It’s the 19th September 2008, and this is F1 Minute.
Pedro de la Rosa headed up the final day of testing at Jerez for McLaren, just ahead of BMW and Renault. There were no rain interruptions today, and no major incidents. Vettel returned to the Toro Rosso cockpit whilst Buemi returned to work for Red Bull.
Talking of which, it appears that Buemi may be a favourite for the Toro Rosso race seat in 2009, after Franz Tost has been quoted as saying as long as they could find an experienced driver to pair him with, they would want him in the car. Buemi isn’t getting too carried away, but says he is excited and getting into F1 is his main objective for next year.
Elsewhere today, Wurz has finished up testing Honda’s KERS system and declared that it’s quite safe: “Honda has an enormous amount of know how with the battery system and we have some security checks all the time going on, so we are very confident that we won’t be electrocuted.” He said it’s fine in road cars so all F1 teams have to do is work out how to package it correctly.
That’s it for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
Well, the result is in, and Max Mosley has won his court case against the News of the World. The High Court decided that Mosley’s privacy was invaded, and he deserved a £60,000 settlement in damages. Mosley has said he is delighted with the result and the money will go to the FIA Foundation.
Now, in real F1 news, Webber topped the timesheets in Jerez today, ahead of Piquet for Renault and Raikkonen in the Ferrari. Piquet did manage to bring out a red flag after hitting the wall, and de la Rosa, Glock and Barrichello also saw red flags. Glock was returning to action today after his accident and thankfully didn’t crash, but simply stopped out on track.
Also, we don’t appear to have had any KERS related incidents today, but fears about the safety of it continue. Webber has said that he doesn’t want to look into the technology too much as it makes him nervous, and the drivers are happy to let the engineers sort it out. From his position within the GPDA, he said they won’t be getting involved just yet.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
The second day of testing in Jerez drew to a close today with Vettel still leading the way. Toro Rosso were testing out slick tyres and posted the fastest time ahead of de la Rosa in the McLaren and Raikkonen in the Ferrari – who was on grooved tyres. There was just one red flag caused by Alex Wurz for Honda, as he stopped on track with what appeared to be an engine problem.
Following yesterday’s incident where a BMW mechanic suffered an electric shock from a car with KERS installed, we’ve had a few updates. The mechanic was released from the medical centre with just a minor injury to his arm, but was later taken to hospital suffering dizzy spells and kept overnight for observation. He was released today. Toyota team president John Howett has spoken out, saying he doesn’t believe that KERS will be ready in time for introduction as soon as 2009.
It looks like the F1 Working Group will be discussing the issues at their next meeting.
That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.
Today is the 20th June 2008 and you’re listening to F1 Minute.
A lot to get through today, but let’s start with Free Practice for France. Massa led the way in a very quiet first session, with the only incident really being Alonso’s engine blowing up out on track. However, in the second session, the Renault was much better with Alonso topping the timesheets.
Not the most action we’ve seen on a Friday, which could be blamed on the circuit. Magny-Cours have, however, unveiled their plans for some major upgrades to the circuit including new pits, paddock and hospitality facilities. They’re calling the project Magny-Cours 2.
At the end of Free Practice, the drivers that were still out on track took part in the new ECU safety car ruling test, apparently with mixed feelings. GPDA president Pedro de la Rosa said some are happy and some are not, and it’s still early days. De la Rosa also said there was no talk of a strike amongst drivers, which is good because Hamilton said, whilst he supports the cause, he wouldn’t be taking part in one.
That’s everything for today, join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
Luca Badoer topped the timesheets for the second day of the test in Barcelona, making that two in a row for Ferrari. He finished ahead of de la Rosa in the McLaren and Glock in the Toyota. There were three red flags, caused by Piquet, Badoer and Glock throughout the day, and the session only saw about 20 minutes of rain. Toro Rosso joined the other teams, meaning Force India are the only ones not to have tested so far.
As it’s Friday, here are two very tenuously F1 related stories. Jenson Button will be taking part in his second triathlon this weekend. His first attempt at the non-motorsport event was in April where he came 16th out of 250 entrants, and this week he’ll be competing against over 2,500 other triathletes. Good luck Jenson.
