Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

Short News + Test Times :

Senna Helmet auctioned for a small 90,000 euros :
A helmet that during the year 1993 has been worn by Ayrton Senna went under the hammer at an auction at the Silverstone circuit for a small 90,000 euros The helmet is signed by the triple world champion and also has a certificate of authenticity from McLaren, the team which the Brazilian then came out.Besides the helmet, which eventually yielded 88,500 euros, was also an overall of the 1994 deceased Senna auctioned. It was sold for less: the new owner had to put down 42,200 euros for the racing suit .

Di Resta happy with progress at Force India :
The Force India team has had so far a trouble-free winter behind them with the new car. Paul di Resta who completed on Thursday almost one hundred laps with the VJM05 and wrote the seventh time on his name, is a happy man.

Pirelli reveals new test car soon :
Tire supplier Pirelli has finally managed to get a new car for testing to take home. The Italian tire manufacturer will not say until next week or the week thereafter which car it is testing. Pirelli will first notify the teams.

Hulkenberg: "Better now problems than later in Melbourne" :
Force India was the least active team in Barcelona today. The VJM05 was just after the lunch break affected by a problem with the drive and that was the end of the day for Nico Hulkenberg. "I have rather now problems than later in Melbourne."

Grosjean tops the times again in disrupted session :
Romain Grosjean headed the testing times for a second day in a row at the Circuit de Catalunya.
The start of the session was delayed due to fog. The morning running was repeatedly interrupted by a series of red flags.
Michael Schumacher caused two of them in his Mercedes, and Pastor Maldonado, Sebastian Vettel and Vergne all stopped on the track as well.
In addition to the fog, there was a further red flag for debris. Nico Hulkenberg caused the eighth and final red flag after the lunch break.
In between the red flags, Vergne posted a lap of 1’23.126 on soft tyres to go fastest. He had just switched to super-softs for another effort when his car stopped on the track, and after that was missing for much of the remainder of the session.
But late in the session Grosjean beat his time with a 1’22.614, also set on soft tyres.
Vettel used medium tyres to post the third-fastest time later on in the day. Fourth fastest was Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari, setting a 1’23.447 on hards, before running a race simulation in the afternoon.
Heikki Kovalainen used super-soft tyres to set the fifth-fastest time, 1.2s off Grosjean’s pace. He, Alonso and Grosjean did the most running, each completing more than 100 laps.
Kamui Kobayashi lost over an hour with an hydraulic leak. But Hulkenberg lost a significant amount of time when his car stopped with a driveline issue, limiting him to just 33 laps.

1. Romain Grosjean : Lotus E20 : 1:22.614 laps 124
2. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso STR7 : 1:23.126 + 0.512 laps 45
3. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing RB8 : 1:23.361 + 0.747 laps 85
4. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari F2012 : 1:23.447 + 0.833 laps 125
5. Heikki Kovalainen : Caterham CT01 : 1:23.828 + 1.214 laps 104
6. Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber C31 : 1:23.836 + 1.222 laps 77
7. Nico Hulkenberg : Force India VJM-05 : 1:23.893 + 1.279 laps 36
8. Michael Schumacher : Mercedes GP W03 : 1:23.978 + 1.364 laps 79
9. Lewis Hamilton : McLaren MP4-27 : 1:24.111 + 1.497 laps 65
10. Bruno Senna : Williams FW34 : 1:24.925 + 2.311 laps 48
11. Pastor Maldonado : Williams FW34 : 1:25.801 + 3.187 laps 2

Testing continues tomorrow

Kind Regards
Shaky- Schumi

Rubens Barrichello gave up from further competing in F1 and moved to Indy Car.
The Brazilian driver in Formula 1 debut in 1993. Since that time, started in 322 races. He won 11 of them. He was vice-champion in 2002 and 2004.

News + Testing Times of the 1st day of the last test session before the season begins !

