FORMULA 1 - 2014

[MIKA27]

Welcome all to another season of Formula 1 for 2014 - Happy New Year!

With only 73 days for the Formula 1 season to kick off, I thought it a good idea to start posting any pre-season news as they trickle through.

The 2014 Formula One season will be the 65th season of the Formula One World Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which is categorised by the sports governing body, the Federation Internationale de I'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars.

Eleven teams and Twenty-two drivers will contest the nineteen Grand Prix that will make up the calendar for the 2014 season, with the winning driver and team being crowned the World Drivers and World Constructors' Champions.

The season is due to start in Australia on 16th March and end in Abu Dhabi on 23rd November. Already the last race is causing controversy with the FIA announcing a double points finish, which hasn't gone down well with both drivers and fans alike.

The 2014 season will be the first season the series uses a 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 engine.

Sebastian Vettel will start the season as the defending World Drivers' champion. His team, Red Bull racing will be the defending World Constructors' Champions, having secured their fourth consecutive title in 2013. Will this be another dominant season for Red Bull? I doubt it, considering the new engines, rules and ERS power units.

Many thanks to all Formula One fans for reading this thread and contributing, I hope you are all excited for the 2014 season.

Regards,

Mika

Previous Formula 1 threads:

Formula 1 - 2011

Formula 1 - 2012

Formula 1 - 2013

[MIKA27]

The 2014 Formula 1 race schedule

2014 CALENDAR

March 16 Australia

March 30 Malaysia

April 6 Bahrain

April 20 China

May 11 Spain

May 25 Monaco

June 8 Canada

June 22 Austria

July 6 Great Britain

July 20 Germany (Hockenheim)

July 27 Hungary

August 24 Belgium

September 7 Italy

September 21 Singapore

October 5 Japan

October 12 Russia

November 2 USA

November 9 Brazil

November 23 Abu Dhabi

Mexico, Korea, New Jersey and India are all missing from the once robust 22-race schedule proposed earlier this year. Also worth noting is the final race (traditionally Brazil) is now Abu Dhabi. Some serious cash must have changed hands to make that happen.

[MIKA27]

The New 2014 Formula One Sporting Regulations

I like reading the FIA Formula One Sporting and Technical Regulations. That may make me unusual. I’m not sure how many of you have taken the time to download them off of the FIA web site, but if you do, you’ll find some interesting information in these important documents.

When major changes are coming, the Regulations become a very interesting set of documents. The FIA makes things easy by tracking the changes and additions to the Regulations by underlining them.

As I reviewed the Sporting Regulations, I started making a list of the things I thought were interesting, and I’d like to share some of these changes with you.

Changes for 2014

Section 4.2 – The new driver penalty point system comes into effect. When a driver accumulates 12 points, he will be suspended for 1 race, and his points will be reduced by 12. The points remain on his record for 12 months before expiring.

Section 16.3 – When a driver incurs a drive through or stop and go penalty with 3 laps remaining, 20 seconds will instead be added to their time. This was the case with 5 laps remaining previously.

Section 20.2 – The Regulations regarding drivers leaving the track have been refined. The changes are italicized and bold.

“Should a car leave the track the driver may re-join, however, this may only be done when it is

safe to do so and without gaining any lasting advantage. At the absolute discretion of the race

director a driver may be given the opportunity to give back the whole of any advantage he

gained by leaving the track.“

It’s interesting that the rule has been in effect made more dependent on the opinion of the Race Director and the Stewards. What is a “lasting” advantage? How long does it have to last for? A corner? A lap?

Section 22.1 – The testing rules have been significantly enhanced. The promotional runs that teams do for sponsors using special tires (non racing spec) have been reduced to 2 per year from 8.

Section 22.4 – Testing may commence earlier in 2014 (Jan 20 instead of Feb 1), and there can be a maximum of 4 tests during a season, as long as they occur at a circuit that had just hosted a race. The “Young Driver Test” would appear to now be one of those 4 tests.

Section 25.4 – The tire rules have been modified. Each driver will receive 12 sets of dry tires (7 prime, 5 option). This number was 11 in 2013. In order to increase participation in Practice 1, the additional set of primes must be run in the first 30 minutes of this session. These will then be returned to Pirelli. An additional set of primes must be returned to Pirelli before the start of Practice 2. And finally, a set of primes and a set of options must be returned to Pirelli before the start of Practice 3. Let’s hope this leads to more cars doing more laps.

Section 28.4 – This is where there are some major changes. Because the trusty 2.4L V8s are going away, to be replaced with 1.6L Turbocharged V6s, there are some important differences in how engine life is measured. First of all, engines are gone. They are now called “Power Units”. I’m still not used to this.

A Power Unit consists of the following elements:

• Engine (ICE)
  
• Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic (MGU-K)
  
• Motor Generator Unit – Heat (MGU-H)
  
• Energy Store (ES)
  
• Turbocharger (TC)
  
• Control Electronics (CE)
  

Each driver may use up to 5 Power Units per season. This means a driver can use 5 Turbochargers, 5 Energy stores, etc per season, and he can mix and match them. A Power Unit, and any element in it, is considered to have been used if it has left the pit lane as verified by the timing transponder. I assume this means during any session, and not just during Parc Fermé conditions.

Having a blown engine Power Unit, is going to be an expensive proposition. You only get 5 of them for the season, and if you have to use an entirely new 6th Power Unit, you will start from the pit lane. Using a 6th element on a Power Unit that has 5th or less elements on it results in a 10 spot grid penalty. Interestingly, these penalties carry over to (only) the next race. So if you have a poor qualifying, say P18, and then need to use your 6th Turbocharger, you’ll start this race in P22 and carry over the other 6 spot penalty to the next race.

The Power Unit penalties work like this:

• First time a 6th of any element is used = 10 spot penalty
  
• First time a 6th of any of the remaining elements is used = 5 spot penalty
  
• First time a 7th of any element is used = 10 spot penalty
  
• First time a 7th of any of the remaining elements is used = 5 spot penalty
  

Got it?

Section 28.6 – Each driver must use a gearbox for 6 consecutive events (P3, Qualifying, Race). A 5 spot grid penalty will be incurred for every additional gearbox used.

Section 29.5 – A maximum of 100kg of fuel may be used during a race. Use a gram more, and you will be excluded. This could be a source of controversy in 2014.

Appendix 4 – The Power Unit Homologation process in place with the FIA states that engines must be delivered by the engine manufactures to the FIA no later than February 28. Any subsequent changes will be reviewed by the FIA after requesting feedback from the other engine manufacturers regarding their opinion of the changes. Any engine changes post homologation should be for reliability or cost reduction purposes. In effect, your competitors will need to agree that your change is not a performance enhancement before the FIA will permit you to race with it.

Appendix 8 – There is a massive new amount of Aerodynamic and CFD testing Regulations. I won’t go into detail here, but may write about it in a future story. Basically, the FIA is trying to limit how aero testing is done by setting an overall limit based on how much CFD you perform.

