11-Mar-10: McLaren Pass Scrutineering, Car is Legal

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Listen to this episode

This is F1 Minute and it’s the 11th March 2010.

Firstly, McLaren have passed scrutineering today, with the FIA giving the rear wing the all-clear. Other teams, including Red Bull and Lotus aren’t at all happy about it but as usual McLaren have stuck to the letter of the regulations if not the spirit.

The FIA also announced that they will be re-opening the selection process for a team to replace US F1 in 2011. All the teams that applied this year can have another go, if they so desire. A statement from the governing body also hinted at the fact that it’s not over for US F1 and they may face some penalties for defaulting on their entry this year.

Finally, two quick snippets, Renault have signed up HP as a major sponsor this year – the company previously sponsored Williams, whilst Alain Prost is the first former F1 driver to join the stewarding panel for 2010, taking up a spot amongst the Bahrain stewards. Other stewards at future races will include Johnny Herbert, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Alex Wurz.

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

08-Mar-10: Renault Hoping to Fight in Top Four

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Listen to this episode

This is F1 Minute for the 8th March 2010.

The ongoing saga with McLaren’s rear wing continues, as the FIA will now wait until Bahrain to inspect the design. Charlie Whiting was due to visit the factory last week, but travel delays meant that could not happen. Apparently, McLaren and the FIA have corresponded previously, and there was no problem found with the part, but they will confirm this in Bahrain.

Preview quotes are coming thick and fast now, and team principal of Renault, Eric Boullier, has said he hopes the team will be fighting in the top four for the championship. He says their testing performance seemed slow because they ran with heavy fuel loads.

Finally, a quick note that Sir Stirling Moss was injured over the weekend in a lift accident at his home. He fell down three floors after the door opened without the lift present. He suffered broken ankles and bones, underwent some surgery and is now safe and stable. His wife has said he is in high spirits after his fall. We wish him a speedy recovery.

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

FIA Formula One World Championship – Entry List

FIA Formula One World Championship – Entry List

No.	Driver	Team	Constructor
1	Jenson Button	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	McLaren Mercedes
2	Lewis Hamilton	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	McLaren Mercedes
3	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes Grand Prix	Mercedes Benz GP
4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes Grand Prix	Mercedes Benz GP
5	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	Red Bull Racing Renault
6	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	Red Bull Racing Renault
7	Felipe Massa	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari
8	Fernando Alonso	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari
9	Rubens Barrichello	AT&T Williams	Williams Cosworth
10	Nico Hülkenberg	AT&T Williams	Williams Cosworth
11	Robert Kubica	Renault F1 Team	Renault
12	Vitaly Petrov	Renault F1 Team	Renault
14	Adrian Sutil	Force India F1 Team	Force India Mercedes
15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Force India F1 Team	Force India Mercedes
16	Sébastien Buemi	Scuderia Toro Rosso	STR Ferrari
17	Jaime Alguersuari	Scuderia Toro Rosso	STR Ferrari
18	Jarno Trulli	Lotus F1 Racing	Lotus Cosworth
19	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus F1 Racing	Lotus Cosworth
20	TBA	HRT F1 Team	HRT Cosworth
21	Bruno Senna	HRT F1 Team	HRT Cosworth
22	Pedro de la Rosa	BMW Sauber F1 Team	BMW Sauber Ferrari
23	Kamui Kobayashi	BMW Sauber F1 Team	BMW Sauber Ferrari
24	Timo Glock	Virgin Racing	Virgin Cosworth
25	Lucas di Grassi	Virgin Racing	Virgin Cosworth

Note: The USF1 Team have indicated that they will not be in a position to participate in 2010.

Renault – Barcelona Test Session, Day 4

The Renault F1 Team completed its final day of winter testing in Barcelona with Robert Kubica.

Circuit: Barcelona

Length: 4.6 km

Driver: Robert Kubica

Chassis: R30-03

Total Laps: 107 laps

Fastest Lap: 1:23.175

Summary of the day: Dry and sunny weather in Barcelona gave good testing conditions. The team lost some track time in the morning with a technical problem, but covered good mileage in the afternoon.

