Vettel 'against all the four-cylinder advocacy'

In a dream world Sebastian Vettel would like to see a return of V12 engines to Formula One rather than the introduction of four-cylinder engines planned for 2013.

Answering theoretical questions on the official Formula One website, Vettel also said that he would pick Jochen Rindt as his team-mate if he could drive against anyone in the history of the sport.

When asked which of the current F1 regulations he would like to change, he responded: "I would put a V12 engine in the car - [I'm] against all the four-cylinder advocacy. I would take KERS off the car and put a V12 into the car. That would be 'greener' than what we have now!"

He also said he would like to see more overtaking in F1, but admitted he was unsure if the Drag Reduction System (DRS) was the correct way forward.

Asked what innovations he would like to see for the future, the world champion said: "Nothing really new - just making it possible to overtake. That would be fantastic for the drivers and obviously help the show. Everybody knows that it is almost impossible in Formula One to overtake so if you manage to do it you know that you've achieved something.

"Overtaking is something that separates the men from the boys. On the other hand I think that overtaking should never be artificial. And that is partly what I feel we are facing with this moveable rear wing and I am just hoping that it is not becoming too artificial. Obviously it is really hard to find a mode that allows the fastest man to find his way through.

" And if he could drive any car from F1's history, he said it would be the 1990 Ayrton Senna/Gerhard Berger McLaren. "I think the McLaren from 1990. The MP4-5."

Source: ESPNF1

New engine for Webber

According to the latest report from Korea Red Bull driver Mark Webber will start Saturday's free practice session with a fresh engine. Since it is the Australian's eighth and final engine it won't cost him a grid penalty.

Webber ended Friday's second free practice session on top ahead of championship rivals Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton.

Source: GP Update

Massa's ninth engine used as precaution - Ferrari

Felipe Massa's engine usage for the 2010 season ticked over to a ninth unit in Singapore, resulting in a grid penalty.

That news alone could be interpreted as a potential threat to the title chances of his teammate Fernando Alonso, who is now just 11 points behind leader Mark Webber having won the past two races from pole.

Like Massa, Spaniard Alonso entered the Singapore round having used eight engines, the maximum allowed during the entire 19-race schedule this year.

But Brazilian Massa's ninth engine was only installed in Singapore due to his technical problem in qualifying that stranded him at the very rear of the grid.

The necessary gearbox change resulted in a five-place grid drop, but Massa could not be pushed down the order lower than dead last.

So the Italian team also decided to install a new engine in his F10 - resulting in another negated grid penalty, this time 10 places - before the race.

A spokesman for the Italian team confirmed that the change was "entirely precautionary".

Massa said: "Now I only have three left which have each done one race, to rotate over the last four races of the season."

Source: Motorsport

No engine concerns - Alonso

Fernando Alonso has again insisted he has no concerns about engine usage as he heads into the final five races of the season with no new units available to him.

Alonso used his eighth Ferrari engine of the season at Monza, hitting the limit under the regulations before a 10-place grid penalty applies for fitting a ninth. By comparison, both McLaren drivers and Sebastian Vettel have used seven, while championship leader Mark Webber has used six.

Alonso's higher usage is due to a number of problems at the start of the season and a failure at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Since then the Ferrari V8 has been altered to improve reliability and Alonso is confident that the engines he has available are of sufficiently low mileage to last him until the end of the season.

"There is no reason to worry about engine problems, because our engines can also be used more," he said. "And there are no other tracks where we are on the throttle for most of the lap."

Stefano Domenicali added that Singapore specifically was easy on engines.

"It is a street circuit, where the engines are less important," said the Ferrari team principal.

McLaren race engineer Phil Prew expects the problem to limit Ferrari's practice mileage but not cause any problems in the races.

"I think it will only affect their Friday running, in terms of running used engines on the Friday," he told the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes phone-in. "Sadly I don't think that will give us any advantage over them."

Source: ESPNF1

Red Bull drivers suffered engine problems in Germany

Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber both suffered engine problems last weekend at Hockenheim, according to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.

