FORMULA 1 - 2014

[MIKA27]

Mika, do you write these articles? Or do you find and post to share the info?

Clearly you are very passionate about F1!

The majority I source but compile it all here in the single forum.

Being an F1 fan, I personally dislike trawling through a dozen forums to read up on news.

There are quite a few articles however, blogs which I myself write and post here.

[MIKA27]

Ferrari unveils the F14T their weapon to bring the F1 title back to Maranello

Ferrari have unveiled their much anticipated F14T, the weapon Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen will have at their disposal to bring Formula 1 World Championship titles back to Maranello.

The sport’s most famous team team unveiled the car that carries their title hopes for 2014 during an online reveal on Saturday.

The F14T, which was named by fans in an online poll, was a collective product of some of the best minds in motor racing including the likes of James Allison, Nicholas Tombazis and Pat Fry under the leadership of Team Principal Stefano Domenicali.

The F14 T is the sixtieth car built by Ferrari specifically to take part in the Formula 1 World Championship. The name comes from the combination of the current year and the introduction of the turbo-compressor in the Power Unit.

Although the traditional gestation period for a new Formula 1 design is a little over twelve months, this project, which goes by the internal code name 665, began life more than two years ago. 2014 is an exceptional year in the history of the sport, with a raft of rule changes that commanded an early start to allow the ground up revision of every aspect of the car’s design.

To cope with the unprecedented challenge of running three car projects simultaneously during 2012, the Scuderia was fortunate to be able to call on the talents of experienced engineers to guide the project in its early stages.

Chassis:

Followers of the Scuderia will be able to see some of the heritage of earlier Ferrari designs in the F14 T – the obvious areas of continuity are the pull-rod front and rear suspension. However, beyond this superficial similarity there is little to connect the 2014 car to its predecessors. Externally, the car is very different to the cars of recent years. Changes to the regulations to lower the chassis and nose in the interests of driver safety give the F14 T a very different appearance to the F138 and presented the designers with a real challenge to repackage the front suspension into a much lower monocoque. The 2014 rear wing family shares nothing with the previous year owing to three rule changes requiring a much larger stroke DRS, a much smaller overall rear wing depth and removal of the beam wing, thereby requiring the main plane to be supported by central pillars. The front wing is regulated to be 75mm narrower per side in order to make it less vulnerable to collisions with other cars and with the barriers. This change, perhaps one of the less noticeable visual differences to the 2013 cars, has a profound effect on the aerodynamics of the vehicle. The front wings used since 2009 have all featured elaborate measures to encourage the wake of the front wing endplates to pass around the outside of the front tyres in order to maximize the downforce on the car. A seemingly innocent change of just 75mm to the position of the wing tip has required us to reinvent completely the front wing aerodynamics for 2014.

Integration:

Although the external differences are striking, the largest areas of difference occur beneath the skin of the car. The new car has completely different cooling requirements from any of its predecessors. Engine oil and water radiators shrink in size to match the relatively smaller V6 internal combustion part of the Power Unit. However, new homes had to be found to accommodate an intercooler for the turbo-compressor system and to manage heat ejection from ERS components that is many times greater than that of their KERS antecedents. Given that more cooling allows more horsepower, but more cooling also damages downforce generation, it was necessary to decide very carefully on the correct level of overall cooling for the car to render the best lap time compromise between horsepower and downforce. This is one of the key areas where having both Power Unit and chassis under one roof has been strongly to the benefit of the Scuderia. Having chosen the correct overall level of cooling to supply, packaging the resultant cooler elements, and managing the correct airflow to them is something which has absorbed a very large investment of design time to ensure that the F14 T is able to retain the sharply tapered bodywork that allows efficient extraction of downforce from the design.

Brakes:

The braking system has been completely redesigned to adapt the car to the change in the regulations: This has involved ensuring greater capacity on the front axle, while working with Brembo to reduce the size of the hydraulic caliper at the rear to compensate for the greater braking effort that is supplied by the ERS motor. In addition, as permitted by the regulation, the F14 T will have a brake-by-wire system for the first time to allow us to optimize pedal consistency and brake balance control as the ERS braking contribution changes during the braking manoeuvre.

Transmission:

The 2014 Power Units produce greater peak power than their 2013 counterparts and do so at lower RPM, but with higher torque. Furthermore, the regulations require us to fix a choice of just 8 ratios for the season. This places very different requirements on the transmission than any previous generation of Formula 1 cars. The F14 T transmission has been designed with the aim of ensuring that we continue to enjoy highly efficient delivery of power through the drivetrain while producing class leading starts and high levels of reliability.

Weight and tyres:

The sheer complexity of the 2014 regulations produces a layout that is significantly harder to deliver beneath the weight limit (691 kg) than in previous years. Weight control has been an important part of the project from the outset in order to deliver a car with a workable amount of ballast that will permit us to operate and develop the car through the season. Equally important will be the car’s integration with the new tyres that Pirelli are introducing this year. The ability of the F14 T to get the most out of their characteristics will be one of the cornerstones in terms of seeing if our overall efforts will deliver the hoped for results.

Technical Specifications:

• Chassis in carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite structure
  
• Ferrari longitudinal gearbox
  
• Servo controlled hydraulic limited-slip differential
  
• Semiautomatic sequential and electronically controlled gearbox with quick shift
  
• Number of gears: 8 +Reverse
  
• Brembo ventilated carbon-fibre disc brakes (front and rear) and brake by wire rear brakes
  
• Independent suspension, pull-rod activated torsion springs front and rear
  
• Weight with water, lubricant and driver: 691 kg
  
• OZ Wheels (front and rear)………..13″
  

[MIKA27]

Raikkonen and Alonso agree they have the right stuff to win for Ferrari

Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen are by far the most experienced driver pairing in Formula 1, with 411 grand prix starts between, but the the jury is out whether together they will make Ferrari the strongest team in Formula 1. The first steps in proving or disproving this were taken with the launch of the team’s 2014 car – the F14T.

Raikkonen, who won the team’s last F1 world title in 2007, said, “Will we be the strongest team? I hope we are going to be obviously… I think we will both try very hard and we both want to win. But time will tell what will happen and if we can bring the championship back to Ferrari, but I would say there is a lot of other things, especially with the new rules. We are more than capable, both of us, to be up there and fighting for championships.”