Robert Kubica: “In the morning we lost a lot of track time with a technical problem. In the afternoon we tried to do a race distance, which was interrupted, but we did cover a lot of laps. Afterwards we just did a couple more runs for set-up work to try and improve the car a bit more.”

Alan Permane, Chief Engineer: “Our final day of testing was a mixed one as we suffered a problem with the gearbox on the installation lap, which limited our running. We managed to get back out at the end of the morning to evaluate some new aero parts and also worked on improving the set-up of the car. For the afternoon we tried to cover a race distance, and although it was interrupted, we did cover the desired number of laps. To end the day we returned to our set-up programme.”

First Grand Prix of 2010
Bahrain 12-14 March

Renault – Barcelona Test Session, Day 3

The Renault F1 Team completed a third day of testing in Barcelona with Vitaly Petrov.

Circuit: Barcelona

Length: 4.6 km

Driver: Vitaly Petrov

Chassis: R30-03

Total Laps: 68 laps

Fastest Lap: 1:22.523

Summary of the day: Light rain showers in the morning limited Vitaly’s track time, but the afternoon remained dry allowing the team to complete qualifying simulations and long runs.

Vitaly Petrov: “Another day of changing weather so we lost some time in the morning with the rain, but fortunately it was dry in the afternoon. We had a lot planned as it was my last day in the car before Bahrain and we did some good work and we’ve improved the car quite a bit. The qualifying simulation was useful and it was important I did this before the first race.”

Alan Permane, Chief Engineer: “It was a better day for Vitaly. We had a few issues with the car in the morning that we carried over from yesterday, but we very quickly got on top of them. The car was then much to his liking just before lunch. Unfortunately we had a little bit of rain again this morning, but managed some work in the afternoon carrying various fuel loads and Vitaly finished the day quite happy with the car. It’s a shame that he couldn’t have run a bit more today, but it was good to get a decent day of running.”

Barcelona Test Schedule:
Sunday 28 February: Robert Kubica

Renault – Barcelona Test Session, Day 2

The Renault F1 Team continued testing at the Circuit de Catalunya today with Robert Kubica in the R30.

Circuit: Barcelona

Length: 4.6 km

Driver: Robert Kubica

Chassis: R30-03

Total Laps: 53 laps

Fastest Lap: 1:24.912

Summary of the day: Another sunny day gave good conditions for testing. The team spent the morning focussed on shorter runs and set-up work, but ran limited laps in the afternoon.

Robert Kubica: “It’s frustrating to lose track time this afternoon because of a problem with the suspension, but I’m sure the team will get on top of the issue so that we can have a good weekend. We have some new aero parts coming for the car on Saturday and Sunday, which will help improve the pace of the car.”

Alan Permane, Chief Engineer: “Robert was in the car today for his first laps at Barcelona in the R30. We spent the morning doing some set-up work, but in the afternoon we had a problem with the suspension, which limited our running. We’re still looking into the issue and will have the car fixed and ready for tomorrow morning.”

Barcelona Test Schedule 27-28 February:
Saturday 27 February: Vitaly Petrov
Sunday 28 February: Robert Kubica

Renault – Barcelona Test Session, Day 1

The Renault F1 Team started its final pre-season test session in Barcelona today with Vitaly Petrov behind the wheel of the R30.

Circuit: Barcelona

Length: 4.6 km

Driver: Vitaly Petrov

Chassis: R30-03

Total Laps: 74 laps

Fastest Lap: 1:24.173

Summary of the day: Bright conditions in Barcelona allowed the team to complete a busy day of work. The programme included practice pit stops in the morning and set-up work in the afternoon.

Vitaly Petrov: “The track conditions were pretty good today and it was nice not to have to drive in the rain! The day went quite well and we did a lot of pit-stop practice to begin with and then some set-up work, which was useful.”

Alan Permane, Chief Engineer: “We spent part of the morning doing pit-stop practice with Vitaly, which went very well. This was the first chance for our pit crew to practice with a running car at the circuit without refuelling and there were no procedural problems. Unfortunately we had a hydraulic problem in the early afternoon, which meant we had to change part of the hydraulic system and that limited our running. But we were still able to do some set-up work as we concentrated on getting Vitaly comfortable in the car on this circuit.”

