Adam Cooper F1

Apparently the RBRs can't get up to 100km/h by this white line

In today’s FIA drivers’ briefing at Silverstone there was some discussion about the new pitlane and its entrance, with Sebastian Vettel repeating claims he’d made to the media that the tight righthander is dangerous.

Vettel was keen to see the pitlane speed limit kept at 60km/h for the race, rather than raised to 100km/h, as is the plan.

Christian Horner repeated those fears earlier today: “If it’s conditions like today, if the speed limit goes up to 100km/h I think it could be a tricky down there. Yeah, it’s part of the track, at the end of the day it’s the same for all teams and all drivers, but I think they probably need to have a look at whether we – because the pit lane tapers as well – remain with 100km/h, or whether it would actually be better to look at a 60km/h speed limit.”

Intriguingly it emerged during the briefing that Red Bull has other reasons to seek a reduction in the speed limit. The team’s pit is so close to the end of the pitlane that when they accelerate out of their pit box the drivers cannot get up to 100km/h before the end of the limited zone. And that means they will be at potential time disadvantage at every pit stop.

One source told me that Vettel claimed at the briefing that the RBR cars face a loss of 0.5s at each stop, although an apparently better informed Charlie Whiting told him he’d heard it was closer to 0.29s.

So far the FIA has no plans to cede to RBR’s request…

The blown diffuser sage took another twist today after the FIA issued a further directive on the matter during FP1.

As Charlie Whiting suggested in Valencia, the FIA has listened to the engine manufacturers and adjusted its original intention of allowing only 10% throttle gases when the driver is off the pedal.

Both Renault and Mercedes have been allowed concession on the basis that they ran their engines in a certain way in 2009, before the focus on blowing diffusers took off.

Christian Horner and Martin Whitmarsh are both adamant that the changes favour the rival engine manufacturer, with Red Bull gaining from cold blowing and McLaren from fired over run.

The pair became embroiled in a fascinating debate in a routine press conference this afternoon.

“It’s a very, very difficult job for the FIA to pick their way through this,” said Horner. “And in all fairness to them they have looked to be as fair, balanced and equitable as they decreed they would be through the technical directive to come up with the solutions that they have.

“We’re not totally happy with the solutions we have, that’s for sure, I’m sure Martin isn’t totally happy with his, and I’m sure there are a lot of conspiracy theories in the paddock that these are the reasons why Red Bull is performing or McLaren is performing or some cars aren’t performing. That’s just circumstantial at the end of the day. The fundamentals are that the engine manufacturers are being treated in a fair and equitable manner.”

Meanwhile Whitmarsh responded: “I think there’s been about six technical directives on the subject so far, and it’s moved around, and when the goalposts are moving partway through a practice session it makes it quite difficult. With the benefit of hindsight, it would have been better to make changes at year end, with which I think Christian will agree.

“To do this and do it in a fairly cloudy and ambiguous and changing way I think inevitably in a competitive environment every team feels it’s been hard done by. At the moment I think potentially lot of teams will end up making arguments to cold blow. Renault have been in that domain for some time, other teams haven’t, and don’t have that experience. We’re talking a very substantial performance benefit here.”

Whitmarsh says that adjustment of the rules should have been saved for next season.

“The intention people believed was that we were going to stop exhaust blowing when the driver didn’t have his foot on the throttle. I think that was the simple concept, but that concept has been deflected, and therefore, it hasn’t been clear. And the fact that these things were only coming out in the course of today is fairly extraordinary.

“I’m sure we’ll remain calm and pick our eay through, but I think it’s probably better to make changes to the regulations between seasons and not in-season, and also make changes to regulations which are clear and unambiguous.

“Clearly at the moment a lot of people are feeling emotional about the situation and I can understand why. It’s frustrating for the engineers not to know what is it we are allowed to do, because by cold blowing your getting 30-40 points of extra rear downforce in braking, and that’s quite an attractive thing. If you can do it then you’re going to do it.”

Sebastian Vettel says he’s not worried about being well down the order at a soggy Silverstone today, having been 13^th and 18^th in the two sessions.

