Monthly Archives: August 2013

Nico Hulkenberg’s name continues to be linked with the second Ferrari seat, and the German admits that he would be very happy to get the opportunity to go to Maranello.

Many see his position at Sauber as a sort of holding camp, allowing Ferrari to keep an eye on him and call on his services should he fit the team’s plans in 2014. However he says that his future plans are open.

“It’s a good team for sure, one of the top teams, and if you’d get the chance you’d probably do it,” he said of Ferrari. “But at this point we’re still looking at the options of what we can do, where to position ourselves. Nothing is decided, and I think it will still take a little while.”

Hulkenberg denied that his future might depend on what happens to Kimi Raikkonen.

“Not necessarily. Obviously Kimi is playing a role there, but it’s not necessarily depending all on him.”

Regarding how things might play out, he said: “What you want and what is happening, that is sometimes not the same. You have to wait and see. I want to make a decision when I feel that I’ve made the right choice and when I’m comfortable with everything included in the deal.”

Kimi Raikkonen failed to show up at Spa today because of illness, according to Lotus. However, the team insists that he will be present on Friday.

His absence has led to speculation that Kimi doesn’t want to face a barrage of media questioning about his future – but that doesn’t make a lot of sense given that he has other media sessions scheduled on Friday and later in the weekend.

If his absence is indeed out of choice rather than necessity then perhaps a more plausible explanation is that he is in effect on strike, given that as was the case last year the team is believed to be behind on salary payments.

While missing Friday or any other track running will clearly harm his title campaign Raikkonen may well believe that he can skip Thursday without too much trouble, and in doing so cause some embarrassment to the team.

On Thursdays F1 drivers always have a packed schedule of media commitments, team briefings, and a track walk with their engineers – although Raikkonen opts out of the latter.

Meanwhile his future remains up in the air. Although he can clearly stay at Lotus he has to be convinced that the team will have a competitive package in 2014, and that the funds will be in place to properly recompense him.

His management told the media earlier this week that any negotiations with Red Bull had ceased, but he is still potentially of interest to other teams, and a return to Ferrari is not out of the question, despite the acrimonious split at the end of 2009.

Infiniti and Red Bull Racing are offering engineering graduates a chance to work at the F1 team via what they call “a new global talent search initiative.”

The Infiniti Performance Engineering Academy will see two winning candidates complete a 12-month assignment with RBR, working alongside Infiniti engineers, while also spending time at the company’s UK road car technical centre.

Recruitment will not open until later in the year, so no details are available as yet. However the selection process will begin in May 2014 with the applicants put “through a comprehensive selection process to assess their performance potential and innovative thinking,” and the finalists then judged by a panel from Infiniti and RBR.

The winners will be announced at next year’s British GP. The placements start in September, with Infiniti noting that this “once-in-a-lifetime scholarship includes a salary, accommodation, and the use of a car.”

Adrian Newey said: “One of the key advantages of our partnership with Infiniti is our ability to utilise their resources, from materials to processes and people. As such it is really interesting for us to benefit from a worldwide selection process which brings the best new talent through our door.

“The speed of technical development in Formula One means that fresh thinking is crucial in keeping ahead of the other teams and we hope that providing an opportunity for world class graduates to work with us will provide long term performance benefits for us and for Infiniti.”

Meanwhile Infiniti president Johan De Nysschen said: “We are looking for candidates who share our passion, and we open up an avenue for them to become an elite member of the Infiniti engineering team in the future.”

It sounds like a good scheme, and one might assume if the winners turn out to be any good they might be asked to stay on beyond 12 months….

The Indian GP promoter is confident that the race will return to the schedule in a healthy state in 2015 after skipping 2014 – but says that the event would benefit from government support.

Thus far the race has run without any help, and indeed has been held despite the controversy over the government’s attempts to collect tax revenue from the visiting teams.

“We have a very sound contract with the F1 management,” Sameer Gaur of Jaypee Sports told NDTV. “Bernie Ecclestone is a wise man, and he believes in India as a destination. The 2014 Indian Grand Prix is not happening because of logistical problems, but those problems will be sorted out and in 2015, bang on, we will be on target.

“We will continue to have the Grand Prix till our five-year contract runs [out]. But after five years, let us see how the situation is. We don’t want to disappoint the F1 enthusiasts in India, the ones who have gotten used to watching the Grand Prix here. We have that in mind, and god willing we will find a way out.”

