Jenson Button Tommy Byrne Giulio Cabianca Phil Cade Alex Caffi
Monday, April 30, 2012
Gearing up for the new F1 season
Hello there? How's your winter been? I hope this blog finds you well, my friends, and that 2012 is being kind to you. It's certainly about to get kinder for us F1 fans as the season gets under way this weekend.
My winter flew by faster than Seb in qualifying as I juggled various TV commitments, along with the usual jobs such as visiting the dentist, watching Norwich City (amazing!) and doing a spot of gardening (thankfully my garden is tiny) - all things that between March and November there just isn't time for!
Thankfully, just a couple of weeks ago I managed to grab a week in the Maldives with my wife, and that break will be valuable as I jump onto a treadmill that will carry us to the end of 2012.
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For me it's the start of the F1 season, off to the European Football Championship, the British GP, two weeks at the Olympics and then the end of the F1 season followed by Sports Personality of the Year. So time to take a deep breath and dive on in as the stories develop, the drama unfolds and air miles continue to clock up.
As you know this weekend is the start of a new era of F1 coverage on the BBC, and the job for the team over the winter has been to best deal with the cards we've been dealt in terms of the broadcast rights.
Having sat through various production meetings, having exchanged emails, swapped ideas and planned how best to bring the season to life, I'm confident we will deliver a new-look season that you will enjoy.
It's been like the first day at school for some of the new faces to our team this weekend. Gary Anderson and I got the tram together to collect our accreditation when we arrived in Melbourne on Thursday morning and it was great fun being regaled by stories of F1 from the days when Gary was designing race winning cars.
He also had a few decent stories about being employed by Eddie Jordan but I think they're best left out off the blog - as entertaining as they were!
I'd also really like to welcome Ben Edwards to the fray. Ben is a great commentator who has raced cars himself and spent the last few years commentating on all forms of motor racing.
He's passionate, informative, hopefully likes a night out and a beer, and best of all he's as much a journalist as he is a fan. Good luck keeping David Coulthard in check Ben!
Talking of DC, we had our first dinner of the new season together last night as we both headed out for some Japanese food and a drop of sake here in buzzy, beautiful Melbourne.
Pastor Maldonado, Bruno Senna and Lewis Hamilton were all in there tucking into sushi and sashimi while working out whether to chat to each other or act cool and bag an early psychological advantage ahead of a year when the competition will be intense.
They mainly opted for the latter by the way. I'll post a blog later in the season about how the drivers live and work together while still being rivals - it's fascinating.
Meanwhile on radio we've got a whole new team - and it's a great line-up of commentator James Allen, pit-lane reporter Jennie Gow and co-commentator Jaime Alguersuari, who brings real insight having just stepped out of an F1 car himself.
So, what have I learned so far this week? Well I've been told that the two new drivers at Toro Rosso have made Mark Webber feel more motivated than ever.
I chatted to Jenson Button who (if it's possible) seems even more chilled out than he did in 2011.
I've also been to the other end of the paddock where Caterham say the decision to put Vitaly Petrov in the car instead of Jarno Trulli is the right move regarding both finances and the future - and I've heard plenty of speculation and gossip surrounding HRT and Marussia, who have not run at all in pre-season.
Anyway, it's amazing how quickly we all get back into the swing of F1. My 'no crisps' rule lasted all of 30 minutes, the first running order for Saturday's qualifying show has been written, and I've got a date with Chris Moyles on Radio 1.
We're delighted to be back, I'm really happy DC and EJ remain part of the team, and this weekend don't worry about setting your alarm.
We've got highlights of qualifying at 1pm on Saturday, and a full two-hour highlights show from 2pm on Sunday. We'll have all the important action, and plenty of driver interviews and race reaction.
Three years ago I started these blogs - there will be plenty more coming your way in our fourth season of coverage. But what you get is up to you - what do you want to see here during the season..?
Have a great weekend. We're back!
