Daily Update Formula1 News

Bridgestone used this week’s Barcelona test to complete their second major evaluation of the 2009-specification slick tyres which could be adopted next season in place of the current grooved rubber. It follows their first test in Jerez last December.

Bridgestone brought three slick compounds to the Circuit de Catalunya, each team receiving a total of nine sets. In line with proposed 2009 regulations, the tyres were used without tyre warmers and, for the most part, on cars running reduced downforce levels.

“Running with the slick tyres has been interesting and we are also happy with their performance,” reported Tetsuro Kobayashi, Bridgestone Motorsport’s technical manager. "We have accumulated good data for analysis from the four days here. This data will be processed and investigated carefully to evaluate our next steps.”

Kobayashi also played down fears that getting the cold slicks up to temperature without tyre warmers could present a safety issue. “The situation of warm-up with these tyres is much improved as we look to the future with no tyre blankets," he said.

The teams will get their next chance to sample Bridgestone’s latest slick developments in around three months’ time, but Kobayashi believes the men at the wheel have already had a pretty good glimpse of the future.

“The drivers now have a greater understanding of driving Formula One cars with slick tyres to the 2009 regulations with lower levels of downforce and no tyre blankets,” he added. “We should all expect to see more progress next time we test slicks, which is planned for the Jerez test in July.”
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Fernando Alonso believes his Renault team have not made enough progress to leave the midfield group despite several updates being introduced in their R28 car this week.
The two-time champion and his team admitted before the Barcelona test that they were pinning their hopes for a better season on the developments tested this week at the Spanish track.
Alonso topped the times with the revised car in yesterday's session and confessed the upgrades were a step forward after a poor start to the season.
But the Spaniard reckons Renault have not progressed enough to be ahead of the midfield pack.
"The car is better, that's true, but we haven't made so much progress," Alonso was quoted as saying by AS newspaper. "We still haven't managed to escape the midfield group.

"It's very close. Things haven't changed so much because the others have evolved too. We are still more or less in the same place as before this test.
"We are in a group where, if everything goes well, you qualify eighth on the grid, but if you fail, then you have Red Bull, the Toyota and Williams ahead of you and you are 14th and outside of Q3."
Alonso, however, said it was not easy to judge where Renault stand ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix next week.
"The day was good and I'm happy with the developments, but we need to continue improving because the rest have done that too. It's hard to say where we are compared to the rest. We will only know next week."
ref [AS]
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Nelsinho Piquet is cautious about how much Renault can improve thanks to the new updates to be introduced this week, although the the Brazilian admitted the car is already better.
Renault, who have endured a difficult start to the season, are pinning their hopes for the year on all the improvements they will introduce in this week's test at Barcelona.
The team already tested a new front wing and other updates yesterday, and introduced a new engine cover fin in today's session.
Piquet reckons the car is already a step forward, although he says it's hard to judge by how much.

"I think the car is better everywhere," Piquet told reporters after the test.
"Obviously it's difficult to calculate how much better the track is since the last time we were here because they had an LMS race and then BMW drove here yesterday and cleaned up the track a little bit, so it's difficult to say if the track is much better or if the car improved a lot.
"Obviously set-up wise we have improved throughout the three races, so coming back after two months obviously we would have a gain. When you gain on aero you gain everywhere.
"You gain on braking, you gain on speed on the corner, on the straights. So I think we gained a little bit everywhere."
The Brazilian said Renault are doing things step by step in order to see what works and what doesn't.
"Obviously we have four days of testing so we are going to test things step by step every day," he said. "But obviously it's not a case of putting them on the car and making them work straight away. You need to put them on the car and develop them slowly.
"So I think the good thing of having these new bits is that you have more doors for improvement; you can improve in different ways. So at the moment we didn't find a one-second gain, but we found some doors to improve.
"It will be four days of data collection and a lot of experiments but I'm sure it will open a lot of doors for improvement for the car."
Despite his caution, Piquet reckons the updated car will allow Renault to get both cars into Q3 in the Spanish Grand Prix next week.
"I thought the car was very good today and we have another three days of testing and there's margin to improve. I think I'm optimistic that we can put both cars in the top ten in qualifying."

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Following his dominant win at last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa has spoken about his sense of relief after scoring his first points of 2008 at the Sakhir circuit. Massa, who won from second on the grid on Sunday, had retired from the first two rounds in Australia and Malaysia.

