Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

Short News :

Ferrari launch F138 in Maranello
Ferrari unveiled the new Ferrari F138 chassis at its factory in Maranello on Friday morning, the car which will contend the 2013 Formula 1 season in the hands of ongoing drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.
According to Ferrari Team Principal Stefano Domenicali, the F138 is ‘an evolution’ of last year’s F2012 chassis, and features a raised front nose section, removing the stepped nose that could be seen on its predecessor.
Before the covers were pulled off the F138, there was a short presentation paying tribute to the continuing work of the Ferrari brand, from their first F1 race in 1950 to the modern day. Another feature highlighted the success of their road cars, showcasing its various accolages, including the 2012 Supercar of the Year, the F12 Berlinetta.
The Ferrari F138 will be present at the opening test in Jerez, with Massa driving on 5, 6 and 7 February, before handing over to newly-signed development driver Pedro de la Rosa for the final day. Fernando Alonso will get behind the wheel of the car for the first time at the second pre-season gathering at the Circuit de Catalunya.

F138 : the 13 stands for the year 2013 & the 8 stands for the V-8 engine !

Here's a link for some fotos of the new Ferrari F1 car for this season
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Force India launch VJM06 at Silverstone
Sahara Force India launched their 2013 challenger, the VJM06, at the Silverstone Circuit on Friday morning. Along with the presentation, the team officilly announced the expected news that Paul di Resta will be one of the drivers for the 2013 season.
Amid the cold and drizzle of the Silverstone pit lane, Di Resta and Deputy Team Principal Bob Fernley were on hand to pull the covers off the VJM06 live via the team's official wesite. The car, which no longer features the stepped nose design trait, was then given its first tentative run on the Full Wet tyres around the short circuit layout.
"Seeing the car built and complete for the first time is a special feeling," said di Resta. "I’ve followed its progress in the tunnel and it looks very impressive - aggressive and fast. Now I’m just eager to get out there and see where we stand compared to our competitors. After the winter I feel refreshed and keen to get back to business."
Force India is yet to announce the identity of its second driver, but an announcement is expected to be made before the second pre-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya

Here's a link for watching some fotos of the Force india F1 car
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Official: Van der Garde to drive for Caterham
The Caterham F1 Team has confirmed that Giedo van der Garde, the team’s 2012 reserve driver, will be promoted to a race seat for 2013, alongside Charles Pic.

This confirmation has proved to be a natural step for the 27-year-old, after competing for Caterham Racing in the GP2 Series, registering six podiums and two wins.

Van der Garde was clearly ecstatic with the deal, and cannot wait for the start of the upcoming season. "I know I am ready to take the step up to F1 and all the work I have done throughout my career, and particularly in the last year with this team, has brought me to my ultimate goal,” he explained. “Throughout 2012 I was able to fully integrate myself into the team, both through the FP1 sessions I ran at a number of tracks that were then new to me, and as Reserve Driver, fully embedded with the team throughout the season. Now I can continue to learn at the highest level of motorsport and show that I am ready for F1. I cannot wait to start work."
Caterham F1 Team Principal, Cyril Abiteboul, has expressed his delight in having van der Garde as part of the team, and is confident that the Dutchman, along with Pic, can have a highly successful 2013 campaign. "Everyone in the team is delighted that we can finally confirm that Giedo will be racing for us in the 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship,” he said. “This is the next natural step for Giedo with our team. We continue to grow as a team and we are committed to giving young talent across the motorsport industry the chance to grow with us and this is Giedo's opportunity to show he deserves his place at the very highest level of global motorsport. He and Charles have been team-mates before, so he is an excellent choice to partner Charles in what is going to be another very interesting season."
This leaves only Force India and Marussia to complete their respective driver line ups .

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

More F1 news this weekend !

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Ferrari F138.

this is the new mc laren
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Short News :

McLaren MP4-28 revealed in Woking :
Today McLaren revealed their 2013 title contender, the McLaren MP4-28.
Jenson Button and Sergio Pérez unveiled the car, showing that it is a re-design of the MP4-27, last season's car. McLaren have become the first team to use the new vanity panels allowed this season, as the team have decided to go for a higher nose which is stepped. A similar version to Ferrari's pull rod suspension system from the F2012 is being used on the MP4-28, and the sidepods and the rear bodywork have also been updated.
Jenson Button said: “we were extremely strong throughout the whole of the 2012 season, but, for one reason or another, we couldn’t quite pull it all together to challenge for the championships."
"That’s something we want to address for 2013. I’ve seen just how closely everybody has been working together on this car, and I think we’ve got the basis for a very strong season."
"This year’s car is the best we’ve ever made - I know the engineers have left absolutely no stone unturned in wringing every ounce of performance from every available area. I cannot wait to get behind the wheel and attempt to carry forward the incredible legacy that lives beneath the skin of every single man and woman who works at McLaren."
“We’ll be working extremely hard during the pre-season to ensure we go to the first race with bulletproof reliability. Operationally, too, I think we’ve learned and developed from last year, and that will help us run a much smoother and stronger campaign.” Sergio Pérez, who will take part in his debut race for McLaren in Melbourne said, "for me, this is a great day, In fact, every day this year has been great: I’ve been working hard with my new team to get everything ready for the start of the 2013 season - and it’s been an incredible journey to get to know this incredible organisation."
The 2013 season will be McLaren's 50th, and they will be hoping to take some trophies back to their Woking base.

