Category Archives: Uncategorized

The FIA has confirmed to the teams that there is no possibility of the Japanese GP being run on Saturday in an attempt to avoid the typhoon that is expected on Sunday.

However, the option remains to bring the 3pm start forward in order to create a bigger window in which to get the race completed. Today, even with good weather, it was dark by 5.30pm.

Race promoter Honda is the driving force behind the decision not to move to a Saturday afternoon slot after morning qualifying – an option that the FIA was open to. Sources confirm that Honda does not want to have to refund fans with Sunday tickets.

However Charlie Whiting confirmed that that path had not been taken at the regular Friday driver’s briefing, which is also attended by team managers.

An earlier start still might not avoid the heavy rain which is expected to fall all day Sunday, and there remains a chance that it is too wet for the cars to take to the track at all. If they do one possible scenario is a lengthy stint behind the safety car.

A race only has to run for two laps for half points to be awarded, and has to run to 75% for full points to be awarded.

In other words it would require only two laps behind the safety car in the course of the day, with no actual racing, for the driver on pole to do enough to earn 12.5 points. It will be fascinating to see how that might impact the Hamilton v Rosberg contest…

The worst weather is expected to hit in late afternoon and evening, just as the teams are packing up for Sochi.

Pastor Maldonado is set to get a 10-place grid penalty in Japan for using a sixth power unit element.

The Venezuelan used his sixth Internal Combustion Engine, or ICE, in FP1 today.

He becomes only the second driver after Daniil Kvyat to pick up a penalty, although bad weather on Sunday could render it meaningless anyway…

For more info on those close to getting a penalty see here: https://adamcooperf1.com/2014/10/02/alonso-raikkonen-and-vettel-close-to-grid-penalties/

Plans for Marussia to run Renault 3.5 driver Will Stevens in FP1 at Suzuka fell through at the last minute when the Briton’s superlicence paperwork failed to come through in time.

However the team has confirmed that he is an official reserve driver and will complete some FP1 sessions later in the season.

Like fellow Marussia recruit Alex Rossi Stevens was previously with Caterham, and has tested at Abu Dhabi and Silverstone.

Team boss John Booth said: “Will is a driver we have been watching since he arrived in Formula Renault. We have admired his ability to learn quickly and compete in the thick of the action, so we are very pleased to add him to our roster of Official Reserve Drivers, which is now looking very strong indeed. It is great to be able to take such promising talents as Will and Alexander under our wing and help them progress to the next level. We look forward to seeing Will perform in the MR03, when I am sure he will demonstrate some further signs of his obvious potential.”

“I’m really thrilled to be given this opportunity by the Marussia F1 Team,” said Stevens. “They are a great team, with enormous potential, and I’m so happy to be joining them at this exciting time in their development. Off the back of my F1 tests with Caterham, I can’t wait to get my first taste of the MR03. I’m looking forward to rewarding their faith in me and to making a positive contribution to our progress in the 2014 championship, and beyond.”

The Japanese GP is under threat from Typhoon Phanfone, which is expected to pass close to the Suzuka area on race day.

The biggest issue is not so much wind as heavy rain, which could be bad enough to stop the cars from taking to the track at all. With the cars and equipment due to be packed on Sunday night for travel to Sochi there is no possibility for a rain delay, and in any case the weather is likely to get worse on Monday.

Bernie Ecclestone is not in Japan, but he is contact with the FIA’s Charlie Whiting about potential scenarios. At their regular Thursday meeting team managers were told that an early start on Sunday – it’s currently scheduled for 3pm – could create a bigger window in which to get the race run. There are also concerns about the weather worsening on Sunday evening, when the teams are packing their equipment for shipping to Russia.

In the past Suzuka qualifying has been postponed to Sunday due to weather issues. One possibility could be to squeeze both qualifying and race into Saturday, although that will have big implications both for TV broadcasters and of course paying spectators.

Clearly that decision will have to be taken sooner rather than later, but with the forecast changing, it will be a big call for the FIA and other key parties to make.

Steffen Dietz of official F1 weather forecaster Ubimet said: “There are still big uncertainties for the storm track in the coming days. The current forecast track for typhoon Phanfone keeps the eye of the storm to the south-east of Japan on Sunday but with associated rain bands extending north towards Suzuka during the morning. Once it starts the rain is likely to be prolonged and become increasingly heavy Winds will be mostly light initially but freshen as the days goes on. At this time, nothing too severe is expected before Monday.”

Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel are among the drivers likely to face a grid penalty for using a sixth power unit element.

All three World Champions have now reached five power unit elements, and in Alonso’s case in four of the six categories – and in fact all six drivers who use Ferrari engines are now close to getting penalties.

In Monza Daniil Kyvat became the first driver to land a penalty for using a sixth example of one of the six elements, in his case an ICE, or V6. The Russian will now face a five-place penalty as soon as he uses a sixth example of any other element, and will get 10 places if uses a seventh ICE.

“The rules are as they are but surely at some stage we have to take some penalties, which penalties those will be is not entirely clear yet,” said Vettel. “We’re waiting for some parts, we’re hoping that we get as far as we can, but it’s inevitable to go for an extra engine on my side – which is already ten positions after qualifying.

“Potentially there is more waiting for us – which is only a consequence of the poor season we had, first half of the season, in terms of reliability. But that’s something we knew back then. Now we have to figure out what is the smartest plan, let’s say, and the smartest track to come up with a penalty.”

