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Five months ago, Honda confirmed that it would be returning to F1 and it would pair up with old partner, McLaren. Now, you may start to recall Senna, Prost and that MP4/4 (above) which near dominated in 1988. Well, let's look at the impressive McLaren/Honda stat attack: between them, they had 80 GP starts, registered 53 pole positions, 44 victories, set 30 fastest laps and scored eight world championships (four drivers’ titles, four constructors’ titles). Nice. http://dai.ly/x12i4qr Quite recently, the Internet was all fired up over Honda’s simply excellent video recreating Senna’s 1989 Suzuka GP at night, using telemetry from the race and lots of lights to make something a bit spine-tingling. Anyway, Honda has just released a clip of its forthcoming Formula One engine, which is still being developed for the 2015 season where Honda will participate under a joint project with McLaren. The video below (audio only - no pun intended) is what the new turbo V6 will sound like. Have a listen, do you like it? http://dai.ly/x167tbo
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Sebastian Vettel extends lead to his fourth title with a flawless race
Akram_saheed posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
When Sebastian Vettel qualifies at the front, there is nothing that can stop the German from grabbing the top step on the podium. Out of 88 race starts he has with Infiniti Red Bull Racing - from Australia 2009 to Singapore 2013 - he has 22 lights to flag victories and three Grand Chelem titles (currently tied with Nelson Piquet) - meaning he has qualified in pole, won the race after leading every lap of the race and set the fastest lap of the race in the same weekend. Still his record is one more than Juan Manuel Fangio who has five world championships under his belt, but one less than the legendary Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Even Fernando Alonso, Niki Lauda and Stirling Moss only have one each and interestingly James Hunt and Kimi Raikkonen have none. As the Singapore Grand Prix concluded - minutes before 10:00pm - with fireworks lighting up the already colourful and vibrant Marina Bay CBD area with stunning backdrop from the Singapore Flyer to Marina Bay Sands and ANZ to Maybank towers and hysterical cheers from the attendees - Vettel recorded his third consecutive win this season, his third consecutive win at the street circuit and his seventh podium overall. The question remains if there is anything that could stop the German driver. Unless Adrian Newey is removed, I doubt so. The problem with F1 right now is not about the lack of overtaking or people getting bored with the same person winning - it's just that rival teams have yet to produce their own Adrian Newey including legendary ones like Scuderia Ferrari and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. McLaren seem to be a little off pace this year while only one of the two Ferraris seem to be interested in any actual racing. Over the past two years, the sport has evolved from who is winning and fighting for the championship to who had the best recovery or who managed to finish third after a strenuous battle. As stated earlier, as soon as Vettel qualifies on the front grid - you can prepare tomorrow's sports headlines today. Even yesterday at the sixth SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, Vettel won the race after qualifying in pole with a record setting time of 1:42.841 - which is even faster than Kimi Raikkonen's lap record. Not even the tropical climate of heat and humidity or the intervention of the safety car - courtesy of Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso - could hinder or delay the triple world champion from claiming another this season. After 61 laps, Vettel won by a staggering 32.6 seconds over title contender, Fernando Alonso in the Prancing Horse, who leaped from seventh at the starting grid while Kimi Raikkonen catapulted to third from starting 13th on the grid -
If you take part in motorsport driving, or ride a motorcycle (especially), I would recommend that you do not take your helmet for granted, under any circumstances. This is because you may regret it afterwards. You see, you never know when the unexpected may take place. If you aren't really buying what I am trying to say here, I suggest that you take a look at the picture involving the helmet previously worn by a Spanish F1 test driver, Maria de Villota. If you aren't quite aware or can't recall, Maria de Villota came across a horrifying incident while testing a Marussia Formula 1 racecar nearly a year ago. As for the cause of the incident, it has yet to be clarified. All that we know is that she crashed the F1 car she was piloting at that time due to some unexplained acceleration. According to eyewitnesses, though, the car had been misfiring. Had it been true, I wonder why the engineers weren't really concerned about it. Anyway, it was really a misfortune as Maria de Villota was actually trying to come back to the paddock and she was piloting the Marussia F1 car at a low speed, too. At that point of time, as a matter of fact, she had completed a straight line aero test. Due to the unexpected acceleration, the Marussia F1 car rear ended one of Villota's team trucks. Ironically, the truck was actually the one which brought the Marussia F1 car onto the track in the first place. Unfortunately, the liftgate of the truck was partially lowered at that moment and Villota's head happened to strike it. Well, I bet you can guess what happened next. After the incident, Villota went into a coma lasting four days. Fortunately, the doctors managed to save her life but, well, the same couldn't be said of her right eye. Yes, the horrifying and unfortunate crash cost Maria de Villota one of her priceless eyes. No longer an F1 test driver, Maria de Villota is now working as a road safety advocate in the country where she was born. Working as a road safety advocate, she never gets tired of showing her horribly damaged helmet to her audiences, hoping that more people - especially the more aggressive young drivers - will be more careful and always put on their helmets whenever necessary, for their own sake. For your information, I am confused whether she's stubborn or that she's persistent and just have a strong will. You know, after the horror she encountered, she has revealed that she still wants to get back into the F1 racing world, making an eventual comeback when the time comes.
