Daimler bought the whole Mercedes GP!!

28/2/11,

The auto industry holds the whole shares of Mercedes GP!!

A year ago Mercedes GP was created, following the acquisition by Daimler AG and partner , Aabar Investments PJS, of the majority of Brawn GP. Some shareholders of Brawn GP, including Ross Brawn and Nick Fry, maintained their share in the group.Specifically, along with Daimler Aabar which had the 75.1% and other partners in 24.9% of the team. So, in a move which was expected since last year, the two companies completely took under control the Mercedes GP, with Daimler to control 60% and 40% belonging to Aabar. 

Liuzzi doesn't pay!!

28/2/11,

The Italian driver wants to take the driver's position only with his talent!!

The only place available for racing in Formula 1 that has not been captured yet is that the second's driver of HRT. The Spanish team still has not decided who will lead them next to the F111 of Narain Karthikeyan this year and in previous trials experienced some contestants with louder than those, whose name was Vitantonio Liuzzi. The Italian fared quite well on tests and the head of HRT, Colin Kolles, admitted that he is a serious candidate, but no agreement had been reached yet. 

Strategic alliance of Red Bull - Infiniti!!

28/2/11,
The engines of the RB7 will now have the logo of the luxurious subsidiary of Renault!!

As reported back before Christmas, it looks like the Red Bull Racing will not be running with the Renault engines in 2011 – but will switch to Infiniti instead. It amounts to the same thing, of course, as Infiniti is a Nissan brand and Nissan and Renault are together partners. The engine will be the same, only the badging will be different. It will probably ease the Red Bull budget.

The main enemies of Sebastian Vettel!!

28/2/11,


The German didn't underestimated Massa but forgot to mention his teammate!!

Interesting are the sayings of Sebastian Vettel for his main competitors for the 2011 season. The world champion was asked about the names of the drivers that could be a threat to his effort to defend the title and although he didn't excluded drivers who had had a bad season last year, as Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher, he didn't mention his teammate of the Red Bull Racing, Mark Webber.

Schumi: I am not in the same condition as I was in 15 years ago!!

28/2/11,

Although he resists on saying that he isn't old enough for participating in F1 he accepts the consequences of the pass of the time!!

Finally, in which age should be a driver still available to participate in the World Championship of Formula 1? According to Michael Schumacher, at least not at 42! The driver of Mercedes GP was placed again on the major issue of the age and accepted that although time is still for him a ruthless enemy, he said that we still don't have to write him off ... 

The silver arrows may surprise you!!

28/2/11,

His own interpretation on what we've seen so far in the tests gave the pitch development director of Mercedes, Norbert Haug. While in the paddock whispers that the new "silver arrow", the W02, have significant problems in aerodynamics and lags much more than the top combinations, the German says that the majority of them have been solved, and that the team with the car can be even the surprise of the new season. 

Parr: We would't go to Bahrain!!

27/2/11,

Williams were prepared to boycott the Bahrain Grant Prix!!

The decision of the cancellation of the race in Bahrain on March 13 was inevitable under the circumstances that have shaped the small state of the Persian Gulf, but even if the race wasn't cancelled, it is doubtful if all the teams would have gone to Bahrain. The leading director of Williams, Adam Parr, stated directly that if the race would have be done normally, the team would not have entered the plane and fly to Bahrain. 

The date of the last test in Barcelona has changed!!

27/2/11,
The last tests will begin in the 9th of March in the Circuit de Catalunya!!

Another changes are made in the dates of the last winter tests, which will take place at the Barcelona circuit next month. The deadline are 9 to 12 March and not 8 to 11, as was initially planned after the cancellation of the tests in Bahrain. The change was confirmed by the technical director of Williams, Sam Michael, as he told to Autosport.

Lewis Hamilton will replace Stewart in Nascar!!

