2005/2006 F1 News and Testing.

[rpstewart]

Doubt it, they would need to crash test the chassis to the new regs which hasn't been done as far as I'm aware.

 

[Flibster]

Plus they'd have to fit the V8 to it as they're not allowed to run the V10's
V8 has proven to be hot *see Red Bull* and vibrates like hell...

But to be honest - they've wasted their time with the F2004...

They'd have been better rolliing the 248 out earlier and running it near on 24x7 - like they did with the F2004 when it was launched.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Emlyn_Dewar]

To be fair, they've only done 3 laps so the lap time isn't the best achievable...
Still, it's not gonna get much quicker!

Looks a nice car though and that's good enough for Super Aguri to have my full support for next year, taking over from Minardi.

Edit: Also... Aren't they cutting it a bit fine to strap on the 2006 bodywork?

 

[Deathwish]

What was the reason in choosing the Arrows chassis? I understand the issue with regards to not being able to run last years BAR etc but surely last years Minardi would have been better, or did STR take over the IP of that?

 

[Arc]

What was the reason in choosing the Arrows chassis? I understand the issue with regards to not being able to run last years BAR etc but surely last years Minardi would have been better, or did STR take over the IP of that?

STR are basically Minardi so no chance of nicking that chassis .

Seems to be the Arrows chassis's were the only ones available (its amazing what gets stored in peoples sheds) and they didnt have time to develop their own.

 

[J1nxy]

Have family involvement in STR so not going to stop cheering them on like Minardi has been for the last couple of years.

 

[Flibster]

F1 fever hits the streets of Bahrain

With just over two weeks to go no one could accuse the Bahrain International Circuit of resting on its laurels in the run up to the third Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

The promoters of the opening round 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship have gone all out to take the passion and excitement of the forthcoming event to the people of Bahrain and the surrounding region. This Friday (24th February) will see the one of Bahrain’s most prominent roads, the seafront boulevard of the King Faisal Highway in Manama, play host to the Yalla Bahrain! F1 Festival.

The event will be based around three activities, the highlight of these being the BIC street parade along the highway. Spectators at the event will be treated to a thundering cavalcade made up of some of motorsport’s most exciting cars from Porsche SuperCup GT3s to flame-spitting Holden V8s, Formula BMW single-seaters and Thunder Arabia training cars. The racers will be joined by Harley Davidson motorcycles, Hummer 4x4s and Apache buggies in the 1.5km parade.

The action begins at 3.45pm along a course running from the King Faisal Highway/Crown Plaza junction past the newly-built World Trade Centre and ending at one of Bahrain’s most recent and most exciting developments, the Bahrain Financial Harbour.



The action on the ground will then be paralleled in the air as the world famous Red Bull Flying Bulls stunt planes take to the skies above the Manama coastline to perform their death-defying aerobatics for the crowds below. The air display will be closely followed by a musical firework extravaganza.

Martin Whitaker, General Manager of the BIC commented: “Bahrain is one of only 16 countries in the world to have the honour of hosting a Formula One Grand Prix this year. Not only are we hosting a race but we are opening the series, an event that regularly attracts up to 400million viewers around the world.

“Formula One presents a unique opportunity to harness the minds of the world’s opinion leaders and formers and as a result the continued developments throughout the Kingdom of Bahrain are set to shine as the world’s attention is turned to the start of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship at the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. The main objective behind all of our Yalla Bahrain! events in the run up to the Grand Prix is to really bring motorsport to life for the people of Bahrain, what better way to do this than with the F1 Festival?”

 

[Flibster]

Webber fastest at a rain hit Barcelona

Mark Webber topped the times on a rain-affected opening day of testing at Barcelona on Tuesday.

The Australian clocked a 1m17.676s best in the morning before the clouds deposited their contents on the Circuit de Catalunya and precluded any improvements.

Webber’s speed was another indication of the potential of the Williams-Cosworth package, although team-mate Nico Rosberg suffered an engine blow-up and, having spent the morning practising starts, did not set a representative time.