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30 years after his father claimed victory, Nico Rosberg took the highest step of the podium at the Monaco Grand Prix - fighting off stiff competition from title defender Sebastian Vettel. Rosberg - a resident of Monaco - managed to fend off Vettel till the end while Webber completed the podium despite sustained pressure from Hamilton. A pit stop strategy worked well for the Red Bull team to leap ahead of Hamilton, during the first safety car period - trigged by Massa at lap 30 who managed to replicate a crash similar to Saturday
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A bird avoided a runover at the 2013 Monaco GP with a backflip
RchLuvSlly posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
While there are birds practical enough to help people in life - think of pigeons as letter couriers, some birds out there just don't have any idea whatsoever on what they are doing. The dove in the video below is one example. Believe it or not, doves are not clever, not at all. Well, while it's true some birds may find their home after flying a pretty far distance, you still can't consider them clever. It's more like a natural autopilot routine hardwired into their brain, without them realising what they're actually doing. That said, you can't expect doves to do things they aren't exactly created for. As an example, the dove you can see in the video really has no idea that standing on an F1 track is horribly dangerous, especially when an F1 Grand Prix (GP) is taking place. As a result, it had to play chicken with an F1 racer who happened to be approaching its direction. The F1 racer was revealed to be Brazilian Luiz Felipe de Oliveira Nasr. He was piloting a Dallara-Renault F1 car, racing for Carlin Motorsport. However, being stupid for standing on the racetrack in the first place, I must admit the bird has some great maneuverability. You see, it avoided being flattened by the racecar with a somehow adorable backflip, reminding me of those Kung-Fu moves you see in the movies. Fortunately, the bird survived, which is a good thing - and a miracle, too. -
Had he been alive, he would have celebrated his 53rd birthday last March. Yet yesterday motorsports enthusiasts and the people of Brazil - or those who remember anyway - rekindled the memories of the best racing driver in the world - Ayrton Senna. 19 years after his death, Ayrton Senna is still remembered for many things including his charity work to his people, but it's his driving attitude and god-like performance on the track that many - including Mika Haikkainen, Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, David Coultard place him among the best. Including the most successful driver of all time - Michael Schumacher - who won the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix and equaled Senna's 41 victory record in 2000. The three time world championship winner was also responsible in part in the development of the Honda NSX. Ayrton Senna's three championship winning cars were powered by Honda engines and after testing at the Suzuka GP circuit - Senna requested Honda to stiffen the chassis. Senna was given two cars by Honda. The newer one, a black 1993 model, license plate BSS-8888 (the letters meaning Beco - a childhood nickname - Senna Silva and the number 8 is a reference to his first F1 championship in 1988) is still in his family's possession. A team from Hungary's TotalCar Magazine has prepared a special video to honour the late Senna featuring professional touring car driver and WTCC Rookie of the Year 2011, Norbert Michelisz, in a car that the Brazilian helped fine tune - the NSX.
