29-Sep-08: News Roundup Following Singapore GP
This is F1 Minute for the 29th September 2008.
Following on from the great race in Singapore, here are some news snippets we might have missed.
- Bernie Ecclestone has announced that the Indian Grand Prix, due to be on the calendar from 2010, has been pushed back a year. It looks as though construction work will be finished in time for the 2010 debut, so reasons for Bernie’s decision remain unknown.
- Ferrari have confirmed they will be keeping Luca Badoer and Marc Gene as test drivers for next season.
- Alonso says that although he knows he was lucky with the safety car timing at the weekend, he also had a fast car, and he believes this win makes up for what has been a really tough year.
- Ex-F1 champ Jackie Stewart has said the biggest winner from the Singapore race this weekend was Formula 1 in general, because such a fantastic event should help put some of the recent controversies behind us.
- And finally, it’s no surprise that the overhaul of the safety car regulations has resurfaced, with teams very unhappy about the lottery effect.
That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
04-Jun-08: FIA Announce Bridge Wing Clarifications
This is F1 Minute and today is the 4th June 2008.
No talk of Max today, except to say that all the news about him yesterday buried an FIA announcement. Teams running the bridge wing on their nose, Honda, BMW and Toyota, for example, will need to strengthen it to stop it wobbling about as they circle the track. It’s unknown whether there was a complaint about the bridge wings or if the FIA are just adapting to the changing components.
Autosport.com is reporting that Bridgestone are set to reject a delay request from the teams, that would see the banning of tyre warmers pushed back to 2010. Bridgestone are saying they do not share the concerns of F1 teams, and in fact have said that the teams are really more concerned about not being able to run the tyres at the optimum pressure anymore, without running a significantly greater risk.
Finally, today, Ferrari test driver Marc Gene has announced that he won’t be at the Canadian GP as scheduled, after his huge crash in testing for Le Mans on Sunday. He’s broken a toe, making it difficult to walk, let alone drive.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
19-Mar-08: McLaren to Revise Pit Speed Limiter System
This is F1 Minute for the 19th March 2008.
McLaren will be looking into their pit speed limiter process after the incident in Australia with Kovalainen. Engineering director Paddy Lowe has said they will be revising the system in future as: “It shouldn’t be something you can pick up by accident when you’re moving your hands around.”
Ferrari test driver Marc Gene has criticised the system used by McLaren, saying he was surprised it happened, as his team has a way of making the button inactive over a certain gear or speed.
The GPDA fallout continues, after Jackie Stewart’s disappointment in Hamilton yesterday. Pedro de la Rosa has said they don’t back this attitude. “We look forward to Lewis becoming a GPDA member at some time in the future. But it isn’t mandatory to join and it isn’t our intention to put pressure on Lewis, as he has always been extremely helpful with any safety issue we have engaged in in the past.”
And a Toyota official has confirmed that Timo Glock will be okay to race in Malaysia this weekend.
That’s all for today, join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.