Latest

Bahrain Grand Prix Twilight Start Time Confirmed

It was confirmed earlier today by the FIA that the Bahrain Grand Prix will have a 18:00 (17:00 GMT+2) local start time.

After an announcement last year that the Bahrain Grand Prix will take place under floodlights, work at the Bahrain international circuit got underway to line the circuit with floodlights. Like the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Bahrain Grand Prix will start at twilight and end at night.

The FIA also confirmed a 15:00 (13:00 GMT+2) local start time for the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi.

February 10, 2014
Ross Brawn has no Intention of Returning to F1

Ross Brawn has made it clear that he has no intentions of returning to Formula 1 anytime soon.

Brawn who was linked to many other teams after he announced his departure from Mercedes, has now made it clear that he has no intention to return to F1. He made the announcement at a fishing even on Saturday in Aberdeenshire.

“What they didn’t realise when I was invited here was they had a scoop because the world’s press was trying to find out if I was retiring or not,” said Brawn talking to the Daily Telegraph

“I’m retiring – it’s not tongue in cheek. I’m going to take a year to enjoy the fishing and then see what life brings.”

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 at the Motor Sport magazine ‘Hall Of Fame’ awards in London, Brawn hinted that he may be persuaded to change his mind to return to the sport. “Come the summer I may take stock and things may change – never say never – but it’s not my plan,” said Brawn.

The F1 world will definitely miss Brawn in the paddock. He is seen as one of the most successful team principals in the paddock. He’s been instrumental in 16 world titles between three teams.

February 2, 2014
Schumacher being brought out of coma

Michael Schumacher’s manager and spokesperson, Sabine Kehm, has confirmed that doctors treating the German 7 time world champ have begun the waking up process to slowly bring Schumacher out of his month-long induced coma.

Schumacher has been in the induced coma since his skiing accident on 29 December.

“Michael’s sedation is being reduced in order to allow the start of the waking up process which may take long time,” read a statement released by Kehm. “For the protection of the family, it was originally agreed by the interested parties to communicate this information only once this process was consolidated. Please note that no further updates will be given.”

She once again stressed the request that the family be given the privacy they need and that people not disturb the doctors who are treating him.

The additional note read, “The family of Michael Schumacher is again requesting to respect its privacy and the medical secret, and to not disturb the doctors treating Michael in their work. At the same time, the family wishes to express sincere appreciation for theworld wide sympathy.”

Ferrari and Mercedes are both displaying messages of support for Schumacher during the pre-season testing at Jerez and drivers and fans alike have continued to stream messages of support using the hashtags #ForzaMichael and #KeepFightingMichael on Twitter.

The F1 fraternity waits on further news and our thoughts and well wishes are with Michael and his family. #ForzaMichael !

January 30, 2014
Video: F1 2014 Jerez Test: Day 2 Highlights

Video highlights from Day 2 of the pre-season testing at Jerez.

January 30, 2014
Eric Boullier appointed as McLaren Racing Director

McLaren has confirmed that ex Lotus team principal, Eric Boullier, will be joining the team in the position of Racing Director, effective 3 Feb 2014.

The team said in a statement that Boullier will report to the Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Racing (a new position whose yet-to-be-appointed occupant will in turn report directly to Ron Dennis (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Group). Martin Whitmarsh was not mentioned in the team statement but COO Jonathan Neale will take over the role of CEO in the interim.

“First of all, I regard this appointment as an honour, a privilege and a wonderful opportunity,” Boullier said. “The McLaren Racing workforce and the facilities at the McLaren Technology Centre are world-class, and I’m hugely excited about the prospect of joining such an outstanding team.

“I’m both eager and determined to play an active part, working alongside McLaren Racing’s other senior managers and directors, within a new operational structure, to bring about the changes that will deliver success.

“Last, I want to take this opportunity to assure the McLaren Racing workforce that I’m utterly determined to match their famous passion and commitment to win.”

Ron Dennis said that bringing Boullier in was part of a wider change in philosophy in the way McLaren works.

