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[subzero9285]

Webber shocked by overtaking difficulty

"It got pretty boring," Webber told Australia's Daily Telegraph. "I spent 48 laps staring at a the gearboxes of first Schumacher and then Button and there was nothing I could do to pass them.

"I tried everything - different lines, pressure, everything. But they're both good drivers and neither of them made a mistake."

"I was quicker than him but I was unable to find a way through," Webber said. "He didn't make a mistake and if I'd tried to force the issue it would have ended in a crash.

"I was pretty shocked by how hard it was to overtake and it doesn't bode well for any of the one-stop races on the calendar, when everyone is going to be following pretty much the same strategy.

"We can only hope that other circuits will lend themselves to overtaking more than Sakhir."

Source

 

[subzero9285]

Indianapolis plays down F1 negotiations

Another spokesman for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has now played down claims talks are taking place to reinstate a US Grand Prix at the famous venue.

After Bernie Ecclestone said in Bahrain that a return to Indianapolis is possible, a circuit spokesman told the Indianapolis Business Journal: "We continue to have dialogue with Formula One, and we've long maintained we're interested in hosting their events."

But he admitted that an event in 2011 "would be a long shot", and a second spokesman has now told the Indy Star newspaper that specific talks are not currently taking place.

"In terms of negotiations, nothing is happening at this time," said Eric Powell.

He said "dialogue" with F1 officials has been ongoing since the last US GP in 2007.

"We would love to have Formula One in Indianapolis," added the spokesman. "We feel this is the best venue for formula once in the United States."

Source

 

[sportzhead]

Bernie: There's no panic

Source

They are going to run F1 into the ground with all these stupid rule changes. Come up with a universal rule book, universal car structure, and universal point system. Keep it that way for 100 years, everybody watches and enjoys each season from day one. Your rule changes are stupid F1, like Ralph Wiggum stupid.

 

[DrM]

How old is Bernie? I see some dementia symptoms in his behaviour.

 

[Steppenwolf]

I read a very interesting idea today. If front wings and rear wings would be banned (or reduced to some small stumps) a lot of the problems that modern F1 has could be solved. The cars would be hard to drive. The talent of the driver would be more important again. The corner speeds would go down dramatically. At the same time this would allow to go back to some more kickass track layouts. Forget about this Tilke nonsense with endless pointless corner combinations. Dirty air would be reduced greatly. Cars could overtake each other like in the old days.

Of course the look of the cars would be something one has to get used to. But why not? F1 didnt had any wings in its early years.

 

[Reno7728]

I read a very interesting idea today. If front wings and rear wings would be banned (or reduced to some small stumps) a lot of the problems that modern F1 has could be solved. The cars would be hard to drive. The talent of the driver would be more important again. The corner speeds would go down dramatically. At the same time this would allow to go back to some more kickass track layouts. Forget about this Tilke nonsense with endless pointless corner combinations. Dirty air would be reduced greatly. Cars could overtake each other like in the old days.

Of course the look of the cars would be something one has to get used to. But why not? F1 didnt had any wings in its early years.

Teams would hate it (i think) and it would mean huge amounts of money down the drain, and would take a long time to implement

 

[Steppenwolf]

Teams would hate it (i think) and it would mean huge amounts of money down the drain, and would take a long time to implement

Yea as much as i like the idea i dont think thats gonna happen anytime soon but i believe that at some point in the future F1 will need a very dramatic reform for their rules. The sport is heading into a one way road. Just watch some old onboard videos of Senna fighting behind his steering wheel and compare it with some onboard videos from today. It shows everything that goes wrong with this sport.

 

[Reno7728]

Yea as much as i like the idea i dont think thats gonna happen anytime soon but i believe that at some point in the future F1 will need a very dramatic reform for their rules. The sport is heading into a one way road. Just watch some old onboard videos of Senna fighting behind his steering wheel and compare it with some onboard videos from today. It shows everything that goes wrong with this sport.

It's also another problem with the tracks, slow corner after slow corner is bread and butter stuff, rather than blistering high speed chicanes and bends

 

[Steppenwolf]

It's this ugly trend of the last 20 or so years to not make the cars slower (parallel to their technological advancement) but to make the tracks slower instead.

