2005/2006 F1 News and Testing.

'My religion is Ferrari' - Todt

Ferrari principal Jean Todt turns sixty on Sunday.

And the Frenchman - who joined the Italian marque in 1993 and set about constructing the modern super-team with Michael Schumacher, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne - has vowed to take at least one day off to celebrate, according to 'Sport Bild'.

'Ferrari has become my religion,' Todt - who works up to 16 hours every day - told the German sports broadsheet.

Anxious and obsessive, Todt wears bandaids on the tips of his fingers to control the habit of nail-biting. He outlined the secret of success as endless vigilance, after starting his career as a rally co-pilot for drivers including Ove Andersson.

Todt, whose Ferrari contract expires at the end of 2006, said: 'You have to always be on the ball, every day, every hour.

'There are no moments in which you should lean back and say it is done.'

Meanwhile, on Friday, Alain Prost (51) and Pedro de la Rosa (35) also celebrate birthdays.
 
'I've never been so motivated' - Schu

A fortnight ahead of the 2006 season opener, Michael Schumacher - F1's oldest but most successful driver - has moved to silence any talk that retirement looms.

In the 'TV Movie' magazine, Ferrari's 37-year-old said: 'Even after all those successful years, I have never been as motivated as I am today.'

With the single (farcical) win at Indianapolis the only fruit of 2005, Schumacher said his goal with the scarlet team this year is simple: 'To get the titles.'

Michael also revealed that he is happy with 24-year-old Felipe Massa, his new number-two teammate at Maranello.

Asked about the young Brazilian, Schumacher commented: 'The engineers are happy with his work, and so am I.'
 
Ralf rules out brother's title bid

Michael Schumacher should forget about winning the 2006 championship, according to his younger brother Ralf.

30-year-old Schumacher, seven years the junior of seven time title winner Michael, was quoted by 'Sport1.de' as ruling out an eighth drivers' triumph for his Ferrari-clad sibling.

'I do not see Ferrari's potential,' the German said. 'I am sure Michael will have fun this year, but you can rule out the title.'

Maranello based Ferrari has been singled out as a potential challenger to Renault, Honda and McLaren in 2006, but reliability problems have beset the new '248' racer.

Ralf, too, has some insight into Ferrari's beleaguered tyre supplier, Bridgestone, after Toyota switched to the Japanese company.

He insisted: 'So I simply do not see the potential of Ferrari.'
 
Police drop Klien assault probe

A police investigation into Christian Klien's alleged assault on a fellow nightclub goer has been dropped, Austrian media reports say.

The national broadcasting corporation, Osterreichischer Rundfunk (ORF), claims that the man who was apparently hospitalised withdrew his statement against the Red Bull racer.

Austrian Klien, 23, vehemently denied that he had got into a fight earlier this month at the 'Enjoy' nightclub, but he did admit to a dispute over a drinks bill.

Meanwhile, the 'Rheintalische Volkszeitung' newspaper reported that the Formula One driver will move from Austria to live in Diepoldsau, which is located on the Austrian border in the far east of Switzerland.
 
Aguri pilots admit they will struggle

Super Aguri drivers Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide have admitted that the team may not be up to speed in its F1 debut.

Although Sato got the deficit to the leaders down six seconds at Circuit de Catalunya on Thursday, the Japanese racer said: "In terms of performance, we need to work hard."

Moreover, Aguri's initial 2006 car, based on a four-year-old Arrows, was not running race-legal bodywork. Revised aerodynamics that conform to the 2006 regulations will be tried at Silverstone next week.

Sato's countryman and rookie team-mate Yuji Ide added at the Spanish test: "Hopefully I can do a better lap time at the races."

At the Barcelona venue on Thursday, Honda's Jenson Button led the field of fifteen, also comprising Renault, McLaren Mercedes, Williams Cosworth, Toyota, Red Bull Ferrari and MF1 Toyota. BMW Sauber and Toro Rosso continued to lap at the soggy Imola circuit.

2005 runner-up Kimi Raikkonen agreed with reports that his shining silver team is finally starting to look good.

"I feel that we have improved a lot over the last few weeks, but we need to keep pushing as there is still work to be done."

Really?? Going to be off the pace? No **** sherlock!
 
F1 parades... without F1 cars???

On Sunday, the organisers of next month's Malaysian Grand Prix will throw a F1 street demo on the nearby Langkawi islands.

