[Djole]

Teams and drivers - season 2011

Red Bull Racing

1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Mark Webber

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

3. Jenson Button
4. Lewis Hamilton

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro

5. Fernando Alonso
6. Felipe Massa

Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team

7. Michael Schumacher
8. Nico Rosberg

Renault F1 Team Lotus Renault GP

9.Nick Heidfield
10. Vitaly Petrov[

AT&T Williams

11. Rubens Barrichello
12. Pastor Maldonado

Force India F1 Team

14. Adrian Sutil
15. Paul di Resta

Sauber F1 Team

16. Kamui Kobayashi
17. Sergio Perez

Scuderia Toro Rosso

18. Sebastian Buemi
19. Jaime Alguersuari

Team Lotus

20. Jarno Trulli
21. Heikki Kovalainen

HRT F1 Team

22. Narain Karthikeyan
23. TBA

Marussia Virgin Racing

24 Timo Glock
25 Jérôme d'Ambrosio

[Djole]

Valencia testing - day one


Champions were quickest on the season opening - and new RB7 is on top!


Alonso was pleased with trouble-free day: "Today was a positive day, with no mechanical problems at all in the car so that was positive"


Third quickest new car was Sauber: "The car is okay, at the moment, I can't really judge it and we had a lot of things to test. But the car is okay."


Despite Vitaly Petrov having a troublesome first day of testing with the R31 – where a number of reliability niggles meant it completed just 28 laps to end the day, Renault has total faith that its radical new exhaust system will provide a big boost to its performance this year.


Although Rosberg had to park the car with a hydraulic issue early on, he said he had learned enough to know that he liked the W02.


For this year, Torro Rosso will aim for eighth place.


Rubens Barrichello described the first day of running of the Williams FW33 as "positive" after completing 77 laps in the new car. The Brazilian lost track time when a problem arose with the motor generator unit in the team's KERS system that the team is confident can be easily fixed for next day, but he was otherwise happy with the progress made.
Valencia 1st-3rd February


1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault* 1m13.769s 93
2. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m13.938s + 0.169s 71
3. Gary Paffett McLaren-Mercedes 1m14.292s + 0.523s 91
4. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m14.461s + 0.692s 28
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari* 1m14.553s + 0.784s 97
6. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari* 1m15.621s + 1.852s 68
7. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m16.003s + 2.234s 71
8. Vitaly Petrov Renault* 1m16.351s + 2.582s 28
9. Michael Schumacher Mercedes* 1m16.450s + 2.681s 15
10. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari* 1m17.214s + 3.445s 19
11. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth* 1m17.335s + 3.566s 77
12. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m18.020s + 4.251s 45
13. Nico Rosberg Mercedes* 1m19.930s + 6.161s 9
* 2011 car

[Djole]

Valencia - day two


Kovalainen said that new Lotus car has a lot more potential than last year's car.

Both Alonso and Webber are avoiding any judgments for their new cars, while Kubica felt very positive about Renault. Rosberg hit by mechanical problems- again!

1. Alonso Ferrari 1m13.307s 108
2. Vettel Red Bull Renault 1m13.614s +0.307 43
3. Di Resta Force India Mercedes 1m13.844s +0.537 111 *
4. Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 1m14.353s +1.046 83 *
5. Kubica Renault 1m14.412s +1.105 104
6. Rosberg Mercedes 1m14.645s +1.338 69
7. Glock Virgin Cosworth 1m15.408s +2.101 34 *
8. Barrichello Williams Cosworth 1m16.023s +2.716 51
9. Perez Sauber Ferrari 1m16.198s +2.891 42
10. Maldonado Williams Cosworth 1m16.266s +2.959 29
11. Buemi Toro Rosso Ferrari 1m16.359s +3.052 46
12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso Ferrari 1m16.474s +3.167 64
13. Webber Red Bull Renault 1m17.365s +4.058 17
14. Karthikeyan HRT Cosworth 1m17.769s +1.165 80 *
15. Kovalainen Lotus Renault 1m20.649s +7.342 15
* 2010 car