Plans to lower Formula 1 pit lane speed limit rejected by FIA :
Formula 1's governing body has rejected a move by teams to lower the pit lane speed limit during races. Most teams backed a proposal to lower the limit from 100km/h (62mph) to 60 km/h (37mph) in the interest of safety.
But race director Charlie Whiting has told them he feels there is no need to make the change as there is no evidence that the current arrangement is unsafe.
The speed limit is 60km/h during practice, but is raised for qualifying and the race.
The move was proposed following an incident in sportscar racing. A mechanic was killed at Zolder in Belgium last year when the car he was working on suffered a brake failure as it was approaching the pit.
But the FIA felt that incident was caused by a mechanical failure rather than excessive speed. Their view is that there have been no pit-lane accidents in F1 that have been caused by excessive speed since the current limits were introduced. A number of measures are already taken to increase safety in the pits during qualifying and the race.
No guests or media are allowed in the pit lane, apart from television pit-lane reporters and photographers under strict restrictions, and pit crews are only allowed out of the garages when they are getting ready for a stop.
A secondary consideration was that lowering the speed limit in the pits would have an effect on the strategies the teams employed during the races. It would most likely lead to them doing about one less pit stop in each race - which would be counter to the approach the sport is taking with tyre supplier Pirelli in trying to encourage multi-stop races.
The FIA also considered what the cars would look like travelling down the pits at 60km/h during the race and felt that they would appear too slow.
The rules contain a clause that allows Whiting to recommend to stewards a lowering of the pit-lane speed limit at any event if he feels there is a safety risk.

Pedro de la Rosa hopeful HRT can still run on Sunday :
Pedro de la Rosa is hopeful that his HRT team can get its new car ready to run for the first time at Barcelona on Sunday.
The Spanish outfit only passed its final crash test last weekend, and it is now facing a race against time to complete the F112 before this week's final pre-season test ends. De la Rosa said the plan was still focused on trying to get the car ready for Sunday - although he suggested there could be an opportunity for a straight-line test or filming day on Monday if it was necessary. "The fact is that the goal this day is to try and get to Sunday," de la Rosa said during the latest FOTA Fans' Forum in Barcelona on Wednesday night. "The crash test was passed last Sunday, and since then the team has been building the car. "We are in the car build phase, and if we come to Sunday fine. If not, then we have the possibility to do a new test on Monday."
De la Rosa said that he was positive HRT would make good progress over the campaign – even though it was facing such a rush to get its car ready for the first race.De la Rosa also revealed that HRT would consider adding KERS to its car later this season. "The car is designed to use KERS, but the team has decided to start without KERS. During the season, once we have more time to test and be in Europe, then we can make the decision to use it or not. But the main thing is the car is designed around KERS."

Pirelli open to the idea of making softer tyre more aggressive :
Pirelli is open to the idea of making its softer tyre more aggressive later this year if the compound does not deliver the high levels of degradation it is hoping for. After its experiences so far of testing the new-for-2012 compounds, Pirelli is happy with the performance differential between its compounds - which it estimates being between 0.4-0.5 seconds - but fears that its soft tyre may not degrade as much as it had hoped for. Although data from testing can sometimes be misleading, and the true race situations in warmer conditions may provide a different picture, Pirelli is ready to look at different options.
When asked by AUTOSPORT about the degradation levels of the tyres, Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery, said: "I think we would probably like to see more on the softer compound, much more aggressive degradation, but ask me the same question after we have been in 50 degrees in Malaysia on a hot circuit.
"I think you have to be careful about drawing too many conclusions and I think it will be better when we have some race data." Last year the softer tyre proved so consistent and quick that it became the default option at every race. That is why Pirelli wants it to degrade more – because then it forces teams to be more risky with their strategy.

Drivers favor of more test days in a year :
The drivers seem to agree/voted in favor when it comes to the number of opportunities to test during a year. During the FOTA Fans' Forum spoke Vitaly Petrov, Pedro de la Rosa and Pastor Maldonado unanimously for more test days. They do not plead for release, but the number of now is too little. De la Rosa went hard to give a answer. "I have always made strong for more testing. People always thought I did that for myself, but now the young drivers who are victims. The current situation is not good for Formula 1. To give an example, at the end of 2011, I did not think of that if one of the regular drivers from McLaren had failed and that I should have stept in, I was not ready for that, that can never be the intention for a third rider".
Petrov joins those words. "It is in this way very difficult to be in a rhythm. We must give young drivers more chances, they now get simply too little time to get accustomed to Formula 1. I personally noticed this when I made my debut, even six test days in the preparation were not enough to fully prepare me. "Maldonado adds: "Not only do young drivers need more testing, but everyone."

