Formula One 2015

[Lineker]

Force India has revealed the first images of its new VJM08 Formula 1 car.

Following delays in the build of the new car, the Silverstone-based outfit has been unable to get its 2015 challenger ready until now.

It missed the opening pre-season test at Jerez completely, although did run with its 2014 car at Barcelona last week.

The VJM08 has now been built up and completed its first fire-up, so will be transported to Barcelona for the final three days of the test.

COO Otmar Szafnauer said: "The VJM08 will arrive in Barcelona on Friday morning and the final set-up will take place in the garage at the track.

"We are aiming to get out on Friday and the new car will run as much as possible over the weekend."

Szafnauer said the delayed build process had made rapid progress of late.

"It has progressed well over the last few days and the car has now been fired up at the factory," he said.

"That's always the key moment when the car truly comes to life.

"We have seen a tremendous effort from every department over the last few months to get us to this stage and we're looking forward to seeing the car take to the track later this week."

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Toro Rosso technical director James Key says the STR10 running this week at Barcelona is "almost completely brand new" compared to the Formula 1 machine tested so far in pre-season.

The car features a new Williams-style front nose for the final pre-season F1 test of 2015, and also new aerodynamic packaging, cooling and suspension.

Key told AUTOSPORT this version of the STR10 is the one the Faenza-based team would race in Melbourne in two weeks' time, as it chases a target of finishing fifth in the constructors' championship.

"The car itself is radically different here, so we have to start again [in terms of set-up]," he told AUTOSPORT.

"It's almost completely brand new: Aero, cooling, suspension and the nose is new.

"It's a Williams direction. We always knew this was the way to go - the only reason we did the long one was because this [new nose] is technically more difficult with the impact test, and we wanted to give ourselves a banker.

"We got the long one neutral in terms of aero performance, but that's all it was. It basically means you can run without having the stress of squeezing through a difficult impact test, but this one has passed pretty well.

"This and the rest of the car is actually the 'real' racecar. Everything before that was [built] months ago in terms of aero."

With Toro Rosso having two rookie drivers for 2015 in Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr, Key said the team had taken a deliberately conservative route to let them gather mileage initially.

"We just wanted a safe car [to get the drivers up to speed]. It was a conservative car to give us a baseline," he explained.

"This is the racecar and I'd have loved to have launched this one actually, because it's a big step forward compared to the launch car. This is what we've been working on."

[Lineker]

McLaren is unsure whether Fernando Alonso will be fit in time to race in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, following his Formula 1 testing accident last Sunday.

Alonso spent three days recovering in hospital after crashing heavily at the Barcelona F1 circuit.

The double world champion is now recuperating at home, so McLaren has drafted in reserve Kevin Magnussen to drive this week and the Dane is on standby if Alonso does not recover sufficiently from the after-effects of his accident to race in Melbourne on March 15.

McLaren chief Ron Dennis told reporters at Barcelona: "There will be some tests. There is a process laid down by the FIA and I can't see any reason why he won't just sail through, but it's not for me to determine.

"He had the accident a short while ago. Would anybody say it's common sense to bring Fernando here? No. After that, we put it down the road.

"The doctors said [his chances of racing] are unquantifiable. [but] it's a normal recovery process for a driver to go through, especially as there is no structural damage [to his brain].

"He's completely lucid, normal, talking, wants to drive, but the doctor said: "if you really want to be sure, and you want to give him the best chance of going to Australia, then the best thing to do is to rest him.

"We're not going to go against the wishes of the doctor; it's as simple as that."

When asked whether Alonso would race in Australia, Dennis replied: "I can't foresee any reason why not, but I'm not the doctor."

Dennis confirmed Alonso has received no physical injuries from his crash, despite a McLaren statement on Sunday night suggesting the Spaniard had suffered a concussion.

Dennis said the doctors were being "cautious" because of the fact Alonso experienced the symptoms of concussion while being "devoid of all injuries" when examined medically.

When asked why Alonso spent three days in hospital, Dennis replied: "Because there was a period of unconsciousness.

"It was relatively short. The g figures of the accident were significantly less in his helmet than they were in the car - less than half.

"The head restraint is primarily designed for fore and aft movement, and this movement was [side-to-side]. It was surprising they wanted to be so careful.

"There were reports of some inability to recall - again that's normal when you're shaken like this.

