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Welcome to F1Minute - Williams introduce the FW34 as testing begins in Jerez.

Williams have launched their new car for the 2012 season, revealing the FW34 at Jerez before hitting the track for the first day of testing. The car is the first to feature a Renault engine since 1997, with the championship-winning partnership back on for the coming season.

With the regulation changes, Williams have pointed out the new car “carries fewer than 5% of the parts from last year’s FW33.” It features the tweaked exhausts and step in the nose and Frank Williams hails it as a fresh start. He said: “We have a new car, new driver line up, new engine and new senior personnel. The team has had a good winter at the factory and we feel ready and strong for the fight.”

The drivers were on hand to reveal the car, and Pastor Maldonado thinks he’s ready to lend a helping hand, saying: “It will be very important that we develop the car from the start of the season to the end. Now that I have a year’s experience, I can help in that area much more now.”

Meanwhile, Bruno Senna was simply looking forward to his first ever pre-season test since he joined F1 two years ago.

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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This is F1Minute - Defending champions Red Bull launch the RB8.

Red Bull launched their 2012 car today at the Jerez circuit in Spain. The new car features both a bump in the bridge of the nose, and some redesigned exhausts - which were of particular consideration for chief designer Adrian Newey.

Speaking of the new car, he said: “It’s a difficult task, we have lost the exhaust technology with the restriction exhaust outlet position that we were able to develop and perhaps be ahead of the pack on in the last couple of years, that led to a big re think over the winter. Whether that will affect us more than other people is difficult to know of course.”

The team, naturally, are aiming to defend both championships but team principal Christian Horner added they weren’t expecting it to be easy: “We’re always looking to improve, we’re always looking, in all areas, to try and do better. We can’t control what our opponents do, we’re up against some formidable opponents, but we can only really focus on ourselves and only when we get to Melbourne will we truly know where we sit against our rivals.”

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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Welcome to F1Minute - Toro Rosso reveal 2012 car ahead of Jerez test.

Toro Rosso launched the STR7 at Jerez today, with drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Éric Vergne rolling the car out to the waiting media. The team have addressed all the design changes we’ve seen from other cars so far, including stepped wings and tweaked exhausts.

Technical Director Giorgio Ascanelli also talked of some of the less obvious changes, saying: “We have tried to improve the behaviour of our DRS and we have a new generation of wings aimed at this, hopefully in time for the debut of the car. We have also worked on the braking system, because we wanted to improve its efficiency, both front and rear. On paper it seems to be very strong and we will see what our new drivers will have to say about it.”

Team boss Franz Tost spoke of how secure the team feel now, with the STR7 the third car designed in house, the workforce increased to 300 people, and some much-needed funding from the sponsors. He says they’re aiming for sixth or seventh in the championship in 2012.

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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You’re listening to F1Minute - Sauber unveil the C31 at Jerez.

Monday’s busy day of launches began with Sauber, who took the covers off the C31 at Jerez. The car has the stepped nose, and also includes new suspension, with the team opting for pull-rod at the rear. Drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Pérez were on hand to roll the new car out, with Kamui taking it out for a quick installation lap before testing gets underway tomorrow.

Team boss Peter Sauber spoke of his goals for the new year, saying: “We’re aiming to start the new season as strongly as we did in 2011, but then also to maintain this level of performance throughout the year. Our goal is to finish regularly in the points so as to put ourselves in a significantly better position in the World Championship.”

Meanwhile, Chief Designer Matt Morris talked of how the car is a mixture of old and new: “The C31 is revolutionary where we had fresh ideas, particularly at the rear of the car, and it is an evolution where we knew we could carry over certain approaches.”

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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This is F1Minute - Lotus E20 launched online.

The Lotus F1 Team revealed their new car for the coming season, posting video and information about the E20 on their website. The car features the expected black, gold and red colour scheme, and has the stepped nose that is common so far this year. The biggest change from the Renault of last year is the exhausts, which are no longer facing forwards.

Team Principal of Lotus, Eric Boullier has issued his expectations for the 2012 season, with a couple of grand ambitions. He says: “We know that we have a strong commitment from our shareholders, that we want to be a top team and seen as a top team. This will be the year of our final adjustment to be ready and fully operational from 2013. For 2012 we expect to be in a position to fight for fourth place for the championship.”

Meanwhile, a lot of the attention fell on Kimi Räikkönen’s shoulders, who is also expecting good things, saying: “In my last year at Ferrari we weren’t always at the front but I’m a good racer and I want to get to the front. Lotus started well last year and we hope that the new car will be strong.”

