FORMULA 1 - 2014

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Ayrton Senna Tribute 1994-2014 to be celebrated during four day event at Imola

The Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, the classic Italian racetrack that sits on the outskirts of the sleepy town of Imola, is arguably the most appropriate place to commemorate the life and times of the great Ayrton Senna, exactly 20 years after his death – over the weekend of 1 to 4 May.

The circuit will always be remembered as the circuit that claimed the life of Senna, on May 1 1994. And while that’s a difficult legacy to shed, the announcement of the ‘Ayrton Senna Tribute 1994-2014’, a celebration of the life and times of the great Brazilian, will rekindle memories of a racing legend and a track that quietly slipped from the grand prix canon almost a decade ago.

Imola in early spring was one of motorsport’s great joys: the leafy, triangular paddock, the blossom in the air, the bark of V10 echoing off concrete barriers, and the constant stream of thick, syrupy espresso.

This year, it will see a return of Formula 1 – of sorts – after announcing a four-day event at which Ayrton’s most famous car, the McLaren MP4/4, will be the centrepiece to a festival that carries official support from the Instituto Ayrton Senna, and which will showcase a series of films, unpublished photographs and exhibits that celebrate Ayrton’s life.

While the loss of arguably Formula 1’s greatest star may have cast an indelible shadow over the Imola autodromo, it’s worth remembering that the venue has a flow and character that’s rarely seen in modern racetracks.

Corners such as Piratella, a plunging, downhill, blind, double-apex left-hander, the Variante Alta, the slingshot chicane at the back of the track, and Rivazza, another double-apex left-hander that always caught out the late-brakers, are as timeless today as they were in the track’s heyday.

Senna scored some great wins at Imola, and visited the top step of the podium at the venue no fewer than three times: 1988, 1989 and 1991 – all victories as a McLaren driver.

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Wolff: There have been many ‘test World Champions’ in the past

Amid predictions that Mercedes are the overwhelming 2014 Formula 1 World Championship favourites, boss Toto Wolff says the Brackley team is heading into the season with humility.

Admitting that he is “cautiously optimistic”, Wolff told DPA he is sure that if Mercedes has a big advantage now, it will not last long.

“We are very aware that Ferrari and the Renault teams will come back. It is only a matter of time and I don’t doubt that for a second,” said Wolff.

He said World Champions Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel in particular – despite their huge problems with the Renault-powered RB10 – cannot be ruled out.

“[Red Bull] has won the World Championship four times and has one of the best drivers in the field,” said Wolff.

But he agreed that, in total contrast, Mercedes has had a fairly smooth winter despite the massive challenge of the all-new 2014 rules.

Wolff insisted: “Humility is the word that comes to mind. There have been many ‘test World Champions’ in the past.”

And he said even the dominant Mercedes W05 has not been perfect.

“The issue of reliability is far from solved,” said Wolff. “I assume that the first issue has to be getting to the end of the race.

“We have had some good tests but we have no reason to fall into jubilation,” the 42-year-old added.

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Tech Talk: Keeping V6 turbo cool is a key challenge for Mercedes

It is no secret that keeping the new era V6 turbo engine, and related appendages run extremely hot. Keeping things cool is one of the biggest challenges facing Formula 1 teams this season.

Cooling is thus a paramount design consideration for this season, as not only does it have an impact on the thermal efficiency of the Power Unit, but also impacts aerodynamic performance.

Mercedes, who by all accounts, have the edge at this stage of the season, ran several bodywork configurations at the Jerez test and continued to try more components in Bahrain – providing an indication of how seriously they are taking the issue.

The decision to test at Bahrain for the last two pre-season tests was taken by the teams due to the increased track temperatures when compared to Jerez.

The most signifant cooling alteration tested by Mercedes in Bahrain came in the form of an engine cover similar to the one being used by McLaren.

Two large outlets either side of the exhaust allow the hot air to escape but will also change the airflow at that location, especially as it comes at the loss of the ‘shark fin.’

Furthemore as we can see in the photos herewith, the cooling outlets next to the cockpit were changed several times, dependant on the other cooling options being used.

Mercedes Formula 1 Technical Director, Paddy Lowe explained how the chassis team had to adapt to the change in regulations, “The Power Unit (PU) has a completely different shape and requirements to its predecessor and it is the biggest change in packaging in F1 for many years.”

“There is a lot more equipment to cool: more Hybrid systems plus the intercooler for the charge air from the turbocharger. That has both a packaging and an aerodynamic dimension.”

“Yet another aspect is the thermal challenge. With the introduction of a turbocharger, managing the heat around the exhaust system is important for both car integrity and also for performance. If losses can be minimised in the primaries between the engine block and turbo, that is energy that can be recovered and used for car performance.”

“So there is a big insulation and heat management challenge for both integrity and performance reasons,” added Lowe.

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Formula 1 noses could get even uglier in 2014

Formula 1′s ugly face of 2014 could get uglier still, according to Auto Motor und Sport, claiming that F1 engineers are looking into nose solutions for the new rules that are even less attractive than those already used during testing.

With the ‘gentleman’s appendage’, asymmetrical and ‘vacuum cleaner’-style noses already in action, respected correspondent Michael Schmidt said that some all-new solutions could be seen as early as this week at the final Bahrain test.

“(In the wind tunnel) we are trying every kind of nose that is in circulation,” admitted Force India Technical Boss Andy Green.

Schmidt concluded: “If that is the case for Force India, then the big teams will be doing even more.”

It is likely Lotus’ unique, double-tusk solution is causing the most head-scratching among rival teams, with many perhaps not having initially considered the idea of utilising the concept of asymmetry.

“Our spies tell us that some teams are considering ‘anteater’ noses that do not grow from the middle of the car, but to the left or to the right,” said Schmidt.

