Category: Formula 1

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing Toro Rosso

Daniel Ricciardo tops lap times at Silverstone

Daniel Ricciardo testing for Red Bull Racing, July 2013

Day two of testing at Silverstone overnight was very fruitful for the Red Bull family. In the morning session Daniel Ricciardo drove for Toro Rosso and set the quickest time of the day (1:32.972). In the afternoon session he swapped cars, suited up for Red Bull Racing and posted the third fastest time of the day (1:33.187).

We can’t recall another time where a driver has tested two different F1 cars on the same day. Similarly, seeing Daniel’s name on the lap charts twice is a bit of a novelty.

Splitting Daniel’s two times was an impressive F1 debut for Carlos Sainz Jr in the Toro Rosso (1:33.016). The 18-year-old later described it as the “happiest day” of his life. That feeling may only last 24 hours, though, he’ll be driving for Red Bull later tonight.

Ricciardo’s status as a current F1 driver meant he was restricted to tyre testing as prescribed by Pirelli, whereas teams can make more changes to their cars when the nominated young drivers are at the wheel.

Clearly this was a big day for Daniel who hopes to be promoted from Toro Rosso to Red Bull at the end of the year. According to Christian Horner it’s a fight between Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen for the vacant seat.

Not long after Daniel set his fastest lap in the RB9 he had a minor off, but there was no damage done. Speaking afterwards the 24-year-old Australian said: “I did quite a few laps this afternoon, so I’m happy with that. I had a small off but otherwise it was a trouble-free day.

“It was a good opportunity to get behind the wheel and experience two different beasts today. In terms of the inevitable speculation, I think this test is something for Red Bull to look at, but there’s still the rest of the season with Toro Rosso to do, so I’ll switch my focus back to that and won’t get too caught up in any rumours.”

More importantly perhaps is the reaction from the team. Andy Damerum, RBR Race Engineering Co-ordinator, later said: “Daniel had only about 45 minutes to swap over from his morning tyre test to driving our car, a completely different machine, but he was up to speed very quickly. As ever his feedback was exemplary and he gave us a lot of information to go through.”

[Pics: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

It’s Daniel v Kimi in chase for 2014 Red Bull seat

2013 Canadian Grand Prix

It’s official, well, as official as it’s ever going to get: it’s Daniel Ricciardo v Kimi Raikkonen in the chase for Mark Webber’s seat at Red Bull Racing.

Confirmation came from Christian Horner ahead of today’s test session at Silverstone. “We’re very keen to have a look at Daniel as a prospect for next year,” Horner told Sky Sports. “Obviously there is a great deal of interest in the seat, but it’s an opportunity to have a look at Daniel and for him to do some of our tyre-testing work in our RBR car. It’s a great opportunity for him.”

When Horner was asked directly if it was a straight out fight between Daniel and Kimi, he replied: “Essentially, probably.”

Kimi Raikkonen is still the bookies’ favourite to land the gig, but Daniel’s prospects have clearly improved in recent weeks.

“You have to look at what these drivers have at their disposal and for sure both Jean-Eric and Daniel are very quick drivers, and we have an opportunity to take a closer look at Daniel which is why we have chosen to exercise that and get him in the car,” Horner added.

We know that Red Bull has an internal target of 200 points from whoever partners Sebastian Vettel next year and Kimi is clearly capable of reaching that target.

“Kimi’s track record speaks for itself and he’s a championship contender as we speak. We’re in a fortunate position in that not only are we attracting fantastic drivers like Kimi but we’ve also got the opportunity to look at the drivers we have been nurturing in the likes of Daniel,” said Horner.

“We get paid based on where we are in the Constructors’ Championship so therefore we want the fastest and best drivers we can get in the car. We’ll take our time to make sure that whoever fills Mark’s shoes—and they are big shoes to fill—is the right choice for the team.”

[Source: Sky Sports | Pic: Toro Rosso/Getty Images]

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Formula 1

Here’s your fourth look at F1 movie ‘Rush’

Chris Hemsworth as James Hunt, Rush the movie

While the modern day F1 world faces the awkward moment of its boss facing bribery allegations this latest trailer from Ron Howard’s F1 movie Rush allows us to forget those troubles and enjoy the romance of the sport. And with this preview being all about James Hunt, there’s plenty of romance on offer as well!

