FORMULA 1 - 2014

[MIKA27]

Maldonado: Lotus move best decision ever

Although Lotus faltered in pre-season testing while Williams came to the fore, Pastor Maldonado is convinced he has made the right decision.

In the off-season, the Venezuelan driver dropped the under-performing Williams team to move to Lotus, who were fourth in the 2013 Championship.

However, pre-season testing saw a massive change in form for the two teams.

While Williams set the pace in the final outing in Bahrain, Lotus finished at the very bottom of the timesheets, six seconds off the pace.

Added to that, while Williams completed the most laps, 438, Lotus managed the fewest, 127.

But despite the contrasting fortunes, Maldonado is adamant he's made the right move.

"In my opinion it's the best decision ever," he told Autosport. "I saw the car first in the windtunnel and it was fantastic.

"It's completely a different car, the most interesting car in the paddock, the most beautiful car, aggressive. I think they've done a really good job in terms of design.

"Using the rules and looking at the small particulars of the car, the design looks impressive and we hope to have a good car during the season."

He added: "I don't know if [my decision to move teams] is good or worse for the results, we need to race first.

"The season is long, we will see."

[MIKA27]

'No surprise if Mercedes finish two laps ahead' claims Red Bull's Christian Horner

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has made a startling prediction, saying he wouldn't be surprised if Mercedes were to finish two laps ahead of their rivals.

Whilst some bold predictions have been made by F1 analysts, with some claiming Mercedes could be anywhere between one and two seconds quicker per lap than anyone else, Horner is the first high-level source to suggest a similar performance gap.

"The bottom line is Mercedes have got a bit of a march on people," he told the Guardian amid suggestions Red Bull left development of the RB10 too late into the 2013 season.

"They invested more, they invested earlier," he added.

"They've got themselves into a good position.

"If Mercedes were to finish two laps ahead of the opposition in Melbourne, that wouldn't be a surprise, based on what we've seen in preseason testing."

Horner also admitted they may have been too aggressive with the cars design, but revealed they are now on top of the cooling issues which plagued their pre-season.

"We aggressively pushed the boundaries on the packaging of the car, as Adrian [Newey] always does, to try and get every bit of aerodynamic advantage.

"We took a step over the line at the first test. We then engineered our way out of that for Bahrain, and cooling now isn't an issue with the car at all," he confirmed.

"Adrian's probably the most competitive person I've ever met. For sure, he's working tremendously hard at the moment. But we can't control all aspects of the vehicle. Collectively with Renault, I'm confident we'll get on top of it."

[MIKA27]

Bianchi mugged for £60,000 watch in Paris

Jules Bianchi was robbed of his £60,000 ($100,000) watch on Wednesday by three men who knocked the Marussia driver to the ground.

The 24-year-old was reportedly stood outside his hotel in France's capital at 11pm having a cigarette with a friend when three men approached him and asked for a light. Two of the men forced Bianchi to the ground whilst the third removed his Richard Mille watch.

Bianchi was in Paris for a television appearance on Canal+ and had just arrived at his hotel on the Champs-Elysees when the mugging took place.

The Frenchman filed a police report the following day and isn't believed to have suffered any injuries during the robbery.

[MIKA27]

Pirelli expect two or three stops in Melbourne

Pirelli believes it is still on target to deliver between two and three stops per driver at the Australian Grand Prix, despite the increased force going through the tyres.

Whilst the overall power output may have dropped in 2014 when compared to the V8 engines from previous years, the amount of torque travelling through the rear tyres has increased dramatically which will deliver increased wheel-spin. That shouldn't pose too much of a problem though as Pirelli has increased the durability of the tyres to cope and, according to Paul Hembery, two to three stops should remain the norm.

"This is the most radical rules shake-up of the modern Formula One era, so we’ve had to create a completely different set of tyres for the brand new dynamics presented by the 2014 cars," he explained.

"Pre-season testing has shown just what a big challenge these new rules are for everybody, but we have worked very hard throughout last year and the winter to come up with an entirely fresh range of tyres specifically designed for these latest-generation cars, featuring new compounds and constructions that actually cut down on degradation while maintaining the same level of performance.

