Formula 1 2013

[tweety bird]

Was sad to see Webber lose his engineer. I hope the new combo works well for him. Its a huge thing to have a good engineer that you work well with

it will be interesting to see if they work well together or not.

[tweety bird]

Sometimes F1 can get very preditcable - delayed car launches, drivers' optimism for the new season, Helmut Marko angry - so here's some headlines you won't be reading in the 2013 season...

KIMI LAMENTS LACK OF RADIO CONTACT

"Tell me what I'm supposed to be doing!" yells Finn

BERNIE TO GO ON OPRAH WINFREY

Ecclestone says if Lance can do it, so can I

LAUDA AND STEWART SAY "NO COMMENT"

Ex champs' refuse to give opinions in 2013

PIRELLI TYRES TOO PREDICTABLE SAY TEAMS

"IT'S FELIPE'S TURN"

Alonso backs Massa title bid in Australia

"MY CAR IS PERFECTLY BALANCED!"

Jenson says every change he made before qualifying made the car go quicker

MONTEZEMOLO WANTED V6 TURBOS A YEAR EARLIER

"I love tiny turbo-charged engines" Ferrari chief waxes lyrical

MARK WILL BE NEXT RED BULL CHAMP: MARKO

Helmut admits he was wrong

BRAZIL GRAND PRIX IS GROSJEAN'S FIRST DNF OF 2013

'Mr Consistency' finally retires from a race

VETTEL LAID BACK ABOUT RED BULL UNRELIABILITY

"I laugh when I hear playbacks of me yelling 'Do something!' on team radio" admits Seb

MOVING TO MERC WAS MY BEST EVER DECISION: HAMILTON

AUTOSPORT EYES NEW HEADLINE VERB FOR PREVIEWS

MALDONADO ADMITS "IT WAS ALL MY FAULT"

Williams driver asks for 27 other events to be taken into account

SERGIO TOO PATIENT FOR HIS OWN GOOD: SAYS WHITMARSH

FERRARI SIGN UP ALGUERSUARI TO CORNER SPANISH DRIVER MARKET

Alonso, Gene and de la Rosa welcome Jaime aboard

SANTANDER ASK MASSA TO CHANGE NATIONALITY

Along with Roberto Smedley-Rivera and Stefano Domenicali-Lopez

http://www.planetf1....on-t-Read-In-13

[sh@un]

MOVING TO MERC WAS MY BEST EVER DECISION: HAMILTON

well if he takes out the WDC...

[wolverine]

^^

[mad082]

well if he takes out the WDC...

i think there is about as much chance of that happening as me becoming his team mate.....

[sh@un]

might happen

if he moves to Gympie, takes up biking, and you somehow end up teamed on a cycling event

[mad082]

i look foward to getting that phone call

[89CAL]

i look foward to getting that phone call

You wouldnt mind if he was champion in this case. I know I wouldnt

[tweety bird]

Caterham will take the covers of their CT03 minutes before pre-season testing kicks off at Jerez on 5 February.

http://www.planetf1....rm-Jerez-launch

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.

2013 Formula 1 line-up so far:

Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel Mark Webber

Ferrari, Fernando Alonso Felipe Massa

McLaren, Jenson Button Sergio Perez

Lotus, Kimi Raikkonen Romain Grosjean

Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton Nico Rosberg

Sauber, Nico Hulkenberg Esteban Gutierrez

Force India, Paul di Resta seat still available

Williams, Pastor Maldonado Valtteri Bottas

Toro Rosso, Daniel Ricciardo Jean-Eric Vergne

Caterham, Charles Pic seat still available

Marussia, Max Chilton seat still available

http://www.autosport...t.php/id/105209

[tweety bird]

Marussia hinted that 'commercial' factors had forced a change a plans after the announcement that Timo Glock is leaving the team.

A statement issued by the Banbury-based outfit on Monday morning suggested that the tough economic conditions that Formula 1 teams were experiencing at the moment meant it could no longer afford the luxury of paying an experienced driver.

Team principal John Booth said: "Timo has made a very significant contribution to our team over the past three seasons, helping us to develop our package to the point where, for a large proportion of the 2012 season, we were holding 10th place in the constructors' championship.

"Timo is a fantastic driver and he has been a very popular member of the team.

"Our team was founded on the principle of benefiting from proven experience whilst also providing opportunities for young emerging talent to progress to the pinnacle of motorsport. Thus far, this philosophy has also been reflected in our commercial model.

"The ongoing challenges facing the industry mean that we have had to take steps to secure our long-term future. Tough economic conditions prevail and the commercial landscape is difficult for everyone, Formula 1 teams included.