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/2012/03/gearing_up_for_the_new_f1_seas_1.html
Colin Chapman Dave Charlton Pedro Matos Chaves Bill Cheesbourg Eddie Cheever
'The point of no confidence is quite near'
 The wreckage of Jochen Rindt's car at Barcelona |
?Colin. I have been racing F1 for 5 years and I have made one mistake (I rammed Chris Amon in Clermont Ferrand) and I had one accident in Zandvoort due to gear selection failure otherwise I managed to stay out of trouble. This situation changed rapidly since I joined your team. ?Honestly your cars are so quick that we would still be competitive with a few extra pounds used to make the weakest parts stronger, on top of that I think you ought to spend some time checking what your different employes are doing, I sure the wishbones on the F2 car would have looked different. Please give my suggestions some thought, I can only drive a car in which I have some confidence, and I feel the point of no confidence is quite near.?A little more than a year later Rindt's Lotus suffered mechanical breakdown just before braking into one of the corners. He swerved violently to the left and crashed into a poorly-installed barrier, killing him instantly.
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/09/the_point_of_no_confidence_is.php
Don Beauman Karl Gunther Bechem Jean Behra Derek Bell Stefan Bellof
Webber ?will threaten? Vettel in 2012
Bernie Ecclestone has stated his belief that Mark Webber could be Sebastian Vettel’s biggest rival for the title this year. Check out our review of Red Bull in 2011! Webber failed to win a race last year of course, but Ecclestone is convinced that the Australian will improve, threatening his Red Bull team-mate along the [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/WvCtgq-iUMQ/webber-will-threaten-vettel-in-2012
Roberto Bussinello Jenson Button Tommy Byrne Giulio Cabianca Phil Cade
Lamborghini Murcielago "Rapid Response Unit" by Martino Auto Concepts
 |
If for some reason you see a Lamborghini Murcielago look the part of a fire department vehicle complete with emergency lights on its roof, don’t confuse it for a novelty car; it was actually built to be. At least according to the dudes that made it, the "world’s only Lamborghini Rapid Response Unit."
Yep. You just the words ’Lamborghini’ and ’Rapid Response Unit’ in the same quotation marks. This Murcielago was built by Martino Auto Concepts from Glen Cove, New York as a way to pay homage to the Glen Cove Fire Department for their 175th year of service to the community.
The Murcielago comes dressed to look like a service vehicle, complete with GFCD badging - that’s the Glen Cove Fire Department - and a plethora of fire department-relative livery. Even better, it also has a set of emergency lights on its roof, adding more flavor to what we obviously think is already a fantastic Italian supercar.
Power modifications were left out, but the Murcielago still carries a piece of work for an engine. Under its hood, you’re going to find a 6.5-liter V12 engine that produces upwards of 600 horsepower.
Lamborghini Murcielago "Rapid Response Unit" by Martino Auto Concepts originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 28 April 2012 06:00 EST.
Franco Comotti George Connor George Constantine John Cordts David Coulthard
Team orders in spotlight again
 Will Christian Horner regret not utilising team orders in Brazil? |
?The extra seven points Alonso collected when Ferrari ordered Felipe Massa to move over for him in Germany earlier in the season are now looking even more crucial. ?And the �65,000 fine they picked up for ruthlessly breaking the rules will seem loose change if Alonso clinches the title in his first year with the Maranello team. ?Red Bull could have switched the result yesterday given their crushing dominance and still celebrated their first constructors' championship just five years after coming into the sport. ?That would also have given Webber an extra seven points, leaving him just one behind Alonso.?The Guardian?s Paul Weaver says that if Fernando Alonso does take the drivers? title in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari owes a debt of gratitude to Red Bull for their decision not to employ team orders in Brazil.
?If Alonso does take the title next week it would not be inappropriate were he and Ferrari to send a few gallons of champagne to Red Bull's headquarters in Milton Keynes. ?While Red Bull should be heartily applauded for the championship they did win today their apparent acceptance that Ferrari might carry off the more glamorous prize continues to baffle Formula One and its globetrotting supporters. ?Their refusal to make life easy for Webber, who has led for much of the season and is still seven points ahead of Vettel, means that whatever happens in the desert next week Alonso, the only driver who was capable of taking the championship in the race today, only has to secure second place to guarantee his third world title.?The Independent?s David Tremayne is also of the opinion that Red Bull may regret not using team orders in Brazil.
