So, there’s a Bentley Mulsanne revamp that was made public a few hours earlier. Basically, Bent
The best design is of Fog lights.
what do you think comment down below!
- 5:28 PM
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- 5:28 PM
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Kimi Raikkonen put Ferrari back on top as the first Formula 1 winter test of 2016 came to a close in Barcelona, as Fernando Alonso and McLaren suffered a nightmare day of no meaningful running.
Mercedes once again completed a record-breaking number of testing laps around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with 185. For the second day in a row, the team split the driving between Lewis Hamilton, who completed 99 laps in the morning, and Nico Rosberg who managed 86 in the afternoon.
Raikkonen used the ultrasoft tyre to set the fastest time of the day, a 1m23.477s, which is 0.667s slower than the best lap of the whole test that his Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel posted on Tuesday.
The 2007 world champion completed 80 laps, just two more than his interrupted running yesterday, but still 105 off the benchmark set by the combined total of the two Mercedes drivers.
Daniil Kvyat was second fastest for Red Bull on a 1m24.293s, which he set mid-way through the afternoon session, as the Russian driver completed 96 laps on his second day in the RB12.
Force India’s development driver, Alfonso Celis Jr, returned to the cockpit of the VJM09 for the final day of the test after race drivers’ Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez had undertaken the previous two days of running for the British squad.
Kevin Magnussen completed 153 laps, the most of any individual driver, for Renault and he finished the day fourth fastest despite causing a late red flag. Max Verstappen was fifth after 110 laps for Toro Rosso.
Felipe Nasr was sixth for Sauber – the final appearance of the team’s 2015 car – with Rosberg seventh, just in front of Hamilton. Both Mercedes again ran the medium Pirelli tyres and the team has not tried any soft compound rubber in the first four days of testing.
Felipe Massa ended up ninth for Williams and Esteban Gutierrez was tenth for Haas F1. The Mexican driver caused the second red flag of the day when his car stopped on the exit of Turn 4 with just over an hour of the day remaining.
Rio Haryanto was the slowest of the drivers to set a time, which was a 1m28.266s, and the Indonesian rookie brought out the red flags when he spun into the barriers at Turn 4 early in the afternoon and he did not return to the track.
Alonso completed just three laps for McLaren and did not set a time on his second day in the MP4-31 after a coolant leak early in the morning prevented the British squad from taking any further part in the session.
Results: Barcelona test one, day four:
1 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m23.477s, 80 laps
2 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1m24.293s +0.816s, 96 laps
3 Alfonso Celis Force India 1m24.840s +1.363s, 75 laps
4 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1m25.263s +1.786s, 153 laps
5 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1m25.393s +1.916s, 110 laps
6 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1m26.053s +2.576s, 121 laps
7 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m26.187s +2.710s, 86 laps
8 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m26.295s +2.818s, 99 laps
9 Felipe Massa Williams 1m26.483s +3.006s, 54 laps
10 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1m27.802s +4.325s, 89 laps
11 Rio Haryanto Manor 1m28.266s +4.789s, 51 laps
12 Fernando Alonso McLaren No time set, 3 laps
2 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1m24.293s +0.816s, 96 laps
3 Alfonso Celis Force India 1m24.840s +1.363s, 75 laps
4 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1m25.263s +1.786s, 153 laps
5 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1m25.393s +1.916s, 110 laps
6 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1m26.053s +2.576s, 121 laps
7 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m26.187s +2.710s, 86 laps
8 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m26.295s +2.818s, 99 laps
9 Felipe Massa Williams 1m26.483s +3.006s, 54 laps
10 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1m27.802s +4.325s, 89 laps
11 Rio Haryanto Manor 1m28.266s +4.789s, 51 laps
12 Fernando Alonso McLaren No time set, 3 laps
<FROM JAMES ALLEN>
- 7:48 AM
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Ferrari had previously topped the times throughout the first two days of testing, with Sebastian Vettel enjoying a strong start to the week. However, Kimi Raikkonen was not so fortunate as a suspected fuel system problem left him confined to the garage for the first three hours of the session.
Raikkonen did finally emerge before lunch but completed just four laps before the chequered flag, leaving him without a lap time so far in the SF16-H.
Nico Hulkenberg set the fastest time of the morning session of day three in Barcelona as Ferrari completed just four laps.
