BMW 1 Series 3-door hatchback designs exposed

We already know what the all-new BMW 1-Series looks likes as a 5-door hatch but how about a 3-door? Well thanks to Chinese portal site sohu.com for exposing these patent/trademark designs, we now have a good idea.

Source: http://feeds.worldcarfans.com/~r/worldcarfans/Jxfz/~3/78Nkg8QGPzI/bmw-1-series-3-door-hatchback-designs-exposed

Gerhard Berger Eric Bernard Enrique Bernoldi Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen

Pirelli to change colours to differentiate tyres in 2011

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Pirelli will not only bring more aggressive tyres into Formula One this year, but also ensure a more colorful method to differentiate the multitude of compounds for the 2011 season. According to Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, backed by several other Italian media, Pirelli has come up with a different color scheme for their F1 tyres.

Back when the International Automobile Federation (FIA) asked former F1 sole supplier Bridgestone to differentiate the appearance of the soft and hard compounds, the Japanese company chose to paint a line in a middle groove of the soft options. The next season, when slicks came into play once again, Bridgestone marked the soft compound with a green circle on the sidewall.

For 2011, all F1 tyres will have the words “Pirelli P Zero” written on the sidewall, but the color of the writing will change based on the compound, as follows:

  • The super-soft wording will reportedly be in red
  • The soft will be in white
  • The medium in blue
  • The hard in yellow

In addition to that, the full wet and intermediate tyres will also feature different colors, with the former having the “Pirelli P Zero” mark painted in yellow and the latter in red.

According to a report from the GMM news agency, the FIA will distribute Pirelli's tyres to the teams after randomly shuffling the code numbers at grands prix, just so that favoritism claims will not be issued.

Pirelli has recently ended its last testing session prior to the first official group test of the winter in Valencia, as Pedro de la Rosa drove the TF109 test car in Abu Dhabi in wet conditions, at night. After evaluating the behavior of Pirelli's wet and intermediate compounds, the marque's research and development boss Maurizio Boiocci admitted he is yet to find out how the additional speed ensured by the introduction of KERS and adjustable rear wings will affect the tyres.

“If the speed came on gradually, for sure there would be no problems. But it remains to be seen what happens when all the power comes on suddenly,” said Boiocci.


Article (C) Ovidiu Panzariu, Image(C) Pirelli

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/iW2fhYHXXjo/pirelli-to-change-colours-to.html

Andrea de Adamich Philippe Adams Walt Ader Kurt Adolff Fred Agabashian

Robert Kubica Hospitalised Following Rally Accident

UPDATE ON KUBICA’s CONDITION:  http://wp.me/p3uiu-11K Renault Lotus F1 driver Robert Kubica has been airlifted to hospital following a car accident while competing on a rally. The incident, described as a high speed accident, left the Pole injured and he had to be airlifted to hospital.  His co-driver Jakub Gerber was uninjured in the incident. While [...]

Source: http://f1fanatics.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/robert-kubica-hospitalised-following-rally-accident/

Walt Brown Warwick Brown Adolf Brudes Martin Brundle Gianmaria Bruni

Webber on ‘one of the great heroes’ of Formula 1

Mark Webber has been speaking about Rubens Barrichello as one of the greatest drivers in Formula 1 history. The Veteran faces an uncertain future ahead of the final race of 2011 in Brazil this time out, with nobody sure whether it will be his last race in Formula 1. In his BBC Column, Webber said: “Unfortunately, [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Formula1Fancast/~3/VksBqCIia5k/webber-on-one-of-the-great-heroes-of-formula-1

Elio de Angelis Marco Apicella M·rio de Ara˙jo Cabral Frank Armi Chuck Arnold

Dominant car? Great driver? Or a bit of both?

Sebastian Vettel's second world championship title was as remarkable for its control as much as the blinding speed of the German and his Red Bull.

Vettel based his season on a strategy of taking pole position, blitzing the first two laps and from then on going only as fast as he needed to.

The plan generally worked to perfection - Vettel took 11 wins and 15 poles from 19 grands prix - but it left you wondering just how fast he and the Red Bull could have gone.

In Brazil, I asked him if, with the title already in the bag, he had ever been tempted to just go for it, to really push the car and himself to the absolute limits. He replied that he had done just that in Korea and India, the scenes of two of his most dominant wins. "We were able to explore and sometimes take a little bit more risk," Vettel told me.

