Pedro de la Rosa Retired With Throttle Pedal Issues
Pedro de la Rosa’s Korean Grand Prix lasted only 17 laps, before the Spanish outfit decided to retire the 41-year-old largely due to safety worries with regards to a throttle pedal issue on his HRT. The team were prepared for a tough 55-lap race, and are already looking ahead to the Indian Grand Prix in several weeks time.
Only several laps into the race, Pedro de la Rosa began to immediately feel the effects of the throttle pedal issue, despite enjoying a positive start. Initially the pedal began to jam, eventually worsening throughout the opening laps. Due to safety issues, the team made the decision to retire Pedro de la Rosa, in an attempt to avoid any chance of an incident as the F112’s handling began to deteriorate.
“We were anticipating a tough race but the start was good.” Explained Pedro de la Rosa, “Unfortunately, we had a problem with the throttle pedal since the fifth lap. At the start it would get slightly jammed but as the laps went by it got worse so the team decided to pull me out. I think they made the right decision because, not only was the car very difficult to handle and we were going slower and slower, but it was also dangerous.”
Although Pedro de la Rosa retired in the early stages of the race, Narain Karthikeyan was able to make it to the end of the race albeit in 20th and last place, two laps off the pace of race winner Sebastian Vettel. Despite this difficult race weekend, the Madrid-based outfit are confident further improvements can be made next time out at the Indian Grand Prix.
Picture Copyright © HRT F1 Team
Aaro Vainio Secures GP3 Pole At Monaco
The Lotus of Aaro Vainio has secured his maiden GP3 pole position, after a fantastic string of laps throughout the split qualifying session, whereby two groups of 13 cars took to the track in exactly the same fashion as the GP2 qualifying session yesterday. The fastest driver from Group A, Kevin Ceccon, will line up 2nd on the 26 car grid.
The first group consisted of even numbered cars, and the initial pace was set by Championship leader Mitch Evans early on. Kevin Ceccon then went fastest, as Evans’ team-mate Matias Laine ran out of road at La Rascasse and prematurely ended his qualifying session. As ever at Monaco, the marshals made a splendid job on retrieving Laine’s car, and the session continued without delay.
Throughout the remainder of the opening session, Evans and Ceccon swapped fastest laps at the top, before the Italian driver finally set a 01:28.922 which remained unbeaten and left Ceccon in provisional pole-position. The opening session ended under yellow flag conditions, as Series rookie Fabiano Machado hit the wall after running wide through turn 10’s Nouvelle Chicane.
The second group consisted of the odd numbered cars, including Antonio Felix da Costa and Aaro Vainio. The Portuguese driver set the initial pace in the session, before the Lotus of Vainio went top with a 01:29.739. This time was still not fast enough to secure pole, but Vainio continued to improve throughout the session with some mesmerizingly quick times and finally set a 01:28.650. This was enough to secure pole for the Finn, however he improved yet again with a 01:28.008 to fully cement his Lotus on pole-position for the feature race.
With no Formula 1 action taking place today on the streets of Monte-Carlo, both GP2 and GP3 feature races’ will be run throughout the morning.
Picture Copyright © Daniel Kalisz/GP3 Media Service
GP2 Monaco Qualifying Split Into Two Groups
Due to the tight and twisty nature of the Monte-Carlo street circuit, qualifying for the GP2 Series will be split into two 14 minute groups this weekend. This will be the first time a change of this nature has occurred in the history of the GP2 Series, and will hopefully allow drivers to complete clean and quick laps.
After a ballot which took place on Wednesday, two groups have been drawn up for todays qualifying session. The first group will consist of even numbered cars, in contrast to the second group which will consist of odd numbered cars including Championship leader and former Monaco race winner Davide Valsecchi.
