F1 Minute

Listen to this episode

Welcome to F1 Minute for the 23rd July 2008.

The second day of testing in Jerez drew to a close today with Vettel still leading the way. Toro Rosso were testing out slick tyres and posted the fastest time ahead of de la Rosa in the McLaren and Raikkonen in the Ferrari – who was on grooved tyres. There was just one red flag caused by Alex Wurz for Honda, as he stopped on track with what appeared to be an engine problem.

Following yesterday’s incident where a BMW mechanic suffered an electric shock from a car with KERS installed, we’ve had a few updates. The mechanic was released from the medical centre with just a minor injury to his arm, but was later taken to hospital suffering dizzy spells and kept overnight for observation. He was released today. Toyota team president John Howett has spoken out, saying he doesn’t believe that KERS will be ready in time for introduction as soon as 2009.

It looks like the F1 Working Group will be discussing the issues at their next meeting.

That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Published by Christine on 23 Jul 2008 at 07:27 pm

Tags: Alex Wurz, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Jerez, Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Pedro de la Rosa, Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso, Toyota

Listen to this episode

This is F1 minute and today is the 22nd July 2008.

All ten teams turned up in Jerez for the first day of testing this morning, and by the afternoon, Vettel was top of the leaderboard. He beat Paffett in the McLaren and Badoer in the Ferrari. The only other racing driver out there was Trulli who finished 7th. The day was not without it’s mishaps though.

BMW were testing out their new KERS, but when a mechanic touched the car, he received an electric shock.  He fell to the ground, and later went to the medical centre but was unharmed. BMW were understandably cautious, and Klien didn’t complete any timed laps in the car. The team have also now decided to halt testing the system for now.

Elsewhere today, Toyota have confirmed that Glock will be back in action on Thursday, and Glock himself says: “It was a really hard impact and my back hurt immediately after I got out of the car but now it is fine. Actually, it looked worse on TV than it really was.”

That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

Published by Christine on 22 Jul 2008 at 07:42 pm

Tags: BMW, Christian Klien, Ferrari, Gary Paffett, Jarno Trulli, Jerez, KERS, Luca Badoer, McLaren, Sebastian Vettel, Timo Glock, Toyota

Listen to this episode

You’re listening to F1 Minute for the 21st July 2008.

Following his heavy crash at Hockenheim, yesterday, Timo Glock stayed in hospital overnight for observation but was released today. He is fine, and returns now to rest up ahead of the test at Jerez this week. Toyota general manager Pascal Vasselon  has spoken to Timo: “We have already talked to him on the phone. It may not be possible, but he is already thinking that he wants to drive in the test at Jerez. So he is fine.” At the moment, the cause of the crash is still unknown.

Also, following the race yesterday, the stewards announced that Fisichella had been given a 25 second penalty, due to unlapping himself from behind the safety car when he technically wasn’t allowed to. This puts the Force India down from 14th place to 16th.

Finally, after back to back wins from Hamilton, ex-champion Niki Lauda has spoken out, and changed his mind about the Brit: “It was a great race from him in Germany and if If he continues like this, he will be unbeatable.”

That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Published by Christine on 21 Jul 2008 at 07:08 pm

Tags: Force India, Giancarlo Fisichella, Hockenheim, Jerez, Lewis Hamilton, Niki Lauda, Pascal Vasselon, Timo Glock, Toyota

Listen to this episode

Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 20^th July 2008.

Having led all but one of the session this weekend, it’s no surprise that Hamilton took a dominant win at Hockenheim today. It wasn’t all plain sailing, though, as a safety car brought out by Glock put a bit of a spanner in the works. The Toyota spun on the exit of the last corner and crashed into a concrete wall backwards. Glock climbed out of the car, and was taken to the medical centre and then on to hospital. He appears to be okay, but there’s no official word just yet.

The safety car reduced Hamilton’s lead to nothing, and McLaren decided not to pit the race leader until after the safety car had gone. That meant Hamilton’s final scheduled stop saw him return behind his teammate, Massa, and Piquet. The Renault had been one stopping, and came in just before the safety car appeared. A nice bit of luck and some strong driving from the rookie.

Hamilton made short work of Kovalainen, Massa almost handed the place to the McLaren, and Piquet couldn’t put up much of a fight. A great race, and a fascinating podium. The championship remains the same as post-Silverstone, although the points are more spread out now.

That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Published by Christine on 20 Jul 2008 at 03:11 pm

Tags: Felipe Massa, Heikki Kovalainen, Hockenheim, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Nelson Piquet, Renault, Timo Glock, Toyota

Listen to this episode

This is F1 Minute for the 19^th July 2008.

McLaren continued their domination in Germany today, with Kovalainen posting the fastest time in Free Practice 3.  It was a close one, with Massa just seven hundredths of a second behind and Hamilton back in third. Sutil had a bit of an incident, sliding into the gravel, although he did manage to save it.

Having led all three Free Practice sessions, it was hardly surprising to see a McLaren on pole, this time Hamilton getting the better of the rest of the field. Massa came a close second, with Kovalainen behind. Notably, the next pair of Trulli and Alonso were a surprise, especially as Raikkonen could only struggle into sixth.

Elsewhere today, Formula 1 teams have given the Singapore circuit the go ahead after a successful lighting test took place last week. Eight of the ten teams were represented at the inspection, no McLaren or Ferrari, and apparently all previous fears about the lighting for the night race have now been put to rest.

That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Published by Christine on 19 Jul 2008 at 09:31 pm

Tags: Adrian Sutil, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, Heikki Kovalainen, Hockenheim, Jarno Trulli, Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Singapore

Listen to this episode

Today is the 18^th July 2008 and this is F1 Minute.

