French carmaker Renault’s continuing involvement in formula one relies on “certain conditions” being present.
That is the claim of Carlos Tavares, who is the marque’s freshly appointed chief operating officer.

After the ‘crashgate’ scandal, Renault effectively withdrew from F1 as a works team and is now only an engine supplier to the Red Bull, Lotus Renault, Team Lotus and – in 2012 – Williams teams.

“It was a reasonable decision which led us to a level of expenditure in line with our means,” Tavares is quoted in a French language report by Agence France-Presse.

“Renault does not have infinite funds,” he insisted. “This decision allowed the company to refocus its efforts on the core of the race engines.”

AFP said that instead of paying EUR 220 million to run the works Renault team in 2009, the marque now spends just 60 million on its F1 programme.

Asked about the difference in image, Tavares answered: “I don’t know that we have lost anything.”

As for the future, he said Renault’s “strategy is to be the leaders in zero-emission vehicles.

“Our commitment to F1 is long-term when the conditions of cost, image and sporting fairness are also met”, added Tavares.

“As long as the conditions are there, there is no reason to not be in F1. It has been almost 30 years that we have demonstrated our passion (for F1) and we continue to do so every day.”

Mike Gascoyne has admitted it is unlikely Team Lotus’ 2011 car will ever feature a KERS system.

The Renault-powered T128 was designed without the energy recovery technology in mind, but chief operating officer Keith Saunt said last month: “We might end up with it, who knows?”

“We will discuss it with Renault, but for a small team like us, KERS is a very high cost,” technical director Gascoyne told Auto Motor und Sport.

“We would need to change the chassis significantly, as at the moment there is no room for KERS,” he said.

But Gascoyne is not ruling out a change of mind, especially as arguably the biggest benefit of running a KERS system this year is expected to be the race start.

“It would not be good if we’re among a few of our direct opponents in qualifying and then before the first corner we lose three or four places because we lack that extra power on the line,” he explained.

F1 team Virgin will race with a Russian license in 2011, it will be announced officially early next week.
The Russian sports car maker Marussia sponsored the new British team last year, and ahead of the 2011 season acquired shares and renamed the team Marussia Virgin.

The team, whose 2011 car will be launched on Monday at the BBC television centre in London, announced this week that Marussia chief Nikolay Fomenko has become engineering director.

Marussia’s UK managing director Andy Webb has become CEO, to be assisted by the highly experienced former Jordan and Force India marketing boss Ian Phillips, who is the team’s new chief operating officer.

The next announcement is that Virgin will race with a Russian license from 2011, meaning that the Russian tricolour would be flown above the podium in the event of a top-three finish.

“On Monday, February 7, we will officially announce that Marusia Virgin Racing is not just the first Russian team, but the first team with a Russian license,” Fomenko is quoted by the Ria Novosti news agency.

“This means that for a victory the Russian anthem will be played,” he explained.

Team Lotus has confirmed reports that the 2011 car does not feature a KERS system.
We reported recently that HRT and Virgin will also be starting the forthcoming season without the energy-recovery technology.

“The decision made the design job slightly easier, because packaging it in the car is always a bit more of a headache,” chief designer Lewis Butler said in the Team Lotus Notes magazine.

Confirmed head of aerodynamics Marianne Hinson: “It’s the same for us in aerodynamics — no KERS is actually easier because packaging all the bits you need for it is actually quite limiting for some of the aero shapes you need in some areas.”

Lotus is not ruling out installing KERS at a later date, but chief operating officer Keith Saunt suggested it is not necessary for the team to take its next step.

“If KERS was going to get us from eighth to sixth then we’d have it,” he said. “But when you look at the weight of it and some of the engineering challenges, I think it’s a good decision not to start with it.

“We might end up with it, who knows?” added Saunt. “But if we did we’ve got a lot of experienced people who could turn their hands to it.”

Force India is among at least three teams set to travel to the Jerez test later this month without a 2011-spec car.

It was already believed that HRT and Virgin will not be ready with their new single seaters when the pre-season test period kicks off at Valencia on 1 February.

And Force India’s chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer announced on Thursday: “The team will participate in all four pre-season tests and we will use the (2010) VJM03 for the first test in Valencia before the VJM04 makes its test debut in Jerez the following week.”

Most other teams will begin the four-test period prior to the season opener in March with their new cars.

“Starting a test later with the new car gives us a couple of weeks more wind tunnel time when we are at our most productive to get the parts released for the new car,” Szafnauer told Reuters.

A Force India spokeswoman this week refused to say when the team planned to announce its 2011 driver lineup, amid reports Nico Hulkenberg will drive on Fridays alongside racers Adrian Sutil and rookie Paul di Resta.

After rain affected the last three grand prix weekends, it is almost certain that the F1 world can expect a dry finale in Abu Dhabi.

Indeed, it almost never rains in the United Arab Emirate capital, where outside the cosmopolitan city lies endless miles of sandy desert.

