ART Grand Prix has announced that it has called off its bid to enter Formula 1 in 2011.
The multiple GP2 and Formula 3 champion team had been tipped as one of the leading contenders for the '13th slot' in the field for next year's world championship, but has concluded that in the present economic circumstances it cannot go ahead with the project.
It emphasised that it still intended to reach F1 eventually, and that the team would continue in the junior categories. It currently races in GP2, GP3 and F3.
"ART Grand Prix has decided to withdraw their application to the International Federation of Automobiles (FIA) to take part in the 2011 Formula One World Championship," said a statement from ART.
"The team has been working for several months on this ambitious project that they had undertaken with determination and lucidity.
"ART Grand Prix had forged strong bonds with several technical and financial partners but with unfavourable economic conditions they could not gather the necessary guarantees to ensure the stability of the project in the long term.
"Therefore, the company will have to postpone its project until a later date, however it remains completely focused and dedicated to the other single-seater championships in which they are successfully involved in."
ART co-owner Nicolas Todt had previously said that while the team was working on an F1 bid, it would only commit to the top level if it was absolutely certain that the project was viable.
"Realistically, I think it won't be easy to take part in the 2011 F1 championship, because it's not easy to set up a programme with very high costs," Todt told Italian magazine Autosprint in May.
"In light of this, I didn't want to make bold statements over something that still needs to be defined. If we don't make it, then it won't be a drama.
"We'll carry on working over this project, and if it doesn't happen next year, then we'll try again in the future."
News from Formula One in the Formation Lap.
Showing posts with label Valencia 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Valencia 2010. Show all posts
Thursday, 8 July 2010
McLaren unsure how upgrade will fare
McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale says the team cannot be certain if its upgrade package will deliver the desired results at Silverstone this weekend, and that practice performance will decide whether the blown diffuser is kept on for the race.
The team carried out a straightline test in Spain with the new package last weekend, but Neale admitted that the outcome was inconclusive and that the focus had been on reliability.
"Like all tests, I would describe it as a curate's egg," he said during this week's Vodafone McLaren Mercedes phone-in. "Some bits went very well, some bits gave us some surprises.
"Of course it's straightline testing so it's not like a full test in the conventional sense as we used to get mid-season and do during the winter.
"Because of the limited time and limited mileage that we had, we weren't able to do a full set of old car/new car running, so we just gathered as much data as we could, went through all of the race prove-outs, so we know if the car will run sensibly behind the safety car, can we do an aborted grid start, will it look after itself in pitstops? So we mainly focused on the durability aspect as well as straightline performance measuring.
"I'm confident that we've got a reasonable performance step. Do I think we've got everything that we expected? Hard to tell at this stage, I'll wait to see what the race drivers think. So Friday will be a testing day for us."
When asked by AUTOSPORT whether removing the package after Friday practice at Silverstone was an option, Neale replied: "Yeah and I think that's something that all the teams are increasingly doing.
"You've seen a number of teams with complex projects, like blown diffusers or the F-duct for example, which are not just paper exercises - there's a lot of installation issues that you have to simultaneously work. That requires track time to get right, and I heard one of my colleagues in another team describe the F-duct as the 'F-ing duct' because it does take time to get these things right.
"We are ambitious, we'd like to take it this weekend and if the drivers think it's good it will stay on and we'll run it. If not, we'll continue to develop it."
Neale said that McLaren had accelerated its development plans in response to the level of upgrades other teams had recently introduced - but that change of plan meant the team was in a race against time to prepare for Silverstone.
"We did try to pull forward a variety of packages that we had planned through to Germany," he confirmed. "So at the moment I've got a range of things that I'd like to get to the circuit on Friday that we haven't built yet. So we're in that sort of fire-fight between now and Friday - just how much can we get there?"
He also played down the significance of the blown diffuser - the most notable element of the Silverstone upgrade - agreeing with recent suggestions from Red Bull's Christian Horner that the device's contribution to performance had been over-estimated.
"In Formula 1 it's rare that there are golden bullets that suddenly transform your car from uncompetitive to competitive. We, more than most, last year found that to be the case. It was just straightforward hard work and effort," said Neale.
"It's early days in development, but I would tend to agree with Christian that it's not a case of bolt on your blown diffuser and then blow everybody into the weeds. That's not going to happen. It's one of the things that we are working with at the moment, as part of a package of changes that we are bringing to both the next race and subsequent races.
"In terms of predicting what it will do, I'm not going to be a hostage to fortune and predict a number of wins. Let's see what the race drivers think of it on Friday. We just haven't got any what I would call real circuit running on it at the moment, so I'm going to reserve judgement."
The team carried out a straightline test in Spain with the new package last weekend, but Neale admitted that the outcome was inconclusive and that the focus had been on reliability.
"Like all tests, I would describe it as a curate's egg," he said during this week's Vodafone McLaren Mercedes phone-in. "Some bits went very well, some bits gave us some surprises.
