Pictures taken at Silverstone this weekend have uncovered that Red Bull have adopted or are at least testing an exhaust chamber. Also known as a Helmholz exhaust, the regular exhaust pipe features a blind addition which can accumulate exhaust gases when pressure is high in the exhaust pipe. It can then release those gases again when the driver gets off the throttle, hence evening out the pressure differences that occur in the exhaust pipe.
Apart from the evening out in an attempt to gain a more constant exhaust flow - and hence a more constant rear downforce at the diffuser - a Helmholz resonance chamber can also help the "Kadenacy Effect" in a specific RPM range of the engine.
The Kadenacy effect is an effect that forms from pressure-waves in gases. In essence, careful design of the dimensions and position of the exhaust changer can assist scavenging of exhaust gases out of the cylinders and therefore increase the pressure drop across the intake and exhaust valve area within a specific RPM range. As such it could be used to increase engine performance in the engines' most used RPM range.
To make room for the exhaust chamber that Ferrari debuted in F1 through 2011, RBR redesigned the entire exhaust of the RB8. While it previously ran close to the car's engine heat cover and then curved downward with a 180° turn, the final turn is now curved upwards, similar to Williams' exhaust layout.
Also note, as marked with yellow, the upward direction of the final 10cm of the exhaust pipe. The regulations specify that this must be a straight, circular section pointing up between 10° and 30°.
Great article came from F1Technical.net, No copyright infringment intended.
Jenson Button hailed his victory in the Australian Grand Prix as a "dream start" to the new Formula 1 season.
Team-mate Lewis Hamilton finished third, after starting on pole , to underline McLaren's competitiveness.
"It was very important for us to get this one in the bank early on," said Button, whose lead went unchallenged after he jumped Hamilton off the line.
In contrast to the last three years, McLaren emerged strongly from pre-season testing and made it count at the opening race in Melbourne. The Woking-based team locked out the front row in qualifying and Button coasted to victory after passing Hamilton off the line.
"For the last couple of years our first races have been tricky," said Button. "I'd say we've been pretty dominant today.
"It's an amazing way to start the season.
"As a team, the win shows how important the winter is. The guys have done an amazing job. This win will definitely help them push hard in the extra hours they are doing."
Button believes the race also highlighted the increased competition throughout the field in 2012.
"We all think this is a very special year in Formula 1, having six world champions and so many competitive teams," the 2009 champion added.
"It's great to see F1 is in a great place at the moment. I'm very excited heading to [the next race in] Malaysia."
After passing Hamilton off the start, Button quickly built a lead and was unchallenged until the safety car came out on lap 37 and closed up the pack of cars.
Sebastian Vettel pitted under the safety car and came out ahead of Hamilton, who had been running in second, but Red Bull's world champion conceded he had no chance of catching Button after the restart.
"I thought I would be in a good position to have a go at Jenson but two corners and he was gone," said Vettel.
"It wasn't very easy to get away from Lewis but Jenson was out of sight. He deserved to win."
Hamilton was left to rue not only Vettel's clever strategy under the safety car but a poor start to the grand prix.
"It was a shocking start," said Hamilton, who had been determined to put a mixed 2011 season behind him in the new campaign.
"I'm not sure what happened. I let out the clutch and got a lot of wheel spin. That followed all way through the launch phase. We lost a lot of ground from there and the safety car didn't help us.
Martin WhitmarshMcLaren team boss
"It's still a great job by Jenson. Clearly we're very quick so we go forward to the next race in good shape."
When asked whether McLaren are now the dominant team, Hamilton responded: "It's too early to tell.
"In qualifying, we're quick and competitive but Red Bull were massively quick in race so they're still a force to be reckoned with."
McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh summed up the race weekend as "nearly perfect".
"Lewis was unlucky with the safety car," he commented. "Jenson drove majestically, he didn't put a foot wrong. It was a bit tight on fuel, we struggled a bit. But it's a great way to start the season.
"We've proved we've got a quick car [and] there'll be a few bits for the next race."
Red Bull boss Christian Horner says McLaren's Jenson Button is the biggest threat to his team this season, but warned that there is more to come from defending champion Sebastian Vettel.
Horner also named Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus as contenders.
But he insisted Red Bull's back-to-back champion Vettel will take some beating.
"We are yet to see the best from him," Horner told BBC Radio 5 live. "He will evolve and get stronger."
Button, the 2009 world champion, finished second to Vettel in the 2011 season, a distant 122 points behind the German.
With the 2012 season poised to start in Australia on 18 March, Horner is predicting a closer contest for the title this time round.
"Seb had an unbelievable year and in the end dominated significantly," he said. "But there are some big opponents out there, with six world champions on the grid.
"Lewis is going to be pushing hard this year, Jenson had a great year last year, you can't rule out Fernando because he is a world-class driver and it will be interesting to see how Kimi fares on his return."
Asked to pick out the strongest rival to Vettel and his team-mate Mark Webber, Horner responded: "Probably Jenson."
Horner said he was happy with Red Bull's car after they successfully trialled upgrades during pre-season testing in Barcelona.
"Those upgrades seem to be working OK and will certainly be on the car in Australia in 10 days' time," he said.
"I think we're set for a really fascinating season. Things move on so quickly and the running order at the end of last year doesn't guarantee it's going to be the running order at beginning of this year."
Story from BBC Sport, No copyright infringement intended.
With the 2012 F1 season almost upon us, many of the teams have realeased press images of their new cars which will be burning up the rubber this year. A personal highlight is the again stunning Red Bull car, and a fairly sinister looking Williams. We can only hope with this new breed of cars comes closer competition for podiums and points than last season.
Bernie Ecclestone is confident this year's Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead on April 22 despite reports of fresh violence in the country this week.
