for now it's just about understanding what is the main point for this year and what are the weaknesses and where we can improve." A lot of room to improve for Ferrari
2012/02/10
08:40 Ferrari has a lot of room to improve says tech boss Pat Fry. Fry: "I am not happy with where we are at the moment. I think there is a lot of room for us to improve from where we are. Reliability wise it is good. Performance wise I think we are okay, but we can play around with the performance and improve [the car in] some corners and some particular parts of the corner, but I would not say I am happy yet until we get the whole thing working." Hamilton: McLaren can get downforce back
2012/02/10
08:30 McLaren's Lewis Hamilton is confident the team can get the lost downforce back. The ban on the exhaust-blown diffuser is causing issues for the top teams with downforce through the high-speed corners. Hamilton: "It feels like an evolution of last year's car but also there are some things that are not so good. The downforce on the rear for instance, is not as good through the high-speed corners as it was last year, but I'm sure we'll get that back. New Red Bull much less grip
2012/02/10
06:05 Red Bull Racing hit hard by new regulations as the new RB8 lost a lot of grip, but Vettel is quite happy with the new car. Vettel: "Obviously it's more or less what we expected. There is quite a big loss in grip because of the change in regulations but you get used to it fairly quickly. So far I think we can be quite happy. We had a couple of issues that stopped us for a little while, but it's normal." Senna: Williams team confident
2012/02/10
06:45 Senna says the Williams team is very confident the new FW34 will be competitive, but says they still need to learn more about it. Senna: "I think the team is confident we can achieve more with this car. The team has been putting good attention to the detail, and this car has been very reliable, which is always a great feature."But we need to learn more about it, to learn what the real potential of the car is and then work on the deficiencies of the car. We have identified some, we are working on them and already talking to people in the factory, the design team, to make it an all around strong car." Jerez day 3 test times
2012/02/09 1. Rosberg Mercedes 1m17.613s 118 2. Grosjean Lotus 1m18.419s +0.806 117 3. Vettel Red Bull 1m19.297s +1.684 96 4. Hamilton McLaren 1m19.464s +1.851 80 5. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m19.734s +2.121 79 6. Perez Sauber 1m19.770s +2.157 48 7. Alonso Ferrari 1m20.412s +2.799 67 8. Senna Williams 1m21.293s +3.680 125 9. Van der Garde Caterham 1m23.324s +5.711 74 New cars legal says Whiting
2012/02/09
06:28 The FIA's technical director Charlie Whiting says all the new cars are legal as he has seen them at the Jerez test. Many believe that a new row over the new exhaust layout is immanent. But the new rules are very strict and F1 bosses says an innovative concept is unlikely. Charlie Whiting: “At the moment they’re all legal." Fifth possible with new Force India
2012/02/09
13:40 Paul di Resta says he has no doubts that the new Force India has the potential to help the team finish fifth this season. Di Resta: "We have got ambitions and as long as it is better than last year, that is the main focus. That would be fifth as a constructor and that's achievable. Rosberg keeps Merc on top with its old car
2012/02/09
13:00 1. Rosberg Mercedes 1m17.613s 74 2. Grosjean Lotus 1m18.419s +0.806 53 3. Hamilton McLaren 1m19.464s +1.851 38 4. Vergne Toro Rosso 1m19.734s +2.121 41 5. Perez Sauber 1m19.770s +2.157 31 6. Vettel Red Bull 1m20.154s +2.541 28 7. Alonso Ferrari 1m20.412s +2.799 29 8. Senna Williams 1m21.293s +3.680 61 9. Van der Garde Caterham 1m23.505s +5.892 40 Nico Rosberg was quickest during the morning testing session in Jerez on Thursday. Please note that he drove last year's car with banned item for 2012. The team is simple doing tyre testing. Schumacher: Winning the title is something to be proven
2012/02/09
12:35 Schumacher has a different attitude this season after failing to impress in the first two since his return. The previous two years the German said during the pre-season that he aims to win the title, but this season he says it is something to be proven. He did however made it clear that his ambition remains to fight for the title. Schumacher: "Absolutely. I'm still around to fight for the championship. Whether we can or cannot do that is something to be proven this year - or whenever." New Toro Rosso well balanced
2012/02/09
10:40 Toro Rosso's new STR7 is a well balanced car says rookie Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo: "It has been quite pleasant. We kept it on the track and didn't have any moments that got me too worried. I'm happy with the balance and it's a good base to work from. The front and the rear seem to be working well together. It [the balance] is not changing drastically from corner entry to exit with the rear and front not talking to each other. So far, it looks alright. It's still early and we don't want to get too carried away but it's nice to feel positive." Time running out for Pirelli test car
2012/02/09
09:55 F1 teams have failed to come to an agreement as to who will supply Pirelli with a 2010 F1 test car and the company are now looking at buying one from a team. They are running out of time as they have to start with tyre testing. Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery: "In the end we've got to do our job. We're not trying to help any particular team; we're just trying to do our own work. At the end of the day, as long as we can ensure that the data position that we are gaining and our decisions are based on what we want to do, and not by individual pressure from any team, then I think we are maintaining our partiality. And that's what we intend to do. In the end, time is running out and if a team wants to sell us a car at a very good rate, with good technical support then we're interested." Red Bull on schedule in Jerez despite delay
2012/02/09
09:20 Red Bull Racing has completed most of its testing tasks scheduled for Wednesday after the delay on Tuesday because of parts arriving late. Head of Race Engineering Ian Morgan: “After yesterday’s brief delay we had a pretty full programme to get through today and I’m pleased to say we got through the majority of it. There were a couple of minor niggles, but nothing major, so we didn’t really lose any time. Mark did some work evaluating the available Pirelli tyre compounds." McLaren in good shape
2012/02/09
09:07 Lewis Hamilton is behind the wheel of the new McLaren today and after completing 600km trouble free running for Jenson Button the team is in a good position for the rest of the week. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team manager David Redding: "It's satisfying that Jenson's been able to complete more than 600km of trouble-free running over the past two days; that puts us in a good position for the rest of the week." Renault engine use less fuel
2012/02/009
08:20 Renault Sport F1′s Jean-Francois Caubet told a German newspaper that the company's engine uses less fuel than rivals and contributed to Red Bull Racing's success in recent years. Lower fuel consumption allowed the team to run with 15 to 18 litres less fuel. Caubet: "Our consumption is lower, Red Bull can start the races with 15 to 18 litres less petrol in the tank than the competition. That makes a big difference.” | Latest News
2012/02/10
14:30 Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber will be treated equally despite the fact that Vettel is world champion says team owner Dietrich Mateschitz. 14:05 Mercedes AMG GP tested a radical F-duct style front wing in Jerez this week and its expected to be on the team's much anticipated new car to be launched on 21 February. 13:50 F1 teams are pushing the limit of the rules with new exhaust designs to try and create some aerodynamic benefit, but it's up to the FIA to police it says Williams' Mark Gillan. Gillan: "Teams are obviously pushing things, and some teams are pushing things harder than others to the spirit of the regulations. But it is for Charlie and the FIA to police it."We are keeping a good eye on it and we will investigate any alternative solutions. But what works on one car will not automatically bolt onto another car. If you look down the pitlane, there is a wide range of options. We have investigated a number of those and we will continue to go back and look at them." 12:15 Lotus Renault's Romain Grosjean says starting a F1 season for the first time as a driver is very special. Grosjean: “It’s the first time I’ve started the season as a Formula 1 race driver, so it was something special for me when I left the pitlane for the first time today." 10:40 F1 champion Sebastian Vettel can't wait to see what Mercedes AMG GP comes up with. Vettel: "Now we wait for the Mercedes and then we know a little bit more, but at this stage is clear that it should be very tight again, if not tighter than last year." 10:15 Sauber going in the right direction to keep improving this year says Sergio Perez after two days of testing in Jerez. Perez: "It has been a positive two days. Of course we had problems and we could not manage to complete our programme, but still I am quite happy with how it went. I think we are going in the right direction to keep improving." 09:55 Lotus Renault driver Kimi Raikkonen says F1 has not changed that much since he left two years ago. Raikkonen: "Not really, except for the tyres and having a different manufacturer for the tyres. The cars haven’t changed too much and everything else is business as usual." 09:50 - Twitter Ted Kravitz There's a 'confidence' lap from Ferrari - 1.18.8, 2nd quickest 2012 car of the week. Follows with 27.3, 19.7, 20.0 and a 20.1 On soft tyre. 09:22 - Twitter Mike Gascoyne: Jarno completed first couple of runs on old tyres, using KERS for the first time on the last run 08:30 - Twitter Lotus F1 Team: It's cold out there! 1.31.730 from 5 laps on the hard tyres. 08:20 Red Bull Racing owner Dietrich Mateschitz was at Jerez yesterday and he is happy with the team's progress so far. Scuderia Ferrari: Today's programme has not changed. We need to collect as many data as possible about the behaviour of the F2012, mainly on the aerodynamics. 08:15 Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez says Kimi Raikkonen's return to F1 is not based on money. Lopez: “This time everything was different. I can assure you that Kimi came back because he wanted to race and that money was a side issue.” 08:00 Kovalainen canceled his management deal with Flavio Briatore in 2009 after the crashgate affair and the Finn says it was a battle getting out of the contract. Schumacher: New tyres better
2012/02/10
07:00 Pirelli's new tyres are reacting closer to what one would expect from F1 tyres says seven times world champion Michael Schumacher said. Schumacher: "Our programme is done in a way we believe in. We made some very good work with the new tyres, which are certainly much better for a driver – they are more consistent and a lot closer to what you would expect from a Formula 1 tyre. Understanding those tyres was our main focus and we had a programme we did pretty well with." 2012/02/10
06:40 Dominic Harlow has joined Williams from Force India and will be the team's senior operations engineer. 06:35 HRT's new car failed some of the final crash test this week and the new car is now set to make its debut at the third and final test. 2012/02/10
06:15 - Twitter recap Jerez Day 3: 1 Rosberg 1m17.613s; 2 Grosjean 1m18.419s; 3 Vettel 1m19.297s; 4 Hamilton 1m19.464s; 5 Vergne 1m19.734s Ferrari technical director Pat Fry said: I am not happy with where we are at the moment. Ferrari says it is not yet in a position to feel totally comfortable with the progress it is making at the Jerez test. Ted Kravitz: Williams assure they've no concerns about Senna and Maldonado's technical feedback, say it's 'as good as any' in F1, despite less experience. Vettel: There is quite a big loss in grip because of the change in regulations but you get used to it fairly quickly. Vettel completed 96 laps at the Jerez circuit on Thursday and was 3rd quickest. It is way too early to judge how competitive the new Red Bull Racing car is Vettel said after his first day in the car. Hamilton: My initial feelings are pretty positive and there were no nasty surprises, which is pleasing. Hamilton: Today felt pretty good considering it was my first time in the new car. Bianchi: “I made a small mistake on my second run. I’m very sorry because my mistake has cost the team a lot of time and effort." The new Pirelli tyres will change the racing this season says Rosberg. Red Bull Racing And here's the man himself amongst the media. yfrog.com/mo5zcaj Webber rejuvenated
2012/02/09
13:25 Mark Webber showed signs of not enjoying F1 last year, but after the winter break he is rejuvenated and ready for 2012 says team boss Christian Horner. Horner: "He is back leaner, lighter and rejuvenated, which is great to see. There were times last season when it looked like he wasn’t enjoying himself, but he refocused and my guess is that he will be a stronger driver this season." 2012/02/09
13:00 The FIA could cancel the Bahrain GP because of renewed violence in the country. 11:50 Caterham driver Heikki Kovalainen says scoring points has to be the target for 2012 Kovalainen: "Whether we score points or not, I can't tell you yet. That has to be the target, but the most important thing is to join the group and be battling with the other middle to back teams, if you like, being clearly in that group and not being a step behind." 11:45 Jules Bianchi did an excellent job on his first day behind the wheel of the new Force India on Wednesday says technical director Andrew Green. Andrew Green: "He acclimatised quickly and soon found his rhythm, which meant we could push ahead with the aero work we had planned for this morning. He did an excellent job, worked well with the engineers and has settled into the team." 10:50 Red Bull Racing has always been good at adapting to changes and they must not lose that ability says team boss Christian Horner. Horner: " Formula One is a hugely competitive sport and of course time doesn’t stand still. The speed of new innovations is spiralling and if you throw into that the regulation changes we have seen over the last three years - the double diffuser, the F-Duct, DRS, etc. - it’s a huge challenge to manage. We’ve always been good at adapting to those challenges and we must not lose that ability. Of course, in such an environment you can never be complacent, as reality will bite immediately if you are." 10:05 Strong wind at Jerez track made driving very tricky on Wednesday says Force India's Paul di Resta. Di Resta: "Half a day, but quite intense: 69 laps in just over three hours, which is a really good effort. But it was also one of the more difficult days because the wind seemed to get very strong from midday onwards, which made driving the car very tricky. " 09:10 Jules_Bianchi Jules Bianchi joins Tech 1 Racing! fb.me/19dej6NpZ 08:55 The testing session at Jerez has given McLaren a better understanding of how the new car behaves and react on the track. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team manager David Redding said: "Despite the cold and windy conditions, Jenson was able to log further mileage with MP4-27 today. It's still early days, and this was very much an exploratory day, but we were able to get a useful understanding of how the car behaves and reacts out on the track." 07:55 Williams F1: Bruno is here and get ready to jump in the car! yfrog.com/kk3plqkj Caterham F1 Team While the car's being fired up @GvanderGarde looks after his hearing... yfrog.com/kk5auegj 07:30 McLaren is looking at all the different ideas around the use of the ugly nose step with interest. 07:15 - Twitter Caterham F1 Team: Day 3 of T01 Jerez. Today we see @GvanderGarde make his Caterham track debut. Now he's in the morning briefing going through the runplan Caterham F1 Team: Couple of facts for anyone dreaming of being an F1 driver... @h_kovalainen covered 139 laps yesterday. That's 615.492 KMs or 382.389 miles and when he got out of the car at just after 5pm he didn't have a bead of sweat on him. Not one. Now that's just showing off. 06:47 Alonso will drive the new Ferrari F2012 for the first time at the third day of testing at Jerez. 06:45 F1 champion Sebastian Vettel will drive the new RB8 at Jerez today. |
