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23 April 2011 by Keith Collantine

In the round-up: A decision on the future of the Turkish GP is expected in May.

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?The Turkish race organisers say a decision on its future will be made next month when Ecclestone meets Murat Yalcintas.?

Read more here: Turkish Grand Prix in doubt for 2012

Via the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app

DRS could be banned in Monaco (Autosport)

?Discussions will be held with teams and drivers at next month?s Turkish Grand Prix about the situation, with a final decision on what to do for Monaco being taken after that event.?

Team Lotus principals buy Caterham ? confirmed (Joe Saward)

?Companies House reveals that Kamarudin Meranun and Anthony Francis Fernandes were appointed directors of Caterham Cars Group Ltd and Caterham Cars Ltd a little more than a week ago.?

Paul Di Resta: ?The races have been great fun? (Force India)

?It?s all been relatively manageable. The races have been great fun, and I?m looking forward to the rest of the year, and hopefully getting some more performance. We?re not far away just now.?

Follow F1 news as it breaks using the F1 Fanatic live Twitter app.

Comment of the day

Want an F1-style drinks system in your road car? Keith H explains how:

It?s easy enough to re-wire the windshield washer system to do that.

Just use a new reservoir, and re-route the hose inside your car to where you can reach it. Before you leave, poor your coffee in the reservoir and the engine heat will keep it warm for you.
Keith H

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Share your stories of how and when you got into F1.

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On this day in F1

The last San Marino Grand Prix at Imola was held five years ago today.

Michael Schumacher held on to win despite pressure from Fernando Alonso, gaining revenge on Alonso for his win at the track ahead of Schumacher one year earlier.

Koh Samui, yesterday. Eat your heart out Scarborough

The Australian GP may have looked like a lovely summery affair designed to instill envy among the millions in Europe who set their alarms to a dark and gloomy Sunday morning but, as you may have seen from the practice sessions, it was a rainy, cold, blustery affair during the preceding days in Melbourne. Not what I packed shorts and sun cream for.

 

Typically, the day we all left - Monday - was glorious. But the great thing about being a driver or a journalist, basically someone without a real job - unlike the engineers who now have a mountain of work to do before Sepang - is that we get to scatter ourselves across Asia and put our feet up for ten days.

 

Most head for the beaches of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. I had a flight booked to Kuala Lumpur and no onward plan until a last minute suggestion from my photographer mate James Moy prompted me to put my chips on Koh Samui. And I'll describe the reasons behind the gambling metaphor in a minute.

 

Flights from Melbourne land at KLIA, while flights to Koh Samui go once a day from an airport on the other side of town, Subang. As soon as I got to KLIA I went online, booked my flight and accommodation with no problems, and took a taxi for the hour-long drive. At Subang I checked in, sat in the lounge and waited. And waited. Then it was announced that Koh Samui was under water and that we should come back tomorrow.

 

In future I will check the weather before I go somewhere. It had been raining incessantly in Southern Thailand for six days. Was it even worth going? Well, the flight and hotel was paid for... take a gamble?

 

We did. And so did some guys from German F1 broadcaster RTL who had the same original plan. We chummed up, stayed the night in Subang, and got the first flight into Samui for two days the next morning.

 

It was only when we got there that the full extent of the storm was apparent. There was no electricity on the island. In places the roads were flooded by 4ft of water. The sea was completely out of bounds. Tourists were being evacuated by aircraft carrier, and we were the only nutters trying to get in!

 

I write from a beachside bar against which the rain still lashes, but at least we've got the electricity back and I can actually do some work. The Dunkirk spirit has set in and we'll ride out the storm till the next race. One source of humour from the trenches is James' surname. 'Moy,' we're told, is Thai for 'pubic hair', much to the hotel's amusement.

 

Wet weather could once again affect the Malaysian GP this year, and with the new Pirellis that'll be a big unknown for the teams. Some may take a gamble in a bid for glory. We did. But our holiday roulette hasn't proved an inspired choice.

