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Race Recap: 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix follows the template of this year and last [spoilers]

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Infiniti, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Renault, Middle East, Racing

The sand, the wind, the penalties, the contact and the one crash - all of them collided to make the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix a surprise affair from day to day and lap to lap. Oh, and did we mention the tires? Pirelli made a last-minute swap after the amusement park ride that the Chinese Grand Prix turned into with the soft compound tire, and brought medium and hard compounds to the desert. That didn't stop things from falling apart for some teams - literally - and that didn't stop the one team that seems to love the hard compound Pirelli tire.

Continue reading Race Recap: 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix follows the template of this year and last [spoilers]

Race Recap: 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix follows the template of this year and last [spoilers] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lotus opens the 2013 Formula One season with the launch of the E21 [w/video]

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 19:15:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Lotus, Racing

Lotus has broken the seal on the 2013 Formula One season, launching the E21 car at its factory in Enstone. With the regulations this year quite similar to those of last year, there are no dramatic changes in form compared to the E20. After some teams lobbied to be able to cover the stepped nose with a "vanity panel," Lotus retained the configuration, the team's technical director saying that the panel would add more weight and didn't make sense to put on the car unless it also added performance.

Beyond that, the E21 is said to be an comprehensive advance in its details - the suspension gets a new layout, the Coanda exhaust and the passive double DRS system are evolutions from last year, the front wing is "a continuation of concepts" from 2009.

After securing fourth in the Constructor's Championship last year, this is the chassis that drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean will use to try and move the team up a place, which would mean beating one of the big three teams over the course of the season. The quietly and impressively consistent Räikkönen managed third in the Driver's Championship, and we're sure he wouldn't mind a move up in the standings, either.

You can watch a replay of the reveal on Sky Sports in the video below - it commences at 43:10, and there's a sound bite of the car starting up just below that. Other unveilings this week will be two of those big teams Lotus wants to conquer, McLaren on Thursday and Ferrari on Friday.

Continue reading Lotus opens the 2013 Formula One season with the launch of the E21 [w/video]

Lotus opens the 2013 Formula One season with the launch of the E21 [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Jan 2013 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lotus Renault GP calls Grosjean back up to partner Raikkonen

Noah Joseph — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:02:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Lotus, Renault

Consistency is paramount in racing, but sometimes a thorough shake-up is called for. And that's what's taking place at the Lotus Renault GP team next season.

Not only is the team formerly known as Toleman, Benetton and Renault changing names once again to Lotus, but it's thoroughly shaking up its driver lineup as well. After the surprising announcement that former world champion Kimi Raikkonen is coming back to fill in for the injured Robert Kubica, the team revealed that it's called Romain Grosjean back up to the plate to take Vitaly Petrov's place.

The Franco-Swiss driver has longstanding ties to the team, having served as an official test driver since 2008. He was summoned to the race seat in 2009 when Nelson Piquet was ousted in the wake of the Crashgate scandal, but failed to score a single championship point in those seven races. Now with the experience of having taken the titles in the GP2 Series, the GP2 Asia Series (twice), and the Formula Three Euroseries, Grosjean is getting another shot at the big leagues.

What will happen with Petrov (or Bruno Senna, for that matter) remains to be seen, but given his talents - and the massive sponsorship dollars he brings from a key developing market - we wouldn't be surprised to see him find another ride for next season. Marussia Virgin Racing: we're looking at you, comrades.

Continue reading Lotus Renault GP calls Grosjean back up to partner Raikkonen

Lotus Renault GP calls Grosjean back up to partner Raikkonen originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Senna in, Grosjean up, Heidfeld out at Lotus Renault GP

Noah Joseph — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:58:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Lotus, Renault

The sidelining of Robert Kubica left big shoes to fill at the Lotus Renault GP team. After the Polish driver crashed out in a pre-season rally, the team was left scrambling to find a replacement. But rather than dip into its own considerable reserve of back-up drivers, the higher-ups opted to bring in Nick Heidfeld to fill Kubica's seat.

The eleven-season F1 veteran performed admirably in a pinch for Renault, most notably scoring a podium finish in Malaysia. But that didn't keep the team from replacing him for last week's Belgian Grand Prix, promoting their test driver and former HRT pilot Bruno Senna to his place.

The move lead to much speculation over what would unfold for the rest of the season, but Renault has now put that to rest by announcing that Senna will be driving the remaining seven rounds left in the season and that Heidfeld - who had (quite understandably) expressed some measure of dissatisfaction with having been shown the door - is departing the team.

