Sunday, February 27, 2011

The news of Sunday

*the Malaysian GP could switch overnight from 2015 to compete in the Singapore GP.
* the final testing days in Barcelona have a new date: they have been shifted one day so they will be held from March 9 to 12.
* Kimi Raikkonen said in an interview that the F1 is now over for him and he preferred to devote himself to the rally:
"I dont have no interest in returning to Formula 1. I do not want to talk about Formula 1. The rally, it's where I want to be. And it's good to be back for another season ." said Iceman to the newspaper Gulf News.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Bahrain postponed , the season will start in Melbourne !

So it's official since yesterday, the GP of Bahrain has been postponed to a later date for security reasons. So the season starts in Australia on March 27. Over the last test session that should have taken place in Bahrain from March 3 to 6 has been rescheduled from March 8 to 11 and will be held in Barcelona.

Barcelona : last day classification

Here is the classification of the last testing day in Barcelona :
Pos.
Driver
Team
Time
Laps
1
F. Massa
Ferrari
1:22.625
121
2
M. Webber
Red Bull Racing
1:23.442
69
3
S. Buemi
Toro Rosso
1:23.550
90
4
N. Heidfeld
Lotus Renault GP
1:23.657
95
5
L. Hamilton
McLaren Mercedes
1:24.003
107
6
P. Maldonado
Williams
1:24.057
121
7
A. Sutil
Force India
1:24.177
64
8
S. Pérez
Sauber
1:24.515
74
9
J. d'Ambrosio
Marussia Virgin Racing
1:26.501
50
10
M. Schumacher
Mercedes GP
1:27.079
114
11
J. Trulli
Team Lotus
1:29.992
18

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Barcelona : 4th testing day classification + Massa's thoughts

Here is the classification of the 3rd testing day in Barcelona :
Pos.
Driver
Team
Time
Laps
1
N. Rosberg
Mercedes GP
1:23.168
92
2
V. Petrov
Lotus Renault GP
1:23.463
93
3
L. Hamilton
McLaren Mercedes
1:23.858
93
4
P. Maldonado
Williams
1:24.815
60
5
M. Webber
Red Bull Racing
1:24.995
139
6
J. Trulli
Team Lotus
1:25.454
48
7
S. Pérez
Sauber
1:25.557
115
8
A. Sutil
Force India
1:25.720
102
9
S. Buemi
Toro Rosso
1:26.155
31
10
F. Massa
Ferrari
1:26.508
123
11
T. Glock
Marussia Virgin Racing
1:26.598
97
12
G. Mondini
HRT
1:28.178
39
13
D. Ricciardo
Toro Rosso
1:28.329
42
14
N. Karthikeyan
HRT
1:30.722
32

---------
Today was the third and penultimate day at the Montmelo circuit in Spain. Felipe Massa and Scuderia Ferrari have made 123 laps, plating once again in the top as the second most reliable team yet. Author of two red flags on pilot error, Felipe Massa said, late in the day : "Today was a busy day, we were able to accumulate miles with different track conditions. The intermediaries could fit this morning, which was good for our development."
He continues: "In the afternoon, it was important for us to perform simulations of race with long runs to test the car, what we did while trying to keep the tires in good condition as long as possible ."
Tomorrow Felipe Massa will be back on board of the Ferrari F150th Italia for the 4th and final day of testing in Barcelona.
(source : f1-direct.com)

Barcelona : 2nd testing day classification + Alonso's thoughts

Here is the classification of the 2nd testing day in Barcelona :
Pos.
Driver
Team
Time
Laps
1
S. Vettel
Red Bull Racing
1:23.315
104
2
J. Alguersuari
Toro Rosso
1:23.519
97
3
F. Alonso
Ferrari
1:23.978
90
4
R. Barrichello
Williams
1:24.008
118
5
N. Heidfeld
Lotus Renault GP
1:24.242
41
6
K. Kobayashi
Sauber
1:24.243
125
7
N. Rosberg
Mercedes GP
1:24.730
131
8
J. Button
McLaren Mercedes
1:24.923
54
9
P. di Resta
Force India
1:25.194
80
10
H. Kovalainen
Team Lotus
1:26.421
58
11
V. Petrov
Lotus Renault GP
1:26.884
61
12
V. Liuzzi
HRT
1:27.044
70
13
T. Glock
Marussia Virgin Racing
1:27.242
66
14
R. Teixeira
Team Lotus
1:31.584
26

---------
Following this test day, Fernando Alonso has expressed the view that it was better to have problems during private testing than during a race. The double world champion has made a day still quite complete with 90 laps counter is over 400 Km Following an electronic problem this morning at 12:30 and then technical , the double world champion said:
" a mechanic told me that when all is well in Barcelona, we do not win the championship, and if there are problems, everything is different, so I hope it will happen."
Then the Ferrari driver gave his opinion on existing strengths:
"The Red Bull are shown favored by many people, but there are four teams, we, McLaren, Mercedes and Renault are capable of fighting for victory. It's always very difficult to judge the results during testing, because a few kg of gasoline can be measured in seconds."
Alonso also confirmed his remarks of yesterday :
"Overlooked tires, we found a similar situation at Jerez or Valencia. If the race were held tomorrow in Valencia, it would take three or four pit stops to finish the race, we must change the approach to racing but also on the track throughout the weekend, tests at the race. This should create greater opportunities for overtaking, the differences in tire performance could play a huge role, combined with KERS and rear wing."

