Goodbye Ferrari

Todt says 'goodbye' to Ferrari

Former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt is to step down from the Italian manufacturer with immediate effect; since retiring from the role of F1 Team Principal in 2007, the Frenchman has still been part of the Board of Directors as well as holding other smaller positions within the company

At the board of directors meeting on Tuesday the announcement was made by President Luca di Montezemolo, who subsequently thanked Todt on behalf of the everyone at Ferrari, for the major contribution he has made to the success of the Scuderia over the years and commitment and dedication he has shown in all positions he has held since arriving at Maranello in 1993. Mr Todt's appointments at Ferrari included those of GES Director, CEO and member of the Board of Directors.

"Jean Todt has been one of the leading protagonists of the Ferrari story over the last 15 years," said Montezemolo. "Skill and passion have always characterised his work and have won him my personal respect and affection, that of the company as a whole and of the prancing horse enthusiasts everywhere. I would like to wish him the very best for the future, which I hope will prove extremely satisfying both personally and professionally.

"All of these years we've spent together - victories and tough times included - have forged a link between Jean Todt and Ferrari that will never be broken."

Cost CAP

Mosley explains 2010 cost cap

The FIA's Tuesday meeting in Paris confirmed what is the most radical shakeup of the sporting rules in Formula 1 history; the governing body, as well as introducing a wide range of technical regulations for next year, has made a number of modifications to start in 2009, chiefly that the driver with most wins to his name will be crowded champion

The FIA's two principal targets are as follows: to significantly reduce the overall running costs of the sport as well as improving the Formula 1 show for the public. With the loss of Honda at the end of last year, this only stressed that - coupled with the current economic crisis - the sport must reduce costs in order for it to be sustainable; these sentiments were echoed by Virgin boss Richard Branson, who was linked as a possible buyer of the squad in February.

FIA logo

Starting next season, teams will be presented with the option of either developing their car under the current rules, or be given technical freedom with the sacrifice of a £30m (€33m, €42m) budget cut per year. "It has been carefully costed," FIA President Max Mosley said following the meeting. "The cars will be changed much less during the season because teams will not be able to spend on minute advantages like a $1,200 wheel nut which is only used once. From the grandstands or television though they won't look or sound any less 'Formula One' than the current, ultra-expensive cars. Teams with technical freedom (and the budget cap) will be interesting to watch too because they will be able to run special features when teams who stay on the current rules (with bigger budgets) will be confined as to what they can do.

Many people feel a budget cap would take away the true spirit of Formula 1, although Mosley is adamant that the changes would be for the better: "Keith Duckworth (part-founder of Cosworth engines) once said 'an engineer is someone who can do for one dollar what any idiot can do for a hundred dollars'; these rules will encourage clever engineering - success will come to teams with the best ideas, not only the teams with the most money."

The budget cap would include everything involved in the running of the team, minus motorhomes and any fines which could occur during the season. Engines, which are currently subject to a development freeze, have also come under scrutiny since Tuesday's meeting. "The engine will still comply with the current rules except there would be no rev limiters and no freezes on development," Mosley confirmed.

Add-ons such as special wheel nuts will not feature for cost-capped teams

Accusations have already been made stating that, with the likes of more powerful engines and more aero-efficient cars, those teams with technical freedom will be presented with a large advantage, to which Mosley responded: "We will make sure these advantages do no more than balance the disadvantages the cost-capped teams will have, because of their very restricted budgets. The other teams will have stable technical regulations for which we understand the Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) intend to provide guarantees of continuing participation until 2012, confirmed by the major car manufacturers - the FIA has a lot of experience in performance adjustment and equivalence."

"There is no reason why cost-capped teams could not win races," Mosley concluded. "The massive and highly organised unlimited-expenditure teams are perhaps likely to do a better job of going racing - they will have the most expensive race engineers and tacticians, not to mention the top-earning drivers. However, racing is - and should be - unpredictable."

F1 helmets

kimi in 2008

Helmets

One of the most important safety devices in Formula One racing is the driver's helmet. Although its fundamental shape may look very similar to those worn by drivers in the 1980s and even the 1970s, the underlying design and construction technology has changed radically over the years.