You can watch the new trailer after the break and here’s links to the previous insights we’ve been given:

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Formula 1 News

Bernie Ecclestone indicted over bribery claims

Bernie Eccelstone

Bernie Ecclestone has been indicted by German prosecutors over an alleged bribery stemming back to the 2006 sale of F1 broadcast rights to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners.

Involved in that sale was German banker, Gerhard Gribkowsky of BayernLB, who was managing the transfer of his bank’s 47% ownership of F1 to CVC. It is alleged Ecclestone paid Gribkowsky $44m. That little transaction saw Gribkowsky charged with a breach of trust, tax evasion and receipt of corrupt payments. He was found guilty and sentenced to eight-and-a-half years jail by a Munich court.

In response to the indictment Ecclestone said: “I have just spoken to my lawyers and they have received an indictment. It’s being translated into English.

“We are defending it properly. It will be an interesting case. It’s a pity it’s happened.”

Bernie claims he was being blackmailed by Gribkowsky over threats that could expose Eccelstone to UK tax authorities.

In June last year, when giving evidence against Gribkowsky, Bernie claimed: “The only alternative was that the British tax authorities followed a case that would have been very expensive for me.

“The tax risk would have exceeded £2bn. I paid him to keep calm and not to do silly things.”

That’s one big tax risk you have there Bernie!

The F1 supremo has previously said he has “nothing to hide” on this matter and it looks like we’re about to find out if that is actually the case.

[Source: BBC & The Guardian | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Red Bull wants 200 points from number 2 driver

2013 Bahrain Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo will need to convince Red Bull Racing hierarchy he is capable of delivering the team 200 championship points if he is to secure a drive with them in 2014, Autosport reports.

“Red Bull is not a team that can afford to be swayed by personal preference, a hunch, or a beaming Australian smile,” the Autosport article says. “It is cold-hard statistics that will count for its verdict.”

A total of 200 points would be no small task for the 24-year-old Australian. There is likely to be 20 races on the 2014 F1 race calendar, so on average Red Bull expects whoever replaces Mark Webber to finish fifth or better in every race. As it stands right now Daniel best ever race finish is seventh. With a better car and a better resourced team this should be achievable, although the pressure to perform will be immense.

Red Bull Racing has won three constructors’ championships in a row. In that time Mark Webber delivered 242, 258 and 179 points respectively in the years 2010–2012.

You would think the other reported Red Bull target, Kimi Raikkonen, would be more than able to meet the points criteria for Red Bull. Whether he would be willing to give up the freedom offered by Lotus to meet the promotional demands that go with being a Red Bull driver is another matter altogether.

It won’t be conclusive, of course, but if Daniel can put in a good performance with Red Bull at Silverstone today, on and off the track, that can only help his chances of promotion in 2014.

[Source: Autosport | Pic: Toro Rosso/Getty Images]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing Toro Rosso

Daniel Ricciardo, your time is now!

2013 German Grand Prix

Daniel Ricciardo will drive a Red Bull Racing RB9 tomorrow when Formula 1 hits the test track at Silverstone for the commonly referred to young driver tests.

This has come about due to a change in conditions from the FIA which will allow all teams to test new Pirelli tyres with their F1 drivers. The new tyres will be introduced at the Hungarian Grand Prix (28 July).

The test program runs for three days and for all the morning sessions Red Bull has announced its young drivers will participate. For the afternoon sessions Ricciardo will be first up, with Mark Webber to drive on Thursday and Sebastian Vettel to step in for Friday’s test.

With no opportunity for Jean-Eric Vergne to test with Red Bull at this test it is the clearest sign yet that Ricciardo is the Toro Rosso driver most likely to replace Mark Webber if Red Bull chooses to promote one of their junior drivers.

[Pic: Toro Rosso/Getty Images]

UPDATE 17 July: Red Bull has amended their schedule. António Félix da Costa will drive all day Wednesday and Thursday’s morning session. Daniel Ricciardo will hit the track on Thursday afternoon. Friday’s original schedule remains in place, which means Mark Webber can take the week off.

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Formula 1

Sauber F1 Team saved by Russian consortium

Sauber F1 Team

The financial woes of the Sauber F1 Team have been eased with confirmation they have secured investment from a trio of Russian companies. Details of the deal are scarce at this stage but the official announcement on the Sauber website reads:

We are pleased to announce a partnership between the Investment Cooperation International Fund, the State Fund of Development of North-West Russian Federation and the National Institute of Aviation Technologies with Sauber Motorsport AG, incorporating the promotion of the sport Formula 1 in Russia and jointly developing high-technological solutions.

