Ferrari was told three times that Fernando Alonso should have let Robert Kubica through during the British Grand Prix, according to the FIA race director Charlie Whiting.
Alonso was given a drive-through at Silverstone after overtaking Renault's Kubica by going off track.
The penalty, which Ferrari felt was too harsh, ruined Alonso's chances of a good result, the Spaniard finishing down in 14th position.
Although the penalty was given nine laps after Alonso passed Kubica, Whiting said Ferrari was advised to let Kubica through immediately, but that the team decided against it.
"We told Ferrari three times that in my opinion they should give the position back to Kubica," Whiting was quoted as saying by Autosprint magazine.
"And we told them that immediately, right after the overtaking manoeuvre. On the radio, I suggested to them that if they exchange position again, there would be no need for the stewards to intervene.
"But they didn't do that and on the third communication they said that Kubica was by then too far back to let him regain the position.
"It's not true at all that the stewards took too long to decide. For us the facts were clear immediately: Alonso had gained an advantage by cutting the track."
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali said the team did not ask Alonso to let Kubica through because it did not feel the Spaniard has gained an advantage.
"He tried to be aggressive to overtake, and we complained the drivers not to be aggressive and we complain about the lack of overtaking, and so at that stage, we felt as we normally do at that moment that we need to go on the radio with race control to check what is the position," Domenicali said.
"And normally, we take the right time to discuss with race control to make the judgement, and the moment when race control give us the instruction to give back the position to Robert, it was clear that Robert had already lost a lot of time - effectively he had a problem and he came back. That is the situation we analysed.
"You can have a situation where immediately there is a possibility to give back the position to a driver if you feel that there is really an advantage that you gain. On our side we felt that was not the case otherwise we would have done it."
Domenicali said that by the time the stewards told them Alonso should let Kubica by, the Pole was already too far behind.
Kubica retired from the race moments later with mechanical problems.
"As soon as we received the information that in the opinion of the stewards, Fernando should have given back the position to Robert, Robert was already very far behind and Robert was really slowing down because he had a problem."
News from Formula One in the Formation Lap.
Showing posts with label British Grand Prix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label British Grand Prix. Show all posts
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Q and A with Tonio Liuzzi
Despite not having a blown rear diffuser for the British Grand Prix, Force India's Tonio Liuzzi remains confident that his team can continue with his point-scoring streak.
Q. Now that you are back on a more 'normal' circuit, is this the weekend that you find out for sure that the straightline speed problem you previously had with this chassis is gone?
Tonio LiuzziVitantonio Liuzzi: Definitely. It's a circuit where everything should be real because it's the first proper circuit where you need downforce, you have long straights. You have a bit of everything like Barcelona where everyone goes testing because it's a proper circuit to understand things in the car. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I won't be in the car in FP1 but in FP2 I will try to see that everything is as we expected and as we saw in the last two races.
Q. Does what you've seen in the previous two races give you confidence that it will be OK?
VL: Yes. That's what we believed. The reason why we changed from this chassis earlier this season was a lack of top-speed and it didn't appear to be a big problem in Montreal - it was very little – and in Valencia it wasn't there so it shouldn't be a big problem. Everything is in the right direction.
Q. Force India has an aerodynamic upgrade this weekend. What do you expect from that?
VL: This is a circuit where downforce is the key, especially for the first sector. And the new part of the circuit also needs a lot of downforce. To bring updates here was very important. Some teams have the blown diffuser – we don't have that – but we brought some interesting updates in the front wing and the floor that should give us a decent step forward and help us to fight for points.
Q. What are the team's objectives for the second half of the season?
VL: We know our objectives for the season overall. We will fight to at least double the number of points that we have up to now because there are some interesting races coming in the next part of the championship where our car always showed strong performance. We are in good shape for the rest of the season. In Valencia we were fast, and it was just not being in the right time at the right moment for the pit-stop that decided everything. We are positive that we still have good opportunities for the future.
Q. Have you tried simulations of the modified circuit?
VL: Yes. The team did a lot of simulation in the factory and we worked in the simulator yesterday to learn the new circuit and to do some setup test. It's quite different. The downforce level will be a little different from the part and everything needs to be reviewed from the setup that you had in the past. It will be an interesting challenge. The bumps could be an issue for some of the teams because in the new section the track seems quite bumpy so that's something that could dominate the setup.
