F1 Minute

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It’s the 26th August 2008 and you’re listening to F1 Minute.

Ferrari have confirmed that the engine breakdown Raikkonen suffered at the European Grand Prix this weekend was the same problem that Massa had in Hungary. In fact, they’ve admitted that they knew the problem existed but took the risk of breaking down instead of changing the engine and accepting the grid penalty.

The official statement read: “The engineers were aware of a potential risk in general terms with the 056 engine fitted to Kimi’s car, which was on its second race, given that the con rods were part of the same batch used on Felipe’s engine. Changing the engine on Kimi’s car would have seen the Finn start from far down the grid at a track where it appeared that overtaking was impossible, proving it’s not enough to bring Formula One to a street circuit in a fantastic location to produce spectacular racing.”

Even though Raikkonen retired from the race, McLaren boss Ron Dennis has said he still counts the Finn as a championship threat, and he hasn’t written him off just yet.

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

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Welcome to an F1 Minute update for the 24th August 2008.

Earlier today, I talked of the European Grand Prix at Valencia, and we were left wondering how the mechanic was that Kimi Raikkonen knocked down in a pit stop incident, and whether Massa was going to receive a penalty for his own pit lane misdemeanour. We know have the answer to both.

The mechanic, Pietro Timpini, has suffered from a fracture to the left foot and is also apparently complaining of back pain, but it does not appear to be too serious. It seems his first words were an apology, as though the incident was his fault, which just shows you how dedicated the Ferrari guys are. Raikkonen has admitted the mistake was his and apologised to the mechanic, so all is well.

Regarding Massa, the stewards released a statement about an hour after the race came to it’s conclusion. They decided that his release from the pit stop was unsafe but that no sporting advantage was obtained, thus the team have been reprimanded and Ferrari fined 10,000 Euros. Massa’s victory is secure.

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

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This is F1 Minute for the 24th August 2008.

The European Grand Prix at Valencia got underway relatively calmly, with Massa holding his lead over Hamilton and the pair streaking away from the rest of the pack. There was a wide field spread and overtaking seemed almost impossible. The expected safety car situation never happened.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t incidents though. Nakajima crashed into the back of Alonso on the first lap, with the Renault having to stop. Sutil spun and hit the wall, and Raikkonen was the other retiree. He had a botched pit stop that saw him pull away with the fuel rig attached, injuring the mechanic on duty. He was stretchered away and we don’t yet have an update on how he is. A lap or so later, and the Ferrari pulled to the side of the track spewing smoke from the engine.

Massa’s Ferrari held together though and he took the win from Hamilton and Kubica. He is under investigation from the stewards, for being released in the pit lane directly into the path of a Force India. We are still waiting for their findings.

With two unresolved items, it looks like I’ll be back later with another F1 Minute.

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 12^th July 2008.

The FIA have given us a few more details about the F2 series they announced recently. The idea is to encourage more young drivers to the sport through a low-cost feeder series, and the tender process is now open for manufacturers to become the supplier of the single-chassis series.  The calendar has also been released and information about how a race weekend will stack up. The series will feature across 10 weekends between April and September in Europe, and there’ll be an hour of free practice, qualifying and a 175 km race across just Saturday and Sunday.

There will also be three one-day test events before, and three one-day events during the season. Competitors can enter two drivers but must be signed up for the whole season, and it looks like the FIA are after a minimum grid of 14 cars – which means at least 7 teams.

All this for 200,000 Euros per car.

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