"Of course it's straightline testing so it's not like a full test in the conventional sense as we used to get mid-season and do during the winter.
"Because of the limited time and limited mileage that we had, we weren't able to do a full set of old car/new car running, so we just gathered as much data as we could, went through all of the race prove-outs, so we know if the car will run sensibly behind the safety car, can we do an aborted grid start, will it look after itself in pitstops? So we mainly focused on the durability aspect as well as straightline performance measuring.
"I'm confident that we've got a reasonable performance step. Do I think we've got everything that we expected? Hard to tell at this stage, I'll wait to see what the race drivers think. So Friday will be a testing day for us."
When asked by AUTOSPORT whether removing the package after Friday practice at Silverstone was an option, Neale replied: "Yeah and I think that's something that all the teams are increasingly doing.
"You've seen a number of teams with complex projects, like blown diffusers or the F-duct for example, which are not just paper exercises - there's a lot of installation issues that you have to simultaneously work. That requires track time to get right, and I heard one of my colleagues in another team describe the F-duct as the 'F-ing duct' because it does take time to get these things right.
"We are ambitious, we'd like to take it this weekend and if the drivers think it's good it will stay on and we'll run it. If not, we'll continue to develop it."
Neale said that McLaren had accelerated its development plans in response to the level of upgrades other teams had recently introduced - but that change of plan meant the team was in a race against time to prepare for Silverstone.
"We did try to pull forward a variety of packages that we had planned through to Germany," he confirmed. "So at the moment I've got a range of things that I'd like to get to the circuit on Friday that we haven't built yet. So we're in that sort of fire-fight between now and Friday - just how much can we get there?"
He also played down the significance of the blown diffuser - the most notable element of the Silverstone upgrade - agreeing with recent suggestions from Red Bull's Christian Horner that the device's contribution to performance had been over-estimated.
"In Formula 1 it's rare that there are golden bullets that suddenly transform your car from uncompetitive to competitive. We, more than most, last year found that to be the case. It was just straightforward hard work and effort," said Neale.
"It's early days in development, but I would tend to agree with Christian that it's not a case of bolt on your blown diffuser and then blow everybody into the weeds. That's not going to happen. It's one of the things that we are working with at the moment, as part of a package of changes that we are bringing to both the next race and subsequent races.
"In terms of predicting what it will do, I'm not going to be a hostage to fortune and predict a number of wins. Let's see what the race drivers think of it on Friday. We just haven't got any what I would call real circuit running on it at the moment, so I'm going to reserve judgement."
Lotus ready to switch focus to 2011
Lotus will switch its attention to 2011 after the British Grand Prix, with the final update package for the T127 set to be introduced at Silverstone.
The team had hinted earlier in the year that it would reach a point where it was satisfied it had done enough to stay ahead of its fellow new teams and would then pour its resources in to the design of next season's car - in the hope that it can be a regular points contender in '11.
Technical director Mike Gascoyne said the Silverstone upgrade package was a major step that he hoped would bring Lotus onto the tail of the established midfield teams.
"We're looking to take another step forward this weekend, with an update package that will give us another chance to take the fight to the teams ahead," said Gascoyne.
"We have a number of lightweight parts across the car that, among other benefits, will help us use the ballast more effectively, giving our drivers a better chance to optimise balance and set-up.
"We also have the last major aero modifications of the season, including a new floor and various bodywork updates, and then the design team's attention turns to next year's car."
Team boss Tony Fernandes expects Lotus to be a fan favourite at Silverstone, so feels it is important that upgrades put it in a position to show some giant-killing form on home ground.
"A lot of the guys at the factory will be in the stands, alongside our growing army of fans, and it's great that we're giving them the chance to see our green and yellow cars taking the fight to the established midfield teams at the home of motor racing," he said.
The team had hinted earlier in the year that it would reach a point where it was satisfied it had done enough to stay ahead of its fellow new teams and would then pour its resources in to the design of next season's car - in the hope that it can be a regular points contender in '11.
Technical director Mike Gascoyne said the Silverstone upgrade package was a major step that he hoped would bring Lotus onto the tail of the established midfield teams.
"We're looking to take another step forward this weekend, with an update package that will give us another chance to take the fight to the teams ahead," said Gascoyne.
"We have a number of lightweight parts across the car that, among other benefits, will help us use the ballast more effectively, giving our drivers a better chance to optimise balance and set-up.
"We also have the last major aero modifications of the season, including a new floor and various bodywork updates, and then the design team's attention turns to next year's car."
Team boss Tony Fernandes expects Lotus to be a fan favourite at Silverstone, so feels it is important that upgrades put it in a position to show some giant-killing form on home ground.
"A lot of the guys at the factory will be in the stands, alongside our growing army of fans, and it's great that we're giving them the chance to see our green and yellow cars taking the fight to the established midfield teams at the home of motor racing," he said.
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