In the round-up: Luiz Razia will drive for Marussia in 2013 according to his official website.
Ferrari and Force India launches
Two more new F1 cars for 2013 are coming our way today.
The covers will come off the Ferrari F138 in Italy at 9:30am UK time (10:30am) in Italy. You can watch it live on Ferrari’s website.
Hot on its heels will be the Force India VJM06, which is due to be uncovered at 10:15am at Silverstone. This is also being streamed live on the internet – head over here to watch it (it looks like you need to register so best to get there early).
And of course, keep an eye on F1 Fanatic for pictures of the cars and more from both launches.
Links
Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more.
Luiz Razia’s official website says he will join Marussia as Brazil’s second F1 driver this year.
Lotus’s James Allison says he intends to honour his contract with the team (Sky)
“I have a pretty long contract with this team. I take contracts very seriously and I intend to honour that in every aspect.”
McLaren won’t race passive double DRS (Autosport)
Director of engineering Tim Goss: “We’ve been looking at such systems for a couple of seasons now and, as you have seen, we haven’t run one yet – so heavily pursuing it would not be the right description.”
How to make an F1 car, part five (BBC)
“Within 10 laps of the car hitting the track, a team will know whether their product is more or less what they thought it was. Occasionally, though, a team will get a nasty surprise – as Ferrari did last year.”
Another take on F1 (Austin-American Statesman)
“The interview is captured on page 43 of [Adam] Parr’s book. Yes, I did have a tape recorder with a red light. But no, I did not wear spurs into the lobby bar of the Four Seasons for the interview.”
Tweets
Is your imagination running away with you? http://t.co/nWEalONA #F138 pic.twitter.com/yedNerxO
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) January 31, 2013
I have stopped getting irritated about Tamara's F1 funded bar bill. Come on, kids will be kids. Bless them. pic.twitter.com/3mj2plW8
— Grand Prix Diary (@GrandPrixDiary) January 31, 2013
- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Are we cynical or just realistic?
McLaren: “Paddy Lowe is definitely staying!”
F1 Fanatic commenters: “Now we know he’s definitely leaving!”
Bendanarama (@Bendana)
From the forum
- Have you been to the Nurburgring? Share your tips and advice for anyone going to this year’s race in this new forum: Going to the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Cliffery, Kutigz and Pmelton!
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On this day in F1
McLaren launched their 2013 F1 car yesterday and one year ago today they revealed their contender for 2012. It turned out to be the fastest car of the year and won six races but no championships:
Gridl0k
1st February 2013, 0:23
That’s… A lot of champagne.
celeste (@celeste)
1st February 2013, 0:55
How many people were with her, that´s a lot…
aka_robyn (@)
1st February 2013, 1:13
In US dollars, that amounts to about $48,500; the median yearly household income in the US in 2011 was about $50,000.
Victor. (@victor)
1st February 2013, 4:03
I guess Bernie needs a German GP after all.
Bendanarama (@bendana)
1st February 2013, 7:58
That’s twice my annual salary. I think it’s now equal to the amount me and my wife earn.
And Tamara Ecclestone wonders why people dislike her so much?
@HoHum (@hohum)
1st February 2013, 14:19
Why would you dislike Tamara,she didn’t steal the money, her father legally conned the F1 teams and the FIA (room for doubt here) out of the money, and we are all still paying for it.
baldgye (@baldgye)
1st February 2013, 14:57
I think people probably dislike her because she’s talentless, unintelligible, spoil, hideously ugly and wear’s far too little… but that’s just a random guess
verstappen (@verstappen)
1st February 2013, 8:25
Good for her!
If I had the money and actually liked champaign, I would do the same.
MJ4
1st February 2013, 10:50
Simply because you are a billionaire(‘s relative) does not mean you MUST throw away money like that, not even if you like champagne very much. That kind of mindless self-gratification is for people with an empty head and empty soul.
Jezson (@jezson)
1st February 2013, 14:21
Comment of the day.
davidnotcoulthard
1st February 2013, 14:54
And/But….There’s quite a difference between “must” and “would“. He said he would. It’s not that he must spend it, but he’d probably see no reason not to do so if he gets the chance.
MJ4
1st February 2013, 15:13
I was commenting more on the actual fact of her spending that kind of money, rather than on verstappen’s comment, which was probably made half in jest.
Jen Campbell (@12popsicles)
1st February 2013, 0:26
.’Razia had conversations with Marussia since last year and had been surprised by the announcement of Chilton , believing it would be no more chances. However, with the termination of Timo Glock in early January, the Brazilian returned to bet your chips in agreement with the team, which is based in England and commanded by a Russian automaker. The official announcement will be made on February 5, during the presentation of the new car, the circuit of Jerez de la Frontera (Spain).”