Porsche GT3 and Formula BMW single seaters will be in action, but general manager Datuk Ahmad Mustafa expressed regret that he had not managed to organise that a Grand Prix car join in.

"Of course," he told the Bernama news agency, "if we had a choice, we would love to bring the F1 car here."

Meanwhile, in the city of Manama in Bahrain, a similar 'Formula One' street parade will be thrown on Friday, but - like in Malaysia - F1 horse power will be missing.
 
A feast for Formula One

Visitors to the 2006 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix can look forward to the best of everything from one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events. There is of course the on-track action from Formula One, the pinnacle of world motorsport, and a host of supporting races and track demonstrations that will bring entertainment and excitement in equal measure.

There is also the Yalla Bahrain! programme of sporting, cultural and community events designed to celebrate the Grand Prix and Bahrain itself in the eyes of the world and the people of Bahrain.

Then there are the state-of-the-art facilities at Bahrain International Circuit and the unrivalled infrastructure designed to provide the organisers, teams, media and race fans with the ultimate experience of modern motor sport. Meanwhile for the thousands of corporate and VIP guests attending Bahrain International Circuit over the course of the event, there is much to savour including a culinary tour de force.

The VIP hospitality in the Paddock Club™, the Oasis Complex’s 12 lounges and the iconic Sakhir Tower is provided by the Swiss-based Allsport Management, which provides for the needs of VIPs at every round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.

In the 35 hospitality suites in the Main Grandstand, catering is provided by the Bahrain International Circuit. For such a feast of motorsport action, with such a strong presence of VIP hospitality as the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix enjoys as international business leaders and decision makers gather for the event, the catering teams must be at peak performance. So too must they have the resources to cater for thousands of prestigious guests in a manner to which they must expect from one of the most prestigious events in the Middle East.

The Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix musters enough premium quality staff, equipment and cuisine to service a host of five-star restaurants, including:

20 tonnes of ice
1500 cakes
2300 lobsters
1800 croissants
1.75 tonnes of beef
750kg of prawns
1.4 tonnes of fish
1 tonne of pasta
6000 bread rolls
6000 eggs
5000 flat bread
900 ltrs of milk
100kg of mozzarella
5000 ltrs of orange juice
500kg of potatoes
400kg of chocolate
500kg of salad
1 tonne of vegetables
300kg of chicken breast
400kg of strawberries
200kg of rice
3000 baklawa

There is an abundance of talent required to prepare and serve the food, maintain the hospitality areas and manage the operations, together with an astonishing amount of cutlery, crockery and equipment including:

20km of cables
12,000 cut flowers
12 cooling rooms
4,000 flowering plants
42,000 glasses
400 green plants
80,000 pieces cutlery
250 chefs and kitchen staff
32,000 plates
400 waiting staff and security
19,000 cups and saucers
300 large pieces of kitchen
30,000 other crockery items

This equipment is In order to ensure the comfort of the guests in all hospitality suites, lounges, VIP areas and Paddock Club™ a sophisticated air conditioning system consisting of 20 air-cooled chillers, 96 air handling units, 8 rooftop packaged units, 23 mini split units and 6 heat pumps that is connected to a sophisticated computer control and monitoring system for optimum indoor climatic conditions.

The air conditioning at the Bahrain International Circuit provides a total of approximately 3000 tons of cooling capacity. Not only is Bahrain ready for the race, it is ready to deliver a successful and enjoyable event to its visitors and guests.
 
Midland seeks Russia’s best and brightest

With just weeks to go before the action kicks off in Bahrain, everyone at MF1 Racing is hard at work, readying the M16 for its debut race. The first weekend of the season will also see the team make history, as it becomes the first to enter a Grand Prix with a Russian entrant’s licence.

The honour of representing a country brand new to F1 is not taken lightly, and it’s a key part of the team’s future plans.

“I’m not Russian, but my family was born in the former USSR,” explains Managing Director Colin Kolles. “And obviously, Alex (Shnaider, MF1 Racing’s owner) has very close ties to that part of the world. The Russian Automobile Federation has been very supportive of our efforts to go racing with a Russian licence, which helps promote motorsport in their country. It’s something very positive for the sport of F1 and we hope it will be positive for our team, as well.

“We think it will be a good platform to raise awareness of the sport in Russia and attract Russian partners, or to help bring Western business ventures into Russia. We see it as a win-win proposition.”

Also benefiting from this East-West association will be a new generation of promising Russian drivers.