"As is always the case with a potential head injury he was sedated here [at the track].

"He had completely clear CT and MRI scans. At no stage of the inspection process was there any indication of any damage to his brain.

"He's not even concussed. The technical definition of a concussion you can see in a scan.

"The possibility is the change of direction [of his head] happened so fast it was like a whiplash of the brain - it didn't bleed, or bruise, or anything.

"He is physically perfect. He got the symptoms [of concussion] at one stage, but nothing that shows [on a scan]."

---

The FIA has confirmed that it is to investigate the circumstances surrounding McLaren driver Fernando Alonso's Barcelona Formula 1 testing accident to find out if lessons can be learned.

Although the governing body does not automatically review all incidents at tests, because they are organised by teams rather than being an official FIA-run event, the fact that Alonso spent three days in hospital after the crash has prompted it into action.

AUTOSPORT understands that the FIA has already begun working in co-operation with McLaren to go through the accident data.

Furthermore, high level sources have revealed that CCTV footage of the Alonso crash has been sourced and will be used to try to give some better insight into exactly what happened.

It is understood the low-quality footage was taken from a camera near Turn 4 looking back at the exit of Turn 3 - and it captures Alonso running wide, trying to correct his car and then slowing down before crashing into the wall on the inside.

An FIA spokesman said that it was important for the governing body to try to see if there are any safety improvements that can be made.

"We will be looking very carefully at what happened," said the spokesman.

"We want to know what took place, so we will be gathering all the information that we can - as well as fully co-operating with McLaren."

The fact that Alonso spent three nights in hospital following his crash has prompted wild speculation that the incident was not as normal as McLaren has made out.

The uncertainty has been further exacerbated by McLaren not making public data about the speed of what is believed to be two impacts with the wall, nor of the G-forces that Alonso experienced.

McLaren has strongly refuted suggestions that Alonso was unconscious before the crash, and insists that the most likely explanation for the accident was that the Spaniard was caught out by a sudden gust of wind.

[Lineker]

Formula 1's smaller outfits are pushing to be allowed to share more car parts in the future in a bid to help lower costs.

Despite complaints last year from Force India, Sauber and Lotus that spiralling budgets threatened their survival, F1's chiefs have done very little to help the situation.

With no concessions given to increasing prize money, and major cost cutting ideas blocked by the top squads, the smaller teams have now got together to pursue an alternative path.

They want to create the idea of a 'core car' - where major components such as the monocoque are jointly developed and shared between them.

The pooling of resources would help lower their costs, while being allowed to individually develop items such as wings and other bodywork would ensure that each team had a different looking car.

The 'core car' plan has been discussed at recent strategy group and F1 commission meetings, but has not gathered enough support from the bigger teams to be given the green light.

AUTOSPORT understands that one of the reasons for the large teams' opposition was that F1 rules already allow a significant degree of car technology sharing - so it was felt unnecessary to expand it any further.

It is the basis of sharing common parts that is helping Haas make the move into F1, having agreed a technical partnership with Ferrari.

Despite the resistance of the big teams, it is understood that the small outfits are continuing to lobby the FIA and F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to be given the chance to introduce the idea.

They insist that if the 'core car' gets the go ahead it would help cut costs dramatically, and ensure the survival of all the current teams.

--

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has reduced his Williams Formula 1 team shareholding to just five per cent, after agreeing to sell more shares to American businessman Brad Hollinger.

Wolff has been reducing his involvement in Williams after taking over the helm at Mercedes, and last year sold a five per cent stake of his original 15 per cent shareholding to Hollinger, who is a healthcare entrepreneur.

Further shares have exchanged hands, with Hollinger now holding 10 per cent. Wolff's involvement is reduced to just half that.

Despite his role at Mercedes, Wolff said that he and his bosses were happy that his investment level at Williams was low enough to not be considered a conflict of interest.

"When I transitioned from Williams to Mercedes, there was a path that we agreed with Mercedes that was to reduce the shareholding in Williams over time," explained Wolff.

"We agreed on a structured approach, not selling the shares to anybody but finding somebody who is of value for the family and the team.

There would have been opportunities in-between, and finally Brad is the perfect guy.

"I am just short of five per cent which is what I agreed with Daimler to be the target and considered as a financial investment.