The “Limit Line” calculation works like this:

Wind Tunnel On Time <= 30 hours x (1 – “CFD Teraflops used” / “30 Teraflops”)

I find some of this fascinating. We can read the exact same Regulations that F1 engineers, Race Directors and Stewards all base their work on. Of course, they do this for a living, while most of us just enjoy the story it tells, and seeing the fruits of their imaginations on race weekends. But I think you are a better, more informed fan if you spend some time familiarizing yourself with the governing rules. You don’t need to be a Fake Race Director to find this worthwhile!

[MIKA27]

How F1′s Energy Recovery System (ERS) will work in 2014

Over the past three seasons we have become used to the Kinetic Energy Recovery System, allowing drivers the choice of when they used the additional 6.7 seconds of power from the 60kW (80.5 bhp) motor generator unit. We have seen some drivers using this boost strategically to fend off attempted DRS passes, or to successfully pass drivers in unexpected places.

For the 2014 season this changes dramatically.

There are two motor generator units, a 120kW (161 bhp) Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic (MGU-K) much the same as this seasons KERS unit, but double the power, and a Motor Generator Unit – Heat (MGU-H). This latter unit is unspecified in term of power and is connected to the single turbo charger (pressure charging system). The rules specify a single compressor, and so this is likely to be large to give maximum boost. Unfortunately this comes with a penalty of turbo lag. While the Rally Cars solved this problem in the 1990’s by pumping unburned fuel into the exhaust and igniting it to keep the turbo spinning, this solution is not going to work for F1 with a 100kg of fuel as the upper limit for a race distance. Instead the MGU-H will have to reduce the turbo lag.

Appendix 3 of the FIA F1 2014 Technical Regulations has a nice diagram of the energy flows allowed in the new ERS for next season:

So the Energy Store has a maximum useable capacity of 4MJ (ten times that allowed previous years with KERS ), so on first glance it looks like the boost available from the ERS will be available for five times as long as last year (the motor is twice as powerful so consumes the available energy at double the rate), that would give a 161bhp boost for 33.3 seconds. Unfortunately the situation is slightly more complicated than that, as while 4MJ of energy can pass from the energy store to the MGU-K each lap, only 2MJ of energy can pass the other way. Could this open the door to even more strategic deployment of the ERS as drivers save up the available boost for a lap and then overtake an unsuspecting rival the next? It is possible, and certainly it is one interpretation of the rules. However looking at the allowable energy flows on the diagram this doesn’t take into account the MGU-H, which has unlimited flow both to and from the Energy Store, and the MGU-K.

I think it should be possible to design the ERS where It is effectively always on, so there is no need for a separate button on the steering wheel. This is how I think it should work.

1. At the start of the race, the Energy Store is fully charged, as the revs rise waiting for the lights to go out, the MGU-H spins the turbo to eliminate any turbo lag.
   

2. As soon as the car starts moving and it is no longer traction limited, the MGU-K would also come into play.

3. Once the throttle is open fully, and the turbo is up to speed, the MHU-H would feed its power through to the MGU-K, with any excess going to the Energy Store

4. As the car brakes for a corner, the MGU-K is used to charge the Energy Store, and to keep the Turbo spinning (to prevent any noticeable turbo lag when the driver gets back on the throttle)

Mid corner, with the driver on part throttle we are back to the situation at diagram 1 again, and so the cycle repeats. With the energy flow between the MGU-H and MGU-K unlimited in either direction, as long as the turbo is big enough to supply the 120kW needed to drive the MGU-K, there should be no need for a button on the steering wheel.

If this proves to be the case, will you feel robbed of a ‘push to pass’ system, or do you consider it a more efficient way of generating the power an F1 car needs to race than the previous 2.4 litre V8s?

[Bartolomeo]

Looking forward to it and thanks for the great thread, prayers still w Schumi

Bart

[MIKA27]

How much experience is necessary before starting F1?

The new drivers signed for 2014 have prompted some questions over their experience, and whether they are ready for F1.

Interestingly none of the three (Daniil Kvyat, Kevin Magnussen or Sergey Sirotkin) have any experience in the FIA’s preferred feeder series GP2. Their experience is shown below:

• Kvyat: three years karting; 147 races over four seasons (F BMW, F Renault 2.0, F3, GP3)
  

• Magnussen: three years karting; 138 races over five seasons (F Ford, F Renault 2.0, F3, F Renault 3.5)
  

• Sirotkin: two years karting; 81 races over four seasons (F Abarth, Auto GP, F3, F Renault 3.5)
  

This compares favourably with the top current F1 drivers (in that they have comparable levels of experience). The current F1 drivers have this experience prior to F1:

• Räikkönen: eight years karting; 23 races over two seasons (F Ford, F Renault 2.0)
  

• Alonso: eight years karting; 26 races over two seasons (F Nissan, F3000)
  

• Button: nine years karting; 40 races over two seasons (F Ford, F3, Spa 24)
  

• Massa: seven years karting; 48 races over four seasons (F Chevrolet, F Renault 2.0, F3000, ETCC)
  

• Rosberg: seven years karting; 69 races over four seasons (F BMW, F3, GP2)
  

• Vettel: three years karting; 73 races over five seasons (F BMW, F3, World Series)
  

• Webber: three years karting; 73 races over eight seasons (F Ford, F4000, F3, F3000, FIA GT)
  

• Bottas: six years karting; 88 races over five seasons (F Renault 2.0, F3, GP3)
  

• Sutil: four years karting; 104 races over five seasons (F Ford, F BMW, F3, A1 GP, Super GT)
  

• Di Resta: nine years karting; 105 races over eight seasons (F Renault 2.0, F3, DTM)
  

• Hamilton: six years karting; 109 races over six seasons (F Renault 2.0, F3, GP2)
  

• Ricciardo: six years karting; 109 races over seven seasons (F Ford, F BMW, F Renault 2.0, F3, F Renault 3.5)
  

• Kovalainen: three years karting; 109 races over five seasons (F Renault 2.0, F3, World Series, GP2)
  

• Pic: two years karting; 116 races over six seasons (F Campus, F Renault 2.0, F Renault 3.5, GP2)
  

• Grosjean: two years karting; 128 races over seven seasons (F Renault 2.0, F3, GP2)
  

• Vergne: two years karting; 129 races over five seasons (F Campus, F Renaul 2.0, F3, GP3, F Renault 3.5)
  

• Gutiérrez: two years karting; 130 races over six seasons (F BMW, F3, F Master, GP3, GP2)
  

• Bianchi: five years karting; 133 races over six seasons (F Renault 2.0, F3, F Renault 3.5, GP2)
  

• Hülkenberg: eight years karting; 144 races over five seasons (FBMW, F3, A1 GP, GP2, V de V)
  

• Pérez: eight years karting; 151 races over seven seasons (Skip Barber, F BMW, F3, A1 GP, GP2)
  

• Maldonado: four years karting; 165 races over eight seasons (F Renault 2.0, F Renault V6, F Renault 3.5, F3000, GP2, GT Open)
  

• Chilton: five years karting; 174 races over eight seasons (T Car, ELMS, Mazda, F3, F Renault 3.5, GP2)
  

• Van der Garde: eight years karting; 211 races over ten seasons (Renault 2.0, F3, World Series, F Renault 3.5, GP2)
  

Interestingly, the five world champions racing in 2013 were among those with the least experience when they graduated to F1 (Hamilton being the most experienced of that group – which is possibly why he made the impact he did on arrival).

