MIKA27 Posted March 16, 2016 Author Posted March 16, 2016 ‘Hamilton and Vettel will never be on the same team’ Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner has said that he would be extremely surprised if he ever saw Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton in the same livery. Horner explained that they are both multiple World Champions, so it would be hard to accommodate the two big personalities and see to both their needs at the same time. "I'd be amazed to ever see the two of them sitting in the same team," he told The Telegraph. "From a team point of view as well it would be very difficult to envisage that scenario. It could be very, very divisive. You've always got one who is elated and one who is pissed off." Comparing it to the relationship Vettel had with his former partner at Red Bull, MarK Webber, the 42-year-old added it was sometimes too competitive for a team environment. "What we see of Lewis and Nico (Rosberg) is far more harmonious," Horner explained. “We've seen one cap thrown in two years! There was an intense rivalry between Mark and Seb. Less with Seb because he had the upper hand. So anything Mark could do to get under Seb's skin, he would. "Neither liked showing his hand in qualifying because the policy was to share data. They didn't want to show what gear they were using until the last run in Q3. Mercedes have a milder version of it two people in the same car who want to compete."
MIKA27 Posted March 16, 2016 Author Posted March 16, 2016 Webber heaps praise on Ricciardo Former Red Bull driver Mark Webber has heaped praise on his successor and fellow countryman Daniel Ricciardo for holding his own on the Formula One circuit since he joined the team. The 39-year-old Australian believes that Ricciardo has what it takes to win a Championship in the near future, as long as he is put in the right car. Webber added that the 26-year-old was faster in the car than he ever was and that he was making the nation of Australia extremely proud with his performances. "Obviously he is extremely quick," Webber told f1i.com of the former Toro Rosso man. "He's got a lot of experience so he’s now one of the most experienced guys at the front pushing for victories, pushing for championships. "He's definitely has championships in him in the future. I guess just put the right scenario on his doorstep and he’ll capture that I am sure. "He needs the right car to get the job done, obviously we know that. He's got to get himself in that scenario again, which he had a few years ago. And he is more than capable of that. I think he is quicker and faster than I ever was so he is in good shape there and has a good chance to do well and continue to fly the flag for more Aussies coming over."
MIKA27 Posted March 16, 2016 Author Posted March 16, 2016 Felipe Massa optimistic Williams can have strong start to 2016 Felipe Massa says he is optimistic Williams can start the 2016 F1 season off to a strong start at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia, this weekend. Williams finished third in the championship last year for the second consecutive year and enjoyed a quietly productive eight days of testing with the new FW38. Massa is ready to go for his 14th season in F1 and is hopeful the new Mercedes-powered Williams will be competitive from the very first round. "Australia is always a nice place to start the season because it’s a fantastic country and everybody likes to go there, it is also a race where anything can happen," he said. "I’m really looking forward to starting a new season, and I hope we can start well like we did last year. Hopefully our car is competitive straight away, that’s the most important thing. I am pretty optimistic that we can have a good first race and a good season." Team-mate Valtteri Bottas failed to race in Australia after suffering a back injury in qualifying, so he is looking forward to racing in Melbourne for the first time since 2014: "I really like the track, for me it’s one of the best on the whole Formula 1 calendar. "Last year was disappointing for me, because of my back injury, but this year I am looking forward to starting the season with a strong result."
MIKA27 Posted March 16, 2016 Author Posted March 16, 2016 Revealed: Red Bull's alternative Halo gets support One of Red Bull's rivals has backed the more 'futuristic' concept behind the team's alternative Formula 1 Halo, ahead of its first planned test next month. Although Ferrari has already run an FIA-preferred open structure, Red Bull wants to experiment with a different solution that features an acrylic canopy. Giorgio Piola's exclusive drawing above provide a concept image of what the design – which features two side supports to the side of the nose rather than one in front of the driver – could look like. Red Bull boss Christian Horner told Motorsport.com earlier this month: “It is a more of a canopy – open topped. So is effectively like a bigger windscreen. "It is more elegant and hopefully offers better visibility. So let's see what the FIA think of it." Williams support Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams said that on visual terms, the Red Bull version was her preferred one. “I really like Red Bull's jet fighter concept,” she said. “If we are going for these new racing cars that are supposed to look futuristic, put a jet fighter type thing around it. “I think that is exciting. But then you have to worry about water and condensation and all that kind of stuff. So it is still a work in progress.” Horner a 'purist' Horner is not in favour of the Ferrari concept – which has drawn criticism from drivers and fans. "Personally I don't like it," he said. "I understand that driver safety is absolutely of paramount importance, but for me I think I am a little bit more of a purist of open cockpit racing that has been there for 60 years - and there is danger associated with that. "Of course we have to do everything we can to mitigate that. But the protection that is being looked at, the Halo concept, would not have helped Felipe Massa and unfortunately would not have helped Jules Bianchi." Safety decides The final decision on which concept will become standard will ultimately rest with the FIA – which is already understood to be fully supportive of the concept tested by Ferrari. Williams admitted that safety would be the ultimate deciding factor for F1. “I have obviously seen both proposals,” she said. “They are still in conceptual stage and they are still in full analysis stage with the FIA Institute. “Most importantly it is which one provides the most safety for the drivers and until that has been determined I am in total support of whichever concept works best.”
