2005/2006 F1 News and Testing.

Flibster · 9 Feb 2006 at 15:02

Ecclestone confident of Spa return

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone is confident that the Belgian Grand Prix will return to the calendar in 2007 - even though this year's race has been dropped to allow building work to take place.

The FIA announced yesterday that the 2006 race at Spa-Francorchamps has been cancelled because there is not enough time for the track to undergo an upgrade of facilities demanded by Ecclestone.

Despite the problems, however, Ecclestone has told the British media that he is upbeat about the prospects of Spa returning next year.

"The race has not gone forever, and I'm happy that they've decided to do the rebuilding work - even though it means the race won't happen this year," he said.

"Spa has not been up to scratch for quite some time and they need to spend a bit of time and money on improving the facilities and building new grandstands.

"If they get their work done on time then there will be no problem at all and the race will be back in 2007, without question."

Flibster · 9 Feb 2006 at 15:03

Telefonica wants Montoya at Renault

Juan Pablo Montoya is being lined up for a switch to Renault next season, with sources claiming that team sponsor Telefonica is pushing hard to secure the services of the Colombian.

The McLaren driver will be out of contract at the end of this year and his recent comments claiming he was open to offers from rival teams appears to have kicked Renault's backers into action.

According to insiders, Telefonica was left far from impressed at Fernando Alonso's decision to defect to McLaren in 2007 - especially because the team will be sponsored by telecommunications rival Vodafone.

With Telefonica keen to tap into both Spain and the Spanish-speaking South American market through its F1 involvement, having just withdraw from its sponsorship involvement in MotoGP, company bosses are believed to have set their sights on capturing Montoya after his recent outspoken comments regarding his future.

Montoya had said: "I am looking around to see what I am going to do. It's not decided what is going to happen here (at McLaren), but I am open to offers. I've got to see what I'm going to do, but I can't wait to see whether Ron [Dennis] makes his mind up."

It is understood that Telefonica has already made contact with Montoya's manager Julian Jakobi, and although it is not thought a deal is imminent, Telefonica is believed to be putting pressure on the Renault management to chase hard after Montoya.

Telefonica could take over as Renault's title sponsor in 2007, with Mild Seven pulling out of the sport at the end of this year, and that financial input would likely give them a say in driver preference.

Speaking in Barcelona last month, Montoya admitted that an offer from Renault would be very tempting.

"I think at the moment if you had an option from Ferrari or Renault or Williams like they used to be, or a long-term commitment from another team, then you would take it," he said.

However, the major hurdle in convincing Montoya to come on board is the uncertainty about Renault's long-term participation in F1.

Montoya has made it clear that he would prefer a lengthy contract, while Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn has reiterated today that the French car manufacturer will only stay in the sport as long as it made business sense to the carmaker.

However, Renault's title success last year and the fact that their R26 appears to be the benchmark at the moment will make any serious offer from the team very tempting for Montoya - especially at a time when McLaren have lost a lot of major technical staff.

Remaining at McLaren in 2007 remains an option for Montoya, although there is also believed to be some interest from Toyota's bosses in Japan now that the Colombian has made it clear he is on the market.

siztenboots · 9 Feb 2006 at 15:03

Flibster, could you possibly give credit / recognition for these news sources in future ?

Flibster · 9 Feb 2006 at 15:09

Honda: we are lagging behind Cosworth

Honda have admitted that they are lagging behind Cosworth in the engine stakes at the moment - and believe they need to make a step forward if they are to challenge Renault at the front of the field.

Shuhei Nakamoto, Honda's F1 engineering director, is adamant that despite the early promise shown by the RA106 there is plenty of room for improvement - especially on the engine front.

In particular he believes that the performance of rival engine manufacturer Cosworth should act as a wake-up call to the team's engineers in Japan to make improvements to Honda's own power-unit.

"At the moment Cosworth has done a good job and we are trailing behind them," he said during testing at Jerez in Spain. "We should be able to produce better engines than we have now.

"If we had the engine of that level (of Cosworth) in our car, then probably we will be able to beat Renault. But we have not, so we have got some work to do."

Cosworth's new V8 engine has impressed Williams and onlookers with its power and high-revving capabilities.

Mark Webber admitted yesterday that the engine was 'bloody good', while managing director Tim Routsis said at the launch of the new Williams car last month that he believed his company's engine was one of the best in the field.