?Had Red Bull elected to adopt team orders and let Webber win ? something that the governing body allows when championships are at stake ? Webber would have left Brazil with 245 points ? just one point off the lead. For some that was confirmation of his suggestion that Vettel is the team's favoured driver ? which generated an angry call from team owner Dietrich Mateschitz in Austria and was much denied by team principal, Christian Horner. ?And it sets up a situation where, if the result is repeated next weekend, as is likely, Vettel and Webber will tie on 256, five behind Alonso.?The Mirror?s Byron Young has put Lewis Hamilton?s fading title chances down to an inferior McLaren machine and he admits the 2008 World Champion now needs a miracle.
?Sebastian Vettel's victory sends the world title fight to a four-way showdown for the first time in the sport's history. ?Hamilton goes there as part of that story with a 24-point deficit to Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, but with just 25 on offer in the final round in six days' time it would take more than a miracle. ?Driving an outclassed McLaren he slugged it out against superior machinery and stiff odds to finish fourth.?
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/11/team_orders_in_spotlight_again_1.php
Rene Arnoux Peter Arundell Alberto Ascari Peter Ashdown Ian Ashley
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Kimi Raikkonen: ?In the end we were not fast enough to win?
Kimi Raikkonen silenced the sceptics with a superb drive to second place in Bahrain, and at one stage looked like he might actually win. The Lotus driver started 11th and had the benefit of having two new sets of options … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/04/22/kimi-raikkonen-in-the-end-we-were-not-fast-enough-to-win/
Bill Cheesbourg Eddie Cheever Andrea Chiesa Ettore Chimeri Louis Chiron
Reading between the lines in a phoney war
The annual Formula 1 phoney war was in full swing at the second pre-season test at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya this week.
Fernando Alonso was talking down Ferrari's form, Lewis Hamilton was talking up McLaren's - as, intriguingly, was Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel. And the unlikely combination of Kamui Kobayashi and Sauber set the fastest time of the week.
As ever, the headline lap times were a poor guide to the order of the grid that can be expected in Melbourne at the first race in just three weeks' time.
But look behind the fastest laps, and there is usually a way of gleaning at least some sense of form ahead of the season.
Fernando Alonso's Ferrari could yet to turn out to be a dark horse. Photo: Getty
I'll preface what follows with a major caveat - this has been one of the most difficult tests to read for some time. But here goes.
Red Bull, as ever, looked especially strong. Vettel was fastest of all on the first day of the test, and throughout the four days he and team-mate Mark Webber set consistently formidable-looking times.
On Wednesday afternoon, Vettel and Hamilton set out to do race-distance runs at more or less the same time. Both did 66 laps - the length of the Spanish Grand Prix, which will be held at the track in May.
Vettel did five pit stops; Hamilton four. Discount laps on which they went in and out of the pits and they both managed 55 flying laps. Vettel completed his more than two minutes faster than Hamilton.
If that was repeated in a race, Hamilton would be lapped by the end.
And the pattern was repeated on Thursday with Mark Webber and Jenson Button, although the margin was reduced to about half a minute.
Of course, this is very far from an exact scientific comparison.
They didn't use the same tyres as each other - although they don't necessarily have to in the race either.
We don't know what they were doing with fuel loads - although it would be counter-intuitive to start putting fuel in at pit stops because it would provide the team with data that was never going to be relevant to competition.
And it's an especially confusing situation because only the day before Vettel was saying how impressed he had been with the McLaren's pace on the longer runs.
But there was more - none of it especially happy ready for those hoping for a close season.
On the Wednesday, Vettel's fastest time of all was nearly a second faster than Hamilton's on the same type of tyres. Although both were set on very short runs - suggesting a qualifying-type simulation - that's still potentially meaningless as there is no way of knowing the level of fuel on board at the time.
