Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/01/11/2599990/earnhardt-jr-starts-big-wreck.html
Alan Brown Walt Brown Warwick Brown Adolf Brudes Martin Brundle
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Webber cracks under pressure - Marko
Helmut Marko believes Mark Webber "has a little trouble" with the pressure that comes with being in with a chance of the world championship
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsport/story/98448.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Patrick Depailler Pedro Diniz Duke Dinsmore Frank Dochnal Jose Dolhem
Monday, January 14, 2013
Smooth Button masters F1's greatest test
At the circuit widely regarded as the greatest test of a racing driver in the world, Jenson Button took a victory in the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday that was probably the most dominant this season.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who finished second to Button after an impressive performance of his own, had an even bigger margin of superiority in Valencia but he was unable to make it count because his car failed.
Button had no such trouble. He stamped his authority on the weekend from the start of qualifying and never looked back, as all hell broke loose behind his McLaren.
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The frightening first-corner pile-up helped him in that it took out a potential threat in world championship leader Fernando Alonso's Ferrari. The Spaniard was up to third place from fifth on the grid before being assaulted by the flying Lotus of Romain Grosjean, who had collided with the other McLaren of Lewis Hamilton.
But before the race Alonso had entertained no prospect of battling for victory, and while he would almost certainly have finished on the podium, there is no reason to believe he would have troubled Button.
The Englishman also comfortably saw off in the opening laps the challenge of Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen, hotly tipped before the weekend.
Raikkonen was left to battle entertainingly with rivals including Vettel and Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher, on whom the Finn pulled an astoundingly brave pass into the 180mph swerves of Eau Rouge which was almost a carbon copy of Red Bull driver Mark Webber's move on Alonso last year.
Button, meanwhile, was serene out front, never looking under the remotest threat.
For Button, this was a far cry from the struggles he has encountered in what has not overall been one of his better seasons.
A strong start included a dominant victory in the opening race in Australia and second place in China.
But after that he tailed off badly, struggling with this year's big Formula 1 quandary - getting the temperamental Pirelli tyres into the right operating window.
The 32-year-old had a sequence of weak races and even at other times has generally been firmly in Hamilton's shade.
Those struggles were ultimately solved by some head-scratching on set-up at McLaren, but they were undoubtedly influenced by Button's smooth, unflustered driving style.
Button's weakness - one of which he is well aware - is that he struggles when the car is not to his liking. Unlike Alonso and Hamilton, he finds it difficult to adapt his style to different circumstances.
The flip side of that is that when he gets the car's balance right, he is close to unbeatable. It is a similar situation to that of two former McLaren drivers - Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
Senna, like Hamilton, was usually faster, but when Prost, whose style was similar to Button's, got his car in the sweet spot he was matchless.
"I obviously have a style where it's quite difficult to find a car that works for me in qualifying," Button said on Saturday, "but when it does we can get pole position."
Perhaps an elegant style that does not upset the car or over-work the tyres was exactly what was needed through the demanding corners of Spa's challenging middle sector.
That was McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe's view, certainly.
"It could well be," Lowe said, "because it's made up of these longer flowing corners rather than the short, stop-start ones. So that may well be something he can work with well, just tucking it all up and smooth lines."
Was this the secret to Button's performance in qualifying, when he was a remarkable 0.8 seconds quicker than team-mate Lewis Hamilton?
In a well-publicised series of tweets after qualifying, Hamilton blamed this on the team's collective decision - with which he agreed when it was made - to run his car on a set-up with higher downforce.
This is a perfectly valid decision at Spa -it was a route that Raikkonen also took - and in pure lap time the two differing approaches should balance themselves out. But for them to do so, the driver with the higher downforce set-up has to make up in the middle sector the time he has lost on the straights.
As the McLaren telemetry of which Hamilton so unwisely tweeted a picture on race morning proved, however, that was not the case. Hamilton was not fast enough through sector two - indeed his time through there on his final qualifying lap was 0.3secs slower than his best in the session.
Hamilton tweeted a photo of the McLaren telemetry, prompting a rebuke from his team.