The Lucas Motorsports Hour and Troy Lee Designs proudly present "A Day in the Dirt" on Versus TV - Saturday, May 14 at 6pm ET. Set your DVR, you don't want to miss this presentation of the Fastest Race in Town. Narrated by David Bailey, and shot and edited by the crew at Lucas Oil.

About A Day in the Dirt

Drawing from a rich racing history it has become a So Cal classic in just a few short years. It attracts some of the fastest racers in the world, Hollywood?s top stuntmen, tons of heroes and legends, and motocross fanatics young and old. Throw into the mix a few dare-devils.

A Day in the Dirt is presented by Troy Lee Designs and Elrod Racing, hosted by the Hollywood Stunt and Film Community, and brought to you by Fasthouse.
 

Dorna Sports, S.L., 3FourTexasMGP, LLC and Full Throttle Productions, LP are pleased to announce the historic signing of a ten-year contract bringing MotoGP to the new Circuit of the Americas? facility in Austin, Texas, from 2013.

This agreement includes the three categories of the World Championship; the MotoGP class - the pinnacle of motorcycling - Moto2 and Moto3.

The addition of a ten-year MotoGP deal is coupled with the already scheduled ten-year deal to host the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix?, for which the Circuit of the Americas? in Austin, Texas is currently under construction.

Mr. Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, S.L. said: ?We are delighted to be adding the Circuit of the Americas? to the MotoGP calendar. It?s an honour to expand our Championship to Texas, which has a rich history of producing World Championship riders. We have had a wonderful and special relationship with Kevin (Schwantz) for 20 years and often talked about a mutual dream of increasing the popularity of MotoGP in the U.S. and raising our already successful worldwide profile. Now, with what Tavo Hellmund (Managing Partner of Full Throttle Productions) is doing in Austin, we have realised that situation and are looking forward to this new venture together. The ten-year agreement is a sign of our confidence and commitment to the future success of MotoGP racing in Austin.?

?For me this is a dream come true, that the MotoGP World Championship will be in my home state of Texas. I am such a believer in the sport and know how popular motorcycling is in Texas. I am sure that this will be a resounding long term success,? stated Mr. Kevin Schwantz, Manager of 3FourTexas MGP and LLC, and the 1993 FIM MotoGP World Champion.

Mr. Hellmund, who has worked hard to bring MotoGP to Texas, stated: ?We are extremely pleased to add the best motorcycle World Championship to our annual schedule. This is a fantastic opportunity for the State of Texas and this region and I believe it is the first time in American Motorsports history that both the car and motorbike World Championships are held at the same facility annually. We are very proud of becoming the United States international facility for motorsports.?

?Kevin and I have been close friends for a long time and I enjoy a great relationship with Carmelo. I respect so much what they (Dorna) and the FIM have done for MotoGP globally. It?s going to be great for the State, the product is fantastic and you never know, we may even have a reigning Texan in Ben Spies as World Champion for our first event? that would be icing on the cake? concluded Mr. Hellmund.

Construction of the new facility is progressing well and is scheduled for completion sometime in mid 2012, in time for the first Formula 1 United States Grand Prix?.

Massa: Nothing one hundred percent clear yet

Felipe Massa expects F1 race strategies to remain in a state of flux during the next couple of grand's prix, and while a three-stopper may have worked for Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber in China, the Brazilian doesn't think any conclusions can be drawn at this stage of the season.

?After three Grand?s Prix it is still too early to say what is the best way to work with all these new rules, because in China at the weekend, you saw many different combinations of strategies and tyre useage and many of them seemed to work well,? Massa wrote in his official post-race blog.

?Nothing is one hundred percent clear yet - and at Ferrari, we have to work out what is best for our car. It is possible that we could see very different strategies in the next few races, depending on the characteristics of the circuits.

?We are always learning at this stage of the season and we should analyse everything very carefully to see if we should adopt a different approach, maybe modify our qualifying strategy to have some fresher tyres for the race.?

Massa meanwhile added that Mercedes are now right in the thick of the fight with the front runners.