MIKA27 Posted March 16, 2016 Author Posted March 16, 2016 Fernando Alonso: Teams will master new F1 qualifying instantly Fernando Alonso expects Formula 1 teams to master the new qualifying format for 2016 immediately, believing everyone will have worked out the best approach before the Australian Grand Prix. F1's qualifying system has been changed for the first time since 2006 this year, with the three segments now concluding with cars being eliminated at 90-second intervals in the closing stages. "We have so many talented people, so many clever people, they will understand perfectly the rules and we will all do the same," Alonso told reporters during his recent visit to Baku ahead of the city's first grand prix later this year. "There will be one exact mathematic formula to do the right thing, so I don't think there will be any adaptation time. "For the drivers I don't think it will change much, we will do very fast laps when it's time to do it." Alonso is more concerned with how the new format will be received by fans, because he feels the qualifying format has been overcomplicated. "From the outside, it's a little bit more difficult because it will take a couple of races to understand the system," he added. "I don't think it was necessary to change. Formula 1 is very complex sometimes, difficult to understand from the outside. "One thing that was very easy to understand [qualifying] - we've changed it. "Let's see if people can adapt to this."
MIKA27 Posted March 16, 2016 Author Posted March 16, 2016 McLaren prepared for tough season opener in Australia McLaren is preparing for a tough 2016 Formula 1 season opener in Australia, after the team failed to fully complete its preparations for the opening race of the year. The Woking-based squad is set to introduce several new updates to its MP4-31 machine during the opening practice session of the weekend, which it hopes to implement into its setup. “We are planning to bring some updates to this race, so we’ll be working on configuring those into our set-up right from FP1,” said 2009 world champion Jenson Button, a three-time winner at Albert Park. After an disastrous start to its renewed Honda partnership last season, McLaren will be hoping to bounce back in 2016. Despite a much-improved testing programme over the winter, McLaren racing director Eric Boullier still expects the Australian Grand Prix weekend to be a tough affair. “We didn’t manage to complete our final configuration and set-up work for the first race, so we go to Melbourne with a number of unknowns,” said Boullier. “It won’t be an easy start to the weekend in that sense, since we’ll need to concentrate on setting the car up for each session and readying the final specification of our package as soon as we get to Albert Park. “Since the final pre-season test, there’s been a huge effort back in Woking to bring new parts to Australia and it’ll be good to finally get to the track on Friday and see how we fare.”
MIKA27 Posted March 16, 2016 Author Posted March 16, 2016 Haas shop opens tomm Cool stuff, not bad colours either. That jacket here at the track will cost around $500 or so. I'm just guessing based off what they sell for. 1
MIKA27 Posted March 17, 2016 Author Posted March 17, 2016 You going to the race MIKA27 I normally get Grand stand tickets but not this year. I'm still unsure which day I will go, Saturday for Qualy or Sunday for the race. I'll have my son which will be great as he's never been. But will definitely go one of the days. Saturdays for families are always better but you miss out on the race by not attending Sunday. First world problems.
