-Formula 1 - Season 2011

[genius83]

Valtteri Bottas says he is not distracted by possibility of landing F1 race seat
Valtteri Bottas insists that he will focus on doing the best job in testing for Williams and not be distracted by the possibility that he could put himself in contention for a Formula 1 race seat with the team during Abu Dhabi testing.

Williams tests 2012-spec top-exit exhaust system in Abu Dhabi
Williams has become the first team to experiment with a 2012-specification top exit exhaust during the young driver test in Abu Dhabi.

Charles Pic set to race with Virgin in 2012
Charles Pic is set to graduate to Formula 1 with Virgin Racing next season, as he prepares for his first test with the team in Abu Dhabi this week.

Nathanael Berthon joins HRT for Abu Dhabi test
Nathanael Berthon will make his Formula 1 debut tomorrow when he joins the HRT team for the young driver test at Abu Dhabi.

Jean-Eric Vergne goes quickest in the morning in Abu Dhabi young driver test
Jean-Eric Vergne topped the first morning of running in the Abu Dhabi young driver test for Red Bull Racing.

<font face='Courier New'>[U]<font size='2'><font color='DarkGreen'>Abu Dhabi Young Driver's Testing Session</font></font>
<font color='DarkSlateGray'>Day 1</font>
<font color='Gray'>Morning</font>[/U]</font>
<font color='DeepSkyBlue'>Pos  Driver               Team                  Time      Laps</font>
 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Red Bull-Renault      1m40.707s  33
 2.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari               1m42.632s  34
 3.  Oliver Turvey        McLaren-Mercedes      1m43.502s  35
 4.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Cosworth     1m43.816s  47
 5.  Fabio Leimer         Sauber-Ferrari        1m44.354s  34
 6.  Robert Wickens       Renault               1m44.579s  29
 7.  Rodolfo Gonzalez     Lotus-Renault         1m45.026s  44
 8.  Sam Bird             Mercedes GP           1m45.564s  12
 9.  Max Chilton          Force India-Mercedes  1m45.714s  42
10.  Dani Clos            HRT-Cosworth          1m46.922s  39
11.  Stefano Coletti      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m47.008s  42
12.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs  Virgin-Cosworth       1m47.292s  32

Formula 1 team principals are hopeful the RRA can be saved
Formula 1 team principals are optimistic that enough common ground can be reached to save the Resource Restriction Agreement (RRA), ahead of crunch talks to decide its future at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs believes test with Virgin will help him in the future
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs believes that his morning of running with Virgin Racing in the Abu Dhabi young driver test will make him better prepared for any future Formula 1 opportunities.

Red Bull says having a winning car is key to retaining Sebastian Vettel long-term
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says having a winning car is key to retaining the services of Sebastian Vettel in the long run.

Massa believes track changes would boost overtaking in Abu Dhabi
Felipe Massa believes Abu Dhabi Grand Prix organisers should look into the possibility of widening the entry to the hairpin before the long back straight in a bid to help overtaking.

Jean-Eric Vergne ends first day of testing in Abu Dhabi on top of the times
Jean-Eric Vergne ended his first day of on-track running for Red Bull Racing on top of the timesheets in the Abu Dhabi young driver test.

<font face='Courier New'>[U]<font size='2'><font color='DarkGreen'>Abu Dhabi Young Driver's Testing Session</font></font>
<font color='DarkSlateGray'>Day 1
<font color='Gray'>Afternoon
</font></font>[/U]</font><font color='DeepSkyBlue'>Pos  Driver               Team                  Time      Laps</font>
 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Red Bull-Renault      1m40.011s   83
 2.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari               1m40.960s   85
 3.  Robert Wickens       Renault               1m42.217s   78
 4.  Fabio Leimer         Sauber-Ferrari        1m42.331s   67
 5.  Gary Paffett         McLaren-Mercedes      1m42.912s   41
 6.  Max Chilton          Force India-Mercedes  1m43.016s   81
 7.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Cosworth     1m43.118s   71
 8.  Oliver Turvey        McLaren-Mercedes      1m43.502s   35
 9.  Sam Bird             Mercedes GP           1m43.548s   51
10.  Rodolfo Gonzalez     Lotus-Renault         1m44.022s   87
11.  Stefano Coletti      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m45.278s   87
12.  Dani Clos            HRT-Cosworth          1m45.329s   68
13.  Charles Pic          Virgin-Cosworth       1m46.930s   30
14.  Adrian Quaife-Hobbs  Virgin-Cosworth       1m47.292s   32

@Imaan1
Yes bro, thats what I was trying to point out by posting that pic, what I have read about that is there was some problem with Track positioning system thatswhy those error filled graphics were shown. Also, there was more blue flags LED lights flashing in the race then it was necessary. It could also result in the level of confusion for backmarkers when they were about to be lapped. This race has the highest no. of blue flag infringements for a long period of time.