 

[subzero9285]

Mercedes refused to supply Red Bull

Mercedes did not want to power Red Bull this year because the German marque feared being beaten.

It was thought that Brawn (now Mercedes GP) and McLaren exercised their right to veto new Mercedes engine deals, so Red Bull has stayed with Renault power.

Marko said of Mercedes: "They didn't want us. Without being arrogant, they knew that if we had that engine, they wouldn't see us (on the track)."

He claims Mercedes has eked out an advantage despite the engine development freeze, and confirmed reports that Red Bull is pushing the FIA to allow its competitors to catch up.

"What we are trying now, and what Renault and Ferrari have also tried, is that we do an equalisation of the engine situation," said the Austrian.

Adrian Newey's RB6 driven by Sebastian Vettel set pole in Bahrain last weekend and was leading the season opener.

Red Bull initially thought the German's technical problem, which allowed all three eventual podium sitters to pass him, was a broken exhaust, but the team later issued a media statement to clarify that a spark plug had actually failed.

And when asked why plumes of smoke came out of Mark Webber's sister car at the start of the race, team boss Christian Horner told F1.com on Tuesday: "Honestly, I have no idea. You have to ask Renault."

Told that the problem initially looked like an engine failure, Horner added: "Yep, me too. That was also a bit of a frustrating moment."

Source

 

[subzero9285]

Lotus eyeing Sauber and Toro Rosso

"This is a great start," Gascoyne was quoted by Reuters. "We've done the first massive step, we've now got to take some more. For us, it's not about the new teams. It's now about looking at Toro Rosso or Sauber. They are the ones we've got to look at, close the gap and go racing."

Source

 

[subzero9285]

Horner: We have the potential to dominate

Speaking to Formula1.com, Horner said Red Bull "have the potential to dominate, whereas many others departed Sakhir knowing they have more than just a missing tenth or two to find ahead of Australia".

While there was disappointment that Vettel eventually only managed fourth, Horner argued it was a great result. "What he managed to do is unbelievable. He had corner speeds that were almost beyond gravity. He was driving flawlessly, without even the slightest mistake. Sebastian had controlled the race and after lap three we were able to reduce on fuel because it was not necessary. Alonso did three laps to catch-up but was falling back again after those laps because of the tyres.

"We had a fast car this weekend - one that was very capable of winning the race, but we didn't. This is something that we have to swallow first."

Source

 

[S. L.]

there is an quite interesting article about aero & overtaking on http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/

*snip*

Frank Dernie, one of the leading F1 aerodynamicists for the past 30 years, has sent me this note, arguing that the “overtaking problem in F1″ is not the aero, but the mechanical grip from the tyres and the lack of mistakes made by drivers on gearshifts due to semi automatic gearboxes. He advocates manual gearboxes and rock hard tyres. Hear him out.

“None of the facts in the last 30 years support the theory that grippy tyres and low downforce promote overtaking. If reducing downforce was the answer, then 1983 would have shown it, since we lost 80% of the aero efficiency in the 1983 rules, ” he says. “But there was no more overtaking than in 1982.

“Here’s the proof – if downforce prevented overtaking, historically the races with the fewest overtaking manoeuvres would have been the wet races, where maximum downforce settings are used… Why anybody still thinks a reduction in downforce is the solution when faced with the facts has been a consistent mystery and frustration to me.

“Too much difference in grip between on and off line is a major factor, caused by sticky tyres (lots of mechanical grip)

“Braking distances into slow corners are far too short, caused by sticky tyres (too much mechanical grip).

“The other reason why it is hard to overtake in current F1 is that the fastest cars are at the front with slower ones behind, so there is no reason to expect overtaking unless a driver makes a mistake.

“In this case overtaking will only ever happen following mistakes, which are rare nowadays with super sticky tyres, big runoff areas and semi automatic gearboxes.

“A few things have worked in the past.

– One set of tyres for the race worked, but Michelin’s tyres were much more suited to this than Bridgestone, so it was changed since Bridgestone were to become the only supplier.

– Single lap qualifying. Often fast cars qualified out of pace order, making overtaking likely. It was unpopular since it was “not fair”.