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Nissan has brought its latest GTR to grace the F1 celebration. Staged at the Ritz Carlton Singapore, the 2012 GTR look very much at home with its smaller, 370Z sibling. The latest GTR promises a breath-taking century sprint timing of just 2.8 seconds The official F1 party, opening night of Podium Lounge, held by the poolside of the Ritz Carlton Singapore on Sep 21, saw plenty of beauties and plenty of enthusiastic guests. With Nissan showcasing its ever-popular GTR in the lobby of the Lounge, Azimuth showcasing its unique watch collections and a Dom Perignon VIP bar, Podium Lounge set the scene for a high luxury time. The Nissan GT-R is an icon of Nissan
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[extract] F1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone, has secretly married 35 year-old Brazilian Fabiana Flosi at his
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[extract] Somewhere in the southern part of England, there is a warehouse where its location is closely guarded. This facility is known as Unit 2 which houses the biggest collection of McLaren cars, including the company
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A Ferrari 599 GTO has been receiving a fair bit of media attention in Singapore lately, but for all the wrong reasons. A red GTO crashed into a taxi at a Bugis junction when it ran a red light, causing the taxi to hit a passing motorcycle. The accident claimed the lives of the GTO driver, the passenger in the taxi as well as the taxi driver. Readers may refer to the newspaper or social media for more coverage regarding the accident. Here, I would like to talk about what makes this 599 GTO so special. The Ferrari 599 GTO is the fastest road car manufactured by Ferrari. It is awarded
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Formula One supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, will be tying the knot for the third time in his life. The new lady in his life is 34 year-old Brazilian beauty, Fabiana Flossi, whom he met when she was working as a marketer for the Brazilian Grand Prix. After divorcing his second wife, former Croatian model Salvica, Ecclestone said he wanted to remain single for the rest of his life. When love strikes, it is hard to resist sometimes. The couple has been living together for quite a while now, around about the same time Bernie got mugged in London in Nov 2010. Ecclestone said, "We are officially engaged and it is not going to be a long engagement either." Ecclestone told the Daily Mail, "We have been together for two years and what makes it work is that Fabiana has a really good sense of humour, and when you live with me you need to have a sense of humour," he explained. At five foot ten, Fabiana is shorter than Slavica, but still considerably taller than her fiancee. The humorous Eccelstone joked by saying that he did not need to go down on one knee! Now, who says that short men have a shortage of love luck. Fabiana's diamond engagement ring is thought to have cost about US$160,000 (S$197,721). The 81 year-old Ecclestone has three daughters, Deborah, Tamara and Petra from his first and second marriage.
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[extract] If you are a highly-driven individual who aspires to excel in the corporate rat race, here
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2012 F1 begins in Melbourne and some thoughts on the Lotus F1 Team
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
The Formula 1 circus show has begun for 2012 Melbourne Grand Prix recently. The race was entertaining as the cars were bunched up again with 17 laps to go due to the safety car coming out after a racing incident. So it was basically down to the wire. However, the Malaysian Grand Prix happens this coming weekend (the 25th of March 2012) over at Sepang and the carnival has started early for some. The newly minted Lotus F1 Team (Lotus bought out the Renault F1 team last year) have started the ball rolling displaying their latest challenger, the E20. It was displayed and driven in front of the Malaysian public at Proton's Power of 1 Event. Donuts and all. Driven by former F1 Champion Kimi Raikkonen and newbie Romain Grosjean, Raikkonen did quite well coming in 7th over at Melbourne while Grosjean did not finish. It wasn't too long ago that a powered by Renault car propelled Fernando Alonso to two world championships and it is a good platform for any car manufacturer to gain entry into F1. Of course we have to note that Renault is an automobile manufacturer in their own right and must have decided that they had to spend tons of money on their own in Formula 1. That is why they must have become enginge suppliers. It makes perfect sense money-wise and so we now have the Lotus F1 Team -
Angry Birds and F1 racing probably does not come up even in the most "out of the box" associations. However, Heikki Kovalainen seems to have found a fix for the equation. Despite a promising start in F1 (driving for ING Renault in 2007 and McLaren Mercedes in 2008 and 2009), Kovalainen was then shuffled to Lotus Racing in 2010 and Team Lotus in 2011, marking a series of twists and turns to his career. With that, he has all rights to be "angry", fully deserving his new endorsement. Kovalainen had heads turning in the F1 paddock last Thursday as he revealed his all-red helmet for 2012 which he don at Sunday
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Caterham is looking at building a new sports car model
FaezClutchless posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
[extract] Although Caterham Cars has existed for over three decades, the company may not be well known to most people around this region but it looks like things might change. Ever since the company -
A 2nd look at the 2012 Singapore GP, Vettel wins (again), Lewis Hamilton a villian?
