Adam Cooper F1

The FIA has listed 21 races on the 2012 F1 calendar, with Austin getting June 17 and Turkey provisional.

The FIA has issued the following justification for holding the Bahrain GP on October 30, claiming that the race will help to unite the people of the country.

It says that an FIA delegation visited the country last week, and seemingly the resulting report said that all was well.

Today Associated Press reported that police fired tear gas at protestors in a street demonstration.

The teams have made it clear recently that they were not in favour of a return to Bahrain 2011. A response from FOTA is expected soon.

There is still no firm date for the Indian GP, which has vacated its October 30 slot. However, the Delhi race will have to be on Dec 4 or 11. Those dates straddle the FIA end of year meetings and prizegiving, which are to be held in the same city.

“Following a fact-finding mission undertaken at the request of FIA President Jean Todt, FIA Vice President Carlos Gracia visited Bahrain on 31 May 2011 to assess the situation in the country. Meetings were conducted with the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Bahrain Motor Federation and Bahrain International Circuit, as well as other national and international organisations including Mr. Tariq Al Saffar at the National Institute of Human Rights.

“It should be noted that the recent announcement by the King of Bahrain has established a political dialogue and reconciliation process. After considering all the factors and taking into consideration all stakeholders’ concerns, the WMSC unanimously agreed to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.

“This decision reflects the spirit of reconciliation in Bahrain, which is evident from the strong support the race receives from the Government and all major parties in Bahrain, including the largest opposition group, all of whom endorse the Formula One Grand Prix and motor sport in the country.

“The WMSC feels that reinstating the Grand Prix is a means of helping to unite people as the country looks to move forward, and also recognises the commitment made by the Formula One teams, their employees and families, and personnel associated with the Championship including the local team of volunteers who are so vital to the event.

“The Bahrain Grand Prix will take place on 30 October, replacing the Indian Grand Prix, which will now become the final round of the 2011 Championship, combined with the FIA Annual General Assembly and Prize-Giving Gala.”

The BIC Chairman on the Monaco grid after a chat with Bernie

Although there has been no confirmation yet from the FIA the Bahrain circuit has announced that the race will be on in 2011.

As expected, the date will be October 30, although the official BIC statement, reproduced here, doesn’t specify it:

The head of the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) today welcomed the decision of the FIA (Federation Internationale de L’Automobile) World Motor Sport Council to reintroduce the Bahrain Grand Prix to the 2011 calendar.

The decision, announced by the FIA after the Council’s meeting in Barcelona, follows a FIA delegation visit to Bahrain to assess the situation in country this week.

Zayed R. Alzayani, Chairman of the BIC, said:  “This is welcome news for all of Bahrain. As a country we have faced a difficult time, but stability has returned; with businesses operating close to normal, the State of National Safety lifted and countries removing travel restrictions.

“Collectively, we are in the process of addressing issues of national and international concern, and learning lessons from the recent past. By the time the Grand Prix arrives we will be able to remind the world about Bahrain at its best.

“The Bahrain Grand Prix has always been a source of national pride and it is an event than transcends politics.   Not only does it receive strong support from the Government, but also from all major parties in Bahrain, including our largest opposition group, Al Wefaq, who yesterday endorsed both the BIC and motor-racing in Bahrain.

“Importantly, it will also offer a significant boost to the economy. The Grand Prix attracts 100,000 visitors, supports 3,000 jobs and generates around $500m of economic benefit.  Its positive effect will be felt throughout the country.

“On behalf of Bahrain, I would like to thank Bernie Ecclestone, Jean Todt and the FIA and the rest of the motorsport community for the support and understanding they have extended to us this year.”

Marussia Virgin is taking a new direction

Nick Wirth officially leaves his role as technical director of Marussia Virgin today, and speculation inevitably turns to what the team will do next.

Clearly there’s an alternative strategy in place, although the team is being a little coy thus far as to what form it might take. The key thing is that the change of direction has been made just about in time to allow the team to create a new car without Wirth for 2012.

As reported here last night, Wirth’s company WRT only does a limited amount of manufacturing. Most parts are made to WRT designs by third parties, and then delivered to the race team. And since the team owns the IP, drawings, patterns etc it can simply now deal direct with those suppliers, or seek out new ones.

Crucially Virgin also has access to the CFD computing power that was provided by sponsor CSC and installed at Wirth a few months ago, but which belongs to the team.

Thus if the team gathers together a group of freelance design staff – in much the same way as HRT has done – it can get a design office up and running and set those guys to work on the 2012 car. Consultant Pat Symonds no doubt has enough contacts to make that happen very quickly.