New Ferrari complicated
2012/02/09
06:35 The new Ferrari could be to complicated because it is packed with elements which need fine tuning according to Massa. Massa: “These two days have been different to usual, at least compared to what we’ve been used to at the start of previous years. This car is packed with elements that need plenty of fine tuning and they are different to what we had on previous cars. We concentrated on setting up a lot of specific points and there is still a lot to do: as usual, some things work the way they should, others less so. For example, I did a lot of laps at constant speed to gather information on the aerodynamics and on the general handling, because we need to be sure of the direction in which we need to go on the development front.” Some aspects have been positive, as Felipe explained: “We made some set-up changes from yesterday to today and the results this produced were what we had expected. It’s important that this happened, as it means the car is reacting in the right way. Obviously, there is still a lot to do, maybe more than we had expected before we started, but we are definitely not scared of hard work! Schumacher: Winning car will take time
2012/02/09
05:40 Schumacher confident that his Mercedes AMG GP team can build a championship winning car, but he says it will take time. Schumacher: "I don't think we can realistically achieve a championship car immediately from where we started last year, we have to build our way there. I am confident we can do that, but let's take it step by step. We work longer on our car, but if this was the only secret we should have shown all the cars later." Hamilton happy with new manager
2012/02/09
05:50 Mika Hakkinen's former manager Didier Coton has joined Hamilton's XIX Entertainment management company. Hamilton: "Simon [Fuller, XIX Entertainment owner] is committed to creating a team that will help me achieve my ambitions for 2012 and beyond. Didier's appointment builds on the existing strengths of XIX and I am delighted to have him as part of the team. I'm positive about the season ahead and can't wait to start." Schumacher sets Jerez morning pace
2012/02/08
12:20 Lunchtime Times 1. Schumacher 1:18.561 2. Webber 1:19.184 3. Ricciardo 1:19.587 4. Bianchi 1:20.221 5. Raikkonen 1:20.239 6. Button 1:20.688 7. Massa 1:21.060 8. Maldonado 1:21.197 9. Perez 1:21.289 10. Kovalainen 1:21.518 11. Dde la Rosa 1:23.468 New Force India much better
2012/02/08
12:30 The new Force India is a massive improvement says Paul di Resta. Di Resta: "If we look at where we were this time last year and where we are now it's a massive step up the road, it's almost three seconds already, but then the end of last year was very good for us. All I can say is that has been a very productive day and we can be happy with what we have done. We got through all the test programme and we did a bit more actually. We had a good approach about what we had to do." First Red Bull Racing outing positive
2012/02/08
05:40 Red Bull Racing's new RB8 had a positive first day on the track in Jerez says team boss Christian Horner. Horner: "It has been a positive first day. There is not too much to read into it, but the initial signs are that the car has behaved as expected. Our team is pretty pleased with its first day back in the office." Jones: Williams can return to former glory
2012/02/08
12:05 Alan Jones who won Williams' first title says it wouldn't be impossible for them to return to the front of the grid. Jones: "I think it is. They’ve got a lot of good people, they’ve got a really good establishment, they’ve got good facilities. I think it wouldn’t be impossible for them to come back. I think we’ll see them probably make a bit of a resurgence this year with the Renault engine. Maldonado has got a year of experience under his belt and it’s going to be interesting to see how Bruno Senna goes, so I wouldn’t rule them out, that’s for sure." Stepped nose a bit of a shame
2012/02/08
11:20 Most of the 2012 F1 cars have the ugly stepped nose and that is a bit of a shame says Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery. He explains why: "I think I will have to be in agreement with the general sentiment that they're damn ugly. But I guess if you talk to the engineers, they will say that as long as it's quick we don't care how ugly it is. From a fan's point of view, they look a bit strange and I don't think beauty is going to be in the eye of the holder. In this case it's not nice, and it's a bit of a shame really. You understand why they do it: they are following regulations, which is a part of everybody's job, and they are looking for speed, not beauty. But from a fans' point of view, I think we have to say they look a bit weird and not particularly beautiful. I don't think this season is going to go down as the year of the beautiful F1 car." Mercedes gathering tyre data at Jerez
2012/02/08
11:10 Schumacher says the test at Jerez with the old car is important to gather tyre data. Schumacher: "Basically to understand the new tyres. To get the basics right, we can obviously do cambers, pressures, and you can understand the tyres. Yes, ideally you have the new car, but ideally you want to keep the new car in the windtunnel as long as possible. So it is this compromise, or this strategy in order to perform the best and we chose a different way than the others. Let's see how it pays out." New Sauber fast says Kamui
2012/02/08
10:55 Sauber's new C31 is much quicker says Kamui Kobayashi Kobayashi: "Performance-wise, this year is much quicker. This is Formula 1 where always the rules try to reduce the speed but the laptimes get quicker. I looked at last year's test times and it [our pace] was off, but the track here is still dirty and my car is still not set up. It [the feel of the car] is pretty similar to last year and the laptime is a lot better." Massa to be more competitve says his manager
2012/02/08
10:00 Ferrari's Felipe Massa is set for a much stronger F1 season says his manager Nicolas Todt. Todt: "Massa's 2011 season was very disappointing, and he's the first one to admit that. So, by the end of last season he was conscious a turnaround was needed. I've spoken a lot with him, with the engineers and with Stefano Domenicali, trying to analyse everything that could be improved, and I must say that in the first few weeks of 2012 I found Felipe confident once again, with a vigorous approach that demonstrates his hunger for results. We need on-track confirmation, but I feel I can say that we'll see a very different Massa compared to 2011." New tyres better says Schumacher
2012/02/08
07:30 Pirelli's new tyres are more consistent and more fun says seven times world champion Michael Schumacher. Schumacher: "The rear end tyre is certainly better, a real comparison is not possible because we only had new tyres on. They are definitely more consistent and more fun to drive." Ferrari at a good point but a lot work before first race
2012/02/08
06:10 Ferrari chief designer Nikolas Tombazis says the Italian team still has a lot of work to do after the first day of testing. Tombazis: I think any winter is immensely hard work, so to say now that we are at a good point before Australia would be a bit arrogant from our point. We need to do a lot of work, but we think we are at a good point compared to what we are expecting on this first day." Fastest lap in testing doesn't mean much
2012/02/08
05:50 Kimi Raikkonen says his fastest lap on the first day of testing in Jerez doesn't mean much. Raikkonen: "It makes no difference. I mean it's the first day, and it would make a difference if it were a race weekend, but here it means nothing." Kimi quickest in Jerez on day one
2012/02/07
1. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m19.670s 73 2. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m19.772s + 0.102 101 3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m20.219s + 0.549 56 4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m20.496s + 0.826 53 5. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m20.694s + 1.024 57 6. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m20.794s + 1.124 41 7. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m21.353s + 1.683 106 8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m21.530s + 1.860 60 9. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m22.815s + 3.145 69 10. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m23.178s + 3.508 28 11. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m23.371s + 3.701 25 11. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m23.676s + 4.006 44 Kimi quickest in morning session at Jerez
2012/02/07
12:45 Lotus Renault driver Kimi Raikkonen was quickest during the morning part of testing at Jerez. 1 9 RAIKKONEN 1:19.670 - - 1:25.898 2 11 DI RESTA 1:19.772 0.102 0.102 1:20.392 3 8 ROSBERG 1:20.219 0.549 0.447 1:25.297 4 16 RICCIARDO 1:20.694 1.024 0.475 1:21.950 5 14 KOBAYASHI 1:21.353 1.683 0.659 1:22.379 6 2 WEBBER 1:21.474 1.804 0.121 1:23.636 7 3 BUTTON 1:22.366 2.696 0.892 1:24.402 8 6 MASSA 1:22.815 3.145 0.449 1:24.056 9 20 KOVALAINEN 1:23.178 3.508 0.363 1:24.838 10 18 MALDONADO 1:23.371 3.701 0.193 1:25.472 11 22 DE LA ROSA 1:24.209 4.539 0.838 1:26.319 Red Bull Racing designer explains nose
2012/02/07
14:15 Ugly nose not a feature you would put in by choice says Adrian Newey. Newey explains new nose: The restriction nose height which is a maximum height just in front of the front bulkhead hasn’t really changed the chassis shape very much. We’ve kept more or less the same chassis shape, but had to drop the nose just in front of the front bulkhead, which, in common with many other teams, has led us to I think I’d probably say a slightly ugly looking nose. We’ve tried to style it as best we can, but it’s not a feature you would choose to put in were it not for the regulation. Webber: Testing about finding weaknesses
2012/02/07
13:55 Mark Webber says its vital to find the weaknesses on the new RB8 and work very quickly on them before the season starts. Webber: The initial running is really about getting as much information as we can, learning what the car strengths are, where some of its weaknesses might be and then we need to work on those very, very quickly. We don't have much testing before we get to Melbourne and before we know it the winter programme will be over. It is a big responsibility and one that I'm looking forward to. Technical stability at Williams
2012/02/07
11:30 Williams has achieved technical stability after uncertainty in the last 12 months says the team's chief operations engineer Mark Gillan. Gillan: "The key word is stability. You must have good people, but you also need that stability. We have a reasonably new technical management team and that will ensure stability for a period of time. We have a huge wealth of experience with people who have been at Williams for a long time and we have bolstered that with key technical recruits in certain areas. That's something that has continued over the last year. It's a process that never stops, but definitely the improvement is there." Vergne not concern about RBR future
2012/02/07
10:45 Toro Rosso rookie Jean-Eric Vergne says it is much too early to think about a move to Red Bull Racing. Vergne: "First of all I am not thinking about 2013. I know all you guys maybe want to know about it, and are always talking about Red Bull because obviously there is probably a chance for 2013 with Red Bull Racing, but I will not answer these kinds of questions because I don't want to see too far ahead. I am 100 per cent focused on this season, on 2012 with Toro Rosso, and I will do my best for this year. Then we will see what happens in the future." 2012 Williams launched
2012/02/07
07:40 The Williams F1 Team unveiled its 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship season entry, the Williams Renault FW34, at the Jerez circuit in Spain today. This year marks the team’s 35th year competing in the sport which it will do with a revitalised line-up. More... Lotus disappointed with reactive ride ban
2012/02/07
08:52 Lotus Renault boss Eric Boullier says he is disappointed with the FIA's decision to ban the reactive ride system, but insist it won't influence its performance. Boullier: "I have to say it is very disappointing. We spent a lot of time and energy, plus money as well, to build a group that is bringing innovation and work into the system. It takes time to put this suspension in place, and took us a couple of years. Obviously we are not stupid, every time we go through the process, we go to the FIA, and the FIA is backing us up. Then, when you start to use it, to see it banned with no discussion is always frustrating. We have to respect the rule, but it is frustrating." Lotus name to stay in F1
2012/02/07
Lotus Renault's Gerard Lopez says they will keep the Lotus name in F1 even if the sportscar manufacturer no longer sponsors them. Lopez: "Yes we would. We've decided to separate both issues just in case. Essentially the name is something that we want and we can carry over regardless. Again, it's an historic brand. We were never going to call it Genii F1 team or something like that. Coming up with a new name was something that we could have done, but being able to associate yourself with an iconic brand, I think it's good business practice and I think more than that it just makes a lot of sense. At this stage, we are representing Lotus as a car company. There are obviously ties and so on, through the car company, but we don't pretend to be the company... to run the racing. Sure, we represent a car company today, hopefully that will continue to be the case. But if not, it's still a very strong brand to carry." Toro Rosso STR7 launched
2012/02/06
Goto launch page 10:51 - Twitter ToroRossoSpy Toro Rosso Here at last. And so is the #STR7. But she's hiding in this truck. Who's ready to see her? yfrog.com/gyj9tcrj Red Bull Racing RB8 launched
2012/02/06
13:00 Goto the launch page 13:58 Webber can't wait to get racing in the new RB8. Webber: I've had a really good winter and prepared for the season as best I can so I'm looking forward to the new season, I just cannot wait to get racing. We can talk a lot about it but we need to get on the track. 13:54 Vettel says it would be wrong to expect a repeat of the dominance they had in 2011 Vettel: But to be honest, you don't start the season having expectations to have the same or similar season again. It would be wrong to go into this season and expect 2011 to happen again, as in getting into the lead early and having a very big gap to other competitors in the championship. The thing is, at the beginning of last year we didn't really expect whatever happened last year, so I think it's the same again. 13:50 Christian Horner says Red bull Racing is keen to see what rival teams have come up with Horner: The roll out of a new car is always filled with great anticipation; it’s almost like going back to school for a new school year. Of course, you’re keen to see what your rivals are doing (and) of course they’re looking to protect the secrets of their car also. Pictures are scoured over; we’ll all be looking at what rivals have been doing over the winter. It’s the longest time we spend away from each other, from Brazil to the first race, but we’ll be very much focused on our own performance. 13:45 Red Bull Racing built its new RB8 in record time says team boss Christian Horner. Horner: This year’s car build has gone fantastically well, and I think it’s the epitome of continuity, continuity across all areas. I think we’ve designed and built this car in a record amount of time, in a ridiculously short amount of time." Sauber launched new car
