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Q&A with Adrian Sutil – Podiums the target with Sauber

Adrian Sutil has set his hopes on achieving a maiden podium with the Sauber team in the 2014 Formula One season.

Having spent his entire F1 career with the Force India and Spyker F1 teams, the German will now get to experience life with a new team and hopes to achieve his first podium soon.

The German talks about his move to Sauber, his hopes and preparations for the season ahead.

Q: Adrian, your whole F1 career to date has been spent with the same team – was it about time to make a change?
Adrian Sutil: Yes, I felt that it was time for a change and we worked hard for it for months to make it happen. It will be an interesting experience to see how another team goes about things.

Q: You were always been confident of staying in Formula One. Were you negotiating with Sauber before Force India announced their decision to take on Sergio Perez or did the deal come about at the last minute?
Adrian Sutil: No, we were in contact for a long time. As I just said, it had been my wish to have a change after six good years with Force India – and Sauber was my priority. My Manager has been in contact with them since autumn – and around that time I visited the factory in Hinwil for the first time.

Q: After many years with Force India, with what feelings are you leaving?
Adrian Sutil: I have had a good and successful time with Force India. They gave me the chance to come back – and this fact will always have a special place in my heart! For sure I will miss some of the guys there that have turned into friends over the years, but now I’m excited to be with my new team. Let’s see if it is true that new brooms sweep clean! (laughs)

Q: What do you expect from Sauber? They finished 2013 on a high but that doesn’t mean too much with all the changes coming along in 2014…
Adrian Sutil: I’m convinced that we will have a successful time – and I’m looking very much forward to my first podium! Sauber have had some podiums in the past and that is exactly what I want.

Q: You have witnessed the 2014 developments at Force India and now you’ve seen how Sauber is going about things. What’s your impression – and where are the differences?
Adrian Sutil: To be honest all I know is that Sauber have already passed the crash test. I haven’t seen more yet and don’t know anything about the 2014 Force India car.

Q: There have been some new measures announced recently: you can now choose your own race number; there are double points at the last race; a pole position trophy has been introduced; and there’s a new penalty system. What’s your opinion on all that?
Adrian Sutil: We have to take it as it comes! It doesn’t make any sense to waste too much time on fruitless discussions when you know that you cannot change things. We will see at the end of the season what has happened with all the changes – then will be the time to discuss sense and nonsense.

Q: Have you already picked your number? And was your favourite number still available? Is there any personal anecdote attached to your number?
Adrian Sutil: Yes, I have picked my number already – and yes, my favourite was available – but it will be a secret until it is official!

Q: So far you are the only driver to be announced at Sauber for 2014. Do you have any preference for your team mate?
Adrian Sutil: To be honest: I don’t care. It should be the best and fastest team mate that is available!

Q: Living in Switzerland and driving for a Swiss team – that sounds pretty convenient – and suggests that you will be a very frequent visitor to the factory. Is that so?
Adrian Sutil: Yes, because it will be an easy one to visit! And the real luxury is that the factory is just an hour’s drive from my home. So I will be there quite often.

Q: What will be on your agenda for the weeks until the Jerez test at the end of January?
Adrian Sutil: I will relax and recharge my batteries, have a nice and peaceful Christmas and then I will start to prepare for next season -and for sure I will spend many days in the factory to get to know everybody and inhale their procedures!

Photo credit: Saharaforceindia.com

December 17, 2013
Ferrari “back at the cutting edge” of F1 says James Allison

Ferrari technical director James Allison says that the team’s recent investment in its wind tunnel and aerodynamic team have returned the team to the “cutting edge” of Formula One.

“Aerodynamics remains the lifeblood of a modern Formula 1 car,” he told the Ferrari website. “It’s impossible to be competitive without having the right tools and adequate resources: now we can say we have moved on from being maybe the fourth or fifth team in terms of the tools we have, to once again being at the cutting edge and everything is in place to open up a new Ferrari era.”

Next season we will see massive changes in engine and other technical regulations with turbo V6s replacing the V8s and greater emphasis on energy recovery. Allison told the Ferrari website that he believed this would shift the focus away from aerodynamics a little.

“It’s true that the influence of the power unit on overall performance of the car will be much greater than in the recent past. From when, in 2007, the freeze on engine development took hold and performance levels converged, it’s clear that its influence on the pecking order got ever smaller, while aerodynamics grew in importance,” he said. “In the years leading up to that point, that wasn’t the case: I can well remember how important the engine was in terms of Ferrari’s successes in the first half of the Noughties. Now we will witness a re-balancing, although aerodynamics will still be a key factor.”

Allison joined Ferrari in September having left Lotus earlier this year but insists he has not been focusing on next year’s car. Instead he has been working on instead ensuring that the team was equipped with the right tools, and the best people for the year ahead.

