F1 bosses vote through dramatic qualifying format overhaul

Formula 1 bosses have voted unanimously to deliver a dramatic overhaul of the qualifying format for the upcoming season.

Following a meeting of the Strategy Group and F1 Commission in Geneva, the format change has been voted through to spice up the show.

Qualifying will remain as a one-hour session, split into three segments, but drivers must be on track throughout each part until they get knocked out.

Details on how the new qualifying format will work exactly have yet to be decided, but the general outline has been agreed.

Q1 will now last 16 minutes and after seven minutes the slowest driver will take no further part in the session.

Every 90 seconds thereafter, the slowest will be knocked out until there are only 15 drivers remaining.

After a short break, Q2 will commence and last 15 minutes with the slowest driver eliminated after six minutes.

As was the case in Q1, the slowest driver at the time will be knocked out at 90-second intervals until eight remain.

Q3 will last 14 minutes and see the process repeated again with the slowest taking no further part after five minutes.

The next five drivers will drop out at 90-second intervals leaving the final two drivers to fight it out for pole in the final 90 seconds.

The change will require ratification by the World Motor Sport Council, which next meets on March 4.

(source: autosport.com)

Vettel and Ferrari stay in front in Barcelona

Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari continued their impressive start to pre-season testing on Tuesday by topping the timesheets for the second successive day in Spain.

Vettel clocked a lap of 1m 22.810s on his first run with Pirelli’s brand-new ultrasoft compound tyres shortly before lunch, and that time held up as the day’s fastest as most runners focused on racking up mileage.

Vettel’s best lap was nearly two seconds quicker than last year’s pole position time in Spain, as well as being 0.715s quicker than Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo could manage on the same rubber.

Sergio Perez was third quickest for Force India after leaping ahead of Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg with an impressive run on the supersoft tyres in the afternoon session, but Rosberg could satisfy himself with being the day’s overwhelming lap leader.

The Silver Arrows pilot circulated an astonishing 172 times in his F1 W07 Hybrid, just a day after team mate Lewis Hamilton had completed 156 laps in the new car’s maiden outing.

Six other drivers made it into triple figures for laps, including Fernando Alonso who racked up more mileage in one day than he had in all of the 2015 pre-season tests as McLaren’s promising start to the new campaign continued.

Elsewhere there was encouragement for Manor as Pascal Wehrlein lapped his MRT05 over five seconds faster than the team managed in qualifying in Spain last year, but disappointment for Jolyon Palmer and Renault as a power unit-related problem curtailed their running.

Palmer brought out the red flag when he coasted to a smoky halt between Turns 2 and 3 in the afternoon - one of three stoppages on the day, the others caused when Max Verstappen parked his Toro Rosso with an electrical issue early in the morning and and then when Vettel stopped his Ferrari five minutes from the chequered flag.

Tuesday's unofficial testing times from Barcelona

POS	Driver	Team/Car	Best lap	Gap	Laps
1	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari SF16-H	1:22.810		126
2	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer RB12	1:23.525	0.715	112
3	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes VJM09	1:23.650	0.840	101
4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid	1:24.867	2.882	172
5	Marcus Ericcson	Sauber-Ferrari C34	1:25.237	2.427	108
6	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas-Ferrari VF-16	1:25.524	2.714	79
7	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes FW38	1:25.648	2.838	134
8	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing-Mercedes MRT05	1:25.925	3.115	71
9	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Honda MP4-31	1:26.082	3.272	119
10	Jolyon Palmer	Renault R.S.16	1:26.189	3.379	42
11	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR11	1:26.539	3.729	121

Vettel fastest as Hamilton clocks up mileage on day one

The top two teams in last year’s constructors’ championship, Mercedes and Ferrari, looked in fine form as F1 testing got underway at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain on Monday.

Sebastian Vettel set the day’s fastest time for Ferrari with a rapid medium tyre-shod run in the SF16-H just before lunch, whilst perennial rival and reigning champion Lewis Hamilton clocked an astonishing 156 laps in the Silver Arrows’ brand-new F1 W07 Hybrid.