27/2/11,

Lewis Hamilton will get his first taste of driving of the Nascar Sprint Cup at Watkins Glens! McLaren confirmed that Hamilton will replace the Nascar driver Tony Stewart and drive the Stewart’s Chevrolet Impala and Stewart will drive the last year's McLaren MP4-25 in a demonstration run!!

Loss in Guadalajara from Perez!! (Vid).

27/2/11,

Sergio Perez drove in front of 150,000 of his fans in his home city of Guadalajara running his Sauber.

Perez said: “This was one of the best days of my life. “It was a great experience. I have never experienced something like this before with so many people cheering me. “I’m so proud to be a Mexican, and I’m proud to receive all this support from my fans and family. It is a big boost for me ahead of the start of thr new season.”

Williams in discussions on using Kers!!

26/2/11,

Williams did not exclude the possibility to return to the usage of the KERS with rotor. The British team had chosen this option two years ago, going against the current things, which eventually aligned this year. However, alongside the presentation of the official colors of the new FW33, the technical director, Sam Michael, revealed that this does not mean to abandon the original idea. 

Kubica: I was very lucky!!

 26/2/11,

Robert Kubica considers his self very lucky after the incident which could have probably cost him, his life. A thing which corresponds to the reality, but requires great fortitude for someone to accept in the situation in which is now the driver of the team Lotus Renault GP. After three hours of delicate surgery the 26 year old has started the match-up but he is aware that things could probably be much worse. 

They want a night race in Malaysia!!

26/2/11,

The Malaysian Grand Prix in the circuit of Sepang has impressed the world when it was conducted for the first time in 1999 but most of the race organizers admit that it has lost much of its luster. In 2010, viewers who went to the track in the last 3 days had not even arrived at 100,000, although in Sepang the tickets are the cheapest in F1, and even fewer visitors are expected to visit the circuit this year. 

Vettel: Let's let Schumacher in second!!

25/2/11,

The world champion Sebastian Vettel talks about his pattern ( Michael Schumacher ) but wants  to stay again in front of him in the classifications.  

The appreciation of the world champion Sebastian Vettel for Michael Schumacher is well known. Indeed, the opinion that the driver of the Red Bull Racing has for the seventh-time world champion has not been affected but the tellings and as he told to the German press he expects more from Schumacher this year. There is only one thing which is needed, the real Schumi to complete  the new season behind the ... «Baby Schumi». 

Perez drives in Mexico, in his C29!!

25/2/11,

The residents of the Mexican city of Guadalajara will have a rare opportunity to see-and hear-by near a car of Formula 1. Sergio Perez in Sunday (27th / 2 ) would return to his hometown to take part in a road show, driving the car of Sauber. 

Perez will be at the cockpit of the C29 and lead to a length of 1.5 km a specially shaped path in the city center, in front of City Hall and the Cathedral. The Mexican will do this route twice on Sunday. He will not be alone though, as in the same event will be his brother, Sergio, and German Quiroga, who will drive their cars of the American League NASCAR. 

Williams reveal their new FW33!!

24/2/11,

In an event that was broadcasted online Williams revealed their car with which they will run in this year's World Championship Formula 1. The FW33 was shown in the tests which were done in Valencia, Jerez and Barcelona, but not with the original look and colours. 

Robert Kubica starts his restoration process!!

22/2/11,

After the terrible crash in rally race in Italy Robert Kubica can now start his restoration period after the many surgeries which took place in the hospital of Santa Corona before a week. The doctor who operated on Robert seems to be optimistic and says that the Polish driver has started a painful and long period of health restoration and improvement!! 

"There was no need to stay in the intensive care unit anymore as he has started a restoration process. Now he is alone in a large room to be as comfortable as possible. He has already started some small exercises and he moves his fingers slightly.

The team of Toro Rosso looks optimistic about the new season start!!

22/2/11,

They might have not give any conclusions in the tests, but they can certainly be optimistic. This applies to the camp of Scuderia Toro Rosso, which in tests has so far shown speed and reliability. These are two important elements which make the team members to hope that they can make a leap forward to the new racing season.