"As a result, we’re still expecting between two to three pit stops per car in Melbourne, although we’ll be able to make some more exact predictions after we see the cars run in free practice. "The first race of the season is always unpredictable but this will be the case more than ever in 2014."

[Bartolomeo]

Bianchi mugged for £60,000 watch in Paris

Jules Bianchi was robbed of his £60,000 ($100,000) watch on Wednesday by three men who knocked the Marussia driver to the ground.

The 24-year-old was reportedly stood outside his hotel in France's capital at 11pm having a cigarette with a friend when three men approached him and asked for a light. Two of the men forced Bianchi to the ground whilst the third removed his Richard Mille watch.

Bianchi was in Paris for a television appearance on Canal+ and had just arrived at his hotel on the Champs-Elysees when the mugging took place.

The Frenchman filed a police report the following day and isn't believed to have suffered any injuries during the robbery.

Old school F1 driver smoking cigs....love it

[MIKA27]

Hope and despair as F1′s new era begins

The pursuit of performance is what sets Formula One apart from almost every other sport.

At its best, F1 is a supreme sporting contest which goes beyond ‘man versus man’ (or woman); it is a contest at the bleeding edge of technological development. The space race on wheels.

Everyone has an opinion about the sport’s rules but I don’t envy those who have to write them. They have to strike a delicate balance between performance, safety, spectacle and costs.

The pace of development in Formula One is so intense the technical regulations are in a near-constant state of flux. From time to time incremental changes in the rules give way to revolutionary upheaval. This season heralds just such a overhaul.

Using an internal combustion engine for motive power was a thing of great wonder when it was pioneered in the 1800s. Two centuries later humankind faces challenges beyond simply getting from point A to point B in the minimum possible time. The new Formula One recognises the new consciousness of using energy in an intelligent way.

Racing cars and responsible energy use are not comfortable bedfellows. But the kind of pure research and development F1 can offer need not have a direct application to the cars you and I drive to be worthwhile. Honda, who turned their backs on V8 era F1 just five years ago but are on their way back already, understand that.

Replacing the eight-year-old V8 engine formula with V6 turbos featuring uprated kinetic and heat recovery systems is a fascinating technical challenge. The drivers are enjoying the challenging power delivery characteristics of the new engines. And pessimistic projections of cars being three seconds per lap slower have already been disproved.

Not all of the consequences of this bold change will be desirable. Testing form indicates Mercedes will have a considerable performance advantage to begin with, so we could be in for a processional start to the year. But it is likely to introduce new complexities to race strategy plus a significant increase in unreliability which should keep us guessing.

There’s no doubt some of the impact has been taken away from the sheer volume of the engines and that will be a disappointment to some. Personally I like the variation in texture between the sounds of the difference power units under the new rules.

But on balance the new engines represent a change for the better. It’s an encouraging sign of Formula One moving with the times and getting it right. Sadly its capacity for disappointment remains very much intact.

With so much fascinating technology at the rear of this year’s cars, it’s unfortunate that as soon as they appeared so much attention was concentrated on the front of them. The latest generation of the world’s fastest road racing cars variously appear to have been victims of botched surgery or donned well-endowed codpieces.

It is perplexing how every recent iteration of the regulations yields some strange new design quirk: the ill-proportioned wings of 2009 and the unsightly steps of 2012 spring to mind.

Familiarity breeds contempt and sure enough some have already begun saying ‘I’m used to them now’. But place a modern Formula One car next to a pre-2009 grand prix racer and the gawky 2014 machine looks like a cheap imitation knock-off, or something cobbled together by the presenters of Top Gear.

Yet even this is not worth getting too concerned about. No one wants the cars to look bad – the fact that they do is merely a by-product of the regulations, one which will probably be eliminated with further tweaking.

Another of F1′s new rules, however, is deeply troubling. The double points season finale race reflects a growing obsession with chasing television ratings, one which is having an increasingly caustic effect on Formula One.

Of course some concessions need to be made to the television audiences and the revenue they bring. But double points represents a leap too far, one which fans, media and even some team members have rightly derided. Perhaps it will encourage a few more fairweather fans to tune in for the season finale, but how many of the 96% of fans who don’t want this rule or anything like it will have switched off long before?

FIA president Jean Todt tried to brush aside the furore in a recent interview, describing it as “a little fog in a big picture”.

