McLaren can catch up to Ferrari, says Fittipaldi

 former driver for F1′s McLaren team, Emerson Fittipaldi insists that his former team are still in the running for the title even with the reality of Ferrari’s recent good run. Fittipaldi, who won one of his two F1 titles with Mclaren team, says McLaren has it in them to fight back.

“Ferrari are very strong,” said fittipaldi to the Press Association.

“But McLaren could bring out new suspension, down force, brake balance and weight distribution that could change the car and gain three-tenths of a second – and suddenly again their car is competitive. McLaren is very capable of coming back very strong again.” he added.

Ferrari’s 3 victories have allowed Raikkonen to establish a gap of  nine-points over Hamilton in the driver standings. He had a very good finish a little off the pace, but he could come back strong.

New rules will increase overtaking on the circuit

Honda team boss Ross Brawn has said that the new rules for 2009 which include banning tyre warmers, slick tyres, and aerodynamic modifications will make it much more challenging on the track.

“The cars will have a lot less down force than they do now so it’s definitely going to go back the other way, The feeling is if we can have a higher ratio of tyre and mechanical grip and a lower ratio of aero grip then intuitively you think that would be much better for one car to follow another.” said brawn in a recent issue of auto trader.

Brawn went on to say; “The tyre of car we’re trying to have should mean that cars can follow each other easier, There are a lot of reasons why it should be better, but whether theres a second or third effect we haven’t anticipated we’ll have to wait and see.” he added.
Only time will tell what these changes will mean, if any to the F1 scene. But I for one am looking forward to seeing more action.

Dieter Mateschitz says Let Red Bull race four cars

Red Bull Tycoon Dietrich Mateschitz has prompted debate that each Formula One team should be allowed to sport ‘four cars’ per grand prix in the future. The billionaire born in austria has recently and openly put his 50 per cent share in ‘Toro Rosso’ up for sale, as Formula One prepares to not accept ‘customer cars’ in formula one from 2010.

But in an effort to maintain the same number of Red Bull branded cars on the grid, Mateschitz told an Austrian newspaper that an alternative solution would be to allow four red bull branded cars to be entered into each race.

“My proposal is to allow four cars per team, If the regulations mean Toro Rosso can no longer utilise Red Bull technologies, then it makes no sense,” he is quoted by Salzburger Nachrichten. “We can not build a second Milton Keynes in Faenza,” Mateschitz added.

F1 anti-racism campaign after Hamilton gets abuse

United Press International are reporting that ‘Top European officials of Formula One racing have begun a campaign to kickout racism in formula one.The BBC in London said ‘they have launched an “Everyrace” anti-racism campaign at the site of Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona’.

The ‘everyrace’ campaign comes after England’s Lewis Hamilton, who is black, was subjected to racial abuse in Febuary of this year at the F1 Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.

After that incident, the FIA (International Automobile Federation) warned Spain could be stripped of its major motor races.  “The sport is about a driver’s ability and this will never have anything to do with their race or skin color,” F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said. “One thing that most attracted me to motor sport was that nobody cared about your background, race, gender or religion … all that mattered was how quick you were,” said FIA Top Man Max Mosley.

Raikkonen’s change paid off

Kimi Raikkonen was altogether happy after scoring his first 2008 pole position at Barcelona on Saturday. The current champion responded well to a late challenge from Fernando Alonso to grab pole position in, get this..less than a tenth of a second.

“It’s been a long time since my last pole last year, so it was a nice experience, We’ve been trying to get it and have always made mistakes so we haven’t been able to do it.” he said.

“We’ve been trying to get it and have always made mistakes so we haven’t been able to do it.

“For sure starting from pole should give us a better chance tomorrow. It’s only qualifying but it’s still a good place to be.” he said during the official press briefing on ITV Sport.

Raikkonen also mentioned Ferrari had taken a different road with the set-up of his F2008 in Spain, giving him more confidence in the car from the start of the weekend.

Raikkonen is leading the drivers’ standings by three points from BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld.

A ‘Younger’ Jarno Trulli

Italian born Trulli was born in Abruzzo, Italy. Parents of hardcore motorsport fans and named their son after Jarno Saarinen the only Finn to win a road racing World Championship later killed at Monza in 1973. When trulli first entered formula many fans didn’t initially realise he was Italian. Some say his father was a driving factor in trullis success getting him involved in karting from an early age, Which is a familiar story around the f1 circuit.

His 2005 season went well. Wins at the beginning of the season meant the confidence was there and on the Indianapolis he took first F1 pole driving for toyota. For the majority of the year some comment ‘he outclassed highly paid team-mate Ralf Schumacher’, but things took a turn for the worst and in the latter part of the season a dip in form saw him slip to seventh in the championship, two points behind the German.