“Eric’s appointment is an integral part of a senior management restructure within McLaren Racing,” he said. “I’ve already personally conveyed to the entire workforce of the McLaren Group, which includes McLaren Racing, the values, principles and mindset that I intend us all to adopt, going forward. My intention is that from now on everyone at McLaren Racing will understand their responsibilities and accountabilities, focusing on their specific areas of expertise, in keeping with those values, principles and mindset.

“In due course we’ll announce the identity of McLaren Racing’s new Chief Executive Officer, who’ll report to me, and to whom Eric will report. I’m firmly of the belief that, once McLaren Racing’s restructured senior management team has been assembled, together we’ll begin the march back to full competitiveness, quickly and professionally, harnessing the fantastic depth of talent that exists within our organisation.”

January 29, 2014
Video: Hamilton’s Crash: Jerez Test 2014

Amateur footage of Lewis Hamiltons crash at the Jerez test

January 28, 2014
Video: The Sound of the 2014 Formula 1 Cars in Action

Not the high pitched scream of the V10’s or the throaty growl of the V8’s. But a rather pleasant V6 with a rather pleasant turbo whistle

January 28, 2014
Jerez Testing: Day 1

The first day winter testing for the 2014 season has kicked off at Jerez.

The highly anticipated pre-season test at the Jerez circuit in Southern Spain didn’t quite reach the heights many would’ve expected. After four hours of testing only Mercedes Lewis Hamilton and Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne had set flying laps.

Kimi Raikkonen’s first trip out of the pitlane ended in the Ferrari hitching a ride back to the pitlane in a safety car as the F14T grounded to halt. The team later said that they stop was “pre-cautionary.” Only Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez and the Force India of Sergio Perez additionally completed installation laps.

A five lap run for Hamilton looked encouraging for Mercedes as the Brit was able to continually improve his laptime. The 2008 champion set a time of 1:27.820 before a front-wing failure sent him head-on in the barriers of turn 1.

Raikkonen resumed the action after the track was cleared of the Hamilton crash and set a 1:31:131 on a three lap stint. At this point neither Red Bull had taken to the track – not even for an installation lap. It was the same story at McLaren as neither Jenson Button nor Kevin Magnussen had left the garages at any stage for obvious reasons if Ted Kravitz tweeting is anything to go on.

The Caterham and Marussia teams had missed the majority of the first day as their cars experienced some last-minute issues. However, Marrusia later tweeted that they were on their way to Jerez. Max Chilton joined the party by tweeting a picture of himself on the way to the airport to catch a flight to Jerez.

The lack of running could be put down to the various problems encountered by the teams according to Autosport’s technical analyst Gary Anderson. “I was expecting people to have problems but I am a bit surprised there are quite so many!

“We still haven’t seen Red Bull, McLaren, Williams, Caterham or Marussia – which we already knew was delayed – and Ferrari has only done one lap.

“It’s the complications under the engine cover that is the issue and every time they open the garage doors they find a problem. But at approaching lunchtime on the first day you would expect at least to be doing installation laps. The pressure is building.”

Both the Caterham and Williams teams left it quite late but eventually got their respective cars fired up and ready for a few installations laps. New signing Marcus Ericcson was tasked with taking the Caterham out on circuit. The radical nose design of the Caterham garnered much attention perhaps more for its appearance than innovation. However, the full potential of the cars have not yet been seen and we reserve judgment on the peculiar design for now.

The Williams FW36 broke cover a while after the unveiling of the Caterham with car that is far from hideous. The nose of the Williams looks the more subdued than many others up and down the pitlane as it was put through its paces by Valterri Bottas. The ever-present Senna ‘S’ maintained its poignant presence on the car. However, the team did reveal that they are running a test livery and would reveal its final colours ahead of the first race of the season.

Less than twenty minutes before the conclusion of the first day of testing was the first time that Sebastian Vettel was able to take the Red Bull RB10 out on track. The team did not reveal was kept them from running throughout the day. This meant that McLaren was the only team at the circuit who was unable to fire up their car.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen ended the day quickest overall and also recorded the most laps, 31 in total.

Today’s Timing Sheet:

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:27:104 31 Laps

2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:27:820 18 Laps

3. Valterri Bottas (Williams) 1:30:082 7 Laps

4. Sergio Perez (Force India) 1:33:161 11 Laps

5. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) 1:36:530 15 Laps

6. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) 1:41:257 7 Laps

7. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) no time 3 Laps

8. Marcus Ericcson (Caterham) no time 1 Lap

January 28, 2014
Ferrari unveils the F14-T

Ferrari has unveiled their 2014 challenger, the F14 T.