Grosjean and Hülkenberg are the two highly rated drivers that stand out as having taken a long time to reach F1. This surprised me in the case of Romain Grosjean (as he definitely looked lacking in experience the first time he was dropped into F1, and the second).

So is a driver’s pre F1 experience important to their development, or is it just a showcase for their talent to those F1 team bosses who are willing to take a risk on a new driver? From the list above, the three least experienced drivers on entering F1 all became world champions, and all impressed during their first season at the highest level.

I think this shows that it would be far better to rationalise the number of single seater series below F1, so that drivers were forced to compete against their peers at the junior level. Talent would then be easier to spot, and those drivers could be given an opportunity in F1 (or in today’s financial climate, attract the necessary sponsorship).

[MIKA27]

No significant change in Schumacher’s condition which is good news

Michael Schumacher is now in a ‘stable condition’ according to his personal assistant Sabine Kehm speaking to reporters outside the hospital in Grenoble on Wednesday.

“The good news for today is [that] there’s no significant changes,” she said on the first day of 2014.

However, Kehm warned that seven time world champion Schumacher, who turns 45 on Friday, remains in a “critical” condition.

“Michael is monitored all the time but his condition was stable all night,” she is quoted by Bildnewspaper.

As for whether the great German’s life remains in danger, Kehm answered: “I’d rather not comment.”

She did deny reports the former Ferrari and Mercedes driver had fallen from his skis last Sunday because he was going too fast.

“Michael was not going very fast,” Kehm insisted. “But unfortunately as he took the turn, we assume, he hit a rock and was catapulted upwards and then struck [the] rock head-first.”

It also emerges that the Grenoble university hospital is considering banning journalists who are covering the Schumacher story, after a series of incidents.

The worst involved a journalist disguising himself as a priest and trying to enter Schumacher’s room, where he lays in coma.

“I wouldn’t have ever imagined something like this could happen,” Kehm told the Die Welt newspaper.

SID news agency quoted Kehm as saying that important hospital work has been disturbed by journalists, after some of the 100 reporters on site were repeatedly blocked from entering the emergency room.

[MIKA27]

Speed not a factor as more information on Schumacher ski accident emerges

Dent de Burgin mountain area where Michael Schumacher fell while skiing

Michael Schumacher’s long serving press officer Sabine Kehm has revealed how a journalist attempted to access the seven time World Champion’s room at the Grenoble Hospital.

Before providing media with an insight in to the circumstances of the skiing accident, which has left Schumacher in a coma and fighting for his life, Kehm reported, “Apparently a journalist dressed as a priest had tried to gain access to Michael’s room. I wouldn’t have ever imagined something like this could happen.”

This after Schumacher’s family had on Monday appealed for privacy during this trying period. The journalist and the media outlet concerned were not identified.

Kehm went on to shed more light into the circumstances of the fall which incurred the serious head injuries which afflicted Schumacher after he fell while skiing the Dent de Burgin mountain, towards Meribel where he owns a family chalet.

“I think after having spoken to several people that were with Michael at the time that the group had been skiing on slopes that were normal slopes,” she said.

“There was a red slope and a blue slope and in between there was a part which was deep snow and Michael went into that. But even after that, it would seem from everything people have told me that he was not even travelling at high speed as he had helped a friend who had fallen on the piste.

“So he started to ski again, went into the deep snow and apparently what we assume is he hit a rock when he wanted to do a curve and he was catapulted in the air and apparently went head down hitting another rock.

“It was extremely unfortunate circumstances and not because he was speeding too much. It was something, I have spoken to several people – including ski instructors – and they say it can happen at 10km/h. It is just very, very unfortunate.”

Schumacher remains in an induced coma in the Grenoble Hospital, having had two brain operations since he was admitted on Sunday. According to doctors Michael is now in a Stable condition and has improved slightly since he was admitted, but they “cannot forecast” what the future holds for the German F1 legend.

[MIKA27]

Looking forward to it and thanks for the great thread, prayers still w Schumi

Bart™

Hi and thanks Bart - Hoping this season brings some new thrills to the sport.

In regard to Schumacher, I also hope he recovers.. I had a drink and cigar for him on new years.

[MIKA27]

Michael Schumacher a Formula 1 great, if not the greatest of all time

Michael Schumacher enjoyed more wins, more titles and more success than any driver in the history of Formula 1 but where he ranks in the pantheon of greats will be debated for decades to come.

To his fervent fans the seven time world champion will always be simply the best – a giant whose fame transcends the sport and whose name is familiar even to those with scant passion for motor racing.

‘Schumi’, ‘Schuey’, ‘The Red Baron’, ‘Der Weltmeister’ (World Champion): The German won an unprecedented 91 races and set record after record including five titles in a row with glamour team Ferrari between 2000 and 2004.

In 2002, Schumacher finished every race on the podium and statistically, stands in a class of his own.

The prayers and tide of goodwill messages as the 44-year-old lies in critical condition in hospital in Grenoble after a skiing accident in the French Alps testify to his status and esteem in the sport and beyond.

It seems almost churlish at such a time to point out an alternative view, that his greatness was flawed by favouritism over team mates and a questionable sense of fair play with too many controversies.

The late triple Champion Ayrton Senna remains revered, despite the Brazilian’s own suspect behaviour on the track, and was mourned like no other driver after his death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

Argentina’s five time Champion Juan Manuel Fangio and Briton Jim Clark were hugely popular, admired by team mates and rivals alike, while Ferrari fans adored Canada’s Gilles Villeneuve.

Although Schumacher’s popularity in his native Germany was always unquestionable, bringing out the fans in droves even in his unsuccessful comeback years with Mercedes, it was far from universal.

“I think he is the greatest racing driver of this century,” his former Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn said when the German announced his definitive retirement last year, an accolade that neatly sidestepped the sport’s first 50 years.

Even that assessment may be questioned sooner than anyone expected, with compatriot Sebastian Vettel this year chalking up his fourth successive title to become Formula 1′s youngest ever quadruple Champion.

With Ferrari in 2004, Schumacher had chalked up a record 13 wins including seven in a row. Vettel, still only 26, matched that total this year and also racked up nine successive victories.

In truth, Schumacher’s career stands as a drama in two acts with a three-year intermission.

The Schumacher Mark II drove a gleaming silver Mercedes but was still a scuffed shadow of the shiny Mark I model, who dominated racetracks around the world in the colours of Benetton and then Ferrari.