Nevertheless, if you then look at the lap times both were doing at the start of their race-distance runs, they were about the same margin slower than each driver's fastest laps as you would expect given a full race fuel load.
That suggests that the headline lap times of those two drivers could be a reasonably accurate indicator of form - again worrying for McLaren.
Of course, this is only testing, and teams have updates to put on their cars before the first race - as Button pointed out. And everyone expects McLaren to be a close to challenger at the front come Melbourne. Nevertheless, few are under any illusions about Red Bull's strength.
"You're old enough, Andrew," one senior insider said to me during the test, "to know that Red Bull look very strong. McLaren and Ferrari are a bit behind. Force India look like they have a quick car, too."
He might have added that the new Mercedes looks quite decent as well.
But few teams are as difficult to understand right now as Ferrari - who have not done any race simulations to compare with their main rivals.
The messages coming out of the team have all seemed pretty negative.
There has been a lot of attention put on technical director Pat Fry's remark at the first test in Jerez that Ferrari were "not happy" with their understanding of the car.
Start raking through the time sheets, though, and you begin wonder what's behind all the negativity.
On headline lap times, Alonso was less than 0.3secs behind Vettel. And on both his days he started 10-lap runs with a lap in the region of one minute 24.1 seconds.
If you take 10 laps' worth of fuel off that time, you are left with a lap in the low 1:23sec bracket - again, not far off what Vettel managed. And you can bet the Ferrari was running with more than just 10 laps of fuel anyway; most top teams routinely test with 60-80kg of fuel on board.
In other words, the Ferrari actually looks reasonably fast, and an insider did admit: "The car is not as bad as a lot of people think."
If - and it's a big if - Ferrari can start to extract that potential before the first race of the season, Red Bull might just have a serious fight on their hands. And that's without even considering what McLaren might be able to achieve.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/02/reading_between_the_lines_in_a.html
Richard Attwood Manny Ayulo Luca Badoer Giancarlo Baghetti Julian Bailey
Vettel collision: A champion under pressure?
Sebastian Vettel's behaviour during and after the Malaysian Grand Prix has been causing a bit of a fuss in Germany over the past few days.
The media have lapped up his response to his collision with backmarker Narain Karthikeyan, in much the same way as their British counterparts would have done with a similar incident involving Lewis Hamilton, and Vettel has come in for a fair bit of criticism.
On the BBC after the race, Vettel called Karthikeyan an "idiot" for his role in the collision that cost the world champion fourth place.
Speaking in German, the word he chose was "cucumber" - a common insult in that country for bad drivers on the road.
Vettel faces increased competition from outside and inside his Red Bull Team. Photo: Getty/AFP
It has also been pointed out that shots from Vettel's onboard camera appear to show the 24-year-old Red Bull driver giving Karthikeyan a middle-finger salute as he drives past. This has led some to call for him to be punished by governing body the FIA, which so far is keeping a low profile on the matter.
Comparisons have been drawn with McLaren's Jenson Button - who also failed to score any points in Malaysia, but who reacted with his usual calm.
Vettel, some in Germany have said, doesn't know how to lose.
They point out that last year he won 11 races on his way to one of the most dominant championship victories in Formula 1 history. Failing to win four races in a row in that context, the critics say, should not elicit this kind of reaction.
Vettel has not spoken in public since leaving Malaysia, and Red Bull are shrugging it off.
After the race on Sunday, team principal Christian Horner defended Vettel's driving in the collision with Karthikeyan, saying that it was the Indian's "responsibility to get out of the way of the leaders as he is a lapped car".
Although the stewards penalised Karthikeyan for the incident, others are not sure it's quite so clear-cut.
One leading F1 figure told me: "It was completely Vettel's fault - he needed to give Karthikeyan more space. He only had to clear the last inch and he cut across the front of him. He was showing a bit of frustration and it bit him."
Certainly Vettel has found himself at the start of 2012 in a situation with which he is not familiar.
