HRT Formula 1 Team announces the incorporation of Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua to the Spanish team’s young driver development programme.

The formation programme designed by HRT F1 Team for Ma Qing Hua includes professional assessment in his career as a driver, private tests with cars from different categories and simulator tests. If the results of the partnership are satisfactory, Qing Hua could take to the wheel of the F112 at the Formula 1 Young Driver test.

Ma Qing Hua will perform his first official act with HRT Formula 1 Team on Thursday the 12th of April at a press conference previous to the Chinese Grand Prix (13th to 15th of April), which takes place at the Shanghai International Circuit. The details of the press conference will be announced shortly.

The incorporation of Ma Qing Hua to HRT Formula 1 Team’s driver development programme is part of the Spanish team’s strategy in order to serve as a platform for the formation of professionals in the pinnacle of world motorsport. The driver born in Shanghai has been competing in different categories of national and international motorsport for many years. His incorporation to HRT F1 Team’s Driver Development Programme takes place after some simulator tests and a testing session in Cheste (Valencia) at the wheel of a World Series car. The qualities and attitude of Qing Hua convinced Luis Pérez-Sala of his potential to incorporate him to the programme which Dani Clos, HRT F1 Team test driver, is also a part of.

Ma Qing Hua: “I’m very honoured to form a part of the driver development programme at HRT Formula 1 Team since, with work and effort, it will allow me to become the first Chinese Formula 1 driver. It’s a very special moment for me and it’s hard to express how happy I am. I’ve dreamt of becoming a Formula 1 driver since I was very small. I started in the karting world when I was 8 years old and I worked really hard to learn and become quicker every time. After competing in categories such as Formula campus, Formula Renault and F3, I learned a lot about car set-up, technique on circuits and team work to become more professional every time. And now finally my childhood dream has become true thanks to the opportunity that HRT has granted me to become an F1 driver. And even more so this year with all the drivers who are competing, with 6 world champions amongst them. Driving an F1 car will be the most incredible experience and I’m going to work hard to earn it. Thanks to HRT for offering me the chance to show what I’m capable of. And thanks to my family and everyone who has always supported me. This is only the beginning”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: “We are working so that one of the team’s signs of identity is to serve as a platform to launch young drivers, both nationally and internationally. Ma Qing Hua is one those talents in which we believe and we want to help him in his career so that he can make it to Formula 1. We like his conditions and we want to take part in his formation by incorporating him to the team’s Driver Development Programme so that he can participate in races and private tests, with the objective of him being able to take part in the Formula 1 tests reserved to young drivers. Due to my responsibility in the Circuit de Catalunya young driver programme, I’ve been able to follow his progress and personally assisted some tests he did. I knew he had potential, but I was surprised with his speed, safety, adaptation capacity, attitude and professionalism. All these virtues make us believe that his incorporation to the programme will be very positive and will lead to a fruitful and lasting relationship”.

Profile

Date of Birth: 25th of December 1987
Place of Birth: Shanghai, China
Nationality: Chinese

Ma Qing Hua started racing at the tender age of 8 and won the youth National Karting Championship when he was 12 years old. He continued to race and achieve successful results in karting until 2004, when he entered the Asian Formula Renault Series and won the championship. In 2005 he represented Team China in A1 Grand Prix. From here he would move on to Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, before competing in Formula 3 Spain and Formula 3 Spain “Copa de España”, managing two podiums this season. One year later, the Chinese driver took part in various events of the British Formula 3 International Series. In 2010 he represented Team China for two races in Superleague Formula before moving onto the Chinese Touring Car Championship in 2011 where he came away with the title after four wins and four podiums in the eight-race season.

Career Summary:

2011: Chinese Touring Car Championship: 1st in the Championship (4 wins and 4 podiums)
2010: Superleague Formula: Team China
2009: British Formula 3 International Series: Team West-Tec
2008: Formula 3 Spain, Copa de España F3: Team West-Tec: 7th in the Copa (2 podiums)
2007:Chinese National Karting Championship (Super Group): 1st in the Championship
2006:Formula Renault 2.0 NEC: Team Astromega
2005:A1GP: Team China
2004:Asian Formula Renault Series: 1st in the Championship
Formula Campus Asia Championship: 1st in the Championship
Shanghai Karting Grand Prix (ICA Group): Winner
2003:Chinese National Karting Championship (ICA Group): 6th position
2002:Chinese National Karting Championship: 2nd position
Indian International Karting Championship: 2nd position

F1 tyre supplier Pirelli on Friday announced that Jaime Alguersuari has been signed as a test driver.

