Renault R28 with slicks in testing (photo)

Yesterday (17th November) winter testing started in Barcelona. Most of the teams are now running hybrid versions of this years car with slicks and either extra ballast or prototype KERS units. Teams are also taking the opportunity to try out new drivers.

Singapore Grand Prix 2008 Preview - Toyota F1 team

THE DARK KNIGHTS

Panasonic Toyota Racing goes back to its roots this weekend with Formula 1's first-ever night race, on the streets of Singapore. Prior to competing in Formula 1, Toyota took on the challenge of the Le Mans 24 Hours, so plenty of team members are already experienced in the demands of night racing. Using that knowledge the team has prepared a special pit board which will be visible at night while other measures have been taken, such as adjusting the display on the drivers' steering wheel and providing additional lighting in the garage. The inaugural Singapore Grand Prix will be held on the 5.067km Marina Bay circuit, which includes a stretch over the famous Anderson Bridge and a tunnel underneath a grandstand. To prepare for the twin challenge of a new circuit and a night race, the team sent engineering and logistics staff to study the situation firsthand in July, while computer models have been used to predict the likely set-up requirements. A high downforce configuration is
expected, so the TF108 will revert to a different specification compared to the low-downforce package used in Monza.

Jarno Trulli (Car 11): "Singapore is a new challenge for everyone because it is the first time we will race there and the first time to race at night. We don't know exactly how the track will be or how challenging the conditions could be, so it will be very interesting. For any new circuit, Friday practice is really important because that is when you can understand the track and that is particularly true in Singapore when we are driving at different times compared to a normal weekend. It is going to be a challenge for everyone and I am looking forward to it. It looks like it will be an amazing Grand Prix and I can't wait to experience the city because I have been several times but only for brief visits. I usually adapt very quickly to new tracks thanks to the time I spent in karting and the team was strong in Valencia on a new circuit so I am feeling pretty good about this weekend. High-downforce tracks suit our car very well and after bad luck in Spa and Monza I am looking forward
to returning to the points."

Timo Glock (Car 12): "Night racing is good fun and a great show for the fans. I competed in a night race at Las Vegas in 2005 when I was racing in the United States and that was a different experience, especially as it was on an oval. It is no problem driving at night generally because the lights make it seem more like daylight but it is a bit strange to be racing at a time when normally you are resting. I have actually already driven the TF108 at night, on a demo run in Valencia in January, but it will be a totally different experience this weekend. The venue in Singapore looks fantastic and I am really looking forward to this race because I believe we have a good chance to score more points. Things didn't work out for us in Monza, with the changing track conditions coming at just the wrong time for our strategy and the fight for fourth in the Constructors' Championship is very close now. We are really motivated to come out on top."

Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis: "We have experienced several new venues since 2004 and generally everything goes smoothly. We are used to handling the challenge of a new track so that doesn't worry us. Obviously we have studied the lay-out in Singapore and we have found similarities to other tracks which lead us to conclude it will be a high-downforce circuit. So we know which direction to go in terms of aerodynamic set-up. We have made one or two small tweaks to our aero package and we expect the TF108 to suit the characteristics of the Singapore track. One of the other things we looked at early on was braking severity - this is very important because if you have to make changes it takes time. There is no doubt that Singapore will be very demanding on brakes and we expect them to be working at very high temperatures. Everyone is very much looking forward to the race and we have high hopes."

Singapore Grand Prix 2008 Preview - Renault F1 team

The ING Renault F1 Team prepares for round fifteen of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship: the Singapore Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso: "Singapore is an interesting challenge for all the teams"
Fernando, in Monza you finished fourth once again and scored five important points for the team's battle in the constructors' championship. Were you happy with that?
Yes, it was a great race in difficult conditions and we managed to pull off a surprise. It was far from expected because we knew that Monza would be the most difficult race of the year for us. We came away with five points and closed the gap on Toyota so it's a positive result. It's a little frustrating to just miss out on a podium once again, but we still have four races left to go.
Singapore is a new circuit and the first ever night race. Are you looking forward to it?
Definitely, but I'm curious to see what it's like when we get there; what the circuit layout is like; what the level of lighting will be and the visibility. It's a very unusual weekend from a sporting perspective and also in terms of the management of the Grand Prix weekend and I'm really curious to see what it will be like.
How are you approaching this race?
In terms of physical preparation, I have to admit that I have done nothing special for this race. I have prepared just as I would for any other race. On the other hand, I have worked with my physiotherapist and other members of the team to decide the best way to manage the race weekend, especially in terms of sleep. In the end I've decided not to adjust to the local time zone and to remain on a European schedule, which will be best for my energy levels. Getting this right is an important element for the race, both for the drivers and members of the team.
In the final two European races we saw the rain help make some exciting races. Do you think the fact that the Grand Prix will take place at night will also make the race more interesting?
From the spectators' point of view it certainly will and that is why we are having a night race. In terms of the drivers, we will have to see what the conditions are like when we get there. We have not been able to practice in these conditions and there will certainly be a lot of adapting to do. I'm not convinced that it will be the future of motor racing, but I am still curious to see what it's like. From a technical standpoint, our programme will be very similar to that which we would normally run on a new circuit, but in many other ways the Singapore Grand Prix is a real unknown and an interesting challenge for all the teams.

Nelson Piquet: "I'm eager to see what Singapore is like in race configuration"
Nelson, you had a great fight through the pack in Monza, but finished outside the points. What do you take from this race, which was difficult for all the drivers?
I made good progress in the race and I had good pace, especially considering the fuel load that I started the race with, and so I'm happy about that. But I finished outside the points, which is disappointing especially when the battle for fourth place in the constructors' championship is so close. Once again, my race was decided after qualifying and I'm determined to improve on that this weekend in Singapore.
It's a new circuit, and we will see the first ever night race. Are you worried about that or looking forward to the challenge?
I'm definitely looking forward to it. I have had to learn lots of circuits this year so it's not something that worries me, and like Valencia the track in Singapore will be a new challenge for all the drivers and won't be such a disadvantage for a rookie. I'm not worried about driving at night as I know that the organisers have made great efforts to ensure the level of visibility will be as good as if we were racing in the day. So I'm really eager to see what it's like when we get there and see Singapore in race configuration.
Have you prepared for this race in a special way?
I have done some planning with my physiotherapist to make sure that my body clock does not adjust to Singapore time. So I will have clearly defined hours of sleep, some techniques aimed at reducing the impact of daylight on my body, and a different meal regime with a large breakfast followed by several light meals. These are some of the things that I will be doing to be in the best shape possible.
What are your aims for this race?
Considering that we haven't driven the track, it's difficult for me to say if it's a track that is likely to suit me. So to say what I can aim for is difficult. However, I certainly want to have a better qualifying session because I know this is essential for having a successful Grand Prix, especially on a street circuit.

