Latest F1 news in brief
- 2008 F-India car to be called VJM-01
- Hamilton visits country of origin, Grenada
- Piquet receives private plane
- A1-Ring restoration again scrapped
- New BMW better after poor start – Heidfeld
2008 F-India car to be called VJM-01
(GMM) Force India on Thursday will reveal that its 2008 car will be called the VJM-01, in deference to new team owner Vijay Mallya.
The team's new driver lineup, comprising Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil, was revealed in Mumbai (Bombay) last month.
Thursday's event in the city will reveal the definitive 2008 livery.
Local reports reveal that the event will take place at the famous Gateway of India; a 26-metre high monument located on the Mumbai waterfront.
Team boss Colin Kolles confirmed that the launch car will be a Spyker that has been modified and used by Force India in recent pre-season tests.
"It's too early to show the final race version that will be used in Melbourne," he told the Hindustan Times.
The definitive car, a further development of the 2007 Spyker, will be tested for the first time on February 25.
Kolles describes the team's winter showing so far as "promising but not good enough", and expresses concern about the news that Kimi Raikkonen has been breaking all records while testing Ferrari's new car in Bahrain.
"It's quite scary to be honest," he said. "We need to get our act together.
"We have improved in terms of understanding the set-up, which is basically due to the drivers. But our engineering department needs to deliver."
Hamilton visits country of origin, Grenada
(GMM) Just days after the Spanish racism storm, Lewis Hamilton has travelled to the country of his paternal grandfather's origin — Grenada.
The McLaren driver, taunted as a 'puto negro' (fucking black) and 'negro de mierda' (black shit) by spectators at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya last weekend, appeared in the Caribbean island nation to celebrate its 34th anniversary of independence from Britain, reports said.
He was greeted by Prime Minister Keith Mitchell and his grandfather's relatives, according to the daily newspaper The Barbados Advocate.
"Grenadians are very proud of you. Everywhere people are excited about your visit," PM Mitchell told Hamilton, whose biological mother is white, during a ceremony at the international airport.
Hamilton's grandfather arrived in Britain in the 50s.
Piquet receives private plane
(GMM) Five weeks before his debut grand prix in Australia, Brazilian rookie Nelson Piquet Jr has taken delivery of a private jet.
The 22-year-old, who is the son of triple world champion and namesake Nelson Piquet, received the keys to the plane on Wednesday from Rui Thomaz de Aquino, the president of the Brazilian airline TAM, according to the German news agency DPA.
Piquet's new Citation Mustang is valued at $2.6 million.
"I am going to be able to devote more time to training, reduce distances and gain precious hours," the new Renault racer said.
Piquet explained that, unlike his father who used to fly his own plane to grands prix, he will need to hire a professional pilot.
A1-Ring restoration again scrapped
(GMM) The proposed redevelopment of Austria's defunct formula one circuit, formerly known as the A1-Ring, has again been scrapped.
Red Bull mogul Dietrich Mateschitz's original $800m project at Spielberg had to be axed, but new plans were subsequently devised to redevelop the circuit after the grandstands and pit buildings were demolished following the last grand prix in 2003.
But after a meeting with potential investors including site owner Red Bull, the Styrian governor Franz Voves announced that the project was not economically feasible, according to the Austrian newspaper Wiener Zeitung.
A follow-up project on a smaller scale is still possible, however, according to Styrian economic councilor Christian Buchmann, and Red Bull has reportedly offered to restore the circuit to its original condition.
Originally known as the Osterreichring, the circuit was built in the late 1960s and updated in 1997 to host seven more grands prix until 2003.
New BMW better after poor start – Heidfeld
(GMM) Nick Heidfeld has backed teammate Robert Kubica's claim this week that BMW-Sauber is making progress with the performance of its new car for 2008, the F1.08.
Shortly after the car made its test debut last month, 30-year-old Heidfeld expressed concern that the handling was not as good as its predecessor, the F1.07, which powered the team to second in the 2007 constructors' title.
But after the recent Barcelona test, the German racer on Wednesday gave a more promising review about the 2008 car to the BMW-Sauber website.
"We can steer the car much more accurately now," he said, although he is still reluctant to say how BMW shapes up against its 2008 rivals.
"We don't know the car well enough yet," Heidfeld continued. "There is still so much to do before the season starts in Melbourne, so it is impossible to make any predictions."
Team boss Mario Theissen suggests that the deficit to the top teams, Ferrari and McLaren, is about five tenths per lap.
"That's a major challenge (to close). But we are, above all, ambitious," he said.