| Sunday, March 2nd 2014, 17:35 GMT |
Pirelli has announced tyre allocations for the first four 2014 Formula 1 races, with just a single 'step' gap between the compounds used.
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| By Ben Anderson | Monday, March 3rd 2014, 08:46 GMT |
Williams finished the final pre-season Formula 1 test of 2014 with the fastest time, as Mercedes-engined cars continued to lead the way in Bahrain, and Red Bull continued to struggle
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| By Jonathan Noble | Monday, March 3rd 2014, 10:52 GMT |
Formula 1 team candidate Gene Haas is hoping that a final decision on whether or not he gets an entry for 2015 will be made within the next fortnight
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| Sunday, March 2nd 2014, 07:28 GMT |
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion, who remains in hospital following his skiing accident at the end of last year, won the inaugural Bahrain GP in 2004.
Track chairman Zayed Al Zayani said Schuamcher's family had given the move their blessing.
"With the support of his family, it is a great privilege to be able to honour arguably the greatest racing driver in the history of F1 and someone who the people of Bahrain hold close to their hearts," said Al Zayani.
"From his first appearance at the BIC in 2004, he immediately became an inspiration for all those who love motorsport in the Kingdom and it is therefore natural for us to recognise him in this way.
"The team at the BIC continues to offer Michael and his family its best wishes."
Schumacher advised the team behind the Bahrain GP during the building of the track in the early 2000s, and he also made his return to the sport at the 2010 Bahrain GP after three seasons away.
His manager Sabine Kehm added: "Michael's family would like to thank the Bahrain International Circuit for this gesture, acknowledging Michael's achievements in Formula 1 and interest in the BIC circuit design.
"We take it as a recognition for his passion for motorsport.
"I am convinced Michael will love the idea and feel very honoured about having a BIC corner named after him."
DID YOU KNOW?
Bahrain is not the first active grand prix circuit to name a corner after Michael Schumacher.
The fast left-right Turn 8/9 combination at the Nurburgring, where Schumacher won five grands prix, was renamed the 'Schumacher S' ahead of the 2007 European Grand Prix.
| By Glenn Freeman | Sunday, March 2nd 2014, 10:00 GMT |
Valtteri Bottas led the way on the final morning of 2014 Formula 1 pre-season testing, while Sebastian Vettel suffered an off just before lunch.
Williams driver Bottas traded blows at the top of the times with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in the middle of the morning, as both drivers worked on short runs.
Bottas eventually asserted himself at the top around 11:30 local time, and both teams then switched their focus to different - and slower - programmes.
Aside from the occasional flurry of fastest times, the majority of the session had been quite straightforward until Vettel brought out the first red flag just after midday.
The Red Bull was off the track at Turn 1, and it appeared to have spun as the car was facing in the opposite direction to the track, close to the outside barrier.
Vettel was looking around the rear of the car as soon as he climbed out of it, and when it was returned to the pits his Red Bull crew struggled to roll it back into the garage.
Mercedes made a late start to the final day of running, with Lewis Hamilton joining the action just before lunch after a gearbox issue robbed the team of any morning track time.
The 2008 world champion logged five laps in the short time he had before the break, setting the seventh fastest time.
Adrian Sutil clocked the most laps of the session, as Sauber gave him an extra half-day of testing to make up for only managing one lap on Saturday.
The German was able to work on a race simulation among his 91 laps, before handing over to Esteban Gutierrez for the afternoon.
For the second day running the lunchbreak started slightly early, when the Lotus of Romain Grosjean stopped on the backstraight and brought out the red (and then chequered) flag.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m34.797s 60 2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m35.509s +0.712s 27 3. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m35.577s +0.780s 33 4. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m35.701s +0.904s 43 5. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1m36.467s +1.670s 91 6. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.111s +3.314s 20 7. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1m38.650s +3.853s 5 8. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 1m38.653s +3.856s 58 9. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m39.302s +4.505s 25 10. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m39.708s +4.911s 44 11. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1m41.242s +6.445s 10
| By Ben Anderson | Sunday, March 2nd 2014, 10:15 GMT |
Nico Rosberg says Mercedes is still worried about the reliability of its new Formula 1 car as pre-season testing draws to a close.
Mercedes has generally led the way in terms of mileage and laptime so far, but the W05 has suffered several niggling reliability issues along the way.
The team undertook what it described as a "precautionary" engine change before Saturday's test at the Sakhir circuit, which delayed Rosberg's final day of running, and then missed the first three hours on Sunday due to gearbox issues.
Rosberg went on to clock more than 100 laps and set the second fastest time of the test on Saturday, but the three-time grand prix winner feels Mercedes still has some bugs to iron out before the first race in Melbourne.
"We've had some good tests but reliability is still a concern for us as it is for everybody else," said Rosberg. "It's tough to get the car 100 per cent ready.
"We might be in a better position than some other teams but we need to get to the end of the race so that's a big challenge."
The German was satisfied with his last day of testing overall, despite some weather issues and his loss of track time.
"Conditions were tough out there with a sandstorm and really strong winds, which made it difficult to learn a lot, but it was still a good day," said Rosberg.
| By Edd Straw | Saturday, March 1st 2014, 07:24 GMT |
Felipe Massa has warned that Red Bull will not be on the back foot for long despite its pre-season Formula 1 testing troubles.
The Brazilian's Williams team has performed well in pre-season and is currently comfortably ahead of Red Bull, but Massa expects a recovery.
Red Bull had one of its better pre-season test days in Bahrain on Friday, with Daniel Ricciardo setting the third fastest time of the day, and Massa has no doubts the reigning world champion team will recover.
