Category Archives: F1 News

Bernie Ecclestone has received some respite in his ongoing legal battles with the news that an action in the USA has been dismissed by the Supreme Court of the State Of New York.

The action was taken by investment company Bluewaters Communications Holdings, which lost out to CVC when the F1 business was sold in 2005. Bluewaters complained that CVC had actually made a lower bid.

The action was taken against Ecclestone, CVC and related companies Bambino, Alpha Prema, Alpha Topco and Delta Topco, along with the BayernLB bank and its former employee Gerhard Gribkowsky.

Bluewaters was seeking $650m in damages, based on claims of “fraudulent concealment, tortious interference, unjust enrichment and aiding and abetting tortious interference and fraudulent concealment.”

The defendants – with the exception of Gribkowsky – subsequently contended in essence that New York was not the right place for the case to be heard.

Bluewaters in turn said that this was a “multijurisdictional action with no single convenient forum available to all parties.”

However, the NY Supreme Court has disagreed, and its judgement says “what it ignores is that this case involves a foreign plaintiff and that all eight defendants are foreign; the crucial events happened in Europe; the bulk of the discovery will happen abroad; the dispute is governed by either English or German law; and at least three more convenient forums are available – England, Germany, and Jersey.”

It remains to be seen whether the case now fades away or Bluewaters does indeed attempt to relaunch it in Europe.

Vijay Mallya says he’s excited ahead of a new season that sees Force India running a new driver line-up as well as a fresh livery.

The VJM07 is the first 2014 car unveiled to the public thus far, albeit with one side view photo.

“I always enjoy seeing a Formula One car come to life, but I can’t remember so much anticipation ahead of a new season,” said Mallya. “The rule changes have presented us with a huge challenge, but I’m very proud of the approach we have taken and the direction of the technical team. It will be fascinating to see how different teams have interpreted the rules and at this stage it’s impossible to predict who has done the best job. It’s this uncertainty that should make for a very entertaining season of racing, which is great news for the fans.

“We’ve got to aim higher than last year. It’s an ambitious goal, but I believe it’s a realistic one because we have to look forward and take the fight to the teams ahead of us. We have the key elements in place to continue moving forward, such as our expanded agreement with Mercedes-Benz to include the complete power unit and gearbox. As I’ve said before, I believe they represent the best partner to work with in this new era of Formula One. Combined with our strong driver line-up there is definitely the potential for 2014 to be our strongest season yet.”

Mallya says he’s excited about the driver line-up.

“I’m very happy to have such an exciting pairing of Nico and Checo. My philosophy has always been to choose drivers based on their speed and ability to perform, and we’ve done that again this year. Nico has been with us before, so we understand him and know how quick he is. It’s great to have him back. As for Sergio, he’s an exceptionally talented driver who I have watched carefully over the last three years. He’s clearly got incredible speed and at just 23 has great potential. “As a combination we thought they would make a strong pairing. Nico will be a good benchmark for Sergio, and vice versa, and they will bring out the best in each other.”

“The new car livery reflects the way Sahara Force India is evolving. I’ve always believed the saffron, white and green livery has made our cars the most eye-catching, but adding black as a main colour gives us a fierce new look. The national colours of India remain an integral part of the car, but the tiger has become a panther! As we enter our seventh season with new partnerships and new names on the car, our contemporary new look helps signal our ambition.”

Force India has shown a picture of its new car

Force India has unveiled a picture of its new VJM07, featuring a dramatic new livery. However the side view doesn’t give much indication of what the new nose looks like.

Technical Director Andrew Green said: “Almost every single part is a new design, from the front wing right back to the diffuser. The genetics of the VJM07 still lie in the 2013 car, but we’ve had to achieve the same results in a slightly different way.

“It’s been a massive job to accommodate all the changes to the power unit – it’s the biggest change I’ve witnessed in the sport since I started in 1990. Cooling has been the biggest challenge with most of last summer taken up trying to understand the cooling requirements of the power unit, and how best to optimise it in the chassis.”

Green says that outwardly the car looks similar to its predecessor, apart of course from the nose.

“From where we stand it doesn’t look hugely different, but it is, every single part of it is different, from the front wing right back to the diffuser. Its genetics still lie in the 2013 car, and it’s based around the same concepts, But we’ve had to achieve the same results in a slightly different way. The nose is a stand out, but from the nose backwards, it looks quite similar. It’s a little bit ‘fatter’ for the cooling requirements, but we hope to trim that fat out during the early part of the season. If you want to be competitive you have to develop, because there are so many areas that need refining if you’re going to optimise the car. It’s a big challenge.

“The aerodynamic changes in themselves would have been significant, even if there had been no other changes. There’s quite a dramatic reduction in downforce, especially with regard to the exhaust – there’s very little you can do to capture the exhaust energy. That’s a big loss on the exit of corners, so traction becomes a premium. That combined with a change in the front wing width changed all the flow structures on the car completely. That was a big task, rebuilding all those structures from the front, and then there’s a smaller rear wing as well.

“The loss of the lower wing, or beam wing, leads to a signifcant loss of performance. That lower wing helped connect the diffuser to the top wing, and gave those two areas a lot of support. Without it it became very difficult to extract performance, and it’s going to be quite a tricky area to keep stable. So there’s quite a dramatic loss in headline downforce numbers, while there’s also a drop in drag, which has fallen quite dramatically as well.”

Paul Di Resta is returning to DTM with Mercedes this year, having been dropped by Force India at the end of last year.

The new deal opens up the possibility of him working with the Mercedes F1 team, his recent experience making him an obvious candidate for simulator running or even testing. Di Resta says that his potential involvement will be discussed soon.