Vettel has had the fastest car in F1 since at least the middle of 2009, and he has used it to good effect.
But now things are different. Red Bull's new car is not a match for the McLaren, and it has also been behind one Mercedes and one Lotus on the grid in each of the first two races.
For a man who is as driven to win - to dominate even - as Vettel is, that will not be a comfortable situation.
Nor will it have escaped his attention that team-mate Mark Webber has so far out-qualified him in both races this year - again, quite a turnaround from 2011, when the Australian managed it only three times in 19 grands prix.
It is early days, but so far the comparison between the two Red Bull drivers looks much more like it was in the first part of 2010 - before the team started fully exploiting the exhaust-blown diffusers that dominated the last 18 months and which have been banned for this season.
Webber was never that comfortable in last season's Red Bull - and while he came to match Vettel on race pace in the second half of last season, he never really got on terms with him in qualifying.
Much of that was to do with the behaviour of the car on corner entry, where the exhaust-blown diffusers were so powerful in increasing performance.
Red Bull's decline has also coincided with the stiffening of the front-wing load test, an attempt to stop teams allowing the ends of the wing to droop towards the track at speed to increase downforce. Red Bull were noticeably better at doing this than the other teams.
It may be an unrelated coincidence, but this year's Red Bull suffers from understeer, a lack of front-end grip - a handling characteristic Webber is comfortable with, while Vettel prefers oversteer.
This is not the first time Vettel has been criticised for letting his emotion get the better of him when things are not going his way.
There was the infamous 'nutter' sign he directed at Webber following their collision in the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix.
There were also mistakes in Britain, Belgium and Singapore that year as he very nearly gifted the world title to Ferrari and Fernando Alonso, who lost it only after a strategic error in the final race.
Such was Vettel's domination in 2011 that it never arose- leading some to say he had reached a new level of maturity both in and out of the car.
The truth of that claim looks set to be tested this year, as Red Bull and Vettel struggle to regain a position that the driver at least seems to consider is rightfully his.
Meanwhile, his rivals will have been watching with interest.
Webber, Alonso, Button and Hamilton remember Vettel's behaviour in 2010 all too well.
Betraying his emotions in such an obvious way will be seen by them as a weakness - they will look at it and think he is rattled.
So it is true to say on the one hand that Vettel's reaction proves he is a winner.
But it is also the case that learning how to lose gracefully - as Button and Alonso, particularly, have learnt in recent years - has its benefits as well.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/03/vettel_collision_a_champion_un.html
Juan Manuel Bordeu Slim Borgudd Luki Botha JeanChristophe Boullion Sebastien Bourdais
Robert Kubica Could Be Ruled Out For At Least A Year Following Accident
Polish racing driver Robert Kubica will spend at least one whole year recovering from a rally crash he suffered this morning, according to his surgeon. Kubica, who races for Renault Lotus crashed the Skoda Fabia rally car this morning and was airlifted to hospital suffering serious injuries. He has spent many hours in surgery, with [...]
Skip Barber Paolo Barilla Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels Edgar Barth
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Alonso sets the standard
Fernando Alonso's face as he stood on the top step of the podium said it all - a mixture of extreme satisfaction, delight and disbelief.
"Incredible, incredible," he said in Spanish in his television interviews immediately afterwards, and that seemed as good a summing up as any of one of the most remarkable and thrilling grands prix for some time.
Alonso's victory was the 28th of his career and it moved him ahead of Sir Jackie Stewart in the all-time list of winners - he is now behind only Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell, whose 31 wins are his next target.
The Ferrari team leader's presence in such celebrated company is a reminder, as if one was needed, of what a great grand prix driver Alonso is and it was appropriate that his drive on Sunday was one that befitted such a landmark.
Alonso moved up to fifth on the all-time victories list with his win in Malaysia. Photo: Getty
Arguably not the greatest qualifier, Alonso has produced some stunning races in his career, and the one in Malaysia on Sunday ranks up there with the very best.
