McLaren GT says former Brazilian F1 driver Bruno Senna is now a factory driver for the 2015 season.
Senna, 31, joins the McLaren GT factory driver programme alongside Rob Bell, Kevin Estre and Alvaro Parente. His role will “involve the ongoing development programme for the 650S GT3 and 650S Sprint models, as well as racing in selected events with the new 650S GT3, which makes its competitive debut with McLaren GT customer teams this year.”
There we are then…
Nice round-up of the testing at Jerez…
Lotus concluded its first pre-season test at the Circuito de Jerez with Romain Grosjean getting his first taste of the E23 hybrid. Over the course of 53 laps, Romain set a best lap of 1min 23.802secs. The team continued with its installation and functionality checks as well as initial performance assessments. The team stopped running early after power unit running data showed that a problem was developing.
Track: Circuito de Jerez, Spain, 4.4km
Chassis: E23-02
Weather: Cold and sunny. Ambient 10°C – 14°C Track 10°C – 16°C
Programme: Installation and functionality checks, initial performance assessment
Laps Completed: 53
Classification: P6, 1:23.802
Interruptions: Shutdown of power unit due to data showing developing problem.The team will next appear in test action at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya on February 19-22.
Romain Grosjean:
“My first impressions of the E23 hybrid are good. Both the power unit and the chassis are going in the right direction. I completed over fifty laps today and I can honestly say that all of them were enjoyable to drive. The team has made very good progress if you consider where we were this time last year. It’s a very good start and I’m a happy driver.”
Nick Chester, Technical Director:
“Even though it’s been an early end to our final day of running in Jerez, we’ve made fantastic progress over the past few days. We fired up the E23 hybrid for the first time at Enstone last Saturday night, ran it for the first time on Monday, then completed a very useful haul of laps over the course of the test. Both Romain and Pastor have declared themselves happy with the car and we have a clear direction for future developments. Today we finished early as analysis of power unit running data suggested a problem was developing. The power unit will now return to Brixworth for a full investigation. We have a busy week ahead of us at Enstone to make further progress with the E23 and we’re particularly looking forward to the next test in Barcelona.”
Williams
Driver: Felipe Massa
Chassis/Engine: FW37-01/PU106B hybrid
Location: Jerez de la Frontera 4.428km
Objectives: Aero work, systems and reliability checks
Weather: Mild and dry
Air and track temps: 9 – 14ºC / 8 – 16ºC
Rod Nelson, Chief Test and Support Engineer:
“Today was another trouble-free day and so we completed our programme for the week. Today’s focus was on aero and mechanical set-up, as well as working through systems reliability. We have highlighted areas we need to improve before Barcelona and leave here with a reliable package that is straightforward to work with. I think we are all very happy.”
Felipe Massa:
“The FW37 once again proved how reliable it was with an error free day. The car has been consistent over the last four days and we have made good progress. We have highlighted certain areas that need work and so will make sure the car is improving every time we take to the track. We have our feet on the ground and are focused on making this car quicker when testing continues in Barcelona.”
Lotus enjoyed a productive day of testing at the Circuito de Jerez with Pastor Maldonado completing 96 laps, setting a best time of 1min 22.713secs. The team continued with installation and functionality checks with the E23 hybrid as well as initial performance assessments. Romain Grosjean got his first taste of the E23 on day 4.
Track: Circuito de Jerez, Spain, 4.4km
Chassis: E23-02
Weather: Cold and cloudy. Ambient 11°C – 15°C Track 12°C – 16°C
Programme: Installation and functionality checks, initial performance assessment
Laps Completed: 96
Classification: P5, 1:22.713
Interruptions: Telemetry power issue delayed first run in the morning.
What’s next?