MIKA27 Posted March 17, 2016 Author Posted March 17, 2016 RENAULT REVEAL ALL-YELLOW F1 LIVERY Renault Sport Formula One Team has unveiled its definitive livery for the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship. The team debuted its distinctive yellow-gold and black colours in an event hosted in Docklands, Melbourne, in a highly unique way. The R.S.16 was first seen by the guests as it literally surfed the waves at Boat Harbour Park beach just outside Sydney! Renault Sport Formula One Team drivers Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer plus Australian pro surfer Ellie-Jean Coffey undertook the shoot on Monday before the Australian Grand Prix. The car – a showcar for those concerned about whether it will dry out in time for Sunday’s race – was fixed to the 7.5m long board using bespoke harnesses. It was then towed out into the Pacific Ocean where it was unleashed to catch its first-ever waves. Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director of Renault Sport Racing, commented: ‘We had a new livery to unveil in Melbourne, but we wanted to do things a little differently. We’re in F1 to ultimately get lots of points on track, but also to get lots of attention off track, so we came up with this idea. To our knowledge it’s the first time an F1 car has ever surfed! It fits with the Australian theme, but moreover it aligns us with the spirit of adventure we see in the latest range of Renault products such as the Captur and Kadjar. ‘The black and yellow Sirius colours themselves are naturally the corporate colours of Renault Sport, but also share the heritage of Renault Sport on track. The first-ever Renault F1 car, the RS01, hit the track in yellow and black in 1977 and this latest livery is a nod to this formidable car. To create much more tangible links between Renault Sport Cars and Renault Sport Racing, we have also used colours to showcase the matt white colour available on the Renault Clio R.S Trophy. ‘Meanwhile we have added some contemporary touches to make the R.S.16 stand out. We have used metallic colours that will reflect the lights at the night races, the ‘diamond’ pattern at the rear of the car fits in with our new brand identity and the gold flashes signify we aim for the top. ‘We are really happy with the new look of the car and hope you enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed making it!’
MIKA27 Posted March 17, 2016 Author Posted March 17, 2016 LAUDA: FERRARI IS CATCHING US WITH GREAT STRIDES Ferrari is now within an uncomfortable striking distance of Mercedes’ dominance, according to the Silver Arrows chairman Niki Lauda. “I see clearly that Ferrari is catching us with great strides,” the F1 legend told RTL. “I suspect they have moved to within two, three tenths of us. That’s a dangerously small lead now.” Mercedes has utterly dominated the ‘power unit’ era so far and many expect a third consecutive installation in 2016, but Lauda thinks the gap is now close to insignificant and is wary of the Maranello outfit. “The slightest mistake from us regarding strategy or tyres and that two-three tenths is quickly gone,” he said. Sebastian Vettel, who will lead the Ferrari charge, would seem to agree, declaring in his last European interview before addressing the media in Melbourne that the only goal for 2016 is the title. “I see it very positively that the expectations are high,” he told Sport Bild. “My goal is very clearly to be world champion and to win races. Anything else is for me not good enough.” As for whether Ferrari really has closed the gap on Mercedes, Vettel warned: “That question can only be answered halfway seriously after a few races.” “But as a driver you always have to believe in yourself and your chances,” added the quadruple F1 world champion. Last season, Ferrari pounced every time that Mercedes were not at the top of their game and as a result Vettel won three races in his maiden season with the Reds.
MIKA27 Posted March 17, 2016 Author Posted March 17, 2016 SCHUMACHER NEWS BLACKOUT UNDERSTANDABLE SAYS LAUDA Niki Lauda has backed the decision of Michael Schumacher’s family to safeguard the privacy of the Formula 1 legend. Lauda, the Mercedes team chairman and triple world champion, admits the total lack of information about Schumacher’s condition has led to wild tabloid speculation, which is “not good”. “The family protects him and I understand that completely,” Lauda told the German broadcaster Sky. “But it means that all those who would like to know something, do not.” Lauda said he has no inside information, “I often think of him. But unfortunately I have no contact. We all just hope, hope, hope.” But Lauda admitted the total information blackout has led to unhelpful media speculation about Schumacher, “The question is whether some kind of middle ground in terms of communication.”
MIKA27 Posted March 17, 2016 Author Posted March 17, 2016 Wehrlein: The pressure is on me Ahead of his maiden Formula One season, Pascal Wehrlein has revealed that despite there being no specific targets for him to meet, there is still pressure on him to perform. The German has made no secret of his desire to one day race for a big team like Mercedes, having been their reserve driver for over a year already, but also added that being a part of a relatively small team like Manor also has its advantages. "There's no real target in terms of position, but for sure they [Mercedes] want me to perform well," the youngster told f1i.com. "If the team says 'he's an ok driver, but not great' it's for sure not what they want to hear. I have to perform. "There's always pressure. I mean you want to perform, you want to impress people and you want to get results. There has to be pressure – if there's no pressure maybe you don’t push to the maximum. So it's fine. "Of course the experience helps, but it’s also not as much as people have been saying. I’m 21 – I spent one-and-a-half years as Mercedes' reserve driver, but in that time I did just five or six days in the car." Wehrlein explained that being of the team environment at Mercedes will definitely help his drive at Manor as he can use the experiences he had there to benefit his new team. "I know how the Mercedes behaves – or behaved in the past – and, of course, I can translate it to Manor and say what we have to change to be quicker, how it should feel," the DTM Champion said. "I’m ready, but I was also ready last year. I needed to be ready in case something happened to one of the [Mercedes] drivers. "I would have needed to be ready to race. So I'm ready and the team is also ready – we just have to improve, find more performance, learn more about the car and be even more ready for Australia!"