Barcelona Test Schedule 26-28 February:
Friday 26 February: Robert Kubica
Saturday 27 February: Vitaly Petrov
Sunday 28 February: Robert Kubica

Renault – Jerez Test Session, Day 4

The Renault F1 Team completed its final day of work in Jerez with Robert Kubica behind the wheel of the R30.

Circuit: Jerez de la Frontera

Length: 4.4 km

Driver: Robert Kubica

Chassis: R3002

Total Laps: 117 laps

Fastest Lap: 1:19.114

Summary of the day: Dry and sunny conditions allowed the team to make good progress with its technical programme. After evaluation of fuel loads in the morning, attention switched to long runs in the afternoon along with set-up work. Robert completed 117 laps and set the second quickest time of the day.

Robert Kubica: “It was a good day and we tried a lot of different things, which has given us lots of useful information. To begin with we did some evaluation with different fuel loads to check the balance of the car and then in the afternoon we did long runs with heavy fuel to simulate a race distance. We completed most of the programme and I was pretty happy with the car.”

Alan Permane, Chief Engineer: “Another solid day of work as we made the most of the good weather. We ran the car with varying fuel loads this morning to see how it reacted and we were pleased with the results. Then we attempted a race simulation and, although it was interrupted, we still managed to cover the required number of laps. Later in the afternoon we concentrated on some set-up work and found a good direction with the car.”

Barcelona Test Schedule:
Thursday 25 February: Vitaly Petrov
Friday 26 February: Vitaly Petrov
Saturday 27 February: Robert Kubica
Sunday 28 February: Robert Kubica

Renault – Jerez Test Session, Day 3

The Renault F1 Team completed its third day of work in Jerez this week with Robert Kubica in the R30.

Circuit: Jerez de la Frontera

Length: 4.4 km

Driver: Robert Kubica

Chassis: R3002

Total Laps: 100 laps

Fastest Lap: 1:21.916

Summary of the day: After the showers yesterday, bright and sunny conditions greeted the team this morning and the track remained dry throughout the day. Robert’s programme included set-up and procedural work.

Robert Kubica: “In the morning it was damp so we just did an installation lap to check everything was working and waited for the track to dry. The conditions were quite windy, which has a big influence on the car, but we were able to test quite a lot of things so I’m pretty pleased with the day.”

Alan Permane, Chief Engineer: “Finally the weather improved and we managed to complete a productive day of work. Early on the track was still damp, but it dried out quite quickly and we got some useful set-up work done with Robert, which has taken us in a good direction. We also spent some time doing procedural work, practice starts with a heavy car and pit stop pull-aways. Robert also ran a couple of different dry tyre compounds to compare them, which was useful.”

Jerez Test Schedule:
Saturday 20 February: Robert Kubica

Renault – Jerez Test Session, Day 2

The Renault F1 Team completed its second day of work in Jerez this week with Vitaly Petrov in the R30.

Circuit: Jerez de la Frontera

Length: 4.4 km

Driver: Vitaly Petrov

Chassis: R3002

Total Laps: 56 laps

Fastest Lap: 1:27.828

Summary of the day: Another day of unsettled weather restricted the team’s technical programme. There were heavy rain showers in the morning and windy conditions with further showers in the afternoon.

Vitaly Petrov: “It was cold and wet once again today, but we still did some useful work in the wet conditions and practiced pit stops, which is good experience for me. I’m now hoping that the final test in Barcelona will give us better weather so I can do some dry running before we arrive in Bahrain.”

Alan Permane, Chief Engineer: “It was another frustrating day with the changeable weather, but we made the most of it to run both the wet and intermediate tyres. In the afternoon, when the track was damp, we chose to carry out some procedural work, including practice pit stops. Overall Vitaly was quite happy with the car and showed good pace today.”

Jerez Test Schedule 19-20 February:
Friday 19 February: Robert Kubica
Saturday 20 February: Robert Kubica

Next Page »