People are furious because someone drove an F40 up a ski slope...

... They are wrong, it's awesome!

You can read all about it on Red Bull Japan.

What Does Mark Webber Think About Formula 1, WEC And The Austrian GP?

The Red Bull provided interview with @aussiegrit makes for a nice bridge between last week end's Le Mans and the upcoming Austrian GP.

Keep in mind Webber is a Red Bull driver and it's very much Red Bull's party line that everything in F1 is broken now and has to chance radically,  much like the Pirelli rubber compound in the second part of the 2013 season...



What can we look forward to at the Red Bull Ring?   The most likely scenario is a repeat of Canada.   The tracks are in some ways similar, slow corners and big accelerations, and F1 has not changed significantly since last year, so the same issues can be expected.   Hopefully F1 will get the balance right for 2017.

If we are lucky, Ferrari will be able to do what it could not in Canada because of Vettel's issues in qualifying, that is, put enough pressure on the two Mercedes in front to cause a brake or tire wear issue.  

To counter any possible threat from  Ferrari, Mercedes will make sure all its client team engines are running as well as possible so look for Williams and Lotus to do well as in Canada.

Some highlights from the inaugural Austrian GP at the refurbished Red Bull Ring.  The event was a huge success in part because Red Bull know, better than most how, to organize a great event and partly because they subsidized tickets.

The Italian Job: Daniel Ricciardo in an Alfa Romeo T33!

Helmut Marko raced this Alfa Romeo T33 in the 1972 Targa Florio and Daniel Ricciardo's family roots are Sicilian so that explains the photo shoot for Red Bulletin which you should definitively go read.

Couple of things:

• Red Bull would bring fog machines,,,
• At 5'11, Daniel barely fits in the car.
• it's impossible for Ricciardo to come across as anything but a cool guy.

Here are pictures from the actual 1972 Targa Florio.

Black Friday Tonic: Top Drivers try to put Golf on two wheels, fail.

The Horse Whisperer Is An Axis Reader?

Probably not but he sure has the same point of view you read and commented on here last week ...

From The Horse Whisperer on Ferrari.com

"These are difficult times for people with poor memories. Maybe it’s because of the huge amount of information available today that people are too quick to talk, forgetting things that happened pretty much in the recent past. Or maybe the brain cells that control memory only operate selectively, depending on the results achieved on track by their owners.

A classic example of this is the current saga regarding the number of pit stops. Voices have been raised to underline the fact that various teams, some of whom got to the podium and others who were quite a way off, made four pit stops in the recent Spanish Grand Prix, making the race hard to follow.

It’s a shame that these worthy souls kept quiet two years ago when, at the very same Catalunya Circuit and on the Istanbul track, five of the six drivers who got to those two podiums made exactly the same number of pit stops as did Alonso and Massa last Sunday in the Spanish Grand Prix.

In fact, there’s nothing new about winning a race making so many pit stops, even discounting those where it was down to changeable weather. One only has to look back to 2004, when Michael Schumacher won the French Grand Prix thanks to what was a three stop strategy, later changed to a four stopper. That was the key which allowed the multiple champion’s F2004 to get ahead of the then Renault driver, Fernando Alonso, who made three stops. And on that day and we remember it well, our strategy and the tyre supplier were showered with praise for allowing us to get the most out of the car.

Today however, it seems one must almost feel ashamed for choosing a strategy that, as always for that matter, is aimed at getting the most out of the package one has available. On top of that, if this choice emerges right from the Friday, because all the simulations are unanimous in selecting it, then why on earth should one feel embarrassed when compared to those who have gone for a different choice, only to regret it during the race itself."

F1: Technical Developments Ahead Of The Chinese GP

Thanks Sky Sports...

Come qualifying who do you think will get the quicker rear wing at Red Bull, Vettel or Webber? Shocker.

Webber Vettel Infinity Ad Now Awkwardly Hilarious

You're still buying Red Bull really wanted Mark Webber to win?  Notice all the articles "explaining" Vettel popping up all over the place?   Pass the popcorn and some Multi 21.

Run both videos below at the same time, start with the F1 side...

YouTube Doubler

(H/T WTF1)

Mark, Tell Us How You Really Feel About Vettel...

Vettel raised his index finger again , Webber raised his middle one.
Race wrap coming later but Axis' first thoughts are that Mark won a whole lot of new fans today.

2013 Infiniti-Red Bull Racing RB9

The pictures don't give a whole lot away but we'll bite on the clip, if anything for the shots of the gearbox being assembled!   Amusing RB included a shot of a nose cone being manufactured...

Are we watching a Championship stolen?

Lights are shining on the dash and that should come straight from Race Control regardless of what marshals are doing on the track.

At the same tine, how could such a sophisticated system not detect the infraction?   If it did happen as narrated on this clip then Vettel and Red Bull have some hardware to give back.

