The new formula

 
New FIA president Jean Todt has realised the need to improve the sports image, which has been damaged by repeated scandals over the past ten years. On top of this, critics claim the sport is out of touch with the real world, as it is simply wasting valuable fossil fuels. Todt has aimed to rectifying this problem by improving the sports green credentials with the following 3 steps:

• Banning on in race refuelling- For 2010, the teams are no longer allowed to refuel their cars during the races and must start with enough fuel to get them to the end. This has made it more important for the teams to be fuel efficient in order to benefit from reduced weight at the start (through having to carry less fuel) and reduced tyre wear (through having a lighter car).
• The return of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS)- Todt has persuaded the teams to bring KERS back for 2011. This was previously withdrawn for cost reasons, but the relevance of the technology to road car developments of the future was reason enough for Todt and the teams to agree to re-introduce it for the start of 2011.
• Smaller engines- The sport will reduced engine sizes from 2.4 litre V8’s to 1.6 litre turbos for 2013.

The aim of this is to make sure that the sport is more relevant to road car developments, as car manufacturers strive to improve their fuel efficiencies. Although the sport is only at step one of Todt’s process, it has still increased the importance of fuel efficiency with the championship winning Red Bull Renault thought to be the most fuel efficient car on the grid in 2010. The KERS system is perhaps the most important element of this plan, with Ferrari having already implemented a KERS device on their 599 hybrid road car model. Therefore, the reason why BMW left the sport appears to have been addressed.

Money

 
The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) has made huge strides in it’s attempts to reduce spending in the sport by drawing up a resource restriction agreement which all the teams have agreed to. This reduces the amount all teams spend on their F1 programmes, thus allowing smaller teams to be competitive on a smaller budget. It was this agreement which led to Brawn GP being able to win the championship last year, and has allowed Virgin Racing to close the gap by over a second to the leading teams in six months despite operating on a $40 million budget, which is 10% of what Toyota were spending as they failed to win a race.

It is therefore now possible to be competitive in F1 with a very small budget. Richard Branson actually believes that it is possible for a team to be profitable and competitive in the sport, which would make his F1 team one of the most cost effective marketing platforms available. F1 has therefore changed significantly, and the reason why Honda, Toyota and Ford left appears to no longer be a problem.

Will Porsche enter F1?

 
All the problems that the car manufacturers previously had with the sport have now disappeared. Even the domineering Max Mosley no long has any involvement in the teams affairs. It therefore makes perfect sense for Porsche to take the opportunity presented by the new 1.6 litre turbo engine formula in 2013 and enter the sport. The fashion at the moment is to create your own team and aim for a profit, as Virgin, Air Asia (Lotus), Kingfisher (Force India) and Mercedes have done. However, don’t forget that Porsche have collaborated with Williams in the past, with Williams supplying Porsche’s GT programme with KERS technology. Williams shareholder Toto Wolff has also driven for Porsche in the same GT series. This would help the team avoid a painful building process as they at first struggle to get all the ingredients in place for success, as Toyota did. Buying a former championship winning team would surely allow them to hit the ground running in 2013.

Details are scarce, but a senior figure within the team has said the team ‘may not last much longer’, possibly due to continuing financial issues.

Vitaly Petrov had helped bring Lada sponsorship to the team, whom Renault own a 25% stake in. The deal was announced by Vladimir Putin no less, with a whiff of PR stunt in the air, possibly an attempt to drum up interest from other prospective Russian investors.

Also at risk is Renault’s engine department in France, who also supply engines to front-runners Red Bull Racing.

Renault are still expected to race at the season opener at Bahrain next weekend, but beyond then it’s anyone’s guess what the future brings for the now estranged French squad.

First, the launch of the VR-01 developed by brainy Nick Wirth’s Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) suffered a PR set back when it’s online launch crashed, after which Virgin Racing Driver Lucas Di Grassi crashed the car during testing on Thursday at Barcalona. Furthermore, there are some pace issues linked to the cars hydraulics, and the official statement is the car is being “debugged”.  Being a fan of Nick Wirths’ work in ALMS with the Acura ARX prototype cars, and his influence on yacht racing design by CFD, I had hoped Wirth Research would prove the doubters wrong; but the real test will be on the track in Bahrain.

I noticed Formula One commentators who usually ‘know it all’ have been hesitant to endorse any Driver they consider a cut above the rest.  The field this year has a lot of oomph, with the inclusion Schumacher, Hulkenburg and Kobayashi added to Button, Vettel, Alonso, Massa and Hamilton.  Such is the level of ambiguity amongst experts  that the latest Autosports Magazine dated Feb 25^th has Robert Kubica and Renault up on the front cover as ‘ F1 2010’s Dark Horse’.

Yeah. Right.

