2012 Grand Prix season

[TBWG]

Gotta start somewhere so it's ~~~~

Renault confirms Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 in 2012
By Pablo Elizalde    Tuesday, November 29th 2011

Renault has announced that Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 racing next year, after securing a two-year deal to compete with the squad.

Raikkonen, who had left Formula 1 at the end of the 2009 season after being dropped by Ferrari, had been in talks with the Williams team about a possible return next year, but the deal fell through.

That promted speculation of a Renault tie-up, with team principal Eric Boullier confirming in Brazil last weekend that the Finn was on the shortlist of candidates for 2012 - when his outfit will be renamed Lotus.

Speaking about his return, Raikkonen said: "I'm delighted to be coming back to Formula 1 after a two-year break, and I'm grateful to Lotus Renault GP for offering me this opportunity. My time in the World Rally Championship has been a useful stage in my career as a driver, but I can't deny the fact that my hunger for F1 has recently become overwhelming.

"It was an easy choice to return with Lotus Renault GP as I have been impressed by the scope of the team's ambition. Now I'm looking forward to playing an important role in pushing the team to the very front of the grid."

Team owner Gerard Lopez added: "All year long, we kept saying that our team was at the start of a brand new cycle. Backstage we've been working hard to build the foundations of a successful structure and to ensure that we would soon be able to fight at the highest level.

"Kimi's decision to come back to Formula 1 with us is the first step of several announcements which should turn us into an even more serious contender in the future. Of course, we are all looking forward to working with a world champion. On behalf of our staff, I'd like to welcome Kimi to Enstone, a setting that has always been known for its human approach to Formula 1."

Raikkonen, 32, moved from Formula 1 to the World Rally Championship in 2010, where he spent the last two seasons while also competing in one race of the NASCAR Truck series and one Nationwide event.

The Finn won the Formula 1 world championship in 2007 with Ferrari, having scored a total of 18 wins since he made his grand prix debut in 2001.

Renault was forced to search for another driver after Robert Kubica confirmed last week that he would not be ready to start the 2012 season following his dramatic accident in February.


TBWG

[TBWG]

The 2012 grid according to TBWG




Red Bull          Sebastian Vettel        Mark Webber

McLaren         Jenson Button           Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari            Fernando Alonso        Phillipe Massa

Mercedes        Nico Rosberg             Micheal Schumacher

Lotus Renault   Kimi Raikkonen                        ?

Force India      Paul DiResta             Nico Hulkenberg

Sauber            Kamui Koybayashi      Sergio Perez

Scuderia Lollo Rosso    ?                       ?

Williams                     ?                  Pastor Maldonado

Caterham F1     Heikki Kovalainen            ?

HRT                 Pedro De La Rosa           ?

Maurussia        Timo Glock                Charles Pic




Well I reckon that the status quo will prevail at Lollo Rosso with Buemi and Alguersuari being retained.

Which leaves Sutil as the most competant driver without a seat and with the Lotus & Williams drives available, as Sutil has a pile of dosh backing him I would expect him to get a drive but his glass slashing attack on the Renault boss man in China won't have endeared him too said individual.

The remaining seats are available to anyone with a wheelbarrow full of folding money!

Quite frankly there are now a few on the grid who are passed their sell by date and should in the opinion of yours truly bugger off and give someone else a chance.

So watch with bated breath as I continue to bring you up to the minute developments!


TBWG

[TBWG]

   
Grosjean joins Lotus F1 Team
by joesaward

Lotus Renault GP and its sponsor Total have announced that Romain Grosjean will race alongside Kimi Räikkönen next season. The two companies are also pleased to confirm that they have renewed their sponsorship agreement for another year. The 2011 GP2 Series champion gained useful experience with the team throughout the year as LRGP’s third driver. As part of his role, Romain was rewarded with two practice session drives at the final two races of the season in both Abu Dhabi and Brazil.

Romain previously won the F3 Euroseries and the GP2 Asia Series before graduating to the Renault F1 Team in 2008 as a test driver. Following this, he stepped up to a race seat for the second half of 2009, but did not do very well.

