Ferrari grants EVO an audience with LaFerrari

Let's face it,  in this price range, why would anyone settle for a turbocharged v8 car with an open diff and a golf cart mode?  

Briatore was Ecclestone's bag man.

Flav and Bernie

In a 90 page written statement presented to the German court trying him for bribery, Bernie Ecclestone revealed, among other things, that it was his friend and business partner Flavio Briatore who deposited the $44 million bribe to Gerhard Gribkowsky, the German banker at the heart of the case against him. Briatore, probably not thrilled to be brought in the middle of this, has yet to comment.

Bernie and Gribkowsky

The case against Ecclestone is laid out in a 256 page indictment and boils down to this payment, which Ecclestone characterizes as blackmail hush money but that German prosecutors maintain was a bribe to help the F1 boss win more favorable deal in the sale of the commercial side of Formula 1.

Ecclestone has commented on "circling vultures" gathering but we say rumors of his demise may have been greatly anticipated. Yes, he is mortal so at some point he'll step away but the likelihood of him being convicted or much less,

Bernie and Slavica Ecclestone

going to jail are slim to none. This is after all a man who has set up his affairs after his divorce so that it's his ex-wife who pays him alimony, to the tune of $100 million a year. How that happened is tied to how Ecclestone managed to pay no taxes on the sale of his shares of F1 and back around to the bribery/blackmail, the German banker threatening to alert UK tax authorities of Ecclestone's control of an offshore trust used in the deal.

Billionaire problems.

(via Independent, The Guardian, ItaliaRacing)

In Praise of Grassroots Racing

how they got away with it...remains a mystery!

Granted, the trophies usually suck and the grid girls, well, if there are any they are sort of dodgy but that does not mean amateur racing is not every bit as exciting as the top of the professional ranks.

If driving the top three cars in the NASA Northears season opener were Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton this video would be, rightly so, an internet sensation.    Thing is, I don't think they would have fought any harder or flogged these old bimmers much faster.   It was one of the best races I ever saw and it was won by precisely a half a fender lengths.

But, like hundreds of other epic amateur races, if you were not there you would never know it happened.

So we salute all the racers that sleep in their trailers and rip hard at the track, just for the love of the sport.

This is a highlight video,  you are riding with Sean Curran,  the orange and gray 343 Axis of Oversteer car is driven by Pete Thibault and the red DriveGear.com rental by Peter McIntosh.    Pete ended up winning, as we mentioned, by half a fender but only after somehow avoiding a massive accident.

You can see the unedited video here.

Pete and Sean are driving  driving this very car in the 12 hour Devil in the Dark at NJMP this week end.

Cheers guys!

Audi "No Chicane" days at Monza,

Around this time of year, ahead of Le Mans, Audi has gotten into the habit of renting out the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza  for some testing.    To simulate the long straights of la Sarthe, the first chicane is bypassed.  This means the cars get to the the Biasonno/Curva Grande at well over 200 mph.

It's worth noting that current LMP1 cars produce much more aero downforce than Formula 1 cars and it is only their weight and higher center of gravity which prevents them from being faster than their open wheeled cousins, like prototypes used to be back in the 60's and 70s.

In the second video what is possibly a camouflaged 2015 Audi R8 GT3 GT something

This Ferrari crash probably deserves a medal

Not huge fans of posting gratuitous crash pictures here but, sometimes you come across one of such implied dooshbaggery that it deserves the ridicule.

How this person managed to stuff a 458 Italia over the jersey barriers of the 25 mph speed limited tunnel under the Fairmont Hotel in Monaco is a mystery.    We're guessing it might involve an epic fail in creating yet another "Ferrari blasting in a tunnel" car spotter video?    It certainly deserves a medal for creativity.

Lucky that at the time nobody was on that pedestrian walkway so only egos, wallets, aluminum and some sort of firefighting station were harmed here.

UPDATE:   It was Pastor Maldonado!.....   OK no,  just kidding.


(via TuttoMotori)

Mercedes Power: more than just a split turbo.

With time, more of the secrets giving Mercedes AMG their undeniable advantage are gleamed.

   

When the split turbo strategy first came to light, some "in the business" we discussed the subject with were not convinced it alone was enough to explain the performance gap.  The big advantage for the Mercs, they argued, is in their energy store charging strategy which allows them to not have to coast at the end of the straights to recover energy, like Renaults for example  ("please match he beeps"  remember that radio message to Daniel Ricciardo?).  If that's not enough, the Mercedes unit also has an advantage in drivability and power.

These two characteristics would seem to be incompatible: If Merc is not coasting, they must get a lot of their charge from the MGU-H,  so a big turbo.  But a big turbo means turbo lag and more energy spent trying to spin it when it is being driven.    And it is here that it's thought Andy Cowell and the team in Brackley came up with another brilliant engineering detail.

