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Archive for category F1

McLaren to Scrap F-duct?

Aug 25

Posted by Insider in F1, Mclaren

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McLaren Mercedes have announced quite a bold move for the Italian Grand Prix, scheduled to take place on the high-speed circuit of Monza on September 10. According to some reports, the Woking based team will not run their innovative F-duct system in Italy, despite the fact that this particular device was actually designed for long straights, such as the one at Monza.

The F-duct was initially developed only by McLaren, after which the concept was copied and implemented by other teams as well. The aerodynamic solution is believed to add some 6 to 10 mph to the car in straight line, where airflow around the car and through to the rear wing is improved via a hand- or knee-activated device.

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Pirelli F1 Tire Tested at Mugello

Aug 19

Posted by Insider in F1, Tire

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Following their maiden two-day test of the F1-spec tires to be used in the 2011 championship, Italian company Pirelli agreed that the first steps in developing a competitive compound for the Great Circus next year are encouraging.

As you all know by now, Pirelli have “stolen” German grand prix racer Nick Heidfeld from Mercedes GP, offering him a job as official tester of the Italian marque. Heidfeld was released of his contract by the German manufacturer and was therefore able to complete the first miles on a car fitted with Pirelli tires, using Toyota’s 2009 challenger, the TF109.

The test took place at Mugello and included runs on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the initial data on tire behavior seem to suggest Pirelli are on target with the development of their tires. This is exactly what Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director, said after the first running concluded by Heidfeld.

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F1 Fans Mocked by Ferrari

Aug 19

Posted by Insider in F1, News

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Niki Lauda may have won a couple of F1 titles while wearing an all-red racing suit, but he seems to recall things were slightly different in that age. Back then, Ferrari would not have turned to team tactics to help one of its drivers won the world title, and the Austrian champion demands nothing less from the Prancing Horse nowadays also.

After publicly slamming the Maranello team for their tactics in the German Grand Prix - when Felipe Massa was suggested from the pit box to let Alonso pass him for glory - Lauda reiterated his critic this week. He compared Ferrari’s strategy with Red Bull’s and argued that the latter clearly respects the fans more than the Scuderia does.

“You have two models of how to race in Formula 1 as a team. If you approach it politically then you are in the Ferrari mould. Or you try to give both your drivers equal opportunities and the fans an exciting sport, as Red Bull are doing in letting their drivers compete with each other,” said Lauda in a recent interview with Formula One’s official website.

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Rosberg = Vettel - Said Berger

Aug 17

Posted by Insider in F1, News

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Benefiting from the current summer break in Formula One, former Grand Prix driver and F1 team co-owner Gerhard Berger took the time to evaluate some of the young talents racing in the Great Circus at the moment. Since his interview was given to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, Berger obviously focused on the group of young drivers coming from Michael Schumacher’s native country.

Needless to say, Berger started out with “baby Schu” Sebastian Vettel whom many are referring to as the next big champion of Formula One. Having worked with the 23-year old during his time at Scuderia Toro Rosso, the Austrian believes only one thing separates Vettel from the best in the biz: experience.

“He is incredibly mature. It is true he is still making mistakes, but I put that in the category of lacking experience,” said Berger, who admitted though that Vettel missed out one thing when aiming for the 2010 world title: “His biggest problem is that he probably underestimated Mark Webber.”

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Rossi Is Getting Closer to Formula One

Aug 17

Posted by Insider in F1, Motorcycle

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Valentino Rossi’s move to Ducati for the 2011 and 2012 seasons of the MotoGP does not only mean a new challenge for the Doctor in the premier motorcycle racing series, but also a chance for him to make a leap to Formula One in the future.

We know the Rossi-moving-to-F1 discussion is on the brink of becoming quite old, given the multitude of reports on this story this past year, but according to his own father, Rossi’s signing with Ducati moves the 9-time world champion closer to Ferrari F1 Team. While revealing his son has no plans to leave the MotoGP in the upcoming few years, he reckoned the situation might change in 3-4 years time.