?In Shanghai, it was good for the sport of Formula 1 that Lewis won the race, so we don?t have the same car winning every time. However, we must not forget that Sebastian [Vettel] still finished second which is a very good result, which still keeps him in a good position for the championship. After Shanghai, we must also consider Mercedes as being part of the fight for the top places,? he continued.

?They definitely have a quicker car than us for qualifying, but it?s not yet a match for Red Bull. But it is also true that the Red Bulls suffer more than most in a performance drop off from qualifying to the race, so this could see Mercedes continuing to be very competitive now in the races.?

Massa is also optimistic about what Ferrari can do: ?We have three weeks now during which everyone at Ferrari has to push hard to try and arrive at the next race, or more specifically the next qualifying, in a stronger position, so we can continue to take the fight to these guys,? he added.

?I had a very good race on Sunday, running strongly and getting involved in a lot of fights. The result should have been a bit better than my eventual sixth place, but I was very happy with how it went and I hope I can continue to fight at a higher level for the coming races.?

Related

Series
  Formula 1

Personalities
  Felipe Massa

Teams
  Ferrari

More news

The Lucas Motorsports Hour and Troy Lee Designs proudly present "A Day in the Dirt" on Versus TV - Saturday, May 14 at 6pm ET. Set your DVR, you don't want to miss this presentation of the Fastest Race in Town. Narrated by David Bailey, and shot and edited by the crew at Lucas Oil.

About A Day in the Dirt

Drawing from a rich racing history it has become a So Cal classic in just a few short years. It attracts some of the fastest racers in the world, Hollywood?s top stuntmen, tons of heroes and legends, and motocross fanatics young and old. Throw into the mix a few dare-devils.

A Day in the Dirt is presented by Troy Lee Designs and Elrod Racing, hosted by the Hollywood Stunt and Film Community, and brought to you by Fasthouse.
 

Massa: Nothing one hundred percent clear yet

Felipe Massa expects F1 race strategies to remain in a state of flux during the next couple of grand's prix, and while a three-stopper may have worked for Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber in China, the Brazilian doesn't think any conclusions can be drawn at this stage of the season.

?After three Grand?s Prix it is still too early to say what is the best way to work with all these new rules, because in China at the weekend, you saw many different combinations of strategies and tyre useage and many of them seemed to work well,? Massa wrote in his official post-race blog.

?Nothing is one hundred percent clear yet - and at Ferrari, we have to work out what is best for our car. It is possible that we could see very different strategies in the next few races, depending on the characteristics of the circuits.

?We are always learning at this stage of the season and we should analyse everything very carefully to see if we should adopt a different approach, maybe modify our qualifying strategy to have some fresher tyres for the race.?

Massa meanwhile added that Mercedes are now right in the thick of the fight with the front runners.

?In Shanghai, it was good for the sport of Formula 1 that Lewis won the race, so we don?t have the same car winning every time. However, we must not forget that Sebastian [Vettel] still finished second which is a very good result, which still keeps him in a good position for the championship. After Shanghai, we must also consider Mercedes as being part of the fight for the top places,? he continued.

?They definitely have a quicker car than us for qualifying, but it?s not yet a match for Red Bull. But it is also true that the Red Bulls suffer more than most in a performance drop off from qualifying to the race, so this could see Mercedes continuing to be very competitive now in the races.?

Massa is also optimistic about what Ferrari can do: ?We have three weeks now during which everyone at Ferrari has to push hard to try and arrive at the next race, or more specifically the next qualifying, in a stronger position, so we can continue to take the fight to these guys,? he added.

?I had a very good race on Sunday, running strongly and getting involved in a lot of fights. The result should have been a bit better than my eventual sixth place, but I was very happy with how it went and I hope I can continue to fight at a higher level for the coming races.?

Related

Series
  Formula 1

Personalities
  Felipe Massa

Teams
  Ferrari

More news

Webber: KERS issues 'top of jobs list'

By Jonathan Noble

Friday, April 22nd 2011, 13:38 GMT

Red Bull Racing is 'not out of the woods' with its KERS problems yet as it faces an intense few weeks to get on top of its issues before the Turkish Grand Prix, claims Mark Webber.

