Archive for Formula 1

Although the 1Malaysia F1 Team would initially be based near Lotus’ hometown of Norfolk, there are plans to relocate to the Sepang International Circuit sometime in the future. Apparently the SIC has allocated between 8,000 to 12,000 hectres (er, this must be a misquote by MSM journos) of land for the F1 team’s headquarters. The site will be at the parking area before the tunnel to enter the podium building.

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.

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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.

An old Lotus 77 F1 car

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.

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.

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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

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.

Click here to read the rest of VIDEO: Massa’s first interview after his crash

BMW F1 driver Nick Heidfeld and two-time motorbike world champion Troy Corser swap their race machines in this video produced sometime late last month. If you think about it… was this a subtle hint by BMW to Heidfeld that he will soon have to look to other forms of racing instead of his current BMW F1 car? Probably not… that’s got too much conspiracy theory kind of madness in it. Ah well. Watch the video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Heidfeld races against an F1 car… on a bike

2009 F60 Formula 1 car.

Michael Schumacher is racing in a Formula 1 car again, and the whole world is excited about it. He is a racing legend, and is perceived by many as the ‘best’ Grand Prix driver there is. Schumacher, who has temporarily taken over Massa’s race seat following the Brazilian’s freak accident last weekend in Hungary, is now undergoing extensive training programs to prepare himself for his first race since 2006’s Brazilian Grand Prix.

Highlights of his training program would be made up by: physical exercise, driving in a Ferrari simulator and actually driving a real Formula 1 car. All of these have to be cramped within three weeks, since the European Grand Prix at the streets of Valencia happens on August 23rd. With the physical exercise, the 7 times World Champion will focus on his stamina and neck muscles, especially after suffering from a motorcycle crash in February.

2007 F2007 Formula 1 car.

The Formula 1 simulator is an important part of his training. Modern Grand Prix drivers rely on this tool, since it is the next best thing there is, after driving the actual car. Especially these days, when there is a mid-season testing ban, it becomes more important. The simulator offers real-life driving scenarios, with tracks that are developed using laser technology and satellite images. Even the virtual car features real-life driving characteristics, and various scenarios can be added, such as different weather conditions, rain for example. The simulator works like those high quality racing games available out there, although it is definitely better.

The part where the 40-year old has to drive the real car is the most important one. Unfortunately, there is a mid-season testing ban. However, there is a loophole. Schumacher is allowed to drive the F2007 race car, which is the car used for the 2007 championship. The car was not supplied by Ferrari and wasn’t classified a test car. In fact, the car is provided by F1 Clienti, which is a workshop owned by Ferrari, meaning the German is allowed to drive it. Schumacher just concluded his first test yesterday, at the Mugello circuit and the results were positive.

The car is of course outdated and was developed using different rules set by the FIA, but Ferrari fitted slick tires (from a GP2 car) and ran the car. Ferrari has requested permission to use this year’s F60 race car, but has only received the green light from FOTA (Formula One Teams Association). The Prancing Horse is waiting for the FIA’s verdict regarding the matter.

Michael Schumacher is now back in Formula One! The 7 times world champion will be racing in Felipe Massa’s seat for the European Grand Prix in Valencia on the 23rd of August 2009 and will do so for the rest of the season until Massa is ready to be back in the driver’s seat.

This must be something big for Schumacher himself as well, as he has probably in a mental state that F1 is a chapter that is pretty much closed in his life. They say quit while you’re ahead right? The 40 year old also has to physically prepare himself for the sport now as he is not exactly in F1 driving shape since retiring from the sport in October 2006, and this calls for extensive fitness programs.

“The most important thing first: thanks God, all news concerning Felipe are positive. I wish him all the best again. I was meeting this afternoon with Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take the place of Felipe. Though it is true that the chapter Formula 1 has been closed for me since long and completely, it is also true that for loyalty reasons to the team I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation. But as the competitor I am I also very much look forward to facing this challenge. Ultimately I like challenges and this is a great challenge,” said Schumi.

I’m sure droves of fans who say they have begun to lose interest in the sport will flock back to their TV sets for the races now that there is a very interesting new contender.

New shocker in the Formula One scene – BMW has announced that it will be exiting F1 at the end of 2009, after a 3 year run in the team’s current incarnation, the BMW Sauber F1 team. In the middle of 2005, BMW acquired the Swiss team Sauber and took to the starting grid under the team’s new name.

“Unfortunately, we were unable to meet expectations in the current season. Nevertheless, our ten years of Formula One experience have had a major impact on our development engineers. We have racing to thank for numerous technological innovations as well as the competitive spirit that drives us to develop mass-produced cars,” said board member Dr. Klaus Draeger.

NEW VIDEO: BMW withdraws from F1

“The main reason for this decision was not our current performance in Formula One racing or the general economic situation. It was solely the company’s strategic realignment. Premium will increasingly be defined in terms of sustainability and environmental compatibility. This is an area in which we want to remain in the lead. In line with our Strategy Number ONE, we are continually reviewing all projects and initiatives to check them for future viability and sustainability. Our Formula One campaign is thus less a key promoter for us. Mario Theissen has been in charge of our motor sports program since 1999. We have scored a large number of successes in this period, including some in Formula One racing. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mario Theissen and his team for this,” said chairman Dr. Norbert Reithofer.

Looks like the green movement killed yet another Formula One team, as similiar reasons were given by Honda when it decided to exit the sport. BMW will continue to participate in other sports like the ALMS, and of course, Formula BMW. These activities will continue to be supervised by Mario Theissen. The focus in the future will be more on programs like Efficient Dynamics.

I’m not sure what’s going to happen to the team. Perhaps someone will buy them over, and one man rumoured to possibly step in and take over the team is Peter Sauber, the man whose name is the other half of the team’s name. Whatever it is, BMW will work to find solutions for all current F1 employees, and someone else taking over is definitely one of them. Our national oil company Petronas could continue their F1 sponsorship with this new team and their new owners, if they choose to remain in the sport.