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nikki
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![[*]](./images/engage/default_icon.gif) posted on 6/1/2010 at 14:45 |
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FORMULA 1 2010 SEASON
10 Things To Look Forward To In 2010
http://www.planetf1.com
There are so many new things to look forward to in 2010, despite Richard Branson getting more heavily involved in the sport.
The Flavio Decision
A French court is about to deliver a happy new year or a grumpy new year to Flavio Briatore. They are set to rule whether the FIA acted outside their
remit by banning the Renault boss for his involvement in Crashgate. Whatever the outcome, it's unlikely to end here.
26 Cars on the Grid
The last time we had 26 cars on the grid for any number of races it was back in the 1995 season. Now we're back with a full grid in F1. We don't
necessarily have the best 13 teams lining up - how else could you explain the absence of Lola and the FIA's previously preferred new team, Prodrive.
But it will certainly add to the spectacle. The marshals will have more to do, the leaders will have more backmarkers to pass and Monaco should be
gridlock.
Proper Stewarding
Mosley resisted it for so long and Todt has embraced it straight away; the idea that somebody who knows what he's talking about should get involved
in stewarding decisions i.e. a driver. Four stewards will now be sitting at each grand prix rather than the current three. These will be made up of
those drawn from a smaller permanent group of F1 stewards and ex-drivers, along with one steward representing the National Sporting Authority holding
the grand prix. The four stewards will electing their own chairman at each race. At last we have the chance of consistency of decisions, something
that's been totally lacking in recent years.
Schumi's Return
There will be a lot to look forward to in Bahrain, not least the return of Felipe Massa after his enforced absence. But as the bright-eyed rookies
take to the track and the new teams roll out their unfamiliar liveries, the world's media will be encamped outside the Mercedes garage. Because the
return of the most successful driver in motorsport history will be the biggest news story going at the Sakhir Circuit
Senna back in F1
Providing the Campos team can get their car together in time - Bernie has hinted that he's less than convinced - Bruno Senna will make his F1 debut.
Thus we will have the winningest driver of all time on the grid and the nephew of the best driver of all time on the grid. Bruno doesn't pretend to
be Ayrton, but any tussle with Schumi will revive some dusty old Schumacher vs Senna headlines. And let's face it, Bruno is more of a Senna than the
Tony Fernandes Lotus is a Lotus.
Hamilton vs Button
Massa vs Alonso
Rosberg vs Schumacher
Schumacher vs Vettel
There are going to be some titanic inter-team tussles in 2010 and it all kicks off in Bahrain (it might even kick off before that). Hamilton will want
to show Button who's the better World Champ, Massa will want to keep team honours at Ferrari, Nico Rosberg will want to prove he can live with a
living and Vettel will want to be the fastest German.
The Korean GP
With each new GP track there is the hope and expectation that Herr Tilke has finally cracked it and delivered a race track that is truly memorable.
Trouble is when the media arrive at a new circuit they tend to look at the buildings, such as the grandstands in Shanghai and Malaysia, the pit
complex in Bahrain and the hotels in Singapore and Abu Dhabi. There's been so many new tracks now that the law of averages must kick in sooner or
later.
Changes to Silverstone
Silverstone bosses have said they will have the new arena circuit - designed for the long-awaited Moto GP race - in action by March and there's still
a possibility that the F1 cars could run on it in July. The shape of things to come now that it's got the race for 17 years.
Changes to Monaco?
Back in the summer, there were diggers in action at the Monaco tunnel exit (as this exclusive PF1 photo reveals) and the road down to the chicane was
being pulled up. Does this mean that we're going to have a straight road down there and a possible overtaking opportunity in the Monaco GP? We can
but sit and hope.
Running on Full Tanks
It might be a false dawn, but with refuelling banned in 2010, drivers are going to have to get used to testing and racing with a lot more fuel on
board. And while practice sessions could be done on relatively low levels of fuel in the past, the range of characteristics that a driver is going to
have to set the car up for this season are huge. Qualifying will be done with no fuel and they'll start the race with 200 miles' worth. So there's
the chance for more than a few errors to creep in. It's a situation just made for the greatest adaptor of all, Michael Schumacher.
