Adam Cooper F1

Ferrari has reacted quickly to the threat of legal action from Ford by renaming its 2011 car as the ‘F150th Italia.’

The name emerged on the Ferrari website today in a routine story about progress with the car at the Jerez test, while Ferrari also republished its January 25th story – where the F150 name was first announced – exactly as before, but with the new name in place. Other stories have been rewritten as recent history is revised in Orwellian fashion.

The original test story read: “The first day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro got off on the right foot at the Cheste circuit, near Valencia. Before the lunch break, Fernando Alonso completed just over two hundred kilometres at the wheel of the Ferrari F150th Italia.”

There has been no further explanation thus far.

Yesterday Ford launched a legal action in Detroit over the use of a name that the American giant has used since 1975.

Ford and Ferrari are on a collision course...

To no one’s great surprise Ford has taken legal action in Detroit against Ferrari for using the F150 name on its new car.

It seems that nobody in Maranello had noticed that one of the world’s biggest vehicle manufacturers had been using the designation for its most popular truck since 1975.

Ford is particularly irate over the existence of the http://www.ferrariF150.com website, and has accused the Italian company of cybersquatting and trademark infringement, according to paperwork filed in US District Court in Detroit.

The court case appears to relate mainly to Ferrari’s use of and potential earnings from the F150 name in the USA, and given that there is no GP in the country, that might be hard to determine. Apparently Ford contacted Ferrari about the matter but did not get a ‘timely’ reply.

A statement from Ford tonight said: “F-150® is an established and important Ford trademark and the name of the best-seller in Ford’s F-Series, America’s best-selling trucks for 34 years and best-selling vehicles for 29 years. Through extensive sales and advertising and exclusive use, Ford has earned invaluable goodwill in the F-150® trademark. That hard-won goodwill is seriously threatened by Ferrari’s adoption of “F150.”

“When Ferrari announced the name of its race car as “F150,” Ford asked Ferrari to change the name. Ferrari did not respond in a timely manner, leaving Ford no choice but to take legal action to protect its important brand and trademark rights.”

Lotus Renault GP has confirmed that Nick Heidfeld and Bruno Senna will drive the R31 in Jerez this week, after Vitaly Petrov has done the first two days in the car.

The team says that the German is a candidate for the seat, and while he now looks highly likely to get the job, there’s no guarantee that Renault doesn’t have other options.

A short statement from the team tonight said: “Vitaly will drive the R31 on Thursday and Friday, as originally scheduled. For Saturday and Sunday, the team will give mileage to Bruno Senna and will also evaluate Nick Heidfeld, who is a potential replacement for Robert Kubica as a race driver. The exact running order for the weekend will be confirmed on Friday

Given the fact that he is free of any contractual obligations, Heidfeld is an obvious candidate for the job. His CV includes a pole, eight second places, and four thirds. Last year he did some early testing for Pirelli and did the last few races for Sauber after Pedro de la Rosa  was dropped. He was also Kubica’s BMW team mate.

Lotus Renault GP chairman Gerard Lopez visited Robert Kubica today, and reported that the Pole is making good progress.

Inevitably the Genii boss was asked about who might drive the car in Kubica’s place, and not surprisingly he stressed that the team needed a driver with experience who can win the World Championship.

“From what I learned from doctors, the postoperative course is going well,” Lopez told IVG. “The situation is more rosy than expected, but we were very frightened by this accident.

“I can say I am more comfortable and confident now that I met him. Robert is a great loss that forces us to revise our plans. Now we need to employ all our energies to support the team. This is clearly a difficult time.

“We have to get all the strength to overcome this moment. We cannot yet know if and when Robert will be back on track. So we must exercise caution and await the evolution of his condition. But I can say that Robert has a very strong character and he wants to return as soon as possible to compete.

“If Robert’s recovery will be long and he will not return this season we will rely on a driver with experience. The fate of our season will depend on the new driver. Of course, we must see what happens with the tests we’re going to do. Without Robert it’s difficult to predict. Obviously, we’ll bet on a runner capable of winning the championship.”

Bruno Senna looks set to drive at Jerez this week. Kimi Raikkonen’s name is still cropping up, but his participation in the Swedish rally this week means that his focus is elsewhere and he’s certainly not going to show up for the Jerez test. Nevertheless until he goes public with a ‘no’, he has to be on the top of the team’s list. Of those who raced in 2010 and are not contracted to a team, Nick Heidfeld remains the logical choice.