MIKA27 Posted March 17, 2016 Author Posted March 17, 2016 Aston Martin makes a long-awaited return to Formula 1 with Red Bull Aston Martin will return to Formula 1 this season with Red Bull in a partnership linked to a road car project collaboration. As part of the deal, the Aston Martin name will appear on the rear of the Red Bull's sidepods and its iconic logo on the nose from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The move brings the British sportscar manufacturer back to F1, over half a century after its previous brief foray in 1959 and 1960. Last July, Autosport reported Aston Martin was negotiating a return to F1 in a tie-up with Red Bull that would bring the team Mercedes engines. The British sportscar maker held discussions with a number of other teams, including Williams and Force India, and as talks progressed, Force India emerged as a frontrunner. But a deal that would have led to the Silverstone-based team rebranded Aston Martin Racing was put on hold earlier this year. Talks about an F1 return continued, with Aston Martin keen to have a presence in F1 to take on sportscar rivals McLaren and Ferrari on track as well as off, and a deal with Red Bull was finalised. Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer and director of marketing and communications Simon Sproule have experience working with Red Bull as they were involved in securing the team's Infiniti sponsorship. Infiniti, which is part of the Nissan alliance, began sponsoring the team in 2011 before taking over as title sponsor in 2013 and then cutting ties at the end of last season and moving to Renault.
MIKA27 Posted March 17, 2016 Author Posted March 17, 2016 Renault brings F1 engine upgrades to Australian Grand Prix Renault has introduced engine updates aimed at producing more power and better reliability for the 2016 Formula 1 season-opening Australian Grand Prix. The French manufacturer believes it found half a second per lap with updates it ran during pre-season testing, and it has made further changes to its power unit since the conclusion of running at Barcelona earlier this month. Renault managing director Cyril Abiteboul said: "There is new stuff on the engine, first and foremost, to make it perform a bit better, a bit more power, but also much more reliable. "Touch wood I hope that is what we see over the weekend." Recalling the disastrous start to last season, Abiteboul added: "I'm smiling now because last year, after flying to Melbourne I switched on my mobile phone and I saw a text from [Red Bull team principal] Christian Horner. "He said that after 46 kilometres they had broken an engine. "That's the sort of thing I don't want to see us reproducing, so reliability is the big, big target for this weekend. "We will also have the capacity to extract all the performance that is available in the engine, something we were not in a position to do last year for a number of reasons, which were both hardware and software related. "So there should be more performance to come, and also more reliability." MINIMAL CHASSIS CHANGES Chief technical officer Bob Bell has stated the car that will take to the track in Melbourne is essentially the one that ran in testing, although the door is ajar for potential improvements. "It will be very similar honestly," he told Autosport. "We always intended we would run the two winter tests with a [chassis] spec which was very close to what we run in Melbourne. "We are bringing in some development pieces here. "We may be able to get a new front wing on the car, but we will only bring it when it is properly validated and ready to go. "We won't rush it. Broadly speaking, the car will be very similar." Jolyon Palmer, who will make his F1 race debut this weekend, believes the team knows where it needs to improve and has the resources to do so. "Very little has changed but we have more things coming," he told Autosport. "There is not a lot of difference from testing, but we know where we can improve and we will be improving in those areas."
MIKA27 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Posted March 18, 2016 VETTEL: WE CAN CHALLENGE MERCEDES BUT ARE WE READY Mercedes are deserving favourites to win the Formula One championship again but Ferrari have a car that can challenge the Silver Arrows this year, four-times champion Sebastian Vettel ahead of the season opening Australian Grand Prix.. Ferrari showed impressive pace during pre-season testing and are considered the team most likely to dethrone Mercedes, who have dominated the last two seasons. Asked whether the Italian glamour team were strong enough to challenge for the title, Vettel was forthright. “I think we have,” he told the pre-race media conference at Albert Park in Melbourne. “The question is whether we are ready in time. But we are making progress.” “And we have made a step over the winter. But our target is to turn things around. Mercedes are still the favourites but we are trying to become the favourites.” Vettel said Ferrari’s new SF16-H was a “big improvement” and a “big step forward overall” on last year’s car, “We’ve done a very, very nice job… and it allows us to be first of all quicker from the start and also have more chance of improving throughout the year.” “So that’s good news. Whether it’s good news right from the start, I don’t know. But we know that our challenge is very, very big. We know the bar is high but we are pushing, pushing very hard.” Ferrari have not won a driver’s title since Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen was victorious in 2007. They were last constructors’ champions in 2008. They were, however, the only team apart from Mercedes to put a driver on the top step of the podium last year, with Vettel snaring the three victories not taken by reigning champion Lewis Hamilton (10 wins) and his team mate Nico Rosberg (six). Vettel’s comments echoed team principal Maurizio Arrivabene’s declaration last month that the team’s goal was to fight for the title right to the end of the season. The 28-year-old, bidding to join Juan Manuel Fangio as a five-time F1 champion, also confirmed that he had named his new car ‘Margarita’, continuing his tradition of christening his vehicles with female names. Last year’s car, his first Ferrari, was ‘Eva’, which succeeded ‘Suzie’, his last car at Red Bull, where he won four consecutive championships. “It’s not named after pizza, it’s a name,” he said with a grin.