Barcelona : 1st testing day classification + Alonso's thoughts

Here is the classification of the first testing day in Barcelona :
Position
Driver
Team
Time
Laps
1
S. Vettel
Red Bull Racing
1:24.374
37
2
F. Alonso
Ferrari
1:25.485
101
3
J. Alguersuari
Toro Rosso
1:25.638
57
4
K. Kobayashi
Sauber
1:25.641
78
5
J. Button
McLaren Mercedes
1:26.365
77
6
P. di Resta
Force India
1:26.575
26
7
R. Barrichello
Williams
1:26.912
52
8
M. Schumacher
Mercedes GP
1:27.512
90
9
N. Karthikeyan
HRT
1:28.393
116
10
H. Kovalainen
Team Lotus
1:30.065
54
11
J. d'Ambrosio
Marussia Virgin Racing
1:30.950
116
12
V. Petrov
Lotus Renault GP
1:35.174
20
13
N. Heidfeld
Lotus Renault GP
1:44.324
27

--------- Following yesterday Fernando Alonso has spoken, saying it was important to know the tires. The double world champion had a good day of testing with over 101 laps, more than 400 miles without incident. So he said: "It was a good day, we did a lot of laps and we took some valuable information here. On this track it seems there is some degradation of tires, but this is only the first day and we'll see how the track will change between now and Monday."

Friday, February 18, 2011

The news of the week

* Robert Kubica suffered a last operation , last Wednesday , to repair his broken bones in his right elbow. The operation lasted eight hours and went very well. Robert would still remain two weeks in hospital and will finally leave the hospital to begin his rehabilitation which should take place in Italy in the same region. Moreover, Lotus-Renault GP confirmed the tenure of Nick Heidfeld to replace Robert Kubica during his convalescence.
* Pirelli has changed its soft tires and super-soft for tests that take place in Barcelona this week. But the medium tires will not change . More Pirelli said that for the first 4 GP, tires to be used will be the soft and hard ones .
* From this week tensions are held in Bahrain where demonstrations are held in an attempt to overthrow the current regime. GP2 Asia Race to be held this weekend has been canceled and the winter testing and the first GP of the season of Formula 1 could be in danger. Bernie Ecclestone has also said he would make a decision next week. Over Barcelona has already indicated that it could accommodate last winter testing in place of Bahrain so it would not be able to do it .

Monday, February 14, 2011

Last testing day classification + Alonso's thoughts

Here is the classification of the last testing day in Jerez : Position
Driver
Team
Time
Laps
1
R. Barrichello
Williams
1:19.832
103
2
K. Kobayashi
Sauber
1:20.601
86
3
F. Alonso
Ferrari
1:21.074
115
4
S. Buemi
Toro Rosso
1:21.213
90
5
B. Senna
Lotus Renault GP
1:21.400
68
6
H. Kovalainen
Team Lotus
1:21.632
43
7
N. Rosberg
Mercedes GP
1:22.103
45
8
S. Vettel
Red Bull Racing
1:22.222
90
9
J. Button
McLaren Mercedes
1:22.278
70
10
J. d'Ambrosio
Marussia Virgin Racing
1:22.985
45
11
P. di Resta
Force India
1:23.111
99
---------
here is what Fernando Alonso declared after this last day of tests :
"The best thing about these first two test sessions is definitely reliability. Felipe [Massa] and I have always been able to at least 100 revolutions per day, which is very positive. Our goal during these tests is to make car as strong as possible and then, when we are in Bahrain to introduce some developments for performance,"said Fernando Alonso to the reporters at Jerez.
"As I've said many times recently, there is no reason to watch the leaves of time, but it would be very surprising if a team other than Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes was fighting for victories. Red Bull finished last year with an advantage of about half a second on another and it would be strange if they are not the strongest in Bahrain."
More , Fernando Alonso thinks that the area of 600 meters fixed by the FIA to use the moveable rear wing is too short :
"we've tried the moveable rear wing in race conditions, but it is too early to clearly understand if overtaking will be easier. We need to see if the area of 600 meters set by the FIA is not too restrictive but we know that this situation can always be revisited" said the Spaniard. "From what little we've seen, I think it will always be very difficult to move a car with a similar level of performance to yours. The system works well on our car: we have never had a problem, not even braking."

