FORMULA 1 - 2010

[MIKA27]

James Allen's half-term report: Part 2

In the second part of his assessment of all 12 teams' performances in the first half of 2010, James Allen analyses the season's so far at Mercedes, Renault, Force India and Williams.

Mercedes

I said towards the end of last year that I felt Mercedes would be behind the top three this season because of the effort Brawn put in to clinching the 2009 title on limited resources.

Mercedes took over during the winter and we have seen the team come up with more developments recently, but all is not quite right with this car and it seems to have a similar problem with tyre warm-up issues as the 2009 car suffered in the second half of the season.

Michael Schumacher has had some good days, but he’s had some awful days too where he seemed powerless to make things happen, which is not like him at all. He was unlucky with strategy calls in Valencia, but generally I think he’s finding it much tougher than he expected.

Nico Rosberg is no doubt frustrated that his car isn’t able to challenge the front guys, but he’s shown some real quality and I firmly believe that this team will be very strong in 2011.

Not sure how much effort they will put into development in the second half of 2010.

Renault

I really like the way this team has come out of the traps in 2010.

Last Autumn was about as bad as it gets for a racing team, short of a fatality. They were utterly busted for the race fix in Singapore and the morale was already low from a serious decline in the aero department, due to tunnel issues and Flavio Briatore’s staff reductions.

Now Gerard Lopez has restructured the team, hired where necessary and lets the engineers get on with it. The engineers have always been good here; Bob Bell, James Allison, Alan Permane, Tim Densham.

They won the title in 2005 and 2006 and they still have a lot of quality. They have got their self confidence back and they seem to have got the bit between their teeth again.

The car is being upgraded constantly and who knows where they might end the season? They have been ahead of Mercedes and Ferrari recently on pure pace.

Robert Kubica has been outstanding this year, especially in Monaco and seems happy in the team. Vitaly Petrov has had some strong performances, but seems quite up and down. With another strong driver in the second car they would be challenging Ferrari for third in the constructors’ championship.

Force India

Again hats off to these guys. They have been very credible this year.

With the budget they have it has been a great season for the team which was Jordan once upon a time and has since been to the bottom of the pile and back.

They are fighting well with a good car and a very good technical unit, with sound engineers like Dominic Harlow making the car work at the race tracks.

Adrian Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi are both up and down drivers, but they’ve scored points on a regular basis. Sutil had strong runs in Malaysia (5th) and Valencia (6th). With 43 points on the board after half a season they look very comfortable in that sixth place space behind the big teams but well head of Williams, Toro Rosso and the rest.

It’s a bit of a glass ceiling because it’s a big step from there to challenge Renault and Mercedes. So that’s pretty much it for them.

Williams

It’s a bit of a sorry tale what has happened with Williams, with only four points scoring finishes out of a possible 18.

Their form was hard to read in testing and they were making noises like ‘don’t underestimate us’ but they’ve not had the pace most of the time to do anything.

Valencia was the exception, where Barrichello showed his quality and when presented with a chance he took it. He and Hulkenberg did very well in Q3 and then used the chaos around Webber’s accident to grab track position. From there Rubens steered home to an excellent fourth place.

There have been rumours of unhappiness internally and you get the feeling that changes somewhere are likely. But Williams is everyone’s second favourite team in F1 and many people’s favourites and no-one wants to see them struggle.

[MIKA27]

James Allen's half-term report: Part 3

ITV.com/F1 columnist James Allen concludes his half-term report on the F1 2010 grid by taking a look at the back end of the field where a clutch of teams, for one reason or another, may well feel the season has already lasted a lot longer than nine races…

Toro Rosso

The first year of building their own car was always going to be tricky after years of keeping close to the Red Bull mothership.

I still don’t really understand what this team stands for or why they are in F1. It seemed a distraction before, from the main business of winning with Red Bull Racing.

Now it just looks like an indulgence.