The Force India driver set the pace with a 1:25.286, leaving him nearly three quarters of a second clear of the rest of the field. It was Hulkenberg's first time in the VJM09 after Alfonso Celis opened the test and Sergio Perez drove on Tuesday, but he was quickly up to speed as he set the pace on medium tyres.
#tbt The top nine cars were all covered by less than 1.7s, with Romain Grosjean ninth on another impressive morning for Haas. The new team managed to get in 54 laps, already 23 more than Grosjean was able to complete on Monday.
- 12:20 AM
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For all force India fans there's something to be happy about. Hulk on top!*it's sad that Ferrari couldn't get any mileage today, shouldn't be a reliability issue!
- Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:25.286 37 Laps
- Kevin Magnussen Renault Sport +0.726 60 Laps
- Nico Rosberg Mercedes +0.796 72 Laps
- Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso +0.953 64 Laps
- Daniil Kvyat Red Bull +1.211 28 Laps
- Felipe Massa Williams +1.426 55 Laps
- Felipe Nasr Sauber +1.554 59 Laps
- Jenson Button McLaren +1.633 44 Laps
- Romain Grosjean Haas +1.669 52 Laps
- Rio Haryanto Manor +4.522 25 Laps
- Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari No time 4 Laps
*K Mag back in action with Renault with pretty good times' at p2.
*God knows why merc's are doing so much with their car, okay maybe it's testing but still that distance is very high for a works team.
*Toro Rosso ahead of red bull that's again a surprise.
*Haas was unable to use the potential of their car today also
* looking foreword to day 4, the last day of test 1 at Barcelona, i think Ferrari and Renault should work a little bit because of reliability issues and data collection.
- 6:41 PM
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Tuesday morning test times:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sebastian Vettel |  Ferrari | 1:22.810 | 46 |
| 2 |  Daniel Ricciardo |  Red Bull | 1:23.525 | 58 |
| 3 | Nico Rosberg |  Mercedes | 1:24.867 | 81 |
| 4 |  Sergio Perez |  Force India | 1:25.692 | 48 |
| 5 |  Marcus Ericsson |  Sauber | 1:25.734 | 49 |
| 6 |  Valtteri Bottas |  Williams | 1:25.872 | 56 |
| 7 | Pascal Wehrlein |  Manor | 1:25.925 | 36 |
| 8 |  Jolyon Palmer |  Renault | 1:26.189 | 41 |
| 9 | Esteban Gutierrez |  Haas | 1:26.931 | 32 |
| 10 |  Fernando Alonso |  McLaren | 1:27.198 | 71 |
| 11 |  Max Verstappen |  Toro Rosso | 1:27.346 | 59 |
Toro Rosso should have got 2016 engine.
- 3:17 PM
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An outline proposal for the elimination qualifying was discussed.Q1
-16 minutes duration;
- After 7 minutes, the slowest driver is eliminated;
- Slowest driver eliminated every 1 minute 30 seconds thereafter until the chequered flag;
- 7 drivers eliminated, 15 progress to Q2.
Q2
- 15 minutes duration;
- After 6 minutes, slowest driver eliminated;
- Slowest driver eliminated every 1 minute 30 seconds thereafter until the chequered flag;
- 7 drivers eliminated, 8 progress to Q3.
Q3
- 14 minutes;
- After 5 minutes, slowest driver eliminated;
- Slowest driver eliminated every 1 minute 30 seconds thereafter until the chequered flag;
- 2 drivers left in final 1 minute 30 seconds.
Time ballast
The F1 Commission also discussed a penalty system whereby extra time is added to each drivers' qualifying time on the basis of championship positions.
A study was conducted using the 2015 Abu Dhabi GP with the championship leader having four seconds added to his qualifying time, with everyone else taking extra time on a sliding scale.
It is understood that this could have been combined with the elimination system, but it is not believed to have gathered the necessary support.
I think this process is too much for a small team to handle, the engine limit should be increased from 4 to 8/10. there's no point in racing with 1500km old engine.
let's hope we get good racing!
- 12:07 PM
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Now a fully-fledged race driver for a new works team, Jolyon Palmer nonetheless cut a disappointed figure on Monday.