In 2006, when he told the world at an Italian Grand Prix news conference that he had decided to retire as a Ferrari driver, it seemed like the end of an era.

In some ways it was. His Mercedes comeback produced just one podium finish, even if he looked as fit as ever, positively glowing with health and far more mellow in his attitude.

When he called time for good in Japan last year, looking forward to a new life with his wife and two children in Switzerland, there was more a sense of relief that he was getting out intact. The F1 world had already moved on.

“I have had my doubts for quite a while,” he acknowledged. “It’s time for freedom again.”

Self doubt was never a big part of the old Michael Schumacher’s make-up, even from the early days when his bricklayer father Rolf took him to the Kerpen Kart track near Cologne where his mother Elisabeth worked in the canteen.

He entered F1 in 1991 with Jordan as a late replacement for jailed Belgian Bertrand Gachot after a payment from Mercedes, who had contracted him for their sportscar team, eased his passage.

Schumacher had only ever ridden around the Spa circuit on a bicycle but his debut made everyone sit up and take notice when he qualified seventh. He was immediately snapped up by Benetton and the rest was history. By the end of 1994, he was a Champion.

Schumacher II was softer, more prepared to admit mistakes. He became much more approachable than in the Ferrari days when his life seemed divided into compartments and nothing was allowed to interrupt his focus.

He even practised his Italian – something he rarely managed at Ferrari whose loyal ‘tifosi’ worshipped his success but often wished he would be a little less German.

“In my first career, as I entered into F1, immediately I had a lot of focus on me. So there was a constant demand and pressure on me that was difficult to cope with over the years,” he said last year.

“In that absence [from 2007 to 2010], I was more free and recharged myself…when I was back, I noticed it is possible to be open, to enjoy, but not lose the focus. And that is something I was not doing in the first part.

“[in the second part] I had a bigger picture, I had more experience, it was much more easy to handle things.”

The controversies of the past continue to hang over his reputation like the mists that shroud his favourite Spa circuit in the Belgian forests. They always will.

There was the collision with Damon Hill in the 1994 title decider, the notorious attempt in 1997 to run Jacques Villeneuve off the road and the global scorn and outrage that followed Austria 2002 when Ferrari ordered Brazilian Rubens Barrichello to gift him an undeserved win.

On his day, and particularly in the wet, he was breathtaking. His mind-management, and ability to gel a team around him and give swift and incisive feedback, set him apart from the rest.

But his achievements were countered by the feeling that he benefited from the best car and a subservient team mate throughout his Ferrari years, even if others argue that only happened because he was the best.

The 2006 Monaco Grand Prix saw him branded a cheat after a blatant attempt to block rivals in qualifying by stopping his car at the penultimate corner in the final seconds.

“I was very privileged to work with Michael from the very beginning,” Brawn said last year. “We had some fantastic times, tough times but also very successful times.

“I think Michael brought a lot to the team in his second period that people don’t see, a huge contribution behind the scenes…when we do achieve in the future, Michael will have made a contribution to it.”

Mercedes finished the 2013 season as runners-up to Red Bull, with Schumacher’s reputation already going through a reappraisal.

So much so that when Lotus needed a replacement for Kimi Raikkonen at short notice late in the year, they even sounded out the 44-year-old.

“Michael’s performance against Nico and Nico’s performance against Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 Champion who replaced him made a lot of people aware of how good Michael still was,” said his spokeswoman Sabine Kehm. ”But he just feels so good in his new life.”

[MIKA27]

Money got Kvyat into F1 ahead of Da Costa says Razia

Snubbed Red Bull junior driver Antonio Felix da Costa deserved to be promoted up to Formula 1 in 2014, but money talked at Toro Rosso claims Brazilian driver Luiz Razia.

Portuguese da Costa, 22, was the hot favourite to replace Daniel Ricciardo at Toro Rosso for next season, until backer Red Bull actually plucked the Russian teenager Daniil Kvyat straight out of GP3.

Razia, who almost secured the Marussia race seat this year before running into sponsorship issues, told Brazil’s Totalrace that he thinks that da Costa, who was a frontrunner in Formula Renault 3.5 this year and has now been signed as a Formula 1 test driver, deserves the Toro Rosso seat more.

“The strange thing is not the fact that [Kvyat] is coming from GP3,” he explained. “A driver can demonstrate his talent in many categories.

“What I’m saying it that there is a loss of momentum,” said Razia, insisting that da Costa showed every sign of being prepared to take the final step into Formula 1.

“Antonio won a third of the races he contested in the World Series. The Arden team is good, but it had some problems in this season, but even so, he finished the Championship third,” he added.

Razia, the 2012 GP2 runner-up, said that he thinks that other factors played in Kvyat’s favour when Red Bull was making its choice for 2014.

“I’m the devil’s advocate because I’m Antonio’s friend, but I think he was in a much stronger position [to debut in Formula 1].

“But we all know that is not all – it is very clear that next year there is a race in Russia, and Formula 1 needs a Russian.

“[Formula 1] is a very political category, and [Kvyat] is even sponsored by a Russian bank. Toro Rosso has difficulties, as everyone does, so it was a situation where everything fell into place for him,” he added.

[MIKA27]

'Reliability more important than speed'

Niki Lauda believes reliability more than speed will be the key to winning this year's F1 Championship.

This season Formula One will introduce 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engines with ERS that will replace the previous 2.4-litre V8s.

The new engines, though, won't have much track-time before the first grand prix in Australia as pre-season testing is limited.

As such, Lauda, a non-executive director at Mercedes, believes reliability will play a major role in the 2014 title race.

"Nobody knows," he told Autosport when asked if Merc could win the title. "But the target has to be reliability.

"Who has the most reliable piece of engine, gearbox and car will win the Championship.

"Next year is not speed, it is reliability. It is what we all have to work for."

As for claims that Mercedes as a works team could have the edge next season, Lauda said: "It is a big challenge and a big opportunity to go ahead again.

"But this challenge is on the side of the engine, gearbox and car so I think it is a different thing to the last couple of years.

"I am looking forward to it."

[MIKA27]

Disguised journo tried to access Schu's room

A journalist disguised as a priest has attempted to gain access to Michael Schumacher's hospital room.

Schumacher was admitted to the Grenoble University Hospital on Sunday after suffering head trauma in a skiing accident at Meribel.

The German has undergone two life-saving operations to reduce the pressure on his brain which is being caused by swelling.

His family on Monday released a statement in which they asked "the media to respect the privacy of us and our friends and thank them for their support."

However, one journalist tried to invade the former racer's hospital room.

"Apparently a journalist dressed as a priest had tried to gain access to Michael's room," Schumi's official spokesperson Sabine Kehm told Die Welt.

"I wouldn't have ever imagined something like this could happen.

"As soon as his disguise was recognised, he expelled from the hospital."

The journalist and the publication have not been named.

[MIKA27]

Force India targeting fifth

After a strong start to the 2013 campaign, Bob Fernley reckons Force India can work their way into the top five this year.

