Earlier today we dropped into MotorSportRetro.com and noticed these very cool posters. They’re created by Adelaide-based graphic designer Sean Kane. There’s a series of five posters in total, three featuring Ayrton Senna (2 x Lotus, 1 x McLaren), one with the 1991 Le Mans winning Mazda 787B rotary and one with Juha Kankunnen’s 1986 Peugeot 205 T16 E2 Group B rally car.
They’re very cool. And you can buy them all for yourself if you want!
At the FIA’s Thursday press conference ahead of the German Grand Prix the drivers were asked about the new kevlar-belted Pirelli tyres. Luke Smith from NBC Sports asked: “Pirelli are bringing in new construction of tyres for the race weekend. From a safety aspect, how comfortable do you feel racing with these tyres?”
With word also coming through that the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association has said the drivers will boycott the race if the tyre blow outs experienced at the British Grand Prix are repeated it was a very good question.
Here are the replies from the six drivers in attendance at the press conference:
Sergio Perez: Well, I think it’s definitely important to change something for safety, no longer for the performance. I think it’s very important that we as drivers feel safe, something that could really happen, a big accident in the last race weekend, so I think that definitely it’s a good thing that Pirelli is reacting to make a change.
Nico Hulkenberg: Yeah, I agree with Sergio. I think it is for safety now and there must be some action and there is some action, there are changes and I think generally this track here is not as high speed, not as many high speed corners so the tyres don’t get as hard a time as they did at Silverstone. So I’m confident that this will be safe now.
Adrian Sutil: Yeah, as long as it’s for safety, I think they have to improve it, yes, but it hasn’t been a hundred percent that it was a rear tyre issue, so one says it’s a tyre issue what caused the punctures at Silverstone, some people say it’s maybe kerbing or something like that, so it’s always hard to see where the problem is, but four punctures in a race is too much, so they have to get behind it. I feel safe on these tyres and had no problems with them. I had some two stop races, I did a two stop strategy in Silverstone so for me the concern is not so much.
Daniel Ricciardo: Not much more to add. All I can say is that you’re driving as hard as you can and you don’t really put it… it’s definitely at the back of your mind. As we saw at the weekend, the tyres that went… it was pretty instant… I don’t think any of the drivers felt much before it happened, so all we can do is drive hard and hang on, but I’m definitely… yeah, I’m sure the changes that they’ve made are going to be for the best. But it’s definitely at the back of our mind whilst we’re in the car.
Sebastian Vettel: I think first of all that it’s good that within not even a week’s time, how we were able to get a different tyre for this race which hopefully is safer for all of us. Obviously the last race was not what we want and not satisfactory so I think it’s good that we have a new tyre here. How much better and how different it will be is difficult to judge at this stage but I’m confident that it’s a step forward.
Nico Rosberg: Well, I trust the FIA is going to make the right calls, as they are, they’re working on it flat out together with Pirelli, so I’m sure there’s going to be progress and it shouldn’t be a concern this weekend.
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
The Grand Prix Drivers’ Association has threatened to boycott this weekend’s German Grand Prix if there is a repeat of the tyre dramas seen at Silverstone last week.
Pirelli says it has identified the four main factors responsible for the spectacular tyre failures in the British Grand Prix and will use kevlar-belted tyres at the Nürburgring.
If the new measures don’t work, the GPDA has put Pirelli on notice. “The drivers of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association wish to express their deepest concerns about the events that took place at Silverstone,” said a GPDA statement.
“We trust that the changes made to the tyres will have the desired results and that similar problems will not occur during the German GP weekend.
“We are ready to drive our cars to the limit, as we always do, and as it is expected by our teams, sponsors and fans.
“However, the drivers have decided that, if similar problems should manifest themselves during the German GP, we shall immediately withdraw from the event, as this avoidable problem with the tyres endangers again the lives of drivers, marshals and fans.”
