The Week in F1 - Vol1Iss3 - 2011-05-01

8/7/2019 The Week in F1 - Vol1Iss3 - 2011-05-01

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Letter from the EditorHERE IS A NEW king in Formula One, and he goes by the name o Te

Strategist. Te last ew seasons have seen all teams generally ollowing the same

strategy o starting on the soer, aster tyre, beore making their mandatory

pitstop to change to the harder tyres aer about een laps. Tis resulted in mostovertaking moves coming during pitstops.

Te switch to Pirelli tyres has changed everything. From the three races wehave seen so ar this year, anything between one and our pitstops will be made.

We went into the Australian Grand Prix amid scaremongering suggestionso our or ve pitstops being the norm, but this turned out not to be the case.All drivers made two or three stops - a hark back to the Formula One o the late1990s.

All, that is, except one: Sergio Perez. Te Mexican, making his debut orSauber, ran impressively to seventh place, making a solitary pitstop en route.

How did he manage it? Te Sauber is easy on its tyres, but it was a eat thatPerez teammate Kamui Kobayashi couldnt match. In the end, the Saubers weredisqualied or running an illegal rear wing, but this shouldnt detract romwhat was an impressive perormance.

I Perez demonstrated how ar the Pirelli tyres could go in Australia, LewisHamilton and Mark Webber counter-demonstrated the importance o usingresher rubber in China.

Hamilton made only one run in the nal qualiying session, compared to hisrivals, which allowed him to save a set o resh so tyres or the race. Similarly,Webber ailed to make it out o the rst qualiying session, meaning that hesaved three sets o resh, so tyres over his rivals. Tis would prove to be crucialon race day.

Whilst polesitter and race leader Sebastian Vettel stuck to a two-stop strategy,Hamilton and Webber were on three-stops. Tis meant that in the closing stageso the race, Hamilton was on resher rubber than Vettel, and was able to easilyovertake him on lap 53. Webber, similarly, had made a charge rom eighteenthto third.

I we look at the closing lap times, we can estimate a six-lap window in whicheither o the podium nishers could have won. I the race had nished on lap 52,

Vettel would have won. Yet had the race lasted 58 laps, instead o 56, Webberslap times could have seen him overtake Hamilton or the win - due to Webbersnal stint being on the soer tyre; Hamiltons on the hard.

Enjoy this whilst it lasts. It is only a matter o time beore the teams work outthe limits o the tyres, and we will see strategies converging on a singularity oncemore. But until then, the decision to stop once, twice or more is the challenge.

Best wishes,

Neal Brown,Chie Editor.

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3/13

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4/13

Button: Ill retire hereJENSON BUON LOOKS set to

sign a new long-term contract with

McLaren-Mercedes as he revealed

that he wants to see out the rest o his

Formula One career with the Woking-

based team.Te 31 year-old rom Frome won

the World Championship with theBrawn Grand Prix squad, and soonaer signed a three-year deal torace alongside Lewis Hamilton atMcLaren.

At the time o the move, manycommentators claimed that thiswould be an unwise move, and that

Button would be outclassed by histeammate; this was not the case.Although Hamiltons results havelargely been better than Buttons, thepredicted whitewash appears to stillbe in the tin.

Button made a promising start tohis McLaren career, winning two othe rst our races o 2010 - but hasnot won since. Yet he remained inthe title hunt until the penultimateround in Brazil, and has claimed onepodium position so ar this year.

McLaren have benetted rom thesigning o Button, who brings moreexperience o technical developmentto the team, having made his debutin 2000 or the Williams team.Buttons career has also taken him to

Benetton/Renault and seven years atBrackley with the BAR team, whichwould later become Honda, andthen Brawn GP.

Although negotiations have not

yet started on a new deal, both partiesare keen to reach a new agreement.Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren eamPrincipal, said:

I Jenson says he is totallycommitted and wants to do x moreyears, then I suspect that we could

very quickly come to an agreement.Hes a tremendous asset to the

team and when we get around to

that, I hope that it will be a quick andeasy conversation.Button will be happy to hear those

comments, stating earlier:When I nish racing here, I wont

be racing in Formula One anymore.Im very happy here, I want

to enjoy my racing and Im reallyenjoying my time here.

I cant see any reason to beanywhere else.

Te McLaren team are currentlypreparing or the urkish GrandPrix, and have every reason tobe condent o success ollowingHamiltons win in China last month.Hamilton also won last years race atIstanbul Park, whilst the previous

version saw Button victorious.

Hoch Zwei


5/13

Luca wants third car No DRS for Monaco

FERRARI PRESIDEN LUCA di

Montezemolo has again revealed his

desire or the top teams in FormulaOne to be allowed to run a third car,

whilse also taking time to criticise the

planned engine ormula or 2013.Di Montezemolo has long been

in avour o ewer three-car teams,not believing that the smallersquads oer much to the sport.alking toAuto Motor und Sport, diMontezemolo said:

Te small, slow teams aredangerous. I think it would be betteri the top teams make a third car.