[Blackeye117]

@steve , young drivers are running this years cars or older spec cars ?

[genius83]

@Blackeye117
Young Drivers are running this year's cars with the same specs in which they have raced in the Abu Dhabi GP, the only difference is they have different engine and gearbox outside of the allocation.

[Blackeye117]

@Steve ,, Thanks For The Info , saw some pictures at autosport with some very stange looking things on the cars today if you can post the pictures here and tell something about the things will be even more helpful....

[mani1]

@hanimughal

Amazing amazing pics! A couple of questions

1)Where can I find such coverage/pics for other tracks? I have searched all other f1 forums alot but couldn't find anyone who had posted such extensive pics

2)How did you manage the pass for paddock club?

[genius83]

@mani1
Why you don't try professional photographers websites like Sutton-Images and others.

@Blackeye117
Most of those things were to do aero dynamic testing on different parts, will post pics of the tests too.

[genius83]

Rodolfo Gonzalez
[U]

Stefano Colletti

Jean-Eric Vergne

Dani Clos

Fabio Leimer

Jules Bianchi

Sam Bird

Max Chilton

Valtteri Bottas

Robert Wickens

Gary Paffet

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs

Oliver Turvey

Charles Pic

[/U]

[Blackeye117]

What Is that Abacus Doing On a Ferrari

[zia1288]

at first glance i thought that the cameraman is standing on track

What Is that Abacus Doing On a Ferrari

Calculations

[Blackeye117]

^ all the beads are gone missing so it wont be able to do calculations now

[genius83]

Abu Dhabi test 'very important' to understand Ferrari's front wing issues
The next two days of testing in Abu Dhabi will be important if Ferrari is to get on top of its front wing vibration problem.

Valtteri Bottas encouraged by laptimes during first day of testing in Abu Dhabi
Valtteri Bottas was happy with his laptimes during his first day of testing for Williams despite losing track time in the afternoon with a gearbox problem.

Charles Pic 'crossing fingers' to be in Formula 1 in 2012
Charles Pic is hopeful of driving for Virgin Racing in Formula 1 despite refusing to confirm reports that he has agreed a deal with the team.

Max Chilton says F1 with Force India test a "lifetime dream come true"
Max Chilton realised the dream of a lifetime by testing a Formula 1 car for the first time today.

Jan Charouz to test for HRT in Abu Dhabi
Jan Charouz has become the latest driver to join the Abu Dhabi test line-up, the Czech scheduled to run with HRT.

Jean-Eric Vergne downplays setting the quickest time in Abu Dhabi test
Jean-Eric Vergne insists that topping the timesheets during the first day of young driver testing in Abu Dhabi is of secondary importance to doing a good job for the team.

Formula 1 came easier than GP2 for Rodolfo Gonzalez
Rodolfo Gonzalez claims to be better suited to grand prix machinery than GP2 cars after his second taste of Formula 1 with Team Lotus today.

@Blackeye117
Abacus has lost its beads because Ferrari was testing that how much time it takes to drop all the beads by the young driver. As there current 2 drivers have total opposite style one can save all the beads till the end and the other can drop it on the very first lap.

Seriously, that net is to calculate air around the sidepods, so they could understand how much cooling is necessary for the engine.

[hanimughal]

@hanimughal

Amazing amazing pics! A couple of questions

1)Where can I find such coverage/pics for other tracks? I have searched all other f1 forums alot but couldn't find anyone who had posted such extensive pics

2)How did you manage the pass for paddock club?

Thanks mani..
well really not sure about it ..tried my best here... for clickin as much as i can..
hehe yea about the paddock club.. got it thru virgin racing..

[Blackeye117]

@seteve haha nice one and the wing was flapping to collect those beads that gone down on the track

ahh okay thanks for that

[genius83]

Austin Grand Prix plunged into doubt after track construction is stopped in dispute over race contract
The Austin Grand Prix has been plunged into fresh doubt after construction work at the track was stopped this week on the back of a dispute among the race organisers.

Texas government officials says Austin GP will not get advance payment for race hosting fee
Austin Grand Prix organisers have been told that they will not get any advanced payments from the local government, in another blow to the future of the event.

