Latest

F1 helmet design changes to be banned

Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, plans to ban any changes to F1 driver helmet designs during the course of the season this year. Drivers will be forced to stick to a single design for the entire season in a bid to make it easier for their fans to identify them on track.

Unlike the Senna days when a drivers’ helmet design was considered to be part of his appeal, todays’ F1 drivers regularly change helmet designs – some at every race.

But, according to a report by Autosport, they will now be forced to choose one design and stick to it for the entire F1 season – a decision which was made at a meeting of the F1 Commission on Tuesday. The decision does still need to be ratified by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council before the start of the season but looks set to go through.

Sebastian Vettel is well known for switching between designs – often using more than one per grand prix weekend. He however, already made it clear that he intends sticking to his new white helmet design since joining the Ferrari F1 team.

The race at Monaco has also become well known for drivers bringing one-off novelty designs including diamond encrusted helmets and tributes to former legends. A good few drivers often celebrate milestones in their careers with new helmet designs too, but it seems that none of this will be allowed any longer.

The prospect of this new rule has created loads of debate on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks with former F1 driver Alex Wurz even saying that the sport is starting to take control over drivers’ individuality.

Many fans are baffled at the thought of this move, and how it would possibly make the sport more appealing but unfortunately the decision lays entirely with the FIA.

We will report and updates as and when we receive them.

February 18, 2015
Renault expect “significant performance step” before Australia

According to Renault’s chief technical officer Rob White, the engine manufacturer is on course to make considerable performance improvements with their 2015 Formula One power unit before the season-opening race in Melbourne, Australia.

Renault have made sweeping comprehensive changes to their F1 power unit over the winter break in an effort to reduce the performance deficit to Mercedes which they experienced during the 2014 F1 season.

Despite reliability issues hampering running in this year’s first pre-season test at Jerez for both the Red Bull and Toro Rosso F1 teams, Renault are certain that we’ll see big leaps forward before before March 15 when F1 returns to Melbourne.

White spoke to F1’s official website saying that, “First and foremost we need to run reliably, be quick and closer to front.

“Our honest expectation is that we will make a decent improvement but it is difficult to quantify the gain relative to our competitors who will also progress.

“What we can say is that we are on course to make a significant performance step and resolve the principal reliability weaknesses by the time we get to the first race.”

According to White, Renault has also opted to use the majority of their engine development tokens prior to the 2015 Australian Grand Prix in order to deliver these big performance gains, but added that the decision making around when Renault will use the remaining tokens for future upgrades during the course of the season, will be “juggling act”.

“We have used the majority of the tokens for the first race and our use of tokens during the course of the season will be relatively modest,” he explained.

“It then becomes a matter of strategy about when you introduce the remaining tokens; whether to introduce at the start of the season when the technology is relatively immature but could give greater relative performance, or later in the season when the part has had more testing miles but the impact on performance will be potentially less.

“Clearly the juggling act we need to perform is which areas of the power unit are the most worthwhile to attack for performance reasons. We have therefore prioritised token spend to make as much headway as possible with performance.”

Photo Credit: Renault Sport F1

February 18, 2015
Ferrari Reveals Future F1 Concept

Ferrari have revealed a striking new Formula 1 car for the future concept.

The aim to to spark debate on what F1 cars in the future will look like and according to Autosport, Red Bull and McLaren have revealed their concepts to the F1 strategy group two weeks ago but have chosen to keep those pictures a secret. It is said that they were not as radical as Ferrari’s.

The concept car sports and unusual 2-level front wing with the bottom level extending beyond the front of the tyres. It also looks like it has a higher nose compared to the cars of today. It’s even better looking!

Around the rear of the car is where most of the changes are made. The roll hoop has an integrated wing and it looks as the drivers helmet is sculpted to the bodywork of the car.

The rear wing seems to be one large component which extends to cover the rear tyres. This is very similar to what the Indy Cars have at the moment.

It is quite striking. Whether we see this in the future remains a question.

February 17, 2015
F1 2015: Why you can read into F1 testing

For as long as cars have been running around test tracks, most have warned against reading too much into the pre-season. It is, after all, just that, a test. Teams truck their way to European race tracks with their new cars and set about an examination and assessment of what exactly the engineers and designers have rustled up.

The first roll-out of the cars is closely observed by millions of fans who scour the internet and fervently stalk their favourite forums for the most minute updates and details. Sky F1, for example, sends a whole team of journalists to these sessions to document every move that the teams make. Yet, the warnings that the times at the end of the day don’t mean anything subsist.

