Tag: red bull racing

Daniel Ricciardo Confirmed at Red Bull for 2014

In what was Formula 1’s worst kept secret, Dr Helmut Marko today confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo will be driving for Red Bull Racing in 2014.

This comes after many weeks of speculation about who the second driver would be and after Mark Webber’s rather curious comment at the Belgian Grand Prix.

“Daniel is absolutely the right man for the job. He’s really deserved this graduation on merit.” said Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull.

Ricciardo will follow a similar path as Sebastian Vettel by graduating from the sister team, Toro Rosso. “For sure I’ll have to put up with scrutiny next year and obviously I want to get results for myself and for the team” said Ricciardo.

This announcement will no doubt get the rumour mill spinning once more. All the attention will be on Kimi Raikkonen now and there’s also that other small issue of who will replace Ricciardo at Toro Rosso?

September 2, 2013
The Door is Still Open for Kimi Raikkonen at Red Bull

Infinity Red Bull Racing team principal, Christian Horner has revealed that they have not yet decided who will take the second drivers seat that is available next season after Mark Webber’s departure at the end of the season.

Horner, speaking to AUTOSPORT, said “Nothing is fixed yet. We said we would take the summer to mull things over, but there is no commitment yet. I wouldn’t rule anything out at the moment. Until we finalise who is going to take the second seat, there is nothing much to say.”

This comes after reports earlier in the week stating that Kimi Raikkonen was out of the running for the Red Bull seat and that Toro Rosso driver, Daniel Ricciardo was most likely to take the number two seat at the Milton Keynes based team.

Horner also revealed that there are other possibilities other than Raikkonen and Ricciardo.

“You have to make sure you consider all the options and there are more options than you could possibly think,” he said.

This throws things wide open once again and there will be further speculation as to who is, and who will be in the front running for the open Red Bull seat. No doubt this will refuel the Fernando Alonso story to jump ship from Ferrari with speculation from the Hungarian Grand Prix that under certain conditions he could be a free agent for 2014.

Horner has also stated that, although impressive in testing, Ricciardo is not a certainty to join Red Bull.

“It is an important decision for us and we want to take the time to make the right decision and consider all the options.” he said.

We could see a Red Bull driver announcement in the week leading to the Italian Grand Prix.

August 22, 2013
F1 2013 Mid Season Review

Starting with a hazardous Australian Grand Prix with ever changing weather conditions to a controlled race in Hungary we’ve had everything from tyre explosions to loose wheels, pitlane accidents, cars on fire and controversy galore. The 2013 F1 season has been a thrilling, wild ride for teams, drivers and fans alike.

With ten races behind us, it’s time to look at the season so far and how things have been shaping up.

Here is our F1 2013 Mid Season Review ahead of what is set to be an tumultuous second half of the season.

Red Bull Racing – 277 points

Sebastian Vettel – 172 points, Mark Webber – 105 points

Red Bull is still the team to beat and are the only team to really maximise their results every race so far this season. Leading the championship with 60 points over Mercedes in second place, it’s bound to be business as usual for the team following the break. Sebastian Vettel is sitting pretty in the drivers’ championship too – 38 points ahead of his nearest rival, Kimi Raikkonen in second place.

Vettel has raced all out so far this season – even defying team orders to score an extra 6 points – and remains on track for his 4th world championship.

Red Bull have an incredibly quick car – perhaps the quickest on the grid – and have remained incredibly consistent but have suffered like the other teams with tyre degradation issues and saw Vettel retiring from the British Grand Prix with mechanical failures. Vettel however will be very hard to beat going forward and his rivals know it.

Mark Webber, who announced that he will be leaving F1 at the end of the season, has had a more inconsistent – and really unlucky – season. Webber has had no wins yet this season but you can be sure that he’ll be looking to add to his nine career wins before he bows out of F1. His frustration became very clear in Malaysia when Vettel defied team orders to pass Webber for what would have been his only win this season.

Mercedes – 208 points

Lewis Hamilton – 124 points, Nico Rosberg – 84 points

With Niki Lauda and Toto Wolff assuming high profile positions and Lewis Hamilton joining the Brackley based team, all eyes were on Mercedes even before the season got underway.

Nobody expected Hamilton to be challenging for race wins in his first season at Mercedes, but he was on the podium within two races and took his first race win at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Team mate Nico Rosberg has already recorded two race wins so far this season and continues to impress.