Teams not prepared to authorize complete customer cars :
The concept of customer cars continues behind the scenes, but it is unlikely in the near future to buy complete cars from other teams . The resistance against it in the paddock is large. Eric Boullier of Lotus: "It belongs to the challenge of Formula 1, to build a car himself. There is some discussion about the option of a customers car before, but it is currently simply not addressed .Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug: "A HRT should not be a Ferrari, Lotus may not be a McLaren . That's just not Formula 1, but that would have bin the case , It is no solution for this sport, otherwise we already had taken that path ".

Ecclestone: "Australia Grand Prix least viable of all" :
Ecclestone: "Australia Grand Prix least viable of all" Published on March 1, 2012 at 2:05 p.m. Bernie Ecclestone increased the pressure on the organization of the Australian Grand Prix The commercial boss of Formula 1 requires a night race for Melbourne for the followers in Europe to meet with a better start time for the race and threatens not to renew the contract. Ecclestone told in The Age also: "We have a contract until 2015 and we will respect it. After that we don't know it. If our roads and Melbourne divorce, we say Australia probably goodbye. I don't see Adelaide or another city take over the organization . The race in Australia is from our perspective is the least viable of all the Grands Prix. we have other locations that can take the place of Melbourne , but we do not want that. but I cant let other attractive offers pass to keep Australia just on the calendar .

Barcelona Day 1: Lotus is back and immediately quickly with Grosjean :
Romain Grosjean made sure Lotus' return to testing was a positive one by going fastest on day one of the final pre-season Formula 1 test in Barcelona. The Frenchman waited until there was less than 30 minutes remaining for the day before he set the benchmark time of 1m23.252s, using a set of Pirelli's soft tyres to eclipse Jenson Button's fastest time from the morning's session.
Faster times were a rarity in the afternoon sessions, with teams opting to use the stable track conditions to go for longer runs. Grosjean was one of only two drivers to improve after lunch, the other being Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber.
However, Webber was only able to shave a tenth off his best morning time, leaving him behind Button and Perez - both with morning times – in fourth for the day.Behind Webber it was Nico Rosberg, the Mercedes driver the busiest of the day with 128 laps for the day, mostly completed over long stints. Jean-Eric Vergne was sixth fastest, with Toro Rosso dedicating much of the last hour to pitstop practice.
Felipe Massa had a busy afternoon, eventually completing 105 laps for the day, despite a lengthy stay in the pits after lunch. However, his best time was only good enough for eighth. Vitaly Petrov, subbing for the ill Heikki Kovalainen, was the second busiest man of the day, putting the new Caterham through 123 laps.
His reward was avoiding the bottom of the time sheets, with Petrov ending the day 0.711s clear of Pastor Maldonado, the Williams driver completing the least number of laps for the day with just 58.

1. R.Grosjean : Lotus E20 : 1:23.252 laps 73
2. J.Button : McLaren MP4-27 : 1:23.510 +0.258 laps 64
3. S.Perez : Sauber C31 : 1:23.820 +0.568 laps 118
4. M.Webber : Red Bull Racing RB8 : 1:23.830 +0.578 laps 102
5. N.Rosberg : Mercedes GP W03 : 1:23.992 +0.740 laps 128
6. J.Vergne :Toro Rosso STR7 : 1:24.216 +0.964 laps 113
7. P.di Resta : Force India VJM-05 : 1:24.305 +1.053 laps 98
8. F. Massa : Ferrari F2012 : 1:24.318 +1.066 laps 105
9. V.Petrov : Caterham CT01 : 1:24.876 +1.624 laps 123
10. P. Maldonado : Williams FW34 : 1:25.587 +2.335 laps 58

Testing continue tomorrow

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Short News :

At the Barcelona circuit begin the Formula 1 teams Thursday to the last test session before the start of the season. Lotus picks up the thread again after a problem last week with the chassis . HRT hopes to drive later in the week for the first time with the F112 . Marussia is not there during the last test. The new MR01 has not passed the mandatory crash tests .