These warnings though aren’t necessarily always applicable. For one, should the goings-on from Jerez be disregarded you would fail to notice that Ferrari has made an enormous improvement from last year. Okay, it wouldn’t exactly be hard to build a better car than last season’s F14T which was a colossal waste of carbon fibre. But Sauber, who also runs with Ferrari power, has confirmed that the new power unit is a substantial step forward from the Italian manufacturer’s first attempt at the hybrid-turbo engines.

What’s more, Kimi Raikkonen has said that he finds the handling of this car much better and to his liking. Let’s be honest the ever aloof and not-so-media-friendly Raikkonen will hardly be the type of guy to provide a sound bite just for the sake of it. Now, Ferrari hasn’t suddenly transformed into world beaters but they may just be on to something with the SF15T.

The telltale, good, signs from testing would be stacks of laps and reliability. Here the Mercedes W06 is still way ahead of the curve. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton both completed nearly two full race simulations a day at Jerez. They set about completing their testing program in an ominously reserved manner. There were no proclamations that they were, again, going to blow-away the competition. There was just lap after lap of a car which can seemingly keep going forever.

Even in testing where the laptimes don’t mean that much there is still the odd team/driver who’ll take out the fuel and set a flashy time. It happens for various reasons not least of all to attract a bit of media attention and please the suits that put up the sponsorship cash. The longer runs are what you want to pay attention to. The consistency in laptimes is an important barometer. The more consistent the time, the more it suggests a predictable car. The reasoning then is that the more confidence a driver has in the car’s behaviour the more assured he’ll be in pushing it around the lap.

While what happens at testing isn’t an out-and-out pecking order for the season there is much to learn from it. The next area is the press statements made by drivers. Yes, they get coached to the hilt but sometimes they do reveal a kernel of telling information. At Toro Rosso the engineers and owners are completely infatuated with Max Verstappen who they have dubbed the next Ayrton Senna. It’s noticeable in the Verstappen-obsessed chatter that they don’t talk much about their car which looks a bit of a handful.

The most entertaining and puzzling statements have come from McLaren. New-old driver Fernando Alonso has declared himself impressed with Honda’s “scientific approach.” What did Ferrari use, witchcraft? Once more we see an attempt to deflect from what has been a pretty poor start for the McLaren-Honda alliance. Better that this be the headline than the handful of installation laps they were able to complete at Jerez.

So, there is after all much to glean from testing. Pay attention to the press statements and what they try to detract attention from. Forget about the flashy-headline-grabbing-laptime and instead study the longer runs and determine how consistent the laptimes are. The second test takes place at the Barcelona circuit from the 19^th to the 22^nd of February.

February 17, 2015
F1 2015: Barcelona Test Team and Driver Lineup

The second F1 test of the season will get underway in 2 days time in Catalunya, Spain at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The track is known to all the teams and drivers as it has been the winter testing ground for quite a few years. The 4.655km track has 16 corners which really put an F1 car through its paces. The track has a very good balance between fast and slow corners together with a long straight.

Much has been said about the pace of Mercedes after the first test in Jerez. Many think that they did not show their true pace. This may be true if speed trap data is to be believed where it showed that Mercedes powered cars still hold an advantage in terms of speed over Ferrari and Renault powered cars. One should not read too much into all of that as it is only the first of three pre-season tests. We should get a slightly clearer picture during the upcoming test.

Ferrari seem to have made some progress from 2014 after their cars finished on top of the time sheets on three of the four days of the Jerez test. Williams seemed to have a rather anonymous test as they quietly went along their business and managed to get some good mileage out of their cars. The same can be said for Toro Rosso with their two young drivers.

McLaren had a very shaky start. With a new engine manufacturer there was bound to be plenty of teething problems. They managed to get a handful of laps in the previous test but will be looking to get some decent mileage in Barcelona. Red Bull, with their camouflaged car also got of to a shaky start as they also suffered engine issues.

Lotus with Mercedes engines had a better Jerez test than 2014 with the only hold up for them was the lack of parts on the first day of the Jerez test which lead to them sitting out day 1. No doubt they will be better prepared for this week.

Force India, after skipping the Jerez test, will be out on track in Catalunya with their 2014 car as their 2015 is not yet complete. The 2014 car will have developmental parts on the car that will no doubt go on the 2015 car which should make its debut at the second Barcelona test.

We should see Mercedes pace revealed over the course of the test. If the timing wall from the previous test is to be believed, Ferrari should follow in a close second. But this is testing and no team will revealed their true pace until qualifying in Melbourne.