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nikki
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| posted on 6/1/2010 at 14:48 |
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The link below is the F1 calendar posted by http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/credits-and-contacts/f1-fanatic-calendar/
2010 Formula 1 season in wikipedia. The lists of teams and their engine suppliers, drivers, basic and the rule changes for this season
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Formula_One_season
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nikki
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| posted on 6/1/2010 at 14:52 |
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2010 F1 TESTING DATES CONFIRMED
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk
I’ve had confirmation through from one of the teams of the dates of this year’s test sessions. These are as follows:
February 1st – 3rd – Valencia (Ricardo Tormo), Spain
February 10th – 13th – Jerez, Spain
February 17th – 20th – Jerez, Spain
February 25th – 28th – Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
So far only Mercedes have confirmed their 2010 F1 car launch date – it will break cover at Valencia on the first day of February to coincide with the
start of testing.
The teams only get 15,000km of testing (the same as last year) which they will spread across 15 days. It remains to be seen which teams and drivers
will be present on which days.
Last year almost all the testing was done by race drivers, the main exception being Kamui Kobayashi who did several days for Toyota – which probably
served him in good stead when he substituted for Timo Glock at the end of the year.
Expect the regular racers to do most of the work as once the season has begun there will be no opportunity for circuit testing except for teams
bringing in new drivers.
All the group tests are scheduled to take place at Spanish tracks. The teams will not return to the Portimao circuit, where F1 testing began last
year, perhaps fearing more of the heavy rain they encountered last time.
The new Motorland Aragon facility in Spain is also not being used – the teams will stick to the tried-and-tested venues of Valencia, Jerez and the
Circuit de Catalunya.
Last year Ferrari missed one of the group tests to go to their local Mugello circuit in search of better weather (and perhaps more privacy). This
could happen again – it certainly wouldn’t feel right not seeing the new Ferrari being put through its paces around the historic Scuderia test track.
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nikki
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| posted on 14/1/2010 at 02:38 |
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F1 teams to meet with Ecclestone at Valencia test
By Motorsport.com/GMM http://www.motorsport.com
F1 teams will meet with Bernie Ecclestone on 1 February to discuss making more rule changes.
The F1 Commission meeting will take place on the day of the opening test of the pre-season at Valencia, Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali revealed
on Wednesday at the Madonna di Campiglio press event.
On the agenda will be KERS, the points system, double diffusers and qualifying, the Italian said.
"KERS is too expensive and it is important that the conditions are the same for all," German reports quote him as saying.
"We want to find a new system for 2011."
He confirmed that a tweak to the new points system could be made in order to provide greater reward to race winners, and complained that F1's current
test restrictions are too extreme.
"The fact that Michael Schumacher tests a GP2 car is proof enough that we must change something. We need more testing," said Domenicali, who also
admitted that teams are keen to return to the US in the near future.
On other matters, he said it is possible that new reserve driver Giancarlo Fisichella will be on the 2010 grid with another team, and confirmed that
Valentino Rossi will test an older Ferrari at Barcelona on January 20 as a reward for his latest MotoGP title.
Domenicali also said Felipe Massa is likely to give the 2010 car its debut at Valencia next month, before Fernando Alonso takes over for the remaining
two days of the opening winter test.
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La nena de Nico Rosberg
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| posted on 20/1/2010 at 03:23 |
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Thank you so much for the news Nikki !!!!!!!
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nikki
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| posted on 21/1/2010 at 02:17 |
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as always, welcome la nena
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nikki
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| posted on 29/1/2010 at 14:53 |
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2010 F1 LAUNCHES
Mercedes = Feb 1
Red Bull = Feb 10
McLaren = Jan 29 MP4 25
Ferrari = Jan 28 F10
Sauber = Jan 31
Williams =Feb 1
Renault = Jan 31
Force India = ( no date yet)
Toro Rosso =Feb 1
Lotus =Feb 12
Campos = ( no date yet)
US F1 = (no date yet)
Virgin = Feb. 3
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nikki
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| posted on 1/2/2010 at 11:27 |
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Testing times ahead for Formula One
http://www.planetf1.com
After weeks of silence, Formula One finally returns to action on Monday when seven teams, including three of likely title contenders, fire up their
engines for pre-season testing.
Title rivals McLaren, Mercedes GP and Ferrari have all booked their place in Valencia, with F1 fans already granted a look at McLaren and Ferrari's
2010 challengers.