“We will also be launching a young driver programme in Russia to bring young drivers up through the karting ranks and so on, so we’ll be building up the sport at the local level, as well.”

But hot-shoes are not the only ones being targeted in Midland’s quest to bring Russia’s best and brightest talent to the team.

“Russia is renowned for its advanced scientific community, so we’ll also try to integrate young Russian engineers into our staff. Who we hire won’t be my decision; it will be (Technical Director) James Key’s. At the moment, we’re still busy with other things, preparing for the upcoming season, so it will take some time before we can focus our attention on this. But even now, we’re beginning to get some applications from Russia. They have a successful aerospace industry, and a lot of engineers could easily adapt their skills to F1. So there is huge potential for us in this area.”

Kolles says he is happy with the steps that the team has made over the winter, although he acknowledges that there is still a long way to go.

“Our plan is to work at full power, look forward, and give the maximum. That’s our plan. We will see how quickly we can achieve our goals, and without over-promising, it’s safe to say that our goals are definitely not to be ninth in the championship again.

“I hope people will realise how serious we are about succeeding in this sport. It was tough for us initially, with people not believing in us, or trying to spread rumours which were the opposite of reality, but that’s life. Now, it’s time to move forward, step by step. We said we would have a brand-new car for this season, and we do – that’s the first step. Next, we have to keep working hard, doing things our way. As for the rest, time will tell.”

Of course, this year MF1 is in the unusual position of being the only team able to make a direct comparison with another, because Toyota shares the same V8 engine and Bridgestone tyres.

“It’s an interesting comparison,” admits Kolles. “But I’m not concerned about it, not at all. We have our own way, and we make the most of what we have. It’s not our main priority to reach the level of other teams’ resources. We don’t sit around thinking, ‘Toyota has this,’ or ‘Ferrari has that.’ Our main target is to improve constantly. We have to make progress on the track every day, and we have to work hard to raise more sponsorship, which we are doing. James (Key), of course, is working hard to get more resources for development, and that pushes me to secure more funds for the team!"

“But it’s really not a matter of having thousands of people; it’s a matter of working efficiently. We have a new car – a nice looking car – but the work has just begun. We haven’t achieved anything yet. I’ll be happy when we get the results.”
 
The story so far in 2006

Pre-season testing is never very reliable to discern exactly how competitive Formula 1 teams really are, although it usually gives some indication as to who we should expect to see at the front. Much depends on whether or not teams run their cars in fully legal spec and the fuel loads that are put into the cars. Sometimes good times will suddenly pop up from nowhere but this is usually due to the fact that a team drained the tank and told the driver to see what he could do. On other occasions teams have been known to deliberately disguise their potential in order to wrong-foot the opposition at the first race.

The pattern that seems to have emerged thus far is that the Renault and Honda teams will be fighting for victory at the start of the year. Both teams have been quick and the cars have been pretty reliable as well, although both have had problems. The Renault R26 should be a better car that last year's R25, in relative terms because, obviously, the change of engines has disrupted any direct comparisons. Honda too has the resources, the money and, perhaps most important, the desire to win. Last year Honda was humiliated and that is often a good incentive for a big improvement.

By that reckoning Ferrari should also be good but thus far the signs have not been hugely positive. The Bridgestone tyres are still, apparently, not as good as the Michelins in normal racing conditions, although we still need to see more indications of durability to be sure which will be better in the races. The Ferrari drivers have not turned in the times nor have they been very glowing in their remarks. Others, such as Toyota's Ralf Schumacher, has been less reserved. Ralf says that he cannot see the Ferrari 248F1 having the potential to win races.

The potential of Toyota is also a bit of a mystery because the team has been working away not far from the pace throughout the winter. There seems to be a tyre disadvantage (particularly as Toyota is new to Bridgestone) and the team made it very clear that it would not have the correct aerodynamic package until very recently. Toyota should be good this year but the question is just how good that will be.

There is also a big question mark over McLaren and judging by the early remarks about the MP4-21, the drivers were less than impressed with the Mercedes-Benz V8 engine. Things have improved but the fast times set in recent days seem to be more to do with fuel loads and engine lifing than anything else. Running in normal conditions the cars do not seem to be there. However, McLaren must never be underestimated and there has been some improvement since the early tests.

Of the rest Williams seems to have a good strong engine but there are questions over the effectiveness of the tyres, as the team has switched to Bridgestone. The chassis does not seem to be too bad either but it looks as though much will be down to the tyres.