“I definitely haven’t spent time going into the details of the design of the new car, as it wouldn’t make any sense at this stage,” he said. “Rather, I concentrated on trying to direct adequate resources and on putting the best people in the right places to optimise attention to detail.”

“Actually, when you tackle a regulation change like this one, it’s not something you only start thinking about six months beforehand. When I arrived in Maranello, work on the project had been on going for two years. I tried to immerse myself in its philosophy and adapt to the team as quickly as possible,” he continued. “Having said that, what you could call my active role in the design of the car involves working identifying the areas on which maybe we should push harder and concentrate more effort.”

Photo credit: Ferrari

December 17, 2013
An interview with Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat

Daniil Kvyat talks about taking part in free practice in Austin and Brazil, what it meant for him to drive among the biggest drivers in the world, how he feels about coming in to Formula one with such major rule changes and what the winter break has in store for him. As Toro Rosso’s new driver for 2014, Daniil Kvyat has quite a challenge ahead of him but seems excited and optimistic about making it to F1.

December 17, 2013
Full driver line-up for Bahrain tyre test confirmed

The full driver line-up for this week’s Pirelli tyre test in Bahrain has been confirmed.

The three day tyre test is set to get underway on Tuesday and end on Thursday and will see teams testing using their 2013 cars. All 11 teams were invited to the tyre test but only six agreed to participate. McLaren and Force India however later decided to withdraw. Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull and Toro Rosso will be on track to put Pirelli’s 2014 tyres through their paces. The running plans however, will be dictated by Pirelli as they gather data for next season.

World champions Red Bull, will be making use of test driver Sebastien Buemi while Toro Rosso will give Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat one and a half days of running each.

Ferrari confirmed that they will be using their development driver Pedro De la Rosa for two days and that Marussia driver Jules Bianchi will take part in one day of the tyre test.

Mercedes were last to confirm their driver line-up and will be using only Nico Rosberg for the tyre test.

December 17, 2013
‘Pole Trophy’ For 2014

In addition to the DHL Fastest Lap trophy F1 will award a trophy for the most poles of the year, starting in 2014.

The driver who racks up the most pole positions during the season will be awarded with a special Pole Position Trophy after its addition to the sporting regulations.

In the event of a tie a countback to the most second places will be done in order to determine a winner. Should this final to identify a clear winner this new regulation states that “the FIA will nominate the winner according to such criteria as it thinks fit”.

Sebastian Vettel, with 45 pole positions to his name, would have been the recipient of the trophy for four of last five years.

December 13, 2013
Driver Announcement: Sutil to Sauber

The Sauber F1 Team has confirmed that Adrian Sutil will form part of its driver line-up for the 2014 season.

The German driver has 109 grand prix starts in his F1 career and all of them has been with the Sahara Force India team. Force India have signed Nico Hulkenberg, from Sauber, and Sergio Perez from McLaren.

“I am very happy that we found common ground,” said Sutil. “Although I have known for a while where I wanted to go, in the end the negotiations took a bit longer than planned. However, now I will have all the more reason to celebrate during the Christmas season.

“After six good years driving for Force India, with a lot of highlights, it’s now time to embark on a new challenge. I am determined to do my part in order to have a successful future together with the Sauber F1 team.”

The 2014 move to Sauber will be the first time that Sutil has raced for a different team in Formula 1. He joined the Midland team in 2007 which would later transform to its current guise of Force India.

Sutil’s best result in Formula 1 remains a fourth place at the 2009 Italian grand prix.

December 13, 2013
FIA introduces new penalty points system for 2014

The FIA today released an updated version of the 2014 Sporting Regulations which include a new penalty points system.

According to Article 4.2 of the the new 2014 sporting regulations, any driver who earns 12 penalty points during a 12-month period will be given a one race ban. This means that penalties could be carried over to the next season.

The new system is aimed at punishing drivers who regularly break rules, while cutting some slack to drivers who commit minor infringements as a result of circumstance.

According to the new regulations, “In accordance with Article 16.3 [which covers driving standards], the stewards may impose penalty points on a driver’s Superlicence,” states Article 4.2 of the sporting regulations.”If a driver accrues 12 penalty points his licence will be suspended for the following event, following which 12 points will be removed from the licence.

“Penalty points will remain on a driver’s Superlicence for a period of 12 months after which they will be respectively removed on the 12-month anniversary of their imposition.”

The FIA also appear to be clamping down on unsafe releases. Drivers will now incur grid or time penalties if their car is released from the garage or a pitstop in a manner deemedto be unsafe. Unsafe releases during practice sessions could result in a grid penalty for that race.If the unsafe release occurs during a race, the driver will get a 10-place grid penalty for the next race. He could however also be penalised during the current race if he can continue racing after the incident. If this were to be the case, he could incur drive-throughs and 10-second penalties.

