Australian Grand Prix Formula One preview

Formula One teams & drivers in Albert Park.

 

 

F1 – 2010 – Australia preview

2010 Australian Grand Prix preview

Jenson Button

“I have some extremely pleasant memories of racing in Australia. As with most drivers on the grid, Albert Park was my first introduction to Formula 1, and I really enjoyed my debut, running as high as fourth before retiring. I was on pole in 2006, although I had another non-finish. Of course, last year was a fairytale race for me – I took pole and victory, which was one of the most satisfying and emotional moments of my career.

“Looking ahead to this year, I think we head to the Albert Park circuit feeling more confident of our overall pace. It’s quite a contrast to Bahrain: no tight, low-speed sections and plenty of faster corners. We think the track configuration should suit our package.

“We learnt some very useful lessons about MP4-25 in the opening race, and the whole team is keen to put them into practice this weekend.”

Lewis Hamilton

“I’ve always enjoyed Albert Park. I had a great race here on my Formula 1 debut in 2007, won the race a year later and made full use of KERS to drive through the field there last year. But, for me, the best things about the Australian Grand Prix are the people and the atmosphere. The fans in the grandstands, the people in the city and the organisation at the track are all fantastic, and it is one of the most welcoming and relaxing events of the year. I really love it.

“I had a great race in Bahrain: despite losing time in the opening stint, I pushed like crazy for the whole race and I’m pleased that we’ve got some decent points on the board.

“I’m looking forward to Melbourne. I like the circuit, I think we’ll go well there and I don’t think we’ll have the same problems that slowed our progress in Bahrain.” 

Martin Whitmarsh Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Coming just a fortnight after the opening race in Bahrain, there’s been only minimal time to add developments to the MP4-25. But we’ve got a number of smaller components that we expect to add to the car ahead of the race.

“We’ve had the chance to reflect upon it, and I believe that our start to the season has been mostly encouraging. Our race pace in Bahrain looked respectable – we had the fastest car for much of the second half of the race – and I think we now have a clearer idea of how to set the car up over a grand prix weekend.

“Of course, we’re under no illusions that the opposition will be tough – and we expect a fantastic battle in Melbourne this weekend.

“The Australian Grand Prix organisers put on a fantastic event and it’s an event I always look forward to with huge enthusiasm. I hope that we can put on a great show for everyone.”

 source: mclaren.com

2010 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX, MELBOURNE, 26 – 28 MARCH, PREVIEW

The second race of the 2010 Formula One season will take place in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday 28 March. Albert Park, a street circuit which uses the public roads surrounding the man-made Albert Park lake just south of Melbourne city centre, hosts the Australian Grand Prix which is always one of the most atmospheric races on the calendar.

F1 – 2010 – Mercedes GP

Mercedes-Benz Stats
Australia Total (since 1954)
GP Starts 16 284
Wins 4 (1997, 1998, 2003, 2008) 77
Podiums 12 215
Points Scoring Positions 19 380
GP Points 98 2036
Fastest Laps 5 82
Pole Positions 4 80
Albert Park Stats
Circuit Length: 5.303 km
Race Distance: 307.574 km
Number of Laps: 58
Full Throttle: 69% Brake Wear: Medium / Hard
Tyre Compounds: Soft / Hard Downforce Level: High 8/10
Tyre Usage: Medium Average Speed: 225kph (140mph)

NICO ROSBERG
“The Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne has always been a successful race for me. I have been in the points for my last three races and had my first podium finish there in 2008 when I finished third. Melbourne is a great city so I really enjoy visiting and the Albert Park street circuit is exciting.

“It’s quite a challenging track as the public roads are always dirty to begin with and there are a lot of bumps to negotiate. With the change in the time of the race last year, the low sun was one of the most difficult things due to the late afternoon start.”

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER
“Australia has always been one of the highlights on the Formula One calendar and this has never changed for me in all my years of competing.

“As in previous times, I arrived on the continent quite early and have spent some nice days training, adapting and relaxing in order to be fit and rested for the race weekend. I have a lot of good memories from Melbourne and most of the time, we saw interesting races there. I am very happy with the outcome of the season opener in Bahrain.

“Sixth position was good for me, especially considering how few times I have driven an F1 car since my retirement. I am sure that Melbourne will help me to get into the rhythm even more and I am looking forward to it.”

ROSS BRAWN
“The team did a good job in Bahrain but we accept that we were not competitive enough and that we have work to do to close the gap to the leaders. I was very pleased with the performance of Nico and Michael and the way that they worked together to provide clear and consistent feedback to develop the car over the weekend.

“Whilst our car is fundamentally strong, we have a development plan in place for the next few races which should bring the required performance improvements to compete at the front. Looking ahead to the next two races, the Australian Grand Prix is always a popular race with the teams and the fans so we hope to see a more exciting race at Albert Park next weekend.

