Adam Cooper F1

Vitaly Petrov has been handed a career lifeline by Caterham

VitalyPetrov has replaced Jarno Trulli at Caterham, and will drive the CT01 in the Barcelona test next week.

The move has been rumoured for months, but was delayed while the Russian’s funding was confirmed.

The news in effect brings Trulli’s F1 career to an end, as he has no obvious future alternatives. The team has not released details of how his contractual arrangements were terminated.

Tony Fernandes said: “We are all delighted to welcome Vitaly into our team and are very excited about the role he will play in helping us take the next steps forward in 2012 and for many years to come. When we first met it was immediately clear that Vitaly understands and shares our vision for how we want our team to grow.

“As the first Russian to race in F1 he carries the hopes of a huge nation with ease and his talents, experience with one of our current competitors and insights on and off track will play a huge role in our development as we fight to join the established teams ahead.

“I also want to take this opportunity to thank Jarno for the absolutely pivotal role he played in the formation and progression of our team since he joined us in December 2009. Jarno knew that when he joined us it would be a very different environment to where he had been before, and when we gave him the package he wanted he absolutely shone.

“With that in mind it was not an easy decision to bring Vitaly in to replace Jarno, but it was one we made to ensure that we give fresh impetus across the whole team and with a realistic eye on the global economic market. Jarno has an incredible natural talent behind the wheel, and his winning record and longevity in the sport will bear testament to that talent in the Formula 1 annals forever, but now it is time to open a new chapter in our team’s story, and Vitaly is the right person to help us do that.

“We have reached agreement with Jarno to bring an end to our partnership with him, but he will always be part of our family. Now we want to integrate Vitaly as quickly as possible into the team, and we will do everything we can to welcome him in, give him a car he can use to showcase his skills, and keep up the rate of development that has seen us go from an empty factory with just four employees to a fully established Formula 1 team in just over two years.”

Petrov said: “The passion and spirit that Tony and the whole team have to keep moving forwards is infectious, and I am honoured to be able to join them and play my part in helping the team mount a serious challenge to the teams ahead in 2012 and for many seasons to come.

“I have been training hard all winter and am ready to get back into the cockpit and go to work. From what I have seen already, our new car is another good step forward from 2011 and now I cannot wait to see how it feels when we get to Barcelona. I would also like to take this chance to thank all my fans and partners for their support and their patience.”

Trulli was quoted as saying: “I want to take this chance to thank Tony, Kamarudin, SM Nasarudin, Riad, Mike and everyone in the team for the two seasons we had together. From zero we built up and established a solid F1 team. I’m really proud to have been part of it. I understand the decision the team has made and I want to wish to the whole team the very best of luck for the season ahead.”

Senna has won the BAFTA awards for Best Documentary and Best Editing in tonight’s event at the Royal Opera House in London, giving F1 a boost in front of a star-studded audience that included the likes of Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Russell Crowe and Meryl Streep.

To win the former award it beat Martin Scorsese’s George Harrison documentary and Project Nim, about a monkey raised as a human.

Senna producer Eric Fellner said: “This film was made by all of us with love, and all we got back from it was love, and that deeply cynical word commerciality – which I never utter – was never even considered in this situation. We made this because we loved Ayrton, and you showed the love back.”

He added: “We need to thank Ayrton Senna for sadly living a too short life, but a life where his fact was even more amazing than fiction.”

Screenwriter Manish Pandey said: “We’d just really wanted to thank the Senna family for trusting us with his legacy. When your son dies in circumstnces like that, and you get a bunch of guys who turn up and say, listen, we want to tell the story, we think we’re very sensitive, we think we will absolutely tell it right… It takes a lot of guts to support people like that, and I’d like to thank them for doing that.”

Event host Stephen Fry gave the film the ultimate accolade: “Even if you know nothing about F1 racing and are not even vaguely interested in motor sport you will find Senna one of the greatest documentaries you’ve ever watched.”

Senna was also nominated in Outstanding British Film, where it lost out to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

The BAFTAs are regarded as a precursor of the Oscars, but sadly it did not get nominated by the Academy.

