2005/2006 F1 News and Testing.

Arc · 3 Feb 2006 at 19:26

Flibster said:
Woah woah woah woah WOAH!!!
STOP THE MUSIC!!!

So....Ferrari claim earlier this week that they are not a Manafacturer...*They build several thousand cars a year - but aren't a manafacturer???? *

Not a manufacturer in the same league of the rest

. Ferrari produce a few thousand cars a year at most. Toyota, Honda, Renault, BMW produce a couple of million. Think about it this way, McLaren would be classed as a independent to. Ok they get engines from Mercedes but they are their own individual entitiy producing only a handful of road cars every few years (eg F1, SLR).

Its the same in MotoGP. Ducati are trying to compete with Honda and in all intensent purposes are doing quite well for their size. Now Ducati make around 40,000 bikes a year, Honda produce 10,000,000.

What he is saying is something that should have been said many years ago to try and keep teams like Sauber, Minardi, Jordan, Arrows, Stewart, Tyrell alive. He is saying it now though for the wrong reasons. The politics will eventually kill F1. A manufacturer controlled F1 could be a nightmare, you think cost cuttings bad now, just wait till you see what a corporate controlled entity will do

.

Flibster · 3 Feb 2006 at 20:07

They produce cars and are self financed *as they proudly annouced earlier this year* and now...they're not a manufacturer?

They were created by Enzo Ferrari as a manufacturer team and Enzo himself hated the garageites *as he called them* - now they're one of them?

McLaren will be considered a Manufacturer as well as they make cars *plus Bernie and Max want them to be considered as such* and they're 40% *??* owned by Daimler Chrysler

The GPMA isn't controlled by one person - all ideas are tabled then voted upon - any new teams/manufacturers who come in get an equal vote as well so anything that doesn't have a majority *not sure if it's a general majority or a 2/3rds or something like that*

Just because Ducatti only make 40k bikes a year - they're a lot more focussed than Honda are. Honda do god knows how many types of bikes - Ducatti only do sports bikes.

Same with Ferrari - you don't see that many Ferrari 4x4's, Ferrari Flatbeds or Ferrari Vans do you?

*entertaining thought though...* Still doesn't mean they're not a manufacturer.

Lotus produce less cars than Ferrari and they were a manufacturer and they didn't produce their own engines either...

Either way - F1 could be in real trouble.

Simon/~Flibster

Richard T · 4 Feb 2006 at 10:48

welll done Max

We should get rid of him once and for all

Duke · 4 Feb 2006 at 12:58

"The Italian said: ""Ferrari must not be seen as an integral part of a car manufacturing team but must be viewed as a private entity."

ROFL. What a joke.

Flibster · 4 Feb 2006 at 23:26

Honda target '100% reliability'

Honda and Jenson Button are both feeling good following their testing in Valencia this week and, despite one engine failure, were pleased with the performance of their new RA106.

Button was the driver who unfortuanely suffered the engine failure but says despite this he feels very happy with what he has seen over the last couple days.

"Overall, the test has been really positive this week so it is unfortunate that we suffered an engine failure on the final day," said Jenson.

"We've been working mainly on long run performance and the consistency has been good. As with all new cars we are just trying to get as much mileage as possible under our belts at the moment but I'm pleased with how the car is shaping up."

Mark Ellis, the teams Chief Engineer, was happy with how the car ran and says the team are keen to get back on the track next week in Jerez.

"It has been another very good test for us this week with the new RA106 cars," said Ellis.

"We have again had to contend with poor weather and track conditions however the cars have proven to be fast and consistent in all conditions. Despite a couple of small issues, we are happy with the reliability of the new car. We look forward to continuing our development programme in Jerez next week."

Engineering Director of Honda Racing Development, Shuhei Nakamoto, said that while the team would have liked a problem free run they were happy with what they got from the testing session.

'We have gained a little more top power and an improved torque curve after this test. Our target is 100% reliability so we still have work to do in the coming weeks, but overall we have made good progress."