That was the real reason why he was slower than Button in Spa qualifying - not the fact he was down on straight-line speed, which was always going to be the case once he went with the set-up he did.
It's worth pointing out in this context that Hamilton was also significantly slower than Button in final practice - a fact that led him to take the gamble on the different set-up.
How Hamilton would have fared in the race will never be known, because of the accident with Grosjean.
It was a scary moment - Grosjean's flying Lotus narrowly missed Alonso's head - and the incident underlined once again why F1 bosses are so keen to introduce some kind of more effective driver head protection in the future.
From the point of view of a disinterested observer, the only plus point of the accident, which also took out the two impressive Saubers, was that it has narrowed Alonso's lead in the championship. Vettel is now within a race victory of the Spaniard.
Despite this, to his immense credit, Alonso was a picture of measured calm after the race.
Invited to criticise Grosjean, he refused. Although, being the wise owl he is, he not only had at his fingertips the statistics of Grosjean's first-lap crashes this season, but slipped them into his answer.
"I am not angry [at Grosjean]," he said. "No-one did this on purpose, they were fighting, two aggressive drivers on the start, Lewis and Romain and this time it was us in the wrong place at the wrong time and we were hit.
"It's true also that in 12 races, Romain had seven crashes at the start, so..."
It was, Alonso pointed out, a good opportunity for governing body the FIA to make a point about driving standards this season, which Williams's Pastor Maldonado has also seemed to be waging a campaign to lower.
It was an opportunity the stewards did not decline.
Grosjean will now watch next weekend's Italian Grand Prix from the sidelines after being given a one-race suspension, the first time a driver has been banned since Michael Schumacher in 1994. Maldonado has a 10-place grid penalty for jumping the start and causing his own, independent, accident.
Earlier this year, triple world champion Jackie Stewart, who is an advisor to Lotus, offered to sit down with Grosjean and give him some advice about the way he approached his races.
Stewart is famous not only for his campaign for safety in F1 but also for his impeccable driving standards during his career. He has helped many drivers in his time, but Grosjean turned him down.
On Sunday evening, I was contacted by an old friend, the two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and former IndyCar champion Gil de Ferran, who was involved in F1 a few years ago as a senior figure in the Honda team.
That coaching, De Ferran said, "seems like a great idea".
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/09/smooth_button_masters_f1_great.html
Patrick Depailler Pedro Diniz Duke Dinsmore Frank Dochnal Jose Dolhem
Vettel and Schumacher win ROC Nations Cup
Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher won the Race of Champions Nations Cup for Team Germany in Bangkok on Saturday, taking the title for the sixth consecutive year
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/97516.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Michael Andretti Keith Andrews Elio de Angelis Marco Apicella M·rio de Ara˙jo Cabral
“The Art of War” by Adam Parr reviewed | F1 review
“The Art of War” by Adam Parr reviewed is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Adam’s Parr’s departure from Williams was one of the most startling news stories of 2012.
Mere weeks after Frank Williams hailed the team’s chairman as his “natural successor” came a stark press release with the headline Adam Parr to Leave Williams Grand Prix Holdings PLC. That something was amiss was not lost on the readers of F1 Fanatic as can be seen from the comments at the time.
Sure enough, Parr eventually revealed his departure was linked to Williams’ Concorde Agreement negotiations with Bernie Ecclestone, who Parr believed was trying to force him out of F1. He first made the claim in this book, which tells his story of being at the helm of Williams during a turbulent few years.
“The Art of War: Five Years in Formula One” reveals the inner workings of F1′s ‘Piranha Club’ and how they reacted to the escalating financial crisis from the end of 2007. This runs side-by-side with Parr’s arrival at Williams, and he also tells the story of his efforts to put the team on a more solid footing for the future.
In what is probably a first for an F1 book of this type, Parr’s tale is told as a graphic novel. This makes a refreshing change from the norm and adds impact and style to what might otherwise be a rather dry story of people sat in rooms talking to each other.
A glance at illustrator Paul Tinker’s website led me to expect caricatures and amusing designs. Sure enough the major players are well-drawn – you’ll have little trouble recognising them – and there are occasional touches of humour in the artwork. But a sport as vibrant as Formula One deserves a bit more colour than the occasional perfunctory splash of red.
