F1 2011 Pre-Season Thread

[Magnificent]

Welcome all to the Formula 1 2011 Pre-Season Thread.
Here is the place to find out when the next tests are, who's driving for what team and to discuss the up and coming 2011 season.

Here is the information you'll be needing to know for next season, don't worry I'll be updating this on a regular basis.

Rule Changes

• 2011 will see the return of the 107% rule in qualifying. This means that any driver that sets a time outside 107% of the fastest lap in Q1 will not be allowed to race.
• The FIA have increased the maximum allowable penalty from $100,000 to $250,000. This means that racing stewards can issue to up to a $250,000 penalty to teams that fail to follow the rules.
• Team orders will no longer be banned.

Tyre Supplier Changes

• Pirelli will supply the tyres to all teams after Bridgestone announced that it would not renew its contract with Formula One at the end of the 2010 season.

Technical Changes

• The maximum height of the diffuser will be cut from 175 millimetres (6.9 in) to 125 millimetres (4.9 in), reducing aerodynamic downforce.
• Double Diffuser designs will be abolished.
• KERS will be re-introduced though the system will not be mandatory.
• In order to compensate for the increase in weight brought about by KERS, the minimum weight of the car will increase from 620 kilograms to 640 kilograms.
• FOTA have agreed to ban the F-duct system.
• An adjustable rear wing system will be introduced in order to aid overtaking.
• The number of wheel tethers – the load-bearing cables connecting tyres to the bodywork – will be doubled for 2011.

F1 2011 Calendar

The F1 2011 Calendar will contain 20 races with the addition of the Indian Grand Prix.

March 13 Bahrain Grand Prix Sakhir
March 27 Australian Grand Prix Melbourne
April 10 Malaysian Grand Prix Sepang
April 17 Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai
May 8 Turkish Grand Prix Istanbul
May 22 Spanish Grand Prix Barcelona
May 29 Monaco Grand Prix Monte Carlo
June 12 Canadian Grand Prix Montreal
June 26 European Grand Prix Valencia
July 10 British Grand Prix Silverstone
July 24 German Grand Prix Nürburgring
July 31 Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring
August 28 Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps
September 11 Italian Grand Prix Monza
September 25 Singapore Grand Prix Marina Bay
October 9 Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka
October 16 Korean Grand Prix Yeongam
October 30 Indian Grand Prix New Delhi
November 13 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Yas Marina
November 27 Brazilian Grand Prix Interlagos

• The Bahrian Grand Prix will revert to its original layout as the new one receved a lot of negative reception.
• The Turkish Grand Prix will be moved forward ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix.
• The European Grand Prix will be moved forward.
• The Brazilian Grand Prix will be the final race of the season as in 2008.

Team and Driver Lineups

Red Bull Racing-Renault
Race Drivers;
1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Mark Webber
Test Drivers
TBA

McLaren-Mercedes
Race Drivers;
3. Lewis Hamilton
4 Jenson Button
Test Drivers;
Gary Paffett

Scuderia Ferrari
Race Drivers;
5. Fernando Alonso
6. Felipe Massa
Test Drivers;
Jules Bianchi
Giancarlo Fisichella
Marc Gené

Mercedes Grand Prix
Race Drivers;
7. Nico Rosberg
8. Michael Schumacher
Test Drivers;
TBA

Renault
Race Drivers;
9. TBA
10. Vitaly Petrov
Test Drivers;
Fairuz Fauzy
Romain Grosjean
Bruno Senna
Jan Charouz
Ho-Pin Tung

Williams-Cosworth
Race Drivers;
11. Rubens Barrichello
12. Pastor Maldonado
Test Drivers;
Valltteri Bottas

Force India F1 Team-Mercedes
Race Drivers;
14. Adrian Sutil
15. Paul di Resta
Test Drivers;
Nico Hülkenberg

Sauber-Ferrari
Race Drivers;
16. Kamui Kobayashi
17. Sergio Perez
Test Drivers;
Esteban Gutierrez

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
Race Drivers;
18. Sebastien Buemi
19. Jaime Alguersuari
Test Drivers;
Daniel Ricciardo

Lotus-Renault
Race Drivers;
20. Heikki Kovalainen
21. Jarno Trulli
Test Drivers;
Karun Chandhok

HRT F1 Team-Cosworth
Race Drivers;
22. Narain Karthikeyan
23. TBA
Test Drivers;
TBA

Marussia Virgin Racing-Cosworth
Race Drivers;
24. Timo Glock
25. Jerome d'Ambrosio
Test Drivers;
Luiz Razia