The former Toro Rosso driver was left without a role for the 2012 season, so he signed on as a co-commentator for British radio as a means of staying in the paddock full-time.

The 22-year-old Spaniard will join Pirelli’s existing test driver Lucas di Grassi, the former Virgin driver, and the pair will also develop tyres for GP2.

Pirelli said Alguersuari will “bring his knowledge of the most current generation of formula one machinery”.

He and di Grassi will test Pirelli’s newly-acquired 2010 Renault car at Jerez, Spa, Monza and Barcelona between May and September.

“I have a huge desire to get behind the wheel of a formula one car again and return to competition, so this is a brilliant chance for me,” said Alguersuari.

So far in 2012, McLaren stands all alone — with not only the fastest car, but also the best-looking one.
With almost every other team fielding an ‘ugly’ stepped nose, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button dominated qualifying in Melbourne with their sleek silver machine.

A report in the Mirror suggested McLaren’s rivals have all made “a design blunder”.

“We felt it (the conventional nose) was the right decision and we’re pleased it looks good and it’s reasonably quick as well,” smiled team boss Martin Whitmarsh.

As for the direction taken by McLaren’s rivals, including Red Bull who pioneered the ‘high nose’ philosophy for the now-past blown exhaust era, Whitmarsh insisted: “It’s not a question of right or wrong.

“But there’s no doubt which one looks best. Ultimately, it’s which one is quickest.”

Writing in Autosprint, Alberto Antonini wondered if Saturday in Australia marked “the end of an era”, after Red Bull dominated the past few seasons in formula one.

“A new era in F1 has begun,” agreed Marca newspaper’s Marco Canseco.

At least for now, there is no obvious signsof panic at Red Bull, with Mark Webber telling Speed Week: “There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the car, we just haven’t got everything out of it.”

As for Sunday’s Melbourne opener, former driver and RTL commentator Christian Danner predicted: “I think the McLarens are unbeatable.

“Behind them we will see a wonderful fight for third place, with Grosjean, the two Mercedes drivers and, of course, Sebastian Vettel.”

 Luca di Montezemolo insists heads will not roll, as Ferrari looks set to race into the 2012 season without the chance of a podium.
The famous team wrote off last year’s championship early to focus on 2012 with an aggressive project, with new British technical chief Pat Fry in the spotlight.

But also feeling the pressure is team boss Stefano Domenicali, who said at the weekend that he has “the support of president Montezemolo”.

“I am not the one who designs the car: my task is to give my people everything they need in terms of organisation and structure,” said the Italian.

But Montezemolo denied that Ferrari will react in arguably typical fashion by making sweeping changes.

“I’ve always given my staff time and trust,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “We have not even begun and already you’re putting the people in doubt?

“Let’s not have that talk,” insisted the Ferrari president.

He admitted the F2012 has untapped potential.

“There are too few tests and unfortunately they are in public. But I would still wait before drawing conclusions about the title fight.

“According to the drivers, the F2012 has some negative elements, but also some positive. The problems have been identified and I hope they can be fixed quickly,” he added.

Marussia Racing’s new MR01 finally made its first on-track appearance during a promotional ‘filming’ day at Silverstone, just a few miles from is Banbury base.

The Anglo-Russian team endured a torrid time in its attempts to get the car ready for the third and final group test at Barcelona last week, having skipped the opening session in Jerez to prepare the MR01 for early March, only to fail the mandatory FIA crash tests. Although both Timo Glock and rookie Charles Pic got some miles under their belts in Barcelona last month, it was at the wheel of the 2011-spec car, leaving them preciously short of time in the new machine ahead of its race debut in Melbourne next weekend.

The Silverstone shakedown, part of a promotional event ahead of the car’s departure for the Australian Grand Prix, will provide both team and driver with vital information on the new machine, which has been conceived after a ground-up re-evaluation of the way Marussia designs its racing cars. As such, the car is almost entirely new, with very few carry-over components from last year’s Marussia Virgin MVR-02.