Todt was a major advocate of the new engines. It’s not hard to understand his frustration that they might be overshadowed by a row over a poxy little rule which has no place in anything calling itself a sport.

However he is wrong to say it doesn’t matter. If, in eight months’ time, a new champion is crowned because of the extra bonus points they won in Abu Dhabi, that will be all this season is remembered for.

Formula One’s brave technological leap forward is a heartening reminder that when it get things right it can offer innovation and inspiration other sports cannot rival.

But the shame of this double points gimmick warn us that when F1 gets it wrong it becomes something much less compelling – a racing-themed reality TV product. The sport’s fans, participants and its rich heritage deserve better.

[MIKA27]

Old school F1 driver smoking cigs....love it

Bet he's nothing compared to James Hunt!!

[MIKA27]

Berger breaks arm in skiing accident

According to Austrian publication, Krone.at, former Formula 1 driver Gerhard Berger has broken his arm in a skiing accident.

Apparently the Austrian was skiing off-piste and fell braking his arm and requiring surgery at St. John’s hospital.

This comes on the heels of Michael Schumacher’s tragic accident that has left the German in a coma since December 29th, 2013.

Reports are that Berger is fine and has been released from hospital. You can read the full article here.

At this point, I think I would avoid skiing if I were a Formula 1 driver..for the time being.

MIKA: See, just as I said in an earlier post... this guy goes to extreme lengths to get his name in the news...

[MIKA27]

The Big Preview: Round 1, Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne

Formula 1 returns this week, with Melbourne hosting the Australian Grand Prix, the first round of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The temporary track around the Albert Park lake provides a stern challenge for drivers and cars alike. As is traditional with street circuits, the surface lacks the grip of a permanent racing facility. This leads to high track evolution as the circuit ‘rubbers-in’ over the weekend making set-up a moving target.

The circuit also has various bumps and undulations that have been known to catch drivers out, particularly coming into braking zones, with gravel traps and unyielding walls waiting for the unwary or the unlucky.

The 2014 edition of the Australian Grand Prix has another factor to consider. All eyes will be on the performance of F1’s new turbocharged power units. Winter testing suggested the 2014 cars had all the performance of their predecessors but with the hybrid technology still in its infancy, glitches abounded during the three scheduled testing sessions.

While teams were able to complete race simulations with increasing confidence towards the end of the testing season, a race of attrition is to be expected in Melbourne.

Additionally, teams are still on the learning curve with their new equipment. The new cars will complete the race distance on two-thirds the fuel used by their predecessors – but maximising the potential of that load entails a new paradigm in race craft and is very much a work in progress.

Teams have acknowledged this first grand prix of the season will be a voyage into the unknown, with many discovering for the first time the capabilities of their race-specification cars during the practice sessions. It promises to be a surprising and exhilarating weekend.

Albert Park Circuit Data

Length of lap: 5.303km

Lap record 1:25.125 (Michael Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004)

Start line/finish line offset: 0.000km

Total number of race laps: 58

Total race distance: 307.574km

Pitlane speed limits: 60km/h in practice and 100km/h in qualifying and race

DRS Zones & Circuit Notes

The kerb on the exit of Turn 12 has been levelled and renewed (with the same design of kerb).

DRS sectors will be the same as those used in 2013. Activation One is 762m before Turn One, Activation Two is 510m before Turn Three. They share a single detection point, located 13m before Turn 14.

Australian Grand Prix Fast Facts

- Albert Park first hosted an F1 World Championship Grand Prix in 1996. It twice held the (Formula Libre) Australian Grand Prix in the 1950s – the 1956 edition being won by Stirling Moss driving a Maserati 250F.

- Of the 18 F1 races held at Albert Park, 11 have been won from the front row. David Coulthard’s victory from 11th in 2003 is the win from furthest back, next is Kimi Räikkönen’s victory last year from seventh on the grid.

- Three drivers make their Formula One debut this weekend. Toro Rosso have Daniil Kvyat (19) driving the STR9. The Russian won the GP3 title in 2013 and Formula Renault 2.0 Alps in 2012. Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson (23) will drive for Caterham. Ericsson is a former champion of Formula BMW UK and Japanese Formula 3. At McLaren Danish driver Kevin Magnussen (21) takes part in his first grand prix. Magnussen is the 2013 World Series by Renault Formula Renault 3.5 Champion and a former champion of Formula Ford Denmark.

