[F1] Nieuwtjes topic #73 As-vast in China

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Op zondag 2 mei 2010 09:11 schreef Schunckelstar het volgende:

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1 mei is zijn sterfdag

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Op zondag 2 mei 2010 13:03 schreef Atreidez het volgende:
F2 op Marrakech nu op Eurosport, als je nog wat racen wilt zien t weekend

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Op zondag 2 mei 2010 13:06 schreef Schunckelstar het volgende:
dikke crash nu

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Only one upgraded Virgin for Spain

Virgin Racing will only have one of its upgraded cars ready for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, with plans to lengthen the fuel tanks on both cars wrecked by the recent volcano-caused travel chaos.

With the team having realised that the fuel tank on its VR-01 was not large enough to get it comfortably through all races, designer Wirth Research had embarked on an revamp plan to lengthen the cars for the Barcelona event.

However, with the team having faced delays in getting its race cars back from the Chinese Grand Prix because of the volcanic ash cloud, the team has been unable to modify both its chassis in time.

With only one car ready, the team has elected to give the modified version to its more experienced driver Timo Glock.

Technical director Nick Wirth said: "Having worked tirelessly to prepare the new car for the race, including its successful rehomologation, it is a bitter pill to swallow that we are unable to complete the second car due to the 'volcanic delays'.

"Running two fundamentally different specification cars at Barcelona will certainly challenge the team, but as the reliability fixes apply to both specifications, we'll keep our heads down and focus solely on getting both cars to the chequered flag."

Glock admitted that the challenge the team faced in operating cars to different specifications would be a tough one this weekend.

"The last few weeks haven't exactly gone according to plan thanks to the Icelandic volcano, but what this has enabled us to do is draw a line under the disappointment of Shanghai and focus on better things ahead," he said. "We have taken a good hard look at the first four races and now have a very clear picture of where things have gone well for us and where we need to improve.

"It's a shame that we couldn't bring two new modified chassis to Spain, because we would have had two sets of data to work from, but we will work with what we have and hope that it brings the kind of results we are hoping for."

Di Grassi added: "Though I'm disappointed that I will be driving the previous specification chassis, as we didn't have enough time to modify two cars, I hope with all the work we've been doing to make our race weekends go more smoothly we can have a positive European debut."

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Op zondag 2 mei 2010 14:45 schreef Waffle het volgende:
Ik dacht dat superleague formula op rtl 7 kwam. Alleen is er nu al 3 kwartier cobra 11 voor..

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Op dinsdag 4 mei 2010 17:11 schreef vosss het volgende:
Mooie wagen. Hij ziet er erg bekend uit en nou weet ik niet helemaal omdat je duidelijk ziet wie zn voorganger was of omdat ie ergens anders op lijkt.

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Christian Klien has signed as test and reserve driver for HRT, and will make his debut in the car in place of one of the regular drivers at Barcelona in Friday morning practice.

The 27-year-old last raced for Red Bull in 2006, and had since had spells as test driver for Honda and BMW Sauber. He has also tested for Spyker. HRT has already announced Sakon Yamamoto as an extra driver.

Team boss Colin Kolles said in a statement: “We are very proud to welcome Christian Klien to HRT F1 Team. He is a young and fast driver. I have been keeping a close eye on him since his first races in the ADAC series as I believe he has great potential. We look forward to having Christian alongside us in Barcelona later this week so he can spend some valuable familiarisation time with the team. As a young team we are looking for drivers who can grow with us.”

Meanwhile Klien, who also has Peugeot sportscar commitments, added: “I am thrilled to be joining HRT F1 Team. This role offers me the opportunity to rejoin the Formula One environment and drive again, which is naturally where my longer-term ambitions lie. I was in Bahrain and China and had a close look at the car already.

“I have also met the team members and I know quite a number of them from my previous race seasons. I would like to thank Dr. Colin Kolles for the interest he has shown in me at this stage. It is exciting and very motivating to be part of a new team structure in such a challenging sport. At only 27 years with six seasons of F1 under my belt I am sure I can bring a lot of experience and enthusiasm into HRT F1 Team.”

It’s an interesting opportunity for Klien, but it remains to be seen how much the regular drivers suffer when they have to give up their places, albeit only for the opening session of the weekend.

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FIA approves Ferrari engine changes

By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, May 4th 2010, 22:13 GMT

Ferrari has been given the green light by the FIA to make modifications to its engine on reliability grounds following the problems it has had in the early stages of the season.

