Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

News round up part 1 :

Mark Webber to get new engineer for 2013 F1 season :

Mark Webber will have a new engineer for the 2013 Formula 1 season, with Ciaron Pilbeam being replaced by Simon Rennie. Pilbeam is set to become chief race engineer at Lotus.
Rennie moves in the opposite direction, having worked with Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen last season.
A Red Bull statement said: "We can confirm that Ciaron Pilbeam has left the team to take up a new position with Lotus.
"We're pleased to welcome Simon Rennie to Red Bull Racing who will be Mark Webber's race engineer."

Felipe Massa feels he can fight for the F1 title in 2013 :
Felipe Massa believes restoring his self-belief can make him a Formula 1 championship contender in 2013.
Ferrari seemed set to drop Massa as he struggled through the 2012 season, the third year in a row that he had been overshadowed by team-mate Fernando Alonso.
But the Brazilian held on to his drive and became increasingly strong in the final races, amid a change in mental approach that Massa feels will continue this year.
"What we have done in the second part of the championship was a bit of training for this season," Massa said at the Wrooom media event,
"I want to be competitive from the start to the end, I want to return to winning and also hope to be able to fight for the championship.
"I have done this in the past, I have not forgotten this."
Massa said his mid-season turnaround last year was almost entirely due to psychological progress rather than car changes.
"It is not that the car changed that much from August in reality," he admitted. "There was also a change from my side." The Brazilian explained that shutting out criticisms and remembering what he had achieved in his best days proved key.
"Even if 90 per cent of people do not want to believe in me any more, it is important that you believe so you are not good one day and bad the day after," Massa said.
"You need to believe in what you can do. I believe in myself, I know I can be a champion, I know I can win, I know I can be what I was all my career.
"I think after you understand yourself it makes you stronger and stronger all the time."
Massa feels he has recaptured the happiness he felt when fighting for the championship in 2008.
"Maybe I was not enjoying my job so much, maybe I was not happy," he mused. "I am happy now. When you get into the car and want to have fun and enjoy it, that is when you can do your job in the best way possible.
"By doing that you can have a year like 2008."

Alonso says Hamilton is still his strongest rival in Formula 1 :
Fernando Alonso is sticking to his view that Lewis Hamilton remains his strongest rival in Formula 1, despite Sebastian Vettel having captured his third world title. Although Alonso thinks it is too early to judge which of his rivals will challenge him the hardest in 2013, in terms of driving talent he has no doubts about who he thinks is the best. "I do not know who will be my main opponent for this season, he who has the best team, with the best year in terms of preparation, luck, testing, all of these factors, will help a driver or team to come on top of others," he said at Ferrari's Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio on Thursday.
"But as for strongest opponent, who is strongest driver? My answer is Hamilton. It was true last year, it was true this year.
"The strongest driver? It is a personal opinion, not political, not to make people think something. Who is the strongest opponent, the strongest driver on grid? Who is the one you have to keep an eye on? It is Hamilton - and it will still be Hamilton next year." When asked why he did not think Vettel was the strongest driver after winning a third consecutive driver's championship, Alonso said: "I am not saying he is not the strongest driver.
"In 2011, there was a fantastic performance from him. It is true the car was much in front of everybody, they [Red Bull] were first and second consistently, and when the car is good you tend to relax in some races.
"But I remember difficult races in 2011 with wet/dry conditions, and he did not do any single mistake. So for sure in these three years there were moments when he was better than anybody else and he deserved these three championships." Although Hamilton has played down his prospects for the season ahead as he undertakes a new challenge at Mercedes, Alonso thinks is unlikely the Briton will not win races.
"I am sure he will be able to win," he said. "He is a super good driver because he won every year with any car: he won in 2007 and 2008.
"In 2009 they started around two seconds off the pace with the McLaren, and Hamilton was able to win races – and it was the same in 2010.
"Last year also Nico [Rosberg] we saw winning in China with Mercedes. So with Hamilton he will be able to win more than one race."

