He did it again. Only this time, no one was hurt. Once again, suspension failure happens to chance upon Rubens Barichello. Why the hell is this guy so close to such suspension-related dangers? Just last season, fellow-Brazilian, Ferrari’s Felippe Massa got months of vacation from the rest of the season courtesy of Barichello’s discarded suspension spring. Is he jinxed or just totally on a rampage against suspension parts companies? This guy is unbelievable!

Note to 2010 Formula Drivers: Watch out for stray suspension parts with Williams logo. And make jolly with Rubens.

Source: Jalopnik

In a brave display of… paying tribute, injured Formula One driver Felippe Massa visited the Ferrari base in Maranello to check out the latest prancing horse – the F458 Italia.

The video doesn’t say much. In fact, it’s only got background music playing. You’ll see Massa being welcomed and toured around the production facility by a Ferrari official. I’m sure the technicians and engineers were pleased to see Massa out of the hospital. As for Massa, I’m sure he’s itching to throw that Italia out onto Foriano. Well, he does. Lap times weren’t reported, but rest assured Massa was out there testing the waters. He also recently got some track time in a F2007 with GP2 track tires.

If all goes well, we might be able to see him if not by the Brazilian Grand Prix, the season ender in Abu Dhabi. We wish Massa the best of luck for the rest of the season and his comeback next season. He’s got a lot of competition to worry about, including his newfound teammate from Renault F1, two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso.

We could only wonder how his current teammate, 2007 champion Kimi ‘The Icecream Man’ Raikkonen, will fare once he returns to McLaren with 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton. Every one knows how Kimi took the championship away from Lewis in the very last two races of 2007. We’ll see if there’s still some bad blood left between them.

Stay tuned, Formula One fans. It’s going to be one hell of a season ender with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel threatening to do an Icecream Man special on current 2009 leader Jensen Button and second-placer Rubens Barrichello of Brawn GP.

Source: Autoblog

What Formula One watch are you wearing? Is it a Ferrari Panerai, a McLaren TAG Heuer or a Williams Oris? If you radically enjoy seeing Jensen Button or Rubens Barichello standing on the podium, then you’ve just got to have a pair of these.

Known as the Chronofighter G-BGP-001 and the Silverstone G-BGP-001, these wristwatches were made with two things in mind – Formula One and Brawn GP. These watches have 47mm steel cases and feature either white or black faces. The neon yellow accents clearly identify which team the watchmaker sponsors. The sporty rubber straps give the impression of having been cut off from a Formula One car’s slick tires. You’re going to enjoy these watches even if you weren’t wearing them, thanks to sapphire crystal case-back which lets you see the delicate Swiss-engineering powering these watches.

The company, Graham-London, was founded in 1695 by George Graham, otherwise known as the “Father of the Chronograph”, and is based in La Chaux-de-Fonds in Neuchatel, Switzerland. It’s part of the Anglo-Swiss company, The British Masters.

It’s interesting to note that the team and the company signed into a long-term partnership right on the eve of the British Grand Prix of this season’s F1 championship. So watch out for Graham-London stickers on Button’s and Barichello’s wing mirrors on the next race in Abu Dhabi. And remember to wear these along to show your support for Jensen, Rubens and the rest of Brawn GP.

Source: Autoblog

I’m not exactly sure whether Ferrari and Formula One fans should rejoice at this piece of news from the pits. It’s official – former Ferrari honcho Jean Todt is running for the FIA presidency, with the blessing of none other than Max Mosley himself. Todt has only recently quit his post in the Ferrari F1 team a year ago, and now his running for presidency is sparking rumors of a hidden pact between him and ousted FIA president Mosley.

Todt’s impressive background in motor sports nonetheless gives him enough credit to head FIA. He was once a rally co-pilot and then later was heading Peuguot’s race programs. Todt led Peugeot to several successes at Le Mans, Dakar and the World Rally Championship. His biggest break was heading the Scuderia Ferrari (SF) team during its most glorious period as chief executive. He, together with seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher and partner Ross Brawn, dominated the sport until Schumi’s retirement back in 2006.