Tis is not the rst time that diMontezemolo has called or three-car teams, but he has ew supportersor this plan.

Formula One is currently ina healthy position, with serious

competition or the podium placesand a strong mideld pack.

Te charismatic Italian wasalso critical o the sports currentregulations, saying:

Formula 1 is too much aboutaerodynamics. We build moreairplanes than cars.

He also criticised aids like KERSand DRS or being articial and toocomplicated or ans to ollow.

However, di Montezemolosharshest words were reserved orthe planned 1.6-litre, our-cylinderturbo engines planned or 2013,saying:

Te next step [would be asingle] cylinder. We do not buildmotorcycles. Te challenge is tomake an eight-or twelve-cylindereconomical.

HE DRAG REDUCION SYSEM,

or DRS, has been introduced this

season to aid overtaking, enablingchasing drivers to open a rear-wing

fap to reduce drag.Te sports governing body, the

FIA, is currently looking at whetherto allow the system to be used atthe Monaco Grand Prix, a tight andtwisty track lacking the long straightsseen on modern circuits.

With Monaco being a traditionalstreet circuit, the FIA do not believethat the DRS can be deployed saely,due to the close proximity o thebarriers.

Although no ormal decisionwill be made until aer discussionsat the urkish Grand Prix, the FIAsconcerns also cover the additionaldemands the system places on the

drivers.Many drivers have complained

about the high workload that thesystem, which has unlimited usagein practice and qualiying, wouldcause.

eam Lotus driver Jarno rullitoldAutosport:

You have a very busy time inthe cockpit during practice andqualiying. Most o the drivers whoare running KERS have complained.With two extra buttons its a lot owork.

Te DRS has come into majorcriticism this season, accused omaking racing articial, amid a sharpincrease in relatively easy overtakingmoves.

Te Monaco Grand Prix will takeplace rom 27-29 May.

Mercedes GP


6/13

Bahrain rescheduled? Indian GP Update

WHEN HE BAHRAIN Grand Prix

was cancelled earlier this year, due to

the political protests being held in theGul state, the FIA set a deadline o 1

May or a new date to be set, or there

would be no race in 2011.Now that the deadline is

approaching (at time o writing),Bernie Ecclestone and the Bahranigovernment are talking up hopes othe race being rescheduled, despitethe country still being in the middleo a state o emergency, and noapparent available slot remaining onthe calendar.

Ecclestone risked the wrath o theFIA and the media by saying:

All o a sudden everything mightbe peaceul in a months time andthey are happy to run the eventand so we are happy to be there. I

suppose wed be sae by early June orsomething like that.

Te FIA were quick to retortstating:As ar as we are concerned a

decision is still due on Sunday... itmay be Monday morning, but wehavent spoken about any delay.

Ecclestone, who works or theFormula One Management, thesports commercial rights holders,will not receive the $40million raceee rom the Bahraini governmentunless the race is rescheduled, whichexplains why hes talking aboutdelaying the decision.

Tere are no signs that thesituation in Bahrain is improving,with protestors recently sentencedto death, and governments advisingagainst travel to the kingdom.

WIH HE FIRS Indian Grand

Prix set to take place later this year,

the local circuit organisers have beenmaking some last-minute changes to

the circuit.Te circuit, originally called the

Jaypee Sports International Circuit,has been renamed as the BuddhInternational Circuit. Te new nameis derived rom the word Buddhaand the Gautam Budh Nagar district,where the circuit is located.

Te nal stages o constructionare ongoing, and a ew tweaks havebeen made to the track with the aimo enhancing overtaking zones.

Te track eatures a large degree oundulation, a rareity among modernilkedromes, and has been designedwith the help o drivers to make itas challenging as possible, whilst

creating overtaking opportunities.Te circuit will be 5.141km long,

with Formula One cars expectedto achieve a lap time o 1:27.02,and reach a top speed o 318kph(198mph) on the straight betweenurns 3 and 4.

Te BIC is not the only circuitundergoing a revamp - Abu Dhabiis also currently undergoing changesto improve overtaking.


7/13

Two Giants;

One Future

eam Lotus


8/13

HERE WAS MUCH surprise

last week when we revealed that

eam Lotus were set to purchase the

Caterham Cars brand aer eam

Lotus directors ony Fernandes and

Kamarudin Meranum were added to

the board o Caterham Cars Ltd.Caterham Cars, manuacturers

o budget-priced sports cars that areavailable rom 14,000 in kit ormwere brought into the eam Lotusamily on Wednesday at an eventheld at Duxord Aerodrome.

Yet the deal to reunite twoclassic motor racing brands makesmore sense once you look underthe surace; or this is more than abackup plan in case eam Lotus ails

with its legal action against GroupLotus. In act, that is an accusationFernandes strongly reutes:

Many people are saying, are youdoing this because you are goingto lose eam Lotus? Tat is not thecase.

