Massa counting on F60 heavy upgrades

At the conclusion of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Ferrari scored its first points of the season thanks to Kimi Raikkonen's sixth place – a result the Finn said was nothing to get excited about.

Meanwhile, Felipe Massa's start to the season continues to show a zero points return after four races. The Brazilian had good chances of adding his name to the championship standings at the Sakhir circuit last week-end, but a hard nudge on the first lap unfortunately put those expectations to rest.

"The fact the collision was with my team-mate Kimi is just one of those things that can happen in racing, especially at the start when everyone is so close," Massa considered. "I was in the middle of a sandwich and lost my front wing and the long pit stop meant my race was pretty much over. So it's no big deal that it happened with him, but it did ruin my whole afternoon after that, although other problems like the telemetry not working didn't help either."

In view of the negative results obtained at the first four races of the season, Ferrari quickly understood that it needed to work hard on the F60's performance levels and reliability in order to get their red-clad drivers back onto the podium.

Although the people at Maranello have been putting in the hours, the return to Europe for the Spanish Grand Prix also marks a turning point for most teams as it will be the first real opportunity to integrate greatly revised packages on the cars – and that can change the pecking order once again.

Ferrari needs to take a good step forward if they are to continue a serious title campaign, especially since the team has a large gap to cover at present.

"What you can be sure of is that all the teams will be working hard and most should improve by the time we get to Barcelona, so that whatever Ferrari can do will have to be measured against that," Massa pointed out.

"We have a big package coming for Spain and it's not just a case of working on producing a new double diffuser, even though this is the element that has caught everyone's imagination. The numbers show this should have a big effect on lap time and I am pretty confident this should allow the Scuderia to make a big step forward."

The Catalunya circuit is well-known to the teams since it is a venue of choice during winter testing, and therefore its characteristics have already been studied repeatedly in the real world with this year's cars.

"The fact the next race is in Barcelona has several advantages, even if they apply to all the teams equally: it is a track that has been used so much for testing that everyone knows what to expect and how to analyse the data we will get there on Friday, taking into account outside factors like ambient temperature and the wind speed and direction," Massa elaborated.


"In addition, the character of the track calls for a very efficient car and therefore it can provide us with an accurate picture of just how the F60 is performing with the new parts we will have on it for the race weekend. Hopefully, we will use this to our advantage to improve our qualifying performance to give us a better chance in the race."

Notwithstanding the new package for the Ferrari F60, the Brazilian knows that a gain in performance capable of winning races will not happen overnight. And once the car has reached that level, then begins the next step.

"My aim now is firstly to score my first points of the year and then to look to go for my first win of the season," Massa declared. "Until we start winning races again, it's difficult to start thinking in terms of the championship. We need to work day and night to return to having a very competitive car. Only then we can start thinking about the championship titles."

"Maybe it will be too late, maybe not, but we're not giving up," he insisted.

With the sweeping regulations coming into effect this year, all the teams had to work at integrating - and then dealing with - many unknowns. The different approaches taken by the engineers in every team have so far resulted in a mix-up of the usual order of things in Formula One, and Ferrari finds itself among the teams suffering from teething pains in this new environment.

"We have all these new elements, the slick tyres, the KERS, the adjustable front wing and making the most of them on track has been very interesting," Massa said. "A bit more downforce would make it even more fun!"

"But I've got my job to do and even if I only had three wheels on my car I would still be doing my best and (trying to) improve the situation. But for now, more downforce is what I want."

With in-season testing banned, teams need to make the most of the practice sessions during race week-ends to evaluate the newly-added components. Massa revealed the options Ferrari are looking at for this coming Friday in Spain.

"Although it is too early to establish our programme for the first day of practice in Barcelona, we might try the new package on one car only in the first session in the morning, in order to run a comparison test with the old one, before both running it in the second session," he explained. "But nearer the time, we will have a better idea if there's a need to do a back-to-back."