Launch at 10:00 GMT
F1 Team launches C31 in Jerez Unveiling & Roll-out Hinwil/Jerez de la Frontera, 6th February 2012 – Today, Monday, the Sauber F1 Team launches its new car for the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship. Drivers Kamui Kobayashi (25) and Sergio Pérez (22) unveil the Sauber C31-Ferrari at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in Spain, where on Tuesday official Formula One pre-season testing will get underway. For filming purposes the C31 will cover its initial laps today. More... | 2012/02/09 - Twitter recap
05:20 Heikki Kovalainen: Good day today, run KERS for the first time and no issues, also setup work done so good catch up after yesterday... Daniel Ricciardo Awesome to be back in the car the last couple days. Shook off all the cobwebs :) Bring on Barcelona! Bruno Senna Gonna be tough to sleep tonight! Really looking forward to starting work with the team tomorrow and friday! Ted Kravitz New Mercedes will run before start of next test, will pretty much be the car spec they take to Oz, unlike McL, Ferrari and RBR. Merc will have lost 3 days testing compared to rivals, but want to try this tactic as being early with their 2011 car wasn't beneficial. HRT F1 Team HRT F1 Team establishes its permanent headquarters in the Caja Scuderia Ferrari Massa: “A lot of work ahead of us, but the F2012 shows plenty of potential” bit.ly/A1zIyY Raikkonen lost running time after hitting a kerb on day two at Jerez. Bianchi: It was a really good morning and great to get my chance in the new car so early on. Scuderia Ferrari Now it is up to Fernando to carry on the programme: he will have his first touch of the new car as of tomorrow morning. Felipe said that there is a lot of work to do on the car but also a lot of potential to pull out from it. Maldonado: We ran through our test programme and covered everything we needed to today. 2012/02/08
14:40 - Twitter adamcooperf1: Charlie Whiting has been visiting various teams and tech bosses, just seen him with Adrian Newey and then Mark Gillan of Williams 14:35 Adrian Sutil will appeal his 18 month suspended sentence for the incident with Eric Lux. Art of overtaking killed by DRS
2012/02/08
13:20 The great art of overtaking lost because of DRS, but it does improve the show says Kimi Raikkonen Raikkonen: “The way the DRS wings work is for me a little ridiculous. Overtaking is not really a great art anymore. You just put the wing down and go past easily. The guy in front can’t really do anything. But I agree that at least it makes the show better. 2012/02/08
11:45 Kimi Raikkonen says he had worse first days of testing. Raikkonen: "The feeling is pretty OK with the car and for sure I've had much worse first days and worse feelings with new cars. I was quite happy with it. The feeling was pretty good with the car. The first feeling is handling quite nicely so... just going with that feeling I'm quite happy, but there are areas that we can improve and that we have to improve. I'm positive about it." 11:40 - Twitter InsideFerrari: Another run completed, more data acquired. Still a lot of work to do, which will totally fill the job list today and in the next two days. 11:30 - Twitter LeeMcKenzieF1: Horner said that last year they made the equivalent of 2 second improvement from 1st test to 1st race. 10:50 Marussia team boss John Booth says missing the Jerez test is a set back, but they had to build a new car from scratch after Nick With left the team. Booth: “I think it is a setback. We’ve taken on a huge challenge following the exit of Nick Wirth and to build a new car from scratch is demanding, but we are certainly up for that challenge. We have decided that it is the best thing for us to reach Barcelona initially with the 2011 car, and then for the second Barcelona test with the 2012 car. That’s the plan.” 10:20 Marussia says long term potential for new rookie driver Charles Pic despite not completing a race yet. Team chief executive Andy Webb: “I think there is some long term potential for him. I’m looking really to see if he can go forward for more than one year." 08:25 InsideFerrari: Today's work will be the same as yesterday. We need to collect as many data as possible to understand better the behaviour of the car. 08:20 Lotus Renault's Romain Grosjean not concerned with Kimi Raikkonen starting the team's testing program. Grosjean: “It does not a concern for me that he began the testing for marketing reasons. He was world champion and he will also need some time to adjust to being back in the game. Together with Kimi, we want to do everything so that Lotus is in the best possible position on the grid and I do not intend to fuss over topics that I cannot control.” 08:15 Button feels Kimi Raikkonen's new Lotus Renault is competitive after the first day of testing at Jerez. Button: “He’s obviously in a very competitive car, and whatever they did today – low fuel or whatever – it was still quick.” 07:40 Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber has no plans to retire from the sport at age 36 despite rumours suggesting he could retire at end of 2012. 07:30 - Twitter MikeGascoyne: Team all ready to start testing this morning again in Jerez, Heikki driving again today. All problems fixed overnight. Will be running with KERS active for the first time today, will be interesting for the engineers and driver. Lotus_F1Team: The session kicks off here in Jerez at 09h00 local time; after an encouraging start on day 1, let's hope for more of the same today. 07:20 Red Bull Racining designer Adrian Newey says he will stay with the team for as long as they want him Newey: “So long as I am enjoying it and people want me to work here, I’ll carry on doing so. I can’t see myself going anywhere else. I’ve been involved in the team from very early on, I feel very centrally involved in it and proud we’ve managed to get from the ashes of Jaguar to where we are today. That in itself brings a huge amount of satisfaction and the slightly paternal feeling of wanting that to carry on. To now leave for another team would kind of feel a little like walking out on your children in a way.” 06:55 Caterham's new CT01 is much better than last year's car despite a few technical issues says Heikki Kovalainen Kovalainen: "I think I can confirm this car is already quicker than last year's car. The performance is better, and the rear has more grip, which is positive. The steering feels slightly more precise. I have only done three laps so I can't really tell more but, so far, positive feeling." 06:50 Schumacher very happy Kimi Raikkonen has returned to the sport and says with six world champions it will be a good show. Schumacher: "I am really happy for the team and for him. It's great to have so many world champions on the grid. It is going to be a good show for all of us." 06:45 HRT's new car will have its final crash test today and the team is hopeful it will be ready for the second test at Barcelona. Team boss Luis Perez-Sala: "We now just have to pass the last crash test on Wednesday. That is the last step, and if we achieve that, we will be without problems and ready to run the new car in Barcelona." 06:25 Schumacher will be in action for Mercedes AMG GP for the whole day today in Jerez after only running in the afternoon on Tuesday. 06:25 Force India's new rookie reserve driver Jules Bianchi will drive for the team at the Jerez test today. McLaren start better this year
2012/02/08
06:20 McLaren's Jenson Button says they have got off to a much better start this year. Button: "There are no niggly areas with the car, which is nice. It is quite different to last year. So, I am happy. It is still a starting point and we didn't do any set-up work today to improve the balance, and you will never start off with a perfect car. You are just putting some miles on it really. But, I am very happy in the car. It is very different. When we could do laps [in 2011 testing], for one lap it felt like you could get something out of it. But then the degradation was massive. And we knew that from the word go, so yes it does feel very different to testing last year - which is a good thing really because it is not like we can just stick on an exhaust that gives us two seconds at the first race." 2012/02/08
05:55 Williams confident of completing more laps on day 2 at Jerez. Williams chief operations engineer Mark Gillan is confident that the team will be able to complete more laps around the Jerez circuit today. Yesterday they only managed to complete 25 laps because they had more system checks to perform which was planned for the canceled straightline test at the Idiada Proving Ground in Spain last week. Gillan: "With moving to a new engine, you've got a lot more systems checks than you would normally have with the running of a new car, so we are building up slowly. We went through a number of short runs just to check the engine installation and also the aerodynamic platform and the cooling side. It's not just about engine integration, it's the cooling systems and the KERS integration. 05:45 Williams rookie Pastor Maldonado says this year's team is completely different. Maldonado: "Everything is looking very different to last year. This is Formula 1 - you can always improve – but we are more concentrated, we have new people and the team is working very well. It's completely different." 2012/02/07
14:30 - Twitter ianparkesf1 - Great quote from Newey today. Said that leaving Red Bull would be like "walking out on your children". Ferrari take note. 13:50 - Twitter alanbaldwinf1 Asked Adrian Newey about the slot at the base of ramp to the nose of the RB8. He said it was "simply driver cooling". 13:26 Caterham to become a rival for Toro Rosso this season says boss Franz Tost. Tost: "The main competitors for us are Sauber, Force India and Caterham. Caterham, they have now built up a good infrastructure. They have the Renault engine, they have the KERS system from Red Bull, and that means their package from the technical side is quite strong. They have two experienced drivers and I expect them to become a competitor this year, yes." 12:35 - Twitter TheFifthDriver McLaren - Here's @jensonbutton completing a run this morning. At lunchtime today, Jenson's best was a 1m22.366s - seventh. pic.twitter.com/m34rS8Fk 12:30 Toro Rosso needs to do more work on its stepped nose design says technical director Giorgio Ascanelli. Ascanelli: I think we could have been more aggressive, but at the end of the day the fact that we had to homologate the car before running here just cut down our development time. Really, we got to that point when it was time to launch the impact [crash test] campaign. There are [other] solutions being studied. 12:05 - Twitter redbullracing We were late getting out today because of the delayed arrival of some components due to heavy fog! We're all systems go now though :) 11:55 Red Bull Racing's designer Adrian Newey says he is nervous about the performance of the new RB8. 11:42 - Twitter Lotus_F1Team It's been a good morning here at Jerez. While we can't read too much into lap times at this stage, it's a positive start Frank Williams says 2012 is truly a fresh start
2012/02/07
09:00 Sir Frank Williams said: “One could say that looking at the Williams F1 Team today we are off to a truly fresh start. We have a new car, new driver line up, new engine and new senior personnel. We also have a number of new partners who have joined the team in the past few months. I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome them formally and sincerely wish that they have an enjoyable and, most importantly, a valuable experience with us. The team has had a good winter at the factory and we feel ready and strong for the fight.” 2012/02/07
10:35 Pedro de la Rosa says McLaren's new car is the most elegant of the cars launched so far. Pedro de la Rosa: "From what little I’ve seen, the most elegant car is the McLaren. The step in the nose of the others is ugly, but it’s a technical solution that many teams are taking because of the regulations." 10:12 Pastor Maldonado says his experience gained in his rookie season can help the team to develop the 2012 car. "I have faith in the FW34 and the Renault engine and so have high hopes for the races ahead," he said. "It will be very important that we develop the car from the start of the season to the end. Now that I have a year's experience, I can help in that area much more now." 2012/02/07
07:30 Testing in Jerez starts today. More updates lower on this page. InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari Weather forecast are fine for all week: today is the best day, with 17 °C expected in the afternoon. 2012/02/07
07:18 - Twitter MikeGascoyne Briefing done for todays running, soon time to be getting on with the day job.... 07:05 - Twitter InsideFerrari Good morning from Jerez de la Frontera circuit! In 55 mins the green light at the end of the pit lane will be on and the season will begin. It is still dark here and today there is also some fog... Anyway nothing to complain, just think about our colleagues in Maranello. MyCaterhamF1 Buenos dias from a still dark Jerez. The sun is now rising over the very chilly paddock in preparation for the first day of running of 2012. Heikki's in the car for us today and tomorrow, running from 0900 to 1700 with one hour for lunch at 1300. The night shift is almost done now so the overnight crew will soon be heading back to the hotel for some seriously well earned rest. We'll be updating throughout the day and will have feedback from across the team later tonight. Now.... now it's time to go to work. 07:00 F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel has a habit of giving his car a name, but says his new RB8 has not been named yet. Q. Have you thought of a name for the car yet? Vettel: Not yet, no name yet! To be honest, last year we found a name I think Wednesday before the first race, in that race week, so we might be a bit earlier this year, but so far, no names. We have a couple of candidates, hot candidates, but nothing is decided yet! 06:48 The new regulations may still have loopholes says Lotus Renault's tech boss James Allison. Allison: "The area in which the exhaust can be located is still relatively large. Therefore, there are grey areas. Our position at the moment is that there is no controversy, but we are watching very closely how far the competition is going and how much the FIA will allow." 06:40 Red Bull Racing's new RB8 features a mysterious air intake on the nose and it has the world media talking. Could it become an issue is the big question? 06:22 F1 rookie Jean-Eric Vergne says the pressure in the team drivers him forward. Vergne: "At the end of the day the driver must make the difference and bring the car home - and in a team with so many people there is obviously a bit of pressure there.I like that though – it is what drives me forward." 06:18 Daniel Ricciardo has faith in Toro Rosso to do well in 2012. Ricciard: "We have gone a step forward, and this is definitely a pretty obvious and big step hopefully towards the big one. Everyone I'm sure has faith in their own team but I've definitely got it with mine. Seeing the work they have done over the winter, I've been in Faenza a few times in January and I know they are very happy with the final product. So now we'll see what it does on track." 
