Sauber Unveil C32 Machine With New Color Scheme

Sauber today unveiled their new Ferrari-powered C32 machine, in a short but sweet launch at the team’s windtunnel in Hinwil. The team’s new driver partnership Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez together took the covers off the car, which most prominently features a revised color scheme of mainly graphite-grey.

Apart from the startling new color scheme for the C32, the new car also features several rather interesting design modifications in comparison to last year’s highly competitive C31 machine. The new car features a smooth nose section, incorporating the modesty panel to hide the step-nose design but also including “ridges” running along the side of the nose to assist the channel of airflow.

The sidepods for the new C32 car have also been modified, becoming slightly slimmer in comparison to last year’s machine. The car also features a very slim rear-end, incorporating a McLaren-style semi-coanda exhaust layout which appears rather different to that of the team’s previous C31 challenger. The sidepods for the new C32 were a major influence on the rear of the car, however the team’s Chief Designer Matt Morris has praised his design and production team.

“The airflow in this area [the sidepods] has a major influence over everything that happens at the rear of the car.” Explained Matt Morris, “It is one thing the aerodynamicists coming up with great ideas, but they are often difficult to make into reality. In this respect, the design and production team has done a fantastic job on the side pods, both from a structural and packaging perspective.”

Sauber’s team principal, Monisha Kaltenborn, believes the team is well prepared for pre-season testing, which begins in only several days time at Spain’s Jerez circuit. Despite Kaltenborn understandably optimistic that the Swiss-outfit can continue to build upon their extremely competitive 2012 season, she is realistic in understanding that the true pecking order will only surface during the opening race weekend in Australia next month.

“This is another of those questions one is asked every year, and it’s always a tricky one to answer.” Said Monisha Kaltenborn, when asked what her expectations were on the season ahead. “What I can say is that we’re well prepared, that we’ve got the new car finished in good time and that we’ve met the performance targets we set ourselves internally. That puts us in a confident frame of mind. But we’ll only really find out what it all amounts to at the first race of the season in Melbourne. We put some good foundations in place last year. And now we want to build on that base and continue to improve as a team.”

With Sauber sporting a completely driver new line-up for the season ahead, featuring Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez as well as reserve driver Robin Frijns, the Swiss-outfit is understandably hopeful of further success. Last season both Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi finished on the podium, with the former only narrowly missing out on victory at Malaysia. Both Hulkenberg and Gutierrez will be striving to emulate such success, once the lights go out in Melbourne.

Picture(s) Copyright © Sauber Motorsport AG

Adrian Newey: “We Didn’t Properly Understand The Car”

Red Bull’s Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey has explained how he and the team struggled to understand the RB8 throughout the early stages of the 2012 season, which saw an amazing seven different winners in the first seven races. Both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber won a race in the first seven, but struggled to dominate.

After a season in which Red Bull utterly annihilated the opposition, with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber taking a combined eighteen pole positions and twelve victories in 2011, the first seven races of 2012 was somewhat refreshing as seven different drivers took victory, including two new winners in Nico Rosberg and Pastor Maldonado. During this early stage of the year, Red Bull’s results were rather erratic with both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber struggling to return to their former dominance of the previous season.

“We didn’t have the level of consistency we wanted [at the start of the season] and as an engineer that was very frustrating because the truth is we didn’t properly understand the car and what was happening so it’s not just we weren’t fully competitive, it’s that lack of understanding which personally I found very frustrating.” Explained Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s Chief Technical Officer. “So it’s been tough to understand the car, understand what we should do, how to get it to work consistently.”

Despite the tough start to the season for Red Bull, the team struck gold towards the end of the year as Sebastian Vettel and the team enjoyed a resurgence of competitiveness which saw the German driver storm to four race victories at Singapore, Japan, Korea and India. This enabled him to return to the top of the Championship, and eventually secure his third Drivers’ Crown at the Brazilian Grand Prix. However, Sebastian Vettel also found the start of the season exceedingly tough.

“It was an incredible amount of work and a tough year.” Added Sebastian Vettel, “Especially the first few races, I think we always had a car that was good enough to come in first, but that last bit was missing, I didn’t feel quite as comfortable as I did two years ago, maybe I was missing that last bit of trust, that I couldn’t play with the car and drive it like I did before. But finally I made that first step, first in Valencia and later in Singapore where I began to feel more and more that I could manipulate the car again in a way that made me feel more comfortable with it and I think the results began to come together, at that point we were really really fast, and the last few races were definitely the turning point for us when things really started moving forward and we were able to consistently score points.”

One of the major factors for Red Bull’s loss in performance from 2011 to 2012 was the ban on the exhaust blow diffuser, which the Austrian outfit had been perfecting for the last two seasons. This not only included their exhaust layout, but also their engine mapping and design of the car. Once the new regulations were implemented, the ace up Red Bull’s sleeve was removed as the team was forced to revise their exhaust system.

“The big change for us over the winter was the exhaust system.” Continued Adrian Newey, “For two years we developed side exhausts that helped to blow the diffuser, gave us lots of down force, then we developed the engine mapping to maximise that effect. That was taken away over the winter. I think that really set us back because as I said we have been on it for two years, we developed a long way down that route, and we designed that 2011 car completely around that philosophy so everything on the car was designed around that system. When it was taken away from us, it was a big step backwards, not only in terms of simply removing it, but the understanding that we generated over the last couple of years had suddenly been thrown away and we had to start again.”

Although Red Bull suffered a tough start to the season, normality was certainly resumed towards the end of the season as Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull were able to retain their respective Championship crowns after a thrilling season finale at Sao Paulo’s Interlagos circuit. After the unpredictable start to the season back in March, Red Bull will be hoping to start the 2013 season next year in dominant fashion once again. However, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and even Lotus could well prove to be tough competition.

Picture Copyright © Getty Images

Caterham Planning Several New Upgrades For Abu Dhabi

Caterham are planning several new upgrades for this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which the outfit are hoping will see them gain around three to four tenths of a second in lap time. This comes as the team aims to end the 2012 season on a high, after further extending the gap to rivals Marussia and HRT throughout the year.

These new upgrades will be the first extensive upgrade for the team in recent races, and will incorporate a number of new features including a revised exhaust layout within the new rear bodywork, new front brake duct assemblies and detailed updates to the floor, diffuser and front wing. This comes as Caterham aim to overtake Marussia in the Constructors’ Championship, a feat which could earn the Leafield-based outfit a much more lucrative income ahead of the 2013 season.

Once again at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Caterham’s reserve driver Giedo van der Garde will get behind the wheel of the Caterham CT01 for the opening practice session on Friday. This will be the Dutchman’s fourth weekend in succession where he has appeared during practice one, and will this weekend be replacing Vitaly Petrov. Giedo van der Garde has previous knowledge of the Yas Marina circuit, and is eager to put his knowledge to good use as he prepares to test the new upgrades.

“Abu Dhabi’s the first track I’ll be driving on in FP1 at this stage of the season that I’ve raced on before.” Explained Giedo van der Garde, “With the obvious limits we work under in FP1 that’s a big advantage as it means I’m not having to learn my way around on my first couple of laps, and as we’re usually doing somewhere between 20 to 25 laps in first practice it means I can help the team even more right from the first run.

“After the Abu Dhabi race I’ll be staying on for the young driver test, and that’ll be another really good step forward in my development – two full days in the car on a track I’ve already driven on, and with a group of people who I’ve worked closely with for the last couple of months will give me a great chance to help the team get as much as they can from the test, and give me the opportunity to keep developing without some of the constraints of a race weekend FP1.”

Giedo van der Garde will be joined Alexander Rossi during the two-day Young Driver Test after this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which will feature the likes of McLaren and Red Bull. If the upgrades work well on the car, expect a competitive end to the season towards the back of the pack, as Caterham strive to leapfrog Marussia in the Constructors’ Championship.

Picture Copyright © Caterham F1 Team

Lotus to Drop DDRS And Focus On Coanda-Style Exhaust System

Lotus have confirmed that they will drop their DDRS device and will instead focus on implementing the Coanda-effect exhaust layout during this weekend’s Korean Grand Prix, after weeks of failed attempts to try and implement the much talked about DDRS system. It is believed this device will not return until the Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test later this year.

For many race weekends now, Lotus have been extensively testing their own rendition of the Double-DRS device, commonly known as the DDRS or the DRD. However, after further testing work was carried out during practice for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, the team have finally come to the conclusion of suspending work on the device. Instead, the Enstone-based outfit will begin work on implementing the Coanda-effect exhaust layout, which has recently been introduced by Mercedes after extensive test work during the Magny-Cours Young Driver Test.

“We’ve been ploughing something of a lonely furrow on the circuit with our relatively straightforward, power-maximizing exhaust.” explained Lotus technical director James Allison. “However, since well before the launch of the E20 and to the present day we’ve been carrying out parallel developments in our wind tunnel programme based around a Coanda-effect exhaust. Once we saw the potential gain of the Coanda system surpass that of our current design it was clear that we needed to implement it, both for the benefit we could get in the last quarter of this season and also for learning experience it presents us for next year. We will run our first version of this style of exhaust in Korea.”

Lotus have yet to win a race this season, despite a highly competitive year with the return of former World Champion Kimi Raikkonen and the addition of reigning GP2 Champion Romain Grosjean to the outfit. So far the team have finished on the podium on numerous occasions with both drivers, however they have yet to secure what is becoming an elusive victory for the team. Both Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean will be hoping the introduction of the Coanda-effect exhaust system enables them to challenge for victories, as this competitive season draws to a thrilling conclusion.

Picture Copyright © Getty Images

Mercedes Plan To Introduce Coanda-Effect Exhaust Layout At Singapore

Mercedes have announced plans to introduced the much talked about Coanda-effect exhaust layout on their cars during practice for this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, with intentions to possibly run the device during the race should the layout work. This device was tested extensively during the Young Driver Test at Magny-Cours last week.

The German marque utilized their testing time at last week’s Young Driver Test to great effect, testing the Coanda-effect exhaust layout each day around the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. Both Mercedes reserve driver Sam Bird and former Red Bull test driver Brendon Hartley got behind the wheel of the W03 at the test, completing roughly 1000km during the three days available to them.

The Coanda-effect exhaust layout, which greatly improves exhaust airflow towards the floor of the car, has proven highly effective this season since the ban on off-throttle blown diffusers towards the end of last season. With the likes of Ferrari and McLaren already sampling the Coanda-effect, Mercedes have been eager to experiment with the layout as they strive to end the 2012 season on a high.

Both Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher have been unable to produce fantastically competitive results in recent races, however the introduction of this particular exhaust layout could provide the Brackley-based outfit with a boost around the Marina Bay street circuit. Due to the many low speed corners around the tricky street circuit, the Coanda-effect exhaust layout could well be extremely beneficial for the team for this race in particular.

However, with other teams also set to introduce updates at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, any advantage that the Coanda-effect layout could yield to the Mercedes outfit could be thwarted by yet further improvements up and down the grid. With Ferrari also present at the Mangy-Cours test, experimenting with several new front wing designs, Mercedes could still find themselves playing catch-up once the track action begins in preparation for the Singapore Grand Prix.

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Bianchi Completes Hat-Trick As Young Driver Test Comes To A Conclusion

Jules Bianchi has continued his dominance at the Magny-Cours Young Driver Test by finishing the third and final day fastest overall, once again a whole second faster than his nearest competitor of GP2 driver Rodolfo Gonzalez. The Frenchman was fastest in all three days at the test, running for both Ferrari and Force India throughout the week.

After switching from the Scuderia to Force India yesterday, Jules Bianchi returned to Ferrari for the final day of running. The day started in inclement weather conditions, with the Frenchman running on the intermediate tyre early on. However, the weather improved as the day progressed, enabling the three drivers to use the dry Pirelli compounds later in the day. Once again, Ferrari were testing several new front wing designs, as the Scuderia prepares to fight for the Championship in the closing seven races of the season.

Jules Bianchi completed a whopping 136 laps throughout the final day, setting a personal best time of a 01:16.985 towards the end of the days running. This time was roughly a second quicker than his initial pace at the beginning of the Young Driver Test, which was also set in a Ferrari. However, the Frenchman’s time was much quicker yesterday in a Force India, which was a 01:16.467.

With Jules Bianchi moving back to Ferrari for the final day, Force India elected GP2 driver Rodolfo Gonzalez to carry out testing duties for the Silverstone-based outfit. The Venezuelan driver last drove a Formula 1 car during the Mugello mid-season test for Caterham, and ended the final day of running at Magny-Cours 2nd fastest. The 26-year-old completed 79 laps for Force India, with a personal best time of a 01:18.018.

After two days of testing for Mercedes, reserve driver Sam Bird relinquished his seat for the Kiwi of Brendon Hartley. The former Red Bull and Toro Rosso reserve driver hadn’t driven F1 machinery for several years, but was able to improve as the final day progressed. Hartley continued testing Mercedes’ new Coanda-effect exhaust layout, and completed 87 laps with an overall personal best of a 01:18.671.

With Jules Bianchi eyeing a potential race seat at Force India next season, he’s most certainly made himself known throughout the F1 paddock during the last three days of testing. Mercedes have also raised eyebrows amongst the paddock, after testing their new Coanda-effect exhaust layout, as the German marque eyes a competitive end to the 2012 season.

Pos  Driver               Team                   Time               Laps
 1.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari                1m16.985s           136 
 2.  Rodolfo Gonzalez     Force India-Mercedes   1m18.018s  + 1.033   79
 3.  Brendon Hartley      Mercedes               1m18.671s  + 1.686   87

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Jules Bianchi Fastest Again At Magny-Cours

Jules Bianchi has ended the second day of testing at Magny-Cours fastest overall, once again asserting his authority around the French circuit. The Frenchman was fastest yesterday for Ferrari, before switching to Force India for the second day of proceedings. Bianchi was followed home by Sam Bird in 2nd, and Davide Rigon in 3rd for Ferrari.

The second day of the test was run in slightly cooler conditions in comparison to the opening day, with Jules Bianchi enjoying the ability to test for two teams this week and switching from Ferrari to Force India for the days proceedings. British driver Sam Bird continued his work for Mercedes, whereas Ferrari opted to run former GP2 driver Davide Rigon. Once again the teams utilized the Young Driver test to great effect, by testing new components in preparation for the final seven races of the season.

Local driver Jules Bianchi once again ended the days running on top, albeit driving for a different team. The 23-year-old set a 01:16.467 throughout the day, a time which was more than 1.5 seconds quicker than his personal best set the previous day with Ferrari. Bianchi racked up the miles behind the wheel of the Mercedes-powered VJM05, completing 117 laps in total.

Sam Bird ended the day 2nd, a whole second off Bianchi’s time at the top. The Briton was once again the centre of attention, as Mercedes continued to test their rendition of the Coanda-effect exhaust layout. Bird completed 125 laps for the German marque, and was joined within the paddock by current Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher, who was eager to remain up to speed with the progress on track.

After topping the opening day of the test with Jules Bianchi behind the wheel, Ferrari ended the second day 3rd and last with former GP2 driver Davide Rigon driving for the Scuderia. The Italian driver carried out various aerodynamic work for the Italian-outfit, and set a personal best time of a 01:17.925 after 163 laps around the Magny-Cours circuit.

Tomorrow will see the three-day test come to a conclusion at Magny-Cours, with GP2 driver Rodolfo Gonzalez set to replace Jules Bianchi at Force India, whereas Sam Bird will relinquish his seat at Mercedes for the Kiwi of Brendon Hartley.

Pos  Driver               Team                   Time               Laps
 1.  Jules Bianchi        Force India-Mercedes   1m16.467s           117
 2.  Sam Bird             Mercedes               1m17.482s  + 1.015  125 
 3.  Davide Rigon         Ferrari                1m17.925s  + 1.458  163

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Jules Bianchi Tops Day 1 Of Magny-Cours Test

Jules Bianchi ended the first day of the Magny-Cours Young Driver Test fastest for Ferrari, after completing a total of 87 laps behind the wheel of the Ferrari F2012. The Frenchman finished the day several tenths ahead the Force India of GP2 driver Luiz Razia, with the Mercedes of Sam Bird bringing up the rear in 3rd.

The second Young Driver Test of the season was held in warm and overcast conditions, as Formula 1 cars returned to the Magny-Cours circuit for the first time since 2008. Local driver Jules Bianchi was opening the three day test for Ferrari, whereas Force India ran GP2 Championship contender Luiz Razia and Mercedes ran their reserve driver Sam Bird. The three teams utilized the opening day of the test to great effect, by running various upgrades on their cars to take full advantage of the rare mid-season test.

Jules Bianchi was fastest overall for Ferrari, after the Frenchman set a 01:18.070 in the morning period. The Scuderia were running a new front wing on Bianchi’s car throughout the opening day, which was brought to a premature end when the 23-year-old came to a halt at turn 14 with a suspected mechanical issue on his car.

Force India had elected to run rising GP2 star Luiz Razia on the opening day, as the Brazilian driver got his first taste of F1 machinery since the end of last season when he drove for Lotus in practice at Brazil. Razia was only +0.465 seconds off Bianchi’s pace, with Force India also utilizing the test session wisely by running a new front wing on their VJM05 car. The Brazilian driver brought proceedings to a momentary halt as the day progressed, as he spun through turns 12 and 13 on his way to completing 64 laps for the Silverstone-based outfit.

The Mercedes of Sam Bird brought up the rear of the order in 3rd place, with the Brackley-based outfit also testing new parts on their car. This consisted of the much talked about Coanda-effect exhaust layout, as Mercedes aim to end the season on a high by introducing several new updates as the season enters its closing stages. Sam Bird completed 95 laps behind the wheel of the Mercedes W03, and set a personal best time of a 01:19.094.

Tomorrow will see several changes to the driving line-up, with Jules Bianchi switching from Ferrari to Force India to replace Luiz Razia. The Frenchman will be replaced at the Scuderia by reserve driver and former GP2 driver Davide Rigon. Sam Bird will continue racking up the miles for Mercedes, as the German marque continue to test new components ahead of the final seven races.

Pos  Driver               Team                   Time     
 1.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari                1m18.070s
 2.  Luiz Razia           Force India-Mercedes   1m18.535s  + 0.465s
 3.  Sam Bird             Mercedes               1m19.094s  + 1.024s

Picture Copyright © LAT Photographic

Mercedes To Question FIA Over Red Bull Legality

With Red Bull and Lotus adamant that Mercedes are using an illegal “super” DRS device on their car, Mercedes have now announced they suspect Red Bull of also breaking the sports regulations with an illegal engine trick.

In a surprise change of focus, Mercedes Team Principal Ross Brawn has announced he believes Red Bull have been deploying diversionary tactics, diverting prying eyes away from the ongoing exhaust issue. 

With new and stringent rules regarding the distribution of exhaust blow gases introduced in 2012, many of the teams have had to reconfigure their exhaust layout to fall in line with the new rules. However, some teams including Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull have been borderline with their design.

Although Mercedes may have now reverted many eyes back to the Red Bull exhaust issue, Dr. Helmut Marko of Red Bull is adamant the team comply with rules. With the report coming from German newspaper Bild, it has been reported that teams such as Mercedes, Lotus, Toro Rosso and Williams have designed much more conservative exhaust designs, preferring to fall well within the technical boundaries.

The illegal engine trick that Red Bull are allegedly using involves turning on and off individual cylinders. However, whether these allegations are true, or whether Mercedes themselves are now using diversionary tactics against Red Bull, it seems Formula 1 is set for another season-long technical battle with many teams blaming each other for breaking the regulations.

Picture Copyright © Red Bull

Formula 1 Set For Unpredictable Australian Grand Prix

Formula 1 teams’ and drivers’ are expecting this weekends season-opener in Australia to be a highly unpredictable affair, with qualifying and the race potentially throwing up a few surprises. After 12 days of testing which offered no indication to a dominant team as of yet, it is believed any midfield team could excel on Sunday.

Coupled with the new regulations regarding the blowing of exhaust gases in 2012, along with Pirelli’s new and aggressive tyres, there is a great recipe for excitement at the Australian Grand Prix. 

As ever during pre-season testing, not one team looked a dominant force. However, it is strongly believed by many in the F1 paddock that this will continue throughout the early stages of the season as teams’ get to grips with understanding the new Pirelli tyres.

The other factor adding to what could be an enthralling spectacle is the record breaking six World Champions’ on the grid for 2012. What with the return of ‘Iceman’ Kimi Raikkonen for this season with Lotus, F1 now has every World Champion since 2000 on the grid, something that has never been seen before in the sport.

“It is great for Formula 1 to have so many world champions,” said Mercedes team principal, Ross Brawn to AutoSport. “It is the quality of the field and the fact that the cars look like they are going to be close this year, it is going to be a really exciting season and it could be one of the best seasons we have seen for a number of years, so I am quite looking forward to a very challenging season. I am expecting the tightest start to a season that we have seen for a number of years.”

Whether these six World Champions will dominate proceedings at Australia, or whether it will be as unpredictable as many believe, we have only 2 days and 12 hours to wait!

Picture Copyright © Sauber F1