Since then he has rebuilt his career with a dominant performance in GP2. The signing indicates that team boss Eric Boullier is still very much part of the team, despite rumours of disagreements over Raikkonen. It also suggests that Total is providing money specifically for Grosjean.

This is bad news for Vitaly Petrov.


TBWG

[TBWG]

The 2012 grid according to TBWG




Red Bull          Sebastian Vettel        Mark Webber

McLaren         Jenson Button           Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari            Fernando Alonso        Phillipe Massa

Mercedes        Nico Rosberg             Micheal Schumacher

Lotus Renault   Kimi Raikkonen        Romain Grosjean               

Force India      Paul DiResta             Nico Hulkenberg

Sauber            Kamui Koybayashi      Sergio Perez

Scuderia Lollo Rosso    ?                       ?

Williams                     ?                  Pastor Maldonado

Caterham F1     Heikki Kovalainen            ?

HRT                 Pedro De La Rosa           ?

Maurussia        Timo Glock                Charles Pic




Hmmm Wonder if Petrov will pop up in a Williams seat?  Must also assume Kubica is a no no.

TBWG  

[TBWG]

   
The driver market in mid-December
by joesaward

One thing that has perplexed me in recent weeks has been the failure of Scuderia Toro Rosso to name its drivers for 2012. Firstly there was much talk of one or both current drivers - Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi - being replaced, as Red Bull has two hot youngsters - Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne - that it considers to be rather better. When Ricciardo was placed at HRT in the summer it looked like that plan was for him to move to STR in 2012 and then bounce on to replace Mark Webber at Red Bull Racing in 2013. Then Vergne came on the scene and was given testing work with both STR and RBR and did well, raising the possibility that he might overtake Ricciardo on the Red Bull list. In recent weeks, however, the word was that Ricciardo would be placed with the Caterham F1 Team and that STR would keep the current two, and Vergne would have to wait with another season in the Renault World Series. And yet there are still no announcements, which leads me to think that there is still some action going in Red Bull Land. Who knows, perhaps Vergne will go to Caterham?

Time will tell. Meanwhile we are waiting for Force India to announce that Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta will stay on next year, thus pushing out Nico Hulkenberg. This would be tough on the German, but he has the possibility if his contract has not been respected to leave Force India and move to Williams, which is believed to be waiting on Sutil. Rubens Barrichello should be in the frame there as well, but the team seems to want to change drivers as part of its plan to change the team for the better. No deal was possible with Kimi Raikkonen, which would have been good for sponsors, and it might be easier to sell Hulkenberg - a man with a future - rather than Barrichello, a man who wants to complete his 20th year in the sport. The other man who is in the picture is Vitaly Petrov, who has been left in the lurch by Renault. However, Williams would be ill-advised to take two pay-drivers, even if it needs the money.

That aside there is the second HRT available, although it is hard to imagine why anyone would want that drive, given that the team's new owners are showing no real sign of knowing what they are doing. The word from Spain is that the team is now moving to Madrid.


TBWG

[TBWG]

   
Massacre at Toro Rosso

 
by joesaward

Scuderia Toro Rosso will have a completely new driver line-up for the 2012 Formula 1 season, made up of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne. It will be the first time since the team’s 2006 debut that it will begin the year with an all new line-up. Both drivers have come through the Red Bull Junior Driver programme and the decision to promote Daniel and Jean-Eric to Scuderia Toro Rosso was taken by the team in conjunction with Red Bull.

Franz Tost: “I am pleased that we have been able to reach an early decision on our drivers for next year, because it means we can all give our full attention to 2012, without any distractions. Over the past year, both Daniel and Jean-Eric have proved their worth and I expect them to make a significant contribution to the team’s performance next year. Daniel has the benefit of having actually raced in Grands Prix for much of this year, while Jean-Eric proved he could adapt quickly to the demands of driving a Formula 1 car. As they have both worked with the team and its engineers very recently, this should allow us to get up to speed right from the start of winter testing in a couple of months time. I must also thank Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari for all their hard work over the past three seasons. They have delivered some excellent performances which have helped the team move forward and develop. We wish them well for the future. However, one has to remember that when Scuderia Toro Rosso was established in 2005, it was done so with the intention of providing a first step into Formula 1 for the youngsters in the Red Bull Junior Driver programme. It is therefore part of the team’s culture to change its driver line-up from time to time in order to achieve this goal.”

