Dennis welcomes new testing deal
Ron Dennis has welcomed Formula One's new testing agreement, but the McLaren boss claims it will not reduce costs as much as he would have liked.
"The testing agreement creates definition, but meaning what we have agreed to do and when, but as regards to the level of cost saving I would have liked to have seen, it has not really achieved that," Dennis said.
"But it is much better to have it that not have.
"It at least eliminates high cost testing, which was already creeping into the equation - i.e. intercontinental testing.
"What we have done is take on the request of the drivers to ensure the circuits are completely or close to completely compliant with the safety aspects of testing.
"That is the recommendations from (FIA medical chief) Gary (Hartstein)."
A provisional deal is believed to have been struck between the teams, although the agreement will only stand if all of F1's 11 teams approve the limitation.
Ferrari, who last year stood alone in refusing to sign up to the 30-day limit, have fallen in line with their rival teams this year.
Although the deal is yet to become official, Dennis said all the key teams have signed up.
"It was agreed verbally and when it passed through my desk it was two-thirds signed, it had the key names of it at the time," Dennis said.
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2006 Bahrain Grand Prix - Race 1/18
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View all postsPaffett told to focus on McLaren test role
McLaren have warned their test driver Gary Paffett not to try to use his role as a springboard to move to another team to race.
The young Briton joined the team this season following the exit of Alexander Wurz, who had made no secrets of his intention to return to racing if he struck a deal with another team.
The Austrian has joined rivals Williams as their third driver.
Paffett, last year's DTM champion, has been tipped as a future champion by McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh, but team chief Ron Dennis has warned him to stay focused on his testing role.
"He is a talented driver," Dennis said of Paffett. "There was a key ingredient in being a McLaren driver about why you are a McLaren driver.
"It is to be 100 percent committed to the team and if you are constantly restless and constantly seeking at every opportunity the ability to race in a rival team then there is no place for you in McLaren.
"It is as simple as that."
rpstewart said:Can anyone spell Direxiv??
No, seriously I've no idea to to spell it.....
Spell it? Hell when it's written down for me I can't pronounce it!
Paffett and Hamilton then?
Simon/~Flibster
Ralf blasts arrogant Kimi
Ralf Schumacher has launched a withering attack on rival Kimi Raikkonen ahead of the Bahrain season-opener.
Ralf says Kimi’s monosyllabic, often expressionless public comments are wrongly put down to shyness or reticence.
Instead, the German believes they simply reveal Raikkonen’s arrogance.
“People call him ‘cool’ because he doesn’t say anything,” Ralf complained to the Daily Mirror.
“If I ran around the paddock behaving like that, people would call me the most arrogant idiot of all time.”
As regards the competitive state of play heading into Bahrain, Schumacher has written off both his own and brother Michael’s chances of victory.
“Of course I am hoping I can win but it does not look very good,” he said.
“Last year [Toyota team-mate] Jarno Trulli finished second, but it would be a big surprise if it happened again this Sunday.
“We are simply not fast enough.
“[And] Ferrari are not as good as Renault, Honda or McLaren.
“Because Toyota is now a Bridgestone team, I have seen Ferrari’s data.”
Toyota has stated publicly that it is targeting a maiden victory this season, its fifth year in Formula 1.
Mr Pot....meet Mr Kettle..
Ralf Explains Why He's Lacking an F1 Title
Ralf Schumacher has defended himself amid criticism that he has never risen above fourth in the championship.
The German driver, who at 30 is attacking his tenth year in formula one this year, is a six-time race winner but never looked like troubling the title winner.
''Well, you have to have some luck to be at the right place at the right time,'' Schumacher - whose brother Michael won five drivers' triumphs for Ferrari during Ralf's career - told 'Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger'.
He added: ''Of course I could not win with Jordan (in 1997 and 1998), and Williams never progressed enough that I could win the title.
''And now I am at the beginning with Toyota.''
He's missed the main point..
He ain't that good...
My Team Mate is On Average Two Tenths Quicker
F1 rookie Nico Rosberg expects to be beaten by his more experienced teammate.
The 20-year-old German, the son of Williams' 1982 world champion Keke, admitted that Mark Webber is - at present - a quicker pilot.
''For the moment, Mark is on average two tenths per lap in front of me,'' Rosberg, the reigning GP2 champion, told Germany's 'Sport Bild'.