BMW Post Race News Barcelona

Munich/Hinwil, 18th April 2008. The BMW Sauber F1 Team has barely embarked on its third
season and is already heading for its first Formula One grand prix as the leader of the
constructors? championship.

In the first three World Championship races of the 2008 season,
the team was on the podium each time (two second places and a third), had its first pole
position (Robert Kubica/Bahrain) and set its first fastest race lap (Nick Heidfeld/Malaysia).
With 30 points, the BMW Sauber F1 Team is one ahead of Ferrari and two of McLaren
Mercedes.

During the brief spring break all the teams have been upgrading their cars in
preparation for the European curtain-raiser in Barcelona on 27th April. The Spanish Grand Prix
on the impressive, but unforgiving, Circuit de Catalunya could prompt a reappraisal of where
the teams stand relative to one another.

Nick Heidfeld commented:
The Spanish Grand Prix has its own special ambience because the stands are now regularly
packed to the rafters. The fans ensure a brilliant atmosphere, which we as drivers pick up on
to some extent as well.

Although I have already clocked up hundreds of race and test laps on the Circuit de
Catalunya, boredom just doesn’t come into it. It has often been the case that a set-up
determined during testing was no longer the right one for the race weekend. That could be
due to the weather or to the condition of the track, which naturally accumulates much more
rubber deposits over a grand prix weekend than during testing.

Now the question everybody wants to hear the answer to is: how well are the new
components, with which we’ve modified the BMW Sauber F1.08 since the initial overseas
races, going to work. I’m also very keen to see whether we have made more progress with
our new developments than the competition. At any rate, I’m confident that we will be just as
strong as in Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain.

This is what Robert Kubica had to say:
I think we will have a more predictable race than the first three overseas grands prix. The
conditions this time round are completely different. All the teams know the Barcelona circuit
like the back of their hands because we do a lot of testing here.

That’s why I expect the gaps between the teams to become a lot smaller than in the last races.
Everyone will be coming to the season’s first European grand prix on top form. I guess all the
teams will be lining up with an improved car. But at the same time that means we also have to
get the maximum out of the BMW Sauber F1.08.

If we manage that, and since the latest test in Barcelona I am firmly convinced we will, I’ll be racing right up at the front again. My goal is
to achieve a good result to earn as many points as possible for myself and the team.

BMW Testing Barcelona Day Three

Robert Kubica’s work today concentrated on two different areas. The first one included testing of different setups and aerodynamical solutions in preparation for the forthcoming Spanish Grand Prix.

The second part consisted of early base work for the 2009 World Championship. To collect valuable data for the development of next year’s car BMW Sauber F1 Team also used the 2009 slick tyres. With one hour to go Kubica went off in turn 5 due to a technical problem. The minor impact into a tyre barrier caused some damage to the front suspension and front wing of the car.

The reason for the technical problem will be further analyzed by the team?s engineers. What comes next: As scheduled BMW Sauber F1 Team will continue testing in Barcelona tomorrow with Robert Kubica at the wheel. More setup work and tyre testing in preparation for next week?s Spanish Grand Prix is on the programme.

Williams Test Slicks In Barcelona

 Williams have been testing the slick tyres to be brought into use during the 2009 formula 1 racing season. The move comes at the same time as other teams as Michael Schumacher also returned to test the slicks on the F2008.

Nico Rosberg set the seventh fastest time today using the new slick tyres which shows promise for next season.  Williams were also testing the car in preparation for the next race in Barcelona.

 Dickie Stanford, Test Team Manager: “Nico Rosberg took over the FW30 today and concentrated on running the 2009
Bridgestone slick tyres gathering valuable data ahead of next year. The day ran
smoothly, with no major problems and we’ll continue with Nico tomorrow.”

Honda Announce Long Term Support Of Karter Will Stevens

The Honda Racing F1 Team has announced that it has signed 16 year old British karter Will Stevens under a long-term driver support agreement, similar to the one Mclaren gave to Lewis Hamilton.

Will Said “I am extremely proud to be joining the Honda Racing F1 Team and this provides me with a great opportunity to progress my career towards my goal of reaching Formula One. I would like to thank everyone who has helped me so far in my career and especially Honda for their commitment and support of my future. I intend to do my very best to ensure that their belief in me is rewarded.”

Ron Meadows, Sporting Director for the Honda Racing Formula 1 racing team said, “We are delighted to welcome Will to the Honda Racing F1 Team. Will has had a very promising career in karting to date and we very much look forward to assisting his advancement through the ranks of the junior formulae towards achieving his ultimate ambition to race in Formula One”.

This is not the first young driver to be taken under the wing of a Formula 1 racing team and we are sure it will not be the last. Will Stevens is an accomplished young driver who has already had a great deal of success in the karting world and we are sure he will continue to progress through the driving ranks with Hondas support and backing.

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