The 1971 BMW 2002 Summer Project
The snow is melting, spring flowers are sprouting and temperatures are staying above freezing. These are all signs that “Monster Shed” season is upon us.
The first project in line is a 1971 BMW 2002. Yep, you read that right; it’s a Bimmer! And why would I want to work on such an automobile? Because it can do this:
Granted, I’m not planning on building a rally car, but you never know what will happen until you start turning some wrenches. At the moment I plan on making her a daily (summer) driver.
There are more pictures on the gallery. Stay tuned for updates as we get the project rolling.
Bahrain Saturday Qualifying
Vettel managed to post a time of 1:54.101, more than a tenth of a second ahead of Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. Fernando Alonso, also from Ferrari, came in third position nearly 3 tenths of a second off the pace of Vettel. Mark Webber will be starting tomorrow’s race in sixth position.
One of the new rules for this season is that all of the cars in the top ten positions must start the race on the tires they set their qualifying runs in. Rubens Barrichello, having finished in 11th position will be able to start the race with a fresh set of tires. And tires may be the deciding factor in tomorrow’s race.
Bahrain Friday Free Practice
Friday’s free practice sessions were quite interesting to watch. It was the first time to view the cars going around the track. Due to the ban on refueling the cars are much longer than they were last year and, quite frankly, look a bit squirrelly on the track. It appears that most, if not all, of the teams are struggling with setting the ride heights. This was most obvious as cars were going around turn #6 where there is a bit of a bump on the track. All of the cars have been having problems with bottoming out at that section. Getting the ride height correct will definitely prove to be a challenge as cars will be much heavier at the start of the race with full tanks of fuel than they will be towards the end of the race. Apparently, Red Bull may have some sort of on-board height adjustment that the drivers can initiate, but I haven’t been able to verify this information as of yet.
Tire wear was also an issue for some of the teams. Under full fuel the rear tires have been going much quicker than expected. The tire allotment has been decreased this season, so drivers who can take care of their tires will definitely have an advantage. Although, the same can be said about fuel consumption; the drivers with the most finesse will most likely be the ones at the head of the pack. Lewis Hamilton, for instance, likes to throw that McLaren around the track and is a fairly aggressive driver. He was also one of the drivers pulling into the pit complaining of severe tire wear.
Sunday’s race in Bahrain will be tough for the engineers to get right since there is no historical data available for the new section of track that has been added this year. There is a good chance of having a car or two actually run out of fuel during the race. The rules also require that each car finish with at least 1 litre of fuel still on board for testing.
And, as I stated in my last post, Formula 1 racing is not without its controversies. Last year was the season of the “Double Diffusers” which can now be seen on all of the cars. This year is starting off to be the season of the “McLaren Left-Knee Vent”. The engineers at McLaren have added a vent on the nose close to the driver that allows air to flow into the cockpit and out through the floor of the car. There is a lever located by the driver’s left knee that allows the driver to open and close this vent. When closed the turbulent air created by this vent can actually stall out the rear wing, decreasing the amount of down-force on the car. Whether or not this will give the cars any speed advantage remains to be seen and, admittedly, it does not appear to be as large of a controversy as the diffusers were. We will most likely have to wait till the end of Sunday’s race to find out if any other teams will be filing complaints to the race officials. Renault appears to be the loudest objector so far. Red Bull’s Christian Horner brought up the vent a few weeks ago and has stated that they would most likely not be protesting McLaren’s vent. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the Red Bulls sporting a similar gadget by race four or five.
Nico Rosberg managed the fastest lap time in his Mercedes by the end of Friday’s second free practice. There definitely wasn’t a runaway leader and it was impossible to know what fuel loads other cars were running. The true test will be during qualifying. I would also like to send a shout out to the Hispania Racing Team. They were able to do what USF1 could not; from story board to the grid in Bahrain in 6 months. Everyone loves an underdog and it would be marvelous to see both cars cross the finish line on Sunday.
Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!