Below is the schedule for the Barcelona test:

February 17, 2015
Formula 1 Testing Diary – Jerez

The pomp and circumstance of multi-million rand glitzy launches that used to mark the unveiling of a new Formula 1 car is a thing of the past. Instead, some teams opt for an online release of a few images while others invite a few folk over to their factories for a bit of a show. The rest are happy to reveal their cars in the Jerez pitlane and get straight down to business.

It is ultimately the laptimes and reliability that is most important in the early days before the 2015 season. But let’s take a minute to appreciate that Formula 1 is once again stunningly easy on the eye. In fact, it’s hard to pick the best looking car of the lot. At Red Bull they’ve played around with a rad-looking white-and-black camouflage livery. The new look is only interim however team Principal Christian Horner has promised to debut even stronger colours in Australia. The Ferrari SF15T has long, elegant swooping lines that carry all the way through to an elongated nose and the McLaren’s lustrous silver bodywork has been accented by swathes of red as a nod to new engine supplier Honda.

Nevertheless, the most vital test is how, and if, these cars come alive on the track. The first four-day test session took place at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain.

Day one: Sebastian Vettel sets the fastest time of the day for the Ferrari team with a time of 1:22:690 with a lap total of 59. Fernando Alonso completed the least amount of laps, six, in his McLaren Honda. The MP4-30’s, dubbed the McHonda, problems centred mostly on their new Honda engine. The Lotus team were absent from the pitlane following their announcement that the E23 wasn’t quite ready to run.

It was a remarkable day for Mercedes who clocked 157 with Nico Rosberg. Although Mercedes did have a shakedown at Silverstone to clock 157 laps in a day is an extremely good sign for the defending champions.

Day two: Once again Sebastian Vettel tops the timing sheets with a fastest time of 1:20:984 in his Ferrari. The Lotus team did a terrific job to show up for the second day of testing and managed a total of 41 laps with Pastor Maldonado and a quickest time of 1:25:802. McLaren managed only a couple of installations with Jenson Button before spending the entire morning in the garage with more electronic issues.

The final few hours of the second day of testing were blighted with rain however Lewis Hamilton was still able to complete 91 laps before a water leak brought an end to his afternoon. Sebastian Vettel racked up 89 laps and Sauber’s Felipe Nasr’s 88.

Day three: Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr set the quickest time of the day ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. Nasr completes an impressive 108 laps in the blue-and-yellow Sauber but Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg racks up the most laps with 150.

On their second day of testing Lotus is able to complete 91 laps with Maldonado and provide a consistent base for feedback on the E23. McLaren have a better day with Fernando Alonso who is able to complete 32 laps. However, the McHonda would later stop on circuit with a water pressure problem. Rookie Carlos Sainz Jr has a notable day out with the difficult Toro Rosso by completing 136 laps.

Day four: The final day is topped by Kimi Raikkonen ensuring that a Ferrari-engine has topped all four days at Jerez. The 1:20:841 is the fastest of all four days but is kept in cautious perspective by Raikkonen who calls the SF15T “a good starting point.”

Felipe Nasr and Lewis Hamilton complete the top three while Romain Grosjean’s day was brought to an early end with a “power unit issue.” Jenson Button has no easier time of it in the McLaren as engine problems and a fuel pump issue curtail the team’s program.

February 12, 2015
F1 2015: Jerez Testing Day 4 – Round Up

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen ended day 4 of the Jerez test on top of the time sheets. Raikkonen set the fastest lap of 1:20.841 which was also the fastest time of the week.

Raikkonen was quite happy with what Ferrari have achieved so far and feels that the car is performing much better than it was last year. “”It’s the whole package that has progressed, but there is still a lot of work to do,” he said.

Finishing second on the day was Sauber’s Felipe Nasr. The Sauber driver managed to cross the line 112 times with his fastest time of the day of 1:22.019.

Lewis Hamilton finished the day with the 3rd fastest time of 1:22.172. But we all know that in testing its mileage that counts and Hamilton clocked up 117 laps for the day. His day wasnt without incident as he had a spin at the chicane which brought out the red flags for a short while.

Max Verstappen finished 4th fastest for Toro Rosso with Felipe Massa 5th fastest for Williams. They each did 97 and 73 laps respectively.

It wasn’t the easiest of days for Romain Grosjean, but he managed to bang in a solid 53 laps of the Jerez Circuit. His day was brought to an end early after issues with the power unit.

