Monthly Archives: November 2010

The FIA has published the 2011 F1 entry list, which is notable more for what is missing than what is actually on it.

No drivers are listed for Force India, Toro Rosso (although the team has named Buemi and Alguersuari), Virgin and HRT, while there is no second driver for either Williams or Renault.

Aside from the addition of Marussia to the Virgin name, BMW Sauber has now become the Sauber F1 Team, while Lotus Racing is listed – as announced in Singapore – as Team Lotus. Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen are confirmed as drivers for the first time.

Heikki Kovalainen proved yesterday in Dusseldorf that any kind of motor sport can be dangerous when he was knocked unconscious after a spectacular crash at the Race of Champions.

In the very first race of the day Kovalainen was matched against rally ace Sebastien Loeb. In his efforts to stay in touch Heikki touched the wall with his Audi R8 coming out of the final corner, and then suffered a suspension breakage as he crossed the line and headed into Turn One. He hit the blocks that mark the inside of the track, and then spun into the wall on the outside.

Heikki was briefly unconscious but after a trip to the hospital he returned to the venue a few hours later.

“The rear suspension broke when I touched the wall, and also the throttle jammed at the same time,” he told this blog.

“I actually hit the wall for quite a long way. I sort of planned it beforehand, that I can afford to bounce a little bit on the wall. So I was actually going on the power earlier than before, because I knew that it was going to be a close fight with Loeb. And it broke the rear suspension.

“When I lifted I still had full throttle, so I went on the brakes and the car turned to the left, and I was a passenger. I hit with the left rear corner, and that’s when it knocked me out. I was unconscious and a little bit dizzy.

“Half an hour after the impact I didn’t really know where I was or what was happening, but on the way to the hospital everything started to come back. It’s sort of normal. I’ve had this feeling before, when I hit the wall in Barcelona [with the McLaren in 2008], but then the blackout was longer. Now everything came back, I remember every single corner and moment before.”

It’s customary to take VIPs on passenger rides at the RoC, and by chance Hekki was accompanied on his dramatic ride by none other than his girlfriend, Catherine Hyde.

“Catherine is fine, she just has a little bit of back pain. She didn’t lose consciousness. It was quite an experience for her.  The only thing that worried her was when I was sitting there unconscious!

“She’s fine, she’s cool, just a little back pain on the left. I think the belts pulled her a little bit.”

The accident did of course put an end to Heikki’s participation in the event, which he famously won back in 2004.

“It’s a shame, it was a close fight with Loeb, and I thought I had him. The second lap wasn’t quite as good as the first lap, but really after that kind of impact it’s kind of game over, and it’s better to be pleased that nothing happened…”

Footage of the crash can be found here:

Daniel Ricciardo has been confirmed as Toro Rosso’s third driver for 2011 – and the Aussie will also appear on Friday mornings on race weekends, replacing either Sebastien Buemi or Jaime Alguersuari.

Ricciardo, who impressed when he drove the Red Bull RB6 at the recent rookie test in Abu Dhabi, will also continue in the Renault 3.5 series.

Team boss Franz Tost said: “When our team was created, its stated aim was to bring on young drivers from the Red Bull Junior Programme, so Daniel’s appointment as our third driver is an obvious one. Although Daniel has done some F1 testing already, running on Fridays at the Grands Prix will give him a valuable insight into the additional pressures of doing it for real during a race weekend. I am also sure that having a hungry youngster on the books will keep our current driver pairing nice and sharp!”

Ricciardo added: “I am really excited at the prospect of driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso in the Free Practice 1 sessions at the Grands Prix next year, so I have to say thanks to Red Bull for this great opportunity. My main priority for 2011 is to win the Formula Renault 3.5 championship, but my ultimate aim is to be a full-time Formula 1 driver and this new role has to be the best step towards achieving that ambition.”

Bernie Ecclestone was mugged in London on Wednesday night and had to go to hospital after getting a bump on the head. However he was reportedly back at work the following day.

Bernie and his girlfriend Fabiana Flosi were returning to his apartment when they were attacked by four men. They were forced to hand over watches and jewellery that are said to be worth £200,000.

Bernie was involved in a similar attack four years ago, when thieves attempted to steal his Mercedes.

A police spokesman told the Daily Mail: “We were called to reports of a man and woman who had been robbed in south west London at approximately 10.30pm on Wednesday night. The man, aged 80 years old, was taken to a west London hospital for treatment to a minor head injury. The woman was not injured.

