At Monaco the tyre supplier will break with its 2009 policy of using tyres that are two stages apart, bringing the soft and super-soft compounds as it did in 2008.

It will revert to type at Istanbul and Silverstone, using the hard and soft tyres at both tracks, where last year the hard and medium compounds were deployed.

F1 returns to the Nürburgring having skipped it last year. In 2007 the teams used medium and soft tyres, this time they will have medium and super-soft compounds.

Bridgestone will continue to use green markings to differentiate between the two (which is still a ridiculous hypocrisy) however they have been testing out a lighter shade of green which might at least be easier for us to spot on the cars.

It has also announced it will bring a softer version of its intermediate tyre for wet conditions to improve grip.

Tyre allocations for rounds six to nine

*2007

More information

• Monte-Carlo – circuit information
• Istanbul Park – circuit information
• Silverstone – circuit information
• Nürburgring (new) – circuit information

Hermann Tilke's A1 Ring was first used in 1997

Yesterday’s discussion about a potential Rome Grand Prix circuit turned into a debate about Hermann Tilke’s abilities as an F1 track designer. Daniel put forward the case for the prosecution:

Why do they still get this guy to build tracks? Every track he has designed is boring. With all the new tracks that have appeared in the last five or six years, the old ones are still the most entertaining: look at Spa and Monza.

Paul responded:

Tilke is rather limited to what he can produce by (presumably) FOM/Bernie and FIA regulations [...] I really don’t see any bad track he’s produced aside from Valencia, and we only have fifty or so laps to base that upon.

Has Hermann Tilke ruined the F1 calendar? Let’s take a look at what he’s done for F1 track design in the last 14 years.

In 1997 the Austrian Grand Prix returned to the calendar on a circuit based on the popular old Osterreichring. But the new A1-Ring was a radically different affair to its predecessor: the fast, long-radio turns of the original were replaced by tight, slow corners.

This is one of the hallmarks of Tilke’s designs and by comparing the calendar of 13 years ago with today’s schedule we can see the influence it has had.

1996 F1 calendar

Melbourne, Australia
Interlagos, Brazil
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nürburgring, Germany
Imola, San Marino
Monte-Carlo, Monaco
Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Canada
Magny-Cours, France
Silverstone, Great Britain
Hockenheimring, Germany
Hungaroring, Budapest
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Monza, Italy
Estoril, Portugal
Suzuka, Japan

Since 1996 every new track that has been introduced on the calendar has been developed by Tilke GmbH. And on almost every other occasion where an existing track has been changed, the modifications were handled by Tilke’s team – with the possible exception of Indianapolis in 2000 (I’m not sure who handled that one):

1997 – A1-Ring
1999 – Sepang International Circuit
2000 – Monza (first chicane)
2002 – Hockenheimring (major re-design)
2002 – Nürburgring (new corners at start of lap)
2003 – Monte-Carlo (Rascasse reprofiling and moving of barriers)
2003 – Magny-Cours (new corners at end of lap)
2003 – Hungaroring (new corners at end of lap)
2004 – Bahrain International Circuit
2004 – Shanghai International Circuit
2005 – Istanbul Park
2007 – Catalunya (new chicane at end of lap)
2007 – Fuji (major re-design)
2007 – Spa-Francorchamps (new chicane at end of lap)
2008 – Valencia
2008 – Singapore
2009 – Abu Dhabi
2010 – Donington (major re-design)

Regardless of what you think of Tilke’s tracks, you have to ask whether only having one circuit designer is good for Formula 1. Where are the new ideas going to come from in a monopoly? How can good value for money be ensured in an industry where there is no competition?

2009 F1 calendar

The first race at Tilke's Valencia street circuit was processional

Here’s this year’s calendar with the tracks entirely designed by Tilke marked in bold and the tracks where he’s changed at least one corner in italics:

Melbourne, Australia
Sepang, Malaysia
Shanghai International Circuit, China
Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain
Circuit de Catalunya, Spain
Monte-Carlo, Monaco
Istanbul, Turkey
Silverstone, Great Britain
Nürburgring, Germany
Hungaroring, Budapest
Valencia, Spain
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Monza, Italy
Marina Bay, Singapore
Suzuka, Japan
Interlagos, Brazil
Yas Island, Abu Dhabi

On top of that, the German and Japanese rounds are being rotated between two other circuits which aren’t hosting Grands Prix year, but will be on the 2010 F1 calendar.

