FORMULA 1 - 2012

[MIKA27]

Apologies all for not posting the past couple days but I've been away and unwell with the flu which has hit me pretty hard.

I haven't had much energy to be bothered to do anything. Melbourne weather!

[MIKA27]

MALDONADO ESCAPES WITH SMALL FINE AND REPRIMAND AFTER PEREZ COLLISION:

Pastor Maldonado was handed only a €10,000 euro fine by race stewards at Silverstone, despite calls from Sergio Perez, the driver he took out of the race, for them to take strong action against the Venezuelan.

Maldonado and Perez collided on lap 11 as Perez tried to pass the Williams around the outside at Brooklands corner. Maldonado appeared to drive outwards, towards the Sauber and they touched, spinning both off the race track and Perez into retirement.

This followed the incident in Valencia where Maldonado took Lewis Hamilton out in the closing stages of the race, for which he was given a 20 second penalty added to his race time.

The stewards’s statement at Silverstone acknowledged the “serious nature of the incident” but gave him only the fine and a reprimand. The penalty fell well short of the grid penalty for the next race which many in F1 felt was the minimum Maldonado should receive, given his recent track record.

Perez was furious with the Venezuelan after this latest incident, calling him “stupid” in media interviews and claiming that many drivers feel he should not be in F1 with all the incidents in which he has “ruined other people’s races.”

“Pastor, he’s a driver who doesn’t respect other drivers,” Perez said. “It’s just a manner of fact. I was already in front and he should have given enough space not to crash. I don’t understand the way he is driving.

“I hope the stewards do something because he has done something to someone at the last three races,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “He’s a very dangerous driver and he can hurt someone. Everybody is concerned about him. He’s a driver who doesn’t respect, doesn’t know we are risking our lives and has no respect at all. I really think the stewards need to do something by now because I’m not the only one he has affected.”

Maldonado said, “It was an unlucky race for me and that is it. Sergio can say what he wants. We are racing, we are trying to do our best. I was trying to defend, he was trying to gain and this is racing.”

Meanwhile the stewards fined Kamui Kobayashi €25,000 for driving into his own pit crew, because it was ” a very dangerous manoeuvre which had potentially serious implications.”

What do you think? Are these the right penalties for the incidents and are they consistent?

[MIKA27]

WEBBER CONFIRMED FOR RED BULL IN 2013:

Red Bull has confirmed that Mark Webber will stay with the team for the 2013 season, putting to an end speculation that he might move to Ferrari.

The 35 year old Australian took a stirring victory on Sunday and afterwards made some tongue in cheek comments about hoping to stay in F1 next season. Clearly the deal was done before the weekend and was announced on Tuesday morning.

Webber was top of Ferrari’s list to replace Felipe Massa next season, but Red Bull has managed to hold onto him.

Holding onto Sebastian Vettel in 2014 will be the next challenge for the team. He has a complex understanding with Ferrari which could see him join the team provided that a series of performance and other clauses are met in the 2013 season by the Maranello squad. This would see him partner Fernando Alonso from 2014 onwards.

Ferrari are looking for a driver for one year, but with the possibility that he may stay longer if Vettel’s arrival is delayed.

Webber clearly considered the Ferrari opportunity carefully, but decided to stay with a known quantity, even if it’s not stated that the deal is for the two years he was looking for.

It’s not hard to see why he’s staying; Red Bull has made a massive improvement in the car this season and is set to have the upper hand in the second half of the season. A consistent run with more wins for Webber, who heads Vettel in the table, could bring him the drivers’ championship this year, so strong is the Red Bull package now.

“I’ve been with Red Bull Racing since 2007 and have achieved nine grand prix wins during that time,” said Webber. “I’m high on confidence at the moment and firing on all cylinders. I know the team well and I’m very comfortable here; we have grown together over the years and it feels like absolutely the right thing to stay with Red Bull for another season. The Team is constantly working hard to improve in all areas and we’ve shown that together we can win races. It’s great to be able to make this announcement off the back of the win in Silverstone at the weekend and I’m looking forward to competing on the edge and pushing myself in every race again next season.”

Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner said: “Mark has driven very well in the first nine races of this season and his performance has been impressive. Much of his Formula One success has been during his time with Red Bull Racing and together we have achieved 10 poles, nine wins and 31 podiums. As there was a strong desire from both sides to continue the partnership, it was a logical decision to extend our relationship and it is with great pleasure that we confirm Mark will drive for us in 2013.”

[MIKA27]

COULD ALONSO AND FERRARI HAVE WON SILVERSTONE WITH BETTER RACE STRATEGY?

The British Grand Prix was a tense strategic battle between Red Bull and Ferrari. They went different ways on race strategy and ultimately Red Bull prevailed, Webber passing Alonso five laps from the end. So could Alonso and Ferrari have held on for the win if they had played the strategy differently? That’s one of the questions we’ll be addressing.

