BMW & Toyota Join Forces On Green Engines

Japanese carmaker Toyota and Germany's BMW are to work together on environmental-friendly motoring technology. They will do joint research on next-generation batteries for green cars. BMW will also supply clean 1.6 and 2 litre diesel engines to Toyota, beginning in 2014 for models for the European market.
Bosses from the two companies said they are also discussing other medium and long-term collaborative projects.

Toyota said as a result of the agreement it plans to expand its European range and sell more fuel-efficient, diesel cars. "It is a great joy and a thrill to enter into this relationship with BMW," said the company's president Akio Toyoda. BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer said that "supplying Toyota with our fuel-efficient and dynamic diesel engines represents another important step in the planned expansion of our sales activities".

"The agreement marks a milestone for ongoing cooperation between two companies that set the benchmark in complimentary field," said BMW's sales and marketing director Ian Robertson.
The BBC's Jorn Madslien, who is at the Tokyo motor show, said neither BMW nor Toyota had a lot of experience with such co-operation deals.
A similar partnership between Germany's Volkswagen and Japan's Suzuki is currently on the rocks, with Suzuki trying to force an end to the co-operation.

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My New Job: Process Planning Engineer for BMW

I'm delighted to be able to write that i have secured a job as part of my year out of University for the next academic year. I have been offered a job by BMW Group to join them in Oxford as a process planning engineer, the role sounds fantastic and I have year long contract which begins on the 15th of August this year.

BMW Group Logo

I will over see the production of the mini and other BMW models in the BWM Group Plant, the main reason i'm so excited about this roll is that it means i get to oversea every stage of production for a modern day car. I will work with every department and try my hand at all sorts of areas and get experience with alot of things that i have never met before. Process Planning is not something that you are taught about at university, but the new experience and the new knowledge that comes with that can do nothing to harm my learning and should prove a brilliant experience.

If you want to know a bit about what a process planning engineer does, take a look at the link below:

http://www.ehow.com/about_6400270_job-description-planning-engineer.html

BMW have already been extremely helpful so far already sending me information about trusted landlords who own properties within walking distance of the plant, and all at a pretty reasonable price.
It was a rather odd start to my experience with them though, after I woke up at 9am one day to my phone ringing and my now boss was on the end of the phone claiming I had booked an interview with him.. I had not! It turned out they had a mix-up in HR and my details got handed to him by mistake. However I called back and arranged an interview for myself 2 days later; I felt that it didn't go to well compared with others that I'd had recently. However i was to be proven wrong  as only 3 days later I was offered the job.

In the next few months I will be looking to find a house in Oxford and will hopefully be metting up with the team of engineers i will be part of. Until then its back to doing my assignments and the deadlines are looming, as is the exam period...

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F1 2011: New Season, New Rules. What Has Changed?

Pirelli are the new tire suppliers for F1 in the 2011 season.

The new season is dawning on us; with testing well under way, cars being released and driver deals being finalized before the first race on 13th March in Bahrain. However this season brings a huge number of changes to the sport, this article is my attempt to simply all of these changes down and make them easy to understand!

List of Changes occuring:

• The F-Duct which was introduced amidst controversy last season has been banned
• Adjustable Rear wings have been introduced (THIS IS A BIG ONE!)
• Moveable splitters have been banned
• Rear wing slots have been banned
• Beam wind slots have been banned
• Mirror positions have been mandated, they must now sit in the optimal position for the driver to see what is around him, rather than being used an aerodynamic feature
• Limits have been placed on the rear impact structures
• Blade Roll Structures have been banned
• Connected shark fins have been banned
• Max chassis height and dash roll have been mandated 
• Wheel spoke shaping has been banned
• Weight distribution rules have been mandated
• Oversized started motor holes have been banned
• Limits have been placed on the rear wing support pylons
• The infamous double diffuser (and exhaust blown diffusers) have been banned. 

The graphic below which is available for download, provided by cooperation with confused.com marketing company: Big Fish Ideas. Just right click on the image and select to download/save image.



I found the following discussion on JamesAllenOnF1 surrounding the introduction of the adjustable rear wing, i will let you make your own mind up!

"To reiterate, the rule is as follows, “The driver may only activate the adjustable bodywork in the race when he has been notified via the control electronics that it is enabled. It will only be enabled if the driver is less than one second behind another at any of the pre-determined positions around each circuit. The system will be disabled the first time the driver uses the brakes after the system has been activated.”

Many fans feel that the device will be a gimmick, which adds an artificial element to the racing and today several drivers articulated similar fears. Mark Webber said that the devices would be at home on a Sony Playstation, but not in the real world of F1 racing.

“Overtaking moves should be about pressurising, being skillful, and tactical,” said Webber in his press briefing today. “Yes we want to see more overtaking, of course we do, we know that, but we also need to keep the element of skill involved in overtaking and not just hitting buttons, like KERS, like adjustable rear wings.”

One of the concerns the drivers have is that the art of defensive driving will potentially disappear. However well a driver defends his position, if the car behind can drop the wing angle and shoot past with a 10km/h speed advantage, then that skill will be redundant. As it will be the same for everybody, there are likely to be a lot more overtakes on straights, particularly at tracks with long straights like Shanghai, Bahrain, Monza and Abu Dhabi.

Jarno Trulli voiced safety concerns having been the victim of some high speed wing failures in the past, “We have to make sure we can run it in a way that it is safe,” he said.

“I have the lost the rear wing a couple of times and it is one of the most dangerous things you can have happen to you because you are no longer in control of your car. Normally it fails at very high speed and you’re going to end up hitting the wall. I do not want to have the worry of my rear wing failing. The front wing is slightly different even though it is still a problem, the rear wing is worse.”"