Twenty two year old Ricciardo, from Perth, Australia has already experienced life in F1, firstly by driving for Toro Rosso during Friday’s first free practice session at Grands Prix in the early part of 2011, before driving full time for Hispania Racing in the second half of the year. In 2008 he won the Formula Renault 2.0 Championship and the following year, he won the British Formula 3 series. In 2010, Dan finished runner up in the Renault 3.5 series, combining his racing with reserve driver duties for both Red Bull F1 teams.

Daniel Ricciardo: “This is a really big deal for me and something I have wanted ever since I was driving for Toro Rosso on Friday mornings at the races in the first part of last season. To be honest, I am still jumping up and down with excitement at the news. In the second half of 2011 I learned a lot from the people I worked with, racing in eleven Grands Prix and I want to thank them for the opportunity they gave me. I have to say that joining Scuderia Toro Rosso was always my real goal, so a big thank you to Red Bull for giving me this fantastic opportunity and now I can’t wait to get to work once testing begins.”

Frenchman Vergne has already worked with Scuderia Toro Rosso, most recently, driving in Free Practice 1 at three of the last four Grands Prix of the 2011 season. The twenty one year old Frenchman followed in his new team-mate’s footsteps, winning the 2010 British Formula 3 Championship and coming second in this year’s Renault 3.5 series.

Jean-Eric Vergne: “First of all, I must thank Red Bull for all their support so far and for believing I am ready to take on the ultimate challenge of racing in Formula 1. Christmas has come early for me this year! Having driven for them a few times this year and also testing for Red Bull Racing in Abu Dhabi, I definitely feel ready to make the move, even if I know there is a big difference between testing and actually racing. I enjoyed working with the guys at Toro Rosso this year and I can’t wait to be part of the team for real. Sitting on the grid in Melbourne next March cannot come soon enough.”

TBWG

[TBWG]

The 2012 grid according to TBWG




Red Bull          Sebastian Vettel        Mark Webber

McLaren         Jenson Button           Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari            Fernando Alonso        Phillipe Massa

Mercedes        Nico Rosberg             Micheal Schumacher

Lotus Renault   Kimi Raikkonen        Romain Grosjean               

Force India      Paul DiResta             Nico Hulkenberg

Sauber            Kamui Koybayashi      Sergio Perez

Scuderia Lollo Rosso   Daniel Ricciardo          Jean-Eric  Vergne         

Williams                     ?                  Pastor Maldonado

Caterham F1     Heikki Kovalainen            ?

HRT                 Pedro De La Rosa           ?

Maurussia        Timo Glock                Charles Pic


Well not a lot of seats left and an awful lot of drivers out of work, perhaps Alguersuari will pop up in HRT to make a complete Spanish fiasco, sorry team!

This leaves Williams with a choice of whats left, maybe including Hulkenberg as Force India still seem to be playing silly buggers with their line up!


TBWG

[TBWG]

The driver market in the first week of January

January 3, 2012 by Joe Saward

It is an interesting reflection that 28 drivers raced at one point or another in 2011 and 11 of them are now on the market, hoping to be called in to fit the last two or three available slots. I say two or three because there is a still a good chance that Jarno Trulli might end up as a driver coach/team ambassador at Caterham. No-one doubts that Jarno is quick, but he is rather inconsistent. Whatever the case, there are going to be around 10 drivers who are going to be disappointed in 2012 and will have to make do with test driver roles, or will head off to DTM, or something in the United States of America. Of the drivers confirmed for 2012 there will be four making F1 comebacks (Kimi Raikkonen, Pedro de la Rosa, Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean), but only two new boys (Charles Pic and Jean-Eric Vergne).

The chances are that Jaime Alguersuari will end up with a job with HRT, alongside de la Rosa. The team wants to become more Spanish and Alguersuari is not abad option in that respect – if there is money to run him. The idea that having an all-Spanish team will unlock vast piles of cash in Spain is rather naive, but there is some small chance that some hispanic companies might like to get involved. Latin America is doing pretty well at the moment and so there is hope. Having said that Sauber has hoovered up a lot of the available cash by doing a deal with the Slim Family, which controls much of the telecommunications industry of the region.