Here's a link to watch fotos of the new F1 car of McLaren
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Nurburgring to host Grand Prix in 2013
Nurburgring officials have reached an agreement with Bernie Ecclestone to host the German grand prix as scheduled in July. That is the claim of the German newspapers Allgemeine Zeitung and Rhein Zeitung, following a long-running 'on again, off again' saga surrounding the fortunes of the financially beleaguered Nurburgring.
Mere hours before the latest reports, which were confirmed by Rhineland-Palatinate state spokeswoman Monika Fuhr, F1 chief executive Ecclestone had admitted the Nurburgring's future was still clouded. "It's all a bit messy," he was quoted by the Daily Mail. "At the moment the race is on, off, on, off, but we're doing our best to get it sorted." SID news agency said a race will definitely be held at the Nurburgring in July, although "it is unclear whether it will be (called) the German or the European grand prix". "It's all a little bit political," said Ecclestone, referring to the naming dispute between the Nurburgring-linked body AvD, and ADAC, a rival Hockenheim-linked German automobile club. One report said ADAC had even submitted a proposal to host the race at the Nurburgring. "It's all a bit messy with different political groups fighting each other," said Ecclestone.
SID reported that the news about the Nurburgring's July 7 race will be announced at a press conference on Thursday. Kolner Express newspaper said "government sources" had confirmed the media reports. "This is good news for the region," said state spokeswoman Fuhr.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

new ferrari will be f138 and will be presented this friday

Short News :

Lotus presents E21 at Enstone factory 28/01/2013
The Lotus F1 Team has pulled the covers off its 2013 challenger, entitled the E21, at its Enstone factory. The outfit's latest creation, which will be piloted by Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean, has retained the 'stepped nose' design trait. Launched via the Lotus YouTube channel, the E21 chassis features a number of visible bodywork changes compared to its predecessor. Aside from the unpopular nose step, sidepods similar to those seen on the double title-winning Red Bull RB8 have been implemented, while the rear of the car has been packaged more efficiently.
"I can assure you that we’ve done a lot, the whole team has been putting their heart and soul into this thing for quite some time," Lotus Technical Director James Allison explained to Sky Sports. "There’s a lot gone into it and it’s going to be an exciting car.
"The regulations for 2013 are very, very similar to 2012, so you can expect to see a lot of family resemblances. But the devil is in the detail and the detail in this car adds up to a lot of performance."
Small but effective tweaks have also been made to Lotus's livery. Although the black and gold livery remains for 2013, red is now a more prominent colour ahead of an expected deal with American technology giant Honeywell. The logo of new sponsor Burn - a member of the Coca Cola family - is also visible on the E21's front wing.
At the opening Jerez test, which takes place from 5-8 February, Grosjean will complete the first two days behind the wheel of the the E21 before handing over to Räikkönen.

Here is a link where you can watch foto's of the new Lotus F1 car !

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Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Takuma Sato 28th January 1977
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Happy Birhday to your 36th anniversary

News round up part 4 :

Ecclestone: Australia “shouldn’t complain” about fee :
Bernie Ecclestone says the Australian Grand Prix organisers “shouldn’t complain” about the cost of holding their race. The cost of the Melbourne race, which is paid for by the government of Victoria, is often a focus of debate in run-up to the Grand Prix. The Herald Sun newspaper leaked details of how much Formula One Management receive from the race. It claimed to have seen documents from 2010 which showed its current five-year deal, which ends in 2015, cost $171 (£108m) in total.
The fee for the 2011 race was $31m, which rises by around 5% every year and should reach $37.7m in 2015.
Speaking to The Age Ecclestone refused to confirm the figures due to confidentiality clauses but he did say the fee was not enough to cover the teams’ costs:
“That race probably costs the teams probably something like 17 million, 18 million maybe, something like that,” he said. “The money [paid] to the teams nowhere near covers the cost of that. The teams are subsidised by the sponsors.” Asked whether Australia should retain its race Ecclestone said: “Well it’s up to them isn’t it? It’s up to the people who are responsible. I can’t make them sign a contract, they do it of their own free will. They shouldn’t complain after they sign.
“Most of the people I think, or the same person I’ve been dealing with, Mr [Ron] Walker, for years – he looks over 21, in fact I know he is. And I think he should know what he’s doing.”
Ecclestone added he was hoping to be at this year’s Grand Prix: “They put a good race on”.

F1′s new V6 engines for 2014 in numbers :
Formula One engine technology is about to take a great leap forward.
This is the final season with 2.4-litre V8 engines and fairly low-powered KERS. In their place next year will come 1.6-litre V6 units with turbochargers, direct injection and energy recovery systems that are more sophisticated and powerful. If F1 gets it right, this will provide an absorbing technical challenge, improve the sport’s credentials as a test bed for environmentally-friendly technology, and enhance both the strategic dimension and spectacle of the races. Details have begun to emerge of how the new engines will run, look and – of course – sound. Here’s what we can expect from them and how they will change the sport.