Pat Symonds: "We know we are going to have a tough fight on our hands until the end of the season"
Pat, another fourth place for the team in Monza. You must be happy with this result after such an unpredictable weekend...
We hadn't had a great test at Monza so we didn't think it was going to be a great circuit for us and we arrived there knowing that we still had a lot of set-up work to do. Therefore, the poor weather was a mixed blessing because although we couldn't continue exploring alternative set-up options, it probably equalised things a little bit and allowed us to punch above our weight. Overall, I was extremely happy with the result and having halved the gap to Toyota in Spa, we are now on equal terms, which is our main objective at the moment.
The team played the strategy perfectly with Fernando. Was it a gamble to switch to wets so early?
I've said before, particularly after Nelson's result at Hockenheim, that sometimes you make your own luck, and I think Monza was a case in point. Having made it through to Q3 with Fernando, we didn't raise our expectations too much because we could see that we were very likely to be dealing with changeable weather conditions on Sunday. That meant we needed to keep an open strategy with a very wide pit-stop window and so we fuelled both drivers pretty heavily. Even so, it was still an incredibly difficult call when Fernando made his stop and we had to decide which tyres to go with because although the track was drying, the radar was showing more rain on the way. Fitting the standard wet was therefore a gamble, but with both Toyotas in front of us on extreme wet tyres, we knew that fitting wets was the only decision that might allow us to beat them and get a result.
Ten points in two races and you've closed Toyota's lead. Fourth place has never been closer...
You can't get any closer than equality! Obviously, as the number of races decreases, even a constant gap becomes more difficult to deal with and so it's nice to have made up the ground we needed to so quickly. I do believe that on balance our car is better than the Toyota; it's very close and there are certainly days when they might be stronger than us and days when we are stronger than them. We beat them in Monza by out racing them as a team, but it's far from over and we know we are going to have a tough fight on our hands through to the end of the season.
Nelson had a strong drive, rising through the field. Tell us about his race...
It was a strong drive and by the end of the race he had made up seven positions, which was as strong a performance as pretty much anyone. But he certainly found those early laps extremely difficult due to the poor visibility and he told me after the race that he had to look upwards at the trees to get his reference points, which is incredibly scary. Again we opened the opportunities for him by running a very long strategy, but he used it properly and it positioned him very favourably for the switch to the standard wet tyre. So it was a good race for him and he's continued his education in Formula 1 and will be stronger for it.
This weekend's race is at another new venue in Singapore with lots of unknowns. What can the team achieve there?
Singapore is going to be very different to Monza. It's a very slow, high downforce track and looks like it will have the second lowest average speed after Monaco. In terms of the unknowns of night racing, it's not something that particularly concerns me and I don't think we will even recognise that it's dark because the facilities will be that good. We will face all the challenges of a new track, just like we did in Valencia last month, but we are used to that and go there well prepared.
Will it feel strange to be going to work late in the afternoon?
I think it will have an impact on us and perhaps the biggest challenge will be managing the human performance of the team. We've been working with our medical guys to make sure we are all prepared for it because travelling to the Far East is always quite hard and taxing on our bodies. The fact that we will be more or less operating on a European time zone will add a further dimension and confuse our body clocks even more. It's not something I'm worried about, but we need to keep it in mind as we're well aware that it's asking a lot of our mechanics and engineers. When we look back on Singapore, I think we will be talking mainly about how we coped with the logistical challenge.
Will the team have updates to the R28 for Singapore?
We will have the final updates for the R28 in Singapore, including a new front wing. In previous years when we have been working on the new car in the wind tunnel, we have always hoped to see developments that we can use on the current car, but it's not the case this year because the aerodynamics for next season are so different. So this really is the end of the updates, other than any changes that may be made for reliability.

Singapore: A unique atmosphere
F1's visit to Singapore really is a weekend of firsts: the first F1 race in Singapore; the first F1 night race; and the first F1 street race in Asia. It promises to be a spectacular event with the 5km route seeing the cars blast through the heart of Singapore's marina bay district, taking in iconic landmarks such as Raffles Boulevard and the Anderson Bridge.
Racing at night is perhaps the biggest novelty factor of the race, adding another dimension of excitement to the sport. The beauty of racing at night means the race fits well with both Asian and European television audiences, while the city location will help create a unique atmosphere that accompanies all street races.

Singapore: Tech File
The 5.1km Singapore street circuit looks like being one of the slowest of the season, with teams likely to run with high downforce and projected lap times in the 1m45s region. As a step into the unknown, the team has been running computer simulations to get a rough idea of the ideal set-up required. In reality, though, it won't be until the cars take to the track on Friday morning that the team will get a proper understanding of the demands of the track.
Tyres
Much like Monaco, grip levels are likely to be low at the new Singapore street circuit. Therefore Bridgestone will supply the soft and super-soft compounds from its 2008 range, the very same compounds that were taken to Monaco, Budapest and Valencia. This will offer good grip on what is expected to be a very green track surface at the beginning of the weekend. However, like any temporary circuit, grip levels will ramp up as the track evolves across the weekend and rubber is laid down.
Aerodynamics
After Monaco, Singapore looks like being the second slowest circuit of the season. The team will therefore run with a high downforce package to give the car good stability under braking and to push the car into the ground in the corner exits to maximise traction and ensure good acceleration.
Brakes
Initial simulations suggest that the circuit will be quite demanding on the brakes with wear rates being similar to somewhere like Melbourne. It is not the severity of the braking but rather the regularity that makes it so demanding as the brakes will get little respite. Efficient brake cooling is therefore a must.
Suspension
Suspension set-up is one of the most difficult things to predict when planning for a new circuit. However, for any street circuit with a high percentage of low-speed corners, mechanical grip is always valuable and the team will work hard to ensure they give the drivers a supple enough suspension to get good clean exits out of the slow corners and a car that can ride the bumps and any changes of camber.
Engine and gearbox
Street circuits tend to be less severe on the engine due to the low percentage of the lap spent at full throttle, but the engine can still be under stress as it will be used in a very stop-start fashion. Closely-spaced gears ratios will be used at this circuit in order to optimise acceleration, and get the most from the engine at low speeds, while the engine team will work on the mapping to ensure the engine delivers good torque from low revs, allowing early throttle application.