The challenge of McLaren was blunted again, Lewis Hamilton losing ground on his championship rivals while Lotus again scored strongly with both cars as Grosjean did a unique strategy on Sunday.

Background to the race

Heavy rain during practice and qualifying days had left the teams with very little information about how the tyres would perform on race day. There was only the one hour practice on Saturday morning to go on and this showed that on a cold track surface the soft compound tyre was graining badly (the top surface of the rubber rolling up) so Ferrari in particular were wary about it on race day.

The weather was very erratic all weekend and it stayed dry for the race, against expectations. Many teams including Mercedes and McLaren had planned for a wet race. Although the track temperature was shown as above 24 degrees, the ground was still too cold to get the soft tyre working well and the hard compound turned out to be the better race tyre. The key to doing well in the race, then, was to manage the soft tyre.

Could Alonso have won the race with different strategy?

Ferrari and Alonso were wise to start with the hard tyre, as it proved the best tyre to race on. They started out wanting to minimise the time spent on the soft tyre and as soon as the tyre covers came off on the grid it was clear what the pattern of the race would be. Alonso would run two stints on hard tyres and a short final stint on softs, Webber would do the opposite; an opening stint on soft and then two longer stints on hard.

Alonso’s race would be dictated by keeping the soft tyre stint to a minimum at the end, while Webber’s would be all about staying in touch with Alonso in the opening stint and then coming on strong at the end.

Ferrari had another weapon at their disposal; they sent Massa out on softs for the first stint, so they would have data on tyre performance. This turned out to be less helpful than imagined…

Massa’s first stint was 13 laps during which time the team came to believe that the soft tyres were not as bad as expected. This would prove crucial later in the race, as it meant that Alonso committed to a 15 lap final stint on softs. Had he pitted a couple of laps later on each of his first two stops, he probably would not have lost the lead at the end. Without that data they would have been more inclined to stay off the soft tyre and would have done a strategy, which might have brought Alonso the win.

Alonso built a lead of five seconds over Webber and when the Australian stopped on lap 14, Alonso went just one lap longer. His pace on the hard tyres was still good, he set a couple of quick laps before his stop on lap 15, certainly comparable with Webber’s first two or three laps on new hard tyres in the second stint. So there was margin there to play with.

The gap between them was maintained at five seconds throughout the middle stint. Webber pitted again on lap 33, which left him with 19 laps to go to the finish on another set of hard tyres.

Alonso stayed out four more laps, pitting on lap 37 with a lead of four seconds to protect in the final stint. Although Webber had a couple of faster laps than Alonso before the Ferrari stop, Alonso again was able to find speed from the used hard tyres prior to his stop and another lap would have been possible. With two or three more laps in the opening stint and another lap in the second, this would have put him back out on track after a stop on lap 41 with a small margin over Webber, but just 10 or 11 laps to do on soft tyres to the finish. On this basis he would probably have been able to hold onto the lead to the end. Alternatively, he could have done what Hamilton did and run a short middle stint on softs of no more than 10 laps, reacted to Webber’s stop on lap 33 and finished on the same hard tyres as the Red Bull driver.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, especially the day after the Grand Prix when one can look at all the what-ifs. Ferrari and Alonso have done brilliantly to lead the championship at this stage and Silverstone was their strongest points haul of the season, with a fine fourth place for Massa. They move into second place in the Constructors’ Championship.

They have made a few strategic mistakes this season which have cost Alonso points, but on the whole they’ve been consistent in taking their opportunities. However there’s no getting away from the fact that, although their hunch at the start was correct that the hard was the better race tyre, there was definitely a win to be had on Sunday with a slightly more imaginative approach to the soft tyre in race strategy.

Doing things differently: Hamilton and Grosjean

There were two other interesting strategies on Sunday from McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Lotus F1’s Romain Grosjean, which also shed light on what might have been for Alonso.

Both teams decided early on, like Ferrari that the hard tyre would be the faster race tyre. Hamilton, like Alonso, started on it, while Grosjean was involved in a first lap incident with Vettel and had to pit on lap two. He went to the hard tyre and then did the whole race on it, with only one further stop, So essentially he did a one stop strategy. He did a 24 lap stint and a 26 lap stint on it and was competitive. He was 22nd and last on lap 3, but came through to finish 6th behind his team mate Raikkonen, who had raced with Vettel and Massa. On lap 50, his tyres 24 laps old, he set the second fastest lap of the race.

It was another stunning performance by Grosjean and an illustration of the pace and durability of the hard Pirelli tyre, as well as the Lotus’ ability to find great race pace. With better qualifying performance, they would have a car capable of winning races.

Hamilton went for a hard/soft/hard strategy and did a long first stint, which appeared to have got him into a position to race Grosjean for sixth. He got the soft tyre out of the way with a short middle stint, but he didn’t have the pace in the final stint and faded. McLaren have problems balancing front and rear tyre temperatures and it’s costing them badly.