2012/02/06
13:38 Red Bull Racing designer Adrian Newey explains the changes around the exhaust ban. Newey: RB7 was designed around the exhaust, this year knowing that the exhaust position from last year would be taken away, we’ve had to go back and look at how we developed the car through the last one and two years with the side exit exhaust and try and, if you like, make sure that the routes we had taken that were only suitable for that exhaust position we now had to re-evaluate. Probably one of the key things there is the rear ride height. The exhaust allowed us to run a high rear ride height, it’s much more difficult without that to sustain a high rear height so we have to go back down and have to redevelop the car around that lower ride height. |
TOP STORIES
Lotus Renault launched E20
2012/02/05
Launch pages Lotus F1 Team If you can't see the launch on our website, check out youtube.com/user/lrgptv?bl… Sorry for the issues guys, too many fans wanting to see the #E20 Kimi no problem with motivation
2012/03/06
06:50 Kimi Raikkonen says people who questions his motivation are simply wrong. Raikkonen: There's always talk about my motivation, written by people who don't know me and couldn't have an idea on how strong my motivation is. If I didn't feel I had the motivation, I would stop. My feeling is that I probably drove some of my best races in my last season in Formula 1 and I was very happy with my performance. I've never had any issues with motivation." Ferrari F2012 launched
2012/02/03
09:00 New Ferrari F2012 launched. 10:36 Stefano Domenicali: "I am sure our car will be winning right from the beginning. We have learned many lessons from the past, and taken some difficult decisions. But I am sure all our efforts will be represented with this car. From a technical point of view, we have many novelties in terms of mechanics and also the shape of the car. [But] we wanted some continuity here, and hopefully we will reach the right performance. We have only 12 days to work on the car and achieve reliability, and also test the new tyres that have been given to us by Pirelli." The new Force India launched.
2012/02/0310:50
Most of the teams will follow the drop nose design says Force India's technical boss Andrew Green. Green: "We think most will follow our philosophy. It [the lower chassis] is an aero philosophy that McLaren apply to the front of their car, last year they were the only team to apply that. There's a regualation change on the nose height and we went with the drop nose. For us, it's not big deal, it's purely asethetics." 
2012/02/03 - 12:30
The ban of the exhaust blown diffuser this season will boost Force India. Force India technical chief Andrew Green We were a little bit late to the party and I don't think we extracted its full potential by a long way. I think there are teams out there that extracted way more than we did and hopefully that will hurt them more than it's going to hurt us. We spent the winter trying to salvage back all that downforce that it cost us and we're getting closer. Berger: Newey Red Bull key
2012/02/03
05:50 Red Bull Racing will remain at the top for as long as they have Adrian Newey and his technical staff says former F1 driver Gerhard Berger. Berger: “As long as they have Adrian Newey and his technical staff, Red Bull will have either the fastest or the second fastest car." Williams needs a driver who can drive them.
2012/02/02
12:10 Williams needs a driver who can drive the team and give them some sense of directions former F1 driver John Watson said. Watson: I think what they need is a driver who can drive the team, maybe them some sense of direction about the way they need to go and just give the team a motivational kick up the backside! Vettel tough teammate
2012/02/02
11:20 Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner says it is difficult for Mark Webber going up against his talented teammate Sebastian Vettel. Horner: “It’s very difficult going up against a driver of Sebastian’s calibre, being matched and measured against somebody of his standard. Mark had a difficult start to the year [2011] but he adapted. He worked hard at it and to understand the tyres in particular. His performances grew throughout the year. It was great to see him win that final race in Brazil.” Berger: Ferrari lost form in recent years
2012/02/02
Ferrari has lost its championship winning form in recent years says Gerhard Berger Berger: Now they’re back where they were in my time, winning one race per season and finishing third. The success in between those periods really was about those four people. Probably now it would be enough for them to just take away Newey from Red Bull. Aerodynamics are just that important. New McLaren legal
2012/02/02
07:07 McLaren says its new car is legal despite earlier comments suggesting the regulations were pushed to the limit. The media and rival teams will be looking closely at the British team's new car when it hits the track at Jerez on 7 February. Barrichello to decide soon
2012/02/02
06:42 Former Williams F1 driver Rubens Barrichello completed an extra half day testing an IndyCar on Wednesday. The Brazilian was scheduled to complete only 2 days at the wheel of the IndyCar. He told the Brazilian press that he will make decision soon about racing in the American series. Barrichello: What is certain is that the speculation will not last long. Whether I race or not will be known soon. There is a lot of work still to do and KV Racing needs to know its driver. New McLaren launched
2012/02/01
Evolutionary design of MP4-27 masks overhaul of all major systems While the all-new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-27 closely resembles last year's multiple race-winning car, the 2012 chassis has been substantially revised from the ground-up, with all major systems updated or re-designed for the new season. More... Sam Michael proud
2012/02/01
13:32 McLaren's sporting director Sam Michael proud to work for the team. Sam Michael: I am really proud to be working for McLaren even though I haven't been here long. It is a big family. There are a lot of people here taking good care of relationships, and it makes a big difference in a high pressure environment. More than I expected and it helps you perform. One of the drivers used a buzzword, that the synergy of this place is strength in depth. It is bigger strength of this company. This strength in depth is not something you buy of shop-floor. It's not like a seven-post rig you can go buy, install and catch up. It is instilled over years, it is ingrained in the company. It is rewarding working around it. 
Beating Vettel to pole position this season crucial says McLaren
Last year's McLaren was quicker than the Red Bull Racing towards the end of the season, but they still failed against Vettel. The team believes that it is the German's brilliant driver skill. McLaren's Geoff McGrath: He must be a brilliant driver, because by the end of last season we definitely had the best car and he was still whupping us. We're trying to figure out exactly what he's doing that's so good. How does he pull out that fast qualifying lap every time? We think it's driver skill. There's no trickery on the cars, he just gets more out of it than we do. Barrichello impress in IndyCar
2012/01/31
09:30 Barrichello needed only 20 laps in the IndyCar to get onto the pace of regular driver Tony Kanaan. The Brazilian also gave good feedback and they are impressed with the former Williams driver. Kanaan: The guy comes here for the first time and after 20 laps he’s already running the same lap times as me! His knowledge and experience helped confirm some ideas that we had for this test, so it was very productive having Rubens around. 20 races the limit
2012/01/31
More than 20 races per season will trigger an unwelcome upward spiral of costs says McLaren boss. Martin Whitmarsh: I think 20 Grands Prix in a single season is probably a natural limit, to be honest. More than that would be overly wearisome for the teams - the mechanics especially - and would perhaps necessitate our having to explore inaugurating a shift system of sorts, as in NASCAR, where more than 30 races per season are commonplace. Clearly, though, that would trigger an unwelcome upward spiralling of costs, at a time when we’re successfully managing costs downwards. IndyCar would love Barrichello
2012/01/31
06:30 IndyCar would love to have Barrichello says team boss Randy Bernard. Bernard: He’s a champion, a driver who would be a tremendous addition to a series. Indycar would love to have him. If there is a transition, I want him to know that we’re here to help him. Hamilton brilliant says boss
2012/01/30 - 10:00
Lewis Hamilton a truly brilliant racing driver and one of the fastest we've ever seen says team boss Martin Whitmarsh. Whitmarsh: You described 2011 as ‘a tough season’ for Lewis and undoubtedly there’s some truth in that. But, such is the level of his ambition that he’s his own sternest critic. Sometimes, therefore, when things don’t go quite right for him, he lets it get to him. We saw that last year sometimes. But it’s a measure of his competitiveness, a side-effect of his monumental will to win. As such, we wouldn’t want Lewis any other way. He’s a truly brilliant racing driver - one of the fastest we’ve ever seen. And that’s why, throughout last year, we were always keen to reassure him that we were backing him 100 per cent. People have short memories, don’t they? Sutil in court today
2012/01/30
06:46 Sutil's two day assault case on Lotus Renault exeutive Eric Lux starts this morning in Munich and evidence will be presented to clear him. New McLaren will be fast
2012/01/27
12:30 McLaren's new MP4-27 is a logical evolution of last year's car and that is an indication that the new car will be good. But the team won't be certain until testing has started says team boss Martin Whitmarsh. Whitmarsh: Before testing has begun, you never know how well your car is going to perform relative to its principal opposition. And I’m well aware that Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes AMG, as well as all the other teams, are working just as hard on their 2012 cars as we are. But, bearing in mind that unknown variable - in other words the performance of our competitors’ cars - all I can say with any certainty is that the MP4-27 is a logical evolution of the MP4-26, adapted to the new technical regulations, and that from what we can discern its development is going in the right direction. Glock concerned about testing
2012/01/27
07:40 Timo Glock concerned about the limited testing his Marussia team will get because the new car is delayed. They will only run the new car at the final test at Barcelona in March. Glock: It’s a shame we are getting the new car late and therefore only a short preparation (for the season) is possible Alonso: Unity key to win
2012/01/26
13:45 Unity between teammates vital in F1 says Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Alonso: Let’s hope we are both competitive and manage to each win half the races!. Felipe and I have a good relationship away from the track and we also enjoy ourselves together in our free time: our friendship is a great help even for the team, because one must be united in order to win. Webber at RBR factory
2012/01/26
06:30 Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber was back at the team's factory in Milton Keynes on Wednesday doing simulator work. Webber: It was certainly good to be back in and starting work and improving and working out what we need to do to make the car as quick as possible Haug: FOTA vital to F1
2012/01/26
06:15 FOTA's existence is vital to F1 says Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug. Pirelli to meet F1 Commission
2012/01/25
12:50 Pirelli to meet the F1 Commission at the end of February to discuss solutions for them to test. Paul Hembery: We have a meeting with the F1 Commission at the end of February where we hope to put forward some solutions that give Pirelli the chance to test as we hope to."No one will thank us if we cannot test because we don't have a test car, but we have to find a solution that suits Pirelli but also suits F1. People in this sport are always worried about one team getting an advantage over someone else, but with everyone using the same electronics from McLaren then they could all have access to the same data that we acquire [if we run one car]. It is a complex area but at the end of the day we have to do our work. The new Caterham
2012/01/25 11:30 MyCaterhamF1 Caterham F1 Team We'll post the other images tomorrow with an interview with @MikeGascoyne on the creation of the CT01, the first Caterham F1 car. Caterham image from F1 Racing mag
2012/01/25
ScarbsF1 Craig Scarborough The high nose is important as it creates space below the nose for airflow to the leading edge of the floor andrewbensonf1 Andrew Benson Yes, that Caterham nose is not pretty - it's to do with the new rule demanding lower nose (by 7cm) to increase safety in T-bone accidents ScarbsF1 Craig Scarborough The bulges atop the nose to meet the chassis some 75mm above it, are the trade off for this space below the nose adamcooperf1 Adam Cooper #F1 Some interesting reactions to the Caterham nose! Alas they've paid the price for being first, others will look just as odd... ____________________________________ 2012 Pirelli tyres
New Cinturato tyres for wet weather. Blue are full wets, green are intermediates. Slick colours remain the same but slightly softer than '11
The gap between tyre compounds for 2012 will be less than a second which should help Webber and Massa this season. Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembery said: We have had to make changes and the objective of those changes is to make the racing closer. There is a smaller gap in performance between the compounds. Last year the teams were making choices based on tyres that had a 1.5 seconds difference – we have tried to get that down below one second and the aim is to have it at around 0.8 seconds. Final prep for Ferrari drivers
2012/01/25