These are the Hockenheimring, which was substantially re-designed by Tilke in 2002, and Fuji Speedway, which has also had a complete Tilke overhaul.

Culprit or scapegoat?

Tilke gets a hard time from a lot of F1 fans. His designs are derided for being unimaginative, with too many slow corners.

I think Tilke gets a bad press. As this Youtube video posted by Gabal on the forum shows, he is more of a petrol head than people give him credit for:

It’s hard to match the idea of Hermann Tilke grinning through hot laps of the Nordschleife in a Lamborghini with the man who gave us horrible Mickey Mouse bends like the final sector at Fuji Speedway. So what’s the problem?

As I’ve said before I think the regulations are partly to blame. Why should the world’s most technologically sophisticated racing cars be prevented from tackling no more than ten degrees of gradient?

I also think the safety demands placed on modern circuits saps them of their power to impress us. This is not an argument for making tracks less safe, but I think it shows why the first turn at Shanghai doesn’t impress us the same way Eau Rouge or Blanchimont does. (Also, it helps that corners on old tracks usually have proper names).

Motorland Aragon – his finest work?

Motorland Aragon

Ironically, one of Tilke’s most promising tracks may never be used for an F1 race. Motorland Aragon in Spain includes the closest thing you can get to Laguna Seca’s fabled Corkscrew on an F1-ready track.

But with Spain already holding two Grands Prix at Catalunya and Valencia, its chances of getting on the calendar look slim. This is a great pity, as it looks like one of Tilke’s best efforts, and includes a dramatic pit building designed by Sir Norman Foster, the man behind the McLaren Technology Centre and many other exceptional pieces of architecture.

Although I’m not sure Tilke deserves all the criticism he gets, equally I’d like to see more variety in F1 track design. For example, given enough run-off space, why couldn’t F1 have high-speed circuits like the Monzas, Silverstones and Osterreichrings of old?

Do you think the Tilke track monopoly is good or bad for F1? Would Tilke produce better tracks if the rules were freer? Have your say in the comments.

Images (C) BMW ag, Red Bull / GEPA

The Chinese Grand Prix is now the third round instead of the 15th, and will be held in April. This means F1 will have visited the circuit twice within seven months, and next year’s Grand Prix may see different climactic conditions to what we have been used to.

At the end of the calendar the final race of the season, at the new Yas Island Marina circuit for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, has been brought forward by two weeks, reducing the total duration of the season by the same amount. The Brazilian round has been moved forward two weeks and the Japanese round by one week.

There is no indication that the missing rounds at Montreal (Canadian Grand Prix) and Magny-Cours (French Grand Prix) may be reinstated.

Full updated calendar details here: 2009 F1 calendar

F1 will not race at Magny-Cours in 2009

The French Grand Prix has been cancelled for 2009 in a surprise move by the event organisers, the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile. The FFSA issued the following statement:

After examining the economic situation, the FFSA renounces to be the financial promoters of a Formula One Grand Prix. As a result, and as long as a promoter capable of succeeding the FFSA has not been identified, the French Grand Prix will not be able to feature on the FIA international calendar in 2009.

The news comes just eight days after the Canadian Grand Prix was dropped from the 2009 F1 schedule with no warning.

The 2009 F1 calendar, which originally had 19 events on it, is now reduced to 17.

France has held a round of the F1 world championship every year since the series began in 1950, except in 1955, when it was cancelled following the Le Mans disaster. The first Grand Prix was held in France in 1906.

Bernie Ecclestone threatened to cancel the French Grand Prix this year and reinstated it. He did the same with the 2009 race as well, and it is public knowledge that he is looking for alternative hosts for the race. At least four potential venues have been rumoured.

Is the Magny-Cours round F1′s first victim of the credit crunch? Or is this an inevitable consequence of Bernie Ecclestone pushing race fees ever higher?