Also, Formula 1's leading drivers are predicting tough times in dealing with tyres this year after witnessing high levels of degradation with the new Pirelli rubber in testing at Valencia. As a number of teams got down to work with their 2011 cars this week, matters have been complicated by a big lap time drop-off on the softer rubber - which has been so large that it has raised some worries of potential tyre chaos in races if the situation does not improve.
Fernando Alonso said: "It was not easy to keep the tyres consistent. We see some drop in the tyres when they are new. The first lap is good and then you lose two or three seconds a lap. Then you are more or less consistent but obviously too slow.
Robert Kubica said he thought that the tyre degradation seen at Valencia was too extreme – although he acknowledged the weather conditions and track characteristics could be playing a factor in making the situation more extreme.


Valencia - day three

Renault's Robert Kubica ended the Valencia test in two minds about the progress he has made after setting the fastest time of the final day, but suffering some technical problems that limited his running in the morning.
Jarno Trulli says he has been impressed by the new Lotus T128 after getting his first taste of the car.


1. Robert Kubica Renault 1m13.144s 95
2. Adrian Sutil Force India Mercedes* 1m13.201s +0.057 117
3. Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes* 1m13.553s +0.409 105
4. Mark Webber Red Bull Renault 1m13.936s +0.792 105
5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m14.017s +0.873 80
6. Timo Glock Virgin Cosworth* 1m14.207s +1.063 114
7. Pastor Maldonado Williams Cosworth 1m14.299s +1.155 101
8. Sergio Perez Sauber Ferrari 1m14.469s +1.325 104
9. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m14.537s +1.393 110
10. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso Ferrari 1m14.801s +1.657 73
11. Narain Karthikeyan HRT Cosworth* 1m16.535s +3.391 63
12. Jarno Trulli Lotus Renault no time 38
* 2010 car

[Djole]

Kubica injured!

Robert KubicaRobert Kubica looks set to miss the start of the new Formula 1 season after suffering multiple fractures to his right arm, leg and hand in a crash on the Ronde di Andora rally. Although the hospital is encouraged with Kubica'sprogress, it could take up to one year for Kubica to fully recover from his injuries."It's difficult to make predictions, what's certain is that it's rare to find such a strong patient. A partial recovery will be possible within a few months: we'll see if he can reach a full functionality of his arm and hand. To reach an objective such as this, he would need one year anyway."

New cars - Virgin and HRT


Virgin Racing has launched its second Formula 1 car, the MVR-02, in an event at BBC Television Centre in London. The team ran an interim car at Valencia last week.


HRT has unveiled the first graphic images of its new F111, and the revamped colour scheme that it will race with in 2011. 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."

[Djole]

Who will be replacement for Kubica?

Bruno Senna, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nick Heidfeld are the three drivers that Renault is considering as the replacement for Robert Kubica this season, team boss Eric Boullier has said.


Force India - VJM04


Force India has set its sights on finishing fifth in the constructors' championship this year.

[Djole]

Lewis Hamilton is confident that McLaren has made a step forward with its new MP4-26. Autosport presents new McLaren with headlines "F1 gets sexy" and "McLaren goes radical".

Jerez - day 1

1. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m20.709s 101
2. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m21.483s + 0.774s 95
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m21.522s + 0.813s 94
4. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m21.755s + 1.046s 37
5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m21.914s + 1.205s 58
6. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m22.689s + 1.980s 42
7. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m23.472s + 2.763s 28
8. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m23.504s + 2.795s 57
9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.963s + 3.254s 68
10. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m24.458s + 3.749s 53
11. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m25.086s + 4.377s 42
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m34.968s + 14.259s 14

Mark Webber's best time may only have been good enough for third overall, but it was set on the first of a six-lap run. The Red Bull RB7 once again showed impressive consistency of pace over several longer runs.
It was another day of testing that Mercedes has completed without yet showing any signs of a frontrunning pace.
Williams technical director Sam Michael conceded Thursday proved to be a disappointing day for the team after being unable to get significant running done.