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Heidfeld released to take on Tyre testing role

Mercedes have released reserve driver Nick Heidfeld from his contract to become Pirelli's tyre test driver.

The 32-year-old stepped down from regular racing at the start of the season after 10 years in Formula One.

"We are confident Nick's knowledge and feedback will prove extremely useful to Pirelli and benefit the sport as a whole," said Mercedes boss Ross Brawn.

Pirelli will replace Bridgestone as the sole tyre supplier in 2011, returning to F1 for the first time in 20 years.

Brawn added: "Nick has been a real asset since joining our team and we are pleased to see his career progressing."Heidfeld will use last year's Toyota's F1 car, the TF109, to test the tyres all the teams will use.

The TF109 has been chosen as it has contemporary technology and performance with which to give the tyres the best possible test but it will not give an advantage to any current team as Toyota are no longer in the sport.

Following Heidfeld's on-track development work, all the current F1 teams will have the chance to work with the new tyres after the 2010 finale at Abu Dhabi in November.

Heidfeld's consistent performances in his racing days are one of the reasons Pirelli moved to sign him - he holds the record for the highest number of consecutive race classifications, 41.

"We're delighted to welcome Nick into the Pirelli family and we're confident that he'll do a great job for us," said Pirelli Motorsport director Paul Hembery.

"The role of test driver is crucial so we were looking for a driver who had plenty of recent F1 experience, the speed to push our new tyres as hard as possible and the consistency to provide reliable simulations as well as the analytical skills to relay information accurately to our engineers.

"Nick fits the bill in every respect."

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Button aims to improve qualifying

Jenson Button says he must improve in qualifying to boost his chances of retaining his world title - starting at this weekend's German Grand Prix.
The Englishman has not qualified in the top three for any races this year and has been out-qualified by McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the last six.
"My aim must be to make life easier for myself on Saturday afternoon," he said.
"If I do that I can maximise my Sunday performance without needing to play catch-up during the race."
Despite his poor qualifying record this season, Button has managed to rise to second in the championship standings, 12 points behind Hamilton.
This weekend's venue, Hockenheim, was the venue for one of his most memorable drives in 2004 when he qualified in 14th place for BAR but managed to finish second.
And he hopes he can power his way through the field in Germany again this weekend, possibly with the help of an exhaust blown diffuser - which increases downforce and therefore cornering speed.
McLaren's mechanics have been working on it since trying it out in practice at the British Grand Prix, and will once again use it in practice this weekend to assess progress before making a decision on whether or not to use it in the race.
"Hopefully we'll have a positive test and we will be able to see the benefits of the upgrades in the race for the first time. I'm looking forward to it," said Button.
But McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh was more guarded in his opinions.
"You can't be entirely confident you've solved the issues, but I think we go into Hockenheim with more information," he said.
"We've made some modifications in light of the data and we will be running the blown diffuser on Friday.
"I suspect we'll have it on for the weekend, but we'll make the call in the light of the data on Friday evening."


By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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Villeneuve has distanced himself from Gaddafi

Jacques Villeneuve has distanced himself from reports that the son of controversial Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is an investor in his new team.
The former world champion released a statement on his website confirming a link-up with Italy-based Durango.
"There are a number of rumours circulating at the moment and I wanted to clarify a few things before this gets out of hand," said Villeneuve.
Villeneuve Racing will attempt to join the F1 starting grid in 2011.
Canadian Villeneuve, 39, added: "The team will be a joint venture with Durango, and based out of Italy. To be clear, right now all the money comes from corporate sponsorship and not from personal investors."
Durango owner Ivone Pinton said last week that he had joined forces with Villeneuve, who is expected to drive for the planned team initially before exploring a different role.
Villeneuve, the 1997 world champion with Williams as well as a winner of the Indy 500 and CART series, last competed in Formula One in 2006.
The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) has invited applications to make up a 13th team in F1.
It is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether any have what it takes to participate at a time when some teams are struggling to raise sponsorship.
Durango ran a car for Villeneuve in the Dubai-based Speedcar series until that folded last year - and then dropped out of the GP2 support series in 2009 due to financial problems.

By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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Ferrari are still in the chase: Alonso

Fernando Alonso has warned rivals not to write off Ferrari ahead of the second half of the Formula 1 season.
The two-time world champion says that Ferrari's updates for next week's European Grand Prix in Valencia are only the start of a concerted push.
"We will have further developments for England and Germany," said Alonso. "Valencia is not a last-ditch effort."
The Spaniard lies just 15 points - the same as a third-place finish - behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton.
But Ferrari's pace has been disappointing this season since Alonso won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on his debut for the team.
Last weekend, however, the Montreal circuit used for the Canadian GP, suited the Ferrari F10 far better, allowing Alonso to fight for the lead and eventually finish third.
The Valencia city circuit has some similarities to Montreal; it has long straights and relatively slow corners, playing to the Ferrari's existing strengths of mechanical grip.
But a major breakthrough on aerodynamics has excited the team, and is due to feature on the F10 for the first time in Valencia.
The new development uses exhaust gases to move the airflow around the diffuser and rear beam wing more effectively. The concept is believed to be the key to the Red Bull RB6's stunning pace in fast corners this season.
In his blog on Ferrari's website, Alonso said: "We will have major updates on the F10 which I hope will allow us to up our performance level.
"Following on from that, we have further developments in the pipeline which should arrive for England and Germany, which is to say that the European GP is simply the ninth round of the championship, not a last-ditch effort for Ferrari, which I heard some people saying.
"I don't see how they can say that given that we have not even reached the halfway point of the [19-race] season, and that after Valencia there will still be 10 Grands Prix to go.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again now: this is a stage event, and the final one of those stages will not come until November in Abu Dhabi. Things can change very quickly."
Alonso said the team's mood had changed since the disappointment of being beaten by McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button in Canada.
"The sense of disappointment that we missed out on a win has been replaced with the awareness that we did actually get a great result," he said.
"We have to look at it as a glass half-full because on the Thursday we would have been satisfied with the thought of a podium finish.
"We were competitive throughout the whole weekend, both in qualifying and the race, which is very positive.
"In the first eight races of the season all sorts of things happened - mistakes, reliability problems, bad luck - but we are still in the thick of the fight for both championships [drivers' and constructors']. The same can be said of McLaren and Red Bull, who have also missed out on points along the way."