The partnership includes further activities for the promotion of the inaugural Formula 1 Grand Prix in Sochi in 2014 and attracting the talented young Russian generation towards motorsport. In particular, a development programme will be set up for the Russian driver Sergey Sirotkin to prepare him as a racing driver for the team in 2014.

This extensive co-operation will showcase Russian innovation at the pinnacle of motorsport. At the same time, the Sauber F1 Team will have a solid foundation to increase its competitiveness on a long-term basis.

It’s understood there won’t be any major changes to the current team structure or management. And perhaps Nico Hulkenberg might have cause to think twice before rushing towards the exit door come the end of the year.

[Pic: Sauber Motorsport AG]

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Vettel second to Schumacher in race to 30 wins

2013 German Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel’s first victory in Germany was his 30th Formula 1 win overall. As much as we enjoy portraying him as the pantomime villain to Mark Webber’s hero, it’s easy to forget that Vettel’s career achievements to date are quite remarkable.

Of course, the three world championships headline his feats, but he could be on track to chase down the one stat we never thought could be beaten; Michael Schumacher’s 91 wins. That’s a long way off yet, although it’s only taken Vettel one more race than Michael to notch up 30 wins.

Vettel has just turned 26 and if he races into his 40s, as Michael did, there’s the potential to add another 300-plus race starts to his tally. With a current winning percentage of 27% that could mean another 80-odd wins ahead for Vettel.

Well, that’s enough baseless speculation, here’s the list of the six drivers to reach 30 grand prix wins and the number of races it took them:

Race starts taken to reach 30 F1 wins

  1. Michael Schumacher – 109
  2. Sebastian Vettel – 110
  3. Ayrton Senna – 114
  4. Alain Prost – 124
  5. Nigel Mansell – 179
  6. Fernando Alonso – 186

[Source: Motor Sports Talk | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Formula 1

Pirelli boss says F1 teams are too paranoid

Pirelli tyres at 2013 German Grand Prix

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery is used to being the centre of controversy in recent times and his latest comments won’t do anything to change that.

Discussing the ability for Pirelli to complete meaningful testing during tyre development Hembery said,”We are not interested in helping one team over another, we just want to do our job. We don’t care if we do tests with five different teams, one after the other.

“The paranoia levels are high because the competition levels are high, but at a certain point that has to be let go to let us do our job.”

Hembery explained simulators can be helpful, but even that has pitfalls. “You can do a lot of things on simulators and even there I cannot use just one simulator, because then I will be told I am biasing one team over another,” he added. “That has to change. We have to have some things done differently.”

Perhaps in a bid to make a clear statement Hembery added that the controversial secret test with Mercedes in May, for which both parties were punished, was the most valuable test program he has overseen. “It sounds terrible when I say it but the best tyre test we have done for three years was with Mercedes at Barcelona.

“Looking at it in a selfish way, from our point of view, it was the best tyre test we have done. We had hard cars, hard drivers, working professionally and giving us exactly what we want.”

While much of the Pirelli drama is grist for the mill as far as F1 chatter goes, it does keep everyone on watch as to what will happen in 2014, with Pirelli’s involvement yet to be confirmed. It would still seem the most likely outcome that Pirelli will remain in F1, but who knows, perhaps even Goodyear could return after a 16 year absence?

[Source: Eurosport]

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Formula 1 Lotus Red Bull Racing

2013 German GP: Post-race press conference

2013 German Grand Prix

One of the benefits of Kimi Raikkonen finishing so close to Sebastian Vettel in the German Grand Prix is that it gave the media at the post-race press conference a chance to quiz both drivers about the possibility of racing in the same team next year. As you’d expect both played a fairly straight bat, but it was still interesting to read what both had to say on the topic of replacing Mark Webber in 2014.

[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Formula 1 Lotus Red Bull Racing

Sebastian Vettel wins 2013 German Grand Prix

2013 German Grand Prix

For all of the amazing things Sebastian Vettel has achieved in his Formula 1 career, a win at his home grand prix had eluded him. But not any more. Victory at the Nürburgring for his first German Grand Prix trophy is Vettel’s 30th career win, becoming only the sixth driver in F1 history to reach that mark.

Close behind the Red Bull ace was Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) who finished strongly, just one second adrift of Vettel. The final podium position was taken by Romain Grosjean (Lotus).