Flibster · 4 Feb 2006 at 23:30

Monteiro is no fan of V8's

Midland driver Tiago Monteiro has admitted he is not a fan of the V8 engines being introduced in Formula 1 this year.

The new 2.4-litre units have reduced power output from more than 900bhp to 700-750bhp in the interests of keeping speeds in check.

But Monteiro says they are less satisfying to drive than their three-litre predecessors and detract from the essence of grand prix racing.

“Personally, I don’t like them,” he said.

“I think F1 needs to be top of everything: technology, power, everything needs to be maximum.

“Having driven the V10 for a year and then going to the V8, personally I find it a big step down.

“You lose 20 percent of the horsepower so you still have a lot of power – 700-plus bhp – but it’s a shame.”

Despite his reservations, Monteiro stressed that the new breed of engines do not necessarily require less driver skill than the V10s, simply a change in technique.

“[The change to smaller V8s] doesn’t mean the car is easy to drive,” he said.

“It’s a big difference, and people don’t realise how many differences the fact you take off two cylinders makes in all departments.

“I’m talking driving style, set-up, electronics – traction control, anti-lock, diff, all the electronics have to be re-thought – and then tyres.

“The stress on the tyres is probably half what it was with the V10, even thought it’s only 20% less power.

“I think it’s a good thing for Bridgestone, anyway.

“They have a lot of experience with these softer tyres that we will have now that we are allowed to change them again, so it could be a good thing for us.”

Pigeon · 5 Feb 2006 at 00:45

It's all good in F1 then. Glad to hear Super Aguri are definitly in, and in from the start even if they are going to be very slow! I had heard they would start mid season which would put doubts in my mind about them being on the grid at all!

Glad Tiago Monteiro has a drive as I think he made a promising start last year! Lets hope he can build on it!

Improvements to the French circuit - I hope that it's all above board the local authority funding it all (no business subsidies under euro law?), but why can't the Brits do the same for silverstone if the place is so bad ?

Richard T · 5 Feb 2006 at 02:17

Pigeon said:
Improvements to the French circuit -

Are they moving it somewhere else?

Flibster · 5 Feb 2006 at 16:46

Muddying the waters

It's worth noting - if we are taking Max Mosley's comments at face value - and at this stage why wouldn't we - that in addition to his belief that it would be "entirely reasonable to offer the manufacturers that join the Formula One world championship no income", the Englishman believes that the manufacturers should get none of the commercial rights income: "because the savings they will be able to make under the 2008 Formula One regulations are very significantly greater than the sort of money they might receive from FOM.

"Savings would be at least £70m and more in most cases," added the Englishman. "This would enable FOM to distribute more money to the independent teams."

The FIA President made this comment to journalist Christian Sylt in the same interview as he made the earlier comment, however the quote was not used in the article in the Evening Standard.

There is a long-term feeling in F1, both in the paddock, and on internet forums, that Mosley and the FIA favour Ferrari, a claim that the Englishman has always denied.

The flames were re-ignited when the rule changes for 2006 were announced, particularly the re-introduction of tyre changes during Grands Prix, a move which many believe was done purely for the benefit of one team.

Following Mosley's comments, much is being made of recent comments made by Ferrari President, Luca di Montezemolo, who insists that the Italian team is a "private entity" and not a manufacturer.

It all depends how one defines "private entity" and "manufacturer", however, despite di Montezemolo's claim that Ferrari is self-sustaining and doesn't receive any funding from FIAT, it was 'Gruppo Ferrari Maserati' which was one of the founding members, and driving force, behind the Grand Prix World Championship (GPWC), along with fellow-manufacturers BMW, Renault and DaimlerChrysler.

Famously, and without warning, the Italian manufacturer jumped ship in January 2005 and signed up to Bernie Ecclestone's new Concorde Agreement, to be later joined by WilliamsF1, MF1, Red Bull and Toro Rosso.