BMW seems to be going well - particularly in the PR department - as it carefully downplayed ambitions at the launch and is now looking rather promising. Having said that there is no real sign that the team will have madse up the ground necessary to be challenging for honours.

Red Bull should be doing well given that a Ferrari engine in a Mark Smith chassis ought to be a potent combination but the early overheating problems will have slowed progress and the very fact that a redesign was needed suggests that the resulting car will not be as efficient as had been planned. The team has done a good job to gloss over the problems and so we will be hoping to see them deliver.

Scuderia Toro Rosso will be a lot more competitive than Minardi used to be, thanks mainly to the fact that the team will have rev-limited V10s and is using a car which looks a lot like an old Red Bull RB1. If the team cannot achieve something half-decent with this combination, at least compared to its traditional rivals, it will be a disappointment.

MF1 Racing is fortunate that Super Aguri F1 has turned up and so will start the year on the penultimate row of the grid. Once Super Aguri gets a new car things may change with the team hoping to jump up once the new car is sorted. For the new team, however, this is a learning year and so expectations should not be carefully measured.

Thus far, Jenson Button has set the best time of the winter with a V8 car at Barcelona - the principal winter testing venue - clocking a 1m13.935s lap. This compares with the best V10 time at the track, set in April 2005 when Button clocked 1m13.552s. This means that the switch from V10s to V8s has not much changed the lap times.
 
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Mosley says this is his last mandate

FIA president Max Mosley has said he will step down from his position once his current term expires, and claims he already has a substitute ready.

The Briton, 65, was re-elected at the end of last year for another four-year term, his fourth successive one.

Mosley, who announced his resignation from the post in 2004 before being asked to stay, first took the helm of the FIA in 1991.

"In 2004 I resigned and was called back. In the end, who attacked me the most are the ones who got the biggest benefits from my presidency," Mosley was quoted as saying by Autosprint magazine.

"If the current issues are solved, I will reduce my activity. In any case, this is the last mandate, and I already have a substitute ready."

[sings]
Ding dong the witch is dead!
which old witch?
The wicked witch!!
[/sings]

However - I reckon his replacement will be...the Toad...
 
Super Aguri shrug off poor tests

Super Aguri have put on a brave face after following troubled preparations for their debut at the first Grand Prix of the season in Bahrain next month.

The team were nearly three seconds behind the next slowest car this week in Barcelona in their first major test.

But chief technical officer Mark Preston said: "The team has delivered more than anyone imagined possible before we came to Barcelona.

"It makes us confident our performance in Bahrain will be acceptable."

But the Japanese outfit, who have endured a hectic few months gaining late entry to F1 and building their cars, face a race against time to be ready for Bahrain on 12 March.

Drivers Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide shook down the team's first car, which is based on a four-year-old ex-Arrows chassis but will be replaced with an all-new model in April.

But Preston shrugged off mechanical problems, which restricted Sato to just 10 laps on the first day of the Barcelona test on Tuesday.

"These three days have helped to gel the team together. The engine performed faultlessly, which is a good indicator of our reliability for the first race.

"The test fulfilled our requirements and we were able to solve a number of systems-related issues.

"Overall the team is tired following a week of very hard work, but amazingly we have achieved all of our goals and we are now looking forward to ticking the next box on the list - our test at Silverstone next week."

This week's test was conducted with illegal bodywork, a legacy of the four-year-old Arrows chassis, but the team plan to test their 2006 aerodynamics at Silverstone next week prior to the first race.
 
Doornbos flies to Barcelona for one lap

Robert Doornbos expected a bit more from his extra day of testing at Barcelona. Red Bull's test driver was called this morning to fly to Barcelona and replace David Coulthard. In the morning Coulthard pulled a muscle, which made it painful for the Scotsman to drive the RB2. Doornbos could only cover one lap though.

After a few installation runs Coulthard's engine broke down. The team worked hard on the car but the car wasn't finished until the end of the day. Doornbos could only cover one lap. "I was supposed to do a couple of interviews today but was called by the team if I could come straight to Barcelona," Doornbos told F1Racing.net. "They told me I could do around 40 laps which is half a race distance. When I arrived at the airport in Barcelona the team told me David blew up his engine. The car wasn't finished until the end of the day unfortunately."

Another blown Ferrari....
 
