BlogF1

After a break at the weekend, testing resumed in Bahrain today at the Sakhir circuit, home of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Ferrari, Toyota and BMW were all present and the trio of squads managed to get some proper running done after the sandstorms interrupted the schedule for much of last week. BMW’s Christian Klien came out on top at the end of the day, leading Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen by 0.3s. Jarno Trulli finished the day in third for Toyota, a further 0.2s slower. Continue Reading

BMW test driver Christian Klien went on record yesterday evening to say that he too doesn’t like the way the new Formula One cars are looking. Having spent a day in the cockpit of BMW’s interim model, the Austrian driver admitted to finding the car pleasant to drive, but ghastly to look at. After sarcastically calling it sexy, Klien would go on to say it is the worst looking Formula One car he has seen. Continue Reading

Below are photographs from BMW’s first day of winter testing at Circuit de Cataunya in Southern Spain. The team ran their concept 2009 car – the potential F1.09 – featuring a smaller and higher rear wing, a larger front wing, their KERS system, as well as removing all the little aerodynamic devices usually found all over the bodywork. The car, like most others, will take a lot of getting used to, in particular the changes to the wings. Also, the team ran slick tyres for some of the day, which I’m sure you’ll agree are a welcome sight on any single-seater racing machine. Here are Christian Klien and Robert Kubica shaking down the new car in Barcelona. Continue Reading

After much speculation all season that German driver Nick Heidfeld may be dropped from the race-winning BMW team, Mario Theissen announced on Monday that his driver line-up would remain unchanged for the 2009 campaign. The news puts an end to the rumour of Fernando Alonso joining the squad, and confirms Theissen’s faith in his loyal pilots. Theissen also confirmed Christian Klien as the squad’s test driver for next year as well. Continue Reading

The thirty-ninth photograph to feature in BlogF1’s caption contest. You know the drill, think of something funny and witty to say and leave it as a comment below. This time around it’s Formula One’s funny-man Mark Webber. Here he is at the 2004 Australian Grand Prix with his then team mate Christian Klien. Continue Reading

BMW have already launched their new car, in fact they were one of the first to remove the wrappers. But only two drivers were present at the unveiling last month, something that is odd at such a function. Normally the team boss is flanked by at least four drivers, varying in experience and capability. The lesser experienced drivers are posted to testing roles, and today BMW announced theirs, almost a month after the car. Continue Reading

With Fernando Alonso’s future still not set in stone, potential Formula One refugees are looking elsewhere for drives for the 2008 season. Flavio Briatore, Renault’s boss, has stated that his team would have “new drivers” for next year, intimating that both Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella will either be demoted to a testing role or will leave altogether. Kovalainen looks good for the McLaren seat, but he faces competition from Nico Rosberg and Adrian Sutil. Interestingly though, both went on record earlier in the week stating that there futures lie with their current teams, Williams and Force India respectively. Continue Reading