Formula 1
Hispania Racing finally unveils 2010 contender, Karun Chandhok joins Bruno Senna
Hispania Racing which was formerly known as Campos GP has officially launched its 2010 contender. This means that all contending teams have launched their cars and furthermore the empty seat in Hispania has been given to Indian ace Karun Chandhok. Chandhok will join Bruno Senna in the team.
The team is now owned by Jose Ramon Carabante and Colin Kolles has been selected as the team’s principal. Kolles was previously attached with Midland, Spyker and Force India. Just like other new teams such as Lotus Racing and Virgin Racing, Hispania’s Formula 1 car is also powered by Cosworth. Unfortunately the team will have to play catch-up as this year’s pre-season testing ended on February 28th.
Official! USF1 will not race this season, no green light for Stefan GP
The FIA has officially announced that the struggling USF1 team will not race in the 2010 season. The bad news doesn’t end there. The FIA also said that it is not possible for a replacement team to take its place.
This means Serbian-based Stefan GP which has purchased various parts from the Toyota F1 team will not race this season. It will have to try again for the 2011 series. The body also revealed that it will soon announce details of a new selection process to identify candidates to fill any vacancies existing at the start of the 2011 season.
This means that Campos is the only 2010 team that has yet to launch its car and confirm its full driver line-up. However the team is now owned by a new owner and its name has been officially changed to Hispania Racing. Jose Ramon Carabante is now the majority stake holder and the team is named after his Grupo Hispania company.
Rumor also has it that Indian ace Karun Chandhok may join Brunno Senna in the team and Argentina’s Jose Maria Lopez who was previously confirmed for USF1 may take up the reserve/third driver role.
USF1 will pay to miss entire season?
We have more news regarding the USF1 team and its plans for take part in Formula 1. But first lets have a quick recap. At first the team assured that it will not miss a single race in the 2010 season. Then the team was rumored to miss the first few races and this was soon confirmed. The last news we heard, besides what we have to share with you right now is that the Charlotte-based team is negotiating with the FIA regarding its plans to miss a few races.
The latest news is that USF1 is willing to pay compensation to the FIA for “missing the entire” 2010 season. Apparently the team’s co-founder Ken Anderson and head of YouTube Chad Hurley, a significant backer of the team revealed that the they are willing to pass over a 7-figure surety bond as proof of the team’s plans to race in the 2011 season. We hope the team will release an official statement regarding this matter. If USF1 drops out, Serbian-based Stefan GP looks strong for a 2010 entry.
USF1 wishes to miss first four races, awaiting FIA’s verdict
Looks like Bernie Ecclestone’s prediction was right. The Formula 1 supremo has been saying that the USF1 may not be able to be part of this year’s grid. He also said the same about Campos as these are the only teams that have yet to launch their 2010 contenders.
Formula 1’s ‘Godfather’ is also openly supporting Stefan GP to take over a spot should USF1 or Campos fail to race. Stefan has purchased many parts from Toyota’s Formula 1 team including engines and has recently revealed that it will be ready to race in the season-opening race.
According to a report published by The New York Times, USF1’s founder Ken Anderson revealed that the team may not take part in the first four races of the season and is seeking an approval from Jean Todt, President of the FIA although Todt has said before this that no teams are allowed to miss a single race.
Anderson said the main issue behind the delay is money as certain sponsorships have fallen through. So what will happen to the team? Well, only time will tell. My bet? We will probably see Stefan GP in Bahrain.
US F1 may skip the 2010 season!
Looks like Stefan GP may be part of the 2010 grid, if reports by several Argentinean newspapers are anything to go by. Apparently Charlotte-based US F1 may skip up to three races and or even the entire season all together. The US team along with Campos have yet to launch their cars and both of them have only secured one driver each.
Reports are suggesting that US F1’s confirmed driver José María López is switching to Campos and US F1’s main backer Youtube may follow suit as well. The FIA also recently announced that teams are not allowed to miss a single race in the season.
Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone also believes that US F1 and Campos may not be part of the 2010 season and has revealed that he would like to see Stefan GP taking over a spot. This Serbian team has recently purchased Toyota F1’s chassis, engines and gearboxes.
Lotus F1 launches the Lotus Cosworth T127 racer: with video!
Lotus F1 has officially unveiled its 2010 racer, the Lotus Cosworth T127 in London. The Malaysian-backed team’s contender is treated to Lotus’ classic yellow and green colour combination and it will be piloted by Italian Jarno Trulli and Finn Heikki Kovalainen when it makes its race debut in Bahrain mid next month. Fairuz Fauzy, the team’s third and reserve driver had the chance of driving the T127 on Tuesday prior to it’s unveiling.
“I am extremely proud to be here today and to be able to show the world the fruits of the team’s hard work over the last five months. It’s humbling for me and my fellow shareholders, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin to see how a team that five months ago didn’t even exist is now a thriving workforce, full of enthusiasm and passion for Lotus Racing and the challenges ahead and capable of producing such a beautiful machine in such a short time,” said team principal Tony Fernandes.
The team’s technical chief Mike Gascoyne said, “The last few months have been some of the most challenging of my career, but it’s been a challenge the whole team and I have thrived on since we first started work on the car up in Norfolk. I’m delighted that we’ve reached this point, and now we have a beautiful car that gives us a great base to work from for the season ahead and a fighting chance of going racing in the right way, with a winning mentality. The hard part starts now, and I know everyone in the team and I are up for whatever lies ahead.” Read the rest of this entry.
Red Bull’s RB6 contender ready to fight
Along with its sister team Toro Rosso, Red Bull has also launched its 2010 contender leaving just a few teams which have yet to unveil their cars. The 2010 Red Bull which is called the RB6 will be raced by the team’s 2009 drivers that is made up by Australian Mark Webber and German Sebastian Vettel who is being tipped as the next Schumacher. More images of the RB6 after the jump! Read the rest of this entry.
Force India revealed the VJM03
Formula 1’s back-running team which amazed everyone at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix has officially launched its 2010 racer which is called the VJM03. Livery wise the car looks pretty much like the 2009 version but is inline with the 2010 regulations. The VJM03 will be raced by Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi while Paul Di Resta is the team’s test driver. Continue reading to view more images of Force India’s contender. Read the rest of this entry.
