Monday, April 27, 2009

Theissen - Formula One is valuable for BMW

Mercedes may be rethinking its commitment to Formula One, but the same is currently not true of fellow German carmaker BMW, motorsport boss Mario Theissen insists.

Like Mercedes, however, the Munich marque's executive committee does regularly review its support for the Swiss-based team BMW Sauber, he admitted.

"Formula One (for BMW) is valuable," Theissen is quoted as saying by RTL.

"Before the season the project was evaluated again in detail and the financial situation was part of the analysis," he explained.

"But in the long-term we also need success," said Theissen.

So far, the 2009 ambition to fight for the championship is in tatters, with just four points on the board after the first four races.

Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld, who collided in the first corner in Bahrain, were ultimately lapped by the leaders and dead last at the finish, and now desperately waiting for a technical update for the Spanish Grand Prix.

iSport aims Formula One

With Lola and Prodrive eyeing a move into Formula One next year, should the proposed budget caps be agreed, there is now another new name looking to join the grid for the 2010 season.

iSport International, currently racing in the GP2 series, is reportedly bullish on its chances of taking a step up to the pinnacle of motorsport according to Motorsports-Magazine.com.

“I aim to give a few people in F1 a kick up the backside and to show them that they are chucking money out of the window for nothing,” team boss Paul Jackson told the publication.

Any decision to enter Formula One will however depend on the budget restraints being in place for next season with FIA President Max Mosley keen to see spending capped at £30 million a season.

Such a figure would mean massive changes for current ten teams as they that spend many times that level, leading Jackson to conclude that it would be better to start a new team rather than merging with an existing outfit.

“The existing teams aren’t structured to operate within a 30-million budget,” said Jackson. “So it would probably be better to start with a blank sheet. We’re accustomed to doing a great job on limited resources."

Button minor injuries

Championship leader and Bahrain winner Jenson Button revealed a minor injury after Sunday's Grand Prix - and gave key rival Sebastian Vettel another chance to display his wit.

It is well known that Brawn were concerned about how its Mercedes-powered car would cope with the scorching temperatures this weekend, amid stories that holes in the bodywork were being cut before the race.

After crossing the chequered flag first, 29-year-old Button admitted: "I've burned the top of my left buttock on a box - there's an electrical box there."

Vettel, who has named his Red Bull 'Kate's Dirty Sister' because it is even faster and more aggressive than the original RB5 he shunted in Melbourne, leaned over during the post-race press conference and stroked his British rival's shoulder.

Button retorted: "I'll get you stroking it later, Sebastian, don't worry!"

The winner of three races from four so far this year also gave a backhanded thanks to Anthony Davidson, when he was told his former Honda tester believes Bahrain was the best performance of Button's entire career.

"Thanks to the Ginger Racer, as I call him, for those nice comments," Button grinned.

Trulli still chasing Toyota first victory

It was a small case of déjà-vu with Toyota showing so well in qualifying and then fading in race conditions, something that former driver Ralf Schumacher experienced in Japan in 2005 and Jarno Trulli at Indianapolis the same year.

"We expected more from today but I'm happy with third place,” admitted Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina. “This is our third podium of the year [but] when we have conditions like these we must now aim for the centre of the podium, starting at the next race in Barcelona."

In fairness to the German-based team, the pole position for Trulli alongside team-mate Timo Glock was much more convincing than their previous efforts, but with a light fuel load both drivers were soon in the pits in Bahrain to relinquish their first and second positions to eventual winner Jenson Button.

"I am a little bit disappointed because I was waiting for the first win for Toyota," said Trulli after finishing in third position at the Sakhir circuit. "I was following my team-mate. I was going longer and then during the second stint we used a very long stint on the hard tyres, so I was trying to fight and it was really hard fighting with a lot.”

The second stint on the harder prime tyre cost Trulli and Toyota between half and a second a lap to their rivals and allowed Sebastian Vettel to take over second position in the second and final pitstop, something Trulli acknowledges.

“I was not extremely quick but competitive being on the hard tyres and then eventually Sebastian took the position after my last stop,” Trulli continued. “He was on the hard tyres and I was on the soft and I was pushing him. I was quicker but there was no way to overtake him, so that was how the race was."