Regarding the role of the government, he added: “If F1 has to be in India on a long-term basis, the Government of India should own the event like it is their own event, not only look at it as a Jaypee event. Yes, Jaypee has made the circuit. Yes Jaypee has paid the license fee, but the government can share the licence fee. There are many governments around the world that share the F1 license fee.

“We should see the model of Singapore and Abu Dhabi. When you go to these countries, it looks like a festival in those times. Their government popularises F1 in every step. Whether it is their buses, their metros, their restaurants. Jaypee as a private entity can only do that much to create the buzz, we have our limits. But large levels of interests can only be created by the government.”

Having parted company with Marussia Pat Symonds started work as chief technical officer of Williams earlier this week. The former Benetton/Renault man now faces the difficult task of helping to turn the team around as we head into the V6 turbo era, which will see the Grove outfit forge a new partnership with Mercedes. Here’s an insightful Q&A with Pat issued by the team today.

Q: You have recently been appointed Chief Technical Officer of the Williams F1 Team – what does this new challenge entail?

“Firstly, I think it’s a great team. The facilities are top class, we have a huge number of talented people and yet the results on the track are not a reflection of the quality we have. So I think my challenge is to analyse why this is happening, make the changes that are needed to empower the people and really get the focus in one direction: performance.”

Q: What does it mean to you to join the Williams F1 Team?

“Funnily enough I was reminded the other day, by a good friend, that many years ago when I was at Renault I was quoted as saying that the only other team in Formula One that I would work for was Williams. It’s taken me a long while to get here, but now I’m here I’m very happy to be. I’ve been here in Grove for a couple of days now and the first thing that strikes me is how welcome I’ve been made. I’ve over 500 new names to learn and I need to learn my way around the place so it’s a bit like the first day at school!  I’m impressed by what I see though: the facilities are fantastic; I know a lot of the people are very good and I feel confident.”

Q: What does it mean to now be working alongside Sir Frank Williams – who has previously been one of your biggest rivals?

“Frank has always been a fierce competitor but one that always competes with a lot of honour and dignity. Sometimes I beat him, sometimes I lost to him but I always had the utmost respect for him. I’m really thrilled that now we can combine our efforts to beat our competitors.”

Q: Looking back at your career – you have worked with many outstanding drivers – who has been the most interesting to work with so far?

“The most interesting are not always the most outstanding and I’ve met many who were very interesting over the years! I’ve always enjoyed working with every driver in different ways. I’ve worked with many outstanding drivers from Senna, Schumacher, and Alonso but if I had to pick one, I do have a special place for Michael [Schumacher]. He is obviously a super talent, he very much thinks like an engineer and yet he’s also a really great person, so I definitely have a soft spot for him.”

Q: From what you have seen, what do you think about the team’s current driver line-up of Pastor Maldonado & Valtteri Bottas?

“So far I have really only seen them from the outside. I was able to spend time with both of them on my second day at Grove and what I can see is that they are both extremely committed and determined to see the team progress. I’m looking forward to working together with them to achieve greater success. They strike me as intelligent and committed drivers, so let’s give them some equipment to show their talent.”

Q: Your 30 year Formula One career has seen you achieve success with some of the sport’s most accomplished teams and drivers. With 32 race wins, four Drivers’ World Championships and three Constructors’ World Championships – what would you say was your proudest achievement to date?

“I always say my best race is my next one. I’m not really a person that tends to look backwards very much but if you ask me specifically then the mid-90s with Michael and mid-2000s with Fernando, where we had a lot of dominant wins, of course I’m proud of those achievements. But in a different vein, I’m equally proud of the non-racing aspects. The work I’ve done building up various teams and people. It’s nice to see some guys who worked with me when they were very young now in senior positions at various teams. I certainly enjoy the mentoring and development of people.”

Q: What do you hope to bring to Williams and how do you think your working style can benefit the team?

“My primary aim is to bring success back to the team and I will be very singular in my focus to achieve that. I want the people who are working with me to enjoy that success and be an integral part of bringing Williams back to where I think it should be. It will take time to analyse what is happening and improve things but it’s up to me to facilitate this process.”

Q: Coming into the team at this stage, can you make a difference this season or will your focus be on next year?