They’ve not done much this year except for some odd days when Sebastien Buemi comes to life. He’s qualified consistently well and I’ve begun to see him as a proper F1 driver, who might be able to get the job done in a good car.

Jaime Alguersuari has given Schumacher a run for his money a couple of times and has scraped a point here and there.

Sauber

I’m sorry to say this but I thought Peter Sauber needed his head examining first when he took on the responsibility of saving this team from the mess left by BMW and then when he picked De la Rosa and Kobayashi as his drivers.

Kobayashi finally came to life in Valencia (and then some), but he’s struggled to express himself in this car.

De la Rosa isn’t really fast enough and his ability as a test driver is of limited use in an era of no testing. However as an employee of McLaren until the New Year he will have tipped Sauber engineers off early about the F-duct and so it’s no surprise that they were the first to copy it.

The car has been hyper-unreliable with four double retirements, some of them engine related.

The new teams

With only a few days of testing in February, it’s been incredibly hard for the new teams to get close to the established runners, especially with the late start two of them got.

Lotus only had their entry accepted in September and they have done a remarkable job to get a margin over Virgin and Hispania.

They keep bringing new parts to the car and I hope they can score a point somewhere and finish the season within half a second of the slowest established team. They will have deserved it.

Like all the new teams using Cosworth engines and XTrac hydraulics and gearboxes they have been let down by the reliability of the hydraulics in particular.

Virgin has had a hell of a time, with all sorts of teething issues. The mechanics must be exhausted.

Really the new teams should have been given some more time to test at the start of the year as a one-off introductory offer.

Since Virgin had to fit a bigger fuel tank, the car hasn’t had the speed. But there are some good people there and time will tell whether the CFD-only design model works.

The best you can say about Hispania is that it has survived, so far, which is entirely down to the determination of Colin Kolles.

Looking at on-board camera shots of the car you feel for the drivers, but this is a long road and if they continue in 2011 I’m sure Geoff Willis’ team will make a decent fist of the car.

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Ferrari unveil new 2011 logo

Ferrari have changed their controversial racing team logo, with the new design to come into force from January 1 next year.

The team were recently criticised regarding the barcode emblem that had previously adorned their cars and is still on display on the team uniform.

Given Formula One's ban on tobacco advertising, angry lobbyists claimed the barcode was too closely associated with Marlboro cigarettes, the primary brand of sponsors Philip Morris.

It resulted in Ferrari stripping the barcode from their cars ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona in early May as it had been prominently on show on the engine cover.

The new arrangement is more angular in shape, and still bears the trademark Prancing Horse and the words 'Scuderia Ferrari'.

At the unveiling inside the team's motorhome in the Silverstone paddock ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix, team principal Stefano Domenicali said: "All the activities relating to the racing department will use this logo.

"It will be on the cars, uniforms, drivers' overalls and Ferrari driver academy activities."

Regarding Philip Morris, Domenicali added: "We share with our main sponsor all our graphics, and this is something we have done together.

"I can confirm our team name will still be Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. There will be no change."

[MIKA27]

Kubica: It would be good if Kimi joined us

Robert Kubica would welcome Kimi Raikkonen at his Renault team-mate after extending his own stay at the team.

Earlier this week, Renault confirmed that Kubica had committed his future to the Anglo/French squad and would remain with them until the end of 2012.

The question now is who will partner him next season with rumours linking former Ferrari World Champion Kimi Raikkonen to the team's second seat.

"As I always say, I have no problems with my team-mates," said Kubica. "If Kimi will join us it will be very good. I think he is a great and talented driver.

"It might be very, very good driver line-up with him, but I don't know what the future will bring us and who will be my team-mate next year. I think it's too early to say."

This year's Championship has seen Kubica partner rookie driver Vitaly Petrov. However, the Pole concedes that he would rather have two experienced drivers within the team.

"It's much better, especially in the current days, to have two good drivers in the team - both drivers can help the team and help each other," he said.

"Without testing there is very limited time running. If you have someone you can rely on for information, data and feedback it is much easier for myself. Of course I think there is no downside to having two strong drivers in the team."

