| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, May 2nd 2014, 12:50 GMT |
The Mercedes Formula 1 team has set its sights on having a bigger advantage over its rivals in the Spanish Grand Prix than it has enjoyed so far this season.
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| Friday, May 2nd 2014, 15:30 GMT |
Nigel Stepney, the former Ferrari mechanic who was at the centre of the 2007 Formula 1 'spygate' scandal, has died.
The 56-year-old was involved in a road traffic accident in Kent in the early hours of Friday morning.
A statement from the Kent Police said that investigations were underway as to the cause of the incident.
PC Glen Braidwood of Kent Police's Serious Collision Investigation Unit said: "A silver VW caddy van, driven by a 56 year-old man from the Essex area, had stopped on the hard shoulder of the M20 Londonbound carriageway at Ashford.
"For reasons yet to be established, the man appears to have entered the carriageway and was then in collision with an articulated goods vehicle. He was pronounced deceased at the scene."
Stepney enjoyed a lengthy career in F1, working for Shadow, Lotus, Benetton and Ferrari.
Having left F1 in the wake of the 2007 spy affair between McLaren and Ferrari, Stepney most recently worked in sportscars - joining the JRM outfit in 2010.
James Rumsey, the owner of JRM, was one of the first to pay tribute to Stepney.
"Nigel was an intense and fierce competitor and always strived for excellence in our racing," he said.
"We certainly could not have achieved our level of success without his leadership and experience.
"Away from the track, he was a focused, driven and passionate member of the JRM Group, and a loving father to his family.
"The rest of the engineering and race team here at JRM learned an unimaginable amount from Nigel in the four short years he was with us and his death this morning has shocked everyone to the core.
"Today, the motorsport world has lost one of its greatest characters and competitors. He will be sorely missed and we send our sincere condolences to his family and the many friends he leaves behind."
| Friday, May 2nd 2014, 15:59 GMT |
Nigel Stepney was a key player in Ferrari's dominance of Formula 1 during the Michael Schumacher era but achieved notoriety for his involvement in the spy scandal of 2007.
Stepney's first role in motorsport was with the Broadspeed touring car team as an apprentice mechanic.
There, he worked on Broadspeed's successful touring car programmes before moving into F1 with the Shadow team.
In 1979, he began a long association with Elio de Angelis, following the Italian to Lotus the following year as number one mechanic.
When de Angelis moved to Brabham in 1986, Stepney stayed at Lotus where he worked with Ayrton Senna.
Stepney moved to Benetton ahead of the 1989 season, staying at the team for four seasons, during which he worked with Nelson Piquet and Michael Schumacher.
He worked outside of F1 in 1992, running the Piquet Racing squad that ran Olivier Beretta in Formula 3000, but after an unsuccessful season returned to F1 with Ferrari.
Stepney played a crucial role in turning Ferrari into a well-organised squad, a process accelerated by Jean Todt's appointment to run the team in mid-1993.
In 1994, Stepney was one of the Ferrari mechanics struck by the wheel shed by Michele Alboreto's Minardi in the pits during the San Marino Grand Prix.
Six years later, during the Spanish GP, he was involved in another pitstop incident when Schumacher was released before Stepney had detached the refuelling hose.
Stepney was dragged to the floor, sustaining ligament damage, but soon returned to work.
He held the key roles of chief mechanic and race/test technical manager at Ferrari before being appointed head of performance development late on.
Stepney admitted to being unhappy with Ferrari in early 2007 and his time with the team came to an end when he became embroiled in the McLaren spy scandal.
He was accused by the Scuderia both of sabotaging the team's cars and passing its intellectual property to rival squad McLaren and was dismissed by the team in July that year.
Stepney admitted to the FIA that he did pass on sensitive information to McLaren but later downplayed the scale of his involvement.
He escaped any sporting censure beyond it being recommended teams should not associate with him.
He was sentenced to 20 months in prison for his part in the affair by an Italian court in 2010 but did not serve any time.
By then, he had already returned to motorsport, in 2008 joining on-board camera specialist Gigawave, which also fielded a sportscar team.
In 2010, he joined the JRM team, running factory Nissan equipment in sportscars.
There, Stepney worked as technical director, leading the team to victory in the FIA GT Championship in 2011 with Michael Krumm and Lucas Luhr.
The squad then moved into prototypes in the World Endurance Championship, running HPD machinery to sixth in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2012 with David Brabham, Peter Dumbreck and Karun Chandhok.
The JRM-developed Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 took Lucas Ordonez to last year's Blancpain Endurance Pro-Am Cup championship title and the outfit continues to support customer squads this year.
| By Ben Anderson | Friday, May 2nd 2014, 10:48 GMT |
The Sauber Formula 1 team has heavily revised its new car in the hope of moving up the grid in the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Swiss team struggled to hit this year's minimum weight limit with its C33 design and has been well off the pace in the early races.
But the Hinwil-based team has worked extensively on reducing the car's weight since last month's Chinese GP.
