Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

no italian driver next f1 championship

on 18 February 1898 Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena. He died on 14 August 1988
Everyone knows that red is the color of Ferrari, because in the past the colors of the racing cars were the following:
British, green
German, before white and after silver color
French, blue
Italian, red
But perhaps few people know that in the last two races of 1964(GP USA and Mexico) the Ferrari raced with a white and blue livery. With these colors John Surtees won that world championship.
is really strange to see photos of a Ferrari Formula One not red.

News Flash ! :

Vitaly Petrov replaces Jarno Trulli at Caterham :
Caterham have announced Vitaly Petrov has replaced Jarno Trulli at the team “with immediate effect”.
Trulli has driven for the team since it was set up in 2010. Last year they announced he would drive for them in 2012.
But since Petrov lost his place at Renault (now Lotus), also with a year to run on his contract, there has been considerable speculation linking him to Trulli’s place at Caterham.
The news means Trulli has lost his place in F1. In a statement released by the team he said: “I want to take this chance to thank Tony, Kamarudin, SM Nasarudin, Riad, Mike and everyone in the team for the two seasons we had together.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

News Short version ( sorry ) :

Kevin Magnussen given McLaren test chance :
Kevin Magnussen, son of former F1 driver Jan Magnussen, will have the chance to driver for McLaren in the young drivers’ test later this year.
Magnussen has progressed within the team’s Young Driver Programme and will get to drive the team’s simulator and contribute to its development programme for the MP4-27. Magnussen’s father made his F1 debut for McLaren in 1995, substituting for Mika Hakkinen at the Pacific Grand Prix. He later spent one-and-a-half seasons with Stewart.
Kevin Magnussen was the runner-up in the British Formula Three championship last year. This year he will race in Formula Renault 3.5 for Carlin.

Pirelli choose softer tyres for first three races :
Pirelli have announced the tyre compounds which will be available at the first three races of the 2012 season.F1′s official tyre supplier will bring softer selections from their range for the opening races, compared to those which were used last year.Pirelli have previously announced their 2012 soft, medium and hard compounds are softer than those used last year.

The tyre choices for the first three races are as follows:
Australian Grand Prix Soft/medium Soft/hard
Malaysian Grand Prix Medium/hard Soft/hard
Chinese Grand Prix Soft/medium Soft/hard

Lotus most productive team in first test:
Lotus has made ​​the most meters during the first collective test session of the year. Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean drove last week together 404 laps around the circuit of Jerez, which represents about 1,789 km.
Williams struggled during the first day with a number of technical problems, but nevertheless still ends second in this ranking, with 372 laps. The team of Caterham drove a total of 358 laps with the CT01 and Mercedes came three days in action with the car from last year to complete 348 rounds . The Force India drivers drove only 209 laps . After a crash of Jules Bianchi on Thursday morning, there was no further testing that day .
1. Lotus F1 Team
- 404 rounds, 1,789 km
- Four days in action

2. Williams F1 Team
- 372 rounds, 1,647 km
- Four days in action

3. Caterham F1 Team
- 358 rounds, 1,585 km
- Four days in action

4. Mercedes AMG Petronas
- 348 rounds, 1,541 km
- Three days in action with the old car

5. Scuderia Toro Rosso
- 316 rounds, 1,399 km
- Four days in action

6. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
- 313 rounds, 1,386 km
- Four days in action

7. Sauber F1 Team
- 299 rounds, 1,324 km
- Four days in action

8. Red Bull Racing
- 297 rounds, 1,315 km
- Four days in action

9. Scuderia Ferrari
- 268 rounds, 1,187 km
- Four days in action

10. Sahara Force India
- 209 rounds, 923 kilometers
- Four days in action

11. HRT F1 Team
- 108 rounds, 478 kilometers
- Two days in action with the old car

12. Marussia
not present

The following testsession will be from 21 to 24 February in Barcelona

Ecclestone: "Bahrain Grand Prix continues":
If it depends of Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone the Bahrain Grand Prix continue this year despite that it was again unsettled in the oil state. Tuesday was a year since the protests began in Bahrain.The Bahrain Grand Prix is on the calendar for April 22.

