McLaren – Gary steps up for Bahrain

Gary Paffett was busy in the simulator at the McLaren Technology Centre yesterday, preparing for his new role with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. After working hard behind the scenes over the winter to finesse the performance of the new MP4-25, Gary will attend the first four ‘flyaway’ grands prix of 2010 as our reserve driver.

“Gary has been on the team since 2006 and we value his dedication and technical feedback,” says Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh. “We need someone who’s ready to step in if anything should happen to prevent Jenson or Lewis from taking part in a grand prix weekend. We know from working with Gary, and from watching his performances in other racing categories, that he’s ready and able to take on this responsibility.”

Celebrity Guests Attend Mercedes GP Petronas Team Presentation

600 specially invited guests were in Stuttgart on Monday to celebrate the official launch of the new MERCEDES GP PETRONAS Formula One team ahead of the 2010 season.

The presentation was attended by Michael Schumacher’s wife Corinna, AMG founder and ITR chairman Hans Werner Aufrecht, world boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko, former McLaren Mercedes Formula One driver David Coulthard, former Formula One driver and DTM star Ralf Schumacher, record DTM championship winner Bernd Schneider, plus Mercedes-Benz DTM drivers Gary Paffett, Paul Di Resta, Bruno Spengler, Jamie Green, Maro Engel and Mathias Lauda.

In addition to 200 representatives of the media, 200 Mercedes-Benz employees were also invited to attend the launch. They had been specially selected as a reward for outstanding service to the company or had been fortunate enough to secure one of the hundred tickets for the occasion that had been advertised on the Mercedes intranet – all of which had been snapped up within 21 minutes of going online.

The presentation of the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team took place in a fitting location – the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart where examples of the legendary Silver Arrow from all epochs are on display. The Mercedes-Benz Museum was re-opened in May 2006 on the Mercedes-Benz World site. The nine-storey building comprises around 17,000 square metres of exhibition space.

Red Bull – Jerez Test, Day Two, December 2

Driver: Daniel Ricciardo
Car: RB5-02
Time: 1:19.243
Laps: 92

Circuit length: 4.423 km
Fastest Lap: Gary Paffet (McLaren) 1:18.718

For his second day in an F1 cockpit, Daniel Ricciardo tackled a similar programme to yesterday, which involved getting to grips with the actual driving and procedures that are unique to these cars, as well as trying two different tyre compounds. The Australian also carried out various tests aimed at the 2010 season: aero and brake testing, as well as running the car in the very heavy configuration resulting from next year’s ban on race refuelling.

“I found it a bit easier today,” said Daniel. “I knew what to expect this morning and the procedures were easier to understand, so I was able to concentrate on improving my driving and hopefully give my best in terms of providing the engineers with good feedback.”

Ricciardo will be back in the cockpit for the final day of testing this year.

02-Dec-09: Bianchi Signs Long-Term Deal with Ferrari

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It’s the 2nd December 2009 and this is F1 Minute.

It’s been quite a day for our young drivers, as it was announced on the strength of one day in the car, that Jules Bianchi had been signed up to Ferrari for the long-term. Although there is no defined role for him, he will be available to them if they need him, and he’s hoping it would lead to a testing role and then, of course, a race seat.

Meanwhile, Bertrand Baguette switched teams, having tested for Renault yesterday, and announced he would be having a go in the Sauber car tomorrow. He said: “I am very happy to be able to drive for Sauber. It will be a second day for me – and it’s always good to get two days of testing instead of one.”

In today’s test, though, Gary Paffett finished on top in the McLaren, with Hulkenberg in the Williams second and Ricciardo in the Red Bull third. He was very keen to tell the media that he’d jump at the chance of a full time test role for Red Bull.

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

01-Dec-09: Soucek Leads First Day of Jerez Test

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Today is the 1st December 2009 and this is F1 Minute.

The young driver test got underway in Jerez today with Andy Soucek on top in the Williams. He did also manage to cause a red flag with a quick spin towards the end of the day, but that didn’t stop him setting the fastest time. Paul di Resta was second in the Force India with Gary Paffett on duty in the McLaren and third by the end of the day. Ricciardo in the Red Bull completed the most laps – 112 – and finished fourth. At the back, Brendon Hartley was the slowest in his Toro Rosso, two seconds off Soucek’s time.