An overview of who comes into action for the last test:

Red Bull Racing
Thursday: Mark Webber
Friday: Sebastian Vettel
Saturday: Mark Webber
Sunday: Sebastian Vettel

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Thursday: Jenson Button
Friday: Lewis Hamilton
Saturday: Jenson Button
Sunday: Lewis Hamilton

Scuderia Ferrari
Thursday: Felipe Massa
Friday: Fernando Alonso
Saturday: Felipe Massa
Sunday: Fernando Alonso

Mercedes AMG Petronas
Thursday: Nico Rosberg
Friday: Michael Schumacher
Saturday: Nico Rosberg
Sunday: Michael Schumacher

Lotus F1 Team
Thursday: Romain Grosjean
Friday: Romain Grosjean
Saturday: Kimi Raikkonen
Sunday: Kimi Raikkonen

Sahara Force India
Thursday: Paul di Resta
Friday: Nico Hülkenberg
Saturday: Paul di Resta
Sunday: Nico Hülkenberg

Sauber F1 Team
Thursday: Sergio Perez
Friday: Kamui Kobayashi
Saturday: Sergio Perez
Sunday: Kamui Kobayashi

Scuderia Toro Rosso
Thursday: Jean-Eric Vergne
Friday: Jean-Eric Vergne
Saturday: Daniel Ricciardo
Sunday: Daniel Ricciardo

Williams F1 Team
Thursday: Pastor Maldonado
Friday: Pastor Maldonado / Bruno Senna
Saturday: Bruno Senna
Sunday: Bruno Senna / Pastor Maldonado

Caterham F1 Team
Thursday: Heikki Kovalainen
Friday: Heikki Kovalainen
Saturday: Vitaly Petrov
Sunday: Vitaly Petrov

HRT F1 Team
Thursday: Probably not in action
Friday: Probably not in action
Saturday: Probably not in action
Sunday: not yet known

Not present: Marussia Racing

Williams: "Parr would be my ideal successor"
Frank Williams is not planning to resign in the near future as his role as the Williams team boss , but his successor is already ready. According to the Briton, Adam Parr, currently chairman of the racing stable is the ideal candidate to replace him in the future. "If I, for one reason or another can no longer do my job then Adam can fill the gap," Williams said in interview with F1 Racing. "He is still young and physically okay, as I did at his age. He is not a racer, but in these days of commercialization might be an advantage. He knows ho toto make good financial decisions and he stands his ground in meetings". Co-founder Patrick Head was already retired late last year in Formula 1 team. The Briton now oversees the hybrid project of Williams.

FIA intends to decrease maximum speed in the pits :
The FIA is considering strongly to bring 60 kilometers per hour as a new speed limit to enter the pits during races . That writes Autosprint. Last year, the maximum speed in the pits during races was still 100 km per hour.
The new speed limit is a recommendation of a security delegation of the FIA, after studying other motor racing as NASCAR, and Le Mans and GT1. A change of rules in this area can have a major impact on the strategies in 2012, as a trip through the pits will last much longer than before.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Short News :

Marussia to miss last pre-season test after crash test failure :
Marussia have announced they will not run their new car in the final pre-season test of 2012.
The team confirmed its new car – the MR01 – had failed one of the FIA crash tests. As of this year, teams must pass the FIA’s crash tests before they may run their cars in testing.
A statement released by the team said: “The Marussia F1 Team is disappointed to confirm that the planned first test of its 2012 race car – the MR01 – has been delayed as a consequence of not passing the final FIA crash test.
“All cars are required to pass 18 FIA-observed tests for homologation to be granted. Despite the fact that the MR01 has passed all 17 of the preceding tests, the regulations require the car to have completed all of the tests before running commences.
“The team will now not take part in the final pre-season test in Barcelona later this week (1-4 March) and will instead focus its efforts on repeating the crash test at the end of the week.”
Marussia used their 2011 car – the Virgin MVR-02 – in testing last week.