Kylie Minogue performs at Malaysian race :
Visitors to the Malaysian Grand Prix this year can not only enjoy the sound of Formula 1 engines, but also the music of Kylie Minogue. The Australian pop star will give a performance at F1 Rocks, on the Friday of the race weekend held at the foot of the famous Petronas Towers.Earlier it was announced that Lenny Kravitz, The Cranberries and Wolfmother will perform at the Australian edition of F1 Rocks, in Melbourne.Apart Minogue join the American R & B singer Kelis and some Malaysian names during the F1 Rocks Festival in Kuala Lumpur.

Force India welcomes Aethra as a new partner :
Force India is a new partner richer. Aethra, a manufacturer of auto parts from Brazil, has been linked to the Indian racing stable. The company wants to increase its brand recognition and sees Formula 1 as the ideal global platform to achieve that.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Alexander Wurz 15th February 1974
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Happy Birthday to your 38th anniversary

Very Short News :

Dani Clos to get track time as HRT test driver :
Spanish GP2 driver Dani Clos will be HRT’s official test driver for the 2012 season, the team has announced this today.
The 23-year-old will participate in “several” Friday practice sessions, according to the team.

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

f1 news and differences between the top teams
season 2011 yes diffusers blown
season 2012 no diffusers blown. Not allowed, therefore less downforce
So teams must recover the lost downforce, due to the change of rules

the exhausts of Ferrari and Mc Laren blow the hot gases not towards the upper rear wing, but in the space between the side bulkhead rear wing and the tyre. This aggressive solution about exhaust exits seems regular, but in that area there were problems for Ferrari, maybe something will change

Red Bull and Mc Laren front suspension is push rod while rear suspension is pull rod as last year.
Ferrari: Both the front and rear suspensions are pull-rods, both changed compared to 2011

Mc Laren without step and a lower nose than other teams
Red Bull and Ferrari with a step in the front of the car and high nose
but in the step of Red Bull there is a hole that is not present on any of the other cars
What is the purpose. Adrian Newey says hole in Red Bull nose is simply driver cooling, is it true?
Seems that the Ferrari is able to warming the tires from the first lap, but in the long run for the moment is less regular than Red Bull and Mc Laren.
about Mercedes all are waiting the new car. At Jerez, they tested something on the front wing;
and to finish these are my opinions about other teams after first test
Lotus excellent
Toro Rosso good
Force India and Sauber quite well
Williams so and so

News + Test Times of last day of testing at Jerez :

Singapore Organisation has Maroon 5 :
The American band Maroon 5 will give this year a performance at the Grand Prix of Singapore. This sayd the organization of the race on Friday.Last season there were during the race weekend in Singapore performances by Linkin Park, Shaggy, Massive Attack, Rick Astley and the Filipino singer Charice. The Singapore Grand Prix will be held this year on September 23.

Vettel: "Problems are simply part of tests" :
Sebastian Vettel gain on the last day of testing at Jerez the third time. By an electronic problem with the engine of the RB8 the German lost much time in the morning. Vettel had only two installation laps when the issue raising its head. Eventually as a precautionary measure at the end of the morning the motor was replaced. Vettel came just after lunch on the road again and did smoothly 48 laps !

Engineer Harlow start activities/work for Williams :
Domenic Harlow performs this week at Jerez for the first time as senior operations engineer at Williams. He was the last four years at Force India under contract as a race engineer.

Mercedes and sponsor MIG Bank extend contract by two years :
The Swiss online currency trader MIG Bank is sponsoring the team of Mercedes still at least two years on. The company logo is on the new W03, on the racing overalls of Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, and the team clothing.