MIKA27 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Posted March 18, 2016 HAMILTON: THE WHOLE PACK LOOKS A BIT CLOSER The gap between Mercedes and the rest has narrowed and Ferrari “have something up their sleeve” at this week’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, according to champion Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes enjoyed a near-flawless pre-season testing but Ferrari also showed promising pace to raise their hopes of ending the Silver Arrows’ reign after two dominant seasons. “I think this year the whole pack looks a bit closer. I think they have something up their sleeve this weekend,” Hamilton told reporters at the pre-race media conference at Albert Park on Thursday. “I think they have a lot more than they are talking. They have arrived on the low, but are going to deliver high.” Ferrari’s four-time world championship-winning driver Sebastian Vettel said he believed the Scuderia’s new car could challenge Mercedes for the title. Both teams notched up plenty of laps at the Barcelona testing, with Mercedes showing itself the most reliable car and Ferrari setting encouraging times. But Mercedes’ true pace remains very much a mystery with the team not focused on posting fast laps during the off-season. Hamilton, bidding for a fourth world title, said he might have hoped to have done more performance laps at the Circuit de Catalunya and suggested the team had kept their powder dry. “But we did what we had to do and I guess we went into the testing with a goal of achieving 800 km a day,” he said. “We didn’t actually think we were going to do it so perhaps in hindsight we would have shifted our running. But at the end of the day, it suited us perfectly.”
MIKA27 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Posted March 18, 2016 MELBOURNE MARKS ANXIOUS START FOR NEW F1 TEAMS AND DRIVERS A proven American motorsports success story making the leap into Formula One, a rookie driver carrying the hopes of his Asian nation, and a leading manufacturer taking the first steps to recapturing past glories. For Gene Haas’ new team, for Rio Haryanto and for Renault, this weekend’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix represents an anxious start to what they intend to be long and successful futures in the sport. Gene Haas has shown in NASCAR how to go from a fledgling team to a series champion inside a decade, and while the task will be significantly harder in F1, there is an expectation that the Haas team of 2016 will be more competitive than a usual struggling first-year team. An engine supply from Ferrari, chassis from Dallara, and experienced F1 drivers in Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez, gives Haas the ingredients to have some of the mid-ranking teams looking over their shoulders. Gutierrez, formerly Ferrari’s reserve driver who arrived at Haas as part of the engine deal, said the team is keeping its ambitions in perspective. “It’s very ambitious as a new team to arrive and set a target to score points, but we will work very hard to achieve that,” Gutierrez said on the eve of the Melbourne weekend. “Initially it’s very important to keep our feet on the ground, make sure we run smoothly during the weekend. If we can accomplish that this weekend, we can come out in a very happy mood. We have everything to gain, so achieving points would be something extraordinary.” Indonesian driver Haryanto is part of an all-rookie team at Manor, which is expecting a significant improvement this season with a Mercedes engine supply and some overdue ownership and management stability. His appointment owes much to the sponsorship he brings to the team from the Indonesian state oil and gas company, but his record in the GP2 series indicates he will not be out of his depth in F1. “There’s been tremendous support back home,” Haryanto said. “I’m very proud and I’m sure the whole nation is proud too, to have me in Formula One. “My expectation is to try to learn as quickly as possible and try to build a good relationship with the team.” There is also a new beginning for Renault, which has stepped up from engine supplier to return as an F1 team in its own right, 10 years after winning the most recent of its titles. The buyout of the Lotus team and the consequent upheaval in management and technical staff put Renault behind the schedule of some of its competitors, but rookie English driver Jolyon Palmer said the team expects improvement after an understandably slow start. “There were a lot of difficulties over the winter, everything was a little bit late,” Palmer said. “The expectations are pretty low, and this year is just about building a foundation. “If we can start off with a solid base this weekend, then we’ve got good potential to improve over the course of the season and so, definitely, we hope to be in the points.”