February 14 marked the one-year anniversary of the 'day of rage' when protests escalated into violent conflicts last year, and international media agencies claimed smaller clashes with security forces took place again on this year. According to the BBC a heavy police presence meant the centre of Manama remained quiet, but youths throwing rocks and petrol bombs were met by police hitting back with tear-gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades outside the capital.
"The only message I got was that there were some kids in trouble with the police," Ecclestone told the Daily Telegraph. "We are planning to go. I've always said that if there was going to be any drama it would be on the 'day of rage'. They would have to do something then. People there seem confident that a race two months away will be alright."
He added: "The teams are not the slightest bit concerned. They seem happy that things will go ahead without problems. Last year was a more clear-cut decision not to go but things have changed a lot since then."
In the past week members of the UK parliament have written open letters in the Times newspaper both for and against the grand prix going ahead. Although a decision either way will be seen to have some political connotations, Ecclestone said safety is his only consideration.
"We've always been non-political," he said. "Any decision will be made on grounds of safety."
But an FIA spokesman said the "staging of a grand prix would be beneficial in bridging some of the difficulties Bahrain is experiencing".
A spokesman for the Bahrain International Circuit told CNN: "We are entirely confident that the race can be and will be an excellent event. The FIA has said that there is no reason why the grand prix should not go ahead. Jean Todt [FIA president] has been visiting Bahrain himself, keeping in constant contact. The FIA has said that there is no reason why the grand prix should not go ahead."
The unnamed spokesman also compared Bahrain's problems of the last twelve months with London's riots last August.
"There's no doubt that [in Bahrain] there have been some small riots, nothing like on the scale that we saw in London," he insisted. "There have been some public order disturbances, but on the kind of scale that Britain has endured many times."
He added: "When it comes to being in and around the track, the drivers and the teams will be extremely safe. Absolutely, totally confident about that."
The 2012 F1 season is nearly upon us and the race calendar has been released with the season kicking off in Melbourne Australia on the 16th of March and ending with the 20th race on the 25th of Novermber in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
This season promises to be full of excitement; I personally hope it will be much more hotly contested, such that the champion will be decided in the last race. Vettel's domination, although impressive, did take the edge off the season towards the end as the result was already obvious; I have everything crossed that he will have some serious competition this year.
An Unprecedented Home Grand Prix for Three Formula 1 Teams
With three Formula 1 teams ‘carrying’ the Malaysian flag, the 2011 Formula 1 PETRONAS Malaysia Grand Prix will indeed be a special one for Malaysians.
“F1 has always been a special event for Malaysia. This year, however, it is even more extraordinary,” says Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak in reference to the alliance of Malaysian corporate companies with the Mercedes GP PETRONAS, Lotus Renault GP and Team Lotus. “Never has the event been associated with so many Malaysian companies; making the 2011 Formula 1 PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix and Sepang Circuit as their ‘home race’ this season,” Najib said in his message at in the event’s official programme. 2011 marked the 13th edition of the Formula 1 PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix, which traced back to 1999 when it was first developed as tourism tool to sell Malaysia as an international destination and a national agenda to uplift the country’s image worldwide. The new season opened at Albert Park in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix on March 27 and Malaysia hosts Round 2 of the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship, which now runs for 19 rounds with the cancellation of Bahrain Grand Prix. Najib said: “Malaysia’s interest and its glorious image will be prominently projected this year, throughout all the rounds across the globe through the participation of Mercedes GP PETRONAS, the Proton-backed Lotus Renault Racing; the 1Malaysia Team Lotus as well as Virgin Formula 1 Racing, which has Q-Net as one of its key partners this season. “Formula 1 – the world’s most prestigious motorsports event; and Malaysia’s tool in promoting the country for so long – is now adopted by more Malaysian companies as their business tools as well,” he said, adding that before Sepang Circuit came into the picture in 1999, Malaysia had Tourism Malaysia riding the popularity of the Stewart Grand Prix team in 1997. Before that PETRONAS became the presenting sponsor for Red Bull Sauber in 1995. Over the years, the national petroleum company expanded further its investment in the sports including becoming the title sponsor for the Malaysian race and deeper involvement in the F1 racing teams. Najib said: “With an extensive global audience; reaching hundreds of millions televisions on Race Day alone, the sport is undoubtedly the most effective platform for international mileage and worldwide recognition. Apart from global branding, it’s also the place for business networking, a stage to showcase a country; and an engine for transfer of technology. As such, for Malaysia, as a nation aspiring to be a major player in the automotive industry, its deep association with Formula 1 is only natural. “Malaysia is always proud to be associated with Formula 1. We are proud to be the second Asian nation after Japan to host this prestigious event and inspired other Asian nations to bid for the privilege as well. Our current contract runs until 2015; and we aim to make full use of this privilege to reap in the fruits of benefits. And, to date, the impact of Formula 1 for Malaysia has been tremendous,” he added. For Youth and Sports Minister, Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, the Formula 1 PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix was proof Malaysia’s capability in organizing world class motor racing events; and he hoped that it would be reflected as well in the competition field as well. “Formula 1 has always been a special event in Malaysia; and the Malaysian Government has always been proud to be associated with the prestigious event. And, we, Malaysians, are truly privileged that have this event here at our own backyard. “From the first race on October 17, 1999 and 11 editions later, the Formula 1 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix had been a success story for Malaysia. It had transformed Malaysia’s status in the international arena; generated massive tourism dollars as well as jumpstarting the motorsports industry. “Not too long ago, we would have never imagined of Malaysians competing in international races. But, after the establishment of Sepang Circuit in 1999, the perspective definitely changed – there’s was renewed confidence; and there was enhanced commitment among Malaysians,” he said. He related the days of PETRONAS Sprinta Yamaha Team TVK venturing into the GP World Championship in 2000, to the introduction of Alex Yoong as Malaysia’s first F1 driver in Alex Yoong, the teenage Jazeman Jaafar dominating the Formula BMW Pacific series and Fairuz Fauzy role as an F1 test driver. Declaring that he saw good prospects for the future, Shabery said that he believed with the continuous commitment and persistent effort, motor racing, too, could produce Malaysian world beaters “We are proud to have world class athletes in badminton, squash, cycling and bowling. And, I strongly believe we can have world class performers in motor racing as well; especially with the current emphasis that Malaysian corporate companies are giving to the sports,” he added. While welcoming the strong alliance of the Malaysian companies in the F1 teams, the minister hoped that the corporate companies involved would look at their partnership more than just from the business perspective.
