Archive for the ‘Team’ Category
Monday, July 7th, 2008
In this year Ferrari was not on podium in 3 F1 races : Melbourne, Montreal and Silverstone.
This is interesting just because in 2007 F1 season Ferrari was not on podium just at Montreal. In all other races they were on podium with at least one car. In 17 races in 2007 F1 season Ferrari in 6 races was with 2 cars on podium : Bahrain, Magny Cours, Istanbul, Spa-Francochamps, Shangai and Intelagos.
This was very good comparing to 2006 F1 season when they not score on 4 races, and had double podium in 5 races from 18.
But Ferrari lead this season F1 constructor,having 96 points, followed by BMW with 82. This because in first 9 races they have double podium in 4 races Bahrain, Catalunya, Istanbul and Magny Cours and except Istanbul they won first and second place.
What if they got podium in each race like last season?!
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Sunday, July 6th, 2008
After an amazing race at Silverstone we have a beautiful podium and again 7 teams getting points. In 2008 F1 season this is the 3rd race after Catalunya and Monte Carlo.
6 engines score points in the race : Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Ferrari, Renault, Toyota
Silvertsone : 7 teams McLaren, BMW, Honda, Ferrari, Renault, Toyota, Williams
Magny Cours : 6 teams Ferrari, Toyota, McLaren, BMW, Red Bull, Renault
Monte Carlo : 7 teams McLaren, BMW, Ferrari, Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Honda, Williams
Istanbul : 6 teams Ferrari, McLaren, BMW, Renault, Red Bull, Williams
Catalunya : 7 teams Ferrari, McLaren, BMW, Red Bull, Honda, Williams, Toyota
Bahrain : 6 teams Ferrari, BMW, McLaren, Toyota, Red Bull, Williams
Sepang : 6 teams Ferrari, BMW, McLaren, Toyota, Red Bull, Renault
Melbourne : 6 teams McLaren, BMW, Williams, Renault, Toro Rosso, Ferrari
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Thursday, January 10th, 2008
Lewis Hamilton drove the team’s 2008 Formula 1 car, the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 for the first time today at the Jerez circuit. Lewis left the garage at 09:10 and completed over 456kms and 103 laps during the course of the day.
Lewis joined his new teammate, Heikki Kovalainen at the Spanish circuit for the first of four days of testing over the coming week. Heikki also passed the 100 lap mark, as the Finn clocked up a total of 101.
Following yesterday’s session, which saw Heikki and test driver Pedro de la Rosa take both MP4-23 chassis for their initial runs, work at the test saw Lewis and Heikki continue to focus on both drivers and team familiarising themselves with the 2008 challenger. Yesterday was the first time in the history of the team that it had completed two chassis for the first day of testing.
Lewis and Heikki will remain in Jerez for the final day of the week tomorrow, Friday. Pedro and fellow test driver Gary Paffett will take over testing duties on Monday with Lewis and Heikki returning to the wheel for the final two days of the session on Tuesday and Wednesday.
LEWIS HAMILTON
“It was fantastic to get my hands on the MP4-23 this morning in Jerez. I saw the completed car for the first time on Monday at the team’s launch in Stuttgart and I have been pretty impatient since then! My first run was at 09:10 and my first impressions are encouraging. I covered over 103 laps, which is 456kms, today. Considering this is only the second day the car has been on track, I am pretty happy with that. We have a lot of work to do, but now we have a real understanding of where we are starting from. I will be back in the MP4-23 with Heikki tomorrow and I am looking forward to continuing the programme and moving forward.”
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
“Today was my second day with the MP4-23 and I have now been able to complete over 447kms in total. We are all still spending time learning about the car and starting to get used to it. That we were on track for 204 laps in total today is definitely helping us to learn and progress with the car. For me in particular the car is very different from last year, and I have been focusing on that side of things. Settling into the team has been very easy, and I am looking forward to continuing our preparations for Melbourne next Tuesday.”
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Thursday, January 10th, 2008
Panasonic Toyota Racing today unveiled the TF108, its entry for the 2008 FIA Formula 1 World Championship and the car it expects to challenge at the front next season.
