We should have known this would happen. McLaren and Mercedes-Benz had begun slowly severing their ties, and you can see that from the introduction of the new SLS AMG and the McLaren MP4-12C. And now Mercedes-Benz’s purchase of the Brawn GP team (whom they were supplying engines to this season) will probably mean they could end their partnership with McLaren next season.

The ex-Honda Brawn GP team made history by getting both driver and constructor titles in its maiden race season. The team will now be called Mercedes GP. Mercedes-Benz has taken up a 75.1% stake in the team, while the remaining continues to be held by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry, who will remain as team principal and CEO respectively.

This will be the first time that Mercedes-Benz will have its own team since 1955. They will continue supplying engines to the McLaren team at least until the end of 2015, but I’m not too sure about having their name there. Mercedes currently owns 40% of the McLaren F1 team but McLaren will reacquire it over the next 2 years.

According to the Germans, Mercedes-Benz’s decision to increase their level of F1 involvement was thanks to recent agreements on budget cuts and the higher income share given to teams thanks to a new Concorde Agreement earlier this year.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Tony Fernandes tweeted the above message yesterday, confirming that Lotus F1 has signed on their first driver. He did not mention who the driver is. Our very own Fairuz Fauzy who has been linked with the team ever since it was given the green light to race in 2010 will serve as a reserve/third driver. Former Toyota driver Jarno Trulli was also rumored to join the team although there is no substantial information to back this up. Recently another driver was linked to the team: Kamui Kobayashi, also from Toyota. It looks like Malaysia’s seemingly unconditional love for Toyota (we buy Toyota and Toyota-linked Perodua cars in droves) even extend to our F1 team driver line-up! We eagerly await an official announcement from the F1 team.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

The 2009 Formula 1 season ended at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and it was Jenson Button who managed to clinch the Driver’s Championship two weeks earlier at the Brazilian Grand Prix. His team Brawn GP also made headlines as it also went home with the Constructor’s title.

The entire Formula 1 fraternity is now focusing on the 2010 season. Some familiar faces won’t be around next year like BMW and Toyota and possibly Renault, but there will be new faces. These include teams like USGPE, Manor, Campos as well as Malaysia’s Lotus F1. We have more interesting news to share with you regarding the new team. The term “spygate” may just stick around but instead of McLaren and Ferrari, the term is being associated with Lotus F1 and Force India.

According to Force India, its former wind tunnel operator Aerolab which is owned by Fondtech (an aerodynamics specialist) has leaked vital aerodynamic data that belongs to the team to the newly established Lotus F1. Force India revealed that the front wing assembly on Lotus F1’s wind tunnel model looks similar to the one featured on Force India’s Formula 1 car.

The team also claims that the wind-tunnel tires on Lotus F1’s wind tunnel car have hand-writing that belongs to Force India’s staff. Lotus F1’s technical chief Mike Gascoyne who also served for Force India in the past denied the allegations. At the same time, Aerolab is taking legal actions against Force India but its not regarding the matter above. Instead, its because Force India did not fulfill its “obligations” over a previous three-year deal with Aerolab.

In another development, Kamui Kobayashi, who stunned the motoring fraternity with his excellent drives in Brazil and in Abu Dhabi for Toyota is rumored to join Lotus F1. He recently revealed to the press that if there are still options for a race seat and that he had to choose a team, he would choose Lotus F1. Kobayashi was the third driver for Toyota’s Formula 1 outfit and replaced injured Timo Glock for the final two races of the season.

He showed some ballsy driving moves in both races and even made a sensational pass on World Champion Jenson Button in Abu Dhabi. With Toyota’s withdrawal from the sport, the Japanese driver is now looking for a 2010 race seat. Talking about drivers, Fairuz Fauzy who has been linked with Lotus F1 ever since it was given the green light to join Formula 1 is very likely to become the team’s third or reserve driver. “Fairuz will be in the team probably as a reserve driver or a test driver. He has the talent but we don’t want him to ‘crash and burn’ in the race because of his inexperience,” revealed Mike Gascoyne.

Gascoyne told The Star, “Take (Fernando) Alonso for example. He was signed as a test driver and didn’t get a race seat until after three years with Renault and he went on to win trophies. This is exactly what we want with Fairuz, for him to have enough experience because racing in the Formula One is at a much higher level than he used to.”

Taking that into account, Kobayashi’s move to Lotus F1 as the team’s second driver makes more sense. It is also also a good move to retain Fauzy as a reserve driver until he has more experience under his belt. Lets learn from what happened to Alex Yoong’s drive for Minardi when he raced for the team in 2002. There is no indication who will take the remaining seat but fingers are pointing towards Jarno Trulli, who drove for Toyota along side Kobayashi.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

This video is BMW’s ‘last kopek’ at leveraging its F1 involvement, as the BMW Sauber F1 Team is no more. The team has now been purchased by Qadbak Investments, a buyout that has actually caused some of the other F1 teams to have reservations because of apparent dodginess of the new owners. Anyway enjoy the video after the jump, as you probably won’t much BMW F1 videos after this one.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

It’s finally done – after persistent and intense rumours over the past few days Toyota has officially released a statement saying they would be withdrawing from F1 at the end of the 2009 season, which is basically right now with immediate effect.

