HRT Formula 1 Team incorporates Kyocera Document Solutions as its Official Supplier through a collaboration agreement for the 2012 season. The Spanish team will count on Kyocera’s services, which include needs for management and printing of documents, both at the team’s permanent offices in the Caja Mágica and at the mobile offices that travel throughout the world during the Formula 1 season.

Kyocera Document Solutions has a vast experience in the sporting world and, even more so, in the motorsport one, since it’s responsible for the management and printing of documents at the F1 and MotoGP Grands Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya, Valencia Street Circuit and Motorland Aragón. At all of these Kyocera offers high quality devices and services that adapt to the rigurous demands that any F1 Grand Prix has, meeting the demands of the media office and the organization at the circuit itself, including a permanent 24-hour service.

The ceramic components of Kyocera are not only integrated in our printing devices, giving them a greater durability and resistence, but they are also present in many other industries, such as some F1 cars where there are parts incorporating Kyocera’s ceramic components that have to cope with extreme temperatures.

HRT Formula 1 Team continues to progress firmly towards its objective of consolidating itself and growing and it now takes another step forward thanks to the partnership with the multinational Japanese company Kyocera. It’s another support for the young Spanish outfit who, thanks to the seriousness and hard work that it proves day by day, has more national and international companies willing to back HRT, contributing to its consolidation and progress in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Óscar Sánchez, KYOCERA Document Solutions General Manager: “A team such as HRT Formula 1 Team needs to be backed by the most advanced and reliable technology during the most demanding of championships. Kyocera has the latest printing machinery and a highly experimented staff, which makes us a leader in offering documentary services at any sporting events”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal HRT Formula 1 Team: “Count on a renowned multinational company as Kyocera is amongst our partners gives us a confidence and calmness of great value for our day to day work. That calmness enables us to focus on pure competition aspects knowing that our backs are covered. Our needs in terms of printing, copying and scanning are high because the engineering, operations, marketing and communications departments are continuously putting the machines to the test and it is of vital importance that this work is not interrupted. In Formula 1 you work to the limit and Kyocera gives us the support and confidence needed to be able to do it”.

ABOUT KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS

KYOCERA Document Solutions is one of the world’s leading management solutions and document printing companies in the world. With a staff of almost 15,000 employees, its range of products and services includes ECOSYS printers, reliable multifunction printers, high-quality printer supplies, an array of software solutions and managed document services. KYOCERA Document Solutions offers innovative products built with long lasting components. Its clients benefit from the market’s lowest total cost of property and from the highest efficiency in any working environment. Its portfolio of solutions and its managed document services contribute not only to reduce the environmental impact but also to improve the efficiency and reliability of business.

 Fernando Alonso has kicked off the new 2012 season with a ‘Samurai’ tattoo on his neck and back, Marca sports newspaper reports.
Publishing a photo of the artwork on the Ferrari driver’s neck, the Spanish publication said the tattoo features Japanese characters.

Marca said the Spaniard and two-time title winner was inspired by the Hagakure, the spiritual guide written by 18th century samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo.

The report said most of Alonso’s tattoo is on his back.

 Most leading specialist publications see Red Bull as the continuing pacesetter in formula one.
In their recent analysis, outlets including Auto Motor und Sport (Germany), La Gazzetta dello Sport (Italy) and Autosport (Britain) believe world champion Sebastian Vettel again resides the best car ahead of the 2012 season.

“They still have an advantage, but it’s smaller,” agreed Jenson Button, according to Brazil’s O Estado de S.Paulo.

His boss Martin Whitmarsh added: “Red Bull has a solid, fast car, better than us in slow corners, but we’re better in the fast ones.”

Switzerland’s Sonntagsblick, however, sees McLaren actually ahead of the energy drink-owned team, with Mercedes in third place and Force India a surprise fourth.

“Red Bull is faster (than Mercedes),” said the German marque’s boss Ross Brawn, “and clearly a little more than we had hoped for,” he told Auto Motor und Sport.

The international publications said Lotus, amid their chassis flaw problems, rank anywhere between third (Auto Motor und Sport) and eighth (Blick).

According to the same press, Ferrari is in trouble, ranking no higher than fifth in the lists of the aforementioned publications — and the authoritative Auto Motor und Sport predicting nothing short of a disastrous season for the fabled Italian team.

Felipe Massa is quoted by Spanish reporters as saying Barcelona was “a little more positive” than the Jerez test recently, and he was asked to rank the development of the new F2012 car out of ten.

“Probably more than five. There is still much to do, but now we are closer than we were,” said the Brazilian.