BBC Article
By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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Vettel on pole In Australia

Sebastian Vettel will start the Australian Grand Prix from pole position after leading a Red Bull one-two in qualifying in Melbourne.
Team-mate Mark Webber was 0.116 seconds behind Vettel, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso third well clear of the rest.
World champion Jenson Button's McLaren was fourth, 0.564secs behind Alonso.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton failed to make the final session complaining of a lack of grip and will start Sunday's race at Albert Park in 11th place.
It was also a disappointing day for Ferrari's Felipe Massa who was 0.726 seconds off team-mate Alonso in fifth, ahead of the Mercedes pair of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher.
Williams's Rubens Barrichello and Renault's Robert Kubica followed with Force India's Adrian Sutil impressing as he completed the top ten.
"It's a great result for both of us and the team. It is a bit funny, Mark was on pole in Germany last year so a bit of revenge," said Vettel.
"We are looking forward to tomorrow, we do not know how messy it might get so it is always good to be on pole."
After a dominant performance in qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Vettel was again in ominous form for the rest of the field, leading at the end of all three sessions.
Despite running wide on the exit of a turn late in his decisive lap, the German's pace ensured he deposed home favourite Webber at the top of the standings.
Gloomy conditions and falling track temperatures made a dramatic late riposte from Webber unlikely and the Australian had to settle with improving on his sixth place in Bahrain qualifying.
"I would love to be on pole, it is good for the team both of us are up there, but there is always a bit where you can get a bit more out of it, overall it would be nice to be one place further up," he said.
The Red Bull pair proved fastest throughout the day with Alonso and the possibility of rain providing the only threats to their monopoly of the front row.
The Spaniard set an early benchmark in the first qualifying session but was soon surpassed by Vettel as the frontrunners struggled to pick their way through the heavy traffic.
Rosberg moved to second on his final lap, but, despite some promising practice sessions on Friday, Renault's Vitaly Petrov could only finish 18th.
The Russian rookie was excluded from the final two sessions, with the day also coming to an early end for the Lotus pair of Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli ahead of Virgin Racing and Hispania.
Hamilton was also an absentee from the top-ten shootout after returning to the pits early in the second session and, having slipped to 17th in the meantime, failing to find the pace to dislodge Renault's Robert Kubica in tenth.
As he qualified outside of the top ten, Hamilton can take small consolation from the ability to choose which set of tyres he begins Sunday's race on.
With backmarker Karun Chandhok of Hispania lapping 5.839 slower than Vettel during the first session, the leaders' ability to negotiate stragglers is likely to be a prominent feature of the action.
Schumacher, who will be hoping to improve on his sixth-placed finish in the Middle East a fortnight ago, predicted pit-stop strategies may also play a big part in deciding the race.
"Traffic was quite difficult, a couple of guys didn't use their mirrors well," he said.
"The weather does not help with tyres but it is the same for everybody. It will be a long race, the start and the stop you plan to do are two major factors."



BBC Website
By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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Hamilton fastest in practice

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton took advantage of some rare dry conditions in the second session to clock Friday's fastest practice time in Melbourne.
Hamilton set a lap of one minute 25.801 seconds to edge out team-mate Jenson Button by 0.275 secs before a spell of heavy rain hit the Albert Park track.
Red Bull's Mark Webber emerged as the track dried later on to go third ahead of Mercedes's Michael Schumacher.
Renault's Robert Kubica was fastest in the day's first practice session.
"It's definitely not the weather I am used to in Australia, but we did get some dry running which is not too bad," said Hamilton.
"The track was very dirty in the first session, everyone just waits forever to go out and I wanted to go out and have some fun, so I went out early.
"Generally the session was quite good. I had to make some changes to the car but I did that in between sessions.
"It was difficult at the end when we made some more changes as the track was not up to top speed. Nevertheless we felt quite comfortable with the balance of the car so I am quite happy."
With temperatures lower than in the first session and light rain falling, there was little action for the opening part of the second 90-minute session as the pit crew switched their attention to the weather and weighed up swapping slick tyres for intermediates.
The BMW Sauber pair of Pedro de la Rosa and Kamui Kobayashi were among the first to go out, but they struggled for grip.
But the rain eased off and the Williams duo of Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg posted the first times after 16 minutes.
Hamilton and Button's McLarens then vied for the lead, with the 2008 champion responding after his successor had stolen ahead.
Button pushed hard to strike back but could not match his colleague and the two McLarens stayed at the top of the times for the rest of the session as the rain came and went.
The track dried in the closing minutes of the session, allowing Michael Schumacher to depose Russian novice Vitaly Petrov's Renault from third spot before the seven-time champion was himself beaten by Red Bull's Webber.
The Australian's team-mate Sebastian Vettel ended the session 16th fastest, sandwiched between the Ferraris of Bahrain winner Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa as all three appeared to concentrate on race preparation with heavy fuel loads.
After his short-lived debut at Bahrain, Karun Chandhok's Hispania had to be pushed back to the pit lane by the marshalls after a suspected gearbox failure left it stranded on the track.
There was more drama right at the end as De la Rosa narrowly avoided collisions as he was overtaken by both Button and Hamilton.
"As soon as I jumped in the car, I was reasonably happy with the balance and it's just got better throughout the day," said Button.
"It is so busy that it is difficult to get a gap but our cars are running well around here so it is positive in that way. The last couple of laps were frustrating.
"I think some cars are not being told the correct information about us catching them up.
"I know it is tough with a big difference in speed and we are one of the quicker cars at the moment, but we will forget about that and just focus on making sure it is competitive tomorrow."
One of those struggling outfits, Virgin Racing, suffered badly from technical problems as a gearbox leakage and telemetry problems blighted Lucas di Grassi and Timo Glock's second sessions.
Kubica was 11th in the second session after setting the pace in the first session with a fastest lap of 1:26.927, 0.199secs ahead of Mercedes' Nico Rosberg.
The German was 0.356secs ahead of Button's McLaren in third, with Massa, Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton were next up.
Force India reserve driver Paul di Resta, who drove the session in place of regular driver Adrian Sutil, was a creditable 11th on his Formula 1 race-weekend debut, one place ahead of Schumacher's Mercedes.