The Prince of Bahrain decides the cancellation of the race!!

21/2/11,

After what happened in Bahrain, the situation created by the protests and their violent repression and what was discussed in recent days, the organizers of the race took the decision not to hold the first Grand Prix of the season on March 13. In this way they took F1 out of the difficult position who did not know how to handle this "hot" issue. This decision was taken by the Crown Prince of Bahrain who telephoned Bernie Ecclestone. 

Barcelona Testing Day 4 - It's time for Massa!!

 21/2/11,

The performance tests of Formula 1 in Barcelona ended with Felipe Massa stealing the show, and scoring the best time of all the 4 days. The weather at the Circuit de Catalunya maintained good on Monday and allowed the teams to complete their programs, apart from Lotus, who picked up and left early, after the departure of Jarno Trulli who destroyed the front of his T128. In today's tests 11 teams participated instead of 12 teams because HRT did not appear in the today tests as it was known. 

Teams will test their cars in Barcelona instead of Bahrain!!

21/2/11,

The F1 teams have arranged a replacement for the cancelled four-day test in Bahrain.

They will hold a second four-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya from March 8-11th.

Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said earlier today: “We have seen decent temperatures in Barcelona, obviously the Barcelona circuit is on the F1 calendar, so if we ave better weather, it could provide us with some very useful info.”

Rosberg: We are doing well so far!!

20/2/11,

Nico Rosberg believes that his team is doing well and is on its way to solve the problems that the W02 faced at the previous tests. With a very fast lap the young German completed with the best way his presentation in the Spanish track doing the fastest lap time of the three last days in Barcelona!! He continues with the sayings that there is still a lot of work to be done. Although he remains optimistic.  

"Certainly we had some problems but we are sure that we are going to solve them and continue improving our performance. Today we learned a lot and made huge progress. Difficulties are expected because the car was built to be tested on reliability so we can not be sure that we will be efficient, but we will find it in the coming weeks and then will just wait and see where we are, "said Rosberg after the end of the day to the reporters.

Although a big part of the day was influenced by the rain the German driver believes that their mission was accomplished: "Overall it was a good day even with the interim tires, because we learned a lot.  Also with the big stints we made good progress towards the end. We learned many things today about the aerodynamic parts. It was a positive day. All the things are in the right direction. " 

Barcelona Testing Day 3 - Time for Rosberg!!

20/2/11,

The third day of testing of Formula 1 at the Circuit de Calalunya is completed with Nico Rosberg to have/ scored the fastest lap. Today the teams did not found the weather conditions they wanted with a wet track and light rain ready to test their tires. Although the rain stopped quickly however the low temperature and the humidity in the atmosphere did not allowed the track to dry quickly and almost the whole morning the efforts of the drivers were done with their cars wearing rainy and later intermediates tires. 

This was a good opportunity for the teams to test their compounds of Pirelli for wet with all the cars making several laps on the track this morning. The serious work started after the lunch break, as the track was dry so the drivers continued their program. In this process the best time of day was noted by Nico Rosberg with the car of Mercedes GP. The German did his best lap lap in the last half of the hour before the end of the day so he could control his car reaction with the intermediates tires .

"It was interesting running with the intermediates this morning and, although the warm-up is tricky, we definitely improved our understanding of the tyres,” said the German driver. “Our long runs this afternoon included some aero work in preparation for our next upgrade package before going into lower-fuel, new-tyre running at the end of the day. We made good progress in understanding the car and the tyres, and the reliability was solid once again."

In the second place was found Vitaly Petrov, who fought with Rosberg for the first position in the las minutes.“We used the intermediates to begin with and it was one of our first opportunities to do a lot of laps with them,” commented Petrov. “The only issue we had was warming them up because it was very cold early on. The plan was to do a race distance in the morning and we managed quite a lot of long runs while the track was wet. Then, we put the slicks on just before lunch and started improving the set-up. We learned a lot of new things and I’m starting to understand the tyres more and how to get the most from this car.” The Russian driver of Renault did many laps in the morning but the afternoon he was very active .After completing some middle stints, in the end he did efforts of 2-3 laps, which were quite fast. In third place was Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren. The British still had problems with the reliability of the MP4-26 this morning but in the afternoon he managed to cover long distances and make fast times. 

