Latest F1 news in brief – Wednesday (2nd Update)
03/05/14 Updates shown in red below.
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| Red Bull produced a lemon this year and even has to ask the lowly Toro Rosso team for help. Remember those rumors about Vettel going to Ferrari? The lemon should help convince him. |
03/05/14
- Crisis-struck Red Bull asks Toro Rosso for help
- Williams, Force India 'fast enough to win' – Wolff
- Vettel Expresses Frustration With Team's New Car lemon
- Renault admits they failed their teams
- Fresh doubt raised over future of German GP New
- Honeywell To Provide Turbos To Scuderia Ferrari In Formula 1 New
- Mallya says Mercedes teams clearly ahead New
- Ecclestone not ruling out engine rules tweaks New
- Mercedes V6 produces '580hp' – Lauda New
- Button buoyed by Dennis return New
Crisis-struck Red Bull asks Toro Rosso for help
(GMM) Red Bull's early-season technical crisis is plumbing new depths, with news the reigning world champions are calling upon junior team Toro Rosso for help.
Italy's authoritative Autosprint reports that Red Bull has asked the Faenza based sister team for assistance on the all-new 'brake by wire' technology, which is tied in with the highly-sophisticated 'ERS' systems.
"The fact that Red Bull wants to use someone else's (system) says a lot about the size of Red Bull's other problems," said veteran correspondent Alberto Antonini.
One of those bigger problems is with extreme "turbo lag", Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko admits.
"You step on the gas," he told Austrian television Servus TV, "but the power comes all of a sudden, the wheels spin, the car slides and you lose speed.
"We are working with Renault on the test benches day and night to improve the situation for Melbourne," added Marko.
World champion Sebastian Vettel, however, is expecting to struggle next weekend.
"If half the drivers fail to finish, then maybe we could take a few points," he said.
"At the moment we have bigger problems to solve than just the pace."
Williams, Force India 'fast enough to win' – Wolff
(GMM) Mercedes heads into next weekend's season opening Australian grand prix as the overwhelming early 2014 favorite.
"Mercedes and Williams look very strong," agreed German driver Nico Hulkenberg, whose similarly Mercedes-powered Force India team has also impressed in winter testing.
"They're standing out. McLaren is also fast," he told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport. "At the moment, the Mercedes teams are a bit in front."
Mercedes' three customer teams – McLaren, Williams and Force India – appear to have hit the jackpot with clearly the best turbo V6 'power unit' in F1's new greener era.
"At the moment that's right," Hulkenberg admitted, "but we all know how long a formula one season is. Let's wait and see.
"On the last day (in Bahrain) Ferrari did a strong lap time, and (Daniel) Ricciardo has also done a 1.35 in the Red Bull.
"I'm assuming Red Bull will solve the problems sooner or later," he said.
Williams, ninth of the eleven teams last year, has emerged as the surprise dark horse for 2014, having switched over the winter to Mercedes power.
"They (Williams) have never had problems in the tests, have always been fast, although not quite as fast as Mercedes," Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko told Austrian Servus TV.
Mercedes F1 chairman Niki Lauda said it is possible the German squad's works team might be pushed by its British customer in 2014.
"It (Williams beating Mercedes) can happen," said the great triple world champion.
"Our customers are very important for us, and if they can beat us, this is also good motivation and a very constructive competition," added Lauda.
According to Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, however – whose Maranello squad has had a conspicuously low-profile winter – it is too soon to predict the outcome of the Melbourne race in just over a week.
"Let's see how many cars get to the finish of the first race," he is quoted at the Geneva motor show by Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Indeed, it is rumored Ferrari has been focused most specifically on reliability during the winter, and still has some performance to unfurl for the actual races.
"We are careful," Mercedes' Toto Wolff told the APA news agency, "as some teams have not fully revealed the potential of their cars.
"I have no doubt Red Bull and Ferrari will be strong contenders," he added. "Force India and Williams are also fast enough to win races.
"It will be interesting!" added Wolff.
Vettel Expresses Frustration With Team's New Car lemon
Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, a four-time F1 world champion, "predicts a debacle for Red Bull unless they improve their car before the season opens at the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks," according to the AFP.
Vettel: "First of all, just getting to the finish would be a success. If half the drivers fail to finish, then maybe we could take a few points." Red Bull Motorsports Dir Helmut Marko "echoed Vettel's concerns." Marko: "We are not where we want to be. The start of the season has come at least two months too early for us." AFP
Renault admits they failed their teams
Renault has "made some progress in ironing out the engine problems that have blighted Formula One preseason testing," but will head into the season opener in Melbourne with "doubts about 'incomplete' preparations." Renault supplies champions Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Caterham and Lotus, and the "performance of their new engine disappointed at the tests in Jerez and Bahrain."