We’ve no reason to believe that the drivers wouldn’t follow through with their threat to withdraw, but if tyre problem do re-occur we’d also not be surprised if the drivers backed down and raced, perhaps with special conditions. It wouldn’t be the first time drivers threaten to withdraw from a race on safety concerns, only to renege at the last moment.
[Source: Autosport | Pic: Ferrari]
After the PR disaster that was the British Grand Prix, where four drivers suffered exploding rear tyres, Pirelli has explained its theories on why things went wrong, which largely reads as “it’s not our fault!”.
According to Pirelli four main factors caused the issues and just wait until you read the first one! These factors have been outlined in an article published to the Pirelli website (recommended reading) and state:
After exhaustive analysis of the tyres used at Silverstone, Pirelli has concluded that the causes of the failures were principally down to a combination of the following factors:
1) Rear tyres that were mounted the wrong way round: in other words, the right hand tyre being placed where the left hand one should be and vice versa, on the cars that suffered failures. The tyres supplied this year have an asymmetric structure, which means that they are not designed to be interchangeable. The sidewalls are designed in such a way to deal with specific loads on the internal and external sides of the tyre. So swapping the tyres round has an effect on how they work in certain conditions. In particular, the external part is designed to cope with the very high loads that are generated while cornering at a circuit as demanding as Silverstone, with its rapid left-hand bends and some kerbs that are particularly aggressive.
2) The use of tyre pressures that were excessively low or in any case lower than those indicated by Pirelli. Under-inflating the tyres means that the tyre is subjected to more stressful working conditions.
3) The use of extreme camber angles.
4) Kerbing that was particularly aggressive on fast corners, such as that on turn four at Silverstone, which was the scene of most of the failures. Consequently it was the left-rear tyres that were affected.
Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG) has won an incident-packed British Grand Prix, just 0.765 seconds from Mark Webber (Red Bull). Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) filled the final podium position.
But where to start with the drama this race contained! Off the start line Webber was slow to move, although it appeared he may have been ever so slightly baulked by Rosberg ahead of him. That put the Aussie in thick of the action going into the first corner and unavoidable contact was made with Romain Grosjean (Lotus). Webber was forced wide, with a damaged front wing, and rejoined the track in fifteenth place. His day seemed over.
Out front Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes AMG) made the most of his pole position to establish a two second lead over Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull). But on lap eight the story of the day, and Pirelli’s worst nightmare, emerged when Hamilton’s left rear tyre delaminated before it spectacularly exploded. He limped back to the pits and rejoined in last place.
Alas that was the first of four delaminations for the day with Felipe Massa (Ferrari) and Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) to lose their left rear tyre in the same fashion as Hamilton soon after. As a result there was debris around all over the place and the Safety Car was deployed to clear the track.
Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) inherited the lead from Hamilton and was able to post a small gap back to Rosberg after racing resumed on lap 21. Rosberg stayed in touch with Vettel, but on lap 41 the triple world champion coasted into the last corner with gearbox problems, stopping on pit straight. The Safety Car was brought out to move Vettel’s car out of harm’s way.
Webber, who had worked his way back through the field was in third place after Vettel’s retirement, came in for a final tyre stop coming out behind the Safety Car in fifth place. When racing resumed there were six laps remaining, Rosberg in the lead heading towards his third grand prix win. Webber looked the most likely to challenge, if he could overtake the cars ahead.
Shortly after the restart Sergio Perez (McLaren) suffered the final tyre blowout of the race, he was narrowly avoided by Alonso who was preparing to pass the young Mexican. Thankfully a Safety Car wasn’t needed and we were treated to an exciting race to the flag.
Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso), Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) stood between Webber and Rosberg. Mark was able to quickly pass Ricciardo and Sutil in the chase for the lead and Raikkonen, on old tyres, was also overtaken without too much bother.
Less than two seconds separated first from second and Webber really needed to within one second of Rosberg so he could benefit from DRS. To Rosberg’s credit he was able to fight hard to keep his lead out of Webber’s reach to take the race win. Another lap or two may have seen a fairytale victory for Mark, but it wasn’t to be.
