Why are the FIA bringing out their toolkits?

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By Matt Carver

It's been two months since Sebastian Vettel was crowned as the Formula 1 world champion of 2010, after what was arguably the most enthralling and closely-fought championship in recent history. But bizarrely, the sports governing body, the FIA, have decided that it needs 'spicing up' with a whole raft of new technical regulations.

Even without these supposed enhancements, the setup for the 2011 season looks stronger than ever. The live TV broadcasts will now be in High Definition, there will be five former world champions on the gird, the teams are closely matched, and worldwide viewing figures are very strong. So this begs the obvious question: If it's not broken, why are the FIA bringing out their toolkits?

The answer can be found in a simple, four-syllable word that sparks a lot of debate: Overtaking.

The Return of KERS

For 2011, the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) will again be available to all the teams, after its banishment for 2010 following an uninspiring implementation in the previous season. For those unfamiliar with the concept, a KERS unit is essentially just a large battery which harnesses a reserve of energy from heavy braking. This energy can then be fed though the drive train at the press of a button for an 80bhp boost for several seconds per lap.

It was originally intended as a 'push-to-pass' button to aid overtaking, but the unit itself was heavy and had a strong destabilizing effect. The cars that were fitted with KERS were more unstable and thus slower for the majority of a lap, but had the extra muscle on the long straights. So it quickly became more of an overtaking deterrent than an aid, and there is no reason to believe that it will be any different next season.

The Controversial Moveable Wings

The big concern for next season is the introduction of moveable wings, which will allow a chasing car to greatly reduce its aerodynamic drag, allowing for greater top speed, but only when closely following a competitor. This is hugely controversial, for the simple reason that it hands an artificial advantage to the chasing car, effectively handicapping the leading car for having superior track position. The problem here is that it appears to violate a fundamental rule of fair racing. Surely you can't artificially penalize a driver for having track position just to make it more entertaining. This is no different from telling Usain Bolt that whoever wins the silver medal is now allowed to use performance enhancing drungs, but only until he starts winning, then he will be back on the protein 'shakes so that it doesn't get boring.

The Nightmare Scenario

Let's take Spa for example, the much-loved host venue for the Belgian Grand Prix. There is always plenty of overtaking at Spa, mainly due to the layout of the first few turns. The tricky first hairpin leads uphill through the staggeringly fast Eau Rouge bend, onto a lengthy straight, leading down to a tight right hander. It's hard to see how any driver could sufficiently defend their position through this section against a competitor who has artificially increased top speed. This could lead to the nightmare scenario; A driver with a narrow lead may decide to deliberately concede position before starting the final lap, as the advantage of the movable wing could be more beneficial than having track position. This would be a farce in every sense of the word, and could damage the sport's competitive integrity.

There can be no doubt that on some occasions, overtaking in F1 can become almost impossible. In Hungary last year, Vettel was forced to spend more than twenty laps simply staring at the back of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari, despite being significantly faster. Alonso's championship hopes eventually faded as he spent the last 40 minutes of the season finale waiting in vain for Vitaly Petrov to plough his Renault into the Abu Dhabi tyre wall. But on other occasions, the wheel-to-wheel action was spectacular. In Turkey, The two Mclarens where bumping wheels for the lead at turn one, just a few minutes after the Red Bulls were bashing each other into the scenery. Robert Kubica provided plenty of excitement whilst scything through half the field in Singapore, and the Japanese fans at Suzuka were amply entertained by Kamui Kobayashi flinging his BMW Sauber past anyone and everyone at the hairpin.

Surely this should lead us to one inevitable conclusion. It is the layout of certain circuits that appears to be curtailing the action. Only time will tell if alterations to the cars themselves will have the desired effect.


This original article "Formula 1's Risky New Regulations" is written by Matt Carver who is a Contributing Writer at Suite101.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/xTX-uZVXEhI/why-are-fia-bringing-out-their-toolkits.html

Joe Nemechek Gator com Chevrolet Michael Annett Germain com Toyota

Williams FW33 Interim Livery pictures ( 1st of February)

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Williams F1 Team presented their 2011-spec FW33 car at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, on 1 February 2011 only hours before the Valencia test kick-off. The car featured an interim livery, as the Grove based team is yet to finalize their sponsorship deals for the upcoming Formula 1 campaign.

