Adam Cooper F1

Sebastian Vettel was giving very little away when quizzed on the Turkey collision today.

The German, clearly very keen to put the accident behind him, did not want to dwell on who was to blame, or express any regret for his actions.

“What happened, happened,” said Vettel. “There’s not much more to say. You can look at it from many different angles. I think you can’t change it now. Looking back I wouldn’t have done anything differently. Obviously what happened was bad for both of us, for the team especially, because we made quite some presents to McLaren in particular.”

Asked if he blamed Webber, Vettel said: “I didn’t say that did I? If you look from the outside… If you look at how much time there was from when I was close enough to the accident, it’s not that you have hours to think about it, with the speed about 310km/h, things happens so quickly that being 20cms more left more right whatsoever can make a lot of difference.”

He denied that he had made an aggressive move to the right.

“If you look at my onboard, I don’t see any aggressive movement. I did what I did and it didn’t work. You want to know what I did? I was close enough, I made the move, in F1 it’s not that easy to get close enough, so I got in the tow and went on the left, dived on the inside. Obviously there was not a lot of room for me on the inside, it was just one car width, which was fine. And then obviously I had the tow, so the overspeed, so I was passing, was more than half a car ahead, and then tried slowly to come back to the right. Then I spun.

“To be honest F1 is not about yesterday, it’s about tomorrow, so I don’t want to spend much time talking about what happened. There has been so many things in the press about engine turning down, turning up, whatsoever, being this and that. And most of it is not true.

“But the most important thing is we carry on, we have to move on. There is the next race here so two difficult races for us probably. But I’m confident, I mean so far we’ve see that our car works pretty well on all types of circuits, no matter the characteristics. So it should be good here as well. Let’s see.

“If you look, all four cars, Mark and myself, Lewis and Jenson, were in similar pace. I think it was quite exceptional to have a race for 40 laps within three or four seconds. Nobody was a second faster than anybody else. At that time I felt that I could do quicker, as I said got close enough, tried to pass, and it didn’t work.”

Asked if he would treat Webber differently now on track, Vettel said: “To cut a long story short, what happened, happened. Obviously it looks extremely stupid when it happens amongst team mates, so as I said I’ve talked to him, and I think we’re both fine with the situation. If it happens again then it looks very stupid. I think it will not happen.”

This chassis mock-up is the only evidence of progress at US F1

The US F1 dream finally ends today when the contents of the factory go up for auction in Charlotte at 0930 local time.

The list of lots reveals just how much equipment the team had bought, and which represents a considerable investment. Items include everything from office chairs and wastebins to a truck along with some state-of-the-art machinery.

However there is virtually nothing that relates directly to the car apart from a chassis mock-up, a chassis mould, and a single wheel.

The most unusual items are paintings of Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti, a barbecue, and an apparently unused bottle of champagne…

http://www.bidspotter.com/forms/imagegallery.php?gallery=10981&page=1

Ferrari has caught the F1 paddock by surprise by announcing that it has added two more years to Felipe Massa’s contract, which means the Brazilian will be on board until 2012.

Robert Kubica has be linked with the team for some months, but the news means that there won’t be an opening for the Pole or anyone else for some time to come.

Ferrari usually announces driver decisions late in the season, but clearly this time there has been an effort to provide Massa with a comfort zone after a difficult start to the year.

“I am happy to be given the opportunity to drive for Ferrari for a further two seasons,” said Felipe in a team statement. “Throughout my entire Formula 1 career, I have always raced with an engine made in Maranello and it is a matter of pride for me to be able to continue working with a team that I regard as a second family.”

Team boss Stefano Domenicali said: “Felipe has been part of Ferrari for almost a decade and together with us, he has grown as a driver and as a man, going through some very difficult times as well as giving us moments of great happiness. We wanted to show proof of stability for the future, believing in the worth of a driver pairing that is without equal in terms of talent, speed and its ability to work together for the good of the team.”

Red Bull has confirmed that Mark Webber has extended his contract and will stay with the team in 2011. The news comes hot on the heels of the Istanbul controversy and will go some way to calming things down.

Over the winter Webber had been rumoured to be contemplating retirement, and it was widely believed that Kimi Raikkonen had a deal in place to take over the seat, should he want to return to F1 in 2011. However Christian Horner recently denied that there was any such arrangement.