Williams had also credibility problems. Pastor Maldonado scored the fourth best time period of the day, but he didn't do many laps, due to a problem with the heat of the FW33. At the opposite extreme in terms of reliability was the fifth ranked Mark Webber. The Australian did an impressive number of 139 laps, including completing a full race simulation this afternoon, without facing overheating problems which wracked yesterday Vettel. 

The usual ...fluid leak was faced by Lotus, with Jarno Trulli spending much of his time in the garage, completing only 48 laps and getting the sixth time. One place behind him in the ranking was found Sergio Perez, Adrian Sutil, and after Sebastien Buemi with Toro Rosso. The young Swiss drove only in the afternoon because in the morning the car was on the hands of Daniel Ricciardo. 

Felipe Massa went twice in the morning in the sand traps at the exits, causing the appearance of a red flag, but in both of his exits he didn't damage the F150 Italia and after a while he was in the track again. In the afternoon he was only focused on covering large distances, making a race simulation . His time was just the 10th in the ranking but the general belief is that Ferrari can move faster. 

Timo Glock with his Virgin was in 12th, with 97 laps done by the end of the day, in front of the two drives who shared the car of HRT and Ricciardo. In the morning, Narain Karthikeyan was behind the wheel, but in the afternoon he gave the car to Giorgio Mondini, the 31 years old Swiss a former champion in Formula Renault V6.

Sunday test times from Barcelona:
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:23.168, 92 laps
2. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:23.463, 93
3. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:23.858, 93
4. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:24.815, 60
5. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 1:24.995, 139
6. Jarno Trulli, Lotus, 1:25.454, 48
7. Sergio Perez, Sauber, 1:25.557, 115
8. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 1:25.720, 102
9. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:26.155, 31
10. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:26.508, 123
11. Timo Glock, Virgin, 1:26.598, 97
12. Giorgio Mondini, HRT, 1:28.178, 39
13. Daniel Ricciardo, Toro Rosso, 1:28.329, 42
14. Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, 1:30.722, 32

HRT will not race tomorrow!!

20/2/11,

HRT say that they will not run with their car in the final day of the F1 test which takes place in Barcelona.

An engineer told : “We have completed our program today, so we are not driving tomorrow.”

HRT have tested three different drivers during the test: Narain Karthikeyan, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Giorgio Mondini.

Catalunya Pretesting Day 2 - Vettel 2!!

19/2/11,

The good weather continued in Barcelona and the Formula 1 teams have had the opportunity to do an another full day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya. In the today tests apparently were tried many different things but one thing has not changed compared to yesterday and this is the namewhich figures in the top of the classifications.  

Sebastian Vettel with his RB7 was once again fastest from all and proclaimed the form of Red Bull, which had seen so clearly in previous trials of Jerez. The Vettel scored the fastest lap in a simulated qualifying, leaving the track just two laps, just before the lunch break. The afternoon began a simulation game, which ended after several vacations that included a red flag and a mechanical problem in the car.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso made it two Spaniards in the top three on a day that also saw Vitantonio Liuzzi make his test debut for HRT as the Spanish team seek a 2011 team mate for Narain Karthikeyan. And Lotus tried out Portuguese-Angolan driver Ricardo Teixeira.

In fourth place was Rubens Barrichello, who has not encountered problems and did much work with Williams. Behind him, Nick Heidfeld found himself with Renault in sixth.After yesterday's problems, the group decided to split over the day between the drivers and so Heidfeld found the cockpit of the R31 in the afternoon, replacing Vitaly Petrov, who drove all the morning. The seventh fastest time was recorded by Kamui Kobayashi, who with the Sauber car did many laps. 