- Returning to Formula One after a season’s absence is Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi. Now with Caterham, the former Toyota and Sauber man has 60 grand prix starts to his name. He has 28 top 10 finishes with a best result of third, appearing on the podium at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.

- 2014 sees many new regulations. In a change to the rules governing tyres, drivers who appear in Q3 will start the race using the tyres with which they set their fastest lap in Q2 – this new rule has been approved by the F1 Commission with a view to ensuring drivers participate in the pole position shoot-out.

- Concerning the race, the essential new sporting regulation introduced for 2014 is a limit on fuel consumption. Between the start of the race and the chequered flag, a maximum of fuel load of 100kg may be consumed – approximately two-thirds of the race consumption of the V8 engines retired at the end of the 2013 season.

There is also a maximum fuel-flow rate of 100kg/hour.

- On the technical side, the new internal combustion component of the F1 power unit is a 1.6-litre 90° V6 unit. It is turbocharged, features direct injection and is limited to 15,000rpm.

- Power will also be provided by two energy recovery systems. ERS-K has a 120kW motor-generator unit (MGU-K), replacing the 60kW unit used previously for KERS. The unit can use 4MJ of energy per lap, up from 400kJ. This specification means 2014 energy recovery will supply twice the power of its predecessor for five times as long. It is sufficient to ensure the MGU-K will be recovering or releasing energy for the majority of every lap at most circuits.

- ERS-K will only be allowed to recover 2MJ per lap. Additional energy will be recovered by a second system, ERS-H, that harvests energy from waste heat in the exhaust. No limit is placed on the amount of energy that can be recovered by ERS-H.

[MIKA27]

Nurburgring bought by race car supplier Capricorn

Germany’s Nurburgring has been sold to motor sport industry supplier Capricorn Group for more than 100 million euros ($139m), ending a months-long search to find new owners for the world’s longest racetrack, which became insolvent in 2012.

Capricorn’s offer beat out a rival bid from buyout firm H.I.G Capital, the administrator for Nurburgring, GmbH, said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“It was a close decision,” administrator Jens Lieser said, adding that the deal included a pledge to invest around 25 million euros to expand the facilities around the Nurburgring.

The assets acquired by Capricorn include an amusement park and two racetracks – the modern 5.1-kilometer Formula One circuit and the Nordschleife, a treacherous 20.8-kilometer track first built in 1927, which is now used by the auto industry to hone vehicle dynamics for passenger cars.

Germany-based Capricorn, which supplies high-end crankshafts, cylinder liners, pistons, connecting rods and fibre-reinforced composite materials to the motor sport industry, wants to develop the Nuerburging as a technology centre.

Previous efforts to build out the Nurburgring into a resort for car fanatics faltered after the company became insolvent, loaded with debt equivalent to around 50 years’ worth of annual profit.

Today, the old track’s 73 bends, sharp crests and off-camber surfaces are used by car manufacturers to fine tune suspension and chassis settings.

South Korea’s Hyundai spent nearly 7 million euros building a new trackside test centre, one of five carmakers to do so, in the hope of narrowing a perceived gap with European rivals in ride and handling.

German carmakers in particular have long had an affinity with the track. Daimler traces its “Silver Arrow” heritage back to the 1934 Eifel Race around the Nordschleife, (northern loop) which it won after the Mercedes team famously scraped the car’s white paintwork off the metal body the night before the race in a desperate bid to save weight.

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Red Bull may give up on 2014 chase very early claims Trulli

Formula 1 World Champion team Red Bull may switch its focus to the 2015 season within weeks if it thinks this year’s title is lost and not recoverable.

That is the view of ex Formula 1 driver Jarno Trulli, who told Italy’s Il Giornale newspaper that the Milton Keynes based team is a long way behind its rivals for the start of the new turbo V6 era.

“Red Bull made a mistake with the design of its machine, but they will cope,” the 39-year-old said. ”The team is seriously behind its opponents.”

“If in a couple of months they have not caught up, I think that they will switch the preparations to next season and use the race weekends as tests,” he said.

