31-Mar-09: Rosberg Unhappy With Late Starting Races

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This is F1 Minute and it is the 31st March.

Nico Rosberg has spoken out about the later starting time of the Australian GP and suggested that racing in the twilight hours is not a good idea. The race started at 5pm local time in an attempt to make the Grand Prix more accessible to European audiences. However, the Williams driver suggests that it makes things a lot more dangerous. He said: “The visibility is so difficult, you can’t even see the edges of the track in some corners. I was driving into the sun and that’s not what racing is about.”

Elsewhere, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko feels completely satisfied with his choice of Sebastien Buemi for the seat at Toro Rosso, as the Swiss driver picked up a couple of points on his debut. Marko says: “I have to say all weekend he didn’t do anything wrong. I’m really pleased because he is the youngest driver and he is another to come out of our programme.” Is anyone else thinking this might be jumping the gun a little?

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

Rain Clouds Gather Over Sepang

Alex Zanardi, Williams, Malaysia 1999. Storm clouds gathered over the inaugural race held at the Sepang International Circuit, in which Zanardi finished 10th. Current Williams driver Nico Rosberg is concerned about the threat of rain in Malaysia, particularly as the start time has been pushed back to 5pm.
Credit: WilliamsF1

Brawn GP Announces Partnership With Virgin

Brawn GP is delighted to confirm that the team has agreed a partnership agreement with Sir Richard Branson and the Virgin Group on the team’s debut race weekend at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

The partnership brings together the world championship winning experience of Ross Brawn and the technical expertise of the Brawn GP team with the marketing and business skills of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.

This is Virgin’s first foray into the world of Formula One and the first step in what is anticipated to be a broader relationship between the two.

The Brawn GP team’s BGP 001 car will take to the track at Albert Park later this afternoon in qualifying for tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix featuring Virgin branding.

Ross Brawn, Team Principal of Brawn GP commented; “On behalf of the Brawn GP team, we are delighted to have signed a partnership agreement with Sir Richard and Virgin in Melbourne today. An exciting debut race weekend for our team has become even more important as we have secured our second commercial agreement of the season.  We look forward to working closely with the Virgin Group and sharing our on-track successes.”

Sir Richard Branson said; “I have always said I would love for Virgin to be involved in Formula One and I am thrilled that we will be entering this fantastic sport with people as skilled as Ross Brawn and the Brawn GP team. Over the years Virgin has had the great honour of partnering with technical geniuses and I truly believe that Ross Brawn is to F1 what Burt Ratan is to space travel with Virgin Galactic. We are confident that the Virgin BGP 001 car driven by Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello will go from strength to strength this season and we look forward to a great future working with the Brawn GP team.”

Brawn GP Announces New Partnership With Henri Lloyd

Brawn GP is pleased to confirm its first new commercial partnership of the 2009 Formula One season with the announcement of an agreement with British clothing manufacturer Henri Lloyd as Official Supplier of Clothing and Footwear Technology.

Henri Lloyd is widely regarded as one of the market leaders in technical sailing and lifestyle apparel, and has pioneered the development of fabrics, garment design and product development for over 45 years. The company’s extensive knowledge and experience of innovative fabric technology has been applied to Brawn GP’s team clothing for the 2009 season to create a uniform able to adapt to the various climatic environments which the team will encounter at the seventeen races on the Grand Prix calendar.

Founded and based in Manchester, England, Henri Lloyd is extremely proud of its British heritage and delighted to be supporting the Brackley based British team, using the shared values of innovation and performance to continue its product development ambitions in the unique environment of Formula One.

In addition to providing Brawn GP’s team and travel clothing plus the team’s official merchandise range, the Henri Lloyd brand will appear on the BGP 001 car throughout the 2009 Formula One season.

Ross Brawn, Team Principal of Brawn GP commented: “We are delighted to welcome Henri Lloyd to Formula One and to the Brawn GP team. We are particularly proud to begin our association with a company which prides itself on innovation and design and we will be working hard with Henri Lloyd to produce clothing which provides the highest levels of fabric technology for our demanding working environment. The Brawn GP team has faced a race against time to complete our preparations for the first race of the season in Melbourne and we would like to thank Henri Lloyd for sharing our vision for the future of the team and their commitment in ensuring that the team’s identity will be so well reflected in our team clothing and merchandise this year.”