SILVERSTONE TYRE CHOICES

Webber: SN, HN(14) HN(33)

Alonso : HN, HN(15), SN(37)

Vettel: SN, HN(10), HN(37)

Massa: SN, HN (13), HN (35)

Raikkonen: SN, HN(13), HN (34)

Grosjean: SN, HN(2), HN(26)

Schumacher: SN, HN(12), HN (34)

Hamilton HN, SN (21), HN (28)

Senna: SN, HN (14) HN (30)

Button: HN, SN (16), HN (31)

Kobayashi: HN, HN(16) SN(37)

Hulkenberg HN, HN (16), SN(35)

Ricciardo: HN, SN(16), HN (29)

Vergne: SN, HN (14), HN (32)

Rosberg: HN, HN (15), SN (37)

Maldonado: SN, HN (11), HN (12)

Kovalainen: SN, HN(12), HN(29)

Glock HN, HN(18), SN(38)

Pic: SN, HN (13), HN (32)

De la Rosa: SN, SN(27)

Kartikeyan HN, HN(16), SN(35)

Perez: SN, HN (11) – Retired

Di Resta: SN, HN(1) – Retired

Petrov: Did Not Start

S= Soft; H=Hard; N=New; U= Used;

RACE HISTORY GRAPH

Kindly provided by Williams F1 Team

Notice the pace Alonso has at the end of the first and second stints and the margin he has over Webber at the first and second stops.

Note also the way Webber catches Alonso in the final stint.

Note Hamilton’s lack of pace from the outset of the final stint on hard tyres. Compare that with Grosjean’s pace on hard tyres throughout the race

[MIKA27]

Rosberg urges Merc to get act together

Nico Rosberg has lamented a weekend of "setbacks" at Silverstone and warned Mercedes they need to improve if they don't want to get left behind.

The Brackley squad headed to the British GP in high spirits after they picked up 23 points in Valencia a fortnight ago. Michael Schumacher's P3 in qualifying also gave them hope of scoring another decent haul of points.

However, both Schumacher and Rosberg struggled come race day with the seven-time World Champion finishing seventh and the latter slipping to a disappointing 15th.

"I went into the weekend really optimistic thinking if everything goes well I will be in for a podium," the 27-year-old said on his video blog.

"In the end really it was a weekend of setbacks. The weather was up and down, and generally it was a pretty crazy weekend."

Next up on the calendar is the German Grand Prix and Rosberg feels the team need to raise their game for the home race if they want to keep up with the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari in the Championship.

"The others are really attacking now, especially the teams up front, and we've really got to get our act together to make sure that they don't get away from us in the mid-season - that's very important," he said.

"So I am looking forward to Hockenheim. It is a track that suits us much more, racing at home, and I am optimistic we can do a top result there."

[CanuckSARTech]

Mika, cheers buddy, for continuing the tradition with this thread. Very cool to see all the info you continue to update on here.

I'll still keep my fingers crossed for you to do a NASCAR one too!

[MIKA27]

  On 7/11/2012 at 9:50 PM, CanuckSARTech said:

Mika, cheers buddy, for continuing the tradition with this thread. Very cool to see all the info you continue to update on here.

I'll still keep my fingers crossed for you to do a NASCAR one too!

Hey keith - Thanks for the post bud, appreciate it.

As for a NASCAR thread, I hope you like waiting! Seriously, I couldn't do a NASCAR thread as I don't follow the sport nor do we get much coverage here down under for me to start following it. You never know though mate, maybe someday..

Good to see you here on the thread.

[MIKA27]

HORSE WHISPERER SAYS "FERRARI IN NO HURRY TO DECIDE ON MASSA".

Ferrari's celebrated anonymous blogger, The Horse Whisperer, has returned to the keyboard today to write a short post on the official Ferrari.com site in reaction to comments worldwide about Ferrari's next move now that Mark Webber has committed to Red Bull for 2013.

Written in its usual sardonic tone, the gist of the piece is to poke fun at journalists and bloggers who have speculated on what the team's plans are around drivers

"In Maranello, no one is in a hurry to make any decisions and that's for sure.

"Yesterday, one absolute certainty of the past few months was washed away, as we now know Webber is staying put.

"Now the most vociferous and qualified rumourmongers are taking it for granted that Felipe will be confirmed, these generally being the same voices that, not only had him down as being out of the running for 2013, but would have had us believe he would not even see out the season.

"Now coming into bloom are a whole list of possible and potential replacements, with a list of names from A to Z, something Ferrari is well used to. In truth, one letter, the "Z," seems yet to be uncovered, or quite possibly it's Zorro…unmasked."

It's all good fun. The situation at Ferrari is quite fluid and as the Whisperer says, its conceivable that Massa will keep his seat next season, with none of the top five teams making any changes in driver line up.

Massa's form has improved as the car has improved (the same happened with Irvine relative to Schumacher through 1996-1999) and they may well stick with the "devil you know", rather than import someone new for what could only be a year if Sebastian Vettel arrives in 2014, as well placed sources in Italy suggest he could.