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Texas Motor Speedway boss says Ecclestone is foolish

American motor racing impresario Eddie Gossage has accused Formula 1′s Bernie Ecclestone of being foolish.

Gossage, the president of the Texas Motor Speedway, has blasted the Formula 1 Chief Executive for scheduling this year’s US Grand Prix on the same November date as the major NASCAR sprint cup race in the same state.

“I absolutely think it’s foolish,” Gossage is quoted by AP news agency. ”I can’t say I was surprised because Bernie Ecclestone does a lot of foolish things.”

“It’s just not smart,” said Gossage. “There’s 52 weeks in the year. But that was the only weekend that Formula 1 could make it work in Austin? Give me a break.”

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Pic: Caterham axe came as a surprise

Newly appointed Lotus Reserve Driver Charles Pic has admitted that being dropped by Caterham ahead of the 2014 Formula 1 season was a surprise.

In the wake of the blow, the Frenchman will try to put his race aspirations back on track for 2015 by testing this year for the Lotus team.

“I’ll have days of private testing as well as Free Practice sessions,” he told the French-language Formula 1i.

“All I can say is it will be a good number of Fridays and the right number of test days. I’ll let the team say more but I think it is a very good programme for me.”

Pic, 24, admitted that it was a challenge to put the Lotus programme together after being told that his services were no longer required at Caterham.

“[Caterham's] decision was taken very late, and I still had a contract running for 2014. So it was difficult to bounce back from that,” he said.

“So, yes, it was a surprise.

“On the other hand, I am very happy to have found this solution with Lotus. It was important to find a Third Driver role that allowed me to drive a lot, and this is the case with Lotus, a super team. I am very happy,” he said.

Pic admitted however that his real ambition is to return to the grid in 2015.

“Of course,” he said, “but I think we should do everything in its time. When we approach the end of the summer, that will be the time to start looking around for 2015.”

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DC: Button needs a big year

Jenson Button will have to be at his best during the 2014 Formula One season if he wants to finish ahead of new team-mate Kevin Magnussen, former McLaren driver David Coulthard believes.

Speaking to British newspaper Metro, the Scot added that the Danish rookie looks like the 'real deal'.

"The UK is well represented at the present with Lewis [Hamilton] and Jenson," Coulthard, who now works as a pundit for BBC Sport F1, said when asked how the British drivers in will do this year.

"They are two different personalities and Lewis looks to have the brightest future at the moment. Jenson is more experienced but may need a big year just to stay ahead of the challenge from exciting young Danish driver Kevin Magnussen at McLaren. He looks the real deal."

Coulthard, who won 13 races during a glittering F1 career, also believes the Mercedes team to be the one to beat this season.

"If I had to put money on it today, I would think that one of the Mercedes powered F1 cars would be right up there," he continued.

"Ferrari have also been going about their business quietly but, the way things can change so swiftly in F1, that may not be the same a month or two down the line."

Red Bull's struggles during the pre-season have been a hot topic of discussion in recent times, but Coulthard believes it would be foolish to write the Milton Keynes team off at this stage of the season.

"It is ten years since they started and not many people gave them a hope of winning a GP, let alone a championship or let alone four [championships]," Coulthard added.

"They have got there because of the harmony of the team from top to bottom and because of that tremendous work ethic. They have a strong team, with the engineers and technical staff all willing to put in long, long hours to get it right."

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Horner remains favourite to take over

According to a report in the Times, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner remains the only realistic candidate to replace Bernie Ecclestone as Formula One boss.

The 83-year-old F1 supremo was cleared by the London High Court earlier this month of charges that he knowingly undersold F1 shares, but his position of power in the sport remains unclear after the judge ruled that he was "untruthful and unreliable".

The Times reports that the major shareholder in F1 - private equity firm CVC Capital Partners - are wholly against replacing Ecclestone unless he is found guilty of bribery when he stands trial in Munich in April.

Even though CVC chairman Donald Mackenzie remains wholly against replacing Ecclestone, the Times understands that Horner is the man that Delta Topco, the CVC holding company where Mackenzie has a ruling share, has identified as his successor.

"There is no doubt Christian fits the bill," the Times learned from a Delta Topco board member.

"Bernie is unique and no one can do what he has been doing. Simple as that. We need someone with experience of Formula One, someone who can deal with television rights and commercial contracts. The fact that Bernie would train Christian up, in effect, looks like a solution to many of the directors."

Horner's reputation as a manager has largely been formed by the manner in which he used the funds provided by Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz to turn the Milton Keynes team into the dominant team in F1 this decade.

Should Horner be chosen, his appointment wouldn't be made without stern opposition.

Ferrari President and Delta Topco board member Luca di Montezemolo is believed to be a strong opponent of Horner as Ecclestone's successor, while it is rumoured that several of the top teams on the grid don't often see eye to eye with the 40-year-old.

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The remarkable tale of F1′s only race-winning woman

Susie Wolff will join a select group of women racers later this year when she takes to the track in an official F1 practice session.

Even fewer have taken the next step of competing in a Formula One race and only one has won a race for F1 cars: Desire Wilson.

But while some were willing to support her efforts to start an F1 championship race, her progress was dogged by politics and the hostility of some of her male rivals, as she explained.

Wilson made her way to Britain in the seventies after a sponsorship deal to race in her home country, South Africa, went sour. She and husband Alan found work at Brands Hatch where circuit owner John Webb became a mentor for her burgeoning motor sport career.

Webb was also the promoter of a British-based championship for Formula One cars and Wilson was duly placed in the Aurora-sponsored series for 1978. An astute publicist, Webb also made a show of entering Wilson for that year’s world championship round at Brands Hatch.