The Ferrari in its current form has no business whatsoever being able to win a race. In normal, dry conditions, it is way off the pace of the McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and Lotus, and almost certainly slower also than the Williams and the Sauber.
And yet there was Alonso, up in fifth place from eighth on the grid by the end of lap one, challenging world champion Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull, which he moved ahead of thanks to stopping one lap earlier for wet tyres in the downpour that led to the race being stopped on lap six.
What won him the race, though, were the laps after the re-start.
He emerged in the lead on lap 16, helped by McLaren having to hold Lewis Hamilton in the pits as Felipe Massa came past.
After everyone had stopped for intermediate tyres, Alonso was 2.4 seconds ahead of Sauber's Sergio Perez - of whose stunning performance more later - and 6.2secs ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren.
At that point, most would have expected Hamilton - one of the greatest wet-weather drivers in history - to close in on the two cars ahead of him. Instead, Alonso pulled away from Perez, who himself pulled away from Hamilton.
This was, as BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard said, "Alonso at his brilliant best", as he built an eight-second lead over Perez in 12 laps.
Alonso is such a benchmark, so peerless, so utterly relentless and unforgiving when he senses a sniff of a win, that it seemed impossible at that stage that he would not win the race.
But then Perez began to come back at him - showing the differing characteristics of the two cars that have been apparent since the start of pre-season testing. The Ferrari is hard on its tyres and the Sauber is the opposite.
Closer and closer Perez got, first by fractions, then by full seconds until by lap 40 he appeared to have Alonso at his mercy.
Stopping a lap earlier than Perez for 'slick' dry-weather tyres put his lead back up to seven seconds, but on these the Sauber was even more superior.
Perez was within a second of Alonso by lap 48 - with eight to go - and what would have been a fully deserved victory by a man who from the beginning of his career last year has looked destined for great things seemed inevitable.
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F1 being what it is, a lot may well be made of the radio call that Perez received at about this point. "Checo, be careful, we need this position," he was told by his team, who use Ferrari engines. Was this simply a team that is known to be struggling for finance sensibly warning an excited young driver to make sure he didn't bin it when a valuable podium place was up for grabs? Or was it, as some will surmise, team orders in disguise, an order not to try to deprive the company on whose largesse they have depended in many more seasons than this one of a much-needed win? If it was a team order, Perez didn't seem to pay any attention - he continued to push hard until he made that fateful error. And team principal Monisha Kaltenborn dismissed any thoughts of a conspiracy.
"What we meant was get the car home," she said. "It was important to us to get the result - there was nothing else to it. There was no instruction."
Either of them would have been a deserving winner after two superlative drives - and there were other noteworthy performances down the field, too.
Bruno Senna showed something of his famous uncle's wet-weather skills with his climb up from last place at the restart to finish an impressive sixth.
And Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne, who narrowly missed out on a point on his debut last weekend in Australia, delivered in spades with a sure-footed drive in the treacherous conditions at Sepang.
The Frenchman was the only driver to stick with intermediate tyres in the early downpour, and he continued to perform impressively on his way to eighth place, just behind last year's rookie of the year Paul di Resta, who also looked good.
Senna, Vergne and most of all Perez clearly have bright futures ahead of them.
But ahead of them all was the man whose consistent excellence over a 10-year career not only they but everyone else in F1 has to aspire to.
"Great race for Alonso, top job, and also Perez," Jenson Button said on Sunday evening in Malaysia. You can say that again.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/03/alonso_sets_the_standard.html
Andrea de Cesaris Francois Cevert Eugene Chaboud Jay Chamberlain Karun Chandhok
Testors/Fujimi Ferrari Dino 246GT-April28, 2012 Final Update!
This time I'll be doing this classic and historic car that Enzo did to honor his late son, and the only one didn't wear the Ferrari badge. The kit I'll be using is a Fujimi Kit that Testors re-boxed in the late 80's with 200+ parts. As an interesting addition, I 'll be using also the awesome detailing kit from Model Factory Hiro with around 125+ more parts. As always, Hiro standars bring us a quality multimedia kit with lots of parts in white metal, vacuuformed glass, turned parts, an exquisite photo-etch set, etc. To add for a little push, parts from Hobby Design and Top Studio will also in this build....So, let's start...
