Adam Cooper F1

Kimi Raikkonen speaks here about his comeback with LRGP, and insists that he is fully motivated for 2012.

He looks pretty happy about it too…

LRGP confirmed this morning that Kimi Raikkonen has signed a two-year deal with the team. The outfit that is set to change its name to Team Lotus thus has a World Champion on its hands.

The news was not unexpected after negotiations moved rapidly when Kimi’s talks with Williams broke down and it became clear that Robert Kubica was out of the frame for the start of the season.

It remains to be seen who will partner the 2007 champion. Vitaly Petrov has a contract while both Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean are on standby. Against the odds there has also been contact with Adrian Sutil, despite the German’s issue with Eric Lux earlier in the year.

When he went to the WRC Kimi had ambitions to return with Red Bull Racing – something he openly admitted to this writer last year – but Mark Webber’s ongoing contract extensions put a stop that.

“I never really lost the passion in racing in F1, but maybe all the other things around it,” he said Raikkonen in a video interview. “But I did some NASCAR races this year in the States and I started to miss more and more the racing side, to race against each other, because in rallying it’s against the clock, really. That’s what I was missing.

“Then I got the call from certain people in Formula 1 and then also sorts of things happened and then in the end we managed to have a nice conversation with Lotus Renault, and ended up making a deal with them. So I’m very happy with that.

“There were two options. It was this team or Williams, and in the end everything worked out with Lotus Renault GP as we wanted, so that’s really the reason.”

Kimi insisted that there was no problem with his motivation: “I wouldn’t come back if I wouldn’t be motivated. There is always a lot of talk about the motivation, but nobody really knows what I do or what I think, apart from myself, so I don’t really care about what people say.

“I wouldn’t put my name in a contract if I wouldn’t think I would enjoy it. It will be interesting. It will be exciting to get back.”

Raikkonen said he would feel more at home in F1 after struggling to come to terms with the WRC.

“It’s been really nice in the last few years, trying to learn it. It’s been easier this year than it was last year, but still it’s a very difficult. But I’m really looking forward to coming back, at least F1 is something that I know how everything works.

“I’ve been there for many years. When I went to rallying I didn’t really know what would happen, and when I went to NASCAR I had no clue how it would be. In that way it should be much, much easier to come back. It should be pretty normal.”

Team boss Gerard Lopez added: “All year long, we kept saying that our team was at the start of a brand new cycle. Backstage we’ve been working hard to build the foundations of a successful structure and to ensure that we would soon be able to fight at the highest level. Kimi’s decision to come back to Formula 1 with us is the first step of several announcements which should turn us into an even more serious contender in the future.

“Of course, we are all looking forward to working with a world champion. On behalf of our staff, I’d like to welcome Kimi to Enstone, a setting that has always been known for its human approach to Formula 1.”

Red Bull motor sport chief Helmut Marko insists that no decisions have yet been made on who will drive for Toro Rosso next year, and says that the options will be discussed next month.

The team has four candidates, with Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne both vying to replace the current drivers.

Theories about what might happen range from Sebastian Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari both staying to – at the other extreme – both being booted out.

The bottom line is that the main purpose of STR is to develop a driver who can replace Mark Webber at RBR in 2013, should he finally take the retirement route.

It’s no secret that Ricciardo and Vergne are generally regarded as the better long term prospects, but there remains a possibility that Red Bull could find seats for one or both elsewhere, as it did with the Australian at HRT this year. Caterham has been mentioned as a possible home, on the basis that Jarno Trulli will be invited to retire.

“It’s a luxury problem, and I’m sure we’ll find a solution,” Marko told this writer. “We will analyse it. There’s no need for next year, we are talking about 2013, so we have time, and all four of them can prove something.

“We have a meeting in Salzburg later in December, and then we go through all the possibilities.”

Asked about how he rated the seasons of Buemi and Alguersuari, Marko said: “I would say they both improved from mid-season onwards, unfortunately Buemi had more technical issues. But still, we are not looking for a good F1 driver, we are looking for a top F1 driver.”