By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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McLaren to focus on Aussie qualifying

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton has warned his team must get qualifying right for this weekend's Australian Grand Prix.
The Briton finished the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix in third, but had been 1.1 seconds off pole position.
"The most important part for us is to understand how to get the most out of the car on that single lap," he said.
Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, said the team "are definitely a step ahead" of where they were in Bahrain for this weekend's race in Melbnourne.
Hamilton and team-mate Jenson Button have been working in the McLaren simulator in an attempt to extract the most out of the Mercedes-powered MP4-25 for Saturday's qualifying session at the Albert Park circuit.
With refuelling banned from Formula 1, opportunities to gain positions on pit-stop strategy have become more limited, making qualifying all the more important.
"Our race pace isn't too bad and the car felt pretty good in the race [in Bahrain]," said Hamilton. "But our qualifying position has even more of an impact than it did in the past.
"Our qualifying pace definitely appears to be quite a bit off - definitely off the Red Bulls.
"I don't know where they found that time. If you look at [Sebastian] Vettel's lap, it was so much faster in the middle sector.
"As we go into the season we'll start to highlight where we're losing bits of time but in the race when the car's heavier, it is more balanced out. It's also how you use your tyres, but it's difficult to say why the pace wasn't closer."
Reigning world champion Button, who joined McLaren this season, finished seventh in Bahrain after only just making it into the crucial top-10 qualifying shootout.
"It's something we're still trying to figure out," said the 30-year-old, who clinched victory in last year's season-opening race in Melbourne.
"Maybe we concentrated too much on the race in Bahrain, but that's not all of it.
"With our downforce level we couldn't get the best out of the car in qualifying, though we could get the tyres in the right working range. The balance was much better in the race, so it's a big margin in qualifying.
"If you compare Lewis to Sebastian, it was 1.1 seconds and that shocked us. I think we'll be a lot more competitive here, and in the simulator we looked reasonable, so I'm looking forward to driving here.
"I think everyone will be working on qualifying - I don't think we concentrated on it enough in the last race."
Melbourne will be McLaren's first race since modifying their rear diffuser after the sport's governing body, the FIA, deemed the design was against the spirit of the rules following the Bahrain Grand Prix.
McLaren, along with Mercedes, had developed wider holes to allow access to the starter motor, which also gave the car an extra aerodynamic advantage.
But the FIA's decision has forced both teams to scrap their designs at Albert Park.
However, McLaren's principal race engineer Phil Prew said the modifications to the MP4-25 were small and would not have any significant impact on performance.
"It certainly won't be better, but we're not anticipating any real loss of performance with that," he said.
"We're hoping in terms on one-lap performance in qualifying we're able to find a slightly better balance than we had in Bahrain.
"We're hopeful that we can have a better showing in qualifying which, as was clear to see, one of our weaknesses."
Hamilton was disqualified from last year's Australian Grand Prix when he was found guilty of lying to race stewards in an attempt to have rival Jarno Trulli penalised.
However, the 25-year-old said his experiences from the resulting controversy have helped galvanised his resolve.
"I'm just maturing and learning and perhaps making better decisions, and a little bit wiser than I was then," he said. "You just continue to grow and to learn.
"I'm proud that I can say that I'm a friend of Nelson Mandela and every time I see him he says he's still learning, so I've still got a lot of learning to do."
Hamilton - who won the 2008 race at Albert Park - said he has also drawn strength from the start of last year, when McLaren started the season with an uncompetitive car.
"Last year was a long, long struggle but I was able to work on different sides of my driving," he said.
"When I was at the back I had more time to focus on other areas, and when I got to the front I felt that I was stronger and I ended up on a high, and I think I rolled that into this year.


