© Getty Images (Red Bull Racing) A recent announcement that Dan Fallows will take up the position as head of aerodynamics at Red Bull has angered McLaren who have referred the matter to its legal team. The Woking squad had believed that Fallows would be heading their way after signing, what they say, is a legally binding employment contract. However, having left Red Bull for a short break last year, the Milton Keynes outfit confirmed on Wednesday morning that he would be returning to take up the position previously held by the outgoing Peter Prodromou - who is also set to join McLaren this year. Prodromou was one of several new members of staff McLaren announced would be joining the team, a list which included Fallows. A team spokesperson confirmed the matter was being dealt with by McLaren's lawyers. "Dan Fallows has a legally binding contract with McLaren, and the matter is now in the hands of our lawyers," read a short statement. - See more at: http://www.f1times.co.uk/news/display/08732#sthash.c3kfvEbW.dpuf
Just been looking at the stand ticket sales for this years British GP it indicates there is considerable interest for some reason. Best seats already sold out.
http://www.crash.net/f1/news/201936/1/ericsson-losing-half-a-second-in-weight.html Marcus Ericsson has revealed he is losing half a second per lap to team-mate Kamui Kobayashi in weight alone. Driver weights have been the focus of much attention this season as the new regulations have led to much heavier cars and teams struggling to get down to the minimum weight of 691kg. Speaking about his relationship with team-mate Kamui Kobayashi at the end of testing in Bahrain, Ericsson confirmed to Crash.net that he was struggling to match Kobayashi's pace because of his weight. “The problem is that he's 10kg lighter than me, so for me to be able to match his times is so difficult because I have half a second every lap which I'm losing just because of the weight,” Ericsson said. “So it makes life difficult. We're working all the time to try and make the car lighter as well so it's a constant work for us, but it's for sure a bit frustrating that you're not only a rookie but you have 10kg too much over a lap.” Asked if the car was running over the weight limit, Ericsson confirmed that was one area Caterham has to make progress. “I don't know how much exactly but I know both cars are over the limit, and obviously he's 10kg lighter than me so my car will be quite a lot over the limit. It's losing us a lot of lap time, which is a shame.”
Really interesting. However, I think all engine suppliers should be made to uniform their design to give parity. If customers choose to go off piste then that's up to them!
Grosjean frustrated by lack of Renault progress Inadvertently, Renault’s failure with it’s engine design has forced Red Bull to expose the truth behind their method of working. With Toro Rosso using the same engines they also highlight any changes made to the Red Bull-Renault power-unit. Without question the Renault power units in the Red Bull – and their sister team – have significantly better performance than those supplied to Lotus and Caterham. It appears that whatever the engineers from Red Bull have done as a quick fix has certainly helped the reigning champions. It’s also proving frustrating to the other Renault users who have not got access to these updates which give better reliability and improved dynamics. In Bahrain testing, Pastor Maldonado completed 16 laps throughout day one but stopped having developed problems with the Renault “power-unit”. On the second day Romain Grosjean was limited to just 16 laps with once again – “power-unit problems.” “I have to say that these two days have been quite tough on all of us, we were hoping for more, but again they say China or Barcelona will be a good step forward. Let’s see. We just have to believe that Renault will be capable of bringing better performance and reliability because today was just not acceptable.” he offered. “I think we are already quite a long way behind.” Grosjean stated with frustrated understatement; the Frenchman’s best time for the day, a 1:43.732, was almost 10 seconds behind the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton It would probably be close to the truth to suggest that a corporation like Renault has pay structures in place for software engineers whilst a money-no-object outfit such as Red Bull can pay whatever for the best experts in their field. The software engineers employed by Red Bull appear to be of a higher standard ( or just better paid ) than those employed by Renault which in itself brings into question all the engine maps that Renault ‘developed’ for their number one customer over the years. It seems highly unlikely that RBR would have allowed Renault any access to their programming for exhaust blown diffusers and ‘supposed’ traction control either – which could possibly explain the Infiniti naming rights on the car rather than Renault and Marko’s arrogant attacks upon Renault.
Rumour has it in Italy that Stefano will be replaced by Flavio and that Luca has had a meeting with Stefano to notify him of him being replaced with Flavio present. Had until Spain to sort this mess out but Luca changed his mind as the whole car is a mess.
Why don't Ferrari do what they should have done years ago and put Brawn in charge. Oh wait.. Why put a competent Englishman at the helm when you can go for a flakey Italian muppet? As you were Ferrari... forgive my stupidity.
[h=1]Pirelli announces Spanish, Monaco, Canadian GP F1 tyre choices[/h] Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli has revealed the compounds it will bring to the Spanish, Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix. For May's Spanish race, the Italian manufacturer will return to the hard and medium compounds used at the Malaysian GP in March. "The [Barcelona] circuit is well known for putting high-energy loads through the tyres, while ambient temperatures can also be notable," said a Pirelli statement. "Asphalt roughness is quite high and the tyres on the left-hand side are particularly stressed." For the following two races in Monaco and Canada, Pirelli will bring soft rubber and utilise the super-soft tyre for the first time this season. "Monaco is the slowest circuit on the calendar, which is very twisty with smooth asphalt and also relies heavily on mechanical grip from the tyres," the Pirelli statement added. "This makes it the perfect place for the super-soft, with its rapid warm-up [characteristics], to make its 2014 debut. "Canada is another circuit that is very reliant on mechanical grip, with the race frequently held in cool temperatures. "Traction and braking are the main characteristics of the lap, [and] as a result, the soft and super-soft is once again the ideal choice."
Wolff: stefano is a great man who is just out, often constructively discussed with him. I'm sorry for him. Sounds confirmed to me.
Related news: Adam Cooper ‏@adamcooperF1 2m Apparently Luca di Montezemolo recently agreed a three-year extension to his Ferrari deal, so he won't be going any time soon Mercedes have claimed RBR gained 0.4s a lap. http://ticker.auto-motor-und-sport.de/