As late as 1985 a typical Formula One helmet weighed around 2kg. That amount increased dramatically under high-G cornering or deceleration, adding to the risk of 'whiplash' type injuries in big accidents. As head and neck trauma has been identified as the greatest single risk of injury to race drivers, helmet manufacturers place the greatest importance on reducing the mass of helmets, while increasing their strength and resistance to impacts.

Current Formula One helmets are massively strong, and also considerably lighter, now weighing approximately 1.25 kg. Helmets are constructed from several separate layers, offering a combination of strength and flexibility (vital to absorb the force of large impacts). The outer shell has two layers, typically fibre-reinforced resin over carbon fibre. Under that comes a layer formed of vastly strong plastic, the same material used in many bullet-proof vests. Then there is a softer, deformable layer made from a plastic based on polystyrene, covered with the flame-proof material used in racing overalls and gloves.

The visor will be made of a special clear polycarbonate, combining excellent impact protection with flame resistance and excellent visibility. Most drivers use tinted visors, the insides of which are coated with anti-fogging chemicals to prevent them misting up, particularly in wet conditions. Several transparent tear-off strips are attached to the outside. As the visor picks up dirt during the course of the race, the driver can remove these to clear his vision.

In recent seasons the actual shape of helmets has gradually evolved, as more aerodynamically efficient shapes are brought into use. Sitting directly below the main engine air intake, helmets are increasingly shaped to assist in the process of reducing drag in this notoriously high-turbulence aerodynamic area. The modern designs also reduce the lift produced by more traditionally shaped helmets - which can be anything up to 15 kg at racing speeds.

The helmet design must also provide ventilation for the driver. This is achieved through the use of various small air intakes. To prevent small particles of track debris entering the helmet these intakes are equipped with special filters.

Despite the cutting edge materials used in their construction Formula One helmets are still painted by hand, an incredibly skilled job requiring hundreds of hours of work for more complicated patterns and designs. And most drivers will go through several helmets during the course of a season.

As you would expect, the FIA have strict ‘super helmet’ requirements for Formula One racing. To gain approval for Grand Prix use, a helmet design must pass a number of tests, covering factors such as crush and penetration resistance and surface friction. It must also work correctly in conjunction with the mandatory HANS (Head and Neck Support) device.

Superbikes ever

http://moto.gpupdate.net/en/gallery.php?catID=3798

Rossi quits again

Rossi says no to F1, again

MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi has said no to F1, again saying this time it's for keeps and he will never compete in the sport.

Rossi tested for Ferrari again before Christmas but both sides said there was no real intent behind it, in terms of geting him to switch from two wheels to four.

"I had my chance for F1 and I decided to stay with bikes," Rossi said. "I've made my choice and I don't think there's any other possibility now."

Rossi's contract with Yamaha in MotoGP runs until the end of 2010.

Race of rubber

06 March 2009

2009 marks the year of most changes to ever be witnessed between seasons since the inauguration of the Formula One World Championship in 1950. The testing ban in particular means that teams and drivers have significantly less time to develop their much-changed cars before the Australian Grand Prix on March 29. Also in a frantic developing phase of their year is sole tyre manufacutrer Bridgestone, which has even been testing 2010 tyres due to the lack of available track time.

The 2009 aerodynamic regulations have been designed to decrease the amount of downforce available," explained technical manager Tetsuro Kobayashi. "In the dry, the lost grip has been partially countered by the greater amount of grip from the slicks and the bigger contact patch they have with the track.

In the wet, the aerodynamic situation is the same, but our tyre specifications have not changed since 2008, so this means there is less overall grip in the wet than previously and the drivers will have to adapt accordingly."

With the lack of grooves in slick tyres, recognition of the two tyre types at a race weekend has changed slightly: "We will mark the softer of the two compounds with available at a race weekend with green bands on the outer edges of the sidewalls - we have used green as it shows our support of the FIA's Make Cars Green campaign" Kobayashi added.

Possible is Honda

Jenson Button has give the Brawn GP car its first shakedown at Silverstone on Friday. Following this morning's news the Briton completed his first laps this year in the team's car which was named BGP001.
Brawn GP will join the other Formula 1 teams at Circuit de Catalunya next week for a three-day test. The week after the Formula One teams will travel to Jerez for the final week of testing before the season gets under way in Melbourne.

Button completes first laps for Brawn GP