Todt quit as SF chief executive last year but held on to several high-profile positions back in Maranello. He also has a seat in the FIA World Motorsport Council up to date.

Looking at Todt’s background as opposed to Mosley’s, you wouldn’t suspect anything going on between the two. It makes Mosley’s endorsement of the former Ferrari chief executive all the more suspicious. Todt’s acceptance of the endorsement makes things look worse by suggesting under-the-table deals between the two. Perhaps Mosley is just making efforts to get into the ex-Formula One crowd. If so, why at a time like this when the FIA presidency is on the line? Todt has already assembled his 22-member cabinet, along with some big names in the sport. He’ll be up against a member of the European Parliament, former Dakar and World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen, for FIA’s top post.

Who are you betting on? Take note – the FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) isn’t taking chances and is sure as hell isn’t going to take anymore sh*t from FIA. With a breakaway series looming dangerously over FIA organizer Bernie Ecclestone’s head, Todt better make sure he’s got sincere and honest-to-goodness plans for Formula One. Otherwise, we might witness the birth of the ‘New Formula’ series along with all of the pioneering teams which have made the sport what it is today.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/16/report-former-ferrari-chief-jean-todt-confirms-candidacy-for-fi/

A sad day for Mosley, a victory for Formula One Teams Association

Hooray to all of you Formula One fans! And a big thumbs up to FIA for doing the right thing.

They’ve finally come to their senses and sacked Formula One head honcho Max Mosley effective immediately. After 16 years of being chair of the most prestigious racing event in the history of motor sports, Mosley has agreed to step down without fists flying.

Finally, now FIA can work with FOTA’s demands for a cheaper and more competitive Formula One. This came right after the announcement of eight teams, including Ferrari, McLaren, BMW-Sauber and Brawn GP, to form a breakaway series under a new organizer.

As a Formula One fan, I truly hope things start to work out between the governing body and the teams. I’m sure all of us would hate to see this event come to a bitter end because of an unfair dictatorship.

Now, there’s only one thing left to iron out – will Formula One ‘commercial rights holder’ Bernie Ecclestone let in the teams onto the track funds he earns at each and every race? Surely, the FOTA wants in on that. Only time will tell.

For now, let us all rejoice on this momentous occasion in Formula One history. Hopefully, it will be a victory for teams and fans alike. Cheers!

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/24/breaking-f1-reunites-as-max-mosely-reportedly-forced-to-quit-f1/

FOTA has had enough of Mosley and FIA

This is probably the best news you’re going to hear as a Formula One fan, ever. Word has it that FOTA, comprised of Ferrari, McLaren, Toyota, Renault, BMW, Brawn, Red Bull and Torro Rosso, has finally announced to media their plans to leave Formula One, and to form a breakaway series.

The new series, to be handled by none other than MotoGP’s head honcho, Dorna Sport’s Carmelo Ezpeleta, is going to be more to every one’s liking. FOTA’s outlook for the breakaway series is a more transparent form of governance, where teams have a say in policies, and lower ticket prices for fans.

If things go as well as FOTA hopes, even track owners are going to profit, unlike under FIA whereby each race, track owners have to shelf out 10 million pounds to pay Formula One commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone. In the new series, part of that money will go to the teams instead.

All that’s left now is whether brands, sponsors, promoters and fans (yes, you) are going to support FOTA’s new series, or will stay loyal to Formula One along with Williams, Force India and eight other teams for 2010.

In my opinion, as a huge fan of Ferrari, I’d rather set my eyes on the big pioneer teams, which gave Formula One its spirit, form a new series instead of bowing down to Max Mosley’s dictatorship.

So, what’s your take on this?

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/18/breaking-formula-1-teams-association-announces-breakaway-series/

Formula One teams and drivers to form breakaway series?

Forgive me but I just couldn’t resist the urge to let you in on the latest developments of the much-troubled Formula One series. I’m sure a lot of you are, like me, a fan of the most celebrated racing event in history.

Well, guess what? It looks like all its glory is about to come to a shadowy end if all the big players pull out. Why? Well, blame no other than the FIA big boss himself, Max Mosley. His proposed budget capping has really turned the sport sour for Ferrari, McLaren, BMW, Renault, Toyota, Red Bull and Toro Rosso, whose drivers have also sworn to leave along with their teams.

Names including two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton (who happens to be in a rut and has recently conceded this season’s campaign openly in media), Felipe Massa, Nick Heidfeld, Mark Webber and Jarno Trulli have all pledged to leave the event following the implementation of Mosley’s new rules.

The rules, which are supposed to let the new players be more competitive, have really turned things for the worse between governing body, FIA, and FOTA.

But here’s some good news. If you’re in on MotoGP, which happens to be Formula One’s motorcycle counterpart, you’ll be glad to know that its organizer, Dorna, is now planning with FOTA on a breakaway series from Formula One. And it promises to be more liberal and will leave any rule-making authority mostly in the hands of the competing teams. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? So stay tuned.

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/09/report-formula-one-teams-drivers-get-serious-on-break-away-ser/

Formula One goes hybrid

If you’re a Formula One fan, you’re probably aware of the debate going on about the new Kinetic Energy Recovery System, otherwise known as KERS. It’s supposed to hit the Formula One racetracks this year. However, so far, only the road-going Ferrari 599XX has been brave enough to go hybrid. But that’s according to rumors from the 2009 Geneva Motorshow. And as Formula One gets set to launch the system on track, there are those who worry of potential risks to drivers and pit crew members.

First, a peek at the KERS. It’s basically regenerative braking, described as capturing a car’s kinetic energy and storing it for later use. However, it’s not without disadvantages. It’s supposedly effective only at high speeds. In the event of failure, you still need your brake pads to stop you from crashing into an obstacle. It also applies only to your drive wheels, meaning it’s either your front wheels or rear wheels, unless of course, you have AWD. It’s kind of similar to engine-braking. You use the engine to slow your car down via the drive wheels. Clearly, AWD can better utilize such a system. Then there’s the storage problem. If the batteries are fully charged with captured energy, then you can’t use it to slow your car down. You’d still have to rely on the brake pads. As I’ve said, it’s a lot like downshifting. However, in performance driving, the capability of the system to handle extreme weight shifts may depend on the quality of the equipment you’re carrying. If it can’t capture kinetic energy quick enough, you might as well use the brake pads to save you from understeering out of a corner.

Now, on to the debates in Formula One. Ferrari is one of the first few teams to start testing the KERS. There are two types of KERS being tested by Formula One teams – the mechanical flywheel system and electrical battery system.

Apparently, Ferrari found the expenses of testing the latter type truly heavy and challenging. Considering the amount of kinetic energy Formula One cars possess, it takes considerable batteries to store all the energy. And that’s something which requires both space and weight – two things that are of short supply in a Formula One car.

BMW came into the scene by taunting Ferrari, saying the maker has no guts. Citing BMW motor sport director Mario Theissen, “that argument not only speaks of a lack of competitiveness but also a reluctance to play a role in the bigger picture.” Clearly, Ferrari was made to look from red to yellow-belly, especially when FIA president Max Mosley himself sided with BMW saying, “Could you imagine the great F1 engineers like Chapman or Duckworth saying ‘I can’t do that because it is too complicated’?”

Hurting from such rumors, Ferrari denied claims that it was working on the system with Peugeot’s 908 HY to solve problems they were facing on KERS.

Well, fortunately, Mosley decided to go with mechanical flywheel-based KERS to make things a lot safer for both drivers and pit crew members. At least in the event that the systems fails to slow you down, you can always rely on the good downshift to cut your kinetic energy. Mosley makes sense by saying that the current technology doesn’t allow for adequate battery equipment to store a Formula One car’s immense kinetic energy, not to mention there isn’t a system fast enough to handle the blazing electric loads.

At least the FIA president is showing some of his old school traits by picking the mechanical KERS setup and banning the testing on the battery type. Currently, the teams are still facing immense challenges in incorporating the system. You can’t just pack a ton of wires, generators and batteries on a lightweight Formula One car. It just isn’t right.

As for me and my old school self, I’d clearly say no to the KERS. It’s still gears and pads for me.

Source:

http://www.autobloggreen.com/tag/kinetic+energy+recovery+system/