Parr’s dispute with Ecclestone, stemming from his and Williams’ opposition to the introduction of customer cars, is a central theme of the book. The reader is left with the clear view that Parr’s refusal to yield ground on the issue of customer cars was what led Ecclestone to force him out – as it turned out, a little more than a month before Pastor Maldonado scored their first race victory in eight years.
The insight into the competing factions vying for control over F1′s future is fascinating. Parr lays blame for the failure of the Formula One Teams’ Association to achieve further costs reductions beyond 2010 at the feet of Red Bull – who opposed them – and McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh, who in Parr’s view yielded too much ground to achieve consensus.
There are other interesting revelations along these lines, including Flavio Briatore calling Parr in 2009 to request that his engineers be allowed to look at the double diffuser on the new Williams. “Sadly, we were not able to show Renault what we were doing,” notes Parr.
The story unfolds at a very brisk pace. In places it would benefit from fleshing out certain stories more than it does.
We see one panel about Parr’s “truly hateful task” of having to drop Nico Hulkenberg (one week before his sensational pole position in Brazil). As Hulkenberg was elbowed out to make room for Maldonado and his millions, this subplot has obvious resonance with the rest of the story and is one of a few points I’d like to see covered in further detail.
Of course, we are only shown one side of the story. It’s hard not to sympathise with some of Parr’s points, such as his frustration with those who opposed cost controls even when their own teams were poised to quit the sport.
But the shortcomings of his preferred solution – a budget cap – are glossed over. Not least whether it would ever be possible to police such restrictions effectively.
That said there was much I appreciated about this attempt to tell an important story in an original way. It offers a glimpse into the secretive power games that shape F1 and reveals much about the rivalries that frustrate good governance of the sport.
At £25 the slim hardback version is on the dear side but for F1 fans with e-readers this is a must-buy.
F1 Fanatic rating
Buy The Art of War – Five Years in Formula One (Hardback)
Buy The Art of War – Five Years in Formula One (eBook)
The Art of War: Five Years in Formula One
Author: Adam Parr (foreword by Max Mosley)
Publisher: Haymarket
Published: 2012
Pages: 80
Price: £25 (Hardback) / £4.94 (eBook)
ISBN: 9780957453982
Reviews
- "The Art of War" by Adam Parr reviewed
- 2012 F1 season Blu-Ray "Victorious Vettel" reviewed
- 2012 F1 season DVD "Victorious Vettel" reviewed
- F1 Fanatic readers' top ten most-purchased gifts 2012
- "Grand Prix Who's Who" fourth edition reviewed
“The Art of War” by Adam Parr reviewed is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/YpTod2A1z_A/
Derek Daly Christian Danner Jorge Daponte Anthony Davidson Jimmy Davies
Webber cracks under pressure - Marko
Helmut Marko believes Mark Webber "has a little trouble" with the pressure that comes with being in with a chance of the world championship
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsport/story/98448.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
George Connor George Constantine John Cordts David Coulthard Piers Courage
Caption Competition 26: Rookies of 2001 | Caption Competition
Caption Competition 26: Rookies of 2001 is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Continuing our retro-themed Caption Competitions, today’s features the rookie class of 2001.
Future world champions Kimi Raikkonen (Sauber) and Fernando Alonso (Minardi) made their F1 debuts at Melbourne in 2001 along with Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams) and Enrique Bernoldi (Arrows).
It’s up to you to suggest the best comedy caption for this picture. Post your funniest suggestion in the comments and look out for my pick of the best in tomorrow’s round-up.
See the best of last year’s Caption Competition winners here:
Caption Competition
- Caption Competition 26: Rookies of 2001
- Caption Competition 25: The Schumachers
- The best of the 2012 Caption Competition winners
- Caption Competition 24: Hamilton and Red Bull
- Caption Competition 23: Vettel and Horner
Browse all previous Caption Competitions
Image © BMW
Caption Competition 26: Rookies of 2001 is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/T5rBHO1fH-M/
Bob Christie Johnny Claes David Clapham Jim ClarkÜ Kevin Cogan
Red Bull RB9 to break cover on February 3
Reigning world champions Red Bull have announced that their new car, the Renault-powered RB9, will be unveiled on February 3. The launch will take place in the team's UK hometown of Milton Keynes, two days before pre-season testing begins at Jerez in Spain.