Pandey’s next project is a drama based on Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins and their relationship with Enzo Ferrari.

Caterham caught the eye at Jerez on Wednesday when Heikki Kovalainen ran more laps than any other driver, the new CT01 showing impressive reliability as the team got to grips with KERS for the first time.

The Finn – who has just signed a management deal with IMG – completed few laps on Tuesday after a niggling problem stopped the car, but he was happy with his subsequent running.

He handed the car over to third driver Giedo van der Garde today, prior to Jarno Trulli’s debut with it on Friday.

“Actually the problem was not really with the car, once we fixed the heating issue with one of the electronic boxes underneath the bodywork,” said Kovalainen of Tuesday’s drama. We just couldn’t start the car, we had a strange starter issue. We fixed that overnight, and once we were able to start the car it went really well, we didn’t have an issue and were able to do some set-up changes, also working on the KERS all day.

“For me it was running really well. I was expecting some troubles, I had some experience in the past from McLaren, and I remember the early days there it was not easy to get it running, and Red Bull has provided a really good system.

“It was running faultlessly all day, and I was quickly back in the habit of using it, and we were just able to monitor different temperatures and see how the batteries are living their life underneath the car, and all fine.”

Kovalainen said that he already felt that the team was in better shape than last season.

“From what I’ve seen from the team we are better prepared than other years and the car is better prepared. Last year we were missing some parts in the suspension and we had some power steering issues, and now we had a complete car here and I was expecting to be able to this kind of day already yesterday.

“It’s been good that we’ve been able to do it and out some more miles on the car and hopefully pick up some more problems. Once we’ve fixed the second wave of problems then normally the car is reliable. Hopefully we can do that before Melbourne.”

Kovalainen also pronounced himself happy with the overall feel of the CT01: “For me the car has been very easy to set-up. It has a more stable rear end than last year’s car, which is something that I wasn’t expecting to be as good as last year, because we’ve lost the blown diffuser. I think the car actually has a better rear end in the high speed.

“The main issue is a little bit of a last turn-in to the slow corners, but we’re still running last year’s front wing, for example. We have a new one coming later on, and we’ll get some more power to the front of the car. That will make it quicker. And it seems that the rear end is working really well.

“Just looking the timesheets we’re closer than we’ve been before. We’ve done proper running, we haven’t done any show runs, so fingers crossed.”

Last night Michael Schumacher reported himself satisfied with his one and a half days of running in the Mercedes W02 at Jerez, and especially with the tyre knowledge the team has gained.

The German is confident that the decision to delay the debut of the new W03 until the second test – in effect giving the design team an extra 14 days – will pay dividends. However, he is cautious about the car’s potential, given where the team was last year.

“The main point is the reliability factor,” he said. “If a car has a certain performance, you’re going to dial that our reasonably quickly, unless you have unexpected circumstances, as we occasionally have in the past. We hope not to have this, we hope to learn our lesson, and our programme is done in a way that we believe in it.

“It is an important factor because we worked longer on our car, but as I’ve said before I don’t think we can realistically achieve a championship car immediately from where we started last year, we have to build our way there. I’m confident we can do that in the future, but let’s take it step by step.”

That of course begged the question of whether he will be around to reap the longer term benefits…

Schumacher said that the tyre testing with the old car had been valuable.

“We did lots of mileage, good mileage, not just cruising around. We made some very good work with the new tyres that we have to face for this year. And that was the main focus for us, understanding those tyres, use the old car as much as we know what is different between those cars, last year’s car and this year’s car, and trying to understand and work a programme that we’ve done perfectly well.”

He also implied that the tyre are now more suited to him: “They have changed quite a bit – they are lot more consistent, and a lot more close to let’s say a real F1 tyre, what you would expect, what you’d wish to have. It’s certainly for a race driver much better.”

HRT has finally confirmed that it will move to a new home in Madrid from May.

For its first two years the team has been based at the German facility of former team boss Colin Kolles, and more recently it had a temporary base in Valencia.