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
The 2011 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix concluded with Sebastian Vettel coming in first and he is almost assured to be crowned this year's F1 champion. Discussing Vettel's win over in Singapore is somehow pointless as he drove exceptionally well and the Red Bull F1 car in winning form. This year is his and there is nothing we can do about it but enjoy the performance. Now if you've been following this year's F1 like I have been you'd have noticed that the media has been trying hard to create waves elsewhere as Vettel's winning ways are killing headlines. In a way that is. Imagine the same headline 'Vettel Wins!' throughout the season with only the venue changing. So they try turning something into nothing. It must be hard for them to cook up stories as they've recently decided to crucify Lewis Hamilton because of his antics in the Singapore GP. What happened over in Singapore (somewhere behind the winning Sebastian Vettel) was Hamilton driving the tyres out of his McLaren and rear ending Fillipe Massa of Ferrari. This had caused a furious Massa trying to make his way towards Hamilton in the pits. This had also caused the media speculating that the drivers were ganging up on Hamilton stating that he had made dangerous moves on other drivers in Malaysia, Monaco, Montreal, UK Hungary, Belgium and a few others. Honestly, he was racing and trying his hardest to overtake everyone in front of him. I think the media is making a big fuss out of nothing. It also seems that some media people want races to be without incidents or without aggressive drivers. Maybe the cars would have neon signs that state 'Please move over I am faster than you, you slowcoach'. Too much hot air is being blown onto this issue. Oh yes. I have not reported on the 2012 Singapore GP as yet. Aside from Vettel winning again (and again, and again) it was quite good. Hamilton crashing in Massa meant that the drivers are indeed racing. The track is super tight as usual and there is no room for error. The Singapore GP is indeed taxing on the drivers as they mostly see barriers, tall fencing and lights. How most of them can keep their concentration lap after lap in a totally cooped up environment is totally commendable and truly awesome. photo credit:planetf1 -
Vettel wins the 2011 Belgian F1 GP and some fabulous drives by the others
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Dramatic. This was what the 2011 Formula 1 Grand Prix in Belgium was like. It was action packed with flat out racing, tyres that somehow didn't seem to last long and pit lane tactics coming into play. The race at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit happened after a one month break from racing and the break must have rejuvenated Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull gang as Vettel came in first ahead of his team mate Mark Webber and Jenson Button who had a well deserved third place after starting from thirteenth place. The race started off with a bang. This was because after the front runners (with Vettel in pole) moved off safely, Bruno Senna caused the opening crash by failing to brake and torpedoing into the Toro Rosso driven by Jaime Alguersuari. Then Timo Glock decided to rearrange the looks of Paul DiResta's Force India car by crashing into it. He manageda two-birds one stone thingy as he managed to take off Jenson Button's endplate too. Button then collided into bits of Senna's front wing which was strewn across the track and lost his own wing too causing him to pit (imagine still comming out third after this type of start). The drama ensured as by lap 5 Vettel had to pit due to blistering tyres and on lap 6, the other Sebastian, Sebastian Buemi made contact with Sergio Perez and lost his rear wing. Both entered the pits for damage and Perez was given a drive-through penalty for the skirmish. By this time the positions of the drivers had changed but the driving or racing was really good (a simple non-bombastic word to actually describe the moment). On lap 15 or thereabouts Kamui Kobayashi got tangled with Lewis Hamilton causing a pretty massive crash. This caused a safety car incident which Sebastian Vettel utilised to get another tyre change. Meanwhile, Mark Webber's radio failed causing him to lose contact with his pit crew and lose the chance of taking advantage of the moment. I suppose this may have caused him to lose the race. The Red Bull cars were having tyre issues as both ran massive front camber setups for qualifying that made sure tyre life was short. Somehow both drivers managed to 'drive around' this problem and finish first and second. Anyway aside from Vettel and the others making things interesting, it was a fabulous race for Michael Schumacher too. The Grand master of Formula 1 showed the new kids on the block some of his magic and this race celebrated his 20 years in Formula 1. As I've said earlier, this old man is still showing people how it's done (albeit his usual recklessness and silly mistakes occasionally) as he started off from the last position and finished fifth ahead of his team mate Nico Rosberg. Watching him drive this time around was like watching him drive in the late 1990s and early '00s. It looks like this old chap is getting younger with every race. The Belgian F1 was a memorable race and Vettel's win wasn't like one of his earlier victories of this season. He had to work hard for this one. Results 01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h26.44.893 2. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 3.741 3. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 9.669 4. Alonso Ferrari + 13.022 5. Schumacher Mercedes + 47.464 6. Rosberg Mercedes + 48.674 7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 59.713 8. Massa Ferrari + 1m06.076 9. Petrov Renault + 1m11.917 10. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1m17.615 11. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1m23.994 12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1m31.976 13. Senna Renault + 1m32.985 14. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 1 lap 15. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap 16. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 17. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap 18. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 1 lap 19. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 1 lap Did Not Finish Perez Sauber-Ferrari 27 Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 13 Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 12 Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6 Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1 photo source: planetf1 -
2011 Hungarian Formula 1 GP: Jenson Button's 200th F1 race & 11th win
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
The recent Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix was interesting. I suppose the weather helped again as it rained and we got to see defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel as well as previous World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso losing it with either a spin or having some off the track incidents. We also got to see a level headed ex-world champion Jenson Button winning the race in a McLaren. Lady luck must have been with him as the Hungarian Grand Prix was mainly led by Lewis Hamilton who drove the other McLaren. Now other than that this race marked Button's 200th race and incredibly his 11th race win. I suppose this basically means that Formula 1 is tough as this chap has been racing for so long and actually won the driver's championship once yet he only has eleven wins around his belt. It must be as he has to fight four other world champions out there (the chaps mentioned above and Michael Schumacher too). Anyway, it rained and as usual that sort of weather makes racing so unpredictable. Aside from the spins and slips by the race leaders and challengers, one other reason Jenson Button won was his decision not to come in of intermediate tires when everyone seemed to want to use them. He opted for the prime tires in a slightly damp track and kept it on the track when others seemed to be slip-sliding all around him. From what I have seen, the Red Bull cars are still the cars to beat on race day but when the weather comes into play, tire strategy, patience and skill comes into play. One other incident that is actually worth writing about is the fact that Nick Heidfield's Renault actually caught fire in the pits (at around lapd 20). This happened as the Renault was stationary for quite a while and upon exiting the pits, his car caught fire. Heidfield managed to scramble out of the car and the car experienced a small explosion while the track marshalls were trying to put the fire out. One marshall was hit by flying shards of carbon fiber and it was a nearly a safety car incident. It wasn't, but if the safety car was brought out, the outcome of the race may be altered. Anyway, as I posted earlier, mid-season is usually when Formula 1 gets interesting. No one knows what will happen after this upcoming 4 week break from racing. The next race is scheduled on the 28th of August at Spa, Belgium. Results 01. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h43:42.337 02. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 3.588 03. Alonso Ferrari + 19.819 04. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 48.338 05. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 49.742 06. Massa Ferrari + 1:17.176 07. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 08. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 09. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap 10. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 11. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 12. Petrov Renault + 1 lap 13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps 14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 2 laps 15. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 2 laps 16. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps 17. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 4 laps 18. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps 19. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 5 laps 20. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 5 laps Retirements Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 56 Schumacher Mercedes 27 Heidfeld Renault 24 Trulli Lotus-Renault 18 photo credit:planetf1 -
2011 British Formula 1 at Silverstone: Ferrari finally wins a race
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
[extract] It rained during the British Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone on the 10th of July. This basically meant that racing was at its finest (subjectively speaking that is). Ferrari managed to break its dry spell in this wet race with Fernando Alonso taking the win with the usual suspects, Sebastian Vettel coming in second and his Red Bull counterpart, Mark Webber taking third. It is Ferrari -
Vettel wins the procession-like European Formula 1 Grand Prix