“When there was overtaking in the past it was mainly due to the low grip of the tyres leaving a wide racing line and long braking distances, combined with cars much more difficult to drive due to low grip and manual gearboxes, hence more mistakes.

“We will never fix it whilst so many people ignore the facts and fixate on long held views which are completely at variance with the data.

“The problem is that quite a few influential people, like drivers and ex-drivers in the media, do not want the changes which certainly worked in the past. The drivers hate hard tyres, despite them probably being 50% solution, and the engineers love semi-automatic gearboxes, the other 50%…

Most overtakes took place in the past when a driver made a mistake due to poor grip or missed a gear.”

On the subject of double diffusers making it difficult to follow, he said that early last year the Toyota drivers complained that the hardest car to follow was the Renault, which didn’t have a double diffuser.

One of the reasons semi-automactic gearboxes have remained popular is that they prevent engines from over-revving on downshifts, which is even more important in this era of 8 engines per season.

But if F1 engineers can perfect the seamless shift, surely they can invent a system for a manual gearbox which would dip the clutch if the driver tried to select a gear that was too low for the engine speed.

Rock hard tyres and manual boxes and make the drivers work for a living – what do you think?

 

[subzero9285]

I read a very interesting idea today. If front wings and rear wings would be banned (or reduced to some small stumps) a lot of the problems that modern F1 has could be solved. The cars would be hard to drive. The talent of the driver would be more important again. The corner speeds would go down dramatically. At the same time this would allow to go back to some more kickass track layouts. Forget about this Tilke nonsense with endless pointless corner combinations. Dirty air would be reduced greatly. Cars could overtake each other like in the old days.

Of course the look of the cars would be something one has to get used to. But why not? F1 didnt had any wings in its early years.

The teams would throw their toys out of the pram and threaten another breakaway if that were to happen.

According to Overtaking Working Group (OWG), the biggest impediment to overtaking is the double diffuser, they recommended that the double diffusers be banned prior to the 2009 season but the FIA failed to heed their advice, and we're in this position now because of the FIA's (Mosley's) incompetence.

 

[subzero9285]

there is an quite interesting article about aero & overtaking on http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/

Differing opinions on the root cause it seems, the OWG who were formed to deal with this matter cite diffusers as the biggest impediment to overtaking.

 

[subzero9285]

I sure most people have forgotten this concept, so I'll refresh your minds.


This is an article written in 2008 before we'd all seen the new look cars.

Presenting a unified front isn’t something that comes naturally to Formula One. Only a year ago the sport found itself entrenched in the controversy and intrigue of ’spygate’, while political wrangling between the rule makers and rights holders one year on, not to mention some unpopular decisions on the track, have done little to repair Formula One’s elitist and discordant image.

So when three of the sport’s biggest rivals – Ferrari, Renault and McLaren – engaged in an unprecedented display of collaboration to develop the 2009 aerodynamic regulations, Formula One’s opinion formers took notice.

Expertly told by David Tremayne of the Independent and GrandPrixPlus, and this is the tale of how Ferrari man Rory Byrne, Renault’s Pat Symonds and Paddy Lowe of McLaren put aside the immediate rivalries of their respective teams to work for the common good of Formula One.

The overtaking question

The lack of overtaking, caused by the aerodynamic disruption that comes from following in the wake of increasingly intricate car designs has long been a concern. The problem reared its head again this year after new venues in Valencia and Singapore provided little in the way of overtaking opportunity prompting criticism that the sport’s entertainment value has become too dependent on the deployment of safety car.

An Overtaking Working Group (OWG), compromising the aforementioned designers, was set up in 2006 to investigate the issue and develop new aerodynamic regulations for 2009.

Byrne, Symonds and Lowe were quick to identify the scope of problem: the aerodynamic disadvantage from following the car in front needed to be reduced, but not to the extent that it nullified the challenge.

“Great overtaking,” Lowe explained to Tremayne, “is appreciated most where the guy has really worked for it. My personal favourite was when Mika Hakkinen passed Michael Schumacher at Spa in 2000 as both of them overtook on either side of Ricardo Zonta going up the hill to Les Combes.”

The working group agreed on an initial target of making the cars around five seconds a lap slower by reducing downforce levels by 50%. They had to account for technological advances in the intervening years as well as the introduction of slick tyres.

