17-Mar-10: Lopez Hits out at US F1 Failure

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 17th March 2010.

Jose Maria Lopez has been talking about his former team US F1’s foiled attempt to enter F1 and admits he was misled from the very beginning. “As soon as I arrived in Charlotte in February, I realised that everything they were saying was not true. What happened to us was unthinkable: in 60 years of Formula 1 it never happened that a team signed up and didn’t make it. They hid things from us.” He does sound a little knocked by the whole debacle, but is determined to carry on and look for another way into F1.

Elsewhere,engine suppliers Cosworth were happy with their first outing in Bahrain, and general manager Mark Gallagher says: “From an engine performance point of view, I think we can be very satisfied with the performance of the CA2010 in Bahrain with both Williams drivers finishing the race with Rubens picking up a championship point for tenth.” No mention of Lotus, but Mark does say they have plenty of feedback and data to improve from here onwards.

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

Lotus Racing Barcelona Test Day 4 Report

Hot weather in Barcelona provided the backdrop for the final day of testing on track for the Lotus Racing team before the 2010 Formula 1^TM season kicks off in earnest. Heikki Kovalainen took the Lotus Cosworth T127 for its final session as the test season drew to a close and completed a total of 65 laps in the five month old challenger. After some developmental mechanical and weight balance changes, the team were happy to see yet more improvement in the car’s reliability and pace.

Chief Technical Officer, Mike Gascoyne remarked “It was a game of two halves as they say; we had a good morning where we were able to complete all our plans but a problem with the programme change on the gearbox delayed us in the afternoon, which meant we weren’t able to do as much running as we wanted. Overall, however, the test has been extremely productive - in general we’ve had very good reliability, and the team is in very good shape going to the first race.

“Considering the length of time we’ve had to work on the project it’s a fantastic effort from the whole team. Everyone has worked exceptionally hard over the two tests and we now have to work on the pace of the car and improve that, but it’s been a tremendous effort from the whole team and I’m very proud of them.”

The test has confirmed Lotus Racing’s belief that they have a reliable car, ready for its debut in Bahrain. Consistency and completion of races are the key goals for the first few Grand Prix, until further aero developments – scheduled for the Barcelona GP – allow the team to begin to flex their muscles and really utilise their experience and talents in the season ahead.

Lotus Racing Barcelona Test Day Two Report

A productive day for Lotus Racing as Jarno Trulli took the Lotus Cosworth T127 challenger onto the Barcelona track and completed another 70 laps. With strong sunshine and dry weather conditions, the Lotus Racing team were again first out on track and ready to begin testing, developing and improving the car.

Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne gave his end of day round up; “It was a productive day in terms of set up direction with Jarno. We were able to identify some problems with the set up in the car and establish clear direction to improve it. We still have a long way to go, and a lot of time to come from the car.

” We had a couple of minor hydraulics issues which stopped the car on track, but nothing major, so all in all it was a productive day and we’re aiming to continue in the same vein tomorrow.”

Jarno Trulli again picks up the wheel for day three of testing, and the team are looking forward to developing and progressing the car. Heikki Kovalainen then takes over on Sunday, for the final day of testing.

Lotus Racing Announce Deputy Team Principals

Following the unveiling of the Lotus Cosworth T127 on Friday night, Lotus Racing has this morning announced a strengthening of its senior management team. Team Principal Tony Fernandes has confirmed today that two of the team’s shareholders, S M Nasarudin and Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun, will be joining Tony as Deputy Team Principals. These appointments give Lotus Racing’s leadership team a strong base from which to lead the company and assist each other through the challenges that lie ahead in driving the team from its current status as a newcomer to the grid to fight for victory on and off track.

Commenting on the appointments, S M Nasarudin said today ““We made this dream possible, turning it from a simple Malaysian dream to reality. This was all made possible through passion, hard work and team spirit. As with all the challenges that we have had to face to get to where we are now, we embraced these challenges as a team and now are even more determined to finish what we have started. We are realistic of our goals and by no means will it be easy from this point onwards, but the belief is there. We will consistently bring with us a professional and confident set up to each of the races for this season. As team owners, and in our Deputy Principal’s roles, it further reflects our continued belief and commitment to this team.”

Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun added his thoughts, saying “One may have the money, but not necessarily the opportunity to invest in an exciting and challenging venture, especially with a team of dedicated and highly committed people – to sum it up, this is unity in diversity at its best, under a legendary name, Lotus Racing. We still have a long road ahead and who knows what the future holds, but we are underway and we just have do the best we can. We have delivered a great product in such a short time period, in one of the most competitive motors-sports platform in the world, and I strongly believe we have the drive, determination and most importantly the passion to see it through – God willing.”

Dato’ Seri Tony Fernandes welcomed the appointments, commenting “Our goals and objectives are clear but, as mentioned earlier, there is still a huge task at hand. We have 19 races to go through and, with the three of us assisting each other in our roles, we believe that the management has all the necessary resources to bring the team to the forefront.”

Lotus Racing hit the track in anger for the first time this week, joining the FIA test in Jerez, before moving on to Barcelona next week. For more information on the team keep an eye on www.lotusracing.my.

Lotus Racing Unveils Lotus Cosworth T127

Lotus Racing today unveiled its 2010 challenger, the Lotus Cosworth T127, at a glittering event in London’s Royal Horticultural Hall. Team Principal Tony Fernandes was joined on stage by Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne and drivers Jarno Trulli, Heikki Kovalainen and Fairuz Fauzy to take the wraps off the car in front of a 500 strong live audience.

As the lights came up the car’s stunning green and yellow livery was seen for the first time, striking an emotional chord with both young and old alike and evoking memories of some of motor racing’s most iconic moments in an entirely contemporary fashion.

Tony Fernandes gave his thoughts on the astonishing achievement the Lotus Racing team has accomplished in launching the car just five short months since the team was granted its entry to the FIA Formula One World Championships, saying: “I am extremely proud to be here today and to be able to show the world the fruits of the team’s hard work over the last five months. It’s humbling for me and my fellow shareholders, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin to see how a team that five months ago didn’t even exist is now a thriving workforce, full of enthusiasm and passion for Lotus Racing and the challenges ahead and capable of producing such a beautiful machine in such a short time.

“Now we’ve achieved two major milestones; confirming our entry and unveiling our car, but now the real work starts. Next we move on to testing and the season ahead and I’m confident that the team will exceed expectations wherever we go, and will do so on a wave of support around the world that has been growing daily since we first unleashed Lotus Racing back in September ’09.”

Mike Gascoyne added his thoughts, saying “The last few months have been some of the most challenging of my career, but it’s been a challenge the whole team and I have thrived on since we first started work on the car up in Norfolk. I’m delighted that we’ve reached this point, and now we have a beautiful car that gives us a great base to work from for the season ahead and a fighting chance of going racing in the right way, with a winning mentality. The hard part starts now, and I know everyone in the team and I are up for whatever lies ahead.”

The Lotus Racing T127 is powered by Cosworth and will use an Xtrac gearbox and, in line with all 2010 teams, will be running on Bridgestone tyres.

14-Jan-10: Four More Teams Reveal 2010 Launch Dates

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It is the 14th January 2010, and this is F1 Minute.

It’s the first day of Autosport International, and the headlines are pouring in from people talking about what they’re going to do, if not actually doing anything yet.

We’ve got several new launch dates confirmed – Mercedes are set to reveal their new car on the 28th January – the same day as Ferrari – but in Stuttgart. McLaren have chosen the 29th January and are unveiling it in London. Lotus F1 will be switching the Cosworth engine on for the first time on the 5th February, before launching the next week. Finally, Renault are launching on the 31st January, at the Valencia circuit, alongside Sauber.

Elsewhere, David Coulthard took to the stage at the racing car show to announce a new driver rankings project from Autosport. It’s… controversial, to say the least, mapping drivers from many motorsport series, and comparing them in an unspecified fashion. Button is number one.