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
[extract] The European Formula 1 Grand Prix was held at Valencia recently and to tell you the truth, I fell asleep after a few laps. I suppose it was late in this part of the world but it wasn -
2011 Monaco F1: Lots of thrills, lots of spills but the winner is still Vettel
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Monaco. Vettel wins again. His first ever win at Monaco. And it IS Groundhog day but at least the 2011 Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix wasn't a procession of cars like it usually is year after year. Sebastian Vettel's win for Red Bull Racing wasn't a walk in a park. It was a race filled with the very good looking SLS Safety Car, red flags, stoppages and a lot of accidents. It is Monaco, but with a slightly different tinge to it. Vettel's win was quite unexpected. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso's second place was unexpected too. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was penalised for dangerous passing even though he finished sixth (and then post-race he started blaming the stewards for wrongly penalising him because of his color -
Sebastian Vettel wins the 2011 Australian Formula One Grand Prix
Rigval posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
The 2011 FIA Formula 1 Grand Pirx began at Melbourne, Australia on the 27th of March with a victory to reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel and his team, Red Bull Racing. He started from pole and basically took the lead from the start with a minor challenge from Lewis Hamilton of McLaren Mercedes who came in second in front of Vitaly Petrov of Renault. This race started without much excitement and suspense with only Rubens Barrichello losing it on the gravel on turn 3 and then Michael Schumacher suffering from a puncture. This race also marks the first race in which Pirelli is the tire supplier and I have to say that the tires weren't as bad as they were reported to be during pre-season tire tests. And back to super senior Schumacher, the punctured tire due to being tagged by J. Aguersuari during the first few corners caused damage to his car's floor causing him to retire after around 20 or so laps. There was some surprise to see Lewis Hamilton coming in second when it seemed that the McLaren was slightly down in lap times during initial tests. He manged to keep Vettel in sight and exchanged fastest laps times with Vettel throughout the race. Of course it still wasn't enough for him to actually get absolutely close for neck to neck racing. But this is only the first race and things change really quickly in Formula 1. There was a slight problem for Hamilton during the race though, the front skid plate at the bottom of his car came loose and started scraping the tarmac. One important ruling after completing the race is that the skid plate has a certain level of thickness left in them and if it got too thin, the FIA stewards would have deemed the car was running lower than the prescribed ride height. So far, no news on this would mean that Hamilton is secure in his second place. For me the man who had a heck of a race must have been Fernando Alonso of Ferrari. At the end of the first lap he was placed 9th. He managed to claw right up to 4th position at the end of the race with a pit stop jump in position over Red Bull's Mark Webber. He was only a second adrift of 3rd place Petrov and if the race went a few laps longer could have taken that position. The other Ferrari driver, Filipe Massa finished in 9th. I suppose this was a decent start for most of the teams. Red Bull's victory is not surprise with Alonso of Ferrari stating that Vettel's driving was from another planet. What surprised me was the performance of the Lotus Renault. It also marked Petrov's first podium finish and a first podium finish for the Renault-Lotus team-up. It also looks like THIS Lotus team is the one I'd put my money on instead of the one that's now called Team Lotus, run by AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandez. Oh yes, there was a disqualification for the Sauber team. Both cars were deemed to have run illegal rear wings causing a change in the final race results. Quite sad news as one Sauber finished 7th. I suppose sometimes the teams try too hard to interpret the rules and it falls flat on their faces. This race also marks more use of the KERS energy recovery system for that extra push during overtaking and down on the straights as well as the use (by some of the teams) of something called the DRS or drag reduction system, which to my understanding is pretty simple technology. This is one of the big changes in Formula 1 this year whereby the cars can have an electronically movable rear wing that (obviously) reduces drag and theoretically will assist overtaking during the course of a race. The DRS utilized the on track electronic timing system at designated points on the circuit, when the trailing car is within one second of the car in front the system will be armed and the driver will have access to the DRS. He will not however be able to use the system until another designated point of the track around 600 metres before the next corner. The last point is subject to ongoing adjustment as the system is bedded in. There will be markings on the circuit to indicate the points where the timing assessment is made and where the driver may use the system to assist spectators and TV viewers. All for the sake of entertainment I suppose. Whatever the case, the F1 circus moves over the Sepang, Malaysia. Race weekend is on th 8th, 9th and 10th of April 2011. Results 01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h29:30.259 2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 22.297 3. Petrov Renault + 30.560 4. Alonso Ferrari + 31.772 5. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 38.171 6. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 54.300 7. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1:05.800 8. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:16.800 9. Massa Ferrari + 1:25.100 10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 13. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 14. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap 15. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps 16. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps Not classified/retirements: Glock Virgin-Cosworth 50 Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 49 Rosberg Mercedes 22 Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 19 Schumacher Mercedes 19 Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 10 Revised results 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 3. Vitaly Petrov Renault 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 5. Mark Webber Red Bull 6. Jenson Button McLaren 7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 8. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 9. Adrian Sutil Force India 10. Paul di Resta Force India 11. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 12. Nick Heidfeld Renault 13. Jarno Trulli Lotus 14. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin Not classified/retirements/disqualified: Sergio Perez Sauber 58 -
Motorsports fans, rejoice. Formula One took its sweet time in rolling out coverage in glorious High Definition, but starting next season, viewers will be able to soak up all the open-wheel action in 1080i resolution. According to certain reports, F1 organizers have been toying with the notion of delivering a HD feed for some time. This winter, Formula One Management (FOM) began testing brand-new equipment to make sure that broadcasts could be made at the rate of 42 mbps. Those tests apparently went well as FOM has announced that every F1 camera will be replaced with new HD hardware. In-car cameras will still be standard definition in the meantime. A handful of broadcasters have already committed to carrying the new HD coverage so far, including Sky Germany and Globo in Brazil. There's no word as to whether Singapore fans will be able to sink their eyeballs into the 1080i broadcast or if we'll be stuck with a scaled-down version of the feed. BBC is rumored to have its eyes on broadcasting the races on its HD channel and then downscaling the footage for the rest of its viewers.
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The FIA has published the full sporting and technical regulations for next season. Under the new rules, team mechanics in 2011 will be barred from working all night on formula one cars before practice days. The curfew will apply to team personnel associated in any way with the operation of the cars between midnight to 6am when practice is due to start at 10am. If the practice is scheduled for 11am, the curfew period will be postponed to 1am to 7am. "However, each team will be permitted four individual exceptions to the above during a championship season," the FIA said. Another new rule for 2011 relates to driving standards, which could have been implemented due to Michael Schumacher's controversial move on Rubens Barrichello in Hungary this year. "Manoeuvres liable to hinder other drivers, such as more than one change of direction to defend a position, deliberate crowding of a car beyond the edge of the track or any other abnormal change of direction, are not permitted," said the FIA. Stewards also have new powers to penalise drivers, including by imposing a one-race ban. The one-gearbox-per-four-races rule has been toughened to five races in 2011, with one penalty-free gearbox change per driver allowed. Finally, the race director has been given the power to close the pit entry during races for safety reasons.
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Official: Formula One to be powered by 4 cyclinder 1.6L engines by 2013
SYF77 posted a blog entry in MyAutoBlog
Soon we can all say goodbye to the high-revving V8s currently shrieking their way around the world's Formula One circuits. F1 has officially enacted new rules that require all teams to run a new turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine design by 2013. In addition, the maximum engine speed will be reduced from the current 18,000 rpm to a maximum of 12,000 rpm. With the new regulation, the racing vehicles are expected to use around 35 percent less fuel than the outgoing eight-pots while churning out very similar power numbers. While neither the FIA nor F1 organizers are willing to throw out any solid numbers, there is word that the engines will use high-pressure gasoline injectors that can inject fuel into the combustion chamber at up to 7,251 psi. At the same time, F1 is also moving to limit the number of engines that a team can use during a season. Right now, the rules allow for a stable of eight engines. By 2013, that number will drop to five before falling to four soon after. That would mean on top of nabbing better fuel economy and yielding high power, the new lumps will need to be stout enough to take the abuse of multiple races without breaking down.
