FORMULA 1 - 2014

[MatthewB]

Lets hope we dont lose the Melbourne race....

It would be nice to see Grosjean, Hulkenburg and Daniel have a great year. I agree, seeing Williams and Massa kick ferrari will be the standout moment...

[MIKA27]

Lets hope we dont lose the Melbourne race....

It would be nice to see Grosjean, Hulkenburg and Daniel have a great year. I agree, seeing Williams and Massa kick ferrari will be the standout moment...

Reading up on how testing went already indicates the Mercedes Powered cars will be a dominant force from the start. Hopefully Williams start scoring and winning podiums.

[MIKA27]

Renault: Melbourne will be an anxious weekend!

In the aftermath of the problem packed final Formula 1 pre-season test in Bahrain, albeit less so than the first two editions at Jerez and Bahrain, Renault has released a Q&A with Renault Sport F1 Deputy Managing Director (Technical) Rob White.

How was the second Bahrain test from a Renault perspective?

White: The aim of the last test session before Australia was to recover some of the lost ground from the previous test sessions and to rehearse the grand prix. We wanted each of our four teams to be able to approach a normal race weekend without having to improvise any of the procedures or operations needed. We can’t escape the fact that we did not complete the entire programme with all the teams and that some Melbourne preparations are incomplete. On the up-side, we have done some of everything, with simulations of qualifying sessions, starts, race distances and long stints and it is fair to say that once again we have made some real progress. We have cured or found workarounds for some of the problems that we had previously identified. New problems revealed as we ran more have added to the unsolved items, and have disrupted running, which is disappointing for our teams.

Have there been any major issues this time round?

White: In terms of down-time, we see that minor incidents can veer off into major ones and cause significant downtime. This is an example of the immaturity of our PU; we do not have all of the fail-safe and limp-home modes we would consider normal in this stage. This contributes to the loss of track time when a small issue does occur. As we go forward we expect to be able to take these things in our stride rather than have a major failure as a result of minor problem. When running, this immaturity makes itself known as shortcomings in torque delivery or ‘drivability’, which make it tricky for the drivers to find the performance limit of the car.

And what have been the key learnings over the testing period?

White: We have started to converge on a configuration of car that is more like when we have run the engine back on the dynos in Viry. We’ve increased the level of performance at which the PU can be operated, and we’ve made strides in terms of how energy is managed round the circuit. Additionally we have made some headway on troubleshooting our control systems.

What is the plan now pre-Melbourne?

White: Between now and Melbourne we have a number of items to cover. We need to consolidate all of the lessons learned across all the teams. We need to review all the accumulated data and compare and contrast to get the best out of it so the starting point for all of the Renault-powered cars is as good as it can be. Second, we must progress further on the torque delivery of the PU felt by the drivers. This will include software and calibration work, with simulator and dyno and validation. Thirdly there is the logistical challenge of getting the race Power Units built and shipped to Australia. That process is well under way and will be finished next week.

Has the Renault Energy F1-2014 Power Unit undergone the necessary homologation process?

White: Yes, the relevant documents and a reference Power Unit have been submitted to the FIA within the deadlines in the Sporting Rules.

What are your hopes for Melbourne?

White: Melbourne will be an anxious weekend! Conducting a normal race weekend, in which both cars run well during each session for every team, would be a great relief. I hope we can support our teams and drivers to explore the performance of the car and allow the race to deliver its sporting verdict.

[MIKA27]

Is 2014 the year in which Williams returns to its championship winning ways?

It’s been 17 years since Williams last won a Formula 1 world title, but one of the sport’s legendary teams is showing unexpected signs of life after long, barren seasons in the wilderness.

When four days of testing wrapped up in Bahrain on Sunday, it was Felipe Massa topping the time charts with the rejuvenated British team.

Massa, having left behind some trying times with Ferrari, where he was replaced by Kimi Raikkonen, clocked the best time at Sakhir, 1:33.25 after an impressive 202 laps.

Teammate Valtteri Bottas was fourth fastest overall with the Williams men sandwiching the two Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

“We had a very good day Saturday, doing almost 100 laps,” said Brazilian driver Massa, whose move to Williams has also seen his longtime race engineer Rob Smedley decamp from Ferrari.

“I’m really happy with the car and feel that we found a good balance. We did so much work on the set-up but it is very important that we go to Australia prepared (The first race of the season is on March 16 in Melbourne.)

“Of course you are always happy when you see your name at the top in first place, but as well as performance, it was good for the mileage and reliability of the car which we know is needed for Australia.