"My best opinion is that at the moment we are giving away very little to anybody, if anything," said Routsis. "But it will become much clearer in the run up to Bahrain."

Despite Nakamoto's comments on the performance of Honda's engine, he believes that Honda Racing's chassis is a big step forward over last year's BAR007 - and should allow the team to return to the form it showed in 2004.

"I am reasonably happy with the programme so far and Jenson has done lots of long runs, and he is comfortable with the car," added Nakamoto. "Also, Barrichello is getting there too.

"We still have a lot more to come from fine tuning the chassis and the engine, and I think we are much closer to the performance of 2004. In fact, we should be better as we have gained experience in 2005 so we will not make the (strategy) mistakes we made in 2004."

Flibster · 9 Feb 2006 at 15:10

siztenboots said:
Flibster, could you possibly give credit / recognition for these news sources in future ?

I get them emailed to me pretty much as they appear - some mention sites in them some don't - I just copy and paste.

This has been brought up time and time before and I don't know where many of them come from so...

:confused:

Could always stop doing it if prefered? Frees up a lot of my time.

Simon/~Flibster

Type_R · 9 Feb 2006 at 15:16

Flibster said:
I get them emailed to me pretty much as they appear - some mention sites in them some don't - I just copy and paste.

This has been brought up time and time before and I don't know where many of them come from so...

Could always stop doing it if prefered? Frees up a lot of my time.

Simon/~Flibster

Keep them coming, its always good fun to see which ones come true!

Flibster · 9 Feb 2006 at 15:25

Nissan's GT line up gives clues on Aguri's

The identity of Takuma Sato's likely teammate at Super Aguri this season became clearer today when Nissan announced their drivers squad for the Japanese-based Super GT championship.

The absence of Yuji Ide from the line-up, after two seasons racing in the sportscar category, and the confirmation of Sakon Yamamoto all but indicates the long expected news about which Japanese racer has won the fight to join Sato on the grid.

The battle for the second drive at Super Aguri was between Ide and Yamamoto, but autosport.com first reported last year that Ide had signed a preliminary contract with the new team. This was believed to have been clinched on the back of a major sponsorship deal he is understood to have with Japanese bluetooth company Mobilecast.

Aguri have not yet made any announcements about their drivers line-up, even though the team are expected to conduct the first shakedown of their SA05 car next week prior to testing in Barcelona.

Sato's manager Andrew Gilbert-Scott said earlier this week that he expected a deal to be completed for his driver soon.

"I'd be absolutely amazed if it doesn't happen," he said. "Things are moving forward, maybe not necessarily as fast as we would like, but something could be possible this week and Taku's intending to be over for a seat-fitting soon."

Emlyn_Dewar · 9 Feb 2006 at 16:12

The STR is just last years Red Bull right? Looks pretty much the same!

Flibster · 9 Feb 2006 at 16:30

Emlyn_Dewar said:
The STR is just last years Red Bull right? Looks pretty much the same!

It's a completely new design...

...apparently... :confused:

Ok - the front wing is different, sidepods are more sculpted, engine cover is more tightly packed and the rear wing is certainly different...

Wouldn't surprise me if the may have happened to come across some old drawings that they've 'learnt' from.

They do have to prove to the FIA/F1 technical comittiee that the car is their own design - they submit the designs to the FIA/F1 before the start of the season.

Simon/~Flibster

Flibster · 9 Feb 2006 at 17:31

Code:

[b]Testing @ Jerez - 09/02/2006[/b]


[b]Name 		Team 		T 	Laps 	Time 		Gap [/b]
de la Rosa 	McLaren 	M 	123 	1:17.451 	127.889 mph 	
Fisichella 	Renault 	M 	76 	1:17.479 	0.028 	
Webber 		WilliamsF1 	B 	104 	1:17.767 	0.316 	
Button 		Honda 		M 	118 	1:17.990 	0.539 	
Villeneuve 	BMW 		M 	75 	1:18.179 	0.728 	
Heidfeld 	BMW 		M 	63 	1:18.278 	0.827 	
Kovalainen 	Renault 	M 	45 	1:18.542 	1.091 	
Rosberg 	WilliamsF1 	B 	60 	1:18.843 	1.392 	
Raikkonen 	McLaren 	M 	40 	1:18.929 	1.478 	
Trulli 		Toyota 		B 	103 	1:19.083 	1.632 	
R Schumacher 	Toyota 		B 	107 	1:19.320 	1.869 	
Liuzzi 		Toro Rosso 	M 	79 	1:19.394 	1.943 	
Albers 		Midland 	B 	90 	1:20.685 	3.234 	
Monteiro 	Midland 	B 	63 	1:20.922 	3.471

de la Rosa and Liuzzi were running restricted V10's

Not bad - first day running the STR-01 and finishes ahead of the 2 MidlandF1 cars..