Mercedes has made quite a turn-around this season and their prospects are not looking bad at all. With a 69 point deficit to championship leaders Red Bull, it seems unlikely that they will challenge for the championship though.

Ferrari – 194 points

Fernando Alonso – 133 points, Felipe Massa – 61 points

A mid season review of the Ferrari team’s performance so far this year, seems all too familiar. Ferrari started off really well with both drivers having a really good start to their season.

Alonso banked a solid second place at the first race in Australia, and Massa also started off well – regularly out-qualifying his team mate and recording point finishes.

But things have been on a downward spiral after Alonso’s wins in Spain and China. In contrast to the 2012 season when Alonso had a 40 point lead at the summer break, the team has lost their second place in the championship and qualifying seems to be a big problem for the team. Massa was struck by a number of crashes and race retirements pushing him far behind his team mate as far the driver standings go.

They’ve just not kept up with the pace of development at Red Bull. Alonso has slipped back into third place in the championship – but it would be silly to discount the Spaniard just yet – his entire championship lead was wiped clean by Vettel in the second half of the 2012 season so that should be a clear indication of how quickly things can change.

Lotus – 183 points

Kimi Raikkonen – 134 points, Romain Grosjean – 49 points

The Lotus F1 Team started the 2013 season on a high, with a win for Kimi Raikkonen at the Australian Grand Prix. But that early strong form has not led to further victories for Raikkonen or the team, with the Finn collecting five second-place finishes and teammate Romain Grosjean – the former ‘first lap nutcase’ added two third-places to his name.

Lotus have been in the midst of the battle at every race. Their constant evolution and the way the tyres work for them has made this team a contender for the podium every race weekend. But their downfall is Saturday qualifying – the E21 has simply not had the outright pace in qualifying to make Sundays a little easier for the team.

Raikkonen has moved up to second place in the championship, one point ahead of Alonso, but if he hopes to catch Vettel they’re going to need to start winning races and with technical director James Allison leaving for Ferrari, it remains to be seen whether they’ll be able to keep up the development pace that will be required to catch the Red Bull.

Force India – 59 points

Paul di Resta – 36 points, Adrian Sutil – 23 points

For the purposes of a mid season review it can be said that Force India have had a pretty impressive season in general – especially in the earlier part of the calendar. Their car has far outshone the team’s resources and their drivers have both delivered on track, scoring points and making Force India’s mark as the strongest of the mid-field teams.

Adrian Sutil, who recently celebrated his 100th race, has driven really well especially in Monaco when he fearlessly overtook his rivals on the narrow street circuit. But unfortunately, like his team mate Paul Di Resta, the pace has just not lasted and they’ve both been rather lack-lustre of late. The final two races before the mid season break were their worst of the year so far and the tyre change in Budapest seemed to affect them particularly negatively.

Both drivers have worked really hard though and this has culminated in the team now ahead of McLaren in the Constructors’ championship. The Woking-based team is breathing down their necks though and they’ll have to pull up their socks in the remainder of the season if they hope to hold onto 5th place in the championship.

McLaren – 57 points

Jenson Button – 39 points, Sergio Perez – 18 points

The fact that McLaren is being discussed this far down in the mid season review should be a clear indication of the difficult, disappointing season the Woking-based team have had. McLaren are used to being in the heat of the battle for the championship but are currently on 6th in the standings, behind Force India. The dramatic slump in their form will certainly be a surprise to most.

Their drivers both try really hard – sometimes a little too hard as is often the case with Sergio Perez, but their car can’t keep up and they’re left fighting the mid-field.

Jenson Button’s strategy calls have been his only saving grace – in the last four races he was able to challenge for 5th and 6th places but this is obviously not where the team are used to being.

McLaren has said that they are no longer developing their 2013 car and are now working on their 2014 car instead, so don’t expect too much from them in the second half of the season. Jenson Button however has said he is very positive going into the Belgian Grand Prix and has predicted a podium at Spa. Let’s wait and see how that pans out.

Toro Rosso – 24 points

Daniel Ricciardo – 11 points, Jean-Eric Vergne – 13 points

Toro Rosso may not be fighting for titles and race wins but they have shown some significant progress during the season so far.