The last comment doesn’t sound like an endorsement of the current line-up…

Meanwhile Christian Horner made it clear that he’d like to see Daniel Ricciardo continue to gather racing miles in 2012.

“I think that Daniel has done a good job in the races that he’s had, so we need to look at the opportunities and options that are available,” said Horner. “I’m sure in the run-up to Christmas we’ll conclude on what his programme will be for next year.

“He’s learned for sure in the races he’s done, obviously it’s in difficult circumstances, in a car that is a long way off the pace. But he’s still been learning, he’s been up against a competitive team mate. I think he’s acquitted himself well. It will be nice to see him in a Grand Prix seat next year.”

Asked by this writer what influence he had on STR choices, Horner said: “Toro Rosso discussions are between Toro Rosso and Dietrich [Mateschitz], but obviously we have a vested interest in terms of the young drivers coming through.

“We’ve got four guys in the programme, in Buemi, Alguersuari Daniel and Jean-Eric, they’re four strong drivers, and I think for Red Bull it’s a healthy situation to have a pool of talented youngsters.”

The future of the US GP in Austin should become clearer this week, as Bernie Ecclestone has set a deadline of Wednesday for COTA to conclude its deal to run the race.

Such an eventuality seems unlikely given that COTA doesn’t like the new contract that Ecclestone has offered (after the original held by Tavo Hellmund was cancelled), and has returned its own version to the F1 boss – with a predictable response.

Ecclestone is not confident in COTA’s ability to pay for the race over the long term, especially after the $25m sanctioning fee promised by Texas State Comptroller Susan Combs in May 2010 has not been forthcoming.

This blog sat down with Bernie in Brazil for a chat about the situation.

Q: What’s the deadline for Austin?

“The 30^th [of November].”

Q: So if the money’s in the bank by then?

“What’s more important than money in the bank is we want security for the future, so we’ve tried to help them with that. We want a letter of credit up front before every race.”

Q: So even if they get the first $25m you want the next few years guaranteed…

“We want to know that next time it’s going to happen again. We’re changing the calendar a lot to accommodate these people, and if suddenly they’re not there, we’re in trouble.”

Q: Is it fair to say that you wouldn’t have given them the deal without that $25m promised by the state?

“It’s not just the $25m, that’s a small part of it, it’s the whole package. Everybody else seems to be happy and comply. I think the problem is a simple one, they never had the money. It’s simple.”

Q: Tavo told you he had the state money, and you got a letter from Susan Combs promising you the state would pay…

“We don’t have to deal with… We deal with the promoter and that was Tavo, and it’s up to him to respect the contract. He didn’t, couldn’t, and we terminated the contract.”

Q: Was it purely that money wasn’t paid, or were there other things he didn’t do?

“Yeah, lots of things. I’ve spent more time with these people and these races in the States than anybody else. India’s come and gone and other places have come and gone, and we’re still messing around.”

Q: Normally you are dealing with governments, but while they can be a pain, they do get the job done…

“Absolutely. I expect people to do what they say they’re going to do, which is what I do.”

Q: Were you disappointed with Tavo? Obviously he wouldn’t have got in the door if you didn’t know him already.

“I was disappointed insofar as he had what he thought were partners that could finance the business and wouldn’t let him down. Really, they let him down and they’re trying to steal from him, get him out of it, and do the whole thing themselves.”

Q: Was he a bit out of his depth?

“He was a bit out of his depth in relying on trusting people.”

Q: Personally, you don’t have a problem with him now?

“With him, not at all, not in any shape or form.”

Q: Bobby Epstein is saying that when you cancelled Tavo’s contract, the one you offered COTA was different. Is that right?

“Correct. Different insofar as their deal with Tavo, knowing that they were going to be the people bankrolling him, and knowing what happened to them, we don’t feel that they are as reliable as they should be.”

Q: So you want the guarantees that you’re talking about?

“They have a contract, which if they want to sign it, they’re OK, and if they don’t, it’s OK as well.”

Q: They put out a release saying they sent a revised contract to you. It’s not normally your style to sign contracts people send back to you…

“They’re not in a position to do that. Well they are and they have, but we are not interested.”