"We would like to thank Timo for working with us to reach this decision, especially as he had a valid contract, and also for the contribution he has made to our team.

"We wish him all the best for his future and I would like to congratulate the next team acquiring the services of such a competitive, professional and experienced racer.

"We will provide an update regarding the completion of our driver line-up in due course."

Speaking about the situation, Glock said: "I have had three excellent years with the Marussia F1 team, during which I had the chance to actively participate in building and developing the team in its endeavours to succeed within the Formula 1 world championship.

"I would like to wish the team good luck in navigating this next period and thank everyone for the great times we shared and the support I have received.

"Although it is not the path I expected to be taking, I am in fact very excited about what the future holds in terms of my own career and I hope to comment on that very soon."

http://www.autosport...t.php/id/105210

[sh@un]

Caterham, Charles Pic seat still available

Marussia, Max Chilton seat still available

http://www.autosport...t.php/id/105209

hmmm- there's still a chance for me to become a Marussia pay-driver and get lapped 4 or 5 times per race

but they'll have to take whatever's left out of this weeks pay (dollars, maybe)

[wolverine]

I don't remember the outcome but did the throttle stick on the test car and how is De Villota travelling now?

[chef_stagea]

So who piped me on the last 2 rounds last yr? I was sau? how are some of the lther guys like hundreds of points ahead of us!

[tweety bird]

Sebastien Buemi will once again act as Red Bull's test and reserve driver during the 2013 season.

http://www.planetf1....s-Red-Bull-role

Robert Kubica is not yet physically ready to test a Formula 1 car, according to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, whose company is giving Kubica a DTM run this week.

Kubica has already returned to competitive action in rallying and is currently expected to mount a European Rally Championship title bid this year with Ford or Citroen machinery.

But he also remains interested in circuit racing and will test a Mercedes DTM car at Valencia on Friday, as revealed by AUTOSPORT last week.

Asked if this could be a precursor to an outing in a Mercedes F1 car, Wolff said the Pole's rehabilitation from his devastating rally injuries needed more time.

"If we see that he is doing well in a proper racing car with downforce, I think there are still some physical constraints to driving a monocoque chassis, with his elbow and with his arm," Wolff insisted.

"I think we would all love to see Robert doing well in a Formula 1 car in the future, but it is definitely too early at this stage."

Wolff emphasised that the DTM test was an exploratory outing.

"We all obviously like Robert. He's very special. I think what we want to do at Mercedes-Benz is give him a chance of doing a proper test in a proper racing car, seeing how he goes and how he feels," he said.

"He's not 100 per cent fit yet. It's the first time he's in a car with downforce and I think we have to take it from there."

http://www.autosport...t.php/id/105234

[tweety bird]

Mercedes want to replace team principal Ross Brawn as part of a restructure aimed at improving the team's performance.

The proposal is to replace Brawn, who masterminded Michael Schumacher's seven world titles at Benetton and Ferrari, with two new appointments.

New executive director Toto Wolff is the first of these and he has agreed a deal to bring in McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe.

Their intended job titles are not clear but Wolff, 41, will likely be team boss and figurehead with Lowe, 50, running the sporting and technical aspects.

BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan, who has broken two major Mercedes stories in the last three years - with their signings of Schumacher in 2010 and Lewis Hamilton for 2013 - has independently also discovered the team's plans.

"Paddy Lowe is going to Mercedes and it would appear that Brawn and Fry are on their way out, and Lowe will be there in a very senior capacity," Jordan said.

"Lowe won't be technical director; he'll be more senior than that. But he won't be called team principal either," Jordan said, "because that will be Wolff. But Lowe will effectively be running the team on a day-to-day basis."

It remains to be seen how Mercedes will resolve a potentially sticky situation.

The plans of Wolff and Mercedes F1 non-executive director Niki Lauda are to keep Brawn in place until Lowe's 'gardening leave' from McLaren is completed. This period is usually six months off work for senior personnel moving employers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk...rmula1/21143847

[tweety bird]

I don't remember the outcome but did the throttle stick on the test car and how is De Villota travelling now?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_de_Villota

[sh@un]

Didn't Lewis cite working with Rossco as one of the reasons He was keen on the Merc move?

[tweety bird]

i haven't read that anywhere..

[Roy]

Brawn isnt going anywhere. Perhaps a bit more support for him but he isnt going anywhere. Another case of F1 media making things up as they are bored in the off season

[sh@un]

i haven't read that anywhere..

it was in one of those F1 mags niggah