“We then head to Malaysia for the home race of our title partner PETRONAS. With an exciting programme of activities scheduled at the PETRONAS Pit Pulse fan zone in Kuala Lumpur, it will be a busy and enjoyable fortnight for the team.”

NORBERT HAUG
“The forthcoming Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne’s Albert Park is the first of two races within eight days. The layout of the traditional race track in Melbourne, which will host its 15th Formula One World Championship race since 1996, is quite different to Bahrain where the season-opener took place. I expect quite a challenging race for us.

“The base of our car is good and the team is working hard and focused to achieve the next development steps. It will take some time to close the gap but we will definitely close it sooner rather than later. Our spirit is first-class and the whole team is looking forward to the race weekend in Melbourne.”

source: mercedes-gp.com

Red Bull’s F1 Simulator – F1 Track Guide Australia

Red Bull Racing – Australian Grand Prix Preview‏ (<– click here)

You’ve experienced a lap of the Bahrain International Circuit on Red Bull’s F1 simulator – now get ready for Albert Park, Australia. Experience a lap of the Melbourne track with homeboy Mark Webber or alternatively ride aboard with Sebastian Vettel (in German), SĂ©bastien Buemi (in French) or Jaime Alguersuari (in Spanish).

Each Red Bull F1 driver will take you on a lap of the Melbourne race track, allowing you to see it from their perspective, identifying the tricky sections and explaining the circuit layout.

source: redbullracing.com

F1 – 2010 – Shell F1 450 races with Ferrari

Shell commits to future after 450 races with Scuderia Ferrari

Shell will celebrate the 450th race in its close technical partnership with Scuderia Ferrari at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, with the confirmation that the record-breaking collaboration will continue for a further five years from 2011.

Shell has worked alongside Ferrari over 60 years to produce and develop racing fuels and lubricants that optimise performance and efficiency. The technical partnership has achieved 10 Constructors’ World Championship titles and 12 Drivers’ World Championship titles since it began at the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix.

“Shell has been crucial in our victories, particularly in the last 15 years,” said Luca di Montezemolo, Chairman of Ferrari and the Fiat Group. “When the competition has been very tight, one tenth, two tenths, the work with Shell has been crucial to gain what was necessary to be competitive. The relationship between our people and Shell people in the factory and at the track is very important and it has always been excellent.”

The landmark 450th race will be celebrated at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix with both Scuderia Ferrari F10 cars carrying a unique ‘450 Races with Shell’ branding on the side throughout the weekend, as a tribute to Shell’s continuous effort to help the team achieve its competitive edge.

The shared passion for performance has led to success for legends such as Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher. At the 2010 season opener in Bahrain, Fernando Alonso became the 66th Ferrari driver to be powered by Shell fuels and lubricants – and his victory made him the partnership’s 25th different winner.

Piero Ferrari, Vice-President of Ferrari and son of founder Enzo Ferrari, added: “Ferrari has participated in Formula One since the beginning and Shell has always supported motor racing, so this is in the DNA of both companies. You need somebody who understands, somebody who is in Formula One for many, many years. We trust the engineers of Shell and I feel the same from the other side.”

A special evening function will take place this evening (Thursday 25 March) in Melbourne, where a host of invited guests will gather to look back at the success the two brands enjoyed together ever since Enzo Ferrari placed the responsibility of powering and protecting his cars with Shell. This special celebration also marks the announcement that the most successful technical partnership in the history of Formula One will continue into 2011 and beyond.

“We are delighted that Shell will continue as technical partner to Ferrari for a further five years,” said Mark Williams, Shell Downstream Director. “It’s great to share this news about our next chapter together, especially this weekend when we are celebrating a significant milestone in our ongoing relationship. Shell’s technical partnership with Ferrari will continue to provide the world’s most demanding test bed for new fuels and lubricants, and we will continue to take what we learn with Ferrari on the track to Shell products for the road.”

source: shell.com

PREVIEW: AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

When: Friday 26 to Sunday 28 March, 2010
Where: Albert Park, Melbourne Round: 2 of 19

Sam Michael, Technical Director

Albert Park is a low grip street circuit, and you’re normally on the limit when it comes to tyre graining. As a result, careful management of car set-up throughout the weekend is a pre-requisite. We will have some improvements for the FW32 in Australia that we will roll out during Friday’s practice sessions.

It’s going to be a really interesting weekend in terms of seeing how the teams perform on such a different track in comparison to Sakhir. In terms of strategy, Bahrain gave a good indication as to what will be the most likely pit strategy for Melbourne.

Rubens Barrichello

Melbourne is a great place for a Grand Prix. The racing is always competitive so it’s a good track from a fan perspective; it’s also a very social city so it’s nice to hang out there. I like Albert Park a lot. It doesn’t really feel like a street circuit, it’s very challenging and has some interesting corners to negotiate. We had some minor problems in Bahrain but we have resolved them now for Australia. I’m positive we will have a stronger race this weekend.