By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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2010 F1 not boring - Schumacher

Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher has hit back at those who labelled the opening grand prix of the season as boring.
The curtain-raising race in Bahrain was criticised by some fans and pundits for its lack of overtaking and drama, with new rules for 2010 being blamed.
But Mercedes driver Schumacher defended F1 ahead of Sunday's Australian GP.
"It is not motorcycle racing, it has always had less overtaking - the excitement is still there for fans."
This season has seen refuelling banned for the first time since 1993, which means cars must run with a full load from the start.
The other major rule change stipulates that the top 10 drivers on the grid must begin the race on the tyres they used in the final qualifying session.
The new regulations were designed to encourage more competitive racing, but instead produced a race bereft of overtaking opportunities at the Sakhir track.
After the race, McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton expressed concerns over the difficulty of overtaking resulting from the new refuelling ban.
But speaking after his victory in Bahrain, Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso called on his rivals to give the new rules more time.
The two-time world champion said: "I think many of us gave some hot-headed comments immediately after the race in Bahrain.
"It's too early to talk about changing the rules."
Schumacher, who made his F1 debut in 1991, echoed Alonso's sentiments, saying that his long experience of the sport told him that the lack of overtaking in Bahrain was more the rule than the exception.
"The matter of fact is there was no overtaking," Schumacher said. "But tell me when there has been more overtaking? Formula 1 has always had this situation.
"There are very clever people always thinking how to improve, make things better... its not so easy."
Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn told BBC Sport before the season that the teams would review that decision after a few races to give the new rules time to settle down.
And McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh and his Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner have both suggested there should be two mandatory tyre stops during each race in an attempt to produce more exciting finishes.
But Alonso, who secured his first victory in his debut race for Ferrari in Bahrain, has pleaded for patience.
"We have to wait and see different races and check the situation, without being emotional," said the Spaniard.
"Something that confuses the fans is changing the rules all the time."
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali echoed Alonso's views, suggesting his rival teams should assess the new rules as the season progresses.
"It's much too early to jump to conclusions and we should not react in an emotional way," Domenicali said.
"We must wait and see how the races evolve throughout the season and then the subject can be studied calmly based on sufficient evidence."


By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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Ferrari unvail 2010 car

The Ferrari F10 (top), compared to last years car pictured below


By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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Rosberg pleased to race with Schumacher

Nico Rosberg says he is pleased to be Michael Schumacher's team-mate at Mercedes in 2010. "I am beside the reference in F1. You couldn't dream of more," he told L'Equipe, adding: "I have the assurance we will have equal equipment... All the attention will be on him and I will have the time to concentrate on my work. And when I win in Bahrain, people will not be concerned about the number on my car, but the driver who is in it."


By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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Renault Await Hearing Result of F1 Race Fixing Scandal

The hearing into charges that Renault conspired to fix last year's Singapore Grand Prix has finished in Paris at the headquarters of governing body the FIA.

Renault are accused of asking driver Nelson Piquet Jr to crash to help team-mate Fernando Alonso win the race.

Team boss Flavio Briatore and engineering director Pat Symonds left the team last week after Renault decided not to contest the charges.

The FIA has a number of charges open to them including banning the team.

However, it is thought more likely Renault will be issued with a heavy fine or suspended ban.

F1 commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on his way into the hearing: "What they did was very serious. There can be no excuses but they have acted quickly to get rid of the culprits and that must be borne in mind."

Piquet and Alonso have arrived at the hearing at the FIA's headquarters. Neither they nor Renault representatives Bernard Rey, the company's F1 president, and communications director Jean-Francois Caubet spoke to the media.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner believes banning Renault would be inflict major damage on Formula 1.

Piquet's crash in Singapore

"For F1, it would be disastrous to lose a team and, in our case, an engine supplier," Horner told BBC Sport.

The hearing will attempt to attribute responsibility for the Singapore "crash-gate" despite the departure of team boss Flavio Briatore and engineering director Pat Symonds.

Piquet said in evidence to the FIA that Briatore and Symonds had proposed the idea that he crash deliberately.

"The FIA has all the information to hand. I'm sure they'll act responsibly," Horner added.

"Renault have been a very strong engine supplier to Red Bull for the last three years. Hopefully a sensible solution can be found.

"It would be a great shame to lose Renault from F1 because of an unfortunate incident such as this one."

Two major car manufacturers have pulled out of F1 in the last nine months, with Honda quitting last December and BMW announcing in July they would stop at the end of the year.

There have long been rumours that both Renault and Toyota could follow them out of the sport.

For any driver to deliberately crash a car is a shocking thing to do - it beggars belief, really  Christian Horner Red Bull team boss

Toyota has said it will not sign off its 2010 F1 budget until November and while Briatore shrugged off doubts about Renault's future, the Singapore scandal has revived them.

If Renault and Toyota pulled out, the only two car companies left in F1 would be Mercedes and Fiat through its Ferrari brand.

As the car companies supply engines to the entire grid this year, that could be a major problem, notwithstanding the return of privateer engine company Cosworth next season as supplier to the new teams Lotus, US F1, Campos and Manor.

Horner added he shared the widespread sense of shock at the Singapore incident.

"Obviously it is shocking. For any driver to deliberately crash a car is a shocking thing to do. It beggars belief, really."

The FIA agreed not to pursue action against Piquet for his role in uncovering the details of the scandal.

Leaked documents suggest the FIA's investigation into the incident found no evidence that Alonso knew of the alleged plan.

Renault have a case to answer - Mosley

Having already pitted in the race, the timing of the safety car - necessary while Piquet's wrecked car was removed from the track - was critical to Alonso's victory in Singapore.

BBC Sport commentator Martin Brundle, writing in the Sunday Times, urged Renault to "go in with their hands up, admitting guilt".

"They must also demonstrate that they will install a new team principal of perceived integrity," added Brundle.

"I foresee a sizeable fine for the FIA coffers and a points penalty that will pain the team into next year in regard to revenue and pit lane position."