Stefano Coletti feels better prepared for final half day with Toro Rosso
Stefano Coletti is confident of being better prepared for his final half-day of running with Scuderia Toro Rosso during the Abu Dhabi young driver test after sitting out today in favour of Kevin Ceccon.

Jean-Eric Vergne still on top in Abu Dhabi test
Jean-Eric Vergne continued to head the timesheets in the Abu Dhabi young driver test despite being restricted to just 17 laps after Red Bull suffered sensor problems this morning.

[U]<font face='Courier New'><font color='DarkGreen'>Abu Dhabi Young Driver's Testing Session</font></font><font face='Courier New'>
<font color='SlateGray'>Day 2</font>
<font color='Gray'>Morning</font></font>[/U]
<font color='DeepSkyBlue'>Pos  Driver               Team                  Time      Laps</font>
 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Red Bull-Renault      1m40.188s   17
 2.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari               1m40.838s   45
 3.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Cosworth     1m42.548s   38
 4.  Gary Paffett         McLaren-Mercedes      1m42.645s   23
 5.  Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari        1m43.637s   47
 6.  Sam Bird             Mercedes GP           1m43.734s   43
 7.  Luiz Razia           Lotus-Renault         1m44.323s   44
 8.  Kevin Korjus         Renault               1m44.425s   38
 9.  Kevin Ceccon         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m44.947s   41
10.  Johnny Cecotto Jr    Force India-Mercedes  1m45.475s   39
11.  Jan Charouz          HRT-Cosworth          1m46.728s   37
12.  Charles Pic          Virgin-Cosworth       1m48.397s   21

Dani Clos targets HRT race seat for 2012
GP2 race-winner Dani Clos is targeting a Formula 1 graduation with HRT next season after testing for the Spanish team in Abu Dhabi yesterday.

Fabio Leimer says testing for Sauber was a special experience
Fabio Leimer described becoming the first Swiss driver to driver for Sauber since Neel Jani last tested for the team at Jerez in December 2003 as a special experience.

Pirelli rules out structural damage as reason for Sebastian Vettel's puncture
Pirelli has ruled out a structural tyre failure as the cause of Sebastian Vettel's opening lap problem at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Red Bull in the dark over Vettel's puncture in Abu Dhabi
Red Bull Racing thinks it may never have a definitive explanation for what caused Sebastian Vettel's puncture in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, after post-race analysis failed to uncover a firm answer.

Valtteri Bottas feeling more confident at the wheel of the Williams
Valtteri Bottas believes that he is driving even better on his second day of testing for Williams than he did yesterday.

Jean-Eric Vergne quickest as day two of testing in Abu Dhabi comes to an end
Jean-Eric Vergne remained at the top of the timesheets after the second day of the young driver test in Abu Dhabi.

[U]<font face='Courier New'><font color='DarkGreen'>Abu Dhabi Young Driver's Testing Session</font></font><font face='Courier New'>
<font color='SlateGray'>Day 2</font>
<font color='Gray'>Afternoon</font></font>[/U]
<font color='DeepSkyBlue'>Pos  Driver               Team                  Time      Laps</font>
 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Red Bull-Renault      1m40.188s
 2.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari               1m40.279s  + 0.091
 3.  Gary Paffett         McLaren-Mercedes      1m41.756s  + 1.568
 4.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Cosworth     1m42.367s  + 2.179
 5.  Johnny Cecotto Jr    Force India-Mercedes  1m42.873s  + 2.685
 6.  Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari        1m43.637s  + 3.449
 7.  Sam Bird             Mercedes GP           1m43.734s  + 3.546
 8.  Kevin Korjus         Renault               1m43.776s  + 3.588
 9.  Luiz Razia           Lotus-Renault         1m43.944s  + 3.756
10.  Kevin Ceccon         Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m44.808s  + 4.620
11.  Jan Charouz          HRT-Cosworth          1m46.644s  + 6.456
12.  Charles Pic          Virgin-Cosworth       1m46.698s  + 6.510
13.  Nathanael Berthon    HRT-Cosworth          1m48.646s  + 8.458

Jules Bianchi says he is not worried about missing on fastest time
Jules Bianchi is not worried about missing out on fastest time in today's young driver running in Abu Dhabi despite pacesetter Jean-Eric Vergne being only nine hundredths of a second faster.

Pirelli's Paul Hembery says they will never know what caused Vettel's puncture
Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery believes his company and Red Bull will probably never know what caused Sebastian Vettel's right-rear tyre to suffer an instant deflation while leading the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after ruling out tyre failure.

