Pirelli confirm tyre compound allocations for Spain

Pirelli have announced the three tyre compounds they’ll bring to the fifth round of the 2016 FIA Formula One World Championship at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

They are the orange-marked hard compound, the white-marked medium and the yellow-marked soft. Under the new-for-2016 regulations, teams must have a set of hards and a set of mediums available for the race, and must use at least one of them.

Each driver will also have to save one set of softs for the Q3 qualifying session. This set will be given back to Pirelli after Q3 for those who qualify in the top eight, but the remaining drivers will keep it for the race.

The teams are free to choose the 10 remaining sets permitted from the three available compounds, making up 13 sets in total for the weekend.

Under the 2016 tyre regulations, tyre nominations for long-haul events have to be made 14 weeks in advance, whereas for European races the deadline is eight weeks in advance.

The 2016 tyre choices so far:

Australia - supersoft, soft, medium
Bahrain - supersoft, soft, medium
China - supersoft, soft, medium
Russia - supersoft, soft, medium
Spain - hard, medium, soft
Monaco - tbc
Canada - ultrasoft, supersoft, soft
Europe - supersoft, soft, medium

(source: f1.com)

Haas sign 17-year-old development driver

Formula One racing’s newest team, Haas, have signed 17-year-old Santino Ferrucci as their development driver for 2016.

The American racer, who is set to compete in GP3 with DAMS this season, will be embedded with Haas at every opportunity, attending races and tests throughout the year while also participating in the team’s simulator programme.

“My goal since I first started racing was to become a Formula One driver, and to be an American who is part of an American team is something I take a tremendous amount of pride in,” Ferrucci said.

“There is still a lot of work I need to do, but being paired with Haas F1 Team will allow me to learn more and at a faster rate. It’ll allow me to make the most of my GP3 drive with DAMS and, ultimately, prepare me for Formula One.”

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner added: “In Formula One, developing your personnel is as important as developing your racecar. You can’t have one without the other.

“Santino Ferrucci has done a very good job of proving himself in each of the racing series he’s competed in, and his maturity outside of the racecar is impressive. We see Santino as a young, American driver with a lot of potential. His opportunity with DAMS is an excellent way for him to further his development while positioning Haas F1 Team for future success.”

Like many drivers, Ferrucci, from from Woodbury, Connecticut, began his career in karting before graduating to open-wheel racing in his homeland in 2013. In 2014 he became, at 16, the youngest race winner in the history of British Formula Three, before going on to compete in the Toyota Racing Series New Zealand and the FIA Formula Three European Championship last season.

At this season's opening Grand Prix in Australia, Haas will become the first American team in 30 years to start a world championship Grand Prix.

(source: f1.com)

Manor sign Rossi as 2016 reserve driver

Manor will welcome Alexander Rossi back into the fold in 2016 after signing the American as their official F1 reserve driver.

The 24-year-old Californian competed in five races with the then-Marussia team last year, but missed out on securing a race seat for the forthcoming season as the squad opted to sign rookies Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto.

Rossi subsequently went on to secure a deal to race in IndyCar in 2016, but will now perform an F1 role simultaneously.

“I’ve invested most of my career in F1 and I’m not one to kick my heels and wait for things to happen, so this is my way of staying sharp and prepared,” said Rossi, who will attend 11 Grands Prix this season, starting with the Russian Grand Prix in May.

“It was disappointing to miss out on a race seat with Manor Racing this year; everyone knows I pushed and worked hard for it. As official reserve driver though, I have a very complimentary dual program at the highest level of motorsport. IndyCar is the premier category of open wheel racing in North America and extremely competitive. I also have the privilege of racing with a championship winning team, Andretti Autosport.

“I’m confident this experience will add to my role as a very important cog in an F1 team’s wheel. My schedule this year is demanding, but no more than a full time F1 schedule. I will attend 11 Grands Prix, only five of which take place during the IndyCar season, and I am certainly used to the travel demands of the F1 calendar. It’s great to be back with a team I know and with whom I share a mutual respect and passion for the sport we love.”