From a link of the Razia website…
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
1st February 2013, 0:32
The story is word-for-word the same as the one that appeared in Globo. I suspect Razia’s webmaster has a script embedded in the page that searches news stories for his name and automatically re-posts them.
Gabriel Fernando (@gabrielfernando)
1st February 2013, 2:02
That is right. They anounced in the program “Redação Sportv” from a pay channel called Sportv that Globo is owner
BarnstableD (@barnstabled)
1st February 2013, 11:28
The site seems to have changed now, but Keith’s pic of it shows the Marussia themed banner. I very much doubt that a script created this. More likely someone’s made a new F1 version ready for launch and accidentally put it up before the announcement.
OmarR-Pepper (@)
1st February 2013, 0:27
I don’t know the price of real estate in London, but i could get my house built (in a comfortable way) with all that money here in Peru.
In other news, can you bring any info about Razia’s profile to be in F1?
OmarR-Pepper (@)
1st February 2013, 0:29
talking about Tamara’s drinks, of course
Cornflakes (@cornflakes)
1st February 2013, 0:40
30,000 might just get you a deposit for a house in London. But a small one most probably…
ScuderiaVincero (@scuderiavincero)
1st February 2013, 0:47
That’s worth a good vacation!
celeste (@celeste)
1st February 2013, 0:56
I think you could live a year with that money in Latin America, at least in my country
OmarR-Pepper (@)
1st February 2013, 1:01
I wanna be a billionaire, so…. bad
Hey Celeste, any news about Razia’s F1 way?
celeste (@celeste)
1st February 2013, 1:03
Look down ;)
celeste (@celeste)
1st February 2013, 1:17
@omarr-pepper Maybe we can form a group and sing, you know ;)
Beside the article on Sky I haven´t seem any other information on Razia. Waiting for Sport Center, when Checo signed with Mclarean they were the first to report the news…
@HoHum (@hohum)
1st February 2013, 14:23
You could live in Australia for a year on that money, I do.
celeste (@celeste)
1st February 2013, 1:01
Razia looks like Kaká to me…
Sky has an article that saids that Razia management is saying that they don´t have a deal with Marussia
Gabriel Fernando (@gabrielfernando)
1st February 2013, 2:05
Yeah, but they denayed for the english press but even his site says that he will be driving for Marussia.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
1st February 2013, 2:21
Ah, but the Sky article actually quotes someone who is in a position to comment on it. The Globo article does not.
Furthermore, it makes no sense to confirm it to the Brazilian media, but deny it to the English-speaking press.
Gabriel Fernando (@gabrielfernando)
1st February 2013, 2:34
Man, you aren’t believing that Razia will be at Marussia, but I can put thousands trusth sites, globoesporte.com is one of them, Globo is #1 in confiability
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
1st February 2013, 2:38
I’ll believe it when the team announce it – and not a moment before.
Gabriel Fernando (@gabrielfernando)
1st February 2013, 2:37
It is normal, Globo here is like BBC or CNN for you.
Gabriel Fernando (@gabrielfernando)
1st February 2013, 2:40
But, you have you argument, I have mine, I respect
celeste (@celeste)
1st February 2013, 3:04
@gabrielfernando well is the journalists of Globo are like Anbrew Benson, I´m with @prisoner-monkeys and will believe it until the team confirm the signing
coefficient (@coefficient)
1st February 2013, 8:40
Sky, being owned by the Murdoch Lizardmen is hardly a trustworthy source of good honest journalism either is it? I wouldn’t believe a word that comes out of that insidious corporation! Demons of greed!!
Antonio Nartea (@tony031r)
1st February 2013, 2:07
I wouldn’t read too much in that Sky article either. Razia’s management said “no decision has been made”, something that could easily translate into “a decision has been made but we’re not willing to announce it just yet”.
To be honest, I think it’s only a financial factor deciding who gets that Marussia seat. The team is struggling and willing make the compromise of running two borderline-average rookie drivers in order to get a cash infusion that can keep them afloat through 2013. Considering Petrov has a good chance of staying with Caterham (the better backmarer) / never had any talks with Marussia, Senna’s sponsors prefer a DTM move rather than a move to a backmarker team in F1, Haryanto is already committed in GP2 and everyone else who is a free agent either doesn’t want to drive for a backmarker team or doesn’t have the money for it, I guess Razia is the obvious choice. If he gets the money, I’m absolutely positive that seat is his no matter what the rumours and statements say at this particular moment.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
1st February 2013, 2:26
I find it very hard to believe that any language can easily be translated into two separate, yet totally opposite meanings.