“It was a nice feeling to win, especially after my bad start to the season,” he told Ferrari’s official website. “The win came at just the right time and getting my name on the scoreboard at last. For the team also it was a perfect weekend as Kimi (Raikkonen) came second to give us maximum points.”

Massa also won the Sakhir race in 2007, but unlike last year, on Sunday the 26 year-old did not claim victory from pole. During Saturday’s qualifying, he was soundly beaten by BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica, who clinched the top grid slot with an impressive lap. But Massa, it seems, was not worried about Kubica’s pace.

“It was clear that he was running fairly light in terms of fuel, or at least lighter than us,” explained the Ferrari driver. “I knew I would have around five laps more fuel than him. But thanks to a good start, even this wasn't necessary. So I was never really racing Kubica, as I knew we had a better car and a better strategy.”

Despite his confidence in the F2008, Massa is under no illusions about the strength of his rivals. While McLaren didn’t enjoy the best of races, with Heikki Kovalainen finishing in fifth and Lewis Hamilton in 13th, the Brazilian remains on his guard, especially as BMW Sauber now lead the constructors' standings.

“It seems that at the moment McLaren and BMW are at the same level and we will have to watch both of them closely,” he added. “Let's wait and see what happens in the next race. However, our own focus has to be on ourselves and on our car; improving it all the time and that will bring its own rewards.”

Massa is currently enjoying a brief break in Dubai, but will be back in action in Spain next week for the multi-team test at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya from Monday.
ref [formual1.com]
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The Brazillian Massa repeat his succes last year in Bahrain, 1 - 2 post place by Scuderia. In 3th place BMW Kubica which show good perform in this season.
1. Massa Ferrari (B) 1h31:06.970
2. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) + 3.339
3. Kubica BMW Sauber (B) + 4.998
4. Heidfeld BMW Sauber (B) + 8.409
5. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 26.789
6. Trulli Toyota (B) + 41.314
7. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) + 45.473
8. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) + 55.889
9. Glock Toyota (B) + 1:09.500
10. Alonso Renault (B) + 1:17.181
11. Barrichello Honda (B) + 1:17.862
12. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
13. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) + 1 lap
14. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) + 1 lap
15. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) + 1 lap
16. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) + 1 lap
17. Sato Super Aguri-Honda (B) + 1 lap
18. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) + 1 lap
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) + 2 laps

Out:
Nelson Piquet (Renault)
Jenson Button (Honda)
Sebastian Vettel (Scuderia Torro Rosso)

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Qualification GP Bahrain
1. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:32.893 1:31.745 1:33.096 12
2. Massa Ferrari 1:31.937 1:31.188 1:33.123 12
3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.750 1:31.922 1:33.292 13
4. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:32.652 1:31.933 1:33.418 12
5. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:33.057 1:31.718 1:33.488 12
6. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:33.137 1:31.909 1:33.737 15
7. Trulli Toyota 1:32.493 1:32.159 1:33.994 19
8. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:32.903 1:32.185 1:34.015 22
9. Button Honda 1:32.793 1:32.362 1:35.057 17
10. Alonso Renault 1:32.947 1:32.345 1:35.115 17
11. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:33.194 1:32.371 12
12. Barrichello Honda 1:32.944 1:32.508 12
13. Glock Toyota 1:32.800 1:32.528 15
14. Piquet Renault 1:32.975 1:32.790 15
15. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:33.415 1:32.915 15
16. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:33.386 1:32.943 15
17. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:33.433 7
18. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:33.501 5
19. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:33.562 9
20. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:33.845 6
21. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:34.140 9
22. Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:35.725 5

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Drivers: 1st Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber), 1m33.096s; 2nd Felipe Massa (Ferrari), 1m33.123s; 3rd Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1m33.292s.
Q: Congratulations, a fantastic day for you and quick too in Q2, third fastest without fuel on board, so a great day for you.
Robert Kubica: Yeah, I think after yesterday’s good work in free practice two we have developed quite a lot. Qualifying went pretty well: Q1 and Q2 but Q3 I managed to do quite a good lap and got on pole position for the first time.