Nico HĂŒlkenberg

As a circuit, I don’t know Albert Park at all as I haven’t raced there yet. I spent a few days in the factory last week going through practice runs on the simulator and running through data with my engineers which was really helpful but nothing beats having time on the track itself. Bahrain wasn’t the best race for me, but there were some positives to be taken from it because it highlighted where we need to do some more work.

I’m hoping that we will have a more successful weekend in Australia as a result of what I learnt in Bahrain, and what the team have worked on since we came home. I’m flying out to Sydney on Saturday morning for a driver day with RBS on Tuesday. I then have an appearance for Randstad on Wednesday in Melbourne before heading to the circuit.

Results to Date
RUBENS BARRICHELLO NICO HULKENBERG
GP RESULT FASTEST LAP PTS RESULT FASTEST LAP PTS
BHR Q11 / R10 1:59.833, 6th 1 (10th) Q13 / R14 2:01.401, 15th 0 (14th)

source: attwilliams.com

2010 Australian Grand Prix Preview

The Renault F1 Team looks ahead to this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Robert Kubica: “I hope we can achieve the car’s full potential”

Robert, what more have you learned about where the team stands after the race in Bahrain?
We had a very intense winter working hard to understand and improve the car, so it was nice to finally be able to compare where we stand. I still want a couple more races to really judge the situation, because Bahrain is a slightly unusual circuit in some aspects, but I’m feeling very positive. We didn’t achieve our full potential in qualifying or the race, for different reasons, but seventh position was realistic in both cases. It was disappointing not to achieve that, but encouraging to know that we had the possibility of doing it.

You talked about the car’s potential – what are your thoughts on the R30 now?
The weekend in Bahrain basically confirmed the feelings I had in Valencia at the first test, in terms of where the car is strong and where we can still improve. The car has a lot of strengths and we are working hard to get even better in what we do well, and improve in the areas where we are less strong. The race this year is not just at the track, but also in the factory to deliver new developments. The team at Enstone has been working 24/7 to produce updates and the first results in Bahrain gave a good step forward in performance.

The racing in Bahrain came in for a lot of criticism. What was it like from the cockpit to race without refuelling?
Especially at the beginning, it felt like the race was happening in slow motion compared to last year because we had so much fuel onboard and the lap times were so much slower. It was interesting to see how the different teams reacted to the challenge: we set a benchmark for the strategy by stopping very early for new tyres, and we saw the other cars that started on the softer tyre all came into the pits two or three laps after us.

We now only have three sets of tyres to use in Friday practice, and the running time is quite limited, so you can’t develop such a good understanding of the differences between the two compounds. Teams will have to be very reactive to how the tyres are behaving in race conditions, and they’ll need to adapt their strategies quickly.

How will the R30 cope with the demands of the Melbourne circuit?
Overall, before the start of the season, I had the feeling that Melbourne would be a better circuit for us than Bahrain. Now that we have seen the other cars running and collected more information about where we stand, I think even more that it will be a good circuit for us. The circuit is very low grip at the start of the weekend, and you need good mechanical grip, braking stability and ride, so I hope we can put in a strong performance and achieve the car’s full potential.

Vitaly Petrov: “My goal is to get closer and closer to the top ten”

Vitaly, how did you evaluate your first weekend in F1?
Apart from the final result, I was very pleased with the weekend and it was all pretty straightforward. I made one mistake in qualifying, which meant I didn’t start as high up the grid as I could have done, but I made up for that at the start by climbing up to P11. The team helped me a lot over the weekend, and we did a good job with the engineers and mechanics to find the right set-up. The car felt fantastic on Sunday and that makes me very positive for the next races.

You seemed to take everything in your stride – is that in your character?
I prefer to take everything calmly. I’ve been racing a long time and, although F1 is tougher than any other series, it’s still about doing the best job you can in the car. I was not worried before the race, but I felt much better after doing my first start, making up places on the opening lap and really fighting with the cars around me. My goal now has to be to get closer and closer to the top ten without making any more mistakes.

What has been the reaction in Russia to your first race?
So far, the support in Russia has been fantastic. Formula 1 is still something new for my country, so people are learning about it all the time and discovering all the different aspects of the sport. There has been a lot of excitement, and many messages of support, so I have to say a big thank you to all the fans over there. When I get in the car, though, I am focused on the job. It’s a great boost to have my people behind me, but it doesn’t feel like extra pressure on my shoulders.

How will you approach the challenge of learning a new track in Australia?
The most important thing is to learn the track and understand how it flows. I need to get out there and feel the tarmac, see the kerbs, walk a lap to have the right feeling for what I need to do. Then I will do the best job I can and we’ll see what happens.

