Sebastian Vettel has revealed that he is yet to think up a name for his new formula one car.
Last year, the 23-year-old won his first title at the wheel of Randy Mandy, after the original RB6 named Luscious Liz was replaced due to damage after Monaco.

The giving of an amorous female name has become one of the Red Bull driver’s several F1-related superstitions, including the sliding of a lucky coin behind his boot laces.

When asked about his new RB7 wearing the coveted number 1 as it was launched at Valencia on Tuesday, Vettel told Welt newspaper: “The number looks good.

“I saw the car in one piece for the first time this morning. So I haven’t got a name for her yet,” he revealed.

Vettel was also asked about reports that his friend Michael Schumacher suffers from motion sickness at the wheel of driver simulators.

As for whether he has also been sick in a sim, he smiled: “Once, but only very briefly.

“I think it’s an important tool with testing so limited, especially with regards to (learning) the tracks,” added Vettel.

Michael Schumacher insists he is not the only driver who suffers from motion sickness at the wheel of simulators.
A major story broke last week suggesting that Schumacher’s limited time in Mercedes’ Brackley simulator could explain his struggle to keep up with Nico Rosberg after returning to F1.

But little coverage was given to former drivers including Martin Brundle and Alex Wurz who said they also feel sick when using simulators.

“I think almost all the drivers that I know have had it (motion sickness),” agreed Schumacher, in conversation with Telegraph Sport.

“When we had our first simulator at Ferrari I had exactly this feeling already so it’s nothing to do with age. People get used to it by going through certain processes,” he added.

Schumacher revealed that Rosberg also had problems with the Mercedes simulator in 2010, and played down the usefulness of the technology.

“As far as I understand there are some other top teams that have a simulator but make very little use of it,” said the German.

“For us drivers the main benefit of them would be to get used to a track. But for me personally that has never been an issue. I don’t see the big advantage of them,” added Schumacher.

Mercedes’ new state-of-the-art simulator is not expected to be up and running until next year.

Michael Schumacher’s inability to work in a driver simulator hindered his preparation for grands prix in 2010.

That is the claim of a source close to the Mercedes driver, who told the Dutch website f1today.nl that Schumacher does not spend time in simulators because ever since a motorcycle fall in 2009 they have caused him to suffer from motion sickness.

On the other hand, the 42-year-old’s teammate Nico Rosberg – who scored 70 more points than his famous cohort last season – is reportedly renowned for the time he has spent in simulators during his career.

“Nico spends a lot of time in the simulator preparing the car for the grand prix weekends,” said the Mercedes source.

The source added that while Rosberg’s setup work is “largely done” by the time of the first session on Friday morning, “Michael begins with a basic setting”.

“This is one of quite a few very good reasons why Schumacher was sometimes at a disadvantage to Rosberg,” added the source.

However, late last year Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn said he thinks Schumacher would have been more competitive in 2010 if Mercedes had a truly “top” driver simulator.

He said a new simulator is “currently under construction” at Brackley, but “it won’t be fully operational before 2012″.

The Williams-racing start in Qatar an initiative to make the roads safer – it is the first of its kind in the region
The Williams team is expanding its efforts to make the road safer. Together with the Qatar National Bank (QNB), the largest private bank in Qatar and the Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) will start the team some safety campaigns to alert the population in Qatar on the dangers in traffic. One wants to move 25,000 residents to more cautious and forward-looking driving style.

Some team members of the racing team will hold lectures in schools and universities. QSTP will promote road safety through simulators, developed in the Williams factory and used for driving instruction, training and education are. The initiative in Qatar as well as other programs will run from Williams, including the partnership with DEKRA in Germany: The Williams program focuses on energy efficiency, education and road safety.

The campaign is the first of its kind in the region. It is intended to encompass all stages of life, not just the current driver, but also the future. As an incentive, a Williams-powered car in different places will be issued.
TMS

F1 drivers and engineers canvassed Karun Chandhok for his impression of this weekend’s new grand prix venue in Korea, the Indian has revealed.

Chandhok, 26, contested the first half of 2010 with the HRT team, and was later deployed by Red Bull to the new – then incomplete – Yeongam layout for a demonstration in an F1 car.

So, as the only driver in the world to have completed real laps in Korea, Chandhok revealed to Reuters that title contenders Mark Webber and Jenson Button have asked him about the circuit’s nuances.

“You’d expect people to be calling, really,” said Chandhok, who is not travelling to Korea this week.

The report said technical people from various teams, and his former teammate Bruno Senna, also asked Chandhok questions about his laps in Korea.

“To be fair, a lot of people have very good simulators and they have a lot of faith in their simulators and simulation software,” he explained.

“I think a lot of them tend to believe that more than anything else.”

But he said Australian Webber spoke to him about Korea.

“Obviously he was very curious to see what I thought about the place and what the circuit was like,” said Chandhok.

And a more recent discussion was with Button.

“We were chatting about this and that and he was quite curious about Korea,” added the Indian, revealing that the McLaren driver asked him about the camber of the corners.

“I think some of that stuff is not so apparent until you get there. So he had questions about that sort of stuff,” said Chandhok.

Mercedes’ problem in 2010 is not the tyres but the team’s simulation techniques, according to Niki Lauda.

It has been said the German team is puzzled by the current Bridgestone tyres and how they interact with the W01, the successor of last year’s championship winning Brawn.

But former triple world champion Lauda thinks the real problem is the new era of reduced track testing and the alternate need to rely on computers and simulators.

“All the teams complain about the tyres but it’s the same problem for all of them,” Lauda is quoted by Bild newspaper.

“The problem with Mercedes is the movement between their simulations and reality. Who is the best in this area wins, and they are McLaren and Red Bull.”

At Silverstone on Wednesday, Michael Schumacher delivered the unsurprising verdict that, with a 93 point deficit in the championship, he is not going to win an eighth title in 2010.

“We try to learn as much as we can and prepare for next year. That’s what I’m fully motivated towards,” said the German.

But some wonder how the winner of 91 grands prix and hundreds of millions of euros in salaries and sponsorships can possibly prolong a middling return to his chosen sport.

“I have known Michael a long time. You would think I’d know if he were about to chuck it in,” team boss Ross Brawn told the Telegraph.

The Briton said Schumacher is taking a different approach to his earlier ruthless determination to win races and titles with Benetton and Ferrari.

“He is more interested in the whole Mercedes project,” said Brawn.

“He takes a greater interest in the wider aspects of what we are trying to do and is not simply concerned with what happens on the track. He is enjoying his return more than people think.”