The following is their press statement:

UPDATE: Here’s Akio Toyoda’s speech:

It would be nice if Lotus F1 Racing picks up Kobayashi.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Toyota F1’s race at the Abu Dhabi GP is apparently their last, as strong and intense rumours point to a Toyota board meeting to be held on the 15th of November to come to a conclusion that the company should leave the sport. We could actually know the outcome as early as 8th November 2009.

If Toyota really leaves the sport, this would open a grid position for then new Qadbak Sauber team, the team that used to be the BMW Sauber F1 Team. Toyota was supplying F1 engines to Williams this year but Williams will go with Cosworth engines next year.

Another Japanese company also announced it would be leaving F1 recently. Tyre supplier Bridgestone has announced it will leave at the end of next year’s season to focus its resources on other development. Bridgestone has been the sole supplier of F1 tyres for the past 2 years, and have been a supplier since 1997.

As for Kobayashi who was standing in for Timo Glock who has a back injury, the promising driver says he would most probably have to go back to Japan to work for his father’s sushi restaurant. Maybe he can build the business and then recruit all the chop shop owners here that will be out of a job soon.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

If you were able to catch the final two rounds of the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship then you should be familiar with a Japanese driver by the name of Kamui Kobayashi. Kobayashi has been serving as the third driver at Toyota’s Formula 1 outfit since November 2007, after replacing Franck Montagny. The Toyota F1 driver is also competing in the GP2 series which is another feeder series for Formula 1.

Kobayashi’s non-testing driving role in the Toyota F1 team actually started at this year’s Japanese Grand Prix when he replaced Timo Glock for the first two practice sessions, following Glock’s health-related issues. Glock then had a crash during qualifying and did not compete in the race the next day.

Glock’s health advisers then recommended the German not to take part in the remaining two races of the season. Glock’s misfortune was a blessing for Kobayashi as he was then summoned to race in Brazil and in last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In his first qualifying session, he managed to secure 11th place although his team mate Jarno Trulli was fourth fastest.

During the race at the Interlagos track in Sao Paulo, he drove a clean race most of the time and spectators started to notice more of him when the Japanese driver performed some gutsy wheel to wheel racing with his competitors on track.

Kobayashi successfully defended against championship contenders Jenson Button from Brawn and Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull during race. Button even labeled the Japanese driver ‘crazy’. The highlight of his race debut was the battle he had with fellow Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima from Williams. Kobayashi was exiting the pits following a routine pit stop and came out right in front of the Williams driver.

Kobayashi was so determined not to give the position away that Nakajima hit the back of Kobayashi’s car and subsequently lost front wing and eventually hit a tire barrier at Turn 4. Kobayashi managed to finish in ninth place, just a place away from a point finish.

At the season finale Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he managed to qualify in 12th place and it was later revealed that he did so with a very heavy fuel load. During the race, he was running based on a one stop strategy. He started to shine when everyone else who were running on two stop strategies made their first pit stops. With a lighter car, Kobayashi was charging forward and even made a successful, sensational pass on newly-crowned World Champion Jenson Button.

Although he had a lighter car underneath him, Kobayashi’s aggressive driving style and raw talent were evident. He kept his nose clean through out the race and managed to cross the finish line in sixth place and earned three valuable points. He even finished ahead of his more experienced team mate Jarno Trulli.

I have been following Formula 1 for the past decade and only a handful of drivers managed to push me to the edge of my seat with ballsy moves while being able to keep on racing till the checkered flag is waived. Those few include Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen as well as Fernando Alonso. I must admit that Kobayashi is looking good to be included in that list. With just two races, he has quickly became the talk of town. Furthermore, it is very likely that he will be named as one of the 2010 drivers for Toyota.

I hope he manages to secure a race seat as I would love to see him more in action. Its about time that Japan gets its first Formula 1 World Champion. Recent Formula 1 drivers from the Land of Rising Sun have failed to really shine, but that may change with Kobayashi. So will he be considered as the next Schumacher from Japan? Judging from his performance so far, my answer is: Most likely!

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

He then remained with the company with a “special appointment” and left a year later. Todt will be joined by Nick Craw who will serve as the President of the Senate and Brian Gibbons, Deputy President Automobile Mobility & Tourism. Malaysia’s Tunku Mudzaffar bin Tunku Mustapha who is the chairman of the AAM will serve as a Senate Member.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

It was revealed that national auto maker Proton will finalise the brand licensing of Lotus for the Lotus F1 team sometime next month. The auto maker received a draft agreement from the Tune Group over the matter last Friday. Proton Holdings will now go over the agreement before finalising it next month.

Managing Director of Proton Holdings Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir told Bernama, “We are studying the draft and hope to finalise it next month.” Datuk Syed gave the statement at Proton’s Hari Raya open house event at the auto maker’s Centre of Excellence in Shah Alam yesterday. Also to be confirmed next month is the driver line-up.

Source

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

According to a recent report by Malaysian news agency Bernama, Lotus F1 has shortlisted six drivers where two will be officially announced sometime next month. Team principal Tony Fernandes further revealed that Malaysian Fairuz Fauzy is one of them.