It's a big leg-up for Senna and a ballsy move for Renault, but undoubtedly disappointing for Heidfeld. For his part, the German driver (who's spent the bulk of his career at Sauber) pledges to be back next season. Meanwhile Senna's previous role as test driver will be taken up once again by Romain Grosjean, the Franco-Swiss driver who took Nelsinho Piquet's place at the team in the wake of the Crashgate scandal in 2009 and who just claimed the title in the GP2 series.

Senna in, Grosjean up, Heidfeld out at Lotus Renault GP originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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End of Year Shuffle: 14 Formula One teams swap drivers for 2010

Noah Joseph — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:28:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs

If you thought the series of driver changes in the middle of this ongoing Formula One season was something, it's nothing compared to the grand game of musical chairs expected to ensue as the season draws to a close. With BMW closing up shop, several new teams joining the grid and at least a couple of former world champions switching teams for next year's championship, we're shaping up for the biggest jumble the F1 circus has seen in years. Follow the jump to see how it's unfolding so far.

[Image: Clive Mason/Getty]

Continue reading End of Year Shuffle: 14 Formula One teams swap drivers for 2010

End of Year Shuffle: 14 Formula One teams swap drivers for 2010 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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F1 Updates: BMW seeks new buyer, FIA re-opens selection process, Renault granted appeal, etc.

Noah Joseph — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, BMW, Ferrari, Renault

It's anything but business as usual this year in Formula One, and this past week has been no exception, with one team scrambling to secure its future, another receiving the go-ahead to continue racing, and others re-submitting applications in the hope of joining the grid for next year.

First up is BMW, which announced it would be withdrawing its support from the Sauber team at the end of this year. After the team's eponymous founder failed to put the cash together to buy his team back from the Bavarians, the outfit is going ahead with its program to launch successive updates to its current car for Valencia this coming weekend and Singapore later this season in to demonstrate its capabilities in the hope of finding a new buyer before the season's out.

The FIA isn't holding its breath, however, and has informed seven outfits that submitted so-far unsuccessful bids to participate in F1 next season that there'll be another spot opening up on the grid for next year. In addition to BMW Sauber, reports suggest that Epsilon Euskadi and Prodrive are vying for the spot.

Meanwhile the Renault team has been given the green light to race at Valencia after successfully appealing the ban imposed on the team at the last grand prix for a loose wheel nut. The team will have to pay a $50,000 fine, whiole newcomer Romain Grosjean is confirmed to replace Nelsinho Piquet and partner Fernando Alonso.

As for Felipe Massa, the injured Ferrari driver currently recovering, the latest reports indicate that while he could be ready as soon as the Italian Grand Prix - the home race for his team - he'll more likely wait until the later race in his home country of Brazil to make his comeback.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty]

F1 Updates: BMW seeks new buyer, FIA re-opens selection process, Renault granted appeal, etc. originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More Musical Chairs: Renault F1 replaces Piquet with Grosjean pending FIA penalty appeal

Noah Joseph — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:32:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, Renault

From left to right: Fernando Alonso, Flavio Briatore, Romain Grosjean and Nelsinho Piquet launch the 2009 Renault R29
Click above for high-res image gallery

Typically, most of the drivers who start a Fomula One season are the ones who carry it through to the end. But this has turned out to be anything but a normal season, with erstwhile backmarkers winning races and a big game of musical chairs ensuing. Toro Rosso has already switched out Sebastien Bourdais for Jaime Alguersuari, Ferrari was set to bring Michael Schumacher back from retirement but ended up having to deputize test driver Luca Badoer instead, and now Renault has followed suit by axing Nelson Piquet, Jr. and replacing him with its test driver, Romain Grosjean.

The move started last week when Renault announced Piquet's departure. The son of three-time world champion Nelson Piquet, Sr., Nelsinho (as he's known) moved up to F1 after two seasons in the GP2 feeder series also run by Renault team principal Flavio Briatore. Aside from a solitary, though impressive, second-place finish in Germany, the young Brazilian failed to finish nine races last year, and had yet to score a single point this season. Piquet's termination prompted him to launch a series of tirades against Briatore, whom he characterized as an ignorant executioner.

Piquet's replacement, Romain Grosjean, won both the Formula Three Euroseries and the GP2 Asia championships before moving up to the main GP2 series, where he placed fourth last year and is currently runner-up in the standings, in addition to his role as Renault's official test driver. Renault is waiting to see if he and teammate Fernando Alonso will start the upcoming European Grand Prix, pending their appeal of a penalty given at the last race in Hungary for an improperly secured wheel. Confirmation of Grosjean's promotion pends a successful appeal.

Gallery: 2009 Renault R29 F1

[Source: Autosport]

More Musical Chairs: Renault F1 replaces Piquet with Grosjean pending FIA penalty appeal originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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