The interim livery featured the team's classic navy blue color, along with the name of the team's newest major sponsor, Venezuela's state-owned petroleum company PDVSA, posted on the rear side of car, below the engine box.

Technical specifications

Chassis carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite monocoque
Suspension (front) Carbon fibre double wishbone arrangement, with composite toelink and pushrod activated springs and anti-roll bar
Suspension (rear) as front, except pullrod activated rear dampers
Engine Cosworth CA2011k 2.4 L (146 cu in) 90° V8, limited to 18,000 RPM naturally aspirated mid-mounted
Transmission Seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox with reverse gear Electro-hydraulically actuated seamless shift
Weight 640 kg (1,411 lb) (including driver)
Fuel BP
Tyres Pirelli P Zero

Rays Wheels (front and rear): 13"

Link
Williams FW33 ? Lowline gearbox (Scarbsf1's Blog)
"One fear from the outsiders point of view would be the structural efficiency of such a waisted design, especially the vertical spar, that supports the wishbones leg above the differential. Williams would either have to compromise weight or stiffness to make the design efficient. So despite the loss of a large proportion of the gear case, the gain may be offset by the penalty of added weight to make the remaining structure stiff enough."

Williams FW33 Interim Livery pictures





Photos © Williams/LAT

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/Pc5Zps9vp1c/williams-fw33-interim-livery-pictures.html

Travis Wade Kvapil Robert Allen Labonte Terrence Lee Labonte Randy Joseph Lajoie

A day in the life of Jake Humphrey

Remarkably I managed to get through the past week in Singapore while tricking my body that I was still in Europe.

It may seem strange that I was eating muesli at two in the afternoon, feeling ready for lunch at eight in the evening and finishing the day by sharing some grub with Martin Brundle at three in the morning but it felt oddly routine.

For a variety of reasons this has quickly become my favourite race of the season. I think it is largely because the drivers, press officers, production team and everyone else are a little wired - slightly giddy because of the time difference. That creates an atmosphere totally unique to the Singapore GP.

The Singapore Grand Prix portrays a beautiful picture under the beaming floodlights. Photo: Getty

This is my working day, Singapore-style...

11am
Sunlight is coming through the curtains, while Beach Road in downtown Singapore is alive with commuters and passers-by. I try to ignore it and carry on dozing.

2pm
Time to start the day. Mine usually begins with a call to my wife Harriet, or my parents. If there is time, my favourite pastime is Skyping my niece and nephew. On a Saturday we would be gearing up for our qualifying show.

I much prefer writing scripts in the morning, possibly because my brain feels a little more alive at that time. That could be because of 10 years delivering the Eastern Daily Press to the locals of Upper Stoke Holy Cross.

Anyway, I'll start scripting the show and, at this point, I start clock-watching, working out how many hours until I'll be delivering these lines to a few million people. Once I've written a few links and given myself keywords to prompt me during interviews, it's time to get myself sorted.

I go through the running order and think about the guests we should try to get. I have to think what the stories are and the people you guys would like to hear from - plus the locations where we will be for each link. Everything has to be planned because we need permission from the teams to be live in their garages and to tell them the precise time we will be there.

That doesn't mean my ideas are final - the Editor, Mark Wilkin will have his own opinions and might not like my ideas.

Once I've scripted, showered and shaved, it's time to iron my 'show shirt'. I like to do this myself as I hate creases in them. This weekend I even ended up doing fellow presenter Lee McKenzie's ironing - don't ask!

3.30pm
Departure time. In Singapore it was £2 to get a cab to the circuit, which is far more appealing than walking, otherwise you end up looking like you've had a shower with your clothes on due to the humidity.

On Saturday I jumped in a cab with Rebekah, our Production Manager. While we were busy gossiping our poor driver took a wrong turn and we ended up on the other side of Marina Bay, seemingly unable to get back across the water.

On Sunday, I was the fool as I left my shoes in the hotel lobby. To make it worse I was wearing bright white trainers, which isn't very BBC Sport. Production coordinator Louise Elliott went back in a cab for me. I'll say it again - thanks Louise, I am an idiot.

