Formula 1 2013 Pre-Season

[denphone]

Originally Posted by nstokes

Sergio Perez wants McLaren to fight for Formula 1 title


Can he do it in the first season with Mclaren?

One suspects he might do quite well but whether they can challenge for the title well lets see.

[MalteseFalcon]

Taken from Formula1.com:

Car launches:

McLaren: January 31, Venue TBC

Force India: February 1, Silverstone, UK

Sauber: February 2, Hinwil, Switzerland

Red Bull: February 3, Milton Keynes, UK

Ferrari say they will launch their car in early February ready to be tested on February 5 in Jerez. I would say that means it will launch in Italy, on February 1 so it has time to travel to Spain. February 2 at the latest. Cars travel by road I assume in lorries?

Provisional testing dates (may already be here, sorry if it is):

Jerez, Spain: February 5-8

Barcelona, Spain: February 19-22

Barcelona, Spain: February 28-March 3

[MalteseFalcon]

An up to date list of teams and drivers:

Red Bull: Sebastien Vettel & Mark Webber

Ferrari: Fernando Alonso & Felipe Massa

McLaren: Jenson Button & Sergio Perez

Lotus: Kimi Raikkonen & Romain Grosjean

Mercedes: Nico Rosberg & Lewis Hamilton

Sauber: Nico Hulkenberg & Esteban Gutierrez

Force India: TBA & TBA (however, Paul di Resta is expected to sign for the 2013 season with Force India but nothing has been announced yet)

Williams: Pastor Maldonado & Valtteri Bottas

Toro Rosso: Jean-Eric Vergne & Daniel Ricciardo

Caterham: TBA & Charles Pic

Marussia: Timo Glock & Max Chilton

[MalteseFalcon]

Mercedes and Toro Rosso announce car launch dates.

Mercedes and Toro Rosso will both launch their cars on February 4, before the Jerez testing session.

Mercedes will launch their W04 car at 13:30 on the main straight, whilst at 17:30 Toro Rosso will launch their STR8 car in the pit lane.

Both teams have already confirmed their drivers for the season, as my list shows above.

Williams launch date.

Williams will be launching their 2013 car at the start of the second test in Barcelona, Spain. The new car (FW35) will launch then, however at Jerez the team will be using 2013 livery and key development parts on their 2012 car (FW34) so they can compete in testing. Launch date is February 19.

Ferrari launch date, sign Pedro de la Rosa as test driver.

Ferrari have signed Pedro de la Rosa to their development driver line up. The F1 veteran raced for the now defunct HRT team in 2012 and will take part in developmental, technical, racing and commercial activities for Ferrari.

Ferrari also announced they will be launching their car on February 1 at their factory in Maranello, so the car can be taken to Jerez for testing when it starts on February 5. They also said they are looking into a role for Jules Bianchi, a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, and was Force India's reserve driver for 2012.

---------- Post added at 22:01 ---------- Previous post was at 21:37 ----------

To try and keep all launch dates together, an update version of the list of car launch dates and venues, where known.

Launch Dates:

McLaren - January 31, TBC

Force India - February 1, Silverstone, UK

Ferrari - February 1, Maranello, Italy

Sauber - February 2, Hinwil, Switzerland

Red Bull - February 3, Milton Keynes, UK

Mercedes - February 4, Jerez, Spain 13:30

Toro Rosso - February 4, Jerez, Spain 17:30

Williams - February 18?, Barcelona, Spain

---------- Post added at 22:05 ---------- Previous post was at 22:01 ----------

Apparently, today Timo Glock has left Marussia by mutual consent, which means that there are still 4 seats to confirm before the season starts.

[denphone]

Timo Glock agrees to leave Marussia for 'commercial' reasons.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21119720

[MalteseFalcon]

Caterham have announced their 2013 car, the CT03, will be launched in the pit lane on the morning of February 5 in Jerez, Spain. Caterham only have the one driver confirmed at the moment, Charles Pic of France who signed in November 2012.

---------- Post added at 09:33 ---------- Previous post was at 09:28 ----------

Also, because of HRT leaving the sport, a change to qualifying means that instead of 2 cuts of 7 drivers, it will now be 2 cuts of 6 drivers. So, we have 17 to 22 missing first cut, then 11 to 16 missing the second cut leaving the top 10 drivers to do the final session.

[Kymmy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21143847

New executive director Toto Wolff is the first of these and he has agreed a deal to bring in McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe.

Their intended job titles are not clear but Wolff, 41, will likely be team boss and figurehead with Lowe, 50, running the sporting and technical aspects.

Should be quite interesting... I wonder where Brawn will go??