At the team’s technical centre in Cologne, Germany, key figures from Panasonic Toyota Racing joined drivers Jarno Trulli, Timo Glock and Kamui Kobayashi to take the wraps off the TF108 in front of the worldwide media and thousands of fans live on www.toyota-f1.com.
Toyota’s challenging spirit and determination to meet ambitious targets has played a key part in the evolution of the TF108, with key features of the new car being a longer wheelbase, a major aerodynamic upgrade, revised suspension and a new gearbox. Wind tunnel tests and simulations show the TF108 is a marked improvement on its predecessor and the team expects to move closer to its long-term aim of winning races and fighting for the World Championship.
Chairman and Team Principal Tadashi Yamashina says: “Of course, our ultimate target is the middle step of the podium – we are in Formula 1 to win and we want to do that soon. Our clear target in 2008 is to make a big improvement in our results because we were not satisfied with our performance last year. We expect to have a truly competitive car so our drivers should be aiming to finish in the points regularly and challenging for the podium.”
Using the renowned Toyota Way principles to encourage innovation and a spirit of challenge, the team have worked tirelessly to finalise the TF108 concept and put their innovative thinking into practice, as Yamashina-san adds: “At the factory everyone is motivated and pushing as hard as possible, always aiming for kaizen, continuous improvement.
“The team work is very impressive and communication is very good between all departments which has definitely helped in the development of the TF108. Everybody is working together as one unit so I am very happy with that. We have real team spirit.
“We have great potential in this team - we have the right people in place and the right resources so we have every reason to be optimistic.”
(more…)
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Wednesday, January 9th, 2008
Following Monday’s launch at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-23, made its track debut at the Circuito de Jerez in southern Spain today.
The team had two of its 2008 cars in action. Driving duties fell to Heikki Kovalainen and Pedro de la Rosa who were at the wheel of chassis 2 and chassis 1 respectively. Pedro took to the track for the first time at 09:05, with Heikki leaving the garage in his MP4-23 at 14:19.
Pedro’s car was the chassis at the event in Stuttgart. It was completed at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking on Sunday afternoon before being transported to the launch. At 02:00am on the morning of Tuesday 8th, the car left Stuttgart airport for Jerez. The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes test team took receipt of the car early on Tuesday morning in Spain and spent the day preparing the MP4-23 for today’s running.
Heikki’s car left the McLaren Technology Centre on Tuesday 8th and travelled directly to Jerez, arriving at the earliest possible opportunity when the local airport opened at 06:00 this morning. During the course of the morning the test team worked to install the set-up on the car prior to Heikki taking to the track at 14:19.
This week’s test is a private session, allowing the team to achieve its filming and photographic requirements with the MP4-23 alongside the test programme. This will focus on familiarisation with the car and running through a range of installation and set-up checks.
The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes test programme will remain in Jerez until Wednesday 16th January before moving onto Valencia from Tuesday 22nd January.
HEIKKI KOVALAINEN
“It was really great to get on track today with the MP4-23. It was my first session as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver. I always really enjoy the first day a new car runs, there is always a very unique atmosphere, you know a little bit tense, a little bit excited. The first impressions of the new car are good. We have a comprehensive development schedule to work through over the next couple of months. The car’s performance today is definitely an encouraging starting point. Today was also my first real opportunity to meet the test team, which was good because we will be spending a lot of time together over the next few weeks!”
PEDRO DE LA ROSA
“We covered 69 laps in total today between Heikki and me, which is a good start. The car felt positive and it has been an encouraging day. This is the second time I have had the opportunity to make the track debut with our new car, it is also the eighth car I have driven for the team. It is great for me to be in the car from the very beginning, as I am able to instantly build up an understanding of the car and how it works, and then start to put this knowledge into the testing programme. This time of the season, from when a new car is launched until the first race, is probably the busiest time of the year for the test team. We have 18 track days scheduled, including today, before the MP4-23s leave for Australia and a lot of work to complete in that time, but the motivation is huge with all the guys here.”
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