Red Bull, who have won three consecutive drivers' and constructors' titles
Red Bull, who have won three consecutive drivers' and constructors' titles
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2013/1/14184.html
Ian Ashley Gerry Ashmore Bill Aston Richard Attwood Manny Ayulo
Grosjean triumphs in 2012 Race of Champions
Lotus's Romain Grosjean emerged victorious at the 2012 Race of Champions (ROC) on Sunday after a dominant performance in the multi-discipline event in Thailand.
The 26-year-old Frenchman proved unbeatable as he defeated eight-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen in the final of the competition
The 26-year-old Frenchman proved unbeatable as he defeated eight-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen in the final of the competition
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/12/14161.html
Conny Andersson Mario Andretti Michael Andretti Keith Andrews Elio de Angelis
Alonso the new favourite
 Fernando Alonso is the new favourite for the title |
“He is the man with the momentum and, on the same basis that I backed Mark Webber to win the title before Korea, is now my favourite to claim the world title in Abu Dhabi on Nov 14. “When the cars are so evenly-matched you have to back the man in possession. Especially when that man is a two-time world champion and arguably the finest driver of his generation.”The Mirror’s Byron Young drew comparisons between Alonso and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher as the Spaniard bids to become the sport’s youngest ever triple world champion.
“Like Schumacher, Alonso accepts no opposition within his team. Ultimately he fell out with McLaren over their refusal in 2007 to bring Lewis Hamilton to heel. “He returned to Renault on condition he was No.1, only to be at the centre of the Singapore cheat scandal - engineered to hand him victory. “The Spaniard has always denied involvement but at the German GP in July he was brazen enough to radio Ferrari to rein in team-mate Felipe Massa so he could start the winning streak that has taken him to the brink of history.”
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/10/alonso_the_new_favourite_1.php
Roberto Bussinello Jenson Button Tommy Byrne Giulio Cabianca Phil Cade
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Discredited US F1 reaches the end of the road
US F1 will not launch a renewed bid to debut in Formula One in 2011
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/18561.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Marco Apicella M·rio de Ara˙jo Cabral Frank Armi Chuck Arnold Rene Arnoux
The Situation Room - inside Race Control
The Formula One era of hand-held stopwatches and buccaneering free-spirit control is history. Not only is F1 racing itself highly technical these days, but so is the way it conducts itself.
The job of enforcing the rules at Grands Prix has become a data-fuelled science, operating at the cutting edge of technology and allowing the race stewards and their driver advisers to see all and know all as they ensure fair play on track
The job of enforcing the rules at Grands Prix has become a data-fuelled science, operating at the cutting edge of technology and allowing the race stewards and their driver advisers to see all and know all as they ensure fair play on track
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2012/12/14169.html
George Amick Red Amick Chris Amon Bob Anderson Conny Andersson
Retirement a tough call - Webber
Mark Webber says it will be "a very difficult moment" when he contemplates retiring from Formula One
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsport/story/98231.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Elie Bayol Don Beauman Karl Gunther Bechem Jean Behra Derek Bell
F1: Mercedes a 'long term risk' for Hamilton
Jackie Stewart believes Lewis Hamilton is taking a risk for his long-term future by joining a manufacturer team in Mercedes
Source: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105103
Jimmy Davies Colin Davis Jimmy Daywalt JeanDenis Deletraz Patrick Depailler
Brazil debrief with Williams' Mark Gillan
Williams endured a tough final race of the season in Brazil with both Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado retiring within the opening two laps. The teams' chief operations engineer reviews last weekend's action and the 2012 season as a whole
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2012/11/14136.html
Tony Crook Art Cross Geoff Crossley Chuck Daigh Yannick Dalmas
Saturday, January 12, 2013
The Inside Line - on Williams' Pastor Maldonado
Newly confirmed for 2013, Williams' Pastor Maldonado has been one of the sensations of the 2012 Formula One season, combining a superb Spanish Grand Prix win with a fair few visits to the stewards' room.