For Vettel it was a controlled race, but behind him there were two bizarre incidents that helped to shape the result. Mercifully, neither included the exploding tyres we saw in Silverstone last week. The first incident ruined Mark Webber’s race. The Aussie made a great start from P3 and challenged for the lead into the first corner. Pole sitter Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes AMG) was swamped by the two Red Bulls and Vettel took the lead.

At the first round of pit stops Webber’s left rear wheel was not put back on correctly, yet he was still waved out and metres later the wheel came loose. Unfortunately the wheel bounced down the pit lane and hit a cameraman. Reports suggest the cameraman suffered minor injuries and is expected to make a full recovery. Mark was able to rejoin the race, after being pushed back into his pit box, albeit a lap down.

The second incident started on lap 22, when Jules Bianchi (Marussia) pulled to the side of the circuit after his car caught fire. The flames were extinguished and the car was abandoned awaiting collection from the marshals. Two laps after the car came to rest, it began to roll down the hill, across the track before coming to rest thanks to an advertising hoarding. Cue the Benny Hill theme, but thankfully no harm was done.

What Bianchi’s runaway car did do was bring out a Safety Car. This not only allowed the field to bunch up, but also allowed Mark Webber to unlap himself. Racing resumed on Lap 30, half race distance.

Vettel maintained his lead, despite a late charge from Kimi Raikkonen. Webber was able to put in a commendable recovery drive to finish in P7, which included a pass on Sergio Perez on the second half of the final lap. Not a bad effort after being dead last after the Safety Car came in.

Speaking after the race Webber expressed his disappointment, knowing he had the package to fight for the win. “Today was a bit of a nightmare and you want to wake up tomorrow and have another go at it,” he said. “We had an excellent start and were in a great position leading up to the first stop with Seb, but we lost all of that. We lost a lot of points today and a chance to challenge for the win, but there’s no rewind button now.”

Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) was unhappy with his day, which saw him start from P6 only to finish in P12. “A frustrating and rather dull race for me,” Daniel said. “After the start, I was able to hold position on the Option, but once we pitted for the Prime tyre, I really struggled for pace and couldn’t push as hard as I wanted to in order to get more out of the car.

“I can’t explain why for now, so we will need to look at the data to see why we were just too slow for much of the weekend.”

On the positive side for Ricciardo, his teammate, Jean-Eric Verge, was forced to retire with a hydraulics problem.

[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

2013 German GP: Qualifying report

2013 German Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton has added to his Mercedes AMG’s excellent qualifying performances this year by claiming pole position for the German Grand Prix. The silver arrows have started from P1 six times this year, split evenly at three apiece for each driver.

Hamilton’s best lap (1:29.398) edged out the Red Bull Racing pairing. Home town hero Sebastian Vettel (1:29.501) will start from P2. Mark Webber (1:29.608) will line up on the clean side of the grid from P3, with Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus, 1:29.892) on P4.

Starting from the the third row are Romain Grosjean (Lotus, 1:29.959) and Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso, 1:30.528). The two Ferraris will line up on the fourth row with Felipe Massa (1:31.126) ahead of Fernando Alonso (1:31.209).

Ricciardo’s P6 position equals his career best qualifying result, which was set last weekend at Silverstone. At the Nürburgring he will start 10 places ahead of his teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne (1:31.104) who was the slowest of the drivers knocked out at the end of Q2.

Daniel’s stocks are rising as the race for Mark Webber’s Red Bull seat in 2014 hots up. Both he and his team admit P6 is a result they weren’t expecting.

“I’m really delighted with the way qualifying went and it’s very encouraging to be sixth fastest for the second race in a row, which means we are seeing signs of progress and consistency,” the 24-year-old Australian said. “However, it was not as straightforward here as in Silverstone last week and we definitely had to pull something out of the bag to do the time and get into Q3.

“We exceeded our expectations today, as in FP3 we did not look so strong. I was particularly pleased with my Q2 lap. I think we did the best we could today and now we look ahead to the race.”

The great thing is Daniel expectations of what’s possible on Sunday have also changed these last few races, as he later explained.

“Last weekend I felt there was a better result than eighth waiting for me and I would like to go for better than seventh, which is my best finish so far. If there’s a chance of a podium, let’s go for it! Nothing’s impossible.”

As usual, you can read the thoughts of the top three drivers after the break.

[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

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