Group A:
02. Josef Kral
04. Felipe Nasr
06. Nathanaël Berthon
08. Jolyon Palmer
10. Esteban Gutiérrez
12. Giedo van der Garde
14. Stefano Coletti
16. Stéphane Richelmi
18. Fabrizio Crestani
20. Ricardo Teixeira
22. Simon Trummer
24. Victor Guerin
26. Max Chilton
Group B:
01. Johnny Cecotto
03. Davide Valsecchi
05. Fabio Leimer
07. Marcus Ericsson
09. James Calado
11. Rodolfo Gonzalez
15. Fabio Onidi
17. Julian Leal
19. Giancarlo Serenelli
21. Tom Dillmann
23. Luiz Razia
25. Nigel Melker
27. Rio Haryanto
Picture Copyright © Alastair Staley/GP2 Media Service
Barcelona Day 3 – Morning Session – Maldonado Quickest
It was a cold start to Day 3 of the Barcelona test, with the cars starting their installation laps in only single figures in air temperature. It was the Force India of Paul Di Resta who completed the first timed lap of the morning, before suffering set-up issues resulting in a lack of track time for the team.
As the session started to warm up, the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi topped the timing sheets as the rest of the field set their first flying laps of the day. He didn’t last long at the top, as the Williams of Pastor Maldonado initially went 2nd, then 1st as the lap times began to tumble after a cold and slow start.
However, Maldonado’s reign atop the timing sheets was also short lived, as the Red Bull of Mark Webber shot to the top, followed by Kamui Kobayashi, thus demoting Maldonado to 3rd. Mark Webber didn’t waste time in setting another fastest lap, securing his position atop the timing sheets as the track times got quicker.
Jenson Button started his day by going 4th after his first timed run, the McLaren driver making his first appearance this week in the McLaren. Michael Schumacher then went top on the soft Pirelli P-Zero tyre, half a second quicker than the Red Bull of Mark Webber. Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne then went 2nd on the medium Pirelli tyre, continuing an impressive week for Toro Rosso.
Vitaly Petrov had another slow start to the day for Caterham, with the Russian only completing 8 laps in total before team discovered a front suspension issue. This delayed Petrov’s track time, as the mechanics set to fixing the issue.
The first red flag period of the morning was caused when Paul Di Resta lost an engine cover, causing a delay due to debris on track. This delay was very short, and the session was under green flag conditions again shortly after.
Pastor Maldonado then began to set faster times in his Williams FW34, setting a 01:23.338 on the medium compound Pirelli tyre. The Venezuelan driver is completing his first day in the car this week, with Senna and Bottas driving earlier in the week.
Felipe Massa’s track time was cut short after Ferrari identified a mechanical issue on the car, with the Brazilian returning to the track shortly after. This was another set-back for the Italian outfit, who have undeniably had a troubled start to the 2012 season. They will be hoping such set-backs don’t reoccur next month at the season opening Australian Grand Prix.
The second red flag of the day was caused when Timo Glock apparently went off in his Marussia, however the German was able to trundle back to the pits shortly afterwards. Marussia confirmed the car was luckily undamaged as the session resumed.
Pastor Maldonado then set the quickest time of the week so far, with a scintillating 01:22.391, albeit on the super-soft Pirelli tyres. Williams will hoping on an improvement from last season, where the team had their worst season on record.
The morning session ended under red flag conditions, the third stop of the day, as the Sauber of Kamui Kobayashi ground to a halt after running out of fuel.
The session continues after the lunch break.
Picture Copyright © Williams F1/LAT
Lotus Pull Out Of Barcelona Test With Immediate Effect
After ending the day early at Barcelona after the morning session, Lotus have now pulled out of the second pre-season test at Barcelona with immediate effect. This has been caused by serious concerns regarding their chassis, with Lotus opting to focus on fully understanding the issue.
The initial plan was for the chassis the team used at Jerez earlier in month – the E20-01 – which would be flown out to Barcelona from Enstone in a straight swap with the chassis used today – the E20-02. However the team have disclosed that changes need to be made to both chassis’, resulting in Lotus pulling out of the Barcelona test.
“Before we were due to fly chassis E20-01 out to Barcelona in replacement of chassis E20-02 – damaged this morning – we ran a series of simulations at the factory based on the data provided by our brief running on track today,” explained technical director, James Allison. “As a result, we were able to identify an area which requires some additional work. It will be more productive for us to carry out these modifications to both chassis at Enstone rather than send E20-01 out to this week’s test. We’ll put the right measures in place and we will be able to fix the problem before next week.”
Romain Grosjean completed only 7 laps at Barcelona this morning, before the team called an end to their days involvement with the test. With Grosjean initially planned to take part in a whole days running tomorrow, before team-mate Kimi Raikkonen continued for the final two days, the team will hope the issues can be resolved before the final pre-season test at Barcelona next week.