The Globo article reads like the typical reports that have come out of Brazil in recent years: it talks up the prospects of the Brazilian drivers, no matter how remote their chances might be. They will take the meanest whisper of speculations and present it as solid evidence of something happening. Just as the British media talk up the British drivers, so too does the Brazilian press talk up the Brazilian drivers. It wouldn’t surprise me if Razia does race for Marussia, but I’m not willing to accept the word of a Brazilian journalist quoting unnamed sources, because I’ve seen them do it plenty of times before, claiming driver moves will happen, and they never came about.
JCost (@jcost)
1st February 2013, 6:53
Globo probably has one of the losgest relationship with F1 among broadcasters. I think they’re quite reliable.
Antonio Nartea (@tony031r)
1st February 2013, 8:36
@prisoner-monkeys – That was not to be taken literally. What I was trying to point out is that, just as journalists do (on a regular basis), the management of a driver or the PR department of a team are just as capable of serving us ********.
Just as you’re perfectly convinced that Globo article is bogus, I might be perfectly convinced there’s a deal shaping up or already in place with Razia and everyone is keeping their mouths shut, for one reason or another. Both these things have their precedents so I think I’m perfectly entitled to form viable opinions around that fact, whether it’s regarding Razia or whoever else.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
1st February 2013, 1:43
Paul di Resta’s profile on the Force India website says he will be racing for the team in 2013.
Antonio Nartea (@tony031r)
1st February 2013, 2:15
So…anyone surprised? No? Ok.
Thank you, Force India. Can you confirm Bianchi as your second driver now so we can all sleep at night, once again?
Enigma (@enigma)
1st February 2013, 2:55
I wonder if di Resta will pull the covers off to unveil both the VJM06 and Jules sitting in it.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
1st February 2013, 4:27
Allan Moffatt unveiled a V8 Supercar with his son James in it last year.
celeste (@celeste)
1st February 2013, 3:07
@tony031 actually, after Glock I think Di Resta and a lot of drivers are praying that their teams don´t change their minds…
Gabriel Fernando (@gabrielfernando)
1st February 2013, 2:38
Yeah, and he did a “little” mistake on his twitter page…
MartyF1
1st February 2013, 5:50
Anyone else getting the feeling that this year in F1 is going to be the best season for judging driver skill amongst the galaxy of stars we have available? With the regulations being locked before 2014 and arguably the strongest driver line up in the last decade of the sport the differences between the cars may be the most finite in many years to come as the development race starts from next year.
I for one am really looking forward to seeing which driver comes out on top before we head into the ERS era. My pick is Alonso.
Sergio B. Perez (@sergio-perez)
1st February 2013, 9:10
My optimistic side agrees with this, however, my pessimistic side sees teams like Mercedes, Mclaren, Ferrari and Williams probably concentrating all their efforts for 2014 since that will be a major change, and write off 2013… My pessimistic side says Red Bull will dominate again this year, probably Lotus closing by- they will gamble a lot this season since they have a good, solid base and look to establish themselves as a winning brand. Mclaren and Ferrari will be fighting Lotus and Mercedes will have one or two spots of brilliance from Lewis in a rainy day, but well be mainly in the same spot (with better qualifying) as this year. Sauber might be concentrating on 2014 already. Force India will probably improve- another team that needs to show results this year. Catherham, Marussia will stay back there.
Lucas Wilson (@full-throttle-f1)
1st February 2013, 11:25
@ Sergio Perez,
Yes, I think that Vettel will be getting his 4th title this year, however I think it will end with this year, Red Bull have been the masters of the current regulations, but every time the rules change, a new (or old) star emmerges. For example in 2007-2008, Ferrari and McLaren were the ‘masters’ and Red Bull were nowhere, to add insult to ingury they were beaten by their ‘B-Team’ Toro Rosso in the Constructors standings.
So, hopefully, Force India for the 2014 title! XD
bertie (@bertie)
1st February 2013, 9:32
I certainly think is true of Hamilton. Everyone agrees he has a lot of speed but at times he lacks maturity and as such isn’t considered as complete as Alonso. This is his chance to change that perception.
andae23 (@andae23)
1st February 2013, 7:13
Comment of the day sums it up quite nicely for me! Whether I’m cynical or just realistic, I’d say realistically cynical :P
Bendanarama (@bendana)
1st February 2013, 7:55
Woot! Comment of the Day! Thanks Keith!
midgetiser (@midgetiser)
1st February 2013, 8:30
So in 12 hours everyone will be able to beat ferrari to the finishing line…
Now that’s what I call confidence in the new car!!
Formule 1
6th February 2013, 9:09
I am not sure of he is a great racer.