MIKA27 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Posted March 18, 2016 STEINER: IF ALL THE STARS ALIGN WE COULD SCORE POINTS New Formula One team Haas are not ruling out clinching points on debut at Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix so long as the ‘stars align’, according to team principal Guenther Steiner. The first U.S. owned team in the sport since 1986, Haas bring a car built in Italy by chassis maker Dallara with Ferrari engines and technical support. The well-funded outfit also boast experienced drivers in Frenchman Romain Grosjean and former Ferrari reserve Esteban Gutierrez, who was previously behind the wheel at Sauber. “If all the stars are in the right place, it will be realistic but they need to be all lined up,” Italian-born American Steiner told reporters at the paddock at Albert Park on Thursday. “After the test, because the second week we wanted to do more set-up work and we haven’t done it, I’m a little bit — I wouldn’t say scared — but a little bit conservative that we hit the right set-up. “I think the car is the right platform but now we have to find the right set-up. If we hit the set-up right and we can get more confidence then I think it’s possible.” Steiner said the team had been working day and night for the past three months to build camaraderie but there had been precious little time for bonding outside the garage. He said Grosjean’s experience had proved invaluable for a race crew with a sizeable proportion of Formula One rookies. “He goes in the car and when he says ‘the car is doing this, I like this’, we know that he can be a reference point from last year’s Lotus which wasn’t a bad machine,” he said of Grosjean’s previous team, now reborn as Renault. “There’s not one thing or one point of data that he brings to the car, it’s just a feeling which he brings to the car. If you have got new drivers who come into Formula One they tell you what I want to hear because they don’t know any better. The best (for them) is to make the boss happy.” Formula One has introduced a number of changes for the new championship, with a revamped qualifying and a clampdown on radio communications, putting more of a burden on drivers to manage their races. Steiner said he hoped the new changes might play into the debutant team’s hands as the established outfits grappled to change from the old ways. “I think for us everything will be new anyway so I think we have got the better chance,” he said. “I’m not afraid of it. It’s something new and people don’t like change.”
MIKA27 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Posted March 18, 2016 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX FACTS & STATISTICS When Formula One came to Australia in 1985 it set up home in Adelaide. However, ex-racer-turned-entrepreneur Bob Jane wanted a race in Melbourne. He created a huge ‘thunderdome’ and invented the AUSCAR series, bringing NASCAR action to Australia. The desire to have a race in Melbourne did not wane. Despite the popular end of season slot for the Adelaide race, pressure was growing from the Melbourne motor sport community, and in 1992 Jeff Kennett was elected the new premier of the State of Victoria. He immediately set about improving Melbourne’s profile. First on his list was the Australian Grand Prix. An agreement was reached with Formula One in 1993, but the contract with Adelaide did not expire until 1995, so Kennett had plenty of time to prepare. A track was developed in Melbourne’s beautiful Albert Park, part of it using closed-off public roads, and in 1996 the city held the first round of the world championship. Since then the race has become very popular with drivers and fans alike, and the party atmosphere of Melbourne keeps them coming back year after year. Lap distance: 5.303km. Total distance: 307.574km (58 laps) Race lap record: Michael Schumacher (Germany) 1:24.125 (Ferrari, 2004) 2015 pole: Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1:26.327 2015 winner: Hamilton Start time: 0500 GMT (1600 local) Mercedes won 16 of the 19 races last season, with a record 12 one-two finishes. Ferrari won the other three. Hamilton, now a triple world champion, has won at least 10 races in each of the last two seasons. He won 11 in 2014 and 10 in 2015. His German team mate Nico Rosberg ended the year with three wins in a row. Hamilton has 43 career victories, putting him third in the all-time lists and pushing Ferrari’s four times world champion Sebastian Vettel down to fourth with 42. Schumacher holds the record of 91, with Alain Prost on 51. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso has 32 wins, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen 20, McLaren’s Jenson Button 15 and Rosberg 14. Ferrari have won 224 races, McLaren 182, Williams 114 and Red Bull 50. Mercedes have won 45. McLaren have not won for 57 races, a run that dates back to Brazil 2012. Rosberg has been on pole for the last six races. Hamilton was on pole 11 times last season, Rosberg seven, Vettel once. Hamilton has 49 career poles, Rosberg 22. Vettel has 46. Only two drivers in F1 history have had 50 poles or more: Schumacher (68) and the late Brazilian Ayrton Senna (65). Ten drivers from six teams were on the podium in 2015: Hamilton, Rosberg, Vettel, Raikkonen, Valtteri Bottas, Felipe Massa (both Williams), Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo (both Red Bull), Romain Grosjean (Lotus) and Sergio Perez (Force India). Hamilton, Rosberg and Vettel shared the podium in nine races. Vettel had 13 podium finishes in 2015, more than in his title-winning 2010 and 2013 seasons. Three drivers are making their F1 race debuts in Australia: Britain’s Jolyon Palmer (Renault), Germany’s Pascal Wehrlein (Manor) and Indonesian Rio Haryanto (Manor). No Australian has ever won his home race. There have been 13 Australian F1 drivers since 