Category: Motor Racing

The new 2014-spec Formula 1 cars may lack the noise when compared to the V8 era, but the Melbourne crowd had a moment to cheer when their home driver was going to get his maiden pole position.

And yet, race favourite Lewis Hamilton snatched that opportunity from Daniel Ricciardo in the final moments of an exciting Q3 session.

The Mercedes driver will start on pole position for the 32nd time and he now equals Nigel Mansell’s qualifying achievement in the sport.

As for the four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, the Red Bull driver failed to make into Q3 and will start the Australian Grand Prix down in unlucky P13.

The Mercedes driver, on wet tyres, knocked Vettel’s Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who was on intermediate rubber, off top spot by three tenths of a second in the final seconds of a rain-hit session.

Nico Rosberg, who had briefly taken provisional pole before Hamilton and Ricciardo improved late on, was third ahead of McLaren’s rookie Kevin Magnussen.

Both drivers, as well as fifth-placed Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, set their times on wet rubber with opinion split among the ten runners as to which tyre compound was preferable.

Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne showed his wet weather prowess with a superb sixth position ahead of Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, both setting their times on intermediates.

Behind the pair was Formula 1 rookie Daniil Kvyat, who impressed despite an off in Q3 on the run between Turns 10 and 11.

He took eighth place on wet rubber, ahead of Williams drivers Felipe Massa (intermediates) and Valtteri Bottas (wets), although the latter must serve a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change before qualifying.

Several of the drivers who failed to advance from Q2 to Q3 were unable to improve thanks to yellow flags caused by Kimi Raikkonen’s late crash as rain returned in intermediate conditions.

The Ferrari driver lost the rear at the exit of Turn 3 and spun into the wall, with Vettel among those who were attempting to jump into the top ten at the time.

With both failing to make the cut in P12 and P13, Jenson Button made it three world champions to fail to make the top ten shootout in P11.

Sauber’s Adrian Sutil, Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi and Force India driver Sergio Perez, who ran through the gravel at Turn 2 on his final flying lap, also fell in Q2.

Marussia driver Max Chilton was the fastest of the drivers to be knocked out in Q1, which was effectively ended at a point when most had managed only one run thanks to rain at the halfway mark.

Chilton was just nineteen thousandths of a second slower than Kobayashi, who did make the cut but was unable to do better than P15 in the second stage of qualifying.

Chilton’s eam-mate Jules Bianchi, Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez (who will be hit with a five-place penalty for a gearbox change) and Caterham rookie Marcus Ericsson were also eliminated in Q1.

Joining them were the Lotus E22s of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, the latter not able to attempt a lap until the damp conditions late on and having two off-track excursions before aborting his run.

This was a shocking qualifying session for Lotus and starting on the back row is not ideal.

As for the stars of qualifying – Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen – this was a brilliant achievement. Out-qualified their highly impressive team-mates first time.

Qualifying positions for the Australian Grand Prix:

1.  Lewis Hamilton     Mercedes              1m44.231s
2.  Daniel Ricciardo   Red Bull-Renault      1m44.548s
3.  Nico Rosberg       Mercedes              1m44.595s
4.  Kevin Magnussen    McLaren-Mercedes      1m45.745s
5.  Fernando Alonso    Ferrari               1m45.819s
6.  Jean-Eric Vergne   Toro Rosso-Renault    1m45.864s
7.  Nico Hulkenberg    Force India-Mercedes  1m46.030s
8.  Daniil Kvyat       Toro Rosso-Renault    1m47.360s
9.  Felipe Massa       Williams-Mercedes     1m48.079s
10.  Jenson Button      McLaren-Mercedes      1m44.437s
11.  Kimi Raikkonen     Ferrari               1m44.494s
12.  Sebastian Vettel   Red Bull-Renault      1m44.668s
13.  Adrian Sutil       Sauber-Ferrari        1m45.655s
14.  Kamui Kobayashi    Caterham-Renault      1m45.867s
15.  Valtteri Bottas    Williams-Mercedes     1m48.147s*
16.  Sergio Perez       Force India-Mercedes  1m47.293s
17.  Max Chilton        Marussia-Ferrari      1m34.293s
18.  Jules Bianchi      Marussia-Ferrari      1m34.794s
20.  Marcus Ericsson    Caterham-Renault      1m35.157s
21.  Romain Grosjean    Lotus-Renault         1m36.993s
22.  Pastor Maldonado   Lotus-Renault         No time
22.  Esteban Gutierrez  Sauber-Ferrari        1m35.117s*

*Five-place penalty for gearbox change

107 per cent: 1m37.129s

Williams have confirmed a new sponsorship deal with Italian drinks company Martini by unveiling the FW36’s striped colour scheme to the world’s press.