Kevin Korjus says he could have been quicker in Abu Dhabi test
Kevin Korjus believes that he had the potential for a faster laptime after ending his first Formula 1 test eighth overall, 3.588s off pacesetter Jean-Eric Vergne.

Jan Charouz happy to complete superlicence distance with HRT
Jan Charouz is delighted that he has completed enough laps to qualify for a Formula 1 superlicence during his first day of testing in a contemporary grand prix car.

Johnny Cecotto Jr determined to carve a name for himself
Johnny Cecotto Jr is determined to carve a name for himself in motor-racing after following his father into Formula 1 during today's rookie running in Abu Dhabi.

Esteban Gutierrez says he wants to improve consistency on second day of testing
Esteban Gutierrez is aiming to improve his consistency during his second day of running with Sauber in the Abu Dhabi young driver test tomorrow.

Kevin Ceccon amazed by Formula 1 machinery after Toro Rosso test
Kevin Ceccon admitted he was amazed by the performance of Formula 1 machinery after completing his first day of running in Abu Dhabi.

Ecclestone ready to drop Austin GP from 2012 calendar as circuit disputes escalate
Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone says he is ready to axe the Austin Grand Prix in the wake of internal disputes between the race organisers.

[genius83]

[U]Charles Pic

Jan Charouz

Esteban Gutierrez

Johnny Cecotto Jnr.

Valtteri Bottas

Kevin Korjus

Jean-Eric Vergne

Jules Bianchi

Kevin Ceccon

Gary Paffett

Luis Razia

Sam Bird

Nathanael Berthon

[/U]

[genius83]

Mercedes tries 2012-style exhaust in Abu Dhabi young driver test
Mercedes has followed Williams in experimenting with a 2012-style exhaust during the final day of the Abu Dhabi young driver test.

Jean-Eric Vergne remains on top in Abu Dhabi test
Red Bull driver Jean-Eric Vergne headed the final morning of the young driver test in Abu Dhabi, setting a best mark just 0.436s off Sebastian Vettel's pole position time for last weekend's grand prix.

[U]<font face='Courier New'><font color='DarkGreen'>Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Testing Session</font>
<font color='SlateGray'>Day 3</font>
<font color='Gray'>Morning</font></font>[/U]
<font color='DeepSkyBlue'>Pos  Driver               Team                   Time     </font>
 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Red Bull-Renault       1m38.917s
 2.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari                1m41.347s
 3.  Olivier Turvey       McLaren-Mercedes       1m42.346s
 4.  Max Chilton          Force India-Mercedes   1m42.618s
 5.  Alexander Rossi      Lotus-Renault          1m44.381s
 6.  Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari         1m44.531s
 7.  Stefano Coletti      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m44.545s
 8.  Mirko  Bortolotti    Williams-Cosworth      1m46.076s
 9.  Nathanael Berthon    HRT-Cosworth           1m46.299s
10.  Charles Pic          Virgin-Cosworth        1m46.348s
11.  Jan Charouz          HRT-Cosworth           1m47.159s
12.  Sam Bird             Mercedes GP            1m47.624s

Luiz Razia eyes expanded Lotus role for 2012 following Abu Dhabi test
Luiz Razia says an expanded programme with Team Lotus - which will become Caterham next year - is his aim for 2012, as he praised the progress the team had made this season.

Valtteri Bottas ready for Formula 1 chance after Abu Dhabi test
Valtteri Bottas says he feels ready for Formula 1 if he is given the chance by Williams for next year, following a good showing in the Abu Dhabi test this week.

Stefano Coletti pleased with improved form on second day of testing
Stefano Coletti was happy with the improvement that he made on his second outing with Scuderia Toro Rosso in the Abu Dhabi young driver test.

Jean-Eric Vergne fastest as Abu Dhabi young driver test ends
Jean-Eric Vergne completed a lockout of the top of the timesheets throughout all three days of the Abu Dhabi young driver test by setting fastest time for Red Bull today.