Pastor Maldonado:
“It was a good day and we’ve learnt a lot more about the E23. The car feels strong and we know there’s more to come. We’re still checking all the systems and learning how everything works, but I’m very happy with progress over the last two days. We were able to run with different tyre compounds today so there’s a good basis for knowing where we need to look in terms of set-up. I’m really looking forward to getting back into the car in Barcelona.”Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director:
“We’ve completed a solid programme today and been able to log a lot of data as we begin our initial understanding of the E23. Yesterday’s issues were quickly diagnosed and rectified and today we’ve run very reliably with only a connection issue to delay our first run this morning. Pastor’s jumped straight back into the car after the winter break and has given us everything we’ve needed over the last two days, now we’re looking forward to Romain getting his first taste of the car tomorrow.”
Williams
Driver: Felipe Massa
Chassis/Engine: FW37-01/PU106B hybrid
Location: Jerez de la Frontera 4.428km
Objectives: Aero work, systems and reliability checks
Weather: Damp in the morning, overcast and mild
Air and track temps: 11 – 15ºC / 11 – 16ºC
Rod Nelson, Chief Test and Support Engineer:
“It’s been another good day and good to have Felipe get his first drive of the FW37 today. We have started to do a little more chassis work as we continue to work through our plan. Felipe gave us very much the same feedback as Valtteri did, so it’s pleasing that they share the same views and characteristics as each other on the FW37. Overall it’s been a positive day.”
Felipe Massa:
“I am happy after a good first day in the car. The FW37 is another step forward from where we left the FW36, which is promising. I am also confident in the car set-up. The feeling in the car was good even for a first impression and it’s well balanced. We lost a bit of time in the morning due to the wet weather so hopefully tomorrow we can continue to get the miles in and head to Barcelona well prepared.”
Lotus F1’s E23 hybrid took to the track for the first time today, completing its first shakedown lap followed by installation and functionality checks. Pastor Maldonado completed the car’s first day of running and will remain in the car for tomorrow’s programme.
Track: Circuito de Jerez, Spain, 4.4km
Chassis: E23-02
Weather: Cold and cloudy with mid-afternoon rain, air 4-14°C, track: 5-15°C
Programme: Initial shakedown, installation and functionality checks
Laps Completed: 41
Classification: P6, 1:25.802
Interruptions: Day’s running stopped early due to drivetrain issue.
Nick Chester, Technical Director:
“Seeing the E23 hybrid on track for the first time was very satisfying and we owe a great deal of thanks to everyone at Enstone and everyone here at the circuit for the long hours which have been put in recently. We also say thank you to our partners and suppliers for assisting us with what has been a very ambitious build programme. We had predicted that we’d probably just be able to complete a couple of shakedown laps today, but thanks to some fantastic work overnight we were able to run the car from this morning. The feedback from Pastor has been positive at what is a very early stage in the car’s test programme. We had a drivetrain issue this afternoon, but didn’t lose out on too much running as it started raining shortly afterwards. We can’t wait to get back out on track tomorrow.”
Pastor Maldonado:
“It was fantastic to get behind the wheel for the first ever lap of this exciting new car. Even though it’s early days we achieved a lot today. It was already exciting to feel the potential of the car and I can’t wait to get back in the car tomorrow. We did stop running early, but then it started to rain so everyone else came in too so it was not a big drama. The car certainly looks fantastic and I know we have a lot of potential for the season ahead.”
At work… today
Driver: Valtteri Bottas
Chassis/Engine: FW37-01/PU106B hybrid
Location: Jerez de la Frontera 4.428km
Objectives: Aero work, systems and reliability checks
Weather: Cold and dry, rain at the end of the session
Air and track temps: 4 – 14ºC / 5 – 15ºC
Rod Nelson, Chief Test and Support Engineer:
“We learnt a lot yesterday and have continued to build on that today. We started aero performance based work today, continuing to move through the test schedule we have set ourselves. We have had no issues with the car today, so have made good progress.”
Valtteri Bottas:
“We have had another good day. We managed to get through all of our programme and it was only the final run that we were compromised due to the rain. The morning was dedicated to obtaining aero data, then this afternoon we focused on the longer runs, making set-up changes and analysing the results. We are learning all the time and at the moment I am really pleased with what I have felt when in the car.”
