Adam Cooper F1

Pirelli has confirmed the tyre testing schedule for the three in-season tests. The rules require each team to devote one of its six precious days to working for the Italian company.

The significance of the timing is that in theory when a team is tyre testing it is not working on developing its car.

In addition there is a test in Abu Dhabi at the end of the year when all teams will run the 2015 tyres.

The schedule is as follows:

Bahrain test (8-9 April)
Day1: CATERHAM
Day2: MERCEDES and WILLIAMS

Barcelona test (13-14 May)
Day1: SAUBER and TORO ROSSO
Day2: McLAREN and FORCE INDIA

Silverstone test (8-9 July)
Day1: FERRARI and LOTUS
Day2: RED BULL and MARUSSIA

Michael Schumacher’s management has once again been forced to counter media reports about the former World Champion’s condition.

Inevitably the lack of any recent official reports has led to speculation.

A statement from Sabine Kehm today read: “Michael is still in the wake up phase. The situation has not changed. Any information published which is not confirmed by the team of doctors treating Michael or his management has to be considered as not valid.”

It’s encouraging to report that former McLaren leading light Tyler Alexander is recovering well after being taken ill last month.

A McLaren spokesman told this blog: “Tyler is currently undergoing rehabilitation after suffering a stroke in early February. He’s in excellent care and is making very good progress. He’s grateful for all the support and affection he’s receiving.”

Alexander was one of the original McLaren employees, and was part of the team when it attended its first Grand Prix in Monaco in 1966. He left shortly after Ron Dennis took control to run his own Indycar team with Teddy Mayer, and later was one of the founders of the Beatrice Haas F1 team. He then returned to McLaren, and remained at Woking until his retirement.

We wish him a speedy recovery.

Bernie Ecclestone says that the Azerbaijan capital of Baku will host a Grand Prix within the next two years.

Flavio Briatore was reportedly involved in brokering the deal.

“We’re going to Azerbaijan,” Ecclestone was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. “The people out there are talking about holding a race in 2015. That may be a bit soon — unless it’s at the end of the season, that’s a possibility. But 2016 is more likely.”

Baku hosted a non-championship GT street race in 2012, organised by the Berlin-based City Challenge organisation. Last year it was the venue of the final round of the FIA GT championship, utilising a longer 4.3kms track.

After the disastrous start in Jerez Renault has been playing catch-up over the two Bahrain tests, and while its teams eventually logged some mileage there’s no escaping the fact that none has come close to the pace set by the Mercedes teams, or by Ferrari. Here’s a Q&A with Rob White issued by the manufacturer.

How was the second Bahrain test from a Renault perspective?

“The aim of the last test session before Australia was to recover some of the lost ground from the previous test sessions and to rehearse the Grand Prix. We wanted each of our four teams to be able to approach a normal race weekend without having to improvise any of the procedures or operations needed. We can’t escape the fact that we did not complete the entire programme with all the teams and that some Melbourne preparations are incomplete. On the up-side, we have done some of everything, with simulations of qualifying sessions, starts, race distances and long stints and it is fair to say that once again we have made some real progress. We have cured or found workarounds for some of the problems we had previously identified. New problems revealed as we ran more have added to the unsolved items, and have disrupted running, which is disappointing for our teams.”

Have there been any major issues this time round?

“In terms of down-time, we see that minor incidents can veer off into major ones and cause significant downtime. This is an example of the immaturity of our PU; we do not have all of the fail-safe and limp-home modes we would consider normal in this stage. This contributes to the loss of track time when a small issue does occur. As we go forward we expect to be able to take these things in our stride rather than have a major failure as a result of minor problem. When running, this immaturity makes itself known as shortcomings in torque delivery or ‘driveability’, which make it tricky for the drivers to find the performance limit of the car.”

And what have been the key learnings [sic] over the testing period?

“We have started to converge on a configuration of car that is more like when we have run the engine back on the dynos in Viry. We’ve increased the level of performance at which the PU can be operated, and we’ve made strides in terms of how energy is managed round the circuit. Additionally we have made some headway on troubleshooting our control systems.”

What is the plan now pre Melbourne?

