BlogF1

Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems were introduced this year as a way of making the sport of Formula One greener, more applicable to every-day motorists and to add to the spectacle of the sport through the re-distribution of the saved energy. However, few teams have adopted the technology and those that have are slowly ceasing its use on their cars. BMW today have announced they want to concentrate on car development rather than KERS development. Was KERS ever a good idea? Continue Reading

The war continues between Formula One’s governing body – the FIA – and the participating teams, collectively unifying under the FOTA umbrella. What started out as Max Mosley saying he is implementing a budget cap has escalated into eight teams saying they will not take part in the 2010 championship and instead set up their own racing series. The FIA are now saying they will be starting legal proceedings against the FOTA teams without any delay as they have breached contracts and obligations. Continue Reading

In a follow up to my previous post about the FIA and FOTA failing to reach an agreement over the proposed 2010 regulations that will see a voluntary £40m budget cap introduced, I thought I would take a moment to try and decipher Ferrari’s angle on this affair. Without doubt Ferrari are to Formula One what Manchester United are to the Premier League – Ferrari are a big organisation that command a huge following and generate a lot of money and put a lot of bums on seats. But there is more to them than you think… Continue Reading

Scuderia Ferrari met this morning at their Maranello headquarters to discuss the team’s future involvement in Formula One. The meeting came about after the FIA introduced a voluntary £40m budget cap in order to reduce costs and bring the level of entry down in the sport. However, like Toyota and Red Bull, Ferrari are not happy with the two-tier formula this would create have have finally stated that if the proposal remains unchanged they will not enter the 2010 championship. Continue Reading

The intended introduction of a voluntary £40m budget cap has caused a lot of teams to think long and hard about the future of Formula One and their involvement in it. Since the FIA announced the idea, the plan has undergone some tweaking, the original cap being set at £30m and including everything bar the kitchen sink (erm, motorhome). Now set at £40m, and not including many other costly items, it was thought that the teams would agree to the idea. Alas not, and FOTA are still asking for further discussion on the matter. Continue Reading

Firstly, I must apologise for the lack of updates; I’ve come down with the only thing that is worse than Swine Flu – Man Flu. Oh okay, it’s just a cold, but I’m allowed to exaggerate! But in order to start feeling better, I need to convince myself I am feeling better, so on with the show. There hasn’t been much news over the weekend, a bank holiday in the UK, but today BMW announced that neither of their drivers would be using KERS in Barcelona this weekend. Continue Reading

BMW have endured a miserable Bahrain Grand Prix, qualifying in thirteenth and fourteenth and spending the vast majority of the race running around at the back. It is the second race in succession that the Swiss-German squad have failed to score any points, and with the shift in domination leaning towards Brawn, Red Bull and Toyota, BMW cannot afford to lose too much ground to the front-runners. Updates for the F1.09 are apparently arriving in time for the Spanish race in a fortnight, but it could already be too late. Continue Reading

Just as I did following the Malaysian Grand Prix two weeks ago, I once again feel compelled to discuss the hopeless start to Ferrari’s 2009 championship campaign. As reigning constructors champions, with one of the largest budgets in the sport and with the skill and experience within the squad, one has to seriously wonder what on earth is going on at Maranello. Tactical errors were avoided during Kimi Raikkonen’s and Felipe Massa’s races today, but the severe under-performance from the F60 is very worrying. Continue Reading

Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems seem to be getting a bad reputation in China as more teams join Ferrari in removing the device from their cars. Gestione Sportiva said prior to the Chinese Grand Prix weekend that they were taking the part off the troubled F60 for reliability reasons, the KERS having caused both Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa problems. And now, only three drivers will have the new technology for the rest of the weekend as more more it from their 2009 challengers. Continue Reading

The KERS device used by Ferrari has seen its fair share of problems since before the season commenced, and following a spate of issues in Malaysia two weeks ago, Gestione Sportiva took the decision to remove KERS from the F60s for this weekend’s race in China. It was hoped that by removing the new technology the cars would become more reliable and with the saved weight, performance would be improved by allowing more ballast to be placed in the car at the driver’s wishes. Continue Reading