Posts Tagged ‘australia’

Christian Horner: Thinks customer cars could be used to reduce costs

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner believes the return of customer cars could be used to successfully control costs in Formula One.

The idea is not a new one, with Toro Rosso running as Red Bull’s junior team until 2008 when regulations forced them to go their own way.

But with teams such as Marussia and HRT continuing to struggle even though they are now in their third year in the sport, Horner feels change may be necessary.

Although all 12 teams operate under the Resource Restriction Agreement that governs how much teams can spend, there is still large financial disparity between the front of the grid and the back.

Sky+ and F1: Important Information

If you plan to Sky+ any of the live F1 programming from Australia, to save you searching for all the individual programmes in your Sky Guide we have series linked every live session – from the Practices on Friday to the Qualifying session on Saturday right through to the live race on Sunday morning.Please note, if you intend to set your recordings individually, several of the programmes cross the 6am boundary where one broadcast day turns into another, therefore these will appear as two back-to-back programmes on your Sky Guide so you need to ensure you record both. The specific slots affected are:Practice 2 on Friday morning (shown as 5.15am & 6am)Qualifying on Saturday morning (shown as 5am & 6am)The Race on Sunday morning (shown as 4.30am & 6am)

“When you look at costs in Formula One we could look at a way to make them competitive, more affordable, particularly for teams towards the back end of the grid,” Horner said.

Questionable

“The satisfaction of being six or seven seconds off the pace and how you sell that I have no idea, and even what drivers learn being that far off the pace is questionable.

“So there are some interesting discussions that will no doubt carry on through the spring and summer about the concepts of making it more achievable for the lesser teams to be more competitive.

“Whether that’s the re-introduction of customer cars is something that needs to be debated with an open mind.

“It would in many ways make a great deal of sense if you look at the investment required for one of the teams that has recently come into Formula One.

“If you look at infrastructure, tools, equipment, people, to even dream to be competitive is huge.

“Whereas if they could buy technology, maybe it’s not a complete car, maybe it’s more IP (intellectual property) than currently exists then it will have a huge cost saving to them.

Resources

“It would mean they don’t need the kind of resources currently required to be competitive.”

With ‘pay drivers’ also being a hot financial topic in F1 at the moment, Horner also believes that other teams could learn from Red Bull’s young driver development programme, which has produced Sebastian Vettel as well as current Toro Rosso pair Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.

Horner added: “Financially it’s tough times for some of the teams in Formula One, but that’s perhaps where Red Bull are owed more credit than they are given for investing in young guys.

“Daniel and Jean-Eric are two guys that would never have had the opportunity to get in a race car, certainly at Formula Three level and beyond, without Red Bull saying, ‘okay, you’ve got some talent, we’ll invest in you’.

“You can see that’s a model others are looking at. Ferrari have started a driver academy, McLaren are backing some young karters, and obviously it has worked for them with Lewis (Hamilton). But these are difficult times.”

Sergio Perez: Will start from 22nd on the grid

Sergio Perez is set to start at the back of the grid for Sunday’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix after picking up a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.

Sky+ and F1: Important Information

If you plan to Sky+ any of the live F1 programming from Australia, to save you searching for all the individual programmes in your Sky Guide we have series linked every live session – from the Practices on Friday to the Qualifying session on Saturday right through to the live race on Sunday morning.Please note, if you intend to set your recordings individually, several of the programmes cross the 6am boundary where one broadcast day turns into another, therefore these will appear as two back-to-back programmes on your Sky Guide so you need to ensure you record both. The specific slots affected are:Practice 2 on Friday morning (shown as 5.15am & 6am)Qualifying on Saturday morning (shown as 5am & 6am)The Race on Sunday morning (shown as 4.30am & 6am)

The Sauber driver was forced onto the sidelines during the second stage of qualifying after a problem with the gearbox in his C31 struck, consigning him to 17th place on the grid.

On Saturday evening in Melbourne the Swiss team confirmed via Twitter that the unit now needed to be changed overnight, triggering the mandatory five-place penalty.

Perez’s demotion therefore promotes by one place respectively Kimi Raikkonen, Heikki Kovalainen, Vitaly Petrov, Timo Glock and Charles Pic and leaves him 22nd and last on the grid after the two HRTs were barred from entering the race in wake of failing to make the 107% cut in Q1.

Speaking earlier, Perez, who had gone fifth fastest in the first knockout phase, said: “We made some set-up changes to the car today and in Q1 I was busy adapting my driving style a bit.

