[ndrifter]

2011 F1 World Championship – all you need to know!



Formula 1 is getting more attention now than ever before, especially here in Malaysia. This movement towards the acceptance of the world’s most expensive sport is thanks to Petronas’ multi million dollar sponsorship of Mercedes GP and of course the ‘two’ Lotus-branded Formula 1 teams. The first to bring the Lotus brand back into Formula 1 was a squad led by Tony Fernandes, known as Lotus Racing last season and Team Lotus this season, for now that is until a British High Court says otherwise.

Then it was Group Lotus, which is of course owned by our national car maker Proton which has severed ties with Fernandes’ team late last year. Group Lotus then partnered with Genii Capital which ran the Renault Formula 1 team. This new partnership has given birth to the name Lotus Renault GP. Before we move on into the 2011 season, lets have a quick recap on the 2010 season.



It started off with the rather controversial refueling ban and many thought the races would turn out to be boring. It was anything but. It was also the season when three new teams joined the circus and they were all powered by Cosworth powerplants. These included Virgin and HRT, apart from Lotus Racing which emerged on top of the new comers.

It looked as though Ferrari dominated at first, and before we knew it McLaren and Red Bull joined the fun and these three teams traded spaces. It was definitely an interesting year. 7-times World Champion Michael Schumacher also made a highly talked about come back, bringing total competing World Champions in 2010 to four (Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton). When Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso failed to clinch the championship at the season finale, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel came into the limelight and has brought up the total competing World Champions to five for this season.



Following Ferrari’s defeat and Red Bull’s very respectable victory, the Formula 1 fraternity focused on building their 2011 machines and at this point of time, these machines are being tested in Valencia, Spain, before moving to Jerez, Barcelona and finally Bahrain. After which, they will come back to Bahrain for the season opening race on 13th March.

There are several changes in terms of rules for the cars this year. Some of them will run with manually-operated moveable rear wings, something many drivers don’t really fancy. They find it hard to work on many things while driving. There is also a change in the rubber department as Pirelli takes over from Bridgestone.



However the tires from the new supplier seem to be degrading quicker that the Bridgestones and this may cause more pit stops to take place. KERS is also making a come back this year. Teams that have opted for the energy regeneration system include Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams as well as Sauber.

In terms of engines, all teams are using the same suppliers as they did last year, except for Team Lotus which dropped Cosworth for Renault. Most of the teams, except for a few have unveiled their 2011 contenders. Many have returned this year with bigger goals. Mercedes and Lotus Renault aim to return to the front end of the grid, while Team Lotus plans to score points and become a mid fielder.

Drivers wise, top teams have maintained their driver line-up while there are some new faces further down the field. Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado (25) took over duties from Nico Hulkenberg in Williams. He was crowned as GP2 Series Champion in 2010 and at the same time he also performed tests for HRT and Williams.

Next up is Paul di Resta (24) who won the DTM title with Mercedes last year. The Brit will race for Force India after replacing Vitantonio Liuzzi. 2010 GP2 runner-up Sergio Perez (21) will race alongside Kamui Kobayashi in Sauber. The Mexican took over from Nick Heidfeld who filled in for Pedro de la Rosa. There is also Narain Karthikeyan (34) who now drives for HRT. The Indian driver isn’t new to Formula 1 as he competed before with Jordan in 2005.

This was then followed by a test driver role in Williams and a race driver role in A1GP in both 2007 and 2008. He then raced in the Le Mans Series in 2009 before taking part in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Superleague the following year.

He took over driving duties from fellow Indian driver Karun Chandhok, Bruno Senna and Sakon Yamamoto, who acted as a filler driver. Belgian Jerome d’Ambrosio (25) fills up the final rookie spot with Virgin, replacing Lucas di Grassi. He finished twelfth overall in GP2 last season. He did carry out testing for both Renault and Virgin.



Overall, you can expect the top teams including Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren to battle out each other once again but don’t rule out Mercedes and Lotus Renault, with the former’s lead driver having a lot to prove. It would also be interesting to see Team Lotus’ position on the grid as it will compete with a car that was designed better and is now powered by Renault. You may also want to look out the British High Court’s decision on the Lotus fiasco. Trial begins on 21st March.

Continue reading to check out the 2011 team and driver line-up list followed by the full championship calendar.