“I sincerely hope that it would be translated into programmes for motorsports development as well,” said Shabery, who hailed SIC’s successful efforts in incorporating the Malaysian Super Series as support races for the 2011 Formula 1 PETRONAS Malaysian Grand Prix.
Hailed as the national championship for track racing and introduced in 2002, the MSS would be running the Malaysian GT class and the Malaysian Touring Car Challenge at the F1 race in Sepang as its opening round for its 2011 season. In his message, SIC Chairman Datuk Mokhzani Mahathir said: “I am very happy that we finally managed to incorporate our Malaysian Super Series as the support races for the F1 event in Sepang. This is a racing series that we, at Sepang International Circuit, had diligently nurtured for years as the national championship for track racing; and the platform to provide top class competition for the drivers and teams. “Together with our two other major events – the 12-hour Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race and the 1000-kms Endurance, these are the events that we hope for Malaysians to pick up their skills in managing and operating motor racing teams as well as to unearth new talents. “Through these events, we aim to create a new culture of motorsports among Malaysians especially the grassroots, added Mokhzani.
Driving like an F1 driver on normal roads can be dangerous, but that doesn't stop some people. If you have been in an accident because of someone's dangerous driving and you want to know more about car accident compensation claims, then visit www.roadtrafficaccidentsite.com.
This stunning gallery of images documents the latest 2011 models of all 12 of the teams in this seasons F1 World Championships. For more info on rule changes see this article: link
Please also take time to vote on who you think will be successful this year, there are a set of three polls on the right-hand sidebar which include views on who will win the constructors and drivers championships and who will be the best 'new' team!
Ferrari F150th Italia - 2011 Season F1 Car
Force India VJM04 - 2011 Season F1 Car
HRT (Hispania Racing Team) F111 - 2011 Season F1 Car
So the new F1 season is finally under-way, albeit overdue! With a great first race under the belt, people are already beginning to form opinions on who the think will be the world champion and who will win the constructors championship.
On the left hand side of this page are a number of polls for all the readers of this site to vote on who they think will be the winners of the drivers and constructors championships. The initial lists are quite small, however if you feel a worthy candidate for either championship has been missed of the polls then please comment on this post and I will add them to it for you! It will be very interesting to see everyone's view on who will be triumphant this season. Feel free to share your predictions and comment them below!
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel got his title defence off to a perfect start with a pole-to-flag victory in the Australian Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton finished second to seal McLaren's turnaround in form but team-mate Jenson Button was sixth after being penalised for cutting a corner.
A brilliant start from Russian Vitaly Petrov propelled him to his first podium with third for Renault.
Scot Paul di Resta finished with 12th for Force India on his debut.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso jumped Mark Webber's Red Bull in his final pit stop to take fourth place from the Australian, who could only equal his career-best finish at his home race.
There was more frustration for Mercedes as both Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg retired from the race.
It was a faultless race from the man intent on chasing Schumacher's record seven championship as Vettel pulled clear at the start, stopped twice and ran much of the race on his own.
"A stunning performance from the man who's led every lap of the last three grands prix," said BBC F1 commentator Martin Brundle.
"That is a calm and steely Vettel, and frankly I don't think anyone was going to beat him."
Ominously for the rest of the field, team principal Christian Horner revealed after the race that neither of the Red Bull cars was running a Kers boost system.
"It was a fantastic day for Sebastian and the team, he was dominant in qualifying and totally dominant today," said Horner.
"We felt Kers was a potential risk, and we made a decision not to run it. It didn't look like we needed it."
Vettel himself insisted the race had not been as straightforward as it appeared.
"It was not easy, the start was crucial," he said.
"I had a good getaway, but didn't know if it was enough until I saw Lewis and Mark [Webber] battling for position.
"After my stop it was crucial to get past jenson, which I could do immediately, so that was very, very important. There were a lot of things to learn today and we need to have another look at the race."
Vettel had already built a 2.6-second lead at the end of the first lap while others toiled behind him.
Button found himself down in sixth after losing position to Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Petrov, who had brilliantly nosed his Renault up from sixth on the grid.
As the race developed, Button tried time and again to pass Massa, and even activated the moveable rear wing which is designed to aid overtaking, but the Brazilian defended deftly and Button was left asking his team over the radio; 'How's he getting away from me?"
There were more headaches to come for Button when he cut a chicane in an attempt to pass Massa and was subsequently handed a drive-through penalty.
"There's no question that he gained an advantage," said BBC analyst David Coulthard.
"He knew that two doesn't go into one around that curve. He had to go off track and had to pay a penalty for that."
Button had a stab at holding up Vettel - who had pitted for the first of his two stops to leave Hamilton at the front for McLaren - before serving his penalty but the German soon flew past him and comfortably resumed his lead when Hamilton came in.
After his stop-go penalty Button fed back in 12th but he crossed the line in sixth after what Brundle described as an "adventurous race".
Despite Button's busy day, he and team-mate Hamilton will be relieved that McLaren's hard work at their Woking factory to turn a winter marred by a lack of pace and unreliability into a competitive start to the campaign.
Hamilton managed his race well and took his car across the line for second despite warnings from his team that his car was damaged. It quickly became evident the undertray and floor of the car was broken, which as Hamilton pointed out afterwards, badly affected the amount of downforce.
