Latest F1 news in brief
- Force India reveals new livery in Mumbai
- Raikkonen thrilled with Ferrari's winter form
- 'I'm not racist', Alonso fan protests
- F1 racer Tony Rolt dies
- Webber plays down Barca test triumph
- Another bidder emerges for struggling Aguri
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| New Force India livery |
Force India reveals new livery in Mumbai
(GMM) The formula one team Force India on Thursday presented its livery for the 2008 season in Mumbai.
The gold, silver, red and white design, adorning a version of the team's Dutch predecessor Spyker that has been renamed VJM01 for this season, was unveiled in a glamorous affair in front of the famous 26-metre Gateway of India monument on the seafront.
Driver lineup Giancarlo Fisichella, Adrian Sutil and tester Vitantonio Liuzzi were wearing new white and red overalls for the launch.
Although not officially a part of the team this year, Indian GP2 driver Karun Chandhok – as well as many other local luminaries – was also present.
"I can assure you that when we (India) host a formula one grand prix in 2010, Force India will definitely finish on the podium," flamboyant team owner Vijay Mallya told India Express.
Raikkonen thrilled with Ferrari's winter form
(GMM) Reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen has delivered a cheerful assessment of Ferrari's new car for the 2008 season.
After an impressive display for the Italian team so far in winter testing, including a frightening turn of speed this week in Bahrain, the 28-year-old Finn heralded the F2008 as a "really quick" racing car.
"We are very consistent," Raikkonen told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“To drive a car like this is fantastic. It is already very fast, both in race and qualifying trim. And in both situations it is very light on tires," Raikkonen told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We haven’t had any technical problems, the car worked perfectly as it did on the two previous days. I can't point to any problems – we are very happy.
“Here in Bahrain I have been going faster and faster. I think I can easily go faster again."
Raikkonen said the F2008 is "perfect" in the context of the new ban on traction control, and predicts that he will improve on his unofficial circuit record in the forthcoming three more days of Bahrain testing.
Ferrari may introduce a new aerodynamic package later this month but team manager Luca Baldisserri has admitted that it might not be needed giving the current pace of the car.
“I need a bit of time to analyze the data but given the results here, it's not certain that when we test our new package at Barcelona it will bring better performance anyway," he added.
'I'm not racist', Alonso fan protests
(GMM) A Spanish fan at the centre of the racism storm involving Lewis Hamilton insists he did not intend to offend the McLaren driver or trigger an international furor.
Toni Calderon, one of the Fernando Alonso supporters who donned black boot polish on their faces and wigs in the Barcelona grandstands last weekend, has told a Spanish newspaper that the stunt was meant to be funny.
"We dressed up to celebrate Carnival," the daily Publico quotes him as saying.
"We wanted to give a touch of humor to Montmelo and have a laugh at the father of Hamilton, who is seen at all the races. We didn't have the slightest intention to laugh at the British driver for the color of his skin or to offend anyone," Calderon added.
"The people on security at the gate started laughing and let us pass. In fact half the people who saw us thought we were fans of Hamilton. Lots of people took pictures of us."
Calderon, whose friends also wore the black costumes with the words 'Hamilton's family" (sic) crawled on their t-shirts, says he is "not a racist".
"It has made me ashamed to appear like that in the British press," he explained.
"Also, as I am in the middle of the photo, I seem like the protagonist. This has angered me.
"If I had known that this was going to happen, I would never have dressed up. We haven't done anything wrong. I would not have any problem to explain it personally to McLaren and Lewis, who is a star."
F1 racer Tony Rolt dies
(GMM) The last surviving racer of formula one's first modern world championship grand prix at Silverstone in 1950 has died.
Briton Tony Rolt, who was 89, died on Wednesday, the British Racing Drivers' Club – of which he was a member – confirmed.
Rolt won Le Mans in a Jaguar in 1953, and also helped design Sir Stirling Moss' grand prix winning car of 1961.
He contested three British grands prix in total until 1955, retiring on all occasions.
Webber plays down Barca test triumph
(GMM) Australia's Mark Webber has played down the fact that he ended the Barcelona test last Sunday with the quickest lap of the day.
At the wheel of Red Bull's new car, the Renault-powered RB4, the 31-year-old went faster even than chasing McLaren, BMW and Renault rivals.
In an official team statement, no mention was made of qualifying or low-fuel simulations, and chief test engineer Ian Morgan said Webber's fastest lap had been "encouraging".
To the news agency AAP, however, Webber said "not much" should be read into the fact that he topped the time sheets.
He said teams run to different test programs and that he was surprised with the time, which was less than a tenth quicker than the McLarens driven by Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton.
Webber disagreed when he was asked if the electronic aids ban would shake up the pecking order in F1.
"It will be the usual suspects," he predicted, also playing down suggestions that qualifying specialists like himself have adapted better to life without traction control.
"I think most of the guys at this level are reasonably handy so it would be very foolish to say that one's got an advantage because of the new regulations," Webber said.
"Some people have a few opinions out there that it's going to benefit some drivers more than others.
"We'll see once we get into the race weekend as such to see how people adapt to different venues," he added.
Another bidder emerges for struggling Aguri
(GMM) Another potential bidder for the embattled Japanese team Super Aguri may have emerged, according to reports.
The website of the American broadcaster Speed TV cites rumors suggesting that a Russian consortium has entered the frame as the team run by Aguri Suzuki struggles to prepare for the 2008 season.
An Indian consortium led by the telco Spice Group last week confirmed that it is interested in buying into Honda-powered Super Aguri, which ran into financial trouble last year.