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Classification of the 3rd testing day + Alonso's thoughts

Here is the classification of the third testing day in Jerez :
Position
Driver
Team
Time
Laps
1
N. Heidfeld
Lotus Renault GP
1:20.361
86
2
F. Alonso
Ferrari
1:20.493
131
3
M. Schumacher
Mercedes GP
1:21.054
114
4
L. Hamilton
McLaren Mercedes
1:21.099
36
5
K. Kobayashi
Sauber
1:21.242
84
6
S. Vettel
Red Bull Racing
1:21.574
98
7
S. Buemi
Toro Rosso
1:21.681
92
8
H. Kovalainen
Team Lotus
1:21.711
61
9
R. Barrichello
Williams
1:22.227
99
10
D. Resta
Force India
1:22.945
64
11
J. d'Ambrosio
Marussia Virgin Racing
1:25.471
72

---------
and now here is Fernando Alonso's thoughts after this 3rd testing day where he has tested the new tires and made some long runs :
"It's very important to have many miles one after the other without encountering any problem. This means that we can collect lots of data, which is useful, especially when it comes to understanding the tire behavior, which is the biggest unknown in these trials. I said earlier in Valencia and I repeat today: we must not think about what others are doing in terms of time. It better to focus on our own efforts and then we'll see where we are in Bahrain in a month, "said Fernando Alonso. Today, the Spaniard was wearing a helmet specially dedicated to his friend Robert Kubica: "I am delighted that the condition of Robert evolving in a positive way, each passing day. Now he will need patience, but the thing The most important is that it gets better."

Classification of the 2nd testing day + Massa's thoughts

Here is the classification of the second testing day in Jerez
Position
Driver
Team
Time
Laps
1
M. Schumacher
Mercedes GP
1:20.352
112
2
F. Massa
Ferrari
1:20.413
116
3
J. Button
McLaren Mercedes
1:21.009
69
4
J. Alguersuari
Toro Rosso
1:21.214
72
5
M. Webber
Red Bull Racing
1:21.613
113
6
A. Sutil
Force India
1:21.780
73
7
S. Pérez
Sauber
1:21.857
56
8
T. Glock
Marussia Virgin Racing
1:22.208
57
9
V. Petrov
Lotus Renault GP
1:22.493
65
10
P. Maldonado
Williams
1:22.591
38
11
J. Trulli
Team Lotus
1:23.216
40
----------
and here is the thoughts of Felipe Massa after this 2nd day in Jerez :
"During the two days I have been able to complete the program we had planned. Today, we tried four types of tires Pirelli brought here and we were able to collect lots of data. There is much work to go in understanding the behavior of tires and then to find the right settings on the car,"said Felipe Massa to the media today.
"The time? It's always better to be fit, although this does not mean much. From here until the first race, a lot will change, our car and that of others. We are trying to focus on our own work, without bothering about what our opponents. The important thing is to understand in what direction we should go and how to solve our problems. The first race in Bahrain is still very long. Michael [Schumacher ] fastest today? Well. it's not exactly a novelty for him to occupy this position, given everything he has earned in his career.
There is great interest this season for the new features introduced, such as adjustable rear wing and KERS, which is not really something new for Ferrari drivers . "We must try to understand the behavior of the car as much as possible, but clearly, as regards the rear wing, we do not know yet how it will work in a passing maneuver. So it is important to have a reliable car to take advantage of the available time."

Friday, February 11, 2011

The news of Friday February 11th

* Ferrari has changed the name of its car because Ford was already the owner of the name F150 (which is the name of a model of their cars). Thus the ferrari car 2011 will be renamed italia F150th Italia .
* 11 teams are this week in Jerez for the second test session except of HRT that does not participate. But the small Spanish team will be at Monza from 14 to 16 February for an advertising shoot for Pirelli. HRT will still be present at the Barcelona test.
* Lotus-Renault GP will test this weekend Nick Heidfeld and Bruno Senna to replace Robert Kubica while his recovery even if Heidfeld seems to be the favorite.
* Kimi Raikkonen, whose rumored (ultimately disproved) announced him as a possible replacement for Kubica said he could make his return to F1 in the future.