Renault Sport F1 Deputy Managing Dir Rob White said in a statement, "We can't escape the fact that we did not complete the entire program with all the teams and that some Melbourne preparations are incomplete" Reuters
Fresh doubt raised over future of German GP
The German Grand Prix is once again coming under threat after Bernie Ecclestone revealed that he has failed in an attempt to buy the cash-strapped Nurburgring.
Currently, the race alternates between the Nurburgring and Hockenheim, with the latter set to host this year’s event. However, officials at Hockenheim are unwilling to commit to holding the race every year due to financial concerns, meaning that if the Nurburgring were to withdraw from F1, the German GP would also.
“The German Grand Prix is in trouble because they haven’t got any money," Ecclestone explained to City AM. “It is in trouble because it used to be supported by the council but now the European Commission has said people can’t use that sort of money for this sort of thing.
“On Wednesday they are going to make up their mind whether to accept the offers. None is from me. When I go to an auction I want to leave a bid, which is what I did, and somebody could offer more. I don’t know what’s happening there."
If a buyer for the circuit is found and they are willing to commit to hosting the race in the future, then the German GP may be safe for the time being. However, this long-running saga is only rumbling on.
It would be a travesty for such a historic and important race – and, equally, such a historic and important circuit in the form of the Nurburgring – to drop off the calendar.
Honeywell To Provide Turbos To Scuderia Ferrari In Formula 1
Turbo Technologies will boost the engines of the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 car in 2014. Formula 1 is adopting a new rules package that requires cars to be turbocharged marking a new technical era for the pinnacle of global motorsport racing.
Honeywell will support the Scuderia Ferrari team with the unique technical challenge of moving to an all-new turbocharged 1.6L V6 engine from a 2.4L naturally-aspirated V8 configuration used from 2006 through 2013. This downsized 1.6L engine will produce the equivalent power of a production Honeywell turbocharged 16L commercial vehicle engine. The new downsized turbo engines are also designed with the latest in energy recovery technology to support other systems in the race car.
"To win in Formula 1, our powertrain system must have no weak links," said Luca Marmorini, Scuderia Ferrari Engine and Electronics Director. "To ensure that, we choose partners with impeccable reputations and experience in delivering innovative, high quality products and services. Honeywell's turbochargers helped us find the downsizing solutions we needed to meet the new rules without compromising the performance."
As Formula 1 adopts global passenger car trends for downsizing and turbocharging to improve fuel economy and emissions without sacrificing driving performance, its 2014 engine formula represents an exciting look at specific technologies – including in the area of heat energy recovery — which could shape more advanced passenger vehicles in the years to come.
"We are very excited to be collaborating with the most successful team in the history of Formula 1 on what is an extremely challenging new rules package which brings turbocharging to the forefront of this motor racing series once again," said Honeywell Vice President of Advanced Technologies and Motorsport Gavin Donkin. "Honeywell has a 60-year legacy of developing turbocharger technology leveraging our jet engines business within Honeywell. It continues to be a tangible point of differentiation for Honeywell Turbo to the point where we've joked with Scuderia Ferrari that given the sophistication of the turbos we are providing, that many of us consider them to be our lowest altitude aerospace customer."
Honeywell continues to be a leader in global turbo technology averaging 100 new turbo launches a year for global passenger and commercial vehicle applications in partnership with nearly every major global auto maker. In addition, Honeywell is supporting the industry with hundreds of applications already in its development pipeline.
Mallya says Mercedes teams clearly ahead
Force India Team Principal Vijay Mallya says that Mercedes is clearly ahead of rivals Ferrari and Renault ahead of the first race of 2014 in Australia.
Mallya's Force India squad have been powered by Mercedes since 2009 and cars supplied by the German engine manufacturer topped all but one of the 12 days of pre-season testing.
Mallya reckons that the four teams powered by a Mercedes engine – McLaren, Force India, Williams and the factory team itself – have an advantage.
"I would say that my decision to go with Mercedes early last year and to sign a long-term agreement with them was the right decision – the results speak for themselves," Mallya told F1.com.
"The Mercedes-powered teams are clearly ahead and are currently more reliable than the others."
Mallya reckons that the opening four rounds of the year present a huge opportunity for Mercedes-powered teams.