V6 engine and turbo

1.6l : Engine capacity, down from 2.4l
6 : Number of cylinders, down from 8
100kg : Maximum amount of fuel teams can use per race from 2014 (around 140 litres). They currently use around 160kg
100kg per hour : Maximum fuel flow rate
500bar : Fuel injection pressure limit
15,000 : Maximum rpm, down from 18,000
Formula One is following the lead of the road car industry by downsizing its internal combustion engines. In addition to lopping off two cylinders, the capacity of each has been slightly reduced.
The loss of power from this reduction in capacity will be recouped in part by the addition of a turbocharger. In this sense, the configuration is not dissimilar to the 1.5-litre turbos used by many teams from 1977 to 1988.
But most significant in terms of racing is the introduction of a fuel rate limit. This links power output to fuel consumption meaning drivers and strategists will have another variable to juggle to make sure they don’t empty their tanks too quickly.

Energy Recovery Units

161bhp : Power boost from ERS, up from 80bhp
33.3s : Duration of boost available, up from 6.7s
2MJ : Maximum energy that can be harvested from ERS, up from 400kJ
4MJ : Maximum energy that can be used from ERS, up from 400kJ
The most radical changes are in the realm of Energy Recovery Systems. The change of name reflects the fact that heat as well as kinetic energy may now be recovered. The regulations refer to the two devices as the ‘Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic’ and ‘Motor Generator Unit – Heat’. The latter uses heat energy from the turbo to generate electrical energy. With two sources of recovered energy to use the limit on the amount of power they can generate has been raised. Drivers will now get a bigger boost for longer, which in addition to the thrust from the turbo engines should make for quite a spectacle. The maximum amount of power that can be drawn from the ERS is in excess of the 500kJ currently permitted in the World Endurance Championship, where Audi and Toyota race hybrid cars. However by the time F1′s new engines are introduced they will also have had a power boost – to 8MJ – keeping endurance racing ahead of F1 in this respect.

Complete units

5 : Maximum units per season, down from 8
145kg : Minimum weight of engine and ERS, down from 95kg excluding KERS
Producing a competitive engine in this specification will be enough of a challenge, but the teams will also have to cope with more demanding reliability requirements.
At present each engine has to last three race distances with some units needing to do four. From next year most if not all engines will have to last four race distances, assuming the calendar remains at around 19 or 20 races.
How powerful will they be?
The one thing everyone wants to know about the new engines is whether they will be as powerful as the current ones. F1 engine manufacturers stopped issuing details of their power outputs during the 1990s. But since F1 engine technology was frozen with the introduction of the current V8s in 2006, the consensus view is today’s cars have around 750bhp. Their replacements are expected to produce the same – before the addition of further power from ERS is taken into account. But drivers have become used to a degree of refinement in the current V8 engines they will not enjoy with the new ones – at least, not at first.
The ‘drive-ability’ and power delivery of the new units should prove a challenge. And how well the drivers and cars handle that extra power will be fascinating.

Alonso won’t drive new Ferrari during first test :
Fernando Alonso won’t drive Ferrari’s new F1 car at the first test session of the year, the team have confirmed.
Felipe Massa will give the new car its debut at Jerez on February 5th. He will share the first test with the team’s new development driver Pedro de la Rosa, who will be making his debut for Ferrari.
Alonso will not drive the car until the second test at the Circuit de Catalunya. He will spend the first three days in the car from February 19th to 21st before Massa takes over for the final day. At the final test Alonso and Massa will do two days each. Ferrari said Alonso will “intensify his physical training” while waiting for his first run in the car “in preparation for a first part of the season which, as usual will be very demanding, both because of the long distances involved between the various Grands Prix and because of the variety of weather conditions encountered from Melbourne to Sakhir, with Sepang and Shanghai in between”.
Ferrari testing rota
Day 1 : Jerez : Felipe Massa
Day 2 : Jerez : Felipe Massa
Day 3 : Jerez : Felipe Massa
Day 4 : Jerez : Pedro de la Rosa
----------------------------------------------------
Day 1 : Catalunya 1 : Fernando Alonso
Day 2 : Catalunya 1 : Fernando Alonso
Day 3 : Catalunya 1 : Fernando Alonso
Day 4 : Catalunya 1 : Felipe Massa
--------------------------------------------------------
Day 1 : Catalunya 2 : Felipe Massa
Day 2 : Catalunya 2 : Fernando Alonso
Day 3 : Catalunya 2 : Felipe Massa
Day 4 : Catalunya 2 : Fernando Alonso

Brawn insists he’s staying in charge at Mercedes
Ross Brawn insists 'I'm in charge at Mercedes', after speculation he's on his way out of Formula One outfit .
Ross Brawn has sent out a defiant message regarding his future at Mercedes, saying: "I am the team principal and I'm in charge." Speculation had surfaced that Brawn was on his way out of the Brackley-based team after parent company Daimler opted for a reorganisation of their Formula One activities.
Toto Wolff, formerly an executive director with Williams, is to take on the same position with Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Ltd after signing a letter of intent to acquire a significant minority interest in the company.
In addition, former three-time Formula One world champion Niki Lauda, who is currently non-executive chairman of MGP, will also acquire a stake in the company.
Despite the rumours, and on the day Lewis Hamilton addressed the workforce in Brackley for the first time, Brawn was adamant there would be no question as to who holds the reins.
"Toto is coming in and there is another side of the business that quite frankly I don't want to get involved in," Brawn said.