Daniel Ricciardo, who is still first in line for Mark Webber’s Red Bull seat, has put in some very strong qualifying performances.

Team mate Jean-Eric Vergne has brought home some very impressive race drives. With Vergne out of the running for the Red Bull seat, one can only hope that the Frenchman will still come out fighting for the rest of the season as the battle of the team mates has been the most interesting thing to watch within the Toro Rosso team.

It is unsure how long Toro Rosso will continue development on their current car, given the mammoth task of developing the much-changed 2014 cars that lies ahead.

Sauber – 7 points

Nico Hulkenberg – 7 points, Esteban Gutierrez – 0 points

Sauber has had a really challenging season so far and the mid season review of their performance leaves a disappointed taste in the mouth. Everyone had great hopes for Sauber – their car was the star of the 2013 car launches, but things have just not materialised for the team.

I guess a lot can be blamed on their budget and financial troubles but from the very beginning Sauber were on the back foot with a car that has struggled from the word go, and two brand new drivers in the team.

Nico Hulkenberg has done his best with the car he’s been given and has managed to secure 7 points for the team. His team mate Esteban Gutierrez has not done too badly for a rookie but has failed to bring home any points.

Sauber have closed a deal with Russian investors to help save the team, so let’s hope that pans out well for them or we may never see a C-33.

Williams – 1 point

Pastor Maldonado – 1 point, Valtteri Bottas – 0 points

At the back of the grid it’s been a very disappointing season for the Williams team. After winning a race last year in the FW34 we all expected much more from the FW35 but alas. They only scored their first point for the entire season at the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.

The car lacks downforce and both Pastor Maldonado and team mate Valtteri Bottas have found the car difficult to drive, resulting in the team doing a mid season review of their own and overhauling their technical team. Most notably, technical director Mike Coughlan has left the team and been replaced by former Renault and Marussia man, Pat Symonds. He is bound to make a huge difference to the team but I’m afraid it’s a little too late to expect it to make a difference for the 2013 season though so let’s hope they’re already working on next year’s car.

Marussia – 0 points

Jules Bianchi – 0 points, Max Chilton – 0 points)

Marussia continues their battle for tenth place in the championship with the Caterham team. They started the season very impressively and after the Australian Grand Prix you would have been forgiven for thinking they may even be set to trouble the mid-field teams this season, but instead they’ve pretty much been racing the Caterham team all season.

They have gained a lot since last year though, especially in the form of rookie driver Jules Bianchi who has had some impressive performances.

His fellow rookie team mate Max Chilton has struggled a little to come to grips with driving an F1 car but the Marussia team have been impressed by his consistency and the feedback they get from him.

They’ve been dealt a pretty big blow with Pat Symonds leaving for Williams but for now, they still hold on to tenth place thanks to Bianchi’s 13th place finish in Malaysia.

We’re not expecting much in terms of development from the Marussia team for the rest of the season but for now, it seems they should be able to stay ahead of the green machines for the remainder of the season.

Caterham – 0 points

Charles Pic – 0 points, Giedo van der Garde – 0 points

Caterham’s season has been an uphill battle all the way. The team was targeting the mid-field but have just not managed to make any headway. It was only after Heikki Kovalainen was called in to advise the team that they started making some headway and finally in Bahrain – at the fourth race of the season – they managed to out qualify Marussia.

Slowly but surely their car has been improving and their upgrades have steadily resulted in progress. In Hungary they were able to easily out qualify both Marussia’s.

Both Giedo van der Garde and Charles Pic have put in solid performances, doing they best they can with what they have so they’ll be hoping that they can take back tenth from Marussia before the end of the season.

And that’s a wrap on our mid season review of the 2013 Formula 1 season. The first half of the season has been a thrilling one but has been dominated by tyres. With that behind us, and teams now on revised Pirelli rubber, the second half of the season should see some real battles taking shape. As we head to Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix you can bet that everyone will be bringing their A game.

What are you hoping for in the second half of the season? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Photo credits:

Photo of Bianchi’s car on fire – F1 Madness screen grab

Photo of Vettel gearbox failure – F1 Madness screen grab, Sky Sports HD

Lewis Hamilton after the Hungarian GP – Mercedes F1 Twitter Team

Massa and Alonso – Ferrari F1 Twitter team

Raikkonen – Lotus F1 Team

Adrian Sutil – Force India Twitter team

Jenson Button – Wikimedia Commons

Daniel Ricciardo – Red Bull Twitter Team

Sauber launch – Sauber F1 Team

Pastor Maldonado – Williams F1 Twitter Team

Max Chilton – Marussia F1 Twitter team

Giedo van der Garde – MyCaterham Twitter team

August 19, 2013
Silly Season Update – Red Bull drops another hint?