More information on the upcoming Williams IPO emerged today. Shares will be launched in Frankfurt in Euros at a price range of €24 to €29. Given the number of shares for sale and the fact that they comprise 27.39% of the total, the mid-point of that values the business at €265m.

Although he is not named officially, the bulk of the shares up for grabs come from Patrick Head, who intends to retain a small stake even after the sale.

Today’s release from the financial PR company working with Williams trumpets the business as follows:

IPO positions Williams F1 for the future, providing a more sustainable ownership structure that will support its growth as an independent constructor

Offering follows three years of profits and a net cash position of £24.8m as at year-end 2010

Sponsorship is fully secured for 2011, complemented by stable commercial rights income.

Group has two businesses, Formula One and New Businesses, led by Williams Hybrid Power (WHP)

Growth to come through ability to unlock value of intellectual property and world class technology

No new capital being raised – existing shareholders selling down part of shareholding in order to allow investor participation
IPO increases ability to attract and retain key talent through share ownership

Public company status and standards viewed positively by sponsorship partners

Unique opportunity to invest in global sporting brand and leverage success of F1 business

The release goes on to say: “Williams is financially strong – the Group has been profitable for the last three years, has solid cash reserves, and its 2011 budget is already fully contracted.

“In addition to the overall growth of the sport, Williams’ long-term growth is driven by its ability to unlock the value of its brand, extensive IP and world class technology. The Group has a significant R&D business which is currently developing energy-saving applications and green technology. Already, Williams is working with companies like Porsche and Sainsbury’s to transfer its technology for everyday use.”

Meanwhile Frank Williams is quoted as saying: “This IPO marks a new era in the history of our team. Our future as an independent constructor is sustained by this listing, providing us the base from which to further grow.”

Chairman Adam Parr adds: “We have spent the past few years working to ensure a long-term future for the sport. Having accomplished this, the time is now right to assure Williams’ own future as an independent constructor, in this rapidly evolving industry.”

Even Bernie Ecclestone – who one could speculate may have reservations about details of FOM earnings emerging in the accounts of a listed company – has added his support: “I have known Frank Williams for more than 40 years. He has always run a very efficient organisation. He has never wanted to be taken over by either a car manufacturer or a large company. He has supported Formula One in many ways most of his life, as has Patrick Head. We want more Franks and Patricks. If I could buy shares in the Company I would.”

The new Force India has been overseen by Andy Green

The new Force India VJM04 is being revealed this afternoon on the team’s website.

The car is the first from the team to overseen by technical director Andrew Green, who 20 years ago was Gary Anderson’s right hand man on the Jordan 191, and has since enjoyed spells at BAR and RBR. He rejoined the team last year, initially as engineering director.

As before the car has a McLaren gearbox. The team has changed its aero philosophy over the winter in an attempt to address issues it had last year – including poor performance on high downforce tracks relative to high speed venues.

Among the novelties are a blade style rollhoop arrangement, similar to that used by Lotus. The extreme version tried by Mercedes last year has been outlawed.

“Everything is different, but visually a lot of it is subtle,” says Green. “The most obvious visual change is that we’ve gone away from a conventional roll-hoop to a blade. This gives us a small packaging improvement compared to a more conventional style. The engine cover is different, in-line with the abolition of the F-duct system. But there are a lot of differences under the skin that people won’t necessarily notice.

“We’ve recovered a lot of the aerodynamic performance, we believe. We still have a little bit to go, but we are still in the process of the realignment after the end of last season, because it does take a long time to move aerodynamically from one position to another. The movable wing is a whole new game, and we’ll be trying to exploit its performance to the max.

“We’ve also put in a lot of work trying to maximise the potential performance of the new Pirelli tyre compounds. To this end we’ve recruited a new senior tyre engineer, Jun Matsusaki, to guide us through the development process. The test we recently conducted in Valencia was a good learning exercise.

“Exhaust management will also be a big area of development this year.  There will be an upgrade for the first race, so there are some changes that will come into effect at the Bahrain test. Further down the line there are some big updates for the front of the car coming in for the first European race.”

Green says that the team has also gone back to basics by taking a close look at the fundamentals of last year’s package.