Alan Permane: “The R30 should perform well in Melbourne”

The Chief Race Engineer reflects on Bahrain and reveals his hopes for Melbourne.

Alan, what did we learn about the R30 in race one?
Bahrain was obviously the first time the R30 had run in hot temperatures so it was good to see that this didn’t pose any problems for the car or our systems. We also learnt a lot more about the tyres: how to use them and how to look after them during long runs. Completing the race with Robert also gives us a lot more data and understanding of how the car behaves over a race distance as the fuel load comes down.

Where is the team focussing its efforts to improve performance?
We’re looking at all areas, but it’s no secret that downforce still rules in F1 and the more downforce we can put on the car, the better. We’re also looking at addressing some of our weaknesses on the mechanical side, but that’s a longer term project and it will be a few races before we can integrate suspension updates.

How did Vitaly settle into the team over his first weekend and were you happy with his performance?
Vitaly didn’t have the best winter because he was unlucky with the weather during testing, which meant his first race was an especially steep learning curve. He had a lot to get used to and, although his race was short, he can be very proud of his performance. He made an excellent start jumping up from 17th to 11th and showed good pace in the early laps until we had a problem with the suspension. When he got out of the car he was understandably disappointed, but he still had a big smile on his face. His performance in Bahrain will definitely boost his confidence ahead of this weekend.

What about Robert’s first race with the team?
It was such a shame that he got hit on the opening lap because it completely destroyed his race. He did a very credible job to fight back to eleventh in the middle part of the race and his pace was very competitive – as quick as the two Mercedes and the McLaren of Button. It’s clear that we’re not in the same league as Ferrari and Red Bull at the moment, but the performance in Bahrain gives me confidence that we can challenge for some good points this year.

Tell us about the challenge of Albert Park and the key to a good set-up?
It’s a track where you need good braking stability because it’s very bumpy in the braking zones. You also need good traction because the lap is mostly made up of second and third gear chicanes where a good change of direction is important. In the final part of the lap the car wants to understeer, especially through the final corner onto the pit straight, so you need a good front end to cope with this.

What upgrades are planned for this weekend?
We have some new aero parts for Melbourne, which should give us a bit more performance. There’s a new front wing and a new part on the rear wing, which improves our overall downforce.

Will the circuit suit the car?
I think it will because Albert Park is a bumpy track and our car rides the bumps well. We saw that in Bahrain where Robert and Vitaly were very competitive in the new section of track, which was very bumpy.

What are your targets for the weekend?
The target is to get both drivers into Q3. I think that’s a realistic target given our competitiveness. If we can do that then both drivers should be capable of fighting for points.

Track Talk with Robert Kubica

Robert talks us through the demands of racing on the streets of Melbourne.

I like street circuits in general so Albert Park is one of my favourite tracks. It’s also one of the best weekends of the year because the city really supports the race, which helps create a special atmosphere. I don’t usually have a problem with jet lag, but I always fly out a bit earlier than I do for European races to make sure I feel totally fresh for the weekend.

It’s quite a demanding circuit because the track conditions are constantly changing across the weekend. On Friday the track is very green so you have to leave some safety margin because it’s easy to run wide and end up in the wall. You can go quicker and quicker with each run as the track rubbers in and by the end of practice your lap times can be as much as six seconds quicker than at the start of the session.

The grip levels are quite poor, so the set-up priority is to work on drivability so that the car gives you confidence. The streets are also quite bumpy, especially the first chicane and the entrance to turn six, so braking stability is important. You also need a car that can ride the curbs well so that you can carry good speed through the medium speed corners.

Overtaking isn’t easy because it’s so dirty off line. The best chance is into turn three if the car ahead of you gets a bad exit from the first chicane. Turn 13 is another opportunity, but because turn 12 is such a quick corner it’s hard to follow another car closely onto the straight before 13. Again you’re relying on the car ahead of you getting a bad exit.

Turns 11 and 12 are the quickest corners of the lap. There are a few ways of approaching this high-speed chicane, but as always the secret is to carry as much speed as possible and not run too wide on the exit of 12. You need to use the curbs, but if you hit them too hard it upsets the car’s balance and hurts your speed. Get it right and you can find a lot of time; get it wrong and your lap time will really suffer.

Keeping brakes cool

When the refuelling ban was first announced for 2010, one of the main concerns was how to make sure brakes could last a Grand Prix distance. A full tank of fuel adds around 150 kg of weight to the car, and it requires considerably more energy to slow down that extra weight. It seemed that the brakes would be in for a tough time in 2010.

However, following the Bahrain Grand Prix there were hardly any complaints at all. Renault’s Chief Engineer, Alan Permane, even declared that the brake wear on the R30 was less than on the R29 during the 2009 race. “The guys in the factory have done a fantastic job with our braking solution,” he said. “The race was a breeze for the brakes.”