It’s pretty clear that the team will also use a wind tunnel, and given the terms of the RRA, it won’t then be able to use the full CFD power it now has at its disposal, since there has to be a trade-off.

That’s only a temporary solution of course, and longer term the team will need a proper base – and bearing in mind who is paying the bills, presumably one that doubles as an R&D facility for Marussia’s road cars. Leafield has been mentioned, but sources say that the former home of Arrows/Super Aguri is not the current plan.

Meanwhile team CEO Andy Webb hinted at where the team is going in a statement last night. Reproduced here in full, it fails to mention the name ‘Wirth’ at any stage:

“In November 2010, sports car manufacturer Marussia Motors acquired a significant shareholding in the Marussia Virgin Racing F1 Team, securing the Team’s future and underlining the marque’s long-term commitment to Formula One.

“Over the past six months, Marussia and the Board of Directors have undertaken a comprehensive review in order to ensure that Marussia Virgin Racing has the strongest platform, team of people and resources in place to achieve its long-term ambitions.

“Integral to this review has been an evaluation of the technical direction of Marussia Virgin Racing. Marussia’s goal remains to be in a position to be able to challenge for a podium finish at the inaugural Russian Grand Prix in Sochi 2014. With this in mind, it is readily apparent that the Team must take major steps in order to accelerate its rate of improvement.

“Consequently, the decision has been taken that the Team will take greater control of its own destiny. Accordingly, having consulted fully with our existing technical partner during the course of the past few weeks, we have been obliged to terminate our relationship with them.

“Looking ahead, we will now be pursuing an alternative technical path and look forward to announcing our plans in more detail over the coming weeks. Most importantly, I believe that the steps we are taking in terms of our technical leadership and operational excellence will provide us with the robust foundation required to go on and achieve our performance objectives in the years ahead. These are bold but positive steps that will enable us to move forward with confidence.

“At this stage I would like to underline our continued commitment to a cost-efficient commercial model. We maintain our absolute belief in CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) as a technology, especially since it continues to become more cost-effective with every year. Naturally, we will continue to use every means at our disposal to improve the aerodynamics of our car with immediate effect.

“At this time of year it is commonplace for all teams to start looking ahead to the following racing year, whilst continuing to develop the existing car for the remaining races of the current season. The upgrades we have planned for the summer races are now passing from the design phase to the production stage and more and more of our focus is turning to 2012.

“In light of our long-term plans we will continue to aggressively pursue this strategy, but as next year’s regulations contain few changes we hope that some of the development work aimed at the MVR-03 may also find its way onto the current car.”

Virgin has endured a poor start to the 2011 season

Marussia Virgin has parted company with Nick Wirth in the light of the team’s poor start to the season.

Wirth will leave his role as technical director and the team has also terminated its three-year deal with WR Technology, or WRT, the company that provides it with technical and design services.

The news comes in the wake of a board meeting in Monaco where team consultant Pat Symonds – whose involvement with Virgin was first revealed by this blog some months ago – gave a frank assessment of the team’s current position.

WRT increased its CFD computing power in March, thanks to Virgin partner CSC, and Wirth insisted that he be judged on the updates that first came on stream in Turkey. However they failed to produce an upturn in form, and inevitably there was pressure in the camp for change.

The divorce is complicated by the fact that Wirth has a shareholding in the team, and is not just a contractor.

Wirth himself was not in Monaco for the crunch meeting. One source confirmed that he would not have participated anyway in his role as director due a conflict of interest, as he was the meeting’s subject.

Symonds, who is still under an FIA ban from a frontline role in F1 until the end of 2012, made a low-key visit to Monaco. However this blog did catch up with him and he confirmed that he was excited to be back in the sport with a new and ambitious team.

Virgin has not yet revealed what its immediate plans might be. It’s believed that WRT will continue to supply parts, which are mostly made by third parties, for a few weeks.

The team owns all the IP and drawings, and is free to deal direct with suppliers. It can also reclaim the CSC computing power and continue to utilise it, so getting through this season and creating a 2012 car from scratch might not be as daunting a task as it may at first seem.

It’s understood that longer term Marussia may have more ambitious plans to create a proper technical facility.

Meanwhile Wirth’s dream of proving the value of an all-CFD F1 project appears to have come to an end.

Speaking to this blog at the start of the season Wirth said: “We’re here to succeed. Because we’re used to winning in other forms of racing, we’re not comfortable where we are, and we’re very, very motivated to move forward. We’re executing the plan.