I still can't see why Vettel would do that, but if he does it opens up a great opportunity for Lewis Hamilton at Red Bull.

All eyes on Hamilton's renewal then, when it comes, to see if it is just for one year with options, leaving the door open for a move should Vettel vacate.

[MIKA27]

MARIA DE VILLOTA SPEAKS TO FAMILY AND LEAVES CRITICAL UNIT:

Marussia F1 team has put out a very encouraging statement this evening regarding the condition of Maria de Villota, who was badly injured in a straight line testing accident at Duxford last week.

“Despite severe injuries, Maria’s recovery.. has been remarkable,” said the statement, which was issued with the blessing of the De Villota family.

It continued: “Following two successful surgical procedures in the days following the accident, last Saturday the medical team at Addenbrooke’s Hospital began to gradually reduce the level of Maria’s sedation. By Sunday morning, Maria was awake and able to speak to her family, which provided a very important – albeit early – indication that there were positive signs for Maria’s recovery.

“Since that time, Maria has been making small but significant steps. She was moved out of the Neurological Critical Care Unit on Monday and is no longer receiving sedation. Her family remain by her side and she is communicating freely with them and the medical team. Medical assessments are ongoing to monitor Maria’s improving condition.”

The fact that she has spoken to her family is very positive news and we all wish her the very best for her recovery.

[MIKA27]

Schumi hints at prolonging F1 career

Michael Schumacher has given the clearest indication yet that he wants to continue his Formula One career beyond this campaign.

The seven-time World Champion's three-year contract with Mercedes runs out at the end of this season and his team bosses have confirmed that they hope to sort out his future during the summer break.

Mercedes motorsport director Norbert Haug has made plenty of noise about keeping the 43-year-old after this year, but Schumacher himself has stayed pretty quiet about his future plans.

Well, that was up to Wednesday as he has indicated for the first time that he is still enjoying Formula One and not really thinking about his second retirement just yet.

"I am still not satisfied," he told Germany's Sport Bild in an exclusive interview, saying he has "achieved very little" during his second spell in F1.

Since returning to the sport in 2010, Schumacher has been outshone by team-mate Nico Rosberg with his compatriot claiming one victory and four podium finishes in the two and a half years compared to his one podium which came at this year's European Grand Prix.

As for contract negotiations with his Brackley bosses, Schumacher said: "There have been no talks between Mercedes and myself on an extension, but these talks will take place."

He added: "I'm still highly motivated. Only time will tell for how long."

[MIKA27]

Ferrari boss dreams of F1 at Mugello

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says a F1 grand prix at the team's Mugello track would be a "dream come true."

Earlier this season, the Ferrari-owned track hosted a Formula One test, the first in-season test since the test ban was introduced in 2009.

However, the high-speed did not get massive applause from everyone in the paddock with some saying it was too dangerous. Others, though, throughly enjoyed the sweeping nature of the layout.

But whether Formula One will ever race at the venue remains to be seen, although if di Montezemolo has any sway it will happen one day.

"Mugello has always been a demanding and spectacular track for those who tackle it, be they on two or four wheels, but it is also now recognised as being one of the most cutting edge facilities in the world, from every point of view," he told Ferrari's website.

"This year, it also witnessed the return of Formula 1 with a test session, which drew a big crowd and was much appreciated by all the teams.

"It would be a dream come true to one day also see a Formula 1 World Championship race take place at Mugello..."

[MIKA27]

Toro Rosso impressed by drivers so far

Toro Rosso team principl Franz Tost says he's so far been impressed by both Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne's performances.

The duo started well with Ricciardo taking two points from his first race and Vergne finishing eighth in Malaysia to secure four, but they're both yet to score again which has out the Italian outfit someway behind its rivals.

Tost though is happy with how things are going.

"So far I must say that both of them are highly skilled and both of them, so far, have shown good performance," he told the official F1 website. "The progress that both are making is quite promising, so I have to say that so far we are satisfied."

However by this time last season, the pairing of Jamie Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi had scored 18 points compared to the teams six, but Tost blames that on the cars competitiveness.

"We had possibilities, we had chances, but we didn’t seize them," he added. "For example Daniel started from P6 in Bahrain and couldn’t profit from it, and Jean-Eric was in P7 ten laps before the chequered flag in Monaco but finished 12th.

"We have definitely not taken a step backwards but our competitors are working better. Maybe we have gained two or three-tenths of a second, but the others have gained maybe four or five-tenths."

The Austrian is hoping for a better second half of the season though.

"Both now have a bit more experience, they know the team better, the car better and the weekend procedure, so now I think it is up to us, the team, to provide them with a good car and make a step forward with new upgrades. Then I am convinced that we - hopefully - will have a successful second half of the season."

[MIKA27]

Webber admits 2012 title challenge influenced Ferrari snub

Mark Webber has revealed that the fact he wants to charge for this year's title influenced his decision to stay at Red Bull in 2013.Until Red Bull announced he is staying alongside Sebastian Vettel next season, the Australian was strongly linked with a move to Ferrari.