“You can never be sure that you are 100 percent ready for the first race, but I feel that what we have done in these days [of] testing has been important for making sure that we have a car that can not only get to the end of the race, but that will have good performance as well.”

Such confidence has been rare at Williams in recent times.

A fixture in the F1 World Championship since 1977, Williams have started over 600 races, capturing nine constructors titles and seven drivers’ crowns.

But the last of those came way back in 1997 courtesy of Jacques Villeneuve, and 2013 saw them collect just five points with a ninth-place finish confirming their worst ever season.

Bottas collected four of Williams’ five points last year and stays with the team after Lotus-bound Pastor Maldonado was dropped.

It was Maldonado who was responsible for Williams’ most recent success – at the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, their first since Brazil in 2004.

Pastor Maldonado won the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix for Williams

“I think that with this amount of testing we are as prepared for Melbourne as we can be,” said 24-year-old Bottas.

Interestingly, Williams, having split with Renault as their engine partner, are now powered by Mercedes with the German giant massaging Massa’s undoubted speed with their trademark reliability.

They too will be key to a Williams rebirth in 2014 and the indications over winter testing were promising.

In Bahrain, the most laps were completed by Mercedes-powered teams — Williams with 421 laps, Force India did 388 while the factory Mercedes team of Hamilton and Rosberg completed 350.

Of the 12 test days in the winter – four in Jerez and eight in Bahrain over two spells, Mercedes-backed cars topped the times on 11 of them.

[MIKA27]

Domenicali: Mercedes and Williams are out in front, after them it could be us

Testing prior to the start of the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship concluded on Sunday in Bahrain Ferrari Team Principal Stefano Domenicali believes that there is a pecking order ahead of the season opening Australian Grand Prix.

Speaking to journalists on Sunday evening, Domenicali said, “From what we have seen so far, there are two teams out in front, Mercedes and Williams. After them, it could be us.”

“I also think that some teams that are struggling at the moment will be able to catch up, while teams that currently seem to have a slight advantage could see a plateau in their performance, allowing the others to close the gap.”

“The rule changes for this season have been so radical that I’d say to get a consensus you would need further tests before the championship gets underway. In our case, we are taking a lot of data back home, which we will now analyse in depth.”

“Some aspects deserve more attention to achieve the performance level we are looking for, while others maybe just need a bit of fine tuning.”

“Once back in Maranello, we will do all in our power to rectify the things that aren’t working properly yet, so that we can be as well prepared as possible in Melbourne.”

Domenicali predicts that this will be an unusual season, especially in the early stages. “I believe that we could see big changes from the first race to the second and from the second to the third, with everyone bringing in developments all the time. At first, reliability will be the key, because without it you don’t score points.”

For Ferrari, the remaining twelve days to go to the first race will be busy, as Domenicali explains, “From our side, we know there is still a mountain of things for our engineers to develop. What I’m interested in and what I have specifically requested is that we define a list of priorities and stick to it.”

“One aspect we will definitely be looking at is the relationship between the turbo engine and the electric energy recovery systems – and there’s much to do in this area. On the other hand, we return to Maranello knowing that the figures we saw from the car during the design phase have been correlated at the track and that’s already a good starting point.”

[MIKA27]

Vettel: At the moment we have bigger problems to solve than just the pace

The timing screens on the final day of Formula 1 pre-season testing will show that Sebastian Vettel, at the wheel of the Red Bull RB10 was way off the pace, however the world champion revealed that pace is not high on their list of problems to solve ahead of the season opening Australian Grand Prix.

Speaking at the end of his final stint in Bahrain, Vettel told members of the media, “For sure we cannot do the times that the guys at the top are doing, for a couple of reasons, but at the moment we have bigger problems to solve than just the pace.”

“It’s quite a difficult time because it’s a difficult car to work on and you can see as well for the other teams, if you have downtime depending on where the damage is, where the problem is that it’s a big job to repair and fix it. That’s why it takes a long time.

Some insiders predict that Red Bull will struggle to get out of the initial Q1 segment in Melbourne later this month.

The world champion did not disagree, “The speed is not there compared to some other teams so we have to wait and see when we get there.”

Vettel is happy that Red Bull remained committed to the final pre-season test amid reports that the world champion team considered skipping the final test and decided to stay in Bahrain only to help engine supplier Renault more generally get up to speed.

“I think it was absolutely the right decision to come here,” he said before leaving Bahrain. “It is down to us that we have not done enough.”

The Austrian team, their boss Christian Horner and now the German himself have denied reports that Vettel recently threw a tantrum when he realised the scale of Red Bull’s crisis.

