Category Archives: F1

February 26, 2016 · 2:12 pm

Nico Rosberg: “You can really see how far we’ve come as a team…”

An upbeat Nico Rosberg says he’s been impressed by the start to the season that Mercedes has enjoyed in Barcelona this week, and especially by the fact that the team has not been afraid to add new elements to the package.

He also noted that while the car has appeared to run like clockwork the high mileage has pinpointed some reliability issues, even of they haven’t cost a lot of track time.

“It’s been a good start, and reliability is looking very good,” said Rosberg. “It’s quick, I love the way it looks, if you look at it there’s some real innovation on there, and I’m very impressed by that. You can really see how far we’ve come as a team.

“If you look five years ago we were unable to make such innovation, and now there are so many things which are ahead of the game. I’m not saying we’re definitely the quickest, but there’s some good stuff on the car, which is impressive. For sure you can feel it. Small steps every time, you know.”

Regarding the reliability problems, he said: “We found a few bits and pieces that broke on the car, and we wouldn’t have found them if we’d only done 2000kms. So that has been useful, because for sure that will help us now in the beginning of the season. No race stoppers, but still things which you don’t really want to see happen.”

Mercedes stuck with medium tires and a conservative run plan all week, and Rosberg admitted he’s looking forward to being let off the leash in next week’s test.

“Of course I love to go really fast with low fuel, I am looking forward to that. Pounding round with mediums and a lot of fuel is eventually not going to be so exciting at the end of it! So I do look forward to taking away some fuel.”

Rosberg also said that Mercedes has a good idea of where it stands in the pecking order, although inevitably he didn’t want to elaborate.

“I’m paying attention of course. We have strategists and they’re doing calculations already, so more or less we already know where we are. Would you like to know? Sorry I’m not going to say! So we know where we are, with a band of errors. Because they are able to see full tanks and so on, and after a while they get a picture of where everybody is. That’s quite fascinating to see that work, so we do have a good picture.”

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February 25, 2016 · 8:37 am

Massa expects new F1 qualifying system to create “chaos”

Felipe Massa said today that the new F1 qualifying rules are likely to cause “chaos” as frontrunners get it wrong and find themselves bumped out of the session.

The Williams driver also said it was too early for him to decide if he prefers the new arrangement.

“I don’t know if it I like it or not,” said Massa tonight. “I think I need to have a little bit of time to sit down and understand the rules, understand the change. The only thing I understand is that they want to create some chaos around, and this will happen for sure.

“I’m sure it will happen, some chaos, cars that should maybe qualify more in the front have problems and they need to start in the back. So this is something that can be interesting for you [the media], but if it’s better or not, I don’t know yet.”

Asked if qualifying was the area that the sport needed to address he added: “I think the most important thing is that fans want to see fights, they want to see cars overtaking, cars close by. Fans don’t want to see only one car winning the race. Whenever you can make a championship better, the fans will be happy. I think that’s the main issue.

“Which is not something easy to fix. Maybe the noise of the car, but apart from this I think the fans want to see different cars winning the race, that’s the main target, which is the most difficult thing for F1 to make happen.”

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February 24, 2016 · 1:05 pm

FIA says new qualifying format will “potentially” be introduced for 2016

The FIA has confirmed details of the new qualifying format. However the governing body has stressed that it is being “evaluated for introduction, potentially as soon as the beginning of the 2016 season.”

The rules were discussed yesterday by team bosses without any input from engineers or team managers, and there is likely to be some refinement. Some sources have suggested that there was a plan to have a single session – but it was pointed out that TV broadcasters factor ad breaks into the gaps between Q1 and Q2, and Q2 and Q3.

The FIA describes the format as follows:

– Q1

  • 16 minutes

  • After 7 minutes, slowest driver eliminated

  • Slowest driver eliminated every 1 minute 30 seconds thereafter until the chequered flag

  • 7 drivers eliminated, 15 progress to Q2

– Q2

  • 15 minutes

  • After 6 minutes, slowest driver eliminated

  • Slowest driver eliminated every 1 minute 30 seconds thereafter until the chequered flag

  • 7 drivers eliminated, 8 progress to Q3

– Q3

  • 14 minutes

  • After 5 minutes, slowest driver eliminated

  • Slowest driver eliminated every 1 minute 30 seconds thereafter until the chequered flag

  • 2 drivers left in final 1 minute 30 seconds

The final elimination in each session occurs at the chequered flag – not when time is up.

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February 24, 2016 · 8:37 am

Fernando Alonso: “I’m not here just to travel around the world…”

Fernando Alonso returned to McLaren-Honda duty in Barcelona on Tuesday, and the Spaniard enjoyed a trouble-free day as he logged a respectable total of 119 laps – in stark contrast to the form the team showed last year.

Alonso was in relaxed mood afterwards, and he made it clear that recent suggestions he might stop if the packaged was uncompetitive are wide of the mark.

However, he stressed that there is still much work to do for the team and its engine partner.