Former world rally champion Ari Vatanen, who is battling to succeed Max Mosley as the next FIA president, told BBC Radio 5 live's Sportsweek programme Renault should not be thrown out of the sport.

ANDREW BENSON BLOG All year there has been speculation that Renault would quit F1 - this can only increase the chances

Vatanen believes there are too many vested interests in the world council and that punishing Renault by expulsion would be "disproportionate."

He said: "Renault has got more or less their punishment in terms of image and having lost their top brass and we have to see the bigger context here.

"Don't just focus on this incident and look at what we can do about the FIA and about the sport.

"If Renault is thrown out it wouldn't have been a result of an independent justice. That's what we must get right - an absolutely independent justice otherwise people will always have a question. What was behind it?"

The FIA's decision will be reached in the same week that Formula 1 returns to Singapore for this season's race, with first practice due to begin at 1100 BST on Friday, 25 September.

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BMW F1 to be bought by owners of Notts County FC!

German car manufacturer BMW says it has agreed to sell its Formula 1 team to Swiss-based Qadbak Investments.
BMW has been looking for a buyer for the team since it announced in July that it was pulling out of the sport at the end of the current season.
Qadbak bought Notts County FC in July through its Munto Finance company.
Earlier on Tuesday, F1's governing body gave BMW Sauber "14th place" on the grid next year, meaning they are first reserves to fill any vacancy.
The FIA has announced the expansion of the F1 grid to 13 teams for next season, with Lotus, Campos GP, Manor and US F1 all joining.
However, it will be "consulting urgently" with the 10 existing teams with a view to increasing the number of teams to 14.
There are also doubts over the F1 future of current teams Renault and Toyota.
Renault are embroiled in a race-fixing controversy while Toyota insist they are not signing off their F1 budget until November.
Despite previous doubts over its future, the FIA described BMW's application as "high quality" and a team statement said: "We are pleased to confirm that the FIA has indicated that we may have a place in the 2010 Formula 1 World Championship.
"The team expects to line up on the grid for the first race of the 2010 season."
BMW, which took over Sauber in 2005, announced in July it was pulling out of the sport at the end of the season citing "current developments in motorsport" as the reason for the decision.
Founder Peter Sauber, who holds a 20% stake in the team, tried to buy the team last month but negotiations collapsed after he said BMW's demands were "far too high".
BMW has not revealed financial details of the deal it has agreed with Qadbak, a company which it described as representing the interests of "certain Middle Eastern and European-based families".
"A strong investor has therefore been found for the Hinwil-based team," added the statement. "Qadbak's interest in the team will be represented by Lionel Fischer, a Swiss national."
When the Qadbak-owned Munto Finanace bought League Two side Notts County in the summer, they wiped out debts of £1m when taking over from a supporters' trust and made Championship football their five-year target.
They have made a statement of intent by installing former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson as their director of football while former Spurs, Arsenal and Portsmouth defender Sol Campbell has also moved to Meadow Lane.
BMW Sauber finished third behind Ferrari and McLaren in last year's constructors' championship but have had a disappointing 2009 so far.
They are currently lying in seventh place with the team claiming only one podium finish all season.
Drivers Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica are 13th and 15th respectively in the drivers' standings.


Do you think BMW should stay in the sport?
What do you think of the buyout?

Comment your vews below!!

By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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Briatore and chief engineer quit Renault during scandal

Flavio Briatore has left his position as boss of the Renault team after they decided not to contest charges of fixing the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
Executive director of engineering Pat Symonds has also left the team.
Renault were summoned by governing body, the FIA, after Nelson Piquet Jr claimed he had been asked to crash to help team-mate Fernando Alonso's race.
An FIA spokesperson confirmed a World Motor Sport Council hearing in Paris on Monday would go ahead.
Renault have been called to answer charges that they "conspired with Nelson Piquet Jr to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix with the aim of causing the deployment of the safety car to the advantage of its other driver, Fernando Alonso".
The hearing will attempt to attribute responsibility for the Singapore "crash-gate" despite the news that Briatore and Symonds have left Renault.
The FIA could still impose sanctions if Renault are found guilty, including excluding the team from the championship, although that must be considered unlikely given the two people Piquet said were responsible have now left the team.
Piquet crashed in Singapore two laps after Alonso had come in for a routine pit stop.
That meant that when race officials sent out the safety car to clear up the debris from Piquet's car, Alonso was alone among the front-runners in not having to stop for fuel and tyres.
Renault's double world champion went on to take the chequered flag at Formula 1's inaugural night race and claim his first victory in two years.
At the time, Piquet attributed the crash to a simple error, but after being dropped by the team after July's Hungary GP the race-fixing allegations emerged.
The Brazilian has since testified to the FIA that he was instructed by Briatore and Symonds when and where to crash.
Renault's response was to accuse the 24-year-old and his father Nelson Piquet of false allegations and blackmail, going as far as saying they would begin legal action against them.
But on Wednesday the team said in a statement they would "not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix."
The statement added: "The team also wishes to state that its managing director, Flavio Briatore and its executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds, have left the team."
BBC pundit and former team boss Eddie Jordan said he was surprised by Renault's announcement but believes it was effectively an admission of guilt.
"By suggesting they are not going to contest the allegations is in itself an admission," Jordan told the BBC.
"That's how I see it. Legally, there may be another argument. I think this is a clear-cut admission and I am surprised.
"I don't know what goes on in teams but certainly in the Jordan team you would contemplate all sorts of things but you certainly couldn't contemplate that."
It remains to be seen whether this latest controversy, and the departure of Briatore and Symonds, will affect Renault's decision to stay in Formula 1.
Briatore had denied speculation that the French team's future was under threat and the team have signed a new Concorde Agreement to stay in F1 until 2012.
But this latest controversy, coupled with a decline in cars sales, could yet have repercussions for the staff of around 700, who are are employed at the team's headquarters in Enstone, in Oxfordshire, and Viry-Chatillon in Paris.
As it is, Renault's statement draws the curtain on two of F1's best-known protagonists.
Briatore became Benetton team principal in 1991 and when Renault bought Benetton in 2000 to run under its own moniker, the 59-year-old Italian was chosen to lead the team.
Symonds joined the Toleman team, which morphed into Benetton and Renault, in the 1980s and worked his way though the ranks becoming executive director of engineering in 2001.
Briatore was also heavily involved in the teams' association Fota, as it sought to reach an agreement on the future of the sport with the FIA this season.



