Following a complaint from McLaren against Red Bull, the FIA has moved quickly to clearly state the rules regarding ride height within F1. McLaren accused Red Bull of having a device that adjusted the ride height of the car between qualifying and the race proper. If this was true, then cars that qualified with a light fuel load would have a great advantage as they could adjust the suspension so that the car still has sufficient ground clearance when fully loaded with fuel.
With Red Bull strictly denying any such device, the FIA stated: “Any system, device or procedure, the purpose and/or the effect of which is to change the set up of the suspension whilst the car is under parc ferme conditions, will be deemed to contravene Article 34.5 of the F1 Sporting Regulations.” This means that if the accusation is true, Red Bull could find themselves in hot water….
Red Bull put their reliability worries to one side as they came home with a one-two in the recent Malaysia Grand Prix. Technical issues in the previous two races put paid to their hopes of victory, but this time everything went right. Sebastien Vettel had an outstanding start to the race, overtaking team-mate Mark Webber (who started on pole), and held on throughout the race to take the win.
Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg finished in third, whilst British drivers Hamilton and Button came home in sixth and eighth. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso’s 7th place finish ensured that he leads the championship.
However, following a worryingly tedious first race of the season, the championship is starting to look very interesting indeed with the top seven drivers separated by only nine points!
Its that time of year when the big manufacturers start to release new models and shapes of their car although these are great to look at and admirer it is not so pleasing for the owner s of the previous shapes.
A prime example of this is Audi and Volkswagen who are constantly bringing out new models of their cars with face lifts and other accessories. It begs the question whether or not i would by a car from these if i was to get a new car i would want the guarantee that in 6 months a new shape is not going to be released as this can devalue the cost of your current car as it will be no longer the new shape.
I like the manufactures like SEAT who release models after a few years’ apart gives you time to enjoy your new car without the thought of a new model coming out.
The final group test ahead of the new season takes place at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya between February 25-28.
This will be the last time the drivers will have to put the power to the metal ahead of the opening race in Bahrain the following month.
So far in the tests the Red Bull, Renault and McLaren have all showed their speeds and impressive speeds on low fuel loads however many are keeping their eyes open for Ferrari who have yet to show all their cards only showing speed through the long stints many are interested know what power the Ferrari really has.
Another new team to F1 backed by Sir Richard Branson’s named Virgin Racing Formula 1 team has become the first of the new entrants to unveil its car named the VR-01.
The new drivers for the Season Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi are relishing the opportunity of racing for such a small team in F1 as this is going to be a new and exciting year for Virgin racing and hope to build the team in to a success.
The new car has been driven by the drivers for over two months now on the simulators now to get the feel and had its first run out on Silverstone earlier this month.
With the F1 Season fast approaching with the first race getting under way on 14th March in Bahrain not only are the drivers going to be glad to be back in action but the fans and supporters and fans are too.
This Season has that feeling that it is going to be very exciting with new teams joining the campaign such as Lotus and driver changing teams the rivalry between them all should make for some good racing and action.
The opening race in Bahrain will see millions tuning in to see the start of what is going to be a great season.
When you think of Russia and the amount of money in the country and number of Russian billionaires you would think that there would be more Russians in the F1 Sport but you would be wrong.
The Renault team are about to make history with the first Russian driver set to raced for them in the 2010 season.
Vitaly Petrov has officially been unveiled as the second driver for Renault the 25 year old has been racing in GP2 since 2006 and now is ready for the step up. The contract may only be a one year contract but this could be all he needs to shine and show what a good driver he is.
After a manic week of Speculation in F1 linking Kimi Raikkonen with a return to McLaren this increased after the Finn’s management team were seen visiting the team’s Woking base.
I don’t know if this is going to be a good thing for current driver Hamilton as Raikkonen has previously said that he is only interested in an F1 drive that would give him the chance to fight for race wins and a second title, and I am sure Lewis want to be battling also for his second title and race wins
Raikkonen could be set to rejoin the team he competed for from 2002-2006 but only time will tell and I am sure we will find out within the next week.
Volvo introduce the S60 in which sources have stated there is a lot of technology behind the wheel to keep you safe interesting stuff or are they just talking about air bags.
No this is a smart car the technology includes new state of the art pedestrian detection systems this has the ability to automatically push the breaks if an object fly’s out in front of you while moving.
This is still in concept but should go into production late 2010 the specifications that will come with this car will put it up there in contention with the 3-series and the c-class.
For me this guy was undoubtedly one of the stars and biggest surprises of the final two races of the F1 2009 World Championship campaign. He seems an exciting driver and defiantly one to watch for the next campaign.
Reports have revealed that he would be interested in joining newcomer Lotus next year, after an anticipated deal with Toyota came to nothing when the Japanese manufacturer announced its immediate withdrawal earlier this week.
Kamui Kobayashi showed that he can play with the big boys of F1 with his two stunning performances in Brazil and the last race of the season in Abu Dhabi.