Kimi Raikkonen was a close second fastest in the McLaren MP4-21, but team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya was delayed by a gearbox problem and only managed 22 laps en route to the fifth quickest time.

Red Bull Racing test driver Robert Doornbos was third quickest in the RB2, but the team admitted it was not setting much store by times today.

“Putting distance on the car was more of a priority than development today,” said chief test engineer Ian Morgan.

“As we have done quite a bit of running in the wet already, we decided it was not really worth going out [in the afternoon].

“Although we did do a couple of laps at the end of the day, just to check some new software.”

Tiago Monteiro posted the fourth best time in the Midland M16, but all eyes this morning focused on the Super Aguri squad, which had its first public outing.

In the event, a hydraulics problem in the morning and the inclement weather in the afternoon conspired to prevent Takuma Sato completing more than 10 laps.

The elements were no less of a factor at Imola, where Scuderia Toro Rosso’s work was hampered by intermittent, on-off rain – although it was all good experience for rookie Neel Jani.

“It was quite a useful day in a way, as Neel had never really handled an F1 car in the wet,” said chief engineer Laurent Mekies.

“He never made a mistake and drove on both the ‘wet’ and ‘extreme wet’ tyres and that will be a valuable experience for him if he encounters these conditions during the season.”

[b]Pos	Driver		Car			Time		Gap		Laps[/b]
1.	M. Webber	Williams Cosworth FW28	1'17"699	(+0"000)	45 laps
2.	K. Raikkonen	McLaren Mercedes MP4/21	1'17"790	(+0"091)	59 laps
3.	R. Doornbos	Red Bull Cosworth RB2	1'18"439	(+0"740)	46 laps
4.	T. Monteiro	MF1 Toyota M16		1'18"717	(+1"018)	59 laps
5.	J.P. Montoya	McLaren Mercedes MP4/21	1'18"875	(+1"176)	22 laps
6.	T. Sato		Super Aguri Honda SA05	1'30"244	(+12"545)	8 laps
7.	N. Rosberg	Williams Cosworth FW28	1'37"188	(+19"489)	16 laps

[i]Note:  Rosberg's best time was set in the wet[/i]

 

[Deathwish]

That Williams-Cosworth could upset some people this year I believe, unless they are running with no ballast.

Would be the ones to bet on if you were a gambling man for a surprise win perhaps

 

[J1nxy]

From the info I have the Williams is a bit of a monster this year. Not least of which comes from having the Cosworth engine stuck in the back.

 

[Flibster]

That Cosworth engine appears to be a little gem at the moment to be honest.

Wether it can keep up with the factory guys when it comes to development is another matter though.

But it just goes to show how good the DFV really was..It's the basis for this engine...massively overengineered.

Couple of wins this year would be a fitting tribute to Keith Duckworth I think. However I'm not sure that the car is that capable though with the performances that Honda and Renault are putting in at the moment...but as is always said - this is testing...

We'll find out the true form in 17 days...

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Murf]

That Cosworth engine appears to be a little gem at the moment to be honest.

.........

Couple of wins this year would be a fitting tribute to Keith Duckworth I think.

It would indeed. Would be great to see a Williams leading the charge again too.

 

[Flibster]

Montagny considered for third Aguri seat

Former Renault test driver Franck Montagny is being considered by the new Super Aguri team for the role of third driver, autosport.com has learned.

The Frenchman left Renault at the end of 2005 and has been pursuing a racing seat in the Champ Car series.

However, despite setting impressive times in testing for the PKV team at Sebring last month, autosport.com understands that PKV are now looking for a more experienced Champ Car driver to partner their recent signing, rookie Katherine Legge.

Super Aguri, who will make their Formula One debut at Bahrain, have already confirmed last week that Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide will be the team's race drivers for 2006.

