Adrian Newey hospitalised after crash

Adrian Newey has been taken to hospital for precautionary checks following a crash at Snetterton.

The Red Bull technical director was competing in a Ginetta G50 race supporting the British Touring Car Championship at the Norfolk circuit.

The race was red-flagged after his crash in which two other cars made contact with his G50. He was removed from the car on a stretcher.

Newey, designer of the championship-leading RB6 which has won six races this year, was appearing in the race as a guest driver.

He was also involved in a crash while racing in the Le Mans classic in 2006. Earlier this year Red Bull presented him with a 2009 RB5 to thank him for his work for the team.

Source: F1 Fanatic

Newey gets his Red Bull RB5

Red Bull's technical guru Adrian Newey has a new F1 car of his own after the team presented him with an RB5 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Newey, who designed last year's RB5, which finished second in the Championship after claiming six victories, was presented with the car as a 'a sign of the team's appreciation for what the talented aerodynamicist has contributed since joining Red Bull at the start of 2006.'

"I'm overcome actually. The guys have obviously put a tremendous amount of effort into preparing the car for me," said Newey, who immediately put the car through its paces at Goodwood on Friday.

"You can see it - the paint and the lines are absolutely perfect, the work that's gone into doing the helmet and everything else is incredible. Also, the fact that the guys have given up a weekend to come down here and run it for me is fantastic.

"I was nervous before my first run, as I'd never driven a car with a hand clutch before and had never left-foot braked expect in a go-kart - but it's really fantastic to drive. A slight fright was that I wasn't prepared for how long first gear is, so as I was pulling out of the paddock it was pushing me on a lot.

"I was saying to myself 'hand clutch, hand clutch', but the automatic reaction is to go for the left foot! We went up the hill on wet tyres, so it was a gentle drive. It's just so great to be in the car and it's such a great noise from the inside.

"The plan now is to club together with some other guys I know who are lucky enough to have cars and hire a circuit, preferably a modern one with a bit of run off where I can enjoy driving the car without worrying about having a spin in front of a crowd!"

Team boss Christian Horner added: "I was delighted to hand over this RB5 on behalf of Red Bull to Adrian today. It's a really significant car for us, as it's the first model type that won six races for Red Bull Racing last year.

Adrian's made a mess of his lawn with several different cars from his collection, but this one will definitely tear the grass up! Hopefully he will look after it carefully and enjoy driving it up the hill at Goodwood today.

"We're happy to hand it over with the relevant crash helmet and overalls to make sure he's safe; we've also given him a set of spares, just in case!"



Source: Planet F1

Newey staying put at Red Bull

Adrian Newey looks set to stay at Red Bull for the foreseeable future.

The 51-year-old Briton joined the Austrian team from McLaren in 2006, and as chief technical officer is widely credited for the success of the dominant RB6.

Germany's Sport Bild claims Newey, arguably the most sought-after figure in the entire world of formula one, intends to stay put.

"Contractual matters are confidential, but it's true," team boss Christian Horner said of the report.

"Last year, Adrian requested to remove a clause that would have ended his contract this year," he revealed.

Former grand prix winner Gerhard Berger backs the move, insisting that Red Bull will remain on the pace "as long as Newey and Vettel are there".

Source: F1 Complete

Webber: I'm not going to bed thinking about Vettel

Mark Webber has urged that his Red Bull Racing team-mate Sebastian Vettel will be far from his only rival for glory in F1 2010 - even if he reckons the energy drinks-backed outfit's continuity could pay dividends this year...


Mark Webber has insisted that he is not losing any sleep over the challenge he is likely to face from team-mate Sebastian Vettel during the F1 2010 World Championship campaign, arguing that there are 'a lot of quick drivers out there and some pretty good teams' – but acknowledging that continuity is a real feather in Red Bull Racing's cap.

On paper and on the basis of pre-season testing, there appears to be precious little to choose between the four anticipated title protagonists heading towards the curtain-raising Bahrain Grand Prix at Sakhir this weekend, with Red Bull accompanied by Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes and defending double world champions – in the erstwhile guise of Brawn GP – Mercedes Grand Prix.

Amongst that leading quartet, the internecine duels will be fascinating to watch, with countrymen and the most recent two title-winners Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button facing off at McLaren, giant-killer Felipe Massa returning from injury to take on double world champion Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, record-breaking F1 legend Michael Schumacher aiming to prove that he has lost none of his raw pace or flair up against young compatriot Nico Rosberg at Mercedes – and Webber paired with the highly-rated Vettel at RBR, with the German already holding the distinction of being the top flight's youngest-ever grand prix-winner. Focussing on just one rival, though, the Australian points out, would be dangerous and ill-advised in the extreme.