Williams will probably take a safe route and sign up Rubens Barrichello for one more season. There is little risk involved in such a move and the other available choices do not have the same kind of engineering clout that Rubens can muster. He has won 11 Grands Prix and is the most experienced racer in F1 history and while some of the younger men might be quicker, they are not going to be as rounded.

A lot depends on whether Williams needs to top up its budget. A team can never have too much money and if Williams is to return to being competitive it needs to invest in any number of areas, so a driver with skill and money might be an option. Having said that all of those who fit that bill have some kind of question mark next to their names. The best candidate is arguably Adrian Sutil, who did a terrific job last year with Force India. There are some folk who think that the team will renew the connection with the Senna Family, but that seems unlikely, unless Bruno wants to have some kind of reserve driver role, because he has not really proved that he has what it takes for the top F1 drives. Admittedly, his chances have been restricted, but when one gets a chance in F1 one must nail it.

I think it is fair to say that Nick Heidfeld’s long career has now finally ended, after 183 starts and no wins. He has finished second in races on eight occasions. The problem for Nick is that he has driven for a lot of different teams and all of them seem to think that he is a “nearly man” and not an unfortunate winner-in-the-wings. He is always a sensible choice, but he does not do much to inspire racing teams and his set-up skills often creates cars that other drivers do not like.

Williams has flirted with Tonio Liuzzi on occasion in the past, but his poor season at Force India in 2010 counts against him. He did a decent job in 2011 with HRT and showed the F1 world that if Daniel Ricciardo is the next big thing, then they have all missed the Italian. Liuzzi has many fans inside the sport, notably Fernando Alonso, but it is hard to imagine he will get another chance – even if he deserves one. At 31, with 80 GPs behind him, Liuzzi looks like going down in F1 history as being a victim of the Red Bull young driver programme, which got him to F1 and then messed up his career royally.

Another man who has the kind of fight that Williams used to like is Sébastien Buemi, who has also fallen victim to Red Bull’s policies. The Swiss driver is a real fighter and has done well on many occasions. Red Bull might given him a vague chance by offering him a reserve driver role for both of its F1 teams, but he will need some luck to revive his career from that position.

One man who seems to be completely adrift at the moment is Vitaly Petrov, who has access to some decent money from Russia and did a pretty decent job in his first year in F1 in 2010. Last year he failed to build on those foundations and was ditched by the Renault (now Lotus) team. Williams already has one fairly quick pay-driver, and it is hard to see them going for another.

Jérôme D’Ambrosio really deserved better than the hand he was dealt. He did a solid job in his debut year with Virgin but did not have the funding to compete with Charles Pic for a 2012 seat. In all probability he will be taken in by Renault (Lotus) as the team’s reserve driver. He is managed by Eric Boullier and the team wants to have a good solid option in the bag should Kimi Raikkonen’s comeback not work out well.

It is hard to see any real chance of work for racing work for either Karun Chandhok or Narain Karthikeyan. Both did decent jobs in 2011, without being exceptional and although the sport would like an Indian in the field, the best that they can hope for is reserve driver roles.



TBWG

[TBWG]

   
Williams signs Senna (for the second time)
by Joe Saward

Bruno Senna will drive for Williams F1 this year, partnering Pastor Maldonado. Senna is the nephew of three-time world champion Ayrton Senna, who drove for Williams in 1994, before his death in a accident at Imola.

Bruno made his grand prix debut with the Hispania team in 2010, but then spent the first half of last year as the reserve driver with Lotus Renault GP (now Lotus F1 Team). He was called in to replace Nick Heidfeld from the Belgian GP onwards, but he was not retained this season with the Enstone team deciding to drop both drivers and hire Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean instead.

Senna will make his debut with the team on February 9 at Jerez, during the first test of the year.

"Bruno only started racing when he was 20 years old but quickly proved his talent in F3 and GP2," said Frank Williams. "In a tightly fought 2008 GP2 season, Bruno finished second in the championship with notable victories in Monaco and Silverstone, the latter in the wet. The circumstances of Bruno's two seasons in Formula 1 have not given him an ideal opportunity to deliver consistently so it was essential that we spent as much time with him as possible to understand and evaluate him as a driver. We have done this both on track and in our simulator and he has proven quick, technically insightful and above all capable of learning and applying his learning quickly and consistently. Now we are looking forward to seeing that talent in our race car."