Q: If it doesn’t happen, will you juggle other races around?

“It’s probably a bit late now. This what these people don’t understand, they’re sitting there on their own, thinking about their race, buying something that they can’t afford, thinking the world is going to change for them. Which it isn’t.”

Q: You could move Abu Dhabi for example, which is now back to back with India.

“We could do, we’ll have to have a look. But I think the India/Abu Dhabi back-to-back is good anyway, the teams like that.”

Q: What’s happening with Korea?

“We’re tidying up bits and pieces, trying to help them.”

Q: So that’s looking good for next year?

“Yeah, yeah. The trouble is they got rid of the guy who in my opinion they shouldn’t have got rid of. He knew what he was doing. They put somebody in who’s brand new, and brand new to motor sport as well, and has had to learn a little bit. He’s had a few surprises.”

Q: So would you say Korea is 95% or better or worse?

“Well, we have a contract with them, I hope it’s 100%. We’re just trying to help them.”

Q: You’ve said that you don’t have any problems with Bahrain, but it’s clear that there are still problems.

“If they’re prepared to put the race on, we’ll be there racing, for sure. Obviously something was wrong. But I’m not so sure if we’d have gone this year we would have had problems anyway. I was happy to go.”

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali is confident that the Italian outfit will make a big step forward in 2012 after a difficult season that brought just one win.

The team made it clear some time ago that it has to be more aggressive with its new car, and Domenicali insists that the targets he has set can be met.

“That’s what I want, that’s what I hope, and considering the persons that are around in the factory, that’s what I believe will happen next year,” he said after yesterday’s Brazilian GP.

“The only thing I can say is we’ve put down targets that are very, very aggressive. It seems that we are working around these targets, but as always we need to wait and see what the others are doing, we need to wait and see what the cars will be at the first qualifying session in Australia. But all the conditions of a good job are there, so I’m very confident that we will do a good job.”

Asked to sum up his team’s season, Domenicali said: “We didn’t perform as we wanted, and this is for sure the basic that we need to improve all around. For sure Fernando did a fantastic season, so I cannot say anything on that. On the other hand I know that for Felipe it was a difficult season, but he knows that he count on all the team, and we have to make sure that he will have a good car, and then it’s up to him to show how good he is.

“We rely on him because he’s part of our group and our family. We are pretty sure that next year also in that respect we will have a pretty good couple of drivers.”

Meanwhile he denied that there was a chance that Robert Kubica – rumoured to be of interest for Ferrari for 2013 – will get a chance to drive the simulator.

“No, not really. If you remember we’ve been speaking about drivers for Ferrari since January of last year. I think that maybe next week we’ll come back to the Valentino Rossi position! So, no.”

Marussia Virgin confirmed tonight the expected news that GP2 racer Charles Pic will join the team in 2012.

The Frenchman will be Timo Glock’s third rookie team mate in three years, after Lucas Di Grassi and Jerome D’Ambrosio. Pic finished fourth in this year’s GP2 series, with two wins to his name, and took part in the recent young driver test in Abu Dhabi. He is looked after by former F1 driver Olivier Panis.

“As a driver you always feel you are ready for the next opportunity but in Abu Dhabi last week it was a tough test,” said Pic. “The team gave me some fantastic opportunities to learn new things but I also knew that I had to impress them and show them I was ready to do a good job. I was pleased with my performance, and obviously the team were too, so a very good start but this is just the beginning and I know that a lot of hard work is ahead of me to reward this chance.

“I like the team a lot; we worked well together in the test and I feel very comfortable. They want to do things the right way and I can see that there is a lot of determination to succeed, so it is very special for me to be part of that. I’m looking forward to working hard in every area over the winter to ensure I am ready for the start of testing and my first Grand Prix.”

“We naturally keep a close eye on the junior formulae and Charles is certainly someone we have been watching over the past few years,” said team boss John Booth. “The real barometer however was our Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi last week, where we put him through a series of tough tests to thoroughly evaluate his potential.

