Tag: Formula 1

Red Bull Back In Colour for 2015 Season

After launching their car with a very interesting camouflage livery for testing, the Red Bull F1 team have gone back to their “traditional” racing colours for the rest of the 2015 season.

The Milton Keynes based team have gone back to their more traditional dark blue livery. “It’s not the first alternative livery we’ve used and doubtless won’t be the last – but we’ve made our mark in the last ten years in dark blue, and in dark blue we’ll remain,” read a team statement.

“Those are the racing colours in which we’ve achieved great things. We’re not the most traditional of F1 teams, but like the rest of the sport, we value heritage.

“And as for us, well, the original Red Bull Racing livery that ran in testing at the end of 2004 was based around the famous design of a certain energy drink we’re rather attached to.

“It was then amended slightly for our debut livery at the first race of 2005 which, while still incorporating the blue, red and yellow, discarded the silver and developed into a stronger, more visually-arresting design.

It’s changed a lot over the years but the central themes remain constant – and we’re very proud that it’s become so instantly recognisable. It should see us through a good few years to come.”

March 2, 2015
Carmen Jorda Joins Lotus as Development Driver

GP3 driver Carmen Jorda was announced by the Lotus F1 Team this afternoon as their development driver for the 2015 season.

Jorda will attend races and tests with the team and will embark on an intensive simulator program with the team with her sights set firmly to drive the E23 Hybrid during the course of the year.

Jorda has been racing since 2001 and has raced around Europe and in America.

“It feels like a dream come true to join Lotus F1 Team,” said the Spanish driver. “I’ve been racing since I was ten years old so it was my dream to drive a Formula 1 car since I was very young.

“Joining Lotus F1 Team is a big step towards my goal. I will be working to improve myself as a driver as well as helping the team to develop the car by testing new developments in the simulator; it’s such a fantastic opportunity”

” I know this is just the beginning and the biggest challenge is yet to come but already being part of a team with such a history is a real honour. This is a great achievement, but an even greater opportunity which will lead to bigger and better things.”

Lotus F1 Team CEO, Matthew Carter, added: “We are happy to announce Carmen Jordá as a Development Driver for Lotus F1 Team and we are looking forward to working with her over the course of the season and ultimately seeing her behind the wheel of the car.

“Carmen will bring a fresh perspective to the team,” continued Matthew, reflecting on Carmen’s racing background which covers Formula 3 and Indy Lights, as well as the GP3 Series. “We have a strong programme for her attending Grands Prix as well as extensive time in our sophisticated simulation facility at Enstone. She is a unique addition to the team and we are looking forward to helping her progress her goals as well as receiving the benefit of her insights and contributions to the development of the E23 Hybrid.”

February 26, 2015
Massa Fastest for Williams on Day 1 of Final Test

Felipe Massa set the fastest time on the first day of the final pre-season test in Barcelona on the soft tyre completing a qualifying simulation.

Massa’s time of 1:23.500 is the fastest time seen so far in Barcelona. His time was 0.776s faster than second fastest of the day, Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber who achieved a 1:24.276 on Pirelli’s red supersoft compound tyre. Ericssson also completed the most laps of the day clocking up 122 laps.

Third fastest for the day was Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton set the pace in the morning session on a set of white medium tyres and kept the top spots until the afternoon. His day, however, came to an early end after an MGU-K failure on the Mercedes. The team could not fix the problem before the end of the day. Hamilton is hoping to complete 122 laps tomorrow.

Daniil Kvyat for Red Bull and Romain Grosjean for Lotus finished 4th and 5th fastest respectively. Both completing 75 laps on the day while Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen ended the day in 6th place. Ferrari are expecting new parts on the car on Friday which they hope should improve their pace.

Carlos Sainz Jr. finished the day 7th fastest for Toro Rosso sporting a new nose design. He completed 86 laps on the day.

McLaren endured another difficult day. Jenson Button managed to complete just 7 laps for the day and was almost 8 seconds off Massa’s pace. “After just seven laps, Jenson noted a vibration and brought the car back to the pits, where we discovered a hydraulic leak that required a full power-unit change,” said the team spokesperson. “The time required to complete the change unfortunately meant that our running for the day was over before lunchtime.”

