Archive for the ‘Force India’ Category
The 2011 Formula 1 season is all set to begin and it is going to be a fantastic one at that. Not only do we have an Indian on the grid for the second year in a row, we also have the first ever grand prix on Indian soil. This season is going to be a special one for the Indian Formula 1 fans as the stars they have been watching on TV will actually be letting their car rip in Delhi this year.
The Indians will have their own team to cheer for and will be hoping that Force India has a great year this time. This season too will be a hard fought one and again the top teams will battle out for the constructers championship. Red Bull the winners of 2010 will again be a strong team and will receive a tough competition from McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault. Force India who finished 7th last year would want to improve on their standing and try to creep up the ladder this season. Narain Karthikeyan will also be excited to be involved in India’s first grand prix this year and Karun Chandhok who will be a reserve driver for LOTUS will still be harboring thoughts of driving in Delhi too.
This is surely going to be a great year and the season is all set being in Australia this week. Let’s hope for another great year for the motorsports fans and special congratulations to all the Indians who will finally see their favorite drivers outpacing each other at Noida later this year.
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Team Force India will be in the focus when the first F1 Grand Prix kicks on in India later this year
If 2010 was big for India, 2011 will be even bigger. The 2010 had India host the Commonwealth Games and in spite of being in the news for all the wrong reasons the games was a success. The games were also made memorable by India’s second place finish on the medals tally just behind Australia. Now in 2011 we have the Cricket world cup followed by India’s first Formula 1 race later this year. For a cricket fan it can’t get bigger than a cricket world cup.The kind of euphoria cricket generates in India cannot be matched by any other sporting event.
This will be the third time India will be hosting the world cup and it is a great honor for the country as well as the people to stage the event. India have had pretty good success rate with the world cups hosted in the subcontinent as they made the semis on all the three occasions. They will be hoping that they do better than that this time. As with CWG 2010, the cricket world cup preparation has also started on a wrong note when Eden Gardens was deemed unfit to host the India-England game by the ICC review committee. This has raised questions over the ability of CAB (Cricket Association of Bengal) to get the stadium ready soon enough to at least host the rest of the games. The fans for sure will be disappointed with this effort by the administrators involved as losing a high profile game will be a big loss to them. The game was finally moved to Bangalore, so everything is fine now with the schedule. The ICC though will take a call as to whether Eden is ready enough to host the rest of the games in the coming days.
The other major sporting event in India is the Formula 1. India for the first time this year will host their first Formula 1 race in Noida, Delhi. This has been in the pipeline for a long time now but has finally become a reality. The preparations are at full swing and this will give an opportunity for Delhi to repair their image after the controversies over the CWG2010 arrangements. If reports are to be believed, the Delhi track is well ahead of schedule and will be ready before the D-day. The race is scheduled to take place on the 30th of October, so the administrators have ample time to get the track ready.
The F1 race is also made special by having our own F1 team Force India on the grid and also having Narain Karthikeyan racing for HRT this year. It will be fantastic if Force India can get a podium finish in their debut race in India. So 2011 will be great year for Indian sports, with India being the hosts for two major sporting events. The Formula 1 enthusiasts in the country will be really excited with the prospect of having the first F1 race in India. I hope that the organizers of this event leave no stone unturned and make sure that the track is up and running well before the deadline. It will be great if at least the F1 preparations stay away from any major controversies.
The cricket world cup is just couple of weeks away and with India touted as one of the favorites to claim the title; it will be really interesting to see how they respond. In spite of the slight blip with the Eden Gardens, I hope that BCCI pull this off with flying colours.
Narain Karthikeyan makes a comeback to Formula 1 racing after 5 years
Narain Karthikeyan has managed to get a Formula 1 drive for the 2011 season with Hispania Racing Team (HRT). This will be the second time Narain will compete in F1 after his association with Jordan in 2005. Narain will be thrilled as he will be racing in F1 again in the year when India will host its first Grand Prix at Delhi. With Karun Chandhok still looking for a possible F1 seat in 2011, it might end up a great year for F1 lovers in India if both of them manage to race this year.
Speaking to the media, the 33 year old Indian was rightfully ecstatic about fulfilling his dream of being on the F1 grid for the first Grand Prix in India.
“I have worked really hard to come back to F1 and it will be a dream come true to race in the first ever Indian Grand Prix in front of my fellow Indians. I hope that they will spur me on with their blessings and good wishes,” said Karthikeyan.