"The first four races present a great opportunity, particularly for the Mercedes-powered teams, because so far they are showing that they are ahead of the rest.
"But in the end it will be all about – here comes the word again – reliability. You can do many fancy things during testing, but a race is a race and the conditions of a race are very different. By the time we get back to Europe many teams will have sorted out their issues and some big upgrades will be coming from Barcelona onwards.
"So yes, my guess is that these four races will be a bit of a luxury for the Mercedes-powered teams – and once we get to Europe, that is where some serious racing will start."
Ecclestone not ruling out engine rules tweaks
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone is not ruling out tweaking F1's radical new engine regulations.
The sport's chief executive is unashamedly no fan of the new turbo V6 era, having fought hard against replacing the screaming naturally-aspirated engines with the muted but 'greener' power units of the future.
"We have got the new engines. I don't like them," he told journalist Christian Sylt, editor of the F1 trade guide Formula Money.
"Maybe we can up the fuel restrictions and they can rev higher. We will have to wait and see," said Ecclestone.
Making clear he is not simply opposed to any change, the 83-year-old insisted he doesn't even mind the look of the questionably-aesthetic new noses.
"You get used to the looks," he said. "Whenever there's a change people say I don't like it. Don't think you're going to get used to no noise though."
Like the noses, Ecclestone also doesn't mind that the run of dominance enjoyed by Red Bull seems to be over.
"Many fans want to see Vettel lose now," he told Germany's Bild newspaper. "After all, they won the championship not once but for four years.
"But I've never seen the point in changing the engines to save energy," Ecclestone insisted. "That's something you can do in street cars, but not in formula one.
"We need to be loud and fast," the Briton added, "and one thing is certain: this whole thing has cost a giant mountain of money."
Meanwhile, Ecclestone claims he could have avoided the criminal trial in Munich, which is set to start in April and could end his long reign over F1.
"I could have stopped it with money," he said, "but I didn't pay. Now I hope for the best."
Mercedes V6 produces '580hp' – Lauda
(GMM) Niki Lauda has revealed that Mercedes' new turbo V6 engine produces "about 580" horse power.
It is a rare admission in the highly-secretive world of formula one, but field-leading Mercedes' F1 chairman wasn't giving the whole game away.
Asked to put a number on the German marque's early-season superiority, Lauda told Austrian Servus TV: "The fuel engine is about 580 horse power.
"Then there is the electrical side," he added, without elaborating.
It is known that the energy-recovery or 'ERS' side of the 'power unit' adds 160 horse power to the equation, but Lauda's figures just made fellow Austrian Dr Helmut Marko – of the struggling world champions Red Bull – grin.
"Interesting data," Marko smiled. "I would be happy if I had 580hp."
Button buoyed by Dennis return
Earlier this year, Dennis staged an internal coup and deposed Martin Whitmarsh as McLaren Group's chief executive officer, while at the same time overhauling the internal structure of the team.
In late January, Dennis appointed former Lotus team principal Eric Boullier to the newly-created role of racing director.
Another new position of McLaren Racing CEO has been filled on a short-term basis by Jonathan Neale, currently chief operating officer until a more permanent appointment is found.
At the grands prix this season, it is known Dennis will certainly have his hand on the tiller come the opening two races in Australia and Malaysia later this month, at least.
Asked by Sky Sports whether everyone within McLaren was now more on their toes with Dennis back on the scene, Button replied: "Yes, and I think in a good way.
"He is quite an unusual character Ron, I have a lot of respect for what he has done in the sport – this team wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Ron.
"I think everyone is excited, he is looking forward to this challenge and it gives everyone a lot more confidence within the team.
"So yes, I think him being back at the team is very important for the future of McLaren."
After a disastrous campaign in 2013 in which McLaren failed to step on to the podium in any race for the first time in 33 years, Dennis is naturally determined to restore his team's credibility.
McLaren fared reasonably well during pre-season testing to suggest they will at least be in the hunt for points at the season-opening race in Melbourne on March 16.
Button, however, believes McLaren are not quite there yet, adding: "It has been a messy winter for a lot of people in terms of mileage on circuit.
"The two that you would pick out that look strong and consistent are Mercedes and Williams. I think those are the two teams to beat right now.
"We didn't have our upgrade on the car in testing – we did actually have it on, but we didn't get to run it as we had a few issues – so for the moment we don't really know where we stand.
"We don't know where we are going to be in Melbourne, so it is going to be very interesting to see how the race pans out.
"I don't think we are really going to know the pecking order until we get three or four races in – and again it could change as the update kits come." Sporting Life