Red Bull have said that there is no pressure for them to put one of it’s young drivers into their car for 2014.

Rumours have been rampant the past month on who will replace Australian Mark Webber. The confirmed potential drivers on the shortlist are Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo and Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen. And as of the Hungarian grand prix race weekend Fernando Alonso also seems to be under consideration for the champion squad. However, it remains to be seen whether Alonso will be contractually available, whether Ferrari would let him go without too much of a fight and most importantly, whether or not the rumour is just a bit of political by-play from Alonso.

Even though the Toro Rosso team was set up with the aim of bringing young talent into the sport Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says that Ricciardo will not be selected if it is not in the best interest of the team. “Of course we want the strongest drivers in the cars that you possibly can,” said Horner.

It makes sense to plan for the future with a younger driver. But what Horner is saying makes more sense. Formula 1 is about now and having the best driver line-up ensures at the very least a chance of fighting amongst the front-end.

Daniel Ricciardo proved his prowess at the three-day Silverstone test. However, being in the thick of things against a triple world champion teammate, with every miniscule move scrutinised by the world’s sporting media is whole different prospect. Does Ricciardo have the talent to perform in the Red Bull? Almost certainly. Can Ricciardo cope with the pressure of racing for Formula 1’s premier team? Big question mark. Chances are that he could handle it without any problems but the doubt is there.

Contrastingly, having a driver of Raikkonen or Alonso’s calibre in the team is a guarantee. A guarantee of speed, consistency and knowing how to handle the world’s media.

It will also be more beneficial for Sebastian Vettel to have either Raikkonen or Alonso as his teammate. Though Vettel is a triple world champion he has hardly ever been pushed by a teammate for an extended period of time. Some suggest that for Vettel to be truly regarded as one of the greats he needs to beat the best drivers on the grid. With all things being equal, armed with the same car, would he be able to do that against Raikkonen or Alonso? No matter the answer of this question pairing Vettel with either one of these two is going to be one hell of an explosive ride.

Photos by Red Bull Racing Twitter Team.

August 1, 2013
F1 2013: Hungarian GP Preview – Qualifying king at the Hungaroring

After a three week gap the 2013 Formula 1 season restarts with the Hungarian grand prix.

In its own right the Hungarian GP has written its own part in Formula 1 history. The circuit has rewarded Damon Hill (1993), Fernando Alonso (2003) and very memorably Jenson Button (2006) with their first victories in Formula 1.

The first grand prix held at the Hungaroring was the first to be held behind the Iron Curtain. Formula 1 has been frequenting the Hungarian grand prix since 1986 and the Budapest located circuit is a guaranteed staple of a Formula 1 race calendar until 2016.

As a high downforce circuit the Hungaroring is famous for its tight and twisting nature. The dusty track surface confirms how little action the track sees which makes track evolution at the Hungaroring a crucial aspect for judging a qualifying effort. Throughout the 4.381 km lap the Hungaroring’s old-school layout is packed with fourteen corners.

The Hungaroring is technically demanding, bumpy and narrow, loved by drivers and adored by fans for its traditional atmosphere. The key to a good result here is a good grid slot. Having the fastest car will mean nothing if you’re stuck in the pack. In 1990 Thierry Boutsen in a sluggish Williams held off a much quicker Ayrton Senna to win the race. The chances of overtaking, even with DRS, are slim to none. No one knows the frustration of not being to overtake better than Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn has finished second at the Hungarian GP on four separate occasions.

The new tyres, tested during the three days of the young driver’s test at Silverstone last week, will be used this weekend in Hungary. The test was opened to current race drivers by the FIA to assist Pirelli. Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg pointed out that testing the new tyres wasn’t a “day and night” difference and that running on the new compounds for the first time in Hungary “will be fine too.” The 2013 Pirelli P Zero tyres have been matched with 2012 construction to enhance consistency and improve safety.