Much has been written about the partnering of Alonso and Raikkonen, but only the new season will reveal if the decision was a masterstroke by the Maranello bosses or a disaster.

Whatever the case Alonso believes if the team delivers a decent car then the the two drivers have to make the most of it, “Kimi and me as a team should be quite strong on paper because we had success in the past in Formula One. But you need to discover every year and we start from zero. If we do well we will have a very strong team and we can deliver some good results for Ferrari. If we don’t do well as a team some other teams will then have the best pair of drivers. It’s up to us to deliver and do a good job.”

Alonso last won a world title back in 2006 with renault, this is now his fifth season with Ferrari which the Spaniard believes could be a good omen as history has been good to Ferrari drivers in their fifth year with the outfit.

“Schumacher won in his fifth year with Ferrari. I’m in my fifth year now so hopefully I can repeat some of the success he had.

Obviously in the last four years we had some opportunities. In 2010 and 2012 we were very close to winning the championship. This year we will try again and hopefully, it will be a good one,” mused Alonso.

The 19 race season gets underway with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, in Melbourne on 16 March. Ferrari and most of their rivals begin testing at Jerez de la Frontera in Spain, starting on 28 January.

[MIKA27]

Ricciardo reveals honey badger helmet for 2014

Red Bull newcomer Daniel Ricciardo has revealed his 2014 helmet featuring a meek looking honey badger on the back.

Explaining the presence of the honey badger image on his new lid, the Australian explained “Looks a bit docile, doesn’t it? Friendly even. But if someone steps on this little guy’s turf, if someone upsets him…mate, he’s the most fearless, most vicious creature in all the Animal Kingdom.”

Ricciardo will get his first run in the Adrian Newey penned Red Bull RB10 at Jerez next week, where he will share testing duties with his teammate, quadruple World Champion Sebastian Vettel.

[MIKA27]

Montezemolo: We have a strong team and now it is time to win

It is no secret that Luca di Montezemolo, president of Ferrari – one of the most prestigious supercar manufacturers on the planet – is sick and tired of playing second fiddle in Formula 1 to an energy drinks conglomerate, and is demanding that the legendary Maranello team starts doing some serious winning at this highest level of motorsport.

Speaking on the occasion of the team’s presentation of the their new car, the F14T, and drivers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen – Montezemolo said, “Now it is time to win. I have a lot of confidence in the new technical director James Allison and in the work that our people have made with the engine. It is a very complicated engine and a very complicated system and I think at the beginning of the season reliability will be crucial.”

“Whenever we have new rules it is difficult from the beginning to find out who is competitive, but our goal is to be on top and do our best. [stefano] Domenicali has done some innovation within the team and I’m very confident,” said the Ferrari boss.

Montezemolo fully supported the decision made by Team Principal Stefano Domenicali to bring Raikkonen back to the Maranello fold, despite the Ferrari chief having previously stated that he “never quite understood” the Finn.

But the he and the team have put emotions aside by uniting the two most experienced drivers in Formula 1, and certainly among the best of the current era, with the sole ambition being to resume winning World Championships.

Montezemolo said, “I am confident because we have a strong team, I think we have all the ingredients to be very successful. I’m pleased to have Kimi back. Kimi was the last driver to win the Championship with us. Fernando has [had] fantastic seasons by achieving second place in the last four years.”

[MIKA27]

McLaren and Lotus at war over Team Principals and title sponsor

The internal turmoil and uncertainty at Lotus has been capturing headlines for several months, while McLaren’s unexpected ‘civil war’ broke out a few weeks ago and since then has been a huge topic of debate – now the two teams are at loggerheads over team principals and a big money title sponsor.

A few days before the 2014 preseason testing gets underway, both teams are without a Team Principal and neither has the name of a title sponsor on their new cars.

In the McLaren corner, gone now is their high profile partnership with Vodafone, but also missing at the launch of the MP4-29 on Friday was boss Martin Whitmarsh.

Nevertheless Jenson Button welcomed the return to power of company supremo Ron Dennis, ”For me that’s the exciting thing about this year. And you do need change sometimes.”

Multiple authoritative sources all agree that Whitmarsh’s certain successor is Eric Boullier, the newly-departed Lotus Team Principal. That move has ruffled some feathers at Enstone.

Indeed, in what was widely interpreted as a spoiling move, Lotus chose the precise minute that McLaren’s 2014 car was revealed to publish the first photo of its own new single seater, the E22.

And, defiantly hinting at Boullier’s choice of next job, the team said on Twitter that the Frenchman’s parting gift is a copy of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’.

Now, the respected Auto Motor und Sport correspondent Michael Schmidt claims that a leading contender to succeed Boullier at Lotus is none other than Whitmarsh himself.

Schmidt also mentioned Ross Brawn as a contender, while reports on Twitter pointed to Craig Pollock, Jacques Villeneuve’s former manager, who may also be interested into buying into the Enstone based team.

Another reason for the animosity between McLaren and Lotus, according to Schmidt, is because the teams are both in talks with the same major potential sponsor.

Lotus has reportedly entered the talks with a lower asking price, but the identity of the sponsor is currently not known.

“We only know that it is a Japanese technology company,” said Schmidt, speculating that it could be Sony.

[MIKA27]

Dispute brewing between Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari

Reports have emerged that even before the new V6 turbo engines are fired up in anger, a dispute is brewing between Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari.

Auto Motor und Sport reports that the dispute is over whether a protective cover for the turbocharger, weighing a crucial 3 or 4 kilograms, is necessary.

Mercedes and Renault argue that the cover is needed for safety reasons in the event of a turbo failure, but Ferrari wants to leave the cover off.

“Next week there will be a clarifying conversation with the FIA,” wrote correspondent Tobias Gruner. ”Renault will apparently show a film of what happens when a turbocharger explodes.”

[MIKA27]

Lotus's 2014 Formula 1 car's twin tusk theory explained

AUTOSPORT technical expert CRAIG SCARBOROUGH explains the thinking behind Lotus's 'twin tusk' 2014 Formula 1 car and its distinctive front.

The look of the nose of 2014's Formula 1 cars has already been a major talking point, but Lotus caused a fresh stir by releasing a rendering of its new E22, which features a very different philosophy.