Wilson understood this was partly “an opportunity to get more promotion for the race tracks” and once the test was over Webb withdrew her entry from the race. But her error-free performance had done much to bolster her cause. Of the 26 entries present her time in a three-year-old March placed her 21st.

Webb continued to field her in the Aurora series. Although she contested only five of the twelve rounds in 1978, top-six finishes in each of the last four races were enough to place her tenth in the championship.

Her first full season in 1979 yielded four podium finishes and seventh in the championship. But more importantly, it also gained her a superlicence qualification, and now she was ready to tackle a world championship event.

“They really didn’t want me in grand prix racing”

On April 7th 1980 Wilson made her place in the record books. In a depleted field of ten runners at Brands Hatch, Wilson piloted her four-year-old red Wolf WR4 to victory – the first and so far only for a woman in a race for Formula One cars.

Among those left in her wake was Emilio de Villota, piloting a Williams FW07 of the type the works team had introduced just 12 months previously.

Her performance helped win over some of those who had been sceptical about the place of women in motor sport. “They really didn’t want me in grand prix racing,” she admitted,

“In Aurora [it was] the same thing at first, it was like ‘what’s this woman doing here?’ But then all of a sudden I started beating them, I won a race and all of a sudden people had respect for me. I had to actually gain the respect to prove you should be there.”

Wilson was given her best chance to build on that when she was given De Villota’s FW07 to drive at the tyre test ahead of the British Grand Prix. The car represented a major step up in performance over her Wolf, boasting powerful ground effect aerodynamics which necessitated far stiffer suspension.

It was smartly turned out in the livery of Murjani jeans, the sponsors of tennis star Billie-Jean King who aimed to “encourage women to break through in traditionally male-dominated sports”.

Wilson made good on that aim, posting the 11th fastest time of the test. “The tyre test day went fantastic,” she said. “The car was really good.” Her achievement was even more impressive in light of the fact she did not have access to the soft qualifying tyres used by the top teams.

Chassis change spoils F1 debut

But come the race weekend itself the only thing about her car which remained the same were the sponsor logos. Although her RAM team principal John MacDonald insisted otherwise, the De Villota chassis she’d used at the test had been replaced by a different FW07.

Webb, it transpired, had not obtained De Villota’s permission to use his car. The replacement chassis provided for Wilson’s first grand prix entry had been crashed heavily by Eliseo Salazar in an Aurora race at Monza two weeks earlier. Hasty repairs had left the chassis flexing badly and even the most aggressive set-up changes did little to remedy its diabolical handling.

“We somehow got a different chassis, which was awful,” Wilson recalled. “It was actually an Aurora Formula One car which they threw some sliding skirts on and brought to the track. Whereas the car I drove at the tyre test day was the Emilio de Villota grand prix car, a very good car.”

Out on the track, Wilson discovered how unwilling some F1 drivers were to accept a female rival when Ligier’s Jacques Laffite forced her off the track on the approach to Surtees bend.

“There was a large amount of male chauvinism in those days,” Wilson admits.

“Some of the guys, they just wouldn’t give an inch.”

“Some of them would basically, literally, try and move you right of the race track when going past you – without quite touching you but there’s ways of doing these things without touching a person, but you can actually give the driver absolutely no room.”

After the incident Renault’s Jean Sage told Alan Wilson: “Laffite is telling everyone that he drove Desire right off the track. He’s saying that no f*****g woman belongs in Formula One and he’s going to do whatever he has to, to keep her out.”

Given the dire problems she was experiencing with her car, Laffite needn’t have bothered. “I never got to the lap times I did in the practice session, which was insane because I was learning all the time,” Wilson recalled.

She prepared for her final run eyeing the time set by Keke Rosberg – the last of the qualifiers up to that point, and 0.8 seconds faster than her. With a set of soft qualifying tyres potentially offering over a second per lap, there was a slim chance she could drag the ill-handling FW07 onto the grid.

Then came the final insult: “The qualifying tyres didn’t fit on the car.” The car sat on its stands while the final minutes of the session ticked down and Wilson failed to qualify.

More frustration at home

Success came more easily in other categories that year. Wilson shared two victories with Alain de Cadenet in the World Endurance Championship at Monza and Silverstone that year. But the following season she was still trying to gain a foothold in Formula One.

After the prospect of a drive for Bernie Ecclestone’s Brabham team in her home race failed to materialise, Wilson landed a seat at Tyrrell alongside Eddie Cheever for what was supposed to be the first race of the new season.

Her race started badly – she stalled on the grid – but thereafter mounted a recovery drive, passing the likes of Nigel Mansell and team mate Cheever on the way. Her race came to an end when she moved off-line to let the Brabham of race leader Nelson Piquet lap her, spun and clipped a wall.

Although Tyrrell was eager to offer Wilson a full-time drive his cash-strapped team required finance. It was eventually provided by a succession of drivers who took her place.

On top of that, the ongoing row between Ecclestone’s Formula One Constructors’ Association and FISA (now the FIA) meant the one race she had started was stripped of its world championship status. And so the only woman to win a race for F1 cars never officially started a round of the championship.

“You’re always this underdog…”

Wilson went on to compete in some of motor sport’s greatest races including the Indianapolis 500 and the Le Mans 24 Hours. But she never felt at a disadvantage compared to her male rivals, even in an era of brutally tough ground-effect cars with manual gear levers and no power steering.

“I don’t want to say physically or mentally I ever had any disadvantages because I don’t remember having any,” she said.

The circumstances of her introduction to IndyCar racing speak for her own mental and physical toughness. In qualifying for the 1982 Indianapolis 500 Wilson’s team mate Gordon Smiley was killed in a crash of shocking ferocity.