The team made a flying start to last year's Championship and were ahead of McLaren in the Constructors' standings before the decision to change the Pirelli tyres had a negative impact on Force India's form.

Struggling to get the most out of the car in the second half of the season, the team eventually finished a distant sixth in the Championship.

However, this season Fernley believes fifth could be within the Mercedes-powered team's grasp.

"It has to be higher next year," the deputy team principal told Autosport.

"If we have made the right decision on the powertrain, and we won't know that until we start running, we have got to be looking at podiums and at least fifth place next year. That will be the target.

"Obviously, we were the first [customer] team to sign our engine deal, which has been in place in March and we were probably one of the first teams to switch over to the 2014 design, so we are very optimistic."

Fernley added that he expected engines and not aerodynamics to play the biggest role in the 2014 title chase.

"The biggest differentiator will be the power unit, so what you need is a chassis that is going to be of good quality, but I don't think it is going to be as critical on the aero as in recent years.

"That will change as time goes on, but certainly in the first half of next year and possibly all of next year, it's going to be all about the power units.

"There are so many variables with reliability, with ERS [energy recovery systems], with fuel-flow systems.

"Somebody is going to get it right, someone is going to get it wrong and what you don't know is which camp you are in.

"If we are in the camp that has got it right, then we are on the right track."

[MIKA27]

Adrian Newey - "We Stand To Lose the Most Again"

As the calendar page turns to 2014, thoughts focus on the new F1 season which is now just 73 days away.

The change to the technical regulations is the biggest for a generation and no-one is really sure how the racing will be affected.

Reliability is going to be vital, Mercedes’ Niki Lauda has said he thinks it could be the decisive factor in the end for the championship.

F1′s popularity has been hit by the domination by Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull and what many people will be waiting to see is whether the change to the hybrid turbo engines will mean a change in the order at the front.

Red Bull’s Adrian Newey has consistently downplayed expectations of his car for 2014, which could be a bluff, but he has explained in more detail some of the areas where Red Bull will lose their competitive advantages, built up over the last few years with the V8 engine formula. Chief among them is the ability to work with Renault on channeling exhaust gases to boost rear end aerodynamics

and downforce.

“There is almost no effect from the exhaust with the further single pipe exit position and the fact that the turbocharger takes a lot of the energy in any case, so there’s virtually nothing left,” he said.

“We’ve probably done a better job than our competitors in developing the best use of the exhaust position from the current restriction, so unfortunately we stand to lose the most again.”

Another of the real unknowns is where the main area of development will be this year.

Newey believes that the significant change to the rules around the front wing of the car will provide headaches for teams in the initial testing phase of getting the cars to work, but may well provide a rich area for development,

“I think the big problem this year will particularly be the narrow front wing, which is a big change,” he said.

“100mm off the front wing (i.e. narrower) doesn’t sound very much but it’s actually a big change because it puts the endplate right in the middle of the front tyre now, so I think on the straight aero side trying to recover from that is going to be one of the big challenges.

“In addition there’s the whole challenge of packaging the engine. The power unit, I should say, is now a very complicated beast. It’s a sort of two or threefold jump in complication compared with installing a V8.”

[MIKA27]

Top ten F1 fails of 2013

1. McLaren’s pull rod suspension –

Arguably the fastest car at the end of the 2012 season, this team (a master of shooting itself in the foot) decided that it had exhausted the development potential and needed a new direction for the final year of this regulation period. Ignoring the time it had taken Ferrari to sort their pull rod suspension in 2012, McLaren chose to throw away their successful front suspension, and try something completely different. The end result was their worst season in a generation. Not even a podium to show for it, and this has undoubtedly had an impact on the next choice.

2. Sergio Perez at McLaren –

Full of promise at Sauber in 2012 (although he did seem to relax a bit once he was confirmed at McLaren), he didn’t dominate Jenson Button enough to retain his seat for this year. Now you could look at this as a fault of the driver (either he isn’t yet ready to drive in a top team, or he will only ever be a good F1 driver not a great one), or the fault of the team (judging him after only one season in a poor car - Sounds like Williams!). Either way it is a failed experiment, and won’t have helped Perez’s career. The very late announcement that he would be replaced by Kevin Magnussen didn’t help the driver market, and Perez was fortunate to be able to find a seat at Force India.

3. Pastor Maldonado qualifying in Austin –

Since entering F1 he has been very fast on occasion, but prone to some significant errors of judgement. Most of these have been while running wheel to wheel with his competitors (usually ending in carbon fibre all over the racing line). At Austin however he reserved his biggest error of judgement yet for his excuses for failing to get out of Q1. Blaming the team (any team) for deliberately sabotaging his car shows some tremendous short sightedness, but to accuse Williams of such a thing, show he really doesn’t understand what drives that team to compete in this sport (this is after all a team that has lost World Championships because they have refused to show preferential treatment to one driver over another).

4. Felipe Massa’s final race for Ferrari –

Driving his last race for the red team in front of his home crowd was always going to be an emotional experience. Unfortunately for Massa his continual cutting of the put lane entrance (in particular the white hatched area just before the start of the pitwall), despite explanatory diagrams in the drivers briefing, and many warnings from Rob Smedley during the race, led to a drive through penalty. This effectively cost the team any chance of second place in the constructor’s championship. His inability to follow Vettel’s example and perform perfect donuts (only managing a couple of 180° spins), only adds to this poor showing.

5. Infinity Quantum sponsorship of the Enstone team -

First this organisation picks a name that is already used by another sponsor of a rival team (even if the spelling is a letter different), then they take forever to provide the promised funds, only to take them back almost as soon as they arrive. Following this they insist of the team signing Nico Hulkenberg, which falls through once it becomes apparent that the money will never arrive. In the future we may finally learn just who gained from this farce.

6. Korea –

Ignoring the complete lack of enthusiasm shown by the locals, with the race taking place in front of largely empty stands, what really marks this event out for this list is the organisation of the Marshals. How that truck was ever released onto the track, just in front of the field as the exited turn two, is staggering. For that reason alone the event deserved to lose its place on the 2014 calendar. However in my opinion the design of the circuit (with walls right next to the straight which eliminates any safe place for a broken down car to pull off the track) is not suited to F1 racing. If it was a street circuit (as was promised when the track was built), then the locations of the walls could be justified, and cranes could be employed as at Monaco to safely remove stranded cars.

7. Driving within the confines of the circuit –

I have mentioned the Silverstone tyre failures in the 2013 thread. However a contributing cause of the sidewall failures seen at that event was the drivers driving completely over the kerb such that the inside sidewall of the tyre dropped over the edge of the kerb. Drivers were even warned over the radio not to take such shortcuts as it was considered a contributing factor to the failures seen. However such restraint only lasted a couple of laps, as once one driver resumed the practice, they all had to follow or lose a significant amount of laptime. If the thought of a tyre blow out going down hanger straight isn’t enough to keep the drivers within the confines of the track, then some other way needs to be found to do so (and I don’t mean drive through penalties).

