Toro Rosso to design own car for 2010

Toro Rosso is ramping up its efforts to become a full constructor in 2010, team boss Franz Tost has confirmed.

From next year, the regulations will no longer condone the current situation, where the Faenza-based outfit sources its basic chassis from the same designer as sister team Red Bull Racing.

"We are developing the infrastructure so that next year's car is designed in Faenza," Tost told reporters in Barcelona, revealing that the workforce will need to increase from 200 to about 235.

The 2010 rules will allow Toro Rosso to continue to use a Red Bull Technology transmission, and some other parts, but Tost revealed that the team is to appoint it's own chief designer.

Toro Rosso will however continue to use the Red Bull wind tunnel in Bicester.

New clause 2009 contract for Vettel

Sebastian Vettel has hastily negotiated a new clause for his 2009 Red Bull contract.

Pre-season, the 21-year-old did not imagine the possibility that he would be a leading candidate to win the drivers' title.

Most top drivers' contracts include the promise of a financial bonus in the event of a World Championship triumph.

Germany's Bild newspaper reported that, with the assistance of his father Norbert, Vettel convinced team boss Christian Horner to offer a ten percent title bonus.

It is therefore estimated that Vettel will be paid an additional $350,000 on top of his $3.5m retainer if he beats his rivals to the crown.

Horner confirmed: "It would have been stupid if he didn't want that (clause), and Sebastian is absolutely not stupid."

Spanish GP Free Practice 2 - Rosberg fastest

Nico Rosberg returned to the top of the timesheets this afternoon at Circuit de Catalunya, recording a best lap of 1:21.588s in his Williams Toyota with team-mate Kazuki Nakajima second fastest, just under two-tenths of a second adrift.

As ever in practice, it is really hard to read too much into the lap times as we do not know what fuel levels the teams opted to run and how many set of tyres they used over the 90 minute session. Rosberg of course has topped many practice sessions so far this year, but has generally flattered only to deceive as the team has just 3.5 points from the first four races of the season. Rosberg pulled his FW31 off track with a mechanical problem just ahead of the chequered flag.

At the other end of the scale we know that Toyota has a tremendous package in the TF109 and this afternoon Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli put in more laps than any other driver and were slowest of the 19 runners to take part in the second practice session, indicating a differing practice strategy.

In between the two Toyota-powered teams, Fernando Alonso was third fastest in his Renault much to the delight of the large Spanish crowds on hand today while team-mate Nelson Piquet survived two spins to record the eighth fastest time in his R29. Piquet in particular has been vocal about the lack of simulated qualifying the team has permitted him to date, but today it seemed he spent a majority of the day looking at his qualifying setup.

Rubens Barrichello led the Brawn Mercedes challenge with the fourth fastest time, just over two-tenths off the ultimate pace with team-mate and championship leader Jenson Button sixth fastest.
Traditionally the Brackley-based team focus much of their Friday running on the race programme.

Red Bull Renault picked up the pace this afternoon with Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel fifth and seventh best ahead of Piquet while Sebastien Buemi's Toro Rosso Ferrari suffered a left rear brake fire on his first timed lap of the day and the Swiss racer was forced to miss the first hour of running. Buemi got back on track late in the session and was immediately on the pace as he ended the afternoon ninth fastest with team-mate Sebastien Bourdais 11th.

Ferrari has a much revised F60 package on hand this weekend in Barcelona with Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa recording the tenth and 15th best times respectively for the defending champions with the Mercedes-powered Giancarlo Fisichella 12th in his Force India ahead of the McLaren Mercedes-duo of Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen.

BMW Sauber were back down the timesheets this afternoon with Nick Heidfeld slowest again for much of the session. Robert Kubica posted the 16th best time with Heidfeld up to 17th just ahead of the chequered flag.

With the Toyota duo of Glock and Trulli slowest, Adrian Sutil was forced to sit out the entire session in his Force India Mercedes due 'a fuel cell problem'.

Theissen - Car first, driver talks after

Mario Theissen has counted BMW Sauber out of any early driver speculation.

The 'silly season' seems to kick off earlier and earlier each year, but Theissen said contemplating the occupants of the Hinwil-built cars is currently a minor priority.

"Once we have a car that is capable of winning races, then we can talk start talking about the drivers again," the German said at the Circuit de Catalunya.

BMW figures at the Spanish venue also affirmed paddock speculation that the target is to have a 'double diffuser' up and running by the Turkish Grand Prix after Monaco.

Theissen admitted that an initial version of the concept did not prove its worth during recent wind tunnel testing.

Spanish GP Free Practice 1 - Button on top

The dust has settled following the lie gate saga and Formula One is now making the headlines off track as the sport's governing body looks to impose optional budget caps for the 2010 season with a raft of regulation changes to encourage teams to sign up to the agreement. While the Formula One Teams Association seeks urgent meeting with the FIA to discuss the matter, practice for the Spanish Grand Prix got underway this morning at Circuit de Catalunya.