Meanwhile, Trulli admitted he is no big fan of the ‘new’ Formula 1, where each driver will have to use a limited amount of fuel in order to reach the chequered flag.

Asked if he likes the ‘new’ Formula 1, he answered: “No. I like the Formula 1 where the driver takes the maximum from the car all the time.”

[MIKA27]

Webber still in the F1 paddock despite retirement

After more than a decade as a driver on the Formula 1 grid, Mark Webber will still be in the paddock this weekend as a new season begins, but as a VIP guest.

But the Australian warned the sport’s regulars not to expect to see his chiselled jaw too often now that he has switched to Le Mans with Porsche.

“I didn’t stop Formula 1 to hang out at race tracks all the time,” the 37-year-old told Fairfax Media.

Earlier on Wednesday, Webber touched down in Melbourne, where he will spend the weekend as a guest commentator for host broadcaster Ten.

He insisted: “It’s something I won’t be doing a huge amount of, that’s for sure.”

For instance, Webber won’t even stick around for the race, having told Ten he will leave a probably rainy Melbourne late on Saturday bound for his holiday home on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

“I don’t want to be a spare part,” he said. “I did my thing, mate, now I have other things to do.”

According to Red Bull designer Adrian Newey, Webber quit at precisely the right moment, after even the lightest drivers like Lewis Hamilton had to dramatically lose weight over the winter months to prepare for the much heavier 2014 cars.

“With Sebastian (Vettel) and Daniel (Ricciardo) we will reach the (weight) limit by the skin of our teeth,” Newey told the April edition of the Red Bulletin magazine.

“Mark Webber would really be at a disadvantage this season.”

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Survey shows Alonso is the most marketable Formula 1 driver

Global public perception of Fernando Alonso ranks him higher than any other Formula 1 driver, Repucom’s Celebrity DBI finds.

Great Britain’s Lewis Hamilton is the second most marketable whilst the Brazilian, Felipe Massa, four time world champion, Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen make up the top 5.

Globally, Alonso is known by 71.14% of people and in his native Spain, 98.35% of the population know of the F1 former Champion. In the US, only 12.76% of the population is aware of the driver.

However, of the US population who do know of the Spaniard, 84.5% like the driver and 76.74% say that he has some influence over their purchasing intent. Alongside his deal with Oakley in the US, Alonso’s endorsements with Viceroy and Eurocar all add to his international exposure and appeal.

Lewis Hamilton’s new deal with Bombardier in Canada shows just how far the sport is now reaching. The British driver is known by 63.65% of people globally, almost 10 percentage points more than the four time and current world champion, Sebastian Vettel (54.3%). Indeed, in his native Germany, Vettel is known of by 97.58% of the population and is seen by Germans as the fourth most marketable person in the world.

Nigel Geach, Senior Vice President of Motorsport, Repucom, said: “It may be a surprise to some that globally, Sebastian Vettel does not score as highly in terms of public opinion as the likes of Alonso, Hamilton and Massa. Alonso’s dominance in the rankings is down in large part to his international deals and association with the Ferrari brand.”

“Despite Red Bull’s recent successes, globally, 59% of F1 fans have an interest in the Ferrari team, representing the highest levels of interest in any F1 team and with races screened across 160 global markets to a cumulative global TV audience of 1.8 billion, one can see the importance that this can have on perception.”

“Take the US market as an example, avid fans of F1 are growing, up from 15% in 2011 to 19% in 2013. Alonso is a very like-able driver and as the global appeal of the sport increases, people seem to be rooting more and more for a new F1 Champion and as the results show, Alonso is starting to edge ahead as the fans’ favorite.”

“For domestic markets, these rankings shift somewhat. Alonso scores highly in his native Spain and in Italy, the home of Ferrari, whilst Vettel, Hamilton, Massa, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button are all good examples of the difference domestic perceptions play in local markets.”

“The new F1 season is sure to excite and with new car designs and the double points rule coming into play we could well see Vettel’s recent dominance on the track challenged and new audiences thanks to new races playing a pivotal role in global consumer perceptions.”

Domestically, these scores are slightly different. Remarkably, in Massa’s home country of Brazil, he is known by 99.2% of the population, illustrating the highest levels of awareness of any driver based on domestic results. Massa actually only ranks as the 40th most marketable person in the world, based on Brazilian perceptions.