“At this early stage it is believed a quantity of jewellery was stolen but we cannot disclose details of what was stolen as yet. No arrests have been made at this time and inquiries are continuing.”

Jens Marquardt is to leave his role at Toyota to replace Mario Theissen as head of BMW Motorsport.

Marquardt was the team manager of the Toyota F1 team before in effect taking over the day-to-day running of the Toyota Motorsport facility as General Manager Business Development, Operations and Production. He was in charge as it looked for new opportunities and attempted to sell its engineering services.

It was thus with Marquardt that Colin Kolles and the Hispania team were dealing with regard to using Toyota chassis technology next year, until the deal apparently collapsed.

Marquardt arrives at BMW in time to kick start the company’s plans to return to the DTM in 2012. He will initially work alongside Theissen for the first six months of next year.

Theissen, who has worked at BMW for 33 years, has been the company’s motor sport boss since April 1999, when the company was gearing up to enter F1.

A statement from Toyota said: “Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) confirms the departure of Jens Marquardt and wishes to place on record its sincere thanks for his significant contribution to the company over the past 10 years.”

TMG President Yoshiaki Kinoshita, who remains officially in charge of Cologne, added: “While we are naturally sad to lose Jens, we can understand why this was an opportunity he felt he had to take and we wish him the very best for his future.

“As well as his valued contribution to our Formula 1 project from beginning to end, Jens has played a key role in TMG’s emergence as a leading provider of high-performance engineering services and we are very grateful for his efforts.

“TMG has been aware of Jens’ decision for some time. We are taking steps to strengthen our structure and ensure we can build on a very positive first year for TMG as a service supplier.”

A leading sports stadium design company has joined forces with Tilke GmbH as plans for the US GP venue in Austin continue to take shape.

HKS Inc is known in Texas as the architectural firm behind the Dallas Cowboys stadium – said to be the most advanced venue in the NFL. The Dallas-based company has also been involved in many other major projects around the USA, in addition to overseas soccer venues such as the future home of Liverpool FC in Stanley Park, and the famed Maracana Stadium in Rio.

Usually Tilke takes total responsibility for the likes of pit buildings and grandstands, but presumably the addition of a top domestic firm to the mix will speed things along.

“The HKS Sports and Entertainment Group is extremely energized about our role in bringing the Formula 1 United States venue to life,” said Mark Williams of HKS. “We are honoured to work with Tilke, a global leader in racetrack construction, and the entire Formula 1 United States team.  Our design expertise, coupled with this world entity, will result in a destination environment that will elevate the face of Formula 1 United States on a global scale and further enhance one of America’s great cities.”

Race promoter Tavo Hellmund added: “HKS’ leadership in the design and construction of Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas — the largest and most technologically advanced NFL stadium in the world — is a testament to the level of skill, experience and attention to detail they will bring to this facility.

“Never before has a cast been assembled in motorsports history that has the combined wealth of experience and knowledge that HKS and Tilke bring to this project. Having industry leaders in sports facility architecture and design raises the bar for future motorsports facilities in this country and around the world.  We are pleased that a collaboration of this calibre will take place in Texas.”

Fernando Alonso set the fastest time for Ferrari on the second and final day of the Pirelli test in Abu Dhabi as the Spaniard drove a marathon 105 laps, more than any other driver and the equivalent of almost two full Grand Prix distances.

Once again most teams were represented by 2010 race drivers, with the exception of McLaren, who employed third driver Gary Paffett and junior test driver Oliver Turvey, and HRT, who used Pastor Maldonado.

In addition Paul di Resta shared driving duties at Force India with Tonio Liuzzi, and future Sauber driver Sergio Perez split the day with Kamui Kobayashi at his new team.

“Overall, it was a positive day,” said Alonso. “We had no particular problems with the Pirelli tyres and we were able to gather a lot of data for their engineers to work on. We are pleased with the way we worked and in how we were able to adapt the set-up of the car to suit the new tyres, especially in terms of the work we can do on the new car in preparation for next season. From what we could see, the switch from Bridgestone to Pirelli should not be a traumatic one.”

Much interest surrounded the appearance of Michael Schumacher, who did his early Grands Prix for Benetton on Pirelli rubber back in 1991. Mercedes and its drivers have been hoping that the front tyres will give them a hand next season. After some less than glowing comments to the media from Nico Rosberg yesterday, Schumacher caught the eye when he was second fastest on the day – although his time was later revealed to have benefited from a trip across a chicane. He dropped down to seventh, but nevertheless he sounded more positive than his team mate.