But who is the real Maldonado? Turns out he's a tiger-like would-be baseball star who is very fussy about his pillows - and who struggles to ride a bike. We found out more
But who is the real Maldonado? Turns out he's a tiger-like would-be baseball star who is very fussy about his pillows - and who struggles to ride a bike. We found out more
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2012/11/14138.html
Fernando Alonso Giovanna Amati George Amick Red Amick Chris Amon
Doctors use Formula One pit crews as safety model
American Medical News reports hospitals in at least a dozen countries are learning how to translate the split-second timing and near-perfect synchronisation of Formula One pit crews to the high-risk handoffs of patients from surgery to recovery and intensive care.
"In Formula One, they have checklists, databases, and they have well-defined processes for doing things, and we don't really have any of those things in health care."
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/10/doctors_use_formula_one_pit_cr.php
Marcel Balsa Lorenzo Bandini Henry Banks Fabrizio Barbazza John Barber
Friday, January 11, 2013
Money was a factor in Mercedes' showing - Schumacher
Michael Schumacher says the spending power of Red Bull was one reason that Mercedes was unable to challenge for titles in his three years with the team
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/mercedes/motorsport/story/98264.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Paolo Barilla Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels Edgar Barth Giorgio Bassi
AUTOS: First 2013 SRT Viper Built, Presented to Barrett-Jackson Auction Winner
Rights to the #001 Viper, first off the assembly line, went to the winning bidder of a charity sale during the 2012 Orange County event.
Ronnie Bucknum Ivor Bueb Sebastien Buemi Luiz Bueno Ian Burgess
2011 as tough as 2012 - Vettel
Sebastian Vettel said that his 2011 championship victory was as hard as his triumph in this year's drivers' title
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsport/story/97147.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Gerhard Berger Eric Bernard Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen
Raikkonen favourite to taste victory in Belgium
At Spa-Francorchamps
In this remarkable season of unpredictability and uncertainty, of seven winners in 11 races, of the most open title battle in years, Formula 1 is still waiting for one big result.
A victory for the revived Lotus team has looked inevitable since the start of the year. And as the world championship re-starts in Belgium this weekend following a month-long summer break, the expectation is that this could be their race.
The car, from the team formerly known as Renault that won two world championships with Fernando Alonso in 2005-6, has been fast all season. Its best result has been four second places. But the momentum seems to be with them.
Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus pushed Lewis Hamilton's winning McLaren all the way in Hungary five weeks ago. The Finn has a stunning record at the stunning Spa-Francorchamps track that hosts this race and Lotus have been working on a technical trick that could give them a key advantage on the demanding track that swoops and twists around the contours of the Ardennes mountains.
Kimi Raikkonen has won the Belgian Grand Prix four times. Photo: Getty
The 32-year-old Finn seems to have a special affinity with the circuit regarded as arguably the biggest test for a racing driver anywhere in the world. He has taken four victories here - and either won or retired from every single race he has competed at Spa since 2004.
Raikkonen's all-action style, based on fast corner entry in a car with good front-end bite, seems perfectly suited to Spa's cascade of long, fast corners.
Two of his wins - for McLaren in 2004 and Ferrari in 2009 - came in years when his machinery was otherwise uncompetitive. The other two were dominant victories from the front in 2005 and 2007.
But Raikkonen's position as arguably the favourite for victory this weekend is not founded just on his renowned Spa specialism. He is widely expected to have the car to do the job.
Lotus have come agonisingly close to victory twice already this year - in Bahrain in April and at the last race, in Hungary at the end of July.
Both times it was Raikkonen who challenged only to just fall short, behind Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel in Bahrain and Hamilton in Hungary. But the Finn, who returned to F1 this season after two unproductive years in world rallying, has actually been Lotus's weaker driver for most of the year.