Singapore: Track analysis with Pat Symonds
Introduction
The Singapore street circuit will be a maximum downforce track with a low average speed of just under 170 km/h and most corners taken in second gear. Like any street circuit, the existing surface is expected to be quite low grip and bumpy, and so getting the car to ride well will be all-important although 20% of the track is newly surfaced and probably therefore smoother. There will also be the usual distractions of road markings and white lines, which could become hazardous if it rains.
Before we get to Singapore and walk the track, it is difficult to pick out potential overtaking opportunities because we don't know exactly what the track surface is like or the width of the circuit. The Anderson Bridge, for example, looks to be very narrow, whereas other parts of the lap are run on dual carriageway. The overtaking opportunities will depend on whether we are using the full width of these roads.
Turns 5 and 6
The fastest part of the circuit is the section on Raffles Boulevard, where the cars will reach a maximum speed of somewhere between 290 and 300 km/h. It's not quite a straight as there is a right kink (turn 6), but the cars will take this easily flat at around 280 km/h. It will be important to get a good exit out of turn 5, a second gear right hander, in order to carry good speed on the approach to turn 7, which on paper looks like being the best overtaking opportunity on the circuit.
Turns 10 through to 14
A challenging part of the lap is the section after St. Andrews Road, past the cricket club and on towards the Anderson Bridge. The tight chicane of turns which we believe will be numbered 10 and 11 on the FIA map are almost one corner, which will be pretty much straight-lined, with the first part taken in third gear before dropping down to second and then decreasing in speed all the way through to turn 12, which is likely to be taken at just under 90km/h. From there it's onto the spectacular Anderson Bridge and the approach to turn 14, which looks like being the slowest corner on the circuit, taken at about 70 km/h.
Turns 19 and 20
Another interesting section is turns 19 and 20 towards the end of the lap after Raffles Avenue. Turns 17 and 18 consist of a right-left chicane, and then 19 and 20 are a left-right chicane, which will take the cars through a tunnel and back onto Raffles Avenue. This could be especially challenging if we get some wet weather leaving the undercover sections dry.

Singapore: Over at Red Bull Racing
Fabrice Lom, the man who looks after Renault's V8s at Red Bull Racing, looks ahead to Singapore.
Fabrice, we are visiting another new track in Singapore. How have you prepared for it?
As for Valencia, which was another circuit that we didn't know, we obtained the maps of the Singapore track and the GPS data so that we could work out the ideal racing line. The result is that we have started our simulations as usual. The chassis team have worked out their basic set-up and the engine team have also carried out their preparation: mapping, gear ratios etc…
What information have you learnt from these simulations?
There are still lots of unknowns, of course, but we do know is that the circuit has lots of slow corners: more than ten that are taken in second gear. Singapore is essentially about braking and acceleration, and so it should not be too difficult a test for the V8s as these are the usual characteristics of street circuits.
You talk of the unknowns, what are they?
Formula 1 will race for the first time at night. The drivers must get used to this new environment, just as the technicians and the engineers will have to as we will arrive at the circuit about 17:00 and leave at about 6:00 in the morning. Our entire working schedule will be different and that could have some consequences.
In terms of engines, where are you in the engine cycles for Mark Webber and David Coulthard?
In Monza, we took a strategic decision and played our joker by changing Mark's V8, and so he will race in Singapore with the engine he used in Monza. In terms of the characteristics of Singapore, this should not be a big disadvantage, especially as the race in Italy took place in the rain. David will have a fresh engine. We are not particularly worried about our reliability, but it's something that you can never take for granted.
ING Renault F1 Team in numbers
7 tonnes of equipment are sent by sea freight to each of the fly-away races on the calendar.

Youngest ever pole sitter at 800th grand prix

Sebastian Vettel has today caimed his first pole position in what was one of the most spectacular and unpredictable qualifiying sessions of recent years. It is also Torro Rossos first ever pole position. It is worth remembering that the team used to be the Minardi team until it was sold by the former owner Paul Stoddard. The entire media contingent cheared with joy when the session ended - who says we have no emotions.

Toyota saturday roundup - Italy

Today's Weather: Rain throughout the sessions. Air 19-20°C, track 17-18°C
Best 2008 grid position: 3rd Jarno Trulli (Malaysia)
Best 2008 race result: 2nd Timo Glock (Hungary)

Jarno Trulli (Car 11, Chassis TF108-05)
Summary: Safely through to Q3 and made the fourth row PROVISIONAL GRID: 7th
FP3 4th Best Lap Time: 1m 36.686s (+1.222s) Laps: 9
Q1 10th Best Lap Time: 1m 35.906s (+0.692s) Laps: 12
Q2 4th Best Lap Time: 1m 36.008s (+0.171s) Laps: 8
Q3 7th Best Lap Time: 1m 39.152s (+1.597s) Laps: 6

"That was a hell of a session. It was really hard to drive the car and visibility was really poor. At one point in Q2 Sebastian Vettel slowed suddenly on the straight in front of me. In these conditions we were very lucky not to have an accident so that was a dangerous moment. Still, on our side we managed to do a good qualifying so we are happy. It is a good way to prepare for tomorrow and now we will do our best in the race. There is always a special atmosphere here in Monza because there are a lot of motor racing fans. Now we will try really hard to earn a good result in front of my home supporters."

