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yeah it is, all the updates should give us a sign of wholl be challenging for title towards end of season.
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One is the architect of modern Formula One racing, the other a paddock stalwart of over 15 years, who has recently led Mercedes’ return to works-team status for the first time since 1955. So who better to discuss manufacturer teams, Michael Schumacher’s comeback and the sport’s highs and lows than Formula One Group CEO Bernie Ecclestone and Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug? In a candid interview held at the Malaysian Grand Prix both were keen to chat…
Q: Bernie, why should a car manufacturer like Mercedes be involved in Formula One racing? Bernie Ecclestone: Because it is by far the best platform for a manufacturer. Q: But… BE: Well, yes, Honda, BMW and Toyota withdrew. But why do you think they walked away? Q: Because they lacked success? BE: Absolutely! Norbert Haug: Those who have been successful and have won titles are still part of Formula One - Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes. I can only say that our investment in the purchase of Brawn GP paid off. No other team had more exposure over the winter than the rebirth of the real Silver Arrows. Q: Bernie, if you were the chairman of Mercedes, would you have purchased a Formula One team in times like these? BE: To be honest it was always my opinion that Mercedes should have taken over McLaren years ago. So what they’ve done now is absolutely sound. Now it’s theirs to call the shots. NH: The beauty of this purchase also has a very positive financial aspect - because Brawn GP won the championship last season we get substantial funding from the rights holder, and we have partnered with great sponsors. These two aspects are funding the team and not Mercedes. We contribute with the engine and a small group of people in key areas - and that’s it. It’s a very efficient system, and I am sure Bernie would agree when I say that how we’ve done it could be a role model for when other manufacturers join Formula One. Of course our board members are racers, but they only gave the nod because we can promote our products on the most important motorsport platform in the world - and demonstrate our willingness to compete, which has been part of the Mercedes spirit since the beginning - the first Mercedes car was a racing car. BE: In the future Mercedes should pay for their participation in the F1 world championship, considering how much publicity they’ve received lately. (Laughs). But let’s be serious, manufacturers are all there for different reasons. Mercedes are racers. They’ve been racing for a 100 years. They’ve always been there. The other people come and go. BMW came with us when I had Brabham - we won the world championship with them - and they left. Toyota have been more or less rally people in the past and turned to Formula One. I probably shouldn’t say what I’m going to say, but I think the team was mismanaged, and my guess is that if they had been managed properly they would still be with us. Q: How valuable is the combination of Michael Schumacher and Mercedes? BE: Michael’s Mercedes comeback has a touch of magic. I don’t know any other combination that on the one hand is so fascinating and on the other has a huge potential to be extremely successful. Maybe the only other that springs to my mind is Fernando Alonso and Ferrari. Michael is an asset to every team - and Mercedes can save a lot of money because they can get rid of the team manager, as Michael has already been the team manager at Benetton and Ferrari! (Laughs) Q: How would you judge Schumacher’s first four races? BE: I am sure Norbert would be the first to admit that Michael’s results are not purely down to Michael, but they have to do with the fact that Mercedes is not performing on the same level as Red Bull and McLaren. NH: At the moment we don’t have the best performing car on the grid. We have known that fact since the first day of testing, but we are in good shape for the future. Other teams are still working with double the headcount that we do. This should not sound like an excuse but rather an explanation. We will definitely be fighting for victories soon. Q: What makes you so convinced? NH: Ross Brawn knows how to execute, so does Michael, and Nico (Rosberg) is enormously talented and already hugely experienced for someone so young. I have been in Formula One since 1994 and have had my own experiences. Our engines failed at times in the past, which caused McLaren-Mercedes to lose three championships. But today the Mercedes engine is one of the most reliable and strongest on the grid. I know that we will succeed with Mercedes GP. BE: Sometimes it is necessary to lose in order to learn how to win! Q: If you say that you must have some experience of losing… probably with Brabham? BE: What do you mean? We won a couple of championships. Q: Two to be exact. BE: And what has Mercedes won? NH: Three - in the new age. Fifty percent more! (Laughs) Q: Schumacher is already being criticised… BE: Anybody who criticizes Michael is wrong. He deserves better. NH: No, for sure he doesn’t deserve that. He stimulates everybody, including Nico. To work together with him and to profit from his experience can only be positive. Who can match Michael Schumacher’s benchmark? He is truly one of the best. Q: At the moment Nico is outperforming Michael. Why? BE: Nico is very talented and Michael was on holiday for three years. Ask me the same question after another two races. At the moment I would say, don’t underestimate Michael. Give him time to adapt to the new car and the new tyres. At the moment he’s something of a newbie who has to get accustomed