07:41 Ferrari's two drivers will spend the next few days at a training camp in the Canary Isles as they complete their physical training program. Schumacher can't wait for season to start
2012/01/24 11:30 Schumacher excited about the 2012 F1 season, but says he won't make any prediction before the first race. Schumacher: It would be much too early to speak about any kind of forecast now. We have seen prior to last season that the truth is only on the pitch, as they say in football. You cannot judge the situation properly even after the test days in February. That's why this year I really want to wait until after the first races. McLaren drivers worked well together in 2011
2012/01/24 - 11:00
McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale says the team was surprised at how good Button and Hamilton worked together last year. Neale explains the difference between Button and Hamilton "Lewis is a force of nature - very driven, very passionate He will spend ages setting the car up to get the balance he is looking for, and then unwind all that during qualifying, just to get the car to slide and to give him the feeling he is on the edge and likes the car quite loose. Jenson's whole attitude is quite different, in that he is much more precise about things, that he does not like that degree of raggedness with the car and around him. But we like that difference. It brings something else to the team. Vettel can win 2012 title
2012/01/23 10:00 Vettel can secure his third title in a row in 2012 says former F1 driver John Watson. Watson: In reality he has the potential to go into 2012, win another world championship, make it three in a row, assuming that Red Bull provide him with the equipment and I think they are going to be a very difficult team to knock off their winning perch, so Sebastian Vettel you have to say is already a great and he's going to look even better probably in ten years time. Kimi impress Lotus team
2012/01/12 - 09:20
Lotus Renault boss Eric Boullier says the whole team is pleased with Raikkonen's feedback after the first day of testing in Valencia. Boullier: I must say today was very positive. You can see that the whole team is pleased with Kimi's feedback, and Kimi himself seemed very happy to be back behind the wheel. He got the feel of the car very quickly and it's good to see him building a strong relationship with the team. Obviously, the R30 is different to the new car, but he is clearly excited to get started at the first test in Jerez. Our team is made up of true racing people, and Kimi fits into that very well. Kimi drivers a F1 car again
2012/01/23
08:10 Raikkonen starts his 2 day testing session with a Renault R30 in Valencia today as part of his program to get back into F1. Horner excited about Toro Rosso newcomers
2012/01/23
07:21 Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner excited to see Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne race each other this year as they fight for Mark Webber's seat when the Australian retires from the sport. McLaren hopes for better Hamilton
2012/01/23
06:33 Hamilton can fight for the championship this season if his personal life is sorted out says McLaren test driver Gary Paffett. Paffett: Lewis wasn’t himself on track or off track. He had various problems with his personal life or whatever. Hopefully he has had a chill-out over the winter. We’re all hoping he has gone away and sorted himself out a bit and will come back to his best — because at his best Lewis is as good as or better than anyone. And he can definitely fight for the championship,” added Paffett. Vettel stronger than ever
2012/01/20
12:00 F1 champion Sebastian Vettel is stronger than ever before says team owner Dietrich Mateschitz. Mateschitz: Sebastian has improved and is stronger than ever. He has prepared during the winter break like he's never done before and he will certainly not let us down. What he needs for his third title is a competitive car and on that aspect we'll be able to evaluate where the teams are going in the first tests in Jerez. Toro Rosso ready
Toro Rosso's new TR7 has passed the required crash test on Thursday the team said.
Team statement: Having previously passed various static crash tests, today, our new car, the TR7, passed all remaining FIA crash tests. We now know the car is strong enough and as from 7 February in Jerez, we can start work on making it quick and reliable. Sutil trial won't interfere with McLaren launch
Hamilton has been summoned as a witness in Sutil's grievous bodily harm trial which starts on 30 January in Munich. The 2 day trail will not interfere with McLaren's launch on 1 February which Hamilton must attend because the British driver will be called on the first day of the trail.
Munich court spokeswoman: Lewis Hamilton will be called as a witness on the first day. The appearance is mandatory. Trulli - Kimi will need time
2012/01/20
07:00 Trulli believes Raikkonen will need time to adapt to F1 on his return to the sport this season. Trulli: It will be difficult for Kimi when he has to re-adapt to a F1 car. I don’t think at the very beginning Kimi is going to be fast. Buemi has no future at RBR
2012/01/20
05:49 Sebastien Buemi hopes his third driver role at Red Bull will earn him a seat with the team in the future. But that is unlikely as the team would get Webber's replacement from Toro Rosso. Buemi: Being close to them will be the best way to get a spot on their team one day in the future. Button one of McLaren's best
2012/01/19
08:10 McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh says Jenson Button is one of the most capable and respected drivers they have ever had. Whitmarsh: I can safely say that he's one of the most capable and respected drivers we've ever had, and I'm therefore absolutely delighted that he'll continue to work with us into the future. Williams will be better in 2012
2012/01/19
07:50 Pastor Maldonado is confident the 2012 Williams will be more competitive. Maldonado: I trust the team that the car we have made will be much more competitive than we had last season,” the EFE news agency quotes the Venezuelan as saying. | IN THE NEWS
Hamilton not worried about Button
2012/02/16
06:13 Hamilton says he is not worried about being outperformed by his teammate Button this season. Hamilton: " No, I don’t have any concerns with it. Considering last year, from my own personal feeling, that I wasn’t performing at my best and I was still … when you look at the qualifying positions – what was it, 13-6? – my performances were pretty goo." Alonso remains determined
2012/02/03
13:27 Alonso to start his third season with Ferrari with the same strength and determination Alonso: "My third season at Ferrari and I am going to start with the same strength and determination. I want to do great. Of course it will be quite competitive for the whole season, but we want to see red cars on the podium. We start next week in Jerez and we keep working together. I am sure we will do well this year." New Ferrari not ugle says team
2012/02/03
11:11 Ferrari's designer Nikolas Tombazis says the stepped nose on the new F2012 does not make the car ugly. Tombazis: "There have been some rumours saying that this car is ugly and I have to confess that I am not objective on that, as I don't share that opinion. For me I have got used to the bump on the nose. I think the rest of the car has been the fruit of a lot of detail work. Ultimately, as far as I am concerned, an ugly car is one that doesn't win and a beautiful car is one that does win. So, for now, I want to believe it is a beautiful car and we will have to review that after the first few races." Hamilton struggles caused by Button
2012/02/03
08:40 The great job Button did at McLaren last year might have contributed to Hamilton's struggles in 2011. John Watson: "Jenson Button did a great job within the team and, in part, I think that might have been some of the trouble; I think Jenson managed to get the ear of the team, in terms of how the development of the car and the future of the team might be going, and Lewis didn’t quite seem to go with the flow on that one. There were also all of the incidents he got involved with and that did no doubt taint that sense of whether he was being picked upon. So he’s got to think about what he’s doing, try to work around that better and use the skill he’s got. He’s a great, great driver and a great racer." 2012 will be close
2012/02/03
06:00 No team will run away with the championship this season says McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh. Whitmarsh: "It will be close. It’s a massively competitive championship these days. There’s no doubt about that. No one, in my view, is going to run away with this victory, not us, not anyone else." Watson: Schumacher victory will be good for F1
2012/02/02
14:35 Schumahcer has done a very good job in the second half of the 2011 F1 season and a victory will be good for the sport says Watson. John Watson: Michael Schumacher at the end of 2011 was doing a very, very good job. There are people in Formula 1 who are…let’s describe them as ‘ready to put the boot in’…some of them remember Michael when he was an active racing driver. It was difficult to make a comeback; he came into a team and a car that was not structured around him, he didn’t have the benefit of all the goodies that he had at Ferrari like limitless testing and a tyre basically designed around his and the car’s requirements. But also, there are a number of drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Lewis who he had never raced against; suddenly, he’d got these youngsters who don’t give a damn about Michael Schumacher! It was difficult. New McLaren better on tyres
2012/02/02 - 09:23 The new McLaren will use its tyres much better says McLaren’s technical director Paddy Lowe. Paddy Lowe: One of the more satisfying challenges was being able to develop and expand our knowledge of the Pirelli tyres. It’s our second season with Pirelli - 2011 was very much a learning year. We have used our experience from the past 12 months to design the car’s layout, aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics around improved tyre utilisation. Hamilton could pick new team
2012/02/02
08:00 McLaren's Lewis Hamilton could have his pick of drivers for next year with seats opening up at most of the top teams. The British driver's 5 year contract with McLaren ends this year and he could sign with Red Bull Racing, Ferrari or Mercedes AMG GP. Conventional sidepods for McLaren in 2012
2012/02/02
06:17 New McLaren lost its pioneering U-shape sidepods for 2012. McLaren's director of engineering Tim Goss explains I think the most obvious change is the loss of the U-shaped sidepod, which we pioneered on last year’s car. We reverted to a more conventional sidepod shape for this season because the U-shape was less suited to the new exhaust geometry restrictions. For 2012, the exhaust tailpipes now have to exit along the U-channel - so that particular feature was no longer really viable due to the new geometry restrictions. As a result, we decided to adopt a different approach to the way we feed the rear of the car. We have cleaned up the roll-hoop area and now have much tighter rear bodywork. 2012/02/02
06:25 Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz donated $92-million to the Paracelsus Medical University in Australia. 2012/02/01 15:17 - Twitter InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari Heavy snowfall here in Maranello and the weahter forecast are not really encouraging: more snow and much colder temperatures. 15:15 A McLaren spokesman intervened when the press asked Hamilton about Sutil's comments saying that he is a coward. A team spokesman: "We've been told that Lewis shouldn't really go there because it might go under appeal. So can we move on to the next question." Hamilton ready for 2012
2012/02/01
14:30 Hamilton fully recharged for the 2012 F1 season. Hamilton: "The winter has been a great opportunity to recharge - I got away into the mountains, spent a lot of time hiking and running, improving my fitness and starting to prepare for the new year. It's always great to get away from everything; change the scenery. And what's great about Formula 1 is that you start each season with the baseline completely reset - everybody starts again from zero - and that always makes me so hungry. 2012/02/02 - Twitter recap
05:50 InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari Maranello white-out bit.ly/yGtDrw InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari OZ wheels for the new Ferrari bit.ly/wZdwhm InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari Here you can see the situation at the Fiorano track today. twitpic.com/8eewrm InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari And here is a picture of Enzo's house today in mid-afternoon. twitpic.com/8eeyqd TheFifthDriver McLaren The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Technical Launch 2012 is over - what a day! Hope you enjoyed meeting our #MP427, we enjoyed showing you :-) 14:20