Algarve track joins the running for 2013 calendar slot :
Portugal’s Algarve International Circuit has been suggested as a possible venue for the tenth round of the 2013 F1 calendar. With less than 50 days to go until the first practice session of the season in Australia a vacant slot remains in this year’s schedule. Bernie Ecclestone told Austria’s Salzburger Nachrichten the Portuguese circuit could hold the race on July 21st. He added France is also still being considered for a return to the Grand Prix calendar. If a race were held in Portugal on July 21st the teams would face a logistical challenge to arrive in Hungary in time for the next round on the 28th.
The Algarve International Circuit was built in 2008 at a cost of around £200m using private money. Construction took just ten months. Its F1 configuration measures 4.692km (2.92 miles).
When it was built the owners hoped it would become a popular testing destination for F1 teams. But the introduction of the testing ban scuppered those hopes and the track only saw F1 cars in action during the 2008/09 off-season. However its undulating layout means it stands out among other recent new-build circuits and has been praised by many of the drivers who have visited it. The track held the GP2 season finale in 2009 and last year played host to the FIA’s World Touring Car Championship and GT1 World Championship (see video below). The Portuguese Grand Prix last appeared on the F1 calendar in 1996. The race at Estoril was won by Jacques Villeneuve for Williams.
Portugal hasn’t had an F1 driver on the grid since Tiago Monteiro in 2006. Since then Alvaro Parente and Filipe Albuquerque have come close to reaching F1 but fallen short. However Antonio Felix da Costa is a rising star on Red Bull’s young driver programme and may well be Portugal’s next F1 driver.

Russian Grand Prix gets November date for 2014
The inaugural Russian Grand Prix will get a November slot on the 2014 F1 calendar, according to the mayor of Sochi. Sochi mayor Anatoly Pakhomov told R-Sport (part of state-owned media agency Ria Novosti) “after the Olympics, in November, the Formula One will be held.” Sochi will hold the 2014 Wintor Olympics in February.
The F1 teams can expect cool conditions for Russia’s first Grand Prix – the average temperature in Sochi in November is 10.9C.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

News round up part 3 :

Pirelli aims for faster laps and more pit stops in 2013 :
Pirelli say their new range of F1 tyres will produce quicker lap times and more pit stops in 2013.
F1′s official tyre supplier will supply softer tyres for 2013 – this year’s hard tyre will be approximate composition to last year’s medium. Pirelli says the performance difference between the compounds to be around 0.6 to 0.8 seconds. The tyres will have stiffer shoulders but stronger sidewalls. This will increase thermal degradation meaning teams will need to make more pit stops – Pirelli expect at least two per race.
This will also benefit traction and extend the peak performance of the tyres which should reduce lap times by around half a second per lap. Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery explained the reasons for the change: “To get more grip, more footprint, we had to change dramatically the carcass, going towards more of a radial construction. It’s not fully radial, but the plies that are inside the tyre are crossed and when you make them a radial you increase the size of the footprint.
“That might sound easy, but when you do that unfortunately you lose some of your lateral cornering force. So you have to recover some of that by increasing the rigidity of the belt pack – that’s the area you see at the top of the tyre. That’s the real weight gain, where we’ve had to put reinforcing materials in.
“That has a number of advantages, essentially. It stops what you call coupling in corners, that’s where the tyre deforms and tried to fold in the middle of the tyre. With that increased resistance you don’t get the buckling.
“You get improved heat distribution, we’ve seen the heat build-up on the on the tyre is much improved compared to last year’s tyre.
“And with the structure, while being ten percent less rigid vertically, we have recovered the cornering force by adding in that belt. We would have lost about five percent in lateral cornering forces if we hadn’t made modifications to that belt pack. So it’s very substantial changes.
“Add on as well the changes to the compounds, the slick tyres, with that increased rigidity and much more rapid heat build-up what we’re hoping for is more degradation. Now that might sounds strange because most of our lives we’ve spent, as you can imagine, trying to avoid performance decay and degradation. In reality that’s what we’re being asked for in the sport of Formula One.
“As has been mentioned earlier at the end of the season we were getting to the point where we were having negative degradation. The loss of fuel was actually compensating for any performance loss, the tyres were still going quicker at the end of their stint, we had tyres that could last the whole race.
“So we had to look again at what we were doing to create at one side improved drive-ability with the mid-corner traction, from another point of view still maintain a technical challenge for the teams.”
Pirelli will also change the colouring of the hard tyre to make it easier to identify them. These will now be coloured orange instead of silver, with the other tyres remaining unchanged from 2012.
Pirelli will also offer a day of tyre testing in an F1 car to the winner of this year’s GP2 championship.
Jean Alesi, who used Pirelli tyres in F1 with Tyrrell in 1990, has been confirmed as an ambassador for the brand.