As for whether the car is a race winner, Massa added: “I hope so, but it’s very difficult to say anything in testing,” he is quoted by Finland’s Turun Sanomat.

Indeed, Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi ended last week’s Barcelona test with the quickest time, but Blick’s veteran correspondent Roger Benoit warned against taking that too seriously.

“When with the same tyres at the same time, (Mercedes’ Nico) Rosberg was a second faster per lap than Sauber’s Japanese,” he said.

“In testing, the truth is seldom revealed — if the teams used lie detectors, they would all be laying exploded around us.”

According to Britain’s Sun newspaper, Kobayashi confirmed: “I don’t think McLaren and Red Bull are slow.

“We don’t really wish for wins or podiums. For us this is a bit too far away.”

Instead, the midfield battle looks extremely tight, with Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio surmising that Sauber as well as Force India, Toro Rosso and Williams are all in there.

“It will be race to race,” Toro Rosso’s Giorgio Ascanelli told the Italian press. “From what we’ve seen so far, this fight will be amazing.”

And Oricchio concluded: “As for HRT and Marussia, who have not even presented their 2012 cars, they undoubtedly have capable people, but also almost as many difficulties.”

Jarno Trulli has revealed he was offered a seat at Ferrari some years ago.
After fifteen consecutive seasons in formula one, the 37-year-old Italian has lost his Caterham race seat to the well-backed Russian Vitaly Petrov.

2004 Monaco grand prix winner Trulli, 37, drove since 1997 for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Caterham’s former guise Lotus.

Writing in his New York Times blog, correspondent Brad Spurgeon said Trulli was made the Ferrari offer while he was racing for Toyota between 2005 and 2009.

Trulli reportedly told Italy’s Autosprint magazine that Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali’s predecessor, the now FIA president Jean Todt, made him the offer.

“Nobody knows this, but at this point I think I can publicly thank Jean Todt for having been one of the few top team managers to consider me during my career,” he said.

“I won’t tell you when exactly — I was racing for Toyota and I was doing very well. But I had signed a rather long contract with the Japanese, and in my career I’ve always honoured my commitments.

“In 15 years of F1 I’ve never needed lawyers,” added Trulli.

Trulli left Renault for Toyota at the end of the 2004 season, driving for the carmaker until it pulled out of formula one at the end of 2009.

Rubens Barrichello left Ferrari at the end of 2005, replaced by Felipe Massa. Michael Schumacher retired a year later, replaced by Kimi Raikkonen.

At Ferrari, Frenchman Todt handed over to Domenicali at the end of 2007.

Bruno Senna has calmed a wave of fears about his health by declaring “I’m fine”.
Rumours buzzed around the internet that the Williams driver had been injured less than a month before the 2012 season.

In fact, the injured driver is Japanese karter Sakaguchi Sena.

“Guys, I’m fine,” Senna wrote on Twitter. “There’s been a confusion about me hurting myself.

“Whoever it is that actually got hurt, I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Red Bull reserve Sebastien Buemi has added Le Mans to his 2012 calendar, it was confirmed officially on Friday.

It was expected the former Toro Rosso driver, who has been signed as Red Bull’s full time reserve for this season, would also join Toyota’s new Le Mans sports car project.

Also to drive the Japanese giant’s new hybrid will be former F1 driver Anthony Davidson, Toyota said.

“This is an exciting driver lineup for our additional car,” said team president Yoshiaki Kinoshita.

 Amid the European cold snap, Franz Tost admits he was worried Toro Rosso might be late for its own car launch.
The STR7 was unveiled on Monday in the Jerez pitlane, a day ahead of its testing debut.

“When the trucks left Faenza on Saturday night I was worried we would not arrive in time,” La Gazzetta dello Sport quotes the relieved team boss as saying.

Ultimately, it turned out well, although Daniel Ricciardo – one of Toro Rosso’s new Red Bull-backed rookies – was not overly impressed with the car’s looks.

“It’s not exactly beautiful,” said the Australian, referring to the now notorious ‘stepped’ noses on the 2012 cars, “but I’d rather have a quick car than a pretty one.”

Actually, designer Giorgio Ascanelli is worried the STR7′s nose might not be ugly enough.

“I think we could have made it more aggressive,” said the Italian, “but in the end we had to homologate the car before we could test it.”

Arguably more ugly is the nose on Sauber’s new C31, but Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi isn’t so sure.

“You think it’s ugly?” he told reporters at Jerez. “If everybody has the same style of car then it’s not ugly. Only the McLaren is different, so we will see.”

On McLaren, Kobayashi might have a point.