So what’s been done to make this possible? Well, there have been no changes to the actual discs because the regulations remain unchanged and only allow a maximum thickness of 28mm. A materials development programme has been conducted to improve longevity, but making the brakes last the distance all comes down to proper cooling, as Head of Performance Systems Group, Nick Chester, explains:

“We did a lot of simulation work to understand the extra demands on brakes, which confirmed that there would be 10% more energy going through the brake system this year. That gave us an idea of the cooling requirements needed from our brake ducts to keep the disc temperatures in a comfortable operating window.”

Controlling disc temperatures really is the key to good brake management because wear is determined by temperature. But it’s a non-linear relationship and wear rates jump steeply once the discs get above 600°C. So the brake ducts need to keep temperatures somewhere between 500°C and 600°C across the race distance.

“The job of the brakes ducts this year is even more important,” explains Nick. “Our designs have been done primarily using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and we’re getting a lot more air through the system compared with last year. It’s not just the size of the entrance to the duct that’s important, but the path the air takes through the upright, the disc and out of the disc vent, which determines how much air is in the system and the efficiency of the cooling. The positive results from Bahrain suggest we are well prepared for all the circuits this year.”

Like any part of the car, the brake ducts remain under constant scrutiny because they also have a significant impact on the car’s aerodynamic performance. “We have more developments planned for the ducts across the year,” says Nick. “Some of the tracks that are not so tough on brake wear will allow us to focus less on cooling so that the ducts can add a bit more downforce to the car.”

source: renaultf1.com

Australian Grand Prix Preview

Following an encouraging showing at the 2010 curtain raiser, the Bahrain Grand Prix, the Force India F1 Team now heads to Australia in a buoyant mood for the second round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. Tonio Liuzzi, contesting his first full race season since 2007, secured two points in Bahrain while Adrian Sutil qualified in the top ten and raced to 12th position at the flag fall, setting the second quickest lap of the race in the process.

The team has reason to be optimistic for the next race as new aero developments will be introduced, while test and reserve Paul di Resta will make his free practice debut on Friday. The young Scot will replace Adrian Sutil in FP1 as he seeks to gain further track time and experience behind the wheel of the VJM03.

Team Q&A

Dr Vijay Mallya, chairman and team principal

In Bahrain Tonio finished ninth and ‘best of the rest’ behind the eight cars from the four pacesetting teams. Were you satisfied with that?

It’s what our objective was over the winter. We set ourselves an internal objective of finishing fifth in the World Championship. I know there’s a long way to go, but it’s a right start. We’ve got a solid car to start with, and we’ve got a good base, and now it’s about the development rate for the rest of the year. It was fantastic for Tonio to have scored points for the first time since 2007.

Adrian’s second fastest lap means there’s also some good for him to take out of the race too. I think we all acknowledge that last year our progress was sporadic – on some tracks we were very quick, on others not so good – so to come out this strongly is a really good step forward. With the new upgrades we have in the pipeline for Australia I can say with every faith that we can carry the momentum forward.

Paul di Resta will be driving one of the cars on Friday in Australia. What is the thinking behind that?

Paul is a very good driver and has a lot of potential. But as a third driver the question is how he can use this potential if there’s no testing in-season. This is a good solution all round, he can learn the car and the tracks in real time and therefore spend his simulator time helping to develop the car, which will be of real benefit to us. The race drivers are very supportive of the move – they’ve all been young drivers one time!

How has the reaction been in India to the team’s success?

Formula One is growing by leaps and bounds in India. Firstly they have an Indian team and now, in the form of Karun Chandhok, they have an Indian driver. The fans now have genuine interest to hold on to. Sure, people were aware of the big legends of the sport – Ferrari, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton – but for them to have tangible, identifiable properties is the difference between a minority sport and national interest.

With the Indian Grand Prix now looking very promising it’s really building – you’ve got these heroes and now you can go and watch them too. You can see the interest growing day by day, on our social networking site we’ve got more than one million followers.

Driver Q&A

Adrian Sutil (car 14, VJM03/03)

How would you review Bahrain?

I think it was a very good start to the season. We were very competitive in free practice, I was quickest in FP1, and then again in qualifying where both Tonio and myself were in the top 12. Last year we didn’t get through to Q2 in Bahrain so to come out and be in the top 12 is really positive.

Everything went well until the start of the race for me and then I dropped back down the field but from the team perspective at least one car got into the points. But now we want to go even higher in Australia. I think there is still potential to improve everything and get close to the top five or six.

From your perspective how was the racing in Bahrain?

Well, after the start I dropped down to 21st position and I came 12th at the end of the race so it shows that you can overtake and have a good race. OK, some of the cars I passed were the new teams and we had a performance advantage over them, but in the midpoint of the race I was fighting with Kubica [Renault] and the two Saubers so you can pass with the new regulations, it was just higher up the field that people were very cautious.

