2011 - 2012 Driver Silly Season

[bpratt]

I dare say this is the 'straw that broke the camels back', and that Kubica will no longer drive a F1 car.

Along with the fact that he has now left the doctor that was directing his recovery from that rather large rally shunt, means to me he's been told the bad news and thinks that a new doctor will get it all back together again for him.

[Ian G.]

Horner try's to set the record straight on the STR sackings,first time i've seen him quoted as saying a driver is not up to scratch.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/formula_one/16520146.stm

[bpratt]

Dunno why he needed to stick up for Red Bull when we've all seen the performance of both those drivers over the last couple of years ?

Let's hope Ricciardo makes good use of his time there.   

[Jiji_the_cat]

farewell Robert, may your F1 career RIP.

[Jiji_the_cat]

Rumours coming out of Williams reported by the BBC indicate Senna has received the seat for 2012.

[Jiji_the_cat]

Senna confirmed at Williams. The following is from the Williams press office.

WILLIAMS F1 CONFIRMS BRUNO SENNA FOR 2012

17 January 2012. Grove, UK. Williams F1 (Ticker: WGF1) today confirmed that Bruno Senna will contest the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship for the Williams F1 Team. The appointment finalises the team’s line up for this year following confirmation in December that Pastor Maldonado will enter his second season in Formula One as a Williams race driver. Bruno will make his debut with the Williams F1 Team in Jerez on 9th February at the first of the winter tests.

Frank Williams, Team Principal, said, “Bruno only started racing when he was 20 years old but quickly proved his talent in F3 and GP2. In a tightly fought 2008 GP2 season, Bruno finished second in the Championship with notable victories in Monaco and Silverstone, the latter in the wet. The circumstances of Bruno’s two seasons in Formula One have not given him an ideal opportunity to deliver consistently so it was essential that we spent as much time with him as possible to understand and evaluate him as a driver. We have done this both on track and in our simulator and he has proven quick, technically insightful and above all capable of learning and applying his learning quickly and consistently. Now we are looking forward to seeing that talent in our race car.”

Bruno commented, “I feel very privileged that Williams has selected me as one of their race drivers. The team has a great heritage and I hope I can help write a good chapter in their history. The evaluation process has been intense and methodical but the time I have spent in the factory has demonstrated that the team has great people and all the resources needed to achieve better things this season.

“It will be very interesting to drive for a team that my uncle has driven for, particularly as quite a few of the people here actually worked with Ayrton. Hopefully we can bring back some memories and create some great new ones too. I also want to get some good results in return for the support my country has given me to help get me to this position today. I am very proud to be Brazilian and more motivated than ever to demonstrate what I can do. Ever since I first sat in a go-kart I never wanted to do anything else.”

and heres the official interview

Q&A WITH BRUNO SENNA
TUESDAY 17 JANUARY, 2012

Q: Now you’ve been confirmed as a Williams driver, what are your thoughts heading into 2012?
BS: I’m really happy to be a part of a team with such a fantastic heritage. I am very proud that Williams has chosen me to race in what will be an important year for them. Everyone is extremely motivated for 2012 and it is great to be part of that motivation. It is true that they didn’t have the best season last year, but it is clear that the team is on a new path and everyone is pulling together to ensure that this year is a better one. I really hope that I can demonstrate what I can do, not only for the team, but for myself. It’s going to be interesting to see what we can achieve together.

Q: What are your objectives for the 2012 season?
BS: It’s difficult to set objectives before the season starts, but I intend to push the car 100% to the limit to get the maximum performance we can from it.

Q: What are your thoughts on the Renault engine having raced with it last season and what do you think Renault can bring to Williams in 2012?
BS: After a few races with the Renault engine in 2011, I’ve learnt a great deal about it. It is a very good unit with good drivability, which is another positive step forward for the team. As a driver, you need to have every weapon available to you operating at its optimum in order to put in competitive times throughout the race.  I’m sure we can develop the car even further with the Renault engine and it will be interesting for me to be able to give the team feedback applying my previous experiences.

Q: What do you make of your new team mate, Pastor Maldonado?
BS: Pastor is a great driver. I’ve raced against him in GP2 and we always get along well. He’s been a very tough opponent in the past and he is going to be even tougher now we are both in the same car. We’ll certainly be trying to beat each other, but as teammates we’re going to work together to move the team forward.

Q: Can you talk us through what you have been working on at the factory so far?
BS: I’ve been at the Williams factory in Grove both before and after Christmas being really put through my paces in the simulator, on the track and in the gym. We’ve also done some evaluation work on the track (but not in an F1 car). The main purpose was for the team to evaluate me and to understand how to get the best out of me as a driver. But it’s also been really useful for me as it familiarises me with all the procedural things, such as learning the layout of the steering wheel before I get into the real car. When we start testing I won’t need to think about that so I’ll just be able to get on and drive the FW34.

Q: So you have had an opportunity to work with your new engineers?
BS: I think we’ve started off really well and now I’m looking forward to working with them more over the season. The relationship between a driver and engineer is something that few people can understand. You need mutual respect, to understand each other well and know how to work together in order to really gel from the start. That relationship and continuity can make such a difference to your overall performance.

Q: What started your career in motorsport?
BS: I was a motorsport fan from a young age and of course there has been a great influence from my uncle, but ever since I first put my feet into a go-kart I never wanted to do anything else. I’m very privileged to be able to do what I love, as to race in Formula One has always been my dream.

