News in Brief for 2009-02-27

• USF1 officially announced, with very little in the way of details. Seems to be a fan friendly, approachable team though. No drivers yet. #
• Force India sneakily ran their new car at Silverstone ahead of the Jerez launch and test. No word on how successful the shakedown was. #
• The BBC confirmed many details of their ‘09 F1 plans, with mobile and internet coverage boosted considerably. Most exciting news? The Chain. #
• Bridgestone revealed their solution to the white stripe problem – no grooves on slicks so instead, they put a green stripe on each sidewall. #
• Sam Michael believes that the “only-just-legal” diffuser they & Toyota are running will be copied up and down the grid by the Australian GP. #

Williams 2009 Livery Unveiled

The new look Williams is officially unveiled. The darker testing livery is gone to make way for this lighter blue and white paint job. Rosberg has said he intends to be in a competitive car by 2010, and if the team don’t deliver this year, then he will reluctantly start to look elsewhere. Meanwhile, Nakajima feels like the pressure is on him now he’s out of his rookie year.
Credit: WilliamsF1

27-Feb-09: Williams Reveal 2009 Blue and White Livery

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Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 27th February 2009.

Williams have finally unveiled their official new livery for this year, after running various different paint jobs during testing. It’s disappointingly not the dark blue of the winter test, but a bright blue and white, similar to last year’s car. The pictures of the new livery also reveal some aerodynamic fins either side of the cockpit, which are apparently in place to help the airflow onto the rear wing. These have been dubbed “skate fins”, by the team themselves.

Elsewhere today, Bernie Ecclestone has suggested that Rome could have a Grand Prix by 2013, if certain circumstances are met. The Senator needs to approve the idea, and is optimistic it will go ahead. The race would be held on the outskirts of the city, and would be a street circuit.

Finally, Autosport reports that all the drivers will now give in to the FIA demands and pay the superlicence fees, joining the six that have already done so.

That’s it for today, have a great weekend and join me back here on Monday for another F1 Minute.

Renault – Adam Khan gets his first taste of the R28

ING Renault F1 Team demonstration driver, Adam Khan, got his first taste of Formula 1 action on Sunday when he climbed aboard the R28 for a shakedown test at Paul Ricard in the South of France.

Adam spent the day getting acclimatised to the car that he will demonstrate throughout the year at city and circuit demonstrations as part of the team’s 2009 Roadshow programme.

“It was an awesome experience,” enthused Adam as he climbed from the cockpit. “The team did and excellent job of getting me comfortable and used to the all systems on the car. The power from the V8 engine was impressive, but these modern Formula 1 cars are so driveable that I quickly got up to speed and I now have some valuable experience under by belt. I’m now looking forward to my first demonstration run in Dubai in April.”

Colin, Hale, the Coordinator for Renault’s Roadshow activities added: “The programme focussed on getting Adam comfortable in the car and giving him some mileage behind the wheel. He quickly adapted to the car, worked well with the engineers and everything went smoothly. Overall it was a positive first day in the car.”

Adam will be back in the car on the 11th of April when the ING Renault F1 Team Roadshow kicks off its 2009 campaign with a trip to Dubai for a demonstration on the streets of the city.

Bridgestone Motorsport announce tyre specifications

Bridgestone, the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIA Formula One World Championship, is pleased to announce the compound allocations of Potenza tyres for the first five rounds of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship.

This season sees slick tyres make a return to Formula One after eleven seasons of grooved dry tyres. Slick tyres mean that softer rubber compounds can be used, meaning more mechanical grip is available for competitors. This change is significant for teams and drivers and is accompanied by considerable changes to the car aerodynamic packages, designed to reduce downforce and stimulate overtaking.

There is a change in tyre allocation rationale too. For the past two seasons, Bridgestone has brought two consecutive compounds from its range of four rubber compounds to each event. For 2009, nonconsecutive allocations will occur at most races. As well as a difference in compound stiffness, there will be a variation in temperature working range between the two allocated compounds at an event.

The compounds themselves are new, because of the different requirements of slick tyres compared with grooved tyres, however they will retain the same names of hard, medium, soft and super soft. There are no changes to the wet and extreme weather tyres, which will be brought to all events in case of adverse weather.