“What I can say is, Fairuz Fauzy is on the list. We will announce the line-up in November. I hope the Malaysian driver will be selected as either the second driver or third driver for the team,” Fernandes said.

Jarno Trulli who is racing for Toyota is also rumored to be selected, although when asked about the Italian, the man behind AirAsia remained tight-lipped. There is a high possibility that the Malaysian-owned team will select a fresh face like Fauzy and a more experienced Formula 1 driver. Looks like we have got wait for the official announcement!

Source

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Brit Jenson Button from Brawn GP picked up his first Driver’s Championship earlier today in Brazil. 29-year old Button arrived at Interlagos with a comfortable lead but if he failed to score a single point in the two remaining races (Brazil and Abu Dhabi) the crown could go to his team mate Rubens Barrichello or Sebastian Vettel from Red Bull.

With his fifth place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix, the Brit sealed the championship. Even if the Button fails to finish the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi he will still walk away as the 2009 Champion. During yesterday’s qualifying Button only managed 14th place. His team mate who was also contending for the title grabbed pole position. Vettel on the other hand started the race right behind Button following Vitantonio Liuzzi’s 5-place grid penalty.

As the race progressed the three championship rivals managed to have a clean race despite what happened around them. On the first lap itself two major incidents took place. Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) spun his car at Turn 2 and nearly collected Giancarlo Fisichella (Ferrari). A couple of corners later Jarno Trulli (Toyota) put a wheel on the grass and spun into Adrian Sutil (Force India). The latter also took Fernando Alonso (Renault) out of the race. Both Trulli and and Sutil were seen arguing after the incident.

Kovalainen made a pit stop for repairs and a re-fuel. Unfortunately the Finn drove off with the fuel rig intact. Fuel was then sprayed on Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari which came in for a new front wing. A dramatic fireball developed at the back of the Ferrari. Raikkonen nearly ended his race and was complaining about burning eyes (sensation felt after getting in contact with petrol) even after the race.

After 71 laps, Mark Webber from Red Bull emerged victorious. BMW’s Robert Kubica and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton joined the podium as well. Vettel managed fourth place while Button settled with fifth. Rubens Barrichello who started from pole only managed to finish in eight place following a puncture that forced the Brazilian to pit with just a couple of laps remaining.

Along with the Driver’s Championship, Button’s British-based Brawn GP team that took over operations from Honda at the beginning of year also secured the Constructor’s Championship. The Formula 1 circus now heads to the United Arab Emirates for the season finale on November 1st.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

The Litespeed-managed Lotus F1 Racing team has released two photos of a scale model of its first Formula 1 racer that’s currently being used for windtunnel testing. There is no name for the new car yet, but more details about the team were revealed in an interview with technical director Mike Gascoyne provided along with the press release.

According to Gascoyne, development has already been on-going for a few months before the team entry was confirmed in mid-September 2009. Gascoyne is currently in Malaysia interviewing potential employees for technical roles. They are also recruiting various other personnel in the fields of admin, marketing and PR. A full list was published as a full page ad in the papers recently.

The team will be based in the RTN facility in UK initially but as previously mentioned the ultimate goal is to have a full technical facility at the Sepang circuit. However, when that happens a small UK base will still be kept to give the team a logistical advantage when the team is racing in Europe.

Lotus F1 aims to get the car up and running for a roll-out by mid-February 2010 in prepration for the Bahrain race in mid-March. The car is currently being developed with a few technical partners including Fondtech for aerodynamics, Xtrac for transmissions, and Cosworth for engines. Malaysian companies are involved in certain areas including some aspects of engineering as well as composites (very likely to be Composites Technology Research Malaysia).

There are rumours currently afloat about Toyota’s Jarno Trulli joining the new team. Trulli will likely take the senior role and be complemented by a more junior driver, possibly a Malaysian. Everyone seems to be looking at Fairuz Fauzy right now.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Alot are of the opinion that F1 technology rarely makes it into road cars because of the completely different way of doing things when it comes to racecars, but with F1’s budget cuts forcing components to last longer (i.e. more than just one race), R&D to improve durability can definitely benefit road car usage, or at least transmission maker Xtrac strongly thinks so.

Xtrac is a name that alot of you will probably be familiar with. They make the 4WD gearbox that goes into our Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 rally car. According to Xtrac’s chief metallurgist Steve Vanes, the latest specification of steel being required to significantly extend the life of a Formula One gearbox could be broadly applied to a wide range of vehicles to improve their driveline reliability and efficiency.

“From a cultural point of view the world of motorsport has changed considerably, and the costs and relevance of its technology to wider consumer markets has become more important. For example, the trend towards engine downsizing in road vehicles to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions can be complemented by the downsizing of transmissions, requiring the intervention of new technologies and manufacturing processes for stronger and more lightweight components,” says Vanes.