[nstokes]

Ross Brawn role at Mercedes under threat

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21143847

---------- Post added at 15:00 ---------- Previous post was at 15:00 ----------

Robert Kubica expects Formula 1 return despite his rally crash

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21165822

I hope he does come back some day as he was a great driver

[MalteseFalcon]

Agree, would love to see Kubica return. Maybe him and di Resta for Force India?

Alonso to miss first testing session.

Fernando Alonso will not get behind the wheel of Ferrari’s 2013 car until the second pre-season test next month, it has been confirmed. Instead it will be team mate Felipe Massa who gives the Scuderia’s new machine its track debut at Jerez in Spain on February 5.

While Alonso focuses on his physical preparations for the new season, Massa will be behind the wheel for the first three days of the opening four-day session, with newly-signed test driver Pedro de la Rosa making his first appearance in red on the final day.

Alonso will experience his 2013 cockpit for the first time on February 19, when he starts three days of testing at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya, with Massa taking over the car for the final day. At the final test - again in Barcelona - on February 28-March 3, the Spaniard and the Brazilian will each get a further two days in the car.

Lotus launch 2013 car online.

Lotus are set to become the first Formula One team to reveal their 2013 car when they launch their Renault-powered E21 online next Monday, January 28.

Streaming live from their UK base in Enstone, the launch will be broadcast on Lotus's YouTube channel from 19:15 GMT. The event will also be showcased live on the Sky Sports News HD television channel in the UK.

The E21 will then make its track debut at the first pre-season test at the Spanish circuit of Jerez on February 5-8, with the team’s 2013 race drivers, Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean, in attendance.

All teams bar Marussia have now confirmed launch dates for their 2013 cars.

[MalteseFalcon]

Lotus car launch now live:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6nHwtmQ3DU

---------- Post added at 19:28 ---------- Previous post was at 19:19 ----------

From what I've seen so far, looks like the 2012 car with new parts added to it.

---------- Post added at 21:26 ---------- Previous post was at 19:28 ----------

Lotus first team to launch 2013 car.

Lotus have become the first team to unveil their 2013 car after the wraps came off the Renault-powered E21 in an online launch ceremony broadcast from the team’s UK factory on Monday evening.

With the new machine Lotus aim to build on their successful 2012 campaign, which saw Kimi Raikkonen win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix en route to the team finishing fourth in the constructors’ championship. Raikkonen will again partner Romain Grosjean in 2013.

With only limited changes to the technical and sporting regulations from 2012, the E21 continues the design concepts seen in its predecessor, the E20. However, Lotus say it is pushing last year’s concepts even further as well as incorporating some innovative technical solutions. The new car also features a slightly tweaked livery, incorporating an extra touch of red.

"The E20 proved itself to be an effective racing car - particularly towards the end of last season - so there is an element of expectation from the E21 and plenty to build upon,� said Lotus technical director, James Allison. “We have continued with our design themes and tried to create a more efficient and faster racing car based on all the lessons we learnt last year. How successful we have been in this task will only be discovered when we take to the track at the winter tests and - more significantly - at Grands Prix."

With the E21, Lotus will continue to develop the passive double-DRS system that they tested but never raced in 2012. And, in the car’s launch form at least, the team have elected to retain a stepped nose - foregoing the ‘vanity panel’ permitted in the 2013 regulations - in order to save weight.

"I think it is fair to say that great things are possible from the team and the E21,� added team principal Eric Boullier. “The leap we made from 2011 to 2012 showed what we are capable of. Add to this the continuity and potential of our driver line-up and we have a very powerful cocktail for the season ahead. Our ambitious plan to turn ourselves into one of the top teams in Formula One is coming to fruition and now we need to harness this with strong and regular podium results."

Joining Raikkonen and Grosjean in Lotus’s 2013 line-up is reigning GP2 Series champion Davide Valsecchi as third driver and Nicolas Prost as development driver. Jerome D’Ambrosio continues as reserve driver.

[Hom3r]

German GP look very doubtful

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21263377

[Caff]

I really hope that di Resta has a signing. He improved so much in the latter half of last season.

I notice that Button and Hamilton have been split up. All sensible and good in my thinking.

Good luck to the Aussie Massa. Solid driver.
Only finishing behind the Brits of course. But good luck none the less.

[MalteseFalcon]

Ferrari announce the 2013 car will be the F138.

Ferrari have revealed that their 2013 car will be called the F138. The machine, the 59th single-seater the Scuderia have built for Formula One racing, derives its name from a combination of the current year and the number of cylinders in its engine.

Ferrari say that the name pays tribute to the V8 engine, which is being replaced next year as the sport’s standard power-unit configuration by V6 turbo engines.

