Alvin's Formula One Blog

How do you get attention nowadays in a world full of Tweets, status updates, news flashes every tenth of a second? Well, you do something bonkers. Like the Renault Twizy F1 Concept. Renault has applied F1 KERS technology to its electric city car, the Twizy, to come up with a really bonkers one-off concept. The Twizy Renault Sport F1, to give it its full name, has an F1 KERS unit in place of the usual rear seat and is capable of 0-60mph in 6.0s. The Twizy is also fitted with an F1-style steering wheel, front and rear wings, sidepods and slick tyres from a Formula Renault 2.0 car. Slightly less impressive is its top speed of 68mph. When KERS is activated it offers an extra 80bhp for 14 seconds on top of the 17bhp from the Twizy's standard electric motor. Just like in an F1 car, the driver has a KERS button on the steering wheel and can choose between harvesting and deploying power. The KERS unit adds an extra 30kg in weight but it more than makes up for it with the extra power....

As we all know, in 2014 there will be a new engine formula in F1. The 2.4 litre V8 engine, producing 750 horsepower at a maximum 18,000 rpm, will be replaced by a 1.6 litre V6 revving at 15,000 rpm with a kinetic and heat energy recovery system (ERS) and turbocharger running at 125,000 rpm. Each driver will be limited to five engines per season rather than eight engines at present. If a sixth is required, a 10-place grid penalty will be incurred. When the news was first announced, the whole F1 world, especially the fans responded negatively, fearing that the sport we loved so much would never sound the same again. Promoters and track owners were also scared that the new engine would not sound the same and would drive fans away. Even the F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone has reservations about it, mentioning many times that he did not want the smaller engine and that it would drive the fans away. Recently, Mercedes is the first to unveil the controversial new for 2014 engine, so you ...

The FIA has issued the Technical and sporting Regulations for the 2010 Formula One World Championship. Main points No budget cap. KERS to be retained. Titles to be decided on points not medals. To accommodate the need for cars to carry enough fuel for a full race, the weight limit has been raised to 620 kg. Q3 will see a shootout between the drivers that survive Q1 and Q2 all running on low fuel. Eight engine rule to remain in place - despite calls for drivers to be allowed only five engines a season. Only change to in-season testing rules is that teams are restricted to eight straight-line tests and limited running on "promotional" tires. Windtunnel testing limited to 60 per cent scale models (or smaller), and speeds capped at 50 mps. Click here to see the full Technical Regulations (pdf) and here to see the full Sporting Regulations (pdf).

McLaren's MP4-34 will head into this weekend's European Grand Prix in Valencia with a new front wing and rear floor . The Woking-based team are eager to make it two wins a row following their victory in Hungary last month and they hope the upgrades will give them a big push. "This coming weekend we have a new front wing system for the car to hopefully bring some more performance," team principal Martin Whitmarsh is quoted by Autosport . "You will see that will be on one car in P1, with the new rear floor on the other car in P1... we need to back-to-back the new front wing and rear floor modifications, so by P2 both cars will have converged on the same specification." Whitmarsh also believes KERS is one of the major reasons for the team's return to form in recent races. "Now there is no doubt that KERS is an advantage," he added. "We have potentially a small lap time advantage,...

Should be interesting this, either they will be difficult to chase or they will have technical difficulties with the KERS and suffer, maybe they are taking the risk to pre-empt Brawn GP pace.. Ferrari has given its Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) the sign-off for use from next weekend's Australian Grand Prix, AUTOSPORT can reveal. Following successful tests of the system during its pre-season development programme, Ferrari is heading to the race in Melbourne intending for both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen to have KERS fitted to their cars. Ferrari is the second team to confirm its KERS will be used in Melbourne, with Renault having announced earlier this week that it would use it in Australia. BMW Sauber has also said that its system is race-ready, but the team is not yet decided about whether it will be used. Although Ferrari admitted at the start of the development of the F60 that its KERS system was late, the team has made good progress since th...