The colors for this years tyres :
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Kubica says he will return to F1 if he feels fit enough :
Robert Kubica says he will consider returning to Formula One if the arm he injured in a rally crash in 2011 heals sufficiently. Kubica has undergone surgery on multiple occasion since his right arm was almost severed when he crashed during the Ronde di Andora Rally in February 2011.
Speaking to F1 Racing magazine Kubica said he will consider returning to F1 even if his injured arm does not heal fully: “If the limited pronation and supination were fixed 80 percent, I would say ‘yes’ to coming back to F1.”
Kubica has returned to competition in rallying and escaped further injury in a crash last September. He will test a Mercedes DTM car at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia tomorrow.
“I’m really pleased that Mercedes-Benz is giving me the opportunity to test their DTM car and I’m looking forward to getting acclimatised to a race car again,” he said in a statement.
“It will be in proper testing conditions, on a permanent circuit, and it’s important because the DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupe has good levels of downforce.”
Kubica added said he’s not yet ready to commit to a return to circuit racing: “It’s still too early to make any statements about my future because of this one test. I’m just looking forward to tomorrow and well see what happens after that.”

Kubica tests DTM Mercedes at Valencia :
Almost two years since he almost lost his life in a rally crash, Robert Kubica tested for the Mercedes DTM team at the Valencia Ricardo Tormo Circuit .
Rain limited Kubica’s running in the car but he said he was pleased with the day’s work: “My first day of testing in a DTM car was great fun and I learned a lot about the series and the DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupe.
“The first installation lap was in the dry, then a few heavy showers of rain came down and we had to wait for the track to dry out. All in all, it was a good experience, getting to know the car in different weather conditions.
“I was able to get to grips with the DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupe and felt very comfortable in the car, even though after my long break it meant adjusting to the high downforce that a state-of-the art DTM race car produces.
“I’m very pleased with my performance on this first day of DTM testing and had no problems whatsoever in the car.” Kubica has played down the prospect of racing for the team in this year’s series. He will compete in the European Rally Championship, which has some data clashes with the DTM.
However he said recently he would consider a return to F1 if the arm he injured in the 2011 crash heals sufficiently . Kubica isn’t the only F1 driver to have tried a DTM car recently – Timo Glock drove a BMW M3 .

Glock returns to BMW with DTM test in Valencia :
After confirming he will not race in F1 this year, Timo Glock tested one of BMW’s M3 DTM cars at Valencia in Spain. Glock was a test driver for BMW’s Formula One team in 2007, but moved to Toyota the following year after the two outfits disputed his services. The matter was settled by the Contract Recognition Board.
Glock also raced in Formula BMW, winning the title in 2001. He sampled Martyn Tomcyk’s BMW M3 DTM at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia.
“If you race in Formula One for quite a long time in a single seater then you jump into a car with a roof on top is a bit different, the view and everything is different,” said Glock.
“But it was good I enjoyed it. For me it was great to come back, I know a lot of people here from the past, I started my formula career at BMW. It’s great to be back again and now let’s see how the test goes, the next day and then I hope we can go on together and find a way together for the future.”
BMW returned to the DTM last year and swept the board, winning the constructors’ championship and teams’ championship (with Schnitzer) while Bruno Spengler won the drivers’ title in his M3.
BMW have one unfilled place in their eight driver line-up for 2013. The ten-race season begins at Hockenheim on May 5th.

Pirelli plans to give F1 a speed boost :
The drive to build a faster car is part of the essence of Formula One. But ever-tightening rules, a freeze on engine development and the abolition of competition between tyre suppliers has gone a long way to halt advances in car performance. This has largely been done for two reasons: to improve safety and reign in costs. And it has been successful: average lap times at F1′s fastest track are much the same as they were 20 years ago. That trend may be about to change. Pirelli’s 2013 F1 tyre range, which they say were “developed in accordance with the teams and the various governing bodies” will boast “improved performance”.
Pirelli estimate the potential lap time gain at 0.5 seconds, though inevitably that will vary from circuit to circuit.
In terms of tyres, the pursuit of performance stopped when the FIA ended the Bridgestone-Michelin tyre war and introduced a single tyre supplier from 2007. When Pirelli took over in 2011 the sport wanted a new range of tyres which would promote better racing.
While Pirelli has been successful in that respect, lap times crept up. They grew by around a second at most tracks last year, compounded by new technical restrictions on exhaust-blown diffusers.

Lotus fire up E21 ahead of Monday launch :
In the round-up: Lotus will be first to launch their 2013 F1 car in a live stream on their website on Monday !!!

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

News round up part 2 :

Caterham CT03 to debut at start of Jerez test :
Caterham will have their new car ready for the first test session of 2013 at Jerez.
The Caterham CT03 will be revealed in the pit lane on the morning of the first day of the test.
The team has chosen the name CT03 as last year’s car was the CT01 and the first product from its road car partnership with Renault will be called the CT02. A spokesperson told F1 Fanatic they expect to confirm the identity of their second driver before the launch. The team has already signed Charles Pic for this season.