According to Vanes, the recent cost-cutting measures in F1 have lead to the development of a brand new specification of steel necessary to extend the service life of gears, shafts, bearings, dog rings, hubs, selector forks, final drives and other highly stressed driveline components. Vanes claims that until recently the typical life of a set of gears for a main shaft was approximately 350,000 cycles. To quantify the improvement that this new Xtrac steel development as the result of F1 R&D is an extension of typical service life to more than 2.5 million cycles.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Renault has quickly found a replacement for Fernando Alonso, who will be moving to Ferrari next year. Filling Alonso’s seat will be Robert Kubica, who will be leaving his current BMW Sauber F1 Team.

“I am very happy I will be joining Renault in the 2010 season. I feel I have a special connection with this team because in 2005 I won the World Series by Renault. This gave me the chance to test with the team in Barcelona, which led to my debut in Formula One,” said Kubica. He was testing for the team back in 2005.

“We are very excited to have signed Robert with the Renault F1 Team starting next season. Ever since Robert made his Grand Prix debut in 2006, he has been on our radar as one of the most naturally talented drivers of his generation and he has delivered on that promise so it’s great to have secured him in one of our cars next season,” said Renault’s new team principal Bob Bell.

BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen said: “Robert played an important role for us – and certainly we did the same for him. He joined us in 2006 as a test driver with no Formula One experience, and then we promoted him to be one of our team’s drivers during that season. He never let us down and, with our first pole position in 2008 in Bahrain and first victory the same year in Canada, he set milestones in the history of our team. We are grateful for his strong and constant performances and wish him all the best for his future.“

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Sebastian Vettel was the first driver to cross the finish line at the 2009 Japanese GP after 53 laps and a last minute safety car situation.

Second place went to Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and the final podium position went to McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. Vettel, after scoring 10 crucial points, is now 16 points behind championship leader Jenson Button who only managed to score one point with his 8th place finish.

Ferrari scored some valuable points today with Kimi Raikkonen’s fourth place. Behind him was William’s Nico Rosberg and BMW’s Nick Heidfeld. Rest of the top ten was made up by Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button, Robert Kubica (BMW), and Fernando Alonso (Renault).

Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi failed to finish. In addition, Buemi was the only driver with a slow start as his car momentarily stalled. Mark Webber who started from the pits entered the pits three times within five laps. Timo Glock of Toyota did not start the race thanks to an accident during qualifying.

Towards the end of the race with just 5 laps to go, the safety car came in. Almost, if not all drivers maintained their respective positions. Kimi in fourth was right behind Hamilton and nearly overtook him. Button was still trying to make it to seventh place, but failed. Towards the end, he nearly gave his position to Robert Kubica in ninth.

Button currently leads with 85 points ahead of his team mate Barrichello with 71 points. Both Barrichello and Vettel have the chance of clinching the driver’s title, if Button continues to finish down the grid provided Barrichello and Vettel win race or two, and score as much points as possible.

In the Constructor’s Championship, Brawn leads by 35.5 points. Red Bull is in second place. The only chance for Red Bull to win is if it scores 1-2 victories in the two remaining races and at the same time both the Brawn’s don’t score a single point. Both circumstances are very unlikely, so it is safe to say that Brawn GP will win the championship. McLaren is closing in for third, just 2 points behind Ferrari. From the looks of it, Ferrari will lose its third place to McLaren.

With only two races remaining in the season, it looks like the championship battle will go down to the wire at the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

The Lotus F1 Team put out a press ad in the sports section of The Star yesterday listing various positions to be filled in the team. The list is quite extensive and all you have to do is email your CV and cover letter to 1MalaysiaHR@lotusf1team.com.

A quick glimpse at lotusf1team.com shows it doesn’t really have much content yet. The domain lists ex-Lotus employee and Litespeed co-founder Nino Singh Judge as the admin and technical contact.

• Aerodynamics – Project Leader Aerodynamics, Junior Aerodynamicist, Head of CFD, CFD Engineer.
• Composites Design – Head of Composite Design, Senior / Junior Composite Designer, Composite Engineer.
• Composite – Head of Composite Layup Shop, Senior / Junior Layup Technician, Head of Composite Trim Shop, Senior / Junior Trim Shop Technician
• Electronics – Head of Electronics, Senior / Junior Electronics Engineer, Senior Control Engineer, Control Software Engineer
• Factory – Factory Manager, Senior / Junior Maintenance
• Gearbox Design – Head of Gearbox Design, Senior / Junior Gearbox Design
• Gearbox Assembly – Head of Gearbox Shop, Race Gearbox Technician
• Hydraulics – Head of Hydraulics Shop, Race Hydraulics Technician, Test Hydraulics Technician
• Mechanical Production – Head of Mechanical Production, Senior / Junior Machinist, Fabricator
• Mechanical Design – Head of Mechanical Design, Senior Mechanical Design Engineer, Senior Mechanical Designer
• Pattern Shop – Head of Pattern Shop, Senior / Junior Pattern Maker
• Production, Production Control and Purchasing – Head of Production, Senior Production Engineer, Mechanical Buyer, Composite Buyer, General Buyer, Aerodynamics Buyer
• Quality Control & Inspection – Head of Inspection, Senior / Junior Inspection Technician
• Design Office – Drawing Office Manager
• R&D – Head of R&D, Senior R&D Engineer, Senior R&D Technician
• Race Engineering – Test Engineer, Race Data Engineer, Test Data Engineer, Aero Support Engineer
• Race & Test – Logistic Manager, Race & Test Travel Secretary, Clothing & Team Gear
• Race Team – Race Chief Mechanic, Race Parts Mechanic
• Stress Analysis – Senior / Junior FEA Engineer
• Sub Assembly – Head of Sub Assembly, Sub Assembly Technician
• Test Team – Test Chief Mechanic, Test Part Mechanic, Test Team Truckie, Test Team Mechanic
• Vehicle Science – Head of Vehicle Dynamics, Vehicle Dynamics Engineer, Senior / Junior Software Engineer
• Marketing & PR – Head of Marketing, Marketing Manager, Tri-lingual Website Designers, Graphic Designers, Executive Assistant, Business Development Manager, Sponsorship Manager, Sponsor Account Manager, Head of PR / Tri-Lingual PR Officer, Press Officer, Hospitality Coordinator
• Finance – Financial Controller, Finance Manager, Finance Executive
• Legal – Head of Legal, Legal Manager, Legal Executive
• HR – Head of HR, HR Manager, HR Executive
• IT – Head of Information Technology, CAD Manager, Senior IT Engineer, Race IT Engineer, Test IT Engineer, IT Technician