Certain people there are not going to be happy - it's not a small amount their ahead by either - 1.3 and 1.6 seconds..

Expect a legal challange soon I think from certain areas...

Richard T · 9 Feb 2006 at 18:04

Flibster said:
de la Rosa and Liuzzi were running restricted V10's

Not bad - first day running the STR-01 and finishes ahead of the 2 MidlandF1 cars..

Certain people there are not going to be happy - it's not a small amount their ahead by either - 1.3 and 1.6 seconds..

Expect a legal challange soon I think from certain areas...

yep... they aint gonna be happy!!

Flibster · 9 Feb 2006 at 19:20

Also - looking at it - they're only 0.07 and 0.3 behidn the factory Toymota team. :eek:

I know that Toymota's new aero package is due next week - but :eek:

The V10 is lighter, more torque, less vibrations and in restricted form - probably about as fuel efficient...

Win win I think for STR.

Simon/~Flibster

Type_R · 9 Feb 2006 at 19:47

Flibster said:
Also - looking at it - they're only 0.07 and 0.3 behidn the factory Toymota team.

I know that Toymota's new aero package is due next week - but

The V10 is lighter, more torque, less vibrations and in restricted form - probably about as fuel efficient...

Win win I think for STR.

Simon/~Flibster

Hehe - I think Toyota might be making protests before Midland F1 at this rate

Flibster · 10 Feb 2006 at 09:05

New deal for Spa

Just 48-hours after announcing that the Belgian Grand Prix has been dropped from the 2006 calendar, it has been revealed that a new 5-year deal has been agreed - from 2007 - which will see Bernie Ecclestone promoting the event.

According to Belgian broadcaster RTBF, the Wallonian government has agreed a deal with Ecclestone which will see the authority contribute £5.7m a year - £4m in direct aid, and the remainder in the form of 'sponsorship'.

However, the region's economics minister, Jean-Claude Marcourt, was at pains to emphasise that the 5-year deal with Ecclestone is not yet 100 percent official.

The event's absence from the calendar this year, will give the government the time - and the impetus - to carry out the redevelopments that Ecclestone has demanded.

Flibster · 10 Feb 2006 at 09:15

The new V8car is as fast as old the old C24 V10

F1's V8 engines of 2006 pack about 200 less horse power than the V10s of last year, but - even still - the cars have not significantly slowed down. Drivers may complain about the power loss, but the bare statistics are telling a different story. Take, for example, BMW-Sauber.

F1's V8 engines of 2006 pack about 200 less horse power than the V10s of last year, but - even still - the cars have not significantly slowed down.

Drivers may complain about the power loss, but the bare statistics are telling a different story.

Take, for example, Sauber.

With the V10 Ferrari-powered C24 in July 2005, Felipe Massa clocked a best time at Jerez of about 1m17secs.

Albeit now owned and powered by BMW, Nick Heidfeld - at the wheel of the '06-spec 'F1.06' on Wednesday - powered around the same Spanish track with a best lap time of 1m17.5secs; just half a second slower.

In the rear of the car, of course, is a V8.

There are a few explanations for this. First, the new Sauber is inherently a better car. But while the V8s output less power, they are also smaller, giving more freedom for the work of aerodynamicists.

Moreover, a V8 runs cooler than a V10, allowing for gains in the cooling departments - such as side pod size - and therefore better weight distribution via ballast through lighter parts.

And, of course, 2006's tyre regulations are actually increasing mid-corner speeds, because the shorter-life boots are softer and therefore more adhesive.

'We are as quick with the V8 motor,' BMW Sauber's Jacques Villeneuve confirmed to Swiss newspaper Blick, 'as we were with the old Sauber with a V10.'

Flibster · 10 Feb 2006 at 09:16

'Doctor Brawn'

Brunel University, on the outskirts of London, has given Ferrari's Ross Brawn an honorary doctorate in engineering.

The university, formerly a technical college, is known for offering a degree in 'motor sport engineering'.

Manchester-born Brawn, 51 and technical director for the Italian Formula One team, actually trained in the atomic industry in the early 70s, before getting his first job in motor sport as a machine operator.