Force India plan to run the VJM08 for the first time this season tomorrow with Nico Hulkenberg at the wheel. They’re expected to be wheels rolling by the afternoon.

Below are the unofficial times for the first day of the final test:

February 26, 2015
McLaren Blame “Unpredictable Gusty Winds” for Alonso Crash

A day after Fernando Alonso was airlifted to hospital following his crash on the final day of the second pre-season test, the McLaren F1 team have revealed that it was the very windy conditions that caused the Spaniards crash.

Alonso suffered from a concussion and earlier today it was announced that he was in the intensive care unit while further tests were being conducted. A while later Alonso’s agent Luis Garcia Abad tweeted a picture of a smiling Alonso sitting up in his hospital bed giving the thumbs up.

McLaren released a statement saying that the crash was caused because of the strong winds. This story was corroborated by Carlos Sainz Jr who also ran wide and crashed into the barrier at T3/T4.

“His car ran wide at the entry to Turn Three – which is a fast uphill right-hander – allowing it to run onto the Astroturf that lines the outside of the track,” read the statement

“A consequent loss of traction caused a degree of instability, spitting it back towards the inside of the circuit, where it regained traction and struck the wall side-on.”

“Our findings indicate that the accident was caused by the unpredictably gusty winds at that part of the circuit at that time, and which had affected other drivers similarly”

“We can categorically state that there is no evidence that indicates that Fernando’s car suffered mechanical failure of any kind.”

“We can also confirm that absolutely no loss of aerodynamic pressure was recorded, which fact indicates that the car did not suffer any aerodynamic loss, despite the fact that it was subjected to a significant level of g-force.”

McLaren have been quiet about the cause of the crash which lead to many theories as to why Alonso may have crashed. The statement from Vettel did not help much when he said that the car veered to the right all of a sudden, further fueling speculation. One of the rumors doing the rounds was that Alonso suffered an electrical shock before crashing. Another one stated that he was overcome by the fumes from the batteries.

The statement from McLaren debunks these rumors.

“We can also disclose that no electrical discharge or irregularity of any kind occurred in the car’s ERS system, either before, during or after the incident,” it added.

“That last point refutes the erroneous rumours that have spread recently to the effect that Fernando was rendered unconscious by an electrical fault. That is simply not true.

“Our data clearly shows that he was downshifting while applying full brake pressure right up to the moment of the first impact – something that clearly would not have been possible had he been unconscious at the time.

“Our data also confirms that Fernando’s car struck the inside concrete wall, first with its front-right wheel and then with its rear-right. It was a significant lateral impact, resulting in damage to the front upright and axle.

“After the initial impact, the car slid down the wall for about 15 seconds before coming to a halt. All four wheels remained attached to the car, but no damage was sustained by the bodywork or crash structure between the front and rear wheels.”

It is still unclear if Alonso will drive for the team for the final test at the Catalunya Circuit as he is still being kept at the hospital.

February 23, 2015
Alonso “Concussed” During Accident, Stays Overnight in Hospital

Following his crash during the final day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, McLaren have confirmed that their driver Fernando Alonso will remain in hospital overnight for observation as a precautionary measure.

The crash happened just before lunch time. Alonso was rounding the bend at T3 when he lost control of his car which resulted him hitting the inside barrier of T3. He was taken to the circuits medical centre after which he was airlifted to hospital.

According to the McLaren F1 Team’s twitter page, Alonso was “conscious and speaking”. A few hours later a McLaren spokesperson confirmed that after CT scans Alonso was uninjured and fine.

“Fernando’s accident was just one of those things that happens in testing,” said McLaren Racing Director Eric Boullier. “Fortunately, he’s fine, but was concussed during the accident, which therefore required an overnight stay in hospital as a precaution. That’s normal practice after a concussion.”

“Inevitably, some media reports have sought to exaggerate the severity of the incident – it was just a normal testing accident,” he added.

February 23, 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