Despite Vettel's domination in 2011, there were very few of the runaway wins normally seen when one car is superior to the rest. Quite often, the races looked competitive, with Vettel tantalisingly close to - but frustratingly just out of reach of - his leading rivals.

Vettel and team boss Christian Horner often insisted the Red Bull had less of an advantage over McLaren and Ferrari in 2011 than in 2010. Yet Vettel won only five races and recorded 10 poles in 2010 on his way to winning the championship for the first time.

Let's examine the two seasons in a little more detail.

In 2010, Vettel's advantage in qualifying over team-mate Mark Webber was only 0.053 seconds when averaged out over the season. In 2011, it was 0.414. Likewise, Vettel's average advantage over the fastest driver not in a Red Bull was 0.077secs in 2010. In 2011, it was 0.317. That is a massive percentage gain from year to year.

There are reasons why Webber was so far adrift of his team-mate. Unlike Vettel, he struggled with the new Pirelli tyres, which affected both his pace in qualifying and his tyre wear in races.

The Australian is also physically bigger than Vettel so was occasionally at a disadvantage with the car's weight distribution, which again impacted on both his pace and tyre wear.

Sebastian Vettel leads the field at the first corner of the Australian Grand Prix

Turn One, race one; Vettel already has a big lead as the rest squabble. The story of 2011. Photo: Getty

The DRS overtaking aid, which gave drivers within one second of a car in front a boost in straight-line speed, also influenced matters.

But it is the tyres which were key. Asked to produce ones that spiced up racing, Pirelli came up with rubber that wore out rapidly, forcing a greater number of pit stops and resulting in more unpredictable races.

It is also worth looking at Red Bull's race strategy in 2011. The team may have had a car whose aerodynamic superiority made it the fastest by far, but it lacked a little straight-line speed compared to the McLarens and Ferraris. On top of that, I understand Vettel thought some of his rivals were perhaps better at wheel-to-wheel racing.

As a result, Red Bull's strategy was based on Vettel taking pole position, then opening up enough of a gap by lap three to prevent anyone from being close enough to make use of the DRS system, which couldn't be used for the first two laps. After that, he would measure his pace to those behind, producing a super-fast lap or two if he needed to.

Such a strategy did have its risks. If Vettel found himself in the pack during a race, he would have problems overtaking as the car was set up for lap time not straight-line speed. In other words, an error in qualifying or at the start could mess up an entire race.

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Red Bull were caught out a couple of times, notably when Ferrari's Fernando Alonso rocketed to the front on the run down to the first corner in Spain and Italy.

In both cases, Vettel managed to get past again. In Spain, he did it by pit-stop strategy, although it took two attempts, while in Monza he achieved it a brave overtaking move around the outside of the flat-out Curva Grande.

Had it been a McLaren that passed Vettel - a car that was faster than the Ferrari over the lap and down the straights - he might have been sat behind for the entire race.

But team boss Horner was adamant the strategy that Red Bull employed was the right one. "As a team, you have to attack the events," he said. "If you are conservative, sometimes you can pay a penalty. If Vettel was in a situation where he needed a big overtake, yes, a gamble was taken. But it was a calculated risk."

So how dominant was the Red Bull, really?

It had a clear performance advantage in at least nine of the races, of which Vettel won eight - Australia, Turkey, Valencia, Belgium, Italy, Singapore, Korea and India. The other one was Brazil, where he hit trouble.

That leaves five races at which it was not possible to ascertain whether Vettel's was the fastest race car, although it almost certainly was in most of them. They were Malaysia and Monaco, which he won, and China, Canada and Abu Dhabi, which he did not. And the remaining five races where it definitely was not, out of which he won only in Spain.

The first obvious conclusion is that the Red Bull's pace advantage was restricted by the tyres. On many occasions, Vettel could have gone faster but chose not to because he was concerned about over-using the tyres.

At the same time, Red Bull insiders insist Vettel was not always in the fastest car. There were weekends, they say, when they did not think the car was quick enough yet Vettel still managed to put it on pole. Equally, there were times when Vettel was having to drive on the edge to break the DRS and to hold his advantage at the head of the field.

The Pirellis required something new of the driver - an exquisite feel for the limits of the tyres, the intelligence to drive measured races at exactly the pace the tyres and car could cope with and the consistency to do it at every race.

How many drivers could do that?

Jenson Button had a great season for McLaren, finishing second behind Vettel in the standings. The 2009 world champion treats his tyres delicately and, at his best, is as good as anyone. However, his form tends to fluctuate depending on outside circumstances, while he is not the best qualifier.

As for Hamilton, his speed and feel are at least equal to Vettel's but the 2008 world champion struggled in 2011, making too many errors and perhaps not fully grasping the demands of the new F1.

Then there is Alonso. The double world champion boasts speed, consistency, adaptability and mental strength. However, the Ferrari was nowhere near fast enough this year and it's rare that the Spaniard transcends the car's abilities in qualifying, although he nearly always does in races.

That is why, in 2011, Vettel was generally in a league of his own, even on the occasions when his car was not.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/12/sebastian_vettels_second_world.html

Ernesto Brambilla Vittorio Brambilla Toni Branca Gianfranco Brancatelli Eric Brandon

Heikki Kovalainen - Classic F1

Heikki Kovalainen is the driver picking his five favourite all-time grands prix for the penultimate edition of BBC Sport's 2011 classic Formula 1 series.

The Finn has re-established his reputation with Team Lotus in 2010-11 after two years at McLaren alongside Lewis Hamilton that were, by Kovalainen's own admission, "disappointing in terms of results".

So it is appropriate he has chosen five of his own races, as they remind us that he is a race winner in his own right and not simply one of F1's top drivers.

Heikki Kovalainen

Kovalainen is trying to re-establish his F1 career at Lotus. Photo: Getty

In chronological order, the 30-year-old talks through his choices, starting with the race that stopped him getting the sack after a shaky start to his debut season with Renault:

Canada 2007

"A very difficult weekend. One of the low points of my F1 career. I think Flavio [Briatore, the Renault team boss] was very close to getting rid of me. His patience was running out. I crashed the car on Friday and it didn't look good in the first part of qualifying. I honestly think he would have sacked me after that race if I hadn't come through the field and finished fourth, fighting actually for a podium with [Williams driver] Alex Wurz

"After that, I finished a strong fifth in Indy, beating Kimi [Raikkonen of Ferrari]. From then on, things started to work in the right direction. I probably didn't realise at the time that it was that much on the line. I just thought: 'It's not working, let's try again tomorrow.' But looking back now I think my career was at stake. Some other people have told me that. Luckily, he [Briatore] gave me some more races and things started to go well. 

"In Canada, Robert Kubica had a big accident. I was just exiting the hairpin and I saw the accident to my side and thought: 'That's going to be a safety car.' I was just coming up to a pit stop and I decided to go into the pits myself. I called the team and said: 'There's going to be a safety car.' And they were like: 'No, no, no.' I said: 'Yeah. I'm sure there will be.' And as soon as I left the pits I saw the safety car, so I jumped a lot of people. If I had stayed out I probably wouldn't have been able to finish fourth."

Japan 2007

"It was my first podium in F1 and with Renault. It was raining a lot, quite difficult conditions. We started behind the safety car, then [I was] coming through [the field] all the way through the race. I found I was in second place and fighting with Kimi on the last lap. He passed me, I passed him back, and I was able to keep him behind me. 

"Of course, it mattered that it was Kimi and a Ferrari. Kimi was at that time one of the big names, one of the guys fighting for the championship. To be able to beat him as a rookie, in a car that wasn't as good as his car, was a great moment. 

"Obviously, the circumstances worked out very well for us. The strategy was good and the rain maybe it evened out a bit. It was a tricky race and Kimi was also coming through the field. Maybe a few more laps and he would have got me."

Australia 2008

"My first race at McLaren and I came very close to winning it. [Team-mate] Lewis [Hamilton] had done his second pit stop, I was coming up to mine. I had just done the fastest lap of the race and I was catching him. 

"He was on full fuel and I had a few extra laps before the end of my stint, so I was actually gaining a couple of seconds a lap on him. The team thought about stopping, but we decided to go to the planned end of my stint. Then the safety car came out. 

"I remember being behind the safety car at the head of the queue. Most of the guys behind me had stopped, so I dropped to 10th and eventually fought back to fifth. I overtook Kimi and Fernando [Alonso's Renault]. It was good. But imagine starting your McLaren career with a victory; it would have been quite cool.

"At the time I was annoyed, but what can you do? It was the right choice to stay out to fight for a win. If we had taken the conservative approach and stopped earlier, I would have been second, but we had good pace and going quicker and quicker. It was just unfortunate the safety car came out."