"With all the new aero packages and other interesting developments throughout the field, it should be a very interesting Friday for everyone," Massa predicted.

Webber friendly suggestion for Schumacher

Mark Webber is surprised that Michael Schumacher's latest fall hasn't put him off motorcycle racing completely.

Although escaping serious injury, seven-time World Champion Schumacher fell so heavily while testing in February that he had to call off his participation in this month's opening round of the German Superbike series.

"I too find those machines awesome," Red Bull Renault driver Webber told Auto Motor und Sport. "But race them? No thanks."

Like Schumacher, the Australian is a friend of his compatriot Mick Doohan, the retired five-time 500cc (MotoGP) champion.

"Mick warned me: until you get it right, you fall badly at least ten times.

If you are young, that's part of your job, but when you're older you wouldn't advise it."

"Michael should listen," Webber said, "because Mick knows what he's talking about."

Williams Toyota - Spanish GP Preview - Points is the target

Like some of its rivals, the start to the 2009 season has been a frustrating one for the Williams Toyota team. Nico Rosberg looked strong in Melbourne but fell away late in the race to finish in sixth position and again at Sepang, the German racer showed well in leading the race but would eventually drop to eighth in the rain shortened event.

With 3.5 points on the board the Grove-based team head to the fifth round of the championship in Spain hoping that updates to the FW31 package will yield a change in fortune and performance.

“It’s been a bit of a frustrating start to the season," admits Rosberg. "We should be going into Europe with more than 3.5 points from the first four races. We were looking competitive at the outset in Australia, but things just haven’t gone our way.

"It’s also so close out there, probably the closest season I’ve raced in. We’ll have some aero upgrades for Barcelona which I’m hoping will help us and push us further up the grid. It would be good to score some points to reward the team at Grove who have been pushing really hard.”

“With the new rule changes, this year really is all about who makes the greatest progress back at the factories with development. As with all the other teams, we’ll have an upgraded car in Spain and I hope it will make the difference we need.”

Team-mate Kazuki Nakajima has had an even tougher start to the season and has yet to break into the final round of qualifying. This coupled with three failures to finish leave him just 19th in the standings.

“It’s been a tough start to the season for me - I’ve had three DNFs out of four races and I don’t want anymore," he said. "I’m going to put them behind me now though and concentrate on the work ahead. There’s still 12 more races to go and I’m determined to get some good results for myself and for the team.

“I really like Barcelona and have lots of racing experience there,” Nakajima continued. “Last year, I had a good qualifying session and scored two points for the team coming seventh in my debut race. As I haven’t had a great first few Grand Prix, I hope that this will mark the start of a new phase for me and I can do something good in Barcelona.”

“I didn’t have the new parts on my car in Bahrain so I’m looking forward to trying those out in Spain and to see how the other new bits go. I’m sure that the upgraded package will be a step forward, we already know how much time it will give us, but it’s all relative compared to what the other teams have done.”

BMW Sauber - Spanish GP Preview - Major update fo F1.09

After the dismal showing in Bahrain, BMW Sauber look to bounce back in Barcelona with a major update to the so far disappointing F1.09 package.

"The Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona signals the start of the European season after four races overseas," explained Team Principal Mario Theissen. "Traditionally this represents something of a second start to the season.

"For the BMW Sauber F1 Team this applies more so than usual this year, as we cannot be satisfied at all with the first four races of the season. After our positive winter testing, all of us at the BMW Sauber F1 Team envisaged a rather different start to the season. The car is not fast enough and we have recorded only one podium finish -– Nick Heidfeld’s second place in Malaysia."

Heidfeld's second position in the rain-shortened Malaysian Grand Prix was in fact the team’s only points of the season as team-mate Robert Kubica has yet to score, despite a strong showing in Melbourne.

"We are approaching this challenge in a positive way and are working intensively in Munich and Hinwil to get back to our old form," Theissen continued. "We will be lining up in Barcelona with an extensive aerodynamics-focused development package, and are already working on further upgrades to be introduced later on in the season."