Narain thanked the Tata Group, who have been instrumental in getting him the F1 seat this year.
“It’s been a while in the making, but I am delighted to be racing again in Formula 1 in 2011. I have always maintained that I have not given up on my desire to return to the top level of motor sport. I am confident that I have the pace, the fitness and the will to succeed in Formula 1. I am extremely grateful to the Tata Group, without whose unwavering support, this comeback would not have been possible.
“I’m looking forward to racing for HRT, and to working again with Dr Colin Kolles (MD/Team Principal, Hispania Racing). We have a long standing and excellent working relationship together,” said Karthikeyan.
It will be a great year for the Indian motorsport fans as not only there is an Indian team on the Grid for the 2011 Delhi race, but now we also have a confirmed Indian driver on the grid.
Source: Rediff
Ecclestone says no to any changes in the Refueling regulations
The refueling regulations implemented for the 2010 F1 season received quite flak from the media and the teams alike after the first race of the season. The reason for the outburst was due to the fact that there were no refueling stops which enabled the teams to strategize in the past and it made interesting viewing as it also paved way for teams to overtake.
Putting paid to any hopes of reinstating refueling Bernie Ecclestone said that there will be no rule changes for this season and the teams have to live with the same. He said that the rule change now is impractical owing to the designs of the 2010 cars.
Speaking to the media Bernie Ecclestone said,
“We cannot change the rules. It would take far too long and it’s too difficult. F1 is now a democracy. And all the teams voted for these rules, so now they must also deal with them.”
Even though every team has criticized the refueling regulations Ecclestone found a supporter in Vijay Mallya, the owner of F1 team Force India when he said that the teams have to give the new rule a chance.
Speaking to the media Mallya was quoted saying,
“We need to give the regulations a chance to prove themselves and for people to learn how to use them,” he said. “To change everything after just one race is a knee-jerk reaction, let’s see how it goes in Australia and Malaysia and make an informed decision about whether we do need to react to improve the Formula One show. If we do then at least we have more information to make a proper call.”
It seems like most of the drivers and team bosses are not happy with the current regulation but Ecclestone has clearly said that the rule is written in stone and cannot be changed this season. So the teams will do well to come out with a strategy to deal with the same instead of complaining. Hopefully the teams will be better prepared in Australia than they were in Bahrain and I guess the qualifying might become more important this season.
Alonso celebrates after his victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix
Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa make it Ferrari one-two
Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa made it a dream beginning for Ferrari when they took the top two positions on the podium on Sunday in Bahrain. Alonso, a former champion with Renault, had a fantastic start to this season with a win. Michael Schumacher, making a comeback to competitive racing after a four year layoff and racing for team Mercedes, finished 6th.
It was not all smooth sailing for the Ferrari team though, as Sebastian Vettel racing for Red Bull was in control of the race before an engine failure forced him to retire. Alonso took advantage of Vettel’s misfortune to claim the first position and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) also benefited, as he finished on the podium in third behind Massa.
The Indian contingent got off to a disastrous start when Karun Chandhok, representing Hispania Racing Team (HRT), hit a bump on the track and was forced to retire after a crash. Karun later apologized to his team about the mistake and said that a lack of time time on the track was the reason for the crash. Tonio Liuzzi, representing Force India, finished in the points when he finished in the top ten, giving the Indian fans something to cheer about.
This race belonged to Ferrari and Alonso as, but the new regulations have sparked a few controversies and the F1 bosses had plenty to say about it.
Refueling Regulations slammed by the media and teams alike
The new regulations for this year’s championship received quite a bit of flack from the media. According to the new regulations, starting this season there will be no refueling stops, which according to most of the drivers will make catching up almost impossible. This was done to get the on -the -track overtaking back to F1, but did not go well with the teams and drivers.
The press called it a “Bore-rain Grand Prix,”as they felt the change in regulation reduced the race to something of a procession. The McLaren principal Martin Whitmarsh said that Formula 1 needs to consider immediate rule changes to spice things up on the track. The drivers joined the bandwagon too, as Mark Webber and Alonso slammed the changes, and Michael Schumacher said that it would be almost impossible to overtake due to this change and can only happen if the driver in front of you makes a mistake.
Only time will tell for both Ferrari and the regulations, but change is certainly going on this season, whether everyone likes it or not.
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