It has been looking for a permanent home in Spain, with financial considerations obviously a primary factor in the process. The team will now be based at the Complejo Deportivo Madrid Caja Mágica, a new business and exhibition complex.

Team boss Luis Perez Sala said: “We’ve been working hard for months and establishing our permanent headquarters was very important. Finding a space in which we could all work together was vital, in order to optimize work and generate a good team feeling, a sense of belonging.

“When the adaptation of the facilities is completed and every department starts working under the same roof in a few months, we will only have one step left to take, which is to have the design department in Madrid too. All this implies not only becoming a place to feel identified with and carry out activities for the team, its sponsors, suppliers and fans, but also an important reference in technology and R&D in the centre of Madrid.”

Felipe Massa says that Ferrari has put an extra focus on data gathering over the first two days of the Jerez test, given that the concept of the F2012 is such a big departure.

At times the car didn’t look comfortable on the track – leading some in the paddock to speculate that the Italian team is already up against it – but the Brazilian insists that the busy test programme has compromised any meaningful running.

“Actually it’s a lot of work, it’s a brand new car,” said Massa. “It’s not the car we had in the last years, even to start with, so it’s a car that needs a lot more, you need a lot more things to try as well. Today I did so many laps just trying such different things in the car, constant speed for aerodynamics.

“It was a programme to really understand every single point from the car in aerodynamics, in suspension, even in the set-up, on the chassis point of view, even on the tyres as well. I think it was so many things to do which was not the case in the past, even on the first day. So it was a day that we were so much concentrating on the little stuff, all the pieces that we need to understand.

“We have so many ideas, by trying out these different directions, different pieces, which was not the case in the past. At least it is important to understand every single thing from the car, and to try to build a complete package.

“In a new car you always have something you don’t see the result you expect, and some other parts you have even a different direction, so a new car is always like that. It’s just the beginning of a big job to have a consistent and competitive car.”

When it was suggested that the car looked difficult to drive, Massa said: “It’s a lot of work. As I said, we tried so many different things with the car, so many runs we go out with not everything in the car to do the lap time, just to collect data. It’s different than in the past, the programme is different, and it’s also more complicated for us because we tried so many things just looking for the performance of a piece in the car that we’re trying.”

Jenson Button was happy with the MP4-27's first day on a circuit

An upbeat Jenson Button says that McLaren had a good first day with its new MP4-27 at Jerez.

The car had already been shaken down by test driver Oliver Turvey with some aero testing on Saturday, but nevertheless the team still had a lot of work to do today.

This time last year the team already knew that it was in trouble with a car that was both slow and unreliable, and which was only improved when its complex exhaust system was scrapped before the first race.

2009 World Champion Button was not worried about being only eighth fastest on a day when overall times meant very little.

“It’s been a good day,” said Button. “This morning we did our installation, and all the systems checks, which probably took a little bit longer than I would have wished for. But apart from that, the running’s been good.

“Basically it’s just been running to get all the data in terms of aerodynamics, the downforce levels, temperatures, the feeling inside the cockpit. We did a 15-lap timed run, which was nice to get done today, a good starting point.

“There are no niggly areas with the car, which is nice, quite different to last year! I’m happy. As I said it’s still the starting point, and we didn’t do any set-up work today to improve the balance, and you’re never going to start off with a perfect car. Just putting some miles on it, really. I’m very happy in the car, I’m in a good position, I’m really low, which I always like.”

Button said he was especially pleased with the cockpit position: “I try to get as low as possible, with the way the car is. I can just about see out, which I love, I love that position. I’m well inside the car, I feel I’m part of it, and there are some promising times.

“But we don’t know where we stand, and we won’t know until the first race. The important thing for us is to get a good, clean day tomorrow, put some more miles on the car, find a direction with the car. We have so many different things to test that we’ve tried in the simulator already.”

Button said the car felt faster than he had anticipate, given the loss of diffuser blowing in 2012.

“One thing I must say is that I thought we would have a lot less grip than we do have on the first day. It seems that that’s the case for everyone. The times are obviously very quick round here this year, considering the regulation change. But even compared to the simulator I feel that the car is more together and it feels like a very good base.”