It’s not really clear at the moment whether all jobs are available immediately. I have a feeling alot of the positions would probably already be filled by Litespeed F3 engineers. The Aerodynamics and Gearbox department will probably have to deal with FondTech and Xtrac respectively as when the team was announced, they were mentioned as suppliers to the team. Cosworth will be supplying the engine. I think what Malaysian can immediately look out for are the Marketing & PR, Finance, HR and Legal departments.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Some very interesting details on the progress of the Lotus F1 team was revealed on ESPN Star’s Race Day TV show by team principal Tony Fernandes. According to Tony, the Malaysian team has started developing its Formula 1 racer, and that the single seater is in its wind tunnel testing stage. When the team was first announced, they said aerodynamics would be supplied by FondTech, so that’s where the car must be now.

So yes, a racecar exists, and I will bet it will look nothing like the rainbow-coloured car that we saw the Prime Minister hold up when he made the announcement about the 1Malaysia F1 Team. It’s too sponsor-unfriendly – the logos would be lost in the sea of colours.

The car will be ready for circuit testing sometime in February 2010. Testing will be conducted at the SIC. The car will use the “default” engine supplied by Cosworth. Litespeed will work on the chassis.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Lewis Hamilton was the first driver to cross the finish line after 61 laps at the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix. He started off with pole position. Hamilton finished ahead of Toyota’s Timo Glock and Fernando Alonso, so that’s at least some good news for Renault after the whole crash-gate fiasco.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel managed to finish in 4th place ahead of current championship leader Jenson Button despite getting a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pits. Sixth place was snapped up by Button’s team mate, Rubens Barrichello.

The rest of the top ten are made up by McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen, BMW’s Robert Kubica, Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. The Ferrari boys did not do very well this race. Nico Rosberg from Williams who was challenging for victory before getting a drive through penalty for crossing the white line on his way exiting the pits only managed 11th place.

6 drivers failed to cross the finish line. First to finish prematurely was Romain Grosjean (Renault) due to brake issues. Nick Heidfeld and Adrian Sutil both retired due the same accident. Mark Webber (Red Bull) also retired after suffering a crash due to (again) brake failure, followed by both Toro Rosso drivers.

Vettel was the first to pit with 44 laps to go, followed by Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton. With 41 laps to go, Adrian Sutil had a spin and picked up Nick Heidfeld. The latter lost his rear right wheel and the safety car was deployed. Sutil pitted and changed his front wing, but eventually retired a couple of laps later. The race re-started and Nico Rosberg served his drive-through penalty about two laps later and came out in 14th position, since the penalty was served right after the safety car situation.

With 34 laps to go, Hamilton was up in front, followed closely by Vettel. Vettel, who lost his right rear-view mirror pitted with 22 laps to go, and came out behind Button in seventh. He was then given a drive through penalty for speeding in the pits. After serving the penalty, he rejoined in ninth, in front of Raikkonen.

A couple of laps later his team mate Mark Webber pitted for a re-fuel, but just before that on the way into the pits you could see brake dust from his front right tire, indicating severe wear. Just a lap after exiting the pits, Webber suffered from a brake failure and crashed his car. After all this dram, both Toro Rosso drivers pitted and retired, probably due to the fear of brake failure as well since the Toro Rosso cars would most likely share certain components with the Red Bull cars.

In the Drivers Championship, Button leads with 84 points. 15 points behind him is his Brazilian team mate Barrichello. Another 10 points behind is Sebastian Vettel with 59 points. Mark Webber is fourth with 51.5 points. Raikkonen is in fifth with 40 points and race winner Lewis Hamilton is currently in sixth place, just 3 points behind.