AUTOSPORT has learned that the aggressive 'twin tusk' arrangement caused problems for the team in completing crash testing.

But this hurdle has been overcome and Lotus will be ready to go in time for the second pre-season test in Bahrain.

The rules mandating a single nose tip, to be mounted far lower than previously and with a minimum cross section, were introduced for safety reasons.

The other cars that have so far been revealed have featured the 'anteater' nose, which forms the nose tip with a finger-like extension.

Lotus's twin tusk arrangement eschews this philosophy and stretches the wording of the rules to the limit.

In order to meet the single lower nose tip regulation, the two tusks are of unequal length, so the longer one forms the mandatory nose tip, while the other is short enough to avoid being considered part of the nose tip by the regulations.

This leaves each tusk to act as a crash structure, the front wing mounting pylon and then, as they slim narrow the rear of the car, also become turning vanes.

This means the unavoidable obstruction of the mandatory nose tip is made into a multi-purpose device.

The design may present slightly more total cross sectional area to the airflow, but places the obstruction in the most beneficial location.

[MIKA27]

Sauber unveils their 2014 challenger, the Ferrari V6 turbo powered C33

Press Release: The Sauber F1 Team today presents the new Sauber C33-Ferrari with which its two drivers, Esteban Gutiérrez (MX, 22) and Adrian Sutil (DE, 31), will be lining up on the grid for the start of the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The team has signed up Giedo van der Garde (NL, 28) as its test and reserve driver as well as Sergey Sirotkin (RU, 18) as test driver. The Sauber C33-Ferrari will be rolled out in Jerez de la Frontera (ES) during the first winter test starting on 28th January.

Looking ahead to the new season, Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn said: “We have put a very challenging year behind us. The first half of 2013 in particular was difficult for us, but the second half saw us making significant strides. We learnt a great deal during this time and will be applying the lessons in the new season.”

But the Team Principal is careful to make any forecasts for the new season: “Due to the radical changes in the technical regulations, predictions are simply impossible to make at this stage. Even more so than in previous years, any impression of how the teams stand against each other will only emerge once winter testing has been completed. That is also when we will announce our goals for the 2014 season. One thing’s for sure: reliability will be of the essence, especially at the beginning of the season.”

Kaltenborn is optimistic about the new brace of drivers: “Adrian is somebody we’ve been observing for some time and with whom we’ve been in contact since September. That is why I’m particularly delighted [that] we’ve managed to get him on board. He has repeatedly demonstrated just how fast he is, and he isn’t lacking in experience either, being about to enter his seventh season. In the light of the far-reaching technical changes, that is an advantage not to be underestimated.”

“As for Esteban Gutiérrez,” the Team Principal continued, “we have long considered him to be a talented racing driver. We know him extremely well as his connections with our team go back several years. Last year he had a difficult start, but managed to steadily progress. He has also settled into the team very well. We are confident he can now turn his experience into good results.”

Adrian Sutil is delighted with his move to the Sauber F1 Team: “After six good years in the same team [Force India] , it was time for me to look for a new challenge. I’m determined to have a successful future with the Sauber F1 Team and will do my bit to ensure that. In recent years the team has repeatedly demonstrated its potential, not least in the second half of the last season. And as for infrastructure, the Sauber F1 Team [is] a match for anybody. I can’t wait to take on the challenge!”

“Last season I had a steep learning curve,” said Esteban Gutiérrez, “but working together with the team, I was able to make steady progress. This is my fourth year with the Swiss team, and the second as a racing driver. Last year I learnt a great deal and I feel ready for the next step. The 2014 season will be a huge challenge on the technical front, which makes it all the more important to know the people you work with well. I will do everything I can to improve further and to support the team with all the resources I have.”

On January 21st, the team announced Giedo van der Garde as its Test and Reserve driver. Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn said: “Giedo has four years of experience in GP2 and he drove one year in F1. These are good credentials to work successfully with our team. Many times Giedo has shown his talent as a race driver. At the same time the team would like to support him to further develop his skills. Giedo has the right attitude to take the next step forward.”

Also taking on the role of Test Driver is 18-year-old Sergey Sirotkin of Russia. “Last year Sergey already had a chance to glean a first-hand impression of F1,” said Monisha Kaltenborn. “He spent several days in the factory, spoke at length with our engineers, was with the team at the Italian Grand Prix and drove 60 laps in a Ferrari in Fiorano. Our aim, as before, is to prepare him for entry into F1.”

The Sauber C33-Ferrari

The changes to the regulations introduced for 2014 are arguably the most sweeping ever seen in F1. As far as the engine in particular is concerned, the changes require a completely new concept. In place of last season’s naturally aspirated 2.4-litre V8 engine comes a 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 Power Unit, backed up by an energy recovery system (ERS) which is twice as powerful as in the past and with, potentially, more than ten times the deployable energy.

But that’s not all; key changes have also been introduced on the aerodynamics. For example, the maximum width of the front wing is now 165 cm (it was previously 180 cm) and the nose will be very low. This is intended to improve safety. Lower noses have been introduced by agreement between the FIA and the teams to reduce the risk that a car will be launched into the air in the case of a nose to rear wheel accident and also to reduce the risk of a driver injury in the event of a “T bone” accident.

Modifications have also been made to the dimensions of the chassis profile at the front of the car and the side crash elements, which are now standardised. The side impact test has been replaced by push off and load tests which are more stringent than before. These structures, combined with the way they are attached to the chassis, should result in better safety in the case of an oblique side impact. In addition, the lower rear wing is now removed. The aerodynamic effects, which could previously be achieved at the rear of the car through the manipulation of exhaust gases, are now restricted, with the position of the exhaust now more precisely defined. Side exhaust exits are no longer permitted; the exhaust tailpipe will now exit centrally and rearwards, with only minor changes allowed to its angle.

All of these measures reduce downforce and, therefore, decrease cornering speed. The cars will also be slower due to the raising of the minimum weight, which increases from 642 kg (including driver) to 691 kg, cancelling out – at least in part – the weight added by the new technical systems.

As Eric Gandelin, Sauber F1 Team Chief Designer, explained: “Together, these changes present the engineers with a huge challenge, especially with time pressure also a major factor. We’ve had to make various decisions on the chassis before all the necessary data and information was available to us. That is understandable, given that engine development continues alongside that of the rest of the car up to the last possible moment. And ultimately, of course, that is in our interests as well.”