“My first Indianapolis was a very hard month for me,” she said. “People have of course died around you before but you don’t really… it doesn’t affect you directly.”

“Gordon Smiley’s death did affect me terribly because I was in the same garage and I had to live with the sorrow, the family, the crew that was so down. The pieces of race car that wasn’t much bigger than, I think, the gearbox was the biggest part left on the car. It was a terrible accident.”

Despite that, when her crew chose not to participate in the following day’s practice Wilson urged them to let her return to the track.

Her first IndyCar road race at Cleveland the following year brought a challenge of a different kind as she brought her Wysard Racing-run March home tenth in searing 37C heat.

“I just stuck it out,” she remembered. “The IndyCars were actually much heavier to drive than F1 cars. And after that event I went and put another ten pounds of muscle on because I knew these were really… I didn’t have a differential! I had a spool diff, a locked diff.”

“The physical effort was so difficult, the heat, but there was no way I was going to give up,” she continued. “A bunch of the guys pulled in and quit, couldn’t drive any more.”

“I kept on going, halfway through the race I was really done in and then all of a sudden I pushed myself and the next thing at the end of the race I was going faster than I had been at the beginning of the race.”

Wilson doesn’t doubt that women are resilient enough to compete side-by-side on the same track as men. “I truly believe a woman, mentally, is much stronger than a man because (a) we’re multi-taskers ( we have to put up with so much – I don’t want to say adversity because guys also put up with adversity – but you’ve got so much to deal with in your life.”

“And also you’re always this underdog, so you’re always fighting. Mentally, we can be incredibly strong.”

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Bottas hopeful Williams F1 team can enjoy strong start to 2014

Valtteri Bottas says Williams has a real chance to score some strong results early in the 2014 Formula 1 season, after continuing its excellent pre-season testing form in Bahrain.

The team only managed to set the eighth fastest time across four days of testing at the Sakhir circuit last week, but devoted one day entirely to pitstop practice with the FW36.

Bottas drove more laps in a single day than any other driver on day two (116) while Williams completed more running than any other team (323 laps) in Bahrain.

"If we have more of these kinds of days and if some other teams continue struggling then for sure we have an advantage, and I think a big thanks to this is the Mercedes," said Bottas.

"The work with them has been very good so far; the engine side is working well. We did the amount of laps of two races without any problems, which is very important."

The Mercedes-powered runners have dominated the timesheets during the two days of testing held so far, and the Finn reckons his Grove team will have an advantage early on if non-Mercedes teams continue to struggle.

"At this point compared to last year is it's looking better for us, and that's definitely our goal to make a good step from last year, because it was not where we should be," added Bottas.

"But we're not getting too excited yet. We've no clue what the others have been doing. Looking at the lap times it's still very difficult to know, so let's wait a bit and see.

"I think Ferrari is also looking strong [with a] strong engine. [Their] reliability is also not too bad, and we'll see how much Renault can improve.

"I think we should not underestimate anyone, but we are hoping we will be in this top 10 group and my feeling, at least at the beginning of the season, is that it could be Mercedes-powered cars [at the front] but let's see.

"I think the field could actually be quite tight - especially the top 15."

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Bahrain Test II Day 1: Perez fastest as Renault struggles continue

Sergio Perez ended day one of the final Formula 1 preseason test fastest of all in the Force India VJM07, as once again Mercedes powered teams dominated the top half of the timing screens at Bahrain International Circuit, while Renault teams continued to be firmly planted down the bottom.

Worse of all is that while the Mercedes brigade were covering serious miles – while the best Renault powered outfit could only manage 56 laps and the others, including world champions Red Bull fared even worse.

The opening day of this third stanza of preseason testing was relatively subdued, with the big guns – namely the Mercedes works team and McLaren – working on race specification and setup, focusing on long runs, and not bothered to do hot laps.

Perez set his best time of the day, 1.35.290, during the morning session. Although the time was a couple of seconds down on Nico Rosberg’s best the previous week, it was nevertheless the best time by a Force India driver during the five days of Bahrain action thus far. With 105 laps tallied up, the Silverstone based outfit will be happy with their day’s work.

“We really needed a good day to start this week and today we had it. We managed to do a lot of laps, try several different compounds and mappings, and it’s been a fantastic day in terms of learning about the car. Tomorrow is my last day in the car before the season starts so hopefully we can have another solid day to be in good shape for Melbourne,” said Perez at the end of the day.

The Mercedes powered Williams FW36, with Valterri Bottas on duty did the most mileage during the course of the day, racking up an impressive and trouble free 128 laps on the way to setting the second best time.

Problems in the morning curtailed Kimi Raikkonen’s day in the cockpit of the Ferrari F14T, nevertheless he did complete 54 laps and set the third best time in the process. As on the final day of the previous test, a few days earlier, Raikkonen brought the day to premature end when he stopped out on track with a few minutes to go. This time there was no bent metal.

Nico Rosberg was fifth fastest in the Mercedes W05 with 89 laps covered, last week’s pace setter was clearly in race simulation mode, as was Kevin Magnussen in the McLaren MP4-29 who amassed a useful 109 laps.

Splitting the two silver cars on the timing screens was the gray Sauber, with Adrian Sutil enjoying a more fruitful day in the Ferrari powered C33 – closer to the pace of the Maranello works team, with a handy 89 laps to his credit.

Red Bull again suffered with Daniel Ricciardo on duty. Heating issues, which have plagued the RB10 returned with the aero-package – even with substantial modifications – still susceptible to the high temperatures which Renault’s new V6 turbo power unit runs at.

Ricciardo only managed 39 laps before gremlins cut short his day once again. He returned to the track for a a short run late on in the day. Nevertheless his best time of 1:37.908 was over two seconds better than anything the RB10 was capable a week earlier, and edging closer to the top times.