And at play… earlier
Lotus F1’s 2015 challenger, the E23 hybrid (new image above), arrived in Jerez today after firing-up for the first time at the team’s Enstone base on Saturday 31 January. The car is now undergoing its build programme overnight and throughout Monday, with the first significant running expected for Tuesday 3 February.
Here’s a little piece of info the team came up with in an idle moment and felt it had to share – what it calls its ‘E23 numbers’:
0 – the time taken in seconds for the gearbox of the E23 to change gear (drive is never lost during the gearshift)
0.04 – how much faster in seconds the E23 goes each lap due to the reducing weight as the car burns fuel (not accounting for tyre degradation)
1.6 – the time in seconds for the E23 to decelerate from 100 km/h to a standstill
4 – the number of power units allocated to each driver in 2015
4.9 – how many seconds it takes for the E23 to reach 200 km/h from a standstill
6 – the number of consecutive races each gearbox must survive before it can be changed without suffering a five-place grid penalty
8 forward and 1 reverse – the number of gears in the E23’s gearbox
15 – how many hours it takes for a complete rebuild of the car at the track with 12 mechanics
87.75 – the impact energy in kilojoules that must be withstood by the nose of the car when it is crash tested by the FIA; the same amount of energy as would be required to stop a 4 tonne elephant moving towards you at 24km/h
102 – the weight in Kg subjected to the end of the front wing by the FIA; it cannot move more than 10mm
220 – the pressure in Bar the cars hydraulic system works at; a road car tyre is about 1.8 Bar
702 – the minimum dry weight of the car in kilograms
1,100 – the temperature in degrees Celsius of the exhaust gases when the car is at full throttle
1,200 – in degrees Celsius, this is the temperature a brake disc can reach during the race
2,500 – the number of gear changes the drivers have to make during an average Grand Prix
12,500 – the number of technical drawings produced by the time of the E23 car build (more than any other car from Enstone)
30,000 – the number of individual parts that make up each E23
125,000 – the max rotational speed in RPM of the MGU-H
250,000 – the amount of man hours that have gone into the design of the E23.
Meanwhile, the other teams have been hard at it on track, with Vettel (now at Ferrari) and Ericsson (Sauber) topping the lap times, although these are pretty meaningless.
Here are Williams’ results from day one:
Driver: Valtteri Bottas
Chassis / Engine: FW37-01/PU106B Hybrid
Location: Jerez de la Frontera 4.428km
Objectives: New component, systems and reliability checks
Weather: Dry and sunny
Air and track temps: 7 – 14ºC / 9 – 20ºC
Rod Nelson, Chief Test and Support Engineer:
“We have gone through our normal winter test programmes today and have solved any issues that have arisen. We lost a bit of time this morning but once on track, Valtteri clocked up 73 laps. We have new hardware on the car and there is a new power unit, and all of these have to be checked and tested whilst we are running before we can start looking at performance. Jerez isn’t too representative as a circuit as the surface is so abrasive, this limits the amount of useful performance work we can carry out. We are very satisfied with the first day and are looking forward to tomorrow.”
And driver, Valtteri Bottas:
“The day started off a bit slow, but it turned out to be a really good one. After that initial set-back we didn’t have a single issue with the FW37, which is impressive for the first day with a new car. We started off on shorter runs before longer runs later this afternoon, including one run that was significant considering again that it’s only the first day. The car was consistent, so it’s a really good start to the week and we are pleased that it’s still a step up from the car we had at the end of last season. We know we have a lot to learn and improve, but we also know where these gains can come from, and have work to do with the car performance and the power unit. There are a lot of strengths in this car and we’ve made good progress in just one day, so I am very pleased.”
More details to come on this but here are images of the team’s new 2015 contender. This elegant car is fitted with Honda’s 1.6 litre V6 engine, the RA615H.
The MP4-30 is an important first step as McLaren and Honda progress towards a successful future and a strong partnership. Let’s hope so…
Nicely turned out, gentlemen…
The F1 teams usually roll out their ‘apparel’ or kit sponsors at the beginning of the season, and they don’t attract much attention.