Williams' new driver characterised Webber, 29, as an 'extremely quick' driver, particularly on a qualifying lap.
In a separate interview, with Sport1.de, Rosberg singles out Webber's four years of F1 experience as his advantage.
He said: ''So I must work hard if I want to catch him up. In F1, you are always compared to your teammate and that's the way it should be.
''My goal is to equal his achievements, or even beat him from time to time.''
Rosberg also revealed that the strength of the 'FW28' package is the Cosworth engine and the aerodynamics, while the main weakness is the often unreliable gearbox.
Renault to Keep Alonso Away From 2007 Developments
The fact that Fernando Alonso already has a McLaren contract in his back pocket should not harm his 2006 title charge.
That's the opinion of triple world champion and former Jaguar principal Niki Lauda, who thinks the 24-year-old Spaniard should still get along fine at Renault.
"I do not see the major consequences of the move for him," the Austrian told TV broadcaster ORF, "as long as he is driving a good car."
Where Lauda, 57, thinks Alonso could run into trouble is if his final blue and yellow racer turns out to be a tugger.
He said: "The bottom line is that Alonso, of course, wants to defend his title. So in that case I do not see why anything should be any different in the way he beats (Giancarlo) Fisichella.
"But if the results and the points do not come, if there is some crisis, then there could be some problems."
Renault's Pat Symonds, however, admits that - title challenge or not - the team will begin to shut up shop to McLaren-bound Alonso near the end of the year.
"Of course we wouldn't have him privy to those (development ideas for 2007)," he told the BBC.
Symonds added: "But we're not going to cut off our noses to spite our faces and he's going to think the same."
Monza cancels F3000 race over noise levels
The Monza autodrome, host of the Italian Grand Prix, has cancelled the Italian F3000 race programmed for March 19th because the cars aren't fitted with a suitable noise-reduction system.
The decision, taken by the Automobile Club Milano and the SIAS, the company which manages the Monza autodrome, comes after an out-of-court settlement could not be found with a group of local residents, who in 2001 filed a formal complaint over the track's noise levels.
A new court hearing yesterday, the outcome of which won't be known until next week, follows a ruling from last November stating that testing and racing at the circuit without a suitable system to reduce the noise levels will be temporarily banned.
Lawyer Leandro Cantamessa, who assists the Automobile Club Milano and the SIAS, was confident yesterday's appeal will stand.
"We heard from 1,800 people who live in the area next to the Autodrome, and none of them feels the annoyance which is the basis of the official complaint presented by two persons," he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
"It's not a matter of health, but of annoyance which doesn't have a constitutional tutelage when it's against a business activity which has a historical value and produces formidable induced revenues."
A proposal to create noise-reducing barriers and to reduce the number of days in which free-emission cars are allowed to run was put forward at yesterday's hearing.
Besides the Italian F3000 race, all the various competitions scheduled to take place in the same event were cancelled, including the Italian Touring Car Championship and Italian Formula Three.
"This is because, being unable to let the F3000 cars race, interest in the event falls," explained Cantamessa.
The Formula One Italian Grand Prix is scheduled to take place at Monza on September 10th.
Uh-oh...
The complainers are winning...
Bahrain Preview: Midland F1
What a difference a year makes.
Heading into the 2005 World Championship, Jordan Grand Prix arrived in Australia with a new owner, rookie drivers, and an unfamiliar engine bolted into an ageing chassis.
A year later, the freshly rebranded Midland Formula 1 team touches down in the desert kingdom of Bahrain with a striking new look befitting a team driven by the desire to build on lessons learned over the course of last season.
Fresh off 14 complete days and thousands of kilometres of winter testing in Spain and England, MF1 Racing is confident it possesses a package capable of running reliably and competitively. Its Toyota RVX-06 V8 engines have run faultlessly over the course of several race distances, the Bridgestone tires continue to show marked improvement, and the brand-new M16 chassis is a significant leap forward in every respect when compared to its predecessor. With two fast young drivers in Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro behind the wheel, the team is optimistic and ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead.
Colin Kolles, Managing Director: "We have worked very hard to get to where we are today, and we're continuing to work hard every day. A lot of effort and investment has gone into re-building this team, from the infrastructure at the factory, to new race equipment and a new car. We don't expect things to change overnight, but we now have the right ingredients on this team to push forward and that's a good first step. Bahrain represents a fresh start for us, and we're determined to make the most of it."