“Forget the fastest time in the end, it was more a matter of staying out and using the conditions rather than being quick in general,” said Vettel. “I was quite happy with the car, with the balance we’ve had, even in these conditions. Surely we’re not at the top of the table, but on Friday that’s not the most important thing. Much more important is tomorrow and Sunday.”

Vettel admits it’s been impossible to learn anything about the impact of the exhaust rule changes.

“Today was very tricky to find out how big the influence is because the circuit was changing all the time. I think we’ll know a little bit more tomorrow.

“We still have the exhaust and the exhaust gases as an aerodynamic feature on the car, because we go on the power it still works, it’s not as if we lose everything. Surely the new regulations will have an impact, the question is whether it’s the same for everyone. Today we didn’t really see the effect, so we’ll have to wait for tomorrow.”

Ferrari has dropped Marlboro from its team name

Not many people have yet noticed that the oldest and most famous team in F1 has changed its name this weekend, as the news has not been officially announced.

For Silverstone and beyond Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has reverted to its traditional moniker of Scuderia Ferrari. It doesn’t make any difference to the logos on the cars, but the new name will appear on the official entry list, and things like signboards over the pit garage.

The move has been made in the light on ongoing pressure from anti-tobacco interests around the world, although the team maintains that it didn’t have to change.

“It’s our decision,” a team spokesman told this blog. “We already comply with all the rules in the UK and everywhere else.”

Dan sets out for an HRT track walk. Team mate Liuzzi will provide fashion advice

The GP debut of Daniel Ricciardo will be one of the big stories of this weekend at Silverstone, and while the Aussie will be at the tail end of the grid with Hispania, he is expected to graduate a front running team before too long.

Ricciardo has had some good preparation in the form of his eight Friday mornings with Toro Rosso, although he still has to learn about the HRT. He says his target is to finish.

“It was quite a big surprise,” he said. “I didn’t expect to be racing Formula One this year so it’s a huge opportunity for me and still a bit of a shock. But I am sure it will all be realised come Sunday.

“It is a huge opportunity to get a chance to race in Formula One. It is something I have dreamed of since I was a boy. For the race I think the first aim is to try to finish and just get the miles under my belt and the experience at this level of my career. That’s the most important thing.

“I’ve never done a race this long so physically and mentally to find out where I am, I think that is going to be good. If I can try and be competitive compared to Tonio, he is very experienced, and I am sure I can learn something from him so we will see how I go.”

Ricciardo admits he hasn’t had much time for any specific preparation for this weekend.

“I’ve been travelling a lot, now doing both championships so I can only do so much with the training at this stage but I think the race fitness is pretty good because I’ve done quite a bit of racing this year. So yeah, we will see how we go on Sunday but I feel ready for it.

“I’ve got an idea, being the reserve for Red Bull Racing last year and seeing how the boys handle the race weekend – Mark and Seb – and knowing what they do or knowing a little bit what they do outside of race weekends, I’m able to build up a bit of a programme for myself.

“I’ve only known a week ago that this was going to come – I can’t change the world in a week. I’d been preparing for it for a little while just in case I got the call, which I have. I’m sure I’m going to be alright.”

Fernando Alonso says Ferrari has to work harder to find more speed and get itself into a competitive position.

Although there have been flashes of performance in the past few races, the team has yet to win a race this year.

“We were not quick enough in Australia, then we faced some difficult races in Malaysia and China,” said the former champ at Silverstone. “Then we recovered a little bit in the last three, but obviously the gap in points with the leader is quite big, a hundred points or 99 or whatever. Obviously after eight races it’s not the best position or the position we wanted, but it’s the way it is. We need to work harder, we need to keep improving the car, because at the moment we’re not quick enough.”

Alonso admits that it’s not going to be easy for anyone to beat Vettel and Red Bull this year.

“I think we need to wait and see if either McLaren or Ferrari has a big improvement in the cars, and we are able to fight with Red Bull. I think their car in this part of the championship is too dominant. I think [after] eight races, we should take about eight wins for Sebastian with no mistakes – the mistake in Canada and China, [the team was] a little bit conservative. It’s a dominant position that maybe we don’t remember from maybe 2004, Michael’s time.