His team-mate, the Franco-Swiss Romain Grosjean, who is in his first full season, has generally had a marginal advantage - to the point that around the European Grand Prix in Valencia at the end of June there were murmurings of dissatisfaction with the Finn, who won the world championship for Ferrari in 2007.
Raikkonen ultimately finished second to Alonso in Valencia, but had been off the pace of Grosjean all weekend - indeed the younger man was pushing the Ferrari hard when his alternator failed late in the race.
When, following the race, Raikkonen expressed his frustration at it taking so long for Lotus to win, one team member privately expressed the view that he would be better focused on beating Grosjean before moaning about not winning yet.
Since then, though, Raikkonen has upped his game and in the race in Hungary he was fantastic, the middle stint there that lifted him from fifth place to potential victor one of the most impressive pieces of driving all season.
Had Raikkonen not made a mess of qualifying, and taken the front row slot he should have earned rather than the fifth place he did, he might well have won. The same can be said of Bahrain, where a decision to save tyres for the race left him down in 11th place on the grid and with too much to do.
Grosjean, too, must be considered a potential Spa winner. Despite making too many errors, he has been all confidence and commitment this year.
He has looked a different driver on his return to F1 in 2012 from the haunted figure who was demoralised by Alonso during his first half-season at Renault in 2009, after which he was dropped.
The high expectations for Lotus at Spa are partly based on the car's inherent qualifies - a factor in its general competitiveness this year has been strong performance in fast corners, and Spa is full of them.
As well as that, though, is that innovation mentioned earlier. In Hungary, and in Germany the week before, Lotus trialled a clever system aimed at boosting the team's straight-line speed without compromising its performance in other areas.
Like the DRS overtaking aid featured on all the cars, the Lotus system affects the rear wing to reduce drag.
It works by channelling air from scoops behind the driver's head to the rear wing, which this extra air then 'stalls', reducing the downforce the wing creates and therefore its drag, boosting straight-line speed.
What is not clear is when exactly the Lotus system comes into play.
Is it independent of the DRS, as some believe, and therefore active above a pre-set car velocity and usable at all times, including in the race when DRS use is restricted to a specific zone?
Or is it, as BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson believes, linked to the DRS and simply an extra boost to the car's speed when that system is employed, like the system Mercedes have been using but without the inherent compromises that team have discovered?
Either way, it could be a significant boost to Lotus's chances in Spa. Lotus have yet to use the system outside free practice, and this weekend they will again try it out on Friday before making a decision whether to race it.
For all the talk of Lotus, though, a win for them is a very long way from a foregone conclusion. Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren will be as strong as ever on a track that should suit all their cars.
In fact, it will be a particularly interesting weekend all round.
Which teams have made best use of the mid-season break to develop their cars?
Have Ferrari made the step forward in performance they seemed in Hungary to need if Alonso - unquestionably the stand-out driver of the season so far - is to hang on to his championship lead?
Can McLaren maintain the upward momentum they showed in Germany and Hungary after a brief slump?
Will Red Bull finally unlock the potential of what has looked, on balance, overall the fastest car?
The climax of one of the sport's greatest seasons, a hyper-intense period of nine races in three months, starts here.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/08/raikkonen_favourite_to_taste_v.html
Colin Davis Jimmy Daywalt JeanDenis Deletraz Patrick Depailler Pedro Diniz
Thursday, January 10, 2013
WRC: Kosciuszko gets full season in Mini
The Mini World Rally Car will still be present for the full 2013 World Rally Championship season despite the loss of factory backing, with Michal Kosciuszko securing a complete programme with erstwhile works team Motorsport Italia
Source: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105035
Eddie Cheever Andrea Chiesa Ettore Chimeri Louis Chiron Joie Chitwood
OTHER: Peterhansel pulls clear on Dakar
Stephane Peterhansel's Dakar Rally lead stretched to nearly 10 minutes on Wednesday's fifth stage as closest rival Nasser Al-Attiyah went off course and lost time
Source: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105034
Franco Comotti George Connor George Constantine John Cordts David Coulthard
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
F1: Lotus atmosphere boosted Raikkonen
Lotus owner Gerard Lopez believes Kimi Raikkonen managed to deliver so much for the team last year because it gave him the atmosphere he needed to thrive.
