Archive for category: News

FIA has officially announced the 2014 drivers’ line-up. It immediately stands out that Max Chilton has been retained as a Marussia team driver and he will partner the FDA French member Jules Bianchi for the second season.

At the same time the Federation has revealed the race number each driver will use for the remain of their career into F1. Starting from the 2014 season, numbers will not be awarded according to the constructors’ standing, but each driver will have his own personal number.

Red Bull’s World Champion will run with number #1 being displayed on his car, while his partner will run with number #3. Sebastian Vettel also chose number #5 as his race number in the case he loose the world title. At Ferrari, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen will run with number #14 and #7.

Number #44 and number #6 for Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, number #8 and number #13 for the Lotus pair Grosjean and Maldonado, number #22 and number #20 for Jenson Button (the number with which he won the world title) and Magnussen (the number with which he won the WSR 3.5 title in 2013).

Max Chilton hasn’t chosen his race number yet, as well as the two Caterhams; the team drivers’ line-up still has to be announced.

1* Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull

3 Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull

44 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

6 Nico Rosberg, Mercedes

14 Fernando Alonso, Ferrari

7 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

8 Romain Grosjean, Lotus

13 Pastor Maldonado, Lotus

22 Jenson Button, McLaren

20 Kevin Magnussen, McLaren

27 Nico Hulkenberg, Force India

11 Sergio Perez, Force India

99 Adrian Sutil, Sauber

21 Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber

25 Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso

26 Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso

19 Felipe Massa, Williams

77 Valtteri Bottas, Williams

17 Jules Bianchi, Marussia

TBA Max Chilton, Marussia

TBA, Caterham

TBA, Caterham

The beginning of the new year represents a hot spot for Formula 1. Some squads will disclose their new cars (in a virtual way at least) over the next few weeks, before the first testing session, scheduled for January 28th on the track of Jerez, takes place. We still don’t know how many teams will take part in the Spanish event. What is certain is that LOTUS team won’t be present at Jerez. That is probably due to financial or strategic reasons, as the English team was “robbed” by its technical crew. We don’t have to forget that the team originated from the Toleman Team and has always managed to re-emerge and survive several corporate changes.

A new chapter is about to start and all teams have to face several issues; delay can be felt. Some teams have received a “draft” of the engine – based on which the bodywork and the plant design will be built – just a few days before Christmas. So Ferrari and Mercedes could have an edge versus other teams because of that.

It will be hard to understand the 2014 racing season and the key words will be Reliability and Consumption. The important thing this year is to have not only the most performing car, but also the most reliable one, with reduced gas consumption. After 8 years of unchanged regulations, this year everything will start again from scratch. New energy recovery strategies will be found and research will make huge steps forward. It will be so important to close partnership agreements with suppliers in order to assembly all car parts the best way.

Pre-season testing will play a more important role this year, if compared to last seasons. I’m almost sure teams will hide themselves much less, so I can’t wait to see the first laps.

Whereas in the past seasons to have the best drivers pair was an added value, in the 2014 season to rely on Champions the likes of Alonso, Vettel, Rosberg and Hamilton couldn’t be enough. This year, to win will probably mean to cross the line first, instead of being the fastest on track…….

Double points, new penalties, pole Trophy…Is this really the right way to make the F.1 Championship more engaging? It looks like some innovations have to be necessarily introduced to make the Championship more and more attractive, but I don’t think the result achieved will be as good as expected. In my opinion, what is necessary to do is to introduce more understandable regulations, rather than making use of those stopgap measures. A marketing strategy should be carried out to attract race enthusiasts, instead of shutting oneself up in one’s own motorhome, which is locked down more than a fortress.

It would be nice that enthusiasts could live the paddock’s atmosphere and see with their own eyes the race week end, have an autograph signed by their idol and a picture taken with him. I’ve got the feeling that many people cannot even recognize drivers, instead (apart from those who got onto the podium).

I think that the rule according to which drivers will be awarded double points at the last race, it’s simply ridiculous. A driver runs the risk to see all his work being ruined by only one race. It’s the same for third-tier teams. Marussia got the tenth place in the constructors’ championship, thanks to a 13^th-place-finish (the team’s best result), one position ahead of the Caterham team. It’s a –one-position-gap which is worth at least 10 million dollars. The Russian-English team fought tooth and nail throughout the season. Next year, it could take only one race week end to ruin all the work done. This could be done more by the luck of rivals, than by their skills…..

In these days FIA has announced it wants to add a new team to the list of the teams which have been taking part in the World Championship for years. Volkswagen, Porsche and Audi have already declined the invitation, as they’ve been already engaged in some covered-wheel-Championships such as Le Mans and other World Championships. The causes of that can be many: car companies consider endurance competitions as a better way to promote their image and devolve technology to standard cars. Another reason is that nowadays it’s so difficult for car companies to partner with a chassis manufacturer who can ensure good results in F.1. At the beginning of the year Porsche was very close to close an agreement with Red Bull, but, due to some reasons, the agreement was never closed. The point is that next year the Le Mans competition will be very interesting, as important car companies the likes of Toyota, Audi and Porsche will take part in that. They’ll show us a breathtaking challenge. The participation of those big companies will make those Championships more and more interesting. Ferrari, through President Montezemolo’s statement, announced to be interested in those Championships. After all, a constructor such as Ferrari, who won the GT2 World Championship, cannot ignore these scenes.