Indeed, levels of awareness are not everything. The overall DBI scores are based on eight metrics and although awareness does play a vital role, accounting for 60% of the overall score, how the driver is seen publically by those that know of them produces a final indication of their marketability.

Global Rankings by DBI Score

[MIKA27]

Barrichello rooting for Massa to win F1 World title

Felipe Massa can take his Williams all the way to the 2014 Formula 1 World title, according to Brazilian countryman and Formula 1 veteran Rubens Barrichello, who completed the last of his more than 300 grands prix amid the same Grove based team’s slump in 2011.

Williams’ slump, however, appears over now, with the specialist German magazine Auto Motor und Sport finding that the new FW36 could even be faster than the works Mercedes based on race simulations at the Bahrain test.

“Felipe has a good chance at Williams,” 41-year-old Barrichello, likening Massa’s Ferrari exit to his own “rebirth” at Brawn GP, told Globo.

“I hope he can go very well, win races and fight for the title, just as I did [in 2009].”

Barrichello is travelling to Australia this week, where he will continue his role in 2014 as an expert pundit for Brazilian television.

“I’ve been following all the tests and am anxious to see if the Williams car is as competitive as it seems,” he said.

“The team to beat at the moment is Mercedes, but Williams is there.”

[MIKA27]

Magnussen: It’s crazy to even think about racing in Melbourne

Ahead of his first ever grand prix in Australia, Kevin Magnussen can hardly contain his excitement and already the young Dane has gathered a legion of followers impressed by the way he applied himself during preseason testing.

“Wow – it feels strange knowing that the next time I drive my car out of the garage, it will be for free practice at the Australian Grand Prix’” enthused Magnussen. ”It’s crazy to even think about racing in Melbourne – I’ve never been to Australia before, and the grand prix has always been something that I’ve watched very early in the morning on TV back in Europe. To not only be arriving in a new country, but also taking part in the grand prix is incredibly exciting.

“I think we head down under having had a solid winter – we know we have a lot of work left to do, but we have a good basis from which to go forward. We know where the car is strong, and where there’s more work left to do – and we’re addressing those areas. But I’ve said it all along: the car is driveable and predictable; it does what we ask it to do, which is a positive.”

Magnussen has been fast tracked to the McLaren race seat alongside one of the elder statesmen of Formula 1, and in Jenson Button he will not only find an ideal role model but also someone he can strive to beat, to set his own benchmark.

“Personally, it’ll be important for me to finish these early races in order to get some good mileage under my belt. Even though I’ve had a good winter, I’m under no illusions that I’m a still a rookie, and that I’m giving something away to the guys with more experience.”

“However, the new regulations have made it more of an even playing field, so a couple of good practice sessions and some race distances will help enormously in getting me fully race-ready.”

Lack of real world testing is one of the controversial issues that have dogged the sport since the rules were adopted, as young drivers arrive at the pinnacle of the sport without enough track time in a Formula 1 car.

Magnussen aludes to this fact, “There’s no substitute for being in the car – and there’s so much for me to still learn about driving a Formula 1 as close to the limit as possible while still focusing on tyre management, fuel-saving and the controls and switches we operate from the cockpit.”

“But I’m really looking forward to being in a race – that’s why I’m here, and I can’t wait to get started,” added Magnussen who will be one of three rookies on the grid in Mlebourne, the others being: Marcus Ericsson and Daniil Kvyat.

MIKA: I think Magnussen will do extremely well this season and will be a future champion for sure.

[MIKA27]

Button: The Australian GP is going to be a fascinating sporting contest

Jenson Button looks ahead to the Australian Grand Prix and believes that in the McLaren MP4-29 the team has a car with great potential which may take a few races before it becomes apparent, while admitting he is excited as a new era dawns for the sport.

Previewing the Melbourne season opener, Button said, “I think this year’s Australian Grand Prix is going to be an absolutely fascinating sporting contest.”

“Even with stable regulations, Melbourne is usually unpredictable. This year, I don’t think anybody knows quite what to expect – will we see more than half the field at the end of the race? Will we see good, close racing? Will the pecking order pan out as we expect? Those are all questions that we’ve yet to see answered, and part of what makes for such a fun weekend.”