Brazil, given the ease of overtaking at Turn One and the prospects of a wet race, is regarded as the best place to take a penalty – if any of the drivers currently on the bubble can wait that long.

Here’s the full list of those who have reached five, listed in number order:

(ICE=Internal Combustion Engine, TC=Turbo, MGU-K/H=Motor Generator Unit Kinetic/Heat, CE=Control Electronics)

Sebastian Vettel: ICE, TC, MGU-H

Fernando Alonso: ICE, TC, CE, MGU-H

Kimi Raikkonen: ICE, MGU-H, CE

Romain Grosjean: TC

Pastor Maldonado: ICE, TC, MGU-K, MGU-H

Adrian Sutil: ICE, TC, MGU-K, MGU-H, CE

Esteban Gutierrez: TC, MGU-K, MGU-H, CE

Jean-Eric Vergne: MGU-K

Daniil Kvyat: ICE (6), MGU-K, MGU-H (5)

Jules Bianchi: ICE, TC, MGU-H, CE

Max Chilton: ICE, TC, MGU-K, MGU-H

Kamui Kobayashi: MGU-K

Sebastian Vettel has again downplayed the ongoing rumours about a potential future at Ferrari.

Vettel’s name has long been linked with Maranello, even more so since it became clear that Fernando Alonso is considering his options for 2015.

“I think there have always been rumours over the last couple of years, especially around this time of the season,” said Vettel. “I think probably more for Jenson; he already has 17 team mates for next year. I have been one of them, a couple of weeks ago, maybe next week I will be again. It’s not really in my head. At Singapore we made some progress and I hope that we can carry that momentum into this race, and that’s really where the focus lies.”

Meanwhile Vettel said that his season has started to look up since things began to fall into place for him.

“I think it’s all the small bits coming together. Obviously we hardly ran the first half of the season, we had lots of issues in winter to overcome and then a lot of issues on my side in the first half – which is never great to get the right feeling and get things lined up the way things should be lined up.

“I think now we had a little bit more consistent weekends, a bit more time to look at all the stuff and I think it’s coming our way – but there’s still huge potential which I feel we are getting closer but there’s a lot of work ahead of us to make sure we extract it in the next couple of races as well.”

Caterham has issued a statement denying rumours suggesting that legal proceedings against the team could prevent it from racing in Japan this weekend.

The team said tonight: “There have been unfounded and unsubstantiated rumours concerning actions against 1MRT, the entrant and owner of CaterhamF1.

“An action was threatened yesterday against a supplier company to 1MRT. This company is not owned by 1MRT and it has no influence over the entry of CaterhamF1 or the entrant.

“Also contrary to uncontrolled rumours, all operations are currently in place at Leafield and the race team is doing its preparation in Japan. “

Toro Rosso has confirmed that Max Verstappen will replace Jean-Eric Vergne in FP1 at Suzuka as he continues his preparations for 2015.

The Dutchman, who only turns 17 tomorrow, has been granted a superlicence that allows him to run in FP1 sessions.

“It is good preparation for next year, even if it’s not something I could have imagined a few months ago,” said Verstappen. “To already be participating in a practice session is of course a dream come true. I have actually been to Suzuka before, to take part in a go‑kart race on the track that is located next to the main circuit’s back straight. My dad has raced at Suzuka many times and he told me it’s not an easy track to start on.

“For me it will be a very valuable experience, spending some time in the car and also getting used to working with everyone in the team, to prepare myself for next year. I am not going there to break any records, I just want to gain experience. I have spent one day driving this track on the simulator, which helps a bit, but it’s no substitute for driving it for real. My first impression is that it’s not an easy track and for example it looks hard to get the combination right in the first Esses. I have one and a half hours to drive there and I’m looking forward to doing a good job, for myself and for the team.”

Mercedes says that a foreign substance in Nico Rosberg’s steering column led to the problem that forced him to retire from the Singapore GP.

The team said via its Twitter feed: “Forensic analysis has revealed that the steering column electronic circuits were contaminated with a foreign substance.

“The contamination was not visible and did not manifest itself until Sunday as Nico went to the grid.

“The result was an intermittent short circuit in the electronic circuits meaning Nico could not command clutch or engine settings.

“Fresh parts will be used at the forthcoming races. Our hard work on reliability processes will continue at the same intensive level.”

Later Mercedes added: “To clarify, the contaminant was a substance used in normal pre-event servicing of the component,” in effect confirming that an employee had simply screwed up somewhere along the line…

Caterham has played down suggestions that the team has reached a crisis point amid reports of a meeting between staff members and team principal Manfredi Ravetto today.

A source close to the team told this writer: “The meeting was called by Manfredi yesterday morning for lunchtime today to tell the company what was happening. He gave the same speech to the race team last weekend, essentially that at the end of June the investors had bought a runaway, driverless train with all employees aboard.

“It’s now the end of September and the train has a driver on board who has control, but efforts to stabilise it are being threatened by ‘surprises.’ Everybody knows the picture is not pretty, and nothing has been hidden.

“They were also told that work on the 2015 car continues with a further wind tunnel session at Toyota starting Monday and we will be on the grid in Melbourne in 2015 if we all pull together. He also confirmed that the wages had been paid today, three days early.”

The ‘surprises’ referred to are believed to include unpaid bills left behind by the previous owners, and which are only now coming to light.

Meanwhile yesterday the team sent its demo car to an event in Jerusalem.