The engineers, therefore, followed the path offering the greatest possible flexibility, which allows them to respond to unexpected factors or developments.

Perhaps the most visually striking element of the Sauber C33-Ferrari is the very low nose. The front wing pylon’s attachments on the nose have been moved out as far as allowed by the regulations to channel as much air as possible under the car.

The aerodynamics engineers were handed a new brief for the design of the front wing, which is 7.5 centimetres narrower on either side than the previous version. This creates very different airflow conditions. The entire front wing with its complex end plates, has, therefore, been newly developed from the ground up.

The front suspension concept has changed little, with its springs and dampers again pushrod-actuated. However, the changes to the regulations regarding the chassis profile have called for some detail adjustments.

The side crash elements have had a significant influence on the form of the side pods which is clearly visible in the design of the car. The cooling air intakes are slightly larger than those of last year’s car because the cooling requirements of the power unit and ancillaries have increased considerably. For the same reason, the vertically mounted radiators are now significantly larger. Again, the engineers have built a degree of flexibility into their design to allow scope to react should requirements shift in one or other direction.

The car’s engine, energy recovery system and gearbox are supplied by Ferrari. The 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engine has a rev limit of 15,000 rpm. A maximum 100 kg of fuel can be used for each race. Previously there was no limit on fuel usage and up to 140 kg of fuel was used, so this represents a significant improvement in fuel efficiency. Continuing the environmental theme, this year the number of engines which may be used in a season is also reduced from eight to five.

Where previously a maximum KERS boost of 60 kW was available for 6.6 seconds, now the drivers will be able to call on an extra 120 kW of power for 33 seconds per lap from the batteries. This additional output is fuelled not only by the kinetic energy generated under braking, but also by the heat energy produced by the engine.

The system now comprises two electric motors/generators, one coupled to the V6 engine’s drive unit, the other connected to the turbocharger. It is also possible to drive the electric motor attached to the engine directly from the one driven by the turbocharger, which can extend the total usable electrical energy further. The turbocharger can also be driven electronically to limit delays in the creation of engine power on first application of throttle.

The all-new carbon gearbox has eight forward gears (as stipulated in the regulations), whose ratios may only be changed once over the course of the 2014 season.

The whole power unit may not weigh less than 145 kg.

The concept for the rear of the Sauber C33-Ferrari also includes a degree of adaptability, so that the engineers can make adjustments to this area of the car in response to varying conditions. The exhaust tailpipe is positioned centrally between two pylons, which connect the rear wing to the rear impact structure. A change in the regulations has enlarged the maximum permitted aperture between the flap and the main wing to 65 mm (during DRS activation – previously 50 mm), which increases the DRS effect of the rear wing.

The concept of the rear suspension remains unchanged. As previously, it is pull-rod-actuated.

The weight of the car presents the engineers with a major challenge, as the 49 kg higher minimum weight only partly cancels out the weight added predominantly by the power unit and its ancillaries. But not only the weight itself is a challenge, also the weight distribution is crucial when it comes to making optimum use of the tyres.

Another tricky task for the engineers has been the packaging of the car’s components. The complexity of the power unit has resulted in a threefold increase in the number of electronics boxes alone compared to the Sauber C32-Ferrari. This means that they had to find a way to accommodate over 40 such components, more than 30 of which require cooling. It has become clear that thermal management is a key factor this season.

The braking system concept is totally new, taking the form of a brake-by-wire system for the first time, but at the rear wheels only. This has become necessary due to the significantly increased performance of the ERS, which requires much greater variations in rear wheel braking torque than previously. With brake-by-wire, an electronic system measures how hard the driver presses the brake pedal and then – using the additional information from energy recuperation – determines in a split-second the amount of braking pressure that should be fed through to the rear brake callipers.

“The radical changes to the technical regulations for 2014 mean that it’s even harder than usual to make predictions for the new season,” explained Chief Designer Eric Gandelin. “We know what kind of package we’ve put together here, but it is difficult to foresee what shape our rivals are in. The earliest opportunity to gain an impression of where the teams are in relation to one another will come during testing. The path we have followed with the design of the Sauber C33-Ferrari allows us maximum flexibility, so that we can react quickly. It is also clear that reliability will be an important factor in the first few races in particular. So this is an area which we have given very high priority.”

The Sauber F1 Team will begin the test in Jerez with a roll-out version of the Sauber C33-Ferrari. This means, that the car will be fully functional, but without a number of performance parts, which will be introduced for the two tests in Bahrain. Eric Gandelin explained: “On the one hand this gives us time to maximise the development of these performance relevant parts, and on the other hand we can run the car during the first test and check all the systems, which we feel is crucial, considering all the technical changes.”

[MIKA27]

Kaltenborn: Our target is to improve our position in the championship

Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn spoke about the Formnula 1 world championship season ahead on the occasion of the launch of her team’s new car – the Ferrari V6 turbo powered Sauber C33.

On Tuesday the first test begins in Jerez (ES). What are your feelings going into the roll-out?

Monisha Kaltenborn: “We’ll be having our roll-out in Jerez. That is always a very special moment, because first of all we’ll see if everything really fits together and if the car is running well. It also tells us if we have been working in the right direction for the last nine months. All this makes it a very emotional moment.”

With the regulation changes in 2014 and the short turnaround time over the winter, what are your aims for the forthcoming season?

Kaltenborn:“Due to the big changes on the chassis side, but particularly on the drive train side, it is impossible to give any indication about our competitiveness. We can do that at the earliest after the winter tests, particularly when we have seen where we stand compared to our competitors. As always, it’s going to be our target to improve our position in the championship.”

What do you expect from your drivers?

Kaltenborn: “This year we have a very exciting driver line-up. On the one hand we have Adrian (Sutil), a very experienced racing driver, and I’m happy that we finally had the opportunity to work together. On the other hand we have Esteban (Gutiérrez), a young talented driver who we have known for many years, and has also been a member of the team. This is very valuable considering the big changes that are coming this season. I hope the drivers can get to know the car very quickly and that we have all our reliability issues sorted out, so that together with the drivers we can work on the performance and develop the car further.”