Ferrari without FOTA membership will be at Fan Forum in Barcelona :
Ferrari and HRT give an appearance later this month at the FOTA Fan Forum, even though they no longer members of the team covenant. The meeting takes place on 29 February in Barcelona on the eve of the final winter test. Lotus team boss Eric Boullier will be there as well McLaren, HRT, Ferrari, Caterham, Williams and Mercedes send delegations to listen to questions and comments from the fans . Anyone who wants to participate in the Fans Forum is asked to use the address info@fota.co to contact with FOTA.

Alonso and Ferrari show signs of life :
Fernando Alonso drove on the final day of the test in Jerez the best time The Ferrari driver was the fastest in 1:18.877. Finally positive news for Ferrari, the Scuderia has made not much laps .The fastest time of a 2012-car this week remained in the hands of Lotus and Romain Grosjean, who yesterday drove a 1:18.419. Ferrari had so far not really impressed and admits that it is still a long way to go before the F2012 is competitive. Behind the Scuderia ended another Italian racing stable as a second. From Jean-Eric Vergne, it is all pretty close together, with Toro Rosso, Red Bull, McLaren, Lotus, Sauber, Force India and Williams within six tenths of each other. Red Bull Racing experienced not an optimal day. The morning was completely lost by an electronic problem in RB8. Sebastian Vettel drove only two installation laps. He added another 48 laps in the afternoon . But the number of Bruno Senna he could not match. The Brazilian ended the day with 124 laps to his name. The Williams driver was also two times in a stand still at curve 12 and curve 2 , the FW34 gave it's spirit. And just like earlier this week the Sauber car showed is not infallible. Kamui Kobayashi parked the C31 around 2:41 p.m. in curve 14.

1. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari F2012 : 1:18.877 laps 39
2. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso STR7 : 1:19.597 + 0.720 laps 80
3. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing RB8 : 1:19.606 + 0.729 laps 50
4. Lewis Hamilton : McLaren MP4-27 : 1:19.640 + 0.763 laps 86
5. Romain Grosjean : Lotus E20 : 1:19.729 + 0.852 laps 95
6. Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber C31 : 1:19.834 + 0.957 laps 75
7. Nico Hulkenberg : Force India VJM-05 : 1:19.977 + 1.100 laps 90
8. Bruno Senna : Williams FW34 : 1:20.132 + 1.255 laps 124
9. Jarno Trulli : Caterham CT01 : 1:22.198 + 3.321 laps 117

The next Test session will be from 21 - 24 February at the Circuit de Catalunya ( Spain )

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Short News & Test Times of today test session :

British politicians recommended to FIA to cancel the Grand Prix of Bahrain on the calender :
For now, the Bahrain Grand Prix will be just be driven on April 22 .The race will, after an absence of one year return in Formula 1 now the danger after the political turmoil, according to the FIA has ceased. Some British politicians recommended that the international automobile federation should not go to Bahrain. The politicians pointed to an incident that allegedly took place near Manama, where the fingers of a British man were chopped off after he was attacked. According to them the situation is still far from quiet in Bahrain and they wrote an open letter to The Times. "We urgently ask the FIA ​​for its decision regarding the Grand Prix to reconsider."

Bianchi crash in Jerez brings abrupt end to test day of Force India :
For Jules Bianchi is the test in Jerez over. The Frenchman crashed his Force India this morning and since then he was no more in action. Force India is busy with repairs.

"HRT owner Thesan Capital wants to sell again team " .
It seems that HRT has not yet a stable future. According to a report in the German newspaper "Die Welt" is the current owner of the team, Thesan Capital, already looking for a new buyer. The investment company bought HRT itself only last year by Jose Ramon Carabante. HRT debuted under the name Hispania Racing during the 2010 season. Founder Adrian Campos sold the team to Carabante that the whole thing last year sold to Thesan Capital. Also they would now like to hand the team's doing. The main reason was the departure of Colin Kolles with another 120 employees in its wake. According to "Die Welt" Thesan Capital has also already another buyer in mind. The Mexican Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world would be interested in buying about HRT. Slim is currently a partner of Sauber and a personal sponsor of Sergio Perez.