The trio then set about quantifying the exact figures behind the overtaking problem by using empirically sourced information from McLaren’s F1 simulator. The working group calculated that at the old Barcelona circuit, with a fast corner leading on to the main straight, the driver in a following car needed an advantage of two seconds a lap in order to have any chance of overtaking into the first corner.

That advantage was reduced to 1.5 seconds once downforce levels had been halved. And when the group began to model ways of maintaining the balance of the following car, the overtaking advantage was reduced to a second, which the designers agreed was acceptable.

Once this initial modelling in the simulator had been completed the next step was to develop the aerodynamic configuration that would deliver the desired effect. Various components were tested in a process that involved going back and forth between the wind tunnel and the simulator where Pedro de la Rosa’s subjective feedback ensured empirical validation.

2009 Aero Regulations

The final aerodynamic configuration hit the sweet spot and was approved by the Technical Working Group in October 2007 for introduction in 2009:

* Aerodynamic attachments such as deflectors, winglets, flip ups and chimney’s will be banned which will reduce the overall downforce levels significantly, although the introduction of slick tyres will increase mechanical grip;
* The rear wings will be smaller and higher while the front wings will be wider to reduce the loss of downforce when following another car;
* and for the first time in the sport’s history the front wings will also be adjustable by the driver while racing to help retain the balance of the cars while in the turbulent air.

Two-part CDG rear wing

In addition to developing an empirically sound model for tackling the overtaking problem, the research carried out by the working group also exposed fundamental flaws in the FIA’s original solution, the two part CDG rear wing (pictured above).

The CDG wing was developed by former Simtek and Renault Engineer Nick Wirth using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) as opposed to the tried and tested approach that the working group adopted using the wind tunnel and simulator.

The basic principal was sound enough: the wing aimed to reduce the aerodynamic turbulence in the resulting slipstream. The vortices of the inner ends of the two wings would generate a downwash in the centre of the car, the theory being that the following car could get into that downwash and improve its own downforce.

However, the working group identified that it was not possible to use CFD technology to fully understand the turbulence behind the car. Among other things, it is difficult to calculate the extent that the following car could trail around corners and stay in the central downwash.

The key to the new aerodynamic regulations was understanding the airflow behind the car, and for that reason the working group adopted an approach that involved going back and forth between the wind-tunnel and Pedro de la Rosa’s subjective feedback from the simulator.

The teams had already expressed serious misgivings about the CDG wing and the research carried out by the overtaking working group sealed its fate.

The future of regulation

Aside from the unanimous approval that the new aerodynamic proposals received, the result marked the first time that regulation changes had been made on the basis of sound scientific research that quantified the airflow problems using precise figures.

“Almost all of the attempts to reduce downforce in the recent past have been retrograde in terms of overtaking possibilities and wake behaviour,” one working group representative observed to Tremayne. “If we had wanted to make overtaking chances worse, that’s what we would have come up with…”

Source


I wonder how much of a difference this concept would of made, if any.

 

[TylerD]

there is an quite interesting article about aero & overtaking on http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/

This is interesting. Can't do anything about the gear boxes right now but Bridgestone should get to work on hockey puck tire compounds; extra hard and rock hard. Use the extra hard for quali and force 2 tire changes per GP.

 

[AndyD]

So I finally got into the fantasy league site today. Servers are pretty bad over there.

I went with a slight bump across the board and a drastic measure - one good driver and one crap to use that money elsewhere. We will see how it works with my limited funds. I could have had a great setup for round 2 but I needed an extra 200k.:lol So i went plan B with lopsided drivers.

 

[subzero9285]

Bernie: Can't change the rules, tough luck

Bernie Ecclestone says Formula One must for now live with its current set of rules.

"Maybe if we only gave them a soft compound they would have to stop twice but I am not sure that they will vote unanimously for the mandatory two-stop race which Red Bull proposed," said the 79-year-old.

Reinstating refuelling is also now impractical due to the designs of the 2010 cars, leading Ecclestone to admit that the rules for now are set in stone.

"We cannot change the rules," the Briton told Germany's Bild Zeitung.

"It would take far too long and it's too difficult. F1 is now a democracy.

"And all the teams voted for these rules, so now they must also deal with them," added Ecclestone.

