2005/2006 F1 News and Testing.

Flibster · 28 Nov 2005 at 17:29

Toro Rosso in Michelin switch

'Scuderia Toro Rosso' will switch from Bridgestone to Michelin tyres for season '06. Although the Japanese company has wooed two teams in the form of Williams and Toyota, Bridgestone is set to farewell the former Minardi team.

It is understood that Dietrich Mateschitz, the Red Bull magnate, requested the change so that his two teams - 'STR' and Red Bull Racing - could both wear French-made rubber.

The news is not yet official, but a Bridgestone spokesman said: "We will honour our contract until the end of November but, after that, there are no plans to continue. "I'm sure when the Toro Rosso cars test for the first time it will be on Michelins."

Flibster · 29 Nov 2005 at 10:04

Doornbos joins Red Bull, speed to Toro Rosso

Red Bull Racing announced today that Robert Doornbos joins Red Bull Racing for 2006. As the team's test and reserve driver, the 24-year-old will fulfil Friday driving duties for Red Bull Racing during the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Doornbos is not new to Red Bull. In 2004 the young Dutchman drove alongside Tonio Liuzzi as part of Christian Horner's Arden team, participating in the F3000 International Championship in a Red Bull
branded car. Taking victory in Spa and finishing third overall in his debut season, Robert was crowned ‘Rookie of the Year', before rounding off 2004 by fulfilling test driver duties for the Jordan Formula One team at the last three races.

After a promising season in 2005, where he performed as third driver for Jordan-Midland and as a race driver for Minardi-Cosworth (for the last eight races of the year), Robert will join Red Bull Racing for 2006.

Sporting Director Christian Horner said, "Having served his apprenticeship in Formula 1 this year, Robert will perform an important role for Red Bull Racing as its third driver. Robert demonstrated natural speed and a very real hunger to win when I worked with him in 2004 and I'm very happy to renew our working relationship. This is an excellent opportunity for him."

Robert Doornbos said, "It's fantastic to be joining Red Bull Racing. Not only is it the team of the moment, but the way that it's developing the technical side of things, and the motivation of the team, is very promising for the future. I'm aiming to learn as much as possible to get to the top of the sport and I think I'm in the right place to be able to do that."

Robert's first experience in a Cosworth-powered RB1 will occur today, when he participates in the first day of the team's three-day test in Barcelona. Christian Klein will drive the team's second car. On Wednesday, Christian and David Coulthard will drive for the team, while Robert and David will complete the test on Thursday.

Following Red Bull's purchase of Minardi earlier this year, Scott Speed will now join Red Bull's newest team, Scuderia Toro Rosso. His exact role in the team will be confirmed in the near future.

Deathwish · 29 Nov 2005 at 11:19

Robert's first experience in a Cosworth-powered RB1 will occur today

So, where's the 'rarri engines then?

Flibster · 29 Nov 2005 at 12:12

They won't get them until the RB2 is ready - or the interim RB1.5 or whatever it will be called.

Possibly before Christmas - depends on how Ferrari get on with the V8 development *which isn't that far on as far as I can tell..but it's further than Renault - at least Ferrari have had their engine running in a car so far this year*

Simon/~Flibster

Emlyn_Dewar · 29 Nov 2005 at 13:53

I thought it was Brawn who put forward the idea of V8's in the first place? Would have expected them to be well on course with the engine.

Flibster · 29 Nov 2005 at 14:58

Ecclestone: A contract is a contract

No matter that the promoter of the Belgian Grand Prix has gone bankrupt, and the Wallonian government has said that it will not underwrite the costs, Bernie Ecclestone says that a contract is a contract and demands that the 2006 race goes ahead.

Talking to Belgian daily, Le Soir, Ecclestone said: "There is a contract between us and the Walloon government, I am held to with it and I do not see why it would still be necessary to discuss it.

"We have but one concern," he added, "that the contract is respected. When a contract is signed, it should be respected, there should be no need for further debate."

The Wallonian government is seeking to discuss the situation with the F1 supremo, but he claims that there is no need.

"Why do we need to negotiate?" he said. "The contract exists."

Someone should have told that to Button tbqfh...

JRS · 29 Nov 2005 at 15:23

Button out to prove critics wrong

British Honda ace Jenson Button has hit out critics who have knocked his 100-race winless streak and accused him of being a playboy.

Button who begins his winter testing schedule at Barcelona on Wednesday, defended his Formula 1 record in an interview with the Mail on Sunday newspaper.

"Every single team-mate of mine during my five years in F1 has also failed to win a race driving the same car as me," he said.

"We're talking about Ralf Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve, Jarno Trulli, Giancarlo Fisichella and Takuma Sato. They're not bad drivers are they? And most went on to win races with other teams.

"So now maybe you can see that the package has not been quite been up there for me in my five years. Sure, I've made mistakes, too, but you need a car that's capable of winning."

Button also spoke out against people who have been quick to highlight his party-going high-jinks. He suggested that he needed to maintain a sense of normality in order to perform at his best.

"People think I'm always out and being a playboy," he told the newspaper.