The F138 will be launched on Friday at Ferrari’s Maranello headquarters in Italy. It will then be transported to Jerez in Spain for next week's first pre-season test of 2013, where Felipe Massa will give the car its track debut.

Newly-recruited test driver Pedro de la Rosa will take over testing duties from Massa on day four of the first session, with 2012 championship runner-up Fernando Alonso getting his first run in the new car at the second test in Barcelona from February 19.

Christian Horner signs new deal with Red Bull.

Christian Horner is to remain as Red Bull team principal for the foreseeable future after renewing his contract with the reigning world champions.

A team spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that Red Bull have agreed a multi-year extension to Horner’s contract, as their partnership with the Briton prepares to enter its ninth F1 season.

Red Bull entered the sport in 2005 after the Austrian energy drink company took over the Jaguar team, and Horner, 39, has been in charge throughout, leading them to championship doubles in each of the last three seasons.

Red Bull continue with the unchanged driver line-up of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber for 2013 and the team’s new car, the RB9, will be launched at their UK factory in Milton Keynes this Sunday, February 3.

Button and Perez unveil new McLaren car.

The wraps came off McLaren’s 2013 car on Thursday morning, as drivers Jenson Button and Sergio Perez revealed the Mercedes-powered MP4-28 at the team’s UK base in Woking.

Following a cavalcade of historic machinery from McLaren’s past - the team celebrate their 50th anniversary this year - Button and Perez entered the McLaren Technical Centre driving the company’s latest road cars, before uncovering their new F1 challenger.

McLaren describe the MP4-28 as a deep and sweeping re-design of its race-winning 2012 predecessor in several key areas, most notably around the nose and front suspension (now a pull-rod configuration following the trend set by Ferrari last year), the sidepod profiles and the rear bodywork.

“We were extremely strong throughout the whole of the 2012 season, but, for one reason or another, we couldn’t quite pull it all together to challenge for the championships,� said Button, who starts his fourth season with McLaren this year. “That’s something we want to address for 2013. I’ve seen just how closely everybody has been working together on this car, and I think we’ve got the basis for a very strong season.

“This year’s car is the best we’ve ever made - I know the engineers have left absolutely no stone unturned in wringing every ounce of performance from every available area. I cannot wait to get behind the wheel and attempt to carry forward the incredible legacy that lives beneath the skin of every single man and woman who works at McLaren.

“We’ll be working extremely hard during the pre-season to ensure we go to the first race with bulletproof reliability. Operationally, too, I think we’ve learned and developed from last year, and that will help us run a much smoother and stronger campaign.�

As well as a new car, Button has a new team mate for 2013 in ‘Checo’ Perez, who will start only his third season of Formula One competition this year, having joined McLaren from Sauber over the winter.

“For me, this is a great day,� said the Mexican. “In fact, every day this year has been great: I’ve been working hard with my new team to get everything ready for the start of the 2013 season - and it’s been an incredible journey to get to know this incredible organisation.

“Of course, I am fully aware of the steep slope ahead of me: it has already been an intense couple of weeks, getting to grips with a new team, meeting my engineers and mechanics, learning new ways of working and, of course, learning all about a brand new car - something I’ll need to do with just six days of on-track testing. It’s a big challenge.�

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh added: “For 2013, of course, we go racing to win. With Jenson and Checo, and this fantastic-looking new car, I believe we’re extremely well prepared for another competitive season. Jenson is driving better than ever - he’s the most experienced driver in Formula One, but he makes every ounce of that experience count: he’s peerless in his ability to read a race and one of the very fastest drivers out there. He’s a consummate professional, too, and will revel in working hard to drive this team through the year.

“Checo joins us after a sensational 2012 season and he’s immediately proved that he’s intelligent, modest, hard-working and, make no mistake; very, very quick. Of course, there’ll be a learning curve to overcome as he gets used to our organisation, particularly during the hustle and bustle of the early-season race weekends, but he understands that we are placing no pressure on him.

"This is an exciting time for the whole team. In our 50th anniversary season, I want Vodafone McLaren Mercedes to underline why we are the finest Grand Prix team in the world.�

The MP4-28 will make its track debut at the first pre-season test of 2013, which begins at the Jerez circuit in Spain next week.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by Hom3r

German GP look very doubtful

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21263377

Nurburgring agrees deal to host 2013 German Grand Prix.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/21263377

[MalteseFalcon]

That's excellent news, I prefer the Nurburgring to Hockenheim. So, what's the most likely venue for the race on July 21, the one that is still to TBA? Personally, I would love to see the French GP come back.