Q: I’m sure it was more than quite a good lap. Let’s talk about that lap and also your emotions as you heard it was your first pole.
RK: Well, I started the lap pretty well, then in corner nine I locked the front wheels and unfortunately I flat-spotted the tyres, so it was not easy. I had a very big vibration and in the last three corners which are right-handers, it was very difficult but I managed not to make a mistake. The car was pulling to one side under braking but still it was enough for pole and I’m very happy.

Q: How much have you expected this kind of performance this year?
RK: We were all expecting to be strong. Looking at the numbers in the wind tunnel during the winter and simulations of the new car, I was expecting it to be a very strong car but at the beginning of the winter testing we faced some problems but the guys worked very hard and I think this is an example of never giving up, even if there are problems, pushing as hard as possible and we managed to be ready in Australia with what was nearly the full potential of the car but of course there is still work to do. We will try to do our best and improve the car even more.

Q: Last year’s pole man, Felipe Massa, sitting alongside. You’ve been so quick all weekend, you were fastest this morning by over 0.7s, were you a bit disappointed to be second on the grid?
FM: Well, in a way I’m happy with second, looking at how we look in the race, but for sure, I think even in Q3, looking at what we did in Q2, it was really possible to be in front. I was a little bit unlucky with traffic in Q3, I was always behind cars and I couldn’t do very clean laps but it’s good to be second, good to start in the front and I think we can be very strong tomorrow as we have shown all weekend.

Q: What was the tyre choice like? It was interesting in qualifying that most drivers seemed to go out on mediums and then on softs at the end?
FM: Well, for sure soft in qualifying is always the best and for the race we need to analyse tonight the best situation, how the track is going to be, how the grid is going to be, even taking the data from today but I don’t think we have a lot of problems with the tyres here. Both seem pretty reasonable.

Q: Lewis, disappointed to be third after second last year?
LH: No, I wouldn’t say it’s disappointing but for sure we would prefer to be on pole, but I still think we… The team have done a great job to recover from the accident I had yesterday, the team stayed up all night, so a big thank you to them for preparing the car. It was great today. As Robert was saying, we all knew we were going to be very close this weekend. Felipe was extremely quick, but we knew that we would be competing for a top three place for sure and I think these guys both did a great job. I was quite happy with my lap but there are always improvements that you can make but we’re in a good position for the start tomorrow, so I am quite happy.

Q: Both of the Finns including your team-mate behind you, of course.
LH: Yes. What can I say really? It’s good for me and I just need to make sure we get off to a good start tomorrow and we can try and pace ourselves from there.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Panos Seitanidis – Drive Magazine) Question for Robert. First of all, do you think there’s going to be a big party back home in Poland, and secondly, do you think that BMW has the race pace to have the same position tomorrow?
RK: I think that after the second place in Malaysia there were high expectations in Poland and I’m confident about the race as well. Yesterday we did some long runs and they went pretty OK and I think Ferrari was clearly the fastest but in the race anything can happen and we will now try to analyse the data and prepare for tomorrow’s race as much as possible.

Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Felipe, you had been the fastest all the time in the first sector but it seemed that you lost time in Q3 in the second sector in both outings. Any problem there?
FM: No, no problem. I think on the first attempt I was pretty slow in the second and third sector because I was behind Rosberg during the whole lap, and on the last attempt I passed Fernando just before turn nine, but I don’t think he held me up. I don’t think there was any problem.

Q: (Ottavio Daviddi – Tuttosport) Robert, you undertook a slimming programme before the start of the season. Why did you decide to go on a diet and what kind of diet did you do?
LH: Stop having KFC and everything.
RK: We decided for some technical reasons to reduce the weight as much as possible and I tried to do my best in February and March and it was not easy because in the end, now I think I am weighing much less than normal, even for the average of 1.85m driver but still, it produces quite a good gain in the performance and I think this was in some way also the key to be so strong at the beginning of the season.

Q: (Jerome Bourret – L’Equipe) Question for all of you: is it a big advantage to start on the clean side of the track here?
RK: This year it’s more difficult to get a perfect start because without all the electronic systems there is more benefit to do everything perfectly than from side to side. Even if you are on the clean side, if something goes wrong, you lose much more than someone who is on the dirty side and makes a good start.
FM: Well, it depends what sort of start you can make. For sure, if I need to chose, I always prefer the clean side but if you look at last year, I think you can see a good start as well. He (Lewis) almost passed me in turn one but I think you can also be strong on the dirty side, so let’s wait and see tomorrow.
LH: For me I think last year starting second I got a slightly worse start than Felipe but I think it’s going to be quite equal but I’m happy with being on the clean side, that’s for sure.
ref [formula1.com]
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Double world champion Fernando Alonso says he is committed to bringing Renault back to the top step of the podium and has denied he has a performance clause in his contract allowing him to leave the team at the end of the season.