Raikkonen was the star attraction on the first day in Jerez

Kimi Raikkonen refused to read any significance into his performance today after he topped the time sheets in Jerez.

Raikkonen got up to speed by driving a two-year old Renault in Valencia recently, and also did some slow filming laps in the Lotus E20 yesterday.

He was fastest from the very start of the day as most teams focussed on systems checks with their brand new machines. Even allowing for that, it was a serious statement of intent from the 2007 World Champion.

“It was OK, we had a few small issues,” said Raikkonen. “It’s pretty normal with a new car, but nothing major, so that was a good thing. I have no idea what the others are doing, I don’t really care if they are first or we are fifth, it doesn’t really make any difference.

“As long as we can do what we want, that’s the main thing, and for sure there are still things to improve and to work on. I think it could have been much worse the first day, so I’m pretty happy with it.

“I don’t think it makes any difference, testing doesn’t give you anything. You try to do all the things that are necessary to get ready for the season, the times only count when there are racing. We did more or less what we were planning to do before we started the day.

“Like I said I have no idea what the others are doing. I’m not too interested in it right now. It feels OK to drive, it felt already OK after yesterday.”

Raikkonen said that overall, his first full day with the E20 was a positive experience: “You learn always, it’s a new car, first day, so if you didn’t learn anything about the car it would be funny. But like I said, it was a good start.

“It was the first time two weeks ago, it felt pretty normal straight away, no really big issues, and here it’s been the same story. I’ve been on this circuit many times and I know how it should feel.

“Right now we have no idea where we going to be, and I don’t think anyone knows where they’re going to be in the first race. There’s still a long way to go, so let’s wait and see.”

The Red Bull RB8 ran its first laps in the hands of Mark Webber at Jerez this morning, and after its debut technical director Adrian Newey had some interesting comments to make about the car.

He insists that it still has much in common with the RB5 of 2009, although over time the design has adapted to various rule changes. He also said that RBR lost more than most with the ban on exhaut blown diffusers.

“The principal challenge has been the restriction in the exhaust outlet position,” said Newey. “Coupled with the restriction on engine mapping, which really means we’ve lost the exhaust blown technology that we developed initially in 2010 and then took a further step last year.

“Certainly last year’s car was designed around that, we adopted that exhaust position in the wind tunnel in August and designed the car around it.

“Perhaps other people copied ours and therefore hadn’t designed their car around it. If you lose that, it stands to reason that you perhaps lose more than other people. Obviously the work over the winter has been to try and mitigate against that, but it’s a lost technology, it can’t simply be re-invented.”

Newey admits that the nose of the car is not as pleasing as he would have liked.

“That’s really a product of the regulation that has restricted the height of the nose, but not the height of the chassis. We’ve taken a high nose route, along with most of the field, and to satisfy that regulation we’ve ended up with an awkward looking step at the front. Those who pursued a lower nose in the first place have managed to maintain a smooth shape.”

Intriguingly he said that the car is not as steeply raked as its predecessor. Last year there was controversy over the way the front wing appeared to be closer to the ground than that of other cars. The lack of exhaust blowing has changed that.

“Yes, it certainly means that the very good rear downforce that we were able to enjoy at high rear ride height is massively compromised. So part of the work on this year’s car had to be reducing the rake from what we had last year.”

Asked by this writer about the RB8’s exhaust position, Newey played down the significance.

“I think in truth there’s not a lot to come out of exhausts. What often happens in those situations is you get a reasonable variety of different positions, because there’s not a lot to be gained from it. We’ve obviously launched in the position we’re in – other people are taking different routes. As I say I doubt if there’s a lot to be had from the various different positions that people are sporting.”

Newey also said that the hole at the top of the nose was “primarily for driver cooling.”

Mark Webber heads onto the track for the first time

Mark Webber gave the new RB8 its first installation lap shortly before noon at Jerez, some three hours after the session started.

Christian Horner told this blog that the team has been waiting for some parts to arrive. Another source said it had been an ‘exciting morning’ for the team…