[U]<font face='Courier New'><font color='DarkGreen'>Abu Dhabi Young Drivers Testing Session</font>
<font color='SlateGray'>Day 3</font>
<font color='Gray'>Afternoon</font></font>[/U]
<font color='DeepSkyBlue'>Pos  Driver               Team                   Time     </font>
 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Red Bull-Renault       1m38.917s
 2.  Sam Bird             Mercedes GP            1m40.897s
 3.  Jules Bianchi        Ferrari                1m41.347s
 4.  Olivier Turvey       McLaren-Mercedes       1m41.513s
 5.  Max Chilton          Force India-Mercedes   1m41.575s
 6.  Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari         1m42.049s
 7.  Mirko Bortolotti     Williams-Cosworth      1m43.277s
 8.  Kevin Ceccon         Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m43.686s
 9.  Alexander Rossi      Lotus-Renault          1m44.283s
10.  Jan Charouz          Renault                1m44.470s
11.  Stefano Coletti      Toro Rosso-Ferrari     1m44.545s
12.  Nathanael Berthon    HRT-Cosworth           1m45.839s
13.  Robert Wickens       Virgin-Cosworth        1m45.934s
14.  Charles Pic          Virgin-Cosworth        1m46.348s

UK Prime Minister David Cameron visits McLaren opening
UK prime minister David Cameron was the guest of honour as McLaren officially opened the new McLaren Production Centre, home to its automotive division.

Sam Bird sure Abu Dhabi test work will pay off for Mercedes' 2012 F1 car
Mercedes test driver Sam Bird is confident that the work he and the team have done during the young driver test at Yas Marina will stand the team in good stead for the 2012 season.

McLaren must start 2012 season strongly, say Martin Whitmarsh and Jonathan Neale
McLaren's 2012 championship hopes depend on the its ability to design a car which proves quick from the outset, according to team chiefs.

Mirko Bortolotti says he could have gone faster in Yas Marina test but for a late red flag
Mirko Bortolotti is certain that he would have improved his best time during the final day of the Abu Dhabi young driver test had a red flag not interrupted his quickest run.

[genius83]

Jean-Eric Vergne [U]

Sam Bird

Jules Bianchi

Olivier Turvey

Max Chilton

Esteban Gutierrez

Mirko Bortolotti

Kevin Ceccon

Alexander Rossi

Jan Charouz

Stefano Coletti

Nathanael Berthon

Robert Wickens

Charles Pic

[/U]

[genius83]

Jean-Eric Vergne feels he's ready for F1 after topping each day of young driver test
Jean-Eric Vergne believes that his performance during the Yas Marina young driver test proves that he is ready to race in Formula 1.

Alexander Rossi satisfied with Lotus test at Yas Marina
Alexander Rossi was pleased with his performance for Team Lotus on his return to a Formula 1 cockpit for the first time in two years.

Esteban Gutierrez says his Yas Marina test crash is all part of learning F1
Esteban Gutierrez believes that his crash during the closing minutes of the Yas Marina young driver test is part of his learning experience in F1.

Kevin Ceccon says he is 'one step closer to F1' after Toro Rosso test
Kevin Ceccon believes that he is a step closer to achieving his target of racing in Formula 1 after his second day of testing for Toro Rosso at Yas Marina.

Austin circuit chiefs willing to delay debut grand prix to 2013
Austin Grand Prix chiefs are ready to accept moving their inaugural race back to 2013, after conceding for the first time that next year's race is probably not going to happen.

Vitaly Petrov hits out at Renault over lack of progress
Vitaly Petrov's future at Renault has been thrown into doubt after the Russian driver launched an amazing outburst against the team this week, in the first public sign of friction between himself and team management.

Mercedes GP determined to end season on a high in Brazil
Mercedes GP team principal Ross Brawn says his squad is determined to finish the season on a high in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

[Blackeye117]

Man What Was Petrov Thinking , Thats not the way to talk about your team whatever the reason is ,
unless team paid him to say things like that

[genius83]

Eric Boullier says name change to Lotus a massive boost for the team
Renault team boss Eric Boullier says sorting the row over the Lotus name was a massive step for his team that will only help make it stronger.

Vitaly Petrov apologises for having criticised his Renault team
Vitaly Petrov has apologised to the Renault team for the outburst in which he criticised the squad's performance during the 2011 season.

Williams declines comment on speculation about PDVSA deal
Williams has declined to comment on speculation that its sponsorship with Venezuelan oil company PDVSA could be under threat because of an investigation by the country's congress into the sponsorship deal.

Upbeat Lewis Hamilton wants to end 2011 season with a win the Brazilian GP
Lewis Hamilton says he has his sights set on another victory in the Brazilian Grand Prix to end the 2011 season on a high.

Renault boss Eric Boullier says Vitaly Petrov incident is closed
Renault boss Eric Boullier says the 'matter is closed' after Vitaly Petrov apologised for having been critical of his team's performance after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Pedro de la Rosa hits out at Formula 1 testing rules, calls for urgent change
McLaren's reserve driver Pedro de la Rosa has slammed Formula 1's testing rules, and he reckons the sport needs to change them urgently for its own good.