Even if, as usual, the Friday results should not take too well: the balance of power seems to have not changed significantly.
Was the most important information for the Turkish Grand Prix on Thursday it already: the successor of Lucious Liz is Randy Mandy - Sebastian Vettel has meant new chassis. This and also the nameless sister car of Mark Webber were tested on Friday, both with and without the Red Bull version of the F-shaft. After the afternoon Technikbeprechung one, but then came to the conclusion that the speed advantage is not on the long straights through the loss outweighs the slight deterioration in output. They will most likely bring the system back in Canada, where there are no fast corners, but many lines, there is likely to pay off an F-shaft properly.
Whether with or without the bonus-air channel, Red Bull will tomorrow and the day ahead to be there. In the first session to be hidden for a while, then handed it to the second of the two places (Webber) and 3 (Vettel) behind Jenson Button, who was even more convinced that the cops had not shown their full potential.
However, they had to fight back with reliability problems, this time the Renault engine gave the car of Mark Webber just before closing time on the mind. He should, however, have been overflowed with more than 2,000 kilometers anyway, just before the end of his life, so far we do not worry, announced team boss Horner. With Vettel also had two water pipes are repaired, no cooling issues are what one would have in a hot Grand Prix.
Mark Webber, meanwhile, is even close to a contract extension. He has shown impressive in recent Grands Prix that he was not only the "old" is, which can be ironed on young Vettel, and with the recent doubling of his victories and the co-lead in the World Cup, he has now so better arguments, why the team should hold on to him.
Button is confident despite the supposed strength of Red Bull but also for his team McLaren after all, it was sufficient in both training for the top spot, with Hamilton in the first training session with a brief second ahead of Button P2 was definitely on the move easy.
With this front is likely also at Ferrari's 800th His Grand Prix, although the most striking feature, which showed the Reds on Friday, a few spins and were cross-stayer. Renault and Mercedes will probably form as before, the front middle. Kubica will certainly try again to get the most out of the Renault, but just in Istanbul can be possible to easily run over the car or the tires.
Behind Force India - now also with its own F-duct, with whom they were also very pleased -, Williams, Sauber and Toro Rosso scrambling for the rear center field seats. Above all, from Williams-view, it would be pretty disappointing that it has again this year to jump into the front center-or even make it into the top box. Hulkenberg was faster in both sessions of the two, even at seven, even for just a tenth.
The new team, it's quite interesting to Lotus, which among other things, trying out a new lightweight rear wing, an advantage of a few tenths seemed to have in relation to Virgin. At the rear end of the field of incumbents, meanwhile, missed only five and seven tenths. And even if you have the board's perspective, the feeling that HRT would take Turn 8 at a snail's pace, lacked Bruno Senna in the HRT at the end of the second session but only a tenth of Timo Glock - all of this but of course, fuel-adjusted or not.
Crucial to this weekend when the tires are - you can hear almost every weekend, usually does well, but thanks to the high temperatures (temperature range around 50 ° C) and the long, fast turn 8 is the most in Istanbul. Which will eventually run this weekend for the first time with full tanks. Who since his tires too much too soon gyn who is having a problem. However, reported Mike Gascoyne at the end of the second session that the softer option tire better with full tank on a long run was as expected.
And had problems in the curve has a few: Kubica, Massa and Alonso slipped around the side of the racing line could be there on the muddy track to keep dare not and had to use the spacious outlet. Adrian Sutil was only enough for the not before the last of the four vertices, he turned at high speed from the car and hit the tire barrier. Because the car is not time for the start of the second session was done again, he was able to drive in this unit with 16 laps only half as much as most of his colleagues. However, it was sufficient for strong positions 10 and 11, at least this has a good chance of Force India to fight the move into Q3.
But not only caused problems Turn 8. In the first corner, a blind downhill left, took a lot of riders a trip to the asphalt run-off area. And not only newcomers and backbenchers, but the top people, including Vettel and Schumacher. And in Turn 7, the opening 180 ° Purchase mountain-turn, got off the line, some not, Mark Webber scrubbed there on the exit from the curbs on the hard subsoil. It is quite possible that many of these slip-ups and full tanks are owed: Istanbul is itself a challenging track, 180kg fuel it does not make it easier.