“It’s good to be back and good to complete a good number of laps which I missed last year,” he said. “We did seven laps the first day, 25 the second, 13 the third day, and then we went to Australia… I think by race five or race six we were still discovering little things on the car that were hurting us a lot in terms of points and in terms of performance during the year. That was the first priority for the team and for this winter, make sure that we went through the problems that we had last year.

“We put some solutions, and we did I think, at least on the reliability side. I’m proud of the team and proud of the job that everyone put together in this car. I enjoyed the day, but there is performance that we need to unlock in the car.

“Most of the work we did today were laps for aerodynamic study and laps for reliability study, temperatures, brake temperatures, water temperatures, many things that from a driver point of view were not very exciting, anyone can do those kinds of laps and those studies let’s say, and I’m looking forward to do some set-up change or some soft tyres or different fuels to really enjoy the driving as well.”

He was adamant that the power unit is better, but made it clear that it had to be, given its poor performance last year.

“Definitely yes, but this is let’s say an answer that we could not have any doubts, because the starting point or the power and deficit that we had last year compared to the top teams, it was just too high. We did improve all the areas of the car. I think on the aerodynamic side there are parts which are quite innovative and quite new, in our car, at least. Maybe the others had these ideas in the past, but for us they are quite new.

“We need a little bit of time to mature the project, the package. And in the power unit the same thing. For us last year there was a lot of learning, a lot of pain, but we learned many things, and now with a completely new design, or philosophy of power unit, we still need a little bit of time to understand and exploit the potential.”

Asked if the targets can he achieved Alonso said: “Honestly, I don’t know. There is not a crystal ball in F1 that you can bet or you can know more or less which direction the year will go after the first day of testing, or even after the two weeks of testing. I think we need to wait for Australia when we are all in the same conditions, with supersoft tyres and low fuel, same track conditions, and then we see. And even that I think we need to wait for two or three races to know for sure how the year will turn to you.

“Sitting here, or last week, in the factory, or even taking the plane to Australia, the ambition is very high. I’m not here just to travel around the world and jump in the car and have some fun on Sunday. I’m here to win. All the 22 drivers, they want the same, and for me it’s no different.”

Meanwhile Alonso joked about rumours that he will stop any time soon if the car is not competitive saying that with the long winter break there was a “dangerous tendency of being creative with the news. Asked if he will see out the season he said “of course, and the next one.”

Fernando did not want to comment on the Honda management changes, saying that he had only just found out about them.

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February 23, 2016 · 8:33 am

Arai out as Honda changes F1 management structure

Honda has instigated a surprise management reshuffle of its F1 programme on the eve of the new season, and erstwhile boss Yasuhisa Arai will lose his job as of March 1st.

The move appears to have happened quickly after a Honda board meeting in Tokyo, as Arai is present at the Barcelona test this week.

Arai, who faced a lot of criticism last year, will be replaced as Executive Chief Engineer and Head of F1 Project by Yusuke Hasegawa. Honda says his role role is to “oversee the development, manufacturing and management of the F1 project.”

Meanwhile as of April 1st Yoshiyuki Matsumoto will take on a new role as Supervising Director that was not previously filled. His job is to “oversee and supervise all F1 related undertakings to strengthen the organizational structure for Honda’s F1 project.”

 

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February 22, 2016 · 8:22 pm

Eric Boullier: “The car is better than last year”

McLaren boss Eric Boullier says that the team has had a good start to its test programme with the new MP4-31, although the Frenchman prefers not to speculate about its ultimate potential.

Jenson Button gave the car its first miles at Barcelona this morning, and the Brit ultimately completed 84 laps and finished the day in sixth place, some 1.7s off Sebastian Vettel.

“All the numbers we found on the car are correlating with what we expected,” said Boullier. “So if you base your winter work on simulations and expectations, it’s a good sign, that means our tools are working properly, so that means the car is better than last year. We’ll see.

Asked how much better it might be he said: “It’s better. I’m not going to answer you how much, because you build the wrong expectations outside our world. And even us, we don’t know what the others have been doing over the winter.”

Boullier refused to talk in any detail about how much progress Honda has made over the winter.

“We need all the tools to do it properly. As far as I’m concerned I’m in charge of the chassis part, drivers, some of the stuff like this. On this part we are trying to be on target. As far as the engine part, you need to ask Honda. But we will win when we have the best drivers, the best chassis, the best car and the best engine.

“I think there has been some good improvement on the engine side. Clearly they are on the right path, and they have clearly fixed a few issues which were hurting us last year, so it’s good so far.”

Boullier insisted that the team is heading in the right direction.

“I think there is a good base now. If you look at the other cars like Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari, the current regulations force you to develop your car concept over a couple of years, or three years let’s say. So you need time, first.

“We decided last year to go radically different, and it paid off, or sort of paid off, because we caught up on some big teams last year in terms of performance. We have to see now where we are this year. I think the base is good, the confidence is there now, everybody is working hard and jointly, which is important.”

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February 21, 2016 · 8:07 am

Mercedes shows first official pictures of new W07

Mercedes W07 AC

Mercedes W07 AC 2

Mercedes has released the first official images of the new W07, which ran for the first time at Silverstone on Friday.