"That is the current status and I have no plans to change it. As a financial investment I very much like the company."

Hollinger's stake means he is now the second-highest shareholder in the team - behind Frank Williams, who own 52 per cent.

Patrick Head owns approximately nine per cent, with Wolff owning five per cent. The remainder is on the stock market or in employee schemes.

Hollinger has been a lifelong F1 fan and believes that it was a no-brainer to expand his involvement at Williams because he feels the sport has tremendous room to grow.

"It really is a combination of me being a huge enthusiast of F1, but also I'm a businessman and I am never in business not to make money," he said.

"I think that there is a huge opportunity in F1, which I think is on cusp of a major explosion.

"The revenue has continued increasing - and that is not withstanding that it has not tapped significantly into the whole social media element in terms of streaming information out to the masses. I think that is a huge opportunity.

"Williams has the heritage, the brand, and the name that is nearly unparalleled in F1 because Frank was a pioneer in the industry. I think there is a great deal of passion and nostalgia for the organisation."

---

GP3 racer Carmen Jorda has secured a development driver role with the Lotus Formula 1 team and will test its 2015 car.

A team statement said the 26-year-old Spaniard would get "a significant simulator programme" along with her run in the new E23 at some point this year.

"I've been racing since I was 10 years old so it was my dream to drive a Formula 1 car since I was very young," she said.

"I will be working to improve myself as a driver as well as helping the team to develop the car by testing new developments in the simulator; it's such a fantastic opportunity.

"I know this is just the beginning and the biggest challenge is yet to come but already being part of a team with such a history is a real honour.

"This is a great achievement, but an even greater opportunity which will lead to bigger and better things."

Lotus CEO Matthew Carter said Jorda would bring "a fresh perspective" to the team.

"She is a unique addition to the team and we are looking forward to helping her progress her goals as well as receiving the benefit of her insights and contributions to the development of the E23," he said.

Jorda has spent the past three seasons in GP3, where her best race finish was a 13th place.

Her career also includes stints in Indy Lights and sportscar racing.

[Katsuya]

There's something that feels very dodgy about this Alonso crash. The fact it's still dragging on seems odd.

Williams seem to have stepped it up a bit with whatever upgrades they've done between tests, looks like comparatively speaking they might be about .5 seconds behind the Merc now. Catalunya isn't one of their better circuits from last year either.

[Lineker]

The Manor team has moved another step closer to its Formula 1 return with the FIA approving its entry to the 2015 championship on Friday.

On an updated list for the 2015 F1 world championship, motor racing's governing body confirmed that the Manor Marussia F1 team's place on the grid was secure.

The team had originally been subject to confirmation in the last list, which was published before Christmas.

The move to confirm Manor's entry came after weeks of negotiation between the FIA and Manor chiefs to ensure that everything was in place with its finances and infrastructure for it to race in 2015.

Although the team has no official links to its former Marussia owners, it has had to retain use the name for its chassis to qualify for the commercial rights income that it earned last year.

Jules Bianchi's ninth place finish in Monaco was enough to place Marussia ninth overall in the constructors' championship - securing it around £30 million in prize revenue for this year.

The identity of the team's second driver, who will race alongside Will Stevens, has not yet been confirmed.

The team is working on preparing an updated version of its 2014 car that complies with the '15 regulations so it can start the season.

The plan is for a bespoke 2015 challenger to be ready later in the year.

The main investor behind the revival of the Manor Marussia team is Stephen Fitzpatrick, boss of energy firm Ovo.

Former Sainsbury's supermarkets boss, Justin King, will also be involved in the running of the team but is not an investor.

Fitzpatrick secured the deal for the team using his personal finance and has arranged deals with the team's two biggest creditors, Ferrari and McLaren, to ensure their continued support for the 2015 season.

The official freight leaves for Melbourne at the end of next week.

Manor's fellow 2010 F1 arrival Caterham remains absent from the list, officially confirming its departure from the championship.

The team went into administration at the same time as Marussia/Manor last year, but was revived for a one-off appearance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as it sought new ownership.

Its assets are now being auctioned.

---

Formula 1 chiefs are pushing through new rules that will force cars to be fitted with high speed cameras from 2016 to help with accident investigation.

The speculation surrounding the cause of Fernando Alonso's Barcelona testing accident last week was fuelled by the lack of clear video footage about what happened.