“Between now and Melbourne we have a number of items to cover. We need to consolidate all of the lessons learned across all the teams. We need to review all the accumulated data and compare and contrast to get the best out of it so the starting point for all of the Renault-powered cars is as good as it can be. Second, we must progress further on the torque delivery of the PU felt by the drivers. This will include software and calibration work, with simulator and dyno and validation. Thirdly there is the logistical challenge of getting the race Power Units built and shipped to Australia. That process is well under way and will be finished next week.”

Has the Renault Energy F1-2014 Power Unit undergone the necessary homologation process?

“Yes, the relevant documents and a reference Power Unit have been submitted to the FIA within the deadlines in the Sporting Rules.”

What are your hopes for Melbourne?

“Melbourne will be an anxious weekend! Conducting a normal race weekend, in which both cars run well during each session for every team, would be a great relief. I hope we can support our teams and drivers to explore the performance of the car and allow the race to deliver its sporting verdict.”

The FIA has delayed the decision on a future F1 team entry, which was due to be made today.

The governing body has written to the candidates but apparently not given a reason for the delay, or an alternative deadline. However it’s worth speculating that Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone might have different ideas about which team should get the nod.

It’s believed that only one slot is up for the grabs, although there is no reason why the field could not be extended to 26 cars, and that may be one of the factors behind the delay. There’s also the question of whether all the existing teams will survive over the next couple of years – and rejecting a viable candidate now might prove to be short sighted.

Intriguingly it seems that realistically Gene Haas is aiming for a 2016 start, while the Romanian project is ready to kick off in 2015, should it be given the go ahead.

Meanwhile it appears that the driving force behind the latter is Ion Bazac, a qualified doctor and former Romanian health minister. The 45-year-old has a number of business interests and is the country’s Ferrari importer, under the name Forza Rossa – an ironic twist given that the rival Haas project is Ferrari-backed. He’s also a past chairman of loan company Global Finance & Leasing.

He is the president a consortium of private and state funded investors whose motive is to promote the interests of Romania, and who have the support of the government. Indeed the country’s sports minister joined team representatives for the meeting with the FIA in France last week, where he stressed that F1 was seen as a valuable tool for that purpose – and a better option than building a circuit and hosting a Grand Prix, a strategy that has now been abandoned.

As noted here several weeks ago Dacia is also in the loop, which explains the team’s plan to use Renault engines.

Although Ecclestone was not represented at this week’s meetings he is fully aware of the state of both projects, and one would assume that the Romanian government involvement has considerable appeal for him.

The Formula One Teams’ Association has officially folded, in a move that had been expected for some time.

A short statement said: “As of the 28th of February 2014 FOTA will be disbanded, as a result of its members’ having re-evaluated their requirements in the face of a changing political and commercial landscape in Formula 1.”

FOTA was formed in 2008 amid much fanfare, and was originally championed by Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo. Its key objectives were to to “promote the development of Formula One and enhance its worldwide image and reputation,” and “to represent, defend and promote the interests of its members.”

Recently the organisation had represented the interests of just seven teams, after the defections over the years of Ferrari, Red Bull, Toro Rosso and Sauber. Its influence had diminished accordingly.

With chairman Martin Whitmarsh having given up his team principal role at McLaren FOTA lost further momentum.

The news means the end of the popular FOTA fans’ forums, which gave F1 enthusiasts a rare chance to have their voices heard.

Vitaly Petrov will race for Mercedes in the DTM this year, the manufacturer has confirmed.

Petrov did some promotional driving in Moscow last year, and had his first test in Portimao last month.

“I’m aware that I’ve got a steep learning curve ahead of me, but I love a challenge and accept it gladly,” said Petrov. “At my first test in Portimão, I was able to make my first acquaintance with the team and get a feel for the car, which is very important for me in order to play to my strengths.”

Mercedes motor sport boss Toto Wolff said: “Vitaly had a successful test in our DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupe at Portimão and I’m sure that he will be valuable member of our team. Vitaly is a great sportsman and representative of his country, who has already demonstrated his ability by achieving, among other things, a podium finish in Formula 1. He will also be a great asset for Mercedes-Benz, especially in the Russian market. I am looking forward to see how things will develop within DTM.”