[MIKA27]

Sir Frank steps down as Williams chairman

Adam Parr has taken over the role of chairman of Williams from co- owner and team principal from Sir Frank Williams.

Parr joined the Grove-based team in 2006 as chief executive officer and has played a vital role in helping place Williams on a stronger financial footing.

Explaining his decision to relinquish one of his primary positions, Williams said: "I have asked Adam to step up to chairman in my place to give him both the responsibility and authority to ensure the good running of all aspects of the team and the company."

However, he told the BBC: "This is not notice of my impending retirement. Time is evolving. There are a few more years in me yet, and in Patrick, but it is better to do it early.

"I will continue to go to work every day. But it must be as apparent to you as it is to me that Adam is the right person to run this company.

"Adam has a very strong education and a good career in the management of British companies. We clearly hope the company has a very strong future.

"It's my job and Patrick's job to ensure Williams is a properly run company that will be successful in F1."

Appreciating the status he has now inherited, Parr said: "It is both a great honour and a big responsibility to take over Frank's role as chairman.

"Frank remains our controlling shareholder and team principal, and he will always be the name, the face and inspiration of this team.

"My aspiration is to ensure the team and the company are run to the high standards that Frank and (co-owner) Patrick Head have always demanded both on and off the track.

"I am fortunate to count on dedicated partners, a strong board, and above all, a great team of dedicated and talented people at Grove."

MIKA: Williams have slowly slumped over the years compared to the strong team the used to be. Perhaps this is a step in the right direction.

Frank Williams however is an F1 icon and I hope the F1 team can regain some respect in the comming years.

[OZCUBAN]

Kubica: It would be good if Kimi joined us

Robert Kubica would welcome Kimi Raikkonen at his Renault team-mate after extending his own stay at the team.

Earlier this week, Renault confirmed that Kubica had committed his future to the Anglo/French squad and would remain with them until the end of 2012.

The question now is who will partner him next season with rumours linking former Ferrari World Champion Kimi Raikkonen to the team's second seat.

"As I always say, I have no problems with my team-mates," said Kubica. "If Kimi will join us it will be very good. I think he is a great and talented driver.

"It might be very, very good driver line-up with him, but I don't know what the future will bring us and who will be my team-mate next year. I think it's too early to say."

This year's Championship has seen Kubica partner rookie driver Vitaly Petrov. However, the Pole concedes that he would rather have two experienced drivers within the team.

"It's much better, especially in the current days, to have two good drivers in the team - both drivers can help the team and help each other," he said.

"Without testing there is very limited time running. If you have someone you can rely on for information, data and feedback it is much easier for myself. Of course I think there is no downside to having two strong drivers in the team."

OZ

I think that the Kubica / Kimi combo would be formidable,just what Renault need moving forward

[MIKA27]

Yamamoto to replace Senna for British GP

Hispania will replace Bruno Senna for the British GP with current test and reserve driver, Sakon Yamamoto.

The new was confirmed by team principal, Colin Kolles, in the Silverstone paddock late in the evening. More details are expected in the morning before first practice.

Rumours have suggested the reason for the late switch is due to financial gains, with Yamamoto able to pay substantially more for the race seat - this is however, yet to be confirmed.

More to follow as news becomes available...

[OZCUBAN]

Sir Frank steps down as Williams chairman

Adam Parr has taken over the role of chairman of Williams from co- owner and team principal from Sir Frank Williams.

Parr joined the Grove-based team in 2006 as chief executive officer and has played a vital role in helping place Williams on a stronger financial footing.

Explaining his decision to relinquish one of his primary positions, Williams said: "I have asked Adam to step up to chairman in my place to give him both the responsibility and authority to ensure the good running of all aspects of the team and the company."

However, he told the BBC: "This is not notice of my impending retirement. Time is evolving. There are a few more years in me yet, and in Patrick, but it is better to do it early.

"I will continue to go to work every day. But it must be as apparent to you as it is to me that Adam is the right person to run this company.