As for the Constructors Championship, Brawn is still leading with 153 points, followed by Red Bull with 110.5 points. Ferrari is third with 62 points, but McLaren is closing in with 59 points now. With 3 races remaining, it looks as though Button and Brawn will bag both titles. All 20 drivers will now head to Suzuka, for the Japanese GP.

In the meanwhile, here’s a bit of juicy rumour. Word from Germany’s Sport Bild is that Ferrari’s new sponsor Santander (a current sponsor of McLaren) is willing to offer the McLaren up to 25 million Euros to take Ferrari’s current front man Kimi Raikkonen. This will make space for Alonso to join Ferrari next year.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

More updates on the new 1Malaysia F1 Team / Team Lotus / Litespeed / whatever you want to call it. Alex Yoong is going to be involved, but not as a driver. Tony Fernandes hinted that he would most likely come in as a “deputy team principal” (to handle the team while he is busy with Tune and AirAsia stuff), and could potentially be a candidate for team principal in the future since Tony previously said his intention is to step down before the 2010 season ends. And of course as most of you already know, the RM168 million initial amount invested by the team’s investors (the Tune folks and SM Nasarudin) will not be enough – its currently on an intensive hunt for sponsors. Amongst parties approached include Petronas, Genting, and MAS. The team hopes for the race car to be ready by February 2010 for testing at the SIC.

Source

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Finally some details from the horses mouth – the 1Malaysia name apparently shares nothing more in common with Najib’s 1Malaysia administration other than the similiar name, as a tribute most likely.

• The government announced yesterday that it has no equity directly or indirectly in the 1Malaysia F1 Team.
• Proton will license its Lotus brand to 1Malaysia F1 Team.
• The team will be called Team Lotus.
• It’s actually run and funded by Litespeed, Naza, and the Tune Group.
• The team has a start-up capital of RM168 million and a baseline annual budget of an estimated RM308 million.
• The scope of Proton’s involvement will hopefully go beyond licensing the brand and will include technology transfer, marketing rights and employment opportunities.
• Petronas (so far) will come in through its Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, which will collaborate with the team together with UTM to help develop future Malaysian engineers, etc.
• Composites Technology Research Malaysia (CTRM) will somehow be involved. CTRM is a composites manufacturer with clients like Airbus. It is owned 92% by the government’s Ministry of Finance and 8% by Petronas. They make the composite body shell for Lotus Europa S, and are the official repairer for the teams participating in the Formula BMW Pacific.

So far no concrete mention of Proton or government money being used so far. It doesn’t even look like Lotus will be running the team, instead expertise will come from Litespeed, which is a team participating in F3 founded by ex-Lotus employees Nino Judge and Steve Kenchington. In fact we’ve already readabout this team since June.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

In just one week, Renault has lost two of its sponsors. One is Dutch-based ING and the other is Spanish insurance company Mutua Madrilena. ING is no surprise really as even before the crashgate scandal they’ve announced that it would not be renewing its sponsorship contract with the company after this year’s race season, but now they’ve decided to withdraw its sponsorship with immediate effect.

”ING is deeply disappointed at this turn of events, especially in the context of an otherwise successful sponsorship. As announced on 16 February of this year, ING decided not to renew the three year sponsorship (2007-2009) contract with Renault F1 and to end its presence in Formula 1 after the 2009 season,” said ING’s press statement.

Mutua Madrilena’s statement said its withdrawal was because “the behaviour of relevant people in the team was of extraordinary seriousness and it compromised not only the integrity of the sport, but also put in danger the lives of spectators, drivers and circuit personnel, which is something that can affect the image, reputation and good name of the team’s sponsor.” The Spanish insurance company will however continue to sponsor fellow countryman Fernando Alonso, who drives for Renault.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

The following is the official statement from the FIA:

At an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council held in Paris on 21 September 2009, the ING Renault F1 team admitted that the team had conspired with its driver Nelson Piquet Jr. to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, in breach of the International Sporting Code and F1 Sporting Regulations.

Renault F1 stated at the meeting that it had conducted a detailed internal investigation, which found that: (i) Flavio Briatore, Pat Symonds and Nelson Piquet Jr. had conspired to cause the crash; and (ii) no other team member was involved in the conspiracy.

Having used information based on its own investigation of the incident in Marina Bay, the FIA listed the reasons why the penalty is suspended (and set to expire at the end of 2011) as opposed to an instant banishing from Formula One:

* It had accepted, at the earliest practicable opportunity, that it committed the offences with which it was charged and cooperated fully with the FIA’s investigation.?
* It had confirmed that Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds were involved in the conspiracy and ensured that they left the team.?
* It apologised unreservedly to the FIA and to the sport for the harm caused by its actions.?
* It committed to paying the costs incurred by the FIA in its investigation.
?* Renault (the parent company, as opposed to Renault F1) committed to making a significant contribution to FIA safety-related projects.

Nelson Piquet Jr. also apologised unreservedly to the World Motor Sport Council for his part in the conspiracy.

In addition, Flavio Briatore has been banned permanently from F1 and all FIA events. Here is a separate statement released on that matter:

The World Motor Sport Council declares that, for an unlimited period, the FIA does not intend to sanction any International Event, Championship, Cup, Trophy, Challenge or Series involving Mr. Briatore in any capacity whatsoever, or grant any license to any Team or other entity engaging Mr. Briatore in any capacity whatsoever.

It also hereby instructs all officials present at FIA-sanctioned events not to permit Mr. Briatore access to any areas under the FIA’s jurisdiction.

Furthermore, it does not intend to renew any Superlicence granted to any driver who is associated (through a management contract or otherwise) with Mr. Briatore, or any entity or individual associated with Mr. Briatore.

In determining that such instructions should be applicable for an unlimited period, the World Motor Sport Council has had regard not only to the severity of the breach in which Mr. Briatore was complicit but also to his actions in continuing to deny his participation in the breach despite all the evidence.

Flavio was the team principal for Renault but that was not the only area he was involved in when it came to F1. He was also the driver manager for Mark Webber and Heikki Kovalainen from Red Bull and McLaren respectively. They will have to look for new management and get new super licenses.

Renault’s Executive Director of Engineering Pat Symonds (who also resigned when Briatore did) has also been served a punishment – a 5-year ban.

The World Motor Sport Council declares that, for a period of five years, the FIA does not intend to sanction any International Event, Championship, Cup, Trophy, Challenge or Series involving Mr. Symonds in any capacity whatsoever, or grant any license to any Team or other entity engaging Mr. Symonds in any capacity whatsoever.

It hereby instructs, for a period of five years, all officials present at FIA-sanctioned events not to permit Mr. Symonds access to any areas under the FIA’s jurisdiction.

In determining that such instructions should be effective for a period of five years the World Motor Sport Council has had regard: (i) to Mr. Symonds’ acceptance that he took part in the conspiracy; and (ii) to his communication to the meeting of the World Motor Sport Council that it was to his “eternal regret and shame” that he participated in the conspiracy.

Nelson Piquet goes off scot-free. As for who will replace Briatore – people are saying it could be Alain Prost.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Tony Fernandes announced to Reuters that his position as the Team Principal of the new Malaysian-backed Team Lotus will not be permanent.

Obviously he had something to do with initiating the project in the first place as his Air Asia and Tune Group will be providing funding for the team, but he only intends to be in the Team Principal position to make sure Team Lotus has the “right direction, the right imaging and the right future, the right strategic plan and marketing” before stepping down after a few initial races (perhaps after Melbourne) to make way for someone much more experienced.

The team principal would most likely be a non-Malaysian. Tony himself admits that it is a tall order right now to have a Malaysian team principal right away. Even Team A1 Malaysia is head by a “Mat Salleh”, Jack Cunningham. Even for the drivers, Tony thinks there is no need for a Malaysian line-up for now.

“My personal preference would be to try to get someone with lots of experience, though he may be ending his career, who can add a lot of experience and develop the car. The right personality that can transfer knowledge and enjoy working with people is critical. There’s no point throwing someone in at the deep end if he’s not ready,” he said.

This is actually the norm with F1 teams that are starting off – the pairing of drivers is usually a young driver and someone who has more experience under his belt, such as David Coulthard in Red Bull and Giancarlo Fisichella in Force India. The young driver in Team Lotus F1’s case can be a Malaysian (such as Fairuz Fauzy, a name that keeps popping up) and the other can be someone with experience. The official and confirmed line-up is expected to be announced by the end of October.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Indy-gate, Crash-gate, lie-gate, spy-gate. Anyone watching F1 should be familiar with these terms. But have you ever wondered why the suffix gate is tagged onto all of these scandalous events?

It isn’t really an F1 thing. It all originated from an event known as the Watergate scandal back in the 1970s, which led to the resignation of US president Richard Nixon. The name Watergate was taken from the Watergate office complexes in Washington DC. Another incident soon after involving wine was reported by the media as “Winegate” (an easy connection as wine and water are both liquids we drink). But later, somehow it became the norm to add the gate suffix to other scandals such as Koreagate, Bonusgate, etc. You basically just add the word gate to a keyword related to the scandal.

F1’s latest scandal is the Crash-gate scandal which surrounds the Renault team. Things don’t look too good for them and it has resulted in Flavio Briatore and executive director of engineering, Pat Symonds leaving their team. The team will face the FIA World Motor Sport Council today in Europe. The team also announced that it will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

Basically it has been claimed that Renault ordered its struggling Brazilian driver to “accidentally” slam his car into a concrete wall so that his teammate Fernando Alonso could win the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

ING will not be sponsoring them next year and with this latest scandal, who is going to fork out the money to sponsor them next year? But first they will have to deal with what kind of punishment will be dished out today. If they’re lucky – and since the culprits have left – they can escape with a large fine and a disqualification from the constructor’s championship.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

According to SIC CEO Razlan Razali, the HQ will be fully equipped with manufacturing and development facilities including a wind-tunnel and costs could be in the millions or even billions.

However he reiterated that these are just plans for now and it’s all only in preliminary stages. After the Raya holidays, the parties involved will sit together and have a discussion. He added that the team’s race machines could be ready in the matter of months, thanks to Lotus and other contractors and suppliers such as Cosworth, FondTech and Xtrac, who will supply the engine, aerodynamics and transmission respectively. They are not building from scratch.