For all his troubles Lewis Hamilton also drove a great race and finished fourth. All of the top four drivers will have been pleased to have made some inroads into Vettel’s championship lead.
Daniel Ricciardo slipped down to eighth on his old tyres. His late fade out will be softened by the fact teammate Jean-Eric Vergne retired at about two thirds race distance.
It was a deserved win for Rosberg as the Mercedes AMGs were fast all weekend. He’ll take renewed confidence into next weekend when the German Grand Prix takes place at the Nürburgring.
Lewis Hamilton has blitzed the field to claim pole position for the 2013 British Grand Prix. The 2008 world champion set a best lap of 1:29.607, four tenths quicker than his Mercedes AMG teammate, Nico Rosberg (1:30.059).
So it’s another Mercedes front-row lockout, followed by a pair of very closely matched Red Bulls. Sebastian Vettel (1:30.211) will start from P3. In his final appearance at Silverstone Mark Webber (1:30.220) will line up on P4, just nine one thousandths of a second off Vettel. That’s Mark’s poorest qualifying result here for five years.
“We were up against it to get on the front row against the Mercs, they’re on another level as they have been for the last few events,” Webber explained. “It was disappointing to get pipped by Seb there at the end by a hundredth, it was very close. I was happy with the first part of my lap, but I could have done better in the last sector.”
It’s expected the Red Bulls will have better race pace than the Mercedes duo, a familiar theme so far this season and Webber is hoping there’s more to come. “We have a good balance for qualifying and race pace in terms of where we prioritised things. It should be an interesting race, we can get a good result from there,†he said.
Sensing a need to put his name at the forefront of Christian Horner’s mind, Daniel Ricciardo (Torro Rosso, 1:30.757) shone throughout qualifying to earn himself sixth place on the grid. He’ll start alongside Paul di Resta (Force India,1:30.736), who will be very pleased with himself to start his home race from P5.
Also pleasing for Ricciardo is the fact his teammate Jean-Eric Vergne (1:31.785), and fellow applicant for the vacant 2014 Red Bull Racing seat, could only manage the thirteenth best time. It’s a great result for Daniel who is ahead of both Ferrari and both Lotus drivers.
“Coming off the back of a bad couple of races, I expected to be strong here and I was more motivated than ever,” said Ricciardo. “However, if I’d been told I could be sixth this afternoon, I would have been surprised. We were very close to Di Resta in fifth, but we can be happy with this position.
“Now I am looking forward to the race when I hope I can come away with a good handful of points. I’d like to think I could finish at least in the same place I am starting from. It would be nice to do even better and I will be pushing hard to achieve that.”
The reaction to Mark Webber’s decision to quit Formula 1 and switch to endurance racing with Porsche has captured the attention of the media across the world.
To be honest we’ve been a little surprised by how much coverage there has been, especially in the F1 paddock. Perhaps that says a lot about the high regard in which Mark is held, where his no nonsense and honest approach is greatly appreciated.
So here’s a grab of some of the comments that have been made since Mark’s move to Porsche was announced, starting with the FIA’s Thursday press conference ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
It’s interesting to note that Mark said his mind has been made up for some time, which adds more weight to the early rumours which first emerged in June last year and again in April this year.
Q: A momentous announcement from you today. Tell us the thinking behind the announcement of your retirement from Formula One. And how significant is the year, 2013 to 2014?
Mark WEBBER: Well, the timing is perfect for me. Very, very excited about my new chapter and the new challenge ahead. One of the most famous and most well-respected brands in automotive and motor racing in Porsche, so that’s something which personally I’m very satisfied about taking on. The decision has been there for quite a long time for me actually. So, I’ve known for quite a while, I’ve had a plan and I’ve stuck to it. But still, in the meantime, respecting the profession that I have now at this level and focusing on achieving very, very strong results in my last season in Formula One.
Mark Webber: factory Porsche driver. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think.