Red Bull and Ferrari have to change plans :
Red Bull and Ferrari have their plans for the last test again overturning. Last week, the teams decided to start a day later than the rest this week at the Barcelona circuit , but this is not allowed. The international automobile federation FIA,informed the teams on Monday . So a day earlier than planned Ferrari and Red Bull have to leave there factory and like the other teams must test from Thursday through Sunday .Ferrari announced on Tuesday morning (today) that Felipe Massa is scheduled for the first (thursday) and third test day (Saturday) , Fernando Alonso rides the second and (Friday) and last day (Sunday) .

Maldonado and Senna see arrival of Würz as a welcome complement to Williams

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

28/02/1940 mario andretti former italian f1 driver
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Short News Flash :

The team of HRT survived in the retake all mandatory crash tests of the FIA with there F112. That report Autosport. It is still uncertain whether the Spanish racing stable will be present at the final preparatory test in Barcelona . Each team must pass for seventeen tests before being allowed to race their cars. The F112 did not pass the previous run of the test with their roll bar and the side of the nose. The test had to be re-executed. The last test session will start this thursday in Barcelona

Kind Regards
Shaky

25/02/1946 happy birthday to jean todt french f1 manager
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News + Last Test Times of this week :

Red Bull and Ferrari adjust testing program :
Red Bull and Ferrari will one day later begin the second week of testing in Barcelona, ​​which will take place next week. The rest of the field wil come as planned from 1 to 4 March in action, but Red Bull and Ferrari have decided to start a day later and a day later to finish.
Not only the two teams will modify their testing program, Lotus will also be on a yet to be determined day to get an extra day of testing. This is because the team has withdrawn from the test this week because of problems with the chassis.

Vergne practice on pit stops during Barcelona test:
As a rookie, Jean-Eric Vergne has still some things to learn, including making a pit stop in Formula 1. On Thursday, the Frenchman got the chance to do it , afterwards he admitted that it was scary to drive towards its mechanics with one hundred kilometers an hour .

FIA trying to close the loopholes in the law around " exhaust blowing " :
The FIA is working on stricter rules regarding engine mapping and exhaust blowing to draw. The federation has found a loophole in the law that has to be closed before one of the teams make abuse of it, writes Autosport.
The FIA ​​is strongly against the use of exhaust gases for aerodynamic purposes and therefore extra alert on this subject. One of the engine suppliers tipped now the union about a possible way to still circumvent the stricter regulations . Through greater gas opening to manipulate than is allowed are the teams able via a deliberate "misfire" of the engine send extra gases steering through the exhaust .

"Marussia following line of McLaren nose at new cars :
The new car of Marussia for 2012 contains no threshold in the nose. That reports Auto Motor und Sport. The Russian racing stable is working with McLaren, the only other team without stepped nose so far.
Marussia hopes to introduce the new car next week at the final preparation for testing in Barcelona. "There is little difference between the two philosophies, so why should we take a risk and an unknown road?", Said a source within the team know.Timo Glock has already tested the new car in the McLaren simulator. "We watch for optimism, although that does not mean that I am disappointed. I think we have a good basis on which to build. We have spent much time in identifying the problems of the previous car and in solving them" said the German.

Ferrari hits right spot with altered set-up :
The Ferrari team today experienced a breakthrough with the F2012. That said a relieved Massa after the final day in Barcelona. The Scuderia introduced a major change to the set-up by mid day and that turned out well. This offers perspective, but there is still much to do. Massa: "This morning it was very difficult to limit to drive, but in the afternoon was a completely different story. We have found a direction that we must continue to follow. This was a big day. We have put a good step, on this line we can proceed with the development. the car has improved all aspects. "

1. Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber : 01:22.312 laps 144
2. Pastor Maldonado : Williams : 01:22.561 laps 134
3. Paul di Resta : Force India F1 : 01:23.119 laps 101
4. Jenson Button laps McLaren : 01:23.200 laps 115
5. Felipe Massa : Ferrari : 01:23.563 laps 103
6. Mark Webber : Red Bull : 01:23.774 laps 85
7. Jean-Eric Vergne : Scuderia Toro Rosso : 01:23.792 laps 92
8. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes : 01:23.843 laps 139
9. Heikki Kovalainen : Caterham : 01:27.047 laps 70
10. Charles Pic : Marussia : 00:00.000 laps 0

Summary: Total number of rounds and best test times per team :
The second test in preparation for the season 2012 is finished. The Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona hosted for four days the Formula 1. Below is a list of the best test times per team, plus the total number of laps of the week. This gives a striking list without expected champion candidates in the top three.