Senna says that driving for Williams is a privilege.

"The team has a great heritage and I hope I can help write a good chapter in their history," he said. "The evaluation process has been intense and methodical but the time I have spent in the factory has demonstrated that the team has great people and all the resources needed to achieve better things this season. It will be very interesting to drive for a team that my uncle has driven for, particularly as quite a few of the people here actually worked with Ayrton. Hopefully we can bring back some memories and create some great new ones too. I also want to get some good results in return for the support my country has given me to help get me to this position today. I am very proud to be Brazilian and more motivated than ever to demonstrate what I can do. Ever since I first sat in a go-kart I never wanted to do anything else."

The announcement means Rubens Barrichello is without an F1 for the first time in 20 years.



TBWG

[TBWG]

The 2012 grid according to TBWG




Red Bull          Sebastian Vettel        Mark Webber

McLaren         Jenson Button           Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari            Fernando Alonso        Phillipe Massa

Mercedes        Nico Rosberg             Micheal Schumacher

Lotus Renault   Kimi Raikkonen        Romain Grosjean               

Force India      Paul DiResta             Nico Hulkenberg

Sauber            Kamui Koybayashi      Sergio Perez

Scuderia Lollo Rosso   Daniel Ricciardo          Jean-Eric  Vergne         

Williams            Bruno Senna                   Pastor Maldonado

Caterham F1     Heikki Kovalainen            ?

HRT                 Pedro De La Rosa           ?

Maurussia        Timo Glock                Charles Pic


Well not a lot of seats left and an awful lot of drivers out of work,  Alguersuari turned down HRT although Luzzi still maintains that he has a contract with them, that really is grasping at straws, he must be desperate to stay in F1 at any cost.

Trulli also has a contract with Caterham nee Team Lotus although I would not be surprised if that turned into a PR job!


TBWG

[TBWG]

A Name to watch out for in the future. Red Bull which is part owned by Thais has been supporting a youngster Alexander Albon, an Anglo-Thai who this year moves from karts, where he battled for the KF1 World Championship with Holland's Nick de Vries (a McLaren youngster), into car racing .

TBWG

[TBWG]

The 2012 grid according to TBWG




Red Bull          Sebastian Vettel        Mark Webber

McLaren         Jenson Button           Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari            Fernando Alonso        Phillipe Massa

Mercedes        Nico Rosberg             Micheal Schumacher

Lotus Renault   Kimi Raikkonen        Romain Grosjean               

Force India      Paul DiResta             Nico Hulkenberg

Sauber            Kamui Koybayashi      Sergio Perez

Scuderia Lollo Rosso   Daniel Ricciardo          Jean-Eric  Vergne         

Williams            Bruno Senna                   Pastor Maldonado

Caterham F1     Heikki Kovalainen            ?

HRT                 Pedro De La Rosa          Narain Karthikeyan

Maurussia        Timo Glock                Charles Pic



Well Karthikeyan must have come up with a shedload of money to get that poisoned chalice of a drive at HRT. Will he or the team last the season out?

It looks as though Trulli might retain his Caterham seat ~~~ But ~~~ still a long way to go before first race, anything could happen!


TBWG 

[aparasher]

As long as his dad has plenty of cash....he will keep trying...till death do us apart....LOL

[TBWG]