“In Q2 I knew exactly what to do but then I could not shift anymore because of a gearbox problem. It is a true shame as there was a lot more to come from the car and from myself.”

Brendan Nash: Has agreed a deal with Kent

Kent have confirmed they have agreed a deal to sign West Indies batsman Brendan Nash for the entire 2012 campaign.

The 34-year-old, who was born in Australia, has played in 21 Tests for the Windies – with a further nine ODI appearances.

Nash, who is also a part-time bowler, has scored two Test centuries – including 109 against England – and averaged 33.42.

The left-hander will now team up with the Kent squad ahead of their opening fixture of the season against Yorkshire.

Kent head coach Jimmy Adams told the club’s official site: “I am pleased that Kent have been able to secure the services of Brendan Nash.

“Brendan’s ability, coupled with his experience at every level of the game, will undoubtedly be of tremendous value to the club especially given his availability for the entire season.

“I look forward to welcoming Brendan to Kent in the next couple of weeks in preparation for the season opener in early April.”

Fernando Alonso admits a lack of downforce and top-end speed are the problems which are currently holding Ferrari’s F2012 back and they will now have to fight hard in Sunday’s race to overcome their dismal qualifying result.

Sky+ and F1: Important Information

If you plan to Sky+ any of the live F1 programming from Australia, to save you searching for all the individual programmes in your Sky Guide we have series linked every live session – from the Practices on Friday to the Qualifying session on Saturday right through to the live race on Sunday morning.Please note, if you intend to set your recordings individually, several of the programmes cross the 6am boundary where one broadcast day turns into another, therefore these will appear as two back-to-back programmes on your Sky Guide so you need to ensure you record both. The specific slots affected are:Practice 2 on Friday morning (shown as 5.15am & 6am)Qualifying on Saturday morning (shown as 5am & 6am)The Race on Sunday morning (shown as 4.30am & 6am)

Although the Maranello outfit’s Technical Director Pat Fry had all-but ruled out the possibility of the team finishing on the podium at the first race following a disappointing pre-season with their complex new car, few anticipated quite the level of trouble Ferrari found themselves in around Albert Park on Saturday as both their drivers missed the cut for Q3.

Alonso’s demise was argubaly entirely self-inflicted after he uncharacteristically spun into the gravel at Turn 1 mid-way through Q2 at a point when he held the fifth-fastest time, although a chronic struggle for grip accounted for Felipe Massa setting only the 16th-fastest time.

Alonso will line up 12th – his lowest grid slot for nearly two years – and while he reckons he may have made the pole shootout had he not spun out, concedes the car didn’t have the pace to challenge their usual rivals.

“It went like this: I got a bit on the grass under braking, the car took off on its own and I found myself in the gravel,” he explained.

“I had managed to keep the engine running and was hoping the marshals would be able to push me back on track. I had done my time on used Softs: maybe with a new set I could have made it through to Q3, but I would not have been able to fight for the front rows.

“Today, we lacked performance, especially because we did not have enough aerodynamic downforce and we are still lacking in top speed.”

The Spaniard says the silver lining from his qualifying travails was that he has more fresh sets of soft tyres available to him than is usually the case – an ace card he hopes will allow him to jump some of the runners in the top 10.

But with Ferrari a long way from their target of winning from the very start in 2012, Alonso concedes the team have a massive amount of development work ahead of them to get back to the front and have to make the best of the car’s current competitiveness both this weekend and next, in Malaysia.

“Tomorrow we will be racing defensively and will try and do what we can, hopefully making the most of having four sets of new tyres,” he said.

“Let’s hope for a good start in order to catch those who are a few rows ahead of us and then fight with them to the end. Here, at the end of qualifying last year, we were 1″4 off the pace, while today, in Q2 it was 1″, therefore hypothetically one could say we are more competitive than we were back then.

“Sure, there are other teams that have made progress, but I think we have plenty of room for improvement. In Malaysia, we will have the same car, therefore the situation won’t change much. We will just have to see how it will adapt to the track characteristics there.

“It’s true our target at the start of the year was to fight for the win right from the beginning and we have not managed that, but this will be a long season and all we can do is work on improving performance…There’s no point getting angry as it does not serve any purpose.”

Ferrari Team Principal Stefano Domenicali has called on Ferrari’s fans to not give up on the team this season, insisting the team will work diligently to turn the situation around as quickly as possible.

“Everyone had been waiting for this hour of qualifying to understand what the pecking order would be: we knew it would be tough for us and that’s how it went. I understand that at the moment, our fans are disappointed, but I would urge them to be cautious before making any definitive judgement, as if everything was already over. We need to remain calm and concentrated.