Q. Is the bump where the old track turns into the new section at Abbey, which was there when Formula 3 raced at the track a few months ago, a problem?
VL: It's still there, this bump, and that could be quite a big issue. In theory, you can go nearly flat in seventh or sixth gear and at that speed the bump could affect the car. It could be dangerous for an F1 car at that speed, but it's the same for everybody. We need to work on the ride heights for the bumps.
Q. How confident are you for this weekend?
VL: It's our home race and we have worked hard towards this grand prix. Since last year, we have worked a lot on downforce in this car and added a lot to the car. It is not one of our favourite races, but we can still be competitive enough to fight for points - that is always our target. We believe that we are in good shape. We brought some updates that should help us to compete with the other cars that have brought the blown diffuser.
Q. Now that you are back on a more 'normal' circuit, is this the weekend that you find out for sure that the straightline speed problem you previously had with this chassis is gone?
Tonio LiuzziVitantonio Liuzzi: Definitely. It's a circuit where everything should be real because it's the first proper circuit where you need downforce, you have long straights. You have a bit of everything like Barcelona where everyone goes testing because it's a proper circuit to understand things in the car. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I won't be in the car in FP1 but in FP2 I will try to see that everything is as we expected and as we saw in the last two races.
Q. Does what you've seen in the previous two races give you confidence that it will be OK?
VL: Yes. That's what we believed. The reason why we changed from this chassis earlier this season was a lack of top-speed and it didn't appear to be a big problem in Montreal - it was very little – and in Valencia it wasn't there so it shouldn't be a big problem. Everything is in the right direction.
Q. Force India has an aerodynamic upgrade this weekend. What do you expect from that?
VL: This is a circuit where downforce is the key, especially for the first sector. And the new part of the circuit also needs a lot of downforce. To bring updates here was very important. Some teams have the blown diffuser – we don't have that – but we brought some interesting updates in the front wing and the floor that should give us a decent step forward and help us to fight for points.
Q. What are the team's objectives for the second half of the season?
VL: We know our objectives for the season overall. We will fight to at least double the number of points that we have up to now because there are some interesting races coming in the next part of the championship where our car always showed strong performance. We are in good shape for the rest of the season. In Valencia we were fast, and it was just not being in the right time at the right moment for the pit-stop that decided everything. We are positive that we still have good opportunities for the future.
Q. Have you tried simulations of the modified circuit?
VL: Yes. The team did a lot of simulation in the factory and we worked in the simulator yesterday to learn the new circuit and to do some setup test. It's quite different. The downforce level will be a little different from the part and everything needs to be reviewed from the setup that you had in the past. It will be an interesting challenge. The bumps could be an issue for some of the teams because in the new section the track seems quite bumpy so that's something that could dominate the setup.
Q. Is the bump where the old track turns into the new section at Abbey, which was there when Formula 3 raced at the track a few months ago, a problem?
VL: It's still there, this bump, and that could be quite a big issue. In theory, you can go nearly flat in seventh or sixth gear and at that speed the bump could affect the car. It could be dangerous for an F1 car at that speed, but it's the same for everybody. We need to work on the ride heights for the bumps.
Q. How confident are you for this weekend?
VL: It's our home race and we have worked hard towards this grand prix. Since last year, we have worked a lot on downforce in this car and added a lot to the car. It is not one of our favourite races, but we can still be competitive enough to fight for points - that is always our target. We believe that we are in good shape. We brought some updates that should help us to compete with the other cars that have brought the blown diffuser.
Monday, 26 October 2009
Deadline passes for Donington GP
Donington has faced legal and planning issues since winning the GP contract
The future of the British Grand Prix is in limbo after a deadline passed for the company redeveloping Donington Park to prove it had funding.
Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd had until 1200 GMT on Monday to show it had the finances required to redevelop the East Midlands circuit.
Earlier this month, Donington launched a bond issue in an attempt to raise £135m, but that proved unsuccessful.
Silverstone is keen to step in to host the race if offered a long-term deal.