Important Dates

• Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi 16th-17th November 2010 Young drivers’ test
• Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi 19th-20th November 2010 Pirelli tyre test
• Launch of Ferrari F150, Maranello 28th January 2011
• Launch of Lotus TL11, Online 31st January 2011
• Launch of Sauber C30, Valencia 31st January 2011
• Launch of Renault R31, Valencia 31st January 2011
• Launch of Red Bull RB7, Valencia 1st February 2011
• Launch of Mercedes MGP W02, Valencia 1st February 2011
• Launch of Williams FW33, Valencia 1st February 2011
• Launch of Toro Rosso STR6, Valencia 1st February 2011
• Testing at the Circuit de Valencia Ricardo Tormo, Spain 1st-3rd February 2011
• Launch of McLaren MP4-26, Berlin 4th February 2011
• Launch of Virgin MVR-02, London 7th February 2011
• Launch of Force India VJM04, Jerez 10th February 2011
• Testing at Jerez, Spain 10-13th February 2011
• Testing at Circuit de Catalunya, Spain 18th-21st February 2011
• Testing at Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain 3rd-6th March 2011

Red means finished.
Green means in progress.

Latest Test
The current test is being held at the Jerez Circuit. All the teams, apart from HRT, will be present for at least one day running their 2011 cars. HRT will be testing at Monza instead.

Pictures and Testing Results (click to enlarge)
Young Driver Test Day 1 results;

Pictures

Young Driver Test Day 2 results;

Pictures

Pirelli Tyre Test Day 1 results;

Pictures

Pirelli Tyre Test Day 2 results;

Pictures

Ferrari F150 Launch

Pictures

Lotus TL11 Launch

Pictures

Sauber C30 Launch

Pictures

Renault R31 Launch

Pictures

Red Bull RB7 Launch

Pictures

Mercedes W02 Launch

Pictures

Williams FW33 Launch (interim livery)

Pictures

Toro Rosso STR6 Launch

Pictures

Valencia Test - Day 1 Results;

Pictures

Valencia Test - Day 2 Results;

Pictures

Valencia Test - Day 3 Results;

Pictures

McLaren MP4-26 Launch

Pictures

Virgin MVR-02 Launch

Pictures

HRT F111 Launch

Pictures

Force India VJM04 Launch

Pictures

Jerez Test - Day 1 Results;

Pictures

Jerez Test - Day 2 Results;

Pictures

Thats all folks. Remeber if anything pops up and I haven't put it feel free to nag me. However also bear in mind that I am still at school but I will try to update this as often as I can.

Thanks.

 

[Gary Ludlum]

Gary Paffett and Arabadzhiev are so young.

Nice thread, covers most of the things of F1 2011.

 

[Christian Burge]

Pastor Maldonado is going to be at williams next year because williams has finacial difficulties

 

[Ondrej Kapal]

go Josef get your F1 seat!

 

[Eckhart von Glan]

nice thread, will point my seriously f1 addicted son to this

 

[Magnificent]

Gary Paffett and Arabadzhiev are so young.

Haha.

Nice thread, covers most of the things of F1 2011.

Thanks

Pastor Maldonado is going to be at williams next year because williams has finacial difficulties

Yes but there are also rumors that Williams will loan him to HRT if he doesn’t bring enough sponsors.

go Josef get your F1 seat!

Yes it’d be nice to see a Czech in F1.

nice thread, will point my seriously f1 addicted son to this

Thanks, please do.
So what did you all think of today’s test, Ricciardo and Maldonado stood out for me.

 

[Ross Balfour]

Wow nice thread already!!

Surprised at the guys testing - quite a few tail-runners in GP2 and some even further down than that, will be interesting to see how far off the pro's they are.

 

[Martin Bulgin]

Maldonado did ok in the HRT, he went a second faster than Sennas qualifying time and was faster than Jules Bianchi in a Ferrari, be interesting to see how he gets on in the Williams, Riccardio was only 3 tenths off Webbers qualifying time, must put pressure on Webber to keep his seat.

 

[Sérgio Marques]

F1 rookie test

Daniel Ricciardo make a time was only a quarter of a second off Sebastian Vettel's pole position time for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Pastor Maldonado with HRT set a best time just under 1.3 seconds faster than Bruno Senna's qualifying lap.

Last but not the least, Portugusese Formula 3 Euro Series driver Antonio Felix da Costa tested for Force India and he was the fastest F1 debutant, setting a time just 0.467 seconds off Adrian Sutil's qualifying time for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Keep this name in your mind.