Q: You were once quoted as saying that, given the chance to drive any legendary Formula One car from the past, you would choose the 1993 active-suspension Williams. How important is it to you to now be a part of a team with such a motorsport heritage?
BS: The team has an amazing history and walking around the museum just makes me drool! I’ve seen many of these cars on track and always wondered how it would feel to actually race them. I’ve never been in one, so I think it would be good to get a run in the active ride car at Goodwood, just to get a feel!

Q: You have considerable support from Brazil, can you tell us about that?
BS: I feel very proud to be Brazilian right now. Knowing I have such great support behind me, people who have been there since the start, gives me such a great feeling. Knowing people have chosen me to bear their name gives me even more motivation to create good memories for them.

Q: Your uncle, Ayrton, raced for Williams. How significant is it for you to be joining the team?
BS: It will be very interesting to drive for a team that my uncle drove for. Quite a few of the people still here actually worked with Ayrton and I’m happy that they are now giving me the chance to prove myself here. Hopefully we can bring back some good memories and create some great new ones too.

Q: Fast forward to this time next year, what achievements would you be happy with?
BS: I hope that by the end of 2012 we can say we extracted 100% of the performance from the Williams-Renault FW34, whatever that may be. That is the most important thing. I just want to get the maximum possible out of the car and make the most of this opportunity. It is such an important year for both the team and myself as it will help shape my future. I hope that future will be long and successful, and it all starts here.

[bpratt]

So it is bye bye Rubens.... shame he didn't get a chance to have a last 'hurrah' at his home GP, rather than hoping he'd be back this year.

[Mothers Worry]

So it is bye bye Rubens....

There goes one of F1's genuine nice guys. But that's F1 for you.

[Mothers Worry]

Jerome D'Ambrosio (ex-Virgin Racing) has been confirmed as the reserve driver for the Lotus team.

[Mothers Worry]

Jules Bianchi will join Force India as reserve driver 2012.

[DanielAquilina]

See I find that really confusing, he had the world at his feet at Ferrari and yet he moved to Force India where we know it's very hard to get a race seat...I would love to know the reason why he went there.

[Oldtony]

It's called seat time Daniel.
No use having the World at your feet if you can't get a car under your bum.
At FI he will get some pre season testing and a bit of Friday time around the real circuits.
The big worry is how long can VJ keep FI rolling without paying his bills?

[Ian G.]

According to reports O/S last night Ferrari is still interested in Kubrica,his testing of a  V-6 Turbo scheduled for April has been delayed until June.

[DanielAquilina]

Man I am gonna be so upset if Robert Kubica takes my boy Massa's race seat at Ferrari and doesn't do anything for it. And the annoying thing about Ferrari is that Felipe could actually have a really good season but once they find an interest in something they don't go back on it so I'm a little annoyed.

[Ian G.]

I think he's gone but you never know,whatever the case he will be a driver under extreme pressure to perform.

http://planetf1.com/news/3213/7465308/-Ferrari-To-Assist-Kubica-s-Comeback-

[bpratt]

They've really got a very high opinion of Kubica, and obviously rate his chances of a full recovery very high.

With him doing 5 hours a day in physio and aims of driving a simulator in the not too distant future, he's sing a letter of intent to drive for them in 2013.

Ferrari are talking of him driving an F10 in June that is to be fitted with a new 1.6 turbo v6 that'll be raced in 2014, and as such is outside of the test ban regulations.

[Mothers Worry]

Dutchman, Giedo van der Garde, has secured the position as test and reserve driver for the Cateram Formula 1 outfit for the 2012 season.

[Mothers Worry]

Dani Clos has joined the HRT team in the role as test and reserve driver.

[kevrulezz]

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/176817/1/trulli_exit_confirmed.html

Jarno Trulli has been replaced as race driver at the Caterham F1 team.

As rumoured, Jarno Trulli has been replaced as race driver at the Caterham F1 team, with Lotus Renault refugee Vitaly Petrov taking his place alongside Heikki Kovalainen.

Much has been made of Trulli's position since last summer, when he was left out of the Team Lotus line-up for the German Grand Prix, ostensibly because of a power steering system with which he did not get on. An announcement confirming an extension to his contract, made at Monza, therefore came as something of a surprise, but only added to the conjecture as it failed to state categorically that the Italian veteran was being retained to a race seat. Since then, almost every available talent has been linked to the ride alongside Kovalainen, although Petrov has been the favourite to replace Trulli should the team take the plunge.

The move takes place with immediate effect, and Petrov was at the Caterham factory in Hingham today [Friday 17 February] for a seat fitting ahead of his first run with the team at the second pre-season test in Barcelona next week. Trulli conducted the final day of the opening test, at Jerez last week, but even that added to the speculation over his future after Kovalainen completed days one and two, and new reserve Giedo van der Garde was given the wheel for day three. Although Trulli remained for a promotional filming day on Saturday - prompting a new wave of denials over his possible replacement - it appears that Petrov's roubles may have spoken.

Can't say I'm disappointed, Petrov showed a lot of potential early last year and any benefit having an experienced driver like Trulli in the team should have worn off by now.

[Ian G.]

Yeah, Petrov was quoted around Xmas. time as saying he would be on the grid,i was wondering where he would turn up.Strange that they took so long to announce it.