“Valentino is not yet able to stop with the motorcycles. But if in three or four years he will get into Formula One, then what better road than with Ducati? This seems like a big step forward,” said Graziano Rossi in an interview with Italy’s Sky Sport.

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Mercedes GP not good enough

Aug 16

Posted by Insider in F1, Mercedes-Benz, News

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Michael Schumacher looked back at his returning season in Formula One so far and, needless to say, he did not like what he saw. The 7-time world champion certainly did not expect 12 races to pass without him being at least once on the podium, not to mention the fact that he’s now resting 9th in the overall classification, 56 points behind his much younger teammate Nico Rosberg.

However, there is reason for optimism as far as the 41-year old is concerned, as he has the logical explanation for this state of events. And it’s not his lack of speed, but the technical package he has been served with in 2010.

“Looking at the points table then of course we cannot be satisfied. But there are reasons why the deficit is so great,” said Schu in a recent interview, talking to his sponsor DVAG.

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Lotus Gets Renault Engine Soon?

Aug 7

Posted by Insider in F1, Lotus

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Lotus F1 Team seems committed to make all the necessary steps to become a well established team of Formula One, and not just another squad struggling to cross the finish line of each grand prix two or three laps down. And the first move might be switching the engine supplier for the 2011 season.

According to a report appeared in Italia Racing, the representatives of the Malaysian backed organization are currently in talks with Renault for the supply of F1 powerplants next year. Lotus F1 Team is currently using Cosworth units, but their deal with the British engine manufacturer has not yet been extended.

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Schumacher Apologizes to Barrichello

Aug 3

Posted by Insider in F1, Mercedes-Benz

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Michael Schumacher did the big gesture after his move on Rubens Barrichello in the Hungarian Grand Prix, apologizing to the Brazilian driver for not providing him with enough room to overtake on the start/finish line.

Shortly after the race, the FIA stewards handed Schumacher a 10-place grid penalty for the upcoming race at Spa-Francorchamps, as the German almost pushed Barrichello into the wall when the Williams driver tried to overtake him. If everybody, including Barrichello, criticized the move as being a dangerous one, Schumacher initially begged to differ.

When asked about the incident, he told the media that “we know certain drivers have certain views, and there’s Rubens. I was making it obvious to him to go on the other side. There was more room there, but he chose not to. It got a bit tight. We didn’t touch; I guess I left enough room.”

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Nico’s Tire Incident Explained

Aug 3

Posted by Insider in F1, Mercedes-Benz

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Mercedes GP walked away from the Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend with no points in its pocket and, more importantly, $50,000 missing in their back account. And that’s because the International Automobile Federation (FIA) handed them that penalty for their pit lane incident involving Nico Rosberg.

Well, to be more accurate, the incident was centered on the rear right-hand wheel of Rosberg’s car, which took a journey of its own shortly after the German left his team’s pits and ended up into one of the mechanics belonging to Williams-Cosworth.

The Brackley based team’s boss Ross Brawn explained what happened during Rosberg’s pit stop, saying that it was all an unfortunate miscommunication between the mechanic that was supposed to fix the aforementioned wheel and the jack man. However, the Brit promissed that in the future he would make sure such incidents will not happen again.

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Not 2nd Driver But 1st

Jul 30

Posted by Insider in F1, Ferrari

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Felipe Massa insisted that he would never be a number 2 driver in Formula One, not at Ferrari and not at any team in the series. Talking to the reporters in Hungary, the place where he nearly lost his live a year ago, in the qualifying session of the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Brazilian racer said that he’d rather quit than stay at Ferrari as a No 2 driver.

“The time I have to I say I am the number two driver, I will not race anymore,” said Massa to reporters, according to the GMM news agency, after earlier in the day he arrived at the circuit joined by his Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali.

Earlier this week though, his very father Luiz Antonio admitted that the German events clearly showed Ferrari have issued team orders for Fernando Alonso to win the race, hinting that what his son did was not embrace his No 2 status, but follow orders and show loyalty to his team.

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