Latest F1 news in brief – Wednesday (Update)
02/05/14
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Marc Gene (above) along with Pedro de la Rosa and Davide Rigon are back as Ferrari test drivers Ferrari confirm F1 test trio
- Lotus to test double-nosed E22 on Friday
- Lotus owner says Whitmarsh 'not only candidate'
- Mercedes 'has the edge' in 2014 – Minardi
- Early 2014 will make F1 an 'engine formula' – Newey
- Lauda admits Mercedes has early 'edge'
- No more burgers for F1 rookie Ericsson
- Staying at Toro Rosso 'best option' for Vergne
- Contradictory Ecclestone says new rules 'timely'
- Meanwhile behind the scenes at McLaren New
- Infiniti Red Bull Racing to continue partnership with Geox New
- Button: GP2 will be close to Formula 1 New
Ferrari confirm F1 test trio
(GMM) Ferrari has announced a trio of F1 test drivers for 2014.
Existing trio Pedro de la Rosa, Marc Gene and Davide Rigon are all staying put, the Italian team said.
Italian Rigon, 27, has signed for two years, Ferrari added, and he will also drive a works 458 GT2 in the Le Mans endurance series.
All three drivers, however, will be available to "work on the F14 T and other racing and promotional activities", Ferrari announced.
Lotus to test double-nosed E22 on Friday
(GMM) Lotus will not wait until the next official test in Bahrain to get its delayed 2014 car on track.
Having not attended the first test at Jerez, the Enstone team will give its E22 a track debut this Friday and Saturday at the southern Spanish circuit, Italy's Autosprint reports.
Officially, the Lotus outing at Jerez will be for promotional 'filming days' on demonstration Pirelli tires, allowed under the rules regulating the sport's strict limits on track testing.
But correspondent Roberto Chinchero said the session will actually be a crucial outing for engine supplier Renault, following the Jerez test debacle.
It will also be the first time Lotus' novel asymmetrical, double-pronged nose solution sees the light of day.
Lotus owner says Whitmarsh 'not only candidate'
(GMM) Lotus team owner Gerard Lopez has played down reports McLaren refugee Martin Whitmarsh is definitely headed to Enstone.
With Eric Boullier having moved to McLaren to be 'racing director', it was reported that Briton Whitmarsh was the obvious choice to replace the Frenchman.
"There have been contacts with Martin," Lopez is quoted by Italy's blogf1.it, "but he is not necessarily the only one.
"We have talked to at least three other people."
The report said the Whitmarsh deal could fall over on the issue of his salary, given recent staff cuts at the financially-troubled team.
Meanwhile, after Lopez said recently Lotus has a new sponsor in the form of Russia's Yotaphone, it emerges that the parent company has in fact bought a stake in the Enstone based team.
"This is not a mere sponsorship, we have acquired an equity stake," the spokesman for Yota Devices is quoted as saying.
Mercedes 'has the edge' in 2014 – Minardi
(GMM) Former F1 team owner Gian Carlo Minardi thinks Mercedes has an early edge over its rivals after the first test at Jerez.
The Brackley squad clearly did the most laps with its new silver W05, but many pundits also think Mercedes is ahead of the game in most areas as F1's new V6-powered era dawns.
"For me," Minardi is quoted by Speed Week, "it is clear that Mercedes has the edge, but Ferrari also started very solidly.
"Of course, no conclusive judgments are possible, and I'm curious to see how the cars behave in the warmer temperatures in Bahrain.
"But with Mercedes I not only feel that they are furthest along with their work, but also that they are working extremely closely with the partner teams," the Italian added, referring to the similarly Mercedes-powered McLaren, Williams and Force India.
As for F1's new era more generally, Minardi – whose former Faenza based team is now known as Red Bull-owned Toro Rosso – admitted to being "a little concerned".
"We have cars that could be as slow as GP2 cars in the races," he said, "and the winner will be who is most economical with his fuel, not necessarily the fastest.
"These are aspects that could drive away some true fans," he added.
Minardi, once very well connected with Martini, said he has also heard that the Italian drinks brand is set to sponsor Williams in 2014.
It is rumored Williams will eventually re-launch its new FW36 in the brand's iconic white, blue and red colors.
"When I got Ferrari engines in 1991, I was on the verge of an agreement with the same company, but unfortunately nothing came of it," said Minardi.
Early 2014 will make F1 an 'engine formula' – Newey
(GMM) Adrian Newey, the fabled designer of Red Bull's troubled RB10, expects the 2014 season to be dominated by the new powertrain rules.
At Jerez last week, the reigning world champions struggled even to run the new car due to problems mating the Renault V6 and related energy-recovery technology with Newey's famously extreme aerodynamic packaging.