This is dependent on Renault continuing to make progress with its engines, which could also allow Lotus to climb the order.
"We saw that the Red Bull struggled every day, but the laptimes they did [on Friday] were not so bad," said Massa.
"You can't put Red Bull and Lotus on the side [as contenders] because when they fix the problems, we know that they have a good car and we know that they know how to make a winning car.
"It is always nice to say that a Red Bull is struggling and that maybe it can be fighting with the Caterhams, but forget it. It's not like that.
"They have a problem to solve, but when it is solved they will be there."
PLENTY TO DO FOR MASSA ON SATURDAY
Massa is completing his final day of running in Bahrain on Saturday and is hoping to gain more experience of the car to ensure Williams is in the best possible shape for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 16.
As he completed only 65 laps during last week's first Bahrain test, Massa is keen to make the most of his two days of running in the final test.
"There is still a lot to do and a lot to understand and I hope we can finish the day with more information about everything.
"[Friday] was actually my first day because I just did one afternoon last week and we know how important it is to drive, to understand.
"I'm happy with the way we are working, but still we need to understand the right direction, the right set-up, the right car to start in Australia.
"I hope we can have more working on the set-up to understand and be a little bit more prepared for Australia."
| By Edd Straw | Saturday, March 1st 2014, 07:49 GMT |
Renault did not need an extension to the Formula 1 engine homologation deadline, according to head of track operations Remi Taffin.
The French manufacturer has denied asking for an extension, although the possibility of the deadline being stretched by as much as three months has been discussed and rejected.
Renault's reference engine was viewed and sealed by the FIA at Renault's Viry base in France on Friday, the deadline for doing so. A second deadline for supplying supporting information to the FIA on Saturday has also been met.
"I think if I said no to this question, that it would not have helped, I would be a liar," said Taffin when asked by AUTOSPORT if the homologation deadline not being extended was a disadvantage.
"Anything you can do in three months is a help whether it is performance or reliability.
"But I don't think we needed that time. We have an engine that is with the FIA and that is how we are going to run in Melbourne.
"We have gone through the normal [homologation] process. We have built an engine, had it viewed by the FIA so they have got it now and that is how we will build our engine for Melbourne."
RACE SIMULATION EXPECTED
Taffin is hopeful that Renault can make significant strides in preparation for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 16.
He is certain that at least one of the four Renault-powered teams will complete a full race simulation in the final two days of pre-season testing, although he is not too concerned about fuel economy.
"It is planned, we will achieve at least one," he said when asked whether a race simulation would be attempted.
"Fuel consumption is the least of my worries at the moment, it is not a concern.
"We will get through Melbourne with 100kg [of fuel] without problem, it is just a matter of the performance that we get from it.
"It will be about the optimisation of fuel and electricity."
There is also significant work to be on starts. While practice starts have been attempted in this week's Bahrain test by at least some of the Renault teams, those that have been attempted have been less convincing than those by Ferrari or Mercedes-engined outfits.
Taffin is hopeful that progress can be made with this over the final weekend before heading to Melbourne.
"There is work to do in this region and we are not happy with what we have got," said Taffin.
| By Ben Anderson | Saturday, March 1st 2014, 10:02 GMT |
Felipe Massa set the pace for Williams as the penultimate day of pre-season Formula 1 testing kicked off in Bahrain, while reigning champion team Red Bull suffered another significant setback.
Daniel Ricciardo hailed Red Bull's progress after completing a 20-lap stint and setting the third fastest time during Friday's test, but world champion Sebastian Vettel failed to complete a lap this morning when the RB10 broke down on his installation run.
The team put up extended screens in the pitlane to shield the car from prying eyes as it returned to the pits. Vettel attempted another installation lap later but the car broke down again before it left the pits, so the four-time title winner helped marshals push the RB10 back to the Red Bull garage.
Adrian Sutil's Sauber also broke down on its installation lap at the very start of the test, stopping at the pitlane entrance and requiring fire marshals to attend to the rear of the car.
Force India has set the pace for two consecutive days with Sergio Perez driving, but Nico Hulkenberg fell three quarters of a second short of beating Massa's Williams to top spot on Saturday morning.
Mercedes made a late start after a precautionary engine change for the W05, but Nico Rosberg still clocked 22 laps and set the third fastest time on a set of medium compound Pirelli tyres.
Lotus also made a late start following fire damage caused by an engine failure on Friday for the twin-tusk E22. Romain Grosjean completed 14 laps in the repaired car this morning.
Daniel Kvyat's Toro Rosso, Kevin Magnussen's McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari rounded out the top six in a morning session that came to an early end when Jules Bianchi's Marussia broke down at Turn 2, 10 minutes before the scheduled lunchbreak.
Fernando Alonso completed over 100 laps on Friday, but Raikkonen again found his running limited in the F14 T, managing only nine laps so far.
Marcus Ericcson went seventh fastest for Caterham, clocking the most laps of anyone as he worked through a race simulation for the Leafield team.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m37.224s 48 2. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m38.000s +0.776s 42 3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.557s +1.333s 22 4. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m39.297s +2.073s 41 5. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1m40.252s +3.028s 24 6. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m41.542s +4.318s 9 7. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1m41.849s +4.625s 69 8. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m41.889s +4.665s 55 9. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m43.088s +5.864s 14 10. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1 11. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1
| By Ben Anderson | Friday, February 28th 2014, 10:19 GMT |
Sergio Perez again set the pace for Force India, as the second day of the final pre-season Formula 1 test got underway in Bahrain
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