Trulli was keen not to blame the team for switching him to the relatively slower prime tyre at the first pitstop, a decision that would cost him the runner-up spot in Bahrain, saying that it would be an issue he would go through with his engineers. “I think all in all the strategy wasn’t too bad but we needed a little bit more pace,” he concluded.

Button - Three from four

Three wins from four races, it could not be going much better for Jenson Button and the Brawn Mercedes team.

"This was a tough race for us," Button began. "You might say I was leading for most of it but this race we had not the pace we had in the first three races. I don’t know where it has gone. I guess these guys have just caught up and maybe passed us. But the first lap of the race I knew was very important because Sebastian (Vettel) was going longer, so I made it work and I came out of the first corner in third. From then on it was a tough race but very enjoyable."

After starting the Bahrain Grand Prix from fourth position, the championship leader battled hard with the fast-starting Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap before retaining the position behind the Toyota duo of Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli.

Talking of his crucial pass on the defending champion for third position at the start of the race, Button explained: "I must say because he was blocking very well but then at the last corner he made a slight mistake, so I pulled alongside him on the straight and I knew as soon as we got to the start-finish line he was going to push his KERS button and he did and he pulled away again, so I had to jump in behind and then did him into turn one.

“The first lap was what made the race really. I’d certainly say it was the finest first lap of my career, for sure."

As the first Glock and then Trulli pitted early courtesy of their light fuel load, Button was able to take advantage of his longer first stint and Toyota’s decision to switch to the harder prime tyre to ensure that he emerged at the head of the field following the first round of pitstops.

From that point, the Brawn racer was able to build a cushion of up to 15 seconds on the field and duly recorded his third win of the season as the chequered flag flew at the end of the 57-lap race.

"A fantastic performance today from Jenson and all credit is due to him for an outstanding opening lap which made today's victory possible," said Team Principal Ross Brawn with reference to Button's pass on Hamilton. "We have had a challenging weekend in dealing with the extreme temperature conditions which was made more difficult by our lack of hot weather testing prior to the season. I am very proud of the way that the team here in Bahrain has worked together to overcome the issues that we faced and how they performed in the race today."

Button’s latest success sees him extend his championship advantage from team-mate Rubens Barrichello to 12 points and 13 ahead of Sakhir runner-up Sebastian Vettel. Brawn Mercedes dominate the constructors’ championship as they lead Red Bull Renault by 22.5 points.

The team may well however facer a stiffer challenge in Barcelona in two weeks time as the big guns wheel out their latest double-diffuser designs. This is something that Button recognises.

"We’ve had four races; they’ve been pretty important to us, especially at the start of the season when people have got reliability issues or making mistakes, we’ve been able to pick up the points which is great,” Button explained. “When we get to Europe we don’t know where anyone is going to be. We know that these two teams alongside me here are going to be competitive but we don’t know how and the same for McLaren. We have an upgrade coming in Barcelona, I just hope it’s enough. We have to wait and see. Nobody knows..."

Whitmarsh to face FIA by himself

McLaren Mercedes will face the FIA next Wednesday without its usual swathe of lawyers.

Amid the 'lie-gate' scandal, the British team has been summoned to the World Motor Sport Council to face multiple charges of fraud.

But, as indicated in boss Martin Whitmarsh's leaked letter to FIA President Max Mosley, McLaren is simply prepared to face the consequences for lying to the stewards in Australia and Malaysia.

The team's approach to the Paris hearing means Whitmarsh will simply front up alone, not contesting the charges. The approach is expected to net a points deduction and suspended race ban, but not harsher penalties like exclusion or draconian fines.

"I will go into the hearing alone.

But I have yet to take the advice of the stakeholders and the FIA," Whitmarsh said in Bahrain on Sunday.

"It's not a complicated hearing. We have chosen not to contest the charges and that makes the process simpler," he added.

Alonso suffered from dehydration

Fernando Alonso gave reporters at the Sakhir circuit a scare immediately after the Bahrain Grand Prix, when he 'nearly fainted'.

The Spaniard finished eighth in the sweltering Sakhir heat, but was almost overcome by dizziness as he spoke with the media in the aftermath of the 57-lap race.

His Renault team explained that Alonso was dehydrated because his drinks pump failed to work during the race.

"He subsequently suffered from dehydration as he got out of the car. He has now fully recovered," said a statement.

Alonso concurred, telling the media he is 'fine'. He finished eighth.