Hamilton, whose mileage total topped the 695.196km managed by team mate Nico Rosberg on last year’s opening test day in Jerez, finished 0.470s back of Vettel, having also set his best time on medium tyres in the morning session.

Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest for Red Bull, just ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas with Force India’s rookie test driver Alfonso Celis a further two-tenths back.

All 11 teams were in action, and all bar Sauber gave their 2016 cars their official track debuts. Among them were newcomers Haas, for whom Romain Grosjean finished 10th after 31 laps in the Ferrari-powered VF-16, despite suffering an early front wing failure.

Monday's unofficial testing times from Barcelona

POS	Driver	Team/Car	Best lap	Gap	Laps
1	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari SF16-H	1:24.939		69
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid	1:25.409	0.470	156
3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer RB12	1:26.044	1.105	87
4	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes FW38	1:26.091	1.152	80
5	Alfonso Celis	Force India-Mercedes VJM09	1:26.298	1.359	58
6	Jenson Button	McLaren-Honda MP4-31	1:26.735	1.796	84
7	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR11	1:27.180	2.241	55
8	Marcus Ericcson	Sauber-Ferrari C34	1:27.555	2.616	88
9	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing-Ferrari MRT05	1:28.292	3.353	54
10	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari VF-16	1:28.399	3.460	31
11	Jolyon Palmer	Renault R.S.16	1:29.356	4.417	37

McLaren sign Matsushita as test driver

Honda protege Nobuharu Matsushita has joined McLaren as a test and development driver. The 22-year-old Japanese will focus on simulator support and engineering work to aid race drivers Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, and reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

McLaren say the appointment showcases the collaboration that exists between the team and engine partners Honda to discover, train and give opportunity to young and promising racing drivers.

Matsushita won the All-Japan Formula Three Championship in 2014 before graduating to GP2 for 2015 - racing for ART Grand Prix, alongside eventual champion Vandoorne.

“This season I am ecstatic to be joining the McLaren-Honda F1 team as a test and development driver,” said Matsushita, who will again contest the GP2 Series with ART this year.

“To step into the world of Formula One fulfils a boyhood dream, and is a huge step forward in my career. I will do the utmost to help the race team on the track, by gathering data to feed back into the development and set-up of the car through simulator work.

“Last year’s GP2 Series season was a steep learning curve for me. It was my first year racing in Europe - but, thankfully, my experiences with Honda’s young driver programme meant I was well prepared for the task ahead.

“As a GP2 Series driver, my sole focus for 2016 is to win the championship. I believe that I have the best package around me to succeed and reach my ultimate goal of becoming a Formula One driver.”

McLaren’s racing director Eric Boullier added: “Nobu’s first season racing in Europe showed great promise - he produced some extremely impressive performances, and with experience and consistency, will surely build on that potential in 2016.

“His position as a McLaren-Honda test and development driver will be extremely important - he’ll underline and corroborate the learning we acquire at the track, and will play a key role in improving our performance throughout 2016.”

McLaren will unveil their Honda-powered 2016 car, the MP4-31, on Sunday.

(source: f1.com)

Ferrari: 2016 innovations 'very ambitious'

Ferrari say they have been "very, very ambitious" with the SF16-H, having introduced new concepts or improvements in almost every area of the car.

A shorter nose and an extremely tightly-packaged rear end are among the most noticeable differences visually, but Ferrari have reviewed almost every aspect of the car in a bid to return to the front of the Formula One grid in 2016.

"The project of this car started one year ago, and the direction was very ambitious - our goals were very ambitious," chief designer Simone Resta said.

"We tried to revisit and review everything. What are the areas we changed? The nose and front suspension; the side pods; the power unit; the rear end..."

Speaking about the front of the car, Resta added: "Today we have something quite different - [the nose] is higher, and the airflow is different to last year. That is very important because it has a positive impact on aerodynamics.

