25-Nov-08: Red Bull Buy Back Toro Rosso Share
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 25th November 2008.
Red Bull have bought back their 50% share in Toro Rosso from Gerhard Berger, despite the fact that owner Dietrich Mateschitz was previously contemplating selling his interest in the team. Now, the Austrian says: “I am very grateful to Gerhard for his huge input. Together we turned Toro Rosso into a team that qualified on a regular basis in the top 10 and collected world championship points.”
Also in Red Bull news, Christian Horner says the only positive thing from Webber’s accident is the timing, and they plan to put Vettel and Buemi in the car during upcoming tests. He said Coulthard had other priorities at the moment, having just become a first time dad.
Meanwhile, Rosberg has said he doesn’t regret staying with Williams and will wait to see what 2009 brings before rethinking his position. Obviously he wants the team to get back to their winning ways but knows the field will spread out with the drastic regulation changes in the coming season.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
02-Oct-08: Williams Confirm Nakajima for 2009
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 2nd October 2008.
Williams have confirmed their driver lineup for next season and it remains unchanged. We already knew that Rosberg would be driving for them in 2009, but now Nakajima has been signed up for next year as well. Frank Williams believes it is good to be consistent with the two drivers, plus Nico Hulkenberg as tester, and says: “Nico Rosberg continues to be one of the most capable drivers in the sport. Kazuki is getting stronger all the time and has more to offer and Nico Hulkenberg is developing well.”
Also today, Flavio Briatore has apparently said he will be taking a different role at Renault next year, and bringing a team director on board to run the day-to-day business. Briatore has said he already has someone in mind.
Finally, Red Bull believe they have found what caused Webber’s gearbox to malfunction in Singapore. They’ve narrowed it down to an electrical surge from the tramlines on the street circuit. What are the chances?
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
01-Oct-08: Whitmarsh Talks Updates and Singapore Penalties
You’re listening to F1 Minute and it’s the 1st October 2008.
With most teams saying they will be focusing on 2009 now, it’s a refreshing change to hear that some updates will be taking place for McLaren. CEO Martin Whitmarsh says Singapore was supposed to be their last upgrade, but now they’ll be bringing in some more aerodynamic “bits and pieces” for Japan and China. Whitmarsh also had a bit of a moan about the penalty process in Singapore, saying that because the stop/go call for Rosberg pitting under the safety car came so late, that he had been able to pull out enough of a lead to effectively cancel it out. Whitmarsh believes Hamilton could have won it had things been different.
Elsewhere today, Malaysia have reportedly said no to the night race idea. Previously Bernie has said that the 2009 race would begin at 7pm local time, but officials have said they will compromise to start at 5pm. They certainly don’t intend to host a race after dark.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
28-Sep-08: Alonso Wins Safety Car Hit Singapore GP
It’s the 28th September, welcome to F1 Minute.
After an intense two hour race, Fernando Alonso emerged the surprise winner of the Singapore Grand Prix following two safety car periods.
The first few laps were nice and clean, and running got underway with Massa stretching a lead from Hamilton. Alonso started on soft tyres, and pitted really early for hard tyres, having changed his strategy because it wasn’t working. Then Renault team mate Piquet smashed into the wall and the safety car came out. Kubica and Rosberg had to pit for fuel, although the pit lane was closed, so they received penalties. As more drivers took their stops, Alonso worked his way to the front.
Despite serving his penalty, Rosberg managed to finish second, and Hamilton picked up third. Massa suffered another Ferrari pit stop blunder as he was sent on his way into the path of another car and with the fuel hose attached. He finished way down the order. Raikkonen was running fifth but crashed into the wall in the last few laps. At the end of the race, they all looked pretty exhausted.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
28-Aug-08: Heidfeld Leads Monza on Test Day Two
Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 28th August 2008.
It was just yesterday that I told you about BMW’s desire for Nick Heidfeld to start getting some better results, and the German driver has made a good start. He topped the timesheets for Day 2 at the Monza test, pipping Rosberg in the Williams by just two tenths of a second.
Kovalainen was third ahead of Vettel and then Massa, who caused the one red flag throughout the day, having a quick trip into the gravel.
Whilst we’re on the subject of Ferrari, team principal Stefano Domenicali has been talking about the dynamic within the team. Whilst they’re not ready to put their full support behind just one driver yet, Domenicali is quoted as saying that Raikkonen is more than happy to support Massa if it should fall that way. He also said he has faith that Raikkonen can pick up his game once more, it’s just a matter of the team giving him a car that he likes.
And talking of the championship, McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh believes a big part of the title this year will come down to the uncontrollable factor of the weather.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
27-Aug-08: Massa Leads the Way at Monza
Today is the 27th August 2008, and this is F1 Minute.
