Familiar Ground

Alex Wurz drives the Williams F1 round Jerez during a test back in January 2007. The Spanish circuit will see action again at the beginning of December when teams turn up with young drivers hoping for a chance behind the wheel. Renault, Toro Rosso and Red Bull have all picked their drivers for the test already.

Credit: Williams F1

15-Jun-09: Le Mans Recap and Silverstone Memories

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 15th June 2009.

We took an unexpected hiatus over the weekend, because there was little in the way of Formula 1 news and a lot in the way of Le Mans racing to enjoy. It made a nice change to watch some simple action rather than questions and politics at every stage.

Former Williams driver Alex Wurz and his team won the overall event for Peugeot Sport with current Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Bourdais standing on the second step of the podium in the sister car. Driver turned commentator Anthony Davidson finished up 13th in the Aston Martin.

In F1 news, Red Bull are looking forward to the British Grand Prix, and sharing their favourite memories of Silverstone. Adrian Newey remember the first race he attended with his parents in 1973, Christian Horner looks back at a time when he drove to the track after passing his test, snuck under the fence and started up a conversation with Ayrton Senna. You can read more about these memories on F1Minute.com.

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

01-Jun-09: Renault Hoping for Wins This Year

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 1st June 2009.

We’re still looking ahead to Turkey, with Renault releasing their preview for the Grand Prix this weekend. Alonso is feeling particularly confident about the remainder of the season, suggesting that the team should be making a big step forward. He’s hoping that 2009 will be just like 2008, in that they start picking up points, podiums, and maybe even wins by the end of the year. Pat Symonds summed it up, saying: “We’re fighting hard, we’re very ambitious and we know where we want to be and we’re working hard to get there.”

Meanwhile, Wurz has been speaking out about the surprise announcement yesterday that he had launched a bid to bring a new team to 2010, and he says it wasn’t such a surprise to him. “I was always interested in going into team management, even when I was racing in F1. When we saw that through budget caps and natural market conditions, the cost of running a team was going to come down, we saw it as an opportunity and said: ‘Let’s go for it.’”

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

Gliding Into View

Alex Wurz takes a break from racing during his time at Williams. The former F1 driver has submitted an entry to the 2010 season with a new team called Superfund. Wurz will take the team principal role, with funding from an Austrian company also called Superfund.

Credit: Williams F1

31-May-09: Wurz Submits Own Entry to 2010 Season

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 31st May 2009.

Alex Wurz has become the latest in a seemingly neverending line of potential new team owners who have submitted an entry to the 2010 season. Wurz has set up a new team called Superfund, with himself as team principal, and funding from an Austrian company of the same name. Superfund have lined up Cosworth as their engine supplier of choice.

Autosport is reporting this news and reveals that although the team have been talking things over with the FIA for several months, they are waiting to see if the entry is accepted before signing up any employees or organising any assets.

Elsewhere, Stefano Domenicali has confirmed that FOTA have made their conditions plain, and this means Ferrari are not conceding to a budget cap. He confirmed that, quote: “If the conditions are not met, the entries will be invalid.”

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

Honda – Barcelona test report, day one

Honda runs a dual test programme with Test & Reserve Driver Alex Wurz and the two young Brazilians Bruno Senna and Lucas di Grassi.

Date: Monday 17 November
Track: Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
Drivers: Alex Wurz / Lucas Di Grassi / Bruno Senna

No of Laps: 77 laps / 48 laps / 39 laps
Best Lap Time: 01:21.198 / 1:25.512 / 1:24.343
Kilometres Covered: 763.5km
Track Length: 4.655km

Weather: Cold and sunny
Ambient Temperature: Lunchtime 13°C
Track Temperature: Lunchtime 26°C

The Honda Racing F1 Team returned to the test track today just two weeks after the 2008 season finale in Brazil as the Formula One teams travelled to the familiar testing venue of the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona to commence preparations for the 2009 season.

The three-day test will see the Honda team run two programmes. Alex Wurz and Jenson Button will focus on the development of the 2009 car whilst the team also evaluates young Brazilians Lucas Di Grassi and Bruno Senna.

Alex kicked off the main test programme evaluating various aerodynamic components for next season and running the Bridgestone Potenza slick tyres. Jenson will take over the car tomorrow to complete the final two days of the test.

Lucas was the first of the young drivers to complete his half-day familiarisation programme this morning. He went out for an initial run on grooved tyres to acclimatise to the car before the team fitted used slicks for the remainder of the session. After lunch, Bruno took to the track for his first ever drive in a Formula One car. He followed the same programme as Lucas, starting on grooved tyres before moving to used slick tyres midway through the session.

Lucas will complete a full day of running tomorrow with Bruno taking over the car on Wednesday.