Webber, who finished an unaccustomed sixth, revealed he had to reduce his speed in the second half of the race because the supply of oil from an auxiliary tank was not working.

"I was happy to just get to the finish," said Webber. "It was our strategy to only show our final package on the very last day of testing. So we were down on kilometres to guard against all those sorts of issues."

Vettel, who finished third after starting on pole, encountered problems between the Friday practice sessions when his high-mileage Renault V8 was replaced after an oil sample was tested.

Vettel had been hoping to convert his pole position into another race win but a poor start saw him squeezed out by the two Ferraris into the first corner. The team's race starts is an area team boss Christian Horner is looking to address.

"They were definitely not the best starts," admitted Horner. "It has happened to us several times this season."

Source: ESPNF1

Ferrari makes engine changes

Ferrari to make changes to the engine in the F10 following early season problems

Ferrari is to run with revised engines fitted to its F10 during the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend at Catalunya.

The team has suffered a number of issues so far this season, with Fernando Alonso suffering two failures during the opening four rounds of the year.

The Sauber team has also been beset by engine issues during the fly-away events in Bahrain, Australia, Malaysia and China which led to Ferrari making a request to the FIA to make changes to its engine on reliability grounds.

With the FIA having approved the changes, Ferrari will now run a revised engine for the opening race of the European season, although Pedro de la Rosa has doubted whether or not the changes will be ready in time for Sauber to make the most of them for the fifth round of the campaign.

“An element of the F10 package that has undergone close scrutiny in recent weeks is the engine,” a statement from Ferrari read. “A lot of work was carried out on the test bench, completing several long runs and this work produced some solutions which it is felt will solve the reliability problems experienced in Bahrain and Malaysia. The team therefore requested and received the authorisation of the FIA to make some changes within the framework of the current engine regulations and these modifications will be fitted to the engines to be used in Spain.

“While since China, everyone in the Gestione Sportiva has been working hard as always on their various areas of activity, it is fair to say that over the past weeks, the staff in the engine department really produced a major effort, working night and day to analyse, evaluate and solve issues that have affected engine performance in past races.”

As well as the revised engine, Ferrari will fit its own version of the F-Duct to the cars of Alonso and team-mate Felipe Massa during free practice on Friday, when a decision will then be taken over whether or not to use the system during qualifying and in the race itself.

The system was trialed by test driver Giancarlo Fisichella during straight-line aerodynamic testing in Italy last weekend.

Source: Crash.net

Ferrari make engine modifications to help reliability

Ferrari has been allowed to make changes to its 2.4 litre V8 engine to help improve its reliability, after suffering a catalogue of engine failures in the first four rounds of the season. Both the Italian marque and customer team BMW Sauber have encountered numerous problems with the Type 056, with no less than five failures thus far and one other precautionary change.

Although engine development is effectively frozen as a result of the engine homologation rules introduced in 2007, small incremental changes to auxiliary components are allowed. However, manufacturers are only allowed to make significant changes to their engines to improve reliability, and only after receiving agreement from the FIA and fellow engine manufacturers. Ferrari's engine problems are understood to have centre around the powerplant's pneumatics (pressurised air) system.

Ferrari confirmed on Tuesday that it had received permission from the FIA to make the required changes, with those alterations set to be made available to the works and customer teams from the Spanish Grand Prix. However, only new engines will feature the changes, with engines used in any of the first four Grands Prix featuring the same configuration as previously.

“A lot of work was carried out on the test bench [with the engine], completing several long runs and this work produced some solutions which it is felt will solve the reliability problems experienced in Bahrain and Malaysia,” said Ferrari. “The team therefore requested and received authorisation from the FIA to make some changes within the framework of the current engine regulations and these modifications will be fitted to the engines to be used in Spain.”

Thus far, Fernando Alonso and BMW Sauber's Pedro de la Rosa have suffered two engine failures each, while de la Rosa's team-mate Kamui Kobayashi has been the victim of a failure too. Meanwhile, the engine removed from Felipe Massa's car after qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix is still being used in free practice sessions. Toro Rosso is the only Ferrari-powered team not to have suffered an engine failure.