“A lot of people see my team-mate, Sebastian Vettel, as my biggest rival this year,” the 33-year-old wrote in British newspaper The Guardian. “I have to say that there are a lot of quick drivers out there and some pretty good teams. Seb is going to be a quick driver, no question about it, but I'm not going to bed thinking about him; I'm going to bed thinking about myself and doing the best job I can, to get the best results I can, for myself.”

In 2009, Webber's best results were a brace of victories – his breakthrough F1 triumph in the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring mid-summer, followed by another in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos close to season's end – as well as six further rostrum finishes that earned the New South Wales native fourth spot in the final drivers' standings following a brief period during which he had threatened to challenge for the title.

He is well aware that more than that will be required if he is to successfully battle for the laurels up against as many as seven adversaries in 2010, but in an age of a number of key rule changes – the most notable being the ban on refuelling, which he suggests will make the initial stages of grands prix 'a bit of a slog' – and driver moves in practically every other team, Red Bull's general continuity, the man from Queanbeyan opines, could well pay dividends.

“There are many things to look forward to in this year's championship,” Webber stressed. “It's good for Red Bull Racing, because we've got a lot of continuity in the team. We're still with Renault engines and, driver-wise, we're very stable. Other teams have changed their driver pairings in some way or another, and these small things can make a difference when Formula 1 is as competitive as it is now.

“Seb and I have worked together, along with our engineers and the technicians from Renault, for some time and this will give us a good advantage. You have traits in engineers and drivers, and it's difficult to learn the system with such limited time. Some drivers have only a handful of days to get ready for the first race, and I think it's going to be interesting when they're under pressure. On race weekends you have to make big decisions at key moments and you don't want to be learning about each other too much at times like that. Continuity is going to be a major strength for us, particularly early on.

“Just by looking at the new cars this season, you can tell that the ban on refuelling is going to cause the biggest change. The cars are like limousines. They're a bit longer because of the need for a larger fuel tank. I'm not particularly bothered by how the cars look – although, saying that, [Red Bull chief technical officer] Adrian Newey has done another fantastic job and the RB6 looks the business – but more important is how the car feels with twice as much fuel on-board. Those early laps in the race are going to be a bit of a slog, but it will be the same for everyone.

“We've got to do a complete race with one tank of fuel, so we need to be looking after the tyres and making sure we understand them. Race strategies will be very different, and the pit-stops even faster than before. Previously each stop was determined by the time it took to get the fuel on-board, taking anything from five-to-eight or nine seconds. Now it's down to simply changing tyres, and the pit crews will be doing that in around three seconds, maybe faster once the pit-stops are refined.”

Source: Crash.net

Is reliability the chink in Red Bull armour as F1 2010 nears?

Red Bull Racing's new Adrian Newey-designed, Renault-powered RB6 is undoubtedly quick, but is it yet reliable enough to be able to successfully challenge for glory right from the off in F1 2010..?

Mark Webber has confessed that expected F1 2010 title protagonist Red Bull Racing needs to find 'a little more reliability' during the final pre-season group test in Barcelona later this week – with conventional wisdom going that points scored early on in the campaign through being around when the chequered flag falls very often pay dividends in the closing stages.

The Adrian Newey-designed, Renault-powered RB6 has undeniably been rapid during testing to-date, in the hands of both Webber and young team-mate and 2009 F1 World Championship runner-up Sebastian Vettel – but it has also appeared somewhat fragile too, with an engine failure and some mechanical issues stymieing the energy drinks-backed outfit's efforts and costing the team valuable track time at Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain last week.

The Australian, however – who lapped comfortably quickest on the third day of the four-day session, almost a second out of reach of anybody else – remains confident that it is nothing the Milton Keynes-based squad cannot resolve in time for the Bahrain Grand Prix curtain-raiser just under three weeks away.

“The weather was a lot kinder to us on the last two days and we learned a hell of a lot, no question about it,” the New South Wales native underlined. “We did a lot of stuff with Renault and also learned about the aerodynamics and the chassis – there were lots of things we kept throwing into the fire and we kept learning, so that was good. We need a nice clear run in Barcelona and a little more reliability there and we're ready to go racing.”

In evidence of the RB6's raw pace, Vettel also easily topped the timesheets, on the opening day and this time in the rain – but the German has been quick to downplay any suggestions that RBR is the team to beat heading towards Sakhir, insisting that it impossible to draw an accurate picture of the likely pecking order just yet.

“It's true we did a couple of good runs, but it's hard to know what fuel loads the others were carrying,” the 22-year-old told the official F1 website. “In Barcelona we expect to improve the car even more – how much we succeed, we will see. I have read that Mercedes and McLaren will bring really big updates, so let's wait and see...”

Source: Crash.net

More photos from RB6 launch this morning

More here

Source: Motorsport Magazin, Sebastian-Vettel.org