Flibster · 10 Feb 2006 at 09:16

Flav's fuel is 'beating Ron'

Flavio Briatore says he gets his racing buzz from beating pitlane foes like McLaren's Ron Dennis.

Renault's team principal, who denounced Formula One in the mid-1980s, started out on the Italian stock exchange before running the Benetton fashion company.

But, having graduated to the Italian label's Enstone based Formula One team (later bought by Renault), Briatore soon tasted the thrill of high level competition - even if the smells of burning fuel and smoke still do not stoke 55-year-old 'Flav'.

'If this was just any old business, I think I would have left it by now,' Briatore told 'Auto Motor und Sport' magazine, whose latest edition went on sale on Friday.

'But do you know what feeds my passion? Beating people like Ron Dennis at the race tracks.'

Despite a less competitive car and a lower budget, Briatore's Renault won the drivers' and constructors' world title double in 2005, ahead of Dennis-led McLaren.

Dennis, who recently stirred Briatore's fury by announcing that Fernando Alonso would move to McLaren in 2007, made his first mark in motor sport at the age of 16, when he swept the floor as an apprentice mechanic for the formula two Cooper team.

Flibster · 10 Feb 2006 at 09:17

Minor niggles for new M16

Tiago Monteiro and Christijan Albers shared the testing duties in the newly launched Midland M16 at Jerez on Thursday with Albers taking the morning session where he worked on set-up and further systems testing and comparison work. Then, in the afternoon Christijan drove the interim car concentrating on aerodynamic testing and some engine work for Toyota. He completed a total of 56laps in the new car and 33 in the old.

“I spent the first half of today in the new car and I am pleased that we are making good progress,” the Dutchman said. “I have now driven both cars and I am still positive about the changes that have been made over the winter. I am still looking forward to the start of the season and getting as much as possible out of the new car before then.”

Meanwhile, Tiago carried out tyre testing in the hybrid car in the morning before switching to the M16 for some familiarisation and set-up work. Unfortunately they lost a little track time in the afternoon with a couple of problems that thankfully they were able to correct during the session.

"I went out in the new car this afternoon and although we didn't do many laps it was good to get a feel for what it is like," Tiago added. "I am happy with what we achieved and look forward to getting more laps completed tomorrow."

Flibster · 10 Feb 2006 at 09:56

Renault looks to desert GPMA group

Flavio Briatore has given the strongest hint yet that Renault might be about to desert the GPMA ranks.

It would be a near killer-blow to the carmakers' group, who are threatening to set up a rival championship in 2008 if more money and better conditions are not given up by Bernie Ecclestone.

But with only BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Honda also in the GPMA camp, another defection could seal their fate and pave the way to inevitable signatures on a 2008-2012 Concorde extension.

Briatore, Renault's F1 principal and Managing Director, has echoed Ecclestone's claim that the only viable future is with lower annual budgets.

“We need to remember,” the Italian told Auto Motor und Sport, “that it took many years to develop Formula One, but it would only take one season to destroy it.”

Briatore said an annual budget of about $100m per team would be 'ideal' for 2008.

“The job of the FIA would then be to stop us from going over,” he explained, adding that a budget cap would work in the same way that the taxman keeps an eye on the honesty of taxpayers.

Briatore, 56, slammed those in the paddock who always complain about not having enough money. “Some people in this business have very short memories,” he said. “I can think of many colleagues who were completely normal people, who now fly around in private jets.”

Briatore thus squarely aligned himself with Ecclestone, F1's commercial rights holder and Chief Executive, and controversial FIA President Max Mosley.

“Only those two can see the big picture,” he claimed.

Flibster · 10 Feb 2006 at 10:25

Berger joins Toro Rosso at Jerez

Former Grand Prix driver Gerhard Berger has wasted little time getting acquainted with Scuderia Toro Rosso after turning up for testing at Jerez in Spain today.

The Austrian, who announced yesterday that he has bought a 50 percent stake in the Red Bull junior team, met team members and spent time in the pits and on the pit wall as Scott Speed got his first taste of the new STR01.

Berger will be acting as a motorsport advisor for Red Bull in Formula One, although it is likely his main focus will be on Toro Rosso.

He said at the announcement of his deal with Toro Rosso: "I am aware that my Formula One know-how is very much valued by Red Bull in general and by the Italian Toro Rosso team in particular."