“I’m annoyed of course that I cannot drive,” he admitted. ”I think it’s worse for the mechanics, crawling around all day on the floor putting the car together for the umpteenth time.

“But I don’t see anybody getting upset, even if it is a hard time at the moment of course,” insisted Vettel.

And at the end of the day, it might not be all bad for Red Bull – insiders at Mercedes claim that GPS data has proved that when the Adrian Newey-penned car is running properly, it is fast in the corners.

“Of the few laps we have had, the feeling was pretty good,” Vettel confirmed. “But I can’t tell you more.”

[MIKA27]

Haas says F1 entry still on schedule after intense meeting with FIA

NASCAR team boss Gene Haas revealed that he and members of his management have had an intense meeting with the FIA regarding his entry into Formula 1 in 2015, and that despite the delay in the final decision, “things appear to be on schedule”.

Speaking to the media after his driver Kevin Harvick won at Phoenix International Raceway, Haas said, “After Daytona we went over to Geneva, Switzerland. We met with the FIA. It was an actual, formal, sit-down meeting with six or seven various people involved in the [FIA] in there.”

“They have a very, I want to call it, formal way of processing applications in the sense that there is no application. But they wanted to meet with us. It was about an hour and a half meeting where they asked us a lot of questions about how we intend to do this, how do we intend to pay for it, what are the logistics of how we’re going to do this.”

“We answered those questions as best we could. I was there. Joe Custer was there. Gunther Steiner was there. They’re pretty intense. They had a lot of good questions.”

“I think what they do is they take that information, evaluate it, make their recommendations to I think it’s the Formula One’s owners association or next group of people, and the process goes on.”

“They said they were going to have a decision by Friday. They notified us on Friday that, no, they were just one part of that decision-making process, that the [actual] decision making process would come later. They didn’t give us an exact date, but hopefully it will be in another week or two, maybe even longer.”

“From what I’ve learned talking to other people, this is fairly normal. There’s lots of dates they have. They don’t really make a decision until they’re sure what they want the decision to be,” concluded Haas.

[MIKA27]

Button wary of Red Bull and describes how Ricciardo overtook him

It is no secret that Red Bull were plagued by one problem after another during pre-season testing in Bahrain and Jerez, but there were a few flashes of brilliance from the RB10 that has Jenson Button worried.

Speaking to media in Bahrain, Button said, “I’m always worried about Red Bull If they can put a few laps together you can see their pace. They’re strong. It’s a good-looking car; it looks like it should work from an aerodynamic point of view and I think that when they do get reliability, if they do, they’ll be very, very competitive.”

“I was driving with Ricciardo for quite a few laps and he couldn’t get past me on the straights. He overtook me around the outside of Turn 11 instead, which is a high-speed left-hander. I’ve never seen anything like that before,” declared the McLaren driver.

“If they can complete a race distance, they’ll be near the front,” predicted Button.

[MIKA27]

Lotus need 'luck' to finish

Tech director Nick Chester fears Lotus will "need a bit of luck" to even reach the chequered flag in Melbourne.

Debuting their 2014 challenger, the E22, after the opening test in Jerez Lotus were always going to be playing catch up.

However, the Enstone team's chances of doing just that have not been helped by issues with the Renault engine powering the E22.

Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado managed just 238 laps at the second outing in Bahrain to go with the 111 they covered in the first.

As such Chester fears they may not reach the chequered flag at the season-opening Australian GP.

"I think we've got to have a few things align," he told Autosport.

"We've had days when the power unit has been fine and something else has let us down.

"I think we're going to need a bit of luck and all the bits to line up right for us.

"I know Renault Sport are working very hard on fixes and I'm sure they'll be bringing fixes and new specs to Melbourne that hopefully will give us a much better chance."

However, Lotus' issues have not been solely down to their Renault engine.

Chester added: "Most of the issues that have stopped us this week have been on the power unit side but we have had a couple of issues on our side.

"We had some exhaust failures earlier in the week. We think we understand them now.

"We've got a different spec of exhaust coming for Melbourne and we think we know why they were cracking. It was one of our parts, we still make the whole system."

[MIKA27]

'Force India in good shape'

Force India's VJM07 has come "a long way" since the Jerez test, says a confident Nico Hulkenberg.

Entrusted with the car on the final day of pre-season testing, Hulkenberg claimed fourth place on the timesheets during his 74 laps.

And although it was a solid final day on paper, Hulkenberg revealed he did not do a race simulation on the day.

That, though, has done very little to dampen his confidence.

"The final day of testing went pretty wellm," he said.

"In the end we didn't do the race simulation, but we did some long runs and signed off a lot of other things on the job list.

