Nuts And Bolts 2

Posted on March 16th, 2010 by Stephen Rhodes in Formula 1 - News/Rumors - Nuts and Bolts

Some news tidbits from the world of Formula 1:

Germany Hits Back After Italy’s Schumacher Criticism: The German press has hit back after its Italian colleagues were scathing of Michael Schumacher’s comeback performance in Bahrain. After the former Ferrari driver finished sixth behind his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, the Genoa-based Il Secolo XIX newspaper crowned him the “world champion of arrogance”. La Gazzetta dello Sport joked that the German failed to turn up in the island Kingdom, and Corriere della Sera said the anonymous performance had been a “strange Sunday afternoon for Herr Michael”. “With all respect for Schumacher, the 41-year-old living legend, Ferrari made the right choice with the 28-year-old Alonso,” Corriere della Sera added. La Gazzetta dello Sport praised Alonso for cutting “the umbilical cord that tied Ferrari to the Schumacher era”. The widely circulated German daily Bild Zeitung hit back: “Just as there are bad losers, it is also possible to be a bad winner”. The newspaper pointed out that the Italians failed to mention that its “double victory” only took place due to “Vettel’s technical problems”. And the German weekly Sport Bild added: “Does Schumacher really deserve this (criticism)?” Rome-based Corriere dello Sport said: “There was no disgrace (in Schumacher’s performance), but he doesn’t deserve much praise, either.”

Ecclestone Says 21 Races Possible In 2011: Bernie Ecclestone on Sunday admitted the F1 calendar could expand to as many as 21 Grands Prix in 2011. This year, an equal-record 19 races are scheduled, following the 17 rounds in 2009. But with India due to join the calendar next year, the F1 chief executive told reporters in Bahrain that the United States could also make a return. “We can have a look,” said the 79-year-old, albeit insisting that there would need to be organizational changes at Indianapolis. “Twenty one races, no problem.” Ecclestone however said 20 races is more likely. “It’s a round number and easy to remember, I get muddled up now with 19 or 17,” he joked.

No AirAsia Branding For Lotus – Fernandes: Tony Fernandes’ ‘AirAsia’ brand is unlikely to be featured on the livery of his new Formula One team Lotus in 2010. Instead, AirAsia logos are still seen prominently on Williams’ FW32 car, with its CEO Fernandes instead advertising his investment firm Tune Group on the green T127. “AirAsia is already well established. And we already have a contract with Williams,” said Fernandes, one of Malaysia’s wealthiest men according to Forbes magazine. “I don’t think AirAsia will be on a Lotus car,” he added.

Sauber Looking For Sponsors For 2011: Peter Sauber insists he is not panicking in terms of signing a major sponsor for the 2010 season. In the wake of BMW’s withdrawal and the 66-year-old founder’s rescue takeover, the team is racing this weekend in Bahrain with a mainly blank white livery. According to a report in the Swiss daily Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Sauber has put some of his own money into the team this year, with the budget therefore guaranteed for 2010. “We are focused on the search for a partner in 2011,” he added. After a strong winter with the Ferrari-powered C29, Sauber answered “sure” when asked if 14th and 16th on the Bahrain grid is disappointing. It is expected the car will be more competitive on less bumpy tracks. Also rumored is that the team will make an application some time during the 2010 season to drop the ‘BMW’ from its official name.

Hamilton Admits He Triggered Manager Split: Lewis Hamilton has admitted he masterminded the end of his managerial relationship with his father Anthony. Amid rumors he had come under pressure from his pop singer girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger to make the split, the McLaren driver said in Bahrain: “That’s complete rubbish. It was me who initiated it.” Before the split, Hamilton and Scherzinger confirmed they had ended their relationship, but in the days before the Bahrain GP they reunited in Los Angeles, where Hamilton has rented two houses. Hamilton, 25, told British newspapers late on Saturday that his father “will miss” coming to the races this year. “I think he took it well. He tried to take it as a dad.”

Mercedes Developed Engine Amid ‘Freeze’ – Newey: Mercedes worked “very heavily” on its V8 engine despite the rule-protected development freeze. That is the opinion of Adrian Newey, amid reports his F1 employer Red Bull has asked the FIA to let its engine supplier Renault catch up with the sport’s best engine. “Mercedes developed very heavily through what was meant to be a frozen engine, whereas some of the others, Renault in particular, were very honest and said it’s a frozen engine, it’s cost cutting, we won’t develop further,” the designer of the RB6 car is quoted as saying by the Observer. Newey added that it would be “perfect” if Renault is able to “bring the engine up to scratch”. But Red Bull cannot be overly critical of Mercedes’ development efforts, because the Milton Keynes-based team wanted to switch to the German supplier for 2010. “We also looked at the Cosworth engine very carefully. In the end, Brawn and McLaren blocked us from having the Mercedes engine, but we became very satisfied with staying with Renault in any case,” added Newey.