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

10-Nov-09: Brawn Believes Manufacturers Will Be Back

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 10th November 2009.

Ross Brawn has been talking about the future of Formula 1, and said that it really does go in cycles and car manufacturers will return to the sport. Despite the fact that Honda, BMW and now Toyota have all pulled out, he’s confident they’ll be back. Brawn said: “It will take a while, it’s going to take a few years but Honda’s was their second or third involvement in Formula 1. Manufacturers look at the value to them of Formula 1, there’s no sentiment I’m afraid. So when it’s viable, they come in, and when it’s not, they don’t.” He said luckily it’s the privateers who sustain the sport.

Meanwhile, Cosworth are confident that the new teams who are signed up with them will be ready in time. The general manager of F1 for Cosworth Mark Gallagher said: “There are very well-respected people involved in all four teams and they are going about their preparations for next season in the right way.” I reserve judgement until I see the cars on the track.

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

06-Nov-09: Alonso Meets His New Ferrari Team

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This is F1 Minute for the 6th November.

Alonso hasn’t actually been released from his Renault contract as yet, but he still turned up at the Ferrari factory today to meet and greet his new team. He took part in several meetings with his new colleagues, including Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo. Then he had a look round the factory, a seat and earplug fitting, and a go around the Fiorano test track in a Ferrari road car to get a feel of the circuit he’ll be using when he joins the team full time.

Elsewhere, Sam Michael has said that he and Williams are pretty confident that their new deal with Cosworth will provide them with a strong engine. He said they won’t know until they get it out on track but two problems the engine manufacturer faces are the fuel consumption and of course, reliability. Everyone else has years worth of data, Cosworth, not so much.

That’s all for now, the season is over so F1 Minute returns to it’s Monday-Friday slot.

Have  a great weekend and I’ll see you on Monday for another F1 Minute.

30-Oct-09: McLaren Dominate Abu Dhabi Practice

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This is F1 Minute and it is the 30th October 2009.

It was McLaren’s day to shine in Abu Dhabi, as Hamilton led Free Practice 1 and Kovalainen topped Free Practice 2, with Lewis making it a 1-2 for the team.

The sessions themselves weren’t that exciting, with just a few spins in the morning as the drivers got used to the track. The major interest of FP2 came from the fact that darkness fell and the drivers had to navigate under the floodlights – in similar conditions as we’ll see in the race. There were no major issues with that, or with the other worry – the pit lane exit. Still, it’s early days yet.

Elsewhere, Williams have confirmed that they will be using Cosworth engines next year. They split from Toyota a few weeks ago, and it seemed obvious they would return to using Cosworth engines, which they have now confirmed. The team also announced a few days ago that they will be opening a Technology Centre in Qatar, the first of its kind outside Europe.

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

AT&T Williams confirms engine partnership with Cosworth

Friday October 30, 2009, Abu Dhabi. The AT&T Williams team today confirmed that it has signed a long-term engine partnership with Cosworth Limited.

Frank Williams, Team Principal, said “Cosworth have impressed us with the quality of their technical team and convinced us that their programme will deliver a competitive Formula One engine. In addition, like Williams, Cosworth is an independent company whose owners share our passion for racing and engineering.  We believe that, working together, we will develop not only a competitive racing car for 2010 but also a long-term partnership that can take on the best in Formula One.”

Mark Gallagher, Cosworth’s General Manger, Formula One, said “Cosworth is delighted to be renewing our partnership with Williams. We look forward to forging a long-standing relationship, not only for the supply of competitive Formula One engines, but also in the joint development of new technologies that have wider application outside of Formula One.

Kevin Kalkhoven, one of Cosworth’s investors, said, “I am very pleased to see Cosworth engaging with like-minded companies in the development of high-technology solutions. Formula One is a great opportunity to showcase technical capabilities that can, with proper application, solve current and emerging challenges in the wider world.”

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