The 2009 Formula 1 World Champion won the race at Albert park in his championship year as a Brawn GP driver, and then again in 2012 as a McLaren driver.

“The other element that I enjoy about this race is the atmosphere and vibe that you always get in Melbourne. It’s a beautiful city, a place I always love visiting – in fact, I get there early enough to settle my body-clock and to do some training ahead of the grand prix – and the fans at the circuit are always passionate, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. It’s a great place to start what will hopefully be a fantastic year,” mused Button.

The new era is based around the all new V6 turbo power unit and related energy recovering devices. The technology is brand new, with only 12 days of real world testing which was characterised by varying problems for just about all the teams.

Button is downplaying expectations in the build-up to the weekend in Australia, “In terms of performance, while there’s plenty of potential within MP4-29, we still think it’ll take a little time to unlock that promise. It’s not quite where we’d like it to be, so I don’t think we go to Melbourne with a package that accurately reflects our progress with the car – it’ll take a little longer for that to become apparent.”

“In general, this season is going to be all about continuous development. Our stated aim has always been to try and scoop up a useful haul of points from the opening races – by virtue of solid engineering and good reliability – and then to quickly refine and develop the package, and deliver further performance in due course.”

“Nonetheless, I do think the potential is there: MP4-29 has given us what last year’s MP4-28 didn’t – namely, a reliable and predictable platform upon which we can build and develop. In every respect, this year’s car feels different to last year’s, and that makes me excited – which is exactly as things should be as you head off for the first race of the year.”

Button will be taking part in his 250th grand prix weekend in Melbourne starting with the first free practice in Melbourne on Friday.

[MIKA27]

CEO of Norway wealth fund admits mistakes made when buying F1 stake

Norway’s $850-billion sovereign wealth fund made mistakes when it bought shares in Formula One and may try to sell them, its chief executive said on Tuesday according to a report in business daily Dagens Naeringsliv.

Yngve Slyngstad said the fund may seek to offload the stake if corruption charges against its boss Bernie Ecclestone are not properly addressed.

Several parliamentarians questioned last week whether the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund should have taken a $1.6 billion stake in the motor sport in May 2012 together with investors BlackRock and Waddell & Reed.

Their comments came after newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv questioned whether the fund had violated its mandate by making the deal.

The fund can only buy a stake in an unlisted company if it plans an initial public offering. After the deal was made, a planned Formula One IPO was cancelled.

“Yes, we made a mistake”, Slyngstad told Dagens Naeringsliv on Tuesday. “In retrospect, what is most unfortunate is what eventually has ended up in corruption charges.”

The fund should have been more open about the terms of the deal and was wrong to have signed confidentiality agreements given that the planned IPO was suspended, Slyngstad was quoted as saying.

In February a British judge found Ecclestone had paid bribes to a German banker as part of a “corrupt agreement” linked to the 2005 sale of a stake in Formula One. Ecclestone faces a bribery trial in Germany over the same deal.

Ecclestone told Reuters after the British trial that he disagreed with the judge’s decision. He denied that he paid bribes to facilitate the sale of a controlling stake in Formula One held by German bank BayernLB to private equity fund CVC.

Formula One was not immediately available for comment.

The Norway wealth fund chief said the fund would not want to remain an owner in of Formula One if the company’s board does not respond to the corruption allegations in an appropriate manner.

“We have zero tolerance for corruption,” said Slyngstad. “We have full confidence that the board is dealing with this. (But) it is clear that if this case is not handled properly, then we would not want to be an owner. In this case, we would not sit on these shares.”

Slyngstad said he would have preferred for Ecclestone to have been formally suspended.

The fund’s chief said the deal was still within the mandate of the fund because “the intention is still to list the company quickly when it is possible to do so”.

The fund, which invests Norway’s oil and gas revenues for future generations of Norwegians, has an ethical stance. It talks with the 8,200 firms it invests in on topics from the equal treatment of shareholders to children’s rights.

[MIKA27]

Hamilton 'excited' and 'fired-up'

Watching Red Bull dominate the past few seasons has not been easy for Lewis Hamilton, but he is determined to change that during the 2014 campaign.

With Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull squad winning the double the last four years, Hamilton and the rest of the grid were left fighting over the scraps.

