February 2, 2015 · 6:57 pm

Pastor Maldonado: “A bit late, but we are here!”

The Lotus hit the track today - and it looks great

The Lotus hit the track today – and it looks great

The Lotus E23 took to the track for the first time in Jerez this morning after the team missed the first day of running.

The car was built up overnight and Pastor Maldonado was able to run 41 laps before he was stopped by a transmission problem on a day that was mainly about getting used to Mercedes power.

“A bit late, but we are here!,” he said. “The new car is looking good. It’s difficult to say something because we’ve only done a few laps today. It’s quite positive. It’s looking probably different to what we had last year in terms of reliability, and how the entire package is working. So quite a positive day.

“Maybe we were expecting to run a bit more, but we had a small issue in the car, which is normal, because as you know we changed a lot. We have a new engine, we have a big revolution in the car, it’s another car, it’s not a continuation of what we had last year. But it’s quite positive.

“We had a problem somewhere in the gearbox. We are trying to discover, we are working on it. It’s not a serious problem that we cannot solve.”

Maldonado said it was too early to make any comparison with the Renault he had last year: “It’s different, it’s just different. It’s difficult to compare then because we were more focussed on mileage than performance, you know. We’re still looking for some problems and taking some aero data as well, so it’s not the moment to release something about the engine performance. But for sure it is completely different, we are working in different ways.

“We are happy, we’ve been working in the simulator as well, together with Mercedes, so we are very happy in the way they are working. As a team we are very positive and pushing very hard to be in the best position with them.”

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February 2, 2015 · 6:12 pm

Jenson Button: “Obviously not the easiest start to the season…”

McLaren endured another difficult day in Jerez as the Jenson Button failed to complete a flying lap on his first outing in the MP4-30, but the former World Champion says he’s not concerned about the teething problems with the package.

The car spent most of the day in the garage after running five stop-start laps early in the day, before Jenson re-emerged for a single lap on a damp track at the end of the day.

“It’s nice to be a part of the new era of McLaren-Honda,” he said. “I think it has a very exciting future, but as we all know things take a little bit of time. I feel that the atmosphere in the team is very good, and I when I say team, I mean McLaren-Honda. I think that it’s key for everyone to remember that it’s not McLaren with an engine manufacturer, it is one team, with one goal. It’s a good atmosphere.

“Obviously not the easiest start to the season, but as we know it’s a very complicated power unit. We will get our heads around it, and in terms of the problems we had today we had our head around it and understand the issue, and that’s what the last run of the day was in the wet, to really understand it, and I think we do now, which is good. So we’re hoping for a much more productive day three and day four.”

Button cited Red Bull’s 2014 testing problems as an example of a team turning things around: “You look at where the Red Bull was at the first couple of tests, and even the last test in Bahrain – obviously they got the result taken away from them, but they finished second at the first Grand Prix. So a lot can happen.

“And we always knew the first test was going to be difficult, it always is, it’s not as straightforward as it used to be with sticking an engine in the car and trying to power round. It’s a very complex system, the power unit. We’ve had a few little niggling things that we’ve been able to solve now. As I said tomorrow we’ll see where we stand.”

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February 2, 2015 · 1:06 pm

Symonds cautions against rush to 1000bhp engines

Williams technical boss Pat Symonds has cautioned against a rush towards new regulations for 2017 – and says that the priority should be to ensure that the sport’s teams are in a healthy state.

Discussions are underway about more powerful engines and ways of making the cars look spectacular.

“I like the idea of 1000bhp engines, I like the idea of spectacular cars,” said Symonds today. “I also like the idea of having a lot more cars on the grid, and that’s what I think should be our prime concern at the moment, to have a good business, and something that spectators also want to watch. They can at times be mutually exclusive unfortunately, but I think there is a lot that we can do within the framework that we have, and particularly to improve our engagement with the public.

“I think that we are much too early into a new set of rules to start radical change, but we should never be afraid of change, either.”

Meanwhile regarding the potential of the FW37 he said: “Competitiveness is a relative thing. We’ve certainly taken steps that I hope will move us forward, but I don’t know yet what our competitors have done. I hope that at least we start where we finished.

“Our development rate last year was one of the things I’m particularly proud of, we really did add a lot of performance to the car relative to our competitors last season. We’re applying all of the same sort of philosophies to doing that. We want to get in there and be fighting.”

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February 2, 2015 · 11:31 am

Fans won’t be disappointed by Red Bull’s race livery, says Horner

Christian Horner has hinted that Red Bull could have another unusual livery planned for the start of the racing season.

The team is running in camouflage livery in Jerez, in part because it genuinely serves to make it harder for rivals to analyse the car.