"We only scored one point and so we need to improve at the next Grand Prix," he said.

Schumacher role at Ferrari

Michael Schumacher never occupied a crucial role at Ferrari in his years outside the cockpit, team President Luca di Montezemolo insisted on a visit to Bahrain on Sunday.

"He came to a few races last year, he came at the beginning of this season and he will come again," the Italian is quoted as telling reporters at Sakhir by the German SID news agency.

"But he does not have a responsible role because he does not have the time to be at Maranello," Montezemolo added.

Schumacher, 40, was harshly criticised for his role in strategy blunders when he stood on the Ferrari pitwall in Australia and Malaysia.

Montezemolo said: "He gives ideas and proposals as an advisor - no more and no less."

He said he once asked the German to take over from Jean Todt as Team Principal, but Schumacher emphatically answered ‘no’.

"Michael has a good mentality, but I understand that his life is now something else. So I asked him to come to a few races and support us," said Montezemolo.
Meanwhile, when asked to summarise F1's new pecking order that has left Ferrari ninth in the constructors' championship, Montezemolo hit out at "very badly written rules."

Hamilton considering to quit from F1

As McLaren's difficult season hit a high point with fourth place in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton admitted he did consider throwing in the towel. Amid scandals and public criticism, the reigning world champion said he recently paused seriously to reflect on his negative image.

"I wasn't 100 percent sure I wanted to be here for the next five years," the Briton told the BBC.

"There was so much going on. Do I want to be in the limelight with people slating me? Do I want be in the spotlight where I can't even go... to go to the fish and chip shop or the cinema and have fun without people taking pictures of me?"

Hamilton, 24, ultimately concluded that driving a F1 car to success was most important, and - despite admitting his earlier indecision - wonders why his commitment to the team was ever questioned.

"My commitment should never be questioned because I'm very committed to the sport and I'm very, very committed to my team," he insisted.

But Hamilton said his questionable commitment when addressing the media a week ago in China was "because I wasn't 100 percent sure I would be here (in F1) for the next five years."

He said some of the shine of being a Formula One driver is now completely gone.

"I love driving the car. I love my job. But when you're surrounded by politics and all these different things going on, you know ..." said Hamilton.

BMW Sauber early season was a disaster

A year ago BMW Sauber looked to be challenging not just for their first victory, but for championship success. The team did go on to take its first win and then opted to focus on the 2009 challenger and thereby compromising Robert Kubica’s title aspirations.

Based on the first four races of the new season, this was a poor decision from the Hinwil-based management, especially given the fact that the F1.09 just isn’t very good in its current form.

Yesterday in qualification for the Bahrain Grand Prix, Kubica – who claimed the pole at the same circuit a year ago - and team-mate Nick Heidfeld lined up a disappointed 13th and 14th. Race day would bring early incidents for both with the duo taking the chequered flag last.

“We knew it would be another difficult race weekend for us, and it was also clear the danger of a collision would be higher the further down the grid we were," explained Team Principal Mario Theissen. "As we feared, both our drivers had early collisions and as a result the race was practically over."

"During the pit stops we gave them a lot of fuel and sent them out with hard tyres, because the only chance of getting back into the race would have been during a safety-car period," he continued. "But even if this had happened scoring a point would have been impossible. We are now concentrating on the next race in Barcelona, where we will compete with a new aero package.”

Naturally Kubica was less than thrilled with his day in the desert. "My race was destroyed after corner one," he said.
"I was between Nick and another car, we touched each other and I destroyed my front wing. Then after the crash there was a miscommunication with the pit crew. I asked to come in straight away, but was only able to pit after the second lap. Then the race was very difficult, as for a long time I was in a heavy car on prime tyres. We were really nowhere with our pace. I hope we make a big step forward in Barcelona..."

Team-mate Heidfeld was equally as disappointed. "The result is a disaster, although we were unlucky with the collision in the first corner," the German veteran said. "At first I thought the suspension was broken, but I only had to have a new nose fitted in the pits and then continued. The first half of the race with the harder tyres was difficult, but the softer compound made it a little bit easier."

"However, it is another race to forget and we all hope for improvements in Barcelona," he concluded.

With the team aiming to make gains with the new aero package next time out at the Spanish Grand Prix, a glance at the constructors’ standings shows that they have a mountain to climb. After four races the team has four points, 46 less than Brawn Mercedes.