The desire to make a clean break from the previous CFD-only creations presented the design team, led by technical consultant Pat Symonds, with the challenge of going back to basics to produce a solid mechanical package, whilst maintaining an eye towards achieving the incremental performance steps required to move the team forward.

The starting point for the design programme was a consideration of the people and resources available to the Banbury-based team. The former three-base operation has been consolidated into one site, the Marussia Technical Centre in Banbury, bringing the various elements of the business together to form ‘one team’. In particular, the design department and practices now benefit from far greater integration and collaboration. Furthermore, the aerodynamic department has been completely restructured and the aero methodology reinforced, blurring the boundaries between CFD and experimental work in the wind tunnel, as well as enhancing the fidelity of the team’s aero approach.

The technical partnership forged with McLaren Applied Technologies in July of last year has also been influential in the design process and the relationship is starting to yield benefit as the advanced facilities that the Marussia team has access to have been used to prove the correlation process with the MVR-02. It is however early in the relationship and the MR01 will become a beneficiary of the relationship in due course.

The key design priorities were to address previous aerodynamic deficiencies and, mechanically, achieve greater weight saving. At the same time, a lot of the detail of the car has been refined and the design team have been a little more adventurous than before, stepping closer to the engineering boundaries. The car can best be described as a significant evolution of its predecessors. The relationship with McLaren is also evident, as the MR01 is only the second car launched this season, after the Woking giant’s MP4-27, to eschew the stepped nose concept favoured by the rest of the field.

“We are very pleased to be running the new MR01 for the first time this morning,” team principal John Booth admitted, “It has been a long and frustrating wait for everyone in the team, but we can now get back on track – literally – and start working towards the first race of the season in Australia next weekend.

“Today is the first of two promotional events, so while the drivers will be able to get a feel for the car, they won’t be able to draw any real conclusions until we start running in anger in Melbourne. Nevertheless, this is an important day for us and we’ll enjoy every minute on track with the new car.”

Glock turned the first laps with the MR01, beginning his third season with the team and providing the all-important element of continuity required to keep moving the package forward. He is joined in 2012 by Frenchman Pic, who embarks on his rookie year in F1, having made the step up from GP2 to replace Belgium’s Jerome d’Ambrosio. Both drivers will get track time with the new car over the next two days, albeit running on demonstration tyres as opposed to the Pirelli P-Zeros that they will use once competition starts in Melbourne.

 Jules Bianchi’s personal sponsor has signed up with the Force India team for 2012.
The French rookie, also with the strong backing of Ferrari’s development programme, will be Force India’s reserve and ‘Friday’ driver this season.

Without mentioning 22-year-old Bianchi’s name, the Silverstone based team announced this week that Brazilian car parts maker Aethra is a new sponsor.

Aethra was Bianchi’s main sponsor in GP2 last season, when he finished the feeder series in third place behind champion Romain Grosjean and Luca Filippi.

“Particularly after a bad start, it is unfortunate that 2011 did not go as we wanted for Bianchi in GP2,” his manager Nicolas Todt told Italy’s Autosprint magazine last week.

“It was therefore impossible for him to win the title and so similarly (impossible) to find him a formula one race seat with a good team.”

 McLaren has signed up the son of a former team driver to test its 2012 formula one car later this year.
In 1995, Denmark’s Jan Magnussen – also a former McLaren test driver – made his formula one race debut with a one-off McLaren seat.

He moved on to contest 24 grands prix with Stewart until he was stepped down for poor performances in 1998.

Now, the 38-year-old’s son Kevin, who is 19, has been signed up for McLaren’s young driver programme, which will include a seat at the young driver test later this year.

Like Gary Paffett and Oliver Turvey, Magnussen will also work in McLaren’s state-of-the-art simulator.

He first caught McLaren’s attention in 2010, and last year finished runner-up in the British F3 championship with eight poles and seven wins.

This year, he will contest the Renault World Series.

“The team has shown great faith in me so far and I feel that this is an important step in my career,” said Magnussen.