Source

 

[subzero9285]

F10B rumours resurface

Italy's weekly Autosprint magazine has now revealed more details, including that Giuseppe Azzollini - a CFD expert - was employed by the Maranello based team late last year following Toyota's withdrawal from the sport.

It is suggested he is now working on a considerable development of the F10's double diffuser that cannot be accommodated in the current layout of the chassis.

It is believed that Azzollini's diffuser concept would have featured on Toyota's TF110 design, which although taken over by Stefan GP is not destined to race this season.

A more immediate change to the 2010 Ferrari is better cooling, after both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa's engines had to be changed prior to the Bahrain race.

Massa, meanwhile, said in the post-race press conference that he was asked to conserve fuel for 30 laps, where in fact the reason for his tempered pace was overheating.

"The temperature of the engine is the result of the aerodynamics of the car, so we have to work on that in order to make sure that we don't have any more of these kinds of issues for the next hot races," said team boss Stefano Domenicali.

Source

 

[subzero9285]

Schumacher hails 'The Hulk'

"Nico handled himself well," Michael said of Hülkenberg's Bahrain weekend, which featured a selection of highs and lows. "He was quick throughout practice but then made a small, but time costly, mistake in qualifying."

Despite also spinning in the early stages of the race, Hülkenberg's abilities are not in doubt in Michael's eyes. "Nico is a smart guy who's developing a great relationship with his engineers, Tom McCullough and Andrew Murdoch, and I know he'll deliver," Sam added.

Source

 

[subzero9285]

Q&A with Horner

Q. What is your summary of Mark Webber's race?

CH: Frustrating. Unfortunately he got boxed in at the first corner, dropped a position and then with the format of the race the way it was, he couldn't overtake, couldn't really pit because he would then drop out straight into traffic, and when he got into clear air he didn't have any tyres left. So then he had to pit – and you are back to where you started. So, it was frustrating.

I pushed quite hard for two pitstops to be mandatory over the winter, and it would be a great shame if all the races for the fans are one-stop like they were.

Q. Fernando Alonso said after the race that he had a little bit in pocket and was saving himself for a late push against Sebastian. Did you feel in control at the front?

CH: Look at his lap times with a lot less power! It shows what he had in the tank. I don't think he had any issues. I think Fernando had a bit of a go at him, Sebastian immediately reacted. Obviously it is a little bit of a trip into the unknown with the tyres here, and we were as soft on the tyres as any team. We had absolutely no issues and felt Sebastian was in a great place to control the race.

Q. We have some answers about the performance of the various cars – you and Ferrari seem a bit ahead, with McLaren right behind you. What's the overall feeling on the weekend?

CH: I think we can take a lot of positives. We have had the fastest car in all conditions, in qualifying, the soft tyre in the beginning of the race and the hard tyre in the second half of the race. But a frustrating issue has cost us a certain victory. But the upside is that the performance is clearly there.

Q. With heavy cars at the beginning of the race it seems it is impossible to overtake now. Is qualifying pace vital?

CH: Qualifying is going to be crucial – and this is one of the tracks that you can overtake at. So, it is going to be vitally important at future races.

Q. Do you think the spectacle was a bit of a letdown?

CH: I think the problem is, with the way the format of the races are, is that you are in danger of one-stop races at all events. I think we should consider whether we do two mandatory stops. It seems ridiculous that the guys train like hell for one stop.

Q. So does FOTA have some work to do?

CH: We've only had one snapshot, so perhaps we should review it after the first three or four races. Everybody thought I didn't want it because of tyre degradation, but I think we have shown today that tyre degradation isn't a problem for Red Bull.

 

[moojito]

It's certainly a grim outlook for the season if Horner is right about the rest of the races being one stoppers as well. I don't know why they can't all just say "ok, we're all going to stop at least twice", and do it. Has anyone spoken out against it?

 

[chicko1983]

Make minimum of two stops mandatory. Give everyone extra soft tyres. Reduce size of front and rear wings (gradually reduce over the next 10 years). More straights followed by tight corners.

There, I have fixed F1.

 

[TylerD]

Make minimum of two stops mandatory. Give everyone extra soft tyres. Reduce size of front and rear wings (gradually reduce over the next 10 years). More straights followed by tight corners.