However, seeing how much ‘image’ is rolling in the bucks for the team this year I did smile when Sahara Force India informed me that it was:
“…pleased to welcome Apsley Tailors as the team’s supplier of bespoke tailoring. The London-based brand will dress the team’s race drivers and senior management with a range of clothing options including suits, blazers and jackets to be worn throughout the 2015 season…”
With a 125-year heritage, Apsley Tailors has built its worldwide reputation on a tradition of quality and comfort. Everything it produces is bespoke and made to measure, which draws immediate parallels with Sahara Force India’s Formula One cars. It is this attention to detail and insistence on design perfection that makes Apsley the ideal brand to dress the team with style and elegance.
I’ll now remove the tongue from my cheek completely and insist they send me the complete ensemble before attending the GP. I’m a very British gent after all…
The team’s spectacular event at the Soumaya museum saw Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg pull back the covers to reveal 2015’s VJM08.
With relatively stable technical regulations, the VJM08 has been designed with evolution rather than revolution in mind.
The most significant changes from the outside appear at the front of the car with the lowering of the front of the chassis and nose. Explains Technical Director, Andrew Green:
“The front of the car looks very different from what we’ve developed previously. It’s a redesign that involved a lot of work over the winter, as the new regulations caused a loss in terms of downforce and we’ve been working to claw back all that performance.
“The VJM08 features several subtle changes, including modified sculpting of the sidepods and new cooling intakes. Underneath the skin there’s a completely new rear suspension layout with a new hydro-mechanical system replacing the original torsion springs. The VJM08 is expected to make its track testing debut in Barcelona next month with the VJM07 running at the first test in Jerez.”
However, it’s the new car livery that may get heads turning. The chassis features an elegant combination of silver and black with the team’s traditional colour of orange streaking from the nose cone to the rear of the car in two symmetrical curves.
Key to the new livery is the introduction of several commercial partners for 2015. Prominent NEC branding appears on the engine cover to signal the beginning of a relationship with the global ICT firm based in Tokyo. Also on the engine cover are the logos of telecommunications brands Claro and Telcel as America Movil begins its second season supporting the team.
Tequila brand, Jose Cuervo features on the car’s headrest, while logos from Latin America insurance broker, Inter appears on the front wing end plates. Motor oil brand, Quaker State also partners with the team placing its logos on the rear wing end plates.
The team has also extended its partnership with Smirnoff for a second season, and continued with long-time partners United Spirits, Kingfisher and Royal Challenge.
I’ll look forward to the GP invites. Having lunches and drinks with such a range of sponsors should make them quite a lively affair…
Following on from its successful 2014 season, Williams’ Chief Technical Officer, Pat Symonds takes up the story behind the development of this year’s car:
“We went about recognising what had worked well with the FW36 and identifying and resolving the areas that we felt needed to be improved. Although the aerodynamics of the car were impressive there is always room for improvement particularly as we handle the new 2015 nose regulations.
“The first conceptual stage of the FW37 came before the FW36 had turned a wheel. The main element to this is understanding the rule changes and how they will affect the design of the car. From here we can start to see if our ideas will fit within the regulations.
‘The desire to beat Ferrari to third place in the Constructors’ in 2014 meant we pushed our development through to late autumn, but the size of the team is now at a point where it was able to sustain this development whilst still working on the FW37.”
With the regulations relatively stable from 2014 the team went about developing the FW36 with the additional changes necessary to meet the 2015 rules. Adds Symonds:
“We felt we came up against design barriers in the FW36 and so took the opportunity to remove these for the benefit of performance. The FW36 carried a reasonable amount of ballast, so we were able to make alterations to the design for added performance without the fear of adding excessive mass.”
The layout phase of the car was completed by the summer break in August, with work on the new front bulkhead a main priority for the designers and aerodynamicists as the changes to the regulations had their effects on the car.