[MIKA27]

Lotus admit contact with Whitmarsh to replace Boullier

Deposed McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh could move to Lotus for the 2014 season, according to sources within the team.

Lotus’ former chief, Eric Boullier, is the hot favourite to replace Whitmarsh at Woking, even though McLaren is not ready to confirm it.

“New car but no boss”, read the headline at the weekend by Diario Sport.

A team spokesman was quoted by Die Welt: “We are not talking at the moment about our management leadership.”

On the other hand, Lotus’ team owner Gerard Lopez has said he is replacing Boullier, but some have questioned Lopez’s commitment to Formula 1.

For instance, the Luxembourger was spotted in the paddock only a handful of times in 2013.

“Without going into detail,” Lopez told France’s RMC, “I had very serious health problems (last year).

“I’m not one to talk about my privacy, but I found it a bit hurtful to hear that my lack of presence was because I have no interest in Formula 1 when in reality I was in a hospital bed. But this is the world of Formula 1, where we do not seek to understand, we judge,” he added.

Nonetheless, speculation Whitmarsh is a leading candidate to be Lotus’ longer term team boss is now rife.

“There has been contact with Martin,” an source with close links to Lotus told Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper.

“He is not necessarily the only name they have approached. There are perhaps three but he might be the most appealing of them, given his experience at McLaren.”

[MIKA27]

Todt remains at Schumacher’s bedside in Grenoble

FIA president and former Ferrari boss Jean Todt has returned to the Grenoble Hospital bedside of his friend Michael Schumacher.

The seven time world champion has been in a coma for almost a full month, raising doubts he will ever recover from his late December skiing accident.

Blick newspaper reports that journalists, particularly those in Germany, have been warned away from that sort of speculation with a letter from lawyers representing the great German’s family.

In the meantime, Bild am Sonntag newspaper quoted manager Sabine Kehm as saying Schumacher’s wife Corinna only wants the 45-year-old closest friends to be around him.

One of the closest of all is 67-year-old Frenchman Todt, who today heads Formula 1′s governing body.

“Michael and Jean formed a deep and respectful friendship during their time at Ferrari,” triple world champion Niki lauda said.

“That he is at his side now is very important,” he added.

[MIKA27]

Grosjean F1 future secure despite Boullier exit

Romain Grosjean’s future with Lotus is safe and secure, despite the departure from the team of boss and mentor Eric Boullier.

That is the claim of team owner Genii’s chief Gerard Lopez, responding to claims that because Frenchman Boullier was famously close to his countryman Grosjean, the 27-year-old driver’s future might now be in doubt.

But Lopez told France’s RMC that Grosjean is safe.

“It is us who brought Romain from GP2, and his career was launched by Jean-Paul Driot, who is a friend and a partner,” said the Luxembourger.

“Then the choice of the lineup for Formula 1 was done with Eric Boullier, but it’s still us who decided,” added Lopez.

“And Gravity is 100 per cent ours,” he insisted, referring to the management stable involving Grosjean, in which Boullier was heavily involved as the chief.

Lopez insisted, “For me, Romain is one of the best drivers in Formula 1 today, and I think we will soon be able to announce something for the very long term.”

[MIKA27]

One more season for UBS in F1 before they pull out

The 2014 season could be major Formula 1 sponsor UBS’ last year in the sport.

We reported a year ago that the Swiss global financial services company, having entered Formula 1 in 2010, is now considering pulling out.

It was reported that current chief executive Sergio Ermotti was studying the wisdom of the deal entered into by his predecessor Oswald Grubel, who also took Credit Suisse into Formula 1, and was a former BMW-Sauber board member.

Now, Schweiz am Sonntag newspaper reports that the €40 million per year UBS sponsorship looks set to end.

The report said that, officially, the decision will be taken shortly, “but this is only a formality”, as the exit has already been internally agreed.

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Lotus E22 will understeer and be tough to drive predicts F1 tech guru

Of the images of 2014 Formula 1 cars so far released by teams, Lotus has the most unconventional front nose design of all with the E22 concept resembling that of the Williams Fw26 ‘walrus’ which, according to well respected technical guru Enrique Scalabroni, will generate a great deal of understeer.

Speaking to Omnicorse, Scalabroni, formerly with Ferrari, Williams, Lotus and Peugeot Sport, observed, “The solution is original and interprets the restrictive front end regulations in a very particular way. This is very reminiscent to that of the 2004 Williams FW26 walrus nose. Also interesting is that the two ‘teeth’ of the nose are asymmetrical.”

In 2004 Williams used a similar concept, devised by Antonia Terzi, but it was ditched early on in the season for a more conventional solution.

“Of course from an aerodynamic point of view this could have some advantages. Patrick Head [Williams technical director at the time] told me that the data in the wind tunnel was excellent when compared to a more conventional nose, but the same results did not happen on track.”

Scalabroni predicts, “The front end [of the Lotus E22] will generate strong understeer, which will make the car unstable in rapid changes of direction. Both face plates are very long and will create a high moment where the driver will feel a strange reaction when turning the steering wheel. It will have an effect like a fin…”

Lotus are set to miss the first official F1 testing of the season at Jerez, but should be present at the Bahrain sessions next month with Romain Grosjean and necomer Pastor Maldonado on duty.

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Cosworth have not given up on return to F1 with turbo engine

Cosworth has revealed their own V6 turbo engine, the fruits of four years of development which will not power any Formula 1 cars this season.

Racecar Engineering reported that “the English company started work on a 2014 engine as long ago as 2010, when the regulations stipulated an I4 layout at the behest of Volkswagen.”

However the Wolfsburg based manufacturer canned the project, and Formula 1 regs changed to a V6 turbo configuration which prompted Cosworth, without a backer, to shelve the project.

However the report adds that Cosworth is continuing development of the I4 and V6 turbo engines for an ‘undisclosed’ supercar project, however should Formula 1 beckon again in the future they will be ready.

Earlier this month Adam Parr, former CEO of Williams F1 team, joined the Cosworth board as non-executive director which suggests that the engine manufacturer has not shut the door on future F1 ventures.

Cosworth powered Formula 1 cars won 165 times out of the 654 grand prix races they contested, between 1963 and 2013.

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Ecclestone may pay over quarter billion to avoid German jail

Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone could end his legal troubles and avoid up to ten years in a German jail by paying a huge settlement.