Timo Glock (Car 12, Chassis TF108-06)
Summary: Quickest this morning and made Q3, taking 9th PROVISIONAL GRID: 9th
FP3 1st Best Lap Time: 1m 35.464s (fastest) Laps: 16
Q1 9th Best Lap Time: 1m 35.737s (+0.523s) Laps: 13
Q2 8th Best Lap Time: 1m 36.525s (+0.688s) Laps: 8
Q3 9th Best Lap Time: 1m 39.787s (+2.232s) Laps: 7

"Today was going well right up to Q3. This morning was good and that continued during the first two sessions this afternoon but it was a difficult last ten minutes. It was pretty strange but the car didn't work as well as the session before. I think I was struggling with tyre temperatures and I just couldn't really get a clean lap. So that was a pity but we are still in good shape for tomorrow and we will do our best to come away with a strong result."

Pascal Vasselon - Senior General Manager Chassis
"Our weather forecast said it was very likely qualifying would take place in full wet conditions and so it proved. That meant we were fully prepared for this possibility and overall it went reasonably well. The whole team did a fantastic job throughout qualifying without any mistakes to get both cars through to the top ten. Only two teams managed that so it's a very good result for us on top of a fine performance from both drivers. We are a little bit disappointed by the final ranking in Q3, but obviously as usual we will have to wait for tomorrow's pit stop laps to know more about today's performance. All the tyres here have been on the hard side, including the full wet that we used today, so they didn't suffer in the conditions and lasted well. Now we will concentrate our efforts on tomorrow. The weather forecast remains uncertain and we should see a wide range of strategies so it is sure to be an eventful day."

Italian Grand Prix, Saturday 130908 - Renault

Torrential rain storms made for difficult conditions in today's qualifying session as Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet qualified in 8th and 17th places respectively for tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Fernando Alonso, R28-02 Nelson Piquet, R28-01
Q1 1:36.297, P14 1:36.630, P17
Q2 1:36.518, P7 n/a
Q3 1:39.751, P8 n/a

The heavy rain that has dominated the weekend returned in time for qualifying, forcing Fernando and Nelson to begin the session on extreme wet tyres. Fernando progressed through to Q2, while Nelson qualified in 17th.
Conditions continued to deteriorate for the second part of qualifying with the rain becoming even heavier. Fernando continued to show well in the wet as he progressed to the top ten shootout and secured 8th spot on the grid.
With further wet weather predicted for tomorrow, the team looks forward to building on today's performance in what promises to be exciting race.
Fernando Alonso P8
"I am pretty satisfied today because, even if it had been dry, I don't think that our situation would have been any easier. The track conditions were very difficult and we were able to reach Q3, which has given us a good starting position for tomorrow. Of course, the race will be tough and there are still lots of unknowns: the weather tomorrow could come and change things once again."
Nelson Piquet P17
"I'm disappointed with my qualifying session today. Since the start of the weekend, we haven't really been on the pace and I was expecting a difficult session. The weather this afternoon didn't help. It's a shame and I know that tomorrow we will have to fight hard in what looks certain to be another tricky race."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
"It was hard work out there today for the teams and the drivers. It was necessary to make decisions that needed to be changed rapidly because of the weather conditions. At the end of a session like that we are thankful to have no damaged cars. Fernando's grid position is probably as good as we would have hoped for in the dry and tomorrow's race will once again be about handling the changing weather conditions."
Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Track Operations
"A qualifying session is always a delicate exercise, even more so when it's wet. In these conditions, you have to simply remain on track, avoid incidents, deal with the traffic, and cope with the poor visibility. Fernando made it through to Q3, which bodes well for tomorrow, even if the uncertain weather and the unknown fuel loads make for a very unpredictable race."

Toyota Friday roundup - Italy

Today's Weather: Wet with heavy thunderstorms and torrential rain in the morning. A brighter afternoon session led to the track drying out later on. Air 19-25°C, track 14-30°C
Toyota's Best Italian GP qualifying: 6th Jarno Trulli 2005
Toyota's Best Italian GP race result: 5th Jarno Trulli 2005
Take Note: Panasonic Toyota Racing's third driver Kamui Kobayashi will celebrate his 22nd birthday tomorrow by competing in the GP2 race here at Monza

Timo Glock (Car 12, Chassis TF108-06)
Summary: Like everyone, he had limited running in the wet morning before a fuller afternoon's work
P1 4th Best Lap Time: 1m 36.800s (+3.958s) Laps: 13
P2 17th Best Lap Time: 1m 25.397s (+1.536s) Laps: 28

"It was difficult today. In the wet conditions this morning we were okay but in the dry the car just is not working the tyre hard enough. So the car is out of the right set-up window to have confidence. It feels different from corner to corner and it is not easy to feel what it is doing. The conditions were tricky in Spa last week and they are likely to be similar here. That will make it another difficult weekend for us because we have struggled in cooler conditions, particularly with hard tyres and low downforce. Still, I have never raced here in wet conditions before so that could be quite interesting for us."

Jarno Trulli (Car 11, Chassis TF108-05)
Summary: Disrupted morning session and later struggled to make progress in variable track conditions
P1 8th Best Lap Time: 1m 37.214s (+4.372s) Laps: 13
P2 19th Best Lap Time: 1m 25.753s (+1.892s) Laps: 29
"That was not a good Friday because the track was always changing and we didn't learn much out of it. In general we have a competitive car but we had a difficult weekend in Spa and this could be another hard race. The cool conditions make warming up the tyres a problem and so far this year we have been more competitive at high downforce levels than at low downforce. So it's not the best type of circuit for us but we will obviously push for the best result we can. For sure this is not the ideal place to have a wet race but obviously we will have to deal with it. We just hope we can improve over the next two days."

Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test
"Today was an unfortunate day for us. After the problems we encountered in last week's race in Spa we came here with an interesting programme. But because of the weather we weren't really able to do any significant work on that. The circuit took a long time to dry and we only really had three runs in stable conditions late on. So it will be very hard to draw any conclusions. Both drivers were struggling for grip, which is normal on a completely green track here. Having to use the harder tyre compounds doesn't help the situation, especially for us, but we've got to get on with it. The forecast is for rain for the rest of the weekend and we were performing better here in the wet conditions this morning so we will do our best to bring a competitive package together."

Panasonic Toyota Racing, featuring... Trulli Passionate: Where it all began for Jarno
Jarno Trulli is at home in Italy for this weekend's race in Monza, but it is 600km south in Pescara where his passion for motorsport began. The city hosted the longest track ever to hold a World Championship Grand Prix when 200,000 fans watched Stirling Moss win the 1957 Pescara Grand Prix on an epic 25.8km street circuit. "The background of this region in motorsport is quite strong," says Jarno. "Back in the 1950s, Enzo Ferrari, Luigi Villoresi, Juan Manuel Fangio and many others raced in Pescara."
As a youngster Jarno travelled by van with his father Enzo and mechanic Dino La Cioppa to kart tracks in faraway cities like Parma, Pomposa, or Jeselo, meaning a drive back through the night. Dino says: "Jarno was passionate about it from the beginning and he was always trying to improve. He went to the limit of perfection for a boy of his age. He was only eight or nine years old but he drove like he was 14 or 15."
From those early days of karting success in his homeland, Jarno went on to win karting world titles before graduating to single-seaters. The German F3 crown followed and a long career in F1 beckoned.

100th F1 winner

After an incident packed Hungarian grand prix Kovalainen has become the 100th different driver to win a Formula One race

Friday roundup - Hungarian GP - Renault

2008 Hungarian Grand Prix, Friday - 1 AUG 2008
The ING Renault F1 Team was back in action today to begin its preparations for Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.

Fernando Alonso, R28-02
Nelson Piquet, R28-01

Free Practice 1: P5, 1:21.802, 18 laps
Free Practice 1: P8, 1:22.326, 19 laps

Free Practice 2: P4, 1:20.928, 35 laps
Free Practice 2: P2, 1:20.748, 38 laps
The team made the most of both free practice sessions with Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet successfully completing their Friday programmes.
Both practice sessions took place in warm and sunny conditions, although the track was quite dusty to begin with, which made for a low-grip surface. However, as the morning session developed the track eventually improved, allowing the team to make good progress with the set-up of the R28.
For the afternoon the team continued exploring set-up options and evaluated the two compounds of Bridgestone tyres available this weekend. The team will now analyse the information gathered today to be ready for the all-important qualifying session tomorrow afternoon.
Fernando Alonso
"It was a typical day of practice with a lot of laps covered and lots of data to analyse this evening to be ready for tomorrow. Overall we improved the car and we are moving in the right direction. We still have a few things to improve, but if we can make the most of the final free practice session tomorrow morning, we should be able to approach qualifying in good shape."
Nelson Piquet
"Our free practice programme went well and we have made progress. The car was reacting well to the different set-up solutions that we tried and so I am quite satisfied with the day's work. The track changed a lot during the day and it's quite a demanding place with lots of corners, but I enjoyed driving the circuit and I hope things continue like this tomorrow."
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
"It was a very productive first day here in Hungary. On this circuit, where qualifying is particularly important, it's no secret that our fuel load was slightly lower than normal, but even so we look competitive. Our main focus was to understand the tyres and in particular the effect of graining. All in all it was a successful day for us."
Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Track Operations
"This is a track we know well and so our main focus today was to concentrate on the set-up of the cars. There were not any problems which allowed us to make good progress with our programme and the results from the first day of practice are rather encouraging. It's difficult to know exactly where we are relative to our competitors because the impact of carrying fuel here is significant, but it was important to complete our programme, which we have done."

Friday roundup - Hungarian GP - Toyota

Hungarian Grand Prix - Free Practice Round-Up
Friday 1 August 2008

Today's Weather: Dry with patchy cloud. Air 25-28°C, track 29-34°C
Toyota's Best Hungarian GP qualifying: 3rd Jarno Trulli 2005
Toyota's Best Hungarian GP race result: 3rd Ralf Schumacher 2005
Take Note: The TF108 features a high-downforce aerodynamic package here including a new front wing

Jarno Trulli (Car 11, Chassis TF108-05)
Summary: A full day's work en route to 9th in the second session
P1 10th Best Lap Time: 1m 22.457s (+1.476s) Laps: 25
P2 9th Best Lap Time: 1m 21.505s (+0.951s) Laps: 42
"As usual here in Hungary it was a difficult Friday because of the dusty circuit. It was hard to draw clear conclusions because there was tyre graining that affected the car's performance and general balance. So we concentrated on finding out what kind of behaviour we can expect from the tyres. I hope we can have another strong weekend because I like this track, the car has been competitive recently and we are looking to score more points."

Timo Glock (Car 12, Chassis TF108-06)
Summary: Two solid sessions of running, finishing 11th in the afternoon
P1 6th Best Lap Time: 1m 21.931s (+0.950s) Laps: 22
P2 11th Best Lap Time: 1m 21.662s (+1.108s) Laps: 39
"The morning went well for me on the dirty track surface and we had no problems with the car. In the second session the track changed, there was a bit more grip and the car started to be a bit trickier to drive but overall this was not a bad first day. Hopefully we can continue with this speed. If I can qualify well and we can have the race pace we had in Hockenheim then a points finish should be possible. After my accident in the last race I've completely recovered. I tested at Jerez last week without problems, I passed a further medical check yesterday and I felt fine driving the car today."

Dieter Gass, Chief Engineer Race and Test
"Today's sessions went very smoothly and we were able to get through a lot of work on aerodynamics and set-up. We had no problems on the cars?so that was a positive day for us. Obviously here you always have to be very careful with the circuit evolution, because the track starts dirty and then picks up a lot of rubber. This needs to be taken into account when we do our analysis tonight. The option tyre seemed better suited to the track compared to Friday last year and we can be pleased with what we have achieved today."