Courtesy of John the Traveller ~~~~~


The Secret Diary of Adrian Newey first appeared on the ITV.com website in 2002. The title was adapted from Sue Townsend's hugely successful book and TV series The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 and ¾. At the time, Adrian was very close to 43 and ¾. Now, with Adrian approaching 53 and ¾ his world is significantly different, though some things do remain the same...
Well then trusty tome, the 2012 season beckons. Our American colleagues have a saying, "another day, another dollar". We have a saying at Red Bull, "another season, another 345 million dollars". Or, if Christian Horner were able to edit this compendium of intimate jottings, "another season, another sum totally in line with the Resource Restriction Agreement."
I knew the coming year would be a challenging one, what with undercurrents about active ride and the problems of a shifting race calendar, but I didn't think it would be tricky from 9 a.m. My P.A. was promoted just before Christmas and I was too busy, with a most irksome RB8 exhaust vibration issue, to interview her replacement, so Christian said he would sort me out someone suitable. I walked into my office on January 3rd and blow me down sitting behind the outer desk was Marlene, my old P.A. from McLaren days. Going under the name of Jana now.
We had lost contact after I joined Red Bull, though I did get a Christmas card from her in 2004 saying she was working for a banker in the City of London.
"I prefer working for F1 team," she told me in her characteristically blunt Slavic way, "in City they all want to try and sleep with you."
"Oh dear," I think I muttered.
"But F1 team is better. They only want to know what car you drive... And can they modify your suspension."
I have to say, diary, I'm not sure that someone asking to modify 6-foot blonde Jana's suspension isn't a euphemism, but it's an innuendo that escaped her completely. Chortle chortle. It was probably Paddy Lowe.
Mid-morning the wild Australian boy stuck his head round the door.
"Hiya Prof, happy New Year!" he shouted, continuing his theme that I am Professor Pat Pending from the Wacky Races.
"Shouldn't you be in a canoe up a mountain?" I retorted. And felt rather pleased with that response.
"Nah, I'm on for a bit of simulator," he replied and was off again.
I set to work on some irritatingly troublesome KERS issues that had been drawn to my attention when Jana buzzed through mid-morning.
"I have small boy out here," she said, "he won't go away. What do you want me to do with him?"
"Is he lost?" I enquired.
"No, he says he needs to speak to you. I already tell him we have no Saturday jobs."
I scurried to the outer office and there was a very crestfallen Sebsatian looking a little confused with the world. I hastily introduced Jana and told her that he was actually a double World Champion. She looked him straight in the eye and said "At what?"
Hoot hoot.
I have to tell you diary, both Sebastian and I fell about laughing, because she kept a completely straight face throughout. It brought back memories of my time with her at McLaren (when she was extraordinarily rude to everyone) and because she was my PA (and I was No.5 in F1 Racing magazine's Most Powerful People In F1 poll) everyone accepted it. At some function she once told Ron Dennis that he should be a hypnotist. And when a flattered Ron replied, "Why, do I have mesmerising eyes?" she said "No, because you send people off to sleep."
The only time I ever made her laugh was when I referred to Norbert Haug and Ron as 'The Laurel and Hardy of the pitlane'. "Hah!" she exhaled. "You right!" One laugh in three years. Probably a good strike record with Jana. She thinks that World Champions have to be at least 28 years old, six foot tall and have a six o'clock shadow. So she'll like Mark. I suddenly realised that there was another link between McLaren and Red Bull, apart from their studious copying of my exhaust systems.
"Remember Scottish David, at McLaren," I ventured. "You know, the one we nicknamed McVulcan."
Her face softened, "Yes, I do," she replied. "He was very nice man. But I never understand why he have symbol for bowling alley strike on his helmet."
"Well, he drove for us at Red Bull, and then Sebastian took over from him three years ago." She studied him a little bit more.
"He should have been at school then."
Safely inside my office Sebastian gave me one of his looks.
"She is quite something, isn't she."
"Yes" I replied curtly. Quite frankly I can't see her staying beyond her three-month trial period, but I think it's only fair to tackle Christian about it first.
"Oh and congratulations on your OBE," Sebastian said, faultless in his manners as usual. "What does that mean?"
In two short sentences that is the tyoical Sebastian Vettel. Very polite and also thirsting for knowledge.
"It means," I said, a whimsical smile playing on my lips, "that you have to call me Lord Newey from now on". A wicked deception trusty tome, but he expects that from us. He thought about it for a second.
"So that means you are like Lord Voldermort...?"
"Yes...kind of."
First soup of the New Year was, I have to confess, a dismally thin carrot and coriander with stale garlic croutons and a lifeless parsley topping. Christian arrived on my second spoonful. He smiled at me knowingly. "How's it going?"
I didn't answer the obvious question and told him that Sebastian had come to see me this morning and wanted to know everything about the design of the 2012 car. Everything. Last year he did homework on Pirelli tyres and made a special visit to their factory. This year it's the car.
"He wants to start off by seeing how a brake pad is put together. He's going to go through the car component by component. "
Christian muttered something and it sounded a little like his namesake.
"I've got so many sponsor events he needs to do..."
Seeing Christian discomforted like that emboldened me.
"And what about my new PA," I started, "what was the thinking there...?"
At this Christian smiled. "She's perfect for you Adrian. You're a perfect match."
I was on the point of bristling. There is only one perfect match for me and she is at home - but then he continued in his usual irresistible way.
"This is the most critical time of the year. The last thing I need is you getting bothered and distracted by people for no reason at all. Jana's perfect, I think even I'd struggle to get past her.
"Of course you would," I countered, "She's six-foot."
We paused, both trying to think of someone who could get past her easily.
"What about Helmut?"
"That's going to be the interesting one."
The Secret Diary of Adrian Newey (Aged 53 and ¾)
To be continued...