Oliver Turvey was sharing with Paffett in the McLaren. I say sharing, he was only allowed 90 minutes in the car, completed just 27 laps and finished 11th, but the team were impressed at how well he improved his times.

Elsewhere, congratulations must go to Felipe Massa and his wife Rafaela, as she gave birth to their son also called Felipe yesterday. Cue lots and lots of Felipe Baby jokes.

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

15-Dec-08: Algarve and Jerez Tests Kick Off

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 15th December 2008.

There were two tests going on today, with McLaren and Ferrari at the new Algarve track, and Red Bull, BMW and Williams all still at Jerez. The Portuguese track was very picturesque but suffered from high speed winds, and Massa only managed 36 laps before calling it a day as he felt ill. Gary Paffett managed to complete double the distance and was a second faster than the Ferrari.

At Jerez, Buemi continued to lead the way as he did last week, only this time he was on duty in the Red Bull. He finished ahead of Heidfeld in the BMW and Brendon Hartley, also in a Red Bull, who’s hoping to get his superlicence asap. Nico Hulkenberg in the Williams completed 100 laps but finished the day last of five drivers.

Finally, this weekend, Renault boss Flavio Briatore let slip that he will walk away from Formula 1 in 2010, after being asked if he wanted to join home-team Ferrari. He said he wouldn’t be in the sport long enough.

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

09-Dec-08: Toro Rosso Lead First Jerez Test Day

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 9th December 2008.

Testing got underway in Jerez this week, with Williams all by themselves yesterday. Formula 3 driver Dani Clos was behind the wheel and got a taste of the team’s KERS package and slick tyres.

Today, Williams were joined by some of their fellow teams, Toro Rosso, McLaren, Ferrari, BMW and Renault. Just like at the last test, there were so many different configurations out on track that the times are most likely meaningless, however Buemi and Bourdais were fastest in the Toro Rosso, followed by Paffet and de la Rosa in the McLaren.

In sponsorship news, Swiss watchmakers Oris have extended their partnership with Williams, whilst Red Bull have signed up with Trust. The company make low-cost computers and gadgets, and Trust CEO Michael Perridon said: “Everyone knows that motorsport and technology go hand in hand.”

Finally today, Trulli has said that although he and Glock’s driving styles are very different, together they can help the development of the 2009 car.

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

19-Nov-08: Vettel Takes Red Bull to the Top on Final Test Day

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This is F1 Minute and it’s the 19th November 2008.

Vettel led the way once again in Barcelona on the third and final day of testing. He was ahead of two Toro Rosso’s, with Bourdais just edging out Buemi. For the second day in a row Gary Paffet was best of the rest. De la Rosa was once again in the Force India and once again last.

Sutil has said he isn’t worried about his race seat going to the McLaren tester: “He’s a nice guy. He came from McLaren just to have an idea about the car, and everything else we will see in the next weeks. The team is happy with my performance and I have my contract here.” He did say that de la Rosa’s testing experience helped a lot with the feedback he gave to the team.

Sebastien Buemi is waiting to hear whether he’s done enough to secure a drive with Toro Rosso, and expects to hear the news soon. He said: “For the team, it’s really important to make a decision and to try to have a test before Christmas with the proper drivers for next year.” Apparently Bourdais has said the decision will purely be based on the driver with the biggest budget.

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

18-Nov-08: Vettel Ahead For Second Day of Barcelona Test

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Today is the 18th November 2008, and you’re listening to F1 Minute.

Sebastian Vettel topped the timesheets at testing in Barcelona today, in his Red Bull. Yesterday’s leader Takuma Sato was close behind in second, with the other two Toro Rosso entrants Bourdais and Buemi settling in third and fourth. Gary Paffett in the McLaren was best of the rest with normal McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa in the Force India car. He ended the day last.

After seeing the potential 2009 BMW yesterday, tester Christian Klien has admitted that it’s not a nice looking car: “To me, for the moment, it’s the worst Formula One car I have ever seen. It just doesn’t fit together.” Kubica agreed that it looks a lot better from inside the cockpit.

Finally today, Bernie Ecclestone has resurfaced his idea of changing the current points system to a medal tally, to encourage drivers to fight for gold instead of settling for silver. He says that the FIA and teams are all for the idea.

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

22-Jul-08: Vettel Leads the Way on Day 1 of Jerez Test

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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.

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