Off the testing race track Ferrari.com launched a sideswipe attack on Max Mosley, Stefan GP and all new teams engaged in an uphill struggle for grid positions on the 2010 season. While Virgin CEO Richard Branson called Ferrari comments ‘sad’, Mosley hit back saying Ferrari was acting like a ‘jealous middle aged woman’. Mosley knows exactly what buttons to press. I’m with Mosley on this one, but not so much with Stefan GP. I can’t help but feel there’s an ulterior motive involved when it comes to Zoran Stefanovich.  I could be very wrong.

Leaving the royal court of F1, the beginning of February brought forth the World Rally Championship (WRC), opening in my wife’s’ backyard, Sweden. The Swedish Snow Rally was always an ambition of mine, so imagine my torment realising I wouldn’t make it Karlstad after all.  There’s always next year I suppose,  Colin’s (Mcrae) Crest will just have to wait.   As for the racing, last year’s second best Diver Mikko Hirvonen returned to the championship in 2010 with a vengeance.

Hirvonen  flat out took no prisoners, beating current world champion Sebastien Loeb  by 42.3 sec,  forcing Loeb to  conscientiously   settle for second place.  Since his multi crashes last season Loeb he lives to fight another day. The Citroen Team of Sebastien Loeb and Dani Sordo are fired up and vowing to recover from the Swedish set back come the next stage in Mexico. All the while,  this year’s WRC sensation, former F1 Driver Kimi Raikkonen, debuting for the Citroen Junior Team is end the Swedish rally  in 30^th position,  37mins behind Hirvonen, having crashed out earlier on SS10.

Last year, the exciting news of Iceman Raikkonen participating in the WRC was complemented further by the announcement that American Gymkhana Video giant Ken Block would be joining the WRC in a Ford Fiesta.  Yesterday, (27^th of Feb) Block won the second stage of Rally America (100 Acre Wood) up in Washington State USA. The Acre Wood Rally was a WRC Rally between 1983-86 when Group B cars ruled the championship.  Block will make his 2010 WRC debut 5-7 March in Corona Mexico.

Unfortunately, Rally America means little to the generic American Motorsportsports fan.  After the fun and games of the Budweiser Shootout with Danica Patrick dominating racing news for just ‘being Danica Patrick’,  what most American fans were waiting for on Valentine’s Day was ‘The Great American Race’,  The Daytona 500.  It was the start of NASCAR 2010 season; and the promise of more glimpses of Danica.

In reality, Danica Patrick did little more during the race than Sarah Palin did in the stands as a high profile spectator. The NASCAR 2010 season began with a surprise win for Jamie McMurray at Daytona 500.  With nearly three races into the season, Kevin Harvick leads 331 points going into the third race in the Sprint Cup, while Carl Edwards leads by 335 points in the Nationwide Series. Kevin Harvick won the Sam Towns 300 race in Las Vegas yesterday (Nationwide Series) but remains 116 points behind Edwards.  As I write this piece   the current champion NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson seems  to be edging his way back to the top NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series , winning the Las Vegas Motor Speedway 400, after winning the Auto Club 500 last weekend.  This puts  Johnson and Hendrick Motorsport  just 78 points behind Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress Racing.

Leaving American motorsports and looking ‘Down Under’ at more stockier Stock Cars  from Australia,  the  V8 Supercars Series got under way in  Yas Marina Abu Dhabi with two night races, much to the chagrin of many Aussie race traditionalist anxious about the first V8 race not taking place in Australia.  Despite muffled grumbles, V8 series boss Tony Cochrane has expressed his desire to see more overseas races take place in the future, adding to New Zealand, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain by 2015.

On the track, having changed from Ford Falcon to Holden Commodore, Jamie Whincup has begun to dominate by winning all four races in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain thus far for his new TeamVodaphone outfit.  The series moves back to Australia in Adelaide for the Clipsal 500, 11-14 March.

Lastly, for this review I’ve included the 33^rd America’s Cup (Sailing Regatta) which took place in Valencia four days after schedule between the 12^th and 14^th February.  The America’s cup won by USA 17 (BMW Oracle) by challenger from cup defender SNG represented by Alinghi 5 was a defining moment and raised questions about technology in relation to sailing skill in regatta races.   The sophistication and technical influence of auto racing has found its way into sailing and thus divided opinion over what direction the America’s Cup should go in.  Personally, I feel that the genie’s let out of the bottle in terms of how design and CDF influence sailing, USA-17 and it’s sail wing was a game changer. The good old days of racing regular monohulls, in the America’s Cup, are ending.

February brought forth a new day in ocean racing, even the Volvo Ocean Race may need to adopt more extreme sailing in future and move beyond 70 ft monohulls. Watch out for the March Review.