to the trade again. NH: We all know that Michael would be his first and foremost critic if he realized that this job is not for him anymore. But that’s not the case. Within the team, Michael is extremely constructive. I think at the moment he’s realizing how much he has missed all that. If you are a rock ’n’ roll star you want to be on stage and not contemplating life from your sofa. This enthusiasm is firing up the whole team. BE: Michael would have never returned had he not been convinced that he can do the job. He is not a tourist in the paddock - he’s here to win. And he will win again. Q: Is Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel still your title favourite? BE: Yes. I’ll stick with what I’ve said. NH: Bernie will change his opinion over the course of the season. (Laughs) But let’s be serious, I am also impressed by Sebastian. He is a fabulous lad. How he has developed into a sharp, highly concentrated and yet very relaxed young man is intriguing, and Red Bull is doing a great job. That they’ve cultivated such a talent - hats off! Of course we also would have loved Sebastian to join us, but for the moment it is Red Bull deservedly earning the laurels. |
Im shocked i completely agree with Bernie for once, everythign he said about schumacher is true.....i couldnt say it better myself.
ANY DOUBTERS PLEASE READ ABOVE. |
yeah its rare i agree with something that little gremlin of a man says but for once i do haters/doubters def need to read that
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Lotus Upgrades All the teams will have upgrades for Barcelona, but we’re hoping that ours is even more significant than our rivals because we received our entry so late and had to freeze the initial specification of the car very early in the design process. We do expect it to be reasonably significant - we have an aero package with revised sidepods, front wings and brake ducts, and a number of mechanical changes, but obviously we’ll have to wait and see what step forward our rivals will also make. Williams Upgrades We will have some aero updates for the car in Barcelona, including a new front wing, sidepod and revised wing mirrors. We will also be running additional test parts in order to further develop the blown rear wing that we had limited time with in Shanghai. BMW Sauber Updates We have some updates for Barcelona, as most of the teams will have. We are trying to push our F-Duct design a step further. This is obviously a technology that will eventually appear all the way down the grid during the year, but our team has some experience of it from the first events. Additionally we have a package of updates on the car, which are particularly on the front end and the diffuser. It's a decent package, which will hopefully allow us to find some more performance. Obviously a lot depends on how tough the competition is. Some of the steps address the issues the team has identified in terms of the aero characteristics, so it should make the car a little bit better purely through changing the way it behaves. Mercedes Updates The start of the European season is the first opportunity to make significant changes to the car and the Spanish Grand Prix will see the first step in our development programme for the MGP W01. In addition to a major aerodynamic and bodywork package, we have made changes to the wheelbase of the car which will help the overall handling and weight distribution. Michael will use a different chassis for Barcelona as we take the opportunity of having the cars back at the factory after the flyaway races to repair some damage to his original chassis. He will switch to our first chassis which was previously used during the pre-season tests. Everyone at our factories in Brackley and Brixworth has worked extremely hard to ensure that the cars and our new developments are ready for Barcelona following the delayed return from China and we look forward to evaluating the impact on our pace whilst remaining conscious that this is very much a first step in improving our competitiveness. HRT Updates We reached our next goal with our two cars making it to the finish again in China on our fourth ever race weekend. We have used the time since China to work on the car and to introduce new parts. We hope to understand the car better and need to improve the performance as well as hit a new target and finish again with both cars. Ferrari Updates As the rest of Italy celebrated May Day on Saturday, Ferrari were busy carrying out straight-line aero testing at Vairano. The team debuted their version of McLaren’s ‘F-duct’ system, whereby the driver can stall the rear wing at high speed in order to cut drag and boost top speed. Ferrari trialled a ‘passive’ blown rear wing at the recent Chinese Grand Prix, but Saturday’s test, with Giancarlo Fisichella at the wheel, saw it coupled with a management system for the first time. The F10 was also fitted with the aero configuration Ferrari plan to use during next Friday's practice sessions for the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. Changes include a new position for the rear view mirrors, which must now be located on the chassis. Track data from Fisichella’s running will be analysed by Ferrari over the next few days and once Friday’s sessions are complete, a decision will be taken on which updates the Italian team will use for qualifying and the race at the Circuit de Catalunya. Ferrari’s Vairano test was part of the four days of aerodynamic testing allowed in the testing agreement, as defined by the 12 Formula One teams. |
will do more when i find some more info on them
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Red Bull's Mark Webber says Michael Schumacher's return should not be judged until after the next two races.