1. Sauber C31 - 1:22.312 (Kobayashi) - 394 laps
2. Williams FW34 - 1:22.391 (Maldonado) - 454 laps
3. Force India VJM05 - 1:22.608 (Hulkenberg) - 393 laps
4. Red Bull Racing RB8 - 1:22.891 (Vettel) - 364 laps
5. Ferrari F2012 - 1:23.180 (Alonso) - 349 laps
6. McLaren MP4-27 - 1:23.200 (Button) - 464 laps
7. Mercedes W03 - 1:23.318 (Schumacher) - 399 laps
8. Scuderia Toro Rosso STR7 - 1:23.618 (Ricciardo) - 295 laps
9. Caterham CT01 - 1:26.035 (Kovalainen) - 240 laps
10. Marussia MVR-02 - 1:26.173 (Glock) - 338 laps
11. Lotus E20 - 1:26.809 (Grosjean) - 7 laps

Next week will be the final test week before the season starts (thursday : 1 march - sunday 4 march )


Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

24/02/1955 happy birthday to alain prost former french f1 driver
4 times world champion
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24/02/1971 happy birthday to pedro de la rosa spanish f1 driver
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News + Testing Times day 3 :

Lotus hope to regain lost test days:
Lotus have approached rival teams for permission to reschedule the testing days they have lost this week due to their chassis problems.

Caterham satisfied with Petrov:
Mike Gascoyne: “A very reasonable first day with Vitaly in the car. We spent some time this morning getting him acclimatised, focusing particularly on the brakes, but he has settled in well and did exactly what we asked of him today.”

McLaren adds Blomqvist to program:
Tom Blomqvist has been added to the program of McLaren drivers. The son of former rally champion Stig Blomqvist won a race last season in the German Formula 3, he was the youngest British Formula Renault champion had become.
"Tom is rightly seen as a talent for the future, which is further underlined by his nomination for the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award.

Perez: "New tires going to make interesting/exciting races" :
Sauber driver Sergio Perez had a lot more fun on his second day in Barcelona than on the first day. That went quite problematic, with relatively few laps. He could compensate somewhat today, with 85 rounds. The Mexican expects this year many of the new Pirelli compounds. "In 2011 there was a hole eight-tenths between the tires at a Grand Prix weekend. That is much less, and that bodes for the races that are interesting, I think. The drivers may have more influence on this rubber exercise and making a difference. "

Force India: "Cost of Formula 1 are too high":
The Force India team sounds the alarmbell about the spending pattern in Formula 1. The cost thanks to the Resource Restriction Agreement held in check, but nothing more. It is still not possible to operate profitably.That, Robert Fernley, Deputy Force India team boss, talking to Autosport. "My position is that the costs are still too high. That is wrong on the Formula 1 and we need to do something. I believe that when it is not possible to make a profit based on sponsorship and TV revenue that there is something wrong with the sport, and that is the case. the costs are too high. "
"Even if you share the teams in the television are enlarged, then you have a gap to overcome. An average team runs 80 to $ 100 million. The FOM will never cover. So you need support from lenders (sponsors,moneylenders,financial backers ) only all break-even to come out, let alone that you can make profit. "

Ecclestone has no doubt of continue Bahrain Grand-Prix:
Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has on Thursday once again repeated that this year is just another Bahraini Grand Prix is held, despite the recent restless again in the oil state. "I am hundred percent sure."
"It is absolutely no question that we do not go," he said at the presentation of the new technology deal with Tata Communications. "I have let teams know that there are no problems with the Bahrain race. It's a hundred percent sure that we go." Ecclestone is convinced that it will be safe enough in Bahrain for the Formula 1 and its visitors. "The organization will take action, should there be a problem. But I'm sure there will be no problems."
Ticket sales for the Bahrain Grand Prix has allready begun.