Renault had planned to run Petrov on the first two days and Robert Kubica during the last two days of testing, however test driver Ho-Pin Tung will attend the first two days as a ‘reserve’ driver – possibly a sign Renault are putting pressure on Petrov to cough up his sponsorship money in a hurry?

In the past, Petrov was believed to have backing from Russian gas giant Gazprom as well as telecommunications firm Megafon, but any sort of money has failed to materialise so far – putting the well-funded Tung in with a chance of promotion.

Another driver who could benefit from Petrov’s departure is Christian Klien – who had already been in contention for the second seat, but just missed out. TCF also learned he had made a basic agreement with Sauber last year – but the deal fell through, leaving him still searching for a drive.

“As long as there are cockpits available I will try hard,” said Klien.

Team principal Eric Boullier has been trying hard to prove Petrov was hired on his racing talent and not the sponsorship he would bring – but this is starting to bring his credibility rating down to that of a certain former holder of his job…

According to reports Petrov’s father Alexander Petrovic has yet to secure a loan to pay Renault for the first installment of £13m.

Petrovic who used his property as security for the load told a Russian news website that he had still not received his money.

He added that if Renault haven’t received their payment by March they may replace the young Russian.

This is the three way fight to stay in Formula One for 2010. All three were manufacturer teams at one point, yet they are left scrapping against each other to stay in F1. Except, its not quite as simple as a straight fight between the trio. Let me explain…

The sequence of events begins when BMW announce a buyer for their team, an organisation known only as Qadbak Investment Group. However, they did not complete the deal in time, and the FIA instead gave the final grid slot to Lotus 1Malaysia. This meant BMW had not signed the Concorde Agreement and had no commitment to Formula One from next season, which would turn out to be their major stumbling block in this three way battle for grid slots.

Next in line were Toyota, who announced their withdrawal from the sport on a whim and continued the apparent mass exodus in F1. The FIA were not happy though, as Toyota had already signed the Concorde Agreement, committing them to Formula One until at least 2012. Toyota have still not been able to wriggle free of the FIA’s stranglehold on the matter, but they may not need to, as you will find out later.

Only days after Toyota’s withdrawal, Renault conducted an emergency board meeting about its F1 future. The outcome is still unknown, after CEO Carlos Ghosn refused to reveal any details concerning the team’s future after the meeting. Many believed this could mean the end for Renault’s F1 programme, after Ghosn said that F1 was no longer important for Renault. However, TCF can confirm that they have been in talks with Russian Investors, however the specific group involved is unknown. There is a chance this company could be Megafon, who already have business with Renault and are also Vitaly Petrov‘s backers, putting him in line for the second Renault seat.

As for Toyota, recent reports from Cologne suggest one Zoran Stefanovic has made several visits to the TMG factory and has just bought their entry for next year, which will be run from their own factory in Serbia. However, all staff and technical resources would be retained and Toyota would still essentially be building the car for them. If this is the case, Stefan Grand Prix would be obliged by the Concorde Agreement to run in the 2010 World Championship.

But there was another plot twist, after announcement of Peter Sauber purchasing his old team back from BMW in its entirety, after the suspicious Qadbak deal fell through. It meant the team had financial stability at last, and a safe pair of hands at the helm. This stability may well be enough to convice the FIA to grant them an entry.

The final twist in this tale is that contrary to rumours, Stefanovic had not actually purchased Toyota Motorsport, nor their F1 entry. Toyota’s entry has now defaulted to the FIA, and they will likely have to pay a mountain of fines as a consequence, but thats not the issue here. Stefan GP are only going to buy Toyota’s technical equipment and now have to seek their own entry.

Maybe Renault will pull out after all, and their problem is solved. Or maybe Stefan GP are gambling on one of the four new teams not making the grid.

Despite initial financial worries, Campos Meta appears to have a solid future, after announcing Bruno Senna as its first driver and also being the first of the new team’s to have its chassis pass official FIA crash tests. Petrov has also been linked with Campos, but so has Pastor Maldonado who brings plenty of sponsorship from oil firm PDVSA. Manor look to have a similarly secure future, as Virgin look increasingly likely to be named title sponsors of the team. Both of the above contracted external companies to build their cars, Dallara in Campos’ case, and former Simtek owner Nick Wirth for Manor.

The two unknowns now are USF1 and Lotus. For months there have been rumours of financial difficulties and lack of progress from both teams, but Lotus have a harder task after gaining their entry after the other teams. However in Mike Gascoyne they have a good pair of hands leading the technical side, and they have significant start-up capital from Air Asia. Current Team CEO Tony Fernandes has already announced a driver has been signed, expected to be Toyota refugee Jarno Trulli.

