Daily Update Formula1 News

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen became the eighth consecutive man to win the Spanish Grand Prix from pole position, when he dominated Sunday's race at the Circuit de Catalunya.
The Finn shrugged off two safety car periods - the second when compatriot Heikki Kovalainen crashed his McLaren heavily after a front-end failure pitched him off the road in Turn Nine at an estimated 180 mph - and led home team mate Felipe Massa, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica. They finished 3.2s, 0.9s, and 1.5s apart respectively.
It may not have been a classic race, but it increased Raikkonen's championship score to 29 points and his lead to nine over Hamilton (20), while Massa jumps up to fourth on 18, one behind Kubica (19).
The Kovalainen incident occurred on the 22nd lap, possibly as a result of something causing the front-left tyre and rim to separate. It took a while to stabilise the Finn at the accident scene, but he gave a thumbs up as he was taken by stretcher to the medical centre. Later he was flown to hospital for precautionary checks, and his condition was described as stable.

The incident ruined Nick Heidfeld's race for BMW Sauber, since he was on a longer refuelling strategy and had just taken the lead after the first round of pit stops. He had to come in when the pit lane was still closed, and thus had to serve a stop-go penalty later on. That dropped him to a ninth-place finish.
Mark Webber brought his Red Bull home fifth ahead of Jenson Button's Honda, Kazuki Nakajima's Williams and Jarno Trulli's Toyota. The Italian was hampered by a long second stop and an unecessary third one after a communications mix up.
Giancarlo Fisichella was unable to resist the charging Heidfeld, so brought his Force India home 10th, ahead of Toyota's Timo Glock, who delayed himself running into the rear of David Coulthard. The Scot's left-rear tyre was cut as a result, so he also dropped back but managed to repass Super Aguri's Takuma Sato before the finish to claim 12th.
William's Nico Rosberg was headed for seventh place until his Toyota engine broke; Renault's Fernando Alonso was running fifth when his engine also blew up; Honda's Rubens Barrichello had a collision in the pit lane with Fisichella, which led to his subsequent retirement, and a clash on the opening lap also accounted for Force India's Adrian Sutil and, yet again, Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel. Team mate Sebastien Bourdais retired after being clobbered by Renault's Nelson Piquet as the Brazilian attempted to overtake. Piquet also failed to finish as a result. Finally, Super Aguri's Anthony Davidson went out with mechanical problems.
ref[formuala1.com]
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Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:20.701 1:20.784 1:21.813 17
2. Alonso Renault 1:21.347 1:20.804 1:21.904 18
3. Massa Ferrari 1:21.528 1:20.584 1:22.058 16
4. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:21.423 1:20.597 1:22.065 13
5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.366 1:20.825 1:22.096 14
6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.430 1:20.817 1:22.231 15
7. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:21.494 1:20.984 1:22.429 19
8. Trulli Toyota 1:21.158 1:20.907 1:22.529 19
9. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:21.466 1:20.815 1:22.542 20
10. Piquet Renault 1:21.409 1:20.894 1:22.699 18
11. Barrichello Honda 1:21.548 1:21.049 12
12. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:21.690 1:21.117 15
13. Button Honda 1:21.757 1:21.211 12
14. Glock Toyota 1:21.427 1:21.230 16
15. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:21.472 1:21.349 15
16. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.540 1:21.724 15
17. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:21.810 6
18. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:22.108 10
19. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:22.516 11
20. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:23.224 8
21. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 1:23.318 9
22. Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:23.496 9
ref [AS]

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ref [formula1.com]
Celebrating their 30th anniversary of Formula One competition seems to have boosted Williams’ motivation to return to the forefront of the sport this season. BMW Sauber, Ferrari and McLaren may lead the constructors’ race at present, but the British team are in the charging pack.

So far they have built up an impressive tally of points, thanks in part to Nico Rosberg’s podium finish at Melbourne. But while his challenge faltered in Malaysia and Bahrain, Rosberg is convinced they’ll return to flying form in Spain this weekend...

Q: Nico, the start of the season in Melbourne must have been to your liking. How did that third place feel?
Nico Rosberg: I have to say it was amazing to stand on the podium for the first time in F1. Last time I was up there was almost three years ago in GP2, but I still wasn't expecting a podium at all in the first race, as I thought we would end up in seventh or eighth position and get a couple of points. It was a big step up for me personally.

Q: Then you slipped 11 places to finish 14th in Malaysia and bounced back to eighth place in Bahrain. It has been quite a rollercoaster ride. What happened?
NR: In Malaysia we struggled a bit with the new asphalt of the circuit and we couldn't get the car to work properly all weekend, even though we went there thinking we could do well. In Bahrain, things went better, as we had trouble-free running all weekend and I scored a further point.