Pirelli’s initial conservative choice of the medium and hard compounds would’ve hampered teams such as Lotus and Ferrari who thrive on getting the softer tyre to its working temperature quicker and stretching the life of the tyre. However, coupled with high temperature, forecast at mid-thirties, Pirelli’s reversion to the medium and soft compound will play to the strengths of the two teams.

McLaren have won eleven of the twenty-seven Hungarian grands prix but victory this weekend is unlikely to be a possibility for the Woking based team. Jenson Button believes that the team are moving the right direction. “A win in 2013 is going to be difficult, but I actually think the team is working very well right now: in Germany, our tyre-usage, strategy and management of the race was as good as it’s ever been.”

Sebastian Vettel was the quickest of the drivers at the three day young driver’s test at Silverstone last week. He will no doubt want to continue in the same vein this weekend. Red Bull has never been very prolific at the Hungaroring and of the two it is only Mark Webber who has won here before. Then again, a few weeks ago Vettel hadn’t won the German GP either.

Mercedes have proven their prowess in qualifying which makes the likelihood of the Silver Arrows locking out the front-row of the grid, or getting a car on pole very good. Given the lack of overtaking on the circuit they will have a prime opportunity to control the race and win it. However, the unknown for Mercedes this weekend will be their performance on the new Pirelli tyres.

Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari hasn’t looked anything special in qualifying trim but his lightening starts can potentially transform fifth on the grid to second – a vital part to a successful race. The key to this weekend is having a car that can cope with the twisting demands of the Hungaroring. But even more so, qualifying and making a good start to the race can be the difference between winning or not.

July 24, 2013
F1 2013: British GP Review – Rosberg tops at dramatic Silverstone

Formula 1 in 2013 hasn’t been short of drama but it well and truly ramped up for the eighth round of the season at Britain’s Silverstone grand prix.

It was home-grown hero Lewis Hamilton who thrashed the field to take only his second pole position at the famous circuit. The margin between the 2008 champion and teammate Rosberg was the biggest it had been all season as Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid. Sebastian Vettel was ever present in third ahead of retiring teammate, Mark Webber.

Force India’s Paul Di Resta delivered an excellent lap for fifth but would later be excluded from qualifying for an underweight car. The Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari of Fernando Alonso seemed to struggle in qualifying trim as the duo only managed to start eighth and ninth.

Lewis Hamilton led cleanly away from pole position as Vettel slotted into third ahead of Rosberg. Mark Webber’s race was made a lot tougher after a clash with Romain Grosjean left the Australian with damage to the front-wing. A bit of damage to a front-wing would be the least dramatic issue of the day.

Lewis Hamilton easily in the lead of the race and steadily building a gap over Vettel would become the first driver to suffer a left rear tyre blowout. The Pirelli tyre seemed to completely disintegrate without any indication whatsoever. Somehow Hamilton was able to return his Mercedes to the pits but his chances of victory had been thrown out the window.

It looked like horrible luck for Hamilton until two laps later Felipe Massa’s Ferrari suffered the exact same failure. Jean-Eric Vergne became the third driver to suffer a tyre blow-out on lap 15 as his left rear spectacularly exploded on the Hangar straight.

The Toro Rosso driver’s tyre failure brought out the safety car as debris from the blowout littered the circuit. McLaren’s Sergio Perez would be the final driver to suffer an identical tyre blow-out on lap 46. At this point drivers were being told to avoid the kerbs in case they were the cause for the tyre problems. But Fernando Alonso didn’t share the same opinion after the race. “I have been racing here 12 years & never had this problem (tyre). I think the kerbs were perfectly ok,” said the Ferrari driver.

Racing resumed on lap 22 with no certainty of whose Pirelli could fail next but there was still a race to be had as Vettel led Rosberg over the start/finish line. The Red Bull driver extended his advantage over Rosberg to two seconds but the Mercedes driver was gradually starting chip away at his lead. Rosberg wasn’t required to do much more work in catching Vettel as the reigning world champion’s car grinded to a halt at the pit entry with a gearbox failure.

The stricken Red Bull prompted another safety car and Rosberg, Webber and Alonso dived into the pitlane for a fresh set of medium tyres. The only front-running driver not to take a fresh set of tyres was Kimi Raikkonen. Raikkonen was running second when he asked his team why they had not called him into the pits for fresh tyres. The Lotus pitwall had roughly half a lap behind the safety car to decide on a pitstop but responded to Raikkonen’s question with “I don’t know” and “It’s too late now.” On a day when championship leader Vettel failed to score any points the Lotus pitwall destroyed what could have been a significant gain in the championship stakes. Raikkonen eventually finished fifth, defenceless on hard tyres he had put on twenty laps earlier. It is on moments like this that championships are lost and won.