"To come away from here with a second is a great achievement - in the end I was simply trying to nurse the car home," Hamilton said.
Renault proved they had taken a step forward over the winter, in part thanks to their innovative car design with its front-exiting exhausts, as Petrov collected third place with a cool drive.
The Russian repeated his trick from the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by holding off a looming Alonso.
Robert Kubica was second for Renault at last year's race in Melbourne and Petrov suggested he is capable of leading the time on the track in the absence of Kubica, who is recovering from serious injuries in a rallying accident.
Petrov's Renault team-mate Nick Heidfeld, the stand-in for Kubica, finished a lowly 14th,
Alonso had got himself caught up in Button's wake as the McLaren went backwards off the line and the Ferrari ran wide into the first corner.
The Spaniard slid to 10th but he picked his way smoothly through the field before passing Webber for fourth place.
Both drivers were on a three-stop strategy but Webber conceded fourth place to Alonso on the final stop after he ran wide on his return to the parkland circuit.
There had been a lot of talk about tyre strategy and management in the build-up to the race as this season's Pirellis tyres had been designed too degrade more quickly than 2010's Bridgestones.
Most of the field made straightforward two-stop strategies work but Sauber raised eyebrows as Mexican rookie Sergio Perez stopped just once on his way to seventh.
Mercedes arrived in Melbourne with high hopes of a podium but their weekend ended miserably inside two laps.
Schumacher, who had a puncture at the start, was retired from the race as a precaution before his old Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello added to his misery by ploughing his left wheel into the side of Nico Rosberg's Mercedes, sending him back to the garage for good.
"I had a good start but someone knocked on my rear right and there were consequences from that," Schumacher told BBC Sport.
"I had an entertaining few laps but the team quite rightly for safety decided that I should come in."
Barrichello was the second driver to serve a drive-through penalty for his move on Rosberg and later had to retire from the race.
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.”"
There will be two teams bearing the Lotus name in Formula 1 next year.
One, following Wednesday's announcement of Lotus Cars' decision to sponsor and eventually buy into what was the Renault team, will be called Lotus Renault. That team will be part-owned by Lotus Cars but their F1 cars will be called Renaults and will use Renault engines.
The other will be called Team Lotus. This one has nothing to do with Lotus Cars (any more - but we'll come back to that in a moment) but their F1 car will be called a Lotus. They will also use, er, Renault engines.
Both teams, it transpires, plan to run their cars in variations of a black and gold livery. This is an attempt to hark back to the historic John Player Special livery made famous by the original Team Lotus in the 1970s and 1980s through great drivers such as Emerson Fittipaldi, Mario Andretti, Ronnie Peterson, Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna, and era-defining cars like the Lotus 72 and 79.
It's a commentator's - and journalist's - nightmare and one can only begin to imagine the confusion it will create for those watching.
So what on earth is going on?
The story starts in 2009, when Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes obtained a multi-year licence from Lotus Cars to use the Lotus name in F1, having persuaded the Malaysian-owned company that an involvement in grand prix racing would be a valuable promotional tool.
Lotus Racing were one of three new teams in F1 in 2010, the others being Virgin and Hispania. All three spent the year close to the back of the grid, but Lotus did establish themselves as convincingly the most competitive.
In the course of the year, though, Group Lotus's approach to F1 changed, as part of a hugely ambitious refocusing of the company's future plans by chief executive officer Dany Bahar, who formerly worked in the commercial arms of Red Bull F1 and Ferrari.
Bahar, it transpires, was never keen on Lotus granting the licence to Fernandes, and it has become clear through 2010 why - he wanted to take the brand into F1 himself, but in a different way, through an involvement with an established team.
At the Paris Motor Show in October, Bahar announced plans for five new road-car models, expanding Lotus's range by nearly 200%, and has since said Lotus will enter IndyCar racing in the US and race at Le Mans. And now comes a major sponsorship deal with what used to be the Renault F1 team which will, at an undefined point in the future, morph into Lotus part-owning that team.
Fernandes, meanwhile, struck a deal in September to buy the rights to the Team Lotus name from David Hunt, brother of 1976 world champion James. Hunt had bought them when the original Team Lotus collapsed in 1994 after racing in F1 since 1958, during which time it had established itself as one of the sport's most iconic names.
Fernandes' success in buying the name - exclusively revealed by BBC Sport - marked the point at which what had until then been a private dispute between him and Lotus Cars - which is owned by the Malaysian company Proton - broke out into the open.
Following Fernandes's acquisition of the Team Lotus name, Group Lotus claimed that it owned all the rights to the Lotus name - a point of view robustly disputed by Hunt, who points out that Proton have several times tried to buy the Team Lotus name from him without ever being able to conclude a deal.
The dispute got so heated that former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir bin Mohamad stepped in to mediate, but he succeeded only in stopping the ping-pong of press releases. The dispute is now going to the High Court - and it is unlikely to be resolved until next year.
But the disagreement over the ownership of Team Lotus is only one of two ongoing legal cases between Lotus Cars and Fernandes. In the other, Fernandes is suing Lotus Cars for breach of contract over its withdrawal of the licence to use the Lotus name in F1.
That, too, is not expected to be resolved until some time next year.
Both sides, then, have got themselves into a bit of a pickle.
Lotus Cars has struck a deal to promote its brand in F1 through a team that is knocking on the door of breaking into the top three - and which, in Robert Kubica, has one of the finest drivers on the grid.
But it is doing so with a car that is called a Renault - and there is no way out of that one.
Lotus and the team's majority shareholder, the private investment group Genii Capital, cannot change the constructor name assigned to their team because if they do so without the permission of all the other teams they will lose the millions the team earns through Renault's historic achievements in F1, which date back to their entry in 1977.