“It’s difficult to compete like this and it’s difficult to think about how to beat Vettel without a big improvement in our car or in McLaren’s car for Jenson and Lewis. Hopefully here in Silverstone we can see a turnaround of this situation in terms of performance, and we see. I think there is always the hope, there is always the motivation to win every race, but obviously we need a step forward.”

Alonso says he doesn’t know how the exhaust gases rule clarification will affect the pecking order: “We’ve done simulations of course, on some loss of downforce on braking. It will cost us some lap time, as everybody will suffer. We have no idea of which team will be more affected or less. We need to wait and see for Saturday probably, because tomorrow it will be difficult to have any conclusion. But on Saturday and Sunday hopefully we will see something more.”

Sebastian Vettel insists that he doesn’t know how big his advantage is over his rivals in the title race, and says he doesn’t want to be told what the gap is.

Vettel is 77 points clear of Jenson Button and Mark Webber, but seems to be the only person who hasn’t done the sums.

“To be honest I don’t really think about the gap,” he said today. “Generally I don’t want you to tell me now after my answer. I don’t even know the gap to – I think Jenson is second behind – because there is no importance leading the championship now, the most important time is after the last race. I think we learned that last year.

“Obviously we’re in a bit of a different position right now compared to last year, but still a very, very long way to go, and a lot of points to get. With the points system we run today, it might be tempting to feel pretty safe. So really I try to go race by race and step by step. The only thing I am focussing on at this stage is FP1 tomorrow, and not further ahead yet.”

Pressed on whether he genuinely didn’t know the position, Vettel was adamant.

“No I don’t know, so please don’t tell me. What does it help, what is the gain, what do I learn from it? Obviously I know that we are in the lead you [the media] keep telling me. It doesn’t really matter whether it’s one point or I don’t know, a hundred. There’s a long way to go and more points to get in the races we have in front of us than we’ve had already. It’s not even half time.

“Of course, there might be a temptation, but just look at last year, look what happened and how quickly things changed, how many people were fighting for the championship. People were excluded from the fight, and then all of a sudden they were back in.”

He did admit that last year he kept an eye on the points: “I knew better than this year. Because I was hunting…”

Vettel says he’s expecting a good battle with team mate Mark Webber, both drivers having won at Silverstone in the last two years.

“This is a fun track, I enjoy coming here, Mark enjoys coming here. He won last year, I won the year before. I had a puncture very early on last year as far as I remember. It’s a nice race, and it means a lot to us, as it’s the home Grand Prix for the team, being so close to here.

“Probably you have a lot of teams which claim it’s their home Grand Prix, and it’s special to all of us. It’s the same as every weekend, we try to do our best, and try to beat the other one. Nothing changes just because of the fact we are in Silverstone.”

Asked whether he might change his finger wagging victory celebration, Vettel said: “I don’t know what it is with everybody and the finger bit! Every single time I think it’s a bit different, there’s no, how do you say, choreography that I run through. It’s not as if I practice it before. To answer your question, no.”

Legendary motoring journalist Bill Boddy died in the early hours of this morning at the age of 98.

He was the longest serving working journalist in Britain. Remarkably he wrote his first article for Motor Sport magazine in 1930, and submitted his final stories to the same publication last week.

Boddy was editor of Motor Sport from 1936 until 1991, and continued to write a monthly column.

He was acknowledged as the foremost authority on Brooklands, having attended many meetings there in his youth.

McLaren has extended its deal with Gary Paffett into 2012. The Brit will continue to combine his role as test, development and reserve driver with his Mercedes DTM drive.

Paffett has been involved with the team since 2005, usually sharing duties with Pedro de la Rosa – other than in 2010, when the Spaniard went to Sauber.

“I’ve been a part of this team for more than five years, and it’s a place where I really feel happy and comfortable, and where I can confidently speak my mind,” said Paffett. “I’m proud that my contribution has enabled the team to remain a race and championship-winning force in Formula 1, and I truly believe that we’ll continue to grow and improve in the future.”

Martin Whitmarsh added: “Gary has become a vital part of our technical support and development team – both at the track and in the simulator. Both Gary and the team believes that this deal will underline his reputation as a strong development driver and a true team player.”

The news that Williams is reuniting with Renault indicates just how serious the team is about its plans to get back to the front of the grid as it restructures its technical leadership.

