Dimi PAPADOPOULOS ‏@f1enigma 19m Sport Bild adds that Brawn will leave end of year with Lowe taking over. Brawn is brought i n connection with Honda
Slowly working his way to the back of the grid, with any luck F1 in 2015 should be a Di Resta free zone!
Good article from OmniCorse here. It talks firstly about the failures of Ferrari in 2013, and then about the challenges the teams face in 2014 (ie do you focus more on engine power or aerodynamics?).
Benson has spoken! Nico Hulkenberg: Lotus prepared to gamble on driver for 2014 He has some Benson science to go with it: "It matters because 1kg of weight equates to about 0.035secs a lap on an average circuit. "That means a smaller driver such as Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, who weighs 68kg, is at an advantage over a taller one such as Hulkenberg, who weighs 74kg, to the tune of 0.2secs a lap if the team cannot reduce the car by the amount of their weight difference. "And even if they can, the taller driver is at a disadvantage because his weight is high up in the car, which also affects performance."
Seemed Hulk was beating Alonso in a Ferrari and Lewis in a Mercedes ok enough, even with his weight problem.
McLaren pushing to secure 2014 F1 seats for Magnussen, Vandoorne McLaren has not yet given up hope of getting its youngsters Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne in to Formula 1 next year. The two men are part of McLaren's young driver programme, and McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has revealed that efforts have been made with Force India, Lotus and Marussia to find a seat. Those talks have not yet been successful but Whitmarsh says that his team will continue to push to secure an opening. "We have tried at Force India, Lotus, and Marussia," explained Whitmarsh. "We have to get them into F1. "I think they are both really, really good guys and both will get into F1. "We have a duty of care to get them there. They are pretty special." Conformation from the ones in the actual know.
Exactly! And if you add those two tenths to Fernando's famous six tenths, Alonso should have been well away
It seems the overhyped Mercedes engine is too heavy (McLaren have already ruled out Hulkenburg because of his weight, and drivers like Button, Hamilton and Di Resta have all expressed concerns about weight).
http://thejudge13.com/2013/10/09/daily-f1-news-and-comment-wednesday-9th-october-2013/ Ferrari civil war rolls on Fernando Alonso should consider himself fortunate. The battle worn pit bull and arch defender of the Ferrari Faith, Luca Colajini – head of communications for the Scuderia for years – was shipped off to pastures new over the winter. New kid on the block, Renato Bisignani has been finding his feet this year. The tone and style of a number of the ‘official’ communications from the Scuderia have been stilted, clunky and not so well crafted. This has been evident against the backdrop of the Alonso/Il Padrino war that has been fought both in the mountains and on the sea. Ferrari.com, yesterday presented a piece for their fans entitled, “A special day for Alonso in Tokyo”. The Scuderia driver was the main attraction at the Japanese launch of the 458 Speciale, the new Ferrari sports car, unveiled back in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show, at the Tokyo Dome City Hall. The dispatch states, “Along with Kamui Kobayashi, who flies the flag for the Prancing Horse in the FIA World Endurance Champioship, Fernando literally burst into the room where the event was taking place, where he was met by Giuseppe Cattaneo, the head of the Far East Ferrari hub and by Herbert Appleroth, the President of Ferrari Japan KK”. Dutifully and beautifully on script a beaming Alonso declares, “It’s a fantastic car. Better performance, faster and lighter than the 458 Italia: it would be difficult to do better than what our engineers have managed!’ Some say… Fernando did then suggests… he would personally offer his own housekeeping money to subsidise the first 3 customers who signed up there and then. Amusing as the idea is of Fred in Peckham, London selling Ferrari’s on a market stall shouting, “Cam on. I’ve got a wife and kids to feed” – I feel we are digressing. The dispatch continues, “It’s hardly surprising that the owners were interested in the next round of the Formula 1 season, which takes place at Suzuka this weekend” and it reports Alonso duly obliges with a summary for the guests of what needs to be done. “’We need to have a good race. There is still a lot up for grabs: second place in the Constructors’ championship and it’s not yet over in the Drivers’, commented the Spaniard, under the watchful eye of Team Principal Stefano Domenicali. ‘This is a key moment in the championship: Suzuka is a track I like a lot and the best possible place to have a good race on Sunday. We come from a place where the crowd was not so big, while in Japan the fans are fantastic and they really love Formula 1. We hope we can give them the result they want as they pack the Suzuka grandstands, as they do every year.’” (Ferrari.com) You are having me on. UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYE OF TEAM PRINCIPAL STEFANO DOMINICALI??? I’m still chuckling now and I read this last night. Ok Renato, you want us to understand Alonso’s card is still being marked – and we get it. Yet Fernando is fortunate because were Luca Colajini still in situe, this communication would have been infinitely more subtle; it would be crafted to crush Alonso yet again and would probably be done with humour with which we laugh together with Ferrari – not at them. God I love this team. This is the antithesis of the Red Bull culture. This is old style F1 team management, and the old style way of doing family life with an errant child. #ForzaFerrari . We’ve heard many times, no one person is bigger than Ferrari. It appears we’re actually reached a point where it can be said that Ferrari itself is not bigger than Scuderia Ferrari – the concept (work that one out). TJ13 has continued to receive reports stating Alonso’s name is mud in Maranello. He is called the ‘**** layer’ behind his back, and not just by shop floor sweepers. The humiliation just keeps on coming. Fernando had an ear tweak before the world on the day of his birthday and now this? When will Ferrari stop kicking him? Presumably when he leaves.
Pat Fry: "There will be a fixed maximum quantity and payload of fuel for the race and various levels of energy, so it’s possible there could be considerable differences between the maximum pace possible and a pace aimed at saving energy and fuel, to the extent that there could be a difference of between one and one and a half seconds per lap in the race."
Interesting. Wasn't it Button who said the engines were a lot heavier than predicted? Is it all engines or just theirs? I think it would really help the cause of common sense if one of the engine makers were leaning on the FIA to increase the minimum weight. They should really increase the maximum fuel load for the more demanding races, it's stupid that Monaco and Spa are expected to be raced on the same fuel load. In reference to both quoted posts, I wonder how useful this information will be to Honda. These comments would suggest that weight and fuel efficiency are going to be more important than power. They're going to learn a lot before they have to homologate their engine I think.