1950 and two world champions – Jack Brabham and Alan Jones. Daniel Ricciardo is the only Australian in Sunday’s race. All five of the sport’s active champions (Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Button, Raikkonen) have won in Australia. Button has won it three times, Hamilton and Raikkonen twice each. Melbourne has been the season-opener 18 times. This year’s race is the 21st to be held at Albert Park. Since 2002, the winner in Australia has ended the season as champion on eight occasions. In total, the winner in Melbourne has gone on to be world champion 12 out of 20 times. The race winner at Albert Park has started on pole on nine occasions. The lowest starter to win was Britain’s Eddie Irvine from 11th in 1999 for Ferrari. Seven of the last eight races in Australia have seen the safety car deployed. Just 15 cars started last year’s race – the lowest number for a season-opener since 1963. Neither of the Manor drivers qualified, Williams’ Valtteri Bottas injured his back in qualifying while the Red Bull of Daniil Kvyat and McLaren of kevin Magnussen broke down on the way to the grid. McLaren’s last podium finish was in Australia in 2014 (Magnussen). The team still have the best record in Australia with 11 wins and 26 podiums. Haas F1 are making their debut as the first U.S.-owned team in 30 years. Renault are making their return as a full constructor after buying the Lotus team. Haryanto will be the first Indonesian to race in F1.
MIKA27 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Posted March 18, 2016 RED BULL CONFIRMS PARTNERSHIP WITH ASTON MARTIN Press Release: Red Bull Racing and British luxury sports car brand Aston Martin are today announcing a partnership which sees Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey and Aston Martin’s Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman collaborate to produce a ground-breaking Aston Martin hypercar. Codenamed Project ‘AM-RB 001’, the new hypercar will represent the ultimate blend of cutting edge F1 technology with Aston Martin’s signature sports car design. The combined talents of Newey, widely noted as the most successful Formula One designer of all time, and Reichman, Aston Martin’s design chief since 2005, are set to produce the ultimate hypercar. Combining the strongest elements of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Advanced Technologies and Aston Martin, this new Innovation Partnership unites the world’s best aerodynamicists, composite experts and manufacturing masters. All the parties offer different elite capabilities ensuring that Project ‘AM-RB 001’ promises to be an exciting prospect for customers and enthusiasts around the world. Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner said of the new partnership: “This is a very exciting project for everyone at Red Bull Racing. Through this Innovation Partnership the iconic Aston Martin logo will return to grand prix racing for the first time since 1960, and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, led by Adrian, will be using Formula One DNA to produce the ultimate of all road cars. It’s an incredible project and also realises a dream and vision long held by Adrian to design a road car. We are very much looking forward to what I’m certain will be a successful partnership.” Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer said: “Formula One offers the ultimate global stage to build wider awareness of the Aston Martin brand. However, this partnership will deliver even more than that when the hypercar that Aston Martin and Adrian Newey are in the process of developing hits the road. Between Q by Aston Martin Advanced, Red Bull Advanced Technologies and project partner AF Racing AG, we are going to create a car that will excite and stir the imaginations of the car designers of the future and a global audience of sports car enthusiasts. “These are exciting times for Aston Martin and arriving hot on the heels of our DB11 launch earlier this month, this new partnership underlines that our brand really is racing again.” Having an illustrious Formula One career spanning nearly 30 years, and as the designer of ten World Championship winning Formula One cars, the partnership represents a new challenge for Red Bull Racing’s Adrian Newey. “From the age of six I have had two goals in life – to be involved in the design of racing cars, and to be involved in the design of a super car.” Newey commented. “Whilst the former ambition went on to form my career to date, the latter has always bubbled away, resulting in countless sketches and doodles over the years. “The opportunity to now develop and realise those ideas whilst working with Marek and his colleagues from Aston Martin is tremendously exciting. It allows us to translate the technology we have developed in F1 into a new arena.” As the designer of cars such as the Aston Martin DB11 – which was revealed earlier this month at the Geneva International Motor Show – the Aston Martin Vulcan and the One-77, Marek Reichman holds the key to the unmistakable design language of the modern era of Aston Martins. “We are in the process of developing a hypercar that combines the latest in aerodynamics from F1 and the stunning design language of an Aston Martin sports car,” said Reichman. “The opportunity to collaborate with Adrian (Newey) and Red Bull Advanced Technologies will be a fascinating experience for everyone involved. Unconstrained by F1TM regulations, we have a unique chance to create a car in its most efficient form that will represent the ultimate fusion of art and technology.” To celebrate the partnership between Aston Martin, Red Bull Racing and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, the RB12s will carry the iconic Aston Martin wings logo throughout the 2016 season, making their debut at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne.
