2005/2006 F1 News and Testing.

[Flibster]

Schumacher’s new rearward view

At least visibly, Ferrari's new 248 F1 racer is not radical, unless you're referring to the car's mirrors.

It is perhaps the most unique aspect of the 2006 model. Unlike more conventional designs, the mirrors' unusually-long stalks are not attached to the cockpit sides, but to the top of the side pods.

Michael Schumacher denied that it is now harder to keep tabs on what is happening behind the scarlet racer.

“The view is different,” the German said at Mugello, “but it's no problem.”

37-year-old Schumacher explained that the mirrors were moved for the 248 car after tests in the wind tunnel showed that it is a more aerodynamic solution.

Also new at Mugello was Schumacher's new 'Deutsche Vermogensberatung' sponsor cap, featuring a Chinese character on the peak, the Italian flag on the left, and the German flag on the right.

 

[Flibster]

Fisichella keeps driver's license

Despite being clocked at a whopping 148KPH in a 60-zone in November, F1 ace Giancarlo Fisichella has kept his Italian driver's license.

The Roman was nabbed by local police speeding home at 4.30am with his wife. Fisichella, twice a Grand Prix winner, said at the time that they were rushing to be with their sick child.

According to new reports in Italy, a judge has ruled that the 32-year-old Renault driver should not be punished beyond a hefty fine.

Woooooooah!! F1 ace?

 

[Flibster]

Ferrari will back Schumacher for 2 more years

On the Mugello grid, Michael Schumacher and 2006 teammate Felipe Massa posed for photographers with the new '248 F1' grand prix car.

But much of the world's media in Italy wondered what the faces of the men in scarlet overalls would look like in a year.

Nobody was giving much away, but Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo does not hide that he wants Schumacher to pen a new deal.

"He will decide," said the Italian chief. "For me, I believe he has everything he needs to stay at the sport's highest level for two more years.

"But if he tells us in the middle of the season that he is no longer motivated, we will be sad, but we will understand, because motivation is important not only in sport, but in your life."

Montezemolo also rejected rumours that formula one is becoming simply too expensive for Ferrari to compete in.

The Italian said: "This is a sport in which we have always been involved, and in which we always will be."

 

[Flibster]

BMW had V8 vibration trouble

According to the rumour mill, BMW - perhaps more than most - has grappled with the problem of vibration in its new 2.4 litre V8 engine.

And while the current state of play must remain in the field of speculation and suggestion, BMW Sauber's technical director Willy Rampf has admitted that it was a big problem the team dealt with early on.

"When we ran the P86 engine for the first time," the German told Motorsport Aktuell, "it jumped up and down wildly on the test stand."

Rampf added that the problem has been addressed.

Seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, meanwhile, inspired a few smiles at Mugello on Tuesday when asked about the noise of the new V8 units.

"They sound, to me, a bit like Tina Turner's voice," the German quipped.

 

[Flibster]

Willis confident of Aero package

Honda Racing’s technical director Geoff Willis is confident the team has addressed the weaknesses that confined it to a bit-part role in the 2005 world championship.

Foremost among these was a lack of aerodynamic downforce, and Willis confirmed that the design team has concentrated its efforts in this area on the new RA106.

Speaking at the car's launch in Barcelona, Willis said the initial indications from the wind tunnel and track testing with the concept car have been positive.

He said: “One of our key areas of focus has been aerodynamics, the design considerations for which were two-fold – the aero problem that we faced in 2005 and achieving a significant improvement in aerodynamic efficiency to meet the requirements of the new, smaller V8 engine and its implications on chassis design.

“We are pleased with the progress we have made in the wind tunnel over the winter and our data shows that we have made a good step forward.”

In other respects the RA106 does not represent a radical departure from last year’s BAR 007.

“The new car is the product of four years of steady evolution,” Willis said.

“During this time, the team has developed a high level of technical capability which now sees it designing, manufacturing and operating at the highest level on the grid.

“The emphasis now is on integration and combining our design concepts and expertise to achieve a car capable of challenging for race wins.