"But I'll tell you what: if I did nothing but eat, sleep and breathe motor racing, it would be detrimental to my performance. Like anyone else, I need to let my hair down. But it's nowhere near as much as people make out."

Jenson intends to get people talking about his on-track talents in 2006, and with Honda's recent acquisition of BAR, he reckons that all the elements are in place for a strong season.

"People may think I've made an expensive mistake, but it will be worth it if I become world champion," he said.

"Now that Honda is in charge, I believe we are going to have a serious package this year.

"I'm confident we will be major contenders."

The guy has a point - the cars he's been given certainly haven't set the world alight even in the hands of proven race winners (not to mention even with a champion at the wheel).

Emlyn_Dewar · 30 Nov 2005 at 10:24

I take it back, that interim Williams looks pretty nice!

I found the test times interesting, not too much difference between the fastest time of Klien with a V10 and the others with V8's, unless ITV made a mistake? :confused:

1. KLIEN Red Bull 1m17.567s*
2. WURZ McLaren 1m17.754s
3. ZONTA Toyota 1m17.821s
4. DE LA ROSA McLaren 1m18.066s
5. TRULLI Toyota 1m18.641s
6. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m19.756s*
7. ROSBERG Williams 1m20.456s
8. DOORNBOS Red Bull 1m20.701s
9. HEIDFELD BMW Sauber 1m21.013s
10. PRIAULX Williams 1m25.055s

*drivers using V10 engines

Pigeon · 30 Nov 2005 at 12:14

Interesting - Klien on V10, Doornobs on V8?

Also how many tests have Rosberg and Priaulx had, I'd expect Rosberg to be more up there being GP2 Champ as opposed to World Touring Car Champ but Prilaux seems to be mile off. Whos that spinning up in the photo?

Emlyn_Dewar · 30 Nov 2005 at 12:17

Rosberg, supposedly it was down to a mechanical error though.

Flibster · 1 Dec 2005 at 12:59

Villeneuve will drive for BMW in 2006

It's now official: Jacques Villeneuve will line up alongside Nick Heidfeld for the BMW Sauber F1 Team in 2006.

As BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen explained: "We took a close look at Jacques' performance level at the end of last season. After an extremely tough first half of the year - which showed that even a former World Champion cannot come back after a period away and be competitive from day one - he got closer and closer to his team-mate over the second half of the season. We are in no doubt that Jacques will make the BMW Sauber F1 Team stronger."

"Between 1999 and 2004 I experienced first-hand the difficulties and complexities involved in setting up a new team," said Villeneuve, "but I've never been afraid of a challenge. Sauber was already a good team and now we also have the resources of BMW behind us. I will do everything I can to contribute to the success of the BMW Sauber F1 Team."

Now living in Villars, Switzerland's adopted son will start work for the new team in the first testing session in Jerez on 8th December.

Villeneuve was crowned Formula One World Champion faster than any other driver before or since after making his debut in the series. In 1996, his rookie year, the Canadian finished second in the overall standings behind his then Williams Renault team-mate Damon Hill. The following year, he fended off the challenge of Michael Schumacher to go one better and take the title for the same team.

On 22nd June 2005, BMW made public its commitment to head its own team in Formula One after taking a majority interest in the Sauber team from 2006. The signing of Nick Heidfeld was announced on 16th September, followed by confirmation of the official team name and the identity of key positions in the team - with Willy Rampf (Chassis/Hinwil) and Heinz Paschen (Powertrain/Munich) as Technical Directors - on 14th November. The partnership with PETRONAS was then finalised and announced on 24th November.

rpstewart · 1 Dec 2005 at 13:12

Can't say I'm that surprised at JV getting the seat, granted he's not had the greatest 2005 but he does represent a know quantity and gives the team some consistency going forward.

Possibly the biggest gain though is that he's similar in stature to Heidfeld. The likely candidate to replace him was probably Alex Wurz who is about 6'2", trying to design a chassis to accommodate both Wurz and ickle Nick would be a complete nightmare, especially late in the season. This can be seen with McLaren where Alex regularly has to wait until March or so before they can produce a chassis that he can fit into.

Flibster · 1 Dec 2005 at 16:31

Code:
FIA reveals 2006 entry list

The FIA has today (Thursday) issued the official entry list for the 2006 Formula One World Championship.

The most noticeable thing is that Super Aguri Racing - is not included - though no official reason has been given.

The Japanese team had claimed that it would participate in the 2006 Championship, however there was doubt as to whose chassis the team would use. The fact that it is not on the entry list appears to indicate that an acceptable solution could not be found.

Although neither team has yet made an official announcement, according to the entry list both Midland and WilliamsF1 have decided on their line-up, with Tiago Monteiro partnering Christijan Albers, and Nico Rosberg joining Mark Webber.

Following its purchase of BAR, Honda enters F1 as the Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team.