Sauber will also introduce a 'major aerodynamic update' for next week's Barcelona race in its bid to get back on terms with the tight midfield pack.
The update includes a modified front wing, a new engine cover, and new sidepod fins and deflectors, according to the team's head of track engineering Giampaolo Dall'Ara.
Sauber will also receive a software update for its customer Ferrari power units.
"We very much look forward to converting our efforts into improved lap times," Dall'Ara said.
"However, we know that all the other teams are progressing as well, so it will be interesting to see where we stand.
"We will certainly do our best in order to race for points."
The team will stay on in Barcelona for the post-race test on May 13-14, where its test and reserve driver Giedo van der Garde will share driving duties with Esteban Gutierrez.
The Dutchman will drive on day one before handing the car over to Gutierrez.
| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, May 2nd 2014, 10:21 GMT |
McLaren has put in place an action plan to get itself back to the front in Formula 1, with a staffing restructure and the appointment of key new aero staff.
The Woking-based team has struggled since its double podium finish in the Australian Grand Prix, and its back-to-back non-scores in Bahrain and China have reinforced the belief that changes need to be made.
Following a detailed review of the organisation by racing director Eric Boullier and F1 CEO Jonathan Neale, the team is now making changes that it believes will help matters.
Part of the effort involves the signing of key new aerodynamicists. AUTOSPORT can reveal they include Tony Salter from Sauber and Guillaume Cattelani from Lotus.
These will help the team in the period before aero chief Peter Prodromou comes on board next year, and while the legal uncertainty remains over Dan Fallows.
But changes are also being made to the way the team operates - with McLaren set to implement better chains of commands and clearer lines of communication.
There will also be specific performance goals set out for the different departments, as well as clearer responsibilities for technical director Tim Goss and engineering director Matt Morris to help them play to their strengths.
NO REVOLUTION NEEDED
It is these internal changes, rather than a major staffing overhaul, that Boullier is convinced will help McLaren make big progress.
"McLaren is composed of brilliant individuals, they have been winning many races and have been fighting for championships," he told AUTOSPORT.
"I think it is just to make sure that the same people are working together in one way with strong leadership, strong guidance and at least it will help them to recover their past success.
"You need to do it smartly. There are great individuals, and these people have been working together in the past and have been winning races with very, very fast cars.
"It is about restoring some leadership today - both in technical and management terms.
"Once we have this leadership in place with clear strategy, then we have to make sure the communication flow within the company is maybe a little simpler to make it faster and better in the end.
"That will be key for me - the key point to drive this company back to success."
Boullier is under no illusions that the changes being made will take time to pay off fully, but he is also adamant that McLaren should not compromise its long term ambition just to make quick gains.
"It depends if you want to be very aggressive in the short term, or aggressive in the medium term which I would favour," he said.
"We think we will see the benefit of this during the course of this season, but definitely next year. Already this year we should see some drastic change though, first within the company - which is a kind of culture shift."
This week's AUTOSPORT magazine features an in-depth analysis of how McLaren intends to turn its flagging F1 fortunes around
| By Jonathan Noble | Friday, May 2nd 2014, 11:35 GMT |
Formula 1's smaller teams have now been asked to contribute their own cost cutting ideas, after the sport's chiefs failed to agree a firm plan in Thursday's high profile meeting.
FIA president Jean Todt called together F1's team bosses, plus Bernie Ecclestone, for a meeting at Biggin Hill to discuss the costs crisis in grand prix racing.
It came after plans for a cost cap to come in for 2015 were abandoned by the FIA following resistance from those outfits in the Strategy Group.
That decision angered the smaller squads, with Caterham, Marussia, Sauber and Force India all writing to Todt to express their unhappiness at the development.
Their letter prompted Todt to call the meeting for May 1 to try to make progress on the costs issue - with all teams agreeing that something needs to be done as the ramping up of budgets is unsustainable.
Although no firm agreement about a way forward was agreed by teams in the meeting, AUTOSPORT understands that further talks are being pencilled in for later this month.
In the meantime, sources suggest that the smaller outfits have been requested to return with their own money saving proposals within the next fortnight, while Todt is to look at more detail in to whether or not a cost cap is possible to impose.
F1 has a window until the end of June this year when 2015 rules can be changed with only the majority of teams in favour.
After that date, progress in imposing new regulations will be much harder as unanimous consent is then needed.
| By Jonathan Noble | Wednesday, April 30th 2014, 15:56 GMT |
Perceptions of Ayrton Senna as arguably Formula 1's greatest driver are not just the result of his life being cut short in its prime, says his former boss Ron Dennis.
The Brazilian's status has continued to grow ever since he was killed at Imola in 1994, with the F1 world's outpouring of emotion on the 20th anniversary of that weekend showing how highly he is still regarded.
But while Senna's death has helped immortalise his legend, Dennis says that the three-time world champion's talent and human qualities are just as important in explaining why he is still worshipped.