McLaren's 2012 MP4-27 is totally different under the skin although it might look like an evolution of the 2011 car. McLaren's director of engineering, Tim Goss: "We have set ourselves tough and ambitious targets, and we aim to deliver those by the first race and have a championship-winning car. This car is a complete rework from nose to tail, and there is very little that is carried over. A bit of the fuel system is the same, but almost everything else on the car has changed. There were a few features we have pushed quite hard from the beginning of the project. I am proud of the whole team and the efforts so far, and from now we go to the next phase of the project which is really wringing the performance out of it. We have a good track record of that – we have big plans, upgrades for the front wing, rear wing, floor and bodywork are already planned." 13:43 The Sauber F1 Team raises efficiency with the help of NetApp. More... 12:53 McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh made it clear that the team has no plans to build its own engine. Whitmarsh: Formula 1 is a very, very powerful environment to promote an automotive brand and get brand definition. But we have no plans - short term, medium term or longer term – to manufacture our own engines. 12:45 McLaren wants to win both championship in 2012 says team boss Martin Whitmarsh. Whitmarsh: The 2012 season will be an important one for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes: having finished second in the constructors’ championship for the past two seasons, we’re determined to mount a sustained, hard challenge for both world titles. 12:41 - Twitter MercedesAMGF1 MERCEDES AMG F1 #F1 Winter Facts 10 - today: monocoque, accident recorder, pitstop and steering wheel switches bit.ly/wE45SF 12:35 Bad weather expected to prevent Fiorano run for Ferrari after launch Ferrari expects weather condition for Friday to prevent its planned promotional filming at the Fiorano track to be hampered. The team will launch its new car on 3 February at its home base, after which they planned the promotional run. The weather services predicted cold and snowy weather conditions. 12:24 McLaren's Jenson Button hopes the new MP4-27 will be competitive. Button: It's difficult to know where you stand. I'm hoping we are in a good position when we wheel the car out in Jerez. The most important thing is to get miles done in testing, so we have time to fine-tune car so you arrive at the first race and you are not worried about anything. We are all positive now and hopefully that will continue in testing. 09:52 - Twitter LewisHamilton Lewis Hamilton I'll try and take a sneaky pic!! LewisHamilton Lewis Hamilton Just arrived at MTC for the #MP427 launch, looking forward to hear what you all think of the new car! 09:18 - Twitter RenaultSportF1 Renault Sport F1 This makes weds a bit more exciting - surprise visit from romain grosjean at #viry twitpic.com/8e9v18 09:17 - Twitter TheFifthDriver McLaren Lewis & Jenson just arrived at MTC for the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes #MP427 launch today. Retweet if you're as excited as we are! 08:40 Lotus Renault boss Gerard Lopez says the team plans to win the F1 title by 2015. Gerard Lopez: Our efforts are concerted behind our objective to be a contender once more for the 2015-16 championships, to continue the proud heritage of the 1994-95 and 2005-6 world championship titles achieved by Enstone. 08:35 Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug says the team had paid a price for having an unsophisticated car ready early. Haug: Last year we were very early and we paid for it by having a fairly unsophisticated car. Now we have set a development schedule so that we can work on any problems before they happen. Red Bull and McLaren have done it as well. 08:30 McLaren has a broad base of good engineers which allows them to build good cars every season says Gerhard Berger Berger: Actually, McLaren is basically the best team. They don’t have (Adrian) Newey and yet they still build good cars all the time. This shows they have a strong, broad-based team of engineers. With the Mercedes they have the best engine in the field and a very good driver pairing. 08:25 Flavio Briatore says Ferrari must make Fernando Alonso the lead driver to ensure he wins the title. 08:22 Ferrari’s provisional pre-season test schedule: Jerez February 7 - Felipe Massa February 8 - Felipe Massa February 9 - Fernando Alonso February 10 - Fernando Alonso Barcelona February 21 - Fernando Alonso February 22 - Fernando Alonso February 23 - Felipe Massa February 24 - Felipe Massa Barcelona March 1 - Felipe Massa March 2 - Felipe Massa March 3 - Fernando Alonso March 4 - Fernando Alonso 08:00 Ferrari's Felipe Massa is unhappy with pay drivers and believe it is not part of the sport. Massa: Today, there are only four teams that can afford to operate without drivers that bring money. It’s an absurd situation and I don’t think it’s good for F1 and especially the young drivers. Even if you get very good results in the formulas below, you either have to be lucky or have money in order to get a seat. That’s not F1. 07:55 Toro Rosso has announced that they have renewed its sponsorship deal with Falcon Private Bank. Franz Tost: “Since Falcon Private Bank joined us last year, we have built up a close relationship on both a business and a personal level. It is therefore very gratifying that we will be working together again this year and I firmly believe that both parties will enjoy a successful season, moving the relationship forward to a new and even more productive level.” 07:50 Sutil angry with Hamilton for not appearing as a witness in his assault trail. He called British driver a coward according to the German media. Sutil: Lewis is a coward. I don’t want to be friends with someone like that. If you ask me he’s not a man as even his father sent me a text message, wishing me the best of luck for the hearing. From Lewis, nothing. He even changed his number so I couldn’t reach him. 2012/02/01 - Twitter update
McLaren ready to launch its new car later today at MTC. Williams to unveil the FW34 on 7 Feb just before testing at Jerez starts. rubarrichello Rubens Barrichello twitpic.com/8e1fs6 rubarrichello Rubens Barrichello twitpic.com/8e1fs6 - me divertindo com o brinquedo do @tonykanaan..../// having fun with @tonykanaan 's toy Lotus Renault announced that Patrick Louis will move from COO to CEO. Thomas Mayer becomes new COO. Both to work alongside Boullier Massa will drive the new Ferrari for first two days of testing in Jerez. Alonso will drive on the last two days. Ferrari’s drivers have attended a fitness and team building camp in the Canary Islands. 2012/01/31
14:40 Sutil’s manager Manfred Zimmermann says today's suspended sentence does not prevent him from racing in F1. Zimmermann: This does not mean Adrian has no future in F1. There will be no consequences with the FIA and his driving ability has never suffered. 14:20 - Twitter TheFifthDriver McLaren on the launch of its 2012 F1 car tomorrow: And don't forget, we're streaming the whole event LIVE on McLaren.com & our Facebook page from 11am - get it in the diaries! #MP427 14:20 Rubens Barrichello says he lost his Williams seat based on finances. Barrichello: It is public knowledge that Williams has difficulties getting a budget and has lost some of its main sponsors. They were forced to choose a contract that would cover their financial needs. It’s understandable. The decision was solely financial, no doubt, no demerit to anyone. 14:00 Toro Rosso is newcomer Jean-Eric Vergne's stepping stone to Red Bull Racing. Vergne: Toro Rosso is not a team with whom you can fight to win a grand prix (forgetting that Vettel did win in a Toro Rosso) or the championship but it is part of the path already laid out when I entered the Red Bull junior programme. At the bottom is the place where Sebastian Vettel started so why should I not be like him and hope to get to championship-winning Red Bull team. 12:45 Daniel Ricciardo will test the new STR7 first when pre-season testing starts on 7 February in Jerez. 11:40 Toro Rosso will launch its 2012 STR7 on 6 February in the Jerez pitlane the day before the first test. 11:00 McLaren's new MP4-27 has technical innovations rival teams could protest says the team's Geoff McGrath. The team has made it clear that they won't be conservative in its new design. McGrath: There are technical innovations on the car which will be immediately obvious when you see them. 10:55 - Twitter alanbaldwinf1 Alan Baldwin Adrian Sutil has been given an 18 month suspended sentence for Shanghai brawl, also fined 200,000 euros which will go to charities. f1enigma Dimi PAPADOPOULOS Sutil gets 18 month on probation 10:10 Red Bull Racing has agreed an enhanced two-year extension to its existing deal with Japanese watch manufacturer Casio – meaning it will become the Team’s Official Timing Partner for the 2012 season and beyond. Christian Horner commented: “It’s encouraging that we’re able to keep building and extending our relationships with long-term Partners, such as Casio. Formula One is focused on speed and accuracy, which is captured and reflected in the Casio EDIFICE watches worn by the drivers and the team. We very much look forward to working with them throughout the new season and beyond.” 09:37 suttonimages Mark Sutton #RubensBarrichello makes debut #Indycar test bit.ly/Ab57sl #firsttest 08:06 Massa believes it is important to drive for a team where he is happy. This season is not starting very well for the Brazilian with talks of Kubica setting to replace him next season. The team has also warned him that this year will determine his future with them. Pirelli's new tyres however could make things easier for him to fight against teammate Alonso. 07:00 Sutil and Lux’s lawyers had private talks at the conclusion of Monday’s proceedings and an eleventh hour settlement is expected. 07:00 F1 observers says Jules Bianchi's move to Force India as reserve driver is a step back. 07:00 Jaime Alguersuari could become Mercedes AMG GP's new reserve driver for 2012 through Abu Dhabi's Aabar. 07:00 Sutil offered to drive for Eric Lux's Lotus Renault F1 team at a reduced salary in 2012. 07:00 Pirelli chief executive Marco Tronchetti Provera says they would welcome another tyre supplier in F1. Marco Tronchetti Provera: Alone or with a competitor, it’s ok either way. F1 decided that the tyres should be the same for everyone, but we do not care. 07:00 Mercedes AMG GP could lose Malaysian oil company Petronas as sponsor sources said on Tuesday. 06:40 Ferrari set to test Kubica by mid year with a two-year old Ferrari fitted with a 2014 turbo V6 engine according to reports. It is believed that a contract has already been signed, but Ferrari is not commenting at the moment. 06:30 Vitaly Petrov’s manager Oksana Kosachenko says Ecclestone involved in helping the Russian to get a seat before the sport goes to the country. Manager Oksana Kosachenko: As soon as it became clear that we could not stay with Lotus Renault, I spoke with Bernie. He expressed his support and tried to talk with the teams. The teams are, however, completely independent from Bernie Ecclestone, so he can’t influence their decisions in any way, unfortunately. 2012/01/30 - Twitter recap McLaren focus on Mercedes engine deal until 2016. McLaren spokesman: McLaren has had absolutely no contact with PURE for many months OfficialSF1Team Sauber F1 Team Great excitement at the successful fire-up of the Sauber C31-Ferrari. yfrog.com/nxz45msaj InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari It is a very busy week here at Maranello. At the Fiorano track you can already see the structure which will host the launch of the new car. 2012/01/30
14:13 Lotus F1 owner Eric Lux says he wanted an apology in person from Sutil over the Shanghai nightclub. Lux: I would have expected him to come to Luxembourg and apologise to me," he said. "A phone call is not enough. 13:36 InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari It is a very busy week here at Maranello. At the Fiorano track you can already see the structure which will host the launch of the new car. 12:20 McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh says he is happy to see Kimi Raikkonen return to F1 this season. Whitmarsh: I’m pleased that he’s made a Formula One comeback. He’s a very popular driver, and I think Formula One will be the better for his return. No fewer than six world champions will be competing in Formula One this season - more than ever before - and each of them, including Kimi, is not only a fantastic racing driver but also a colourful character with a robust fans’ following and a unique global allure. If the Lotus car is quick, Kimi will be quick in it; it’s as simple as that in my view. 11:00 Red Bull and Ferrari's departure from FOTA has not influence its relationship with McLaren says Martin Whitmarsh. Whitmarsh: Ferrari and McLaren have never enjoyed such cordial relations as they do currently. Okay, Formula 1 teams will always be competitive with one another - that’s natural and it’s the way things should be. Formula 1 is a sport, but it’s also a business - and a serious business at that. But that doesn’t mean we can’t and shouldn’t collaborate when collaborating can confer an overall benefit for the majority and that applies to all the teams, even those who are currently outside FOTA. So, speaking for McLaren, I can confirm that, at every level and in every discipline - engineering, marketing, PR, commercial, financial, legal and so on - our people remain in frequent and on-going contact with their counterparts within Red Bull and Ferrari, as well as with their counterparts within all the other teams…and certainly that applies to (Red Bull Team Principal) Christian Horner, (Ferrari Team Principal) Stefano Domenicali and myself. 10:16 Ferrari has reportedly signed a letter of intent with Robert Kubica and he could test a Ferrari F10 in June if his recovery goes according to plan. 09:30 Force India wants to follow in Red Bull Racing's footsteps says owner Vijay Mallya. Mallya: Subrata Roy’s vision is to be as good as Red Bull but he’s so excited that I have to stop him a bit. There are no short-cuts in formula one. 09:10 Vettel appoints 28-year-old Heikki Huovinen as his new trainer for the 2012 F1 season the German press reported. 08:30 Ecclestone is reportedly meeting with top French sporting officials today to discuss the return of F1 to the country. 08:30 Pirelli executive Marco Tronchetti Provera has dismissed accusations that the company's 2012 tyres was designed to suit Ferrari better. Marco Tronchetti Provera: It was a choice we made in accordance with all the teams and drivers. These 2012 tyres are for 2012, not the cars of last year. Naturally. If you’re Italian your dream is for Ferrari to win, if you’re English then it is McLaren. Everyone’s heart is where it is. 08:00 Lotus Renault's controversial ride height system was reportedly not intended to be used this season. 07:40 Schumacher spent a few days racing karts as part of his preparation for the pre-season testing. 06:30 Barrichello says IndyCar seat for 2012 a possibility, but no commitment yet. Barrichello: I’m doing it with my mind wide open. If I can get the passion with that car that I have always had when I am driving, then why not? I love racing. 06:15 Mercedes AMG GP wants to test the proper car in every detail and that is why the team decided to miss the first test says motorsport boss Norbert Haug. Haug: That was our decision. We want to test the proper car, finalised in each and every detail. That's why we need development time. 06:15 Kubica spends five hours per day on physiotherapy and is recovering well. He drove a Renault Megane recently with an automatic gearbox sources said over the weekend. 06:15 Sutil and Petrov are reportedly in the running to become Ferrari's official reserve driver for 2012 2012/01/30