Time table:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88327

 

[ufunacaoenn]

Go Ricciardo, I really like him. He was amazing on the British Formula 3 season on 2009 which I followed.
I would not be surprised if he got a spot in any Formula 1 Team for 2011 because he is damn quick but needs a few more sponsors to back him up.

Is this official because I read some where a few weeks ago that Toro Rosso might change there drivers.

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
Race Drivers;
18. Sebastien Buemi
19. Jaime Alguersuari
Test Drivers;
TBA

 

[Ross Balfour]

Wow, very impressive Daniel!

Also impressed with Antonio and Esteban Gutierrez, but the guy in last, 9.8 seconds off? Hmm I wonder how much the sponsors are paying him to race.

Thought Jules could of done better, maybe he had some issue but he was absolutely mind-blowing in the F3 Euroseries 2 years ago.

 

[Magnificent]

Yeah Ricciardo has been very impressive and to be honest now Vettel is champ Webber probably won't be expecting equal treatment which could lead to Daniel getting a seat. Maldonado and da Costa looked impressive as well. di Resta and Bianchi were slightly dissapointing and I personally think Bianchi is very overrated.

Is this official because I read some where a few weeks ago that Toro Rosso might change there drivers.

Scuderia Toro Rosso-Ferrari
Race Drivers;
18. Sebastien Buemi
19. Jaime Alguersuari
Test Drivers;
TBA

As far as I know STR confermed their drivers a while back now and both have contracts for 2011. Could you perhaps post a link showing where you read this?

 

[Martin Bulgin]

Wow, very impressive Daniel!

Also impressed with Antonio and Esteban Gutierrez, but the guy in last, 9.8 seconds off? Hmm I wonder how much the sponsors are paying him to race.

Thought Jules could of done better, maybe he had some issue but he was absolutely mind-blowing in the F3 Euroseries 2 years ago.

Hmm Rio Haryanto ? Nationality INA ? never heard of him but if he has buckets of money maybe HRT sign him:wink: maybe he had some bags of cement in the back of his car.

 

[ufunacaoenn]

Yeah Ricciardo has been very impressive and to be honest now Vettel is champ Webber probably won't be expecting equal treatment which could lead to Daniel getting a seat. Maldonado and da Costa looked impressive as well. di Resta and Bianchi were slightly dissapointing and I personally think Bianchi is very overrated.



As far as I know STR confermed their drivers a while back now and both have contracts for 2011. Could you perhaps post a link showing where you read this?

allright, I will try to find that website because it was quite hard to find it.

 

[James Chant]

2011 will see the return of the 107% rule in qualifying. This means that any driver that sets a time within 107% of the fastest lap in Q1 will not be allowed to race.

So nobody can race? surely you mean outside the 107% cannot race!

 

[Magnificent]

So nobody can race? surely you mean outside the 107% cannot race!

Lol it's fixed now. =P
Thanks for that mate, that should teach me to proof read.

 

[Yann Laprevotte]

Hmm Rio Haryanto ? Nationality INA ? never heard of him but if he has buckets of money maybe HRT sign him:wink: maybe he had some bags of cement in the back of his car.

That guy is a true talent in fact, racing for Manor in GP3 last year and getting 5th overall IIRC. He comes from Indonesia and he's only 17 AFAIK, and was in Formula BMW no longer than 12 months ago, so it's a bit harsh to expect him to be straight away in the pace.

Anyway, I'm a bit disappointed that people like Arabaziev or Gonzalez made it while well recognised GP2 talents like Clos or Vietoris couldn't find a drive.

In other news Karun Chandhock said on his Twitter that rubber from GP week-end should make the track 1,1-1,4 second faster than how it was in quali on Saturday, so hard to make comparaisons with times from last week-end.

 

[Christophe Berton]

Good job from Jermome d'Amborsio
He was faster than the qualy time of glock in the Virgin

Abu Dhab Q: Time Glock 1:44.095
Abu Dhabi Young test: D'Ambrosio: 1:43.518

Go Jerome, take the virgin seat for 2011, he is the best option, not a rich boy

 

[ufunacaoenn]

No way, remember that this drivers are driving during the day where the temps are much higher then during qualify so there is time can could be lost during qualify.

 

[Martin Maaskant]

And I think the setup will be different from what the contracted drivers use. I can imagine that you don't want to let a rookie drive a F1 car which is on a non forgiving setup with the risk that he wrecks the car.