Jerez - day 2

1. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m20.352s 112
2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m20.413s + 0.061s 116
3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m21.009s + 0.657s 69
4. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m21.214s + 0.862s 72
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m21.613s + 1.261s 113
6. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m21.780s + 1.428s 73
7. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m21.857s + 1.505s 56
8. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m22.208s + 1.856s 57
9. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m22.493s + 2.141s 65
10. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m22.591s + 2.239s 38
11. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m23.216s + 2.864s 40

Despite the fastest time, it took a lot of laps for Schumacher times to stabilise - and when they did they were around a second slower than where Red Bull was on similar runs.
It was another quiet day for Red Bull, with Mark Webber once again producing impressive long-run times without setting any headline-grabbing single laps. It was the 19-lap run largely in the 1m24s that highlighted the potential - as nobody else was able to lap consistently at that pace on such a long stint.
Jenson Button believes that Pirelli's new tyres are going to make the racing 'fun' in 2011. Autosport.com believes that new tyres will help Button. New tyres were problem for Sutil: "The medium tyre we have here is different to before, and I was not so confident on that, not so happy," Sutil said at the end of the day.

Jerez - day 3

1. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m20.361s 86
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m20.493s + 0.132s 131
3. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m21.054s + 0.693s 114
4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m21.099s + 0.738s 36
5. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m21.242s + 0.881s 84
6. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m21.574s + 1.213s 98
7. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m21.681s + 1.320s 92
8. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m21.711s + 1.350s 61
9. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m22.227s + 1.866s 99
10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m22.945s + 2.584s 64
11. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m25.471s + 5.110s 72

Renault team boss Eric Boullier said Nick Heidfeld made a very strong first impression as he set the quickest time in testing on his debut with the squad at Jerez today.
Williams was once again delayed by a KERS problem, though Rubens Barrichello was able to get through a variety of mid-length stints after lunch and end up ninth.

Jerez - day 4

1. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m19.832s 103
2. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m20.601s + 0.769s 86
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m21.074s + 1.242s 115
4. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m21.213s + 1.381s 90
5. Bruno Senna Renault 1m21.400s + 1.568s 68
6. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m21.632s + 1.800s 43
7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m22.103s + 2.271s 45
8. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m22.222s + 2.390s 90
9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.278s + 2.446s 70
10. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m22.985s + 3.153s 45
11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m23.111s + 3.279s 99

[Djole]

Heidfeld confirmed at Renault

The Renault team has confirmed that Nick Heidfeld will be Robert Kubica's replacement this season. "I would have liked to come back to Formula 1 in different circumstances, but I'm proud to have been given this chance. Everything has happened so quickly, but I've been very impressed by what I have seen so far in terms of the facilities and the dedication of the people at Enstone. " said Heidfeld.

Mateschitz: Driver rivalry will continue, Vettel 'dreams' of driving for Ferrari

Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz fully expects Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber to lock horns again in 2011 in their battle for world championship glory. Mateschitz believes that Webber has what it takes to pose a serious threat to Vettel – and questions why there has been speculation that the Australian could retire at the end of this season. "Why should he? He has a body of steel, and he is mentally in perfect shape," he said.
World champion Sebastian Vettel has renewed talk about a future at the Ferrari team, saying it would be a dream to race for the Italian squad one day.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, the Red Bull driver admitted he was happy with his current team, but insisted he would like be drive for the Maranello outfit in the future.

Pirelli announces tyre allocations

"This decision has been made in accordance with the track characteristics in the Middle and Far East, which offer high grip and a wide variety of speeds and corners, as well as ambient and track temperatures that are likely to be high," said the company in a statement.

Bahrain withdraws opening race

Bahrain Grand Prix organisers have announced that the event will not host the opening round of the 2011 Formula 1 season, after days of uncertainty following unrest in the country.
Bahrain is hoping to be able to return to the Formula 1 calendar "in the very near future. We still hope to host an F1 grand prix in this calendar year - we are already in negotiations. We hope that we can reschedule the race later this year and be a valuable addition to the F1 calendar."