Schumacher said: “Today was my first day of testing for 2011 and I feel that we had an interesting session. We gathered a lot of data and insights, and have positive feedback from our first impression of the new tyres. I am probably the only driver to have driven with Pirelli tyres before but it was 20 years ago and I didn’t have any certain expectations before today. In terms of consistency, it looked quite good but we were using the 2010 car today and it will be all about how these tyres suit our 2011 car. I am already curious to try it out but at the same time I am looking forward to having a break now.”

Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn added: “This week’s test has been very productive for us and comes at a time when we can use the information gathered here to fine-tune the detail of our 2011 car and optimise the areas which we believe will be critical. Pirelli have done an excellent job to get these tyres to where they are now after such a short period of time and we are looking forward to working closely with them through the winter test programme at the start of next year.”

Sebastian Vettel was third fastest today on the final outing for the Red Bull RB6. It was the German’s second day in the car, as Mark Webber was not scheduled to do the test.

“We have had two busy days on track, getting our first impressions of the new tyres, analysing how they perform and looking at some things for next year,” said the new World Champion. “There is still a lot to do, but I think the tyres are already better than expected. Since February we haven’t really had time to do any in-depth testing on track, so these two days have given us a chance to reflect on things we have tried during the season.”

Just five days after the Abu Dhabi GP preparations for 2011 got underway with the first of two days of general Pirelli testing at the same venue.

This is the only chance for teams and drivers to sample the new rubber before they launch their new cars next year. Every team fielded a 2010 race driver except McLaren, who relied on tester Gary Paffett, and HRT, who used future Williams man Pastor Maldonado. In addition Paul di Resta shared Force India duties with Adrian Sutil.

Each team had four sets of tyres today, although any that were not used can be carried over for tomorrow. Times were relatively unimportant, although for the record Felipe Massa was fastest for Ferrari. The Brazilian ran a chart topping 94 laps, a figure matched by Paffett.

Drivers and engineers have been universal in their praise for Pirelli. Although they have been careful not to say too much at this stage – and comparisons with Bridgestone have been studiously avoided in any official statements – it’s clear that everyone is relieved that the Italian company has reached a good level some 15 weeks before the start of the 2011 season.

Here’s a sampling of what some key people had to say:

Felipe Massa: “It was a positive start to begin to understand the behaviour of the Pirelli tyres. I felt at ease right from the start and there were no unpleasant surprises. We tried two different types and acquired a lot of data which will be useful for the Italian company to develop the tyres still further for the start of the 2011 season: on the hards, there were some difficulties over a long run while the softs worked well both on the very first lap and also after they had done a larger number of laps.”

Sebastian Vettel: “I think the tyres behaved well, better than expected given the short amount of time Pirelli have had and they’ve done a good job. Pirelli are obviously in the middle of their development and what we used today is not what we will race with, but it was a good start. The circuit was in good condition and we had blue skies all day.”

Nico Rosberg: “As a team, and particularly the engineers, we did a really good job to be well prepared for this week’s Pirelli test with the work back at the factory and the support here at the track proving invaluable. That really helps once you get the tyres on and we were able to focus precisely on the set-up direction and have found various improvements. It’s a good start however there is obviously still some way to go before we get the best out of the tyres.”

Rubens Barrichello: “We’ve had a busy schedule today with plenty of work to do. This morning we evaluated aero set-up, before going for performance runs in the afternoon. This was our first session with the Pirelli tyres and I found it quite interesting. My initial impressions are positive and I look forward to working with them again tomorrow.”

Robert Kubica: “It’s always interesting to test new tyres and today was our first chance to try the new Pirellis and work with the new tyre engineers. We all know how important the tyres are for the behaviour of the car and so we concentrated on evaluating both compounds and understanding as much as we could about the tyre characteristics. Although we didn’t do a massive number of laps, we have still learned a few things and it feels good to have begun our relationship with Pirelli. Because we stopped early, we have saved some of the tyres for tomorrow, so it will be a busy day as we continue learning.””

Kamui Kobayashi:  “I think the tyres from Pirelli are well made. We tested how to work with these new tyres and how we need to further develop our car for them, learning in which way they are different to what we were used to running. The tyres were quite consistent. Only in the morning I struggled with tyre wear, but after we made some set-up changes this wasn’t an issue any longer. It was a very interesting test for us.”