Source: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105006
Tom Bridger Tony Brise Chris Bristow Peter Broeker Tony Brooks
Massa threatened with jail over team orders
 |
“A public raised on a diet of Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna were simply appalled and saddened in equal measure by Massa’s apparent lack of ambition.”
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/11/massa_threatened_with_jail_ove.php
Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen Mike Beuttler Birabongse Bhanubandh
Force India to launch 2013 car on February 1
Force India have announced that they will unveil their 2013 car at Silverstone on February 1.
The team, whose factory is situated next to the British Grand Prix venue, are the first squad to confirm the date of their new car launch
The team, whose factory is situated next to the British Grand Prix venue, are the first squad to confirm the date of their new car launch
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/12/14165.html
Felice Bonetto Jo Bonnier Roberto Bonomi Juan Manuel Bordeu Slim Borgudd
Nurburgring expected to appear on 19-race calendar | F1 Fanatic round-up
Nurburgring expected to appear on 19-race calendar is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
In the round-up: Bernie Ecclestone indicated there will be no Turkish Grand Prix in 2013 and the Nurburgring will host the German Grand Prix.
Links
Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more.
Ecclestone hopes for Nurburgring deal this week (Reuters)
“It should be the Nurburgring and we are trying to make it happen. I’m talking with them today.”
Nurburgring close to German GP deal, says Ecclestone (Adam Cooper)
“Ecclestone also said that the calendar will stick at 19 races, which means that his attempt to revive the Turkish GP has failed.”
F1 disorganised, blasts Sir Jackie (City AM)
“Was the judgement of yellow and green flags right or wrong in Brazil and why would that have to come up on a Wednesday or Thursday? That is a huge statement of a disorganised function that it should come up then. The whole world is celebrating a new world champion and then that happens on a Wednesday. That is a poor declaration of management.”
A new year and a new project under way (Ferrari)
“In the very first days of February, the new car will be officially unveiled at Maranello ahead of its debut on the track at Jerez immediately afterwards.”
Q&A: Adam Parr (F1news.cz, PDF)
“At the end of 2006, when I had first joined Williams, I attended a dinner in London organised by a sponsor to celebrate the season. After dinner, James Allen interviewed some of the people there. When he approached Bernie to give his views about the season, Bernie [Ecclestone] said ‘I won’t answer unless everyone here has signed a confidentiality agreement.’ I thought he was joking but he said nothing else…”
Marussia sure ’14 costs not impossible (Autosport)
“What the fans want is close competition, not a spending competition.”
‘I am not crazy’ – Grosjean (ESPN)
“That’s what cost me the nickname ‘first lap nutcase’ last year, but even that must be taken in context. Mark said it straight out of the car in Japan, with all the adrenaline of the race still inside him. I apologised which is the most I can do. I am not crazy, I am aware of the risks and I have worked hard to correct my mistakes. Over the last five races, I didn’t have any other problems and there is no reason to believe that I will have any more.”
Maldonado refusing to change (Sky)
“I have won in each of the categories in which I have competed and, every time I walk down the hallway in my house and see everything I’ve achieved with this style, I think I should continue.”
F1 Austin race rings up $2.8 million in alcohol sales (USA Today)
“The Texas comptroller’s office says circuit-related events had $2.8 million worth of beer, wine and mixed drink sales.”
Real Transformer Formula 1 Ferrari (YouTube)
Via WTF1
Tweets
I enjoy reading that redbull still think we will be the strongest rival for next year! And this even before start testing!! Flattered..;)
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) January 8, 2013
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
F1 Race Stars
Codemasters have announced three new downloadable tracks for F1 Race Stars: Canada, China and India. Pictures and more information below.
- New tracks for F1 Race Stars: India, Canada and China (and Europe)
- “F1 Race Stars” by Codemasters reviewed
Comment of the day
Helmut Marko rarely has anything positive to say about Mark Webber but was his latest view really that unreasonable? @JerseyF1 says no:
I actually thought Marko was pretty fair on Webber. To me it sounds like he was saying Mark can be as fast as anyone in races but isn’t able to sustain that over the course of the season – could Webber, looking back at the last two seasons, really argue with that?