With the reigning world championship-winning team having yet to have a trouble-free weekend with KERS so far this year, Red Bull has made resolving this area of car design a priority before Istanbul.

And as KERS contributed to its failure to win in China last weekend, Webber reckons that the team cannot say it is in a position where it can be confident it has sorted its problems out.

Writing in his column in the Herald Sun newspaper, Webber said: "We now have a three-week break in the calendar before the next race in Turkey. It gives the people who have been on the road since before the season-opener in Melbourne a chance to see their families and friends again, and it also gives us time to hone the performance of the RB7.

"Top of the job sheet is KERS, which continued to give us problems in China. It's a key component in F1 this year and Red Bull Racing are not out of the woods with our system yet. We didn't run KERS in 2009 and we're playing catch-up to the likes of McLaren and Ferrari, who did.

"The 80bhp boost that the system gives you for 6.6s per lap is worth between 0.3s and 0.5s per lap, depending on the circuit, and I had to race without it from lap 24 on Sunday.

"If we can get the system reliable in time for Istanbul, we'll head to the race with confidence. The RB7 is already a great car and we'll be looking to put McLaren back in their place after Lewis Hamilton's victory in China."

After another wild weekend in Toronto, the 2011 AMA Supercross Championship changed dramatically as some of the top contenders were hit with some misfortune. I was able to get the start that I needed and ultimately won my first race of the season, which felt amazing. Based on what happened behind me, I also ended up benefiting from the change in the points and I entered this past weekend's race in Dallas just eight points out of the lead.

Last year, Dallas was one of my biggest wins of the season, so on Saturday I felt really confident heading into the night show after a pair of strong practices. I posted the fourth-fastest lap, which gave me a good gate pick for the heat races. The track at Dallas was extremely difficult. The whoops were extremely big and hard to get consistency through while the fastest way through the rhythm lane was a tricky triple-triple combo that could easily force you to lose ground if you missed it.

Go to Source

July 28th, 2009

Posted by Rob J Jones in Results |

Posted in Action at Grands Prix | 10 Comments

Michael Schumacher and his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg are in confident mood ahead of this weekend's Formula One season opener. On Thursday the press were invited to join the drivers at a beach-side restaurant in St Kilda and quiz them on their expectations for 2011.

Winter testing of the Mercedes W02 seemed to indicate it may be another winless year for 42-year-old seven-times world champion 'Schumi' and precocious young talent Nico, but a major last minute technical update has given their hopes a mighty boost.

 

"This weekend it is up to us to prove ourselves," says Schumacher, who failed to score a podium last year for the first time since his debut season in 1991. "Nevertheless we should not overestimate things, and see the truth - and that is that Red Bull Racing is the team to beat. I think we are going to play an important role just behind that. And whoever is behind that group, I see Ferrari, Renault look good, Williams look good, McLaren is not to be forgotten because I expect them to be stronger than they were in testing, and us - this is the pack, and I see a good opportunity that we might be able to fight for that position to be the second fastest."

Michael was keen to play down talk of challenging for an eighth career title, but believes he can finish in the top three regularly in 2011, and inch ever closer to the front next year. "Are we ready right now? No. Can we win a race? Maybe. Would it satisfy me? Absolutely, It is all about winning at the end of the day."

Asked if he would retire at the end of next year if his dream to take the Silver Arrows to the top if it doesn't work out, he replied firmly "It will work out."

As the German notes, the favourites for the title this year are, once again, Red Bull. World champion Sebastian Vettel was on relaxed form as he visited an Australian sheep station with a set of sheers. Aussie team-mate Mark Webber might feel Vettel was stomping on his turf, for he's psyched up to get his campaign off to the best possible start in front of his home fans. His best career finish at the narrow Albert Park track is fifth.

Most likely the biggest threat to the Red Bulls is Fernando Alonso, who is determined to add a third crown to his record this season. His Ferrari was both fast and reliable during testing, but we'll have to wait until the weekend to see how close it is to the RB7. "If you race for Ferrari there is no other goal than fighting for the world championship," noted the Spaniard.