AUTOSPORT revealed that the only moving images of the crash were taken from a CCTV camera, but the footage is not very clear.

Such uncertainty about the cause of crashes, either at tests or races, could be wiped out if a new rule that forces teams to fit high speed cameras is approved by the FIA World Motor Sport Council next month.

The idea has already been backed by F1 teams and chiefs, who voted it through at an F1 Commission meeting that took place a few days before Alonso's crash.

A revised article 27.2 of F1's sporting regulations that is being proposed for 2016 states: "For the purpose of accident analysis, each car must be fitted with a high speed camera which has been manufactured by the FIA designated supplier to a specification determined by the FIA.

"This should be fitted to the car during each event and all tests which are attended by more than one team.

"Teams must use their best endeavours to ensure that it is in working order at all times.

"The camera must be fitted in accordance with the instructions of the FIA."

The FIA also wants to make it mandatory for drivers to wear in-ear accelerometers to help with data gathering in crashes.

The next WMSC meeting is due to take place in Geneva on March 20.

[Lineker]

Force India is in discussions with Bernie Ecclestone over financial support, but deputy team principal Bob Fernley insists it will compete in Formula 1's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

F1 has been embroiled in a debate over costs for months, with Force India, Sauber and Lotus leading a push for more assistance for small teams following Caterham and Marussia going into administration last year.

There had been speculation over Force India's participation in the 2015 season after it suffered a number of delays with the build of its new car, which only ran for the first time on Friday - two and a half days before the end of winter testing.

Deputy team principal Bob Fernley told AUTOSPORT that the delay was because of a combination of factors that included having to pay suppliers earlier than expected, which impacted on cashflow.

He confirmed that his team has also appealed to Ecclestone for assistance, when asked if Force India had requested any advance Formula One Management payments.

"We have not had any help to date, but hopefully we will get some help," he said. "We are in discussions on it.

"Bernie has been extremely understanding. He's a racer. He understands from his days how difficult it is. I think he realises this is serious."

When asked if the team would be in Australia, Fernley said: "It's going to be very tough, but as always we will get through.

"At this point, we are working through the build of the second car. Everything is getting there but it is not going to be easy, it hasn't been easy all the way through the winter.

"We have made it clear to the commercial rights holder that we have problems, as have Lotus and Sauber. It's not isolated to one team."

There have also been suggestions that Lotus and Sauber may not compete in the season opener owing to financial difficulties.

A Sauber spokesperson told AUTOSPORT: "We are doing our best - we will be there [in Australia]."

Lotus declined to comment on its financial situation but implied that it would be in Melbourne.

Fernley added that some F1 suppliers had been put under pressure when Marussia and Caterham went into administration last year, which meant other teams had to make payments earlier.

"You can't underestimate what the administration of Caterham and Marussia did to suppliers," he said. "It was huge - and still is.

"Those poor guys have had a tough old time. They're incredible and have supported us through all these years.

"And we have had to support them this year, but in doing so that's hurt our programme."

[EddieG]

McLaren have announced Alonso will not be racing in the Australian GP.

[MJB]

Kevin Magnussen will drive instead.

[JasonM]

Nice for K-Mags I guess, but it's not really the start anyone was waiting for.

It's really weird how Alonso's injury has played out, it went from being a minor thing, to something that is keeping him out of the running for quite a while.

They say it's a ''simple'' concussion, but it feels like it's actually much more grave.

[Lineker]

It's preventative - they don't want him crashing again before recovering and suffering second impact syndrome.

[Lineker]

[MJB]

It really is incredible how this man is still in charge.

[Lineker]

Lots of people are of the mindset that Justin King's involvement in Manor is the first step in his eventually going for Bernie's job.

Speaking of Manor....

Manor investor Stephen Fitzpatrick says he could not stand to see the former Marussia Formula 1 team disappear after it had finally achieved its breakthrough points in 2014.

Ovo Energy founder Fitzpatrick was revealed as the key investor behind the Manor revival on Wednesday, as the team confirmed that its car would be ready for the Australian Grand Prix.

"Until November last year I was on wrong side of F1 fence," Fitzpatrick explained.

"My most recent F1 experience was I went to the grand prix in Singapore with a friend, we were walking down the track at the end of the race and looking at all the fans lined up on the pitwall - and looking at garages. I said we need to figure out a way to get over there.

