Susie Wolff Declares Williams Loyalty

Susie Wolff has declared loyalty to Williams, after her husband Toto Wolff’s switch to Mercedes from the Grove-based outfit. Although Toto Wolff will become the Executive Director of Mercedes, Susie Wolff has expressed via Twitter that she will remain with Williams as their development driver.

Amid several personnel changes within the Formula 1 paddock, which have included Toto Wolff’s switch to Mercedes and Timo Glock’s surprise departure from Marussia, Susie Wolff has declared her loyalty to Williams despite rumors the 30-year-old could follow her husband to Mercedes. However, Susie Wolff has confirmed via the social networking site Twitter that she will remain with Williams throughout the forthcoming season, as she continues to work as the team’s development driver.

“Just to clarify, I am a proud member of the Williams F1 Team,” insisted Susie Wolff via Twitter. “There was never any question of me leaving. Very happy for my husband, we will be fighting him hard on track!

Despite Toto Wolff’s departure from Williams, the Grove-based outfit will still be hopeful of another competitive season in 2013. Pastor Maldonado will start his third season at the outfit alongside rookie Valtteri Bottas, as the duo aim to continue fighting at the sharp-end of the order. The new Williams FW35 will be unveiled later than the majority of the other teams on the grid, prior to the second pre-season test at Barcelona on February 19th.

Picture Copyright © Williams F1 Team

Lewis Hamilton Slams Team-Mate Jenson Button On Twitter

Lewis Hamilton has once again entered the spotlight for his use of the social networking site Twitter, after accusing his current McLaren team-mate of being disrespectful. This comes only a month after the Briton ranted about his lack of pace at Spa-Francorchamps on Twitter, before then posting a picture of valuable team data.

After enduring yet another frustrating race weekend at Suzuka, Lewis Hamilton yesterday ranted about team-mate Jenson Button allegedly ‘un-following’ the Briton after it was recently announced that he would be leaving McLaren for Mercedes next season. Lewis Hamilton qualified a lowly 9th for the Japanese Grand Prix, after yet again struggling with the setup of his Mercedes-powered McLaren. The 27-year-old was able to finish 5th in the race, after battling for position with the Sauber of Sergio Perez during the early stages of the race.

Lewis Hamilton’s tweets regarding Jenson Button allegedly “unfollowing” him on twitter.

“Just noticed @jensonbutton unfollowed, that’s a shame,” tweeted the 2008 World Champion after the race. “After three years as team-mates, I thought we respected one another but clearly he doesn’t. Funny thing is, we are STILL team-mates! All good tho, I plan on giving this team & fans all I got til I cross the finish line in Brazil!!!”

However, only one hour after this outburst, Lewis Hamilton quickly realized that Jenson Button had never followed him on Twitter. This led to an apologetic tweet, after yet again using the social networking site for all the wrong reasons. Jenson Button, on the other hand, failed to answer his team-mate’s remarks. Instead, he choose to congratulate Kamui Kobayashi on securing his first career podium at his home race.

“My bad, just found out Jenson never followed me. Don’t blame him! Need to be on Twitter more!’” Explained Lewis Hamilton after his initial rant. Naturally the Briton will be eager to forget another uncompetitive race weekend at Suzuka, as he strives to bounce back this weekend at the Korean Grand Prix.

Picture Copyright © McLaren F1 Team

Jaime Alguersuari Poised To Announce F1 Return For 2013

Spanish driver Jaime Alguersuari has confirmed he will be returning to the Formula 1 grid next season, and that he will soon be announcing which team he will race for. This comes after both he and team-mate Sebastien Buemi were dropped after the 2011 season and replaced by Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.

As Sebastien Buemi remained the Red Bull reserve driver, Jaime Alguersuari became a Pirelli test driver and an expert analysis for BBC Radio 5 Live coverage alongside James Allen. Throughout 2012, Alguersuari has been linked to a possible move with Caterham or Sauber, most likely as a replacement for either Heikki Kovalainen or Sergio Perez who could potentially move to either McLaren or Ferrari.

“Soon you’ll all know where I will be driving next year,” said Jaime Alguersuari on the social networking site Twitter. “Thank you all again.”

Jaime Alguersuari’s F1 career began in 2009 with Toro Rosso, when the Spaniard replaced former ChampCar Champion Sebastien Bourdais within the team. Alguersuari continued to race for the Faenza-based outfit throughout 2010 and 2011 alongside Buemi, and was even promised a drive for 2012 within the team. However, once the season had come to a conclusion, Toro Rosso decided against retaining Alguersuari and Buemi for 2012 and replaced them.

More to come as Alguersuari’s future plans are announced. 

Picture Copyright © Getty Images

Button Disappointed With Hamilton After Posting Team Data On Twitter

Jenson Button has explained how he is disappointed with his McLaren team-mate, after Lewis Hamilton decided to post valuable team data on the social networking site Twitter, which was later removed from the site. This came after Hamilton ranted on Twitter the evening beforehand, after qualifying almost a whole second behind Button in 7th.