Renault’s 2016 car is an obvious evolution of its Mercedes-powered Lotus predecessor, which Palmer drove throughout last season as third driver, but he admitted, “The car feels not so different.”
But he managed only 37 laps, and was dead last on the timesheets. The difference, it seems, is the team’s switch from Mercedes to Renault power.
“We knew that it would not be easy and we wouldn’t do 100 laps. But 37 laps is not the ideal start,” said Palmer. “That’s basically one of my four days gone.”
Regarding the engine, “You could feel the difference,” he admitted. “The Mercedes has more power but the Renault has advantages for example with driveability.”
Similarly, Toro Rosso has switched the other way – from Renault to Ferrari power – and Carlos Sainz liked the feel of more horse power on Monday.
“The car is an evolution of last year,” he told the AS sports daily, “so what I’ve noticed so far is the engine. I can only say positive things about Ferrari.”
And Sainz said more power is not the only advantage of having moved away from Renault.
“Everything is also much simpler,” he explained. “There are fewer changes to make on the steering wheel — fewer buttons, more (is) automatic, more power.”
As for a team that has stayed with Renault power, Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo said after Monday’s running: “It feels pretty much like the end of last season.”
- 3:58 PM
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from james allen
Sebastian Vettel topped the times on the first day of winter testing ahead of the 2016 Formula 1 season, as Lewis Hamilton completed the most laps of the day for Mercedes.
Vettel’s time of 1m24.939s, which he set shortly before the lunch break on medium compound tyres, was just under 0.5s faster than Hamilton’s best time of 1m25.409s.
The Ferrari driver also topped the first day of testing in 2015 (in Jerez), when Mercedes clocked up 157 laps. And mirroring the story this year, Hamilton completed an impressive total of 156 laps for Mercedes today, for a total of 450 miles in one day, just short of the total Nico Rosberg managed a year ago on the opening day.
“The car has been great so far. It’s very similar to last year’s – which is a good thing, as it gives us a great foundation to work from,” said Hamilton. “It’s early days, but I hope the Ferraris are up there with me and Nico this year, as that would be exciting for the fans and exciting for me too.”
Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest for Red Bull on the day the RB12 broke cover for the first time, after the team unveiled its livery last week. The Australian driver completed the third most laps of the day with 87, just one behind the 88 circuits Marcus Ericsson managed on-board the 2015 Sauber.
Valtteri Bottas was fourth quickest for Williams, 0.47s slower than Ricciardo on 1m26.091s. Alfonso Celis Jr was fifth quickest for Force India and the team’s Mexican development driver will hand over to Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez for the rest of the test.
Jenson Button completed 84 laps for McLaren and set a best time of 1m26.735s in sixth place. This time last year the British team could only manage six laps with Fernando Alonso at the wheel in Jerez, and Eric Boullier, McLaren’s racing director, reckons the new car is already better than the MP4-30.
He said: “All the numbers we’ve found on the car are correlating with what expected, and if you base your winter work and expectations on simulations it’s a good sign.
“It means our tools are working properly, so that means we know the car is better than last year.”
Carlos Sainz completed 55 laps as he took the plain-blue painted Toro Rosso to seventh place in the final day one standings, just ahead of Ericsson’s Sauber. The Swiss team is running is old car for the first test and will debut its 2016 machine on 1 March.
Pascal Wehrlein was ninth fastest in Manor Racing’s new MRT05. The German driver racked up 54 laps on his debut outing for the British team, which did not take part in the corresponding test last year, to finish 3.3s behind Vettel.
Romain Grosjean was tenth quickest as Haas F1 made its F1 bow. The Frenchman completed 31 laps, the fewest of any driver as a front wing failure in the morning session curtailed the American team’s running.
Jolyon Palmer ended the day slowest for Renault on a 1m29.356s and the British driver completed 37 laps on-board the RS16.