“Towards the end of last season there was a drop-off in our relative performance,’ says Green. ‘In theory we were adding performance to the car, but it wasn’t getting translated to the track. We decided to have a very close look at what was happening on the car, and what could be causing this. The bottom line is we didn’t extract the most from the blown diffuser, thus over the winter we’ve taken a reasonable philosophy chance on the aerodynamics of the car in order to try and prevent the sort of drop-off in performance that we saw at the end of last year.

“Looking back over the years the cars we have produced here have always struggled at the high downforce tracks – they always been ‘slippery’ cars. We’ve identified a problem, and now we have to fix it, and it means that potentially there’s another strategic aero change coming as well.”

The 2009 car was designed to utilise the Mercedes system and the team ran it in testing, although it was never raced.

“The Mercedes KERS system looks very strong, and we’re really happy with it. We’ve done a lot of running in the simulator, so the drivers are well up to speed with how to use it. We’re well developed with what we have to do for harvesting and deployment. It’s smaller and lighter than in 2009, and packaging required very few vehicle compromises.

“There are some big developments in the pipeline, probably bigger than this team has seen for quite a while. I think we’re looking for a much stronger finish to the season, and we do recognise the fact that there’s an Indian GP on the calendar, and we are an Indian team. The plan is to be putting stronger performance on the car through the year that will lift us up the ranks.”

Lotus Renault issued the following update today:

“Today, Robert’s general condition has once again improved. According to the doctors, the levels of inflammation are in the norm considering his medical condition, and the recovery of his forearm remains encouraging.

“Yesterday, Robert was able to talk to his doctors and relatives. His medication makes him sleep quite a lot, but he is responding to all external stimulation. He has reacted well to the news about his condition and is ready to fight for his comeback.

“On Thursday, Robert should undergo some more surgery in order to stabilise the fractures to his right shoulder and right foot. Three or four days later, another operation will allow his elbow fracture to be stabilised as well.

“Robert will remain at the Santa Corona Hospital for two to three weeks. A decision will then be taken about where he should go in order to continue his rehabilitation.”

Eric Boullier and Vitaly Petrov visited Kubica today.

“We were about a quarter of an hour with Robert: we joked and we found it very well,” Boullier told Il Vostro Giornale. “Of course he immediately wanted to know the team schedules for this season. Meanwhile, we will search for the replacement of Kubica. The names at stake are those of the Senna, Liuzzi and Heidfield. The team is close to Robert, we are waiting with open arms and hope he can return by the end of the season.”

Meanwhile a computer simulation of the crash has popped up on the web:

HRT has gone for a dramatic livery for the F111

At the recent Valencia test Colin Kolles showed me some pics of HRT’s new livery on his Blackberry, and a week later the team has issued them to the world.

The new F111 has been designed in the UK by a team under Geoff Willis and Paul White, and uses a tub built by CarboTech, the Austrian company that has made chassis for Toro Rosso in the recent past, and is also involved with the McLaren road car. HRT hopes to have it ready to run by the Bahrain test.

The car features a dramatic livery designed by Daniel Simon, who has worked for some leading manufacturers and is now working on Hollywood movies. The pics are also the first formal confirmation that Narain Karthikeyan’s personal backer Tata will also be seen on the car.

Kolles says: “The F111 represents a significant step forward for Hispania Racing. We have made a big improvement for starting our second season in Formula 1 and what you see in our new car confirms Hispania Racing´s commitment to F1.

“Daniel has created a wonderfully confident look for our new car which really captures the effort the whole team has put into developing the F111. The car design and the graphic design perfectly complement one another and mark the real beginnings of our ambitions.”

In case you were wondering, the team says the new livery “brings together racing spirit and commercial reality, blending the dual requirements in a seamless, but attractive manner, which reflects the motivated vibe of the Hispania Racing team.”

Simon himself added: “I miss fearless visual statements and large beautiful numbers on today´s racing cars. Playing with the restrictions of what you can do to a complex F1 body is fun. There are many don’ts, but I found a way to lay courageous racing essence on the car.”

A prize to the first person to spot the courageous racing essence! Seriously though, it’s a good effort by HRT. At least it will get noticed…

The new Virgin certainly looks like a step forward

Marussia Virgin’s new MVR02 was unveiled at the BBC Studios in London this morning, in front of an audience that included fans of the team.