Here's the great Model Factory Hiro Super Detaling kit with lots and lots of parts.
close view:
Some more aftermarket help:
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/1003985.aspx
Raul Boesel Menato Boffa Bob Bondurant Felice Bonetto Jo Bonnier
BMWs unveils their fleet for the 2012 Olympic games
BMW has unveiled their fleet of eco-friendly vehicles for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.
Cliff Allison Fernando Alonso Giovanna Amati George Amick Red Amick
Rosberg?s China win rated fifth-best race of last five years | Rate the race result
Rosberg’s China win rated fifth-best race of last five years is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
The Chinese Grand Prix was rated the fifth-best race since the beginning of 2008 by F1 Fanatic readers.
Rosberg’s China win rated fifth-best race of last five years is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/z-NNLGuaWGg/
Rene Arnoux Peter Arundell Alberto Ascari Peter Ashdown Ian Ashley
Friday, April 27, 2012
BMW celebrates their return to DTM racing [video]
After an absence of almost 20 years, BMW will to return to the DTM series at this weekend's Hockenheimring race. 
Antonio Creus Larry Crockett Tony Crook Art Cross Geoff Crossley
Nissan GT-R Track Pack launched in UK, pricing announced
All modifications on the special model are geared towards offering a more track focused performance sports car. 
Roberto Bonomi Juan Manuel Bordeu Slim Borgudd Luki Botha JeanChristophe Boullion
Massa threatened with jail over team orders
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?A public raised on a diet of Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna were simply appalled and saddened in equal measure by Massa?s apparent lack of ambition.?
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/11/massa_threatened_with_jail_ove.php
Bill Brack Ernesto Brambilla Vittorio Brambilla Toni Branca Gianfranco Brancatelli
F1 should fixed flawed rules before changing tyres | Comment
F1 should fixed flawed rules before changing tyres is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
F1 should fix its flawed tyre rules instead of making knee-jerk changes to Pirelli's tyres - which are giving us great races.
F1 should fixed flawed rules before changing tyres is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/H-4ektJsgCU/
Gianfranco Brancatelli Eric Brandon Don Branson Tom Bridger Tony Brise
Audi R8 e-tron spied up close
The R8 model caught here has e-tron plastered all over it making identification very easy and it is also missing its tailpipes and the air intake manifolds are covered from the inside. 
Source: http://feeds.worldcarfans.com/~r/worldcarfans/Jxfz/~3/7ocApINGpm8/audi-r8-e-tron-spied-up-close
Jo Bonnier Roberto Bonomi Juan Manuel Bordeu Slim Borgudd Luki Botha
Webber ?will threaten? Vettel in 2012
Bernie Ecclestone has stated his belief that Mark Webber could be Sebastian Vettel’s biggest rival for the title this year. Check out our review of Red Bull in 2011! Webber failed to win a race last year of course, but Ecclestone is convinced that the Australian will improve, threatening his Red Bull team-mate along the [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/WvCtgq-iUMQ/webber-will-threaten-vettel-in-2012
Jim Crawford Ray Crawford Alberto Crespo Antonio Creus Larry Crockett
Thursday, April 26, 2012
F1: Red Bull Not Ready To Resume Dominance?
Red Bull isn't overly confident after winning in Bahrain...
Source: http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-red-bull-not-ready-to-resume-dominance/
Rosberg answers critics in emphatic style
Nico Rosberg looks every inch the archetypal image of a grand prix driver - blonde, good looking, perfect smile, the lot. And in Shanghai on Sunday, at the 111th attempt, he finally delivered the most important part of the package - the perfect win.
It has been a long time coming.
This is the 26-year-old German's seventh season of F1 and while Lewis Hamilton, who was his team-mate when they were teenage karters 12 years ago, was a winner almost from the start of his Formula 1 career, Rosberg's route to the top step of the podium has been somewhat more torturous.