“We have a lot of work to do and our engineers are well aware of that, as indeed they were before even leaving for Melbourne. The season is going to be very long, just as tomorrow’s race will be long and hard. Given our grid positions, the realistic aim is for us to get both cars into the points. As usual, we will do our utmost.”

Vettel: Had his first difficult qualifying session for some time

Sebastian Vettel insists Red Bull have no reason to panic over the competitiveness of their RB8 after the World Champions surprisingly only qualified on the third row in Melbourne.

Sky+ and F1: Important Information

If you plan to Sky+ any of the live F1 programming from Australia, to save you searching for all the individual programmes in your Sky Guide we have series linked every live session – from the Practices on Friday to the Qualifying session on Saturday right through to the live race on Sunday morning.Please note, if you intend to set your recordings individually, several of the programmes cross the 6am boundary where one broadcast day turns into another, therefore these will appear as two back-to-back programmes on your Sky Guide so you need to ensure you record both. The specific slots affected are:Practice 2 on Friday morning (shown as 5.15am & 6am)Qualifying on Saturday morning (shown as 5am & 6am)The Race on Sunday morning (shown as 4.30am & 6am)

The accepted wisdom throughout pre-season testing was that the back-to-back champions remained the team to beat heading into 2012 but in an absorbing first qualifying session of the season on Saturday, McLaren led the way while Red Bull – the dominant qualifying force of the past two seasons – also slipped behind Lotus and Mercedes.

Vettel, who unusually crashed in final practice and then made several small errors at the start of qualifying, admitted to a further mistake on his final Q3 lap after he qualified behind team-mate Mark Webber in sixth – although conceded McLaren were “out of reach” anyway.

Vettel only one qualified off the front row in 2011 and when it was put to him by Sky Sports F1′s Natalie Pinkham that the third row was an unusual place to start a race, he replied: “Well, I wouldn’t say that.

“Obviously qualifying was more or less as we expected – the cars being close to each other – and I think Q1 to Q2 and Q3 the order always changed slightly.

“I wasn’t happy with my final attempt – I did a mistake in the beginning of the lap, so I should have been higher up. But I think McLaren was out of reach today. So congratulations, they were really quick, and now we will see what we can do tomorrow.”

The 24-year-old, who last started down on the third row at Monza in 2010, admitted he should have got more out of the car but insisted Red Bull didn’t need to panic over the situation so early in the season.

“As I said, I did a mistake. I should have been a bit quicker,” he added.

“Regarding the car, I think we are not miles away so it is not a disaster. Obviously we’d love to be a bit quicker and fight for pole position, but today we were not good enough.

“But that’s no reason to panic – the race is tomorrow and we have not even had one race yet.”

Andries Strauss: Returns to the centres for the Cheetahs

Kurtley Beale: Sidelined by a calf injury

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The Rebels will be without Australia international Kurtley Beale for Sunday’s visit of the Cheetahs.

The talented full-back only made his debut in the battling defeat to the Reds last time out, but he has been sidelined by a calf strain.

That means Julian Huxley comes into the side at full-back, while Mark Gerrard – who has already worn the No.15 and No.14 shirts this season – switches to outside centre.

Gerrard partners Lloyd Johansson, with James O’Connor replacing Danny Cipriani at fly-half – with the England international having struggled with flu this week.

The Cheetahs have made just two changes to their line-up following the agonising late defeat to the Brumbies.

Andries Strauss starts in the centres, while Davon Raubenheimer comes in to the back row.

Raubenheimer’s inclusion for the benched Ashley Johnson means Philip van der Walt moves to No.8.

Rebels: 15 Julian Huxley, 14 Lachlan Mitchell, 13 Mark Gerrard, 12 Lloyd Johansson, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Richard Kingi, 8 Gareth Delve (capt), 7 Tom Chamberlain, 6 Tim Davidson, 5 Hugh Pyle, 4 Luke Jones, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Adam Freier, 1 Nic Henderson.Replacements: 16 Ged Robinson, 17 Rodney Blake, 18 Alister Campbell, 19 Jarrod Saffy, 20 Nick Phipps, 21 Danny Cipriani, 22 James Hilgendorf.

Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Cameron Jacobs, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Willie le Roux, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Tewis de Bruyn, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Davon Raubenheimer, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 George Earle, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.Replacements: 16 Hercu Liebenberg, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Justin Downey, 19 Ashley Johnson, 20 Piet van Zyl, 21 Sias Ebersohn, 22 Rayno Benjamin.

