“I didn’t mean to ignore the call”
The victim of Sebastian Vettel’s decision to ignore his team’s instructions, Mark Webber predicted on Sunday that Red Bull would “protect” its triple world champion “as usual”.
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Tag Archive: Joan Villadelprat
Mar 25
Vettel ‘surprised by his own brutality’ – the fallout
Jul 24
F1 awaits Red Bull rule clarification for Hungary
Even Christian Horner, the Red Bull boss, indicated a rule tweak is likely.
F1 insiders are expecting the FIA to clamp down on Red Bull’s clever engine mapping that has been likened to a form of legal traction control. Technical directors met on Monday to discuss the situation, triggered by the stewards’ admission at Hockenheim that they were powerless to ban the system despite not accepting “all the arguments” put forward by the team.
Jun 27
F1 split over customer car proposal
Formula one is split over a new proposal to allow ‘customer cars’ on the grid.
The idea is being powered chiefly by Ferrari and Bernie Ecclestone, and marketed as a way to cut costs by opening a new revenue stream for the big teams and reducing the design and manufacturing burden for struggling minnows.
Jun 26
Schumacher future still unclear after podium
Even the end of a 2000-day podium drought is not enough to curb the speculation about Michael Schumacher’s future.
Although it was powered in part by Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton’s misfortunes at Valencia on Sunday, the seven time world champion’s return to the podium was an emotional moment for the once-robotic German.
Jun 11
Villadelprat slams Red Bull cheating ‘witch hunt’
Joan Villadelprat has slammed the anti-Red Bull “witch hunt” that is casting the reigning world champions as F1 cheats.
Recently, the energy drink owned team has been told not only to modify small holes in the floor ahead of the RB8′s rear wheels, but also holes in the wheel hub that reportedly also gave an illegal aerodynamic benefit.
Apr 23
Lotus not sorry after skipping team order
Lotus did not consider employing team orders in order to boost Kimi Raikkonen’s chances of winning the Bahrain grand prix.
The 2007 world champion ultimately finished second and even had a stab at overtaking winner Sebastian Vettel. And he might have had an ever better chance at challenging the Red Bull had his Lotus team chiefs ordered teammate Romain Grosjean aside at a crucial moment.
Mar 27
Perez a ‘future champion’ after Sepang
Those who watched Sunday’s Malaysian grand prix witnessed “the blossoming of a future champion”.
That is the view of Patrick Tambay, a French F1 driver of the 80s who raced with Ferrari. Sergio Perez currently drives for Sauber, but he is the cream of Ferrari’s development programme and Tambay told RMC he thinks the Mexican is now definitely set for a future with the famous Italian team.
Mar 21
Report links Trulli with Massa’s Ferrari race seat
One race into the 2012 season, the Italian press has already named a candidate for beleaguered Ferrari driver Felipe Massa’s seat.
On notice by the famous team and with an expiring contract, the Brazilian driver had a nightmare 2012 opener in Australia. Mika Salo, the 1999 Ferrari substitute driver, told broadcaster MTV3 that Massa’s performance, “compared to Alonso’s, was very poor”. Autosprint, the Italian weekly, has suggested the out-of-work grand prix winner Jarno Trulli is available to step in immediately to replace Massa.
Feb 17
Suspicions linger after Newey’s ‘cooling slot’ claim
“The drivers are going to get their feet wet when it rains”
Two authoritative sources have admitted they doubt Adrian Newey was telling the whole truth about the air inlet in the ‘step’ nose of Red Bull’s 2012 car. Designer Newey, the pioneer of the now-banned blown diffuser solutions seen throughout last year’s grid, insisted that the mysterious letterbox-slot gap in the RB8 is simply to cool the drivers with air.
Dec 16
Alguersuari quiet as Spaniards eye HRT option
Jaime Alguersuari is refusing to give anything away as he considers his future following Toro Rosso’s clean-sweep for 2012.
Asked if he has been in contact with any alternative employers after he was ousted by team owners Red Bull, the 21-year-old Spaniard told El Mundo Deportivo: “For the moment I can’t say anything.”
Dec 07
Ferrari must consider McLaren-like stability – Villadelprat
Ferrari needs to follow McLaren’s example and add crucial stability to its recipe for success.
That is the claim of veteran engineer Joan Villadelprat, who wrote in his column for the Spanish newspaper El Pais that British team McLaren “is clearly” better than Ferrari at developing a car during a season.
Oct 12
Experts say Schumacher-like Vettel era unlikely
A trio of former F1 drivers doubt Sebastian Vettel will trouble Michael Schumacher’s all-time record of seven world titles.
After the 24-year-old German became the youngest back-to-back world champion in the sport’s history, Niki Lauda predicted that the record of Vettel’s famous countryman could eventually tumble.