“There are developments going on for the remainder of this season. We have new parts coming to races as far out as Korea and beyond. They are not things I’ve had influence on but I can see them in the development programme. I hope we can look at some smaller details from the wind tunnel to improve things over the coming races and I’ll be looking at the operational side too. Fundamentality focus has to be much more towards 2014 as it’s an immensely difficult programme, the most difficult we have had to tackle for a long while. The FW36 is well underway and I think it’s important I get my influence onto that. However, my influence will be much more on process rather than detail, so I hope that pays off and leads to the sort of structure that can lead to on-going success for the team.”

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali gave his crew a pep talk at Maranello today – and insisted that Fernando Alonso can still win the 2013 World Championship.

Domenicali’s speech, recounted on the Ferrari website, comes after some tension was created in the camp by Luca di Montezemolo’s reaction to Alonso’s comments after Hungary. Alonso has been frustrated by the team’s drop-off in form.

“There is still everything to play for and we have gone through this before, as recently as last year,” said Domenicali. “Nine races means that a total of 225 driver points are available, and rest assured that the goals we set ourselves at the start of the season are still perfectly attainable. It’s true we’ve gone through a difficult period, especially in July and now is the time to react in the way that Ferrari people know well.

“Our task is very simple: namely to give Fernando and Felipe the quickest car possible. Now, their contribution will be even more essential than ever. We have spelt it out many times before – the driver topic is definitely not a priority. What counts is to give them the best possible chance of finishing ahead of everyone and, in order to succeed, each and every one of us must do our job to the best of our ability on all levels. If they have a winning car in their hands, then I am convinced they will know how to win with it. If we all believe, then we can do it!”

Domenicali urged his team to focus on the job in hand.

“I don’t want to see any of you not believing in our fight back. Each one of you must be the link in a chain of positivity that must drive the team along in what is a key moment in the season. We are Ferrari and history teaches us that we must never accept we are beaten. There is much talk outside the company regarding the future, but we must concentrate only on the present, on the fight for the championship.

“The words of our President before the summer break must serve as a stimulus, because they were meant as the words of a good family father, who, first and foremost really roots for our team. Keep those words in mind and let’s all pull together, starting in Spa.”

Kimi struggles to contain his excitement after his GP3 test

While most F1 drivers have been enjoying some time off in recent weeks the man you might least expect to head back to work early did just that today.

Kimi Raikkonen took part in a development test on behalf of the GP3 series in Barcelona, thanks to his relationship with the Koiranen GP team.

Raikkonen ran 58 laps, focussing on tyres and what the GP3 organisation calls finding “technical solutions to offer more overtaking possibilities to the drivers for the 2014 races.”

Back in 2001 Raikkonen made the jump straight from Formula Renault to Sauber, skipping the F3, World Series and F3000 categories that were the normal route at the time.

“I wanted to test the GP3/13 because my friend Afa Heikkinen has a team in this Series,” said Kimi. “And I have been closely following their progress and results since the beginning of the season. I was curious to see how the car handled and it was actually fun to drive. There were a few issues regarding its behaviour, but we managed to solve most of them. The GP3/13 is a very good tool for young drivers, especially when you have to learn about tyre management like we have in F1.”

GP3 technical boss Didier Perrin added: “We are extremely pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Kimi today. His experience and feedback were invaluable and they gave us a better understanding of what needs to be done in order to make our car a better tool in overtaking opportunities for next season. He has confirmed all our hypothesis, and together we could start working on two development directions for the end of season testing.”

I don’t usually cover rallying on this blog, but given that not much is happening during F1’s summer break, I couldn’t resist this little gem that has arrived from India.

It features wealthy businessman and Mitsubishi owner Samir Thapar in action on the recent Coimbatore Rally, alongside his co-driver Vivek Ponnusamy.

Rallying is of course to a large degree about communication, relying on a calm and collected co-driver supplying information to a driver who can process it. Here is an example of how things don’t always go smoothly…

If you want to see more Samir Thapar himself has kindly uploaded entire stages to YouTube, so just search for his name. Enjoy!

Motor racing history buff Dario Franchitti has written a book about some of the drivers he admires the most.

The Indycar star is holding off an autobiography until he retires from driving. In the mean time he is collaborating on the ‘Romance of Racing’ project with his long time friend and former Autosport and Racer editor Andy Hallbery.

The book contains classic photos along with pen portraits by Dario of past and present F1 and Indycar stars.

Hallbery is boldly publishing the book via his own ANH imprint, and the catch is that he needs firm orders in order to get going.

Both men know their stuff, so it promises to be well worth a read – check out the video above.

You can find out more and place an order at:

http://kck.st/13sweaa