FOM strikes Tata Communications on the hook as a partner:
Formula One Management,that manages the commercial rights for Formula 1, has entered into a partnership with Tata Communications. Tata Communications, the role of technology partner and webhost provider of communication. It is a multi-year agreement.

Schumacher optimistic about next season:
Michael Schumacher is convinced that the new Mercedes W03 is a great step forward. The German says very satisfied after his second test in Barcelona with the car for 2012.
Schumacher made today the most number of laps of all, good for 592 km. The team had already 1756 km record with the new car.
"We had a trouble free day today," began a smiling Schumacher. "We did a race simulation and the competitiveness of our car is better than ever before. There are promising signs that we hope can turn into good results."
"It is clear that we have a better car, but the question is how much better our car has become compared to those of our competitors. And we know not yet. I close this test in any case with a positive feeling, "said the seven-time world champion.

Barcelona day 3: Maldonado following up as a surprising leader:
They are not the intended top teams who call the shots this week in Barcelona. After Force India yesterday it was today the turn of Williams to shine. Pastor Maldonado set the best time this week after his name, on a day full of red flags.Equally however, there was confusion when Petrov went even faster in his Caterham. The timing system of the Grand Prix circuit was not completely on track. So Maldonado remained standing where he stood. The Williams driver finished the third day of testing in Barcelona with nearly a second ahead of the rest of the field.
Michael Schumacher continued in the new Mercedes only within that second. He also scored his fastest time in the morning. On another list of most productive driver, ended the Mercedes driver is at the top. The record champion drove over a double race distance: 127 laps.
Kamui Kobayashi decided the day with the third time. The Sauber driver came with 99 laps just not the magic threshold. Something that Jenson Button, Timo Glock fastest Maldonado and day along with Schumacher have people managed.
The test day in Barcelona was a few times briefly halted. Paul di Resta once lost part of his hood, Glock finished once off the track, Kobayashi was conscious once out of fuel halfway through the circuit, Mark Webber and Felipe Massa had a one time stand still because of a defective car .

1. Pastor Maldonado : Williams FW34 : 1:22.391 laps 106
2. Michael Schumacher : Mercedes GP W03 : 1:23.384 + 0.993 laps 127
3. Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber C31 : 1:23.582 + 1.191 laps 99
4. Jenson Button : McLaren MP4-27 : 1:23.918 + 1.527 laps 114
5. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso STR7 : 1:24.433 + 2.042 laps 78
6. Mark Webber : Red Bull Racing RB8 : 1:24.771 + 2.380 laps 97
7. Felipe Massa : Ferrari F2012 : 1:24.771 + 2.380 laps 84
8. Paul di Resta : Force India VJM-05 : 1:25.646 + 3.255 laps 83
9. Timo Glock : Marussia F1 Team MVR-02 : 1:26.173 + 3.782 laps 108
10. Vitaly Petrov : Caterham CT01 : 1:26.448 + 4.057 laps 70


Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

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News + Test Times Day 2 at Barcelona :

Lotus withdraw from Barcelona test after chassis problems:
Lotus have announced they will take no further part in this week’s four-day test at the Circuit de Catalunya.The team curtailed its testing today after discovering a problem with its second E20 chassis.Despite having completed 404 laps – more than any other team – at Jerez two weeks ago with its original chassis, Lotus say the problem discovered today will require changes to both E20s. Grosjean was due to test tomorrow with Kimi Raikkonen taking over from him in the final two days. Team principal Eric Boullier added: “Not running this week has been a tough decision to take, but we feel that our choice is the right one.The loss of almost four days of testing could be a major blow for the team. After the current test there are only four further days of running scheduled before the season begins.

Brawn: "Ferrari seems to be struggling, but they just do not" :
Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn was afraid after the first day in Barcelona to the competition what to scan. His preliminary view? McLaren looks strong, Ferrari is in trouble but is strong enough to regroup themselves, but everyone is chasing Red Bull Racing. Brawn: "McLaren makes a strong impression. Ferrari seems to be struggling, but you can never erase. In Maranello They have the qualities and resources to take the highest honor, and I'm sure they will stand. Hunting Red Bull Racing is open. the order will not change significantly. it is up to us to cordon of the top teams to break through and better for the day to come. "

Vettel impressed by McLaren speed in long runs:
Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel estimates rival McLaren currently high. The world champion of 2011 was particularly impressed by the pace of the MP4-27 in long runs. "McLaren looks very strong."