8. Renault engines (Singapore and Brazil) –

This maybe unfair on the Renault engineers, and it is not meant as a criticism of their product which after all has won the last four championships. However we have grown used to fantastic reliability from F1 engines in recent seasons, so much so that it is not uncommon for 20 or more cars to finish a race. So to see Mark Webber’s Singapore race end in flame on the penultimate lap, or Romain Grosjean’s Brazillian race finish in smoke on lap two, was noteworthy. I have a worrying feeling that we will get used to such sights this year.

9. Heikki Kovalainen’s stand in drives –

With Räikkkönen not being paid (thanks in part to the Quantum funding not coming through), he decided to stop the season early in order to get his back surgery out of the way before starting at Ferrari. All teams are required to have reserve drivers (to be used should one of their nominated drivers become unable to compete before qualifying starts). This seemed like the ideal opportunity for the Lotus reserve driver Davide Valsecchi, however with the team in third place in the Constructor’s Championship, and second place potentially up for grabs, the team wanted a more experienced driver. Kovalainen’s performances showed just how difficult racing in F1 is, and how quickly a driver can become race rusty. His starts in both races were poor, and although he raced well in Austin, a front wing change dropped in out of the top ten. In Brazil even the race pace was poor. While I don’t know if Valsecchi would have done any better, he will be disappointed not to have been given the chance.

10. New Jersey –

Many people (not least Bernie Ecclestone) would like to see another race in the USA. Unfortunately this event has been on the provisional calendar for two years now, and been pulled both times due to lack of funding. I can’t help but feel that the constant public failure to deliver is going to put off any potential investors in the race. Perhaps they should look at a more realistic timetable to host the event, and aim to hold a race in 2016 or 2017. Constantly failing to deliver on promises doesn’t inspire confidence.

[MIKA27]

Top ten F1 moments of 2013

It is the season for top ten lists, so here are some of the things that will stick in our memory from the 2013 season:

1. Sebastian Vettel’s Indian donuts –

Despite rules and regulations that appear to ban drivers from having any fun after winning a race, Vettel provided the perfect antidote to the almost constant booing that greeted his appearances on the podium. Choosing to perform celebratory donuts in front of the stat line grandstand was applauded by the Indian crowd, whose cheers could be heard over the sound of his engine. A fitting way to celebrate his fourth consecutive title.

2. Spa Francochamps Qualifying–

In Spa this year it rained on the Saturday. While not unusual, the drying track through Q1 gave the opportunity for the smaller teams to try something different. While everyone else was running on intermediate tyres, Both Marussia’s and Giedo van der Garde in his Caterham opted for slicks. This allowed these three perennial backmarkers to get into Q2 and start further up the grid than was normal (and consigning Williams, Toro Rosso and the Sauber of Esteban Gutiérrez to remain in Q1). The excitement didn’t stop there, although Q2 remained dry, rain falling as Q1 started meant that most drivers tried to get an early lap in on slicks. Only Paul di Resta opted for intermediates from the start and as a result looked like he was in line for his first pole position (he may even have smiled), as the track was too wet for slicks and by the time they had changed from slicks the best of the conditions had gone. However, the weather at Spa hadn’t finished yet, and remarkably the track had dried enough by the end of the ten minute session for the Mercedes and Red Bull drivers to better Di Resta’s time (his smile would have to wait for another day).

3. Multi 21 –

In Malaysia Red Bull tried to impose team orders on Sebastian, to allow Webber to win the race. Vettel proved that he was unwilling to let this happen, and this appeared to be the catalyst for the unsporting crowd reaction at subsequent races. What stands out for me though is the contrasting styles used by Christian Horner and Ross Brawn in informing their driver’s that they were to maintain position. It became clear that while Brawn was very much in control at Mercedes, Vettel ran the show at Red Bull.

4. Emergence of Romain Grosjean -

At the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix, Mark Webber was hit in turn two by Romain Grosjean, wrecking both their races. Speaking to the press afterwards, Webber labelled the Frenchman a first lap nutcase. In the early part of the 2013 season Grosjean continued to be beset by incidents that did his reputation no good, and many were asking when he was going to be replaced by a more consistent driver. The team however showed faith, and by the Japanese Grand Prix in 2013 Webber had changed his mind about Grosjean and complimented him on his driving in their battle for second in the closing part of the race. That Grosjean has emerged as a driver deserving to lead a team came just in time for Lotus, as their star driver chose to leave them for Ferrari. Whether they can have the same influence on Pastor Maldonado remains to be seen.

5. Bahrain tyre delamination’s –

Pirelli changed their tyre construction for 2013 in order to address some teams concerns over maintaining tyre temperature. To do this they changed the Kevlar belts used in 2012 for steel belts. While this change helped most teams other than Red Bull (who were no longer able to make full use of their downforce advantage), some odd tyre failures started happening. In Bahrain there were a couple of tyre delamination’s, and while air remained in the tyre allowing the driver to retain some control and to drive back to the pits, this allowed Red Bull the opportunity to start requesting a change in tyres.

6. Silverstone tyre blow outs –

While earlier in the season there had been several tyre delamination’s, this time the failures were different with the sidewall failing resulting in explosive tyre failures. It was so bad that Charlie Whiting considered stopping the race. Only the fact that he wouldn’t be able to re-start it (as the cars would need to still run on the same Pirelli tyres) meant that the race kept going. This race ensured that the tyre construction would be changed, and as a result handed the season to Vettel as it allowed the aerodynamic superiority of his Red Bull to be exploited to the full. With such a big change in regulations coming in 2014 the other teams stopped developing their 2013 cars allowing Vettel to win the final nine races of the year.

7. Webbers taxi ride –

If Mark Webber didn’t have bad luck he wouldn’t have any luck at all. His firey retirement from the Singapore Grand Prix on the penultimate lap was unusual enough (we haven’t seen very many engine failures in recent Grand Prix, something that may change in 2014). However his lift back to the pits by Fernando Alonso got many fans searching through old photos of similar occurrences. Particularly once the FIA Stewards penalised both Alonso and Webber for the incident. Almost every ex driver who has been a driver steward has taken part in one of these taxi rides, and the fake invoice created by one enterprising tweeter took on a life of its own, as various media who should know better reported it as genuine.

8. Mercedes ‘secret’ tyre test -

Following the tyre issues that had occurred in the early part of the year, Pirelli asked for a tyre test using current cars (that could provide the tyres with representative loads). While in-season testing is banned within the regulations, Mercedes believed Pirelli had obtained permission for the test which was conducted directly after the Spanish GP. This didn’t become public knowledge until Nico Rosberg mentioned the test to other drivers before the following Monaco race. The big issue seemed to be that the team’s two race drivers had used plain black helmets, rather than their own distinctive yellow ones, and that in this way it was a ‘secret’ test. The fact that Ferrari had tested in the week leading up to the Spanish race on the Barcelona track was OK because it was a year old car (still excluded by the regulations) and driven by their test drivers. At least some steps have been taken to try and address this shortfall in tyre testing (although possibly not enough).