He also made clear that the drivers have different preferences in terms of set-up. He didn’t say that they made Mark use Vettel’s set-up but clearly when it goes beyond set-up to car development they will develop towards Vettel’s needs as the main championship contender in the team. The alternative would be like suggesting Ferrari focus development on Massa’s preferences.
Mark had the chance towards the end of the last decade to earn the right to number one status in the team. He had a two year head start at the team and that period pre-dates exhaust blowing which is supposedly his Achilles’ heel. He failed to do that and Vettel grabbed the chance with both hands. If Marko had suggested that Mark was as good as Vettel it would have been ridiculous so why berate him for telling it straight.
@JerseyF1
From the forum
- The WRC season starts soon with the 2013 Rally Monte Carlo and @Polishboy808 has written a cracking introductory thread
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Del Boy, Romulo Shortback and Leonardo Antunes!
If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.
On this day in F1
Having been out of a seat in 2002 Jos Verstappen announced his F1 comeback with Minardi on this day ten years ago. But the 2003 season turned out to be his last.
Image © Renault/LAT
Nurburgring expected to appear on 19-race calendar is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/PtvJkobFjow/
Alex Caffi John CampbellJones Adri·n Campos John Cannon Eitel Cantoni
BTCC: Neate establishes own BTCC team
Andy Neate has established his own team for the 2013 British Touring Car Championship and will run an NGTC Chevrolet Cruze under the IP Tech Race Engineering banner.
Source: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105025
Tommy Byrne Giulio Cabianca Phil Cade Alex Caffi John CampbellJones
Red Bull playing catch up with RB9 - Newey
Adrian Newey has admitted that Red Bull is "trying to catch up again" with the work on its RB9 after such a close 2012 season
Source: http://en.espnf1.com/redbull/motorsport/story/98250.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
Jimmy Bryan Clemar Bucci Ronnie Bucknum Ivor Bueb Sebastien Buemi
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Domenicali: Alonso will be back
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali has backed Fernando Alonso to bounce back from disappointment and come back stronger in 2013...
Source: http://www.planetf1.com/driver/3370/8335873/Domenicali-Alonso-will-be-back
Tony Bettenhausen Mike Beuttler Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco
Haug to leave Mercedes post
Norbert Haug will leave his position as head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport at the end of 2012, it has been announced.
After spending more than 22 years in the role his contract will come to an end by mutual agreement with Mercedes' board of management.
After spending more than 22 years in the role his contract will come to an end by mutual agreement with Mercedes' board of management.
Source: http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2012/12/14158.html
Stefan Bellof Paul Belmondo Tom Belso JeanPierre Beltoise Olivier Beretta
McLaren drivers out of title race
 Is it now a three-way battle for the title? |
“Focus and concentration will be of paramount importance and there is none stronger in this regard than Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.”The Guardian’s Oliver Owen thinks that it is Mark Webber’s title to lose now, and that this may be the Australian’s last realistic chance of winning the title.
“He has driven beautifully. Monaco and Silverstone spring to mind. He has been an uncompromising racer, not giving Vettel or Lewis Hamilton an inch in Turkey and Singapore respectively. Most importantly, he has largely avoided the bouts of brain fade that can wreck a season – his on-track hooning in Melbourne when racing Hamilton being the only exception. But there is a feeling that for Webber it is now or never, that a chance of a tilt at the title may never come again. He is certainly driving as if that is the case and that has been his strength.”According to The Mirror’s Byron Young, both McLaren drivers are now out of the title hunt after their fourth and fifth place finishes in Suzuka.
“McLaren's title hopes died yesterday in a weekend from Hell at Suzuka. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and fifth in a Japanese Grand Prix they had to win to have the remotest chance of keeping their title bid alive."The Sun’s Michael Spearman was of the same opinion, saying “Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button's title hopes were in tatters after a shocker in Japan.”
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/10/mclaren_drivers_out_of_title_r_1.php
Kevin Cogan Peter Collins Bernard Collomb Alberto Colombo Erik Comas
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