“The camouflage livery actually came out of a helmet that Sebastian ran last year.” said Horner. “It was quite fun. We thought it would be interesting to extend that concept to the entire car, and Dietrich [Mateschitz] liked it when he saw it. I think it epitomises Red Bull, really.

“We’re not afraid to do things a bit differently, and so to run in a different livery and see a Red Bull in a different livery is quite striking, and it makes it difficult to get detailed photographs of the car at a time of year when we’re all trying to be as secretive as we possibly can.”

Asked if fans will be disappointed when the camouflage livery is dropped he said: “They won’t be disappointed because the livery will be even stronger. It’s great to so something different, it’s been extremely well received. It’s difficult to get detailed shots because obviously it confuses your eye-line. It certainly seems to have had a great reaction.

Regarding what will be on the car in Australia, he said: “Wait and see.”

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February 2, 2015 · 11:16 am

Kvyat shunt forces Red Bull to test with no front wing

Dany Kvyat has been lapping Jerez with no front wing on the RB11 after he damaged the only example of it in contact with the barrier this morning.

New parts are on their way but the team opted to continue to run a few laps for ongoing systems checks and so on.

“Dany had a very slight off on an install lap this morning, on cold track,” said Christian Horner. “He was just changing something on the steering wheel between Turns Two and Three very lightly touched the tyre wall with the front wing. That’s damaged the front wing.

“It’s the only front wing assembly that we have in Jerez at the moment, which is relatively usual for when you’re not abundant with spare parts. That’s why we’re running without the main plane at the moment. Obviously more components coming down later this afternoon and this evening and during the next few days.

He added: “What I should really be telling you is that we have so much front downforce we don’t need the front wing, and we’re just trying to balance the car.”

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February 2, 2015 · 9:54 am

Alonso on McLaren: “The mentality is very open”

Fernando Alonso says that McLaren is a very different team from the one that he left at the end of 2007 season.

The Spaniard stressed that there have been a lot of personnel changes, such as the arrival of Eric Boullier from Lotus and aerodynamicist Peter Prodromou from RBR.

“I think it’s different, it’s more open now,” he said when asked by this writer. “I’m different as well, I was 25 years old when I joined McLaren the first time, so definitely I’m different. We are now at the perfect time to rejoin, because we share some goals, and the team I think is now, with the arrival of Eric as well, much more open, and let’s say international.

“There are people working from many teams that joined McLaren this year, so the mentality is very open. The design of the car is quite different compared to the last couple of years, with the arrival of Peter as well. Honda, after 22 years coming back, so the whole team is believing in the project, and very excited to do well. The commitment is maximum from everyone, so that’s fantastic.”

Alonso also emphasised his belief in the potential of Honda.

“Definitely, I see a lot of potential. I’m delighted to work with the Honda guys, I saw from the first day they are about motor racing in general, it’s not just the F1 project. It’s just about the way they live, and the way they think.

“It’s just the culture. I’m a big fan of Japanese culture and they carry on that experience in life, and also for their work. They have a motor racing passion. I know that sooner or later we will deliver what we want to do. With Honda I really feel that if they want to do something, they will achieve it.”

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February 1, 2015 · 7:55 pm

Dennis promises that McLaren livery will change

Ron Dennis said today that he would only change the current McLaren livery if there was a commercial reason to do so – and then went on to confirm that it will indeed change, but he would not say when.

McLaren is known to still be in discussions with Santander about a continuation of its sponsorship deal, and that could be one of the triggers for a change from the colourscheme that has not proved popular with the public.

“We’ve got the same thing inside [the company],” he said. “You’ve got people who say ‘Why don’t we make it orange?,’ and I say, ‘Why?’ ‘That was the old colour of McLaren.’ ‘Well yeah you just said it, why the hell do we want to go backwards?’ Then what do you do? Do you create an aesthetically pleasing design? For what purpose do you produce an aesthetically pleasing design?

“This is the livery of McLaren, it’s always been a combination of these colours, and it will only change for commercial reasons, it wont change just to make a few people in the company happier because they want it orange, or they want it yellow. We tried to put a bit more of our real colour, which is dayglo.

“Fluorescent red is our colour. We’ve got more heritage in fluorescent red than any other colour. But again what I prefer to do is put a stylish design and as we evolve… it will be far more recognised if we suddenly come out with a light green car for the following reason, you’ll all go, yeah they’ve got a big amount of money coming in. Why would you react to Twitter?

Asked by this writer about the widespread association of the current livery with Mercedes he said: “The car’s got a minimal amount of mirroring on it, I wouldn’t even call it silver. You’re voicing an opinion which lots of people voice, in the company, on Twitter, everything. But that’s a problem without a solution. Yes we could change colour, yes we could do something more daring, we could all these things, but give me a reason why? And if it’s just to aesthetically more pleasing, that’s not enough reason to me.”