So torturous, in fact, that there have been times when some wondered whether he would ever follow his father Keke in becoming a race winner.
Nico Rosberg's dominant victory in China ensured he has become the first son of a living grand prix winner to follow in his father's footsteps - and only the third ever. The fathers of Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve were killed when their son were children.
Keke Rosberg also had to wait a long time to stand on the top step of the podium - his first victory came in his fifth season.
Like Nico, that was Keke's first year in a competitive car, and he ended it as world champion. It seems unlikely at this stage that Nico will follow his father in that sense, too, but after such a dominant win it certainly cannot be completely ruled out.
Nico Rosberg led from pole position to score Mercedes' first victory since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix. Photo: Getty
There is no doubt about the calibre of Rosberg's win on Sunday, but it remains difficult to be absolutely sure of his ultimate potential.
He is clearly very fast - but just how fast is not completely clear. Likewise, it remains to be seen whether he possesses all the other qualities that make up a great grand prix driver.
So far, for example, he has appeared to be the sort of driver who will deliver to the potential of his car - but not one who is able to transcend it occasionally, in the manner of Hamilton or Fernando Alonso.
In his debut year, he was generally marginally out-paced by Mark Webber, his team-mate at Williams at the time. And for the rest of Rosberg's career there before joining Mercedes in 2010 he was partnered with journeymen drivers and in uncompetitive cars.
Rosberg has dominated his Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher in qualifying since then, but it is clear to most that the seven-time champion is not the same driver he was before he retired in 2006 and spent three years on the sidelines. And until Sunday, Schumacher had generally matched Rosberg for race pace since last season.
The improved performance of Mercedes this year will finally give Rosberg the chance to go wheel-to-wheel with the top drivers on a consistent basis for the first time, so a clearer picture may well emerge.
A first win, especially one so impressive, will do wonders for his confidence, although he has never lacked for that.
Rosberg is a highly intelligent man, who was planning on a degree in engineering had he not become a Formula 1 driver. He is an individual character, and can be a prickly interviewee.
It may be that will change now he will no longer be faced with endless questions about whether he believes he can be a winner.
He could not have answered them in more emphatic style.
If Schumacher had thought Rosberg's 0.5 seconds a lap advantage in qualifying was a one-off based on a unique set of circumstances, he was soon disabused of that belief in the race as the younger German sprinted off into the distance, building a five-second lead in the first 10 laps.
That margin was the foundation for his win, but it was not as if Rosberg then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging on in front of faster cars.
After the first pit stops, Jenson Button was up into a de facto second place and in clear air, but Rosberg continued to pull away, although he was on the faster tyre. Button came back at him before the McLaren driver made his second stop, but only marginally.
Had the mechanic fitting Button's left rear tyre not suffered a problem with a cross-threaded wheel nut at his final stop, the Englishman would have rejoined about 14 seconds behind Rosberg with 19 laps to go.
Button's pace on the slower tyre suggests that he would have closed on Rosberg at that stage, but whether it would have been quickly enough is a moot point.
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh admitted: "I think it would have been very difficult to beat him."
Where have a team who have gone backwards in the first two races found that pace from? Both Rosberg and Mercedes sports boss Norbert Haug had a simple explanation - set-up changes allowing better use of the tyres.
They had used them too much in the first race in Australia and not worked them enough in the second in Malaysia. Here in Shanghai they found a middle way.
Behind Rosberg was a fantastic scrap for second place, what Haug described as "one of the best races I have ever seen".
Recounting the story of Red Bull's race from ninth and 14th places on the first lap to fourth and fifth at the flag, team boss Christian Horner said he sounded "like a horse racing commentator".
The championship is clearly going to be very close and it is setting up what look set to be a superb season.
"We've had three very different races," Whitmarsh said, "and I think this is going to be a season where potentially we have 20 very different races.
"It's fascinating, really. I enjoy it and I'm sure people watching it enjoy it. Who's going to predict who's going to win in Bahrain?"
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/04/rosberg_answers_critics_in_emp.html
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