Of the eight 2012 cars seen so far, all of them have a ‘step’ except the McLaren. And Pedro de la Rosa has hinted that the new HRT will also feature the unattractive solution.

“Like almost everyone one else we have had the idea to have as much area under the car as possible. The regulations force us to do what we have done,” Sauber designer Matt Morris is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport.

Said Telegraph correspondent Tom Cary: “It begs the question — have McLaren got it wrong?

“Were they ‘sandbagging’ – faking – at last week’s launch? Have they got it right and everyone else got it wrong?”

McLaren’s technical director Paddy Lowe is confident: “We have always had a different philosophy than the others for the front of the car,” he is quoted by Blick newspaper.

Two 2012 cars with ‘step’ noses – Lotus and Sauber – made their track debuts on Monday, ahead of official testing which begins on Tuesday.

Lotus’ technical boss James Allison thinks the E20 is the “most beautiful ugly car” seen so far.

“It feels great in first and second gear,” smiled Kimi Raikkonen, referring to the running for ‘filming purposes’.

Agreed Sauber’s Kobayashi: “I obviously can’t make serious judgements on the car because we had just a promotional day and were running only demo tyres.”

The new Williams will be seen for the first time on Tuesday.

Christian Klien will be back in action for the HRT team at this weekend’s Brazilian grand prix.

The Austrian also replaced Japanese Sakon Yamamoto in Singapore due to food poisoning, but no reason has been given for the change of drivers ahead of the Interlagos event.

“I am very happy to get a second opportunity to do another grand prix here after Singapore and I hope that we are doing a good weekend with positive results,” said Klien, 27.

He has raced at Interlagos twice before, most recently in 2005 with Red Bull.

The Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung said recently Klien might return to the Cosworth-powered F110 cockpit in Brazil or Abu Dhabi in a last-ditch effort to help HRT beat Lotus to tenth place in the constructors’ championship.

A third grand prix on the trot looks set to be disrupted by rain.

Bad weather affected the consecutive Japanese and Korean events recently, and rain is already disturbing the teams as they set up early this week at the Interlagos circuit in Brazil.

F1′s first sign of rain came at the weekend, when a golf tournament contested by Rubens Barrichello in Sao Carlos – a city of the Sao Paulo state – was cut short due to heavy rain.

And as the big teams including Ferrari set up at Interlagos on Monday, workers took cover inside the pit garages when a rain storm struck.

For the weekend, the initial forecasts predict possible showers across Friday and Saturday, with a reduced chance of rain for Sunday.

Last year’s Brazilian grand prix, held in mid October, was badly affected by rain, with delays protracting qualifying to an excruciating 160 minutes.

“There’s always a chance of rain,” said local Barrichello this week.

Nick Heidfeld on Monday said he is losing out on the straights compared with his teammate Kamui Kobayashi.

The pair are driving identical Sauber cars, but the speed traps usually show Japanese Kobayashi with better ultimate speed in a straight line.

Heidfeld, 33, joined the Swiss team after serving test driving roles with Mercedes and Pirelli this year, and he is currently on the lookout for a full-time job for 2011.

In his three races alongside rookie Kobayashi so far, the German has been out-qualified two times, and is yet to finish a race higher than the Japanese.

Heidfeld said on his official website nickheidfeld.com that his speed deficit compared with Kobayashi is due to his “engine situation”.

He took over ousted predecessor Pedro de la Rosa’s allocation of eight engines for 2010, after the Spaniard suffered several problems with his Ferrari units.

“Therefore the remaining engines have to cover a lot of extra miles,” said Heidfeld.

“This unfortunately leads to an engine power loss due to having ‘older’ engines, which is the reason for losing out on acceleration and top speeds,” he added.

Bridgestone ready for Interlagos – The short but fast circuit with the winding inside the tires poses a special challenge
Interlagos is the penultimate disconnect for Bridgestone. For the route, which runs counter-clockwise to bring the Japanese with the mean and the super soft compound. The weather could also play a role, but the intermediates and the rain tires have recently done in South Korea a good job.

“Brazil is a beautiful country and South America is an important growth market. So it is important for Bridgestone to show presence in the form of the race,” said motorsport director Hiroshi Yasukawa. “. We have manufacturing facilities in Brazil and appreciate the support from our staff, we have worked in the past with many Brazilian drivers and enjoyed their feedback we are looking forward to the enthusiastic fans at the track.”
Interlagos is a short distance with a narrow core, but fast sections. The asphalt is very bumpy, leading to a compromise on the voting. “It is a beautiful but challenging course,” said Hirohide Hamashima, which is responsible for tire development. “Although it is the second shortest track on the calendar, it has an impressive line and exciting corners.”