FIA Thursday Press Conference - Hungary

Fernando ALONSO (Renault),
Timo GLOCK (Toyota),
Heikki KOVALAINEN (McLaren Mercedes),
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Timo, any after effects from your accident in Hockenheim?
Timo GLOCK: No, not really. Maybe too many interviews and stuff like this. But at the end I am okay. I did the test in Jerez without any problems, 80 laps or 78 laps without any problems.

Q: In some ways was it a relief to know that it was a mechanical failure rather than any problem you had?
TG: You know you have to see it from two sides. Until I came into the medical centre I was sure that maybe I made a mistake and came a bit too wide out of the kerb and with a heavy fuelled car I felt some bottoming, so I thought it might be my mistake. But then they told me that the rear suspension collapsed and that was the reason for the crash. When I saw it the first time it looked more spectacular than it felt in the car. For sure it was a bit painful on the back in the first impact but when you see so much stuff flying around, it looks more spectacular than it was right at the end.

Q: Have you been examined here this morning by the doctors?
TG: Yeah, it was quite a quick check. They knew that I did the test without any problems. They got all the pictures from MRT and stuff like this. There has been another check and everything was alright.

Q: And there has been no problem since the test?
TH: No, no. Everything easy.

Q: Fernando, you have won here before and been on pole here. Is it a good circuit for Renault?
Fernando ALONSO: We will see. It has been a good circuit for Renault in the past. But there have been this year some good circuits for us in the past and this year it is not anymore like that, so we will see how is this weekend. Obviously we arrive with some confidence and some optimistic feeling. In Jerez we found some good solutions it seems, so it depends of course how the others improve as well. But we should be a little bit better again here.

Q: What is the feeling within the team after the second place in Hockenheim?
FA: I think more or less the same. Obviously the target and the goal for the rest of the season is very clear to try to be fourth in the Constructors’ Championship. Now we are sixth but only two points from Toyota and one from Red Bull, so the last race with eight points was a big, big step for us in terms of confidence and motivation to keep pushing. It didn’t change too much in the team but now we are closer to our goal.

Q: Is development still continuing within the team or has that slowed looking forward to next year?
FA: No, there is still some developing in this car and some improvements in every race. It’s true also that in Jerez in some of the test we were also looking at next year’s car. We were testing with slick tyres, so it was a good opportunity to test maybe new solutions for next year’s car but this year’s car is still the main priority at the moment.

Q: And talking of next year. Everyone says you are the key to the driver market next year. What is your contractual situation at Renault?
FA: I have a contract with Renault for the long term. But of course at the end of every season you need to look at what the possibilities are. It is not the time now in the middle of August to think but for sure in September and October I will have a think and we will decide.

Q: Heikki, some people are saying your role in McLaren is a support role for Lewis Hamilton. How do you see your role?
Heikki KOVALAINEN: Well, I think first of all I don’t think Lewis needs any help. I think he has shown himself that he can do the job and that he doesn’t need anyone there. The second point is that I am trying to do the maximum for myself and I am not helping any other drivers, that’s for sure. And I have no instructions from the team. In the past it has been very clear that at McLaren they have had the policy of equal drivers and both have the same opportunities. I have the same car, the same opportunity and I am just working towards improving the pace and the results. The last few races have been a little bit disappointing but the only way to move on is to keep working hard and eventually the results will come. Interestingly, following this conversation it always arises that I am helping and I am in the support role but I don’t see it like that.

Q: What about testing at Jerez for this grand prix. How did that go?
HK: I think it went really well. Gary (Paffett) did the first day and Pedro (de la Rosa) the next two days and I did the final day. Overall I think we improved the package again. It is a very big push from everybody in the team to improve the car all the time. I think we are making good progress and for myself the last day we made some set-up changes and some modifications to try to improve my situation, especially improving the pace in the races. I feel that we have made a step forward and we will see how it goes this weekend but in general the qualifying has been strong but in the races I have suffered more, so we are trying to focus on that. I think we are making good progress and we will see this weekend if we have made a significant step or not.

Q: This was a good race for you last year.
HK: Yeah, I finished eighth, so it was good. You can only be satisfied when you win the race. I think I started last year from 12th position and finished eighth, so it was a good race. I had no big fights, no big incidents. It was a fairly straightforward race. I think I touched Fernando earlier on in the race and it made a little hole on the nose box, so I had a nice ventilation in the car. That’s what I remember from last year.

Q: A lot of Finns come here. Does it feel like a home race?
HK: At least last year I remember the atmosphere here being particularly good. There were many Finnish flags and I know there were a lot of Finnish fans around, so I think this could be the closest one to be considered my home grand prix with more supporters from Finland. Obviously unless we have a grand prix in Finland, it is not quite a home race.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Juha Päätalo – Financial Times Germany) What are your thoughts about McLaren clarifying your contract for next year?
HK: I think as far as I am concerned I have never been worried about my contractual situation. Since the beginning of my McLaren career it has been the target to extend this relationship for many, many years. I think it is just to clarify the situation for everybody of where we are at the moment. First of all I can say I am very, very happy with this team. I have had no second thoughts since I joined this team. I think there is a great potential in this team and I want to be part of it. I want to become a successful driver in this team and hopefully we can announce at some point in the future that I can stay here for many, many years. I would be happy to finish my career at this team to be honest.

Q: (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) To all the guys, you have tested with slicks and you have tested with 2009 aerodynamics. What can we expect the cars to be like next year?
HK: First of all I can say I haven’t tested slicks. I haven’t tested the package. Pedro has done, so I have no feelings myself.
FA: I tested only once with slicks in Barcelona but it was with 2008 downforce, so I don’t know. In Jerez I think they were testing and the timed laps are quicker with 2009 configuration compared to 2008.
TG: For me I didn’t test the slick tyres in Jerez. I think Jarno (Trulli) did the whole programme. I just tested it for one time in Barcelona and we have to wait and see. It was a different tyre figuration and it is difficult to say but at the end it will be interesting and I am happy that we go back to slick tyres.