4pm
Myself, senior producer Richard Carr, assistant editor Steve Aldous and film editor Mark Wilkin share our thoughts on the script. Once we've decided which drivers, team bosses and garages we want to get involved with, it's up to Steve to sort things out. With gentle persuasion, the odd reminder of a favour we are owed and some occasional begging, he makes it look easy.

Some people ask why we never speak to certain drivers and if we are biased against them. Often our first-choice driver turns us down, so we have to make a sudden change of plan. Sometimes we ask three or four teams before we get a 'Yes' to one of our requests.

6pm
David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan and Martin Brundle rock up. DC makes tea the most, Martin is the most punctual and Eddie probably misses one in every three meetings for some reason - but we let him off.

We then watch the various video pieces. Sometimes we collectively decide to make a change to one of them but very rarely is a glaring error spotted.

Once I say, "Ted Kravitz reports...", we usually have to sprint three garages down the pit-lane, find our next interviewee and check they are ready to go live. Mark will update the three of us as to whether we are over or under time - or if there is any breaking news while Richard Carr directs the cameras and Louise lets us know how long is left on the video.

The fact we have already seen it means we can reference back to it, or simply keep the chat along the right lines.

7pm
Out to the paddock to do a tech check with the crew. On Saturday, we walked live into McLaren. One of the crew realised he was the wrong side of the camera and had to make a dash to safety. You can watch the moment on iPlayer and see the flash of white as he athletically sprints out of, or rather into, shot.

These guys arrive days before us, set up the office, the communication links with the paddock, plug in the kettle and make sure that, when us creative types come up with a ludicrous idea to push the boundaries, that it can be achieved.
It hasn't gone unnoticed and no other F1 coverage has ever got so close to the action. You won't find better, harder-working pros.

8pm
Live to the nation! The final few seconds before we are on air never fail to be exhilarating, petrifying and surreal in equal measure.

10.30pm
The show is over and, after pre-recording a chat for BBC News and the trail you may often see on the BBC later that night, it's back to the office to think about the following day's race programme. We always discuss what worked, what didn't and what we could have done differently or better.

Midnight
We go through the video packages for the following day. I love the creativity and madness of the people who create these. The music is an important part of the show and can come from anywhere. I was running the track on Thursday and the Black Eyed Peas song Get Ready For The Showdown was on my playlist. We have now done over 50 Grand Prix on the BBC and these guys certainly haven't run out of ideas - or music.

3am
We have decided on the running order for Sunday, drunk enough tea to refresh an army and, despite how strange it feels, it is actually time to leave the track and head out for dinner.

At this point I usually ring my parents as I still like to get their feedback on the show and find out what's happening in Norwich. Missing loved ones and home is the only real negative of this job.

An average Singapore Grand Prix day ends with the team heading somewhere to grab some noodles and a beer. I wouldn't usually admit to drinking at four in the morning before a Grand Prix, but that's the beauty of this race - in reality it's only nine in the evening.

There are many similarities with every Grand Prix but this one is slightly different. It is more exciting and electric than normal.

As we draw near to the end of another season, let me place on record my thanks to all the guys who have worked on the BBC F1 output this year. I can honestly say that, despite all the well-publicised distractions of the past few months, our team have been as hard-working, professional and perhaps even a little more driven and keen for success than ever.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/2011/09/it_worked_remarkably_i_managed.html

Kelly Bires Raybestos Ford Landon Cassill Zaxby Ford

Jarno Trulli - classic F1

Jarno Trulli is the latest driver to select his all-time favourite races for BBC Sport's classic Formula 1 series.

It is the 37-year-old Italian's home grand prix this weekend so it seemed appropriate to choose the senior of two Italians on the grid to whet your appetite ahead of the forthcoming action at Monza.

Now in his 15th season in F1, the Lotus driver, like Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher before him, has chosen only races he has competed in - the ones he considers his best drives.

Trulli has slipped off the radar a little since joining newcomers Lotus in 2010, even more so this year. He says power steering problems have stopped him competing with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen until the recent race in Hungary.

Neveretheless, Trulli's list of picks are a reminder that, on his day and when everything is to his liking with the car, he is one of the very fastest drivers in F1.