However, Monday's test will be the first look at Mercedes GP's new car, the MGP W01, which will be driven by Nico Rosberg during the morning session
and Michael Schumacher in the afternoon.
The trio will be joined by Renault and Sauber, both of whom will have unveiled their new cars by the time testing starts as their launches are
scheduled for Sunday.
It's all change at both outfits as Robert Kubica takes the wheel for Renault while Sauber will have Pedro de la Rosa in action on Day One. The
Spaniard is making his return to F1 after a seven-year lay-off, which he spent testing with McLaren.
The remaining two teams scheduled to test are Williams and Toro Rosso. The two teams will be officially showing off their 2010 cars for the first time
on Monday with Rubens Barrichello testing for Williams while Sebastien Buemi has the first crack at the new Toro Rosso.
Valencia Test Schedule
McLaren
Monday: Gary Paffett
Tuesday: Lewis Hamilton
Wednesday: Jenson Button
Mercedes GP
Monday: Nico Rosberg & Michael Schumacher
Tuesday: Nico Rosberg
Wednesday: Michael Schumacher
Ferrari
Monday: Felipe Massa
Tuesday: Felipe Massa
Wednesday: Fernando Alonso
Williams
Monday: Rubens Barrichello
Tuesday: Rubens Barrichello
Wednesday: Nico: Hulkenberg
Renault
Monday: Robert Kubica
Tuesday: TBA
Wednesday: TBA
Toro Rosso
Monday: Sebastien Buemi
Tuesday: Sebastien Buemi
Wednesday: Jaime Alguersuari
Sauber
Monday: Pedro de la Rosa
Tuesday: Kamui Kobayashi
Wednesday: Pedro de la Rosa
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nikki
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| posted on 3/3/2010 at 02:34 |
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2010 season ready to roll with new cars and rules
http://www.motorsport.com
With only 10 days to go before the official start of the 2010 Formula One season at the Bahrain International Circuit, it is about time to see what
can be expected from the Formula One teams this season. Unfortunately it is, at this moment, not clear of what the situation for the Campos Meta and
US F1 teams is. Collin Kolles, Campos team principal, has vowed to bring two cars to the circuit of Bahrain in time, US F1 has major problems and are
struggling to keep their Formula One hopes alive.
However, if everything goes according to plan, the pinacle single-seater series will be welcoming four rookie teams and four rookie drivers this year.
Two drivers are returning to Formula One, after three years of absence: seven times world champion Michael Schumacher will return to the circuits with
the Mercedes GP team. And the former McLaren test and reserve driver Pedro de la Rosa will make a season long race return with the Sauber team. The
Spaniard's career appeared to end with Jaguar at the end of 2002.
If everything does go according to plan, also a number of familiar names from the past will make their return this year; Mike Gascoyne (Lotus), Colin
Kolles (Campos), Daniele Audetto (Campos) and Ken Anderson (US F1). Engine builder Cosworth, with an incredible 176 wins between 1963 and 2006, the
most successful engine builder ever, also makes a comeback to Formula One. They will supply engines to Williams, Lotus, Virgin, Campos and US F1. And
after 16 years of absence, the legendary Lotus team, now a complete Malaysian team with a Malaysian license, will be back this year.
The governing body of Formula one and other racing series welcomes new Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) president Jean Todt, who has
reformed the FIA organization during the winter, let's see if he has succeeded in improving the interaction between the FIA and the Formula One Teams
Association (FOTA).
New regulations
There are number of changes in the regulations, not as many changes as in 2009, but there are a few significant changes. About the tyres; the number
of dry-weather tyres has been reduced to 11 sets (14 sets in 2009), 6 sets of prime tyres and 5 sets of option tyres, and for wet-weather 4 sets of
intermediates and 3 sets of full wet-weather tyres. To get a better balance between the grip of the front and rear tyres, the size of the front tyres
has been reduced to 245/55 R13 (270/55 R13 in 2009), so the front tyres will be narrower compared to 2009. The teams who make it to Q3, will have to
start the race on the same tyres they used during Q3.
The second major change is the refueling ban, strangely enough the refueling ban wasn't imposed to make the cars and engines more fuel efficient or
to improve overtaking, but the FIA hopes to reduce the costs for teams, they won't have to ship the large and heavy refueling equipment anymore.