2011 Teams and Drivers
Red Bull – Sebastian Vettel | Mark Webber
McLaren – Lewis Hamilton | Jenson Button
Ferrari – Fernando Alonso | Felipe Massa
Mercedes – Michael Schumacher | Nico Rosberg
Lotus Renault – Robert Kubica | Vitaly Petrov
Williams – Rubens Barrichello | Pastor Maldonado
Force India – Adrian Sutil | Paul di Resta
Sauber – Kamui Kobayashi | Sergio Perez
Toro Rosso – Sebastien Buemi | Jaime Alguersuari
Team Lotus – Jarno Trulli | Heikki Kovalainen
HRT – Narain Karthikeyan | unknown
Virgin – Timo Glock | Jerome d’Ambrosio

2011 Race Schedule
13 March – Bahrain Grand Prix
27 March – Australian Grand Prix
10 April – Malaysian Grand Prix
17 April – Chinese Grand Prix
8 May – Turkish Grand Prix
22 May – Spanish Grand Prix
29 May – Monaco Grand Prix
12 June – Canadian Grand Prix
26 June – European Grand Prix (Valencia Street Circuit)
10 July – British Grand Prix
24 July – German Grand Prix
31 July – Hungarian Grand Prix
28 August – Belgian Grand Prix
11 September – Italian Grand Prix
25 September – Singapore Grand Prix
9 October – Japanese Grand Prix
16 October – Korean Grand Pix
30 October – Indian Grand Prix
13 November – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
27 November – Brazilian Grand Prix

[tpl]

still dunno...

[ndrifter]

still dunno...

well no need to know such details for newbie u,
just on tv during the race then see only

[tpl]

im not even newbie... wakakakakkakaka

[ndrifter]

2011 F1 World Championship – all you need to know!

Continue reading to check out the 2011 team and driver line-up list followed by the full championship calendar.

2011 Teams and Drivers
Red Bull – Sebastian Vettel | Mark Webber
McLaren – Lewis Hamilton | Jenson Button
Ferrari – Fernando Alonso | Felipe Massa
Mercedes – Michael Schumacher | Nico Rosberg
Lotus Renault – Robert Kubica | Vitaly Petrov
Williams – Rubens Barrichello | Pastor Maldonado
Force India – Adrian Sutil | Paul di Resta
Sauber – Kamui Kobayashi | Sergio Perez
Toro Rosso – Sebastien Buemi | Jaime Alguersuari
Team Lotus – Jarno Trulli | Heikki Kovalainen
HRT – Narain Karthikeyan | unknown
Virgin – Timo Glock | Jerome d’Ambrosio

2011 Race Schedule
13 March – Bahrain Grand Prix
27 March – Australian Grand Prix
10 April – Malaysian Grand Prix
17 April – Chinese Grand Prix
8 May – Turkish Grand Prix
22 May – Spanish Grand Prix
29 May – Monaco Grand Prix
12 June – Canadian Grand Prix
26 June – European Grand Prix (Valencia Street Circuit)
10 July – British Grand Prix
24 July – German Grand Prix
31 July – Hungarian Grand Prix
28 August – Belgian Grand Prix
11 September – Italian Grand Prix
25 September – Singapore Grand Prix
9 October – Japanese Grand Prix
16 October – Korean Grand Pix
30 October – Indian Grand Prix
13 November – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
27 November – Brazilian Grand Prix

2011 F1 World Championship – new rules and regulations


Countless reports are being produced these days in regards to Formula 1 as most teams have unveiled their 2011 contenders and are testing their machinery during official test sessions. The term “new rules� is being thrown around but what are the new rules?

107% qualifying rule
Adding to the refueling ban that was introduced last season, the FIA has re-introduced the 107% qualifying rule. With this, the driver has to set a time that is within 107% of the fastest time in Q1 of the qualifying session. Team Lotus, HRT and Virgin who were classified as rookies last season will have to be mindful on this. However, the stewards will look at other factors before handing out the verdict, which is to disallow the driver from taking part in the race.

The stewards will look at, for example, lap times that were set during practice. If there are acceptable lap times, the driver will be allowed to race. As far as I can remember, Alex Yoong was the last driver who failed to comply with the 107% rule, when he was racing for Minardi quite some time ago. However he was allowed to race after obtaining the green light from other drivers.

Team curfew


In 2011, there is a curfew on team personnel in terms of working hours connected to the car. Basically they won’t be allowed into the circuit between midnight and 6.00am, before practice which starts at 10.00am. If practice starts at 11.00am, then the curfew is between 1.00am and 7.00am. This means that teams will have to make even earlier preparations before a race weekend. However, each team is permitted four individual exceptions to this rule, through out the season.

Penalties
There are also changes in the penalties department, where the stewards are given more types of penalties of hand out. They include time penalties, exclusion of drivers from race results and suspension from subsequent events. We are usually familiar with drive through or stop-and-go penalties during a race.