For the very first time, Ecclestone’s lawyer Sven Thomas, although insisting that Ecclestone is “preparing for fighting” in court, has said that settling the lawsuit is also a possibility.

“I don’t think that we can achieve a settlement before the trial starts,” Thomas told Formula 1 business journalist Christian Sylt.

“During trials settlements are always possible but not before.”

A spokesperson for the Munich court, which is set to hear the criminal bribery case in April, confirmed to the Daily Mail that a settlement is one possible outcome.

The spokesperson said that “according to German legal procedure, there is the possibility during the trial to stop the proceedings in return for payment of an agreed sum of money to a charitable institution or the treasury, if the accused, the public prosecutors and also the court agrees with it”.

Sylt said that the settlement would probably cost billionaire Ecclestone, who has stepped down as a Formula 1 director while the case is pending, somewhere just shy of €300 million.

“Although it is unusual for a court to take money to settle criminal charges, it is perfectly acceptable in Germany,” said Sylt.

Ecclestone said: “The judge is in a difficult position. He has locked somebody (Gerhard Gribkowsky) up for eight and a half years.

“[The judge] said that if the prosecutors wanted to, he would give some consideration to [accepting a settlement] but the prosecutors haven’t asked.”

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Vergne and Kvyat uncover the new Toro Rosso STR9 at Jerez

Two years in the making, the STR9 was revealed today at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain, when drivers Jean-Eric Vergne and teenager Daniil Kvyat whipped the sheets off Scuderia Toro Rosso’s challenger for the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship in the Jerez pit lane, at an event organised by long time sponsor CEPSA.

Under the technical directorship of James Key, Chief Designer Luca Furbatto and his team in Faenza, along with the Wind Tunnel team in Bicester have come up with their interpretation of the radical technical regulation changes introduced for this year.

The STR 9 is the first Scuderia Toro Rosso car to be powered by Renault. The car will make its official track debut tomorrow, with France’s Jean-Eric Vergne at the wheel. Daniil Kvyat will take over driving duties on Wednesday.

Franz Tost: “In 2012, we began a concept study for STR9, the earliest we have ever started a new car project, As time went by, more and more of our staff were involved in the project, as we invested a lot of effort and resources, both technical and financial into the design of the new car.”

“In 2014 the key parameters for success will be finding the best balance between deploying the power of the engine and managing the 100kg fuel limit per race, the use of the two energy recovery systems and, just as in the past, the tyres. Apart from the new rules, at Toro Rosso we have also had to adapt to a new engine partner and we are looking forward to working with Renault.”

“One final new element for us is on the driver side, as Daniil Kvyat joins us to race alongside Jean-Eric Vergne. Both are very talented and we expect good things from them.”

“With all these changes, some that affect everyone, others that are specific to Toro Rosso, it is really difficult to set targets or make predictions. However, it is clear we have to improve our performance and make a step forward.”

Daniil Kvyat: “I am very excited that I am about to start my first season in Formula 1. It will be a year of discovering many new things, which I expect will be very interesting. I can’t wait to actually start the driving part, the best part of my job.”

“Six days of winter testing is not a lot and I will have to see how quickly I get used to the new car, which wasn’t a big issue when I drove the 2013 car. Being a rookie means there’s a steep learning curve, but the bright side of this year’s regulation change is that all the drivers will be getting used to a new way of driving, starting from zero.”

“Anyway, I have always liked a big challenge. Physically, I feel ready after a good winter training programme, concentrating a bit on my neck muscles. The team hasn’t set me any specific targets, so its just a case of getting on top of my game as quickly as possible.”

Jean-Eric Vergne: “This will be my third season in Formula 1 and I definitely feel better prepared than ever before. From what I have seen in the factory, the same applies to the team. Now we must make the most of winter testing and work hard to ensure that all our efforts pay off.”

“I am confident we have what we need to do well. From a driver’s point of view, we will have a lot of new elements to understand and changes that will require us to adapt as quickly as possible. That will be one of the tasks for winter tests, so that we can make the most of the package available right from the first race.”

“We will have to adopt a different style of driving, especially in the races, with this new power unit combined with the need to manage fuel, while the changes to the rule regarding levels of downforce will make the cars feel different, offering less grip, which will also take some getting used to. It’s going to be a fascinating start to the year.”

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FIA bombarded by Lotus double prong nose legality queries

Formula 1′s governing body was bombarded with messages from rival teams after Lotus revealed the first photo of its highly-unique nose solution for 2014.

The front of the unlaunched E22, which will not be present throughout the opening winter test at Jerez this week, has been likened to a ‘forklift’ or a ‘tuning fork’, albeit with assymetrical twin tusks.

So as Toro Rosso lifted the veil on its STR9 at Jerez on Monday, triggering sniggers from the assembled crowd due to the phallic resemblance of its nose, technical boss James Key was asked if anything else he has seen so far raises alarm bells when it comes to legality.

“Apart from the Lotus nose, no,” he said. ”The Lotus nose needs a bit of clarification. It’s a very clever idea. I don’t think it’s illegal, it just whether it’s in the spirit of the regulations.”

The ‘spirit’ of the rules is always a controversial point to raise. In the case of the Lotus, the regulations envisage only one nose tip, but it is believed the E22 designers have found a loophole by placing the crash structure in one tip only.

The slightly shorter tip is simply a quirk to satisfy the precise wording of the regulations.

“All the teams are now looking in this direction,” confessed Pat Symonds, Williams’ technical chief, according to Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

“For testing, the nose is not the decisive detail,” he explained. “Everyone just wants to get going and then explore the aerodynamic limits later on.”

Red Bull’s world champion Sebastian Vettel, at Jerez to test the so far unseen RB10, said: “Our new car looks better than anything I’ve seen so far.”

Many believe Ferrari’s low and wide nose is the prettiest solution seen so far, with Toro Rosso’s Key agreeing that the Maranello team has presented something “fundamentally different”.

“But I do expect to see some changes right up until the season starts, and then within the season itself,” he said.

“In all areas, we have decicated ourselves to having maximum flexibility.”

Not surprisingly, the FIA’s Charlie Whiting is at Jerez to keep an eye on how the teams have interpreted the sport’s all-new rules.