Wolff to join Mercedes but keep Williams stake :
Williams have confirmed executive director Toto Wolff has left the team to join one of its rivals.
Wolff is joining Mercedes as an exeuctive director and shareholder. He will give up his seat on Williams’ board of directors but retain his shareholding in the team.
“I am leaving Williams on good terms and I will miss the team and friends I have made there,” said Wolff. “I’d also like to wish Frank and the whole of Williams the best of luck for the future.”
Frank Williams said he understood Wolff’s move, commenting: “Positions such as the one offered to him by Mercedes do not come around often”. He added his thanks for Wolff, who became the team’s executive director in July: “He was a key support to me as executive director last season, deputising at a number of races when I was unable to attend”.
“Toto has a long history with them and I certainly was not going to stand in the way of him accepting this once in a lifetime opportunity,” continued Williams.
“Toto will retain his shareholding in Williams and will always have a place at Grove but make no mistake; we will fight him hard on the racetrack.
“I am sure he will be a strong asset for Mercedes and on behalf of the whole team I would like to wish him the best of luck in his new role. I’m lucky to have a very professional group of people around me and the company’s executive committee will continue the work they have been doing to ensure a successful future for the business.”
Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche said Wolff “has proven that this sport runs in his blood” but “is also well aware of the economic necessities of the business”.
“With Toto Wolff, we have gained for our Formula 1 team not only an experienced motorsport specialist, but also a longstanding enthusiast of the Mercedes-Benz brand,” he added.
“Together with him and Niki Lauda, we will further develop our motorsport activities and guide our Silver Arrows into the next era” Wolff called Mercedes “one of the most important participants in motorsport worldwide” and described himself as a “big fan” of the brand.
“I am looking forward to the challenge and, along with preparing for a successful racing season, also want to focus on the targeted promotion of new talent" . Mercedes also confirmed Lauda is now a shareholder in the team. Toto Wolff is married to Susie Wolff who races for Mercedes in the DTM and is a test driver for Williams.

Hamilton: Mercedes can compete with top teams :
Lewis Hamilton says it’s not impossible for Mercedes to compete with the top three teams in 2013.
Speaking during his first visit to Mercedes in Germany Hamilton said: I live to win. That’s what I work towards every year. So that’s what we’re going to work to this year.
“Of course it’s going to be tough to compete, to beat the guys that are already at the front like the Red Bulls and the Ferraris and McLarens but I don’t think it’s impossible.”
Hamilton said he’s already visited the team’s base in the UK to get up to speed with his new team:
“I’ve been to Brackley back in the early part of December. Asking lots of questions, trying to get as much involved as I can in the limited time I was there.
“It was great to see how enthusiastic everyone was, looked like there was incredible determination to turn this thing around. So that gave me a lot of motivation for my winter.”
“I think this year’s going to be an interesting year, an interesting journey,” he added. “Learning and getting to know new people and working with new people is always a massive challenge so that’s first and foremost one of the biggest challenges I have.
“And after that it’s trying to succeed, trying to extract the most out of them and vice-versa. But I think it’s going to be a journey that we are going to enjoy.”

Red Bull retain Buemi as test driver :
Sebastien Buemi will continue to serve as Red Bull’s test and reserve driver for the 2013 season.
Buemi took up the position last year after being dropped by Red Bull’s young driver team Toro Rosso. Buemi did not get any time in the car during an official practice or test session.
“I know everyone at Red Bull Racing well and it’s good to remain with the team for another year,” said Buemi.
“Of course my aim is to be driving at the races again, but I am still learning all the time from my work with the team. I help with the development of the car and provide feedback throughout the season, both at the factory and at races.” Team principal Christian Horner said Buemi “is an integral member of the team and will complete important simulation work for us throughout the year”.
Buemi drove for Toyota in the Le Mans 24 Hours last year, but did not finish after team mate Anthony Davidson crashed. He also appeared in he European Le Mans Series for Boutsen Ginion Racing.

.Losing Glock is an ill-timed setback for Marussia :
There was no mistaking the tone of disappointment in the statement issued by Marussia yesterday confirming Timo Glock will not drive for them this year.
The BMW DTM team’s gain is Marussia’s loss on two counts. It has to fill the hole left by the departure of its lead driver of the last three years, who has participated in more than a hundred F1 race weekends.
Just as troubling is the apparent reason for the split with Glock. According to team principal John Booth, Glock was let go due to “tough economic conditions” and a need to “secure our long-term future”.
In short, both parties wished to continue – Glock had a deal in place for 2013 – but Marussia could no longer afford it. It’s an ill-timed setback for a team that was just starting to show signs of progress after a difficult introduction to F1.