2009 F1 season
2009 F1 calendar

F1 gains Suzuka (above) but loses Montreal in 2009

The official 2009 F1 calendar has been published with the Canadian Grand Prix mysteriously absent. That’s not the only change for next year, with Abu Dhabi arriving on the calendar as the new season finale.

Has the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone done a better job with the 2009 F1 calendar than the 2008 schedule? Compare the two and cast your vote below.

The major changes between the two calendars are:

• The Canadian Grand Prix is dropped for 2009
• The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix arrives in 2009 as the season finale
• The German round will be held at the Nürburgring in 2009 instead of the Hockenheimring
• The Japanese round will be held at Suzuka in 2009 instead of Fuji Speedway

*Exact title TBC. The Hockenheimring owners won’t allow the Nürburgring to use the title ‘German Grand Prix’.
**Exact title TBC. May use the title ‘Mediterranean Grand Prix’ so the Nürburgring can be the ‘European Grand Prix’.

Pit stops have evolved from slapdash chaos to precisely-timed perfection

Steve suggested I write an article about how pit stops have changed in F1 and, following the controversy over Ferrari’s pit stop at Valencia, I thought now would be a good time to take a look at it.

When the world championship began in 1950 pit stops were fairly disorganised affairs. But as the sport became more professional and cars more advanced, the importance of a well-drilled pit stop became ever more crucial.

The return of refuelling in 1994 added a whole new dimension to F1 racing, though whether it’s a welcome one or not is a point of debate. Here’s a look at six famous pit stops that show how the practice has changed – including the fastest F1 pit stop ever.

1957 – Juan Manuel Fangio, German Grand Prix

In a modern F1 race a slow pit stop might cost you a second or two. But in 1957 when Juan Manuel Fangio pitted his Maserati 250F from the lead of the German Grand Prix he spent one minute and 16 seconds stationary. He fell 48 seconds behind the new leaders, the Ferraris of Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins.

Fangio didn’t panic and spent his ‘out lap’, as we call it today, bedding in his tyres as he toured the 14 miles of the mighty Nordschleife. This cost him another three seconds.

After that he launched into a devastating series of fastest laps, achieved by willing himself to take each bend one gear higher than he had been doing before.

He burst past Collins and Hawthorn to win – his final victory, and his final championship title. Fangio later said the mental strain of the race meant he went without sleep for two nights afterwards.

Pit stops in the 1950s were more likely to lose you the race than win it.

Read more about the 1957 German Grand Prix

1982 – Riccardo Patrese, Austrian Grand Prix

Refuelling had been legal for a long time but its value as a strategic device had not been exploited. In 1982 Brabham, while getting used to life with their thirsty BMW turbo engine, realised that time could be saved by doing the entire race distance on half a tank of fuel, and stopping halfway through to top up.

For several races Brabham prepared for their plan but it wasn’t until the Austrian round that they actually got to try it out. On several previous occasions the car retired before its scheduled stop, and on one memorable occasion leader Nelson Piquet was punted out of the German Grand Prix by the lapped Eliseo Salazar.

When Brabham finally got to try their new tactic it was Piquet’s team mate Patrese who had the honours. Team boss Bernie Ecclestone supervised the fuel stop, and Patrese blasted out onto the Osterreiching… before spinning out of the race.

Despite having shown the rest of the F1 teams the way of the future, Brabham’s Gordon Murray was the only designer to create a car with a half-capacity fuel tank for 1983. It played a major role in the team’s title success but after that refuelling was banned from 1984.

1989 – Nigel Mansell, Portuguese Grand Prix

Pit lane safety remained an importance even when refuelling was banned. In the 1980s although there was no pit lane speed limit, but were not allowed to reverse in the pit lane of their own accord.

Nigel Mansell apparently was not aware of this rule, and when he overshot his pit box at Estoril in 1989 he stuck his Ferrari into reverse and backed into his slot.

He was given the black flag but, battling with Ayrton Senna at the time, claimed not to have seen it. The pair eventually collided, and Mansell was barred from the following race by the FIA.

1993 – Riccardo Patrese, Belgian Grand Prix

In the days when refuelling was banned drivers would still make pit stops during the race to change tyres. Today the speed of a pit stop is almost always dictated by how much fuel is being put in, but then the quicker the team was at changing all four wheels, the less time a driver lost.