Marussia had the busiest day of their preseason, in terms track time, as Max Chilton managed 44 laps in the Ferrari powered MR03 and the eight best time in the process.

Bottom three on the day were all Renault powered, with Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso STR9 ending the day ninth, tenth was Pastor Maldonado in the Lotus E22 and Kamui Kobayashi slowest of all in the CT05 – and as he lamented prior to the test, his best lap time was in the GP2 lap time zone, and with only 19 laps on his chart.

Lotus had to call it quits early in the day as a new specification exhaust system they had bolted on failed which caused the team to revert to the previous spec, but time was not on their side and their day ended with a mere 31 laps covered.

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Some teams will struggle to qualify in Melbourne if 107% rule is implemented

Formula 1′s next challenge will be getting together a full grid for the opening races of 2014 Formula 1 World Championship season, as predictions are that some teams will struggle to qualify within the 107 per cent rule.

As teams grapple with the technological revolution of the all-new V6 Power Units amid severely tight testing restrictions, it emerged after the recent Bahrain test that many 2014 cars – notably the Red Bull of reigning F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel – might struggle simply to qualify for grands prix.

Indeed, according to Formula 1′s 107 per cent qualifying rule, only 14 of the sport’s 22 cars would have been quick enough to race had Nico Rosberg’s best time in Bahrain last week actually been an official pole lap.

“There can be exceptions [to the rule], this is true as we have seen in past seasons,” ex Formula 1 team owner and boss Gian Carlo Minardi has said.

“But you must at least have done a time in practice within the 107 per cent. The reality today is that cars are struggling just to do a handful of laps consecutively,” said the Italian.

The most stark problems are being suffered by Red Bull and Renault; the title-winning combination in the last four years of the now-historic V8 era.

“We are working day and night,” Red Bull’s Helmut Marko said in the German press this week. “We stand with Renault to solve the problems.”

Ex Formula 1 driver Mika Salo tipped Renault to work it out.

“I believe an organisation of the size of Renault – a car and engine manufacturer – to sort this problem out very quickly,” he told the Finnish broadcaster MTV3.

Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, however, must also take the blame, according to former Technical Director and now Formula 1 media analyst Gary Anderson.

“[Red Bull] haven’t left any room to manoeuvre,” he is quoted by the Telegraph, accusing Red Bull of being too extreme with the design of the troubled RB10.

But if the might of big-spending world champions Red Bull can ultimately emerge from the crisis, what of a similarly Renault-powered backmarker like Caterham?

Team driver Kamui Kobayashi is openly troubled.

“We are not able to race,” the Japanese is quoted by Spain’s El Confidencial. “But if we were, I think we should use a GP2 car, as we would be faster.

“At this point, if we were to race…I don’t think this is Formula 1,” he added.

Speaking to Speedweek, Toro Rosso boss Franz Tost said, “It is difficult to assess the performance of the car. We hardly know how the car handles, because we have done so few laps. Both the reliability and performance represent two unknowns.”

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Ferrari: We had a small problem which limited the number of laps

First day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari, working from today until Sunday at the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain, at the final pre-season test.

Kimi Raikkonen was back at the wheel of the F14 T, as the team resumed its work programme aimed at preparation for the first race of the season.

This morning’s work soon got delayed, because of a problem on the car that took some time to fix before the lunch break. Once back on track in the afternoon, Kimi managed to run regularly, alternating between aero measurements and a series of set-up tests over short runs.

“We had a small problem today, which limited the number of laps but still managed to learn some new things about the car” – said Kimi to www.ferrari.com – “You always want to do better, but every team has unexpected things happen and we are still trying to do all we can to be ready for Melbourne. During the race weekends there will be little time to try different things in terms of setup, so it was important today to keep on this track to find out what’s the best direction to go in.

On the final day of the test, we will put everything together that we have learned so far and will concentrate on the conditions we will encounter in the races.”

Testing continues at this circuit tomorrow, when Fernando Alonso will be on track.

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Red Bull: We have some work to do overnight

F1’s final pre-season test ahead of the 2014 season got underway at the Bahrain International Circuit today, with Daniel Ricciardo back at the wheel of the RB10.

After a productive morning in which he logged 32 laps, the afternoon session was more difficult, leading to the team spending most of the second period in the garage.

Daniel did, however, return to the track to post a further seven laps just before the end of running.

“The morning was much better for us with a few longer runs,” said Daniel afterwards. “Behind the wheel, that’s the best I’ve felt so far. The package seems to be coming together better. We still had a few issues today, but at least when the car was on track it was much more useful running and we made progress in the morning. It’s getting there. I’d love to keep going, but at least Seb has two days after me in the car, so I think we’ll be looking pretty good for the next three days.”

Race Engineering Co-ordinator Andy Damerum added: “We started really well this morning and put in some very useful laps straight away, which was good. We were able to run consistently and without issue and the plan was to increase the duration of the runs incrementally. That was all going according to plan. We sent Daniel out for a long-ish run, but we had to abort about five laps in, as we noticed some issues on the sensors. We brought him in, had a look at the car and discovered that we had a problem with the exhaust. So we had a long afternoon in the garage, but we did manage to get Daniel back out at the end of the session, which was good. We have some work to do overnight but hopefully tomorrow we’ll be able to run in a similar style to this morning.”

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Williams: It’s been a really good day completing 128 laps

Williams team report from the first day of the final preseason test, at bahrain International Circuit, ahead of the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship.