“It was an easy decision to remain with Red Bull Racing,” said Webber in a statement. “We began talking very early this year and were in a position to sign by the Barcelona Grand Prix. The decision to extend for a further year was a mutual one; it’s widely know that I’m not interested in hanging around in Formula One just for the sake of it and at this stage of my career, I’m happy to take one year at a time. I continue to feel very comfortable here – I have a fantastic relationship with the whole team and the factory at Milton Keynes feels like home.

“It’s been incredible to be part of the team as it’s moved forward from a mid-field competitor to one that is challenging for the Championship. I hope we experience more success together in the future and achieve our ultimate goal of winning the World Championship.”

Horner said: “The decision to retain Mark was very straightforward. He is an important member of our team and is currently in the best form of his career, as the current leader of the Drivers’ Championship. The team is extremely happy that the driver pairing of Mark and Sebastian will remain unchanged for a third season in 2011.”

Button looks chilled before the start in Istanbul

Jenson Button says that he’s enjoying life at McLaren and especially the role he’s having in helping the team to progress.

Speaking in a Q&A on his website, he said how much he enjoyed last weekend’s Turkish GP, and the scrap with Lewis Hamilton that could so easily have ended the same way as the Red Bull battle. He also praised his team mate for being fair. The mood in the camp would seem to be very different from that at RBR.

“It was a great race, yeah,” said Button of Turkey. “It was very satisfying to have the performance to take the race to the Red Bulls, and to have been able to put pressure on them in the way we did. The last laps were fun too, proper racing, but fun, and fair. It was great to be able to race with Lewis, it’s actually the first time in our careers that we’ve actually been able to do that, and he’s a very fair guy on the track.

“It was tricky in those closing laps, because we knew we were pretty marginal on fuel, but the team lets us race and that’s exactly what we did. Lewis and I had a good scrap, and I want to congratulate him again for his win, it was a great drive.”

Button said he was pleased with the way the car performed in the race.

“I was, but we know that there’s still a way to go to beat the Red Bulls on sheer pace. But while that’s important, it’s not a target that we’re continually aiming at. We know they’re quick, but it’s more important for us right now to focus on what we’re doing, and make sure we’re absolutely performing at the limit.

“So that means we’re looking at improving every area; whether that’s reliability, performance, strategy, pitstops or operations, there’s a constant rate of improvement in every area of the team and that won’t stop.”

He says he”s impressed by the way that the team is building up some momentum.

“I’ve been in teams before where we’ve perhaps started the season strongly, or we’ve had a bit of a performance improvement towards the end of the season, but I’m really overwhelmed by how much this team can just keep developing.

“It’s incredibly exciting to be a part of, because it’s a different side to my role as a racing driver it’s not just about getting in and driving every two weeks, but it’s great to be part of the process that helps to test, refine and approve the new components we bring to the track each week. The feeling of contributing is incredible, and very rewarding.

“And you just can’t believe how hungry this team is: when I joined back in January, I was really struck by just how much we were pushing ahead of the launch, then during testing. But we’re now into an incredibly tough series of races, and we’re still bringing these huge new development parts to the track, and we’re bringing enough parts for both Lewis and myself it’s awesome.

“It makes you realise why Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is so strong  – there’s just no let-up. I’ve never known a team be so hungry to go racing. And, like I say, it’s just great to be part of.

“Qualifying pace is still something that we’re not entirely satisfied with, but we’re pleased that we do appear to have closed the gap to Red Bull. Certainly, if you look at our relative pace in Barcelona, and compare it with Istanbul, then we do seem to be closer. We’re not there yet, but we think we’ve got a good package for Canada, and we’re working hard to bring a series of larger improvements to the car later on in the summer.”

Hamilton and Button join the celebrations in Turkey

Lewis Hamilton has made it clear that his win in Turkey was the start of a push by McLaren that could see it take the World Championship fight to the end of the season.

Speaking in a Q&A issued on his website, he praised the way McLaren has kept up momentum in the development race so far this year.

“I can’t keep the smile off my face – we are absolutely on it!,” he said. “Last year, you saw what we could do when we came from behind – we started the season at the back of the grid, but we were back at the front halfway through the year, and were still able to win two races. This team is just an incredible development machine – it never stops. We live and breathe racing, and we are just churning out new parts, working harder than I’ve ever seen the team work to try and help us win these world championships.

“I think it’s something that has really surprised Jenson – but in a good way; just the intensity and determination with which we push forward.  I think the result in Turkey was the perfect motivation we needed, and I know the whole factory is working flat-out to bring forward the new parts.  We go to Canada feeling pretty highly motivated, and I can just sense there’s a momentum building within the team – I felt the same feeling in 2008, and I know that we can achieve great things together over the next six months, so it’s all good.”