"Adam has a very strong education and a good career in the management of British companies. We clearly hope the company has a very strong future.

"It's my job and Patrick's job to ensure Williams is a properly run company that will be successful in F1."

Appreciating the status he has now inherited, Parr said: "It is both a great honour and a big responsibility to take over Frank's role as chairman.

"Frank remains our controlling shareholder and team principal, and he will always be the name, the face and inspiration of this team.

"My aspiration is to ensure the team and the company are run to the high standards that Frank and (co-owner) Patrick Head have always demanded both on and off the track.

"I am fortunate to count on dedicated partners, a strong board, and above all, a great team of dedicated and talented people at Grove."

MIKA: Williams have slowly slumped over the years compared to the strong team the used to be. Perhaps this is a step in the right direction.

Frank Williams however is an F1 icon and I hope the F1 team can regain some respect in the comming years.

OZ My sentiments exactly

[MIKA27]

OZ

I think that the Kubica / Kimi combo would be formidable,just what Renault need moving forward

I completely agree OZ, I'd love to see Kimi return in a Renault however on the other hand, Petrov although a rookie, has shown a great deal of promise and potential. Would be a shame to lose him as he can grow as a driver and be a formidable opponent in years to come. Perhaps Petrov will move to Williams or Sauber?

[OZCUBAN]

Mansell confirmed as Silverstone race steward

1992 Formula One world champion Nigel Mansell will act as the drivers' representative on the stewards at this weekend's British Grand Prix the FIA announced this afternoon. The Worcestershire-born Englishman will be the fourth man on the stewards' panel this weekend and becomes the ninth such experienced driver to be an F1 steward as part of a new initiative by the FIA.

Mansell raced in Formula One for 15 years in total, racing for Lotus, Williams, Ferrari and McLaren over the course of his career. He dominated the 1992 season with Williams, securing the title with five races to spare, before famously leaving the sport to win America's IndyCar series in 1993. He returned to F1 with Williams in 1994 following Ayrton Senna's death, but raced just four times, before racing twice for McLaren in 1995 and finally retiring.

Ron McCabe will be Britain's national steward for the race at Silverstone on Sunday, and will be joined by Australia's Garry Connelly and Sweden's Lars Österlind to make up the four-man panel.

NOW we will see some good stewardship decisions (Nigel your a bloody legend )

[MIKA27]

American Cypher Group confirm 2011 intent

The American Cypher Group have confirmed their intent to become the 13th team on the grid for the 2011 season, facing competition from Durango, Epsilon and Stefan GP.

A spokesperson for the outfit said the following: "We have officially submitted our candidature and hope that we will shortly be selected by the FIA as the 13th entry in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.

"We aspire to bring America’s red, white, and blue back into Formula One."

The statement also confirmed that the team have signed American driver, Jonathan Summerton. He has already proven his abilities in both Formula 3 and the failed A1GP series.

The 22-year-old took victory in the Shanghai round of A1GP, taking his teams first and only win.

"Jonathan is capable of racing against the top Formula One drivers and we hope to be able to give him a competitive car. We look forward to the opportunity of being on the starting grid in 2011."

MIKA: Great to see a few potentials for the 2011 grid however I have a feeling Epsilon will land the 13th position unless if you look at it tactically, perhaps the FIA will have a hand and have the US team confirmed as the 13th team on the grid to secure two US GP's next season being Texas and New York....?

[OZCUBAN]

I completely agree OZ, I'd love to see Kimi return in a Renault however on the other hand, Petrov although a rookie, has shown a great deal of promise and potential. Would be a shame to lose him as he can grow as a driver and be a formidable opponent in years to come. Perhaps Petrov will move to Williams or Sauber?

OZ

Thats a good idea mate I guess it depends on how much of a hurry renault are,but it terms of car development goes the K/K pairing would be the obvious choice ,but a move to williams or sauber would still be good for Petrov

[MIKA27]

Bernie: Schumacher would win in the Red Bull

Bernie Ecclestone has come to Michael Schumacher's defense, saying the problem with 41-year-olds results isn't him, but the car.