The three other manufacturers behind the GPWC were subsequently joined by Honda and Toyota, and thus the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association (GPMA) was born.

It's worth noting that the unpublished quote, particularly the comment; "manufacturers that join the Formula One World Championship" would receive no income, could suggest a let-out for Ferrari, which - if it is seen as a manufacturer - has already joined.

Either way, at a time when it appeared that a solution was close, Mosley's comments will have further muddied the water.

Mosley and Ecclestone have always publicly dismissed the threat of a breakaway series, however, it is known that the sport's commercial rights holder takes the GPMA far more seriously than he would have us believe.

Flibster · 5 Feb 2006 at 16:47

JAPAN has a quick female racer eying F1

JAPANESE sensation and former "race queen" Keiko Ihara is set to use her second season on the tough British Formula Three circuit as a springboard into the elite men's world of Formula One.

Ihara has been making her mark on the masculine sport since becoming a driver in 1999 and ending her days parading in leotards and swimsuits around race circuits.

With promises of a better car, the 32-year-old is hoping to take the Formula Three podium for the first time since her debut there last year.

"If I constantly finish in the top 10, even when my machine is in bad condition, I will get an offer for F1 tests for sure," Ihara, who would become one of only a handful of women to ever compete in F1, said.

No other woman is lined up for the F1 or British F3 series this season.

"I definitely want to ride in F1 in the near future," she said.

The Tokyo native had a reasonable but not spectacular debut last year in British F3, which has been a spawning ground for F1 greats such as Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen.

She finished in the top 10 in six of her 22 races with her best result eighth place.

"This year, I have been promised a better machine within the team," Ihara said.

Trevor Carlin, the boss of Carlin Motorsports, which has signed Ihara for a second season, has promised her a "stronger system" to back her .

"I will definitely not bow to my teammates this year."

Carlin said: "Keiko showed great determination and dedication last year and I am positive she will do us proud in her second year."

The feisty Japanese driver also defended her debut, pointing out that it took the late Brazilian champion Senna three years to win the British F3 championship after his debut.

Her first F3 season, following six years of duels with male drivers on lesser tours in Asia, Britain and France, proved to be a steep learning curve with a lot of body building to cope with the rising G-force.

"I crashed with a British driver early in the season and he shouted at me that an Asian woman doesn't belong here," Ihara recalled.

"I could not talk back. But I bumped him into a spin in the next race after securing my way out," she laughed.

"I had no more trouble afterwards because I was always ahead of him on the starting grid.

"It is definitely a minus for being an Asian because it is a European-born sport. They didn't see me as an equal. Besides they thought I would not finish a race because I was a woman.

"But now they treat me differently," she said, gearing up for the year's first F3 race on April 16.

Several women have competed in F1 in the 56 years of the championship, with only Italian Lella Lombardi posting a top six finish at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix.

And she's quite cute as well...

http://www.keikoihara.com/

Simon/~Flibster

Flibster · 5 Feb 2006 at 16:50

New McLaren is getting better - Montoya

Blighted by reported engine problems, the new McLaren Mercedes is getting better, Juan Pablo Monotya says. The Colombian spent three days testing the new car last week at Jerez working on long runs. He did, however suffer an engine failure on Friday and had some more hydraulic problems.

"The distances we are covering is allowing us to complete some key programmes with the car and I am looking forward to continuing this process next week in Jerez," Montoya said. "The car is getting better the more we run it and develop it, and the team are doing a really good job. We have had a couple of technical issues this week, but this is why we test and everything like this helps us learn more about the car."

Flibster · 5 Feb 2006 at 16:50

Cosworth V8 is reliable, will get stronger

The only independent engine manufacturer on the F1 grid, Cosworth's V8 power plant has been running strongly and reliably in the back of the new Williams FW28. The team completed a five-day test of the new car this week and encountered no problems related to the engine. There are also upgrades planned before the first race of the season in Bahrain.