Both Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa have suffered engine issues in the opening flyaway events - with Alonso suffering two blow-ups that has left him in particular on the back foot in terms of his supply for the season.

With customer team Sauber having also encountered its share of engine issues, Ferrari conducted a detailed investigation into the matter after the Chinese Grand Prix.

And after finding out that there was an intrinsic problem with the design of the engine, Ferrari applied to the governing body to be able to make some improvements to the power units on reliability grounds.

The Maranello outfit was duly given approval and the modifications will be ready in time to be fitted to the F10 cars at this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

Although Ferrari has not outlined exactly what the issues were with the engine, they are believed to relate to air consumption, which could have been caused by leaking pneumatic valves.

A statement by Ferrari said: "A lot of work was carried out on the test bench, completing several long runs and this work produced some solutions which it is felt will solve the reliability problems experienced in Bahrain and Malaysia. The team therefore requested and received authorisation from the FIA to make some changes within the framework of the current engine regulations and these modifications will be fitted to the engines to be used in Spain.

"While since China, everyone in the Gestione Sportiva has been working hard as always on their various areas of activity, it is fair to say that over the past weeks, the staff in the engine department really produced a major effort, working night and day to analyse, evaluate and solve issues that have affected engine performance in past races."

The Spanish GP will also see Ferrari fit the full version of the F-Duct to both drivers' cars for the first time in practice, although a decision about whether the concept will be used for qualifying and the race will only be made after the results of the Friday sessions are in.

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Michael Schumacher omzeilt testverbod en rijdt in het geheim met nieuwe Mercedes
Uitgegeven door Jordy Stuivenberg 5 mei 2010 10:42 - Print artikel

Komend weekend staat Michael Schumacher aan de start van de F1 Grand Prix van Barcelona. Met een gloednieuwe bolide van Mercedes moeten de prestaties van de afgelopen vier races vergeten worden. Schumacher heeft ondertussen al kennis gemaakt met de nieuwe Mercedes GP-wagen tijdens een geheime test.

Voor ‘promotionele activiteiten’ reisde de 41-jarige Schumacher met Mercedes GP af naar Groot-Brittannië, zo schrijft Bild vandaag. Op het circuit van Rockingham, dat volledig werd afgesloten werd van de buitenwereld, reed Schumacher maarliefst 100 kilometer met de vernieuwde Mercedes.

De kennismaking van Schumacher met de nieuwe Mercedes valt niet onder het testverbod, omdat Mercedes aangaf dat er voor promotionele doeleinden werd gereden in Rockingham. In het verleden maakte Schumacher bij Ferrari ook gebruik van deze maas in de wet.

[url=http://www.racexpress.nl/index.php?nav=Artikel&nid=23999

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Op woensdag 5 mei 2010 17:57 schreef Stiggie het volgende:

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Ferrari removes barcode design

By Jonathan Noble Thursday, May 6th 2010, 15:54 GMT

Ferrari has removed the controversial 'barcode' design from the side of its car from this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix following controversy about it being subliminal advertising for title sponsor Marlboro.

A report in The Times newspaper last week revealed that leading doctors were putting pressure on governments to investigate whether the red, white and black bar code that had featured on the Ferrari cars for several years was a clever way of promoting its title sponsor's cigarette brand.

Ferrari reacted angrily to the claims - suggesting that the barcode design was not copyrighted by Marlboro owner Phillip Morris and that it had chosen the concept alone. The bar code also featured on the Ducati MotoGP bikes too, though.

Earlier this week, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo labelled any claim that the design was promoting Marlboro as 'nonsense.'

"Frankly, I find this argument completely pointless and it is verging on the ridiculous to claim that the colour red or a graphic design which shows a bar code could induce people to smoke," di Montezemolo said on Ferrari's website.

"At a time when, on the other side of the Atlantic they are fighting to provide a more equal health service, in the old continent of Europe, so called experts are racking their brains to come up with theories that have no scientific basis: I think there are more important matters to think about than a bar code.

"Therefore, it's best not to waste any more time replying to this sort of nonsense or to those who are instrumental in wanting to stoke up the story."

Despite that stance, Ferrari opted on Thursday to remove the barcode design from its cars immediately.

A statement issued by the team said: "Together with Philip Morris International we have decided to modify the livery of our cars starting with the Barcelona Grand Prix.

"This decision was taken in order to remove all speculation concerning the so-called 'barcode' which was never intended to be a reference to a tobacco brand.

"By this we want to put an end to this ridiculous story and concentrate on more important things than on such groundless allegations."