Here’s what boss Adam Parr had to say today in a Q&A issued by the team:

Q. Williams F1 have confirmed a return to Renault engines. How many years is the initial partnership for and what can you tell us about the terms of the agreement?
AP: This partnership is for the long-term. It will see Renault provide Williams with its championship-winning RS27 V8 engines for 2012 and 2013. Meanwhile we are already working on an extension for the new engine formula which arrives in 2014.

Q. Why did Williams F1 choose Renault?
AP: Renault is serious about success and so are we. They compete in Formula One because it’s at the cutting edge of developing technologies and because it is the pinnacle of motorsport. This is also why we compete in the sport and together we believe we can return AT&T Williams to our former competitiveness.

Q. How did the deal with Renault come about and what does this mean for Williams F1 as a business?
AP: For Williams, it has been a strategic priority to align ourselves with world-class automotive companies. Just two months ago we announced our partnership with Jaguar to create the C-X75 supercar together – a project that we both expect will lead onto a more general collaboration on high-performance road vehicles. Today, we have announced a partnership with Renault: they are not only making a Championship-winning engine, but they are independent, totally committed to Formula One and, of course, there is a resonance and heritage to Williams-Renault that creates a real buzz for both of us. So, in a short period we have signed two critical partnerships which will (literally and figuratively) power us forwards in coming years.

Q. How will the Renault announcement affect the development of the FW34?
AP: Of course, changing engines requires extra work, but with relatively stable regulations for 2012, the change gives us an extra opportunity for development. We have a very capable Design Office led by Ed Wood and they will be working with Renault’s technicians, who are some of the finest in the world. Development of the FW34 is progressing well and the timing is not going to be an issue for the team. This announcement also coincides well with the recruitment of Mike Coughlan, Jason Somerville and Mark Gillan to the technical team. Together with Ed Wood, we believe we have now the right technical leadership and engine to help us take the next step.

Q. AT&T Williams will be the fourth team that Renault supplies engines to. Is this a problem?
AP: Not at all. Given the massive investment that Renault has made in its V8 and will make in the V6, they need a decent group of teams to supply – remember that they do not have their own team and so linking up with a number of successful chassis makers is essential. In addition, the number of engines now used each season is very small. From over 200 per team a decade ago we are now down to about a tenth of that. From 2014 it may well drop by half again. Also with limited, single-car testing four teams gives Renault much more data for reliability and whatever development will be allowed in the future. Renault has always shown total integrity in offering parity to its partners and that is another essential factor for all of us.

Q. This new partnership means you will be ending your relationship with Cosworth. How will this affect the relationship with Cosworth for the remainder of the 2011 season?
AP: We had an understanding with Cosworth that continuing beyond this year was dependent on the longer-term prospects with the new engine. So, this was foreseen. Having said that, Cosworth is an excellent engine partner. We are enormously grateful to them for all the hard work they have put into our partnership and we know that they will continue to work tirelessly for the remainder of this year. Whilst the end of the season will be the end of our on-track relationship with Cosworth, we are looking forward to working closely with them on our Jaguar project and continuing our partnership in this way.

Q. The last Williams-Renault partnership (1989 – 1997) was one of the most successful periods in the team’s history. Therefore there is a lot of expectation following its revival. Does this put more pressure on the team to improve its performance on the racetrack?
AP: We constantly put pressure on ourselves to improve our performance regardless of expectations. We’re not satisfied with just finishing races or picking up a few points, our aim is to win and we want to put ourselves back in a position to do so. Clearly our performance at the moment is not where would like it to be, but we are doing all we can to rectify that and this partnership is another step in that process. This partnership is about the future. In a sense, it is about earning the right to inherit the past.

Q. Williams F1 has projects with Porsche, Jaguar Land Rover and now has a deal with Renault. Are there any plans to make a road car with Renault?
AP: Today’s announcement is about a Formula One engine partnership. Our venture with Jaguar is to produce a supercar but it does not preclude us from entering into arrangements that do not compete with the C-X75. Let’s see…

Q. Will this deal benefit the team sponsorship-wise?
AP: Absolutely. It will bring technical and commercial benefits for Williams and for those interested in being part of this amazing project. Who would not want to be part of it?