Even in the official media statement, Webber admitted there had been "discussions with Ferrari" about replacing Felipe Massa.

He then acknowledged to the Associated Press that it is "important the team knows you're 100 per cent with them, which, of course, I am."

But that might not have been the case if the rumoured switch to Ferrari had become fact.

Webber has already felt the sting of questionable equality, famously declaring on the radio after winning the 2010 British grand prix that it was a feat "Not bad for a number two driver".

Two years on and with his teammate Sebastian Vettel now the reigning back-to-back title winner, Webber is a win and 16 points up on the German in the drivers' standings.

He senses it could be his last chance to win a championship.

"The fact that I am trying to win the championship this year was a consideration," Webber admitted in a BBC column.

"It would have been that bit harder to keep the momentum going if I was moving to a rival team. That was a factor, but it was certainly not the biggest one."

Webber's new contract is for yet another one-year term, but he insists retirement is not looming just yet.

"I'm not thinking about that at all," said the Australian, who turns 36 in August.

"The contract is just for one year, but I'm looking to stay in F1 for longer than that."

[MIKA27]

Williams believes Bruno Senna can turn his qualifying struggles around after encouraging showing at Silverstone

Williams believes Bruno Senna has a chance of turning his qualifying struggles around in next weekend's German Grand Prix after an encouraging Silverstone performance.

Senna has lacked qualifying pace throughout his first season at Williams so far, and is yet to start higher than 13th for the squad.

The Brazilian's team-mate Pastor Maldonado has made four Q3 appearances and inherited pole for the Spanish GP when Lewis Hamilton was penalised, before going on to convert that position into Williams's first Formula 1 victory in nearly eight years.

Although Senna started 13th again in Britain, he drove a strong race to ninth place. Williams's chief operations engineer Mark Gillan believes that performance, combined with a focus on single-lap pace in the team's simulator, will help Senna to perform better on Saturdays from Hockenheim.

"Bruno had a very good race and was particularly strong both at the start and in the last part of the race when he was fighting hard for the ninth place," said Gillan.

"We continue to work with Bruno in the simulator and with the race programme to help him optimise his qualifying pace and I think that he can take a lot of positives from Silverstone into Hockenheim."

Gillan reckons Senna would have shown better qualifying form in Britain if he had not been caught out by yellow flags for Romain Grosjean spinning his Lotus into the Vale gravel. Senna admitted that he was particularly cautious around the yellows in the wake of his recent issues.

"He was unlucky not to progress into the final qualifying session when his hot timed lap was severely compromised by the yellow flag," said Gillan.

[MIKA27]

ABU DHABI TO HOST F1 IN SCHOOLS WORLD FINALS DURING GP WEEKEND:

The 2012 F1 in Schools World Finals are to be held in Abu Dhabi from 29th October to 31st October to coincide with the nation’s fourth Grand Prix.

It is the eighth time that the prestigious event has taken place, and this year’s host could not be more fitting with the Yas Marina Circuit and Ferrari World Abu Dhabi as a very suitable back drop.

The F1 in Schools challenge was set-up in 1999, aiming to make the teaching of engineering and technology more exciting for young people. They aim to stimulate the notion of team work and creativity in a sporting context by making each team completely responsible for every aspect of the challenge. Each team develops a car on Computer Aided Design (CAD) software, which can then be tested for aerodynamic efficiency using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software. Cars can then be built and tested for improvements in wind tunnels, before taking to the track for the final sprint.

In 2012 there will be 40 nations competing in the World Finals and each of the National Champions will be invited to compete in the grand finale at the Ferrari World theme park, with National runners-up also taking part by joining up with the runner-up from another country.

As well as displaying their innovativeness and engineering skills, team members will be able to witness Formula One cars up close; potentially acting as a stimuli to these skilled young engineers becoming the masterminds behind future World Champions.

“We are privileged to have the support of the Formula 1 fraternity and the Formula One Group, so it is only fitting that we showcase the F1 in Schools programme to them. Hosting the event just before a Grand Prix also offers the students a chance to attend one of the most exciting, technologically innovative sporting events in the world, and as these participants have been living and breathing Formula 1 as they compete in the F1 in Schools challenge and prepare for the World Finals, it is a great opportunity for them to experience the reality of the sport,” said Andrew Denford, founder and Chairman of F1 in Schools.

Each team must create their own car to be showcased on a specially designed 20-metre track. They must also create a development portfolio and a verbal presentation to display the processes they used to create the fastest car possible. The World Finals winning team will be chosen by a panel of judges, receiving the coveted Bernie Ecclestone World Champions trophy and an automotive and motorsport engineering scholarship to City University London for each team member.

[MIKA27]

AN UPDATE ON THE F1 SOCIAL MEDIA BATTLE:

The fight for on-track supremacy in Formula 1 is proving as tight and competitive as ever this year but an interesting off-track ‘battle’ to monitor from time to time is teams’ efforts to increase their reach in the world of social media.