“Not running this week has been a tough decision to take, but we feel that our choice is the right one.” Said team principal, Eric Boullier, who initially thought the issue to be only a minor setback, “On the positive side, we have quickly identified the issue with the chassis and our design office has already devised a solution. We will be present at next week’s test in Barcelona. We draw faith from the fact that the E20 was quick out of the box in Jerez and showed its reliability there. We have a lot of work ahead of us over the next week but everyone at Enstone is ready for this challenge.”
This means the week will continue minus two teams from the 2012 grid, after HRT opted to focus on their 2012 car, which has yet to pass the mandatory FIA crash test.
Picture Copyright © Lotus F1
Lotus Abandon Day 1 Of Barcelona Test
Lotus have been forced to abandon Day 1 of the Barcelona test at the Circuit de Catalunya, after worries regarding the chassis of their car. Their driver for the day, Romain Grosjean, managed only 7 laps in the car today.
Regardless of the lack of running by the team, team principal Eric Boullier is convinced it’s only a minor setback for the outfit: “This is a minor setback to our overall test programme.” Explained Eric Boullier, “Fortunately we accumulated good mileage in Jerez. If this is the only issue we have during testing then we will still be well prepared for the start of the season. We’ll be back on track tomorrow with chassis E20-01 and assessing chassis E20-02 back at Enstone.”
“This morning was our first shakedown of our second chassis.” Explains Alan Permane, Lotus’s Trackside Operations Director, “Once the car was on track it was soon evident that everything wasn’t quite as it should be. As a precaution we are returning the chassis to Enstone for further investigation. Chassis E20-01, which we used in Jerez, is being sent over and we expect to be on track with that chassis tomorrow.”
For Frenchman Romain Grosjean, this means he’ll only have one more day behind the wheel of the Lotus E20 before handing over to team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
“We completed a few aero runs and then started timed runs, but I was very quickly aware that the car wasn’t responding as it should.” Explained Grosjean, who only completed 7 laps this morning, “It’s not ideal to lose track time, but fortunately we will have the chassis which ran perfectly in Jerez so I should get some good track time tomorrow. It’s far better that we have an issue like this now rather than in Melbourne.”
Lotus will be hoping that these setbacks are ironed out before the team head off for the season opening Australian Grand Prix, where last season they finished on the podium with Vitaly Petrov.
Picture Copyright © Glenn Dunbar/LAT
Fabiano Machado Joins Marussia Manor Racing For 2012
Reigning South American Formula 3 Champion, Fabiano Machado, has been signed by Marussia Manor Racing for the 2012 GP3 Series. He will race alongside Russian driver Dmitry Suranovich, after dominating the South American Formula 3 Championship last season.
The Brazilian won 17 races in the Championship last season, as well as achieving 15 fastest laps and 7 pole-positions along the way. He had a promising career in karting beforehand, winning various championships along the way including the Paulista Championship and the Brazilian South Region Championship.
“To race in the GP3 Series with a winning team like Marussia Manor Racing will be a big step forward in my learning process and in my career.” Said Machado, “I’m really pleased and excited to be racing for the first time in a European Championship. I want to thank the team and my sponsor Grupo Schahin for this opportunity and I will work as hard as possible to put together a strong campaign.”
The GP3 Series has a two day pre-season test at Estoril in Portugal next week, before the season gets underway at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain in May.
Alonso Fastest As Red Bull Suffer Electrical Issue
Fernando Alonso has made progress in the new Ferrari after a week of uncertainty surrounding the new Ferrari F2012, setting the fastest time in the morning session on the final day of the Jerez test. With Mercedes not taking part in the final day and HRT leaving after Day 2, all of the cars on track today are 2012-spec.
The day started pretty much the same as the rest of the week with Lotus being one of the first cars out on a timed lap, this time in Romain Grosjean who was eager to capitalize on yesterday after the Frenchman finished as the fastest driver in a 2012-spec car behind the Mercedes of Rosberg.
However it wasn’t long before Fernando Alonso set Ferrari’s fastest time all week with a 01:19.289, which he improved on shortly after with a 01:18.877 just as the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton slotted into 2nd place in the McLaren.