“Mechanically, in keeping with the evolutionary theme we have refined various concepts including our third-generation carbon composite gearbox.”

 

[Flibster]

The FIA have this daft notion that if you remove any innovation from, say, the ECU then the teams will instantly sack all the folk they have working on engine electronics and hence costs go down. This is, of course, about as far from real world as it's possible to get. All that happens is the folk get redeployed on simulation software for example and the end result is the money still gets spent looking for small gains in the areas where innovation is still possible. Now since the gains available are so small the teams end up employing a small army of staff to find enough of them.

End result? Costs actually go up.

So how do you reduce cost? Simple, you can't. Teams, sponsors and manufacturers want to win, you win by having the best car and driver, you get that by spending money on development, testing and salaries. The more you spend, the more you get.

Too true.

Just a physical limit on testing could be a big reduction in costs...temporailly.

They'll just go onto do more CFD, more wind tunnel testing and more rig simulations before putting the car onto the track.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

No plans for a London Grand Prix

London will not host a Grand Prix any time soon, city Mayor Ken Livingstone has admitted.

He told the Bloomberg news agency that a much better value option to promote the British capital is hosting the opening stage of the famous 'Tour de France' bicycle race next year.

The privilege will cost London $2.7m, in contrast to up to $100m to welcome Bernie Ecclestone's F1 circus.

“It's dramatically less,” Livingstone confirmed, but he refused to rule out ever reconsidering F1. “If (Bernie Ecclestone) came back and said we could do it without a huge subsidy from the council tax payer, we would consider it.”

 

[Flibster]

Bridgestone confident in Ferrari

2005 was a season to forget for the Ferrari-Bridgestone partnership as Michelin-shod rivals Renault and McLaren Mercedes dominated the season. At the launch of the 248 F1 on Tuesday, Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, Hiroshi Yasukawa, emphasised that the target for 2006 is to maximise the potential of the new package.

"Our goal for 2006, after a difficult and challenging year in 2005, is to see our teams reach their maximum potential," said Yasukawa. "For Ferrari, that is no doubt to return to the top step of the podium again and to aim to regain the championship titles. Winter testing has been progressing well and it is clear that the team intends to be a front running contender this year."

"The team, the drivers and car have the potential so all that remains is to wish the Scuderia Ferrari team the very best of luck for the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship."

Wonder who Bridgestone is favouring this year...the teams who pay them for tyres, or the team they sponsor...

 

[Flibster]

Karthikeyan in at Williams?

Narain Karthikeyan has now finally signed a contract to test for the Williams team in 2006 according to the Mumbai-based Business Standard newspaper.

The publication said that the 28-year-old, who became the first Indian driver in F1, would share Friday practice driving throughout this season with test team-mate Alex Wurz.

With a consortium of Indian companies backing him, Karthikeyan's sponsorship kitty is an ideal way for Sir Frank Williams to finance Austrian Wurz's 2006 wage.

 

[Flibster]

Red Bull takes McLaren's top aero man!

According to our spies, Red Bull Racing has hired McLaren's head of aerodynamics Peter Prodromou. If the news is confirmed this would be a second big hit for McLaren following the departure of Adrian Newey.

There are also rumours that Nicolas Tombazis may also be leaving the team to go back to Ferrari, although there have been denied by McLaren. Having said that, it is only two days since McLaren's Martin Whitmarsh said he was not aware that the team was losing anyone other than Newey.

Prodromou has been a McLaren man since he graduated from Imperial College, London in 1991 with a degree in aeronautical engineering. His Master's degree was in Computational Fluid Dynamics and his first job at Woking was to introduce CFD to the team and then develop the systems.

He later moved on to work on the windtunnel programme and in 2000 he became the team's head of aerodynamics, running the operations and then becoming more and more involved in the actual design process. In May 2005 he was named head of aerodynamic development when the team was restructured.

 

[Flibster]

Bernies secret is out.....

Ever wonder where he gets that haircut from?

Linky

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

Burger to return to F1?

Gerhard Berger has revealed he is considering setting up his own grand prix team when the new low-cost Formula 1 regulations take effect in 2008.