06:00 - Twitter recap Peter Sauber says the team's 2012 car has an ugly bump on its nose just like the Caterham already launched. Fittipaldi reckons the first half of Kimi Raikkonen's 2012 season will be "crucial" in determining whether or not he can achieve F1 success. stephanesamson stephane samson Our E20 teaser is on lotusf1team.com We tried something quite unusual... Lotus has confirmed that its new F1 car will be called the E20, as it will be the 20th model to be designed at the team's factory in Enstone TheFifthDriver McLaren Wow, just five more sleeps until we show you our brand new F1 car. MTC is buzzing with activity AND excitement! #MP427 InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari For all Formula 1 fans... The countdown starts now! Are you ready to discover the new single-seater 2012? Click here: bit.ly/y6hZd0 Lotus_F1Team Lotus F1 Team As promised, we've got some images from the seat fittings today, enjoy! @RGrosjean #F1 pic.twitter.com/a7Kq2h0w Lotus_F1Team Lotus F1 Team Next up, it's the #Iceman 's turn to jump into the driving seat #Raikkonen #F1 pic.twitter.com/rociRkV6 Lotus_F1Team Lotus F1 Team Kimi looks relaxed as he talks to the engineers #Raikkonen #F1 pic.twitter.com/LSlmURaY Kimi gets to grips with the steering wheel; next stop Jerez! #Raikkonen #F1 TWCaterhamF1 Tom Webb @RenaultSportF1 engineer @mycaterhamf1 fire up. Photo c/o @annaCaterhamF1 pic.twitter.com/l5Ww6xHF 2012/01/27
13:53 Sahara Force India is pleased to announce Jules Bianchi as reserve driver for 2012. He will complete some Friday running for the team. Jules Bianchi: I'm obviously excited to join Sahara Force India and the chance to get track time during race weekends is an important step for me. Being regularly in a current car is the best way to learn quickly and I hope it will put me in a strong position to one day move into a race seat. The next few months will be really exciting as I get to know the team, see how they work, and prepare for my time in the car. I would like to thank everyone for believing in me and especially Sahara Force India for giving me this great opportunity. Dr. Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director: I am delighted to welcome Jules into the Sahara Force India family. We always keep an eye on young, talented drivers and his performance in GP2 certainly impressed us all. By giving Jules the opportunity to be part of our 2012 campaign, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to young drivers. We are proud of our track record in this regard and I have no doubt that Jules will quickly settle into the team and make a valuable contribution to our efforts on track this season. No expensive KERS system for Marussia in 2012 12:42 The aerodynamics are more important than KERS for Marussia says team boss John Booth. KERS will give the team only a few tenths, but they are looking seconds. Cost is another reason for the team to stay clear of the expensive KERS system. Booth: With the strides we are looking to make from this year, our focus has to be on aerodynamics first and foremost - as this will yield the greater gains. We are looking for seconds rather than tenths. Mercedes to test new parts on old car at Jerez test
2012/01/27
12:00 Mercedes AMG GP will run its old car at the first test at Jerez on 7 February, but they will test new parts. They will also test the new Pirelli tyres. Mercedes-Benz vice president of motorsport Norbert Haug We will have a couple of parts to learn from at the first test. We can use the new generation of tyres, which is a good way to draw a baseline because you have the data with the old tyres to compare it to. We need to learn more about the behaviour of the tyres on our car." Berger: Vettel key to RBR
2012/01/27
08:55 F1 Champion Sebastian Vettel will make the difference this season even if Red Bull Racing does not have the fastest car says Gerhard Berger. Berger: With Vettel in one of the cars, with so much confidence and experience now, he can make the difference even with the second best car. 2012/01/27
11:31 andrewbensonf1 Andrew Benson Next week sees launch of McLaren (Wednesday) and Ferrari (Friday). How much of sneak preview of Ferrari will be right? bit.ly/AEGQLu 11:24 - Twitter andrewbensonf1 Andrew Benson Was just on the phone to Caterham and an F1 engine fired up in the background. Pre-season testing starts in 11 days 11:13 The pre-season testing will be vital for teams to understand the new Pirelli tyres says Vitaly Petrov. Petrov: After the tests we will have a clear idea of how much lap time difference there is, and then for teams it will be easy to predict what we can do. The tests will be very important. 10:37 - Twitter Lotus_F1Team Lotus F1 Team We'll be bringing pictures of @RGrosjean and the #Iceman Kimi #Raikkonen as the day progresses, so stay tuned! #F1 Lotus_F1Team Lotus F1 Team Good morning @Lotus_F1Team fans! Another big day ahead, as @RGrosjean and the #Iceman head into the factory for their next seat fittings #F1 Lotus_F1Team Lotus F1 Team Applause all around the factory as the team see months of hard work finally put into action. Next stop, Jerez! #F1 pic.twitter.com/570heG2Q Lotus_F1Team Lotus F1 Team @RGrosjean and @thereal_JDA watch intently as their new ride for 2012 bursts into life! #F1 pic.twitter.com/rkMUdgBu Lotus_F1Team Lotus F1 Team It's fingers-in-ears time, as the revs rise and fill the factory with the greatest sound in the world... an #F1 engine! pic.twitter.com/wz2GKeSN Marussia signs new partnership deal with Sage. 09:42 Marussia f1 team: We are pleased to begin the new year with the announcement of a brand new partnership with Sage, a global market leader in business software. Andy Webb, CEO, Marussia F1 Team “We are pleased to welcome Sage on board at such an exciting time for us, as we prepare for the start of a new Formula One season at the Marussia Technical Centre in Banbury. The new software solution we have developed with Sage will enable us to achieve improved time-critical control of the 3,500 parts that will be used to manufacture each of our race cars. This is all part of our drive towards the enhanced integration of all aspects of our business in pursuit of our long-term ambitions within the Championship.” Bob Anderson, General Manager, Sage’s Enterprise Business “At Sage, we’re hugely passionate about helping our customers to drive new levels of business success and are confident that our Sage ERP X3 solution will do just that for the Marussia F1 Team. We wish them every success as the 2012 season gets underway and are confident that our software will help them to achieve new levels of speed and efficiency both on and off the track.” 09:37 Barrichello was invited to test an Indycar by his friend Tony Kanaan as well as KV team owner Jimmy Vasser. Kanaan on Twitter: As we can't keep the secret anymore, Rubens Barrichello will be testing for us. Very proud he can help KV Racing and myself with his feedback. New Caterham the best the team could do 09:30 Caterham technical director Mark Smith says the new car is the best they could have done with the resources they have. Just how good the new car will be remains to be seen. Smith: It's obviously always difficult to answer that question until the car's run and we know where we are relative to the other teams. But the thing that does please me and that I'm contented with is that it's definitely the best job that we could have done with resources that we have, and I think that's probably as much as we can say right now. I don't look at it and think we missed an opportunity to do this or that, I think that it's a good all-round step forward. 08:30 Michael Johnson's Performance Inc will make Williams pit stop quicker . Johnson: I feel extremely confident in myself and my staff in terms of what we have put together in training methodology and biomechanical efficiency. I don't think anybody knows it better than us. There is a tremendous amount of biomechanical movement going on in the pit stops so it stands to reason we can make that quicker. The amount of steps that it is going to take for the guy that has got that tyre and has got to put it on - it makes all the difference in the world which is his lead leg to how many steps he is going to take. And the guy with the gun - it jumped out at me immediately that you can do it two different ways. You can take it off the wheel and bring it straight back into your chest or you can take it off and point it upwards to get it out of the way. What has never been done is to evaluate the guy from a sensory stand-point to see how accurate can he be. 08:15 Kimi not aiming for the front Kimi Raikkonen is not expecting to be at the front as he returns to the sport after 2 years in rally. The Finn believes he will be a midfield runner in 2012. Raikkonen: I expect to have to fight in the middle group. But it will not be a drama. It’s no different to my last year at Ferrari. 08:15 Berger: Schumacher to quit at the end of the season Former F1 driver Gerhard Berger believes Michael Schumacher will quit at the end of the 2012 F1 season. Schumacher's contract expires at the end of the year. Berger also believes that his teammate Nico Rosberg will beat him during the season. Berger: I don’t think he’s going to extend the contract. At some point he has to get tired. He has no chance against Rosberg. He will have to admit that at more than forty years of age he can’t beat a young driver at Rosberg’s level. 07:45 No Rally for Kimi Kimi Raikkonen says he will wait for a while before doing a rally again admitting the teams are always nervous. Raikkonen: I will have to wait a little while before I do some rallies again. These days the teams are always a bit nervous about these things. 07:25 Caterham owner Tony Fernandes thrilled that his team launched its new car first this year. Fernandes: I am thrilled that we broke cover first and that the CT01 is the first example anyone has seen of a 2012 car. I think I am riding on some very good energy at the moment! | F1 BITS
2012/02/06
16:27 Jaime Alguersuari says he rejected a good offer for 2012 because Toro Rosso said his seat was save. Alguersuari: I was verbally confirmed during the Brazilian GP. Hence, being confirmed by Red Bull and STR, I rejected a very good offer. On December 13th, when Red Bull Racing told me that I was no longer part of the family I said that I was not going to judge them, neither I was feeling like a victim and that this was not a drama. But let me say just one thing: they hurt me, and moreover, it was unnecessary. 16:20 NOVA Chemicals Corporation (NOVA Chemicals) announced that it has extended its sponsorship agreement and technical partnership with the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula 1 team. 16:10 FOTA has a strong future despite several teams leaving the organization says Lotus Renault boss Eric Boullier. 14:36 Kimi Raikkonen can give Lotus Renault the direction to deliver on its potential says team boss Eric Boullier. 12:40 Vitaly Petrov's driver plans delayed by sponsor decision says manager Oksana Kosachenko. 12:22 The banned exhaust-blown diffuser will be a boost for Sauber this season says Kamui Kobayashi. Kobayashi: Last year the exhaust performance affected speed, and we had developed it well but stopped before Silverstone and lost performance. This year we definitely have a better chance because this [exhaust-blown diffusers] has gone, [so] we don't have to try something different to find downforce. 12:18 Sauber's new car was designed to minimised tyre degradation says designer Matt Morris. Morris: That was our primary goal, to make sure that we maintain our good tyre management and also get the flexibility to allow more setup changes, particularly in qualifying. 12:14 James Key's departure from Sauber as technical director was because both sides were dissatisfied. 11:46 Sauber's livery could change before the first race as the team continues to talk to sponsors. 11:38 HRT's head designer Jacky Eeckelaert has left the team after they started the restructuring. 11:00 Sauber boss Peter Sauber says both drivers have huge potential Sauber: With his rookie season behind him Sergio is now approaching his second season, which is often the most difficult in a driver's Formula 1 career. Both drivers have huge potential and will work with the same race engineers as in 2011 to continue developing that promise. 10:30 Peter Sauber: "Our goal is to finish regularly in the points so as to put ourselves in a significantly better position in the world championship." 09:40 Force India's Andrew Green says the Mercedes KERS system is fantastic. Green: It was as close to a seamless integration as you could want. It’s a fantastic system, and we’re very happy with it. There are little detail changes, but essentially it’s the same package. 09:37 - Twitter InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari If you compare the two temperatures it looks like the two places are in two different emishperes. InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari A sunny and relatively warm day here in Jerez while in Maranello this morning it was -11 °C! 09:30 Jaime Alguersuari says he won't be in the F1 paddock this season after losing his Toro Rosso seat. 09:00 Lotus Renault's driver lineup reflects the team's ambition team boss Eric Boullier said. Boullier: I think our driver line-up reflects the ambition of this company and this team. It is clear that to have Kimi back on track - on top of being a nice media and PR action - we need a driver of the calibre of Kimi to be able to fight for the top positions. 