"The Cosworth CA2006 V8 experienced no engine installation or cooling issues when installed in the new Williams FW28," said Simon Corbyn, head of F1 race engineering, Cosworth. "This is quite an achievement given the incredibly tight packaging and demonstrates how effectively the Williams and Cosworth engineers have been working together during the design process. We have not yet validated all the Bahrain GP specification components at the track, so we will therefore have some further engine reliability and performance updates to evaluate in Jerez next week."

Flibster · 5 Feb 2006 at 16:51

GPMA 'surprised' by Mosley's plan

The manufacturer-backed Formula 1 teams have dismissed Max Mosley’s proposal that they should be denied a share of the sport’s commercial revenue after 2007.

The alliance of carmakers which have not yet signed up to F1 beyond the end of the current Concorde Agreement – Renault, BMW, Mercedes, Toyota and Honda – suggested that Mosley’s remarks strayed beyond his remit as president of the FIA.

“In view of the European Union ruling on the role of the governing body, we are surprised by Mr Mosley’s comments,” a spokesman for the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association (GPMA) was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Following a protracted anti-trust investigation concluded by the European Commission in October 2001, the FIA agreed to confine itself to a regulatory role and not become involved in F1’s commercial affairs.

The GPMA said it will continue its ongoing negotiations with Bernie Ecclestone without regard to Mosley’s proposal.

“The GPMA remains committed to its strategy and will continue discussions with the commercial rights holder,” the spokesman said.

Flibster · 5 Feb 2006 at 17:03

Marmorini offers better V10 restrictions

Toyota engine chief Luca Marmorini believes that a change of approach by the FIA to limiting V10 engines in Formula One this year could bring an end to the continued controversy over Scuderia Toro Rosso.

With several teams still unhappy about the equivalency formula, set in place to peg the performance of Toro Rosso's V10 engines behind V8s, Marmorini believes it may be better for the FIA to abandon rev limits and air restrictors in favour of an engine mapping solution.

The Ferrari team have used engine mapping during their testing of restricted V10 engines this year to better simulate the characteristics of V8 power-units.

"There are two ways to intervene on the V10s: either to adopt the FIA-mandated restriction, or to modify the engine mapping," Marmorini was quoted as saying in Gazzetta dello Sport.

"In the latter case, which is the one adopted by Ferrari, you are able to thoroughly and completely reproduce the behaviour of an eight-cylinder engine.

"By working on the mapping, you can manage to choke the engine at low regimes too. So, you don't get significant differences in lap times between eight and ten cylinder engines."

Flibster · 5 Feb 2006 at 17:05

First CG image of the Super Aguri race car....

It's not a good one....

6thElement · 5 Feb 2006 at 17:09

Don't lie, you got your niece to knock that up in MS Paint.

Flibster · 6 Feb 2006 at 00:14

6thElement said:
Don't lie, you got your niece to knock that up in MS Paint.

Certainly looks that way doesn't it.

Sadly - no niece's...or nephews.

It's not exactly 'state of the art' is it?

Anyway...

Head: Bridgestone made an error in '05.

Patrick Head has said Bridgestone had no option but to look for new teams for the 2006 Formula One season after 'getting it wrong' last season.

Although the Japanese tyre supplier had three teams on its books in 2005, two of those - Jordan and Minardi - were running at the rear of the field leaving Ferrari as the sole front-running outfit on Bridgestone rubber and the team responsible for doing most of the development work.

It meant that the Michelin shod teams ended up dominating the season, with victory for Michael Schumacher in the farcical United States Grand Prix the only win for Bridgestone during the year.

With that in mind, Bridgestone has expanded its list of clients for 2006, with Toyota, Williams and the new Super Aguri F1 added to its line-up and Head said it would prove to be beneficial to Bridgestone for the new season

"For Bridgestone, they understood that they made a strategic error last season in only having one leading team, so it was important for them to get more than one competitive team and now they have three in Ferrari, Toyota and us," the WilliamsF1 Director of Engineering told Crash.net Radio.