What it really means anything, but people will always look like until the quality (or the earliest in the final minutes of free Saturday workout). Remember: the quality is tomorrow at 13 German time clock, non-European races as usual clock by 14, the third free practice session starts already at 10 clock accordingly.
U.S. Grand Prix in Austin
Without warning came on Tuesday evening, the message that there will be another 2012 U.S. Grand Prix, on a specially constructed track near Austin, the capital of Texas. That surprised many, because it seemed long, as if Indianapolis or the herbeigeträumte by Bernie Ecclestone New York Grand Prix, the only alternatives for the F1 boss.
And the very next day it was announced that Hermann Tilke, the circuit design is or is already pending. Tavo Hellmund organizers explained that they had selected a hilly plot of 800 acres (320 ha) and bought immediately after the conclusion of the contract with Ecclestone. In addition, we have made the designer's specifications to plan a fast course with challenging curves like Spa, Silverstone and Hockenheim. It is quite possible that it does not end up with a dissimilar in character Istanbul route comes out, what indeed would not be bad, especially since it is questionable how long stay in Turkey Grand Prix on the calendar is still.
It did in the follow-on to these revelations, some (understandable) issues. For one, why not one of the many popular traditional circuits in the U.S.? With Road America, Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, Road Atlanta and there were still plenty of other Auwahl.
The problem is that none of these meets the highest security standards of the FIA, which are needed to host Formula 1 race. The modern lines, such as Miller and Barber Motorsports Park, have only two degrees, not even F1 tests would be allowed there. Furthermore, hardly any racetrack in the United States and the bodies, because the U.S. racing series are usually a wall and a few tents and pit lane.
And finally there's the problem that all existing U.S. routes were built pretty much off the beaten track. Laguna Seca has is 150 km from San Francisco still the best location in traditional ways, 300km away from Watkins Glen, New York. The already mentioned new routes and Miller Barber are only about 50 or 20 miles outside of Salt Lake City and Birmingham, Alabama, but that's not the kind of metropolitan area, which Bernie Ecclestone dreamed of so long a New York Grand Peix , presents for his big event.
With the one located in Austin has instead four metropolitan areas within a 300km radius, all of which are grown in the past 10 years by over 20%: Austin itself (1.7 million inhabitants in the Greater Austin), San Antonio ( 2.1 million inhabitants), Houston (5.9 million inhabitants) and of course the Dallas-Fort Worth-agglomeration, which has 6.4 million inhabitants is the fourth largest in the United States.
And why Hermann Tilke? On the one hand, it is the safe option, with him you know as an event organizer that you get a modern, safe route with the appropriate "facilities" that yes today for the F1 entourage are unfortunately almost more important than the track itself. Secondly, there should surely have taught Ecclestone in favor of his "master builder".
Nevertheless, I would not expect that one can approach the German track architect in this task. I would have thought that the national pride of the Americans, they moved to (the South Africans) Alan Wilson to trust, who sits with his company, Wilson Sahara Motorsports in Salt Lake City and for the above routes Barber and Miller is responsible, or Populous, one on sports facilities and events oriented architectural firm that has collected with the participation at the Dubai Autodrome with the Silverstone Arena Circuit racetrack experience.
Ecclestone is hoping at least that this renewed attempt to Formula 1 in the U.S. to establish permanent, will finally be successful. Promoter Hellmund says that finances were already in the bag, among other things, you get financial support from the state of Texas and could also be the "Texas Major Events Trust Fund" tap. Whether it is right now, that in times of economic crisis and the eco-crunch public funds (Texas eventually bordering the Gulf of Mexico) will be spent on a race track, then again that is another question ...
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The differences in speed at the apex in Turn 8 (which four of the fact?) In the Friday practice sessions were quite dramatic, which gives an idea of the qualifying schonmal little good especially for small teams. Also in the race would be good for interesting situations, when calculated in the curve-where-you can change someone else than on a straight course not simply be the line with 20-30 km / h surplus accruing to a backbencher.
In other U.S. news, USF1 has probably finally departed this life and move their assets in the liquidation. Cosworth says: http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/18561.html
Austin should take that as an omen.
The U.S. has many really good tracks, and Indy was not bad at all. Even better would be if the F1 would take the entire oval. ;-)
The problem is the excessive requirements for F1 circuits. My expectations of the new races are now at least equal to zero. I can not imagine that many Americans want to see, such as 20 cars, "cozy" nozzles in a row by some serpentine. They're actually better used.