Schumacher: Was pleased with his W03′s handling

Michael Schumacher says his Mercedes W03 handled “very nicely” during Friday practice in Australia – although concedes the day’s changeable conditions made firm conclusions impossible.

Sky+ and F1: Important Information

If you plan to Sky+ any of the live F1 programming from Australia, to save you searching for all the individual programmes in your Sky Guide we have series linked every live session – from the Practices on Friday to the Qualifying session on Saturday right through to the live race on Sunday morning.Please note, if you intend to set your recordings individually, several of the programmes cross the 6am boundary where one broadcast day turns into another, therefore these will appear as two back-to-back programmes on your Sky Guide so you need to ensure you record both. The specific slots affected are:Practice 2 on Friday morning (shown as 5.15am & 6am)Qualifying on Saturday morning (shown as 5am & 6am)The Race on Sunday morning (shown as 4.30am & 6am)

The seven-time World Champion made a positive start to the first weekend of the new season as he set the third-fastest time in first practice and then the overall pace right at the end of the drying second session.

A strong winter has given Mercedes encouragement that they will be able to make a step forward this year but Schumacher, while satisfied with the car, was characteristically unwilling to read too much into the timesheets at this stage.

“We had a good work out with the car,” he told Sky Sports’ Natalie Pinkham during The F1 Show.

“The car handles very nicely, but what it’s really worth we’ll out probably later in the weekend.”

He added: “Unfortunately, that’s not very realistic [to read into Friday practice]. [There were] too many variables that can have a big effect, so we will have to wait to tomorrow.”

Schumacher enters the new season still searching for his first podium finish since coming out of retirement in 2010, although many are viewing Mercedes as the dark horses of the early races.

Asked about his long odds for victory with the bookmakers for this weekend, Schumacher added: “I don’t want to count too much into betting. Let’s stay on real terms and tomorrow we will know.”

Fernando Alonso: Was fourth quickest in both of Friday’s practice sessions

Fernando Alonso denied he was struggling with the handling of his Ferrari during opening practice for the Australian Grand Prix on Friday.

The double World Champion was seen to be fighting his F2012, particularly during the first session but said the damp conditions that hampered the day’s running at Albert Park were to blame – the Spaniard enduring one particularly lurid moment after changing to slick tyres.

“I was attacking for sure. I was not sleeping but the conditions were difficult,” explained Alonso, who ended both sessions fourth fastest. “It was damp in some of the corners and also we came from intermediate tyres so the straights didn’t feel like straights and also there are corners with white lines – the car is moving there in damp conditions.

“It was dry tyres but not a completely dry circuit, so there was some movement in the car but it was okay.”

That was not the case for Felipe Massa in P1, the Brazilian beaching his own car in the gravel as his team-mate fought to retain control.

Alonso quipped that he had found the changeable conditions all the more difficult having not driven the car in the two weeks since the final pre-season test in Barcelona.

“Also you are coming off 500 laps on the simulator: you come here, you do the first lap in the dry and in reality there are much more problems than in the simulator – there you are sitting at home,” he added.

Normal

He also said that Ferrari had managed to complete the bulk of their Friday programme in spite of the conditions, but added that they had rendered the timesheets essentially meaningless.

“It was a normal Friday for us. We had some parts on the car in P1 that we wanted to have confirmation on coming from Barcelona – they are new coming for this race,” he explained.

“Everything went okay, positive results but there was very little time available in FP1 and FP2 on dry tyres but even with that we managed to complete the programme.

“We only missed the tyre comparison between medium and soft, which we will do tomorrow I guess. Overall a good Friday but in terms of how competitive we are, or the feeling we have with the car, it didn’t change too much.

“The feeling was quite okay, we had good answers and a good feeling driving the car – but I also had a good feeling in Jerez and Barcelona. We don’t know how much the others have but it was okay.

“I think that especially in FP2 with the conditions we had it was impossible to see the level of competitiveness.

“I think with the Red Bulls 10th or 11th, or with Hamilton 16th and Kovalainen seventh there is a little bit of mix but I’m happy.”

Not a favourite

However, Alonso also said he thought the nature of the Albert Park track might not suit Ferrari this weekend.

“It will be interesting to see how competitive we can be here in Australia and next week in Malaysia,” he added. “I think they are quite opposite: I think one is a stop and go circuit, so braking and acceleration in Australia, and in Malaysia it’s about corners and keeping average speed high.

“I guess with the feeling with the car, with the first impressions, it should not be our favourite track, this Melbourne. I expect more to come.”