Tiago Monteiro: "After a long winter of testing, it's very exciting to be back in action. The first race is always very interesting; there are so many unknowns. Everyone on the team is very keen and motivated. I think we did an excellent job of getting ready this winter. We did way more testing than last year, and that can only help us down the road. We have to stay realistic and focused on working on moving in the right direction, but everything is looking positive at the moment. We're ready to go racing."
Christijan Albers: "I think we're doing quite reasonable, but it's never enough in Formula 1. We need to push every day, every minute, every second, to get the results we're looking for. But the most important thing is that everybody is really motivated and everybody is pushing really hard to achieve our goals, which is to crack the top 8 and score points whenever we can. Based on what I've seen so far, it's a reasonable goal but we have to keep working really hard for that. We've seen constant improvements in testing: the car is still quite new, but we keep finding performance improvements and it keeps getting faster all the time."
Raikkonen warns rookies: let us past
McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen has only one piece of advice for Formula One's rookie drivers.
"Hopefully, let us past," the Finn told a news conference at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on Thursday when asked what tips he could pass on.
Two of the three newcomers, Germany's Nico Rosberg and U.S. driver Scott Speed, were sitting behind the 2005 title runner-up.
Rosberg, son of Finland's 1982 World Champion Keke, is making his debut for Williams while Speed will become the first American Formula One driver in 13 years when he starts for Scuderia Toro Rosso.
The third rookie is Japan's Yuji Ide, 31, who has least Formula One experience of all and is also likely to be the slowest, at newcomers Super Aguri.
"I just want to do a good job and improve all the time," said Rosberg, 20, who won the inaugural GP2 junior series in Bahrain last year.
"Certainly there are a lot of nerves when you are starting your first Grand Prix," said Speed, 23, who drove a Red Bull in Friday practice at Indianapolis and Montreal last year.
"I've been dreaming about it ever since I was 11 years old and drove my first go-kart," added the Californian.
"I get a sense of completion that I've completed a big part of my goal in life."
Rosberg has impressed with his confidence and testing times, with Williams already expecting him to score more points in his rookie year than Briton Jenson Button did with them in 2000.
"I don't think they need advice," said Ferrari's seven times World Champion Michael Schumacher. "Generally the young generation have so much time in go-karting and all the formula series.
"Formula One is just a formula car with a bit more horsepower and that goes around quicker. They have enough experience of everything else."
Speed, whose team will run a restricted V10 engine unlike others using V8 units, made clear he had higher ambitions than simply clearing the road for Raikkonen and other frontrunners.
"We are generally aiming to gain as many points as possible," he said.
Toro Rosso duo downplay podium chances
Vitantonio Liuzzi has played down suggestions that his Toro Ross team enjoy an advantage over their rivals for using a V10 engine.
"They are just jealous. For sure it is always the same: people are trying to say things about the performance that we are doing," Liuzzi told autosport.com. "We have got our down side and up side.
"For sure we have a good side in the reliability of the engine in the races, but in qualifying for sure we will struggle. It seems the V8 will be much stronger, so you always have to take the good things and the bad things.
"We look good for the race but on Saturday it will be tough to follow the others."
Liuzzi's comments come after Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug said Toro Rosso could be fighting for a podium finish next Sunday at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
"Toro Rosso have more horsepower - that is not a secret," said Haug. "It could be up to 10 percent more. They also have more torque. But I am not criticising that. They were strong in testing here and they can go for a podium here, I am convinced."
Liuzzi believes Toro Rosso are looking more competitive than they actually are because their rivals have detuned their V8 engines in order to avoid problems.
"I think it looks like that because many people are struggling with reliability," he said. "It seems like they are not able to finish a race distance so they have to push the power down, but I am sure with development they will make the car more reliable and we will struggle even more.
"It is looking positive for the first three races because they are looking very hot and this will be a negative point for the other teams but it is difficult to say how good we are, because in testing the V8 showed a really good performance."
Liuzzi's teammate Scott Speed said reaching the podium was not a realistic target, but claimed the team will aim to score a few points.
The American also admitted that if they reached the podium, a further restriction of their V10 engine would be fair.
"If we got a podium then immediately we will have a restriction on our hands which would be the right thing to do," Speed said. "I don't think a podium is something that we can realistically hope for, I think getting a few points is something that is more reasonable to expect."