It was a case of routine running for many of the 20 drivers as most evaluated both the softer option tyre and the harder prime rubber from Bridgestone. Championship leader Jenson Button vaulted to the top of the timesheets as the chequered flag flew at the end of the 90-minute session as the British racer opted to run the option tyre for his final run.

Button ended the session with a best time of 1:21.799s, three-tenths clear of Jarno Trulli. The Toyota driver topped the timesheets for much of the session opting unusually to focus much of his session on the softer option tyre and then using a set of the harder prime to record the second fastest time late in the session.

After the criticism the Toyota team received following their tyre strategy error last time out in Bahrain, it seems the team are going aggressive this weekend at Circuit de Catalunya.

BMW Sauber has a raft of changes to the F1.09 package this weekend. Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld struggled early in the session but made gains late with the option tyre to move third and fourth fastest. Heidfeld in particular had a troubled start to the morning as it seemed his F1.09 suffered some kind or rear brake issue which left him in the pits for a good hour of the session.

Kazuki Nakajima traditionally runs well at this Spanish venue having out-qualified Williams Toyota team-mate Nico Rosberg at the same venue last year.
Today Nakajima and Rosberg recorded the fifth and sixth fastest times, just under nine-tenths off the ultimate pace.

Nelson Piquet made late gains in his Renault as the Brazilian ended the morning seventh fastest. Local fan favourite Fernando Alonso was just 17th in the sister R29.

Timo Glock was eighth best in the second Toyota and unlike team-mate Trulli opted to remain on the option tyre throughout the session. Felipe Massa was next up in the modified Ferrari which seemed to still be running the single diffuser and not the new doubled decker design. Rubens Barrichello rounded out the top ten in the second Brawn Mercedes ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari.

Both Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel pushed hard for Red Bull Renault with both having a few off track excursions in the process. The duo were 12th and 13th fastest and 1.1 seconds off the pace of Button.

McLaren are pushing hard in the development race as witnessed this morning as a large brown box of components arrived as Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen were circulating on track. Hamilton was 14th fastest in his MP4-24 while Kovalainen's machine suffered a hydraulic problem leaving him down in 19th position.

Sebastien Bourdais led the Toro Rosso challenge in 15th ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella in his Force India Mercedes, Alonso, Sebastien Buemi, Kovalainen and Adrian Sutil in the second VJM002.

Winner takes all has been revived by FIA in WMSC council

The controversial 'winner takes all' scoring system has been rubber stamped for introduction in 2010 by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.

The governing body tried to introduce Bernie Ecclestone's favoured system this year, but the late change was vetoed by the Formula One Teams' Association.

We reported in March that the FIA would consult the teams before trying to introduce the system for 2010, but the new sporting regulations for next year already feature the controversial rule.

Article 6 states that the drivers' title 'will be awarded to the driver who has been classified first in the greatest number of races'.

The news has until now slipped the attention of the media because - unlike all other changes to the rules - the amended rule was not highlighted in pink and underlined in copies of the 2010 sporting regulations.

The FIA also confirmed that, accompanying the ban on race refuelling next year, drivers in 'Q3' can refuel under parc ferme conditions prior to the race.

This change ensures the spectacle of low-fuel dashes for pole position, not affected by varying race strategies.

Brawn Mercedes - Spanish GP Preview - Near perfect but still cautious

With a score of 31 points from a possible maximum of 35, the opening four races of the 2009 season has been near perfect for Jenson Button. Brawn Mercedes team-mate Rubens Barrichello is second in the standings 12 points adrift while the Brackley-based team top the constructors’ championship by 22.5 points heading to Barcelona.

"The team had to make a tremendous effort simply to have two cars on the grid for the first race in Melbourne and the success that we have achieved has been a well-deserved reward for all our staff for their hard work which has been supported by the commitment of our engine partner Mercedes-Benz,” stated Team Principal Ross Brawn. “The short break which we have enjoyed since returning from Bahrain has enabled the whole team to regroup at our factory in Brackley and spend a little time reflecting upon our first four races.”

While it has undoubtedly been a dream start for the Brawn Mercedes team, Brawn knows that the development race is on and that the traditional front-runners will be working flat out to eliminate the advantage currently enjoyed with the BGP 001 package.

"Jenson, Rubens and the team delivered a first class job to win the Bahrain Grand Prix which is the level of performance that we must sustain if we are to seriously challenge for the championships this year,” Brawn continued. “The field has compressed considerably since the season-opening race in Australia and the performance margins at the front are now very tight indeed.

“Whilst we have been away racing over the past few weeks, the factory has been working extremely hard on our upgrade package for the BGP 001 and we look forward to seeing the results of our development work on track in Barcelona this weekend."

Button has secured three wins from the first four races and one third position and travelled to the Brackley base last week for a ‘small celebration’ to mark the impressive season start but like team boss Brawn, knows that the championship still has a long way to go.