[Djole]

Barcelona - day 1

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m24.374s 37
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m25.485s + 1.111s 101
3. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m25.638s + 1.264s 57
4. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.641s + 1.267s 78
5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m26.365s + 1.991s 77
6. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m26.575s + 2.201s 26
7. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m26.912s + 2.538s 52
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m27.512s + 3.138s 90
9. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m28.393s + 4.019s 116
10. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m30.065s + 5.691s 54
11. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m30.950s + 6.576s 116
12. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m35.174s + 10.800s 20
13. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m44.324s + 19.950s 27

Sebastian Vettel was left lamenting his lack of running during the opening day of testing at Barcelona on Friday, despite setting the fastest time.
Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi again set good times during relatively short runs to put themselves third and fourth. Both also caused red flags during the day - the Sauber running dry during a fuel consumption evaluation, and Alguersuari going into the Turn 4 gravel.
McLaren had another fairly quiet day, with Jenson Button sitting out much of the afternoon and taking fifth.

Barcelona - day 2

1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m23.315s 104
2. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m23.519s + 0.204 97
3. Alonso Ferrari 1m23.978s + 0.663 90
4. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m24.008s + 0.693 118
5. Heidfeld Renault 1m24.242s + 0.927 41
6. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.243s + 0.928 125
7. Rosberg Mercedes 1m24.730s + 1.415 131
8. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.923s + 1.608 54
9. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m25.194s + 1.879 80
10. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m26.421s + 3.106 58
11. Petrov Renault 1m26.884s + 3.569 61
12. Liuzzi HRT-Coswrorth 1m27.044s + 3.729 70
13. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m27.242s + 3.927 66
14. Teixeira Lotus-Renault 1m31.584s + 8.269 26

Ferrari's so-far excellent reliability took a slight downturn today, with an electrical problem stranding Fernando Alonso on an out-lap this morning. That was quickly rectified, but further mechanical problems kept Alonso in the garage for a while in the middle of the day. Once repaired, the Ferrari was fast again, doing some very respectable long runs and then jumping to third with a 1m23.978s in the final half hour.
Lotus also gave Portuguese-Angolan driver Ricardo Teixeira 26 laps as the Formula 2 graduate pushes for a test position. He was 8.3s off the pace and slowest.
Another new sight today was Tonio Liuzzi in the Hispania. He had 70 laps to get used to the car and was 3.7s off the pace in 12th, ahead of Timo Glock.
When asked if he felt the performance of the MGP W02 is not there at the moment, he said: "Oh, that's for sure. Not yet. Our plan was always just to have a car to do some reliability testing. That's working out, although we still have some issues we need to sort out. We're going to look at performance soon, I think at the next test, and in the first race we'll know where we are. Until then it's difficult."
Nick Heidfeld has admitted that he is less happy with the balance of the Renault R31 at Barcelona than he was during his first test in the car at Jerez last week.

Barcelona - day 3

1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.168s 92
2. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m23.463s + 0.295s 93
3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m23.858s + 0.690s 93
4. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m24.815s + 1.647s 60
5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m24.995s + 1.827s 139
6. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m25.454s + 2.286s 48
7. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.557s + 2.389s 115
8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m25.720s + 2.552s 102
9. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m26.155s + 2.987s 31
10. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m26.508s + 3.340s 123
11. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m26.598s + 3.430s 97
12. Giorgio Mondini Hispania-Cosworth 1m28.178s + 5.010s 39
13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m28.329s + 5.161s 42
14. Narain Karthikeyan Hispania-Cosworth 1m30.722s + 7.554s 32

McLaren suffered further reliability problems in the morning, forcing Lewis Hamilton to repeatedly abandon planned stints and return the garage after single laps.Once the car was running, Hamilton was quick.
Nico Rosberg believes Mercedes is now much closer to solving the issues that held it back early in winter testing, having put the team on top again in today's Catalunya test.
Mark Webber insists that Red Bull remains cautious about the competitiveness of its RB7, despite the car showing signs of an advantage over its rivals.