Schumacher expects more fun with V8s
Ferrari's Michael Schumacher expects to have more fun in Formula One this season with the switch to smaller V8 engines.
The seven times World Champion said on Thursday the balance between engine power and tyre performance was now "more in harmony" than with the old V10s.
"The car is a bit sharper to drive and I prefer it," the German told a news conference before Sunday's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Schumacher won a record 84 Grands Prix with the old three litre engines that have been replaced by the new 2.4 litre V8s.
"Generally you lose about two to three seconds going from a V10 to a V8 engine but thanks to our engineers, who are very efficient, it has not made a big difference," said the 37-year-old.
"But then we were off the pace to some degree last year."
McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen said the new engines made no difference to him.
"I haven't changed my driving at all. You just drive the car as fast as you can," said the Finn, winner of seven races last season on his way to second place behind Renault's World Champion Fernando Alonso.
FIA Amends F1 Qualifying Rules
Any driver stopping on the track during F1 qualifying in Bahrain this weekend will take no further part in the procedure, even if they’ve gone fast enough to make it through to the next round. Thus, if a driver who has done a time in session two that qualified him for the top 10 subsequently spins off or stops with a technical problem, he will have to start from 10th place.
The last-minute change to the Sporting Regulations has been introduced with the full agreement of all the teams, and had solved what could have been a serious headache for the FIA.
As written, the rules allowed cars that had stopped on the circuit to be returned to the pits between session 1 and 2, and 2 and 3. While this was feasible at modern circuits with good internal access roads, it was rather less easy to manage at tracks where cars are towed back on the circuit itself, because the five-minute gaps between the sessions did not allow much time for the track to be open to recovery vehicles.
In either case it would be down to luck as to whether a car could be returned in time, which could have led to arguments had one car made it back, and another not.
Another complication was caused by the fact that cars have to be refueled before the start of session 3, and any machine being towed back was likely to miss the deadline any way.
Now, any cars which are brought back will be held in parc ferme, and not returned to the teams.
Arrgggh.....
More rule changes - this time within 48 hours of the event...
For god sakes stop it!!
Tost quells Toro Rosso fears
As the only team running a restricted V10 engine, and with a chassis too familiar to the Red Bull 2005 car, Scuderia Toro Rosso make their debut in Bahrain amid controversy and threats of protests.
But the 'junior' Red Bull team boss, Franz Tost, believes their rivals have no reason to complain or worry about the former Minardi outfit, and he talks about the team's competitiveness, the engine equivalency formula, the chassis ownership, and more.
Q: What are your feelings on the new season? Are you excited or nervous?
Franz Tost: "Nothing has changed in this way apart from having more work and more responsibility. That is it. At the end we will see."
Q: Has it surprised you that all winter, your rival teams have only been talking about your V10 engine and its performance?
Tost: "First of all, I don't believe that all of them have talked about us, because if this is the case then their winter time must have been too boring. At the same time - and I now talk from Toro Rosso's side - we have so much work to do, that I cannot think about what other teams are doing and which engine decision they will make.
"Therefore, I think there were two or three people who always talked about our engine, the V10. They talked to the press and they made a little bit of publicity, in a negative way, against us.
"But for me it is quite clear. The FIA regulations say that we, as a private team, can run a V10 engine. We have to run it with the 77mm air restrictor and with the 16,700rpm limit, and that is it so far. I cannot understand why some of them are so against this decision."
Q: Do you think it is not an equivalency formula at all? It is more a restriction on your performance?
Tost: "I don't know where they think our performance will be so good. During the tests, we were 1.0 to 1.5 seconds (per lap) behind the others, and we are 5-8km/h behind the others in terms of top speed, and therefore I don't know where they have got the information that we are faster and our package has such a good performance that we can do good results.
"I hope that they are right, but realistically in qualifying we are not able to be within the first ten because there are six works teams, with 12 cars, and apart from this we have Williams with two cars.
"There are other competitors with a really good package; therefore, I don't know how they can say Toro Rosso has such a good performance. I hope they are right because I would be very happy about this, to be honest."
Q: But it must be hard for you, the more you improve the car and go faster, the more your performance will be pulled back...
Tost: "Look, if we are legal and running within the FIA regulation, I cannot see a reason why they will hold us back. Why? It depends.