Red Bull had another tough day after an ERS problem saw Kvyat stop on track in the morning. This problem meant that they spent most of the morning fixing the problem, but they were out by the afternoon which meant Kvyat could pound around the track for a while.

Engine problems in the morning and a fuel pump issue in the afternoon brought Jenson Button’s day to an early end. But it wasn’t all bad news for the Woking based team. Button managed to get a good few laps in and set his fastest time of a 1:27.660. Despite all the engine issues, McLaren feel that they’ve learnt a great deal about the engine architecture and so far the feedback from Button about the new Honda engine is positive.

Teams will gather and analyse all their data at their respective headquarters and will head to Barcelona for the second test for the 2015 season in 2 weeks time.

Unofficial times for Day 4 of the Jerez Test

February 4, 2015
Formula 1 Coming To Nelson Mandela Bay

South Africa is taking its first decisive step towards bringing Formula 1 back to its shores with an International Motorsport Show in Nelson Mandela Bay this December.

The event has been three years in the making and marks a vital step in South Africa’s renewed position in the world of motorsport.

The Mzansi International Motorsport Show will run from the 10th – 13th of December and include three days of motorsport extravaganza. Several races have been planned around a 1.6 km loop of Marine Drive in Summerstrand. The races will feature supertrucks, karts, exotic tuners, the V8 series and for a bit of South African flavour a taxi race has also been planned. However, what is sure to be the piece de resistance is the Formula 1 exhibition race which will feature two Lotus-Mercedes cars and four South African built F1 cars.

The event is expected to create nearly 3000 annual job opportunities and serve as an important boost to the region’s tourism sector. Ticket prices will range from R150 to R350 with expected attendance of 20 000 spectators per day.

The international launch of the Mzansi Motorsport Show will take place in March in Australia which will also mark the official start of the 2015 Formula 1 season.

February 4, 2015
F1 2015: Jerez Testing Day 3 – Round Up

Sauber’s Felipe Nasr set the fastest time of the third day of the Jerez test on Tuesday.

Nasr set an unofficial time of 1:21.545 to put his Sauber ahead of Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari in P2 with a time of 1:21.750. It must also be noted that Nasr clocked up an impressive 108 laps. But that was still not enough to beat Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes W06, who racked up an impressive 151 laps. His day was not without incident as he came to a stop on the track just before lunch time which brought out the red flags.

There were two other stoppages today. Once was caused by Nasr after spinning off the track and took a trip through the gravel traps. The other stoppage was because Pastor Maldonado’s Lotus came to a stop on the back straight.

Things are looking much better for Lotus this time around. Maldonado managed to do 96 laps today with his fastest time of 1:22.713.

McLaren had a better day out on track as Fernando Alonso managed to clock up 32 laps in his MP4-30. His day was cut short after a loss of cooling water pressure. His fastest time for the day was a 1:35.553,

Daniel Ricciardo was hamstrung by engine problems for most of the day and was limited to a few short runs. Carlos Sainz Jr. had a good day out for Toro Rosso and did an impressive 136 laps.

The test concludes tomorrow.

Unofficial times from Circuito de Jerez

Photo by courtesy Pirelli

February 3, 2015
F1 2015: Jerez Testing Day 2 – Round-Up

The second day of testing from Spain’s Jerez circuit was topped by Sebastian Vettel as he set a fastest time of 1:20:984 in his Ferrari.

The morning started rather sedately as the several cars initially set about completing their installations laps. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton got into their workload for the day relatively quickly while others camped in the pitlane for some time. The Lotus team did a terrific job to show up for the second day of testing and managed an initial installation with Pastor Maldonado able to complete 41 laps with a quickest time of 1:25:802.

McLaren also managed only a couple of installations with Jenson Button before spending the entire morning in its pit garage. The Brit was able set a timed lap several hours later following a morning troubled by electronic issues. However, nearly all of the session on day two was lost to further gremlins.

Red Bull’s Danill Kvyat caused quite a stir when he left the pitlane without a front-wing. Naturally, there were a few jokes about the camouflage livery living up to its name and hiding the front-wing. Ultimately, the explanation was that the front-wing had been damaged and while the team waited for a replacement Kvyat would do a short engine test without it.

The final few hours of the second day of testing were blighted with rain however Lewis Hamilton was still able to complete 91 laps before a water leak brought an end to his afternoon. Sebastian Vettel racked up 89 laps and Sauber’s Felipe Nasr’s 88.

Unofficial laptimes from Jerez de la Frontera:

February 2, 2015