Gary Hartstein to be replaced by Ian Roberts as Formula 1 doctor
The FIA has appointed Dr Ian Roberts as Formula 1 medical rescue coordinator, after deciding not to renew Gary Hartstein's contract at the end of 2012. Roberts was previously chief medical officer for Silverstone and the British Grand Prix. An FIA statement said that Dr Roberts would report to Professor Jean-Charles Piette, F1's permanent FIA medical delegate.
"While Professor Piette will oversee emergency operations from race control, Dr Roberts will deploy to the track," said the statement. "His primary role there is to supervise the response of the local medical team."
Hartstein's departure had caused concern among F1 drivers, but he welcomed Roberts' appointment.
"Congratulations Ian," Hartstein wrote on his Twitter account. "Would certainly have been on my shortlist. Really good doctor, skilled leader, great guy. Lots of luck and have a great time.
"Fitting on the eve of Sid [Watkins]'s memorial that someone representing the best of British motorsports medicine be named."

New Williams to miss first F1 test as team announces launch date :
Williams's 2013 Formula 1 car will not be launched for the first winter test of the season and will make its debut at the second test on 19 February. The team has announced that the FW35 will be unveiled at Barcelona on 19 February, the opening day of test two. For the first test at Jerez on 5-8 February, Williams will run an updated version of its 2012 car. The team said its plan had always been to use an FW34 with development components at Jerez and save its fully-fledged 2013 machine for the second test.
"We will be running the FW34 (with 2013 livery) in Jerez to test a number of key development parts in preparation for the launch of the FW35," said a team statement.
Williams has retained Renault power for 2013, with Spanish Grand Prix winner Pastor Maldonado also staying on. Former test driver Valtteri Bottas replaces Bruno Senna in the second car.
Last season the team took its first victory since 2004, but inconsistent form meant it only finished eighth in the constructors' championship.

Fernando Alonso says he would support Felipe Massa F1 title bid :
Fernando Alonso says he would have no qualms about playing a supporting role to Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa if the Brazilian needed it. The Spanish driver has overshadowed Massa in the three years they have been together at the Italian squad, but the Brazilian had a much stronger second half of the 2012 Formula 1 season, during which he was faster than Alonso in some races.
Massa said on Thursday that his resurgence has left him upbeat about his chances of fighting for wins and the title in 2013. Alonso insisted people continue to under-rate Massa, who he reckons has proven to be one of the best drivers in the F1 field.
"Sure, it is not the first time I have helped him and surely it will not be the last," Alonso said when asked if he would support Massa's title challenge if required. "We help each other continuously, for the good of Ferrari.
"Felipe is one of the best drivers in the world. I have been repeating this for three years, and at times people look surprised when I say this during press conferences."
Alonso believes his gap to Massa in the standings in the past three years has been 'strange' and reckons they do not reflect the Brazilian's real speed.
"At the end of the 2012 season people realised he is one of the best in the world," Alonso said.
"These last few seasons there was a gap that I never had [with team-mates] in the past, and points wise it was something strange, because usually we should have been on a more equal level as far as points are concerned." Massa, who secured a one-year contract thanks to his late resurgence in 2012, is convinced that Ferrari wants him to be as strong as Alonso rather than just playing a supporting role.
"I cannot really imagine or think about a team that does not want one of its drivers to be competitive," he said.
"It would be absurd to have just one good car, and one good driver."


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Newsflash :

Marussia confirms Timo Glock's departure
Marussia has confirmed German driver Timo Glock is leaving the team ahead of the start of the 2013 Formula 1 season. Marussia said they had agreed to part company by mutual consent.
Glock had joined the team when it made its F1 debut at the start of the 2010 season, and he had extended his contract until the end of 2014. The team has failed to score a point in F1 and lost the vital 10th place in the constructors' championship to Caterham in the final race of 2012 season in Brazil.
The news means Marussia will need to find another driver to race alongside rookie Max Chilton.
The team said it will announce its final line-up in due time.