However, if pre-season testing is anything to go by then things will be very different this season with Mercedes the team to beat and Red Bull struggling to get their act together.

"One team destroying it for four years, having your ass whupped so badly, is not good for the sport," Hamilton told BBC Sport during an interview.

"You want a Championship that goes to the wire. I hope the changes enable that to happen this year."

Since winning his one and only title in 2008, Hamilton has finished no higher than fourth in the Drivers' Championship, but he is confident he is in for a good season.

"I feel I am the best prepared and I'm equipped with the tools I need to be even better than I have been in the past," he said.

He added: "I'm secretively more fired up than ever. Every year after the winter tests, you get to the first race and people say, 'How do you feel?' And you say, 'I feel the best I've ever felt, the fittest I've ever been, blah, blah, blah.'

"Naturally you train through the winter to be in that place but you don't always have the package to show all that work.

"Every now and then you get a year where you're able to use it. I'm hoping when we get to Australia it is that year and we're able to show we've got the package to back it up with.

"I feel ready. I have strong opponents, but I'm excited."

As for the ones to watch out for this season, he admits the usual suspects like Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren will challenge, but he is also "excited" about Williams.

"Fundamentally, I think Red Bull still have an amazing car," he said. "Hopefully we'll have a better engine than them, which will help a lot.

"Ferrari seem strong. They will undoubtedly be strong competitors.

"More surprising is people like Williams. They've now got our engine and they now have a competitive package and I think they're going to be a real head-turner this year. I'm really excited for them.

"And McLaren are back, so it's going to be a great battle."

[mgravito]

I'm so excited. We're only 2 days from FP1!

How much of this RB talk do you think is them playing a game of possum? I feel like, yes, they're having problems, but I find it hard to believe Newey would create this much of a dog.

I wonder if RB ends they're agreement with Renault at the end of the year as engine supplier.

[MIKA27]

I'm so excited. We're only 2 days from FP1!

How much of this RB talk do you think is them playing a game of possum? I feel like, yes, they're having problems, but I find it hard to believe Newey would create this much of a dog.

I wonder if RB ends they're agreement with Renault at the end of the year as engine supplier.

I also have some reservations about what RBR are portraying to the media. Come Sunday, they might just have a different machine to what we seen at testing.

Cosworth and Honda will supply RBR with engines after this season is my prediction.

[Bartolomeo]

Goosebumps!

[mgravito]

Cosworth and Honda will supply RBR with engines after this season is my prediction.

I'm especially fascinated by the Honda engine. They'll have a full additional year to work things out and I sure McLaren's had their hands in some of the development.

[ayedfy]

I also have some reservations about what RBR are portraying to the media. Come Sunday, they might just have a different machine to what we seen at testing.

Cosworth and Honda will supply RBR with engines after this season is my prediction.

Cosworth wouldn't be a huge surprise (they still designed an engine for these regulations didn't they? So they're still kicking about despite lack of contract), but isn't Honda locked into an exclusive partnership with McLaren?

[MIKA27]

Cosworth wouldn't be a huge surprise (they still designed an engine for these regulations didn't they? So they're still kicking about despite lack of contract), but isn't Honda locked into an exclusive partnership with McLaren?

It seems that at this moment yes, HONDA are only supplying engines for McLaren however in saying this, one never knows, they could end up supplying to a "select" few team(s) similar to Ferrari and Mercedes. Anything can happen and I highly doubt McLaren would want to pull out of partnering with Honda considering Honda are supplying engines for free.

I can easily see Cosworth being a bigger possibility to return to F1 and supply teams who need to give Renault the flick. That decision would also be hasty considering renault would by 2015 have worked out their gremlins.

[MIKA27]

I'm especially fascinated by the Honda engine. They'll have a full additional year to work things out and I sure McLaren's had their hands in some of the development.

For sure - McLaren will give them EVERYTHING by way of raw data from this season in order to better develop the engine for 2015 spec.

The company has established its European base for F1 activity in Milton Keynes, 80 kilometres northwest of London, to rebuild and maintain Power Units developed at its research and development centre in Japan.

At Honda’s European base for F1 in Milton Keynes, U.K., installation of the dynamo and assembly facilities will be completed in June 2014 to further reinforce the already solid setup, in preparation for 2015.