This is a man who, in the first half of 2004, was able to match his then Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso.

The 2004 Monaco Grand Prix

Trulli's only F1 win to date. He started from pole and led the entire race, soaking up pressure virtually the entire distance, first from Alonso and later from Jenson Button's BAR-Honda.

"I scored my first pole position and my first win in F1, so it stands out in my mind, as it would for any driver," says Trulli.

"It was a very intense race. We went through two safety cars, I was constantly battling with Fernando, so that was a good feeling, but I was always in control of the race.

"I pulled away from Fernando by 16 seconds initially and then, when he was trying to catch me up, we reached the backmarkers. I took it a bit safer and Fernando crashed. He probably went a little bit too far.

"After that, when the second safety car came in, the group was compacted again with only 10 laps to go.

"At that stage, I thought: 'OK, there is no point now to pull away because the race is over because no-one can pass me.' I had the pace but I did just enough to keep my car on track without hitting the walls, because we know very well how tricky Monaco is.

"I will never forget when Ayrton Senna crashed in Monaco in 1988 when he was on the way to the win. That was a lesson. I said to myself, 'Don't do that because you will look stupid.' Especially because Senna had many chances and I only had this chance.

"I had easily the pace to keep Jenson behind and he was never close enough to pass me."

The 2005 Malaysian and Bahrain Grands Prix

After falling out with Renault team principal Flavio Briatore in the second half of 2004, Trulli moved to Toyota for the following season.

He qualified second at the opening race in Australia, where his hopes of a strong finish were dashed by tyre problems, but achieved the same grid position at the next race in Malaysia, where he trailed pole-sitter Alonso throughout to finish second and take Toyota's first F1 podium finish.

In Bahrain, Trulli qualified third behind Alonso and Schumacher. In the race, the Italian followed them closely until Schumacher ran wide and then retired on lap 12, eventually finishing second.

"When I joined Toyota, it was a team with huge potential but it had not delivered," says Trulli. "No-one really expected us to be that competitive from the beginning, so what I was doing was pretty impressive and I still remember the team were over the moon.

"Renault was the car to beat during that season, so I had my satisfaction. I could say: 'OK, if I cannot do it for one team, I can do it for another.' I was driving very well, I was comfortable in the car and we were 0.3secs a lap away from winning."

The 2009 Japanese Grand Prix

Trulli and Hamilton, driving for McLaren, were engaged in a race-long scrap for second place behind the dominant winner, Red Bull's Vettel.

With Toyota planning to quit F1 at the end of the season, Trulli knew that the only hope of stopping the move was to win a race.

"This was probably one of my best drives," he says. "Like in 2005, the car was competitive but not competitive enough to beat the fastest car, the Red Bull. On the other hand, it was maybe as competitive as the McLaren. But we had a weak point, we didn't have Kers, so Lewis had quite a big advantage in some places on the track.

"At the same time, I was driving with passion and desperation. I knew what was going on with Toyota and deep in my heart I was really trying to save the team.

"I knew if the team stayed in F1, I would have stayed with them. But if they didn't, it would be very hard for me for the future. So I was very desperate to get the best result on home ground for Toyota.

"I qualified a brilliant second but I knew that I would lose a position at the start because of the Kers cars. But I only lost one position, to Lewis, and I remember it was a head-to-head with Lewis, every lap like a qualifying lap.

"He did a brilliant drive but I never gave up. I was chasing him, trying really hard, and I was almost over the limit every lap.

"At the first pit stop, we stopped on the same lap. But the team was smart enough to give me, I think, one more lap before the next stop, which paid off because on that lap I just made the ground to get ahead of Lewis.

"Then we had a safety car and I thought: 'He's going to get me on the re-start with his Kers.' When he didn't, I realised he did not have the Kers. Then it was a big satisfaction.

"Everything was perfect but, at the same time, I was sad. I knew a second place would not change anything for the team. The only result which might have changed the future was a win. Unfortunately we didn't get it."

The F1 drivers are all asked to pick five races, but Trulli wanted to add his victory in the 1991 karting World Cup to his four choices. It may have been a great win for Trulli but we've had to rule that out on grounds of eligibility.

As regular readers will know, we choose one of these races to highlight in this blog.

This time we have gone for Monaco 2004, certainly the most entertaining of Trulli's picks.
Highlights of that race are embedded below.

Beneath them, to whet your appetites for this weekend's action in Monza, are links to short and extended highlights of Alonso's superb victory for Ferrari in last year's Italian Grand Prix. We have also decided to include extended highlights of the 2009 Japanese GP.

In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.


CLICK HERE FOR SHORT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE FOR EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 ITALIAN GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE FOR EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2009 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX

For those in the UK, a selection of the classic races will also be shown on the red button on digital television - short highlights of Monaco 2004 and Malaysia 2005 as well as extended highlights of Italy 2010.

Satellite and cable viewers will be able to see them from 1500 BST on Wednesday 7 September until 0855 BST on Friday 9 September.

On Freeview, they will be broadcast from 1035-1250 BST on Friday 9 September.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/09/jarno_trulli_-_classic_f1.html

Kroger Ford Kenny Wallace Jason Keller Coleman Pressley

Why are the FIA bringing out their toolkits?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_f2dCclIT9q8/TUUgS2L7_oI/AAAAAAAAG40/O-U57y8LQY0/s1600/start5_barc_2010.jpg

By Matt Carver

It's been two months since Sebastian Vettel was crowned as the Formula 1 world champion of 2010, after what was arguably the most enthralling and closely-fought championship in recent history. But bizarrely, the sports governing body, the FIA, have decided that it needs 'spicing up' with a whole raft of new technical regulations.

Even without these supposed enhancements, the setup for the 2011 season looks stronger than ever. The live TV broadcasts will now be in High Definition, there will be five former world champions on the gird, the teams are closely matched, and worldwide viewing figures are very strong. So this begs the obvious question: If it's not broken, why are the FIA bringing out their toolkits?

The answer can be found in a simple, four-syllable word that sparks a lot of debate: Overtaking.

The Return of KERS

For 2011, the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) will again be available to all the teams, after its banishment for 2010 following an uninspiring implementation in the previous season. For those unfamiliar with the concept, a KERS unit is essentially just a large battery which harnesses a reserve of energy from heavy braking. This energy can then be fed though the drive train at the press of a button for an 80bhp boost for several seconds per lap.

It was originally intended as a 'push-to-pass' button to aid overtaking, but the unit itself was heavy and had a strong destabilizing effect. The cars that were fitted with KERS were more unstable and thus slower for the majority of a lap, but had the extra muscle on the long straights. So it quickly became more of an overtaking deterrent than an aid, and there is no reason to believe that it will be any different next season.

The Controversial Moveable Wings

The big concern for next season is the introduction of moveable wings, which will allow a chasing car to greatly reduce its aerodynamic drag, allowing for greater top speed, but only when closely following a competitor. This is hugely controversial, for the simple reason that it hands an artificial advantage to the chasing car, effectively handicapping the leading car for having superior track position. The problem here is that it appears to violate a fundamental rule of fair racing. Surely you can't artificially penalize a driver for having track position just to make it more entertaining. This is no different from telling Usain Bolt that whoever wins the silver medal is now allowed to use performance enhancing drungs, but only until he starts winning, then he will be back on the protein 'shakes so that it doesn't get boring.

The Nightmare Scenario

Let's take Spa for example, the much-loved host venue for the Belgian Grand Prix. There is always plenty of overtaking at Spa, mainly due to the layout of the first few turns. The tricky first hairpin leads uphill through the staggeringly fast Eau Rouge bend, onto a lengthy straight, leading down to a tight right hander. It's hard to see how any driver could sufficiently defend their position through this section against a competitor who has artificially increased top speed. This could lead to the nightmare scenario; A driver with a narrow lead may decide to deliberately concede position before starting the final lap, as the advantage of the movable wing could be more beneficial than having track position. This would be a farce in every sense of the word, and could damage the sport's competitive integrity.

There can be no doubt that on some occasions, overtaking in F1 can become almost impossible. In Hungary last year, Vettel was forced to spend more than twenty laps simply staring at the back of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari, despite being significantly faster. Alonso's championship hopes eventually faded as he spent the last 40 minutes of the season finale waiting in vain for Vitaly Petrov to plough his Renault into the Abu Dhabi tyre wall. But on other occasions, the wheel-to-wheel action was spectacular. In Turkey, The two Mclarens where bumping wheels for the lead at turn one, just a few minutes after the Red Bulls were bashing each other into the scenery. Robert Kubica provided plenty of excitement whilst scything through half the field in Singapore, and the Japanese fans at Suzuka were amply entertained by Kamui Kobayashi flinging his BMW Sauber past anyone and everyone at the hairpin.

Surely this should lead us to one inevitable conclusion. It is the layout of certain circuits that appears to be curtailing the action. Only time will tell if alterations to the cars themselves will have the desired effect.


This original article "Formula 1's Risky New Regulations" is written by Matt Carver who is a Contributing Writer at Suite101.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/xTX-uZVXEhI/why-are-fia-bringing-out-their-toolkits.html

Mike Hailwood Mika Häkkinen Bruce Halford Jim Hall

Lotus T128 launch ( pictures)

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The Team Lotus 2011 challenger T128 was launched on Monday 31st January exclusively in Team Lotus Notes.

In an edition of its online magazine Team Lotus Notes, the team published the first photographs of the new green and gold TL11 featuring a 2010 Mercedes-style ?blade? roll hoop with a split air intake.

The new livery features more yellow and prominent Renault signage, reflecting its new engine partnership with the French marque.

The car itself, with a rear end supplied by Red Bull, has a high and straight nose. ?It is a much more contemporary design. The car really will be a midfield runner. It?s a modern F1 car,? technical boss Mike Gascoyne is quoted as saying.

?There?s been almost no carry-over of parts for the 2011 car ? it looks substantially different from last year?s car. It?s the basis of our cars for the future,? he added.

New Lotus called 'T128', not 'TL11'

This year?s Team Lotus car is called T128, not TL11 as was previously announced.

Last year, the team ? then called Lotus Racing under official license from the Proton-owned carmaker Group Lotus ? raced its 2010 car with the T127 designation.

T127 was the continuation of the original Lotus team?s traditional vehicle designation system, and it was thought that the reversion to TL11 for this year was to avoid yet another clash with Group Lotus amid the naming dispute.

Indicating that the designation of the 2011 car was an issue right until the T128?s reveal very early on Monday morning, the launch magazine made no mention of the two variations.

Team Lotus confirms no KERS for 2011 car

Team Lotus has confirmed reports that the 2011 car does not feature a KERS system.

?The decision made the design job slightly easier, because packaging it in the car is always a bit more of a headache,? chief designer Lewis Butler said in the Team Lotus Notes magazine.

Confirmed head of aerodynamics Marianne Hinson: ?It?s the same for us in aerodynamics ? no KERS is actually easier because packaging all the bits you need for it is actually quite limiting for some of the aero shapes you need in some areas.?

Lotus is not ruling out installing KERS at a later date, but chief operating officer Keith Saunt suggested it is not necessary for the team to take its next step.

?If KERS was going to get us from eighth to sixth then we?d have it,? he said. ?But when you look at the weight of it and some of the engineering challenges, I think it?s a good decision not to start with it.

?We might end up with it, who knows?? added Saunt. ?But if we did we?ve got a lot of experienced people who could turn their hands to it.?

Lotus T128 launch pictures



Source : GMM, Images(C) toilef1

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/qS5zA02-cmc/lotus-t128-launch-pictures.html

Floyd Anthony Raines Scott Russell Riggs Hiroshi Fushida Beppe Gabbiani

Hispania F111 Launch pictures ( 8th of February)

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Hispania unveiled their 2011-spec single-seater on 8th February, even though the whole thing happened via an online photo shoot in which the images of the new HRT F111 were computer-generated.

Team principal Colin Kolles said: ?The F111 represents a significant step forward for Hispania Racing. We have made a big improvement for starting our second season in Formula 1 and what you see in our new car confirms Hispania Racing's commitment to F1.?

HRT aim to run the car for the first time in the pre-season test at Bahrain which begins on March 3rd.

The team employed Hollywood concept vehicle designer Daniel Simon - known for his work on the 2011 film Tron: Legacy - to design the car's livery. He said, ?I miss fearless visual statements and large beautiful numbers on today?s racing cars.

?Playing with the restrictions of what you can do to a complex F1 body is fun. There are many don?ts, but I found a way to lay courageous racing essence on the car.?

The team confirmed it will have an adjustable rear wing. However it will not have a Kinetic Energy Recovery System.

Hispania F111 Launch pictures





Photos © HRT

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/Gh_-2_XSc30/hispania-f111-launch-pictures-8th-of.html

Martin Lee Truex Jr Brian Lee Vickers Kenneth Lee Wallace Michael Stephen Wallace

HRT F111 unveiled in Barcelona (photos)

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After confirming Vitantonio Liuzzi as their second starter for the 2011 campaign, and therefore completing their lineup for the new season, the Spanish team unveiled their F111 challenger in front of reporters on Friday (11th of March), in the penultimate day of testing this off-season.









(Ctrl+Click on the images for enlarged view)

Images(C) MotionCompany, toilef1.com

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/8usS4ADII74/hrt-f111-unveiled-in-barcelona-photos.html

Georges Grignard Bobby Grim Romain Grosjean Olivier Grouillard

HRT F111 unveiled in Barcelona (photos)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ElNewW-VQto/TXzjA3NjJUI/AAAAAAAAHUc/PfndoFH5Cp4/s1600/HRT%2BF111%2Bunveiled%2Bin%2BBarcelona%2B%2528photos%2529.jpg

After confirming Vitantonio Liuzzi as their second starter for the 2011 campaign, and therefore completing their lineup for the new season, the Spanish team unveiled their F111 challenger in front of reporters on Friday (11th of March), in the penultimate day of testing this off-season.









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Sauber C30 launch pictures (31st of January)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w9GVTZGFuLM/TWCRprBHn2I/AAAAAAAAG_U/PyW-luDGng4/s1600/sam31012011002794.jpg

Sauber F1 Team launched their 2011 challenger, the C30 at Valencia on 31st Jan'11.

As compared to its C29 predecessor, the new racer comes with more aggressive sidepods and a single mounting for its rear-wing (rather than double mounting), while also incorporating a blown diffuser. In addition, it has been confirmed that the car will be fitted with a Ferrari-developed Kinetic Energy Recovery System starting with the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

?We want to finish in the points regularly and clearly improve our position in the FIA Formula 1 constructors' world championship,? stated his intentions the very owner of the team Peter Sauber. ?2010 marked the 41st year of our company history and one of the most difficult.?

He insisted that after a difficult campaign in 2010, the team is now committed to progress.

?Never before had we faced such reliability problems, but we managed to overcome them in the second half of the season. We implemented some well-considered structural changes. The appointment of James Key as Technical Director already bore fruit last season, and he is now in charge of development of the Sauber C30-Ferrari.?

Technical specifications

Chassis carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite monocoque
Suspension (front) Upper and lower wishbones, inboard springs and dampers, actuated by Sachs pushrods
Suspension (rear) as front
Engine Ferrari Type 056 2,398 cc (146.3 cu in) 90° V8, limited to 18,000 RPM with optional 60 kW (80 hp) KERS naturally aspirated mid-mounted
Transmission Seven-speed semi-automatic carbon-fibre sequential gearbox with reverse gear electronically-controlled, quick-shift Limited-slip differential
Weight 640 kg (1,411 lb) (including driver)
Fuel Shell
Tyres Pirelli P Zero

OZ Wheels (front and rear): 13"

Link
Sauber C30 ? Launch Detail and Analysis (Scarbsf1's Blog)
"Development was held back last year as the team focussed its resources on the new car, which first hit the wing tunnel in May. This switch in resource was partly the reason the exhaust blown diffuser was not developed in 2010. Their new car sports just such a device, with an interesting twist. Otherwise the car is largely a logical evolution of the already quite advance concept of the C29. With Key having sorted the Ferrari engine installation problems and the cars ride height sensitivity which blighted the teams early season last year, Now the team can expect a strong run in the midfield for 2011."

Sauber C30 launch pictures







Photos © Sauber ag

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