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News :

2 other Teams have released a date to present there car :

Toro Rosso - february 4
Mercedes - february 4

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Newsflash :


Pedro de la Rosa gets Ferrari Formula 1 development role :
Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa will join the Ferrari team as a development driver for the 2013 Formula 1 season, the Italian squad said on Wednesday. De la Rosa, 41, was left without a drive for this year after the HRT team, with which he had a contract for 2013, folded at the end of last season.
Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali said the Spanish driver will join compatriots Fernando Alonso and Marc Gene at the team to assist with simulation work during the year.
"We must anticipate problems we have and focus on simulation," said Domenicali.
"We think Pedro is the right person to develop this type of activity. We think he is a driver that fits well within our group." Domenicali denied that de la Rosa's friendship with Alonso was key to his signing.
"Clearly the fact that Pedro has a good relationship with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa is a positive factor, but the decision is purely technical," said the team chief.
De la Rosa, who made his Formula 1 racing debut in 1999 with Arrows, had already spent several years working as a test driver for McLaren before he returned to racing first with Sauber and then with HRT in 2012 .

Pedro de la Rosa 'can't wait' to start Ferrari Formula 1 role
Pedro de la Rosa says he is extremely motivated by his new role at the Ferrari team after being signed as a development driver for the 2013 Formula 1 season. De la Rosa joins friends and fellow Spaniards Fernando Alonso and Marc Gene at the Maranello squad after being left without a racing seat when the HRT team failed to find a buyer at the end of 2012. The 41-year-old Catalan will assist Ferrari with its simulation programme, and he admitted he cannot wait to get started. "It is amazingly motivating to be working for a team like Ferrari, not just because of what it represents in the history of Formula 1 and motoring in general, but also because it will be a completely new and very stimulating experience for me," said de la Rosa.
"I really hope I can get to work as soon as possible and to help in the development of the car. I am happy to be collaborating with Fernando again and also to be working with Felipe [Massa].
"There's not much time until Australia, but there is a lot to do and I am available to help the team from right now."
De la Rosa has a total of 104 grand prix starts to his name, with his best result a second place in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, where he raced a McLaren.
DE LA ROSA'S F1 CAREER
1998: Becomes Jordan test driver after winning Formula 3, Formula Nippon and Super GT titles in Japan.
1999-2000: Arrows race driver.
2001-2002: Starts '01 as Prost test driver before replacing Luciano Burti at Jaguar from Spanish Grand Prix.
2003-2009: McLaren test driver. Makes several starts in place of Juan Pablo Montoya in 2005 and '06, and takes first podium in Hungary '06.
2010: Makes surprise racing return with Sauber, but dropped after Italian GP.
2011: Becomes test driver for Pirelli for a spell, before rejoining McLaren as reserve. Makes a one-off return to a Sauber race seat to deputise for injured Sergio Perez in Canada.
2012: Back on the grid again with HRT, but team folds at end of season

Ferrari to launch new Formula 1 car on 1 February
Ferrari will unveil its 2013 Formula 1 challenger on February 1, team boss Stefano Domenicali confirmed on Wednesday. Domenicali said during the Wrooom event that the new car, whose official name is yet to be revealed, will be launched at Maranello.
The Italian squad finished in second place in the constructors' championship last year
The team revealed last month it had also began work on new facilities at Maranello, which will house the offices and workshops for the F1 team in the future.

2013 pre-season dates
Car launches
Team Date
McLaren - January 31
Ferrari - February 1
Force India - February 1
Sauber - February 2
Red Bull - February 3

Testing
Venue - Date
Jerez - 5-8 February
Barcelona - 19-22 February
Barcelona - 28 February-3 March

Felipe Massa resurgence won't shake Fernando Alonso, says Ferrari :
Ferrari has no concerns that Felipe Massa's resurgent form in Formula 1 will create tension with Fernando Alonso. The Brazilian driver bounced back from a difficult start to 2012 to end the campaign as one of the highest-scoring drivers, and even outqualified Alonso at a few races.
Massa's form contributed to Ferrari taking the bold decision to deliberately hand him a grid penalty at the United States Grand Prix to try and help move Alonso on to the cleaner side of the grid.
If Massa can carry his strong performances into 2013, then Ferrari could find itself facing similar tough strategic calls. But this does not concern its team principal Stefano Domenicali.
"I consider it is a strength for us," he said at the Ferrari Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio on Wednesday. "If you look from another angle, last year, in the first half of the season, we were not able to maximise the points and that cost us a lot in the second half.
"The fact that Fernando and Felipe are coping with it very well is a strong point we have in the team. And if we compare this situation with other teams, it is the best situation we can have.
"To count on a Felipe that has finished the championship in such a way, I believe is a good motivation point for Fernando. At the end of the day, no one can sit on anything.
"It is important to push from the inside in a very constructive way; to have this kind of atmosphere in the team is a positive thing. You can count on transparency in the relationship, and that is something we have."
Domenicali is convinced that Massa will be as strong this season as he ended last year.
"I believe that the most difficult moment of Felipe's career is behind him," said Domenicali. "He did the switch I would say in the summer break and the Felipe we saw in the second half of season was the driver we would want."