The method of distinguishing between the two compounds on event will be through means of green bands painted on the edges of the tyre sidewalls of the softer tyres at a race. This marking allows the compounds to be visually distinguishable by fans at the circuit and those watching on television. The green colour has been chosen to show Bridgestone’s continued support of the FIA’s Make Cars Green campaign.

Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says:

“2009 looks like it should be a very exciting season with very big changes to the cars. From our perspective we have changed our allocation strategy so that we can bring non-consecutive allocations to races. The compounds will not only vary in terms of compound hardness, but also working range. We have tried to have one tyre which has a quick warm-up and delivers a fast lap time immediately, and the other tyre which has a higher working range, so will not deliver immediate fast times, but gives very consistent and durable performance when it is at its operating temperature. Of course, we are subject to many variables such as different cars and drivers, not to mention the weather, which was such a big factor in 2008. We hope that the change in allocations gives competitors a good challenge and the fans entertaining racing. We are also proud to support the FIA’s Make Cars Green campaign through our tyre markings.”

FIA Formula One World Championship

In view of the difficult economic conditions which continue to affect Formula One sponsors and major car manufacturers, the FIA is preparing radical proposals for 2010.

If adopted by the World Motor Sport Council, the new regulations will enable a team to compete for a fraction of current budgets but nevertheless field cars which can match those of the established teams.

These regulations will not affect the established teams which now have stable backing from the major car manufacturers, but will enable new teams to fill the existing vacancies on the grid for 2010 and make it less likely that any team will be forced to leave the Championship.

The proposals will be submitted to the World Council on 17 March.

Massa Goes Green in Fuji

Felipe Massa runs the “Make Cars Green” tyres at the Japanese Grand Prix 2008. Bridgestone confirmed today that they would be changing the single white stripe to denote a soft tyre, to a pair of green stripes on each sidewall. The effect is interesting, to say the least. They also announced the compounds for the first few races, with slick tyres making a welcome comeback in 2009.
Credit: Bridgestone Corporation

26-Feb-09: Bridgestone Announce Green Tyre Stripes

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It’s the 26th February 2009, and this is F1 Minute.

Bridgestone have confirmed some changes to the tyres for the coming season, with the most obvious being a green stripe instead of a white. Last year, the soft tyres were distinguishable with a white stripe in the centre groove. This year, with slicks, Bridgestone have decided to paint the sidewalls instead. And, not white, but the same green we saw at the Japanese Grand Prix in 2008.

The compounds are also different, given the nature of slick tyres, but Bridgestone are also widening the gap, so that, for instance, in Australia, we will see super soft and medium tyres, rather than super soft and softs.

Elsewhere, Technical Director at Williams, Sam Michael, says that he expects their rear diffuser to be copied up and down the grid – despite other teams complaining that it bends the rules. The FIA confirmed it was legal, and Michael thinks it will be the diffuser of choice in Melbourne.

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

25-Feb-09: RBS to Withdraw Williams Sponsorship

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This is F1 Minute for the 25th February 2009.

RBS have become the next bank to announce their reduction of sponsorship deals, saying they have been reviewing their activities since October. This will affect Williams. The partnership began in 2005, but will finish after the contract expires at the end of 2010. Frank Williams isn’t letting the news get him down, saying: “We are in a strong position to ride out the inevitable challenges of the next two years.”

Meanwhile, Autosport is reporting that Honda are getting ready to send their cars for a test, even though there is still no word on whether the team are being bought or not. Apparently, the team may do some straight line testing in the UK, before hopefully heading to the Jerez test, but if not then most likely at the final few days in Barcelona. Other rumours include that the most likely option is the management buyout but with Brawn at the helm and no sign of Nick Fry. Take all the above with a pinch of salt, please.

That’s it for today, please join me tomorrow for more from F1 Minute.

Heidfeld in Monaco

Heidfeld drives the Williams around the streets of Monaco in 2005. RBS confirmed they will be withdrawing sponsorship from Formula 1. The partnership has been in place since ‘05 but will come to an end after the 2010 season ends. Frank Williams is confident, though, that the team will survive the next couple of difficult years.
Credit: LAT Photographic

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