"We didn't do as many laps as yesterday (Saturday), but we still made progress and learned some new things. So it's been two good days for me and I'm feeling pretty satisfied.

"You always want more time to prepare, but I think we're in good shape. The car has come a long way since the first Jerez test and we have made progress every day."

MIKA: I hope Hulkenberg does well this year - This guy is talented, shame he never gets a decent drive... Though Force India do look like they have pace and reliability thus far.

[Lotusguy]

I think we will see some of the smallest fields of finishers the first few races this season... attrition will be horrendous.

[MIKA27]

Tech Talk: What did Ferrari have in their bag of tricks at the final test in Bahrain?

Ferrari tried a myriad tweaks and development bits during the final pre-season test in Bahrain as Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen chased performance on the relatively reliable F14T.

Our tech expert analyses and explains exactly what the Maranello outfit tried out at Sakhir during those four crucial days of testing.

New Front Wing

Ferrari arrived at Jerez with what seemed like a basic front wing when compared to the one used on the F138. Having done plenty of aero ‘leg-work’ in the first two tests with pitot tube rigs and aero paint, the team unveiled a much more complex wing for the last pre-season test in Bahrain.

This new 7 tier wing (an older specification was used in the preceeding tests) is certainly much closer in specification to the F138′s but instead of finding an almost flat juncture between the mainplane, endplate and footplate we find a clawed outer section to the mainplane that will create an elongated vortex, utilising the outer slots in wing.

The outer claw section allows a different endplate design too, meaning a smaller aperture toward the rear of the component. This is because the outer portion of the wing doesn’t require the injection of flow from the outside.

Front wing on the Ferrari F14T on the final day in Bahrain

Roll Hoop Wing

Ferrari have been putting in plenty of mileage over the last few tests which has been helped by some decent power unit reliability.

The team have also worked on establishing if the aero problems they have suffered with over the last few seasons have been resolved.

This has required the team to work with both pitot tube rigs and flo-viz painted all around the car. To complete this analysis the team left the adding of new parts until the final test.

It may seem like a small addition but added above the airbox inlet we find a small wing which will help to clean up the airflow that is destined for the rear wing.

It reminds me of a similar wing that featured on the (nearly) all conquering F2004, also used for several seasons thereafter. Perhaps here I must also point out that this year also reunites Ferrari with two designers that were around during that period: Rory Byrne and James Allison and so I question if their influence played it’s role in the wing’s return.

Rear wing on Ferrari F14T

New Rear Wing

When Ferrari launched the F14-T it seemed that the team had taken what they had learnt from the F138 and carried it over. A trailing edge slat populated the rear wing endplate and although it’s predecessor had 2 slats on each endplate the lineage was clear.

At the last test we find that Ferrari have abandoned the slat in favour of a conventional full length endplate doing away with any inefficiencies that the slat carried. The use of the slat(s) originally was to remedy other flow condition problems that the team were having at the rear of the car and although the slat provided this, the overall efficiency window was lowered by the extra drag it would induce. With the slat now removed the team have also extended the longitudinal strakes to the rear edge of the end plate in order to control the way the airflow leaves the end plate.

Ferrari F14T engine cover

New Engine Cover

The proposal for the teams to conduct pre-season testing in Bahrain ahead of the 2014 season was to allow the teams to test in a temperature similar to what would be seen at a normal GP weekend.

With this in mind, several teams have been testing variations of their bodywork configuration that will allow them to remain in an optimum thermal window for power unit performance, whilst retaining aerodynamic efficiency.

Ferrari therefore have tested a solution that sees a much larger cooling cannon surround the exhausts whilst an aperture on the spine of the engine cover has been added to provide additional cooling for the turbo. The two configurations are utilsed in order to play aerodynamic efficiency against mechanical sympathy, with warmer climates raising the thermal impact on the power unit, reducing power.

[MIKA27]

Webber to be part of 2014 Formula 1 on the BBC

Press Release: As the highly anticipated 2014 Formula 1 season approaches, BBC Sport will once again bring audiences all the action throughout the year, across TV, radio and online, with a more enhanced digital offering than ever before.

As previously announced, the BBC team this year is led on TV by presenter Suzi Perry with chief analyst Eddie Jordan, co-commentator and expert pundit David Coulthard and expert analyst Allan McNish, lead commentator Ben Edwards and pit lane reporters Lee McKenzie and Tom Clarkson on TV.

Joining the TV team to make an occasional series of films will be ex F1 racer Mark Webber. Mark will be looking at stories within Formula 1 from his unique perspective.