But then at the first race of the year you never know really how everything will behave in race trim. You do long run simulations in testing, but until you have the field around you it’s can never be 100% representative. Under these circumstances it’s natural to take care as you don’t want to be a DNF in the first race. But last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix was also not that interesting, with only refuelling and pit stops so never really overtaking possibilities.

I think every driver was a bit cautious as it was the first race and we had to go a long distance on the soft tyre and nobody really knew the best way to call it. Now we will go to Australia and tweak it a bit more to the limit and start to be a more aggressive. I think there will be some more overtaking.

Looking to Australia now, what are your thoughts on the Albert Park circuit?

It’s one of my favourites. It’s quite a nice street circuit with a few run off areas through a park so it’s very beautiful. But it’s also very challenging with a lot of quick corners and a few slow speed corners so altogether it’s a great circuit to race on. I also have a lot of history there – I made my race debut for Spyker at the track in 2007, it was where Force India made their race debut the next year and then last year I was ninth.

If we can get that position again this year that’s two points! We’ve got to aim for this or higher – I’m pretty happy with where we were in qualifying and how we performed in the Bahrain race so we’ve got a lot of reasons to look forward to Australia now.

Tonio Liuzzi (car 15, VJM03/01)

Tonio, Bahrain was a great result for you and the team. How was it from your perspective?

Overall the whole weekend was positive. We learned a lot about the tyres and how they perform in the warm temperatures and also how far we can push the fuel in the race. I was a bit disappointed with qualifying in that we never got a clear lap, but the race was encouraging and was a great result for the team and myself.

The team has worked so hard over the winter to find improvements and never gave up pushing so to get two points in the first race is fantastic. They are a team that is focussed, knows what they are doing and how to get there so they really deserve it to have good results on a regular basis. This is just the start.

There’s some new upgrades coming for Australia as well. Do you think this could push you further up the field?

We have some new developments on the front and rear wing. I’m pretty hopeful it will be a step forward as every upgrade we made last year was positive, so the correlation from the wind tunnel seems to be working well. Of course you never know what the others are bringing but I would hope this would move us a little closer to the teams in front. My target would be to get into Q3 this time out and then, of course, get into the points again.

Australia will be a twilight race again, with the start at 17:00hrs. From a driver’s perspective is this an issue or a particular challenge?

It wasn’t a real problem last year – there was just one corner where the sun was very low and it was maybe a bit harder to see but everywhere else it was OK. The real challenge is that it can be critical with the temperature as the sun goes goes down and when you are on the harder tyre you start to have warm-up problems. But I think Bridgestone have worked on this now and so I am not worried about this. We’ll look through the findings from Bahrain and see what we can do.

Paul di Resta, test and reserve driver

How was Bahrain for you?

Bahrain was a genuinely interesting experience. I’ve been to F1 races before but always as an observer, I’ve never been so involved in a team. A lot of the time was spent attending meetings, speaking with the engineers and learning how the team functions over a race meeting.

It’s a professional team and I’ve learnt a lot about how to approach the car, deal with the systems and the procedures and also what the team needs from me in terms of feedback and support. They’ve made me very welcome and I’m looking forward to putting it all into practice when I get my chance in Australia.

It your first time out in free practice in the VJM03 this weekend. What are your thoughts ahead of this?

I am excited, for sure. Given the pace of the car in Bahrain it’s a great opportunity for me at this stage. I’ve never been to Melbourne but I’ll walk the track with the engineers on the Wednesday ahead of the race and work with them to be able to do some useful work during the session.

At the end of the day I’m not going to come out and try and set fastest times – it’s about feeding my information back into the race schedule, helping the team and learning as much as I can. If I set a good time, great, but we need to approach this as a team as well and work through our programme.

How have you been preparing for the task ahead?

I’ve been in the simulator, tried to learn the Albert Park layout and I’ve looked over all the information from Bahrain so I feel as prepared as I can be at this stage. As I say when we get to Australia I’ll be walking the track, working with the engineers and then keeping my focus during the practice session. I feel ready and can’t wait to get started; it’s a great opportunity.

source: forceindiaf1.com

Toro Rosso – Australian Grand Prixview (<– click here)

source: tororosso.com

coming soon

source: lotusf1racing.my

HRT F1 Team confident of building on F1 debut in Australia

HRT F1 team, Hispania Racing team, the newest F1 team in the paddock, acquired by Jose Ramon Carabante in February and led by team principal Dr Colin Kolles is ready for its second Formula One weekend after making its debut in Bahrain.

Unlike the other teams, HRT F1 Team joins the F1 paddock without having completed any pre-season testing. The team was forced to shakedown and run its car for the first time ever at the Bahrain Grand Prix after winning a fight against time to make it to the first round of the season as a fully functional team.