Ross Brawn (Mercedes): “Today has been very important for the team to start building our relationship with Pirelli. Whilst a lot of details remain to be understood, we feel that we have gained an initial understanding of the operational requirements of the two compounds that we have and have highlighted some important areas for investigation and improvement. We have been lucky to have been able to get exposure to the Pirelli tyres at a track with which we are now very familiar and in conditions that we will not experience again until the final test of the season in Bahrain. Michael watched today’s proceedings with great interest and is looking forward to experiencing the tyres for himself tomorrow.”

James Key (Sauber): “It was a very productive day. The baseline set-up was not too far away to begin with. We made a few changes and found a reasonable balance for the car fairly early. We ran our programme as planned with shorter runs to conserve tyres and consistency and a longer run in the end. We feel we learned a lot about the way the Pirelli tyres are behaving and responding to different set-up changes. We have to hand it to Pirelli, the tyres are already on a good level and we feel it was a very positive day.”

Alan Permane (Renault): “The morning went well and Robert was reasonably happy with the car balance, although we made a few changes during the day to improve it. Our initial impression of the tyres has been positive. They were working well with good grip and no warm-up issues. Unfortunately we had to stop early because we had a mechanical issue with the car and we preferred to save the tyres for tomorrow when we’ve rectified the problem.”

Mike Gascoyne (Lotus): “We had no mechanical issues on the car and managed to complete our full programme in 88 laps. The car was ballasted up to the 2011 weight limit for the day and we ran a series of fundamental tests within the parameters we could change with the tyres and in the afternoon we found some clear and useful setup directions for the engineers to work on. We set our quickest lap of the day at the end of the session on a pretty worn set and all of the data gives us very useful information that we will carry over to tomorrow when Jarno is back in the car for his first taste of the new Pirelli tyres.”

Pirelli has confirmed that teams will get four sets of tyres per day when for its initial test session in Abu Dhabi on Friday and Saturday.

Each team will run one car – mostly with their race drivers – and will have the chance to try the soft and medium compounds from the company’s new range. Pirelli will have a team of 30 in Abu Dhabi, and will conduct shared briefings and debriefings with all the teams.

Pirelli has also confirmed that it will run its Toyota TF109 programme in Bahrain next month, giving it a useful opportunity to run in hot conditions.

“We come to these tests with plenty of confidence and satisfaction with our work carried out so far,” said Pirelli motor sport director Paul Hembery. “The tests in Europe have given us all the data we needed at this current phase of development. From tomorrow, the drivers and engineers from every team will give us their opinions and feedback, which are of vital importance for the second phase of testing: a challenge that we are already well-prepared for.”

Under Pressure - Montezemolo faces a grilling on Sunday night

Ferrari has used its website to publish a letter to fans from company president Luca di Montezemolo in the wake of the team’s frustrating Abu Dhabi GP.

In it Montezemolo – who has faced a battering in the media and bizarrely from Italian politicians – thanks everyone for their support, and insists that Ferrari will bounce back with a winning package next year.

The letter read as follows: A couple of days after the huge disappointment of the outcome of this season’s last race, which still hurts, I want to talk to you. I felt, just like you and the whole team that the goal we have been pursuing over the whole season even when others had written us off was even closer after Saturday afternoon’s qualifying.

Unfortunately a wrong evaluation from the pitwall during a crucial stage compromised the race, preventing the conquest of the title. The five marvellous victories by Fernando and the team weren’t enough to reach our goal. This is the law of sports.

Nevertheless I think that all those who have worked so hard during the year – technicians, mechanics, workers and drivers – have to be thanked for their commitment, their dedication and their competence they showed every single one of them. I thanked them personally last Sunday evening at the track and yesterday at the Works, but today I want to do it together with our fans. Unfortunately the final is not on a level with an exciting season, where we were the undisputed protagonists of an incredible pursuit race and therefore the result leaves us with an even bigger bitter aftertaste.

I also whole-heartedly want to thank all of you, who encouraged us, cheered for us, stimulated us and criticised us, although always with affection and the passion, which characterises those who really love Ferrari. It’s during those moments, which aren’t so easy, when you recognise the real fans like you.

I received numerous messages of encouragement, strengthening our desire to react. We all want to get back onto the track immediately for a return game, but we have to wait until the start of the next Championship. Meanwhile we will continue to work relentlessly on the 2011 single-seater, because we all, together with you have an objective: taking a winning car onto the track as of the first race.

Thank you all and Forza Ferrari!!