Ferrari rules out Alonso/Vettel line-up in the future
Ferrari has ruled out the prospect of a 'dream team' line-up of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel.
The Italian outfit has made no secret of the fact that Vettel is a driver that it is interested in for the future when Alonso retires, but there has been speculation that the Formula 1 world champion could do a deal even sooner and race alongside the Spaniard. Speaking at Ferrari's Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio in Italy on Wednesday, team principal Stefano Domenicali reckoned having two top talents like Alonso and Vettel would not necessarily be a good thing.
"We have always said, and I think that the president [Luca di Montezemolo] also declared, that a dream team is something extraordinary if it is well managed and if things work well," he said about the prospects of Vettel being signed as a future team-mate of Alonso.
"For now, I think that this is not our goal. We have to maximise the balance of our performance of the team. We must be very careful.
"It is not just in F1 because it is true also in the world of sport. If you put all the number ones together around the table it can be more damaging than positive. So for the time being, this is not our goal."
Domenicali also said that Alonso will respond to criticisms from Red Bull's Helmut Marko that he is 'too political' only on the track. Marko caused a stir earlier this month when he suggested that Sebastian Vettel had gained a decisive edge in the world championship because he had not dabbled in the political games that he reckoned Alonso wasted time with. Domenicali said he was completely happy with Alonso's approach to his job with Ferrari.
"Honestly, I think Fernando is extremely focused on performance and, as always, there are some persons who think they can stimulate reactions in others - to try to tickle them, to attack what they think, and that they may be weaker," said Domenicali.
"But from my viewpoint I can assure you that my focus is to give an answer, a response, on the race track rather than with words - because words don't count for much.
"We are simply going to try and answer to all this by being strong and being in front."

Ferrari not writing off any rivals for 2013 F1 season :
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali is not counting on the forthcoming Formula 1 title battle turning into a straight fight with Red Bull, despite both McLaren and Mercedes starting the season with new challenges.
McLaren's prospects have been dealt a blow with the departure of Lewis Hamilton, while Mercedes endured a troubled end to the 2012 campaign.
Although the situation of those two teams points to Ferrari and Red Bull having the edge in 2013, Domenicali says he will not allow his outfit to rule out any its rivals.
When asked at Ferrari's Wrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio if he shared the view that 2013 would be a sole Red Bull and Ferrari fight, he said: "Based on paper analysis, it seems to be correct.
"But, as usual, we have to very, very careful in this field. I prefer a mental approach to considering that our opponents are as many as there were in the past season. Surprises may take place each year.
"My approach is fearing everyone and not considering anyone outside of the championship."
Ferrari will launch its new car in Maranello on February 1, with Domenicali suggesting that the car will be an evolution of the current design, albeit with a big focus having been applied to the design of the exhausts
"It is clear that with continuity in the regulations, you cannot make any incredible changes from an aesthetic point of view," he said.
"We will focus attention on trying to maximise the exhaust effect within the regulations, because that is where you can get some additional performance."
Ferrari is determined not to endure a repeat of the difficulties it faced at the start of last season, when it went in to the campaign with an uncompetitive car.
One of the factors in its difficulties was a calibration problem at its Maranello windtunnel, which has forced it to shut down the facility for a revamp and shift its efforts to the Toyota facility in Cologne.
Domenicali is confident that its on-track form will not suffer, which will be crucial because teams will have to balance work on both the 2013 car and '14 regulations over the forthcoming months.
"We have started the development of the 2013 car in the Toyota windtunnel and we will work on that tunnel this year with no need for a correlation check," he said.
"This will allow us to be more efficient and effective - and not worried by the fact that we are not in Maranello. We have seen another competitor [McLaren] develop the car in the same facility and they have done a pretty good job."


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