Barcelona - day 4

1. Massa Ferrari 1m22.625s 121
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m23.442s + 0.817 69
3. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m23.550s + 0.925 90
4. Heidfeld Renault 1m23.657s + 1.032 95
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.003s + 1.378 107
6. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m24.057s + 1.432 121
7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m24.177s + 1.552 64
8. Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.515s + 1.890 74
9. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m26.501s + 3.876 50
10. Schumacher Mercedes 1m27.079s + 4.454 114
11. Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m29.992s + 7.367 18


Barcelona to host final F1 test
The final test of the pre-season will take place at the Barcelona circuit following the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The Barcelona test will take place on March 8-11, some two weeks before the start of the season in Australia.

[Djole]

Vettel: Two stops impossible right now

World champion Sebastian Vettel believes Pirelli's tyres will force drivers to make at least three pitstops during races, as he reckons one or two are impossible at the moment.
Pirelli has said several times that it has designed its tyres to wear out quicker than last year's Bridgestone, with two-stop strategies the main goal.
Vettel, however, reckons the current tyres will not last enough to stop just twice, and he predicts races with up to four pitstops.
The German also thinks the racing will change significantly because of the different tyres.
"The tyres are very different from last year, but then again it's the same for everybody," said Vettel. "I think the racing will change.
"I think one stop is impossible and at this stage also two stops, so I think it will be a three or four-stop race. I think it will make it very interesting.
"The question is if it is a good thing for us or a bad thing. It's hard to say now because obviously we have to get going first and see how the races unfold.
"But other than that we have the rear wing which should make overtaking a bit easier to us. A lot of questions, but I think we will only find the real answer when we go racing, really."

[Palermo]

Bernie Ecclestone announced creating artificial rain during Formula One races. He believes that the insertion of artificial rain in the middle of the race, or in the last 20 minutes, would guarantee the tension and excitement. Mark Webber is the first driver who said that he is opposed that idea. We can expect that other drivers express the same view.

[bettor]

Thank you guys for good informations

[Djole]

Palermo, on 05 March 2011 - 08:20 PM, said:

Bernie Ecclestone announced creating artificial rain during Formula One races.

To be honest I'd like to see that, but I don't believe that is going to happen. This is part of the season when nothing happens and newspapers need to write something..
Also, it would make Formula 1 betting much harder..

[Djole]

Alonso - New tyres penalise top teams

The likelihood of an increased number of pitstops in 2011 has been one of the key topics of the winter, with Pirelli deliberately designing its rubber with less longevity in the hope of spicing up the action through tyre wear and strategic variety. But this move has drawn criticism from some drivers.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton said at the previous test that the driving style required to make the Pirellis last through a stint was "like driving an out-lap, very slow and not particularly exciting. It lasted a little bit longer but it didn't feel like I was really racing the car."
Fernando Alonso has also argued that introducing too many pitstops will lead to chaotic races that penalise the top teams. "From what we have seen so far, degradation is very significant, which means we will have races with lots of pitstops," the Ferrari driver said at a sponsor event last week. "I'm not keen on that because I think this increased uncertainty does not favour the strongest teams. It's as if in football, it was decided to have a penalty per team each half hour in which case Barcelona and Real Madrid would not be jumping for joy."
The Red Bull drivers have been more open to the change in strategy, with world champion Sebastian Vettel admitting that three pitstops were likely, but intrigued rather than concerned by this. "I think one stop is impossible and at this stage also two stops, so I think it will be a three or four-stop race. I think it will make it very interesting," he said. "The question is if it is a good thing for us or a bad thing. It's hard to say now because obviously we have to get going first and see how the races unfold."
His team-mate Mark Webber warned that tyre performance in testing could be irrelevant when the season starts. "This has happened in the past. Last year at Jerez we were completely s**tting ourselves with the Bridgestones doing long runs, thinking 'oh my God, we're going to be stopping every...' you know, then we get to the first races and drive around all day [on one set]," he said after the last test. "We need to go racing."
But at present he feels the Pirellis' characteristics are adding to the challenge for drivers.
"It's easier for us to look average," said Webber. "You're even talking to yourself in the cockpit 'come on Mark, that was messy, that was scrappy', it's very easy to be losing time when the tyre goes away a little bit, so you've got to have that in mind."