TBWG

[TBWG]

 

Kimi Raikkonen sets early pace for Lotus in Jerez F1 test
By Simon Strang   Tuesday, February 7th 2012,

Kimi Raikkonen posted the quickest time in the first morning of testing in 2012 as the returning 2007 world champion set the pace in the new Lotus E20.

The Finn responded to the hype surrounding his return with four fast stints, and occupied the top spot on the timesheets from the minute he first left the garage.

His fastest time so far, a 1m19.670s, set on his third run using medium Pirelli tyres, was faster than any testing laps at the Spanish track throughout 2011.

Lotus confirmed that the team's programme was simply to put miles on the new car and to give Raikkonen as much time as was possible to get used to this year's Pirelli compounds. By 13:00 local time, the Finn had completed 50 laps.

Paul di Resta was second fastest in the new Force India, having spent much of the morning doing intensive evaluation of the VJM05 which sported a large pylon mounted on the roll-bar.

Nico Rosberg was third fastest, driving a 2011 Mercedes W02 with some modifications. Having initially worked on calibration and installation, the German quickly upped the ante and by lunchtime had worked down to a 1m20.219s lap on Pirelli's soft rubber.

Daniel Ricciardo was fourth fastest in the Scuderia Toro Rosso having completed a trouble-free 40 laps so far in the STR7, which was revealed to the world at Jerez on Monday evening.

Mark Webber completed just eight laps in the new Red Bull RB8 but finished as fifth quickest.

Kamui Kobayashi was sixth fastest in the Sauber C31. The Japanese driver's only problem was the loss of a small piece of the rear brake duct on his initial run, but the team quickly resolved the issue.

Jenson Button was seventh for McLaren, which took its time working through systems checks and installation runs. Meanwhile, Felipe Massa was eighth quickest for Ferrari. The Brazilian focussed on data gathering in the F2012 - which was also carrying a tall pillar on its roll-hoop.

Heikki Kovalainen completed 18 laps by lunchtime for Caterham - the Finn having achieved a best of 1m23.1748, ahead of Pastor Maldonado in the new Williams-Renault. The FW34 was also revealed to the world in a roll-out just before the start of the test this morning.

Pedro de la Rosa completed the order in last year's HRT.

Morning times:

Pos  Driver                         Team                  Time        Laps
 1.  Kimi Raikkonen       Lotus-Renault         1m19.670s    50
 2.  Paul di Resta        Force India-Mercedes  1m19.772s    52
 3.  Nico Rosberg         Mercedes              1m20.219s    56
 4.  Daniel Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m20.694s    40
 5.  Mark Webber          Red Bull-Renault      1m21.474s     8
 6.  Kamui Kobayashi      Sauber-Ferrari        1m21.534s    29
 7.  Jenson Button        McLaren-Mercedes      1m22.402s    22
 8.  Felipe Massa         Ferrari               1m23.056s    51
 9.  Heikki Kovalainen    Caterham-Renault      1m23.178s    32
10.  Pastor Maldonado     Williams-Renault      1m23.371s    23
11.  Pedro de la Rosa     HRT-Cosworth          1m24.322s    16

All Timing Unofficial


TBWG