And guess which team would not agree?
Fernandes, meanwhile, faces the prospect of his team giving free publicity to a company with which he is in two separate legal disputes. And even if he changed the name of the team to something else, his cars would still be called Lotuses.
It is an unsatisfactory situation for all involved - the efforts of both parties will be diluted by a dispute that, for those watching, will create only confusion.
Fernandes is understood to be increasingly confident that he will win the court case over the Team Lotus name. Lotus Cars, for its part, appears not to be overly concerned about the existence of a second team diluting its brand. Their view is that only one of the teams is affiliated with Lotus, and the other one is providing free advertising for it.
In the meantime, questions hang in the air.
Is the end game for Fernandes to sell the Team Lotus brand to Lotus Cars if he succeeds in establishing that he owns it? Can Lotus - and its parent company Proton - sustain such an ambitious programme? And so on.
In the murk, only one thing seems clear - this is only the latest stage in a story that will rumble on for some time to come.
This is an excerpt from Andrew Bensons blog on the BBC site, the full article can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/12/lotus_v_lotus.html
Formula 1 stakeholders have reached an agreement for grand prix cars to use a new type of 'green' engine from 2013.
The sport will switch from the current 2.4-litre V8s to 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo engines with energy recovery systems and fuel restrictions.
The move is an attempt to mirror the trend towards fuel-efficiency in road cars and to popularise it, increasing public demand for such engines.
The new rules could be confirmed by governing body the FIA on 10 December.
Mercedes and Ferrari had been reluctant to agree to the move as recently as a month ago, believing that it was an unnecessary expense at a time when F1 was trying to reduce costs.
But a spokesman for Ferrari told BBC Sport the rules had been agreed and he would be "surprised" if it was not announced by the world council.
He admitted Ferrari had concerns about the move on cost grounds but added: "An agreement is there, and when there is an agreement you work accordingly."
A high-level source involved in the talks said it was "most likely" that the FIA would announce the move on Friday.
Why should we change to something that is going to cost millions of pounds and that nobody wants and that could end up with one manufacturer getting a big advantage?
Bernie Ecclestone
The aim is for the new rules to improve the efficiency of F1 engines by as much as 50%.
Care has been taken to ensure the performance of cars will not be affected and total power outputs will remain at current levels - approximately 750bhp.
By adopting the regulations, F1 hopes to widen its appeal to sponsors - commercial insiders say some companies are reluctant to get involved in F1 because of its image of being wasteful with resources.
The agreement to change the regulations from the 2.4-litre normally aspirated V8s used in F1 since 2006 comes after months of protracted negotiations and it had looked as if the switch might have to be delayed until at least 2014, or perhaps until as long as 2017.
F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone has been firmly opposed to the rule change.
He told BBC Sport: "We have a very good engine formula. Why should we change it to something that is going to cost millions of pounds and that nobody wants and that could end up with one manufacturer getting a big advantage?"
But the change has been agreed in a series of recent meetings between F1's current engine manufacturers - which also include Renault and private company Cosworth - and the final touches were put to the regulations by a steering group of F1 engineers on Thursday.
F1 ENGINE RULES FROM 2013 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbos with energy recovery and fuel restrictions to replace current 2.4-litre normally aspirated V8s Fuel efficiency to increase by a target of 50% Overall power to remain same at approx 750bhp Checks and balances to ensure costs are contained and performance across all engines remains comparable Plan for advanced 'compound' turbos to be introduced in subsequent years Power of Kers energy recovery systems to increase from 60kw in 2011 to 120kw in 2013
It is understood that a series of checks and balances have been written into the regulations to keep costs down and to ensure it should be impossible for one manufacturer to steal a march on the others in terms of performance.
This will primarily be done through resource restriction - such as limiting the amount of people or time that can be devoted to a project.
German car giant Volkswagen has also been heavily involved in the discussions and has privately indicated to F1 insiders that the only way it would consider entering F1 would be if the sport adopted these new rules.
However, sources say VW is giving conflicting messages about whether it will commit to an F1 engine project. If it did enter the sport, it is expected to use its Audi brand.
BBC Sport has been told the regulations will go before the F1 Commission - a group of stakeholders that agrees all rule changes - on Thursday 9 December before being rubber-stamped by the World Council the following day.
The move is a triumph for both F1 teams' organisation Fota and FIA president Jean Todt, both of whom have made increasing the future sustainability of F1 a key aim.
Leading figures in F1 hope that the adoption of the new rules will insulate the sport from charges of wastefulness at a time when supplies of fossil fuels are diminishing and there is pressure for the world to cut its production of greenhouse gases. Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prx The sun is setting on the era of big-capacity normally aspirated F1 engines
The aim is that by associating these energy-saving, fuel-efficient technologies with a glamorous and popular sport, they will become desirable in road cars, where their use is already increasing dramatically.
About 600bhp of the 750bhp produced by the engines will come from the four-cylinder single-turbo engine itself, with the rest being provided by energy storage and power-boost systems.
These systems - known as Kers - were first used in F1 in 2009 before being abandoned for 2010 and are being reintroduced next season.
For 2013, the power capacity of the Kers systems will be increased from 60kw to 120kw.
ANDREW BENSON'S BLOG F1 is hoping it can insulate itself against accusations it is an irrelevant waste of resources and speed up the adoption of these technologies in road cars
Fuel consumption will be restricted both by limiting fuel flow and introducing a maximum capacity for races.
The new engines will not do more than 10,000 revs per minute - current F1 engines spin at 18,000rpm.
In subsequent years, complex new turbocharging technology called compounding will be introduced to further enhance efficiency.
The regulations have been framed to encourage the pursuit of efficiency in engine design, dramatically increasing the amount of power that can be produced per litre of fuel burnt.
Those lessons in efficiency can then be transferred to road cars so that considerably less fuel is used for a given amount of performance.