With F1′s outfits’ participation in such channels now far more established and widespread than was the case a couple of years ago, the numbers of Twitter and Facebook followers the teams enjoy has continued to increase at a fast rate of knots across the board. Our partner site F1i in France has compiled some research on the subject, revealing some interesting comparisons of the picture across both major platforms compared to 12 months ago.

TEAM TWITTER RANKINGS

All but three of F1’s teams have enjoyed triple percentage increases in followers over the past 12 months, with Ferrari consolidating its lead over McLaren to nearly 100,000 followers. Mercedes though had the smallest increase of all and is being closed in on for third place by Red Bull – who added around 86,000 followers in the last year – with Lotus a little further back after an impressive 160% increase itself.

Compared to last year, Caterham has moved ahead of Marussia into sixth place while Sauber, likely to be aided by their sudden surge to prominence in the field this year, has posted the biggest percentage increase of all 355% after adding nearly 50,000 extra fans to its account.

Yet, to put the statistics into some context, F1 teams still have quite some way to go to match the biggest English Premier League football teams’ Twitter reach for instance. Arsenal currently lead the way here with a 1.6 million followers ahead of Chelsea (1.1m) and Liverpool (1m) (Manchester United don’t have an official Twitter account, but do have a massive 26 million ‘likes’ on the club’s Facebook page).

TEAM FACEBOOK RANKINGS

Red Bull’s large 12-month growth in Twitter followers extends to Facebook, with the world champion team having usurped McLaren as the most ‘liked’ F1 team on the grid. Ferrari only ramped up its Facebook activities from a low base inside the last year so no percentage comparison is listed, although the Scuderia is already up to third place, while Williams’ own page is also little over a season old. Force India, meanwhile has the fifth most popular Facebook page, whereas on Twitter the team is ranked only ninth.

Interestingly, further research by our colleagues has shown that while it may only have the seventh-highest number of ‘likes’ of its official page, Lotus has a very engaged Facebook community. A total was calculated for the number of likes’, comments and sharing on posts appearing on F1 team pages with over 100,000 likes across the Thursday-Sunday period of both the European and British GPs, with a coefficient then worked out by dividing by the number of people able to view the page. As the table below shows, here Lotus easily swept the board at both races.

Ferrari’s Facebook presence is not as clear cut or easy to measure against F1 rivals as the F1 programme is not differentiated in the wider Official Ferrari page which has 8,878,330 likes.

[MIKA27]

MARUSSIA REPORT: CAR NOT AT FAULT IN DE VILOTTA TESTING ACCIDENT:

Marussia F1 team has issued a carefully worded statement today saying that after internal and external investigations into the accident at Duxford this month which hospitalised Maria de Villota, a technical problem with the car has been ruled out.

John Booth, the Marussia team principal said, “We are satisfied that the findings of our internal investigation exclude the car as a factor in the accident.”

Although the report does not say it explicitly, the implication is that the accident was down to the driver. De Villota, the team’s test driver, who had just completed the first straight line aero testing run of the day, was manoeuvring at low speed close to the team’s test base off the main runway when the car ploughed into the back of a truck. The tailgate impacted with her crash helmet and she has subsequently lost an eye and had extensive reconstructive surgery on her face.

The Marussia team has forwarded the results of its investigation to the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) which is responsible for all regulation of accidents in the workplace.

The team statement says, “Having carefully examined all the data and supplementary information available at that time, the Team were satisfied that there were no such car-related issues and cleared its chassis for race weekend participation.

Following its initial investigation, the Team proceeded to carry out further detailed analysis of the accident. An external forensic investigation was commissioned and carried out at Duxford Airfield (a FIA-approved and much used testing venue, compliant with the recommendations for a test of this nature) and with the team at the Marussia Technical Centre in Banbury. This external analysis has been carried out autonomously of the team’s own internal investigation.”

Booth added that the team is focussed on De Villota’s wellbeing, “We have now concluded our investigatory work and can again focus on the priority, which continues to be Maria’s wellbeing. In that regard, we continue to support Maria and the De Villota family in any way we can.”

[MIKA27]

German grid penalty for Grosjean

Romain Grosjean will start the German GP five places back from where he qualifies as his Lotus E20 needs a new gearbox.

The Lotus driver reportedly suffered a gearbox problem at the British GP,although his team were only aware of it after the race.

This, however, prompted a gearbox change meaning the Frenchman will be hit with an automatic five-place penalty for the next race, the German GP.

"It was a gearbox problem and we are very fortunate that Romain didn't have the problem earlier in the race," said tech director James Allison.

"Unfortunately for Romain it means he'll take a five place grid penalty at Hockenheim, but he certainly showed at Silverstone that dropping down the order won't stop him challenging at the sharp end."

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'Merc need to improve consistency'

Ross Brawn has urged his Mercedes team to improve their consistency after a rollercoaster ride through several highs and lows this season.

