F1 Commission
December 10, 2009 by Mr. C
Filed under Press Releases
The FIA today hosted the first meeting of the F1 Commission in its new structure since the signing of the 2009 Concorde Agreement. Chaired by Commission President Bernie Ecclestone and with FIA President Jean Todt in attendance, the F1 Commission is made up of key championship stakeholders from F1 teams, promoters, suppliers and sponsors.
The F1 Commission agreed that the Brawn team will be allowed to change its chassis name from Brawn to Mercedes. The team will continue to receive payments based on its historical performance. This has been granted on a one-off exceptional basis due to Mercedes-Benz’s long-term involvement and commitment to Formula One.
The F1 Commission also proposed a number of amendments to the sporting and technical regulations, which will be put to the FIA World Motor Sport Council for final approval tomorrow morning. They include:
- Due to the expanded grid of 13 teams, a new points system for the 2010 season:
| Position | Points |
|---|---|
| 1st | 25 |
| 2nd | 20 |
| 3rd | 15 |
| 4th | 10 |
| 5th | 8 |
| 6th | 6 |
| 7th | 5 |
| 8th | 3 |
| 9th | 2 |
| 10th | 1 |
- A strong mandate has been given to the Sporting Working Group, a sub-committee of the F1 Commission made up of the FIA and F1 teams, to develop detailed proposals to improve the show. These will take effect from the 2010 championship.
- The FIA and FOM will further collaborate to enhance the communication and promotion of the championship to the media and its worldwide fanbase.
The next meeting of the Formula One Commission will be held on 10 March in Bahrain.
30-Nov-09: FIA Release Official 2010 Entry List
November 30, 2009 by Christine
Filed under Daily F1 News
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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 30th November 2009.
The FIA released the official 2010 entry list today, with plenty of to be confirmed notes. A couple of things stood out though, with Manor Grand Prix being listed as Virgin Racing. We’ve been expecting an announcement from Virgin to this effect, but it looks as though the FIA might have beaten them to it. Brawn GP are still listed as Brawn but it’s pointed out they have indicated their intention to change to Mercedes Grand Prix before next year.
Red Bull have been signed up with Renault engines, although Christian Horner has pointed out they still have not come to a final decision. Also, notably, Toyota are missing off the list, as you would expect, and there is no mention of whether the grid slot is going to be filled by anyone, with Sauber still facing an unknown future.
On that subject, Mario Theissen confirmed that he will be staying with BMW as head of motorsport, rather than moving to Sauber.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
Brawn GP – 2009 Chinese Grand Prix – Qualifying
April 19, 2009 by Christine
Filed under Press Releases
The two Brawn GP drivers completed two runs in each of the three qualifying sessions with Jenson topping the timesheets in Q1 and Rubens just behind after using the prime tyre for their first runs and the softer option for the second.
Sticking to the option tyre for the final two sessions, Rubens and Jenson both experienced understeer in their BGP 001 cars, finishing in third and fourth positions respectively in Q2.
In Q3, the battle at the front was intense with Rubens finishing just 0.03secs outside of the top three. He will line up on the second row of the grid tomorrow in fourth position with Jenson one place behind and on the third row.
JENSON BUTTON
“Our car feels good around here but there were a few cars quicker than we expected in Qualifying today. You could see in Q2 that the Red Bulls were very strong in the high-speed corners and we knew then that we would have a fight on our hands. It’s going to be interesting to see how the different strategies work out in the race. Of course we would rather be on the front row of the grid but we will give it our best shot in the race tomorrow and see what happens.”
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
“I had a good qualifying session today but you can see how F1 can progress so quickly. Whilst we were surprised to see that the Red Bulls were quite so fast, it makes for great competition at the front. They will be tough to beat but we believe we have a good strategy. Both Jenson and I know the way to the podium here so let’s hope we can repeat that tomorrow.”
ROSS BRAWN
“A tougher qualifying session in Shanghai today than we have experienced in the first two races. We have always said that our competition would catch up quickly and the evidence of that is clear to see today. Our car is working well around this circuit although both Jenson and Rubens experienced too much understeer on their final runs. We are still well-placed in fourth and fifth positions on the grid and looking forward to a challenge tomorrow. Many congratulations to Red Bull for their first pole position in what is proving to be a very exciting season.”