Schumacher joined 2009 championship winners Brawn GP in 2009, before the team was later re-named Mercedes GP after being bought out by the German manufacturer.

His results haven't been what some expected. At the last race in Valencia he finished 15th, his worst result to date, whilst he currently stands 41 points behind his team-mate.

Ecclestone though, believes the seven-time world champion would be back to his winning ways if he was driving the Red Bull, rather than the Mercedes - which has been described as a 'disaster' by Nico Rosberg.

"He's found himself in a much more difficult situation than he would have counted on," Ecclestone told Gazzetta dello Sport. "It's not a question of him, but of the car. If Michael was sitting in the Red Bull, he would immediately be as he was before."

MIKA: I seldom agree with Bernie but in this instance, I do. Give MS a decent car and he'll be at the top or amongst the current top front runners. Brawn have completely screwed up this seasons racer.

[OZCUBAN]

American Cypher Group confirm 2011 intent

The American Cypher Group have confirmed their intent to become the 13th team on the grid for the 2011 season, facing competition from Durango, Epsilon and Stefan GP.

A spokesperson for the outfit said the following: "We have officially submitted our candidature and hope that we will shortly be selected by the FIA as the 13th entry in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.

"We aspire to bring America’s red, white, and blue back into Formula One."

The statement also confirmed that the team have signed American driver, Jonathan Summerton. He has already proven his abilities in both Formula 3 and the failed A1GP series.

The 22-year-old took victory in the Shanghai round of A1GP, taking his teams first and only win.

"Jonathan is capable of racing against the top Formula One drivers and we hope to be able to give him a competitive car. We look forward to the opportunity of being on the starting grid in 2011."

MIKA: Great to see a few potentials for the 2011 grid however I have a feeling Epsilon will land the 13th position unless if you look at it tactically, perhaps the FIA will have a hand and have the US team confirmed as the 13th team on the grid to secure two US GP's next season being Texas and New York....?

I completely agree Mika ,and the fact no car goes faster in a straight line than an American one

God i sound like Jeremy Clarkson

[OZCUBAN]

Bernie: Schumacher would win in the Red Bull

Bernie Ecclestone has come to Michael Schumacher's defense, saying the problem with 41-year-olds results isn't him, but the car.

Schumacher joined 2009 championship winners Brawn GP in 2009, before the team was later re-named Mercedes GP after being bought out by the German manufacturer.

His results haven't been what some expected. At the last race in Valencia he finished 15th, his worst result to date, whilst he currently stands 41 points behind his team-mate.

Ecclestone though, believes the seven-time world champion would be back to his winning ways if he was driving the Red Bull, rather than the Mercedes - which has been described as a 'disaster' by Nico Rosberg.

"He's found himself in a much more difficult situation than he would have counted on," Ecclestone told Gazzetta dello Sport. "It's not a question of him, but of the car. If Michael was sitting in the Red Bull, he would immediately be as he was before."

MIKA: I seldom agree with Bernie but in this instance, I do. Give MS a decent car and he'll be at the top or amongst the current top front runners. Brawn have completely screwed up this seasons racer.

:yes:DITO

[MIKA27]

Schumacher's focus turns to 2011

Michael Schumacher has admitted that his focus has switched to the 2011 season, after admitting that he is not a factor in this year's championship.

After finishing just 15th at Valencia two weeks ago, he is still on 34 points - 97 behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton and 41 behind Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Schumacher insists that his motivation is as high as ever, but is already working towards the team's preparation for 2011.

"I'm not really thinking about the championship any more, that's unrealistic from my point of view considering the points I have," he said. "So all we do, from my perspective, is try to learn as much as we can and prepare for next year. That's what I'm fully motivated on.

"I have been in all sorts of circumstances in my career and don't worry, I don't suffer at all about this in a way that removes my motivation. I put in as much effort as ever and I drive on a level that I can be happy with."