The Martini Racing colours was last seen on the Brabham cars back in 1975 and it also marks Martini’s largest Formula 1 programme since it sponsored Lotus in 1979.

Team founder Sir Frank Williams said: “We are thrilled to welcome Martini to the Williams family and officially launch Williams Martini Racing.

“Williams and Martini share a rich history in the world of motorsport, and the values of our two brands and our shared passion for racing make this partnership a natural fit.

“It will be great to see the distinctive stripes of Martini Racing return to Formula 1 once again in unison with Williams.”

Andy Gibson, president of Martini parent company Bacardi Global Brands, added: “Williams Martini Racing provides a powerful, integrated marketing platform and delivers dynamic opportunities that will strengthen the Martini brand.”

Williams ended pre-season testing with the fastest time in the Bahrain tests, and seems poised for a resurgence in the upcoming Formula 1 season after a disappointing 2013 campaign.

“2014 is going to be a fascinating season, with regulation changes of this scale often shaking up the grid and creating opportunities for teams to make a good step forward,” said Williams.

“Over the winter we have proved our ambition by making a number of positive changes; we welcome a new driver pairing, new senior technical personnel, and a number of new commercial partners for 2014.

“In Martini we have a brand that shares a passion for motor racing and winning championships. This partnership is a milestone in our history and we look forward to working closely with Martini over the coming years.”

The Martini colours on the Williams FW36 certainly looks beautiful and after an encouraging test at Bahrain, the team could even challenge the might of Mercedes for race victory.

Even the drivers overalls for both Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa look great. Let’s hope Martini Racing will bring much success to Williams this season.

After releasing two render images of the E22 earlier this year, Lotus have publicly unveiled its 2014 challenger as the second pre-season test began at the Bahrain International Circuit.

The Enstone team’s design is the last of the new generation of Formula 1 cars to breaking cover, following the decision to skip the first pre-season test in Jerez, Spain.

Romain Grosjean will shakedown the E22 on day one, though his team-mate Pastor Maldonado has already completed 100km of running in a demonstration run at Jerez earlier this month.

The E22 features an unusual ‘twin-tusk’ nose design that caused problems for the team in passing the mandatory front crash-tests as outlined by the FIA.

Despite that, the sport’s governing body is satisfied with the Enstone team’s interpretation of the regulations with the twin-tusk nose which features on their new E22.

Technical director Nick Chester said there were no legality concerns about the team’s unique approach to the 2014 rules.

“The nose certainly is quite interesting,” he said after the car ran in public for the first time in Bahrain. “We think it’s a nice solution and it’s quite innovative.”

“Naturally, as with any interpretation of new regulations, we’ve talked with the FIA to ensure that they are happy with the design. It’s nice to have something a little bit different and we’re happy with our path having seen what everyone else is doing with their cars in this area.”

Chester described the whole car as “an elegant solution for the 2014 regulations”. He said the radical change in regulations had led to the creation of a “completely new” car.

“There’s very little which could be carried across from previous cars. That said, in certain areas we’ve been able to follow the same philosophies such as in our approach to aerodynamics and suspension, where lessons learnt with previous cars have been highly relevant.”

Chester took over from James Allison as technical director last year. Lotus were the last team to put their 2014 car on-track but he remains confident about their new racer.

“Already Mercedes and Red Bull have interesting aspects to their cars, but looking at the E22 after seeing everyone else’s interpretations, we’re still very pleased with the direction we’ve taken and the hard work of everyone at Enstone really has created an elegant car.”

Former Caterham driver Charles Pic appeared alongside Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado at a presentation of the E22 in Bahrain, with the team confirming Pic as this year’s third (test) driver.

Marussia has become the latest Formula 1 team to unveil its new car, the MR03, on the third day of pre-season testing at Jerez.

The debut of the Ferrari-powered car was delayed because of a last-minute technical glitch that was discovered before the MR03 was dispatched from its Banbury factory.

But after fixing the issue, Marussia was able to transport the new car to Jerez and get it ready to join the penultimate day of action.

The MR03 has been two years in the making and is an all-new concept, which features new front and rear suspension designs.

Team principal John Booth said the MR03 is the product of a “young but experienced and extremely talented technical and engineering group”.