Manor racing director Dave Ryan said that the team were fortunate to have someone of Rossi’s calibre in the reserve driver role: “We need a safe pair of hands for the role, which always carries the potential to have to step up to race, but also someone who can really contribute to the development of the car,” he said.

“For Alex, F1 is still unfinished business. He did a great job when he drove for us in five of last season’s races and he’s a highly rated and valuable part of our line-up. He does have one heck of a schedule ahead of him and it’s a commitment that only the most disciplined of drivers would be able to manage. We’re confident he’s the man for the job.”

According to Manor, Rossi will work with the team’s engineers and drivers to help develop the Mercedes-powered MRT05, contribute to team and partner marketing activities, and be available to deputise should he be required to compete at short notice.

(source: f1.com)

F1 Testing 2016: Pre-Season Wrap-Up

Last video footage before the first 2016 Grand Prix!

Wolff: Radio clampdown will intensify Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry

Mercedes-Benz Motorsport chief Toto Wolff expects to see an even more ‘intense’ battle between his two drivers in 2016, thanks to tougher restrictions on team-to-driver radio communication.

The changes stem from stricter enforcement of regulations requiring each driver to drive his car ‘alone and unaided’, and mean that Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will play a greater role in the outcome of Grands Prix.

“There is much less information and data being provided to the drivers during the races - on engine modes, on tyres and strategies,” Wolff told F1.com.

“So the natural outcome of these regulation changes is that it will be again much more down to the drivers to take decisions.”

“That means that the direct competition between the two is guaranteed and will be more intense.”

Though Hamilton was the clear victor in last year’s title fight, Rosberg came on strong in the closing stages of the season, taking six successive pole positions and winning the final three races.

That prompted speculation of a very close intra-team battle to come for 2016, though Wolff is keen to stress that the interests of Mercedes will still come first.

“Of course this is still a team and neither we nor the drivers will opt for a decision which could jeopardize the team’s reputation or the team’s performance,” he added.

(source: f1.com)

Pre-season testing in numbers

With the eight days of pre-season testing complete, who is prepared and on the pace, and who is on the back foot heading to Australia? We crunch the combined numbers from the two sessions at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya… 

Unofficial aggregate test times from Barcelona:

POS	DRIVER	TEAM/CAR	BEST TIME	GAP	LAPS
1	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari SF16-H	1:22.765		403
2	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari SF16-H	1:22.810	0.045	488
3	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid	1:23.022	0.257	656
4	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes VJM09	1:23.110	0.345	357
5	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR11	1:23.134	0.369	515
6	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes FW38	1:23.193	0.428	411
7	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes FW38	1:23.229	0.464	445
8	Max Verstappen	Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR11	1:23.382	0.617	534
9	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer RB12	1:23.525	0.760	457
10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid	1:23.622	0.857	638
11	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes VJM09	1:23.650	0.885	289
12	Kevin Magnussen	Renault R.S.16	1:23.933	1.168	509
13	Daniil Kvyat	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer RB12	1:24.293	1.528	360
14	Jenson Button	McLaren-Honda MP4-31	1:24.714	1.949	377
15	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Honda MP4-31	1:24.735	1.970	333
16	Felipe Nasr	Sauber-Ferrari C34/C35	1:24.760	1.995	455
17	Alfonso Celis	Force India-Mercedes VJM09	1:24.840	2.075	133
18	Jolyon Palmer	Renault R.S.16	1:24.859	2.094	267
19	Pascal Wehrlein	Manor Racing-Mercedes MRT05	1:24.913	2.148	252
20	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber-Ferrari C34/C35	1:25.031	2.266	383
21	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari VF-16	1:25.255	2.490	257
22	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas-Ferrari VF-16	1:25.422	2.657	217
23	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing-Mercedes MRT05	1:25.899	3.314	232

Total distance run - by team: 