Team orders
Team orders have been around for a while now and is usually used by the teams when they want their other driver to finish ahead in a race. This is usually linked to championship contenders and in 2010, Ferrari gave team orders to Felipe Massa to allow team mate and championship contender Fernando Alonso to win the German Grand Prix and subsequently score more points. It is quite difficult to implement the rule as teams can be quite discrete with it. Teams orders are now permitted. Perhaps now we will see team orders blatantly carried out.

Adjustable front and rear wings, F-ducts and double diffuser


The FIA has banned the use of adjustable front wing flaps as well as the F-duct system which was pioneered by McLaren. The former ultimately allowed drivers to follow the front car closely during a race which meant higher chance of overtaking while the latter allowed drivers to stall the rear wing to reduce drag and subsequently increase top speed.

The FIA has also banned the use of the double diffuser system which was first seen in 2009. Championship winners at the time, Brawn GP (now known as Mercedes) used this system. The double diffusers were used to increase downforce. McLaren is now trying to overcome this shortcoming by introducing the U-shaped sidepods for its 2011 car. Only time will tell if it really helps.
However the FIA has allowed the use of an optional adjustable rear wing with certain regulated deployment zones. Drivers have unlimited use of the system during qualifying but during the race, they can only start using it after two laps. Drivers can only choose between two set positions and they can use the system at specific points of the circuit.

Furthermore, the system can only be engaged when the car is less than one second behind the car in front. It is controlled via the steering wheel and some drivers are complaining that it is becoming too cumbersome to control various things, including this on the steering wheel. The system will allow the cars to hit a higher top speed on straights (probably by 15km/h). This will help increase overtaking which is always good for the sport and the fans. Teams like McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Williams are running this.

Minimum car weight of 640kg


The FIA has also increased the minimum vehicle weight from 620kg to 640kg. The change in minimum weight has come about thanks to the re-introduction of KERS. Previously, when KERS was allowed in a Formula 1 car, refueling was allowed. This time around, the KERS system has to co-exist with a larger fuel tank, as refueling is banned.

Fixed weight distribution of between 45.5% and 46.5% on the front axle
In 2011, all Formula 1 cars will have to work with a front weight distribution of between 45.5% and 46.5%. The reason behind this is to avoid cars with different weight distribution settings to have different performance levels when using the new Pirelli tires. This is a good effort in trying to maintain a more leveled playing field.

Extended gearbox life
The FIA has also issued a rule that will see gearboxes last for five races, compared to four last year. This rule is part of the FIA’s cost-saving and environmental efforts for Formula 1. McLaren for example has said that even in 2010, gearboxes were already able to last for up to five races.

Second wheel tether and extended driver protection panels on chassis


All cars must make use of a second safety tether on each wheel. This will reduce the likelihood of wheels coming off in an impact. These wheel tethers are flexible and they are contained within the suspension members, as seen in the sample image above. Each tether is able to withstand a tensile force of 70kN in any direction within a cone of 45° measured from the load line of the relevant suspension member.

The rule should have been implemented long ago. Some of you might remember that a lose wheel as a result of an accident killed a marshall at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix. The incident involved Ralf Schumacher’s Williams and Jacques Villeneuve’s BAR Honda. Talking about safety, the FIA also said that there must be extended driver protection panels on the chassis which can protect the drivers from debris penetration.

KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems)
KERS is now back in Formula 1, again as an optional feature after it was last seen in 2009. In essence, KERS takes the waste energy generated under braking and turns it into energy. The system is controlled by the driver via the steering wheel and it can produce 60kW at maximum power and 400MJ per lap is allowed.

As mentioned when we talked about the new minimum weight rule, 2011 cars with KERS will be packaged differently compared to their 2009 counterparts as the new cars have larger fuel tanks, to make way for the refueling ban carried over from last year. Cars equipped with KERS are of course heavier. Most of the teams including Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, Williams and Sauber have opted for this.

New Pirelli tires


All teams will have to use Pirelli-supplied tires after Bridgestone made a departure at the end of 2010. Teams will have to get used to the new rubber and some have stated that the Pirellis tend to wear and degrade quicker. This may result in more than one pit stops in races that can make do with just one pit stop.

[tpl]

max how many pit stop per race?

[ndrifter]

max how many pit stop per race?

the more pit u take, the slower u r

[tpl]

i thot got limit de?

[ndrifter]

i thot got limit de?

ownself limit lor

[tpl]

lol...