Hamilton says it’s no co-incidence that he and Jenson were able to have an amicable fight on the track in Turkey.

“Firstly, I’ve known Jenson for a very long time, and I think we have a lot of respect for each other, and what we’ve achieved as drivers. We’re both world champions, so we have a certain amount of pressure removed from our shoulders too. And I’ve really got to know Jenson well over the past six months. We’ve been working hard, we’ve spent a lot of time together, at the circuit and at events arranged by Vodafone and our other partners – it’s funny, but I think that, because we’ve spent a lot of downtime together during filming days or appearances, that we’ve actually got to know each other better than if, say, we’d only been working together at the track.

“He brings a lot of positive energy to the race weekends, and he’s made our team stronger, so these are all positives. But look, I think it’s inevitable that we’ll be battling again on the track sooner or later. There are 12 races left, and I’d be surprised if we weren’t racing each other again at some point soon. Of course, we’ll both work hard to make it’s fair, but our eyes are open to the fact that it will happen again – and, actually, I think that’ll be cool, because he’s a good guy to race with.”

He also said that his first win of the year meant a lot: “Looking back on the weekend, it was such a great achievement for the team and for me to finally get a win this year. I have been working hard all year for that win, so for the opportunity to finally arrive I felt it was a blessing. It felt good. I felt strong all weekend and knew I could challenge the Red Bulls and I did. So it was wicked.

“The team did a solid job as they always do throughout the weekend and without their continued hard work – both on and off the track – we would not be in the position we are to compete with the Red Bulls. So for this I am extremely grateful and I want to congratulate them on our success. It was almost 10 races since I had won a race, but it’s all good. I think most drivers would be happy with that. For some its 20, 50 or 100, so I remain grateful to be in the position I am. I have no doubt at all that with this approach we can win more races this year.”

Kubica looks relaxed before the start in Turkey

Amid all the hoopla over Red Bull several interesting performances went largely unnoticed in Turkey, among them that of Robert Kubica.

The Pole finished sixth, which was nothing too exciting after his second place Monaco. However he insists that he was much faster than the Mercedes duo of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, who finished ahead of him. 

Alas a disappointing qualifying performance meant that he started behind them and was stuck behind Rosberg all afternoon, eventually finishing right on the tail of the two silver cars.

Intriguingly although Kubica set the fourth fastest lap of the race, all those ahead – Vitaly Petrov, Mark Webber and Jaime Alguersuari – set their best times after stopping an extra time and taking on new tyres.

“Pacewise we were very strong,” he said. “A much better feeling than in qualifying. And unfortunately we started behind the Mercedes, and I think they were slightly slower than us, because I could keep up the pace easy behind Rosberg and Michael.

“Always when you are behind you are losing a bit of downforce, so I think we were quicker than them. But we started behind them, and unfortunately we didn’t gain positions.”

Kubica had hoped that an early stop would get him past the Mercs. He came in on lap 13, followed by Schumacher a lap later, and then Rosberg.

“I did a very good lap after my pit stop, but unfortunately I don’t think my pit stop was the fastest one. I think Mercedes again did very good pit stops. Actually I was really expecting to overtake Rosberg, because my out lap was really quick, around 1.2s quicker than our pace before the pit stop. Unfortunately he came right in front of me.”

Kubica says he’s looking forward to Montreal, where he crashed in 2007 but won a year later. However, he’s going to have to wait a while for some decent updates.

“Coming back to Canada where I won two years ago, I enjoy a lot driving there. Unfortunately we were planning a very big upgrade there, which will not come. So we have to wait another Grand Prix to get a really big step, and we hope this step will bring us to the top.”

Horner had a lot of explaining to do after the race

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner insists that the difference in fuel mixture settings did not a play a major role in precipitating the collision between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.

While acknowledging that Webber had been asked by his engineer to turn his engine down, Horner says that the performance disadvantage for the Aussie was not enough on its own to have helped Vettel draw alongside. He says that the German just got a better run out of the previous corner.

He also revealed that when Vettel caught up with Webber – having gained 0.4s in the previous two laps – Webber asked the team for him to back off.