TEAM	LAPS	KILOMETRES
Mercedes	1294	6024
Toro Rosso	1049	4883
Ferrari	891	4148
Williams	856	3985
Sauber	838	3901
Red Bull	817	3803
Force India	779	3626
Renault	776	3612
McLaren	710	3305
Manor	484	2253
Haas	474	2206

Total distance run - by power unit:

POWER UNIT (TEAMS)	LAPS	KILOMETRES
Mercedes (4)	3413	15888
Ferrari (4)	3252	15138
Renault [inc. TAG Heuer] (2)	1593	7415
Honda (1)	710	3305

Best times - by tyre compound:

COMPOUND	DRIVER	TEAM/CAR	BEST TIME
Ultrasoft	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari SF16-H	1:22.765
Supersoft	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari SF16-H	1:22.852
Soft	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari SF16-H	1:23.009
Medium	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid	1:24.126
Hard	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes FW38	1:25.402

Longest stints - by tyre compound:

COMPOUND	DRIVER	TEAM/CAR	LAPS
Ultrasoft	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari SF16-H	7
	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes FW38	7
Supersoft	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari SF16-H	8
Soft	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes FW38	17
Medium	Kevin Magnussen	Renault R.S.16	30
Hard	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes FW38	26

Ferrari fastest as pre-season testing concludes in Barcelona

Sebastian Vettel ensured Ferrari top spot as the second and final pre-season test of 2016 came to its conclusion in Spain on Friday.

Vettel's morning benchmark of 1m 22.852s - set on the red-marked supersoft tyres - held over the afternoon. Ferrari therefore finished their pre-season having set the fastest overall time in each of the two tests, and on five of the eight days in total.

Vettel was also the day's busiest runner with 142 laps - a handful more than Carlos Sainz, who remained second for Toro Rosso. The Spaniard was the only driver in the top five to set his best lap on the new ultrasoft tyre.

Williams' Felipe Massa found the biggest gains in the afternoon to jump to third, fractionally ahead of Force India's Sergio Perez - who briefly triggered a red-flag period when he stopped at Turn 11.

Lewis Hamilton also brought proceedings to a halt when his Mercedes hit issues - a transmission problem - for the first time this year in the closing stages of the morning.

The Briton wound up fifth overall, while team mate Nico Rosberg - who took over for the Silver Arrows in the afternoon - propped up the timesheets in 13th.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren's Jenson Button and Sauber's Marcus Ericsson all broke the 100-lap barrier, and ended the day in sixth, seventh and ninth respectively.

Renault's Jolyon Palmer edged Ericsson for eighth, while behind Romain Grosjean put Haas 10th, marginally ahead of team mate Esteban Gutierrez - who subbed in for the final hours - and Manor's Rio Haryanto.

The latter managed just one installation lap as the team struggled with technical gremlins in the morning, but had clocked 58 laps when the chequered flag fell to bring the pre-season to a close.

Teams now have two weeks until the season-open in Grand Prix on March 18-20.

Friday's unofficial testing times from Barcelona

POS	Driver	Team/Car	Best lap	Gap	Laps
1	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari SF16-H	1:22.852		142
2	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso-Ferrari STR11	1:23.134	0.282	133
3	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes FW38	1:23.644	0.792	129
4	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes VJM09	1:23.721	0.869	60
5	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid	1:24.133	1.281	69
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer RB12	1:24.427	1.575	123
7	Jenson Button	McLaren-Honda MP4-31	1:24.714	1.862	121
8	Jolyon Palmer	Renault R.S.16	1:24.859	2.007	90
9	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber-Ferrari C35	1:25.031	2.179	132
10	Romain Grosjean	Haas-Ferrari VF-16	1:25.255	2.403	66
11	Esteban Gutierrez	Haas-Ferrari VF-16	1:25.422	2.570	25
12	Rio Haryanto	Manor Racing-Ferrari MRT05	1:25.899	3.047	58
13	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid	1:26.140	3.288	70