Datuk Seri Najib clarified to the NST today that government support for the program would be through Proton. “If we want to export Proton and use Lotus engines, we need to show that our brand is strong and make sure they are well-known and accepted internationally. It is not merely about a sporting activity but major marketing for Proton and Malaysia,” said the PM. No figures were mentioned, as the PM said it was up to Proton to announce its involvement.

Whether you agree with this project or not, there’s no denying that everyone will be eagerly awaiting for two events in the future – the announcement of the drivers (expected to be on the 31st of October 2009), and the unveiling of the actual race machines. Word is that one will be Fairuz Fauzy and the other would be a foreigner with experience.

Source

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

The BMW Sauber F1 Team has been saved! Now all they need to do is wait for FIA to get approval to extend the grid list to 28 cars and they’re good to go for the 2010 race year.

Swiss-based Qadbak Investments Ltd has purchased the Swiss-based Sauber F1 team for an undisclosed sum, though a number being mentioned is in the region of £70 million. Qadbak is a company that represents interests of a few unnamed Middle Eastern investors. Qadbak also recently took over Notts County, an English football club.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Remember all those rumours about Lotus and Tony Fernandes entering the sport of F1? It looks like they’re true after all.

A new team entry called Team Lotus F1 run by a company called the 1Malaysia F1 Team Sdn Bhd has been accepted as the 13th and final entry on the grid, joining other newcomers such as Campos, Manor, US F1. The team will be based at the RTN factory in Norfolk which is 10 miles away from Lotus cars.

1Malaysia F1 Team’s principal will be none other than Tony Fernandes himself, with funding coming from the Tune Group, the Malaysian government (through Proton) and a consortium of Malaysian entrepreneurs (names being mentioned include Naza’s SM Nasarudin). Norfolk-born Mike Gascoyne will be the team’s Technical Director. The man who is nicknamed “the bulldog” for his confrontational and aggressive style used to be the Technical Director for Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Spyker and most recently Force India.

Engines will be provided by Cosworth, transmissions by Xtrac and aerodynamics by FondTech. Fondtech is run by former Ferrari aerodynamicist Jean-Claude Migeot. In the future, an R&D, manufacturing and technical facility will be built at the Sepang International Circuit.

As for the drivers, they will only be announced on the 31st of October 2009. Currently six local and international drivers have been selected. I’m pretty sure at least one of the two drivers will be a Malaysian – anyone wanna take a shot at guessing who? Fairuz Fauzy?

Sadly the 13 teams does not include the current BMW Sauber team, which has been assigned a ‘14th place’ on the grid, which means it will be first in line to be slotted in in case anything happens. The FIA is currently calling for the permission to extend the grid to a total of 14 teams, which would mean 28 cars.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

The Malay Mail has an insider scoop that Air Asia is considering expanding their involvement in F1 by “having their own team”. If this is true, it will probably happen only later as Air Asia is currently still in a 3-year sponsorship deal with the AT&T Williams F1 team as one of their sponsors as parts of their international brand-building efforts.

An overseas F1 news syndicator have linked Air Asia to the BMW Sauber F1 team as a potential purchaser, however Air Asia has stated that their interest in F1 is still AT&T Williams for now and they will continue sponsoring them. If Air Asia expands its role in F1 with a deeper involvement with BMW Sauber F1 it would mean a Malaysian sponsorship “tagteam” of sorts as as the team currently already has a Malaysian sponsor – Petronas.

Source

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

F1 fans who are eagerly anticipating the temporary return of Michael Schumacher to F1 will probably let out a sigh of disappointment after you read this piece of news – Schumi will not be driving Massa’s F1 car after all. I’m sure you know why – it’s been a source of concern for quite some time now. It’s his neck injury.

“Unfortunately I’m not able to step in for Felipe. The consequences of the injuries caused by the bike accident in February, fractures in the area of head and neck, unfortunately have turned out to be still too severe. That is why my neck cannot stand the extreme stresses caused by Formula One yet. I really tried everything to make that temporary comeback possible. I am disappointed to the core. I am awfully sorry for the guys of Ferrari and for all the fans which crossed fingers for me. All I can do now is to keep my fingers crossed for the whole team for the coming races,” said Michael on his official website.

Ferrari has announced that their test driver Luca Badoer will replace Schumacher at Valencia this month. He has been with Ferrari as a test driver since 1998.

Related Posts:
VIDEO: Massa’s first interview after his crash
Schumacher training with a F2007 race car
Michael Schumacher returns to F1!
Massa crash puts him in serious but stable condition

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.

Felipe Massa is up and on his feet and can’t wait to get back behind the wheel of his Formula 1 car. He did an exclusive interview with the Ferrari.com official website where he talked about the crash, and Michael Schumacher driving his car, amongst other things. According to Massa, the crash was a strange sort of feeling. He knew that something had happened to him but he didn’t feel anything when it happened. He just lost consciousness and the next thing he remembered was waking up in the hospital two days later. So no, he didn’t consciously brake the car before it hit the barriers. Watch the video after the jump.

© 2009 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sat, 21 Nov 09 11:41:18 +0800.