Lewis Hamilton topped both Free Practice sessions in Hockenheim today, the first one being a McLaren one-two, and the second seeing Hamilton ahead of Massa. Notable events included Kubica smashing into the wall in FP1, he emerged unscathed and the mechanics worked furiously to get his car out in the afternoon. Also, Glock had an airborne moment in his Toyota, and landed with a serious bump.

Elsewhere today, Ross Brawn has said that he expects Button and Barrichello to remain with the team next year. Although negotiations are still ongoing, and Brawn doesn’t believe it is of high priority at the moment, he said: “I don’t think there will be any dramatic change. It’s unfair to criticise the drivers as we haven’t provided them with a good enough car.”

Finally, Anthony Hamilton has sparked a new raft of speculation by having a not-so-secret meeting with Stefano Domenicali. Pictures have emerged of the two chatting, and whilst that’s all we know, it doesn’t stop the Hamilton to Ferrari rumours from starting afresh.

That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Published by Christine on 18 Jul 2008 at 08:43 pm

Tags: Anthony Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Hockenheim, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Robert Kubica, Ross Brawn, Rubens Barrichello, Stefano Domenicali, Timo Glock, Toyota

Listen to this episode

Welcome to F1 Minute for the 17^th July 2008.

Another one of those stories that falls into the most unsurprising news ever category, is today’s announcement by Red Bull that they have signed Toro Rosso star Sebastian Vettel for next year. As predicted by pretty much everyone, Vettel will replace the retiring Coulthard and team up with Mark Webber for the 2009 season. Team boss Christian Horner says he knew Vettel was the one: “As he was already part of the Red Bull family, choosing Sebastian as Mark Webber’s team-mate was not a difficult decision.”

And the man himself, Vettel, is obviously happy with the announcement: “I am very proud to be joining Red Bull Racing and it’s always good to have an early decision on what you are doing next year. As a driver your target is always to be with the most competitive team possible and, over the past couple of years, Red Bull Racing has proved it has great potential…”

Finally, this puts pay to the rumours that Alonso will be joining the team. Horner says the timing just wasn’t right for that to happen, whilst Alonso says that doesn’t mean he will have to remain at Renault.

That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

Published by Christine on 17 Jul 2008 at 07:28 pm

Tags: Christian Horner, David Coulthard, Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber, Red Bull, Renault, Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso

Listen to this episode

It’s the 16^th July 2008, and you’re listening to F1 Minute.

Mark Webber paid a visit to the Red Bull factory in Milton Keynes today, although it was probably cut a lot shorter than he was expecting. At about lunchtime, one of the new components the team was testing out, failed and gave off a lot of smoke. Everyone inside that part of the factory, including Webber, was evacuated while the fire alarms rang. A spokesperson said it’s all fine and has no effect on their preparation for this weekend’s race.

Following the news earlier this week, that Takuma Sato is desperate to return to Formula 1, we now have Tonio Liuzzi eyeing up a return to racing. Currently test driver for Force India, Liuzzi says sitting on the sidelines each race weekend is more difficult than he expected.  He also hints at the drivers market for next year, saying it all rests on a certain someone’s shoulders…  again. “The decisions will be taken around mid-August, and I’m not just talking about Force India. Everything revolves around Alonso and the market will move once he moves.”

That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Published by Christine on 16 Jul 2008 at 07:29 pm

Tags: Fernando Alonso, Force India, Mark Webber, Red Bull, Takuma Sato, Tonio Liuzzi

Listen to this episode

Welcome to F1 Minute for the 15^th July 2008.

Force India have joined the list of teams to switch their development focus from this year to next years car. Honda and Renault have already hinted at the fact that they are concentrating on adapting to the 2009 regulations. Now Vijay Mallya has said the only major update for the Force India this year is to switch to a seamless shift gearbox, and that’s it. Mallya also defended his team’s performance, saying: “Ferrari didn’t win a world championship for years until Michael Schumacher came along in 1996, and even then it took three or four years to win. So people can’t expect miracles from me in one season, but I’m getting there, and I’m showing that I’m inching forward.”

Elsewhere today, it looks like Spanish fans may be able to watch the remainder of the season live on their mobile phones if they so desire. The company HYC is partnering with TV broadcasters to enable this: “richer communications experience though a personalized and interactive service.” We’ll see.

That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

Published by Christine on 15 Jul 2008 at 06:42 pm

Tags: Ferrari, Force India, Honda, Michael Schumacher, Renault, Vijay Mallya

Listen to this episode

It’s the 14^th July 2008 and this is F1 Minute.

Today seems to be the day for looking to the future. Bridgestone have said that next year, they may try widening the gap between the two tyre compounds to try and spice up the racing action a little bit. The teams have apparently been complaining that the tyre choices are too similar and therefore make very little difference. However, Bridgestone are looking at this very carefully, because they’ve said that if they make the compounds too removed from each other, there will be one clear favourite, everyone will follow the same pit stop strategy and the whole process will have been a waste of time.

Elsewhere, Vettel has said he would rather be in a competitive car than be paid loads to stay in mediocre machinery. He said: “As long as I have enough to eat and go out to a restaurant some nights for me the most important thing is the racing.” Vettel remains the favourite for the Red Bull seat, but Coulthard has hedged his bets on who will replace him, saying he thinks Alonso would fit into the team just as well as Vettel would.

That’s all for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

Published by Christine on 14 Jul 2008 at 06:54 pm

Tags: Bridgestone, David Coulthard, Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel