Webber wins but Vettel is still the man to beat

If Mark Webber did not sound as if he was jumping for joy after winning the Brazilian Grand Prix - his first win of 2012 in the final race of what has been a tough season for the Australian - it should be no surprise.

There is no artifice about Webber and he knows as well as anyone that, statistically, this has been a disappointing year for him. One win in a race in which his team-mate had one arm tied behind his back does not on its own signify that his fortunes will change next season.

Nor, though, does the manner of victory necessarily mean that they won't.

Eleven wins and a new all-time record 15 pole positions for Sebastian Vettel as against one win and three poles for Webber are numbers that do not make comfortable reading for the older man.

But it should be remembered that the two men were evenly matched in 2010 as they both battled for the title with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

Webber is determined to recapture that form and there have been signs in the second half of the season that he is heading in the right direction.

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Undoubtedly he struggled in the first half of this year. He was hit hard by reliability problems - if there was a problem with Red Bull's troublesome Kers power-boost system at the start of the year, it seemed Webber's car would have it - but also he took much longer than Vettel to adapt to the different demands of the new Pirelli tyres.

By the time he had, Vettel was long gone in the championship. It has, though, been much closer between the two in the second half of the season.

Vettel has still had the upper hand - and his electrifying qualifying pace and consistency has put him in a position to control many of the races.

But Webber has been getting on top of one of his biggest problems this year - higher tyre wear than Vettel, sometimes influenced by problems outside his control - and on race pace the two have been pretty evenly matched, even if it has not always been obvious because of their different positions in the race.

Webber could have won in Korea had not a mystifying pit-wall decision prevented him from passing Hamilton and exploiting a strategy that should have beaten Vettel, too.

In the end, the much-needed win came in Brazil in a race in which Vettel's gearbox problem prevented him having a straight fight with his team-mate.

But as Webber pointed out, these things happen and you take wins however they come. Not only has he himself been on the receiving end of that sort of fortune many a time, it was probably also about time Vettel had some bad luck.

"Even if the win didn't come today there were some positive signs for me in recent races," he said.

"There has been some good pace from me considering some of the things that have been going on. Today was a good grand prix.

"It's not a bad thing to finish the year like this, one of the most important things is I started to feel the car a bit better, to get a bit more of an understanding."

"It's great Mark has won a race," team principal Christian Horner said.

"It would have been very, very tough for him to have not won a race if Seb had won 11.

"Hopefully this win will give him a big confidence boost. He's third in the championship. Hopefully he'll go into the winter, have a bit of time off, recharge his batteries and I'm sure he'll come back stronger in 2012.

"Let's not take anything away from Sebastian, though. He has been operating at such a high level this year. That's what's compounded the issue for Mark. He's been up against a team-mate in the most phenomenal form and operating at the most phenomenally high level."

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Webber is under no illusions that Vettel will be formidably tough to beat again next season.

The German's drive on Sunday was yet another from the top drawer in a season that has been full of them.

He drove the first few laps as he has in so many races this year - building a 2.2-second lead in two laps. But after that Webber managed to keep him within three seconds or so - striking distance, in other words - until Red Bull came on the radio at the end of the first stint to warn Vettel of a gearbox problem.

This is not the first time this has happened to him and at first you wondered how he and the team he might react.

Back in Canada in 2010, Vettel also had a gearbox problem while running in fourth place ahead of Webber, who was ordered not to attack him as the team feared what might happen if he did.

But there was to be no repeat of that, as Vettel's engineer Guillaume Rocquelin came repeatedly on to the radio to warn him of the worsening problem. Eventually he had to accept that this was a race he was not going to win, and he let Webber past.

From then on, it was a case of managing the problem, which he did magnificently.

"Despite running a gear taller in each corner and trying to reduce the amount of shifts as much as possible, his pace was still very strong," Horner said. "There must be zero oil left in that gearbox because it went off the scale - a very mature and measured drive."

Inevitably, there were conspiracy theorists who suggested Red Bull were making the whole thing up to provide a convenient excuse to provide Webber with a win he needed and which also lifted him into third in the championship ahead of Alonso by one point. These can be dismissed, however.

For Vettel to still finish second in those conditions was impressive. One doubts, though, whether his performance merits the comparison Vettel himself made with Ayrton Senna's victory here in 1991, when the great Brazilian battled a failing gearbox in the rain to hold off the faster Williams of Riccardo Patrese despite driving the last two laps with only sixth gear.

Red Bull's advantage in Brazil was bigger than it has been in recent races, which is a worrying sign for their rivals.

Jenson Button drove a brilliant season this year to take second in the championship, the first time Hamilton has been beaten by a team-mate, and put in another strong performance on Sunday.

Alonso, too, has been mighty, battling the odds in an uncompetitive car. And Hamilton himself will surely find some equilibrium over the winter and come back stronger in 2012.

All of them, though, can do nothing if Red Bull produce a car next year with the sort of advantage seen from this year's RB7.

"What makes retaining the title so special," Horner said on Sunday, "is the calibre of opponents we are up against is so high.

"We are a stronger team in all areas than in 2010. I'm convinced with continuity we can still improve. We don't know what the other teams are doing. We will keep our heads down and hopefully turn up with a competitive car in Melbourne next year."

The gauntlet has been thrown down and it is up to McLaren and Ferrari to pick it up.

This blog is about the Brazilian Grand Prix and 2011 F1 season. If you wish to read about - and comment on - the BBC's plans for 2012, please do so here

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/11/webber_wins_but_vettel_is_stil.html

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Training To Work Among NASCAR Motorsports Finest

A garage technician might have big dreams of working around NASCAR racecars but will keep those dreams in check because they know they are not trained to work on that equipment or any other high performance engines for that matter. The typical garage mechanic might be able to repair a street model automobile, but it takes a lot of training to work among motorsports finest.

The automobiles that are part of the NASCAR motorsports realm are not the everyday automobile. They might fall under automobile manufacturing names that are well known throughout the automobile industry but they are not the kind that are easy to care for in a local garage. The engines used are tooled to be precision instruments that are capable of achieving over 200 miles per hour in the stretch. To enable the engines to maintain those speeds requires the care and expertise of a graduate of the NASCAR automotive schools.

Automotive engineers and the whim's of the car's owner, might have the NASCAR racing machines in the garage for inspections at any time. They might craftily mold the body parts to exact specifications and match sure that all emblematic decals are perfectly matched. It will be the responsibility of these motorsports technicians to ensure that they car can race every weekend and if parts need to be order and installed by race day, it is there job to do it.

Since there are many automobile manufacturers included in the mix that lines up at the starting line of NASCAR races week to week, there is a dire need for qualified technicians that have been thoroughly trained to meet the racing engine needs. A simple class in automotive mechanics will just not be sufficient enough to make repairs on vehicles that run at such high speeds more than 40 weekends out of the year. This type of need requires someone that is fast and a fan of racing.

Many automotive mechanics would jump at the chance to earn a career opportunity that allows them to work on NASCAR engines. There is a wide range of courses available that can be taken online with significant discounts on tuition to those that qualify. The training will be very thorough and all applicants can look forward to learning all about engines and how to be a member of a professional pit crew. The training courses move at a brisk speed which fits in well with the world of racing.

To achieve training to work among NASCAR motorsports finest requires training time in the classroom and on the racetrack too. The typical automotive mechanic might learn a thing or two about performance engines when they delve into those engines in a class filled with their peers. The people that graduate from the NASCAR automotive schools are well-rounded people who have dug in and learned things that they never knew were possible. NASCAR will expect high performance out of the graduates of the schools because they have a lot of money riding on the equipment and the driver that sits in the front seat.

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Article Source: Training To Work Among NASCAR Motorsports Finest

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/66565/training-to-work-among-nascar-motorsports-finest

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NASCAR Tracks - The Texas Motor Speedway

Texas Motor Speedway is the second largest sports facility in America and it plays host to professional auto racing, concerts and giant auto shows. Take a tour of the Speedway and get a birds-eye view of more than 150,000 seats and 1,000 acres that make up the Speedway. Texas Motor Speedway represents the pinnacle of luxury for fans of auto racing, as the facility features 194 sky box VIP suites. Order your tickets today. Texas Motor Speedway offers amenities to make every fan comfortable while they watch in awe as 43 Nextel Cup stock cars roar around the Texas track. There is no better way to spend an afternoon than with NASCAR tickets for the whole family.

Texas Motor Speedway also has a special ticket for $79 for fans who want to be close to the pre-race activities. The 7-Eleven Pre-Race ticket provides access to the infield and pre-race show stage area, a prime spot for viewing the entertainment as well as pre-race driver introductions. Texas Motor Speedway has begun to be a fast track and is becoming more like Atlanta! Texas Motor Speedway remains a favorite of racing fans because it is still managed by the legendary racing promoter Eddie Gossage. Gossage has managed TMS since it was built in 1996.

The Texas Motor Speedway also offers fans access to pit road where you can glimpse the behind-the-scenes workings of a pit crew. The Texas Motor Speedway is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long: The front stretch is 2,250 feet (686 m) long, and the back stretch is 1,330 feet (405 m) long. At 230 mph (337 f/s), the drivers take about 6.5 seconds to go down the front stretch, and then they are slammed by almost 5 Gs of force for the next 6.5 seconds as they go around the turn.

The Texas Motor Speedway's track has longer turns with higher banks at each corner than the Indianapolis 500 track. This affects the G-forces on the driver and how long they are acting on them. The Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5 mile obstacle that offers many of the same challenges as Lowes Motor Speedway. Banked turns and a long straightaway on the back half offer drivers the chance to let loose. The Texas Motor Speedway ticket office will be open from 9:03 a.m. Sunday and then traditional weekday hours from 9 a.m.

The Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5 mile obstacle that offers many of the same challenges as Lowes Motor Speedway. Banked turns and a long straightaway on the back half offer drivers the chance to let loose. The Texas Motor Speedway's track has longer turns with higher banks at each corner than the Indianapolis 500 track. This affects the G-forces on the driver and how long they are acting on them. The Texas Motor Speedway, that was designed very similar to the Atlanta Speedway, did have faster times during 2004 to 2005, but after its surface was worn, the higher speeds returned to Atlanta. Tracks such as Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway did once have faster lap times, averaging about 322 kilometers an hour, but NASCAR mandated restrictor plates for these tracks, making the average speed approximately 306 kilometers an hour.

The Texas Motor Speedway is a popular venue for concerts and live performances. The biggest names in entertainment perform at the Texas Motor Speedway year round.

For NASCAR Merchandise, Up to the minute News, and everything NASCAR including RaceCar jackets or Nascar Racing Car Jackets we have them at the best prices everyday!

Article Source: NASCAR Tracks - The Texas Motor Speedway

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Better racing - but is it fake?

In Monaco before Christmas, Formula 1's governing body held a meeting to discuss one of the key and most controversial aspects of 2011 - the Drag Reduction System or DRS.

Introduced amid much controversy and no small amount of trepidation in some quarters, questions about the validity of the overtaking aid, not to mention the wisdom of employing it, decreased during the season. So much so that, at the Monaco meeting, it was decided that only small refinements needed to be made to its use for the 2012 campaign.

But while the FIA and the teams all agree that DRS has played a valuable role in improving F1 as a spectacle, they are determined to ensure it performs in the way intended. In particular, no-one wants to cheapen one of the central aspects of a driver's skill by making overtaking too easy.

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Sebastian Vettel enters the DRS zone at the Spanish Grand Prix. Photo: Getty

To recap briefly, DRS was introduced in an attempt to solve the perennial problem of there being too little overtaking. After years - decades even - of discussions, F1's technical brains hit on what they thought could be a solution: DRS.

DRS does what it says on the tin. When deployed, the top part of the rear wing moves upwards, reducing drag and giving a boost in straight-line speed. In races, drivers could use it only if they were within a second of the car in front at a "detection point" shortly before the "DRS zone". The DRS zone was where DRS could be deployed, which was usually the track's longest straight.

The idea was to make overtaking possible but not too easy.

There is no doubt that racing improved immeasurably as a spectacle in 2011 compared with previous seasons. But how big a role did DRS play? And did overtaking become too easy at some tracks and remain too hard at others?

It is a more complex issue than it at first appears because it is not always easy to tell from the outside whether an overtaking move was a result of DRS or not.

In Turkey and Belgium, for example, several drivers sailed past rivals in the DRS zone long before the end of it, leading many to think the device had made overtaking too easy.

But, armed with statistics, FIA race director Charlie Whiting says appearances were deceptive. What was making overtaking easy at those two races, he said, was the speed advantage of the car behind as the two cars battling for position came off the corner before the DRS zone.

Whiting showed me a spreadsheet detailing the speeds of the respective cars in all the overtaking manoeuvres that happened in the Belgian GP.

"This shows very clearly that when the speed delta [difference] between the two cars at the beginning of the zone is low, then overtaking is not easy," he said. "But if one car goes through Eau Rouge that bit quicker, sometimes you had a speed delta of 18km/h (11mph). Well, that's going to be an overtake whether you've got DRS or not."

According to Whiting, the statistics show that if the two cars come off the corner into the DRS zone at similar speeds, then the driver behind needs to be far closer than the one-second margin that activates the DRS if he is to overtake.

"One second is the activation but that won't do it for you," Whiting said. "You've got to be 0.4secs behind to get alongside into the braking zone."

Confusing the picture in 2011 - particularly early in the season - was the fast-wearing nature of the new Pirelli tyres, which led to huge grip differences between cars at various points of the races. A driver on fresher tyres would come off a corner much faster and brake that much later for the next one. That would have a far greater impact on the ease of an overtaking move than DRS ever would.

Critics of DRS might argue that while it may be useful at tracks where overtaking has traditionally been difficult, like Melbourne, Valencia and Barcelona, for example, it is debatable whether there is a need for it at circuits where historically there has been good racing, like Turkey, Belgium and Brazil.

According to Whiting, DRS does not diminish the value of an overtaking move at tracks where it is usually easy to pass. It just means that DRS opens up the possibility for more. In other words, it works just as it does at any other track.

McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe is an influential member of the Technical Working Group of leading engineers which came up with DRS. He said people had been arguing for years that engineers should alter the fundamental design of cars to facilitate overtaking.

However, tinkering with aerodynamic design was never going to be a solution, according to Lowe, because F1 cars will always need downforce to produce such high performance, and that means overtaking will always, by the cars' nature, be difficult.

"What's great [about DRS is] at least we can move on from this debate of trying to change the aerodynamic characteristics of cars to try to improve overtaking," added Lowe.

"We've found something much more authoritative, much cheaper, easier and more effective, and adjustable from race to race."

Whiting thinks DRS worked as expected everywhere except Melbourne and Valencia.

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Valencia's DRS zone could be extended for 2012. Photo: Getty 

So for next season's opening race in Australia, he is considering adding a second DRS zone after the first chicane, so drivers who have used DRS to draw close to rivals along the pit straight can have another crack at overtaking straight afterwards. As for Valencia, traditionally the least entertaining race of the year, the FIA will simply make the zone, which is located on the run to Turn 12, longer.

There is potentially one big negative about DRS, though.

There is a risk that its introduction could mean the end of races in which a driver uses his skills to hold off a rival in a faster car. Some of the greatest defensive victories of the modern age have been achieved in this way. One thinks of Gilles Villeneuve holding off a train of four cars in his powerful but poor-handling Ferrari to win in Jarama in 1981, or Fernando Alonso fending off Michael Schumacher's faster Ferrari at Imola in 2005.

The idea behind the introduction of DRS was for a much faster car to be able to overtake relatively easily but for passing still to be difficult between two cars of comparative performance. In theory, if that philosophy is adhered to rigidly, the sorts of races mentioned above will still be possible.

However, once an aid has been introduced that gives the driver behind a straight-line speed advantage that is an incredibly difficult line to walk, as Whiting himself admits. "You've got to take the rough with the smooth to a certain extent," he said.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/12/drs.html

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NASCAR Tickets - Danica Patrick Eyes NASCAR

IndyCar golden girl Danica Patrick's contract with Andretti Green Racing is up at the end of this season. She'll have a contract waiting for her come October, that's for sure, but where will the IRL's favorite female firecracker go once the smoke clears? Some signs are pointing to NASCAR, and although moving to the Sprint Cup Series is something that hasn't recently treated IndyCar drivers well, it may very well be where Patrick ends up at the end of this IndyCar season.

Patrick, whose contract is set to expire soon, has already expressed to the media that she's on the hunt for new enterprises and other ways to expand her racing career, and when it comes to NASCAR, more sponsorship money and viewership is most definitely involved. Recently speaking to the media about a possible switch to NASCAR from IndyCar, Patrick has said, "One of the things I think of is the exposure level that you get in NASCAR with the ratings and viewership. Their numbers are so much larger than ours, and with that comes a bigger following, comes more popularity, comes more demand for you to endorse other products. So I think it would be an exponential sort of growth." This statement, of course, leaves the racing world wondering if she's just in it for the money, and this is one question that must be considered when sizing up the Danica Patrick dilemma that is sure to come this fall.

Patrick would undoubtedly be an explosive attention-grabber should she make the switch to NASCAR, but even her dashing looks and stellar maneuverability on the racetrack in open-wheel cars may not be enough to save her from the vicious Sprint Cup Series, which has a track record of eating alive several IndyCar-turned-NASCAR drivers. Take fellow female IndyCar driver Sarah Fisher, for example. No, Fisher doesn't have even close to the same stellar racing record as Patrick, but Fisher's recent attempt to delve into NASCAR proved highly unsuccessful; not only did she not compete in a single Sprint Cup race, but she didn't even come close to seeing a Nationwide race, either.

Fisher made a statement (and seemingly a warning to Danica Patrick) concerning her sour experience with NASCAR, saying, "It's a very tough world; it's a 'Good Old Boys' world, a 'Good Old Boys' network. To be in that without any prior experience will be extremely tough. Unless you are bringing in a pot load of money, I don't think they are going to [give you a deal] right away."

The switch to NASCAR wasn't a pleasant one for former Indy 500 victor Dario Franchitti, either. Franchitti ultimately failed to make a successful switch from IndyCar to NASCAR last year and is back in the IRL racing with Target Chip Ganassi Racing this year, already proving his sustained worth in the IRL after a year off from open-wheel racing.

Three-time IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish, Jr. is experiencing resistance from the NASCAR realm, as well, still struggling in his second season with the Sprint Cup Series, and Juan Pablo Montoya isn't much improved, either. Is the same ill-fated future in the cards for Danica Patrick should she switch to the much more competitive NASCAR realm next year?

While this is left uncertain, the only thing for sure is that Danica Patrick would cause quite a stir with the public and with ratings should she make the leap to NASCAR, as the raved-about top female driver is already a media target. Ken Cohn, vice president of Millsport, a sponsorship consulting agency in Charlotte, N.C., recently spoke of the Danica appeal to NASCAR, saying that her celebrity influence could have a huge impact on the racing realm should she make the switch to the Sprint Cup Series next year, saying, "She's not only well known; she's well liked.

Danica entering NASCAR would certainly provide the sport with a deep level of marketing impact, and it would provide NASCAR with one of the biggest stories of the year, generating a significant amount of media coverage, consumer and fan engagement, and corporate attention." For now, though, it's still a man's world in NASCAR. The Sprint Cup Series will go on no matter what, and NASCAR tickets are still available online, Danica or no Danica.

This article is sponsored by StubHub.com. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - Danica Patrick Eyes NASCAR

Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/264660/nascar-tickets-danica-patrick-eyes-nascar

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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

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Pirelli to change colours to differentiate tyres in 2011

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Pirelli will not only bring more aggressive tyres into Formula One this year, but also ensure a more colorful method to differentiate the multitude of compounds for the 2011 season. According to Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, backed by several other Italian media, Pirelli has come up with a different color scheme for their F1 tyres.

Back when the International Automobile Federation (FIA) asked former F1 sole supplier Bridgestone to differentiate the appearance of the soft and hard compounds, the Japanese company chose to paint a line in a middle groove of the soft options. The next season, when slicks came into play once again, Bridgestone marked the soft compound with a green circle on the sidewall.

For 2011, all F1 tyres will have the words ?Pirelli P Zero? written on the sidewall, but the color of the writing will change based on the compound, as follows:

  • The super-soft wording will reportedly be in red
  • The soft will be in white
  • The medium in blue
  • The hard in yellow

In addition to that, the full wet and intermediate tyres will also feature different colors, with the former having the ?Pirelli P Zero? mark painted in yellow and the latter in red.

According to a report from the GMM news agency, the FIA will distribute Pirelli's tyres to the teams after randomly shuffling the code numbers at grands prix, just so that favoritism claims will not be issued.

Pirelli has recently ended its last testing session prior to the first official group test of the winter in Valencia, as Pedro de la Rosa drove the TF109 test car in Abu Dhabi in wet conditions, at night. After evaluating the behavior of Pirelli's wet and intermediate compounds, the marque's research and development boss Maurizio Boiocci admitted he is yet to find out how the additional speed ensured by the introduction of KERS and adjustable rear wings will affect the tyres.

?If the speed came on gradually, for sure there would be no problems. But it remains to be seen what happens when all the power comes on suddenly,? said Boiocci.


Article (C) Ovidiu Panzariu, Image(C) Pirelli

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Toro Rosso STR6 Launch pictures ( 1st of February)

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Scuderia Toro Rosso presented the media their brand new STR6 in the pitlane of the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain, on 1 February 2011.

The STR6 is basically the second car, after its predecessor the STR5, that was completely designed by Scuderia Toro Rosso, following the introduction of regulations that banned the use of "customer chassis", a chassis developed by one team and purchased by another.

Technical specifications

Chassis carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite monocoque
Suspension (front) Upper and lower carbon wishbones, torsion bar springs and anti-roll bars, Sachs dampers
Suspension (rear) as front
Engine Ferrari Type 056 2,400 cc (146.5 cu in) 90° V8, limited to 18,000 RPM with KERS naturally aspirated mid-mounted
Transmission Seven-speed semi-automatic gearbox with reverse gear
Weight 640 kg (1,411 lb) (including driver)
Fuel Shell V-Power
Tyres Pirelli P Zero

Advanti Wheels (front and rear): 13"

Link
Toro Rosso STR06 ? Double Floor (Scarbsf1's Blog)
"Scuderia Toro Rosso (STR) launched their car on the first day of the Valencia test. It?s significance has been somewhat lost amongst the fanfare of the front running teams cars and the innovation of the midfield runners. However the new STR06 deserves more attention, as it has some unique aerodynamic concepts that are drawing praise from other teams engineers. STR have been able to reduce the cooling and packaging demands placed on the sidepods. Thus with a smaller sidepod envelope, the team have revived an old concept from Ferrari, the double floor."

Toro Rosso STR6 Launch pictures






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Heikki Kovalainen - Classic F1

Heikki Kovalainen is the driver picking his five favourite all-time grands prix for the penultimate edition of BBC Sport's 2011 classic Formula 1 series.

The Finn has re-established his reputation with Team Lotus in 2010-11 after two years at McLaren alongside Lewis Hamilton that were, by Kovalainen's own admission, "disappointing in terms of results".

So it is appropriate he has chosen five of his own races, as they remind us that he is a race winner in his own right and not simply one of F1's top drivers.

Heikki Kovalainen

Kovalainen is trying to re-establish his F1 career at Lotus. Photo: Getty

In chronological order, the 30-year-old talks through his choices, starting with the race that stopped him getting the sack after a shaky start to his debut season with Renault:

Canada 2007

"A very difficult weekend. One of the low points of my F1 career. I think Flavio [Briatore, the Renault team boss] was very close to getting rid of me. His patience was running out. I crashed the car on Friday and it didn't look good in the first part of qualifying. I honestly think he would have sacked me after that race if I hadn't come through the field and finished fourth, fighting actually for a podium with [Williams driver] Alex Wurz

"After that, I finished a strong fifth in Indy, beating Kimi [Raikkonen of Ferrari]. From then on, things started to work in the right direction. I probably didn't realise at the time that it was that much on the line. I just thought: 'It's not working, let's try again tomorrow.' But looking back now I think my career was at stake. Some other people have told me that. Luckily, he [Briatore] gave me some more races and things started to go well. 

"In Canada, Robert Kubica had a big accident. I was just exiting the hairpin and I saw the accident to my side and thought: 'That's going to be a safety car.' I was just coming up to a pit stop and I decided to go into the pits myself. I called the team and said: 'There's going to be a safety car.' And they were like: 'No, no, no.' I said: 'Yeah. I'm sure there will be.' And as soon as I left the pits I saw the safety car, so I jumped a lot of people. If I had stayed out I probably wouldn't have been able to finish fourth."

Japan 2007

"It was my first podium in F1 and with Renault. It was raining a lot, quite difficult conditions. We started behind the safety car, then [I was] coming through [the field] all the way through the race. I found I was in second place and fighting with Kimi on the last lap. He passed me, I passed him back, and I was able to keep him behind me. 

"Of course, it mattered that it was Kimi and a Ferrari. Kimi was at that time one of the big names, one of the guys fighting for the championship. To be able to beat him as a rookie, in a car that wasn't as good as his car, was a great moment. 

"Obviously, the circumstances worked out very well for us. The strategy was good and the rain maybe it evened out a bit. It was a tricky race and Kimi was also coming through the field. Maybe a few more laps and he would have got me."

Australia 2008

"My first race at McLaren and I came very close to winning it. [Team-mate] Lewis [Hamilton] had done his second pit stop, I was coming up to mine. I had just done the fastest lap of the race and I was catching him. 

"He was on full fuel and I had a few extra laps before the end of my stint, so I was actually gaining a couple of seconds a lap on him. The team thought about stopping, but we decided to go to the planned end of my stint. Then the safety car came out. 

"I remember being behind the safety car at the head of the queue. Most of the guys behind me had stopped, so I dropped to 10th and eventually fought back to fifth. I overtook Kimi and Fernando [Alonso's Renault]. It was good. But imagine starting your McLaren career with a victory; it would have been quite cool.

"At the time I was annoyed, but what can you do? It was the right choice to stay out to fight for a win. If we had taken the conservative approach and stopped earlier, I would have been second, but we had good pace and going quicker and quicker. It was just unfortunate the safety car came out."

Hungary 2008

"My first win. I was in a good position all the way through the weekend. After Lewis had a puncture, I was running second all the way through the race. Then at the end I was catching Felipe Massa's Ferrari by two seconds a lap. 

"I knew he was in trouble. We were running out of laps. Then I saw his engine go. There are no style points in F1. It was a great moment. I knew now was a good chance to win the race. I had a good cushion behind me to Timo [Glock's Toyota]. I didn't have to push. I was able to ease off a little bit and finish the job. It was nice to win a race.

"It was a good part of the season [for me]. I was on pole at Silverstone and I didn't finish off that race. Hockenheim was a little bit unfortunate - I was in a position to be on the podium and then it didn't work out for me with the safety car. Then to get the victory just before the summer break was great."