In the final year before refuelling was reintroduced – 1993 – Benetton recorded the fastest ever pit stop in a Formula 1 race. The time? An incredible 3.2 seconds.

There’s an excellent account of the pit stop, which was performed on Riccardo Patrese’s car on lap 17, in former Benetton mechanic Steve Matchett’s book “The Mechanics Tale” which I thoroughly recommend.

Sadly I couldn’t find any footage of the record stop but the video above shows one of Schumacher’s stops in that race and gives a good impression of how quickly pit stops were conducted at the time.

1994 – Jos Verstappen, German Grand Prix

Perhaps Benetton were trying a little too hard to turn around a super-quick pit stop in 1994.

That year refuelling had been reintroduced, and though it seems scarcely believable now, there wasn’t even a pit lane speed limit to begin with. That changed after the horrors of the San Marino Grand Prix, which included several mechanics being hit by a wheel from Michele Alboreto’s Minardi.

At the Hockenheimring Jos Verstappen came in for a regular pit stop and all hell broke loose. Fuel suddenly gushed from the hose onto the car – for a brief moment, nothing happened – and then the B194, Verstappen and his mechanics were coated in fire.

The horrifying scene (an image of which is on the cover of Matchett’s book, above) lasted only a few seconds and the injuries to the driver and mechanics were light.

An investigation into the fire discovered a filter was missing from Benetton’s fuel rig. There were accusations that this allowed them to refuel their cars more quickly and had given them an advantage in previous races.

However Benetton went unpunished. It was later claimed that FIA president Max Mosley spoke to the team’s lawyer and advised him not to seek to avoid any FIA personnel, and instead enter a guilty plea.

Refuelling fires still happen in Formula 1. At Hungary this year there were several small fires and more occurred at Valencia last weekend.

2004 – Michael Schumacher, French Grand Prix

In modern F1 overtaking has become all-but impossible in normal racing conditions. Refuelling stops are therefore the most viable way of gaining a position on the race track and become the focal point of a race.

At Magny-Cours in 2004 Michael Schumacher surprised his rivals by making four planned pit stops. Races had been won with more stops before, but usually only in changing weather conditions which forced extra stops for wet weather tyres.

Schumacher took advantage of the short Magny-Cours pit lane to make his strategy work and get ahead of Fernando Alonso to win without having to pass his rival on the track. He also used a special fuel created by Shell specifically for this purpose.

It’s an interesting statistical footnote and a technical curiosity, but is it a substitute for proper racing? No.

Sadly, it looks like refuelling is here to stay. Apart from anything else, I enjoyed the frenzied drama of those early ’90s tyres-only stops where it was all down to how quickly the mechanics could get the wheels off and on the cars.

This article was suggested by Steve using Skribit. Suggest an article for F1 Fanatic using the Skribit box in the right-hand column.

The first details of the 2009 F1 calendar were published today with the F1 schedule set to return to 19 races – a high it has only reached once before, in 2005.

As was expected the French Grand Prix is remaining at Magny-Cours. The Australian Grand Prix also appears as a provisional fixture.

However there is still no slot for a United States Grand Prix. For the second year in a row F1 will have only one race in North America – the Canadian Grand Prix. Full details below.

Provisional 2009 F1 calendar

Changes on the 2009 F1 calendar

The season starts later than usual, with the Australian Grand Prix on March 29th – it was on March 16th this year. However the season also ends later than usual.

Among the other changes is the return of the Turkish Grand Prix to its original late summer slot. It was held in May this year in unusually cool conditions.

The calendar does not give details of venues but the German and Japanese Grands Prix are expected to rotate locations with the German round being held at the Nurburgring (possibly under a different title) and the Japanese back at Suzuka after two years at Fuji Speedway.

The British Grand Prix has moved in front of the French Grand Prix and the Belgian in front of the Italian.

A slot at the end of the season has been found for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. This is where it was originally expected to appear.

It will be the first time the F1 season has ended at an all-new circuit since the 1985 Adelaide Grand Prix. The race will be held on 15th November, the latest conclusion to a season since 1987.