Brawn GP – Malaysia Race Preview
April 1, 2009 by Christine
Filed under Press Releases
Following a sensational debut race weekend in Australia where Jenson Button led Brawn GP to its first Grand Prix victory, the team headed straight to Malaysia for Round Two of the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship.
This weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix takes place on Sunday 5 April at the Sepang International Circuit close to Kuala Lumpur. The 56-lap race is one of the toughest on the calendar due to the punishing heat and humidity coupled with the challenge of the circuit’s demanding corners, long straights and bumpy asphalt.
This year’s race will be the 11th to be held at the Herman Tilke designed track which was built on the site of a 260-hectare swamp. The 5.54km (3.44 mile) circuit sees the cars average 210kph (130mph) around its 15 turns.
Brawn GP will be hoping to build on its successful weekend in Melbourne which sees the team leading the Constructors’ Championship with 18 points and Jenson Button leading the Drivers’ Championship with 10 points.
ROSS BRAWN, TEAM PRINCIPAL
Q. A dream start to the season in Australia. Can you follow up that level of performance in Malaysia?
“The Australian Grand Prix weekend was a fantastic experience for our team and the one-two result for Jenson and Rubens went beyond our hopes and expectations for our very first race. We know that our competitors will not stand still however and that the challenge will become ever more difficult from here. We can rise to that challenge and we have a very good and stable car which should go well around the Sepang circuit. As in Australia, we will need to maximise the practice running that we have on Friday to develop the set-up, and we will be faced with the usual reliability concerns caused by the high temperatures that we expect in Malaysia. As the race is later than usual in the calendar and will take place later in the day, we are expecting some rain showers which will make the strategy for the weekend very interesting.”
JENSON BUTTON
Q. With such an impressive opening weekend, what are your thoughts ahead of the second race of the season?
“After the amazing weekend that we experienced in Melbourne, the whole team was keen to get to Malaysia and start racing again. However the Malaysian Grand Prix is always one of the toughest races of the season and it will be a real challenge for our new car with so little testing under our belts. Malaysia has a really hot and humid climate which really tests the car’s durability and coupled with the frequent torrential downpours can make for an unpredictable race weekend. It’s a tough place for the drivers as the heat in the cockpit can be unbearable and tests the limit of your fitness and concentration. You have to work hard to find a good balance for the car at Sepang and it can be challenging for the tyres to work well for the whole lap. Malaysia is a special circuit for me as I achieved my first podium here back in 2004 so I’m hoping that this weekend will provide some more happy memories!”
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
Q. What are the particular challenges of the Malaysian Grand Prix?
“The Malaysian Grand Prix is always a really tough race but if you can cope well with the heat and humidity, it is a track that the drivers enjoy. It’s a real engineering challenge to find the right balance and you need to have a car with good aerodynamics to find time around the lap. The intense heat puts pressure on the engine, brakes and the drivers as the temperature can rise above 50 degrees in the cockpit so you have to be well-prepared and ensure you are fully-hydrated. Our team had a really good race weekend in Australia and the car performed as we expected, however we anticipate that our competitors to be closer this time so we will be working extra hard to improve on our performance from last weekend.”
26-Mar-09: Controversial Rear Diffusers Cleared to Race
March 27, 2009 by Christine
Filed under Daily F1 News
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It’s the 26th March 2009, and this is F1 Minute.
The Australian stewards have cleared the diffusers of Brawn, Williams and Toyota, after protests were made by three teams. BMW’s protest was thrown out as it wasn’t submitted in time, whilst Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull saw their protests rejected after hours of deliberation. This means the rear diffusers are cleared to race, but the matter will go to appeal after Malaysia.
Elsewhere, Richard Branson is on course to arrive in Melbourne to announce that he is a new sponsor for Brawn GP. After being linked with the team over the winter as a potential buyer, Branson will bring his Virgin Group brand to the car simply as a sponsor instead.
And finally, Lewis Hamilton has joined the GPDA after talking with team mate and chairman Pedro de la Rosa. Last year he said he was too busy to participate but this season believes he has something to add by being a member.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