08:15 F1 teams will get 25 sets of Pirelli's new soft, medium and hard tyres for this week's test at Jerez. 08:00 Lotus Renault's wind tunnel made a great contribution to the development of the new car says team boss Eric Boullier. Boullier: Our new 60 per cent scale wind tunnel which went operational last year has made a great contribution to the development of the E20 and we are using this resource as much as we can to push development of the car forwards. From April we should have our 'Driver in the Loop' simulator active and this is another superb resource to assist our engineers in developing the car. These are two areas which further demonstrate our intentions. 07:55 - Twitter xevipujolar Already at #Jerez #F1 circuit for the final preparation before the 1st Test tomorrow. yfrog.com/esbzipj 07:41 FIA race director Charlie Whiting says F1 teams are to blame for the rule changes forcing the new cars to have ugly noses. Whiting: We wanted to lower the survival cell to minimise the consequences of a crash into the side of another car. But some of the engineers complained that they would have to build entirely new cars due to the accommodation of the suspension elements. So that’s why we came up with making the new height requirement relevant not to the chassis but to the nose (only),” he explained. 07:20 Lotus team co-owner Gerard Lopez says they are aiming to finish the season in fourth position. Lopez : We hope to have a strong car, and have strong drivers, one of which is of course an ex-world champion. We hope to bring the car up to the front of the pack and probably try to aim for fourth as a reasonable goal for this season. 07:05 The German media says that Adrian Sutil has offers to drive for a World Touring Car Championship team or an IndyCar team. 06:33 Lotus Renault boss Eric Boullier says 2012 will be an adjustment year and targets 2013 to be fully operational. Boullier: Obviously 2012 is very welcome after a poor 2011 and very hectic year. It's clear we've maintained our ambition on track and we want to carry on the full restructuring, progress and change that we started one year ago. We now have a clear target. We know that we have a strong commitment from our shareholders, that we want to be a top team and seen as a top team. 2012 will be the year of our final adjustment to be ready and fully operational from 2013 with an ambitious plan. For 2012 we expect to be in a position to fight for fourth place for the championship. 06:08 McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh told a German newspaper that the exhaust on the launch car was made from plastic. Whitmarsh: The exhaust was made of plastic, you won’t see those components in that form again 2012/02/05
15:20 - Twitter recap HRTF1Team HRT F1 Team And there is the F111, still in the truck but ready to get out as soon as the garage is ready #F1 pic.twitter.com/dfn8H0jE InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari The team has arrived in Jerez: a bit of difference in terms of air temp (+15 °C) compared to Maranello :-) InsideFerrari Scuderia Ferrari The F2012 was already waiting for the mechanics and the engineers inside the garage . Lotus_F1Team Lotus F1 Team T Minus 90 minutes until the big reveal! Help us get #E20 trending during the event! #F1 clubforce Club Force India F1 Go behind the scenes at our driver photo shoot and hear from @pauldirestaf1, @NicoHulkenberg and Jules Bianchi: youtube.com/watch?v=3iUUZC… autorace_f1 Autorace James Key is going to Lotus Cars sources said on Sunday. No official confirmation yet. #f1 #gp autorace_f1 Autorace Alonso: I like the shape, the creative shape that we see in this new car. I think when a car surprises you from the first look. #f1 #gp OfficialSF1Team Sauber F1 Team #Kamui is looking at @checoperez17 and... wait - isn't that the brandnew #Sauber C31-Ferrari?! pic.twitter.com/WX3f5v2m Red Bull Racing's new car looks better than the Ferrari but not as good as the McLaren says Marko. 2012/02/03
13:53 Ferrari has a lot of upgrades planned and experiments during testing before the first race of the season in Australia Ferrari chief designer Nikolas Tombazis: "This car is still destined to change quite a lot before the first race. We have been working in the wind tunnel and the design office on aerodynamic upgrades of the car - but we also have some very important experiments we want to carry out in the first tests so we can finalise the first race configuration." 13:20 Nico Hulkenberg says Force India's new car does not look too different for the 2011 car. Hulkenberg: I think the car doesn’t look too different to last year, expect maybe at the front of the nose, where there is a bit of a change. Apart from that, there isn’t much obvious, although the exhaust position is different. Aero-wise, it’s in the details again. I saw the car in the wind tunnel and it looked good, but you never know where you are until you are out there and you compete against the others, so let’s wait and see. 12:52 Q&A with Narain Karthikeyan 12:24 - Twitter alanbaldwinf1 Nico Hulkenberg will not be in the car today at Silverstone, just Paul, in case anyone was wondering. 12:10 Force India's 2011 form has raised expectations for this year. Ddeputy team boss Bob Fernley: I don't think Vijay will accept anything less than fifth [in the constructors' championship]. I was pleased we didn't finish fifth [in 2011] in some ways because then [the target] would've been fourth... 12:00 Force India's deputy team boss Bob Fernley believes its young driver lineup is the most promising. Fernley: No, I don't think we are taking a gamble. Driver succession is important to us. I think outside of, or maybe including, the top four, we've got one of the most exciting driver line-ups, so I'm not worried at all. The system Force India operate with bringing them through one year [as reserve drivers] makes the difference with them being able to be competitive from day one. It's a very clearly thought out process. 
2012/02/03
11:41 Massa says they will fight to get the championship back in 2012. Massa: "Let me tell you that it looks very aggressive, it was something that was part of my dreams. It's a very important year for me and the whole team of course; 2012, this is going to be the victory year. We are going to fight to get the championship back. I really feel focused on winning. There are positive things in my head and I want to finish the championship in a better way." 2012/02/03
11:32 Massa needs to be super competitive this season to keeps his drive. Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo: "As for Massa, he knows as much as we know that he has to do something great, something better after a not-so-positive season." 11:28 - Twitter clubforce VJM05 leaves the garage for the start of our filming day. twitpic.com/8f3paq 11:26 Paul di Resta became the first F1 driver to complete laps in a 2012 F1. He drove Force India's new car around Silverstone. Williams did run the new FW34 earlier this week, but he is a test driver. 11:14 Force India aims for 5th in the constructors this season Technical boss Andrew Green: "It's a big ask for a small team like ourselves but I've got a lot of confidence in the team around me. We learned a lot last year and made big strides in our understanding of car performance and aerodynamics. We are taking that another step this year, you can see that in the detail on the car and see the new aero philosophies coming through on it. This is another chapter for Force India." 11:14 Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says he is confident Ferrari can win the title this season. Montezemolo: "We want to win, and we want to have right conditions like we had in the past. We have all the ingredients for a perfect recipe. Stefano has been working so hard to get the car ready and get the team ready to improve organisation in the company. These changes are important and give us the possibility to have a highly competitive team." 11:00 The FIA's Charlie Whiting will attend the Jerez test becasue there are many legality questions around the 2012 F1 cars. 10:45 Ferrari has extended its deal with banking giant Santander until the end of 2017. 10:30 Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali says he believes the changes made in the team should bring instant success in 2012. 08:47 Karthikeyan says he is looking forward to the 2012 Indian GP after signing for HRT. Karthikeyan: I was pleased with our strong performance at the Indian Grand Prix, in front of my passionate home fans and I look forward to building on this result in 2012. 08:00 Narain Karthikeyan officially confirmed as the second HRT driver. Karthikeyan: It has taken a lot of hard work to make this happen but I am absolutely elated to feature on the 2012 grid with HRT F1 Team. Press release 07:41 Narain Karthikeyan will drive for HRT this season Indian media outlets reported this morning. An announcement is expected at 11am today. 07:36 Twitter - andrewbensonf1 - A little bird tells me he is 99.99% sure @narainracing will be announced as second HRT driver today at 11am. Let's see if he's right... 07:33 Kimi's return to F1 tells Button he is still to young at 32 to think about retirement. Button: "Two of the six champions have left and come back again. You always think the grass is greener but you’ve got to be careful about when you retire." Sutil must be in F1
2012/02/03 - 06:26 07:22 Adrian Sutil deserves to have a race seat in F1 says Nico Hulkenberg who replaces Sutl at Force India this season. Hulkenberg: "Adrian definitely deserves a race seat and more than some of the other current race drivers. There is absolutely no bad blood between us." 2012/02/03
07:15 Force India chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer says the squad needs more people if they want to win the title. Szafnauer: "If we have 330 people, fifth place should be possible. Can we be world champion with that? Probably not. We’d need 450." 2012/02/02 Ferrari cancel launch presentation because of snow 14:30 - Twitter Ferrari: Here you can see some shots of the situation at Maranello.... And it is still snowing... http://yfrog.com/esq0xynj http://yfrog.com/ny9ctqj 06:00 FERRARI - There was no let up from the snow last night, which continued to fall on Maranello and the surrounding area and the situation does not appear to be changing this morning. The forecast is still bad both in terms of predictions of more snow fall and of a further drop in temperature. Therefore, the decision has been taken to cancel the presentation ceremony for the new car, which was to have taken place at 10.30 tomorrow. The decision was taken because of the weather conditions and because of the difficulties that would have faced the 300 or so people due to attend from the team partners, the authorities and representatives of the media in their attempts to get to Maranello. Photographs and all technical information relating to the car, along with exclusive interviews, will be available to all on www.ferrarif1.com. 17:01 - Twitter TheFifthDriver McLaren Want to see the big reveal again? See all the best bits from yesterday's Vodafone McLaren Mercedes #MP427 launch here - tinyurl.com/82js6tg 17:00 - Twitter Toro Rosso driver @danielricciardo has joined Twitter. 14:51 - Twitter MikeGascoyne - Final fitting going on around the car before leaving for Jerez tomorrow evening. All the trucks have already left 13:10 - Twitter Scuderia Ferrari on Twitter: It is still snowing heavily here in Maranello. Therefore, the launch ceremony of the new F1 car has been cancelled. Ferrari says pictures, interviews and technical analysis of the new car will be available tomorrow on www.ferrarif1.com. 11:57 - Twitter MercedesAMGF1 Winter Facts - Today: car parts, G-force, engines and back to back world champions bit.ly/wpPgKg 11:53 - Twitter HRTF1Team HRT F1 Team Pedro having his seat and pedals fitted for the tests in Jerez fro.gy/1qjrb 11:15 Gerhard Berger says he is not surprised by Mercedes AMG GP's struggles so far despite having the brilliant Ross Brawn as team boss. 10:46 Hamilton likely to stay at McLaren saying they will discuss and sort it after the first couple of races. 10:37 SkySportsF1 announced that they will show both GP2 and GP3 live in 2012. 10:17 Ferrari boss comments on new OZ wheels. Stefano Domenicali: We are proud to welcome OZ to the group of Suppliers to the Scuderia. The brand from Padua is synonymous with quality and reliability and along with these characteristics comes the ability to meet the demands of its customers who, in an environment as competitive as Formula 1, are always looking for maximum performance. This collaboration in Formula 1 will further strengthen the ties that have linked for many years the Prancing Horse and OZ in the world of road-going cars. 09:46 Melbourne will continue to host the F1 race beyond 2015 says race organizer Ron Walker. He also criticized the amount of public money pored into tennis so people should not point fingers to F1. ______________________________ The oldest ever F1 pole sitter was 47-year-old Nino Farina in 1954. ______________________________ The oldest world champion was Juan Manuel Fangio, who was 46 years old in 1957. ______________________________ 2011/12/14 The Caterham F1 Team has unveiled its new logo for the 2012 Formula 1 season ______________________________ Overall overhaul - race suit evolution To KnowFollow us on Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/autorace_f1 Video - FIA Awards 2011 ceremony highlights: For the second successive year, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel was the... http://bit.ly/sVyHee 2011 F1 champion
Important
Resource Restriction Agreement under discussion. 2011 Drivers Standings 1 Sebastian Vettel 392 2 Jenson Button 270 3 Mark Webber 258 4 Fernando Alonso 257 5 Lewis Hamilton 227 6 Felipe Massa 118 7 Nico Rosberg 89 8 Michael Schumacher 76 9 Adrian Sutil 42 10 Vitaly Petrov 37 |