Nico Rosberg in the previous trials faced several problems and was unable to do many things. Today, however, the W02 was in good condition without problems which allowed him to complete 131 laps at the Spanish circuit. In afternoon Rosberg did a simulation of a race and it is certain that today his engineers received a lot of important data.

Once again, problems faced the team of McLaren and Jenson Button spent the whole morning helpless in the garage of McLaren. In the afternoon things were better and the British completed 54 laps, marking the eighth time. Back in the 9th place was placed Paul di Resta with Force India and the 10th time period belonged to Heikki Kovalainen for Lotus. Vitaly Petrov with Renault was 11th. 

Vitantonio Liuzzi had the opportunity to make a day of testings with his HRT, driving the last year's car so as the team could see if they can work together with the Italian driver who set the 12th time period in the classifications, ahead of Timo Glock of Virgin. The team at the most of the day was waiting for some new parts from the factory, which arrived in the afternoon. The las position in the classifications was taken by Ricardo Teixeira, the Angolan driver who gave the Lotus a chance to do some laps with car in Formula 1. Teixeira was clearly out off his pace as the 26 laps he did were not enough to get accustomed with an F1 car.

Saturday test times from Barcelona:

1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:23.315, 104 laps

2. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:23.519, 97

3. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:23.978, 90

4. Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:24.008, 118

5. Nick Heidfeld, Renault, 1:24.242, 41

6. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:24.243, 125

7. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes GP, 1:24.730, 131

8. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:24.923, 54

9. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:25.194, 80

10. Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus, 1:26.421, 58

11. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:26.884, 61

12. Vitantonio Liuzzi, HRT, 1:27.044, 70

13. Timo Glock, Virgin, 1:27.242, 66

14. Ricardo Teixeira, Lotus, 1:31.584, 26

They looked impressed from the intermediate tires of Pirelli!!

19/2/11,

 The first day in Barcelona, yesterday (18 / 2), gave the opportunity to the drivers to get a first taste of rainy and intermediate tires of Pirelli because in the morning the track was wet. Contrary to what people say about the slick tires of the Italian company the drives looked impressed with the intermediates tires for the stability and performance in a nearly dry track.

"It was important we tested the interim tires and to be honest I was impressed. The track wasn't very wet and soon it became dry. We could move fairly quick, firmly in 1:40. The tires did not show signs of wear, "said Jaime Alguersuari in Autosport. 

Kamui Kobayashi agreed with Aguersuari that the intermediate tires of Pirelli compared with Bridgestone are much more stable. "They have less grip but there are very stable, they look good. It is difficult to judge how we are going with the rainy or the intermediate tires, but I think they have a very hard compound.

Di Resta looks optimistic for the VJM04!!

19/2/11,

Despite the problems which were encountered yesterday (18 / 2) Paul di Resta who stayed in the garage of Force India for most of the day, is optimistic about the VJM04. The young Briton will try to catch up on the second day of testing in Barcelona.

"The engineers did a good job and in the end of the day we had some productive rounds which gave us an idea for the setup for the next day. I am convinced that there are many things that this car can reach and I am ready to help the team by trying as much as possible, "said di Resta after the first day of testing!!

F 1 Catalunya Testing Day 2 - Live Timing!!

Videos from the Red Bull Racing from the Jerez testing!!

18/2/11,

Here are two videos from the Red Bull Racing at the performance tests of Jerez!! Although I found them late, I thing that they worth a watch!! Nice videos, especially the second ( personally the part from the 3.37 to the end).

Enjoy!!

Kubica will stay for two weeks in the hospital of Santa Corona!!

18/2/11,

The doctors of the Hospital Santa Corona featured a steady health state  for Robert Kubica. A day after the third and last surgery, the hospital of Pietra Ligure issued a statement of the unlucky 26 year old driver and as it was mentioned,his condition is stable and continues to be improved.