Wolff plays down ‘Brawn out, Lowe in’ rumours :
Mercedes want to replace team principal Ross Brawn as part of a restructure aimed at improving the team's performance. The proposal is to replace Brawn, who masterminded Michael Schumacher's seven world titles at Benetton and Ferrari, with two new appointments.
New executive director Toto Wolff is the first of these and he has agreed a deal to bring in McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe. Their intended job titles are not clear but Wolff, 41, will likely be team boss and figurehead with Lowe, 50, running the sporting and technical aspects. McLaren have refused to comment on the situation.
On Tuesday afternoon Wolff said in response that he "hoped Ross was going to stay". But he would not be drawn on whether Brawn would be replaced as team principal.
"I admire what Ross has done but I need to understand the structure and what Ross has done," he said.
"At this stage it would be foolish to come in and speak about replacing anybody. "There is speculation which is coming up in some of the media."
On Lowe, he said: "I think he is a recognised person in the paddock who has been with McLaren for 15-20 years. In Formula 1, there's always a lot of speculation about people."
The planned restructure would leave no obvious place for Brawn or chief executive officer Nick Fry, the two men who in the winter of 2008/9 saved what has become Mercedes following the withdrawal from Formula 1 of then-owners Honda. The Brawn F1 team won the 2009 drivers' title with Jenson Button as well as that year's constructors' title before being taken over by Mercedes ahead of the 2010 season.
BBC Sport understands Lowe has agreed to join Mercedes but has not yet signed a contract - so there is a possibility, however small, that he will stay at McLaren.
However, it seems he is keen to move on from his role as technical director as he had previously accepted a position as team principal at Williams, which was offered to him by Wolff, before the Mercedes offer came up.
But although Wolff is now committed to taking Lowe with him to Mercedes, BBC Sport understands the German company's initial contact with Lowe pre-dated Wolff's involvement.
BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan, who has broken two major Mercedes stories in the last three years - with their signings of Schumacher in 2010 and Lewis Hamilton for 2013 - has independently also discovered the team's plans. "Paddy Lowe is going to Mercedes and it would appear that Brawn and Fry are on their way out, and Lowe will be there in a very senior capacity," Jordan said.
"Lowe won't be technical director; he'll be more senior than that. But he won't be called team principal either," Jordan said, "because that will be Wolff. But Lowe will effectively be running the team on a day-to-day basis."
It remains to be seen how Mercedes will resolve a potentially sticky situation.
The plans of Wolff and Mercedes F1 non-executive director Niki Lauda are to keep Brawn in place until Lowe's 'gardening leave' from McLaren is completed. This period is usually six months off work for senior personnel moving employers. But if Brawn knows he is to be replaced it seems unlikely he would want to stay on just to keep things going for Lowe. Mercedes' decision to remodel the top of the team has been based on the perceived need for change at an F1 team who have performed below expectations for the last three years.
Mercedes effectively brought Brawn into existence in early 2009 by agreeing to provide them with engines following Honda's withdrawal. But staff cuts made because of a lack of budget during 2009 contributed to a dip in form when the team morphed into Mercedes in 2010, when Schumacher joined after coming out of retirement.
Joining the team that had just won the world title and renewing his partnership with Brawn, the German legend expected to be able to challenge for an eighth world championship.
Instead, Mercedes have won just one race in three years, and Schumacher's best result was an inherited third place at Valencia last year. He also set pole position in Monaco in 2012 but was demoted by a grid penalty.
Although 2012 started promisingly, with good qualifying form in several early races and a win by Schumacher's team-mate Nico Rosberg at the third race of the season in China, the team's form dipped alarmingly and by the end of the season they were struggling even to score points. Brawn has insisted that they had been hit by a technical reshuffle that impacted on their attempts to develop last year's car and has said that he believes the right structure for success is now in place at Mercedes.

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Shaky-Schumi

News round up part 1 :

Mark Webber to get new engineer for 2013 F1 season :

Mark Webber will have a new engineer for the 2013 Formula 1 season, with Ciaron Pilbeam being replaced by Simon Rennie. Pilbeam is set to become chief race engineer at Lotus.
Rennie moves in the opposite direction, having worked with Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen last season.
A Red Bull statement said: "We can confirm that Ciaron Pilbeam has left the team to take up a new position with Lotus.
"We're pleased to welcome Simon Rennie to Red Bull Racing who will be Mark Webber's race engineer."

Felipe Massa feels he can fight for the F1 title in 2013 :
Felipe Massa believes restoring his self-belief can make him a Formula 1 championship contender in 2013.
Ferrari seemed set to drop Massa as he struggled through the 2012 season, the third year in a row that he had been overshadowed by team-mate Fernando Alonso.
But the Brazilian held on to his drive and became increasingly strong in the final races, amid a change in mental approach that Massa feels will continue this year.
"What we have done in the second part of the championship was a bit of training for this season," Massa said at the Wrooom media event,
"I want to be competitive from the start to the end, I want to return to winning and also hope to be able to fight for the championship.
"I have done this in the past, I have not forgotten this."
Massa said his mid-season turnaround last year was almost entirely due to psychological progress rather than car changes.
"It is not that the car changed that much from August in reality," he admitted. "There was also a change from my side." The Brazilian explained that shutting out criticisms and remembering what he had achieved in his best days proved key.
"Even if 90 per cent of people do not want to believe in me any more, it is important that you believe so you are not good one day and bad the day after," Massa said.
"You need to believe in what you can do. I believe in myself, I know I can be a champion, I know I can win, I know I can be what I was all my career.
"I think after you understand yourself it makes you stronger and stronger all the time."
Massa feels he has recaptured the happiness he felt when fighting for the championship in 2008.
"Maybe I was not enjoying my job so much, maybe I was not happy," he mused. "I am happy now. When you get into the car and want to have fun and enjoy it, that is when you can do your job in the best way possible.
"By doing that you can have a year like 2008."