On Radio 5 live, F1 correspondent and commentator James Allen leads the coverage with Allan McNish as co-commentator and F1 presenter and pit lane reporter Jennie Gow.

The BBC will show nine races live on TV, including Malaysia, Silverstone, Canada and the last race of the calendar in Abu Dhabi, with the rest being covered in our ever-popular extended highlights programmes, with the same for Qualifying. Live race weekends will see practice sessions live on BBC Two.

[MIKA27]

Vettel and Newey have contracts until 2017 thinks Lauda

World champion Sebastian Vettel has reportedly added another two years to his existing Red Bull contract.

Last year, whilst already tied to the Austrian squad for 2014, it was announced that the German had extended his deal to also include the 2015 season.

“Hopefully the relationship will go beyond 2015, which is already some way into the future,” team boss Christian Horner said at the time.

Now, despite the depth of Red Bull’s early-2014 technical crisis, it appears that 26-year-old Vettel may indeed have stretched his tenure with the Milton Keynes based team even further.

The news emerged as Austrians Helmut Marko, the Red Bull director, and Mercedes’ Niki Lauda light-heartedly discussed the future during Monday’s Sport and Talk programme on Servus TV.

Marko jokingly revealed that Team Chairman Lauda is keen to lure Vettel and Chief Designer Adrian Newey to Mercedes.

“Niki comes every day and asks if Newey and Sebastian will go,” he said.

Lauda replied: “But you always tell me that Newey and Sebastian have contracts until 2017.”

“Right,” confirmed Marko. “So why do you keep coming every day?”

Lauda beamed: “Breakfast!”

Whether the references to 2017 revealed some impending announcements, or were simply a joke between Austrian friends and rivals, is unclear.

[MIKA27]

Alonso predicts that Massa will be strong rival in 2014

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso has tipped former teammate Felipe Massa to be a formidable rival in the 2014 F1 World Championship.

After eight years in red, Brazilian Massa’s move to the once-great British team Williams was seen by some as astep backwards for the 11-time grand prix winner.

But after pre-season testing, Mercedes-powered Williams has emerged as one of the stronger forces for 2014, with Massa tipped as an outside chance for outright victory in Melbourne.

“I’ve talked with Felipe several times this year already,” Spaniard Alonso is quoted by Brazil’s Globo.

“He is happy, Williams has so much history in Formula 1 and is not just any team, and they have had a very strong pre-season,” he noted.

“It is very positive because now they can be fighting. Felipe will definitely be a strong rival this year,” added Alonso.

[MIKA27]

Bottas plays down concerns that fuel saving will impact racing

Valtteri Bottas has played down fears grands prix will become little more than fuel-saving affairs in Formula 1′s new ‘green’ era.

Each driver will be limited to just 100 kilograms of fuel per race in 2014, representing a significant reduction over the unrestricted V8 era.

“I don’t think you’ll hear much about drivers having to save their tyres this year,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told the Daily Mail, “but we might hear a lot about having to save fuel.

“My concern is that we will lose an element of wheel-to-wheel racing, of man and machine on the limit.

“Hopefully we won’t see a driver having to wave rivals past because he is saving fuel to get to the chequered flag,” he added.

Horner said that he is worried that Formula 1′s desire to be more environmentally relevant may adversely affect the sporting spectacle.

“It’s a fine line,” he said. “First and foremost, it’s a sport and should be entertainment. Secondary to that should be the technology for the manufacturers.”

Williams driver Bottas, however, did a full race simulation at the Bahrain test last week and said he did not have to try too hard to conserve fuel.

“I didn’t have any problem,” he told Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat. ”I did some practice in the simulator at first and then in Bahrain I was able to do two race distances.”

“The most important thing was to lose as little laptime as possible while ensuring that you have the fuel you need for the whole race.

“I have to say that, at least for Bahrain, it was not really necessary to save fuel at all. I was able to drive quite normally.

“I think that at most of the races, we will be able to drive like this,” Bottas added.

[MIKA27]

Button tipping Marussia to be competitive in 2014

McLaren driver Jenson Button has tipped usual Formula 1 backmarker Marussia to take a big step forwards in 2014.

Yet to score a single point in its Marussia or Virgin guises since 2010, the team did finally beat rival Caterham to the coveted tenth place in the F1 Constructors’ Championship last year.

In pre-season testing ahead of the 2014 season, Marussia’s new MR03 – equpped with a Ferrari ‘power unit’ for the first time – looks considerably quicker than Caterham’s struggling Renault-powered machine.

McLaren driver Button is quoted by Brazil’s Totalrace: “It’s interesting to see how some teams have improved their cars suddenly.