"At least in the early part of the season," Newey is quoted by Italy's Autosprint, "we will be talking about an 'engine formula'.
"Reliability, power, fuel consumption — they will be decisive factors," he added.
"The aerodynamics will only really count once these new V6s have matured.
"But it has to be said that we are relying on the 'power unit' not only on Renault — there are many other suppliers.
"And each of them will have to adapt to the development speed of modern formula one," said Newey.
The 55-year-old Briton is undoubtedly the most famous technical boffin in the F1 paddock, and he said preparing for 2014 was "the biggest challenge of my career".
"We had a small amount of time for such a complex car," he admitted.
Lauda admits Mercedes has early 'edge'
(GMM) Even team chairman Niki Lauda thinks Mercedes has "the edge" over its rivals after the opening test at Jerez.
Although teams were not focusing on performance in southern Spain, many pundits believe Brackley based Mercedes has stolen an early march on key rivals like Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull.
"This (Jerez) was purely an engine test, so the teams had the chance to try the new engines," former triple world champion Lauda told Osterreich newspaper.
"We drove three and a half grand prix distances and I am very satisfied," he said.
"At the moment it looks as though we have the edge, but that could change very quickly," Lauda warned.
He said he sympathizes with Red Bull, who struggled even to run the new Renault-powered RB10.
"The new, hybrid engines are very sensitive and complex and not easy to get to grips with," said Lauda.
"Technically, it's an enormous challenge and also at Mercedes we had many small problems, but we were able to solve them immediately," he added.
Lauda recently scolded Bernie Ecclestone for criticizing F1's new, 'greener' era, and now he says the Briton is also wrong to complain about the sound of the V6 engines.
"The engine noise is just as attractive as before," he insisted.
Lauda isn't even bothered about the 'ugly' noses of 2014, insisting: "Once a car is quick and it wins, it is also beautiful."
Meanwhile, the Austrian great has slammed a German magazine called Titanic, who in the latest edition put Lauda's scarred face on the cover with the headline: "First photo — this is how badly Schumi's accident affected him".
Lauda told Haute newspaper: "It's impertinent, disrespectful and absolutely unacceptable. Who would print such rubbish?"
No more burgers for F1 rookie Ericsson
(GMM) Marcus Ericsson has kicked off his F1 career with a diet.
The Swedish rookie, set to make his debut in 2014 for the backmarker Caterham, revealed that his engineers have tasked him with losing weight before Melbourne.
"They haven't said I need to be any particular weight," said the 23-year-old blonde, "but I'll go down as much as I can, ensuring I can still race for two hours."
Eurosport Sweden reported that Ericsson, 180cm tall and 69 kilograms, has entered a diet program with a specialist Italian clinic renowned for helping single-seater drivers lose weight.
"We will work closely making sure I am at the right level," he said, "as you still need the highest concentration for two hours.
"It is extremely hot and with high G-forces, so it's impossible to be a skeleton.
"I won't be eating burgers for lunch and dinner but I still need to eat, because I train hard every day."
Ericsson lamented the situation in F1, where a significant increase in the weight of the cars for 2014 has not been greeted with a corresponding minimum weight-limit change.
"It's a shame the FIA and F1 can't just make a decision and increase the weight by 10kg," he said. "Then it wouldn't be a big deal and everyone would have the same opportunities.
"But what can you do? I can't chop off a leg. Three kilos is a tenth per lap in this game, and my teammate (Kamui Kobayashi) is 7 or 8kg lighter than me."
Staying at Toro Rosso 'best option' for Vergne
(GMM) Jean-Eric Vergne insists he has put in the past Red Bull's decision to overlook him for the top seat alongside Sebastian Vettel this year.
The Frenchman admits he struggled initially to cope when his 2013 Toro Rosso teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, was called up to replace Red Bull's retiring veteran Mark Webber.
"It was difficult at the time," Vergne told the Spanish news agency EFE at an event for Toro Rosso sponsor Cepsa.
"But I think the winter break really helped me to think about everything. And I came to the conclusion that there is nothing wrong with being at Toro Rosso.
"It is the best option for me, and Red Bull has always made the best decisions for my career," said the 23-year-old.
"If they didn't choose me, it's because they didn't think I was ready yet. I need to work more on some specific areas. So I'm ready to do much better this year," Vergne added.
He said the Ricciardo situation forced him to take a philosophical view about his place in F1.
"You have two options," said Vergne. "The first is not to understand, and be angry. Or grieve. To think you're the best and they are wrong.
"The second option, which is what I choose, is to understand the reason for the decision and see the positive side. To work on all the aspects necessary for you to become a better driver. And be happy," he insisted.