Q: (Michael Trawniczek – Rally & More) Fernando, you were fighting for the top places in past years and with this car it is not possible. Now you are looking a little sad. Can you describe the feeling for a pilot who has to go through this phase of a career? Is this the hardest phase of your career?
FA: No, the feeling is, as I said, sometimes a little bit of frustration when you see you do a perfect race and you finish sixth or seventh and there is nothing more than you can do. You do a perfect lap in qualifying, maybe you are fifth. This is not what I have been used to the last few three or four years when I have been on pole positions and on the podium. But it is part of the job and the sport is like that. You go up and down. It is not that the same guy is winning the Tour de France or the World Cup or whatever. Every year it’s a new challenge and some new difficulties. Now we are in a moment that is difficult. We need to recover a little bit of confidence and build a winning team again. We are in that phase but I am not worried. Obviously I am just 27 years old and still have many years to come. Even Michael Schumacher, the guy with more titles, spent four years at Ferrari not winning, so I need to be patient and I need to work harder than ever now to win again as soon as possible.

Q: (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Fernando, this race last year was a difficult one for you personally. How much happier do you feel personally even though you are not in a championship winning car?
FA: Much happier this year for sure. Last year again it is true that I had a possibility to fight for the championship and it was okay. I knew that this year it was not possible any more. But if I was racing for McLaren now at this moment maybe I would be in the same position as I am now without the possibility to win. So at least I am happy to be with Renault with the full support of the team and knowing that everybody is working night and day to give me the best car possible. One day we will be seventh, one day we will be fifth and hopefully one day we will be on the podium and everybody on the podium will be there with some excitement.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Fernando, you and Flavio have both commented that Renault might have been hurt by keeping to the engine freeze much more than the others. Can you explain what you mean by that?
FA: When the engine was frozen two or three years ago I think Renault more or less stopped developing and carried on with the new regulations. At the Viry factory in Paris there are less people working and just the maintenance of the engine. Build the engine and nothing more than that, no research and no developing. I was in another team last year and I know how much they improved the engine during the season and how many steps we introduced and it is the same for all the teams. Every three or four races there is a little step in the engine which gives you some horsepower. For Renault, it has not been like that for the last two years. There has been a lack of power probably in the last three years.

Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) After your intensive working in Jerez last week, how much closer do you think you are to Lewis’s race pace?
HK: I am confident that we made steps forward and I think it is fair to say that Lewis hit the sweet-spot in the last couple of races pretty well. It was always going to be difficult to match him. We will find out this weekend how things have improved. I think had the Silverstone race been dry, it could have been a different story. I felt my car was very strong there and the whole package was very much together and at Hockenheim I was never able to get the same feeling. I think we have got on top of things pretty well. Certainly the feeling at Woking and the last day I spent testing in Jerez confirmed that we are heading in the right direction but the only way to improve the things is to keep working, keep moving forward and eventually we will arrive there. I have no doubt about that.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Fernando, could you clarify why you went to Lugano. Is it true that you are trying to transfer your home there? And for all of you: where are you going to go in the holiday break and are you going to go to Beijing to see the Olympic Games, and which is the sport that you will principally follow in the Olympics?
FA: I was in Lugano just for a little holiday. I was there for three days, because I know Jarno is living close to Lugano and he was always telling me it was a nice place with nice weather and I was there for two days. It’s true that I was finding some accommodation but it was a hotel, not a house, and it was only to stay for one night. I have no plans to move there.
I won’t be going to Lugano any more in the break, of course, not to Italy. We will see. I have nothing planned. At the moment I will go to Switzerland for a few days – I have no idea. But I think my wife will decide… unfortunately!
I will be following all the sports where we have some good Spanish contenders. I think in tennis we have Nadal, in cycling we have some strong guys there as well. No athletics because we are not very strong there.
TG: In the break I will go to Los Angeles, to Monterrey, where there is a big old-timer event where I will drive a Toyota sports car in a show event and maybe spend four or five days in Los Angeles and have a little break there. I don’t know at the moment. I will definitely watch the Olympics but I don’t have any special interests where I’m a fan or whatever but cycling is definitely one thing which I will follow.
HK: I think I will go – and this is probably the only time apart from Christmas – I will go to north Finland to see my parents, in the area where I am born, and do a little bit of fishing and just walking in the forest and enjoying not seeing anyone else but myself. I will see some animals: reindeer, maybe bears, things like that. In my family I make decisions where I go, I don’t know what my girlfriend will do, but this is my holiday.
FA: You will see… wait two years!
HK: This is a team order in my team and I’m in the strong position this time. As for the Olympic Games, I’m definitely going to be watching a lot of it and I think that, as a Finn, the most interesting part will be the javelin competition. We have a guy who was World Champion last year, Tero Pitkämäki, and I’m going to try to support him especially, to take the gold medal. He has a great opportunity. We have a few other guys, other athletes who have a good opportunity to be successful but I’m very interested in athletics, and I watch all these Grands Prix meetings on television mostly. I will spend a lot of my time, and again, I might need to put team orders in place because my girlfriend might be watching something else.

Q: (Fréderic Ferret – L’Equipe) Question to all drivers about the sharkfin engine cover. How important is it for your driving style and for the performance of the car?
TG: I haven’t tested it. Kamui (Kobayashi), our test driver, tested it on the last day (at Jerez), so I may have it on maybe tomorrow, so we will have to wait and see but hopefully it will give us more performance and maybe a bit more stability.
FA: I tested it and I found no difference when I tested it. We keep it on the car because according to the wind tunnel it’s a little bit better – the numbers – but no big change in terms of driver feeling.
HK: I haven’t tested it but we tried it in Hockenheim, I think Lewis tried it, and again, I feel we didn’t really feel a difference, so that’s why we haven’t run it since then. I think we need to maybe work on it a little bit more and to understand where the benefits are and where there are no benefits. I think that we’re not running it at the moment.