Mark Webber’s announcement of his retirement at the end of the season sent the rumours of Raikkonen joining the Red Bull team into overdrive. Lotus team principal Eric Boullier has said that they are doing everything they can to keep the Finn in the team. He believes that the ‘atmosphere’ within the team is enough to make Raikkonen stay put – it isn’t. During his two year hiatus from Formula 1 the Iceman let it be known that he is only interested in winning races – not fighting for second. The doubt is whether Lotus can consistently deliver up to that standard. Mistakes such as this will surely make Raikkonen’s decision to stay or leave a lot less difficult. Lotus are a good team but many suggest that the only thing making them great is Kimi Raikkonen. Since his return to Formula 1 he hasn’t put a wheel wrong and he has rekindled a kind of speed and driving class second to none. Give this guy what he needs and he will win you a world championship. Lotus’ mistakes could be more costly than they expect.

Mark Webber, recovered from front-wing damage, charged through the field in the closing laps to within seven tenths of race leader Rosberg. Similarly, Fernando Alonso’s fresh tyres allowed him pass several cars and finish third overall. Fernando Alonso was happy to salvage third place on a weekend where Ferrari look decidedly off the pace but called on his team to ‘raise their game’ in the coming races.

Nico Rosberg inherited the lead of the race but he won the British GP on pure merit. Never putting a wheel wrong he soaked up the late-race pressure from Webber like a pro. Career victory number three was well deserved for the most improved driver of 2013.

The Pirelli tyregate saga took a very dramatic turn during the British GP prompting the teams to angrily demand answers from the Italian tyre supplier. So serious was the tyre situation that race director Charlie Whiting admitted post-race that he was close to putting out the red flag.

Paul Hembery has failed to appear at press conferences at the last two races but at some point Pirelli and their motorsport director will have to face the music. Pirelli have been invited, by FIA President Jean Todt, to attend the Sporting Working Committee meeting at the Nurburgring next week in order to find a solution to the tyre problems.

The teams are now pushing for next month’s young driver’s test to be scrapped in favour of a fully fledged tyre test.

July 1, 2013
New side impact system for F1 in 2014

The FIA Institute has been working with Formula One teams to develop a new side impact system that will be on all cars in 2014.

One of the biggest safety developments for F1 in recent years is underway and will feature on all cars next season.

This is the result of a year-long collaboration between the FIA Institute and F1 teams where they have been developing a side impact system that works effectively, regardless of the angle of impact.

The FIA Institute’s research consultant Andy Mellor, who headed up the project, says, “We went back to basics to examine what a side impact structure really needs to do in different types of accident. We used Robert Kubica’s crash in Montreal as a specific reference point since that was a major impact at an acute angle.”

At the moment, crushable tube structures attached to the side of the chassis are deployed by the current side impact system. This has proven to be very effective during normal impacts but they can break off during side impacts due to extremely high tangential forces that are generated during the first few milliseconds of an impact.

Mellor approached Formula One teams to help develop a better side impact system that would solve the problem and Marussia, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull Racing stepped forward to assist.

Two options were investigated: optimised carbon tubes and crushable carbon sandwich panels. Testing concluded that the carbon tubes had far more potential to provide a lightweight, efficient and robust solution which would be able to manage impact loads effectively no matter the angle of impact.

The winning solution was based on an initial design by the Marussia F1 team which then underwent detailed optimisation by Red Bull Racing. It is an evolution of the current system, but using high-performance carbon fibre with a very bespoke external and internal geometry and precise layup configuration.

The new system incorporates a pair of structures fitted to each side of the car that do not shatter on impact. Instead they progressively crush and decelerate the car in a very controlled manner.

The teams agreed to implement this system for 2014 at the F1 Technical Working Group meeting on 17 May 2013. While there, all technical requirements for mounting the structures to the chassis were defined and it is now up to each team to decide exactly how they want to incorporate it into the design of their cars from 2014 onwards.