Duke said:
sato.jpg


:p

Sato: ...and then - he held his hands like this and the cow fell asleep and they could get past in the jeep...
Engineer: Think it will work on the other drivers?
 
DreederOcUK said:
That sounds like the Bart Simpson-esque.... "I didnt do it, nobody saw me do it, cant prove anything" quote, who exactly blew the engine? DC or Doornbos?

DC did - the Ferrari engine this year does not look good.

So far it's outperforming Mercedes...


...for the highest number of failures! :eek:
 
Ecclestone: Schumacher is replaceable

If rumours that Michael Schumacher may quit Formula 1 at the end of 2006 turn out to be true, the sport's popularity will not go down. That's the claim of F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone. "No driver, no person will ever be bigger than Formula 1 itself. It would take two or three races, then we'd have a new superstar", the British billionaire told the German magazine Sport Bild in their most recent motorsport issue.


Ecclestone sees Nelson Piquet Jr. and Finland's Heikki Kovalainen as possible future superstars. Fernando Alonso, already a world champion now, is not on Bernie's list. Neither is he happy with the Spaniard's switch to McLaren in 2007, which was already announced at the end of last year. "To me, it was the right way to handle when Ron Dennis did not talk to Flavio Briatore before announcing the deal. That was just plain stupid."

Meanwhile, Michael Schumacher himself does not seem to think about retiring just yet. The German is keen on getting back the title that he had to give up last year. "I trained the whole winter. In other years, I gave myself a little break after the end of the season. I want the title back."

At least for now, 'Schumi' still enjoys being an F1 driver - even with the new, less powerful V8 engines. "The new engine is really a lot of fun. The engine's power can be transferred directly, as it's not as high."
 
Cosworth works through teething troubles

Cosworth had a difficult start to this week's test in Barcelona with the WilliamsF1 team, the company's new series 2 V8 engine running into problems. It also suffered another engine failure, but finished the test on a positve note.

"Cosworth completed this week's Barcelona test in reasonable shape," said Simon Corbyn, head of F1 race engineering, Cosworth. "The first day was difficult as we had to stop running Mark's primary Series 2 test engine when it developed a leak which couldn't be fixed trackside. In addition, Nico suffered an engine failure, although this was at high mileage and was an earlier spec engine. Fortunately, the remainder of the test was rather less eventful as Alex successfully exceeded the two race weekend target mileage on his Series 2 engine, plus we were able to complete valuable engine calibration work in preparation for Bahrain."
 
Bulls can't climb trees...

Which is very lucky for anyone walking underneath them. But Red Bull Racing’s engineers now have their very own tree-house at the race tracks.

Last year, the famous Energy Station hospitality unit could often get a bit rowdy, what with its open house policy and the Formula Una ladies hanging around looking decorative, so this year, our engineers will have a quiet cabin in the clouds in which to exercise their little grey cells.

The team has built a glass and metal office, in similar style to the Energy Station, but obviously much smaller, that sits above two of the race trucks behind the pit garages.

Immediately named “The Tree House,” it made its track debut at this week’s Barcelona test. Maybe it’s in keeping with Red Bull’s tradition of getting involved with “extreme sports,” but just getting in and out of the Tree House requires nerves of steel as it is approached by an incredibly steep and very narrow staircase. There’s no landing outside the house, so any absent minded engineer who steps out the door while thinking about wing angles will soon find himself flying, but without those all-important wings to help him!

This week’s test in Barcelona was supposed to be our last of the season. However, so much time was lost in Spain because cold weather and rain meant no meaningful work could be carried out for the first few hours of the day than another final pre-Bahrain test has been squeezed in at Valencia.

To be honest, the weather was not entirely to blame as reliability problems with RB2 also reduced track time. But you don’t get anywhere in Formula One moaning about things and Sporting Director Christian Horner prefers to concentrate on the positives and there are plenty of them. “The new bodywork we introduced is doing what it is supposed to do and RB2 has obvious potential which we are now beginning to see,” claims Christian. “Klien did a decent lap today (24 February) in testing which proves the car has got speed. The engineers have a good understanding of how the car reacts to set-up changes and the drivers are growing in confidence in its abilities. Everyone in the team is working flat out to be as well prepared as possible for Bahrain and the final test in Valencia will give us more track time to smooth out a few rough edges in the overall package.”
 