There, I have fixed F1.

Soft tires are good for forcing more pit stops but they are also going to make the racing line more defined because of all the rubber marbles that will be laid down on the tracks. Those super hot super soft tires would stick like glue to any marbles outside the line and I think that would decrease the ability to overtake.

I think F1 fans are going to have to deal with minimal overtaking for the time being and near future.

 

[Jinjo]

That James Allen article is a pretty interesting read. There's definitely too much a focus on aero and too less on tires and the overall driveability of the cars.

Also, straights followed by tight corners is one of the things that is not going to work. You need a high speed corner followed by a straight into a medium speed corner or something. Take Brazil for example. You have a very high speed corner leading onto a straight. If you cock up there it's going to cost you on the straight. The car behind you has the ability to follow you through the corner, get along side and overtake in the next corner which in this case is a combination of corners with plenty of room and great for taking a position (because of the change in position through the corners). If you put a tight corner at the end of that straight it would just not work. Same goes if you put a tight corner at the beginning of the straight, because you lose the ability to follow the car in front because of the acceleration.

 

[Goldrusher]

Why should there be overtaking anyway ?
You arrange the cars in order of (qualifying) speed and then complain there's no overtaking. Well no shit Sherlock.

I'd like to see the return of 1 lap qualifying. It requires skill, it's cheaper, it's more exciting to watch and changing track mix things up.

- more exciting to watch than a practice session with only the final corner deciding the grid
- every driver gets at least 1 full lap of exposure, which is nice for fans and sponsors
- everyone on low fuel and qualifying tires
- a test of skill and not hoping to get 1 decent lap out of 5
- cheaper (no 20 laps of fuel)

 

[DrM]

They should randomize starting grid or reverse it. Or stewards could 'modify' randomly selected cars in parc ferme :lol
(Bernie is crazy enough for this)

 

[TylerD]

It is obvious that having shortcuts on the tracks is the only way!

 

[moojito]

It is obvious that having shortcuts on the tracks is the only way!

Oil slick dispensers on the back of cars, too. Wheezy-laugh dogs optional

Spoiler

for now!

 

[TylerD]

Oil slick dispensers on the back of cars, too. Wheezy-laugh dogs optional

Spoiler

for now!

Well, Red Bull is pioneering the smoke screen.

 

[Jinjo]

Well, Red Bull is pioneering the smoke screen.

:lol

It worked too didn't it? :lol

 

[Leunam]

I think that's why one of the Renault (I think it was Kubica) cars spun out.

 

[Mohonky]

They should rig each car with explosives. In the event a car is found to have been behind the same opponent for more than 2 laps, the explosives shall be detonated.

But in all seriousness they have fucked this season. With the no fuelling rules, no one is going to come in for more tyres unless the rest of the field is, which means everyone is just going to race conservatively and spare their tyres for the race and the result will be exactly what we saw from drivers like Alonso who was hesitant to even get up in behind Vettel and sacrificed his own tyres and run the risk of falling back. It's just going to be a year of F1 conga lines as drivers follow one another around the track just hoping the car in front makes a mistake or gives out for mechanical reasons.

Sunday was the first time I have ever just turned my TV off and gone to bed mid race. Even during other races in previous seasons where passing has been minimal you could atleast hope for a fuck up in the pits. Now though, it's just all gone to shit.

 

[Dibbz]

It's only been one race guys. I still think with the quality drivers this season it'll be entertaining to watch.

 

[TylerD]

It's only been one race guys. I still think with the quality drivers this season it'll be entertaining to watch.

The new teams add entertainment value too.

 

[subzero9285]

Kovalainen: Scrap blue flags

Heikki Kovalainen's proposal to help spice up the racing in Formula One is to scrap blue flags, according to Lotus team boss Tony Fernandes.

In an interview with Bloomberg, the Malaysian entrepreneur said Kovalainen, the new team's Finnish driver, proposes that "lapped cars should not be blue flagged, which may allow time for trailing cars to catch up to the leaders".

Currently in F1, blue flags are waved when a lapped car needs to allow higher-placed cars to pass.

Source

What a terrible idea.