Tuesday 17th February 2009 Reigning Champ Lewis Hamilton says he's more committed than ever to winning this year's F1 World title. Hamilton won last year's Drivers' crown at the season-ending Brazilian GP where a fifth-placed finish ensured that the Brit took the title by one point ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa. But even though he already has a World title to his name, Hamilton has warned his rivals that he's more determined then ever to claim another this season. "Winning the World Championship in Brazil seems such a long time ago now - things move so fast in Formula One, even when you're not at the racetrack!" he told the official F1 website. "To be honest, I don't really think of myself as World Champion yet - I think that will finally sink in when I get to Melbourne for the first race - so I don't put any extra pressure on myself to live up to that. "Obviou...

Monday 2nd February 2009 Formula One's agreement to ban in-season testing is set to be scrapped, according to reports. The F1 teams had collectively, under the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA), agreed to ban in-season testing as a way to reduce the costs of competing in F1. However, given that this year's new regulations, which include F1's first ever season using the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), many of the teams are reconsidering the ban. "KERS is new for everybody and no one has achieved the level of reliability with it that we would like to have," a team member explained to grandprix.com . "It makes sense to have a transitional year, with less testing than before, but with a few tests early on in the season, to help everybody get on top of their problems. "It's not on everybody's interest to see only five or six cars finish races, so we're trying to get an...

Wednesday 28th January 2009 At the beginning of each Formula One season it takes a while to get used to the teams' new liveries. Then there's the new boys on the grid plus the latest graphics on the TV coverage you have to adapt to. But coming into the 2009 season there is a mind-boggling variety of changes, so many that fans ought to be issued with a new F1 Users' Manual. In case you missed any of them New Tech: The tiny rear wings and the wide front wings will be the most conspicuous change to the cars' visual appearance, along with an absence of intricate bargeboards and midwings. F1 Calendar: There'll be no race in Canada as the Montreal organisers failed to agree a race fee that (they say) will allow them to break even. This means that scandalously, there is no race in North America. F1 Calendar: Ditto France and the French GP at Magny Cours, though there's not quite the same heartfelt desire to return to N...

Tuesday 20th January 2009 BMW unveiled their new F1.09 at Valencia on Tuesday and went against the grain by welcoming the introduction of KERS into Formula One. The German outfit, who finished third in last year's Championship, are hoping to find themselves in a position to challenge for this year's World title. Last season Canadian GP winner Robert Kubica was in the running right up until the penultimate round of the Championship, however, the Polish driver eventually finished the season in fourth place. This year, though, BMW reckon they can fight for the titles. "We have set ourselves the task of further improving our performance relative to the rest of the field," said team boss Mario Theissen. "The 1-2 in Canada and a total of eleven podium finishes in 2008 set an exacting standard. "In 2009 we are looking to maintain our first-class reliability record while at the same time enhancing ...

Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug has said the marque could supply the former Honda team with engines in 2009, provided any takeover leaves the team on a sound financial footing. Although Mercedes has already committed to supplying a customer team for the first time, with Force India using its engines in 2009, Haug said that it could be possible to offer a deal to Honda. "If there is a feasible solution with an investor for that team, we would be prepared to discuss it," Haug told autosport.com . "But the financial background needs to be there. "You cannot give any presents at this time and in this (financial) climate, but we would like to help for the sake of Formula One. Ross Brawn and Nick Fry and their guys have done a good job so far, so if we could be in a position to help we certainly could try to do so. "But the financial feasibility is very important. It needs to be 100 per cent bulletproof." Haug says that a potential ...

Friday 12th December 2008 Bernie Ecclestone - changes to F1. Motor sport's world governing body, the FIA, in conjunction with the Formula One teams on Friday announced a raft of proposals in a bid to cut escalating costs. Following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Monte Carlo the key components of the changes will see savings on engine costs, a ban on in-season testing outside GP weekends and a reduction in staff numbers. Engines will be available to the independent teams from 2010 for less than £4.5million per team per season, supplied by an independent supplier or a manufacturer backed by guarantees of continuity. There will be no in-season testing from next year except during a race weekend and during scheduled practice. The teams have also agreed manpower will be reduced by means of a number of measures, including sharing information on tyres and fuel to eliminate the need for 'spotters...