• Driver: Valtteri Bottas
  
• Chassis / Engine: FW36-03 / PU106A Hybrid
  
• Location: Bahrain International Circuit 5.412km
  
• Objectives: Aero evaluation, race simulation and set-up work
  
• Weather: Hot and sunny
  
• Maximum air & track temps: 30ºC / 39ºC
  

Rod Nelson, Chief Test & Support Engineer: We started the morning by testing some aero components, all of which correlated well with what we were expected from the wind tunnel. We then did a race simulation this afternoon including laps to the grid and everything that goes into a race and that also went well. We then completed our programme for today with some new tyre work for Pirelli. Overall, it’s been a really good day completing 128 laps.

Valtteri Bottas: It’s been another good day for us. It was nice to get the whole run plan done. We didn’t have any issues all day so well done to all the team for getting the car running so well. We have a lot of data to analyse tonight after doing some aero work this morning and a race distance and set-up work this afternoon. We did some very interesting tests and there are still plenty of things to improve so we’ll keep pushing.

[MIKA27]

Sauber: The number of laps we did today was decent

Bahrain International Circuit, 27th February 2014 – The final pre-season test started today.

The Sauber F1 Team focused on qualifying and race preparation, as well as further development work for the Sauber C33-Ferrari.

Adrian Sutil also had a chance to gain experience on the soft and super soft tyre compounds. He drove a total of 89 laps.

• Circuit: Bahrain International Circuit / 5.412 km
  
• Driver: Adrian Sutil
  
• Weather: Sunny, air 24-30 °C, track 20-39 °C
  
• Chassis / engine: C33-01 / Ferrari
  
• Laps today: 89 laps, 481.668 km
  
• Fastest lap: 1:37.700
  

Giampaolo Dall’Ara, Head of Track Engineering: “The number of laps we did today was decent and we were able to work through the programme. In the morning we did front wing and suspension work. Then we went on to do low fuel qualifying runs until early afternoon, before switching to high fuel race simulations. In addition, Adrian was able to evaluate the soft and super soft tyre compounds properly. The purpose of this last test is to get the race team up to speed for the first race with the new procedures and a complex new car. At the same time, the development of the car goes on, so this is a delicate balance you have to find.”

Adrian Sutil: “We did a lot of mileage today. However, we have to work on our performance. We still had a few issues. Nevertheless, we were able to do qualifying runs and almost a complete race simulation. We have collected a lot of valuable information, and we know we still have to make further progress. Also I was able to gain experience on all dry tyre compounds. Generally they are all a bit harder than last year, but I have no concern about them as they should last well over the race distance.”

What comes next?

Tomorrow Esteban Gutiérrez will take over. Adrian Sutil will be driving the Sauber C33-Ferrari on Saturday, with Gutiérrez taking over again for the final day of pre-season testing on Sunday.

[MIKA27]

Mercedes: That was not a fantastic day for us

Mercedes AMG Petronas began the third and final pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit today, with Nico Rosberg taking the wheel of the F1 W05. Nico’s best time of 1:36.668 from 89 laps put him fourth on the time sheets.

• Today’s programme comprised long runs and a limited amount of setup evaluation in the morning, followed by race procedure work (including practice pit stops / starts) in the afternoon
  
• Nico emerged for his first run just after 09:30 local time, completing 64 laps before the lunch break at 13:00
  
• A further 25 laps followed in the afternoon, before problems brought running to an end one hour earlier than planned
  
• Mercedes-Benz Power Units today completed a total of 2,332.522 km between all teams
  
• Lewis Hamilton will take the wheel of the F1 W05 for the second day of the test tomorrow.
  

Nico Rosberg: That was not a fantastic day for us. We tried some new parts on the car and you find out a lot through doing that.

But unfortunately we did not only discover good things today. I managed to do a couple of good laps before lunch but in the afternoon we had a few small problems which ended my running a bit earlier than planned. This shows that we are pushing everything to the limit and we still have a massive challenge in front of us during the last three days of testing. We need to maximise our time here to be prepared for Melbourne. But after a difficult day overall we are on the right path.

Paddy Lowe: We’ve re-grouped after last week’s test and come back with the intention of running as close as possible to our Melbourne race specification with the F1 W05. In addition to completing our final preparations from the reliability and performance perspectives, we have also brought a number of aerodynamic updates to the car for evaluation throughout the week. We’ve also been looking at a number of problems which arose during running last week and have introduced solutions for them. This first day got off to a slightly hesitant start, with a few minor issues on our side combined with a number of red flags interrupting proceedings.

Once we got going, however, Nico got straight into some relatively long runs on the medium tyre; commencing each with race start procedures, ending with practice pit stops and evaluating a few setup variations in between. By lunchtime and into the early part of afternoon, however, a number of problems with the car began to emerge which hindered Nico’s progress and eventually brought our running to a halt an hour ahead of schedule. We understand what went wrong and will be reviewing it overnight with the aim of having a better day tomorrow.

[MIKA27]

Lotus: Unfortunately our new specification exhaust system failed

Pastor Maldonado ended the first day of this week’s Bahrain test with 31 laps completed after an exhaust issue shortened the day’s running for Lotus F1 Team. Pastor set a lap time of 1min 40.599secs as the team conducted evaluations of new parts, including an updated exhaust. The team will revert to the earlier specification of exhaust for tomorrow’s running.

Fast Facts:

• Track: Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain, 5.4km
  
• Chassis: E22-01
  
• Weather: Sunny and cloudy ambient 23-30°C, track 25-39°C
  
• Programme: Evaluation of new parts.
  
• Laps Completed: 31
  
• Classification: P10, 1:40.599
  
• Interruptions: Software updates and exhaust failure.
  