The Austrian, a veteran of 10 GP victories, has plenty of experience both as a driver and entrant having also overseen BMW's return to the sport in 2000.

"Of course there is nothing coming up immediately," Berger told this week's Autosport magazine.

"In the current situation, only car manufacturers or companies like Red Bull can afford F1. But if the costs are brought down, it would be worth thinking about it.

"But this can only happen for 2008."

Speculation has surrounded Berger's return to the sport since he quit his post as BMW's motorsport director in the spring of 2004.

Most recently he had been linked to Red Bull's junior team Scuderia Toro Rosso through his connections with drinks magnate Dietrich Mateschitz.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone admitted that Berger is one of a bunch of teams entering after 2007.

"There is Roger Penske, there is David Richards and there is Gerhard Berger," he said.

Oh yes....

The 2 biggest F1 jokers back together - Herbert and Berger.
Would love to see that.

I think Berger would be a good team principal as well.

 

[Flibster]

New sponsor for WilliamsF1

A day prior to the WilliamsF1 Team's launch, Battery, the international energy drink, has announced a long term association with the team.

Battery has chosen to team up with Williams in a campaign to reach new global markets. The relationship is a perfect match as both companies share a commitment to success, delivered through effort and hard work, while always remaining true to their core values. The partnership will afford Battery significant branding opportunities, not least via the global marketing properties of Formula One, but also through considerable logo visibility, including branding on the drivers' visors, drinks bottles and within the general team environment.

Owned and manufactured by Finnish Sinebrychoff, a daughter company of Carlsberg Breweries A/S, the Battery Energy Drink hit the shelves in 1997, and retains market leadership in many of its territories. Today, Battery is sold in 25 countries, from Finland to Sierra Leone and from Chile to Singapore.

On the new partnership, Mikael Aro, CEO of Finnish Sinebrychoff, concluded, "The WilliamsF1 Team is recognised as one of the most enduring and successful organisations in global sport and we are extremely proud to have entered into this partnership agreement. The deal with Williams will take Battery into an ambitious new arena through which we hope to expand the Battery Energy Drink brand across the global marketplace. We feel energised by Williams and hope Battery will provide the team with the stimulation required for the hard work necessary to win races and world championships."

Frank Williams, Team Principal of the WilliamsF1 Team, commented, "I am delighted that Battery has taken the decision to sponsor the WilliamsF1 Team. Their core values of hard work and dedication are as prevalent in Formula One as anywhere and we will endeavour to reward their confidence in us with results on the track."

 

[Flibster]

Ecclestone says Spa can go on

Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula one supremo, says in the Belgian newspaper 'Het Nieuwsblad' that the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps can go on this season.

The Walloon government makes a decision about the 2006 GP this week.

Serge Kubla and Eli Di Rupo, 2 members of the Walloon government, are spreading the word that the Belgian GP won't take place this season.

They say that it's impossible to fulfil the requested renovationworks on the circuit.
Ecclestone says that they don't need to do the renovationworks if they just live up to the contract.*

*translated: If they pay the €14 million.

 

[Flibster]

Rossi - now things are getting serious

The news that Valentino Rossi is to test for Ferrari next week in Valencia is a clear indication that Ferrari is getting serious about the idea of running the high-profile motorcycle racer in Formula 1 in the future. Rossi has clearly shown some pace in the tests as well because otherwise Ferrari would not be wasting time and energy at a critical time of the year when there is much work to be done.

More importantly the test marks Rossi's first attempt to run F1 on an international track with other cars about which indicates that the testing programme is broadening to give him experience in different environments.

And let us not forget that all of this is being done at a time when Rossi is a Gauloises-sponsored motorcycle racer which can only mean that there are clauses in the contracts with Yamaha which allow him to go off to test for a Marlboro-sponsored team.

On top of all of this let us not forget that Ferrari is being linked heavily with the Italian broadband company Alice, which has had a close association with Rossi and has used him heavily in its advertising campaigns. However things have changed in recent days with Rossi signing a one-year promotional deal with rival company Fastweb.