“There are mainly medium-fast and slow corners. This means that the mechanical grip and stability are important on the rear axle. The weather can be a deciding factor because it can be very hot or very wet. To maximize performance, needs is a good balance through the turns before it goes uphill towards the finish. There is something reminiscent of an oval. ”
“The first corner is a good overtaking Elle, but you can barter for quick there a brake disks. Caution is called for,” says Hamashima. “In the last two races, we should show a strong performance, but mainly it comes to safe tires. Our engineers work closely with the teams so they can get the best.”

HRT has reportedly bought Japanese carmaker Toyota’s former formula one team.

The new Spanish team has struggled with its Dallara-built car and a lack of development in 2010.

It was initially believed that Hispania Racing, bought by Jose Ramon Carabante from Adrian Campos before the start of its debut season, had agreed a deal to base its 2011 car on the unraced Toyota TF110.

It is for this reason, according to paddock speculation, that Toyota Motorsport only made available its 2009 car for Pirelli’s tyre testing programme.

It has been subsequently reported that HRT could buy hydraulic systems and gearboxes from the British team Williams for 2010.

But Auto Motor und Sport, citing “reliable sources”, reports that HRT has bought “the expertise, equipment and facilities” of Toyota’s Cologne based team.

At the same time, the magazine notes rumours that Hispania is behind in its payments to engine supplier Cosworth.

After Sunday’s Korean grand prix, Christian Klien could return to the wheel of the HRT for one or both of the remaining races of 2010.

That is the claim of the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung, recalling the 27-year-old’s strong performance with the struggling Spanish team in Singapore recently.

With his apparent food poisoning gone, Japanese pay-driver Sakon Yamamoto returned to the Cosworth-powered car in Japan and Korea.

But Kleine Zeitung said HRT is now considering putting reserve driver Klien back in the car for Brazil or Abu Dhabi, in a last-ditch effort to beat Lotus to tenth place in the constructors’ world championship.

Lotus has been the best of the three new teams in 2010, but neither it, HRT or Virgin has scored a single point.

Lotus is currently tenth due to Heikki Kovalainen’s 12th place finish at Suzuka, but an eleventh for HRT or Virgin at Interlagos or Yas Marina next month would see Lotus overhauled.

Only the top ten constructors share in the annual distribution of prize-money under the provisions of the Concorde Agreement.

Klien said in Yeongam that 2010 has shown that some pay-drivers are not necessarily the best value for F1 teams relying on the lucrative Bernie Ecclestone income.

“There is one at Virgin and Renault, and possibly two at Hispania,” he said.

But Klien acknowledged that a surprise result for HRT with the F110 car is unlikely.

“We are the only team that, since the season opener in Bahrain, has not aerodynamically improved its car,” he said.

He is therefore more hopeful about 2011.

“In March next year, I definitely see myself in a formula one cockpit,” said Klien.

According to the latest rumour in the F1 paddock, Karun Chandhok may be in talks with Lotus about joining Tony Fernandes’ team for 2011.

The rumour was aired on British television on Saturday morning from Korea, with pit reporter Ted Kravitz saying the Indian driver could become reserve driver before moving into the race cockpit in 2012.

Kravitz quoted a Lotus team member as admitting that the 26-year-old Indian, who made his debut with HRT this year before being sidelined by the better-funded Sakon Yamamoto, is a “great guy”.

Chandhok said this week that he is hopeful his F1 career has not floundered permanently after just half a season.

“There is a lot to discuss for next year with the HRT team, but also with other teams to see what other options are available for me, but I do feel good about my prospects,” he is quoted by The National newspaper.

UK-based Chandhok has not attended the most recent Japanese and Korean grands prix.

Robert Kubica is travelling to Korea this week in podium-winning form.

At the weekend, between the Japanese and Korean grands prix, the Pole and rally enthusiast took part in the Rallye d’Antibes in the South of France.

The rally, with Kubica at the wheel of a Clio S1600, is part of the FIA European Rally Championship.

According to French language sources including Belgian television RTBF, the 25-year-old finished the rally in third place overall.  Auto Hebdo described it as “an excellent performance”.

F1 Renault driver Kubica reportedly finished ahead of many faster S2000 cars, topped the times in three separate stages, and won the A6 class outright.

A month ago in Italy, he took his first class victory in the Rally d’Alipi Orientali.

But at Suzuka just over a week ago, Kubica retired his F1 car from second place behind winner Sebastian Vettel when his R30 shed a rear wheel.

He was, however, buoyed by his pace in Japan.

“I didn’t expect to be as quick as we were,” he admitted.