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New Mercedes W05 to carry Schumacher message at Jerez

Michael Schumacher’s former Mercedes team are carrying a message of support on their new cars during preseason testing at Jerez, which gets underway on Tuesday.

Mercedes revealed on Twitter #KeepFightingMichael sticker on the bodywork of the W05.

The seven time World Champion remains in an induced coma in a Grenoble hospital following a skiing accident on 29 December.

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Haas still interested in F1 project despite Ecclestone doubts

Nascar team owner Gene Haas has vowed to fight on for Formula 1, despite Bernie Ecclestone saying a 2015 team entry for the American foray is “most unlikely”.

Even despite his fortune, his proven record as a Nascar team co-owner and his state of the art wind tunnel and related businesses, Formula 1 supremo Ecclestone said recently he doubts 61-year-old Haas is really prepared to spend what it takes at the pinnacle of motor sport.

“Somebody can have 10 billion in the bank but it doesn’t mean they are going to spend it,” Ecclestone was quoted by Formula 1 business journalist Caroline Reid.

Haas confirmed on Monday that Haas Racing Development has already paid the $5000 application fee to the FIA, after the governing body invited interest in the vacant 2015 team slot.

But “Mr Ecclestone doesn’t think I have enough money to do this,” Haas is quoted by the Associated Press, admitting the 83-year-old Briton was being “brutally honest” when he issued the warning.

“He doesn’t think we will get the license. So my chances probably aren’t that great of a shot,” he added, revealing that he has also had a few meetings with Ecclestone.

Vowing to double the profits of his machine manufacturer Haas Automation to $2 billion a year, however, many believe that if any racing enthusiast has the money for Formula 1, it is the Californian. So why Ecclestone’s pessimism?

“That’s a little bit of a letdown,” Haas admitted, according to USA Today. ”I respect the man, and it’s a very difficult sport, the highest echelon of racing in the world. They want teams that compete and stay for 10 years.”

“If Mr Ecclestone is saying we don’t have a chance of getting a license, it would be foolish to continue. I’m not sure what he’s trying to tell us. Maybe that it’s a very difficult sport.

“We’ve submitted information. Maybe we don’t have what they want.

“I don’t think it’s black and white,” he continued. “It’s their process. You have to be respectful of that. If you push it, seems it doesn’t work at all.”

It could be that Ecclestone’s comments are the result of Haas vowing to go his own way, despite the fact existing competitive teams require mammoth annual budgets.

“The big teams spend $200 to $300 million but have 10 engineers working on one fitting,” said Haas. “I don’t think we’d approach it that way. But I can be naive, too.

“I just think we as Americans have the ability to take complex machines and figure out how to make them go fast without all the complexity. I could be wrong, but I have that gut feeling,” he explained.

“Everybody said I’m out of my mind,” Haas continued, “but the shock was when Mr Ecclestone said I don’t think these guys know what they’re doing. That’s tough to overcome.

“I won’t know until I try,” he is quoted by the Charlotte Observer. “If you don’t try, you’ll never fail.”

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Unifin becomes premium partner of Sauber

Press Release: The Sauber F1 Team is pleased to announce Unifin as a new Premium Partner. The logo of the Mexican financial institution will be on top of the nose of the Sauber C33-Ferrari and the drivers’ overalls.

Unifin Financiera is a Mexican financial institution with over 20 years of experience. It has positioned itself as one of the leading companies in its sector. Unifin business areas are: Leasing, Factoring and Auto Credit, with the goal to offer customers the highest quality in financial services to advance together. All this while relying on the professionalism of human, technological and financial resources, aimed at quality and satisfaction.

Monisha Kaltenborn, Team Principal: “We are happy to welcome Unifin as our Premium Partner. Unifin was featured on both Sauber C32-Ferraris during the Italian GP last season. We are pleased to be able to extend and deepen this partnership with them and look forward to a successful cooperation.”

Rodrigo Lebois Mateos, Unifin Chairman: “It is an honour and we are proud to announce our partnership with the Sauber F1 Team.

We are sure it will a year full of achievements for Esteban Gutiérrez and Adrian Sutil. We´re confident that this partnership will be very successful.”

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Better late than never, Caterham CT05 unveiled at Jerez

Press Release: CT05, the Caterham F1 Team car that Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson will be competing with in the 2014 FIA Formula 1 World Championship was unveiled today in Jerez, Spain.

The first car to be fully designed and built at Caterham’s Leafield Technical Centre, CT05 is the team’s answer to the all-new F1 regulations that have come into force in 2014. The car will race in Caterham’s new all-green 2014 livery and, for the fourth year in a row, will be powered by Renault Sport F1, using the new Renault Energy F1 engine mated to a Red Bull Technology gearbox.

Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal and CEO, Caterham F1 Team: “Unveiling CT05 is a proud moment for me and the whole team, especially with both F1 and Caterham entering a new era in 2014. Our shareholders and partners have made major investments in the people and facilities at Leafield, giving us a platform to work on the 2014 car that is now much closer to many of the teams ahead and, this year, there is no reason for this to not materialize directly to performance on track.

“We believe CT05 is a good starting point for us to deal with the new regulations and their associated challenges, in particular in terms of reliability. We have a lot of very talented people at Leafield who have worked tirelessly to bring this car to life and everyone has played a part in helping us exceed all the targets we set. We obviously won’t know where we really are in relation to the other teams until the first race, but we believe we have answered the challenges presented by the new regulations as effectively as we can.

“We also have very good reason to be positive about how this car will develop throughout the season ahead. Thanks to our relocation in 2012 to at the core of the “F1 valley”, and a highly selective recruitment plan, our staff is now a good mix of experience and young talent and we have moved our wind-tunnel program to the Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) facility in Cologne, Germany.

This means we are now working at 60% scale, a significant improvement over our previous facility and another sign of just how serious we are about making real progress this year. In addition to the TMG move is an improved partnership with Dell / Intel which gives us, among many other benefits, a major upgrade to our CFD capability, a critical part of our design toolbox that is even more important this year with the rule changes governing wind-tunnel use in 2014.