Paul Strzelecki, Joint Chief Executive of Henri Lloyd said; “We are thrilled to announce our official partnership with Brawn GP, a team that reflects our proud British heritage and development of product innovation and technology. We are very excited about our future together and wish the team every success for the 2009 season.”

Bridgestone Motorsport Malaysian Grand Prix Preview

Straight after the debut of Bridgestone’s 2009 slick Formula One tyres at the exciting Australian Grand Prix, Bridgestone heads to Malaysia for the second race in as many weeks as it faces the challenges of the Sepang circuit near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for round two of the FIA Formula One World Championship, the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Malaysian event is the second of what will be four races in five weeks, giving no respite for Bridgestone personnel. The Sepang circuit is a severe circuit on tyres with two long straights leading into tight, slow speed corners which require heavy braking, putting high energy levels through the tyres.

In addition to these two heavy braking zones, a wide range of corner types mean that Bridgestone’s tyres are kept under heavy loads over the course of a lap. The circuit layout is not the only aspect that is tough, as the hot weather experienced here provides a harsh test too. Indeed, even when it rains in Malaysia, as it does frequently, temperatures remain high.

Bridgestone will bring its hard and soft compound Potenza tyres. Previously in Malaysia, hard and medium compound dry grooved tyres have been used, so this year’s allocation has a softer tyre than has been seen here before. Also of note, this will be the first time that teams get to use the 2009 hard compound, as the current specification hard tyre is an evolution from that used by teams in pre-season testing.

Hirohide Hamashima – Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, said:

What are the challenges of Sepang?
“Sepang is quite severe on tyres as it has many different corner types and two heavy braking zones after long straights. This means the energy going through the tyres over a lap is considerable. Drivers will have to be careful not to lock their brakes, especially with the new generation cars which seem less stable due to the lower levels of downforce. High temperatures are usually a factor in Malaysia, and the later start time for the race is when we often see rain, so there are many challenges we could face.”

What are the implications of the tyre allocation?
“The hard compound we have in Malaysia is a development from the hard compound that teams used in pre-season testing. It has been modified to be softer than before, in response to feedback from the teams, however it is not a very big change and I am confident that it will be suitable. Management of the soft compound is likely to be the biggest challenge of the weekend, as we have not previously brought a soft tyre to Sepang.”

Stats & Facts
Number & Spec of tyres brought to Malaysia 1800 (intermediate/wets, hard & soft dry)
Pole position time 2008: 1min 35.748secs (Massa)
Fastest race lap 2008: 1min 35.366secs (Heidfeld)
Top three 2008: Raikkonen, Kubica, Kovalainen

Williams – Malaysian Grand Prix Preview

At a Glance
When: Friday April 3 to Sunday April 5, 2009
Where: Sepang Circuit, Kula Lumpur, Malaysia
Round: 2 of 17
Standings: N Rosberg 3 pts (6th), K Nakajima -, AT&T Williams 3pts (5th)

Malaysia Hot Topics
Will the Melbourne form guide translate to Malaysia?
Will the step between the tyre options be so profound?
Will the late session times in Sepang mean track action in the rain?

Sepang circuit in a nutshell
At many Grands Prix, drivers who qualify towards the front favour two-stop strategies – a lighter fuel load equates to speed, rather than stealth – while some farther back gamble on a single pit stop, in the hope that circumstance might shuffle them into the reckoning. In the gruelling heat of Malaysia, significant tyre wear might dissuade anybody from taking such a gamble. The track often remains slippery, too, because fierce overnight storms wash away rubber laid down the previous day. Note that this year’s race is scheduled for late afternoon, when tropical rain is a possibility…

Talking Technical
Car dynamics
Average turn angle indicates the average angle of a circuit’s corners expressed in degrees. The higher the average turn angle, the more acute corners in the circuit configuration and hence the greater propensity for understeer to compromise lap time. At Sepang, the average turn angle is 1390, against a season average of 1100, ranking as the circuit with the highest average turn angle across the Championship. As a consequence of the circuit’s physical layout, an understeering car balance will have a high punitive effect on lap time.

The end of straight (EOS) speed at Sepang was 301kp/h in 2008. Sepang ranks as the 12th fastest EOS speed in the 2009 calendar, and this is one indicator of the wing level typically selected to optimise the downforce/drag ratio.