I'm searching, as is everyone else I'm sure for a clearer onboard of the incident... but here is the complete video by Nick G.  illustrating all three suspected illegal passes by Vettel in Brazil,  two in fact legal but the above,  clearly not

Fighting bull crap with horse poo.

Felipe Massa at COTA by Jamey Price

While Ferrari's decision to break the seal on Felipe Massa's gearbox, triggering a five spot penalty  putting both he and, crucially, Alonso on the clean side of the track for the start smacks of desperation,   I have no issue with it.
Red Bull has been invoking the letter of the regulations while flaunting their intent all season:  bendy wings,  rubber nose,  rebuilding the whole car after the Abu Dhabi penalty, ignoring the budget cap so as Ferrari's move is legal, hats off to them for leaving nothing on the table.

Red Bull's got a rubber nose

That seems to be the latest buzz on what may be the secret of Newey's car's speed and, while the evidence is not exactly solid, it's a tantalizing theory.

The FIA has placed ever stricter limits on wing flex and has in place this season even tougher tests.  But crucially these tests are static. The theory goes that it's not the Red Bull wings that flex  but the whole nose,  to which the wings are attached, flexes at speed and alters the angle of attack of the wing assembly.   

This is not specifically illegal under the current regulations and deformable component aero is a concept car companies obviously are well aware of,  consider the deformable front spoiler element on the Ferrari 458 Italia, it certainly does not seem pass the "movable aerodynamic device" smell test.

How is it done is perhaps the bigger mystery.  How is the flex controlled?   Structural engineers out there  will be able to advance theories of carbon sheet and polymer construction allowing it to flex the debate is open on the genius vs evil genius bit.   For sure Adrian Newey is a champ at racing those gray areas.

Excess Baggage

Malpensa Airport baggage claim, Milano

I don't think even Christian Horner and the cleaver clever people at Red Bull Racing could make that package fit in the overhead compartment....

Red Bull graced by the FIA again!

There's a term in Italian, not clearly translatable: "Fare il furbo" it's somewhere between being clever and devious. F1 is naturally rife with "furbi" but currently Red Bull Racing are the champs.

While Helmut Marko is lamenting a conspiracy against the team with the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone conspiring to keep Sebastian Vettel from winning a third title, Christian Horner is usually answering questions with a "who us? we are not doing anything..." and rival teams have been grumbling about RBR and Renault since pre season testing, e the FIA has been quite lenient with the team.

Sure there have been on track penalties (all deserved) and the FIA disallowed their brake ducts venting through the front axle in Canada but let's have a look at what they have gotten away with, without sanctions, this season so far.

1. Illegal holes in Monaco: FIA could have disqualified RBR and not let them start. Of course that's not the sort of thing you want in Monaco, not with that enormous Red Bull Energy Center floating in the middle of the harbor. Michael Schimidt of Auto Motor und Sport writes Jean Todt himself intervened with the other teams to stop them from protesting. Webber went on to win that race.

2. Traction Control and blown exhaust: that was the net effect of some engine maps RBR have been running. If you've been to any races this year, or perhaps if you have heard nat sound clips, you might have noted the odd ratcheting sound coming at times from the RS27 in the back of the Red Bulls. The issue with the engine maps boils down to creating a dip in the torque curve with the effect of limiting chances of wheelspin. This was apparently accomplished by allowing unburned mix to flow through the combustion chamber and ignite in the headers. Hot blowing as specifically forbidden by the rules.

While you have to admire the brilliance of Renault engineers in finding a way to do this in the gray areas still in the rules specifically banning the very thing they accomplished, you can see how this would irk others, much like Brawn's double diffuser did a few seasons back. The FIA rather than punish the intent, preferred to put a patch on the wording of the rules.

3. Red Bull was,according to AutoMotor+sport,  caught adjusting the ride height on Vettel's car in Parc Fermée in Canada. This might be the most outrageous instance, again outlined in Schimit's article, officials discovered a ride height adjustment made by changing the extension on the front third shock on the RBR which is designed to be easily adjusted by hand.

Shocks settings cannot be changed between qualifying and the race. Rather than punish, the FIA allowed RBR to reset the shock and enacted a rule forcing all suspension adjustments to require a clearly visible tool so tech inspectors can better police Parc Fermée. How many times has Red Bull adjusted suspensions before?

Of course, anything not specifically forbidden in the rules is by definition legal so the FIA does share some responsibility and perhaps they simply don't want to look bad for having missed those points.

As I said... Furbissimi!

Why the stewards were correct to penalize Vettel.

With the premise that this type of pass happened a lot in the past, especially out of the hairpin at Spa but that the FIA has made it so that a driver cannot make a pass by using the space outside the "circuit", let's have a look at the incident again.