Renault ‘Loans’ F1 Team EUR20m – Report: Renault could regain ownership of the F1 team that bears its name. A report in the Independent newspaper says the struggling French carmaker has loaned the Enstone based team EUR20 million. The team is now controlled by new owners in the form of Luxembourg based Genii Capital, following a sale at the end of the 2009 season. But the carmaker has loaned the team EUR20m, secured against the facilities at Enstone, which are valued at about EUR38m. The report said that “if the team fails to repay the loan, Renault will get back full ownership of the team”.

FIA Asks Mansell To Be F1 Steward In 2010: Nigel Mansell is considering the FIA’s invitation to be a steward at one or two Grands Prix in 2010. FIA president Jean Todt’s initiative, where experienced drivers are installed as a fourth steward at each world championship round this year, is designed to speed up and give credibility to the adjudicating decisions. Already lined up to take part are Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Alex Wurz, while Alain Prost is fulfilling the role this weekend in Bahrain. 1996 world champion Damon Hill will be the fourth steward at Monaco and also another race in 2010. “It’s important drivers give their perspective on the sport,” he said in Bahrain. 55-year-old Prost, the most successful driver in F1’s history behind Michael Schumacher, has indicated that he might reprise his Bahrain role later this season. “It’s an experiment; we will see how it goes,” said the Frenchman. He admits that the contribution of well-known and highly regarded drivers will give the stewards’ decisions more credibility. “Exactly,” Prost is quoted as saying by the BBC. “That is what Jean wanted to do, and that is why I made the effort to do it.”

HRT Denies Links To German Group, VW: Jose Ramon Carabante has denied persistent rumors that a German investment group, perhaps with links to Volkswagen, is involved with the new Spanish team HRT. “Meta 1 failed to get even one sponsor and sold its shares to me. I have had no contact with a German investment group. Now we are beginning to get money from Brazil, India and Murcia, which (Murcia) gives us 3 million (EUR) annually over the next three years,” the team owner is quoted as saying by the El Pais newspaper. Indeed, it was announced in Sao Paulo – with Bruno Senna’s mother Viviane Senna in attendance – that the Brazilian bank Banco Cruzeiro do Sul is sponsoring the driver and team in 2010. After the Campos-Meta 1 takeover, the team – renamed Hispania Racing Team (HRT) – failed to do any testing and is last on the Bahrain grid. “The first four races will be our tests,” said Carabante. “Where we will really begin is in Spain,” he added, referring to May’s Barcelona event.

F1 To Stay In Turkey – Ecclestone: Bernie Ecclestone has played down rumors Turkey could be set to host its last Grand Prix in May. It was rumored recently that the Istanbul event, with Ecclestone as the leaseholder, would not have a long-term presence on the calendar, after a conspicuously small attendance last year. F1 chief executive Ecclestone then told organizers, whose race was first held in 2005, that their promotion fee would be almost doubled to $26m per year from 2011. But he has told the Financial Times that Turkey is staying on the calendar, despite only 36,000 attending the three-day event in 2009. “It’s an enormous market in Turkey. Eventually they will get themselves sorted out,” said the Briton. 79-year-old Ecclestone also suggested that F1 is moving closer to filming the Grands Prix in high definition. “If somebody guarantees to broadcast it we’ll do it,” he said. “We’re getting more people who are interested.”

Santander Gets EUR25m Value From F1 Winter, Opener: The value of Santander’s investment throughout the winter season and the 2010 Bahrain opener was EUR25 million, according to reports in the Spanish press. The Spanish bank is Ferrari’s new main sponsor, with an annual spend estimated at 40 million. The sources, reportedly with the input of the market information group Sofres, said the value of Santander’s sponsorship for the entire 2009 season with McLaren was just 80m. On Monday it emerged that the sport’s television viewing figures within Germany had doubled, and similarly impressive numbers have now emerged from Spain, the country of the new Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso. An average 5.6 million Spaniards watched Sunday’s live coverage on La Sexta, which like Germany was around a 50 per cent market share.

Di Resta To Debut Friday Role In Melbourne: Paul di Resta will kick off his season as Force India’s Friday driver in Melbourne late next week. The Scottish rookie has been signed not only as the Silverstone based team’s full time reserve driver, he will also take over one of the race driver’s cockpits for the 90 minute Friday sessions at most Grands Prix this year. But for the season opener last weekend, the team elected to keep Adrian Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi at the wheel of the two VJM03s due to the change of layout. 23-year-old di Resta, however, still attended the Bahrain event. “It’s been new,” said the DTM driver. “I’ve only ever come to races as a spectator and not been involved with the team. I was involved in a lot of team meetings, watching how the formula one environment works and watching how the team operates on a race weekend and also taking part in as much as possible to try and build up a relationship with the team for the future.” It is understood that if Sutil moves aside for di Resta in Friday’s morning session in Australia, it will then be Liuzzi’s turn to give up his cockpit a week later in Malaysia.