Monaco 2010

"Looking at the performance of the [Lotus] car, I think I got everything out of it. I remember fighting with [Renault's Vitaly] Petrov and some other guys in better cars for quite a long time, knocking on the [door of the] top 10. But then the power steering broke five laps before the end and I had to stop. It was a good race - I was able to build a big gap to the other new teams and join the back of the [midfield] queue."

Kovalainen has chosen Hungary 2008 as his favourite race. The highlights are embedded below, with short and extended highlights of last year's title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix underneath to whet your appetites for the weekend's action. 

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 TO WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE TO WATCH EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX

The classic races will also be available on digital television in the UK. On Freeview, they will be broadcast between the two free practice sessions on Friday 11 November, from 1035 and 1255 GMT. On satellite and cable, they will be available from 1500 GMT on Wednesday 9 November to 1000 on Thursday 10 November, from 1030-1430 and 1830-2000 on Thursday, and from 1035 -1255 on Friday.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/11/heikki_kovalainen_-_classic_f1.html

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Vodafone rewards its customers as Jenson performs in Manchester ( Photos)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KF008HlnuhE/Tl98pLXvISI/AAAAAAAAHYQ/QkBLrMUwN7w/s1600/Vodafone_VIP_Live_In_Mancherster-2825.jpg

Vodafone rewards its customers as Jenson Button drives through the streets of Manchester in
his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1? car

Vodafone VIP brought a taste of Formula 1? to the heart of Manchester city centre this weekend, with F1? driver Jenson Button and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team staging a celebration of the sport.

Crowds lined Deansgate on Monday (29th Aug) afternoon for the highlight of the Bank Holiday, as Jenson Button revved up his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1? car and drove it through one of Manchester?s busiest streets. Button also treated two lucky Vodafone customers to a thrilling drive through Manchester city centre in a McLaren MP4-12C sports car, before ending the day with an on-stage, public Q&A appearance.

Jenson enjoyed the day enormously, commenting:

?I think Vodafone VIP has done a brilliant job to make this happen ? it can?t have been easy ? but to see the looks on people?s faces when I opened up the throttle, was a fantastic moment. It is all about giving something back to the fans and just unleashing the awesome power of a Formula 1 car. It was a lot of fun.?

Jenson?s appearance was just one part of a three day event. From Saturday 27 to Monday 29 of August, Vodafone customers and friends enjoyed the Vodafone VIP Fanzone in Albert Square. The Fanzone contained a bespoke Go Kart Track, and a number of interactive F1? experiences, including a pit stop challenge, a sit in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car, an F1? simulator and an exhibition of race suits and helmets. Throughout the weekend there was also a pit garage on the forecourt of the Hilton Deansgate in which Vodafone customers had the opportunity to go behind the scenes in the team?s garage.

The celebration was part of Vodafone?s drive to reward as many of its customers as possible. Previous Vodafone VIP events have been based in London and the South East so by bringing F1 to the North West, Vodafone VIP are aiming to reach a wider audience and thank even more of their customers.

Councillor Pat Karney, of Manchester City Council, said:

?Vodafone VIP Live is a great example of the sort of unmissable events which Manchester stages and a great way show what our city has to offer. We are extremely grateful to Vodafone who provided the opportunity to have the I Love MCR logo printed on the side of the car. Word of the campaign has spread fast, so it's entirely fitting that an F1 car bearing the campaign logo should be seen racing down Deansgate?

The F1? event in Manchester is just one element of Vodafone VIP, which gives customers access to the best of British festival, fashion and Formula 1? events. Vodafone VIP provides customers with the hottest tickets and money can?t buy experiences. All Vodafone customers can register for Vodafone VIP by going online.

Visit www.vodafone.co.uk/VIPManchester to find out more.

I Love MCR Campaign
In partnership with Marketing Manchester and Manchester Arndale, Manchester City Council have launched the 'I Love MCR' campaign to show the world that the people of Manchester are proud of their city. Become a fan on the ?I Love MCR? Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/WeLoveMCR.
Follow the conversation on Twitter using #IloveMCR








Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/fZCTZ2PLJXY/vodafone-rewards-its-customers-as.html

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