The FIA was unavailable for comment.
(Story from the BBC website, no copyright infringement intended.)
Williams driver Nico Hulkenberg took pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix in a frantic last-lap scramble on dry-weather tyres on a damp track.
The German drove superbly to stun the title contenders and throw a wildcard into the championship battle.
Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso - the four main championship hopefuls - will line up right behind rookie Hulkenberg.
Jenson Button's hopes dimmed further after he qualified 11th.
Hulkenberg, 23, whose future at Williams is in doubt, stole a march by fitting dry-weather tyres before the drivers from the top three teams, just after team-mate Rubens Barrichello.
But Hulkenberg performed brilliantly to set two laps fast enough for pole, and the big names, out at the same time, failed to beat him. His best lap - one minute 14.470 seconds - was more than a second faster than Vettel's, a 1:15.519. Barrichello was sixth, 1.733secs slower than his team-mate.
Webber was just over 0.1secs behind his team-mate, with Hamilton, fourth in his McLaren, 0.228secs behind Vettel, and Alonso 0.242secs adrift of the Englishman.
Hulkenberg said: "My first pole position is an emotional and hopefully historic moment as I want to be in F1 for many, many years.
"I am still shaking from the thrill and I just want to enjoy it and get on with the job tomorrow.
"It was a pretty good lap with no mistakes. It was still tricky out there. There were wet parts, particularly the last corner. But that lap was spot on."
Vettel said: "First I thought I had missed pole by 0.1secs but then I saw there was another digit and that it was a four instead of a five."
Webber added: "He gave us all a driving lesson out there, and he found a different race track from the rest of us."
Asked about starting the race ahead of all the title contenders, Hulkenberg said: "The best thing would be to drive off into the distance, but obviously that is not going to happen."
His race engineer, Tom McCullough, denied that Hulkenberg had been a wet-weather set-up, which would have given him an advantage in qualifying, but a handicap in the forecasted dry race.
"This is our fully dry set-up," McCullough told BBC Sport. "If you look at the data, he's very committed, especially in the high-speed corners. He's very good in changeable conditions.
"Hopefully, with track position, we can fight with the Red Bulls, McLaren and Ferrari, but good points is what we are after. Anything else is a bonus."
It is the first pole position for Williams since the 2005 European Grand Prix, when Nick Heidfeld took the position, exactly 100 races ago.
Barrichello was ahead of Renault's Robert Kubica, Mercedes' Michael Schumacher - unusually ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg - Ferrari's Felipe Massa and the second Renault of Vitaly Petrov.
Alonso heads into the race as championship leader, 11 points ahead of Webber, with Hamilton a further 10 points adrift.
Vettel is 25 points - one win - behind Alonso with only 50 remaining in the final two races here and in Abu Dhabi next weekend. Button is fifth, 42 points behind.
Alonso was calm about being last out of the top four championship hopefuls.
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Alonso satisfied with qualifying performance
"In qualifying like this you can never make any predictions or expectations," the Spaniard said.
"We were struggling with intermediates and with dry tyres it was a difficult circuit to play.
"My last lap was a little bit quicker (initially), but I lost some 10ths at one of the corners. The dry line was not very wide, and if you go off it, you lose a lot of time.
"I guess maybe in those conditions only Nico did a perfect lap, all the others we lose a little bit here and a little bit there. It is the way it is.
"The championship is not really in my mind. You can get some strange results but we are concentrating on increasing the gap and if we give away points, making sure it is not too many."
Button came as close as he has yet to admitting that his hopes are over and that his role now is to support Hamilton.
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Button struggled to find balance
He said: "It has been pretty tough all weekend. The car was actually better in qualifying. But I have qualified further down here and finished all right. It is hard to play a supporting role from there."
Team-mate Hamilton was slightly more upbeat about his fourth place, saying: "It is better than nothing. I have often started fourth here, it is not my favourite, but I can't complain.
"In qualifying I just got held up on that last corner which is frustrating, but we are still in the fight. We have got good race pace and straight speed and I'm happy I can battle in there."
Heavy overnight rain had left the track wet in the morning, and it continued to rain intermittently until it abated shortly before the start of practice at 1100 local time (1300 GMT).
It was raining at the start of first qualifying but it soon abated, and the track dried through the session to the point that the drivers were able to put on slick tyres for the all-important last runs in the third session.
Alonso set the pace in the first, his lap of 1:18.987 just edging out Webber and Vettel, but the Red Bulls were at the front in the second session, Webber again ahead of Vettel.
Kubica was third in Q2, ahead of Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Alonso.
Hulkenberg's pole was the first for a Cosworth engine since Barrichello in a Stewart at the 1999 French Grand Prix. After qualifying, Rosberg complained to the stewards that he had been blocked by Sebastien Buemi, claiming this had prevented him from reaching Q3, but after scrutiny the complaint was dismissed.
Toro Rosso's Beumi qualified in 15th but is set to start from 20th because of a five-place grid penalty he incurred at the Korean Grand Prix.
Article from the BBC F1 Website, no copyright infringement intended
Formula 1 champion Jenson Button has praised the quick actions of his police driver after armed men threatened him in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Button called him a "legend" for fleeing through traffic after six men brandishing machine guns approached.
Button, his manager and trainer all escaped unharmed as they were driven to their hotel after practice for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.
Brazil's major cities have a bad record for serious crimes of violence.
"Would-be assailants made an attempt to approach the car that was carrying Jenson Button" on Saturday, said the statement from McLaren.
Button, 33, was quickly driven away by an armed policeman in the reinforced armoured vehicle provided by McLaren.
Button's manager Richard Goddard and trainer Mike Collier were also in the vehicle.
Extra security
Mr Goddard said: "We were about three or four minutes away from the circuit when the incident took place.
"I would suggest there were more than four or five guys, something along those lines, who emerged from a block of flats.
"I initially saw one guy carrying this piece of wood, a baseball bat kind of thing, but I didn't spot the one who had a gun until someone pointed it out.
"It was pulled, and that was it really. You didn't really have time to think about what was happening. Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
There are parts of Sao Paulo which are extremely violent, and [the city] has extremes of great wealth and extreme poverty”
End Quote Murray Walker Formula 1 commentator
"You hear about these kind of things in Sao Paulo, and because they don't come home to roost, you don't think about them. But when it almost happens to you then it's fairly worrying."
He said they were lucky to have a police driver on hand to force his way through the traffic and get them out of what could have been "quite a frightening situation".
A McLaren spokesperson said: "The police driver of Jenson's vehicle reacted swiftly and, using avoidance techniques, rapidly forced his way through the traffic, taking Jenson and the other occupants of the car immediately away from any danger and back to their hotel."
The spokesperson added the Sao Paulo authorities had also acted efficiently and would provide additional security for Button and other team members on Sunday. Previous attacks
BBC Formula 1 commentator David Croft said Button reported seeing six men all brandishing machine guns approach his car.
The reigning world champion, who will start 11th on the grid on Sunday, described his driver as an "absolute legend".
Three years ago members of Toyota's F1 team escaped a similar situation when they were also approached by gunmen, Mr Croft said.
Formula 1 commentator Murray Walker told the BBC that gunmen previously had attempted to attack him in the same area.
He said: "There are parts of Sao Paulo which are extremely violent, and [the city] has extremes of great wealth and extreme poverty."
He said parts of the circuit were close to favelas, or shanty towns, where there was a lot of deprivation.
He said: "I suspect that's where it happened to Jenson, and naturally the people who are in the favelas see these obviously very wealthy people driving away from the circuit and they know they've got a lot of money, and they know they've got watches and things on them and that's what they're after presumably."
Chassis construction: Monocoque construction fabricated from carbon epoxy and honeycomb composite structure, surpassing FIA impact and strength requirements Front suspension: Carbon fibre double wishbone arrangement, with composite toelink and pushrod activated springs and anti-roll bar Rear suspension: Double wishbone and pushrod activated springs and anti-roll bar Transmission: Williams F1 seven-speed seamless sequential semi-automatic shift plus reverse gear. Gear selection: electro-hydraulically actuated Clutch: Carbon multi-plate Dampers: Williams F1 Wheels: RAYS forged magnesium Tyres: Bridgestone Potenza, F 325mm wide, R 375mm wide Brake system: 6 piston callipers all round, carbon discs and pads Steering: Williams F1 power assisted rack and pinion Fuel system: Kevlar-reinforced rubber bladder Electronic systems: FIA standard electronic control unit Cooling system: Aluminium oil, water, and gearbox radiators Cockpit: Driver six-point safety harness with 75mm shoulder straps & HANS system, removable anatomically formed carbon fibre seat covered in Alcantara Dimensions & weight: Overall width: 1800mm Engine
Designation: Cosworth 2.4L V8, 90° V angle engine Valve train: pneumatic Fuel management and ignition systems: Cosworth Engine materials: include block and pistons in aluminium, crankshaft in steel billet, connecting rods in titanium
(13/06/2010) Williams introduced two new front wings for Montreal. Both feature two vertical turning vanes and are designed to boost the airflow from underneath the raised front section of the chassis (labeled 1). Each front wing has a different forward upper wing (labeled 2). On one example there was a small splitter (labeled 3) on the outside of the endplate. The team has also brought two different rear wings.
(10/07/2010) Previously only Nico Hulkenberg has used Williams' low-blowing exhaust (red arrow), but at Silverstone team mate Rubens Barrichello was also running the upgrade. It's quite similar to Ferrari's system, and is therefore less complicated than the ones used by Red Bull and McLaren. The FW32 also features new bodywork and engine cover for the British race.
The car already showed much improved pace in Spain, but at Silverstone both drivers could confirm their performances thanks to a new blown diffuser.
The change will obviously benefit the FW32 a lot as it previously featured high exhausts that appeared to disturb upper sidepod airflow quite a lot. The new sidepod slopes down much steeper, resembling much the design of the Red Bull. With this change, exhaust gases are now pushed onto the diffuser, allowing it to work more efficiently while drag will certainly have reduced above the sidepod.
(26/09/2010) Williams arrived in Singapore with a completely new front-wing assembly, which is quite similar to Renault's solution. Compared to the older version (top drawing), the new front wing (bottom drawing) features several differences. There is a more pronounced upward sweep of the outer lower wing, just inboard of the endplate. While the former small vertical fence at the outer edge of the endplate has gone (1, upper), the upper flap section now features an extension with a small endplate outside the main endplate (1, lower). It is all designed to help the tyre act like a diffuser, sucking air from the front wing to improve its efficiency. There are also two new flaps in the central section (2) and the main plane twists upwards (3).
As a final update on their FW32 in Japan, Williams have introduced new brake ducts for both the front and rear brakes. The new ducts feature a shield to prevent airflow into the duct to be disturbed by the rotating front wheel. This design feature is far from new and teams like Renault or McLaren have been running it since the beginning of the season.
It is however likely that Williams have now changed the front brake ducts to better work with the new front wing they introduced in Singapore. While the endplate on that wing has become simpler, the stacked element hangs over the endplate for additional downforce. On the inside, an extra small stabiliser element was added as well, while the black flaps closest to the front wing supports are now similar to Renault's solution.
All images in this article are owned by Formula One Administration Ltd. If i am in breach of any copyright please contact me and i shall remove the images immediately
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso leapt back into title contention after winning a thrilling battle with McLaren's Jenson Button in the Italian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard moves from fifth to third in the championship, 21 points behind Mark Webber of Red Bull, who is three ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton retired after a collision with Felipe Massa, who finished third.
Button stays fourth overall, ahead of Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, with a win covering all five contenders.
Vettel finished fourth in a race that Red Bull had always viewed as damage limitation. Webber was sixth behind the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.
The decisive moments of the race came around laps 36 and 37.
Button had led from the start after passing Alonso into the first chicane following a slow getaway from the Spaniard, who started from pole position.
Alonso tracked Button all through the first part of the race, with the Englishman's lead ebbing and flowing as the two traded fastest laps in a fascinating flat-out battle.
By lap 13, Button had eked out a lead of 1.6 seconds, but Alonso then came back at him and they were nose to tail by lap 20.
A series of fastest laps from Button stretched his lead to a second on lap 29, but again Alonso responded.
Button pitted first, on lap 36, with Alonso coming in next time around. A brilliant in-lap followed by a pit stop that was 0.8secs quicker than McLaren's meant Alonso exited the pits just ahead of Button.
He had to defend forcefully at the first chicane, but held Button off around that lap and then proceeded to pull away at a pace to which Button could not respond.
Instead, Button had to worry about Massa, who was slightly faster than him in the closing laps but was unable to get close enough to challenge.
Hamilton's hopes ended at the second chicane on the first lap as he was trying to take advantage of a battle between the two Ferrari drivers.
Alonso was delayed by his battle with Button at the first corner and Massa was able to get alongside him through the second, left-handed part of the chicane.
That gave Massa the inside line through the following Curva Grande, but Alonso was on the inside approaching the second chicane and held on to second position.
Hamilton, though, was right behind him, hoping to pass Massa on the inside, but as they turned into the corner he was not close enough.
Massa's rear wheel hit Hamilton's front and broke the suspension of the McLaren.
"I had a good start and gained a position," Hamilton said.
"In a realistic world I perhaps should've stayed there a while. I put my car up the inside and tried to get third - it was obviously a little bit too much. I'm very disappointed in myself and sorry for the team.
"I've got to try to collect my thoughts and move onto the next race. The championship is not over, but it's mistakes like I made today that lose world championships."
Vettel recovered from a brief engine glitch, which lost him a place to team-mate Webber, by making an ultra-late pit stop for a new set of tyres at the start of the last lap.
The extra time he spent out on the track leapfrogged him ahead of Webber, Williams's Nico Hulkenberg and Renault's Robert Kubica, all of whom he had been behind before they made their stops.
FULL REPORT TO FOLLOW VERY SOON!!!
Watch the Itailan Grand Prix at monza live right here! on Motorsport Zone!
Fernando Alonso produced a stunning lap to grab Ferrari's first pole position of 2010 at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard was 0.122 seconds quicker than McLaren's Jenson Button at Monza to give himself a great chance of reviving his faltering title challenge.
Alonso's team-mate Felipe Massa was third ahead of Red Bull's Mark Webber, whose fourth was an excellent effort.
McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton could manage only fifth place, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel sixth.
Alonso's fastest time of one minute 21.962 seconds came on the first of two runs in the top-10 qualifying shoot-out, at which point he was nearly 0.3 secs quicker than Button and 0.6 faster than Massa.
Defending world champion Button closed the gap on his second run, as Alonso was unable to improve his time, but could not find enough to snatch pole.
Alonso said: "Pole position was a nice surprise. When I stopped in parc ferme, they radioed and told me I was keeping the first position. But there were still some cars completing their laps, Jenson had gone pink [fastest of all] in the first sector and I thought, as had happened before, someone would go faster.
"It is a nice surprise and a fantastic feeling to get this first pole position for Ferrari.
"The first run was just to put a normal lap on the table and then try to risk more in the second run. But, as sometimes as happens in Monza, when you do a normal lap it is better than when you try to push because it is easy to make a mistake."
It was Ferrari's first pole position since the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, and Alonso's first since Hungary last year, when he was driving for Renault.
The two McLaren drivers, meanwhile, adopted different strategies with Button choosing to set up his car to achieve more grip through the corners and less speed on the straight, while Hamilton chose not to use the F-duct in order to maximise his straight-line pace.
"We came here not quite sure which approach to take," said Button, "and I think our side [of the garage] made the right choice to run the high-downforce set-up with the F-duct.
"It's very tricky here, as Fernando said, and out of Ascari I got a bit of oversteer and ran wide off the circuit.
"But it's the first time I've been on the front row so I'm happy with second and the car's performance."
Massa, who controversially handed the lead to Alonso in the German Grand Prix in July, was more than 0.3 secs slower than his team-mate.
"When I put the soft tyres on in Q2, I could not do my best lap straight away - the best was my third lap. I said 'let's risk and try to do three laps', but in Q3 it didn't work as well as I expected.
"I was able to do one timed lap on my other set but it was not enough. We have a good car for the race - we've improved it massively," he explained.
Webber's performance was deeply impressive after the Australian suffered problems in practice.
He stopped out on the track twice, on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, and that meant he had not run on the softer of the two tyre choices - which the leading drivers used to set their grid positions - before qualifying.
To beat team-mate Vettel by more than 0.2secs in those circumstances made it one of the best laps of Webber's season.
"I would have taken that [at the start of qualifying]," said the Australian, who lies second in the drivers's standings, just three points behind Hamilton.
"We extended to a few laps on the option tyre in Q2 and we delivered, in a way, when it counted."
Renault driver Vitaly Petrov was given a five-place penalty after qualifying 15th for impeding Timo Glock's Virgin as he rejoined the circuit from the pit lane.
"I can only apologise to him if I held him up. I didn't see him coming up behind me and didn't see any blue flags as I came out of the pits," he explained.
However, Glock was given a similar penalty, relegating him to the back of the grid, after the team broke a seal on his gearbox to replace the differential, a breach of F1's technical rules.