Alonso says Hamilton is still his strongest rival in Formula 1 :
Fernando Alonso is sticking to his view that Lewis Hamilton remains his strongest rival in Formula 1, despite Sebastian Vettel having captured his third world title. Although Alonso thinks it is too early to judge which of his rivals will challenge him the hardest in 2013, in terms of driving talent he has no doubts about who he thinks is the best. "I do not know who will be my main opponent for this season, he who has the best team, with the best year in terms of preparation, luck, testing, all of these factors, will help a driver or team to come on top of others," he said at Ferrari's Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio on Thursday.
"But as for strongest opponent, who is strongest driver? My answer is Hamilton. It was true last year, it was true this year.
"The strongest driver? It is a personal opinion, not political, not to make people think something. Who is the strongest opponent, the strongest driver on grid? Who is the one you have to keep an eye on? It is Hamilton - and it will still be Hamilton next year." When asked why he did not think Vettel was the strongest driver after winning a third consecutive driver's championship, Alonso said: "I am not saying he is not the strongest driver.
"In 2011, there was a fantastic performance from him. It is true the car was much in front of everybody, they [Red Bull] were first and second consistently, and when the car is good you tend to relax in some races.
"But I remember difficult races in 2011 with wet/dry conditions, and he did not do any single mistake. So for sure in these three years there were moments when he was better than anybody else and he deserved these three championships." Although Hamilton has played down his prospects for the season ahead as he undertakes a new challenge at Mercedes, Alonso thinks is unlikely the Briton will not win races.
"I am sure he will be able to win," he said. "He is a super good driver because he won every year with any car: he won in 2007 and 2008.
"In 2009 they started around two seconds off the pace with the McLaren, and Hamilton was able to win races – and it was the same in 2010.
"Last year also Nico [Rosberg] we saw winning in China with Mercedes. So with Hamilton he will be able to win more than one race."

Gary Hartstein to be replaced by Ian Roberts as Formula 1 doctor
The FIA has appointed Dr Ian Roberts as Formula 1 medical rescue coordinator, after deciding not to renew Gary Hartstein's contract at the end of 2012. Roberts was previously chief medical officer for Silverstone and the British Grand Prix. An FIA statement said that Dr Roberts would report to Professor Jean-Charles Piette, F1's permanent FIA medical delegate.
"While Professor Piette will oversee emergency operations from race control, Dr Roberts will deploy to the track," said the statement. "His primary role there is to supervise the response of the local medical team."
Hartstein's departure had caused concern among F1 drivers, but he welcomed Roberts' appointment.
"Congratulations Ian," Hartstein wrote on his Twitter account. "Would certainly have been on my shortlist. Really good doctor, skilled leader, great guy. Lots of luck and have a great time.
"Fitting on the eve of Sid [Watkins]'s memorial that someone representing the best of British motorsports medicine be named."

New Williams to miss first F1 test as team announces launch date :
Williams's 2013 Formula 1 car will not be launched for the first winter test of the season and will make its debut at the second test on 19 February. The team has announced that the FW35 will be unveiled at Barcelona on 19 February, the opening day of test two. For the first test at Jerez on 5-8 February, Williams will run an updated version of its 2012 car. The team said its plan had always been to use an FW34 with development components at Jerez and save its fully-fledged 2013 machine for the second test.
"We will be running the FW34 (with 2013 livery) in Jerez to test a number of key development parts in preparation for the launch of the FW35," said a team statement.
Williams has retained Renault power for 2013, with Spanish Grand Prix winner Pastor Maldonado also staying on. Former test driver Valtteri Bottas replaces Bruno Senna in the second car.
Last season the team took its first victory since 2004, but inconsistent form meant it only finished eighth in the constructors' championship.

Fernando Alonso says he would support Felipe Massa F1 title bid :
Fernando Alonso says he would have no qualms about playing a supporting role to Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa if the Brazilian needed it. The Spanish driver has overshadowed Massa in the three years they have been together at the Italian squad, but the Brazilian had a much stronger second half of the 2012 Formula 1 season, during which he was faster than Alonso in some races.
Massa said on Thursday that his resurgence has left him upbeat about his chances of fighting for wins and the title in 2013. Alonso insisted people continue to under-rate Massa, who he reckons has proven to be one of the best drivers in the F1 field.
"Sure, it is not the first time I have helped him and surely it will not be the last," Alonso said when asked if he would support Massa's title challenge if required. "We help each other continuously, for the good of Ferrari.
"Felipe is one of the best drivers in the world. I have been repeating this for three years, and at times people look surprised when I say this during press conferences."
Alonso believes his gap to Massa in the standings in the past three years has been 'strange' and reckons they do not reflect the Brazilian's real speed.
"At the end of the 2012 season people realised he is one of the best in the world," Alonso said.
"These last few seasons there was a gap that I never had [with team-mates] in the past, and points wise it was something strange, because usually we should have been on a more equal level as far as points are concerned." Massa, who secured a one-year contract thanks to his late resurgence in 2012, is convinced that Ferrari wants him to be as strong as Alonso rather than just playing a supporting role.
"I cannot really imagine or think about a team that does not want one of its drivers to be competitive," he said.
"It would be absurd to have just one good car, and one good driver."


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Shaky-Schumi

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Newsflash :

Marussia confirms Timo Glock's departure
Marussia has confirmed German driver Timo Glock is leaving the team ahead of the start of the 2013 Formula 1 season. Marussia said they had agreed to part company by mutual consent.
Glock had joined the team when it made its F1 debut at the start of the 2010 season, and he had extended his contract until the end of 2014. The team has failed to score a point in F1 and lost the vital 10th place in the constructors' championship to Caterham in the final race of 2012 season in Brazil.
The news means Marussia will need to find another driver to race alongside rookie Max Chilton.
The team said it will announce its final line-up in due time.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi