Kamui Kobayashi crashes during Moscow demo in Ferrari F1 car

Former Sauber and Toyota Formula 1 driver Kamui Kobayashi crashed during his promotional run at the Moscow City Racing Demonstration, whilst behind the wheel of Ferrari’s 2009 F1 car. The Japanese driver, who is now competing in FIA World Endurance Championship with Ferrari, was running in wet conditions when the incident occurred.

After being dropped by Sauber after last season despite his maiden podium finish in the sport, Kamui Kobayashi switched to endurance racing with the Scuderia after a drive in Formula 1 failed materialize due to a lack of funds. The 26-year-old Hyogo-born driver finished 20th in this year’s Le Mans 24h event in the GTE Pro category, and received his first outing in a Ferrari Formula 1 car back in May around the Scuderia’s testing facility at Fiorano.

However, Kamui Kobayashi’s return behind the wheel of a Ferrari F1 car was plagued by embarrassment after he spun in the tricky weather conditions and hit the retaining barrier. Although significant damage was caused to the F60 machine, the Italian outfit had luckily brought a second car to the event therefore allowing Kamui Kobayashi to return to the demonstration within 20 minutes of his embarrassing ordeal.

Kamui Kobayashi’s incident comes almost a year after Pastor Maldonado’s humiliating incident at a demonstration event in Venezuela last August. The local hero had recently secured his and Venezuela’s first victory in Formula 1, accounting for the 20,000 fans attending the venue. Many other teams’ were present at the demonstration in Moscow on Sunday including McLaren and Lotus, ahead of Russia’s inaugural Formula 1 race next season.

Picture Copyright © Ferrari

Jacques Villeneuve Speaks Out Against Sebastian Vettel

Former Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has become the latest figure within the F1 paddock to speak out against Sebastian Vettel, after the triple World Champion created widespread controversy during the Malaysian Grand Prix by ignoring team orders.

During the closing stages of the 56-lap race, Sebastian Vettel elected to ignore team orders imposed upon himself and team-mate Mark Webber to maintain their 1st and 2nd positions. Instead, the young German caught and controversially overtook his team-mate for the lead and eventual race victory, with the two Red Bull drivers banging wheels in the process. Such close and competitive racing between team-mates is extremely rare in Formula 1 nowadays, and Vettel’s actions naturally infuriated his Australian team-mate.

During the aftermath of the Malaysian Grand Prix, the Formula 1 world was full of speculations and murmurings surrounding the Red Bull duo. Some slightly eccentric quotes emerged stating that Mark Webber wouldn’t even attend the next race in China. Naturally these rumors were quelled almost instantly, but it has been unanimously agreed that the partnership between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber has been irreparably damaged. Whereas Bernie Ecclestone spoke in favor of Sebastian Vettel’s actions, former team boss Flavio Briatore believes the partnership cannot continue beyond 2013.

Jacques Villeneuve has also spoken out against Sebastian Vettel, with the 1997 World Champion explaining that Vettel’s antics were stupid and that ignoring team orders was “just plain wrong”. Ironically Jacques Villeneuve’s father, Gilles Villeneuve, was also embroiled in a similar case of team-mate rivalry at Ferrari in 1982.

During the San Marino Grand Prix of that year, Didier Pironi ignored team orders and overtook Gilles Villeneuve for the victory on the last lap. Two weeks later Villenueve’s father was tragically killed during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix. Villeneuve believes the negative energy within the team will not help them in their fight to retain the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championship.

“It’s easy to make excuses,” explained Jacques Villeneuve to Auto Bild. “But, in the end, Vettel’s got the victory and the points. Mark has nothing. It was a deliberate decision by Vettel. The team give you the contract and pay you money, and so you do what they want you to do. It’s very simple. Ignoring is just plain wrong. (Vettel’s) behavior was just stupid. Such negative energy does not help the team. If he now needs help from Mark, he cannot be sure he will get it.”

Although Sebastian Vettel has formerly apologized to every single team member of Red Bull for his actions during the closing stages of the Malaysian Grand Prix, there is no denying that tensions within the team will be extremely high when the sport reconvenes in several weeks for the Chinese Grand Prix. The season may well only be two races old, however Red Bull have already dominated the headlines.

Picture Copyright © Getty Images

New Generation GP3 Car Unveiled In Monza

The new generation GP3/13 car has been unveiled to the media at Monza, ahead of this weekends season finale around the legendary Italian circuit. Inaugural Series Champion Esteban Gutierrez was joined by GP3’s Technical Director Didier Perrin, as they revealed the new car which will be used from next season onwards.

The new car features a whole host of new upgrades, including a new naturally aspirated 400hp engine in comparison to the current 280hp engine. Due to this leap in power, it is expected the car will be around three seconds faster than the current generation car. The GP3/13 also features a new nose, side pods and engine cover. These upgrades combined are expected to close the gap between GP3 and GP2, and therefore offer up-and-coming drivers with a more reasonablestep further up the motor sport ladder.

Esteban Gutierrez and Didier Perrin unveil the new generation GP3/13 car.

“I am very proud of this new generation car.” Explained GP3 Series CEO, Bruno Michel. “Our main objective was to make sure that GP3 remains the best way to prepare young drivers for the next steps, GP2 and F1, which is why we designed a more powerful and more selective car that – among other things reduces, the gap between GP3 and GP2. The teams will not have to buy a new car. We will provide them with a development kit. It was quite a challenge seeing how the aerodynamics and the engine are different. And speaking of the engine, we go from 280 to 400hp for the same price. Now, it all boils down to selecting the nine teams for the next three seasons with at least two cars per team, three maximum so we will have a top figure of twenty-seven cars on the grid. We will announce the teams entry list soon. We will keep a calendar of eight race events in 2013. Racing on the same European F1 tracks and on a car that will prepare them best for GP2 before, hopefully, going further. More than ever before, GP3 is the best logical stepping stone for drivers whose ambition is to move to F1.”

This weekend sees the 2012 GP3 Series season come to a conclusion, as Mitch Evans, Aaro Vainio and Antonio Felix da Costa battle for the Championship title. Former Champions Esteban Gutierrez and Valtteri Bottas have both progressed up the ladder, now respectively racing in GP2 and Formula 1 as a reserve driver. The prize for the eventual Champion is mouthwatering, and will make this weekend’s final two races unmissable as the stars of the future are pitched against each other for GP3 supremacy.

Picture(s) Copyright © Daniel Kalisz/GP3 Series Media Service

All Change In GP2: Coletti To Rapax And Filippi To Coloni For Monza

As the GP2 Series gears up for the penultimate round of this highly entertaining season, there has been several driver changes as Stefano Coletti has left Coloni for Rapax, whereas Coloni have been able to secure former GP2 driver Luca Filippi for what should be an enthralling weekend of GP2 action.

The catalyst in this frenetic series of driver changes came when Stefano Coletti quit racing for Coloni, a team who themselves will leave the GP2 Series at the end of the season after an alleged “disagreement between Coloni Motorsport and the GP2 Organization”. This sees Coletti replaced Daniël de Jong at Rapax, who himself had initially replaced Riccardo Teixeira and then Tom Dillmann several races beforehand at the same outfit.

Luca Filippi was the runner-up of last year’s GP2 Championship, a year which was dominated by Romain Grosjean.

This left Coloni one driver short, and they therefore called upon the services of former runner-up of the Series, Luca Filippi. The 27-year-old Italian driver drove for Coloni last season, winning three races including the feature race at the Italian Grand Prix. Coloni will unquestionably be striving to repeat such success, however their recent run of form makes such a result seem highly unlikely.

“We did a great job together last year, and frankly I would have expected Luca to be contacted by some manufacturer for a works programme this season,” explained team owner, Paolo Coloni. “It didn’t happen, and so we thought that an all Italian line-up for our home race would have been the best thing to do. With Filippi and Onidi, Coloni is reassessing its role of sole Italian team that helps national talents to get under the spotlight.”

Luca Filippi initially quit the GP2 Series after last season, to try and start a career in the American IZOD IndyCar Series. The Italian driver was rumored to drive for the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team, and would have teamed up with former F1 driver, Takuma Sato. However, the deal fell through, and Filippi was left frustrated and without a drive for the 2012 season. Expect Luca Filippi to return to GP2 with a bang this weekend, as the Italian driver naturally strives for an immediately competitive result once the track action gets underway this weekend at Monza.

Picture(s) Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service

Alex Zanardi Aiming To Make Future Indy 500 Debut

Former ChampCar and Formula 1 driver Alex Zanardi has expressed a desire to partake in the Indianapolis 500 in the future, a race which the Italian driver failed to start during his once dominant era in America. However, Zanardi is confident he could one day make an appearance in what is unarguably America’s biggest motor race.

Alex Zanardi’s motorsport career came to a premature end in 2001, when the Italian driver lost his legs in a horrific incident at the 2001 American Memorial ChampCar race at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz. Zanardi spun whilst rejoining the track after making a pitstop, and collided with Alex Tagliani who was traveling at full racing speeds. However, this tragedy failed to deter Zanardi from racing, and he made a superlative return to the sport in 2005 when he competed in the WTCC for BMW.

Although Alex Zanardi is now preparing to compete in the London 2012 Paralympic Games, he still remains open to a return to motorsport. Ultimately IndyCar racing in America is where Zanardi made his name, with two Drivers’ Championships in 1997 and 1998, however he has also hinted at a interest in racing in the DTM Series in Germany.

“To be honest at the moment I’m totally focused on the handbike,” explained Alex Zanardi in an interview with Italian magazine AutoSprint. “Obviously, should I be offered a drive, perhaps in DTM, that would be super cool. I’m not sure about Touring Cars: maybe I’d accept immediately, after all I had some great times in the WTCC, but now it would seem like a step backwards. Now, this is just a theory, but should someone like Morris Nunn call me, it would be easier for me to do the Indy 500, as there isn’t too much braking or tight curves.”

Morris “Mo” Nunn was the founding member of Mo Nunn Racing, a ChampCar and IndyCar team which was founded back in 2000. Alex Zanardi raced for this team in 2001, when he was involved in the horrific accident in Germany. Mo Nunn has since returned to his previous role as Technical Adviser to the hugely competitive Chip Ganassi Racing, a team which Alex Zanardi won his two ChampCar titles with in the late nineties. Whether or not Zanardi does make a return to motor racing, his career is unquestionably one of pure inspiration after overcoming many obstacles to continue doing what he loves most…racing.

Picture Copyright © LAT Photographic

Bruno Junqueira To Replace Josef Newgarden At Baltimore

Former-ChampCar driver, Bruno Junqueira, has been drafted in to replace Josef Newgarden at this weekend’s Grand Prix of Baltimore, after Newgarden broke his left index finger during a violent crash during the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma last weekend.

Josef Newgarden was collected on lap 63 by Sebastien Bourdais, who was rejoining the circuit after momentarily running wide. Newgarden then made violent contact with the retaining wall, in a incident with so much ferocity that it destroyed the tyre and concrete barriers. After undergoing surgery on Monday after the incident, the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing team announced plans to see Newgarden return for the season finale at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana.

“We look forward to a healthy and speedy recovery for Josef,” explained Sarah Fisher. “I know Josef is disappointed in the circumstances, as we all are, but this team is being built around him and his seat will be ready for him when he’s ready.”

With Josef Newgarden sidelined due to his injury, Sarah Fisher has called upon decorated ChampCar veteran Bruno Junqueira, who made his debut in the now defunct Series back in 2001 for Chip Ganassi Racing. Junqueira won eight races throughout his ChampCar career, and was runner-up in the Series for three seasons between 2002 and 2004. The Brazilian driver partook in his first full IZOD IndyCar season in 2008, racing for the Dale Coyne Racing outfit. However, he failed to enjoy similar success in comparison to his ChampCar career, and continued to only partake in the Indianapolis 500 on a yearly basis thereafter, just as he had done prior to the 2008 season.

“I am very happy to be back in IndyCar with SFHR for the Baltimore race weekend,” said Bruno Junqueira. “Sarah’s team is very organized and has been fast all season. They have done a great job with Josef and I hope to give them a good race weekend in Baltimore while Josef is healing.”

This weekend’s Grand Prix of Baltimore is the penultimate race of what has been a thrilling 2012 season, with Will Power entering the weekend in an extremely commanding Championship position after yet another competitive race finish at the Sonoma Raceway. Another competitive finish at Baltimore will set the Australian driver up perfectly to take his first ever IZOD IndyCar Series title when the season comes to its conclusion at Fontana in several weeks time.

Picture Copyright © Getty Images

Jaime Alguersuari 100% Confident On F1 Return In 2013

Former Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari is confident he can return to the Formula 1 grid next season, after being dropped by the Italian-outfit along with former team-mate Sebastien Buemi for Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo after the 2011 season. The Spaniard is currently Pirelli’s test driver, along with former F1 driver Lucas di Grassi.

Talking within the media, Alguersuari is confident 2013 will see him return to the competitive world of F1. The 22-year-old scored 31 points for Toro Rosso in his career, which began midway through the 2009 season when Toro Rosso dropped Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais. From then on, the Spaniard was under considerable pressure from the team to perform, with Toro Rosso eager to find the next Sebastian Vettel who would then naturally progress up to the Red Bull team.

“I’m only 22,” said Jaime Alguersuari in an interview with Mundo Deportivo. “I’m in the prime of my life. It is increasingly clear that what happened with Toro Rosso was not a sporting decision. It was an internal decision and I don’t want to go deeper.”

The Spaniard is currently also a co-commentator for BBC Radio 5 Live, and believes the decisions he has made for the 2012 season has left him with opportunities in 2013. Alguersuari believes that if he had taken up a reserve or test driver role within a current F1 team, he would not have had many options available to him. His former team-mate Sebastien Buemi is currently the reserver driver at both Red Bull and Toro Rosso, and will also be partaking in the 24 Hours of Le Man this season for Toyota.

With Jaime Alguersuari adamant he’ll be racing in 2013, the only question that remains is which team will he eventually race for in 2013? 

Picture Copyright © Getty Images

Sir Jackie Stewart Believes Di Resta Would Be Good For Ferrari

Former 3-time World Champion Sir Jackie Stewart has tipped Paul di Resta as a possible understudy to Fernando Alonso, with the former DTM driver making a competitive start to his F1 career last season. Paul di Resta finished in the points in his first two outings for Force India, alongside his then team-mate Adrian Sutil.

With Fernando Alonso’s future Ferrari team-mate currently being highly speculated, with the visible demise of Felipe Massa, many drivers’ including Sergio Perez, Paul di Resta and even Mark Webber have been linked to the Italian outfit. Lately, speculation of Mark Webber one day joining Ferrari have begun to gather momentum, however both Christian Horner and Dietrich Mateschitz have denied these allegations.

“Paul di Resta would be a very good target for Ferrari,” said Sir Jackie Stewart, “Alonso probably has the best toolkit of knowledge and physically is one of the best drivers in the world. Alonso is almost at his peak and to have a young driver such as Di Resta be an understudy to Alonso is something I’d consider if I was at Ferrari.”

Paul di Resta’s highest finishing position so far in 2012 was 6th at the Bahrain Grand Prix, and apart from China the Scot has finished in the points in every race this season. In a season which has been highly unpredictable and competitive, Paul di Resta and team-mate Nico Hulkenberg will have their work cut out to try and come out top of the midfield teams in 2012.

With Ferrari allegedly having made ‘enquiries’ with Force India regarding his current contract with the Silverstone-based team, it seems a potential move to Ferrari for di Resta is more than just speculation. If Paul di Resta does race for Ferrari next season, he’ll be the first British driver to do so since Eddie Irvine back in 1999, who nearly won the World Championship in the same year following a season-long battle with Mika Hakkinen and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

Picture Copyright © Force India F1 Team 

Rubens Barrichello Confident After First Test On An Oval

Former Formula 1 driver Rubens Barrichello has described his first outing on an oval track in an IndyCar as ‘truly awesome’, as the Brazilian star gears up for what will be his first Indianapolis 500 later this month.

The former Ferrari and Williams driver tested the new Dallara DW12 chassis on the 1.5-mile 24-degree Texas Motor Speedway oval, and reached speeds in excess of 200mph. Rubens Barrichello explained that it wasn’t a challenge reaching those speeds, but instead was a challenge in keeping his line and vision on the track.

“It’s different from anything I’ve tried,” Said Rubens Barrichello. “On my second run, after I broke the 200s, I was so excited. It was truly awesome. I’ve been to places in Formula 1 that you have to have the courage to take it flat to gain a hundredth [of a second]. Here, it wasn’t the case of getting flat because it’s not that difficult, but it’s keeping the line and the vision on it.”

In a day which saw Kiwi Scott Dixon top the timing sheets for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Rubens Barrichello was avidly learning the techniques required to being competitive on a oval. 

“I told the officials to let everyone running close to me give a margin because I’m still not so comfortable running just one lane; maybe one and a half lanes,” continued the Brazilian, who will be classified as a rookie the Indy 500. “I’m not totally at peace with the car. I’m driving okay, but I’m not driving my best just yet because I’m not familiar with everything just yet. I’m definitely a newcomer and it’s an exciting challenge. I truly love this.”

Rubens Barrichello ended the day 11th fastest overall, whilst Charlie Kimball and Dario Franchitti rounded out a Ganassi top 3 behind Scott Dixon. Current IndyCar Series Championship leader Will Power ended the day 4th fastest.

Picture Copyright © LAT Photographic 

Felipe Nasr Q&A

After the opening six races of the 2012 GP2 Series, Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr has already scored 28 points and currently lies 8th in the Drivers’ Championship. As a former British Formula Three Champion, he undoubtably has his eyes set on a future F1 drive.

Managed by the same organization as former Formula 1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, and having already raced in the Daytona 24 Hours Endurance Race, the 19-year-old Brazilian has already had a highly colorful and competitive racing career.

With Felipe Massa and Bruno Senna currently the only Brazilian drivers’ racing in Formula 1, Felipe Nasr explains his career ambitions as he strives to become Brazil’s 31st F1 driver.

Q: After your first four races in GP2, how do you feel you have settled in to the Series? You have made quite a competitive start!
Felipe Nasr: It is a steep learning curve, new team, new car, new tyres. Such an amount of new things and so little time to test it all! But DAMS was great in transmitting me all the enormous experience they have and making me feel at home to speed up this blending period. This is one of the reasons I was able to be quite competitive from the word go.

Q: With your team-mate Davide Valsecchi making a very successful start to the season, do you feel you will be able to match him throughout 2012?

FN: Davide is in his 5^th year in the Series and a very good driver. He worked for that and deserves the success he is having. I can only have him as an example to follow closely, and if I can one day or another match or beat him means that I am also working and progressing in the right direction.

Q: Racing at this years’ Rolex 24 at Daytona, how much of a learning curve was this for you? How different was it in comparison to open-wheel racing such as British Formula Three or GP2?

FN: The Rolex 24 at Daytona was both my first experience driving a car which I could not see where the front wheels where pointing to and my first endurance race. It is all about falling on a different performance groove and it served to see how good my physical and mental preparation was. I want to do it again next year for sure. Although it is so different from F3 and GP2 it is a racing car that has to be driven gently as fast as possible.

Q: How special does it feel to be classed as a British Formula Three Champion, along with fellow countrymen Ayrton Senna and Rubens Barrichello?

FN: And so many other names Brazilian or not. I will always be proud of having my name in the British F3 Hall of Fame, if you can call it that.

Q: The three British Formula Three Champions’ before you (Vergne, Ricciardo and Alguersuari) all drover for Carlin and eventually became Formula 1 drivers’. Do you see this as a good omen, and do you one day see yourself as a Formula 1 driver?

FN: Isn’t it part of the package? Win F3 get F1? Haha! Just joking, hope it is more than a good omen and it turns into a prophecy.

Q: Many Brazilian drivers’ have raced in America’s IndyCar Series. Would you one day consider racing in the U.S. yourself?

FN: I am a professional racing driver, all doors must be open and all opportunities have to be analyzed when the time comes. Now I am concentrated on my DAMS GP2 era and my eventual future in F1. 

Many thanks to DAMS and Felipe Nasr for the communication and time taken to complete this interview.

Picture Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Series Media Service