The F14-T which was named by a fan vote and will be raced by what is arguably the strongest driver line-up on the 2014 grid – Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, and features a far wider nose tip than we’ve seen in the cars launched so far.

The F14-T will be debuted by Raikkonen at Jerez on Tuesday and Wednesday, before he hands over testing duties to Fernando Alonso for the remaining two days.

The rear of the car seems very tightly packaged around the new turbo engine but due to the ‘anteater’, ‘bull’ and ‘tusk’ noses that have preceded the launch of the F14-T, all eyes are on the nose of the new Ferrari which features a far flatter design than those preceding it.

Ferrari said in a statement that the new regulations presented designers with a real challenge to repackage the front suspension into a much lower monocoque.

“The front wing is regulated to be 75mm narrower per side in order to make it less vulnerable to collisions with other cars and with the barriers,” their launch statement said. “This change, perhaps one of the less noticeable visual differences to the 2013 cars, has a profound effect on the aerodynamics of the vehicle.

“The front wings used since 2009 have all featured elaborate measures to encourage the wake of the front wing endplates to pass around the outside of the front tyres in order to maximize the downforce on the car. An innocent change of just 75mm to the position of the wing tip has required us to reinvent completely the front wing aerodynamics for 2014.”

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said that the new additions to the technical team and the upgrades to the wind tunnel – which is now operational at Maranello – have been crucial for Ferrari to make a step forward.

“In the last couple of years the changes and investment we have made in Formula One has been very important and significant,” Domenicali said. “Some have been spectacular in terms of names that were in the Formula One world and some others less, but nevertheless the changes were very important.

“Not only the organisation of the people, but also investment in the new windtunnel and tools of the simulation that are really important to make sure all the group of engineers can make the difference.”

The F14-T retains Ferrari’s pullrod front suspension concept in the new design and the new car is the first that will have been influenced by Ferrari’s new technical chief James Allison, who arrived late last season after switching from Lotus.

Ferrari is clearly hoping that the F14-T will have what it takes to finally bring home the championship that has been snatched away by Red Bull for the last few years. The 2013 season saw Fernando Alonso coming super close to clinching the title but just not having the car to make it happen. He compared his experience of not winning the title in his first four seasons with Ferrari to that of Michael Schumacher, who finally won his first championship with the Scuderia in his fifth season with the team.

Alonso said, “I think Schumacher won in the fifth year with Ferrari. I’m in the fifth year now so hopefully I can repeat some of the success that he had. Obviously in the last four years we had some opportunities, especially in 2010, 2012, we were very, very close to winning the championship. So this year we’ll try again and hopefully this time will be the good one.”

Alonso also believes that his partnership with incoming Kimi Raikkonen will be formidable saying, “I think [with] Kimi and me as a team we should be quite strong because we’ve had some success in the past in our Formula 1 career.”

Coincidentally, Raikkonen is the last driver to have won a title for Ferrari, in 2007 but he was sent packing to make way for Alonso.

Raikkonen is very positive about the F14-T and his return to Ferrari. “It is nice to come back to Ferrari, the place I won my championship,” he said. “The aim is the same. We want to do the best I can, try to win races and championships.”

January 25, 2014
Lotus reveals sneak pic of the E22

Lotus today released an image of their 2014 challenger – the E22 just as the launch of McLaren’s MP4-29 got underway.

While all eyes were on Woking, the Enstone based team decided to steal a little of the limelight in the wake of the announcement of team boss Eric Boullier’s departure. The team announced earlier today that Boullier will be replaced by Gerard Lopez and the Frenchman is expected to be headed for McLaren.

Lotus’ image of the E22 reveals a two-pronged, tusk-like solution to the front nose tip height regulations where other teams so far have revealed anteater-like / finger solutions.

Despite the surprise rendered E22 image from Lotus, it has already been confirmed that they will not be present at the first pre-season test at Jerez and will instead make its debut in Bahrain next month.

January 24, 2014