Contradictory Ecclestone says new rules 'timely'
(GMM) Depending on the forum, Bernie Ecclestone has contradictory views about F1's new V6-powered era.
Speaking to the specialist press, the F1 chief executive slammed the revolutionary new rules, milder engine tones and widespread technical failures at the Jerez test as "a total farce".
"The whole thing with the new engines is totally absurd," the 83-year-old Briton added.
But in a vastly different forum, Ecclestone also has a vastly different opinion.
In an official report revealing a fall in F1's global television audience last year, he hailed the incoming new era.
"It is timely developments like these that keep formula one at the forefront of sustainable and relevant technology," the report quoted Ecclestone as saying.
"One thing I am sure of is that this coming season will not only offer a heightened level of unpredictability but renewed excitement and fierce competition," he added.
Meanwhile behind the scenes at McLaren
Eric Boullier started work yesterday at McLaren as Racing Director, a position from which he will carry out the responsibilities of a Team Principal, albeit with a different job title.
It was reported last week that there has been a further change, with the departure of Marcin Budkowski, the Polish born Head of Aerodynamics since 2012 at McLaren, who had been due to work alongside Peter Prodromou, Adrian Newey’s right hand man at Red Bull Racing, as well as his existing colleague Doug McKiernan, Chief Aerodynamicist, who remains with the team.
But in a further twist, it now appears that Prodromou’s arrival at McLaren is looking less likely to happen as Red Bull Racing have been working hard to get him to stay. The Englishman of Greek Cypriot parentage signed a contract with McLaren last autumn, but Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said at the time that he would not release his man until “at least" the end of his existing agreement with the Milton Keynes squad.
Now, in scenes reminiscent of Ron Dennis persuading Newey not to leave McLaren for Jaguar Racing despite signing a contract to go in the summer of 2001, it seems that Prodromou may stay at Newey’s side.
Contractually he is due to join McLaren at the end of his current contract, but there are indications that Red Bull wants to retain its man. McLaren would probably sue for breach of contract if he did not come to the team, but that is a matter of financial settlement, which Red Bull can well afford.
* Meanwhile McLaren’s Performance Academy is set to open its doors to talented young drivers from 13 years upwards this year as the program enters its second year.
The Academy provides education and support which will help young drivers to hone their talents and learn about fitness, nutrition, hydration and other aspects of the driver’s game. Anyone interested in applying for a place should email. James Allen on F1
Infiniti Red Bull Racing to continue partnership with Geox
Infiniti Red Bull Racing is pleased to announce an extension of its partnership with Geox through the 2014 season.
Continuing a relationship begun in 2011, the Italian footwear manufacturer will this year supply our drivers and team personnel with high-tech breathable footwear featuring the patented Geox Net System sole, a new ultra-flexible, breathable and feather-light construction based on the company’s research in Formula One. The Net Breathing system will also be rolled out across new retail collections for men and women.
“The continuation of our partnership with Geox is good news for the whole team," said Infiniti Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner. “Aside from the very obvious benefits the drivers experience, Geox’s input is of great value across all our operations. Our engineers and mechanics spend long hours on their feet and often in punishing conditions, so making their work as comfortable as possible is very important."
Geox President and founder Mario Moretti Polegato added: “After three years of success we are happy and proud to extend our partnership with Infiniti Red Bull Racing, and to provide the drivers and the team with our unique technology. This season we will keep on improving our breathable shoes, introducing new advances developed in cooperation with the team. 2014 is expected to be a challenging season and we are committed more than ever to support the team with our knowledge."
Button: GP2 will be close to Formula 1
Jenson Button says GP2 cars will be close to matching Formula 1 lap times at certain circuits this season, with the field getting to grips with one of the biggest technical regulation overhauls in the sport's history.
Turbocharged 1.6-litre V6 power units made their on-track debut at the Circuito de Jerez last week alongside a host of aerodynamic and chassis changes, with drivers later describing a massive difference behind the wheel.
And with times more than five seconds slower than the same stage last year, Button reckons Formula 1's primary feeder category could find itself level as the teams journey through the early stages of car development.
"GP2 will be a lot closer at certain circuits," Button commented. "At the high speed circuits we will be quicker but not that much quicker, but then again this was the first test of the year with a very new package."
Button added that tire changes and additional weight count for the majority of time loss, estimating 1.6-1.8 seconds, but he is confident that the situation will improve significantly as the season progresses.
"Last year hardly changed at all in terms of the regulations, so at the first test we were always going to be quite quick and then improve for the first race, but not by a massive chunk," the McLaren driver went on to explain.
"At the first race this year everyone will be much quicker. Three races in there will be another second or so. By the end of the year we might not be that far off 2013, just a couple of seconds when we get a real handle on it."