"If we were in the first position and running 10 seconds in front of Renault, then okay. But first, this will not be the case. And second, I could understand it then. They would say that this is not within the thoughts of the people who made the regulations. This I understand and would be 100 percent accepting from our side.
"But let's wait and see. Tomorrow we have the first free practice, Saturday qualifying, and Sunday the race, and then we will know more about everything.
"From the engine performance side, I am absolutely convinced that many, many of the V8 engines are in front, because during the winter time the manufacturers did a tremendous job - they made a big step forward and therefore I don't expect us to have such a great advantage over the other teams regarding engine power."
Q: But on that point, if it is an equivalency formula, it should not be something that changes regularly, because if you do improve your car, it would be anti-competitive to then restrict you?
Tost: "But who says that if we are within the first eight - which, once more, I do not believe we will be - that we will be restricted? Who says this?"
Q: Well, that is the question. The FIA has always said it will change instantly...
Tost: "Yes, Max Mosley always said that if he sees that the V10 engine has an advantage over the V8, and if they made the wrong type of regulation, then he would change it, and he would change it immediately, from hour to hour. We know this. It is quite fair. And the rest, we will see.
"But to be honest I cannot see an advantage up to now. All the calculations that Cosworth have done so far are correct. And the measurements and dyno tests that some other manufacturers did were with different restrictors - for example, it is important how you fit in the restrictor into the airbox.
"If it is 10mm with a 90-degree angle or if you have a little bit of radius in there, then immediately you have the Venturi Effect and then immediately you have 20-30 percent more horsepower.
"And that is clear. It means that first the people who talk against the V10, they must know how they have measured it. I don't know. I only know this from some manufacturers, that they tried a right angle, and it is wrong. If you have a radius in there, it is wrong and you have another output from the engine. That is all I can say and let's wait and see."
Q: How will the FIA establish whether a V10 is an advantage?
Tost: "They will see it. They will see it in the speeds and where we are placed. They will see how good our performance is. For people at the FIA, it is very easy to police where we are because they have all the data and they can see where we are.
"They can see if we have an advantage from the engine side or from the chassis side, or the driver's side, wherever. It is very easy to police and control everything. They have all the data. If they want, they know everything."
Q: If you were only quicker than Midland and Super Aguri it wouldn't be a problem, but if you were quicker than Williams, Toyota or Red Bull it would...
Tost: "No, I don't see this. Because it depends. Normally Red Bull is in front of us, from car performance and qualifying. And if, for example, they did not finish a race - or any competitors for that matter - because of reliability problems, then you cannot punish us on the grounds that we are in front of them due to the V10. That would be ridiculous.
"It depends on the circumstance. If we are running in front of a manufacturer who does not have any problems, either with tyres or reliability or anything else, then we have to think about it. But this will not happen. I cannot believe it.
"We are a young team, we nearly have inexperienced drivers, last year Tonio [Liuzzi] did four races, and Scott Speed is completely new, Neel Jani is new in F1, wherefrom they should immediately get the performance level to be in front of the others... I think this is for some people an excuse to talk about something because they have themselves not done a good enough job."
Q: There have been some other comments about the legality of your car. What can you say about that?
Tost: "I don't know exactly what they are claiming. The fact is that Scuderia Toro Rosso is the owner of the (intellectual) property rights of the RB1 as well as of the STR1. That means from the regulation side we could have run the RB1, because we are the owner of the property rights, but we did not do this.
"We improved this car from the aero side a little bit, and some other improvements where we expect a better performance, and that is it. I don't know what is wrong from this side. It is something that is within the regulations, so I don't understand what they are claiming."
Q: Do you think some other teams will protest you?
Tost: "I don't know. I always hear that Midland will protest, but I don't know what they will protest - the chassis or the engine. You know, as far as I can say, we did everything to be within the regulations, and the FIA has the regulation that we respect. And I don't know what they (Midland) are against, and then I don't know what the scrutineers or the stewards will decide."
Q: Ultimately, isn't it better that your rivals are worried about you than if they were not?
Tost: "Yeah, it is good. On one side it is okay, because let me say it is better if they talk about you than if they don't, and we have to earn that.
"But I would prefer if they talked that we are a really good team and they liked us. Positive criticism is always better than negative criticism, and we should not start an F1 season from the beginning talking about protests and those kind of things. That is a negative taste for me. I would not like to do this.