Q: You said that Williams can do much better, so how crucial was last week’s test in Barcelona? What upgrades have been made to the FW30?
NR: We had a good number of new releases coming to the car for the start of the European season, which we tested in Barcelona. The outcome was positive, even though we lost some track time on the last day due to bad weather conditions. We are now looking forward to going back there for the race.

Q: What is your impression - can those changes immediately translate into race performance at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix? Is your clear objective to finish in the points?
NR: There are three teams quite clearly quicker than us at the moment, which means that if everything goes smoothly and they have no problems, we can be seventh. There is little room left in the points for everyone else and the battle is tight. Most of the teams will bring improvements on their cars to the first European race. We'll see on Saturday in Barcelona where everyone is.

Q: Williams are currently the 'fourth power' behind BMW Sauber, Ferrari and McLaren, or in other words, the leader of the second group. Do you see a chance to defend that position and close the gap to the three frontrunners?
NR: The battle is very tight out there and it won't be easy at all to hold onto the fourth position in the constructors’ championship. However, this is our target for this year and we'll do anything we can to achieve it. With some luck, we might end up on the podium again.

Q: Now that the podium is not a foreign place to you and the paddock has cast you in the role of a serious driver, has your view of Formula One racing as your chosen profession changed?
NR: I consider the podium place to be one of the many steps which one takes during a career. And to achieve it shows that things are progressing and therefore it is a nice motivation boost. It also came a bit earlier than I expected, although I felt it would be possible during this season. I'm here to win so there is more to achieve.

Q: Your father, Keke, was invaluable to you at the start of your Formula One career. Lately, he hasn't been present at the races as much. How important a role does he still play in your professional life?
NR: My father and I decided some time ago that, when the time was right, he would step back, so this parting is really not as drastic as it maybe looks. We worked together on the contract extension with Williams at the end of last year and, after I signed, my father took the planned step back and reduced his involvement in the daily management. Of course, he is always there whenever I need any advice. He is a wise man and knows this business well so I can't see a better advisor.

Q: You are a young and good-looking guy and some have said you have star quality. In spite of this, you've managed to avoid scandal and press speculation about your private life. Do you consciously avoid the playboy image?
NR: I consider myself to be a discreet person and not very materialistic - I have a car and a motorhome that's all. That's probably the reason why people see me in a different way. F1 takes up the majority of my time and I want to focus on it in the best possible way, while balancing it with my private life.
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Kimi Raikkonen isn't ready to rule out McLaren as Ferrari's main rival this season, despite BMW being his closest challenger in the last two races.
BMW have finished on the podium at every race this season and had both cars ahead of the two McLarens at Bahrain two weeks ago.
But the reigning champion thinks their positions could easily be reversed during the next three races at very different circuits.
"Barcelona is one of the most difficult circuits for cars, then after here it's Turkey and then Monaco, and it can be a different story again," he said.

"Hopefully we can keep the upper hand we've had in the last two races, and BMW were stronger than McLaren at the previous race, so you never know. But we'll have to see what they've done here in testing."
Raikkonen also believes Lewis Hamilton's poor form at the last two races is a result of the McLaren slipping back into the clutches of BMW.
"If you don't have as a good a package as you had last year, then it is harder not to make a mistake," he added. "This is what happens."
He is also looking out for Renault to be able to join the battle at the front of the grid after Fernando Alonso set the quickest time of Wednesday's test at Barcelona.
"I don't have any idea what the other teams did on the other days (this week), but I heard that Renault have made a step," he said. "You presume that if they make a step it is a step forwards."
Raikkonen also sampled Ferrari's new nose cone for the first time at Barcelona yesterday, but the rain that affected the test prevented him from evaluating it fully.
"I only did one run with it and that was in the rain. We tried some little things but in these conditions you don't really feel exactly the best picture.
"But they tested it during the week and it seems to be positive. It is a little step forward so that is good."
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As well as making history as Formula One racing’s first-ever night race, the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix will also mark the introduction of electronic flag displays to the sport. The new technology, developed by lighting consultants Valerio Maioli S.p.A for the Singapore event, will be used in conjunction with the traditional flag signals waved by marshals.

The innovative system, which meets the FIA’s stringent requirements, is the result of more than a decade of development at the Barcelona, Imola and Monza racing circuits. Similar to units used to guide pilots at the runways of major airports, these ‘DigiFlags’ will convey the different flag colours in a more visible way during the night race.

Thirty five display panels will be situated around the Singapore track, each controlled by handheld panels operated by officials at each marshals’ post. In addition to improved visibility, the new system will also provide the race director with an overview of every flag display around the circuit, thereby ensuring the more efficient communication of warnings.

With less than six months to go before the inaugural Singapore event takes place on September 28, the race organisers have been hard work preparing the new street circuit. A week-long demonstration of the lighting system was held from March 29, with a 64-metre stretch lit up with 16 projectors, ahead of its complete installation in August.
ref [formula1.cm]

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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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