This leaves the team with a free seat for the test and reserve driver, as the team are eligible to run a third driver in Friday's practice sessions.

Super Aguri's managing directory Daniel Audetto has confirmed the team contacted Montagny but said the Frenchman is one of a few candidates - with no decision yet made on who to sign.

"I know Franck from my days at Renault," Audetto, who worked at Renault F1 as business development director, told autosport.com. "He is a good driver and a friend, so when we reviewed our options for a good development driver, we naturally contacted him.

"But we have not yet made a decision, and Franck is one of several options we are currently considering. Our first priority is to have a Japanese driver, but it's not very easy...so we are considering other options. And Franck could be suitable. We'll see."

Audetto said the team were under no hurry to decide on a third driver, despite there being only two weeks before the first race.

"We may decide to start the season without a third driver," Audetto explained. "We don't have to run a third driver, and it's not on the top of our priorities right now."

 

[Flibster]

Schu plays down '248' car's flaws

Michael Schumacher has played down recent technical problems with the 2006 Ferrari, insisting that the '248' has shown an impressive turn of speed in very recent days.

On the last day of Bahrain testing on Tuesday, the German - now showing off the car's definitive bodywork - clocked a very notable time, even though he only managed 55 laps.

"It hasn't run completely smoothly," Schumacher, 37, admitted, "and we would have like some more laps. "But many teams deal with these things at this time of year. On the bright side, our speed is really encouraging, and we hope to continue like this at Mugello. "I think we have a better package than we did last year."

 

[Flibster]

Kimi rejects $72m McLaren deal

According to reports in the Finnish press, Kimi Raikkonen has turned down a whopping $72 million deal to stay at Ron Dennis' McLaren team.

The reportedly rejected contract, which would have seen the 26-year-old Finn earn $24m per year until the end of 2009, will only intensify speculation that Raikkonen is already (secretly) committed to switch to the Ferrari team in 2007.

But his reluctance to pen a new Woking pact might also be linked with McLaren's less than shining winter season, not to mention his apparent irritation at Dennis' decision to already sign up world champion Fernando Alonso.

 

[J1nxy]

That Cosworth engine appears to be a little gem at the moment to be honest.

Wether it can keep up with the factory guys when it comes to development is another matter though.

But it just goes to show how good the DFV really was..It's the basis for this engine...massively overengineered.

Couple of wins this year would be a fitting tribute to Keith Duckworth I think. However I'm not sure that the car is that capable though with the performances that Honda and Renault are putting in at the moment...but as is always said - this is testing...

We'll find out the true form in 17 days...

Simon/~Flibster

Also don't forget that the guys at Cosworth know a thing or 3 about V8s given what they've been doing in the US for the last few years.

Steve

 

[Flibster]

This is kind of worrying...

Terror alert for Bahrain

Australians, like Williams' Mark Webber or Sam Michael, have officially been told to stay away from the scene of the 2006 season opener, in Bahrain.

The renewed warning of the country's federal 'Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade', mirroring a similar American alert, said there is a 'high threat of terrorist attack' in the small Arab island nation.

'We continue to receive reports that terrorists are planning attacks against Western interests in the region,' read the DFAT alert.

It continued, singling out 'outdoor recreation events' as possible targets: 'These attacks could occur at any time and could be directed against any locations known to be frequented by foreigners.'

'Deutsche Presse-Agentur', however, quoted a Bahraini official as downplaying the warnings, noting that the alerts are not new and are based on assessments of the entire Middle East region.

 

[Flibster]

One F1 lap costs $1300

Each lap, a Formula One car chews up nearly $1300 (US), according to the analysis of a British racing magazine.

March's 'F1 Racing' put forward the staggering figure as the cost of fuel, tyres and brake wear over an average lap of a grand prix circuit, putting into perspective the argument in favour of reducing F1 track testing.

Team hospitality, however, is also a hidden expense, with Toyota and Red Bull both spending about $12m each year on entertaining eminent guests.

