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  • Michael Schumacher ‘hurt in skiiing accident’

    Michael Schumacher ‘hurt in skiiing accident’

    Reports have been making the rounds that former F1 driver Michael Schumacher has been taken to hospital with a head injury.

    The accident allegedly happened while the 44-year-old seven time world champion was skiing in the French resort of Meribel in the popular Three Valleys ski area.

    “I do not know the severity of the injury,” the director of the ski station told French radio station RMC. The police are currently conducting their investigation into the origins of the fall.”

    He added: “We do not know yet if it happened on a piste or off-piste.”

    Michael Schumacher retired from Formula 1 for a second time at the conclusion on the 2012 season.

     

  • Gutierrez Confirmed by Sauber for 2014

    Gutierrez Confirmed by Sauber for 2014

    The Sauber F1 team announced early on Saturday morning that Esteban Gutierrez will stay on for 2014.

    The young Mexican will race alongside Adrian Sutil as his teammate at the Hinwil based team.

    “I am happy to be able to continue as a driver for the Sauber F1 Team. It was a steep learning curve last season, but by working closely with the team I was able to improve continuously,” Said Gutierrez

    It will be my fourth year with the team, the second as a racing driver, and I feel comfortable in taking the next step. The technical challenges in 2014 will be massive. Therefore it will be even more important to know well the people you are working with. I will do my very best to improve even more and support the team the best way I can.,” Gutierrez added.

    “We are pleased Esteban will drive for us in 2014, because we believehe is a talented young racing driver. Last season he experienced first hand how hard it can be for a rookie to step into Formula One,” said Sauber Team Principal, Monisha Kaltenborn

    Along with the singing of Gutierrez, Sauber also announced their continuation of their partnership with Mexican telecommunications company, Telmex.

    “We at Telmex and Telcel are very proud to continue being part of the Sauber F1 Team to keep consolidating our succesful history in motorsport, particularly in Formula One and our driver development programme for Mexican and Latin drivers such as Esteban Gutiérrez, a great young talent, friend and human being,” said the Chairman of Telmex, Carlos Slim Domit.

    With Telmex staying on for 2014, and with the driver market that played out the way it did, it looked as though it worked out quite well for Gutierrez and ensured that he retained his seat for 2014 at Sauber.

     

  • Eddie Irvine brands double points rule as “insanity”

    Eddie Irvine brands double points rule as “insanity”

    Former Formula One driver Eddie Irvine has branded the idea of double points for the season finale as “insanity” and vows he won’t be watching another race “until the rule is kicked out”.

    Irvine, who drove for Jordan, Ferrari and Jaguar during his decade-long career, is not one to be shy of giving an opinion and has already voiced his displeasure with additions such as DRS to the sport.

    Now, in an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Irvine has lashed out at the new regulation changes in the sport, more specifically at the new double points rule which will see drivers receiving double points for the final race in Abu Dhabi at the end of the 2014 season.

    “I think Formula One has lost its way,” he told Belfast Telegraph.

    “This latest rule of double points for the last race is insanity. That actually made me realise I am not going to watch another race until that rule gets kicked out. That is just embarrassing. It really is. They should be ashamed of themselves.”

    “I just think the people involved in these decisions have lost the plot. They have no understanding of reality and the people who are in there have been in too long. They have blown up the history of the sport by changing the points, changing the qualifying and now double points for the final race!”

    “It’s ridiculous, I’ve never heard such a joke in all my life. Talk about tinsel town bullshit!”

    Irvine also had a few things to say about Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

    When asked whether he thought that Vettel is on the same level as his former team mate and seven time world champion, Michael Schumacher, Irvine seemed to think that Vettel is proving nothing by staying at Red Bull.

    “Vettel’s record is amazing, though he has kept the best car pretty much every year which Michael didn’t have. The one thing about Michael was when he won his first two championships he felt ‘this is boring, I’m going to go to Ferrari and re-build Ferrari’ and that was very admirable. He struggled there for four years before he won another championship. Vettel just staying at Red Bull winning trophies is boring. I don’t see what he’s trying to prove. Okay, he’s going to collect a lot of championships, but you know what, who cares?”

    Irvine didn’t hold back about Hamilton either, saying that he’d “lost the plot a little bit because he went too showbiz.”

    He continued, “His entry into Formula One was fantastic and his talent was amazing. Then he wanted to be a movie star or a rapper or something else. People want their sports stars to be 100% committed to being sports stars. I think he is coming back from that now and it would be nice if he could challenge Vettel. Lewis and Fernando Alonso are the two guys capable of taking Vettel on if their cars are up to it. Unfortunately, they aren’t at the moment.”

    Irvine put a final little dig in at the current state of Formula One saying that he much prefers watching the Discovery Channel and doesn’t keep in touch with anyone other than Kimi Raikkon who “rings me the odd time when he’s drunk!”

     

     

     

  • Mercedes snatch two top Red Bull engineers

    Mercedes snatch two top Red Bull engineers

    In a bid to boost their technical staff, the Mercedes F1 team have signed two key Red Bull figures Mark Ellis and Giles Wood.

    Mercedes have created two new roles for the poached Red Bull engineers. Mark Ellis will join as Mercedes’ Performance Director, while Giles Wood will take up the position of Chief Engineer, Simulation and Development.

    A Mercedes statement said the recruitment of Ellis and Wood would “further strengthen the team’s technical organisation, particularly in the fields of simulation and vehicle dynamics”.

    The two engineers are the first two key appointments made by Mercedes’ new leadership team of Paddy Lowe and Toto Wolff who were appointed as co-team bosses of Mercedes in 2014 following the resignation of team principal Ross Brawn.

    Both men are set to join the Mercedes Formula 1 team in June 2014, once their current contracts with Red Bull Racing have finished.

    The announcement will come as a major blow to the Milton Keynes team as it comes just months after it emerged that chief aerodynamicist Peter Prodromou will be moving to McLaren in 2015.

    Photo Credit: Mercedes F1

     

  • Spagnolo Confirmed as Raikkonen’s Engineer for 2014

    Spagnolo Confirmed as Raikkonen’s Engineer for 2014

    Ferrari, on Tuesday, confirmed Antonio Spagnolo as Kimi Raikkonen’s race engineer for 2014.

    Spagnolo joined Ferrari in 2005 from Minardi and worked on Alonso’s engineering team for the 2013 campaign. From 2014 he will sit Alongside Stefano Domenicali and Andrea Stella on the pit wall and suggesting race instructions to Raikkonen over the radio.

    This will be Raikkonen’s third race engineer at Ferrari after Chris Dyer in 2007 and Andrea Stella in 2008.

    Raikkonen will have his first run in a Ferrari at the first pre-season test at Jerez on 28 January.

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

    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

     

     

  • Ferrari “back at the cutting edge” of F1 says James Allison

    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
  • An interview with Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat

    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.

     

  • Full driver line-up for Bahrain tyre test confirmed

    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.

     

  • ‘Pole Trophy’ For 2014

    ‘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.