In June, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said there would definitely be a British Grand Prix in 2010, and that it would be at Silverstone if Donington failed to come through.
But more recently he has backtracked and said it is not certain there will be a grand prix in Britain next year at all.
Ecclestone said on Friday: "I want a British Grand Prix, of course, but we are not going to do special rates for Britain."
"If they [Silverstone] can't make it work then don't do it. If that happens, there won't be a British Grand Prix. Simple as that."
Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd issued a statement on Friday to say the bond "failed to secure enough subscription".
The statement confirmed the proposed bond to cover the cost of F1 redevelopment at Donington Park had been "unsuccessful".
"Despite higher than expected levels of interest and very positive early indications, the bond - which was launched with Citi Group last week - has failed to secure enough subscription," it said.
606: DEBATE
This leaves Donington with no F1, no MotoGP and a half-built track and no money
Readbetween
Donington has previously missed several deadlines to provide financial guarantees.
Former world champion and British Racing Drivers' Club president Damon Hill believes Silverstone is ready to host the British Grand Prix and would like to see a long-term deal put in place.
"We sincerely hope there is going to be a British GP and we're doing everything we can to provide the right conditions and we would very much like it to be at Silverstone," Hill told BBC Sport.
"We would be looking for more than just a stop-gap deal. There is competition out there to provide a venue but we feel Silverstone is the right place."
Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, the company that operates the track, has faced legal and planning problems since being given a 17-year deal to stage the race.
Chief executive Simon Gillett was initially given a deadline of the end of September to demonstrate the funding was in place to carry out the planned multi-million pound revamp of the circuit and its facilities. That deadline was extended by a few days until 3 October.
Motor racing at Donington ceased in September so work could begin to prepare the venue for next year's race.
Silverstone has hosted every British Grand Prix since 1987, while Donington, which is synonymous with MotoGP, has held only one F1 race, the European Grand Prix in 1993.
The future of the British Grand Prix is in limbo after a deadline passed for the company redeveloping Donington Park to prove it had funding.
Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd had until 1200 GMT on Monday to show it had the finances required to redevelop the East Midlands circuit.
Earlier this month, Donington launched a bond issue in an attempt to raise £135m, but that proved unsuccessful.
Silverstone is keen to step in to host the race if offered a long-term deal.
In June, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone said there would definitely be a British Grand Prix in 2010, and that it would be at Silverstone if Donington failed to come through.
But more recently he has backtracked and said it is not certain there will be a grand prix in Britain next year at all.
Ecclestone said on Friday: "I want a British Grand Prix, of course, but we are not going to do special rates for Britain."
"If they [Silverstone] can't make it work then don't do it. If that happens, there won't be a British Grand Prix. Simple as that."
Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd issued a statement on Friday to say the bond "failed to secure enough subscription".
The statement confirmed the proposed bond to cover the cost of F1 redevelopment at Donington Park had been "unsuccessful".
"Despite higher than expected levels of interest and very positive early indications, the bond - which was launched with Citi Group last week - has failed to secure enough subscription," it said.
606: DEBATE
This leaves Donington with no F1, no MotoGP and a half-built track and no money
Readbetween
Donington has previously missed several deadlines to provide financial guarantees.
Former world champion and British Racing Drivers' Club president Damon Hill believes Silverstone is ready to host the British Grand Prix and would like to see a long-term deal put in place.
"We sincerely hope there is going to be a British GP and we're doing everything we can to provide the right conditions and we would very much like it to be at Silverstone," Hill told BBC Sport.
"We would be looking for more than just a stop-gap deal. There is competition out there to provide a venue but we feel Silverstone is the right place."
Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd, the company that operates the track, has faced legal and planning problems since being given a 17-year deal to stage the race.
Chief executive Simon Gillett was initially given a deadline of the end of September to demonstrate the funding was in place to carry out the planned multi-million pound revamp of the circuit and its facilities. That deadline was extended by a few days until 3 October.
Motor racing at Donington ceased in September so work could begin to prepare the venue for next year's race.
Silverstone has hosted every British Grand Prix since 1987, while Donington, which is synonymous with MotoGP, has held only one F1 race, the European Grand Prix in 1993.
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