If the health of the driver of Lotus Renault GP will continue improving he will not sit back on the operating table as is expected to remain hospitalized for another 10 to 15 days. Then, as is already known, he will continue his rehabilitation program in Italy.

Barcelona tests Day 1 - Vettel steals Alonso's lightning bolt!!

18/2/11,

The Formula 1 teams began a new 4-day test the third test of the year, the Circuit de Catalunya.In the morning the track was quite wet from the rain that fell the previous evening and those who came to the track held rainy tires but then the good weather helped to dry the track fairly quickly to help the teams start their tests.

The best time of the day belongs to Sebastian Vettel, who did not, however, many miles with his RB7. The German completed only 37 laps and after the lunch he joined the track only twice, in one of which did a 1:24.374. Up to that point fastest was Fernando Alonso, who was again focused on covering large distances and lapped more than 100 rounds.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t complete many laps today, as we had a long break - longer than expected,” said Vettel. “It wasn’t anything big, nothing broke, but at the test if you think there might be a problem then you’d rather take the car apart and check. The boys did their best and we still got some runs towards the end of the day - not as much as we’d like, but the car feels good and hopefully we’ll do more tomorrow.”

Ferrari with their F150th Italia in the same configuration seen at its first test. Again, the main subjects on the team’s agenda were focusing on long distances and car balance with the tyres of Pirelli. 

In the third position of the classifications was dropped Jaime Alguersuari with Toro Rosso, who was milliseconds faster than Kamui Kobayashi with Sauber. These two teams once again in this year's tests indicated enough good times, but also the Spanish and the Japanese drivers were guilty of the two of the red flags which appeared today. Jenson Button with the McLaren MP4-26 was dropped in the fifth position , ahead of Paul Di Resta. The Scot lost the whole morning stuck in the garage of Force India and made its appearance on the track late in the afternoon, managed to complete only 25 laps. Problems encountered the seventh ranked driver, Rubens Barrichello, in the car in which Williams's engineers changed the engine of Cosworth. Michael 

Schumacher was eighth with his Mercedes GP. The German took the afternoon match simulation. 

The most active day driver was Narain Karthikeyan who was driving the last year's car of HRT, which reappeared after the tests in the absence of Jerez. The Indian did 116 laps and scored the ninth best time period, ahead of Heikki Kovalainen of Lotus. Also 116 rounds did Jerome D 'Ambrosio, driving the new car of Virgin.

“We didn't have enough set-up time today,” explained technical director Sam Michael. “The track was moist to start and didn't start ramping up until late morning, at which point we encountered an issue with the engine. Over the break, we changed the engine and did just one proper run at the end of the session. All of our running was carried out on the medium compound tyre. Despite the downtime, we actually tested and measured quite a few aero and systems items in the background.” said Barrichello.

“We had a good day and it is certainly satisfying to finish a race distance with all of the systems operational and to have everything working fine,” said Schumacher, who hands over to Nico Rosberg on Saturday. “Now we have to turn our focus to performance and it was important to complete today’s simulation to understand how the car and tyres behave going from a heavy to lighter fuel load.” said Schumacher.

The car of Renault was driven by both Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov. The German came out on the track this morning to train their pit stop but a problem in the electrical units of KERS in the R31 took the car into the garage for a long time. Petrov eventually managed to get on the track before the end of the day and did only 20 laps.

The performance tests will continue tomorrow in the circuit of de Catalunya in Barcelona in 19/2.

Friday test times from the circuit of Catalunya:

1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 1:24.374, 37 laps

2. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:25.485, 101

3. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:25.638, 57

4. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:25.641, 78

5. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:26.365, 77

6. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:26.575, 26

7. Rubens Barrichello, Williams, 1:26.912, 52

8. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP, 1:27.512, 90

9. Narain Karthikeyan, HRT, 1:28.393, 116

10. Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus, 1:30.065, 54

11. Jerome d’Ambrosio, Virgin, 1:30.950, 116

12. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:35.174, 20

13. Nick Heidfeld, Renault, 1:44.324, 27