Speaking to this blog this week, Horner said: “I just don’t think that a difference in fuel modes, unless you are completely in the proverbial, is big enough. The revs stay the same, the mixtures change slightly, so we’re not talking much over a lap time. Renault quote a delta of 0.2s, but quite often we don’t even see that, the drivers just tend to go quicker and quicker even when we’re turning the revs back.

“Sebastian must have had an excellent exit out of Turn 9 to have got into the position he was in half way up the straight, because it wasn’t even like it was approaching the braking zone.”

Horner says that the fact that he had Hamilton close behind him spurred Vettel on.

“Sebastian was in a situation where he had to keep pushing, because he was under pressure, and he found himself in a position to make a move. He made a move, and it obviously all went wrong from there, which was hugely disappointing.

“Obviously it’s very frustrating for the team to see both drivers go out of the race at that point, it’s the one thing that we’ve always made clear is give each other enough room, if one is alongside, concede and fight back at the next corner. On so many occasions they’ve done that very well. Unfortunately for whatever reason that didn’t happen on Sunday.

“But we win as a team, we lose as a team, and we’ll confront these issues like any other issue and move on. I don’t expect it to be dwelt on.”

For more exclusive insight from Christian Horner, and my detailed analysis of how the race unfolded between the two drivers, see the features section of http://www.autosport.com.

Force India has confirmed that it has instigated civil proceedings against Lotus Racing’s parent companies, Mike Gascoyne, and wind tunnel facility Aerolab, claiming that the new team benefited from its intellectual property.

It’s also claimed that Lotus used Force India’s scaled down wind tunnel tyres. That issue is more important than it might at first appear because the provision of such tyres by Bridgestone is a key element of every team’s contract with the Japanese company.

The team’s statement reads as follows: “The Force India F1 Team confirms it has instigated UK civil proceedings against 1Malaysia Racing Team SDN BHD (a Malaysian company), 1Malaysia Racing Team (UK) Limited (Lotus Racing’s parent companies), Michael Gascoyne and Aerolab SRL. Force India also confirms that a complaint for disclosure of confidential information was filed in December 2009 with the competent authorities in Italy and that investigations are being conducted.

“Force India believes that Lotus Racing, via its use of Aerolab and Fondtech facilities and data, has utilised and benefited from the use of Force India F1 Team’s intellectual property, including components and tyres exclusively licensed by Bridgestone to the Force India F1 Team, on its wind tunnel model design for the current Lotus T127 chassis without permission from the Force India F1 Team.

“Force India states these are very serious claims and therefore it would not be taking such action if it could not provide supportive evidence.

“Additionally Force India would like to clarify that any action between Aerolab and Force India for undue termination of contract is now being addressed by the courts. Force India confirms it paid approximately one million euros in autumn 2009 to secure the payment claimed by Aerolab and it is now for the competent courts to decide whether, indeed, this outstanding amount should be paid to Aerolab given the seriousness of these current allegations.

“For reference, the civil court action documentation is in the public domain and can be accessed via the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division.”

Pirelli has a long history in Grand Prix racing

Michelin’s last ditch bid to win the F1 tyre contract for 2011 and beyond seems to have failed to impress the teams, and a deal with Pirelli appears to be a formality.

It is now apparently a question of finalising contractual and legal issues before confirmation comes from the FIA in the coming days. 

Although Pirelli had already appeared to have already secured the contract, Michelin’s Nick Shorrock addressed the team bosses in a FOTA meeting in Istanbul on Sunday morning. However rather than put anything new on the table, he merely reiterated what had been said in earlier proposals.

The biggest weakness in Michelin’s case was its insistence on making a significant cut in the number of sets of tyres available per driver per race weekend, whereas Pirelli has agreed to honour the numbers as supplied by Bridgestone in the current FIA Sporting Regulations.

 “We don’t have enough as it is,” said one team boss. “To go to even less is crackers.”

Intriguingly when I asked Shorrock about the transition from grooved to slick F1 tyres, he made a virtue of Michelin’s Le Mans experience and the longevity of its sportscar rubber: “We’ve not been in F1, but we are very present in other disciplines, notably in endurance racing, and particularly in a couple of weeks we’ll be at Le Mans. That type of racing brings us enormous information.

“If you look over the last 10 years the durability of a Michelin tyre has increased by 35%, while car speeds have increased by 10%. So that’s something we know how to do, it’s our basic profession, to make a tyre that’s usable and safe in a competitive environment.”

Logic suggests that creating tyres with an extra long life – which would be needed to get the teams through practice and qualifying on fewer sets – would do little for the F1 show.