“This was his first time in a Formula One car so it should have been quite daunting, however Charles was extremely focused on what needed to be done and absolutely rose to the challenge. He continued to improve in every area but his race simulation work particularly caught our eye.

“Winter testing will be upon us before we know it, so it is actually a relatively short space of time ahead with a lot for Charles to get used to, but he is an extremely determined young guy and he worked very well with the team last week. He has an extremely mature head on young shoulders, so I have no doubt that he will be working very hard over the winter to prepare for his debut season.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jérôme D’Ambrosio for his hard work and important contribution to our team over the past 12 months or more. He has an exciting future to look forward to I’m sure and we wish him every success.”

D’Ambrosio, who was backed by Genii this year, may struggle to find another F1 opportunity.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says he can’t believe that Sebastian Vettel was able to bring his car home in second place in Brazil after his gearbox lost most of its oil.

Vettel had problems from as early as the fifth lap, and yet having adjusted his driving was able to nurse it to the flag.

“From as early as lap five we could see the gearbox oil level starting to drop, and the early predictions were it might get to half distance,” said Horner. “We monitored it for a couple of laps and could see a consistent pattern. We informed Sebastian and then started to try and manage the problem by him adjusting his driving style.

“At that point he had a commanding lead. Mark caught him, Sebastian radioed and said I’ll let him through at Turn One, which obviously he did, which then released Mark to get on with his race, whilst we focussed on trying to manage the problem.

“Despite running a gear taller in each corner and trying to reduce the amount of shifts, his pace was still very strong. Then it was a matter of managing the gap to Fernando and then Jenson. There must be zero oil left in that gearbox because it literally went off the scale in those last five laps! We were glued to the data and the screen just to see if it was going to make it to the end.

“It was a very mature and measured drive with strong communication from his engineering team to help him nurse it to the end.”

Horner had no time for the inevitable suggestions that the problem was not genuine, and designed to help Webber end the year with a win.

“Anybody that listened to the conversation between the race engineer or looked in the back of the garage at the amount of activity that was going on over that gearbox – of course there will always be people that have theories, but categorically that gearbox, how on earth it got to the end of the race is beyond me. Thankfully it did.

“If anyone thinks that was concocted in any way, I can absolutely hand on heart guarantee you that based on the blood pressure on the pit wall you can rest assured it was a genuine issue.”

Tony Fernandes has confirmed that his road car and racing interests will henceforth come under the umbrella of the Caterham Group, run by CEO Riad Asmat.

Technology and composites arms have been added to the mix, and will be based in Norfolk, while the race teams are moving to a new location – expected to be officially revealed soon as Leafield, former home of Arrows.

It’s all a bit complicated, so let Fernandes explain it himself…

“We have been talking for some time now about our plans for Caterham in all its guises, from the road car company to Formula 1 and GP2, and in the technology, design and innovation fields.

“Under Riad’s guidance, there are currently four main areas of the business, and we will be adding more in the future. I will go into more detail about each arm of the Group, but in simple terms we have Caterham Cars, Caterham F1 Team and other motor racing investments including our GP2 team Caterham Racing, Caterham Technology and Innovation (CTI) and Caterham Composites.

“Caterham F1 Team is the new and permanent incarnation of our Formula One investment. On and off track we continue to invest in people, infrastructure and technology and 2012 is a critical year in our development.

“Underneath the F1 team sits Caterham Racing, the new name for our GP2 team, and then we have our driver development programme that encompasses various motor racing formulae from karting, GP3, World Series by Renault and right up to F1 – a staircase of talent that gives opportunities for drivers, engineers, mechanics and all the associated skill-sets across the motorsport industry the chance to learn, develop and reach the top.

“This is also complimented by the various Caterham Cars racing series, currently with approximately 700 cars competing in series around the world and now given a new impetus by the direct links to the F1 team and all our associated motor racing interests.

“Then we have CTI – Caterham Technology and Innovation. We launched CTI in September and they are working closely with Caterham Cars on the development of a completely new line of accessible and affordable sportscars inspired by the lightweight, minimalist philosophy of the Seven, as well as drawing on the advanced technologies and materials from the Group’s Formula One and Caterham  Racing GP2 motorsport operations.