Ferrari: "Not happy with where we are at the moment"
The Ferrari team have not yet have there act together with the F2012. The Scuderia honestly admit that. The F2012 is a completely new concept and there is still much to learn.Technical Director Pat Fry: "I certainly can not say that I am happy with where we are at the moment. We still have much room for improvement. The reliability is good, the performance is okay. We can, should and will progress a lot . "
When asked whether he had a message for the many Ferrari fans in the world, he replied: "We all work very hard."

Lewis Hamilton pleased with McLaren's positive start:
Lewis Hamilton today took over the wheel of McLaren team-mate Jenson Button. The British driver came to a fourth time after 80 laps in Jerez. Hamilton was after his first encounter with the MP4-27 positive .

Senna and Williams identify shortcomings of FW34 :
Bruno Senna had its first real day for Williams . The Brazilian tested for the first time with the FW34 and was not disappointed. It is after three days with the new car clearly what still needs to be improved. Senna: "We have identified some shortcomings and with that we are going now/get to work. That is not bad, every car has strengths and weaknesses. We have discovered that some aspects could be better. The focus was on getting to know the car. In Barcelona, we begin with the set-up play. " "The team is confident that we can achieve with this car more than last year . The new car is quite docile, totally edgy. He may ( the car )do something more aggressive without going over the edge."

Romain Grosjean keep calm: "It's just testing" :

Romain Grosjean in Jerez today provided an appropriate sequel to the strong performances of Kimi Raikkonen with the Lotus E20 during the first days of testing. With a 1:18.419 was the fastest 2012-car. That was a run with little fuel, admit Grosjean. But it nevertheless agrees satisfactorily.Romain Grosjean in Jerez today provided an appropriate sequel to the strong performances of Kimi Raikkonen with the Lotus E20 during the first days of testing. With a 1:18.419 was the fastest 2012-car. That was a run with little fuel, known as Grosjean. But it nevertheless welcomes satisfactorily.



Nico Rosberg put the best time on the fourth day of testing at Jerez down. With the Mercedes car from last year he rushed to a 1:17.512. This was the last day of the W02, the German racing stable pack up there stuff in the morning and will not be entering the last test day In the next test in Barcelona it will be the debut of the new car from Mercedes, the W03 .
The honor of best new car goes to Lotus. In the hands of Romain Grosjean was the E20 good for a 1:18.419. Champions Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing gave almost nine tenths to. At the end of the day gave the Lotus E20 it's spirit. Grosjean was stopped and parked the car on the stretch between turns 3 and 4.
Schlemiel (Donkey) of the day was Jules Bianchi. Already in its second installation lap, with a large measuring system behind the left front wheel, he crashed in Turn 5. It became so badly damaged that the VJM05 Force India all day no more in action. This was especially bales for racing driver Nico Hulkenberg, for the first time he would have test the car. That is necessarily postponed until tomorrow.

1. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes GP W02 : 1:17.613 laps 118
2. Romain Grosjean : Lotus E20 : 1:18.419 + 0.806 laps 117
3. Sebastian Vettel : Red Bull Racing RB8 : 1:19.297 + 1.684 laps 96
4. Lewis Hamilton : McLaren MP4-27 : 1:19.464 + 1.851 laps 80
5. Jean-Eric Vergne : Toro Rosso TR7 : 1:19.734 + 2.121 laps 79
6. Sergio Perez : Sauber C31 : 1:19.770 + 2.157 laps 48
7. Fernando Alonso : Ferrari F2012 : 1:20.412 + 2.799 laps 67
8. Bruno Senna : Williams FW34 : 1:21.293 + 3.680 laps 125
9. Giedo van der Garde : Caterham CT01 : 1:23.324 + 5.711 laps 74

Tomorrow will be the last day of testing at Jerez !