9. Bottas in Q3 –

In qualifying for the US Grand Prix at Austin, Valtteri Bottas put the Williams where it had no right to be. By far the best qualifying position for the team for the year, he was none the less disappointed to qualify ‘only’ ninth. After setting the fastest time in Q1 and fourth in Q2 he really did start to show his potential as a driver, much as his predecessor in the Williams did when Hulkenberg performed so well at Brazil in 2010. This however was a dry session, not one affected by making the right tyre calls on a damp track. To underline his impressive performance, his team mate couldn’t even get out of Q1.

10. Lotus / Kimi Räikkönen radio message –

Prior to the Indian GP, Kimi had already announced his intention to re-join the Ferrari team. This possibly had an impact on the language used by Lotus when requesting that Räikkönen let his faster team mate through, but more pressing was Massa catching the pair of them. While I can’t see the resulting quote selling as many T-shirts as ‘Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing’, it certainly highlighted the breakdown in the relationship between team and driver.

[MIKA27]

Ferrari call for team summit in Maranello

In an interesting twist that would seem to be born from the blowback over the FIA’s ‘double points’ scheme, Ferrari’s Luca di Montezemolo is calling for a team summit in Maranello to discuss the future of Formula 1.

“I have the intention to invite [all teams] to Maranello, not to discuss a single point that maybe can give an advantage to one team or another, but to talk about the overall approach to Formula 1,” he said.

“I think the people do not have enough opportunities outside of the tough weekend of races – where you have to prepare the car for the races, the sponsors, the television, the public – to have one day peaceful talking each other to look ahead.”

Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has always maintained that the teams would not succeed in any break-away series or without Formula One Management and the FIA because they ultimately will place themselves above others competitively speaking and will not endorse any notion that might see them compromising.

Could a team summit reach any agreement on the future direction of the sport? Having signed new commercial agreements with the commercial right holders, just what, if anything, could the teams agree upon and initiate? As for double points, Luca seems to think the series needs to give it a shot for a year and go from there:

“I am personally in some doubt,” he said. “The best way to discuss and to find out may be to do a one year test and then see. Now is too early to say.

“I also don’t want to give the feeling that they [the teams] said yes and now we say no. I personally have some doubts. I said this to [Jean] Todt and I said this to Bernie privately.”

It’s unfortunate that this is the attitude toward such a drastic change that is clearly not favored by F1 fans with an 80-90% disapproval rating. Perhaps Ferrari’s president will at least get a dialog going about the current direction the sport is heading…

Talking is good regardless of how optimistic we are that everything will be resolved at the summit.

[MIKA27]

What difference would double-points make in F1?

With the proposal for double points for the final round of the 2014 championship season, many F1 sites have commented on the championships that would have changed as a result. A number have also commented about the impact on the drivers’ points totals (although this measure is meaningless since the points for a win went to 25 in 2010). However this may be missing the point, as the intent behind the change is to extend the championship battle longer in the season,, not necessarily to change the ultimate destination for the World Drivers’ Championship.

The Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship has been run for 64 years (1950-2013). In this time the championship has gone to the last round on 25 occasions leaving 39 years when the title was decided early. Of these 39 years had double points been available for the final round of the year the championship would have been extended to the final round on 18 occasions. In a further ten years the championship battle would have been extended, but not until the final round, leaving 11 occasions when it would have had no effect whatsoever on which round the title was decided.

So the double points idea would only extend the duration of the championship for 28 years (44%) and of those only 18 (28%) would go to the final round. These figures are complicated by the many and varied scoring systems that F1 has used through the years, with different points values for a win (8, 9, 10 and 25), a point for fastest lap and several different dropped score schemes through the years. If we just look at the period since 1991 (the time when all the results counted towards a drivers’ final points total), the situation is as follows:

23 years total:

Ten years where the championship went to the final round;

Three years where double points wouldn’t extend the championship (1991, 1995 and 2011);

Five years where double points would extend the championship, but not to the last round (1992, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2013);

Three years when double points would extend the championship to the final round (2000, 2005 and 2009).

In this period since 1991 the double points would only have extended the championship in eight years (35%), and only taken it to the final round on three occasions (13%). Given the ill feeling the suggestion has generated among the fans of the sport, it doesn’t seem to do what was intended. Unless of course the intention was to generate plenty of press and social media coverage for Formula 1 during the off season.

[MIKA27]

Montezemolo: Putting together Alonso and Raikkonen could be dangerous

Kimi Raikkonen is no more a fan of Formula One simulators than Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo but the Finn can expect to be spending a lot of time in one now he is back at Maranello.

The start of a new year marks both a new phase and a return for the ‘Iceman’, the 2007 world champion who is back in the red overalls of the Italian team he left in 2009 to make way for Fernando Alonso.

The 34-year-old has moved from Lotus to team up with Spaniard Alonso in the sport’s only current line-up of champions and has plenty of work to do with the first pre-season test in Jerez now only weeks away.

“Kimi will be extremely busy since the beginning of January to work in this strange machine that I don’t like at all, the simulator,” Montezemolo told reporters over a pre-Christmas lunch in Italy last month.

“It’s a joke. We have been forced to invest a huge amount of money in this terrible, artificial, machine instead of being allowed to test here (at Fiorano) and at Mugello.”

Montezemolo has long pushed for a return to in-season track testing, something which has been heavily limited as part of cost-saving measures, rather than relying on virtual technology.

Four two-day post-race tests in Europe are allowed this year but they replace an annual three-day young driver test and each team’s current allowance of eight days promotional track time.

Teams, who have had to reduce significantly the amount of wind tunnel testing they do before a cost cap is introduced next year, are working flat out on their new cars with the sport going through a rule change revolution.

The old 2.4-litre V8 engines have been ditched, with a new and less thirsty 1.6 litre V6 turbocharged power unit with energy recovery systems introduced in its place.

All drivers will have to come to terms with the new technology, and different ways of racing, and have already been putting in the laps around familiar circuits in their team simulators to get a taste of how the cars will handle.

Raikkonen, who underwent back surgery in November and missed the last two races of the 2013 season, is not big on them. This time last year, the Finn was widely quoted as saying he felt he could learn nothing in such a machine.

In 2012, ahead of his first Indian Grand Prix in his comeback season, he told reporters: “I’m not like other drivers, so I haven’t driven the simulator to learn it.”

Raikkonen is expected to be first to try out the new car at Jerez, with last year’s runner-up Alonso joining the test later, and their partnership will be closely watched for signs of strain between the two.

Montezemolo, who once warned against having “two roosters in the same henhouse”, said he wanted two team players and assured reporters he was not worried.

“Putting together Alonso and Raikkonen could be dangerous. But in Formula One… everything is potential danger,” he said.

“I think that Fernando knows that he drives not for himself but for Ferrari. And Raikkonen knows that he is in the second half of his career, two very important years for him, with experience and responsibilities.”

