BMW have become the next team to confirm their driver lineup for 2009 and it remains unchanged. Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld line up beside Christian Klien as test driver. BMW Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen said, of the pairing: “We are in no doubt that we will again achieve our ambitious aims with them in the team’s fourth year.” Of course, this news narrows down Alonso’s options for next year, with his main choice now being between Renault and Honda.
Elsewhere today, Bernie Ecclestone has hit back at the statements Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo made regarding Singapore. The team boss said the safety car rules make F1 a circus. Ecclestone has apparently responded to this with: “After the weekend Ferrari had, their president should have shut up and kept his head down. If Massa loses the world championship, he will know the team were responsible. He would have destroyed everybody in Singapore if he had kept going.”
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
Today is the 17th September and this is F1 Minute.
BMW climbed to the top of the timesheets for the second day at Jerez, where this time eight teams were in action, instead of just the three we saw yesterday. Klien was at the wheel, and he finished ahead of Vettel. The German was driving for Red Bull, as a pre-cursor to him joining them for next season. To add to the confusion, normal Red Bull test driver Sebastian Buemi was third fastest of the day, but with a Toro Rosso under him. He was under evaluation for a possible race drive in 2009.
Also today, McLaren were testing out their KERS setup for the first time, and Williams hit the track with their 2009 spec rear wing – a much narrower and higher evolution of this year’s wing. Nakajiama finished the day last and 2 seconds off the pace of his nearest rival.
Ferrari, meanwhile, were at their own private test with Badoer in the hotseat, whilst Force India have not joined the testing fun yet.
That wraps up everything for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
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.
Kazuki Nakajima put in the fastest time at Barcelona, after the circuit finally saw some decent weather. The track was wet first thing but dried up through the morning and afternoon. Nakajima was ahead of two McLarens and a Ferrari before his team mate Rosberg in 5th place. There were seven red flags in total with Kovalainen and Webber causing two each.
Over at Valencia, Klien took the new BMW out on track for the first time, although both Heidfeld and Kubica were faster than him. They completed two full race simulations including pit stops.
Kovalainen has been speaking out about the upcoming season, saying he feels more prepared this time round. He said he didn’t feel ready for the start in 2007, and is confident he’ll perform better one year on. He also said he’s going to do everything he can to beat team mate Hamilton.
And finally, Alonso has spoken out about the racism campaign, saying he doesn’t believe it’s necessary, that the Spanish fans aren’t racists and he agrees with Bernie that it was a one off incident.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
Today is the 2nd January 2008, I’m Christine and this is F1 Minute.
Force India plan to announce their driver line up towards the end of this month, delaying the decision from our previous expectations of before Christmas. That hasn’t stopped the speculation continuing though, which will presumably only end on January 11th when we know for sure.
There have been rumours that Giancarlo Fisichella will have to bring with him either cash or sponsors to secure the seat at Force India, as the lower end of the grid is notoriously a pay driver market. Autosport have sources though, that say this is simply not true, and that Fisichella is the favourite for the seat.
Christian Klien has a thing or two to say about that claiming his fastest times for the test shoot out prove that he is on the same level as any of the other drivers who took part. He also said he doesn’t need to bring any sponsors with him, should he get the race drive.
Further up the grid, Williams have decided against having an official launch this year, and with no official reasons given, we can only speculate that they want to focus on the car.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
Lewis Hamilton posted the fastest time over the second day at Jerez, despite running off track in the early hours. David Coulthard was just behind him, beating two Ferraris and de la Rosa in the other McLaren. Fisichella was in the Force India car again, but was beaten a couple of places by Klien in the sister car. There were four red flags brought about by Heidfeld, Vettel, Webber and Rosberg.
Away from the track, Max Mosley has been setting the record straight regarding engines and Prodrive.Firstly, he believes the ten year engine freeze will be beneficial to both manufacturers and sponsors alike. He said the idea should appeal to sponsors especially, because they are aware of the need for an environmental conscience, and Formula 1 needs to be seen doing its bit.
Mosley has also confirmed that he cannot guarantee Prodrive’s entry for 2009, because of the ongoing legal complications. Ordinarily, their entry would be renewed automatically, but with no Concorde Agreement in sight, and their forfeit of the seat this time round, it looks like they will have to submit an entry all over again.
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Given all the McLaren headlines of late, you would think they are the team everyone wants to join. But it looks like Force India are giving them a run for their money, with no less than seven drivers hoping for a race drive.
Among the many are Ralf Schumacher, Giancarlo Fisichella, Christian Klien, Tonio Liuzzi and Franck Montagny. Force India have confirmed that Schumacher and Fisichella will each get a full day of testing in Jerez next week, to assess potential for the spare seat alongside Adrian Sutil. Liuzzi and Klien are both testing for the second time for the team, having been called back from Barcelona.
Current test drivers Roldan Rodriguez and Giedo van der Garde make up the seven interested parties, although neither of them have any race experience within Formula 1. With such big names fighting for a place in a small team, an interesting post over on the International Herald Tribune blog points out that many drivers race for the love of it, rather than simply to win. And apparently, they also get their travel and food expenses for the test paid for them.
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Welcome to a brand new week of F1 Minute. These are your headlines for today, 19th November 2007.
Toyota were expected to confirm Timo Glock as their Ralf replacement at Fuji this weekend, but the announcement was made today. Glock won the GP2 series this year, and said he is looking forward to working with the team. Toyota have said that Glock’s deal covers multiple years and they hope to arrange for his early exit from BMW.
Christian Klien was one of the many drivers testing for Force India last week, in the hopes of securing a drive with the new team for 2008. Klien said he was impressed with the car and the team, and they obviously thought the same of him, as he has been invited to join them again in Jerez in December.
And finally, Flavio Briatore has been talking about their drivers for next year. The rumours are out that Fisichella has already hung up his Renault boots, and Briatore’s words have caused speculation about Kovalainen’s future as well. The team boss also said that he is 60% confident they can get Alonso back to Renault, but that an announcement either way would be made soon.
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Today is the 14th November 2007, I’m Christine and this is F1 Minute.
Michael Schumacher continued to be fastest in Barcelona for the second day of testing, however he has admitted feeling nervous before climbing in the car again. Speaking to the media for the first time, Schumacher said he was surprised it had only taken him a couple of laps to get back in the swing of things.
In other testing news, Toyota had a bad day with both drivers causing red flags. Test driver Franck Montagny actually hit the wall and caused some damage to the rear of the car. Force India had three drivers during the day, including Tonio Liuzzi and Christian Klien, who are each hoping to get a race drive.
Away from the track, McLaren’s appeal against the illegal fuel situation in Brazil will be heard in London tomorrow. Bernie Ecclestone has said he expects the championship results to remain intact but if they don’t, he will seriously rethink his involvement with the sport. CEO of McLaren, Martin Whitmarsh agrees with him, saying the team simply want clarification of the rules, and do not want Hamilton handed the championship on a technicality.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.