Day 1 of the test at Monza has wrapped up with a fine showing from Felipe Massa. He topped the timesheets just ahead of Kovalainen in the McLaren and then Rosberg in the Williams. Piquet did the most work, 117 laps, but he ended the day as the slowest car.
Having said that though, Renault seem to think that going slowly can actually help them get better results. We’ve seen the two Renault drivers posting painfully slow lap times during practice at the last two Grands Prix, and we’ve not really known why. Now it seems that Renault are convinced their tyres do better after running a couple of slow laps. They’re using data from the German race when Piquet finished second having run some laps behind the safety car. Apparently Alonso will be testing this phenomenon when he gets his turn in the car this week.
And very quickly to finish, BMW have apparently told Heidfeld he needs to start getting some better results if he is to keep his race drive for next year.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
12-Aug-08: Rosberg to Stay at Williams in 2009
It’s the 12th August 2008, and you’re listening to F1 Minute.
Nico Rosberg has added his name to the growing list of drivers who will be staying put in 2009. Rosberg says his future is with Williams, for next year, at least, and puts his decision down to feeling very comfortable within the team.
Rosberg has also been discussing the upcoming Valencian Grand Prix, and says that practice is going to be really important for all the teams to get as many laps in as possible. He says: “We’ll really be taking a guess on the set-up from what we know of other street tracks, and then take it step by step through the weekend. So it’s very important to keep the car on the track because if you crash, you lose a lot of time that the others will spend working on it.”
Finally, Ron Dennis has announced that from next year, he will be rotating the McLaren staff that travel to Grands Prix, to give them more of a break. He blames the expanding calendar for 2009, and the lack of a three week summer break.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
02-Aug-08: Hamilton Lines Up on Pole at the Hungaroring
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 2nd August 2008.
Hamilton took an easy pole position at the Hungaroring today, just ahead of team mate Kovalainen. Hamilton also had the jump on Ferrari in the first Free Practice session of the day, leading Massa, and then Glock.
On to qualifying, and the only major incident happened in the first session. Heidfeld was on a hot lap, and stumbled across Bourdais and another car negotiating a corner. It looked like Heidfeld believed he was being held up, and he also ran wide at the final turn, causing some serious fist waving at the Toro Rosso. Heidfeld starts on the grid in 16th. In the second session, Vettel and Button did supremely well to finish 11th and 12th respectively, whilst Rosberg got through to Q2 but couldn’t set a lap time due to hydraulics problems.
Finally the third session had Glock leading the way and then second for a good few minutes, but in the end, common sense ruled. Hamilton leads Kovalainen, Massa and then Kubica.
That’s it for today, enjoy the race, and I will be back with the results tomorrow in another F1 Minute.
09-Jul-08: Hamilton Takes the Top Spot Again
Welcome to F1 Minute for the 9th July 2008.
Hamilton has topped the timesheets for the second consecutive day at testing in Hockenheim. Rosberg was second for Williams, and Raikkonen third in the Ferrari. There were three red flags throughout the day, caused by Sutil, Barrichello and Alonso. The weather was slightly improved from yesterday, although there was a shower in the morning.
During the session, a photographer crossed the track, without an official tabbard on, to take pictures from an out of bounds area. The FIA recalled all the photographers and their tabbards and banned them from taking pictures until they had all sat through a briefing. They were then given new tabbards and allowed back to their posts, although the original photographer is under investigation.
Finally today, Coulthard has said that he has no plans to race in any other series after he retires from Formula 1 at the end of the season. He’s not ruling it out but says his thoughts remain within the F1 world for now.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
25-Jun-08: Kovalainen Heads Up Silverstone Test, Day 2
Welcome to F1 Minute, it’s the 25th June.
Kovalainen was fastest on Day 2 of the test in Silverstone, with Trulli and Rosberg behind him, and Massa all the way down in 7th. There were several red flags today, one of which caused by Fisichella, who crashed after being caught in a gust of wind. He was taken to the medical centre and then a nearby hospital for checks on his wrist. He is okay, though.
Elsewhere, the FIA have been busy, with the World Council meeting in France. Firstly, they released a statement officially announcing they would review how F1 is governed. They also promoted their new feeder series for F1 called Formula 2, and they decided that they’d only raise the entry fee costs to F1 for teams by the rate of inflation.
Finally, they released a provision calendar for 2009, which sees the races starting and ending much later in the year, France is included, whilst the US is not, and the season closer will be in Abu Dhabi, the only new addition. Notably Turkey has been returned to its slot further down the calendar.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.