Q: (Jon McEvoy – The Daily Mail) Fernando, I’m just wondering, a year on from the major row you had here with Lewis, have you and Lewis made up now?
FA: After last year here, in my opinion there was nothing to discuss or to say. It was planned, before qualifying, to have – last year we had fuel-burning laps – it was my turn to do the extra lap here, so you gain nearly a tenth when you do your quick lap on the last (set of) new tyre(s). That was not the case and at the end we nearly didn’t cross the line on time. I crossed the line seventh tenths of a second before qualifying finished, I think, and Lewis didn’t. I got penalised and all the mess started. There was nothing to discuss. It was more a team decision and a team philosophy that it was not a problem at all with anything between Lewis and me. We do what the team tells us and nothing more. If we don’t do that, the team is not normally very happy with us but that time they seemed quite happy.
Q: (Jon McEvoy – The Daily Mail) As a follow-up, if I may, it seems therefore that you’re blaming Ron Dennis. Maybe I could ask the same about him? Have you made up with Ron Dennis?
FA: Nothing. Again, I think everyone makes his choices and he was very clear on his philosophy and his way to run (the team) and to compete like that. As a professional I’m not like that and we chose different ways. It’s all OK with everybody. You just need to make choices. He made that choice, and I made that choice.

Q: (Michael Trawniczek – Rally & More) My question is for all of you: I was at the Ennstal Classic last weekend, an old-timer rally, and there was a meeting of the former Formula One drivers’ club. There were names like Hans Herrmann and Sir Stirling Moss. Jochen Mass was voted as new president and he said that he wanted to make the club younger, to open it up for younger drivers. Do you recognise this club, can you imagine meeting your fellow drivers when you are 45 to go fishing or to watch the Monaco Grand Prix or something like that?
FA: I will do whatever my wife wants. If it’s time to join the club, I will join, if she says no, then I won’t join.
HK: For me it’s the opposite; if they ask me to join the club, I make my decision whether my girlfriend is happy or not. I try to keep it that way, I think it’s better.
TG: For me, I’m not sure at the moment. The schedule is quite tight, so I think at the moment there’s no time for fishing. Maybe in a couple of years. We will see.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Timo, David Coulthard said that the FIA should start an investigation into the structural integration of the Toyota car, if it is safe enough or not. Are you confident it is as safe as it can be?
TG: Yeah, definitely. As I said, I did the test in Jerez and at the end we did all the investigations and found out… because at Silverstone we had quite a lot of trouble in the race. I went through the gravel a couple of times and stuff like this which, in the end, I think was the main reason why we had the problem at Hockenheim. For me there is no doubt that our car is safe enough to drive in the race and to compete this season. When you operate on the limit, things happen like this and we analysed it and we know why and there is no reason to have any doubts.

Q: (Gaetan Vigneron – RTBF TV) Question for Timo: I was a little bit surprised by the time it took for the medical car to get the signal to go to you, to the crash site, and you got out of the car on your own. It was a little bit surprising because normally there is another procedure. What’s your opinion about that?
TG: For me, the reason why I stayed in the car, was… First of all, after the first impact I couldn’t really breathe. I think before I hit the wall I breathed at the wrong moment and I didn’t expect an impact like this but in the end I just took my time to get out of the car and before that I was OK and I had no pain, and I don’t know how long it took before the medical car was at my car but in the end, I don’t think the lights were on but the crash was heavy enough to take me out of the car like they normally do. For me, everything was OK. My feeling was that I was OK and had no problems to get out of the car.

Q: (MC) We’ve been joined by Kimi. I guess it’s been a bit of a race to get here?
Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, I got stuck at the airport in Switzerland for a couple of hours.

Q: In testing, do you think you’ve found the reasons for your lack of performance in the last couple of races?
KR: It’s difficult to say, really. In Germany we definitely didn’t have the speed that we were hoping for but then there were many other people who didn’t either. We will see this weekend. You can always think that from the testing that we found something… or at least we should understand better what our position is but racing is a different place and hopefully we will do better here.

Q: What about your own motivation? Does that remain the same?
KR: Yeah, it hasn’t disappeared anywhere but of course it’s not nice when it’s not going so well but it’s not the first time. We just keep pushing and at some point it starts going better again.

Q: People are talking about you retiring, not necessarily at the end of this year but at the end of next year. Are there any thoughts on that?
KR: I never said anything like that. I only said that I have a contract until the end of next year and then somebody made up that I will stop at the end of this year or the end of next year, but I never said that.

Q: Are you still enjoying Formula One?
KR: Yeah, but like I said, there are a lot of other things in life but I’m enjoying this. I have a great time, I have a great time with them. Of course it would be better if we could do a little bit better right now but that’s racing and for sure we will get where we want.

Q: (Fréderic Ferret – L’Equipe) Have you tested the sharkfin engine cover? And how is it with your driving style and the performance of the car?
KR: I didn’t test it. I think we will probably run it tomorrow and see how it is but I think Felipe tried it on the last day of the test. We will see how it works tomorrow.

Q: (Juha Päätalo – Financial Times Deutschland) Kimi, can you describe how much of the time at Jerez you could use for finding the reasons for the lack of performance in the last races?
KR: The whole test, that’s why we went there. We tried to more or less understand if we have done something wrong, taken a wrong direction. We tried many, many things and we at least know where we had a problem, or if we had a problem or not. I think we have a clearer picture than before.

Q: (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) Kimi, when you set up a car for a race, how much do you look at Felipe Massa’s settings or do you pretty much go 100 percent your own way?
KR: Of course you always look at your team-mate, and then in the end you need to do what you think is the best way and what is best for you. Sometimes they can be very close, sometimes they are more far away from each other and I would say that this year they would probably be closer than they were last year but it really depends from race to race and it keeps changing.

Q: (Peter Farkas – Auto Motor) Kimi, it wasn’t really hot in Hockenheim but it’s quite hot here. Do you think it will help Ferrari to use its tyres more efficiently?
KR: Usually when it’s been hot it’s been good for us but the last few races have been quite up and down for us. Hopefully it helps us but then I might be wrong. We need to wait until tomorrow.

Q: (Bryron Young – The Daily Mirror) Kimi, do the last two results make Lewis the championship favourite now?
KR: For sure they’ve been very fast in the last races and we haven’t really been exactly doing so well. There are many races to go, but he has a little gap over us, so it’s not easy to catch up, especially if we don’t start winning, it will be pretty difficult. Hopefully we can catch up.