There have been two red flag periods in the morning session, the first being a very short delay as debris was cleared off the track early on. The second was caused by the Williams of Bruno Senna as he came to a halt on track, ironically at the exit of the Senna chicane named after his Uncle. With Senna completing 98 laps throughout the morning session, many believe the Brazilian ran out of fuel after a long run.
Probably the biggest news from Jerez this morning is of the trouble Red Bull seem to having with their car, which has resulted in World Champion Sebastian Vettel being unable to set a time as of yet. The team have confirmed they are experiencing electrical issues with Vettel’s RB8, and are aiming to get him out on track soon with the intention to complete long runs this afternoon.
Jean-Eric Vergne is currently 2nd in the Toro Rosso after a very productive final day, with a 01:19.597. The Frenchman has sung the praises of the new Toro Rosso STR7, with the team confident heading into the new season.
Nico Hulkenberg has this morning made his track debut in the Force India VJM05, after yesterday being unable to make his scheduled track appearance due to Bianchi’s crash. Jarno Trulli has also made his track debut for 2012 this morning for Caterham, continuing their testing of KERs as it appears on their cars for the first time this season.
HRT Car Fails Crash Test
HRT’s plans for the 2012 season have been dealt another blow as their 2012 car failed two crash tests yesterday, which this year are now mandatory to be able to compete on track. With HRT planning to test their new car at the next test at Barcelona, they are now set for further delays.
After completing this weeks test in Jerez using their old 2011 car, they packed up early eager to make progress with their new 2012 car ready for the next test. However, after the car failed two out of the 17 crash tests and was unable to do one other, they now have to hope that it passes another crash test before the third and final test in Barcelona, otherwise HRT will once again travel to the opening Grand Prix without their car turning a wheel all winter.
It has been confirmed that the exact areas where the car failed were the roll-hoop and lateral nose test, which therefore meant that the car couldn’t complete the front impact test either.
Regardless of the setback, the team seemed as upbeat as possible, stating they only failed the test by “very small margins” and that their chassis passed all of its tests, which was a big boost for the small team.
HRT will retake the crash test in roughly a weeks time, in the meantime they will take the car back to the drawing board as they begin to manufacture new parts to allow the car to pass the crash test.
Pedro De La Rosa completed 108 laps of testing for the team in their two days at Jerez, before packing up two days early. They will reappear at Barcelona later in the month most likely still in their 2011 car.
Bruno Senna Pleased With Williams Progress
Bruno Senna made his first track appearance of 2012 today, testing the new Williams FW34 on the Jerez circuit. Last season Bruno Senna partly raced for the Lotus team after replacing Nick Heidfeld midway though last season. After being replaced by Raikkonen for 2012, he moved to Williams to replace Rubens Barrichello.
Today at the Circuito de Jerez, Senna completed various system checks and set-up work for Williams, as well completing 125 laps throughout the day as Senna got to know the team and the car.
“It was a great day today.” Said Bruno Senna after a long day on track, “Although there is a lot of work to do outside the car as well as in it, it was very satisfying to finally get behind the wheel. We have had a very productive day and managed to cover all of the things we needed to. We found some interesting things out about the tyres in particular. I feel that there is a lot of potential in the FW34 and also in myself driving the car. The team has done a great job and I’m happy we have had a trouble-free day. I’m now looking forward to continuing our test programme tomorrow to learn more about the car.”
With Williams suffering their worst season in their long career in 2011, the team are in desperate need of making progress. They are now powered by Renault engines, reuniting a partnership that brought the team five Constructors’ Championships between 1992 and 1997 with drivers’ including Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve.
“I am very pleased with both Bruno’s first day in the car and the team’s performance today.” Announced Mark Gillan, the team’s Chief Operations Engineer, “We managed to finish the whole test programme without any issues, completing 125 laps in total. Bruno’s feedback has been very precise and we now look forward to continuing to understand and optimize the car set-up during the final day of testing here in Jerez tomorrow.”
With 125 laps completed today without any technical problems, reliability seems to be a major improvement with the Williams team that is already visible. With both Pastor Maldonado, Bruno Senna and the team confident on an improvement from 2012, Williams seem to be making steady progress at the pre-season tests.
The last time Williams won a race was at the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, achieved by Juan Pablo Montoya when the team was powered by BMW.
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