“To have designed a car that is true to the concept first conceived in early 2012, despite the integration of an entirely new powertrain and whilst pushing hard to attain our 2013 constructors’ championship objective, is a testament to the extent to which we have matured as a technical organisation,” he added.

The team’s latest Formula 1 design is their first to feature a Ferrari V6 turbo engine.

“We have nothing but good things to say about our new relationship with Scuderia Ferrari,” said Booth. “They are extremely professional and have been entirely supportive from the beginning.”

“There is excellent co-operation between our two technical groups in all areas of the new relationship and this has made the considerable challenge of integrating a new powertrain a great deal easier.”

The driver line-up remains unchange with Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton. Consistency is the main factor at Marussia.

“In view of the significant regulation changes, continuity is key, so it is highly beneficial to our technical team, and the engineering group responsible for developing the car in the field, that we retain the same drivers,” said chief engineer Dave Greenwood.

“What this means is that we have not only been able to optimise our monocoque design around an existing line-up, but we can focus all of our attentions on developing the MR03 with immediate effect.”

Let’s hope the Marussia MR05 has improved its performance to challenge the mid-field teams in the upcoming Formula 1 season.

The Caterham team presented their 2014, the CT05, midway through the opening day of pre-season testing at Jerez.

The team had initially scheduled an unveiling in the pitlane prior to the start of the morning’s running, but an issue with the car meant this was delayed.

Eventually the car was fired up and Marcus Ericsson was given the first opportunity to shakedown the new car on the circuit.

The new Renault-powered CT05 features an anteater version of the low nose that has become the focus of this year’s Formula 1 designs.

Caterham’s version is one of the most extreme, with its protruding section attached under a stepped upper element.

The Leafield-based outfit is heading into this seaon on the back of a disappointing 2013 campaign where it finished eleventh overall in the constructors’ championship behind rival Marussia.

It has brought Kamui Kobayashi back to improve its chances, as well as signing GP2 race winner Marcus  Ericsson.

Caterham owner Tony Fernandes said recently that he wanted the team to become a more competitive force in 2014, otherwise he would turn his back on the sport.

Team principal Cyril Abiteboul said such a strong stance from Fernandes was understandable.

“I think it is right,” he said. “We should not lose sight that this is also a marketing activity and in order to promote the product we have to be successful and you have to be visible in order to attract sponsors. Right now we are not.”

Will this be the car that will lead Red Bull Racing to title number five for Sebastian Vettel and the Milton Keynes-based team?

The RB10 seems to have the potential following the unveiling to the world’s press on the first day of pre-season testing at Jerez.

Like several rival teams, including sister outfit Toro Rosso, Adrian Newey’s design team has gone for a nose with a narrow protruding section at the front.

Last year’s campaign set a new record for Red Bull Racing with their star driver Sebastian Vettel winning nine consecutive Grands Prix. The team also secured its fourth straight drivers’ and constructors’ title in the process too.

The German will once again spearhead the team’s 2014 challenge, but he will have a new partner in the form of 24-year-old Daniel Ricciardo.

The Australian, who has spent the past two seasons with Toro Rosso, won the race to replace the sportscar-bound Mark Webber.

Renault will once again power the RB10, the tenth car to be created by Red Bull since it took over Jaguar’s entry ahead of the 2005 season.

The French engine manufacturer pledged a conservative approach to the 2014 season, saying “some compromises” had to be accepted to guarantee reliability.

On the opening day of pre-season testing at Jerez, Mercedes revealed their 2014 challenger, the W05, to the world’s press as the new-look formula to the sport gets underway.

Mercedes hopes the W05 will earn the marque its first world championship as a works team since 1955.

Paddy Lowe, who has now taken over the role from ex-team principal Ross Brawn as executive director (technical), is satisfied with the work the Brackley-based team has done over the winter both with the development of the engine and the car.

“The whole team has done a fantastic job on the management of the project and its delivery,” said Lowe.

“We have hit our milestones and hit our targets but, as ever, we will only begin to understand how successful we have been once we begin running in anger on track.

“The new car is an elegant, but aggressive, design and, as is often the way, its beauty is much more than skin deep.

“The internal engineering of the car is extremely innovative and intelligent.

“Our team can be justifiably proud of its work so far – but none of us are under any illusions about the amount we still have to do before the first race in six weeks’ time.”

Last season’s campaign had been the team’s most successful, with three race victories and finishing second in the constructors’ championship.

Toto Wolff, who heads up the business side at Mercedes, is confident that the team can build on last year’s progress but echoed the comments of rivals such as Ferrari that reliability will be key.