After the race, during the podium interview, Vettel claimed he could not see Button and did not know where he was so he decided to go straight. Well that's his story and I'm sure he'll stick with it but I'm sure anyone reading these pages knows enough about racing to see right through that steaming pile.
But let's have a closer look.

Notice how Jenson, who's always a gentleman, leaves the Red Bull at least enough space to keep two wheels inside the line. Vettel is lucky, imagine if it had been Maldonado there?

Now pay close attention to the high overhead shot, check out the point where you see Vettel clearly get on the gas and look at where he is pointing.

He can't see Button, really?    And if we all know best acceleration comes with zero turning do you think Sebastian Vettel is unaware or vehicle dynamics?

Vettel did himself a real disservice lying about this incident, especially lying about it on the podium when he claimed Jenson had not brought it up. Hey Seb, there is a thing called "television recording"....

Is that a Helmholtz resonator on your header or are you just happy to see me?

I read some fantastical theories about the function of those funny protuberances growing out of the Red Bull headers in Valencia and Silverstone. The most fantastical is that it is a pressure storage which on the off throttle then dumps gasses into the diffuser, a sort of "analog" hot blown diffuser.

Well, it does not take a genius to imagine the volume of gasses needed to crate that effect does not jibe with what that pipe could possibly contain.

The answer may be have to do with aerodynamics but in a roundabout way. With engines "frozen" in Formula One, one of the battle lines between manufactures are headers whose design in up to the individual teams. Design of the headers is dictated by packaging and can have a significant impact on engine output.

Red Bull designed some very small tight headers to fit in their new very compact rear end but this resulted in a significant power loss.
Renault made some suggestions and Red Bull came back with this solution which using the Helmholtz effect allows the exhaust to maintain the correct resonance for the intake and exhaust pressure waves to be in sync and thus allow more air into the combustion chamber. That involves the Kedenacy effect.

Remember for your next dinner party, 2012 is the year of the effects, Coanda, Helmholtz and Kedenacy, who said Formula One is not educational!

A warning to Vettel and Red Bull: "learn to lose gracefully"

After Valencia there was some harping from Helmut Marko and Sebastian Vettel suggesting a plot to stop Red Bull's dominance by sending out an unnecessary Safety Car and gather the field.

Anyone who saw how much debris Jean Eric Vergne spread around Valencia in his silly attempt to return to the pits after his attack on Angry Bird Kovalainen's right front wheel, certainly would agree with the stewards decision.

But not Mr Marko and Herr Vettel, more than happy to pick on poor Karthikayan but whose sense of humor fails when things don't go his way. Vettel is quoted saying that race control's decision was to clean the track but also to break Red Bull's legs. Marko, as we mentioned before, claimed it was an American style artificial ploy to make the race more interesting.

That was too much for Hans Stuck, president of the German Motorsport Federation (DMSB) who invited Vettel and Marko to think before they speak: "Vettel should learn how to lose, it was clear that there was a dangerous condition on track and there was a real risk of punctures. The stewards made the correct decision"

vergne from AxisOfOversteer on Vimeo.

Red Bulls might have to start Monaco from pit lane.

Red Bull might have to start the race from pit lane and/or face a protest from Mclaren and Ferrari because of a hole on their floor in front of the wheels.
This hole runs afoul of paragraph 3.12.5. of the rules, stating an exclusion zone for openings. according to other teams.    At this point if RBR were to cover up the opening, they would break the park ferme regulations and would have to start from pit lane. I'm guessing they will do nothing and take their chances after the race, but we'll see.
(via Auto Motor und Sport)

Why is Mclaren quiet while Red Bull and Mercedes protesting each other?

You could not be faulted for finding sweet irony in Red Bull and Mercedes going through a protest dance so early in the season. Both those teams are responsible for many of the cheater parts technical innovations over the past few seasons. From double diffusers to blown exhausts and flexi wings.


Mercedes Showed up with a ned form of F-Duct on the rear wing and was promptly protested by Red Bull (and Lotus). Wing was found legal and now Mercedes is getting some payback by protesting the legality of Renault engines. It is important to note that when teams proves or ask for "clarifications" from the FIA they are also hoping to gather information on rival systems.

Anyway, what is Norbert Haug getting all excited about? Remember during testing when I mentioned Renault engined cars were making an odd sound, reminiscent of the blown diffuser days? Is Renault still dumping fuel into their headers?

No, but the French manufacturer is doing something a different way than other teams within the scope of the regulations. FIA is allowing engine maps that shut off up to four cylinders on partial throttle as a fuel saving measure. Teams have two engineering choices, shutting down one bank of the V8 (leaving 4 inline firing) or in effect creating a V4. Renault uses the V4 setup and this results in the noise you hear. Mercedes is kicking up dust because Lotus and RBR protested their wing.

Meanwhile while these guys are busy having tea with Charlie Whiting, Mclaren is keeping quiet, the latest rumors has them ready with their version of of the Mercedes F-Duct and with a new take on RBR's flex front wing, clever enough to pass the latest FIA tests and still flex at speed.

Pos  Driver                Team                  Time               Laps
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m38.172             28
 2.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m38.533s  + 0.361   34
 3.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m38.535s  + 0.363   29
 4.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m38.696s  + 0.524   34
 5.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m38.853s  + 0.681   33
 6.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m38.891s  + 0.719   27
 7.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m39.133s  + 0.961   29
 8.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m39.297s  + 1.125   33
 9.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault         1m39.311s  + 1.139   22
10.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m39.402s  + 1.230   25
11.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault      1m39.444s  + 1.272   35
12.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes  1m39.464s  + 1.292   26
13.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m39.625s  + 1.453   20
14.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m39.687s  + 1.515   16
15.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault         1m39.696s  + 1.524   29
16.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m40.271s  + 2.099   27
17.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault      1m40.678s  + 2.506   34
18.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1m40.947s  + 2.775   33
19.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault      1m41.464s  + 3.292   25
20.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth     1m41.681s  + 3.509   20
21.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault      1m42.594s  + 4.422   18
22.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth     1m42.874s  + 4.702   24
23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth          1m43.658s  + 5.486   18
24.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth          1m43.283s  + 5.561   22

All Timing Unofficial

Formula One Still Blows.

Andrew Ferraro/LAT 

I have avoided commenting much about Formula 1 pre season testing, in my experience it's mostly pointless but racing starts next week and it's time to get back into it for Axis.

This year, while most commentary was centered on possibly the most inconsequential piece on the whole car, the step nose, a solution adopted by every team save for Mclaren (and Marussia which gets Mclaren leftover parts and ideas technical assistance) the real action has been at the back.

Diffusers directly energized by exhaust gasses on the off throttle via clever engine mapping are gone (or at least forbidden),  engine gasses now have to be discharged within a narrowly defined angle designed to do away with precisely what designers are in fact doing again, cheating the air and thumbing their noses at rule makers.

Want to limit us to an exhaust pipe that has to be visible from the top and round in section?  Fine, we'll build a fairing around the pipe with a viewing slot on the top.

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Want to impose an angle meant to minimize the influence of the 400km/h exhaust stream on the aero performance? Fine, we'll use the rest of the car to produce airflow to bend that exhaust plume and redirect it to where we want it.

You want us not to have a double diffuser? Fine, we'll figure out a way to use the starter hole in the back for aero.

The question for many is, are you excited about a formula where aero is taken to such admittedly geekily exciting heights? Maybe.

Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic

Towards the end of testing, it looked like the "way to go" was to have the exhaust plume run between the inside of the wheel and the outside of the wing endplate. This to create and "air curtain" (hello BMW!) on the sides of the diffuser.

Ferrari had gone with that idea first but somehow could not make it work, perhaps because the exhaust was placed too far back. Sauber had the exhaust much further up and were copied by none other than Red Bull who then have added a further air channels in their sidepods to further divert the exhaust flow where Adrian Newey wants it.

When Ferrari changed their exhaust location further inboard the consequence was that the shape of the side pods, designed for the original placement, is not optimal for the new location. Ferrari is rumored to have requested a new side crash test from the FIA indicating a completely new side pod design involving the crash structure to be debuted after the fist Asian leg go the championship.  This year there is no "gentlemen's agreement" on spending so expect some radical moves by the top teams if they fall behind.

Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic

There has been much talk about this Ferrari crisis, I'm not so sure how much is real and how much is outlets who waste no opportunity, real or imagined, to dump on Ferrari.

The F2012 is the most "different" car, the Scuderia probably had to throw out all their setup books, they had to recalibrate the power steering, they have to figure out all the angles, takes time, something all teams are desperately short of.

Red Bull changed the aero but their suspension is essentially the same they have been running for the past two seasons, why change something that works so well?

Ker Robertson/Getty Images

The F2012 is said to be harder than others on tires, on the plus side that means it gets the Pirelli into temperature better than last year and that should help it on single laps in qualifying. We'll see next week.

But enough about Ferrari, How's that Red Bull going to hold up, steamroller or fast but fragile?

Lotus was fast, who knows if it was running at regulation weight but for sure Raikkonen looks to be better at comebacks than Schumacher was.

Mercedes might be at least on par with Ferrari, maybe faster. Rumors of more Brawn cleverness with blown wings are all about. Maybe schumi can finally win a race this season after which he can retire in peace. (leaving the way for Hamilton of course!.

Mclaren top team with Red Bull and Lotus? Bring it, I can't say it's been a long winter but I'm ready!

Check out our Flickr page for enormously sized desktops of F1 testing