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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This is F1Minute - Sauber confirm departure of technical lead James Key.

The Sauber team have announced that technical director James Key is to leave the squad, heading for another job in the UK. Based in Hinwil, Switzerland up until this point, Key has handed over development of the 2012 car to the remaining technical team, saying: “I’ve enjoyed the past two years working at Sauber. It’s been a very instense and interesting time, in which we had to manage the transition from a much larger team to a smaller one, and everybody handled that very well.”

Key hasn’t announced where his new job is, but it’s unfortunate timing for Sauber, as they head into a new season. Peter Sauber said: “A qualified team shares the overall technical responsibility. This structure has proved to work well at other racing outfits. Over a period of almost two years, James has accomplished a lot for our team. We would like to thank him for his efforts, and wish him all the best for his future.”

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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Welcome to F1Minute - HRT complete driver lineup with Narain Karthikeyan.

The 2012 grid is complete as HRT have finally announced their full driver lineup, with Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan rejoining the outfit alongside Pedro de la Rosa. Karthikeyan was an HRT driver for the start of the 2011 season, but found himself replaced by the incoming Daniel Ricciardo until, of course, the Indian Grand Prix.

Now he has the chance to start another season with the hopes of keeping his seat for the entire duration. Talking of the deal, he says: “I have been training hard since the end of 2011, ensuring I was ready for the rigours of F1 if an opportunity arose. I am delighted to have signed with the HRT F1 team. With the new management, Pedro, and the team, there is definite potential for progress.”

New team principal at HRT, Luiz Perez-Sala is keen to get started, saying: “I’m sure the fact that he will continue to work and drive on a regular basis will help him take a step forward this season. And if he advances, so does the team.”

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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You’re listening to F1Minute - Force India roll out the VJM05 at Silverstone.

The Force India drivers, Paul di Resta and Nico Hülkenberg, plus reserve driver Jules Bianchi, were on hand at Silverstone today to reveal the 2012 car - the VJM05. Featuring a similar bump in the bridge of the nose as the Ferrari and Caterham, the Force India also has new sidepods to fit with the exhaust regulations.

Technical boss at the team, Andrew Green, is confident that the new rules will help improve the competition, saying: “My feeling is it should close the field up... I think there are teams out there that extracted way more than we did and hopefully that will hurt them more than it’s going to hurt us.”

He also added that the team have taken a big philosophy change when it comes to aerodynamics but it’s looking positive, saying: “It’s a big departure from where we have been before and the tunnel numbers are really, really encouraging, so we’re quite looking forward to getting on the track and seeing if it does produce what it should do.”

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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Welcome to F1Minute - Ferrari reveal their 2012 car after delayed launch.

Ferrari have launched their car for the new season, the F2012, after cancelling the launch yesterday due to bad weather. The car had been due to circle the track at Maranello but some serious snow put pay to that plan. Instead, Ferrari revealed the new design today, with pictures proving the car features that stepped nose design.

The team expect the new challenger to be competitive from the start, with team principal Stefano Domenicali confident they will be winning from the moment the season begins.

The man behind the design, Nikolas Tombazis, has added that he doesn’t see the car in a bad light as he’s used to it now, and says: “Ultimately, as far as I’m concerned, an ugly car is one that doesn’t win and a beautiful car is one that does win. So, for now, I want to believe it is a beautiful car.”

Aside from the nose, the car also has front pull-rod suspension, something that hasn’t been seen in F1 since 2001.

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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This is F1Minute - The new MP4-27 launches at the McLaren Technology Centre.

McLaren became the second team to reveal their 2012 car at the McLaren Technology Centre this morning, with the chassis thankfully displaying no unsightly lumps and bumps.

Unlike Caterham before them, McLaren’s car looks unchanged from the outside, but as the press release clarifies, there has been significant work done: “The most evident visual differences include more tightly waisted rear bodywork, and a revised cooling system. Last year’s U-shaped sidepods have also been re-designed - a legacy of the FIA’s new exhaust regulations.”

Speaking about the new car, Jenson Button said: “Everyone will be watching us very closely to see what progress we make during the pre-season tests, but I genuinely believe we have every reason to feel optimistic about the progress we’ve made.”

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton is keen to get started again, adding: “What’s great about Formula 1 is that you start each season with the baseline completely reset - everybody starts again from zero - and that always makes me so hungry.”