Source: ManipeF1

Alonso not worried by engine woes

Fernando Alonso is confident he will have a "reliable and strong engine" available for Spanish Grand Prix.

The double World Champion has already suffered a couple of engine failures so far this season with the latest coming during Friday practice in China.

However, the Spaniard insists the Ferrari engineers are working hard to fix the problems ahead of his home race at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona in a fortnight.

The problems with the engines? I'm not worried at all," he is quoted on the Ferrari website. "I know that the team is working hard to fix them and I'm convinced that I'll have a reliable and strong engine available, just as I know that they are giving it their all in Maranello to introduce several new solutions for the F10 for the Spanish Grand Prix."

Despite not reaching their potential so far this year, Alonso insists he is more than happy with the start Ferrari has made to the season.

"I wasn't happy with things Sunday night in Shanghai, but now, with a cool head, I can be really satisfied with this start of the season," he said.

"We didn't always gain what we could have according to our potential, but we're fighting for the title and this is what counts more than anything else, considering that in the last two years after four races it was already clear that I didn't have a chance."

Source: Planet-F1

Ferrari may ask for engine tweak permission - report

Ferrari may ask the FIA for permission to make changes to its Formula One engine on the grounds of reliability.

Germany's Auto Motor und Sport magazine on Thursday said the Italian team's recent engine problems - including two failures for Fernando Alonso - have been identified.

Reportedly, the problem - which could cost Alonso grid places later this season if he runs through his allocation of eight engines - is with the pneumatic valves.

The report said too much air is escaping from the engine during the races, and because of the new regulations there is not enough time during the single pitstop to replenish the 2.4 litre V8s.

Auto Motor und Sport said that if Ferrari can prove to the FIA that the engine is suffering a general reliability flaw, it may be granted a temporary exemption from the 'freeze' on engine development.

The engines already used by Alonso and his teammate Felipe Massa, however, may not be altered.

Source: Motorsport

Senna to race fresh Cosworth engine in China

Bruno Senna will have a fresh Cosworth engine fitted to his HRT car for qualifying and the race in China this weekend.

Brazil's Globo reports that the change will be made as a precaution, after the 26-year-old rookie finished the recent Malaysian Grand Prix with very little fuel left in the tank.

"That is not good for the engine," said the Brazilian, "so we will use it (the Sepang engine) only in free practice in Friday."

Another new feature of his F110 single seater in Shanghai is a new fuel tank with different compartments, after the development was run only on Karun Chandhok's sister car two weeks ago.

But Senna is not expecting a major step forward in China, because the car will run with an unchanged aerodynamic configuration.

"We will have no developments, or anything that can substantially improve our pace," he admitted.

"For now, we can only tinker with some things, such as the weight distribution," said Senna.
He arrived in Shanghai on Monday and is at the circuit on Wednesday.

Source: Motorsport

Ferrari downplays claims of engine reliability dramas

Ferrari has downplayed suggestions that last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix highlighted a major engine reliability problem for the Italian marque.

After both his and Felipe Massa's engines had to be replaced before the race in Bahrain, Fernando Alonso then retired at Sepang last weekend with a smoky blown V8.

Pedro de la Rosa and Kamui Kobayashi's Ferrari-powered Saubers also failed in the Malaysian heat, even though their problems were not related to Alonso's.

Ferrari has now confirmed that the Sauber-spec engines failed due to "a malfunction of the electronic engine management". All electronic control units fitted to F1 cars are supplied by McLaren Electronic Systems (MES).

The Maranello based team also said Alonso's Sepang failure was sudden and isolated, and therefore not linked to the problems in Bahrain that were caused "by a momentary overheating".

Ferrari said Alonso's separate gearbox problem in Malaysia, where the Spaniard drove almost the entire race without a clutch, "could have caused some consequences for the engine".

"A more precise analysis can only be made when the engine is back at the works (factory) on Wednesday afternoon," added the team.

Source: Motorsport