Hungary 2008

"My first win. I was in a good position all the way through the weekend. After Lewis had a puncture, I was running second all the way through the race. Then at the end I was catching Felipe Massa's Ferrari by two seconds a lap. 

"I knew he was in trouble. We were running out of laps. Then I saw his engine go. There are no style points in F1. It was a great moment. I knew now was a good chance to win the race. I had a good cushion behind me to Timo [Glock's Toyota]. I didn't have to push. I was able to ease off a little bit and finish the job. It was nice to win a race.

"It was a good part of the season [for me]. I was on pole at Silverstone and I didn't finish off that race. Hockenheim was a little bit unfortunate - I was in a position to be on the podium and then it didn't work out for me with the safety car. Then to get the victory just before the summer break was great."

Monaco 2010

"Looking at the performance of the [Lotus] car, I think I got everything out of it. I remember fighting with [Renault's Vitaly] Petrov and some other guys in better cars for quite a long time, knocking on the [door of the] top 10. But then the power steering broke five laps before the end and I had to stop. It was a good race - I was able to build a big gap to the other new teams and join the back of the [midfield] queue."

Kovalainen has chosen Hungary 2008 as his favourite race. The highlights are embedded below, with short and extended highlights of last year's title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix underneath to whet your appetites for the weekend's action. 

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CLICK HERE TO WATCH HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE TO WATCH EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX

The classic races will also be available on digital television in the UK. On Freeview, they will be broadcast between the two free practice sessions on Friday 11 November, from 1035 and 1255 GMT. On satellite and cable, they will be available from 1500 GMT on Wednesday 9 November to 1000 on Thursday 10 November, from 1030-1430 and 1830-2000 on Thursday, and from 1035 -1255 on Friday.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/11/heikki_kovalainen_-_classic_f1.html

Eric Brandon Don Branson Tom Bridger Tony Brise Chris Bristow

Lotus T128 launch (+ pictures)

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The Team Lotus 2011 challenger T128 was launched on Monday 31st January exclusively in Team Lotus Notes.

In an edition of its online magazine Team Lotus Notes, the team published the first photographs of the new green and gold TL11 featuring a 2010 Mercedes-style ‘blade’ roll hoop with a split air intake.

The new livery features more yellow and prominent Renault signage, reflecting its new engine partnership with the French marque.

The car itself, with a rear end supplied by Red Bull, has a high and straight nose. “It is a much more contemporary design. The car really will be a midfield runner. It’s a modern F1 car,” technical boss Mike Gascoyne is quoted as saying.

“There’s been almost no carry-over of parts for the 2011 car — it looks substantially different from last year’s car. It’s the basis of our cars for the future,” he added.

New Lotus called 'T128', not 'TL11'

This year’s Team Lotus car is called T128, not TL11 as was previously announced.

Last year, the team – then called Lotus Racing under official license from the Proton-owned carmaker Group Lotus – raced its 2010 car with the T127 designation.

T127 was the continuation of the original Lotus team’s traditional vehicle designation system, and it was thought that the reversion to TL11 for this year was to avoid yet another clash with Group Lotus amid the naming dispute.

Indicating that the designation of the 2011 car was an issue right until the T128′s reveal very early on Monday morning, the launch magazine made no mention of the two variations.

Team Lotus confirms no KERS for 2011 car

Team Lotus has confirmed reports that the 2011 car does not feature a KERS system.

“The decision made the design job slightly easier, because packaging it in the car is always a bit more of a headache,” chief designer Lewis Butler said in the Team Lotus Notes magazine.

Confirmed head of aerodynamics Marianne Hinson: “It’s the same for us in aerodynamics — no KERS is actually easier because packaging all the bits you need for it is actually quite limiting for some of the aero shapes you need in some areas.”

Lotus is not ruling out installing KERS at a later date, but chief operating officer Keith Saunt suggested it is not necessary for the team to take its next step.

“If KERS was going to get us from eighth to sixth then we’d have it,” he said. “But when you look at the weight of it and some of the engineering challenges, I think it’s a good decision not to start with it.

“We might end up with it, who knows?” added Saunt. “But if we did we’ve got a lot of experienced people who could turn their hands to it.”

Lotus T128 launch pictures



Source : GMM, Images(C) toilef1

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/F1InsightAFormula1Blog/~3/qS5zA02-cmc/lotus-t128-launch-pictures.html

Mike Beuttler Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi Gino Bianco Hans Binder