Despite winning the Chinese Grand Prix back in April, Mercedes have achieved only two other top-three results, Monaco and Europe. None of those results, though, ever followed on from each other.

After Nico Rosberg's Shanghai victory the German struggled to run at the front in Bahrain and finished P5, almost a full minute off the pace.

His P2 in Monaco was followed by a P6 in Monaco while Michael Schumacher could only achieve seventh at Silverstone despite finishing on the podium at the previous race in Valencia.

And Brawn concedes his team needs to work on keeping their performances at a constant high level if they hope to challenge F1's front-runners.

"The German Grand Prix will be our second home race in two weeks following the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last weekend, and we are looking forward to racing in front of our home fans and Mercedes-Benz colleagues once again," said the Mercedes team boss.

"As the Mercedes-Benz works team, the weekend is always a special one for our team.

"Our performance has been up and down recently, ranging from podiums to lower points finishes, and we need to work hard to improve our level of consistency and ability to challenge at the front of the field.

"The Hockenheim layout should be more suited to the F1 W03 than the high-speed Silverstone layout, and we are bringing some further improvements to the car which should help our performance.

"It would be very special to achieve a good result in Germany, so we will be working hard to achieve just that."

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Button: Next two races are important

Jenson Button concedes the next two back-to-back races in Germany and Hungary will be "vital" to any title challenge he may pose.

After winning the season-opener in Australia, Button's recents have fallen further and further of the pace, resulting in the Brit losing touch with the leaders in the title race.

After nine races, the McLaren driver has just 50 World Championship points, 79 less than Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

There is still time for Button to turn his season around starting with the upcoming German GP.

"Performance-wise, I still think it's difficult to accurately predict where we stand in the competitive order," said Button, who scored just one point at last weekend's British GP.

"Valencia and Silverstone were certainly difficult races for us, but I don't think they were truly representative of our pace.

"The final back-to-back before we head into the summer break will be important for the whole team: coming off the back of a couple of disappointing weekends, it's important that we capitalise on the opportunities available in Germany and Hungary."

The Brit, however, concedes that if he wants a great result in Germany both himself and McLaren will need an error-free weekend.

"This year, you really need a problem-free build-up to the race if you're going to maximise the car's potential - and that's exactly what we'll be hoping for in Germany.

"I've always enjoyed Hockenheim: I raced here when it blasted through the forests - a long time ago!

"I had a great race here in 2004, finishing second, despite starting back in 13th after a penalty for an engine failure in practice.

"It's a circuit where you can attack; it's good for racing and the newer layout is better for the spectators, too."

Meanwhile, McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh admits a strong showing in Germany and Hungary will give McLaren a much-needed lift ahead of the summer break.

"After Silverstone, our focus immediately turned to Hockenheim, which, along with the Hungaroring in Budapest, will bring the curtain down on the first half of the season at the end of the month," he said.

"There is a huge resolve within the operation to ensure that our aggressive development strategy is upheld across the summer.

"We are determined to narrow the gap to the Championship leaders before the start of the summer break."

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More Friday running for Clos

Dani Clos will be back in action for HRT at the German GP, replacing Narain Karthikeyan in Friday's first practice.

The 23-year-old Spaniard was last in action at the British GP, contesting first practice. However, heavy rainfall meant he completed just 11 laps.

But despite his limited running at Silverstone, the Spaniard is confident he still learnt valuable lessons that he will carry through to Hockenheim.

"I'm happy to be getting into the car again just a few weeks later; it's another very good opportunity for me," said the HRT test driver.

"I wasn't able to do much mileage in Silverstone because of the weather but my sensations and the work we did were very positive both for me and the team.

"We did a great job on a wet track and, although it was brief, it was very intense.

"Hockenheim will be a good opportunity to improve and do more miles with the F112. Besides, it's a track I know and that I find enjoyable, and a place where I have good memories.

"I'm confident and really looking forward to getting back on to the track."

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FIA clarify attacking & defensive moves

F1's ruling body has this week clarified the rules on dangerous racing moves by drivers defending a position in the heat of a race - and giving the benefit of the doubt to the man who is leading.

The ruling comes after several controversial incidents this year in which drivers have vigorously defended their positions and in some cases forced challenging rivals off the circuit.

One of the most publicised of these cases came at the Bahrain Grand Prix when Nico Rosberg of Mercedes robustly defended his position from attacks, or attempts to pass, by Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren and then Fernando Alonso of Ferrari.

Both challenging drivers felt aggrieved at the way in which Rosberg moved his car to defend his position, forcing them to run wide and in Hamilton's case off the circuit completely.

The race stewards investigated the incidents at the time and took no action because it was said that no "significant part" of either Hamilton or Alonso's cars was alongside Rosberg at the time.

The incidents created some uproar, however, and many drivers called for a clearer explanation of what might be considered to be a "significant part" of a car.

