F1 Fanatic – The Formula 1 Blog

Ferrari: Removing KERS has not helped

Stefano Domenicali: “Here we are also running without KERS and as a result, we are losing even more performance, in addition to not having as much aerodynamic downforce as the best cars. Our fight for the championship is ever more compromised.”

Hamilton and Vettel among Laureus Award nominees

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel have both been nominated for prestigious Laureus Awards, it was announced Thursday. The annual prizes, which were established in 2000, recognise global sporting achievements.

A Hack looks back at racing in the Far East

"There's certainly a serious lack of linkage between F1 and China. Anybody who saw last year's race from Shanghai on TV will not have failed to notice the nine huge grandstands which stood empty apart from the advertising for a forthcoming Expo in the city." And the same advert seems to be there this year.

Ferrari express support for Abruzzo

"Ferrari have slightly changes their car livery by adding a support message for Abruzzo, Italy."

Bridgestone responds to Shanghai tyre concerns

bridgestone's Hirohide Hamashima: “The teams are made aware of our allocations for races many weeks in advance, so there is plenty of time for feedback. For 2009 we are making a bigger difference between the two compounds and this is in response to requests for this from the FIA and the teams. This gives more of a challenge for the races, and of course any change brings many opinions. Here we have the medium tyre, which should be a strong race tyre, and the super soft, which will require good tyre management in terms of car set-up and driving style. Of course, we saw different approaches to using the super soft tyre in Australia, with some approaches working much better than others, so it will be interesting to see competitors rise to the challenge here in Shanghai."

McLaren’s Ron Dennis tells how he lost enthusiasm for the sport

Ron dennis: "When there are errors of judgement they will reflect negatively and that's understandable. It has become very, very difficult [for Hamilton] always to live up to the perfection he presents to the world. Everyone in this world makes mistakes, but very few people have the courage and the conviction and the honesty to own up to them and that's what he did."

Todt to consider F1 project

Jean Todt on returning to F1 with ART: “Obviously when you are in this business you always dream of Formula 1, but the gap between Formula 1 and GP2 is too big. But I have always said that if they are able to cut the costs drastically, because at the end of the day Formula 1 is a passion and a sport but it has also got to be profitable, because if you do a job you don’t want to lose money, then I would think about it. But if I go to Formula 1, my goal is not to survive, it is to do well in terms of results and in terms of economics."

Renault & McLaren change diffuser

"Renault and McLaren will run with updated diffusers at the Chinese Grand Prix, BBC Sport understands."

Whitmarsh: Hamilton committed to team

"I think he has certainly expressed his support for this team consistently, and he has very kindly expressed his support for me. I think and I hope that I have a good relationship with Lewis and I think he is committed just as we are to restoring the good fortunes and competitiveness of this team in the future."

McLaren restructures Group to create independent McLaren Automotive company

"As Executive Chairman of McLaren Automotive, Ron Dennis will lead the growth of the new sports car business. As of today, Ron Dennis has handed his responsibility as Chief Executive Officer of McLaren Racing to Martin Whitmarsh, who will be responsible to the board for the activities of McLaren Racing in addition to his role of Team Principal of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. On June 1st 2009 Richard Lapthorne will be appointed Non Executive Chairman of the McLaren Group and a Non Executive Director of McLaren Automotive."

Domenicali wants rows resolved quicker

Stefano Domenicali: "These things should have been handled before the start of the season, in a very clear way. This is something that the entire Formula 1 has to learn. This is not good for the image of Formula 1 in any case."

Kubica to use KERS on Friday

"Robert Kubica will run a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) on his BMW for the first since the start of the season in tomorrow's free practice for the Chinese Grand Prix."

Ron Dennis to stand down?

"There is bound to be speculation that there has been some kind of a back room deal to remove Dennis from the team so that it can go on competing in F1 without an FIA sanction."

New aerodynamic solutions for Shanghai GP

Kimi Raikkonen: "We started on the wrong foot, although honestly, we deserved at least some points for what we’ve seen in terms of performance. It’s useless, as I always say, to cry over spilled milk. We have to look ahead and we have to try to improve. The season is still very long, although the Court of Appeal’s verdict will have an important impact. We’ve got to develop the car even more, now that we can’t test on the track. We have to make up and we’ve got some aerodynamic improvements already here at Shanghai."

Chalk Talk with Steve Matchett (Video)

Steve Matchett explains the diffuser saga

Schumacher’s China Absence Explained

"Sabine Kehm, Schumacher's long time press spokeswoman, said the winner of 91 Grands Prix was never scheduled to travel to the forthcoming back-to-back races. 'Michael is not going to China because he is vacationing for a few days with his family. Internally (within Ferrari) it is known and has nothing to do with the first two races,' she said."

Newey starts work on new diffuser

Helmut Marko: "We are working flat-out on a new solution already. As the verdict became official, Adrian [Newey] immediately cancelled his flight to Shanghai and will stay in the factory. If everything goes according to plan, we will have the 'new' car ready for Monaco."

Will the government help or not?

UK government to be asked to support British Grand Prix

The diffuser battle is won

"Many feel it has inflicted a body blow to the supposed solidarity among the Formula One Team’s Association at a time when the F1 entrants have been displaying an unusual degree of solidarity during negotiations with Bernie Ecclestone over how much cash they can expect to earn from a new Concorde agreement in 2012."

Photos – Official re-opening Suzuka Circuit

Suzuka returns to the calendar this year after a two-year absence.

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