Pitlane & refuelling strategy
The pitlane length and profile (i.e. corners in the pitlane entry) contribute to the determination of the optimum fuel strategy. The pitlane loss at Sepang is approximately 22 seconds, the 5th most penalising pitlane in the Championship. To complete a normalised distance of 5km around the Sepang circuit requires 2.38kg of fuel against an average of 2.42kg per 5km across all circuits this season, making the circuit the 5th least demanding track of the year in terms of fuel consumption.

Safety car
Another key contributor to the determination of race strategy is the likelihood of safety car deployments, which are influenced by weather considerations, the availability of clear run-off areas that allow racing to continue while recovery takes place and the circuit profile, especially the character of the entry and exit into turn one at the start of the race. Since 2002, there have been no safety car deployments in Sepang, making it statistically unlikely that the circuit character, based on historic data, will induce safety car periods.

Temperature, pressure & humidity
It is a long observed tradition that drivers arriving at Interlagos complain about a lack of grip and an absence of engine power. Having become acquainted with a baseline of engine and aerodynamic performance during the season, the climb to 750 metres above sea level for one of the final races can, courtesy of the reduction in air density, rob a Formula One car of engine power, aerodynamic performance and cooling. The losses can come close to double digit percentages and thus have a very real impact on car performance.  Air density is a factor of the prevailing ambient temperature, which varies most significantly by season, air pressure which is closely linked to altitude and, to a much smaller degree, by humidity. Thus if races are run at the same time each year, the factor that tends to have the greatest bearing on air density is elevation. Sepang is 40m above sea level and has an average pressure (1004.41 mbar) when compared to other races venue in the 2009 Championship. As a consequence, the circuit’s ambient characteristics will be average for engine performance across all tracks visited during the season.

What the Drivers Say
On Sepang circuit
Kazuki “For me, Sepang is one of the most exciting tracks we visit during the year. That doesn’t mean it is an easy track, far from it, as it has some complex and technical corner sequences and some that demand special attention such as turns 11 and 14 where your braking and turn-in sequence is different to say the least.”

Nico “Just like Kazuki, I really like the Sepang circuit, it is fast and flowing and has a nice variation of corners that makes it really exciting to drive.”

On Malaysia (the climate, the people, the food..)
Kazuki “Well, Malaysia is closer to my home country than many of the places we visit, so I find it more familiar in terms of the culture, the food etc. I raced at Sepang in Japanese GT, so I am also a bit better acquainted with the place, but of course the heat and the humidity are quite exceptional.”

Nico “The climate makes the racing very demanding for driver and machine. The heat and humidity means that it is physically exhausting and this is one track where the fitness training over the winter really pays off. I love the country, there is a nice warmth about the people too and like almost everywhere in Asia, I like the food, so it is a good place to visit every year.”

Standing back from Albert Park – Reflections of the first race
Nico “Of course we would have liked to have achieved more in Melbourne, but three solid points was a good start. More encouraging was our pace as we were right there with the quickest, which makes me hopeful for a good season.”

Kazuki “I was running as high as P4 and this would have improved to P3 when Rubens pitted, so I can’t deny the sense of disappointment in how the race turned out, but I have shut this out of my mind already and I am only taking the positives of the potential we showed with me to Malaysia.”

On the late start times for the first two races
Kazuki “It was difficult with the low sunlight in Australia, especially as the light flickered and changed under the tree cover. We won’t have this type of shadow at Sepang, but there is a different issue which is the possibility of reduced light conditions mixed with the likelihood of rain, so for sure these late race start times will have a bearing on my approach to qualifying and the race.”

Nico “In Melbourne I found this a big concern as towards the end of the race the visibility was very poor, which increased the danger in my view as it was more likely that you could make a mistake. I’d rather the race changed back to its original start time or became a proper night race – that would improve matters a lot. ”

The historical perspective from Patrick Head – Sepang 2002
“AT&T Williams has good memories of racing in Malaysia because we’ve achieved some good results at Sepang. Our best race at the track was in 2002, when we finished first and second with Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, and I have to say that our success was predominantly down to a good tyre from Michelin. It certainly suited the circuit, but the drivers both did good jobs as well..”

Silver Watch

McLaren mechanics watch the Australian Grand Prix unfold. Martin Whitmarsh has now said that despite a good result from Lewis, the team will probably continue to struggle when they get to Malaysia. He also suggested that there is no point in looking at Brawn GP as if they are the underdog anymore, as the results of the weekend prove.
Credit: www.mclaren.com

30-Mar-09: McLaren Boss Admits They’ll Still Struggle

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Today is the 30th March 2009, and this is F1 Minute.

