Tag Archives: Formula 1

A quick briefing on the new F1 technical regs…

…from the new Red Bull #2 and some guy named Vettel (h/t Michael):

So the cars are heavier but have less fuel and produce more torque with 2 KERS-type devices and also have an 8-speed gearbox. The engines are a throaty V6 Turbo rather than that old familiar high-pitched screech of the normally aspirated V8. Revs are also capped at 15k instead of 18k, the DRS slot is 20mm wider for better overtaking, the front wing is smaller so less downforce and the tire compounds from Pirelli have also been changed (and will hopefully be less prone to catastrophic delamination).

As with any major change in F1 — and these are fairly huge — there is a massive amount of grumbling up and down the paddock and from fans, with special vitriol reserved for the new safety-mandated lower noses (“Ugly!”) and the loss of the screaming engine note we’ve come to know and love (“It doesn’t sound like Formula 1!”). But with everyone starting from a clean sheet of paper it should shake up the field and perhaps limit Red Bull’s easy dominance of the last few years. In fact, it looks as if Mercedes has the jump on its competitors with many more testing hours than anyone else. Reliability will be a major issue, especially as regards overheating, and so will fuel management because there is still no refueling in F1 despite the reduced capacity. Therefore, tactics and excellence in engineering may outshine the individual brilliance of the drivers. But the cars themselves seem at this early stage to need to be “driven” more with throttle application coming off the corners particularly important as they are quite squirmy, so in the end the pilot will probably still have a great percentage of the responsibility for his team’s success.

While Red Bull and especially their fellow Renault-engined team Lotus seem to be particularly behind the 8-ball, it is never a good idea to make judgements this early in the season. If any team has the monetary, technical and driver resources to dramatically improve as the season progresses, it’s Adrian Newey, Sebastian Vettel and their very commited energy drink company. The truth will out after the summer break when the technical improvements really come into play. With these radical new regulations it will be fascinating to see if Red Bull and Vettel can again outpace the field as the season wears on or if it will finally be a different constructor and driver’s time to shine for the first time in 4 years.

Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix has already happened overnight (more on that later) and the race will air at approximately 2AM EST Sunday on NBCSports here in the States.

F1 legend Michael Schumacher in critical condition after skiing accident

Michael_Schumacher

From France this morning comes the shocking news that Formula One legend and 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher has sustained serious brain injuries in a skiing accident in the Alpine resort of Méribel. The 44-year old retired racer was skiing off-trail with his family and struck his head on a rock. Despite wearing a helmet, Schumacher was airlifted first to a local medical facility and then to a larger hospital in Grenoble, where his injuries were severe enough to require surgeons to place the German in an induced coma to protect his brain from further damage.

Along with his family, former Ferrari team manager and current FIA president Jean Todt and Ross Brawn, Schumacher’s technical director for his record-setting 5 consecutive championships with Ferrari, were said to be at the hospital holding vigil.

The full NY Times story is here.

We here at MFL would like to extend our hopes and prayers that Michael makes a full recovery from this ghastly incident. With his superior athletic conditioning, he has as good a chance as anyone to survive such an accident. It really does sound very severe but like racing fans around the world, we are hoping for the best for the great Schumacher and his friends and family.

*Update: You can follow Michael’s progress via the excellent Former F1 Doc blog where Gary Hartstein, an assistant of the late, great Sid Watkins and F1’s medical delegate from 2005-12, is discussing this sort of traumatic brain injury in detail. The Daily Mail in the UK also has excellent straight-up news coverage.

F1 News & Notes

As we prepare for the United States Grand Prix at the wonderful new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, here are some quick hits that you may have missed in a busy week of F1 news.

  • Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen will miss the last two races of the season, although not because of a pay dispute, as had been threatened. The Ice Man had season-ending surgery to correct a recurring back problem that had bothered the Finn over the last several races. Bypassing their official 3rd driver, Davide Valsecchi, Lotus plucked another Finn from his unwilling retirement: former McLaren and Lotus/Caterham veteran Heikki Kovalainen will man the seat on Sunday and in Brazil. Valsecchi was understandably less than thrilled with being passed over but Kovalainen posted very respectable times in Friday’s Practice sessions after not having a drive for nearly 2 years.
  • Sergio Perez is out at McLaren for next year. In a surprise move, McLaren have chosen young phenom Kevin Magnussen to replace the 23-year-old Mexican as Jenson Button’s teammate. Magnussen, the son of 4-time LeMans winner Jan, was this year’s Formula Renault 3.5 champion.
  • Departing Ferrari #2 Felipe Massa will join the Williams F1 team next season to partner young Finn Valtteri Botas, leaving Pastor Maldonado temporarily out in the cold. But Maldonado, who brings bags of Venezuelan oil sponsorship money to wherever he may land, should be able to find a drive among the cash strapped teams despite a lackluster season in a poor Williams chassis.
  • Russian teenager Daniel Kvyat earned his Formula 1 Super License and participated in Friday Practice in Austin. Kvyat, a 19-year old GP3 champion, will join Jean-Eric Vergne at Torro Rosso for the 2014 season, which not coincidentally should feature the first-ever Russian Grand Prix. Kvyat replaces Aussie Daniel Ricciardo, who is moving up to the senior Red Bull team upon Mark Webber’s departure to sports cars and the new Porsche Le Mans prototype program.