The team worked through the usual challenges any F1 outfit faces when running its new car for the first time, and was able start the race with both cars. The team’s overall ambitions remain high, but realistic that it will take time to catch up for its lost ground. Moving onto the next rounds of its debut season, HRT F1 Team’s goal is to improve steadily and make it to the chequered flag with at least one car.

Team Principal Dr Colin Kolles comments, “We have worked extremely hard since the Bahrain season opener. We have worked long hours and successfully with Bridgestone, Cosworth and Xtrack learned from our first laps with the car and found a good basis from which to start preparation for our second Grand Prix in Australia in a few days.

“We have successfully repaired the damage sustained by Karun Chandhok’s car and focused on building our car’s reliability. Our goal is to improve steadily and the next step is to work towards our first race finish. I am confident we will achieve this goal very soon and having seen how we came together as a team in Bahrain I can see just how much potential and commitment we have.”

Karun Chandhok comments, “I am really looking forward to my second F1 race this weekend. I have never driven in Melbourne, but I am a very quick learner. I was able to work on a team’s simulator before the Grand Prix so that will help my familiarisation a little bit! Our next step with the team’s engineers is to make the car reliable for the race. The secret of good racing preparation is to complete as many laps as possible on Friday to see where we are with the car. Finishing the race would be a fantastic achievement we will strive for.”

Bruno Senna adds, “We need to continue building on what we achieved in Bahrain. We put two cars together and ran successfully in Bahrain. Now we must continue to work as a team. I came early to Australia early to acclimatise to the time difference. I love Australia more and more, as I spend more time here! I have already driven on the Melbourne track, back in 2006.

“I did the F3 support race for F1 back then and had a fairly successful weekend. I won! Now, I must work with the team to continue learning about the car. I have enjoyed working long hours with the team so far and I will be giving my all as I really want to progress and guarantee them good results.”

source: hispaniaf1team.com

Preview – Australian Grand Prix

2nd of 19 Championship Rounds, 26th – 28th March 2010  

The very unproductive opening race in Bahrain, with set-up troubles followed by failures in the race, has been analysed. At the Australian Grand Prix, held from 26th to 28th March in Melbourne, the BMW Sauber F1 Team wants to perform the way everybody expected after testing – with scoring points achievable. Pedro de la Rosa: “I’m very much looking forward to this Grand Prix. I really want our performance in Bahrain to be forgotten. Also it is one of my favourite Grands Prix because of the great atmosphere there. My last race there was in 2002. In 2005 I drove in Friday practice.

This means I definitely have some memories of the track, but it will be like learning a new one for me. I believe we will be more competitive in Melbourne. Reliability was never an issue in testing, and it was very unlucky that we retired with both cars in Bahrain and with two different reasons as well. Albert Park is a difficult track with many chicanes, stop and go corners and bumps. As it is not a permanent race track it changes significantly over the weekend. This makes it important to read the track properly in order to deal with the grip level. It will not be easy for us in Australia and we need to work hard to be able to fight for points.”

Kamui Kobayashi: “For sure I hope we will be more competitive in Melbourne than we were in Bahrain – we just have to be. I only know the track from the Toyota simulator which I have been in after the race in Bahrain. I like the lay-out of the Albert Park Circuit, and I also like Melbourne as a place. I have been there twice as a reserve driver. The city is great and the spectators are true fans, so I can’t wait to race in front of that crowd. To me a four week trip begins now and I’m really excited about that. From Melbourne we go to Kuala Lumpur and before the race in Shanghai I go and spend some time in Japan.”

Technical Director Willy Rampf: “After our disappointing performance in Bahrain we have to make up for a lot in Australia. We have analysed the data and drawn conclusions accordingly. I expect us to be significantly more competitive in Melbourne. The failures were caused by hydraulic leaks in both cases, but for different reasons. For both problems we will have solutions ready for the race.

“The Albert Park Circuit is a stop-and-go track, being very demanding on the brakes and requiring high brake stability as well. At the same time good traction is a must. You drive with maximum downforce. Especially at the beginning of the weekend, the grip level is very low and then improves continuously.

“You have to make sure this development doesn’t confuse your set-up work and so you have to keep working in the right direction. I’m curious about how the tyres will be working. Last year the softer of the two compounds was degrading badly after just a few laps. This time Bridgestone is providing us with a harder compound, which naturally has an impact on the set-up.”