Results: Barcelona test one, day one:
1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1m24.939s, 69 laps
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m25.409s +0.470s, 156 laps
3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1m26.044s +1.105s, 87 laps
4 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m26.091s +1.152s, 80 laps
5 Alfonso Celis Force India 1m26.298s +1.359s, 58 laps
6 Jenson Button McLaren 1m26.735s +1.796s, 84 laps
7 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1m27.180s +2.241s, 55 laps
8 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1m27.555s +2.616s, 88 laps
9 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1m28.292s +3.353s, 54 laps
10 Romain Grosjean Haas 1m28.399s +3.460s, 31 laps
11 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1m29.356s +4.417s, 37 laps
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m25.409s +0.470s, 156 laps
3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1m26.044s +1.105s, 87 laps
4 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m26.091s +1.152s, 80 laps
5 Alfonso Celis Force India 1m26.298s +1.359s, 58 laps
6 Jenson Button McLaren 1m26.735s +1.796s, 84 laps
7 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1m27.180s +2.241s, 55 laps
8 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1m27.555s +2.616s, 88 laps
9 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1m28.292s +3.353s, 54 laps
10 Romain Grosjean Haas 1m28.399s +3.460s, 31 laps
11 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1m29.356s +4.417s, 37 laps
- 3:47 PM
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The new F1 car has been launched
Maranello, February 19th – A shortened nose, a tapered rear end and an intriguing red-and-white livery are the signature features of the new SF16-H. The name refers to the hybrid powertrain, which enters its third season in the Formula One World Championship.
- 7:19 PM
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Actually long name!
Because of the late decision to switch to Ferrari power, Toro Rosso will not showcase its 2016 livery until February 29, the day before the second test.
lot of people were absent at the launch.but the swiss engine should bridge the gap.
we get the first official f1 2016 livery!
Red Bull's new chassis was not on show at the livery launch. The team will reveal its 2016 car in the Barcelona pitlane on Monday morning.
Red Bull has done away with its traditional blue base colour, instead opting for a darker matt paint scheme, with yellow lines around the logo on the engine cover, and bold red lettering replacing the Infiniti branding on the sidepod.
HORNER,
"We decided that with a clean sheet of paper to go with something a bit more innovative, aggressive, that will stand out in the crowd and stand out in a few more drivers' mirrors.
"It looks right and things that tend to look right, go right."
WHAT ABOUT THEIR SISTER TEAM
Because of the late decision to switch to Ferrari power, Toro Rosso will not showcase its 2016 livery until February 29, the day before the second test.
However, the new car is expected to be ready to make its debut on Monday, running in plain blue colours.
Renault launched its 2016 campaign in Paris with an old show car at the beginning of the month.
lot of people were absent at the launch.but the swiss engine should bridge the gap.
DID You'll like the new livery? comment down below!
- 12:08 AM
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- 11:32 PM
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For however much any bold new colour schemes, and fanfare from new engine-naming partner TAG Heuer, shout of a bright new era from the team, if Renault does not make progress then results will still be hard to come by.Relationship breakdown
Red Bull and Renault went to the brink last year as competitive struggles and a public war of words left their relationship in tatters, and them all set for an acrimonious parting of ways.
In the end, as Mercedes, Ferrari and Honda refused to play ball,Red Bull had to return cap in hand to Renault to renew their deal, albeit under very different circumstances.
From now on, Red Bull is no longer the preferred partner: for Renault has its own works team and everything is being done is to ensure that its Enstone operation gets back to the top.
And secondly, Red Bull will have a tougher time criticising its engine partner – for the TAG Heuer rebranding should help a little in ensuring that Renault's name does not get dragged through the mud.
Embracing the future
Taffin is clear that Renault's situation in F1 right now is not simply down to the fact that relations with Red Bull collapsed so it had to do its own thing.
Instead, its about believing and investing in a better future that can deliver results for his company.
"If you understand why Renault is back in F1, it has nothing to do with the past with Red Bull," he said. "It is what we want to achieve for the future."
And any progress that comes on the engine will help any car it is fitted in: whatever the colours are on the outside.
- 8:11 PM
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Sebastian Vettel has warned that Formula 1 is at risk of getting 'lost' with overly-complex rules that are causing fan interest to drop.
With many hoping that his Ferrari team can deliver the step needed to make 2016 more exciting, Vettel believes that F1 has gone in the wrong direction.
Looking at the role F1 has to play in leading an environmental push, Vettel is adamant that the importance of the driver should not be negated by too many regulations.
"In short, I think the sport should be in the spotlight and it should be about which driver is the fastest," said Vettel in an interview published on his official website on Monday.
"Today the car plays an important role, like it did in the past. But we shouldn't get lost in over complicated rules.