“I don’t enjoy not winning, so it’s not been that pleasurable, and there were a lot of aspects of last year that I’d rather didn’t happen. But I love a challenge and this team loves a challenge. We’ve got one in front of us this year, like we had last year. It will be different this year, but we’ll do our best to rise to it.”

Regarding the 2011 car, he said: “The plan was survival, the plan was to build a reliable car for the beginning of this year, the plan was to up our aero development for the first major upgrade. So far we’re executing that. It’s pretty scary to see how fast the top teams have gone. We’ve just got to knuckle down and develop the car and see where we get to.

“We were looking for reliability and performance. Because the project for 2011 was officially greenlit quite late, in September, the number one focus over the winter and the directive from the board and our new partners Marussia was let’s make sure the first part of the season the car is reliable. We also had a plan to improve the performance of the car.”

Lewis and Jenson follow the Supercup race! And how did JB get the new one?

There is good news this week for anyone going to the British GP, as FanVision has confirmed that its new G3 device will be on sale at Silverstone.

If you don’t yet know the FanVision name, you will probably already have come across it under its old identity of Kangaroo. Over the past few seasons the company has been providing a fantastic service via what it calls its “trackside companion live-handheld broadcast device,” which is basically a mini TV screen on which you can see the regular F1 broadcast, along with multiple options for onboard cameras and a myriad of timing and data screens.

Just as important is the audio, and at Silverstone you’ll have a choice of the regular track commentary or the superb BBC5Live feed with David Croft, Anthony Davidson and Natalie Pinkham, plus Ted Kravitz joining in for free practice, and the occasional words of wisdom from Eddie Jordan.

This year the ‘Classic’ FanVision G2 device has been joined by the new G3 model. The G2 is available for rent at Silverstone for £60 for the weekend. At the moment, the G3 is only available for sale. Buying one makes sense if you are going to a few races this season – the price of £218 includes three ‘activation’ fees, and then of course you can use it again next year.

Those prices are apparently online rates, so it’s well worth booking in advance, not least because stock runs out fast.

What makes the G3 special is its larger screen with the positions showing alongside the picture. Among the new features is the same GPS car position map used by the FIA and the teams – really handy for seeing who is where, especially in qualifying.

I was lucky enough to borrow one of the original ‘Classic’ machines when Kangaroo came on the scene a few years ago. I was hooked, so having enjoyed a free one in the first season, I’ve happily – OK, reluctantly! – parted with my hard earned cash for a season rental since then. This year especially, with complex four pit stop strategies, it’s been well worth it.

You can find everything you need at: http://f1.fanvision.com/

And here's a better look at the new G3 courtesy of Jenson

This angle might not suggest it but the FIA thinks 20m can be gained

The FIA is set to create more run off area at the Monaco chicane by removing the crane that normally sits there, this blog can reveal.

The barrier hit by Sergio Perez has been moved back since the Karl Wendlinger and Jenson Button accidents. The limiting factor until now has been the presence of the crane, which is parked before a row of trees.

It’s hoped that without the crane the barrier can be moved back to the trees and an extra 20 metres of space can be gained. The TV camera position, currently in front of the crane, would be moved to the trees.

While the Automobile Club de Monaco is keen to have its crane in place the FIA’s argument is that any incident that occurs there in practice or qualifying is in any case likely to be big enough to trigger a red flag, while incidents in the race would lead to a safety car.

The FIA even considered removing the crane on Saturday night after the Perez accident, but relocating the barriers proved too complex a task to perform in the time available.

And this is what the drivers see at the moment. A bit tight...

Hamilton had a fraught weekend in Monaco

Lewis Hamilton has used Twitter to apologise to Felipe Massa and Pastor Maldonado, and thank his fans for their support.

Lewis sent a series of four messages tonight in his trademark shorthand style:

“Hey guys. I wanted to apologise 4 last weekends performance & also my comments after, I never meant to offend no1.”

“I would also like to say thank u 2 everyone on here, 4 their positive messages & also 2 the angry messages. I can respect them both.”

“2 Massa & Maldonado, with the greatest respect I apologise if I offended u. Both of u r fantastic drivers who I regard highly.”

“2 my fans lost & my fans won, I wish u nothing but love & happiness. God Bless u. Onwards & upwards, Montreal next. Lewis”

Following yesterday’s race Hamilton apologised to the stewards after being called to see them in the light of his controversial BBC interview.

The McLaren mechanics rush to fix Hamilton's wing before the restart

Sergio Perez was released from hospital in Monaco today after being kept in for observation for two nights.

Meanwhile sources have confirmed to this blog that the FIA accident data recorder on the Sauber logged a lateral impact of 80G, believed to be the highest seen in F1 since the system was introduced. His helmet showed no external markings, while the headrest foam did its job.