The social networking site has quickly become the latest sensation amongst the Formula 1 fraternity, with many journalists, news corporations and team personnel heavily using Twitter to bring the many fans closer to the sport they so love. From tweeting images from the pit wall, to drivers tweeting during the weekend, Formula 1 fans can now remain in touch with their heroes almost 24/7.

However, last weekend saw Lewis Hamilton fall foul of using Twitter for all the wrong reasons, culminating the Briton posting an image of the teams valuable data which included downforce levels and the ride-height of both cars. McLaren immediately ordered the 2008 World Champion to remove the image, but not before millions of fans worldwide were able to view and download the image.

Lewis Hamilton’s rant on Twitter, after qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix.

After Lewis Hamilton qualified woefully off the pace in comparison to team-mate Jenson Button, largely due to the contrasting downforce setups of the two cars, Hamilton ranted on Twitter complaining about how the session panned for him, stating he voted to change his setup prior to the qualifying session.

“Damn, WTF!!” Read Hamilton’s tweet posted after qualifying, which was later removed. “Jenson [Button] has the new rear wing on, I have the old. We voted to change, didn’t work out. I loose 0.4 tenths just on the straight.”

This raised many eyebrows throughout the Formula 1 paddock, however Lewis Hamilton’s lack of common sense continued throughout the next morning when he tweeted valuable team data. This enabled prying eyes to see data that would otherwise have been kept secret, with millions of fans and team personnel alike able to see and download the image.

The valuable data which Lewis Hamilton tweeted prior to the Belgian Grand Prix.

“We work so hard to improve the car and keep things like that secret and private,” explained Jenson Button in an interview with British newspaper The Guardian. “I didn’t want to see it on Twitter. It was the whole telemetry from qualifying. It wasn’t just the rear wing. I was very surprised and disappointed. The bit about the time on the straights isn’t the bit that’s important to me. He should be gaining it back in the corners because he’s got more downforce on anyway. And I was eight tenths quicker in qualifying anyway.”

McLaren and Jenson Button will be hoping Lewis Hamilton thinks more before he tweets in the future, especially as Hamilton continues to negotiate with regards to a contract for next season. Gaffs such as this could prove detrimental for Hamilton’s career with McLaren, who seems to be unable to control his mood when things don’t swing his way.

Picture Copyright © McLaren F1 Team

Ferrari Headquarters Struck By Earthquake

Ferrari have suspended work at their Maranello headquarters after an earthquake struck Northern Italy on Tuesday, with the centre of the earthquake only 40 kilometers north of Bologna. With at least 9 people already confirmed to have lost their lives in the disaster by Italian media sources, Ferrari thought it necessary to close their headquarters as many workers have friends and/or family who have been involved in the atrocity.

“After the earthquake, working activity has been suspended for today,” Explained Ferrari in post on the social networking site Twitter. “All workers and employees have been allowed to join their families.”

Ducati have also halted work at their base, which is located nearer to the centre of the earthquake. They too explained their decision with a statement on their Twitter feed, “Ducati today is closed due to the earthquake. People are OK, we are verifying the factory. We feel very close to all the families and people that live near here for this difficult moment.”

This is the second earthquake to strike the same region of Northern Italy, occurring only ten days after the previous one and measuring a magnitude of 5.8 on the richter scale. Both major cities of Milan and Bologna felt the tremors early this morning, and has left people buried under the rubble. The Ferrari factory will remained closed throughout the remainder of the day.

Picture Copyright © Ferrari & AP 

Alguersuari: “Toro Rosso Hurt Me And It Was Unnecessary”

After announcing to his followers on the social networking site Twitter yesterday that he wasn’t going to be racing in F1 this season, Jaime Alguersuari has now hit out at Toro Rosso, stating that he was verbally confirmed for 2012 after last years Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard had raced with Toro Rosso throughout his relatively short Formula 1 career, from his debut at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix right up to his departure at the end of last season. After supposedly verbally confirming to Alguersuari that he would be kept at the team for 2012, Toro Rosso then announced they had signed two new drivers’ for the 2012 season in former HRT rookie Daniel Ricciardo and World Series by Renault graduate Jean-Eric Vergne.

Jaime Alguersuari has today hit out at Toro Rosso, accusing them of going back on their word regarding the safety of his seat with the team for 2012.

“When Red Bull Racing told me on December 13th that I would no longer be racing for them, I said that I was not going to judge them. There was no drama and I did not feel like a victim. But let me say just one thing: they hurt me and it was unnecessary.” Said Alguersuari in a Q&A on his website.

Jaime Alguersuari then went on to say how he turned down a drive from another team, believing he was safe with a drive at Toro Rosso for 2012. Alguersuari confirmed that after he was replace at Toro Rosso he didn’t approach Williams, stating they were only accepting pay drivers for 2012 and that he would never become a pay driver. Alguersuari did enter talks with HRT, before finally opting against a drive at the back of the field.

With no vacancies remaining on the 2012 grid, Alguersuari has conceded that he won’t be racing in Formula 1 this year.