Both Heidfeld and Kubica know Circuit de Catalunya well with the latter admitting they could 'drive the circuit with our eyes closed'.

"As all Formula One teams have tested in Barcelona, I expect the pack to be very close together - even closer than up to now," Kubica stated. "We will bring a new aero package and we hope to improve significantly compared to our recent performance, as it is our goal to close the gap to the top teams."

After four frustrating races Kubica finds himself 20th and last in the drivers' championship with his 13th position in China being his best result of the season to date. Heidfeld's four points from Sepang leave him ninth.

"Like everybody in the team, I am also placing my hopes on our new aerodynamic upgrades," said the German veteran. "The team has put an incredible amount of energy into trying to close the gap to the leaders. I hope we will perform rather better against our rivals in Barcelona, but that’s difficult to predict as all the teams will be bringing upgrade packages of varying degrees to the first race of the European season."

Head of Engineering Willy Rampf explained the changes being made to the F1.09 for the fifth round of the championship.

"The nose section, more deeply undercut sidepods and the rear wing are all totally new," Rampf said. "Added to which, modifications have also been made to the front wing, engine cover and underbody. We expect these improvements to significantly reduce our lap times."

"We expect to be able to close the gap to our rivals," Rampf continued. "We won’t find this out for certain, though, until the race weekend. Up to then we will only have the results from the wind tunnel and simulations to go on and, of course, can no longer test in advance on the track. Seeing the full potential of the car reflected in results on the track will be a big challenge for the engineers."

McLaren Mercedes - Spanish GP Preview - A tough challenge for McLaren

With long high-speed sweeping turns, the Spanish Grand Prix will be one of the tougher events on the calendar for the McLaren Mercedes team this year.

The Woking-based squad has made good progress with the MP4-24 package in recent races and armed with its latest aerodynamic package last time out in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton was able to battle for third position before eventually taking the chequered flag in fourth.

The team admit however that the sweeping nature of the 4.655km Barcelona circuit will not suit the current car as it lacks in overall downforce compared to its rivals.

“After such a positive performance in Bahrain, we’re fully aware that the characteristics of the Barcelona track won’t suit our car so well,” said Hamilton, who is currently seventh in the championship with nine points.

“In addition, we won’t have the bigger upgrades of some of the other teams as we already introduced several new parts during the opening fly-aways, so it will be interesting to see where we sit in the order.”

“Nevertheless, the engineers are optimistic that our new diffuser and front wing will once again help us to make progress towards the front of the grid,” he added.

Hamilton’s view is backed up by Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh who admits rivals teams may make gains, but he is adamant that McLaren will be able to challenge for points: “While the high-downforce nature of the Circuit de Catalunya may show up some of MP4-24’s shortcomings, everyone within the team remains confident and motivated that we can sustain the momentum we have gathered to push and close the gap to the front this weekend.”

Mercedes Motorsport boss Norbert Haug expects a shake-up in the pecking order in Barcelona with teams arriving with extensive modifications to their cars.

“Barcelona will be a true test for the future balance of power,” Haug predicted. “I expect an extremely difficult race. We are in the middle of an intensive process of catching up and, in comparison to our competitiveness in the previous two seasons, we are still far from where we need to be.”

For Heikki Kovalainen, returning to Barcelona after his heavy shunt in last year’s race poses no problems as he looks to add to his four points secured at the Chinese Grand Prix.

“We are going into this race with realistic expectations, but I’m optimistic the whole team can deliver once again this weekend,” the Finn said.

Ferrari's heavily revised F60 debut in Vairano

Ferrari's heavily revised F60 made its track debut on Friday.

The new package, up to 15 kilograms lighter than the original 2009 version according to Italian reports, is undergoing straight line testing with Marc Gene behind the wheel.

The saved weight, in all areas including the material used for the seat belts, will benefit Ferrari's use of KERS, culminating in what they hope is a lap-time gain of several tenths.