He added that Mercedes is expecting to return to the form it showed earlier in the year, after he failed to reach Q3 in Canada and Spain.

"We have much better hopes than we had in Valencia," Schumacher said. "Considering where we've been it's difficult to see it getting worse. We believe that with the car we are here with, we can be at the performance before Canada. Anything beyond this requires a bit of luck and certain circumstances."

[MIKA27]

I completely agree Mika ,and the fact no car goes faster in a straight line than an American one

God i sound like Jeremy Clarkson

You did say straight line bud.....

Factor however a couple chicanes, high speed corners, we'll see alot more shunts though!

[OZCUBAN]

[MIKA27]

Safety car procedures revamped

The FIA will introduce new safety car procedures from the British Grand Prix on Sunday in a bid to prevent a repeat of the controversy in Valencia a fortnight ago, AUTOSPORT has learned.

FIA race director Charlie Whiting met with the sporting directors of the teams at Silverstone on Wednesday to discuss clearing up the safety car regulations after the issues that were brought up at the European Grand Prix.

Several ideas were discussed - including closing the pitlane completely during safety car spells - but AUTOSPORT understands that agreement has been reached simply to slow the F1 cars down much more than before under the safety car.

Instead of operating to a 'delta' time of 120% of a regular F1 lap before the cars form up behind the safety car, as under the old regulations, drivers will instead be forced to slow down to the actual estimated speed of the safety car itself.

The idea of slowing cars this much will be to ensure there is no possibility of a driver overtaking the safety car – as Lewis Hamilton did on the run out of the first corner at Valencia.

Drivers are due to conduct experiments with the new delta time after free practice at Silverstone on Friday and Saturday, with the new delta time being used for the first time in the race on Sunday unless any unforeseen major problems after thrown up beforehand.

The slower delta time will prevent drivers getting a benefit by being ahead of the safety car on road.

The FIA has also reacted to the problems drivers had of breaking the delta time in Valencia, after only finding out about the safety car towards the end of the lap, by making it clear that they will be exempt from the new safety car speed limit for the final 200 metres of the lap.

Williams driver Rubens Barrichello, who was penalised in Valencia, said it was hard for drivers to react immediately to the lights telling them to slow down.

"You are coming flat out at maybe 285km/h and the lights on the steering wheel only appear.. I could only see by the time that I was entering the pitlane," he said. "You have the engineer talking to you.

"It's very hard to take it. I just think that the rule can go your way one day and another day it won't. They are there for the safety so we need to for the best reasonable way of safety."

MIKA: This new revision of sorts whilst sounding like it could work on paper is not practical and Barrichello is right.

What if one is turning/steering into a corner, at the same time they are warned to slow down, by the time the driver completes his turn and realises, he may or may not be penalised which yet again, only adds to the current issues of the safety car rules.

They shouldnt meddle with the rules for the remainder of this season but perhaps revise during the seasons end and start next season with revised and tried rules that are both sound and fair.

[OZCUBAN]

Safety car procedures revamped

The FIA will introduce new safety car procedures from the British Grand Prix on Sunday in a bid to prevent a repeat of the controversy in Valencia a fortnight ago, AUTOSPORT has learned.

FIA race director Charlie Whiting met with the sporting directors of the teams at Silverstone on Wednesday to discuss clearing up the safety car regulations after the issues that were brought up at the European Grand Prix.

Several ideas were discussed - including closing the pitlane completely during safety car spells - but AUTOSPORT understands that agreement has been reached simply to slow the F1 cars down much more than before under the safety car.

Instead of operating to a 'delta' time of 120% of a regular F1 lap before the cars form up behind the safety car, as under the old regulations, drivers will instead be forced to slow down to the actual estimated speed of the safety car itself.

The idea of slowing cars this much will be to ensure there is no possibility of a driver overtaking the safety car – as Lewis Hamilton did on the run out of the first corner at Valencia.