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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This is F1Minute - Adrian Sutil handed suspended sentence for bodily harm.

Former Force India driver Adrian Sutil has been handed an 18-month suspended sentence today, after a two-day court case found him guilty of bodily harm against Eric Lux. The incident with Lux, co-owner of the Lotus team, happened in April 2011 during a night out at a club in Shanghai following the Chinese Grand Prix. Sutil’s sentence includes a fine of 200,000 Euros which will be donated to charity.

During proceedings yesterday, Sutil admitted he didn’t want the matter to end up in court, saying: “I did everything to try to settle this row. I am really sorry, extremely sorry. I never wanted for this to happen.” Lux was apparently not happy with the belated apology, but the pair have now shaken hands.

With no race seat and the court case over, Reuters reports Sutil intends to move on. The German said: “Maybe I will take some time out now. Maybe I will do something completely different, think about things in peace.”

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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Welcome to F1Minute - Caterham unveil their 2012 car, the CT01.

Under their new guise as Caterham, Tony Fernandes and his team have revealed their 2012 challenger - officially launching it via F1 Racing magazine. Pictures of the car emerged yesterday, with the new nose design causing quite a stir. With the regulations changing so that the nose has to be of a lower height, there is a significant step at the bridge which gives the car a clunky and not particularly attractive look.

However, technical boss Mike Gascoyne believes they won’t be the only team heading in that direction, saying: “As we’re the first car out it is obviously stirring up a lot of debate, but because of the 2012 regulations, I think you’ll probably be seeing this type of nose on most of the cars this year.”

Meanwhile, team boss Tony Fernandes has given the squad a goal for the upcoming season saying: “Target wise, I have been quoted as saying I want us to score a point this year and that really has to be the aim. It has to be.”

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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This is F1Minute - Pirelli reveal new tyre markings for 2012 season.

F1’s sole tyre supplier Pirelli held an event in Abu Dhabi today to unveil their new range of rubber for the upcoming season. The most visible change is to the sidewall markings which have been tweaked.

The four compounds of dry tyres remain the same colour, but with thicker lines and text to make them more distinguishable in motion. The intermediate tyres remain blue, but the full wet tyres have changed from orange to green.

In terms of performance, Pirelli claim to have made the tyres “softer, with increased grip, better performance, a longer performance peak, but an unaltered lifespan.” They want to keep at least two pitstops per race for teams, but also create potential for more variety when it comes to strategies.

Pirelli have also created the first realtime database for teams and engineers, recording performance, temperature and pressure. There’s also talk of more information eventually feeding its way through to fan’s TV screens as well.

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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Welcome to F1Minute - Kimi Räikkönen returns to cockpit in two-day Lotus test.

This year’s comeback king Kimi Räikkönen was back behind the wheel of an F1 car today for the first time since he quit the sport in 2009. Lotus are running a two day test for Kimi to help him brush up on his F1 skills, although the testing limitations have forced him into a 2010 chassis with demonstration tyres from Pirelli.

After his first day of running, Räikkönen admitted that it may take a little while to get used to everything again, saying: “The main driving, braking, turning, that doesn’t take many laps. But of course to start learning about the car and team and tyres, that will take time.”

Meanwhile, Lotus themselves will be scrabbling to prepare for the official testing next month after the FIA deemed their new adjustable ride height development illegal. The innovation had preciously been declared as acceptable, as it was not driver operated, but the FIA have apparently sent a note to teams saying they are no longer satisfied with the legality.

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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This is F1Minute - Pirelli appeal for contemporary F1 chassis.

F1’s sole tyre supplier Pirelli are looking for a 2011 chassis from one of the teams to test their new and improving rubber compounds on. Talking to Autosport, motorsport boss Paul Hembery admitted that they don’t want to give any one team an advantage but that they need a modern chassis to stay relevant.

He said: “We would like a 2011 car from somebody, but we don’t really care who it is from. We want to do our testing with precision and feel the older the car gets, the further away it is from a state of the art car.”

Up to this point, they had been using an old 2009 chassis from the now defunct Toyota team, but Hembery believes it is time to move forward and stay up to date. It’s reported that there are talks with the teams going on, but no decision as yet, and Hembery adds: “We’re not interested in assisting one particular team and we need to do our job. We have some interesting ideas for 2013, but need to do work on them.”

So, if anyone has a spare 2011 car sitting unused in their garage, do send it on care of Paul Hembery, Pirelli.

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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Welcome to F1Minute - Caterham F1 to move from Norfolk to Leafield.