According to ex Ferrari engineer Claudio Lombardi in an interview on SkySportsF1 Italy, Mercedes have in place a system which can momentarily de-couple the turbine side from the compressor side.  This allows the compressor to be free of the resistance of the turbine when it is being driven by electric power, making it more responsive when delivering power on corner exit.    

The advantages of a small turbo while using a big turbo to produce more power and energy.

Brilliant.

Tough Luck.

Lewis Hamilton was happy

Nico, not happy

After the highs of the Bahrain GP,  F1 gave us a bit of a snoozer,  so dull that the race director waved the checkered flag two laps early.    So, not much action on track after lap 1 but plenty of drama happening,  psychological drama.

Lewis growing a mohawk?

Hamilton has dealt Rosberg another big hit and Nico's body language in the pre-podium "green room" spoke volumes.  Yes  the german had no telemetry but he had the fastest lap, he had the higher top speed and he had more fast sector times than Hamilton, yet finished some 18 seconds behind.  
Not much in the way of hugs after this one, perhaps Nico heard those interviews where Hamilton pointed out how he used to wipe the floor with Nico back in their karting days.

Score one more for Hammy.  If he does not win the world championship this year, with that car,  he may as well grow a mohawk...

Cruel, cruel internets!

The other big hit was at Red Bull.

Two aspects to consider.   Vettel is not feeling the RB10,   the RB6 through 9 were pretty much built around him and around his driving style and needs but with the new regulations this could not be done, cars are too different and Ricciardo, coming in as a blank slate of sorts is driving what they give him,  happily without getting hung up on whatever it is that Seb is missing to do his thing.

The other is the team showing him zero respect.  Once gain he got the Felipe Massa treatment.  This would never have happened in previous years so,  despite all the the kumbaya comments after the race, either being a four time world champion means little at Red Bull or perhaps Marko and company know Vettel has a signed contract tucked in his pocket?

Alonso made Mattiacci's day

Either way, man what a beating, tough luck there.

Hamilton may have been faultless but let's face it, Chilton could score points in the Mercedes.  The star of the race has to be Alonso.     Another wicked start and first lap,   a bit of luck surviving Massa's  sideswipe  (Massa's "he crashed me"  will go down in the annals of silly F1 driver whines).  He chased down Vettel and then pounded around fast enough to finish third, after the week Ferrari has had?  Badass.

Poor Stefano Domenicali must wonder, what is Montezemolo had showed up in China rather than Bahrain?     The pace is still not there to take it to Mercedes but, if Ferrari had set the goal of being the next fastest, that they accomplished.  Not bad for a team already written off by most of the press.    I bet Ron Dennis is wishing he had a team principal ready to do what Domenicali did.

The only sour note for the Scuderia was Raikkonen, like Vettel, it seems he's not getting the new cars fully yet.

Next stop, Spain.

Easter Hooning.

Stee took big black Bertha and some old Hankooks up to Monticello for a little holiday hoonage.  The tires did not survive the festivities.

Happy hooning everyone!

S.O.H.!

On our scales...

3562 lbs,  full tank, no ceramic.

Frictions with Alonso one of the reasons for Domenicali's early departure.

It's useful to look at different sources when the UK centric ones seem to be stuck on surprise, football coach metaphors and national stereotyping when trying to describe what happened last week at Ferrari.

Autosprint is Italy's oldest motorsport publication and historically very close to Ferrari.  Usually they get it right.

Domenicali was going to retire at the end of 2014.

Continental Thunder

The Bentley Continental may be the most unlikely of platforms for a GT3 race car but the M-Sport built cars  did quite well in their competition debut,  both cars finishing in the top ten at the Blancpain GT series opener at Monza.

The big Bentleys literally hulked above the smaller Mclarens and Ferraris but, surprisingly they often had the advantage under braking.  They were certainly not the pushover you would have imagined such a huge car might be and they certainly could take a hit.

For Mercedes, revenge is best tasted cold.

Eclipsed somewhat by the news from Maranello today's FIA hearing in Paris of Red Bull's appeal in the "Flow-gate" controversy was quite something.

Red Bull was , as you would expect, in front of the commission with its lawyers arguing their case.  But also there were lawyers for Mercedes arguing the FIA should hammer the Austrians.

Now think back about a year to the last F1 "-gate"  the Pirelli secret test controversy of 2013.  Red Bull lobbied the FIA for the strongest possible punishment for the German team.     Mercedes took note and filed it away.

Mercedes' lawyer accused Red Bull of defying instruction from officials and in the process hurting competition.   The referred to the penalties inflicted on British American Racing in 2005 when they were found guilty of irregularity with their fuel tank.  At the time BAR had argued they could calculate the amount of fuel in the tank via software simulation, something not allowed by the regulations.  They were hit with a three race ban and the rest of the season on probation.