Martin Whitmarsh has said that we can no longer look at Brawn GP as the underdog, saying that whilst McLaren were busy trying to win world championships, the then Honda team were developing this year’s car. He also admitted that despite Hamilton’s decent points haul in Australia, they will likely still struggle this coming weekend in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, Brawn GP have confirmed they are having to reduce their staffing levels with 270 employees being made redundant. Although the management buyout has saved the team, the budget is naturally reduced and they’re dropping to a similar level to the BAR days, before Honda got involved.

Finally, the FIA have said they are still waiting for Toyota to confirm their intentions regarding the appeal over Trulli’s Australia penalty. Although the stewards denied the initial complaint, Toyota may take it further.

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

Williams – Australian GP Review

Synopsis
The AT&T Williams team had a positive start to the 2009 season, demonstrating both pace and reliability from the start of the first practice session, but the anticipated nature of the race at Albert Park, which features frequent safety car intervals, meant that the race was unlikely to follow a strict form guide. In the event, Kazuki Nakajima succumbed to an accident on lap 17, while Nico Rosberg, despite recording the fastest lap of the day, had an extremely eventful race, crossing the line in P6. He was later promoted to P5 after the Stewards imposed a 25s penalty on Jarno Trulli1. Toyota were not alone in being penalised after the race, with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel incurring a fine and collecting a ten place grid penalty which he will serve at next weekend’s Malaysian GP.

Sam Michael, Technical Director Q&A
Practice
Q What caused Kazuki’s puncture in P1, and did it cause any other damage to the car?
A valve cap came off, and yes, it did damage a brake duct, but that was repaired immediately after the session
Q How much did the track improve during the course of Friday?
The track came to the drivers a lot during P1, but during the cooling temperatures in P2, conditions were actually a bit slower
Q How surprised were you to be quickest in all three practice sessions?
Very! That said, we didn’t make the assumption that this performance would necessarily convert into qualifying.

Qualifying
Q What changes did you make to each of the cars between Q1 and Q2?
Not an awful lot, just a degree of tuning of front wing angle and of course managing the tyre pressures
Q How much time did Kazuki lose at the final corner on his last lap of Q2?
It cost him 0.3secs

Race
Q Were you tempted to start the race with the super soft rubber on either car?
No. Albeit safety cars are a common factor in Melbourne, it is not something you can rely on and without a safety car, it would have been a disaster strategy
Q What caused Kazuki’s accident on lap 17?
He hit the kerb too hard and lost rear end, from which point the situation was unrecoverable
Q Will Kazuki’s car be fit for Malaysia given the back-to-back races
Yes, we have some work to do, but the damage is all manageable with our usual stock of consumable parts
Q How did you alter Nico’s strategy as a result of the first Safety Car period?
We didn’t make any changes to Nico’s run plan as he had already made his first pitstop, which meant there was no scope to make changes
Q Why did Nico lose time at his first pitstop?
His front left wheel nut locking device was caught on the wheel nut as the old tyre was being taken off, this then caused a jammed nut when new tyre went on
Q Why did his pace drop off in the last few laps? Did he push too hard too soon on the super soft tyre?
Yes but it was a team decision. We decided to push to try to get Rubens – which he did do briefly, but it took too much out of the tyre
Q Why was FW31 so strong through sectors one and three?
Our performance in sector 1 was a bit of a surprise in the race as we had not been strong there during practice and qualifying. Over sector 3, we had been strong all weekend and that is because the circuit configuration in this part of the track is dominated by change of direction, and we’ve improved the FW31’s performance in this respect significantly this year.
Q What’s you assessment of KERS, having seen it race today?
It’s a very valuable tool to have to promote overtaking and we want it on our car as soon as possible
Q How confident are you of maintaining this level of performance in Malaysia?
We don’t know yet and it would be rash to be over-confident, it is not in our nature!

BMW Sauber F1 Team – PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix – Preview

The BMW Sauber F1 Team travels to the home of its premium partner PETRONAS for the second round of the 2009 World Championship. The Twin Towers, the company’s head office, are a major landmark of Kuala Lumpur. The GP at the Sepang circuit normally takes place in extreme heat, making it one of the toughest races of the season.