ALEX WURZ
“The view from the cockpit is just so much nicer with slick tyres on the car! As a driver, I prefer the driving style with slicks so I am happy that the change has finally come, even if it is too late for me to race with them. My focus for today was on gathering information on the tyres whilst running various 2009 downforce levels. We have come away with good answers and a clear direction so I am pleased with the work that we achieved. It was nice to see the two young guys in action with Honda today. Both understood the car very quickly but how they develop from here with a full day in the car will be important.”

LUCAS DI GRASSI
“My first day in the Honda car has been a good experience. The focus of my half day programme today has been to get the best possible feeling for the car ahead of my full day tomorrow. One of us had to be the first out on track today and that was me, but this morning the track was really very ‘green’ and took a while to improve. I ran with slick tyres for the first time and in a car that is both new to me and which had a combination of 2008 and 2009 aero elements, so it was a totally new experience for me but a very enjoyable one. Today I have been using old tyres, running with low downforce and working through a variety of set-ups. Tomorrow will be a better test of what I am capable of.”

BRUNO SENNA
“The first day of my first Formula One test has been just as big a moment as I expected it to be. I have also had a lot of fun and really enjoyed myself. This morning I focused on doing as much as I could to prepare for my turn. I listened to the team radio and watched and learned how the team works. I was feeling quite calm but on my first lap out of the garage I realised the significance of the moment. This is a very special opportunity and one which has been a dream my whole life. The team were great and left it to me to find my level, but by the end of my second run I was feeling very much at home in the car. There were lots of new sensations as the gearshifts, engine power and aerodynamics compared to a GP2 car were all very different. I need a few adjustments to be fully comfortable in the car for Wednesday but generally I am feeling good. Obviously my full day is when everything will count but I am very pleased with what I achieved today and the more laps I do, the quicker I’ll be hopefully. A great, great day for me and I am incredibly grateful to the Honda team for making it possible.”

25-Oct-08: Wurz Believes Honda Have KERS Edge

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Today is the 25th October 2008, and this is F1 Minute.

Alex Wurz, test driver for Honda, believes that his team have made great strides in their KERS development for next season, so much so that they should be way ahead of the competition. However, the Austrian is still realistic about what Honda will be able to achieve next year: “It’s not going to take you from the back of the grid to the front. By the same token, not having it on-board isn’t going to demote you from the front row to the back either. The influence of KERS on the whole package is not enough to create that significant a difference, but we’ll rest easier in our beds than many of our opponents.”

Meanwhile DTM driver Paul di Resta feels that he is ready to break into F1 and it doesn’t matter which team helps him make the step up. He is currently linked with McLaren, through the Mercedes Young Driver Program but said he wouldn’t mind being at the back of the grid. This hints at a Force India seat, as they have the rumoured technology deal with McLaren for next year. However, Force India have already announced their drivers, so this could be pure speculation.

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

19-Sep-08: McLaren Top Final Test Day at Jerez

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It’s the 19th September 2008, and this is F1 Minute.

Pedro de la Rosa headed up the final day of testing at Jerez for McLaren, just ahead of BMW and Renault. There were no rain interruptions today, and no major incidents. Vettel returned to the Toro Rosso cockpit whilst Buemi returned to work for Red Bull.

Talking of which, it appears that Buemi may be a favourite for the Toro Rosso race seat in 2009, after Franz Tost has been quoted as saying as long as they could find an experienced driver to pair him with, they would want him in the car. Buemi isn’t getting too carried away, but says he is excited and getting into F1 is his main objective for next year.

Elsewhere today, Wurz has finished up testing Honda’s KERS system and declared that it’s quite safe: “Honda has an enormous amount of know how with the battery system and we have some security checks all the time going on, so we are very confident that we won’t be electrocuted.” He said it’s fine in road cars so all F1 teams have to do is work out how to package it correctly.

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

23-Jul-08: Toro Rosso Leads Day 2 at Jerez on Slicks

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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.

08-Jul-08: Hamilton Leads Day One at Hockenheim

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This is F1 Minute for the 8^th July 2008. Please excuse my voice, I picked up some lovely germs from Silverstone.

Testing got underway in Hockenheim today, in preparation for the German Grand Prix. Rain caused plenty of chaos throughout with showers on and off. McLaren were running a brand new addition to their car in the shape of the shark fin engine cover used by many of the other teams. It seemed to help them, with Hamilton posting the fastest time of the day. Raikkonen was second and Rosberg third. Wurz was behind the only red flag, when his Honda spun off in the wet.

Elsewhere, David Coulthard has said that he’d like to see Vettel take his place at Red Bull when he retires at the end of the season. Over on F1.com, he said: “For me Sebastian Vettel has everything that a future winner in Formula 1 needs. Also his maturity and approach shows me that he is the best man for the job.”

Finally, Super Aguri are putting their assets up for sale at an online auction later this month, and the Mosley court case continues with several of the women involved backing up the presidents claims that there was no Nazi element to proceedings.

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

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