Anderson suspect more serious problems with Lotus chassis :
Lotus F1 team was ​​light of the problems with the chassis of the E20, but there is more going on. That thought lives by Gary Anderson, former technical director of Jordan among others. Lotus left the test in Barcelona after the first day an issue with the chassis was detected. Anderson is currently an analyst for the BBC and writes: "You'd think the problem from one day to the other could solve. A chassis is made of carbon fiber composite, so you have to make reinforcements. My experience is that if it does not succeed within 24 hours to get it working, it never will happen. it would not surprise me if this means they must make a new chassis together, so they may come in close for the first Grand Prix. "

Alonso: "Do not worry that others are currently further than us" :
The Ferrari Team continued today with the next step in the learning process with the new F2012. The Scuderia shines during preparation tests yet not by top times, but that's for driver Fernando Alonso no cause for panic. Ferrari is started with a new project and that takes time. Alonso: "I'm not worried that others are currently further than us. It is true that we still do things that you normally already have checked at this time. But I remember last year when we drove all on the final day of the first week of a race distance and we were in the first Grand Prix still a half second behind, so that does not say anything. " "This car is a bit complex and it's all still with us to understand all aspects. We test every day fifty things that work and what we take into the next day. The accelerating out of bends is room for improvement, but it is already better than in Jerez and next week it will again be better. The components work in any case well and we have discovered a lot.

Valtteri Bottas: "The FW34 slips a lot in the slow corners" :
Valtteri Bottas is the only reserve driver this week that comes in action at the test in Barcelona. The Finn drove 117 laps today with the Williams FW34. The reigning GP3 Champion joins the words of Bruno Senna a day earlier. Bottas: "The FW34 slips a lot in slow corners, for that matter I do agree with Bruno. That's something we need to improve. We have again learned necessary things on this great day with lots of laps. It was delicious. the FW34 is quite different than its predecessor. I am very enthusiastic about the new Renault engine, especially on the driveability. "

Barcelona Day 2: Hulkenberg with the help of supersofts to the top :
The second day of testing at the Barcelona circuit has a surprising name delivered at the top. Nico Hulkenberg trumped on behalf of Force India of all the proposed top teams. Sidenote at the time of the German is that it has needed the super soft tire , as number two Sergio Perez. Sebastian Vettel came without supersofts to third place. The day started without Lotus F1 Team, which this week has pulled back by problems with the chassis. Also at Scuderia Toro Rosso pile problems on. Daniel Ricciardo fell today twice silent and with that he totally came after two days on three caused red flags, all due to mechanical defects.
Vitaly Petrov debuted at Caterham F1 Team, but the Russian could not yet make big improvemts in the CT01. He achieved the fastest time with a 1:26.605. Only Charles Pic was slower. McLaren and Red Bull Racing use the afternoon for racing simulations. Sauber started the day with cameras on the front wing to see the behaviort of this element into viewto .

1. Nico Hulkenberg : Force India VJM-05 : 1:22.608 laps 112
2. Sergio Perez : Sauber C31 : 1:22.648 + 0.040 laps 85
3. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing RB8 : 1:22.891 + 0.283 laps 104
4. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari F2012 : 1:23.180 + 0.572 laps 87
5. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso STR7 : 1:23.639 + 1.031 laps 50
6. Lewis Hamilton : McLaren MP4-27 : 1:23.806 + 1.198 laps 121
7. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes GP W03 : 1:24.555 + 1.947 laps 82
8. Valtteri Bottas : Williams FW34 : 1:25.738 + 3.130 laps 117
9. Vitaly Petrov : Caterham CT01 : 1:26.605 + 3.997 laps 69
10. Charles Pic : Marussia F1 Team MVR-02 : 1:27.343 + 4.735 laps 109


Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

22/02/1949 happy birthday to niki lauda former austria f1 driver
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Niki Lauda 22nd February 1949
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Happy Birthday to your 63rd anniversary