Heidfeld Confirmed; Bahrain Cancelled; Williams Livery Revealed

Heidfeld Confirmed
After weeks of speculation, Nick Heidfeld was confirmed as Renault's super-sub in place of the injured Robert Kubica on 16th February. Personally, I feel it was probably the best decision to make for Eric Boullier - Renault team manager - as Heidfeld is recognised in the paddock as a steady but consistent and experienced hand. And with Petrov as a second driver, consistency is what Boullier needs...

Heidfeld has been welcomed at Renault

Of course, the length of Heidfeld's tenure all depends on how speedy Kubica's recovery is, and with him being moved out of intensive care recently, it looks like he may be in the car for a race or two at the latter end of the season if all goes to plan. However, if the Renault is really as fast as the testing stopwatch says it is, Heidfeld might have other things on his mind towards the end of the season, like winning races...

2011 Bahrain Grand Prix Cancelled

It came as no surprise the other day when the Crown Prince of Bahrain officially announced that the island state could no longer safely hold it's Grand Prix, the first of the season. It remains to be seen whether Bahrain will be able to slot back into the calendar at a later date, but with the second half of the year choc-a-bloc, it looks increasingly unlikely.

Bahrain may have to take a sabbatical from F1 in 2011

However, one thing is for sure: the 2011 Formula One World Championship will get underway in Melbourne on the 27th March, just like old times...

Williams unveil livery for FW33

With all the teams unveiling their 2011 challengers (although HRT's effort has only been seen in rendered form) the last big launch date took place on Thursday - the launch of the official livery in which drivers Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado will stake their claim to points and, if the team are to be believed, possibly even a race win or two.

A quiet revolution in F1 car design? 

Sam Michael, Williams' technical director, explained that the team had worked especially hard on their 'tight rear end' (even Michael himself sniggered at that one) which will contain their KERS , a package capable of providing a boost equal to about 80hp. The livery itself is a throwback to the Rothmans liveries of the 1990s, made famous by Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve's championships. So that's three retro liveries on the grid this season: Williams, Renault and Team Lotus' - if only McLaren went back to the Marlboro years...


You can find more pictures of the FW33 on F1Fanatic here.






I do not own any of the copyright to any of the images on this page and they are all used with full recognition of their respective owners.

Heidfeld to replace Kubica?

The team formally known as Renault are testing Nick Heidfeld at Jerez today, followed by the young Bruno Senna tomorrow in order to evaluate who will stand in for the injured Robert Kubica. However, the way I see it, speed will only be a small factor in the test - Renault need a team leader that they did have in Kubica and won't have in Petrov or Senna if he takes the drive. However, the best bet would have been Heidfeld and Senna - although this isn't possibly because of a certain pay driver.

Kubica and Heidfeld know each other well since their BMW days

Heidfeld can help develop a car with his experience - another aspect that Senna can't really bring to the team. However, 2010 did damage Bruno's reputation - he must be fast, that Ross Brawn considered taking him for a seat at his team in 2009. On that occasion, ironically, he was turned down because of a more experienced driver. Bad luck.

Image (c) AP

McLaren use novel launch for new car

McLaren launched the MP4-26 on Friday - sort of. The carcass of the car was wheeled into Potsdamer Platz in Berlin while the rest of the parts were brought in by hand. The car itself features several interesting concepts, also - two strangely sculpted sidepods give the rear wing maximum amounts of air, whilst keeping the new KERS system cooled. However, did McLaren give anything away about the internals of their car? Apparently not: "Be warned, you haven't seen it all," said McLaren principal Martin Whitmarsh. "I think there are some really interesting bits on the car that you can see. But there are some bits we have hidden from you and our competition. The car also features a strange gill-like airbox - an evolution of the F-duct, perhaps? Or is it just for extra cooling, given the sidepods?

The new MP4-26.  Shiny.

Oh, and it just so happens that I've been to where the McLaren was launched before. I recognised it on the live feed - terrific place to unveil a Formula One car! If only they'd unleashed all that horsepower...


Image (c) f1fanatic.co.uk

Ferrari unveil the F150

Ferrari tried to steal a march on their rivals today by being the first team to launch their new car. The 'F150', decked out in traditional red, was launched this morning and is named in honour of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, which is to be celebrated this year.

Fernando Alonso takes the new Ferrari for a spin this afternoon

Launched at the team's base in Maranello, Italy, the car was taken out in the afternoon on a damp-looking Fiorano track, Ferrari's private test facility, by first driver Fernando Alonso. The team are said to be 'painfully aware' of how the 2010 title slipped through their fingers after a strategic gamble backfired at the final round in Abu Dhabi, handing Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel the crown. But will the F150 allow drivers Alonso and Felipe Massa to challenge for wins and the championship? Only time will tell. In the meantime, testing proper begins on Tuesday 1st February next week. Be sure to check back here for the latest news and analysis.

Image (c) AP

Two Lions and a Scot

Paul di Resta was yesterday confirmed as Britain's third Formula One driver for 2011, joining Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, both at McLaren. He will partner German Adrian Sutil at Force India. Here at That F1 Blog we take a quick look back at his career so far and what can be realistically expected of the young West Lothian driver.

di Resta on his trusty Force India steed

Like almost every other Formula One driver today, di Resta started his career in karts at a young age, participating in various kart series between 1994 and 2001. He stepped up to the next traditional stepping stone: Formula Renault and impressed in his limited performance. However, in 2005, he joined the F3 Euroseries with help from Manor Motorsport (the same team who run Virgin Racing). That year, for his troubles, he was awarded the prestigious McLaren Young Driver of the Year Award, which features among previous winners name such as a certain Mr D Coulthard and J Button, as well as di Resta's cousin, Dario Franchitti.


However, it was Paul's 2006 F3 season that was to grab headlines. He was paired with none other than Sebastian Vettel, curent F1 world champ whom he comprehensively beat to the championship by taking six wins, ten podiums and five pole positions, whilst teammate Vettel, Qualifying master, only managed two poles in 22 races.


It was in 2007 that di Resta's career took its most important turn to date. He signed to race for Mercedes in the DTM, that is, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, the German BRDC. He racked up four podiums which was no mean feat when pitted against competition such as Mika Hakkinen, McLaren tester Gary Paffett and Le Mans master Tom Kristensen. The following season (2008) he was given an improved Mercedes for his impressive debut performances and took his first two wins in the category. He eventually finshed runner-up to champion Timo Schneider. Schneider won the championship again the following season, whilst di Resta was third behind Schneider and compatriot Paffett. 2010's conflict started much better, and over the course of the year Paul took three wins out of eleven - not a bad percentage at all. However, it's points that count, and he took four more than Paffett who drove the exact same type of Merc.


What's even more incredible is that while he was taking the DTM crown he was throwing the Force India around the track on selected Fridays. The team were obviously very impressed by his input to both the car and the team in general with BBC pundit David Coulthard commenting that he had a 'bright future' and was a very mature young man indeed.


Obviously Force India think so, after picking him over proven talent Nico Hülkenberg for their 2011 campaign. Saying that, di Resta has consistently shown his own talent throughout his career and it will be very interesting indeed to see how he fares this season up against fellow rookie Sergio Perez (possibly his closest rival) and the fast, but flawed, Sutil. How do you think Paul will get on in 2011? Leave your thoughts in the comments.


Image (c) Force India