Not surprisingly the team hopes that it will be a major step forward compared to its predecessor, which suffered from the limited time available for its design.

This year the team has a revised identity, thanks the high profile presence of new shareholders Marussia.

“We had a tough but incredibly rewarding baptism into Formula One last season and I am extremely proud that we proved ourselves to be more than equal to the challenge,” said team boss John Booth. “We are also very proud to be competing as Marussia Virgin Racing in 2011 and we look forward to rewarding the faith that Marussia demonstrated in the team when it made such a significant investment at the end of last year.

“2011 is all about moving forward and starting to achieve solid results. We have a very exciting driver line-up in Timo Glock and Jérôme d’Ambrosio.  Timo did an exceptional job in difficult circumstances last season and contributed a great deal to the car’s development and that of our racing team. We will certainly benefit from the continuity that Timo brings. He has been working very hard over the winter and is in top physical and mental shape for our second season together.

“We are also delighted to welcome Jerome in his debut season of Formula One competition. He did an excellent job during his evaluation period towards the end of last season and he demonstrated in testing last week that he clearly has the bit between his teeth. He is a very exciting young talent and we are enjoying seeing his clear potential unfold with each outing in the car.”

“The MVR-02 is a clear step forward in every area and a credit to all the hard work that has gone into our car development programme over the past 12 months. We are delighted to be working with our engine supplier Cosworth for a second season of collaboration. Despite the freeze on engine development they have been working hard on reliability and performance optimisation over the winter and we fully expect a continuation of the success they enjoyed in their return to the sport in 2010. The sport has the added challenge of a new tyre supplier in Pirelli but we have made good progress with tailoring our mechanical package to suit the new PZero tyres in the group tests in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2010 and in Valencia last week.

“Generally, we have every reason to believe that 2011 will be a very exciting and positive experience for our team.”

Technical director Nick Wirth said: “We were extremely pleased to have proved our digital design process in Formula One last season and to have demonstrated that it is possible to compete at the highest level of motor sport with a car designed wholly in computer simulation. Having said that, we faced a very steep learning curve and experienced some tough lessons, which we have applied to our design programme for 2011.

“We have addressed every single issue that troubled us last year, but in our own unique digital way.  For example, the hydraulics and gearbox oil problems of last year have resulted in us doing more CFD in these areas alone than we used in the entire aero design program our first digital race-winning sportscar in 2008. In Abu Dhabi we took the opportunity to prove out these digital improvements by successfully track-testing a number of systems for the MVR-02. So we start 2011 as we mean to go on – rather more ahead of the game – by going testing in Jerez this week with many parts already proven on the race track, or by an upgraded and more comprehensive rig-test program.

“In terms of sheer CFD throughput, the number of configurations that our new processes have allowed us to test for the MVR-02 is a giant step forward from the VR-01, and we are looking forward to further improvements here as we finally begin to benefit from the new Supercomputer that our partners CSC have provided for 2011.

“I am confident that we have made real progress with the MVR-02, producing a car with considerably more aerodynamic efficiency than the VR-01 despite the regulation changes, and having made significant gains in terms of overall quality. It provides a good basis for development over the course of the season, and I’m very sure we’ll be able to keep up the impressive rate of aero development that we’ve had since the beginning of the MVR-02 project.

“We also have the added challenge of a new tyre supplier in Pirelli and this helps level the playing field as the teams’ experience of the PZero tyres will be limited to only two days of testing in Abu Dhabi and 2011 pre-season testing in Spain and Bahrain.  Wirth Research has nearly four years of real-time driver simulator development experience now, and our ability to produce very realistic thermal tyre models in-house has been of great benefit. We were very encouraged by the positive feedback both drivers have given our simulator group on their recent developments in this crucial area.

“As ever, the competitive level of this first iteration of the MVR-02 will only be revealed in qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix next month, but in the meantime we look forward to what we hope will be a positive track debut for the MVR-02 in Jerez this week.”

Robert Kubica’s manager Daniele Morelli has been able to talk to the Pole this morning, following his lengthy operation last night.

Kubica was kept in an articially induced coma overnight.

“I finally talked and Robert has been shown to understand everything perfectly,” he was quoted as saying in the Italian media. “His mental capacities are intact and we are extremely relieved. This really leaves us hope. Obviously he feels a lot of pain in his leg and hand. It will take time. “