Charlie Whiting, the race director of the ruling body the FIA has now made clear that "any driver defending his position on a straight, and before any braking area, may use the full width of the track during his first move provided no significant portion of the car attempting to pass is alongside his.

"Whilst defending in this way, the driver may not leave the track without justifiable reason."

In an effort to clarify the ruling, he added: "For the avoidance of doubt, if any part of the front wing of the car attempting to pass is alongside the rear wheel of the car in front this will be deemed to be a 'significant portion'."

This, in effect, means that an attacking car has to find a way to move the front wing of his car alongside the rear wheels of the defending car to be able to claim that he is in a position to overtake - and that the defending driver cannot move around to defend that position.

At the time of the Bahrain incident, Rosberg said he would be happy for the FIA to provide clarification on driving standards.

"It is driver safety and we need to do the best we can so that we can move forward. We could look at implementing more rules in that situation because it is not very clear, but it can be looked at," he said.

"Rules such as a car width (when a driver is moving back towards the racing line after making a block) is very good because we need that clear situation to penalise drivers when there is a need to..."

The clarification means also that Rosberg can rest easy because in both cases in Bahrain he defended his position without breaking the rules.

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'Russia will have a top-class track'

Mikhail Kapirulin, the head of the company that is building the Formula One race track in Sochi, is confident that once completed it will be a "top-class" venue.

Russia is expected to join the Formula One calendar in 2014 when the under-construction Olympic Park Circuit in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi plays host to the event.

The 5.9-kilometre track, designed by Hermann Tilke, is being built around the Sochi Olympic Park, which will host the 2014 Winter Games.

"We solved all the problems in projecting the track," said Kapirulin.

"We're building the track in tight co-operation with our colleagues, who are building Olympic venues in Sochi.

"It makes us confident that we will build a top-class racing track in Sochi.

"It will be a great track!"

Meanwhile, Charles Pic, who was in action at this past weekend's Moscow Racing show with his Marussia team, says he relished his first visit to Russia.

"It has been a real experience to come to Russia for the first time and take part in the Moscow City Racing event," said the F1 rookie.

"For me, having never been to Russia before, this trip was a little overdue given that I drive for an Anglo-Russian team, but it was well worth the wait.

"The fans have been quite incredible and it's a chance for me to let loose a little and give the demo car a hard time!

"I certainly won't be driving my own car like that next weekend in Germany.

"My thanks to everyone who has made this such a special trip for me and the guys on the team. Moscow is a very cool city."

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'Very soon our efforts will pay off'

Tony Fernandes is adamant his Caterham team will "very soon" find themselves in the top ten as the backmarker outfit seeks their maiden Championship point.

Caterham's goal for this season was to mix it up with the midfield and challenge for the few points. But while they have at times demonstrated improved pace they haven't been able to sustain it long enough to launch an attack on a points-paying result.

Team owner Fernandes, though, is confident that will come sooner than later, perhaps even at this weekend's German Grand Prix.

"Both the German and Hungarian races give us a chance to get back on track, literally and metaphorically," said the Malaysian businessman.

"The team will take a very well deserved break after the race in Budapest, but before that we need to have two strong weekends where we can exploit the hard work put in all year by the team in the design office and the wind tunnel.

"In Silverstone we were not able to show how far we have progressed, for a number of reasons, but I am more sure than ever that we are going in the right direction, and that very soon our efforts will pay off.

"This is an extraordinary season and it is possible that in previous years the gains we have made would have been more obvious.

"We are still a small team, but we have already made very good progress this year and with a little luck and even more hard work I know we will make that step into the midfield and join the battles that are going on ahead of us.

"We have the people to help us do that, and after Hungary we will be moving the F1 team to our new home in Leafield and that will mark the next chapter in our extraordinary story.

"However, now we are focusing on the races that take us past the mid-point of the season and I am excited about seeing what we can achieve at both grands prix.

"Hopefully Heikki's car won't suffer the same contact that cost him so much downforce in the British Grand Prix, and I know that Renault Sport F1 are working as hard as they can to ensure we do not suffer a repeat of the engine failure that ended Vitaly's race before it started in Silverstone.

"With more time on track to push the upgrade package as far as we can, and a little luck, both races could send us into the summer break on a very positive note."

Caterham's best results to date this season have been two P13s which Heikki Kovalainen achieved in Monaco and Vitaly Petrov matched at Valencia.

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Petrov wants to 'kick ass'

Vitaly Petrov has vowed to return to the front of the Formula One grid and "kick everyone's asses."

Having spent two years with Renault but with little success, the Russian racer was dropped from the team at the end of 2011 in favour of Kimi Raikkonen.

In order to continue his Formula One career, Petrov was forced to take a drive with a backmarker outfit in Caterham and admits it's been difficult adjusting.

"I survived it and I've already realised fully where I am, that I'm working in a different group of ten (cars)," he told Russia's RIA news agency.

The 27-year-old, though, is determined to use his time at Caterham to work his way back to the front of Formula One.

"There's a certain stimulus to come back and then kick everyone's asses," he said.