 

[subzero9285]

Michael not rejoining GDPA

According to Germany's Bild Zeitung, the seven time world champion is now one of the only drivers in the paddock without membership of the safety-oriented Grand Prix Drivers' Association.

"Michael still supports the work of the GPDA," said Schumacher's spokeswoman and manager Sabine Kehm, "but he is not sure if he will join again.

"After all, he took the lead in this area for years. Now he really wants the others, who have taken over in the meantime, to continue," she added.

Schumacher was central to the revival of the GPDA in the wake of Ayrton Senna's death in 1994.

Source

 

[subzero9285]

Michael's return boosts German TV ratings

An average of 10.5 million viewers - translating to a market share of just under 50 percent - tuned in for the season-opening Grand Prix of 2010 on RTL, which compares with the 5.3 million who watched Round 1 in Melbourne 12 months ago.

"We did expect higher viewing figures but we never dared to think that they would be that much higher," commented RTL's Manfred Loppe.

Source

 

[subzero9285]

Lopez hits out at USF1

"As soon as I arrived in Charlotte in February, I realised that everything they (US F1) were saying was not true. What happened to us was unthinkable. In 60 years of Formula 1, it had never happened, a team which is signed up not making it. They hid things from us."

"Of course it's not the same anymore - there have been many falls and I don't know how long my family and I can cope with it. Testing would now be the easiest thing because racing in F1 is almost impossible for me this year. I'll have to be making decisions at some point soon."

Source

He should sue the pants off of those two charlatans.

 

[subzero9285]

Cosworth pleased with F1 comeback

"After many months of work developing and implementing our return as an engine supplier to Formula 1, it was good to finally get the racing underway," said Mark Gallagher, the company's General Manager for its F1 Business Unit. "It was satisfying to see all four of our teams in action.

"From an engine performance point of view, I think we can be very satisfied with the performance of the CA2010 in Bahrain.

"Both Williams' drivers finished the race, with Rubens (Barrichello) picking up a point for tenth, while Lotus achieved a significant milestone in having both cars secure a classified finish. I have also spoken to several of the drivers who have given us positive and constructive feedback on the CA2010's performance and driveability.

Source

 

[subzero9285]

Virgin will match Red Bull one day

“Look at Red Bull, who were ahead of Ferrari [in Bahrain], which is fantastic, for all of their talk,” the 59-year-old is quoted as having said by Planet-F1, making no secret of his glee that the Scuderia was not at the top of the pecking order in Sakhir, having very publicly denigrated the efforts of the new teams in the build-up to the season.

“One day, hopefully, Virgin will overtake Red Bull. You've got to start somewhere, and we have a couple of hundred people enjoying the challenge. If the rules are adhered to and everyone comes within the £40 million budget we're working to this year, in a couple of years' time we will know how to run a team at that level.

“The other teams will have to come down to that, so things will start equalling out. Yes, they'll still have quite a few more years under their belt, but we've a lot of guys with a lot of experience here. We're hoping three-to-five years [to be challenging], rather than five years. Who is to know? But you have to aim for it.”

“I genuinely think it can be achieved,” the former Simtek owner underlined. “We have a very ambitious development programme going on, [though] I wouldn't want to tell you how many seconds we're going to put on the car this year. Richard knows that, and it would be a record if we could achieve it, particularly within the budget.

“People talk about how much McLaren sped up last year, and we think we can do some fairly impressive things – despite this rigid budget we're working to – and progress from there. We're really proud and excited about taking this forward.

“When we were having our hydraulic problems [during pre-season testing], Richard was on the 'phone and was quite active. He was concerned we were having issues and wanted to know how we were fixing it, and got quite involved in that process. It's great to have someone whose name is on the team, who is interested and passionate about it. It's wonderful for us to work together, taking the first steps towards our joint goals.”

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Senna's column

What a weekend! In Bahrain I saw a whole different side to motor racing. Previously, I have always had cars which were ready and tested but Friday was my first day as a test driver. You never realise just how much happens behind the scenes of a Formula 1 team but I've learned so much about working with everybody, which is incredibly important.

We arrived in Bahrain on Tuesday morning and during the afternoon I headed off to the circuit. At the track, I saw the car for the first time with the engine and gearbox complete and was very happy to see that everything was there. It was a good moment to see everybody working on the car. I got to know the engineers and spent most of the time at the track working with the team and doing everything we weren't able to do earlier.