Circuit Albert Park / 5.303 km
Race distance 58 laps / 307.574 km
Schedule Qualifying 17:00 hrs, Race 17:00 hrs local time (06:00 hrs GMT)
Driver Pedro de la Rosa Kamui Kobayashi
Day of birth 24.02.1971 Barcelona (ES) 13.09.1986 Amagasaki (JP)
Residence Zurich (CH) Cologne (DE)
Marital status Married to Maria Reyes single
Children daughters Georgina, Olivia, Luna -
Height / Weight 1.78 m / 73 kg 1.68 m / 64 kg
First GP Australia 1999, finished 6th Brazil 2009, finished 9th
GP started 72 3
Best race result 2nd (Hungary 2006) 6th (Abu Dhabi 2009)
Best qualifying 4th (Hungary 2006) 11th (Brazil 2009)
Fastest race laps 1 (Bahrain 2005) -
Points in total 29 3
Points in 2010 – -

source: bmw-sauber-f1-team.ch

Sun, sea, surf, sand and Melbourne’s sensational Albert Park street circuit. What more could an F1 team ask for?

Race number two of the FIA Formula One World Championship takes the F1 fraternity down under – a mere 10,600 mile hop from Dinnington, South Yorkshire, to this much-loved metropolis in the state of Victoria, for the 2010 Australian Grand Prix on 26/27/28 March. A 3.295 mile lap bordered by beautifully manicured Albert Park-land and basking in perfect late summer temperatures of around 28°C – bring it on!

It’s all a far cry from the scene of Virgin Racing’s debut in the desert two weeks ago. Lucas di Grassi summed up the weekend perfectly when asked if it was likely to be a race the team would always remember. Surrounded by Virgin Racing’s trusty team of mechanics, for whom sleep was now just a dim and distant memory, he replied, with a just a small hint of irony, “How could we forget?!”

Race one was a momentous occasion, but one that ultimately ended with disappointment after a positive qualifying debut gave way to the retirement of both cars in the race. The team have been working overtime – just for a change – to ensure there isn’t a repeat of the hydraulic and transmission problems which blighted their weekend. Parking it in the Park is not an option – all Virgin Racing hearts are set on taking the chequered flag.

Timo Glock, Race Driver #24

“Australia is usually a good race. It’s a great city and I look forward to it every year. It’s one of the best weekends on the Formula One calendar. The track itself is a street course, very different from a race track, and quite special. I got a bird’s-eye view of it on Wednesday when I flew over the track in a heli – a bit of fun and a great way to recce the track layout. It’s a fantastic circuit and I’m hoping it will bring us good luck.

“We had a tough time in Bahrain but there were some positives too. We learnt some good lessons which can only make us stronger. The main target is to do everything we can to ensure reliability doesn’t stop us from making it to the flag. Hopefully we’ll get another strong qualy in the bag too.”

Lucas di Grassi, Race Driver #25

“I’ve been to Australia a few times but I’ve never raced at Albert Park before, so it will be an interesting weekend! Basically, I can’t wait to get back in the car again and experience the track. Australia as a destination actually reminds me of Brazil – the weather is nice and the people are warm and friendly. I’ve been out here for a few days now, acclimatising to the time difference and ensuring I’m relaxed for the weekend ahead.

“As for the relaxation part, I went surfing with Championship winning surfer Damien Hardman along the Great Ocean Road on Wednesday. I’m a big surfer – and pretty good, if I say so myself – so it was fun to head out of the city to catch a few waves before we get down to the serious stuff.

“We’re hoping to make a few waves on track this weekend also. We obviously want to build on what we saw in qualifying and reach the finish. I was really pleased with my debut qualifying and race start but obviously I want to carry that through to the race now. I’m looking forward to it.”

Nick Wirth, Technical Director

“It was disappointing to end our debut race with two retirements, but we take a lot of encouragement from knowing that our issues are specific and isolated, which means they are easily addressed. No one said the first few races would be easy and Bahrain was gruelling to say the least. But far better to flush out the problems early on and deal with them and that is exactly what we have been doing in the two week gap between these two races. We have some new parts which we hope will provide a robust solution to the new hydraulic problem and transmission issue we experienced in Bahrain.

“Melbourne represents a new and different challenge. This isn’t an easy track to contend with because it’s a street circuit. It lacks grip on Friday before its starts to rubber in, but the track conditions can change from session to session. The lap is full of stops and starts, so we have to manage the brakes and also the track surface is quite bumpy.

“All of these factors conspire to make car set-up quite a challenge, but it’s one we’re looking forward to. We saw some very positive signs in terms of our qualifying and race pace, and the drivers and engineers have done their homework on our Simulators back at Wirth Research, so we are looking to build on the performance level seen in Bahrain and ensure that both cars get to cross the finish line.”

source: virginracing.com

Cosworth’s Guide to the Australian Grand Prix

The second round of this season’s FIA Formula One World Championship will take place at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia next week.

To access Cosworth’s preview to the Australian Grand Prix, including a look at the temporary Albert Park circuit from an engine’s
perspective, please click on the link below.
Australian Grand Prix: An Engine’s Perspective
http://www.sportssystems.com/hosting/display.cfm?key=101399

source: cosworth.com