“I visited the factory last week to join the team for a small celebration of our successes to date and catch up on the progress with our latest developments,” the championship leader said. “We know that we have a real fight on our hands from here to maintain our lead in the championships but I am confident that we are well prepared for the challenges ahead.

“I know the track inside out and it feels very familiar to be heading back there for the start of the European season this weekend,” Button continued. “ You need to have a car with good downforce for a really quick lap there and we are fortunate that our car behaves so predictably which enables you to feel completely confident when committing to high speed corners.”

While Button has been making many of the headlines, veteran team-mate Rubens Barrichello has quietly been racking up the points as well. With 19 points from four starts, the Brazilian is very much still in the championship hunt.

"The Circuit de Catalunya feels like a home circuit for the drivers with so much of our pre-season testing taking place here over the winter,” Barrichello explained. “The Spanish Grand Prix is always one of my favourite races on the calendar as it feels like this is where the season really begins..."

Toyota - Spanish GP Preview - "We want more"

Toyota heads to the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona this weekend for the start of the European season. Following the flyaway races which started the season, Toyota is third in the Constructors' Championship having claimed an impressive three podium finishes in four Grand Prix.

Jarno Trulli recorded pole position, fastest lap and third place in the Bahrain Grand Prix while Timo Glock maintained his 100 percent points-scoring record in 2009 with seventh place. That put both Toyota drivers into the top five of the Drivers' Championship.

Toyota has 26.5 points to its credit so far and trail Red Bull Renault by just one point heading to Spain. While the team are satisfied with its progress this year, Team President John Howett is not resting on his laurels.

"We have made a successful start to our season but there is no doubt we want more; we feel we are close to our first victory and this is our clear target for the remainder of the year,” Howett stated. “We narrowly missed out on winning in Bahrain but by starting from pole position and setting the fastest lap, we showed we are right on the pace and we are working hard to bring it about soon.

“Thanks to the fantastic job done by the team over the winter, our car has been one of the very fastest so far this season and we have some aerodynamic upgrades in Spain which will bring more performance,” he continued. “We have an aggressive development programme for the whole season so I'm confident we will be in good shape."

Trulli is fourth in the championship with 14.5 points and is looking forward to the start of the ‘European season’.

"The opening races of the season have shown the potential we have in our new car; to get pole position and the fastest race lap in Bahrain was a good achievement which gives us great encouragement,” Trulli said.

The team has enjoyed podium success in Spain before, with Trulli finishing third in 2005. However, this year’s race at the Spanish event will be a little less predictable than in the past thanks to the test restrictions.

"We'll see how it works out in Barcelona but we have to be optimistic after our strong performances so far," the Italian veteran continued. "We tested in Barcelona before the season but I have to admit it's unusual to be preparing for the race having not driven at the track for a couple of months.

"In the past we have generally tested there just before the race so everything was quite predictable, but it could be different this time. I am enjoying this season because we are consistently fighting at the front so I am really looking forward to the Spanish Grand Prix."

Timo Glock, fifth in the championship with 12 points, led early on in Bahrain before slipping down the order to finish seventh. "It was disappointing only to finish seventh after starting from the front row however the potential of the car is clear for everyone to see," Glock explained. "That motivates everyone to keep pushing hard because we can see there is the possibility for some great results.

“We have an upgrade to the car this weekend so hopefully that can bring something extra but we will have to wait and see how the other teams develop as well,” he added.

Barrichello insist to drive for two or three more years

Rubens Barrichello does not accept that 2009 is his last chance to become world champion.

The veteran Brazilian readily acknowledges that his career hung in the balance last winter, as he waited for confirmation of the rescue of the former Honda team and to know if he would be Jenson Button's Brawn team-mate.

But even though after a record 275 Grand Prix he is a tantalising 12 points from the top of the drivers' championship, 36-year-old Barrichello refuses to admit that this year is his final real shot at the title.

"Who knows," he told Auto Motor und Sport, "perhaps I will drive for another two, three years.

"In my life I have always thought positively and I am convinced that this attitude is what put me where I am."

Button has already won three times in the Mercedes-powered BGP 001, but Barrichello said he does not feel psychologically defeated.

"Motor racing is not like tennis," he insisted. "It's not like you're in the third set having lost two (sets) 6:0. I know from the last three years that I can drive as fast as Jenson."

Liuzzi's seeking seat

Tonio Liuzzi has admitted he accepted a two-year role as Force India test driver because of the prospect of a 2010 race seat.

The 27-year-old Italian recently returned to race action in the A1GP series, but admitted to the Speedweek publication that his hopes are high for a Formula One drive next year.

He told an Italian magazine last month that while Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil's contracts are expiring, he already has a Force India agreement through to 2011.

"My best chance is with Force India," he said.

"It is the reason I was happy with the role as the test and spare driver for two years.

"There are certain prospects for a place as the main driver," Liuzzi revealed.