Red Bull is arguing precisely the same thing, that their software simulation is more precise than the method of measurement set forth in the regulations.  Oddly, they conceded that if they would have lost Ricciardo's second place if they had obeyed the officials.

A decision is expected tomorrow.

You can read a transcripts of proceedings at Auto Motor ind Sport

UPDATE:

Red Bull ;lost their  appeal, Ricciardo's disqualification from the Australian GP stands but, despite Mercedes' efforts, no further sanctions are imposed.

Domenicali out, Mattiacci in at Scuderia Ferrari.

Stefano Domenicali

It was in the air

When Luca Montezemolo uttered the phrase "Ferrari will take whatever decisions are needed" on Friday,  you know someone was going to bleed red.    

Today, being the honorable man he is, Stefano Domenicali sacrificed himself and "resigned".   The role of team principal will be taken up, effective immediately by Marco Mattiacci.

While many tifosi, Italian and particularly Spanish, have been clamoring for his head for a while, the trouble of the team cannot be traced to a single man.   The role of team principal is one of management and as Ferrari's choice of replacement hints, one of politics within the sport.

Marco Mattiacci

Marco Mattiacci, 42,  started work at Ferrari in 1999, first in charge of developing sales in the Middle East and Russia then managing the relaunch of Maserati in the North America.  
Mattiacci's next assignment was to open up the Chinese market for Ferrari, something he accomplished with huge success.

Up until yesterday, he was CEO if Ferrari North America.  under his tenure sales increased 20 percent.

Mattiacci has no racing experience but has been a fixture at Ferrari Challenge and Corse Clienti events in North America.    Ferrari' and FIAT's top management is clearly behind him and his tenure with the Scuderia will most likely seen with an eye towards stepping into Montezemolo's shoes when the current president of Ferrari.

We are sorry to see Domenicali go, he was one of the nice guys in F1 and worked his way up from nothing to one of the best jobs in the sport,   we wish him luck on his next venture.

Best wishes also to Marco Mattiacci, his this Ferrari challenge will be his most difficult yet.

Blancpain Endurance Series: Let's watch some proper Sports Car Racing!

Mclaren vs Ferrari vs Porsche vs Lamborghini vs Mercedes vs Audi vs BMW vs Bentley vs Nissan

Now that's what you call a united sports car series...

Enjoy the live stream, commercial free,  from Monza



Blancpain GT Series - English Language - by Blancpainendurance

Ferrari fishing for a new team boss?

When Luca di Montezemolo ominously declared Ferrari ready to "take whatever decisions are needed" in Maranello today,  many commentators in Italy interpreted this to mean Stefano Domenicali will soon fall on his sword for the Scuderia's dismal start to the new season and the lackluster performance over the past couple of years.

For many, Domenicali's faults lie not just in having failed to guide the team into the new regulations competitively but also for having stayed loyal to Felipe Massa too long and for presiding over a period where Ferrari's political clout within the sport has diminished.

True or not, it is certainly not unheard of for a top man to take the hit when a team is not performing.

Now, who could step into the role of team leader for the Scuderia?   Is there anyone with the gravitas to step into such a delicate situation,  someone presently unemployed... perhaps, with a (fish) bone to pick with the current top dogs in the sport?   hmmm.

Anyway.

Confused about your F1 steering wheel settings?

Let's say you got a last minute call to sub  for Esteban Gutierrez, still sore from getting "Pastorized" last week end in Bahrain and maybe you are a bit worried about getting your VISCO and GLU settings mixed up...

Well, the nice folks at Sauber F1 put together this handy quick guide for you.

Need a midday pick-me-up?

No wonder navigators don't look out the window...

Formula 1 finally accepts the internet exists and fans live there?

Damn you YouTube!!...

83 year old Bernie Ecclestone indicated FOM is "starting to work" on an app to provide fans with what they can already get on line:  highlights?

After years of chasing kids getting off their digital lawn, indications are F1 is poised to get it all wrong.  Stefano Domenicali is quoted as telling Mr.E that F1 needs an app "because younger fans don't want to look at a whole race".

Wrong.

Highlights should be free, they are the bait for what should be F1's app offering:  a comprehensive, immersive experience with MORE than what you get on broadcast TV.

Think the old PPV multichannel offering from FOM  but more,  that's what we've been begging FOM to take our money for.

It would be expensive?  Fine.  "We don't do things for free"  says Ecclestone.  Fine.  We'd pay for a truly great product.     Highlights clips are ok but you can't do better than what is, like it or not,  easily available out there for free now.

But if FOM offers a product which lets fans truly into the races, they will have a winner.