Romain Grosjean is happy the early signs of his relationship with new teammate Kimi Raikkonen are positive.
Last week, the newly-acquainted pair spent time at Jerez, where their new Lotus car was the surprise standout performer of the first pre-season test.

Another “really pleasant surprise”, according to GP2 champion Grosjean, was “Kimi”.

“It took a little time and I did wonder what kind of relationship we would develop, but I think he is a really nice guy. Whatever I have asked, he has answered.”

Arguably more important, of course, is their black and gold car, and it set tongues wagging by proving the standout performer at Jerez.

“It is definitely better than our one of last year,” Frenchman Grosjean is quoted by Finnish broadcaster MTV3.

And he said both he and Raikkonen are likely to develop it in harmony.

“I did not see anything strange,” said Grosjean when asked how his and Raikkonen’s driving styles compare, “the telemetry was nearly identical.”

Also more than pleased is Lotus’ technical director, James Allison.

“The best thing about the week was the drivers’ feedback,” he said. “We had not heard anything as positive in the last couple of seasons.”

 Charlie Whiting has given the 2012 cars at the Jerez test this week an early clean bill of health.
It was reported the FIA’s technical delegate decided to attend the opening test of the 2012 pre-season amid speculation the teams may have overstepped the mark with their new exhaust layouts.

Exhaust-blown diffusers have been banned for this season, but the early signs were that teams had been clever in their interpretation of the new rules to maintain an aerodynamic benefit.

“At the moment they’re all legal,” Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport, following Whiting’s inspection of all the team garages on Wednesday, quoted the Briton as saying.

Red Bull’s Adrian Newey also played down all the speculation about 2012 exhaust interpretations, insisting there is unlikely to be a “bright idea” from this year’s restrictive rules similar to the double diffuser or blown exhaust innovations.

“We do not see any big differences between all the possible solutions,” he said. “The rules are very specific and very restrictive.”

That could, of course, be great news for Red Bull’s rivals, particularly with the FIA having also clamped down on flexing front wings — another area perfected recently by Newey.

“That rule change,” said Newey, referring to the halving of the allowable wing flex for 2012, “came very late.

“The result is that the wing has gained a lot of weight, making it harder to achieve the optimum weight distribution.”

Newey said the FIA’s new stance on wings was “probably” powered by the violently fluttering components on Ferrari’s car late last season.

Indeed, between Ferrari and Red Bull, there already appears some tension.

Spain’s Marca newspaper claims Newey suspected Ferrari’s initial exhaust solution on the F2012 was not legal.

Then on Wednesday – the day of Whiting’s pit visits – the Maranello based team hastily cut into its exhausts and fairings, ostensibly to meet the new rule about top visibility.

“Honestly,” Ferrari designer Nikolas Tombazis said, “I haven’t seen anything out of the ordinary. We have analysed what everyone is doing and I do not see a great innovation that we have not studied already.”

The saga will continue to run.

“They will still be able to use the exhausts (aerodynamically) this year,” predicted Remi Taffin, engine supplier Renault’s track boss.

“So we will see changes in this area in the Barcelona testing and probably also in Melbourne,” he is quoted by France’s Auto Plus.

McLaren and Jenson Button on Wednesday ended weeks of uncertainty by announcing a new “multi-year contract” for 2012 and beyond.

The team said in a media statement that the move “will strengthen (McLaren’s) long-term stability”.

“I’ve never felt more at home at a team than I do (here),” added Button, 31.

And team boss Martin Whitmarsh said: “I can safely say that he’s one of the most capable and respected drivers we’ve ever had”.

Williams sees Kimi Raikkonen as the key to securing a major new sponsor, according to a Finnish newspaper.
The 2007 world champion recently visited the British team’s headquarters, and rumours in Singapore said the parties are serious about potentially working together next season.

According to Ilta Sanomat newspaper, signing Raikkonen could secure the team the backing of the part state-owned Qatar National Bank.

Williams already has links with Qatar, including the Williams Technology Centre located in the Arab emirate.

The report said Sir Frank Williams has been trying “for several years” to sign the Qatari bank as a sponsor.

During his last grand prix as Williams’ technical director in Singapore two weeks ago, Sam Michael was asked if the team is now taking its driver decisions on financial grounds.