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

News + Test Times of Jerez :

Lotus disappointed with FIA decision on ride height system :
Lotus F1 team fed that the FIA banned the innovative system ride height for this season.The Federation was initially agreed, but after a real scramble scrambled signals for the federal return. To the dismay of Lotus. " We have much time, energy and money invested in this technology. It took us a few years to develop and integrate into the suspension. We are not stupid. In such a process, we communicate extensively with the FIA ​​and gives feedback. If a system is forbidden when we are ready to use it, is that really frustrating. We must respect the rule, but it's definitely frustrating. "

Drivers feel good with lower seating :
The seating position of the drivers has been reduced/loward, it seems the trend in the paddock. Several riders spoke after the first day of testing at Jerez on their new attitude in the cockpit and did so full of praise. The comfort is increased.

Marussia hopes to maintain Charles Pic after 2012

Adrian Sutil is appealing against suspended prison sentence :
Adrian Sutil will appeal against his suspended sentence. The German was last week suspended sentence of eighteen months imposed and a fine of 200,000 euros. Manager Manfred Zimmermann said today that they do not accept this punishment.

Michael Schumacher delighted with return of Kimi Raikkonen

DRS can not appeal Raikkonen: "It is ridiculous" :
"Overtaking must be art, that it is this way not. You put just the wing flat and then quickly passes the car for you. And your car in front is defenseless, which can do nothing. All I recognize is that DRS contributes to a better show. "

Jerez: Schumacher makes with old Mercedes for distorted picture :
Michael Schumacher is at the second official day of testing at Jerez in the first place . The German clocked a 1:18.561 and was thus more than six tenths faster than the runner-up Mark Webber. The only difference between the two is that the Mercedes of Schumacher is from 2011 , including blown diffuser that generates a lot of downforce, while Webber as Red Bull Racing in the RB8 does not have one.
Four drivers broke through the frontier of a hundred rounds, with Heikki Kovalainen as top boss boss with 139 laps. Jules Bianchi drove today for the first time since he became a Force India reserve driver for the Indian racing stable . Pedro de la Rosa carries the red lantern on behalf of HRT and thus ended the two cars from 2011 on both ends of the time list, with al l2012 cars between.

1. Michael Schumacher : Mercedes GP W02 : 1:18.561 laps 132
2. Mark Webber : Red Bull Racing RB8 : 1:19.184 + 0.623 laps 97
3. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso TR7 : 1:19.587 + 1.026 laps 100
4. Jules Bianchi : Force India VJM-05 : 1:20.221 + 1.660 laps 46
5. Kimi Räikkönen : Lotus E20 : 1:20.239 + 1.678 laps 117
6. Paul di Resta : Force India VJM-05 : 1:20.272 + 1.711 laps 69
7. Felipe Massa : Ferrari F2012 : 1:20.454 + 1.893 laps 95
8. Jenson Button : McLaren MP4-27 : 1:20.688 + 2.127 laps 85
9. Sergio Perez : Sauber C31 : 1:20.711 + 2.150 laps 68
10. Pastor Maldonado : Williams FW34 : 1:21.197 + 2.636 laps 97
11. Heikki Kovalainen : Caterham CT01 : 1:21.518 + 2.957 laps 139
12. Pedro de la Rosa : HRT F1 Team F111 : 1:22.628 + 4.067 laps 64

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Short News + Result Test Times :

Williams FW34 launch: First pictures of their 2012 F1 car :
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Here is a link of some beautifull taken photos of todays test at Jerez !
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Toro Rosso renews commitment with sponsor NOVA Chemicals

Kimi Raikkonen reunited with race engineer Mark Slade :
Kimi Raikkonen will be reunited again with an old friend at Lotus . From the last test in Barcelona ​​the Finn will be teamed up with engineer Mark Slade. He comes over from Mercedes GP and was several years ago the engineer for Raikkonen at McLaren.