“In addition to the next generation of Caterham Cars, CTI will undertake advanced projects for external companies operating within the automotive and aerospace sectors, including a current project looking at a radical new in-flight entertainment system.”

“Completing the Group is the newly formed business Caterham Composites. Mike Gascoyne will combine his role as CTO of Caterham F1 Team with that of CEO of Caterham Composites and will head up a company specialising in the composites industry.

“They are already working on projects across the aerospace, nautical, motorsport and roadcar industries and will work closely with all our associated companies to provide their market-leading experience in the composites field to complete the Group’s interests.

“With those four arms in place, and more to be announced in due course, we have a dynamic group of businesses already working together that gives a clear vision of what our long-term strategy is in their respective fields, and as one entity under Caterham Group.

“The group will be based across a number of centres of excellence – Caterham Cars, Caterham F1 Team and our motorsport interests will be based in one location that we are close to announcing, and our technology and composites interests will be based in Norfolk.

“With those plans now complete we have the foundations in place for long-term growth and success, and now we are in complete control of our own destiny. We have a very exciting future ahead of us and are all looking forward to seeing the rewards of our hard work pay off for many years to come.”

Ferrari technical director Pat Fry says that changes in the way the Italian team works have already paid dividends.

Ferrari has made no secret of its desire to be more aggressive with its 2012 car, and Fry made some interesting observations about the way the team has operated.

“I think we have learned a lot from this year and I have had to learn how the team works once I joined it,” said Fry. “Within our team, there are certain things that work very well, and others that have not. At the moment we are trying to concentrate on those areas that need improving.

“We have made some changes in the aerodynamic department, and I feel that has been successful, as the work we are doing is more creative than before. Now we must see if we can deliver the goods, but as always we will not know exactly how successful we have been until the cars roll out in Melbourne next year.”

Intriguingly Fry said that in the past Ferrari technical people have been too afraid to take risks.

“It has been important to create a working environment where people feel prepared to take more risks without worrying about what the fallout would be if something they try goes wrong.

“For an F1 car to be quick, everything in design terms has to be on the edge, and if you are too conservative, you end up with a package that is slow. So you must push to the limit, and there will be times when we go over it. But people should not be afraid of that. We have to be sensible and take risks where there is a big benefit in lap time performance, but not take silly risks.

“I think we are always going to be looking for new elements in terms of restructuring, even if I am quite happy with the way most of the organisation is working and responding. There are still some small areas that need sorting out, and we will be doing that in the future. What I admire everyone for at Ferrari is their work ethic, and just how hard they work.

“Now we need to get everyone working together as one. If we can do that, we should be in good shape. As far as the new car is concerned, hopefully everything is in place to deliver a car for the first winter test and then be in a position to upgrade it for the third test. We need to provide both drivers with a better car for 2012.”

Fernando Alonso has qualified in his customary 2011 fifth place in Interlagos, and the Ferrari driver is hoping that a wet race will give him a chance to record another podium finish at a track where he has yet to win.

“The Mercedes looked very quick and it was a threat for us, and in fact Rosberg qualified in front of Felipe,” said Alonso. “In Q3 we were looking more at the McLarens, we were one tenth off the McLarens and looking at the mirror to see which one was sixth. Overall, same position as always, and we have quite a good feeling.”

Alonso says he’s looking forward to rain on Sunday, but admits that it’s impossible to second guess form.

“I think it will be more interesting for the people to watch. No one knows how competitive the cars will be in the race in wet conditions, so we’ll see. I think we have to do a good race, a good start, good pit stop strategy, and we’ll see what is the final position.

“We have no big worries, the championships are over, so the rain is only welcome for the show. If it’s good or it’s bad for our team, we will discover tomorrow. Either of the cases, we will enjoy the race.”

Alonso admits that the track has been good to him: “It’s a fantastic place to race, great memories for me. I finished more times here on the podium than any other circuit, six times. I never won here but I prefer to take the championship here and not win races, that will be a good combination if in the future, if it happens.”