When asked why he believed so many people consider Senna to have been the greatest, Dennis said: "I think because he was so good for all the period he was on the planet.
"I can see no positives in the fact that he had an accident and lost his life, but what you didn't see is any decline.
"You remember he was just unbelievably competitive and then boom, he is not there. So what do you remember?
"I have never thought, 'I wonder what Ayrton would look like if he was here today.'
"But above all, he was great. He had good human values. He was very principled.
"I remember of course the race in Suzuka [in 1990], where he and [Alain] Prost collided at the first corner.
"I looked at all the traces, the brake and the throttle pedals, and you didn't need to be Einstein to work out what happened. He came back to the pits and I said, 'I am disappointed in you'.
"He got it. He didn't have to say any more. It was one of his rare moments of weakness."
This week's AUTOSPORT magazine - available online and in shops from Thursday May 1 - is an Imola 1994 special, commemorating 20 years since the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger:
The Imola grid looks back
The drivers from the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix recall their experiences from one of motorsport's darkest weekends.
Senna's legacy in Brazil
Brazilian correspondent Lito Cavalcanti investigates how Senna changed Brazil, and how he is still remembered.
Prost on Senna
Senna's great rival talks about how their rift healed in the final months of Ayrton's life.
Berger on Senna
Senna's former McLaren team-mate on how the duo became good friends.
Ratzenberger remembered
Adam Cooper looks back at the Austrian's pursuit of his F1 dream, which ended so tragically at Imola.
Brabham on Simtek
David Brabham reveals he feels lucky to have got out of the 1994 San Marino GP alive.
Analysis: how Imola 1994 changed F1
Edd Straw assesses the way Formula 1 reacted to the deaths of Senna and Ratzenberger.
| By Jonathan Noble and Gary Watkins | Wednesday, April 30th 2014, 16:15 GMT |
Azerbaijan claims that it has signed a deal that will result in it hosting Formula 1's European Grand Prix in 2016.
The country's capital Baku has been linked with F1 for several months, but local political chiefs now suggest a contract has been agreed with Bernie Ecclestone to hold a street race in two years' time, a year after the former Soviet republic hosts the inaugural European Games.
Azad Rahimov, Azerbaijan's Minister of Youth and Sports, was quoted as saying by the Inside the Games website that an official announcement confirming the race will be made imminently.
"We have signed the deal with Bernie Ecclestone and will announce it officially with an event in Baku shortly," he said.
Baku has hosted Azerbaijan's first international motor races over the past two years: the non-championship Baku City Challenge took place on a 1.33-mile street circuit in 2012 and last year it held the FIA GT Series finale on a new 2.72-mile layout.
The city is scheduled to host the final round of this year's Blancpain Sprint Series, which takes over from FIA GTs, this November.
It has yet to emerge whether the grand prix would run on the streets of Baku or on an all-new F1 facility near the city.
AUTOSPORT SAYS...
Gary Watkins, sportscar correspondent
@gazzasportscars
Baku would need to come up with a completely new circuit for Formula 1.
Neither of the tracks laid out on the streets of the Azerbaijan capital for its end-of-season GT races in 2012 and '13 could form the basis of an F1 venue.
The point-and-squirt circuit used in year one was under a mile and a half in length and offered little challenge, while last season's 2.72-mile track was only homologated to FIA grade 3 and would be unsuitable for anything much faster than a GT3 car.
| By Jonathan Noble | Thursday, May 1st 2014, 10:29 GMT |
Nico Rosberg has what it takes to bounce back against Mercedes Formula 1 team-mate Lewis Hamilton despite being beaten in the last three grands prix, reckons Niki Lauda.
The German leads the F1 world championship standings after the first four flyaway races, but has lost out to Hamilton in every race since Malaysia.
That run of form has prompted suggestions that Hamilton has a decisive psychological advantage in their title fight.
But Lauda, who is a non-executive director at Mercedes, reckons that there is little to choose between the pair, and that defeat will actually inspire Rosberg to come back stronger.
When asked by AUTOSPORT if he believes Rosberg could recover, Lauda said: "Yes he will. And I think he will because racing drivers have this [mentality].
"If they are blown off, like he was [in China], he will get himself new strategies worked out to not let these things happen again."
HAMILTON OUTSTANDING
While retaining faith in Rosberg, Lauda has admitted he has been hugely impressed by the job that Hamilton has done this year.
"I have to say that the way Lewis is driving, from the first race until now, for me is outstanding," Lauda said. "The guy makes no mistakes.
"He is absolutely on top of everything.
"He understands the car, which is more complicated than in the past.
"He understands the tyres, and drives at the absolute perfect way on the edge.
"He does not do any mistakes, and I have to say he is on a high like I have never seen before. Outstanding!"
| By Edd Straw | Tuesday, April 29th 2014, 15:41 GMT |
Valtteri Bottas believes the Spanish Grand Prix will be key to the Williams team's hopes of continuing its strong start to the Formula 1 season.
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