Unfortunately he FIA will not publish the car weights this year, a pity, because without those weights we cannot tell which engine is in fact the most
fuel efficient engine. Less fuel in the tank is of course a huge advantage, and sofar it is believed Renault has the most fuel efficient engine, but
drivers themselves can also save fuel by adapting a more fuel efficient driving style.
The use of engines and gearboxes has been tweaked a little compared to last year, a driver can still use 8 engines per season and a driver may use no
more than one gearbox for four consecutive races. Exceeding these limits will result in a grid penalty, 10 places for an engine, and 5 places for a
gearbox. In addition the regulations now also state: "If two such additional engines are used during a single Event [race] the driver concerned will
drop ten places on the starting grid at that Event and at the following Event."
At the request of the teams, because there are now more teams in Formula One, the points system has been tweaked as well. The new scoring system of
25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 for the first 10 drivers in a race should, according to the FIA, be an incentive for drivers to fight for the first place in
the race instead of just picking up points, and the teams at the back of the field will fight harder to end in the top ten.
Take it to the limit
Teams are already exploring the loopholes in the new regulations, wheel covers have been banned, no devices may be physically attached to the wheel
anymore, but during testing in Spain wheels with aerodynamically shaped inner rims were spotted on the Ferrari F10. In an attempt to prevent teams
from building all kinds of complicated and expensive pit equipment, the new regulations also state: "Powered devices which assist in lifting any part
of a car are forbidden in the pit lane during a race", which means pneumatically, hydraulically or electrically powered jacks to lift the car are not
allowed, but Mercedes has already experimented with a jack system which uses mechanically spring loaded jacks.
The design of the double diffuser, which will be banned after this season, has also been stretched to the limit, some teams feel that some of their
colleagues have crossed the limits, and it is very well possible that teams will ask the FIA for clarification of the rules concerning the diffuser,
just like last year. Persistent rumors say Mercedes has developed a 'super diffuser' and deliberately hasn't used it during testing and will only
fit the diffuser on the Thursday before the race at Bahrain. On that day the teams will have to bring their cars to the FIA Technical Commission for
inspection, and only then we will know if all the designs are legal or not.
Tyre and pit stop strategy
The tyre compound gap will remain and Bridgestone will supply Hard, Medium, Soft and Super-Soft tyre compounds. In dry weather teams will have to use
both of the two allocated tyre compounds, the softest compound will be marked with a green band on the sidewall of the tyre. In some cases it will be
possible to make only one pit stop, start the race on the hardest compound, and finish the race on the softer compound, but computer pit stop
simulations indicated teams will be on a two or three stop strategy, just like last year. Because of the increased weight (due to the refueling ban),
the condition of the tyres will be the most important factor for the teams to determine when and how many pit stops they will make. Drivers will have
to look after the tyres, if they don't, it might cost them an extra pit stop.
Pit stops will be very fast this year, some teams have already been practicing pit stops during the test days in Spain last month and Williams test
director Dickie Stanford claimed the Williams team had sofar clocked a record time of 2.83 seconds. To change the tyres even quicker, Ferrari has
designed a new cone-shaped wheel nut that integrates better with the wheel gun. Ferrari has sofar not used the wheel nut during testing, but Spanish
papers reported the team has done testing back in Italy. While previously the wheel nut safety fastener needed to be pulled out manually by a
mechanic, the fastener will now be automatically engaged when the wheel gun has tightened the wheel with the correct amount of torque.
Also back is the 'traffic light' pit stop system, Ferrari has experimented with it in the past, and Mercedes has build a new version of it and
intends to use it during races. The automated system has become less complex, because there won't be any refueling which has always been the most
dangerous and time consuming part of a pit stop. The driver will not watch the lollypop man, but an overhead traffic light and can take off once it
has changed from red to green. The automated system can be halted manually, which is necessary in case of an emergency, or when another car passes the
team's pit box at the same time the driver wants to take off.
The implications of the refueling ban
The most notable change in the regulations is of course the refueling ban. Teams will now have to start the race with the fuel tanks completely topped
up, and will be carrying some 180 kilo's weight in fuel at the start of a race. The extra weight will have an enormous impact on the behavior of the
car during the first part of the race, and most teams had to redesign the front an rear wheel suspensions, and find extra space for the enlarged fuel
tanks. The extra weight also means the wheel suspensions, tyres, brake pads, brake discs, springs and shock absorbers will be exposed to a lot more
wear and tear compared to last year. Some teams are especially concerned about the brakes, last year we already saw a number of brake discs go up in
smoke, so drivers will have to be gentle on the brakes this season.