Schumacher, 41, has been off the pace of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in all four races so far after returning to F1 after a three-year retirement. "After Monaco we'll know how his form really is," Webber told BBC Sport. "He knows he's not going to just jump back in and start blowing people away. He knows he was going to have to get used to it. He's not that naive." Schumacher begins the European leg of the 19-race season at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on 9 May with an upgraded car in an attempt to get him on level terms with Rosberg, who is second in the drivers' championship. Mercedes have introduced aerodynamic upgrades, fitted the chassis Schumacher used during pre-season testing and lengthened the wheelbase to improve weight distribution. Monaco is the sort of place where you just plug Michael in and off he goes. If he's not going to be doing that this year, you can say he might be having problems coming to grips with the car Mark Webber Schumacher has won the Spanish race six times and Monaco five times, and Webber believes that the German legend's feel for the Princpality's street track will give him a chance to demonstrate his full potential. "He'll feel a bit more at home at Barcelona and Monaco," Webber said. "They're the sort of places, particularly Monaco, where you just plug Michael in and off he goes. "If he's not going to be doing that this year, you can say he might be having problems coming to grips with the car. "These cars change every two or three weeks let alone every four years, so he's coming back to such a totally different environment. "The cars are totally different, the tyres, the aerodynamics, all of which he's had to get used to. "He's going to have to work at it - and that's what he's doing right now. "But as I always said, you have to take your hat off to him, it was a very brave call to come back and test himself again at the highest level. He's an incredible competitor and he always has been." Schumacher has scored just 10 points this season and had his worst showing of the season at the last race in China, but he is hoping the changes to the car for Barcelona will help him up his game. "Our step forward in Barcelona will be bigger than you can make at each race during the fly-aways but it would not be realistic to expect us to suddenly be competing right at the front," Schumacher said. "I am hoping for a better race in Barcelona than I had in China and of course I would not mind having had better results so far. "However, the good news is that after three years away, I am feeling extremely motivated." |
virgin have done 1 car updates for glock di grassi will drive the older version
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Yeah i was reading that, think they got a new aero package too.
who you think will benefit most? |
are they only doing the 1 car (obviously for number 1 driver with glock getting it) cos of money?
what across all the updates? i think lotus and mercades are gonna really have chances of being up there with the big boys of mclaren red bull and ferrari |
Andy your bloody leading this and you probably dont know lol
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I think it was becuase of the time it took to get back becuase of volcano.....
In other news Christian Klein gets a test and reserve seat for HRT |
http://ca.reuters.com/article/sports...BrandChannel=0
really great article....id copy and paste but its 4 pages long..... Outlines: Rosberg is being caught by Schumacher The New car is built around Michael, if he doesnt perform its his fault and not the cars. Some has been racers give their 2 cents becuase theyve nothing better to do. yeah so basically watch out for Michael this weekend. |
Practice 1 is on tomorrow morning just a little reminder....
lets see how Schumis completely redisgned car helps....im putting money on him winning race.... |
http://www.formula1.com/news/intervi...0/5/10728.html
starting to like this Lewis Hamilton bloke......sticking up for Schumacher -Top Man! |
"Next time I am up on the podium I'm sure that the same people will be very enthusiastic again. That's our life, it's emotion and we live for those emotions."
that would be the most damning statement ive heard Schumacher say in a long long time.....this ***** ready to go..... |
Hamilton, Button, Schumacher in that order in P1 so far 25 mins to go...
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Current Top 10
Hamilton Button Schumacher Webber vettel Rosberg Kubica Alonso Petrov Kobayashi |
end of session 1 and it stays the same as above....
Only Lewis, Jenson and Michael managed to get into the 1 minute 21's |
Practice 1 - Complete Results
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exciting free practise 1 def the true start of schumi season gonna be a interesting weekend
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I know im well happy, lets hope an improvement to 2nd in P2.....save going top for Qualifying ;)
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Parctice 2 on now, one hour to go
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Schumachers on fire.....
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happy lewis faster than jenson but not happy that vettel just suddenly found a whole ton of pace he werent that fast in fp1 schumi still did good 3rd on timings
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