After this difficult - but very useful - weekend, we're heading off to Australia. At Albert Park we plan to have a much more complete weekend. We're taking all the experience of Bahrain to Australia and are going to have a great improvement in most areas, learning more about the performance of the car and the whole procedure will be different. We have learned so much and can only improve. From Melbourne onwards we want to get closer to the new teams and eventually challenge and beat them.

The season starts in Australia!

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Lighter chassis for Webber in Australia

The Australian, already in the southern city ahead of his ninth home race, told local media: "I was talking to my mechanics last night and they have got a brand new car for me.

"I have got a new chassis for this event, it's even lighter, making sure we make even more progress to go towards the front," 33-year-old Webber said.

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More teams told to alter diffusers

It is expected that two more teams will be asked by the FIA to alter their double diffuser designs prior to scrutineering for next week's Australian Grand Prix.

Rumours also suggest that one or two other cars may also be the subject of FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting's concerns.

It is believed these teams exploited the fact that while FIA rules allow a hole in the diffuser big enough for an external starter, the regulations do not set a maximum size for the starter probe itself.

Red Bull designer Adrian Newey admitted he suspected at least two teams of pushing the rules.

"I will not say names, only that Ferrari is not among them," the Briton is quoted as saying.

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Mercedes denies Red Bull engine block

"McLaren was (our) exclusive partner and did not agree.

"Mercedes would have leased its engine to Red Bull, and these facts are well known to Red Bull," the spokesman added.

The spokesman also rejected Austrian former GP driver Marko's claim that Mercedes has eked out an unfair engine advantage despite the freeze on performance development.

"Everything that our engineers do is strictly in conformity with the regulations and with the knowledge of the FIA. The FIA would gladly confirm this," he added.

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Massa not an enemy says Alonso

"The team comes first, before the two drivers," he is quoted as saying by Spain's El Pais.

Alonso, 28, played down claims the pass on Massa was important, in order to "throw down a marker" to his Brazilian teammate.

"I think it is not very important," he answered. "First of all, he's not an enemy, maybe a rival but not an enemy.

"And of course Felipe - with the same car - there will be races that one of us will win and some races that the other will win," added Alonso.

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Sauber to drop BMW name soon

The acronym of the famous German luxury carmaker, included in tiny letters on the nose of the C29, was retained in order to fully benefit from the commercial rewards of the team's sixth place in the 2009 world championship.

But the result is the awkward FIA constructor designation as BMW Sauber Ferrari
, and team boss and founder Peter Sauber said a week ago that the timing of a name change "is still open".

But the 66-year-old Swiss is now quoted as saying by autocar.co.uk: "It (the name change) will happen some time this season.

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No will to reform F1

Formula one lacks the "will" to make sweeping changes to address the problem of the sport's flagging spectacle, according to two prominent figures of the governing body FIA.

Peter Wright, a veteran engineer and long-time FIA technical consultant, predicted that the problem is not yet severe enough to motivate substantial reform.

"It's like climate change, it's got to be bad before it can get better," he is quoted as saying in an AP report.

"It's got to get bad enough for people to actually have the real will to do things that they wouldn't normally do," added Wright, whose experience dates back to roles with BRM and Lotus.

Another technical consultant Tony Purnell, who left the FIA earlier this year, is more critical of a formula that is not designed to stage good racing.

"The root cause is that the cars are not good racing cars, the formula is badly designed," said the former Jaguar boss, who was central to Max Mosley's failed attempt to cap budgets.

"The will to please the public really isn't there," he added.

"The sad thing is that there are solutions but no one is really brave enough or forceful enough or probably convinced enough that they will do anything about it.

"When they look at the politics of change they all just groan and say 'well, I don't want to fight that battle'," said Purnell.

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Podiums a distinct possibility for Force India

"The way we are today I think we're very competitive, and everything is going to plan," said Mallya. "In 2009 I said we should score some points occasionally, and we scored 13, which was respectable. This year I said we should score points regularly.

"We have opened our account in the first race and I think the opportunity is wide open for us to now score points regularly.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we could target the odd podium or two. And next year we should hopefully strongly target podium finishes."

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