Good luck also needs to go out to the many ex-F1 drivers taking part in the Le Mans 24 Hour race this weekend. Notably Alex Wurz, Christian Klien, Marc Gene, Pedro Lamy, Stephane Sarrazin, Franck Montagny, and Ricardo Zonta are all lining up at the front of the grid for the Peugeot team.
That’s all for this week, I’ll be back on Monday with another F1 Minute.
After Robert Kubica’s nasty crash at Canada last year, it was no surprise to hear that parts of the circuit would get a bit of a revamp to try and avoid something like that happening again. However, it now appears that it’s not just the pit lane and the track surface getting an overhaul, some of the famously high and notorious;y difficult kerbs are also being looked at. The idea is to make them smoother and less harsh so that a car won’t be lifted up into the air again.
Renault’s CEO has been talking about the team’s future in the sport, after there have been rumours that they are losing interesting in the expensive pastime. Carlos Ghosn has been quoted as saying that Renault would never quit while they were on a losing streak, and he thinks they’ll be around for many years to come. Whether that means he thinks they won’t be winning until that far in the future remains to be seen.
Finally, Pedro de la Rosa has given us some insights: that Hamilton was very lucky with his win in Monaco, that McLaren need to keep on improving and that he misses Alonso. Aww.
That’s all for this week, please join me on Monday for another F1 Minute.
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.
Hi everyone, it’s the 18th March and this is F1 Minute.
It’s now official that Toro Rosso have been put up for sale. Dietrich Mateschitz has confirmed that the Red Bull B team will be sold before the anti-customer car rule changes come into effect in 2010. He says he doesn’t see the need to sell Toro Rosso in 2008, but wants to find someone worthy of the team by the end of next year.
Sir Jackie Stewart has criticised Lewis Hamilton’s decision to stay away from the GPDA for the time being. New chairman Pedro de la Rosa said he wanted to encourage younger drivers to the team, but Hamilton said he was too busy to give it his full commitment. Stewart has hit out at that, saying: “I’m surprised and disappointed. He has been badly advised. It is completely wrong not to be involved.” He believes that the younger drivers like Hamilton and Raikkonen are becoming complacent about safety.
And a final snippet, Jean Todt has stepped down from his position as CEO of Ferrari, although he remains on the board.
That’s it for today, please join me again tomorrow for another F1 Minute.
The 2008 season has officially begun! Kimi Raikkonen led the way in Free Practice 1, with Hamilton taking the honours during the second session. It’s worth pointing out that Mark Webber led for almost all of Free Practice 2, before Hamilton put in a flying lap with only a few minutes to spare. There was one red flag during the first session caused by Piquet, and Trulli spun off into the gravel during the second.
Mike Coughlan has had his contract with McLaren officially terminated, although details are still scarce due to legal reasons. It is thought that the FIA will make an announcement similar to that for Nigel Stepney, advising teams not to work with Coughlan for a period of time.
Pedro de la Rosa has been elected President of the Grand Prix Driver’s Association, replacing ex-Toyota driver Ralf Schumacher. De la Rosa said his main aim in the top job is to recruit younger drivers to the association.
And finally, a quick F1 Minute update. During race weekends, we’ll be going seven days a week, to cover all the news from Qualifying and the Race. Tune in tomorrow for the first ever Saturday edition of F1 Minute.
Super Aguri have announced that their plans to launch the new car on the 19th of this month are being pushed back indefinitely. For now, the team want to concentrate on securing investment and sponsorship deals, and then confirming their driver lineup. In place of the launch, key team members will be available for media interviews.
Yesterday, I mentioned that Bahrain circuit officials appeared to be open to the idea of a night race, but now the chief of the circuit has issued an official statement clarifying what was said. He says the comments were taken out of context, they’re not interested in a night race in Bahrain, they’re just intrigued how the night race idea will work.
Meanwhile, more teams joined in the testing fun at Jerez, with Lewis Hamilton topping the timesheets followed by de la Rosa in the sister McLaren. Nakajima posted a respectable fourth fastest time in his Williams. First thing in the morning, the testing session was delayed for five minutes by a worker who was out on track in a dangerous position, meaning the cars had to be pulled back into their garages.
That’s all for today, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.