Paul Monaghan, Head of Car Engineering at Red Bull Racing says, “The tube has a common specification but how teams put it into their cars is entirely their business. The static tests that will be undertaken on the monocoque will determine the strength of the mounts and make sure that they are sufficient to support the tube. After that, it’s down to the teams as to how they integrate it and how they design their car around it.”

The new system will improve safety while at the same time reducing costs for the teams. Monaghan explains, “One of the driving forces for this was to spare teams extra expense in the testing process. Assuming everybody has a monocoque which is strong enough and passes the static tests, then they’ve saved money, as they’re not doing an impact test. It should be a cheaper solution.”

Established by the FIA and the FIA Foundation in October 2004, the FIA Institute is an international not-for-profit organisation that develops and improves motor sport safety and sustainability. It leads projects that encourage the rapid development of new and improved safety technologies, that facilitate higher standards of education and training, and that raise awareness of safety and sustainability issues.

June 26, 2013
Spanish Grand Prix Preview Quotes: Red Bull Racing

Red Bull Racing Spanish Grand Prix Preview Quotes with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Sebastian Vettel:
Q: What’s your best memory of competing at the Spanish GP?
SV: The win in 2011 was very special. It was a long race and for the last 20 or 30 laps I had a lot of pressure from behind from Lewis. I had no KERS to defend, so it was good to come out on top at the end.

Q: What’s your favourite bit of the track?
SV: The whole Barcelona circuit is interesting as it includes all types of corners and offers a really good mix, but my favourite part is still the first sector, because it has really quick corners.

Q: How’s it racing back in Europe?
SV: Yes it’s good to be back in Europe, and in Spain in particular. The atmosphere is always very special at the European races and the weather is usually good too. It helps that the travelling time to and from events is shorter and there’s no need to adapt to a time difference.

Mark Webber:
Q: What’s your best memory of competing at the Spanish GP?
MW: My win in 2010, I qualified on pole and it was a race which I controlled from the front. I pulled a gap from Sebastian, then Lewis was behind me and put a little bit of pressure on me in the middle of the race, but he had a mechanical failure towards the end. It’s rewarding because we do so much testing there, so it’s good to go there and get a nice result. It’s always a brilliant atmosphere in Spain. After the 2010 race I threw my race helmet into the crowd as a present for the fans.

Q: What about before you were driving?
MW: Probably Senna and Mansell on the front straight – I think it must have been 1992.

Q: Favourite bit of the track?
MW: The first sector, I like the exit of Turn 2 into Turn 3. I also like Turn 13, which is a weird little right hander, downhill, blind corner, but I think it’s quite a nice little corner to get right.

Q: How’s it racing back in Europe?
MW: It’s a little bit easier; obviously the travel is very convenient and everything is within a striking distance of two hours. We all know the hotels well and the drill of how to get around. It’s much more straightforward than some of the new venues; it’s a nice time to be racing in Europe with the weather generally and it’s a good atmosphere.

May 4, 2013
Dr. Helmut Marko calls for further tyre changes

Red Bull Racing advisor, Dr Helmut Marko, has reiterated his dissatisfaction with the current F1 tyre situation and has called for further tyre changes from Pirelli.

Despite ongoing pressure from Red Bull and other teams, Pirelli has stood their ground and announced that they will only be making a minor tweak to the ‘hard’ compound tyre for next month’s Spanish Grand Prix, and beyond.

Marko told a group of journalists at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, “We want a tyre that does not restrict our potential.”

“It should be that you are able to get the maximum out of your car. Currently it is a compromise, the car has to be adjusted to minimise pit-stops.”

Marko went on to argue that the Pirelli tyres are punishing the best of the cars on the grid – like Red Bull’s RB9.

He went on to say that the team had two top drivers, “which is not cheap.”

“To tell your drivers that they are not allowed to drive some corners properly is not easy,” he added. “This distorts competition.”

Despite their complaints, Red Bull hold a 16 point lead in the Constructors’ World Championship – ahead of their nearest rivals, the Lotus F1 team.

Photo: By Morio (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

April 30, 2013
Video: Dougie Does Red Bull Racing

12-times World Trials Champion and UK Red Bull athlete Dougie Lampkin came to play at the Red Bull Racing Factory. As well as driving through offices, upstairs and riding on transporters, he jumped a Formula One Car on two wheels. Here’s what happened …

April 30, 2013