Pastor Maldonado: “For sure it wasn’t what we wanted today, but we are all working very hard to make progress and I’m sure we’ll have solutions quite soon as a team, and it’s clear we have good potential and the car is not bad. We have had some problems but we are fixing them and we are making improvements with electronics and software every day we run.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “Today started well and we evaluated new aero parts in the morning. Unfortunately, our new specification exhaust system failed, causing a small amount of damage to the surrounding area of the car.

This stopped us running early due to the rectification work required. For tomorrow, we will run with our previous specification of exhaust and we do not expect to see any similar problems to those we saw today.”

[MIKA27]

Toro Rosso: These tests went well, producing encouraging results

After a break of just four days, testing has resumed at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit. This four day test offers the final chance for all the Formula 1 teams to test their radically different 2014 cars, before the first race of the season, in Melbourne on 16 March.

In the Scuderia Toro Rosso garage, Daniil Kvyat was on driving duty and the Russian had a solid morning, getting through part of the programme linked to some updated parts the team plans to run in Melbourne.

These tests went well, producing encouraging results. However, shortly after the 30 minute lunch break, introduced for the first time at the Bahrain tests, the STR9 had a technical failure, which could not be fixed in time for the car to go out again today.

Tomorrow, Jean-Eric Vergne takes over at the wheel, when the team will be pushing to make up for lost track time.

Daniil Kvyat: “It was nice to be in the car, even if we didn’t get through the entire programme we had planned for today. However, I feel we have made some progress. We ran the Hard Pirelli most of the time, as we were definitely not chasing performance today. I hope Jev manages to get a full day’s running tomorrow, before I drive again on Saturday.”

[MIKA27]

Cosworth open to F1 return with ready to run turbo

Cosworth is not ruling out a return to Formula 1, as they have a turbo power unit ready to fire up.

As the sport prepared for the all-new and even more expensive turbo V6 era, the independent British outfit found itself without a customer for 2014.

But it emerged last week that Cosworth nonetheless completed an engine design for the new rules, even though it will not be built and raced this year.

America’s premier open-wheel category also runs turbo V6 engines, and Cosworth Chief Executive Hal Reisiger said the marque is “committed” to finding an Indycar partner.

As for returning to Formula 1, he told NBC Sports that Cosworth only abandoned its 2014 project because “there wasn’t a team or teams plural that were willing to sponsor the development”.

But Reisiger admitted that if current or subsequent talks with teams came to fruition, “Absolutely we would” want to return to Formula 1.

“I think that we provide a very cost effective solution for people to be on the grid,” he said. ”We’d look forward to the right opportunity if we could find the right collaboration.”

[MIKA27]

Santander’s recurring dream of London Grand Prix persists

Two years ago, Santander’s ambitious plans to create a unique London Grand Prix were merely an enthusiastic flight of fancy, albeit heavily grounded in reality.

This week, however, new government legislation will make it easier for public streets to be sanctioned for motorsport events, and that means the much-vaunted London Grand Prix once again moves a step closer to reality.

Speaking about the prospect of a London Grand Prix, Jenson Button said: ”When I first saw Santander’s plans for a London Grand Prix, I knew they were ambitious, but fantastic – the thought of a race through the capital’s streets was only a dream when they initiated the project, but this week’s changes to the law bring the idea a step closer to reality.

“When you really picture what it would look like it’s truly mind blowing. You could create such a unique grand prix through the streets of London – the roads are naturally very wide and long, so straightline speeds would be high, and you could create a real blend of corners and when you combine all of that with the world famous monuments that would feature in the backdrop you can see why it would be an awesome addition to the calendar.

“The dream has taken a step closer this week, and I’d love to see this amazing concept finally happen.”

Will it ever happen?

Who knows. But, back in 2012, Santander took the opportunity to create the most realistic computer simulation of what a London street race would actually be like – and it’s about as close as you could get before starting to erect Armco barrier!

[MIKA27]

Renault asks for F1 engine freeze extension as big boss Ghosn says situation is serious

Renault has asked for an extension to Friday’s deadline for the development freeze of its troubled Formula 1 V6 turbo power unit, used by Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Caterham and Lotus.

Actually, the homologation deadline is Friday at midnight, when the basic performance specifications of Mercedes, Ferrari and Renault’s new power units are set to be formally homologated by Formula 1′s governing body.

But Auto Motor und Sport reports that Renault, grappling so obviously with its new V6 and related systems, asked the FIA for a postponement of the deadline on Thursday.

Correspondent Michael Schmidt claims that Renault, supplier to the reigning world champion team Red Bull and three others, has asked for “two to three” more months to get to the bottom of its technical problems.

Renault’s request will be on the agenda at Friday’s meeting of the strategy group in London, Schmidt added.

It is reported that Renault president Carlos Ghosn has already met with FIA president Jean Todt “to convince him of the seriousness of the situation”.

Renault issued a statement saying: “Renault is providing the reference Power Unit and appropriate supplementary material to the FIA, as per today’s homologation deadline. There is a background request from some teams for alternative proposals (as will be discussed by the strategy group today) that regard some parts and components. However, the basic requirements of the homologation deadline will be delivered today as mandated by the FIA.”

[MIKA27]

Red Bull improve in time for Vettel’s return to testing duty in Bahrain

Struggling Red Bull had cause for optimism following day two of Formula 1′s final pre-season test in Bahrain on Friday, with Daniel Ricciardo recording the team’s fastest lap in six days of testing in the Middle East.

The timing of the improvement could not be better as, amid reports of “hissy fits”, huge horsepower deficits and general negativity, F1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel returns to the cockpit of the RB10 for his share of testing duty.

On day two at Sakhir, using modified ‘emergency’ vents on either side of the troublesome RB10 to avoid overheating, the car managed its longest stint on the track so far this pre-season following multiple problems with its Renault-powered engine in the previous tests in Jerez and Bahrain.