Says Symonds:
‘The change in regulations offered us a slight headache. The new front bulkhead and nose geometry had much more of an impact than we had initially anticipated and the effect on the aero was profound. The team has worked hard on pulling back the deficit these regulations have made for us.
“‘The more rule stability there is, the closer the field gets. I hope as a team we are more capable of maintaining the forward momentum to catch Mercedes, than the teams behind us are of catching us. It’s not just about stable regulations but also about the team and every individual that works here moving forward and improving.”
You may also have picked up on recent reports that Jolyon Palmer is the team’s third driver. He’s certainly a person to keep your eyes on.
As reigning GP2 Series champion, he’s the first British driver to win the title since Lewis Hamilton. He won the 2014 GP2 title in record-breaking fashion, with the greatest amount of points scored in a season (276) and the most consecutive points finishes (19).
Palmer will attend all Grands Prix and Formula 1 tests throughout 2015, including driving in a ‘significant number’ of Free Practice 1 sessions, as well as contributing to the car’s testing and development during the season. He will also fulfil the role of reserve driver.
The team’s two drivers, Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, are also both former GP2 champions.
Just catching up on a few of the new F1 car launches for this year.
First up is Lotus with its E23 hybrid. There’s a change to a Mercedes Benz power unit for the 2015 season. The team struggled with last year’s car so it’s targeted every area that caused it an issue.
Says Technical Director, Nick Chester:
“We’ve made strong progress in the wind tunnel as well as in areas such as packaging and cooling. The E22 did deliver good figures in the wind tunnel, even if it was difficult to unlock its potential, so we’ve paid more attention to making the characteristics of the car more adaptable.
“In terms of the suspension, we were delivered something of a blow last year when the front-rear interconnected suspension was outlawed mid-season. The E23’s suspension design is specific to the updated regulations so we’re not trying to update a system originally intended to work a different way.
“We learnt a lot in many areas of the car over the course of 2014 so there are many lessons which have been applied. We know we’ve made a big step. We won’t know how our car will fare in relative terms until we’re out in action at a Grand Prix, but we certainly expect to be much more competitive than last year.”
Colossus F1, an F1 in Schools team representing England at the 2014 F1 in Schools World Finals this week in Abu Dhabi has claimed a new world record with the team’s car sprinting along the F1 in Schools 20 metre race track in a time of 1.003 seconds, shaving nearly two-hundredths of a second off the previous record – 1.020 seconds – held for seven years by Northern Irish team, TEAM FUGA.
The record-breaking run was not without controversy. Just as in F1, the team were challenged for pushing the boundaries of the regulations, with the fastest of the team’s runs using an air cushion device at the start gate, an innovation designed by Colossus F1 to minimise air loss when the car was released.
The team, however, believes that another of its ‘innovations’, a water tunnel test programme, also gave it the edge which produced the world record time.
The opening ceremony of this year’s event, being held at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, preceded the first day of judging in this global educational initiative, with the 38 teams in the spotlight for the first of two days of intense scrutiny with verbal presentations, pit display and portfolio assessments and plenty of high speed action in the racing time trials.
Celebrating 10 years of the international F1 in Schools competition, the event was opened by Al Tareq Al Ameri, Chief Executive Officer of Yas Marina Circuit. Just under four hours later Colossus F1 broke the world record.
But everyone’s been laid off. Not much more to say really. Let’s hope some form of deal can be struck with a prospective buyer at the weekend.
At least tonight at 22.51, came confirmation that Kamui Kobayashi will race for the team in the season finale. The second driver to race alongside Kamui will be announced in due course.
Kamui Kobayashi:
“It hasn’t been an easy last few weeks, so it will be nice to be back in the car and work together with the Caterham F1 team members.
“I would like to thank the fans for supporting the team like they have. This team is working hard and never gives up. We deserve to be racing in Abu Dhabi and I am very glad we can race again. Now it is our turn to show what we can do – we will all try our best during the weekend ahead and hopefully we can end the season with a positive result for the future of this team.”
CLIVE COULDWELL: Formula One as it is... 