2009 F1 calendar
2009 F1 season

Here are 21 pictures from Sunday’s French Grand Prix including the Ferraris romping off at the start, jarno Trulli scoring an emotional podium for Toyota, and McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen pictured with a 1908 Benz Grand Prix car.

Click once for preview and click again for high-resolution version.

For copyright owners see detail on image.

A provisional 2009 F1 calendar is expected to be announced tomorrow by Bernie Ecclestone according to Nigel Roebuck.

Among the changes for 2009 will be the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, announced last year. And on Sunday rumours came to light that Magny-Cours, host of the French Grand Prix, will get a second stay of execution.

Here’s how the 2009 F1 calendar might look:

Possible 2009 F1 calendar

Here’s how next year’s calendar could look – this is purely hypothetical so please don’t go booking time off work and buying plane tickets.

*Monaco is a four-day weekend
**May run under a different name due to contractual dispute
***Alternating each year with Fuji Speedway

The United States Grand Prix apparently has a 50-50 chance of remaining on the calendar, and will be back if a sponsor is found. The United States is the tenth largest television audience for F1, and although Formula 1 is a minority sport in the USA in terms of interest, its importance as a market is gigantic.

It could squeeze back onto the calendar by appearing the week after the Canadian Grand Prix (as it did last year) with the French race moving back a week next to the British race as it has been in the past.

The new Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is apparently going to be in October and likely will not be the season finale. Putting it next to Singapore would make some geographic sense but as India and South Korea arrive in 2010 this end of the calendar will need a serious shake-up.

Changes to Abu Dhabi

Plans for a radical ‘hybrid track’ at Abu Dhabi have been scaled back. The original scheme for a track that was part street circuit, part permanent race course. The street section was to include a dramatic blast along a marina.

According to Autosport “renowned F1 fixer Philippe Gurdjian” has been brought onto the project which suggests they ran into some problems. Gurdjian helped the Bahrainis get their track ready on time in 2004 so the race should be in safe hands.

French Grand Prix to stay?

Bernie Ecclestone said 2007 was going to be the last race at Magny-Cours, and then he said 2008 would as well. Both, it seems, were wrong.

His plans for a Paris Grand Prix street race will have to wait a little longer. There is still little indication the project might become a reality. Rumours are Magny-Cours will stay on the calendar until 2010.

Keep track of all the test sessions, car launches races and more in 2008 and beyond with the F1Fanatic.co.uk Formula 1 calendar for Google Calendar:

2009 F1 season

What has been the biggest talking point on the Live Blogs during the past three races?

Plenty has been said about the state of Lewis Hamilton’s driving and Max Mosley’s libido, but I think the most popular question is this:

“Is it going to rain?”

We’ve had three race weekends of uncertain weather: brief drizzle at Magny-Cours yesterday, the thunderstorm that came too late at Montreal, and early shower that without doubt made Monaco the race of the year so far.

It seems almost everyone wants to see wet weather during Grands Prix and it’s no secret why. Rain equals action. Rain equals drama. Above all, rain equals racing.

When the track got damp at Magny-Cours yesterday we could see a procession transform into a real race before out eyes. Suddenly Heikki Kovalainen pounced on Jarno Trulli, and Robert Kubica caught up to within a second of them.

As the track dried, that exciting three-car battle stretched out into the familiar, dismal sight of F1 drivers stuck one second apart from each other, unable to get close because of the aerodynamic disturbance from the car in front.

The effect that a few drops of rain has on reducing grip levels and allowing cars to race more closely is so dramatic that some have even suggested – with varying degrees of seriousness – the F1 should look into artificially dampening tracks.

Although it would make the racing better I don’t think it would be good for the sport. Never mind the unnecessary cost and questionable environmental implications, other racing categories prove that it is possible to have good racing in all conditions, and for an example of that once again we need look no further than GP2.

F1’s attempted solution to the difficulties of racing in dry weather is slated to arrive next year in the form of massively reduced wings and other aerodynamic devices, proper racing slick tyres to replace grooved tyres, and a ban on tyre warmers.

Yesterday’s race, which was five more minutes of rain away from being a thriller, was a reminder of how badly these changes are needed.