MIKA27 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Posted March 18, 2016 HAMILTON DISREGARDS QUESTIONS ABOUT HARLEY SELFIES Lewis Hamilton refused to entertain questions about the police investigation which has clouded the build-up to the defence of his Formula One crown. The 31-year-old Briton faced a police probe after he posted a number of videos to his Snapchat account while riding a motorbike in New Zealand earlier this week. Police in Auckland chose not to take any further action against the three-time world champion, citing a lack of ”sufficient evidence”. It has been illegal to use a mobile phone while driving a vehicle in New Zealand since 2009. Asked if he felt he had a responsibility not to use his mobile phone whilst on a motorbike, Hamilton replied: “I don’t really have much of an answer for you unfortunately.” Hamilton, who was using his phone throughout Thursday’s press conference, was then asked if he felt he should set a better example. “Once again I don’t really have much of an answer for you,” Hamilton, 31, said. MIKA: D**K - These guys of all people should know to set a good example for road laws and this isn't the first time Hamilton has broken the law while driving. Yet again, gets away with it as a celebrity. Wonder if things would be different if he collided with someone...? Could be too late.
MIKA27 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Posted March 18, 2016 RENAULT TECH BOSS ADMITS FOCUS SHIFT TO 2017 CAR SOON Kevin Magnussen has more on his mind this week than the new colour of his 2016 Formula 1 car. Asked by the Danish press to rate out of ten his happiness as he returns to the grid, Magnussen beamed in Melbourne: “Eleven!” But the glare of the world’s media was on his RS16 car, now resplendent in traditional matte Renault yellow rather than the all-black interim testing livery. “I care less about the colour than whether the car is fast,” Magnussen smiled to the Danish newspaper BT. Unfortunately for the 23-year-old and his teammate Jolyon Palmer, the car is probably on the border of the points at best, after the eleventh-hour takeover of Lotus. But Renault has taken a minor upgrade of its ‘power unit’ to the season opener in Australia, and it will also be supplied to customer Red Bull. “I have received very positive feedback from Helmut [Marko],” Renault’s Cyril Abiteboul said. Indeed, Renault is expecting to be soundly beaten by its customer at least in 2016, as the French marque looks ahead with a greater focus into the new rules for 2017. “Since we cannot fight for the top step of the podium this year,” admitted technical boss Bob Bell, “we will look at the car for next year from an early stage. “We will develop the current car during the season,” he promised, “but perhaps not to the extent as would be the case in a normal year. 2017 will be a completely different car.” Therefore, the biggest difference between the RS16 tested by Magnussen and Palmer in Barcelona and the one to roar in Melbourne this weekend is the colour. “There has not been an awful lot [of car development] since then,” the Dane admitted. “Generally it’s the same car.”
MIKA27 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Posted March 18, 2016 Button: Policing new radio ban impossible As Formula 1 clamps down on radio communications with the drivers, Jenson Button has warned that it won't be easy task to police. This season the powers-that-be have opted to increase the limit on radio communications between the pit wall and the drivers. The move is aim at making life a bit more difficult for the drivers and therefore potentially more interesting for the fans. Button, though, feels the FIA will have a difficult time policing the new limits. "They won't be listening to every radio message, so we'll have to see how it goes," said the McLaren driver. "Hopefully they can listen to as much as possible to make it as fair as possible. "It definitely helps the more experienced drivers. You go into the data and you learn everything you can. Whereas you become lazy if you've been in the sport for a few years. "I remember the days when we had no information about what was going on, so I'm looking forward to it. It definitely will add something. "It's just policing it is obviously pretty much impossible." Added to that the Brit has ruled out the ban having any major impact on grand prix weekends. "I think it'll settle down after the first few. Personally, I've always felt that qualifying is the least of our problems, really, in the sport. "But… a small change, it makes it interesting for the people who do their homework, do a better job preparing. "Same as the radio, not being able to use the radio – the engineers not being able to feed us information, same thing. People will make mistakes for the first few races and then it'll be back to normal. "You just have to make sure you do a good job and… it might help us for the first few races. "I think it's tougher for the guys at the front, especially the qualifying format, cause they can't just wait until the last moment of Q1 and do a lap that's average, they have to push."
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