Testing day in Jerez : first day classification

Here is the classification of the first testing day in Jerez , Spain :
Driver
Team
Time
Laps
1
F. Massa
Ferrari
1:20.709
---
2
S. Pérez
Sauber
1:21.483
---
3
M. Webber
Red Bull Racing
1:21.522
---
4
D. Ricciardo
Toro Rosso
1:21.755
---
5
L. Hamilton
McLaren Mercedes
1:21.914
---
6
J. Alguersuari
Toro Rosso
1:22.689
---
7
A. Sutil
Force India
1:23.472
---
8
V. Petrov
Lotus Renault GP
1:23.504
---
9
N. Rosberg
Mercedes GP
1:23.963
---
10
J. Trulli
Team Lotus
1:24.458
---
11
T. Glock
Marussia Virgin Racing
1:25.086
---
12
P. Maldonado
Williams
1:34.968
And here are the impressions of Felipe Massa who finished the day in mind while having done the most laps (101) today:
"I am happy today. I could run continuously without wasting time precious. All those miles have helped me to better understand the car and especially the tires, an area where we could try different things compared to those we made in Valencia. The best time? It means nothing because we do not know what program was on the other drivers,"
Today, the Brazilian's car and those of most other teams, sporting a message of support for Robert Kubica
"I am glad that Robert gets better: it was nice that we all have a message for him on our cars and wish him all the best again."
note: the message written in Polish on the front wing of the Ferrari as well as on most cars today means "quick recovery"

Force India VJM04 launch

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

News of Robert Kubica

As you probably know, Robert Kubica had a serious accident during a test of a rally in Italy last Sunday. He has had numerous fractures in the arm, leg and right hand. Robert had a 7 hours surgery to save his hand and his right forearm.
Here are the latest news from Robert Kubica:
Robert yesterday morning was awake and could move his fingers. Moreover, he realized his injuries and exchanged a few words with his relatives. The doctors said he had all his mental faculties. Robert, however, must undergo 2 others operations to stabilize his others fractures and it suggests a recovery period of 2 months to 1 year. Here are the statements of doctors:
"His condition has improved and is quite good since the accident. No infection was detected after the operation. His vital signs are within the norm. The medical evolution is good ...
"For the moment we're optimistic. Kubica will remain in intensive care between 48 and 72 hours. He will then undergo a series of tests to check the condition of his arm and his hand. "The patient responds excellently."said Giorgio Barabino, head of the Hospital Santa Corona.

Marussia Virgin & HRT launches

Saturday, February 5, 2011

MP4-26 launch

The launches of Red Bull , Williams and Mercedes

The standings of the testing days in valencia

Here is the standing of the first testing day in valencia :position
driver
team
time
laps
1
S. Vettel
Red Bull Racing
1:13.769
93
2
N. Hülkenberg
Force India
1:13.938
71
3
G. Paffett
McLaren Mercedes
1:14.292
91
4
P. di Resta
Force India
1:14.461
28
5
F. Alonso
Ferrari
1:14.553
97
6
K. Kobayashi
Sauber
1:15.621
68
7
J. d'Ambrosio
Marussia Virgin Racing
1:16.003
71
8
V. Petrov
Lotus Renault GP
1:16.351
28
9
M. Schumacher
Mercedes GP
1:16.450
15
10
J. Alguersuari
Toro Rosso
1:17.214
19
11
R. Barrichello
Williams
1:17.335
77
12
N. Karthikeyan
HRT
1:18.020
45
13
N. Rosberg
Mercedes GP
1:19.930
(source : toilef1.com)

----------
here is the standings of the second day of the testing day in valencia :
position
driver
team
time
laps
1
F. Alonso
Ferrari
1:13.307
108
2
S. Vettel
Red Bull Racing
1:13.614
43
3
P. di Resta
Force India
1:13.844
111
4
L. Hamilton
McLaren Mercedes
1:14.353
83
5
R. Kubica
Lotus Renault GP
1:14.412
104
6
N. Karthikeyan
HRT
1:14.472
80
7
N. Rosberg
Mercedes GP
1:14.645
69
8
T. Glock
Marussia Virgin Racing
1:15.408
34
9
R. Barrichello
Williams
1:16.023
51
10
S. Perez
Sauber
1:16.198
42
11
P. Maldonado
Williams
1:16.266
29
12
S. Buemi
Toro Rosso
1:16.359
46
13
J. Alguersuari
Toro Rosso
1:16.474
64
14
M. Webber
Red Bull Racing
1:17.365
17
15
H. Kovalainen
Team Lotus
1:20.649
15
(source : toilef1.com)

-----------
and finally here is the standing of the last testing day in valencia :
position
driver
team
time
laps
1
R. Kubica
Lotus Renault GP
1:13.144
95
2
A. Sutil
Force India
1:13.201
117
3
J. Button
McLaren Mercedes
1:13.553
105
4
M. Webber
Red Bull Racing
1:13.936
105
5
F. Massa
Ferrari
1:14.017
80
6
T. Glock
Marussia Virgin Racing
1:14.207
114
7
P. Maldonado
Williams
1:14.299
101
8
S. Pérez
Sauber
1:14.458
104
9
M. Schumacher
Mercedes GP
1:14.537
110
10
S. Buemi
Toro Rosso
1:14.801
73
11
N. Karthikeyan
HRT
1:16.535
63
12
J. Trulli
Team Lotus
---
38
(source : toilef1.com)