Te original eam Lotus/LotusCars had a close relationship withCaterham Cars, which had been

established to sell the Lotus 7.Caterham would eventually acquirethe manuacturing rights to theLotus 7, which has been known sinceas the Caterham Super Seven.

Speaking at the press launch,which coincided with an aero test,Fernandes said:

Caterham has a unique place atthe heart o the motoring world. Aswell as being proudly and staunchlyBritish, it has an enviable anduniquely unblemished reputationwithin the industry or perormance,handling and engineering.

Ansar Ali, Managing Directoro Caterham, had been lookingor investors in the rm, and sawFernandes as the ideal partner.

Tere are more elements osynergy in this partnership thanthere are o conict. What onyis doing within F1 and what MikeGascoyne is doing in on technicaldevelopment there.

Te tie-up is set to bolster

Caterham, with the Super Sevenmarketed into new markets, likeSouth Asia. Te company will also beable to pursue product development,a business area neglected due toa lack o nance in the past. Alicontinued to say:

Until now, the resourcesCaterham has had at its disposalhave, naturally, limited the exposure

o the Caterham experience andthe legendary Seven has had to relyalmost entirely on its remarkablereputation and legacy.

We will remain entirely true tothe philosophy that we, as custodianso one mans motoring concept,have protected or nearly 40 years.

eam Lotus


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However, the acquisition o the company by eamLotus Enterprise will allow our existing management

team to take Caterhams core spirit o pure drivingenjoyment to a hitherto un-served audience.

Fernandes GP2 eort, eam AirAsia, is set tobe rebranded as AirAsia Caterham as soon as theregulations allow, and Fernandes reused to rule outrenaming eam Lotus in the event the court battlewith Group Lotus is lost.

I dont know yet [about a possible eam Lotusrebranding], to be honest. I am waiting to see whathappens with the case, and all these sort o things.

But an ideal scenario would be a marriage o thetwo.

Te PR day was timed to coincide with a straight-line aero test by the team. Formula One teams areallowed our days o these aero tests per year, withthe Duxord runway being a popular location.

With a new upgrade package due or the SpanishGrand Prix, Heikki Kovalainen is hopeul that eamLotus will be able to make a gain o one second andcompete rmly in the mideld pack.

On paper we know its possible to gain onesecond in lap time. So ar the correlation rom our

simulation to reality has been pretty good, so atthe moment I have no reason to doubt that it will

happen. I we can achieve that then itll be a majorstep orward.

We have plenty o capacity still at the ront othe car so the more efcient downorce we can putto the rear, the more overall downorce we will havebecause we still have plenty o balance le at theront.

Kovalainens teammate, Jarno rulli, however, ishoping the upgrade will cure the problems with thepower steering that have hampered his season.

eam Lotus


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PITSTRAIGHT PICS

Sauber Motorsport AG


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Hispania F1 eam


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PITSTRAIGHT PICS

Clive Mason/Getty Images


13/13

Drivers Championship Constructors Championship

Pos: Driver Nat Constructor Points1. Sebastian Vettel GER Red Bull-Renault 682. Lewis Hamilton GBR McLaren-Mercedes 473. Jenson Button GBR McLaren Mercedes 38

4. Mark Webber AUS Red Bull-Renault 375. Fernando Alonso ESP Ferrari 266. Felipe Massa BRA Ferrari 247. Vitaly Petrov RUS Renault GP 178. Nick Heideld GER Renault GP 159. Nico Rosberg GER Mercedes GP 1010. Kamui Kobayashi JAP Sauber-Ferrari 711. M. Schumacher GER Mercedes GP 612. Sebastien Buemi SUI oro Rosso-Ferrari 413. Adrian Sutil GER Force India-Mercedes 2

14. Paul di Resta GBR Force India-Mercedes 215. Jaime Alguersuari ESP oro Rosso-Ferrari 016. Jarno rulli IA eam Lotus-Renault 017. Rubens Barrichello BRA Williams-Cosworth 018. Jerome dAmbrosio BEL Virgin-Cosworth 019. Heikki Kovalainen FIN eam Lotus-Renault 020. Sergio Perez MEX Sauber-Ferrari 021. Pastor Maldonado VEN Williams-Cosworth 022. Narain Karthikeyan IND Hispania-Cosworth 023. imo Glock GER Virgin-Cosworth 024. Vitantonio Liuzzi IA Hispania-Cosworth 0

Pos: Constructor Points1. Red Bull-Renault 1052. McLaren-Mercedes 853. Ferrari 50

4. Renault Grand Prix 325. Mercedes Grand Prix 166. Sauber-Ferrari 77. oro Rosso-Ferrari 48. Force India-Mercedes 49. eam Lotus-Renault 010. Williams-Cosworth 011. Virgin-Cosworth 012. Hispania-Cosworth 0

The Week in F1 - Vol1Iss3 - 2011-05-01

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