Unfortunately this means all teams had to completely redesign their car, which from a cost saving point of view doesn't make much sense. And when the
double diffuser will be banned next year, teams will again have to redesign their car. It would have been much better if the FIA would have, instead
of the ban on refueling, promoted fuel economy by limiting the amount of fuel a car is allowed to use during a race. The costs of redesigning a car
are much higher than the costs saved on transporting and operating the traditional fuel rigs, even on the long term.
The argument the danger of pit fires will be eliminated doesn't make much sense either. If a car catches fire in the pit lane, at least there are
plenty of marshals and fire extinguishers at hand, if a car catches fire on track, it takes some time before marshals arrive at the scene, and by then
it might be too late. And with over 200 liters of fuel in a car at the start of a race, the risk things might go wrong is in fact higher, the more
fuel, the greater the risks will be.
The 2010 cars
Because of the new enlarged fuel tank all cars now have a longer wheel base, and the narrow and high nose with its characteristic humps just before
the cockpit as introduced by Red Bull Racing in 2009 (designed by Adrian Newey) is now incorporated in almost all 2010 car designs. The raised nose is
necessary to get a good airflow under and around the front of the car, which in its turn helps to guide the air to the rear diffuser. The introduction
of narrower front tyres has also led to new front wing designs, and again the front wing design contributes to the airflow around the front of the car
and therefore also has an impact on the working of the rear diffuser.
The rear diffuser is of paramount importance to get the necessary down force, and more down force means of course more grip and faster lap times. In
fact, the whole front of the car is designed with only one thing in mind; to get the maximum performance from the rear diffuser. Ferrari has gone one
step further, they have come up with the 'tilted engine' concept, the engine is mounted under a 3.5 degree angle to maximize the performance of the
diffuser. The idea is not entirely new, the same feature was seen on the 1979 Arrow A2 design.
The side pods are even smaller now and are placed further to the back of the car, but still have the characteristic teardrop design to reduce drag and
improve fuel efficiency. Because of the increased wheelbase, most exhaust pipes have been relocated, the exhausts have an impact on engine performance
and fuel consumption as well. The shark fin shaped engine covers also seem to be larger and longer than ever, and in some cases they even extend over
the top of the rear wing.
Also new is the CDF (Computational Fluid Dynamics) designed Virgin car, Nick Wirth, technical director of the Virgin team, firmly believes in
designing a car solely relying on CFD technology, without the aid of scale models or wind tunnels. Without a doubt CFD technology will become common
in Formula One, the technique is already in use by other teams, but only time will tell whether the technology of today is advanced and reliable
enough to make wind tunnel testing obsolete. If Wirth is right, teams can certainly save a lot of money on wind tunnel testing.
Rivalry within teams
Many great drivers have paired up for 2010 and are racing for the same team; Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg,
Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. All of them have of course the same ambition, they want to win the
championship. Nico Rosberg has to watch out Schumacher will not dominate the Mercedes team, and Button wants to prove he's faster than Hamilton,
while Hamilton wants to prove the opposite, the same goes for Massa and Alonso. At Red Bull Racing, Vettel is still the favorite to become the world
champion, but Webber will certainly not sit back without putting up a fight, and simply watch Vettel win the title.
Of course there is also rivalry amongst teams, airline owners Tony Fernandes (Lotus) and Richard Branson (Virgin) have made a bet about who of them
will be the fastest this year, the one who loses the bet will have to dress up like a stewardess and serve coffee and tea on the airline of the
winner.
A new season
All the ingredients are there, new teams, new drivers, new team bosses, new regulations, and if everything goes according to plan, we will see 13
teams with 26 drivers on the start grid of the next 19 races. This year there are four world champions active in Formula One; Michael Schumacher,
Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and current title defender Jenson Button. The 2010 Formula One season looks very promising, lets forget about all the
misery Formula One had to go through last year, and let's enjoy the 2010 season.
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nikki
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| posted on 3/3/2010 at 02:36 |
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it is really interesting to know what will happen this season, specially with the "no refueling ban" from the F1 regulation. And the fact that the
diffuser saga will still continue.
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