The Caterham F1 team have revealed plans to move from their Hingham base in Norfolk to the Leafield Technical Centre in Oxfordshire. The Centre, in the heart of the UK’s motorsport valley, has previously been used by Arrows and Super Aguri. Now both Caterham F1 and Caterham Racing - the GP2 outfit - are heading to Leafield to bring the operations together.

Team boss Tony Fernandes spoke of the move, saying: “As both teams grew, it became clear that we needed to house the car company in the same facility as our racing operations... We began looking for a site that could be adapted to suit the needs of our racing and road car operations and Leafield quickly became the obvious choice.”

He adds that they intend to move in or around August this year, to allow for building works at the site. Fernandes also pointed out that there will still be business at the Hingham site, saying: “The factory in Hingham is where the dream began, and we will continue to develop that site into the new permanent home for Caterham Composites.”

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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This is F1Minute - Bruno Senna gets 2012 drive with Williams F1.

The Williams F1 Team announced today that Bruno Senna will partner Pastor Maldonado for the 2012 season. The Brazilian driver had limited options after filling in for Nick Heidfeld at Renault in 2011, but he will now return to the team that his uncle drove for in that fateful 1994 season.

Speaking of the deal, Senna says: “It will be very interesting to drive for a team that my uncle drove for. Quite a few of the people still here actually worked with Ayrton and I'm happy that they are now giving me the chance to prove myself here. Hopefully we can bring back some good memories and create some great new ones too.”

Both sides of the agreement are adamant that it was more than just sponsorship that got Bruno the deal, whilst it was also revealed that Adrian Sutil was seriously considered for the seat. He is left without a drive for now, as is former Williams driver Rubens Barrichello. The only seat remaining for 2012 is with HRT.

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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Welcome to F1Minute - Robert Kubica leaves hospital after injury setback.

Robert Kubica has left hospital after re-injuring his broken leg during an accident at his home in Pietrasanta. The Polish driver slipped on some ice and was taken to hospital complaining of pain in his right leg - the same one injured in the rally crash early in 2011.

Autosport reports that Kubica has been discharged from hospital today after another operation to rectify the fracture. Reports suggest that the accident will set him back about three weeks, as he has to wait that long before he can start training again.

After hearing of the incident, Lotus, who are ready and waiting to give Kubica a test when he is ready to return, issued the following statement from team boss Eric Boullier: “Robert has shown fantastic courage and determination in his rehabilitation following the accident last year, and it is sad to hear that he has suffered this setback. On behalf of everyone at Lotus Renault GP, I would like to wish Robert a quick recovery.”

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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This is F1Minute - Buemi slots into third driver role at Red Bull.

Sébastien Buemi has been confirmed as the reserve driver for Red Bull for the upcoming season, after being ousted from the Toro Rosso race seat along with Jaime Alguersuari.

The Swiss driver will also be on hand for his former team if they require a test or reserve driver, but his main duties will be with Red Bull. He’s returning to the role he started in, having been Red Bull’s reserve in 2008.

Speaking of the switch, Sébastien said: “It’s good to remain with Red Bull for another year and have this opportunity with the world championship-winning team. I would prefer to be driving at the races of course, but working on the development of the car and providing the team with feedback throughout the season is the next best thing.”

And team boss Christian Horner added his thoughts on the new appointment, saying: “He already knows the team well from his time with us in 2008 and has gained significant race experience over the past three years. He will complete important test and simulation work for us throughout the year and will be in attendance at each Grand Prix.”

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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This is F1Minute - FIA clarify 2012 sporting regulations, causing more confusion.

At the beginning of December, the FIA released the sporting and technical regulations for the 2012 season, with certain rules tweaked - particularly the practice for when a safety car comes out, plus how a driver is allowed to drive defensively. Today, updated regulations have been published with some clarifications in place.

Previously, the defensive driving rule was updated with the press release stating: “Drivers may no longer move back onto the racing line having moved off it to defend a position.” Now, it’s stated that they can come back towards the racing line, but must leave a car’s width between him and the corner.

Also clarified, the Safety Car regulations, in which lapped cars are allowed to unlap themselves before the safety car pulls in. However: “This will only apply to cars that were lapped at the time they crossed the Line at the end of the lap during which they crossed the first Safety Car line for the second time after the safety car was deployed.”

I hope that clears up any confusion.

This is an original article published by F1Minute.com

© Copyright 2007-2012 • Christine Blachford • All Rights Reserved

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