"For a long time I had an ambition to own an F1 team, I was hoping Ovo Energy would be successful enough to own a team, but I didn't expect it to be in 2015."

He admitted that getting Manor back on the grid had initially appeared impossible.

"I picked up the phone to Geoff Rowley, the administrator, before the last race in Abu Dhabi and got an understanding of the current situation at the time, and challenges the team were facing - the amount of money involved, level of debts involved.

"It seemed fascinating - almost hopeless. It looked like one of those situations that with more time to understand everything, there was maybe a great opportunity.

"But it was too late. There wasn't any realistic possibility of reviving the team.

"Having made it through the hard five years, to get to the point of ninth in the championship, two years in the top 10, to reach the first rung of financial stability and due to receive fund money, to have run out of steam right at the last hurdle... it seemed like too good story to let end there.

"One of the things that really motivated me was how great a story it could be to figure out a way to help this team cling to survival."

Fitzpatrick said he and Manor sporting director Graeme Lowdon had put huge effort in to re-establishing the team over the winter.

"I very quickly established an easy working relationship with Graeme, had frank conversations about the challenges, team suppliers, the quality of team that was there - and as Graeme said, one long list of challenges.

"We ascertained the top priorities - including Ferrari, then a host of 200 smaller creditors and suppliers that made up the backing of the team.

"We went through them one at a time, establishing relationships with creditors and suppliers, new commercial arrangements with them, and bringing the company out of administration, dealing with the FIA entry, with FOM, engine and design contracts.

"In 10 days' time we will be in Melbourne with a very solid, clean business platform to operate on."

[MJB]

There's also a rumour that his son, Jordan, will get the second seat at Manor.

Personally, I don't see it happening but then again, FP1 is in two days time and they haven't got a second driver yet.

[Lineker]

I can see King Jr. racing for them in 2016 (if they're still a thing), but not 2015.

Oh, and FP1 isn't for over a week, yaknow...

Pirelli has confirmed it will take the same line-up of tyre compounds to the opening four Formula 1 grands prix of the new season as it did in 2014.

Next weekend's F1 season opener in Australia, the Chinese Grand Prix and the Bahrain Grand Prix will all utilise the soft and medium tyres.

In Malaysia, the medium and hard compounds will be used owing to higher ambient temperatures and a more abrasive surface.

The entire range features a new rear construction, estimated by Pirelli as two-to-three tenths a lap faster than the 2014 rubber.

The overriding aim, though, was to better distribute heat across the entire tread and reduce blistering and graining in the second year of the new power unit formula.

[MJB]

Getting ahead of myself.

I want it to be this week.

[Lineker]

F1 Show is back on from this Friday though!

[Lineker]

Manor's revised 2014 car to meet 2015 safety regulations has passed the FIA's crash tests.

Sebastian Vettel says he first contacted Ferrari about a potential move to the team back in 2008 and has since had "secret" meetings in Maranello while racing for Red Bull.

Vettel was contesting his first full season in Formula 1, going on to claim his maiden win with victory in the Italian Grand Prix for the Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso team.

The German went on to win four world titles with Red Bull from 2010-2013 before agreeing late last year to join Ferrari for 2015.

Vettel also had a frosty relationship with Mark Webber during their time as team-mates at Red Bull, with the pair clashing on track in Turkey 2010 and Malaysia 2013. But the German says that while they are not best of friends now, they have been in touch.

"These days I'm not Mark's best friend and neither is he for me, but we are on speaking terms.

"When last year he crashed his Porsche I was immediately moved to send him a message to know about his conditions, and he replied he was well despite the strong impact.

"We may even go have lunch together..."

[Chris2K]

I'd be amazed if Jordan King doesn't get a Manor seat next year. It seems every business move Justin King has made in the last five years has been purely to get his son one step closer to an F1 seat, a seat which he hasn't really earned yet. He's down to race in GP2 this year so we'll see how he goes.

[Lineker]

Eh, like I said I see that as more of a 2016 thing than 2015.

If he can get his sponsorship money rustled up again I wouldn't be surprised to see Giedo van der Garde in the second car. If he can escape his Sauber commitments, that is.

Also - Alonso had no recollection of the last 20 years of his life upon waking up after his testing crash. Fuuuck.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Jamеs