But while Cologne based Toyota's 2005 budget topped the timesheet at about half a billion, not every team made an imposing appearance in the magazine's investigation.

Now-defunct Minardi, F1 Racing said, recorded a total budget of just $50m last year, which is only a few million more than Ferrari spent on keeping Michael Schumacher on the books.

Renault boss Flavio Briatore denies, however, that money is the only recipe for success.

'We won the (2005) title with the sixth largest budget,' the Italian told Germany's 'Motorsport Aktuell' magazine.

'It is not just about budget, but efficiency.'

 

[Flibster]

Aguri Suzuki to call it quits in 5 years

Aguri Suzuki, the former Formula One driver whose new team Super Aguri will join the premier motorsport circuit from this season, said Wednesday he will retire in five years.

The Japanese star reiterated his resolve, however, to see his drivers stand on the Formula One podium in a few years.

"I am tired," the 45-year-old Suzuki said with a smile in an interview with a small group of journalists ahead of the F1 season.

"I will quit everything when I am 50. I will retire when I am 50," he said. "I want to spend my time doing other things."

His team is preparing to join the 2006 F1 championship with the first race set for March 12 in Bahrain.

Suzuki started in the 1988 Grand Prix and was the first Asian to stand on the Formula One podium in Suzuka in 1990 when he finished third.

Having finished his F1 driving career in 1995, he has shifted focus to developing his team Super Aguri, with selected drivers now competing in Japanese and US races.

Suzuki launched the Formula One team late last year under his Super Aguri project and signed BAR-Honda reject Takuma Sato and newcomer Yuji Ide, forming the first all-Japanese driver line-up in the history of the sport.

His drivers "will be on the podium in two to three years," Suzuki said, when asked whether he expected Super Aguri drivers to take such honors before his planned retirement.

Suzuki said he was long set on retiring at age 50, even when he was driving in Formula One.

"I always thought about what I would do next," he said.

 

[Flibster]

Sato praises Super Aguri's effort

Takuma Sato heaped praise on his Super Aguri team after completing their first public testing session in Barcelona on Tuesday.

The Japanese team, a last-minute entry for the 2006 championship, faced a race against time to start testing with their SA05 car, which is based on the 2002 Arrows A23.

After an initial shakedown in Great Britain, the Leafield-based squad made their first public outing yesterday.

The test was not without problems, however, as Sato first stopped on track after just three laps following a hydraulics failure. The Japanese driver then spun in the wet track, managing only eight laps on a day where the team were only aiming to check the car's systems.

Despite the difficult start, Sato believes the team's effort to get the car ready for the first test was praiseworthy.

"After all the effort put by the team, and the shakedown in the UK, it is so pleasing to be here," Sato told autosport.com at the end of his test.

"What I ran today is not the final package, so I really cannot say much about the feeling. Unfortunately the hydraulic pressure went down so I could not run as much as I would like have liked.

"Also the radio was not working properly. I could hear but they could not hear me, so it was a systems check. I saw how it was with the brakes and also with the steering. The team has some experienced people but it is still fairly new.

"I would like to give a big applause to the team for having run today."

The team will start the season with their current car, revised to meet 2006 regulations, but plan to introduce their own SA06 once the championship reaches Europe. It is believed the car could be ready for the Spanish Grand Prix, the fifth round of the championship, at the earliest.

With that in mind, Sato is under no illusions for the start of the year.

"It will be very hard," Sato added. "The 2006 package is not ready yet, this car was built in such a short space of time so the performance is not expected to be so good, so I really look forward to the new car."

Sato, who was left without a drive after parting ways with the BAR team last year, will race alongside compatriot Yuji Ide, who is making his debut at the wheel of a Formula One car today.

Sato backed Super Aguri's decision to sign two Japanese drivers.

"As far as Ide is concerned, we have never raced together," said Sato. "It is quite a nice idea to have a pairing of Japanese drivers, although he will have to learn some tracks this year, which may not be so easy."