Drivers are due to conduct experiments with the new delta time after free practice at Silverstone on Friday and Saturday, with the new delta time being used for the first time in the race on Sunday unless any unforeseen major problems after thrown up beforehand.

The slower delta time will prevent drivers getting a benefit by being ahead of the safety car on road.

The FIA has also reacted to the problems drivers had of breaking the delta time in Valencia, after only finding out about the safety car towards the end of the lap, by making it clear that they will be exempt from the new safety car speed limit for the final 200 metres of the lap.

Williams driver Rubens Barrichello, who was penalised in Valencia, said it was hard for drivers to react immediately to the lights telling them to slow down.

"You are coming flat out at maybe 285km/h and the lights on the steering wheel only appear.. I could only see by the time that I was entering the pitlane," he said. "You have the engineer talking to you.

"It's very hard to take it. I just think that the rule can go your way one day and another day it won't. They are there for the safety so we need to for the best reasonable way of safety."

MIKA: This new revision of sorts whilst sounding like it could work on paper is not practical and Barrichello is right.

What if one is turning/steering into a corner, at the same time they are warned to slow down, by the time the driver completes his turn and realises, he may or may not be penalised which yet again, only adds to the current issues of the safety car rules.

They shouldnt meddle with the rules for the remainder of this season but perhaps revise during the seasons end and start next season with revised and tried rules that are both sound and fair.

Oz

I completely agree Mika ,lets just get it right for next year and there fore keep confusion to a minimum

[MIKA27]

Trulli says lighter Lotus a huge boost

Jarno Trulli is looking forward to driving a much lighter Lotus car at this weekend's British Grand Prix.

The Italian believes the weight reduction will be a huge help for the team, even if it is not introducting significant aerodynamic updates for the race.

"Aerodynamically I wouldn't say it is a big improvement, it's still good but I wouldn't expect to go much quicker just from aero-wise," said Trulli on Thursday at Silverstone.

"But in terms of weight-loss, it is going to be a huge help. We are going to get a much lighter car which will help us to move the weight distribution forward and in terms of handling it is going to be much better.

"So the combination of the aero package a light-weight package I believe it will have a big impact."

He added: "We are not finished yet because we are missing the suspension which will lose us a further four kilos. That will not be ready for this weekend and will probably better for the next one."

Trulli is optimistic the changes will help the team take a step forward that close the gap to its rivals.

"We expect to make a step and we expect obviously to be closer but as everybody moves forward, we try to move as well. So we don't know how much closer we can be."

[OZCUBAN]

I feel like I am in a posting "TOW"

[MIKA27]

Ecclestone: No room for FOTA in F1

Bernie Ecclestone thinks there is no room in grand prix racing for the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) - as a spat over sponsorship branding in the sport moved up a gear at the British Grand Prix.

F1 teams had been warned ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix last month to be mindful of the display of sponsorship logos in the pits – with trackside advertiser Allsport making it clear that it owned such rights at circuits.

The matter has now moved across to the back of the pits too – with sources telling AUTOSPORT that teams have been ordered to remove their tractor units from the Silverstone paddock because of the branding that they displayed.

No truck tractor units have been left in the paddock, and teams were seen on Thursday trying to work out ways to make the front of their trailer units look better.

The move to clamp down on team rights comes on the back of comments that Ecclestone has made to Gazzetta dello Sport – suggesting that he does not believe teams' body FOTA has a place in F1.

"It will never work because it is made by teams that fight against each other on the tracks," Ecclestone told the Italian newspaper.

"When the teams examine rules, everyone tries to get an advantage. The teams wanted to divide F1, but now they understand that it is good to give importance to the money that they get (from FOM). There is no space for FOTA... "

Ecclestone has previously denied any involvement in the row over sponsorship branding, claiming it was a matter between the teams and Allsport.

[MIKA27]

I feel like I am in a posting "TOW"

Just dont do a Webber on me OZ!

[OZCUBAN]

It depends on how much weaving you do