Jaime Alguersuari Won’t Be Racing In F1 In 2012

Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari has announced through his personal Twitter page that he will not be taking part in Formula 1 this season. This comes after he and his team-mate Sebastien Buemi were replaced at Toro Rosso by Daniel Ricciardo and rookie Jean-Eric Vergne, leaving both seemingly without a drive in 2012.

With Sebastien Buemi being kept on as the Red Bull reserve driver in a switch with Jean-Eric Vergne, Jaime Alguersuari has announced he will not be racing in Formula 1 at all this year, thanking his many fans for his support throughout his short career.

“You won’t see me this year running but I’ve to say that F1 has given me huge experience in life. Thank you all for your support!”, was what was posted on his Twitter page. This comes after the Spaniard declined a drive with Spanish outfit HRT, believing the move would be a step down from racing with Toro Rosso since 2009.

Jaime Alguersuari made his debut at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, after Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais left the team. In his short career in Formula 1, Alguersuari competed in 46 Grands Prix, scoring 31 World Championship points.

Oliver Turvey Completes Shakedown Of New McLaren

McLaren’s test driver, Oliver Turvey, got behind the wheel of the new McLaren-Mercedes MP4-27 at Spain on Saturday, completing a shakedown of the car before pre-season testing gets underway at Jerez on Tuesday.

With Oliver Turvey present at the launch of the new car last Wednesday, it was confirmed that he would shakedown the car prior to Jenson Button’s first run in the new car at Jerez. Oliver Turvey was able to complete various system checks on the car, as the team gear up for the first week of testing.

“Was an absolute honor to be the first person to drive the McLaren MP4-27 today, thoroughly enjoyed every moment!” Oliver Turvey announced through his personal Twitter page, “It ran well today but hard to know how good the performance will be until we get on track next week in Jerez!”

The running order for the first week of pre-season testing was released on Friday, confirming that Jenson Button will run the first two days before handing over to Lewis Hamilton for the final two days.

Caterham First To Launch 2012 Car

Caterham have become the first team of the 2012 grid to officially launch their car, with pictures of their new challenger emerging on the internet a day early. This occurred due to subscribers of F1 Racing Magazine receiving their copies a day early.

With the team previously known as Lotus and Team Lotus, this will be their first season known as Caterham, with the team deciding to stay with their yellow and green colors reminiscent of Lotus in the 1960s. For the second consecutive season, the team will run Renault engines, along with Red Bull, Lotus (formerly Renault) and Williams. 

The new car features an unusual nose design, which looks reminiscent of a duck or a platypus-style design. This new and unusual design is due to stricter regulations by the FIA to try and prevent nose to wheel contact which could result in a car flipping or penetrating another car in a T-boning incident.

Due to yesterdays mistake by which F1 Racing subscribers received the new F1 Racing Magazine a day early, many pictures began to emerge online, forcing Caterham to release an official picture on their Twitter feed. This picture gave very little away in the design of the car as it was a side-on shot, however the platypus-style nose was visible.

Many fans weren’t overawed by the new-style nose, whereas some admitted they had seen worse. However it is believed this design will be commonplace up and down the grid in 2012, with Caterham paying the price for releasing their design first.

Caterham have confirmed that their 2010 and 2011 drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli will return this season to race for the team once again, however question marks are starting to arise above Jarno Trulli’s seat, with rumors Vitaly Petrov is in line to replace him.

With Caterham yet to score World Championship points in F1, they will be hoping that this season brings them the speed and luck that is needed to achieve this feat. 

Ben Edwards Becomes BBC F1 Lead Commentator

Ben Edwards today announced on the social networking site Twitter that he will become the new BBC F1 Commentator, replacing Martin Brundle to commentate alongside David Coulthard in 2012. This comes after Martin Brundle switched to Sky for next season to front their commentary team alongside fellow ex-BBC commentators Anthony Davidson and David Croft.

Ben Edwards has recently been the British Touring Car Championship commentator for ITV and has also previously fronted EuroSport’s Formula 1 coverage alongside former F1 driver John Watson throughout the 1990s. Once EuroSport lost the rights to broadcast F1 at the end of 1996 he began commentating on ChampCar (CART) for EuroSport and ESPN International and had undeniably his finest moment during the final laps for the 2000 Michigan 500 where Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Andretti crossed the line side-by-side with Ben Edwards literally screaming in both delight and shock at such an exciting and close finish.

In 2002 Ben became the Lead Commentator for Bernie Ecclestone’s F1 Digital+ channel which was pay-per-view through Sky TV and was partnered by former colleague from EuroSport John Watson. However due to an unsuccessful 2002 season, F1 Digital+ ceased to exist and three years later Ben Edwards became the Lead Commentator for the new A1 Grand Prix Series launched in 2005. 

Although there has been no official statement from the BBC pertaining to Ben Edwards joining the team, he did say this on Twitter: “So, it looks as though it’s really happening. I will be the BBC F1 commentator in 2012 and I can’t wait! It took a while for things to be sorted, and thanks to ITV for being so understanding. Really looking forward to working with the crew.”

With both Sky and the BBC signing two superb commentators it’s going to be difficult to decide which channel to watch next seasons races on.