There will also be engine penalties. Five out of six separate engine elements may be replaced. These are the internal combustion engine, the motor generator unit-kinetic, the motor generator unit-heat, the energy store, the turbocharger and the control electronics. Should any of these elements fail, they may be replaced up to a maximum of five times. A sixth replacement would result in a 10 place grid penalty. Thereafter, sixth elements would only incur a 5 place grid penalty.

As for the power unit … should the power unit need replacing at any time, the driver will have to start from the pits.

They’ve also upped the anti on gear box penalties. Gear boxes will now need to last for six subsequent races.

As for drivers at the back of the grid incurring penalties … drivers who incur a grid-penalty and are unable to drop the necessary places, e.g. he qualifies 20th, awarded a five-place drop – he would start 22nd and have to drop the remaining three places at the next races.

What do you think of these penalty rules changes? Let us know in the comments section below.

December 12, 2013
Sergio Perez to Join Hulkenberg at Force India

Sergio Perez was confirmed at Force India today on a multi-year deal.

Perez joins Force India after just one season at McLaren after they decided to go with Kevin Magnussen for their 2014 campaign. Perez will race alongside Nico Hulkenberg who was confirmed at Force India a few weeks ago.

“It’s great to announce my new team as Sahara Force India. Coming here was always my first choice and I’m really happy everything has now been confirmed,” said Perez.

“I want to say thank you to Vijay and the whole team for giving me the opportunity. This is a young team with a lot of determination and they’ve produced competitive cars for the last few years. It’s all change for next season with the new regulations, but I already have a good feeling about 2014. My plan now is to visit the factory and get to know everyone in the team,” he added.

Team Principal, Vijay Mallya had this to say about Checo: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Sergio to the team. He brings a healthy mix of youth and experience, and I’ve been very impressed with his recent performances.”

“By pairing Sergio alongside Nico, we enter the new season with an extremely competitive line-up, which will go toward helping us achieve our goals for the new season,” Mallya added.

According to AUTOSPORT, Perez brings a cool 15 million Euros to the team.

With Perez now confirmed, the two Force India drivers for 2013 will be searching for new teams. It is very likely that Adrian Sutil will get the nod at Sauber. As for Paul Di Resta, it looks like his time in F1 has come to an end and will look to Indy Car racing

December 12, 2013
Lotus F1 Team has a laugh with 18 new rules for 2014

The Lotus F1 Team is taking the FIA’s announcement detailing new regulations for next season in their stride.

A good few teams and drivers have voiced their disapproval of the changes, specifically the controversial double points rule which Sebastian Vettel slammed as being “absurd”.

The Lotus team however, posted a link on their website, Twitter account and Facebook pages detailing 18 new rules for the 2014 season which are bound to give F1 fans a good laugh.

The rules range from “anyone with a dog named Roscoe” starting at the back of the grid to championship points deciders being determined by Rock, Paper, Scissors or Cage Fight.

We particularly love the rule that any team with more than four members who’ve been Technical Directors, will have to design their cars using nothing but LEGO.

Below is the full set of 18 rules, as published by the Lotus F1 Team.

December 12, 2013
FIA accepting applications for a 12th F1 team

The FIA has called for potential new teams to express their interest in participating in Formula 1 “at a competitive level” in 2015 or 2016.

The sport’s governing body has opened up a selection process for a new team to join the grid, potentially as early as the start of the 2015 F1 season.Interested applicants have until Friday 3 January 2014 to register a formal expression of interest.

Following the demise of HRT at the end of the 2012 season, we saw only 11 teams take part in this year’s championship.

We’ve not seen a new team in the sport since the start of 2010, when Lotus Racing (Caterham), Virgin (Marussia) and Hispania (HRT) joined the F1 grid. Aside from them, only two other teams – Toyota and Super Aguri – have joined the sport since 2002.

A statement on the FIA’s official website read:

“The FIA has decided to open a new selection process to identify a candidate team to participate at a competitive level in the FIA Formula One World Championship from the start of the 2015 or the 2016 season up to 2020 inclusive. The overall long-term interests of the Championship will determine which candidates are selected.”

The FIA also published the requirements for applying as well as the applicable application selection criteria.

Applicants will be judged on:

(a) the technical ability and resources of the team;

(b) the ability of the team to raise and maintain sufficient funding to allow participation in the Championship at a competitive level;

(c) the team’s experience and human resources;

(d) the FIA’s assessment of the value that the candidate may bring to the Champions

Information on the candidate’s relevant experience, including technical and racing experience as well as facilities, equipment and engineering resources are also be required. Full Curriculum Vitae of directors and shareholders also need to be submitted and there is a total application fee of $130,000.

While the FIA plans to announce any new team on 28th February 2014, they have stated that in the event that “no candidate is deemed suitable by the FIA and the commercial rights holder, no additional team will be selected”.
Photo Credit: By Alan from Doncaster, UK (P1060288) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

December 12, 2013