“There are several teams that are strong at the moment,” he added. “Even Marussia – their car is much better than last year.

“I think people will be surprised at how they are actually competitive,” said Button.

[MIKA27]

Renault problems 'disturb' Lotus pair

Lotus technical director Nick Chester believes Renault's new energy recovery systems are responsible for "disturbing" its drivers Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado.

Under the 2014 regulations, the augmented energy recovery systems require a brake-by-wire system in order to stabilize the car under braking while energy is harvested.

Due to the complexity of relationship between the energy and braking systems, combined with the problems Lotus have had with their Renault power units during testing, Chester admitted that it would take the Enstone team a considerable amount of time to perform at an optimal level this year.

"With the chassis itself the level of grip isn't too bad, even though we've lost a little bit of downforce," Chester told crash.net.

"The biggest problems are how the chassis works with the power unit and how the energy recovery system works. So there are some inconsistencies there which are making it very difficult for the driver to predict what he is going to get when he arrives at the corner.

"So the system is not doing exactly the same thing every time and that is disturbing the driver and losing us a lot of time."

Chester added that he has had no confirmation from Renault either way with regards to how long it would take the French manufacturer to get its power units working with its associated systems on a consistent basis.

"There are no fixed timescales. They are working very hard on it. I'm sure when they gather all the information after [the final] test for what has happened with all the teams we'll get another update of what is happening for Melbourne," Chester added.

[MIKA27]

Nelson sure of Williams' reliability

Williams chief engineer Rod Nelson believes the Grove outfit will have a reliable car in the 2014 Formula One season, although he admitted that he is unsure about the car's race pace.

Williams has been one of the surprise packages during pre-season, with both Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas challenging title favourites Mercedes for pace at Jerez and Sakhir.

"I think it is more a reflection of our determination to have a good solid reliable car, and we are absolutely determined that that was going to be the case.

Touch wood that will carry on," Nelson told Autosport when asked about the team's table-topping pace in Bahrain over the weekend.

"We lost a day in Jerez, and lost a day here [in Bahrain] last week and we know that it will be pivotal to be as reliable as it can be.

"It wasn't any braveness or bluster of anything. It is just we had our homework to do and I wasn't going to sleep until we'd done it.

"We will have to see.

"Everyone else could be running 20kg of fuel and we would look stupid in Australia - I would rather wait."

Nevertheless, Nelson refused to be drawn into discussions about possible targets for the Australian Grand Prix, even though the FW36 car has performed admirably throughout winter testing.

"I wouldn't say that [i'd be disappointed by a non-points scoring finish]. I say we will do the best job that we possibly can," he continued.

"If we can look ourselves in the mirror and say we did the best job we could, we should be happy with that."

[MIKA27]

Fernley predicts big things for Force India

Force India Deputy Principal Bob Fernley believes Mercedes and Williams are the teams to beat in the season's first race in Australia in little more than a fortnight's time.

Williams driver Felipe Massa topped the time sheets on the penultimate day of testing in Bahrain last week, before Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes was fastest on the final day, a mere two hundreds of a second slower than the Brazilian.

"It would be very nice, but I think the important thing is that if we can be competing strongly with Williams and Mercedes. There's no reason why we shouldn't do," Fernley toldcrash.net when asked during an exclusive interview of he believes Force India could be the leading non-works Mercedes outfit.

"I think Williams might have something to say about that!

"Mercedes are looking exceptionally strong and so are Williams at the moment; I don't think we have probably got quite their outright pace but I think the race will be a different issue.

Fernley added that the Silverstone outfit's confidence heading into the season is based on their impressive performances during pre-season.

"I think it's been a very productive three tests overall. We have done all of the things that we set out to do. Test one was basically getting software systems aligned and just ironing out any installation errors, which we did and got a decent run on the last day of that which ticked the box there," Fernley added in his interview with crash.net.

"Test one in Bahrain was about getting some set-up work done and getting some basic distance runs in and [the last test] has been about some performance runs and race sims.

"I think we've ticked all the boxes. 100 laps per day for [the third test] has been quite an impressive process and credit to the team because that's not an easy thing to do."

[MIKA27]

McLaren's MAT Will Use F1 technology To Improve Heathrow Airport:

With the changes in F1 technical regulations this year to small capacity hybrid turbo engines, placing the emphasis on resource efficiency, innovations in F1 will increasingly filter down into the automotive and other industries and this will be an important story for the sport to tell.

Today, however, we saw a good example of existing F1 technology being repurposed for applications which have no connection with automotive, but which also aim to reduce environmental impact; in this case in aviation.