"Also after five years of pull-rod [suspension] we have changed and we now have push-rod. The weight and kinematics are better - and it is a step forward compared to previous models.

"Another important part are the side pods. The radiators are different - and we have tried to take advantage with the cooling systems."

Power unit director Matteo Binotto said Ferrari had made similarly sweeping changes to their 2016 engine layout.

"Compared to last season we have worked on two areas," he explained.

"First the architecture. We have tried to compact it in order to have a positive impact on aerodynamics. The car is tighter and narrower compared to last year. We tried to move all the accessories.

"But we did not work only on architecture, we tried to improve combustion for example, inlet aspiration and also the turbo.

"This is the first step compared to the past, a step forward, so we have made important technical choices and innovative choices."

The SF16-H is expected to make its official track debut at the start of pre-season testing next Monday at Spain's Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

(source: f1.com)

Ferrari present the SF16-H - in red and white

Ferrari have pulled the covers off their 2016 Formula One car. The SF16-H features a red and white colour scheme, the first time in over two decades that the team have used such a livery.

After winning three Grands Prix last season en route to second in the constructors’ championship, Ferrari are banking on their new machine to close the gap to Mercedes in the hands of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen.

“Naturally our goals are growing,” said Vettel, who secured all of the Scuderia’s 2015 victories. “We all want more and hopefully this car will help us achieve it.”

On the Italian squad’s goals for 2016, team principal Maurizio Arrivabene commented: “Normally I don’t set the objective, it is my boss. Last year it was three victories and we got it.

“This year we need to push a bit more, so it is going to be the championship - at least we would like to fight until the end. It won’t be easy, our competitors won’t be sleeping, but for sure we are all committed to do our best.

"We don’t go to the races with a big statement, but we do with a big commitment. Humility is our driver, our passion, our commitment."

The SF16-H features tighter rear packaging than its SF15-T predecessor thanks to Ferrari’s efforts in making their latest power unit more compact.

Describing the team's progress in recent seasons, technical chief James Allison stated: “Back in 2013 we were not at the right level - not enough power, downforce, kinematics. We have worked very hard on all those areas.

“Last year was a decent step forward, and we hope this car gives us another good step forward and makes us truly competitive. It isn’t down to one area: we have improved across the board. All our hopes are in this car.”

(source: f1.com)

Williams unveil 2016 challenger

Williams have unveiled the FW38, the car with which they will contest the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Having finished third in the constructors' championship for the past two straight seasons, the team are confident their new machine represents a significant step forward - but are in no doubts about the challenge that awaits them.

"Williams has started to cement our position back amongst the front running teams after finishing third in the Championship in the past two seasons," founder and team principal Frank Williams said. 

"This has been a great achievement given the resources of those around us. Staying where we are will be a challenge in itself, but we are determined to keep improving because only winning will ever be good enough. 

"We have a very stable team going into 2016, with Felipe and Valtteri teaming up for a third successive season. They work well together and both have the ideal blend of speed and consistency. 

"Our technical team has also remained very consistent which will be to our advantage and we have some of the best engineering minds on the grid at our disposal."

Deputy team principal Claire Williams added: "2016 promises to be a very competitive year in Formula One and there will be a number of strong teams who have us in their sights. 

"We are confident that we have made a step forward over the winter and that the FW38 will build on the strengths of the FW37 and address some of its weaknesses. We started design work on the car earlier than normal and hopefully this extra development time will stand us in good stead.

"The car we are launching today is by no means the final product. We are already planning updates for Melbourne and will be pushing for constant improvements over the course of the season.

"Williams enters 2016 in a strong place. We have a great team of people and over the past two years we have started to regain our competitive edge.

"Now we need to build on that and take this team back to where we all want it to be."

Williams have retained Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas for a third straight season - the longest they have kept the same line-up since the days of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, whom they fielded from 2001-'04. Bottas finished fifth in the drivers' championship last year, one spot ahead of Massa, with the pair each claiming two podiums during the season.

(source: f1.com)