BMW pondering a return to F1 as an engine manufacturer?

BMW still holds the record for the most powerful engine every fielded in F1,  1430 hp out of 1500cc in qualifying (i.e. it will blow up after three laps) trim in the late 80s.  But the Bavarian's second try at F1 as a race team ended rather badly,  just gave up and quit in 2009.

The new hybrid engine formula has piqued the interest of more manufacturers.  Honda will enter the battle in 2015, there are whispers Ford might revive Cosworth's stillborn design and now BMW is said to be mulling a return to Formula 1 as an engine builder.

The source is Giancarlo Minardi who points to a steady presence of Roundel connected engineers observing F1 testing and rumors from Germany of a May decision date in front of the BMW board of directors for a return, possibly as early as 2015.  The project is being promoted by BMW's marketing arm via Dr. Steven Althus, Director of Brand Management.

That BMW would even consider a return to F1 would be a big coup for the proponents of the new regulations, and possibly a help for economically struggling teams.

Sauber is an obvious choice but what if Red Bull's relations with Renault go sour this season?  The prospect of a Red Bull BMW must look quite tasty both in Munich and Salzburg.

Win one for Jean Todt over Mr. E in their continuing power struggle for control of the circus.

2014 Bahrain GP Executive Summary

Hard to add anything that hasn't been said about the 2014 Bahrain GP.  Superlatives have abounded everywhere and it's been amusing to read publications who up until last week ranted about the awfulness of F1, turn all enthusiastic.

Fair weather friends or not, what a great bit of timing for the sport to have an exciting race and good press in the midst of a nasty, and very boring, struggle for power within the sport.

We would caution to wait a few more races before proclaiming F1 "fixed" and those who disagree "idiots".  Herr Lauda would be fun to have dinner with but he and Mercedes have done plenty of complaining over the past few years and it's as easy to be positive when your cars are up 2 seconds a lap as it is to be bitter an negative when they are down.

Which brings us to Ferrari...

Pastor sauce

Major face palm moment courtesy of Lotus's Pastor Maldonado who thought it  would be a great idea to dive-bomb Gutierrez as he was exiting the pits.

Someone please ban this tool.  

Bahrain Qualifying: You wanted a bicycle? Now pedal.

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG F1 photo)

Team Axis was at the track yesterday so please excuse the lack of updates on Bahrain Quali.

Quickly:

Mercedes.   Big deal for Rosberg because most of the (British) media had already assigned the championship to Hamilton.  The only reason Nico was ahead of Lewis,  was the narration,  was because of the retirement in Australia.  Not so here, Nico forced Hamilton into a mistake and beat him by a large margin.

Prancing Horse

Spectacular picture, but the F14T was proving a handful for Kimi Raikkonen in Bahrain today.

F1 News and Rumor Roundup, Bahrain Edition.

F1 going supermodel waif endangering drivers?

Of course it is,  when you have a situation where some of the most fit,  thinnest  athletes in the world are forced to perform in a state of dehydration  to meet 692 kg weight minimums, you have a  problem waiting to happen.

Members Only

Photos Jochen Van Cauwenberge/Frozenspeed

If the Goodwood Revival is not enough awesome for you, check out the revived Members Meeting held this past week end on Lord March's estate. Open only to members of the Goodwood Racing Club, the Meeting last took place in the 1950s and unlike the Revival, held every year in September, it allowed some more modern machinery on track, if only for a demo run.

Just like at the Revival, you have to love these guys mercilessly  beating on these priceless machines, because the worst thing you can do to a race car is to leave it parked.

Have a look at the first highlight clip, if you like it, plenty more after the break.

Baptism By Fire

Seems like a million years ago but it was just 2008 when the first GoPros started showing up on people's cars at track days.   Most used camcorders then and the idea of a small camera seemed great but reality was that those first models, the ones with the AAA batteries famously never worked for more than a couple laps...ever!

Not many years but unbelievable tech improvements and growth by the company which now not only owns the market but, like with Kleenex and Scotch Tape,  has become what you call any action camera. From space to your local kart track, GoPros are now, literally, everywhere.

Nick Woodman, GoPro's founder, is among other things, "one of us" gear heads and his latest venture,  off road truck racing, is documented in this new clip.

GoPro has been very smart hiring very talented people to shoot and edit videos showcasing the camera's capabilities.    Dynamic range and low light performance has gotten so much better in these little cameras.  And they can certainly take a pounding now.

Many of you probably own a GoPro or two,  what would you like to see improved in the future?   Our wish list is short but very motorsport specific,  of course.


We'd like a visor cam,   because video with the camera on the side of the helmet or on top or on the chin bar, never look quite right.

The ability to do live graphics overlay, a GoPro smartycam.

Add your suggestions in the comments.