Rossi will test an F2004 rather than the new Ferrari 248 F1.

 

[Flibster]

Wind tunnel problems fixed - Webber

Even without works backing, and despite the loss of a title sponsor, Mark Webber thinks Williams will have a better year in 2006.

The Australian driver, to help the Grove based team launch its 'FW28' in England on Friday, says he and new teammate Nico Rosberg should at least make progress throughout the season.

Last year, the hope provided by a new aerodynamic package at Silverstone faded when it not only did not deliver an improvement, but started Williams on a spiral into deep midfield.

Webber says the problem was the wind tunnel in Oxfordshire.

"Work in the wind tunnel did not translate onto the race track," the 29-year-old told Motorsport Aktuell.

He reckons the aerodynamic facility was not working correctly. "But now it is," Webber insisted, "and things we improve in the tunnel are now being reflected at the track -- and that's also the way it will be from now on."

Also, far from lament BMW's exit, Mark sees the arrival of Cosworth and new tyre supplier Bridgestone as a 'new start'.

 

[Flibster]

248 F1 hailed in Italian press

The often merciless Italian press has unanimously hailed Ferrari's new 2006 spec '248 F1' formula one car.

'La Gazzetta dello Sport' affectionately called it 'red goddess', as a passionate country and 'Tifosi' prepare to blow away the cobwebs of a fruitless past season.

Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa's 248 is 'beautiful and promising,' the daily sports newspaper enthused.

Italy's leading broadsheet, 'Corriere della Sera', said the sleek new scarlet machine is the 'comeback Ferrari', and praised the decision to do away with glitz and glamour and effectively launch the car on a normal test day. ''There is no place for a show, only substance,'' the editorial read.

Another Italian newspaper, however - La Stampa - said there would be 'no more excuses' for Ferrari in 2006.

 

[Flibster]

Trouble-free day at Toro Rosso

A trouble-free day with no reliability issues meant that Tonio Liuzzi's return to the cockpit saw him rack up an impressive 93 laps of the track that hosts the Spanish Grand Prix on 14th May.

Hopefully, it will be a bit warmer for the race, as it was cold enough to freeze the castanets off a flamenco dancer today!

"We now have a lot of data to study back in Faenza," said Chief Engineer Laurent Mekies. "Today, Tonio carried out a wheel rim evaluation to help us decide which ones we will use for the coming season. We also ran an aero validation of some parts that we will use on the new car. In addition, we looked at control systems, in terms of establishing what the driver requires in terms of traction control, diff mapping and engine braking. Tonio found a reasonable balance with the car, apart from suffering a bit too much oversteer. However, the most positive lesson from the last two days, is that we are really beginning to work together as a team."

Nice to see that STR has the same sence of humor about F1 and Red Bull.

Also - Wheel rims?

Wheel rims? Thats what he did all day?

 

[Flibster]

But much more importantly....

We have 22 cars this season.

Super Aguri get the official green light!

Super Aguri F1 has won its battle to compete in the 2006 Formula 1 world championship after the FIA confirmed its late entry on Thursday afternoon.

The team has faced an anxious wait since before Christmas after it was denied an initial entry because it did not provide the necessary paperwork.

The FIA then granted permission to Japanese former F1 racer Aguri Suzuki to seek a late entry, which gave him time to come up with the necessary $US48m bond to secure a place on the grid.

Suzuki also required unanimous support from the 10 rival teams in order for the FIA to able to consider a late entry possible.

An FIA statement confirmed that Super Aguri had been given the green light to become F1's 11th team: "Following receipt of the necessary financial guarantee and with the unanimous support of the competing teams, the FIA has accepted the late entry of the Super Aguri F1 Team to the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship."

This marks the first time since 2002 that there have more than 20 cars in the field.

 

[Flibster]

On the down side of the above news - means that Sato will have a drive this season.

Arse.

Oh well - looks like Davidson could have a race seat possibility *it's been rumoured that he could drive for both teams. *

Will Super Aguri get to Bahrain for the first race?? Do they even have any cars yet?

Simon/~Flibster