McLaren Applied Technologies (MAT), part of the McLaren Group, are to work alongside a consortium of technological development companies to improve the efficiency and infrastructure at London’s Heathrow Airport, it has been announced today.

Using its simulation and real-time data assessment tools developed through F1, MAT will focus on improving the World’s busiest airport’s movement on the ground as live stand reallocation and traffic updates make for a shorter turn-around time.

MAT will also make use of their simulation equipment, providing CAD representations to develop long-term plans and ascertain the most efficient layout of the growing site.

The consortium, which is to be led by the global leader in air traffic control and airport performance NATS, is under a four-year contract to deliver capacity management as the airport currently sees 191,200 passengers touch down and take off every day.

It is well known in Formula One, however, that on the Sunday morning of the British Grand Prix, Silverstone acts as the busiest airport on the planet with the endless line of helicopters entering the Oxfordshire circuit.

“The combination of Formula 1 and one of the world’s busiest airports may seem unlikely, but at both Grand Prix races and Heathrow Airport we are seeking to achieve very similar goals – to increase efficiency, maintain the highest levels of safety and continually improve performance,” said Geoff McGrath, Vice President of McLaren Applied Technologies.

[MIKA27]

From Bahrain Testing to Free Practice In Melbourne: What The Formula 1 teams Are Doing Now:

With less than two weeks from the end of the final test in Bahrain to the first practice session in Melbourne and only a handful of days now until the freight leaves for Australia the teams are literally in a race to turn around the test cars, parts and support equipment in time to get them to Australia and have everything in place for set-up day, writes F1 technical adviser Mark Gillan.

The factories will be 100% operational right now in ensuring that the cars leave with enough spares for the first race.

For example, ideally one wants 6 front wings at each race, with 4 being considered the bare minimum. Typically a team may go with 2 to 3 launch specification front wings and 2 to 3 Melbourne update wings, one of which will have probably been run at Bahrain.

Each front wing can take up to 4 to 6 weeks to make from scratch so if any were damaged in the last track test production will struggle to replace it in time.

This is of course on top of any correlation issues between the track and the virtual/bench testing that was done at the factory which may necessitate last minute modifications to parts. Sometimes these modifications may be minor, for instance a strake or fence update to a floor but on occasions they may be complete assembly updates, eg new turning vanes etc.

Also this year the Teams and their suppliers have to deal with clear reliability concerns, which are in part exacerbated by the complexity of the new power units. From an operational and data analysis perspective this will probably be the busiest two weeks of the year. It is imperative that the car in Australia is as optimised as possible.

Once on the road at the beginning of a fly away sequence, it is very hard to recover (even logistically) from a poor start and the first race on European soil (i.e. Barcelona) can seem an awfully long way away.

Formula 1 Teams are excellent at the logistical complexities of transporting all their equipment from one event to another and back and forth to the factory.

For every ‘fly away’ race, which is simply defined as one where it is impractical to drive the cargo too, the teams’ air and sea freight (sea freight is only for the heavier items which they typically have duplicates or even triplicates of) many tonnes of equipment including chassis, spare parts, the internal garage and pit wall structures, computer systems, radios, catering equipment, etc.

The freight deadlines are rigidly fixed and set many weeks in advance. Any alteration to these dates are sometimes impossible and always eye wateringly expensive. As a last resort, team members will hand carry smaller components if needed but customs can sometimes be difficult and one is not always guaranteed to get the part into the country. (Including Cigars! )

[MIKA27]

Sauber go conservative after 2013 setback

At the end of 2012, Sauber’s most successful season ever, the team hired the increasingly impressive Nico Hulkenberg to lead its driver line-up.

Hopes were high the team could build on their improving form and enjoy an even better campaign. The result was a crushing disappointment for the team.

The team were nowhere in the first half of the season and Hulkenberg quickly made plans to move on. Despite a late-season rally by Sauber, Hulkenberg returned to Force India, who also beat them to sixth in the constructors’ championship.

Worse, the team which has been rebuilding since BMW’s withdrawal at the end of 2009 ran into financial problems. Details about it falling behind on supplier payments became public knowledge.

An investment deal was eventually struck with three Russian companies which has led to the placing of Sergey Sirotkin in the team’s reserve driver roster. That he has not – as originally suggested – become part of their race driver line-up is probably for the best. For while Sirotkin has shown some promise in the junior categories a promotion to an F1 race seat looked premature.

Instead Sauber have played it safe with their driver line-up. They’ve kept the faith with Esteban Gutierrez, who endured a tough rookie season alongside Hulkenberg last year, but brings support from Mexican sponsors.