“I feel okay,” said Perez. “I have little bit of pain in my leg and in my neck, but this comes from muscles and is nothing to worry about. On Sunday I still felt a bit dizzy, but that is all. Thank God I’m healthy and I’m looking forward to being back in the car soon.

“They treated me very well in the hospital. I want to thank the staff for this, and also want to thank everyone else who was worrying about me – the people from the team who came to see me and other visitors as well.

“My family has also been with me. I want to say thank you for all the messages I received. I’m very grateful for all the support and feel sorry for not having replied to all of the messages. There were so many and my phone very quickly ran out of battery.”

Perez says he has only hazy memories of what happened.

“I remember how I started Q3 and I also remember some of the accident. For the time being I am missing some memories about what happened after the first impact and the rescue procedures. I don’t really know what caused the accident. My race engineer told me there was no problem with the car. I can only guess that I might have been a bit offline or braked on a bump.”

Perez expects to be driving in Canada, but first he will have to be passed fit by the FIA.

McLaren says that Lewis Hamilton has apologised to the FIA Stewards for his controversial remarks after the Monaco GP.

The move will have gone some way to heading off any future action for bringing the sport into disrepute.

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh, who left the paddock soon after the race, was quoted in a team press release as follows: “Immediately after the race he was very down, and during a post-race TV interview he made a poor joke about his penalties that referenced Ali G. However, I’m pleased to say that he chose to return to the track a little while later to speak to the stewards about the joke. They accepted his explanation.”

Meanwhile the full transcript of Hamilton’s conversation with the BBC’s Lee McKenzie is as follows:

Q: Lewis, a pretty eventful day and I imagine a disappointing day for you. Have you just been at the stewards?  What’s the latest?

LH: “Hey, you know what? I’ve been to the stewards, out of six races I’ve been to the stewards five times. It’s a joke. It’s an absolute frickin’ joke.”

Q: You’re obviously very aggrieved. Describe in your eyes what happened with Massa, and at the end there with Maldonado.

LH: “You know, you can’t overtake here and very, very rarely do you ever get an opportunity. I was quite a lot quicker than Massa. I went up the inside and the guy turned so early and just, turned into me. And I tried to go over the kerb to avoid him and we’re stuck together, and so, I mean, it was just… And of course I get the penalty, which is usual.  He held me up in qualifying and I got the penalty. He turned into me and I got the penalty. And then I went up the inside of Maldonado, and you can see on the screen he turned in a good car length too early to stop me from overtaking him and crashed into me. I mean, it’s just ridiculous. These drivers are absolutely frickin’ ridiculous. It’s stupid.”

Q: Why do you think you’re magnetic to the stewards? You obviously feel that you’re being targeted.

LH: “Maybe it’s ‘cos I’m black. [laughs] That’s what Ali G says!  I don’t know.”

Q: Just explain how much this is hurting your championship. Is it hurting your confidence as a driver?

LH: “No, it’s not affecting my confidence as a driver, I just think the sport is.. You know, people want to see motor racing, want to see overtaking, and you get done for trying to overtake. You get done trying to put on a show. You get done trying to make a move. And fair play, if I, if I really feel that I’ve just gone too late and hit someone, I put my hand up and realise ‘OK, I really have caused an incident and I’ve been the stupid one.’ But it’s not the case.”

Q: What are the next steps? Do you speak to Bernie, do you speak to the FIA or do you carry on as you want to?

LH: “Umm, I just try and keep my mouth shut, and enjoy the rest of the season, which I’m sure is going to be an interesting one. But, as you can see, he’s walking away with it.”

Q: Do you feel it’s too late for your championship now?

LH: “I don’t know, it’s never too late, it’s never too. But it’s not looking great, I must say, but I gave it my all today, and the team did a great job to get the car back out and to get it fixed for the last few laps, and I really have to apologise to the fans for, what I think is a bit of a shambles of an experience that they saw probably with me but I’ll try my best to bounce back for the next race.”

Q: Sorry I’m going to have go to another negative, what happened in the pit stop? You came in and the team didn’t seem ready at one point.

LH: “They said ‘box to overtake,’ I came in, and they weren’t there. Simple as that.”

Q: All in all, a day to forget?

LH: “The whole weekend I would say! But we have these weekends, and I think it’s character testing. Or at least that’s what people say, whether it’s right or wrong. You’ve just got to suck it in. I’m going to go and chill, and try and enjoy the rest of the weather and do some jet-skiing and try not to get myself in any more trouble.”