"I would never start an F1 season talking in the press that I would protest against this team or that team. For me, that is not good."
Red Bull's F1 party
Thursday 9 March at 21:39 : Hours from the start of this year’s Formula One action getting underway in Bahrain, Red Bull hosted a spectacular Arabian Nights launch for Scuderia Toro Rosso’s debut in the sport and Red Bull Racing’s second year in F1.
The world’s press and a galaxy of VIP guests were invited to attend the “1002nd Arabian Night” on a private island off the coast of Bahrain. Oil lamps lit the way down a kilometre of carpet to the venue where everything Arabia is famous for was on show. Dancers and musicians entertained everyone as they feasted on delicious local cuisine, prior to the action speeding up on stage. Film of the two teams in action culminated in some atmospheric footage of all four cars from both teams racing one another around the Paul Ricard Circuit in the South of France.
Then, in a moment straight out of every cliché of Arabian culture, a Red Bull Racing car and Scuderia Toro Rosso machine swept through the air on hidden wires to arrive on stage as if on a Magic Carpet. The new liveries reflect the fact that Red Bull’s two teams are in competition with one another but are very much part of the same family. As the obligatory dry ice swirled around the cars, the six drivers stepped out on stage to an enthusiastic welcome from the one thousand strong crowd.
“What a fantastic venue,” said David Coulthard. “I think the film played before the cars swooped onto the stage conveyed the excitement of F1. The livery looked fantastic and all six of us are keen to get a good result this weekend.”
“As usual with Red Bull, everything about the venue and party is fantastic,” added team-mate Christian Klien.
“I’m new here, but I’ve been to Red Bull parties before and this lives up to their reputation,” reckoned third driver, Robert Doornbos. “The cars look great, so let’s hope they go as quick as they look.”
The Scuderia Toro Rosso youngsters were equally impressed. “I love a party,” said the team’s American rookie, Scott Speed. “After winter testing mainly in Europe, I love the warm weather.” Tonio Liuzzi is an old hand at Red Bull parties so had a laid-back approach. “Hey, it’s Red Bull, of course it’s an awesome party! But I’m going to bed early now, as I have a job to do tomorrow.” Neel Jani was enthusiastic about his first official function with Toro Rosso. “Wow, the car looks fantastic, but to be honest I’m more impressed by the beautiful women here!”
The Bahrain event proved to be as spectacular as the Shanghai Red Bull party that brought last year’s Championship to an impressive climax. But with work tomorrow, the event did not go on too long after midnight, but was given the official seal of approval, by the presence of FIA President Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone.
Red Bull Racing's RB2
Scuderia Toro Rosso's STR1
Click for bigger...
RB2 looks as expected - the STR1 looks *imho* great.
Can't wait to see it in the flesh though.
*and the team posts updated with the new images.
*
Last edited:
Just got an extra large version of the STR1 car *seems one of the guys in Bahrain is reading this thread... Hmmmm.....Post damn you - it's only 1:40am there!!!*
Thinking about making it my backdrop at work - just need to edit it down to 3200x1200
Or - alternatively have 1 as the McLaren and 1 as the STR car...
Simon/~Flibster
Thinking about making it my backdrop at work - just need to edit it down to 3200x1200
Or - alternatively have 1 as the McLaren and 1 as the STR car...
Simon/~Flibster
Ready set launch!
Later tonight, Red Bull is staging a party to reveal the new 2006 liveries for both its teams, but spare a thought for the Red Bull Racing team personnel who won’t even get to the launch party. Today, in the garage, the three cars – two race and one spare – have been partially disguised as the mechanics set about getting them ready for the first practice session on Friday.
Later tonight, the shutters will come down, the doors will be closed and the job of redecorating the racers in their new colours will begin. It’s a major operation, as each of the Red Bull Racing cars needs 45 stickers and things like spare nose cones and wings also have to be re-liveried.
Three guys will attack one car each, taking four hours to complete the job.
Meanwhile, over at Toro Rosso, there is an even more complex livery, which means two men working on each car and taking a staggering eight hours to get the job done. None of the race drivers should even consider spinning off the track tomorrow if they don’t want to be lynched by their crew.
Holy hell!
I knew the cars were in their testing liverys when they arrived...but...
Thought that they'd just have 2 sets of bodywork for them whe they'r set up and then switch nose cones and other major panels just leaving the structural components to change - but it appears not...
Rather them than me...