By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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Schumacher to stay on at Ferrari

Michael Schumacher has extended his contract as a consultant at Ferrari for another three years, with particular focus on the development of road cars.
The German only last month abandoned plans to return to the track for the first time in nearly three years as stand-in for the injured Felipe Massa.
But the seven-time world champion will continue the consultancy role he first took up in 2007 until 2012.
"I have always been happy to be part of the Ferrari family," he said.
"We agreed that I will give my input more and more into the GT-department, the area of the road-cars.
"I already enjoyed a lot participating in the development of the Ferrari California, the 430 Scuderia and the new 458 Italia, which we will present next Tuesday at the Frankfurt Motorshow, and so I very much look forward to participating in future projects.
"The name Ferrari for me symbolises passion, quality and highest sportiness."
The 40-year-old had been due to step in to the driver's seat for the first time since his retirement at the end of 2006 after Massa was sidelined by serious head injuries he sustained in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying in July.
However, a neck injury thwarted his plans, forcing Ferrari to first hand test driver Luca Badoer the seat before settling on Force India's driver Giancarlo Fisichella for the remainder of the season.
That meant Schumacher returned to the consultancy role he has enjoyed since 2007.
He first acted as a Ferrari advisor to then chief executive Jean Todt before moving on to car development in 2008.

BBC website
By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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Life on the Wire - the Formula One Race Engineer

Their voices stop television commentators in their tracks as they take over the air waves and issue instructions to a driver, but a race engineer’s job entails much more than being a pit-to-car messenger. From strategist to diplomat, from decision maker to motivational guru, it’s a complex and demanding role.

One of the most experienced in the business is Brawn GP’s Jock Clear, race engineer to Rubens Barrichello. From guiding Jacques Villeneuve to the world title in 1997, to his recent triumph as the man behind Barrichello’s Valencia victory, Clear remains at the very top of his game. In the first of a three-part feature, Formula1.com caught up with him to find out more about one of the most important positions in the paddock.

For casual Formula One fans, the race engineer’s most obvious presence during a Grand Prix weekend is his conversations with his driver over the radio. Whether it’s a blurted-out order to ‘pit’ as rain begins to fall, a warning to take it easy for the sake of the tyres, advice to pick up the pace ahead of an in-lap, or just relaying how the race is panning out, it’s a pivotal part of their job.

As the team’s go-between linking cockpit and pit wall, a race engineer provides the driver with all the information (strategy, lap times, tyres temperatures etc) that he needs to get the job done. He will also pass on any data that could help the driver improve his pace, let him know if he needs to adjust engine settings to conserve fuel, or tell him what his rivals are up to. It goes both ways, so as well as relaying information, the engineer must listen to the driver’s responses and interpret these messages quickly, before passing them on accurately to the rest of the team’s support engineers. With these facts at their fingertips, the whole team can then work on measures to improve the car’s set-up, handling, and performance to better suit the driver’s demands. 

“The dialogue between the two that you see on the television is the thing that people most relate to,” explains Clear, when asked to describe his job to the layman. “You’re the direct conduit between the driver and the 400 people in the team. Interpreting the feedback is important too. Obviously the driver isn’t an engineer, so you need to then translate (what he says) into ‘engineer speak’. You really are the eyes and ears of the rest of the factory, as far as the driver is concerned and vice versa.”

As well as being chief envoy between driver and team, Clear will also help make the key decisions that will shape his driver’s strategy over a Grand Prix weekend. Of course, the days of tactics being the domain of two or three team members are long gone; there’s now a whole gaggle of engineers working to find the best practice, qualifying and race plan. However, Clear (and his fellow race engineers up and down the pit lane) remains an intrinsic part of this process, assisting the team in deciding on fuel loads, tyre choice and the timing of qualifying runs.

“Strategy is a group thing now,” confirms Clear. “I would say that James Vowles, Brawn GP’s strategy engineer, is pretty much in charge of what goes on a race day. But again, on the basis of all that’s gone before, myself, Rubens, Jenson (Button), and (Button’s race engineer) Andrew Shovlin are all involved throughout the weekend. 

“So come race time, James is effectively choreographing the show, having been through rehearsals with all the rest of us. It’s testament to how well you work as an engineering group and how well you’ve done your homework. We shouldn’t have debates on the pit wall. If it’s a set of circumstances that you didn’t foresee then you just didn’t do your homework.”

But Formula One racing is anything but predictable, and however painstakingly organised the team is, there will always be moments of uncertainty, where things just don’t go to plan and disorder reigns. Be it a safety car, a sudden shower, or a puncture, anything can happen and not every eventuality can be planned for. And it’s at this point, when time is limited, that Clear has to take control, helping his driver settle on a course of action in little more than a heartbeat. It’s not something just anyone can be good at.

“You need to make decisions - simple as that really," says Clear. "And you’ve never got the luxury of having all the information available to you. So you always have to make decisions with whatever information you do have available at that time. And as much as you’d like to wait a couple of minutes to see if it is going to rain, for example, those extra couple of minutes might be too late and you’ve missed the window. 

“So you invariably have to make decisions on the thinnest of information. And that’s something some people don’t like doing. If you’re a pure scientist your gut feeling is that you can’t make a decision yet, you’ll have to wait for some more information. But obviously sport doesn’t allow you to do that. So there’s a huge emphasis on simply being able to make a decision. The whole team has got to know what to do in any given circumstance, and no decision is the worst thing you can do.”

One of the most surprising things is that an engineer can make these decisions on the spot and then communicate these speedy demands to the driver in the same calm and collected manner that he was chatting about front-wing adjustments during Friday practice. For Clear, this unflappability is an essential part of the job.

“It’s only the pressure of time that makes you excitable. You’d be surprised at how quickly you need to make decision at key times. You are talking matters of seconds. You can take in the region of three to five seconds to get the most basic of information across, but in some circumstances three to five seconds is too long. So you simply have to try and get information across stupidly quickly.

“One circumstance that comes to mind is in Singapore last year when the safety car came out when Piquet crashed. I’m sure the radios were flying between Red Bull and us, because we were the four cars who could pit before the safety car got out. Three out of the four did it. Jenson failed to get in, but Webber, Coulthard and Rubens all got in and got the jump so to speak. It’s that circumstance where it will sound very panicky but it’s in that case that you don’t have three seconds to say a phrase to get the information to the driver. You’ve got to get it out faster than that - and the only way of doing that is to say it fast and loud.” 

As in all aspects of the sport, speed is evidently imperative. And Clear believes that this ability to be flexible enough to take a punt on a spur-of-the-moment strategy change is vital for a race engineer to be good at his job. He does, however, admit that it’s an inexact science - and one that can have mixed results.

“The fact is when you have to make decision with a lack of information, inevitably, you will get it wrong sometimes,” he says. “The skill of a race engineer is to demonstrate that over the course of a season or whatever, he’ll be right more often than he’s wrong. But it’s making those judgement calls and being better at it than average that makes a successful race engineer.”

Taken from: www.formula1.com

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Fisichella makes Ferarri move

Giancarlo Fisichella will drive for Ferrari for the rest of the 2009 Formula 1 season before taking a new role as their reserve driver in 2010.
The Italian, 36, will replace Luca Badoer as stand-in for the injured Felipe Massa for the final five races.
"It has always been an ambition," said Fisichella, who has been released from his contract with Force India.
Force India are yet to name a replacement for Fisichella with reserve driver Vitantonio Liuzzi the favourite.
Fisichella, who formerly raced for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Renault and Sauber, will begin his Ferrari career on home soil at the Italian Grand Prix on 13 September.
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali confirmed the appointment saying: "We considered what could be his role inside the team in the near future, also taking this year's experiences into account. He will be the reserve driver in 2010.
"We have chosen Fisichella because we can expect him to make a valuable contribution in this final part of the season.
"He has shown, throughout his long career, that he is fast and competitive and we are therefore proud to be able to run an Italian driver in our home race."
Force India team principal Mallya had insisted on Tuesday that he would turn out his regular team for Monza.
But after extensive discussions with Ferrari, Mallya has agreed to release Fisichella from his contract, which was due to expire at the end of the season.
"For any Italian driver, a Ferrari race seat is a long-held dream and for Giancarlo it was no exception," Mallya said. "No-one should stand in the way of this.
"The agreement will secure Fisichella's long-term future with Ferrari and it would be incorrect to jeopardise this.
"We would like to stress that we have not agreed any financial settlement with Ferrari and would like to thank Giancarlo for all his help over the past one-and-a-half seasons and for our first world championship points."
Fisichella's parting gift to Force India was second place at the Belgium Grand Prix, handing the team their first podium and points in their second season in F1.
Even before his impressive performance at Spa-Francorchamps, the 36-year-old had been tipped to replace Badoer, who has struggled since his promotion from Ferrari reserve driver.
Badoer was drafted in to replace Massa, who suffered serious head injuries at the Hungarian Grand Prix, after legendary seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher was forced to shelve his comeback plans.
While Massa is targeting a return in 2010, the Italian team ran out of patience with Badoer, who qualified last at both the European and Belgian GPs.
While Kimi Raikkonen claimed Ferrari's first win of 2009 in Spa, his team-mate trailed in last, nearly 48 seconds slower than the driver in front.
"We wish to thank Luca Badoer for the team spirit he demonstrated in these circumstances," added Domenicali.
"It is a shame he was unable to show his true worth in these last two races, tackled under conditions which anyone would have found difficult."
Fisichella, a veteran of more than 200 grands prix, will be expected to be much more competitive as Ferrari prepare to race in front of their enthusiastic home fans in Monza.
"I am grateful to Vijay Mallya for allowing me this opportunity," said Fisichella, a three-time race winner.
"For Vijay to have allowed it to become a reality is very generous and I hope in my turn I have helped Force India grow up and be on the right path to achieve their own ambitions."


By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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Shocking photo: Massa After Accident

Photo of Filipe Massa's injury having been struck by wht appeared to be a piece of metal tubing at over 200 kph, believed to be off the back of the Brawn GP car of Rubens Barrichello





By Adam Feneley
Motorsport Engineering
www.motorsportengineering.blogspot.com
-- Post From My iPod Touch

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