"I think they realise that they are learning a hell of lot faster now than they were when they were just supplying Ferrari as a top team and I think that it will benefit Ferrari but it will benefit us as well."

Recent Formula One testing has seen both Williams and Toyota carrying out extensive tyre developement ahead of the new season.

Type_R · 6 Feb 2006 at 08:32

2006 to be Alonso VS Schumacher
Gerhard Berger makes his predictions

Gerhard Berger thinks the 2006 World Championship will be a duel between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher.

The former racer said the victor's spoils will depend nearly exclusively on the fortunes of tyre suppliers Michelin and Bridgestone.

"If Bridgestone is strong, I see Michael Schumacher on top," Austria's Berger told the Tiroler Tageszeitung newspaper. "And among the Michelin teams, Fernando Alonso is my favourite."

Schumacher, himself, agrees that Michelin-shod Renault and Alonso are so far the pacesetters with their new R26 package.

After last week's test at Valencia in the 248 F1 machine, the German said: "And not far behind Renault, I see Honda and us. At the moment that is the way I see it."

Schumacher will test again this week, in Italy.

Type_R · 6 Feb 2006 at 09:34

No McLaren Mercedes crisis – Haug
Team expect to be on the pace when it really counts

On the face of it, McLaren do not appear to be having a first-rate winter. Regarding the Woking based team's areas of staff, budget, driver, car, gearbox, speed, engine and reliability, the specialist media has been filled with negative stories from the pre-season test tracks.

Mercedes' motor sport boss Norbert Haug, however, dismisses any claims that - despite having the quickest car in 2005 - McLaren is entering an era of crisis.

“Last year, too, we were not the winners of the winter test phase,” he told Express, “and the same is true for the beginning of last season.”

Spain's Marca newspaper claimed last week that the MP4-21's biggest problem is not the V8 engine, but the gearbox, and that new parts will be ready for the Jerez tests this week. “The car is getting better the more we run it,” stated Juan Pablo Montoya.

Haug also rejected claims that, with the loss of title sponsor West and the fact that Vodafone is not arriving until 2007, money might be a problem.

“There is no hole in the budget,” said the German. “In this department we are doing well. There is no crisis. Our objective has always been to win the title and it remains so.”

Flibster · 6 Feb 2006 at 10:54

Piquet slams 'rubbish' GP Masters

Former Formula One World Champion Nelson Piquet has slammed the Grand Prix Masters series, branding it "rubbish" and saying he would never take part in the formula.

Piquet retired from Formula One at the end of the 1991 season, and in 1992 suffered leg injuries in practice for the Indianapolis 500.

The 53-year-old outspoken Brazilian is potentially a perfect candidate for the new GP Masters series, which features retired Grand Prix drivers over the age of 45.

The inaugural race at South Africa last November was won by Piquet's arch rival from his Formula One days, Nigel Mansell. Second place went to Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi.

But Piquet has belittled his former colleagues for taking part in the event and claimed the only motivation to race in GP Masters is financial.

"I would never do anything like that, because my time as a professional race driver is gone and I have my job," Piquet told Italy's Autosprint magazine.

"That's a series for people with no money who are hoping to gain it back somehow. Beyond that, I don't see any reason to race in such rubbish. After having raced in F1, you go back at 50 years of age at the wheel of a car that looks like it? No way."

Piquet added that he has no financial incentives to go back to racing, the Brazilian claiming his satellite tracking company has made him richer than he ever was.

"My company has grown immensely: 1,025 employees, with a turnover of over 200 million dollars," Piquet said.

"Personally, I'm making a lot more than when I used to race in F1. In the next five years, I will gain double what Michael Schumacher has made in his entire career."

Sorry?
Who mentioned it was about money? Many of them are doing it for fun.

He's the first person to mention money with it tbh. Then going on to say that he's going to earn more in the next five years than Schumacher...

Not sure if he meant to come over like a rectal orrifice - but he did.

Simon/~Flibster