However, pressed on the Mercedes connection, he finally admitted: “It will change, but I’m not going to say when…”

Meanwhile when asked for his opinion by this writer Honda F1 boss Yasuhisa Arai said: “I can’t say what colour I like. It depends on the sponsors, the fans, our future direction. We have to think about many things.”

The likelihood of a change was predicted by this blog last week: https://adamcooperf1.com/2015/01/29/will-mclaren-change-its-livery-for-start-of-the-season/

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February 1, 2015 · 7:09 pm

Eric Boullier: “You have to go through some pain and some glitches”

McLaren and Honda had a difficult first day with the MP4-30 in Jerez today, as Fernando Alonso logged only six laps – and did not set a representative time.

As at the Abu Dhabi test with the interim car last year Honda spent the day chasing electrical gremlins, mainly relating to a sensor.

“We have been quite extreme let’s say in packaging our car,” said the Frenchman. “And every technical solution which we brought to the car is something which we believe will help us to close the gap quite quickly with Mercedes. Being ambitious or brave doesn’t mean that we can be reliable. Obviously we are struggling with a few electrical issues, which are quite difficult again to fix.

“I think they are fixable, they could be fixed by tomorrow, but we may end up with some other issues somewhere else. I want to be a little but cautious on this because every time we try to fix one we open up something else further. We will get on top of this, I don’t know when, but obviously as soon as possible.”

Boullier said it was inevitable that there would be problems, despite some issues having cropped up already in Abu Dhabi.

“Simulation, dynos, whatever you want, you need the track to get the package all together and to work together. We have the car here, the 2015 car, and obviously you have to go through again some pain and some glitches to allow us to run. We obviously don’t want to take any risks either, because if you blow up the engine you can face something damaging the car and you can lose more time. We have only 12 days. We would have loved to run more today, but we have to go step-by-step.”

Regarding the car’s potential he said: “When we do more laps I will tell you, but based on simulation at least better than the end of last year.”

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February 1, 2015 · 11:01 am

Lotus E23 on way to Spain after missing first day

The Lotus E23 is expected to arrive in Jerez later today after the team failed to make the first day of testing.

The car is being flown to Spain rather than carried by a transporter in order to save time. The engineering trucks are already in place at the circuit, and another vehicle carrying equipment has been spotted on a Spanish highway.

Lotus has of course made the switch to Mercedes this season after 20 years with Renault, which has given the team a bigger challenge over the winter.

A team spokesman told this writer: “The car’s on its way. Fired up and final checks in Enstone yesterday – we wanted to be happy with everything at the factory before turning up.”

The team has yet to confirm whether the car will take to the track on Monday.

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February 1, 2015 · 8:48 am

Red Bull can make some big steps with RB 11 says Horner

The Red Bull livery is certainly different...

The Red Bull livery is certainly different…

Daniel Ricciardo gave the new Red Bull RB11 its first outing as testing got underway in Jerez before.

The car, which had not been seen even in the form of the renderings issued by other teams, features a dramatic ‘camouflage’ livery.

The car made Jerez despite passing its final crash tests at a very late stage.

“We’ve been pushing to the limit as usual,” said Christian Horner. “We had a very tight timescale for the car to be prepared in time for the first test, but that’s normal in this team. If you’re not on the limit you’re not trying hard enough.

“The relationship with Renault is a lot closer now. Red Bull is the only partner for Renault now, through ourselves and Toro Rosso, and that focus from Renault together with a close involvement with our design team is yielding good results and a far closer integration between the power unit and the chassis side. Working in unison with Renault we can really make some big steps forward this year.

“Our target is simple: to close down the gap to Mercedes yet further. We were the only team other than Mercedes to win a Grand Prix in 2014 and we won three with Daniel Ricciardo. Our target is to close the gap down and put Mercedes under as much pressure as we possibly can. We know what we’re aiming at, we know what we need to achieve and I believe that with the RB11, with the drivers we have and with the new structures put in place we should be able to do that.”

“The design of the RB11 has been very much about understanding what we learned from last season,” said Adrian Newey. “Which was a big regulation change as far as the power unit is concerned and the packaging that goes with that and setting about optimising the car from those lessons.

“We have been working very hard with our partners Renault to help them develop the engine. What we have to remember is that the internal combustion engine and its very complicated associated items, the ERS and turbocharger, are long lead time items. Those are things where if one team takes an advantage then it takes time to overthrow that or get back on a par with or hopefully ahead.”

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