Media reports say it hasn’t rained in Abu Dhabi for more than 120 days running, but – interestingly – a light shower is forecast for when the F1 fraternity congregates at Yas Marina on Thursday.

Beyond that, a dry and sunny weekend in the 20s is expected.

The F1 cars arrive in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, after a mad rush on Sunday to pack up the equipment in Brazil amid perhaps the tightest turnaround between races in the sport’s history.

At Interlagos on Sunday, Red Bull team members celebrated their constructors’ title win with loud music while they packed up just minutes after the chequered flag.

“We divided the team into three shifts to get everything done on time,” confirmed McLaren’s chief operating officer Simon Roberts.

The annual formula one calendar should be shifted in order to give team staff a more suitable period of holidays at year’s end.

That is the opinion of Otmar Szafnauer, chief operating officer at the independent Silverstone based team, Force India.

Traditionally, the F1 calendar kicks off in March, ending some time in November.

Szafnauer said that, as a consequence, team staff take an initial end-of-season break before the pressure ramps up around Christmas to prepare the following season’s car.

“If we started a month later and the season then finished a bit later, we (the season) would be finished for Christmas.

“We could then shut the factories so that everyone comes back in the new year at full speed,” Szafnauer explained to the Dutch language formule1.nl.

He said his proposal has been discussed within the FOTA group, but admitted he is not confident the shape of the calendar will change dramatically any time soon.

“It’s not going to happen from one day to the next, because of the contracts with many of the circuits,” added Szafnauer.

Bosses of the smaller formula one teams have confirmed they are unlikely to agree to relax the in-season testing ban for 2011.

McLaren and FOTA boss Martin Whitmarsh said this week that while the amount of winter running will be increased to six full tests, the smaller teams are happy with the total lack of in-season testing.

“I personally would like to see more testing but I am respectful of the fact that there are teams still hurting,” he said.

Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport said a relaxation of the ban was discussed at a meeting last weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, but the small teams are refusing to comply with the wishes of their more powerful rivals.

“Everyone’s in the same boat,” said Force India’s chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer.

“Testing is only an advantage for those who can afford it. So it (the ban) is good for the sport, even if the big teams have to cope with the setbacks in the development process,” he added.

Michael Schumacher has scoffed at the current in-season ban by suggesting that formula one is the only major sport in the world that prohibits practice.

Toro Rosso’s Franz Tost hit back: “There is also no other sport in which a test kilometre costs between 700 and 1000 euros.”

Sauber has not decided whether or not to run KERS in 2011.

With the car weight limit increasing next year and the weight distribution to be fixed, Force India’s chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer said this week that there is “no other option” than to use the energy recovery technology.

But Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport had said that while the bigger teams are all planning to go with KERS, the new teams are almost certainly not.

And the publication said it is not clear if middle of the grid teams like Sauber and Toro Rosso will use KERS next year.

Hinwil based Sauber is still developing the C29, but work has also begun on the team’s 2011 car.

But technical director James Key said the KERS decision has not yet been taken. “It is certainly a possibility,” he said, “but we are still weighing it up and will decide later on.”

Team boss Peter Sauber said recently that Sauber will definitely not be using the system developed and raced in 2009 by former owner BMW because it is “air-cooled with far too many disadvantages”.

If Sauber was to opt for KERS in 2011, it is believed the team would buy a Magneti Marelli system for 1 million euros through customer engine supplier Ferrari.

Force India has become the latest team to commit to using KERS in 2011.

When the energy-recovery systems were first permitted by the technical regulations last year, the Silverstone based team opted not to use the technology.

But for 2011, the FOTA gentleman’s ban on the systems will lapse, and the efficiency of KERS will improve due to the increase in the minimum car/driver weight by 20kg.

Moreover, the interaction of KERS with the car’s weight distribution will also be negated in 2011, due to the introduction of a mandatory 46:54 ratio.

“There is no other option than to go with KERS,” Force India’s chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

However, Auto Motor und Sport said it is not clear if independent teams Sauber and Toro Rosso will use KERS next year, adding that all three new teams will probably not race the systems.

Teams not developing their own KERS systems for 2011 will be able to buy a supply for 1 million euros, while a 5 million euro per team development cap applies.

Jun.16 (GMM)  The promise of more money motivated a swathe of key people to defect to Lotus.

That is the claim of Otmar Szafnauer, chief operating officer of the Force India team.

Shortly after Force India promoted Mark Smith to replace the Sauber-bound technical director James Key, Lotus announced that Smith will move to the new Malaysian-backed team next year.

Force India’s Lewis Butler (chief designer) and Marianne Hinson (head of aerodynamics) are also defecting to Lotus.

“Lotus has double the salary,” Szafnauer is quoted by Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport.

“So you either have to pay more or look for an alternative.”

Third in line after Key and Smith for Force India’s top technical job is reportedly Andy Green.