“Hopefully I can be part of the Mercedes-Benz GP team,” he said when asked by this writer. “I’ve yet to see what that is. We’ll have a meeting I think with Toto [Wolff] and senior members, but more importantly certainly at this point I want to focus on my racing and getting myself up to speed in this championship I’m going to be taking part in.

“Over the next few weeks we can start to look at how much time I have, what I can maybe give to Mercedes, and what they can give to me, and we can do a combination. Everybody’s happy and they’ll all on the same thinking path, and that’s why the deal was so good and why we could agree such good terms. And hopefully I’ll have a successful year.”

Caterham has finally confirmed that Kamui Kobayashi will join Marcus Ericsson this year, as predicted here back on December 20 (see https://adamcooperf1.com/2013/12/20/kobayashi-set-for-f1-return-with-caterham/).

Alex Rossi retains his role as a test driver and will also race in GP2, and he’s joined in the reserve role by Dutchman Robin Frijns, who is rebuilding his career with new management after being dropped by Sauber.

Kobayashi last raced in F1 in 2012, and spent last year contracted to Ferrari, while Ericsson is the first Swede to have an F1 race seat since Stefan Johansson’s last season in 1991.

The 23-year-old has competed in GP2 for the past four seasons, scoring one win in 2010, 2012 and 2013. His best championship finish was sixth last year. He did three days of testing for Brawn GP at Jerez back in December 2009.

Team principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to bring Kamui back. He is a very popular driver and it’s very good for the whole team we’ve been able to attract such an exciting driver to join us at a critical point in our development. His pace speaks for itself, and his extensive experience of developing cars, particularly in his years with Toyota, will be incredibly important for us as we tackle one of the most challenging seasons F1 has ever embarked upon.

“Alongside him is Marcus who will be racing in his debut F1 season in 2014, but as a driver who has prepared perfectly for the step up to F1 with his graduation through the ranks. He started his single-seat career by winning Formula BMW UK in 2007 and rose through the ranks to GP2 where, last year, he won in Germany, scored two poles, three fastest laps and five podiums. He’s physically and mentally prepared for what lies ahead, and he will have all the support we can give him across the team to help him fulfil his obvious potential in Formula One.”

Heikki Kovalainen is without a drive after Caterham opted not to take him for this season.

The team had planned to give him a race seat in 2014 after indicating that it did not want to rely on paying drivers, which is why he was an FP1 regular last year.

However, clearly the situation changed, and it has been apparent for some weeks that the Finn was no longer in the frame. He had been under contract until December.

“I got a text message from Tony [Fernandes] saying they need two pay drivers,” Kovalainen told this writer. “So I guess that’s it for me. I was counting on this one 100%, so I have nothing planned now.”

The team is expected to finally confirm Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson today.

Giedo van der Garde has joined Sauber as test and reserve driver, and the Dutchman has been guaranteed some Friday sessions and in-season tests as part of the deal.

The news confirms that he’s out of the frame at Caterham, the only team yet to announce its race drivers.

Team boss Monisha Kaltenborn said: “He has four years experience in GP2 and he drove one year in Formula One. These are good credentials to work successfully with our team. Many times Giedo has shown his talent as a race driver. At the same time the team would like to support him to further develop his skills. Giedo has the right attitude to take the next step forward.”

Van der Garde added: “I consider this an important step in my career. It is my goal to help the team with the development of the new car. But, of course, I am a racing driver, and I want to show the team and everybody else what I am capable of and that I deserve a race seat with the Sauber F1 Team in 2015. After all, my ambition remains unchanged and I am highly motivated to succeed in Formula One, especially in the long term.

”I am very thankful to Caterham that they gave me a chance to get a taste of Formula One. I enjoyed a fantastic season with the team and I have learned a lot. The experience gained will surely help me during the rest of my career.

“For now, I am really very excited to have signed a contract with the Sauber F1 Team. For every driver it is a dream to work for a well established team such as Sauber. In recent years it has shown impressive results.”

A Romanian-funded project is among one of the three potential new F1 teams involved in the 2015 entry tender process.

It’s understood that some state-owned companies are behind the new project, and that they have decided to pursue their own route after initially considering buying into an existing team late last year.

Former Force India and HRT boss Colin Kolles is involved, although it’s believed that he will be a supplier rather than an owner or team principal. In effect he would probably do what he did with HRT, and lease his Bavarian facility and its staff and equipment to the team.

Latterly Kolles has expanded to become a manufacturer, and this year his company is building an LMP1 car, and thus he has the capability to produce an F1 machine.

It’s worth speculating that one of the parties involved in the project could be Renault-owned car manufacturer Dacia, whose name could be used to badge a Renault F1 engine.

Ron Dennis has returned to the role of CEO of the McLaren Group, a job he held from 1982 to 2012, replacing Martin Whitmarsh.

More recently Dennis has been chairman, and he will also retain that title.

Last year there were rumours that Dennis would have more of a hands-on role again as McLaren tried to get its racing programme back on track, and inevitably questions are now being asked about the future of F1 team principal Whitmarsh.

Explaining his role Dennis said: “My fellow shareholders have mandated me to write an exciting new chapter in the story of McLaren, beginning by improving our on-track and off-track performance. Over the coming weeks I intend to undertake a thorough and objective review of each of our businesses with the intention of optimising every aspect of our existing operations, whilst identifying new areas of growth that capitalise on our technologies, and where appropriate further investing in them.

“During February, I will articulate a new Group strategy and implement the organisational structure best suited to achieving it. I am excited by the prospect of returning to the role of Group Chief Executive Officer and working with my many colleagues and fellow shareholders to fulfil our objective – which is to win at whatever we do.”