Jerez: Raikkonen finishes at the top
Kimi Raikkonen and Lotus F1 Team can look back after the first official test day on the first showdown between the new teams. The Finn posted a 1:19.670 as the best time and came with it at the top . Force India driver Paul di Resta finished one tenth behind in second. In the field of eleven teams Mercedes and HRT were the only participants with old cars. From the top teams Red Bull Racing had to wait the longest. The Austrian racing stable had to wate until early afternoon to start with the program because it had parts that had to flew over for the RB8. The most rounds come in the name of Kamui Kobayashi and the Sauber C31. The Japanese put up 106 laps and including with a problem. In the last hour he parked his car on the back straight, heading for Turn 6. It was also equally wrong with Daniel Ricciardo, who came to a standstill and stranded in Turn 1 with the Toro Rosso STR7. Pastor Maldonado drove the least number of laps. His employer had the Williams FW34 morning presented, but he did on the first day so little experience with the car of this .

1. Kimi Räikkönen : Lotus E20 : 1:19.670 laps 75
2. Paul di Resta : Force India VJM-05 : 1:19.772 + 0.102 laps 101
3. Nico Rosberg : Mercedes GP W02 : 1:20.219 + 0.549 laps 56
4. Mark Webber : Red Bull Racing RB8 : 1:20.496 + 0.826 laps 54
5. Daniel Ricciardo : Toro Rosso TR7 : 1:20.694 + 1.024 laps 57
6. Michael Schumacher : Mercedes GP W02 : 1:20.794 + 1.124 laps 42
7. Kamui Kobayashi : Sauber C31 : 1:21.353 + 1.683 laps 106
8. Jenson Button : McLaren MP4-27 : 1:21.530 + 1.860 laps 62
9. Felipe Massa : Ferrari F2012 : 1:22.815 + 3.145 laps 69
10. Heikki Kovalainen : Caterham CT01 : 1:23.178 + 3.508 laps 28
11. Pastor Maldonado : Williams FW34 : 1:23.371 + 3.701 laps 25
12. Pedro de la Rosa : HRT F1 Team F111 : 1:23.676 + 4.006 laps 44

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Ps: @ Piggy ..Welcome back

Test time F1 Jerez day one:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus -Renault 1m19.670s 73
2. Paul di Resta Force India -Mercedes 1m19.772s + 101 0102
3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m20.219s + 56 0549
4. Mark Webber Red Bull -Renault 1m20.496s + 53 0826
5. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso -Ferrari 1m20.694s + 57 1024
6. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m20.794s + 41 1124
7. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber -Ferrari 1m21.353s + 1 683 106
8. Jenson Button, McLaren -Mercedes 1m21.530s + 1 860 60
9 . Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m22.815s + 69 3145
10. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m23.178s + 28 3508
11. Pastor Maldonado Williams -Renault 1m23.371s + 25 3701
12. Pedro de la Rosa HRT -Cosworth 1m23.676s + 44 4006

as promised i come back to F1 threads.... missed me ?

may be not lol .. btw

my bet this year goes to.... KIMI+LOTUS !

Christian Klien 7th February 1983
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Happy Birthday to your 29th anniversary

Short News :

Lotus E20 Launch :

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Sauber C31 launch :

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Red Bull RB8 launch :

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Toro Rosso STR7 – first pictures of Toro Rosso’s 2012 F1 car :

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Clear en Rexona new sponsors of Lotus :
Logos of deodorant brand Rexona and Clear shampoo brand will adorn/grace the car of Lotus this year.

Eeckelaert no longer working for HRT :
Jacky Eeckelaert appears to no longer work for HRT .The Spanish formation has decided not to renew contract with the Belgian, which ended in late January . Eeckelaert led the design department of HRT since the departure of technical director Geoff Willis last summer . Work on the new car, which is in the final phase, is now overseen by chief designer Jean-Claude Martens, who has since september working for HRT . HRT test this week in Jerez with the car from last year. The team hopes later this month to drive in Barcelona with the new car .

The test days in the southern Spanish city Jerez starting at 9:00 and end at 17:00

Kind Regards
Shaky-Schumi

Ps : I will post the times of testing tomorrow after i'm home from work