The kick-off for the 2010 Formula 1 season officially began today with Friday practice on the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain. Qualifying will be on Saturday and the season’s first race on Sunday.
Live coverage will once again be provided by the BBC with commentators Jake Humphrey, David Coulthard, Eddie Jordan, Jonathan Legard, and (my favorite) Martin Brundle. Being an avid fan of Formula 1 racing in the states does require a bit of creativity in order to watch the races. Thankfully, the Internets is a wonderful provider and, although the races are no longer live when I am able to watch them, I can still enjoy the excellent coverage provided by the BBC.
Three new teams have made it onto the grid; Virgin Racing, Lotus, and Hispania Racing. Hispania Racing was saved at the last minute and this Friday’s practice will be the first time that the team and its two rookie drivers will have the opportunity of testing out their new car. There has been a little grumbling from some of the more established teams in regards to all of the new drivers and the lack of proper preparation of the new teams. There are concerns that the pace of these cars may become a hindrance. In fact, the new teams are so far off the pace of the other cars that Lotus, Virgin and HRT could end up being little more than moving chicanes.
An interesting side note for this year:
Richard Branson (of Virgin Racing and Virgin Airlines fame) has a bet with Tony Fernandes (Lotus and AirAsia). The two have agreed that the loser of this season’s racing will don a stewardess uniform and work on the winner’s airline for one full day.
What has become of USF1? Citing financial difficulties, Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson have pulled out of Formula 1 racing this season. They had petitioned the FIA to keep their slot open for the 2011 season, however, this request has been denied. It is also possible that USF1 may receive a penalty for not holding up their end of the bargain. Meanwhile, Stefan GP, the Serbian backed team who bought up Toyota, has also been denied entrance onto the grid.
Formula 1 is not without its politics, controversies and surprises. With the ban on refueling, the reappearance of Michael Schumacher, and no runaway leader, this season should be an exciting one.
Formula 1 2010 Driver Lineup (Updated)
I thought that I had waited long enough before posting the 2010 season driver lineup. One of the new teams, Hispania Racing, has “miracled” their way onto the grid. Also, Sauber’s team has been finalized. So, here is take two for the driver lineup:
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Mclaren: Jensen Button – #1 Lewis Hamilton – #2 |
Mercedes GP: Michael Schumacher – #3 Nico Rosberg – #4 |
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Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel – #5 Mark Webber – #6 |
Ferrari: Felipe Massa – #7 Fernando Alonso – #8 |
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Williams: Rubens Barrichello – #9 Nico Hulkenberg – #10 |
Renault: Robert Kubica – #11 Vitaly Petrov – #12 |
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Force India: Adrian Sutil – #13 Vitantonio Liuzzi – #14 |
Toro Rosso: Sebastien Buemi – #15 Jaime Alguersuari – #17 |
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Lotus: Heikki Kovalainen – #18 Jarno Trulli – #19 |
Hispania Racing: Karun Chandhok – #20 Bruno Senna – #21 |
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BMW Sauber: Pedro de la Rosa – #22 Kamui Kobayashi – #23 |
Virgin: Timo Glock – #24 Lucas di Grassi – #25 |
2010 F1 Schedule
Date Location Mar. 14 
Sakhir - Bahrain Mar. 28 
Melbourne - Australia Apr. 04 
Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia Apr. 18 
Shanghai - China May 09 
Barcelona - Spain May 16 
Monaco May 30 
Istanbul - Turkey Jun. 13 
Montreal - Canada Jun. 27 Valencia - Spain Jul. 11 
Silverstone - Great Britain Jul. 25 
Hockenheim - Germany Aug. 01 
Budapest - Hungary Aug. 29 
Spa-Francorchamps - Belgium Sep. 12 
Monza - Italy Sep. 26 
Singapore Oct. 10 
Suzuka - Japan Oct. 24 
South Korea Nov. 07 
Sao Paulo - Brazil Nov. 14 
Abu Dhabi - United Arab Emirates -