Australian Ricciardo managed 66 laps in total, including a 20-lap burst late on, and turned in the third fastest time of the day with one minute 35.743 seconds.

“This morning it was important to have the race crew here to do the pit stops, as they haven’t had the chance to get to grips with the car yet, so we didn’t do that many laps in the morning,” Ricciardo said afterwards.

“However, in the afternoon we did some good stuff. We had a go on the Soft tyre, which was nice, to see how the car responds with a bit more grip. We also did one long run at the end, which was very important, just to see how the car is behaving with the tyres,” he added.

“A big improvement everywhere over yesterday and a much more optimistic outlook now I think. We still have a lot to learn and understand, but we’re making progress and the past two days have been a big step in the right direction.”

Perhaps another glimmer of hope for the world champions is the fact that, the hitherto bullet-proof, Mercedes and McLaren teams endured power unit related problems during the course of the day.

[MIKA27]

Lotus: A localised fire in the car ended our running early

Pastor Maldonado ended the second day of this week’s Bahrain test with 31 laps completed after a localised fire in the rear of the E22 ended the day’s running for Lotus F1 Team. Pastor set a lap time of 1min 41.613secs as the team continued to conduct evaluations of new parts.

Fast Facts:

• Track: Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain, 5.4km
  
• Chassis: E22-02 (as was used on 27/2 contrary to yesterday’s release)
  
• Weather: Sunny and cloudy ambient 23-27°C, track 27-38°C
  
• Programme: Evaluation of new parts.
  
• Laps Completed: 31
  
• Classification: P10, 1:41.613
  
• Interruptions: Software updates. Fire and resultant damage.
  

Pastor Maldonado: “It was a tough day for us with the fire. We need to keep working and for sure it’s not an ideal situation for the team, or for me but we need to keep focus, work together and I hope for the future we can be better. Today was my last day of pre-season testing so it will be very interesting when we get to Australia.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director: “Today we had a localised fire in the car which ended our running early and caused a reasonable amount of damage to the E22. We’re inspecting the chassis and installation very carefully to deduce the cause of the fire and rectify any issues we find. Clearly this is not how we wanted to spend our day, but our focus is getting the most from the remaining days of the test.”What’s Next?

What’s next? Romain will drive for the final two test days at Bahrain International Circuit.

[MIKA27]

Bahrain Test II Day 2: Perez on top again while Red Bull enjoy best day so far

Force India’s new boy Sergio Perez did the double by topping the timing screens for the second consecutive day, on the second day of the final Formula 1 pre-season test at Bahrain International Circuit, while Daniel Ricciardo enjoyed Red Bull’s best showing in the ten days of testing thus far.

Perez’s best time of 1.35.570 was slightly slower than his best 24 hours earlier, and still off Rosberg’s pace a week earlier.

Nevertheless the VJM07 gobbled up the miles on the way to racking up 108 laps. The next time the Mexican drives will be when he drives out of the pits in Melbourne for the first practice of the Australian GP weekend.

Perez said, ”It feels very good to have another full day and to do so many laps. It’s my last time in the car until we arrive in Melbourne and I’m feeling positive about how things are going. The set-up work today was very useful because we tried some different things to have a better direction for the first race. Everything went to plan and we managed to complete all the long runs in the afternoon.”

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso ended the day second fastest by a mere 0.064 of a second, in the F14T and with 122 laps ticked off he managed more mileage than anyone else on the day. The Maranello outfit is again looking solid, after Kimi Raikkonen’s niggle packed Thursday.

Perhaps the biggest news of the day is that the Red Bull RB10 covered some meaningful laps for a change, with 66 completed, despite a late start to their day. Also importantly for the world champions, they are starting to squeeze some reasonable pace out of their problem child. They were considerably quicker than they have been during the five previous days at Sakhir, and way ahead of the next best Renault powered outfit.

Next time Ricciardo acquaints himself with the car will be at his home race in a couple of weeks, as his world champion teammate Sebastian Vettel takes over for the final two days.

Williams continued to go about their business without too much fuss, this time Felipe Massa was on duty in the FW33, ending fourth fastest and with 104 useful laps in the bag.

Jenson Button was fourth fastest in the McLaren MP4-29, but his day was hampered with a drivetrain issue which caused him to stop out on track. Thereafter the team spent a long while sorting out the problem, with Button re-emerging for a late run, but 52 laps were his reward for the day’s graft.

Best of the Ferrari customer teams was Marussia, with Jules Bianchi in the cockpit of the MR03, albeit nearly 2.5 seconds adrift of Alonso’s best. Esteban Gutierrez was ninth fastest in the Ferrari powered Sauber C33. They racked up 75 laps and 106 laps respectively.

Seventh fastest was Lewis Hamilton, whose day started with an early morning visit to the gravel, which prompted the first stoppage of the day as the Mercedes W05 was retrieved. Although he did manage 89 laps, it was an early shower for the Briton as gearbox problems forced the team to bring an end to proceedings prematurely.

Toro Rosso’s Jean Eric Vergne ended with 61 laps, almost matching their sister Red Bull team with regards to mileage, but lagging nearly four seconds down on Ricciardo’s best lap time.

Lotus’s day was cut short when the Renault engine blew up and the E22 caught fire with Pastor Maldonado in the cockpit. The team explained on Twitter: “Sufficient char-grilling to render us out for the rest of today.”

They managed only 31 laps, way off the pace, and the decision to miss out on Jerez may have appeared good at the time, but right now it is clear that they are behind their rivals with their programme.

Final stoppage of the day came when Marcus Ericsson’s Caterham CT05 also caught fire, as he came to a stop in Turn 4, with less than an hour to go. The Danish rookie managed 55 laps, but as with Maldonado, the he was way off the pace.