There hasn’t been much noise from the USF1 camp however, and all we know for sure thus far is that Jose Maria Lopez has signed a conditional contract with them for next year, assuming that he is able to stump up $8 Million in sponsorship. Reports suggest he is currently around $2 Million short of that figure at the moment. In terms of technical developments, unlike Lotus, we haven’t seen any models or much evidence at all they have made significant process with their car.

There were rumours of American investors being involved in Peter Sauber’s purchase of his old team, an ominous sign that USF1 is doomed to failure perhaps? We will just have to wait until WMSC’s December meeting to see the outcome.

With reports earlier today signalling Raikkonen’s exit after McLaren talks failed and the subsequent signing on champion Jenson Button, his manager Steve Robertson told press that McLaren was his only option.

“The options in F1 were with McLaren next season or not at all. Kimi and McLaren were unable to reach an agreement, so he will not drive at the F1 level – at least not next year.” Said Robertson

Although the source of the news has been proved correct a number of times this year, we will await to hear anything more official.

Schumacher recently renewed his contract with the Italian marque, but it seems that this ties in with the development and input into the road car department.

So with that said silly season has gone in to overload with rumours suggesting that Schumacher could be set to renew his Mercedes ties and take up a seat for Mercedes GP next year.

As much as we would love to see that, we believe the real reasons are more likely to be Schumacher’s involvement with the FIA after the recent appointment of ex-boss Jean Todt, with the Frenchman indicating that the German would always have a place at his side.

With the only confirmation from the Anglo/French team being that of number one driver Robert Kubica there has been much speculation around the second seat.

With management not being too happy with Romain Grosjean’s performances in the seat that he took over from Piquet Jnr, it is looking like the young driver will not have his race contract renewed.

Talking to Radio Canada, former Super Aguri driver Franck Montagny revealed that he had been in talks with Renault, “This is a real, we have discussed it a lot of times,” he said

“We will see how it goes at the end as it’s still very early.”

Montagny himself expressed surprise that he has had talks with Renault after admitting that he had concentrated on motor sport away from Formula One as he felt that was an avenue that was closed.

“I did not expect to find myself on the list. I’ve concentrated on my racing programme but not especially on Formula One because I’m not there any more.

“But surprises can happen.”

Talking to globo.com he said: “I am close to Force India at the moment, but to me NASCAR is very interesting so I don’t know yet what is going to happen,”

“I don’t want to take a decision without knowing how things work here in the United States, so I came to be with the drivers and team owners,” he explained.

With rumours suggesting that Piquet Snr is willing to invest money in helping him secure a drive he admitted that Formula 1 is still very much in his mind despite a recent NASCAR test.

“It is clear that the F1 cars are very much better technologically, the best in the world, but I find that if it is enjoyable, it doesn’t matter if I am racing in karts. The important thing is to compete.”

In the article it says that Button has turned his back on Brawn (soon to be Mercedes) following protracted negotiations.

Button was spotted at the McLaren factory last friday as he was given a guided tour with sources at McLaren allegedly saying “I think Jenson liked what he saw and they liked him too.”

Earlier in the day Brawn chief executive Nick Fry said “I hope Jenson is still with us next season. We’ve been together for a good few years now and we have succeeded in winning the world championship together and we want Jenson to be with us. But we have to recognise that Formula One is not divorced from the rest of the world. We have worked within a budget [and] if we spend in one area then we cannot spend in another area.”

Keep checking back on TCF as we will be keeping you posted on this developing story.

The decision to be made is if Renault should run as a team or just switch to supplying engines.

With a publicity event taking place on Thursday with President Carlos Ghosn promoting the companies efforts to introduce zero-emission vehicles, an announcement isn’t expected for a few days.

Renault have suffered their worse season since 2001, finishing eighth out of ten teams and were surrounded by controversy earlier in the year after the Singapore crash-gate incident.

Second placed in the championship, Red Bull Racing run the same engines as the works team, so it comes as no surprise that there are talks about the French teams future in Formula One.

If Renault were to pull out of Formula One it would leave the highly rated Robert Kubica in limbo with no team for 2010.

An emergency board meeting was said to have been called today, and Toyota President Akio Toyoda would announce the news of its withdrawal in a press conference in Tokyo within the next 3 days.

It is also said the Toyota board members had given the F1 squad until 2012 to deliver its primary goal, presumably winning the World Championship, but due to the current economic climate they had made the decision to curtail its F1 program early.

Toyota’s focus is now said to be on consolidating a future for its several hundred employees at its Cologne base, and is considering looking for a buyer for the team.

This leaves Kamui Kobayashi in limbo as to his future prospects, after revealing he had been unable to raise a budget to race in GP2 next year, and would probably return to his father’s sushi bar unless a solution was found.

Current drivers Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli have both ruled out renewing contracts with the team, and look set to join Renault and Lotus respectively.