Robert Kubica:
“The Malaysian Grand Prix is always something very special, as it is like a home race for us because of PETRONAS. We have a lot of fans in Malaysia and it is really a special feeling to drive there. The race went extremely well for me last year. Of course I hope that we can get a strong result again this time around.

I’m really looking forward to this GP, as this is a unique track with a wide variety of corners; some are seriously quick, but others are very slow. And in some places you can choose different lines, which makes it particularly interesting. The final sector is very different from the other two, as it has just two long straights and a hard braking area. This track really offers everything, and that means it demands a lot of the car. The later start time means there is a pretty strong chance of rain. I’m sure that we are in for an extremely interesting weekend.”

Nick Heidfeld:
“For me Sepang is a nice, challenging circuit. Last year I managed to pull off some good overtaking moves there. The heat is always an issue, coupled with a high level of humidity. However, I’ve never had a problem with it and am particularly fit this year. We’ve often experienced cloudbursts in Malaysia in the late afternoon and early evening. This year’s schedule increases the chances that we will still be on the track at this time. Hopefully it will still be light enough.

I always feel very much at ease in Malaysia. All the activities we’ve been involved in with PETRONAS have given me the chance to see a bit of the country and I’ve also been here on holiday. There is not a lot of time before the grand prix this year, but we have engagements with PETRONAS on Tuesday and Wednesday – and of course there will be a visit to the PETRONAS Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. The towers fascinate me every time I see them, especially at night when they’re illuminated.”

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
“After the opening race of the season in Melbourne, we are now very much looking forward to our first home Grand Prix of 2009. Every year since our team was founded in 2006 we have seen for ourselves the charismatic presence of our premium partner PETRONAS in Malaysia. It is always amazing to experience the fantastic reception we enjoy as a team in Malaysia.

Last year Nick recorded our first ever fastest race lap as a team in Sepang and Robert finished in an outstanding second place. Our aim is to pick up from where we left off with these good performances.

The BMW Group has stepped up its involvement in Malaysia in recent years as part of its Asia strategy. The first of a total of seven races in Asia this year is an important one for BMW and PETRONAS, and will be keenly fought, that’s for certain!”

Willy Rampf, Head of Engineering:
“We always look forward to this race in particular, as it’s the home Grand Prix for our partner PETRONAS. The Sepang circuit is very challenging and places big demands on the chassis and the teams’ choice of set-up. There are fast ess-bends in which stability is critical. At the same time, you need good traction under acceleration out of the tight corners, some of which are uphill. The right-hander before the back straight, which closes up at the exit, is especially tricky.

Because the tyres are placed under heavy loads in the fast corners, in particular, in Sepang, we use the soft and the hard compound here. So we’re driving a level harder on them than in Melbourne. Cooling is also an issue, given the high ambient temperatures. And, of course, the weather is very unpredictable. You always have to be prepared for rain here.”

History and background:

Formula One will visit the Sepang International Circuit for the 11th time in 2009. The circuit is located just under an hour’s drive south of the vibrant downtown area of Kuala Lumpur.

The name Kuala Lumpur translates as “muddy estuary” after its location at the mouth of the rivers Gombak and Klang. KL, as the city is popularly known today, is the heartbeat of modern Malaysia. With a population of around 1.5 million, more than half of them Chinese, the capital is also the country’s largest city. Extending over an area of 244 square kilometres, KL offers a thriving Asian culture alongside British colonial buildings and landmark high-tech edifices such as the 88-storey PETRONAS Twin Towers that rise to a height of 452 metres.

Kuala Lumpur was founded in the middle of the jungle by tin miners in 1857. In 1896, under British rule, the Malay Sultanates formed the Federation of Malaya with Kuala Lumpur as its capital. In 1957 Kuala Lumpur became the capital of the newly independent country.

The PETRONAS (Petroliam Nasional Berhad) company, which is the premium partner of the BMW Sauber F1 Team, was founded on 17th August 1974. PETRONAS, with its head office in Kuala Lumpur’s Twin Towers, is a multinational gas and petroleum group operating in more than 30 countries. The group is engaged at a local and global level. Its activities include upstream exploration and production as well as downstream oil refining, marketing and distribution of petroleum products, trading, gas processing and liquefaction, gas pipeline network operations, marketing of liquefied natural gas, manufacturing and marketing of petrochemical products, maritime logistics and property investment.

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