Describing Raikkonen as a “very correct guy” who was fully motivated and concentrated, the Italian said the Finn’s talents would mean Alonso was no longer fighting a lone battle up front against his rivals and would have someone pushing him hard.

“(Team principal Stefano) Domenicali has spoken very clearly to both of them,” added Montezemolo.

“They have the honour and the responsibility to drive for Ferrari and every driver knows that he has to drive not for himself but for the team.

“If a driver wants to drive for himself, there are many possibilities. They can do their own team, they can go in a different team but in Ferrari these are the rules.”

Raikkonen remains Ferrari’s most recent world champion, with the sport’s most successful outfit finishing third overall last season behind champions Red Bull and runners-up Mercedes.

Alonso, champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006, has been runner-up to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel in three of the last four years.

[MIKA27]

2014 rule changes - narrow front wings

For 2014 the width of the front wing will be reduced by 15cm. This will alter the alignment of the wing relative to the front tyres.

Previously the wing's 180cm width was the same as the car's total width, so it was relatively easy to design front wing endplates to minimise the drag produced by the tyres. Next year, to compensate for the wing's reduced width the endplates will be even more curved on the outside so that they can still spill airflow towards the outside of the tyres, as you can see in this simple drawing of a 2014 front wing.

[MIKA27]

2014 rule changes - ERS battery position, exhausts, rear wing

For the 2014 season the amount of fuel that can be used in a race is limited to 100kg. Meanwhile, the batteries for the Energy Recovery Systems (ERS) must weigh between 20 and 25kg and be contained in single pack (not split, as Red Bull have done in recent years - upper drawing). This means it will be necessary to place the battery pack inside the fuel cell (red arrow, right).

Also shown here are the exhaust tailpipes (red arrow, centre left), which must extend at least 170 to 185mm behind the rear axle line (and have a single exit). Another difference for 2014 is that the rear wing can no longer include a lower, beam wing. This means that vertical pillars (red arrow, left) will once more be used to fix the rear wing to the car.

[MIKA27]

Can Lotus F1 overcome rules, empty wallets to win in 2014?

I've mentioned the 2014 prospects for Lotus F1 and what concerns me most is really two key elements to Lotus F1′s approach to Formula 1.

First, the lack of resources (cash) is a real issue for any team on the grid so I'm not picking on Lotus but losing James Allison and Kimi Raikkonen hurts…a lot. With Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean, they have two drivers who are not new to F1 but are they drivers who can win titles? Raikkonen clearly is but the team didn’t have the car to deliver.

I personally feel Romain Grosjean could win a great many races, possibly a title sometime, whereas Pastor Maldonado reminds me of a hot headed Juan Pablo Montoya. Super fast but also Super reckless.

While technical know-how may be spread amongst a team of brains, a key leader in James Allison will sting. Delivering a car that can compete at the front end will be difficult and team boss Eric Boullier said:

“Nobody knows where we will be this year but with our resources we are definitely not in a position to be dominating, but things are looking quite good,” he said.

“It’s very realistic for this year that we can be a strong contender for podiums again.”

This is important because the team is now admitting that, before the first shot has been fired, they will not be competing for wins and titles. In the past, they’ve been the underdog and seemingly the cash and investment int he team was continuous. Now it seems they’ve resigned themselves to mid-field mediocrity.

Lotus F1′s appeal, in the Kimi years, has been the underdog that could spoil things and win races. They won the first race of 2013 and were there or thereabouts for most of the year. Perhaps Boullier is suggesting they will be the same in 2014 but some have concerns due to the massive regulation changes.

Secondly, the team seem to have been running on credit. The cash has not been flowing from Gerard Lopez’s Genii Capital and Mercedes boss Toto Wolff even suggested they have been punching above their weight for some time now and the bill has come due.

Can they continue to afford to be in the top 4 teams in F1? If it’s $300m to fight for titles and $225m to be thereabouts, what can Lotus afford? Can they be a mid-field player at $150m per year spent on their team?

Boullier knows that sometimes great ides are worth millions in on-track performance and Brawn GP taught us that. Perhaps Lotus F1 can be the team that out-thinks the competition and gains competitive performance on track. I’ve learned to never count them out as they are a tenacious bunch and a really good team but sans cash, repeating its 2013 performance could be a hill too high to climb?

[MIKA27]

Ferrari plan ‘Red’ rally for Michael Schumacher

While Michael Schumacher remains in critical condition, Ferrari have announced via their Facebook page that they would like to host a silent and respectful rally at the hospital in Grenoble to honor the 7-time champion on his birthday Friday January 3rd.

“In these difficult days and on the occasion of his birthday the SCUDERIA FERRARI CLUBS want to show their support for MICHAEL SCHUMACHER, organising tomorrow a silent and respectful event all in Red at the Grenoble University Hospital Center.”

Schumacher remains in critical condition today and the hospital is planning no media updates. That does bring to mind the notion that the hospital does have other patients and duties and should the event garner a large participation, it could be challenging for the hospital to manage.

I would hope the Ferrari clubs will also provide some sort of crowd management and security for the event. We’ve already seen a journalist impersonate a priest in order to try and sneak into Schumacher’s room so having a throng of ardent fans may be a challenge as well.

Having a throng of supporters is most likely appreciated by Corinna but at this moment, the only thing she’s likely to really care about is her husband.

[MIKA27]

Le Mans not on Jenson Button's post-Formula 1 racing radar

Jenson Button is not interested in racing in sportscars once his Formula 1 career is over.

The Briton's ex-F1 rival Mark Webber has left the world champion Red Bull team to front Porsche's LMP1 return, and has already tested its new 919 hybrid.

But while the 33-year-old's current McLaren deal expires at the end of this season, Button has revealed that racing at Le Mans does not appeal to him.

"Le Mans never really ticked the boxes for me," he said.

"You are racing with cars that are so much slower, in different categories, and dodging cars throughout the whole race is not something that I have ever got that excited about.

"Maybe I will when I drive one of them and drive at Le Mans, because I'd love to drive around the Le Mans circuit in a sportscar, but it's just having different categories racing together that I am not keen on.

"But each to their own as obviously a lot of people do love it."

Button insists that he does not feel he is coming close to the end of his career. But he believes that when he does stop, he will find some competitive sport to compete in.

"I want to compete," said Button. "When I do leave the sport in the future I will have another target, which a lot of people don't have.

"I think that's the biggest issue for a lot of people that do decide to leave the sport; after a year, they miss it massively.

"You have got to make sure that everything is right and while you still love the sport, you should never think about leaving it.

"I don't see the end of my career. Even in this position [struggling with McLaren in 2013], I enjoy racing.

DID YOU KNOW...

Only four F1 world champions have also won the Le Mans 24 Hours.

They are: Mike Hawthorn (1955), Phil Hill (1958, '61, '62), Jochen Rindt (1965, pictured) and Graham Hill (1972).