“In Renault Sport F1 and Red Bull Technology we have technical partners that have powered the World Championship winning team for the last four years, and, while we are realistic enough to know we are very unlikely to be competing right at the front of the grid, there is no reason why we should not be fighting higher than we have done since we came into the sport in 2010. We have extensive experience of working with both Renault and Red Bull and that is going to be crucial this year. Reliability and energy management will play a key role in 2014, especially early in the season, so our experience of working so closely with both organisations since 2011 will definitely help throughout the course of the season.

“Finally, we have team partners with us again in 2014 that are the envy of the pitlane. I have already mentioned our increased partnership with Dell / Intel, but I also want to highlight the work we are doing with GE and Airbus Group. In GE we have a partner that has world-leading R&D, technical resources and people, and they have played an active role in the design and development of CT05. In addition to GE we also have Airbus Group and the benefits of a partnership with a company that leads the world in aeronautical design, testing, manufacturing and usage are obvious. Our technical integration with Airbus will grow throughout the season and it is this sort of true partnership that will help us achieve the goals we have set for 2014 and beyond.

“Behind the wheel in 2014 we have a good mix of experience, pace and passion in Kamui and with Marcus we have given another GP2 star the chance to make the step up to F1. His career has led him to 2014, the season he makes his F1 debut, and we are confident [that] he will make the step up to the top level in the same calm yet quick manner he has shown throughout his career.

Helping Kamui and Marcus develop the car throughout the year will be Robin Frijns and Alexander Rossi who will be our 2014 Reserves. Robin is an undoubted talent and we are pleased he sees that, with us, he can prepare fully for a future F1 seat. Alexander has been with us since 2011 and we have seen him develop enormously since then. Now he has a real chance to fight for the GP2 Championship throughout 2014, and continue his F1 development at non-GP2 race weekends, and in our simulator.”

Mark Smith, Technical Director, Caterham F1 Team: “Despite the major rule changes introduced this season, our design philosophy was actually only slightly different to usual for a totally new car. We have still sought to maximise aero and mechanical performance within the regulations but there has been more emphasis than usual placed upon weight reduction and, bearing in mind how critical reliability will be this year, we have been slightly more conservative in the areas around the new Power Unit – cooling systems, exhausts, heat management etc.

“At the front of the car, the area that will obviously inspire most debate, we have focused a lot of effort on optimising flow structures around the nose, the front of the chassis and the reduced width front wing area, all in response to the 2014 regulation changes.

However, the package we start testing with is by no means our definitive answer and we fully expect to evaluate alternative solutions throughout the course of 2014, particularly now our 60% scale work has started in the TMG wind-tunnel in Cologne and our improved Dell Intel HPC (High Performance Cluster) is coming on stream, significantly stepping up our CFD resource.

“Overall there were a number of other major areas the design team focused on – the front chassis height led us to opt for pullrod suspension which gives us the best solution from both a mechanical and aerodynamic perspective. Another focus area was cooling – charge air cooler packaging has driven the cooling architecture and consequently the sidepod and rear-deck bodywork and, at the rear end of the car, our development has been driven by the removal of the beam wing, again as per 2014 regulations, and the exhaust ‘blowing’ effect we’ve seen in recent years – this has created a challenge all teams will face, how to recover the rear load generated by those areas in previous seasons, and, again, something that will continue to develop throughout the season ahead.”

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Newey is concerned that new rules make Formula 1 more dangerous?

Formula One’s 2014 regulations may have made the sport more dangerous rather than improving driver safety as intended, Red Bull’s title-winning technical wizard Adrian Newey said on Tuesday.

The Briton, who designed the Williams that Brazilian triple champion Ayrton Senna died in 20 years ago as the sport’s last driver fatality, voiced his fears at the start of pre-season testing in southern Spain.

Newey warned that the cars’ lower noses, already a talking point because of their ugliness, could lead to a driver’s head being more exposed in certain impacts such as front to rear collisions.

“The regulation has been introduced following some research by the FIA (governing body) that suggests the lower nose height reduces the chances of the car being launched, such as the accident Mark (Webber) had when he hit the back of (Heikki) Kovalainen (in Valencia in 2010),” said Newey.

“I must admit I am concerned the opposite may happen – that cars submarine effectively.

“If you hit the back of the car square on, then you go underneath it and you end up with the rear crash structure in your face which is a much worse scenario,” said Newey. “For me, it’s introduced more dangers than it’s cured.”

He was speaking to reporters before Lewis Hamilton suffered a technical problem and speared his Mercedes into the Jerez tyre wall, with the 2008 champion walking away unscathed.

At the Valencia race, Australian Webber clipped the rear wheels of Kovalainen’s car and took off almost vertically, flipping and landing with the driver emerging almost miraculously unscathed.

The sport has seen several near-miss incidents since then of cars flying over the top of others, notably Frenchman Romain Grosjean’s Lotus skimming over Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari in Belgium in 2012.

Newey also questioned the repositioning of batteries for the new ERS energy recovery systems which he said could overheat and trigger uncontrollable blazes with consequent danger for those in the pitlane.

Batteries now have to be positioned in front of the engine and under the fuel tank.

“It was done on safety grounds but I’m not quite sure why putting a battery under the fuel tank is safer than putting it behind the engine but that’s where we are,” said Newey.

“These batteries can suffer thermal runaway through impacts, through causes which are difficult to predict,” continued the man whose cars have won the last four drivers’ and constructors’ championships.

“Once they go into such a big battery pack then it’s very difficult to control that fire. Frankly, put it in the pitlane and watch it burn.”

While that might not be a driver safety issue, with plenty of advance warning of such a problem, Newey said it remained a danger for others.

“For the whole of the pitlane, safety is a big challenge with these cars,” he added.

Formula One tightened up pit lane safety last season after a cameraman was hit on the head by a bouncing wheel that came off Webber’s Red Bull at the Nurburgring.

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Red Bull RB10 breaks cover at Jerez

Press Release: Infiniti Red Bull Racing today revealed the RB10, our challenger for the 2014 Formula 1 World Championship and our first interpretation of F1’s radical new technical regulations.

Unveiled in the pit lane this morning at the Jerez Circuit ahead of the first day of testing, the RB10 is powered by the Renault Energy F1-2014.

As a team we have enjoyed hard-fought success in recent years winning the last four Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles. Now the game changes and due to the new regulations, the RB10 has little in common with its predecessors.

We’ve loved the last nine seasons, our tenth starts here…