After being replaced by Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez in the Force India Team, Adrian Sutil joins Sauber for the 2014 F.1 World Championship.

The German driver joins the Hinwil-based team after being a Force India’s driver for 6 seasons: “I’m really happy to race alongside Sauber team. Transaction spun out more than expected, but Sauber has always been my first choice. I was a Force India’s driver for 6 seasons, so it was time to take on a new challenge. It’s a team with a long-standing experience in F.1. The factory is really amazing and the wind tunnel is one of the most state-of-the-art facilities in the field. I want to say thank you to Peter Sauber and Monisha Kalternborn for giving me this great opportunity”, says the Sauber team’s new driver Adrian Sutil.

“The new season is taking shape and each piece of the puzzle is taking its place. I’m very pleased with the agreement between Sutil and Sauber, as it means that the team is quickly solving all its problems. He’s a good driver, with a 6-year-long-experience in F.1. Peter Sauber will surely take advantage of the driver’s long-standing experience. Now, we’re waiting to see who’s going to be his team mate”, says Gian Carlo Minardi.

Now, all we can do is to see who is going to partner the German driver. Sergey Sirotkin is the favorite one to partner the German driver, but he hasn’t got the Superlicence yet.

On the occasion of the “Fernando Alonso Collection”, which was inaugurated on Monday at the Madrid-based Centro de Exposiciones Arte Canal, Gian Carlo Minardi was a Spanish Champion’s guest and had the chance to re-experience the beginning of the Spaniard’s bright career into F.1, which was promoted by the Faenza-born manager and his team in 2001.

It’s an amazing exhibition where all the cars, trophies and memorabilia concerning the Spanish driver’s career, are put on display and visitors have also the opportunity to take an “interactive trip” into Fernando’s story. The exhibition is divided into 6 thematic areas: the first one is called “o km” and it’s the area dedicated to Alonso’s first steps into the world of motorsport; the second area is called “la collecciớn” and it’s the area where all the single-seaters Fernando has driven to take part not only in the F.1 Championship but also in lower Formula Championships, are put on display; the third section is named “Circuito Alo”, here visitors can take an “interactive trip” through Fernando’s motorsport career and private life; another section is called “Start your engines!”. Visitors can have an audio-visual experience relating F.1 and can share the passion the Asturias-born driver has for this sport; “Formula 1 Experiences”, where all secrets about the technological innovations which mark the top series can be discovered; “275.000 km de emociớn”, it’s a video where the Ferrari’s driver goes back over his career. The Exhibition, which was organized by the Fernando Alonso Foundation in cooperation with the Canal de Isabel II Gestiớn, is only the embryo of what will be the Fernando Alonso Museum, to be established in Oviedo.

“It’s a beautiful exhibition and an amazing collection. Fernando parents’ idea to collect all their son’s sport equipment was great. There you can find his first go-karts, racesuits, gloves and trophies. Even the 2001 Minardi car is put on display, along with the racesuit Fernando wore in his debut year into F.1. All that brought pleasant memories to my mind. I want to extend my congratulations to everybody for arranging such an amazing exhibition. It was also a good opportunity to see some friends like Flavio and Stefano, again”, says Gian Carlo Minardi.

On the exhibition’s opening day, Fernando wanted not only his family and friends next to him; he also invited all the team principals he dealt with throughout his career into F.1: Gian Carlo Minardi, Flavio Briatore, Martin Withmarsh and Stefano Domenicali.

There could be no better end to the season for Davide Rigon, who finished second in the FIA WEC Championship’s last round at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain. Thanks to the talented driver’s contribution at the wheel of the Ferrari 458 GTE, the 8Star Motorsport Team secured the Teams’ title and Ferrari secured the title in the constructors’ championship.

The Vicenza-born driver’s schedule was impressive: he took a podium finish in 3 events out of four. He took a win in Shanghai, finished second in Brazil and Bahrain and finished fourth in Fuji, scoring a total amount of 24 points.

As he did in the International GT Open Championship at the wheel of the Villorba Corse Team’s Ferrari 458, Davide showcased all his talent and professional skills helping Andrea Montermini win the overall title first and the 8Star Motorsport Team afterwards, proving himself to have the right stuff to compete in a world championship. “I’m very happy with this podium finish thanks to which the team and Ferrari won the title. I’m happy especially because it took only four points to take a win, two second places and a fourth place in a demanding championship such as the FIA WEC”, says Davide Rigon “I want to thank the team with whom I’ve always felt very comfortable. The Ferrari 458 is really a great car, as confirmed by the title won in the constructors’ championship and it’s fun to drive a GT2 car.”

For the Ferrari’s test driver, a very intense season ends. This was a season full of commitments, as he took part in the Blancpain Endurance Series Championship, in the International GT Open and in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He took also part in the rookie test at Silverstone at the wheel of the Ferrari F138. “It was an intense year, full of commitments both on and off track. Besides working hard at the Ferrari Simulator and at the wheel of the F138, I also had the opportunity to compete in a world championship behind the wheel of very competitive cars such as the Ferrari 458”, ends the Italian driver.