The Italian team has already confirmed that the updated package will feature a double-decker diffuser.

The aerodynamic test at Vairano, Italy, will be completed on Saturday.

Ferrari have strong commitment in Formula One

It had been previously reported that Ferrari were examining their options following the World Motor Sport Council announcement that from next season, new and existing teams would have an option to sign up to a cost restrained formula.

Following a statement from team yesterday in which they announced they did not wish to comment on the matter, today the Italian champions re-affirmed its commitment to the series. Ferrari is however clearly unhappy with the cost capping rules being pushed forward by the FIA.

“Ferrari strongly believes that this sport should maintain its principles of being at the cutting edge in terms of research, with the teams thus taking part in a sporting and technical contest,” a statement from the team began.

“Ferrari, along with all the other teams in FOTA, has, for some time now, felt the urgent need for a significant reduction in costs as from this year, and believes that the future of this sport requires stability of the regulations and the gradual achievement over the next two to three years of a cost-profit balance which would allow current teams to remain in the sport while at the same time encouraging the arrival of new ones.

“This is the position Ferrari wants to underline today, in the interests of the sport without looking to cause pointless controversy which would be harmful to all those involved in this sport.”

Ferrari is the only surviving to team to have competed since the inception of the world championship in 1950.

Brendon Hartley as reserver driver for two Red Bull teams

As of next weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, Brendon Hartley will finally step into the role as reserve driver for the two Red Bull teams.

The New Zealand teenager was selected for the F1 role prior to the start of the 2009 season, but not immediately granted a mandatory Super License by the governing body FIA.

"I must thank Red Bull for all their support since 2005 and this new role is another step on the path to reaching my goal of being a Formula One driver," 19-year-old Hartley said.

"I know that with the new in-season testing ban, I'm not likely to get much cockpit time, but I will be part of the team and will learn a lot from that," he added.

Hartley will race in the Formula 3 Euro Series this year with Carlin Motorsport after finishing third in the British series in 2008.

David Richards undecided over F1 team identity for 2010

The brand identity of David Richards' prospective new Formula One team for 2010 is not certain.

The former Benetton and Honda team boss was in the Middle East this week for talks with potential investors about a budget-capped team debut next year.

But it has been reported that while his British racing engineering group Prodrive would be the driving force behind the team, it may actually be named after his luxury sports car brand Aston Martin.

Richards told the Qatar daily the Peninsula: "It's not absolutely certain that Aston Martin will be the brand that we go to Formula One with."

In a media statement on Thursday, Richards welcomed the FIA's introduction of a voluntary £40m budget cap for 2010 but admitted some concern about the current state of the sport.

"It is important for us and our partners that there is stability with broad alignment on the future direction of Formula One and this will be a critical issue in our decision making process," he said.

On Richards' visit to Qatar this week, he suggested that ‘part of’ his F1 team could be based in the Gulf region.

"We've had some very positive discussion (in the region) so far, and I believe we are moving in the right direction," he added.

Another diffuser development for Force India

Although at the back of the field at present, Force India has indicated it can keep up with the pace of Formula One development.

While bigger and more competitive teams like Ferrari, BMW Sauber and Red Bull Renault worked on the concept at their factories, Silverstone-based Force India rolled out an interim 'double decker' diffuser prototype last weekend in Bahrain.

In qualifying, Adrian Sutil out-qualified both Toro Rossos, and his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella also escaped the last row of the grid.

Moreover, in South Africa to watch over his team in the Indian cricket league, team owner Vijay Mallya this week said a further step in the diffuser concept will be introduced next weekend at Barcelona.

"We have another update coming in Barcelona, more particularly an improved version of this interim diffuser, and some further aero upgrades," the Indian billionaire is quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.

In Bahrain, the pace of the entire field was covered by a margin of less than two seconds.

"In the midfield everything is separated by hundredths now, and to be in the hunt is quite an impressive achievement," Mallya added.