The streets and skies of Bahrain brought to life

Sunday 26 February at 15:07 : With just two weeks to go before the Bahrain Grand Prix gets underway, the capital city Manama witnessed one of the finest moments in its illustrious history on Friday - the Yalla Bahrain! F1 Festival.

In the shadow of Bahrain's World Trade Centre and the giant Financial Harbour development, a dazzling array of racing machinery hit the streets while the skies were filled by an extraordinary daredevil demonstration from Red Bull 'Flying Bulls' stunt planes and lit up by an extravagant musical firework show.

As the majestic shoreline boulevard, the Corniche on the King Faisal Highway, filled with over 20,000 eager spectators, the Festival began with a cavalcade of motorcycles: both racing machines and rumbling Harley-Davidsons. The bikes were followed by the Bahrain International Circuit's fleet of off-road vehicles from the only 4x4 driving centre in the region and a Toyota Formula One car on a celebratory float. Next came the high-speed parade of racing cars glinting in the blazing Bahraini sunshine.

Thunder Arabia and Formula BMW single-seaters led the way before the Caterham sportscars heralded the arrival of the Porsche Michelin SuperCup GT3s that will be competing on the support bill to the Grand Prix on March 10-12. Finally the BIC?s all-new fleet of Chevrolet Lumina V8 SS racers thundered down the Corniche in readiness for their debut in the star-studded pro-celebrity races over the Grand Prix weekend.

After a moment of calm fell over the 1.5km parade route, the skies then erupted with the barnstorming antics of the Flying Bulls display team. The formation of Zlin aerobatic planes whirled, spun, dived and looped in a breathtaking display of skill over the coastline and met a rapturous reception. As darkness fell the event reached a dazzling climax with fireworks that illuminated the city with a deafening barrage and filled the sky with spectacular colour.

"A very proud moment for the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Bahrain International Circuit," said Martin Whitaker, General Manager of the BIC. "It was an absolute pleasure to see the cars roaring down the King Faisal Highway, normally one of Bahrain?s busiest streets, and receiving such applause from the massive crowds that came down to take their part in this event."

"Over the past two weeks Bahrain has been lit up by a number of events aimed at creating a real carnival atmosphere in the lead up to the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, from Motorsport Art Exhibition's to Autograph session?s and now a parade that attracted over 20,000 people. The next two weeks before the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix see even more festivities with perhaps the highlight being the Yalla Bahrain Spectacular event on 11 March. There is a real buzz of anticipation around the Kingdom at the moment and I am very much looking forward to March 10, 11 and 12."
 
The never-ending march of technology

The University of Manchester in the UK has launched a new $3.6m centre for research into new composite design and manufacture to find new low-cost ways to make aerospace parts. The technology created will be applicable in Formula 1. The Northwest Composites Centre, a joint venture between the Universities of Manchester, Liverpool, Lancaster and Bolton, will be one of only four establishments in the world using the new Australian-developed Quickstep technology, which creates composite parts using heated liquids rather than the conventional autoclave manufacturing processes. The laminate is compacted by the liquid and trapped air and gas is forced out using vibration. The idea has been developed by the Graham family in Perth in the course of the last 10 years and means that mass production of composite materials is much easier and quicker than with traditional techniques. Work that previously took 24 hours can now be done in less than half an hour and moulds are cheaper. In addition the curing process can be stopped at any point and so new forms of joints and bonds can be created.

There are currently only four production facilities in the world: in Perth, at the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing in Geelong near Melbourne, at Toyota Motor in Nagoya, Japan, and in Manchester. In order to expand production of the machinery Quickstep was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange last September and is now preparing to market the system around the world.
 
Alonso to nab 'easy' title - Webber

Fernando Alonso should romp to an easy back to back championship in 2006, according to a rival.

Williams' Mark Webber has told the Sydney-based 'Australian' newspaper that the young Spaniard, and his Renault team, are ahead of everyone in winter tests.

''I always thought last year would be one of the easiest championships he would have,'' 29-year-old Webber said. ''But Looking at what I saw this past week (at Barcelona), he might have an even easier one.''

Australian-born Webber said the only doubt about an easy second crown for Alonso, 24, is his 2007 switch to McLaren, and the possible damage it could have done to his relationship with Renault.

But he reckons the blue and yellow team will be 'dominant' and score 'a lot of one-twos' at least early in the season.

Mark Webber also predicted : ''I'm expecting Honda's Jenson Button to win races. McLaren might be good in the end but I don't think they will be in the first part.''
 
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