"Our audience has to be able to identify with our cars again. At the moment F1 is just too complex and we're lacking sound."
Mercedes dominance a factor
Vettel thinks that the manner of Mercedes' dominance since new turbo hybrid rules came into force have also not helped in winning over fans, but says it is not the only factor that has led to a downturn in interest."I think we have to be careful not to lose the roots of motor racing and I certainly hope the cars of the future will be more within their grasp."
Title chances
Although Vettel is being touted for a title challenge, he has drawn short of making any firm predictions ahead of the new campaign.
"It's no secret that we are not still there where we want to be, and there are things we need to improve," he explained.
When asked what the shortcomings were, he said: "It was the sum of many. We know that our package was not strong enough to close in on Mercedes or overtake them, but we are working on it and we are on the right track."
Vettel has also suggested that Ferrari could be his last team in F1, as he rules out the possibility of a move to Mercedes in the future to create a German super team.
- 5:04 PM
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<from james allen>
When F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone is negotiating a deal and publicly says that a matter is ‘in the hands of the other side’, that generally means that the endgame is approaching.
The other side needs to find money and/or some kind of long term commitment to close it or the game may be up.
The clock is ticking, in other words.
Such is the plight today of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza beyond the end of this season. It has looked wobbly at various times in the last year, at other times there has been cause for optimism.
Now it looks like it’s hanging in the balance.
Speaking to Reuters, Ecclestone said, “I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s a little bit Italian at the moment. A lot of conversations at the moment and not much action.
“The only people that can sort this out are the people that are currently involved in Italy. There’s no deadline.
“They can take as long as they like, provided it’s by the end of this month.
“They said to me a few months ago ‘everything is sorted out, we know exactly where we are and it’s all agreed and no dramas.’
“And now I heard yesterday it’s become very political…they’ll get on with it. Or not. Nothing we can do about it.”
So what’s going on behind the scenes?
Italian colleagues tell me that there are several problems as far as Ecclestone is concerned. First there is a question of personnel; Monza has not confirmed the contract of Federico Bendinelli, who is someone Ecclestone trusted from his days at Imola.
Italian colleagues tell me that there are several problems as far as Ecclestone is concerned. First there is a question of personnel; Monza has not confirmed the contract of Federico Bendinelli, who is someone Ecclestone trusted from his days at Imola.
Second, the money is still not right. There are several parties involved in this; the national federation known as the Automobile Club of Italy, run by Angelo Sticchi Damiani, the Automobile Club of Milan, run by Ivan Capelli and the SIAS, which manages the Monza Autodrome.
The annual race hosting fee of €20-25m is in place; two thirds of it comes from the ACI and much of that money has come from a new mechanism inspired by Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi, following his meeting with Ecclestone at Monza last September (photo above). The other third comes from the ACM.
A breakthrough at the end of last year was the ten year commitment of €7m a year from the local region to underwrite the race and the track improvements, but there are now concerns about the viability of that with some reductions being requested.
The regional representatives providing this funding now want face to face talks with Ecclestone, but he wants to deal with one interlocutor, not multiple parties.
At the same time he needs some guarantees before he will close the deal and that is what he means by ‘it’s in their hands’.
Are there any alternatives to Monza?
One problem straight off is that the fund channeled by the Italiam PM via the ACI is specifically for Monza. It is not clear what would happen to that fund if Monza talks collapsed.
Other venues have been discussed for an Italian Grand Prix, including Imola and Mugello. Italian colleagues dismiss Imola as a possibility for logistical and financial reasons; the paddock is not fit for purpose for F1 and with a river behind it, there is little prospect of expansion, even if the money were in place.
Mugello is owned by Ferrari and hosts the Moto GP, but would the collapse of the deal at Monza stimulate Ferrari to step
in to save the Italian Grand Prix?
in to save the Italian Grand Prix?
Colleagues in Italy say that the ACI is ‘optimistic’ that a deal at Monza will be agreed; that these are details, albeit important ones and that they are not far out on the money.
We will watch developments with interest.
I believe it’s important to highlight that the €20-25m event fee goes directly into Bernie’s pocket.
Not shared w/ FiA or Racing Teams.
If I’m correct.
Not shared w/ FiA or Racing Teams.
If I’m correct.
- 3:09 PM
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