But the 26-year-old Spaniard, who has been linked to switch to Ferrari in 2009, hinted to reporters in Bahrain that it was too early in the season for him to make firm decisions about his future.

"I don't remember that clause and I signed for two years with Renault," said Alonso. "But as we saw last year the contracts are always very flexible."

Alonso's best result so far this season was fourth, in Australia, but then finished 70 seconds behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in Malaysia.

Asked if he was committed to staying at Renault and turning the team's fortunes around, Alonso replied: "At the moment yes, because we have just started the championship.

"And okay, we are disappointed with our performances in the first two races, but it is not time to give up now, it is time to keep working as hard as we can," he added.

"And then we will see at the middle of the season or the end of the season where we are and for next year there is a big change of rules it seems, so aerodynamically there will be a big change with very little wings and we will have slick tyres again probably.

"So all this can change the picture again in F1, at the moment I am really convinced that we can do a good job, Renault and me together."

Formula One's regulation changes are likely to be the most far-reaching for more than two decades in the sport, and Alonso believes that with the resources at Renault's disposal, the team will be well-placed to take advantage of the opportunity.

"I think when rules change this dramatically it is like throwing a coin in the air," he said.

"Any team can have a good car and fight for the championship. At the moment the teams that we are behind now, this is the thing that we are hoping, a big change in rules and we can recover the gap quickly.

"If the rules stay the same for the next ten years or whatever, we know that Ferrari and McLaren will fight for the next ten championships. So hopefully next year everything will change a little bit and maybe we can see the benefit of it."
ref : [as]
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Max Mosley has apologised to members of the FIA for any embarrassment caused by the recent revelations about his private life, but made it clear he remains fully committed to his role as president of motor racing's governing body.

In a letter sent on Tuesday to all presidents of the national FIA clubs, all members of the FIA Senate, the World Motor Sport Council and the World Council for Mobility and the Automobile, Mosley blames the allegations about his sexual conduct on a 'covert' operation to discredit him.

The FIA head also denied claims from the newspaper that there were Nazi connotations in his actions.

He also reveals that he intends to take legal action against the News of the World newspaper for the article.

In the letter, Mosley writes: "From information provided to me by an impeccable high-level source close to the UK police and security services, I understand that over the last two weeks or so, a covert investigation of my private life and background has been undertaken by a group specialising in such things, for reasons and clients as yet unknown. I have had similar but less well-sourced information from France.

"Regrettably you are now familiar with the results of this covert investigation and I am very sorry if this has embarrassed you or the club. Not content with publicising highly personal and private activities, which are, to say the least, embarrassing, a British tabloid newspaper published the story with the claim that there was some sort of Nazi connotation to the matter. This is entirely false.

"It is against the law in most countries to publish details of a person's private life without good reason. The publications by The News of the World are a wholly unwarranted invasion of my privacy and I intend to issue legal proceedings against the Newspaper in the UK and other jurisdictions."

Although there have been calls by some for Mosley to resign in the wake of the scandal, in the letter he claims that he has received support from a number of parties who wish him to stand firm in light of the controversy.

"I have received a very large number of messages of sympathy and support from those within the FIA and the motor sport and motoring communities generally, suggesting that my private life is not relevant to my work and that I should continue in my role," wrote Mosley. "I am grateful and with your support I intend to follow this advice.

"I shall now devote some time to those responsible for putting this into the public domain but above all I need to repair the damage to my immediate family who are the innocent and unsuspecting victims of this deliberate and calculated personal attack.

"You can, however be certain that I will not allow any of this to impede my commitment to the work of the FIA."

The letter is the first public statement from Mosley since the story broke in Sunday's News of the World newspaper.

Although Mosley is scheduled to attend this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix, it is looking increasingly likely that he will choose to skip the event.

Although the news of Mosley's antics has generated a lot of coverage and reaction in the media, so far Formula One teams and manufacturers have remained silent over the matter.
ref [as]
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