Sure, it’s not the most surprising news—over a year since it was first mentioned—but it’s now official that Mark Webber has been signed to drive for Porsche in the World Endurance Championship, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, from 2014 on a multi-year deal.
Whether multi-year translates to the five-year deal mentioned in April, or a more circumspect two–three year deal is not certain at this stage.
Mark has been a Porsche enthusiast for many years and his expertise and setup skills developed in Formula 1 should be a great boost to Porsche as it prepares for its 2014 LMP1 program.
“It’s an honour for me to join Porsche at its return to the top category in Le Mans and in the sports car World Endurance Championship and be part of the team,” Mark said. “Porsche has written racing history as a manufacturer and stands for outstanding technology and performance at the highest level.
“I’m very much looking forward to this new challenge after my time in Formula 1. Porsche will undoubtedly set itself very high goals. I can hardly wait to pilot one of the fastest sports cars in the world.â€
Porsche will run a minimum of two cars for the WEC series, with three likely for Le Mans. Other drivers confirmed for Porsche are Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas, and Neel Jani.
Now that Mark’s F1 future is known the race will be on to see who replaces him at Red Bull Racing. Will it be Kimi Raikkonen or one of the Toro Rosso drivers, Daniel Ricciardo or Jean-Eric Vergne?
While we were off last week the FIA International Tribunal delivered its verdict on the so-called secret tyre test carried out by Pirelli and Mercedes AMG.
The test was brought into question on account of Mercedes using a 2013-spec car driven by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, complete with disguised helmets. Such circumstances would appear to be a clear breach of the rules which ban in-season testing. In handing down its findings the International Tribunal said Mercedes did gain an unfair advantage.
A portion of the detailed ruling, which has been published by the FIA, reads:
It is inconceivable that Mercedes did not obtain a material advantage from three days of testing even if only as a result of the running of its car(s) – wholly irrespective of any matter relating to tyres.
Further, Ross Brawn candidly accepted in his evidence that it was inevitable that some advantage had been obtained, although he regarded that advantage as having been minimal.
Yet, on the face of it, both parties got away with it.
Officially, both Mercedes and Pirelli have been reprimanded and Mercedes will be forced to sit out the three-day young driver test to be held at Silverstone next month.
Since the young driver tests have been moved to mid-season, instead of after the final race, they have morphed from an opportunity to assess young talent to a more season-specific test where teams will extract useable data for the remaining races.
So, on the surface, the penalty will hurt Mercedes, but really, it’s all a bit wet lettuce leaf. The FIA, meanwhile, says it will endeavour to clarify matters regarding testing to ensure similar incidents don’t happen again.
Official commentary from the FIA can be read below.
Pirelli has announced the tyre compounds it will be bringing to the next three races (British, German and Hungarian Grands Prix). Despite coming under pressure from the teams to change the construction of the tyres, there will now be no changes until at least after the Hungarian Grand Prix.
And the reason for remaining with the status quo?
“This decision is due to the fact that the new tyres, which were brought to the Friday free practice sessions in Canada, could not be tested sufficiently due to rain—and that the teams failed to agree unanimously about introducing the changes,” reads Pirelli’s official statement.
Although, Pirelli says it has made changes to its construction process to ensure “delamination issue has been addressed.”
The official YouTube channel for Ron Howard’s F1 movie Rush brings us a 3 minute long preview. It includes interviews with the noted director, as well as actors Chris Hemsworth (James Hunt) and Daniel Brühl (Niki Lauda).
We’re loving the previews we’re getting—the film looks great—but the more we see the more we want the whole movie. There’s still three months to go!
A short and sweet article on the official Red Bull Racing website has confirmed that Sebastian Vettel has extended his contract with the team until the end of 2015.
Vettel is the youngest triple world champion in Formula 1 having won titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012. After victory in Canada on the weekend the 25-year-old currently enjoys a 36 point lead in the 2013 championship standings.
[Source: Red Bull | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]