“I think Williams will make the choices that are best for the company and the best results. That’s what it will come down to,” he said.

The Australian also hinted that Pastor Maldonado, strongly backed by Venezuala, is set to stay in 2012.

“You can definitely start to see the signs as to whether a rookie is capable or not by mid-season and I would definitely put Pastor Maldonado in that category,” he said.

“And if he wasn’t in that category, he wouldn’t have kept his drive going forward. So I can see the guy having an even stronger year next year,” added Michael.

Despite earlier worrying about teaming up with arguably F1′s greatest ever driver, Nico Rosberg now insists he is happy to be Michael Schumacher’s teammate. The pair have been together at Mercedes since last year and all the signs are pointing towards a future beyond their 2012 contracts. And Rosberg, who is 16 years younger than seven time world champion Schumacher, is happy. “I cannot hide that beating Michael with the frequency I have done is very good for my career,” said the German, who is yet to notch up his maiden race victory. On the other hand, the 26-year-old admitted, sharing a team with Schumacher “is not easy”. “With Michael you don’t really become close friends and he is very picky about everything,” Rosberg told O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper in Singapore. “You notice why he is a seven time champion, paying attention to every detail. I learn from Michael and he learns from me too.” One area in which Rosberg insists he is better is in braking for the slow corners. “That is mainly where I am ahead. I’m more efficient than him and it’s what the telemetry shows,” he revealed.

Mark Webber has now signed a one-year extension to his Red Bull contract.
The Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat said the 34-year-old Australian’s 2012 deal will be announced in Hungary this week.

Earlier, it was rumoured that another driver, perhaps Lewis Hamilton, might be drafted in to replace Webber as Sebastian Vettel’s teammate.

But team owner Dietrich Mateschitz said recently that Webber, who achieved pole at the Nurburgring and outperformed Vettel all weekend, is staying put.

“I always said that I expect our 2012 driver lineup to be the same,” team boss Christian Horner told F1′s official website, adding that the news becoming official is a “formality”.

“I am very happy with the two drivers we have. They push each other hard and I can’t imagine any other driver in our car, or Mark Webber in any other team’s car next year,” he added.

Virgin has dismissed speculation it may lose Jerome d’Ambrosio’s services and backing for the 2012 season.
The Belgian rookie’s manager, Renault team boss Eric Boullier, said at Silverstone that he will talk about the 25-year-old’s future with Virgin “and another team at the Nurburgring”.

But Virgin team president Graeme Lowdon dismissed the reports.

“I spoke to Jerome’s manager at Silverstone and that is simply not the case,” he told The Star. “We are happy with the guys we have got and it would be nice to continue with the same lineup next year.”

D’Ambrosio’s 2011 teammate is German Timo Glock.

“We are extremely happy with the drivers we have got and we have no plans to change,” added Lowdon.

He said Glock, who is reportedly happy with Virgin’s split with Nick Wirth and the new tie-up with McLaren, has shown no signs of making alternative plans for 2012.

“We have an extremely open relationship so if anyone was talking with him then we would be the first to know,” said Lowdon.

Red Bull will make a decision about its 2012 driver lineup in late August, team boss Christian Horner has announced.

Before the British grand prix, it seemed near certain that Australian Mark Webber would be retained to race next season alongside Sebastian Vettel, who is under long-term contract.

But 34-year-old Webber then ignored team orders towards the end of the Silverstone race, prompting Horner to schedule private talks.

“He risked the second place of Sebastian, his third place and 33 points for the team,” Briton Horner said in an interview with Bild newspaper.

The team boss sounded angry about Webber’s behaviour.

“I understand that he’s racing, but he also absolutely unnecessarily risked a crash. If all 500 people in the team thought only of themselves, we could never achieve our goals,” he charged.

Asked directly if Webber has endangered his 2012 seat, Horner answered: “We will meet in late August and take a decision together.”

As for the requirements for Vettel’s teammate next year, Horner said: “He must bring harmony to the team.”

He then voluntarily referred to this week’s speculation about Kimi Raikkonen.

“I think his head is in a different place than formula one at the moment. So far I’ve seen no signs that he wants to come back.

“We don’t have a driver problem; everyone in the pitlane is already beating on our door, and we have time,” said Horner.