Seeking an experienced driver to fill the gap left by Hulkenberg, Sauber chose the man he replaced at Force India – and who was beaten by team mate Paul di Resta last year.

Adrian Sutil may not be an inspiring choice of lead driver, but the team need him to do his ‘solid midfielder’ thing and bring home the points.

Sauber steadily increased the mileage on their C33 throughout testing. Particular attention has been focused on its new brake-by-wire system which has proved problematic.

But after suffering serious problems in two of the last five test days – requiring a change of chassis on the first of those and failing to run at all on the second – they bounced back in style on the final day completing over three grand prix distances worth of running.

To begin with at least, Sauber’s fortunes in 2014 will be closely tied to that of their engine manufacturer. While Ferrari are nowhere close to being in the kind of dire straits Renault are, they do appear to be a clear second behind Mercedes.

The C33 seldom headed any of its Mercedes-powered rivals in testing. At this stage they look likely to begin this year as they started the last one, scratching to make it beyond the second phase of qualifying.

How well they progress after that be determined by whether an underwhelming driver line-up can exceed expectations, and whether the new influx of cash flows smoothly enough for the team to keep pace on development.

[MIKA27]

Toro Rosso struggling after Renault engine switch

As they enter their ninth season Toro Rosso are keen to dispel the view that they are “just a satellite team to Red Bull”.

While that’s certainly no longer the case in terms of car development – the Faenza-based team have designed and developed their own chassis since 2009 – it’s their driver hiring policy which cements the view of them as the ‘Red Bull junior’ squad.

Team principal Franz Tost himself has described the team as a “rookie training school” for Red Bull. That being so, Toro Rosso found themselves with a gap to fill this year following Daniel Ricciardo’s promotion to the top team.

It came as something of a surprise when they passed over arguably more qualified drivers on the Red Bull driver development programme in favour of Daniil Kvyat. He made good on their faith in him by winning the GP3 championship late last year, but he arrived at the team with fewer F1 miles on the clock than the likes of Antonio Felix da Costa or Carlos Sainz Jnr.

Nor has he been able to pile on as many miles as he needed to in testing. His first day in the STR9 in Jerez was a complete non-starter – quite literally, as the car never left the garage. Since then Kvyat, who gained his superlicence less than four months ago, has covered a further 1,116km, but that’s less than his fellow 2014 rookies have managed.

He is partnered by Jean-Eric Vergne who started his third season with the team. Past Toro Rosso drivers have not tended to last much longer at the team as they are ushered aside in favour of the latest talent from the Red Bull production line, though given the scale of the regulation changes this year Toro Rosso may prefer to retain Vergne as a known quantity for as long as they can.

Although Toro Rosso take Red Bull’s lead when it comes to drivers, they largely steer their own ship when it comes to car development. But here too they have moved in line with their sister team by switching from Ferrari to Renault engines over the winter – a decision they may have regretted once the manifest problems with their new Energy F1 power unit became apparent.

This does not bode well for a team which misfired in 2013. Tost’s target of sixth in the constructors’ championship was quickly forgotten as it became clear the team had only made a very modest step over the winter. Their eventual finishing position of eighth owed at least as much to Williams badly losing their way.

Although technical director James Key joined the team in 2012, the long lead time on car development means the STR9 will be the first Toro Rosso whose design he has steered from an early stage. He says the work to restore the team’s technical department, which was cut back during the years as Red Bull chassis customers, is still progressing.

“The aero side was by far our biggest priority, as we wanted to put that department into a much more current and competitive shape,” he explained.

“Over the past 12 months, we’ve been working on increasing the size of the aerodynamics department. It’s grown significantly, and we now have many new people with very relevant F1 experience.”

Even so Key still feels the division is not yet where it should be for a team of Toro Rosso’s size and budget. But it’s the change of engine rules and engine supplier which he feels represent the biggest challenge for the team this year:

“To switch from a process where you’ve got a well-established and understood way of working with the previous engine supplier to a situation where you have not only a new engine supplier but also a totally different type of power unit that we’re not familiar with at all, is quite a big leap. ”

Given that it’s perhaps no surprise Toro Rosso managed less than half the mileage some of their rivals logged in testing. It’s been a difficult start to the season for a team which face a year of upheaval. As testing drew to a close Vergne admitted they had many problems to fix before the first race.

While Red Bull wants for little in terms of resources to throw at the problems with their new engine, you have to doubt whether Toro Rosso will be able to get up to speed as quickly.

[nikonNUT]

Thank you for all your posts. Love F1 (with WRC being a close second) and really enjoy reading these. Come on March 16th!