Code:

[b]No Entrant Constructor Driver [/b] 1 Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault Alonso 2 Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault Fisichella 3 McLaren Mercedes McLaren-Mercedes Raikkonen 4 McLaren Mercedes McLaren-Mercedes Montoya 5 Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari M Schumacher 6 Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari Massa 7 Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota R Schumacher 8 Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota Trulli 9 WilliamsF1 Team WilliamsF1-Cosworth Webber 10 WilliamsF1 Team WilliamsF1-Cosworth Rosberg 11 Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team Honda Barrichello 12 Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team Honda Button 14 Red Bull Racing Red Bull-Ferrari Coulthard 15 Red Bull Racing Red Bull-Ferrari Klien 16 BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Heidfeld 17 BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Villeneuve 18 MF1 Racing Midland-Toyota Monteiro 19 MF1 Racing Midland-Toyota Albers 20 Scuderia Toro Rosso Red Bull-Cosworth Speed 21 Scuderia Toro Rosso Red Bull-Cosworth Liuzzi

Looks interesting tbh. Not sure on BAR's new name - it's very long...Still better than Lucky Strike/British American Tobacco British American Racing Honda *which is what they were a couple of years ago*

Emlyn_Dewar · 1 Dec 2005 at 16:38

No Super Aguri crazy mega 1337 raceteam there though... You think we'll be seeing them this coming season? I really hope so!

Edit: Just read the text... lol

I read on another board that there is the possibilty of them using the old Arrows chassis as they were trying to buy them off Stoddart... :eek:

Imagine how rafting slow they'd be!

Flibster · 1 Dec 2005 at 17:04

Emlyn_Dewar said:
I read on another board that there is the possibilty of them using the old Arrows chassis as they were trying to buy them off Stoddart... Imagine how rafting slow they'd be!

Errr...maybe not as slow as you think.

The arrows chassis the are negotiating for is the A24 - whihc was only made as a test model - apparently it was something very special *as in - with a good engine should have been challenging for the championship..*

With a few mods to get it 2006 legal, would probably still be around the Sauber level tbh...

Combine that with the Honda V10 - could be a cunning stunt..

Simon/~Flibster

JRS · 1 Dec 2005 at 17:37

Flibster said:
The arrows chassis the are negotiating for is the A24 - whihc was only made as a test model - apparently it was something very special *as in - with a good engine should have been challenging for the championship..*

ITV's news story claims they were going to use the A23 - mind you, I'd trust any info you get rather more than ITV

Flibster · 1 Dec 2005 at 17:43

I think the confusion arose from the fact that Paul Stoddart holds all IP's relating to Arrows Grand Prix - in order for Aguri to use that chassis - they must purchase the IP's from Stoddy - this includes the IP for the 5 A23 chassis - which Stoddy still owns.

So generally the deal would include the 5 cars as well. Initial natural assumption - they're going to run the A23's??

They could do for a test session or 2 to evaluate drivers while they get A24 chassis built and crash tested by the FIA - it would then be up to them to run the A23 or in a very short time build and run the A24's.

I'd go with the A24's tbh - ok - still a 2003 chassis design - but the Minardi was a 2002 design until the 4th race of this year iirc...

Simon/~Flibster

Emlyn_Dewar · 1 Dec 2005 at 19:01

What I never understood is why Minardi never used it? :confused:

Remember when they ran the Arrows/Minardi head to head in a test and it came out the quicker car?

I always liked Arrows, they had some good ideas and the 2002 challenger was a good looker!

Flibster · 1 Dec 2005 at 19:21

Emlyn_Dewar said:
What I never understood is why Minardi never used it?
Remember when they ran the Arrows/Minardi head to head in a test and it came out the quicker car?

I always liked Arrows, they had some good ideas and the 2002 challenger was a good looker!

Did look good.

There is a couple of the A23's in private hands..and they are rapid.

They should have been more competative than they were...lack of money killed the I think.

The biggest problem with Minardi running the A23's was that they did not build them - you need to know a F1 car intimately to run it for 17 races and testing...they didn't know it as well as that.

There is a surprising amount of commoninality between cars - but there are so many little things that can be fitted or whatever incorrectly that could cause serious safety issues that running them without spending a very long time learning the cars backwards.

They did use them to learn a lot from though - hence the design of this years car looks more than a little like the A23 with the bodywork off.

Simon/~Flibster

mctiny · 1 Dec 2005 at 19:34

Super Aguri miss out on F1 place

Super Aguri miss out on F1 place
Japan's planned Super Aguri Formula One team will not take part in next season's championship.

A spokesman for motorsport's governing body the FIA said: "We have notified the team that their application has been refused."

No reason was given for the rejection, but new applicants must pay a $48m bond and reports suggest that guarantee had not been forthcoming.

Super Aguri had hoped to enter with Honda engines and technical support.

They had been talking to former Minardi owner Paul Stoddart about buying four-year-old Arrows cars.

This was due to problems in overcoming regulations preventing teams from using cars designed and built by existing entrants.

The team's omission from the official entry list dashed the immediate hopes of Takuma Sato, dropped by Honda-owned BAR at the end of this season, of a drive for 2006.

It also leaves Japan without a grand prix driver for next season which starts on 12 March in Bahrain.

A late entry remains a possibility, albeit unlikely, if the team can secure the unanimous agreement of all the other entrants before the season begins.