“We have a busy winter testing period ahead of us and a long season where both performance and reliability will be critically important,” said Wolff.

“Lewis and Nico begin the season hungry for success and I am confident that our team will benefit thanks to the continuity of their work during the winter period.

“We have positive momentum after our second-place finish last season.

“Our clear target is to continue building up our team and we aim to deliver on every single race weekend in 2014.”

The new W05 certainly looks beautiful compared to its rivals. Hopefully the old saying that if the car looks quick, then the Mercedes will score big points and possibly the championship for either Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg.

Scuderia Toro Rosso became the seventh Formula 1 racing team to unveil their 2014 challenger, on the eve of pre-season testing at Jerez.

The STR9 features that controversial nose design as part of the sport’s regulations for safety. It certainly has a distinct look that some may feel seems quite rude…

Designed by technical director James Key, the STR9 presents unique challenges in terms of interpretation this season’s regulations.

“The season 2014 will be very interesting from many different points of view. I call it a year of new strategy and news,” said team boss Franz Tost.

“We have had to design a new nose, new sidepods and new wings – never before have we started so early with the designs.

“The sidepods are bigger than in the past as we had to find space for the radiators. The team did a good job to place it without losing aero performance.

“Never before the last weeks have we worked as hard as with the STR9. The team was in factory until 2am to finish it but we managed it.”

In terms of the driver line-up, Jean-Éric Vergne will compete in his third season at Toro Rosso. He will be joined by 2013 GP3 Series champion Daniil Kvyat, who replaces Daniel Ricciardo.

The pair have already given the STR9 a brief shakedown during a promotional day at Misano last week.

Toro Rosso finished seventh in the constructors’ championship last year and is hoping that its switch from Ferrari to Renault will allow it to move up the competitive order.

Sauber became the sixth Formula 1 team to unveiled their 2014 racer, the Ferrari-powered C33.

Unlike the other cars released this week, the Swiss-based team have created a far more pleasing solution to the controverisal nose design as part of this season’s regulations.

The Sauber C33 features a very low, snout-like nose. The front wing pylon’s attachments on the nose have been moved out as far as possible allowed by the regulations to channel as much air as possible under the car.

Chief designer Eric Gandelin said the team have focused on developing the C33 which will permit them ‘maximum flexibility’ under Formula 1’s new regulations.

“The radical changes to the technical regulations for 2014 mean that it’s even harder than usual to make predictions for the new season,” said Gandelin.

“We know what kind of package we’ve put together here, and we are happy with what we achieved, but it is difficult to foresee what shape our rivals are in. The earliest opportunity to gain an impression of where the teams are in relation to one another will come during testing.”

Gandelin added the team have made reliability a ‘high priority’ when designing the new car as they expect many teams to have problems at the beginning of the season. Sauber intends to concentrate on reliability in the first pre-season test at Jerez before introducing performance upgrades for the two Bahrain tests.

“The car will be fully functional, but without a number of performance parts, which will be introduced for the two tests in Bahrain” said Gandelin.

“On the one hand this gives us time to maximise the development of these performance relevant parts, and on the other hand we can run the car during the first test and check all the systems, which we feel is crucial, considering all the technical changes.”

In terms of the driver line-up, Esteban Gutiérrez will take part in his second season of Formula 1 racing and he will team up with Adrian Sutil, who joins Sauber after Nico Hülkenberg returned to Force India.

This is the race car that Scuderia Ferrari hopes to win this season’s Formula 1 drivers’ championship following a launch on the F14 T.

The name was selected following a fans campaign. Over a million votes were cast in naming the Ferrari but the team will be relying on more than fan power if they’re to make a strong impression, particularly early on in the season.

The Maranello-based team’s 2014 challenger features a different nose design to the other cars revealed so far, with a much flatter concept.

Ferrari has retained its pullrod front suspension concept in the new design.

The T14 T is the first that will have been influenced by incoming Ferrari technical chief James Allison, who arrived late last year following his switch from Lotus.

Ferrari is hoping that the change in regulations this year, with the arrival of 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, will help it finally deliver the world championship that has eluded it in recent years.

Last season proved a disappointment when, after starting the season with a competitive car, it failed to maintain a good enough development rate during the campaign.

As well as the all-new racer for this season, Ferrari has welcomed back Kimi Raikkonen who replaces the Williams-bound Felipe Massa.

It will be fascinating to see how the two champions – Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen – will work together to drive the Scuderia back to championship success.