Team technical boss Paddy Lowe noted that Mercedes has addressed any weaknesses it had in 2015.

“After a highly successful season all round in 2015, our priority has been to identify the areas in which we were weakest and to try to improve on those” said Lowe. “Our objective is excellence in all areas and, while we had some fantastic results last year, there are many areas in which we can still be much better.

“That’s the kind of culture we try to instill throughout the whole organisation – one of constantly striving to reach something better. We had a number of races that didn’t go to plan in 2015 – Singapore in particular – so there were a lot of things that needed improving for 2016. We are seeking optimisation absolutely everywh

Lowe stressed that rules stability meant that it was harder to find performance.

“It’s difficult to have a complete revolution when the rules have stayed pretty much the same year on year. But we aim to make minor revolutions wherever we can – even within a small context. We may look at a completely new packaging solution or suspension concept, for instance. So, while the car may look very similar to its predecessor from the outside – as is inherent within stable regulations – underneath there are quite a lot of mini revolutions that make up an overall evolution for the new season.

“It’s very tough to find performance under a stable set of regulations and we were particularly pleased with how the car turned out in 2015 when we had the same situation. The team did a fantastic job – digging very deep to find all sorts of innovations in areas that might have been considered static. 2016 is another carry-over year from a regulatory point of view and potential gains inevitably become harder to find under these circumstances.

“This is what tests an engineering team the most and I must say that this team has been very good at that. It’s far easier to find performance when you have a new set of rules, that’s for sure.”

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February 20, 2016 · 9:32 am

Matsuhita lands McLaren testing role

Matsushita

Honda protege and GP2 racer Nobuharu Matsushita has joined McLaren as a test and development driver.

Matsushita won the Japanese F3 title in 2014 and was Stoffel Vandoorne’s team mate at ART last year. He will continue with the French team this season alongside his F1 commitments.

McLaren says that he will focus on simulator support and engineering work to underline the efforts of our race drivers.”

His promotion means that Honda will have a driver who is ready to graduate to F1 and who could one day be attached to a customer engine deal.

“Nobu’s first season racing in Europe showed great promise,” said team boss Eric Boullier. “He produced some extremely impressive performances, and with experience and consistency, will surely build on that potential in 2016. His position as a McLaren-Honda test and development driver will be extremely important – he’ll underline and corroborate the learning we acquire at the track, and will play a key role in improving our performance throughout 2016.”

“Last year’s GP2 Series season was a steep learning curve for me,” said Matsushita. “It was my first year racing in Europe – but, thankfully, my experiences with Honda’s young driver programme meant I was well prepared for the task ahead.

“As a GP2 Series driver, my sole focus for 2016 is to win the championship. I believe that I have the best package around me to succeed and reach my ultimate goal of becoming a Formula 1 driver.”

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February 19, 2016 · 5:36 pm

Rosberg on the W07: “I felt at home straight away…”

The Mercedes W07 became the first 2016 F1 car to run any laps when it took to the track at Silverstone at 1015 this morning, in the hands of Nico Rosberg.

As has become a tradition Mercedes used one of its promotional or filming days to shake the car down on Pirelli ‘demo’ tyres, prior to the start of official testing at Barcelona on Monday.

Lewis Hamilton took over later in the day, and between them the drivers completed 98.2kms of running.

“It’s been a special day, it’s always a great experience,” Rosberg told Sky TV’s tenacious Craig Slater, who had waited all day outside the track front gates. “I know so much about this car, but everything on paper – numbers, aerodynamic values, and what everybody has been telling me, and now to see it all come together last night in the factory.

“They worked all night for the last I don’t know how many nights, and then how impressed everyone was with the details, all the mechanics got their first look at it, it was a great feeling. And then to take it around today in anger was very enjoyable, just to be out there on my own, just to feel this new machine, it was a good day.

“It was a good feeling to start with for sure. I felt at home straight away. I could push as if I raced Abu Dhabi yesterday. A good beginning, but of course I look forward to Barcelona testing now.”

The car will be unveiled on Monday morning in Barcelona, although images will be released this weekend.

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February 19, 2016 · 2:10 pm

Ferrari targets title challenge with new SF16-H

Ferrari F16-H

Ferrari unveiled its new car in an online launch today amid much optimism in the Maranello camp about the season ahead.

Dubbed the SF16-H, the car features more white in its livery than in recent years, harking back to the golden years of the mid-70s.

The car is very different from its predecessor, and notably after four years with pullrod front suspension, Ferrari has gone back to pushrod.

Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene made it clear that the team has to be in the fight for the World Championship this year.

“Normally I’m not setting the objective, it’s my boss who sets the objective,” said Arrivabene. “Last year the objective was three victories, we got it. I think this year we need to push a bit more, so it’s going to be the championship.

“At least we would like to fight until the end for the championship. I know it’s nit going to be easy because our competitors they are not sleeping at all. For sure we are all committed to do our best.”

Technical director James Allison said of the car: “I have to say looking at it today I feel very, very happy and extremely proud of all the people here at Maranello, and I can’t wait to take it racing.”Ferrari F16-H

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